Gon. Alb. Go after her; she's desperate; govern her. [To an Officer, who goes out. Edm. What you have charg'd me with, that have I done; [out: And more, much more; the time will bring it "Tis past, and so am I: But what art thou, That hast this fortune on me? If thou art noble, I do forgive thee.

Ask me not what I know. [Exit.

Edg. Let's exchange charity. I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund; If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me. My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to scourge us:

The dark and vicious place where thee he got, Cost him his eyes.

Edm.

Thou hast spoken right, 'tis true; The wheel is come full circle; I am here. Alb. Methought, thy very gait did prophesy A royal nobleness:-I must embrace thee; Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I

Did hate thee, or thy father!

Edg. Worthy prince, I know't. Alb. Where have you hid yourself? How have you known the miseries of your

father?

[tale:

Edg. By nursing them, my lord.-List a brief And, when 'tis told, O, that my heart would The bloody proclamation to escape, [burst! That follow'd me so near (O our lives' sweetness! That with the pain of death we'd hourly die, Rather than die at once!) taught me to shift Into a madman's rags; to assume a semblance That very dogs disdain'd; and in this habit Met I my father with his bleeding rings, Their precious stones new lost; became his guide, Led him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from despair; Never (Ó fault!) reveal'd myself unto him, Until some half hour past, when I was arm'd, Not sure, though hoping, of this good success, I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last Told him my pilgrimage: But his flaw'd heart (Alack, too weak the conflict to support!) Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, Burst smilingly.

Edm. This speech of yours hath moved me, And shall, perchance, do good: but speak you

on;

You look as you had something more to say. Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in; For I am almost ready to dissolve,

Hearing of this.

Edg.

This would have seem'd a period To such as love not sorrow, but another, To amplify too much, would make much more, And top extremity.

Whilst I was big in clamour, came there a man,
Who having seen me in my worst estate,

Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding
Who 'twas that so endur'd, with his strong arms
He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out
As he'd burst heaven: threw him on my father;
Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him,
That ever ear receiv'd: which in recounting
His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life
Began to crack: Twice then the trumpet
sounded,

And there I left him tranc'd.

Alb.

But who was this? Edg. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent; who in disguise

Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service Improper for a slave.

Enter a Gentleman hastily, with a bloody Knife. Gent. Help! help! O help!

Edg.

Alb.

What kind of help?

Speak, man.

'Tis hot, it smokes;

Edg. What means that bloody knife?
Gent.

It came even from the heart of

Alb. Who, man? speak. Gent. Your lady, sir, your lady and her sister By her is poison'd; she hath confess'd it.

Edm. I was contracted to them both; all three Now marry in an instant.

Alb. Produce their bodies, be they alive or dead!

This judgment of the heavens, that makes us

tremble,

Touches us not with pity.

[Exit Gentleman.

Enter KENT.

Edg.

Alb. O! it is he.

Here comes Kent, sir.

The time will not allow the compliment,
Which very manners urges.

Kent.

I am come

To bid my king and master aye good night;
Is he not here?
Alb.
Great thing of us forgot!-
Speak, Edmund, where's the king? and where's
Seest thou this object, Kent? [Cordelia?-
[The Bodies of GON. and REG. are brought in.
Kent. Alack, why thus?

Edm.

Yet Edmund was belov'd: The one the other poison'd for my sake, And after slew herself.

Alb. Even so.-Cover their faces.

Edm. I pant for life:-Some good I mean to do, Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send,Be brief in it,-to the castle, for my writ

Is on the life of Lear, and on Cordelia :-
Nay, send in time.

Aib.

Run, run, O run

Edg. To who, my lord?-Who has the office? Thy token of reprieve.

Edm. Well thought on; take my sword, Give it the captain.

[send

Alb. Haste thee, for thy life. [Exit EDGAR. Edm. He bath commission from thy wife and

To hang Cordelia in the prison, and

To lay the blame upon her own despair,

That she fordid herself.

[me

Alb. The gods defend her! Bear him hence

awhile. [EDMUND is borne off. Enter LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his Arms; EDGAR, Officer, and Others. Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl!-O, you are men of stones;

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so That heaven's vault should crack:-0, she is gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives; She's dead as earth :-Lend me a looking glass; If that her breath will mist or stain the stone, Why, then she lives.

Kent.

Is this the promis'd end?

Edg. Or image of that horror?

Alb. Fall, and cease! Lear. This feather stirs; she lives! if it be so, It is a chance that does redeem all sorrows

That ever I have felt.

Kent.

O my good master! [Kneeling.

Lear. 'Pr'ythee, away.

Edg.

'Tis noble Kent, your friend. Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors

all! [ever!I might have sav'd her; now she's gone for Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha! What is't thou say'st?-Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in wo

man:

I kill'd the slave that was a hanging thee.
Off. 'Tis true, my lords, he did.
Lear.
Did I not, fellow ?
I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion
I would have made them skip: I am old now,
And these same crosses spoil me.-Who are you?
Mine eyes are none o' the best :-I'll tell you
straight.

Kent. If fortune brag of two she lov'd and
One of them we behold.
[hated,
Lear. This is a dull sight: Are you not Kent?
Kent.
The same;
Your servant Kent: Where is your servant

Caius?

Lear. He's a good fellow, I can tell you that; He'll strike, and quickly too :-He's dead and

rotten.

Kent. No, my good lord, I am the very man ;Lear. I'll see that straight. [decay, Kent. That from your first of difference and Have follow'd your sad steps.

Lear.

You are welcome hither. Kent. Nor no man else; all's cheerless, dark,

and deadly.

[selves, Your eldest daughters have fore-doom'd themAnd desperately are dead.

Lear.

Alb. He knows not what That we present us to him. Edg.

Ay, so I think.
he says; and vain
[it is

Very bootless.

Enter an Officer.

Off. Edmund is dead, my lord.

Alb. That's but a trifle here.You lords, and noble friends, know our intent. What comfort to this great decay may come, Shall be applied; for us, we will resign, During the life of this old majesty,

To him our absolute power:-You, to your rights; [To EDGAR and KENT. With boot, and such addition as your honours Have more than merited :-All friends shall taste The wages of their virtue, and all foes

The cup of their deservings.-O, see, see!

Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life:

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? O, thou wilt come no more,

Never, never, never, never, never!

'Pray you, undo this button: Thank you, sir.Do you see this?-Look on her,-look,-her lips,

Look there, look there!

[He dies. Edg.. He faints! My lord, my lord,Kent. Break, heart; I pr'ythee, break! Edg. Look up, my lord. Kent. Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him,

That would upon the rack of this tough world Stretch him out longer.

Edg.

O, he is gone indeed. Kent. The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long: He but usurp'd his life.

Alb. Bear them from hence.-Our present

business

Is general woe. Friends of my soul, you twain [To KENT and EDGAR. Rule in this realm, and the gor'd state sustain. Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls, and I must not say, no.

Alb. The weight of this sad time we must obey; Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most; we, that are young, Shall never see so much, nor live so long.

[Exeunt, with a dead March.