Alb. The lett alone lyes not in your good will.
Edm. Nor in thine, Lord.

Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes.

Reg. Let the drum ftrike, and prove my title thine. Alb. Stay yet; hear reafon: Edmund, I arreft thee On capital treafon; and, in thy arreft,

This gilded ferpent: for your claim, fair fifter,
I bar it in the intereft of my wife;

'Tis fhe is fub-contracted to this Lord,

And I, her husband, contradi&t your banes.
you will
loves to me,
marry, make your

If

My Lady is bespoke.

Gon. An enterlude!

Alb. Thou art arm'd, Glo'fter; let the trumpet found, If none appear to prove upon thy person

Thy heinous, manifeft, and many treasons,
There is my pledge: I'll prove it on thy heart,
Ere I tafte bread, thou art in nothing lefs

Than I have here proclaim'd thee.

Reg. Sick, O fick

Gon. If not, I'll ne'er truft poison.

Afide.

Edm. There's my exchange; what in the world he is,

That names me traitor, villain-like he lies;
Call by thy trumpet: he that dares approach,
On him, on you, (who not?) I will maintain
My truth and honour firmly.

Alb. A herald, ho!

Enter a Herald.

Truft to thy fingle virtue; for thy foldiers,
All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their discharge.

Reg. This fick nefs grows upon me.
Alb. She is not well, convey her to my tent.

[Exit Reg, led.

Come hither, herald, let the trumpet found,
And read out this.

[A trumpet founds.

Herald

Herald reads.

F any man of quality, or degree, within the lifts of the

Glo'fter, that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear by the third found of the trumpet: he is bold in his defence.

Her. Again.

I trumpet.

2 trumpet.

Her. Again.

Enter Edgar, armed.

Alb. Afk him his purpofes, why he appears

Upon this call o' th' trumpet.

Her. What are you?

Your name, your quality, and why you answer
This prefent fummons?

Edg. Know, my name is loft;

By treafon's tooth bare-gnawn, and canker-bit;
Yet am I noble, as the adverfary

I come to cope.

Alb. Which is that adverfary?

Edg. What's he, that speaks for Edmund Earl of Glo'fter? Edm. Himfelf; what say'ft thou to him ?

Edg. Draw thy fword,

That if my fpeech offend a noble heart,

Thy arm may do thee juftice; here is mine:-
Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours,
My oath, and my profeffion. I proteft,

Maugre thy ftrength, place, youth, and eminence,
Spite of thy victor-fword, and fire-new fortune,
Thy valour, and thy heart, thou art a traitor;
Falfe to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father;
Confpirant 'gainst this high illuftrious Prince,
And from th' extreameft upward of thy head,
To the descent and duft below thy foot,
A moft toad-fpotted traitor. Say thou, no;
This fword, this arm, and my beft fpirits are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,

Thou lieft.

Edm. In wifdom I fhould ask thy name;

But

But fince thy out-fide looks fo fair and warlike,
And that thy tongue fome 'fay of breeding breathes;
What fafe and nicely I might well delay

By rule of knight-hood, I difdain and fpurn:
Back do I tofs thefe treafons to thy head,
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
Which (for they yet glance by, and scarcely bruise)
This fword of mine fhall give them inftant way,
Where thou shalt reft for ever. Trumpets, fpeak.
[Alarum. Fight.
Gon. O, fave him, fave him; this is practice, Glo'fer: (60)
By th' law of war, thou waft not bound to answer
An unknown oppofite; thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguil'd.

Alb. Shut your mouth, dame,

Or with this paper fhall I ftop it;

Thou worse than any thing, read thine own evil:
No tearing, Lady; I perceive, you know it.

Gon. Say, if I do; the laws are mine, not thine; Who can arraign me for't?

Alb. Monster, know'st thou this paper?

Gon. Afk me not, what I know

[Exit Gon. Alb. Go after her, fhe's defperate, govern her.

Edm. What you have charg'd me with, that I have done, And more, much more; the time will bring it out. 'Tis paft, and fo am I: but what art thou, That haft this fortune on me? If thou'rt noble, I do forgive thee.

Edg. Let's exchange charity:

I am no lefs in blood than thou art, Edmund;
If more, the more thou'ft wrong'd me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father's fon.
The gods are juft, and of our pleasant vices
Make inftruments to fcourge us:

(60) Alb. Save him, fave him.

Gon. This is practice, Glo'fter:] Thus all the copies have diftinguifh'd thefe fpeeches: but I have ventur'd to place the two hemif tichs to Gonerill. 'Tis abfurd, that Albany, who knew Edmund's treafons, and his own wife's paffion for him, fhould be follicitous to have his life fav'd.

The

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

Edm. Thou'ft fpoken right, 'tis true,
The wheel is come full circle; I am here.
Alb. Methought, thy very gait did prophefy
A royal nobleness; I muft embrace thee:
Let forrow fplit my heart, if ever I
Did hate thee, or thy father!

Edg. Worthy Prince, I know't.

Alb. Where have you hid yourfelf?

How have you known the miseries of your father ?
Edg. By nurfing them, my Lord. Lift a brief tale,
And when 'tis told, O, that my heart would burst!–
The bloody proclamation to escape,

That follow'd me so near, (O our lives sweetness!
That we the pain of death would hourly bear,
Rather than die at once) taught me to shift
Into a mad-man's rags; t' affume a femblance,
The very dogs difdain'd: and in this habit
Met I my father with his bleeding rings,
Their precious gems new loft; became his guide,
Led him, beg'd for him, fav'd him from defpair;
Never (O fault!) reveal'd myfelf unto him,
Until fome half hour paft, when I was arm'd,
Not fure, though hoping of this good fuccefs,
I ask'd his bleffing, and from first to last
Told him my pilgrimage. But his flaw'd heart,
Alack, too weak the conflict to fupport,
*Twixt two extreams of paffion, joy and grief,
Burft fmilingly.

Baft. This fpeech of yours hath mov'd me,
And fhall, perchance, do good; but speak you on,
You look, as you had fomething more to fay.

Alb. If there be more, more woeful, hold it in,
For I am almost ready to diffolve,
Hearing of this.

Edg.This would have feem'd a period, (61)

Τα

(61) Edg. This would have feem'd a period, &c.] This fine and neceffäry defcription I have thought fit to restore from the old 4to; as

To fuch as love not forrow: but another,

To amplify too much, would make much more,
And top extremity!

Whilft I was big in clamour, came there a man,
Who having feen me in my worfer state,

Shun'd my abhorr'd fociety; but now finding
Who 'twas, had fo endur'd, with his ftrong arms
He faften'd on my neck; and bellow'd out,
As he'd burft heaven; threw him on my father;
Told the moft piteous tale of Lear and him,
That ever ear receiv'd; which in recounting
His grief grew puiffant, and the strings of life
Began to crack.-Twice then the trumpets founded,
And there I left him traunc'd.-

Alb. But who was this?

Edg. Kent, Sir; the banish'd Kent, who in difguife Follow'd his enemy King, and did him service Improper for a flave.

Enter a Gentleman.

Gent. Help, help!

Edg. What kind of help?

Alb. Speak, man.

Edg. What means this bloody knife?

Gent. 'Tis hot, it fmoaks; it came even from the heart Of-O! fhe's dead.

Alb. Who's dead? speak, man.

Gent. Your Lady, Sir, your Lady; and her fifter By her is poifon'd; the confeffes it.

it artfully opens to Albany the concealment of Kent at home, during his banishment; and gives a beautiful picture of the emotions that good old man felt for the death of his friend Glo'fler, and the piety of Edgar towards his diftreft father. Edmund had taken notice, that Edgar feem'd to have fomething more to fay; but Albany was already fo touch'd with compaffion, that he was for hearing of no more forrow. From the different behaviour of thefe two different characters, with how exquifite a reflection, drawn from the very fountain of na ture, has our poet furnish'd his introduction to Edgar's fecond narrative! As the paffage firft was left out by the players, in their edition; we are not to doubt, but it was one of their judicious retrenchments. However that be, fome readers, I am perfuaded, will owe me their thanks for retrieving it to the author.

Edm