Lear. Now, by the gods Kent. Now, by the gods, rash king, thou swear'st in vain. Lear. Ha! traitor! Kent. Do, kill thy physician, Lear; Strike through my throat; yet, with my latest breath, I'll thunder in thine ear my just complaint, And tell thee to thy face, that thou dost ill. Lear. Hear me, rash man; on thine allegiance hear me; Since thou hast striven to make us break our vow, Kent. Why, fare thee well, king; since thou art resolved, 1 take thee at thy word; I will not stay [exit Kent Lear. Now, Burgundy, you see her price is fall'n; Yet, if the fondness of your passion still Affect her as she stands, dowerless, and lost In our esteem, she's yours; take her, or leave her. Burg. Pardon me, royal Lear, I but demand The dower yourself proposed, and here I take Cordelia by the hand, dutchess of Burgundy. Lear. Then leave her, sir; for, by a father's rage, I tell you all her wealth. (Cordelia throws herself at Lear's 's feet) Away! away! away! (flourish of trumpets, &c) [exeunt all but Cordelia enter EDGAR. Edg. Has heaven then weigh'd the merit of my love, Or is it the raving of a sickly thought? Cord. Some comfort yet, that twas no vicious blot That has deprived me of a father's grace; But merely want of that, that makes me rich In wanting it; a smooth professing tongue. O sisters! I am loath to call your fault As it deserves; but use our father well, And wrong'd Cordelia never shall repine. Edg. O heavenly maid! that art thyself thy dow'r, Richer in firtue than the stars in light; If Edgar's humble fortunes may be graced Cord. Talk'd of love. Edg. Then I've offended oft; Cordelia too Has oft permitted me so to offend. Cord. When, Edgar, I permitted your addresses, I was the darling daughter of a king; Nor can I now forget my royal birth, And live dependent on my lover's fortune; I cannot to so low a fate submit; And therefore study to forget your passion, Edg. Thus majesty takes most state in distress. B And he but with more compliment dissemble; But, if his love be fix'd, such constant flame enter EDMUND, hastily. [exit Cordelia Edm. Brother, I've found you in a lucky minute : Fly, and be safe; ome villain has incensed Our father against your life. Edg. Distress'd Corde-but oh, more cruel! Edm. Hear me, sir; your fe, your life's in danger. Edg. And yet, perhaps, twas but pretended coldness, To try how far my passion would pursue. Edm. He hears me not; 'wake, 'wake, sir. No tears, good Edmund; if thou bring'st he tidings Edm. Your danger, sir, comes on so fast, Edg. Pardon me, sir, a serious thought [exit Edgar Edm. Ha ha! fond man! such credulous honesty Lessens the glory of my artifice; His nature is so far from doing wrongs, -Here comes Gloster. enter GLOSTER. Glost. Stay. Edmund, turn; what paper were you reading ? Edm. A trifle, sir. Glost. What need then that terrible despatch of it Into your pocket? come, produce it, sir. Edm. A letter from my brother, sir: I had (reads) This policy of fathers is intolerable, that keeps our fortunes from us till age will not suffer us to enjoy them; I am weary of the tyranny. Come to me, that of this I may speak more. If our father would sleep till I wake him, you should enjoy half his pos sessions, and live beloved of your brother. Sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy Edm. Perhaps twas writ, my lord, to prove my vir tue. Glost. These late eclipses of the sun and moon Can bode no less; love cools, and friendship fails; In cities mutiny, in countries discord; The bond of nature crack'd 'twixt son and father.Find out the villain, do it carefully, And it shall lose thee nothing. [exit Gloster Edm. So, now my project's firm; but, to make sure, I'll throw in one proof more, and that a bold one; Be honesty my interest, and I can Be honest too; and what saint so divine That will successful villany decline? [exit Edmund SCENE III the court before the duke of Albany's palace. enter KENT, disguised. Kent. Now, banish'd Kent, if thou can'st pay thy duty, In this disguise, where thou dost stand condemn'd, enter king LEAR, attended by his knights. Lear. In there, and tell our daughter we are here. [exit first knight Now, what art thou ? Lear. What dost thou profess, or would'st with us? Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem, to serve him truly that puts me in trust, to love him that's honest, to converse with him that's wise and speaks little, to fight when I can't choose, and to eat no fish. Lear. I say, what art thou? Kent. A very honest hearted fellow, and as poor as the king. Lear. If thou be as poor for a subject, as he is for a king, thou art poor enough—Dost thou know me, fellow ? Kent. No, sir; but you have that in your countenance, which I would fain call master. Lear. What's that? Kent. Authority. Lear. What service can'st thou do? Kent. I can keep honest counsel, mar a curious tale in the telling, deliver a plain message bluntly; that, which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. Lear. How old art thou? Kent. Not so young, sir, to love a woman for singing; nor so old, to dote on her for any thing: I have years on my back, forty-eight. ear. Thy name? |