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Edm. There's my exchange: [Throwing down | Which, (for they yet glance by, and scarcely bruise,)

a Glove.] 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 honor firmly.

Alb. A herald, ho! Edm.

A herald, ho, a herald!

Alb. Trust to thy single virtue ; for thy soldiers, All levied in my name, have in my name Took their discharge.

Reg.

This sword of mine shall give them instant way,
Where they shall rest forever.-Trumpets, speak.
[Alarums. They fight. EDMUND falls.
Alb. O save him, save him!

Gon.
This is mere practice, Gloster:
By the law of arms, thou wast not bound to answer
An unknown opposite; thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguil❜d.
Alb.

Shut your mouth, dame,
Or with this paper shall I stop it:-Hold, sir:
This sickness grows upon me. Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil :-
No tearing, lady: I perceive you know it.

Enter a Herald.

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[1 Trumpet. [2 Trumpet. 3 Trumpet. [Trumpet answers within.

Enter EDGAR, armed, preceded by a Trumpet. Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears Upon this call o' the trumpet. Her. What are you? Your name, your quality? and why you answer This present summons?

Edg.

Know, my name is lost; By treason's tooth bare-gnawn, and canker-bit: Yet am I noble, as the adversary

I come to cope withal.
Alb.
Which is that adversary?
Edg. What's he, that speaks for Edmund earl
of Gloster?

Edm. Himself;-What say'st thou to him?
Edg.
Draw thy sword!
That, if my speech offend a noble heart,
Thy arm may do thee justice: here is mine.
Behold, it is the privilege of mine honors,
My oath, and my profession: I protest,—
Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,
Despite thy victor sword, and fire-new fortune,
Thy valor, and thy heart,-thou art a traitor:
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father;
Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince;
And, from the extremest upward of thy head,
To the descent and dust beneath thy feet,
A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou, No,
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits, are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,

Thou liest.

Edm. In wisdom, I should ask thy name: But, since thy outside looks so fair and warlike, And that thy tongue some 'say' of breeding breathes,

What safe and nicely I might well delay
By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn:
Back do I toss these treasons to thy head;
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
Notwithstanding.

ai.e. Valor.

Sample.

[Gives the Letter to EDMUND. Gon. Say, if I do; the laws are mine, not thine: Who shall arraign me for't?

Alb.

Know'st thou this paper? Gon.

Most monstrous!

Ask me not what I know. [Exit GONERIC. Alb. Go after her: she's desperate; govern her. [To an Officer, who goes out. Edm. What you have charged me with, that have I done;

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And more, much more; the time will bring it out;
'Tis past, and so am I: But what art thou,
That hast this fortune on me? If thou art noble,
I do forgive thee.

Edg.

Let's exchange charity.
I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund;
If more, the more thou hast wronged 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 has 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.

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Alb. Where have you hid yourself? How have you known the miseries of your father? Edg. By nursing them, my lord.-List' 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 with the pain of death we'd hourly die,
Rather than die at once!) taught me to shift
Into a mad-man'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,
Le him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from despair:
Never (O 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 mov'd me, And shall, perchance, do good: but speak you on; You look as you had something more to say.

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Alb. It there be more, more woeful, 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 clamor, came there a man,
Who having seen me in my worst estate,

Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding
Who 't was that so endured, 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 tranced.
Alb.
But who was this?
Edg. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent; who in dis-
guise

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!

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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 confesses 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.

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

Alb. Haste thee, for thy life. [Exit EDGAR Edm. He hath commission from thy wife and me To hang Cordelia in the prison, and

To lay the blame upon her own despair,
That she fordid herself.

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!-0, ye are

men of stones:

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so That heaven's vault should crack-O, 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!
I might have sav'd her; now she's gone for ever!—
Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha!

What is't thou say'st?-Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman:-
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 faulchion I would have made them skip: I am old now, And these same crosses spoil me.-Who are you! Mine eyes are noue o'the best:-I'll tell you straight. Kent. If fortune brag of two she lov'd and hated, One of them we behold.

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

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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 honors
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,

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 endured 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.

And thou no breath at all? O, thou wilt come no Rule in this realm, and the gor'd state sustain.

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!

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.

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to Romeo.

ABRAM, Servant to Montague.
An Apothecary.
Three Musicians.
Chorus.

Boy, Page to Paris.
PETER, an Officer.

LADY MONTAGUE, Wife to Montague.

BENVOLIO, Nephew to Montague, and Friend to LADY CAPULET, Wife to Capulet.

Romeo.

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JULIET, Daughter to Capulet. Nurse to Juliet.

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SCENE, during the greater part of the Play, in Verona; once, in the fifth Act, at Mantua.

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SCENE I-A Public Place.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could re

move,

Is now the two-hours traffic of our stage; The which, if y、 a with patient ears attend, What here si-all miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

ACT I.

weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall:-thereEnter SAMPSON and GREGORY, armed with Swords fore I will push Montague's men from the wall,

and Bucklers.

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Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's.

Gre. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall.

Sam. True; and therefore women, being the A phrase formerly in use, to signify the bearing injuries.

and thrust his maids to the wall.

Gre. The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men.

Sam. 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids; I will cut off their heads

Gre. The heads of the maids?

Sam. Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.

Gre. They must take it in sense, that feel it. Sam. Me they shall feel, while I am able to stand: and, 'tis known, I am a pretty piece of flesh.

Gre. "Tis well, thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool; here comes two of the house of the Montagues.

Enter ABRAM and BALTHAZAR.

Sam. My naked weapon is out; quarrel, I wil back thee.

2 Poor John is hake, dried and salted.

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Gre. How? turn thy back, and run?
Sam. Fear me not.

Gre. No, marry: I fear thee!

Sam. Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin

Gre. I will frown as I pass by; and let them take it as they list.

Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb
at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.
Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Sam. I do bite my thumb, sir.

Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
Sam. Is the law on our side, if I say-ay?
Gre. No.

Sam. No, sir; I do not bite my thumb at you, sir: but I bite my thumb, sir.

Gre. Do you quarrel, sir?
Abr. Quarrel, sir? no, sir.

Sam. If you do, sir, I am for you; I serve as good a man as you.

Abr. No better. Sam. Well, sir.

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Cap. My sword, I say!-Old Montague is come, And flourishes his blade in spite of me.

Enter MONTAGUE, and LADY MONTAGUE. Mon. Thou villain, Capulet,-Hold me not, let me go!

La. Mon.Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe. Enter Prince, with Attendant's.

Prin. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbor-stained steel,Will they not hear?-what, ho! you men, you beasts,

That quench the fire of your pernicious rage With purple fountains issuing from your veins,

Clubs was the usual exclamation at an affray in the streets, as we now call Watch!

On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mistemper'd' weapons to the ground
And hear the sentence of your moved prince.-
Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word,
By thee, old Capulet and Montague,
Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets;
And made Verona's ancient citizens
Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments,
To wield old partizans,' in hands as old,
Canker'd with peace, to part your canker'd hate
If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.
For this time, all the rest depart away:
You, Capulet, shall go along with me;
And, Montague, come you this afternoon,
To know our further pleasure in this case,
To old Free-town, our common judgment-place.
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart.

[Exeunt Prince, and Attendants; CAPULET,
LADY CAPULET, TYBALT, Citizens, and
Servants.

Mon. Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?Speak, nephew, were you by, when it began?

Ben. Here were the servants of your adversary, And yours, close fighting ere I did approach: I drew to part them; in the instant, came The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared; Which, as he breath'd defiance to my ears, He swung about his head, and cut the winds, Who, nothing hurt withal, hiss'd him in scorn: While we were interchanging thrust and blows, Came more and more, and fought on part and part, Till the prince came, who parted either part.

La. Mon. O, where is Romeo?-saw you him today?

Right glad I am, he was not at this fray.

Peer'd forth the golden window of the east,
Ben. Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun
A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
Where, underneath the grove of sycamore,
That westward rooteth from the city's side,-
So early walking did I see your son:
Towards him I made; but he was 'ware of me,
And stole into the covert of the wood:

I measuring his affections by my own,-
That most are busied when they are most alone,-
Pursued my humor, not pursuing his,
And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me.

Mon. Many a morning hath he there been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew,
Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs:
But all so soon as the all-cheering sun
Should in the furthest east begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora's bed,
Away from light steals home my heavy son,
And private in his chamber pens himself;
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night:
Black and portentous must this humor prove,
Unless good counsel may the cause remove.

Ben. My noble uncle, do you know the cause! Mon. I neither know it, nor can learn of him. Ben. Have you impórtuned him by any means? Mon. Both by myself and many other friends But he, his own affections' counsellor, Is to himself-I will not say, how trueBut to himself so secret and so close, So far from sounding and discovery, As is the bud bit with an envious worm, 3 Angry. A kind of pike. • Appeared,

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