The Works of Christopher Marlowe

Cham. If any Christian, Heathen, Turk, or
Jew,

Light. Nay, you shall pardon me; none shall

know my tricks.

Y. Mor. I care not how it is, so it be not spied. Dares but affirm that Edward's not true king, Deliver this to Gurney and Matrevis:

[Gives letter. At every ten-mile end thou hast a horse : Take this [Gives money]: away, and never see me more!

Y. Mor. The prince I rule, the queen do I
command,

And with a lowly congè to the ground
The proudest lords salute me as I pass;

I seal, I cancel, I do what I will.

Fear'd am I more than lov'd ;-let me be fear'd,
And, when I frown, make all the court look pale.
I view the prince with Aristarchus' eyes,
Whose looks were as a breeching + to a boy.
They thrust upon me the protectorship,
And sue to me for that that I desire;
While at the council-table, grave enough,
And not unlike a bashful puritan,
First I complain of imbecility,
Saying it is onus quam gravissimum ;
Till, being interrupted by my friends,
Suscepi that provinciam, as they term it;
And, to conclude, I am Protector now.
Now is all sure: the queen and Mortimer
Shall rule the realm, the king; and none rule ‡ us.
Mine enemies will I plague, my friends advance;
And what I list command who dare control?
Major sum § quàm cui possit fortuna nocere :
And that this be the coronation-day,
It pleaseth me and Isabel the queen.

[Trumpets within.

The trumpets sound; I must go take my place.||

Enter KING EDWARD THE THIRD, QUEEN ISABELLA, the
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, Champion, and
Nobles.

And will avouch his saying with the sword,
I am the Champion that will combat him.
Y. Mor. None comes: sound, trumpets!

[Trumpets.

K. Edw. Third. Champion, here's to thee.

[Gives purse.

Q. Isab. Lord Mortimer, now take him to your charge.

Enter Soldiers with KENT prisoner.

Y. Mor. What traitor have we there with
blades and bills?

First Sold. Edmund the Earl of Kent.
K. Edw. Third. What hath he done?
First Sold. 'A would have taken the king away
perforce,

As we were bringing him to Killingworth.

Y. Mor. Did you attempt his rescue, Edmund?
speak.

Kent. Mortimer, I did: he is our king,
And thou compell'st this prince to wear the

crown.

Y. Mor. Strike off his head: he shall have martial law.

Kent. Strike off my head! base traitor, I defy thee !

K. Edw. Third. My lord, he is my uncle, and shall live.

Y. Mor. My lord, he is your enemy, and shall

die.

Kent. Stay, villains!

K. Edw. Third. Sweet mother, if I cannot pardon him,

Entreat my Lord Protector for his life.

Q. Isab. Son, be content: I dare not speak a word.

K. Edw. Third. Nor I; and yet methinks I
should command:

But, seeing I cannot, I'll entreat for him.-
My lord, if you will let my uncle live,

Archb. of Cant. Long live King Edward, by I will requite it when I come to age.

the grace of God

Y. Mor. 'Tis for your highness' good and for
the realm's.-

How often shall I bid you bear him hence?
Kent. Art thou king?* must I die at thy
command?

Y. Mor. At our command.-Once more, away
with him!

*thou king] So 4to 1598.-2tos 1612, 1622, "thou a king."

And none of both them thirst for Edmund's blood:

And therefore, soldiers, whither will you hale me? [Soldiers hale KENT away, and carry him to be beheaded.

K. Edw. Third. What safety may I look for at his hands,

If that my uncle shall be murder'd thus?

Q. Isab. Fear not, sweet boy; I'll guard thee from thy foes:

Light. Know you this token? I must have
the king.
[Gives token.*

Mat. Ay, stay a while; thou shalt have answer

straight.

This villain's sent to make away the king.
Gur. I thought as much.

Mat. And, when the murder's done,
See how he must be handled for his labour,—
Pereat iste! Let him have the king;
What else?-Here is the keys, this is the lake:
Do as you are commanded by my lord.

Light. I know what I must do. Get you away:
Yet be not far off; I shall need your help:

Had Edmund liv'd, he would have sought thy See that in the next room I have a fire,

Mat. Gurney, I wonder the king dies not,
Being in a vault up to the knees in water,
To which the channels of the castle run, §
From whence a damp continually ariseth,
That were enough to poison any man,
Much more a king, brought up so tenderly.

Gur. And so do I, Matrevis: yesternight
I open'd but the door to throw him meat,
And I was almost stifled with the savour.

Mat. He hath a body able to endure
More than we can inflict: and therefore now
Let us assail his mind another while.

Gur. Send for him out thence, and I will anger
him.

Mat. But stay; who's this?

Enter LIGHTBORN.

Light. My Lord Protector greets you.

[Gives letter. Gur. What's here? I know not how to construe it.

Mat. Gurney, it was left unpointed for the
nonce; ||

Edwardum occidere nolite timere,
That's his meaning.

* them] So 4tos 1598, 1622.-2to 1612 "then."

Enter Matrevis, &c.] Scene, a hall in Berkeley-Castle (Lightborn presently speaks of " the next room"). channels] i. e. kennels.

§ castle run] So 4to 1598.-2to 1612 "Bastell runne."2to 1622 "Bastell runs."

for the nonce] 1. c. for the occasion.

And get me a spit, and let it be red-hot.
Mat. Very well.

Gur. Need you any thing besides?

Light. What else? a table and a feather-bed.
Gur. That's all?

Light. Ay, ay: so, when I call you, bring it in.
Mat. Fear not thou that.

Gur. Here's a light to go into the dungeon.
[Gives light to LIGHTBORN, and then exit with
MATREVIS.

Light. So, now+

Must I about this gear: ne'er was there any
So finely handled as this king shall be.-
Foh, here's a place indeed, with all my heart!
K. Edw. Who's there? what light is that?
wherefore com'st thou?

Light. To comfort you, and bring you joyful

news.

K. Edw. Small comfort finds poor Edward in thy looks:

Villain, I know thou com'st to murder me.

Light. To murder you, my most gracious lord!
Far is it from my heart to do you harm.
The queen sent me to see how you were us'd,
For she relents at this your misery:
And what eyes can refrain from shedding tears,
To see a king in this most piteous state?

K. Edw. Weep'st thou already? list a while to

me,

And then thy heart, were it as Gurney's is,
Or as Matrevis', hewn from the Caucasus,
Yet will it melt ere I have done my tale.
This dungeon where they keep me is the sink
Wherein the filth of all the castle falls.
Light. O villains!

* Gives token] See p. 217, sec. col, v. 19.

+ So, now, &c.] Here a change of scene is supposed, -to the dungeon in which Edward is confined. The actor who personated Lightborn most probably drew a curtain, and discovered the captive king.

K. Edw. And there, in mire and puddle, have I stood

This ten days' space; and, lest that I should sleep,

One plays continually upon a drum;

They give me bread and water, being a king;
So that, for want of sleep and sustenance,
My mind's distemper'd, and my body's numb'd,
And whether I have limbs or no I know not.

O, would my blood dropp'd out from every vein,
As doth this water from my tatter'd robes!
Tell Isabel the queen, I look'd not thus,
When for her sake I ran at tilt in France,
And there unhors'd the Duke of Cleremont.
Light. O, speak no more, my lord! this breaks
my heart.

Lie on this bed,† and rest yourself a while.

K. Edw. These looks of thine can harbour naught but death;

I see my tragedy written in thy brows.
Yet stay a while; forbear thy bloody hand,
And let me see the stroke before it comes,
That even then when I shall lose my life,
My mind may be more steadfast on my God.
Light. What means your highness to mistrust
me thus?

K. Edw. What mean'st thou to dissemble with me thus ?

Light. These hands were never stain'd with

innocent blood,

Nor shall they now be tainted with a king's. K. Edw. Forgive my thought for having such a thought.

One jewel have I left; receive thou this:

[Giving jewel. Still fear I, and I know not what's the cause, But every joint shakes as I give it thee. O, if thou harbour'st murder in thy heart, Let this gift change thy mind, and save thy soul! Know that I am a king: O, at that name I feel a hell of grief! where is my crown? Gone, gone! and do I [still] remain alive?§ Light. You're overwatch'd, my lord: lie down and rest.

* tatter'd] So 4tos 1598, 1612.-2to 1622 "tottered." See note 1, p. 170.

↑ Lie on this bed] From the account which the king has just given of his dungeon, we may certainly conclude that a bed was not part of its furniture. Therefore "this bed" must be the "feather-bed" which has been mentioned at p. 219, sec. col., and which is presently used in murdering the king. It was, no doubt, thrust upon the stage from the wing, after the exit of Gurney and Matrevis.

That even then] Old eds. "That and even then." § alive] So 4to 1598.-Not in 4tos 1612, 1622.

Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY.

K. Edw. I am too weak and feeble to resist.Assist me, sweet God, and receive my soul! Light. Run for the table.

K. Edw. O, spare me, or despatch me in a trice!

[MATREVIS brings in a table. KING EDWARD is murdered by holding him down on the bed with the table, and stamping on it.

Light. So, lay the table down, and stamp on it, But not too hard, lest that you bruise his body. Mat. I fear me that this cry will raise the town,

And therefore let us take horse and away.
Light. Tell me, sirs, was it not bravely done?
Gur. Excellent well: take this for thy reward.
[Stabs LIGHTBORN, who dies.

Come, let us cast the body in the moat,
And bear the king's to Mortimer our lord:
Away!
[Exeunt with the bodies.

Enter the younger MORTIMER § and MATREVIS. Y. Mor. Is't done, Matrevis, and the murderer dead?

eye-lids] So 4to 1622.-2tos 1598, 1612, "eies lids." +0, let me not die yet! O, stay a while!] So 4to 1622.2tos 1598, 1612, "O let me not die, yet stay, 0 stay a while."

King Edward is murdered, &c.] See note t. preceding col. The "red hot spit," mentioned in p. 219, sec. col., would seem not to have been produced before the audi

ence.

Enter the younger Mortimer, &c.] Scene, an apartment in the royal palace.

Mat. Ay, my good lord: I would it were undone!

K. Edw. Third. Forbid not me to weep; he was

my father;

Y. Mor. Matrevis, if thou now grow'st And, had you lov'd him half so well as I, penitent,

now] So 4to 1598.-Not in 4tos 1612, 1622.
secret] Is a trisyllable here.

Ay, but] Old eds. "I, I [i. o. Ay, ay], but."

§ Ho] i. e. Stop, hold. (compare Shakespeare and Fletcher's Two Noble Kinsmen;

"Lie with her, if she ask you.

Jailer. Ho, there, doctor!"

Act v. sc. 2,-Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, xi. 422, ed. Dyce.)

So 4to 1598.-2tos 1612, 1622, "How."

You could not bear his death thus patiently:
But you, I fear, conspir'd with Mortimer.
First Lord. Why speak you not unto my lord
the king?

Y. Mor. Because I think scorn to be accus'd. Who is the man dares say I murder'd him?

K. Edw. Third. Traitor, in me my loving father speaks,

And plainly saith, 'twas thou that murder'dst him.

Y. Mor. But hath your grace no other proof than this?

K. Edw. Third. Yes, if this be the hand of Mortimer. [Shewing letter.

Y. Mor. False Gurney hath betray'd me and himself. [Aside to QUEEN ISABELLA. Q. Isab. I fear'd as much: murder can not be hid.

Y. Mor. It is my hand; what gather you by this?

K. Edw. Third. That thither thou didst send a
murderer.

Y. Mor. What murderer? bring forth the man
I sent.

K. Edw. Third. Ah, Mortimer, thou know'st

Bring him unto a hurdle, drag him forth;
Hang him, I say, and set his quarters up:
But bring his head back presently to me.

Q. Isab. For my sake, sweet son, pity
Mortimer!

Y. Mor. Madam, entreat not: I will rather
die

Than sue for life unto a paltry boy.

K. Edw. Third. Hence with the traitor, with the murderer!

Y. Mor. Base Fortune, now I see, that in thy wheel

There is a point, to which when men aspire, They tumble headlong down: that point I touch'd,

And, seeing there was no place to mount up higher,

Why should I grieve at my declining fall?—
Farewell, fair queen: weep not for Mortimer,
That scorns the world, and, as a traveller,
Goes to discover countries yet unknown.

*think scorn] Qy. "think it scorn"?

K. Edw. Third. What, suffer you the traitor to delay ?

[Exit the younger MORTIMER with First Lord and some of the Attendants.

Q. Isab. As thou receivèdest thy life from me, Spill not the blood of gentle Mortimer!

K. Edw. Third. This argues that you spilt my father's blood,

Else would you not entreat for Mortimer.

Q. Isab. I spill his blood! no.*

K. Edw. Third. Ay, madam, you; for so the

rumour runs.

Q. Isab. That rumour is untrue: for loving thee,

Is this report rais'd on poor Isabel.

K. Edw. Third. I do not think her so unnatural. Sec. Lord. My lord, I fear me it will prove too true.

K. Edw. Third. Mother, you are suspected for his death,

And therefore we commit you to the Tower,
Till further trial may be made thereof.

If you be guilty, though I be your son,
Think not to find me slack or pitiful.

Q. Isab. Nay, to my death; for too long have
I liv'd,

Whenast my son thinks to abridge my days. K. Edw. Third. Away with her! her words enforce these tears,

And I shall pity her, if she speak again.

Q. Isab. Shall I not mourn for my beloved lord?

*no] So 4to 1598.-Not in 4tos 1612, 1622. Whenas] i. e. when.

And with the rest accompany him to his* grave? Sec. Lord. Thus, † madam, 'tis the king's will you shall hence.

Q. Isab. He hath forgotten me: stay; I am his mother.

Sec. Lord. That boots not; therefore, gentle madam, go.

Q. Isab. Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief!

Exit with Second Lord and some of the Attendants.

Re-enter First Lord, with the head of the younger MORTIMER. First Lord. My lord, here is the head of Mortimer.

K. Edw. Third. Go fetch my father's hearse, where it shall lie; And bring my funeral robes.

[Exeunt Attendants. Accursed head,

Could I have rul'd thee then, as I do now,
Thou hadst not hatch'd this monstrous

treachery!

Here comes the hearse: help me to mourn, my lords.

Re-enter Attendants, with the hearse and funeral robes, Sweet father, here unto thy murder'd ghost

I offer up this wicked traitor's head;
And let these tears, distilling from mine eyes,
Be witness of my grief and innocency. [Exeunt.

*his] So 4to 1598.-2tos 1612, 1622, “the.”
+ Thus] Qy. "Tush"?

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The Works of Christopher Marlowe: With Some Account of the Author, and Notes ...