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And for one blast of thy minikin 1 mouth,
Thy sheep shall take no harm.'

Pur! the cat is gray.

Lear. Arraign her first; 'tis Goneril. I here take my oath before this honorable assembly, she kicked the poor king her father.

Fool. Come hither, mistress: is your name Goneril?

Lear. She cannot deny it.

Fool. Cry you mercy; I took you for a jointstool.

Lear. And here's another, whose warp'd looks proclaim

What store her heart is made of.-Stop her there! Arms, arms, sword, fire!-Corruption in the place!False justicer, why hast thou let her 'scape?

Edg. Bless thy five wits!

Kent. O pity!-Sir, where is the patience now,

That you so oft have boasted to retain ?

Edg. My tears begin to take his part so much,

They 'll mar my counterfeiting.

Lear. The little dogs and all,

[aside.

Tray, Blanch, and Sweetheart, see, they bark at me. Edg. Tom will throw his head at them.-Avaunt, you curs !

Be thy mouth or black or white,
Tooth that poisons if it bite;

SHAK.

1 Small. A term of endearment.

XIII.

1

Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim,
Hound or spaniel, brach or lym ; 1
Or bobtail tike, or trundle-tail;
Tom will make them weep and wail;
For, with throwing thus my head,
Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled.'

Do de, de, de. Sessa. Come, march to wakes and fairs, and market towns.-Poor Tom, thy horn is dry.

Lear. Then let them anatomise Regan, see what breeds about her heart: is there any cause in nature, that makes these hard hearts ?—You, sir, I entertain you for one of my hundred; only, I do not like the fashion of your garments: you will say, they are Persian attire; but let them be changed. [to Edgar. Kent. Now, good my lord, lie here, and rest awhile.

Lear. Make no noise, make no noise; draw the curtains: so, so, so: we'll go to supper i' the morning so, so, so.

:

Fool. And I'll go to bed at noon.

Re-enter GLoster.

Glos. Come hither, friend: where is the king my master?

Kent. Here, sir; but trouble him not: his wits

are gone.

1 A brach signifies a bitch hound; a lym, a blood-hound.

Glos. Good friend, I pr'ythee take him in thy

arms:

I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him.

There is a litter ready; lay him in 't,

And drive towards Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet

Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master :
If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life,
With thine, and all that offer to defend him,
Stand in assured loss. Take up, take up;
And follow me, that will to some provision
Give thee quick conduct.

Kent.

Oppress'd nature sleeps.

This rest might yet have balm'd thy broken senses; Which, if convenience will not allow,

Stand in hard cure.-Come, help to bear thy

master;

Thou must not stay behind.

Glos.

[to the Fool.

Come, come, away.

[Exeunt Kent, Gloster, and the Fool, bearing

off the King.

Edg. When we our betters see bearing our

woes,

We scarcely think our miseries our foes.

Who alone suffers, suffers most i' the mind,

1

Leaving free things 1 and happy shows behind:
But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip,
When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.

1 States clear from distress.

How light and portable my pain seems now,
When that, which makes me bend, makes the king

bow;

He childed, as I father'd!-Tom, away:

Mark the high noises;

1 and thyself bewray,2

When false opinion, whose wrong thought defiles

thee,

In thy just proof, repeals and reconciles thee.
What will hap more to-night, safe 'scape the king!
Lurk, lurk.

[Exit.

SCENE VII.

A room in Gloster's castle.

Enter CORNWALL, REGAN, GONERIL, EDMUND,

Servants.

and

Corn. Post speedily to my lord your husband; show him this letter: the army of France is landed. Seek out the villain Gloster.

[Exeunt some of the Servants.

Re. Hang him instantly.

Gon. Pluck out his eyes.

Corn. Leave him to my displeasure.-Edmund, keep you our sister company: the revenges we are bound to take upon your traitorous father are not fit for your beholding. Advise the duke, where you are going, to a most festinate 3 preparation; we are bound to the like. Our posts shall be swift, and

The great events that are approaching.
2 Discover.
3 Hasty.

intelligent betwixt us.

Farewell, dear sister;

farewell, my lord of Gloster.

Enter STEWARD.

How now? Where's the king?

Stew. My lord of Gloster hath convey'd him hence :

Some five or six and thirty of his knights,

Hot questrists 1 after him, met him at gate;

Who, with some other of the lord's dependents,
Are gone with him towards Dover, where they

boast

To have well-armed friends.

Corn.

Get horses for your mistress.

[Exeunt Goneril and Edmund.

Gon. Farewell, sweet lord, and sister.

Corn. Edmund, farewell.-Go, seek the traitor

Gloster;

Pinion him like a thief; bring him before us:

[Exeunt other Servants.

Though well we may not pass upon his life
Without the form of justice; yet our power
Shall do a courtesy to our wrath, which men
May blame, but not control.-Who's there? The
traitor?

Re-enter Servants, with GLOSTER.

Re. Ingrateful fox! 'tis he.

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