Light. Relent! ha ha! I use much to relent. Y. Mor. Well, do it bravely, and be secret. · Light. You shall not need to give instructions; 'Tis not the first time I have kill'd a man: I learn'd in Naples how to poison flowers; To strangle with a lawn thrust through the throat;

To pierce the wind-pipe with a needle's point;
Or, whilst one is asleep, to take a quill
And blow a little powder in his ears;

Or open his mouth, and pour quicksilver down.
But yet I have a braver way than these.

Y. Mor. What's that?

Light. Nay, you shall pardon me; none shall know my tricks.

Y. Mor. I care not how it is, so it be not spied. Deliver this to Gurney and Matrevis:

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

Light. No?

Y. Mor. No; unless thou bring me news of Edward's death.

Light. That will I quickly do. lord.

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

Farewell, my [Exit.

queen "do I

And with a lowly congè2 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;

6

While at the council-table, grave enough,
And not unlike a bashful Puritan,
First I complain of embecility,
Saying it is onus quam gravissimum ;3
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 ISA

BELLA, the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,
Champion, and Nobles.

Archb. of Cant. Long live King Edward, by the grace of God

King of England and Lord of Ireland!

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

Dares but affirm that Edward's not true king,
And will avouch his saying with the sword,
I am the Champion that will combat him."
Y. Mor. None comes: sound trumpets!
K. Edw. Third. Champion, here's to thee.

[Gives purse.

1 lawn-a towel, or something made of lawn? 2 congè-bow.

3 Aristarchus of Alexandria, who flourished about 150 B.C., was the most celebrated critic of antiquity. breeching-whipping.

5A burden inconceivably heavy.'

I have undertaken that office.'

7 'I am too great for fortune to injure.'-OVID, Met. vi. 195.

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

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,
I will requite it when come to age.

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.

Kent. Let me but stay and speak; I will not go:

Either my brother or his son is 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:

Had Edmund liv'd, he would have sought thy death.

Come, son, we'll ride a-hunting in the park.

K. Edw. Third. And shall my uncle Edmund ride with us?

Q. Isab. He is a traitor; think not on him: Come. [Exeunt.

Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY.
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

1 channels-kennels.

More than we can inflict: and therefore now Let us assail his mind another while.

So that, for want of sleep and sustenance,
My mind's distemper'd, and my body's numb'd,

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; 1

Eduardum occidere nolite timere,2
That's his meaning.

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:
See that in the next room I have a fire,
And get me a spit, and let it be red-hot.
Mat. Very well.

Gur. Need you anything 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. [Exit with MATREVIS.

Light. So now 4 Must I about this gear: 5 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. Oh, villains!

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;

1 for the nonce-for the occasion. See note 5, p. 55, 1st col.

2. Don't be afraid to slay Edward.'

3.Kill this fellow.'

4 So now, &c. Of course the scene is supposed to be changed to the dungeon in which Edward is confined. 3 gear-business; Anglo-Saxon, girian, to prepare.

Oh, 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 Claremont.
Light. Oh, 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 stedfast 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 stained 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:
Still fear I, and I know not what's the cause,
But every joint shakes as I give it thee.
Oh, if thou harbour's murder in thy heart,
Let this gift change thy mind, and save thy soul!
Know that I am a king: oh, at that name

I feel a hell of grief! Where is my crown?
Gone, gone! and do I remain alive?

Light. You're overwatch'd,' my lord: lie down and rest.

K. Edw. But that grief keeps me waking, I should sleep;

.

For not these ten days have these eyelids clos'd. Now, as I speak, they fall; and yet with fear Open again. Oh, wherefore sit'st thou here? Light. If you mistrust me, I'll be gone, my lord. K. Edw. No, no; for if thou mean'st to murder

me,

Thou wilt return again; and therefore stay.

Light. He sleeps.

[Sleeps.

K. Edw. [waking.] Oh, let me not die! yet stay, oh, stay a while!

Light. How now, my lord!

K. Edw. Something still buzzeth in mine ears, And tells me, if I sleep, I never wake: This fear is that which makes me tremble thus; And therefore tell me, wherefore art thou come? Light. To rid thee of thy life.-Matrevis, come!

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. Oh, spare me, or despatch me in a trice!

Light. So, lay the table down, and stamp on it, But not too hard, lest that you bruise his body.

LEDWARD is murdered by holding him down

on the bed with the table, and stamping on it.2 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.

1 overwatch'd-wearied with too much watching.

2 The red-hot spit,' with which Edward is said to have been murdered, and which is mentioned above, seems not to have been produced on the stage.

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

[Exeunt omnes. Enter the younger MORTIMER and MATREVIS.

Y. Mor. Is't done, Matrevis, and the murderer dead?

Mat. Ay, my good lord; I would it were un

done!

Y. Mor. Matrevis, if thou now grow'st penitent, I'll be thy ghostly father; therefore choose, Whether thou wilt be secret in this,

Or else die by the hand of Mortimer.

Betray us both; therefore let me fly.

Y. Mor. Fly to the savages!!
Mat. I humbly thank your honour.

[Exit.

Y. Mor. As for myself, I stand as Jove's huge tree,

And others are but shrubs compar'd to me:
All tremble at my name, and I fear none:
Let's see who dare impeach me for his death!

Enter QUEEN ISABELLA.

Q. Isab. Ah, Mortimer, the king my son hath

news,

His father's dead, and we have murder'd him! Y. Mor. What if he have? the king is yet a child.

Q. Isab. Ay, ay; but he tears his hair, and wrings his hands,

And vows to be reveng'd upon us both.
Into the council-chamber he is gone,
To crave the aid and succour of his peers.
Ay me, see where he comes, and they with him!
Now, Mortimer, begins our tragedy.

Enter KING EDWARD THE THIRD, Lords, and
Attendants.

First Lord. Fear not, my lord; know that you are a king.

K. Edw. Third. Villain!-
Y. Mor. Ho, now, my lord!

K. Edw. Third. Think not that I am frighted with thy words:

My father's murder'd through thy treachery;
And thou shalt die, and on his mournful hearse
Thy hateful and accursed head shall lie,
To witness to the world that by thy means
His kingly body was too soon interr'd.
Q. Isab. Weep not, sweet son.

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

And, had you lov'd him half so well as I,
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. [Showing paper. Y. Mor. False Gurney hath betray'd me and himself. [Aside to QUEEN.

Q. Isab. I fear'd as much: murder cannot be

hid.

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

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.
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,

Whenas 1 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, 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.

1 Ho-stop, hold.

1 Whenas-when.

mene,

Where Mars did mate1 the Carthaginians;
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,

In courts of kings where state is overturn'd;
Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,
Intends our Muse to vaunt his heavenly verse:
Only this, gentlemen,-we must perform
The form 2 of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad:
To patient judgments we appeal our plaud,
And speak for Faustus in his infancy.
Now is he born, his parents base of stock,
In Germany, within a town call'd Rhodes:
Of riper years, to Wertenberg he went,
Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.
So soon he profits in divinity,

The fruitful plot of scholarism grac'd,
That shortly he was grac'd with doctor's name,
Excelling all whose sweet delight disputes
In heavenly matters of theology;

Till swoln with cunning," of a self-conceit,

Scholars, Friars, and Attendants.

DUCHESS OF VANHOLT.

LUCIFER.

BELZEBUB.

MEPHISTOPHILIS.

Good Angel.

Evil Angel.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Devils.

Spirits in the shapes of Alexander the Great, of his Paramour, and of Helen.

Chorus.

His waxen wings did mount above his reach,
And, melting, heavens conspir'd his overthrow;
For, falling to a devilish exercise,
And glutted more with learning's golden gifts,
He surfeits upon cursèd necromancy;
Nothing so sweet as magic is to him,
Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss:
And this the man that in his study sits.

[Exit.

FAUSTUS discovered in his study.
Faust. Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin
To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:
Having commenc'd, be a divine in shew,
Yet level at the end of every art,

And live and die in Aristotle's works.
Sweet Analytics,' 'tis thon hast ravish'd me!
Bene disserere est finis logices.

Is, to dispute well, logic's chiefest end?
Affords this art no greater miracle?

Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that end:
A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit:

Bid Economy farewell; Galen come,

Seeing, Ubi desinit philosophus, ibi incipit medicus: 2

1 Analytics-science of analysis, logic.

2Where the philosopher ends, there the physician begins.'