Guiderius. He is but one.

You and my brother search

70

What companies are near: pray you, away;

Let me alone with him.

Cloten.

[Exeunt Belarius and Arviragus. Soft! What are you

That fly me thus? some villain mountaineers?

I have heard of such.-What slave art thou?
Guiderius.

More slavish did I ne'er than answering

A slave without a knock.

Cloten.

A thing

Thou art a robber,

A law-breaker, a villain; yield thee, thief.

Guiderius. To who? to thee? What art thou?

not I

An arm as big as thine? a heart as big?
Thy words, I grant, are bigger, for I wear not
My dagger in my mouth. Say what thou art,
Why I should yield to thee?

Cloten.

Thou villain base,

Know'st me not by my clothes?

Guiderius.

Have

No, nor thy tailor, rascal,

Who is thy grandfather; he made those clothes,
Which, as it seems, make thee.

Guiderius. Cloten, thou double villain, be thy name, I cannot tremble at it; were it toad, or adder, spider, 'T would move me sooner.

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90

Cloten.

To thy further fear,

Nay, to thy mere confusion, thou shalt know

I am son to the queen.
Guiderius.

So worthy as thy birth.

Cloten.

I am sorry for 't, not seeming

Art not afeard?

Guiderius. Those that I reverence, those I fear,—the wise; At fools I laugh, not fear them.

Cloten.
Die the death!
When I have slain thee with my proper hand,
I'll follow those that even now fled hence,
And on the gates of Lud's town set your heads.
Yield, rustic mountaineer.

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[Exeunt, fighting.

Re-enter BELARIUS and ARVIRAGUS.

Belarius. No companies abroad?

Arviragus. None in the world; you did mistake him, sure. Belarius. I cannot tell: long is it since I saw him, But time hath nothing blurr'd those lines of favour Which then he wore; the snatches in his voice, And burst of speaking, were as his. I am absolute 'T was very Cloten.

Arviragus.

In this place we left them; I wish my brother make good time with him, You say he is so fell.

I mean, to man, he had not apprehension

Of roaring terrors; for defect of judgment

Is oft the cause of fear.—But, see, thy brother!

Re-enter GUIDERIUS, with CLOTEN's head.

Guiderius. This Cloten was a fool, an empty purse;
There was no money in 't. Not Hercules

Could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none;
Yet I not doing this, the fool had borne
My head as I do his.

Belarius.

What hast thou done?

Guiderius. I am perfect what: cut off one Cloten's

head,

Son to the queen, after his own report;

Who call'd me traitor, mountaineer, and swore

With his own single hand he 'd take us in,

Displace our heads where-thank the gods!-they grow,
And set them on Lud's town.

Belarius.

We are all undone.

Guiderius. Why, worthy father, what have we to lose,
But that he swore to take, our lives? The law
Protects not us; then why should we be tender
To let an arrogant piece of flesh threat us,
Play judge and executioner all himself,
For we do fear the law? What company
Discover you abroad?

Can we set eye on, but in all safe reason

He must have some attendants. Though his humour
Was nothing but mutation,—ay, and that

From one bad thing to worse,—not frenzy, not
Absolute madness could so far have rav'd
To bring him here alone. Although perhaps
It may be heard at court that such as we
Cave here, hunt here, are outlaws, and in time

May make some stronger head; the which he hearing—
As it is like him—might break out, and swear
He'd fetch us in; yet is 't not probable

To come alone, either he so undertaking,

Or they so suffering: then on good ground we fear,
If we do fear this body hath a tail

More perilous than the head.

Arviragus.

Let ordinance

Come as the gods foresay it; howsoe'er,
My brother hath done well.

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130

141

Belarius.

I had no mind

To hunt this day; the boy Fidele's sickness

Did make my way long forth.

Guiderius.

With his own sword,

150

Which he did wave against my throat, I have ta'en
His head from him. I'll throw 't into the creek
Behind our rock; and let it to the sea,

And tell the fishes he 's the queen's son, Cloten.
That's all I reck.

Belarius.

I fear 't will be reveng'd.

[Exit.

Would, Polydore, thou hadst not done 't! though valour
Becomes thee well enough.

Arviragus.

Would I had done 't,

So the revenge alone pursued me! Polydore,

I love thee brotherly, but envy much

Thou hast robb'd me of this deed; I would revenges,

That possible strength might meet, would seek us through And put us to our answer.

Belarius.

Well, 't is done.

We'll hunt no more to-day, nor seek for danger

Where there's no profit. I prithee, to our rock;
You and Fidele play the cooks: I'll stay
Till hasty Polydore return, and bring him

To dinner presently.

Arviragus.

Poor sick Fidele!

I'll willingly to him; to gain his colour.

I'd let a parish of such Clotens blood,
And praise myself for charity.

Belarius.
O thou goddess,
Thou divine Nature, how thyself thou blazon'st
In these two princely boys! They are as gentle
As zephyrs blowing below the violet,
Not wagging his sweet head; and yet as rough,
Their royal blood enchaf'd, as the rud'st wind,
That by the top doth take the mountain pine,

160

[Exit.

170

And make him stoop to the vale. 'T is wonder
That an invisible instinct should frame them
To royalty unlearn'd, honour untaught,
Civility not seen from other, valour

That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop
As if it had been sow'd. Yet still it 's strange
What Cloten's being here to us portends,
Or what his death will bring us.

Guiderius.

Re-enter GUIDerius.

180

Where 's my

brother?

[Solemn music.

I have sent Cloten's clotpoll down the stream,
In embassy to his mother; his body's hostage
For his return.

Belarius.

My ingenious instrument!
Hark, Polydore, it sounds! But what occasion
Hath Cadwal now to give it motion? Hark!
Guiderius. Is he at home?
Belarius.

He went hence even now.

Guiderius. What does he mean? since death of my dear'st

mother

It did not speak before. All solemn things.
Should answer solemn accidents. The matter?
Triumphs for nothing and lamenting toys

Is jollity for apes and grief for boys.

Is Cadwal mad?

Belarius.

Look, here he comes,

And brings the dire occasion in his arms

Of what we blame him for.

191

Re-enter ARVIRAGUS, with IMOGEN, as dead, bearing her in his

Arviragus.

arms.

The bird is dead

That we have made so much on. I had rather
Have skipp'd from sixteen years of age to sixty,

200