Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold Fortune, Kent having read Cordelia's affurances that he will find a time to free the injured from the enormous mifrule of Regan, is willing to go to fleep with that pleafing reflection uppermoft in his mind. But this is mere conjecture. STEEVENS. Dr. Johnfon's explanation of this paffage cannot be right; for although in the old ballad whence this play is fuppofed to be taken, Cordelia is forced to feek her fortune, in the play itself the is queen of France, and has no fortune to feek; but it is more difficult to difcover the real meaning of this speech, than to refute his conjecture. It feems to me, that the verb, fhall find, is not governed by the word Cordelia, but by the pronoun I, in the beginning of the fentence; and that the words from this enormous flate, do not refer to Cordelia, but to Kent himself, dreffed like a clown, and condemned to the stocks, an enormous ftate indeed for a man of his high rank. The difficulty of this paffage has arifen from a mistake in all the former editors, who have printed these three lines, as if they were a quotation from Cordelia's letter, whereas they are in fact the words of Kent himself; let the reader confider them in that light, as part of Kent's own fpeech, the obfcurity is at an end, and the meaning is clearly this :"I know that the letter is from Cordelia, (who hath been informed of my obfcured courfe) and fhall gain time, by this ftrange difguife and fituation, which I fhall employ in feeking to remedy our prefent loffes." M. MASON. Notwithstanding the ingenuity and confidence of Mr. M. Mason, (who has not however done justice to his own idea) I cannot but concur with r. Steevens, in afcribing thefe broken expreffions to the letter of Cordelia. For, if the words were Kent's, there will be no intimation from the letter that can give the leaft infight to Cordelia's defign; and the only apparent purport of it will be, to tell Kent that the knew his fituation. Put excufive of this confideration, what hopes could Kent entertain, in a condition fo deplorable as his-unlets Cordelia should take an opportunity, from the anarchy of the kingdom, and the broils fubfifting between Albany and Cornwall-of finding a time, to give loffs their remedies ?-Curan had before mentioned to Edmund, the rumour of wars toward, between thefe dukes. This report had reached Cordelia, who, having a fo difcovered the fituation and fidelity of Kent, writes to inform him, that the fhould avail herself of the fi ft opportunity which the enor mities of the times might offer, of reftoring him to her father's favour, and her father to his kingdom. [See Act III. fc. i. A&t IV. sc. iii.] HENLEY. In the old copies thefe words are printed in the fame character as the reft of the fpeech. I have adhered to them, not conceiving that they form any part of Cordelia's letter, or that any part of it is or can be read by Kent. He wishes for the rifing of the fun, that he may read it. I fufpe& α Fortune, good night; fimile once more; turn thy wheel! SCENE III. A Part of the Heath. Enter EDGAR. Edg. I heard myfelf proclaim'd; 9 [He fleeps Brought near to beaft: my face I'll grime with filth ; 2 Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices, Strike fufpect that two half lines have been loft between the words ftate and Seeking. This enormous ftate means, I think, the confufion fubfifting in the itate, in confequence of the difcord which had arifen between the dukes of Albany and Cornwall; of which Kent hopes Cordelia will avail herfelf. MALONE. My reafon for concurring with former editors in a fuppofition that the moon, not the fun, was meant by the beacon, arofe from a confideration that the term, beacon, was more applicable to the moon, being, like that planet, only defigned for night-fervice. STEEVENS. 9 Hair thus knotted, was vulgarly fuppofed to be the work of elves and fairies in the night. STEEVENS. 2 In The Bell-man of London, by Decker, 5th edit. 1640, is the following account of one of the fe characters, under the title of an AbrahamMan. " -he fweares he hath been in Bedlam, art will talke frantickely of purpofe: you fee pinnes fuck in fundry places of his naked flesh, efpecially in his armes, which paine he gladly puts himfelfe to, only to make you believe he is out of his wits. He calles himfelfe by the name of Poore Tom, and comming near any body cries out, Poor Tom is a-cold. Of thefe Abraham- men, fome be exceeding merry, and doe nothing but fing fongs fashioned out of their owne braines: fome will dance, others & shall find time, will From this enormous state seeing, to give Losses thin vendier who has been comedie my observed case, & che in of wish this enormous state, shall find to Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms will doe nothing but either laugh or weepe: others are dogged, and so fullen both in loke and fpeech, that spying but a fmall company in a houfe, they boldly and bluntly enter, compelling the fervants through feare to give them what they demand.” To fham Abraham, a cant term, ftill in ufe among failors and the vulgar, may have this origin. STEEVENS. 3 i. e. fkewers. STEEVENS. Steevens is right: the eucnymus, of which the best skewers are made, is called prick-wood. M. MASON. 4 Pelting is used by Shakspeare in the fenfe of beggarly: I fuppofe from pelt a fkin. The poor being generally cloathed in leather. WARBURTON. Pelting is, I believe, only an accidential depravation of petty. 5 To ban, is to curfe. JOHNSON. We should read Turlupin. In the fourteenth century there was a new fpecies of gipfies, called Turlupins, a fraternity of naked beggars, which ran up and down Europe. However, the church of Rome hath dignified them with the name of beretics, and actually burned fome of them at Paris. But what fort of religionists they were, appears from Genebrard's account of them. "Turlupin Cynicorum fectam fufcitantes, de nuditate pudendorum, & publico coitu." Plainly, nothing but a band of Tom-o'-Bedlams. WARBURTON. Hanmer reads—poor Turluru. It is probable the word Turlygod was the common corrupt pronunciation. JOHNSON. 7 As Edgar I am outlawed, dead in law; I have no longer any politi cal exiftence. JOHNSON. The critick's idea is both too complex and too puerile for one in Ed gar's fituation. He is purfued, it feems, and proclaimed, i. e. a reward has been offered for taking or killing him. In affuming this character, fays he, I may prefive myself; as Edgar I am inevitably gone. RITSON. Perhaps the meaning is, As poor Tom, I may exist: appearing as Edgar, I am loft. MALONE. SCENE SCENE IV. Before Glofter's Caftle. Enter LEAR, Fool, and Gentleman. Lear. 'Tis ftrange, that they fhould fo depart from home, And not fend back my meffenger. Gent. As I learn'd, Fool. Ha, ha; look! he wears cruel garters! Horfes are tied by the heads; dogs, and bears, by the neck; monkies by the 8 It is not very clearly discovered why Lear comes hither. In the foregoing part he fent a letter to Glofter; but no hint is given of its Contents. He feems to have gone to visit Glofter while Cornwall and Regan might prepare to entertan him. JOHNSON. It is plain, I think, that Lear comes to the earl of Glocester's in confequence of his having been at the duke of Cornwall's and having heard there, that his fon and daughter were gone, to the earl of Glocefter's. His first words show this: "Tis ftrange that they (Cornwall and Regan) fhould fo depart from bome, and not send back my messenger (Kent).” It is clear alfo from Kent's fpeech in this fcene, that he went directly from Lear to the duke of Cornwall's, and delivered his letters, but, inftead of being fent back with any answer, was ordered to follow the duke and duchefs to the earl of Glocefter's. But what then is the meaning of Lear's order to Kent in the preceding act, fcene v. Go you before to Glocefter with thefe letters.The obvious meaning, and what will agree beft with the course of the fubfequent events, is, that the duke of Cornwall and his wife were then refiding at Glocefter. Why Shakspeare fhould choose to fuppofe them at Glocefter, rather than at any other city, is a different queftion. Perhaps he might think, that Glofter implied fuch a neighbourhood to the earl of Glocefter's cattle, as his ftory required. TYRWHITT. 9 I believe a quibble was here intended. Creivel fignifies worsted, of which stockings, garters, night-caps, &c, are made. STEEVENS, the loins, and men by the legs: when a man is over-lufty 2 at legs, then he wears wooden nether-stocks.3 Lear. What's he, that hath so much thy place miftook To fet thee here? Kent. It is both he and she, Your fon and daughter. Lear. No. Kent. Yes Lear. No, I fay. Kent. I fay, yea. Lear. No, no; they would not. Kent. Yes, they have. Lear. By Jupiter, I swear no. They could not, would not do't; 'tis worfe than murder, outrage: 4 Refolve me, with all modeft hafte, which way Kent. Which 2 Over-lufty in this place has a double fignification. Luftiness anciently meant faucinefs. STEEVENS. 3 Nether Stocks is the old word for frockings. Breeches were at that time called "men's overstockes." The to kings were formerly fewed to the breeches. STEEVENS. 4 To violate the publick and venerable character of a messenger from the king. JOHNSON. To do an outrage upon refpect, does not, I believe, primarily mean, to behave outrageously to perfons of a refpectable character, (though that in fubftance is the fenfe of the words,) but rather, to be grefsly deficient in respect to those who are entitled to it, confidering refpect as perfonified. MALONE. 5 Intermiffion, for another meffage, which they had then before them, to |