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Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools, and madmen.

Edg. Take heed o'th' foul fiend; obey thy parents; keep thy word justly; swear not; commit not wish man's fworn spouse, set not thy sweet heart on proud array. Tom's a-cold.

Lear. What haft thou been?

Edg. A ferving man, proud in heart and mind; that curl'd my hair, wore gloves in my cap, ferv'd the luft. of my mistress's heart, and did the act of darkness with her: fwore as many oaths as I spake words, and broke. them in the fweet face of heav'n. One that slept in the contriving luft, and wak'd to do it. Wine lov'd I deeply; dice dearly; and in woman, out-paramour'd the Turk. Falfe of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in floth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking of shoes, nor the ruftling of filks, betray thy poor heart to woman. Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders' books, and defie the foul fiend. Stil through the hawthorn blows the cold wind: says fuum, mun, nonny, dolphin my boy, boy, Seffey: let him trot by. [Storm ftill.

Lear. Thou wert better in thy grave, than to answer with thy uncover'd body this extremity of the skies. Is man no more than this? Confider him well. Thou ow't. the worm no filk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! here's three of us are sophifticated. Thou art the thing it self; unaccommodated man is no more but fuch a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lendings; come, unbutton here.

[Tearing off his clothes..

Fool. Pr'ythee, nuncle, be contented; 'tis a naughty night to fwim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were. Jike an old lecher's heart, a small fpark, and all the rest on's body cold; look, here comes a walking fire.

Edg. This is the foul Flibbertigibbet; he begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock; he gives the web and the pin, squints the eye, and makes the hair-lip: mildews the white wheat, and hurts the poor ereature of the earth. Saint.

Saint Withold footed thrice the Wold, (15)
He met the night-mare, and her nine-fold,
Bid her alight, and her troth plight,
And aroynt thee, witch, aroynt thee.

Kent. How fares your Grace?

Enter Glo'ster, with a Torch:

Lear. What's he?

Kent. Who's there? what is't you seek?
Glo. What are you there? your names?

Edg. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad, the tod pole; the wall-newt, and the water-newt; that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow-dung for fallets; swallows the old rat, and the ditch-dog; drinks the green mantle of the standing pool; who is whipt from tything to tything, and stock-punish'd, and imprison'd: who hath had three suits to his back, fix shirts to his body;

Horse to ride, and weapon to wear;
But mice, and rats, and fuch small deer

Have been Tom's food for seven long year.

Beware my follower. Peace, Smolkin, peace, thou fiend! Glo. What, hath your Grace no better company? Edg. The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman; Modo he's call'd, and Mahu.

Glo. Our flesh and blood, my lord, is grown fo vile; That it doth hate what gets it. Edg. Tom's a-cold.

Glo. Go in with me; my duty cannot fuffer

(15) Swithold footed thrice the old,] What Idea the Editors had, or whether any, of footing the old, I cannot pretend to determine. My ingenious Friend Mr. Bishop faw it must be Wold, which fignifies a Down, or champion Ground, hilly and void of Wood. And as to St. Witbold, we find him again. mention'd'in our Author's Troublesome Reign of King Jobny in

two Parts::

Sweet St. Withold, of thy Lenity,
Defend us from Extremity..

Trobey

T' obey in all your Daughters' hard commands?
Though their injunction be to bar my doors,
And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you
Yet have I ventur'd to come seek you out,
And bring you, where both fire and food is ready.
Lear. First, let me talk with this Philosopher; -
What is the cause of thunder?

Kent. My good lord, take his offer,

Go into th' house.

Lear. I'll talk a word with this same learned Theban: What is your study?

Edg. How to prevent the fiend, and to kill vermin. Lear. Let us ask you one word in private.

Kent. Importune him once more to go, my lord;

His Wits begin t' unfettle.

Glo. Can'st thou blame him?

[Storm ftill.

His Daughters seek his death: ah, that good Kent!
He said, it would be thus; poor banish'd man!
Thou say'st, the King grows mad; I'll tell thee, friend,
I'm almost mad my self; I had a fon,

Now out-law'd from my blood; he fought my life,
But lately, very late; I lov'd him, friend,
No father his son dearer: true to tell thee,

The grief hath craz'd my wits. What a night's this?

I do beseech your Grace.

Lear. O cry you mercy, Sir:

Noble Philosopher, your company.

Edg. Tom's a-cold.

Glo. In, fellow, into th' hovel; keep thee warm.

Lear. Come, let's in all.

Kent. This way, my lord.

Lear. With him;

I will keep still with my Philosopher.

Kent. Good my lord, footh him; let him take the

Sellow.

Glo. Take him you on.

Kent. Sirrah, come on; along with us.

Lear. Come, good Athenian.

Glo. No words, no words, hush.

Edg. Child Rowland to the dark tower came,

His word was still, fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man.

Corn.

[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to Glo'fter's Castle.

Enter Cornwall, and Edmund.

Will have revenge, ere I depart his house.

I Edm. How, my lord, I may be cenfur'd,

that Nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of.

Corn. I now perceive, it was not altogether your brother's evil disposition made him seek his death: but a provoking merit, set a-work by a reprovable badness in himself.

Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to be just? this is the letter, which he spoke of; which approves him an intelligent party to the advantages of France. Oh heavens! that this treason were not; or not I the detector!

Corn. Go with me to the Dutchess.

:

Edm. If the matter of this paper be certain, you have mighty business in hand.

Corn. True or false, it hath made thee Earl of Glo'ster: seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our Apprehenfion.

Edm. If I find him comforting the King, it will stuff his fufpicion more fully. - [afide.] I will persevere in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be fore between that and my blood.

Corn. I will lay truft upon thee; and thou shalt find a dearer father in my love. [Exeunt.

Glo.

SCENE, a Chamber, in a Farm-boufe.

Enter Kent and Glo'fter.

ERE is better than the open Air, take it

H thankfully

I will piece out the comfort

with what addition I can; I will not be long from you.

[Exit. Kent

Kent. All the power of his wits has given way to his impatience: the Gods reward your kindness!

Enter Lear, Edgar, and Fool.

Edg. Fraterreto calls me, and tells me, Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness: pray innocent, and beware the foul fiend. (16)

Fool. Pr'ythee, nuncle, tell me, whether a madman be a gentleman, or a yeoman? Lear. A King, a King.

Fool. No, he's a yeoman that has a gentleman to his fon: for he's a mad yeoman, that fees his son a gentleman before him.

Lear. To have a thousand with red burning spits Come hizzing in upon 'em

Edg. The foul fiend bites my back.

Fool. He's mad that trufts in the tameness of a wolf, the health of a horse, the love of a boy, or the oath of a whore.

Lear. It shall be done, I will arraign 'em strait.
Come, fit thou here, most learned justicer;
Thou sapient Sir, fit here- now, ye she-foxes! -

Edg. Look, where she stands and glares.

thou eyes At tryal, Madam?

:

Wanteft

Come d'er the Broom, Bessy, to me.
Fool. Her Boat hath a Leak, and she must not speak,
Why she dares not come over to thee.

Edg. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of anightingale. Hopdance cries in Tom's belly for two white Herrings. Croak not, black angel, I have no food for thee.

Kent. How do you, Sir? stand you not fo amaz'd.;. Will you lye down, and rest upon the Cashions?

(16) Fraterrito, calls me,] As Mr. Pope had begun to infert several Speeches in the mad Way, in this Scene, from the Old Edition; I have ventur'd to replace several others, which stand upon the fame Footing, and had an equal right of being nefter'd.

Lear.

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