Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to be juft? This is the letter, which he spoke of 3 which approves him an intelligent party to the advantages of France. Oh heavens! that this treafon 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 falfe, it hath made thee Earl of Glofter. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehenfion. Edm. [Afide.] If I find him comforting the King, it will ftuff his fufpicion more fully.-I will perfevere in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be fore between that and my blood. Corn. I will lay truft upon thee; and thou fhalt find a dearer father in my love. Glo H SCENE IX. A Chamber, in a Farm-Houfe. Enter Kent and Glo'fter. [Exeunt. ERE is better than the open air, take it thankfully. I will piece out the comfort with what addition I can; I will not be long from you. [Exit. Kent. All the power of his wits has given way to his impatience. The Gods reward your kindness! 5 comforting] He uses the its derivation; falvia confortat word in the juridical fenfe for ne vos. Schol. Sal. Supporting, helping, according to Enter 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. 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 fon a gentleman before him. Lear. To have a thousand with red burning fpits • Come hizzing in upon 'em Edg. The foul fiend bites my back. Fool. He's mad that trufts in the tameness of a wolf, 7a borfe's health, a boy's love, or a whore's oath. Lear. It shall be done, I will arraign them ftrait. Come, fit thou bere, most learned jufticer; Thou fapient Sir, fit here—now, ye fhe-foxes! Edg. Look, where she ftands and glares. thou eyes? At trial, Madam. Wanteft THEOBALD. What is omitted in the folio, and inferted from the older copy, I have printed in Italicks. Come bizzing in upon 'em-]ing reftor'd. Then follow in the old edition feveral speeches in the mad way, which probably were left out by the Players, or by Shakespear himself; I fhall however infert them here, and leave them to the reader's mercy. POPE. As Mr. Pope had begun to in fert feveral Speeches in the mad way, in this Scene, from the Old Edition; I have ventured to replace feveral others, which ftand upon the fame Footing, and had an equal Right of be 7 the HEALTH of a borse,] Without doubt we should read HEELS, i. e. to ftand behind him. WARBURTON. Shakespeare is here speaking not of things maliciously treacherous, but of things uncertain and not durable. A horfe is above all other animals fubject to dif cafes. Come Come o'er the Broom, Bey, to me. Edg. The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of a nightingale. 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 lie down, and rest upon the Cushions? Lear. I'll fee their trial first, bring me in the evi dence. Thou robed man of juftice, take thy place; And thou his yoke-fellow of equity, Bench by bis fide. You are o' th' commiffion, fit you too. Sleepest, or wakeft thou, jolly Shepherd?" And for one blast of thy minikin Mouth, Purre, the Cat is grey. Lear. Arraign her first; 'tis Gonerill. I here take my Oath before this bonourable affembly, she kick'd the poor King her Father. Fool. Come hither, Miftrefs, is your name Gonerill ? Lear. She cannot deny it. Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a Joint-tool. What store her heart is made of. Stop her there; 8 Come d'er the Broom, Beffy, we may better read, to me.] As there is no rela tion between broom and a boat, VOL. VI. Come 'er the brook, Bey, to me. i Kent. O pity! Sir, where is the patience now, Edg. My tears begin to take his part so much, Lear. The little dogs and all, [Afide. Tray, Blanch, and Sweet-heart, see, they bark at me. you curs! Be thy mouth or black or white, Do de, de de. Seffey, come, march to wakes and fairs, 2 And market towns. Poor Tom, thy horn is dry. Lear. Then let them anatomize Regan. See what breeds about her heart. Is there any caufe in nature that makes thefe hard hearts ?-You, Sir, I entertain for one of my hundred; only, I do not like the fafhion of your garments. You will fay, they are Perfian; but let them be chang'd. Re-enter Glo'fter. Kent. Now, good my Lord, lie here and reft a while. 9 brachy, or bym, &c.] Names of particular forts of dogs. POPE. Sir T. Hanmer for bym reads lym. Here is Seffy again, which I take to be the French word ceffex pronounced ceffey, which was, I fuppofe, like fome others in common use among us. It is an interjection enforcing ceffation of any action, like, be quiet, have done. It feems to have been gradually corrupted into, So, fo. 2 Thy horn is dry.] Men that begged under pretence of lunacy ufed formerly to carry a horn, and blow it through the streets.. Lear Lear. Make no noife, make no noise, draw the curtains. So, fo, we'll go to fupper i' th' morning. Fool. And I'll go to bed at noɔn. Glo. Come hither, friend. mafter? Where is the King, my Kent. Here, Sir; but trouble him not; his wits are gone. Glo. 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 tow'rd Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master. Kent. Oppreft Nature fleeps. This Reft might yet have balm'd thy broken Senfes, Stand in hard Cure. Come, help to bear thy Mafter; Thou must not stay behind. Glo. Come, come, away. [To Fool. [Exeunt, bearing off the King. 3Oppret Nature fleeps: Thefe two concluding Speeches by Kent and Edgar, and which by no means ought to have been cut off, I have restored from the Old Quarto. The Soliloquy of Edgar is extremely fine; and the Sentiments of it are drawn equally from Nature and the Subject. Befides, with regard to the Stage it is abfolutely neceffary: For as Edgar is not defign'd, in the Conftitution of the Play, to attend the King to Dover; how H abfurd would it lock for a Charaster of his Importance to quit the Scene without one Word faid, or the leaft Intimation what we are to expect from him? THEOB. The lines inferted from the quarto are in Italicks. The omiflion of them in the folio is certainly faulty: yet I believe the folio is printed from ShakeSpeare's laft revifion, carelefly and haftily performed, with more thought of fhortening the scenes, than of continuing the action. 2. Manet |