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Lear. I'll fee their tryal firft, bring me in the evi

dence.

Thou robed man of justice, take thy place;

And thou his yoke-fellow of equity,

Bench by his fide. You are o'th' commiffion, fit you too.
Edg. Let us deal juftly.

Sleepeft, or wakeft thou, jolly Shepherd?
Thy Sheep be in the Corn;

And for one Blaft of thy minikin Mouth,
Thy Sheep fhall take no Harm.

Purre, the Cat, is grey.

Lear. Arraign her firft, 'tis Gonerill. I here take my Oath before this honourable Affembly, fhe kick'd the poor King her Father.

Fool. Come hither, Mistress, is your name Gonerill? Lear. She cannot deny it.

Fool. Cry you mercy, I took you for a Joint-ftool. Lear. And here's another, whofe warpt Looks pro

claim

What ftore her Heart is made of. Stop her there;
Arms, arms, fword, fire, Corruption in the place!
Falfe jufticer, why haft thou let her 'scape?
Edg. Blefs thy five wits.

Kent. O pity! Sir, where is the patience now,

That you so oft have boasted to retain ?

Edg. My tears begin to take his part so much,

They mar my counterfeiting.

Lear. The little dogs and all,

[Afide.

Tray, Blanch, and Sweet-heart, fee, they bark at me→

Edg. Tom will throw his head at them; avaunt, you

curs!

Be thy mouth or black or white,
Tooth that poifons if it bite:
Maftiff, grey-hound, mungril grim,
Hound or spaniel, brache, or hym;
Or bobtail tike, or trundle-tail,
Tom will make him weep and wail:
For, with throwing thus my head,
Dogs leap the hatch, and all are 'fied.

Da, de, de, de: Seley, come, march to wakes and fairs,

And

And market towns; poor Tom, thy horn is dry.

Lear. Then let them anatomize Regan· fee what breeds about her heart-Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts? You, Sir, I entertain for one of my hundred; only, I do not like the fashion of your garments. You will fay, they are Perfian; bút let them be chang'd.

Re-enter Glo'fter.

Kent. Now, good my lord, lye here and reft a while. Lear. Make no noise, make no noise, draw the curtains; So, fo, we'll go to fupper i'th' morning.

Fool. And I'll go to bed at noon.

Glo. Come hither, friend; where is the King, my mafter?

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'er-heard a plot of death upon him:
There is a litter ready, lay him in't,

And drive tow'rd Dover, friend, where thou fhalt meet
Both welcome and protection. Take up thy mafter.
If thou should'st dally half an hour, his life,
With thine, and all that offer to defend him,
Stand in affured lofs. Take up, take up,
And follow me, that will to some provision
Give thee quick conduct.

Kent. Oppreft Nature fleeps: (17)

This Reft might yet have balm'd thy broken Senses,
Which, if Conveniency will not allow,

Stand in hard Cure. Come, help to bear thy Mafter;

(17)

oppreft Nature Aeeps:] These 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 necessary: For as Edgar is not defign'd, in the Constitution of the Play, to attend the King to Dover; how abfurd would it look for a Character of his Importance to quit the Scene without one Word faid, or the leaft Intimation what we are to expect from him?

Thou

Thou must not ftay behind.
Glo. Come, come, away.

[To Fool.

[Exeunt, bearing off the King.

Manet Edgar.

Edg. When we our Betters fee bearing our Woes, We fcarcely think our Miferies our Foes. Who alone fuffers, fuffers moft i'th' Mind; Leaving free things, and happy Shows behind: But then the Mind much Suff'rance does o'erskip, When Grief hath Mates, and Bearing Fellowship. How light, and portable, my pain seems now, When That, which makes me bend, makes the King bow; He childed, as I father'd!-Tom, away; Mark the high Noifes, and thyfelf bewray,

When false Opinion, whofe wrong Thought defiles thee, In thy juft Proof repeals, and reconciles thee.

What will, hap more to Night; fafe 'fcape the King! Lurk, Lurk.. [Exit Edgar

SCENE changes to Glo'fter's Caftle.

Enter Cornwall, Regan, Gonerill, Edmund, and

Corn.

Servants.

OST fpeedily to my lord your husband, fhew him this letter; the

landed; feek out the traitor Glofter.

Reg. Hang him inftantly.

Gon. Pluck out his eyes.

army of France is

Corn. Leave him to my displeasure. Edmund, keep you our fifter company; the revenges, we are bound to take upon your traiterous father, are not fit for your beholding. Advise the Duke, where you are going, to a moft feftinate preparation; we are bound to the like. Our Pofts fhall be fwift, and intelligent betwixt us. Farewel, dear fifter; farewel, my lord of Glofter.

Enter Steward.

How now? where's the King?

Stew

Stew. My lord of Glofter hath convey'd him hence. Some five or fix and thirty of his Knights,

Hot Queftrifts after him, met him at gate;
Who with fome other of the Lords dependants,

Are gone with hi tow'rd Dover; where they boaft
To have well-armed friends.

Corn. Get horfes for your mistress.

Gon. Farewel, sweet lord, and fifter.

[Exeunt Gon. and Edm: Carn. Edmund, farewel:-go feek the traitor Glofter;

Pinion him like a thief, bring him before us :
Though well we may not pafs upon his life
Without the form of juftice; yet our pow'r
Shall do a court'fie to our wrath, which men
May blame, but not control.

Enter Glo'fter, brought in by Servants.

Who's there? the traitor?

Reg. Ingrateful fox! 'tis he.

Corn. Bind faft his corky arms.

Glo. What mean your Graces? Good my Friends,

confider,

You are my Guefts: Do me no foul play, friends.

Corn. Bind him, I fay.

Reg. Hard, hard: O filthy traitor!

[They bind bim.

Glo. Unmerciful lady as you are! I'm none.

Corn. To this chair bind him. Villain, thou fhalt

find

Glo. By the kind gods, 'tis moft ignobly done

To pluck me by the beard.

Reg. So white, and fuch a traitor?

Glo. Naughty lady,

Thefe hairs, which thou doft ravish from my chin,
Will quicken and accufe thee; I'm your Hoft;
With robbers' hands, my hofpitable favours
You should not ruffle thus.

What will you do?

Corn. Come, Sir, what letters had you late from
France?

Reg. Be fimple anfwerer, for we know the truth.

Corn. And what confed'racy have you with the traitors.

Late

Late footed in the kingdom?

Reg. To whofe hands

Have you fent the lunatick King? fpeak.
Glo. I have a letter gueffingly fet down,

Which came from one that's of a neutral heart,
And not from one oppos'd.

Corn. Cunning

Reg. And falle.

Corn. Where haft thou fent the King?

Glo. To Dover.

Reg. Wherefore to Dover?

Waft thou not charg'd, at peril

Corn. Wherefore to Dover? let him firft anfwer that. Glo. I am ty'd to th' ftake, and I muft ftand the course.

Reg. Wherefore to Dover?

Glo. Because I would not fee thy cruel nails
Pluck out his poor old eyes; nor thy fierce fifter
In his anointed flesh ftick boarifh phangs.
The fea, with such a storm as his bare head
In hell-black night indur'd, would have buoy'd up,
And quench'd the ftelled fires; (18)

Yet poor old heart, he help'd the heav'ns to rain.
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern time,
Thou should'ft have faid, " go, porter, turn the key;
All cruels elfe fubfcrib'd; but I fhall fee

The winged vengeance overtake fuch children.

Corn. See't fhalt thou never. Fellows, hold the chair. Upon thefe eyes of thine I'll fet my foot.

[Glo'fter is held down, while Cornwall treads out one of his eyes.

Glo. He, that will think to live 'till he be old,

Give me fome help.

O cruel! O you gods!

(18) And quench'd the fteeled fires.] The fagacious Editors have all blunder'd in this Word without the leaft Variation: It

is indifputable, that the Author must have wrote,

And quench'd the ftelled fires.

e. the starry Fires; an adjective coin'd from Stella.

Reg.

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