Old Man. O my good lord, I have been your te
want, and your father's tenant, thefe fourfcore years.
Glo. Away, get thee away; good friend, be gone:
Thy comforts can do me no good at all,
Thee they may hurt.

Old Man. Alack, fir, you cannot fee your way.
Gio. I have no way, and therefore want no eyes;
I ftumbled when 1 faw: Full oft 'tis feen,
Our mean fecures us; and our meer defects
Prove our commodities.-O, dear fon Edgar,
The food of thy abuted father's wrath !
Might I but live to fee thee in my touch,
I'd fay, I had eyes again!

Old Man. How now Who's there?

Edg. [Afide.] O Gods ! Who is 't can fay, I am at the worst?

I am worfe than e'er I was.

Old Man. 'Tis poor mad Tom.

Edg. [Afide.] And worse I may be yet:

worit is not,

So long as we can fay, This is the worst.
Old Man. Fellow, where goest?
Glo. Is it a beggar-man ?

Old Man. Madman and beggar too.

Glo. Come hither, fellow.

Edg. [Ade.] And yet I must.

-Bleis thy feet eyes, they bleed.

[Afide.

Glo. Know'ft thou the way to Dover ? Edg. Both ftile and gate, horfe-way and foot, path. Poor Tom hath been fear'd out of his good wits: Blefs thee, good man's fon, from the foul fiend! Five fiends have been in poor Tom at The once; of luft, as Obidicut; Hobbididance, prince of dumbness: Mabu, of ftealing; Modo, of murder; and Flibberigiblet, of mopping and mowing: who fince poffeffes chamber-maids and waitingwomen 3. So, blefs thee, master !

Glo. He has fome reafon, eife he could not beg.
I' the last night's storm I fuch a fellow faw;
Which made me think a man a worm: My fon
Came then into my mind; and yet my mind
Was then fcarce friends with him; I have heard
more fince:

As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods;
They kill us for their fport,

Edg. How should this be?-

Bad is the trade, that must play the fool to forrow,
Ang'ring itself and others. [Ajide.]——Bless thee,
mafter!

Glo. Is that the naked fellow ?
Old Man. Ay, my lord.

[fake,

Glo. Then, pr'ythee, get thee gone: If, for my
Thou wilt o'er take us, hence a mile or twain,
I the way to Dover, do it for ancient love;
And bring fome covering for this naked foul,
Whom I'll intreat to lead me.

Glo. Here, take this purfe, thou whom the hea-
ven's plagues

Have humbled to all ftrokes: that I am wretched,
Makes thee the happier :-Heavens, deal fo ftill!
Let the fuperfluous and luft-dieted man,
That flaves your ordinance 5, that will not fee
Because he doth not feel, feel your power quickly;
So diftribution fhould undo excefs,

And each man have enough.-Doft thou know
Dover?

I i. e. moderate, mediocre condition. 2 i. e. difguife. 3 Shakspeare has made Edgar, in his feigned diftraction, frequently allude to a vile impofture of fome English jefuits, at that time much the subject of converfation; the history of it having been just then compofed with great art and vigour of ftile and compofition by Dr. S. Harfenet, afterwards archbishop of York, by order of the privy-council, in a work intitled, A Declaration of egregious Popish Impostures to withdraw her Majesty's Subjects from their Allegiance, &c. practifed by Edmunds, alias Weston, a Jefuit, and divers Romifh Priests his wicked Affociates: printed 1603. The impofture was in fubftance this: While the Spaniards were preparing their armado against England, the jefuits were here bufy at work to promote it, by making converts: one method they employed was to difpoffefs pretended demoniacs, by which artifice they made feveral hundred converts amongst the common people. The principal fcene of this farce was laid in the family of one Mr. Edmund Peckham, a Roman-catholic, where Marwood, a fervant of Anthony Babington's (who was afterwards executed for trafon), Trayford, an attendant upon Mr. Peckham, and Sarah and Frifwood Williams, and Aune Smith, three chambermaids in that family, came into the pricit's hands for cure. But the difcipline of the patients was so long and fevere, and the priests fo elate and careless with their fuccefs, that the plot was difcovered on the confeilion of the parties concerned, and the contrivers of it defervedly punished. The five devils here mentioned, are the names of five of those who were made to act in this farce upon the chamber-maids and waiting-women; and they were generally fo ridiculously nick-named, that Harfenet has one chapter on the frange names of their devils; left, fays he, meeting them otherwife by chance, you miftake them for the names of tapfters or jugglers. 4 Superfluous is here ufed for one living in abun dance. 5. To flave an ordinance, is to treat it as a lave,, to make it subject to us, inftead of acting in obedience to it.

SCENE

SCENE

II.

The Duke of Albany's Palace.

Enter Goneril, and Edmund.

Whofe reverence the head-lugg'd bear would lik, Moft barbarous, moft degenerate! have you mad Could my good brother fuffer you to do it? [ded. A man, a prince, by him fo benefited? If that the heavens do not their vifible fpirits Send quickly down to tame thefe vile offences, Not met us on the way :-Now, where's your maf-"Twill come, humanity must perforce prey on

Gon. Welcome, my lord: I marvel, our mild husband

Enter Steward.

[ter

Ster. Madam, within; but never man fo

chang'd:

I told him of the army that was landed;
He fmil'd at it: I told him you were coming;
His answer was, The worfe: of Glofter's treachery,
And of the loyal fervice of his fon,

When I inform'd him, then he call'd me fot;

Itfelf, like monfters of the deep 5.

Gon. Milk-liver'd man!

That bear'ft a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs;
Who halt not in thy brows an eye difcerning
Thine honour from thy fuffering; that not know?,
Fools do thofe villains pity, who are punish'd
Ere they have done their mischief. Where's thy
drum ?

And told me, I had turn'd the wrong fide out:-France (preads his banners in our noiseless Land;
What most he should dislike, seems pleasant to him; With plumed helm thy flayer begins threats;
What like, offenfive.
Whilft thou, a moral fool, fitt'it still and cry'il,
Alack! why does he fo?

Gon. Then shall you go no further. [To Edmund,
It is the cowifh terror of his fpirit,
That dares not undertake: he'll not feel wrongs,
Which tie him to an answer: Our wishes on the
way,
[ther;
May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my bro-
Haften his musters, and conduct his powers;
I must change arms at home, and give the diftaff
Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant
Shall pa's between us: ere long you are like to
If you dare venture in your own behalf, [hear,
A miftrefs's command. Wear this; fpare fpeech;
[Giving a favour.
Decline your head: this kifs, if it durft speak,
Would stretch thy fpirits up into the air :--
Conceive, and fare thee well.

Edm. Yours in the ranks of death.
Gon. My moft dear Glofter!

[Exit Edmund.

O, the difference of man, and man!
To thee a woman's fervices are due ;
My fool ufurps my body.

Stew. Madam, here comes my lord.
Enter Albany.

Gon. I have been worth the whistle 2.

Alb. O Goneril!

You are not worth the duft which the rude wind
Blows in your face.--I fear your disposition :
That nature, which contemns its origin,
Cannot be border'd certain 3 in itself;
She that herfelf will fliver and difbranch
From her maternal fap, perforce muft wither,
And come to deadly ufe 4.

Alb. See thyfelf, devil!
Proper deformity feems not in the fiend
So horrid as in woman 6.
Gon. O vain fool!

Ab. Thou changed and felf-cover'd thing, for
Be-monster not thy feature. Were it my fitnets
To let thefe hands obey my blood,
They are apt enough to dislocate and tear
Thy flesh and bones :-Howe'er thou art a fiend,
A woman's fhape doth fhield thee.
Gon. Marry, your manhood now!
Enter Meflenger.

Alb. What news?

[dead:

Mef. O, my good lord, the duke of Cornwall's
Slain by his fervant, going to put out
The other eve of Glofter.
Alb. Glofter's eyes!

[morfe,

Mef. A fervant that he bred, thrill'd with re-
Oppos'd against the act, bending his word
To his great mafter; who, thereat enrag'd,
Flew on him, and amongst them fell'd him dead:
But not without that harmful stroke, which fince
Hath pluck'd him after.

Alb. This fhews you are above,

You jufticers, that thefe our nether crimes
So fpeedily can venge!-But, O poor Glutter!
Loft he his other eye?

Mef. Both, both, my lord.
This letter, madam, craves a fpeedy answer;
Tis from your fifter.

Gon. [hide] One way I like this well;
But being widow, and my Glofter with her,
vile:May all the building in my fancy pluck
Upon my hateful life: Another way,
The news is not fo tart.-I'll read, and answer.
[Exit.

Gon. No more; the text is foolish.
Alb. Wifdom and goodness to the vile feem
Filths favour but themselves. What have you done?
Tygers, not daughters, what have you perform'd?
A father, and a gracious aged man,

It must be remembered that Albany, the hofband of Goneril, disliked, in the end of the first aft, the fcheme of oppreflion and ingratitude. 2 This expreffion is a proverbial one. tain, for within the bounds that nature preferibes. 4 Alluding to the ufe that witches and encharters are faid to make of wither'd branches in their charms. A fine infinuation in the speaker, that the was ready for the most unnatural mischief, and a preparative of the poet to her plotting with the ballard against her husband's life. 5 Fishes are the only animals that are known to prey upon their own fpecies. i. e. Diabolic qualities appear not fo horrid in the devil to whom they belong, as in woman who unnaturally affumes them. 7 By fif-cover'd our author probably means, thou that balt diffed nature by wickednefs; thou that hait hid the woman under the feud.

Alb. Where was his fon, when they did take Elfe one felf mats and mate 4 could not beget

Gent. Something he left imperfect in the state,
Which fince his coming forth is thought of; which
Imports to the kingdom fo much fear and danger,
That his perfonal return was most requir'd and
neceflary.

Kent. Who hath he left behind him general?
Gent. The marefchal of France, Monfieur le Fer.
Kent. Did your letters pierce the queen
To any demonftration of grief? [my prefence;
Gent. Ay, fir; fhe took them, read them in
And now and then an ample tear trill'd down
Her delicate cheek: it feem'd, fhe was a queen
Over her paffion; who, most rebel-like,
Sought to be king o'er her.

Kent. O, then it mov'd her.

Gent. Not to a rage: patience and forrow ftrove
Who fhould express her goodlieft. You have feen
Sunshine and rain at once: her fmiles and tears
Were like a better day 1. Thofe happy fmiles,
That play'd on her ripe lip, feem'd not to know
What guests were in her eyes: which parted thence,
As pearls from diamonds dropt. In brief, forrow
Would be a rarity moft belov'd, if all
Could fo become it.

Kent. Made the no verbal question?

A Tent in the Camp at Dover.
Enter Cordelia, Phyfician, and Soldiers.
Cor. Alack, 'tis he; why, he was met even now
As mad as the vex'd fea; finging aloud;
Crown'd with rank fumiter, and furrow weeds,
With harlocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow
In our fuftaining corn.-A century fend forth;
Search every acre in the high-grown field,
And bring him to our eye. What can man's
wifdom do,

In the reftoring his bereaved fenfe:
He, that helps him, take all my outward worth.
Phy. There is means, madam:

Our fofter nurfe of nature is repofe,

The which he lacks; that to provoke in him,
Are many simples operative, whose power

Gent. Yes; once, or twice, the heav'd the Will clofe the eye of anguish.

1 A better day is the best day, and the bejt day is a day moft favourable to the productions of the rarth. Such are the days in which there is a due mixture of rain and funshine. 2 i. c. Let not fuch a thing as pity be fuppofed to exift! 3 i. e. her out-cries were accompanied with tears. 4 The fame husband and the fame wife. $ The metaphor is here preferved with great knowledge of nature; the venom of poifoncus animals being a high cauftic falt, that has all the effect of fire upon the part. 1. e. the reafon which should guide it.

Here, friend, is another purfe; in it, a jewel
Well worth a poor man's taking : Fairies, and gods,
Profper it with thee! Go thou further off ;
Bid me farewel, and let me hear thee going.
Edg. Now fare ye well, good fir.
[Serms to gt.
Glo. With all my heart.

Edg. Why do I trifle thus with his defpair ?— 'Tis done to cure it.

Glo. O you mighty gods!

This world I do renounce; and, in your fights,
Shake patiently my great affliction off:

If I could bear it longer, and not fall

I To quarrel with your great oppofelefs wills,
My fnuff, and loathed part of nature, fhould

Important for importunate. 2 i. e. no inflated, no fwelling pride. 3 i. e. his life made dark as night by the extinction of his eyes. 4 Veillade, Fr. a call, or fignificant glance of the eye. 5 Note means in this place not a letter, but a remark. 6. e. You may infer more than I have diretly told vou. 7 Samphire grows in great plenty on most of the fea-cliffs in this country: it is terrible to see how people gather it, hanging by a rope feveral fathom from the top of the im pending rocks as it were in the air." Smith's Hift. of Waterford. 8i. c. ber cock-boat. 9 To repple is to tumble. o Upright has the fame teufe as the Latin fupinus.

Burn itfelf out. If Edgar live, O, bless him!—
Now, fellow, fare thee well.

[He leaps, and falls along.

Edg. Gone, fir? farewell.
And yet I know not how conceit may rob
The treafury of life, when life itself
Yields to the theft: Had he been where he thought,
By this, had thought been past.-Alive, or dead ?
Ho, you, fir! friend !-Hear you, fir ?--speak!
Thus might he pafs 2, indeed :-Yet he revives.
What are you, fir?

Glo. Away, and let me die. [feathers, air,
Edg. Hadit thou been aught but goffomer 3,
So many fathom down precipitating, [breathe;
Thou had'ft fhiver'd like an egg: but thou doft
Haft heavy fubftance; bleed'ft not; fpeak'it; art

found.

Ten mafts at each make not the altitude,
Which thou haft perpendicularly fallen;
Thy life's a miracle: Speak yet again. 1
Glo. But have I falien, or no? [bourn 5:
Edg. From the dread fummit of this chalky
Look up a-height ;--the thrill-gorg'd lark fo far
Cannot be feen or heard: do but look up.

Glo. Alack, I have no eyes.—

Is wretchednefs depriv'd that benefit,

Enter Lear, fantaflically dreft up with flowers.
The fafer fepfe will ne'er accommodate
His mafter thus.

Lear. No, they cannot touch me for coining;
I am the king himself.

Edg. O thou fide-piercing fight!

Lear. Nature's above art in that refpe&t.-There's your prefs-money. That fellow handles his bow like a crow-keeper 7: draw me a clothier's yard.— Look, lock, a moufe! Peace, peace ;-this piece of toatted cheese will do 't.-There's my gauntlet; I'll prove it on a giant.-Bring up the brown bills.--O, weil flown, bird!-' the clout, the clout: hewgh! Give the word 8.

Edg. Sweet marjoram.

Lear. Pats.

Gl. I know that voice.

there.

Lean. Ha! Goneril -with a white beard! They flatter'd me like a dog; and told me, I had white hairs in my beard, ere the black ones were To fay ay, and no, to every thing I faid !Ay and no too was no good divinity. When the rain came to wet me once, and the wind to make me chatter; when the thunder would not peace at my bidding; there I found them, there I imelt Go to, they are not men o' their [ftand. words: they told me I was every thing; 'tis a Youlie; I am not ague-proof.

To end itself by death? 'Twas yet fome comfort,
When mifery could beguile the tyrant's rage,
And fruftrate his proud will.

Edg. Give me your arm:
Up-So-How is't? Feel you your legs?
Glo. Too well, too well.

Edg. This is above all strangeness.
Upon the crown o'the cliff, what thing was that
Which parted from you?

Gla. A poor unfortunate beggar.

Edg. As I ftood here below, methought, his eyes Were two full moons; he had a thousand notes, Horns welk'd, and wav'd like the enridged fea; It was fome fiend: Therefore, thou happy father, Think that the clearest gods, who make them honours

Of men's impoffibilities, have preferv'd thee.

Glo. I do remember now: henceforth I'll bear Affliction, 'till it do cry out itself,

them out.

[ber! Glo. The trick of that voice I do well rememIs't not the king?

Lear. Ay, every inch a'king:
When I do ftare, fee, how the fubject quakes.
I pardon that man's life: What was the cause
Adultery

Thou shalt not die: Die for adultery! No :
The wren goes to't, and the small gilded fly
Does lecher in my fight.

Let copulation thrive, for Glofter's bastard fon
Was kinder to his father, than my daughters

Got 'tween the lawful fheets.

To't, luxury 10, pell-pell, for I lack foldiers.-
Behold you' fimpering dame,

Enough, enough, and, die. That thing you speak of, Whofe face between her forks 11 prefageth fnow

I took it for a man, often 'twould fay,

the wind.

That minces virtue, and does fhake the head

1 i. e. when life is willing to be destroyed. 2 Thus he might die in reality. We ftill ufe the word paffing bell. 3 Goffomore, the white and cobweb-like exhalations that fly about in hot funny weather. Skinner fays, it fignifics the down of the fow-thile, which is driven to and fro by 4 In Mr. Rowe's edition it is, Ten mafts at least. 5 Dr. Johnfon fays, Bourn feems here to fignify a hill. Its common figaification is a brook. Milton in Comus ufes bofky bourn, in the fame fente perhaps with Shak (peare. But in both authors it may mean only a boundary. 7 In feveral counties to this day, they call a fluffed i. e. the pureft, the moft free from evil. figure reprefenting a man, and armed with a bow and arrow, fet up to fright the crows from the fruit and corn, a ci Grow-keeper, as well as a feare-crow. 8 Lear fuppofes himfelf in a garriton, and, before he lets Edgar país, requires the watch-word. 9 Trick (fays Sir Tho. Hanmer) is a word frequently ufed for the air, or that peculiarity in a face, voice, or gesture, which diftinguishes it from --he has a trick of winking with his eyes, of speaking loud, &c." 10 Luxothers. We still fay " I That is, according to Dr. Warburton, ury was the ancient appropriate term for incontinence. her hand held before her face in fign of modefty, with the fingers fpread out, forky. fon believes, that the forks were two prominences of the ruff riling on each fide of the face.

Dr. John

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