Who hath most fortunately been inform'd
Of my obfcured courfe, and fhall find time
From this enormous ftate feeking to give
Loffes their remedies. All weary and o'er watch'd,
Take 'vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold

This fhameful lodging.

Fortune, good night; fmile once more; turn thy wheel.

[He fleeps.

SCEN E VIII.

Changes to part of a Heath.
Enter Edgar.

Edg. And, by the happy hollow of a tree,
VE heard myself proclaim'd;

Efcap'd the hunt. No port is free, no place,
That Guard and most unusual vigilance
Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'fcape,
I will preserve myself, and am bethought
To take the bafeit and the pooreft shape,
That ever Penury in contempt of man

Brought near to beaft. My face I'll grime with filth;
Blanket my loins; elfe all my hair in knots;
And with prefented nakednefs out-face
The winds, and perfecutions of the fky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Strike in their numb'd and mortify'd bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, fprigs of rofemary,
And with this horrible object, from low farms,

Of my obfcured courfe, and fhal!
find time
From this enormous flate-feeking,
to give

Loffes their remedies.
Cordelia is informed of our af-
fairs, and when the enormous
care of fecking her fortune will

allow her time, fhe will employ it in remedying loffes. This is harfh; perhaps fomething better may be found. I have at leaft fupplied the genuine reading of the old copies. Enormous is unwonted, out of rule, out of the ordinary courfe of things.

Poor

Poor pelting villages, fheep cots and mills, Sometimes with lunatick bans, fometimes with pray'rs, Inforce their charity. Poor Turlygood! poor Tom! That's fomething yet.

Edgar I nothing am. [Exit.

Changes again to the Earl of Glo'fter's Castle..
Enter Lear, Fool, and Gentleman.

Lear.

IS ftrange, that they fhould so depart from home,

"TIS

And not fend back my meffenger.

Gent. As I learn'd,

The night before, there was no purpofe in them
Of this remove.

Kent. Hail to thee, noble master!

Lear. Ha! mak'ft thou thy fhame thy pastime?
Kent. No, my Lord.

9 Poor pelting villages, Pelting is ufed by Shakespear in the fenfe of beggarly: 1fuppofe from pelt a fkin, the poor being generally clothed in leather. WARBURTON. Pelting is, I believe, only an accidental depravation of petty. Shakespeare ufes it in the MidSummer-Night's dream of fmall brooks.

-poor TURLY GOOD! poor Tom!] We fhould read TURLUPIN. In the fourteenth century there was a new fpecies of giplies, 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 Hereticks, and actually burn'd fome of them at Paris. But what fort of Religionifts 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. Turlurù.

poor

Hanmer reads, It is probable the word Turly. goed was the common corrupt pronunciation.

2

-Edgar I nothing am. .} As Edgar I am out-lawed, dead in law; I have no longer any political existence.

Earl of Glo'fter's Castle.] It is not very clearly discovered why Lear comes hither. In the foregoing part he fent a letter to Glo'fier, but no hint is given of its contents. He feems to have gone to vifit Glo'fter while Cornavall and Regan might prepare to entertain him.

Fool.

Fool. Ha, ha, he wears cruel garters. Horfes are ty'd by the heads, dogs and bears by th' neck, monkeys by th' loins, and men by th' legs. When a

man is over-lufty at legs, then he wears wooden nether stocks.

Lear. What's he, that hath fo much thy Place mistook, 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. By Jupiter, I swear, no.

Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay.

Lear. They durft not do't.

They could not, would not do't; 'tis worse than murder,
To do upon respect fuch violent outrage.
Refolve me with all modeft hafte, which way
Thou might'ft deserve, or they impose this usage,
Coming from us?

Kent. My Lord, when at their home,

I did commend your Highness' letters to them,
Ere I was risen from the place, that shew'd
My duty kneeling, came a reeking Post,
Stew'd in his hafte, half breathlefs, panting forth
From Generill his mistress, falutation,

+ Deliver❜d letters fpight of intermiffion,
Which prefently they read; on whofe contents
They fummon'd up their meiny, ftrait took horfe;
Commanded me to follow, and attend

The leifure of their anfwer; gave me cold looks;

3 To do upon respect fuch vie lent outrage.] To violate the publick and venerable character of a messenger from the King.

4 Deliverd letters Spight of intermillion,] Intermiffion, for another meage which they had

then before them, to confider of; called intermiffion, because it came between their leifure and the Steward's message. WARB. 5 They fummon'd up their meiny,-1 Meiny, i e. people.

Pope.

And

And meeting here the other meffenger,
Whose welcome, I peceiv'd, had poifon'd mine,
Being the very fellow, which of late

Display'd fo faucily against your Highness,
Having more man than wit about me, I drew;
He rais'd the house with loud and coward cries.
Your fon and daughter found this trespass worth
The fhame which here it fuffers.

Fool. Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geefe y that way.

Fathers, that wear rags,

Do make their children blind;

But fathers that wear bags,
Shall fee their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne'er turns the key to th' poor.

• dolours.

But, for all this, thou fhalt have as many
for thy daughters, as thou canst tell in a year.
Lear. Oh, how this mother fwells up tow'rd my heart!
Hysterica paffio. Down, thou climbing forrow,
Thy element's below. Where is this daughter?
Kent. With the Earl, Sir, here within.
Lear. Follow me not; ftay here.

[Exit.

Gent. Made you no more offence, but what you speak of?

Kent. None.

How chance the King comes with fo small a number? Fool. An thou hadst been fet i'th' ftocks for that question, thou'dft well deferved it.

Kent. Why, Fool?

Fool. We'll fet thee to fchool to an Ant, to teach thee there's no lab'ring i' th' winter. 7 All, that fol low their noses are led by their eyes, but blind men

• Winter's not gone yet, &c.] If this be their behaviour, the King's troubles are not yet at an end.

• deleurs] Quibble intended

between dolours and dollars.

And

and there's not a nofe among twenty, but can fmell him that's ftinking. Let go thy hold, when a great wheel runs down a hill, left it break thy neck with following it; but the great one that goes upward, let him draw thee after. When a wife man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again; I would have none but knaves follow it, fince a fool gives it. That, Sir, which ferves for gain,

8

And follows but for form,

Will pack, when it begins to rain,
And leave thee in the ftorm.

9 But I will tarry; the fool will stay,
And let the wife man fly;

The knave turns fool, that runs away;
The fool no knave, perdy.

Kent. Where learn'd you this, fool?
Fool. Not i'th' Stocks, fool.

twenty, but can smell, &c.] There is in this fentence no clear feries of thought. If he that follows his nofe is led or guided by his eyes, he wants no information from his nofe. I perfuade myfelf, but know not whether I can perfuade others, that our authour

wrote thus:

All men are led by their eyes, but blind men, and they follow their "nofes, and there's not a noje among twenty but can smell him that's ftinking.

Here is a fucceffion of reafoning. You afk, why the King has no more in his train? why, because men who are led by their eyes fee that he is ruined, and if there were any blind among them, who, for want of eyes, followed their nofes, they might by their nofes difcover that it was no longer fit to follow the King.

SCENE

8 When a wife man gives thee, &c.] One cannot too much commend the caution which our moral poet ufes, on all occafions, to prevent his fentiments from being perverfly taken. So here, having given an ironical precept in commendation of perfidy and base desertion of the unfortunate, for fear it should be underftood feriously, tho' deliver'd by his buffoon or jetter, he has the precaution to add this beautiful corrective, full of fine fense: I would have none but knaves follow it, fince a fool gives it.

WARBURTON. 9 But I will tarry, the fool will Aay,

And let, &c.] I think this paffage erroneous, though both the copies concur. The fenfe will be mended if we read,

But