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Know you the reason?

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[unkindness, Kent. A fovereign shame so elbows him: his own That stripp'd her from his benediction, turn'd her To foreign cafualties, gave her dear rights To his dog-hearted daughters,-these things fting 15 His mind fo venomously, that burning fhame s Detains him from Cordelia.

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Gent. Something he left imperfect in the state,
Which fince his coming forth is thought of; which
Imports to the kingdom so much fear and danger,
That his perfonal return was most requir'd and 25
neceffary.

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 demonstration of grief? [my prefence; 30
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, moft 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 exprefs her goodlieft. You have feen
Sunshine and rain at once: her fmiles and tears
Were like a better day. Thofe happy smiles,
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 most belov'd, if all
Could fo become it.

Kent. Made the no verbal question?
Gent. Yes; once, or twice, the heav'd the
name of 'father'

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A Tent in the Camp at Dover.

Enter Cordelia, Physician, and Soldiers.
Cer. 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,
35 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

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wisdom do,

In the reftoring his bereaved sense?
He, that helps him, take all my outward worth.
Phy. There is means, madam:
Our fofter nurfe of nature is repofe,

45 The which he lacks; that to provoke in him,
Are many fimples operative, whose power
Will clofe the eye of anguish.

Pantingly forth, as if it prefs'd her heart;
Cry'd, Sifters! fifters!-Shame of ladies! fifters! 50
Kent! father! fifters! What! i'the ftorm?
i' the night?

Let pity not be believed 2!-There she shook
The holy water from her heavenly eyes,

Cor. All bleft fecrets,

All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth,
Spring with my tears! be aidant, and remediate,
In the good man's diftrefs!-Seek, feek for him;
Left his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life
That wants the means to lead it".
Enter a Messenger.

And clamour moiften'd 3 her: then away fhe ftarted 55 Mef. News, madam;

To deal with grief alone.

Kent. It is the stars,

The ftars above us, govern our conditions ;

The British powers are marching hitherward.
Cur. 'Tis known before; our preparation stands
In expectation of them.—O dear father,

A better day is the best day, and the best day is a day most favourable to the productions of the earth. Such are the days in which there is a due mixture of rain and funshine. 2. e. Let not fuch a thing as pity be fuppofed to exift! 3 i. e. her out-cries were accompanied with tears. 4 The fame 5 The metaphor is here preferved with great knowledge of nature; the venom of poisonous animals being a high cauftic falt, that has all the effect of fire upon the part. • i. e. the reafon which should guide it.

husband and the fame wife.

It

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Reg. I know your lady does not love her huf-|
I am fure of that: and, at her late being here,
She gave ftrange ciliads 4, and most speaking looks
To noble Edmund: I know, you are of her bofom.
Stew. I, madam ?

[it:
Reg. Ifpeak in understanding; you are, I know
Therefore, I do advise you, take this note 5:
My lord is dead; Edmund and I have talk'd;
And more convenient is he for my hand,
Than for your lady's :-You may gather more 6.
If you do find him, pray you, give him this;
And when your mistress hears thus much from you,
I pray, defire her call her wifdom to her.

So, fare you well.

If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor,

Preferment falls on him that cuts him off.

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Enter Glofter, and Edgar as a peasant.

Glo. When fhall we come to the top of that

[labour.

Edg. You do climb up it now: look, how we
Glo. Methinks, the ground is even.

Edg. Horrible fteep:

Hark, do you hear the fea?

Glo. No, truly.

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Edg. Why, then your other fenfes grow imperBy your eyes' anguish.

Glu. So may it be, indeed:

Methinks, thy voice is alter'd; and thou speak'st
In better phrafe, and matter, than thou didst.
Edg. You are much deceiv'd; in nothing am I
chang'd

But in my garments.

Glo. Methinks, you are better spoken.
Edg. Come on, fir: here's the place :-stand
fill. How fearful

And dizzy 'tis, to caft one's eyes fo low!
The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air,
Shew fcarce fo grofs as beetles: Half way down
Hangs one that gathers famphire 7; dreadful trade!
Methinks, he feems no bigger than his head:
The fishermen, that walk upon the beach,
Appear like mice; and yon' tall anchoring bark,
Diminish'd to her cock &; her cock, a buoy,
Almoft too fmall for fight: The murmuring surge,
That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard fo high :-I'll look no more;
Left my brain turn, and the deficient fight
Topple 9 down headlong.

Glo. Set me where you stand.
Edg. Give me your hand: You are now within
Of the extreme verge: for all beneath the moon
Would I not leap upright 10.

[a foot

Glo. Let go my hand.

Here, friend, is another purfe; in it, a jewel
Well worth a poor man's taking: Fairies, and gods,
45 Profper it with thee! Go thou further off;
Bid me farewel, and let me hear thee going.

Edg. Now fare ye well, good fir. [Seems to go.
Glo. With all my heart.

Edg. Why do I trifle thus with his despair?50'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

Stew. 'Would I could meet him, madam! 155 To quarrel with your great oppofelefs wills, My fnuff, and loathed part of nature, should

would fhew

1 Important for importunate.

2 i. e. no inflated, no fwelling pride.

3 i. e. his life made dark as 5 Note night by the extinction of his eyes. 4 Ocillade, Fr. a caft, or fignificant glance of the eye. means in this place not a letter, but a remark. i. e. You may infer more than I have directly told 7" Samphire grows in great plenty on most of the fea-cliffs in this country: it is terrible to fee how people gather it, hanging by a rope feveral fathom from the top of the impending rocks as it were in the air." Smith's Hift. of Waterford. i. e. her cock-boat. 9 To topple is to tumble.

you.

10 Upright has the fame fenfe as the Latin fupinus...

Burn

Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O, blefs him!-
Now, fellow, fare thee well.

[He leaps, and falls along.

5

Edg. Gone, fir? farewell.
And yet I know not how conceit may rob
The treasury 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 país 2, indeed:- -Yet he revives. 10
What are you, fir?

Glo. Away, and let me die.

[feathers, air, Edg. Hadft thou been aught but goffomer 3, So many fathom down precipitating, [breathe; Thou had'st shiver'd like an egg: but thou doft 15 Haft heavy substance; bleed'st not; speak'st; art found.

[bourn 5:

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

Glo. Alack, I have no eyes.-

Is wretchedness depriv'd that benefit,

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The fiend, the fiend: he led me to that place.
Edg. Bear free and patient thoughts.But
who comes here?

Enter Lear, fantastically dreft up with flowers.
The fafer fenfe 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 refpect.-There's your prefs-money. That fellow handles his bow like a crow-keeper?: draw me a clothier's yard.Look, look, a moufe! Peace, peace;-this piece of toafted cheese will do 't.-There's my gauntlet; I'll prove it on a giant.-Bring up the brown bills.-O, well flown, bird!-i' the clout, i' the clout: hewgh!Give the word 3.

Edg. Sweet marjoram.

Lear. Pafs.

Glo. I know that voice.

Lear. 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 there. To fay ay, and no, to every thing I said !25 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 fmelt them out. Go to, they are not men o' their [ftand. 30 words: they told me I was every thing; 'tis a lie; I am not ague-proof.

To end itself by death? 'Twas yet some 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? You
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?

Glo. A poor unfortunate beggar.

[ber:

Glo. The trick 9 of that voice I do well rememIs't not the king?

Lear. Ay, every inch a king:

35 When I do ftare, fee, how the subject quakes.
I pardon that man's life: What was the caufe?--
Adultery.-

Edg. As I ftood here below, methought, his eyes
Were two full moons; he had a thousand noses,
Horns welk'd, and wav'd like the enridged fea;
It was fome fiend: Therefore, thou happy father, 40
Think that the cleareft 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,

Enough, enough, and, die. That thing you speak of,
I took it for a man, often 'twould say,

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 baftard fon
Was kinder to his father, than my daughters
Got 'tween the lawful fheets.

To't, luxury 10, pell-mell, for I lack foldiers.45 Behold yon' fimpering dame,

Whofe face between her forks prefageth fnow;
That minces virtue, and does thake 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 fignifies the down of the fow-thistle, which is driven to and fro by the wind. 4 In Mr. Rowe's edition it is, Ten mafts at least. 5 Dr. Johnson fays, "Bourn feems here to fignify a bill. Its common fignification is a brook. Milton in Comus ufes boky bourn, in the fame fense perhaps with Shakspeare. But in both authors it may mean only a boundary. 6 i. e. the pureft, the moft free from evil. 7 In feveral counties to this day, they call a ftuffed figure reprefenting a man, and armed with a bow and arrow, fet up to fright the crows from the fruit and corn, a crowkeeper, as well as a feare-crow. 8 Lear fuppofes himself in a garrifon, 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 others. We ftill fay he has a trick of winking with his eyes, of fpeaking loud, &c." 10 Luxury was the ancient appropriate term for incontinence. 11 That is, according to Dr. Warburton, her hand held before her face in fign of modesty, with the fingers spread out, forky. Dr. Johnson believes, that the forks were two prominences of the ruff rifing on each fide of the face.

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Through tatter'd cloaths small vices do appear;
Robes, and furr'd gowns, hide all. Plate fin with
gold,

And the strong lance of justice hurtlefs breaks :
5 Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it.
None does offend, none, I fay, none; I'll able 'em4:
Take that of me, my friend, who have the power
To feal the accufer's lips. Get thee glafs eyes;
And, like a fcurvy politician, seem [now, now:
10 To fee the things thou dost not.Now, now,
Pull off my boots ;-harder, harder; fo.

Lear. Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality. Glo. O ruin'd piece of nature! This great world Shall fo wear out to nought.-Doft thou know me? 15I Lear. I remember thine eyes well enough. Doft thou fquiný at me? No, do thy worst, blind Cupid; I'll not love.-Read thou this challenge; mark but the penning of it.

Glo. Were all the letters funs, I could not fee one. 20 Edg. I would not take this from report ;—it is, And my heart breaks at it.

Lear. Read.

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Lear. What, art mad? A man may fee how 30 this world goes, with no eyes. Look with thine ears: fee how yon' justice rails upon yon' fimple thief. Hark, in thine ear: Change places; and handy-dandy, which is the juftice, which is the thief?-Thou haft seen a farmer's dog bark at a 35 beggar?

Glo. Ay, fir.

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For which thou whipp'ft her. The ufurer hangs 45 the cozener.

Edg. O, matter and impertinency mixt! Reafon in madness !

Lear. If thou wilt weep my fortunes,take my eyes. know thee well enough; thy name is Glofter: Thou must be patient; we came crying hither. Thou know'ft, the first time that we smell the air, We wawle, and cry:-I will preach to thee; mark Glo. Alack, alack the day!

[me.

Lear. When we are born, we cry, that we are

come

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To this great ftage of fools;―This a good
It were a delicate stratagem, to shoe
A troop of horse with felt: I'll put it in proof;
And when I have stolen upon these fons-in-law,
Then kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

Enter a Gentleman, with attendants.
Gent. O, here he is; lay hand upon him.-Sir,
Your most dear daughter-

Lear. No refcue? What, a prisoner? I am even
The natural fool of fortune.-Ufe me well;
You fhall have ranfom. Let me have a furgeon,
I am cut to the brains.

Gent. You fhall have any thing.
Lear. No feconds? All myself?
Why, this would make a man, a man of falt 5,
To ufe his eyes for garden water-pots,
Ay, and laying autumn's duft.---
Gent. Good fir,-

Lear. I will die bravely, like a bridegroom; what?
I will be jovial; come, come, I am a king,
My masters, know you that?

Gent. You are a royal one, and we obey you.
Lear. Then there's life in it. Nay, come, an

you get it,

You shall get it by running. Sa, fa, fa, sa. [Exit.

▾ A polecat. 2 Soyled horfe is a term used for a horfe that has been fed with hay and corn in the stable during the winter, and is turned out in the fpring to take the first flush of grafs, or has it cut and carried in to him. This at once cleanfes the animal, and fills him with blood. 3 The cafe of eyes is the focket of either eye. 4 This is an old phrafe, fignifying to qualify, or uphold them. 3 Dr. Johnson proposes to read, a good flock." Flocks (he adds) are wool moulded together. It is very common for madmen to catch an accidental hint, and ftrain it to the purpose predominant in their minds. Lear picks up a flock, and immediately thinks to furprize his enemies by a troop of horse fhod with flocks or felt. Yet block may ftand, if we fuppofe that the fight of a block put him in mind of mounting his horse."- Mr. Steevens thinks Dr. Johnson's explanation is very ingenious; but believes there is no occafion to adopt it, as the speech itself, or at least the action that should accompany it, will furnish all the connection which he has fought from an extraneous circumftance. Upon the king's faying, I will preach to thee, the poet feems to have meant him to pull off his hat, and keep turning it and feeling it, in the attitude of one of the preachers of those times (whom Mr. Steevens has feen fo reprefented in ancient prints,) till the idea of felt, which the good bat or block was made of, raifes the ftratagem in his brain of shoeing a troop of horfe with a fubftance foft as that which he held and moulded between his hands. This makes him start from his preachment.-Block anciently fignified the bead part of the hat, or the thing on which a bat is formed, and sometimes the hat itself. lone believes a man of falt is a man made up of tears.

5 Mr. MaGent

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Stew. A proclaim'd prize! Moft happy!

That eyelefs head of thine was firft fram'd flesh
To raise my fortunes.-Thou old unhappy traitor
Briefly thyself remember 3 :-The fword is out
That must destroy thee.

Glo. Now let thy friendly hand

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Glo. What, is he dead?

Edg. Sit you down, father; reft you.-
Let's fee his pockets: these letters, that he speaks of,
May be my friends.—He's dead; I am only forry
He had no other death's-man.-Let us fee :-
Leave, gentle wax, and, manners, blame us not:
To know our enemies' minds, we'd rip their hearts;
Their papers are more lawful.

Reads the letter.

"Let our reciprocal vows be remember'd. "You have many opportunities to cut him off: if your will want not, time and place will be "fruitfully offered. There is nothing done, if he "return the conqueror: Then am I the prisoner, and his bed my gaol; from the loath'd warmth whereof deliver me, and fupply the place for your labour.

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"Your (wife, fo I would fay) affectionate
"fervant,
"GONERIL."

30 undiftinguish'd space of woman's will!-
A plot upon her virtuous husband's life;

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Put ftrength enough to it.

[Edgar oppefes.

Stew. Wherefore, bold peasant,
Dar'st thou support a publish'd traitor? Hence;
Left that the infection of his fortune take
Like hold on thee. Let go his arm.

14c

Edg. Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'cafion.
Stew. Let go, flave, or thou dy'st.

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Edg. Good gentleman, go your gait 4, and let poor volk pafs. And ch'ud ha' been zwagger'd out of my life, 'twould not ha' been zo long as 'tis by a vortnight. Nay, come not near the old man; keep out, che vor'ye 5, or ife try whether so 6 or my bat be the harder: Ch'ill your coftard

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And the exchange, my brother!--Here, in the sands,
Thee I'll rake up 9, the most unsanctified

Of murderous lechers: and, in the mature time,
With this ungracious paper strike the fight

Of the death-practis'd 1o duke: For him 'tis well,
That of thy death and business I can tell.

[Exit Edgar, removing the body. Glo. The king is mad: How stiff is my vile fense,

That I ftand up, and have ingenious feeling 11
Of my huge forrows! Better I were distract:
So should my thoughts be sever'd from my griefs;
And woes, by wrong imaginations, lose
The knowledge of themselves.
Re-enter Edgar.

Edg. Give me your hand :

Far off, methinks, I hear the beaten drum.
Come, father, I'll beftow you with a friend.
[Exeunt.

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• The main body is expected to be descry'd every hour. quickly recollect the past offences of thy life, and recommend thyfelf to heaven.

a common expreffion in the North. i. e. I warn you.

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cover.

3 i. e. 2 i. e. forrows paft and prefent. 4 Gang your gate is

10 The duke of

Edgar counterfeits the western dialect. i. e. head. 7 i. e. club. 8 To feyn is to make what we call a thruft in fencing. 9 i. e. I'll In Staffordshire, to rake the fire, is to cover it with fuel for the night. Albany, whose death is machinated by practice or treason. 11 Ingenious feeling fignifies a feeling from an understanding not difturbed or difordered, but which, reprefenting things as they are, makes the sense of pain the more exquifite.

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