Glo. Good friend, I pr'ythee, take him in thy arms a 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 shalt meet Kent. Oppreft Nature fleeps: (33) This reft might yet have balm'd thy broken fenfes, 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. Manet Edgar. Edg. When we our betters fee bearing our woes, We fcarcely think our miseries our foes. Who alone fuffers, fuffers most i' th' mind; Leaving free things, and happy fhows behind: But then the mind much fuff'rance does o'erfkip, When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. How light, and portable, my pain feems 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 falfe opinion, whose wrong thought defiles thee, In thy just proof repeals, and reconciles thee. (33) oppreft Nature fleeps:] These two concluding fpeeches by Kent and Edgar, and which by no means ought to have been cut off, I have reftored from the old quarto. The foliloquy of Edgar is extremely fine; and the fentiments of it are drawn equally from nature and the fubject. Befides, with regard to the ftage it is abfolutely meceffary: 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? What What will, hap more to night; fafe fcape the King! [Exit Edgar. SCENE changes to Glofter's Castle, Enter Cornwall, Regan, Gonerill, Edmund and Servants. Oft fpeedily to my Lord your husband, fhew him this letter; the army of France is landed; feek out the traitor Glofter. Reg. Hang him inftantly. Corn. Leave him to my difpleafute, 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 molt feftinate preparation; we are bound to the like. Our Posts fhall be swift, and intelligent betwixt us. Farewel, dear fifter; farewel, my lord of Glo'fter Enter Steward. How now? where's the King 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; Corn. Get horfes for your mistress. Gon. Farewel, fweet Lord, and sister. [Exeunt Gon. and Edm. Corn. Edmund, farewel:go feek the traitor Glo'fters 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'fy to our wrath, which men May blame, but not control. Enter Glo'fter, brought in by Servants. Who's there? the traitor? [confider. Glo. What mean your Graces? Good my Friends, 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, Reg. Be fimple anfwerer, for we know the truth. Corn. And what confed'racy have you with the traitors, 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 falfe. 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 first answer that, Glo. I am ty'd to th' ftake, and I muft ftand the course, Reg. Wherefore to Daver? Glo. Because I would not fee thy cruel nails Pluck out his poor old eyes; nor thy fierce sister 3 In In his anointed flesh stick boarish phangs. In hell-black night indur'd, would have buoy'd up, Yet poor old heart, he help'd the heav'ns to rain. Corn. See't fhalt thou never. Fellows, hold the chair. Upon these 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! Reg. One fide will mock another; th' other too. Corn. If you fee vengeance Serv. Hold your hand, my Lord: I've ferv'd you, ever fince I was a child; Reg. How now, you dog? Serv. If (34) And quench'd the steeled 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 felled fires. i.e the tarry fires; an adjective coin'd from Stella. The Romans form'd both a participle active, and adjective paffive from this word. extemplo, cælo ftellante, ferena Sidera refpondent in aqua radiantia mundi. Hinc illum Corythi Tyrrhenâ ab fede profectum Aurea nunc folio ftellantis regia cæli Accipit; atque illi fellatus Jefpide fulva Enfis erat. Lucret. 1. 4. Virg. Æn. 7. Idem. Æn. 4. I am aware, that neither ftellans, nor fellatus are entirely adequate in fenfe, or ufage, to felled in our author. As the word, however is aptly deriv'd, I hope, Shakespeare will stand protected by Horace's precept; Dixeris egregie, notum fi callida verbum Reddiderit junctura novum. D 2 Corn. Corn. My villain! Serv. Nay then come on, and take the chance of anger. [Fight; in the Scuffle Cornwall is wounded. Reg. Give me thy fword. A peasant ftand up thus ? [Kills him. Serv. Oh, I am flain-my Lord, you have one eye left To fee fome mischief on him. Oh[Dies Corn. Left it fee more, prevent it; out, vile gelly: Where is thy luftre now? [Treads out the other eye. Glo. All dark and comfortless--where's my fon Edmund? Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this horrid act. Reg. Out, treacherous villain. Thou call'ft on him, that hates thee: It was he, Who is too good to pity thee. Glo. O my follies! Then Edgar was abus'd. Me that, and profper him! Reg. Go thrust him out Kind gods, forgive At gates, and let him fmell kis way to Dover. How is't, my lord? how look you? [Ex. with Glo'fter. Corn. I have receiv'd a hurt; follow me, Lady.- ft. Sery. I'll never care If this man come to good. zd. Serv. If the live long, Give me your arm. [Exit Corn. led by Regan. what wickedness I do, (35) And, in the end, meet the old course of death, ift. Serv. Let's follow the old Earl, and get the bedlam (35) I'll never care what wickedness I do,] This fhort dialogue I have inferted from the old quarto, because I think it full of nature. Serwants, in any houfe, could hardly fee fuch a barbarity committed on their mafter, without reflections of pity; and the vengeance that they prefume muft overtake the actors of it, is a fentiment and doctrine well worthy of the stage. To |