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
Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master.
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 fome provifion
Give thee quick conduct.

Kent. Oppreft Nature fleeps: (33)

This reft might yet have balm'd thy broken fenfes,
Which, if conveniency will not allow,

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!
Lurk, lurk

[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.
Gon. Pluck out his eyes.

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;
Who with fome other of the Lords dependants,
Are gone with him tow'rd Dover; where they boak
To have well-armed friends.

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,
Will quicken and accufe thee; I'm your Hoft;
With robber's 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 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.
The fea, with fuch a storm as his bare head

In hell-black night indur'd, would have buoy'd up,
And quench'd the ftelled fires: (34)

Yet poor old heart, he help'd the heav'ns to rain.
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that ftern time,
Thou should't have faid, "good 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 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;
But better fervice have I never done you,
Than now to bid you hold.

Reg. How now, you dog?

Serv. If
If you did wear a beard upon your chin,
I'd shake it on this quarrel. What do you mean?

(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,
That made the overture of thy treasons to us

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.-
Turn out that eyeless villain; throw this flave
Upon the dunghil.Regan, I bleed apace.
Untimely comes this hurt.

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,
Women will all turn monsters.

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