f Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away Thefe difpofitions, which of late From what you rightly are. transform you Fool. May not an afs know when the cart draws the horse?. Whoop, Jug, I love thee. Lear. Does any here know me? i Why this is not Lear. Does Lear walk thus? fpeak thus? where are his eyes? Either his notion weakens, or his difcernings m Are lethargy'd-n Ha! waking? 'Tis not fo. Who is it that can tell me who I am? Lear's fhadow? I would learn P that; for by the marks ́s Of fubftantiality, knowledge, and reason, I fhould be faft perfuaded I had daughters. Fool. f Perhaps this is a miftake of the printer, for wherewith. To be fraught of, is hardly English. 8 The qu's read that for which. h So the qu's; the reft tranfport. i All but the qu's omit why, The fq. reads weaknes; the ad q. weakness. 1 All but the qu's omit or. m The qu's read lethergy. n The qu's read fleeping or waking; ha! fure 'tis not fo. The fo's, R. and 7. read who I am. Fool. Lear's fhadow. Lear. Your name, fair gentlewoman, &c. All but the qu's omit that. 4 The qu's read (bating that they have not the two of's between the crotchets which are put in by P. and read by T. H. and W.) Of fovereignty, [of] knowledge, and [of] reason, I fhould be falfe perfuaded I had daughters. Now it is plain that knowledge and reafon are not the marks of fovereignty, for then every man would be a king: therefore Shakespear could never write Jovereignty, as it ftands in the qu's. Again if we admit of P.'s of's (but it is unlikely that two omiffions of the fame word fhould happen fo near toge ther) Fool. Which of thee will make an obedient father. Lear. Your name, fair gentlewoman? This admiration is much of the favour Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you To understand my purposes aright. W As you are old and reverend,. " you should be wife. X Here do you keep a hundred knights and fquires, That this our court infected with their manners, Shews like a riotous inn; epicurifm and lust z Make a it more like a tavern or a brothel, b Than a grac'd palace. The fhame itself doth speak ther) then by W.'s explanation of it, the fovereignty of knowledge is the un derstanding. So we shall have this sense, For by the marks of understanding and of reafon I should be falfe perfuaded I had daughters. Who fees not how bald this is? The plain cafe is this; Lear fays he wou'd learn whether he is a fhadow or no: for by knowledge and reafon, the confcioufnefs of which prove him to be a fubftance, he should be fully perfuaded he had daughters; though the behaviour of this is enough to make him doubt it. So that the fense seems naturally to lead us to alter fovereignty to fubftantiality, and false to faft, full, or firm. r This speech is omitted in all but the qu's. $ The qu's read which they will make, &c. So that of thee is fet down conjecturally. So the qu's; the reft omit come, and read fir after admiration. u R. and all after read, you, as you're old, &c. w All but the qu's omit you. The 1ft q. reads a hundred; the 2d one hundred. y The qu's read deboy; the fo's and R.'s oct. debob'd; all the reft de bauch'd. 2 The fo's read makes. a The qu's omit it. b The qu's read great for grac'd. P. omits the; followed by all but J. For Tro For inftant remedy. Be d then defir'd By her, that elfe will take the thing the begs, Lear. Darkness and devils! Saddle my horfes, call my train together.- Gon. You ftrike my people, and your disorder'd rabble Make fervants of their betters. k Lear. Fool! that too late repent'ft-i O, fir, are you come? Is it your will? fpeak, fir. [To Alb.] Prepare my horses. The qu's read thou for then. e All before P. read a little for of fifty. [To his fervants. Ingratitude, A little is the common reading; but it appears from what Lear fays in the next scene, that this number fifty was required to be cut off, (which as the dition stood) is no where fpecified by Gonerill. P. f So the qu's; all the reft remainders. g So the 2d q. the 1st reads that for and; the fo's and R. which. h The ift q. reads we that too late repent's; the ad we that too late re pent's us the rest woe! that too late repents. But what fenfe can be made of any of these readings? The above is not an unlikely conjecture. i The fo's, R. and P. omit 0, fir, are you come? k R. and all after direct this whole verfe to be spoken to Albany; but the latter part of it is certainly spoke to his fervants. He was going to ask whe ther Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend, More hideous, when thou fhew'ft thee in a child, 1 Than the fea-monfter. Alb. m Pray, fir, be patient. Lear. Detefted kite! thou n lieft. My train are men of choice and rarest parts, That all particulars of duty know, And in the most exact regard fupport The worships of their P name. [To Gonerill. O most small fault! How ugly didst thou in Cordelia fhew! • Which, like an engine, wrencht my frame of nature From the fixt place, drew from my heart all love, And added to the gall. O Lear, Lear! Beat at this gate that let thy folly in, [Striking his head. And thy dear judgment out.-Go, go, my people. Alb. My lord, I am guiltlefs, as I am ignorant, Of what hath moved you *. Lear. It may be fo, my lord t Hear, nature, hear; dear goddefs, hear! Sufpend thy purpose, if thou didst intend 12 ther it was Albany's will that he should be used thus; but his rage and impatience make him start from the point, and order his horses a fecond time. The qu's read is it your will that we prepare any horses? 1 Upton (on Shakespear p. 203) conjectures, than i’th' sea monster. m H. reads pray you, fir, be patient. The qu's omit this speech. a The rft q. reads list for left; the ad lessen. • The qu's read and for are. P So the qu's and fo's; all the rest read names. 9 The qu's read that for which. So the qu's and H. the reft read O Lear, Lear, Lear! *The qu's omit of what hath moved you. The qu's read harke for hear. This hear is omitted in the qu's. *After bear, P. and all after him but J. read a father. To To make this creature fruitful; Into her womb convey fterility, Dry up in her the organs of increase, X Turn all her mother's pains and benefits To laughter and contempt; that he may feel To have a thanklefs child.- y Away, away. [Exit Alb. Now, gods, that we adore, z whereof comes this? Gon. Never afflict yourself to know a the cause, But let his difpofition have that scope, b That dotage gives it. Re-enter Lear. Lear. What, fifty of my followers at a clap? Within a fortnight? Alb. What's the matter, fir? w The qu's read thou'rt difuetur'd for thwart difnatur'd. * The qu's read accent tears; W. and T. read candent tears. y The qu's read go, go, my people. But away, away, feems better than a repetition of the words he had ufed at the end of the speech before. At the fame time (for the fo's and R. direct Exit, which is omitted by P. and all after) he flings out in a rage; but returns presently to vent more reproaches and curfes, which his rage fuggefted. 2 7. reads wherefore. a So the qu's; the 1ft f. reads for the caufe, more of it; the rest of it, omitting more. The fo's, R. P. and H. read as for that. Lear. |