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Glos. The duke's to blame in this: 'twill be ill

taken.

[Exit.

Kent. Good king, that must approve the common

saw!

Thou out of heaven's benediction comest

To the warm sun!

Approach, thou beacon to this under globe,
That by thy comfortable beams I may

Peruse this letter. Nothing almost sees miracles,
But misery. I know, 'tis from Cordelia,
Who hath most fortunately been inform'd
Of my obscured course; and shall find time
From this enormous state,-seeking to give
Losses their remedies.—All weary and o'erwatch'd,
Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold

This shameful lodging.

Fortune, good night; smile once more; turn thy wheel! [he sleeps,

SCENE III.

A part of the heath.

Enter EDGAR.

Edg. I heard myself proclaim'd;

And, by the happy hollow of a tree,

Escaped the hunt. No port is free; no place,
That guard, and most unusual vigilance,
Does not attend my taking. While I may scape,
I will preserve myself; and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape,

That ever penury, in contempt of man,

Brought near to beast: my face I'll grime with

filth;

Blanket my loins; elf all my hair in knots; 1
And with presented nakedness outface
The winds and persecutions of the sky.
The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Strike in their numb'd and mortified bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary;
And with this horrible object, from low farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills,
Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with
2
prayers,
Enforce their charity.-Poor Turlygood! poor Tom!
That's something yet;-Edgar I nothing am.

[Exit.

SCENE IV.

Before Gloster's castle.

Enter LEAR, FOOL, and GENTLEMAN.

Lear. 'Tis strange, that they should so depart

from home,

And not send back my messenger.

Gen.

As I learn'd,

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

1 Hair thus knotted was vulgarly supposed to be the work

of elves and fairies in the night.

2 Curses.

Kent.

Lear. How!

Hail to thee, noble master!

Makest thou this shame thy pastime ?

Kent.

No, my lord.

Fool. Ha, ha! look! he wears cruel1 garters! Horses are tied by the head, dogs and bears by the neck, monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs : when a man is over-lusty at legs, then he wears wooden nether-stocks.2

Lear. What's he, that hath so much thy place mistook,

[blocks in formation]

Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no.

Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay.

Lear. They durst not do 't;

They could not, would not do 't; 'tis worse than

murder,

To do upon respect such violent outrage.

Resolve me, with all modest haste, which way

1 A quibble is here intended on the word crewel, which signifies worsted. 2 The old word for stockings.

Thou mightst 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 show'd My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post, Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth From Goneril his mistress salutations; Deliver❜d letters, spite of intermission,

Which presently they read; on whose contents, They summon'd up their meiny, straight took

horse;

1

Commanded me to follow, and attend

The leisure of their answer; gave me cold looks; And meeting here the other messenger,

Whose welcome, I perceived, had poison'd mine,
(Being the very fellow that of late

Display'd so saucily against your highness)
Having more man than wit about me, drew:
He raised the house with loud and coward cries:
Your son and daughter found this trespass worth
The shame which here it suffers.

Fool. Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.

Fathers, that wear rags,

Do make their children blind;

But fathers, that bear bags,

Shall see their children kind.

SHAK.

1 Train, retinue.

XIII.

E

Fortune, that arrant whore,

Ne'er turns the key to the poor.'

But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolors 1 for thy daughters as thou canst tell in a year.

Lear. O, how this mother 2 swells up toward my

heart!

Hysterica passio! down, thou climbing sorrow; Thy element's below!-Where is this daughter? Kent. With the earl, sir, here within.

Lear. Stay here.

Follow me not;

[Exit.

Gen. Made you no more offence than what you

speak of?

Kent. None.

How chance the king comes with so small a train ? Fool. An thou hadst been set i' the stocks for that question, thou hadst well deserved it.

Kent. Why, fool?

Fool. We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach thee there's no laboring in the winter. All that follow their noses are led by their eyes, but blind men; and there's not a nose among twenty, but can smell him that's stinking. Let go thy hold, when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following it; but the great one that goes up the hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine

1 A quibble between dolors and dollars.
2 i. e. the disease called by that name.

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