It pleas'd the king his mafter very late

To ftrike at me upon his mifconstruction,

When he conjunct, and flattering his displeasure,
Tript me behind; being down, infulted, rail'd,
And put upon him fuch a deal of man, that
That worthied him; got praises of the king,
For him attempting who was felf-fubdued;
And, in the d flefhment of this dread exploit,
Drew on me here again.

Kent. None of these rogues and cowards,
But Ajax is their fool.

Corn. f Bring forth the ftocks, & ho!"

You ftubborn ancient knave, you i rev'rend braggart,

We'll teach you

Kent. Sir, I am too old to learn.

Call not your stocks for me: I ferve the king;
On whofe * imployment I was fent to you,
You 1 shall do small m refpect, fhew too bold malice
Against the grace and perfon of my master,
Stocking his messenger.

a So the qu's and fo's; the rest lately.

The fo's and R. read compact for conjun&.

So the qu's, T. W. and J.; the reft omit this firft that.
The qu's read fiechuent.

e W. conjectures foil, but puts it not in his text.

! So the qu's; the rest fetch for bring.

All but the qu's omit ho!

The qu's read miscreant for ancient,

i The ad q. reads unreverent.
The qu's read imployments.

1 The qu's read should for fall.
The fo's and R. read respects.
The qu's read stopping for flocking.

Corn. Fetch forth the flocks;

As I have life and honour, there fhall he fit till noon.

Reg. Til noon? till night, my lord, and all night too. Kent. Why, madam, if I were your father's dog,

You could not use me fo.

Reg. Sir, being his knave, I will.

[Sticks brought out,

Corn. This is a fellow of the 4 felf fame nature

Our fifter fpeaks of..Come, bring away the flocks.-
Glo. Let me befeech your grace not to do fo'; m
His fault is much,

Will check him for't.

Is fuch, as bafest and

and the good king his mafter
Your purpos'd low correction
contemned't wretches
common trefpaffes,

For pilf rings and most

Are punish'd with;

the king must take it ill

That y he, fo flightly valued in his meffenger,

Should have him thus reftrain'd.

Corn. I'll anfwer that. 11

2

Reg. My fifter may receive it much more worse,

H. omits and honour.

The fo's and R. read fhould not.

The ad q. omits feif.

The fo's and R. read colour for nature:

The 1ft q. reads fpeake.

t P. and H. omit come.

"What is in italic is omitted in the fo's and R...

The qu's read temnet; P. and the reft the meantft: but the particle the does not read fo well before meanest, unless it had been placed before basest too; and which Shakespeare would have done in this cafe, notwithstanding a foot of three fyllables would have occurred. Besides, basest and meanest are fynonymous terms: contemned? is the confequence of bafeft.

* The fo's and R. read the king his master needs must take it ill, &c. y So the 1ft and 2d fo's; the qu's, and 3d and 4th fo's read he's for be, which led R. to read to have in the next line for fhould have; followed by P.

H. reads yet much worse.

Το

To have her a gentleman abus'd, affaulted,
For following her affairs. Put in his legs

[Kent is put in the flocks.

с

Come, my good lord, away.

SCENE

[Exeunt Reg. and Corn

VII.

Gl. I am forry for thee, friend; 'tis the duke's pleasure, Whofe difpofition, all the world well knows,

Will not be rubb'd nor ftopt. I'll intreat for thee.

Kent. Pray, do not, fir.

Sometime I fhall fleep

I've watch'd and travell'd hard;

out, the rest I'll whistle.

A good man's fortune may grow out at heels.

Give you good morrow.

Glo. The duke's to blame in this, 'twill be ill f taken,

[Exit.

Kent. Good king, that must approve the common 8 faw, Thou out of heav'n's benediction com'ft

To the warm fun!

i Approach, thou beacon to this under globe, [Looking up to

The 14. reads gentlemen.

b The fo's and R. omit this line.

So the 1ft q. all the reft omit good.

the moon.

This is called Scene VI. in P. and H. they alfo call the foregoing Scene the VIth, mifcounting to the end of this act.

The 1ft q. reads ont for out.

The qu's read tocke for taken.

& An old proverbial faying, applied to thofe who are turned out of houfe and home, deprived of all the comforts of life excepting the common benefits of the air and fun. H.

b For thun J. reads that, in no edition before.

These lines from approach to reme lies are omitted in II's text, as not Shakespeare's.

That by thy comfortable beams I may

Perufe this letter. Nothing almost fees * miracles,

But mifery, I know.-'Tis from Cordelia, [Opening the letter. Who hath moft fortunately been inform'd

m

Of my obfcured courfe- and fball find time [Reading parts

From this enormous ftate-" feeking to give

of the letter.

Loffes their remedies.-All weary and o'er-watch'd,

Take 'vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold

This shameful lodging.

Fortune, good night; fmile once more; turn thy wheel.

[He Лleeps.

VIII.

SCENE

Changes to part of a heath.
Enter Edgar.

Edg. I heard myself proclaim'd;

And, by the happy hollow of a tree,

Efcap'd the hunt. No port is free, no place,

That guard and most unusual vigilance

? Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape,

I will preserve myself, and am bethought

The qu's read my wracke for miracles.

In the qu's there is a comma after mifery, and no stop after I know; in all the rest there is a period after misery.

́m R. and all after but J. read I for and. This in italic is fuppofed by ail the editors to be a continuation of Kent's speech, except J. who puzzles, and does not know what to make on't.

n R. and all after but F. read and feck for seeking.

• The qu's read I hear; the 4th f. and R. I have heard; all the rest I've heard.

P The qu's read doft.

Το

To take the bafeft and a moft poorest shape,

That ever penury in contempt of man

Brought near to beaft. My face I'll grime with filth,

Blanket my loins, elfe all my hair * in knots;

And with prefented nakednefs out-face

The winds and perfecutions of the sky.

The country gives me proof and precedent
Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Strike in their numb'd and mortify'd bare arms
Pins, wooden pricks, nails, fprigs of rosemary,
And with this horrible object, from low w farms,
Poor pelting villages, sheep-coats and mills,
Sometimes with lunatic bans, fometimes with prayers,
Inforce their charity. Poor Turlygod, poor Tom!
That's fomething yet. Edgar I nothing am.

So all before P. he and all after the for most.

[Exit.

↑ So the 1ft f.; the qu's and ad f. read elfe for elfe; the 3d and 4th fo's put; followed by R. and P. See T. in loc. and H.'s Gloffary, to elfe, i. c. to intangle in fo intricate a manner that it is not to be unravelled; like elfelocks, fuppofed the work of fairies.

• The three first fo's read hairs.

The qu's for in read with; which feems to be taken from the foregoing line, with filth.

The qu's read wind and perfecution,

The qu's read fervice for farms.

* Perhaps pedling; or it may fignify cottages thinly fcattered. This was my fr idea of pelting, till Warburton drove it out of my head: but I refame it again, believing it to be Shakespeare's own idea.

So the qu's, fo's, R. and P.'s quarto; H. Turlurù; all the rest Turlygeed; W. thinks it should be Turlupin, a new fpecies of gyplies in the 14th Contury.

SCENE