Which came from one that's of a neutral heart,
And not from one oppos'd.
Corn. Cunning-
Reg. And falle.
Corn. W here 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 firftanfwerthat.
Glo. I am ty'd to th' ftake, and I muft ftand the
courfe.
inconftant temper of the multitude, he fwears by the clouds ; and
again when he meets his wife after a long abfence, by the jealous
>ueen of Heaven ; for Juno was fuppofed the aveng'refs of conju-
gal infidelity. In Othello the double lago is made to fwear by
Janus. And in this very play of Lear, a pagan much given to ju-
dicial Aftrology, very confonantly to his character, fwears
By all the operations of the orbs,
By whom we do exij), and ceafe to be.
8 my hofpitable FAVOURS] It is nonfenfe to underftand
it of gifts, kindneffes, &c. We mould read FAVOUR, /'. e. vifege.
For they plucked him by the beard.
{(a] fimple-anfiuer'J. Oxford Editor Vulg. fmple-anf'werer.'}
Reg.
04. K* n LEAR.
Reg. Wherefore to Dover ?
Glo. Becanfe I would not fee thy cruel nails
Pluck out his poor old eyes ; nor thy fierce fitter
In his anointed flefh ftick boarifh phangs.
9 The fea, with fuch a ftorm as his bare head
In hell- black night indur'd, would have boil'd up,
And quench'd the ' ftelled fires ;
Yet poor old heart, he help'd the heav'ns to rain.
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that ftern time,
Thou fhould'ft have faid, " go, porter turn the key ;
* All cruels elfe fubfcrib'd ; but I fhall fee
The winged vengeance overtake fuch Children.
Corn. See'tfhaltthou never. Fellows, hold the chair.
Upon thefe 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 you did wear a beard upon your chin,
I'd make it on this quarrel. What do you mean ?
Corn. My villain !
-would have BUO Y'D up,
And quencttd the fielled fires i\ The word luoyd cannot be
applied to water, but to fomething in it fpecifically lighter. Be-
fides its buoying up, i. e . not fubfiding, had not a tendency to
effeft what he talks of. We fliould read,
BOIL'D up.
1 ft tiled, fpelt right by Mr. Theobald.
2 All cruel s elfe fulfcr ft d',-] Subfcrile, for foften.
Serv.
King LEAR.
Serv. Nay then come on, and take the chance of
anger.
[Fight ; in the Scuffle Cornwall is wounded \
Reg. Give me thy iword. A peafant ftand up
thus ? [Kills him.
Serv. Oh, I am (lain my lord, you have one
eye left
To fee fome mifchief on him. Oh [Dies.
Corn. Left it fee more, prevent it; out, vile gelly :
Where is thy luftre now ? [Breads the other out.
Glo. All dark and comfortlefs where's my fon
Edmund ?
Edmund^ enkindle all the fparks 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 treafons to us :
Who is too good to pity thee.
Glo. O my follies !
Then Edgar was abus'd. Kind gods, forgive
Me that, and profper him !
Reg. Go thruft him out
At gates, and let him fmell his way to Dover.
[Exit with Glo'fterj
How is't, my lord, how look you ?
Corn. I have receiv'd a hurt ; follow me, lady.- 1
Turn out that eyelefs villain ; throw this (lave
Upon the dunghil. Regan^ I bleed apace.
Untimely comes this hurt. Give me your arm.
[Exit Corn, led by Regan.
\ft Serv. I'll never care what Wickednefs I do,
If this Man come to Good.
id Serv. If She live long,
And, in the End, meet the old courfe of Death,
Women will all turn Monfters.
\fl Serv. Let's follow the old Earl, and get the
Bedlam
To
96 King LEAR.
To lead him where he would j his roguifh Madnefs
Allows itfclf to any Thing.
zdServ. Go thou-, I'll fetch fome Flax and whites
of Eggs
T* apply to's bleeding Face. Now, Heav'n help him !
\Exeunt federally.
ACT IV. SCENE I.
An open Country.
Enter EDGAR.
YE T better thus, and known to be contemn'd,
Than ftill contemn'd and flatter'd. To be worft,
The loweft, moft dejected thing of Fortune,
Stands ftill in efperance ; lives not in fear.
The lamentable change is from the beft ;
The wqrft returns to laughter. Welcome then,
Thou linfubftantial air, that I embrace !
The wretch, that thou haft blown unto the word,
Owes nothing to thy blafts.
Enter Glo'fter, led loy an old man.
But who comes here ?
-My father poorly led? World, world, ' O world!
But tHat thy ftrange Mutations make us hate thee,
Life would not yield to age. Old
j O 'world I
But that thy ftrange Mutations make us hate thee,
Life would not yield to age.] The fenfe of this obfcure paffage
is, O world ! fo much are human minds captivated with thy plea-
fares that were it not for thofe fucceffive miferies, each \vorfe than
the other, which overload the fcenes of life, we fhould never be
willing to fubmit to death, tho' the infirmities of old age would teach
us to chufe it as a proper afylum. Befides, by uninterrupted pro-
fperiry, which leaves the mind at eafe, the body would generally
preferve fuch a ftate of vigour as to bear up long againft the decays
of time. Thefe are the two reafons, I fuppofc, why he 1'aid,
Life
King LEAR* 97
Old Man. O my good Lord, I have been your
tenant, and your father's tenant, thefe fourfcore years.
Glo. Away, get thee away : good friend, be gone j
Thy comforts can do me no good at all,
Thee they may hurt.
Old Man. You cannot fee your way.
Glo. I have no way, and therefore want no eyes :
I ftumbled when I faw. Full oft 'tis feen,
4 Our mean fecures us ; and our meer defecls
Prove our commodities. O dear fon
The food of thy abufed father's wrath ;
Might I but live to fee thee in my Touch,
I'd fay, I had eyes again !
Old Man. How now? who's there?
Edg. O Gods! J who is't can fay, I'm at the word?
Life would not yield to age.
And how much the pleafures of the body pervert the mind's judg-
ment, and the perturbations of the mind diforder the body's frame,
is known to all. Shakefpear feems to allude to this thought in the
two lait lines of the pjay ;
The oldejl hath borne mojl ; c we, that are young,
Shall never fee fo much, nor live fo long.
Why not ? Cecaufe thefe misfortunes, which the publick diftrac-
tions of civil war bring along With them to the fubjecl:, came to thafe
firtt mentioned, in their old age, but to thefe, in the vigour of their
life, which would fo break them, that they (hould never arrive at the
age of their fathers. But the Oxford Editor alters the iaft line to,
Shall never fee fo much, live e'er/0 long;
And fo deprives the concluding words (which were always defigned
to convey a fentiment of inftruction) of all thought ; or at bell gives
it a trivial and a falfe one.
2 Our mean fee ures us ; ] /. e. moderate, mediocre condition.
3 - who is't can fay, I'maf the nvorjl?
- - - - -. the worjl is not,
So long as we can fay, this is the ivor/l ] i. e. While we live;
for while we yet continue to have a fenie of feeling, iome-
thing worfe than the prefent may ftill happen. What occafion'd this
reflexion was his ralhly faying in the beginning of this fcene,
The lonxefl, mcfl dejeEied thing of fortune, &C.
Tke ivretcb, tbat twit baft blown unto the ivorjl.
VOL, VI. H I'm
King LEAR.
I'm worfe, than e'er I was.
Old Man. 'Tis poor mad 2bm.
Edg. And worfe I may be yet : the word is not,
So long as we can fay, this is the worft.
Old Man. Fellow, where goeft?
Glo. Is it a beggar-man ?
Old Man. Madman, and beggar too.
Glo. He has fome reafon, elfe he could not beg.
I'th' laft night's ftorm I fuch a fellow faw ;
Which made me think a man a worm. My fon
Came then into my mind ; and yet my mind
Was then fcarce friends with him. I've heard more
fince.
As flies to wanton boys, are we to th* Gods ;
They kill us for their fport.
Edg. How fhould this be ?
Bad is the trade muft play the fool to forrow,
(a) Ang'ifhing itfelf and others. Blefs thee, matter.
Glo. Is that the naked fellow ?
Old Man. Ay, my lord.
Glo. Get thee away : if, for my fake,
Thou wilt o'ertake us nence a mile or twain
I'th' way tow'rd Dover > do it for ancient love ;
And bring fome Covering for this naked foul,
Whom i'll intreat to lead me.
Old Man. Alack, Sir, he is mad.
Glo. 'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the
blind :
Do as 1 bid, or rather do ihy pleafure ;
Above the reft, be gone.
Old Man. I'll bring him the beft 'parrel that I have,
Come on't, what will. [Exit.
Glo. Sirrah, naked fellow.
Edg. Poor Tom's a-cold ; * I cannot daub it further.
4 7fao/daub;/ ] /. e. Difguife.
[() Angijblng. Oxford Editor. Vulg. Angring]
King LEAR. 99
Glo. Come hither, fellow.
Edg. And yet I muft ;
Blefs thy fvveet eyes, they bleed.
Glo. Know'ft thou the way to Dover?
Edg. Both ftile and gate, horfe-way and foot-path :
poor Tom hath been fcar*d out of his good wits. Blefs
thee, good man, from the foul fiend. Five fiends have
been in poor 'Tom at once; of Luft, as Obidicut ;
Hobbididen, Prince of dumbnefs; Mahu> of ftealing ;
Mobil, of murder; and Flibbertigibbet^ of mopping
and mowing ; vvhofmce 5 poflefles chamber-maids and
waiting-women.
5 Vffijfi* chamber-maids and waiting-women. ] Shakefpear has
made Edgar, in his feigned diltraclion, frequently allude to a vile
impolture ot iome Englijb Jefuits, at that time much the fubjedl
of converfauor. ; the niltory of it having been jull then cora-
pofed with great art and vigour of ftile and compofition by Dr. S.
Harfenet, afterwards archbifhop of York, by order of the Privy-
Council, in a work intitled, A Declaration of egregious Popijh im-
poftitres, to withdraw her Majejlfs fubjefisfrom their Allegiance, &c.
under pretence of cafting out devils, prafiifed by Edmunds, alias
Wefton, a Jefuit, and divers Romiih Priefts bis wicked officiates.
Printed 1603. The impofture was in fubftance this, while the
Spaniards were preparing their Armado againft England, the Je-
fuits were here bufy at work to promote it, by making converts;
one method they employed was todifpoflefs pretended aemoniack?,
by which artifice they made feveral hundred converts amongft the
common people. The principal fcene of this farce was laid in the
family of one Mr. Edmund Peckkam* a Roman Catholick, where
Marivood, a fervant of Anthony Babingtons, (who was afterwards
executed for Treafon) Trayford, an attendant upon Mr. Pecklam %
and Sarah and Frifwood Williams* and Anne Smith, three cham~
bermaids in that family, were fuppofed to be pofiHFed with De-
vils, and came into the Prieii's hands for cure. But the difcipline
of the patients was fo long and fevere, and the Priefts fo elate and
carelefs with their fuccefs, that the plot was difcovered on the con-
fellion of the parties concerned, and the contrivers of it defe-rvedly
punifhed. The five Devils here mentioned, are the names of five
of thofe who were made to acl in this farce upon the chamber-maids
and waiting-women; and they were generally fo riciiculouily nick-
named, that Harfenet has one chapter on the flrange names of their
Devils ; left, fays he, meeting them oiberivife by chance, you miflakt
them for the name of Tapjlers or.Juzglen.
H 2 Glo.
King LEAR.
Glo. Here, take this purfe, thou whom the heavens*
plagues
Have humbled to all ftrokes. That I am wretched,
Makes thee the happier: heavens deal fo ftill!
6 Let the fuperfluous, and luft dieted man,
That braves your ordinance, that will not fee
Becaufe he do's not feel, feel your power quickly :
So diftribution mould undo excefs,
And each man have enough. Do'ft thou know Dover?
Edg. Ay, matter.
Glo. There is a cliff, whofe high and bending head
Looks fearfully on the confined deep:
Bring me but to the very brim of ir,
And I'll repair the mifery, thou do'ft bear,
With fomething rich about me: from that place
I (hall no leading need.
Edg. Give me thy arm ;
Poor Tom mall lead thee. [Exeunt.
SCENE II.
The Duke of Albany'^ Palace.
Enter Gonerill, and Edmund.
G0.\ Y7 ELC OME, my lord. I marvel, our mild
VV husband
Not met us on the way.
6 Let the fuperfluous, and luft dieted man,
'That si. AVES your ordinance.] Superfluous is here ufed for one
living in abundar ce. But the next line is corrupt. The only fenfe
I know of, in which Jlaves your ordinance can be underftood, is
when men employ the torm or femblance of religion to com paf, their
ill dehgns. But this will not do here. Glofter is fpeakuig of fuch
who by an uninterrupted courfe of profperity are grown wanton,
and callous to the mi.-fortums of others ; fuch as thofe who fearing
no reverfe, flight and negledt, and therefore may be faid to B R A v E
the ordinance of heaven. Which is certainly the right reading And
this is the (econd time in which JIavtt has, in this play, been read
for braves.
Enter
King LEAR. 101
Enter Steward.' \">'> '/ : -.
Now, where's your Mafter ?
Stew. Madam, within ; but never man fo chang'd :
I told him of the army that was landed:
He fmil'd at it. I told him, you were coming,
His anfwer was, the worfe. Of Glo'fter's treachery,
And of the loyal fervice of his fon,
When I inform'd him, then he call'd me fot ;
And told me, I had turn'd the wrong fide out.
What moft he fhould diflike, feems pleafant to him ;
What like, offenfive.
Gon. Then {hall you go no further.
It is the cowifh tcrrour of his fpirit,
That dares not undertake : he'Jl not feel wrongs,
Which tie him to an anfwer , our wifhes on the way
May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother ;
Haften his mutters, and conduct his powers.
I muft change arms at home, and give the diftafF
Into my husband's hands. This trufty fervant
Shall pafs between us: you ere long fh. ill hear,
If you dare venture in your own behalf,
A miftrefs's command. Wear this , fpare fpeech ;
Decline your head. This kifs, if it durft fpeak,
Would ftretch thy fpirits up into the air :
Conceive, and fare thee well.
Edm. Yours in the ranks of death.
Gon. My moft dear Glo'fter ! . [Exit Edmund,
Oh, the ftrange difference of man, and man !
To thee a woman's fervices are due,
My fool ulurps my body.
Stew. Madam, here comes my lord.
Enter Albany.
Gon. I have been worth the whittle.
Alb. Oh Goner'tll,
You are not worth the duft which the rude wind
H 3 Blows
King LEAR.
. Blows m your face-.. 7 1 fear your difpofiti'on :
>'T.hat,Naf;ur.ei- which contemns its origine,
8 Cannot beborder'd certain in itfelf ;
9 She that hcrfelf will (liver, and disbranch,
1 From her material fap, perforce muft wither,
And
j I f'ar year cliff afition :] Thefe and the fpeech enfuing
are in the edition of 1608, and are but necefiary to explain the
reafons of the detelhtion which Albany here exprefTes to his wife.
Mr. Pope.
8 Car.nct be border d certain ] Certain, for within the
bounds that nature prescribes.
9 She that her fclf will SHIVER, and disbranch,] Thus all the
Editions, but the oid quarto, that reads SLIVER, which is right.
Shiver means to make or fly a-piecea ino fplinters. As he fays
afterwards,
Thou <Tjl fhiver'd like an egg.
"BMtJlwer fignifies to tear off or disbranch. So in Mackbetb,
flips of yew
Sliver'd in the means eclipfe.
I From her material fap, ] Thus all the Editions 'till Mr.
Theobald's, who alters material to maternal ; and for thefe wife rea-
fons, Material fap, (fays he) 1 oiun is a phrafe that I dont un-
derjland. Toe mother-tree is the true technical term, and conjldering
our author had faid juft before, That Nature, which contemns its
origine there is no room to quejlion but be Derate, From her
maternal tty. And to prove that we may fay maternal fap, he
gives many authorities from the claflics, and fays he could produce
more, where words equivalent to maternal jlock are ufed ; which is
quite another thing, as we fhall now fee. In making his emenda-
tion, the editor did not confiderthe difference between material fap
and material body, or trunk or flock : The latter expreffion be-
ing indeed not fo well ; maternal being a properer epithet for body.
But the firft is right j and we fhould fay, material fap, not mater-
nal. For material fap fignifies, that whereby a branch is nou-
rifhed, and increafes in bulk by frefh accefiion of matter. On
which account material is elegant. Indeed fap, when applied to
the tuhole tree, might be called maternal, but could not be fo
when applkd to a branch only. For tho' fap might, in feme fenfe,
be faid to be maternal to the tree, yet it is the tree that is maternal
to the branch, and not the fap : but here the epithet is applied to
the branch. From all this, we conclude that the old reading is the
true. But what if, after all, material was ufed by the writers
of thefe times in the very fenfe of. maternal? It would feem fo by
the
King LEAR.
a And come to deadly ufe.
Con. No more ; 'tis foolifh.
Alb. Wifdom and goodnefs to the vile feem vile ;
Filths favour but themfelves What have you
done;
Tygers, not daughters, what have you perform'd ?
A father, and a gracious aged man,
Molt barb'rous, mod degenerate, have you madded.
Cou'd my good Brother fuffer you to do it,
3 A man, a Prince by him fo benefited ?
If that the heav'ns do not their vifible Spirits
Send quickly down to tame the vile offences,
Humanity muft perforce prey on itfelf,
Like monfters of the deep.
Gon. Milk-liver'd man !
That bear'ft a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs ;
Who haft not in thy brows an eye difcerning
Thine honour, from thy fuffering: that not know'ft,
the title of an (AdEnglifi tranflation of FroiJ/arfs Chronicle.which
runs in thefe words, Syr John Froi/art's Chronicle tranflated out of
Frenche into our MATERIAL Englijh tongue by John Bouchier,
printed 1525.
2 And come to deadly uff.~] Alluding to the ufe that witches and
inchanters are faid to make of wither* d branches in their charms.
A fine infmuation in the fpeaker, that me was ready for the moft
unnatural mifchief, and a preparative of the poet to her plotting
with the baitard againll her husband's life.
3 A man, a Prince by him fo benefited? ~\ After this line, I fufpeft
a line or two to be wanting, which upbraids her for her fitter's cru-
elty to Glojler. And my reafon is, that in her anfwer we find
thefe words,
Tools do thefe 'villains pity, ivho are punifl) d
Ere they have done their ml/chief
which evidently allude to Glojler's cafe. Now I cannot conceive
that (he would here apologize for what was not objected to her.
But I fuppofe the Players thought the fpeech too long ; which has
occafion'd thro'out, and more particularly in this play, the retrench-
ment of numerous lines and fpeechcs; many of which have been
reftored by the care and difcernmem of Mr. Pope.
H 4 Fools
King LEAR.
Fools do thefe villains pity, who are punim'd
Ere they have done their mifchef. Where's thy
Drum ?
France fpreads his Banners in our noifelefs land,
With plumed helm thy flayer begins his threats ;
Whilft thou, a moral fool, fit'ft ftill, and cry'ft,
" Alack ! why does he fo ? " .
Alb. See thyfelf, devil :
4 Proper deformity feems not in the fiend
So horrid as in woman.
Gon. O vain fool !
Alb. Thou chang'd, and felf-converted thing I For
fhame,
Be-monfter not thy feature. Wer't my fitnefs
To let thefe hands obey my [boiling] blood,
They're apt enough to diflocate and tear
Thy flefli and bones. Howe'er thou art a fiend,
A woman's fhape doth fhield thee.
Gon. Marry, your manhood now!
Enter Meffenger.
Mef. Oh, my good lord, the Duke of Cornwall's
dead :
Slain by his fervant, going to put out
The other eye of Glo'Jler.
Alb. Gtffter** eyes !
Mef. A fervant, that he bred, chrill'd with remorfe,.
Oppos'd againft the ac*l ; bending his fword
To his great mailer: who, thereat enrag'd,
Flew on him, and amongit them fell'd him dead :
But now without that harmful flroke, which fince
Hath pluck'd him after.
Alb. This fhews you are above,
You Juftices, that thefe our nether crimes
4 Proper deformity ] /. e. diabolic qualities appear not ib hor-
rid in the devil to whom they belong, as in woman who unnatu-
jrajly affumes them.
So
King LEAR. 105
So fpeedHy can venge. But O poor Glo'Jler !
Loft he his other eye ?
Mef. Both, both, my lord.
This letter, Madam, craves a fpeedy anfwer :
'Tis from your fifter.
Gon. One way, I like this well j
But being widow, and my Glo'fter with her,
May all the building in my fancy pluck
Upon my hateful life. Another way,
The news is notfo tart. I'll read, and anfwer. [Exit.
Alb. Where was his fon, when they did take his
eyes ?
Mef. Come with my lady hither.
Alb. He's not here.
Mef. No, my good lord, I met him back again.
Alb. Knows he the wickednefs?
Mef. Ay, my good lord, 'twas he inform'd againft
him,
And quit the houfe of purpofe, that their punifhment
Might have the freer courfe.
Alb. Glower, I live
To thank thee for the love thou fhew'dft the King,
And to revenge thine eyes. Come hither, friend,
Tell me, what more thou know'ft. \_Exeunt.
'SCENE III.
D O V E R.
Enter Kenti and a Gentleman.
Kent. ~-T* H E King of France fo fuddenly gone
1 back !
Know you the reafon ?
Gent.
5 SCENE III.] This Scene left out in all the common book?, is
reftored from the old edition j it being manifeftiy of Shake/pear's
writing
io6 King LEAR.
Gent. Something he left imperfect in the State,
Which fince his coming forth is thought of, which
Imports the Kingdom fo much fear and danger,
That his return was moft required and neceifary.
Kent. Whom hath he left behind him General ?
Gent. The Marefchal of France, Monfieur le Far.
Kent. Did your letters pierce the Queen to any de-
monftration of grief?
Gent. I, Sir, fhe took 'em, read 'em in my pre-
fence ;
And now and then an ample tear trill'd down
Her delicate cheek : it feem'd, me was a Queen
Over her paffion, which, moft rebel-like,
Sought to be King o'er her.
Kent. O, then it mov*d her.-
Gent. But not to Rage. " Patience and Sorrow
ftrove
" Which ihould exprefs her goodlieft; you have feen
" Sun-mine and rain at once 6 her Smiles and
Tears
" Were like a wetter May. Thofe happicft fmiles,
" That play'd on her ripe lip, feem'd not to know
" Whatguefts were in her Eyesj which parted thence,
" As pearls from diamonds dropt.- In brief,
Sorrow would be a rarity moft belov'd,
If all could fo become it.
Kent. 7 Made fhe no verbal queft ?
Gent.
writing, and necefiary to continue the ftory of Cordelia, whofe be-
haviour is here moll beautifully painted. Mr. Pope.
6 her Smiles and Tears
Were like a BETTER DAY. ] It is plain, we fhould read,
^WETTER MAY.
/. e. a fpring feafon wetter than ordinary.
7 Made Jhe no serial QUESTION ?] Why, what kind of quef-
tion could (he make but verbal ? Does not the word queftion imply
it. This is enough to prove fomething wrong. The anfwer (hews
where it is. For tho' the Gentleman fay? yes to the queftion ; yet,
inftead
King LEAR.
Gent. Yes, once, or twice, me heav'd the Name of
Father
Pantingly forth, as if it preft her heart.
Cry'd, fillers! fitters! Shame of Ladies ! lifters!
Kent! Father! Sifters! what? i'th'ftorm? i'th' night?
Let Pity ne'er believe it ! there fhe fhook
The holy water from her heav'nly Eyes ;
8 And, Clamour- motion'd, then away fhe ftarted
To deal with grief alone.
Kent. 9 It is the Stars,
The Stars above us, govern our conditions:
1 Elfe one felf-mate and mate could not beget
Such difY 'rent ifiues. Spoke you with her fince ?
Gent. No.
Kent. Was this before the King return'd ?
Gent. No, fince.
Kent. Well, Sir; the poor diftrefied Lear's in
town i
inftead of proving his words, he runs out into a long ftory of Cor -
deltas complaints and exclamations. The queftion then evidently
was,
Made Jbe no verbal qu E ST ?
From queflus, complaint, /. e. did me lament and complain m
words ? And this was a proper queftion, becaufe fhe might have
done it in fighs, and inarticulate exclamations. The anfwer too,
is proper, and to the point, as the reader may fee. But the edi-
tors not underftanding the fhort word jueft, lengthened it into one,
they did : And fo made Kent ask a nonfenfical queftion, and the
Gentleman give as impertinent an anfwer.
8 And, C/flwoar-moiften'd,] Tho' Clamour may diftort the
mouth, it is not wont to moiften the eyes. Read clamour-?e//0V,
which conveys a very beautiful idea of grief in Cordelia, and exaft-