Ere they shall make us weep: we 'll see them starve first. Come. [Exeunt LEAR and COR. guarded. Edm. Come hither, captain; hark. Take thou this note ; [Giving a Paper.] go, follow them to prison: One step I have advanc'd thee; if thou dost As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way Are as the time is: to be tender-minded Does not become a sword:-Thy great employment French army, and the women who followed it, the first name it cbtained among us was the gougeries, i. e. the disease of the gouges. Hanmer. The resolute John Florio has sadly mistaken these goujeers. He writes "With a good yeare to thee!" and gives it in Italian, "Il mal' anno che dio ti dia." Farmer. Golding, in his version of the 3d book of Ovid's Metamorphoses, has fallen into the same error, or rather, the same mis-spelling.Juno is the speaker: "Perfeci quid enim toties per jurgia? dixit." which is thus anglicized, p. 35: "And what a good yeare have I wonne by scolding erst? she sed." Steevens. The old copies have good yeares, the common corruption in Shakspeare's time of the other word. Sir T. Hanmer made the correction. 7 -flesh and fell,] Flesh and skin. Johnson. -flesh and fell,] So Skelton's works, "Nakyd asyde, "Neither flesh nor fell." p. 257: Chaucer uses fell and bones for skin and bones : "And said that he and all his kinne at ones, "Were worthy to be brent with fell and bones.” Malone. Troilus and Cresseide. Grey. 8 Take thou this note;] This was a warrant, signed by the Bastard and Goneril, for the execution of Lear and Cordelia. In a subsequent scene Edmund says 66 quickly send, "Be brief in 't,-to the castle: for my writ "Is on the life of Lear, and of Cordelia :- "To hang Cordelia in the prison." Malone. ·Thy great employment Will not bear question;] By great employment was meant the commission given him for the murder; and this the Bastard tells us afterwards, was signed by Goneril and himself. Which was sufficient to make this captain xnaccountable for the execution. Warburton. I'll do 't, my lord. Or thrive by other means. Off. Edm. About it; and write happy, when thou hast done. Mark, I say, instantly; and carry it so, As I have set it down. Off. I cannot draw a cart,1 nor eat dried oats; If it be man's work, I will do it. [Exit Off. Flourish. Enter ALBANY, GONERIL, REGAN, Officers, and Attendants. Alb. Sir, you have shown to-day your valiant strain, And fortune led you well: You have the captives Who were the opposites of this day's strife: We do require them of you;2 so to use them, As we shall find their merits and our safety May equally determine. Edm. Sir, I thought it fit To send the old and miserable king To some retention, and appointed guard;3 Whose age has charms in it, whose title more, Which do command them. With him I sent the queen; The important business which is now entrusted to your manage. ment, does not admit of debate; you must instantly resolve to do it, or not. Question, here, as in many other places, signifies discourse, conversation. Malone. So, in The Merchant of Venice "You may as well use question with the wolf." Steevens. 1 I cannot draw &c.] These two lines I have restored from the old quarto. Steevens. 2 We do require them of you;] So the folio. The quartos read: "We do require then of you so to use them." Malone. 3 •and appointed guard;] These words are omitted in the quarto of which the first signature is B, and in the folio. Malone. P 4 And turn our impress'd lances in our eyes] i. e. Turn the launcemen whom we have hired by giving them press-money (See p. 303, n. 9,) against us. So, in Antony and Cleopatra, Act III, sc. vii: 66 people "Ingross'd by swift impress." Impress, however, in this place, may possibly have its common signification. Steevens. Where you shall hold your session. [At this time,5 The question of Cordelia, and her father, Alb. Sir, by your patience, I hold you but a subject of this war, Reg. That's as we list to grace him. Gon. Not so hot: In his own grace9 he doth exalt himself, Reg. In my rights, By me invested, he compeers the best. 5 Gon. That were the most, if he should husband you.2 [At this time, &c.] This passage, well worthy of restoration, is omitted in the folio. Johnson. Requires a fitter place.] i. e. The determination of the question what shall be done with Cordelia and her father, should be reserved for greater privacy. Steevens. 7 Bore the commission of —] Commission, for authority. Warburton. The which immediacy-] Immediacy is supremacy in opposition to subordination, which has quiddam medium between itself and power. Johnson. Immediacy here implies proximity without intervention; in rank, or such a plenary delegation of authority, as to constitute the person on whom it is conferred, another SELF: alter et idem. Henley. Immediacy is, I think, close and immediate connexion with me, and direct authority from me, without, to use Dr. Johnson's words, quiddam medium. So, in Hamlet: let the world take note, "You are the most immediate to our throne." Malone. 9 In his own grace-] Grace here means accomplishments, or hanours. So, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona: 1 tion. "With all good grace to grace a gentleman." Steevens. in your advancement.] So the quartos. Folio-your addiMalone. 2 Gon. That were the most, if he should husband you.] If he were Reg. Jesters do oft prove prophets. Holla, holla! Gon. Reg. Lady, I am not well; else I should answer Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony; My lord and master. Gon. Mean you to enjoy him? Alb. The let-alone lies not in your good will.5 Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes. Reg. Let the drum strike, and prove my title thine." [To EDM. Alb. Stay yet; hear reason:-Edmund, I arrest thee On capital treason; and, in thy arrest,7 This gilded serpent: [Pointing to GoN.]-for your claim, fair sister, married to you, you could not say more than this, nor could he enjoy greater power. Thus the quartos. In the folio this line is given to Albany. Malone. 3 That eye, that told you so, look'd but a-squint.] Alluding to the proverb: "Love being jealous makes a good eye look asquint." See Ray's Collection. Steevens. So Milton: "And gladly banish squint suspicion." Comus. H. White. the walls are thine:] A metaphorical phrase taken from the camp, and signifying, to surrender at discretion. Warburton. A similar allusion occurs in Cymbeline: "The heavens hold firm the walls of thy dear honour." Steevens. 5 The let-alone lies not in your good will.] Whether he shall not of shall, depends not on your choice. Johnson. Albany means to tell his wife, that, however she might want the power, she evidently did not want the inclination to prevent the match. Ritson. To obstruct their union lies not in your good pleasure: your veto will avail nothing. Malone. 6 Reg. Let the drum strike, &c.] So the folio. This line is given to the Bastard in the quartos, and they read Let the drum strike, and prove my title good. Regan, it appears from this speech, did not know that Albany had discharged her forces. Malone. 7 thy arrest,] The quartos read-thine attaint. Steevens. I bar it in the interest of my wife; Gon. An interlude !8 Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloster:-Let the trumpet sound:9 If none appear to prove upon thy person,1 There is my pledge; [Throwing down a Glove.] I'll prove it on thy heart, Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less Than I have here proclaim'd thee. Reg. Sick, O, sick! [Aside. Gon. If not, I'll ne'er trust poison.2 Edm. There's my exchange: [Throwing down a Glove.] what in the world he is That names me traitor, villain-like he lies: Alb. A herald, ho! Edm. A herald, ho, a herald !3 Alb. Trust to thy single virtue ; for thy soldiers, All levied in my name, have in my name Took their discharge. Reg. This sickness grows upon me. Enter a Herald. [Exit REG. led. Alb. She is not well; convey her to my tent. 8 An interlude] This short exclamation of Goneril is added in the folio edition, I suppose, only to break the speech of Albany, that the exhibition on the stage might be more distinct and intelligible. Johnson. 9 Let the trumpet sound:] These words are not in the quartos. 1 2 Malone. thy person,] The quartos read-thy head. Steevens. 3 A herald, &c.] This speech I have restored from the quartos. Steevens. 4 thy single virtue ;] i. e. valour; a Roman sense of the word. Thus Raleigh: "The conquest of Palestine with singular virtue they performed." Steevens. |