Lear. What dost thou profess? what would'st thou with us? Kent. I do profess to be no less than I feem; to serve him truly, that will put me in trust; to love him that is honeft; to converse with him that is q wife, and says little; to fear judgment; to fight when I cannot choofe, and to eat no fish. Lear. What art thou? Kent. A very honeft-hearted fellow, and as poor as the king. Lear. If thou be as poor for a subject, as he is for a king, thou art poor enough. What would'st thou? Kent. Service. Lear. Whom would'st thou serve? Kent. You. Lear. Dost thou know me, fellow? Kent. No, fir; but you have that in your countenance which I would fain call master. Lear. What's that? Kent. Authority. H. and W. read-wife; to say little, &c. To eat no fish.] In queen Elizabeth's time the papists were esteemed, and with good reason, enemies to the government. Hence the proverbial phrafe of he's an honest man, and eats no fish; to fignify he's a friend to the government, and a proteftant. The eating fish on a religious account, being then esteemed such a badge of popery, that when it was enjoined for a feafon by an act of parliament, for the encouragement of the fish-towns, it was thought neceffary to declare the reason; hence it was called Cecil's faft. To this dif graceful badge of popery Fletcher alludes in his Woman-hater, who makes the courtezan fay, when Lazarillo in fearch of the umbrano's head, was feized at her house by the intelligencers for a traitor-Gentlemen, I am glad you have dif covered him. He should not have eaten under my roof for twenty pounds. And fure I did not like him when he called for fish. And Marston's Dutch courtezan, I trust I am none of the wicked that eat fish a Friday. W. s All but the qu's read be'st for be. The qu's and ist f. read who for whom. Lear Lear. What services canst u thou do?" Kent. I can keep honest w counsel, ride, run, mar a cu rious tale in telling it, and deliver a plain message bluntly. That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. Lear. How old art thou ? Kent. Not so young, x fir, to love a woman for finging; nor so old, to doat on her for any thing. I have years on my back forty-eight. Lear. ý Follow me, thou shalt serve me, if I like thee no worfe after, dinner. I will not part from thee yet. Dinner ho, dinner-Where's my knave? my fool? Enter steward. Go you, and call my fool hither. You, you, firrah, where's my daughter? Stew. So please you [Exit. Lear. What says the fellow there? Call the clot-pole back. -Where's my fool? ho! - I think the world's afleep. How now? where's that mungrel ? Knight. He says, my lord, your daughter is not well. Lear. Why came not the slave back to me when I call'd him? The ist q. omits thou. So the qu's and it f. the reft counfels. * The qu's omit fir. The qu's and fo's have no points but commas till after yet. R. P. T. W. and J. put a femicolon after ferve me, a comma after dinner, and a period after yet; which makes it nonfenfe. H. points in the fame manner, baiting that, to make sense of it, he puts the period after from thee; and reads thus-from thee. Yet no dinner, &c. 2 The qu's read you but once. a R.'s octavo reads colipole; F. clod-poll; the qu's clat-pole. The qu's gives this speech to Kent. * The 1st and ad to's read daughters. 1 : d Knight. Sir, he answer'd me in the roundest manner, he would not. Lear. He would not! d Knight. My lord, I know not what the matter is; but, to my judgment, your highness is not entertain'd with that ceremonious affection as you were wont; there's a great abatement f of kindness appears as well in the general dependants, as in the duke himself also, and your daughter. Lear. Ha! fay'st thou so? • Knight. I beseech you, pardon me, my lord, if I be mistaken; for my duty cannot be filent, when I think your highness & is wrong'd. Lear. Thou but rememberest me of my own conception: I have perceived a most faint neglect of late, which I have rather blamed as my own jealous curiofity, than as a very pretence and purpose of unkindness; I will look further into't. But where's my fool? I have not seen him these two days. Knight. Since my young lady's going into France, fir, the fool hath much pin'd away. Lear. No more of that; I have noted it * well. Go you and tell my daughter, I would speak with her. Go you, call hither my fool. 10 you fir, you fir, come you hither; who am I, fir? d The qu's give these speeches to a fervant. e The 3d and 4th fo's, R. P. and H. omit me. f The qu's omit of kind efs. & The ist q. and the 1st and 2d fo's, omit is h The qu's read purport. i The qu's read this for my. * All before P. read this for thefe. * The qu's omit well. Enter 1 So the qu's; the 1st and 2d qu's read Oh you fir, you, come you hither, 1 1 Enter steward. Stew. My lady's father. Lear. My lady's father? my lord's knave!-you whorefon dog, you flave, you cur. Stew. I am none of these, my lord; "I beseech your pardon. Lear. Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal? [Striking Kent. Nor tripp'd neither, you base foot-ball player ! [Tripping up his heels. Lear. I thank thee, fellow. Thou serv'st me, and I'll love thee. Kent. Come, fir, Parise, away. I'll teach you differences. Away, away. If you will measure your lubber's length again, tarry; but away, go to, s have you wisdom? so [Pushes the steward out. Lear. Now, u my friendly knave, I thank thee. There's earnest of thy service. [Giving money. fir, who am I fir? and so all the rest, bating that they omit the second The qu's read this for thefe. The qu's read I befeech you pardon me. The fo's and R. read strucken. P The qu's omit arife, away. T.'s duodecimo, W. and J. read tarry again; but, &c. The qu's omit go to. • The qu's read you have wisdom. The qu's omit fo. The qu's omit my. C3 SCENE Fool. Let me hire him too. Here's my w coxcomb. [Giving Kent his cap. Lear. How now, my pretty knave? how dost thou ? Kent. Why, fool? Fool. Why? for taking one's part, that's out of favour. Nay, an thou canft not smile as the wind fits, thou'lt catch cold shortly. There, take my coxcomb. Why, this fellow has banish'd two y on's daughters, and did the third a bleffing against his will; if thou follow him, thou must needs wear my coxcomb. How now, nuncle? Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters. Lear. Why, my boy? , Fool. If I gave them a all my living, b I'd keep my coxcombs myself. There's mine, beg another of thy daughters. w Coxcomb.] Meaning his cap, called fo because on the top of the fool or jester's cap was sewed a picce of red cloth, resembling the comb of a cock. W. * So the qu's; the rest for fool read my boy; which appellation is what Lear gives the fool, and not fo natural in the mouth of Kent. This mistake seems to have happened from the next fpeech but one, which was taken inNead of this in the fo's. : y So all till P. who alters on's to of his; so careful is he that even a fool mall speak exact grammar. Follow'd by the rest. So the qu's, and ift and ad fo's; the reft read give for gave. b The qu's read i'de; the fo's I'ld; both contractions of I would: all the reft read I'll. So the qu's and ist f. all the rest coxcomb. Lear. : |