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Lear. What doft thou profefs? what would'st thou with us? Kent. I do profefs to be no less than I feem; to ferve him truly, that will put me in truft; to love him that is honeft; to converse with him that is 9 wife, and fays little; to fear judgment; to fight when I cannot choose, 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 fubject, as he is for a king, thou art poor enough. What would'st thou?

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Lear. Doft 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.

4 H. and W. read-wife; to fay little, &c.

r 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 fuch a badge of popery, that when it was enjoined for a feason by an act of parliament, for the encouragement of the fish-towns, it was thought neceffary to declare the reafon; hence it was called Cecil's faft. To this difgraceful badge of popery Fletcher alludes in his Woman-hater, who makes the courtezan fay, when Lazarillo in search of the umbrano's head, was feized at her houfe 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'ft for be.

The qu's and rft f. read who for whom.

Lear.

Lear. What fervices canft u thou do?

Kent. I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar a cutious 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 fo young, fir, to love a woman for finging; nor fo old, to doat on her for any thing. I have years on my back forty-eight.

Lear. Follow me, thou fhalt ferve me, if I like thee no worse after dinner. I will not part from thee yet. Dinner ho, dinner-Where's my knave? my fool?

Enter fteward.

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Go you, and call my fool hither. You, you, firrah, where's my daughter?

Stew. So please you

[Exit.

Lear. What fays the fellow there? Call the a clot-pole back. -Where's my fool? ho!-I think the world's asleep.

How now? where's that mungrel?

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b Knight. He fays, my lord, your daughter is not well. Lear. Why came not the flave back to me when I call'd him?

The ift q. omits thou.

w So the qu's and rit f. the rest 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 F. put a femicolon after serve 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.

The qu's read you but once.

a R.'s octavo reads coltpole; F. clod-poll; the qu's clat-pole.

The qu's gives this fpeech to Kent.

* The 1st and 2d fo's read daughterss

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Knight. Sir, he anfwer'd me in the roundest manner, he would not.

Lear. He would not!

a 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 alfo, and your daughter.

Lear. Ha! fay'ft thou fo?

d

Knight. I befeech you, pardon me, my lord, if I be miftaken; for my duty cannot be filent, when I think your highness & is wrong'd.

Lear. Thou but remembereft 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 unkindnefs; I will look further into't. But where's my fool? I have not feen him k these two days.

d

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 fpeak with her. Go you, call hither my fool. 10 you fir, you fir, come you hither; who am I, fir?

a The qu's give thefe fpeeches to a fervant.

* The 3d and 4th fo`s, R. P. and H. omit me.

The qu's omit of kindness.

g The 1ft q. and the rft 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

So the qu's; the 1ft and 2d qu's read Oh you fir, you, come you hither,

fir,

Enter fterward.

Stew. My lady's father.

Lear. My lady's father? my lord's knave !-you whorefon dog, you flave, you cur.

m

Stew. I am none of these, my lord; "I befeech your pardon.

Lear. Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal? [Striking

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Kent. Nor tripp'd neither, you bafe foot-ball player !

[Tripping up his heels. Lear. I thank thee, fellow. Thou ferv'ft me, and I'll love thee.

Kent. Come, fir, P arife, away. I'll teach you differences. Away, away. If you will measure your lubber's length again, 9 tarry; but away, go to, s have you wifdom? fo

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[Pufbes the fteward out.

Lear. Now, my friendly knave, I thank thee. There's earnest of thy fervice.

[Giving money.

fir, who am I fir? and fo all the reft, bating that they omit the fecond

you.

m The qu's read this for these.

n The qu's read I beseech you pardon me.

The fo's and R. read ftrucken.

P The qu's omit arife, away.

q 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 emit my.

SCENE

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SCEN E XIII.

To them enter Fool.

Fool. Let me hire him too. Here's my w coxcomb.

[Giving Kent his cap.

Lear. How now, my pretty knave? how doft thou?

Fool. Sirrah, you were beft take my coxcomb.

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Fool. Why? for taking one's part, that's out of favour. Nay, an thou canst 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.

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Lear. Why, my boy?

z

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Fool. If I gave them all my living, b I'd keep my coxcombs myfelf. There's mine, beg another of thy daughters.

Coxcomb.] Meaning his cap, called so because on the top of the fool or jefter's cap was fewed a piece of red cloth, refembling the comb of a cock. Ꮴ .

* 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 feems to have happened from the next fpeech but one, which was taken in ftead of this in the fo's.

y So all till P. who alters on's to of his; fo careful is he that even a fool shall speak exact grammar. Follow'd by the reft.

Z So the qu's, and ift and ad fo's; the reft read give for gave.

The qu's read any for all my.

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 ift f. all the rest coxcomb.

Lear.

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