for giving Cordelia fuccefs and happiness in his alteration, and declares, that, in his opinion, the tragedy has loft half its beauty. Dennis has remarked, whether justly or not, that, to secure the favourable reception of Cato, the town was poisoned with much falfe and abominable criticism, and that endeavours had been used to difcredit and decry poetical juftice, A play in which the wicked profper, and the virtuous mifcarry, may doubtlefs be good, because it is a juft reprefentation of the common events of human life: but fince all reasonable beings naturally love juftice, I cannot easily be perfuaded, that the obfervation of justice makes a play worse; or, that if other excellencies are equal, the audience will not always rife better pleafed from the final triumph of perfecuted virtue. In the prefent cafe the public has decided. Cordelia, from the time of Tate, has always retired with victory and felicity. And, if my fenfations could add any thing to the general fuffrage, I might relate, I was many years ago fo shocked by Cordelia's death, that I know not whether I ever endured to read again the last scenes of the play till I undertook to revise them as an editor. There is another controverfy among the critics concerning this play. It is difputed whether the predominant image in Lear's difordered mind be the lofs of his kingdom or the cruelty of his daughters. Mr. Murphy, a very judicious critic, has evinced by induction of particular paffages, that the cruelty of his daughters is the primary fource of his diftrefs, and that the lofs of royalty affects him only as a fecondary and fubordinate evil. He obferves with great juftnefs, that Lear would move our compaffion but little, did we not rather confider the injured father than the degraded king. The story of this play, except the epifode of Edmund, which is derived, I think, from Sidney, is taken originally from Geoffry of Monmouth, whom Hollinfhed generally copied, but perhaps immediately from an old historical ballad. My reafon for believing that the play was pofterior to the ballad, rather than the ballad to the play, is, that the ballad has nothing of Shakespeare's nocturnal tempeft, which is too striking to have been omitted, and that it follows the chronicle; it has the rudiments of the play, but none of its amplifications: it firft hinted Lear's madnefs, but did not array it in circumftances. The writer of the ballad added fomething to the hiftory, which is a proof that he would have added more, if more had occurred to his mind, and more muft have occurred if he had feen Shakespeare. A A lamentable SONG of the Death of King Leir and bis Three Daughters. I KING Leir once ruled in this land With princely power and peace, And had all things, with heart's content, So princely feeming beautiful, So on a time it pleas'd the king To whom the eldeft thus began; And fo will I, the fecond faid; Dear father, for your fake, The worst of all extremities I'll gently undertake: And ferve your highness night and day With diligence and love; That fweet content and quietness Discomforts may remove. King Leir, &c.] This ballad is given from an ancient copy in The Golden Garland, black letter. To the tune of, When flying Fame. In In doing fo, you glad my foul, But what fayft thou, my youngest girl, My love (quoth young Cordelia then) Thy elder fifters loves are more My pompal ftate and all my goods, With those thy fifters be maintain'd Thus flatt'ring fpeeches won renown The third had caufelefs banishment, Went wand'ring up and down; Until at laft in famous France Though poor and bare, yet she was deem'd Where when the king her virtues heard, And this fair lady feen, With full confent of all his court, He made his wife and queen, Her Her father, old king Leir, this while She took from him his chiefeft means, For whereas twenty men were wont And after scarce to three: Nay one the thought too much for him: In hope that in her court, good king, Am I rewarded thus, quoth he, My fecond child, I know, Full faft he hies then to her court; Within her kitchen, he should have What fcullions gave away. When he had heard with bitter tears, He made his answer then; In what I did let me be made I will return again, quoth he, She will not ufe me thus I hope, But in a kinder fort. Where Where when he came fhe gave command To drive him thence away: When he was well within her court, But there of that he was deny'd, Thus 'twixt his daughters, for relief And calling to remembrance then He bore the wounds of woe. Which made him rend his milk-white locks And treffes from his head, And all with blood beftain his cheeks, To hills and woods, and wat'ry founts, Till hills and woods, and fenfeless things, Even thus poffefs'd with difcontents, He paffed o'er to France, In hope from fair Cordelia there To find fome gentler chance. Moft virtuous dame! which when he heard Of this her father's grief, As duty bound, the quickly fent Him comfort and relief. And |