ood upon the heath, where the fool first
entering, suddenly ran back terrified, saying that he had seen a spirit.
But upon examination this spirit proved to be nothing more than a poor
Bedlam beggar, who had crept into this deserted hovel for shelter, and
with his talk about devils frighted the fool, one of those poor lunatics
who are either mad, or feign to be so, the better to extort charity from
the compassionate country people, who go about the country, calling
themselves poor Tom and poor Turlygood, saying, "Who gives anything to
poor Tom?" sticking pins and nails and sprigs of rosemary into their
arms to make them bleed; and with such horrible actions, partly by
prayers, and partly with lunatic curses, they move or terrify the
ignorant country-folks into giving them alms. This poor fellow was such
a one; and the king seeing him in so wretched a plight, with nothing but
a blanket about his loins to cover his nakedness, could not be persuaded
but that the fellow was some father who had given all away to his
daughters, and brought himself to that pass: for nothing he thought
could bring a man to such wretchedness but the having unkind daughters.

And from this and many such wild speeches which he uttered, the good
Caius plainly perceived that he was not in his perfect mind, but that
his daughters' ill usage had really made him go mad. And now the loyalty
of this worthy Earl of Kent showed itself in more essential services
than he had hitherto found opportunity to perform. For with the
assistance of some of the king's attendants who remained loyal, he had
the person of his royal master removed at daybreak to the castle of
Dover, where his own friends and influence, as Earl of Kent, chiefly
lay; and himself embarking for France, hastened to the court of
Cordelia, and did there in such moving terms represent the pitiful
condition of her royal father, and set out in such lively colours the
inhumanity of her sisters, that this good and loving child with many
tears besought the king her husband that he would give her leave to
embark for England, with a sufficient power to subdue these cruel
daughters and their husbands, and restore the old king her father to his
throne; which being granted, she set forth, and with a royal army landed
at Dover.

Lear having by some chance escaped from the guardians which the good
Earl of Kent had put over him to take care of him in his lunacy, was
found by some of Cordelia's train, wanderi