Gon. Marry, your manhood now—­

Alb. What news?

5. The stage-directions at V. i. 37, 39.

In V. i. there first enter Edmund, Regan, and their army or soldiers:  then, at line 18, Albany, Goneril, and their army or soldiers.  Edmund and Albany speak very stiffly to one another, and Goneril bids them defer their private quarrels and attend to business.  Then follows this passage (according to the modern texts): 

Alb. Let’s then determine
With the ancient of war on our proceedings.

Edm. I shall attend you presently at your tent.

Reg. Sister, you’ll go with us?

Gon. No.

Reg. ’Tis most convenient:  pray you, go with us.

Gon. [Aside] O, ho, I know the riddle.—­I will go.

As they are going out, enter EDGAR disguised.

Edg. If e’er your grace had speech with man so poor,
Hear me one word.

Alb. I’ll overtake you.  Speak.

[Exeunt all but ALBANY and EDGAR.

It would appear from this that all the leading persons are to go to a Council of War with the ancient (plural) in Albany’s tent; and they are going out, followed by their armies, when Edgar comes in.  Why in the world, then, should Goneril propose (as she apparently does) to absent herself from the Council; and why, still more, should Regan object to her doing so?  This is a question which always perplexed me, and I could not believe in the only answers I ever found suggested, viz., that Regan wanted to keep Edmund and Goneril together in order that she might observe them (Moberly, quoted in Furness), or that she could not bear to lose sight of Goneril, for fear Goneril should effect a meeting with Edmund after the Council (Delius, if I understand him).

But I find in Koppel what seems to be the solution (Verbesserungsvorschlaege, p. 127 f.).  He points out that the modern stage-directions are wrong.  For the modern direction ’As they are going out, enter Edgar disguised,’ the Ff. read, ’Exeunt both the armies.  Enter Edgar.’  For ‘Exeunt all but Albany and Edgar’ the Ff. have nothing, but Q1 has ‘exeunt’ after ‘word.’  For the first direction Koppel would read, ‘Exeunt Regan, Goneril, Gentlemen, and Soldiers’:  for the second he would read, after ‘overtake you,’ ‘Exit Edmund.’

This makes all clear.  Albany proposes a Council of War.  Edmund assents, and says he will come at once to Albany’s tent for that purpose.  The Council will consist of Albany, Edmund, and the ancient of war.  Regan, accordingly, is going away with her soldiers; but she observes that Goneril shows no sign of moving with her soldiers; and she at once suspects that Goneril means to attend the Council in order to be with Edmund.  Full