[184] In “King Lear” (iv. 6), where Edgar says:
“Yond tall anchoring bark,
Diminish’d to her cock; her cock, a buoy
Almost too small for sight.”
the word “cock” is an abbreviation for cock-boat.
[185] For superstitions associated with this bird, see Brand’s “Pop. Antiq.,” 1849, vol. iii. p. 218.
[186] “Ornithology of Shakespeare,” p. 260.
[187] See “Folk-Lore Record,” 1879, vol. i. p. 52; Henderson’s “Folk-Lore of Northern Counties,” 1879, pp. 25, 126, 277.
[188] Nares’s “Glossary,” vol. i. p. 208.
[189] Cf. “Henry IV.,” iv. 2.
[190] Miss Baker’s “Northamptonshire Glossary,” vol. ii. p. 161; Brand’s “Pop. Antiq.,” 1849, vol. iii. p. 393.
[191] Cf. “Romeo and Juliet,” i. 5.