K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! > K. Rich. Slave, I have set my life upon a cast, Alarum. SCENE V.-Another part of the field. Enter KING RICHARD and RICHMOND; they fight. Richm. God and your arms be prais'd, victorious friends! 7. Alarums.] Ff; omitted Qq. 13. Exeunt.] Theobald; omitted Qq, Ff. Scene V. Another SCENE V.] Dyce; Ff, Pope, Capell, etc., continue scene. field.] Dyce, Camb. Retreat and flourish.] Ff; then retrait being sounded Qq. Re-enter Richmond] Camb.; Enter Richmond Qq, Ff. 1. God. . . friends] one line as Qq; God. Armes Be... Friends (two lines) Ff. 3. Der.] Stan. Pope. 3, 4. Courageous royalty] two lines as Qq; Couragious Richmond, Well... Loe Heere . Royalties (three lines) Ff. 13. The chronicles contain no mention of the loss of Richard's horse. This famous line was possibly suggested by the statement that "when the losse of the battell was imminent and apparant, they brought to him a swift and a light horsse, to conueie him awaie." The "six Richmonds in the field" are also without authority. Richard knew the earl at once "by certeine demonstrations and tokens, which he had learned and knowen of others that were able to giue him full information." He put spurs to his horse, and, riding out of his part of the host, "like a hungrie lion ran with speare in rest toward him." To make his way to his enemy, he killed Sir William Brandon and overthrew Sir John Cheney. The single combat which followed was stopped by the arrival of Sir William Stanley's reinforcements. These surrounded and overpowered Richard, isolating him from his army; and “he himself, manfullie fighting in the middle of his enimies, was slaine." Steevens mentions various imitations of Richard's cry for a horse, and quotes Heywood, Iron Age : "a horse, a horse! The line is reproduced by Marston, Lo, here this long usurped royalty But, tell me, is young George Stanley living? Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us. Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon. Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled, 5 ΙΟ 15 20 25 4. royalty]Q1; roialties Qq 2-8, Ff. 7. enjoy it] Qq 1, 2; omitted Qq 3-8, Ff. Pope. and] omitted 15. become] Qq, Ff; becomes Rowe, Camb. 25. rashly] madly 4. royalty] So 1 Henry IV. iv. iii. 55. 12. men of name] Compare Much 13, 14. Qq print these lines in italics 15. become] If this is not a misprint All this divided York and Lancaster, O, now let Richmond and Elizabeth, 30 With smiling plenty and fair prosperous days! 35 And make poor England weep in streams of blood! 32. their] Qq 1, 2, 8; thy Qq 3-7, Ff. 40 [Exeunt. 33. smooth-fac'd] Ff; smooth-faste 5-7. 27. this] Johnson wished to change 35. Abate] blunt, depress, lower. 117, where the metaphor is very com. APPENDIX I I. iv. 257-68. Ff admit six lines which are not in Qq, five of which (or, rather, four and a half) are inserted between Clarence's appeal in line 256, "Relent, and save your souls," and the first murderer's repetition of the word "Relent." (1) It is quite obvious that the force of the repetition, and of Clarence's subsequent comments upon it, is thus destroyed. (2) The reading Would not intreat for life, as you would begge is awkward, as it makes Clarence say over again what he already has said. In his extremity, however, he might be excused for repeating himself, as Queen Elizabeth already has been excused for her grammar, I. iii. 62-9 above. The advantage of Ff reading is that Clarence, attempting to work on the feelings of both murderers, is repulsed by the first, and then turns to the second for compassion, with such effect that, when the fatal blow is about to descend, the second murderer warns the victim. The reading adopted in the text has these drawbacks: (1) it places Clarence's appeal to both murderers after the first murderer's refusal to relent; (2) it pieces together the two appeals; and (3) separates the words "as you would beg. distress" in a way for which there is no warrant in the original text. On the other hand, (1) the refusal of the first murderer is not absolute, and Clarence might still attempt to soften him; (2) the appeal, producing no effect upon him, might be broken off, and a special appeal be begun to the second murderer. (3) brings us to the root of the whole matter. We assume that the editor of F I used a copy of Q, probably Q 6; that he checked it by comparison with a MS. of the play; that he noted down in the margin or between the lines of the printed book the variations which he preferred from the MS.; and that, having done so, he sent his corrected copy of Q to the printer. In the present case, he would have crowded his margin with a number of lines which are not in Qq; and it is easy to see that the printer would have found some difficulty in gathering the method of their arrangement and insertion. He would have taken the course which seemed to him most probable; and, as the editor probably never saw a printer's proof of the text, the arrangement retained in Ff is, on this hypothesis, that of the printer. If this does not actually vindicate Tyrwhitt's conjecture, it at any rate vindicates his right to make it; and the sense, as it stands, is excellent. In addition to the arrangements mentioned in the collation, we may notice that Theobald followed Ff, proposing the emendation "Ah! you would beg," which was accepted by Warburton and Johnson. Johnson, however, wished to transfer "Which of you . . . distress to the end of the passage. After the words "what beggar pities not?" one of the murderers should repeat "A begging prince!"; and then Clarence should amplify his illustration with the new lines. "Upon which provocation," adds Johnson, "the villain naturally strikes him." The provocation seems very slight. Spedding agrees with Johnson as to the place of the lines, but observes that the murderer's cry, "A begging prince!" is not wanted, and would read the end of the new lines thus: "Would not entreat for life? As you would beg Were you in my distress- 2. Look behind," etc. Collier eked out the imperfect line from his MS. thus: "Would not entreat for life? As you would beg, Were you in my distress, so pity me." |