A grievous burden was thy birth to me; Thy prime of manhood, daring, bold, and venturous: K. Rick. 'Faith, none, bat Humphrey Hour,2 that call'd your grace To breakfast once, forth of my company. ffl be so disgracious in your sight, Let me march on, and not offend you, madam.— Strike up the drum. Duch I pr'ythee, hear me speak. K. Rich. You speak too bitterly. Duck. Hear me a word; For I shall never speak to thee again. K. Rich. So. Duch. Either thou wilt die, by God's just ordimance, Ere from this war thou turn a conqueror; Shame serves thy life, and doth thy death attend. [Exit. Q. Eliz. Though far more cause, yet much less spirit to curse Abides in me; I say amen to her. [Going. K. Rich. Stay, madam, I must speak a word with you. Q. Eliz. I have no more sons of the royal blood For thee to murder: for my daughters, Richard,-They shall be praying nuns, not weeping queens; And therefore level not to hit their lives. K. Rich. You have a daughter call'd-Elizabeth, Virtuous and fair, royal and gracious. Q. Eliz. And must she die for this? O, let her live, So she may live unscarr'd of bleeding slaughter, Q. Eliz. And only in that safety died her brothers. K. Rich. Lo, at their births, good stars were opposite. Q. Eliz. No, to their lives bad friends were contrary. K. Rich. All unavoided is the doom of destiny. Q. Eliz. True, when avoided grace makes destiny: My babes were destin'd to a fairer death, cousins. Q. Eliz. Cousins, indeed; and by their uncle cozen'd Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life. 1 Touchy, fretful. 2 I know not what to make of this, unless we suppose with Steevens that it is an allusion to some affair of gal Jantry of which the duchess had been suspected. There is no mention of any thing of the kind in the Chronicles. Malone conjectures that Humphrey Hour is merely used as a ludicrous periphrasis for hour, like Tom Troth, for truth, in Gabriel Harvey's Letter to Spenser. There can hardly be any allusion to the phrase of 'dining with Duke Humphrey,' used to express those who dined upon air, or passed their dinner hour in ad- I No doubt the murderous knife was dull and blunt, K. Rich. Madam, so thrive I in my enterprise, Q. Eliz. What good is cover'd with the face of heaven, To be discover'd, that can do me good? K. Rich. The advancement of your children, gentle lady. Q. Eliz. Up to some scaffold, there to lose their heads? K. Rich. No, to the dignity and height of fortune, The high imperial type of this earth's glory." Q. Eliz. Flatter my sorrows with report of it; Tell me, what state, what dignity, what honour, Canst thou demise to any child of mine? K. Rich. Even all I have; ay, and myself and all, Will I withal endow a child of thine; So in the Lethe of thy angry soul Thou drown the sad remembrance of those wrongs, Which, thou supposest, I have done to thee. Q. Eliz. Be brief, lest that the process of thy kindness That I would learn of you As one being best acquainted with her humour." Madam, with all my heart. Q. Eliz. Send to her, by the man that slew her brothers, A pair of bleeding hearts; thereon engrave, miring his supposed monument in old St. Paul's Cathe- 5 This conceit seems to have been a favourite with Shakspeare. 6 i. e. constant use. 7 i. e. the crown, the emblem of royalty. See note on King Henry VI. Part III. Act i. Sc. 4. 8 To demise is to grant, from demittere, Lat. But as no example of the use of the word, except in legal instruments, offers itself, I cannot help thinking we should read devise, with the second folio. K. Rich. You mock me, madam; this is not the| way To win your daughter. Q. Eliz. There is no other way; Unless thou could'st put on some other shape, And not be Richard that hath done all this. K. Rich. Say, that I did all this for love of her? Q. Eliz. Nay, then indeed, she cannot choose but hate thee,' Having bought love with such a bloody spoil. K. Rich. Look, what is done cannot be now Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes, The king, that calls your beauteous daughter,-wife, Q. Eliz. What were I best to say? her father's Would be her lord? Or shall I say, her uncle? That God, the law, my honour, and her love, Q. Eliz. Which she shall purchase with still K. Rich. Say, I will love her everlastingly. K. Rich. As long as heaven, and nature, lengthens it. Q. Eliz. As long as hell, and Richard, likes of it. K. Rich. Say, I, her sovereign, am her subject low Q. Eliz. But she, your subject, loathes such sov'reignty. K. Rich. Be eloquent in my behalf to her. Q. Eliz. An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told. K. Rich. Then in plain terms tell her my loving tale. K. Rich. Then, by myself,Q. Eliz. Thyself is self misus'd. K. Rich. Why then, by God,- God's wrong is most of all. K. Rich. For I myself have many tears to wash ter'd, Ungovern'd youth, to wail it in their age; The parents live, whose children thou hast butcher'd! al-Old barren plants, to wail it with their age. Swear not by time to come; for that thou hast Misus'd ere us'd, by times ill us'd o'er past. K. Rich. As I intend to prosper, and repent! So thrive I in my dangerous attempt Of hostile arms! myself myself confound! Heaven, and fortune, bar me happy hours! Day, yield me not thy light; nor, night, thy rest! Be opposite all planets of good luck K. Rich. Tell her, the king, that may command, entreats. Q. Eliz. That at her hands, which the king's King forbids.4 K. Rich. Say,she shall be a high and mighty queen. Q. Eliz. To wail the title, as her mother doth. 1 Tyrwhitt suggested that the sense seemed to require we should read but love thee,' ironically. Mason proposed but have thee,' which Steevens admitted into the text. It is by no means evident that this is spoken ironically (says Mr. Boswell,) and, if not, the old reading affords a perfectly clear meaning. A virtuous woman would hate the man who thought to purchase her love by the commission of crimes.' To my proceeding, if with pure heart's love, 2 Endur'd of her for whom you bid like sorrow.' of is used for by; bid is the past tense from bide. 3-i. e. recount. 4 She means that his crimes would render such a marriage offensive to heaven. 5 Young has borrowed this thought : But say, my all, my mistress, and my friend, Immaculate devotion, holy thoughts, I tender not thy beauteous princely daughter! Plead what I will be, not what I have been ; Q. Eliz. Shall I be tempted of the devil thus? Q. Eliz. But thou didst kill my children. K. Rich. But in your daughter's womb I bury them: Where, in the nest of spicery, they shall breed Q. Eliz. Shall I go win my daughter to thy will? [Kissing her. Exit Q. ELIZABETH. Relenting fool, and shallow, changing-woman!' How now? what news? Enter RATCLIFF; CATESBY following. Ratcliff, thyself,-or Catesby; where is he? What from your grace I shall deliver to him. The greatest strength and power he can make, Cate. I go, [Exit. Rat. What, may it please you, shall I do at Salisbury? K. Rich. Why, what would'st thou do there, before I go? Rat. Your highness told me, I should post before. Enter STANLEY. K. Rich. My mind is chang'd.-Stanley, what news with you? Stan. None good, my liege, to please you with the hearing; 2 Alluding to the phoenix. Nor none so bad, but well may be reported. 1 Foolish. 3 Such was the real character of this queen-dowager, who would have married her daughter to King Richard, and did all in her power to alienate the marquis of Dorset, her son, from the earl of Richmond. 4 Richard's precipitation and confusion is in this scene very happily represented by inconsistent orders and sudden variation of opinion. 5 Richard asks this question in the plenitude of power, and no one dares to answer him. But they whom he addresses, had they not been intimidated, might have king: Pleaseth your majesty to give me leave, I'll muster up my friends; and meet your grace, I will not trust you, sir. K. Rich. Well, go, muster men. But, hear you, leave behind Your son, George Stanley: look your heart be firm, 3 Mess. My lord, the army of great Buckingham→→→ K. Rich. Out on ye, owls! nothing but songs of death? [He strikes him. There, take thou that, till thou bring better news. 3 Mess. The news I have to tell your majesty, told him that there was a male heir of the house of York alive, who had a better claim to the throne than he Edward earl of Warwick, the only son of the usurper's eldest brother, George duke of Clarence; but Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. and all her sisters, had a better title than either of them. He had however been careful to have the issue of King Edward pronounced illegitimate; and as the duke of Clarence had been attainted of high treason, he had some colour for his bravado. 6 Competitors here means confederates. Is, that, by sudden floods and fall of waters, K. Rich. O, I cry you mercy: There is my purse to cure that blow of thine. Hath any well-advised friend proclaim'd Reward to him that brings the traitor in? 3 Mess. Such proclamation hath been made, my liege. Enter another Messenger. 4 Mess. Sir Thomas Lovel, and lord marquis Dorset, "Tis said, my liege, in Yorkshire are in arms. Hois'd sail, and made his course again for Bretagne. K. Rich. March on, march on, since we are up in arms; If not to fight with foreign enemies, Yet to beat down these rebels here at home. Enter CATESBY, Cate. My liege, the duke of Buckingham is taken, That is the best news; That the earl of Richmond Is with a mighty power' landed at Milford, Is colder news, but yet they must be told. He shall espouse Elizabeth her daughter. ACT V. SCENE I. Salisbury. An open Place. Enter the Sheriff, and Guard, with BUCKINGHAM, led to execution, Buck. Will not King Richard let me speak with him? Sher. No, my good lord; therefore be patient. Holy King Henry, and thy fair son Edward, This is All-Souls' day, fellows, is it not? Sher. It is, my lord. Buck. Why, then All-Souls' day is my body's This is the day, which, in King Edward's time, K. Rich. Away towards Salisbury; while we That high All-seer which I dallied with, reason here, A royal battle might be won and lost :- [Exeunt, SCENE V. A Room in Lord Stanley's House. Enter STANLEY and SIR CHRISTOPHER URSWICK.' Stan. Sir Christopher, tell Richmond this from me: That in the sty of this most bloody boar, Stax. What men of name resort to him? Stan. Well, hie thee to thy lord; commend me to him; Tell him, the queen hath heartily consented 1 The earl of Richmond embarked with about two thousand men at Harfleur, in Normandy, August 1, 1485, and landed at Milford Haven on the 7th. He directed his course to Wales, hoping the Welsh would receive him cordially as their countryman, he having been born at Pembroke, and his grandfather being Owen Tudor, who married Katharine of France, the widow of King Henry V. 2 News was considered as plural by our ancient writers. Hath turn'd my feigned prayer on my head, Richm. Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends, Bruis'd underneath the yoke of tyranny, In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine 5 There is reason to think that Buckingham's execution took place at Shrewsbury, but this is not the place to discuss the question. 6 The reason why the duke of Buckingham solicited an interview with Richard is explained in King Henry VIII. Act i. 7 The time to which the punishment of his injurious practices or the wrongs done by him was respited. 8 Johnson thinks this scene should be added to the 3 Sir Christopher Urswick, a priest, chaplain to the fourth act, which would give it a more full and striking countess of Richmond, who was married to the Lord conclusion. In the original quarto copy, 1597, this play Stanley. This priest, the chronicles tell us, frequently is not divided into acts and scenes: Malone suggests went backwards and forwards, unsuspected, on mes- that the short scene between Stanley and Sir Christo. sages between the countess of Richmond and her hus-pher may have been the opening of the fifth act. band, and the young earl of Richmond, whilst he was 9 John de Vere, earl of Oxford, a zealous Lancas preparing to make his descent on England. He was trian, who, after a long confinement in Hammes Castle, afterwards almoner to King Henry VII. and refused the in Picardy, escaped in 1484, and joined Richmond at bishopric of Norwich. He retired to Hackney, where Paris. He commanded the archers at the battle of Boshe died in 1527, and his tomb is, I believe, still to be seen worth. in the church there. 4 Vide note on p. 96, ante. 10 Sir James Blunt had been captain of the Castle of Hammes, and assisted Oxford in his escape. In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends, To fight against that bloody homicide. Herb. I doubt not, but his friends will turn to us. Blunt. He hath no friends, but who are friends for fear; Which, in his dearest need, will fly from him. True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings, And you, Sir Walter Herbert, stay with me: Blunt. Unless I have mista'en his colours much And give him from me this most needful note. K. Rich. Here pitch our tents, even here in Let us consult upon to-morrow's business; Bosworth field. My lord of Surrey, why look you so sad? Sur. My heart is ten times lighter than my looks. Here, most gracious liege. K. Rich. Norfolk, we must have knocks: Ha! must we not? Nor. We must both give and take, my loving lord. K. Rich. Up with my tent: Here will I lie tonight;2 [Soldiers begin to set up the King's tent. But where, to-morrow?-Well, all's one for thatWho hath descried the number of the traitors? Nor. Six or seven thousand is their utmost power. count :3 Besides, the king's name is a tower of strength, Tent. Richm. The weary sun hath made a golden set, [They withdraw into the Tent. Enter, to his Tent, KING RICHARD, NORFOLK, It's supper time, my lord: K. Rich. What is't o'clock? I will not sup to-night.- diness. I Alluding to the proverb, Conscientiæ mille testes.' 2 Richard is reported not to have slept in his tent on nere consumed unto a morter wherin you bray spices, the night before the battle, but in the town of Leicester. for the flame first hollowing the middle of the waxe 3 Richmond's forces are said to have been only five cake, which is next unto it, the waxe by degrees, like thousand; and Richard's army consisted of about the sands in a houre glasse, runs evenly from all sides twelve thousand. But Lord Stanley lay at a small dis-to the middle to supply the wicke. This royal ceremony tance with three thousand men, and Richard may be supposed to have reckoned on them as his friends, though the event proved otherwise. 4 i. e. tried judgment, military skill. 6 Appoint. 6 Remains with. 7 i. e. contrive, take some pains or earnest measures. By a watch is most probably meant a wutch-light. The nature of which will appear from the following note of Sir Frances Kinaston upon Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida, in the very curious rhiming Latin Version of that poem which I possess in manuscript. This word [morter] doth plainely intimate Jeffery Chaucer to have been an esquire of the body in ordinary to the king, whose office it is, after he hath chardged and set the watch of the gard, to carry in the morter and to set it by the king's bed-side, for he takes from the cupboard a silver bason, and therin poures a little water, and then sets a round cake of virgin wax in the middest of the bason, in the middle of which cake is a wicke of bumbast, which being lighted burnes as a watch-light all night by the king's bed-side. It hath, as I conceive, the name of morter for the likenes it hath when it is Chaucer wittily faines to be in Cresseid's bed-chamber, calling this kind of watch-light by the name of morter, which very few courtiers besides esquires of the body (who only are admitted after all night is served to come into the king's bedchamber,) do understand what is meant by it.' Kinaston was himself esquire of the body to King Charles I. Baret mentions watching lamps, or candles; lucernæ vigiles:' and watching candles are mentioned in many old plays. Steevens says that he has seen them represented in some of the pictures [qu. prints?] of Albert Durer. 9 i. e. the staves or poles of his lances. It was the custom to carry more than one into the field. 10 Richard calls him melancholy because he did not join heartily in his cause. 11 i. e. twilight. A cock-shut was a large net stretched across a glade, and so suspended upon poles as easily to be drawn together, and was employed to catch woodcocks. These nets were chiefly used in the twilight of the evening, when woodcocks 'take wing to go and get water, flying generally low; and when they find any thoroughfare through a wood or range of trees, they venture through. The artificial glade made for |