Introductory matter

Persons represented. King Richard the second: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; his Uncle. Edmond of Langley [Edmund of Langley], Duke of York; his Uncle. Henry, sirnam'd—Bolingbroke [Henry Bolingbroke], Son to Gaunt; afterwards, King Henry the fourth. Duke of Aumerle, Son to York. Duke of Norfolk [Thomas Mowbray]. Duke of Surrey. Earl of Northumberland: Henry Percy, his Son. Earl Berkley [Earl Berkeley]. Earl of Salisbury. Lord Ross. Lord Willoughby. Lord Fitzwater. Lord Marshal; Another Lord. Bishop of Carlisle. Abbot of Westminster. Bushy, Creature of Richard. Green, Creature of Richard. Bagot, Creature of Richard. Sir Stephen Scroop. Sir Pierce of Exton. Captain of a Band of Welshmen [Captain]. Two Heralds [Herald1], [Herald2]. a Gardiner [Gardener]. Richard's Keeper [Keeper]. a Groom. Serv. of York [Servant]: Serv. of Exton [Servant]: Serv. of the Gardiner [Servant 1]. Isabel, Richard's Queen [Queen]. Dutchess of Gloster [Duchess of Gloucester]. Dutchess of York [Duchess of York]. Lady [Lady], attending the Queen. Lords, and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, &c. Scene, dispers'd; in England, and Wales.

RICHARD II. ACT I. SCENE I. London. A Room in the Palace. Enter King Richard, attended; John of Gaunt, and other Nobles, with him.

Ric.
Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster,
Hast thou, according to thy oath and bond,
Brought hither Henry Hereford thy bold son;
Here to make good the boistrous late appeal,
Which then our leisure would not let us hear,
Against the duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?

Gau.
I have, my liege.

Ric.
Tell me moreover, hast thou sounded him,
If he appeal the duke on ancient malice;
Or worthily, as a good subject should,
On some known ground of treachery in him?

Gau.
As near as I could sift him on that argument,—
On some apparent danger seen in him,
Aim'd at your highness, no inveterate malice.

Ric.
Then call them to our presence; face to face,
And frowning brow to brow, ourselves will hear

The accuser, and the accused, freely speak:— [Exeunt some Attendants.
High-stomach'd are they both, and full of ire,
In rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire. Re-enter Attendants, with Bolingbroke, Norfolk, and Others.

Bol.
May many years14Q0572 of happy days befal
My gracious sovereign, my most loving liege!

Nor.
Each day still better other's happiness;
Until the heavens, envying earth's good hap,
Add ^note an immortal title to your crown!

Ric.
We thank you both: yet one but flatters us,
As well appeareth by the cause you come;
Namely, to appeal each other of high treason.—
Cousin of Hereford, what dost thou object
Against the duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?

Bol.
First, (heaven be the record to my speech!)
In the devotion of a subject's love,
Tend'ring the precious safety of my prince,
And free from other misbegotten hate,
Come I appellant ^note to this princely presence.—
Now, Thomas Mowbray, do I turn to thee,
And mark my greeting well; for what I speak,
My body shall make good upon this earth,
Or my divine soul answer it in heaven.
Thou art a traitor, and a miscreant;
Too good to be so, and too bad to live;
Since, the more fair and crystal is the sky,
The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly.
Once more, the more to aggravate the note,
With a foul traitor's name stuff I thy throat;
And wish, (so please my sovereign) ere I move,

What my tongue speaks, my right-drawn sword may prove.

Nor.
Let not my cold words ^note here accuse my zeal:
'Tis not the trial of a woman's war,
The bitter clamour of two eager tongues,
Can arbitrate this cause betwixt us twain;
The blood is hot, that must be cool'd for this.
Yet can I not of such tame patience boast,
As to be hush'd, and nought at all to say:
First, the fair reverence of your highness curbs me,
From giving reins and spurs to my free speech;
Which else would ^note post, until it had return'd
These terms of treason doubl'd ^note down his throat.
Setting aside his high blood's royalty,
And let him be no kinsman to my liege,
I do defy him, and I spit ^note at him;
Call him—a sland'rous coward, and a villain:
Which to maintain, I would allow him odds;
And meet him, were I ty'd ^note to run a-foot
Even to the frozen ridges of the Alps,
Or any other ground inhabitable
Where ever Englishman durst set his foot.
Mean time, let this defend my loyalty ^note,—
By all my hopes, most falsely doth he lie.

Bol.
Pale trembling coward, there I throw † my gage,
Disclaiming here the kindred of a king ^note;
And lay aside my high blood's royalty,
Which fear, not reverence, makes thee to except:
If guilty dread hath left ^note thee so much strength,
As to take up mine honour's pawn, then stoop;
By that, and all the rites ^note of knighthood else,
I will make good against thee, arm to arm,

What I have spoke ^note, or thou ^note canst worse ^note devise.

Nor.
I take it † up; and, by that sword I swear,
Which gently lay'd my knighthood on my shoulder,
I'll answer thee in any fair degree
Or chivalrous design of knightly trial:
And, when I mount, alive ^note may I not light,
If I be traitor, or unjustly fight!

Ric.
What doth our cousin lay to Mowbray's charge?
It must be great, that can inherit us
So much as of a thought of ill in him.

Bol.
Look, what I speak, my ^note life shall prove it true;—
That Mowbray hath receiv'd eight thousand nobles,
In name of lendings ^note for your highness' soldiers;
The which he hath detain'd for lewd employments,
Like a false traitor, and injurious villain.
Besides I say, and will in battle prove,—
Or here, or elsewhere, to the furthest verge
That ever was survey'd by English eye,—
That all the treasons, for these ^note eighteen years
Complotted and contrived in this land,
Fetch ^note from false Mowbray their first head and spring.
Further I say,—and further will maintain
Upon his bad life, to make all this good,—
That he did plot the duke of Gloster's death;
Suggest his soon-believing adversaries;
And, consequently, like a traitor coward,
Sluic'd out his innocent soul through streams of blood:
Which blood, like sacrificing Abel's, cries,
Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth,
To me, for justice, and rough chastisement;
And, by the glorious worth of my descent,
This arm shall do it, or this life be spent.

Ric.
How high a pitch his resolution soars!—
Thomas of Norfolk, what say'st ^note thou to this?

Nor.
O, let my sovereign turn away his face,
And bid his ears a little while be deaf,
'Till I have told this slander of his blood,
How God, and good men, hate so foul a liar.

Ric.
Mowbray, impartial are our eyes, and ears:
Were he my brother, nay, my kingdom's ^note heir,
(As he is but my father's brother's son)
Now by my ^note scepter's awe I make a vow,
Such neighbour nearness to our sacred blood
Should nothing priviledge him, nor partialize
The unstooping firmness of my upright soul:
He is our subject, Mowbray, so art thou;
Free speech, and fearless, I to thee allow.

Nor.
Then, Bolingbroke, as low as to thy heart,
Through the false passage of thy throat, thou ly'st.
Three parts of that receipt I had for Calais,
Disburs'd I duly ^note to his highness' soldiers:
The other part reserv'd I by consent;
For that my sovereign liege was in my debt,
Upon remainder of a dear account,
Since last I went to France to fetch his queen:
Now swallow down that lie. For Gloster's death,—
I slew him not; but, to my own ^note disgrace,
Neglected my sworn duty in that case.—
For you, my noble lord of Lancaster,
The honourable father to my foe,—
Once did I ^note lay an ambush for your life,
A trespass that doth vex my grieved soul:
But ^note, ere I last receiv'd the sacrament,
I did confess it; and exactly beg'd

Your grace's pardon, and, I hope, I had it.
This is my fault: As for the rest appeal'd,—
It issues from the rancor of a villain,
A recreant and most degenerate traitor:
Which in myself I boldly will defend;
And interchangeably hurl down my † gage ^note
Upon this overweening traitor's foot,
To prove myself a loyal gentleman
Even in the best blood chamber'd in his bosom ^note:
In haste whereof, most heartily I pray
Your highness to assign our trial day.

Ric.
Wrath-kindl'd gentlemen, be rul'd by me;
Let's purge this choler without letting blood:
This we prescribe, though no physician;
Deep malice makes too deep incision:
Forget, forgive; conclude, and be agreed;
Our doctors say, this is no time to ^note bleed.—
Good uncle, let this end where it begun;
We'll calm the duke of Norfolk, you your son.

Gau.
To be a make-peace shall become my age:—
Throw down, my son, the duke of Norfolk's gage.

Ric.
And, Norfolk, throw down his.

Gau.
When, Harry? when?
Obedience bids, I should not bid again.

Ric.
Norfolk, throw down; we bid; there is no boot.

Nor.
Myself I throw, dread sovereign, at thy foot:
My life thou shalt command, but not my shame;
The one, my duty owes; but my fair name,
(Despight of death, that lives upon my grave)
To dark dishonour's use thou shalt not have.
I am disgrac'd, impeach'd, and baffl'd here;
Pierc'd to the soul with slander's venom'd spear;

The which no balm ^note can cure, but his heart-blood
Which breath'd this poison.

Ric.
Rage must be withstood:
Give me his gage; Lions make leopards tame.

Nor.
Yea, but not change his spots ^note:14Q0573 take but my shame,
And I resign my gage. My dear dear lord,
The purest treasure mortal times afford,
Is—spotless reputation; that away,
Men are but gilded loam, or painted ^note clay.
A jewel in a ten-times-bar'd-up chest
Is—a bold spirit in a loyal breast.
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one;
Take honour from me, and my life is done:
Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try;
In that I live, and for that will I die.

Ric.
Cousin, throw up your ^note gage; do you begin.

Bol.
O, God defend ^note my soul from such deep sin ^note!
Shall I seem crest-fall'n in my father's sight?
Or with pale beggar-fear impeach ^note my height
Before this out-dar'd dastard? Ere my tongue
Shall wound mine honour ^note with such feeble wrong,
Or sound so base a parle ^note, my teeth shall tear
The slavish motive of recanting fear;
And spit it bleeding, in his high disgrace,
Where shame doth harbour, even in Mowbray's face. [Exeunt Gaunt, and Others.

Ric.
We were not born to sue, but to command:
Which since we cannot do to make you friends,
Be ready, as your lives ^note shall answer it,
At Coventry, upon saint Lambert's ^note day;
There shall your swords and lances arbitrate
The swelling difference of your settl'd hate;

Since we cannot ^note atone you, we shall ^note see
Justice decide ^note the victor's chivalry.—
Marshal ^note, command our officers at arms
Be ready to direct these home-alarms ^note. [Exeunt. SCENE II. The same. Another Room. Enter Gaunt, and Dutchess of Gloster.

Gau.
Alas, the part I had in Woodstock's blood ^note
Doth more solicit me, than your exclaims,
To stir against the butchers of his life.
But, since correction lyeth in those hands
Which made the fault that we cannot ^note correct,
Put we our quarrel to the will of heaven;
Who, when they see ^note the hours ^note ripe on earth,
Will rain ^note hot vengeance on offenders' heads.

Dut.
Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur?
Hath love in thy old blood no living fire?
Edward's seven sons, whereof thyself art one,
Were as seven vials of his sacred blood,
Or seven fair branches springing from one root:
Some of those seven are dry'd by nature's course,
Some of those branches by the destinies cut;
But Thomas, my dear lord, my life, my Gloster,—
One vial full of Edward's sacred blood,
One flourishing branch of his most royal root,—
Is crack'd, and all the precious liquor spilt;
Is hack'd down, and his summer leaves ^note all faded ^note,
By envy's hand, and murder's bloody axe.
Ah, Gaunt, his blood was thine; that bed, that womb,
That metal ^note, that self mould, that fashion'd thee,
Made him a man; and though thou liv'st, and breath'st,
Yet art thou slain in him: thou dost consent

In some large measure to thy father's death,
In that thou see'st thy wretched brother die,
Who was the model of thy father's life.
Call it not patience, Gaunt, it is despair:
In suffering thus thy brother to be slaughter'd,
Thou shew'st the naked pathway to thy life,
Teaching stern murther how to butcher thee:
That which in mean men we intitle—patience,
Is pale cold cowardice in noble breasts.
What shall I say? to safeguard thine own ^note life,
The best way is—to 'venge my Gloster's death.

Gau.
Heaven's is the quarrel; for heaven's ^note substitute,
His deputy anointed in his sight,
Hath caus'd his death: the which if wrongfully,
Let heaven revenge; for I may never lift
An angry arm against his minister.

Dut.
Where then, alas ^note, may I complain ^note myself?

Gau.
To heaven ^note, the widow's champion and defence ^note.

Dut.
To heaven? why then, I will. Farewel, old Gaunt.
Thou go'st to Coventry, there to behold
Our cousin Hereford and fell Mowbray fight:
O, sit ^note my husband's wrongs on Hereford's spear,
That it may enter butcher Mowbray's breast!
Or if misfortune miss the first career,
Be Mowbray's sins so heavy in his bosom,
That they may break his foaming courser's back;
And throw the rider headlong in the lists,
A caitiff recreant to my cousin Hereford!
Farewel, old Gaunt; thy sometime ^note brother's wife,
With her companion grief must end her life.

Gau.
Sister, farewel; I must to Coventry:
As much good stay with thee, as go with me!

Dut.
Yet one word more; Grief boundeth where it ^note falls,
Not with the empty ^note hollowness, but weight:
I take my leave before I have begun;
For sorrow ends not, when it seemeth done.
Commend me to my ^note brother, Edmund ^note York.
Lo, this is all:—Nay, yet depart not so;
Though this be all, do not so quickly go;
I shall remember more. Bid him—O, what ^note?—
With all good speed at Plashy visit me.
Alack, and what shall good old York there see,
But empty lodgings, and unfurnish'd walls,
Unpeopl'd offices, untrodden stones?
And what hear ^note there for welcome, but my groans?
Therefore commend me; let him not come there,
To seek out sorrow, that dwells every where:
Desolate, desolate, will I hence, and die;
The last leave of thee takes my weeping eye. [Exeunt, severally. 14Q0574 III. SCENE Coventry. A publick Place. Lists set out, and a Throne: Heralds, and People, waiting. Enter the Lord Marshal, and Aumerle.

Mar.
My lord Aumerle, is Harry Hereford arm'd?

Aum.
Yea, at all points; and longs to enter in.

Mar.
The duke of Norfolk, sprightful ^note all and bold,
Stays but the summons of the appellant's ^note trumpet.

Aum.
Why then, the champions are prepar'd; and stay
For nothing, but his majesty's approach. Flourish of Trumpets, &c. Enter King Richard, to his Throne; Gaunt, and Train of Nobles, &c. with him, who all take their Places.

Trumpet heard: Answer'd by another Trumpet from within; and Enter Norfolk, in Armour, preceded by a Herald.

Ric.
Marshal, demand of yonder champion
The cause of his arrival here in arms:
Ask him his name; and orderly proceed
To swear him in the justice of his cause.

Mar.
In God's name, and the king's, say who thou art,
And why thou com'st thus knightly clad in arms;
Against what man thou com'st, and what thy ^note quarrel:
Speak truly, on thy knighthood, and thy oath ^note,
As so ^note defend thee heaven, and thy valour.

Nor.
My name is Thomas Mowbray, duke of Norfolk;
Who hither come ^note engaged by my oath,
(Which, heaven defend ^note, a knight should violate!)
Both to defend my loyalty and truth,
To God, my king, and my succeeding ^note issue,
Against ^note the duke of Hereford that appeals me;
And, by the grace of God, and this mine arm,
To prove him, in defending of myself,
A traitor to my God, my king, and me:
And, as I truly fight, defend me heaven! Trumpet. Enter Bolingbroke, in Armour; Herald too with him.

Ric.
Marshal, ask yonder knight in arms,
Both who he is, and why he cometh hither
Thus plated ^note in habiliments of war;
And formally ^note according to our law
Depose him in the justice of his cause.

Mar.
What is thy name? and wherefore com'st ^note thou hither
Before king Richard in his royal lists?

Against whom comest thou? and what's thy quarrel?
Speak like a true knight, so defend thee heaven.

Bol.
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster, and Derby,
Am I; who ready here do stand in arms,
To prove, by heaven's ^note grace, and my body's valour,
In lists, on Thomas Mowbray duke of Norfolk,
That he's a traitor, foul and dangerous,
To God of heaven, king Richard, and to me;
And, as I truly fight, defend me heaven! Trumpet.

Mar.
On pain of death, no person be so bold,
Or daring-hardy, as to touch the lists;
Except the marshal ^note, and such officers
Appointed to direct these fair designs.

Bol.
Lord marshal, let me kiss my sovereign's hand,
And bow my knee before his majesty:
For Mowbray, and myself, are like two men
That vow a long and weary pilgrimage;
Then let us take a ceremonious leave,
And loving farewel, of our several friends.

Mar.
The appellant ^note in all duty greets your highness,
And craves to kiss your hand, and take his leave.

Ric.
We will descend and fold him in our arms. [coming from his Place; Gau. and Aum. with him.
Cousin of Hereford, as thy cause is right ^note,
So be thy fortune in this royal fight!
Farewel, my blood; which if to-day thou shed,
Lament we may, but not revenge thee dead ^note.

Bol.
O, let no noble eye prophane a tear
For me, if I be gor'd ^note with Mowbray's spear:
As confident, as is the faulcon's flight
Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight.—

My loving lord, I take my leave of you;—
Of you, my noble cousin, lord Aumerle;—
Not sick, although I have to do with death;
But lusty, young, and chearly drawing breath.—
Lo, as at English feasts, so I regreet
The daintiest last, to make the end most sweet:
O thou, the earthly ^note author of my blood,—
Whose youthful spirit, in me regenerate,
Doth with a twofold vigour lift me up
To reach at victory ^note above my head,—
Add proof unto mine armour with thy prayers;
And with thy blessings steel my lance's point,
That it may enter Mowbray's waxen coat,
And furbish ^note new the name of John of Gaunt,
Even in the lusty 'haviour of his son.

Gau.
God in ^note thy good cause make thee prosperous!
Be swift like lightning in the execution;
And let thy blows, doubly redoubled,
Fall like amazing thunder on the casque
Of thy adverse pernicious ^note enemy:
Rouze up thy youthful blood; the valiant live ^note.

Bol.
Mine innocency ^note, and saint George to thrive!

Nor.
However heaven, or ^note fortune, cast my lot,
There lives ^note, or dies, true to king ^note Richard's throne,
A loyal, just, and upright gentleman:
Never did captive ^note with a freer heart
Cast off his chains of bondage, and embrace
His golden uncontroul'd enfranchisement,
More than my dancing soul doth celebrate
This feast of battle with mine adversary.—
Most mighty liege,—and my companion peers,—
Take from my mouth the wish of happy years:

As gentle, and as jocund, as to jest,
Go I to fight; Truth hath a quiet breast.

Ric.
Farewel, my lord: securely I espy
Virtue with valour couched in thine eye.— [returning to his Seat, with the Lords.
Order the trial, marshal, and begin.

Mar.
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster, and Derby,
Receive thy lance &dagger2;; And God defend ^note the right ^note!

Bol.
Strong as a tower in hope, I cry—amen.

Mar.
Go bear this &dagger2; lance [to an Officer.] to Thomas duke of Norfolk.

1 H.
Harry of Hereford, Lancaster, and Derby,
Stands here for God, his sovereign, and himself,
On pain to be found false and recreant,
To prove the duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray,
A traitor to his God ^note, his king, and him,
And dares him to set forward ^note to the fight.

2 H.
Here standeth Thomas Mowbray, duke of Norfolk,
On pain to be found false and recreant,
Both to defend himself, and to approve
Henry of Hereford, Lancaster, and Derby,
To God, his sovereign, and to him disloyal;
Couragiously, and with a free desire,
Attending but the signal to begin.

Mar.
Sound, trumpets; and set forward ^note, combatants. [Trumpets sound a Charge.
But stay, the king hath thrown his warder down.

Ric.
Let them lay by their helmets, and their spears,
And both return back to their chairs again:—
Withdraw with us;—and let the trumpets sound,
While we return these dukes what we decree.— [a long Flourish of Trumpets, &c.

Draw near, [to the Combatants, advancing.
And list what with our council we have done.
For that our kingdom's earth should not be soil'd
With that dear blood which it hath fostered ^note;
And for our eyes do hate the dire aspect
Of cruel ^note wounds, plough'd up with neighbour's sword ^note;
And for ^note we think,14Q0575 the eagle-winged pride
Of sky-aspiring and ambitious thoughts,
With rival-hating envy, set you on ^note
To wake our peace, which in our country's cradle
Draws ^note the sweet infant breath of gentle sleep;14Q0576
Therefore we banish you our territories:—
You, cousin Hereford, upon pain of death ^note,
'Till twice five summers have enrich'd our fields ^note,
Shall not regreet ^note our fair dominions,
But tread the stranger paths of banishment.

Bol.
Your will be done: This must my comfort be,—
That sun, that warms you here, shall shine on me;
And those his golden beams, to you here lent,
Shall point on me, and gild my banishment.

Ric.
Norfolk, for thee remains a heavier doom,
Which I with some unwillingness pronounce:
The fly ^note-slow hours shall not determinate
The dateless limit of thy dear exile;
The hopeless word of—never to return—
Breath I against thee, upon pain of life.

Nor.
A heavy sentence, my most sovereign liege,
And all unlook'd for from your highness' mouth:
A dearer merit, not so deep a maim
As to be cast forth in the common air,
Have I deserved at your highness' hand.
The language I have learn'd ^note these forty years,

My native English, now I must forego:
And now my tongue's use is to me no more,
Than an unstringed viol, or a harp;
Or like a cunning instrument cas'd up,
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony:
Within my mouth you have engoal'd my tongue,
Doubly portcullis'd ^note, with my teeth, and lips;
And dull, unfeeling, barren ignorance
Is made my goaler ^note to attend on me.
I am too old to fawn upon a nurse,
Too far in years to be a pupil now;
What is thy sentence then ^note, but speechless death,
Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?

Ric.
It boots thee not, to be compassionate;
After our sentence, plaining comes too late.

Nor.
Then thus † I turn me from my country's light,
To dwell in solemn shades of endless night.

Ric.
Return again, and take an oath with thee.
Lay on our royal sword your banish'd hands; [tend'ring it to them.
Swear by the duty that you owe to heaven, ^note
(Our part therein we banish with yourselves)
To keep the oath that we administer:—
You never shall (so help you truth and heaven! ^note)
Embrace each other's love in banishment;
Nor never ^note look upon each other's face;
Nor never ^note write, regreet, nor reconcile ^note
This lowring ^note tempest of your home-bred hate;
Nor never ^note by advised purpose meet,
To plot, contrive, or complot any ill,
'Gainst us, our state, our subjects, or our land.

Bol.
I swear.

Nor.
And I, to keep all this.

Bol.
Norfolk, so far as ^note to mine enemy;— [approaching, with Salutation.
By this time, had the king permitted us,
One of our souls had wander'd in the air,
Banish'd this frail sepulcher of our flesh,
As now our flesh is banish'd from this land:
Confess thy treasons, ere thou fly the realm ^note;
Since thou hast far to go, bear not along
The clogging burthen of a guilty soul.

Nor.
No, Bolingbroke; If ever I were traitor,
My name be blotted from the book of life,
And I from heaven banish'd, as from hence!
But what thou art, God, thou ^note, and I do know;
And all too soon, I fear, the king shall rue.—
Farewel, my liege:—now no way can I stray;
Save back to England, all the world's my way. [Exit Norfolk

Ric.
Uncle, even in the glasses of thine eyes
I see thy grieved heart: thy sad aspéct
Hath from the number of his banish'd years
Pluck'd four away;—Six frozen winters spent,
Return with welcome home from banishment.

Bol.
How long a time lies in one little word!
Four lagging winters, and four wanton springs,
End in a word ^note; Such is the breath of ^note kings.

Gau.
I thank my liege, that, in regard of me,
He shortens four years of my son's exíle:
But little vantage shall I reap thereby;
For, ere the six years, that he hath to spend,
Can change their moons ^note, and bring their times about,

My oil-dry'd lamp, and time-bewasted light,
Shall be extinct with age, and endless night ^note;
My inch of taper will be burnt and done,
And blindfold death not let me see my son.

Ric.
Why, uncle, thou hast many years to live.

Gau.
But not a minute, king, that thou canst give:
Shorten my days thou canst with sullen ^note sorrow,
And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow:
Thou canst help time to furrow me with age,
But stop no wrinkle in his pilgrimage;
Thy word is current with him for my death,
But, dead, thy kingdom cannot buy my breath.

Ric.
Thy son is banish'd upon good ^note advice,
Whereto thy tongue14Q0577 a party ^note-verdict gave;
Why at our justice seem'st thou then to lour?

Gau.
Things sweet to taste, prove in digestion sour.
You urg'd ^note me as a judge; but I had rather,
You would have bid me argue like a father:—
O, had it ^note been a stranger, not my child,
To smooth his fault I should ^note have been more mild;
A partial slander sought ^note I to avoid,
And in the sentence my own life destroy'd.—
Alas, I look'd when some of you should say,—
I was too strict, to make mine own away;
But you gave leave to my unwilling tongue,
Against my will to do myself this wrong.

Ric.
Cousin, farewel:—and, uncle, bid him so;
Six years we banish him, and he shall go. [Exeunt Richard, and Train.

Aum.
Cousin, farewel: what presence must not know,
From where you do remain, let paper show.

Mar.
My lord, no leave take I; for I will ride,

As far as land will let me, by your side.

Gau.
O, to what purpose dost thou hoard thy words,
That thou return'st no greeting to thy friends?

Bol.
I have too few to take my leave of you,
When the tongue's office should be prodigal
To breath the abundant dolour of the heart.

Gau.
Thy grief is but thy absence for a time.

Bol.
Joy absent, grief is present for that time.

Gau.
What is six winters? they are quickly gone.

Bol.
To men in joy; but grief makes one hour ten.

Gau.
Call it a travel that thou tak'st for pleasure.

Bol.
My heart will sigh, when I miscall it so,
Which finds it an enforced pilgrimage.

Gau.
The sullen passage of thy weary steps
Esteem a foil, ^note wherein thou art to set
The precious jewel of thy home-return.

Bol.
Nay, rather ^note, every tedious stride I make
Will but remember me, what a ^note deal of world
I wander from the jewels that I love.
Must I not serve a long apprenticehood
To foreign passages; and in the end,
Having my freedom, boast of nothing else,
But that I was a journeyman to grief?

Gau.
All places that the eye of heaven visits,
Are to a wise man ports and happy havens:
Teach thy necessity to reason thus;
There is no virtue like necessity.
Think not, the king did banish thee, my son,
But thou the king: Woe doth ^note the heavier sit,
Where it perceives it is but faintly born.
Go, say—I sent thee forth to purchase honour,
And not—the king exil'd thee: or suppose,

Devouring pestilence hangs in our air,
And thou art flying to a fresher clime.
Look, what thy soul holds dear, imagine it
To lye that way thou go'st, not whence thou com'st:
Suppose the singing birds, musicians;
The grass whereon thou tread'st, the presence strow'd;
The flowers, fair ladies; and thy steps, no more
Than a delightful measure or a dance:
For gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite
The man that mocks at it, and sets it light.

Bol.
O, who can hold a fire in his hand,
By thinking on the frosty Caucasus?
Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite,
By bare imagination of a feast?
Or wallow naked in December ^note snow,
By thinking on fantastick summer's heat?
O, no! the apprehension of the good
Gives ^note but the greater feeling to the worse:
Fell sorrow's tooth doth never ^note rankle more,
Than when it bites ^note, but lanceth ^note not the sore.

Gau.
Come, come, my son, I'll bring thee on thy way:
Had I thy youth, and cause, I would not stay.

Bol.
Then England's ground, farewel; sweet soil, adieu;
My mother, and my nurse, that bears ^note me yet!
Where'er I wander, boast of this I can,—
Though banish'd, yet a true-born Englishman. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. The same. A Room in the Palace. Enter Richard, with Green, and Bagot, as in Talk; Aumerle following.

Ric.
We did observe.—Cousin Aumerle,

How far brought you high Hereford on his way?

Aum.
I brought high Hereford, if you call him so,
But to the next high-way, and there I left him.

Ric.
And, say, what store of parting tears were shed?

Aum.
'Faith, none by me ^note: except the north-east wind,
Which then blew bitterly against our faces ^note,
Awak'd the sleeping ^note rheum; and so, by chance,
Did grace our hollow parting with a tear.

Ric.
What said our ^note cousin, when you parted with him?

Aum.
Farewel:
And for my heart disdained that my tongue
Should so prophane the word, that taught me craft
To counterfeit oppression of such grief,
That words ^noteseem'd bury'd in my sorrow's grave.
Marry, would the word farewel have lengthen'd ^note hours,
And added years to his short banishment,
He should have had a volume of farewels;
But, since it would not, he had none of me.

Ric.
He is our cousin, cousin ^note; but 'tis doubt,
When time shall call him home from banishment,
Whether our kinsman come ^note to see his friends.
Ourself, and Bushy, Bagot here ^note, and Green, ^note
Observ'd his courtship to the common people:—
How he did seem to dive into their hearts,
With humble and familiar courtesy;
What reverence ^note he did throw away on slaves;
Wooing poor craftsmen, with the craft of smiles ^note,
And patient underbearing of his fortune,
As 'twere, to banish their affects with him.
Off goes his bonnet to an oister-wench;
A brace of dray-men bid—God speed him well,
And had the tribute of his supple knee,

With—Thanks, my countrymen, my loving friends;
As were our England in reversion his,
And he our subjects' next degree in hope.

Gre.
Well, he is gone; and with him go these thoughts.
Now for the rebels which stand out in Ireland;—
Expedient manage must be made, my liege;
Ere further leisure yield them further ^note means,
For their advantage, and your highness' loss.

Ric.
We will ourself in person to this war.
And, for our coffers—with too great a court,
And liberal largess,—are grown somewhat light,
We are enforc'd to farm our royal realm;
The revenue whereof shall furnish us
For our affairs in hand: If that come ^note short,
Our substitutes at home shall have blank charters;
Whereto, when they shall know what men are rich,
They shall subscribe them for large sums of gold,
And send them after to supply our wants;
For we will make for Ireland presently. Enter Bushy, hastily.
Bushy, what news? ^note

Bus.
Old John of Gaunt is very sick ^note, my lord;
Suddenly taken; and hath sent post-haste,
To entreat your majesty to visit him.

Ric.
Where lies he?

Bus.
At Ely-house.

Ric.
Now put it, heaven, in his ^note physician's mind,
To help him to his grave immediately!
The lining of his coffers shall make coats
To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars.—
Come, gentlemen, let's all go visit him:
Pray God, we ^note may make haste, and come too late! [Ex. ^note

ACT II. SCENE I. London. A Room in Ely-house. Gaunt, upon a Couch; York, and Others, by him.

Gau.
Will the king come? that I may breath my last
In wholesome counsel to his unstay'd youth.

Yor.
Vex not yourself, nor strive not with your breath;
For all in vain comes counsel to his ear.

Gau.
O, but, they say, the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention, like deep harmony:
Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain;
For they breath truth, that breath their words in pain.
He, that no more must say, is listen'd more
  Than they whom youth and ease have taught ^note to gloze;
More are men's ends mark'd, than their lives before:
  The setting sun, and musick at the ^note close ^note,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last;
Writ in remembrance, more than things long past:
Though Richard my life's counsel would not hear,
My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear.

Yor.
No; it is stop'd14Q0578 with other flattering sounds,—
As, praises of his state: then, there are ^note found
Lascivious meeters; to whose venom sound
The open ear ^note of youth doth always listen:
Reports ^note of fashions in proud Italy;
Whose manners still our tardy apish nation
Limps after, in base aukward imitation.
Where doth the world thrust forth a vanity,
(So it be new, there's no respect how vile)

That is not quickly buzz'd into his ears ^note?
Then all ^note too late comes counsel to be heard,
Where will doth mutiny with wit's regard.
Direct not him, whose way himself will choose;
'Tis breath thou lack'st, and that breath wilt thou lose.

Gau.
Methinks, I am a prophet new inspir'd;
And thus, expiring, do foretel of him:—
His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last;
For violent fires soon burn out themselves:
Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short;
He tires betimes, that spurs too fast betimes;
With eager feeding, food doth choak the feeder;
Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,
Consuming means, soon preys upon itself.
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demy paradise;
This fortress, built by nature for herself,
Against infection, and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world;
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat ^note defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed, and famous by their ^note birth,
Renowned for their ^note deeds as far from home,
For christian service, and true chivalry,
As is the sepulcher in stubborn Jury
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's son;
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,

Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leas'd out, (I die pronouncing it)
Like to a tenement, or pelting ^note farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watry Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds;
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself:
O, would the scandal vanish ^note with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death! Enter King Richard, and Queen; Aumerle, Green, Bagot, Bushy, Ross, and Willoughby.

Yor.
The king is come: deal mildly with his youth;
For young hot colts, being rag'd, do rage the more.

Que.
How fares our noble uncle, Lancaster?

Ric.
What comfort, man? How is't with aged Gaunt?

Gau.
O, how that name befits my composition!
Old Gaunt, indeed; and gaunt in being old:
Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast;
And who abstains from meat, that is not gaunt?
For sleeping England long time have I watch'd;
Watching breeds leanness, leanness is all gaunt:
The pleasure, that some fathers feed upon,
Is my strict fast, I mean—my children's looks;
And, therein fasting, hast thou made me gaunt:
Gaunt am I for the grave, gaunt as a grave,
Whose hollow womb inherits nought but bones.

Ric.
Can sick men play so nicely with their names?

Gau.
No, misery makes sport to mock itself:
Since thou dost seek to kill my name in me,
I mock ^note my name, great king, to flatter thee.

Ric.
Should dying men flatter with ^note those that live?

Gau.
No, no; men living flatter those that die.

Ric.
Thou, now a dying, say'st—thou flatter'st me.

Gau.
O, no; thou dy'st, though I the sicker be.

Ric.
I am in health, I breath, I see thee ill.

Gau.
Now, He, that made me, knows I see thee ill;
Ill in myself, and ^note in thee seeing ill.14Q0579
Thy death-bed is no lesser than thy land ^note,
Wherein thou ly'st in reputation sick;
And thou, too careless patient as thou art,
Giv'st ^note thy anointed body to the cure
Of those physicians that first wounded thee:
A thousand flatterers sit within thy crown,
Whose compass is no bigger than thy head ^note;
And yet, incaged ^note in so small a verge,
The waste ^note is no whit lesser than thy land.
O, had thy grandsire, with a prophet's eye,
Seen how his son's son should destroy his sons,
From forth thy reach he would have lay'd thy shame;
Deposing thee before thou wert possess'd,
Which art possess'd now to depose thyself.
Why, cousin, wert ^note thou regent of the world,
It were a shame, to let this ^note land by lease:
But, for thy world, enjoying but this land,
Is it not more than shame, to shame it so?
Landlord of England art thou now, not ^note king:
Thy state of law is bond-slave to the law;
And thou ^note,—

Ric.
—a ^note lunatick ^note lean-witted fool,
Presuming on an ague's priviledge,
Dar'st with thy frozen admonition
Make pale our cheeks; chasing the royal blood,

With fury, from his native residence.
Now by my seat's right royal majesty,
Wert thou not brother to great Edward's son,
This tongue, that runs so roundly in thy head,
Should run thy head from thy unreverent shoulders.

Gau.
O, spare me not, my brother ^note Edward's son,
For that I was his father Edward's son;
That blood already, like the pelican,
Hast thou ^note tap'd out ^note, and drunkenly carows'd:
My brother Gloster, plain well-meaning soul,
(Whom fair befal in heaven 'mongst happy souls!)
May be a precedent and witness good,
That thou respect'st not spilling Edward's blood:
Join with the present sickness that I have;
And thy unkindness be like crooked age,
To crop at once a too-long wither'd flower.
Live in ^note thy shame, but die not shame with thee!
These words hereafter thy tormentors be!—
Convey me to my bed, then to my grave:—
Love they to live, that love and honour have. [Exit, born off by his Attendants.

Ric.
And let them die, that age and sullens have;
For both hast thou, and both become the grave ^note.

Yor.
I do beseech your majesty, impute
His words to wayward sickliness and age: ^note
He loves you, on my life, and holds you dear;
As Harry duke of Hereford, were he here.

Ric.
Right, you say true: as Hereford's love, so his;
As theirs, so mine; and all ^note be as it is. Enter Northumberland.

Nor.
My liege, old Gaunt commends him to your majesty.

Ric.
What says he now?

Nor.
Nay ^note, nothing; all is said:
His tongue is now a stringless instrument;
Words, life, and all, old Lancaster hath spent.

Yor.
Be York the next that must be bankrupt so!
Though death be poor, it ends a mortal woe.

Ric.
The ripest fruit first falls, and so doth he;
His time is spent, our pilgrimage must be:
So much for that. Now for our Irish wars:
We must supplant these rough rug-headed kerns ^note;
Which live like venom, where no venom else,
But only they, hath ^note priviledge to live.
And for these great affairs do ask some charge,—
Towards our assistance, we do seize to us
The plate, coin, revenues ^note, and moveables,
Whereof our uncle Gaunt did stand possess'd.

Yor.
How long shall I be patient? ah ^note, how long
Shall tender duty make me suffer wrong?
Not Gloster's death, nor Hereford's banishment,
Nor Gaunt's rebukes, nor England's private wrongs,
Nor the prevention of poor Bolingbroke
About his marriage, nor my own disgrace,
Have ever made me sour my patient cheek,
Or bend one wrinkle on my sovereign's face.—
I am the last of noble ^note Edward's sons,
Of whom thy father, prince of Wales, was first;
In war ^note was never lion rag'd ^note more fierce,
In peace was never gentle lamb more mild,
Than was that young and princely gentleman:
His face thou hast, for even so look'd he,
Accomplish'd with the number ^note of thy hours;
But, when he frown'd, it was against the French,
And not against his friends: his noble hand

Did win what he did spend, and spent not that
Which his triumphant father's hand had won:
His hands were guilty of no kindred's ^note blood,
But bloody with the enemies of his kin.
O, Richard, York is too far gone with grief,
Or else he never would compare between.

Ric.
Why, uncle, what's the matter?

Yor.
O, my liege,
Pardon me, if you please; if not, I pleas'd
Not to be pardon'd, am content withal ^note.
Seek you to seize and gripe into your hands
The royalties and rights of banish'd Hereford?
Is not Gaunt dead? and doth not Hereford live?
Was not Gaunt just? and is not Harry true?
Did not the one deserve to have an heir?
Is not his heir a well-deserving son?
Take Hereford's rights ^note away, and take from time
His charters, and his customary rights;
Let not to-morrow then ensue to-day;
Be not thyself, For how art thou a king,
But by fair sequence and succession?
Now, afore God, (God forbid, I say true!)
If you do wrongfully seize Hereford's rights ^note,
Call in the letters ^note patents that he hath
By his attornies-general to sue
His livery, and deny his offer'd homage,
You pluck a thousand dangers on your head,
You lose a thousand well-disposed hearts,
And prick my tender patience to those thoughts
Which honour and allegiance cannot think.

Ric.
Think what you will; we seize into our hand, ^note
His plate, his goods, his money, and his lands ^note.

Yor.
I'll not be by, the while: My liege, farewel;
What will ensue hereof, there's none can tell;
But by bad courses may be understood,
That their events can never fall out good. [Exit.

Ric.
Go, Bushy, to the earl of Wiltshire straight;
Bid him repair to us to Ely-house,
To see this business: To-morrow next
We will for Ireland; and 'tis time, I trow;
And we create, in absence of ourself,
Our uncle York lord-governor of England,
For he is just, and always lov'd us well.—
Come on, our queen: to-morrow must we part;
Be merry, for our time of stay is short. [Exeunt King, Queen, Bus. Aum. Gre. and Bag.

Nor.
Well, lords, the duke of Lancaster is dead.

Ros.
And living too; for now his son is duke.

Wil.
Barely in title, not in revenue ^note.

Nor.
Richly in both, if justice had her right.

Ros.
My heart is great; but it must break with silence,
Ere't be disburthen'd with a liberal tongue.

Nor.
Nay, speak thy mind; And let him ne'er speak more,
That speaks thy words again, to do thee harm!

Wil.
Tends that thou'dst speak, to the duke of Hereford?
If it be so, out with it boldly, man;
Quick is mine ear, to hear of good towards him.

Ros.
No good at all, that I can do for him:
Unless you call it good, to pity him,
Bereft and gelded of his patrimony.

Nor.
Now, afore heaven ^note, 'tis ^note shame, such wrongs are born,
In him a royal prince, and many more
Of noble blood in this declining land.
The king is not himself, but basely led

By flatterers; and what they will inform,
Merely in hate, 'gainst ^note any of us all,
That will the king severely prosecute
'Gainst ^note us, our lives, our children, and our heirs.

Ros.
The commons hath he pill'd with grievous taxes,
And lost ^note their hearts: the nobles hath he fin'd
For ancient quarrels, and quite lost their hearts.

Wil.
And daily new exactions are devis'd,
As—blanks, benevolences, and I wot not what:
But ^note what, o'God's name, doth become of this?

Nor.
War ^{note note} hath not wasted it; for war'd he hath not,
But basely yielded upon compromise
That which his ancestors ^note atchiev'd with blows:
More hath he spent in peace, than they in wars.

Ros.
The earl of Wiltshire hath the realm in farm.

Wil.
The king's grown bankrupt, like a broken man.

Nor.
Reproach, and dissolution ^note, hangeth over him.

Ros.
He hath not money for these Irish wars,
His burthenous taxations notwithstanding,
But by the robbing of the banish'd duke.

Nor.
His noble kinsman; Most degenerate king!
But, lords, we hear this fearful tempest sing,
Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm:
We see the wind sit sore upon our sails,
And yet we strike not, but securely perish.

Ros.
We see the very wreck that we must suffer;
And unavoided is the ^note danger now,
For suffering so the causes of our wreck.

Nor.
Not so; even through the hollow eyes of death,
I spy ^note life peering: but I dare not say,
How near the tidings of our comfort is.

Wil.
Nay, let us share thy thoughts, as thou dost ours.

Ros.
Be confident to speak, Northumberland:
We three are but thyself; and, speaking so,
Thy words are but as thoughts; therefore, be bold.

Nor.
Then thus:—14Q0580I have from Port le ^note blanc ^note, a bay
In Brittany ^note, receiv'd intelligence,
That Harry Hereford ^note, Reignold lord Cobham;
The archbishop, late of Canterbury; his nephew,14Q0581
That late broke from the duke of Exeter;
Sir Thomas Erpingham, Sir Thomas Ramston ^note,
John Norbery, Robert Waterton, Francis Quoint ^note,—
All these, well furnish'd by the duke of Bretagne,
With eight tall ships, three thousand men of war,
Are making hither with all due expedience,
And shortly mean to touch our northern shore:
Perhaps, they had ere this; but that they stay
The first departing of the king for Ireland.
If then we shall shake off our slavish ^note yoke,
Imp out our drooping country's broken ^note wing,
Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown,
Wipe off the dust that hides our scepter's gilt,
And make high majesty look like itself,
Away, with me, in post to Ravenspurg:
But if you faint, as fearing to do so,
Stay, and be secret, and myself will go.

Ros.
To horse, to horse; urge doubts to them that fear.

Wil.
Hold out my horse, and I will first be there. [Exeunt. SCENE II. The same. A Room in the Palace. Enter Queen, Bushy, and Bagot.

Bus.
Madam, your majesty is too much ^note sad:
You promis'd, when you parted with the king,

To lay aside life-harming ^note heaviness,
And entertain a chearful disposition.

Que.
To please the king, I did; to please myself,
I cannot do it; yet I know no cause
Why I should welcome such a guest as grief,
Save bidding farewel to so sweet a guest
As my sweet Richard: Yet again, methinks,
Some unborn sorrow, ripe in fortune's womb,
Is coming towards me; and my inward soul
With nothing trembles, yet at something grieves ^note,
More than with parting from my lord the king.

Bus.
Each substance14Q0582 of a grief hath ^note twenty shadows,
Which shew like grief itself, but are not ^note so:
For sorrow's eye ^note, glazed with blinding tears,
Divides one thing entire to many objects;
Like perspectives, which, wrily ^note gaz'd upon,
Shew nothing but confusion, ey'd aright, ^note
Distinguish ^note form: so your sweet majesty,
Looking awry upon your lord's departure,
Finds ^note shapes of grief, more than himself, to wail;
Which, look'd on as they are, are ^note nought but shadows
Of what they are not ^note. Then, thrice-gracious queen,
More than your lord's departure weep not; more's not seen:
Or if it be, 'tis with false sorrow's eye ^note,
Which, for things true, weeps ^note things imaginary.

Que.
It may be so; but yet my inward soul
Persuades me, it is otherwise: Howe'er it be,
I cannot but be sad; so heavy sad,
As though ^{note note}, in thinking, on no thought I think,
'T makes me with heavy nothing faint and shrink.

Bus.
'Tis nothing but conceit, my gracious lady.

Que.
'Tis nothing less: conceit it still deriv'd

From some fore-father grief; mine is not so; ^note
For nothing hath begot my something grief;
Or something hath, the nothing that I grieve:
'Tis in reversion that I do possess;
But what it is, that is not yet known; what
I cannot name; 'tis nameless woe, I wot. Enter Green.

Gre.
God save ^note your majesty!—and well met, gentlemen:—
I hope, the king is not yet ship'd for Ireland.

Que.
Why hop'st thou so? 'tis better hope, he is;
For his design craves ^note haste, his haste ^note good hope;
Then wherefore dost thou hope, he is not ship'd?

Gre.
That he, our hope, might have retir'd his power,
And driven into despair an enemy's hope,
Who strongly hath set footing in this land:
The banish'd Bolingbroke repeals himself,
And with uplifted arms is safe arriv'd
At Ravenspurg.

Que.
Now God in heaven forbid!

Gre.
Ah, madam ^note, 'tis too true: and that is worse,—
The lord Northumberland, his young son Henry ^note,
The lords of Ross, Beaumond, and Willoughby,
With all their powerful friends, are fled to him.

Bus.
Why have you not proclaim'd Northumberland,
And all ^note the rest of the revolting ^note faction,
Traitors?

Gre.
We have: whereon ^note the earl of Worcester
Hath broke his ^note staff, resign'd his stewardship,
And all the houshold servants fled with him. ^note

Que.
So, Green, thou art the midwife to my ^note woe,
And Bolingbroke my sorrow's dismal heir:
Now hath my soul brought forth her prodigy;

And I, a gasping new-deliver'd mother,
Have woe to woe, sorrow to sorrow join'd.

Bus.
Despair not, madam.

Que.
Who shall hinder me?
I will despair, and be at enmity
With coz'ning hope ^note; he is a flatterer,
A parasite, a keeper-back of death;
Who gently would dissolve the bands of life,
Which false hope lingers ^note in extremity. Enter York.

Gre.
Here comes the duke of York.

Que.
With signs of war about his aged neck;
O, full of careful business are his looks!—
Uncle, for God's ^note sake, comfortable ^note words.

Yor.
Comfort's in heaven;14Q0583 and we are on the earth,
Where nothing lives, but crosses, care ^note, and grief.
Your husband he is gone to save far off,
Whilst others come to make him lose ^note at home:
Here am I left to underprop his land,
Who, weak with age, cannot support myself:—
Now comes the sick ^note hour that his surfeit made;
Now shall he try his friends that flatter'd him. Enter a Servant.

Ser.
My lord, your son was gone before I came.

Yor.
He was?—Why, so! go all which way it will!
The nobles they are fled, the commons cold ^note,
And will, I fear, revolt on Hereford's side.—
Sirrah,
Get thee to Plashy, to my sister Gloster;
Bid her send me presently a thousand pound:—
Hold, take my † ring.

Ser.
My lord, I had forgot to tell your lordship:

To-day, as I came by, I called ^note there;—
But I shall grieve you, to report the rest.

Yor.
What is it, knave?

Ser.
An hour before I came, the dutchess dy'd.

Yor.
God for ^note his mercy! what a tide of woes
Comes ^note rushing on this woful land at once!
I know not what to do:—I would to God,
(So my untruth had not provok'd him to it)
The king had cut off my head with my brother's.—
What, are there posts ^note dispatch'd for Ireland?—
How shall we do for money for these wars?—
Come, sister,—cousin, I would say; pray, pardon me.—
Go, fellow ^note, [to the Ser.] get thee home, provide some carts,
And bring away the armour that is there.—
Gentlemen, will you muster ^note men? if I know
How, or which way, to order these affairs
Thus most disorderly thrust into my hands,
Never believe me. Both are my kinsmen;—
Th' one is my sovereign, whom both my oath
And duty bids defend; th' other again,
He is my kinsman, whom the king hath wrong'd,
Whom conscience and my kindred bids to right.
Well, somewhat we must do.—Come, cousin, I'll
Dispose of you:—Go, muster up your men,14Q0584
And meet me presently at Berkley ^note, gentlemen.—
I should to Plashy too;—
But time will not permit: All is uneven,
And every thing is left at six and seven. [Exeunt York, and Queen.

Bus.
The wind sits fair for news to go to ^note Ireland,
But none returns. For us to levy power,
Proportionable to the enemy,

Is all unpossible ^note.

Gre.
Besides, our nearness to the king in love,
Is near the hate of those love not the king.

Bag.
And that's the wavering commons: for their love
Lies in their purses; and whoso empties ^note them,
By so much fills their hearts with deadly hate.

Bus.
Wherein ^note the king stands generally condemn'd.

Bag.
If judgment lye in them, then so do we,
Because we ever have been ^note near the king.

Gre.
Well, I'll for refuge straight to Bristol castle;
The earl of Wiltshire is already there.

Bus.
Thither will I with you: for little office
The hateful commons will ^note perform for us;
Except, like curs, to tear us all in pieces ^note.—
Will you go along with us?

Bag.
No; I'll to Ireland to his majesty.
Farewel: if heart's presages be not vain,
We three here part, that ne'er shall meet again.

Bus.
That's as York thrives to beat back Bolingbroke.

Bag.
Alas ^note, poor duke! the task he undertakes
Is—numb'ring sands, and drinking oceans dry;
Where one on his side fights, thousands will fly.
Farewel ^note at once, for once, for all, and ever.

Bus. ^note
Well, we ^note may meet again.

Bag.
I fear me, never. [Exeunt. SCENE III. Wilds in Glocestershire. Enter Bolingbroke, and Northumberland, journeying; Forces with them.

Bol.
How far is it, my lord, to Berkley now?

Nor.
Believe me, noble lord,14Q0585 I cannot tell;
I am a stranger here ^note in Glocestershire.

These high wild ^note hills, and rough uneven ways,
Draw out our miles, and make ^note them wearisome:
And yet your ^note fair discourse hath been as sugar,
Making the hard way sweet and délectable.
But, I bethink me, what a weary way,
From Ravenspurg to Cotshold ^note, will be found
In Ross, and Willoughby, wanting your company;
Which, I protest, hath very much beguil'd
The tediousness and process of my travel:
But theirs is sweeten'd with the hope to have
The present benefit which I ^note possess:
And hope to 'joy, is little less in joy,
Then ^note hope enjoy'd: by this the weary lords
Shall make their way seem short; as mine hath done
By sight of what I have, your noble company.

Bol.
Of much less value is my company,
Than your good words. But who comes here? Enter Harry Percy.

Nor.
It is my son, my lord, young Harry Percy,
Sent from my brother Worcester, whencesoever ^note:—
Harry, how fares your uncle?

Per.
I had thought, my lord,
To have learn'd his health of you.

Nor.
Why, is he not with the queen?

Per.
No, my good lord; he hath forsook the court,
Broken his staff of office, and dispers'd
The houshold of the king.

Nor.
What was his reason?
He was not so resolv'd, when we last ^note spake together.

Per.
Because your lordship was proclaimed traitor.
But he, my lord, is gone to Ravenspurg,
To offer service to the duke of Hereford;

And sent me o'er by Berkley, to discover
What power the duke of York had levy'd there;
Then with direction ^note to repair to Ravenspurg.

Nor.
Have you forgot the duke of Hereford ^note, boy?

Per.
No, my good lord; for that is not forgot,
Which ne'er I did remember: to my knowledge,
I never in my life did look on him.

Nor.
Then learn to know him now; this † is the duke.

Per.
My gracious lord, I tender you my service,
Such as it is, being tender, raw, and young;
Which elder days shall ripen, and confirm
To more approved service and desert.

Bol.
I thank thee, gentle Percy: and be sure,
I count myself in nothing else so happy,
As in a soul rememb'ring my good friends;
And, as my fortune ripens with thy ^note love,
It shall be still thy true love's recompence:
My heart this covenant makes, my hand thus † seals it.

Nor.
How far is it to Berkley? And what stir
Keeps good old York there, with his men of war?

Per.
There † stands the castle, by yon tuft of trees,
Man'd with three hundred men, as I have heard:
And in it are the lords—York, Berkley, Seymour ^note;
None else of name, and noble estimate ^note. Enter Ross, and Willoughby.

Nor.
Here come the lords of Ross and Willoughby,
Bloody with spurring, fiery-red with haste.

Bol.
Welcome, my lords: I wot, your love pursues
A banish'd traitor; all my treasury
Is yet but unfelt thanks, which, more enrich'd,
Shall be your love and labour's recompence.

Ros.
Your presence makes us rich, most noble lord.

Wil.
And far surmounts our labour to attain it.

Bol.
Evermore thanks, the exchequer of the poor;
Which, 'till my infant fortune comes to years,
Stands for my bounty. But who is't comes here? Enter Berkley.

Nor.
It is my lord of Berkley, as I guess.

Ber.
My lord of Hereford, my message is to you.

Bol.
My lord, my answer is to Lancaster;
And I ^note am come to seek that name in England:
And I must find that title in your tongue ^note,
Before I make reply to aught you say.

Ber.
Mistake me not, my lord; 'tis not my meaning,
To 'rase ^note one title of your honour out:—
To you, my lord, I come, (what lord you will)
From the most gracious ^note regent of this land,
The duke of York; to know, what pricks you on
To take advantage of the absent time,
And fright our native peace with self-born arms. Enter York, attended.

Bol.
I shall not need transport my words by you,
Here comes his grace in person.—My noble uncle! [approaching him with Reverence.

Yor.
Shew me thy humble heart, and not thy knee,
Whose duty is deceivable and false.

Bol.
My gracious uncle!—

Yor.
Tut, tut!
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle ^note:
I am no traitor's uncle; and that word—grace,
In an ungracious mouth, is but prophane.
Why have those ^note banish'd and forbidden legs
Dar'd once to touch a dust of England's ground?
But then more ^note why,—14Q0586Why have they dar'd to march

So many miles upon her peaceful bosom;
Frighting her pale-fac'd villages with war,
And ostentation of despised arms?
Com'st thou because the anointed king is hence?
Why, foolish boy, the king is left behind,
And in my loyal bosom lies his power.
Were I but now the ^note lord of such hot youth,
As when brave Gaunt thy father, and myself ^note,
Rescu'd the black prince, that young Mars of men,
From forth the ranks of many thousand ^note French;
O, then, how quickly should this arm of mine,
Now prisoner to the palsy ^note, chastise thee,
And minister correction to thy fault.

Bol.
My gracious uncle, let me know my fault;
On what condition stands it, and wherein?

Yor.
Even in condition of the worst degree,—
In gross rebellion, and detested treason:
Thou art a banish'd man, and here art come,
Before the expiration of thy time,
In braving arms against thy ^note sovereign.

Bol.
As I was banish'd, I was banish'd Hereford;
But as I come, I come for Lancaster.
And, noble uncle, I beseech your grace,
Look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye:
You are my father, for, methinks ^note, in you
I see old Gaunt alive; O, then, my ^note father,
Will you permit that I shall stand condemn'd,
A wand'ring vagabond; my rights and royalties
Pluck'd from my arms perforce, and given away
To upstart unthrifts? Wherefore was I born?
If that my cousin king be king of England ^note,
It must be granted, I am duke of Lancaster.

You have a son, Aumerle, my noble kinsman ^note;
Had you dy'd first, and he been thus trod down,
He should have found his uncle Gaunt a father,
To rouze his wrongs, and chase them to the bay.
I am deny'd to sue my livery here,
And yet my letters-patents give me leave:
My father's goods are all distrain'd, and sold;
And these, and all, are all ^note amiss employ'd.
What would you have me do? I am a subject,
And challenge ^note law: Attorneys are deny'd me;
And therefore personally I lay my claim
To my inheritance ^note of free descent.

Nor.
The noble duke hath been too much abus'd.

Ros.
It stands your grace upon, to do him right.

Wil.
Base men by his endowments are made great.

Yor.
My lords of England, let me tell you this,—
I have had feeling of my cousin's wrongs,
And labour'd all I could to do him right:
But in this kind to come, in braving arms,
Be his own carver, and cut out his way,
To find out right with wrong ^note,—it may not be;
And you, that do abet him in this kind,
Cherish rebellion, and are rebels all.

Nor.
The ^note noble duke hath sworn, his coming is
But for his own: and, for the right of that,
We all have strongly sworn to give him aid;
And let him ne'er see joy, that breaks that oath.

Yor.
Well, well, I see the issue of these arms;
I cannot mend it, I must needs confess,
Because my power is weak, and all ill left:
But, if I could, by Him that gave me life,
I would attach you all, and make you stoop

Unto the sovereign mercy of the king;
But, since I cannot, be it known to you,
I do remain as neuter. So, fare you well;—
Unless you please to enter in the castle,
And there repose you for this night, or so.

Bol.
An offer, uncle, that we will accept.
But we must win your grace, to go with us
To Bristol castle; which, they say, is held
By Bushy, Bagot, and their complices,
The caterpillars of the commonwealth,
Which I have sworn to weed, and pluck away.

Yor.
It may be, I will go with you: but yet I'll pause;
For I am loth to break our country's laws.
Nor friends, nor foes, to me welcome you are:
Things past redress, are now with me past care. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. A Camp in Wales. Enter Salisbury, and a Captain.

Cap.
My lord of Salisbury, we have stay'd ten days,
And hardly kept our countrymen together,
And yet we hear no tidings from the king;
Therefore we will disperse ourselves: farewel.

Sal.
Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman;
The king reposeth in thee all his confidence ^note.

Cap.
'Tis thought, the king is dead; we will not stay.
The bay-trees in our country are all ^note wither'd,
And meteors ^note fright the fixed stars of heaven;
The pale-fac'd moon looks bloody on the earth,
And lean-look'd prophets whisper fearful change;
Rich men look sad, and ruffians dance and leap,—
The one, in fear to lose what they enjoy,
The other, to enjoy by rage ^note and war:

These signs fore-run the death, or fall ^note, of kings.
Farewel; our countrymen are gone and fled
As well assur'd, Richard their king is dead. [Exit.

Sal.
Ah, Richard, with the ^note eyes of heavy mind,
I see thy glory, like a shooting star,
Fall to the base earth from the firmament!
Thy sun sets weeping in the lowly west,
Witnessing storms to come, woe, and unrest:
Thy friends are fled, to wait upon thy foes;
And crossly to thy good all fortune goes. [Exit. ACT III. SCENE I. Bristol. Before the Castle. Enter Bolingbroke, York, Ross, Willoughby, Percy, and Northumberland: Officers behind, with Bushy, and Green, Prisoners.

Bol.
Bring forth these men.— [to the Officers.
Bushy, and Green, I will not vex your souls
(Since presently your souls must 'part your bodies)
With too ^note much urging your pernicious lives,
For 'twere no charity: yet, to wash your blood
From off my hands, here, in the view of men,
I will unfold some causes of your death ^note.
You have mis-led a prince, a royal king,
A happy gentleman in blood and lineaments,
By you unhappy'd and disfigur'd clean:
You have, in manner, with your sinful hours
Made a divorce betwixt his queen and him;
Broke the possession ^note of a royal bed,
And stain'd the beauty of a fair queen's cheeks

With tears drawn from her eyes by your ^note foul wrongs.
Myself—a prince, by fortune of my birth;
Near to the king in blood; and near in love,
'Till you did ^note make him misinterpret me,—
Have stoop'd my neck under your injuries,
And sigh'd my English breath in foreign clouds,
Eating the bitter bread of banishment:
Whilst ^note you have fed upon my signories,
Dispark'd my parks, and fell'd my forest woods;
From my own ^note windows torn my houshold coat,
Ras'd ^{note note} out my imprese ^note, leaving me no sign,—
Save men's opinions, and my living blood,—
To shew the world I am a gentleman.
This, and much more, much more than twice all this,
Condemns you to the death:—See them deliver'd over
To execution and the hand of death.

Bus.
More welcome is the stroke of death to me,
Than Bolingbroke to England.—Lords, farewel ^note.

Gre.
My comfort is,—that heaven will take our souls,
And plague injustice with the pains of hell.

Bol.
My lord Northumberland, seem them ^note dispatch'd. [Exeunt Nor. and Others, with the Prisoners.
Uncle, you say, the queen is at your house;
For God's ^note sake, fairly let her be entreated:
Tell her, I send to her my kind commends;
Take special care my greetings be deliver'd.

Yor.
A gentleman of mine I have dispatch'd
With letters of your love to her at large.

Bol.
Thanks, gentle uncle.—Come, my lords, away;
A while to work,14Q0587 and, after, holiday. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Coast of Wales. A Castle in View.

Enter, with Drum and Colours, King Richard, and Soldiers; Bishop of Carlisle, and Aumerle.

Ric.
Barkloughly castle call you this ^note at hand?

Aum.
Yea, my good lord: How brooks your grace the air,
After your tossing ^note on the breaking seas?

Ric.
Needs must I like it well; I weep for joy,
To stand upon my kingdom once again.—
Dear earth, I do salute thee with my hand,
Though rebels wound thee with their horses' hoofs:
As a long-parted14Q0588 mother with her child
Plays fondly with her tears, and smiles in weeping ^note;
So, weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my earth ^note,
And do thee favour ^note with my royal hands.
Feed not thy sovereign's foe, my gentle earth,
Nor with thy sweets comfort his rav'nous sense:
But let thy spiders, that suck up thy venom,
And heavy-gaited toads, lye in their way;
Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet,
Which with usurping steps do trample thee.
Yield stinging nettles to mine enemies:
And when they from thy ^note bosom pluck a flower,
Guard it, I pray thee ^note, with a lurking adder;
Whose double tongue may with a mortal touch
Throw death upon thy sovereign's enemies.—
Mock not my senseless conjuration, lords;
This earth shall have a feeling, and these stones
Prove armed soldiers, ere her native king
Shall falter under foul rebellious ^note arms.

Car.
Fear not, my lord; that Power, that made you king,
Hath power to keep you king, in spight of all.
The means that heaven yields ^note must be embrac'd, ^note
And not neglected then: else, heaven would,

And we will not ^note; heaven's offer we refuse,
The proffer'd ^note means of succour ^note and redress.

Aum.
He means, my lord, that we are too remiss;
Whilst Bolingbroke, through our ^note security,
Grows strong and great, in substance, and in friends. ^note

Ric.
Discomfortable cousin! know'st thou not,
That, when the searching eye of heaven is hid
Behind the globe, and lights ^note the lower world,
Then thieves and robbers range abroad unseen,
In murthers, and in outrage, bloody ^note here;
But when, from under this ^note terrestrial ball,
He fires the proud tops of the eastern pines,
And darts his light ^note through every guilty hole,
Then murthers, treasons, and detested sins,
The cloak of night being pluck'd from off their backs,
Stand bare and naked, trembling at themselves?
So when this thief, this traitor, Bolingbroke,—
Who all this while hath revel'd in the night,
Whilst we were wand'ring with the antipodes,— ^note
Shall see us rising in our throne the east,
His treasons will sit blushing in his face,
Not able to endure the sight of day,
But, self-affrighted, tremble at his sin.
Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm from ^note an anointed king;
The breath of worldly ^note men cannot ^note depose
The deputy elected by the Lord:
For every man that Bolingbroke hath press'd
To lift shrewd steel ^note against our golden crown,
God for ^note his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel: then, if angels fight,
Weak men must fall; for heaven still guards the right.

Enter Salisbury.
Welcome, my lord; How far off lies your power?

Sal.
Nor near, nor farther off, my gracious lord,
Than this weak arm; Discomfort guides my tongue,
And bids me speak of nothing but despair.
One day too late, I fear, my noble ^note lord,
Hath clouded all thy ^note happy days on earth:
O, call back yesterday, bid time return,
And thou shalt have twelve thousand fighting men!
To-day, to-day, unhappy day, too late,
O'erthrows thy joys, friends, fortune, and thy state;
For all the Welshmen, hearing thou wert dead,
Are gone to Bolingbroke, dispers'd, and fled.

Aum.
Comfort, my liege; Why looks your grace so pale?

Ric.
But now the blood of twenty thousand men
  Did triumph in my face, and they are fled;
And, 'till so much blood thither come again,
  Have I not reason to look pale and dead?
All souls that will be safe, fly from my side;
For time hath set a blot upon my pride.

Aum.
Comfort, my liege; remember who you are.

Ric.
I had forgot myself: Am I not king?
Awake, thou coward ^note majesty! thou sleep'st.
Is not the king's name forty ^note thousand names?
Arm, arm, my name; a puny subject strikes
At thy great glory.—Look not to the ground,
Ye favourites of a king; Are we not high?
High be our thoughts: I know, my uncle York
Hath power enough to serve our turn. But who
Comes here? Enter Scroop.

Scr.
More health and happiness betide my liege,

Than can my care-tun'd tongue deliver him.

Ric.
Mine ear is open, and my heart prepar'd;
The worst is worldly loss, thou canst unfold.
Say, is my kingdom lost? why, 'twas my care;
And what loss is it, to be rid of care?
Strives Bolingbroke to be as great as we?
Greater he shall not be; if he serve God,
We'll serve him too, and be his fellow so:
Revolt our subjects? that we cannot mend;
They break their faith to God, as well as us:
Cry, woe, destruction, ruin, loss, decay ^note;
The worst is—death, and death will have his day.

Scr.
Glad am I, that your highness is so arm'd
To bear the tidings of calamity.
Like an unseasonable stormy day,
Which makes ^note the silver rivers drown their shores ^note,
As if the world were all dissolv'd to tears;
So high above his limits swells the rage
Of Bolingbroke, covering your fearful land
With hard bright steel, and hearts harder than steel.
White beards ^note have arm'd their thin and hairless scalps
Against thy majesty; boys ^note, with women's voices,
Strive to speak big, and clasp ^note their female joints
In stiff unwieldy arms against thy crown;
Thy very beadsmen learn to bend their bows ^note
Of double-fatal yew ^note against thy state;
Yea, distaff women manage rusty bills
Against thy seat: both young and old rebel,
And all goes worse than I have power to tell.

Ric.
Too well, too well, thou tell'st a tale so ill.
Where is the earl of Wiltshire? where is Bagot?14Q0589
What is become of Bushy? where is Green?

That they have let the dangerous enemy
Measure our confines with such peaceful steps?
If we prevail, their heads ^note shall pay for it.
I warrant, they've made peace with Bolingbroke.

Scr.
Peace have they made with him, indeed, my lord.

Ric.
O villains, vipers, damn'd without redemption!
Dogs, easily won to fawn on any man!
Snakes, in my heart-blood warm'd, that sting my heart!
Three Judasses, each one thrice worse than Judas!
Would they make peace? terrible hell make war
Upon their spotted souls for this offence ^note? ^note

Scr.
Sweet love, I ^note see, changing his property,
Turns to the sourest and most deadly hate:—
Again uncurse their souls; their peace is made
With heads ^note, and not with hands: those whom you curse,
Have felt the worst of death's destroying wound ^note,
And lye full low grav'd in the hollow ground.

Aum.
Is Bushy, Green, and the earl of Wiltshire, dead?

Scr.
Yea, all ^note of them at Bristol lost their heads.

Aum.
Where is the duke my father with his power?

Ric.
No matter where; of comfort no man speak:
Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs;
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes
Write sorrow on the ^note bosom of the earth.
Let's choose executors, and talk of wills;—
And yet not so, For what can we bequeath,
Save our deposed bodies to the ground?
Our lands, our lives, and all are Bolingbroke's,
And nothing can we call our own, but death;
And that small model of the barren earth,
Which serves as paste ^note and cover to our bones.
For God's ^note sake, let us sit upon the ground,

And tell sad stories of the death of kings:—
How some have been depos'd, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they dispossess'd ^note,
Some poison'd by their wives, some sleeping kill'd,
All murther'd: For within the hollow crown,
That rounds the mortal temples of a king,
Keeps death his court: and there the antick sits,
Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp;
Allowing him a breath, a little scene
To monarchize, be fear'd, and kill with looks;
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,—
As if this flesh, which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable; and, humour'd thus,
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through ^note his castle wall ^note, and—farewel king.
Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood
With solemn reverence; throw away respect,
Tradition ^note, form, and ceremonious duty:
For you have but mistook me all this while;
I live with bread like you, feel want like you,
Taste grief, need friends, like you; Subjected thus,
How can you say to me—I am a king?

Car.
My lord, wise men ne'er wail their present woes ^note,
But presently prevent the ways to wail.
To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength,
Gives, in your weakness, strength unto your foe,
And so your follies fight against yourself. ^note
Fear, and be slain; no worse can come, to fight:
And fight and die, is death destroying death;
Where fearing dying, pays death servile breath.

Aum.
My father hath a power, enquire of him;
And learn to make a body of a limb.

Ric.
Thou chid'st me well;—Proud Bolingbroke, I come
To change blows with thee for our day of doom:
This ague fit of fear is overblown;
An easy task it is, to win our own.—
Say, Scroop, where lies our uncle with his power?
Speak sweetly, man, although thy looks be sour.

Scr.
Men judge by the complexion of the sky
  The state and inclination of the day;
So may you by my dull and heavy eye,
  My tongue hath but a heavier tale to say.
I play the torturer, by small and small
To lengthen out the worst that must be spoken:—
Your uncle York hath join'd ^note with Bolingbroke;
And all your northern castles yielded up,
And all your southern gentlemen in arms
Upon his party. ^note

Ric.
Thou hast said enough.—
Beshrew thee, cousin, which didst lead me forth
Of that sweet way I was in to despair!
What say you now? What comfort have we now?
By heaven, I'll hate him everlastingly,
That bids me be of comfort any more.
Go, to Flint castle; there I'll pine away;
A king, woe's slave, shall kingly woe obey.
That power I have, discharge; and let them go
To ear the land that hath some hope to grow,
For I have none:—Let no man speak again
To alter this, for counsel is but vain.

Aum.
My liege, one word.

Ric.
He does me double wrong,
That wounds me with the flatteries of his tongue.
Discharge my followers, let them hence;—Away,

From Richard's night, to Bolingbroke's fair day. [Exeunt. SCENE III. The same. Before the Castle. Drums. Enter (marching) Bolingbroke, and Forces; Northumberland, York, and Others.

Bol.
So that by this intelligence we learn,
The Welshmen are dispers'd; and Salisbury
Is gone to meet the king, who lately landed,
With some few private friends, upon this coast.

Nor.
The news is very fair and good, my lord;
Richard not far from hence hath hid his head.

Yor.
It would beseem the lord Northumberland,
To say—king Richard:—Alack the heavy day,
When such a sacred king should hide his head!

Nor.
Your grace mistakes me; only to be brief,
Left I his ^note title out.

Yor.
The time hath been,
Would you ^note have been so brief with him, he would
Have been so brief with you ^note, to shorten you,
For taking so the head, your whole head's length.

Bol.
Mistake, not uncle, farther ^note than you should.

Yor.
Take not, good cousin, farther ^note than you should,
Lest you mis-take; The heavens are o'er your ^note head ^note.

Bol.
I know it, uncle; and will not oppose ^note
Myself against ^note their will ^note.—But who comes here?— Enter Percy.
Well, Harry ^note;14Q0590 what, will not this castle yield?

Per.
The castle royally is ^note man'd, my lord,
Against thy entrance.

Bol.
Royally! how so?
Why, it contains no king?

Per.
Yes, my good lord,
It doth contain a king; king Richard lies
Within the limits of yon' lime and stone:
And with him are ^note the lord Aumerle, lord Salisbury,
Sir Stephen Scroop; besides a clergyman
Of holy reverence, who, I cannot learn.

Nor.
Belike, it is the bishop of Carlisle.

Bol.
Noble lord ^note, [to Nor.
Go to the rude ribs of that ancient caftle; ^note
Through brazen trumpet send the breath of parle ^note
Into his ruin'd ears, and thus deliver.
Harry ^note of Bolingbroke, upon his ^note knees,
Doth kiss king Richard's hand;
And sends allegiance, and true faith of heart,
To his most ^note royal person: hither come
Even at his feet to lay my arms and power;
Provided that, my banishment repeal'd,
And lands restor'd again, be freely granted:
If not, I'll use the advantage of my power;
And lay the summer's dust with showers of blood,
Rain'd from the wounds of slaughter'd Englishmen:
The which, how far off from the mind of Bolingbroke
It is, such crimson tempest should bedrench ^note
The fresh green lap of fair king Richard's land,
My stooping duty tenderly shall shew.
Go, signify as much; while here we march
Upon the grassy carpet of this plain.— [Nor. bows; and approaches the Castle, with a Trumpet, &c.
Let's march without the noise of threat'ning drum,
That from the castle's totter'd ^note battlements
Our fair appointments may be well perus'd.

Methinks, king Richard and myself should meet
With no less terror than the elements
Of fire and water, when their thund'ring shock ^note
At meeting tears the cloudy cheeks of heaven.
Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water:
The rage be his, while on the earth I rain ^note
My waters; on the earth, and not on him.
March on, and mark king Richard how he looks. A Parle sounded: is answer'd by another Trumpet from within. Flourish; and Enter, upon the Walls, King Richard; Aumerle, and his other Followers, with him.
See, see, king Richard doth himself appear,
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east;
When he perceives, the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory, and to stain the track ^note
Of his bright passage to the occident.

Yor.
Yet looks he like a king; behold, his eye,
As bright as is the eagle's, lightens forth
Controuling majesty: Alack, alack ^note, for woe,
That any harm should stain so fair a show!

Ric.
We are amaz'd; [to Nor.] and thus long have we stood
To watch the fearful bending of thy knee,
Because we thought ourself thy lawful ^note king:
And if we be, how dare thy joints forget
To pay their awful ^note duty to our ^note presence?
If we be not, shew us the hand of God
That hath dismiss'd us from our stewardship;
For well we know, no hand of blood and bone
Can gripe the sacred handle of our scepter,

Unless he do prophane, steal, or usurp.
And though you think, that all, as you have done,
Have torn their souls, by turning them from us,
And we are barren, and bereft of friends;—
Yet know, my master,14Q0591 God omnipotent
Is must'ring in his clouds, on our behalf,
Armies of pestilence; and they shall strike
Your children yet unborn, and unbegot,
That lift your vassal hands against my head,
And threat the glory of my precious crown.
Tell Bolingbroke, (for yon', methinks, he is ^note)
That every stride he makes upon my land,
Is dangerous treason: He is come to ope ^note
The purple testament of bleeding war;
But ere the crown he looks for light in ^note peace,
Ten thousand bloody crowns of mothers' sons
Shall ill become the flower of England's face,
Change the complexion of her ^note maid-pale peace
To scarlet indignation, and bedew
Her pastures' ^note grass with faithful English blood.

Nor.
The King of heaven forbid, our lord the king
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rush'd upon! No, thy thrice-noble cousin,
Harry of Bolingbroke, doth kiss ^note thy hand:
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon thy royal grandsire's bones;
And by the royalties of both your bloods,
Currents that spring from one most gracious head;
And by the bury'd hand of warlike Gaunt;
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be sworn or said,—
His coming hither hath no further scope,

Than for his lineal royalties, and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to rust,
His barbed steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just ^note;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.

Ric.
Northumberland, say, thus the king returns;—
His noble cousin is right welcome hither;
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction:
With all the gracious utterance thou ^note hast,
Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends.—
  We do debase us ^note, cousin ^note, do we not,
To look so poorly, and to speak so fair?
Shall we call back Northumberland, and send
Defiance to the traitor, and so die?

Aum.
No, my good lord; let's fight with gentle words,
'Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful swords.

Ric.
O God! o God! that e'er this tongue of mine,
That lay'd the sentence of dread banishment
On yon' proud ^note man, should take it off again
With words of sooth! O, that I were as great
As is my grief, or lesser than my name!
Or that I could forget what I have been!
Or not remember what I must be now!
Swell'st thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope to beat,
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me.

Aum.
Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.

Ric.
What must the king do now? Must he submit?
The king shall do it? Must he be depos'd?

The king shall be contented: Must he lose
The name of king ^note? o' God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads;
My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage;
My gay apparel, for an alms-man's gown;
My figur'd goblets, for a dish of wood;
My scepter, for a palmer's walking-staff;
My subjects, for a pair of carved saints;
And my large kingdom, for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave:—
Or I'll be bury'd in the king's high-way,
Some way of common trade, ^note14Q0592 where subjects' feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head:
For on my heart they tread, now whilst I live;
And, bury'd once, why not upon my head?—
Aumerle, thou weep'st; My tender-hearted cousin!—
We'll make foul weather with despised tears;
Our sighs, and they, shall lodge the summer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.
Or shall we play the wantons with our woes,
And make some pretty match with shedding tears?
As thus ^note;—To drop them still upon one place,
'Till they have fretted us a pair of graves
Within the earth; and, therein lay'd,—There lies
Two kinsmen, dig'd their graves with weeping eyes?
Would not this ill do well? Well, well, I see
I talk but idly, and you mock at ^note me.—
  Most mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,
What says king Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live 'till Richard die?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke says—ay.

Nor.
My lord, in the base court he doth attend

To speak with you; may't please you to come down.

Ric.
Down, down, I come; like glist'ring Phaeton,
Wanting the manage of unruly jades.
In the base court? Base court, where kings grow base,
To come at traitors' calls, and do them grace.
In the base court? Come down? Down, court! down, king!
For night-owls shriek where mounting larks should sing. [Exeunt, from above.

Bol.
What says his majesty?

Nor.
Sorrow and grief of heart
Makes him speak fondly, like a frantick man:
Yet he is come, my lord. Enter Richard, and his Attendants, below.

Bol.
Stand all apart,
And shew fair duty to his majesty.—
My gracious lord,— [kneeling.

Ric.
Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,
To make the base earth proud with kissing it:
Me rather had, my heart might feel your love,
Than my unpleas'd eye see your courtesy.
Up, cousin, up; [raising him.] your heart is up, I know,
Thus high † at least, although your knee be low.

Bol.
My gracious lord, I come but for mine own.

Ric.
Your own is yours, and I am yours, and all.

Bol.
So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,
As my true service shall deserve your love.

Ric.
Well you deserve ^note; They well deserve to have,
That know the strong'st and surest way to get.—
Uncle, give me your hand ^note: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears shew their love, but want their remedies.—
Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my ^note heir.

What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we must, what force will have us do.—
Set on towards London:—Cousin, is it so?

Bol.
Yea, my good lord.

Ric.
Then I must not say, no. [Flourish. Exeunt. SCENE IV. Langley. The Duke of York's Garden. Enter the Queen, and her Ladies.

Que.
What sport shall we devise here in this garden,
To drive away the heavy thought of care?

1. L.
Madam, we'll play at bowls.

Que.
'Twill make me think, the world is full of rubs,
And that my fortune runs against the bias.

1. L.
Madam, we'll dance.

Que.
My legs can keep no measure in delight,
When my poor heart no measure keeps in grief:
Therefore no dancing, girl; some other sport.

1. L.
Madam, we will tell tales.

Que.
Of joy, or grief ^note?14Q0593

1. L.
Of either, madam.

Que.
No, of neither, girl:
For if of joy, being altogether wanting,
It doth remember me the more of sorrow;
Or if of grief, being altogether had ^note,
It adds more sorrow to my want of joy:
For what I have, I need not to repeat;
And what I want, it boots not to complain.

1. L.
Madam, I'll sing.

Que.
'Tis well, that thou hast cause;
But thou should'st please me better, would'st thou weep.

1. L.
I could weep, madam, would it do you good.

Que.
And I could weep, ^note would weeping do me good,

And never borrow any tear of thee. Enter the Gardiner, and two Servants.
But stay, here come ^note the gardiners ^note of this place:—
Let's step into the shadow of these trees:
My wretchedness unto a row of pins ^note,
They'll talk of state; for every one doth so
Against a change, Woe is fore-run with woe. [Queen, and Ladies, retire.

Gar.
Go, bind thou up yon' ^note dangling apricocks,
Which, like unruly children, make their sire
Stoop with oppression of their prodigal weight;
Give some supportance to the bending twigs.—
Go thou, and, like an executioner,
Cut off the heads of too-fast ^note-growing sprays,
That look too lofty in our common-wealth:
All must be even in our government.—
You thus employ'd, I will go root away
The noisome weeds, that without ^note profit suck
The soil's fertility from wholesome flowers.

1. S.
Why should we, in the compass of a pale,
Keep law, and form, and due proportion,
Shewing as ^note in a model our firm state ^note?
When our sea-walled garden, the whole land,
Is full of weeds; her fairest flowers choak'd up,
Her fruit-trees all unprun'd, her hedges ruin'd,
Her knots disorder'd, and her wholesome herbs
Swarming with caterpillars?

Gar.
Hold thy peace;
He that hath suffer'd this disorder'd spring,
Hath now himself met with the fall of leaf:
The weeds that his ^note broad-spreading leaves did shelter,
That seem'd, in eating him, to hold him up,

Are pluck'd ^note up, root and all, by Bolingbroke;
I mean, the earl of Wiltshire, Bushy, Green.

1. S.
What, are they dead?

Gar.
They are; and Bolingbroke
Hath seiz'd ^note the wasteful king. What ^note pity is it,14Q0594
That he had not ^note so ^note trim'd and dress'd his land,
As we this garden! We, at time of year,
Do wound ^note the bark, the skin of our fruit-trees;
Lest, being over-proud in sap and blood,
With too much riches it confound itself:
Had he done so to great and growing men,
They might have liv'd to bear, and he to taste
Their fruits of duty. All ^note superfluous branches
We lop away, that bearing boughs may live ^note:
Had he done so, himself had born the crown,
Which waste of idle ^note hours hath quite thrown down.

1. S.
What, think you then, the king shall be depos'd?

Gar.
Depress'd he is already; and depos'd,
'Tis doubt ^note, he will be: Letters came last night
To a dear friend of the good ^note duke of York's ^note,
That tell black tidings.

Que.
O, I am press'd to death through want of speaking!—
Thou Adam's ^note likeness, [starting from her Concealment.] set to dress this garden,
How dares thy ^note tongue ^{note note} sound this unpleasing news?
What Eve, what serpent hath suggested thee
To make a second fall of cursed man?
Why dost thou say, king Richard is depos'd?
Dar'st thou, thou little better thing than earth,
Divine his downfal? Say, where, when, and how,
Cam'st ^note thou by these ill ^note tidings? speak, thou wretch.

Gar.
Pardon me, madam: little joy have I,

To breath this news ^note; yet, what I say, is true.
King Richard, he is in the mighty hold
Of Bolingbroke; their fortunes both are weigh'd:
In your lord's scale is nothing but himself,
And some few vanities that make him light;
But in the balance of great Bolingbroke,
Besides himself, are all the English peers,
And with that odds he weighs king Richard down.
Post you to London, and you'll find it so;
I speak no more than every one doth know.

Que.
Nimble mischance, that art so light of foot,
Doth not thy embassage belong to me,
And am I last that knows ^note it? o, thou think'st
To serve me last, that I may longest keep
Thy sorrow in my breast.—Come, ladies, go,
To meet at London London's king in woe.—
What, was I born to this! that my sad look
Should grace the triumph of great Bolingbroke!—
Gardiner, ^note for telling me this news ^note of woe,
I would ^note, the plants, thou graft'st, may never grow. [Exeunt Queen, and Ladies.

Gar.
Poor queen! so that thy state might be no worse,
I would my skill were subject to thy curse.
Here did she drop a ^note tear; here in this place
I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace:
Rue, even for ruth, here shortly shall be seen,
In the ^note remembrance of a weeping queen. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I. London. The Parliament-House. Enter, to their Seats, Bolingbroke, the Dukes

of Aumerle and Surrey, Northumberland, Percy, Fitzwater, another Lord, Bishop of Carlisle, Abbot of Westminster, &c. Officers behind, with Bagot, and People in Attendance.

Bol.
Call Bagot forth ^note:— [Officers set him to the Bar.
Now, Bagot, freely speak ^note
What thou dost know of noble Gloster's death;
Who wrought it with the king, and who perform'd
The bloody office of his timeless end.

Bag.
Then set before my face the lord Aumerle.

Bol.
Cousin, stand forth, and look upon that man.

Bag.
My lord Aumerle, I know, your daring tongue
Scorns to unsay what once it hath ^note deliver'd.
In that dead time when Gloster's death was plotted,
I heard you say,—Is not my arm of length,
That reacheth from the restful English court
As far as Calais, to my uncle's ^note head?
Amongst much other talk, that very time
I heard you say too, you ^note had rather refuse
The offer of an hundred thousand crowns,
Than to have Bolingbroke ^note return to England:
Adding withal, how blest this land would be
In this your cousin's death.

Aum.
Princes, and noble lords,
What answer shall I make to this base man?
Shall I so much dishonour my fair stars,
On equal terms to give him ^note chastisement?
Either I must, or have mine honour soil'd ^note
With the attainder ^note of his sland'rous lips.—
There is my † gage, the manual seal of death,
That marks thee out for hell: I say ^note, thou ly'st;

And will maintain, what thou hast said, is false,
In thy heart ^note-blood, though being all too base
To stain the temper of my knightly sword.

Bol.
Bagot, forbear, [seeing him stoop.] thou shalt not take it up.

Aum.
Excepting one, I would he were the best
In all this presence, that hath mov'd me so.

Fit.
If that thy valour stand on sympathies ^note,
There is † my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine:
By that fair sun which shews ^note me where thou stand'st,
I heard thee say, and vauntingly thou spak'st it,
That thou wert cause of noble Gloster's death.
If thou deny'st it, twenty times thou ly'st;
And I will turn thy falshood to thy heart,
Where it was forged, with my rapier's point.

Aum.
Thou dar'st not, coward, live to ^note see that day ^note.

Fit.
Now, by my soul, I would it were this hour.

Aum.
Fitzwater, thou art damn'd to hell for this.

Per.
Aumerle, thou ly'st; his honour is as true
In this appeal, as thou art all unjust:
And, that thou art so, there † I throw my gage,
To prove it on thee to the extreamest point
Of mortal breathing; seize it, if thou dar'st.

Aum.
And if ^note I do not, may my hands rot off,
And never brandish more revengeful steel
Over the glittering helmet of my foe!

Lor.
I task thee ^note14Q0595 to ^note the like, forsworn Aumerle;
And spur thee on with full as many lies
As may ^note be hollow'd in thy treacherous ear
From sun to sun ^note: there is † my honour's pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou dar'st.

Aum.
Who sets me else? by heaven, I'll throw at all: ^note

I have a thousand spirits in one breast,
To answer twenty thousand such as you.

Sur.
My lord Fitzwater, I remember ^note well
The very time Aumerle and you did talk.

Fit.
'Tis ^note very true: you were in presence then;
And you can witness with me, this is true.

Sur.
As false, by heaven, as heaven itself is true.

Fit.
Surrey, thou ly'st.

Sur.
Dishonourable boy,
That lie shall lye so heavy on my sword,
That it shall render vengeance and revenge,
'Till thou the lie-giver, and that lie, do lye
In earth as quiet as thy father's scull.
In proof whereof, there † is my honour's ^note pawn;
Engage it to the trial, if thou dar'st.

Fit.
How fondly dost thou spur a forward horse?
If I dare eat, or drink, or breath, or live,—
I dare meet Surrey in a wilderness,
And spit upon him, whilst I say, he lies,
And lies, and lies: there is † my ^note bond ^note of faith,
To tie thee to my strong correction.—
As I intend ^note to thrive in this new world,
Aumerle is guilty of my true appeal:
Besides, I heard the banish'd Norfolk say,
That thou, Aumerle, didst send two of thy men
To execute the noble duke at Calais.

Aum.
Some honest christian trust me with a gage,
That Norfolk lies: here do I throw down † this, [taking one from a Stander-by.
If he may be repeal'd to try his honour.

Bol.
These differences shall all rest under gage,
'Till Norfolk be repeal'd: repeal'd he shall be,

And, though mine enemy, restor'd again
To all his signories ^note; when he's return'd,
Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial.

Car.
That honourable day shall ne'er be seen.
Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought
For Jesu ^note Christ; in glorious christian field
Streaming the ensign of the christian cross,
Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens:
And, toil'd with works of war, retir'd himself
To Italy; and there, at Venice, gave
His body to that pleasant ^note country's earth,
And his pure soul unto his captain Christ,
Under whose colours he had fought so long.

Bol.
Is Norfolk dead?14Q0596

Car.
Sure ^note as I live, my lord.

Bol.
Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom
Of good old Abraham!—My lords appellants
Your differences shall all rest under gage,
'Till we assign you to your days of trial. Enter York, attended.

Yor.
Great duke of Lancaster, I come to thee
From plume-pluck'd Richard; who with willing soul
Adopts thee heir ^note, and his high scepter yields
To the possession of thy royal hand:
Ascend his throne, descending now from him,—
And long live Henry, of that name the fourth ^note!

Bol.
In God's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.

Car.
Marry, God forbid ^note!—
Worst in this royal presence may I ^note speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God, that ^note any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge

Of noble Richard; then true noblesse ^note would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here ^note, that is not Richard's subject?
Thieves are not judg'd, but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them:
And shall the figure of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputy elect,
Anointed, crowned, planted ^note many years,
Be judg'd by subject ^note and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? o, forbid ^note it, ^note
That, in a christian climate, souls refin'd
Should shew so heinous, black, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stir'd up by heaven thus ^note boldly for his king.
My lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophesy,—
The blood of English shall manure the ground,
And future ages groan for this ^note foul act;
Peace shall go sleep ^note with Turks and infidels,
And, in this seat of peace, tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin, and kind with kind confound;
Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny,
Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd
The field of Golgotha and dead men's sculls.
O, if you rear this ^note house against this house,
It will the wofullest division prove,
That ever fell upon this cursed earth:
Prevent, resist it, ^note let ^note it not be so,
Lest child, child's children, cry against you—woe!

Nor.
Well have you argu'd, sir; and, for your pains,

Of capital treason we arrest you here:—
My lord of Westminster, be it your charge
To keep him safely 'till his day of trial.— [Officers give Carlisle to the Abbot.
May't please you, lords,14Q0597 to grant the commons' suit? ^note

Bol. ^note
Fetch hither Richard, that in common view
He may surrender; so we shall proceed
Without suspicion.

Yor.
I will be his conduct. [Exeunt York, and Others.

Bol.
Lords, you that here are ^note under our arrest,
Procure your sureties for your days of answer:—
Little are we beholding to your love, [to Car.
And little look'd ^note for at your helping hands. Re-enter York, with Richard, and Officers bearing the Regalia.

Ric.
Alack, why am I sent for to a king,
Before I have shook off the regal thoughts
Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd
To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my knee; ^note
Give sorrow leave a while to tutor me ^note
To this submission. Yet I well remember ^note
The favours of these men: Were they not mine?
Did they not sometime ^note cry, all hail! to me?
So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve,
Found truth in all, but one; I, in twelve thousand, none.
God save the king! Will no man say, amen?
Am I both priest and clerk? well then, amen.
God save the king! although I be not he;
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.—
To do what service, am I sent for hither?

Yor.
To do that office of thine own good will,
Which tired majesty did make thee offer,—

The resignation of thy state and crown
To Henry ^note Bolingbroke.

Ric.
Give me the crown:—Here, cousin, ^note seize the crown;
Here, on ^note this side, my hand; on that side, thine. ^note
Now is this golden crown like a deep well,
That owes two buckets filling one another;
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen, and full of water:
That bucket down, and full of tears, am I,
Drinking my griefs ^note, whilst you mount up on high.

Bol.
I thought, you had been willing to resign.

Ric.
My crown, I am; but still my griefs are mine:
You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.

Bol.
Part of your cares you give me with your crown.

Ric.
Your cares set up, do not pluck my cares down.
My care is—loss of care, by old care done;
Your care is—gain of care, by new care won:
The cares I give, I have, though given away;
They tend the crown, yet still with me they stay.

Bol.
Are you contented to resign the crown?

Ric.
Ay,—no: No,—ay; for I must nothing be;
Therefore no no, for I resign to thee.
Now mark me how I will undo myself:—
I give this heavy weight &dagger2; from off my head,
And this unwieldy scepter &dagger2; from my hand,
The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;
With mine own tears I wash away my balm ^note,
With mine own hands I give away my crown,
With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,
With mine own breath release all duteous oaths ^note:
All pomp and majesty I do forswear;

My manors, rents, revenues, I forego;
My acts, decrees, and statutes, I deny:
God pardon all oaths, that are broke to me!
God keep all vows unbroke, are made to ^note thee!
Make me, that nothing have, with nothing griev'd;
And thou with all pleas'd, that hast all atchiev'd!
Long may'st thou live in Richard's seat to sit,
And soon lye Richard in an earthy ^note pit!
God save king Henry ^note, unking'd Richard says,
And send him many years of sun-shine ^note days!—
What more remains?

Nor.
No more, but that you read [offering a Paper.
These accusations, and these grievous crimes,
Committed by your person, and your followers,
Against the state and profit of this land;
That, by confessing them, the souls of men
May deem that you are worthily depos'd.

Ric.
Must I do so? and must I ravel out
My weav'd up follies ^note? Gentle Northumberland,
If thy offences were upon record,
Would it not shame thee, in so fair a troop,
To read a lecture of them? If thou would'st,
There should'st thou find one heinous article,—
Containing the deposing of a king,
And cracking the strong warrant of an oath,—
Mark'd with a blot, damn'd in the book of heaven:—
Nay, all ^note of you, that stand and look upon me,
Whilst that my wretchedness doth bait ^note myself.— ^note
Though some of you, with Pilate, wash your hands,
Shewing an outward pity; yet you Pilates
Have here deliver'd ^note me to my sour cross,
And water cannot wash away your sin.

Nor.
My lord, dispatch; read o'er these articles.

Ric.
Mine eyes are full of tears, I cannot see:
And yet salt-water blinds them not so much,
But they can see a sort of traitors here.
Nay, if I turn mine eyes upon myself,
I find myself a traitor with the rest:
For I have given here my soul's consent,
To undeck the pompous body of a king;
Make ^note glory base; a sovereign ^note, a slave;
Proud majesty, a subject; state, a peasant.

Nor.
My lord,—

Ric.
No lord of thine, thou haut insulting man,
Nor no ^note man's lord; I have no name, no title,—
No, not that name was given me at the font,—
But 'tis usurp'd:—Alack the heavy day,
That I have worn so many winters out,
And know not now what name to call myself!
O, that I were a mockery king of snow,
Standing before the sun of Bolingbroke,
To melt myself away in water-drops!—
Good king, great king, (and yet not greatly good)
An if my word be sterling yet in England,
Let it command a mirror hither straight;
That it may shew me what a face I have,
Since it is bankrupt of his ^note majesty.

Bol.
Go some of you, and fetch a looking-glass. [Exit an Attendant.

Nor.
Read o'er this paper, while the glass doth come.

Ric.
Fiend, thou torment'st ^note me ere I come to hell.

Bol.
Urge it no more, my lord Northumberland.

Nor.
The commons will not then be satisfy'd.

Ric.
They shall be satisfy'd; I'll read enough,

When I do see the very book indeed
Where all my sins are writ, and that's—myself.— Re-enter Attendant, with a Glass.
Give me that glass ^note, and therein will I read ^note.—
No deeper wrinkles yet? hath sorrow struck ^note
So many blows upon this face of mine,
And made no deeper wounds?—O flattering glass,
Like to my followers in prosperity,
Thou dost beguile me ^note!—Was this face the face,
That every day under his houshold roof
Did feed ten ^note thousand men? Was this the face,
That, like the sun, did make beholders wink? ^note
Was this ^note the face, that fac'd so many follies,
And was ^note at last out-fac'd by Bolingbroke?
A brittle glory shineth in this face:
As brittle as the glory, is the face;
For there it is, [dashing the Glass to the Ground.] crack'd in a hundred shivers.—
Mark, silent king, the moral of this sport,—
How soon my sorrow hath destroy'd my face.

Bol.
The shadow of your sorrow hath destroy'd
The shadow of your face.

Ric.
Say that again.
The shadow of my sorrow? Ha! let's see:—
'Tis very true, my grief lies all within;
And these external manners of ^note lament ^note
Are meerly shadows to the unseen grief,
That swells with silence in the tortur'd soul;
There lies the substance ^note: and I thank thee, king,
For thy great bounty ^note, that not only giv'st
Me cause to wail, but teachest me the way
How to lament the cause. I'll beg one boon,

And then be gone, and trouble you no more.
Shall I obtain it ^note?

Bol.
Name it, my fair cousin.

Ric.
Fair cousin?—I ^note am greater than a king:
For, when I was a king, my flatterers
Were then but subjects; being now a subject,
I have a king here to my flatterer.
Being so great, I have no need to beg.

Bol.
Yet ask.

Ric.
And shall I have? ^note

Bol.
You shall.

Ric.
Then ^note give me leave to go.

Bol.
Whither?

Ric.
Whither you will, so I were from your sights.

Bol.
Go some of you, convey him to the tower.

Ric.
O, good! Convey? Conveyers are you all,
That rise thus nimbly by a true king's fall. [Exeunt Ric. some Lords, and a Guard.

Bol.
On wednesday next ^note, we solemnly set down
Our coronation: lords, prepare yourselves. [Exeunt All but Aum. Car. and the Abbot.

Abb.
A woful pageant have we here beheld.

Car.
The woe's to come; the children yet unborn
Shall feel this day as sharp to them as thorn.

Aum.
You holy clergymen, is there no plot
To rid the realm of this pernicious blot?

Abb.
Before ^note I freely speak my mind herein,
You shall not only take the sacrament
To bury mine intents ^note, but to ^note effect
Whatever I shall happen to devise:—
I see, your brows are full of discontent,
Your hearts ^note of sorrow, and your eyes of tears;

Come home with me to supper, and I'll lay
A plot, shall shew us all a merry day. [Exeunt. 14Q0598 SCENE II. The same. Street leading to the Tower. Enter Queen, and Ladies.

Que.
This way the king will come; this is the way
To Julius Cæsar's ill-erected tower,
To whose flint bosom my condemned lord
Is doom'd a prisoner by proud Bolingbroke:
Here let us rest, if this rebellious earth
Have any resting for her true king's queen. Enter Richard, and Guard.
But soft, but see, or rather do not see,
My fair rose wither: Yet look up; behold;
That you in pity may dissolve to dew,
And wash him fresh again with true-love tears.—
Ah, thou, the model where old Troy did stand;
Thou map of honour; thou king Richard's tomb,
And not king Richard; thou most beauteous inn,
Why should hard-favour'd grief be lodg'd in thee,
When triumph is become an ale-house guest?

Ric.
Join not with grief, fair woman, do not so,
To make my end too sudden: learn, good soul,
To think our former state a happy dream;
From which awak'd, the truth of what we are
Shews us but this: I am sworn brother, sweet,
To grim necessity; and he and I
Will keep a league 'till death. Hie ^note thee to France,
And cloister thee in some religious house:
Our holy lives must win a new world's crown,
Which our prophane hours here have stricken down ^note.

Que.
What, is my Richard both in shape and mind

Transform'd, and weaken'd? Hath proud Bolingbroke
Depos'd thine intellect? hath he been in thy heart?
The lion, dying, thrusteth forth his paw,
And wounds the earth, if nothing else, with rage
To be o'er-power'd; And wilt thou, pupil-like,
Take thy correction ^note mildly? kiss the rod?
And fawn on rage with base humility,
Which art a lion, and a king ^note of beasts ^note?

Ric.
A king of beasts ^note, indeed; if aught but beasts,
I had been still a happy king of men.
Good sometime ^note queen, prepare thee hence for France:
Think, I am dead; and that even here thou tak'st,
As from my death-bed, my last ^note living leave.
In winters' tedious nights, sit by the fire
With good old folks; and let them tell thee tales ^note
Of woful ages, long ago betid ^note:
And, ere thou bid good night ^note, to quit ^note their grief ^note,
Tell thou the lamentable fall of ^note me,
And send the hearers weeping to their beds.
For why, the senseless brands will sympathize ^note
The heavy accent of thy ^note moving tongue,
And, in compassion, weep the fire out:
And some will mourn in ashes, some coal-black,
For the deposing of a rightful king. Enter Northumberland, and Others.

Nor.
My lord, the mind of Bolingbroke is chang'd;
You must to Pomfret, not unto the tower.—
And, madam, there is order ta'en for you;
With all swift speed, you must away to France.

Ric.
Northumberland, thou ladder wherewithal
The mounting Bolingbroke ascends my throne,—
The time shall not be many hours of age

More than it is, ere foul sin, gathering head,
Shall break into corruption: thou shalt think,
Though he divide the realm, and give thee half,
It is too little, helping him to all;
And he shall think, that thou, which know'st the way
To plant unrightful kings, wilt know again,
Being ne'er so little urg'd, another way
To pluck him headlong from the usurped throne.
The love of wicked friends converts ^note to fear;
That fear, to hate; and hate turns one, or both,
To worthy danger, and deserved death.

Nor. ^note
My guilt be on my head, and there an end.
Take leave, and part; for you must part forthwith.

Ric.
Doubly divorc'd?—Bad men, ye violate ^note
A two-fold marriage; 'twixt ^note my crown and me;
And then, betwixt me, and my marry'd wife.—
Let me unkiss the oath 'twixt ^note thee and me;
And yet not so, for with a kiss 'twas made.—
Part us, Northumberland; I towards the north,
Where shivering cold and sickness pines the clime:
My wife to ^note France; from whence, set forth in pomp,
She came adorned hither like sweet May,
Sent back like hollowmas, or short'st of day.

Que.
And must we be divided? must we part?

Ric.
Ay, hand from hand, my love, and heart from heart.

Que.
Banish us both, and send the king with me.

Nor.
That were ^note some love, but little policy.

Que.
Then whither he goes, thither let me go.

Ric.
So two, together weeping, make one woe.
Weep thou ^note for me in France, I for thee here;
Better far off, than—near, be ne'er the near'.

Go, count thy way with sighs; I, mine with groans.

Que.
So longest way shall have the longest moans.

Ric.
Twice for one step I'll groan, the way being short,
And piece the way out with a heavy heart.
Come, come, in wooing sorrow let's be brief,
Since, wedding it, there is such length in grief:
One kiss shall stop our mouths, and dumbly ^note part;—
Thus † give I mine, and thus † take I thy heart.

Que.
Give me mine own ^note again; 'twere no good part,
To take on me to keep, and kill thy heart.
So, † now I have mine own again, be gone,
That I may strive to kill it with a groan.

Ric.
We make woe wanton with this fond delay:
Once more, adieu; the rest let sorrow say. [Exeunt. ACT V. SCENE I. The same. A Room in York's House. Enter York, and his Dutchess.

Dut.
My lord, you told me, you would tell the rest,
When weeping made you break the story off ^note
Of our two cousins coming into London.

Yor.
Where did I leave?

Dut.
At that sad stop, my lord,
Where rude mis-govern'd hands, from window ^note tops,
Threw dust and rubbish on king Richard's head.

Yor.
Then, as I said, the duke, great Bolingbroke,—
Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed,
Which his aspiring rider seem'd to know,—
With slow, but stately pace, kept on his course,
While ^note all tongues cry'd—God save thee, Bolingbroke ^note!

You would have thought, the very windows spake,
So many greedy looks of young and old
Through casements darted their desiring eyes
Upon his visage; and that all the walls,
With painted imag'ry, had said at once,—
Jesu preserve thee! welcome ^note, Bolingbroke!
Whilst he, from one ^note side to the other turning,
Bare-headed, lower than his proud steed's neck,
Bespake them thus,—I thank you, countrymen:
And thus still doing, thus he pass'd along.

Dut.
Alas ^note, poor Richard! where rides he the while ^note?

Yor.
As, in a theatre, the eyes of men,
After a well-grac'd actor leaves the stage,
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious:
Even so, or with much more contempt, men's eyes
Did scoul on Richard ^note; no man cry'd, God save him;
No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home:
But dust was thrown upon his sacred head;
Which with such gentle sorrow he shook off,—
His face still combating with tears and smiles,
The badges of his grief and patience,—
That had not God, for some strong purpose, steel'd
The hearts of men, they must perforce have melted,
And barbarism itself have pity'd him.
But heaven hath a hand in these events;
To whose high will we bind ^note our calm contents:
To Bolingbroke are we sworn subjects now,
Whose state and honour I for aye allow. Enter Aumerle.

Dut.
Here comes my son Aumerle.

Yor.
Aumerle that was;

But that is lost, for being Richard's friend,
And, madam, you must call him Rutland now:14Q0599
I am in parliament pledge for his truth,
And lasting fealty to the ^note new-made king.

Dut.
Welcome, my son: Who are ^note the violets now,
That strew the green lap of the new-come spring?

Aum.
Madam, I know not, nor I greatly care not;
God knows, I had as lief be none, as one.

Yor.
Well, bear you well in this new spring of time,
Lest you be cropt before you come to prime.
What news from Oxford? hold those justs and triumphs ^note?

Aum.
For aught I know, my lord. ^note

Yor.
You will be there? ^note

Aum.
If God prevent it not; I purpose so.

Yor.
What seal is that, that hangs without thy bosom?
Yea, look'st thou pale, sir? let me see the writing.

Aum.
My lord, 'tis nothing.

Yor.
No matter then who sees it ^note:
I will be satisfy'd, let me see the writing.

Aum.
I do beseech your grace to pardon me;
It is a matter of small consequence,
Which for some reasons I would not have seen.

Yor.
Which for some reasons, sir, I mean to see.
I fear, I fear,—

Dut.
You fear! what should you fear?
'Tis nothing but some bond ^note, that he is enter'd into
For gay apparel 'gainst ^note the triumph day ^note.

Yor.
Bound to himself? what doth he with a bond
That he is bound to? Wife, thou art a fool.— [pushing her away.
Boy, let me see the writing.

Aum.
'Beseech ^note you, pardon me; I may not shew it.

Yor.
I will be satisfy'd; let me see't, I say:— [snatches it from his Bosom, and reads.
Treason! foul treason!—villain! traitor! slave!

Dut.
What is ^note the matter, my lord?