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It is not yet near day. Come, go with
Under our tents; I'll play the eaves-dropper,
To hear, if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt K. Richard, and Ratcliff
Richmond wakes. Enter Oxford, and others.
Lords. Good morrow, Richmond. [men,
Richm. 'Cry mercy, lords, and watchful gentle-
That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
Lords. How have you slept, my lord?

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K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine; for, by the

Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding 10 He should have brav'd the east an hour ago:

dreams,

That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,

A black day it will be to somebody.—
Ratcliff,

Rat. My lord!

K. Rich. The sun will not be seen to-day;
15 The sky doth frown and lour upon our army.
I would, these dewy tears were from the ground.
Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me,
More than to Richmond for the self-same heaven,
That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him.
Enter Norfolk.

Have I since your departure had, my lords. [der'd,
Methought, their souls, whose bodies Richard mur-
Came to my tent, and cry'd--On! victory!
I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.
Richm. Why, then 'tis time to arm, and give 20
direction. [He advances to the troops.
More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time
Forbids to dwell upon: Yet remember this,―
God and our good cause fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls,
Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces;
Richard except, those, whom we fight against,
Had rather have us win, than him they follow.
For what is he they follow truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant, and a homicide;

Nor. Arm, arın, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field. [horse:K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle;-Caparison my Call up lord Stanley, bid him bring his power :25I will fead forth my soldiers to the plain, And thus my battle shall be ordered. My foreward shall be drawn out all in length, Consisting equally of horse and foot; Our archers shall be placed in the midst: John duke of Norfolk, Thomas earl of Surrey, Shall have the leading of this foot and horse. They thus directed, we will follow

30

In the main battle; whose puissance on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.
This, and Saint George to boot!--what think'st
thou, Norfolk?

Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign.—
This found I on my tent this morning.

[Giving a scrowl. 40 K.Rich. Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold, [Reads. For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.

One rais'd in blood, and one in blood establish'd;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughter'd those that were the means to help
A base foul stone, made precious by the foil [him:35
Of England's chair, where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy:
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers:
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain:
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,
Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit it in your age.
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords:
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt→
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully;
God, and Saint George! Richmond, and victory! 55
[Exeunt.

Re-enter King Richard, Ratcliff, &c.
K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touch-
ing Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms.

45

50

A thing devised by the enemy.-
Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge:
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;
For conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devis'd at first to keep the strong in awe;
Our strong arms be our conscience,swords our law,
March on, join bravely, let us to 't pell-mell;
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?
Remember whom you are to cope withal;
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and run-aways,
A scum of Brittains, and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'er-cloyed country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assur'd destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest;
You having lands, and blest with beauteous wives,
They would distrain the one, distain the other.
And who doth lead them, but a paltry fellow,
160 Long kept in Brittaine⚫ at our brother's cost?

To make means, in our author's time, always signified-to come at any thing by indirect practices.

? Saint George was the common cry of the English soldiers when they charged the enemy. 3 To boot here would seem to mean to help. The ancient abbreviation of Richard.

pany. Bretagne.

i. e. a com

A milk.

A milk-sop, one that never in his life
Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow?
Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again;
Lash hence these over-weening rags of France,
These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
Forwantofmeans,poor rats, had hang'dthemselves:
If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us,
And not these bastard Brittains; whom our fathers
Haveintheirownlandbeaten,bobb'd,and
Haveintheirownland beaten,bobb'd,and thump'd,
And, on record, left them the heirs of shame.
Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives?
Ravish our daughters?-Hark, I hear their drum.
[Drum afar off:
Fight, gentlemen of England! fight,bold yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves 1 !—
Enter a Messenger.

5

10

15

What says lord Stanley? will he bring his power? 20
Mes. My lord, he doth deny to come.

K. Rich. Off with his son George's head.
Nor. My lord, the enemy hath past the marsh;
After the battle let George Stanley die.

K. Rich. A thousand hearts are great within 25
my bosom:

Á horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

[Exeunt. Alarums. Enter King Richard and Richmond; they fight, Richard is slain.

Retreat, and flourish. Enter Richmond, Stanley,
bearing the crown, with divers other Lords.
Richm. God, and your arms, be prais'd, vic-
torious friends;

The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead!
Stani. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou
acquit thee!

Lo, here, these long-usurped royalties
From the dead temples of this bloody wretch
Have I pluckt off, to grace thy brows withal;
Wear it, enjoy it, and make use of it'.

Richm. Great God of heaven, say, Amen, to all!—
But tell me, is young George Stanley living?
Stanl. He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town;
Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us.
Richm. What men of name are slain on either side?
Stanl. John duke of Norfolk, Walter lord Ferrers,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
Richm. Inter their bodies as becomes their births
Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled,
That in submission will return to us;
And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament,
We will unite the white rose and the red:
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long hath frown'd upon their enmity!-
What traitor hears me, and says not,-Amen?
England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself;
The brother blindly shed the brother's blood,
The father rashly slaughter'd his own son,
The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire;
35 All this divided York and Lancaster,

Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our helms. [Exeunt. 30

SCENE IV.

Another part of the Field.

Alarum. Excursions. Enter Catesby. Cates. Rescue, my lord of Norfolk! rescue! rescue!

2

The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger;
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death:
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

Divided, in their dire division.—

O, now let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each royal house,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together!
40 And let their heirs (God, if thy will be so)
Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd peace,
With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days!
Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord,
That would reduce these bloody days again,
[horse. 45 And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Let them not live to taste this land's increase,
Thatwouldwithtreasonwound this fair land'speace!
Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again;
That she inay long live here, God say-Amen!

Alarum. Enter King Richard.
K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for

a horse!

Cates. Withdraw, my lord, I'll help you to a
K. Rich. Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,|
And I will stand the hazard of the dye:

I think, there be six Richmonds in the field;
Five have I slain to-day, instead of him :---

50

That is, fright the skies with the shivers of your lances, 2 i, e. an adversary.

abuse it like the tyrant you have destroyed.

[Exeunt.

Sie, don't

KING

King HENRY the Eighth.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

Cardinal WOLSEY. Cardinal CAMPEIUS.
CAPUCIUS, Ambassador from the Emperor
Charles V.

CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Duke of NORFOLK. Duke of BUCKINGHAM.
Duke of SUFFOLK. Earl of SURREY.
Lord Chamberlain.

Sir THOMAS AUDLEY, Lord Keeper.
GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester.
Bishop of LINCOLN.

Lord ABERGAVENNY. Lord SANDS.
Sir HENRY GUILDFORD.

Sir THOMAS LOVELL.

Sir ANTHONY DENNY.
Sir NICHOLAS VAUX.
Sir WILLIAM SANDS'.
CROMWELL, Servant to Wolsey.

GRIFFITH, Gentleman-Usher to Queen Katha rine.

Three other Gentlemen.

Doctor BUTTS, Physician to the King. Garter King at Arms.

Surveyor to the Duke of Buckingham. BRANDON, and a Serjeant at Arms. Door-keeper of the Council Chamber. Porter, and his Man.

Queen KATHARINE. ANNE BULLEN.

An old Lady, Friend to Anne Bullen. ·
PATIENCE, Woman to Queen Katharine.
Several Lords and Ladies in the dumb shows.
Women attending upon the Queen. Spirits,
which appear to her. Scribes, Officers,
Guards, and other Attendants.

The SCENE lies mostly in London and Westminster ; once, at Kimbolton.

PROLOGU E.

COME no more to make you laugh; things now,

I That bear a weighty and a serious brow,

Sad, high, and working, full of state and woe,
Such noble scenes as draw the eye to flow,
We now present. Those that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear;
The subject will deserve it. Such, as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Those, that come to see
Only a show or two, and so agree,

The play may pass; if they be still and willing,
Pll undertake, may see away their shilling
Richly in two short hours. Only they,
That come to hear a merry, bawdy play;
A noise of targets; or to see a fellow

In a long motley coat, guarded with yellow,

SCENE I.
London.

An antichamber in the Palace.

Will be deceiv'd: for, gentle hearers, know, To rank our chosen truth with such a show As fool and fight is, (beside forfeiting Our own brains, and the opinion that we bring 5 To make that only true we now intend3) Will leave us never an understanding friend. Therefore, for goodness' sake,and as you are known The first and happiest hearers of the town, Be sad, as we could make ye: Think, ye see 10 The very persons of our noble story,

As they were living; think, you see them great, And follow'd with the general throng, and sweat Of thousand friends; then, in a moment, see How soon this mightiness meets misery ! 15 And, if you can be merry then, I'll say, A mun may weep upon his wedding-day.

ACT I.

Enter the Duke of Norfolk, at one door; at the other, 25 the Duke of Buckingham,and the Lord Abergavenny. Buck. OOD inorrow, and well met. How have you donc,

GOOD

Since last we saw in France?

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1 Mr. Steevens observes, that Sir William Sands was created Lord Sands about this time, but is here introduced among the persons of the drama, as a distinct character. Sir William has not a single speech assigned to him; and, to make the blunder the greater, is brought on after Lord Sands has already made his appearance. Alluding to the fools and buffoons, introduced for the generality in the plays a little before our author's time; and of whom he has left us a small taste in his own. i. e. pretend. i. e. an untired admirer.

2

I was

I was then present, saw them salute on horseback;
Beheld them, when they lighted, how they clung
In their embracement, as they grew together;
Which had they, what four thron'd ones could
have weigh'd

Such a compounded one?

Buck. All the whole time
I was my chamber's prisoner.
Nor. Then you lost

The view of earthly glory: Men might say,
'Till this time, pomp was single; but now marry'd
To one above itself. Each following day
Became the next day's master, 'till the last
Made former wonders it's: To-day, the French,
All clinquant', all in gold, like heathen gods,
Shone down the English; and, to-morrow, they
Made Britain, India: every man, that stood,
Shew'd like a mine. Their dwarfish pages were
As cherubims, all gilt: the madams too,
Not us'd to toil, did almost sweat to bear
The pride upon them, that their very labour
Was to them as a painting: now this mask
Was cry'd incomparable; and the ensuing night
Made it a fool, and beggar. The two kings,
Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst,
As presence did present them; him in eye,
Still him in praise: and, being present both,
'Twas said, they saw but one: and no discerner
Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these

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1i. e. all glittering, all shining.

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What heaven hath given him, let some graver eye 20 Pierce into that; but I can see his pride Peep through each part of him; Whence has he

that?

If not from hell, the devil is a niggard;
Or has given all before, and he begins
[25]A new hell in himself.

30

35

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40 Have broke their backs with laying manors on For this great journey. What did this vanity, But minister communcation of

A most poor issue"?

Nor. Grievingly I think,

45 The peace between the French and us not values The cost that did conclude it.

Buck. Every man,

After the hideous storm that follow'd, was
A thing inspir'd; and, not consulting, broke
50 Into a general prophecy,─That this tempest,
Dashing the garment of this peace, aboaded
The sudden breach on't.

A

Censure for the determination of which had the noblest appearance. * The old romantic legend of Bevis of Southampton. This Bevis (or Beavois) a Saxon, was for his prowess created by William the Conqueror earl of Southampton. i. e. the commission for regulating this festivity was well executed. No initiation, no previous practices. i. e. proud. keech is a solid lump or mass. A cake of wax or tallow formed in a mould is called yet in some places a keech.-There may, perhaps, be a singular propriety in this term of contempt. Wolsey was the son of a butcher, and in the Second Part of King Henry IV. a butcher's wife is called-Goody Ketch. * i. e. the list. ? That is, all mention of the board of council being left out of his letter. 10 i. e. His own letter, by his own single authority, and without the concurrence of the council, must fetch in him whom he papers down. 1 i. e. Issue here refers to the wretched conclusion of this pompous phew, as also to the poverty of their families, occasioned by laying manors on their backs.

Nor.

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