K. Edw. Dorfet, embrace him;-Haftings, love lord marquis.

Dor. This enterchange of love, I here protest,
Upon my part, fhall be inviolable.
Haft. And fo fwear I.

K. Edw. Now, princely Buckingham, feal thou this league

With thy embracements to my wife's allies,
And make me happy in your unity.

Buck. Whenever Buckingham doth turn his hate Upon your grace, but with all duteous love

[To the Queen.

Doth cherish you, and yours, God punish me
With hate in those where I expect moft love!
When I have most need to employ a friend,
And most affured that he is a friend,
Deep, hollow, treacherous, and full of guile,
Be he unto me! this do I beg of heaven,
When I am cold in love, to you, or yours.

[Embracing Rivers, &c. K. Edw. A pleafing cordial, princely Buckingham, Is this thy vow unto my fickly heart.

There wanteth now our brother Glofter here,
To make the blessed period of this peace.

Buck. And, in good time, here comes the noble duke.

Enter Glofter.

Glo. Good morrow to my fovereign, king, and

queen;

And, princely peers, a happy time of day!

K. Edw. Happy, indeed, as we have spent the

day:

Brother, we have done deeds of charity;

Made peace of enmity, fair love of hate,
Between these fwelling wrong-incenfed

peers.

Glo. A blèffed labour, my most fovereign liege.— Among this princely heap, if any here,

By falfe intelligence, or wrong furmife,

Hold me a foe; if I unwittingly

Have aught committed that is hardly borne
By any in this prefence, I defire

To reconcile me to his friendly peace:
'Tis death to me, to be at enmity;

I hate it, and defire all good men's love.-
First, madam, I entreat true peace of you,
Which I will purchase with my duteous fervice;-
Of you, my noble coufin Buckingham,

If ever any grudge were lodg'd between us ;-
Of you, lord Rivers, and, lord Grey, of you,
That all without defert have frown'd on me ;-
Of you, lord Woodville, and lord Scales, of you,-
Dukes, earls, lords, gentlemen; indeed, of all.
I do not know that Englishman alive,
With whom my foul is any jot at odds,

8

If I unwittingly

Have aught committed that is hardly borne] The folio and the quarto of 1613 add after unwittingly or in my rage." The metre is hurt by the addition, but the fenfe improved.

MALONE.

9 I do not know &c.] Milton in his EIKONOKAAƐTHƐ, has this obfervation. "The poets, and fome English, have been in this point fo mindful of decorum, as to put never more pious words in the mouth of any perfon, than of a tyrant. I fhall not instance an abstrufe author, wherein the king might be lefs converfant, but one whom we well know was the closet-companion of these his folitudes, William Shakespeare; who introduced the perfon of Richard the Third, speaking in as high a strain of piety and mortification as is uttered in any paffage in this book, and fometimes to the fame fenfe and purpose with some words in this place; I intended, faith he, not only to oblige my friends, but my enemies. The like faith Richard, act II. fc. i;

I do not know that Englishman alive
With whom my foul is any jot at odds,
More than the infant that is born to-night;
I thank my God for my humility.

Other stuff of this fort may be read throughout the tragedy, wherein the poet ufed not much licence in departing from the truth of hiftory, which delivers him a deep diffembler, not of his affections only, but of religion." STEEVENS.

More than the infant that is born to-night;
I thank my God for my humility.

Queen. A holy-day this fhall be kept hereafter:-
I would to God, all ftrifes were well compounded,
My fovereign lord, I do befeech your highness
To take our brother Clarence to your grace.

Glo. Why, madam, have I offer'd love for this, To be fo flouted in this royal prefence? Who knows not, that the gentle duke is dead? [They all fart. You do him injury, to scorn his corse. K. Edw. Who knows not, he is dead! who knows, he is?

Queen. All-feeing heaven, what a world is this! Buck. Look I fo pale, lord Dorset, as the rest? Dor. Ay, my good lord; and no man in the prefence, But his red colour hath forfook his cheeks.

K. Edw. Is Clarence dead? the order was revers'd. Glo. But he, poor man, by your first order died, And that a winged Mercury did bear;

Some tardy cripple bore the countermand',
That came too lag to fee him buried :-

God grant, that fome, lefs noble, and less loyal,
Nearer in bloody thoughts, and not in blood,
Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence did,
And yet go current from fufpicion !

Enter Lord Stanley.

Stan. A boon, my fovereign, for my service done! K. Edw. I pr'ythee, peace; my foul is full of forrow.

Stan. I will not rife, unless your highness hear me.

fome tardy cripple &c.] This is an allufion to a proverbial expreffion which Drayton has vertified in the second canto of the Baron's Wars:

"ill news hath wings, and with the wind doth go;
"Comfort's a cripple, and comes ever flow." STEEVENS,
K. Edw.

K. Edw. Then fay at once, what is it thou request'ft. Stan. The forfeit, fovereign, of my fervant's life; Who flew to-day a riotous gentleman,

2

Lately attendant on the duke of Norfolk.

K. Edw. Have I a tongue to doom my brother's death,

And fhall that tongue give pardon to a flave?
My brother kill'd no man, his fault was thought,
And yet his punishment was bitter death.
Who fu'd to me for him? who, in my wrath,
Kneel'd at my feet, and bid me be advis'd?
Who spoke of brotherhood? who fpoke of love?
Who told me, how the poor foul did forfake
The mighty Warwick, and did fight for me?
Who told me, in the field at Tewksbury,
When Oxford had me down, he refcu'd me,
And faid, Dear brother, live, and be a king?
Who told me, when we both lay in the field,
Frozen almost to death, how he did lap me
Even in his garments; and did give himself,
All thin and naked, to the numb-cold night?
All this from my remembrance brutish wrath
Sinfully pluck'd, and not a man of you
Had fo much grace to put it in my mind.
But, when your carters, or your waiting vaffals,
Have done a drunken flaughter, and defac'd
The precious image of our dear Redeemer,
You ftraight are on your knees for pardon, pardon
And I, unjustly too, muft grant it you:-
But for my brother, not a man would speak,-
Nor I (ungracious) fpeak unto myself

? The forfeit ] He means the remission of the forfeit.

JOHNSON. 3 Have I a tongue to doom my brother's death?] This lamenta tion is very tender and pathetick. The recollection of the good qualities of the dead is very natural, and no less naturally does the king endeavour to communicate the crime to others.

JOHNSON.

For him, poor foul.-The proudeft of you all
Have been beholden to him in his life;
Yet none of you would once plead for his life.-
O God! I fear, thy justice will take hold

On me, and you, and mine, and yours, for this.-
Come, Haftings, help me to my closet. Oh,
Poor Clarence! [Exeunt King and Queen, Haftings,
Rivers, Dorfet, and Grey.

Glo. These are the fruits of rafhnefs!-Mark'd

you not,

How that the guilty kindred of the queen

Look'd pale, when they did hear of Clarence' death?
O! they did urge it ftill unto the king:

God will revenge it. Come, lords; will you go,
To comfort Edward with our company?

Buck. We wait upon your grace.

[Exeunt,

Enter the Dutchess of York, with the two children of Clarence.

Son. Good grandam, tell us, is our father dead? Dutch. No, boy.

Daugh. Why do you weep fo oft? and beat your breaft?

And cry,- Clarence, my unhappy fon!

Son. Why do you look on us, and shake your head, And call us-orphans, wretches, caft-aways, If that our noble father be alive?

Dutch. My pretty coufins, you mistake me both ¿

I do lament the fickness of the king,

As loth to lose him, not your father's death;
It were loft forrow, to wail one that's loft.

Son. Then, grandam, you conclude that he is dead.

The