And lands restor'd again, be freely granted :
If not, I'll use th’advantage of my pow'r,
And lay the summer's duft with show'rs of blood,
Rain'd from the wounds of Naughter'd Englishnien.
The which, how far off from the mind of Boling broke
It is, such crimfon tempeft should bedrench

The fresh green lap of fair King Richard's Land,
My stooping duty tenderly shall fhew.
Go signify as much, while here we march
Upon the grassy carpet of this Plain.
Let's march without the noise of threat’ning drum,
That from this Castle's tatter'd battlements
Our fair appointments may be well perus’d.
Methinks, King Richard and my self should meet
With no less terror than the elements
Of fire and water, when their thund'ring Shock,
Ac meeting, tears the cloudy cheeks of heav'n;
Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water;
The rage he his, while on the earth I rain
My waters; on the earth, and nor on him.
March on, and mark King Richard how he looks.

Parle without, and answer within ; then a flourish.

Enler, on the walls, King Kichard, the Bishop of Carline, Aumerle, Scroop and Salisbury.

York. ' 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 tract Of his bright Passage to the Occident. 8 See! see! King Richard dath to condemn his own conduct and

himself appear,] The fol- disculp the King's. It is plain lowing fix lines are absurdly these fix and the four following given to Bolingbroke, who is made all belon; to York.

WA"B.

Yet looks he like a King; behold his eye,
As bright as is the Eagle's, lightens forth
Controlling Majesty ; alack, for woe,
That any harm should stain fo fair a fhow!
K. Rich. We are amaz’d, and thus long have we

stood To watch the fearful bending of thy knee, (To North. Because we thought our self thy lawful King; And, if we be, how dare thy joints forget To pay

their awful duty to our prefence ? If we be not, thew 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 facred 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, 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 Boling broke, (for yond, methinks, he is, That every stride he makes upon my Land Is dangerous treason. He is come to ope The purple Testament of bleeding War; But ere the Crown, he looks for, live in peace,

Ten

9 But i'er the Crown, be lo:ks Peace, as Mr. Warburton juftly for, live in Peace,

oblerv'd to me, is a very odd Ten thousand bloody Crowns of Phrase. He supposes; Morbers' Sons

But e'er the Crown, he looks for, Shall ill become the Flow's of light in Peace, England's face ; ] Tho' 'I i, e. deicend and settle upon

Bohave not disturb’d the Text here, lingbroke's Head in Peace.. I cannot but think it liable to Again, I have a small Quarrel to Suspicion. A Crown living in the third Line quoted. Would

the

Ten thousand bloody crowns of mothers' sons
Shall ill become the flow'r of England's face ;
Change the complexion of her maid-pale peace
To scarlet indignation ; and bedew
Her Pasture's grass with faithful English blood.

North. The King of heav'n forbid, our lord the King
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rulh'd upon ! no, thy thrice-noble cousin,
Harry of Bolingtroke, doth kiss thy hand,
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,
And by the Royalties of both your bloods,
Currents, that spring from one moft 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 Coining hither hath no farther scope,

the Poet say, That bloody Crowns who did not apprehend the figure, Thould disfigure the Flow'rs that alters the line thus, spring on the Ground, and be “ Shail misbecome the flow'ry dew the Grass with blood ? Surely England's face.” the two Images are too similar. Which means

-I know not I have suspected,

what.

WARBURTON. Shall ill become the Floor of Eng Dr. Warburton has inserted land's Face;

light in peace in the text of his ise. Shall make a dismal Spec- own edition, but live in peace is tacle on the Surface of the King- more suitable to Richard's intendoin's Earth. THEOBALD. tion, which is to tell him that Shall ill lecome the flow'r of though he should get the crown

England's face ; ] By the by rebellion, it will be long before flore'r of England's face, is meant it will live in peace, bc so jettled as the choicest youths of England, to be firm. The foru'r of Engwho shall be slaughter'd in this land's face, is very happily exquarrel, or have bloody crowns, plained, and any alteration is The flower of England's fact, to therefore needle. design her choicest Youth, is a And by the bury'd hand of fine and noble expression. Per warlike Gaunt, ] It should riiles, by a similar thought, said be read just the other way, that the destruction of the Arbe And by the warlike hand of bunian youth was a fatality like ry'd Gaunr.

WARBURT. cutting off the Spring from the I see no great difference. Year. Yet the Ox;ord Edito",

Then

Than for his lineal Royalties, and to beg
Infranchisement immediate on his knees;
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittring arms he will commend to ruft ;
His barbed steeds to stables; and his heart
To faithful service of your Majesty.
This swears he, as he is a Prince, is just;
And as I am a Gentleman, I credit him.

K. Rich. Northumberland, fay--Thus the King re-
His noble Cousin is right-welcome hither, (turns:
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction.
With all the gracious utterance thou hast,
Speak to his gentle Hearing kind Commends.

Exit North, We do debase our felf, Cousin, do we not, [To Aum. To look so poorly, and to speak fo fair? Shall we call back Northumberland, and send Defiance to the traitor, and fo die?

Aum. No, good my lord, let's fight with gentle words, Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful swords. K. Rich. Oh God, oh God! that e'er this tongue of

mine,
That laid the Sentence of dread Banishment
On yond proud man, should take it off again
With words of Sooth; oh, 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'lt thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope to beat,
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me.

Aum. Nortbumberland comes back from Boling broke.
K. Rich. What must the King do now? must he

submit ?
The King shall do it. Must he be depos'd ?

. With words of footb;-), or softncss, a signification yet reSeoth is sweet as well as true. In tained in the verb to footh. this place footh means freeetres Vol. IV, F

The

The King shall be contented: must he lose
The name of King ? 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 fcepter, 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, where Subjects' feet
May hourly trample on their Sovereign's head ;
For on my heart they tread now, whilft I live;
And, bury'd once, why not upon my head ? -
Aumerle, thou weep'ft; 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, to drop them still upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of Graves

4

3 Or I'll be buried in the King's Image with the same Word. bigh way;

THEOBALD. Some Way of common Trade, -] Dr. Warburton has put tread As specious as this Reading ap- in his own text, but trade will pears, Mr. Warburton, Mr. Bis serve very well in the sense either Abop, and I, all concurr'd in suf- of commerce or custom. pecting it, and in the Amend

- on their sovereign's bead:] ment which now possesses the Shakespeare is very apt to deviate Text;

from the pathetick to the ridicalSome way of common Tread, Had the speech of Richard

e. a high Road. He subjoins ended at this line it had exhibitimmediately;

ed the natural language of subFor on my beart they tread now, missive misery, conforming its inwhile I live;

tention to the present fortune, And we know how much it is, and calmly ending its purposes Sbakes; eare's way to diversify the in death,

i.e.