SCENE IV.

The Same. A Room in the King's Castle.

Enter King RICHARD, BAGOT, and GREEN, at one door; AUMERLE at another.

K. Rich. 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 highway, and there I left him.

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

Aum. 'Faith, none for me; except the north-east wind,

Which then blew bitterly against our faces',

Awak'd the sleeping rheum, and so by chance
Did grace our hollow parting with a tear.

K. Rich. What said our cousin, when you parted with him?

Aum. Farewell: and, for my heart disdained that my tongue

Should so profane the word, that taught me craft
To counterfeit oppression of such grief,

That words seem'd buried in my sorrow's grave.
Marry, would the word "farewell" have lengthen'd
hours,

And added years to his short banishment,

He should have had a volume of farewells;

But, since it would not, he had none of me.

K. Rich. He is our cousin, cousin; but 'tis doubt,

We did observe.] These words are addressed by the King to Bagot and Green, and are the continuation of something that had passed between them before their entrance. Bushy is mentioned in the old stage-direction of the quartos, but he does not in fact enter till afterwards.

7 Which then BLEW bitterly against our faces,] The folio, 1623, reads, "Which then grew bitterly,” &c.; a misprint followed by the later impressions of the same volume: every 4to. edition has "blew." The quartos also have "faces" for face of the folio, and “sleeping" for sleepy in the next line.

When time shall call him home from banishment,
Whether our kinsman come to see his friends.
Ourself, and Bushy, Bagot here, and Green3,
Observ'd his courtship to the common people:
How he did seem to dive into their hearts,
With humble and familiar courtesy ;
What reverence he did throw away on slaves;
Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles,
And patient underbearing of his fortune,
As 'twere to banish their affects with him.
Off goes his bonnet to an oyster-wench;
A brace of draymen 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.

Green. 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 farther leisure yield them farther means,
For their advantage, and your highness' loss.
K. Rich. 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 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.

8 Ourself, and Bushy, Bagot here, and Green,] This line (with the transposition of "here") is from the folio, 1623: the quartos merely have "Ourself and Bushy;" but Bushy was not on the stage, entering some time afterwards.

• EXPEDIENT manage-] i. e. expeditious conduct, or arrangements. See pp. 8 and 19 of this Vol.

Bushy, what news?

Enter BUSHY'.

Bushy. Old John of Gaunt is grievous sick, my

lord2,

Suddenly taken, and hath sent post-haste,

To entreat your majesty to visit him.

K. Rich. Where lies he?

Bushy. At Ely-house.

K. Rich. Now put it, God, in his 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 may make haste, and come too late!

[Exeunt.

ACT II. SCENE I.

London. An Apartment in Ely-house.

GAUNT on a Couch; the Duke of YORK, and Others,

standing by him.

Gaunt. Will the king come, that I

last

may

breathe my

In wholesome counsel to his unstaid youth?

York. Vex not yourself, nor strive not with your

breath;

For all in vain comes counsel to his ear.

Gaunt. O! but they say, the tongues of dying men Enforce attention like deep harmony:

Enter Bushy.] The old stage-direction, as if to indicate that Bushy was

to enter in haste, has "Enter Bushy with news."

2

is GRIEVOUS sick, my lord,] The folio poorly substitutes very for "grievous."

Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in

vain;

For they breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.

He that no more must say is listen'd more,

Than they whom youth and ease have taught to glose;

More are men's ends mark'd, than their lives before.
The setting sun, and music at the close",

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.

York. No; it is stopp'd with other flattering sounds,
As praises of his state: then, there are found1
Lascivious metres, to whose venom sound
The open ear of youth doth always listen :
Report of fashions in proud Italy;

Whose manners still our tardy apish nation
Limps after, in base 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?
Then, all 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.

Gaunt. Methinks, I am a prophet new inspir'd,

And thus, expiring, do foretell of him.

3 - and music AT the close,] The folios have "music is the close:" our reading is that of the quarto, 1597: the later quartos print glose for "close." The passage is quoted in " England's Parnassus," 1600, p. 54, as in our text.

As praises of his state: then, there are found] The two earliest quartos, those of 1597 and 1598, give this line, "As praises, of whose taste the wise are found," which yields admirable sense, if we read fond for " found," a very easy corruption. The two quartos of 1608 and 1615 have the line as in our text, and they are followed by the folio, 1623: these authorities we feel unwillingly bound to take.

5 THEN, all too late-] So the quartos: the folio reads "That."

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 choke 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, demi-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 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 birth7,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry
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 farm.
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege

Against INFECTION,] Every ancient copy, quarto and folio, has "infection," and it affords the clearest possible meaning. In " England's Parnassus," 1600, p. 348, this line among others is misquoted, and there we read "against intestion," which led Farmer to conjecture that we ought to read infestion. If this authority were to guide us, we ought also to read farther on "For charity, service, and true chivalry," instead of "For Christian service," &c. There cannot, we apprehend, be a moment's doubt as to the propriety of adhering to the text of every old edition, and of rejecting that of nearly every modern one.

7

and famous BY their birth,] This reading is that of all the quartos: the folio has, "famous for their birth."