Down, down to hell; and say-I sent thee thither, [Stabs him again.

I, that have neither pity, love, nor fear.-
Indeed, 'tis true, that Henry told me of;"
For I have often heard my mother say,
I came into the world with my legs forward:
Had I not reason, think ye, to make haste,
' And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right?
The midwife wonder'd; and the women cried,
O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!

And so I was; which plainly signified-
That I should snarl, and bite, and play the dog.
'Then, since the heavens have shap'd my body so,
Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.

of Ovid's Metamorphosis, translated by Arthur Golding, 1587:

7

" If any sparke of nature do within thy hart remaine." STEEVENS.

that Henry told me of;] Namely, that my birth was attended with singular circumstances. -Theobald, grounding himself on this and the two following lines, reads in a former passage

" Thou cam'st into the world with thy legs forward." for "how," (says he,) can Richard say, "Indeed 'tis true that Henry told me of," &c. "unless we suppose King Henry reproached him with his preposterous birth?" But surely Henry has done so in the last ten lines of his speech, though he is at length prevented by the fatal stab from mentioning a further proof of Richard's being born for the destruction of mankind. Theobald's addition therefore to that line, has, I think, been adopted too hastily by the subsequent editors, and the interruption in the midst of Henry's speech appears to me not only preferable, as warranted by the old copies, and by Gloster's subsequent words, [Die, prophet, in thy speech; but more agreeable to nature. MALONE.

* Let hell &c.] This line Dryden seems to have thought on in his Oedipus:

" It was thy crooked mind hunch'd out thy back,

" And wander'd in thy limbs." STEEVENS.

I have no brother, I am like no brother : 'And this word-love, which greybeards call di

vine,

Be resident in men like one another, And not in me; I am myself alone.Clarence, beware; thou keep'st me from the light; But I will sort a pitchy day for thee:9 For I will buz abroad such prophecies, 'That Edward shall be fearful of his life;1 And then, to purge his fear, I'll be thy death. 'King Henry, and the prince his son, are gone: 'Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest; Counting myself but bad, till I be best.'I'll throw thy body in another room,

And triumph, Henry, in thy day of doom. [Exit.

After this line, we find in the old play the following:

" I had no father, I am like no father."

It might have been omitted in the folio merely by accident, (as some lines in The Second Part of King Henry VI. certainly were,) but its restoration is not necessary, for the sense is complete without it. MALONE.

9 But I will sort a pitchy day for thee:] But I will choose out an hour whose gloom shall be as fatal to you. To sort is to select. So, in The Spanish Tragedy, 1605:

- for they had sorted leisure."

Again, in The Lover's Melancholy, 1629:

"We shall sort time to take more notice of him."

For I will buz abroad such prophecies,

STEEVENS.

That Edward shall be fearful of his life;] The quartos add

a line between these:

This line is not in the quarto printed by W. W. 1600; but it

is in the undated quarto, which in fact was printed in 1619, from that printed in 1600 by V. S. MALONE.

SCENE VII.

The same. A Room in the Palace.

King EDWARD is discovered sitting on his Throne; Queen ELIZABETH with the infant Prince, CLARENCE, GLOSTER, HASTINGS, and Others, near him.

K. EDW. Once more we sit in England's royal throne,

Re-purchas'd with the blood of enemies.
What valiant foe-men, like to autumn's corn,
Have we mow'd down, in tops of all their pride?
Three dukes of Somerset, threefold renown'd
For hardy and undoubted champions :
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son,
And two Northumberlands; two braver men
Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's sound:
'With them, the two brave bears, Warwick and

Montague,

That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion, And made the forest tremble when they roar'd. Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat, And made our footstool of security.

Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy:Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles, and myself, Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night;

2

like to autumn's corn,

Have we mow'd down,] A kindred image occurs in King

Henry V. p. 378:

-mowing like grass

" Your fresh-fair virgins, and your flow'ring infants." STEEVENS. Went all a foot in summer's scalding heat, That thou might'st repossess the crown in peace; And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.

GLO. I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid; For yet I am not look'd on in the world. This shoulder was ordain'd so thick, to heave; And heave it shall some weight, or break my back:Work thou the way, and thou shalt execute.3

[Aside.

K. EDW. Clarence, and Gloster, love my lovely

queen;

And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both. CLAR. The duty, that I owe unto your majesty, I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe.

K. EDW. Thanks, noble Clarence; worthy brother, thanks.4

3 Work thou the way, and thou shalt execute.] I believe we should read:

and this shall execute.

Richard laying his hand on his forehead says:

Work thou the way

then bringing down his hand, and beholding it :

- and this shall execute.

Though that may stand, the arm being included in the shoulder. JOHNSON.

The quartos read:

"Work thou the way, and thou shalt execute." I suppose he speaks this line, first touching his head, and then looking on his hand. STEEVENS.

This is the reading of the old play. The folio reads and that shalt execute. But as the word shalt is preserved, the other must have been an error of the transcriber or compositor.

4

MALONE.

Thanks, noble Clarence; worthy brother, thanks.] The quarto appropriates this line to the Queen. The first and second folio, by mistake, have given it to Clarence.

In my copy of the second folio, which had belonged to

thou sprang'st,

GLO. And, that I love the tree from whence

• Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit :To say the truth, so Judas kiss'd his

master;

'And cried-all hail! when as he meant -all harm.

Aside.

K. EDW. Now am I seated as my soul delights, Having my country's peace, and brothers' loves. CLAR. What will your grace have done with Margaret?

Reignier, her father, to the king of France
Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem,
And hither have they sent it for her ransome.

K. EDW. Away with her, and waft her hence to
France.

And now what rests, but that we spend the time
With stately triumphs, mirthful comick shows,
Such as befit the pleasures of the court?-
Sound, drums and trumpets!-farewell, sour an-

noy!

For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy. [Exeunt.

King Charles the First, his Majesty has erased-Cla, and written King, in its stead. - Shakspeare, therefore, in the catalogue of his restorers, may boast of a Royal name. STEEVENS.

* With stately triumphs,] Triumphs are publick shows. This word has occurred too frequently to need exemplification in the present instance. STEEVENS.