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النشر الإلكتروني

ACT V.]

Richm. Good lords, conduct him to his regi

ment:

I'll strive, with troubled thoughts, to take a nap; Lest leaden slumber peise me down to-morrow, When I should mount with wings of victory: Once more, good night, kind lords and gentle

men.

[Exeunt Lords, &c., with STANLEY. O Thou! whose captain I account myself, Look on my forces with a gracious eye; Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, That they may crush down with a heavy fall The usurping helmets of our adversaries! Make us thy ministers of chastisement, That we may praise thee in thy victory! To thee I do commend my watchful soul, Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes; Sleeping, and waking, O, defend me still!

[Sleeps.

The Ghost of PRINCE EDWARD, son to HENRY THE SIXTH, rises between the two tents. Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow! [TO KING RICHARD. Think, how thou stabb'dst me in my prime of youth

At Tewkesbury: Despair therefore, and die!

Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged souls Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf: King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.

The Ghost of KING HENRY THE SIXTH rises. Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed body [TO KING RICHARD.

By thee was punched full of deadly holes :
Think on the Tower and me: Despair, and die;
Harry the Sixth bids thee despair, and die.—
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror !
[TO RICHMOND.
Harry, that prophesied thou shouldst be king,
Doth comfort thee in thy sleep: Live, and
flourish!

The Ghost of CLARENCE rises.

Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow! [TO KING RICHARD. I, that was wash'd to death with fulsome wine, Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray'd to death! To-morrow in the battle think on me, And fall thy edgeless sword: Despair, and die! Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster, [To RICHMOND.

Peise me down-weigh me down.

The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee; Good angels guard thy battle! Live, and flourish!

The Ghosts of RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN rise. Riv. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow, [TO KING RICHARD. Rivers, that died at Pomfret! Despair, and die! Grey. Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair! [TO KING RICHARD. Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan; and, with guilty fear,

Let fall thy lance! Despair, and die!—

[TO KING RICHARD. All. Awake! and think, our wrongs in Richard's bosom [TO RICHMOND. Will conquer him;-awake, and win the day!

The Ghost of HASTINGS rises. Ghost. Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake, [TO KING RICHARD. And in a bloody battle end thy days! Think on lord Hastings; and despair, and die!—Quiet untroubled soul, awake, awake!

[TO RICHMOND. Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's sake!

The Ghosts of the two young Princes rise.
Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smother'd in

the Tower.

Let us be laid within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!
Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair, and die.
Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in

joy;

Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy! Live, and beget a happy race of kings! Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

The Ghost of QUEEN ANNE rises.
Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne
thy wife,

That never slept a quiet hour with thee,
Now fills thy sleep with perturbations:
To-morrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword: Despair, and
die!-

Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;
[TO RICHMOND.
Dream of success and happy victory;
Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.

a Laid, in the folio; the quartos, lead. This is the approved reading, but we have great doubts of its propriety.

The Ghost of BUCKINGHAM rises.

Ghost. The first was I that help'd thee to the
crown;
[TO KING RICHARD.

The last was I that felt thy tyranny:
O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death!
Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!
I died for hope, ere I could lend thee aid:

[TO RICHMOND. But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismay'd: ¦ God and good angels fight on Richmond's side; And Richard fall" in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish. KING RICHARD starts out of his dream.

K. Rich. Give me another horse,-bind up my wounds,

Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft; I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue.-It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What, do I fear myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murtherer here? No;-Yes; I am :
Then fly,-What, from myself? Great reason:

Why?

Lest I revenge. What? Myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? for any good,
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no: alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain: Yet I lie, I am not.

Fool, of thyself speak well :-Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high'st degree,
Murther, stern murther, in the dir'st degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all,-Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.-There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul shall pity me:-

Hath twice done salutation to the morn; Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour. [K. Rich. O, Ratcliff, I have dream'd a fearful dream!

What thinkest thou, will our friends prove all true?

Rat. No doubt, my lord.]a

K. Rich.

Ratcliff, I fear, I fear,Rat. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.

K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows to-
night

Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,
Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,
Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond.
It is not yet near day. Come, go with me;
Under our tents I'll play the eaves-dropper,
To hear if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt KING RICHARD and RATCLIFF. RICHMOND wakes. Enter OXFORD and others. Lords. Good morrow, Richmond.

Richm. 'Cry mercy, lords, and watchful gen-
tlemen,

That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
Lords. How have you slept, my lord?
Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding
dreams,

That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,

Have I since your departure had, my lords. Methought, their souls whose bodies Richard murther'd,

Came to my tent, and cried-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
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;

Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself The prayers of holy saints and wronged souls,

Find in myself no pity to myself.

Methought, the souls of all that I had murther'd
Came to my tent: and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.

Enter RATCLIFF.

Rat. My lord!

K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early village cock

Fall, in the folio; the quarto, falls.

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;

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 him;

The lines in brackets are not found in the folio.

A base foul stone, made precious by the foil
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 cheer-
fully;

God and Saint George! Richmond and victory! [Exeunt. Re-enter KING RICHARD, RATCLIFF, Attendants, and Forces.

K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touching Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms. K. Rich. He said the truth: And what said Surrey then?

Rat. He smil'd and said, the better for our

purpose.

K. Rich. He was i' the right; and so, indeed, it is. [Clock strikes. Tell the clock there.-Give me a calendar.— Who saw the sun to-day?

Rat.

Not I, my lord.

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

He should have brav'd the east an hour ago:
A black day will it be to somebody.-
Ratcliff,-

Rat. My lord?
K. Rich. The sun will not be seen to-day;
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.

Nor. Arm, arm, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field.

K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle :-Caparison my horse ;

Call up lord Stanley, bid him bring his power:
I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,
And thus my battle shall be ordered.
My forward 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 the foot and horse.
They thus directed, we will follow

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 serowl. K. Rich. (Reads.) Jocky of Norfolk, be not so bold,

For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.' A thing devised by the enemy.—

Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge:
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;
For conscience is 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 runaways,
A scum of Bretagnes, and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'er-cloy'd country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assur'd destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest;
You having lands, and bless'd with beauteous

wives,

They would restrain the one, distain the other.
And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow,
Long kept in Bretagne at our mother's cost?
A milksop, 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 overweening rags of France,
These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd them-
selves.

If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us,

So, in all the old copies. The line in the Chronicles is"Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold."

And not these bastard Bretagnes, whom our fathers

Have in their own land 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 boldly," 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!

Enter a Messenger.

What says lord Stanley? will he bring his power?
Mess. My lord, he doth deny to come.
K. Rich. Off with his son George's head!
Nor. My lord, the enemy is pass'd the marsh; ¦
After the battle let George Stanley die.

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

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.

SCENE IV.-Another Part of the Field.
Alarum: Excursions. Enter NORFOLK, and
Forces; to him CATESBY.

Cate. Rescue, my lord of Norfolk, rescue,

rescue!

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!

Alarum. Enter KING RICHARD.

K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

Cate. Withdraw, my lord, I'll help you to a horse.

K. Rich. Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,

And I will stand the hazard of the die:
I think there be six Richmonds in the field;
Five have I slain to-day, instead of him :
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

[Exeunt.

a Boldly, in the folio; and in all the quartos except the first, where we find bold.

Instantly is usually thrust in here, contrary to all authority," for the sake of metre."

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Alarums. Enter KING RICHARD and RICHMOND; they fight; RICHARD is slain." Retreat and flourish. Then enter RICHMOND, STANLEY bearing the crown, with divers other Lords, and Forces.

Richm. God, and your arms, be prais'd, victorious friends;

The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead.

Stan. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee!

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

Richm. Great God of heaven, say, amen,

to all!

But, tell me, is young George Stanley living?

Stan. He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester

town;

Whither, if you please, we may withdraw us. Richm. What men of name are slain on either

side?

Stan. 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 her-
self;

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;
All this divided York and Lancaster,
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!
And let their heirs, (God, if thy will be so,)
Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd
peace,

a They fight; Richard is slain. This is the stage-direction of all the old copies, and it is important to preserve, as showing the course of the dramatic action. In the modern editions we have, Enter King Richard and Richmond; and exeunt fighting."

So the folio; the quartos, this long-usurped royalty. So the folio; the quartos, " Whither, if it please you, we may now, &c.

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