And yet we hear no tidings from the king; Sal. Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman : stay. Sal. Alas, Richard ! with eyes of heavy mind . Thy friends are fed, to wait upon thy foes; And crossly to thy good all fortune goes. [Exeunt. conjecture is not so presumptuous as may be thought. The play was not, in Shakespeare's time, broken into acts ; the two editions published before his death exhibit only a fequence of scenes from the beginning to the end, without any hint of a pause of a&ion. In a drama fo desultory and erratic, left in such a state, transpofitions might easily be made. JOHNSON. ? The bay-trees, &c.] This enumeration of prodigies is in the highest degree poetical and striking. JOHNSON. Some of these prodigies are found in T. Haywarde's Life and Raigne of Henry IV. 1599. “ This yeare the laurel trees wi" thered almost throughout the realm," &c. So again in Holinthead. “ In this yeare in a manner throughout all the realme of England, old baie trees wither" ed,” &c. STEEVENS. ACT 111. SCENE I. Boling broke's camp at Bristol. Enter Boling broke, York, Northumberland, Ross, Percy, Willoughby, with Bushy and Green, prisoners. BOLINGBROKE. B RING forth these men. Bushy and Green, I will not vex your souls your deaths. ; From mine oun windows torn my houjold coat,] It was the practice, when coloured glass was in use, of which there are still fume remains in old feats and churches, to anneal the arms of the family in the windows of the house. Johnson. Raz'd 9 Raz’d out my impress, leaving me no sign, Bushy. More welco.ne is the stroke of death to me, Than Bolingbroke to England. - Lords, farewell. Green. My comfort is, that heaven will take our fouls, And plague injustice with the pains of hell. Boling. My lord Northumberland, see them dif patch’d. - Uncle, you say, the queen is at your house; For heaven's fake, fairly let her be intreated : Tell her, I send to her my kind commends; Take special care, my greetings be deliver’d. Tork. A gentleman of mine I have dispatch'd With letters of your love to her at large. Boling. " Thanks, gentle uncle. - Come, lords, away ; [To fight with Glendower and his complices ;] A while to work; and, after, holiday. (Exeunt. SCENE 1 ? Roz'd out my impress, &c.] The impress was a device or motto. Ferre, in his Blazon of Gentry, 1585, observes " that the arms, &c. of traitors and rebels may be di faced and removed, wheresoever they are fixed, or set.” STEEVENS. Thanks, gentle uncle.-Come, my lords, away ; To fight with Glendower and his complices; A ubike to work, and after holiday.) Though the intermediate line has taken possession of all the old copies, I have great luspicion of its being an interpolation; and have therefore ventured to throw it out. Tle firit and third lines rhime to each other; nor do I imagine this was casual, but intended by the poet. Wer: we to acknow lesige the line genuine, it muft argue the pcct cf forgetfulness and inattention to history. Dolingbroke is, as it were, yet but just arrived; he is now at Bristol ; weak in his numbers; has had no meeting with a parliament ; nor is so far asíured of the succellion, as to think of going to fuppress insurrections before he is planted in the throne. Be L 3 fides, 2 S CE NE II. The coast of Wales. A castle in view. Flourish: drums and trumpets. Enter king Richard, Aumerle, bishop of Carlisle, and foldiers. K. Rich. Barkloughly-castle call you this at hand? Aum. It is, my lord; how brooks your grace the air, After your tosling on the breaking seas? K. Rich. Needs must I like it well. I weep for joy To stand upon my kingdom once again. Dear earth, I do falute thee with my hand, Though rebels wound thee with their horses' hoofs : As a long-parted mother with her child Plays fondly with her tears, and smiles in meeting; So weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my earth, And do thee favour with my royal hands. Feed not thy sovereign's foe, my gentle earth, Nor with thy sweets comfort his rav'nous sense ; But let thy spiders, that suck up thy venom, And heavy-gaited toads, lie in their way; Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet, Which with usurping steps do trample thee. Yield siinging nettles to mine enemies : And, when they from thy bosom pluck a flower, fides, we find the oppofition of Glendower begins The First Par; of K. Henry IV'; and Mortimer's defeat by that hardy Welshman is the tidings of the first fcene of that play. Again, though Glendower, in the very first year of K. Henry IV. began to be troublesome, put in for the supremacy of Wales, and imprisoned Mortimer; yet it was not till the succeeding year that the king employed any force against him. THEOBALD. This cmnendation, which I think is just, has been followed by Sir T. Hanmer, but is neglected by Dr. Warburton. JOHNSON. 2 Here may be properly inserted the last scene of the second act. JOHNSON. Guard Guard it, I pray thee, with a lurking adder ; you king, Aum. He means, my lord, that we are too remiss; K. Rich. Discomfortable cousin ! know'lt thou not, 3 Fear not, my lord, &c.] Of this speech the f ur last lines were reitored from the first ecition by Mr. Pope. They were, I suppose, omitted by the players only to shorten the icenes, for they are worthy of the author and suitable to the perforage. JOHNSON. * Behind the globe, &c.] I should read, the searching eye f beaven is hid Behind the globe, and lights the lower world. Johns. Such is the old reading. STEEVENS. L 4 Whiist |