The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare

576

K. Rich. I am satisfied. Give me a bowl of By thee was punched full of deadly holes:
Think on the Tower and me; Despair, and

wine:

I have not that alacrity of spirit,

Nor cheer of mind that I was wont to have.-
So, set it down.-Is ink and paper ready?
Rat. It is, my lord.

K. Rich. Bid my guard watch; leave me.
About the mid of night, come to my tent
And help to arm me.-Leave me, I say.
[King RICHARD retires

into his
Tent. Exeunt RATCLIFF and
CATESBY.

die;

Harry the sixth bids thee despair and die.-
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror !
[To RICHMOND
Harry, that prophesy'd thou should'st 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!

RICHMOND'S Tent opens, and discovers him, I, that was wash'd to and his officers, &c.

Enter STANLEY.

Stan. Fortune and victory sit on thy helm !
Richm. All comfort that the dark night can
afford,

Be to thy person, noble father-in-law !
Tell me, how fares our loving mother?
Stan. I, by attorney,

mother,

bless thee from thy

Who prays continually for Richmond's good;
So much for that.--The silent hours steal on,
And flaky darkness breaks within the east.
In brief, for so the season bids us be,
Prepare thy battle early in the morning;
And put thy fortune to the arbitrement
Of bloody strokes, and mortal-staring war.
I, as I may, (that which I would, I cannot,)
With best advantage will deceive the time,
And aid thee in this doubtful shock of arms!
But on thy side I may not be too forward,
Lest, being seen, thy brother, tender George,
Be executed in his father's sight:
Farewell: The leisure and the fearful time
Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love,
And ample interchange of sweet discourse,
Which so long sunder'd friends should dwell

upon;

God give us leisure for these rites of love!
Once inore, adieu :-Be valiant, and speed
well!

Richm. Good lords, conduct him to his regi

ment;

I'll strive with troubled thoughts, to take a nap;

Lest leaden slumber peiset me down to-mor-
row,

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 to-mor-
[To King RICHARD.
row !
Think, how thou stab'dst me in my prime of
youth

At Tewksbury; Despair therefore, and dic!-
Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged soul's
[To RICHMOND.

Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf:
King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thec.

The GHOST of King HENRY the sixth rises.
Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed
[To King RICHARD.

body

wine,

[To King RICHARD. death with fulsome

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. 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 des-
[To King RICHARD.
pair!
Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan; and, with guilty

The GHOSTS of the two young PRINCES rise.

Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smother'd in
the Tower;

Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruín, shame, and
death!

Thy nephews' couls 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.

wretched

The GHOST of Queen ANNE rises.
Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that
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.

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;
Oh! in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and
death;

Fainting, despair; desparing, 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 tight on Richmond's
side;

And Richard falls in height of all his pride. [The GHOSTS vanish. King RICHARD starts out of his dream.

K. Rich. Give me auother 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 night.

midCold 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 murderer here? No?-Yes; I am :
Then fly,-What, from myself? Great reason:
Why ?

Lest I revenge, What? Myself on myself?
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,

fatter.

not

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
murder'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 enforcément of the time
Forbids to dwell on. Yet remember this,-
God, and our good cause, fight upon our
side;

The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls, Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before faces;

our

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 esta-
blish'd;

One that made means to come by what be hath,

And slaughter'd those that were the means to

help him:

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 sol-
diers ;

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 con-

querors;

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 Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly and cheer. The least of you shall share his part thereof. God and Saint George! Richmond and victory! fully: [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 purpose.

K. Rich. He was i'the right;

it is.

better for our

and so, indeed, [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 disdaius to shine; for, by the book,

578

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

ground.

were from the

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 foreward 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 this foot and horse.
They thus directed, we ourself 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 scroll. K. Rich. Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold, [reads.

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;

Conscience is but 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 run-aways, 4 scum of Bretagnes, and base lackey peasants,

Whom their o'er-cloyed 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 milk-sop, 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 over-weening rags of France, These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives; ho, but for dreaming on this fond exploit, or want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themselves :

we be conquer'd, let men conquer us, 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. lands? lie with our Chall these enjoy our

wives?

Havish our daughters ?-Hark, I hear their drum. [Drum afar off.

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
iny bosom:

fair Saint
Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage,

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.

Cute. 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.

R. 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 : think there he six Richmonds in the field; Five have I slain to day, instead of him :A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse; [Exeunt.

Alarums. Enter King RICHARD and RICHMOND and exeunt fighting. 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, this long-usurped royalty,
From the dead temples of this bloody wretch
Have 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 first, is young George Stanley liv ing ?

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

And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament,
We will unite the white rose with the red :-
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long hath frown'd upon their enmity!-
What traitor bears 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.-
Oh! 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,

With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days!

Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord,
That would reduce these bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in streams of
blood !

Let them not live to taste this land's increase, That would with treason wound this fair land's peace!

Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again; That she may long live here, God say-Ameu. [Exeunt

KING HENRY VIII.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL NOTICE.

THIS historical play was probably written in the year 1601. It comprises a period of twelve years, com mencing in the 12th of Henry's reign, (1521) and terminating with the baptism of Elizabeth, 1533. It has always been an easy medium for the display of pageantry and splendour; consequently a great favourite with the generality of audiences. Its most powerfully drawn characters are the Queen and the Cardinal. The dying moments of the former (Act IV. Sc. 2.) are pourtrayed with a mingled majesty and pathos, scarcely ever equalled by any other poet (Dr. Johnson numbers it, indeed, amongst "the greatest efforts of tra. gedy:") and the exquisite soliloquy of the latter, at the time of his degradation, would evince the superiority of Shakspeare's genius, had he never written another line. It is a fine philosophical picture of fallen ambition, brought to reflection by a merited reverse of fortune: the assimilation of human great. mess to the vegetation of a fruit tree, with the puerility of venturing upon "a sea of troubles," for burden. some and perishable acquisitions, affords a charming specimen of imaginative colouring and didactic morality. Yet this is one of the parts which, according to the Doctor, "may be easily conceived, and easily written." Perhaps Shakspeare found it otherwise.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

KING HENRY THE EIGHTH.
CARDINAL WOLSEY.-CARDINAL CAMPEIUS.
CAPUCIUS, Ambassador from the Emperor,
Charles V.

CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.
DUKE OF NORFOLK.-DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
DUKE OF SUFFOLK.-EARL OF SURREY.
LORD CHAMBERLAIN.-LORD CHANCELLOR.
GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester.

BISHOP OF LINCOLN.-LORD ABERGAVENNY.
LORD SANDS.

SIR HENRY GUILDFORD.-SIR THOMAS
VELL.

DOCTOR BUTTS, Physician to the King
GARTER, King at Arms.
SURVEYOR to the Duke of Buckingham.
BRANDON, and a Sergeant at Arms.
DOOR-KEEPER of the Council-Chamber.
PORTER, and his Man.

PAGE to Gardiner.-A CRIER.

QUEEN KATHARINE, Wife to King Henry; afterwards divorced.

ANNE BULLEN, her Maid of Honour; afterwards Queen.

AN OLD LADY, Friend to Anne Bullen.

SIR ANTHONY DENNY.-SIR NICHOLAS VAUX. PATIENCE, Woman to Queen Katharine. SECRETARIES to Wolsey.

CROMWELL, Servant to Wolsey.

GRIFFITH, Gentleman-Usher to Queen Ka

tharine.

THREE OTHER GENTLEMEN.

Several Lords and Ladies in the Dumb Shows;
Women attending upon the Queen; Spirits,
which appear to her; Scribes, Officers,
Guards, and other Attendants.

SCENE-chiefly in London and Westminster; once, at Kimbolton.

PROLOGUE.

Will be deceiv'd: for, gentle hearers, know,
To rank our chosen truth with such a show

I COME no more to make you laugh; things As foot and fight is, beside forfeiting
now,

That bear a weighty and a serious brow,
Sad, high, and working, full of state and woe,
Such noble scenes as draw the eye to flow,
We now present. Those that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear;
The subject will deserve it. Such, as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Those, that come to

see

Only a show or two, and so agree,

The play may pass; if they be still, and willing,
I'll undertake, may see away their shilling
Richly in two short hours. Only they,
That come to hear a merry, bawdy play,
A noise of targets; or to see a fellow
In a long motley coat, guarded * with yellow,

• Laced.

Our own brains, and the opinion that we
bring,

(To make that only true we now intend, *)
Will leave us never an understanding friend.
Therefore, for goodness' sake, anu as you are

known

The first and happiest hearers of the town,
Be sad, as we would make ye: Think, ye

see

The very persons of our noble story,
As they were living; think, you see them great,
And follow'd with the general throng, and
sweat,

Of thousand friends; then, in a moment see
How soon this mightiness meets misery!
And, if you can be merry then, I'll say,
A man may weep upon his wedding day.

• Pretend

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The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare, Volum 9