Enter BRAKENBURY.

And in good time here the lieutenant comes.-
Master lieutenant, pray you, by your leave,

How doth the prince, and my young son of York3?
Brak. Right well, dear madam. By your patience,
I may not suffer you to visit them :

The king hath strictly charg'd the contrary.

Q. Eliz. The king! who's that?

Brak.

I mean the lord protector.

Q. Eliz. The Lord protect him from that kingly

title!

Hath he set bounds between their love, and me?
I am their mother; who shall bar me from them?
Duch. I am their father's mother; I will see them.
Anne. Their aunt I am in law, in love their mother:
Then, bring me to their sights; I'll bear thy blame,
And take thy office from thee, on my peril.

Brak. No, madam, no; I may not leave it soo:
I am bound by oath, and therefore pardon me.

Enter STANLEY.

[Exit BRAKENBury.

Stan. Let me but meet you, ladies, one hour hence, And I'll salute your grace of York as mother,

And reverend looker-on of two fair queens.—

Come, madam, you must straight to Westminster,

[To the Duchess of GLOSTER. There to be crowned Richard's royal queen.

Q. Eliz. Ah! cut my lace asunder,

That my pent heart may have some scope to beat,

3 How doth the prince, and my young son of York?] For this line the quartos only have, "How fares the prince?" Brakenbury's reply is, "Well, madam, and in health; but by your leave," &c. Lower down, he precedes his answer of "I mean the lord protector" by "I cry you mercy."

4 who SHALL BAR me-] "Who should keep me," quartos.

5 Then bring me to their sights ;] "Then fear not thou," quartos.

No, madam, no; I may not leave it so ;] "I do beseech your graces all to pardon me," in the quartos.

Or else I swoon with this dead-killing news.

Anne. Despiteful tidings! O, unpleasing news?!

Dor. Be of good cheer:-mother, how fares your grace?

Q. Eliz. O Dorset! speak not to me, get thee gone;
Death and destruction dog thee at thy heels:
Thy mother's name is ominous to children.
If thou wilt outstrip death, go cross the seas,
And live with Richmond from the reach of hell.
Go, hie thee, hie thee, from this slaughter-house,
Lest thou increase the number of the dead,
And make me die the thrall of Margaret's curse,-
Nor mother, wife, nor England's 'counted queen.
Stan. Full of wise care is this your counsel, madam.-
Take all the swift advantage of the hours;
You shall have letters from me to my son

In
your behalf, to meet you on the way:
Be not ta'en tardy by unwise delay.

Duch. O ill-dispersing wind of misery!—
O, my accursed womb! the bed of death,
A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,

Whose unavoided eye is murderous !

Stan. Come, madam, come: I in all haste was sent.
Anne. And I with all unwillingness will go.-

O! would to God, that the inclusive verge
Of golden metal, that must round my brow,
Were red-hot steel to sear me to the brain!
Anointed let me be with deadly venom';
And die, ere men can say-God save the queen!
Q. Eliz. Go, go, poor soul, I envy not thy glory;
To feed my humour, wish thyself no harm.

Anne. No! why?-When he, that is my husband

now,

7 Despiteful tidings! O, unpleasing news!] This line is only in the folio: in the quartos Dorset says, "Madam, have comfort: how fares your grace?" 8 of the HOURS ;] "Of the time," quartos. The next line but one in the quartos is, "To meet you on the way and welcome you."

9

- with deadly venom ;] "With deadly poison," quartos.

Came to me, as I follow'd Henry's corse;

When scarce the blood was well wash'd from his hands, Which issu'd from my other angel husband,

And that dear saint' which, then, I weeping follow'd;
O! when, I say, I look'd on Richard's face,

This was my wish,-" Be thou," quoth I, "accurs'd,
For making me, so young, so old a widow !

And, when thou wedd'st, let sorrow haunt thy bed;
And be thy wife (if any be so mad)

More miserable by the life of thee',

Than thou hast made me by my dear lord's death!"
Lo! ere I can repeat this curse again,

Within so small a time3, my woman's heart
Grossly grew captive to his honey words,

And prov'd the subject of mine own soul's curse :
Which hitherto hath held mine eyes from rest;
For never yet one hour in his bed

Did I enjoy the golden dew of sleep,

But with his timorous dreams was still awak'd.
Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;
And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.

Q. Eliz. Poor heart, adieu; I pity thy complaining*.
Anne. No more than with my soul I mourn for

yours.

Dor. Farewell, thou woeful welcomer of glory.
Anne. Adieu, poor soul, that tak'st thy leave of it.
Duch. Go thou to Richmond, and good fortune guide

thee !

[To DORSET.

[To ANNE.

Go thou to Richard, and good angels tend thee!—

"saint" dead.

1 And that DEAR Saint-] "Dead saint" in the quartos; but the duchess would, perhaps, hardly call a 2 by the life of thee,]

The quartos read "by the death of thee," which corresponds with Anne's words in A. i. sc. 2.

3 Within so small a time,] "Even, in so short a space," quartos.

Poor heart, adieu;

pity thy complaining.] In the quartos, "Alas! poor soul, I pity thy complaints." Three lines earlier the quartos have "But have been waked by his timorous dreams."

and good angels TEND thee !] "Guard thee" in the quartos.

Go thou to sanctuary, and good thoughts possess thee!
[To Queen ELIZABETH.
I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me!
Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen,

And each hour's joy wreck'd with a week of teen°.
Q. Eliz. Stay yet; look back, with me, unto the
Tower.-

Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes,
Whom envy hath immur'd within your
walls;
Rough cradle for such little pretty ones!
Rude ragged nurse, old sullen play-fellow
For tender princes, use my babies well!

So foolish sorrow bids your stones farewell'. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.

A Room of State in the Palace.

Sound a Sennet. RICHARD, as King upon his Throne3; BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a Page, and Others.

6

K. Rich. Stand all apart.-Cousin of Buckingham! Buck. My gracious sovereign.

a week of TEEN.] i. e. a week of sorrow. A rather favourite word with Shakespeare. We have had it in "Love's Labour's Lost," A. iv. sc. 3, and it occurs again in "Romeo and Juliet" (Act i. sc. 3), and in "The Tempest" (Act i. sc. 2). It is found in many old writers; and by Chaucer it is used both as a verb and substantive. It is derived, according to Todd, from the Saxon teonan, injuries. It is still in use in some of our North-eastern counties. See Holloway's General Provincial Dictionary.

7 So foolish sorrow bids your stones farewell.] The folio, in which alone this speech is found, has "sorrow" in the plural, and "bids" in the singular. Rowe made the correction. It may be doubted, whether we ought to read sorrow bids or sorrows bid.

8 Richard, as King, upon his Throne ;] We have before remarked that there were probably no "discoveries" (as they are now called) in our old theatre, but that the characters entered. Such was the case here; for the old quartos inform us, in a direction, after Richard has come upon the stage, "Here he ascendeth the throne." In the folio the trumpets were directed to "sound," when Richard said to Buckingham," Give me thy hand." In the quartos there is no reply by Buckingham, "My gracious sovereign," after Richard has called him.

K. Rich. Give me thy hand.

advice,

Thus high, by thy

And thy assistance, is king Richard seated :-
But shall we wear these glories for a day,

Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?

Buck. Still live they, and for ever let them last! K. Rich. Ah! Buckingham, now do I play the touch',

To try if thou be current gold, indeed.—

Young Edward lives.-Think now what I would speak. Buck. Say on, my loving lord.

K. Rich. Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be king Buck. Why, so you are, my thrice-renowned lord. K. Rich. Ha! am I king? "Tis so; but Edward lives.

Buck. True, noble prince.

K. Rich.

O bitter consequence,

That Edward still should live,-true, noble prince.-
Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so dull:—
Shall I be plain?—I wish the bastards dead;
And I would have it suddenly perform❜d.

What say'st thou now? speak suddenly, be brief.
Buck. Your grace may do your pleasure.

K. Rich. Tut, tut! thou art all ice, thy kindness freezes.

Say, have I thy consent that they shall die?

Buck. Give me some little breath, some pause, dear

lord,

Before I positively speak in this:

I will resolve you herein presently2.

9

-

1

[Exit BUCKINGHAM.

these GLORIES for a day?] The quartos, honours.

now do I play the TOUCH,] "Touch" was of old more frequently used than touchstone, though Whetstone, in 1584, wrote a tract called “ A Touchstone for the Time," and the words were sometimes indifferently employed. There are several unimportant variations between the quarto and folio copies in the opening of this scene. Thus, in the quartos, Richard says, "Think now what I would say," and Buckingham replies, "Say on, my gracious sovereign."

2 1 will resolve you herein presently.] So in the folio: "presently" in