They could not speak; and so I left them both, Enter King RICHARD. And here he comes.-All health, my sovereign lord! K. Rich. Kind Tyrrel, am I happy in thy news? Tyr. If to have done the thing you gave in charge Beget your happiness, be happy then, For it is done. K. Rich. But did'st thou see them dead? Tyr. I did, my lord. K. Rich. And buried, gentle Tyrrel? Tyr. The chaplain of the Tower hath buried them; But where, to say the truth, I do not know'. K. Rich. Come to me, Tyrrel, soon, and after supper, When thou shalt tell the process of their death. Mean time, but think how I may do thee good, And be inheritor of thy desire. Farewell, till then. Tyr. I humbly take my leave2. [Erit. K. Rich. The son of Clarence have I pent up close; His daughter meanly have I match'd in marriage; The sons of Edward sleep in Abraham's bosom, And Anne my wife hath bid this world good night. Now, for I know the Bretagne Richmond aims 9 All health, my sovereign lord !] "All hail, my sovereign liege!" quartos. There are some variations between the quartos and folio in this speech by Tyrrel, one only of which it is necessary to point out. The quartos read in the fifth line, "To do this ruthless piece of butchery," and the folio, "To do this piece of ruthful butchery," which epithet modern editors have needlessly, and without notice, changed to ruthless. Shakespeare often uses "ruthful" in this way. In “Henry VI.” pt. 3, A. ii. sc. 5, we have, “O! that my death would stay these ruthful deeds;" and in "Troilus and Cressida," A. v. sc. 3, "Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth." Various other instances to the same effect might be quoted from him and other authors. 1 But where, to say the truth, I do not know.] In the quartos the line is, "But how, or in what place, I do not know." In the next line the quartos have, 66 soon, at after supper." 2 I humbly take my leave.] In the quartos, Tyrrel merely makes his erit without any observation, after Richard has said, not "Farewell till then," as in the folio, but "Farewell till soon." At young Elizabeth, my brother's daughter, And by that knot looks proudly on the crown3, Cate. My lord!— Enter CATESBY. K. Rich. Good or bad news, that thou com'st in so bluntly? Cate. Bad news, my lord: Morton is fled to Richmond1; And Buckingham, back'd with the hardy Welshmen, Is in the field, and still his power encreaseth. K. Rich. Ely with Richmond troubles me more near, Delay leads impotent and snail-pac'd beggary: Jove's Mercury, and herald for a king. Go, muster men: my counsel is We must be brief, when traitors brave the field. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. The Same. Before the Palace. Enter Queen MARGARET. Q. Mar. So, now prosperity begins to mellow, And drop into the rotten mouth of death. 3 looks proudly on the crown,] The quartos read "looks proudly o'er the crown." 4 - MORTON is fled to Richmond ;] In the quartos he is called Ely, of which see he was bishop. Richard afterwards calls him Ely in the folio, as well as in the quartos. 5 rash-levied STRENGTH.] "Rash-levied army" in the quartos, and in the next line the quartos read heard for "learn'd." VOL. V. G g Here in these confines slily have I lurk'd, A dire induction am I witness to, And will to France; hoping, the consequence Withdraw thee, wretched Margaret: who comes here? [Retiring. Enter Queen ELIZABETH and the Duchess of YORK. Q. Eliz. Ah, my poor princes! ah, my tender babes! My unblown flowers', new-appearing sweets! If yet your gentle souls fly in the air, And be not fix'd in doom perpetual, Hover about me with your airy wings, And hear your mother's lamentation. Q. Mar. Hover about her; say, that right for right Hath dimm'd your infant morn to aged night. Duch. So many miseries have craz'd my voice, That my woe-wearied tongue is still and mute.Edward Plantagenet, why art thou dead? Q. Mar. Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet; Edward for Edward pays a dying debts. Q. Eliz. Wilt thou, O God! fly from such gentle lambs, And throw them in the entrails of the wolf? When didst thou sleep, when such a deed was done? Q. Mar. When holy Harry died, and my sweet son. Duch. Dead life, blind sight, poor mortal living ghost, Woe's scene, world's shame, grave's due by life usurp'd, 6 To watch the waning of mine ENEMIES.] "Mine adversaries" in the quartos. 7 My unblown flowers,] So the quartos: the folio, 1623, has unblowed. 8 Edward for Edward pays a dying debt.] are only in the folio. This and the preceding four lines 9 WHEN didst thou sleep,] So every old edition until the folio, 1632, which needlessly substituted why for "when." "When didst thou sleep, when such a deed was done?" means, when before this time didst thou sleep, &c. Queen Margaret's reply makes it quite clear that such is the sense of the line, which, however, was not understood by the editor of the second folio. Brief abstract and record of tedious days', [Sitting down. Unlawfully made drunk with innocent blood! Q. Eliz. Ah! that thou would'st as soon afford a grave, As thou canst yield a melancholy seat; Then would I hide my bones, not rest them here! [Sitting down by her. Q. Mar. If ancient sorrow be most reverent, Give mine the benefit of seniory, [Coming forward. And let my griefs' frown on the upper hand. If sorrow can admit society, [Sitting down with them. Tell o'er your woes again by viewing mine3: I had an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him; I had a husband, till a Richard kill'd him: Thou hadst an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him; Duch. I had a Richard too, and thou didst kill him: I had a Rutland too; thou holp'st to kill him. Q. Mar. Thou hadst a Clarence too, and Richard kill'd him. From forth the kennel of thy womb hath crept 1 Brief abstract and record of tedious days,] This line is not in the quartos, which, in the opening of this speech, read, "Blind sight, dead life," &c. 2 And let my GRIEFS-] Woes in the quartos. 3 Tell o'er your woes again by viewing mine :-] This line is from the quartos, having been, probably, accidentally omitted in the folio, as the sense, though not absolutely incomplete, can hardly be called perfect without it. In the next line but one the quartos have Richard (which is evidently wrong) for "husband" of the folio. Lower down, the folio has "hop'st to kill him" for "holp'st to kill him." The error is committed in the quartos, 1597 and 1598, and corrected in that of 1602. That excellent grand tyrant of the earth', Thy womb let loose, to chase us to our graves. O! upright, just, and true-disposing God, How do I thank thee, that this carnal cur 5 And makes her pew-fellow with other's moan! Duch. O, Harry's wife! triumph not in my woes: God witness with me, I have wept for thine. Q. Mar. Bear with me: I am hungry for revenge, And now I cloy me with beholding it. Thy Edward he is dead, that kill'd my Edward; Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray, That I may live and say, the dog is dead. Q. Eliz. O! thou didst prophesy, the time would come, That I should wish for thee to help me curse That bottled spider, that foul bunch-back'd toad. That excellent grand tyrant of the earth,] This and the preceding line are only in the folio. And makes her pew-fellow-] i.e. companion. The word is frequently met with in this sense in our old dramatists. 6 Young York he is but BOOT,] i. e. something thrown in-given to boot. Two lines earlier, the quartos have stabb'd for "kill'd" of the folio, and vice versâ two lines below. 7 - this FRANTIC play,] The quartos "tragic play." 8 - convey'd FROM HENCE.] "Convey'd away" in the quartos. |