From forth the ranks of many thousand French ;
Oh! then, how quickly should this arm of mine,
Now prifoner to the palfie, chastise thee,
And minifter correction to thy fault.
Boling. My gracious uncle, let me know my fault; On what condition ftands it, and wherein ?
York. Ev'n in condition of the worst degree ;*
In grofs Rebellion, and detefted Treafon :
Thou art a banish'd man, and here art come,
Before the expiration of thy time,
In braving arms against thy Sovereign.
Boling. As I was banish'd, I was banish'd Hereford; But as I come, I come for Lancufter.
And, noble uncle, I beseech your Grace,
Look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye:
You are my father; for, methinks, in you
I fee old Gaunt alive. O then, my father!
Will
you permit, that I' fhall ftand condemn'd
A wand'ring Vagabond; my Rights and Royalties
Pluckt from my arms perforce, and giv'n away
To upftart unthrifts? Wherefore was I born?
If that my coufin King be King of England,
It must be granted, I am Duke of Lancafter.
You have a fon, Aumerle, my noble Kinsman:
Had you first dy'd, and he been thus trod down,
He fhould have found his uncle Gaunt a father,
To rowze his wrongs, and chase them to the bay.
I am deny'd to fue my livery here,
And yet my letters patents give me leave :
My father's Goods are all diftrain'd and fold,
And these, and all, are all! amifs imploy'd.
What would you have me do? I am a Subject,
And challenge law attorneys are deny'd me;
And therefore perfonally I lay my
Claim
To mine Inheritance of free Descent.
North. The noble Duke hath been too much abus'd.
Rofs. It stands your Grace upon, to do him Right. Willo. Bale men by his endowments are made great. York. My lords of England, let me tell you this, I have had feeling of my Coufin's wrongs, And labour'd all I could to do him Right :
But, in this kind, to come in braving arms,
Be his own carver, and cut out his way,
To find out Right with wrongs, it may not be ;
And you that do abet him in this kind,
Cherish Rebellion, and are Rebels all.
North. The noble Duke hath fworn, his Coming is
But for his own; and, for the Right of That,
We all have ftrongly fworn to give him aid;
And let him ne'er fee joy, that breaks that oath.
York. Well, well, I fee the iffue of these arms;
I cannot mend it, I must needs confess,
Because my Pow'r is weak, and all ill left :
But if I could, by him that gave me life,
I would attach you all, and make you ftoop
Unto the fovereign mercy of the King.
But fince I cannot, be it known to you,
I do remain as neuter. So, farewel.
Unless you please to enter in the Castle,
And there repofe you for this night.
Boling. An offer, Uncle, that we will accept
But we muft win your Grace to go with us
To Erifol Cafle, which, they fay, is held
By Busby, Bagot, and their complices;
The caterpillars of the Common-wealth,
Which I have fworn to weed, and pluck away.
York. It may be, I will go: but yet I'll paufe;
For I am loath to break our Country's Laws:
Nor friends nor foes, to me welcome you are.
Things paft Redress are now with me paft Care.
In WALES.
Enter Salisbury, and a Captain.
Y lord of Salisbury, we have ftaid ten days,
And hardly kept our Countrymen together,
And yet we hear no tidings from the King:
Therefore we will difperfe our felves: farewel.
Salif. Stay yet another day, thou trufty Welshman:
The King repofeth all his truft in thee.
Cap. 'Tis thought, the King is dead: we will not stay. "The Bay-trees in our Country all are wither'd, "And meteors fright the fixed ftars of heav'n ; "The pale-fac'd moon looks bloody on the earth; "And lean-look'd Prophets whisper fearful Change. "Rich men look fad, and ruffians dance and leap ;" The one, in fear to lofe what they enjoy; Th' other, in hope t'enjoy by rage and war. Thefe figns forerun the death of KingsFarewel; our countrymen are gone and fled, As well affur'd, Richard their King is dead.
Salif. Ah, Richard, ah! with eyes of heavy mind, I fee thy Glory, like a fhooting Star,
Fall to the base earth from the firmament:
Thy Sun fets weeping in the lowly Weft,
Witneffing Storms to come, woe, and unreft:
Thy friends are fled to wait upon thy foes;
And crossly to thy Good all fortune goes.
SCENE I.
Bolingbroke's Camp at Bristol.
Enter Bolingbroke, York, Northumberland, Rofs, Percy, Willoughby, with Bushy and Green Prisoners.
BOLINGBROKE.
RING forth these men.
Busby and Green, I will not vex your fouls
(Since prefently your fouls muft part your bodies)
With too much urging your pernicious lives;
For 'twere no charity: yet to wash your blood
From off my hands, here, in the view of men,
I will unfold fome causes of your deaths.
You have mif-led a Prince, a royal King,
A happy Gentleman in blood and lineaments,
By you unhappy'd, and disfigur'd clean.
You have, in manner, with your finful hours
Made a divorce betwixt his Queen and him ;
Broke the Poffeffion of a royal Bed,
And ftain'd the Beauty of a fair Queen's cheeks
With tears drawn from her eyes, with your
My felf, a Prince, by fortune of my birth,
Near to the King in blood, (and near in love,
Till you did make him. mif interpret me,)
Have ftoopt my neck under your injuries;
And figh'd my English breath in foreign clouds,
Eating the bitter Bread of Banishment :
While you have fed upon my Signiories;
Dif-park'd my Parks, and fell'd my foreft-woods;
From mine own windows torn my houshold Coat;
Raz'd out my Imprefs; leaving me no fign,
Save men's opinions, and my living blood,
To fhew the world I am a gentleman.
This, and much more, much more than twice all this,
Condemns you to the death. See them deliver'd
To execution, and the hand of death.
Buby. More welcome is the ftroak of death to me, Than Bolingbroke to England.Lords, farewel. Green. My comfort is, that heav'n will take our fouls, And plague injuftice with the pains of hell.
Boling. My lord Northumberland, see them dispatch'd.. Uncle, you fay the Queen is at your house ; For heav'n's fake, fairly let her be intreated ;.. Tell her, I fend to her.. my kind Commends Take special care, my Greetings be deliver❜d. York. A gentleman of mine I have dispatch'd With letters of your love to her at large.
Boling. Thanks, gentle Uncle came, my lords, To fight with Glendower and his Complices; A while to Work; and, after, Holy-day.
SCENE II.
Changes to the Coast of Wales.
Flourish: Drums and Trumpets.
Enter King Richard, Aumerle, Bishop of Carlifle, and Soldiers.
K. Rich. Aum. Yea, my good lord; how brooks
DArkloughly-caffle call you this at hand ?
After your toffing on the breaking Seas?
K. Rich. Needs must I like it well: I weep
To ftand upon my Kingdom once again.
Dear Earth, I do falute thee with my hand,
Though Rebels wound thee with their horfes' hoofs:
As a long-parted mother with her child
Plays fondly with her tears, and fmiles in meeting;
So weeping, fmiling, 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 fweets comfort his rav'nous sense:
But let thy fpiders that fuck up thy venom,
And heavy-gaited toads, lye in their way;
Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet,
Which with ufurping fteps do trample thee.
Yield ftinking nettles to mine enemies;
And, when they from thy bofom pluck a flower,
Guard it, I pr'ythee, with a lurking adder;
Whofe double tongue may with a mortal touch
Throw death upon thy Sovereign's enemies.
Mock not my fenseless conjuration, lords;
This Earth fhall have a Feeling: and thefe ftones
Prove armed foldiers, ere her native King
Shall faulter under foul rebellious arms.
[you King, Bishop. Fear not, my lord; that Pow'r, that made Hath pow'r to keep you King, in fpight of all.
8 The means, that heaven yields, must be embrac'd, And not neglected: else if heaven would,
And we would not heav'n's offer, we refuse.
The profer'd means of fuccour and redress.
Aum. He means, my lord, that we are too remifs ; Whilft Bolingbroke, through our fecurity,
Grows ftrong and great, in fubftance and in power. K. Rich. Difcomfortable Coufin, know'st thou not, "That when the searching eye of heav'n is hid "Behind the globe, (a) and lights the lower world; "Then thieves and robbers range abroad unfeen, "In murders, and in outrage bloody here.
8 The means, that beaven, &c.] The four lines that follow from the firft Edition..
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