King Henry VI. Part II.

Duchess. Come you, my lord, to see my open shame?
Now thou dost penance too. Look, how they gaze!
See how the giddy multitude do point,

And nod their heads, and throw their eyes on thee!
Ah! Gloster, hide thee from their hateful looks;
And, in thy closet pent up, rue my shame,
And ban thine enemies, both mine and thine.

Gloster. Be patient, gentle Nell; forget this grief.

Act 2. Sc. 4.

Q. Margaret. Oft have I heard-that grief softens the mind,
And makes it fearful and degenerate;

Think therefore on revenge, and cease to weep!
But who can cease to weep, and look on this?
Here may his head lie on my throbbing breast:
But where's the body that I should embrace?

Act 4. Sc. 4.

KING HENRY THE SIXTH-PART THE THIRD :

AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

THAT portion of the old dramatic history on which the present piece was founded, originally appeared in 1595, and is entitled The true Tragedy of Richard Duke of York, and the Death of good King Henry the Sixt, with the whole Contention between the Two Houses of Lancaster and Yorke; as it was sundry times acted by the Right Honourable the Earl of Pembroke his servants.Both this and the former play were reprinted together in 1600; which Malone mentions as an additional argument that they were never considered to be written by the author of the first part of the reign of this Sovereign. The scene is laid in various parts of England, excepting the Third Scene of the Third Act, which passes in France; and the action comprises the space of full sixteen years. It commences immediately after the first battle at St. Albans, in 1455, with which the last play closed; and terminates with the supposed murder of Henry VI., by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, May 22nd, 1471, and the birth of Prince Edward, afterwards Edward V., November 4th, in the same year.

Two Tragedies by J. Crowne, in great part taken from the present and the preceding plays, were produced at the Duke's Theatre in Dorset-Gardens, in 1680 and 1681; one being called Henry the Sixth, the Second Part, or the Misery of Civil War. The other was entitled The First Part of the same, or the Murder of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester; which was represented with much applause, until the Romish interest at Court opposed it, and procured it's suppression. The works of the original author, however, appear to have been but little known at this time, since the prologue of Crowne declared the piece to be entirely his own; though the first scene was that of Jack Cade, literally copied from the Second Part of Henry VI., and several others were taken from the present drama with but little variation. In 1720 appeared another alteration of this play by Theophilus Cibber, "as a sequel to the Tragedy of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and an introduction to the tragical history of King Richard III." It was, however, acted but once only at Drury-Lane in the same year; and the name of Savage the Poet appears in the list of performers, for the part of the Duke of York.

Dr. Johnson considered the second of this series of plays to be the best; whilst Schlegel observes of the scene of Beaufort's death, that it is the height of sublimity, awful without being horrible, and that it exhibits the piety of Henry in contrast with the Cardinal's guilt, and leads the mind from the judgement of man to the contemplation of the mercy of Heaven.

K. Henry. Here on this mole-hill will I sit me down.
To whom God will, there be the victory!

For Margaret my queen, and Clifford too,
Have chid me from the battle; swearing both,
They prosper best of all when I am thence.

'Would I were dead! if God's good will were so :

For what is in this world, but grief and woe?
O God! methinks, it were a happy life,
To be no better than a homely swain;
To sit upon a hill, as I do now,

To carve out dials quaintly, point by point,
Thereby to see the minutes, how they run;
How many make the hour full complete,
How many hours bring about the day,
How many days will finish up the year,
How many years a mortal man may live.

Act 2. Sc. 5.

KING RICHARD THE THIRD:

AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY, BY WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

In the commencement of this drama, which, in the original title, is stated to be The Life and Death of the Sovereign whose name it bears,—the historical action is somewhat confused: since it opens with George, Duke of Clarence, being committed to the Tower, in the beginning of 1478; whilst the Second Scene brings in the Funeral of Henry VI., who is commonly reported to have been murdered May 22nd, 1471. It closes with the death of Richard in the battle of Bosworth Field, August 22nd, 1485; and thus may be said to comprise the space of fourteen years. The scene is laid in London, and various parts of England.

There seem to have been several dramas and other pieces written upon this point of history, before Shakspeare produced the present; but he does not appear to have used any of them. Mr. Boswell supposed, however, that An Enterlude of Richard the Third, with the Death of Edward the Fourth, the Smothering of the Two Princes, the End of Shore's wife, and the Contention of the Houses of Lancaster and York, published in 1594,-had so great a resemblance to this play, that the author must have seen it before he composed his own. It is, notwithstanding, one of the worst of the ancient dramas, and has but few traces of likeness.

The Tragedy by Shakspeare was probably written in 1593, or 1594; it appears entered at Stationers' Hall, October 20th, 1597; and was printed in the same year, as well as in 1598, 1602, 1612 or 1613, 1622, and twice in 1629, all the editions being in quarto.

In 1700, Colley Cibber's alteration of this Tragedy was produced at DruryLane, from which the Licenser obliterated the whole of the First Act, observing that the distresses and murder of Henry VI., would too much remind weak persons of James II., then in exile at St. Germain's. It was thus performed for several years, and was always very successful and popular, which Steevens attributes partly to Cibber's revision, though it was certainly extremely faulty, and partly to the vast variety of character in the part of Richard. The modern adaptation of this piece was made by J. P. Kemble, from both Shakspeare and Cibber, and was published by him as acted at Covent-Garden in 1810.

One of the most famous performers of Richard was Burbage, who was the author's contemporary; but Henderson, Garrick, Cooke, Kemble, Kean, and Macready, have all arrived at the highest eminence in their delineation of this most arduous character.

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King Richard III.

K. Richard. Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft'; I did but dream.
Oh! coward conscience, how thou dost afflict me!-
The lights burn blue.-It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops hang on my trembling flesh.-
Methought, the souls of all that I had murder'd
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richard!

Act 5. Sc. 3.

Tyrrel. O thus,' quoth Dighton, lay the gentle babes''Thus, thus,' quoth Forrest, 'girdling one another

Within their alabaster innocent arms:

Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,

Which, in their summer beauty, kiss'd each other.

A book of prayers on their pillow lay,

Which once,' quoth Forrest, almost chang'd my mind.'

Act 4. Sc. 3.