Unto the sovereign mercy of the king;
But, since I cannot, be it known to you,
I do remain as neuter. So, fare you well;
Unless you please to enter in the castle, 1260
And there repose you for this night.
Boling. An offer, uncle, that we will
accept.
But we must win your grace to go with us
To Bristol castle; which, they say, is held
By Bushy, Bagot, and their complices, 1265
The caterpillars of the commonwealth,
Which I have sworn to weed and pluck
away.

York. It may be, I will go with you:
but yet I'll pause;
For I am loath to break our country's laws.
Nor friends, nor foes, to me welcome you

K. Rich. Barkloughly castle call you this at hand? Aum. Yea, my lord. How brooks your grace the air, After your late tossing on the breaking seas?

K. Rich. Needs must I like it well; I
weep for joy,

To stand upon my kingdom once again. 1345
Dear earth, I do salute thee with my hand,
Though rebels wound thee with their horses'

hoofs.

By you unhappied and disfigur'd clean. 1305 You have, in manner, with your sinful hours, Made a divorce betwixt his queen and him; Broke the possession of a royal bed, And stain'd the beauty of a fair queen's cheeks With tears drawn from her eyes by your As a long parted mother with her child foul wrongs. 1310 Plays fondly with her tears and smiles, in Myself a prince by fortune of my birth, meeting, Near to the king in blood, and near in So, weeping, smiling, greet I thee, my love, earth, (1) Till you did make him misinterpret me,favour with my royal hands. Have stoop'd my neck under your injuries, sovereign's foe, my gentle And sigh'd my English breath in foreign earth, clouds,

1315

Eating the bitter bread of banishment:
Whilst you have fed upon my seignories,
Dispark'd my parks, and fell'd my forest
woods,

And do thee
Feed not thy

1350

(1) The repeated use, by Richard, of the word earth. would seem to indicate that Shakespeare employs the word in the meaning of inheritance,-possession,'my kingdom,'-'dear earth,my earth,'-'my gente earth.'

But let thy spiders, that suck up thy venom,
And heavy-gaited toads, lie in their way,
Doing annoyance to the treacherous feet, 1355
Which with usurping steps do trample thee.
Yield stinging nettles to mine enemies;
And when they from thy bosom pluck a
flower,

Guard it, I pray thee, with a lurking adder,
Whose double tongue may with a mortal
touch

1360

Throw death upon thy sovereign's enemies.
Mock not my senseless conjuration, lords;
This earth shall have a feeling, and these

stones

Prove armed soldiers, ere her native king
Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms. 1365
Bishop. Fear not, my lord; that Power
that made you king
Hath power to keep you king, in spite of all.
[The means that heaven yields must be
embrac❜d,

And not neglected; else, if heaven would,
And we will not, heaven's offer we refuse,
The proffer'd means of succour and redress.]
Aum. He means, my lord, that we are
too remiss,
Whilst Bolingbroke, through our security,
Grows strong and great in substance, and
in friends.

K. Rich. Discomfortable cousin! know'st
thou not,
1375
That when the searching eye of heaven is
hid
and lights the lower
world,
robbers range abroad

Behind the globe,
Then thieves and

unseen,

In murders and in outrage bloody here;
But when from under this terrestrial ball 1380
He fires the proud tops of the eastern pines,
And darts his light through every guilty

hole,

Then murders, treasons, and detested sins, The cloak of night being pluck'd from off their backs,

1385

Stand bare and naked, trembling at them-
selves?
So when this thief, this traitor, Boling-
broke,-
Who all this while hath revell'd in the night,
Whilst we were wand'ring with the anti-
podes,

Shall see us rising in our throne, the east,
His treasons will sit blushing in his face,
Not able to endure the sight of day,
But, self-affrighted, tremble at his sin.
Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm from an anointed king:
The breath of worldly men cannot depose 1395

The deputy elected by the Lord.
For every man that Bolingbroke hath press'd,
To lift shrewd steel against our golden

crown,

God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel: then, if angels fight, 1400
Weak men must fall; for heaven still guards
the right.

Enter Salisbury.

Welcome, my lord.

Sal. Nor near, nor

power? How far off lies your farther off, my gracious lord, Discomfort guides my tongue, And bids me speak of nothing but despair. One day too late, I fear, my noble lord, Hath clouded all thy happy days on earth. O, call back yesterday, bid time return, And thou shalt have twelve thousand fighting men:

Than this weak arm:

To-day, to-day, unhappy day, too late, 1410 O'erthrows thy joys, friends, fortune, and thy state;

dead, For all the Welshmen, hearing thou wert

Are gone to Bolingbroke, dispers'd, and fled.

Aum. Comfort, my liege: why looks your grace so pale?

K. Rich. But now, the blood of twenty thousand men

1415

Did triumph in my face, and they are fled;
And, till so much blood thither come again,
Have I not reason to look pale and dead?
side;
All souls that will be safe fly from my

For time hath set a blot upon my pride. 1420
Aum. Comfort, my liege; remember who

you are.

K. Rich. I had forgot myself. Am I not
king?

Awake, thou sluggard majesty! thou sleepest.
Is not the king's name forty thousand names?
Arm, arm, my name! a puny subject strikes
At thy great glory.-Look not to the ground,
Ye favourites of a king. Are we not high?
High be our thoughts. I know, my uncle
York

Hath power enough to serve our turn. But

Comes here?

who

Enter Scroop.

Scroop. More health and happiness betide my liege, 1430 Than can my care-tun'd tongue deliver him. K. Rich. Mine ear is open, and my heart prepar'd;

The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold.
Say, is my kingdom lost? why, 'twas my

care;

SHAKESPEARE.

With solemn reverence; throw away respect,
Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty,
For you have but mistook me all this
while:

I live with breath like you, feel want, 1515
Taste grief, need friends:-Subjected thus,
How can you say to me-I am a king?
Bishop. My lord, wise men ne'er wail
their present woes,
But presently prevent (1) the ways to wail.
To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth
1520
strength,
Gives, in your weakness, strength unto your
foe,
[And so your follies fight against yourself.]
Fear, and be slain; no worse can come, to
fight:

to grow,
To ear the land (1) that hath some hope

For I have none.-Let no man speak again
To alter this, for counsel is but vain.
Aum. My liege, one word.

K. Rich.

He does me double
1555
wrong

tongue.
That wounds me with the flatteries of his

Away,
Discharge my followers, let them hence.-
From Richard's night to Bolingbroke's fair
day.
[Exeunt.

Scene III.-Wales. Before Flint Castle.
Enter, with drum and colours, Bolingbroke and Forces;
York, Northumberland, and Others.

Boling. So that by this intelligence we
learn,
The Welshmen are dispers'd; and Salis-
bury

And fight and die, is death destroying death; Where fearing dying pays death servile breath. 1525 Aum. My father hath a power, enquire Is gone to meet the king, who lately landed, of him; With some few private friends, upon this

And learn to make a body of a limb.
K. Rich. Thou chid'st me well.-Proud
Bolingbroke, I come
To change blows with thee for our day of
doom.

1530

This ague-fit of fear is over-blown;
An easy task it is to win our own.—
Say, Scroop, where lies our uncle with his
power?

Speak sweetly, man, although thy looks be

sour.

Scroop. Men judge by the complexion
of the sky
The state and inclination of the day: 1535
So may you by my dull and heavy eye:
My tongue hath but a heavier tale to say.
I play the torturer, by small and small,
To lengthen out the worst that must be
spoken:-

Your uncle York is join'd with Boling-
broke;
1540
And all your northern castles yielded up,
And all your southern gentlemen in arms,
Upon his faction.
K. Rich. Thou hast said enough.-
Beshrew thee, cousin, which didst lead me
forth

Of that sweet way I was in to despair! 1545 [To Aum. What comfort have we now?

What say you now?

Be heaven, I'll hate him everlastingly
That bids me be of comfort any more.
Go to Flint castle; there I'll pine away;
A king, woe's slave, shall kingly woe obey.
I have, discharge; and let
That power
them go

(1) Anticipate.

coast.

1560

North. The news is very fair and good,
my lord;

Richard, not far from hence, hath hid his
head.
York. It would beseem the lord North-
1565
umberland
To say, king Richard: Alack, the heavy
day,
When such a sacred king should hide his
head!

North. Your grace mistakes me; only
to be brief,

Left I his title out.
The time hath been,
York.
Would you have been so brief with him,
he would
with you, to shorten

Have been so brief

For taking so the

you,

1570

head, (2) your whole head's length.

Boling. Mistake not, uncle, farther than

York.

you should.

Take not, good cousin, farther

than you should,

your head.

Lest you mistake: The heavens are o'er 1575

Boling.

I know it, uncle; and oppose

not myself Against their will.-But who comes here?

Enter Percy.

Welcome, Harry; what, will not this castle

yield?

(1) Plough the land. Ear is the same as the Latin arare, to plough, to till. Arable is ear-able. (2) Johnson thinks that to take the head is to take undue liberties. We incline to Douce's opinion, that the expression means to take away the sovereign's chief title.

Percy. The castle royally is mann'd, my My waters; on the earth, and not on him.March on, and mark king Richard how he