King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.
The Ghost of King HENRY the Sixth rises.
Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed body
[To King RICHARD.
By thee was punched full of deadly holes.
Think on the Tower, and me: despair, and die ;
Harry the sixth bids thee despair and die.-
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror!
[TO RICHMOND.
Harry, that prophesy'd thou should'st be king,
Doth comfort thee in sleep: live thou, and flourish.
The Ghost of CLARENCE rises.
Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow.
[To King RICHARD.
I, that was wash'd to death with fulsome wine,
Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray'd to death!
To-morrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgeless sword. Despair, and die.-
Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster,

[To RICHMOND.
The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee;
Good angels guard thy battle! Live and flourish.
The Ghosts of RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN, rise.
Riv. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow;
[To King RICHARD.
Rivers, that died at Pomfret. Despair, and die.
Grey. Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair.
[To King RICHARD.
Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan, and with guilty fear
Let fall thy pointless lance. Despair, and die.-
[To King RICHARD.
All. Awake! and think our wrongs in Richard's
[To RICHMOND.
Will conquer him.-Awake, and win the day!
The Ghost of HASTINGS rises.
Ghost. Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake;
[To King RICHARD.
And in a bloody battle end thy days.
Think on lord Hastings: so despair, and die.—
Quiet untroubled soul, awake, awake!

bosom

[TO RICHMOND.
Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's sake.
The Ghosts of the two young Princes rise.
Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smother'd in the
Tower:

Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death.
Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair, and die.—

Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy;
Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy!
Live, and beget a happy race of kings.

Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

The Ghost of Queen ANNE rises.

Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath.—
I died for hope ere I could lend thee aid;
But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismay'd:
[TO RICHMOND.
God, and good angels fight on Richmond's side;
And Richard fall in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish. King RICHARD starts
out of his dream.

K. Rich. Give me another horse!-bind up my
wounds!-

Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft! I did but dream.—
O, coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!-
The lights burn blue.—It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.

Is there a murderer here? No ;-yes; I am:
Then fly,-What, from myself? Great reason: why?
Lest I revenge. What! Myself upon myself?
Alack! I love myself. Wherefore? for any good,
That I myself have done unto myself?
O! no alas! I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain. Yet I lie; I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well:-Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, foul perjury, in the high'st degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the dir'st degree;
All several sins, all us'd in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all,-Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.-There is no creature loves me ;
And if I die, no soul shall pity me :-
Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

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.
Enter RATCLIFF.

Rat. My lord.—

K. Rich. Who's there?

Hath twice done salutation to the morn:
Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early village cock

Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.

K. Rich. O Ratcliff! I have dream'd a fearful
dream.-

What thinkest thou? will our friends prove all true?
Rat. No doubt, my lord.
K. Rich.
O Ratcliff! I fear, I fear.-
Rat. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.
K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,

Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,

wife,

That never slept a quiet hour with thee,
Now fills thy sleep with perturbations:
To-morrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy powerless arm. Despair, and die.—
Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;
[TO RICHMOND.

Dream of success and happy victory:
Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.
The Ghost of BUCKINGHAM rises.
Ghost. The first was I that help'd thee to the crown;
The last was I that felt thy tyranny.
[To King RICHARD.
O! in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness.
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death:

Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond.
It is not yet near day. Come, go with me:
Under our tents I'll play the eaves-dropper,
To hear if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt King RICHARD and RATCLIFF.
Enter OXFORD and others.
Lords. Good morrow, Richmond.
Richm. Cry mercy, lords, [Waking.] and watchful
gentlemen,

That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
Lords. How have you slept, my lord?

Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding dreams,
That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,
Have I since your departure had, my lords.
Methought, their souls, whose bodies Richard murder'd,
Came to my tent, and cried-On! victory!

522

I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.
Richm. Why, then 'tis time to arm, and give direc-
tion.-
[He advances to the Troops.
More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time
Forbids to dwell on yet remember this,—
God and our good cause fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls,
Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces.
Richard except, those whom we fight against
Had rather have us win, than him they follow.
For what is he they follow? truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant, and a homicide;

One rais'd in blood, and one in blood establish'd;
One that made means to come by what he hath,

And slaughter'd those that were the means to help
him;

A base foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy.
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers:
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain;
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,
Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit it in your age.
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords.
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt,
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly, cheerfully;
God, and Saint George! Richmond, and victory!

[Exeunt. Re-enter King RICHARD, RATCLIFF, Attendants, and Forces.

K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touching

Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms.
K. Rich. He said the truth: and what said Surrey
then?

Rat. He smil'd and said, the better for our purpose.
K. Rich. He was i' the right; and so, indeed, it is.
[Clock strikes.
[Calendar brought.

Call up lord Stanley, bid him bring his power.
I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,
And thus my battle shall be ordered.
My foreward shall be drawn out all in length,
Consisting equally of horse and foot:
Our archers shall be placed in the midst.
John duke of Norfolk, Thomas earl of Surrey,
Shall have the leading of the foot and horse.
They thus directed, we will follow them

In the main battle; whose puissance on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.
This, and Saint George to boot!-What think'st thou,
Norfolk?

Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign.-
This found I on my tent this morning.

[Giving a Paper. K. Rich. " "Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,

[Reads. For Dickon thy master is bought and sold."

A thing devised by the enemy.-
Go, gentlemen; every man to his charge.
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;
For conscience is a word that cowards use,
Devis'd at first to keep the strong in awe:
Our strong arins be our conscience, swords our law.
March on, join bravely, let us to't pell-mell;
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.-
What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?
Remember whom you are to cope withal;-
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and rum-aways,
A scum of Bretagnes, and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o'er-cloyed country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assur'd destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest;
You having lands, and bless'd with beauteous wives,
They would distrain the one, distain the other.
And who doth lead them, but a paltry fellow,
Long kept in Bretagne at our mother's cost;
A milk-sop, one that never in his life
Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow?
Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again;
Lash hence these over-weening rags of France,
These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd them-
selves.

If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us, And not these bastard Bretagnes; whom our fathers Have in their own land beaten, bobb'd, and thump'd, And, on record, left them the heirs of shame. Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives? Ravish our daughters ?-Hark, I hear their drum. [Drum afar off. Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen! Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head; K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine; for, by the book, Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood:

Tell the clock there.-Give me a calendar.

Who saw the sun to-day?
Rat.

Not I, my lord.

He should have brav'd the east an hour ago:

A black day will it be to somebody.—
Ratcliff!-

Rat. My lord.
K. Rich.
The sun will not be seen to-day:
The sky doth frown and lour upon our army.
I would, these dewy tears were from the ground.
Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me,
More than to Richmond? for the self-same heaven,
That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him.

Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!—
Enter a Messenger.

What says lord Stanley? will he bring his power?
Mess. My lord, he doth deny to come.

K. Rich. Off with his son George's head.
Nor. My lord, the enemy is pass'd the marsh:
After the battle let George Stanley die.

K. Rich. A thousand hearts are great within my

bosom.

Advance our standards! set upon our foes!
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our helms.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.-Another Part of the Field.

Alarum : Excursions. Enter NORFOLK, and Forces;

to him CATESBY.

Cale. Rescue, my lord of Norfolk! rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger.

His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

Alarum. Enter King RICHARD.

K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

Cate. Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse.
K. Rich. Slave! I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die.

I think there be six Richmonds in the field;
Five have I slain to-day, instead of him.-
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! [Exeunt.
Alarums. Enter King RICHARD and RICHMOND; and
exeunt, fighting. Retreat and flourish. Then enter
RICHMOND, STANLEY bearing the Crown, with divers
other Lords, and Forces.

Richm. God, and your arms, be prais'd, victorious
friends,

The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead.

But, tell me, is young George Stanley living?

Whither, if you please, we may withdraw us.
Stan. He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town;

Richm. What men of name are slain on either side?
Stan. John duke of Norfolk, Walter lord Ferrers,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
Richm. Inter their bodies as becomes their births.
Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled,
That in submission will return to us;
And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament,
We will unite the white rose and the red :-
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long hath frown'd upon their enmity !—
What traitor hears me, and says not, amen?
England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself;
The brother blindly shed the brother's blood,
The father rashly slaughter'd his own son,
The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire;
All this divided York and Lancaster,
Divided in their dire division,
O! now, let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each royal house,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together:
And let their heirs, (God, if thy will be so)
Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd peace,
With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days!

Stan. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit Rebate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord,

thee.

Lo! here, this long-usurped royalty,

From the dead temples of this bloody wretch

Have I pluck'd off, to grace thy brows withal:
Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.

Richm. Great God of heaven, say, amen, to all!

That would reduce these bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Let them not live to taste this land's increase,
That would with treason wound this fair land's peace!
Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again:
That she may long live here, God say, amen! [Exeunt.

Several Lords and Ladies in the Dumb Shows; Women attending upon the Queen; Spirits, which appear

to her; Scribes, Officers, Guards, and other Attendants.

SCENE, chiefly in London and Westminster; once, at Kimbolton.

PROLOGUE.