- thus the king re

Rich. Northumberland, say,

turns:

His noble cousin is right welcome hither;
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction:
With all the gracious utterance thou hast,
Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends.-

[NORTHUM. retires to BOLING.

[To AUMERLE.] We do debase ourself, cousin, do

we not,

To look so poorly, and to speak so fair?

Shall we call back Northumberland, and send
Defiance to the traitor, and so die?

Aum. No, good my lord let's fight with gentle words,

Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful swords.

Rich. O God! O God! that e'er this tongue of

mine,

That laid the sentence of dread banishment

On yond' proud man, should take it off again
With words of sooth." O! that I were as great
As is my grief, or lesser than my name;
Or that I could forget what I have been,

Or not remember what I must be now!

Swell'st thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope tc

beat,

Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me. Aum. Northumberland comes back from Boling

broke.

Rich. What must the king do now? Mist he submit?

The king shall do it: Must he be depos'd?

• Sooth is sweet, as well as true. Here it means sweetness or softness. Thus to soothe still means to calm and sweeten the mind

The king shall be contented: Must he lose
The name of king? o'God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel' for an alms-man's gown,
My figur'd goblets for a dish of wood,
My sceptre for a palmer's walking-staff,
My subjects for a pair of carved saints,
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave;
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,

8

Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head;
For on my heart they tread, now whilst I live,
And, buried once, why not upon my head?
Aumerle, thou weep'st; my tender-hearted cousin!-
We'll make foul weather with despised tears;
Our sighs and they shall lodge the summer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.
Or shall we play the wantons with our woes,
And make some pretty match with shedding tears?
As thus; - to drop them still upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of graves

Within the earth; and, therein laid, there lies
Two kinsmen digg'd their graves with weeping eyes?
Would not this ill do well? Well, well, I see
I talk but idly, and you mock at me.—
Most mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,
What says King Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke says ay.

7 Richard's expense in regard to dress was very extraordinary. 'He had one coate which he caused to be made for him of gold and stones, valued at 3000 marks."- - Holinshed.

That is, some way of frequent resort, a common course; as, at present, a road of much traffic, frequent resort.

9

North. My lord, in the base court he doth attend To speak with you: may't please you to come down? Rich. Down, down, I come; like glistering Phae[NORTH. returns to BOLING.

ton,

Wanting the manage of unruly jades.

In the base court? Base court, where kings grow base, To come at traitors' calls, and do them grace.

In the base court?

down, king!

Come down? Down, court!

For night-owls shriek, where mounting larks should

sing.

[Exeunt, from above.

Sorrow and grief of heart

Bol. What says his majesty ?

North.

Makes him speak fondly, like a frantic man:

Yet he is come.

Enter King RICHARD, and his Attendants, below

Bol. Stand all apart,

And show fair duty to his majesty.

My gracious lord,

[Kneeling.

Rich. Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee, To make the base earth proud with kissing it: Me rather had, my heart might feel your love, Than my unpleas'd eye see your courtesy. Up, cousin, up; your heart is up, I know, Thus high at least, [Touching his Crown] although your knee be low.

Bol. My gracious lord, I come but for mine own. Rich. Your own is yours, and I am yours, and all. Bol. So far be mine, my most redoubted lord, As my true service shall deserve your love.

That is, the lower court of the castle. Thus in Cavendi-h's Life of Wolsey: "My lord being advertised that the duke was coming, even at hand, he caused all his gentlemen to wait un him down through the hall into the base cont

Rich. Well you deserve:-They well deserve

to have,

That know the strong'st and surest way to get.
Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.
Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we must what force will have us do.
Set on towards London : - Cousin, is it so ?
Bol. Yea, my good lord.

Enter the QUEEN, and two Ladies.

Queen. What sport shall we devise here in this garden,

To drive away the heavy thought of care?

1 Lady. Madam, we'll play at bowls.

Queen. "Twill make me think, the world is full of rubs,

And that my fortune runs against the bias.'

10 The following is given by Stowe from the manuscript of a person who was present: "The duke, with a high sharpe voyce bade bring forth the king's horses; and then two little nagges, not worth forty franks, were brought forth: the king was set on one, and the earle of Salisburie on the other; and thus the duke brought the king from Flint to Chester, where he was delivered to the duke of Gloucester's sonne (that loved him but little, for he had put their father to death), who led him straight to the castle."

1 The bias was a weight inserted in one side of a bowl, wnich gave it a particular inclination in rolling. See King John, Act ii. sc. 2, note 22.

1 Lady. Madam, we'll dance.

Queen. My legs can keep no measure in delight, When my poor heart no measure keeps in grief: Therefore, no dancing, girl; some other sport. 1 Lady. Madam, we'll tell tales. Queen. Of sorrow, or of joy?? 1 Lady. Of either, madam. Queen. Of neither, girl;

For if of joy, being altogether wanting,
It doth remember me the more of sorrow;
Or if of grief, being altogether had,

It adds more sorrow to my want of joy;
For what I have I need not to repeat,
And what I want it boots not to complain
1 Lady. Madam, I'll sing.

Queen.

"Tis well, that thou hast cause; But thou should'st please me better, would'st thou

weep.

1 Lady. I could weep, madam,. would it do you

good.

3

Queen. And I could sing, would weeping do me

good,

And never borrow any tear of thee.

But stay, here come the gardeners:

Let's step into the shadow of these trees.
My wretchedness unto a row of pins,
They'll talk of state; for every one doth so
Against a change: We is forerun with woe."
[Queen and Ladies retire.

2 All the old copies read "of sorrow or of grief." Pope made the alteration, and the context fully warrants it.

3 That is, if tears could heal my sorrow, I have already wept so much that I should be able to sing, and so need no tears of thine. All the old copies have sing, which Pope changed to weep, and he change has been generally adopted. The fine logic of the passage was evidently unperceived or unregarded.

H.

The Poet supposes dejection to forerun calamity, and a king