For never yet one hour in his bed
Did I enjoy the golden dew of fleep,

5 But with his timorous dreams was ftill awak'd.
Befide, he hates me for my father Warwick;
And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.

Queen. Poor heart, adieu; I pity thy complaining. Anne. No more than with my foul I mourn for yours.

Dor. Farewell, thou woful welcomer of glory! Anne. Adieu, poor foul, that tak'ft thy leave of it! Dutch. Go thou to Richmond; and good fortune guide thee ! [To Dorfet.

Go thou to Richard; and good angels tend thee!

[To Anne. Go thou to fanctuary; and good thoughts poffefs thee! [To the Queen. I to my grave, where peace and reft lie with me! Eighty odd years of forrow have I feen,

And each hour's joy wreck'd with a week of teen.*
Queen. Stay yet; look back, with me, unto the
Tower.-

Pity, you ancient ftones, thofe tender babes,
Whom envy hath immur'd within your walls!
Rough cradle for fuch little pretty ones!

• Rude ragged nurfe! old fullen play fellow
For tender princes, ufe my babies well!

So foolish forrow bids your ftones farewell." [Exeunt.

5 But with his timerous dreams

-] 'Tis recorded by Polydore Virgil, that Richard was frequently disturbed by terrible dreams: this is therefore no fiction. JOHNSON.

-of teen.] Teen is forrow. So in Romeo and Juliet,

"And yet to my teen be it spoken, &c." STEEVENS. • Rude ragged nurfe! old fullen play-fellow,] To call the Tower nurfe and playfellow is very harfh: perhaps part of this speech is addreffed to the Tower, and part to the lieutenant. JOHNSON.

7 So foolish jorrow bids your flones farewell.] Hither the third act fhould be extended, and here it very properly ends with a pause of action. JOHNSON.

SCENE

SCENE II.

Changes to the court.

Flourish of trumpets. Enter Richard as King, Bucking bam, Catefby, a Page, and others.

K. Rich. Stand all apart.-Coufin of Buckingham,
Buck. My gracious fovereign !

K. Rich. Give me thy hand. Thus high, by thy advice,
And thy affistance, is king Richard seated.-
But fhall we wear thefe glories for a day?
Or fhall they laft, and we rejoice in them?

Buck. Still live they, and for ever let them laft!

8

K. Rich. Ah, Buckingham, now do I play the touch, To try if thou be current gold, indeed :Young Edward lives;-Think now, what I would speak.

Buck. Say on, my loving lord.

K. Rich. Why, Buckingham, I fay, I would be king. Buck. Why, fo you are, my thrice-renowned liege. K. Rich. Ha! am I king? 'tis fo :-but Edward

lives.

Buck. True, noble prince.

K. Rich. O bitter confequence!

That Edward ftill fhould live-true, noble prince!-
Coufin, thou wert not wont to be fo dull:-
-Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead;
And I would have it fuddenly perform'd.

What fay'st thou now? fpeak fuddenly, be brief.

* Ah! Buckingham, now do I play the touch,] The technical term is requifite here. The poet wrote,

-now do I 'ply the touch,

i. e. apply the touchfone: for that is meant by what he calls touch. So, again, in Timon of Athens, fpeaking of gold, he says,

-O, thou touch of hearts!
WARBURTON.

i. e. thou trial, touchstone.

To play the touch, is to reprefent the touchflone. No emendation

is neceffary. STEEVENS.

Buck.

Buck. Your grace may do your pleasure.

K. Rich. Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezes :

Say, have I thy confent, that they fhall die?

Buck. Give me fome breath, fome little paufe, dear lord,

Before I pofitively speak in this:

I will refolve your grace immediately.

9

[Exit Buckingham: Catef. The king is angry; fee, he gnaws his lip. K. Rich. I will converfe with iron-witted fools, And unrespective boys; none are for me, That look into me with confiderate eyes. High-reaching Buckingham grows circumfpect.Boy,

Page. My lord.

K. Rich. Know'st thou not any, whom corrupting gold

Would tempt unto a clofe exploit of death?
Page. I know a difcontented gentleman,

Whofe humble means match not his haughty mind:
Gold were as good as twenty orators,

And will, no doubt, tempt him to any thing.

K. Rich. What is his name?

Page. His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.

K. Rich. I partly know the man; go call him hi

ther, boy.

-The deep-revolving witty Buckingham

[Exit Boy:

No more fhall be the neighbour to my counfels:
Hath he so long held out with me untir'd,
And stops he now for breath ?-well, be it fo.-
Enter Stanley.

How now, lord Stanley? what's the news?

9 And unrefpe&ive boys; taking no notice, inconfiderate. STEEVENS. —close exploit—] is fecret act. JOHNSON.

VOL. VII.

•] Unrefpe&ive is inattentive,

Stanl

H

Stanl. Know, my loving lord,

The marquis Dorfet, as I hear, is fled

To Richmond, in the parts where he abides.
K. Rich. Come hither, Catefby: rumour it abroad,
That Anne my wife is very grievous fick ;
I will take order for her keeping close.
Inquire me out fome mean-born gentleman,
Whom I will marry strait to Clarence' daughter :-
The boy is foolish, and I fear not him.—
Look, how thou dream'ft!-I fay again, give out,
That Anne my queen is fick, and like to die.
About it; for it ftands me much upon

To stop all hopes, whofe growth may damage me.-
[Exit Catefby.
I must be married to my brother's daughter,
Or elfe my kingdom ftands on brittle glafs :-
Murder her brothers, and then marry her!
Uncertain way of gain! But I am in

2

So far in blood, that fin will pluck on fin.

Enter Tyrrel.

Tear falling pity dwells not in this eye.

Is thy name Tyrrel?

Tyr. James Tyrrel, and your moft obedient fubject.
K. Rich. Art thou, indeed?

Tyr. Prove me, my gracious lord.

K. Rich. Dar'it thou refolve to kill a friend of

mine?

Tyr. Please you; but I had rather kill two enemies.

So far in blood, that fin will pluck on fin.]

The fame reflections occur in Macbeth,

Again,

-I am in blood

Step'd in fo far, that should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious, &c.

Things bad begun make ftrong themselves by ill. STEEV.

K. Rich,

K. Rich. Why, then thou haft it: two deep enemies, Foes to my reft, and my sweet sleep's disturbers, Are they, that I would have thee deal upon : Tyrrel, I mean those bastards in the Tower. Tyr. Let me have open means to come to them, And foon I'll rid you from the fear of them. K. Rich. Thou fing'ft fweet mufick. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel-————

Go, by this token :-Rife, and lend thine ear

There is no more but fo :-Say, it is done,
And I will love thee and prefer thee for it.
Tyr. I will dispatch it strait.

Re-enter Buckingham.

[Whispers.

Buck. My lord, I have confider'd in my mind That late demand that you did found me in.

K. Rich. Well, let that reft.

Richmond.

Buck. I hear the news, my lord.

[Exit.

Dorfet is fled to

-Well,

K. Rich. Stanley, he is your wife's fon :

look to it.

Buck. My lord, I claim the gift, my due by promife, For which your honour, and your faith is pawn'd; The earldom of Hereford, and the moveables, Which you have promised I fhall poffefs.

K. Rich. Stanley, look to your wife; if the convey Letters to Richmond, you fhall answer it.

Buck. What fays your highnefs to my juft request? K. Rich. I do remember me,-Henry the fixth Did prophefy, that Richmond should be king, When Richmond was a little peevish boy. A king! perhaps

3A king! perhaps] From hence to the words, Thou troubleft me, I am not in the vein-have been left out ever fince the first editions, but I like them well enough to replace them. PoPE.

The allufions to the plays of Henry VI. are no weak proofs of the authenticity of thefe difputed pieces. JOHNSON.

H 2

Buck.