1

Gates. Withdraw, my Lord, I'll help you to a horse.
K. Rich. Slave, I have fet my life upon a caft,
And I will stand the hazard of the dye :

I think there be fix Richmonds in the field;
Five have I ftain to-day instead of him.

A horse! a horfe! my kingdom for a horse! [Exeunt.

Alarums. Enter King Richard and Richmond; they fight, Richard is flain.

Retreat and flourish. Enter Richmond, Stanley, bearing the crown, with divers other Lords.

[thee;

Rich. God and your arms be prais'd, victorious The day is ours! the bloody dog is dead. [friends, Stan. Couragious Richmond, well haft thou acquit Lo, here thefe long-ufurped royalties, From the dead temples of this bloody wretch, Have I pluck'd off, to grace thy brows withal. Wear it, enjoy it, and make use of it.

Rich. Great God of heaven, fay Amen to all! But tell me first, is young George Stanley living? Stan. He is, my Lord, and fafe in Leicester town; Whither, if you so please, we may withdraw us.

Rich. What men of name are flain on either fide? Stan. John Duke of Norfolk, Walter the Lord Ferris, Sir Robert Brakenbury, Sir William Brandon.

Rich. Inter their bodies as becomes their births. Proclaim a pardon to the foldiers fled,

That in fubmiflion will return to us.

And then, as we have ta'en the facrament,
We will unite the white rofe and the red.
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long bath frown'd upon their enmity!
What traitor hears me, and fays not, Amen?
England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself;
The brother blindly fhed the brother's blood,
The father rafhly daughter'd his own fon,
The fons compell'd been butchers to the fire;

butchers to the fire:

All this divided York and Lancafier,

Divided in their dire divifion.

O now let, &c.

O now let Richmond and Elifabeth,

The true succeeders of each royal house,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let theirs (God, if thy will be fo)

Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd Peace,
With fmiling Plenty, and fair profp'rous days,
Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord!
That would reduce thefe bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in ftreams of blood.
Let them not live to taste this land's increase,
That would with treafon wound this fair land's peace,
Now civil wounds are ftopp'd, Peace lives again:

That he may long live here, God fay, Amen?

[Exeune.

The

The Life of HENRY VIII.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

The SCENE lies mostly in London and Westminster; once at Kim bolton.

PROL LOGUE.

Come no more to make you laugh; things now
That bear a weighty and a ferious brow,

Sal, high, and working, full of tite and woes
Such noble fcenes as draw the eye to flow,

We shall prefent. Thofe that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear;
The fubject will deferve it. Such as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Thofe that come to fee
Only a fhow or two, (and fo agree,

The play may pafs), if they be fill and willing
I'll undertake, may fee away their fhilling
Richly in two fhort hours. Only they
That come to hear a merry bawdy play;
A noife of targets; or to fee a fellow
In a long motely coat, guarded with yellow;
Will be deceiv'd: for, gentle hearers, know,
To rank our chofen truth with fuch a show
As fool and fight is, (befides forfeiting
Our own brains, and th' opinion that we bring
To make that only true we now intend),
Will leave us ne'er an understanding friend.
Therefore, for goodness fake, as you are known:
The firft and happiest hearers of the town,
Be fad, as we would make ye. Think ye fee
The very perfons of our noble ftory,

As they were living: think you fee them great,
And follow'd with the gen'ral throng, and feat.
Of thousand friends; then, in a moment, jee
How foon this mightiness meets mifery!
And, if you can be merry then, I'll fay,;
A man may weep upon his wedding day.

ACTI. SCENE F

· An antichamber in the palace.

Enter the Duke of Norfolk, at one door; at the other, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Lord Abergavenny.

Buck.

G

OOD morrow, and well met. How have

you done

Since laft we faw y'in France?

Nor. I thank your Grace:

L

Healthful, and ever fince a freth admirer
Of what I faw there.

Buck. An untimely ague

Stay'd me a prifoner in my chamber, when
Thofe funs of glory, thofe two lights of men,.

Met in the vale of Arde:

Nor. 'Twixt Guynes and Arde:

I was then prefent, faw 'em falute on horfeback,
Beheld them when they lighted, how they clung
In their embracement, as they grew together;

Which had they, what four thron'd ones could have Such a compounded one?

Buck. All the whole time

I was my chamber's prifoner.
Nor. Then you loft

[weigh.d

The view of earthly glory. Men might fay
Till this time Pomp was fingle, but now marry'd
To one above itfelf. Each following day
Became the next day's matter, till the latt
Made former wonders, its To-day the French,.
All clinquant, all in gold, like Heathen gods,
Shone down the English; and to-morrow they.
Made Britain India: every man that stood,
Shew'd like a mine. Their dwarfifh pages were
As cherubins, all gilt; the Madams too,
Not us'd to toil, did almoít fweat to bear
The pride upon them; that their very labour
Was to them as a painting Now this mask
Was cry'd incomparable; and th'enfuing night
Made it a fool and beggar. The two Kings,
Equal in luftre, were now beft, now worst,
As prefence did prefent them; him in eye,
Still him in praite; and being present both,
'Twas faid they faw but one; and no difcerner
Durit wag his tongue in cenfure. *. When these funs
(For lo they phrate 'em) by their heralds challeng'd
'I he noble ipirits to arms, they did perform
Beyond thought's compals; that old fabulous story
(Being now feen poffible enough) got credit;
That Bevis + was believ'd.

Cenfure, for determination, of which had the nobleft appearance. †The old romantic legend of Bevis. of Southampton, Mr Pope.