'K. Edw. So other foes may set upon our backs. * Stand we in good array; for they, no doubt, * Will issue out again, and bid us battle: "If not, the city being but of small defence, "We'll quickly rouse the traitors in the same. War. O, welcome, Oxford! for we want thy help. Enter Montague, with drum and colours. Mont. Montague, Montague, for Lancaster! He and his forces enter the city. 'Glo. Thou and thy brother both shall buy this treason Even with the dearest blood your bodies bear. *My mind presageth happy gain, and conquest. Enter Somerset, with drum and colours. [He and his forces enter the city. Enter Clarence, with drum and colours. War. And lo, where George of Clarence sweeps Of force enough to bid his brother battle; calls. Clar. Father of Warwick, know you what this means? [Taking the red rose out of his cap. 'Look here, I throw my infamy at thee: I will not ruinate my father's house, his blood to limel the stones together, Who gave And set up Lancaster. Why, trow'st thou, Warwick, That Clarence is so harsh, so blunt,2 unnatural, Than if thou never hadst deserv'd our hate. like. War. O passing traitor, perjur'd, and unjust! town, and fight? Or shall we beat the stones about thine ears? K. Edw. Yes, Warwick, Edward dares, and leads Lords, to the field; Saint George, and victory! SCENE II-A field of battle near Barnet.— *K. Edw. So, lie thou there: die thou, and *For Warwick was a bug, that fear'ds us all.- That I must yield my body to the earth, Have been as piercing as the mid-day sun, *If thou be there, sweet brother, take my hand, * Thy tears would wash this cold congealed blood, *That glews my lips, and will not let me speak. *Come quickly, Montague, or I am dead. 'Som. Ah, Warwick, Montague hath breath his last; And to the latest cried out for Warwick, gasp, And said-Commend me to my valiant brother. And more he would have said; and more he spoke, Which sounded like a cannon in a vault, That might not be distinguish'd; but, at last, War. [Exeunt, bearing off Warwick's body (3) Eminent, egregious. (4) Bugbear. (5) Terrified. SCENE III-Another part of the field. Flou-||* rish. Enter King Edward in triumph; with Clarence, Gloster, and the rest. 'K. Edw. Thus far our fortune keeps an upward course, And we are grac'd with wreaths of victory. But, in the midst of this bright-shining day, 'I spy a black, suspicious, threat'ning cloud, "That will encounter with our glorious sun, 'Ere he attain his easeful western bed: I mean, my lords,-those powers, that the queen Hath rais'd in Gallia, have arriv'd our coast, And, as we hear, march on to fight with us. *Cla. A little gale will soon disperse that cloud, And blow it to the source from whence it came: *Thy very beams will dry those vapours up; * For every cloud engenders not a storm. *Glo. The queen is valu'd thirty thousand strong, And Somerset, with Oxford, fled to her; If she have time to breathe, be well assur'd, Her faction will be full as strong as ours. K. Edw. We are advertis'd by our loving friends, That they do hold their course toward Tewksbury; "We having now the best at Barnet field, up Will thither straight, for willingness rids way; ⚫ And, as we march, our strength will be augmented In every county as we go along.Strike the drum; cry-Courage! and away. [Exeunt. SCENE IV-Plains near Tewksbury. March. Enter Queen Margaret, Prince Edward, Somerset, Oxford, and Soldiers. *Q. Mar. Great lords, wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss, * But cheerly seek how to redress their harms. What though the mast be now blown over-board, "The cable broke, the holding anchor lost, And half our sailors swallow'd in the flood? * Yet lives our pilot still: Is't meet, that he Should leave the helm, and, like a fearful lad, * With tearful eyes add water to the sea, * And give more strength to that which hath too much; * Whiles, in his moan, the ship splits on the rock, * Which industry and courage might have sav'd? * Ah, what a shame! ah, what a fault were this! Say, Warwick was our anchor; What of that? 'And Montague our top-mast; What of him? Our slaughter'd friends the tackles; What of these? Why, is not Oxford here another anchor? 'And Somerset another goodly mast? The friends of France our shrouds and tacklings? And, though unskilful, why not Ned and I 'For once allow'd the skilful pilot's charge? • We will not from the helm, to sit and weep; * But keep our course, though the rough wind say -no, *From shelves and rocks that threaten us with wreck. *As good to chide the waves, as speak them fair. * And what is Edward, but a ruthless sea? * What Clarence, but a quicksand of deceit? *And Richard, but a ragged fatal rock? * All these the enemies to our poor bark. * Say, you can swim; alas, 'tis but a while: Tread on the sand; why, there you quickly sink: * Bestride the rock; the tide will wash you off, *Or else you farnish, that's a threefold death. * This speak I, lords, to let you understand, * In case some one of you would fly from us, That there's no hop'd-for mercy with the brothers, More than with ruthless waves, with sands, and rocks. Why, courage, then! what cannot be avoided, *Twere childish weakness to lament, or fear. *Prince. Methinks, a woman of this valiant spirit *Should, if a coward heard her speak these words, Infuse his breast with magnanimity, *And make him, naked, foil a man at arms. 'I speak not this, as doubting any here: For, did I but suspect a fearful man, 'He should have leave to go away betimes; Lest, in our need, he might infect another, And make him of like spirit to himself. If any such be here, as God forbid ! 'Orf. Women and children of so high a courage! And warriors faint! why, 'twere perpetual shame.O, brave young prince! thy famous grandfather Doth live again in thee; Long may'st thou live, To bear his image, and renew his glories! Som. And he, that will not fight for such a hope, Go home to bed, and, like the owl by day, If he arise, be mock'd and wonder'd at. *Q. Mar. Thanks, gentle Somerset ;-sweet Oxford, thanks. *Prince. And take his thanks, that yet hath nothing else. Must by the roots be hewn up yet ere night. * I need not add more fuel to your fire, *For, well I wot, ye blaze to burn them out: Give signal to the fight, and to it, lords. Q. Mar. Lords, knights, and gentlemen, what I should say, My tears gainsay 2 for every word I speak, reign, Is prisoner to the foe; his state usurp'd, His realm a slaughter-house, his subjects slain, His statutes cancell'd, and his treasure spent ; And yonder is the wolf, that makes this spoil. You fight in justice: then, in God's name, lords, Be valiant, and give signal to the fight. [Exeunt both armies. SCENE V-Another part of the same. Alar ums: Excursions: and afterwards a Retreat. Then enter King Edward, Clarence, Gloster, and forces; with Queen Margaret, Oxford, and Somerset, prisoners. 'K. Edw. Now, here a period of tumultuous broils. Away with Oxford to Hammes' castle3 straight: (3) A castle in Picardy. For Somerset, off with his guilty head. Go, bear them hence; I will not hear them speak. Oxf. For my part, I'll not trouble thee with words. "Som. Nor I, but stoop with patience to my for tune. [Exeunt Oxí. and Som. guarded. *Q. Mar. So part we sadly in this troublous world,* *To meet with joy in sweet Jerusalem. *K. Edw. Is proclamation made,-that, who' * Shall have a high reward, and he his life? Enter Soldiers with Prince Edward. *K. Edw. Bring forth the gallant, let us hear *What! can so young a thorn begin to prick? :- And men ne'er spend their fury on a child. morse : But, if you ever chance to have a child, K. Edw. Away with her; go, bear her hence Q. Mar. Nay, never bear me hence, despatch me here; Here sheath thy sword, I'll pardon thee my death: Clar. Didst thou not hear me swear, I would Q. Mar. Ah, that thy father had been so resolv'd! Q. Mar. Ay, but thou usest to forswear thyself; Glo. Clarence, excuse me to the king my brother: 'Glo. The Tower, the Tower! [Erit. 'Q. Mar. O, Ned, sweet Ned! speak to thy mother, boy! Canst thou not speak?-O traitors! murderers!They, that stabb'd Cæsar, shed no blood at all, Did not offend, nor were not worthy blame, *If this foul deed were by, to equal it. 'He was a man; this, in respect, a child; (1) The prince calls Richard, for his crookedness, Æsop. (2) i. e. I will compel you to be as silent as if you were deprived of speech by enchantment, What! wilt thou not? where is that devil's butcher, hence. Q. Mar. So come to you, and yours, as to this K. Edw. He's sudden, if a thing comes in his head. Now march we hence: discharge the common sort Glo. Good day, my lord! What, at your book K. Hen. Ay, my good lord: My lord, I should 'Tis sin to flatter, good was little better: *So first the harmless sheep doth yield his fleece, Glo. Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind; The thief doth fear each bush an officer. K. Hen. The bird, that hath been limed in a Scene VII. THIRD PART OF KING HENRY VI. Where my poor young was lim'd, was caught and|| Glo. Why, what a peevish1 fool was that of "That taught his son the office of a fowl? The sun, that sear'd the wings of my sweet boy, * But wherefore dost thou come? is't for my life? Glo. Thy son I kill'd for his presumption. Thou hadst not liv'd to kill a son of mine. And many an orphan's water-standing eye,— The night-crow cried, aboding luckless time; trees; The raven rook'd3 her on the chimney's top, Glo. I'll hear no more;-Die, prophet, in thy For this, amongst the rest, was I ordain'd. O God! forgive my sins, and pardon thee! [Dies. mounted. And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right? And so I was; which plainly signified— 2) No part of what my fears presage. Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it. K. Edw. Once more we sit in England's royal Re-purchas'd with the blood of enemies. That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion, Glo. I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid; Work thou the way, and thou shalt execute. [Aside. K. Edw. Clarence, and Gloster, love my lovely And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both. Glo. And, that I love the tree from whence Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit :- And cried-all hail!-when as he meant -all harm; Aside. K. Edw. Now am I seated as my soul delights, Reignier, her father, to the king of France (3) To rook, signified to squat down or lodge on 2 A And hither have they sent it for her ransom. And now what rests, but that we spend the time The three parts of King Henry VI. are suspected, by Mr. Theobald, of being supposititious, and are declared, by Dr. Warburton, to be certainly not Shakspeare's. Mr. Theobald's suspicion arises from some obsolete words; but the phraseology is like the rest of our author's style, and single words, of which however I do not observe more than two, can conclude little. Dr. Warburton gives no reason, but I suppose him to judge upon deeper principles and more comprehensive views, and to draw his opinion from the general effect and spirit of the composition, which he thinks inferior to the other historical plays. From mere inferiority nothing can be inferred; in the productions of wit there will be inequality. Sometimes judgment will err, and sometimes the matter itself will defeat the artist. Of every author's works one will be the best, and one will be the worst. The colours are not equally pleasing, nor the attitudes equally graceful, in all the pictures of Titian or Reynolds. Dissimilitude of style and heterogeneousness of sentiment, may sufficiently show that a work does not really belong to the reputed author. But in these plays no such marks of spuriousness are found. The diction, the versification, and the figures, are Shakspeare's. These plays, considered without regard to characters and incidents, merely as narratives in verse, are more happily conceived, and more accurately finished, than those of King John, Richard II. or the tragic scenes of King Henry IV. and V. If we take these plays from Shakspeare, to whom shall they be given? What author of that age had the same easiness of expression and fluency of numbers? The truth is, that they have not sufficient variety Of these three plays I think the second the best. of action, for the incidents are too often of the same kind; yet many of the characters are well discriminated. King Henry, and his Queen, King Edward, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earl of Warwick, are very strongly and distinctly painted. JOHNSON. |