Be executed in his father's fight.

Farewel; the leifure, and the fearful time
Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love,
And ample enterchange of fweet discourse,
Which fo-long-fundred friends fhould dwell upon.
God give us leifure for these rites of love!
Once more, adieus be valiant, and fpeed well.
Richm. Good Lords, conduct him to his regiment:
I'll ftrive, with troubled thoughts, to take a nap;
Left leaden flumber poize me down to-morrow,
When I fhould mount with wings of victory:
Once more, good night, kind Lords, and gentlemen.
[Exeunt. Manet Richmond.
O thou! whofe Captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye:
Put in their hands thy bruifing irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with a heavy fall
Th' ufurping helmets of our adversaries.
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in thy victory.
To thee I do commend my watchful foul,
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:
Sleeping and waking, oh, defend ne ftill!

[Sleeps

SCENE, between the Tents of Richard and Richmond: They fleeping.

Enter the Ghost of Prince Edward, Son to Henry the Sixth.

Ghost. LET me fit heavy on thy foul to-morrow!

[To K, Rich. Think, how thou ftab'd'ft me in the prime of youth At Tewksbury; therefore defpair and die.

Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged fouls
[To Richm

Of butcher'd Princes fight in thy behalf:
King Henry's iffue, Richmond comforts thee.

Enter the Ghoft of Henry the Sixth.
Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed body

[To K. Rich.

By thee was punched full of deadly holes;
Think on the Tower, and me; defpair, and die.
Henry the fixth bids thee defpair, and die.

t

T

Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror: [To Richm. Harry, that prophefy'd thou should'st be King, Doth comfort thee in fleep; live thou and flourish. Enter the Ghost of Clarence.

Ghoft. Let me fit heavy on thy foul to-morrow!

[To K. Rich.

I, that was wash'd to death in fulfom wine,
Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray'd to death;
To-morrow in the battle think on me,
And fall thy edgelefs fword; despair and die.

T

Thou off-fpring of the houfe of Lancaster, [To Richm. The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee; Good angels guard thy battle! live, and flourish.

Enter the Ghofts of Rivers, Gray, and Vaughan. Riv. Let me fit heavy on thy foul to-morrow!

[To K. Rich. Rivers, that dy'd at Pomfret: defpair, and die. Gray. Think upon Gray, and let thy foul despair. [To K. Rich. Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan, and with guilty fear Let fall thy launce! Richard, defpair and die. 2009 5 ei ede

[To K. Rich. All. Awake! and think, our wrongs in Richard's bofom Will conquer him. Awake, and win the day. [To Richm. Enter the Ghost-of Lord Haftings.

Ghost. Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake; [To K. Rich. And in a bloody battle end thy days:

Think on Lord Haftings; and defpair and die.

Quiet, untroubled foul, awake, awake! [To Richm. Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's fake.

、

Enter

Enter the Ghosts of the two young Princes. Ghosts. Dream on thy coufins finother'd in the Tower: Let us be lead within thy bofom, Richard, (24)

[To K. Rich, And weigh thee down to ruin, fhame, and death! Thy nephews fouls bid thee defpair and die, Sleep, Richmond, fleep in peace; and wake in joy."

[To Richm.

Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy!
Live, and beget a happy race of Kings

Edward's unhappy fons do bid thee flourish.

Enter the Ghoft of Anne, his wife.

Ghoft. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy wife,

That never flept a quiet hour with thee, [To K. Rich. Now fills thy fleep with perturbations:

To-morrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgelefs fword: defpair and die.

Thou, quiet foul, fleep thou a quiet sleep: [To Richm. Dream of fuccefs and happy victory,

Thy adverfary's wife doth pray for thee.

Enter the Ghoft of Buckingham.

[To K. Rich.

Ghost. The first was I, that help'd thee to the crown:
The laft was I, that felt thy tyranny.
O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltinefs.

Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death;
Fainting, defpair; despairing, yield thy breath.

(24) Let us be laid within thy bofom, Richard,] This is a poor feeble reading, which has obtain'd by corruption, ever fince the first edition put out by the players: and, indeed, up as high as the quarto in 1602. But I have reftor'd from the elder quarto, publish'd in 1597, which Mr. Pope does not pretend to have feen;

Let us be lead within thy bojom, Richard,

This correfponds with what is faid in the line immediately following, And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!

And likewife with what the generality of the ghosts say threateningly to Richard;

Let me fit heavy on thy foul to-morrow!

N 3

I

I dy'd for holpe, ere I could lend thee aid; (25)

[To Richm

But cheer thy heart, and be thou not difmay'd-
God and good angels fight on Richmond's fide,
And Richard fall in height of all his pride.

The Ghosts vanifs.

[K. Richard farts out of his dream. K. Rich. Give me another horfebind up my wounds. Have mercy, Jefu-foft, I did but dream.

O coward confcience! how doft thou afflict me ?
The lights burn blue-is it not dead midnight?
Cold fearful drops ftand on my trembling flefh.
What do I fear my felf? there's none else by
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murd'rer here? no; yes, Fam
Then fly-what, from myself? great reafon; why ?
Left I revenge. What? myfelf on myself?

I love myfelf. Wherefore? for any good,,
That I myself have done unto myfelfi
Alas, I rather hate myself,

O, no.

For hateful deeds committed by myself,

I am a villain; yet I lye, I am not.

Fool, of thyfelf fpeak well-Fool, do not flatter.
My confcience hath a thousand fev'ral tongues,,
And ev'ry tongue brings in a fev'ral tale,
And ev'ry tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury in high'ft degree,

Murder, ftern murder in the dir'ft degree,
All feveral fins, all us'd in each degree,
Throng to the bar, all crying, guilty, guilty!
I fhall defpair: there is no creature loves me:
And if I die, no foul fhall pity me.

Nay, wherefore fhould they? fince that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

(25) I dy'd for hope, ere I could lend thee aid,] All the editions concur in this reading, to the abfolute detriment of the fenfe. I refore, with the addition of a single letter;

Idy'd for holpe, ere I could lend thee aid;

i. e. I perish'd for that help, which I had intended and was preparing to lend thee; tho' I could not effentially give thee any affiftance.

Methought

Methought, the foals of all that I had murder'd
Came to my tent, and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richardı
Enter Ratcliff.

Rat. My Lord,

K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my Lord.

The early village cock

Hath twice done falutation to the morn;

-Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.
K. Rich. Ratcliff, I fear, I fear-

Rat. Nay, good my Lord, be not afraid of fhadows.
K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, fhadows to-night
Have ftruck more terror to the foul of Richard,
Than can the fubftance of ten thousand foldiers
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 fhrink from me.

[Exeunt K. Richard and Ratcliff.

Enter the Lords to Richmond, fitting in his Tent.
Lords. Good-morrow, Richmond.

Richm, 'Cry mercy, Lords and watchful gentlemen, That you have ta'en a tardy fluggard here.

Lords. How have you flept, my Lord ?

Richm. The fweetcft fleep and faireft-boding dreams, That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,

Have I fince your departure had, my Lords,

Methought, their fouls, whose bodies Richard murder'd,
Came to my tent, and cried on victory.
I promise you, my heart is very jocund,
In the remembrance of fo fair a dream,
How far into the morning, is it, Lords?
Lords. Upon the ftroak of four.

Richm. Why, then 'tis time to arm and give direction. More than I have faid, loving countrymen, ni maonor The leifure and enforcement of the time

Forbids to dwell on; yet remember this,
God and our good caufe fight upon our fide,