Re-enter Page, with TYRREL..

Is thy name Tyrrel?

Tyr. James Tyrrel, and your most obedient subject.

Rich. Art thou, indeed?

Tyr.

Prove me, my gracious lord. Rich. Dar'st thou resolve to kill a friend of mine? Tyr. Please you; but I had rather kill two ene

mies.

Rich. Why, then thou hast it: two deep enemies, Foes to my rest, 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 soon I'll rid you from the fear of them.

Rich. Thou sing'st sweet music. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel:

Go, by this token. — Rise, and lend thine ear.

[Whispers.

There is no more but so: Say, it is done,
And I will love thee, and prefer thee for it.
Tyr. I will despatch it straight.'

[Exit.

7 This intimacy of Richard and Tyrrel has the following basis m More's History: "Forasmuch as his mind gave him, that, his nephues living, men would not reckon that he could have right to the realme, he thought therefore without delaie to rid them. Whereupon he sent one John Greene unto sir Robert Brakenburie. constable of the Tower, with a letter, that sir Robert should in anie wise put the two children to death. This John Greene did his errand unto Brakenburie, who plainlie answered, that he would never put them to death, to die therefore. With which answer John Greene returning, recounted the same to king Richard. Wherewith he tooke such displeasure, that the same night he said unto a secret page of his, Ah! whom shall a man trust? Those that I had weent would most surelie serve me, even those faile Sir, quoth his page, there lieth one on your pallet without, that I dare well saie, to do your grace pleasure, the thing were righ' hard that he would refuse. Meaning sir James Tirrell, which

me.

Re-enter BUCKINGHAM.

Buck. My lord, I have consider'd in my mind The late demand that you did sound me in.

Rich. Well, let that rest. Dorset is fled to Richmond.

Buck. I hear the news, my lord.

Rich. Stanley, he's your wife's son:- Well, look unto it.

Buck. My lord, I claim the gift, my due by prom

ise,

For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd; The earldom of Hereford, and the moveables, Which you have promised I shall possess.

Rich. Stanley, look to your wife: if she convey Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it.

Buck. What says your highness to my just re-
quest?

Rich. I do remember me,- Henry the Sixth
Did prophesy that Richmond should be king,
When Richmond was a little peevish boy.
A king!-perhaps !

was a man of right goodlie personage, and for natures gifts worthie to have served a much better prince, if he had well served God. The man had an high heart, and sore longed upward, not rising yet so fast as he had hoped, being hindered and kept under by sir Richard Ratcliffe and sir William Catesbie. Upon this pages words, king Richard arose (for this communication had he sitting at the draught, a convenient carpet for such a councell) and came out into the pallet chamber, on which he found in bed sir James and sir Thomas Tirrell. Then said the king merilie to them,What, sirs, be ye in bed so soone? And calling up sir James, brake to him secretlie his mind in this mischeevous matter. In which he found him nothing strange. Wherefore on the morrow he sent him to Brakenburie with a letter, by which he was commanded to deliver sir James all the keies of the Tower for one night, to the end he might there accomplish the kings pleasure.'

H.

Ruck. My lord,” —

Rich. How chance, the prophet could not at that

time

1

Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him?
Buck. My lord, your promise for the earldom,
Rich. Richmond! When last I was at Exeter,
'The mayor in courtesy show'd me the castle,
And call'd it Rouge-mont: at which name, I started;
Because a bard of Ireland told me once,

I should not live long after I saw Richmond
Buck. My lord,-

Rich. Ay, what's o'clock?

Buck. I am thus bold to put your grace in mind

Of what you promis'd me.

Rich. Well, but what's o'clock?
Buck. Upon the stroke of ten.

All, from this line down to Richard's last speech before his exit, is wanting in the folio. All the quartos, however, contain it. Why a passage so characteristic of Richard, and so fine in itself, should have been left out of the folio, is not easy to conceive.

H.

9 Hooker, a writer of Elizabeth's time, mentions this as "a very ancient castle, named Rugemont, that is, Red Hill, taking the name of the red soil or earth whereupon it is situated." Shakespeare, doubtless, worked upon the following passage in Holinshed: During his abode here he went about the citie and at length he came to the castell; and when he understood that it was called Rugemont, suddenlie he fell into a dumpe, and said,- Well, I see my daies be not long. He spake this of a prophesie told him, that when he came once to Richmond, he should not long live after." How much the fact, or rather, perhaps, the fancy, was thought of, may be inferred from what Fuller says of it in his account of Exeter: "There is in this city a castle, whitherto King Richard the usurper repaired. He demanded of the inhabitants how they called their castle; who returned the name thereof was Rugemont. Hereat the usurper was much abashed, having been informed by wizards that he should never prosper after he had met a thing called Rugemont. It seems Satan either spoke this oracle low or lisping, desirous to palliate his fallacy and ignorance; or that King Richard mistook the word, seeing not Rugemont but Richmond proved so formidable to this usurper."

H.

Rich. Well, let it strike.

Buck. Why, let it strike?

Rich. Because that, like a Jack,10 thou keep'st the stroke

Betwixt thy begging and my meditation.

I am not in the giving vein to-day.

Buck. Why, then resolve me whether you will,

or no..

Rich. Thou troublest me: I am not in the vein. [Exeunt King RICHARD and Train. Buck. And is it thus? repays he my deep service With such contempt? made I him king for this? O! let me think on Hastings, and be gone To Brecknock," while my fearful head is on. [Exit

10 This alludes to the Jack of the clock, which was a figure made in old clocks to strike the bell on the outside. Richard compares Buckingham to one of the automatons, and bids him not to suspend the stroke on the clock bell, but strike, that the noise may be past, and himself at liberty to pursue his meditations. The following passage from Cotgrave will further eluci date its meaning: "A jacke of the clocke-house; a little busiebodie, medler, jack-stickler; one that has an oare in every man's boat, or his hand in every man's dish." See, also, King Richard II., Act v. sc. 5, note 5.

11 Brecknock was the name of Buckingham's castle in Wales. -There has been much question as to the cause of the breach between Richard and his unscrupulous factor. Lingard says,"What, in the course of a few weeks, could have changed Buckingham from a zealous friend into a determined enemy to the new king, it is in vain to conjecture." The Poet, however, followed the Chronicles, which recount at much length certain conversations as held between the duke and Bishop Morton, wherein the former assigns the cause of his change in this wise: "When he was once crowned king, he cast awaie his old conditions, as the adder dotn hir skin, verifieng the old proverb, Honours change manners For when I myself sued unto him for my part of the earle of Herefords lands, which his brother king Edward wrongfullie withheld from me; in this my first sute showing his good mind toward me, he did not onelie first delaie me, and afterward denaie me, but gave me such unkind words, with such tawnts and retawnts, yea in manner checke and checkemate to the uttermost proofe of my patience, as though I had never furthered him, but hindered him.

SCENE III. The same.

Enter TYRREL.

Tyr. The tyrannous and bloody act is done; The most arch deed of piteous massacre, That ever yet this land was guilty of. Dighton and Forrest, whom I did suborn To do this ruthless piece of butchery,' Albeit they were flesh'd villains, bloody dogs, Melting with tenderness and mild compassion, Wept like to children, in their death's sad story. "O! thus," quoth Dighton, "lay the gentle babes,"— "Thus, thus," quoth Forrest, "girdling one another Within their alabaster innocent arms:

Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,

Which in their summer beauty kiss'd each other.
A book of prayers on their pillow lay;

Which once," quoth Forrest, "almost chang'd my mind:

But, O! the devil"-there the villain stopp'd;
When Dighton thus told on,– "we smothered
The most replenished sweet work of nature,
That, from the prime creation, e'er she fram'd.".
Hence both are gone with conscience and remorse:

Yet all these ingratitudes 1 bare closelie and suffered patientlic, outwardlie dissembling what I inwardlie thought. But when I was crediblie informed of the death of the two yoong innocents, to the which, God be my judge, I never agreed; O Lord! how my veines panted, how my bodie trembled, and how my heart inwardlie grudged! insomuch that I so abhorred the sight of him, that I could no longer abide in his court, except I should be openlie revenged. And so I feined a cause to depart, and with a merrie countenance and a despitefull heart I tooke my leave humblie of him, and so returned to Brecknocke."

H.

So the quartos; the folio," this piece of ruthful butchery.” The Por sometimes uses ruthful for ruthless.

H