Imatges de pàgina
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"The pray'rs of holy faints, and wronged fouls,
Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces.
Richard except, thofe, whom we fight against,
Had rather have us win, than him they follow.
For what is he, they follow truly, gentlemen,
A bloody tyrant, and a homicide:

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One rais'd in blood, and one in blood establish'd;
One, that made means to come by what he hathy
And flaughter'd thofe that were the means to help him.
A bafe foul ftone, made precious by the foil -
Of England's chair, where he is falsely fet:
One, that hath ever been God's enemy;
Then if you fight against God's enemy, n
God will in juftice ward you as his foldiers."
If you do fweat to put a tyrant down, et ? bio) ei
You fleep in peace, the tyrant being flain:
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat fhall pay your pains the hire 201
If you do fight in fafeguard of your wives,
Your wives fhall welcome home the conquerors.
If you do free your children from the fword, wa
Your children's children quit it in your agev
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights, yo
Advance your standards; draw your willing fwords.
For me, the ranfom of my bold attempt

Shall be this cold corps on the earth's cold face :
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The leaft of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly, chearfully,
God, and Saint George! Richmond, and victory!

101

Enter King Richard, Ratcliff and Catesby. K. Rich. What faid Northumberland, as touching RichRat. That he was never trained up in arms. [mond? K, Rich. He faid the truth; and what faid Surrey then? Rat. He smil'd and faid, the better for our purpose. K. Rich. He was i' th' right, and fo, indeed, it is." Tell the clock there-give me a kalendar. [Clock ftrikes. Who faw the fun to day?

Rat. Not I, my Lord.

K. Rich.

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K. Rich. Then he difdains to thine; for, by the book, He fhould have brav'd the east an hour ago A black day it will be to fomebody, Ratclif Rat. My Lord?43 mins23

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K. Rich. The fun will not be feen to-day;21 15dw 10% The fky doth frown and lowre upon our army I would thefe dewy tears were from the ground Not fhine to-day why, what is that to me More than to Richmond? for the felf-fame heav'n That frowns on me, looks fadly upon him. Bond A

Enter Norfolk.

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140

Nor. Arm, arm, my Lord, the foe vaunts in the field. K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle-caparison my horse. Call up Lord Stanley, bid him bring his power

I will lead forth my foldiers to the plain,

And thus my battle fhall be ordered.
My forward fhall be drawn out all in length,.
Confifting equally of horie and foot::
Our archers fhall be placed in the midft;
John Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Eark of Surrey, l nogt
Shall have the leading of the foot and horfes blido m
They thus directed, we ourself will follow-up mất
In the main battle, which on either fide & goy anzuba
Shall be well winged with our chiefeft horfe:
This and St. George to boot!--What think' thou, Norfolk?!
Nor. A good direction, warlike Sovereign.mus
This paper found I on my tent this morning, falsi
[Giving a fcroule,
Jocky of Norfolk, be not fo bold, 12 Reads..
For Dickon thy mafter is bought and fold.
K. Rich. A thing devised by the enemy.
Go, gentlemen; go, each man to his charge.
Let not our babling dreams affright our fouls.
Confcience is but a word that cowards ufe,
Devis'd at first to keep the ftrong in awe.

62

Our ftrong arms be our confcience, fwords is our lawf March on, join bravely, let us to't pell-mell,

If not. to heav'n, then hand in hand to hell.

N. S

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What shall I fay more than I have inferr'd?
Remember, whom you are to cope withal;
A fort of vagabonds, of rafcals, run-aways,
A fcum of Britons, and bafe lackey-peasants,
Whom their o'er-cloyed country vomits forth
To defperate adventures and deftraction. B
You fleping fafe, they bring you to unreft:
You having lands, and bleft with beauteous wives,
They would reftrain the one, diftain the other.
And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow, (26)
Long kept in Bretagne at his mother's coft?
A milk-fop, one that never in his life

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Fe't fo much cold, as over shooes in fnow.sbin. 10
Let's whip thefe ftragglers o'er the feas again, sual
Lash hence thefe over-weening rags of France,
Thefe famish'd beggars, weary of their lives;
Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit,
For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themfelves..
If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us,

And not thote bastard-Britons, whom our fathers
Have in their own land beaten, bobb'd and
thump'd;
And on record left them the heirs of fhame 5
Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives ?
Ravish our daughters ?-hark, I hear their drum.
[Drum afar off.
Fight, gentlemen of England; fight, bold yeomen!

(26) And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow, Long kept in Britaine at our mother's coft?] This is fpoken by Richard,of Henry Earl of Richmond: but they were far from having any commonmother, but England: and the Earl of Richmond was not fubfifted abroad at the nation's publick charge. He fled with the Earl of Pembroke ito Bretagny in King Edward IVth's reign: And many artifices were tried both by that King first, and King Richard afterwards, to get him deliver'd up by the French King and Duke of Bretagny. But he happily efcap'd all the fnares laid for him. During the greatest part of his refidence abroad, he was watch'd and restrain'd almost like a captive and fubfifted by supplies convey'd from the Counte's of Richmond, his mother. It feems probable therefore, that we must

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Long kept in Bretagne at his mother's coft.bi

I publish'd this conjecture in the appendix to my SHAKESPEARE reftored; and Mr. Pope has thought fit to adopt it in his laft edition of Draw,

our poet.

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Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head
Spur your proud horfes hard, and ride in blood:
Amaze the welkin with your broken ftaves!

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Enter a Meffenger. .9'0 151 1

What fays Lord Stanley, will he bring his power Bo
Mef. My Lord, he doth deny to come.rtas
K. Rich. Off with his fon George's head.

Nor. My Lord, the enemy is paft the marsh;
After the battle let George Stanley die.

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K. Rich. A thousand hearts are great within my bofom. Advance our standards, fet upon our foes;

Our ancient word of courage, fair St. George,
Infpire us with the spleen of fiery dragons.
Upon them! victory fits on our helms.

Alarum. Excurfions. Enter Catesby.

[Exeunt

Cates. Refcue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue: The King enacts more wonders than a man, Daring an oppofite to every danger! His horfe is flain, and all on foot he fights, Seeking for Richmond, in the throat of death. Refcue, fair Lord, or else the day is loft.

Alarum. Enter King Richard.

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K. Rich. A horfe! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!
Catef. Withdraw, my Lord, I'll help you to a horic.
K. Rich. Slave, I have fet my life
upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the dye:
Ethink, there be fix Richmonds in the field
Five have I flain to day instead of him.

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

Richm. God and your arms be prais'd, victorious trends, The day is ours! the bloody dog is dead.

Stan.

Stan. Couragious Richmond, well haft thou acquit thee Lo, here thefe long-ufurped royalties,

From the dead temples of this bloody wretch,
Have I pluckt off, to grace thy brows withal.
Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.

Richm. Great God of heaven, fay, Amen, to all!
But tell me firft, is young George Stanley living?
Stan. He is, my Lord, and fafe in Leicester town;
Whither, if you fo please, we may withdraw us.
Richm. What men of name are flain on either fide?
Stan. John Duke of Norfolk, Walter the Lord Ferris,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, Sir William Brandon.

Richm. Interr their bodies as becomes their births. Proclaim a pardon to the foldiers fled,

'That in fubmiffion will return to us.

And then, as we have ta'en the facrament,
We will unite the white rofe and the red.
Smile heav'n 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 fearr'd herself;
The brother blindly fhed the brother's blood,
The father rafhly slaughter'd his own fon,
The fons, compell'd, been butchers to the fire:
All this divided York and Lancaster,.
Divided in their dire divifion.

O now let Richmond and Elizabeth,

The true fucceeders of each royal houfe,
By God's fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let their heirs (God, if thy will be fo)
Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd peace,
With smiling 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 encrease,
That would with treafon wound this fair land's peace.
Now civil wounds are ftopp'd, peace lives agen:
That he may long live here, God fay, Amen! [Exeunt.

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