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I'll draw the form and model of our battle,
Limit 4) each leader to his several charge,
And part in just proportion our small power.
My lord of Oxford, you, sir William Brandon,
And you, sir Walter Herbert, stay with me:
The earl of Pembroke keeps his regiment; — 5)
Good captain Blunt, bear my good night to him,
And by the second hour in the morning
Desire the earl to see me in my tent:
Yet one thing more, good captain, do for me;
Where is lord Stanley quarter'd, do you know?
Blunt. Unless I have mista'en his colours much,
(Which, well I am assur'd, I have not done,)
His regiment lies half a mile at least
South from the mighty power of the king.
Richm. If without peril it be possible,

Sweet Blunt, make some good means ) to speak with him,

And give him from me this most needful note.
Blunt. Upon my life, my lord, I'll undertake it;
And so, God give you quiet rest to-night!
Richm. Good night, good captain Blunt.
gentlemen,

Let us consult upon to-morrow's business;
In to my tent, the air is raw and cold.

Come,

[They withdraw into the Tent.

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Give me a watch:-) ||
[TO CATESBY.
Saddle white Surrey for the field to-morrow.
Look that my staves ) be sound, and not too heavy.
Ratcliff,
Rat.

My lord?

K. Rich. Saw'st thou the melancholy lord Northumberland? 10)

Rat. Thomas the earl of Surrey, and himself, Much about cock-shut time, 11) from troop to troop, Went through the army, cheering up the soldiers. K. Rich. I am satisfied. 12) Give me a bowl of wine:

I have not that alacrity of spirit,

Nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have.
So, set it down.13) Is ink and paper ready?
Rat. It is, my lord.

RICHMOND's Tent opens, and discovers him and his Officers, &c.

Enter STANLEY.

Stan. Fortune and victory sit on thy helm! Richm. All comfort that the dark night can afford, Be to thy person, noble father-in-law! Tell me, how fares our loving mother?

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Stan. I, by attorney, 15) bless thee from thy mother, Who prays continually for Richmond's good: So much for that. The silent hours steal on, And flaky darkness breaks within the east. In brief, for so the season bids us be, Prepare thy battle early in the morning; And put thy fortune to the arbitrement Of bloody strokes, and mortal-staring war. 16) I, as I may, (that which I would, I cannot,) With best advantage will deceive the time, 17) And aid thee in this doubtful shock of arms: But on thy side I may not be too forward, Lest, being seen, thy brother tender George Be executed in his father's sight. Farewell: The leisure and the fearful time Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love, And ample interchange of sweet discourse, Which so long sunder'd friends should dwell upon; God give us leisure for these rites of love! Once more, adieu: Be valiant, and speed well! Richm. Good lords, conduct him to his regiment: I'll strive, with troubled thoughts, to take a nap; Lest leaden slumber peise me down to-morrow, 18) When I should mount with wings of victory: Once more, good night, kind lords and gentlemen. [Exeunt Lords, &c. with STANLEY. O Thou! whose captain I account myself, Look on my forces with a gracious eye; Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath, That they may crush down with a heavy fall The usurping 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 soul, Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes; Sleeping, and waking, O, defend me still! The Ghost of Prince EDWARD, Son to HENRY the Sixth, rises between the two Tents. Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow! [To King RICHARD. Think, how thou stab'dst me in my prime of youth At Tewksbury; Despair therefore, and die! Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged souls Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf: King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.

[Sleeps.

The Ghost of King HENRY the Sixth rises.
Ghost. When I was mortal, my anointed body
[To King RICHARD.

By thee was punched full of deadly holes:
Think on the Tower, and me; Despair, and die;
Harry the sixth bids thee despair and die.
Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror!

[TO RICHMOND. Harry, that prophecy'd thou should'st be king, 1o) Doth comfort thee in thy sleep; Live, and flourish!

The Ghost of CLARENCE rises.
Ghost. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow!
[To King RICHARD.
I, that was wash'd to death with fulsome wine,
Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray'd to death!
Exeunt To-morrow in the battle think on me,

K. Rich. Bid my guard watch; 14) leave me. About the mid of night, come to my tent, And help to arm me. Leave me, I say. [King RICHARD retires into his Tent. RATCLIFF and CATESBY.

And fall thy edgeless sword; 20) Despair, and die!

Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster,
[To RICHMOND.
The wronged heirs of York do pray for thee;
Good angels guard thy battle! Live, and flourish!

The Ghosts of RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN, rise.
Riv. Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow!
[To King RICHARD.
Rivers, that died at Pomfret! Despair, and die!
Grey. Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair!
[To King RICHARD.
Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan; and with guilty fear,
Let fall thy lance! Despair, and die!
[To King RICHARD.
All. Awake! and think, our wrongs in Richard's
[TO RICHMOND.
awake, and win the day!

bosom

Will conquer him;

The Ghost of HASTINGS rises.
Ghost. Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake,

[To King RICHARD.
And in a bloody battle end thy days!
Think on lord Hastings; and despair, and die!
Quiet untroubled soul, awake, awake!
[TO RICHMOND.
Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England's sake!
The Ghosts of the two young Princes rise.
Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smother'd in the
Tower,

Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard,
And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!
Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair, and die.

Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy;
Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy!
Live, and beget a happy race of kings!
Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

The Ghost of Queen ANNE rises.

What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No; Yes; I am:
Then fly,- What, from myself? Great reason: Why?
Lest I revenge. What? Myself on myself?
I love myself. 23) Wherefore? for any good,
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no: alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain: Yet I lie, I am not.

Fool, of thyself speak well:

Fool, do not flatter.
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high'st degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the dir'st degree;
All several sins, all us'd in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me;
And, if I die, no soul will pity me:

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Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

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

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Rat. My lord,
K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early village cock
Hath twice done salutation to the morn:
Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.
K. Rich. O, Ratcliff, I have dream'd a fearful
dream!

What thinkest thou? will our friends prove all true?
Rat. No doubt, my lord.
K. Rich.

Ratcliff, I fear, I fear, —
Rat. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.
K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,

Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,

wife,

That never slept a quiet hour with thee,
Now fills thy sleep with perturbations:
To-morrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgeless sword; Despair, and die!
Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;
[TO RICHMOND.

Dream of success and happy victory;
Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.

The Ghost of BUCKINGHAM rises.
Ghost. The first was I, that help'd thee to the crown;
[To King RICHARD.
The last was I, that felt thy tyranny:
O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!
Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death;
Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!

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I died for hope, 21) ere I could lend thee aid:
[To RICHMOND.
But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismay'd:
God, and good angels, fight on Richmond's side;
And Richard falls in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish. King RICHARD starts
out of his dream.

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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 shrink from me.

[Exeunt King RICHARD and RATCLIFF.

RICHMOND wakes. Enter OXFORD and others.
Lords. Good morrow, Richmond.

Richm. 'Cry mercy, lords, and watchful gentlemen,
That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.
Lords. How have you slept, my lord?

Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding
dreams

That ever enter'd in a drowsy head,
Have I since your departure had, my lords.
Methought, their souls, whose bodies Richard mur-

der'd,

Came to my tent, and cried On! victory!
I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.

Rich. Why then 'tis time to arm, and give direc-
tion.
[He advances to the Troops.
More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time
Forbids to dwell on: Yet remember this, —
God, and our good cause, fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls,
Like high-rear'd bulwarks, stand before our faces;
Richard except, those, 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;

One rais'd in blood, and one in blood establish'd;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughter'd those that were the means to help
hian;

A base foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, 24) where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy:
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers;
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain;
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,
Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit 25) it in your age.
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords:
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt 26)
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully;
God, and Saint George! 27) Richmond and victory!
[Exeunt.

Re-enter King RICHARD, RATCLIFF, Attendants, and Forces.

K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touching

Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms. K. Rich. He said the truth: And what said Surrey then?

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Rat. He smil'd and said, the better for our purpose. K. Rich. He was i'the right; and so, indeed, it is. [Clock strikes. Tell the clock there. Give me a calendar. Who saw the sun to-day? Rat. K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine; for, by the book, He should have brav'd the east 28) an hour ago: A black day will it be to somebody. Ratcliff.

Not I, my lord.

Rat. My lord? K. Rich. The sun will not be seen to-day; The sky doth frown and lour upon our army. I would, these dewy tears were from the ground. Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me, More than to Richmond? for the self-same heaven, That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him.

Enter NORFolk.

Nor. Arm, arm, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field. K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle; Caparison my

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horse; Call up lord Stanley, bid him bring his power: I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain, And thus my battle shall be ordered. My forward shall be drawn out all in length, Consisting equally of horse and foot; Our archers shall be placed in the midst: John duke of Norfolk, Thomas earl of Surrey, Shall have the leading of this foot and horse. They thus directed, we ourself will follow 29) In the main battle; whose puissance on either side Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse. This, and Saint George to boot!-30) What think'st thou, Norfolk?

Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign. This found I on my tent this morning.

[Giving a Scrowl. K. Rich. Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold, [Reads. For Dickon 3) thy master is bought and sold. A thing devised by the enemy.

Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge:
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls;
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devis'd at first to keep the strong in awe;
Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.
March on, join bravely, let us to't pell mell;
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.

What shall I say more than I have inferr'd? Remember whom you are to cope withal; A sort of vagabonds, 32) rascals, and run-aways, A scum of Bretagnes, and base lackey peasants, Whom their o'er-cloy'd country vomits forth To desperate ventures 33) and assur'd destruction. You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest; 34) You having lands, and bless'd with beauteous wives, They would restrain the one, distain the other. And who doth lead them, but a paltry fellow, Long kept in Bretagne at our mother's cost? A milk-sop, one that never in his life Felt so much cold as over shoes in snow? Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again; Lash hence these over-weening rags of France, These famish'd beggars, weary of their lives; Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit, For want of means, poor rats, had hang'd themselves: If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us, Have in their own land beaten, bobb'd, and thump'd, And not these bastard Bretagnes, whom our fathers And, on record, left them the heirs of shame. Shall these enjoy our lands? lie with our wives? Ravish our daughters? Hark, I hear their drum. Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen! [Drum afar off. Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head! Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood; Amaze the welkin with your broken staves! - 35)

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Enter a Messenger.

What says lord Stanley? will he bring his power? Mess. My lord, he doth deny to come.

K. Rich. Off instantly with his son George's head.36) Nor. My lord, the enemy is pass'd the marsh; After the battle let George Stanley die.

K. Rich. A thousand hearts are great within my bosom:

Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our helms.

SCENE IV.

Another Part of the Field.

[Exeunt.

Alarum: Excursions. Enter NORFOLK, and Forces; to him CATESBY.

Cate. Rescue, my lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue! The king enacts more wonders than a man, Daring an opposite to every danger; His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights, Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death: Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

Alarum. Enter King RICHARD.

K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! Cate. Withdraw, my lord, I'll help you to a horse. 35

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Richm. Inter their bodies as becomes their births. Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled, That in submission will return to us; And then, as we have ta'en the sacrament, We will unite the white rose with the red: Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction, That long hath frown'd upon their enmity! What traitor hears me, and says not, amen? England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself; The brother blindly shed the brother's blood, The father rashly slaughter'd his own son, The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire; All this divided York and Lancaster, Divided, in their dire division. — O, now let Richmond and Elizabeth,

Stan. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit The true succeeders of each royal house,

thee!

Lo, here, this long-usurped royalty,

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

Richm. Great God of heaven, say, amen, to all! But, tell me first, 37) is young George Stanley living? Stan. He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town; Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us. Richm. What men of name are slain on either side? Stan. John duke of Norfolk, Walter lord Ferrers, Sir Robert Brakenbury, and sir William Brandon.

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By God's fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let their heirs, (God, if thy will be so,)
Enrich the time to come with smooth-fac'd peace,
With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days!
Abate the edge 38) of traitors, gracious Lord,
That would reduce 39) these bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Let them not live to taste this land's increase,
That would with treason wound this fair land's peace!
Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again;
That she may long live here, God say Amen!

[Exeunt.

XXV.

KING HENRY VIII.

King HENRY the Eighth.

Cardinal WOLSEY.

Cardinal CAMPEIUS.

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GRIFFITH, Gentleman-Usher to Queen Katharine.
Three other Gentlemen.

Doctor BUTTS, Physician to the King.

CAPUCIUS, Ambassador from the Emperor Charles V. Garter, King at Arms.

CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Duke of NORFolk.

Duke of BUCKINGHAM.

Duke of SUFfolk.

Earl of SURRBY.

Lord CHAMBERLAIN.

Lord CHANCELLOR.

GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester.

Bishop of LINCOLN.

Lord ABBRGAVENNY.
Lord SANDS.

Sir HENRY GUILDFORD.

Sir THOMAS LOVELL.

Sir ANTHONY DENNY.

Sir NICHOLAS VAUX.
Secretaries to Wolsey.

CROMWELL, Servant to Wolsey.

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Surveyor to the Duke of Buckingham. BRANDON, and a Sergeant at Arms. Door-keeper of the Council-Chamber. Porter, and his Man.

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An old Lady, Friend to Anne Bullen.
PATIENCE, Woman to Queen Katharine.

Several Lords and Ladies in the Dumb Shows;
Women attending upon the Queen; Spirits
which appear to her: Scribes, Officers,
Guards, and other Attendants.

chiefly in London and Westminster; once at Kimbolton.

PROLOGUE.

I come no more to make you laugh; things now,
That bear a weighty and a serious brow,
Sad, high, and working, full of state and woe,
Such noble scenes as draw the eye to flow,
We now present. Those that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear;
The subject will deserve it. Such, as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Those, that come to see
Only a show or two, and so agree,

The play may pass; if they be still, and willing,
I'll undertake, may see away their shilling
Richly in two short hours. Only they,
That come to hear a merry, bawdy play,
A noise of targets; or to see a fellow
In a long motley coat, guarded with yellow,
Will be deceiv'd: for, gentle hearers, know,
To rank our chosen truth with such a show
As fool and fight is, 1) beside forfeiting
Our own brains, and the opinion that we bring,
(To make that only true we now intend,) ?)
Will leave us never an understanding friend.
Therefore, for goodness' sake, and, as you are known
The first and happiest hearers of the town,
Be sad, as we would make you: Think, ye see
The very persons of our noble story,

As they were living; think, you see them great,
And follow'd with the general throng, and sweat,
Of thousand friends; then, in a moment, see
How soon this mightiness meets misery!

And, if you can be merry then, I'll say, A man may weep upon his wedding day.

ACT I.

SCENE I. London. An Ante-Chamber in the Palace.

Enter the Duke of NORFOLK, at one Door; at the other, the Duke of BUCKINGHAM, and the Lord ABERGAVENNY.

Buck. Good morrow, and well met. How have

you done,
Since last we saw in France?
Nor.
I thank your grace:
Healthful; and ever since a fresh admirer
Of what I saw there.

Buck.
An untimely ague
Stay'd me a prisoner in my chamber, when
Those suns of glory, those two lights of men,
Met in the vale of Arde.
Nor.

'Twixt Guynes and Arde: 3) I was then present, saw them salute on horseback; 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 weigh'd

Such a compounded one? Buck.

All the whole time

I was my chamber's prisoner.

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