guess.

K. Rich. Well, sir, as you guess, as you guess? Stan. Stirr'd up by Dorset, Buckingham, and Ely,

He makes for England, there to claim the crown. K. Rich. Is the chair empty? is the sword unsway'd?

Is the king dead? the empire unpossessed?
What heir of York is there alive but we?
And who is England's king but great York's
heir?

Then, tell me, what doth he upon the sea?

Stan. Unless for that, my liege, I cannot guess. K. Rich. Unless for that he comes to be your liege,

You cannot guess wherefore the Welshman

comes.

Thou wilt revolt, and fly to him, I fear.

27

Stan. No, mighty liege; therefore mistrust me

not.

K. Rich. Where is thy power, then, to beat him back?

Where are thy tenants and thy followers?
Are they not now upon the western shore,
Safe-conducting the rebels from their ships?
Stan. No, my good lord, my friends are in the
north.

K. Rich. Cold friends to Richard: what do they in the north,

When they should serve their sovereign in the west?

Stan. They have not been commanded, mighty
Sovereign:

Please it your majesty to give me leave,
I'll muster up my friends, and meet your grace
Where and what time your majesty shall please.
K. Rich. Ay, ay, thou would'st be gone to join
with Richmond :

I will not trust you, sir.

Stan.

Most mighty sovereign, You have no cause to hold my friendship doubtful:

I never was nor never will be false.
K. Rich. Well,

Go muster men; but, hear you, leave behind Your son, George Stanley: look your faith be firm,

Or else his head's assurance is but frail. Stan. So deal with him as I prove true to you. [Exit.

Re-enter CATESBY.

Cates. My liege, the Duke of Buckingham is

taken.

K. Rich. That is the best of news.
Cates.

That the Earl of Richmond

Is with a mighty power landed at Milford
Is colder news.

K. Rich.
But yet they must be told.
March on, march on, since we are up in

arms,

If not to fight with foreign enemies,

Yet to beat down these rebels here at home.
Away t'wards Salisbury, while we reason here
A royal battle might be won and lost.
Some one take order Buckingham be brought
To Salisbury-the rest march on with me!
[Trumpets, Drums, Exeun

END OF ACT IV.

SCENE I.--Bosworth Field.

William Telbin.

Enter KING RICHARD in arms, with NORfolk, the EARL OF SURREY, and others.

K. Rich. Here pitch our tents, even here in Bosworth Field.

My lord of Surrey, why look you so sad?

Sur. My heart is ten times lighter than my looks.

K. Rich. My lord of Norfolk,—
Nor.

Here, most gracious liege.

K. Rich. Norfolk, we must have knocks; ha! must we not?

Nor. We must both give and take, my gracious lord.

K. Rich. Up with my tent there! here will I lie to-night;

But where to-morrow? Well, all's one for that. Who hath descried the number of the foe?

Nor. Six or seven thousand is their utmost

Discovered, the invading Army.-RICHMOND, OXFORD, BLOUNT, and others..

Richmond. Thus far into the bowels of the land

Have we marched on without impediment.
Gloster, the bloody and devouring boar,
Whose ravenous appetite has spoiled your
fields,

Laid this rich country waste, and rudely cropt
Its ripened hopes of fair posterity,
Is now even in the centre of the isle,
And here receive we, from our father Stanley,
Lines of fair comfort and encouragement,
Such as will help and animate our cause;
On which let's cheerly on, courageous friends,
To reap the harvest of a lasting peace,
Or fame more lasting from a well-fought war.
Oxford. Your words have fire, my lord, and

warm our men,

Stan. I, by commission, bless thee from thy mother,

Who prays continually for Richmond's good;
The Queen, too, has with tears of joy consented
Thou shouldst espouse Elizabeth her daughter,
At whom the tyrant Richard closely aims.
In brief (for now the shortest moment of
My stay is bought with hazard of my life),
Prepare thy battle early in the morning,
And this be sure of-I, upon the first
Occasion offered, will deceive some eyes,
And aid thee in this doubtful shock of arms;
In which I had more forward been, ere this,
But that the life of thy young brother, George
(Whom, as my pawn of faith, stern Richard

keeps),

Would then be forfeit to his wild revenge.
Farewell the rude enforcement of the times
Denies me to renew those vows of love

Which so long-sundered friends should dwell

upon.

Rich. We yet may meet again, my lord.

Stan. Till then, once more farewell! - be resolute and conquer. Rich. Give him safe conduct to his regiment. [Exeunt Stanley and Officer. Well, sirs, to-morrow proves a busy day; But come, the night's far spent ;

Captain, an hour before the sun gets up,
Let me be waked: I will in person walk
From tent to tent, and early cheer the soldiers.
[All kneel.

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 the 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!
TABLEAU-CURTAINS.

Cates. It is, my lord.

K. Rich. Bid my guard watch; leave me. Catesby, about the mid of night come to my tent And help to arm me. Leave me, say.

[Exeunt Catesby and the other Attendants. K. Rich. How awful is this gloom! and hark! from camp to camp

The hum of either army stilly sounds;
That the fixt sentinels almost receive
The secret whispers of each other's watch.
Hark! from the tents,

The armourers accomplishing the knights,
With clink of hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation while some
Like sacrifices, by their fires of watch,
With patience sit, and inly ruminate
The morning's danger. By yon heaven, my

stern

Impatience chides this tardy-gaited night,
That like a foul and ugly witch does limp
So tediously away. I'll to my couch,
And once more try to sleep her into morning.

[A groan is heard. Ha! what means that dismal voice? Sure 'tis The echo of some yawning grave.

I feel my eyes grow heavy.

[Lies down. Sleeps.

The Ghost of QUEEN ANNE rises. Ghost. [To K. Rich.] Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy 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 !—
The Ghosts of PRINCE EDWARD and the DUKE
OF YORK appear.

Dream on thy cousins smothered 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 !—
Could not our youth, our innocence, persuade
Thy cruel heart to spare our harmless lives?
No soul, save thine, but pities our misusage.
Oh, 'twas a cruel deed! therefore alone,
Unpitying, unpitied, shalt thou fall.

Enter the Ghosts of HENRY THE SIXTH,
HASTINGS, &c.

Hen. Sleep on; while I, by heaven's high ordinance,

In dreams of horror wake thy fithtful soul. Now, ive thy thoughts the; let them beFold

These ping wounds, which thy death-dealing and

Withithe Tower gave my anointed body:
Now all thy devouring conscience gnaw
Thy heart and terribly revenge my murder.
K. Give me another horse,—bind up my
wounds,-

Have mercy, Jesu-soft; I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue.—It is now dead midnight.

183672B

Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What, do I fear myself? there's none else by:
Is there a murderer here? no :-yes, I am:
Then fly. What? from myself? Great reason:
why?-

Lest I revenge. What? myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done into 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.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
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 used 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 shall pity me:-

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

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

Cates. My lord!

K. Rich. Zounds! who is there?

Cates. My lord, 'tis I. The early village cock Hath twice done salutation to the morn; Your friends are up, and buckle on their ar

mour.

K. Rich. O, Catesby! I have dream'd a fearful dream.

Catesby, I fear, I fear,

Cates. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.

K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight

Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,

Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers.

Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond. Cates. Be more yourself, my lord: consider, sir,

Were it but known a dream had frightened you,

How would your animated foes presume on't! K. Rich. Perish the thought 1-no, never be it said

That fate itself could awe the soul of Richard. Trumpets sound a call. Hark! the shrill trumpet sounds to horse; away! My soul's in arms, and eager for the fray. [Flourish of Drums and Trumpets. TABLEAU-CURTAINS.

SCENE IV.-A Glade.-William Telbin. Enter RICHMOND, OXFORD, Soldiers, &c. Rich. How far into the morning is it, friends? Oxford. Near four, my lord.

Rich. 'Tis well,

I am glad to find we are such early stirrers. Oxford. Methinks the foe's less forward than we thought 'em.

Worn as we are, we brave the field before 'em. Rich. Come, there looks life in such a cheerful haste;

If dreams should animate a soul resolv'd, I'm more than pleas'd with those I've had tonight;

Methought that all the ghosts of them whose bodies

Richard murder'd, came mourning to my tent, And roused me to revenge 'em.

Oxford. A good omen, sir,—

In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man,
As mild behaviour and humility;

But, when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Let us be tigers in our fierce deportment:
For me the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this body on the earth's cold face;
But, if we thrive, the glory of the action
The meanest here shall share his part of.
Advance your standards, draw your willing
swords.

Sound, drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully,

The words St. George, Richmond, and Victory! [Flourish of Drums and Trumpets. Exeunt. TABLEAU-CURTAINS.

SCENE V.-The Battlefield.-William Telbin.
Discovered KING RICHARD and Forces.
K. Rich. Who saw the sun to-day!
Rat. Not I, my lord.

K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine, for, by the book,

He should have braved the east an hour ago: Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me, More than to Richmond for the self-same heav'n

That frowns on me looks sadly upon him.

Enter NORFOLK with a paper in his hand. Nor. Prepare, my lord, the foe is in the field. K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle, caparison my horse,

Call forth Lord Stanley, bid him bring his power;

I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain.

[Exit Cates. Well, Norfolk, what think'st thou now? Nor. That we shall win :-but on my tent, This morning early, was this paper found: K. Rich. [Reads.] "Jockey of Norfolk, be not so bold,

For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold."
A thing devised by the enemy,—

31

Enter CATESBY.

What says Lord Stanley, will he bring his power?

Cates. My lord, he doth deny to come. K. Rich. Off with his son George's head! Nor. My lord, the enemy is past the marsh, After the battle let George Stanley die.

K. Rich. Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge:

Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls:
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
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.
Remember whom you are to cope withal;—
Let's whip these stragglers o'er the seas again;
Lash hence these overweening rags of France.
If we be conquered, let men conquer us,
And not these bastard Bretagnes.

Distant Battle.

Enter CATESBY, NORFOLK, and others. Cates. 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!

Enter KING RICHARD and CATESBY, K. Rich. A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse.

Cates. Withdraw, my lord, I'll help you to a horse.

K. Rich. No! I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die!

[Exit Catesby.