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Doth comfort thee in sleep: live thou,' 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! To-morrow in the battle think on me, And fall thy edgeless sword. 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;

Rivers, that died at Pomfret.
Grey. Think upon Grey, and

[To King RICHARD. Despair, and die. let thy soul despair.

[To King RICHARD. and with guilty fear Despair, and die.— [To King RICHARD.

Vaugh. Think upon Vaughan, Let fall thy pointless2 lance.

All. Awake! and think our wrongs in Richard's

bosom

[TO RICHMOND.

Will conquer him.-Awake, and win the day!

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: so3 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.

1 2 Not in f. e. 3 and in f. e. 4 So the quarto, 1597; the other old copies laid.

The Ghost of Queen ANNE rises.

Ghost. 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 powerless arm.1 Despair, and die.-
Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;

Dream of success and happy victory:

[TO RICHMOND.

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.-
I died for hope 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 fall in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish.
out of his dream.

King RICHARD starts

K. Rich. 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.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
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 upon myself?
Alack! I love myself. 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.

1 edgeless sword: in f. e.

My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, foul' 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 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 murder'd
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.
Enter RATCLIFF.

Rat. My lord.

K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 't is 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 think'st thou ? will our friends prove all true? Rat. No doubt, my lord.

K. Rich. O 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, Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers, 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. Enter OXFORD and others.

Lords. Good morrow, Richmond.

Richm. Cry mercy, lords, [Waking.] 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,

1 perjury in f. e. 2 Zounds, who 's there: in quartos. 3 This and the previous speech, are not in the folios.

Have I since your departure had, my lords.

Methought, their souls, 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 so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.

tion.

Richm. Why, then 't is time to arm, and give direc-
[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 him;
A base foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, 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 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

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, cheerfully;
1 soul: in quartos. 2 Requite.

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God, and Saint George! 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?

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.

[Calendar brought.'

Not I, my lord.

K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine; for, by the book, He should have brav'd the east an hour ago:

A black day will it be to somebody.

Ratcliff!

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

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 foreward shall be drawn out 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 the foot and horse.
They thus directed, we will follow them

In the main battle; whose puissance on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.

1 Not in f... 2 My foreward shall be drawn out all in length:

in f. e.

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