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: In the main battle; whose puissance on either side Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign. [Giving a Scrowl. K. Rich. Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold, [Reads. For Dickon' thy master is bought and sold. A thing devised by the enemy. Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge: This, and Saint George to boot!] To boot is to help. I - Dickon thy master, &c.] Dickon is the ancient familiarization of Richard. In the words-bought and sold, there is somewhat proverbial. March on, join bravely, let us to't pell-mell; Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yeomen! 2 A sort of vagabonds,] i. e. a company, a collection. 3 Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!] That is, fright the skies with the shivers of your lances. JOHNSON. 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. 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; 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, 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. K. Rich. Slave, I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die: I think, there be six Richmonds in the field; Five have I slain to-day, instead of him:- Alarums. [Exeunt. Enter Enter King RICHARD and RICHMOND; and exeunt, fighting. Retreat, and flourish. Then enter RICHMOND, STANLEY, bearing the Crown, with divers other Lords, and Forces. Richm. God, and your arms, be prais'd, victorious friends; The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead. Stan. Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee! Lo, here, this long-usurped royalty, From the dead temples of this bloody wretch Richm. Great God of heaven, say, amen, to all!But, tell me first, 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. 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, All this divided York and Lancaster, 4 [Exeunt. * Abate the edge-] To abate, is to lower, depress, subdue. reduce-] i. e. bring back; an obsolete sense of the 5 word. "This is one of the most celebrated of our author's performances; yet I know not whether it has not happened to him as to others, to be praised most, when praise is not most deserved. That this play has scenes noble in themselves, and very well contrived to strike in the exhibition, cannot be denied. But some parts are trifling, others shocking, and some improbable. JOHNSON. I agree entirely with Dr. Johnson in thinking that this play from its first exhibition to the present hour has been estimated greatly beyond its merit. From the many allusions to it in books of that age, and the great number of editions it passed through, I suspect it was more often represented and more admired than any of our author's tragedies. Its popularity perhaps in some measure arose from the detestation in which Richard's character was justly held, which must have operated more strongly on those whose grandfathers might have lived near his time; and from its being patronized by the Queen on the throne, who probably was not a little pleased at seeing King Henry VII. placed in the only favourable light, in which he could have been exhibited on the scene. MALONE. I most cordially join with Dr. Johnson and Mr. Malone in their opinions; and yet perhaps they have overlooked one cause of the success of this tragedy. The part of Richard is, perhaps, beyond L 5 VOL. VII. |