Enter EXTON, with Attendants bearing a Coffin.

EXTON. Great king, within this coffin I prefent Thy buried fear: herein all breathless lies The mightieft of thy greatest enemies,

Richard of Bourdeaux, by me hither brought.

BOLING. Exton, I thank thee not; for thou haft
wrought

A deed of flander, with thy fatal hand,
Upon my head, and all this famous land.

EXTON. From your own mouth, my lord, did I
this deed.

BOLING. They love not poifon that do poifon need,

Nor do I thee; though I did with him dead,
I hate the murderer, love him murdered.

The guilt of conscience take thou for thy labour,
But neither my good word, nor princely favour:
With Cain go wander through the shade of night,
And never fhow thy head by day nor light.-
Lords, I proteft, my foul is full of woe,

That blood fhould fprinkle me, to make me grow :
Come, mourn with me for what I do lament,
And put on fullen black incontinent;
I'll make a voyage to the Holy land,

To wash this blood off from my guilty hand :-
March fadly after; grace my mournings here,
In weeping after this untimely bier. [Exeunt.5

I fee fuch Sparks of honour in your face." Hence, perhaps, as Mr. Todd obferves, Milton, in his Arcades, v. 26:

"I fee bright honour Sparkle in your eyes." STEEVENS. This play is extracted from the Chronicle of Holinfhed, in which many paffages may be found which Shakspeare has, with very little alteration, tranfplanted into his fcenes; particularly a

speech of the Bishop of Carlisle, in defence of King Richard's unalienable right, and immunity from human jurifdiction.

Jonson, who, in his Catiline and Sejanus, has inferted many speeches from the Roman hiftorians, was perhaps induced to that practice by the example of Shakspeare, who had condefcended fometimes to copy more ignoble writers. But Shakspeare had more of his own than Jonfon; and, if he fometimes was willing to fpare his labour, showed by what he performed at other times, that his extracts were made by choice or idleness rather than neceffity.

This play is one of those which Shakspeare has apparently revised; but as fuccefs in works of invention is not always proportionate to labour, it is not finished at last with the happy force of fome other of his tragedies, nor can be faid much to affect the paffions, or enlarge the understanding. JOHNSON.

The notion that Shakspeare revised this play, though it has long prevailed, appears to me extremely doubtful; or, to fpeak more plainly, I do not believe it. See further on this subject in An Attempt to afcertain the Order of Shakspeare's Plays, Vol. II.

MALONE.

KING HENRY IV.

PART I.*