And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be fworn or said,—
His coming hither hath no further scope,
Than for his lineal royalties, and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to ruft,
His barbed steeds to ftables, and his heart
To faithful fervice of your majefty.

This fwears he, as he is a prince, is juft;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.

K. RICH. Northumberland, fay,—thus the king

returns ;

His noble cousin is right welcome hither;
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction:
With all the gracious utterance thou hast,
Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends.-

Again, in A Midsummer Night's Dream:

"But earthlier happy," instead of " earthly happier.” Again, in King Henry VI. P. II:

"Thefe hands are free from guiltless bloodfbedding," instead of

"Thefe guiltless hands are free from bloodshedding." Again, ibid. in P. III:

66

Until my mishap'd trunk that bears this head,” instead of

"Until my head that this misshap'd trunk bears." Again, in Antony and Cleopatra:

"We cannot call her winds and waters, fighs and tears,” instead of

"We cannot call her fighs and tears, winds and waters.' and in the fame play we have proof of harness, for harness of proof; as elsewhere, miferable moft, for moft miferable; defperately mortal, for mortally defperate; action of precept, for precept of action; &c.

RITSON.

commend-] i. e. commit. See Minsheu's Dict. in v.

MALONE.

We do debase ourself, coufin, do we not,

[To AUMERLE. To look fo poorly, and to speak so fair? Shall we call back Northumberland, and send Defiance to the traitor, and fo die?

AUм. No, my good lord; let's fight with gentle words,

Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful fwords.

K. RICH. O God! o God! that e'er this tongue of mine,

That laid the fentence of dread banishment

On yon proud man, fhould take it off again
With words of footh! O, that I were as great
As is my grief, or leffer than my name!
Or that I could forget what I have been!
Or not remember what I must be now!

Swell'ft thou, proud heart? I'll give thee fcope to

beat,

Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me. AUM. Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.

K. RICH. What muft the king do now? Muft he fubmit?

The king fhall do it. Muft he be depos'd?
The king fhall be contented: Muft he lofe
The name of king? o'God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels, for a fet of beads;
My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage;
My gay apparel," for an alms-man's gown;

5 With words of footh!] Sooth is fweet as well as true. In this place footh means fweetness or foftnefs, a fignification yet retained in the verb to footh. JOHNSON.

My gay apparel, &c.] Dr. Grey obferves," that King Richard's expence in regard to drefs, was very extraordinary."

My figur'd goblets, for a dish of wood;
My fcepter, for a palmer's walking-staff;
My fubjects, for a pair of carved faints;
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obfcure grave:-
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,
Some way of common trade,' where fubjects' feet
May hourly trample on their fovereign's head:
For on my heart they tread, now whilft I live;
And, buried once, why not upon my head?
Aumerle, thou weep'ft; My tender-hearted cou-
fin!-

We'll make foul weather with despised tears;
Our fighs, and they, fhall lodge the fummer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.

Holinshed has the fame remark; and adds, that he had "one cote which he caused to be made for him of gold and stone, valued at 30,000 marks." STEEVENS.

Stowe, in his Survey, fays, " to the value of three thousand markes." So alfo, in Vita Ricardi Secundi, published by T. Hearne, p. 156. MALONE.

7 Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,

Some way of common trade,] So, in Lord Surrey's Translation of the second book of Virgil's Eneid:

"A poftern with a blind wicket there was,

"A common trade, to pafs through Priam's house."

"Limen erat, cæcæque fores, et pervius ufus,

"Tectorum inter fe Priami."

The phrafe is ftill ufed by common people. When they speak of a road much frequented, they fay, it is a road of much traffic." Shakspeare ufes the word in the fame fenfe in King Henry VIII:

"Stand in the gap and trade of more preferments."

STEEVENS.

8 on their fovereign's head:] Shakspeare is very apt to deviate from the pathetic to the ridiculous. Had the fpeech of Richard ended at this line, it had exhibited the natural language of fubmiffive mifery, conforming its intention to the prefent fortune, and calmly ending its purposes in death. JOHNSON.

Or fhall we play the wantons with our woes,
And make fome pretty match with shedding tears?
As thus ;-To drop them ftill upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of graves

Within the earth; and, therein laid,―There lies
Two kinfmen, digg'd their graves with weeping eyes?
Would not this ill do well?-Well, well, I fee
I talk but idly, and you mock at me.-
Moft mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,
What fays king Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke fays-ay."

2

NORTH. My lord, in the base court he doth at

tend

To speak with you; may't please you to come down. K. RICH. Down, down, I come; like gliftering

Phaeton,

Wanting the manage of unruly jades.

[NORTH. retires to BOLING. In the bafe court? Base court, where kings grow base, To come at traitors' calls, and do them grace. In the bafe court? Come down? Down, court! down king!

For night-owls fhriek, where mounting larks fhould [Exeunt, from above.

fing.

9 Bolingbroke fays-ay.] Here is another inftance of injury done to the poet's metre by changing his orthography. I, which was Shakspeare's word, rhymed very well with die; but ay has quite a different found. See a note on The Merry Wives of Windjor, Act V. Vol. III. p. 485, n. 8. TYRWHITT.

In fome counties ay is at this day pronounced with a found very little differing from that of I. MALONE.

2

bafe court-] Bas cour, Fr. So, in Hinde's Elifto Libidinofo, 1606: " they were, for a public obfervation, brought into the bafe court of the palace." Again, in Greene's Farewell to Follie, 1617: 66 began, at the entrance into the bafe court, to use these words." STEEVENS.

Sorrow and grief of heart

BOLING. What fays his majesty?

NORTH.

Makes him speak fondly, like a frantick man:
Yet he is come.

Enter King RICHARD, and his Attendants, below.

BOLING. Stand all apart,

And show fair duty to his majesty.

My gracious lord,

K. RICH. Fair cousin, you debase

knee,

[Kneeling.

your princely

To make the base earth proud with kiffing it:
Me rather had, my heart might feel your love,
Than my unpleas'd eye fee your courtesy.
Up, coufin, up; your heart is up, I know,'
Thus high at least, [Touching his own head.] although
your knee be low.

BOLING. My gracious lord, I come but for mine

own.

K. RICH. Your own is yours, and I am yours,

and all.

BOLING. So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,

As my true service fhall deferve your love.

K. RICH. Well you deserve:-They well deferve to have,

That know the ftrong'ft and fureft way to get.-
Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears fhow their love, but want their remedies.—
Coufin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we muft, what force will have us do.-
Set on towards London:-Coufin, is it fo?