Aumerle is guilty of my true appeal :
Besides, I heard the banish'd Norfolk say,
That thou, Aumerle, didst send two of thy men
To execute the noble duke at Calais.
Aum. Some honest Christian trust me with a
That Norfolk lies: here do I throw down this,
If he may be repeal'd to try his honour.
Boling. These differences shall all rest under gage,
Till Norfolk be repeal'd: repeal'd he shall be,
And, though mine enemy, restor❜'d again
To all his land and signories; when he's return'd,
Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial.
Car. That honourable day shall ne'er be seen.-
Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought
For Jesu Christ; in glorious Christian field
Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross,
Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens :
And, toil'd with works of war, retir'd himself
To Italy; and there, at Venice, gave
His body to that pleasant country's earth,
And his pure soul unto his captain Christ,
Under whose colours he had fought so long.
Boling. Why, bishop, is Norfolk dead?
Car. As sure as I live, my lord.
Boling. Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the
Of good old Abraham!-Lords appellants,
Your differences shall all rest under gage,
Till we assign you to your days of trial.
Enter YORK, attended.
York. Great duke of Lancaster, I come to thee From plume-pluck'd Richard; who with willing soul Adopts thee heir, and his high scepter yields To the possession of thy royal hand:
Ascend his throne, descending now from him,
And long live Henry, of that name the fourth!
Boling. In God's name, I'll ascend the regal
throne.
Cur. Marry, God forbid!
Worst in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God, that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge
Of noble Richard; then true nobless would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here, that is not Richard's subject?
Thieves are not judg'd, but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them:
And shall the figure of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputy elect,
Anointed, crowned, planted many years,
Be judg'd by subject and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? O, forbid it, God,
That, in a Christian climate, souls refin'd
Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stirr'd up by heaven thus boldly for his king.
My lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophecy,-
The blood of English shall manure the ground,
And future ages groan for this foul act;
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And, in this seat of peace, tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin, and kind with kind confound;
Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny,
Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd
The field of Golgotha, and dead men's sculls.
nobless ] i. e. nobleness; a word now obsolete, but used both by Spenser and Ben Jonson.
O, if you rear this house against this house,
It will the woefullest division prove,
That ever fell upon this cursed earth:
Prevent, resist it, let it not be so,
Lest child, child's children, cry against you-woe! North. Well have you argu'd, sir; and, for your pains,
Of capital treason we arrest you here :—
My lord of Westminster, be it your charge
To keep him safely till his day of trial.-
May't please you, lords, to grant the commons'
Boling. Fetch hither Richard, that in common
He may surrender; so we shall proceed
I will be his conduct. [Exit. Boling. Lords, you that are here under our
Procure your sureties for your days of answer:Little are we beholden to your love, [To CARLISLE. And little look'd for at your helping hands.
Re-enter YORK, with King RICHARD, and Officers bearing the Crown, &c.
K. Rich. Alack, why am I sent for to a king, Before I have shook off the regal thoughts Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my knee :Give sorrow leave a while to tutor me
To this submission. Yet I well remember
The favours of these men: Were they not mine?
Did they not sometime cry, all hail! to me?
So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve,
4 his conduct.] i. e. conductor.
The favours, &c.] The countenances, the features
Found truth in all, but one; I, in twelve thousand,
God save the king!-Will no man say, amen?
Am I both priest and clerk? well then, amen.
God save the king! although I be not he
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.-
To do what service am I sent for thither?
York. To do that office, of thine own good will, Which tired majesty did make thee offer, The resignation of thy state and crown To Henry Bolingbroke.
K. Rich. Give me the crown :-Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here, on this side, my hand; on that side, thine.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well,
That owes two buckets filling one another;
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen, and full of water:
That bucket down, and full of tears, am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.
Boling. I thought you had been willing to resign.
K. Rich. My crown, I am, but still my griefs
You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.
Boling. Part of your cares you give me with
K. Rich. Your cares set up, do not pluck my cares down.
My care is-loss of care, by old care done;"
Your care is-gain of care, by new care won:
6 The emptier ever dancing-] This is a comparison not easily accommodated to the subject, nor very naturally introduced." The best part is this line, in which he makes the usurper the empty bucket. JOHNSON.
My care is-loss of care, by old care done;] Shakspeare often obscures his meaning by playing with sounds. Richard seems to
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