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Glo. I'll hear no more :-die, prophet, in thy speech:

For this,(176) amongst the rest, was I ordain'd.

[Stabs him.

K. Hen. Ay, and for much more slaughter after this. O, God forgive my sins, and pardon thee!

[Dies.

Glo. What, will th' aspiring blood of Lancaster
Sink in the ground? I thought it would have mounted.
See how my sword weeps for the poor king's death!
O, may such purple tears be alway shed

From those that wish the downfall of our house!-
If any spark of life be yet remaining,

Down, down to hell; and say I sent thee thither,-
[Stabs him again.

I, that have neither pity, love, nor fear.—
Indeed, 'tis true that Henry told me of;
For I have often heard my mother say
I came into the world with my legs forward:
Had I not reason, think ye, to make haste,
And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right?
The midwife wonder'd; and the women cried,
"O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!"
And so I was; which plainly signified
That I should snarl, and bite, and play the dog.
Then, since the heavens have shap'd my body so,
Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.
I have no brother, I am like no brother;
And this word "love," which greybeards call divine,
Be resident in men like one another,
And not in me: I am myself alone.—

Clarence, beware; thou keep'st(177) me from the light:
But I will sort a pitchy day for thee;
For I will buzz abroad such prophecies,
That Edward shall be fearful of his life;
And then, to purge his fear, I'll be thy death.
King Henry and the prince his son are gone:
Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest;
Counting myself but bad till I be best.-
I'll throw thy body in another room,
And triumph, Henry, in thy day of doom.

[Exit with the body.

SCENE VII. The same. A room in the palace.

Flourish. King EDWARD is discovered sitting on his throne; Queen ELIZABETH, a Nurse with the infant Prince, CLARENCE, GLOSTER, HASTINGS, and others.

K. Edw. Once more we sit in England's royal throne, Re-purchas'd with the blood of enemies.

What valiant foemen, like to autumn's corn,

Have we mow'd down in top(178) of all their pride!
Three Dukes of Somerset,-threefold renown'd

For hardy and undoubted champions ;(179)
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son;

And two Northumberlands,-two braver men

Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's sound;
With them,

The two brave bears, Warwick and Montague,
That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion,
And made the forest tremble when they roar'd.
Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat,
And made our footstool of security.—
Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.-
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles and myself
Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night;
Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,

That thou mightst repossess the crown in peace:

And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.

Glo. [aside] I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid;

For yet I am not look'd on in the world.

This shoulder was ordain'd so thick to heave;

And heave it shall some weight, or break my back :—

Work thou the way,-and thou shalt execute. (180)

K. Edw. Clarence and Gloster, love my lovely queen;

And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both.

Clar. The duty that I owe unto your majesty

I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe.

Q. Eliz. Thanks,(181) noble Clarence; worthy brother,

thanks.

Glo. And, that I love the tree from whence thou sprang'st,

Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.-
[Aside] To say the truth, so Judas kiss'd his master,
And cried, "All hail !" whenas he meant all harm.

K. Edw. Now am I seated as my soul delights,
Having my country's peace and brothers' loves.

Clar. What will your grace have done with Margaret? Reignier,(182) her father, to the king of France Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem,

And hither have they sent it(183) for her ransom.

K. Edw. Away with her, and waft her hence to France. And now what rests, but that we spend the time With stately triumphs, mirthful comic shows, Such as befit the pleasure(184) of the court? Sound drums and trumpets! farewell sour annoy! For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy.

[Exeunt.

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The True Tragedie, &c. has "What," which Mr. W. N. Lettsom would adopt, placing it in a line by itself.

P. 235. (5)

"Such hap have all the line of John of Gaunt!
Rich. Thus do I hope"

Both The True Tragedie, &c. and the folio have

"Such hope have all," &c.

but "hope" is a manifest error (in consequence of the transcriber's or compositor's eye having caught that word in the next line), and must have been left uncorrected in the remodelled play by an oversight.-Capell substituted "end" I prefer what occurred to me long ago, and what I now find proposed by an anonymous critic in the Cambridge Shakespeare,—“ hap."

P. 237. (6)

"And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge
On him, his sons, his favourites, and his friends."

The first line has been shortened in more ways than one: but see note 2 on The Second Part of King Henry VI. p. 199. In the second line "favourites" -which Capell altered to "favourers"—is the reading of The True Tragedie, &c. as well as of the folio.

P. 237. (7)

"Patience is for poltroons, such as he :"

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Poultroones, and

This is altered by the editor of the second folio to “. such is he."-Here Walker (Crit. Exam. &c. vol. ii. p. 26) is perhaps right in considering "Patience" to be a trisyllable and "poltroons" to be accented on the first syllable,—“ Patiënce is for póltroons, such as he."

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So the older play.-The folio has " Westm.," a mistake, as the next speech evinces.

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P. 237. (10) The original play has ". — as the kingdome is."—" Why Shakespeare made this alteration," observes Malone, “it is not easy to say; for the new line only exhibits the same meaning more obscurely." The "earldom" is that of March, which York inherited from his mother. See, in The Second Part of King Henry VI. p. 135, York's speech, "His eldest sister, Anne," &c.

"'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.”

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So The True Tragedie, &c.-The folio has "My Father," &c.-"This is a mistake, into which Shakespeare was led by the author of the old play. The father of Richard Duke of York was Earl of Cambridge, and was never Duke of York, being beheaded in the lifetime of his elder brother Edward Duke of York, who fell in the battle of Agincourt." MALONE.

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So Hanmer; and, no doubt, rightly; though both The True Tragedie, &c. and the folio have "Father teare the Crowne."

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P. 238. (16) "Peace thou! and give King Henry leave to speak." "This interruption is quite out of character in Henry's mouth. The quarto gives it to Northumberland." W. N. LETTSOM.

P. 238. (17) "Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly throne," &c. "This is quite out of place, standing immediately after Warwick's speech. Henry would rather have said, 'Think'st thou that I'll stand mute that York may speak?' Probably Warwick's speech was originally followed by one of York's now lost, in which the speaker, who had just before repressed the impetuosity of his sons, waived his right to speak first. As the text stands, Warwick insists that York shall speak first, and threatens with death whoever may interrupt him; whereupon Henry, without taking the

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