North. Nay, nothing: all is said: His tongue is now a stringless instrument; Words, life, and all, old Lancaster hath spent. York. Be York the next that must be bankrupt so! Though death be poor, it ends a mortal woe. K. Rich. The ripest fruit first falls, and so doth he; And for these great affairs do ask some charge, Not Gloster's death, nor Hereford's banishment, 4 where no venom else,] This alludes to a tradition that St. Patrick freed the kingdom of Ireland from venomous reptiles of every kind. 5 Nor the prevention of poor Bolingbroke About his marriage,] When the duke of Hereford, after his banishment, went into France, he was honourably entertained at that court, and would have obtained in marriage the only daughter of the duke of Berry, uncle to the French king, had not Richard prevented the match. Accomplish'd with the number of thy hours; 6 O, my liege, Pardon me, if you please; if not, I pleas'd Take Hereford's rights away, and take from time His livery, and deny his offer'd homage, 7 6 Accomplish'd with the number of thy hours ;] i. e. when he was of thy age. 7 deny his offer'd homage,] That is, refuse to admit the homage, by which he is to hold his lands. K. Rich. Think what you will; we seize into our hands His plate, his goods, his money, and his lands. York. I'll not be by, the while: My liege, farewell : What will ensue hereof, there's none can tell; But by bad courses may be understood, That their events can never fall out good. [Exit. K. Rich. Go, Bushy, to the earl of Wiltshire straight; Bid him repair to us to Ely-house, To see this business: To-morrow next We will for Ireland; and 'tis time, I trow; And we create, in absence of ourself, Come on, our queen: to-morrow must we part; [Flourish. [Exeunt King, Queen, BUSHY, Aumerle, GREEN, and BAGOT. North. Well, lords, the duke of Lancaster is dead. North. Richly in both, if justice had her right. silence, Ere't be disburden'd with a liberal tongue. North. Nay, speak thy mind; and let him ne'er speak more, That speaks thy words again, to do thee harm! Willo. Tends that thou'dst speak, to the duke of Hereford? If it be so, out with it boldly, man; Quick is mine ear, to hear of good towards him. Unless you call it good, to pity him, Bereft and gelded of his patrimony. North. Now, afore heaven, 'tis shame, such wrongs are borne, In him a royal prince, and many more Of noble blood in this declining land. 'Gainst us, our lives, our children, and our heirs. North. Wars have not wasted it, for warr'd he hath not, But basely yielded upon compromise That which his ancestors achiev'd with blows: Ross. The earl of Wiltshire hath the realm in farm. North. His noble kinsman: most degenerate king! But, lords, we hear this fearful tempest sing, Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm: We see the wind sit sore upon our sails, And yet we strike not, but securely perish." Ross. We see the very wreck that we must suffer i And unavoided1 is the danger now, For suffering so the causes of our wreck. North. Not so; even through the hollow eyes of death, + "And quite lost their hearts:"- Malone. 8 And yet we strike not,] To strike the sails, is, to contract them when there is too much wind. 9 - but securely perish.] We perish with too great confidence in our security. 1 And unavoided-] For unavoidable. I spy life peering; but I dare not say How near the tidings of our comfort is. Willo. Nay, let us share thy thoughts, as thou dost ours. Ross. Be confident to speak, Northumberland: We three are but thyself; and, speaking so, Thy words are but as thoughts; therefore, be bold. North. Then thus:- I have from Port le Blanc, a bay In Britanny, receiv'd intelligence, That Harry Hereford, Reignold lord Cobham, [The son of Richard earl of Arundel,] That late broke from the duke of Exeter, 2 Sir Thomas Erpingham, sir John Ramston, 3 Sir John Norberry, sir Robert Waterton, and Francis All these, well furnish'd by the duke of Bretagne, 2 [The son of Richard earl of Arundel,] That late broke from the duke of Exeter,] I suspect that some of these lines are transposed, as well as that the poet has made a blunder in his enumeration of persons. No copy that I have seen, will authorize me to make an alteration, though according to Holinshed, whom Shakspeare followed in great measure, more than one is necessary. STEEVENS. For the insertion of the line included within crotchets, Mr. Malone is answerable; it not being found in the old copies. 3- archbishop late of Canterbury,] Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, brother to the earl of Arundel who was beheaded in this reign, had been banished by the parliament, and afterwards deprived by the pope of his see, at the request of the king; whence he is here called, late of Canterbury. 4 Imp out-] As this expression frequently occurs in our author, it may not be amiss to explain the original meaning of it. When |