And men ne'er spend their fury on a child. For Somerset, off with his guilty head. * Shall have a high reward, and he his life? Enter Soldiers with Prince Edward. K. Educ. Bring forth the gallant, let us hear * What! can so young a thorn begin to prick! And all the trouble thou hast turn'd me to? Q. Mar. Ah, that thy father had been so resolv'd! And ne'er have stol'n the breech from Lancaster. Glo. By heaven, brat, I'll plague you for that word. back rather. 'K. Edw. Peace, wilful boy, or I will charm2 your tongue, Clar. Untutor'd lad, thou art too malapert. And thou usurp'st my father's right and mine. * Clar. And there's for twitting me with perjury. Q. Mar. O, kill me too! K. Edw. Hold, Richard, [Offers to kill her. hold, for we have Glo. Why should she live, to fill the world with words ?3 'K. Edw. What! doth she swoon? use means for her recovery. Glo. Clarence, excuse me to the king my brother: 'I'll hence to London on a serious matter: 'Ere ye come there, be sure to hear some news. Clar. What? what? 'Glo. The Tower, the Tower! [Exit. 'Q. Mar. O, Ned, sweet Ned! speak to thy 'Canst thou not speak?-O raitors! murderers!- (1) The prince calls Richard, for his crookedness, Esop. (2) i. e. I will compel you to be as silent as if you were deprived of speech by enchantment, morse: But, if you ever chance to have a child, Look in his youth to have him so cut off, 'As deathsmen! you have rid this sweet young prince! K. Edio. Away with her; go, bear her hence perforce. Q. Mar. Nay, never bear me hence, despatch me here; Here sheath thy sword, I'll pardon thee my death: Clar. Didst thou not hear me swear, I would 4 Q. Mar. Ay, But thou usest to forswear thyself; 'Twas sin before, but now 'tis charity. "What! wilt thou not? where is that devil's butcher, Hard-favour'd Richard? Richard, where art thou? Thou art not here: Murder is thy alms-deed; Petitioners for blood thou ne'er put'st back. 'K. Edto. Away, I say; I charge ye, bear her hence. Q. Mar. So come to you, and yours, as to this prince! [Exit, led out forcibly. K. Edio. Where's Richard gone? 'Clar. To London, all in post; and, as I guess, To make a bloody supper in the Tower. K. Edw. He's sudden, if a thing comes in his head. Now march we hence: discharge the common sort 'With pay and thanks, and let's away to London, And see our gentle queen how well she fares; 'By this, I hope, she hath a son for me. [Exeunt. SCENE VI.-London. A room in the Tower. King Henry is discovered sitting with a book in his hand, the Lieutenant attending. Enter Gloster. Glo. Good day, my lord! What, at your book so hard? K. Hen. Ay, my good lord: My lord, I should 'Tis sin to flatter, good was little better: And both preposterous; therefore, not good lord. *K. Hen. So flies the reckless' shepherd from *So first the harmless sheep doth yield his fleece, *And next his throat unto the butcher's knife.What scene of death hath Roscius now to act? Glo. Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind; The thief doth fear each bush an officer. 'K. Hen. The bird, that hath been limed in a With trembling wings misdoubteth every bush, (3) Dispute, contention. (4) She alludes to the desertion of Clarence. Careless. To misdoubt is to suspect danger, to fear, Where my poor young was lim'd, was caught and kill'd. 'Glo. Why, what a peevish' fool was that of Crete, I Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it. That taught his son the office of a fowl? And yet, for all his wings, the fool was drown'd. 'K. Hen. I, Dædalus; my poor boy, Icarus ; Thy father, Minos, that denied our course; 'The sun, that sear'd the wings of my sweet Thy brother Edward; and thyself, the sea, 'Whose envious gulf did swallow up his life. *Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words! 'My breast can better brook thy dagger's point, Than can my ears that tragic history.*But wherefore dost thou come? is't for my life? 'Glo. Think'st thou I am an executioner? K. Hen. A persecutor, I am sure, thou art; 'If murdering innocents be executing, Why, then thou art an executioner. Glo. Thy son I kill'd for his presumption. K. Hen. Hadst thou been kill'd, when first thou didst presume, Thou hadst not liv'd to kill a son of mine. And thus I prophesy,-that many a thousand, "Which now mistrust no parcel2 of my fear; ace. King Edward is discovered sitting on his throne; Queen Elizabeth with the infant prince, Clarence, Gloster, Hastings, and others, near him. K. Edw. Once more we sit in England's royal throne, Re-purchas'd with the blood of enemies. And many an old man's sigh, and many a Have we mow'd down, in tops of all their pride? widow's, And many an orphan's water-standing eye,Men for their sons, wives for their husbands' fate, And orphans for their parents' timeless death,'Shall rue the hour that ever thou wast born. The owl shriek'd at thy birth, an evil sign; 'The night-crow cried, aboding luckless time; Dogs howl'd, and hideous tempests shook down trees; The raven rook'd' her on the chimney's top, Glo. I'll hear no more ;-Dic, prophet, in thy speech; [Stabs him. For this, amongst the rest, was I ordain'd. K. Hen. Ay, and for much more slaughter after this. O God! forgive my sins, and pardon thee! [Dies. Glo. What, will the aspiring blood of Laneaster 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 always shed 'From those that wish the downfal 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 signifiedThat I should snarl, and bite, and play the dog. "Then, since the heavens have shap'd my body so, Three dukes of Somerset, threefold renown'd That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion, Glo. I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid, Work thou the way,-and thou shalt execute. [Aside. K. Edw. Clarence, and Gloster, love my lovely And hither have they sent it for her ransom. And now what rests, but that we spend the time matter itself will defeat the artist. Of every author's works one will be the best, and one will be the worst. The colours are not equally pleasing, nor the attitudes equally graceful, in all the pictures of Titian or Reynolds. The three parts of King Henry VI. are suspected, by Mr. Theobald, of being suppositious, and are declared, by Dr. Warburton, to be certainly not Shakspeare's. Mr. Theobald's suspicion arises from some obsolete words; but the phraseology is like the rest of our author's style, and single words, of which however I do not observe more than two, can conclude little. Dr. Warburton gives no reason, but I suppose The truth is, that they have not sufficient variety Of these three plays I think the second the best. him to judge upon deeper principles and more of action, for the incidents are too often of the same comprehensive views, and to draw his opinion from kind; yet many of the characters are well disthe general effect and spirit of the composition, criminated. King Henry, and his Queen, King which he thinks inferior to the other historical plays. Edward, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earl of From mere inferiority nothing can be inferred; Warwick, are very strongly and distinctly painted in the productions of wit there will be inequality. Sometimes judgment will err, and sometimes the Dissimilitude of style and heterogeneousness of sentiment, may sufficiently show that a work does not really belong to the reputed author. But in these plays no such marks of spuriousness are found. The diction, the versification, and the figures, are Shakspeare's. These plays, considered without retives in verse, are more happily conceived, and gard to characters and incidents, merely as narraRichard II. or the tragic scenes of King Henry more accurately finished, than those of King John, IV. and V. If we take these plays from Shakthor of that age had the same easiness of expres speare, to whom shall they be given? What au sion and fluency of numbers? VOL. II. 2 A JOHNSON. And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions3 dangerous, SCENE I.-London. A street. Enter Gloster. By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams, Gloster. Now is the winter of our discontent I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty, To set my brother Clarence, and the king, Dive, thoughts, down to my soul! here Clarence comes. Enter Clarence, guarded, and Brakenbury. Brother, good day: What means this armed guard That waits upon your grace? Clar. And, for my name of George begins with G, (3) Preparations for mischief, Glo. Why, this it is, when men are ruled by women: Tis not the king that sends you to the Tower; Was it not she, and that good man of worship, Clar. By heaven, I think, there is no man secure, The jealous o'er-worn widow, and herself,' Enter Hastings. Hast. Good time of day unto my gracious lord must: But I shall live, my lord, to give them thanks, Glo. No doubt, no doubt; and so shall Clarence For they, that were your enemics, are his, Glo. What news abroad? Hast. No news so bad abroad, as this at home:- Glo. Now, by saint Paul, this news is bad indeed Since that our brother dubb'd them gentlewomen,, he hath kept an evil diet long, Are mighty gossips in this monarchy. And over-much consum'd his royal person; Brak. I beseech your graces both to pardon me; What, is he in his bed? 'Tis very grievous to be thought upon. His majesty hath straitly given in charge, Glo. Even so? an please your worship, Braken- You may partake of any thing we say: A bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue; to do. He that doth naught with her, excepting one, Brak. What one, my lord? Glo. Her husband, knave:-Would'st thou betray me? Brak. I beseech your grace to pardon me; and, Forbear your conference with the noble duke. Glo. We are the queen's abjects, and must obey. Mean time, this deep disgrace in brotherhood, Clar. I know it pleaseth neither of us well. I must perforce; farewell. [Exeunt Clarence, Brakenbury, and Guard. Glo. Go, tread the path that thou shalt ne'er return. Simple, plain Clarence!-I do love thee so, (1) The queen and Shore. Hast. He is. Glo. Go you before, and I will follow you. He cannot live, I hope; and must not die, For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter: By marrying her, which I must reach unto. When they are gone, then must I count my gains. [Exit. SCENE II.-The same. Another street. Enter the corps of King Henry the Sixth, borne in an open coffin, Gentlemen bearing halberds, to guard it; and Lady Anne as mourner. Anne. Set down, set down, your honourable If honour may be shrouded in a hearse,- Lo, in these windows, that let forth thy life, |