To scarlet indignation, and bedew
Her pastures' grass with faithful English blood. North. The King of heaven forbid, our lord the king
Should so with civil and uncivil arms
Be rush'd upon! Thy thrice-noble cousin, Harry Bolingbroke, doth humbly kiss thy hand; And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones;
And by the royalties of both your bloods,-
Currents that spring from one most gracious
head,
And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt ;
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be sworn 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 rust,
His barbed steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.
K. Rich. Northumberland, say, thus the king
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.-
[To AUMERLE.] We do debase ourself, cousin,
do we not,
To look so poorly, and to speak so fair?
Shall we call back Northumberland, and send
Defiance to the traitor, and so die?
Aum. No, good my lord; let's fight with gentle words,
Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful swords.
K. Rich. O God! O God! that e'er this tongue of mine,
That laid the sentence of dread banishment
On yon proud man, should take it off again
With words of sooth! O, that I were as great
As is my grief, or lesser than my name!
Or that I could forget what I have been!
Or not remember what I must be now!
Swell'st thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope
to beat,
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and
Aum. Northumberland comes back from Bo
K. Rich. What must the king do now? Must he submit?
The king shall do it. Must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented. Must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go :
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads;
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage;
My gay apparel for an alms-man's gown;
My figured goblets for a dish of wood;
My sceptre for a palmer's walking staff;
My subjects for a pair of carved saints;
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave :-
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,
Some way of common trade, where subjects' fee
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head:
For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;
And, buried once, why not upon my head?
Aumerle, thou weep'st: my tender-hearted
We'll make foul weather with despised tears;
Our sighs, and they, shall lodge the summer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.
Or shall we play the wantons with our woes,
And make some pretty match with shedding
tears?
As thus ;-to drop them still upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of graves
Within the earth; and, therein laid,― There lies
Two kinsmen, digg'd their graves with weeping
Would not this ill do well?-Well, well, I see
I talk but idly, and you mock at me.-
Most mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,
What says king Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die ?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke says―ay.
North. My lord, in the base court he doth
attend
To speak with you; may it please you to come down?
K. Rich. Down? down I come; like glistering Phaeton,
Wanting the manage of unruly jades.
[NORTH. retires to BOLING. In the base court? Base court, where kings grow
To come at traitors' call, and do them grace.
In the base court? Come down? Down, court!
Down, king!
For night-owls shriek, where mounting larks
Boling. What says his majesty?
Sorrow and grief of heart Makes him speak fondly, like a frantic man: Yet he is come.
Enter KING RICHARD, and his Attendants, below. Boling. Stand all apart,
And show fair duty to his majesty.[Kneeling.] My gracious lord,—
K. Rich. Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,
To make the base earth proud with kissing it :
Me rather had my heart might feel your love,
Than my unpleased eye see your courtesy.
Up, cousin, up; your heart is up, I know,
Thus high at least [touching his own head], al-
though your knee be low.
Boling. My gracious lord, I come but for mine
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 shall deserve your love.
K. Rich. Well you deserve:-they well deserve to have
That know the strong'st and surest way to get.—
Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.-
Cousin, 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 must what force will have us do.-
Set on towards London.-Cousin, is it so?
Boling. Yea, my good lord.
Then I must not say no.
[Flourish. Exeunt.
SCENE IV.-Langley. The Duke of York's
Enter the QUEEN and two Ladies.
Queen. What sport shall we devise here in this garden,
To drive away the heavy thought of care?
I Lady. Madam, we'll play at bowls.
Queen. 'Twill make me think the world is full of rubs,
And that my fortune runs against the bias.
I Lady. Madam, we'll dance.
Queen. My legs can keep no measure in delight,
When my poor heart no measure keeps in grief:
Therefore, no dancing, girl; some other sport.
I Lady. Madam, we'll tell tales.
Queen. Of joy, or grief?
Of either, madam. Queen. Of neither, girl:
For if of joy, being altogether wanting,
It doth remember me the more of sorrow;
Or if of grief, being altogether had,
It adds more sorrow to my want of joy :
For what I have, I need not to repeat;
And what I want, it boots not to complain.
I Lady. Madam, I'll sing.
'Tis well that thou hast cause; But thou shouldst please me better wouldst thou
1 Lady. I could weep, madam, would it do you good.
Queen. And I could sing, would weeping do me good,
And never borrow any tear of thee.
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