Ten thousand bloody crowns of mothers' fons
Shall ill become the flower of England's face;
Change the complexion of her maid-pale peace
To fcarlet indignation, and bedew

Her paftures' grafs with faithful English blood.
North. The King of heaven forbid, our lord the
king

Should fo with civil and uncivil arms

Be rush'd upon! Thy thrice-noble coufin,
Harry Bolingbroke, doth humbly kifs thy hand,

But e'er the crown, he looks for, light in peace,

i. e. defcend and fettle upon Bolingbroke's head in peace.Again, I have a fmall quarrel to the third line quoted. Would the poet fay, that bloody crowns fhould disfigure the flowers that fpring on the ground, and bedew the grafs with blood? Surely the two images are too fimilar. I have fufpected,

Shall ill become the floor of England's face;

i. e. fhall make a difmal fpectacle on the furface of the kingdom's earth. THEOBALD.

By the flower of England's face, is meant the choiceft youths of England, who fhall be flaughtered in this quarrel, or have bloody crowns. The flower of England's face, to defign her choiceft youth, is a fine and noble expreflion. Pericles, by a fimilar thought, faid that the deftruction of the Athenian youth was a fatality like cutting off the fpring from the year. Yet the Oxford Editor, who did not apprehend the figure, alters the line thus,

Shall mifbecome the flow'ry England's face.

Which means I know not what. WARBURTON.

Dr. Warburton has inferted light in peace in the text of his own edition, but live in peace is more fuitable to Richard's intention, which is to tell him, that though he fhould get the crown by rebellion, it will be long before it will live in peace, be fo fettled as to be firm. The flower of England's face, is very happily explained, and any alteration is therefore needlefs.

JOHNSON.

The Acer of England's face, I believe, means England's flowery face, the flowery furface of England's foil. The fame kind of expreffion is ufed in Sidney's Arcadia, p. 2. "opening the cherry of her lips," i. c. " her cherry lips." So Drayton in Mortimer's Epifle to Queen Ijabell.

“

"And in the field advance our plumy creft,
"And march upon fair England's flow'ry breaft."

STEEVENS.

And

And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That ftands upon your royal grandfire's bones;
And by the royalties of both your bloods,
Currents that fpring from the moft gracious head;
*And by the bury'd hand of warlike Gaunt;
And by the worth and honour of himself,
Comprising all that may be fworn, or faid-
His coming hither hath no farther scope,
Than for his lineal royalties, and to beg
Infranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to ruft,
His barbed steeds to ftables, and his heart
To faithful fervice of your majefty.
This fwears he, as he is a prince, is juft;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.

K. Rich. Northumberland, fay-thus the king re

turns:

His noble coufin 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.
We do debase ourself, coufin, do we not,
To look fo poorly, and to speak so fair?
Shall we call back Northumberland, and fend
Defiance to the traitor, and fo die?

[To Aum.

Aum. No, good my lord; let's fight with gentle words

Till time lend friends, and friends their helpful fwords. K. Rich. Oh God! oh God! that e'er this tongue of

mine,

That laid the fentence of dread banishment

On yon proud man, fhall take it off again

And by the bury'd hand of warlike Gaunt,] It fhould be read juft the other way,

And by the warlike hand of bury'd Gaunt. WARB. I fee no great difference. JOHNSON.

3 With words of footh! Oh, that I were as great
As is my grief, or leffer than my name!

Or that I could forget what I have been!
Or not remember what I must be now!

Swell'ft thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope to beat,
Since foes have scope to beat both thee and me.

Aum. Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.

K. Rich. What must the king do now? muft he
fubmit?

The king fhall do it. Muft he be depos'd?
The king fhall be contented: must he lofe
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go.
I'll give my jewels for a fet of beads;
My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage;
My gay apparel, for an alms-man's gown;
My figur'd goblets, for a difh of wood;
My fcepter, for a palmer's walking staff;
My fubjects, for a pair of carved faints;
And my large kingdom, for a little grave;
A little, little grave-an obfcure grave:-
4 Or I'll be bury'd in the king's highway,
Some way of common trade, where fubjects' feet
May hourly trample 5 on their sovereign's head;

For

3 With words of footh!] Sooth is sweet as well as true. In this place footh means faveetness or foftuefs, a fignification yet retained in the verb to footh. JOHNSON.

+ Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,

Some way of common trade,-] As fpecious as this reading appears, Mr. Warburton, Mr. Bishop, and I, all concurred in fufpecting it, and in the amendment which now poffeffes the text; Some way of common tread-i. e. a high road. He fubjoins immediately;

For on my heart they tread now, while I live; and we know how much it is Shakespeare's way to diverfify the image with the fame word. THEOBALD.

Dr. Warburton has put tread in his own text, but trade will serve very well in the fenfe either of commerce or cuftom. JoнNS. 5 on their fovereign's head;] Shakespeare is very apt to deviate from the pathetic to the ridiculous. Had the fpeech of

Richard

For on my heart they tread now, whilft I live;
And, bury'd once, why not upon my head?
Aumerle, thou weep'ft; my tender-hearted coufin !-
We'll make foul weather with defpifed tears;
Our fighs, and they, fhall lodge the fummer corn,
And make a dearth in this revolting land.

Or fhall we play the wantons with our woes,

And make fome pretty match, with fhedding tears?
As thus; to drop them ftill upon one place,
Till they have fretted us a pair of
graves
Within the earth; and therein laid-There lies
Two kinfmen, digg'd their graves with weeping eyes.
Would not this ill do well?-Well, well, I fee
I talk but idly, and you mock at me.

[North. advances.
Moft mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,
What fays king Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
You make a leg, and Bolingbroke fays, ay.

North. My lord, in the base court he doth attend To speak with you; may't please you to come down. K. Rich. Down, down I come; like glist'ring Phae

ton,

Wanting the manage of unruly jades.

1

[North. retires to Bol. In the base court? bafe court, where kings grow bafe, To come at traitors' calls, and do them grace. In the bafe court, come down? Down court! down

king!

For night-owls fhriek, where mounting larks fhould

fing.

Boling. What fays his majefty?

[Exeunt from above.

North. Sorrow, and grief of heart,

Makes him fpeak fondly, like a frantic man;

Yet he is come.

[Enter Richard below.

Richard ended at this line it had exhibited the natural language of fubmiffive mifery, conforming its intention to the prefent fortune, and calmly ending its purpofes in death. JOHNSON.

Boling. Stand all apart,

And fhew fair duty to his majesty.

My gracious lord

[Kneels.

K. Rich. Fair coufin, you debafe your princely knee, To make the base earth proud with kiffing it. Me rather had, my heart might feel your love, Than my unpleas'd eye fee your courtesy. Up, coufin, up; your heart is up, I know, Thus high at least, although your knee be low.

[Touching his own bead. Boling. My gracious lord, I come but for mine own. K. Rich. Your own is yours, and I am yours, and

all.

Boling. So far be mine, my most redoubted lord, As my true fervice fhall deferve your love.

K. Rich. Well you deserve :-they well deferve to
have,

That know the strongest and fureft way to get.-
Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears fhew their love, but want their remedies.-
Coufin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to by my heir.
What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we muft, what force will have us do.-
Set on towards London. Coufin, is it fo?
Boling. Yea, my good lord.

K. Rich. Then I must not fay, no. [Flourish. Exeunt.

SCENE IV.

A garden, in the queen's court.

Enter queen and two ladies.

Queen. What fport fhall we devife here in this gar

den,

To drive away the heavy thought of care?

Lady. Madam, we'll play at bowls.

Queen.