Whose frown hath made thee faint and fly ere this.
Clif. I will not bandy with thee word for word;
But buckle thee with blows, twice two for one. [Draws.
Q.Mar. Hold, valiant Clifford! for a thousand causes,
I would prolong awhile the traitor's life ;-

Wrath makes him deaf: speak thou, Northumberland.
North. Hold, Clifford; do not honour him so much,
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart :
What valour were it, when a cur doth grin,
For one to thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away?
It is war's prize2 to take all vantages;

And ten to one is no impeach of valour.

[They lay hands on YORK, who struggles. Clif. Ay, ay, so strives the woodcock with the gin. North. So doth the coney struggle in the net. [YORK is taken prisoner. York. So triumph thieves upon their conquer'd booty; So true men yield, with robbers so o'er-match'd. North. What would your grace have done unto him now? Q.Mar. Brave warriors, Clifford and Northumberland, Come make him stand upon this molehill here; That raughts at mountains with outstretched arms, Yet parted but the shadow with his handWhat! was it you, that would be England's king ? Was't you that revell'd in our parliament, And made a preachment of your high descent ? Where are your mess of sons to back you now? The wanton Edward, and the lusty George? And where's that valiant crook-back prodigy, Dicky your boy, that, with his grumbling voice, Was wont to cheer his dad in mutinies ? Or, with the rest, where is your darling Rutland ? Look, York; I stain❜d this napkin with the blood The valiant Clifford, with his rapier's point, Made issue from the bosom of the boy : And, if thine eyes can water for his death, I give thee this to dry thy cheeks withal. Alas, poor York! but that I hate thee deadly, I should lament thy miserable state.

I pr'ythee, grieve, to make me merry, York;

[2] All 'vantages are in war lawful prize; that is, may be lawfully taken and used. JOHNS.

[3] i.e. That reach'd. The ancient preterite and participle passive of reach. STEEV. [4] A napkin is a handkerchief. JOHNS.

Stamp, rave, and fret, that I may sing and dance.
What, hath thy fiery heart so parch'd thine entrails,
That not a tear can fall for Rutland's death?
Why art thou patient, man? thou should'st be mad ;
And I, to make thee mad, do mock thee thus.
Thou would'st be fee'd, I see, to make me sport;
York cannot speak, unless he wear a crown.—
A crown for York ;-and, lords, bow low to him.-
Hold you his hands, whilst I do set it on.-

[Putting a paper Crown on his Head.
Ay, marry, sir, now looks he like a king!
Ay, this is he that took king Henry's chair;
And this is he was his adopted heir.----
But how is it that great Plantagenet

Is crown'd so soon, and broke his solemn oath?
As I bethink me, you should not be king,

Till our king Henry had shook hands with death,
And will you pales your head in Henry's glory
And rob his temples of the diadem,

Now in his life, against your holy oath?

O, 'tis a fault too too unpardonable !—

Off with the crown; and, with the crown, his head;
And, whilst we breathe, take time to do him dead.
Clif. That is my office, for my father's sake.

Q.Mar. Nay, stay; let's hear the orisons he makes.
York. She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of
France,

Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's tooth!
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex,

To triumph like an Amazonian trull,

Upon their woes, whom fortune captivates?

But that thy face is, visor-like, unchanging,

Made impudent with use of evil deeds,

I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush:
To tell thee whence thou cam'st, of whom deriv'd,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou not
shameless.

Thy father bears the type of king of Naples,

Of both the Sicils, and Jerusalem;

Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch taught thee to insult?

It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen;

[5] That is, impale, encircle with a crown. MALONE,

[6] To kill him. STEEV.

[7] i. e. the distinguishing mark; an obsolete use of the word. STEEV,

Unless the adage must be verified,

That beggars, mounted, run their horse to death.
'Tis beauty, that doth oft make women proud;
But, God he knows, thy share thereof is small:
'Tis virtue, that doth make them most admir'd;
The contrary doth make thee wonder'd at:
'Tis government, that makes them seem divine ;
The want thereof makes thee abominable :
Thou art as opposite to every good,

As the Antipodes are unto us,

Or as the south to the septentrion. 9

O, tiger's heart, wrapp'd in a woman's hide!
How could'st thou drain the life-blood of the child,
To bid the father wipe his eyes withal,

And yet be seen to wear a woman's face?
Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible;

Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.

Bidd'st thou me rage? why, now thou hast thy wish:
Would'st have me weep? why, now thou hast thy will:
For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
And, when the rage allays, the rain begins.
These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies ;
And every drop cries vengeance for his death,-

'Gainst thee,fell Clifford,and thee false French-woman. North. Beshrew me, but his passions move me so,

That hardly can I check my eyes from tears.

York. That face of his the hungry cannibals

Would not have touch'd, would not have stain'd with

blood:

But you are more inhuman, more inexorable,

O, ten times more,-than tigers of Hyrcania.
See, ruthless queen, a hapless father's tears:
This cloth thou dipp'dst in blood of my sweet boy,
And I with tears do wash the blood away.

Keep thou the napkin, and go boast of this:

[He gives back the Handkerchief.

And, if thou tell'st the heavy story right,

Upon my soul, the hearers will shed tears;
Yea, even my foes will shed fast-falling tears,

And say,-Alas, it was a piteous deed!

There, take the crown, and, with the crown, my curse ; And, in thy need, such comfort come to thee,

[8] Government in the language of that time, signified evenness of tem

per, and decency of manners. JOHNS.

[9] Septentrion-i. e. the North. Septentrio, Lat.

STEEV.

As now I reap at thy too cruel hand!

Hard-hearted Clifford, take me from the world;
My soul to heaven, my blood upon your heads!

North. Had he been slaughter-man to all my kin,
I should not for my life but weep with him,
To see how inly sorrow gripes his soul.

(Q.Mar.What, weeping-ripe, my lord Northumberland? Think but upon the wrong he did us all,

And that will quickly dry thy melting tears.

Clif. Here's for my oath, here's for my father's death.

[Stabbing him. Q.Mar. And here's to right our gentle-hearted king. [Stabbing him. York. Open thy gate of mercy, gracious God! My soul flies through these wounds to seek out thee. [Dies. Q.Mar. Off with his head, and set it on York gates; So York may overlook the town of York.' [Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I.-A Plain near Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire. Drums. Enter EDWARD and RICHARD, with their Forces, marching.

Edward.

I WONDER, how our princely father 'scap'd;
Or whether he be 'scap'd away, or no,

From Clifford's and Northumberland's pursuit ;
Had be been ta'en, we should have heard the news;
Had he been slain, we should have heard the news;
Or, had he 'scap'd, methinks, we should have heard
The happy tidings of his good escape.-
How fares my brother? why is he so sad?
Rich. I cannot joy, until I be resolv'd
Where our right valiant father is become.
I saw him in the battle range about;

And watch'd him, how he singled Clifford forth
Methought, he bore him in the thickest troop,
As doth a lion in a herd of neat :

Or as a bear, encompass'd round with dogs;
Who having pinch'd a few, and made them cry,
The rest stand all aloof, and bark at him.

[] This gallant nobleman fell by his own imprudence, in consequence of leading an army of only five thousand men to engage with twenty thousand and not waiting for the arrival of his son the Earl of March, with a large body of Welshmen. MAL.

VOL. V.

19*

So far'd our father with his enemies ;
So fled his enemies my warlike father;
Methinks, 'tis prize enough to be his son.
See, how the morning opes her golden gates,
And takes her farewell of the glorious sun !3
How well resembles it the prime of youth,
Trimm'd like a younker, prancing to his love!
Edw. Dazzle mine eyes, or do I see three suns?
Rich. Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun;
Not separated with the racking clouds,4
But sever'd in a pale clear-shining sky.

See, see they join, embrace, and seem to kiss,
As if they vow'd some league inviolable:

Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun,

In this the heaven figures some event.

Edw. Tis wondrous strange, the like yet never heard of. I think, it cites us, brother, to the field;

That we, the sons of brave Plantagenet,
Each one already blazing by our meeds,5

Should, notwithstanding, join our lights together,
And over-shine the earth, as this the world.
Whate'er it bodes, henceforward will I bear
Upon my target three fair shining suns.

Rich. Nay, bear three daughters ;-by your leave I speak it,

You love the breeder better than the male.

Enter a Messenger.

But who art thou, whose heavy looks foretel
Some dreadful story hanging on thy tongue?
Mess. Ah, one that was a woeful looker on,
When as the noble duke of York was slain,
Your princely father, and my loving lord.

Edw. O, speak no more! for I have heard too much.
Rich. Say how he dy'd, for I will hear it all.6
Mess. Environed he was with many foes;

And stood against them, as the hope of Troy7
Against the Greeks that would have enter'd Troy.

[3] Aurora takes for a time her farewell of the sun, when she dismisses him to his diurnal course. JOHNS.

MAL.

[4] i. e. the clouds in rapid, tumultuary motion. 15 Illustrious and shining by the armorial ensigns granted us as meeds of our great exploits. Meed likewise is Merit. It might be plausibly read: -blazing by our deeds. JOHNS.

[6] The generous tenderness of Edward, and savage fortitude, of Richard, are well distinguished by their different reception of their father's death.

JOHN'S.