death?

Enter another Messenger.

3 Mess. My lord, the army of great Buckingham— K. Rich. Out on ye, owls! nothing but songs of [He strikes him. There, take thou that, till thou bring better news. 3 Mess. The news I have to tell your majesty, Is,-that, by sudden floods and fall of waters, Buckingham's army is dispers'd and scatter'd ; And he himself wander'd away alone,

No man knows whither.

K. Rich.

O, I cry you mercy :

There is my purse, to cure that blow of thine.
Hath any well-advised friend proclaim'd
Reward to him that brings the traitor in?

3 Mess. Such proclamation hath been made, my liege

Enter another Messenger.

4 Mess. Sir Thomas Lovel, and lord marquis Dorset,
"Tis said, my liege, in Yorkshire are in arms.
But this good comfort bring I to your highness,-
The Bretagne navy is dispers'd by tempest:
Richmond, in Dorsetshire, sent out a boat
Unto the shore, to ask those on the banks,
If they were his assistants, yea, or no;
Who answer'd him, they came from Buckingham
Upon his party: he, mistrusting them,

Hois'd sail, and made his course again for Bretagne.
K. Rich. March on, march on, since we are up in

arms;

If not to fight with foreign enemies,

Yet to beat down these rebels here at home.

Enter CATESBY.

Cate. My liege, the duke of Buckingham is taken, That is the best news; That the earl of Richmond

Is with a mighty power landed at Milford,

Is colder news, but yet they must be told.

K. Rich. Away towards Salisbury; while we reason here',

A royal battle might be won and lost :

Some one take order, Buckingham be brought
To Salisbury;-the rest march on with me. [Exeunt.

SCENE V.

A Room in Lord STANLEY's House.

Enter STANLEY and Sir CHRISTOPHER URSWICK 2.

Stan. Sir Christopher, tell Richmond this from me:— That, in the sty of this most bloody boar,

My son George Stanley is frank'd up in hold;

If I revolt, off goes young George's head;
The fear of that withholds my present aid.

But, tell me, where is princely Richmond now?

Christ. At Pembroke, or at Ha'rford-west, in Wales.
Stan. What men of name resort to him?
Christ. Sir Walter Herbert, a renowned soldier;

Sir Gilbert Talbot, sir William Stanley;

Oxford, redoubted Pembroke, sir James Blunt,

9 they must be told.] This was the language of Shakspeare's time, when the word news was often considered as plural.

1

2

while we reason here,] i. e. while we talk here.

Sir Christopher Urswick.] The person, who is called Sir Christopher here, and who has been styled so in the Dramatis Persona of all the impressions, was Christopher Urswick, a bachelor in divinity; and chaplain to the countess of Richmond, who had intermarried with the lord Stanley. This priest, the history tells us, frequently went backwards and forwards, unsuspected, on messages betwixt the countess of Richmond, and her husband, and the young earl of Richmond, whilst he was preparing to make his descent on England. He was afterwards almoner to king Henry VII., and retired to Hackney, where he died in 1521.

And Rice-ap-Thomas, with a valiant crew;
And many other of great fame and worth:
And towards London do they bend their course,
If by the way they be not fought withal.

Stan. Well, hie thee to thy lord; commend me to

him ;

Tell him the queen hath heartily consented
He shall espouse Elizabeth her daughter.
These letters will resolve him of my mind.

Farewell.

[Gives Papers to Sir CHRISTOPHER.

[Exeunt.

ACT V.

SCENE I-Salisbury. An open Place.

Enter the Sheriff, and Guard, with BUCKINGHAM, led to Execution.

Buck. Will not king Richard let me speak with him? Sher. No, my good lord: therefore be patient.

Buck. Hastings and Edward's children, Rivers, Grey, Holy king Henry, and thy fair son Edward, Vaughan, and all that have miscarried

By underhand corrupted foul injustice:

If that your moody discontented souls

Do through the clouds behold this present hour,

Even for revenge, mock my destruction !—

This is All-Souls' day, fellows, is it not?

Sher. It is, my lord.

Buck. Why, then All-Souls' day is my body's dooms

day.

This is the day, which, in king Edward's time,

I wish'd might fall on me, when I was found
False to his children, or his wife's allies:
This is the day wherein I wish'd to fall

By the false faith of him whom most I trusted:
This, this All-Souls' day to my fearful soul,
Is the determin'd respite of my wrongs'.
That high All-seer which I dallied with,
Hath turned my feigned prayer on my head,
And given in earnest what I begg'd in jest.
Thus doth he force the swords of wicked men
To turn their own points on their masters' bosoms:
Thus Margaret's curse falls heavy on my neck,-
When he, quoth she, shall split thy heart with sorrow,
Remember Margaret was a prophetess.—

Come, sirs, convey me to the block of shame;
Wrong hath but wrong, and blame the due of blame.

[Exeunt BUCKINGHAM, &c.

SCENE II.

Plain near Tamworth.

Enter, with Drum and Colours, RICHMOND, OXFORD, Sir JAMES BLUNT, Sir WALTER HERBERT, and Others, with Forces, marching.

Richm. Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends, Bruis'd underneath the yoke of tyranny,

Thus far into the bowels of the land

Have we march'd on without impediment;

And here receive we from our father Stanley
Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.

The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,

That spoil'd your summer fields, and fruitful vines, Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine

3 Is the determin'd respite of my wrongs.] Hanmer has rightly explained it, the time to which the punishment of his wrongs was respited. Wrongs in this line means wrongs done, or injurious practices.

Lies now even in the center of this isle,
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn:
From Tamworth thither, is but one day's march.
In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends,
To reap the harvest of perpetual peace

By this one bloody trial of sharp war.

Oxf. Every man's conscience is a thousand swords, To fight against that bloody homicide.

Herb. I doubt not, but his friends will turn to us. Blunt. He hath no friends, but who are friends for

fear;

Which, in his dearest need, will fly from him.

Richm. All for our vantage. Then, in God's name,

march:

True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings,
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.

Bosworth Field.

Enter King RICHARD, and Forces; the Duke of NORFOLK, Earl of SURREY, and Others.

K. Rich. Here pitch our tents, even here in Bosworth field.

My lord of Surrey, why look you so sad?

Sur. My heart is ten times lighter than my looks.
K. Rich. My lord of Norfolk,-

Here, most gracious liege,

Nor.
K. Rich. Norfolk, we must have knocks; Ha! must

we not?

Nor. We must both give and take, my loving lord. K. Rich. Up with my tent: Here will I lie to-night; [Soldiers begin to set up the King's Tent.

Lies now - i. e. sojourns.