Duch. O ill-dispersing wind of misery !-
O my accursed womb, the bed of death;
A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,
Whose unavoided eye is murderous!

Stan. Come, madam, come; I in all haste was

sent.

Anne. And I with all unwillingness will go.-
O, would to God, that the inclusive verge
Of golden metal, that must round my brow,
Were red-hot steel, to sear me to the brain!
Anointed let me be with deadly venom;

And die, ere men can say-God save the queen!
Q. Eliz. Go, go, poor soul, I envy not thy glory;
To feed my humour, wish thyself no harm.
Anne. No! why?—When he, that is

now,

my

husband

5 A serpent supposed to originate from a cock's egg. Thus in Romeo and Juliet :

the death-darting eye of a cockatrice.'

6 She seems to allude to the ancient mode of punishing a regicide, or other criminals, by placing a crown of iron heated red hot upon his head. See Respublica et Status Hungariæ, Elzev. 1634, p. 136. In the Tragedy of Hoffman, 1631, this punishment is introduced :

:

'Fix on thy master's head my burning crown.' Again ;

6

was adjudg'd

To have his head sear'd with a burning crown.'

In some of the monkish accounts of a place of future torments, a burning crown is likewise appropriated to those who deprived any lawful monarch of his kingdom. Goldsmith alludes to the punishment of the peasant engaged in the Hungarian rebellion above referred to:

'Luke's iron crown, and Damien's bed of steel.' See Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. ii. p. 6, where it is observed that though George and Luke Zeck were both engaged in the rebellion, it was the former who was thus punished; but George would not suit the poet's verse. The earl of Athol, who was executed for the murder of James I. king of Scots, was previous to death crowned with a hot iron.

Came to me, as I follow'd Henry's corse;

When scarce the blood was well wash'd from his

hands,

Which issu'd from my other angel husband,

And that dead saint which then I weeping follow'd;
O, when, I say, I look'd on Richard's face,
This was my wish,—Be thou, quoth I, accurs'd,
For making me, so young, so old a widow!

And, when thou wed'st, let sorrow haunt thy bed;
And be thy wife (if any be so mad),
More miserable by the life of thee,

Than thou hast made me by my dear lord's death!
Lo, ere I can repeat this curse again,

Even in so short a space, my woman's heart
Grossly grew captive to his honey words,

And prov'd the subject of mine own soul's curse:
Which ever since hath held mine

For never yet one hour in his bed

eyes from rest;

Did I enjoy the golden dew of sleep,

But with his timorous dreams was still awak'd.
Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;
And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.

Q. Eliz. Poor heart, adieu; I pity thy complaining. Anne. No more than with my soul I mourn for yours. Dor. Farewell, thou woful welcomer of glory! Anne. Adieu, poor soul, that tak'st thy leave of it! Duch. Go thou to Richmond, and good fortune guide thee![To DORSET. Go thou to Richard, and good angels tend thee!— [To ANNE.

thee!

Go thou to sanctuary, and good thoughts possess [To Q. ELIZABETH. I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me!

7 It is recorded by Polydore Virgil that Richard was frequently disturbed by terrible dreams. The veracity of that historian has been called in doubt; but Shakspeare followed the popular histories.

Eighty odd

8 of sorrow have I seen.

years
And each hour's joy wreck'd with a week of teen 9.
Q. Eliz. Stay yet; look back, with me, unto the
Tower.-

Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes,
Whom envy hath immur'd within your walls!
Rough cradle for such little pretty ones!
Rude ragged nurse! old sullen playfellow
For tender princes, use my babies well!
So foolish sorrow bids your stones farewell.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. A Room of State in the Palace. Flourish of Trumpets. RICHARD, as King upon his throne; BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a Page, and Others.

K. Rich. Stand all apart.-Cousin of Buckingham,

Buck. My gracious sovereign.

K. Rich. Give me thy hand. Thus high, by thy advice,

And thy assistance, is King Richard seated:
But shall we wear these glories for a day?
Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?

Buck. Still live they, and for ever let them last! K. Rich. Ah, Buckingham, now do I play the touch 1,

8 Shakspeare seems here to have spoken at random. The present scene is in 1483. Richard duke of York, the husband of this lady, had he been then living, would have been but seventythree years old, and we may reasonably suppose she was not older: nor did she go speedily to her grave; she lived till 1495. 9 Sorrow.

To play the touch' is to resemble the touchstone. Thus in Drayton's Heroical Epistles:

Before mine eyes, like touch, thy shape did prove.'

Mary the French Queen to Charles Brandon.

To try if thou be current gold, indeed :Young Edward lives;-Think now what I would speak.

Buck. Say on, my loving lord.

K. Rich. Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be
king.

Buck. Why, so you are, my thrice-renowned liege.
K.Rich. Ha! am I king? 'Tis so: but Edward lives.
Buck. True, noble prince.

K. Rich.
O bitter consequence,
That Edward still should live,-true, noble prince!-
Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so dull:
Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead;
And I would have it suddenly perform'd.
What say'st thou now? speak suddenly, be brief.
Buck. Your grace may do your pleasure.

K. Rich. Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezes :

Say, have I thy consent, that they shall die? Buck. Give me some breath, some little pause, dear lord,

Before I positively speak in this :

I will resolve your grace immediately.

[Exit BUCKINGHAM.

Cate. The king is angry; see, he gnaws his lip2.

[Aside.

K. Rich. I will converse with iron-witted fools, [Descends from his Throne. And unrespective boys 3: none are for me,

2 Several of our ancient historians observe that this was an accustomed action of Richard, whether he was pensive or angry. 3 Unrespective, i. e. devoid of cautious and prudential consideration, inconsiderate, unregardful. Thus in Daniel's Cleopatra, 1599:

When dissolute impiety possess'd

The unrespective minds of prince and people.' So in Troilus and Cressida :

VOL. VII.

L

That look into me with considerate eyes;—
High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect.—
Boy,-

Page. My lord.

K. Rich. Know'st thou not any, whom corrupting gold

Would tempt unto a close exploit* of death?

Page. I know a discontented gentleman, Whose humble means match not his haughty mind: Gold were as good as twenty orators,

And will no doubt tempt him to any thing.

K. Rich. What is his name?

Page.

His name, my lord, is-Tyrrel.

K. Rich. I partly know the man; Go, call him hither, boy.

The deep-revolving witty5 Buckingham

[Exit Page.

No more shall be the neighbour to my counsels:
Hath he so long held out with me untir'd,

And stops he now for breath?—well, be it so.—

Enter STANLEY.

How now, Lord Stanley? what's the news?

Stan.

Know, my loving lord,

The marquis Dorset, as I hear, is fled

To Richmond, in the parts where he abides.

Nor the remaining viands

We do not throw in unrespective sieve,
Because we now are full.'

Thus in Timon of Athens, Act iv. Sc. 3 :

never learn'd

The icy precepts of respect, but follow'd
The sugar'd game before thee.'

4 Secret act.

5 Witty was not at this time employed to signify a man of fancy, but was used for sagacity, wisdom, or judgment; or, as Baret defines it, having the senses sharp, perceiving or foreseeing quicklie.' So in Daniel's Cleopatra, 1599:

'Although unwise to live, had wit to die.'

And in one of Ben Jonson's Masques:

And at her feet do witty serpents move.'