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The Ghosts of the two young Princes rise.

Tower;

Ghosts. Dream on thy cousins smothered in the [TO RICHARD. Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard, And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death! Thy nephews' souls bid thee despair, and die.Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy; [To RICHMOND. Good angels guard thee from the boar's annoy! Live, and beget a happy race of kings! Edward's unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

The Ghost of Queen Anne rises.

Ghost. Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne, thy wife, That never slept a quiet hour with thee,

Now fills thy sleep with perturbations :
To-morrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgeless sword; despair, and die!—
Thou, quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;

Dream of success and happy victory;

[To RICHMOND.

Thy adversary's wife doth pray for thee.

The Ghost of Buckingham rises.

Ghost. The first was I, that helped thee to the

crown;

The last was I that felt thy tyranny:

O, in the battle think on Buckingham,
And die in terror of thy guiltiness!

[To RICHARD.

Dream on, dream on, of bloody deeds and death;
Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!—
I died for hope1 ere I could lend thee aid:

[TO RICHMOND.
But cheer thy heart, and be thou not dismayed:
God, and good angels, fight on Richmond's side;
And Richard falls in height of all his pride.

[The Ghosts vanish. KING RICHARD starts out of his dream.

1 Buckingham's hope of aiding Richmond induced him to take up arms.

[blocks in formation]

K. Rich. Give me another horse,-bind up my wounds,―

Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft; I did but dream.-
O, coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!-
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold, fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? Myself? There's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.

Is there a murderer here? No;—Yes; I am.
Then fly, What, from myself? Great reason; Why?
Lest I revenge. What? Myself on myself?

I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.

I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not.

Fool, of thyself speak well:-Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high'st degree,
Murder, stern murder, in the dir'st degree,
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all-Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.-There is no creature loves me;
And, if I die, no soul will pity me :-

Nay, wherefore should they? since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

Methought the souls of all that I had murdered
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.

Rat. My lord,

Enter RATCLIFF.

K. Rich. Who's there?

Rat. Ratcliff, my lord; 'tis I. The early village cock Hath twice done salutation to the morn.

Your friends are up, and buckle on their armor.

K. Rich. O, Ratcliff, I have dreamed a fearful dream!1

1 This and the two following lines are omitted in the folio.

What thinkest thou? will our friends prove all true?
Rat. No doubt, my lord.
K. Rich.

Ratcliff, I fear, I fear,-
Rat. Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.
K. Rich. By the apostle Paul, shadows to-night
Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard,
Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers,
Armed in proof, and led by shallow Richmond.
It is not yet near day. Come, go with me;
Under our tents I'll play the eaves-dropper,
To hear if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt KING RICHARD and RATCLIFF.

RICHMOND wakes. Enter OXFORD and others.

Lords. Good-morrow, Richmond.

Richm. 'Cry mercy, lords, and watchful gentlemen, That you have ta'en a tardy sluggard here.

Lords. How have you slept, my lord?

Richm. The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding dreams,

That ever entered in a drowsy head,

Have I since your departure had, my lords.

Methought their souls, whose bodies Richard murdered,
Came to my tent, and cried-On! victory!

I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.
How far into the morning is it, lords?
Lords. Upon the stroke of four.

Richm. Why, then 'tis time to arm, and give direction.- [He advances to the troops.

More than I have said, loving countrymen,
The leisure and enforcement of the time

Forbids to dwell on. Yet, remember this,—
God, and our good cause, fight upon our side:
The prayers of holy saints, and wronged souls,
Like high-reared bulwarks, stand before our faces;
Richard except, those, whom we fight against,
Had rather have us win, than him they follow.
For what is he they follow? Truly, gentlemen,

A bloody tyrant, and a homicide;

One raised in blood, and one in blood established;
One that made means to come by what he hath,
And slaughtered those that were the means to help

him;

A base, foul stone, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair,' where he is falsely set;
One that hath ever been God's enemy:
Then, if you fight against God's enemy,
God will, in justice, ward you as his soldiers;
If you do sweat to put a tyrant down,
You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain;
If you do fight against your country's foes,
Your country's fat shall pay your pains the hire;
you do fight in safeguard of your wives,

If

Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors;
If you do free your children from the sword,
Your children's children quit 2 it in your age.
Then, in the name of God, and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords;
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt

3

Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound, drums and trumpets, bòldly and cheerfully;
God, and saint George! Richmond, and victory!

[Exeunt. Re-enter KING RICHARD, RATCLIFF, Attendants, and

Forces.

K. Rich. What said Northumberland, as touching Richmond?

Rat. That he was never trained up in arms.

K. Rich. He said the truth. And what said Surrey

then?

Rat. He smiled, and said, the better for our purpose.

1 England's chair is the throne. The allusion is to the practice of setting gems of little worth, with a bright-colored foil under them.

2 Requite.

3 i. e. the fine paid by me in atonement for my rashness.

K. Rich. He was i'the right; and so, indeed, it is.

[Clock strikes.

Tell the clock there.-Give me a calendar.-
Who saw the sun to-day?

Rat.

Not I, my lord.

K. Rich. Then he disdains to shine; for, by the book, He should have braved the east an hour ago:

A black day will it be to somebody.

Ratcliff,

Rat. My lord?

K. Rich.

The sun will not be seen to-day; The sky doth frown and lower upon our army. I would these dewy tears were from the ground. Not shine to-day! Why, what is that to me, More than to Richmond? for the self-same heaven, That frowns on me, looks sadly upon him.

Enter NORFOlk.

Nor. Arm, arm, my lord; the foe vaunts in the field. K. Rich. Come, bustle, bustle ; - caparison my

horse ;

Call up lord Stanley; bid him bring his power :-
I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,
And thus my battle shall be ordered.

My foreward shall be drawn out all in length,
Consisting equally of horse and foot;

Our archers shall be placed in the midst :
John duke of Norfolk, Thomas earl of Surrey,
Shall have the leading of this foot and horse.
They thus directed, we ourself will follow

In the main battle; whose puissance on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse.
This, and saint George to boot!-What think'st thou,

Norfolk ?

Nor. A good direction, warlike sovereign.This found I on my tent this morning.

[Giving a scroll.

1 Baret's definition of brave, is "to look aloft and go gayly, desiring to

have the preeminence.”

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