Now prifoner to the palfie, chaftife thee, Boling. My gracious uncle, let me know my fault; On what condition ftands it, and wherein ? York. Ev'n in condition of the worst degree; In grofs Rebellion, and detefted Treafon. Thou art a banifh'd man, and here art come, Before the expiration of thy time, In braving arms against thy Sovereign. Boling. As I was banish'd, I was banish'd Hereford; And yet my letters patents give me leave : On what condition.] It fhould be, in what condition. That is, in what degree of guit. The particles in the old editions are of little credit. Wherefore was I born?] To what purpose serves birth and lineal fucceffion? I am Duke of Lancafter by the fame right of Lirth as the King is king of Eng land. To To mine Inheritance of free Descent. North. The noble Duke hath been too much abus'd. Rofs. It ftands your Grace upon, to do him Right. Willo. Bafe men by his endowments are made great. York. My lords of England, let me tell you this, I have had Feeling of my Coufin's wrongs, And labour'd all I could to do him Right. But, in this kind, to come in braving arms, Be his own carver, and cut out his way, To find out Right with wrongs, it may not be ; And you that do abet him in this kind, Cherish Rebellion, and are Rebels all. North. The noble Duke hath fworn, his Coming is Boling. An offer, Uncle, that we will accept. [Exeunt. SCENE 2 SCENE XI. In WALE S. Enter Salisbury, and a Captain. Cap. MAnd hardly kept our Countrymen together, Y lord of Salisbury, we have ftaid ten days, And yet we hear no tidings from the King; Salif. Stay yet another day, thou trufty Welshman: The King repofeth all his truft in thee. Cap. 'Tis thought, the King is dead: we will not The Bay-trees in our Country all are wither'd, 2 Here is a scene fo unartfully and irregularly thruft into an improper place, that I cannot but fufpect it accidentally tranfpofed; which, when the scenes were written on fingle pages, might eafily happen, in the wildnefs of ShakeSpeare's drama. This dialogue was, in the authour's draught, probably the second scene of the enfuing act, and there I would advife the reader to infert it, though I have not ventured on fo bold a change. My conjecture is not fo prefumptuous as may be VOL. IV. E [Exit. thought. The play was not, in Shakespeare's time, broken into acts; the two editions published before his death exhibit only a fequence of fcenes from the beginning to the end, without any hint of a paufe of action. In a drama fo defultory and erratick, left in fuch a ftate, tranfpofitions might eafily be made. The bay-trees, &c.] This enumeration of prodigies is in the higheft degree poetical and ftriking. Fall Fall to the base earth from the firmament. [Exit. ACT III. SCENE I. Bolingbroke's Camp at Bristol. Enter Bolingbroke, York, Northumberland, Rofs, Percy, Willoughby, with Bufhy and Green Prisoners. B BOLINGBROKE. RING forth these men. Busby and Green, I will not vex your fouls And ftain'd the Beauty of a fair Queen's cheeks Near to the King in blood, and near in love, Till you did make him mif-interpret me, Eat Eating the bitter bread of Banifhment, This, and much more, much more than twice all this, Busby. More welcome is the ftroke of death to me, Than Bolingbroke to England.Lords, farewel. Green. My comfort is, that heav'n will take our fouls, And plague injuftice with the pains of hell. Boling. My lord Northumberland, fee them dispatch'd. -Uncle, you fay the Queen is at your houfe; For heav'n's fake, fairly let her be intreated; Tell her, I fend to her my kind Commends; Take fpecial care, my Greetings be deliver❜d. York. A gentleman of mine I have dispatch'd With letters of your love to her at large. Boling. Thanks, gentle Uncle.-Come, my lords, away, 3 From mine own windows torn my boufbald coat.] It was the practice, when coloured glafs was in ufe, of which there are ftill fome remains in old feats and churches, to anneal the arms of the family in the windows of the house. Thanks, gentle Uncle; Come, my Lords, away, To fight with Glendower and his Complices, A while to Work, and after Holyday.] Tho' the intermediate Line has taken Poffef Το fion of all the old Copies, I have great Sufpicion of its being an Interpolation; and have therefore ventur'd to throw it out. The first and third Line rhime to each other; nor, do I imagine, this was cafual, but intended by the Poet. Were we to acknow ledge the Line genuine, it must argue the Poet of Forgetfulness and Inattention to Hiftory. Bojust arrived; he is now at Bristol lingbroke is, as it were, yet but weak in his Numbers; has had no Meeting with a Parliament; E 2 nor |