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That power I have, discharge; and let them go
To ear the land that hath some hope to grow.

Wales. Before Flint castle.

[Exeunt. 160

Enter, with drum and colours, Bolingbroke, York, NORTHUMBERLAND, Attendants, and forces, meeting PERCY.

Percy. The castle royally is mann'd, my lord,

Against thy entrance.

Royally!

Yes, my good lord,

Why, it contains no king?

Boling.

Percy.

It doth contain a king; King Richard lies

Within the limits of yon lime and stone.

Boling. Go to the rude ribs of that ancient castle;
Through brazen trumpet send the breath of parle
Into his ruin'd ears, and thus deliver :

Henry Bolingbroke

On both his knees doth kiss King Richard's hand;
And sends allegiance, and true faith of heart
To his most royal person, hither come
Even at his feet to lay my arms and power;
Provided that my banishment repeal'd,
And lands restor❜d again be freely granted:
If not, I'll use the advantage of my power,
And lay the summer's dust with showers of blood.
March on, and mark King Richard how he looks.

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Parle without, and answer within. Then a flourish. Enter on the walls, KING RICHARD, the BISHOP OF CARLISLE, AUMERLE, SCROOP, and SALISBURY.

See, see, King Richard doth himself appear,

As doth the blushing discontented sun

From out the fiery portal of the east,

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When he perceives the envious clouds are bent

To dim his glory, and to stain the track

Of his bright passage to the occident.

K. Rich. We are amaz'd; and thus long have we stood

To watch the fearful bending of thy knee,

Because we thought ourself thy lawful king:

And if we be, how dare thy joints forget

To pay

their awful duty to our presence?

If we be not, show us the hand of God

That hath dismiss'd us from our stewardship.

Tell Bolingbroke-for yond methinks he stands---
That every stride he makes upon my land
Is dangerous treason.

[To North.

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North.
Thy thrice noble cousin,
Harry Bolingbroke, doth humbly kiss thy hand;
And by the honourable tomb he swears,
That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,
And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt,
And by the worth and honour of himself,
His coming hither hath no further scope
Than for his lineal royalties, and to beg
Enfranchisement immediate on his knees:
Which on thy royal party granted once,
His glittering arms he will commend to rust,
His barbéd steeds to stables, and his heart
To faithful service of your majesty.
This swears he, as he is a prince, is just;
And, as I am a gentleman, I credit him.

K. Rich. Northumberland, say thus the king returns :
His noble cousin is right welcome hither;
And all the number of his fair demands
Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction.
We do debase ourselves, cousin, do we not,
To look so poorly, and to speak so fair?
Shall we call back Northumberland, and send
Defiance to the traitor, and so die?

O God, O God! that e'er this tongue of mine,
That laid the sentence of dread banishment
On yon proud man, should take it off again
With words of sooth! O that I were as great
As is my grief, or lesser than my name!
Or that I could forget what I have been,
Or not remember what I must be now!

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210

[To Aumerle.

Aum. Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.
K. Rich. What must the king do now?

The king shall do it: must he be depos'd?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go:
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My subjects for a pair of carvéd saints,
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave.—

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Must he submit?

Most mighty prince, my Lord Northumberland,
What says King Bolingbroke? Will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die ?

North. My lord, in the base court he doth attend
To speak with you; may it please you to come down.

K. Rich. Down, down I come; like glistering Phaethon, Wanting the manage of unruly jades.

Boling. What says his majesty ?

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[Exeunt from above.

Sorrow and grief of heart

240

Makes him speak fondly, like a frantic man:

Enter KING RICHARD, and his attendants below.

North.

Yet he is come.

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K. Rich. "Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee."

K. Rich. Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,
To make the base earth proud with kissing it.

Boling. My gracious lord, I come but for mine own.
K. Rich, You
our own is yours, and I am yours, and all.
Boling. So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,

As my true service shall deserve your love.

K. Rich. Well you deserve: they well deserve to have, 250 That know the strong'st and surest way to get.

Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.

Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I'll give, and willing too;
For do we must what force will have us do.
Set on towards London:-Cousin, is it so?
Boling. Yea, my good lord.

K. Rich. Then I must not say no. [Flourish. Exeunt.

Enter, as

ACT IV.

Westminster Hall.

to the Parliament, BOLINGBROKE, AUMerle, NORTHUMBERLAND, PERCY, FITZWATER, SURREY, the BISHOP OF CARLISLE, the ABBOT OF WESTMINSTER, and another Lord, Herald, Officers, and BAGOT.

Boling. Call forth Bagot.

Now, Bagot, freely speak thy mind;

What thou dost know of noble Gloucester's death,
Who wrought it with the king, and who perform'd
The bloody office of his timeless end.

Bagot. Then set before my face the Lord Aumerle.
Boling. Cousin, stand forth, and look upon that man.
Aum. What answer shall I make to this base man?
Shall I so much dishonour my fair stars,
On equal terms to give him chastisement?
Either I must, or have mine honour soil'd
With the attainder of his slanderous lips.
There is my gage, the manual seal of death,
That marks thee out for hell: I say, thou liest.
Boling. Bagot, forbear; thou shalt not take it up.
Aum. Excepting one, I would he were the best

In all this presence that hath mov'd me so.

Fitz. If that thy valour stand on sympathy,
There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine:
By that fair sun which shows me where thou stand'st,
I heard thee say, and vauntingly thou spak'st it,
That thou wert cause of noble Gloucester's death.

Aum. Thou dar'st not, coward, live to see that day.
Fitz. Now, by my soul, I would it were this hour.

Enter YORK, attended.

York. Great Duke of Lancaster, I come to thee
From plume-pluck'd Richard; who with willing soul
Adopts thee heir, and his high sceptre yields
To the possession of thy royal hand.

Boling. In God's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.
Car. Marry, God forbid!

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Worst in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge

Of noble Richard! then true noblesse would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here that is not Richard's subject?
Thieves are not judg'd but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them;
And shall the figure of God's majesty
Be judg'd by subject and inferior breath,

And he himself not present ? O, forfend it, God!
My lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king:
And if you crown him, let me prophesy:
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars

Shall kin with kin, and kind with kind confound.

40

North. Well have you argued, sir; and, for your pains, 50

Of capital treason we arrest you here.

Boling. Fetch hither Richard, that in common view He may surrender; so we shall proceed

Without suspicion.

York.

I will be his conduct.

Boling. Lords, you that here are under our arrest, Procure your sureties for your days of answer.

[Exit.

Little are we beholding to your love,

And little look'd for at your helping hands.

Re-enter YORK, with RICHARD, and Officers bearing

the regalia.

K. Rich. Alack, why am I sent for to a king, Before I have shook off the regal thoughts Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my limbs: Give sorrow leave awhile to tutor me

To this submission. Yet I well remember

The favours of these men were they not mine ?

Did they not sometime cry, all hail!' to me?

So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve,

Found truth in àll but òne; I, in twelve thòusand, nòne.

To do what service am I sent for hither?

York. To do that office of thine own good will,

Which tired majesty did make thee offer,-
The resignation of thy state and crown
To Henry Bolingbroke.

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