K. HEN. All will revolt from me, and turn to

him.

NORTH. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'ft, Think not, that Henry fhall be fo depos'd.

• WAR. Depos'd he shall be, in despite of all. NORTH. Thou art deceiv'd: 'tis not thy southern power,

'Of Effex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,Which makes thee thus prefumptuous and proud,Can fet the duke up, in defpite of me.

CLIF. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong, Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence: May that ground gape, and swallow me alive, 'Where I shall kneel to him that flew my father! 'K. HEN. O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart!

YORK. Henry of Lancafter, refign thy crown:What mutter you, or what confpire you, lords?

WAR. Do right unto this princely duke of York; Or I will fill the houfe with armed men,

And, o'er the chair of ftate, where now he fits,
Write up his title with ufurping blood.

[He flamps, and the Soldiers fhow themselves. 'K. HEN. My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word;1

May that ground gape, and fwallow me alive,] So, in Phaer's tranflation of the fourth Eneid:

"But rather would I wish the ground to gape for me below." STEEVENS.

hear but one word;] Hear is in this line, as in fome other places used as a diffyllable. See Vol. XI. p. 411, n. 4. The editor of the third folio, and all the subsequent editors, read -hear me but one word. MALONE.

The word-hear, in this place, may certainly pafs as a dif

'Let me, for this my life-time, reign as king.

YORK. Confirm the crown to me, and to mine

heirs,

And thou fhalt reign in quiet while thou liv'st. K. HEN. I am content: Richard Plantagenet, Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.2.

CLIF. What wrong is this unto the prince your fon?

WAR. What good is this to England, and him-
felf?

WEST. Bafe, fearful, and defpairing Henry!
"CLIF. How haft thou injur'd both thyself and
us?

WEST. I cannot stay to hear these articles.
NORTH. Nor I.

CLIF. Come, coufin, let us tell the queen these

news.

*WEST. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate

king,

* In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides. NORTH. Be thou a prey unto the house of York, And die in bands for this unmanly deed!

CLIF. In dreadful war may'ft thou be overcome!

fyllable. Refpecting that referred to by Mr. Malone, I am of a contrary opinion. STEEVENS.

Since the third folio reads-hear me but one word, which improves both the language and the metre, why should it not be followed? M. MASON.

21 am content: &c.] Inftead of this speech the old play has the following lines:

King. Convey the foldiers hence, and then I will. "War. Captaine, conduct them into Tuthilfields." See Vol. XIII. p. 210, n. 9; p. 220, n, 6; p. 234, n. 1; p. 317, n. 3; p. 322, n. 3. MALONE.

Or live in peace, abandon'd, and defpis'd!

[Exeunt NORTHUMBERLAND, CLIFFORD, and WESTMORELAND.

* WAR. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them

not.

EXE. They feek revenge,3 and therefore will not

yield.

K. HEN. Ah, Exeter!

WAR.

Why fhould you figh, my lord?

K. HEN. Not for myfelf, lord Warwick, but my

fon,

Whom I unnaturally fhall difinherit.
But, be it as it may :-I here entail

'The crown to thee, and to thine heirs for ever;
Conditionally, that here thou take an oath
To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live,
To honour me as thy king and fovereign;
* And neither by treafon, nor hoftility,
*To feek to put me down, and reign thyself.

They feek revenge,] They go away, not because they doubt the juftice of this determination, but because they have been conquered, and feek to be revenged. They are not influenced by principle, but paffion. JOHNSON.

And neither -] Neither, either, whether, brother, rather, and many fimilar words, were used by Shakspeare as monofyllables. So, in A Midfummer-Night's Dream:

"Either death or you I'll find immediately."

The editor of the fecond folio, who appears to have been entirely ignorant of our author's metre and phraseology, not knowing this, omitted the word And. MALONE.

My ignorance must be content to accompany that of the editor of the fecond folio; for how-either, brother, neither, or rather, can be pronounced as monofyllables, I am yet to learn.

The verfification, however, in this and the preceding play is often fo irregular, that I leave the paffage before us as it stands in the first folio. STEEVENS.

YORK. This oath I willingly take, and will per[Coming from the Throne.

form.

WAR. Long live king Henry !-Plantagenet, embrace him.

'K. HEN. And long live thou, and these thy forward fons!

YORK. Now York and Lancaster are reconcil'd. EXE. Accurs'd be he, that feeks to make them foes! [Senet. The Lords come forward. YORK. Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my caftle.5

WAR. And I'll keep London, with my foldiers. NORF. And I to Norfolk, with my followers. MONT. And I unto the fea, from whence I came. [Exeunt YORK, and his Sons, WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, Soldiers, and Attendants.

*K. HEN. And I, with grief and forrow, to the

court.

Enter Queen MARGARET and the Prince of Wales.

EXE. Here comes the queen, whofe looks bewray her anger:

I'll fteal away.

K. HEN.

Exeter, fo will I.

[Going.

I'll to my caftle.] Sandal Caftle near Wakefield, in Yorkshire. MALONE.

bewray] i. e. betray, difcover. So, in K. Lear: "Mark the high noifes, and thyfelf bewray."

Again, ibid:

"He did bewray his practice." STEEVENS.

Q. MAR. Nay, go not from me, I will follow

thee.

K. HEN. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will ftay.

'Q. MAR. Who can be patient in fuch extremes? * Ah, wretched man! 'would I had died a maid, * And never feen thee, never borne thee fon, *Seeing thou haft prov'd so unnatural a father! *Hath he deferv'd to lofe his birthright thus? *Hadft thou but lov'd him half fo well as I ; *Or felt that pain which I did for him once; * Or nourish'd him, as I did with my blood; * Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there,

Rather than made that savage duke thine heir, * And difinherited thine only fon.

* PRINCE. Father, you cannot difinherit me: * If you be king, why should not I fucceed?

* K. HEN. Pardon me, Margaret;-pardon me, fweet fon ;

* The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforc'd me. * Q. MAR. Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be forc'd?

I fhame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch ! Thou haft undone thyfelf, thy fon, and me; And given unto the house of York fuch head, *As thou fhalt reign but by their fufferance. *To entail him and his heirs unto the crown, *What is it, but to make thy fepulchre,8

* Rather than made-] Old copy-Rather than have made. The compofitor inadvertently repeated the word-have, from the preceding line. STEEVENS.

Rather is here used as a monofyllable. See p. 17, n. 4.

MALONE.

What is it, but to make thy fepulchre,] The Queen's re