* By that falfe woman, as this king by thee. His father revell'd in the heart of France, And tam'd the king, and made the Dauphin stoop; And, had he match'd according to his ftate, He might have kept that glory to this day: But, when he took a beggar to his bed, And grac'd thy poor fire with his bridal day; "Even then that funfhine brew'd a fhower for him, 'That wafh'd his father's fortunes forth of France, And heap'd fedition on his crown at home. For what hath broach'd this tumult,5 but thy pride? Hadft thou been meek, our title ftill had flept; And we, in pity of the gentle king, Had flipp'd our claim until another age. GEO. But, when we faw our funfhine made thy fpring, And that thy fummer bred us no increase, We fet the axe to thy ufurping root: 6 And though the edge hath fomething hit ourselves, EDW. And, in this refolution, I defy thee; hath broach'd this tumult,] The quarto reads, " hath mov'd this," &c. STEEVENS. 6 we faw our funfhine made thy fpring, And that thy fummer bred us no increafe,] When we saw that by favouring thee we made thee grow in fortune, but that we received no advantage from thy fortune flourishing by our favour, we then refolved to deftroy thee, and determined to try fome other means, though our firft efforts have failed. The quartos read: JOHNSON. But when we faw our fummer brought thee gain, "And that the harvett brought us no increase." STEEVENS, Since thou deny'ft the gentle king to speak.Sound trumpets!-let our bloody colours wave!And either victory, or elfe a grave. Q. MAR. Stay, Edward. EDW. No, wrangling woman; we'll no longer stay : Thefe words will coft ten thoufand lives to-day. [Exeunt. SCENE III. A Field of Battle between Towton and Saxton in Yorkshire. Alarums: Excurfions. Enter WARWICK. WAR. Forfpent with toil,8 as runners with a race, I lay me down a little while to breathe: A Field of Battle &c.] We fhould read near Towton. Shakspeare has here, perhaps, intentionally thrown three different actions into one. The Lord Fitzwater, being ftationed by King Edward, to defend the pafs of Ferrybridge, was affaulted by the Lord Clifford, and immediately flain, and with hym" fays Hall" the baftard of Salisbury, brother to the earl of Warwycke, a valeaunt yong gentleman, and of great audacitie. When the earl of Warwicke," adds he, "was informed of this feate, he lyke a man defperated, mounted on his hackeney, and came blowing to kyng Edwarde, faiyng: Syr, I praye God have mercy of their foules, which in the beginning of your enterprise hath loft their lyfes, and because I fe no fuccors of the world, I remit the vengeance and punishment to God our creator and Redeemer; and with that lighted doune, and flewe his horse with his fwourde, faying: let them flye that wyl, for furely I wil tarye with him that wil tarye with me, and kiffed the croife of his fwourde." Clifford, in his retreat, was beset with a party of Yorkifts, when, "eyther," fays the hiftorian, " for heat or payne, putting off his gorget, fodainly with an arrowe (as fome For ftrokes receiv'd, and many blows repaid, Enter EDWARD, running. EDW. Smile, gentle heaven!' or ftrike, ungentle death! For this world frowns, and Edward's fun is clouded. WAR. How now, my lord? what hap? what hope of good? fay) without an hedde [he] was ftriken into the throte, and incontinent rendered his fpirite, and the erle of Westmerlandes brother, and almost all his company were thare flayn, at a place called Dinting-dale, not farr frō Towton." In the afternoon of the next day (Palm Sunday eve 1461) on a plain field between Towton and Saxton, joined the main battles which continued engaged that night, and the greater part of the following day: upwards of 30,000 men, all English (including many of the nobility and the flower of the gentry, especially of the northern parts) being flain on both fides. This battle, fays Carte, " decided the fate of the house of Lancaster, overturning in one day an ufurpation ftrengthened by fixty-two years continuance, and established Edward on the throne of England." RITSON. An authentick copy of King Edward's account of this battle, together with a lift of the noblemen and knights who were flain in it, may be feen in Sir John Fenn's Collection of the Pafton Letters, Vol. I. p. 216, &c. HENLEY. 8 Forfpent with toil,] Thus the folio. The quartos read "Sore fpent," &c. STEEVENS. 9 And, fpite of spite,] So, in King John : And, fpite of Spite, alone holds up the day." STEEVENS. * Smile, gentle heaven! &c.] Thus the folio. Inftead of these lines, the quartos give the following: "Smile, gentle heavens, or ftrike, ungentle death, "Upon the harmless line of York's true house!" STEEVENS. Enter GEORGE. *GEO. Our hap is lofs, our hope but sad despair ;* Our ranks are broke, and ruin follows us : • What counsel give you, whither shall we fly? EDW. Bootlefs is flight, they follow us with wings; And weak we are, and cannot fhun pursuit. Enter RICHARD. ' RICH. Ah, Warwick, why haft thou withdrawn thyfelf? Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,3 Our hap is lofs, &c.] Thus the folio. The quartos thus : "War. How now, my lords? what hap? what hope Our hap is lofs, our hope but fad defpair;] Milton feems to have copied this line: Thus repuls'd, our final hope "Is flat defpair." MALONE. 3 Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,] This paffage, from the variation of the copies, gave me no little perplexity. The old quarto applies this defcription to the death of Salisbury, Warwick's father. But this was a notorious deviation from the truth of hiftory. For the Earl of Salisbury in the battle at Wakefield, wherein Richard Duke of York loft his life, was taken prisoner, beheaded at Pomfret, and his head, together with the Duke of York's, fixed over York gates. Then the only bro ther of Warwick, introduced in this play, is the Marquefs of Montacute (or Montague, as he is called by our author): but he does not die till ten years after, in the battle at Barnet; where Warwick likewife was killed. The truth is, the 'Broach'd with the fteely point of Clifford's lance: And, in the very pangs of death, he cried,— brother here mentioned is no person in the drama, and his death is only an accidental piece of hiftory. Confulting the Chronicles, upon this action at Ferrybridge, I find him to have been a natural fon of Salisbury, (in that respect a brother to Warwick,) and esteemed a valiant young gentleman. THEOBALD. Thy brother's blood &c.] Inftead of this fpeech, which is printed, like almost all the rest of the play, from the folio, the quartos give the following: "Thy noble father in the thickest throngs "Cried ftill for Warwick, his thrice valiant fon; STEEVENS. It is here only necessary to refer to former notes on fimilar variations; See Vol. XIII. p. 210, n. 9; p. 220, n. 6; p. 234, n. 1; p. 317, n. 3; p. 322, n. 3. Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,] In this line, of which there is no trace in the original play, Shakspeare had probably the facred writings in his thoughts: "And now art thou curfed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood." Genefis, iv. 11. The old play (as Theobald has obferved) applies this defcription to the death of Salisbury, contrary to the truth of hiftory, for that nobleman was taken prifoner at the battle of Wakefield, and afterwards beheaded at Pomfret. But both Hall and Holinfhed, in nearly the fame words, relate the circumftance on which this fpeech, as exhibited in the folio is founded; and from the latter our author undoubtedly took it. "The Lord Fitzwalter [who had been stationed to keep the pafs of Ferrybridge] hearing the noife, [made by Lord Clifford and a body of light-horsemen, who attacked by furprize the party stationed at the bridge,] fodainly rofe out of his bedde, and unarmed, with a pollax in his hande, thinking that it had bin a fraye amongst his men, came down to appeafe the fame, but ere he knew what the matter ment, he was flaine, and with him the bastard of Salisbury, |