Lords, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Two Gardeners, Keeper, Messenger, Groom, and

other attendants.

SCENE-DISPERSEDLY IN ENGLAND AND WALES.

KING RICHARD II.

АСТ І.

SCENE I.-London. A Room in the Palace.

Enter KING RICHARD, attended; JOHN OF GAUnt, and other Nobles, with him.

K. Rich. Old John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaster,1 Hast thou, according to thy oath and band,2 Brought hither Henry Hereford 3 thy bold son, Here to make good the boisterous late appeal,1

1 Time-honoured Lancaster] Shakspeare thought it poetically expedient to represent John of Gaunt as a very old man. He was, however, only 58 years old in 1398, the time at which the play comSee Historical Notes, iv.

mences.

2 Band] Anciently, the words band and bond were interchangeable: the literal meaning of each is that which binds. The oath and band' was the pledge given by John of Gaunt for his son's appearance; for when Bolingbroke and Norfolk were arrested, the former was allowed to put in pledges for his appearance, while Norfolk was confined in Windsor Castle.

3 Henry Hereford] The word Hereford, in Shakspeare, must be regarded as a dissyllable: it was generally spelt Herford in the old copies, as in the Chronicles.

The boisterous late appeal] The violent accusation which he had made in the parliament at Shrewsbury.

Which then our leisure would not let us hear,
Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?
Gaunt. I have, my liege.

K. Rich. Tell me, moreover, hast thou sounded him, If he appeal the duke on ancient malice,

Or worthily, as a good subject should,

On some known ground of treachery in him?

Gaunt. As near as I could sift him on that argument, On some apparent danger 1 seen in him,

1

Aimed at your highness,-no inveterate malice.

K. Rich. Then call them to our presence; face to face, And frowning brow to brow, ourselves will hear

The accuser and the accused freely speak :—

[Exeunt some Attendants. High stomached 2 are they both and full of ire,

In

rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire.

Re-enter Attendants, with BOLINGBROKE and Norfolk.

Boling. Many years of happy days befall
My gracious sovereign, my most loving liege!
Nor. Each day still better other's happiness;
Until the heavens, envying earth's good hap,
Add an immortal title to your crown!

K. Rich. We thank you both: yet one but flatters us, As well appeareth by the cause you come ; 3

Namely, to appeal each other of high treason.

1 On some apparent danger] That is, he appeals him on some manifest danger. The word apparent, in our early writers, often denoted manifest.

2 High-stomached] High-tempered; proud. The word stomach very frequently meant temper.

3 One but flatters us, &c.] One of you, he who really is the traitor, is only flattering us, as is fully manifested by the cause why you

come.

Cousin of Hereford, what dost thou object
Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mowbray?

Boling. First, (heaven be the record to my speech!)
In the devotion of a subject's love,

Tendering the precious safety of my prince,
And free from other misbegotten 2 hate,
Come I appellant to this princely presence.
Now, Thomas Mowbray, do I turn to thee,
And mark my greeting well; for what I speak
My body shall make good upon this earth,
Or my divine 3 soul answer it in heaven.
Thou art a traitor and a miscreant,4

5

Too good to be so, and too bad to live;
Since the more fair and crystal is the sky,
The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly.
Once more, the more to aggravate the note,
With a foul traitor's name stuff I thy throat;
And wish, so please my sovereign, ere I move,

6

What my tongue speaks my right-drawn 7 sword may prove. Nor. Let not my cold words here accuse my 8 zeal :

'Tis not the trial of a woman's war,

The bitter clamour of two eager tongues,

Can arbitrate 9 this cause betwixt us twain:

1 Tendering] Holding dear; cherishing.

2

Misbegotten] Illegitimate; proceeding from some other than the alleged cause.

3 Divine] Spiritual, immortal,

• Miscreant] This word, from the old French mescréant, properly means an infidel.

5 Too good] Viz., by birth.

6 The note] The mark or brand.

7

Right-drawn] Justly drawn.

8 Accuse] Be thought to argue against.

• Can arbitrate] That can arbitrate. We often find in Shakspeare an ellipsis of a relative pronoun of the nominative case-a thing not now usual.

The blood is hot that must be cooled for this.

Yet can I not of such tame patience boast,

As to be hushed and nought at all to say:

First, the fair reverence of your highness curbs me
From giving reins and spurs to my free speech;
Which else would post, until it had returned
These terms of treason 2 doubled down his throat.
Setting aside his high blood's royalty,
And let him be no kinsman to my liege,—

I do defy him, and I spit at him;

Call him a slanderous coward and a villain:
Which to maintain 4 I would allow him odds,
And meet him, were I tied 5 to run a-foot
Even to the frozen ridges of the Alps,
Or any other ground inhabitable,6
Wherever Englishman' durst set his foot.
Meantime, let this defend my loyalty,—
By all my hopes, most falsely doth he lie.
Boling. Pale trembling coward," there I throw my gage,8

1 The fair reverence] The reverend honour.

2 These terms of treason] Viz., traitor and miscreant.

3 Setting aside] Apart from; saving.

↑ Which to maintain] And to maintain the truth of this charge. 5 Tied] Obliged.

• Inhabitable] The prefix in here is negative: not habitable, or, as we now say, uninhabitable. Compare Macbeth, iii. 4, 'Dare me to the desert with thy sword.'

Coward] Norfolk and Bolingbroke call each other coward, because cowardice was considered to be involved in lying. Fuller, in his Profane State, ch. 12, says, 'He that is called a liar to his face is also called a coward in the same breath, if he swallows it.' In the Trial of Battle, therefore, the valour of the conqueror was supposed to vindicate his truth. On this subject, see the Editor's Hamlet, p. 70, note 3.

8 Gage] The glove, thrown down as honour's gage or pawn, to be redeemed, or else ignominiously forfeited.