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KING RICHARD.

Taste of it first as thou art wont to do.

KEEPER.

My lord, I dare not. Sir Pierce of Exton,

Who lately came from the King, commands the contrary.

KING RICHARD.

The devil take Henry of Lancaster and thee!

Patience is stale, and I am weary of it.

[Beats the KEEPER]

KEEPER.

Help, help, help!

The murderers, EXTON and servants, rush in, armed

KING RICHARD.

How now! What means death in this rude assault?

Villain, thy own hand yields thy death's instrument.

[Snatching a weapon and killing one]

Go thou and fill another room in hell.

[He kills another, then EXTON strikes him down]

That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire

That staggers thus my person. Exton, thy fierce hand

Hath with the King's blood stain'd the King's own land.

Mount, mount, my soul! thy seat is up on high;

Whilst my gross flesh sinks downward, here to die.

[Dies]

EXTON.

As full of valour as of royal blood.

Both have I spill'd. O, would the deed were good!

For now the devil, that told me I did well,

Says that this deed is chronicled in hell.

This dead King to the living King I'll bear.

Take hence the rest, and give them burial here. Exeunt

SCENE 6. Windsor Castle

Flourish. Enter BOLINGBROKE, the DUKE OF YORK, With other LORDS and attendants

BOLINGBROKE.

Kind uncle York, the latest news we hear

Is that the rebels have consum'd with fire

Our town of Ciceter in Gloucestershire;

But whether they be ta'en or slain we hear not.

Enter NORTHUMBERLAND

Welcome, my lord. What is the news?

NORTHUMBERLAND.

First, to thy sacred state wish I all happiness.

The next news is, I have to London sent

The heads of Salisbury, Spencer, Blunt, and Kent.

The manner of their taking may appear

At large discoursed in this paper here.

BOLINGBROKE.

We thank thee, gentle Percy, for thy pains;

And to thy worth will add right worthy gains.

Enter FITZWATER

FITZWATER.

My lord, I have from Oxford sent to London

The heads of Brocas and Sir Bennet Seely;

Two of the dangerous consorted traitors

That sought at Oxford thy dire overthrow.

BOLINGBROKE.

Thy pains, Fitzwater, shall not be forgot;

Right noble is thy merit, well I wot.

Enter PERCY, With the BISHOP OF CARLISLE

PERCY.

The grand conspirator, Abbot of Westminster,

With clog of conscience and sour melancholy,

Hath yielded up his body to the grave;

But here is Carlisle living, to abide

Thy kingly doom, and sentence of his pride.

BOLINGBROKE.

Carlisle, this is your doom:

Choose out some secret place, some reverend room,

More than thou hast, and with it joy thy life;

So as thou liv'st in peace, die free from strife;

For though mine enemy thou hast ever been,

High sparks of honour in thee have I seen.

Enter EXTON, with attendants, hearing a coffin

EXTON.

Great King, within this coffin I present

Thy buried fear. Herein all breathless lies

The mightiest of thy greatest enemies,

Richard of Bordeaux, by me hither brought.

BOLINGBROKE.

Exton, I thank thee not; for thou hast wrought

A deed of slander with thy fatal hand

Upon my head and all this famous land.

EXTON.

From your own mouth, my lord, did I this deed.

BOLINGBROKE.

They love not poison that do poison need,

Nor do I thee. Though I did wish him dead,

I hate the murderer, love him murdered.

The guilt of conscience take thou for thy labour,

But neither my good word nor princely favour;

With Cain go wander thorough shades of night,

And never show thy head by day nor light.

Lords, I protest my soul is full of woe

That blood should sprinkle me to make me grow.

Come, mourn with me for what I do lament,

And put on sullen black incontinent.

I'll make a voyage to the Holy Land,

To wash this blood off from my guilty hand.

March sadly after; grace my mournings here

In weeping after this untimely bier. Exeunt

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

This famous comedy was written in approximately 1595 and concerns the mythical marriage of Theseus, Duke of Athens, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. The comedy also features