tion from Henry, who ascended the throne with his help, the king now says—

'Though then, Heaven knows, I had no such intent." Malone observes, correctly, that Richard's speech was made after Henry had already accepted the

crown.*

The scene in Gualtree forest,† where the archbishop pitched his rebellious camp, unaccompanied by Northumberland, and Westmoreland, "subtilely devised how to quail his purpose," is taken from Holinshed, who yet is not exactly followed as to the proceedings of the northern earl. Shakspeare's archbishop imputes to him irresolution, if not perfidy—

"I have received

New-dated letters from Northumberland;

Their cold intent, tenour, and purpose, thus :-
Here doth he wish his person with such powers,
As might hold sortance with his quality;
The which he could not levy, whereupon

He is retired, to ripe his growing fortunes
To Scotland."

The Chronicles rather impute "too much haste" to the archbishops, whose separate force was over

* See Bosw., iii. Johnson notices another piece of carelessness. Warwick was not present on the occasion; see Richard 11. Act v. Sc. 2.

† Act iv. Sc. 1.

P. 37 See Hall, 34; Stow, 332; Otterb. 254.

come before that of Northumberland had been brought into the field. The earl retired into Scotland, when, after the affair of Gualtree, the king marched against him with a superior force.

Westmoreland's demand of the reason of the archbishop's armament is put by the poet into appropriate language; for the answer of the prelate, Shakspeare had not only to draw upon his imagination:

"The archbishop answered that he took nothing in hand against the king's peace, but that whatsoever he did tended rather to advance the peace and quiet of the commonwealth than otherwise; and where he and his company were in arms, it was for fear of the king, to whom he could have no free access, by reason of such a multitude of flatterers as were about him; and, therefore, he maintained that his purpose to be good and profitable, as well for the king himself as for the realm, if men were willing to understand a truth; and, herewith, he showed forth a scroll in which the articles were written, of which you have heard."

Thus paraphrased and enlarged :

Nor do I, as an enemy to peace,

Troop in the throngs of military men ;

But rather show awhile like fearful war,

To diet rank minds, sick of happiness,

And purge the obstructions which begin to stop very veins of life. Hear me more plainly.

Our

I have in equal balance justly weigh'd

What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we

suffer,

And find our griefs heavier than our offences.

We see which way the stream of time doth run,
And are enforced from our most quiet sphere
By the rough torrent of occasion;

And have the summary of all our griefs,
When time shall serve, to show in articles,
Which, long ere this, we offer'd to the king,
And might by no suit gain our audience:
When we are wrong'd, and would unfold our griefs,
We are denied access unto his person,

Even by those men that most have done us wrong.
The dangers of the days but newly gone,
(Whose memory is written on the earth
With yet appearing blood,) and the examples
Of every minute's instance (present now),
Have put us in these ill-beseeming arms;
Not to break peace, or any branch of it,
But to establish here a peace indeed,
Concurring both in name and quality."

Shakspeare has made a better case for the insurgents than history warrants; for we are told that their complaints were communicated to the nobility, and even "set up in the public streets of the city of York;"* but not that they were offered to

* Hol. 36.

the king, or that the insurrection was occasioned by the rejection or neglect of them.

The articles* themselves were not seen by Shakspeare, for they are not in any book to which he resorted; nor are they in the older Chronicles upon which those books were founded. It is, therefore, unnecessary to say more of them than that they set forth the deposition and murder of Richard+ by Henry, and the new king's oppression of clergy and people. This document, in fact, raised a mortal quarrel, not susceptible of settlement at a peaceful audience.

Shakspeare, however, has still the authority of Holinshed for Westmoreland's mode of putting down the insurrection.

"When he had read the articles, he showed in word and countenance outwardly that he liked of the archbishop's holy and virtuous intent and purpose, promising that he and his would prosecute the same in assisting the archbishop, who, rejoicing thereat, gave credit to the earl, and persuaded the earl marshal (against his will, as it were) to go with him to a place appointed for them to commune together. Here, when they were met

* Lingard doubts whether the archbishop was a party to these articles, iv. 404. See them in Anglia Sacra, ii. 362. + Yet some time afterwards, it is said, the malcontents made use of a report that Richard still lived. Hol. 43. But I do not find this in Walsingham or Otterbourne.

This is from Walsingham, 373.

with a like number on either part, the articles were read over, and, without any more ado, the Earl of Westmoreland, and those that were with him, agreed to do their best to see that a reformation might be had according to the same. The Earl of Westmoreland, using more policy than the rest, 'Well,' said he, then our travail is come to the wished end, and where our people have been long in armour, let them depart home to their wonted trades and occupations; in the mean time, let us drink together in sign of agreement, that the people on both sides may see it, and know that it is true that we have light upon a point.' They had no sooner shaken hands together, but that a knight was sent straightways from the archbishop, to bring word to the people that there was peace concluded, commanding each man to lay aside his arms, and to resort home to their houses. The people, beholding such tokens of peace as shaking of hands and drinking together of the lords in loving manner, they being already wearied with the unaccustomed travel of war, brake up their field, and returned homewards; but, in the mean time, whilst the people of the archbishop's side withdrew away, the number of the contrary party increased, according to order given by the Earl of Westmoreland, and yet the archbishop perceived not that he was deceived, until the Earl of Westmoreland arrested both him and the earl marshal, with divers others."

In the play, the words which misled the insurgents are put into the mouth of Prince John.