Let dying Mortimer here reft himself 9.—
Even like a man new haled from the rack,

and was employed by him in a naval enterprize. At the coronation of Queen Catharine he attended and held the fceptre.

Soon after the acceffion of King Henry VI. he was constituted by the English Regency chief governour of Ireland, an office which he executed by a deputy of his own appointment. In the latter end of the year 1424, he went himself to that country, to protect the great inheritance which he derived from his grandmother Philippa, (daughter to Lionel Duke of Clarence) from the incurfions of fome Irish chieftains, who were aided by a body of Scottish rovers; but foon after his arrival died of the plague in his Caftle at Trim, in January 1624-5.

This Edmond Mortimer was, I believe, confounded by the author of this play, and by the old hiftorians, with his uncle, who was perhaps forty-five years old at his death. Edmond Mortimer at the time of his death could not have been above thirty years old; for fuppofing that his grandmother Philippa was married at fifteen, in 1376, his father Roger could not have been born till 1377; and if he married at the early age of fixteen, Edmond was born in 1394.

This family had great poffeffions in Ireland, in confequence of the marriage of Lionel Duke of Clarence with the daughter of the Earl of Uliter, in 1360, and were long connected with that country. Lionel was for fome time Viceroy of Ireland, and was created by his father Edward III. Duke of Clarence, in confequence of poffeffing the honour of Clare, in the county of Thomond. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, who married Philippa the duke's only daughter, fucceeded him in the government of Ireland, and died in his office, at St. Dominick's Abbey near Cork, in December 1381. His fon Roger Mortimer was twice Vicegerent of Ireland, and was flain at a place called Kenles in Offory, in 1398. Edmund his fon, the Mortimer of this play, was, as has been already mentioned, alfo Chief Governour of Ireland, in the years 1623, and 1624, and died there in 1625. His nephew and heir, Richard Duke of York, (the Plantagenet of this play) was in 1449 conftituted Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for ten years, with extraordinary powers; and his fon George Duke of Clarence (who was afterwards murdered in the Tower) was born in the Caftle of Dublin in 1450. This prince filled the fame office which fo many of his ancestors had poffeffed, being constituted Chief Governour of Ireland for life, by his brother King Edward IV. in the third year of his reign. MALONE. 9 Let dying Mortimer bere reft bimfelf.-] I know not whether Milton did not take from this hint the lines with which he opens his tragedy. JOHNSON.

Rather from the beginning of the laft fcene of the third act of the Pheniffe of Euripides:

Τίτερας. Ηγε πάροιθε, θύγατερ, ως τυφλῶ ποδὶ

Οφθαλμὸς εἶ σὺ, ναυξάταισιν ἀστρον ὣς,

Δευς εἰς τὸ λευρὸν πίνον ἔχνος τιθεῖσ ̓ ἐμίν, &c. STEVENS.

46

So fare my limbs with long imprisonment:
And thefe grey locks, the purfuivants of death',
Neftor-like aged, in an age of care,

Argue the end of Edmund Mortimer.

Thefe eyes,-like lamps whofe wafting oil is spent,-
Wax dim, as drawing to their exigent:

Weak fhoulders, over-borne with burth'ning grief;
And pithlefs arms 3, like to a wither'd vine
That droops his faplefs branches to the ground:-
Yet are these feet-whofe ftrengthless stay is nnmb,
Unable to fupport this lump of clay,-
Swift-winged with defire to get a grave,
As witting I no other comfort have.-
But tell me, keeper, will my nephew come?

1. Keep. Richard Plantagenet, my lord, will come:
We fent unto the Temple, to his chamber;
And anfwer was return'd, that he will come.

Mor. Enough; my foul fhall then be fatisfy'd.Poor gentleman! his wrong doth equal mine. Since Henry Monmouth firit began to reign, (Before whofe glory I was great in arms).. 'This loathfome fequeftration have I had+; And even fince then hath Richard been obscur'd, Depriv'd of honour and inheritance:

But now, the arbitrator of despairs,

Juft death, kind umpire of men's miferies 5,
With fweet enlargement doth difmifs me hence;
I would, his troubles likewife were expir'd,

That fo he might recover what was loft.

1

-purfuivants of death,] Purfuivants. The heralds that, forerunning death, proclaim its approach. JOHNSON.

2

as drawing to their exigent:] Exigent, end. JoHNSON.

So, in Doctor Dedypoll, a comedy, 1600:

"Hath driven her to fome defperate exigent." STEEVENS. 3 And pitblefs arms,] Pith was used for marrow, and, figuratively, for ftrength. JOHNSON.

4 Since Henry Monmouth firft began to reign,

This loathfome fequeftration base I bad;] Here again, the author certainly is mistaken. See p 44, n. 8. MALONE.

5

kind umpire of men's miferies,] That is, he that terminates or concludes mifery. The expreffion is harsh and forced. JOHNSON.

Enter

Enter Richard PLANTAGENET.

1. Keep. My lord, your loving nephew now is come. Mor. Richard Plantagenet, my friend? Is he come? Plan. Ay, noble uncle, thus ignobly us'd, Your nephew, late-defpifed Richard, comes.

Mor. Direct mine arms, I may embrace his neck,
And in his bofom fpend my latter gasp:

O, tell me, when my lips do touch his cheeks,
That I may kindly give one fainting kiss.-

And now declare, fweet ftem from York's great stock,
Why didst thou fay-of late thou wert defpis'd?

Plan. First, lean thine aged back against mine arm;
And, in that ease, I'll tell thee my disease.
This day, in argument upon a cafe,

Some words there grew 'twixt Somerfet and me:
Among which terms, he us'd his lavish tongue,
And did upbraid me with my father's death;
Which obloquy fet bars before my tongue,
Elfe with the like I had requited him:
Therefore, good uncle,-for my father's fake,
In honour of a true Plantagenet,

And for alliance' fake,-declare the cause
My father, earl of Cambridge, loft his head.

Mor. That caufe, fair nephew, that imprifon'd me,
And hath detain'd me, all my flow'ring youth,
Within a loathfome dungeon, there to pine,
Was cursed inftrument of his decease.

Plan. Difcover more at large what cause that was;

For I am ignorant, and cannot guefs.

Mor. I will; if that my fading breath permit, And death approach not ere my tale be done, Henry the fourth, grandfather to this king,

6 - I'll tell thee my disease.] Disease seems to be here uneasiness or Lifcontent. JOHNSON.

It is fo ufed by other ancient writers, and by Shakspeare elsewhere. Thus likewife in Spenfer's Faery Queen, Book III. c. 5:

"But labour'd long in that deep ford with vain disease.”

STEEVENS.
Depos'd

Depos'd his nephew7 Richard; Edward's fon,
The first-begotten, and the lawful heir
Of Edward king, the third of that descent:
During whofe reign, the Percies of the north,
Finding his ufurpation moft unjust,

Endeavour'd my advancement to the throne:
The reafon mov'd these warlike lords to this,
Was-for that (young Richard thus removed,
Leaving no heir begotten of his body,)
I was the next by birth and parentage;
For by my mother I derived am

From Lionel duke of Clarence, third fon
To king Edward the Third, whereas he,
From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree,
Being but fourth of that heroick line.

But mark; as, in this haughty great attempt",
They laboured to plant the rightful heir,
I lost my liberty, and they their lives.
Long after this, when Henry the fifth,-
Succeeding his father Bolingbroke,—did reign,
Thy father, earl of Cambridge,-then deriv'd
From famous Edmund Langley, duke of York,—
Marrying my fifter, that thy mother was,
Again, in pity of my hard diftrefs,
Levied an army *; weening to redeem,
And have inftall'd me in the diadem:
But, as the reft, fo fell that noble earl,
And was beheaded. Thus the Mortimers,

7-bis nephew Richard;] Thus the old copy. Modern editors read-his coufin-but without neceflity. Nephew has fometimes the power of the Latin nepos, and is ufed with great laxity among our ancient English writers. Thus in Othello, Iago tells Brabantio-he shall "have his nephews (i. e. the children of his own daughter) neigh to him." STEEVENS.

I believe the mistake here arofe from the author's ignorance; and that he conceived Richard to be Henry's nephew. MALONE.

8

in this haughty great attempt,] Haughty is high. JOHNSON. Levied an army;] Here is again another falfification of history. Cambridge levied no army, but was apprehended at Southampton, the night before Henry failed from that town for France, on the information of this very Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March. MALONE.

In whom the title refted, were fupprefs'd.

Plan. Of which, my lord, your honour is the laft.
Mor. True; and thou feeft, that I no iffue have;
And that my fainting words do warrant death:
Thou art my heir; the reft, I wish thee gather:
But yet be wary in thy ftudious care.

Plan. Thy grave admonishments prevail with me:
But yet, methinks, my father's execution
Was nothing less than bloody tyranny.

Mor. With filence, nephew, be thou politick;
Strong-fixed is the houfe of Lancaster,

And, like a mountain, not to be remov'd.
But now thy uncle is removing hence;

As princes do their courts, when they are cloy'd
With long continuance in a fettled place.

Plan. Ổ, uncle, 'would fome part of my young years

Might but redeem the paffage of your age!

Mor. Thou doft then wrong me; as the flaught'rer doth, Which giveth many wounds, when one will kill. Mourn not, except thou forrow for my good;

Only, give order for my funeral;

And fo farewel; and fair be all thy hopes '!

And profperous be thy life, in peace, and war! [Dies.
Plan. And peace, no war, befall thy parting foul!
In prifon haft thou spent a pilgrimage,
And like a hermit over-pafs'd thy days.-
Well, I will lock his counfel in my breast;
And what I do imagine, let that reft.-
Keepers, convey him hence; and I myself

9 Thou art my beir; the reft I wish thee gather :] The fenfe is, I acknowledge thee to be my heir; the confequences which may be collected from thence, I recommend it to thee to draw. HEATH.. ⚫0, uncle, 'would fome part of my young years

Mgbt but redeem, &c.] This thought has fome refemblance to that of the following lines, which are fuppofed to be addreffed by a married lady who died very young, to her husband. The infcription is, I think, in the church of Trent:

MALONE.

"Immatura perî; fed tu diuturnior annos "Vive meos, conjux optime, vive tuos." 1- and fair be all thy bopes,] Fair is lucky, or profperous. So we fay, a fair wind, and fair fortune. JOHNSON.

VOL. VI.

E

Will