Chapter: Scoena Quarta.

Enter King, Aumerle, Greene, and Bagot.

  Rich. We did obserue. Cosine Aumerle,
How far brought you high Herford on his way?
  Aum. I brought high Herford (if you call him so)
But to the next high way, and there I left him

   Rich. And say, what store of parting tears were shed?
  Aum. Faith none for me: except the Northeast wind
Which then grew bitterly against our face,
Awak'd the sleepie rhewme, and so by chance
Did grace our hollow parting with a teare

   Rich. What said our Cosin when you parted with him?
  Au. Farewell: and for my hart disdained y my tongue
Should so prophane the word, that taught me craft
To counterfeit oppression of such greefe,
That word seem'd buried in my sorrowes graue.
Marry, would the word Farwell, haue lengthen'd houres,
And added yeeres to his short banishment,
He should haue had a volume of Farwels,
But since it would not, he had none of me

   Rich. He is our Cosin (Cosin) but 'tis doubt,
When time shall call him home from banishment,
Whether our kinsman come to see his friends,
Our selfe, and Bushy: heere Bagot and Greene
Obseru'd his Courtship to the common people:
How he did seeme to diue into their hearts,
With humble, and familiar courtesie,
What reuerence he did throw away on slaues;
Wooing poore Craftes-men, with the craft of soules,
And patient vnder-bearing of his Fortune,
As 'twere to banish their affects with him.
Off goes his bonnet to an Oyster-wench,
A brace of Dray-men bid God speed him well,
And had the tribute of his supple knee,
With thankes my Countrimen, my louing friends,
As were our England in reuersion his,
And he our subiects next degree in hope

   Gr. Well, he is gone, & with him go these thoughts:
Now for the Rebels, which stand out in Ireland,
Expedient manage must be made my Liege
Ere further leysure, yeeld them further meanes
For their aduantage, and your Highnesse losse

   Ric. We will our selfe in person to this warre,
And for our Coffers, with too great a Court,
And liberall Largesse, are growne somewhat light,
We are inforc'd to farme our royall Realme,
The Reuennew whereof shall furnish vs
For our affayres in hand: if that come short
Our Substitutes at home shall haue Blanke-charters:
Whereto, when they shall know what men are rich,
They shall subscribe them for large summes of Gold,
And send them after to supply our wants:
For we will make for Ireland presently.
Enter Bushy.

Bushy, what newes?
  Bu. Old Iohn of Gaunt is verie sicke my Lord,
Sodainly taken, and hath sent post haste
To entreat your Maiesty to visit him

   Ric. Where lyes he?
  Bu. At Ely house

   Ric. Now put it (heauen) in his Physitians minde,
To helpe him to his graue immediately:
The lining of his coffers shall make Coates
To decke our souldiers for these Irish warres.
Come Gentlemen, let's all go visit him:
Pray heauen we may make hast, and come too late.
Enter.

 After Bolingbroke has been banished from England, King Richard returns from Coventry to his court, accompanied by two of his friends and allies, the noblemen Bagot and Greene. King Richard's cousin, the Duke of Aumerle , has just returned from escorting Bolingbroke down to the sea, where the latter has taken ship for Europe. When asked how the two parted, Aumerle reports that, although Bolingbroke bade him farewell, he himself  was cool to Bolingbroke and was glad to see him on his way. Richard then begins to muse, describing in great detail to his allies what he and another nobleman, Bushy, saw when they watched Bolingbroke leaving London: they beheld his "courtship to the common people" . The commoners love Bolingbroke; he is courteous and friendly to them, and a popular favorite of the lower classes of London. Richard feels that Bolingbroke was behaving as if he were in line to be the next king of England. Clearly afraid of Bolingbroke's popularity among the people, Richard expresses to his friends an ominous doubt that Bolingbroke will ever return to England again. Greene reminds Richard that, now that Bolingbroke is gone, there is other work to be done: there are rebels against the crown in Ireland, and the king must act quickly to suppress them, for they grow stronger with time. Richard announces that he will himself sail to Ireland to supervise the war there. But, due to the costs of maintaining a court bloated with attendants and the king's wasteful spending habits, the royal treasury is low on funds. To raise money to pay for the Irish war, Richard is going to "rent out" the realm of England; that is, he is going to engage in some complicated methods of medieval taxation. He plans both to demand money from the wealthy and to borrow large sums of money from wealthy people in exchange for a later giving them cut of the royal taxes--taxes that come from the commoners. Bushy suddenly enters with important news: old John of Gaunt, the uncle of the King and the father of Bolingbroke, lies on his deathbed. Richard rejoices to hear the information, saying that as soon as Gaunt is dead, he plans to seize his money and property in order to fund the war in Ireland. Everyone then heads off to visit John of Gaunt at the castle of the Bishop of Ely, where he lies dying.

