KING RICHARD III

by William Shakespeare

1592

Act IV

SCENE I. Before the Tower.

    Enter, on one side, QUEEN ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF YORK, and DORSET; on the other, ANNE, Duchess of Gloucester, leading Lady Margaret Plantagenet, CLARENCE's young Daughter

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Who m eets us here? my niece Plantagenet
    Led in the hand of her kind aunt of Gloucester?
    Now, for my life, she's wandering to the Tower,
    On pure heart's love to greet the tender princes.
    Daughter, well met.

LADY ANNE

    God give your graces both
    A happy and a joyful time of day!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    As much to you, good sister! Whither away?

LADY ANNE

    No farther than the Tower; and, as I guess,
    Upon the like devotion as yourselves,
    To gratulate the gentle princes there.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Kind sister, thanks: we'll enter all together.

    Enter BRAKENBURY
    And, in good time, here the lieutenant comes.
    Master lieutenant, pray you, by your leave,
    How doth the prince, and my young son of York?

BRAKENBURY

    Right well, dear madam. By your patience,
    I may not suffer you to visit them;
    The king hath straitly charged the contrary.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    The king! why, who's that?

BRAKENBURY

    I cry you mercy: I mean the lord protector.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    The Lord protect him from that kingly title!
    Hath he set bounds betwixt their love and me?
    I am their mother; who should keep me from them?

DUCHESS OF YORK

    I am their fathers mother; I will see them.

LADY ANNE

    Their aunt I am in law, in love their mother:
    Then bring me to their sights; I'll bear thy blame
    And take thy office from thee, on my peril.

BRAKENBURY

    No, madam, no; I may not leave it so:
    I am bound by oath, and therefore pardon me.

    Exit

    Enter LORD STANLEY

LORD STANLEY

    Let me but meet you, ladies, one hour hence,
    And I'll salute your grace of York as mother,
    And reverend looker on, of two fair queens.

    To LADY ANNE
    Come, madam, you must straight to Westminster,
    There to be crowned Richard's royal queen.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O, cut my lace in sunder, that my pent heart
    May have some scope to beat, or else I swoon
    With this dead-killing news!

LADY ANNE

    Despiteful tidings! O unpleasing news!

DORSET

    Be of good cheer: mother, how fares your grace?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O Dorset, speak not to me, get thee hence!
    Death and destruction dog thee at the heels;
    Thy mother's name is ominous to children.
    If thou wilt outstrip death, go cross the seas,
    And live with Richmond, from the reach of hell
    Go, hie thee, hie thee from this slaughter-house,
    Lest thou increase the number of the dead;
    And make me die the thrall of Margaret's curse,
    Nor mother, wife, nor England's counted queen.

LORD STANLEY

    Full of wise care is this your counsel, madam.
    Take all the swift advantage of the hours;
    You shall have letters from me to my son
    To meet you on the way, and welcome you.
    Be not ta'en tardy by unwise delay.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    O ill-dispersing wind of misery!
    O my accursed womb, the bed of death!
    A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,
    Whose unavoided eye is murderous.

LORD STANLEY

    Come, madam, come; I in all haste was sent.

LADY ANNE

    And I in all unwillingness will go.
    I would to God that the inclusive verge
    Of golden metal that must round my brow
    Were red-hot steel, to sear me to the brain!
    Anointed let me be with deadly venom,
    And die, ere men can say, God save the queen!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Go, go, poor soul, I envy not thy glory
    To feed my humour, wish thyself no harm.

LADY ANNE

    No! why? When he that is my husband now
    Came to me, as I follow'd Henry's corse,
    When scarce the blood was well wash'd from his hands
    Which issued from my other angel husband
    And that dead saint which then I weeping follow'd;
    O, when, I say, I look'd on Richard's face,
    This was my wish: 'Be thou,' quoth I, ' accursed,
    For making me, so young, so old a widow!
    And, when thou wed'st, let sorrow haunt thy bed;
    And be thy wife--if any be so mad--
    As miserable by the life of thee
    As thou hast made me by my dear lord's death!
    Lo, ere I can repeat this curse again,
    Even in so short a space, my woman's heart
    Grossly grew captive to his honey words
    And proved the subject of my own soul's curse,
    Which ever since hath kept my eyes from rest;
    For never yet one hour in his bed
    Have I enjoy'd the golden dew of sleep,
    But have been waked by his timorous dreams.
    Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;
    And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Poor heart, adieu! I pity thy complaining.

LADY ANNE

    No more than from my soul I mourn for yours.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Farewell, thou woful welcomer of glory!

LADY ANNE

    Adieu, poor soul, that takest thy leave of it!

DUCHESS OF YORK

    [To DORSET]
    Go thou to Richmond, and good fortune guide thee!

    To LADY ANNE
    Go thou to Richard, and good angels guard thee!

    To QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Go thou to sanctuary, and good thoughts possess thee!
    I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me!
    Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen,
    And each hour's joy wrecked with a week of teen.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Stay, yet look back with me unto the Tower.
    Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes
    Whom envy hath immured within your walls!
    Rough cradle for such little pretty ones!
    Rude ragged nurse, old sullen playfellow
    For tender princes, use my babies well!
    So foolish sorrow bids your stones farewell.

    Exeunt 


SCENE II. London. The palace.

    Sennet. Enter KING RICHARD III, in pomp, crowned; BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a page, and others

KING RICHARD III

    Stand all apart Cousin of Buckingham!

BUCKINGHAM

    My gracious sovereign?

KING RICHARD III

    Give me thy hand.

    Here he ascendeth his throne
    Thus high, by thy advice
    And thy assistance, is King Richard seated;
    But shall we wear these honours for a day?
    Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?

BUCKINGHAM

    Still live they and for ever may they last!

KING RICHARD III

    O Buckingham, now do I play the touch,
    To try if thou be current gold indeed
    Young Edward lives: think now what I would say.

BUCKINGHAM

    Say on, my loving lord.

KING RICHARD III

    Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be king,

BUCKINGHAM

    Why, so you are, my thrice renowned liege.

KING RICHARD III

    Ha! am I king? 'tis so: but Edward lives.

BUCKINGHAM

    True, noble prince.

KING RICHARD III

    O bitter consequence,
    That Edward still should live! 'True, noble prince!'
    Cousin, thou wert not wont to be so dull:
    Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead;
    And I would have it suddenly perform'd.
    What sayest thou? speak suddenly; be brief.

BUCKINGHAM

    Your grace may do your pleasure.

KING RICHARD III

    Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezeth:
    Say, have I thy consent that they shall die?

BUCKINGHAM

    Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord
    Before I positively herein:
    I will resolve your grace immediately.

    Exit

CATESBY

    [Aside to a stander by]
    The king is angry: see, he bites the lip.

KING RICHARD III

    I will converse with iron-witted fools
    And unrespective boys: none are for me
    That look into me with considerate eyes:
    High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect.
    Boy!

Page

    My lord?

KING RICHARD III

    Know'st thou not any whom corrupting gold
    Would tempt unto a close exploit of death?

Page

    My lord, I know a discontented gentleman,
    Whose humble means match not his haughty mind:
    Gold were as good as twenty orators,
    And will, no doubt, tempt him to any thing.

KING RICHARD III

    What is his name?

Page

    His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.

KING RICHARD III

    I partly know the man: go, call him hither.

    Exit Page
    The deep-revolving witty Buckingham
    No more shall be the neighbour to my counsel:
    Hath he so long held out with me untired,
    And stops he now for breath?

    Enter STANLEY
    How now! what news with you?

STANLEY

    My lord, I hear the Marquis Dorset's fled
    To Richmond, in those parts beyond the sea
    Where he abides.

    Stands apart

KING RICHARD III

    Catesby!

CATESBY

    My lord?

KING RICHARD III

    Rumour it abroad
    That Anne, my wife, is sick and like to die:
    I will take order for her keeping close.
    Inquire me out some mean-born gentleman,
    Whom I will marry straight to Clarence' daughter:
    The boy is foolish, and I fear not him.
    Look, how thou dream'st! I say again, give out
    That Anne my wife is sick and like to die:
    About it; for it stands me much upon,
    To stop all hopes whose growth may damage me.

    Exit CATESBY
    I must be married to my brother's daughter,
    Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass.
    Murder her brothers, and then marry her!
    Uncertain way of gain! But I am in
    So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin:
    Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye.

    Re-enter Page, with TYRREL
    Is thy name Tyrrel?

TYRREL

    James Tyrrel, and your most obedient subject.

KING RICHARD III

    Art thou, indeed?

TYRREL

    Prove me, my gracious sovereign.

KING RICHARD III

    Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine?

TYRREL

    Ay, my lord;
    But I had rather kill two enemies.

KING RICHARD III

    Why, there thou hast it: two deep enemies,
    Foes to my rest and my sweet sleep's disturbers
    Are they that I would have thee deal upon:
    Tyrrel, I mean those bastards in the Tower.

TYRREL

    Let me have open means to come to them,
    And soon I'll rid you from the fear of them.

KING RICHARD III

    Thou sing'st sweet music. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel
    Go, by this token: rise, and lend thine ear:

    Whispers
    There is no more but so: say it is done,
    And I will love thee, and prefer thee too.

TYRREL

    'Tis done, my gracious lord.

KING RICHARD III

    Shall we hear from thee, Tyrrel, ere we sleep?

TYRREL

    Ye shall, my Lord.

    Exit

    Re-enter BUCKINGHAM

BUCKINGHAM

    My Lord, I have consider'd in my mind
    The late demand that you did sound me in.

KING RICHARD III

    Well, let that pass. Dorset is fled to Richmond.

BUCKINGHAM

    I hear that news, my lord.

KING RICHARD III

    Stanley, he is your wife's son well, look to it.

BUCKINGHAM

    My lord, I claim your gift, my due by promise,
    For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd;
    The earldom of Hereford and the moveables
    The which you promised I should possess.

KING RICHARD III

    Stanley, look to your wife; if she convey
    Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it.

BUCKINGHAM

    What says your highness to my just demand?

KING RICHARD III

    As I remember, Henry the Sixth
    Did prophesy that Richmond should be king,
    When Richmond was a little peevish boy.
    A king, perhaps, perhaps,--

BUCKINGHAM

    My lord!

KING RICHARD III

    How chance the prophet could not at that time
    Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him?

BUCKINGHAM

    My lord, your promise for the earldom,--

KING RICHARD III

    Richmond! When last I was at Exeter,
    The mayor in courtesy show'd me the castle,
    And call'd it Rougemont: at which name I started,
    Because a bard of Ireland told me once
    I should not live long after I saw Richmond.

BUCKINGHAM

    My Lord!

KING RICHARD III

    Ay, what's o'clock?

BUCKINGHAM

    I am thus bold to put your grace in mind
    Of what you promised me.

KING RICHARD III

    Well, but what's o'clock?

BUCKINGHAM

    Upon the stroke of ten.

KING RICHARD III

    Well, let it strike.

BUCKINGHAM

    Why let it strike?

KING RICHARD III

    Because that, like a Jack, thou keep'st the stroke
    Betwixt thy begging and my meditation.
    I am not in the giving vein to-day.

BUCKINGHAM

    Why, then resolve me whether you will or no.

KING RICHARD III

    Tut, tut,
    Thou troublest me; am not in the vein.

    Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM

BUCKINGHAM

    Is it even so? rewards he my true service
    With such deep contempt made I him king for this?
    O, let me think on Hastings, and be gone
    To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!

    Exit 


SCENE III. The same.

    Enter TYRREL

TYRREL

    The tyrannous and bloody deed is done.
    The most arch of piteous massacre
    That ever yet this land was guilty of.
    Dighton and Forrest, whom I did suborn
    To do this ruthless piece of butchery,
    Although they were flesh'd villains, bloody dogs,
    Melting with tenderness and kind compassion
    Wept like two children in their deaths' sad stories.
    'Lo, thus' quoth Dighton, 'lay those tender babes:'
    'Thus, thus,' quoth Forrest, 'girdling one another
    Within their innocent alabaster arms:
    Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,
    Which in their summer beauty kiss'd each other.
    A book of prayers on their pillow lay;
    Which once,' quoth Forrest, 'almost changed my mind;
    But O! the devil'--there the villain stopp'd
    Whilst Dighton thus told on: 'We smothered
    The most replenished sweet work of nature,
    That from the prime creation e'er she framed.'
    Thus both are gone with conscience and remorse;
    They could not speak; and so I left them both,
    To bring this tidings to the bloody king.
    And here he comes.

    Enter KING RICHARD III
    All hail, my sovereign liege!

KING RICHARD III

    Kind Tyrrel, am I happy in thy news?

TYRREL

    If to have done the thing you gave in charge
    Beget your happiness, be happy then,
    For it is done, my lord.

KING RICHARD III

    But didst thou see them dead?

TYRREL

    I did, my lord.

KING RICHARD III

    And buried, gentle Tyrrel?

TYRREL

    The chaplain of the Tower hath buried them;
    But how or in what place I do not know.

KING RICHARD III

    Come to me, Tyrrel, soon at after supper,
    And thou shalt tell the process of their death.
    Meantime, but think how I may do thee good,
    And be inheritor of thy desire.
    Farewell till soon.

    Exit TYRREL
    The son of Clarence have I pent up close;
    His daughter meanly have I match'd in marriage;
    The sons of Edward sleep in Abraham's bosom,
    And Anne my wife hath bid the world good night.
    Now, for I know the Breton Richmond aims
    At young Elizabeth, my brother's daughter,
    And, by that knot, looks proudly o'er the crown,
    To her I go, a jolly thriving wooer.

    Enter CATESBY

CATESBY

    My lord!

KING RICHARD III

    Good news or bad, that thou comest in so bluntly?

CATESBY

    Bad news, my lord: Ely is fled to Richmond;
    And Buckingham, back'd with the hardy Welshmen,
    Is in the field, and still his power increaseth.

KING RICHARD III

    Ely with Richmond troubles me more near
    Than Buckingham and his rash-levied army.
    Come, I have heard that fearful commenting
    Is leaden servitor to dull delay;
    Delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary
    Then fiery expedition be my wing,
    Jove's Mercury, and herald for a king!
    Come, muster men: my counsel is my shield;
    We must be brief when traitors brave the field.

    Exeunt


SCENE IV. Before the palace.

    Enter QUEEN MARGARET

QUEEN MARGARET

    So, now prosperity begins to mellow
    And drop into the rotten mouth of death.
    Here in these confines slily have I lurk'd,
    To watch the waning of mine adversaries.
    A dire induction am I witness to,
    And will to France, hoping the consequence
    Will prove as bitter, black, and tragical.
    Withdraw thee, wretched Margaret: who comes here?

    Enter QUEEN ELIZABETH and the DUCHESS OF YORK

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Ah, my young princes! ah, my tender babes!
    My unblown flowers, new-appearing sweets!
    If yet your gentle souls fly in the air
    And be not fix'd in doom perpetual,
    Hover about me with your airy wings
    And hear your mother's lamentation!

QUEEN MARGARET

    Hover about her; say, that right for right
    Hath dimm'd your infant morn to aged night.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    So many miseries have crazed my voice,
    That my woe-wearied tongue is mute and dumb,
    Edward Plantagenet, why art thou dead?

QUEEN MARGARET

    Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet.
    Edward for Edward pays a dying debt.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Wilt thou, O God, fly from such gentle lambs,
    And throw them in the entrails of the wolf?
    When didst thou sleep when such a deed was done?

QUEEN MARGARET

    When holy Harry died, and my sweet son.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Blind sight, dead life, poor mortal living ghost,
    Woe's scene, world's shame, grave's due by life usurp'd,
    Brief abstract and record of tedious days,
    Rest thy unrest on England's lawful earth,

    Sitting down
    Unlawfully made drunk with innocents' blood!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O, that thou wouldst as well afford a grave
    As thou canst yield a melancholy seat!
    Then would I hide my bones, not rest them here.
    O, who hath any cause to mourn but I?

    Sitting down by her

QUEEN MARGARET

    If ancient sorrow be most reverend,
    Give mine the benefit of seniory,
    And let my woes frown on the upper hand.
    If sorrow can admit society,

    Sitting down with them
    Tell o'er your woes again by viewing mine:
    I had an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
    I had a Harry, till a Richard kill'd him:
    Thou hadst an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
    Thou hadst a Richard, till a Richard killed him;

DUCHESS OF YORK

    I had a Richard too, and thou didst kill him;
    I had a Rutland too, thou holp'st to kill him.

QUEEN MARGARET

    Thou hadst a Clarence too, and Richard kill'd him.
    From forth the kennel of thy womb hath crept
    A hell-hound that doth hunt us all to death:
    That dog, that had his teeth before his eyes,
    To worry lambs and lap their gentle blood,
    That foul defacer of God's handiwork,
    That excellent grand tyrant of the earth,
    That reigns in galled eyes of weeping souls,
    Thy womb let loose, to chase us to our graves.
    O upright, just, and true-disposing God,
    How do I thank thee, that this carnal cur
    Preys on the issue of his mother's body,
    And makes her pew-fellow with others' moan!

DUCHESS OF YORK

    O Harry's wife, triumph not in my woes!
    God witness with me, I have wept for thine.

QUEEN MARGARET

    Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,
    And now I cloy me with beholding it.
    Thy Edward he is dead, that stabb'd my Edward:
    Thy other Edward dead, to quit my Edward;
    Young York he is but boot, because both they
    Match not the high perfection of my loss:
    Thy Clarence he is dead that kill'd my Edward;
    And the beholders of this tragic play,
    The adulterate Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey,
    Untimely smother'd in their dusky graves.
    Richard yet lives, hell's black intelligencer,
    Only reserved their factor, to buy souls
    And send them thither: but at hand, at hand,
    Ensues his piteous and unpitied end:
    Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray.
    To have him suddenly convey'd away.
    Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I prey,
    That I may live to say, The dog is dead!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O, thou didst prophesy the time would come
    That I should wish for thee to help me curse
    That bottled spider, that foul bunch-back'd toad!

QUEEN MARGARET

    I call'd thee then vain flourish of my fortune;
    I call'd thee then poor shadow, painted queen;
    The presentation of but what I was;
    The flattering index of a direful pageant;
    One heaved a-high, to be hurl'd down below;
    A mother only mock'd with two sweet babes;
    A dream of what thou wert, a breath, a bubble,
    A sign of dignity, a garish flag,
    To be the aim of every dangerous shot,
    A queen in jest, only to fill the scene.
    Where is thy husband now? where be thy brothers?
    Where are thy children? wherein dost thou, joy?
    Who sues to thee and cries 'God save the queen'?
    Where be the bending peers that flatter'd thee?
    Where be the thronging troops that follow'd thee?
    Decline all this, and see what now thou art:
    For happy wife, a most distressed widow;
    For joyful mother, one that wails the name;
    For queen, a very caitiff crown'd with care;
    For one being sued to, one that humbly sues;
    For one that scorn'd at me, now scorn'd of me;
    For one being fear'd of all, now fearing one;
    For one commanding all, obey'd of none.
    Thus hath the course of justice wheel'd about,
    And left thee but a very prey to time;
    Having no more but thought of what thou wert,
    To torture thee the more, being what thou art.
    Thou didst usurp my place, and dost thou not
    Usurp the just proportion of my sorrow?
    Now thy proud neck bears half my burthen'd yoke;
    From which even here I slip my weary neck,
    And leave the burthen of it all on thee.
    Farewell, York's wife, and queen of sad mischance:
    These English woes will make me smile in France.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O thou well skill'd in curses, stay awhile,
    And teach me how to curse mine enemies!

QUEEN MARGARET

    Forbear to sleep the nights, and fast the days;
    Compare dead happiness with living woe;
    Think that thy babes were fairer than they were,
    And he that slew them fouler than he is:
    Bettering thy loss makes the bad causer worse:
    Revolving this will teach thee how to curse.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    My words are dull; O, quicken them with thine!

QUEEN MARGARET

    Thy woes will make them sharp, and pierce like mine.

    Exit

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Why should calamity be full of words?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Windy attorneys to their client woes,
    Airy succeeders of intestate joys,
    Poor breathing orators of miseries!
    Let them have scope: though what they do impart
    Help not all, yet do they ease the heart.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    If so, then be not tongue-tied: go with me.
    And in the breath of bitter words let's smother
    My damned son, which thy two sweet sons smother'd.
    I hear his drum: be copious in exclaims.

    Enter KING RICHARD III, marching, with drums and trumpets

KING RICHARD III

    Who intercepts my expedition?

DUCHESS OF YORK

    O, she that might have intercepted thee,
    By strangling thee in her accursed womb
    From all the slaughters, wretch, that thou hast done!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Hidest thou that forehead with a golden crown,
    Where should be graven, if that right were right,
    The slaughter of the prince that owed that crown,
    And the dire death of my two sons and brothers?
    Tell me, thou villain slave, where are my children?

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Thou toad, thou toad, where is thy brother Clarence?
    And little Ned Plantagenet, his son?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Where is kind Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, Grey?

KING RICHARD III

    A flourish, trumpets! strike alarum, drums!
    Let not the heavens hear these tell-tale women
    Rail on the Lord's enointed: strike, I say!

    Flourish. Alarums
    Either be patient, and entreat me fair,
    Or with the clamorous report of war
    Thus will I drown your exclamations.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Art thou my son?

KING RICHARD III

    Ay, I thank God, my father, and yourself.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Then patiently hear my impatience.

KING RICHARD III

    Madam, I have a touch of your condition,
    Which cannot brook the accent of reproof.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    O, let me speak!

KING RICHARD III

    Do then: but I'll not hear.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    I will be mild and gentle in my speech.

KING RICHARD III

    And brief, good mother; for I am in haste.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Art thou so hasty? I have stay'd for thee,
    God knows, in anguish, pain and agony.

KING RICHARD III

    And came I not at last to comfort you?

DUCHESS OF YORK

    No, by the holy rood, thou know'st it well,
    Thou camest on earth to make the earth my hell.
    A grievous burthen was thy birth to me;
    Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy;
    Thy school-days frightful, desperate, wild, and furious,
    Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and venturous,
    Thy age confirm'd, proud, subdued, bloody,
    treacherous,
    More mild, but yet more harmful, kind in hatred:
    What comfortable hour canst thou name,
    That ever graced me in thy company?

KING RICHARD III

    Faith, none, but Humphrey Hour, that call'd
    your grace
    To breakfast once forth of my company.
    If I be so disgracious in your sight,
    Let me march on, and not offend your grace.
    Strike the drum.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    I prithee, hear me speak.

KING RICHARD III

    You speak too bitterly.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Hear me a word;
    For I shall never speak to thee again.

KING RICHARD III

    So.

DUCHESS OF YORK

    Either thou wilt die, by God's just ordinance,
    Ere from this war thou turn a conqueror,
    Or I with grief and extreme age shall perish
    And never look upon thy face again.
    Therefore take with thee my most heavy curse;
    Which, in the day of battle, tire thee more
    Than all the complete armour that thou wear'st!
    My prayers on the adverse party fight;
    And there the little souls of Edward's children
    Whisper the spirits of thine enemies
    And promise them success and victory.
    Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end;
    Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.

    Exit

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Though far more cause, yet much less spirit to curse
    Abides in me; I say amen to all.

KING RICHARD III

    Stay, madam; I must speak a word with you.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    I have no more sons of the royal blood
    For thee to murder: for my daughters, Richard,
    They shall be praying nuns, not weeping queens;
    And therefore level not to hit their lives.

KING RICHARD III

    You have a daughter call'd Elizabeth,
    Virtuous and fair, royal and gracious.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    And must she die for this? O, let her live,
    And I'll corrupt her manners, stain her beauty;
    Slander myself as false to Edward's bed;
    Throw over her the veil of infamy:
    So she may live unscarr'd of bleeding slaughter,
    I will confess she was not Edward's daughter.

KING RICHARD III

    Wrong not her birth, she is of royal blood.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    To save her life, I'll say she is not so.

KING RICHARD III

    Her life is only safest in her birth.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    And only in that safety died her brothers.

KING RICHARD III

    Lo, at their births good stars were opposite.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    No, to their lives bad friends were contrary.

KING RICHARD III

    All unavoided is the doom of destiny.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    True, when avoided grace makes destiny:
    My babes were destined to a fairer death,
    If grace had bless'd thee with a fairer life.

KING RICHARD III

    You speak as if that I had slain my cousins.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Cousins, indeed; and by their uncle cozen'd
    Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life.
    Whose hand soever lanced their tender hearts,
    Thy head, all indirectly, gave direction:
    No doubt the murderous knife was dull and blunt
    Till it was whetted on thy stone-hard heart,
    To revel in the entrails of my lambs.
    But that still use of grief makes wild grief tame,
    My tongue should to thy ears not name my boys
    Till that my nails were anchor'd in thine eyes;
    And I, in such a desperate bay of death,
    Like a poor bark, of sails and tackling reft,
    Rush all to pieces on thy rocky bosom.

KING RICHARD III

    Madam, so thrive I in my enterprise
    And dangerous success of bloody wars,
    As I intend more good to you and yours,
    Than ever you or yours were by me wrong'd!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    What good is cover'd with the face of heaven,
    To be discover'd, that can do me good?

KING RICHARD III

    The advancement of your children, gentle lady.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Up to some scaffold, there to lose their heads?

KING RICHARD III

    No, to the dignity and height of honour
    The high imperial type of this earth's glory.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Flatter my sorrows with report of it;
    Tell me what state, what dignity, what honour,
    Canst thou demise to any child of mine?

KING RICHARD III

    Even all I have; yea, and myself and all,
    Will I withal endow a child of thine;
    So in the Lethe of thy angry soul
    Thou drown the sad remembrance of those wrongs
    Which thou supposest I have done to thee.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Be brief, lest that be process of thy kindness
    Last longer telling than thy kindness' date.

KING RICHARD III

    Then know, that from my soul I love thy daughter.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    My daughter's mother thinks it with her soul.

KING RICHARD III

    What do you think?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    That thou dost love my daughter from thy soul:
    So from thy soul's love didst thou love her brothers;
    And from my heart's love I do thank thee for it.

KING RICHARD III

    Be not so hasty to confound my meaning:
    I mean, that with my soul I love thy daughter,
    And mean to make her queen of England.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Say then, who dost thou mean shall be her king?

KING RICHARD III

    Even he that makes her queen who should be else?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    What, thou?

KING RICHARD III

    I, even I: what think you of it, madam?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    How canst thou woo her?

KING RICHARD III

    That would I learn of you,
    As one that are best acquainted with her humour.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    And wilt thou learn of me?

KING RICHARD III

    Madam, with all my heart.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Send to her, by the man that slew her brothers,
    A pair of bleeding-hearts; thereon engrave
    Edward and York; then haply she will weep:
    Therefore present to her--as sometime Margaret
    Did to thy father, steep'd in Rutland's blood,--
    A handkerchief; which, say to her, did drain
    The purple sap from her sweet brother's body
    And bid her dry her weeping eyes therewith.
    If this inducement force her not to love,
    Send her a story of thy noble acts;
    Tell her thou madest away her uncle Clarence,
    Her uncle Rivers; yea, and, for her sake,
    Madest quick conveyance with her good aunt Anne.

KING RICHARD III

    Come, come, you mock me; this is not the way
    To win our daughter.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    There is no other way
    Unless thou couldst put on some other shape,
    And not be Richard that hath done all this.

KING RICHARD III

    Say that I did all this for love of her.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Nay, then indeed she cannot choose but hate thee,
    Having bought love with such a bloody spoil.

KING RICHARD III

    Look, what is done cannot be now amended:
    Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes,
    Which after hours give leisure to repent.
    If I did take the kingdom from your sons,
    To make amends, Ill give it to your daughter.
    If I have kill'd the issue of your womb,
    To quicken your increase, I will beget
    Mine issue of your blood upon your daughter
    A grandam's name is little less in love
    Than is the doting title of a mother;
    They are as children but one step below,
    Even of your mettle, of your very blood;
    Of an one pain, save for a night of groans
    Endured of her, for whom you bid like sorrow.
    Your children were vexation to your youth,
    But mine shall be a comfort to your age.
    The loss you have is but a son being king,
    And by that loss your daughter is made queen.
    I cannot make you what amends I would,
    Therefore accept such kindness as I can.
    Dorset your son, that with a fearful soul
    Leads discontented steps in foreign soil,
    This fair alliance quickly shall call home
    To high promotions and great dignity:
    The king, that calls your beauteous daughter wife.
    Familiarly shall call thy Dorset brother;
    Again shall you be mother to a king,
    And all the ruins of distressful times
    Repair'd with double riches of content.
    What! we have many goodly days to see:
    The liquid drops of tears that you have shed
    Shall come again, transform'd to orient pearl,
    Advantaging their loan with interest
    Of ten times double gain of happiness.
    Go, then my mother, to thy daughter go
    Make bold her bashful years with your experience;
    Prepare her ears to hear a wooer's tale
    Put in her tender heart the aspiring flame
    Of golden sovereignty; acquaint the princess
    With the sweet silent hours of marriage joys
    And when this arm of mine hath chastised
    The petty rebel, dull-brain'd Buckingham,
    Bound with triumphant garlands will I come
    And lead thy daughter to a conqueror's bed;
    To whom I will retail my conquest won,
    And she shall be sole victress, Caesar's Caesar.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    What were I best to say? her father's brother
    Would be her lord? or shall I say, her uncle?
    Or, he that slew her brothers and her uncles?
    Under what title shall I woo for thee,
    That God, the law, my honour and her love,
    Can make seem pleasing to her tender years?

KING RICHARD III

    Infer fair England's peace by this alliance.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Which she shall purchase with still lasting war.

KING RICHARD III

    Say that the king, which may command, entreats.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    That at her hands which the king's King forbids.

KING RICHARD III

    Say, she shall be a high and mighty queen.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    To wail the tide, as her mother doth.

KING RICHARD III

    Say, I will love her everlastingly.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    But how long shall that title 'ever' last?

KING RICHARD III

    Sweetly in force unto her fair life's end.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    But how long fairly shall her sweet lie last?

KING RICHARD III

    So long as heaven and nature lengthens it.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    So long as hell and Richard likes of it.

KING RICHARD III

    Say, I, her sovereign, am her subject love.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    But she, your subject, loathes such sovereignty.

KING RICHARD III

    Be eloquent in my behalf to her.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.

KING RICHARD III

    Then in plain terms tell her my loving tale.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Plain and not honest is too harsh a style.

KING RICHARD III

    Your reasons are too shallow and too quick.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    O no, my reasons are too deep and dead;
    Too deep and dead, poor infants, in their grave.

KING RICHARD III

    Harp not on that string, madam; that is past.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Harp on it still shall I till heart-strings break.

KING RICHARD III

    Now, by my George, my garter, and my crown,--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Profaned, dishonour'd, and the third usurp'd.

KING RICHARD III

    I swear--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    By nothing; for this is no oath:
    The George, profaned, hath lost his holy honour;
    The garter, blemish'd, pawn'd his knightly virtue;
    The crown, usurp'd, disgraced his kingly glory.
    if something thou wilt swear to be believed,
    Swear then by something that thou hast not wrong'd.

KING RICHARD III

    Now, by the world--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    'Tis full of thy foul wrongs.

KING RICHARD III

    My father's death--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Thy life hath that dishonour'd.

KING RICHARD III

    Then, by myself--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Thyself thyself misusest.

KING RICHARD III

    Why then, by God--

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    God's wrong is most of all.
    If thou hadst fear'd to break an oath by Him,
    The unity the king thy brother made
    Had not been broken, nor my brother slain:
    If thou hadst fear'd to break an oath by Him,
    The imperial metal, circling now thy brow,
    Had graced the tender temples of my child,
    And both the princes had been breathing here,
    Which now, two tender playfellows to dust,
    Thy broken faith hath made a prey for worms.
    What canst thou swear by now?

KING RICHARD III

    The time to come.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    That thou hast wronged in the time o'erpast;
    For I myself have many tears to wash
    Hereafter time, for time past wrong'd by thee.
    The children live, whose parents thou hast
    slaughter'd,
    Ungovern'd youth, to wail it in their age;
    The parents live, whose children thou hast butcher'd,
    Old wither'd plants, to wail it with their age.
    Swear not by time to come; for that thou hast
    Misused ere used, by time misused o'erpast.

KING RICHARD III

    As I intend to prosper and repent,
    So thrive I in my dangerous attempt
    Of hostile arms! myself myself confound!
    Heaven and fortune bar me happy hours!
    Day, yield me not thy light; nor, night, thy rest!
    Be opposite all planets of good luck
    To my proceedings, if, with pure heart's love,
    Immaculate devotion, holy thoughts,
    I tender not thy beauteous princely daughter!
    In her consists my happiness and thine;
    Without her, follows to this land and me,
    To thee, herself, and many a Christian soul,
    Death, desolation, ruin and decay:
    It cannot be avoided but by this;
    It will not be avoided but by this.
    Therefore, good mother,--I must can you so--
    Be the attorney of my love to her:
    Plead what I will be, not what I have been;
    Not my deserts, but what I will deserve:
    Urge the necessity and state of times,
    And be not peevish-fond in great designs.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Shall I be tempted of the devil thus?

KING RICHARD III

    Ay, if the devil tempt thee to do good.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Shall I forget myself to be myself?

KING RICHARD III

    Ay, if yourself's remembrance wrong yourself.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    But thou didst kill my children.

KING RICHARD III

    But in your daughter's womb I bury them:
    Where in that nest of spicery they shall breed
    Selves of themselves, to your recomforture.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    Shall I go win my daughter to thy will?

KING RICHARD III

    And be a happy mother by the deed.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

    I go. Write to me very shortly.
    And you shall understand from me her mind.

KING RICHARD III

    Bear her my true love's kiss; and so, farewell.

    Exit QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!

    Enter RATCLIFF; CATESBY following
    How now! what news?

RATCLIFF

    My gracious sovereign, on the western coast
    Rideth a puissant navy; to the shore
    Throng many doubtful hollow-hearted friends,
    Unarm'd, and unresolved to beat them back:
    'Tis thought that Richmond is their admiral;
    And there they hull, expecting but the aid
    Of Buckingham to welcome them ashore.

KING RICHARD III

    Some light-foot friend post to the Duke of Norfolk:
    Ratcliff, thyself, or Catesby; where is he?

CATESBY

    Here, my lord.

KING RICHARD III

    Fly to the duke:

    To RATCLIFF
    Post thou to Salisbury
    When thou comest thither--

    To CATESBY
    Dull, unmindful villain,
    Why stand'st thou still, and go'st not to the duke?

CATESBY

    First, mighty sovereign, let me know your mind,
    What from your grace I shall deliver to him.

KING RICHARD III

    O, true, good Catesby: bid him levy straight
    The greatest strength and power he can make,
    And meet me presently at Salisbury.

CATESBY

    I go.

    Exit

RATCLIFF

    What is't your highness' pleasure I shall do at
    Salisbury?

KING RICHARD III

    Why, what wouldst thou do there before I go?

RATCLIFF

    Your highness told me I should post before.

KING RICHARD III

    My mind is changed, sir, my mind is changed.

    Enter STANLEY
    How now, what news with you?

STANLEY

    None good, my lord, to please you with the hearing;
    Nor none so bad, but it may well be told.

KING RICHARD III

    Hoyday, a riddle! neither good nor bad!
    Why dost thou run so many mile about,
    When thou mayst tell thy tale a nearer way?
    Once more, what news?

STANLEY

    Richmond is on the seas.

KING RICHARD III

    There let him sink, and be the seas on him!
    White-liver'd runagate, what doth he there?

STANLEY

    I know not, mighty sovereign, but by guess.

KING RICHARD III

    Well, sir, as you guess, as you guess?

STANLEY

    Stirr'd up by Dorset, Buckingham, and Ely,
    He makes for England, there to claim the crown.

KING RICHARD III

    Is the chair empty? is the sword unsway'd?
    Is the king dead? the empire unpossess'd?
    What heir of York is there alive but we?
    And who is England's king but great York's heir?
    Then, tell me, what doth he upon the sea?

STANLEY

    Unless for that, my liege, I cannot guess.

KING RICHARD III

    Unless for that he comes to be your liege,
    You cannot guess wherefore the Welshman comes.
    Thou wilt revolt, and fly to him, I fear.

STANLEY

    No, mighty liege; therefore mistrust me not.

KING RICHARD III

    Where is thy power, then, to beat him back?
    Where are thy tenants and thy followers?
    Are they not now upon the western shore.
    Safe-conducting the rebels from their ships!

STANLEY

    No, my good lord, my friends are in the north.

KING RICHARD III

    Cold friends to Richard: what do they in the north,
    When they should serve their sovereign in the west?

STANLEY

    They have not been commanded, mighty sovereign:
    Please it your majesty to give me leave,
    I'll muster up my friends, and meet your grace
    Where and what time your majesty shall please.

KING RICHARD III

    Ay, ay. thou wouldst be gone to join with Richmond:
    I will not trust you, sir.

STANLEY

    Most mighty sovereign,
    You have no cause to hold my friendship doubtful:
    I never was nor never will be false.

KING RICHARD III

    Well,
    Go muster men; but, hear you, leave behind
    Your son, George Stanley: look your faith be firm.
    Or else his head's assurance is but frail.

STANLEY

    So deal with him as I prove true to you.

    Exit

    Enter a Messenger

Messenger

    My gracious sovereign, now in Devonshire,
    As I by friends am well advertised,
    Sir Edward Courtney, and the haughty prelate
    Bishop of Exeter, his brother there,
    With many more confederates, are in arms.

    Enter another Messenger

Second Messenger

    My liege, in Kent the Guildfords are in arms;
    And every hour more competitors
    Flock to their aid, and still their power increaseth.

    Enter another Messenger

Third Messenger

    My lord, the army of the Duke of Buckingham--

KING RICHARD III

    Out on you, owls! nothing but songs of death?

    He striketh him
    Take that, until thou bring me better news.

Third Messenger

    The news I have to tell your majesty
    Is, that by sudden floods and fall of waters,
    Buckingham's army is dispersed and scatter'd;
    And he himself wander'd away alone,
    No man knows whither.

KING RICHARD III

    I cry thee mercy:
    There is my purse to cure that blow of thine.
    Hath any well-advised friend proclaim'd
    Reward to him that brings the traitor in?

Third Messenger

    Such proclamation hath been made, my liege.

    Enter another Messenger

Fourth Messenger

    Sir Thomas Lovel and Lord Marquis Dorset,
    'Tis said, my liege, in Yorkshire are in arms.
    Yet this good comfort bring I to your grace,
    The Breton navy is dispersed by tempest:
    Richmond, in Yorkshire, sent out a boat
    Unto the shore, to ask those on the banks
    If they were his assistants, yea or no;
    Who answer'd him, they came from Buckingham.
    Upon his party: he, mistrusting them,
    Hoisted sail and made away for Brittany.

KING RICHARD III

    March on, march on, since we are up in arms;
    If not to fight with foreign enemies,
    Yet to beat down these rebels here at home.

    Re-enter CATESBY

CATESBY

    My liege, the Duke of Buckingham is taken;
    That is the best news: that the Earl of Richmond
    Is with a mighty power landed at Milford,
    Is colder tidings, yet they must be told.

KING RICHARD III

    Away towards Salisbury! while we reason here,
    A royal battle might be won and lost
    Some one take order Buckingham be brought
    To Salisbury; the rest march on with me.

    Flourish. Exeunt 


SCENE V. Lord Derby's house.

    Enter DERBY and SIR CHRISTOPHER URSWICK

DERBY

    Sir Christopher, tell Richmond this from me:
    That in the sty of this most bloody boar
    My son George Stanley is frank'd up in hold:
    If I revolt, off goes young George's head;
    The fear of that withholds my present aid.
    But, tell me, where is princely Richmond now?

CHRISTOPHER

    At Pembroke, or at Harford-west, in Wales.

DERBY

    What men of name resort to him?

CHRISTOPHER

    Sir Walter Herbert, a renowned soldier;
    Sir Gilbert Talbot, Sir William Stanley;
    Oxford, redoubted Pembroke, Sir James Blunt,
    And Rice ap Thomas with a valiant crew;
    And many more of noble fame and worth:
    And towards London they do bend their course,
    If by the way they be not fought withal.

DERBY

    Return unto thy lord; commend me to him:
    Tell him the queen hath heartily consented
    He shall espouse Elizabeth her daughter.
    These letters will resolve him of my mind. Farewell.

    Exeunt

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