The Life and Death of King Richard III by William Shakespeare (books for men to read .TXT) 📕

none can help our harms by wailing them. -
Madam, my mother, I do cry you mercy;
I did not see your grace: - humbly on my knee
I crave your blessing.

DUCHESS.
God bless thee; and put meekness in thy breast,
Love, charity, obedience, and true duty!

GLOSTER.
Amen! [Aside.]
And make me die a good old man! -
That is the butt end of a mother's blessing;
I marvel that her grace did leave it out.

BUCKINGHAM.
You cloudy princes and heart-sorrowing peers,
That bear this heavy mutual load of moan,
Now cheer each other in each other's love:
Though we have spent our harvest of this king,
We are to reap the harvest of his son.
The broken rancour of your high-swoln hearts,
But lately splinter'd, knit, and join'd together,
Must gently be preserv'd, cherish'd, and kept;
Me seemeth good that, with some little train,
Forthwith from Ludlow the young prince be fetched
Hither to London, to be crown'd our king.

RIVERS.
Why with some little train, my Lord of Buckingham?

BUCKINGHAM.
Marry, my lord, lest by a multitude,
The new-heal'd wound of malice should break out;
Which would be so much the more dangerous
By how much the estate is green and yet ungovern'd:
Where every horse bears his commanding rein
And may direct his course as please himself,
As well the fear of harm as harm apparent,
In my opinion, ought to be prevented.

GLOSTER.
I hope the king made peace with all of us;
And the compact is firm and true in me.

RIVERS.
And so in me; and so, I think, in all:
Yet, since it is but green, it should be put
To no apparent likelihood of breach,
Which haply by much company might be urg'd:
Therefore I say with noble Buckingham,
That it is meet so few should fetch the prince.

HASTINGS.
And so say I.

GLOSTER.
Then be it so; and go we to determine
Who they shall be that straight shall post to Ludlow.
Madam, - and you, my mother, - will you go
To give your censures in this business?

[Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM and GLOSTER.]

BUCKINGHAM.
My lord, whoever journeys to the prince,
For God'd sake, let not us two stay at home;
For by the way I'll sort occasion,
As index to the story we late talk'd of,
To part the queen's proud kindred from the Prince.

GLOSTER.
My other self, my counsel's consistory,
My oracle, my prophet! - my dear cousin,
I, as a child, will go by thy direction.
Toward Ludlow then, for we'll not stay behind.

[Exeunt.]


SCENE III. London. A street.

[Enter two CITIZENS, meeting.]

FIRST CITIZEN.
Good morrow, neighbour: whither away so fast?

SECOND CITIZEN.
I promise you, I scarcely know myself:
Hear you the news abroad?

FIRST CITIZEN.
Yes, - that the king is dead.

SECOND CITIZEN.
Ill news, by'r lady; seldom comes the better:
I fear, I fear 'twill prove a giddy world.

[Enter third CITIZEN.]

THIRD CITIZEN.
Neighbours, God speed!

FIRST CITIZEN.
Give you good morrow, sir.

THIRD CITIZEN.
Doth the news hold of good King Edward's death?

SECOND CITIZEN.
Ay, sir, it is too true; God help the while!

THIRD CITIZEN.
Then, masters, look to see a troublous world.

FIRST CITIZEN.
No, no; by God's good grace, his son shall reign.

THIRD CITIZEN.
Woe to that land that's govern'd by a child!

SECOND CITIZEN.
In him there is a hope of government,
Which, in his nonage, council under him,
And, in his full and ripen'd years, himself,
No doubt, shall then, and till then, govern well.

FIRST CITIZEN.
So stood the state when Henry the Sixth
Was crown'd in Paris but at nine months old.

THIRD CITIZEN.
Stood the state so? No, no, good friends, God wot;
For then this land was famously enrich'd
With politic grave counsel; then the king
Had virtuous uncles to protect his grace.

FIRST CITIZEN.
Why, so hath this, both by his father and mother.

THIRD CITIZEN.
Better it were they all came by his father,
Or by his father there were none at all;
For emulation who shall now be nearest
Will touch us all too near, if God prevent not.
O, full of danger is the Duke of Gloster!
And the queen's sons and brothers haught and proud:
And were they to be rul'd, and not to rule,
This sickly land might solace as before.

FIRST CITIZEN.
Come, come, we fear the worst; all will be well.

THIRD CITIZEN.
When clouds are seen, wise men put on their cloaks;
When great leaves fall, then winter is at hand;
When the sun sets, who doth not look for night?
Untimely storms make men expect a dearth.
All may be well; but, if God sort it so,
'Tis more than we deserve or I expect.

SECOND CITIZEN.
Truly, the hearts of men are fun of fear:
You cannot reason almost with a man
That looks not heavily and fun of dread.

THIRD CITIZEN.
Before the days of change, still is it so:
By a divine instinct men's minds mistrust
Ensuing danger; as, by proof, we see
The water swell before a boisterous storm.
But leave it all to God. - Whither away?

SECOND CITIZEN.
Marry, we were sent for to the justices.

THIRD CITIZEN.
And so was I; I'll bear you company.

[Exeunt.]


SCENE IV. London. A Room in the Palace.

[Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, the young DUKE OF YORK, QUEEN
ELIZABETH, and the DUCHESS OF YORK.]

ARCHBISHOP.
Last night, I hear, they at Northampton lay;
And at Stony-Stratford they do rest to-night:
To-morrow or next day they will be here.

DUCHESS.
I long with all my heart to see the prince:
I hope he is much grown since last I saw him.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
But I hear no; they say my son of York
Has almost overta'en him in his growth.

YORK.
Ay, mother; but I would not have it so.

DUCHESS.
Why, my good cousin? it is good to grow.

YORK.
Grandam, one night as we did sit at supper,
My uncle Rivers talk'd how I did grow
More than my brother. "Ay," quoth my uncle Gloster,
"Small herbs have grace: great weeds do grow apace."
And since, methinks, I would not grow so fast,
Because sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste.

DUCHESS.
Good faith, good faith, the saying did not hold
In him that did object the same to thee:
He was the wretched'st thing when he was young,
So long a growing and so leisurely,
That, if his rule were true, he should be gracious.

ARCHBISHOP.
And so no doubt he is, my gracious madam.

DUCHESS.
I hope he is; but yet let mothers doubt.

YORK.
Now, by my troth, if I had been remember'd,
I could have given my uncle's grace a flout
To touch his growth nearer than he touch'd mine.

DUCHESS.
How, my young York? I pr'ythee let me hear it.

YORK.
Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast
That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old:
'Twas full two years ere I could get a tooth.
Grandam, this would have been a biting jest.

DUCHESS.
I pr'ythee, pretty York, who told thee this?

YORK.
Grandam, his nurse.

DUCHESS.
His nurse! why she was dead ere thou wast born.

YORK.
If 'twere not she, I cannot tell who told me.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
A parlous boy! - go to, you are too shrewd.

ARCHBISHOP.
Good madam, be not angry with the child.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Pitchers have ears.

ARCHBISHOP.
Here comes a messenger.

[Enter a MESSENGER.]

What news?

MESSENGER.
Such news, my lord, as grieves me to report.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
How doth the prince?

MESSENGER.
Well, madam, and in health.

DUCHESS.
What is thy news?

MESSENGER.
Lord Rivers and Lord Grey are sent to Pomfret,
With them Sir Thomas Vaughan, prisoners.

DUCHESS.
Who hath committed them?

MESSENGER.
The mighty dukes, Gloster and Buckingham.

ARCHBISHOP.
For what offence?

MESSENGER.
The sum of all I can, I have disclos'd;
Why or for what the nobles were committed
Is all unknown to me, my gracious lady.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Ah me, I see the ruin of my house!
The tiger now hath seiz'd the gentle hind;
Insulting tyranny begins to jet
Upon the innocent and aweless throne: -
Welcome, destruction, blood, and massacre!
I see, as in a map, the end of all.

DUCHESS.
Accursed and unquiet wrangling days
How many of you have mine eyes beheld?
My husband lost his life to get the crown;
And often up and down my sons were toss'd
For me to joy and weep their gain and loss:
And being seated, and domestic broils
Clean over-blown, themselves, the conquerors
Make war upon themselves; brother to brother,
Blood to blood, self against self: O, preposterous
And frantic outrage, end thy damned spleen;
Or let me die, to look on death no more!

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
Come, come, my boy; we will to sanctuary. -
Madam, farewell.

DUCHESS.
Stay, I will go with you.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.
You have no cause.

ARCHBISHOP.
[To the queen.]
My gracious lady, go.
And thither bear your treasure and your goods.
For my part, I'll resign unto your grace
The seal I keep; and so betide to me
As well I tender you and all of yours!
Go, I'll conduct you to the sanctuary.

[Exeunt.]


ACT III.

SCENE I. London. A street.

[The trumpets sound. Enter the PRINCE OF WALES, GLOSTER,
BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, CARDINAL BOURCHIER, and others.]

BUCKINGHAM.
Welcome, sweet prince, to London, to your chamber.

GLOSTER.
Welcome, dear cousin, my thoughts' sovereign:
The weary way hath made you melancholy.

PRINCE.
No, uncle; but our crosses on the way
Have made it tedious, wearisome, and heavy:
I want more uncles here to welcome me.

GLOSTER.
Sweet prince, the untainted virtue of your years
Hath not yet div'd into the world's deceit:
Nor more can you distinguish of a man
Than of his outward show; which, God He knows,
Seldom or never jumpeth with the heart.
Those uncles which you want were dangerous;
Your grace attended to their sugar'd words
But look'd not on the poison of their hearts:
God keep you from them and from such false friends!

PRINCE.
God keep me from false friends! but they were none.

GLOSTER.
My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.

[Enter the LORD MAYOR and his train.]

MAYOR.
God bless your grace with health and happy days!

PRINCE.
I thank you, good my lord; - and thank you all.

[Exeunt MAYOR, &c.]

I thought my mother and my brother York
Would long ere this have met us on the way:
Fie, what a slug is Hastings, that he comes not
To tell us whether they will come or no!

BUCKINGHAM.
And, in good time, here comes the sweating lord.

[Enter HASTINGS.]

PRINCE.
Welcome, my lord: what, will our mother come?

HASTINGS.
On what occasion, God He knows, not I,
The queen your mother and your brother York
Have taken sanctuary: the tender prince
Would fain have come with me to meet your grace,
But by his mother was perforce withheld.

BUCKINGHAM.
Fie, what an indirect and peevish course
Is this of hers? - Lord cardinal, will your grace
Persuade the queen to send the Duke of York
Unto his princely brother presently?
If she deny, Lord Hastings, go with