Richard III (19 page)

Too deep and dead, poor infants, in their graves.

RICHARD
    Harp not on that string, madam: that is past.

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Harp on it still shall I till
heart-strings
³⁷¹
break.

RICHARD
    Now, by
my George
, my
garter
³⁷²
and my crown—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Profaned, dishonoured and the third usurped.

RICHARD
    I swear—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    By nothing, for this is no oath:

Thy George, profaned, hath lost
his
³⁷⁶
lordly honour;

Thy garter, blemished, pawned his knightly virtue;

Thy crown, usurped, disgraced his kingly glory.

If something thou wouldst swear to be believed,

Swear then by something that thou hast not wronged.

RICHARD
    Then, by myself—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Thyself is
self-misused.
³⁸²

RICHARD
    Now, by the world—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    ’Tis full of thy foul wrongs.

RICHARD
    My father’s death—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Thy life hath it dishonoured.

RICHARD
    Why then, by heaven—

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Heaven’s wrong is most of all.

If thou didst fear to break an oath with
him
³⁸⁹
,

The
unity
³⁹⁰
the king my husband made

Thou
hadst
³⁹¹
not broken, nor my brothers died.

If thou hadst feared to break an oath by him,

Th’imperial metal, circling now thy head,

Had graced the tender temples of my child,

And both the princes had been breathing here,

Which now, two tender bedfellows for dust,

Thy broken faith hath made the prey for worms.

What canst thou swear by now?

RICHARD
    The time to come.

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    That thou hast wrongèd in the time
o’erpast
⁴⁰⁰
,

For I myself have many tears to wash

Hereafter time
⁴⁰²
, for time past wronged by thee.

The children live whose fathers thou hast slaughtered,

Ungoverned
youth, to
wail it with their age
⁴⁰⁴
:

The parents live whose children thou hast butchered,

Old barren plants, to wail it
with
⁴⁰⁶
their age.

Swear not by time to come, for that thou hast

Misused ere used, by time’s ill-used repast.

RICHARD
    As I intend to prosper and repent,

So thrive
⁴¹⁰
I in my dangerous affairs

Of hostile arms.
Myself myself confound.
⁴¹¹

Heaven and fortune bar me happy hours!

Day, yield me not thy light; nor, night, thy rest.

Be
opposite
⁴¹⁴
all planets of good luck

To my
proceeding
⁴¹⁵
if, with dear heart’s love,

Immaculate devotion, holy thoughts,

I
tender not
thy beauteous
princely
⁴¹⁷
daughter.

In her consists my happiness and thine:

Without her, follows to myself and thee,

Herself, the land 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, dear mother — I must call you so —

Be the
attorney
⁴²⁵
of my love to her:

Plead
⁴²⁶
what I will be, not what I have been:

Not
my deserts
⁴²⁷
, but what I will deserve.

Urge the necessity and state of
times.
⁴²⁸

And be not peevish found in
great designs.
⁴²⁹

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Shall I be tempted
of
⁴³⁰
the devil thus?

RICHARD
    Ay, if the devil tempt you to do good.

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Shall I
forget myself to be myself?
⁴³²

RICHARD
    Ay,
if yourself’s remembrance wrong yourself.
⁴³³

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Yet thou didst kill my children.

RICHARD
    But in your daughter’s womb I bury them,

Where in that nest of
spicery
⁴³⁶
they will breed

Selves of themselves, to your
recomforture.
⁴³⁷

QUEEN ELIZABETH
    Shall I go win my daughter to thy will?

RICHARD
    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.
⁴⁴¹

RICHARD
    Bear her my true love’s kiss, and so, farewell.

Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!—

How now, what news?

RATCLIFFE
    Most mighty sovereign, on the western coast

Rideth a
puissant
⁴⁴⁶
navy: to our shores

Throng many
doubtful
hollow-hearted
⁴⁴⁷
friends,

Unarmed, and unresolved to beat them back.

’Tis thought that Richmond is
their
⁴⁴⁹
admiral,

And there they
hull
⁴⁵⁰
, expecting but the aid

Of Buckingham to welcome them ashore.

RICHARD
    Some
light-foot
friend
post
⁴⁵²
to the Duke of Norfolk:

Ratcliffe, thyself, or Catesby. Where is he?

CATESBY
    Here, my good lord.

RICHARD
    Catesby, fly to the duke.

CATESBY
    I will, my lord, with all convenient haste.

RICHARD
    Ratcliffe, come hither. Post to Salisbury.

When thou com’st thither— Dull,
unmindful
⁴⁵⁸
villain,

Why stay’st thou here, and go’st not to the duke?

CATESBY
    First, mighty liege, tell me your highness’ pleasure,

What from your grace I shall deliver to him.

RICHARD
    O, true, good Catesby. Bid him levy straight

The greatest
strength and power
⁴⁶³
that he can make,

And meet me
suddenly
at
Salisbury.
⁴⁶⁴

CATESBY
    I go.

RATCLIFFE
    What, may it please you, shall I do at Salisbury?

RICHARD
    Why, what wouldst thou do there before I go?

RATCLIFFE
    Your highness told me I should post before.

RICHARD
    My mind is changed.—

Stanley, what news with you?

DERBY
    None good, my liege, to please you with the hearing,

Nor none so bad, but
well
⁴⁷²
may be reported.

RICHARD
    
Hoyday
⁴⁷³
, a riddle: neither good nor bad.

Why need’st thou run so many miles about,

When thou mayst tell thy tale the
nearest
⁴⁷⁵
way?

Once more, what news?

DERBY
    Richmond is on the seas.

RICHARD
    There let him sink, and be the seas on him!

White-livered runagate
⁴⁷⁹
, what doth he there?

DERBY
    I know not, mighty sovereign, but by guess.

RICHARD
    Well, as you guess?

DERBY
    Stirred up by Dorset, Buckingham and Morton,

He makes for England, here to claim the crown.

RICHARD
    Is the
chair
empty? Is the
sword
unswayed?
⁴⁸⁴

Is the king dead? The
empire
unpossessed?
⁴⁸⁵

What heir of York is there alive but we?

And who is England’s king but great York’s heir?

Then tell me, what
makes he
⁴⁸⁸
upon the seas?

DERBY
    Unless for
that
⁴⁸⁹
, my liege, I cannot guess.

RICHARD
    Unless
for that
⁴⁹⁰
he comes to be your liege,

You cannot guess wherefore
the Welshman
⁴⁹¹
comes.

Thou wilt revolt, and fly to him, I fear.

DERBY
    No, my good lord: therefore mistrust me not.

RICHARD
    Where is thy
power
⁴⁹⁴
, then, to beat him back?

Where be thy
tenants
⁴⁹⁵
and thy followers?

Are they not now upon the western shore,

Safe-conducting the rebels from their ships?

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

RICHARD
    
Cold
⁴⁹⁹
friends to me: what do they in the north,

When they should serve their sovereign in the west?

DERBY
    They have not been commanded, mighty king.

Pleaseth
⁵⁰²
your majesty to give me leave.

I’ll muster up my friends and meet your grace

Where and what time your majesty shall please.

RICHARD
    Ay, thou wouldst be gone to join with Richmond.

But I’ll not trust thee.

DERBY
    Most mighty sovereign,

You have no cause to
hold
⁵⁰⁸
my friendship doubtful:

I never was nor never will be false.

RICHARD
    Go then and muster men, but, leave behind

Your son, George Stanley.
Look
⁵¹¹
your heart be firm,

Or else his head’s
assurance
⁵¹²
is but frail.

DERBY
    So deal with him as I prove true to you.

MESSENGER
    My gracious sovereign, now in Devonshire,

As I by friends am well
advertisèd
⁵¹⁵
,

Sir Edward Courtney and the haughty prelate,

Bishop of Exeter, his elder brother,

With many more confederates, are in arms.

SECOND MESSENGER
    In Kent, my liege, the Guildfords are in arms,

And every hour more
competitors
⁵²⁰

Flock to the rebels, and their power grows strong.

THIRD MESSENGER
    My lord, the army of great Buckingham—

RICHARD
    Out on ye,
owls!
⁵²³
Nothing but songs of death?

He striketh him

There, take thou that, till thou bring better news.

THIRD MESSENGER
    The news I have to tell your majesty

Is that by sudden floods and
fall of waters
⁵²⁶

Buckingham’s army is dispersed and scattered,

And he himself wandered away alone,

No man knows whither.

RICHARD
    I
cry thee mercy
⁵³⁰
:

There is my purse to cure that blow of thine.

Hath any
well-advisèd
⁵³²
friend proclaimed

Reward to him that brings the traitor in?

THIRD MESSENGER
    Such proclamation hath been made, my lord.

FOURTH MESSENGER
    Sir Thomas Lovell and Lord Marquis Dorset,

’Tis said, my liege, in Yorkshire are in arms.

But this good comfort bring I to your highness:

The Breton navy is dispersed by tempest

Richmond, in Dorsetshire, sent out a boat

Unto the shore, to ask those on the banks

If they were his
assistants
⁵⁴¹
, yea or no,

Who answered him they came from Buckingham

Upon
his party
⁵⁴³
: he, mistrusting them,

Hoised
⁵⁴⁴
sail and made his course again for Brittany.

RICHARD
    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