KING RICHARD THE THIRD.

ACT I.

SCENE I. London. A street.

Enter RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, solus,

Glou. Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buri’d.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;
Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures:
Grim-visag'd war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.

But I, that am not shap'd for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;

I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,

19 feature a fine presence, a good make-up,

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By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the King
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,
About a prophecy, which says that G

Of Edward's heirs the murtherer shall be.

Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here Clarence comes.

Enter CLARENCE, guarded, and BRAKENBURY.

Brother, good day: what means this armed guard
That waits upon your grace?

Clar.

His majesty,

Tend'ring my person's safety, hath appointed
This conduct to convey me to the Tower.
Glou. Upon what cause?

Clar.

Because my name is George.

Glou. Alack, my lord, that fault is none of yours;

He should, for that, commit your godfathers:

O, belike his majesty hath some intent

That you shall be new christen'd in the Tower.

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But what's the matter, Clarence? may I know?

Clar. Yea, Richard, when I know; for I protest

As yet I do not: but, as I can learn,

He hearkens after prophecies and dreams;
And from the cross-row plucks the letter G,
And says a wizard told him that by G
His issue disinherited should be;
And, for my name of George begins with G,
It follows in his thought that I am he.
These, as I learn, and such like toys as these
Have mov'd his highness to commit me now.

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Glou. Why, this it is, when men are rul'd by women:

'Tis not the King that sends you to the Tower;

My Lady Grey his wife, Clarence, 't is she
That tempers him to this extremity.

Was it not she and that good man of worship,
Anthony Woodville, her brother there,

That made him send Lord Hastings to the Tower,
From whence this present day he is deliver'd?
We are not safe, Clarence; we are not safe.

Clar. By heaven, I think there's no man is secure
But the Queen's kindred and night-walking heralds,
That trudge betwixt the King and Mistress Shore.

55 cross-row the row of letters in the primer, whence "cris-cross-row" (that is, Christ-cross, etc.), because a cross was prefixed to the first line.

73 Mistress Shore Jane Shore, the beautiful mistress of Edward IV. who used her power over him always for good.

Heard ye not what an humble suppliant
Lord Hastings was to her for his delivery?

Glou. Humbly complaining to her deity
Got my Lord Chamberlain his liberty.
I'll tell you what; I think it is our way,
If we will keep in favour with the King,
To be her men and wear her livery:

The jealous o'erworn widow and herself,
Since that our brother dubb'd them gentlewomen,
Are mighty gossips in this monarchy.

Brak. Beseech your graces both to pardon me;
His majesty hath straitly given in charge

That no man shall have private conference,
Of what degree soever, with his brother.

Glou. Even so; an 't please your worship, Brakenbury,
You may partake of any thing we say :

We speak no treason, man: we say the King
Is wise and virtuous, and his noble queen
Well struck in years, fair, and not jealous;
We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot,

A cherry lip, a bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue;

And that the Queen's kindred are made gentlefolks :
How say you, sir? can you deny all this?

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Brak. With this, my lord, myself have nought to do.

Glou. Naught to do with Mistress Shore! I tell thee, fellow,

He that doth naught with her, excepting one,

Were best he do it secretly, alone.

Brak. What one, my lord?

Glou. Her husband, knave: wouldst thou betray me?
Brak. Beseech your grace to pardon me, and withal

Forbear your conference with the noble duke.

Clar. We know thy charge, Brakenbury, and will obey.
Glou. We are the Queen's abjects, and must obey.

Brother, farewell: I will unto the King;

And whatsoever you will employ me in,
Were it to call King Edward's widow sister,
I will perform it to enfranchise you.
Meantime, this deep disgrace in brotherhood
Touches me deeper than you can imagine.

Clar. I know it pleaseth neither of us well.
Glou. Well, your imprisonment shall not be long:
I will deliver you, or else lie for you:

Meantime, have patience.

97 nought 100 abjects

nothing; naught something naughty.
slaves, accented on the second syllable.

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ΠΙΟ

Clar.

[Exeunt Clarence, Brakenbury, and Guard.

I must perforce. Farewell.

Glou. Go, tread the path that thou shalt ne'er return,
Simple, plain Clarence! I do love thee so,
That I will shortly send thy soul to heaven,
If heaven will take the present at our hands.
But who comes here? the new-deliver'd Hastings?

Enter LORD HASTINGS.

Hast. Good time of day unto my gracious lord! Glou. As much unto my good Lord Chamberlain ! Well are you welcome to the open air.

How hath your lordship brook'd imprisonment?

Hast. With patience, noble lord, as prisoners must:
But I shall live, my lord, to give them thanks
That were the cause of my imprisonment.

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Glou. No doubt, no doubt; and so shall Clarence too;

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For they that were your enemies are his,

And have prevail'd as much on him as you.

Hast. More pity that the eagle should be mew'd, While kites and buzzards prey at liberty.

Glou. What news abroad?

Hast. No news so bad abroad as this at home;

The King is sickly, weak and melancholy,

And his physicians fear him mightily.

Glou. Now, by Saint Paul, this news is bad indeed.

O, he hath kept an evil diet long,

And overmuch consum'd his royal person:

"T is very grievous to be thought upon.

What, is he in his bed?

Hast. He is.

Glou. Go you before, and I will follow you.

He cannot live, I hope; and must not die

Till George be pack'd with post-horse up to heaven.
I'll in, to urge his hatred more to Clarence,
With lies well steel'd with weighty arguments;
And, if I fail not in my deep intent,
Clarence hath not another day to live:

Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy,
And leave the world for me to bustle in!

For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter.
What though I kill'd her husband and her father?
The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her father:

The which will I; not all so much for love

137 fear him 155 wench

Virgin Mary.

fear for him.

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[Exit Hastings.

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girl, young woman, without any disparaging sense: applied even to the