Shakespeare's Richard III 4.4 - Elizabeth Confronts Richard

Richard III

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ACT IV 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?
	[ Retires.
[Enter QUEEN ELIZABETH and the DUCHESS OF YORK]
QUEEN ELIZABETH	Ah, my young princes! ah, my tender babes!
	My unblown flowers, new-appearing sweets!	10
	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.	20
	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.	25
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!	30
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;	40
	I had a Henry, 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,	50
	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.	60
QUEEN MARGARET	Bear with me; I am hungry for revenge,
	And now I cloy me with beholding it.
	Thy Edward he is dead, that kill'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.	70
	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	80
	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,	90
	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;	100
	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?	110
	Now thy proud neck bears half my burthen'd yoke;
	From which even here I slip my wearied head,
	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,	120
	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	130
	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. [ Trumpets within.
	The trumpet sounds: be copious in exclaims.
[Enter KING RICHARD III and his Train, 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,	140
	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!	150
[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 words.	160
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,	170
	Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and venturous,
	Thy age confirm'd, proud, subdued, bloody,
	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 eye,
	Let me march on, and not offend you, madam.
	Strike up 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,	190
	And never more behold 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.	200
[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,	210
	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.	220
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:	230
	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	240
	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;	250
	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.	260
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?	270
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,--	280
	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,
	Mad'st 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's no other way	290
	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.	300
	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.	310
	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:	320
	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 sov'reignty; acquaint the princess
	With the sweet silent hours of marriage joys	330
	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?	350
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.	360
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	Profan'd, dishonour'd, and the third usurp'd.
KING RICHARD III	I swear--
QUEEN ELIZABETH	By nothing; for this is no oath:
	The George, profan'd, hath lost his holy honour;
	The garter, blemish'd, pawn'd his knightly virtue;	370
	The crown, usurp'd, disgrac'd his knightly glory.
	if something thou wilt swear to be believ'd,
	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:	380
	If thou hadst fear'd to break an oath by Him,
	The imperial metal, circling now thy brow,
	Had grac'd the tender temples of my child,
	And both the princes had been breathing here,
	Which now, too tender bedfellows for 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	390
	Hereafter time, for time past wrong'd by thee.
	The children live, whose fathers 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!	400
	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;	410
	It will not be avoided but by this.
	Therefore, dear mother, --I must call 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?	420
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.
[Kissing her. Exit QUEEN ELIZABETH.
	Relenting fool, and shallow, changing woman!
Enter RATCLIFF; CATESBY following.
	How now! what news?	430
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:	440
[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.	450
[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?	460
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?	470
	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?	480
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:	490
	I never was nor never will be, false.
KING RICHARD III	Well,
	Go then, and 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 ye, 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,	510
	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	520
	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	530
	Is with a mighty power landed at Milford,
	Is colder news, 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]

Richard III, Act 4, Scene 5

_______

Explanatory Notes for Act 4, Scene 4
From King Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard.

Abbreviations. — A.-S. = Anglo-Saxon: M.E. = Middle English (from the 13th to the 15th century) ; Fr. = French ; Ger. = German ; Gr. = Greek ; Cf. = compare (Lat. confer) ; Abbott refers to the excellent Shakespearean Grammar of Dr. Abbott; Schmidt, to Dr. Schmidt's invaluable Shakespeare Lexicon.

____

1. Mellow, ripen.

3. Confines, districts.

5. Induction, beginning.

6. Consequence, the sequel.

15. Right for right, measure for measure, a just punishment for an offense against justice.

20. Quit, pay or compensate for.

21. A dying debt, a debt of death.

26-29. These lines the duchess addresses to herself.

36. Seniory, priority from age.

37. Let my griefs exceed yours.

40. Edward, her son, young Prince Edward, murdered after the battle of Tewksbury.

41. Henry, Henry VI, her husband.

42-43. These lines are addressed to Queen Elizabeth. Edward and Richard Duke of York were the two murdered princes.

44. Richard, Duke of York, father of Edward IV, Clarence, and Richard III.

45. Rutland. See I. ii. 162, and note.

53. Galled, sore with weeping.

56. Carnal, flesh-devouring.

58. Pew-fellow, companion, literally one who sits in the same pew at church.

63. Thy Edward — Edward IV. My Edward, Prince Edward, wno was killed at Tewksbury.

64. Thy other Edward, the young prince, Edward V.

65. York, the young murdered Duke of York, brother of the prince, Edward V. But boot, but something thrown into the bargain. Boot literally means addition. A.-S. bot, profit, ultimately from the same root as better. It is still preserved in the adjective bootless. The phrase to boot means in addition.

71. Intelligencer, agent or go-between.

72. Their, the plural for the singular.

75. Lines with four accents are sometimes found as here, where several short clauses or epithets are connected together in one line, and pronounced slowly.

77. Cf. Macbeth, III. ii. 49:

"Cancel and tear in pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale."

84. Presentation, the mere semblance.

85. Flattering, deluding with vain hopes. Index, the prelude, or introduction to. Pageant, a show or spectacle.

86. A-high, on high. The adjective being here considered as a noun, is preceded by a, which represents the A.-S. on, on, as in a-bed, among, etc.

89. Garish, gaudy, showy.

97. Decline, run through from first to last, as one would a list of grammatical inflections.

98-104. For, instead of.

101. Caitiff, a wretch. Old Fr. caitif (modem Fr. chetif,) from Lat. captivus, from, capio, capere, to take.

108. To torture, the innnitive expressing purpose. The more: the here is not the article, but the old demonstrative — by that the more. See note to II. iii. 4. Being what thou art. Supply thou in the nominative absolute before being.

111. My burden'd yoke, the yoke which is a burden to me.

127. Windy attorneys, etc (words) windy representatives or substitutes for silent woes.

128. Airy succeeders of joys that have perished and left nothing behind.

135. Be copious in exclaims, be plentiful in your reproaches.

151. Entreat me fair, use me well.

157. A touch of your condition, a dash of your temper.

168. Tetchy, irritable.

170. Thy prime of manhood, thy early manhood.

171. Thy age confirm'd, thy full manhood.

172. Kind, that is, in appearance.

180. Humphrey Hour. This passage, as Schmidt observes, has not yet been satisfactorily explained. The phrase to dine with Duke Humphrey was a common expression for going without one's dinner, and originated, according to Nares, in the following manner: Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, though really buried at St. Albans, was supposed to have a monument in old St. Paul's, from which one part of the church was termed Duke Humphrey's Walk. In this, as the church was then a place of the most public resort, they who had no means or procuring a dinner frequently loitered about, probably in hopes of meeting with an invitation, but under pretense of looking at the monuments.

Hunter says that, as Humphrey was Duke of Gloucester, Richard intends some reference to the hour of his own birth, when his mother was, as it were, delivered from fasting with the duke. Forth of, away from.

193-198. In these lines, tire (193), necessarily subjunctive, impresses on the reader that the co-ordinate verbs flight (195), whisper (167), and promise (198), are also subjunctive. This aptative use of the subjunctive, dispensing with let, may etc, gives great vigor to the Shakespearean line (Abbott sect. 365).

207. Level, aim.

222. Unavoided, unavoidable.

227. Cozen'd, cheated. The play upon the words is explained by the etymology. To cozen is to act as cousin or kinsman, to sponge upon, to beguile.

234. Still, constant.

238. Tackling, cordage. Reft, bereft.

241. Success, issue, result.

248. Type, image.

262. Demise, bequeath.

254. Withal, follows its object, but is (on account of the all at the end of the previous verse) not placed at the end of this sentence.

255. Lethe, the river in the lower world from which the shades drank, and thus obtained forgetfullness of the past.

259. Telling, a-telling, or in telling. Date, time of duration.

263-266. From, away from, apart ftom.

207. Shall deal, cannot help dealing.

208. The original relative was that. Who and what were interrogatives, the former being the form for the masculine and feminine alike, the latter for the neuter. Which (A.-S. hwile, hwele, short for hwi-lic, literally why-like; hwi being the instrumental case of hwa, who, and lic the adjective like) was also used interrogatively. Which,who and whom occur as relatives as early as the end of the twelfth century, but who as a relative is not found, according to Dr. Morris, before the fourteenth century. Dr. Abbott notes that if "Wicliffe's version of the New Testament be compared with the versions of the sixteenth century and with that of 1611, that in the former will be found replaced by which and who in the latter, who being especially common in the latest, the Authorized version.

304. Mettle, disposition.

322. Orient, shining: properly Eastern, as pearls came first from the East.

323. Advantaging, making up for.

345. That, object of entreats.

364. The puns deprive the conversation of all appearance of genuine feeling.

366. The George and Garter were insignia of the Order of the Garter [see picture above], but the former was not added until the time of Henry VII. The George is a figure of St. George, the patron saint of England, in the act of killing the dragon. The Garter is worn on the left leg, and is inscnbed with the motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense.

369. His, its. His is much more common in Shakespeare than its which, indeed, was just coming into use in the great dramatist's time. He uses it only about ten times. Its does not occur in the Bible of 1611 (which has it where modern editions have its in Leviticus 25 : 5), nor in Spenser, is found only thrice in Milton's verse, and is not common until the time of Dryden.

392. Youth, in apposition with children.

405. Tender, regard not.

417. Peevish-fond, childishly foolish.

429. Elizabeth was not won over in a single interview, but she did consent that her daughter might marry Richard. Some think, however, that she feigned acquiescence and so outwitted Richard. Her daughter's hand was already pledged to Richmond, and the mother knew the whole plot for seating Richmond on the throne.

432. Puissant, powerful.

438. Hull, float without use of sails.

464. Richard's inconsistent orders reveal the agitation of his mind.

482. White-liver'd runagate, cowardly vagabond. The liver was considered to be the seat of courage. Runagate is a corruption of M.E. renegat a renegade, apostate, through Fr. from Lat. renegatus, renegare; re, again, and negare to deny. The corruption in the form of the word was due to a mistaken identity on the analogy of run-a-way with runne a gate — run on the road, be a vagabond. (Skeat.)

467. Chair, the throne. Sword, the sword of state.

474. Welshman. Richmond was the grandson of Owen Tudor.

498. This is found in Hall. The Courtneys, however, were not brothers, but cousins.

502. Competitors, confederates. Every, a trisyllable.

506. The owl's cry was supposed to be a portent of death.

516. Sir Thomas Lovel was afterwards Treasurer of the Household to Henry VII.

531. Richmond landed at Milford, August 7, 1486.

534. Royal battle, a battle on which a kingdom depends.

How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard, 1886. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2014. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_4_4.html >.

Order of the Garter. From William Bruges's Garter Book c. 1440.

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