Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

Buck. With what a sharp provided wit he reasons!
To mitigate the scorn he gives his uncle,
He prettily and aptly taunts himself:

So cunning, and so young, is wonderful.

Glo. Shall we hear from you,Catesby,ere we sleep?
Cate. You shall, my lord.

both.

Glo. At Crosby-place, there shall you find us
[Eri CATESBY.
Buck. Now, my lord, w'.at shall we do, if we
perceive

Lord Hastings will not yield to our complots?
Glo. Chop off his head, man;-somewhat we
will do:-

Glo. My gracious lord, will't please you pass along? And, look, when I am king, claim thou of me
Myself, and my good cousin Buckingham,
Will to your mother; to entreat of her,
To meet you at the Tower, and welcome you.
York. What, will you go unto the Tower, my lord?
Prince. My lord protector needs will have it so.
York. I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.
Glo. Why, sir, what should you fear?
York. Marry, my uncle Clarence' angry ghost;
My grandam told me, he was murder'd there.
Prince. I fear no uncles dead.

The earldom of Hereford, and all the movables
Whereof the king my brother was possess'd.

Buck. I'll claim that promise at your grace's hand.
Glo. And look to have it yielded with all kindness.
Come, let us sup betimes; that afterwards
We may digest our complots in some form.

Glo. Nor none that live, I hope.

Prince. An if they live, I hope, I need not fear.
But come, my lord, and, with a heavy heart,
Thinking on them, go I unto the Tower.

[Exeunt Prince, YORK, HASTINGS, Cardinal,
and Attendants.

Buck. Think you, my lord, this little prating York
Was not incensed 2 by his subtle mother,
To taunt and scorn you thus opprobriously?

Glo. No doubt, no doubt: O, 'tis a parlous boy;
Bold, quick, ingenious, forward, capable ;3
He's all the mother's, from the top to toe.
Buck. Well, let them rest.-

Come hither, gentle Catesby; thou art sworn
As deeply to effect what we intend,
As closely to conceal what we impart :

Thou know'st our reasons urg'd upon the way ;-
What think'st thou? is it not an easy matter
To make William Lord Hastings of our mind,
For the instalment of this noble duke
In the seat royal of this famous isle?

Cate. He for his father's sake so loves the prince,
That he will not be won to aught against him.
Buck, What think'st thou then of Stanley? will

not he?

Cate. He will do all in all as Hastings doth.
Buck. Well then, no more but this: Go, gentle
Catesby,

And, as it were far off, sound thou Lord Hastings,
How he doth stand affected to our purpose;
And summon him to-morrow to the Tower,
To sit about the coronation.

If thou dost find him tractable to us,
Encourage him, and tell him all our reasons:
If he be leaden, icy, cold, unwilling,

Be thou so too; and so break off the talk,
And give us notice of his inclination :
For we to-morrow hold divided councils,
Wherein thyself shalt highly be employ'd.

Glo. Commend me to Lord William: tell him,

Catesby,

His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries
To-morrow are let blood at Pomfret Castle;
And bid my friend, for joy of this good news,
Give mistress Shore one gentle kiss the more.
Buck. Good Catesby, go, effect this business
soundly.

Cate. My good lords both, with all the heed I can.

1 York alludes to the protuberance on Gloster's back, which was commodious for carrying burdens. 2 i. e. incited, instigated.

3 Capable is quick of apprehension, susceptible, intelligent.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. Before Lord Hastings' House.
Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord, my lord,—
Hast. [Within.]
Mess.

[Knocking.

Who knocks?
One from Lord Stanley.
Hast. [Within.] What is't o'clock?
Mess. Upon the stroke of four.

Enter HASTINGS.

Hast.Cannot thy master sleep these tedious nights? First, he commends him to your noble lordship. Mess. So it should seem by that I have to say. Host. And then,

Mess. And then he sends you word, he dreamt
To-night the boar had rased" off his helm:
Besides, he says, there are two councils held;
And that may be determin'd at the one,

Which may make you and him to rue at the other.
Therefore he sends to know your lordship's plea-

sure,

If presently, you will take horse with him,
And with all speed post with him toward the north,
To shun the danger that his soul divines.

Hast. Go, fellow, go, return unto thy lord;
His honour," and myself, are at the one;
Bid him not fear the separated councils:
And, at the other, is my good friend Catesby;
Whereof I shall not have intelligence.
Where nothing can proceed, that toucheth us,
And for his dreams-I wonder, he's so fond'
Tell him, his fears are shallow, wanting instance:
To trust the mockery of unquiet slumbers:
To fly the boar, before the boar pursues,
Were to incense the boar to follow us,
And make pursuit, where he did mean no chase.
Go, bid thy master rise and come to me;
And we will both together to the Tower,
Where, he shall see, the boar will use us kindly.
Mess. I'll go, my lord, and tell him what you say.

Enter CATESBY.

[Exit.

[blocks in formation]

5 Every material circumstance in this scene is from Holinshed, except that n is a knight with whom Hastings converses instead of Buckingham.

4 But the protectoure and the duke after they had sent to the lord cardinal, the Lord Stanley, and the Lord 6 This term rased or rashed, is always given to de. Hastings, then lord chamberlaine, with many other no-scribe the violence inflicted by a boar. By the hoar, blemen, to commune and devise about the coronation in throughout this scene, is meant Gloster, in allusion to one place, as fast were they in another place, contriving his crest. the contrarie to make the protectoure king. The Lord Stanley, that was after earle of Darby, wisely mistrusted it,and said unto the Lord Hastings that he much mislyked these two several councels Holinshed, from Sir T. Mere.

7 This was the usual address to noblemen in Shak speare's time; it was indifferently used with your lord ship. See any old letter or dedication of that age. 8 Instance is here put for motivez cause. 9 Weak, silly.

Hast. I'll have this crown of mine cut from my
shoulders,

Before I'll see the crown so foul misplac'd.
But canst thou guess that he doth aim at it?

Purs. The better, that your lordship please to

ask.

Hast. I tell thee, man, 'tis better with me now,
Than when thou met's me last where now we meet

Cute. Ay, on my life; and hopes to find you for- Then I was going prisoner to the Tower,
ward

Upon his party, for the gain thereof:

And, thereupon, he sends you this good news,-
That, this same very day, your enemies,
The kindred of the queen, must die at Pomfret.
Hast. Indeed, I am no mourner for that news,
Because they have been still my adversaries :
But, that I'll give my voice on Richard's side,
To bar my master's heirs in true descent,
God knows, I will not do it, to the death.

Cute. God keep your lordship in that gracious
mind!

Hast. But I shall laugh at this a twelvemonth

hence,

That they, who brought me in my master's hate,
I live to look upon their tragedy.

Well, Catesby, ere a fortnight make me older,
I'll send some packing, that yet think not on't.

Cate. "Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord,
When men are unprepar'd, and look not for it.

Hast. O monstrous, monstrous! and so falls it out
With Rivers, Vaughan, Grev: and so 'twill do
With some men else, who think themselves as safe
As thou, and I; who, as thou know'st, are dear
To princely Richard, and to Buckingham.

Cate. The princes both make high account of you,
For they account his head upon the bridge. [Aside.
Hast. I know, they do; and I have well deserv dit.
Enter STANLEY.

Come on, come on, where is your boar-spear, man?
Fear you the boar, and go so unprovided?

Stan. My lord, good morrow; and good morrow,
Catesby: :-

You may jest on, but, by the holy rood,1

I do not like these several councils, I.

By the suggestion of the queen's allies;
But now I tell thee (keep it to thyself,)
This day those enemies are put to death,
And I in better state than ere I was.
Purs. God hold it, to your honour's good con-
tent!

[blocks in formation]

Buck. What, talking with a priest, lord chamber-
lain?

Your friends at Pomfret, they do need the priest;
Your honour hath no shriving work in hand.

Hast. 'Good faith, and when I met this holy man,
The men you talk of came into my mind.
What, go you toward the Tower?

Buck. I do, my lord; but long I cannot stay
there:

not.

I shall return before your lordship thence.
Hast. Nay, like enough, for I stay dinner there.
Buck. And supper too, although thou know'st it
[Aside.
Come, will you go?
Hast.
I'll wait upon your lordship.
[Exeunt.

Hast. My lord, I hold my life as dear as you do SCENE III. Pomfret. Before the Castle. Enter

yours;

And never, in my life, I do protest,

Was it more precious to me than 'tis now:
Think you, but that I know our state secure,

I would be so triumphant as I am?

Stan. The lords at Pomfret, when they rode from
London,

Were jocund, and suppos'd their states were sure,
And they, indeed, had no cause to mistrust;
But yet, you see, how soon the day o'ercast.
This sudden stab of rancour I misdoubt;2
Pray God, I say, I prove a needless coward!
What, shall we toward the Tower? the day is
spent.

Hast. Come, come, have with you.-Wot you
what, my lord?

To-day, the lords you talk of are beheaded.

Stan. They, for their truth, might better wear their heads,

Than some, that have accus'd them, wear their hats.

But come, my lord, let's away.

Enter a Pursuivant.

[blocks in formation]

RATCLIFF, with a Guard, conducting RIVERS,
GREY, and VAUGHAN, to Execution.

Rat. Come, bring forth the prisoners.
Rie. Sir Richard Rateliff, let me tell thee this,-
To-day, shalt thou behold a subject die,
For truth, for duty, and for loyalty.

Grey. God keep the prince from all the pack of
you!

A knot you are of damned blood-suckers.
Vaugh. You live, that shall cry woe for this

hereafter.

Rat. Despatch; the lirait of your lives is out.
Riv. O Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison,
Fatal and ominous to noble peers!
Within the guilty closure of thy walls,
Richard the Second here was hack'd to death
And, for more slander to thy dismal seat,
We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink.
Grey. Now Margaret's curse is fallen upon our
heads,

When she exclaim'd on Hastings, you, and I,
For standing by when Richard stabb'd her son.
Riu. Then curs'd she Hastings, then curs'd she
Buckingham,

Then curs'd she Richard :-O, remember, God,
To hear her prayers for them, as now for us!

8 Confession.

9 Queen Elizabeth Grey is deservedly pitied for the loss of her two sons; but the royalty of their birth has so engrossed the attention of historians, that they never reckon into the number of her misfortunes the murder of this her second son, Sir Richard Grey. It is remark. able how slightly the death of Earl Rivers is always mentioned, though a man invested with such high offices of trust and dignity; and how much we dwell on the exc cution of the lord chamberlain Hastings, a man in every light his inferior. In truth, the generality draw their ideas of English story from the tragic rather than the historic authors.-Walpole.

10 The limit for the limited time.

D

[blocks in formation]

Buck. We know each other's faces; for our hearts,

He knows no more of mine, than I of yours;
Nor I, of his, my lord, than you of mine:
Lord Hastings, you and he are near in love.
Hast. I thank his grace, I know he loves me well;
But, for his purpose in the coronation,
I have not sounded him, nor he deliver'd
His gracious pleasure any way therein:
But
you, my noble lord, may name the time;
And in the duke's behalf I'll give my voice,
Which, I presume, he'll take in gentle part.

Enter GLOSTER.

Ely. In happy time, here comes the duke himself. Glo. My noble lords and cousins, all, good mor

row:

I have been long a sleeper; but, I trust,
My absence doth neglect no great design,
Which by my presence might have been concluded.
Buck. Had you not come upon your cue, my lord,
William Lord Hastings had pronounc'd your part,-
I mean, your voice,-for crowning of the king.
Glo. Than my Lord Hastings, no man might be
bolder;

His lordship knows me well, and loves me well.—
My lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn,
I saw good strawberries in your garden there ;"
I do beseech you, send for some of them.
Ely. Marry, and will, my lord, with all my heart.
[Exit ELY.
Glo. Cousin of Buckingham, a word with you.
[Takes him aside.
Catesby hath sounded Hastings in our business;
And finds the testy gentleman so hot,

That he will lose his head, ere give consent,
His master's child, as worshipfully he terms it,
Shall lose the royalty of England's throw.
Buck. Withdraw yourself awhile, I'll go with you.
[Exeunt GLOSTER and BUCKINGHAM.
Stan. We have not yet set down this day of tri-
umph.

To-morrow, in my judgment, is too sudden;
For I myself am not so well provided,
As else I would be, were the day prolong'd.
Re-enter Bishop of Ely.

Ely. Where is my lord protector? I have sent For these strawberries.

Hast. His grace looks cheerfully and smooth this morning;

There's some conceit or other likes him well,
When he doth bid good morrow with such spirit.
I think, there's ne'er a man in Christendom,
Can lesser hide his love, or hate, than he;
For by his face straight shall you know his heart.
Stan. What of his heart perceive you in his face,
By any likelihood" he show'd to-day?

Hast. Marry, that with no man here he is of fended;

For, were he, he had shown it in his looks.

Re-enter GLOSTER and BUCKINGHAM. Glo. I pray you all, tell me what they deserve That do conspire my death with devilish plots Of damned witchcraft, and that have prevail'd Upon my body with their hellish charins?

Hast. The tender love I bear your grace, my lord, Makes me most forward in this noble presence To doom the offenders: Whosoe'er they be, I say, my lord, they have deserved death.

Glo. Then be your eyes the witness of their evil, Look how I am bewitch'd; behold mine arm Is, like a blasted sapling, wither'd up: And this is Edward's wife, that monstrous witch, Consorted with that harlot, strumpet Shore, That by their witchcraft thus have marked me. Hast. If they have done this deed, my noble

lord,

Glo. If thou protector of this damned strumpet, Talk'st thou to me of ifs ?--Thou art a traitor:Off with his head: now, by Saint Paul, I swear, I will not dine until I see the same.Lovel, and Catesby, look, that it be done; The rest that love me, rise, and follow me.

[Exeunt Council, with GLO. and BUCK. Hast. Woe, woe, for England! not a whit for me; For 1, too fond, might have prevented this: Stanley did dream the boar did raise his helm; But I disdain'd it, and did scorn to fly. Three times to-day my foot-cloth horse did stumble, And startled, when he look'd upon the Tower, As loath to bear me to the slaughter-house. O, now I want the priest that spake to me: I now repent I told the pursuivant,

1 We have this word in the same sense again in ix of the clocke, saluting them curtesly, and excusing Shakspeare's twenty-second Sonnet :

Then look I death my days should expiate.

I cannot but think with Steevens that it is an error of the press for expirate.

2 Dr. John Morton, who was elected to the see of Ely In 1479. He was advanced to the see of Canterbury in 1486, and appointed lord chancellor in 1487. He died in the year 1500. This prelate first devised the scheme of putting an end to the long contests between the houses of York and Lancaster, by a marriage between Henry earl of Richmond, and Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. ; and was a principal agent in procuring Henry, when abroad, to enter into a covenant for the purpose.-See More's Life of Richard III.

3 The only thing wanting is appointment of a partieular day for the ceremony.

4 Intimate, confidential.

5 See note on Hamlet, Act ii. Sc. 2.

6 This circumstance of asking the bishop for some of his strawberries seems to have been mentioned by the old historians merely to show the unusual affability and good humour which the dissembling Gloster affected at the very time he had determined on the death of Hastings. It originates with Sir Thomas More, who mentions the protector's entrance to the council fyrste about

himself that he had ben from them so long, saieng me rily that he had been a slepe that day. And after a little talking with them he said unto the bishop of Elye, my lord, you have very good strawberries at your gar. dayne in Holberne, I require you let us have a messe of them. It is remarkable that this bishop (Morton) is supposed to have furnished Sir Thomas More with the materials of his history, if he was not the original au thor of it. See Preface to More's Life of Richard III ed. 1821.

7 i. e. semblance, appearance.

8 For foot-cloth see note on King Henry VI. Part 2 Act iv. Sc. 7. A foot-cloth horse was a paffrey covered with such housings, used for state; and was the usual mode of conveyance for the rich, at a period when car.

riages were unknown.

This is from Holinshed, who copies Sir Thomae More In riding toward the Tower the same morning in which he [Hastings] was beheaded, his horse twice or thrice stumbled with him, almost to the falling; which thing, albeit each man wot well daily happeneth to them to whome no such mischance is toward: yet hath it beene of an old rite and custome observed as a token oftentimes notablie foregoing some great misfor tune.'

« PreviousContinue »