Richard III (12 page)

RICHARD
    Short summers
lightly
⁹⁴
have a forward spring.

BUCKINGHAM
    Now, in good time, here comes the Duke of York.

PRINCE EDWARD
    Richard of York, how fares our noble brother?

YORK
    Well, my dear lord, so must I call you now.

PRINCE EDWARD
    Ay, brother, to our
grief
⁹⁸
, as it is yours:

Too
late
⁹⁹
he died that might have kept that title,

Which by his death hath lost much majesty.

RICHARD
    How fares our cousin, noble lord of York?

YORK
    I thank you, gentle uncle. O, my lord,

You said that
idle
¹⁰³
weeds are fast in growth:

The prince my brother hath outgrown me far.

RICHARD
    He hath, my lord.

YORK
    And therefore is he idle?

RICHARD
    O, my fair cousin. I must not say so.

YORK
    Then he is more
beholding
¹⁰⁸
to you than I.

RICHARD
    He may command me as my sovereign,

But you have power in me
as
¹¹⁰
in a kinsman.

YORK
    I pray you, uncle, give me this
dagger.
¹¹¹

RICHARD
    My dagger, little cousin?
With all my heart.
¹¹²

PRINCE EDWARD
    A beggar, brother?

YORK
    Of my kind uncle, that I know will give,

And being but a
toy
¹¹⁵
, which is no grief to give.

RICHARD
    A greater gift than that I’ll give my cousin.

YORK
    A greater gift? O, that’s the sword
to it.
¹¹⁷

RICHARD
    Ay, gentle cousin, were it
light
¹¹⁸
enough.

YORK
    O, then, I see, you will part but with light gifts.

In weightier things you’ll say
a beggar nay.
¹²⁰

RICHARD
    It is too weighty for your grace to wear.

YORK
    I
weigh it lightly
,
were it
¹²²
heavier.

RICHARD
    What, would you
have
¹²³
my weapon, little lord?

YORK
    I would, that I might thank you as you call me.

RICHARD
    How?

YORK
    Little.

PRINCE EDWARD
    My lord of York will
still
¹²⁷
be cross in talk.

Uncle, your grace knows how to bear with him.

YORK
    You mean to bear me, not to bear with me.—

Uncle, my brother mocks both you and me,

Because that I am little,
like an ape
¹³¹
,

He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.

BUCKINGHAM
    With what a
sharp-provided
¹³³
wit he reasons!

To
mit gate
¹³⁴
the scorn he gives his uncle,

He
prettily
¹³⁵
and aptly taunts himself.

So
cunning
¹³⁶
and so young is wonderful.

RICHARD
    My lord, will’t please you pass along?

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 EDWARD
    My Lord Protector will have it so.

YORK
    I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.

RICHARD
    Why, what should you fear?

YORK
    Marry, my uncle Clarence’ angry ghost.

My grandam told me he was murdered there.

PRINCE EDWARD
    I fear no uncles dead.

RICHARD
    Nor none that live, I hope.

PRINCE EDWARD
    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.

BUCKINGHAM
    Think you, my lord, this little
prating
¹⁵²
York

Was not
incensèd
¹⁵³
by his subtle mother

To taunt and scorn you thus
opprobriously?
¹⁵⁴

RICHARD
    No doubt, no doubt. O, ’tis a
perilous
¹⁵⁵
boy:

Bold, quick, ingenious,
forward
¹⁵⁶
, capable.

He is
all the mother’s
¹⁵⁷
, from the top to toe.

BUCKINGHAM
    Well,
let them rest.
¹⁵⁸
—Come hither, Catesby.

Thou art sworn as
deeply
¹⁵⁹
to effect what we intend

As
closely
¹⁶⁰
to conceal what we impart.

Thou know’st our reasons
urged
¹⁶¹
upon the way,

What think’st thou? Is it not an easy matter

To make William Lord Hastings
of our mind
¹⁶³
,

For the instalment of this noble duke

In the seat royal of this famous isle?

CATESBY
    
He for his father’s
¹⁶⁶
sake so loves the prince,

That he will not be
won to aught
¹⁶⁷
against him.

BUCKINGHAM
    What think’st thou, then, of Stanley? Will not he?

CATESBY
    He will do all in all as Hastings doth.

BUCKINGHAM
    Well, then, no more but this: go, gentle Catesby.

And,
as it were far off
¹⁷¹
sound thou Lord Hastings,

How he doth stand
affected to
¹⁷²
our purpose,

And summon him tomorrow to the Tower,

To
sit
¹⁷⁴
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 tomorrow hold
divided councils
¹⁸⁰
,

Wherein thyself shalt
highly
¹⁸¹
be employed.

RICHARD
    Commend me to
Lord William.
¹⁸²
Tell him, Catesby.

His
ancient knot
¹⁸³
of dangerous adversaries

Tomorrow
are let blood
¹⁸⁴
at Pomfret Castle,

And bid my lord, for joy of this good news,

Give
Mistress Shore
¹⁸⁶
one gentle kiss the more.

BUCKINGHAM
    Good Catesby, go effect this business soundly.

CATESBY
    My good lords both, with all the
heed
¹⁸⁸
I can.

RICHARD
    Shall we hear from you, Catesby, ere we sleep?

CATESBY
    You shall, my lord.

RICHARD
    At Crosby House, there shall you find us both.

BUCKINGHAM
    Now my lord, what shall we do if we perceive

Lord Hastings will not yield to our
complots?
¹⁹³

RICHARD
    Chop off his head: something we will determine:

And look when I am king, claim thou of me

The earldom of Hereford, and all the
movables
¹⁹⁶

Whereof the king my brother was possessed.

BUCKINGHAM
    I’ll claim that promise at your grace’s hand.

RICHARD
    And look to have it yielded with all kindness.

Come, let us
sup betimes
²⁰⁰
, that afterwards

We may
digest
²⁰¹
our complots in some form.

MESSENGER
    My lord, my lord!

HASTINGS
    Who knocks?

MESSENGER
    One from the lord Stanley.

HASTINGS
    What is’t o’clock?

MESSENGER
    Upon the stroke of four.

HASTINGS
    Cannot my lord Stanley sleep these
tedious
⁶
nights?

MESSENGER
    So it appears by that I have to say.

First, he commends him to your noble self.

HASTINGS
    What then?

MESSENGER
    Then certifies your lordship that this night

He dreamt the
boar
¹¹
had razèd off his helm.

Besides, he says there are two councils kept,

And
that may be determined
¹³
at the one

Which may make you and him
to rue
¹⁴
at th’other:

Therefore he sends to know your lordship’s
pleasure
¹⁵
,

If you will
presently
¹⁶
take horse with him,

And with all speed
post
¹⁷
with him toward the north,

To shun the danger that his soul divines.

HASTINGS
    Go, fellow, go, return unto thy lord,

Bid him not fear the separated council:

His honour
²¹
and myself are at the one,

And at the other is my good friend Catesby,

Where nothing can proceed that
toucheth
²³
us

Where of I shall not
have intelligence.
²⁴

Tell him his fears are shallow,
without instance.
²⁵

And for his dreams, I wonder he’s so simple

To trust the
mock’ry
²⁷
of unquiet slumbers.

To
fly
²⁸
the boar before the boar pursues,

Were
²⁹
to incense the boar to follow us

And make pursuit where he did
mean
³⁰
no chase.

Go, bicithy master rise and come to me

And we will both together to the Tower,

Where he shall see the boar will
use
³³
us kindly.

MESSENGER
    I’ll go, my lord, and tell him what you say.

CATESBY
    Many good morrows to my noble lord.

HASTINGS
    Good morrow, Catesby. You are early stirring.

What news, what news, in this our tott’ring state?

CATESBY
    It is a reeling world, indeed, my lord,

And I believe will never stand upright

Till Richard wear the
garland
⁴⁰
of the realm.

HASTINGS
    How? Wear the garland? Dost thou mean the crown?

CATESBY
    Ay, my good lord.

HASTINGS
    I’ll have this
crown
⁴³
of mine cut from my shoulders

Before I’ll see the crown so
foul
⁴⁴
misplaced.

But canst thou guess that he doth aim at it?

CATESBY
    Ay, on my life, and hopes to find you
forward
⁴⁶

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.

HASTINGS
    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
⁵⁴
heirs in true descent,

God knows I will not do it, to the death.

CATESBY
    God keep your lordship in that gracious mind.

HASTINGS
    But I shall laugh at this a twelvemonth hence,

That
they
⁵⁸
which 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.

CATESBY
    ’T’is a vile thing to die, my gracious lord,

When men are unprepared and look not for it.

HASTINGS
    O,
monstrous
⁶⁴
, monstrous! And so falls it out

With Rivers, Vaughan, Grey: and so ’twill do

With some men else, that think themselves as safe

As thou and I — who, as thou know’st, are dear

To princely Richard and to Buckingham.

CATESBY
    The princes both
make high account
⁶⁹
of you.—