Richard III

Richard III

ACT IV SCENE II	London. The palace.
	Sennet. Enter KING RICHARD III, in pomp, crowned;BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a page, and others
KING RICHARD III	Stand all apart Cousin of Buckingham!
BUCKINGHAM	My gracious sovereign?
KING RICHARD III	Give me thy hand.
	Here he ascendeth his throne
	Thus high, by thy advice	5
	And thy assistance, is King Richard seated;
	But shall we wear these honours for a day?
	Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?
BUCKINGHAM	Still live they and for ever may they last!
KING RICHARD III	O Buckingham, now do I play the touch,	10
	To try if thou be current gold indeed
	Young Edward lives: think now what I would say.
BUCKINGHAM	Say on, my loving lord.
KING RICHARD III	Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be king,
BUCKINGHAM	Why, so you are, my thrice renowned liege.	15
KING RICHARD III	Ha! am I king? 'tis so: but Edward lives.
BUCKINGHAM	True, noble prince.
KING RICHARD III	O bitter consequence,
	That Edward still should live! 'True, noble prince!'
	Cousin, thou wert not wont to be so dull:	20
	Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead;
	And I would have it suddenly perform'd.
	What sayest thou? speak suddenly; be brief.
BUCKINGHAM	Your grace may do your pleasure.
KING RICHARD III	Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezeth:	25
	Say, have I thy consent that they shall die?
BUCKINGHAM	Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord
	Before I positively herein:
	I will resolve your grace immediately.
	Exit
CATESBY	Aside to a stander by
	The king is angry: see, he bites the lip.	30
KING RICHARD III	I will converse with iron-witted fools
	And unrespective boys: none are for me
	That look into me with considerate eyes:
	High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect.
	Boy!	35
Page	My lord?
KING RICHARD III	Know'st thou not any whom corrupting gold
	Would tempt unto a close exploit of death?
Page	My lord, I know a discontented gentleman,
	Whose humble means match not his haughty mind:	40
	Gold were as good as twenty orators,
	And will, no doubt, tempt him to any thing.
KING RICHARD III	What is his name?
Page	His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.
KING RICHARD III	I partly know the man: go, call him hither.	45
	Exit Page
	The deep-revolving witty Buckingham
	No more shall be the neighbour to my counsel:
	Hath he so long held out with me untired,
	And stops he now for breath?
	Enter STANLEY
	How now! what news with you?	50
STANLEY	My lord, I hear the Marquis Dorset's fled
	To Richmond, in those parts beyond the sea
	Where he abides.
	Stands apart
KING RICHARD III	Catesby!
CATESBY	My lord?	55
KING RICHARD III	Rumour it abroad
	That Anne, my wife, is sick and like to die:
	I will take order for her keeping close.
	Inquire me out some mean-born gentleman,
	Whom I will marry straight to Clarence' daughter:	60
	The boy is foolish, and I fear not him.
	Look, how thou dream'st! I say again, give out
	That Anne my wife is sick and like to die:
	About it; for it stands me much upon,
	To stop all hopes whose growth may damage me.	65
	Exit CATESBY
	I must be married to my brother's daughter,
	Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass.
	Murder her brothers, and then marry her!
	Uncertain way of gain! But I am in
	So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin:	70
	Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye.
	Re-enter Page, with TYRREL
	Is thy name Tyrrel?
TYRREL	James Tyrrel, and your most obedient subject.
KING RICHARD III	Art thou, indeed?
TYRREL	Prove me, my gracious sovereign.	75
KING RICHARD III	Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine?
TYRREL	Ay, my lord;
	But I had rather kill two enemies.
KING RICHARD III	Why, there thou hast it: two deep enemies,
	Foes to my rest and my sweet sleep's disturbers	80
	Are they that I would have thee deal upon:
	Tyrrel, I mean those bastards in the Tower.
TYRREL	Let me have open means to come to them,
	And soon I'll rid you from the fear of them.
KING RICHARD III	Thou sing'st sweet music. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel	85
	Go, by this token: rise, and lend thine ear:
	Whispers
	There is no more but so: say it is done,
	And I will love thee, and prefer thee too.
TYRREL	'Tis done, my gracious lord.
KING RICHARD III	Shall we hear from thee, Tyrrel, ere we sleep?	90
TYRREL	Ye shall, my Lord.
	Exit
	Re-enter BUCKINGHAM
BUCKINGHAM	My Lord, I have consider'd in my mind
	The late demand that you did sound me in.
KING RICHARD III	Well, let that pass. Dorset is fled to Richmond.
BUCKINGHAM	I hear that news, my lord.	95
KING RICHARD III	Stanley, he is your wife's son well, look to it.
BUCKINGHAM	My lord, I claim your gift, my due by promise,
	For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd;
	The earldom of Hereford and the moveables
	The which you promised I should possess.	100
KING RICHARD III	Stanley, look to your wife; if she convey
	Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it.
BUCKINGHAM	What says your highness to my just demand?
KING RICHARD III	As I remember, Henry the Sixth
	Did prophesy that Richmond should be king,	105
	When Richmond was a little peevish boy.
	A king, perhaps, perhaps,--
BUCKINGHAM	My lord!
KING RICHARD III	How chance the prophet could not at that time
	Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him?	110
BUCKINGHAM	My lord, your promise for the earldom,--
KING RICHARD III	Richmond! When last I was at Exeter,
	The mayor in courtesy show'd me the castle,
	And call'd it Rougemont: at which name I started,
	Because a bard of Ireland told me once	115
	I should not live long after I saw Richmond.
BUCKINGHAM	My Lord!
KING RICHARD III	Ay, what's o'clock?
BUCKINGHAM	I am thus bold to put your grace in mind
	Of what you promised me.	120
KING RICHARD III	Well, but what's o'clock?
BUCKINGHAM	Upon the stroke of ten.
KING RICHARD III	Well, let it strike.
BUCKINGHAM	Why let it strike?
KING RICHARD III	Because that, like a Jack, thou keep'st the stroke	125
	Betwixt thy begging and my meditation.
	I am not in the giving vein to-day.
BUCKINGHAM	Why, then resolve me whether you will or no.
KING RICHARD III	Tut, tut,
	Thou troublest me; am not in the vein.	130
	Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM
BUCKINGHAM	Is it even so? rewards he my true service
	With such deep contempt made I him king for this?
	O, let me think on Hastings, and be gone
	To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!
	Exit