Richard III - William Shakespeare (ebooks online reader txt) 📗

deed?
For Edward, for my brother, for his sake:
Why, sirs,
He sends ye not to murder me for this;
For in this sin he is as deep as I.
If God will be revenged for this deed,
O, know you yet, he doth it publicly:
Take not the quarrel from his powerful arm;
He needs no indirect nor lawless course
To cut off those that have offended him. First Murderer

Who made thee, then, a bloody minister,
When gallant-springing brave Plantagenet,
That princely novice, was struck dead by thee?

Clarence My brother’s love, the devil, and my rage. First Murderer

Thy brother’s love, our duty, and thy fault,
Provoke us hither now to slaughter thee.

Clarence

Oh, if you love my brother, hate not me;
I am his brother, and I love him well.
If you be hired for meed, go back again,
And I will send you to my brother Gloucester,
Who shall reward you better for my life
Than Edward will for tidings of my death.

Second Murderer You are deceived, your brother Gloucester hates you. Clarence

O, no, he loves me, and he holds me dear:
Go you to him from me.

Both Ay, so we will. Clarence

Tell him, when that our princely father York
Bless’d his three sons with his victorious arm,
And charged us from his soul to love each other,
He little thought of this divided friendship:
Bid Gloucester think of this, and he will weep.

First Murderer Ay, millstones; as he lesson’d us to weep. Clarence O, do not slander him, for he is kind. First Murderer

Right,
As snow in harvest. Thou deceivest thyself:
’Tis he that sent us hither now to slaughter thee.

Clarence

It cannot be; for when I parted with him,
He hugg’d me in his arms, and swore, with sobs,
That he would labour my delivery.

Second Murderer

Why, so he doth, now he delivers thee
From this world’s thraldom to the joys of heaven.

First Murderer Make peace with God, for you must die, my lord. Clarence

Hast thou that holy feeling in thy soul,
To counsel me to make my peace with God,
And art thou yet to thy own soul so blind,
That thou wilt war with God by murdering me?
Ah, sirs, consider, he that set you on
To do this deed will hate you for the deed.

Second Murderer What shall we do? Clarence Relent, and save your souls. First Murderer Relent! ’tis cowardly and womanish. Clarence

Not to relent is beastly, savage, devilish.
Which of you, if you were a prince’s son,
Being pent from liberty, as I am now,
If two such murderers as yourselves came to you,
Would not entreat for life?
My friend, I spy some pity in thy looks;
O, if thine eye be not a flatterer,
Come thou on my side, and entreat for me,
As you would beg, were you in my distress:
A begging prince what beggar pities not?

Second Murderer Look behind you, my lord. First Murderer

Take that, and that: if all this will not do, stabs him
I’ll drown you in the malmsey-butt within. Exit, with the body.

Second Murderer

A bloody deed, and desperately dispatch’d!
How fain, like Pilate, would I wash my hands
Of this most grievous guilty murder done!

Re-enter First Murderer. First Murderer

How now! what mean’st thou, that thou help’st me not?
By heavens, the duke shall know how slack thou art!

Second Murderer

I would he knew that I had saved his brother!
Take thou the fee, and tell him what I say;
For I repent me that the duke is slain. Exit.

First Murderer

So do not I: go, coward as thou art.
Now must I hide his body in some hole,
Until the duke take order for his burial:
And when I have my meed, I must away;
For this will out, and here I must not stay.

Act II Scene I

London. The palace.

Flourish. Enter King Edward sick, Queen Elizabeth, Dorset, Rivers, Hastings, Buckingham, Grey, and others. King Edward

Why, so: now have I done a good day’s work:
You peers, continue this united league:
I every day expect an embassage
From my Redeemer to redeem me hence;
And now in peace my soul shall part to heaven,
Since I have set my friends at peace on earth.
Rivers and Hastings, take each other’s hand;
Dissemble not your hatred, swear your love.

Rivers

By heaven, my heart is purged from grudging hate;
And with my hand I seal my true heart’s love.

Hastings So thrive I, as I truly swear the like! King Edward

Take heed you dally not before your king;
Lest he that is the supreme King of kings
Confound your hidden falsehood, and award
Either of you to be the other’s end.

Hastings So prosper I, as I swear perfect love! Rivers And I, as I love Hastings with my heart! King Edward

Madam, yourself are not exempt in this,
Nor your son Dorset, Buckingham, nor you;
You have been factious one against the other.
Wife, love Lord Hastings, let him kiss your hand;
And what you do, do it unfeignedly.

Queen Elizabeth

Here, Hastings; I will never more remember
Our former hatred, so thrive I and mine!

King Edward Dorset, embrace him; Hastings, love lord marquess. Dorset

This interchange of love, I here protest,
Upon my part shall be unviolable.

Hastings And so swear I, my lord. They embrace. King Edward

Now, princely Buckingham, seal thou this league
With thy embracements to my wife’s allies,
And make me happy in your unity.

Buckingham

Whenever Buckingham doth turn his hate
On you or yours to the Queen, but with all duteous love
Doth cherish you and yours, God punish me
With hate in those where I expect most love!
When I have most need to employ a friend,
And most assured that he is a friend,
Deep, hollow, treacherous, and full of guile,
Be he unto me! this do I beg of God,
When I am cold in zeal to yours. They embrace.

King Edward

A pleasing cordial, princely Buckingham,
Is this thy vow unto my sickly heart.
There wanteth now our brother Gloucester here,
To make the perfect period of this peace.

Buckingham And, in good time, here comes the noble duke. Enter Gloucester. Gloucester

Good morrow to my sovereign king and queen;
And, princely peers, a happy time