Richard III (20 page)

CATESBY
    My liege, the Duke of Buckingham is
taken
⁵⁴⁸
:

That is the best news. That the Earl of Richmond

Is with a mighty power landed at
Milford
⁵⁵⁰

Is
colder
⁵⁵¹
news, but yet they must be told.

RUCGARD
    Away towards Salisbury! While we
reason
⁵⁵²
here,

A royal battle might be won and lost.

Someone take order Buckingham be brought

To Salisbury. The rest march on with me.

DERBY
    Sir Christopher, tell Richmond this from me:

That in the
sty
of the most deadly
boar
²

My son George Stanley is
franked
up in
hold.
³

If I revolt, off goes young George’s head

The fear of that holds off my present aid.

So get thee gone: commend me to thy lord.

Withal say that the queen hath heartily consented

He should
espouse
⁸
Elizabeth her daughter.

But tell me, where is princely Richmond now?

CHRISTOPHER
    At
Pembroke
, or at
Ha’rfordwest
¹⁰
, in Wales.

DERBY
    What men of
name
resort
¹¹
to him?

CHRISTOPHER
    Sir Walter Herbert, a renowned soldier,

Sir Gilbert Talbot, Sir William Stanley,

Oxford,
redoubted
Pembroke
¹⁴
, Sir James Blunt,

And
Rice
¹⁵
ap Thomas with a valiant crew.

And many other of great name and worth:

And towards London do they
bend
¹⁷
their power,

If
by
¹⁸
the way they be not fought withal.

DERBY
    Well, hie thee to thy lord: I kiss his hand,

My letter will
resolve him of my mind.
²⁰
Farewell.

BUCKINGHAM
    Will not King Richard let me speak with him?

SHERIFF
    No, my good lord: therefore be patient.

BUCKINGHAM
    Hastings, and Edward’s children, Grey and Rivers,

Holy King Henry, and thy fair son Edward,

Vaughan, and all that have
miscarried
⁵

By underhand corrupted foul injustice,

If that your
moody
⁷
discontented souls

Do through the clouds behold this present hour,

Even for revenge mock my destruction!—

This is
All Souls’ day
¹⁰
, fellow, is it not?

SHERIFF
    It is.

BUCKINGHAM
    Why, then All Souls’ day is my body’s doomsday.

This is the day which, in King Edward’s time
¹³
,

I wished might fall on me, when I was found

False to his children and his wife’s allies:

This is the day wherein I wished to fall

By the false faith of him whom most I trusted:

This, this All Souls’ day to my fearful soul

Is the
determined respite of
¹⁹
my wrongs.

That high
all-seer
which I
dallied with
²⁰

Hath turned my
feignèd
²¹
prayer on my head

And given in earnest what I begged
in jest
²²
:

Thus doth he force the swords of wicked men

To turn their own points in their masters’ bosoms.

Thus Margaret’s curse falls heavy on my neck:

‘When he’, quoth she, ‘shall split thy heart with sorrow,

Remember Margaret was a prophetess.’

Come lead me, officers, to the
block
²⁸
of shame.

Wrong hath but wrong, and blame the due of blame.

RICHMOND
    Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends

Bruised underneath the yoke of tyranny,

Thus far into the
bowels
³
of the land

Have we marched on without impediment;

And here receive we from our
father
⁵
Stanley

Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.

The wretched, bloody, and usurping, boar —

That
spoiled
⁸
your summer fields and fruitful vines,

Swills
your warm blood like
wash
⁹
, and makes his trough

In your
embowelled
¹⁰
bosoms — this foul swine

Is now even in the centre of this isle,

Near to the town of
Leicester
¹²
, as we learn.

From Tamworth thither is but one day’s march.

In God’s name,
cheerly
¹⁴
on, courageous friends,

To reap the harvest of perpetual peace

By this one bloody trial of
sharp
¹⁶
war.

OXFORD
    Every man’s conscience is a thousand men,

To fight against this guilty
homicide.
¹⁸

HERBERT
    I doubt not but his friends will turn to us.

BLUNT
    He hath no friends but what are friends for fear,

Which in his dearest need will fly from him.

RICHMOND
    All for our
vantage.
²²
Then, in God’s name, march.

True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings:

Kings it makes gods and
meaner
²⁴
creatures kings.

RICHARD
    Here pitch our tent, even here in Bosworth Field.

My lord of Surrey, why look you so
sad?
²

SURREY
    My heart is ten times lighter than my looks.

RICHARD
    My lord of Norfolk—

NORFOLK
    Here, most gracious liege.

RICHARD
    Norfolk, we must have
knocks
⁶
, ha? Must we not?

NORFOLK
    We must both give and take, my loving lord.

RICHARD
    Up with my tent! Here will I lie tonight,

But where tomorrow? Well,
all’s one for that
⁹

Who hath
descried
¹⁰
the number of the traitors?

NORFOLK
    Six or seven thousand is their utmost power.

RICHARD
    Why, our
battalia
trebles that
account
¹²
:

Besides, the king’s name is a tower of strength,

Which they upon the adverse faction
want.
¹⁴

Up with the tent! Come, noble gentlemen,

Let us survey the
vantage of the ground.
¹⁶

Call for some men of
sound direction
¹⁷
:

Let’s lack no discipline, make no delay,

For, lords, tomorrow is a busy day.

RICHMOND
    The weary sun hath made a golden set,

And by the bright
tract
of his fiery
car
²¹
,

Gives token of a goodly day tomorrow.

Sir William Brandon, you shall bear my
standard
²³

Give me some ink and paper in my tent:

I’ll draw the
form and model
²⁵
of our battle,

Limit
each leader to his
several
charge
²⁶
,

And
part in just proportion
²⁷
our small power.

My lord of Oxford, you, Sir William Brandon,

And you, Sir Walter Herbert, stay with me.

The Earl of Pembroke
keeps
³⁰
his regiment;

Good Captain Blunt, bear my goodnight to him,

And by the second hour in the morning

Desire the earl to see me in my tent.

Yet one thing more, good captain, do for me:

Where is Lord Stanley
quartered
³⁵
, do you know?

BLUNT
    Unless I have mista’en his
colours
³⁶
much —

Which well I am assured I have not done —

His regiment lies half a mile at least

South from the mighty power of the king.

RICHMOND
    If without peril it be possible,

Sweet Blunt, make some good means to speak with him,

And give him from me this most
needful
⁴²
note.

BLUNT
    Upon my life, my lord, I’ll undertake it.

And so, God give you quiet rest tonight.

RICHMOND
    Good night, good Captain Blunt. Come gentlemen,

Let us consult upon tomorrow’s business;

Into my tent: the dew is raw and cold.

RICHARD
    What is’t o’clock?

CATESBY
    It’s supper-time, my lord: it’s nine o’clock,

RICHARD
    I will not sup tonight.

Give me some ink and paper.

What, is my
beaver
easier
⁵²
than it was?

And all my armour laid
into
⁵³
my tent?

CATESBY
It is, my liege, and all things are in readiness.

RICHARD
    Good Norfolk,
hie
thee to thy
charge
⁵⁵
:

Use careful watch, choose trusty sentinels.

NORFOLK
    I go, my lord.

RICHARD
    Stir with the lark tomorrow, gentle Norfolk.

NORFOLK
    I
warrant
⁵⁹
you, my lord.

RICHARD
    Ratcliffe!

RATCLIFFE
    My lord?

RICHARD
    Send out a
pursuivant at arms
⁶²

To Stanley’s regiment: bid him bring his power

Before sun-rising, lest his son George fall

Into the blind cave of eternal night.—

Fill me a bowl of wine. Give me a
watch.
⁶⁶

Saddle white
Surrey
⁶⁷
for the field tomorrow.

Look that my
staves
be
sound
⁶⁸
, and not too heavy.

Ratcliffe!

RATCLIFFE
    My lord?

RICHARD
    Saw’st the melancholy Lord Northumberland?

RATCLIFFE
    Thomas the Earl of Surrey and himself,

Much about
cockshut time
⁷³
, from troop to troop

Went through the army,
cheering up
⁷⁴
the soldiers.

Enter a Soldier

RICHARD
    So, I am satisfied.— Give me a bowl of wine:—

I have not that
alacrity
⁷⁶
of spirit,

Nor cheer of mind, that I was
wont
⁷⁷
to have.—

Set
it
⁷⁸
down.— Is ink and paper ready?

RATCLIFFE
    It is, my lord,

RICHARD
    Bid my guard watch. Leave me.

Ratcliffe, about the mid of night come to my tent

And help to
arm me.
⁸²
Leave me, I say.

DERBY
    Fortune and victory sit on thy
helm!
⁸³

RICHMOND
    All comfort that the dark night can afford

Be to thy person, noble
father-in-law!
⁸⁵

Tell me, how fares our noble mother?

DERBY
    I, by
attorney
⁸⁷
, bless thee from thy mother

Who prays continually for Richmond’s good.

So much for that. The silent hours steal on,

And
flaky
⁹⁰
darkness breaks within the east.

In brief — for so the
season
⁹¹
bids us be —

Prepare thy battle early in the morning,

And put thy fortune to
th’arbitrement
⁹³

Of bloody strokes and
mortal-staring
⁹⁴
war.

I, as I may —
that which I would
⁹⁵
I cannot —

With best advantage will deceive the time
⁹⁶
,

And aid thee in this
doubtful shock
⁹⁷
of arms.

But on thy side I may not be too
forward
⁹⁸

Lest, being seen, thy
brother
,
tender
⁹⁹
George,

Be executed in his father’s sight.

Farewell. The
leisure
¹⁰¹
and the fearful time

Cuts off the ceremonious vows of love

And
ample interchange
of
sweet discourse
¹⁰³

Which so long
sundered
¹⁰⁴
friends should dwell upon:

God give us leisure for these rites of love!

Once more, adieu. Be valiant, and speed well!

RICHMOND
    Good lords, conduct him to his regiment:

I’ll strive
with
¹⁰⁸
troubled noise to take a nap,

Lest leaden slumber
peise
¹⁰⁹
me down tomorrow,

When I should mount with wings of victory.

Once more, good night, kind lords and gentlemen.