Читать книгу King Richard III (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography: The Life of William Shakespeare - William Shakespeare - Страница 15

[The trumpets sound. Enter the PRINCE OF WALES, GLOSTER, BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, CARDINAL BOURCHIER, and others.]

BUCKINGHAM

Welcome, sweet prince, to London, to your chamber.

GLOSTER

Welcome, dear cousin, my thoughts’ sovereign:

The weary way hath made you melancholy.

PRINCE

No, uncle; but our crosses on the way

Have made it tedious, wearisome, and heavy:

I want more uncles here to welcome me.

GLOSTER

Sweet prince, the untainted virtue of your years

Hath not yet div’d into the world’s deceit:

Nor more can you distinguish of a man

Than of his outward show; which, God He knows,

Seldom or never jumpeth with the heart.

Those uncles which you want were dangerous;

Your grace attended to their sugar’d words

But look’d not on the poison of their hearts:

God keep you from them and from such false friends!

PRINCE

God keep me from false friends! but they were none.

GLOSTER

My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you.

[Enter the LORD MAYOR and his train.]

MAYOR

God bless your grace with health and happy days!

PRINCE

I thank you, good my lord;—and thank you all.

[Exeunt MAYOR, &c.]

I thought my mother and my brother York

Would long ere this have met us on the way:

Fie, what a slug is Hastings, that he comes not

To tell us whether they will come or no!

BUCKINGHAM

And, in good time, here comes the sweating lord.

[Enter HASTINGS.]

PRINCE

Welcome, my lord: what, will our mother come?

HASTINGS

On what occasion, God He knows, not I,

The queen your mother and your brother York

Have taken sanctuary: the tender prince

Would fain have come with me to meet your grace,

But by his mother was perforce withheld.

BUCKINGHAM

Fie, what an indirect and peevish course

Is this of hers?—Lord cardinal, will your grace

Persuade the queen to send the Duke of York

Unto his princely brother presently?

If she deny, Lord Hastings, go with him,

And from her jealous arms pluck him perforce.

CARDINAL

My Lord of Buckingham, if my weak oratory

Can from his mother win the Duke of York,

Anon expect him here; but if she be obdurate

To mild entreaties, God in heaven forbid

We should infringe the holy privilege

Of blessèd sanctuary! not for all this land

Would I be guilty of so deep a sin.

BUCKINGHAM

You are too senseless-obstinate, my lord,

Too ceremonious and traditional:

Weigh it but with the grossness of this age,

You break not sanctuary in seizing him.

The benefit thereof is always granted

To those whose dealings have deserv’d the place

And those who have the wit to claim the place:

This prince hath neither claim’d it nor deserv’d it;

And therefore, in mine opinion, cannot have it:

Then, taking him from thence that is not there,

You break no privilege nor charter there.

Oft have I heard of sanctuary-men;

But sanctuary-children ne’er till now.

CARDINAL

My lord, you shall o’errule my mind for once.—

Come on, Lord Hastings, will you go with me?

HASTINGS

I go, my lord.

PRINCE

Good lords, make all the speedy haste you may.

[Exeunt CARDINAL and HASTINGS.]

Say, uncle Gloster, if our brother come,

Where shall we sojourn till our coronation?

GLOSTER

Where it seems best unto your royal self.

If I may counsel you, some day or two

Your highness shall repose you at the Tower:

Then where you please and shall be thought most fit

For your best health and recreation.

PRINCE

I do not like the Tower, of any place.—

Did Julius Caesar build that place, my lord?

BUCKINGHAM

He did, my gracious lord, begin that place;

Which, since, succeeding ages have re-edified.

PRINCE

Is it upon recórd, or else reported

Successively from age to age, he built it?

BUCKINGHAM

Upon recórd, my gracious lord.

PRINCE

But say, my lord, it were not register’d,

Methinks the truth should live from age to age,

As ‘twere retail’d to all posterity,

Even to the general all-ending day.

GLOSTER

[Aside]

So wise so young, they say, do never live long.

PRINCE

What say you, uncle?

GLOSTER

I say, without characters, fame lives long.—

[Aside]

Thus, like the formal vice, Iniquity,

I moralize two meanings in one word.

PRINCE

That Julius Caesar was a famous man;

With what his valour did enrich his wit,

His wit set down to make his valour live;

Death makes no conquest of this conqueror;

For now he lives in fame, though not in life.—

I’ll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham,—

BUCKINGHAM

What, my gracious lord?

PRINCE

An if I live until I be a man,

I’ll win our ancient right in France again,

Or die a soldier as I liv’d a king.

GLOSTER

[Aside]

Short summers lightly have a forward spring.

BUCKINGHAM

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

[Enter YORK, HASTINGS, and the CARDINAL.]

PRINCE

Richard of York! how fares our loving brother?

YORK

Well, my dread lord; so must I call you now.

PRINCE

Ay brother,—to our grief, as it is yours:

Too late he died that might have kept that title,

Which by his death hath lost much majesty.

GLOSTER

How fares our cousin, noble Lord of York?

YORK

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

You said that idle weeds are fast in growth:

The prince my brother hath outgrown me far.

GLOSTER

He hath, my lord.

YORK

And therefore is he idle?

GLOSTER

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

YORK

Then he is more beholding to you than I.

GLOSTER

He may command me as my sovereign;

But you have power in me as in a kinsman.

YORK

I pray you, uncle, give me this dagger.

GLOSTER

My dagger, little cousin? with all my heart!

PRINCE

A beggar, brother?

YORK

Of my kind uncle, that I know will give,

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

GLOSTER

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

YORK

A greater gift! O, that’s the sword to it!

GLOSTER

Ay, gentle cousin, were it light enough.

YORK

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

In weightier things you’ll say a beggar nay.

GLOSTER

It is too heavy for your grace to wear.

YORK

I weigh it lightly, were it heavier.

GLOSTER

What, would you have my weapon, little lord?

YORK

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

GLOSTER

How?

YORK

Little.

PRINCE

My Lord of York will still 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,

He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders.

BUCKINGHAM

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.

GLOSTER

My lord, wil’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

My lord protector needs will have it so.

YORK

I shall not sleep in quiet at the Tower.

GLOSTER

Why, 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.

GLOSTER

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.

[Sennet. Exeunt PRINCE, YORK, HASTINGS, CARDINAL, and Attendants.]

BUCKINGHAM

Think you, my lord, this little prating York

Was not incensèd by his subtle mother

To taunt and scorn you thus opprobriously?

GLOSTER

No doubt, no doubt: O, ‘tis a parlous boy;

Bold, quick, ingenious, forward, capable:

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

BUCKINGHAM

Well, let them rest.—Come hither, 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?

CATESBY

He for his father’s sake so loves the prince

That he will not be won to aught 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, sound thou Lord Hastings

How he doth stand affected to our purpose;

And summon him tomorrow 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 tomorrow hold divided councils,

Wherein thyself shalt highly be employ’d.

GLOSTER

Commend me to Lord William: tell him, Catesby,

His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries

Tomorrow are let blood at Pomfret Castle;

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

Give Mistress Shore one gentle kiss the more.

BUCKINGHAM

Good Catesby, go, effect this business soundly.

CATESBY

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

GLOSTER

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

CATESBY

You shall, my lord.

GLOSTER

At Crosby Place, there shall you find us both.

[Exit CATESBY.]

BUCKINGHAM

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

Lord Hastings will not yield to our complots?

GLOSTER

Chop off his head. man;—somewhat we will do:—

And, look when I am king, claim thou of me

The earldom of Hereford, and all the movables

Whereof the king my brother was possess’d.

BUCKINGHAM

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

GLOSTER

And look to have it yielded with all kindness.

Come, let us sup betimes, that afterwards

We may digest our complots in some form.

[Exeunt.]