Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time Enter CLARENCE, guarded, and BRAKENBURY. Brother, good day. What means this armed guard, That waits upon your grace? Clar. His majesty, Because my name is-George. Clar. Yea, Richard, when I know; for, I protest, 1 This is from Holinshed. As yet I do not. But, as I can learn, He hearkens after prophecies, and dreams; And says a wizard told him, that by G His issue disinherited should be; And, for my name of George begins with G, Glo. Why, this it is, when men are ruled by women. 'Tis not the king that sends you to the Tower; That tempers him to this extremity. Clar. By Heaven, I think there is no man secure, Brak. Í beseech your graces both to pardon me; His majesty hath straitly given in charge, Glo. Even so? An please your worship, Brakenbury, You may partake of any thing we say. We speak no treason, man. We say, the king A bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue ; Brak. With this, my lord, myself have nought to do. fellow, He that doth naught with her, excepting one, Brak. What one, my lord ? Glo. Her husband, knave. --Wouldst thou betray me? Brak. I beseech your grace to pardon me; and withal, Forbear your conference with the noble duke. Clar. We know thy charge, Brakenbury, and will obey. Glo. We are the queen's abjects,1 and must obey. Clar. I know it pleaseth neither of us well. I will deliver you, or else lie for you." Mean time, have patience. Clar. I must perforce; farewell. [Exeunt CLARENCE, Brakenbury, and Guard. Glo. Go, tread the path that thou shalt ne'er return, Simple, plain Clarence!-I do love thee so, 1 i. e. the lowest of her subjects. This substantive is found in Psalm xxxv. 15. 2 He means, "or else be imprisoned in your stead." To lie signified anciently to reside, or remain in a place. If heaven will take the present at our hands. Enter HASTINGS. Hast. Good time of day unto my gracious lord! Well are you welcome to this open air. How hath your lordship brooked imprisonment? Hast. With patience, noble lord, as prisoners must ; But I shall live, my lord, to give them thanks, Glo. No doubt, no doubt; and so shall Clarence too; For they, that were your enemies, are his, And have prevailed as much on him, as you. Hast. More pity that the eagle should be mewed, While kites and buzzards prey at liberty. Glo. What news abroad? Hast. No news so bad abroad as this at home ; The king is sickly, weak, and melancholy, And his physicians fear him mightily. Glo. Now, by saint Paul, this news is bad indeed. O, he hath kept an evil diet long, And over-much consumed his royal person; 'Tis very grievous to be thought upon. What, is he in his bed? Glo. Go you before, and I will follow you. [Exit HASTINGS. He cannot live, I hope; and must not die For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter.1 1 Lady Anne, the betrothed widow of Edward prince of Wales. See King Henry VI. Part III. What though I killed her husband and her father ? SCENE II. The same. Another Street. [Exit. Enter the corpse of KING HENRY THE SIXTH, borne in an open coffin, Gentlemen bearing halberds, to guard it; and LADY ANNE as mourner. Anne. Set down, set down your honorable load, If honor may be shrouded in a hearse,Whilst I awhile obsequiously lament The untimely fall of virtuous LancasterPoor key-cold1 figure of a holy king! Pale ashes of the house of Lancaster! Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood! Be it lawful that I invocate thy ghost, To hear the lamentations of poor Anne, Wife to thy Edward, to thy slaughtered son, Stabbed by the self-same hand that made these wounds! Lo, in these windows, that let forth thy life, 1 A key, on account of the coldness of the metal of which it is composed, was often employed to stop any slight bleeding. The epithet is common to many old writers. |