KING RICHARD THE THIRD

Act 3 Scene 2

(Enter a Messenger to the door of Lord Hastings)
l1l	Messenger	(knocking)
		 My lord, my lord! 
	Lord Hastings	
		(within)
		 Who knocks?
	Messenger	One from Lord Stanley.
		(Enter Lord Hastings)
l2l	Lord Hastings	 What is ’t o’clock?
	Messenger	Upon the stroke of four.
l3l	Lord Hastings	Cannot my Lord Stanley sleep these tedious nights?
l4l	Messenger	So it appears by that I have to say.
l5l		First he commends him to your noble self.
l6l	Lord Hastings	What then?
l7l	Messenger	Then certifies your lordship that this night
l8l		He dreamt the boar had razèd off his helm.
l9l		Besides, he says there are two councils kept,
l10l		And that may be determined at the one
l11l		Which may make you and him to rue at th’ other.
l12l		Therefore he sends to know your lordship’s pleasure,
l13l		If you will presently take horse with him,
l14l		And with all speed post with him toward the north
l15l		To shun the danger that his soul divines.
l16l	Lord Hastings	Go, fellow, go, return unto thy lord.
l17l		Bid him not fear the separated councils.
l18l		His honour and myself are at the one,
l19l		And at the other is my good friend Catesby,
l20l		Where nothing can proceed that toucheth us
l21l		Whereof I shall not have intelligence.
l22l		Tell him his fears are shallow, without instance.
l23l		And for his dreams, I wonder he’s so simple,
l24l		To trust the mock’ry of unquiet slumbers.
l25l		To fly the boar before the boar pursues
l26l		Were to incense the boar to follow us,
l27l		And make pursuit where he did mean no chase.
l28l		Go, bid thy master rise, and come to me,
l29l		And we will both together to the Tower,
l30l		Where he shall see the boar will use us kindly.
l31l	Messenger	I’ll go, my lord, and tell him what you say.
		( 31 Exit)
l32l		(Enter Catesby)
		Catesby	 Many good morrows to my noble lord.
l33l	Lord Hastings	Good morrow, Catesby. You are early stirring.
l34l		What news, what news, in this our tott’ring state?
l35l	Catesby	It is a reeling world indeed, my lord,
l36l		And I believe will never stand upright
l37l		Till Richard wear the garland of the realm.
l38l	Lord Hastings	How? “Wear the garland”? Dost thou mean the crown?
l39l	Catesby	Ay, my good lord.
l40l	Lord Hastings	I’ll have this crown of mine cut from my shoulders
l41l		Before I’ll see the crown so foul misplaced.
l42l		But canst thou guess that he doth aim at it?
l43l	Catesby	Ay, on my life, and hopes to find you forward
l44l		Upon his party for the gain thereof—
l45l		And thereupon he sends you this good news:
l46l		That this same very day your enemies,
l47l		The kindred of the Queen, must die at Pomfret.
l48l	Lord Hastings	Indeed I am no mourner for that news,
l49l		Because they have been still my adversaries.
l50l		But that I’ll give my voice on Richard’s side
l51l		To bar my master’s heirs in true descent,
l52l		God knows I will not do it, to the death.
l53l	Catesby	God keep your lordship in that gracious mind!
l54l	Lord Hastings	But I shall laugh at this a twelvemonth hence:
l55l		That they which brought me in my master’s hate,
l56l		I live to look upon their tragedy.
l57l		Well, Catesby, ere a fortnight make me older,
l58l		I’ll send some packing that yet think not on ’t.
l59l	Catesby	’Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord,
l60l		When men are unprepared, and look not for it.
l61l	Lord Hastings	O monstrous, monstrous! And so falls it out
l62l		With Rivers, Vaughan, Gray—and so ’twill do
l63l		With some men else, that think themselves as safe
l64l		As thou and I, who as thou know’st are dear
l65l		To princely Richard and to Buckingham.
l66l	Catesby	The Princes both make high account of you—
l67l		(Aside)
		 For they account his head upon the bridge.
l68l	Lord Hastings	I know they do, and I have well deserved it.
		( 68 Enter Lord Stanley)
l69l		Come on, come on, where is your boar-spear, man?
l70l		Fear you the boar, and go so unprovided?
l71l	Stanley	My lord, good morrow.—Good morrow, Catesby.—
l72l		You may jest on, but by the Holy Rood
l73l		I do not like these several councils, I.
l74l	Lord Hastings	My lord, I hold my life as dear as you do yours,
l75l		And never in my days, I do protest,
l76l		Was it so precious to me as ’tis now.
l77l		Think you, but that I know our state secure,
l78l		I would be so triumphant as I am?
l79l	Stanley	The lords at Pomfret, when they rode from London,
l80l		Were jocund, and supposed their states were sure,
l81l		And they indeed had no cause to mistrust#
l82l		But yet you see how soon the day o’ercast.
l83l		This sudden stab of rancour I misdoubt.
l84l		Pray God, I say, I prove a needless coward.
l85l		What, shall we toward the Tower? The day is spent.
l86l	Lord Hastings	Come, come, have with you! Wot you what, my lord?
l87l		Today the lords you talked of are beheaded.
l88l	Stanley	They for their truth might better wear their heads
l89l		Than some that have accused them wear their hats.
l90l		But come, my lord, let us away.
		(Enter a Pursuivant named Hastings)
l91l	Lord Hastings	 Go on before# I’ll follow presently.
		( 91 Exeunt Stanley and Catesby)
l92l		Well met, Hastings. How goes the world with thee?
l93l	Pursuivant	The better that your lordship please to ask.
l94l	Lord Hastings	I tell thee, man, ’tis better with me now
l95l		Than when I met thee last, where now we meet.
l96l		Then was I going prisoner to the Tower,
l97l		By the suggestion of the Queen’s allies#
l98l		But now, I tell thee—keep it to thyself—
l99l		This day those enemies are put to death,
l100l		And I in better state than e’er I was.
l101l	Pursuivant	God hold it to your honour’s good content.
l102l	Lord Hastings	Gramercy, Hastings. There, drink that for me.
		( 102 He throws him his purse)
l103l	Pursuivant	 God save your lordship.
		(Exit)
l104l		(Enter a Priest)
		Priest	 Well met, my lord. I am glad to see your honour.
l105l	Lord Hastings	I thank thee, good Sir John, with all my heart.
l106l		I am in your debt for your last exercise.
l107l		Come the next sabbath, and I will content you.
		(He whispers in his ear.)
l108l		Enter Buckingham
	Buckingham	 What, talking with a priest, Lord Chamberlain?
l109l		Your friends at Pomfret, they do need the priest#
l110l		Your honour hath no shriving work in hand.
l111l	Lord Hastings	Good faith, and when I met this holy man
l112l		The men you talk of came into my mind.
l113l		What, go you toward the Tower?
l114l	Buckingham	I do, my lord, but long I cannot stay there#
l115l		I shall return before your lordship thence.
l116l	Lord Hastings	Nay, like enough, for I stay dinner there.
l117l	Buckingham	(aside)
		 And supper too, although thou know’st it not.
l118l		Come, will you go?
	Lord Hastings	I’ll wait upon your lordship.
		( 118B Exeunt)