But as successively, from blood to blood, Your love deserves my thanks; but my desert Yet so much is my poverty of spirit, That I would rather hide me from my greatness,- 8 And much I need to help you,] And I want much of the ability requisite to give you help, if help were needed. Will well become the seat of majesty, grace; But the respects thereof are nice and trivial,' All circumstances well considered. You say, that Edward is your brother's son; This Edward, whom our manners call-the prince. Save that, for reverence to some alive, I give a sparing limit to my tongue. Then, good my lord, take to your royal self If not to bless us and the land withal, Yet to draw forth your noble ancestry 9 are nice and trivial,] Nice is generally used by Shakspeare in the sense of minute, trifling, of petty import. 1 loath'd bigamy:] Bigamy, by a canon of the council of Lyons, A. D. 1274, (adopted in England by a statute in 4 Edw. I.) was made unlawful and infamous. It differed from polygamy, or having two wives at once: as it consisted in either marrying two virgins successively, or once marrying a widow. From the corruption of abusing time, May. Do, good my lord; your citizens entreat you. Buck. Refuse not, mighty lord, this proffer'd love. Cate. O, make them joyful, grant their lawful suit. Glo. Alas, why would you heap those cares on me? I am unfit for state and majesty: I do beseech you, take it not amiss; I cannot, nor I will not, yield to you. Buck. If you refuse it,—as in love and zeal, [Exeunt BUCKINGHAM and Citizens. Cate. Call them again, sweet prince, accept their suit; If you deny them, all the land will rue it. Glo. Will you enforce me to a world of cares? Well, call them again; I am not made of stone, But penetrable to your kind entreaties, [Exit CATESBY. Albeit against my conscience and my soul. Re-enter BUCKINGHAM, and the Rest. Cousin of Buckingham,-and sage, grave men,Since you will buckle fortune on my back, To bear her burden, whe'r I will, or no, I must have patience to endure the load: May. God bless your grace! we see it, and will say it. Glo. In saying so, you shall but say the truth. Buck. Then I salute you with this royal title,— Long live king Richard, England's worthy king! All. Amen. Buck. To-morrow may it please you to be crown'd? Glo. Even when you please, since you will have it so. Buck. To-morrow then we will attend your grace; And so, most joyfully, we take our leave. Glo. Come, let us to our holy work again :[To the Bishops. Farewell, good cousin ;-farewell, gentle friends. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I. Before the Tower. Enter, on one side, Queen ELIZABETH, Duchess of YORK, and Marquis of DORSET; on the other, ANNE, Duchess of Gloster, leading Lady MARGARET PLANTAGENET, Clarence's young Daugh ter. Duch. Who meets us here?-my niece Planta genet Led in the hand of her kind aunt of Gloster? Now, for my life, she's wand'ring to the Tower, On pure heart's love, to greet the tender prince.Daughter, well met. Anne. God give your graces both A happy and a joyful time of day! Q. Eliz. As much to you, good sister! Whither away? Anne. No further than the Tower; and, as I guess, Upon the like devotion as yourselves, To gratulate the gentle princes there. Q. Eliz. Kind sister, thanks; we'll enter all together: Enter BRAKEnbury. And, in good time, here the lieutenant comes.- The king hath strictly charg'd the contrary. Q. Eliz. The king! who's that? title! Hath he set bounds between their love, and me? I am their mother, who shall bar me from them? Duch. I am their father's mother, I will see them. Anne. Their aunt I am in law, in love their mother: Then bring me to their sights; I'll bear thy blame, And take thy office from thee, on thy peril. Brak. No, madam, no, I may not leave it so; I am bound by oath, and therefore pardon me. [Exit BRAKENBURY. |