With Rivers, Vaughan, Grey: and so 'twill do Cate. The princes both make high account of you,— For they account his head upon the bridge. [Aside. Hast. I know, they do; and I have well deserv'd it. Enter STANLEY. Come on, come on, where is your boar-spear, man? Fear you the boar, and go so unprovided? Stan. My lord, good morrow; and good morrow, Catesby: - You may jest on, but, by the holy rood, I do not like these several councils, I. Hast. My lord, I hold my life as dear as yours; Was it more precious to me than 'tis now: I would be so triumphant as I am? Stan. The lords at Pomfret, when they rode from London, Were jocund, and suppos'd their states were sure, And they, indeed, had no cause to mistrust: What, shall we toward the Tower? the day is spent. Hast. Come, come, have with you.-Wot you what, my lord? To-day, the lords you talk of are beheaded. Stan. They, for their truth, might better wear their heads, Than some, that have accus'd them, wear their hats. But come, my lord, let's away. Enter a Pursuivant. Hast. Go on before, I'll talk with this good fellow. [Exeunt STANLEY and CATESBY. How now, sirrah? how goes the world with thee? Purs. The better, that your lordship please to ask. Hast. I tell thee, man, 'tis better with me now, Than when thou met'st me last, where now we meet: Then was I going prisoner to the Tower, By the suggestion of the queen's allies; But now, I tell thee, (keep it to thyself,) This day those enemies are put to death, And I in better state than ere I was. Purs. God hold it, to your honour's good content! Hast. Gramercy, fellow: There, drink that for me. [Throwing him his Purse. Purs. I thank your honour. [Exit Pursuivant. Enter a Priest. Pr. Well met, my lord; I am glad to see your honour. Hast. I thank thee, good sir John, with all my heart. I am in your debt for your last exercise; Come the next Sabbath, and I will content you. Enter BUCKINGHAM. Buck. What, talking with a priest, lord chamberlain? Your friends at Pomfret, they do need the priest; Your honour hath no shriving work in hand. Hast. 'Good faith, and when I met this holy man, The men you talk of came into my mind. What, go you toward the Tower? Buck. I do, my lord; but long I cannot stay there: I shall return before your lordship thence. Hast. Nay, like enough, for I stay dinner there. Buck. And supper too, although thou know'st it not. Come, will you go? Hast. I'll wait upon your lordship. [Aside. [Exeunt. SCENE III.-Pomfret. Before the Castle. Enter RATCLIFF, with a Guard, conducting RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN, to Execution. Rat. Come, bring forth the prisoners. Riv. Sir Richard Ratcliff, let me tell thee this,To-day, shalt thou behold a subject die, For truth, for duty, and for loyalty. Grey. God keep the prince from all the pack of you! A knot you are of damned blood-suckers. Vaugh. You live, that shall cry woe for this hereafter. Rat. Despatch; the limit of your lives is out. Riv. O Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison, Fatal and ominous to noble peers! Within the guilty closure of thy walls, Richard the second here was hack'd to death: And, for more slander to thy dismal seat, We give thee up our guiltless blood to drink. Grey. Now Margaret's curse is fallen upon our heads, When she exclaim'd on Hastings, you, and I, Then curs'd she Richard :-O, remember, God, Farewell, until we meet again in heaven. [Exeunt. SCENE IV.—London. A Room in the Tower. BUCKINGHAM, STANLEY, HASTINGS, the Bishop of Ely, CATESBY, LOVEL, and others, sitting at a Table: Officers of the Council attending. Hast. Now, noble peers, the cause why we are met Is-to determine of the coronation : In God's name, speak, when is the royal day? Ely. Your grace, we think, should soonest know his mind. Buck. We know each other's faces: for our hearts,He knows no more of mine, than I of yours; Nor I, of his, my lord, than you of mine :— Hast. I thank his grace, I know he loves me well; But, for his purpose in the coronation, I have not sounded him, nor he deliver'd His gracious pleasure any way therein: But you, my noble lord, may name the time; Enter GLOSTER. Ely. In happy time, here comes the duke himself. Glo. My noble lords and cousins, all, good morrow: I have been long a sleeper; but, I trust, My absence doth neglect no great design, Glo. Than my lord Hastings no man might be bolder; Glo. Cousin of Buckingham, a word with you. [Takes him aside. Catesby hath sounded Hastings in our business; |