Page:Richard III (1927) Yale.djvu/156

142 body so, Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.' Lamb's suggestion is unnecessarily apologetic.

By drunken prophecies. I.e. by inventing prophecies for drunken men to spread abroad.

true and just. I.e. and therefore the less likely to entertain any suspicion (Wright).

About a prophecy, which says that G Of Edward's heirs the murtherer shall be. '[Clarence's death] rose of a foolish prophesie, which was, that, after K. Edward, one should reigne, whose first letter of his name should be a G.' Holinshed, iii. 703. Halle, 326.

His majesty. An anachronism. The title used by Edward IV was 'most high and mighty prince' (Bradley).

cross-row. Christ-cross-row. The alphabet was so called from the figure of the cross formerly prefixed to it (Murray: N.E.D.).

tempers. The reading of the Folio is 'That tempts him to this harsh extremity.' Most recent editors prefer here the reading of the Quarto. On the other hand Qq. 5–8 agree with the Folio in reading 'tempts.' 'Harsh' is found only in the Folio.

Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, eldest brother to the Queen of Edward IV, appointed goverror to the Prince of Wales. See note on II. i. 68.

night-walking heralds. Ironical description of the messengers busied with the king's illicit business (Furness).

Mistress Shore. Jane Shore was famous as the mistress of Edward IV. She was the daughter of a Cheapside mercer and the wife of a goldsmith in Lombard Street. She died in poverty c. 1527. See the tragedy by Nicholas Rowe, Jane Shore.

Lord Hastings was for her delivery. The Quarto reads 'Lord Hastings was to her for his de-