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144 terie of Chertseie. ' Holinshed, iii. 690. Richard married Anne in 1472.

wolves. The reading of the Quarto is 'adders,' which some editors hold to be more consistent with the meaning of the passage.

Chertsey is in Surrey.

Open their congeal'd mouths and bleed afresh. Referring to the belief that a murdered body will bleed afresh in the presence of the murderer. See note on I. ii. 1. above.

crimes. The reading of the Quarto is 'evils.' Many editors adopt the Quarto reading to maintain the parallelism of lines 75–77 and 78–80.

diffus'd. The Quarto reading of this line is 'defus'd infection of a man'; F1, 'defus'd infection of man'; F3, F4, 'diffus'd infection of a man.' There have been many conjectures concerning the exact meaning of 'defus'd.' See, however, King Lear, I. iv. 2: 'That can my speech diffuse'; and Merry Wives of Windsor, IV. iv. 56: 'With some diffused song.'

slain by Edward's hand. Cf. 3 Henry VI, V. v. 38–40 in which the killing is portrayed; Holinshed, iii. 688.

hedge-hog. Applied to Richard because of its hump-backed appearance, with a pun on Richard's heraldic emblem, the boar (hog).

poison on a fouler toad. Toads were believed to be venomous.

basilisks. Fabulous reptiles, also called cockatrices, alleged to be hatched by a serpent from a cock's eggs; ancient authors stated that their hissing drove away all other serpents, and that their breath, or even their look, was fatal (Murray. N.E.D.).

Rutland. For an account of his murder see 3 Henry VI, I. iii.

Crosby House fronted on Bishopsgate Street Within. It was built by Sir John Crosby in