Page:Richard III (1927) Yale.djvu/25

Richard the Third, I. ii

The which thou once didst bend against her breast,

But that thy brothers beat aside the point.

Rich. I was provoked by her sland'rous tongue,

That laid their guilt upon my guiltless shoulders.

Anne. Thou wast provoked by thy bloody mind,

That never dreamt on aught but butcheries.

Didst thou not kill this king?

Rich. I grant ye.

Anne. Dost grant me, hedge-hog? Then, God grant me too

Thou mayst be damned for that wicked deed!

O! he was gentle, mild, and virtuous!

Rich. The better for the King of heaven that hath him.

Anne. He is in heaven, where thou shalt never come.

Rich. Let him thank me, that holp to send him thither;

For he was fitter for that place than earth.

Anne. And thou unfit for any place but hell.

Rich. Yes, one place else, if you will hear me name it.

Anne. Some dungeon.

Rich. Your bed-chamber.

Anne. Ill rest betide the chamber where thou liest!

Rich. So will it, madam, till I lie with you.

Anne. I hope so.

Rich. I know so. But, gentle Lady Anne,

To leave this keen encounter of our wits,

And fall something into a slower method,

Is not the causer of the timeless deaths

Of these Plantagenets, Henry and Edward.

As blameful as the executioner?

 95 bend: direct, aim

103 hedge-hog; cf. n.

108 holp: helped

113 betide: befall

117 slower: more deliberate

118 timeless: untimely

