Page 786 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1

ACT I IT

Scene I IT

[A chair of state.] Alarum. Enter [Richard] Plantagenet, [Duke of York],
Edward, [Earl of March], [Crook-Back] Richard [bearing a severed head],
[the Earl of Rutland], [the Duke of] Norfolk, [the Marquess of] Montague,
[and the Earl of] Warwick, [with Drum] and Soldiers [with white roses in

their hats].

WARWICK

I wonder how the king escaped our hands.

Y ORK

While we pursued the horsemen of the north,
He slyly stole away and left his men;
Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat [5]
Cheered up the drooping army; and himself,
Lord Clifford, and Lord Stafford, all abreast,
Charged our main battle’s front and, breaking in,
Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.

EDWARD

Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham, [10]
Is either slain or wounded dangerous:
I cleft his beaver with a downright blow.
That this is true, father, behold his blood.

MONT AGUE

And, brother, here’s the Earl of Wiltshire’s blood,
Whom I encountered as the battles joined. [15]

RICHARD

Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did.
[Throwing down the Duke of Somerset’s head.]