And when I urg'd the ransom once again 141
Of my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale,
And on my face he turn'd an eye of death,
Trembling even at the name of Mortimer. 144
Wor. I cannot blame him: was he not proclaim'd
By Richard that dead is the next of blood?
North. He was; I heard the proclamation:
And then it was when the unhappy king,–148
Whose wrongs in us God pardon!—did set forth
Upon his Irish expedition;
From whence he, intercepted, did return
To be depos'd, and shortly murdered. 152
Wor. And for whose death we in the world's wide mouth
Live scandaliz'd and foully spoken of.
Hot. But, soft! I pray you, did King Richard then
Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer 156
Heir to the crown?
North.He did; myself did hear it.
Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin king,
That wish'd him on the barren mountains starve.
But shall it be that you, that set the crown 160
Upon the head of this forgetful man,
And for his sake wear the detested blot
Of murd'rous subornation, shall it be,
That you a world of curses undergo, 164
Being the agents, or base second means,
The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather?
O! pardon me that I descend so low,
To show the line and the predicament 168
Wherein you range under this subtle king.
145-146 Cf. n.
149 in us: at our hands
163 murd'rous subornation: secret prompting to murder
168 line: rank
predicament: situation, classification
169 range: stand
