Gloucester.  They do me wrong, and I will not endure it. 
     Who are they that complain unto the king,
     That I forsooth am stern, and love them not? 
     By holy Paul, they love his grace but lightly,
     That fill his ears with such dissentious rumours: 
     Because I cannot flatter and look fair,
     Smile in men’s faces, smooth, deceive, and cog,
     Duck with French nods, and apish courtesy,
     I must be held a rancorous enemy. 
     Cannot a plain man live, and think no harm,
     But thus his simple truth must be abus’d
     With silken, sly, insinuating Jacks?

   Gray.  To whom in all this presence speaks your grace?

   Gloucester.  To thee, that hast nor honesty nor grace;
     When have I injur’d thee, when done thee wrong? 
     Or thee? or thee? or any of your faction? 
     A plague upon you all!

Nothing can be more characteristic than the turbulent pretensions to meekness and simplicity in this address.  Again, the versatility and adroitness of Richard is admirably described in the following ironical conversation with Brakenbury: 

   Brakenbury.  I beseech your graces both to pardon me. 
     His majesty hath straitly given in charge,
     That no man shall have private conference,
     Of what degree soever, with your brother.

   Gloucester.  E’en so, and please your worship, Brakenbury,
     You may partake of anything we say: 
     We speak no treason, man—­we say the king
     Is wise and virtuous, and his noble queen
     Well strook in years, fair, and not jealous. 
     We say that Shore’s wife hath a pretty foot,
     A cherry lip,
     A bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue;
     That the queen’s kindred are made gentlefolks. 
     How say you, sir?  Can you deny all this?

   Brakenbury.  With this, my lord, myself have nought to do.

   Gloucester.  What, fellow, naught to do with mistress Shore? 
     I tell you, sir, he that doth naught with her,
     Excepting one, were best to do it secretly alone.

   Brakenbury.  What one, my lord?

   Gloucester.  Her husband, knave—­would’st thou betray me?

The feigned reconciliation of Gloucester with the queen’s kinsmen is also a masterpiece.  One of the finest strokes in the play, and which serves to show as much as anything the deep, plausible manners of Richard, is the unsuspecting security of Hastings, at the very time when the former is plotting his death, and when that very appearance of cordiality and good-humour on which Hastings builds his confidence arises from Richard’s consciousness of having betrayed him to his ruin.  This, with the whole character of Hastings, is omitted.

Perhaps the two most beautiful passages in the original play are the farewell apostrophe of the queen to the Tower, where the children are shut up from her, and Tyrrel’s description of their death.  We will finish our quotations with them.