Or have you read, or heard? or could you think?|
Or do you almost think, although you see,
That you do fee? could thought, without this object,
Form fuch another? This is the very top,
The height, the creft, or creft unto the creft,
Of murder's arms: this is the bloodiest shame,
The wildest favag'ry, the vileft stroke,
That ever wall-ey'd wrath, or staring rage,
Prefented to the tears of foft remorfe.

Pemb. All murders past do stand excus'd in this;
And this, fo fole, and fo unmatchable,
Shall give a holiness, a purity,

To the yet-unbegotten fins of time;
And prove a deadly bloodfhed but a jeft,
Exampled by this heinous fpectacle.

Faule. It is a damned and a bloody work;
The graceless action of a heavy hand,
If that it be the work of any hand.

Sal. If that it be the work of any hand ?-
We had a kind of light, what would ensue:
It is the fhameful work of Hubert's hand;
The practice, and the purpose, of the king:
From whofe obedience I forbid my foul,
Kneeling before this ruin of fweet life,
And breathing to this breathless excellence
The incenfe of a vow, a holy vow ;
Never to taste the pleasures of the world,
Never to be infected with delight,
Nor converfant with eafe and idleness,
'Till I have fet a glory2 to this hand,
By giving it the worthip 3 of revenge.

Faule. Thou wert better gaul the devil, Salif
If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot, [bury a
Or teach thy hafty spleen to do me shame,
I'll ftrike thee dead. Put up thy fword betime;
Or I'll fo maul you and your toafting iron,
That you fhall think the devil is come from hell.
Bigot. What wilt thou do, renowned Faulcon-
Second a villain, and a murderer ? [bridge?

Hub. Lord Bigot, I am none.

Bigot. Who kill'd this prince?

Hub. 'Tis not an hour fince I left him well: I honour'd him, I lov'd him; and will weep My date of life out, for his fweet life's lofs.

Sal. Truft not thofe cunning waters of his eyes,

For villany is not without such rheum;
And he, long traded in it, makes it seem
Like rivers of remorfe and innocency.
Away with me, all you whofe fouls abhor
The uncleanly favours of a flaughter-house;
For I am ftifled with this smell of fin.

Bigot. Away, toward Bury, to the Dauphin there!
Pemb. There, tell the king, he may enquire us
[Exeunt lords.

out.

Faule. Here's a good world!-Knew you of this
Beyond the infinite and boundless reach [fair work?
Of mercy, if thou didft this deed of death,
Art thou damn'd, Hubert.

Hub. Do but hear me, fir.

Faulc. Ha! I'll tell thee what;

Thou art damn'd fo black-nay, nothing is fo black;
Thou art more deep damn'd than prince Lucifer :

Pemb. Bigot. Our fouls religiously confirm thy There is not yet fo ugly a fiend of heil

words.

Enter Hubert.

Hub. Lords, I am hot with hafte in feeking you:
Arthur doth live; the king hath fent for you.
Sal. Oh, he is bold, and blushes not at death :-
Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone!
Hub. I am no villain.

Sal Muft I rob the law? [Drawing his fword.
Faule. Your fword is bright, fir; put it up
again.

Sal. Not till I fheath it in a murderer's skin.
Hub. Stand back, lord Salisbury, ftand back,
fay;

By heaven, I think my fword's as sharp as yours:
I would not have you, lord, forget yourself,
Nor tempt the danger of my true 4 defence;
Left I, by marking of your rage, forget
Your worth, your greatnefs, and nobility.

Bigot. Out, dunghill! dar'st thou brave a no

bleman?

Hub. Not for my life: but yet I dare defend My innocent life against an emperor.

Sal. Thou art a murderer.

Hub. Do not prove 5 me fo;

[falfe,

Yet, I am none: Whose tongue foe'er speaks
Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies,

Pemb. Cut him to pieces.

Fauk. Keep the peace, I fay.

As thou shalt be, if thou didit kill this child.
Hub. Upon my foul,-

Faule. If thou didst but consent
To this moft cruel act, do but despair,
And, if thou want'ft a cord, the fmalleft thread
That ever ipider twisted from her womb
Will ferve to ftrangle thee; a rush will be a beam
To hang thee on: or, would't thou drown thyself,
Put but a little water in a spoon,
And it fhall be as all the ocean,
Enough to ftifle fuch a villain up.-
I do fufpect thee very grievously.

Hub. If I in act, confent, or fin of thought,
Be guilty of the ftealing that sweet breath
Which was embounded in this beauteous clay,
Let hell want pains enough to torture me !

I left him well.

--

Faule. Go, bear him in thine arms.-
I am amaz'd, methinks; and lofe my way
Among the thorns and dangers of this world.-
How eafy doft thou take all England up!
From forth this morfel of dead royalty,

The life, the right, and truth of all this realm
Is fled to heaven; and England now is left
To tug, and fcamble, and to part by the teeth
The unow'd 7 intereft of proud fwelling state,
Now, for the bare-pick'd bone of majesty,
Doth dogged war briftle his angry creit,

Sal. Stand by, or I shall gaul you, Faulconbridge. And fnarleth in the gentle eyes of peace

This is a copy of the vows made in the ages of fuperftition and Splendor, or renown. 3 i. e. the honour or dignity. 4 i. c. honeft. Yet for hitherto.

7 i. e, unclaimed, or unowned.

Now powers from home, and discontents at home,
Meet in one line; and vaft confufion waits
(As doth a raven on a fick-fallen beast)
The imminent decay of wrested pomp 1.
Now happy he, whofe cloak and cincture can

Hold out this tempeft. Bear away that child,
And follow me with speed; I'll to the king:
A thoufand bufineffes are brief in hand,
And heaven itfelf doth frown upon the land.

[Exeunt.

ACT

The circle of my glory.
Pand. Take again

yielded up into your

[Giving up the crown.

From this my hand, as holding of the Pope,
Your fovereign greatness and authority. [the French;
K. John. Now keep your holy word: go meet
And from his holiness ufe all your power
To ftop their marches, 'fore we are inflam'd.
Our difcontented counties do revolt;
Our people quarrel with obedience ;
Swearing allegiance, and the love of foul,
To ftranger blood, to foreign royalty.
This inundation of mistemper'd humour
Refts by you only to be qualify'd.
Then paufe not; for the prefent time's fo fick,
That prefent medicine must be miniftred,
Or overthrow incurable enfues.

[up,

Pand. It was my breath that blew this tempeit
Upon your ftubborn ufage of the pope :
But, fince you are a gentle convertite 2,
My tongue shall hush again this form of war,
And make fair weather in your bluttering land.
On this Afcenfion-day, remember well,
Upon your oath of fervice to the Pope,
Go Ito make the French lay down their arms. [Exit.
K. Joba. Is this Afcenfion-day? Did not the
Say, that, before Afcenfion-day at noon, [prophet
My crown I should give off? Even fo I have:
I did fuppofe, it should be on constraint;
But, heaven be thank'd, it is but voluntary.
Enter Faulconbridge.

Fayle. All Kent hath yielded; nothing there holds
[out,
But Dover cattle: London hath receiv'd,
Like a kind hot, the Dauphin and his powers:
Your nobles will not hear you, but are gone
To offer service to your enemy;
And wild amazement hurries up and down
doubtful friends.
your
The little number of
K.John. Would not my lords return to me again,
After they heard young Arthur was alive? [Areets;
Fault. They found him dead, and caft into the
An empty cafket, where the jewel of life,
By fome damn'd hand, was robb'd and ta'en away.
K. John. That villain Hubert told me he did live.

V.

Faule. So, on my foul, he did, for aught he knew,
But wherefore do you droop? why look you fad ?
Be great in act, as you have been in thought;
Let not the world fee fear, and fad diftruft,
Govern the motion of a kingly eye:
Be ftirring as the time; be fire with fire;
Threaten the threatner, and out-face the brow
Of bragging horror: fo fhall inferior eyes,
That borrow their behaviours from the great,
Grow great by your example, and put on
The dauntlefs fpirit of refolution.
Away; and glifter like the god of war,
When he intendeth to become the field;
Shew boldness, and afpiring confidence.
What, fhall they feek the lion in his den? [there?
And fright him there; and make him tremble
Oh, let it not be faid!--Forage 3, and run
To meet difpleasure farther from the doors;
And grapple with him, ere he come so nigh. [me,
K. John. The legate of the Pope hath been with
And I have made a happy peace with him;
And he hath promis'd to difmifs the powers
Led by the Dauphin.

Faule. Oh inglorious league!
Shall we, upon the footing of our land,
Send fair-play orders, and make compromife,
Infinuation, parley, and baie truce,

To arms invafive? Shall a beardless boy,
A cocker'd filken wanton brave our fields,
And fleth his ipirit in a warlike foil,
Mocking the air with colours idly fpread,
And find no check? Let us, my liege, to arms :
Perchance, the cardinal cannot make your peace;
Or if he do, let it at least be faid,
They faw we had a purpose of defence.

[time.

K. John. Have thou the ordering of this prefent Faul. Away then, with good courage; yet I know, Our party may weil meet a prouder foe. [Exeunt,

The Dauphin's camp at St. Edmund's-bury.
Enter, in arms, Lebis, Salisbury, Melun, Pembroke,
Bigot, and Soldiers.

Leuis. My lord Melun, let this be copied out,
And keep it fafe for our remembrance:
Return the precedent 4 to these lords again;
That, having our fair order written down,
Both they, and we, perufing o'er these notes,
2 i. e. convert. 3 i. e. range abroad.

Wrefled pomp means, greatnefs obtained by violence. 4 i. e. the original treaty between the Dauphin and the English lords.

Dd 4

May

To give us warrant from the hand of heaven;
And on our actions fet the name of right,
With holy breath.

Pand. Hail, noble prince of France!
The next is this,-king John hath reconcil'd
Himfelf to Rome; his fpirit is come in,
That to ftcod out against the holy church,
The great metropolis and fee of Rome :
Therefore thy threat'ning colours now wind up,
And tame the favage fpirit of wild war;
That, like a lion fofter'd up at hand,

It may lie gently at the foot of peace,

And be no further harmful than in fhew. [back;
Lewis. Your grace fhall pardon me, I will not
I am too high-born to be property'd,
To be a fecondary at controul,

Or ufeful ferving-man, and inftrument,

To any fovereign ftate throughout the world.
Your breath firft kindled the dead coal of wars
Between this chaftis'd kingdom and myself,
And brought in matter that thould feed this fire
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
With that fame weak wind which enkindled it.

Her enemies' ranks, (I must withdraw and weep You taught me how to know the face of right,

• This compulsion was the neceffity of a ref ›rmation in the flate; which, according to Salisbury's opinion (who, in his fpeech preceding, calls it an enforced caufe, could only be procured by foreign aims and the brate reffe was the love of his country.

Pand. The Dauphin is too wilful-oppofite,
And will not temporize with my entreaties;
He flatly fays, he'll not lay down his arms.

Faulc. By all the blood that ever fury breath'd,
The youth fays well:-Now hear our English king;
For thus his royalty doth speak in me.
He is prepar'd; and reafon too, he should:
This apifh and unmannerly approach,

I

This harnefs'd mafque, and unadvised revel,
This unhair'd fawcinefs, and boyish troops,
The king doth fmile at ; and is well prepar'd
To whip this dwarfish war, thefe pigmy arms,
From out the circle of his territories.

That hand, which had the ftrength, even at your
door,

To cudgel you, and make you take the hatch 2
To dive, like buckets, in concealed wells;
To crouch in litter of your ftable planks;
To lie, like pawns, lock'd up in chefts and trunks;
To hug with fwine; to feek fweet safety out
In vaults and prifons; and to thrill, and shake,
Even at the crying of your nation's crow,
Thinking this voice an armed Englishman ;-
Shall that victorious hand be feebled here,
That in your chambers gave you chastisement ?
No: Know, the gallant monarch is in arms;
And, like an eagle o'er his aiery 3 towers,
To foufe annoyance that comes near his neft.-
And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
Of your dear mother England, -blush for shame :
For your own ladies, and pale-vifag'd maids,
Like Amazons, come tripping after drums ;`
Their thimbles into armed gantlets change,
Their neelds to lances, and their gentle hearts
To fierce and bloody inclination.

Lewis. There end thy brave, and turn thy face
in peace;

We grant, thou canft out-fcold us; fare thee well;
We hold our time too precious to be spent
With fuch a brabler.

Parl. Give me leave to speak.

Faulc. No, I will fpeak.

Lewis. We will attend to neither:

Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of war
Plead for our interest, and our being here.
Faute. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will
cry out;

And fo fhail you, being beaten : Do but start
An echo with the clamour of thy drum,
And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd,
That fhall reverberate all as loud as thine;
Sound but another, and another fhall,
As loud as thine, rattle the welkin's ear,
And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder: for at hand
(Not trufting to this halting legate here,
Whom he hath us'd rather for fport than need)
Is warlike John; and in his forehead fits

A bare-ribb'd death, whofe office is this day
To feast upon whole thousands of the French.

Defires- your majefty to leave the field;

And fend him word by me, which way you go.
K. John. Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the
abbey there.

Mef. Be of good comfort; for the great fupply,
That was expected by the Dauphin here,
Are wreck'd three nights ago on Goodwin-fands.
This news was brought to Richard 4 but even now:
The French fight coldly, and retire themselves.

K. John. Ah me! this tyrant fever burns me up,
And will not let me welcome this good news.-
Set on toward Swinftead: to my litter ftraight;
Weaknefs poffefleth me, and I am faint. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV.
The French Camp.

Enter Salisbury, Pembroke, and Bigot.
Sal. I did not think the king fo ftor'd with friends.
Pemb. Up once again; put fpirit in the French;
If they mifcarry, we mifcarry too.

Sal. That mifbegotten devil, Faulconbridge,
In fpight of fpight, alone upholds the day. [field.
Pemb. They fay, king John, fore fick, hath left the
Enter Melun wounded, and led by foldiers.
Melun. Lead me to the revolts of England here.
Sal. When we were happy, we had other names.
Pemb. It is the count Melun.

Sal. Wounded to death.

Mel. Fly, noble English, you are bought and fold;
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion,
And welcome home again difcarded faith.
Seek out king John, and fall before his feet;
For, if the French be lords of this loud day,
He means to recompenfe the pains you take,
By cutting off your heads: Thus hath he fworn,
And with him, and many more with me,
Upon the altar at Saint Edmund's-bury;
Even on that altar where we fwore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love.

Sal. May this be poffible! may this be true!
Melun. Have I not hideous death within my
Retaining but a quantity of life;
[view,
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Refolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire 5 ?
What in the world fhould make me now deceive,
Since I muft lofe the ufe of all deceit ?

i. e. unbearded faweinefs, alluding to the Dauphin's youth.

2 To take the hatch, is to leap the

hatch. 3 An diery is the neit of an eagle. 4 Meaning, Faulconbridge. 5 Alluding to the images made by witches.

Why

Why should I then be falfe; fince it is true
That I muft die here, and live hence by truth?
I fay again, if Lewis do win the day,
He is for worn, if e'er thefe eyes of yours
Behold another day break in the east:
But even this night,-whofe black contagious breath
Already fmokes about the burning crett
Of the old, feable, and day-wearied fun,-
Even this ill night, your breathing fhall expire;
Paying the fine of rated treachery,

Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives,
If Lewis by your affiftance win the day.
Commend me to one Hubert, with your king;
The love of him, and this refpect befides,
For that my grandfire was an Englishman,
Awakes my confcience to confefs all this.
In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence
From forth the noife and rumour of the field;
Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts
In peace, and part this body and my foul
With contemplation and devout defires.

Sal. We do believe thee,--And befhrew my foul
But I do love the favour and the form
Of this most fair occation, by the which
We will untread the fteps of damned flight ;
And, like a bated and retired flood,
Leaving our ranknefs and irregular course,

An open place in the neighbourhood of Swinstead Abbey.
Enter Faulconbridge, and Hubert, severally.
Hub. Who's there? fpeak, ho! speak quickly,
or I shoot.

Faule. A friend :-What art thou?
Hub. Of the part of England.

Faule. Whither doft thou go?

Hub. What's that to thee? Why may I not de
mand

Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine?
Faulc. Hubert, I think.

Hub. Thou haft a perfect thought:
I will, upon all hazards, well believe
Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue fo well;
Who art thou?

Faule. Who thou wilt: an if thou please,
Thou may'ft befriend me fo much, as to think
I come one way of the Plantagenets.

Hub. Unkind remembrance! thou, and eyelefs

night,

Stoop low within thofe bounds we have o'er-look'd, Have done me thame:--Brave foldier, pardon me,

And calmly run on in obedience,

Even to our ocean, to our great king John.
My arm fhall give thee help to bear thee hence;
For I do fee the cruel pangs of death [flight;
Right in thine eye.--Away, my friends! New
And happy newness, that intends old right.
[Exeunt, leading off Melun.

SCENE V.

A different part of the French Camp.

Enter Lewis and bis train.

Lewis. The fun of heaven, methought, was loth to fet;

But ftaid, and made the western welkin blush,
When the English measur'd backward their own
ground

In faint retire: Oh, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,
After fuch bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tatter'd colours clearly up,
Laft in the field, and almoft lords of it !--
Enter a Menger.

Mef. Where is my prince, the Dauphin?
Lewis. Here:-What news?
[lords,
Mef. The Count Melun is flain; the English
By his perfuafion, are again fallen off;
And your fupplies, which you have wish'd fo long,
Are caft away, and funk, on Goodwin fands.
Lewis. Ah foul fhrewd news!-Bethrew thy
very heart!

I did not think to be fo fad to-night,
As this hath made me.-Who was he, that faid,
King John did fly, an hour or two before
The ftumbling night did part our weary powers?

That any accent, breaking from thy tongue,
Should fcape the true acquaintance of mine ear.
Faule. Come, come; fans compliment, what
news abroad?
[night,

Hub. Why, here walk I, in the black brow of
To find you out.

Faulc. Brief, then; and what's the news?
Hub. O my fweet fir, news fitted to the night,
Black, fearful, comfortlefs, and horrible.

Fault. Shew me the very wound of this ill news
I am no woman, I'll not fwoon at it.

Hub. The king, I fear, is poifon'd by a monk;
I left him almost speechiefs, and broke out
To acquaint you with this evil; that you might
The better arm you to the fudden time,
Than if you had at leifure known of this.

Faulc. How did he take it? who did taste to him?
Hub. A monk, I tell you; a refolved villain,
Whofe bowels fuddenly burst out: the king
Yet fpeaks, and, peradventure, may recover.

Faule. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty?
Hub. Why, know you not? the lords are all
come back,

And brought prince Henry in their company;
At whofe request the king hath pardon'd them,
And they are all about his majesty.

Faulc.Withhold thine indignation,mighty heaven,
And tempt us not to bear above our power !—
I'll tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night,
Paffing thefe flats, are taken by the tide,
Thefe Lincoln washes have devoured them;
Myfelf, well-mounted, hardly have escap'd.
Away, before! conduct me to the king;

I doubt, he will be dead, or ere I come, [Excunt,

I Right fignifies immediate: this fenfe, however, is now obsolete,

SCENE