Const.

O, upon my knee,

Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee,
Thou virtuous dauphin, alter not the doom
Forethought by Heaven.

Blanch. Now shall I see thy love. What motive

may

Be stronger with thee than the name of wife?

Const. That which upholdeth him that thee upholds,
His honor. O, thine honor, Lewis, thine honor!
Lew. I muse, your majesty doth seem so cold,
When such profound respects do pull you on.
Pand. I will denounce a curse upon his head.
K. Phi. Thou shalt not need.-England, I'll fall
from thee.

Const. O fair return of banished majesty!
Eli. O foul revolt of French inconstancy!

K. John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour.

Bast. Old time, the clock-setter, that bald sexton time,

Is it as he will? Well, then, France shall rue.

Blanch. The sun's o'ercast with blood. Fair day, adieu!

Which is the side that I must go withal?
I am with both: each army hath a hand;
And in their rage, I having hold of both,
They whirl asunder, and dismember me.
Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win;
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose;
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine;
Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive.
Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose ;
Assured loss, before the match be played.

Lew. Lady, with me; with me thy fortune lies.
Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my

life dies.

K. John. Cousin, go draw our puissance together.[Exit Bastard. France, I am burned up with inflaming wrath; A rage, whose heat hath this condition,

That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,

The blood, and dearest valued blood, of France.

K. Phi. Thy rage shall burn thee up, and thou shalt turn

To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire.
Look to thyself; thou art in jeopardy.

K. John. No more than he that threats.-To arms

let's hie!

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. The same. Plains near Angiers. Alarums; Excursions.

Enter the Bastard, with AUSTRIA's head.

Bast. Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous hot;

Some airy devil hovers in the sky,

And pours down mischief. Austria's head, lie there, While Philip breathes.

Enter KING JOHN, ARTHUR, and HUBERT.

K. John. Hubert, keep this boy.-Philip,' make up ; My mother is assailed in our tent,

And ta'en, I fear.

Bast.
My lord, I rescued her;
Her highness is in safety; fear you not.
But on, my liege; for very little pains
Will bring this labor to a happy end.

[Exeunt.

1 Here the king, who had knighted him by the name of sir Richard, calls him by his former name. Shakspeare has followed the old plays, and the best authenticated history. The queen mother, whom king John had made regent in Anjou, was in possession of the town of Mirabeau, in that province. On the approach of the French army, with Arthur at their head, she sent letters to king John to come to her relief, which he immediately did. As he advanced to the town, he encountered the army that lay before it, routed them, and took Arthur prisoner. The queen, in the mean while, remained in perfect security in the castle of Mirabeau.

SCENE III. The same. Alarums; Excursions;

Retreat.

Enter KING JOHN, ELINOR, ARTHUR, the Bastard, HUBERT, and Lords.

K. John. So shall it be; your grace shall stay be

hind,

[TO ELINOR.

So strongly guarded.-Cousin, look not sad;

[To ARTHUR.

Thy grandam loves thee, and thy uncle will
As dear be to thee as thy father was.

Arth. O, this will make my mother die with grief. K. John. Cousin, [To the Bastard.] away for England. Haste before;

And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags
Of hoarding abbots; imprisoned angels1
Set thou at liberty; the fat ribs of peace
Must by the hungry now be fed upon.
Use our commission in his utmost force.

Bast. Bell, book, and candle,2 shall not drive me back,

When gold and silver becks me to come on.
I leave your highness.-Grandam, I will pray
(If ever I remember to be holy)

For your fair safety; so I kiss your hand.
Eli. Farewell, my gentle cousin.
K. John.

Coz, farewell.

[Exit Bastard.

Eli. Come hither, little kinsman; hark, a word.

[She takes ARTHUR aside.

K. John. Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle

Hubert,

We owe thee much; within this wall of flesh

1 Gold coin of that name.

2 It appears from Johnson's Ecclesiastical Laws, that sentence of excommunication was to be "explained in order in English, with bells tolling and candles lighted, that it may cause the greater dread; for laymen have greater regard to this solemnity than to the effect of such sentences."

There is a soul counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love;
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say,-
But I will fit it with some better time.
By Heaven, Hubert, I am almost ashamed
To say what good respect I have of thee.

Hub. I am much bounden to your majesty.

K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet;

But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come, for me to do thee good.
I had a thing to say,—but let it go;

The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
Is all too wanton, and too full of gawds,
To give me audience.-If the midnight-bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,
Sound one unto the drowsy race of night;
If this same were a churchyard where we stand,
And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs;
Or if that surly spirit, melancholy,

Had baked thy blood, and made it heavy, thick,
(Which, else, runs tickling up and down the veins,
Making that idiot, laughter, keep men's eyes,
And strain their cheeks to idle merriment,
A passion hateful to my purposes;)

Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using conceit 2 alone,

Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words;-
Then, in despite of brooded,3 watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts.

1 The old copy reads into. The emendation is Theobald's. 2 Conception.

3 Pope proposed to read broad-eyed, instead of brooded. The alteration, it must be confessed, is elegant, but unnecessary. The allusion is to the vigilance of animals while brooding, or with a brood of young ones under their protection.

But, ah, I will not-yet I love thee well;
And, by my troth, I think thou lov'st me well.
Hub. So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Though that my death were adjunct to my act,
By Heaven, I'd do't.

K. John.

Do not I know, thou wouldst ? Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye On yon young boy. I'll tell thee what, my friend, He is a very serpent in my way;

And, wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread,

Enough.

I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee;
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee;
Remember.Madam, fare you well.
I'll send those powers o'er to your majesty.
Eli. My blessing go with thee!

K. John.

For England, cousin ; Hubert shall be your man, attend on you With all true duty.-On toward Calais, ho!1

[Exeunt.

1 King John, after he had taken Arthur prisoner, sent him to the town of Falaise, in Normandy, under the care of Hubert, his chamberlain, from whence he was afterwards removed to Rouen, and delivered to the custody of Robert de Veypont. Here he was secretly put to death. "This is one of those scenes (says Steevens) to which may be promised a lasting commendation. Art could add little to its perfection; no change in dramatic taste can injure it; and time itself can subtract nothing from its beauties."