His forces ftrong, his foldiers confident.
With him along is come the Mother-Queen ;
An Até, ftirring him to blood and ftrife.
With her her neice, the lady Blanch of Spain;
With them a bastard of the King deceas'd,
And all th'unfettled humours of the land
Rafh, inconfid'rate, fiery voluntaries,
With ladies faces, and fierce dragons fpleens,
Have fold their fortunes at their native homes,
Bearing their birthright proudly on their backs,
To make a hazard of new fortunes here.
In brief, a braver choice of dauntlefs fpirits,
Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er,
Did never float upon the fwelling tide,
To do offence and † fcathe in Chriftendom.
The interruption of their churlifh drums

[Drums beat. Cuts off more circumstance; they are at hand.

To parly or to fight, therefore prepare.

K. Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expedition!
Auft. By how much unexpected, by fo much

We muft awake endeavour for defence

For courage mounteth with occafion :

Let them be welcome then, we are prepar❜d.

SCENE II,

Enter King of England, Baftard, Elinor, Blanch, Pembroke, and others.

K. John. Peace be to France, if France in peace permit

Our juft and lineal entrance to our own:

If not, bleed France, and peace afcend to heav'n!
Whilft we, God's wrathful agent, do correct
Their proud contempt that beats his peace to heav'n.
K. Philip. Peace be to England, if that war return
From France to England, there to live in peace.
England we love, and for that England's fake.
With burthen of our armour here we fweat;

Scathe. Mischief.

This

t

This toil of ours fhould be a work of thine.
But thou from loving England art fo far,
That thou haft under-wrought its lawful King,
Cut off the fequence of pofterity, -

Out-faced infant ftate, and done a rape
Upon the maiden-virtue of the crown.
Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face,
These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his
This little abstract doth contain that large
Which dy'd in Geffrey; and the hand of time
Shall draw this brief into as large a volume.
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born,
And this his fon; England was Geffrey's right,
And this is Geffrey's; in the name of God
How comes it then that thou art call'd a King,
When living blood doth in these temples beat,
Which own the crown that thou o'er-maftereft?
K. John. From whom haft thou this great commiffion,
France,

To draw my answer to thy articles ?

K. Phil. From that fupernal judge that ftirs good thoughts

In any breaft of strong authority,

To look into the blots and ftains of right.

That judge hath made me guardian to this boy;
Under whofe warrant I impeach thy wrong,
And by whofe help I mean to chastise it. *

King

— I mean to chastise it.

K. John. Alack, thou doft ufurp authority.
K. Phil. Excufe it, 'tis to beat ufurping down.
Eli. Who is't that thou doft call ufurper, France?
Conft. Let me make answer: thy ufurping fon.
Eli. Out infolent! thy bastard shall be King,
That thou may'st be a Queen, and check the world!
Conft. My bed was ever to thy fon as true,
As thine was to thy husband; and this boy,
Liker in feature to his father Geffrey,

Than

King John, this is the very fum of all;
England, and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Main,
In right of Arthur I do claim of thee:

Wilt thou refign them, and lay down thy arms?

K. John. My life as foon.. I do defie thee, France. Arthur of Britain, yield thee to my hand,

And

Than thou and John, in manners being as like
As rain to water, or devil to his dam.
My boy a baftard! by my foul I think
His father never was fortrue begor;

It cannot be, and if thou wert his mother.

Eli. There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father.

Conft. There's a good grandam, boy, that woul¿blot thee.

Auft. Peace.

Bast. Hear the crier.

Auft. What the devil art thou?

Baft. One that will play the devil, Sir, with you,
And a may catch your hide and you alone.
You are the hare, of whom the proverb goes,
Whofe valour plucks dead Lions by the beard,
I'll fmoak your skin-coat, and I catch you right;
Sirrah, look to't, i'faith I will, i'faith.

Blanch. O well did he become that Lion's robe,
That did difrobe the Lion of that robe.

Baft. It lyes as fightly on the back of him, : 1
As great Alcides fhoes upon an Afs;

But, Afs, I'll take that burthen from your back,
Or lay on that shall make your fhoulders crack.

Auft. What cracker is this fame that deafs our ears
With this abundance of fuperfluous breath?
King Lewis, determine what we fhall do ftreight.
Lewis. Women and fools, break off your confe

rence.

K. Phil. King John, this,

And out of my dear love I'll give thee more,
Than e'er the coward-hand of France can win.

K. Phil.

of France can win

Submit thee, boy,

Eli. Come to thy Grandam, child.

Conft. Do, child, go to it Grandam, child, Give Grandam kingdom, and it Grandam will Give it a plum, a cherry and a fig,

There's a good Grandam.

Arth. Good my mother, peace,

I would that I were low laid in my grave,
I am not worth this coil that's made for me.
Eli. His mother fhames him fo, poor boy he weeps.
Conft. Now fhame upon you where he does or no.
His Grandam's wrong, and not his mother's fhames
Draws those heav'n moving pearls from his poor eyes,
Which heav'n fhall take in nature of a fee

With thefe fad chryftal beads heav'n fhall be brib'd
To do him juftice, and revenge on you.

Eli. Thou monftrous flanderer of heav'n and earth... Conft. Thou monftrous injurer of heav'n and earth, a Call me not flanderer; thou and thine ufurp

The domination, royalties and rights.

Of this oppreffed boy; this is thy eldest son's fon,
Infortunate in nothing but in thee:

Thy fins are vifited in this poor child,

The canon of the law is laid on him, e lar

Being but the fecond generation

ི་

Removed from thy fin-conceiving womb.
K. John. Bedlam, have done.
Conft. I have but this to fay,

That he is not only plagued for her fin,

But God hath made her fin and her the plague.
On this removed iffue, plagu'd for her,
And with her plague her fin; his injury
Her injury, the beadle to her fin,

An

K. Phil. Some trumpet fummon hither to the walls These men of Angiers; let us hear them speak, Whofe title they admit, Arthur's or John's.

SCENE. III.

[Trumpet founds.

Enter a Citizen upon the walls.

Cit. Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?
K. Phil. 'Tis France for England.

K. John. England for it felf;

You men of Angiers and my loving fubjects

K. Phil. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's subjects,

Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle

K. John. For our advantage; therefore hear us first: These flags of France, that are advanced here Before the eye and profpect of your town, Have hither march'd to your endamagement. The cannons have their bowels full of wrath; And ready mounted are they to fpit forth_ Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls: All preparations for a bloody fiege

12

And merciless proceeding, by thefe French,
Confront your city's eyes, your twinking gates;
And but for our approach, thofe fleeping ftones
That as a waste do girdle you about,

All punish'd in the perfon of this child,
And all for her; a plague upon her.

Eli. Thou unadvifed fcold, I can produce

A will that bars the title of thy fon.

By

Conft. Ay, who doubts that? a will; a wicked will;

A woman's will; a canker'd Grandam's will.

K. Philip, Peace lady, paufe, or be more temperate; It ill befeems this prefence to cry Amen

To these ill tuned repetitions.

Some trumpet, &c.

† winking, a metaphor for half-open.