And most forsworn, to keep what thou dost swear. And better conquest never canst thou make, So heavy, as thou shalt not shake them off, Bast. Will't not be ? Will not a calf's-skin stop that mouth of thine ? Blanch. Upon thy wedding day? Against the blood that thou hast married? What, shall our feast be kept with slaughter'd men? O husband, hear me !-ah, alack, how new Against mine uncle. Const. O, upon my knee, Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee, 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 honour: O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour! 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. Phil. Thou shalt not need :-England, I'll fall from thee. Const. O fair return of banish'd 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 may'st win; Uncle, I needs must pray that thou may'st 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 play'd. 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 burn'd up with inflaming wrath; A rage, whose heat hath this condition, That nothing can allay, nothing but blood, K. Phil. 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! SCENE II. [Exeunt. 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,7 And pours down mischief. While Philip breathes. Austria's head lie there; [7] Shakespeare here probably alludes to the distinctions and divisions of demonologists, so much regarded in his time. They distributed the devils into different tribes and classes, each of which had its peculiar qualities, attributes, &c. These are described at length in Burton's Anatomie of Melancholy, Part I. sect. ii. p. 45, 1632: "Of these sublunary devils-Psellus makes six kinds; fiery, aeriall, terrestriall, watery, and subterranean devils, besides those faieries, satyres, nymphes," &c. Fiery spirits or divells are such as commonly worke by blazing starres, fire-drakes, and counterfeit sunnes and moones, and sit on ships masts," &c. &c. "Aeriall spirits or divells are such as keep quarter most part in the aire, cause many tempests, thunder and lightnings, teare oakes, fire steeples, houses, strike men and beasts, make it rain stones," &c. PERCY. 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 rescu'd her; Her highness is in safety, fear you not: SCENE III. [Exeunt. 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 behind, So strongly guarded.-Cousin, look not sad: Thy grandam loves thee; and thy uncle will [To ELINOR. [TO ARTHUR. Arth. O, this will make my mother die with grief. And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags Bast. Bell, book, and candle9 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 There is a soul, counts thee her creditor, [8] This expression like many other of our author's, is taken from the sacred writings" And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation." 107th Psalm.-Again: "He hath filled the hungry with good things," &c. St. Luke, i. 53. MALONE. [9] In an account of the Romish curse given by Dr. Grey, it appears that three candles were extinguished, one by one, in different parts of the execration. JOHNSON. And with advantage means to pay thy love : Give me thy hand. 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, Or if that surly spirit, melancholy, Had bak'd thy blood, and made it heavy, thick; Or if that thou could'st see me without eyes, K. John. Do not I know, thou would'st? [5] Conceit here as in many other places, signifies conception, thought. MALONE [6] All animals while brooded, i. e with a brood of young ones under their pro tection, are remarkably vigilant. STEEVENS. And, wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread, Hub. And I will keep him so, That he shall not offend your majesty. K. John. Death. Hub. My lord? K. John. A grave. Hub. He shall not live. K. John. Enough. I could be merry now: Hubert, I love thee; K. John. For England, cousin : With all true duty.-On toward Calais, ho! [Exeunt. The same. SCENE IV. The French King's Tent. Enter King PHILIP, K. Phil. So, by a roaring tempest on the flood, Is scatter'd and disjoin'd from fellowship. Pan. Courage and comfort! all shall yet go well. K. Phil. What can go well, when we have run so ill? Are we not beaten? Is not Angiers lost? Arthur ta'en prisoner? divers dear friends slain? O'erbearing interruption, spite of France? Lew. What he hath won, that hath he fortified: So hot a speed with such advice dispos'd, Such temperate order in so fierce a cause, Doth want example: Who hath read, or heard, K. Phil. Well could I bear that England had this praise, [7] This is one of the scenes 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. STEEVENS. [8] Armado is a Spanish word signifying a fleet of war. The armado in 1583 was called so by way of distinction. STEEVENS. [9] Overpowered, baffled, destroyed. To convict and to convince were in our adthor's time synonymous. MALONE |