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Let me wipe off this honourable dew,

And shall I now give o'er the yielded set ? That silverly doth progress on thy cheeks : No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said. My heart hath melted at a lady's tears,

Pand. You look but on the outside of this Being an ordinary inundation;

work. But this effusion of such manly drops,

Lew. Outside or inside, I will not return This shower, blown up by tempest of the soul, 50 Till my attempt so much be glorified Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amaz'd As to my ample hope was promised Than had I seen the vaulty top of heaven Before I drew this gallant head of war, Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors. And cull’d these fiery spirits from the world, Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury,

To outlook conquest and to win renown And with a great heart heave away this storm : Even in the jaws of danger and of death. Commend these waters to those baby eyes

Trumnet sounds. That never saw the giant world enragd ; What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us ! Nor met with fortune other than at feasts,

Enter the Bastard, attended. Full warm of blood, of mirth, of gossiping. Come, come; for thou shalt thrust thy hand as Bast. According to the fair play of the world, deep

Let me have audience ; I am sent to speak: Into the purse of rich prosperity

My holy Lord of Milan, from the king
As Lewis himself : so, nobles, shall you all, I come, to learn how you have dealt for him ;
That knit your sinews to the strength of mine. And, as you answer, I do know the scope

And warrant limited unto my tongue.
Enter PANDULPH, attended.

Pand. The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite,
And even there, methinks, an angel spake : And will not temporize with my entreaties :
Look! where the holy legate comes a pace, He flatly says he 'll not lay down his arms.
To give us warrant from the hand of heaven, Bast. By all the blood that ever fury breath’d,
And on our actions set the name of right The youth says well. Now hear our English king ;
With holy breath.

For thus his royalty doth speak in me. Pand.

Hail, noble prince of France ! He prepar'd; and reason too he should : The next is this : King John hath reconcil'd This apish and unmannerly approach, Himself to Rome; his spirit is come in 70 This harness'd masque and unadvised revel, That so stood out against the holy church,

This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops, The great metropolis and see of Rome.

The king doth smile at; and is well prepar'd Therefore thy threat'ning colours now wind up, To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms, And tame the savage spirit of wild war,

From out the circle of his territories. That, like a lion foster'd up at hand,

That hand which had the strength, even at your It may lie gently at the foot of peace,

door, And be no further harmful than in show. To cudgel you and make you take the hatch; Ler. Your grace shall pardon me; I will not To dive like buckets in concealed wells ; back :

To crouch in litter of your stable planks ; I am too high-born to be propertied,

To lie like pawns lock'd up in chests and trunks; To be a secondary at control,

80 To hug with swine ; to seek sweet safety out Or useful servingman and instrument,

In vaults and prisons; and to thrill and shake To any sovereign state throughout the world. Even at the crying of your nation's crow, Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars Thinking this voice an armed Englishman : Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself, Shall that victorions hand be feebied here And brought in matter that should feed this fire; | That in your chambers gave you chastisement ? And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out No! Know, the gallant monarch is in arms, With that same weak wind which enkindled it. And like an eagle o'er his aery towers, You taught me how to know the face of right, To souse annoyance that comes near his nest. 150 Acquainted me with interest to this land, And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts, Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart; You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb And come ye now to tell me John hath made Of your dear mother England, blush for shame: His peace with Rome? What is that peace to For your own ladies and pale-visag'd maids me ?

Like Amazons come tripping after drums, I. by the honour of my marriage-bed,

Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change, After young Arthur, claim this land for mine ; Their neelds to lances, and their gentle hearts And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back To fierce and bloody inclination. Because that John hath made his peace with Lew. There end thy brave, and turn thy face Rome?

in peace; Am I Rome's slave? What penny hath Rome Wegrant thou can'st outscold us : fare thee well; borne,

We hold our time too precious to be spent What men provided, what munition sent, With such a brabbler. To underprop this action? Is 't not I

Pand.

Give me leave to speak. That ondergo this charge? who else but I, Bast. No, I will speak. And such as to my claim are liable,

We will attend to neither. Sweat in this business and maintain this war ? Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of war Have I not heard these islanders shout out, Plead for our interest and our being here. T'ire le roy! as I have bank'd their towns ? Bast. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will Have I not here the best cards for the game To win this easy match play'd for a crown? And so shall you, being beaten. Do but start

a

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An echo with the clamour of thy drum,
And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd
That shall reverberate all as loud as thine;
Sound but another, and another shall
As loud as thine rattle the welkin's ear

And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder: for at hand,

170

By cutting off your heads. Thus hath he sworn,
And I with him, and many more with me,
Upon the altar at Saint Edmundsbury;
Even on that altar where we swore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love.

20

Sal. May this be possible? may this be true!
Mel. Have I not hideous death within my view,
Retaining but a quantity of life,
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire?
What in the world should make me now deceive,
Since I must lose the use of all deceit ?
Why should I then be false, since it is true
That I must die here and live hence by truth?
I say again, if Lewis do win the day,
He is forsworn, if e'er those eyes of yours
Behold another day break in the east:
But even this night, whose black contagious
breath

Not trusting to this halting legate here,
Whom he hath us'd rather for sport than need,
Is war-like John; and in his forehead sits
A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day
To feast upon whole thousands of the French.
Lew. Strike up our drums, to find this danger

out.

Bast. And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not doubt. Exeunt. 180

SCENE III.-The Same. A Field of Battle.
Alarums. Enter King JOHN and HUBERT.
K. John. How goes the day with us? O! tell
me, Hubert.

Hub. Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty?
K. John. This fever, that hath troubled me so
long,

Lies heavy on me: O! my heart is sick.
Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulcon-
bridge,

Desires your majesty to leave the field,
And send him word by me which way you go.
K. John. Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the
abbey there.

10

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

K. John. Ay me! this tyrant fever burns me up,
And will not let me welcome this good news.
Set on toward Swinstead: to my litter straight;
Weakness possesseth me, and I am faint. Exeunt.

30

Already smokes about the burning crest
Of the old, feeble, and day-wearied sun,
Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire,
Paying the fine of rated treachery
Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives,
If Lewis by your assistance win the day.
Commend me to one Hubert with your king;
The love of him, and this respect besides,
For that my grandsire was an Englishman,
Awakes my conscience to confess all this.
In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence
From forth the noise and rumour of the field,
Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts
In peace, and part this body and my soul
With contemplation and devout desires.

50

Sal. We do believe thee: and beshrew my soul
But I do love the favour and the form
Of this most fair occasion, by the which
We will untread the steps of damned flight,
And like a bated and retired flood,
Leaving our rankness and irregular course,
Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd,
And calmly run on in obedience,
Even to our ocean, to our great King John.
My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence,
For I do see the cruel pangs of death
Right in thine eye. Away, my friends! New
flight;
And happy newness,

that intends old right. Exeunt, leading off MELUN.

as we.

50

mine eye:

P. Hen. O! that there were some virtue in Straight let us seek, or straight we shall be my tears,

sought : That might relieve you.

The Dauphin rages at our very heels. K. John.

The salt in them is hot. Sal. It seems you know not then so much Within me is a hell ; and there the poison Is as a fiend contin'd to tyrannize

The Cardinal Pandulph is within at rest, On unreprievable condemned blood.

Who half an hour since came from the Dauphin,

And brings from him such offers of our peace Enter the Bastard.

As we with honour and respect may take, Bast. O! I am scalded with my violent motion With purpose presently to leave this war. And spleen of speed to see your majesty.

Bast. He will the rather do it when he sees K. John. O cousin! thou art come to set Ourselves well sinewed to our defence.

Sal. Nay, it is in a manner done already ; The tackle of my heart is crack'd and burn'd, For many carriages he hath dispatch'd And all the shrouds wherewith my life should To the sea-side, and put his cause and quarrel sail

To the disposing of the cardinal: Are turned to one thread, one little hair ; With whom yourself, myself, and other lords, My heart bath one poor string to stay it by, If you think meet, this afternoon will post Which holds but till thy news be uttered ; To consummate this business happily. And then all this thou seest is but a clod

Bast. Let it be so. And you, my noble prince, And module of confounded royalty.

With other princes that may best be spar'd, Bast. The Dauphin is preparing hitherward, Shall wait upon your father's funeral. Where heaven he knows how we shall answer P. Hen. At Worcester must his body be bim :

interr'd ; For in a night the best part of my power, For so he will'd it. As I upon advantage did remove,

Bast.

Thither shall it then. Were in the Washes all unwarily

And happily may your sweet self put on Devoured by the unexpected flood.

The lineal state and glory of the land !

The King dies. To whom, with all submission, on my knee, Sal. You breathe these dead news in as dead I do bequeath my faithful services

And true subjection everlastingly. My liege! my lord ! but now a king, now thus. Sal. And the like tender of our love we make, P. Hen. Even so must I run on, and even so To rest without a spot for evermore. stop.

P. Hen. I have a kind soul that would give What surety of the world, what hope, what stay,

you thanks. When this was now a king, and now is clay? And knows not how to do it but with tears.

Bast. Art thou gone so? I do but stay behind Bast. O! let us pay the time but needful woe To do the office for thee of revenge,

7. Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs. And then my soul shall wait on thee to heaven, This England never did, nor never shall. As it on earth hath been thy servant still. Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, Now, now, you stars, that move in your right But when it first did help to wound itself. spheres,

Now these her princes are come home again, Where be your powers ? Show now your Come the three corners of the world in arms, mended faiths,

And we shall shock them. Nought shall make And instantly return with me again, To push destruction and perpetual shame If England to itself do rest but true. Out of the weak door of our fainting land.

Exeunt.

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an ear.

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us rue,

Lords, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Gardeners, Keeper, Messenger, Groom, and
other Attendants.

SCENE.-Dispersedly in England and Wales.