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!

SCENE II. The same.

[Exeunt.

Plains near Angiers. Alar

ums; 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 angels'
Set thou at liberty; the fat ribs of peace
Must by the hungry now be fed upon.
Use our commission in his utmost force.

2

Bast. Bell, book, and candle, 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 unto1 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 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,
He lies before me. Dost thou understand me?
Thou art his keeper.

Hub.

And I will keep him so,"

That he shall not offend your majesty.

K. John. Death.

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."

SCENE IV. The same. The French King's Tent.

Enter KING PHILIP, LEWIS, PANDULPH, and Attendants.

K. Phi. So, by a roaring tempest on the flood, A whole armado1 of convicted 2 sail

Is scattered and disjoined from fellowship.

Pand. Courage and comfort! all shall yet go well. K. Phi. 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?
And bloody England into England gone,
O'erbearing interruption, spite of France?

Lew. What he hath won, that hath he fortified.
So hot a speed with such advice disposed,
Such temperate order in so fierce a cause,3
Doth want example. Who hath read, or heard,
Of any kindred action like to this?

K. Phi. Well could I bear that England had this praise,

So we could find some pattern of our shame.

Enter CONSTANCE.

Look, who comes here! a grave unto a soul;
Holding the eternal spirit, against her will,
In the vile prison of afflicted breath.*—

I pr'ythee, lady, go away with me.

Const. Lo, now! now see the issue of your peace! K. Phi. Patience, good lady! comfort, gentle Con

stance!

1 Armado is a fleet of war; the word is adopted from the Spanish, and the recent defeat of the Spanish armado had made it familiar.

2 Convicted is vanquished, overcome. To convince and convict were synonymous.

3 A fierce cause is a cause conducted with precipitation.

4 66 the vile prison of afflicted breath" is the body; the same vile prison in which the breath is confined.