Whose sons lye scatter'd on the bleeding ground. Enter an English Herald, with trumpets. E. Her. Rejoice, you men of Angiers, ring your bells; King John, your king and England's, doth approach, Their armours, that march'd hence so silver-bright, Our colours do return in those same hands That did display them when we first march'd forth; Cit. Heralds, from off our towers we might behold, From first to last, the onset and retire Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answer'd blows; Strength match'd with strength, and power confronted power: 3 cannot be censured;] i. e. cannot be estimated. Our author ought rather to have written-whose superiority, or whose inequality, cannot be censured. Both are alike; and both alike we like. One must prové greatest: while they weigh so even, We hold our town for neither; yet for both. Enter, at one side, King JOHN, with his power; ELINOR, BLANCH, and the Bastard; at the other, King PHILIP, LEWIS, AUSTRIA, and Forces. K. John. France, hast thou yet more blood to cast away? Say, shall the current of our right run on? Whose passage, vex'd with thy impediment, Shall leave his native channel, and o'erswell With course disturb'd even thy confining shores; Unless thou let his silver water keep A peaceful progress to the ocean. K. Phi. England, thou hast not sav'd one drop of blood, In this hot trial, more than we of France; Or add a royal number to the dead; Gracing the scroll, that tells of this war's loss, Bast. Ha, majesty! how high thy glory towers, 4 You equal potents,] Potents, for potentates. Then let confusion of one part confirm death! K. John. Whose party do the townsmen yet admit? K. Phi. Speak, citizens, for England; who's your king? 1 Cit. The king of England, when we know the king. K. Phil. Know him in us, that here hold up his right. K. John. In us, that are our own great deputy, And bear possession of our person here; Lord of our presence, Angiers, and of you. 1 Cit. A greater power than we, denies all this; And, till it be undoubted, we do lock 4 Our former scruple in our strong-barr'd gates: And stand securely on their battlements, Be friends a while, and both conjointly bend 4 King'd of our fears;] i. e. ruled by our fears. these scroyles of Angiers-] Escroulles, Fr. i. e. scabby, scrophulous fellows. • Do like the mutines of Jerusalem,] The mutines are the matineers, the seditious. Till their soul-fearing clamours-] i. e. soul-appalling. The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city : Leave them as naked as the vulgar air. To whom in favour she shall give the day, How like you this wild counsel, mighty states? K. John. Now, by the sky that hangs above our heads, I like it well;-France, shall we knit our powers, And lay this Angiers even with the ground; Then, after, fight who shall be king of it? Bast. An if thou hast the mettle of a king,Being wrong'd, as we are, by this peevish town,Turn thou the mouth of thy artillery, As we will ours, against these saucy walls: K. John. We from the west will send destruction Into this city's bosom. Aust. I from the north. K. Phi. Our thunder from the south, Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town. Bast. O prudent discipline! From north to south; Austria and France shoot in each other's mouth: [Aside. I'll stir them to it :-Come, away, away ! 1 Cit. Hear us, great kings: vouchsafe a while And I shall show you peace, and fair-faced league; King John. Speak on, with favour; we are bent 1 Cit. That daughter there of Spain, the lady Is near to England; Look upon the years And two such shores to two such streams made one, 8 the lady Blanch,] The lady Blanch was daughter to Alphonso the Ninth, King of Castile, and was niece to King John by his sister Elianor. |