Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of way
Plead' for our interest, and our being bere.
Bast. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will

And so shall you, being beaten: Do but start
An echo with the clamour of thy drum,
And eveu at hand a drum is ready brac'd,
That shall reverberate all as loud as thine;
Sound but another, and another shall, i
As loud as thine, rattle the welkin's ear,
And mock the deep mouth'd thunder: for at handTM
(Not trusting to this halting legate here,
Whom he hath us'd rather for sport than need,)
Is warlike 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.]

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.

Mes. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faul

conbridge,

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.

Mes. Be of good comfort; for the great sup imply,

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. Ah 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.]

The same. Another part of the same. v

3

༣

Enter SALISBURY, PEMBROKE, BIGOT, and Others.

Sal. I did not think the king so stor'de with ec o

friends. Assad

Pemb. Uponce again; put spirit in the French; If they miscarry, we miscarry too.

Sal That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge,^ In spight of pight, alone upholds the day. Pemb. They say, king John, sore sick, hath left the field.

Enter MELUN wounded, and led by soldiers! +1 Mel. Lead me to the revolts of England here. Sal. When we were happy, we had other

3

names.

Pemb. It is the count Melun.

Sal.

VIR

Wounded to death Gouw li

Mel. Fly, noble English, you are bought and

sold;

Unthread the rude eye of rebellion,
And welcome home again discarded faith.
Seek out king John, and fall before his feet
For, if the French be lords of this loud day,
He means to recompence, the pains you take,
By cutting off your heads: Thus hath he sworn,
And 1 with him, and many more with me,
I
Upon the altar at saint Edmund's-bury;
Even on that altar, where we swore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love...

Sal, May this be possible! may this be true!
Mel. Have I not hideous death within my

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,

ف

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

Already smokes about the burning crest
Of the old, feeble, and day-wearied sun, - T
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 confefs 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...1
With contemplation and devout desires.
Sal. We do believe thee, And beshrew
:10 my soul,

ཛྙྰ ་ ་ ་

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'ers cd look'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. I [Exeunt, leading off Melun.]

The samé. The French Camp.

5392eative Enter LEWIS, and his Train,

Lew. The sun of heaven, methought, was

loth to set;

But stay'd, and made the western welkin blush, When the English measur'd backward their own

ground

In faint retire: O, bravely came we off, 5
When with a volley of our needlefs shot, f
After such bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tattering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!

Enter a Messenger..

Mes. Where is my prince, the Dauphin?

Mes. The count Melun is slain; the English

lords,

>

By his persuasion, are again fallen off: And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,

Are cast away, and sunk, on Goodwin sands. Lew. Ah, foul shrewd news!. Beshrew thy ve y heart!

I did not think to be so sad to-night,
As this hath made me.

said,

Who was he, that

King John did fly, an hour or two before
The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
Mes. Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord.
Lew. Well, keep good quarter, and good care

to-night:

The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of to-morrow.

[Exeunt.]

SCENE

VI.

An open place in the neighbourhood of Swinstead

Abbey.

Enter the BASTARD, and HUBERT, meeting.

1

Hub. Who's there? speak, ho speak quickly, or I shoot.

Bast, A friend: What art thou?
Hub. Of the part of England.

Hub. Whither dost thou go?

Bast. What's that to thee? Why may not I demand up

Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine?

Bast. Hubert, I think.

Hub. Thou hast a perfect thought: