Lew. A noble boy! Who would not do thee right?
Aust. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss,
As seal to this indenture of my love;
That to my home I will no more return,
Till Angiers, and the right thou hast in France,
•Together with that pale, that white-faced shore,
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides,
•And coops from other lands her islanders,
Even till that England, hedged in with the main,
That water-walled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes,
Even till that utmost corner of the west
Salute thee for her king: till then, fair boy,
Will I not think of home, but follow arms.

Const. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks,
Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength,
•To make a more requital to your love.

Aust. The peace of Heaven is theirs, that lift their swords SO In such a just and charitable war.

K. Phi. Well then, to work; our cannon shall be bent Against the brows of this resisting town.Call for our chiefest men of discipline,

To cull the plots of best advantages:

We'll lay before this town our royal bones,

Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood,

But we will make it subject to this boy.

Const. Stay for an answer to your embassy,

•Lest unadvised you stain your swords with blood:
My lord Chatillon may from England bring
That right in peace, which here we urge in war.

Enter CHATILLON.

K. Phi. A wonder, lady!-lo, upon thy wish,

Our messenger Chatillon is arrived.

What England says, say briefly, gentle lord.

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Chat. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege,

And stir them up against a mightier task.

•England, impatient of your just demands,

Hath put himself in arms; the adverse winds,

Whose leisure I have staid, have given him time
To land his legions all as soon as I:

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With him is come along the mother-queen,
An Até, stirring him to blood and strife;

•With her her niece, the lady Blanche of Spain;

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And all the unsettled humours of the land.
In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits,
Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er,
Did never float upon the swelling tide,
To do offence and scath in Christendom.
The interruption of their churlish drums

?

•Cuts off more circumstance: they are at hand, To parley, or to fight; therefore, prepare.

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(Drums beat.)

Enter KING JOHN, ELEANOR, BLANCHE,
PEMBROKE, and Forces.

K. John. Peace be to France, if France in peace permit
Our just and lineal entrance to our own!
If not, bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven!

K. Phi. Peace be to England, if that war return
From France to England there to live in peace!
England we love; and, for that England's sake,
With burden of our armour here we sweat:
Look here upon thy brother Geoffrey's face ;—
These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his :
That Geoffrey was thy elder brother born,

And this his son; England was Geoffrey's right,
And this is Geoffrey's: In the name of God,
How comes it then, that thou art call'd a king,
When living blood doth in these temples beat,
•Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest?

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K. John. From whom hast thou this great commission, France,

To draw my answer from thy articles?

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K. Phi. From that supernal Judge, that stirs good thoughts In any breast of strong authority,

That Judge hath made me guardian to this boy :

To look into the blots and stains of right.

Under whose warrant I impeach thy wrong;

England and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,

And, by whose help, I mean to chastise it.

In right of Arthur dó I claim of thee:

Wilt thou resign them, and lay down thy arms?

K. John. My life as soon:-I do defy thee, France.

Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand;
And, out of my dear love, I'll give thee more
Than e'er the coward hand of France can win:
Submit thee, boy.

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PART IIL

ACT III., SCENE 3.-The Death of Prince Arthur planned.

[John defeats the French King, near Angiers, and takes Arthur prisoner. He looks about for means to put him to death, and fixes upon Hubert de Burgh as the instrument to carry out this purpose. John craftily instigates the murder of the Prince.]

SCENE.-Plain near Angiers; after the Battle; the English victorious; Arthur a prisoner. John broadly hinting Arthur's death.

Enter KING JOHN, ELEANOR, ARTHUR, FAULCONBRIDGE, HUBERT, and LORDS.

K. John. So shall it be; your grace shall stay behind, 145 (To Eleanor.) (To Arthur).

So strongly guarded.-Cousin, look not sad;
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 Faulconbridge) away for England;

haste before:

And ere our coming, see thou shake the bags

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Of hoarding abbots; angels imprison'd

Set thou at liberty: the fat ribs of peace

Must by the hungry now be fed upon :

•Use our commission in his utmost force.

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•Faul. 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.
Ele. Farewell, my gentle cousin.

K. John.

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Coz, farewell. [Exit Faulconbridge. Ele. 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,
•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

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To say what good respect I have of thee.

•Hub. I am much bounden to your majesty.

But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come for me to do thee good.

K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet:

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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 unto the drowsy race of night;
If this same were a churchyard where we stand,
And thou possessèd 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;)

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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 watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts:
But ah, I will not!-Yet I love thee well;

And, by my troth, I think thou lovest 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.

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And I will keep him so, 210

Death.

A grave.

He shall not live.

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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.
Ele. 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!

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[Exeunt.

[Arthur is conveyed to England in the charge of Hubert de Burgh, who has agreed to put him to death, and is confined in the castle of Northampton. In this the poet is not historically accurate, for historians fix the scene of his imprisonment at Falaise, and of his death at Rouen, in Normandy.]

PART IV.

ACT III., SCENE 4.-The Grief of Constance, Arthur's Mother.

[Constance, Arthur's mother, is overwhelmed at the fate of her son, and exhibits the utmost depth of grief and despair. Philip tries to comfort her in her great sorrow; Pandulph attempts the same, but without success.]

SCENE.-French King's tent in the plain of Angiers: K. PHILIP and PANDULPH within; enter CONSTANCE.

K. Phi. Look, who comes here! a grave unto a soul; 225 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 Constance! 230 •Const. No, I defy all counsel, all redress, But that which ends all counsel, true redress, Death, death:-O amiable, lovely death! Thou odoriferous stench! sound rottenness! Arise forth from the couch of lasting night, Thou hate and terror to prosperity,

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And I will kiss thy détestable bones,
And put my eye-balls in thy vaulty brows,

•And ring these fingers with thy household worms,

And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust, •And be a carrion monster like thyself:

Come, grin on me; and I will think thou smilest,
•And buss thee as thy wife! Misery's love,
O, come to me!

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