Your face hath got five hundred pounds a year; Yet sell your face for five pence, and 'tis dear.Madam, I'll follow you unto the death.
Eli. Nay, I would have you go before me thither. Bast. Our country manners give our betters way. K. John. What is thy name? Bast. Philip, my liege; so is my name begun; Philip, good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son.
K. John. From henceforth bear his name whose form thou bear'st:
Kneel thou down Philip, but arise more great;
Arise sir Richard, and Plantagenet.
Bast. Brother, by the mother's side, give me
My father gave me honour, yours gave land :-
Now blessed be the hour, by night or day,
When I was got, sir Robert was away.
Eli. The very spirit of Plantagenet!-
I am thy grandame, Richard; call me so..
Bast. Madam, by chance, but not by truth:
Something about, a little from the right,
In at the window, or else o'er the hatch:
Who dares not stir by day, must walk by night;
And have is have, however men do catch:
Near or far off, well won is still well shot;
And I am I, howe'er I was begot.
K. John. Go, Faulconbridge; now hast thou
A landless knight makes thee a landed 'squire.Come, madam, and come, Richard; we must speed For France, for France; for it is more than need. Bast. Brother, adieu; Good fortune come to thee! For thou wast got i'the way of honesty.
[Exeunt all but the Bastard.
A foot of honour better than I was;
But many a many foot of land the worse.
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady:-
Good den, sir Richard, God-a-mercy, fellow;--
And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter:
For new-made honour doth forget men's names;
'Tis too respective, and too sociable,
For your conversion.2 Now your traveller,
He and his tooth-pick at my worship's mess;
And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd,
Why then I suck my teeth, and catechise
My picked man of countries :3-My dear sir,
(Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin,)
I shall beseech you-That is question now;
And then comes answer like an ABC-book:4
O, sir, says answer, at your best command;
At your employment; at your service, sir:-
No sir, says question, I, sweet sir, at yours:
And so, ere answer knows what question would
(Saving in dialogue of compliment;
And talking of the Alps, and Apennines,
The Pyrenean, and the river Po,)
It draws towards supper in conclusion so.
But this is worshipful society,
And fits the mounting spirit, like myself:
For he is but a bastard to the time,
That doth not smack of observation
(And so am I, whether I smack, or no;)
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement;
But from the inward motion to deliver
Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth:
Which, though I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn :
For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising.-
But who comes in such haste, in riding robes?
What woman-post is this? hath she no husband,
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
Enter Lady Faulconbridge and James Gurney.
O me! it is my mother:----How now, good lady?
(1) Respectable.
(3) My travelled fop.. (4) Catechism.
(2) Change of condition.
Your face hath got five hundred pounds a year; Yet sell your face for five pence, and 'tis dear.Madam, I'll follow you unto the death.
Eli. Nay, I would have you go before me thither.
Bast. Our country manners give our betters way.
K. John. What is thy name?
Bast. Philip, my liege; so is my name begun;
Philip, good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son.
K. John. From henceforth bear his name whose
form thou bear'st:
Kneel thou down Philip, but arise more great;
Arise sir Richard, and Plantagenet.
Bast. Brother, by the mother's side, give me
My father gave me honour, yours gave land:Now blessed be the hour, by night or day, When I was got, sir Robert was away.
Eli. The very spirit of Plantagenet!I am thy grandame, Richard; call me so.. Bast. Madam, by chance, but not by truth:
Something about, a little from the right,
In at the window, or else o'er the hatch:
Who dares not stir by day, must walk by night;
And have is have, however men do catch:
Near or far off, well won is still well shot;
And I am I, howe'er I was begot.
K. John. Go, Faulconbridge; now hast thou
A landless knight makes thee a landed 'squire.Come, madam, and come, Richard; we must speed For France, for France; for it is more than need. Bast. Brother, adieu; Good fortune come to thee! For thou wast got i'the way of honesty.
[Exeunt all but the Bastard.
A foot of honour better than I was;
But many a many foot of land the worse.
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady :
Good den, sir Richard,--God-a-mercy, fellow;~~~
And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter:
For new-made honour doth forget men's names;
'Tis too respective,1 and too sociable,
For your conversion. 2 Now your traveller, -
He and his tooth-pick at my worship's mess;
And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd,
Why then I suck my teeth, and catechise
My picked man of countries :3-My dear sir,
(Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin,)
I shall beseech you That is question now;
And then comes answer like an ABC-book:4-
O, sir, says answer, at your best command;
At your employment; at your service, sir :-
No sir, says question, I, sweet sir, at yours :
And so, ere answer knows what question would
(Saving in dialogue of compliment;
And talking of the Alps, and Apennines,
The Pyrenean, and the river Po,)
It draws towards supper in conclusion so.
But this is worshipful society,
And fits the mounting spirit, like myself:
For he is but a bastard to the time,
That doth not smack of observation
(And so am I, whether I smack, or no ;)
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement;
But from the inward motion to deliver
Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth:
Which, though I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn :
For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising.-
But who comes in such haste, in riding robes?
What woman-post is this? hath she no husband,
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
Enter Lady Faulconbridge and James Gurney. O me! it is my mother :---How now, good lady? (2) Change of condition.
(1) Respectable.
(3) My travelled fop. (4) Catechism.
What brings you here to court so hastily?
Lady F. Where is that slave, thy brother? where
That holds in chase mine honour up and down?
Bast. My brother Robert? old sir Robert's son?
Colbrand the giant, that same mighty man?
Is it sir Robert's son, that you seek so?
Lady F. Sir Robert's son! Ay, thou unreverend
Sir Robert's son: Why scorn'st thou at sir Robert? He is sir Robert's son; and so art thou.
Bast. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave a
Gur. Good leave, good Philip.
Bast.
Philip?-sparrow!-James,
There's toys1 abroad; anon I'll tell thee more.
Madam, I was not old sir Robert's son ;
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon Good-Friday, and ne'er bike his fast:
Sir Robert could do well; Marry (to confess!)
Could he get me? Sir Robert could not do it;
We know his handy-work:----Therefore, good
To whom am I beholden for these limbs?
Sir Robert never holp to make this leg.
Lady F. Hast thou conspired with thy brother too, That for thine own gain should'st defend mine
What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave? Bast. Knight, knight, good mother,-Basilisco
like:2 What! I am dubb'd; I have it on my shoulder. But, mother, I am not sir Robert's son; I have disclaim'd sir Robert, and my land; Legitimation, name, and all is gone :
(2) A character in an old drama, called Soliman and Perseda.
|