K. JOHN. Then do I give Volquessen," Touraine,
Maine,

Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces,
With her to thee; and this addition more,
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin.
Philip of France, if thou be pleas'd withal,
Command thy son and daughter to join hands.
K. PHI. It likes us well. Young princes, close
your hands.

AUST. And your lips too; for I am well assur'd That I did so, when I was first assur'd."

K. PHI. Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your
gates;

Let in that amity which you have made,
For at saint Mary's chapel, presently,
The rites of marriage shall be solemniz'd.
Is not the lady Constance in this troop?
I know she is not; for this match, made up,
Her presence would have interrupted much:
Where is she and her son? tell me, who knows.
LEW. She is sad and passionate at your high-

ness' tent.

For we'll create young Arthur duke of Bretagne,
And earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town
We make him lord of.-Call the lady Constance ;
Some speedy messenger bid her repair
To our solemnity:-I trust we shall,
If not fill up the measure of her will,
Yet in some measure satisfy her so,
That we shall stop her exclamation.
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us,
To this unlook'd-for, unprepared pomp.

[Exeunt all but the Bastard.-The
Citizens retire from the walls.

a Volquessen,-] The ancient name of that part of France now called Le Vexin; in Latin, Pagus Velocassinus. Thus, in the old play,

"And here in marriage I do give with her,
From me and my successors, English kings,
Volquesson, Poiters, Anjou, Torain, Main,
And thirtie thousand markes of stipened coyne."

b When I was first assur'd.] In the previous line assured is used in its ordinary sense; here it means affianced or contracted. The kiss was a part of the ceremony of betrothing. So, in "Twelfth Night," Act V. Sc. 1,

"A contract of eternal bond of love
Attested by the holy close of lips."

Sad and passionate-] Passionate in this place signifies perturbed, agitated, not irascible.

d Willingly departed with-] That is, parted with. Depart end part were used of old synonymously. See note (a), page 62, of the present volume.

Who having no external thing to lose

But the word maid, cheats the poor maid of that;

That smooth-fac'd gentleman, tickling commodity,
Commodity, the bias of the world;

The world, who of itself is peised" well,
Made to run even, upon even ground;
Till this advantage, this vile drawing bias,
This sway of motion, this commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, course, intent:
And this same bias, this commodity,
This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapp'd on the outward eye' of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determin'd aid,*
From a resolv'd and honourable war,
To a most base and vile-concluded peace.—
And why rail I on this commodity?
But for because he hath not woo'd me yet:
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels would salute my palm;
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail,
And say, there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be,
Το
say,- -there is no vice but beggary:
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord! for I will worship thee!

[Exit.

e Rounded in the ear-] Insinuated, whispered in the ear. Thus, in the Spanish Tragedy," Act I.

"Forthwith Revenge she rounded thee in th' ear."

f That broker,-] Broker in old language usually meant a pander, or procuress; but sometimes also, as in this passage, a dissembler, or cheat.

g Tickling commodity,-] Commodity is advantage, self-interest. So, in "Barnaby Riche's Farewell to Militarie Profession:". "In the whiche Fineo, to his greate contentment, had the comodilie daiely to see his Fiamma," &c.

h Peised-] That is, balanced, poised.

i On the outward eye-] A continuation of the well-sustained metaphor derived from the game of bowls. The aperture on one side which contains the bias or weight that inclines the bowl, in running, from a direct course, was sometimes called the eye.

k His own determin'd aid,-] Mason suggested, and perhaps rightly, that we should read aim, instead of aid.

A widow, husbandless, subject to fears;
A woman, naturally born to fears;

And though thou now confess thou didst but jest,
With my vex'd spirits I cannot take a truce,b
But they will quake and tremble all this day.
What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head?
Why dost thou look so sadly on my son?
What means that hand upon that breast of thine ?
Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,
Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds?
Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words?
Then speak again; not all thy former tale,
But this one word,-whether thy tale be true.

SAL. As true as, I believe, you think them
false,

That give you cause to prove my saying true.

CONST. O, if thou teach me to believe this

sorrow,

Teach thou this sorrow how to make me die;
And let belief and life encounter so,
As doth the fury of two desperate men,
Which, in the very meeting, fall, and die.-
Lewis marry Blanch! O, boy, then where art thou?
France friend with England! what becomes of
me?-

Fellow, be gone: I cannot brook thy sight;
This news hath made thee a most ugly man.
SAL. What other harm have I, good lady, done,
But spoke the harm that is by others done?

CONST. Which harm within itself so heinous is, As it makes harmful all that speak of it.

ARTH. I do beseech you, madam, be content. CONST. If thou that bid'st me be content, wert

grim,

Ugly, and slanderous to thy mother's womb,
Full of unpleasing blots and sightless stains,
Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,d
Patch'd with foul moles and eye-offending marks,
I would not care, I then would be content,
For then I should not love thee; no, nor thou
Become thy great birth, nor deserve a crown.
But thou art fair; and at thy birth, dear boy,
Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great;

a Capable of fears,-] See note (b), page 297.

b I cannot take a truce,-] To take truce, in the language of our author, meant to make peace. Thus, in "Romeo and Juliet," Act III. Sc. 1,

"Romeo

Could not take truce with the unruly spleen Of Tybalt deaf to peace

Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with lilies boast,
And with the half-blown rose: but Fortune, O!
She is corrupted, chang'd, and won from thee;
She adulterates hourly with thine uncle John;
And with her golden hand hath pluck'd on France
To tread down fair respect of sovereignty,
And made his majesty the bawd to theirs.
France is a bawd to Fortune, and king John;
That strumpet Fortune, that usurping John :-
Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn?
Envenom him with words; or get thee gone,
And leave those woes alone, which I alone
Am bound to under-bear.
SAL.

I

:

Pardon me, madam,

may not go without you to the kings.

CONST. Thou mayst, thou shalt, I will not go with thee;

I will instruct my sorrows to be proud,

For grief is proud, and makes his owner stout.(1)
To me, and to the state of my great grief,
Let kings assemble; for my grief's so great
That no supporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up here I and sorrows sit;
Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.
[She throws herself on the ground.

Enter KING JOHN, KING PHILIP, LEWIS, BLANCH, ELINOR, Bastard, AUSTRIA, and Attendants.

K. PHI. 'Tis true, fair daughter; and this blessed day

Ever in France shall be kept festival:
To solemnize this day, the glorious sun
Stays in his course, and plays the alchymist;
Turning, with splendour of his precious eye,
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold:
The yearly course that brings this day about
Shall never see it but a holiday.

CONST. A wicked day, and not a holy day!—
[Rising.
What hath this day deserv'd? what hath it done,
That it in golden letters should be set,
Among the high tides, in the kalendar?
Nay, rather, turn this day out of the week,
This day of shame, oppression, perjury:
Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child
Pray that their burthens may not fall this day,
Lest that their hopes prodigiously be cross'd:
But on this day let seamen fear no wrack;
No bargains break, that are not this day made

This day, all things begun come to ill end,
Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change!
K. PHI. By heaven, lady, you shall have no

cause

To curse the fair proceedings of this day.
Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty?

CONST. You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit, Resembling majesty; which, being touch'd, and tried,

Proves valueless. You are forsworn, forsworn ; You came in arms to spill mine enemies' blood, But now in arms you strengthen it with yours. The grappling vigour, and rough frown of war, Is cold in amity and painted peace,*

And our oppression hath made up this league :Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjur'd kings!

A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens!
Let not the hours of this ungodly day
Wear out the day* in peace; but, ere sunset,
Set armed discord 'twixt these perjur'd kings!
Hear me, O, hear me !

Lady Constance, peace.

Aust.
CONST. War! war! no peace! peace is to me

a war.

O Lymoges! O Austria !(2) thou dost shame
That bloody spoil: thou slave, thou wretch, thou
coward,

Thou little valiant, great in villainy!
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side!
Thou Fortune's champion, that dost never fight
But when her humorous ladyship is by
To teach thee safety! thou art perjur'd too,
And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art
thou,

A ramping fool; to brag, and stamp, and swear,
Upon my party! Thou cold-blooded slave,
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side?
Been sworn my soldier? Bidding me depend
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength?
And dost thou now fall over to my foes?
Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it for shame,
And hang calf's-skin on those recreant limbs.
AUST. O, that a man should speak those words
to me!

BAST. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs.

AUST. Thou dar'st not say so, villain, for thy life. BAST. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs.

K. JOHN. We like not this; thou dost forget

thyself.

(*) Old copies, days.

a The grappling vigour, and rough frown of war, Is cold in amity, and painted peace,-]

The ingenious annotator of Mr. Collier's folio would read "faint in peace;" but if any alteration be required, of which I am by no

Enter PANDULPH.

K. PHI. Here comes the holy legate of the pope. PAND. Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven!— To thee, king John, my holy errand is. I, Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal, And from pope Innocent the legate here, Do, in his name, religiously demand, Why thou, against the church, our holy mother, So wilfully dost spurn; and, force perforce, Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop Of Canterbury, from that holy see? This, in our 'foresaid holy father's name, Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.

K. JOHN. What earthly* name to interro-
gatoriesb

Can task the free breath of a sacred king?
Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name
So slight, unworthy, and ridiculous,

To charge me to an answer, as the pope.
Tell him this tale; and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more,-That no Italian priest
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions;
But as we under heaven are supreme head,
So, under Him, that great supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold,
Without the assistance of a mortal hand:
So tell the pope; all reverence set apart,
To him, and his usurp'd authority.

K. PHI. Brother of England, you blaspheme in this.

K. JOHN. Though you, and all the kings of
Christendom,

Are led so grossly by this meddling priest,
Dreading the curse that money may buy out;
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
Who, in that sale, sells pardon from himself;
Though you, and all the rest, so grossly led,
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish:
Yet I alone, alone do me oppose

Against the pope, and count his friends my foes.

PAND. Then, by the lawful power that I have, Thou shalt stand curs'd, and excommunicate: And blessed shall he be that doth revolt From his allegiance to an heretic; And meritorious shall that hand be call'd, Canonized, and worshipp'd as a saint, That takes away by any secret course Thy hateful life.(3)

Good father cardinal, cry thon. Amen,
To my keen curses: for, without my wrong,
There is no tongue hath power to curse him right.
PAND. There's law and warrant, lady, for my

curse.

CONST. And for mine too. When law can do

no right,

Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong;
Law cannot give my child his kingdom here,
For he, that holds his kingdom, holds the law:
Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong,
How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?
PAND. Philip of France, on peril of a curse,
Let go the hand of that arch-heretic,
And raise the power of France upon his head,
Unless he do submit himself to Rome.

ELI. Look'st thou pale, France? do not let go thy hand.

CONST. Look to that, devil! lest that France repent,

And, by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul.

AUST. King Philip, listen to the cardinal. BAST. And hang a calf's-skin on his recreant limbs.

AUST. Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these

AUST. Do so, king Philip, hang no more in doubt.

BAST. Hang nothing but a calf's-skin, most sweet lout.

K. PHI. I am perplex'd, and know not what to say.

PAND. What canst thou say, but will perplex thee more,

If thou stand excommunicate, and curs'd?
K. PHI. Good reverend father, make my person

yours,

And tell me how you would bestow yourself.
This royal hand and mine are newly knit,
And the conjunction of our inward souls
Married in league, coupled and link'd together
With all religious strength of sacred vows.
The latest breath that gave the sound of words
Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love,
Between our kingdoms, and our royal selves:
And even before this truce, but new before,-
No longer than we well could wash our hands,
To clap this royal bargain up of peace,-
Heaven knows, they were besmear'd and overstain'd
With slaughter's pencil; where revenge did paint
The fearful difference of incensed kings:
And shall these hands, so lately purg'd of blood,
So newly join'd in love, so strong in both,
Unyoke this seizure, and this kind regreet?
Play fast and loose with faith? so jest with
heaven,

Make such unconstant children of ourselves,
As now again to snatch our palm from palm?
Unswear faith sworn? and on the marriage bed
Of smiling peace to march a bloody host,
And make a riot on the gentle brow
Of true sincerity? O, holy sir,

My reverend father, let it not be so:
Out of your grace, devise, ordain, impose
Some gentle order; and then we shall be bless'd
To do your pleasure, and continue friends.

PAND. All form is formless, order orderless,
Save what is opposite to England's love.
Therefore, to arms! be champion of our church!
Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse,
A mother's curse, on her revolting son.
France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafed lion by the mortal paw,
A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.
K. PHI. I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith.
PAND. So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith;
And, like a civil war, sett'st oath to oath,