Sal. Upon our sides it never shall be broken. And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear A voluntary zeal, and unurg'd faith, To your proceedings; yet, believe me, prince, I am not glad that such a sore of time" Should seek a plaster by contemn'd revolt, And heal the inveterate canker of one wound, By making many: O, it grieves my soul, That I must draw this metal from my side To be a widow-maker; O, and there, Where honourable rescue, and defence, Cries out upon the name of Salisbury: But such is the infection of the time, That, for the health and physic of our right, We cannot deal but with the very hand Of stern injustice and confused wrong.And is't not pity, O my grieved friends! That we, the sons and children of this isle, Were born to see so sad an hour as this; Wherein we step after a stranger march Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up Her enemies' ranks, (I must withdraw and Upon the spot of this enforced cause,) [weep To grace the gentry of a land remote, And follow unacquainted colours here? What, here?-O nation, that thou could'st remove! That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about, Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyAnd grapple thee unto a pagan shore; [self, Where these two Christian armies might comThe blood of malice in a vein of league, [bine And not to spend it so unneighbourly! Lew. A noble temper dost thou show in this; And great affections, wrestling in thy bosom, Do make an earthquake of nobility. O, what a noble combat hast thou fought, But this effusion of such manly drops, Enter PANDULPH, attended. And even there, methinks, an angel spake : Pand. Hail, noble prince of France! Lew. Your grace shall pardon me, I will not I am too high-born to be propertied,* [back To be a secondary at control, Or useful serving-man, and instrument, And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out Lew. Outside or inside, I will not return What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us? Enter the BASTARD, attended. Bast. According to the fair play of the world, Let me have audience; I am sent to speak:My holy lord of Milan, from the king I come, to learn how you have dealt for him; And, as you answer, I do know the scope And warrant limited unto my tongue. Pand. The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite, And will not temporize with my entreaties; He flatly says, he'll not lay down his arms. The youth says well:-Now hear our English That hand, which had the strength, even at your door, To cudgel you, and make you take the hatch;‡ To hug with swine; to seek sweet safety out Even at the crying of your nation's crow, Lew. There end thy brave, and turn thy face in peace; [well; We grant, thou canst outscold us: fare thee We hold our time too precious to be spent With such a brabbler. Pand. Give me leave to speak. Bust. No, I will speak. Lew. We will attend to neither:- And so shall you, being beaten: Do but start hand (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. Mess. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulconbridge, Desires your majesty to leave the field; Mess. Be of good comfort; for the great supply, That was expected by the Dauphin here, Are wreck'd three nights ago on Goodwin sands. [now: This news was brought to Richard but even 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; Enter SALISBURY, PEMBROKE, BIGOT, and others. Sal. I did not think the king so stor❜d with friends. Pem. Up once again; put spirit in the French; If they miscarry, we miscarry too. Sal. That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge In spite of spite, alone upholds the day. Pem. They say, king John, sore sick, nath left the field. Enter MELUN wounded, and led by Soldiers. Mel. Lead me to the revolts of England here. Sal. When we were happy, we had other names. Pem. It is the count Melun. Sal. Wounded to death. [sold ;* Mel. Fly, noble English, you are bought and Unthread the rude eye of rebellion, And welcome home again discarded faith. Seck out king John, and fall before his feet; For, if the French be lords of this loud day, Het means to recompense the pains you take, By cutting off your heads: Thus hath he sworn, And I with him, and many more with me, 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? Since I must lose the use of all deceit? Already smokes about the burning crest [soul Sul. We do believe thee,-And beshrew my 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'erAnd calmly run on in obedience, [look'd, Even to our ocean, to our great king John.My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence; A proverb intimating treachery. + Lewis ↑ In allusion to the images made by witches. Place. In betide. For I do see the cruel pangs of death [flight; SCENE V.-The same.-The French Camp. 1 Lew. The sun of heaven, methought, was But stay'd, and made the western welkin When the English measur'd backward their own ground, In faint retire: O, bravely came we off, When with a volley of our needless shot, After such bloody toil, we bid good night; And wound our tatter'd colours clearly up, Last in the field, and almost lords of it! Enter a MESSENGER. Mess. Where is my prince the Dauphin? Mess. The count Melun is slain; the English lords, By his persuasion, are again fallen off: [long, I did not think to be so sad to-night, Mess. 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, [Exeunt. SCENE VI.-An open Place in the Neighbourhood of Swinstead-Abbey. Enter the BASTARD and HUBERT, meeting. Hub, Who's there? speak, ho! speak quickly, or I shoot. Bast. A friend :-What art thou? Hub. What's that to thee? Why may not I demand Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine? [well: Hub. Thou hast a perfect thought: I will upon all hazards, well believe Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so Who art thou? Bust. Who thou wilt: an if thou please, Thou may'st befriend me so much, as to think I come one way of the Plantagenets. Hub. Unkind remembrance! thou, and eyeless night, [me, Have done me shame:-Brave soldier, pardon That any accent, breaking from thy tongue, Should 'scape the true acquaintance of mine Hub. O, my sweet Sir, news fitting to the night, Black, fearful, comfortless, and horrible. Bast. Show me the very wound of this ill I am no woman, I'll not swoon at it. [news; Hub. The king, I fear, is poison'd by a monk: I left him almost speechless, and broke out To acquaint you with this evil: that you might The better arm you to the sudden time, Than if you had at leisure known of this. Bust. How did he take it? who did taste to him? Hub. A monk, I tell you; a resolved villain, Whose bowels suddenly burst out: the king Yet speaks, and, peradventure, may recover. Bast. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty ? Hub. Why, know you not? the lords are all come back, And brought prince Henry in their company; At whose request the king hath pardon'd them, And they are all about his majesty. Bast. Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven, And tempt us not to bear above our power!- [Exeunt. should sing. I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan, Sal. Be of good comfort, prince; for you are born To set a form upon that indigest * Forces. Re-enter BIGOT and Attendants, who bring in | When this was now a king, and now is clay! For, in a night, the best part of my power, As I upon advantage did remove, Were in the washes, all unwarily, Devoured by the unexpected flood. [The King dies. Sal. You breathe these dead news in as dead [thus.. My liege! my lord!-But now a king, now P. Hen. Even so must I run on, and even so stop. [stay, What surety of the world, what hope, what + Model Bast. Art thou gone so? I do but stay be And then my soul shall wait on thee to To do the office for thee of revenge; [hind, heaven, As it on earth hath been thy servant still.Now, now, you stars, that move in your right spheres, Where be your powers? Show now your mended faiths; And instantly return with me again, Out of the weak-door of our fainting land: The Dauphin rages at our very heels. Sal. It seems, you know not then so much Who half an hour since came from the DauThe cardinal Pandulph is within at rest, phin ; And brings from him such offers of our peace As we with honour and respect may take, With purpose presently to leave this war. Bust. He will the rather do it, when he sees Ourselves well sinewed to our defence. Sal. Nay, it is in a manner done already; For many carriages he hath despatch'd To the seaside, and put his cause and quarrel To the disposing of the cardinal: With whom yourself, myself, and other lords, If you think meet, this afternoon will post To cónsummate this business happily. Bast. Let it be so;-And you, my noble With other princes that may best be spar'd, prince, Shall wait upon your father's funeral. P. Hen. At Worcester must his body be inFor so he will'd it. [terr'd; Bast. Thither shall it then, Sul. And the like tender of our love we To rest without a spot for evermore. [make, P. Hen. I have a kind soul, that would give SCENE 1.-London.-A Room in the Palace. K. Rich. Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Hast thou, according to thy oath and band,* Gaunt. I have, my liege. K. Rich. Tell me moreover, hast thou sound- If he appeal the Duke on ancient malice; Re-enter Attendants, with BOLINGBROKE and Boling. May many years of happy days befall Nor. Each day still better other's happiness; Until the heavens, envying earth's good hap, Add an immortal title to your crown! K. Rich. We thank you both: yet one but flatters us, As well appeareth by the cause you come; son. Cousin of Hereford, what dost thou object Against the Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Mow. bray? Boling. First, (heaven be the record of my In the devotion of a subject's love, [speech!) Tendering the precious safety of my prince, And free from other misbegotten hate, Come I appellant to this princely presence.Now, Thomas Mowbray, do I turn to thee, On some apparent danger seen in him, And mark my greeting well; for what I speak, Aim'd at your highness, no inveterate malice. My body shall make good upon this earth, K. Rich. Then call them to our presence; face Or my divine soul answer it in heaven. to face, [hear Thou art a traitor, and a miscreant; And frowning brow to brow, ourselves will Too good to be so, and too bad to live; The accuser, and the accused, freely speak:- Since, the more fair and crystal is the sky, [Exeunt some Attendants. The uglier seem the clouds that in it fly. High-stomach'd are they both, and full of ire,Once more, the more to aggravate the note, With a foul traitor's name stuff I thy throat; In rage deaf as the sea, hasty as fire. |