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 grandam, Richard; call me so.

Bast. Madam, by chance but not by truth; what though?

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
thy desire;

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 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, fel-
low!'-

And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter;
For new-made honour doth forget men's names;

170. about, i.e. not perfectly straight, regular.

170. from, away from. 171. In at the window, or else o'er the hatch; both phrases were proverbially applied to children born out of wedlock.

170

180

180, 181. Bastards, according to the proverb, are born lucky; whereas the honestly born Robert's luck is precarious and to be prayed for.

184. any Joan, any peasantgirl.

'Tis too respective and too sociable
For your conversion. Now your traveller,
He and his toothpick at my worship's mess,
And when my knightly stomach is sufficed,
Why then I suck my teeth and catechize
My picked man of countries: 'My dear sir,'
Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin,
'I shall beseech you'-that is question now;
And then comes answer like an Absey book:
'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 toward 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 ;

188. 'Tis too respective, etc.; (to remember men's names) shows too much deference and familiarity to be becoming in your new circumstances.

193. picked, choice, refined. 196. Absey book, a sort of catechism ('A B C'), with alternate question and answer, used in learning to read.

190

200

210

201. Except in exchange of compliments' (and in talking, etc.).

203. The Pyrenean, the Pyrenees.

208. observation, deference.

courtly

210. device, cut and adornment of the dress.

212. motion, mental activity.

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!
What brings you here to court so hastily?

Lady F. Where is that slave, thy brother?
where is he,

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,

reverend boy,

thou un

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
awhile?

Gur. Good leave, good Philip.

Bast.

Philip sparrow: James, There's toys abroad: anon, I'll tell thee more.

[Exit Gurney.

Madam, I was not old sir Robert's son:
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon Good-Friday and ne'er broke his fast:
Sir Robert could do well: marry, to confess,

216. strew the footsteps, etc., i.e. make my footing surer.

225. Colbrand, a Danish giant proverbial for his strength, one of the victims of the champion Guy of Warwick.

227. unreverend, disrespectful; reverend' and 'reverent '

were used indiscriminately.

220

230

231. Philip! sparrow; Philip was an early name for the sparrow, derived probably from its twittering note, and rendered classical by Shelton's Boke of Phyllip Sparowe.

232. toys, idle rumours.

Could he get me?

Sir Robert could not do it:

We know his handiwork: therefore, good mother,
To whom am I beholding 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 shouldst defend mine honour ?

What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave?

Bast. Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco-
like.

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 :

Then, good my mother, let me know my father;
Some proper man, I hope: who was it, mother?
Lady F. Hast thou denied thyself a Faulcon-
bridge?

Bast. As faithfully as I deny the devil.

Lady F. King Richard Cordelion was thy father: By long and vehement suit I was seduced To make room for him in my husband's bed: Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge! Thou art the issue of my dear offence,

Which was so strongly urged past my defence.

239. beholding, indebted. 244. Knight, knight Basilisco-like; an allusion, as Theobald pointed out, to the play of Soliman and Perseda (c. 1590). Basilisco is a coward and braggart, whom Piston, the clown, forces to take an oath upon his dagger (Hazlitt-Dodsley, Old Plays, v. 271, 272):

Bas. I swear, I swear.

240

250

Pist. By the contents of this
blade-
Bas.

By the contents of this
blade,-
Pist. I, the aforesaid Basilisco,-
Bas. I, the aforesaid Basilisco,
knight, good fellow, knight,
knight,-

Pist. Knave, good fellow, knave, knave.

250. proper, comely.
257. dear, grievous.

Bast. Now, by this light, were I to get again,
Madam, I would not wish a better father.
Some sins do bear their privilege on earth,

And so doth yours; your fault was not your
folly :

Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,
Against whose fury and unmatched force
The aweless lion could not wage the fight,
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand.
He that perforce robs lions of their hearts
May easily win a woman's. Ay, my mother,
With all my heart I thank thee for my father!
Who lives and dares but say thou didst not well
When I was got, I'll send his soul to hell.
Come, lady, I will show thee to my kin;

And they shall say, when Richard me begot,
If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin :
Who says it was, he lies; I say 'twas not.

[Exeunt.

260

270

ACT II.

SCENE I. France. Before Angiers.

Enter AUSTRIA and forces, drums, etc. on one side on the other KING PHILIP of France and his power; Lewis, Arthur, CONSTANCE and attendants.

Lew. Before Angiers well met, brave Austria.

264. Subjected tribute, tribute subjected, paid, (to).

266. The aweless lion. Richard's slaying of the lion,

whose heart he took, was told, with other fabulous exploits, in the Middle English romance of Richard Caur-de-lion.