[Drums beat.

The interruption of their churlish drums
Cuts off more circumftance; they are at hand.

To parly or to fight therefore prepare.

K. Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expedition! Auft. By how much unexpected, by fo much We must awake endeavour for defence;

For courage mounteth with occafion:

Let them be welcome then, we are prepar❜d. SCENE II. Enter King of England, Baftard, Elinor, Blanch, Pembroke, and others.

K. John. Peace be to France, if France in peace permit Our juft and lineal entrance to our own:

If not, bleed France, and peace afcend to heav'n!
Whilft we, God's wrathful agent, do correct,
Their proud contempt that beat his peace to heav'n.
K. Philip. 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 fake
With burthen of our armour here we sweat ;
This toil of ours fhould be a work of thine.
But thou from loving England art so far,
That thou haft under-wrought its lawful King,
Cut off the fequence of pofterity,

Out-faced infant ftate, and done a rape
Upon the maiden virtue of the crown.

Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face,

Thefe eyes, thefe brows, were moulded out of his ;
This little abftract doth contain that large
Which dy'd in Geffrey; and the hand of time
Shall draw this brief into as large a volume.
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born,
And this his fon; England was Geffrey's right,
And this is Geffrey'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 own the crown that thou o'er-maftereft ?

K. John. From whom haft thou this great commiffion,
France,

To draw my answer to thy articles

K.Philip.From that fupernal Judge that ftirs good thoughts

In

In any breast of strong authority,

To look into the blots and ftains of right.
That Judge hath made me guardian to this boy;
Under whofe warrant I impeach thy wrong,
And by whofe help I mean to chastise it. *

Lewis. King John, this is the very fum of all;
England, and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,
In right of Arthur do claim of thee:

... I mean to chaife it.

K. John. Alack, thou doft ufurp authority.
K. Philip Excufe it, 'tis to beat ufurping down.
Eli. Who is't that thou doft call ufurper, France ?
Conft. Let me ake anfwer: thy ufurping lon.
Eli. Out, infolent! thy battard shall be King,
That thou may'ft be a Queen, and check the world!
Conft. My bed was ever to thy fon as true,
As thine was to thy husband; and this boy,
Liker in feature to his father Geffrey,
Than thou and John, in manners being as like
As rain to water, or devil to his dam.
My boy a baftard! by my foul I think
His father never was fo true begot;

It cannot be, an if thou wert his mother.

Eli. There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father. Conft. There's a good grandam, boy, that would blot thee Auft. Peace.

Baft Hear the crier.

Auft. What the devil art thou?

Baft. One that will play the devil, Sir, with you,
An a' may
catch your hide and you alone.

You are the hare, of whom the proverb goes,
Whofe valour plucks dead Lions by the beards
I'll fmoak your skin-coat, an I catch you right;.
Sirrah, look to't, i'faith I will, i' faith.

Blanch. O welldid he become that Lion's robe,
That did difrobe the Lion of that robe.

Baft. It lies as fightly on the back of him,

As great Alcides thews upon an Afs;

But, Afs, I'll take that burthen from your back,
Or lay on that fhallake your fhoulders crack.

Auft. What cracker is this fame that deafs our ears
With this abundance of fuperfluous breath?

King Lewis, determine what we shall do ftraight.

Lewis. Women and fools, break off your conference.

Wilt thou refign them, and lay down thy arms?
K. John. My life as foon. I do defie thee, France.
Artbur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand,

And out of my dear love I'll give thee more,
Then e'er the coward-hand of France can win. t

t of France can win;

Submit thee, boy.

Eli. Come to thy grandam, child.

Conft. Do, child, go to it grandam, child,
Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will
Give it a plum, a cherry and a fig,
There's a good granda.

Arth. Good my mother, peace;

I would that I were low laid in my grave,
I am not worth this coil that's made for me.

Eli. His mother fhames him fo, poor boy he weeps.
Conft. Now hame upon you whe'r fhe does or no!
His grandam's wrong, and not his mother's fhames,
Draws thofe heav'n-moving pearls from his poor eyes,
Which heav'n fhall take in nature of a fee:

With thefe fad crystal beads heav'n fhall be brib'd
To do him juftice, and revenge on you.

Eli. Thou monftrous flanderer of heaven and earth!
Conft. Thou monstrous injurer of heav'n and earth,
Call me not flanderer; thou and thine ufurp
The domination, royalties and rights

5

Of this oppreffed boy; this is thy eldelt fon's fon
Infortunate in nothing but in thee:
Thy fins are vifited in this poor child,
The cannon of the law is laid on him,
Being but the fecond generation
Removed from thy fin-conceiving womb.
K. John. Bedlam, have done.

Conft. I have but this to fay♫
That he is not only plagued for her fin,
But God hath made her fin and her the plague
On this removed iffuc, plagu'd for her,
And with her placue her fin, his injury
Her injury, the bedel to her fin,
All punish'd in the perfon of this child,
And all for her; a plague upon her!

El. Thou unadvifed fcold, I can produce

A will that bars the title of thy fou..

Conft. Ay, who doubts that? a will; a wicked will; A woman's will; a canker'd grandam's will.

K. Philip

K. Philip. Some trumpet summon hither to the walls Thefe men of Angiers; let us hear them speak, Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's.

SCENE III.

[Trumpet founds.

Enter a Citizen upon the walls.

Cit. Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?
K. Philip. 'Tis France for England.

K. John. England for it felf;

You men of Angiers and my loving fubjects

K.Philip. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's fubjects, Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle

K. John. For our advantage; therefore hear us firft:
Thefe flags of France, that are advanced here
Before the eye and profpect of your town,
Have hither march'd to your endamagement.
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath ;
And ready mounted are they to fpit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls:
All preparations for a bloody fiege

And merciless proceeding by thefe French,
Confront your city's eyes, your winking * gates;
And but for our approach, those fleeping stones
That as a waste do girdle you about,
By the compulfion of their ordinance
By this time from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dihabited, and wide havock made
For bloody power to rufh upon your peace.
But on the fight of us your lawful King,
(Who painfully with much expedient march
Have brought a counter-check before your gates,
To fave unscratch'd your city's threatned cheeks)
Behold the French amaz'd vouchsafe a parle';
And now instead of bullets wrap'd in fire,
To make a fhaking feaver in your walls,
They fhoot but calm words folded up in smoak,

K. Philip. Peace, Lady; paufe, or be more temperates It ill befeems this prefence to cry Amen

To thefe ill-tuned repetitions.

· Winking, a metaphor for half opon

To make a faithless error in your ears ;
Which truft accordingly, kind citizens,
And let in us your King, whofe labour'd fpirits
Fore-wearied in this action of sweet speed,
Crave harbourage within your city walls.

K. Philip. When I have faid, make answer to us both.
Loe in this right hand, whofe protection
Is moft divinely vow'd upon the right
Of him it holds, ftands young Plantagenet,
Son to the elder brother of this man,
And King o'er him, and all that he enjoys.
For this down-trodden equity, we tread

In warlike march thefe greens before your town:
Being no further enemy to you,

Than the constraint of hospitable zeal,
In the relief of this oppreffed child,
Religiously provokes. Be pleased then
To pay that duty which you truly owe

To him that owns it, namely this young Prince.
And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,
Save in aspect, have all offence feal'd up:
Our cannons malice vainly shall be spent
Against th' invulnerable clouds of heav'n ;
And with a blessed, and unvext retire,

With unhack'd fwords, and helmets all unbruis'd,
We will bear home that lufty blood again
Which here we came to spout against your town;
And leave your children, wives and you in peace,
But if you fondly pafs our proffer'd offer."
'Tis not the rounder* of your old-fac'd walls
Can hide you from our meffengers of war;
Though all thefe English, and their difcipline,
Were harbour'd in their rude circumference.
Then tell us, fhall your city call us Lord,"
In that behalf which we have challeng'd it?
Or fhall we give the fignal to our rage,
And ftalk in blood to our poffeffion?

Cit. In brief, we are the King of England's fubjects z For him, and in his right, we hold this town.

* Or circle.

VOL. IV,

S

K. Jobra