Set armed difcord 'twixt thefe perjur'd Kings'.
Hear me, oh, hear me !

Auft. Lady Confiance, peace.

Conft. War, war, no peace; peace is to me a war. O Lymoges, O Auftria! thou doft fhame

That bloody fpoil: thou flave, thou wretch, thou coward,

Thou little valiant, great in villainy!
Thou ever ftrong upon the ftronger fide;
Thou fortune's champion, that doft never fight
But when her humourous ladyfhip is by
To teach thee fafety! thou art perjur'd too,
And footh'ft up greatnefs. What a fool art thou,
A ramping fool, to brag, to ftamp, and fwear,
Upon my party; thou cold-blooded flave,
Haft thou not spoke like thunder on my fide?
Been fworn my faldier, bidding me depend
Upon thy ftars, thy fortune, and thy ftrength?
And doft thou now fall over to my foes?
Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it for fhame,
And hang a calve's-fkin on thofe recreant limbs.
Auft. O, that a man would speak thofe words to me!
Faulc. And hang a calve's-fkin on thofe recreant
limbs.

Auft. Thou dar'ft not fay fo, villain, for thy life.
Faulc. And hang a calve's fkin on thofe recreant
limbs.

2

Auft. Methinks, that Richard's pride and Richard's fall

Shakespeare makes this bitter curfe effectual.

Should

cond of Act 2.) the leaft mention of any reafon for it. But the ftory is, that Auftria, who kill'd King Richard Cœur de lion, wore, as the fpoil of that prince, a lion's hide which had belong'd to him. This circumstance renders the anger of the Baflard very natural, and ought not to

have

Should be a precedent to fright you, Sir.

Faulc. What words are these? how do my finews
shake!

My father's foe clad in my father's fpoil!
How doth Alecto whisper in my ears,

Delay not, Richard, kill the villain ftrait;
"Difrobe him of the matchlefs monument,
"Thy father's triumph o'er the favages.".
Now by his foul I fwear, my father's foul,
Twice will I not review the morning's rife,
Till I have torn that trophy from thy back;
And split thy heart, for wearing it fo long.
K. John. We like not this, thou doft forget thyfelf.

K. Philip. Here comes the holy Legate of the Pope. Pand. Hail, you anointed Deputies of heav'n! To thee, King John, my holy errand is;

I Pandulph, of fair Milain Cardinal,

And from Pope Innocent the Legate here,
Do in his name religiously demand

Why thou against the Church, our holy Mother,
So wilfully doft fpurn, and force perforce
Keep Stephen Langton, chofen Archbishop

have been omitted. In the firft
fketch of this play (which Shake-
Speare is faid to have had a hand
in, jointly with William Rowley)
we accordingly find this infifted
upon, and I have ventured to
place a few of thofe verfes here.
POPE.
To the infertion of thefe lines
I have nothing to object. There
are many other paflages in the
old play, of great value. The

omiffion of this incident in the fecond draught, was natural. Shakespeare, having familiarifed the ftory to his own imagination, forgot that it was obicure to his audience; or, what is equally probable, the story was then fo popular that a hint was fufficient at that time to bring it to mind, and these plays were written with very little care for the approbation of pofterity.

Of

Of Canterbury, from that holy See?
This in our 'forefaid holy Father's name,
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.

K. John. What earthly name to interrogatories
Can tafk the free breath of a facred King ?
Thou canst not, Cardinal, devife a name
So flight, unworthy, and ridiculous,
To charge me to an anfwer, as the Pope.

3

Tell him this tale, and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more, that no Italian prieft
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions:
But as we under heav'n are fupreme head,
So, under him, that great Supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold;
Without th' affistance of a mortal hand.
So tell the Pope, all rev'rence fet apart
To him and his ufurp'd authority.

K. Philip. Brother of England, you blafpheme in this. K. John. Tho' you, and all the Kings of Christendom Are led fo grofly by this medling Priest,

Dreading the curfe, that mony may buy out;
And by the merit of vile gold, drofs, duft,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
Who in that fale fells pardon from himself:
Tho' you, and all the reft, fo grofly led,
This jugling witch-craft 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 ftand curft, and excommunicate;

3 This must have been at the time when it was written, in our ftruggles with popery, a very captivating scene.

So many paffages remain in which Shakespeare evidently takes his advantage of the facts then. recent, and of the paffions then in

4

motion, that I cannot but fufpect that time has obfcured much of his art, and that many allufions yet remain undiscovered which perhaps may be gradually retrieved by fucceeding commen

tators.

And

And bleffed fhall he be, that doth revolt
From his allegiance to an heretick;
And meritorious fhall that hand be call'd,
Canoniz'd and worfhipp'd as a Saint,
That takes away by any fecret courfe +
Thy hateful life.

Conft. O, lawful let it be,

That I have room with Rome to curfe a while.
Good father Cardinal, cry thou, Amen.

To my keen curfes; for without my wrong
There is no tongue hath power to curfe him right.
Pand. There's law, and warrant, Lady, for my curfe.
Conft. 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, finçe law itfelf is perfect wrong,
How can the law forbid my tongue to curfe?
Pand. Philip of France, on peril of a curfe,
Let go the hand of that arch-heretick;
And raise the pow'r of France upon his head,
Unless he do fubmit himfelf to Rome.

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

Conft. Look to that, devil! left that France repent, And, by disjoining hands, hell lofe a foul.

Auft. King Philip, liften to the Cardinal.

Faule. And hang a calve's-fkin on his recreant limbs. Aust. Well, ruffian, I muft pocket up these wrongs, Becaufe

Faule. Your breeches beft may carry them.
K. John. Philip, what fay'ft thou to the Cardinal?

4 This may allude to the bull published against Queen Elizabeth. Or we may fuppofe, fince we have no proof that this play appeared in its prefent ftate, before the reign of King James,

that it was exhibited foon after the popifh plot. I have seen a Spanish book in which Garnet, Faux, and their accomplices are regiftred as faints.

Conft.

Conft. What should he fay, but as the Cardinal? Lewis. Bethink you, fasher; for the difference Is purchase of a heavy curfe from Rome,

Or the light lofs of England for a friend;
Forgo the eafier.

Blanch. That's the curfe of Rome.

Conft. Lewis, ftand faft; the Devil tempts thee here In likeness of a new and trimmed bride.

Blanch. The Lady Conftance fpeaks not from her faith:

But from her need.

Conft. Oh, if thou grant my need,

Which only lives but by the death of faith,
That need muft needs infer this principle,
That faith would live again by death of need:
O, then tread down my need, and faith mounts up;
Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down.

K. John. The King is mov'd, and answers not to this.
Conft. O, be remov'd from him, and anfwer well.
Auft. Do fo, King Philip; hang no more in doubt.

s It is a political maxim, that kingdoms are never married. Lewis upon the wedding is for making war upon his new relations.

6

the Devil tempts

thee here In Likeness of a new untrimmed Bride.] Tho' all the Copies concur in this Reading, yet as untrimmed cannot bear any Signification to fquare with the Senfe required, I cannot help thinking it a corrupted Reading. I have ventured to throw out the Negative, and read;

In Likeness of a new and trimmed

Bride.

trimmed cannot bear any fignifica
tion to fquare with the fente re-
quired, it must be corrupt; there-
fore he will cashier it, and read.
and trimmed; in which he is fol-
lowed by the Oxford Editor; but
they are both too hafty. It
fquares very well with the fenfe,
and fignifies unflady. The term
is taken from Navigation.
fay too, in a fimilar way of speak-
ing, not well manned.

We

WARB.

I think Mr. Theobald's correction more plaufible than Dr. Warburton's explanation. A commentator fhould be grave, and therefore I can read thefe notes with the proper feverity of attention; but the idea of trimming a lady to keep her fleady, would be too rifible for any common power of face.

Faulc.