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.

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.
Arthur, that great forerunner of thy blood,

Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart

275

And fought the holy wars in Palestine,

By this brave duke came early to his grave:
And for amends to his posterity,

5

At our importance hither is he come,

To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf,
And to rebuke the usurpation

Of thy unnatural uncle, English John:

Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither.

Arth. God shall forgive you Cœur-de-lion's death

The rather that you give his offspring life,

Shadowing their right under your wings of war:

I give you welcome with a powerless hand,

But with a heart full of unstained love:

Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke.

Lew. A noble boy! Who would not do thee right?
Aust. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss,

As seal to this indenture of my love,

ACT II. SCENE I. Rowe (ed. 2). Scana Secunda. Ff.

France...] Capell. Enter before Angiers, Philip King of France, Lewis, Daulphin, Austria, Constance, Arthur Ff.

J. Lew.] King Philip. Theobald conj.

14. their] his Collier MS.

16. unstained] unstrained Collier (Collier MS.).

ΙΟ

15

20

That to my home I will no more return,
Till Angiers and the right thou hast in France,
Together with that pale, that white-faced shore,
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides
And coops from other lands her islanders,
Even till that England, hedged in with the main,
That water-walled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes,

Even till that utmost corner of the west
Salute thee for her king: till then, fair boy,
Will I not think of home, but follow arms.

Const. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks,
Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength
To make a more requital to your love!

Aust. The peace of heaven is theirs that lift their
swords

In such a just and charitable war.

K. Phi. Well then, to work: our cannon shall be bent
Against the brows of this resisting town.
Call for our chiefest men of discipline,

To cull the plots of best advantages:

25

30

35

We'll lay before this town our royal bones,

40

Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood,
But we will make it subject to this boy.

Const. Stay for an answer to your embassy,
Lest unadvised you stain your swords with blood:
My Lord Chatillon may from England bring
That right in peace which here we urge in war,
And then we shall repent each drop of blood
That hot rash haste so indirectly shed.

Enter CHATILLON.

K. Phi. A wonder, lady! lo, upon thy wish, Our messenger Chatillon is arrived!

29. utmost outmost F4.

35. that] who F4.

37. work: our] work, our F4 worke our FF2. work our F3.

cannon] engines Pope.

49. indirectly] indiscreetly Singer (Collier MS.).

What England says, say briefly, gentle lord;

We coldly pause for thee; Chatillon, speak.

Chat. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege And stir them up against a mightier task.

55

England, impatient of your just demands,

Hath put himself in arms: the adverse winds,

Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time
To land his legions all as soon as I;

60

His marches are expedient to this town,
His forces strong, his soldiers confident.
With him along is come the mother-queen,
An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife;
With her her niece, the Lady Blanch of Spain;
With them a bastard of the king's deceased;
And all the unsettled humours of the land,
Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries,
With ladies' faces and fierce dragons' spleens,
Have sold their fortunes at their native homes,
Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs,
To make a hazard of new fortunes here:
In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits.
Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er
Did never float upon the swelling tide,
To do offence and scath in Christendom.
The interruption of their churlish drums

65

70

[Drum beats.

75

Cuts off more circumstance: they are at hand,

To parley or to fight; therefore prepare.

K. Phi. How much unlook'd for is this expedition!
Aust. By how much unexpected, by so much

80

We must awake endeavour for defence;

For courage mounteth with occasion:

Let them be welcome then; we are prepared.

63. An Ate] Rowe. An Ace Ff. As Ate Collier MS.

65. king's] kings F. king F2F2 F4. See note (XI).

70. birthrights] birth-rights FF2. birth-right F3F4

75. Drum beats] F, (after line 77). Drummes beates. F. Drums beats. F3. Drums beat. F4.

77, 78. hand, To...fight;] hand, To ...fight, Ff. hand. To...fight, Pope.

Enter KING JOHN, ELINOR, BLANCH, the Bastard, Lords, and

Forces.

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

If not, bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven,
Whiles we, God's wrathful agent, do correct
Their proud contempt that beats His peace to heaven.

K. Phi. 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 sake
With burden of our armour here we sweat.
This toil of ours should be a work of thine;
But thou from loving England art so far,
That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king,
Cut off the sequence of posterity,

85

90

95

Out-faced infant state and done a rape

Upon the maiden virtue of the crown.

Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face;

These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his :
This little abstract doth contain that large

100

Which died in Geffrey, and the hand of time
Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume.
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born,
And this his son; 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 owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest?

105

K. John. From whom hast thou this great commission,
France,

To draw my answer from thy articles?

K. Phi. From that supernal judge, that stirs good

thoughts

In any breast of strong authority,

To look into the blots and stains of right:

That judge hath made me guardian to this boy:
Under whose warrant I impeach thy wrong
And by whose help I mean to chastise it.

K. John. Alack, thou dost usurp authority.
K. Phi. Excuse; it is to beat usurping down.
Eli. Who is it thou dost call usurper, France?
Const. Let me make answer; thy usurping son.
Eli. Out, insolent! thy bastard shall be king,
That thou mayst be a queen, and check the world!
Const. My bed was ever to thy son as true

115

120

As thine was to thy husband; and this boy
Liker in feature to his father Geffrey

125

Than thou and John in manners; being as like

As rain to water, or devil to his dam.

My boy a bastard! By my soul, I think

His father never was so true begot:

It cannot be, an if thou wert his mother.

Eli. There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father.
Const. There's a good grandam, boy, that would blot

thee.

Aust. Peace!

Bast.

130

Aust.

Hear the crier.

What the devil art thou?

135

Bast. 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,

111. from] to Hanmer. 113. breast] beast F1.

114. blots] bolts Warburton.

118-150. Alack...conference] Put in the margin, as spurious, by Pope. 119. Excuse; it is] Malone. Excuse it is Ff. Excuse it, 'tis Rowe (ed. 2).

120.

is it] Ff. is it that Rowe

VOL. IV.

(ed. 1). is't that Rowe (ed. 2).

127. John in manners; being] Capell (Roderick conj.). John, in manners being Ff.

131. an if] Theobald. and if Ff. 133. There's...thee] As two lines in Ff, ending boy...thee.

would] wouldst Theobald. 136. An a'] Theobald. And a F C