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Blanch. Now shall I see thy love: what motive may

Be stronger with thee than the name of wife? Const. That which upholdeth him that thee upholds, 315

His honour: O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour ! Lew. I muse your majesty doth seem so cold,

When such profound respects do pull you on. Pand. I will denounce a curse upon his head. K. Phi. Thou shalt not need. England, I will fall from thee.

320 Const. O fair return of banish'd majesty! Eli. O foul revolt of French inconstancy! K. John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour. Bast. Old Time the clock-setter, that bald sexton Time,

Is it as he will? well then, France shall rue. 325 Blanch. The sun's o'ercast with blood : fair day, adieu !

Which is the side that I must go withal ?
I am with both : each army hath a hand;
And in their rage, I having hold of both,

foreordained. Compare Cymbeline, course no idea of impeachment or III. iv, 171:

accusation. “Fore-thinking this, I have already 320. fall from thee) leave your fit

party. Mr. Wright quotes Heywood, 'Tis in my cloak bag-doublet, 2 Edward IV. i. 6:hat, hose ...

“If he will recant Cotgrave has “premedité : premedi. And fall from Lewis again.” tated, forethought of."

322. French inconstancy] Compare 317. I muse) I marvel. Compare a curious passage in Gosson's Schoole Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1. iii. 64: of Abuse (ed. Arber, p. 34): “We “Muse not that I thus suddenly pro- have robbed Greece of gluttonie, Italy ceed."

of wantonnesse, Spaine of pride, 318. respects] considerations. See Fraunce of deceite, and Dutchland Hamlet, 111. i. 68:

of quaffing." “There's the respect 324, 325. Old Time . . . shall rue] That makes calamity of so long The Bastard remarks after John's life”;

threat, “If it's merely a matter of and compare v. iv. 41 infra.

time France shall rue." This lacks 319. denounce] merely equivalent the usual salt of the Bastard's speeches, to our “ proclaim”; it contains of and the text has been suspected.

They whirl asunder and dismember me.

330
Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win;
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose ;
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine;
Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive :
Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose;

335
Assured loss before the match be play'd.
Lew. Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies.
Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my life dies.
K. John. Cousin, go draw our puissance together.

[Exit Bastard.
France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath; 340
A rage whose heat hath this condition,
That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,

The blood, and dearest-valued blood, of France.
K. Phi. Thy rage shall burn thee up, and thou shalt turn

To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire: 345

Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy. K. John. No more than he that threats. To arms let's hie!

[Exeunt. SCENE II.-The same. Plains near Angiers.

337. lies] lives Capell. 341. this] a Vaughan conj. 342. allay] alloy't Dyce (ed. 2) (Capell conj.).

339. Cousin] Loosely used for conjectures “the dearest-valued kinsman in Elizabethan English. blue.” The text, however, is deCotgrave has “Cousin : a cosin or fensible. John says nothing can kinsman.”

allay his rage but blood; he is going 339. puissance] powers, forces. to state that it must be French blood, Sometimes a dissyllable, here a tri and when half-way through the syllable.

sentence, he sees a method of 343. The blood ... blood] The heightening the effect and interjects repetition of the word “blood” has “and (that the) dearest-valued led to emendation. Hudson prints, blood.” after a suggestion of Sidney Walker's, 346. jeopardy] danger, hazard. “The best and dearest valued blood.” Mr. Wright derives this from jeu Hudson also suggests “The blood, parti, a game where the risk is evenly the dearest-valued blood.” Bulloch divided.

Alarums, excursions. Enter the BASTARD, with AUSTRIA'S

head.
Bast. Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous hot ;

Some airy devil hovers in the sky,
And pours down mischief. Austria's head lie there,
While Philip breathes.

Enter KING JOHN, ARTHUR, and HUBERT. K. John. Hubert, keep this boy. Philip, make up: 5

My mother is assailed in our tent,

And ta’en, I 'fear.
Bast.

My lord, I rescued her ;
Her highness is in safety, fear you not:
But on, my liege; for very little pains
Will bring this labour to an happy end.

[Exeunt. 2. airy] fiery Theobald (Warburton). 7. ta'en] Rowe; tane Ff.

2. airy] belonging to the air, aerial. “There, Hubert"; Keightley, “ Here, Compare the old list of dramatis Hubert"; Fleay, “Good Hubert." personæ in The Tempest : “ Ariel, an Rann, after a conjecture of Tyrwhitt's, ayrie Spirit”; also Webster, The inserts “ thou" after "keep. TheoDevil's Law Case, v. 5 (ed. Dyce, p. bald reads "Richard” and Hanmer 143): “ The devil that rules in the “Cousin ” for “Philip.” It would air hangs in their light." This line be equally natural for King John and also occurs in the Duchess of Malfi, for Shakespeare to forget the Bastard's II. i. (Dyce, p. 67). Spirits were change of name. divided into four classes inhabiting 5. make up] move onward. Comrespectively the four elements, air, pare 1 Henry IV. v. iv. 4, 5:fire, earth and water.

“I do beseech your majesty, 5. Hubert ... make up] Editors make up, have been unwilling to let this line Lest your retirement do amaze remain defective. Pope reads your friends."

SCENE III.-The same.

Alarums, excursions, retreat. Enter KING JOHN, ELINOR,

ARTHUR, the BASTARD, HUBERT, and Lords. K. John. [To Elinor.] So shall it be; your grace shall

stay behind
So strongly guarded. [To Arthur.] Cousin, look not

sad :
Thy grandam loves thee; and thy uncle will

As dear be to thee as thy father was.
Arth. O, this will make my mother die with grief ! 5
K. John. [To the Bastard.] Cousin, away for England !

haste before:
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags
Of hoarding abbots; imprisoned angels
Set at liberty: the fat ribs of peace
Must by the hungry now be fed upon :

10 Use our commission in his utmost force. Bast. Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back,

When gold and silver becks me to come on.
I leave your highness. Grandam, I will pray,
If ever I remember to be holy,
For your fair safety; so, I kiss your hand.

2. So] Lettsom's conjecture, adopt. proposed transposition, printed by ed by Hudson, of “More” for “SO" Grant White, is the least violent seems very plausible. The printer's way out of the difficulty, if real error can be explained by his eye difficulty there be. He would read having caught the "So" of the pre- “set at liberty, Imprisoned angels.” vious line-a common failing among 12. Bell, book, and candle] The printers.

“properties” necessary for the per8, 9. imprisoned ... liberty) The formance of the Catholic curse of want of rhythm in these lines has led excommunication; referred to in to emendation. Sidney Walker's Kynge Fohan.

Eli. Farewell, gentle cousin.
K. John.

Coz, farewell.

[Exit Bastard. Eli. Come hither, little kinsman; hark, a word. K. John. Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert,

We owe thee much! within this wall of flesh 20
There is a soul counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say, 25
But I will fit it with some better time.
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost ashamed

To say what good respect I have of thee.
Hub. I am much bounden to your majesty.
K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet, 30

But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come for me to do thee good. .
I had a thing to say, but let it go:
The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world, 35
Is all too wanton and too full of gawds
To give me audience: if the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,

26. time] Pope; tune Ff.

22. advantage) Mr. Wright and in 1 Henry IV. 11. iv. 599, “The Mr. Moore-Smith explain this as money shall be paid back with ad"interest.” It is true that the line vantage," means something thrown may be paraphrased “I mean to pay into the bargain, more than one back thy love with interest,” because can legally expect. See Cotgrave, our modern phrase "with interest” “Avantage : . . . an advantage, ... really means more than mere legally overplus, addition, eeking." due interest. The word here and 28. respect] opinion, esteem.

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