By heaven, I think my sword's as sharp as yours: Nor tempt the danger of my true defence; Big. Out, dunghill! darest thou brave a nobleman ? Hub. Not for my life: but yet I dare defend My innocent life against an emperor. Sal. Thou art a murderer. Do not prove me so; 90 Hub. Pem. Cut him to pieces. Bast. Keep the peace, I say. Sal. Stand by, or I shall gall you, Faulconbridge. Bast. Thou wert better gall the devil, Salisbury : If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot, Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame, Second a villain and a murderer? Hub. Lord Bigot, I am none. Big. Who kill'd this prince? Hub. 'Tis not an hour since I left him well: Sal. Trust not those cunning waters of his eyes, For villany is not without such rheum; 100 84. my true defence, my defence of my uprightness. 94. gall, hurt. 97. spleen, passion. And he, long traded in it, makes it seem Away with me, all you whose souls abhor Big. Away toward Bury, to the Dauphin there! Pem. There tell the king he may inquire us [Exeunt Lords. out. ·Bast. Here's a good world! Knew you of this fair work? Beyond the infinite and boundless reach Of mercy, if thou didst this deed of death, Hub. 110 Do but hear me, sir. 120 Bast. Ha! I'll tell thee what ; Thou'rt damn'd as black-nay, nothing is so black; Thou art more deep damn'd than Prince Lucifer: As thou shalt be, if thou didst kill this child. Bast. If thou didst but consent To this most cruel act, do but despair; And if thou want'st a cord, the smallest thread Will serve to strangle thee; a rush will be a beam Hub. If I in act, consent, or sin of thought, 109. traded, practised. 132. ocean (trisyllabic). 133. stifle up. 'Up' adds the sense of completion to the action. Let hell want pains enough to torture me. I left him well. Bast. Go, bear him in thine arms. 146. scamble, struggle, scuffle. 147. unowed, unowned. 155. cincture; Pope's conjecture for Ff cinter, which may be right, standing for ceinture.' Shakespeare nowhere useş 'cincture.' [Exeunt. 140 150 158. brief in hand, urged for despatch; brief' expresses the concentration of the thousand businesses' in a narrow space of time. Enter KING JOHN, PANDULPH, and Attendants. K. John. Thus have I yielded up into your hand The circle of my glory. Pand. [Giving the crown. Take again From this my hand, as holding of the pope Your sovereign greatness and authority. K. John. Now keep your holy word: go meet the French, And from his holiness use all your power To stop their marches 'fore we are inflamed. Then pause not; for the present time's so sick, Or overthrow incurable ensues. Pand. It was my breath that blew this tempest up, Upon your stubborn usage of the pope; But since you are a gentle convertite, My tongue shall hush again this storm of war 10. love of soul, heartfelt love. 19. convertite, convert. Upon your oath of service to the pope, Go I to make the French lay down their arms. [Exit. K. John. Is this Ascension-day? Did not the prophet Say that before Ascension-day at noon Even so I have: I did' suppose it should be on constraint; But, heaven be thank'd, it is but voluntary. Enter the Bastard. Bast. All Kent hath yielded; nothing there But Dover castle: London hath received, To offer service to your enemy, And wild amazement hurries up and down K. John. Would not my lords return to me again, Bast. They found him dead and cast into the streets, An empty casket, where the jewel of life. By some damn'd hand was robb'd and ta'en away. K. John. That villain Hubert told me he did live. Bast. So, on my soul, he did, for aught he knew. But wherefore do you droop? why look you sad? Be great in act, as you have been in thought; Let not the world see fear and sad distrust Govern the motion of a kingly eye: Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire; Threaten the threatener and outface the brow Of bragging horror: so shall inferior eyes, That borrow their behaviours from the great, VOL. VI 97 Η 30 40 50 |