Sal.

Wounded to death.

Mel. Fly, noble English, you are bought and

sold;

Unthread the rude eye of rebellion

And welcome home again discarded faith.
Seek out King John and fall before his feet;
For if the French be lords of this loud day,
He means to recompense the pains you take
By cutting off your heads: thus hath he sworn
And I with him, and many moe with me,
Upon the altar at Saint Edmundsbury;
Even on that altar where we swore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love.

Sal. May this be possible? may this be true?
Mel. Have I not hideous death within my view,
Retaining but a quantity of life,

Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire?

What in the world should make me now deceive,
Since I must lose the use of all deceit?

Why should I then be false, since it is true
That I must die here and live hence by truth?
I say again, if Lewis do win the day,

He is forsworn, if e'er those eyes of yours

Behold another day break in the east:

But even this night, whose black contagious breath Already smokes about the burning crest

Of the old, feeble and day-wearied sun,

II. Unthread the rude eye (met. from the needle's eye'), retrace your hazardous passage.

15. He, i.e. the Dauphin. The Camb. edd. thence suspect that 'lords' in the previous line should be lord,' 'the French' being then a singular, as elsewhere.

23. a quantity, a modicum,

just perceptible amount.

ΤΟ

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30

24. a form of wax, a wax effigy; referring to the practice in witchcraft of destroying an enemy by melting a waxen image of him-the fate of the man being controlled, according to a widespread article of folklore, by that of the image. 29. hence, i.e. in heaven.

Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire,
Paying the fine of rated treachery

Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives,
If Lewis by your assistance win the day.
Commend me to one Hubert with your king:
The love of him, and this respect besides,
For that my grandsire was an Englishman,
Awakes my conscience to confess all this.
In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence
From forth the noise and rumour of the field,
Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts
In peace, and part this body and my soul
With contemplation and devout desires.

Sal. We do believe thee: and beshrew my soul But I do love the favour and the form

Of this most fair occasion, by the which
We will untread the steps of damned flight,
And like a bated and retired flood,

Leaving our rankness and irregular course,

Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd
And calmly run on in obedience

Even to our ocean, to our great King John.

My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence;
For I do see the cruel pangs of death

Right in thine eye. Away, my friends! New

flight;

And happy newness, that intends old right.

[Exeunt, leading off Melun.

37. rated, assessed at its value.

38. fine; a play upon the sense 'end.'

41. respect, consideration. 44. In lieu whereof, in return for which.

45. rumour, tumult. 50. favour, aspect.

53. bated, abated.

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50

60

54. rankness, overflowing. 55. o'erlook'd, overpeered. 60. Right in thine eye, even in thy eye; the eye, as the most expressive organ, betrays directly and immediately the approach of death.

61. intends, makes for.

Enter LEWIS and his train.

Lew. The sun of heaven methought was loath
to set,

But stay'd and made the western welkin blush,
When English measure backward their own ground
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,
After such bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tattering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. Where is my prince, the Dauphin ?

Lew.

Here: what news?

Mess. The Count Melun is slain; the English

lords

By his persuasion are again fall'n off;

And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands.

Lew. Ah, foul shrewd news! beshrew thy very heart!

I did not think to be so sad to-night

As this hath made me. Who was he that said
King John did fly an hour or two before
The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
Mess. Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord.
Lew. Well; keep good quarter and good care
to-night:

7. tattering, flying in tatters. ib. clearly, completely.

18. stumbling night, night

that causes stumbling.

ΙΟ

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20. keep good quarter, guard your posts well.

The day shall not be up so soon as I,

To try the fair adventure of to-morrow. [Exeunt.

SCENE VI. An open place in the neighbourhood of Swinstead Abbey.

Enter the BASTARD and HUBERT, severally.

Hub. Who's there? speak, ho! speak quickly, or I shoot.

Bast. A friend. What art thou?

Hub.

Of the part of England.

Bast. Whither dost thou go?

Hub. What's that to thee? why may not I

demand

Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine?

Bast. Hubert, I think?

Hub.

Thou hast a perfect thought:

I will upon all hazards well believe

Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so

well.

Who art thou?

Bast. Who thou wilt: and if thou please, Thou mayst befriend me so much as to think I come one way of the Plantagenets.

Hub. Unkind remembrance! thou and eyeless night

Have done me shame: brave soldier, pardon me,
That any accent breaking from thy tongue
Should 'scape the true acquaintance of mine ear,
Bast. Come, come; sans compliment, what
news abroad?

12. Unkind, i.e. for having failed him.

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Hub. Why, here walk I in the black brow of

night,

To find you out.

Bast.

Brief, then; and what's the news? Hub. O, my sweet sir, news fitting to the night,

Black, fearful, comfortless and horrible.

Bast. Show me the very wound of this ill

news:

I am no woman, I'll not swoon at it.

Hub. The king, I fear, is poison'd by a monk :
I left him almost speechless; and broke out
To acquaint you with this evil, that you might
The better arm you to the sudden time,

Than if you had at leisure known of this.

Bast. How did he take it? who did taste to him?

Hub. A monk, I tell you; a resolved villain, Whose bowels suddenly burst out the king Yet speaks and peradventure may recover.

Bast. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty ?

Hub. Why, know you not? the lords are all
come back,

And brought Prince Henry in their company;
At whose request the king hath pardon'd them,
And they are all about his majesty.

Bast. Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven,

And tempt us not to bear above our power!
I'll tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night,
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide ;
These Lincoln Washes have devoured them;
Myself, well mounted, hardly have escaped.

26. time, emergency.

28. taste, perform the office

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of tasting each dish offered to the king.