And if thou want'ft a cord, the smallest thread
That ever spider twisted from her womb
Will ftrangle thee; a rush will be a beam,
To hang thee on: or would'ft thou drown thyself,
Put but a little water in a spoon,
And it shall be as all the ocean,
Enough to ftifle fuch a villain up.
I do fufpect thee very grievously.
Hub. If I in act, confent, or fin of thought,
Be guilty of the ftealing that fweet breath
Which was embounded in this beauteous clay,
Let hell want pains enough to torture me!
I left him well.
Baft. Go bear him in thine arms.
I am amaz'd, methinks, and lofe my way
Among the thorns and dangers of this world.
How eafie doft thou take all England up!
From forth this morfel of dead royalty
The life, the right, and truth of all this realm
Are fled to heav'n; and England now is left
To tug and scramble, and to part by th' teeth
The un-owed intereft of proud-fwelling state.
Now for the bare-pickt bone of Majesty
Doth dogged war briftle his angry creft,
And fnarleth in the gentle eyes of peace.
Now pow'rs from home and difcontents at home
Meet in one line: and vaft confufion waits
(As doth a raven on a fick, fall'n beast)
The imminent decay of wrefted pomp.
Now happy he, whofe cloak and cincture can
Hold out this tempeft. Bear away that child,
And follow me with fpeed; I'll to the King;
A thousand bufineffes are brief at hand,
And heav'n itself doth frown upon the land.
ACT V. SCENE I.
The Court of England.
Enter King John, Pandulph, and Attendants,
HUS I have yielded up into your hand
K. John. The circle of my glory. [Giving the Crowd,
From this my hand, as holding of the Pope
Your fovereign greatness and authority.
K.Jobn. Now keep your holy word; go meet the French, And from his Holinefs ufe all your power
To ftop their marches 'fore we are enflam'd.
Our discontented counties do revolt,
Our people quarrel with obedience,
Swearing allegiance, and love of foul
To ftranger-blood, to foreign royalty;
This inundation of diftemper'd humour
Refts by you only to be qualify'd.
Then pause not; for the prefent time's fo fick,
That prefent med'cine must be miniftred,
Or overthrow incurable enfues.
Pand. It was my breath that blew this tempeft up, Upon your ftubborn ufage of the Pope :
But fince you are a gentle convertite,
My tongue fhall hush again this ftorm of war,
And make fair weather in your bluft'ring land.
On this Afcenfion-day remember well,
Upon your oath of fervice to the Pope.
Go I to make the French lay down their arms.
K. Jobn. Is this Afcenfion-day? did not the prophet
Say, that before Afcenfion-day at noon
My crown I fhould give off? even fo I have:
I did fuppofe it should be on constraint,
But, heav'n be thank'd, it is but voluntary.
Baft. All-Kent hath yielded, nothing there holds out
But Dover-Caftle: London hath receiv'd,
Like a kind hoft, the Dauphin and his powers.
Your nobles will not hear you, but are gone
To offer service to your enemy;
And wild amazement hurries up and down
The little number of your doubtful friends.
K. John. Would not my Lords return to me again,
After they heard young Arthur was alive?
Baft. They found him dead, and caft into the freets,
An empty casket, where the jewel, life,
By fome damn'd hand was robb'd and ta'en away.
K. John. That villain Hubert told me he did live.
Baft. So on my foul he did, for ought he knew s
But wherefore do you droop? why look you fad?
Be great in act, as you have been in thought:
Let not the world fee fear and fad diftrust
Govern the motion of a kingly eye;
Be stirring as the time, be fire with fire;
Threaten the threatner, and out-face the brow
Of bragging horror: fo fhall inferior eyes,
That borrow their behaviours from the great,
Grow great by your example, and put on
The dauntless fpirit of resolution.
Away, and glifter like the God of war
When he intendeth to become the field;
Shew boldness and afpiring confidence.
What? fhall they feek the Lion in his den,
And fright him there? and make him tremble there?
Oh, let it not be faid! Forage, and run
To meet difpleasure farther from the doors,
And grapple with him ere he come fo nigh.
K. Jobn. The Legate of the Pope hath been with me,
And I have made a happy peace with him ;
And he hath promis'd to difmifs the powers
Led by the Dauphin.
Baft. Oh inglorious league!
Shall we upon the footing of our land
Send fair-play-orders, and make compromise,
Infinuation, parly, and base truce,
To arms invafive? fhall a beardless boy,
A cocker'd, filken Wanton brave our fields,
And fiefh his fpirit in a warlike foil,
Mocking the air with colours idly spread,
And find no check? let us, my Liege, to arms :
Perchance the Cardinal can't make your peace;
Or, if he do, let it at least be faid
They faw we had a purpose of defence.
K. John. Have thou the ord'ring of this prefent time. Baft. Away then, with good courage; yet I know Our party may well meet a prouder foe,
The Dauphin's Camp, at St. Edmundsbury.
Enter, in arms, Lewis, Salisbury, Melun, Pembroke,
Bigot, and Soldiers.
Lewis. My Lord Melun, let this be copied out,
And keep it fafe for our remembrance:
Return the prefident to these Lords again,
That having our fair order written down,
Both they and we perufing o'er these notes,
May know wherefore we took the facrament,
And keep our faiths firm and inviolable.
Sal. Upon our fides it never shall be broken.
And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear
A voluntary zeal and un-urg'd faith
To your proceedings; yet believe me, Prince,
I am not glad that fuch a fore of time
Should feek a plaifter by contemn'd revolt,
And heal th' invet'rate canker of one wound
By making many. Oh, it grieves my foul,
That I muft draw this metal from my fide
To be a widow-maker: oh, and there
Where honourable refcue, and defence,
Cry out upon the name of Salisbury.
But fuch is the infection of the time,
That for the health and phyfick of our right,
We cannot deal but with the very hand
Of ftern injustice, and confufed wrong.
And is't-not pity, oh my grieved friends!
That we the fons and children of this ifle,
Were born to fee fo fad an hour as this,
Wherein we step after a stranger-march
Upon her gentle bofom, and fill up
Her enemies ranks? (1 must withdraw and weep
Upon the spot of this enforced caufe)
To grace the gentry of a land remote,
And follow unacquainted colours here ?
What, here? O nation, that thou could'st remove!
That Neptune's arms who clippeth thee about,
Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyfelf,
And grapple thee unto a Pagan fhore!
Where these two chriftian armies might combine
The blood of malice in a vein of league,
And not mif-spend it fo un-neighbourly.
Lewis. A noble temper dost thou fhew in this
And great affections wrestling in thy bofom.
Do make an earthquake of nobility.
Oh, what a noble combat haft thou fought,
Between compaffion, and a brave respect!
Let me wipe off this honourable dew,
That filverly doth progrefs on thy cheeks.
My heart hath melted at a Lady's tears,
Being an ordinary inundation:
But this effufion of such manly drops,
This fhow'r blown up by tempeft of the foul,
Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amaz'd
Than had I feen the vaulty top of heav'a
Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors.
Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury,
And with a great heart heave away this form.
Commend these waters to those baby-eyes
That never faw the giant world enrag'd:
Nor met with fortune, other than at feafts,
Full-warm of blood, of mirth, of goffipping
Come, come, for thou shalt thrust thy hand as deep
Into the purfe of rich prosperity
As Lewis himself; fo, Nobles, fhall you all,
That knit your finews to the strength of mine.
He fees Pandulph coming at a distances
And even there methinks an angel fpeeds;
Look where the holy Legate comes apace,
To give us warrant from the hand of heav'n,
And on our actions set the name of right
With holy breath,
SCENE III. Enter Pandulph.
Pand. Hail, noble Prince of France!
The next is this: King John hath reconcil'd
Himself to Rome; his fpirit is come in,
That flood out against the holy church,
The great metropolis and See of Rome.
Therefore thy threatning colours now wind up,
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