KINGJOHN.

LEWIS, the Dauphin.

CARDINAL PANDULPHO, the Pope's Legate.

SALISBURY, an English Lord.

༢།

FAULCONBRIDGE, baftard fon to Richard the Firit

HUBERT, lieutenant of the Tower.

WOME N.

CONSTANCE, Mother to Arthur.

KING

JOHN.

THE

ACT II. SCENE VI.

HE following fpeech, though delivered with an air of levity, and expreffed in humorous words and images, fupplies occafion for three very juft reflections. The firft, That felf intereft, in the mere worldly fenfe of the term, is the ruling principle of mankind. Secondly, That men are too apt to inveigh against corruption, more from the being void of temptation themselves, than their being free from this vice; and, laftly, That bad examples in the fuperior ranks of life, have a dangerous tendency to injure the morals of the inferior claffes of a people.

Upon a peace being made between the kings of England and France, in which the right of Arthur to the British throne is betrayed on the one hand, and but poorly compensated on the other, Faulconbridge makes this foliloquy :

FIRST PART.

Mad world, mad kings, mad compofition!
John, to ftop Arthur's title in the whole,
Hath willingly departed with a part;

And France, whofe armour confcience buckled on,
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field,
As God's own foldier, rounded in the ear
With that fame purpofe-changer, that fly devil,
That broker that ftill breaks the pate of faith,
That daily break-vow, he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
Who having no external thing to lose,

But the word maid, cheats the poor girl of that;
That fmooth-faced gentleman, tickling commodity
Commodity, the bias of the world;

The world, which of itself is poized well,

• To fupport Arthur's claim.

Made

Made to run even upon even ground;
Till this advantage, this vile drawing bias,
This fway of motion, this commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, course, intent.
And this fame bias, this commodity,

This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapped on the outward eye of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determined aid,
From a refolved and honourable war,

To a most base and vile-concluded peace:

Yet why rail I on this commodity?.

But for because he hath not wooed me yet;
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,...
When his fair angels would falute my palm;
But that my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, while I am a beggar, I will rail,
And say there is no fin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To fay, there is no vice but beggary.

THIRD PART.

Since kings break faith upon commodity. -
Gain, be my lord; for I will worship thee,

The aftonishment of Conftance, on hearing that her fon's interefts are facrificed to the league, with the doubts which we are naturally inclined to conceive of the truth of fudden ill news, and the weak ftate of mind and fpirits, to which perfons in misfortune, especially helpless women, are generally reduced, are all finely painted and defcribed in the following speech.

Conftance, Arthur, and Salisbury.

Conftance to Salisbury.

Gone to be married! Gone to fwear a peace!

Falfe blood to falfe blood joined! Gone to be friends!,
Shall Lewis have Blanch, and Blanch thofe provinces ?

It is not fo; thou haft mis-spoke, mis-heard;

Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again

One of the articles of the compact was an alliance between a niece of John's and the Dauphin, the inheritances which of right belonged to Arthur being the

dowry.

It cannot be thou doft but say, 'tis fo.
I trust I may not truft thee-for thy word
Is but the vain breath of a common man.
Believe me I do not believe thee, man-
I have a king's oath to the contrary.

Thou shalt be punithed for thus frighting me;
For I am fick, and capable of fears;

Oppreffed with wrongs, and therefore full of fears-
A widow, hufbandiefs, fubject to fears;

A woman naturally born to fears;

And tho' thou now confefs thou didst but jeft,
With my vexed fpirits I cannot make a truce,
But they will quake and tremble all this day-
What doft thou mean by fhaking of thy head?
Why doft thou look fo fadly on my ion?
What means that hand upon that breaft of thine?
Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,
Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds?
Be thefe fad fighs confirmers of thy words?
Then fpeak again; not all thy former tale,
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.

A little further, upon Salisbury's confirming the bad news, the conceives a very natural though unreasonable idea, with which, however, we are apt to be impreffed toward all meffengers of bad tidings, however innocent of the evil :

Fellow, be gone, I cannot brook thy fight-
This news hath made thee a most ugly man.

That partiality in favour of beauty, which it is natural for all perfons to be fenfible of, even where their duty and interefts in different objects are equal, is ftrongly marked by Conftance, when her fon begs her to fuftain his wrongs with patience. The whole fpeech is affecting.

Contnce. If thou that bid'ft me be content, were grim,
Ugly and flanderous to thy mother's womb,
Full of unpleafing blots, and fightle's * stains,
Lame, foolish, crooked, fwart, prodigious t

For fightly. Shakespeare often places the negative at the end of the adjective, instead of the beginning. This varies his phrafes, and enriches his language. Modern writers are too much dictionary Found.

For portentous; monstrous births being reckoned ominous, formerly.
N

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