Lew. Women and fools, break off your conference.King John, this is the very sum of all :

England, and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,
In right of Arthur do I claim of thee.

Wilt thou resign them, and lay down thy arms?

K. John. My life as soon: I do defy thee, France.— Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand,

And out of my dear love I'll give thee more,

Than e'er the coward hand of France can win:
Submit thee, boy.

Eli.

Come to thy grandam, child. Const. Do, child, go to it' grandam, child: Give grandam kingdom, and it' grandam will

Give it a plum, a cherry, and a fig:

There's a good grandam.

Arth.

Good my mother, peace!

I would that I were low laid in my grave;
I am not worth this coil that's made for me.

Eli. His mother shames him so, poor boy, he weeps. Const. Now shame upon you, whe'r she does, or no1o! His grandam's wrongs, and not his mother's shames, Draw those heaven-moving pearls from his poor eyes, Which heaven shall take in nature of a fee:

Ay, with these crystal beads heaven shall be brib'd
To do him justice, and revenge on you.

Eli. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and earth! Const. Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and earth! Call not me slanderer: thou, and thine, usurp

The dominations, royalties, and rights,

Of this oppressed boy. This is thy eldest son's son,
Infortunate in nothing but in thee:

Thy sins are visited in this poor child;

printing King in Italic, as the prefix of the speech, which seems clearly to belong to King Philip.

91

Anjou,] In all the old copies, Angiers is misprinted for Anjou.

19 Now shame upon you, WHE'R she does, or no!] Another instance in which whether is printed where in the old copies. The usual course is to leave these dissyllables to be pronounced in the time of a monosyllable.

The canon of the law is laid on him,
Being but the second generation
Removed from thy sin-conceiving womb.
K. John. Bedlam, have done.
Const.

I have but this to say,

That he is not only plagued for her sin,

But God hath made her sin and her, the plague
On this removed issue, plagu'd for her,

And with her plague her sin: his injury
Her injury the beadle to her sin,

All punish'd in the person of this child,
And all for her, a plague upon her1!

Eli. Thou unadvised scold, I can produce

A will, that bars the title of thy son.

Const. Ay, who doubts that? a will! a wicked will; A woman's will: a canker'd grandam's will!

K. Phi. Peace, lady! pause, or be more temperate. It ill beseems this presence, to cry aim3

To these ill-tuned repetitions.

Some trumpet summon hither to the walls
These men of Angiers: let us hear them speak,
Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's.

Trumpets sound. Enter Citizens upon the walls.
Cit. Who is it, that hath warn'd us to the walls?
K. Phi. "Tis France, for England.

1 And all for her: a plague upon her!] This speech is given in our text exactly as it stands in the old copies it has been the source of some contention among the commentators; but the meaning, though involved, seems sufficiently clear. Malone "suspected that two half lines had been lost."

2 A woman's will:] So in the old " King John," Elinor says,

"I can infer a will,

That bars the way he urgeth by descent."

And Constance replies,

"A will indeed! a crabbed woman's will," &c.

3 to cry AIM] i. e. to give the word for taking aim; a phrase derived from archery.

4 Enter CITIZENS upon the walls.] The economy of our old stage could only allow one citizen to make his appearance. "Enter a Citizen upon the walls" is the direction in the folios.

K. John.

England, for itself.

You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects,

K. Phi. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's subjects,

Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle.

K. John. For our advantage; therefore, hear us first.

These flags of France, that are advanced here
Before the eye and prospect of your town,
Have hither march'd to your endamagement :
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath,
And ready mounted are they, to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls:
All preparation for a bloody siege,

And merciless proceeding by these French,
Comfort your city's eyes, your winking gates;
And, but for our approach, those sleeping stones,
That as a waist do girdle you about,

By the compulsion of their ordnance
By this time from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made
For bloody power to rush upon your peace.
But, on the sight of us, your lawful king,
Who painfully, with much expedient march,
Have brought a countercheck before your gates,
To save unscratch'd your city's threaten'd cheeks,
Behold, the French amaz'd vouchsafe a parle;
And now, instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire,
To make a shaking fever in your walls,

They shoot but calm words, folded up in smoke,
To make a faithless error in your ears:

Which trust accordingly, kind citizens,

And let us in, your king; whose labour'd spirits,
Forwearied in this action of swift speed,

5 COMFORT your city's eyes,] So all the old copies: King John is evidently speaking ironically. Rowe altered "comfort" to confront, and such has since been the received reading.

Crave harbourage within your city walls.

K. Phi. When I have said, make answer to us both. Lo! in this right hand, whose protection

your town;

Is most divinely vow'd upon the right
Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet,
Son to the elder brother of this man,
And king o'er him, and all that he enjoys.
For this down-trodden equity, we tread
In warlike march these greens before
Being no farther enemy to you,
Than the constraint of hospitable zeal,
In the relief of this oppressed child,
Religiously provokes. Be pleased, then,
To pay that duty, which you truly owe,
To him that owes it, namely, this young prince;
And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,
Save in aspect, have all offence scal'd up:
Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent
Against th' invulnerable clouds of heaven;
And with a blessed and unvex'd retire,
With unhack'd swords, and helmets all unbruis'd,
We will bear home that lusty blood again,
Which here we came to spout against your town,
And leave your children, wives, and you, in peace.
But if you fondly pass our proffer'd offer,
"Tis not the roundure of your old-fac'd walls
Can hide you from our messengers of war,
Though all these English, and their discipline,
Were harbour'd in their rude circumference.
Then, tell us; shall your city call us lord,
In that behalf which we have challeng'd it,
Or shall we give the signal to our rage,

To pay that duty, which you truly owe,

To him that owes it ;] This passage affords an instance of the use of the verb "owe" in its two senses; to owe, as we now ordinarily employ it, and to own, which it formerly signified, and of which sense examples in Shakespeare and his contemporaries are endless. See Vol. ii. pp. 45. 136. 297. 416. Vol. iii. pp. 254. 348, &c.

And stalk in blood to our possession?

Cit. In brief, we are the king of England's subjects: For him, and in his right, we hold this town'.

K. John. Acknowledge then the king, and let me in. Cit. That can we not; but he that proves the king, To him will we prove loyal: till that time,

Have we ramm'd up our gates against the world.

K. John. Doth not the crown of England prove the

king?

And, if not that, I bring you witnesses,

Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed,—
Bast. Bastards, and else.

K. John. To verify our title with their lives.

K. Phi. As many, and as well-born bloods as those,— Bast. Some bastards, too.

K. Phi. Stand in his face to contradict his claim. Cit. Till you compound whose right is worthiest, We for the worthiest hold the right from both.

K. John. Then God forgive the sin of all those souls, That to their everlasting residence

Before the dew of evening fall shall fleet,

In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king!

K. Phi. Amen, Amen.— Mount, chevaliers! to arms!

Bast. St. George, that swing'd the dragon, and e'er since,

Sits on his horseback at mine hostess' door,

Teach us some fence! [To AUSTRIA.] Sirrah, were I at

home,

At your den, sirrah, with

your lioness,

I would set an ox-head to your lion's hide,

And make a monster of you.

Aust.

Peace! no more.

Bast. O! tremble, for you hear the lion roar.

7 For him, and in his right, we hold this town.] So in the old "King John," the citizen on the wall replies,

"For him, and in his right, we hold our town."