Bast. Knight, knight, good mother,—Basilis co-like: What! I am dubbed; I have it on my shoulder. But, mother, I am not Sir Robert's son: I have disclaimed Sir Robert and my land; Legitimation, name, and all is gone: Then, good my mother, let me know my father: Some proper man, I hope : who was it, mother? Lady F. Hast thou denied thyself a Falcon bridge ? Bast. As faithfully as I deny the devil. Lady F. King Richard Caur-de-lion was thy father: By long and vehement suit I was seduced To make room for him in my husband's bed.Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge!Thou art the issue of my dear offence, Which was so strongly urged, past my defence. i Bast. Now, by this light, were I to get again, And they shall say, when Richard me begot, If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin. Who says it was, he lies: I say 't was not. [Exeunt. Enter, on one side, the ARCHIDUKE OF Austria, and Forces; on the other, Philip, King of THUR, and Attendants. strength Richard, that robbed the lion of his heart, To make a more requital to your love. And fought the holy wars in Palestine, Aust. The peace of heaven is theirs that lift By this brave duke came early to his grave: their swords And, for amends to his posterity, In such a just and charitable war. At our importance hither is he come K. Phi. Well, then, to work; our cannon shall To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf, be bent And to rebuke the usurpation Against the brows of this resisting town.Of thy unnatural uncle, English John. Call for our chiefest men of discipline, Einbrace him, love him, give him welcome hither. | To cull the plots of best advantages : Arth. God shall forgive you Caur-de-lion's We 'll lay before this town our royal bones, death Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood, The rather that you give his offspring life, But we will make it subject to this boy. Shadowing their right under your wings of war. Const. Stay for an answer to your embassy, I give you welcome with a powerless hand, Lest unadvised you stain your swords with blood. But with a heart full of unstainéd love: My lord Chatillon may from England bring Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke. That right in peace which here we urge in war; Lew. A noble boy! Who would not do thee right? And then we shall repent each drop of blood Aust. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, That hot rash haste so indirectly shed. Enter Chatillon. siege, And confident from foreign purposes, And stir them up against a mightier task. Even till that utmost corner of the west England, impatient of your just demands, Salute thee for her king : till then, fair boy, Hath put himself in arms: the adverse winds, Will I not think of home, but follow arms. Whose leisure I have stayed, have given him time Const. O, take his mother's thanks, a widlow's To land his legions all as soon as I : thanks, His marches are expedient to this town, His forces strong, his soldiers confident. [Drums beat. dition ! PEMBROKE, and Forces. permit heaven. K. Phi. Peace be to England, if that war re turn From France to England, there to live in peace. England we love; and for that England's sake With burden of our armour here we sweat. This toil of ours should be a work of thine : But thou front loving England art so far, That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king, Cut off the sequence of posterity, Outfacéd infant state, and done a rape Upon the maiden virtue of the crown. Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face : These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his: This little abstract doth contain that large Which died in Geffrey; and the hand of time Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume. That Geffrey was thy elder brother born, And this his son : England was Geffrey's right And this is Geffrey's: in the name of God, How comes it, then, that thou art called a king, When living blood doth in these temples beat, Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest? K. John. From whom hast thou this great com mission, France, To draw my answer from thy articles ? K. Phi. From that supernal Judge that stirs good thoughts K. John. Alack, thou dost usurp authority. Eli. Out, insolent! thy bastard shall be king, That thou mayst be a queen, and check the world! Const. My bed was ever to thy son as true As thine was to thy husband : and this boy Liker in feature to his father Geffrey Than thou and John in manners,-being as like As rain to water, or devil to his dam. My boy a bastard! By my soul, I think His father never was so true begot: It cannot be an if thou wert his mother. Eli. There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father. blot thee. What the devil art thou ? Blanch. O, well did he become that lion's robe That did disrobe the lion of that robe! Bast. It lies as sightly on the back of him, As great Alcides' shoes upon an ass :But, ass, I 'll take that burden from your back; Or lay on that shall make your shoulders crack Aust. What cracker is this same, that deafs our ears With this abundance of superfluous breath? K. Phi. Lewis, determine what we shall do straight. Lew. Women and fools, break off your con ference. France.- Draw those heaven-moving pearls from his poor Infortunate in nothing but in thee : Thy sins are visited in this poor child; Removéd from thy sin-conceiving womb. K. John. Bedlam, have done. Eli. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and Const. I have but this to say, earth! That he's not only plaguéd for her sin, Const. Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and But God hath made her sin and her the plague earth! On this removéd issue, plagued for her, Call not me slanderer: thou and thine usurp And with her plague, her sin; his injury The dominations, royalties, and rights Her injury,—the beadle to her sin : Of this oppresséd boy. This is thy eldest son's | All punished in the person of this child, son, And all for her: a plague upon her! Eli. Thou unadvised scold, I can produce Son to the elder brother of this man, A will that bars the title of thy son. And king o'er him and all that he enjoys. Const. Ay, who doubts that? A will! a wicked | For this down-trodden equity, we tread will; In warlike march these greens before your town: A woman's will; a cankered grandam's will ! Being no further enemy to you K, Phi. Peace, lady; pause, or be more tem Than the constraint of hospitable zeal, perate : In the relief of this oppresséd child, It ill beseems this presence to cry aim Religiously provokes. Be pleased, then, To these ill-tuned repetitions. To pay that duty which you truly owe, Some trumpet summon hither to the walls To him that owes it; namely, this young prince: These men of Angiers : let us hear them speak, And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear, Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's. Save in aspect, have all offence sealed up; Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent Trumpels sound. Enter Citizens upon the walls. Against the invulnerable clouds of heaven; 1st Cit. Who is it that hath warned us to the And, with a blesséd and unvexed retire, walls? With un hacked swords and helmets all unbruised, K. Phi. "Tis France for England. We will bear home that lusty blood again K. John. England for itself. Which here we came to spout against your town, You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects, And leave your children, wives, and you, in peace. K. Phi. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's But if you fondly pass our proffered offer, subjects, "Tis not the roundure of your old-faced walls Our trumpet called you to this gentle parle, Can hide you from our messengers of war, K. John. For our advantage :—therefore, hear Though all these English and their discipline us, first. Were harboured in their rude circumference. These flags of France, that are advancéd here Then tell us, shall your city call us lord, Before the eye and prospect of your town, In that behalf which we have challenged it; Have hither marched to your endamagement: Or shall we give the signal to our rage, The cannons have their bowels full of wrath, And stalk in blood to our possession? And ready mounted are they to spit fortin 1st Cit. In brief, we are the King of England's Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls : subjects: All preparation for a bloody siege For him, and in his right, we hold this town. And merciless proceeding, by these French, K. John. Acknowledge then the king, and let Confront your city's eyes, your winking gates; me in. And, but for our approach, those sleeping stones 1st Cit. That can we not: but he that proves That as a waist do girdle you about, the king By the compulsion of their ordnance To him will we prove loyal : till that time By this time from their fixéd beds of lime Have we rammed up our gates against the world. Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made K. John. Doth not the crown of England prove For bloody power to rush upon your peace. the king? But, on the sight of us, your lawful king, And if not that, I bring you witnesses, Who painfully, with much expedient march, Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed, Have brought a countercheck before your gates, Bast. Bastards and else. To save unscratched your city's threatened cheeks, K. John. To verify our title with their lives. Behold, the French, amazed, vouchsafe a parle: K. Phi. As many and as well-born bloods as And now, instead of bullets wrapped in fire, thoseTo make a shaking fever in your walls, Bast, Some bastards too. They shoot but calm words, folded up in smoke, i K. Phi. Stand in his face, to contradict his claim. To make a faithless error in your ears : 1st Cit. Till you compound whose right is Which trust accordingly, kind citizens, worthiest, And let us in, your king; whose laboured spirits, We, for the worthiest, hold the right from both. Forwearied in this action of swift speed, K. John. Then God forgive the sin of all those Crave barbourage within your city walls. souls K. Phi. When I have said, make answer to us That to their everlasting residence, both. Before the dew of evening fall, shall fleet, Lo, in this right hand, whose protection In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king! Is most divinely vowed upon the right K. Phi. Amen, amen !-Mount, chevaliers : Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet; to arms! |