Find liable to our crown and dignity,

Shall gild her bridal bed; and make her rich
In titles, honours, and promotions,

As she in beauty, education, blood,

Holds hand with any princess of the world.

K. Phi. What say'st thou, boy? look in the lady's face. Lou. I do, my lord; and in her eye I find

A wonder, or a wonderous miracle,

The shadow of myself form'd in her eye;

Which, being but the shadow of your son,

Becomes a sun, and makes your son a shadow:
I do protest I never loved myself,

Till now infixèd I beheld myself

Drawn in the flattering table 54 of her eye.

[Whispers with BLANCH.

Bast. [Aside.] Drawn in the flattering table of her eye! Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow!

And quarter'd in her heart! he doth espy
Himself love's traitor: this is pity now,

That, hang'd and drawn and quarter'd, there should be
In such a love so vile a lout as he.

Blanch. My uncle's will in this respect is mine:

If he see aught in you that makes him like,
That any thing he sees, which moves his liking,
I can with ease translate it to my will;
Or if you will, to speak more properly,
I will enforce it easily to my love.
Further I will not flatter you, my lord,
That all I see in you is worthy love,
Than this, that nothing do I see in you,

54 Table for the board or canvas on which a picture is made.

Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your

judge,

That I can find should merit any hate.

K. John. What say these young ones? my niece?

What say you,

Blanch. That she is bound in honour still to do

What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say.

K. John. Speak, then, Prince Dauphin; can you love this lady?

Lou. Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love;

For I do love her most unfeignedly.

K. John. Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine, Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces, With her to thee; and this addition more, Full thirty thousand marks of English coin. Philip of France, if thou be pleased withal, Command thy son and daughter to join hands.

K. Phi. It likes 55 us well.-Young Princes, close your hands.

Aust. And your lips too; for I am well assured
That I did so when I was first affied.56

K. Phi. Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates,
Let in that amity which you have made;
For at Saint Mary's chapel presently
The rites of marriage shall be solemnized.-
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop?
I know she is not; for this match made up
Her presence would have interrupted much :
Where is she and her son? tell me, who knows.

55 Likes was continually used thus, in all sorts of writing, for suits or pleases.

56 Affied is betrothed or affianced.

Lou. She's sad and passionate 57 at your Highness' tent. K. Phi. And, by my faith, this league that we have made Will give her sadness very little cure.—

Brother of England, how may we content

This widow'd lady? In her right we came;
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way,

To our own vantage.

K. John.

We will heal up all;

For we'll create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne
And Earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town
We make him lord of. -Call the Lady Constance;
Some speedy messenger bid her repair

To our solemnity:-I trust we shall,
If not fill up the measure of her will,
Yet in some measure satisfy her so
That we shall stop her exclamation.
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us,
To this unlook'd-for, unprepared pomp.

[Exeunt all but the Bastard. The Citizens
retire from the walls.

Bast. Mad world! mad kings! mad composition !

John, to stop Authur's title in the whole,

Hath willingly departed 58 with a part;

And France,—whose armour conscience buckled on,
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field

As God's own soldier,-rounded 59 in the ear

57 Passionate here means perturbed or agitated. So in The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York, 1600: "Tell me, good madam, why is your Grace so passionate of late?"

58 Departed in the sense of parted, the two being formerly synonymous. 59 To round, or rown, was sometimes used for to whisper. So in The Examination of William Thorpe, 1407: "And the archbishop called then

With that same purpose-changer, that sly devil;
That broker,60 that still 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 maid of that;
That smooth-faced gentleman, tickling commodity,61
Commodity, the bias of the world;

The world, who of itself is peisèd 62 well,
Made to run even upon even ground,
Till this advantage, this vile-drawing bias,
This sway of motion, this commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,63
From all direction, purpose, course, intent:
And this same bias, this commodity,

This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapp'd on the outward eye 64 of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determined aim,
From a resolved and honourable war,

To a most base and vile-concluded peace.

to him a clerke, and rowned with him: and that clerke went forth, and soone brought in the constable of Saltwood castle, and the archbishop rowned a good while with him." See, also, The Winter's Tale, page 50, note 31.

60 A broker was properly a pander or pimp; hence, sometimes, as here, a dissembler or cheat.

61 Commodity here is advantage, profit, or interest. So, in 2 Henry IV., i. 2, Falstaff says, "A good wit will make use of any thing: I will turn diseases to commodity."

62 Peisèd is balanced or poised. To peise is, properly, to weigh.

63 Indifferency in the sense of impartiality. The world, swayed by interest, is compared to a biassed bowl, which is deflected from an impartial course by the load in one side.

64 The allusion to the game of bowls is still kept up. Staunton says, "The aperture on one side which contains the bias or weight that inclines the bowl, in running, from the direct course, was sometimes called the eye."

And why rail I on this commodity?

But for because he hath not woo'd me yet:
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels 65 would salute my palm;
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail,
And say, There is no sin but to be rich :
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say, There is no vice but beggary :
Since kings break faith upon commodity,

Gain, be my lord,—for I will worship thee!

[Exit.

ACT III.

SCENE I. - France. The French King's Tent.

Enter CONSTANCE, ARTHUR, and SALISBURY.

Const. Gone to be married! gone to swear a peace! False blood to false blood join'd! gone to be friends ! Shall Louis have Blanch? and Blanch those provinces? It is not so; thou hast misspoke, misheard;

Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again :

It cannot be; thou dost but say 'tis so:
I trust I may not trust thee; for thy word
Is but the vain breath of a common man :

65 Angel was the name of a gold coin. See Merchant, page 124, note 7. The sense of the passage is, "I rail at bribery, not because I have the virtue to keep my hand closed when a bribe tempts me to open it, but because I am as yet untempted."