And tame the savage spirit of wild war ;
That, like a lion foster'd up at hand,

It may lie gently at the foot of peace,
And be no further harmful than in show.

Lew. Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back; I am too high-born to be propertied,

To be a secondary at control,

Or useful serving-man, and instrument

To any sovereign state throughout the world.
Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars
Between this chástis'd kingdom and myself,
And brought in matter that should feed this fire;
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
With that same weak wind which enkindled it.
You taught me how to know the face of right,
Acquainted me with interest to this land,
Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart;
And come you now to tell me, John hath made
His peace with Rome? What is that peace to me?
I, by the honour of my marriage-bed,

After young Arthur, claim this land for mine;
And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back,

Because that John hath made his peace with Rome?
Am I Rome's slave? What penny hath Rome borne,
What men provided, what munition sent,

To underprop this action? is't not I,

That undergo this charge? who else but I,
And such as to my claim are liable,
Sweat in this business, and maintain this war?
Have I not heard these islanders shout out,
Vive le roy! as I have bank'd their towns?
Have I not here the best cards for the game,
To win this easy match play'd for a crown?
And shall I now give o'er the yielded set?
No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said.

Pand. You look but on the outside of this work.
Lew. Outside, or inside, I will not return

Till my attempt so much be glorified

t

· bank'd their towns?] This may either mean cast up intrenchments before them, or sailed past the banks of the rivers on which they stood..

As to my ample hope was promised
Before I drew this gallant head of war,"
And cull'd these fiery spirits from the world,
To outlook conquest, and to win renown
Even in the jaws of danger and of death.-

[Trumpet sounds.

What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us?

Enter the Bastard, attended.

Bast. According to the fair play of the world,
Let me have audience: I am sent to speak :-
My holy lord of Milan, from the king

I come, to learn how you have dealt for him;
And, as you answer, I do know the scope
And warrant limited unto my tongue.

Pan. The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite,
And will not temporize with my entreaties;
He flatly says, he'll not lay down his arms.

Bast. By all the blood that ever fury breath'd,
The youth says well :-Now hear our English king;
For thus his royalty doth speak in me.
He is prepar'd; and reason too, he should:
This apish and unmannerly approach,

This harness'd masque, and unadvised revel,
This unhair'd sauciness, and boyish troops,
The king doth smile at; and is well prepar❜d
To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms,
From out the circle of his territories.

That hand, which had the strength, even at your door,
To cudgel you, and make you take the hatch;

To dive, like buckets, in concealed wells ;*
To crouch in litter of your stable planks;

To lie, like pawns, lock'd up in chests and trunks;
To hug with swine; to seek sweet safety out
In vaults and prisons; and to thrill, and shake,

y

drew this gallant head of war,] i. e. Drew it out into the field.
outlook- i. e. Bear down by shew of magnanimity.

- take the hatch;] i. e. Leap the hatch. To take a hedge or a ditch, is the hunter's phrase.-STEEVENS.

in concealed wells;] Concealed wells, are wells in concealed or obscure situations; viz. in places secured from public notice.-STEEVENS.

Even at the crying of your nation's crow,"
Thinking his voice an armed Englishman ;-
Shall that victorious hand be feebled here,
That in your chambers gave you chastisement?
No: Know, the gallant monarch is in arms;
And like an eagle o'er his aiery towers,b
To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.-
And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts,
You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb
Of your dear mother England, blush for shame :
For your own ladies, and pale-visag'd maids,
Like Amazons, come tripping after drums;
Their thimbles into arm'd gauntlets change,
Their neelds to lances, and their gentle hearts

To fierce and bloody inclination.

Lew. There end thy brave and turn thy face in peace; We grant, thou canst outscold us: fare thee well;

We hold our time too precious to be spent

With such a brabbler.

Pand.

Give me leave to speak.

We will attend to neither :

Bast. No, I will speak.

Lew.

Strike up the drums; and let the tongue of war

Plead for our interest, and our being here.

Bast. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will cry out: And so shall you, being beaten: Do but start

An echo with the clamour of thy drum,
And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd,
That shall reverberate all as loud as thine;
Sound but another, and another shall,

As loud as thine, rattle the welkin's ear,
And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder: for at hand
(Not trusting to this halting legate here,
Whom he hath us'd rather for sport than need,)

Is warlike John; and in his forehead sits

A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day

To feast upon whole thousands of the French.

a

of your nations crow,] i. e. At the crowing of a cock; gallus meaning both a cock and a Frenchman.-DOUCE.

Lew. Strike up our drums, to find this danger out. Bast. And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not doubt.

SCENE III.

The same. A Field of Battle.

[Exeunt.

Alarums. Enter King JOHN and HUBERT.

K. John. How goes the day with us? O, tell me, Hubert.

Hub. Badly, I fear: How fares your majesty?

K. John. This fever, that hath troubled me so long, Lies heavy on me; O, my heart is sick!

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulconbridge, Desires your majesty to leave the field;

And send him word by me, which way you go.

K. John. Tell him, toward Swinstead,d to the abbey there.

Mess. Be of good comfort: for the great supply,
That was expected by the Dauphin here,
Are wreck'd three nights ago on Goodwin sands.
This news was brought to Richarde but even now:
The French fight coldly, and retire themselves.

K. John. Ah me! this tyrant fever burns me up,
And will not let me welcome this good news.-
Set on toward Swinstead: to my litter straight;
Weakness possesseth me, and I am faint.

SCENE IV.

The same. Another part of the same.

[Exeunt.

Enter SALISBURY, PEMBROKE, BIGOT, and Others. Sal. I did not think the king so stor❜d with friends. Pem. Up once again; put spirit in the French: If they miscarry, we miscarry too.

e

Swinstead,] i. e. Swineshead.

Richard-] Sir Richard Faulconbridge;-and yet the king, a little béfore, (act iii. sc. 2.) calls him by his original name of Philip.-STEEVENS.

Sal. That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge, In spite of spite, alone upholds the day.

Pem. They say, king John, sore sick, hath left the field.

Enter MELUN wounded, and led by Soldiers.

Mel. Lead me to the revolts of England here.
Sal. When we were happy, we had other names.
Pem. It is the count Melun.

Sal.

Wounded to death.

Mel. Fly, noble English, you are bought and sold;
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion,{

And welcome home again discarded faith,
Seek out king John, and fall before his feet;
For, if the French be lords of this loud day,
He means to recompense the pains you take,
By cutting off your heads: Thus hath he sworn,
And I with him, and many more with me,
Upon the altar of Saint Edmund's-Bury;
Even on that altar, where we swore to you
Dear amity and everlasting love.

Sal. May this be possible? may this be true?
Mel. Have I not hideous death within
my view,
Retaining but a quantity of life;

Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire ?h

What in the world should make me now deceive,
Since I must lose the use of all deceit?

Why should I then be false: since it is true
That I must die here, and live hence by truth?

I say again, if Lewis do win the day,

He is forsworn, if e'er those eyes of yours

Behold another day break in the east:

But even this night,-whose black contagious breath

f Unthread the rude eye of rebellion,] This metaphor is mean enough, but sufficiently intelligible. Rebellion is considered, as a needle, which has been threaded for use; the nobles are desired to unthread its eye, and cast it aside. 8 He-] e. Lewis.

Resolveth, &c.] This is said in allusion to the images made by witches. Holinshed observes, that it was alleged against dame Eleanor Cobham and ber confederates, "that they had devised an image of wax, representing the king, which, by their sorcerie, by little and little consumed, intending thereby, in conclusion, to waste and destroy the king's person."- STEEVENS.