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Set armed, difcord 'twixt these perjur'd Kings.
Hear me, oh, hear me!

Auft. Lady Conftance, peace.

Conft. War, war, no peace; peace is to me a war: O Lymoges, O Auftria! thou doft shame

That bloody Spoil: thou flave,thou wretch, thou coward,
Thou little valiant, great in villany!

Thou ever ftrong upon the ftronger fide;
Thou Fortune's Champion, that doft never fight
But when her humourous ladyship is by
To teach thee fafety! thou art perjur'd too,
And footh'ft up Greatnefs. What a fool art thou,
A ramping fool, to brag, to ftamp, and swear,
Upon my Party; thou cold-blooded flave,
Haft thou not spoke like thunder on my fide?
Been fworn my foldier, bidding me depend
Upon thy ftars, thy fortune, and thy ftrength?
And doft thou now fall over to my foes?
Thou wear a Lion's hide! doff it for fhame,
And hang a calve's-skin on those recreant limbs.
Auft. O, that a man would speak thofe words to me!
Faulc. And hang a calve's-skin on those recreant limbs.
Auft. Thou dar'ft not fay fo, villain, for thy life.
Faulc. And hang a calve's-skin on thofe recreant limbs.
Auft. Methinks, that Richard's Pride and Richard's
Fall (14)

Should

(14) Aut. Methinks, that Richard's Pride and Richard's Fall] Thefe 12 fubfequent Lines Mr. Pope first inferted from the Old Sketch of this Play, call'd, The troublefom Reign of K. John, in 2 Parts. As the Verses are not bad, I have not cafheer'd them; tho' I do not conceive them fo abfolutely effential to clearing up any Circumftance of the Action, as Mr. Pope feems to imagine. What was the Ground of this Quarrel of the Baftard to Auftria (lays that Gentleman,) is no where specified in the prefent Play; nor is there in this Place, or the Scene where it is firft hinted at, (namely, the 2d of Act 2) the least Mention of any Reafon for it. This is the Editor's Affertion; but let us examine, how well it is grounded. In the very Beginning of the 2d Act, the Dauphin, speaking of Auftria to young Arthur, fays;

Richard, that robb'd the Lyon of his heart,
And fought the holy Wars in Palestine,
By this brave Duke came early to his Grave,

Το

Should be a precedent to fright you, Sir.

Faulc. What words are these? how do my finews

shake!

My Father's foe clad in my

father's Spoil!

How doth Alecto whisper in my ears,

"Delay not, Richard, kill the villain ftrait; "Difrobe him of the matchless monument,

To which Arthur replies;

God fhall forgive you Coeur-de-lion's Death,

The rather, that you give his Offspring Life;

Is not this a fufficient Ground for Faulconbridge's Quarrel to Auftria? It may be objected, Faulconbridge is not prefent to hear this. But, what if he be not? So the Audience be inform'd duely of the Circumftance, the Fact was too notorious to fuppofe Faulconbridge did not know of it. The Ground of his Quarrel, therefore, is fairly implied in that Knowledge: And the Poet's Art, perhaps, better fhewn, (if we were to contend that Point,) to let the Information come from any other Mouth than That of Faulconbridge. But then to a fecond material Point. The Story is, (fubjoins the Editor,) that Auftria, who kill'd K. Richard Coeur-de-lion, wore, as the Spoil of that Prince, a Lion's Hide which had belong'd to him: This Circumftance renders the Anger of the Baftard very natural: and ought not to have been omitted. But is it omitted? Or, elfe, 'tis but begging the Queftion. In the 3d Act, when Lady Conftance perceives that Auftria has abandon'd her Intereft, She fays to him;

O Lymoges! O Auftria! thou doft fhame

That bloody Spoil.

Thou wear a Lion's hide! doff it, for shame;

And hang a Calf's Skin on thofe recreant Limbs.

Now Faulconbridge is prefent here, and fees Auftria thus habited. But before, in the 2d Act, where Faulconbridge begins to quarrel with Auftria, let us attend to their Dialogue.

Auft. What the Devil art Thou?

Faulc. One, that will play the Devil, Sir, with you,
An' he may catch your Hide and You alone,

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You are the Hare, of whom the Proverb goes,
Whofe Valour plucks dead Lions by the Beard,

I'll fmoak your Skin-Coat, an' I catch you right;

But may it not here again be objected, that though Faulconbridge faw Auftria clad in a Lion's Hide; yet he might not know it to be the very Hide, which was worn by K. Richard his Father? But to put that Point out of all Doubt, let us only hear what Lady Blanch immediately replies;

O, well did He become that Lion's Hide,
That did difrobe the Lion of that Robe.

I fubmit it therefore, whether thefe Lines have not been inferted, ra-
ther arbitrarily, than neceffarily. Upon the whole, as Mr. Pope has gene-
rally been unfortunate in his Criticifms; fo he is no lefs unhappy in his
Diligence, when he would aim at giving a Reafon for what he does.
"Thy

"Thy father's triumph o'er the favages.
Now by his foul I fwear, my father's foul,
Twice will I not review the Morning's Rife,
Till I have torn that Trophy from thy back;
And split thy heart, for wearing it so long.

K. Jobn. We like not this, thou doft forget thy felf,
Enter Pandulph.

K. Philip. Here comes the holy Legate of the Pope.
Pand. Hail, you anointed Deputies of heav'n!
To thee, King John, my holy Errand is;

I Pandulph, of fair Milain Cardinal,

And from Pope Innocent the Legate here,

Do in his name religioufly demand

Why thou against the Church, our holy Mother,
So wilfully doft fpurn, and force perforce
Keep Stephen Langton, chofen Archbishop
Of Canterbury, from that holy See?
This in our forefaid holy Father's name,
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.

K. John. What earthly name to Interrogatories
Can task the free breath of a facred King?
Thou canst not, Cardinal, devife a name
So flight, unworthy, and ridiculous,

To charge me to an Anfwer, as the Pope.

Tell him this Tale, and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more, that no Italian Prieft
Shall tithe or toll in our Dominions:
But as we under Heav'n are fupreme Head,
So, under Him, that great Supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold;
Without th'affiftance of a mortal hand.
So tell the Pope, all Rev'rence fet apart
To him and his ufurp'd Authority.

K. Philip. Brother of England, you blafpheme in this, K. John. Tho' you, and all the Kings of Chriftendom Are led fo grofly by this medling Prieft,

Dreading the Curfe, that mony may buy out;
And by the merit of vile gold, drofs, duft,

Purchase corrupted Pardon of a man,

Who

Who in that fale fells Pardon from himself:
Tho' you, and all the reft, fo grofly led,
This jugling witch-craft with revenue cherish;
Yet I alone, alone, do me oppofe

Against the Pope, and count his friends my foes.
Pand. Then by the lawful Power that I have
Thou shalt ftand curft, and excommunicate;
And bleffed fhall he be, that doth revolt
From his allegiance to an heretick;
And meritorious fhall that hand be call'd,
Canonized and worshipp'd as a Saint,
That takes away by any fecret courfe
Thy hateful life.

Conft. O, lawful let it be, (15)

That I have room with Rome to curfe a while.
Good father Cardinal, cry thou, Amen,

To my keen Curfes; for without my Wrong
There is no tongue hath pow'r to curfe him right.
Pand. There's law, and warrant, lady, for my curfe.
Conft. And for mine too; when law can do no right
Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong:

Law cannot give my Child his Kingdom here;
For he, that holds his Kingdom, holds the law;
Therefore fince law it felf is perfect wrong,
How can the law forbid my tongue to curfe?
Pand. Philip of France, on peril of a Curfe,
Let
go the hand of that Arch-heretick;
And raise the Pow'r of France upon his head,
Unless he do fubmit himself to Rome.

Eli. Look'ft thou pale, France? do not let go thy
hand.

(15) O, lawful let it be,

That I have leave with Rome to curfe a while;] Mr. Pope, in the Nicety of his Ear, has, against the Authority of all the Copies, difplaced a Jingle here; (which I have made bold to reftore to the Text,) tho' it is obvious to every knowing Reader, how customary it is with our Poet, in a thousand Inftances, to play on Words fimilar in Sound, and differing in Signification. He repeats the very fame Conundrum on the two Words now before Us, in Julius Cæfar.

Now is it Rome, indeed; and room enough,
When there is in it but One only Man.

Conft.

Conft. Look to that, Devil! left that France repent, And, by disjoining hands, hell lofe a foul.

Auft. King Philip, liften to the Cardinal.

Faulc. And hang a calve's-skin on his recreant limbs. Auft. Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs, Becaufe

Faulc. Your breeches beft may carry them.

K. John. Philip, what fay'ft thou to the Cardinal?
Conft. What should he fay, but as the Cardinal?
Lewis. Bethink you, father; for the difference
Is purchase of a heavy Curfe from Rome,

Or the light lofs of England for a friend;
Forgo the eafier.

Blanch. That's the Curse of Rome.

Conft. Lewis, ftand fast; the Devil tempts thee here (16)

In likeness of a new and trimmed bride.

Blanch. The lady Conftance speaks not from her faith: But from her Need.

Conft. Oh, if thou grant my Need,

Which only lives but by the death of Faith,
That Need muft needs infer this principle,
That Faith would live again by death of Need:
O, then tread down my Need, and Faith mounts up;
Keep my Need up, and Faith is trodden down.

K. John. The King is mov'd, and answers not to This.
Conft. O, be remov'd from him, and answer well.
Auft. Do fo, King Philip; hang no more in Doubt.

the Devil tempts thee here

A

(16) In Likeness of a new untrimmed Bride.] Tho' all the Copies concur in this Reading, yet as untrimmed cannot bear any Signification to fquare with the Senfe required, I cannot help thinking it a corrupted Reading. It might, indeed, admit of this Explanation, undress'd, ready to go to Bed: but then That is giving in to an Allufion too grofs for Lady Conftance. I have ventur'd to throw out the Negative, and read;

In Likeness of a new and trimmed Bride.

i. e. of a new Bride; and One, deck'd and adorn'd as well by Art as Nature. Or we might read; but it departs a little wider from the Traces of the Text as we find it;

In Likeness of a new betrimmed Bride.

But the firft Conjecture anfwers the Senfe and Purpose of the Speaker; and requires but a very flight Variation.

Faulc.

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