For Grief is proud, and makes his owner ftoop.
To me, and to the ftate of my great grief,
Let Kings affemble: for my grief's fo great,
That no fupporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up: Here I and Sorrow fit:
Here is my throne, bid Kings come bow to it (13).
[Sits down on the Floor.

(13) -bid Kings come bow to it.] I muft here account for the liberty I have taken to make a change in the divifion of the second and third acts. In the old editions, the fecond act was made to end here; tho 'tis evident, Lady Conftance here, in her defpair, feats her felf on the floor: and the muft be fuppofed, as I formerly obferv'd, immediately to rife again, only to go off and end the a decently; or the flat fcene muft fhut her in from the fight of the Audience, an abfurdity I cannot wish to accufe Shakespeare of. Mr. Gildon and fome other criticks fancied, that a confiderable part of the second act was loft; and that the chaẩm began here. I had joined in this fufpicion of a scene or two being loft; and unwittingly drew Mr. Pope into this error. "It feems to be fo, fays he, and it were to be wished the reftores " (meaning me,) could fupply it." To deferve this great man's thanks, I'll venture at the task; and hope to convince my readers, that nothing is loft; but that I have fupplied the fufpected chaẩm, only by rectifying the divifion of the as. Upon looking a little more narrowly into the conflitution of the play, I am satisfied that the third a& ought to begin with that scene, which has hitherto been accounted the laft of the second act: and my reasons for it are these. The match being concluded, in the fcene before that, betwixt the Dauphin and Blanch, a meffenger is fent for Lady Conftance to King Philip's tent, for her to come to St. Mary's church to the folemnity. The Princes all go out, as to the marriage; and the baftard, staying a little behind, to descant on intereft and commodity, very properly ends the act. The next fcene then, in the French King's tent, brings us Salisbury delivering his meffage to Conftance, who, refufing to go to the folemnity, fets herfelf down on the floor. The whole train returning from the church to the French King's pavilion, Philip expreffes fuch fatisfaction on occafion of the happy folemnity of that day; that Conftance rifes from the floor, and joins in the fcene by entering her proteft against their joy, and curfing the bufinefs of the day. Thus, I conceive, the scenes are fairly continued; and there is no chaẩm in the action; but a proper interval made both for Salisbury's coming to Lady Conftance, and for the folemnization of the marriage. Befides, as Faulconbridge is evidently the Poet's favourite character; 'twas very well judg'd to close the ad with his foliloquy.

Enter

Enter King John, King Philip, Lewis, Blanch, Elinor, Faulconbridge, and Auftria.

K. Philip. 'Tis true, fair daughter; and this blessed day
Ever in France fhall be kept feftival:
To folemnize this day, the glorious Sun
Stays in his course, and plays the Alchymift;
Turning with fplendour of his precious eye
The meagre cloddy earth to glitt'ring gold.
The yearly courfe, that brings this day about,
Shall never fee it, but a holy-day.

Conf. A wicked day, and not an holy-day.-Rifing.
What hath this day deferv'd? what hath it done,
That it in golden letters fhould be fet
Among the high tides in the kalendar
Nay, rather turn this day out of the week,
This day of fhame, oppreflion, perjury:
Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child
Pray, that their burdens may not fall this day,
Left that their hopes prodigiously be croft:
But, on this day, let feamen fear no wreck;
No bargains break, that are not this day made;
This day, all things begun come to ill end,
Yea, faith itself to hollow falfhood change!:

K. Philip. By heaven, Lady, you fhall have no caufe
To curfe the fair proceedings of this day:
Have I not pawn'd to you my Majefty

Conft. You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit
Refembling Majefty, which, touch'd and try'd,
Proves valueless: you are forfworn, forfworn.
You came in arms to fpill my enemies blood,
But now in arms, you ftrengthen it with yours.
The grapling vigour, and rough frown of war,
Is cold in amity and painted peace,.

And our oppreffion hath made up this league::
Arm, arm, ye Heav'ns, against these perjur'd Kings:
A widow cries, be hufband to me, Heav'n!
Let not the hours of this ungodly day
Wear cut the day in peace; but ere Sun-fet,

Set

Set armed difcord 'twixt thefe 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 villainy !

Thou ever ftrong upon the ftronger fide;
Thou Fortune's champion, that doft never fight
But when her humorous Lady fhip 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 fwear,
Upon my party; thou cold-blooded flave,
Haft thou not fpoke 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 those words to me!
Faule. And hang a calve's fkin on thofe 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 be a precedent to fright you, Sir.

Faulc.

(14) Auft. Methinks, that Richard's pride and Richard's fall] Thefe 12 fubfequent lines Mr. Pope fiift inferted from the old fketch of this play, call'd, The troublefume Reign of King John, in Two Parts. As the Verfes 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 (fays that Gentleman) is no where specified in the prefent play; nor is there in this place, or the fcene where it is firft binted at, (namely, the ad of Act 2) the leaft mention of any reafon for it. This is the Editor's affertion; but let us examine, how well it is grounded. In the very

Faule. What words are thefe ? how do my finews shake! My father's foe clad in my father's spoil!

How

beginning of the 2d a&, the Dauphin, speaking of Auftria to young Artbur, fays;

Richard, that robb'd the lion of bis heart,
And fought the holy wars in Palestine;
By this brave Duke came early to bis grave.
To which Arthur replies;

God fhall forgive you Coeur-de-lion's Death,
The rather, that you give bis 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 duly of the cir-
cumftance, 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 King Richard Coeur-de-lion, wore, as the fpcil of
that Prince, a lion's bide which had belonged to bim: This circumftance
renders the anger of the Baftard very natural: and ought not to bave
been omitted. But is it omitted? Or, elfe, 'tis but begging the
queftion. In the 3d act, when Lady Conftance perceives that Aufirie
has abandoned her intereft, fhe fays to him;

O Lymoges! O Auftria! thou doft fhame

That bloody fpoil.

Thou wear a lion's hide! doff it, for fhame;

And bang a calf's fkin on those recreant limbs.

Now Faulconbridge is prefent here, and fees Austria 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' be may catch your hide and you alone.
You are the bare, 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 King Richard his father? But to put that point out of all doubt, let us only hear what Lady Blanch imme. diately replies;

O, well did he become that lion's hide,
That did difrobe the lion of that rabe.

How doth Alecto whisper in mine ears,
"Delay not, Richard, kill the villain ftrait;
"Difrobe him of the matchlefs monument,
"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 fo long.
K. John. We like not this, thou doft forget thyself.

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 religiously demand

Why thou against the church, our holy mother,
So wilfully doft fpurn, and force perforce
Keep Stephen Langton, chofen archbishop
Of Canturbury, 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, devise 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 priest

Shall tithe or toll in our dominions :
But as we under heav'n are fupreme head,
So, under him, that great fupremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold;

I fubmit it therefore, whether thefe lines have not been inferted,
rather arbitrarily, than neceffarily. Upon the whole, as Mr. Pope
has generally been unfortunate in his criticifs; fo he is no less un
happy in his diligence, when he would aim at giving a reason for
what he does.

Without