KING JOHN. r KING JOHN. PERSONS REPRESENTED. PRINCE HENRY, his son; afterwards King Henry III. WILLIAM I-ONGEWORD, Earl of Salisbury. HUBERT DE BURGH, chamberlain to the King. ROBERT FAULCONBRIDGE, son of sir Robert Faulconbridge. PHILIP FAULCONBRIDGE, his half-brother, bastard son to King Richard the First. JAMES GURNEY, servant to Lady Faulconbridge. LEWIS, the Dauphin. Cardinal PANDULPH, the Pope's isgate. CHATILLON, ambassador from France to King Johri. ELINOR, the widow of King Henry II., and mother of King John. CONSTANCE, mother to Arthur. BLANCH, daughter to Alphonso, King of Castile, and niece to King John. Lady FAULCONBRIDGE, mother to the Bastard axi Robert Faulconbridge. Lords, Ladies, Citizens of Angiers, Sheriff, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and other Attendants. SCENE,-sometimes in ENGLAND, and sometimes in FRANCE. ACT I. SCENE I. Northampton. A Room of State in the Palace. Enter KING JOHN, QUEEN ELINOR, PEMBROKE, ESSEX, SALISBURY, and others, with CHATILLON. King John. Now, say, Chatillon, what would France with us? Chat. Thus, after greeting, speaks the king of In my behaviour, to the majesty, Eli. A strange beginning; - borrow'd majesty! K. John. Silence, good mother; hear the embassy. Chat. Philip of France, in right and true behalf To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine: K. John. What follows, if we disallow of this? Chat. The proud controul of fierce and bloody war, To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld. K. John. Here have we war for war, and blood for blood, Controlment for controlment: so answer France. Chat. Then take my king's defiance from my mouth, The furthest limit of my embassy. K. John. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace : Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France; [Exeunt CHATILLON and PEMBROKK. K. John. Our strong possession, and our right. for us. This expedition's charge. What men are you? Rob. The son and heir to that same Faulconbridge. K. John. Is that the elder, and art thou the heir? You came not of one mother then, it seems. Bast. Most certain of one mother, mighty king, That is well known: and, as I think, one father: But, for the certain knowledge of that truth, I put you o'er to heaven, and to my mother; Of that I doubt, as all men's children may. Eli. Out on thee, rude man! thou dost shame thy mother, And wound her honour with this diffidence. Bast. I, madam? no, I have no reason for it; That is my brother's plea, and none of mine; The which if he can prove, 'a pops me out At least from fair five hundred pound a-year Heaven guard my mother's honour, and my land! K. John. A good blunt fellow : — Why, being younger born, Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance? Bast. I know not why, except to get the land. And were our father, and this son like him; - Τ give heaven thanks, I was not like to thee. Rob. And once despatch'd him in an embassy To Germany, there, with the emperor, To treat of high affairs touching that time: The advantage of his absence took the king, And in the mean time sojourn'd at my father's; Where how he did prevail, I shame to speak : But truth is truth; large lengths of seas and shores Between my father and my mother lay, (As I have heard my father speak himself,) When this same lusty gentleman was got. Upon his death-bed he by will bequeath'd His lands to me; and took it, on his death, That this, my mother's son, was none of his ; And, if he were, he came into the world Full fourteen weeks before the course of time. Then, good my liege, let me have what is mine, My father's land, as was my father's will. K. John. Sirrah, your brother is legitimate; This calf, bred from his cow, from all the world; - be a Faulcon Bast. Of no more force to dispossess me, sir, Bast. Madam, an if my brother had my shape, And, to his shape, were heir to all this land, I would not be sir Nob in any case. Eli. I like thee well; Wilt thou forsake thy for tune, K. John. Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent | Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me? us here! Eli. He hath a trick of Cœur-de-lion's face, The accent of his tongue affecteth him : K. John. Mine eye hath well examined his parts. I am a soldier, and now bound to France. chance : Your face hath got five hundred pounds a-year; Eli. Nay, I would have you go before me thither. Bast. Philip, my liege; so is my name begun ; Philip, good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son. K. John. From henceforth bear his name whose form thou bear'st: Kneel thou down Philip, but arise more great; Arise, sir Richard, and Plantagenet. Bast. Brother, by the mother's side, give me your hand; My father gave me honour, yours gave land: - Eli. The very spirit of Plantagenet!— Something about, a little from the right, In at the window, or else o'er the hatch; K. John. Go, Faulconbridge; now hast thou thy desire, A landless knight makes thee a landed 'squire. Come, madam, and come, Richard; we must speed For France, for France; for it is more than need. Bast. Brother, adieu; Good fortune come to thee! For thou was got i'the way of honesty. [Exeunt all but the Bastard. A foot of honour better than I was; But many a many foot of land the worse. Well, now can I make any Joan a lady : — Good den, sir Richard,- God-a-mercy, fellow : — And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter: For new-made honour doth forget men's names; 'Tis too respective, and too sociable, For your conversion. Now your traveller, He and his tooth-pick at my worship's mess; And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd, Why then I suck my teeth, and catechise My picked man of countries: (Thus, leaning on my elbow, I begin,) I shall beseech you That is question now; -- My dear sir, And then comes answer like an ABC-book : And so, ere answer knows what question would, It draws toward supper in conclusion so. And fits the mounting spirit, like myself: Lady F. Where is that slave, thy brocher? where is be? That holds in chase mine honour up and down? Lady F. Sir Robert's son! Ay, thou unreverend boy, Sir Robert's son: Why scorn'st thou at sir Robert? He is sir Robert's son; and so art thou, Bast. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave a while? Gur. Good leave, good Philip. Philip? - sparrow!· - James, There's toys abroad; anon I'll tell thee more. [Exit GURNEY. Madam, I was not old sir Robert's son ; To whom am I beholden for these limbs? Lady F. Hast thou conspired with thy brother too, That for thine own gain should'st defend mine honour? What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave? Bast. Knight, knight, good mother, - Basilisco like: What! I am dubb'd; I have it on my shoulder. I have disclaim'd sir Robert, and my land; Bast. As faithfully as I deny the devil. father: By long and vehement suit I was seduc'd 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, 'twas not. [Exeunt. SCENE I. ACT II. France. Before the Walls of Angiers. Enter on one side, the ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA, and Forces; on the other, PHILIP, King of France, and Forces; LEWIS, CONSTANCE, ARTHUR, and Attendants. Lew. Before Angiers well met, brave Austria. By this brave duke caine early to his grave: Of thy unnatural uncle, English John; Aust. Upon thy cheek lay I tnis zealous kiss, Const. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength, In such a just and charitable war. K. Phi. Well then, to work; our cannon shall be bent Against the brows of this resisting town. Const. Stay for an answer to your embassy, Chat. Then turn your forces from this plty siege, England, impatient of your just demands, And stir them up against a migh'ier task. Hath put himself in arms; the adverse winds, Whose leisure I have staid, have given him time To land his legions all as soon as I : His marches are expedient to this town, His forces strong, his soldiers confident. With him along is come the mother-queen, An Até, stirring him to blood and strife; With her her niece, the lady Blanch of Spain · With them a bastard of the king deceased: And all the unsettled humours of the land, Rash, inconsiderate, fiery, voluntaries With ladies' faces, and fierce dragons' spleens, Have sold their fortunes at their native homes, Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs, To make a hazard of new fortunes here. In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits, Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er, Did never float upon the swelling tide, To do offence and scath in Christendom. The interruption of their churlish drums [Drums beat. Cuts off more circumstance: they are at hand, Aust. By how much unexpected, by so much K. John. Peace be to France; if France in peace permit Our just and lineal entrance to our own! If not; bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven ! K. Phi. Peace be to England; if that war return 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 from loving England art so far, That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king, Cut off the sequence of posterity, Outfaced 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 call'd a king, When living blood doth in these temples beat, Which owe the crown that thou o'er-masterest? K. John. From whom hast thou this great com mission, France. To draw my answer from thy articles? K. Fri. From at super il judge, its good | Ay, wit these crystal beads heaven shall be brib'd thoughts In any breast of strong authority, To look into the bluts and stains of right. Than thou and John in manners; being as like, 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. Const. There's a good grandam, boy, that would blot thee. Aust. Peace! Bast. Aust. Hear the crier. What the devil art thou? Bast. One that will play the devil, sir, with you, An 'a may catch your hide and you alone. You are the hare of whom the proverb goes, Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard; I'll smoke your skin-coat, an I catch you right; Sirrah, look to't; i'faith, I will, i'faith. Blanch. O, well did he become that lion's robe, That did disrobe the lion of that robe! Bust. It lies as sightly on the back of him, 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 conference. To do hin justice, and revenge on you. Eli. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and earth! Const. ou monstrous injurer of heaven and earth! Call not me slanderer; thou, and thine, usurp Of this oppressed boy: This is thy eldest son's son, Thy sins are visited in this poor child; I have but this to say, — That he's not only plagued for her sin, Her injury, the beadle to her sin; Const. Ay, who doubts that? a will! a wicked will; A woman's will; a canker'd grandam's will! rate : It ill beseems this presence, to cry aim Some trumpet summon hither to the walls K. John. England, for itself: Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle. Therefore, har us first. And merciless proceeding by these French, |