Blanch. Now shall I see thy love: what motive may

Be stronger with thee than the name of wife? Const. That which upholdeth him that thee upholds, 315 His honour: O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour! Lew. I muse your majesty doth seem so cold,

When such profound respects do pull you on.

Pand. I will denounce a curse upon his head.

K. Phi. Thou shalt not need. England, I will fall from

thee.

Const. O fair return of banish'd majesty!

Eli. O foul revolt of French inconstancy!

320

K. John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour.
Bast. Old Time the clock-setter, that bald sexton Time,
Is it as he will? well then, France shall rue. 325
Blanch. The sun's o'ercast with blood: fair day, adieu!
Which is the side that I must go withal?

I am with both: each army hath a hand;
And in their rage, I having hold of both,

foreordained.
III. iv. 171 :—
"Fore-thinking this, I have already
fit-

Compare Cymbeline,

'Tis in my cloak bag-doublet, hat, hose Cotgrave has "premedité: premeditated, forethought of."

317. I muse] I marvel. Compare Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1. iii. 64: "Muse not that I thus suddenly proceed."

318. respects] considerations. See Hamlet, III. i. 68:

"There's the respect That makes calamity of so long life";

and compare v. iv. 41 infra.

319. denounce] merely equivalent to our "proclaim"; it contains of

course no idea of impeachment or

accusation.

320. fall from thee] leave your party. Mr. Wright quotes Heywood, 2 Edward IV. i. 6:— "If he will recant

And fall from Lewis again." 322. French inconstancy] Compare a curious passage in Gosson's Schoole of Abuse (ed. Arber, p. 34): "We have robbed Greece of gluttonie, Italy of wantonnesse, Spaine of pride, Fraunce of deceite, and Dutchland of quaffing."

324, 325. Old Time . . . shall rue] The Bastard remarks after John's threat, "If it's merely a matter of time France shall rue." This lacks the usual salt of the Bastard's speeches, and the text has been suspected.

They whirl asunder and dismember me.

Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win;
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose;
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine;
Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive :
Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose;

Assured loss before the match be play'd.

330

335

Lew. Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies.
Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my life dies.
K. John. Cousin, go draw our puissance together.

[Exit Bastard.

France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath;
A rage whose heat hath this condition,
That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,

The blood, and dearest-valued blood, of France.

340

K. Phi. Thy rage shall burn thee up, and thou shalt turn To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire: 345 Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy.

K. John. No more than he that threats. To arms let's

Alarums, excursions. Enter the BASTARD, with AUSTRIA'S

head.

Bast. Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous hot;

Some airy devil hovers in the sky,

And pours down mischief. Austria's head lie there,
While Philip breathes.

Enter KING JOHN, ARTHUR, and HUBERT.

K. John. Hubert, keep this boy. Philip, make up:
My mother is assailed in our tent,
And ta'en, I fear.

My lord, I rescued her;
Her highness is in safety, fear you not:
But on, my liege; for very little pains
Will bring this labour to an happy end.

SCENE III.-The same.

Alarums, excursions, retreat. Enter KING JOHN, ELINOR, ARTHUR, the BASTARD, HUBERT, and Lords.

K. John. [To Elinor.] So shall it be; your grace shall stay behind

So strongly guarded. [To Arthur.] Cousin, look not sad:

Thy grandam loves thee; and thy uncle will

As dear be to thee as thy father was.

Arth. O, this will make my mother die with grief!

5

K. John. [To the Bastard.] Cousin, away for England!

haste before:

And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags

Of hoarding abbots; imprisoned angels

Set at liberty: the fat ribs of peace

Must by the hungry now be fed upon:
Use our commission in his utmost force.

Bast. Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back,
When gold and silver becks me to come on.
I leave your highness. Grandam, I will pray,
If ever I remember to be holy,

For your fair safety; so, I kiss your hand.

2. So] Lettsom's conjecture, adopted by Hudson, of "More" for "So" seems very plausible. The printer's error can be explained by his eye having caught the "So" of the previous line-a common failing among printers.

8, 9. imprisoned . . . liberty] The want of rhythm in these lines has led to emendation. Sidney Walker's

proposed transposition, printed by Grant White, is the least violent way out of the difficulty, if real difficulty there be. He would read "set at liberty, Imprisoned angels."

12. Bell, book, and candle] The "properties" necessary for the performance of the Catholic curse of excommunication; referred to in Kynge Johan.

Eli. Farewell, gentle cousin.

K. John.

Coz, farewell.

[Exit Bastard.

Eli. Come hither, little kinsman; hark, a word.
K. John. Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert,
We owe thee much! within this wall of flesh
There is a soul counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say,
But I will fit it with some better time.
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost ashamed
To say what good respect I have of thee.
Hub. I am much bounden to your majesty.

20

25

K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet, But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow, Yet it shall come for me to do thee good.

30

I had a thing to say, but let it go:

The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,

35

Is all too wanton and too full of gawds
To give me audience: if the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,

26. time] Pope; tune Ff.

22. advantage] Mr. Wright and Mr. Moore-Smith explain this as "interest." It is true that the line may be paraphrased "I mean to pay back thy love with interest," because our modern phrase "with interest" really means more than mere legally due interest. The word here and

"The

in 1 Henry IV. II. iv. 599,
money shall be paid back with ad-
vantage," means something thrown
into the bargain, more than one
can legally expect. See Cotgrave,
"Avantage: an advantage,
overplus, addition, eeking."
28. respect] opinion, esteem.