And for amends to his posterity, * At our importance hither is he come, Of thy unnatural uncle, English John. Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither. Conft. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks, Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength, To make a more requital to your love. Auft. The peace of heav'n is theirs, who lift their fwords In fuch a just and charitable war. made prifoner by the Duke of Auftria, but was releafed for an exorbitant ranfome, and was afterwards killed with a cross-bow, before the caftle of Chalons. 8 At my importance.] At my importunity. 9 That pale, that_white-fac'd here.] England is supposed to be called Abion from the white rocks facing France. K. Philip. K. Philip. Well then, to work; our engines fhall be bent Against the brows of this refifting town; Conft. Stay for an answer to your Embaffie, * Enter Chatillon. K. Philip. A wonder, lady!-Lo, upon thy wish Our meffenger Chatillon is arrived. -What England fays, fay briefly, gentle lord, Chat. Then turn your forces from this paultry fiege, And stir them up against a mightier task. England, impatient of your juft demands, His marches are 'expedient to this town, * Awonder, lady.] The wonder is only that Chatillon happened to arrive at the moment when Conflance mentioned him, which the French king, according to a fuperftition which pre vails more or lefs in every mind agitated by great affairs, turns into a miraculous interpofition, or omen of good. Expelicnt.] Immediate, expeditions. And And all th' unfettled humours of the land; With ladies' faces, and fierce dragons' fpleens, To do offence and 3 fcathe in christendom. The interruption of their churlish drums [Drums beat. K. Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expe- Auft. By how much unexpected, by so much We must awake endeavour for defence; For courage mounteth with occafion : Let them be welcome then, we are prepar'd. SCENE II. Enter King of England, Faulconbridge, Elinor, K. John. Peace be to France, if France in peace Our juft and lineal entrance to our own; If not, bleed France, and peace afcend to heav'n. 2 Bearing their birth-rights, &c.] So in Henry VIII. Many broke their backs With bearing manors on them. Ee 2 That That thou haft under-wrought its lawful King; To draw my answer to thy articles? K. Philip. From that fupernal judge, that ftirs good thoughts In any breast of strong authority, + To look into the blots and stains of right. K. John. Alack, thou doft ufurp authority. 4 To look into the blots and stains of right.] Mr. Theobald reads, with the first folio, blots, which being fo early authorifed, and fo much better understood, needed not to have been changed by Dr. Warburton to bolts, tho' bolts might be used in that time for spots: fo Shakespeare calls Ba quo fpotted with blood, the bloadbolter'd Banquo. The verb to blot is used figuratively for to dif grace a few lines lower. And, perhaps, after all, bolts was only a typographical mistake. Conft. Conft. My bed was ever to thy fon as true, It cannot be, an if thou wert his mother. Eli. There's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father. Conft. There's a good grandam, boy, that would blot thee. Auft. Peace. Faulc. Hear the crier. Auft. What the devil art thou? Faulc. 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, Whofe valour plucks dead Lions by the beard; I'll smoak 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 difrobe the Lion of that robe. Faulc. It lies as fightly on the back of him, 5 5 It lies as lightly on the back of him, As great Alaides' Shoes upon an Afs.] But why his Shoes, in the Name of Propriety? For let Hercules and his Shoes have been really as big as they were ever fuppofed to be, yet they (I mean the Shoes) would not have been an Overload for an Afs. I am perfuaded, I have retrieved the true Reading; and let us obferve the Juftnefs of the Comparifon now. Faulconbridge in his Refentment would fay this to Auftria, “That Lion's Skin, which ries. Ee 3 As |