To meet difpleasure farther from the doors;
And grapple with him, ere he come fo nigh.
K. John. The Legate of the Pope hath been with me, And I have made a happy peace with him; And he hath promis'd to difmifs the Powers Led by the Dauphin.
Faulc. Oh inglorious league!
Shall we, upon the footing of our Land,
Send fair-play-orders, and make compromise,
Infinuation, parley, and bafe truce,
To arms invasive? fhall a beardless boy,
A cocker'd, filken, Wanton brave our fields,
And flesh his fpirit in a warlike foil,
Mocking the air with Colours idly spread,
And find no check? let us, my Liege, to arms :
Perchance, the Cardinal can't make your peace;
Or if he do, let it at least be said,
They faw, we had a purpose of defence.
K. John. Have thou the ord❜ring of this present time. Faulc. Away then, with good courage; yet, I know," Our Party may well meet a prouder foe.
Our party may well meet prouder foe.] Let us then I fo well with courage; yet know the faintnefs of our party, that I think it may easily happen that they fhall encounter enemies who bave more fpirit than themfelves.
Changes to the Dauphin's Camp, at St. Edmonsbury."
Enter, in arms, Lewis, Salisbury, Melun, Pembroke, Bigot, and Soldiers.
Y Lord Melun, let this be copied out,
And keep it fafe for our remembrance:
Return the precedent to thefe Lords again,
That having our fair order written down,
Both they and we, perufing o'er these notes,
May know wherefore we took the Sacrament;
And keep our faiths firm and inviolable.
Sal. Upon our fides it never shall be broken,
And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear
A voluntary zeal and un-urg'd faith
To your proceedings; yet believe me, Prince,
I am not glad that fuch a Sore of time
Should feek a plaister by contemn'd revolt;
And heal th' inveterate canker of one wound,
By making many. Oh, it grieves my foul,
That I muft draw this metal from my fide
To be a widow-maker: oh, and there,
Where honourable rescue, and defence,
Cries out upon the name of Salisbury.
But fuch is the infection of the time,
7 - at St. Edmondsbury.] I have ventur❜d to fix the Place of the Seene here, which is fpecified by none of the Editors, on the following Authorities. In the preceding Act, where Salisbury has fixed to go over to the Dauphin, he fays;
Lords, I will meet him at St.
Edmondsbury.
And Count Melun, in this laft
Aft, fays;
and many more with me,
Upon the Altar at St. Edmondfbury;
Even on that Altar, where we
Dear Amity, and everlasting Love, And it appears likewife from the Troublefom Reign of King John, in two Parts, (the firft rough Model of this Play) that the Interchange of Vows betwixt the Dau phin and the Eng ifh Barons was at St. Edmondsbury, THEOBALD.
hat, for the health and phyfick of our Right,
Ve cannot deal but with the very hand
Of ftern injuftice, and confufed wrong.
And is't not pity, oh my grieved friends!
That we, the fons and children of this Ifle,
Were born to fee fo fad an hour as this,
Wherein we step after a stranger March
Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up
Her enemies ranks? I muft withdraw and weep
Upon the Spot of this enforced cause
To grace the gentry of a Land remote,
And follow unacquainted Colours here?
What, here?-O nation, that thou couldst remove!
That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about,
Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself,
And grapple thee unto a Pagan fhore!
Where these two chriftian armies might combine
"he blood of malice in a vein of league,
nd not to spend it fo un-neighbourly.
Lewis. A noble temper dost thou shew in this;
And great affection, wrestling in thy bosom,
Doth make an earthquake of Nobility.
Oh, what a noble combat haft thou fought,
Between compulfion, and a brave respect!
Let me wipe off this honourable dew,
That filverly doth progrefs on thy cheeks.
My heart hath melted at a lady's tears,
Being an ordinary` inundation :
But this effufion of fuch manly drops,
This fhow'r, blown up by tempeft of the foul,
Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amaz'd,
Than had I feen the vaulty top of heav'n
8 Between compulfion, and a brave refpect!] This compulfion was the neceffity of a reformation in the ftate; which, according to Salisbury's opinion, (who, in his fpeech preceding,
calls it an enforced cause) could only be procured by foreign arms: And the brave refpect was the love of his country. Yet the Oxford Editor, for compulfion, reads compaffion. WARBURTON.
Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors.
Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury,
And with a great heart heave away this ftorm.
Commend these waters to those baby-eyes,
That never faw the giant world enrag'd;
Nor met with fortune, other than at feafts,
Full-warm of blood, of mirth, of goffipping.
Come, come; for thou fhalt thruft thy hand as deep
Into the purse of rich profperity,
As Lewis himself; fo, Nobles, fhall you all,
That knit your finews to the ftrength of mine.
And even there, methinks, an angel spake!
Look, where the holy legate comes apace,
To give us warrant from the hand of heav'n,
And on our actions fet the name of Right
With holy breath.
Pand. Hail, noble Prince of France!
The next is this: King John hath reconcil'd
Himself to Rome; his fpirit is come in,
That so stood out against the holy Church,
The great Metropolis and See of Rome.
Therefore thy threatning Colours now wind up,
And tame the favage fpirit of wild war ;
That, like a Lion foster'd up at hand,
It may lie gently at the foot of peace:
And be no further harmful than in fhew.
an angel Spake!] Sir T. Hanmer, and after him Dr. Warburton read here, an angel fpeeds. I think unneceffarily. The Dauphin does not yet hear the legate indeed, nor pretend to hear him, but feeing him ad
vance and concluding that he comes to animate and authorife him with the power of the church, he cries out, at the fight of this holy man, I am encouraged as by the voice of an angel.
Lewis. Your Grace fhall pardon me, I will not back: I am too high-born to be property'd,
To be a fecondary at control;
Or ufeful ferving-man, and inftrument,
To any fovereign State throughout the world.
Your breath firft kindled the dead coal of war,
Between this chaftis'd Kingdom and myself;
And brought in matter, that fhould feed this fire.
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out,
With that fame weak wind which enkindled it.
You taught me how to know the face of Right,
Acquainted me with int'reft to this Land;
Yea, thrust this enterprize into my heart:
And come ye now, to tell me John hath made
His with Rome? what is that peace to me?
peace
I, by the honour of my marriage-bed,
After young Arthur, claim this Land for mine:
And now it is half-conquer'd, muft I back,
Because that John hath made his peace with Rome?
Am I Rome's flave? what penny hath Rome borne,
What men provided, what munition sent,
To under-prop this action? is't not I,
That undergo this charge? who elfe but I,
And fuch as to my Claim are liable,
Sweat in this bufinefs, and maintain this war?
Have I not heard these iflanders shout out,
Vive le Roy! as I have bank'd their towns?
Have I not here the best cards for the game,
To win this easy match, play'd for a Crown?
And fhall I now give o'er the yielded Set?
No, on my foul, it never fhall be faid.
Pand. You look but on the outfide of this work.
Lewis. Outfide or infide, I will not return,
Till my attempt fo much be glorify'd,
As to my ample hope was promised,
Before I drew this gallant head of war;
And cull'd these fiery fpirits from the world,
To outlook Conqueft, and to win Renown
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