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Thy fins are vifited on this poor child;
The canon of the law is laid on him,
Being but the second generation
Removed from thy fin-conceiving womb.
K. John. Bedlam, have done.

Conft. I have but this to say,

That he's not only plagued for her fin,
But God hath made her fin and her the plague
On this removed iffue, plagu'd for her,
And with her.—Plague her fin; his injury,
Her injury, the beadle to her fin,
All punish'd in the person of this child,
And all for her, a plague upon her!

Eli. Thou unadvifed fcold, I can produce

A will, that bars the title of thy fon.

Conft. Ay, who doubts that? a will!a wicked

will;

have but this to say,

That he's not only plagued for her
fin,
But, &c.
] This paf-
fage appears to me very obscure.
The chief difficulty arifes from
this, that Conftance having told
Elinor of her fin-conceiving womb,
purfues the thought, and ufes fin
through the next lines in an am-
biguous fenfe, fometimes for
crime, and fometimes for off-
Spring.

He's not only plagued for her fin, &r. He is not only made miferable by vengeance for her fin or crime, but her fin, her offspring, and fhe, are made the inftruments of that vengeance, on this defcendant, who, though of the fecond generation, is plagued for her and with her; to whom the is not only the capfe but the inAtrument of evil.

plexed. All the editions read,
Plagu'd for her,

I

And with her plague her fin; his injury,

Her injury, the beadle to her fin,

All punish'd in the perfon of this
child.
point thus:

Plagu'd for her
Plague ber

And with her.
fin! his injury
Her injury, the beadle to ber
fin.

That is; inftead of inflicting
vengeance on this innocent and
remote defcendant, punish her fin,
her immediate offspring: then -
the affliction will fall where it is
deferved; his injury will be her
injury, and the mifery of her fin;
her fon will be a beadle, or chaf-
tifer, to her crimes, which are
now all punished in the perfon of
this child.
E e 4

The next claufe is more per

A

A woman's will, a cankred grandam's will.

K. Phil. Peace, Lady; paufe, or be more tempe

rate:

7 It ill befeems this prefence to cry Aim

To these ill tuned repetitions.

Some trumpet fummon hither to the walls
These men of Angiers; let us hear them speak,
Whofe title they admit, Arthur's or John's.

SCENE III.

Trumpets found

Enter a Citizen upon the Walls.

Cit. Who is it, that hath warn'd us to the walls?
K. Phil. 'Tis France for England.

K. John. England for itself;

You men of Angiers and my loving fubjects

K. Phil. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's fubjects,

Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle

K. John. For our advantage--therefore hear us
firft:

Thefe flags of France, that are advanced here
Before the eye and profpect of your town,
Have hither march'd to your endamagement.
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath;
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls:

7 It ill befeems this prefence to to cry aim had been to incite no

cry Aim

To thefe ill tuned repetitions,] Dr. Warburton has well obferved on one of the former plays that to cry aim is to encourage. I once thought it was borrowed from archery; and that aim! having been the word of command, as we now fay prefent!

tice, or raife attention. But I rather think, that the old word of applaufe was J'aime, love it, and that to applaud was to cry Jaime, which the English, not cafily pronouncing Je, funk into aime or aim. Our exclamations of applause are still borrowed, as bravo, and encore.

All preparations for a bloody fiege

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And merciless proceeding, by thefe French,
Confront your city's eyes, your winking gates;
And, but for our approach, those sleeping stones,
That as a waste do girdle you about,

By the compulfion of their ordinance
By this time from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dishabited, and wide havock made
For bloody power to rufh upon your peace.
But on the fight of us your lawful King,
(Who painfully with much expedient march
Have brought a counter-check before your gates,
To fave unfcratch'd your city's threatned cheeks)
Behold, the French, amaz'd, vouchsafe a parle ;
And now, instead of bullets wrap'd in fire,
To make a fhaking fever in your walls,
They fhoot but calm words folded up in fmoak,
To make a faithlefs error in your ears;

- Which trust accordingly, kind citizens;

And let in us, your King, whofe labour'd fpirits,
Fore-weary'd in this action of fwift speed,
Crave harbourage within your city-walls.

K. Philip. When I have faid, make anfwer to us
both.

Lo! in this right hand, whose protection
Is moft divinely vow'd upon the right
Of him it holds, ftands young Plantagenet;
Son to the elder brother of this man,

And King o'er him, and all that he enjoys.
For this down-trodden equity, we tread

In warlike march these greens before your town:
Being no further enemy to you,

Than the constraint of hofpitable zeal,
In the relief of this oppreffed child,
Religiously provokes. Be pleafed then
To pay that duty, which you truly owe
To him that owns it; namely this young Prince.
And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,

Save

Save in aspect, hath all offence feal'd up;
Our cannon's malice vainly shall be spent
Against the invulnerable clouds of heav'n;
And with a bleffed, and unvext retire,

With unhack'd fwords, and helmets all unbruis'd,
We will bear home that lufty blood again,
Which here we came to fpout against your town;
And leave your children, wives, and you in peace.
But if you fondly pafs our proffer'd offer,
'Tis not the rounder of your old-fac❜d walls
Can hide you from our meffengers of war;
Tho' all thefe English, and their difcipline,
Were harbour'd in their rude circumference.
Then tell us, fhall your city call us Lord,
In that behalf which we have challeng❜d it?
Or fhall we give the fignal to our rage,
And ftalk in blood to our poffeffion?

Cit. In brief, we are the King of England's fubjects; For him, and in his right, we hold this town.

K. Jobn. Acknowledge then the King, and let me in. Cit. That can we not; but he that proves the King,

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To him will we prove loyal; till that time,
Have we ramm❜d up our gates against the world.
K. John. Doth not the crown of England prove the
King?

And if not that, I bring you witneffes,

Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed-,

Faulc. (Baftards, and elfe!)

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K. John. To verify our title with their lives.

K. Phil. As many, and as well born bloods as those

Faul. (Some baftards too!)

AK. Phil. Stand in his face to contradict his claim.
Cit. Till you compound whose right is worthieft,
We for the worthieft hold the right from both.
K. John. Then God forgive the fin of all thofe
fouls,

That

That to their everlasting refidence,

Before the dew of evening fall, fshall fleet,
In dreadful trial of our kingdom's King!

K. Philip. Amen, Amen.-- Mount, chevaliers, to arms!

Faule. Saint George, that fwing'd the dragon, and e'er fince

Sits on his horseback at mine hoftefs' door,

Teach us fome fence. Sirrah, were I at home
At your den, firrah, with your Lioness,
I'd fet an ox-head to your Lion's hide,
And make a monfter of you.

Auft. Peace, no more.

[To Auftria.

Faulc. O, tremble; for you hear the Lion roar. K. John. Up higher to the plain! where we'll fet forth

In beft appointment all our regiments.

Faulc. Speed then to take th' advantage of the field. K. Philip. It fhall be fo-and at the other hill Command the reft to ftand. God, and our right! [Exeunt.

SCENE IV.

After excurfions, enter the Herald of France with trumpets to the gates.

F. Her. Ye men of Angiers, open wide your gates, And let young Arthur Duke of Bretagne in ; Who by the hand of France this day hath made Much work for tears in many an English mother, Whose fons lye scatter'd on the bleeding ground: And many a widow's husband groveling lies, Coldly embracing the difcolour'd earth; While victory with little lofs doth play

Ye men of Angiers, &c.] of the widow's husband embracing This fpeech is very poetical and

the earth, is juft and beautiful.

Smooth, and, except the conceit

Upon

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