Changes to a Field of Battle,
Alarms, Excursions : Enter Faulconbridge, with

Auftria's Head.

Now,

1

Faulc. W, by my life, this day grows

wond'rous hot ; *Some airy devil hovers in the sky, And pours down mischief. Austria's head lie there. Thus hath King Richard's son perform’d his vow, And offer'd Austria's blood for sacrifice Unto his father's ever-living soul.

Enter King John, Arthur, and Hubert.
K. John. There, Hubert, keep this boy. Richard,

make up;

My mother is allailed in our tent,
And ta’en, I fear.

Faul. My Lord, I rescu'd 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.

[Exeunt.

the effica.

3 Some airy devil. We justify them. Not that of this must read, Some fiery devil

, if change the propriety is out of we will have the caule equal to controversy. Dr. Warburton will WÁRBURTON.

have the devil fiery, because he There is no end of such alte. makes the day hol ; the author rations ; every page of a vehe- makes him airy, because he ment and negligent writer will bovers in the sky, and the heat afford opportunities for changes and mischief are natural conseof terms, if mere propriety will quences of his malignity.

5

Gg3

SCENE SCENE V.

Alarms, Excursions, Retreat. Re-enter King John, Elinor, Arthur, Faulconbridge, Hubert, and Lords. K. John. So shall it be-your Grace shall stay behind

[To Elinor. So strongly guarded_Cousin, look not fad,

[To Arthur. 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. K. John. Cousin, away for England; haste before,

(To Faulconbridge And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags Of hoarding Abbots; their imprison’d angels Set thou at liberty: the fat ribs of peace Must by the hungry now be fed upon. Use our commiffion in its utmost force. Faulc. 3 Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me

back, When gold and silver beck me to come on. I leave your highness-Grandam, I will pray (If ever I remember to be holy)

2

2

war.

the fat ribs of Peace This emendation is better than Muß by the hungry now be fed the former, but yet not neces

ufon.] This word now seems sary. Sir T. Hanmer reads, buna very idle term here, and con- gry maw with less deviation from veys no satisfactory idea. An the common reading, but with antithesis, and opposition of not so much force or elegance as terms, fo perpetual with our author, requires ;

3 Bell, book, and candle, &c.] Mluft by ibe hungoy War be fed in an account of the Romish curse 11 pon.

given by Dr. Gray, it appears l'ar, demanding a largeexpence, that three candles were extinis very poetically said to be bun- guilhed, one by one, in differEry, and to prey on the wealth ent parts of the execration. and fi of peace. WARBURTOX.

For

For your fair safety; so I kiss your hand.

Eli. Farewel, my gentle cousin.
K. John. Coz, farewel.

(Exit Faulc, Eli. Come, hither, little kinsman ;-hark, a word.

[Taking him to one side of the stage.
K. John. [To Hubert on the other side.
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'm almost asham'd
To say what good respect I have of thee.

Hub. I am much bounden to your Majesty.
K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so

yet,
But thou shalt have-and creep time ne'er so Now,
Yet it shall come for me to do thee good.
I had a thing to say — but, let it go :
The sun is in the heav'n, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
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
* Sound one unto the drowsy race of night ;
If this same were a church-yard where we stand,
And thou poffeffed with a thousand wrongs;
Or if that surly spirit Melancholy
Had bak’d thy blood and made it heavy thick,
Which else runs tickling up and down the veins,
Making that ideot laughter keep mens' eyes,
And strain their cheeks to idle merriment;

4 Sound on unto the drowsie race of night ;] We should read, Sound ONE

WARBURTON.

(A paflion

Gg4

(A paffion hateful to my purposes)
Or if thou could'st see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, ufing conceit alone,
Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words;
Then, in despight of broad-ey'd watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts :
But ah, I will not yet I love thee well;
And, by my troth, I think, thou lov'st me well,

Hub. So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Tho' that my death were adjunct to my act,
By heav'n, I'd do't.

K. John. Do not I know, thou would'st?
Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye
On yon young boy : I'll tell thee what, my friend ;
He is a very serpent in my way,
And, wherefoe'er this foot of mine doth tread,
He lies before me. Doft thou understand me?
Thou art his keeper.

Hub. And I'll keep him so,
That he lhall not offend your Majesty.

K. Jokn. Death.
Hub. My Lord ?
K. John. A grave.
Hub. He shall not live.

K. John. Enough.
I could be merry now.

Hubert, I love thee;
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee :
Remember: Madam, fare you well.

[Returning to the Queen. I'll send those pow'rs o'er to your Majesty,

Eli. My blessing go with thee !

K. John. For England, cousin, go.
Hul ert shall be your man, t'attend on you
With all true duty; on, toward Calais, ho!

[Exeunt.

SCENE

Enter King Philip, Lewis, Pandulpho, and Attendance,
K. Pbilip.

O, by a roaring tempeft on the flood,

A whole - Armada of collected fail
Is scatter'd and disjoin'd from fellowship.

Pand. Courage and comfort, all shall yet go well.
K. Philip. What can go well, when we have run

so ill ?
Are we not beaten ? Is not Angiers loft ?
Arthur ta'en Pris'ner? divers dear friends llain ?
And bloody England into England gone,
D'er-bearing interruption, spite of France ?

Lewis. What he hath won, that hach he fortify'd :
So hot a speed with such advice dispos’d,
Such temp'rate order in fo fierce a course,
Doth want example; who hath read, or heard,
Of any kindred action like to this?
K. Philip. Well could I bear that England had this

praise, So we could find some pattern of our shame.

SA whole Armada, &c.] This But the whole play aboundswith fimilitude, as little as it makes touches relative to the then poffor the purpose in hand, was, I ture of affairs. WARBURTON. do not question, a very taking This play, so far as I can difone when the play was firit re- cover, was not played till a long presented ; which was a winter time after the defeat of the Aror two at most, after the Spanish mada. The old play, I think, invasion in 1588. It was 'in re- wants this fimile. The comference likewise to that glorious mentator should not have af. period that Shakespeare concludes firmied what he could only guess. his play in that triumphant man.'

in fo fierce a CAUSE,} ner,

We should read COURSE, i. e. Thus England never did, nor march. The Oxford Editor con: never jball,

descends to this emendation. 1 ye at the froud foot of a con

WARBURTON

querer, &c.

Enter