K. John. A good blunt fellow; why, being younger
born,

Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance?

Phil. I know not why, except to get the land;
But, once, he flander'd me with bastardy:
But whether I be true begot or no,

That ftill I lay upon my mother's head;
But that I am as well begot, my Liege,

(Fair fall the bones, that took the pains for me!)
Compare our faces, and be judge yourself.
If old Sir Robert did beget us both,

And were our father, and this fon like him;
O old Sir Robert, father, on my knee

I give heav'n thanks, I was not like to thee.
K. John. Why, what a mad-cap hath heav'n lent
us here?

Eli. He hath a trick of Caur-de-lion's face,
The accent of his tongue affecteth him:
Do you not read fome tokens of my fon
In the large compofition of this man?

K. John. Mine eye hath well examined his parts,
And finds them perfect Richard: Sirrah, fpeak,
What doth move you to claim your brother's land?

Phil. Because he hath a half-face, like my father,
With that half-face would he have all my land?
A half-fac'd groat, five hundred pound a year!

Rob. My gracious Liege, when that my father liv'd,
Your brother did imploy my father much;

Phil. Well, Sir, by this you cannot get my, land.
Your tale must be, how he imploy'd my mother.
Rob. And once dispatch'd him in an embassie
To Germany; there with the Emperor
To treat of high affairs touching that time:
Th' advantage of his abfence took the King,
And in the mean time fojourn'd at my father's;
Where, how he did prevail, I fhame to fpeak:
But truth is truth; large lengths of feas and fhores
Between

Between my father and my mother lay,
(As I have heard my father speak himself)
When this fame lufty gentleman was got.
Upon his death-bed he by will bequeath'd
His lands to me; and took it on his death,
That this, my mother's fon, was none of his;
And if he were, he came into the world
Full fourteen weeks before the courfe of time:
Then, good my Liege, let me have what is mine,
My father's land, as was my father's will.

K. John. Sirrah, your brother is legitimate;
Your father's wife did after wedlock bear him:
And if she did play falfe, the fault was hers;
Which fault lyes on the hazard of all husbands,
That marry wives. Tell me, how if my brother,
Who, as you fay, took pains to get this fon,
Had of your father claim'd this fon for his?
In footh, good friend, your father might have kept
This calf, bred from his cow, from all the world.
In footh, he might; then, if he were my brother's,
My brother might not claim him; nor your father,
Being none of his, refuse him; this concludes,
My mother's fon did get your father's heir,
Your father's heir must have your father's land.
Rob. Shall then my father's Will be of no force
To difpoffefs that child, which is not his?
Phil. Of no more force to difpoffefs me, Sir,
Than was his will to get me, as I think.

Eli. Whether hadft thou rather be a Faulconbridge, And, like thy brother, to enjoy thy land: Or the reputed Son of Caur-de-lion,

2 Lord of the prefence, and no land befide?

2 Lord of Tux prefence, and no land befide?] Lord of thy prefence can fignify only, Mafter of thyself; and it is a strange expreffion to fignify even that. However that he might be, without parting with his land. We should read,

Lord of THE prefence,

i. e. Prince of the Blood.

Phil. Madam, and if my brother had my fhape, And I had his, Sir Robert his, like him;

And if my legs were two fuch riding rods,
My arms fuch eel-skins ftuft; 3 my face fo thin,
• That in mine ear I durft not stick a rose,

Left men should say, “look, where three farthings goes!

"And to his fhape were heir to all this land; 'Would, I might never ftir from off this place, I'd give it ev'ry foot to have this face:

I would not be Sir Nobbe in any cafe.

Eli. I like thee well; wilt thou forfake thy fortune, Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me?

I am a foldier, and now bound to France.

Phil. Brother, take you my land, I'll take my chance ;

Your face hath got five hundred pound a year,
Yet fell your face for five pence, and 'tis dear.
Madam, I'll follow you unto the death.

Eli. Nay, I would have you go before me thither,

3

my face fo thin,

That in mine ear I durft not stick a rofe,

Left men fhould fay, look, where three-farthings goes!] We must obferve, to explain this allufion, that Queen Elizabeth was the firft, and indeed the only Prince who coin'd in England three-half-pence, and three-farthing pieces. She at one and the fame time coin'd fhillings, fixpences, groats, three-pences, twopences, three half-pence, pence, three-farthings, and half-pence: And these pieces all had her head, and were alternately with the Rofe behind, and without the Rofe. The thilling, groat, twopence, penny, and half-penny had it not: The other intermediate coins, viz, the fix-pence, three-pence, three-half-pence, and three farthings had the Rofe. Mr. Theobald.

4. That in mine ear I durft not flick a rofe.] The sticking Rofes about them was then all the court-fashion, as appears from this paffage of the Confeffion Catholique du S. de Sancy, 1. 2. c. 1. Je luy ay appris à mettre des Roses par tous les coins, i. e. in every place about him, fays the Speaker, of one to whom he had taught all the court-fashions.

Phil. Our country manners give our betters way. K. John. What is thy name?

Phil. Philip, my Liege, fo is my name begun ; Philip, good old Sir Robert's wife's eldest fon.

K. John. From henceforth bear his name, whofe form thou bear'st:

Kneel thou down Philip, but rife up more great;
Arife Sir Richard, and Plantagenet.

Phil. Brother by th' mother's fide, give me your hand;

My father gave me honour, yours gave land.
Now bleffed be the hour, by night or day,
When I was got, Sir Robert was away!
Eli. The very fpirit of Plantagenet!
I am thy grandam; Richard, call me fo.

Phil. Madam, by chance, but not by truth; what though?

Something about, a little from the right,

In at the window, or elfe o'er the hatch : Who dares not ftir by day, muft walk by night, And have his have, however men do catch; Near or far off, well won is ftill well fhot;

And I am I, howe'er I was begot.

K. John. Go, Faulconbridge,now haft thou thy defire; A landless Knight makes thee a landed 'Squire : Come, Madam; and come, Richard; we muft fpeed For France, for France; for it is more than need. Phil. Brother, adieu; good fortune come to thee, For thou was got i'th way of honesty.

[Exeunt all but Philip.

SCENE

III.

A foot of honour better than I was,
But many a many foot of land the worfe!
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady.

"Good

"Good-den, Sir Richard,

-Godamercy, fellow; "And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter; "For new-made honour doth forget mens' names: "'Tis too refpective and unfociable

"For your converfing. Now your traveller, "He and his tooth-pick at my worship's mess "And when my knightly ftomach is fuffic'd, Why then I fuck my teeth, and catechife

66

5

"My piked man of countries ;-My dear Sir, "(Thus leaning on mine elbow, I begin) "Ì fhall befeech you,

-that is queftion now;

"And then comes anfwer like an ABC-book: "O Sir, fays anfwer, at your beft command, "At your employment, at your fervice, Sir :"No, Sir, fays queftion, I, fweet Sir, at yours,"And fo e'er anfwer knows what queftion would, Saving in dialogue of compliment;

"And talking of the Alps and Apennines,

"The Pyrenean and the river Po;

"It draws towards fupper in conclufion, fo.

5 Piked man,] i. e. formally bearded.

6 And fo e'er anfwer knows what question would,

But

Mr. Pope.

SAVING in dialogue of compliment.] In this fine fpeech, Faulconbridge would fhew the advantages and prerogatives of men of worship. He observes, particularly, that be has the Traveller at command; (people at that time, when a new world was discovering, in the highest eftimation) At the first intimation of his defire, to hear ftrange ftories, the Traveller complies, and will fcarce give him leave to make his queftion, but e'er anfwer knows what queftion would-What then, why, according to the prefent reading, it grows towards fupper-time: And is not this worshipful faciety? To fpend all the time between dinner and fupper before either of them knows what the other would be at. Read SERVING inftead of faving, and all this nonfenfe is avoided; and the account stands thus, "E'er answer knows what queftion would be at, my travel"ler ferves in his dialogue of compliment, which is his standing "difh at all tables; then he comes to talk of the Alps and Ape"nines, &c. and, by the time this difcourfe concludes, it draws