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Do you not read some tokens of my son
In the large composition of this man?

K. JOHN. Mine eye hath well examined his parts, And finds them perfect Richard.-Sirrah, speak, What doth move you to claim your brother's land? BAST. Because he hath a half-face, like my father;

With that half-face a would he have all my land: A half-fac'd groat, five hundred pound a-year! (1) ROB. My gracious liege, when that my father liv'd,

Your brother did employ my father much,

BAST. Well, sir, by this you cannot get my land; Your tale must be, how he employ'd my mother. ROB. And once dispatch'd him in an embassy To Germany, there, with the emperor, To treat of high affairs touching that time. The advantage of his absence took the king, And in the mean time sojourn'd at my father's;

a With that half-face-] This is a correction of Theobald's; the folio, 1623, reading, "with half that face."

b And took it, on his death,-] Steevens is the only one of the commentators who notices this expression; and he interprets it to mean, "entertained it as his fixed opinion, when he was dying." We believe it was a common form of speech, and signified that he swore, or took oath, upon his death, of the truth of his belief. Thus Falstaff, "Merry Wives of Windsor," Act II. Sc. 2, says, and when mistress Bridget lost the handle of her fan,

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Where how he did prevail, I shame to speak;
But truth is truth: large lengths of seas and shores
Between my father and my mother lay,-
As I have heard my father speak himself,-
When this same lusty 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 son, was none of his;
And, if he were, he came into the world
Full fourteen weeks before the course 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 false, the fault was hers; Which fault lies on the hazards of all husbands That marry wives. Tell me, how if my brother, Who, as you say, took pains to get this son, Had of your father claim'd this son for his?

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In sooth, good friend, your father might have kept
This calf, bred from his cow, from all the world;
In sooth, 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 son 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 dispossess that child which is not his?

BAST. Of no more force to dispossess me, sir, Than was his will to get me, as I think.

ELI. Whether hadst thou rather be a Faul-
conbridge,

And like thy brother, to enjoy thy land;
Or the reputed son of Coeur-de-lion,
Lord of thy presence, and no land beside?

BAST. Madam, an if my brother had my shape,
And I had his, sir Robert* his, like him;
And if my legs were two such riding-rods,
My arms such eel-skins stuff'd, my face so thin,
That in mine car I durst not stick a rose, [goes; (2)
Lest men should say, Look, where three farthings
And, to his shape, were heir to all this land,
Would I might never stir from off this place,
I'd give it every foot to have this face;
I would not be sir Nobd in any case.

[fortune,

ELI. I like thee well. Wilt thou forsake thy Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me? I am a soldier, and now bound to France. BAST, Brother, take you my land, I'll take my chance :

Your face hath got five hundred pound a year; Yet sell 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. BAST. Our country manners give our betters way. K. JOHN. What is thy name?

BAST. Philip, my liege; so is my name begun ; Philip, good old sir Robert's wife's eldest son.

K. JOHN. From henceforth bear his name whose form thou bearest :

Kneel thou down Philip, but arise ‡ more great; Arise sir Richard, and Plantagenet.

BAST. Brother-by the mother's side, give me your hand;

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c Lord of thy presence,-] Queen Elinor, prepossessed by Philip's gallant bearing and likeness to her son, frames her question so as to discover whether he prefers to rest his claim. to future distinction as the heir of Faulconbridge, or as the supposed son of Coeur-de-lion:-" Would you rather be a Faulconbridge, resembling your brother, but possessed of five hundred pounds a-year in land; or the reputed son of King Richard, with similar personal endowments to his, and no land at all?"

My father gave me honour, yours gave land :-
Now blessed be the hour, by night or day,
When I was got, sir Robert was away.

ELI. The very spirit of Plantagenet !—
I am thy grandame, Richard; call me so.
BAST. Madam, by chance, but not by truth.
What though?

Something about, a little from the right,

In at the window, or else o'er the hatch:
Who dares not stir by day must walk by night,
And have is have, however men do catch :
Near or far off, well won is still well shot,
And I am I, howe'er I was begot.

K. JOHN. Go, Faulconbridge: now hast thou thy desire;

A landless knight makes thee a landed squire.— Come, madam,-and come, Richard: we must speed,

For France, for France! for it is more than need. BAST. Brother, adieu: good fortune come to

thee!

For thou wast got i' the way of honesty.
[Exeunt all except the Bastard.

A foot of honour better than I was;
But many a many foot of land the worse.
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady :—
Good den, sir Richard.-God-a-mercy, fellow;
And if his name be George, I'll call him Peter,
For new-made honour doth forget men's names:
'Tis too respective, and too sociable,

For your conversion. Now, your traveller,—
He and his toothpick at my worship's mess ;(3)
And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd,
Why then I suck my teeth, and catechise
My picked man of countries: My dear sir,
Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin,
I shall beseech you that is Question now;
And then comes Answer like an A B Ch book:
O, sir, says Answer, at your best command;
At your employment; at your service, sir :-
No, sir, says Question, I, sweet sir, at yours:
And so, ere Answer knows what Question would,
(Saving in dialogue of compliment,
And talking of the Alps and Apennines,
The Pyrenean, and the river Po,)

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d I would not be sir Nob-] So the second folio, 1632; the first has, "It would."

I

e In at the window, or else o'er the hatch :] Proverbial sayings applied to illegitimate children;-"Woe worth the time that ever gave suck to a child that came in at the window!"-The Family of Love, 1608. So, also, in "The Witches of Lancashire," by Heywood and Broome, 1634:—“. It appears you came in

at the window."-"I would not have you think I scorn my grannam's cat to leap over the hatch."

f Too respective,-] Too mindful, considerate, retrospective; and not, I believe, as Steevens interprets it, "respectful," "formal."

g My picked man-] See Note (d), p. 82, of the present volume. h Like an A B C book:] These letters are printed as they were pronounced, Absey, in the old copies. An Absey, or A B C book, was a book to teach the young their letters, catechism, &c. :"In the A B C of bokes the least, Yt is written, Deus charitas est."

It draws toward supper in conclusion so.
But this is worshipful society,
And fits the mounting spirit like myself:
For he is but a bastard to the time,
That doth not smack* of observation;
(And so am I, whether I smack, or no ;)
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement,
But from the inward motion, to deliver
Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth:
Which, though I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn ;
For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising.-
But who comes in such haste, in riding robes ?
What woman-post is this? hath she no husband,
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
O me! it is my mother.

Enter LADY FAULCONBRIDGE and JAMES
GURNEY.

How now, good lady?
What brings you here to court so hastily?
LA. FAULC. Where is that slave, thy brother?
where is he?

That holds in chase mine honour up and down?
BAST. My brother Robert? old sir Robert's son?
Colbrand the giant," that same mighty man?
Is it sir Robert's son that you seek so?

LA. FAULC. Sir Robert's son! ay, thou unreverend boy,

Sir Robert's son: why scorn'st thou at sir Robert? He is sir Robert's son, and so art thou.

BAST. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave a while?

GUR. Good leave, good Philip.
BAST.
Philip!-sparrow!-James,
There's toys abroad; anon I'll tell thee more.
[Exit GURN.

Madam, I was not old sir Robert's son ;
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon Good-Friday, and ne'er broke his fast :
Sir Robert could do well; Marry-to confess-
Could het get me? Sir Robert could not do it;

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What! I am dubb'd; I have it on my shoulder.
But, mother, I am not sir Robert's son;
I have disclaim'd sir Robert, and my land;
Legitimation, name, and all, is gone:
Then, good my mother, let me know my
father;
Some proper man, I hope; who was it, mother?
LA. FAULC. Hast thou denied thyself a
Faulconbridge?

BAST. AS faithfully as I deny the devil.
LA. FAULC. King Richard Coeur-de-lion was
thy father:

By long and vehement suit I was seduc'd
To make room for him in my husband's bed:-
:-
Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge!—
Thou art the issue of my dear offence,

Which was so strongly urg'd, past my defence.

BAST. Now, by this light, were I to get again, Madam, I would not wish a better father. Some sins do bear their privilege on earth, And so doth yours; your fault was not your folly; Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose, Subjected tribute to commanding love,Against whose fury and unmatched force The awless lion could not wage the fight, Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand. He, that perforce robs lions of their hearts, May easily win a woman's. Ay, my mother, With all my heart I thank thee for my father! Who lives and dares but say, thou didst not well When I was got, I'll send his soul to hell. Come, lady, I will show thee to my kin;

And they shall say, when Richard me begot, If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin : Who says it was, he lies; I say, 'twas not. [Exeunt.(5)

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a Colbrand the giant,-] This was the Danish giant whom the renowned Guy of Warwick overcame in the presence of Athelstan. A description of the combat will be found in Drayton's "Polyelbion." Twelfth Song. b Good leave,—] "Good leave," Steevens says, "means a ready assent."

e Philip!-sparrow!-] The sparrow was very early known by the name Sir Richard disdains, perhaps from its note, to which Catullus alludes:

"Sed circumsiliens modo huc, modo illuc,
Ad solam dominam usque pipilabat."

Thus, in Lyly's "Mother Bombie:"

cry

Phip phip the sparrowes as they fly."

Skelton, too, has a long poem, the title of which is "Phyllyp Sparowe."

d There's toys abroad;] Toys may mean here rumours, idle reports, and the like; or tricks, devices, &c.; for Shakespeare uses the word with great latitude.

e Thou art the issue-] The old copy has, "That art," &c.; for which Rowe substituted Thou, &c. Some alteration was certainly required; but this is not satisfactory. I am half persuaded the misprint to be corrected is in the preceding line, and that we ought to read,

"Heaven lay not my transgression to thy charge
That art the issue of my dear offence!"

She had a moment before confessed that Richard Coeur-de-lion was his father; and "Thou art the issue" is a needless repetition of the avowal.

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Enter on one side, the ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA, and Forces; on the other, PHILIP, King of France, and Forces; LEWIS, CONSTANCE, ARTHUR, and Attendants.

LEW. Before Angiers well met, brave Austria.Arthur, that great fore-runner of thy blood, Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart,(1) And fought the holy wars in Palestine, By this brave duke came early to his grave: And, for amends to his posterity,

At our importance" hither is he come

a At our importance-] At our importunity. See Note (c), p. 143, of the present volume.

To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf;
And to rebuke the usurpation

Of thy unnatural uncle, English John:
Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither.
ARTH. God shall forgive you Coeur-de-lion's
death,

The rather, that you give his offspring life,
Shadowing their right under your wings of war.
I give you welcome with a powerless hand,
But with a heart full of unstained love:
Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke.
LEW. A noble boy! who would not do thee
right?

AUST. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, As seal to this indenture of my love;

That to my home I will no more return,

Till Angiers, and the right thou hast in France,
Together with that pale, that white-fac'd shore,
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides,
And coops from other lands her islanders,
Even till that England, hedg'd in with the main,
That water-walled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes,
Even till that utmost corner of the west
Salute thee for her king: till then, fair boy,
Will I not think of home, but follow arms.

CONST. 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.

AUST. The peace of heaven is theirs, that lift their swords

In such a just and charitable war.

K. PHI. Well, then, to work; our cannon shall be bent

Against the brows of this resisting town.—
Call for our chiefest men of discipline,
To cull the plots of best advantages:-
We'll lay before this town our royal bones,
Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood,
But we will make it subject to this boy.

CONST. Stay for an answer to your embassy,
Lest unadvis'd you stain your swords with blood:
My lord Chatillon may from England bring
That right in peace, which here we urge in war;
And then we shall repent each drop of blood
That hot-rash haste so indirectly shed."

Enter CHATILLON.

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K. PHI. A wonder, lady!-lo, upon thy wish, Our messenger Chatillon is arriv'd. What England says, say briefly, gentle lord, We coldly pause for thee; Chatillon, speak.

CHAT. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege,

And stir them up against a mightier task.
England, impatient of your just demands,
Hath put himself in arms; the adverse winds,
Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time
To land his legions all as soon as I:
His marches are expedient to this town,
His forces strong, his soldiers confident.
With him along is come the mother-queen,

a A more requital-] That is, a greater requital. Thus, in "Henry IV." Pt. I. Act IV. Sc. 3,

"The more and less came in with cap and knee."

b So indirectly shed.] So wrongfully shed. The word occurs again with the same meaning in "Henry V." Act II. Sc. 4,

An Até, stirring him to blood and strife:
With her her niece, the lady Blanch of Spain;
With them a bastard of the king's deceas'd:
And all the unsettled humours of the land,-
Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries,
With ladies' faces, and fierce dragons' spleens,-
Have sold their fortunes at their native homes,
Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs,
To make a hazard of new fortunes here.
In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits,
Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er,
Did never float upon the swelling tide,
To do offence and scath in Christendom.

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From France to England, there to live in peace!
England we love; and, for that England's sake,
With burden of our armour here we sweat :
This toil of ours should be a work of thine,
But thou from loving England art so far,
That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king,
Cut off the sequence of posterity,
Out-faced infant state, and done a rape
Upon the maiden virtue of the crown.
Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face ;-
These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his :
This little abstract doth contain that large,
Which died in Geffrey; and the hand of time
Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume.
That Geffrey was thy elder brother born,
And this his son; England was Geffrey's right,

(*) First folio, Ace.

he bids you then resign

Your crown and kingdom indirectly held
From him, the native and true challenger."

e Are expedient-] Expeditious, immediate.

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