Save in afpéct, have all offence feal'd up;
Our cannons' malice vainly fhall be spent
Againft the invulnerable clouds of heaven;
And, with a blessed and unvex'd 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 roundure of your old-fac❜d walls
Can hide you from our meffengers of war;
Though all these English, and their discipline,
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?
1 Cit. In brief, we are the king of England's
fubjects;
For him, and in his right, we hold this town. K. John. Acknowledge then the king, and let me in.
1 Cit. That can we not: but he that proves the
king,
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 witnesses,
Twice fifteen thoufand hearts of England's breed,Baft. Baftards, and elfe.
K. John. To verify our title with their lives. K. Phi. As many, and as well-born bloods as thofe,
Baft. Some baftards too.
K. Phi. Stand in his face, to contradict his claim.
1 Cit. Till you compound whofe right is wor
We, for the worthieft, hold the right from both. K. Jahn Then God forgive the fin of all thofe fouls,
That to their everlafting refidence,
Before the dew of evening fall, fhall fleet,
In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king!
K. Phi. Amen, Amen!-Mount, chevaliers! to arms!
Baft. St. George, that fwing'd the dragon, and e'er fince,
Sits on his horfeback at mine hoftefs' door,
Teach us fome fence !-Sirrah, were I at home,
At your den, firrah, [ToAUSTRIA, ]with your lioness.
I'd fet an ox-head to your lion's hide,
And make a monfter of you.
Auft.
Baft. 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.
Baft. Speed then, to take advantage of the field.
K. Phi. It fhall be fo;-[To LEWIS.] and at the other hill
Command the reft to ftand.-God, and our right!
Alarums and Excurfions; then a Retreat. Enter a
French Herald, with trumpets, to the gates.
F. Her. You men of Angiers, open wide your
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,
Whofe fons lye fcatter'd on the bleeding ground:
Many a widow's husband groveling lies,
Coldly embracing the difcolour'd earth;
And victory, with little lofs, doth play
Upon the dancing banners of the French;
Who are at hand, triumphantly difplay'd,
To enter conquerors, and to proclaim
Arthur of Bretagne, England's king, and yours.
Enter an English Herald, with trumpets. E. Her. Rejoice, you men of Angiers, ring your bells;
King John, your king and England's, doth approach,
Commander of this hot malicious day!
Their armours, that march'd hence fo filver-bright,
Hither return all gilt with Frenchmen's blood;
There ftuck no plume in any English creft,
That is removed by a ftaff of France;
Ours colours do return in those fame hands
That did difplay them when we first march'd forth;
And, like a jolly troop of huntfmen, come
Our lufty English, all with purpled hands,
Died in the dying flaughter of their foes:
Open your gates, and give the victors way.
Cit. Heralds, from off our towers we might
behold,
From first to laft, the onset and retire
Of both your armies; whofe equality
By our beft eyes cannot be cenfured:
Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answer'd blows:
Strength match'd with ftrength, and power confronted power:
Both are alike; and both alike we like.
One must prove greatest: while they weigh foeven, We hold our town for neither; yet for both.
Enter at one fide, King JOHN, with his power;
ELINOR, BLANCH, and the Baftard; at the other,
King PHILIP, LEWIS, AUSTRIA, and Forces.
K. John. France, haft thou yet more blood to
caft away?
Say, fhal! the current of our right run on ?
Whofe paffage, vex'd with thy impediment,
Shall leave his native channel, and o'erfwell
With course disturb'd even thy confining shores;
Unless thou let his filver water keep
A peaceful progrefs to the ocean.
K. Phi. England, thou haft not fav'd one drop of blood,
In this hot trial, more than we of France;
Rather, lost more: And by this hand I swear,
That fways the earth this climate overlooks,―
Before we will lay down our juft-borne arms,
We'll put thee down, 'gainst whom these arms we
bear,
Or add a royal number to the dead;
Gracing the fcroll, that tells of this war's lofs,
With flaughter coupled to the name of kings."
Baft. Ay, majefty! how high thy glory towers,
When the rich blood of kings is fet on fire!
O, now doth death line his dead chaps with steel;
The fwords of foldiers are his teeth, his fangs;
And now he feafts, mouthing the flesh of men,
In undetermin'd differences of kings.
Why ftand thefe royal fronts amazed thus ?
Cry, havock, kings! back to the ftained field,
You equal potents, firy-kindled spirits !
Then let confufion of one part confirm
The other's peace; till then, blows, blood, and
K. John. Whofe party do the townsmen yet admit ?
K. Phi. Speak, citizens, for England; who's your king?
1 Cit. The king of England, when we know the king.
K. Phi. Know him in us, that here hold up his right.
K. John. In us, that are our own great deputy, And bear poffeffion of our perfon here; Lord of our prefence, Angiers, and of you.
Cit. A greater power than we, denies all this; And, till it be undoubted, we do lock
Our former fcruple in our ftrong-barr'd gates:
King'd of our fears; until our fears, refolv'd,
Be by fome certain king purg'd and depos'd.
Baft. By heaven, thefe fcroyles of Angiers flout
you, kings;
And ftand fecurely on their battlements,
As in a theatre, whence they gape and point
At your industrious fcenes and acts of death.
Your royal prefences be rul'd by me;
Do like the mutines of Jerufalem,
Be friends a while, and both conjointly bend
Your sharpeft deeds of malice on this town:
By east and weft let France and England mount
Their battering cannon, charged to the mouths;
Till their foul-fearing clamours have brawl'd down
The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city:
I'd play inceffantly upon these jades,
Even till unfenced defolation
Leave them as naked as the vulgar air.
That done, diffever your
And part your mingled colours once again;
Turn face to face, and bloody point to point;
Then, in a moment, fortune fhall cull forth
Out of one fide her happy minion;
To whom in favour the fhall give the day,
And kifs him with a glorious victory.
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