K. Phil. Speak, England, firft, that hath been forward firft

To speak unto this city: what fay you?

K. John. If that the dauphin there, thy princely fon, Can in this book of beauty read, I love; Her dowry fhall weigh equal with a queen : For, Anjou, and fair Touraine, Maine, Poitiers 2, And all that we upon this fide the fea, (Except this city now by us befieg'd) Find liable to our crown and dignity, Shall gild her bridal bed; and make her rich In titles, honours, and promotions,

As fhe in beauty, education, blood,

Holds hand with any princefs of the world.

K. Phil. What fay'it thou, boy? look in the lady's face.

Lewis. I do, my lord; and in her eye I find

A wonder, or a wondrous miracle;

The fhadow of myfelf form'd in her eye;
Which, being but the fhadow of your fon,
Becomes a fun, and makes your fon a fhadow.
I do proteft, I never lov'd myfelf,

Till now, infixed, I beheld myfelf,

Drawn in the flattering table of her eye!

[Whispering with Blanch. Faulc. Drawn in the flattering table of her eye! Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow!

2 In old editions,

For ANGIFRS and fair Touraine, Maine, Poitiers,
And all that we upon this fide the fea,

Except this city now by us befieg'd,

Find liable, &c. -] What was the city befieged, but Angers King John agrees to give up all he held in France, except the city of Angiers, which he now befieged and laid claim to. But could he give up all except Angiers, and give up that too? Anjou was one of the provinces which the English held in France. THEOBALD,

Mr. Theobald found, or might have found, the reading, which he would introduce as an emendation of his own, in the old quarto. STEEVENS.

And

And quarter'd in her heart! he doth espy
Himself love's traitor: this is pity now,

That hang'd, and drawn, and quarter'd, there fhould be, In fuch a love, fo vile a lout as he.

Blanch. My uncle's will, in this refpect, is mine.
If he fee aught in you, that makes him like,
That any thing he fees, which moves his liking,
I can with ease translate it to my will:

Or, if you will, to fpeak more properly,
I will enforce it easily to my love.
Further I will not flatter you, my lord,
That all I fee in you is worthy love,
Than this; that nothing do I fee in you,
(Though churlish thoughts themfelves fhould be

judge)

That I can find fhould merit any hate.

your

K. John. What say these young ones? What fay you, my niece?

Blanch. That fhe is bound in honour ftill to do What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say.

K. John. Speak then, prince dauphin; can you love this lady?

Lewis. Nay, afk me, if I can refrain from love; For I do love her moft unfeignedly.

K. John. Then do I give Volqueffen, Touraine,
Maine,

Poitiers, and Anjou, thefe five provinces,
With her to thee; and this addition more,
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin.-
Philip of France, if thou be pleas'd withal,
Command thy son and daughter to join hands.
K. Philip. It likes us well; young princes, close
your hands.

Auft. And your lips too; for, I am well affur'd, That I did fo, what I was first assur❜d.

K. Phil. Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates, Let in that amity which you have made;

For at St. Mary's chapel, prefently
The rites of marriage shall be folemniz'd.—

Is not the lady Conftance in this troop?-
I know, fhe is not; for this match, made up,
Her prefence would have interrupted much.-
Where is the and her fon, tell me, who knows?
Lewis. She's fad and paffionate at your highness' tent,
K. Phil. And, by my faith, this league, that we have
made,

Will give her sadness very little cure.—
Brother of England, how may we content
This widow lady? In her right we came;
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way
To our own vantage.

K. John. We will heal up all,

For we'll create young Arthur duke of Bretagne,
And earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town
We make him lord of. Call the lady Conftance;
Some fpeedy meffenger bid her repair
To our folemnity: I truft, we fhall,
If not fill up the measure of her will,
Yet in fome measure fatisfy her fo,
That we shall stop her exclamation.
Go we, as well as hafte will fuffer us,
To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp.

[Exeunt all but Faulconbridge. Faul. Mad world! mad kings! mad compofition! John, to stop Arthur's title in the whole,

Hath willingly departed with a part:

And France (whofe armour confcience buckled on, Whom zeal and charity brought to the field,

As God's own foldier) rounded in the ear

With

departed with a part:] To part and to depart were

formerly fynonimous.

So in Ben Jonfon's Every Man out of his Humour,
"Faith, Sir, I can hardly depart with ready money."
Again, in The Sad Shepherd,

"I have departed it 'mong my poor neighbours."

STEEVENS.

-rounded in the car] i. e. whispered in the car. The word

With that fame purpofe-changer, that fly devil,
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith,
That daily break-vow; he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
(Who having no external thing to lofe

But the word maid, cheats the poor maid of that)
That smooth-fac'd gentleman, tickling commodity-
Commodity, the bias of the world;

The world, which of itself is peised well,
Made to run even, upon even ground;
Till this advantage, this vile drawing bias,
This fway of motion, this commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, courfe, intent:
And this fame bias, this commodity,

This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapt on the outward eye of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determin'd aid,
From a refolv'd and honourable war,
To a moft bafe and vile-concluded peace.
And why rail I on this commodity?
But for because he hath not wooed me yet:
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels would falute my palm;
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, while I am a beggar, I will rail;
And fay, there is no fin but to be rich :
And being rich, my virtue then fhall be,
To fay, there is no vice, but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain be my lord; for I will worship thee!

[Exit.

is frequently used by Chaucer, as well as later writers. So in Lingua, or A Combat of the Tongue, &c. 1607,

46

"I help'd Herodotus to pen fome part of his Muses; lent "Pliny ink to write his hiftory, and rounded Rabelais in the car "when he hiftorified Pantagruel."

So in The Spanish Tragedy, 1705,

"Forthwith Revenge, fhe rounded me i'th'ear." STEEVENS.

ACT

ACT

III.

SCENE I.

G

The French king's pavilion.

Enter Conftance, Arthur, and Salisbury.

CONSTANCE.

ONE to be marry'd! gone to fwear a peace!
Falfe blood to falfe blood join'd! Gone to be
friends!

Shall Lewis have Blanch, and Blanch thofe provinces?
It is not fo, thou haft mis-spoke, mif-heard;
Be well-advis'd, tell o'er thy tale again :
It cannot be; thou doft but say, 'tis fo.
I trust, I may not truft thee; for thy word
Is but the vain breath of a common man :
Believe me, I do not believe thee, man;
I have a king's oath to the contrary.
Thou shalt be punish'd for thus frighting me,
For I am fick, and capable of fears;

Oppreft with wrongs, and therefore full of fears:
A widow, hufbandlefs, fubject to fears;

A

woman, naturally born to fears:

And, tho' thou now confefs thou didst but jest,
With my vext fpirits I cannot take a truce,
But they will quake and tremble all this day.
What doft thou mean by fhaking of thy head?
Why doft thou look fo fadly on my fon?
What means that hand upon that breast of thine?
Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,
Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds?
Be thefe fad fighs confirmers of thy words?
Then speak again not all thy former tale,
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.
Sal. As true as, I believe, you think them false,
That give you caufe to prove my faying true.

Conft.