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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 is 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 speedy 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 suffer us,
To this unlook'd for unprepared pomp.

b

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

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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 that fame purpofe-changer, that fly devil;
That broker, that ftill breaks the pate of faith,
That daily break-vow; he that wins of all,

b Mad]-Strange, abfurd. rounded]-whispered.

departed with]-relinquished.

Of

Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids, (Who having no external thing to lofe

e

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, who 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, course, 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 most base and vile-concluded peace.—
And why rail I on this commodity?

But for because he hath not woo'd 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, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail,
And fay, there is no fin, but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be,
To fay, there is no vice, but beggary:
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord; for I will worship thee!

eCommodity]-Self-intereft.

peifed]-poised.

bis fair angelscoin.

[Exit.

"I will turn diseases to commodity." HENRY IV. Part II. A& I. S. 2. Fal. & clutch]-clench, fhut it faft.

But for]-But because.

ACT

ACT III. SCENE I.

The French King's Pavilion.

Enter Conftance, Arthur, and Salisbury.

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Conft. Gone to be marry'd! gone to fwear a peace!
False 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, mis-heard ;
Be well advis'd, tell o'er thy tale again :
It cannot be; thou doft but fay, 'tis fo;
I trust, I may not trust 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;

Opprefs'd with wrongs, and therefore full of fears;
A widow, husbandlefs, fubject to fears;

A woman, naturally born to fears:

And though thou now confefs thou didst but jeft,
With my vext spirits 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 these sad signs confirmers of thy words?
Then speak again; not all thy former tale,
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.

Sal.

Sal. As true, as, I believe, you think them false, That give you caufe to prove my faying true.

Conft. Oh, if thoù teach me to believe this forrow, Teach thou this forrow how to make me die;

And let belief and life encounter fo,

As doth the fury of two defperate men,

Which, in the very meeting, fall, and die.—
Lewis marry Blanch! Oh, boy, then where art thou?
France friend with England! what becomes of me?—
Fellow, be gone; I cannot brook thy fight;
This news hath made thee a moft ugly man.
Sal. What other harm have I, good lady, done,
But fpoke the harm that is by others done?
Conft. Which harm within itself fo heinous is,
As it makes harmful all that speak of it.

Arth. I do befeech you, madam, be content.
Conft. If thou, that bidft me be content, wert grim,
Ugly, and fland'rous to thy mother's womb,
Full of unpleafing blots, and * fightless stains,
Lame, foolish, crooked, 'fwart, prodigious,
Patch'd with foul moles, and eye-offending marks,
I would not care, I then would be content;
For then I should not love thee; no, nor thou
Become thy great birth, nor deserve a crown.
But thou art fair; and at thy birth, dear boy!
Nature and fortune join'd to make thee great :
Of nature's gifts thou may'ft with lilies boast,
And with the half-blown rose: but fortune, oh!
She is corrupted, chang'd, and won from thee;
She adulterates hourly with thine uncle John;
And with her golden hand hath pluck'd on France
To tread down fair refpect of fovereignty,

*fightless-unfeemly.

fwart, prodigious,]-swarthy, of a dark complexion-fo deformed as to be deemed an evil omen, portentous.

And

---

And made his majesty the bawd to theirs.
France is a bawd to fortune, and king John;
That ftrumpet fortune, that ufurping John:
Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forfworn?
Envenom him with words; or get thee gone,
And leave those woes alone, which I alone
Am bound to under-bear.

Sal. Pardon me, madam,

I may not go without you to the kings.

Conft. Thou may'st, thou shalt, I will not go with thee:

I will inftruct my forrows to be proud;

For grief is proud, and makes his owner "stout.
To me, and to the state of my great grief,
Let kings affemble; for my grief's fo great,
That no supporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up: here I and "forrow fit;

Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.

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Enter King John, King Philip, Lewis, Blanch, Elinor, Faulconbridge, and Austria.

K. Phil. 'Tis true, fair daughter; and this bleffed day Ever in France shall be kept festival : To folemnize this day, the glorious fun Stays in his course, and plays the alchymift; Turning, with fplendor of his precious eye,

m

Stoop.-In Much ado about Nothing, the father of Hero, depressed by her disgrace, declares himself so fubdued by grief that a thread may lead him. How is it that grief in Leonato and lady Conftance produces effects directly oppofite, and yet both agreeable to nature? Sorrow foftens the mind while it is yet warmed by hope, but hardens it when it is congealed by defpair. Diftrefs, while there remains any profpect of relief, is weak and flexible, but when no fuccour remains, is fearless and stubborn; angry alike at thofe that injure, and at those that do not help; careless to please where nothing can be gained, and fearless to offend when there is nothing further to be dreaded. Such was this writer's knowledge of the paffions. n forrows.

The

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