King John & Henry VIII (16 page)

    Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal

    Witness against us to damnation.

    How oft the sight of
means to do
²²⁶
ill deeds

    Make deeds ill done! Hadst not thou been
by
²²⁷
,

    A fellow by the hand of nature
marked
²²⁸
,

    
Quoted
and
signed
²²⁹
to do a deed of shame,

    This murder had not come into my mind.

    But taking note of thy abhorred
aspect
²³¹
,

    Finding thee fit for bloody villainy,

    Apt,
liable
²³³
to be employed in danger,

    I
faintly
broke
²³⁴
with thee of Arthur’s death:

    And thou, to be endearèd to a king,

    Made it no
conscience
²³⁶
to destroy a prince.

HUBERT
    My lord—

KING JOHN
    Hadst thou but shook thy head or made a pause

    When I spake
darkly
²³⁹
what I purposèd,

    Or turned an eye of doubt upon my face,

    
As
bid me tell my tale in
express
²⁴¹
words,

    Deep shame
had
²⁴²
struck me dumb, made me break off,

    And those thy fears might have
wrought
²⁴³
fears in me.

    But thou didst understand me by my signs

    And didst in signs again
parley
²⁴⁵
with sin:

    
Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent,

    And consequently thy
rude
²⁴⁷
hand to act

    The deed, which both our tongues held vile to name.

    Out of my sight, and never see me more!

    My nobles leave me, and my
state
is
braved
²⁵⁰
,

    Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers;

    Nay, in the
body of this fleshly land
²⁵²
,

    This kingdom, this
confine
²⁵³
of blood and breath,

    Hostility and civil
tumult
²⁵⁴
reigns

    Between my conscience and my cousin’s death.

HUBERT
    Arm you against your other enemies:

    I’ll make a peace between your soul and you.

    Young Arthur is alive: this hand of mine

    Is yet a
maiden
²⁵⁹
and an innocent hand,

    Not painted with the crimson spots of blood.

    Within this bosom never entered yet

    The dreadful
motion
²⁶²
of a murderous thought;

    And you have slandered nature in my
form
²⁶³
,

    Which, howsoever
rude exteriorly
²⁶⁴
,

    Is yet the cover of a fairer mind

    Than to be butcher of an innocent child.

KING JOHN
    Doth Arthur live? O, haste thee to the peers:

    
Throw
²⁶⁸
this report on their incensèd rage,

    And make them
tame
²⁶⁹
to their obedience.

    Forgive the comment that my passion made

    Upon thy feature, for my rage was blind,

    And foul
imaginary
eyes of blood
²⁷²

    Presented thee more hideous than thou art.

    O, answer not, but to my
closet
²⁷⁴
bring

    
The angry lords with all expedient haste.

    I
conjure
²⁷⁶
thee but slowly: run more fast.

ARTHUR
    The wall is high, and yet will I leap down.

    Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not:

    There’s few or none do know me: if they did,

    This ship-boy’s
semblance
hath disguised me
quite
⁴
.

    I am afraid, and yet I’ll
venture
⁵
it.

    If I get down, and do not break my limbs,

    I’ll find a thousand
shifts
⁷
to get away:

    As good to
die and go, as die and stay
⁸
.

    O me! My uncle’s spirit is in these stones:

    Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones!

SALISBURY
    Lords, I will meet
him
at
Saint Edmundsbury
¹¹
:

    It is our
safety
¹²
, and we must embrace

    This
gentle
¹³
offer of the perilous time.

PEMBROKE
    Who brought that letter from the cardinal?

SALISBURY
    The count Melun, a noble lord of France,

    Whose
private
¹⁶
with me of the dauphin’s love

    Is much more
general
¹⁷
than these lines import.

BIGOT
    Tomorrow morning let us meet him then.

SALISBURY
    Or rather then set forward; for ’twill be

    Two long days’ journey, lords,
or ere
we
²⁰
meet.

BASTARD
    Once more today well met,
distempered
²¹
lords:

    The king by me requests your presence
straight
²²
.

SALISBURY
    The king hath
dispossessed himself
²³
of us:

    We will not
line
his thin
bestainèd
cloak
²⁴

    With our pure honours, nor
attend the foot
²⁵

    That leaves the print of blood where’er it walks.

    Return and tell him so: we know the worst.

BASTARD
    Whate’er you think, good words, I think, were best.

SALISBURY
    Our
griefs
, and not our manners,
reason
²⁹
now.

BASTARD
    But there is little reason in your grief.

    Therefore ’twere reason you had manners now.

PEMBROKE
    Sir, sir,
impatience
hath his
privilege
³²
.

BASTARD
    
’Tis true, to hurt his master, no man’s else
³³
.

SALISBURY
    This is the prison. What is he lies here?

PEMBROKE
    O, death, made proud with pure and princely beauty:

    The earth had not a hole to hide this deed.

SALISBURY
    Murder,
as
³⁷
hating what himself hath done,

    Doth
lay it open
³⁸
to urge on revenge.

BIGOT
    Or w
he
³⁹
n he doomed this beauty to a grave,

    Found it too precious-princely for a grave.

SALISBURY
    
Sir Richard
, what think you? You have
beheld
⁴¹
,

    Or have you read, or heard: or could you think,

    Or do you almost
think
⁴³
, although you see,

    
That you do see
? Could thought, without this
object
⁴⁴
,

    Form such another? This is the very top,

    The height, the
crest
⁴⁶
, or crest unto the crest,

    Of murder’s
arms
⁴⁷
: this is the bloodiest shame,

    The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke,

    
That ever
wall-eyed
⁴⁹
wrath or staring rage

    Presented to the tears of soft
remorse
⁵⁰
.

PEMBROKE
    All murders past do stand
excused
in
⁵¹
this:

    And this, so
sole
⁵²
and so unmatchable,

    Shall give a holiness, a purity,

    To the yet unbegotten sin of
times
⁵⁴
,

    And prove a deadly bloodshed but a jest,

    
Exampled
by this
heinous
⁵⁶
spectacle.

BASTARD
    It is a damnèd and a bloody work:

    The
graceless
action of a
heavy
⁵⁸
hand,

    If that it be the work of any hand.

SALISBURY
    If that it be the work of any hand?

    We had a kind of
light
⁶¹
what would ensue:

    It is the shameful work of Hubert’s hand,

    The
practice
⁶³
and the purpose of the king:

    From whose obedience I forbid my soul,

    Kneeling before this ruin of sweet life,

    And breathing to his
breathless
⁶⁶
excellence

    The
incense
⁶⁷
of a vow, a holy vow:

    Never to taste the pleasures of the world,

    Never to be
infected
⁶⁹
with delight,

    Nor conversant with ease and idleness,

    Till I have
set
⁷¹
a glory to this hand,

    By giving it the
worship
⁷²
of revenge.

PEMBROKE AND BIGOT
    Our souls
religiously
confirm
⁷³
thy words.

HUBERT
    Lords, I am hot with haste in seeking you:

    Arthur doth live: the king hath sent for you.

SALISBURY
    O, he is bold, and blushes not at death.—

    
Avaunt
⁷⁷
, thou hateful villain, get thee gone!

HUBERT
    I am no villain.

SALISBURY
    Must I
rob the law
⁷⁹
?

BASTARD
    Your sword is
bright
, sir: put it
up
⁸¹
again.

SALISBURY
    Not till I sheathe it in a
murderer’s skin
⁸¹
.

HUBERT
    Stand back, Lord Salisbury, stand back, I say:

    By heaven, I think my sword’s as sharp as yours.

    I would not have you, lord, forget yourself,

    Nor
tempt
the
danger
of my true
defence
⁸⁵
;

    Lest I, by
marking
⁸⁶
of your rage, forget

    Your worth, your greatness and nobility.

BIGOT
    Out, dunghill! Dar’st thou
brave
⁸⁸
a nobleman?

HUBERT
    Not for my life: but yet I dare defend

    My innocent life against an emperor.

SALISBURY
    Thou art a murderer.

HUBERT
    Do not
prove me so
⁹²
:

    
Yet
I am none.
Whose tongue soe’er
⁹³
speaks false,

    Not truly speaks: who speaks not truly, lies.

PEMBROKE
    Cut him to pieces.

BASTARD
    Keep the peace, I say.

SALISBURY
    Stand
by
, or I shall
gall
⁹⁷
you, Falconbridge.

BASTARD
    Thou wert better gall the devil, Salisbury:

    If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot,

    Or teach thy hasty
spleen
¹⁰⁰
to do me shame,

    I’ll strike thee dead. Put up thy sword
betime
¹⁰¹
,

    Or I’ll so maul you and your
toasting-iron
¹⁰²
,

    That you shall think the devil is come from hell.

BIGOT
    What wilt thou do, renownèd Falconbridge?

    
Second
¹⁰⁵
a villain and a murderer?

HUBERT
    Lord Bigot, I am none.

BIGOT
    Who killed this prince?

HUBERT
    ’Tis not an hour since I left him well: