SCENE III.
Alarums, excursions, retreat. Re-enter King John, Elinor,
Arthur, Faulconbridge, Hubert, and Lords.
K. John.
So shall it be; your grace shall stay behind,
[To Elinor.
-- 70 --
So strongly guarded.—Cousin, look not sad:
[To Arthur.
Thy grandam loves thee; and thy uncle will
As dear be to thee as thy father was.
Arth.
O, this will make my mother die with grief.
K. John.
Cousin, away for England; haste before:
[To Faulconbridge.
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags
Of hoarding abbots; imprisoned angels
Set at liberty: the fat ribs of peace4 note
Must by the hungry now be fed upon:
Use our commission in his utmost force.
Faulc.
5 note
Bell book and candle shall not drive me back,
When gold and silver becks me to come on.
I leave your highness:—Grandam, I will pray
-- 71 --
(If ever I remember to be holy)
For your fair safety; so I kiss your hand.
Eli.
Farewel, gentle cousin.
K. John.
Coz, farewel.
[Exit Faulc.
Eli.
Come hither, little kinsman; hark, a word.
[Taking him to one side of the stage.
K. John.
Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert,
We owe thee much; within this wall of flesh
There is a soul, counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say,—
But I will fit it with some better time.9Q0606
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost asham'd
To say what good respect I have of thee.
Hub.
I am much bounden to your majesty.
K. John.
Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet:
But thou shalt have; and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come, for me to do thee good.
I had a thing to say,—But let it go:
The sun is in the heaven; and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
Is all too wanton, and too full of gawds6 note
,
To give me audience:—If the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,
7 note
Sound on unto the drowsy race of night;
-- 72 --
If this same were a church-yard where we stand,
And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs;
Or if that surly spirit, melancholy,
Had bak'd thy blood, and made it heavy, thick;
(Which, else, runs tickling up and down the veins,
Making that ideot, laughter, keep mens' eyes,
And strain their cheeks to idle merriment,
A passion hateful to my purposes)
Or if that thou could'st see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using conceit alone,
Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words;
Then, in despight of broad-ey'd8 note
watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts:
-- 73 --
But, ah, I will not:—Yet I love thee well;
And, by my troth, I think, thou lov'st me well.
Hub.
So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Though that my death were adjunct to my act,
By heaven, I would do it.
K. John.
Do not I know, thou would'st?
Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye
On yon young boy: I'll tell thee what, my friend,
He is a very serpent in my way:
And, wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread,
He lies before me: Dost thou understand me?
Thou art his keeper.
Hub.
And I'll keep him so,
That he shall not offend your majesty.
K. John.
Death.
Hub.
My lord?
K. John.
A grave.
Hub.
He shall not live.
K. John.
Enough.
I could be merry now: Hubert, I love thee;
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee:
9 noteRemember.—Madam, fare you well:
I'll send those powers o'er to your majesty.
Eli.
My blessing go with thee!
K. John.
For England, cousin, go:
Hubert shall be your man, attend on you
With all true duty.—On toward Calais, ho!
[Exeunt.
-- 74 --
Samuel Johnson [1778], The plays of William Shakspeare. In ten volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators; to which are added notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. The second edition, Revised and Augmented (Printed for C. Bathurst [and] W. Strahan [etc.], London) [word count] [S10901].