K. John. O, when the last account "twixt heaven and earth Is to be made, then shall this hand and sealWitness against us to damnation!
How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds Makes deeds ill done! Hadst not thou been by, A fellow by the hand of Nature marked,⑦Quotedand signed to do a deed of shame,
This murder had not come into my mind: But, taking note of thy abhorred aspect, Finding thee fit for bloody villany,Apt, liable to be employed in danger,I faintly broke with thee of Arthur"s death; And thou, to be endear?d to a king,Made it no conscience to destroy a prince.
Hub. My lord, -
K. John. Hadst thou but shook thy head, or made a pause.
When I spake darkly what I purposed; Or turned an eye of doubt upon my face, And bid me tell my tale in express words;Deep shame had struck me dumb, made me break off, And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me: But thou didst understand me by my signs,And didst in signs again parley with sin;Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent, And consequently thy rude hand to actThe 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, Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers; Nay, in the body of this fleshly land,This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath,Hostility and civil tumult reignsBetween my conscience and my cousin"s death.
Hub. Arm you against your other enemies, I"ll make a peace betwixt your soul and you. Young Arthur is alive: this hand of mineIs yet a maiden and an innocent hand,Not painted with the crimson spots of blood. Within this bosom never entered yetThe dreadful motion of a murderous thought; And you have slandered Nature in my form, Which, howsoever rude exteriorlyIs yet the cover of a fairer mindThan to be butcher of an innocent child.
K. John. Doth Arthur live? O, haste thee to the peers, Throw this report on their incensed rage,And make them tame to their obedience! Forgive the comment that my passion made Upon thy feature; for my rage was blind, And foul imaginary eyes of bloodPresented thee more hideous than thou art. O, answer not, but to my closet bringThe angry lords, with all expedient haste.
I conjure thee but slowly; run more fast.［Exeunt.
Arthur, disguised as a sailor boy, tries to escape. He leaps from the castle wall, and is killed.
SCENE.-The Castle walls
Arth. 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. I am afraid; and yet I"ll venture it.
If I get down, an d do not break my limbs,I"ll find a thousand shifts to get away:
As good to die and go, as die and stay. -［Leaps down.
O me ! my uncle"s spirit is in these stones: -Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones!［Dies.
Pembroke, Salisbury, Bigot, and Faulconbridge enter, and discover his dead body on the ground.
Enter HUBERT.
Hub. Lords, I am hot with haste in seeking you: Arthur doth live; the king hath sent for you.
Sal.［Pointing to the body] O, he is bold, and blushes notat death. -"Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone!
Hub. I am no villain.
Sal.Must I rob the law?［Drawing his sword ,Faul. Your sword is bright, sir; put it up again.
Sal. Not till I sheathe it in a murderer"s skin.
Hub. Stand back, Lord Salisbury, stand back, I say; In truth, 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; Lest I, by marking of your rage, forget Your worth, your greatness and nobility.
Big. Out, dunghill! darest thou brave a nobleman?
Hub. Not for my life;⑨ but yet I dare defend My innocent life against an emperor.
Sal. Thou art a murderer.
Hub. Do not prove me so;⑩ Yet, I am none: whose tongue soe"er speaks false, Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies.
Pem, Cut him to pieces!
Faul.Keep the peace, I say. Sal. Stand by, or I shall gall you, Faulconbridge. Faul. If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot,Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame, I"ll strike thee dead. Put up thy sword betime.
Big. What wilt thou do, renown?d Faulconbridge? Second a villain and a murderer!
Hub. Lord Bigot, I am none.
Big.Who killed this prince?
Hub. " Tis not an hour since I left him well; I honoured him, I loved him; and will weep My date of life out for his sweet life"s loss.
Sal. Trust not those cunning waters of his eyes, For villany is not without such rheum;And he, long traded in it, makes it seem Like rivers of remorse and innocency. Away, with me, all you whose souls abhor The uncleanly savours of a slaughter-house; For I am stifled with the smell of sin.
Big. Away, toward Bury, to the Dauphin there!
Pem. There, tell the king, he may inquire us out.
［Exeunt Lords.
Faul. Here"s a good world! -Knew you of this fair work?
Beyond the infinite and boundless reach
Of mercy, if thou didst this deed of death, Art thou doomed, Hubert.
Hub.Do but hear me, sir.
Faul. Ha! I"ll tell thee what;
Thou art stained as black-nay, nothing so black As thou shalt be, if thou didst kill the child.
Hub. Upon my soul-
Faul.If thou didst but consent
To this most cruel act, do but despair;
And, if thou want"st a cord, the smallest thread That ever spider twisted from her wombWill serve to strangle thee; a rush will beA beam to hang thee on: or wouldst thou drown thyself. Put but a little water in a spoon,And it shall be as all the ocean, Enough to stifle such a villain up. - I do suspect thee very grievously.
Hub. I left him well.
Faul.Go, bear him in thine arms. -
I am amazed, methinks; and lose my way