KING JOHN

Here till our Navy of a thousand and sail, Have made a breakfast to our foe by Sea, Let us encamp to wait their happy speed: Lorraine what readiness is Edward in? How hast thou herd that he provided is Of marshiall furniture for this exploit. Welcome Bohemian king, and welcome all, This your great kindness I will not forget. Beside your plentiful rewards in Crowns, That from our Treasury you shall receive, There comes a hare brained Nation decked in pride, The spoil of whom will be a treble game, And now my hope is full, my joy complete, At Sea we are as puissant as the force; Of Agamemnon in the Haven of Troy: By land with Zerxes we compare of strength, Whose soldiers drank up rivers in their thirst: Then Bayard Like, blind overweening Ned, To reach at our imperial dyadem, Is either to be swallowed of the waves, Or hacked a pieces when thou comest a shore. Then rests there nothing but with present speed, To join our several forces all in one, And bid them battle ere they raingc to far, Come gentle Philip, let us hence depart, This soldiers words have pierced thy father's heart. Oh hapless fortune, let us yet assay, If we can counsel some of them to stay. Come Charles and arm thee, Edward is entrapped, The Prince of Wales is fallen into our hands, And we have compassed him he cannot escape. Lords and my loving Subjects knows the time, That your intended force must bide the touch, Therefore my Friends consider this in brief, He that you fight for is your natural King, He against whom you fight a foreigner: He that you fight for rules in clemency, And fame's you with a mild and gentle bit, He against whom you fight if he prevail, Will straight in throne himself in tyranny, Make slaves of you, and with a heavy hand Curtal and courb your sweetest liberty. Then to protect your Country and your King, Let but the haughty Courage of your hearts, Answer the number of your able hands, And we shall quickly chase These fugitives, For whats this Edward but a belly God, A tender and lascivious wantonness, That tother day was almost dead for love, And what I pray you is his goodly guard, Such as but scant them of their chines of beef, And take away their downy featherbedes, And presently they are as resty stiff, As it a many over ridden jades, Then French men scorn that such should be your Lords And rather bind you them in captive bans, Edward know that John the true king of France, Musing thoust oh ldst encroach upon his land, And in thy tyrannous proceeding slay, His faithful subjects, and subvert his Towns, Spits in thy face, and in this manner following, Obraids thee with thine arrogant intrusion, First I condeme thee for a fugitive, A thievish pyrate, and a needy mate, One that hath either no abiding place, Or else inhabiting some barren soil, Where neither hea b or f utfull grain is had, Dost altogether live by pilfering, Next, insomuch thou hast infringed thy faith, Broke league and solemn covenant made with me, I hold thee for a false pernicious wretch, And last of all, although I scorn to cope With one such inferior to my self, Yet in respect thy thirst is all for gold, They labour rather to be feared then loved, To satisfy thy lust in either part Here am I come and with me have I brought, Exceeding store of treasure, pearl, and coin, Leave therefore now to persecute the weak, And armed entering conflict with the armed, Let it be seen amongst other petty thefts, How thou canst win this pillage manfully. O Lorraine say, what mean our men to fly, Our number is far greater then our foes, Ah, thats the anchredge of some better hope, But on the other side, to think what friends, King Edward hath retained in Netherland, Among those euer-bibbing Epicures: Those frothy Dutch men, puffed with double beer, That drink and swill in every place they come, Does not a little aggravate mine ire, Beside we hear the Emperor conjoins, And stalls him in his own authority: But all the mightier that their number is, The greater glory reaps the victory, Some friends have we beside drum stricke power, The stern Polonian and the warlike Dane: The king of Bohemia, and of Cycelie. Are all become confederates with us, And as I think are marching hither apace, But soft I hear the music of their drums. By which I guess that their approach is near. These for thy news, return unto thy bark, And if thou escape the bloody struck of war, And do survive the conflict, come again, And let us hear the manner of the fight, Exit. Mean space my Lords, 'tis best we be dispersed, To several places least they chance to land: First you my Lord, with your Bohemian Troops, Shall pitch your battles on the lower hand, My eldest son the Duke of Normandy, Together with this aid of Muscovites, Shall climb the higher ground and other way: Here in the middle cost betwixt you both, Philip my youngest boy and I will lodge, So Lords begun, and look unto your charge. Exunt. You stand for France, and Empire fair and large, Now tell me Philip, what is their concept, Touching the challenge that the English make. Now on this plain of Cressy spread your selves, And Edward when thou darest, begin the fight: What else my son, he's scar eight thousand strong and we are threescore thousand at the least, By this it seems we shall be fortunate: For as it is impossible that stones Should ever rise and break the battle ray, Or airy foul make men in arms to quake, So is it Like we shall not be subdued: Or say this might be true, yet in the end, Since he does promise we shall driven him hence, And forage their Country as they have done ours By this revenge, that lose will seem the less, But all are frivolous, fancies, toys and dreams, Once we are sure we have insnard the son, Catch we the father after how we can. I now I call to mind the prophesy, But I must give no enter to a fear, Return and harten up yielding souls, Tell them the ravens seeing them in arms, So many fair against a famished few, Come but to dine upon their handy work, and pray upon the carrion that they kill, For when we see a horse laid down to die, although not dead, the ravenous birds Fit watching the departure of his life, Even so these ravens for the carcases, Of those poor English that are marked to die, Hover about, and if they cry to us, 'Tis but for meat that we must kill for them, Away and comfort up my soldiers, and found the trumpets, and at once dispatch This little business of a silly fraud. Go, & the next bough, soldier, that thou seest, Disgrace it with his body presently, Eor I do hold a tree in France too good, To be the gallows of and English thief. Edward, recount not things irrevocable, Tell me what ransom thou requirest to have? Edward I know what right thou hast in France, And ere I basely will resign my Crown, This Champion field shall a pool of blood, And all our prospect as a slaughter house, A sudden darkness hath defaced the sky, The winds are crept into their caves for fear, the leaves move not, the world is hushed and still, the birds cease singing, and the wandering brooks, Murmur no wonted greeting to their shores, Silence attends some wonder, and expecteth That heaven should pronounce some prophesy, Where or from whom proceeds this silence Charles? But now the pompous Sun in all his pride, Looked through his golden coach upon the world, and on a sudden hath he hid himself, that now the under earth is as a graven, Dark, deadly, silent, and uncomfortable. A clamor of ravens Hark, what a deadly outcry do I hear? Coward what flight? thou liest there needs no flight. Mordiu they quait at us, and kill us up, No less than forty thousand wicked elders, Have forty lean slaves this day stoned to death. Accursed man, of this I was fortolde, But did misconstrue what the prophet told. All dismayed. What fearful words are those thy looks presage? I freely to the gallows to be hanged, Without denial or impediment. Away with him.