King John & Henry VIII (14 page)
Read King John & Henry VIII Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
ARTHUR
Too fairly, Hubert, for so foul
effect
40
:
Must you with hot irons burn out both mine eyes?
HUBERT
Young boy, I must.
ARTHUR
And will you?
HUBERT
And I will.
ARTHUR
Have you the heart? When your head did but ache,
I
knit
my
handkercher
46
about your brows,
The best I had, a princess
wrought it
47
me,
And I did never ask
it you
48
again:
And with my hand at midnight held your head,
And like the
watchful
50
minutes to the hour,
Still and anon
cheered up the
heavy
51
time,
Saying ‘What
lack you
?’ and ‘Where lies your
grief
52
?’
Or ‘What good
love
53
may I perform for you?’
Many a poor man’s son would have
lien
54
still
And ne’er have spoke a loving word to you:
But you
at your sick service
56
had a prince:
Nay, you may think my love was
crafty
57
love,
And call it cunning. Do,
an if
58
you will.
If heaven be pleased that you must use me
ill
59
,
Why then you must. Will you put out mine eyes?
These eyes that never did, nor never shall,
So much as frown on you.
HUBERT
I have sworn to do it:
And with hot irons must I burn them out.
ARTHUR
Ah, none but in this
iron age
65
would do it:
The iron of itself, though
heat
66
red-hot,
Approaching near these eyes, would drink my tears
And quench
this
68
fiery indignation,
Even in the matter
69
of mine innocence:
Nay, after that, consume away in rust
But for containing
71
fire to harm mine eye:
Are you more stubborn-hard than hammered iron?
And if an angel
should have
73
come to me
And told me Hubert should put out mine eyes,
I would not have believed him: no tongue but Hubert’s.
HUBERT
Come forth.
Stamps; Executioners come forward
Do as I bid you do.
ARTHUR
O, save me, Hubert, save me! My eyes are
out
78
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men.
HUBERT
Give me the iron, I say, and bind him here.
ARTHUR
Alas, what need you be so boist’rous-rough?
I will not struggle: I will stand stone-still:
For heaven sake, Hubert, let me not be bound:
Nay, hear me, Hubert, drive these men away,
And I will sit as quiet as a lamb:
I will not stir, nor
winch
86
, nor speak a word,
Nor look upon the iron
angerly
87
:
Thrust but these men away, and I’ll forgive you,
Whatever torment you do put me to.
HUBERT
Go, stand within: let me alone with him.
FIRST EXECUTIONER
I am best pleased to be
from
91
such a deed.
[
Exeunt Executioners
]
ARTHUR
Alas, I then have
chid
92
away my friend!
He hath a stern look, but a gentle heart:
Let him come back, that his compassion may
Give life to yours.
HUBERT
Come, boy, prepare yourself.
ARTHUR
Is there no
remedy
97
?
HUBERT
None, but to lose your eyes.
ARTHUR
O heaven, that there were but a
mote
99
in yours,
A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering hair,
Any
annoyance
in that precious
sense
101
:
Then feeling what small things are
boisterous
102
there,
Your vile intent must needs seem horrible.
HUBERT
Is this your promise?
Go to
104
, hold your tongue.
ARTHUR
Hubert, the utterance of
a brace
105
of tongues
Must needs want pleading
106
for a pair of eyes:
Let me not
107
hold my tongue: let me not, Hubert:
Or, Hubert, if you will, cut out my tongue,
So I may keep mine eyes. O, spare mine eyes,
Though to no use but
still
110
to look on you.
Lo, by my
troth
111
, the instrument is cold
And would not harm me.
HUBERT
I can heat it, boy.
ARTHUR
No,
in good sooth
114
: the fire is dead with grief,
Being
create
115
for comfort, to be used
In
undeserved extremes
: see
else
116
yourself:
There is no malice in this burning coal:
The breath of heaven hath blown his spirit out,
And strewed repentant ashes on his head.
HUBERT
But with my breath I can revive it, boy.
ARTHUR
An if you do, you will
but
121
make it blush
And glow with shame of your proceedings, Hubert:
Nay, it
perchance
will
sparkle in
123
your eyes,
And, like a dog that is compelled to fight,
Snatch
at his master that doth
tarre
125
him on.
All things that you should use to do me wrong
Deny their
office
127
: only you do lack
That mercy, which fierce fire and iron
extends
128
,
HUBERT
Well, see to live: I will not touch thine eye
For all the treasure that thine uncle
owes
131
:
Yet am I sworn and I did
purpose
132
, boy,
With this same very iron to burn them out.
ARTHUR
O, now you look like Hubert. All this while
You were disguisèd.
HUBERT
Peace; no more. Adieu.
Your uncle must not know
but
137
you are dead.
I’ll fill these
doggèd
138
spies with false reports:
And, pretty child, sleep
doubtless
139
, and secure,
That Hubert for the wealth of all the world,
Will not
offend
141
thee.
ARTHUR
O heaven! I thank you, Hubert.
HUBERT
Silence, no more: go
closely
143
in with me.
Much danger do I undergo for thee.
Exeunt
running scene 7
Enter King John, Pembroke, Salisbury and other Lords
King John ascends the throne
KING JOHN
Here once again we sit: once again crowned,
And looked upon, I hope, with cheerful eyes.
PEMBROKE
This ‘once again’, but that your highness pleased,
Was
once
4
superfluous: you were crowned before,
And that high royalty was ne’er plucked off:
The faiths of men ne’er stainèd with revolt:
Fresh
7
expectation troubled not the land
With any longed-for change or better
state
8
.
SALISBURY
Therefore, to be
possessed
with
double pomp
9
,
To
guard
10
a title that was rich before,
To
gild
11
refinèd gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with
taper-light
14
To seek the beauteous
eye of heaven
15
to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.
PEMBROKE
But
that your royal
pleasure
17
must be done,
This act is as an ancient tale new told,
And, in the last repeating, troublesome,
Being urgèd at a time
unseasonable
20
.
SALISBURY
In this the
antique
and
well-noted
21
face
Of plain old
form
is much
disfigurèd
22
,
And, like a
shifted
23
wind unto a sail,
It
makes the course of thoughts to
fetch about
24
,
Startles and frights
consideration
25
,
Makes
sound
26
opinion sick and truth suspected,
For putting on so
new a fashioned
27
robe.
PEMBROKE
When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do
confound
29
their skill in covetousness,
And oftentimes
excusing of a fault
30
Doth make the fault the worse by th’excuse:
As patches set upon a little
breach
32
Discredit
33
more in hiding of the fault
Than did the fault before it was so patched.
SALISBURY
To this effect, before you were
new crowned
35
,
We
breathed
36
our counsel: but it pleased your highness
To
overbear
37
it, and we are all well pleased,
Since all and every part of what we would
Doth
make a stand at
39
what your highness will.
KING JOHN
Some reasons of this double coronation
I have
possessed you with
41
, and think them strong.
And more,
more strong, than lesser is my fear
42
,
I shall
indue
43
you with: meantime but ask
What you would have reformed that is not well,
And well shall you perceive how willingly
I will both hear and grant you your requests.
PEMBROKE
Then I, as one that am the
tongue
47
of these,
To
sound
48
the purposes of all their hearts,
Both for myself and them, but chief of all
Your safety, for the which myself and
them
50
Bend
their best
studies
51
, heartily request
Th’
enfranchisement
52
of Arthur, whose restraint
Doth move the murmuring lips of discontent
To break into this dangerous argument:
If what in
rest
you have,
in right
55
you hold,
Why then your fears, which, as they say,
attend
56
The steps of wrong
, should move you to
mew up
57
Your
tender
58
kinsman, and to choke his days
With barbarous ignorance and deny his youth
The rich advantage of good
exercise
60
.
That
the time’s enemies may not have
this
61
To
grace occasions
, let it be our
suit
62
That you have bid us ask his liberty,
Which for our
goods
64
we do no further ask
Than, whereupon our
weal
65
on you depending
Counts
66
it your weal, he have his liberty.
