vy.- ' i T tmK W -'g.'.-.w.' v.- « ;«t- THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES KING JAMES THE FIRST KING JAMES THE FIRST Jin gistoriciil ^rag^bp BY DAVID GRAHAM AUTHOR OF ' ROBERT THE BRUCE ' Hontion MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1887 All rights reserved ^7^ A DRAMATIS PERSONS James the First, King of Scotland. The Earl of Athole, tmcle to the King. Sir Robert Stuart, gratidson to Athole. Sir Robert Graham Sir John Hall Thomas Hall \ conspirators against Thomas Chambers { fhe King. Christopher Chambers, so7t to Thomas The Earl of Angus, The Abbot of the Dominicans of Perth. Sir David Dunbar. Sir William Crichton, Chancellor of Scotland. Thomas Greaves, an armourer. Walter Straiton, a page. Joanna, Queen of Scotland. Lady Catherine Douglas. Lady Elizabeth Douglas. A Highland Sibyl. Courtiers, Servants, Conspirators, etc. The Scene is laid principally in Edinburgh and Perth. 150018!. KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT I Scene I. — Edinburgh: a Room in Holyrood. T/ie King, the Queen atid Courtiers are discovered variously grouped, — some playing chess, some cards, etc. Enter Lady Catherine Douglas and Sir David Dunbar. Lady Catherine. Had I to plead that blessed day is light, And nobly fitted to forerun the night ; Had I to plead night's welcome though 'tis dark, And is not serenaded by the lark ; Had I to plead frost freezes and fire burns, And that the day and night mount thrones by turns ; That spring ne'er fails to wake, though e'er so deep, Old Nature from her dreary winter sleep, And decks the old dame in a garb so green B 2 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i That she doth seem both young and fair again, — Then might I plead of man's inconstancy. Sir David. O constant slanderer of constant man ! How shall I combat that bad constancy ? Lady Catherine. That is no slander which doth speak the truth. Sir David. That is no truth which is most slanderous. Yet ! Lady Catherine. What follows " yet " ?— Sir David. Ah ! thou wouldst mock me. Lady Catherine. Nay, Sir, I would not mock thee — Unless thou utter — folly, which I know Most men are given to. Sir David. I knew it, I knew it. scene i king james the first Lady Catherine. Thy conscience, then, convicts thee of intent To utter folly ? Ha ! ha ! Take heed to it. I do commend thy conscience : it speaks truth. Listen to its behests and say no wrong. Sir David. Ah me! Lady Catherine {mockingly). Ah me ! Sir David. But tell me wherefore sighs your ladyship } — Lady Catherine. To hear a poor youth sigh so grievously : I sigh for very pity — out of the depths Of my compassion for thee. Sir David. Sigh again, fair lady. 'Tis sweeter than the breath of gentle May Breathing across a bed of violets, 'Tis sweeter I sigh KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Lady Catherine. Save us, fair Sir, You'll shame your schoolmaster ! Sir David. You mock me, Lady. Ah me ! Lady Catherine. What ! More sighing ? Sir David. Cruel ! It is the language of my deadly wound. Lady Catherine. What a strange wound ! Deadly it is, not fatal ; And withal, it is a sighing wound ! Is it well known at Paris or Bologna? Is it oft known to sigh ? Sir David. Nightly ! nightly ! O listen, Catherine, fair Catherine ! It deeply sighs whene'er I think of thee : SCENE 1 KIXG JAMES THE FIRST Such sighs ! Sighs that would waft big ships across the sea Lady Catherine. Kind Heavens !— No wonder that doors bang and windows rattle When thou dost sleep under this roof o' nights. Ha ! ha ! Come, listen to me : — We'll to the King ; the King knows medicine ; Relate to him your singular complaint : He may prescribe for you. Sir David. O cruel Kate ! Yet rather would I listen to the scorn That gaily ripples from those lovely lips, Than to the most devoted tender vows That ever crossed the lips of other women. Lady Catherine. I pray thee, goose, no more The Queen is looking. The Queen (approachmg). Well, Kate, 6 KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT i What make you with Sir David ? May I hope You lead him into no conspiracies ? Lady Catherine. Nay, Madam, — When I resolve on treason, I shall plot With statesmen and with bearded warriors. The Queen. Sir David is a statesman Lady Catherine. Madam, forbear ! — With most profound respect unto your Grace. \Makmg a low obeisance. The Queen. And with your leave, my lady, I will swear He's a brave warrior, — ^just such a one As reverend Dan Chaucer had in sight When he described, to all posterity. His "very gentle, very perfect knight." Lady Catherine. Ghost of that knight ! SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 7 Sir David. Madam, My gracious, gentle, and most sovereign Queen, It would make Crcesus bankrupt to repay One tittle of thy queenly courtesy. 'Tis richer than the wealth of India, 'Tis brighter than Golconda's purest gem, 'Tis treasure never to tire looking at, 'Tis joy for a lifetime : by the Rood, I am your Grace's humble slave for it. The Queen. 'Tis a rare slave ; And look you. Sir, he shall be priceless also. Beyond the fabled wealth of Lydia's king. Lady Catherine. Thrice gentle Queen The Queen. And thrice ungentle Lady, What wouldst thou ? Lady Catherine. What would I ! I fain would blush for this young gentleman. 8 KING JAMES THE FIKST act i The Queen. Unmannered Kate ! Hast thou got any blushes for thyself? Sir David. This is her way, your Grace. Lady Catherine. If I were this fond youth I would so blush, E'en at the present moment, that my hair Should be a blazing conflagration. The Queen. But why this prodigy ? Wherefore this most prodigious prodigy ? Lady Catherine. AVhy, your Grace, mark The most prodigious disproportion Between the rich reward he has received And the poor youth's small merits. Were I this youth, were I Sir David SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 9 Sir David. Thus am I treated, Madam. Lady Catherine. Hear me, your Grace. The Queen. Speak, shrew; Doubtless 'tis something very notable. Lady Catherine. By the most kingly soul of Robert Bruce, And by his ever famous knightliness ! The King (advajicing). Marry ! Is it a lady takes this knightly oath ? What swears fair Kate by our great ancestor .? Lady Catherine. A truth, my liege. The King. I hope my lady sometimes deigns to speak Truths that demand no oaths to prop them up ? lO KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Lady Catherine. A trick o' the mouth, Sir, Caught in your Grace's Court ; yea, by your leave, Merely a trick o' the mouth : but, by my faith, The truth that now doth hover on my lips Demands no strong-lunged oath to prop it up : It stands on its own feet most steadily. The King. Ha ! ha ! A truth of the right sort ! Declare it, Kate. Lady Catherine. A solemn truth ! Prepare to weep, good people. It is this : — Were I Sir David The King. Well, were you Sir David ? Lady Catherine. Never, O never, never, would I wait The general fate of kittens : believe me. Sirs, I would go drown myself. scEXE I KING JAMES THE FIRST n All. Ha ! ha ! ha ! {Exit Lady Catherine. The King. 'Tis a wild bird to catch, But caught, she is a prize. Catch her, Sir David. The Queen. Well, ladies, Time marches ; we must march. On to my bower ! Gentlemen, a fair good-night. \Exeunt the Queen arid Tadies. The King. Kate is a merry lady, But sense oft mingles bravely with her mirth. \The Gentlemen also take their leave. Meet me, my lords, to-morrow\ Good-night, all. — Sir Robert ! Sir Robert Stuart. Your Grace is tired. — Shall I withdraw, my lord ? 12 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i The King. Nay, cousin, stay ; lend us your company. Sir Robert Stuart. My duty lieth in your Grace's will : My pleasure's ripe in your high company. The King. Ah, gentle Stuart, you speak courtly words. The Stuarts are a race of courtiers ; But thou — be loyal. Sir Robert. Be loyal ! The King. Ay, loyal. Sir Robert. As if one could be aught but loyal To such a king as thou ! You jest, my liege. The King. I've said it : The Stuarts aye were courtly. Surely, oft, SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 13 They're not caught tripping in civilities. Civility's a gracious quality ; But be thou more than civil : be loyal ; Be loyal to the high and to the low, Be loyal to the prince and to the peer, And ne'er forget the peasant. Sir Robert. To thee, my sovereign, first The King. Ah ! vow no vows. — Yes, I am tired to-night ; and know you, cousin, I am ill at ease. Sir Robert. Well may your Grace be tired ; But wherefore should you have disquietude ? The King. Ah, wherefore should I have disquietude ! Say, who may have disquiet, if not a king ? Sir Robert. But, Sir, mistake me not : On the broad questions of the commonweal 14 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i True royalty must often have disquiet : I know it well. The King {meditatively). Yea, yea ! Sir Robert. But, good my lord, I thought your Grace implied Some distrust of your nobles, or some doubt Of your sure place in your true commons' hearts. The King. Well ! — What say you ? My nobles, are they all to be trusted ? The commons, do they love me ? Plainly say. Sir Robert. The nobles hold your Grace in reverence. Or, shall I say, in awe and reverence ; The commons worship you ; you are enshrined Within their heart of hearts. The King. Yes, I believe they love me. God grant that my reign may be blest to them ! SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 15 Sir Robert. Till now, my liege, It hath been blest to them abundantly. As time rolls on, may it be doubly blest. The King. Amen ! fiat ! fiat ! — When I recovered my dear father's throne, I made a vow that if God gave me life, The key should guard the castle, that the bush Should be sufficient fence to keep the cow. Throughout my whole dominions ; and I swore That to attain this end beneficent I could content myself with a dog's life. This vow I think hath been in part fulfilled. I do believe the commons bless me for't ; I do believe they love me ; but I think — Ah ! What said you of the nobles ? Sir Robert. They love you too, Sir. The King. Love me ! Nay, nay, they do not love me. You spoke of awe and reverence, did you not ? — i6 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Sir Robert. Such words, perhaps. The King. Awe and reverence ! Awe and reverence ! Doth it mean covert hate ? Eh, cousin ? Sir Robert. Nay, Sir : The feelings that I speak of are mixed up With a most pure devotion to your throne And to your Grace's person and your Hne. The King. Would it were so ! Sir Robert. They say your royal father lives in you, Exalted by the dazzling qualities That shone in your illustrious ancestor, The famous, thrice-renowned, Robert Bruce. The King. Ha ! ha ! Thanks, gentle cousin. The qualities were bravely met in me SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 17 If that were half a truthful reckoning. Ah well, Sir, we must try to do our best : The blessed Virgin and the holy saints Cannot themselves do more. — But mark you, cousin, I had a dream last night. Sir Robert. What dreamt your Grace ? Disordered nonsense marched its cripple march Right through my brains last night. Ha ! ha ! I' faith, I cannot choose but laugh at it : — I dreamt I was King o' the Blackamoors : What was your dream, my liege ? The King. Mine was a curious dream : No odds and ends of silly fantasies That nightly visit every slumberer's couch, But clear, connected, tragic, terrible. Stirring within me saddest memories. Sir Robert. What was't, my liege } c 1 8 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i The King. I dreamt about my Uncle Albany And my poor brother Rothesay. Sir Robert. That woeful tale ! The King. Ay, that woeful tale. Sir Robert. How was the story painted in your dream ? The King. O, in most dismal hues 'Twas in that cell in Falkland I beheld My brother stretched on a poor truckle-bed Littered with draggled straw. The prison-walls Were dripping with the slime of centuries ; The floor was pulpy with a noisome filth That might have bred disgust in rats and toads, Yet — rats and toads squatted in that foul mire And gambolled gruesomely. 'Twas hideous ! The prison air — pah ! Had carrion-vulture sniffed it, it had screamed, SCENE I . KING JAMES THE FIRST 19 And, screaming, had dashed dolorous away. Anon my brother moved — O my poor brother ! Half-raised himself upon his wretched bed And cast around the cell a maniac glare. — O, 'twas a piteous sight ! — Famine had wellnigh gnawed him to the bone ; His limbs where once resided grace and strength Had become skinny, lank, cadaverous ; His face where once sat princely dignity — Let me not think of it ! Sir Robert. O ruthless Albany ! The King. — Then methought That somehow I approached close to his bed, And in my dream I seemed to say to him — " Who keeps my brother David in this den ? " Breaking into mad laughter, he replied — " Dear Albany, fair Albany, kind Uncle Albany." At this moment a woman's gentle hand Was thrust between the iron stanchions Which guard the loopholes of that doleful den, Throwing some food within : — O Jesu, mercy ! — Rothesay's wild eyes beheld it, — he'd have sprung 20 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i To seize the scanty morsels, but — Horrible faracy ! — ere the famished thought Could shape itself into the hungry act, The loathly rats and toads seemed to snatch all. Forthwith Despair took mighty hold of him. And with convulsive energy he shrieked — Staring at me — " Murder ! murder ! Vengeance upon our Uncle Albany ! " Then he fell back delirious and — died. With this I woke. Sir Robert. Most murderous Albany ! The King. Ay, murderous Albany ! Sir Robert. 'Twas the whole tragedy of Rothesay. The King. 'Twas fearful ; and though it was a dream, I saw it all and felt it to the life ; And such an influence it had on me. That I was drenched with sweat whilst stiff with cold. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 21 Sir Robert. I marvel not. O, 'twas a bloody treason, but, thank God, The cry for vengeance hath been satisfied. The King. Satisfied ! — Well, I know not : Perhaps it hath been more than satisfied ; But — the Duke, my uncle, slipt me. Sir Robert. 'Tis true he left this earth From a quiet bed, — but whither slipt he ? He took his dread account along with him. The King. None may leave that behind. O, he brought bitter woe upon this land And on my father's house. — What ! Did he not cause my brother David's death ? Did he not crush my royal father's heart ? Did he not plot and strive that I might lie Those twenty years in long captivity ? Did he not alienate the crown estates ? 22 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Did he not spur on mad licentiousness, And to her very base make Scotland reel ? Sir Robert. He did all this, — Who may deny a single word of it ? The King. And then, Duke Murdoch, — Did he not follow in his father's steps ? But yet I'm counted fierce, tyrannical. Because I caught strong treason by the throat And wrung its breath out ! Faith, they're thankless days. \Enter Walter Straiton. Well, Walter? Straiton. My liege, may't please you, to your Highness The Queen's Grace humbly doth commend herself And waits the favour of your company. The King. Commend me to the Queen And say that I'll attend her presently. \Exit Straiton. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 23 Yea, they are thankless days ; but yet, who knows, Perhaps all times are thankless. Records tell, Traitors were found in Robert Bruce's Court ; If traitors should be found within this Court, Need it astonish me ? Sir Robert. Zounds ! I should stare To find a traitor in your Grace's Court : 'Tis loyal to a man. The King. Fain would I hope so. — Whether or not, I will not be suspicious : Suspicion might make traitors. Good-night, cousin. [ Going. But hark you, Robert, speak not of my dream ; 'Twould but revive ungracious memories. Sir Robert. I will not mention it. — • Good-night, my liege. The King. Good-night ! \_Exit the King. 24 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Sir Robert. The King is ill at ease, — Those dreams and doubts and cautious questionings Speak not of peace of mind. — Believe it not. That strong advice " Be loyal ! " — what meant it ? Does he doubt me ? — Gramercy, Sirs, Faith, I am much disposed to doubt myself: The promptings of past years nudge me again. "Suspicion might make traitors." — He knows man- kind. What did he say again ? Now, let me think. — " I will not be suspicious " — that was it ; And yet he is deeply suspicious. " Traitors were found in Robert Bruce's Court, What need astonish vie ! " — That contradicts " I will not be suspicious." He knows not But vengeance hath been more than satisfied For Albany's treason ; and yet he says — " The Duke, my uncle, slipt me." — 'Tis a coil. O, he's suspicious ! O, he's ill at ease ! I wonder what will come o't. Shall I go — ? I'll to my grandad, though he never knew The colour of my youthful reveries. Sir Robert Graham knew better. \_Exit. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 25 Scene II. — Edinburgh: a Room in Athole House. Enter the Earl of Athole and Sir Robert Stuart. Athole. Robert, Thou art thy father's very image, lad ; Yes, thou'rt his very image. Sir Robert. And, Grandad, Some of our good old household servitors Declare he was thy image. Think of that : Old Chambers did maintain so yesterday ; And therefore, — If there be truth in Euclid's axiom. That two things that are equal to a third Do equal one another — I'm like you. Athole. — Saving the very trifling difference 'Tween threescore and fifteen and twenty-five ! Ha! ha! What uses Euclid may be turned to ! — Be seated, lad. Is there aught new at Court ? 26 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Sir Robert. No, not much new, I've just come from the King. Athole. Ah, you're a favourite ; You've caught his Grace's fancy. I'm glad of it. You'll never see such scenes as I've lived through. Sir Robert. My lord ? — I, too, remember scenes. Athole. Well, — five and twenty- SiR Robert. I was fourteen When the Duke Murdoch and his gallant sons Were led to death at Stirling ; and Lennox — Visions arise ! — 1 see his white beard now. And the deep furrows in his ancient cheeks, And the deep sorrow in his glistening eyes, That day he died at Stirling. O my lord, I can remember scenes. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 27 Athole. Poor kinsmen ! Sad scenes, indeed, and cruel ! Let us not think of them : it does no good. You have King James's loving confidence ; Keep it, be proud of it, make much of it, And it will lead to fortune. Sir Robert. Even to-night The King's Grace said to me — "Be loyal." Athole. " Be loyal ? " Ay, said he so ? What led to that advice ? Sir Robert. O, it arose Out of the general tenor of our talk. Athole. If some accounts be true, it should have been Thy right to say to him — " Be loyal." 28 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Sir Robert. True! Nature did make your lordship for a king When she endowed thee Athole. Hush, boy ! you are a flatterer. — But Fate and Fortune have their fickle ways, And we must bide their ruling. Sir Robert. Fate makes some men, But some great men make Fate : I think, at least. That great men lend assistance unto Fate. Athqle {inusbigly). Ay ! Did he say to you — " Be loyal ? " What were you speaking of when he said this ? Sir Robert. The King was tired And in a sad and strangely pensive mood — But pensive with uncomfortable thoughts. SCEXE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 29 Athole. Uncomfortable thoughts ! What were they ? Did his Grace utter them ? Sir Robert. Half-uttered them : — • He had a dream last night. Athole. What ! Can a dream Extend discomfort to one's waking moments ? Sir Robert. Marry, my lord, it can. Athole. What was his dream ? Sir Robert. O, 'twas a hideous dream. — It did portray the Duke of Rothesay's death With every frightful, ghastly circumstance That could appal old women. Marry, Sir, The King in telling its enormities, Why, he half-frightened me : in troth, he did. 30 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Starvation, filth, the slime of centuries. And rats and toads did largely figure in't ; So you may guess the dream's complexion. O, 'twas a spicy one ! I tell you, Sir, It would have made an old he-cat expire In a long caterwauling ecstasy. Athole. And to what purpose ? Did it conclude That Rothesay had been murdered ? Sir Robert. Of course — damnably murdered. Nay, according to the dreain, the prince expired Clamouring " Murder ! murder ! " and screaming — " Vengeance upon Albany ! " Athole. 'Twas a black crime : Broad Scotland shuddered to her farthest shores When first she heard of it. Albany — Ah, he was cruel. Sir Robert. What, my lord ? But was it ever proved that Albany ? SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 31 Athole. Not in the hearing of a court of law. But speak not of it, Robert ; I tell you, Speak not of it. Sir Robert. Silence, indeed, is best. Athole. So the King's Grace was moved ? Sir Robert. O, he was moved. Athole. Did he speak further ? Sir Robert. If I remember well, / said to him That vengeance had been duly satisfied. Athole. Well, what said he ? Sir Robert {dubiously). What were his words ! — O, I remember well : this — " Satisfied," 32 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i He muttered dubiously, and then he said — "Well, I know not," and then half-swore, methinks,— " The Duke, my uncle, slipt me." Athole. Ha ! So ? Sir Robert. — And then ran on Declaiming on his family grievances. His father's heart, his brother Rothesay's death. His twenty years of long captivity ; And so the torrent of his eloquence Rushed on, — e'en till the Queen's page stopt it. Athole. The Duke, his 7incle, slipt him : What said he of the gracious Duke, his cousin ? What said he of his cousin's stalwart sons ? What said he of old Lennox ? Sir Robert. O, not one word of them ! But, my good lord, These tales have stirred your lordship's blood too much. I ought not to repeat them. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 33 Athole. 'Tis naught, boy ; 'tis naught, Yet the remembrance of those vengeful times, Wherein discrimination all was lost 'Tween innocent and guilty ! Truly, Rob — O, it breeds angry thoughts. Sir Robert. Grandfather, I pray thee, think no more o't : sure am I, It does your lordship harm. I blame myself For having talked about those bloody deeds Within your hearing. Athole. If I were younger ; Could I unload the burden of my age By twenty years ! Sir Robert. Ah, my lord, 'Tis better to eschew those bitter thoughts : They only stir up grievous memories. Athole. By God, if I were younger. They might do more than stir up memories ; D 34 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i They might stir up sedition in this breast, And James might sit less easy in his chair. But I am past the day. My sun is set And darkness is at hand, — yea, night is here. O for the genius, strength, and hope of youth ! Sir Robert. Good are the genius, strength, and hope of youth, But show me, too, if I may venture on't, The wisdom and calm dignity of age. How royal your lordship would have looked Hush, boy ! hush Athole. You know not what you talk of. Sir Robert. Faith, my lord, I well know what I talk of, e'en of that Which, were it breathed into King James's ears. Would make my head worth — what ? Not the small ransom of a pouncet-box. O, 'tis a hard ungracious nature, his ; Aye teeming with suspicions in the day And dreaming treasons in the hours of night. O, when he chooses to inflict on me SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 35 Those weary, common, stalest diatribes On traitors and on treasons, — why, my lord, I cannot choose but figure to myself My grandsire as the King. Athole. Is he, then, so suspicious ? I've scarcely thought him so. Sir Robert. Well, perhaps I'm wrong : I will not give a voice unto my doubts. But this I'll say,— I have ta'en note of it,— If he should take a notion in his head That we, my lord, were given to free thoughts. He'd make short work of us : I tell you true. — But with your leave, my lord, I'll to the palace ; To-morrow duty calls me early there. Athole. Prythee, be wary, lad ! Sir Robert. Trust me, I will be wary. Good-night ! 36 KING JAMES THE FIRST act i Athole. Good-night, Robert, good-night !— Be wary ! {Exit Sir Robert. Yes, yes, yes, — there's little doubt of it : I might have sat upon my father's throne, I might have been the King.— Yet, Who strains at far ambition — 'tis a truth- May chance to rack his soul right out of joint, And may endanger much his body's weal. — 'Tis getting late. — I will to bed. Lights ! Ho ! i^^^^- ACT II Scene I. — Edinburgh: the Canongate. An Armourer' s Booth luith view of the Street beyond. Weapons and Suits of Armour hanging about. Greaves, the Armourer, at^vork: Christopher Chambers looking on. Greaves. Old age and foolishness make one of the sorriest of pictures ; youth clad i' the weeds of wisdom, one of the noblest. Be wise, Christy ; prythee, be wise. Chambers. Good advice, Thomas, and such as I often try to act upon ; yet folly will sometimes persist in pressing to the front. Rivet it firm ! Greaves. I will rivet it. — Ay, 'tis a wise crowd that folly can- not squeeze into. 38 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Chambers. Folly can more easily push her way amongst wisdom than wisdom amongst folly. — Another blow ! Greaves. Right, man ; right thou art. — Nothing new at the abbey ? Chambers. Nothing new. Since the collapse of the last war we have led but a humdrum sort o' life at Holyrood, — nothing but laws and law-making. A fellow's blood grows watery over it. — One more stroke ! That will do ! — Ay, a fellow's blood grows watery over it. ( Yawning) I feel that I could go to sleep for six months. No chance of spurs nowadays. By the mass, they're as scarce as comets ; by and by valour will be still scarcer ; then wars will cease ; then — what will there be to live for ? Greaves. Now I see, had I never seen it before, how hard it is for wisdom to gain a footing amidst folly ; but truly, Christy, I would have credited thee with more mother- wit than thou hast now shown. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 39 Chambers. What's amiss, Thomas ? Greaves. What's amiss ! — Are harrying and burning and rapine and famine and plagues and murder not amiss ? Are these, things to be Hved for ? Chambers. Ha ! ha ! Not these alone ; but these, good Thomas, are, I hold, nothing but the inconveniences that trail upon the skirts of glorious war. Without war, what were Scotland? Without war, what of our knights and squires and dauntless yeomen who will gladly beard death on any field ? Greaves. Scotland may be great without war, Christy. Brave knights there may be who never donned a helmet nor couched a spear, as, by the Holy Rood, there may be priests who never had the tonsure and monks that never wore a cowl. [I)ista?it shotiti?ig heard. Chambers. Hear ! The King comes. 40 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Greaves. What's doing to-day ? Chambers. More law-making, more law-making ! He's coming up to meet the Parliament. We'll have no lack of laws soon, despite the saying of a wise man — let me air my Latin — Corruptissima repiihlica, plurimce leges. \Nearer shouting and commotion in the street. He's left Holyrood. I hope we'll hear of no more confiscations. Greaves. Ah ! thou'rt disloyal. Chambers. Nay, not so. Greaves. If ever king had reason to be severe, 'tis our King James. If ever king had reason to be loved, 'tis our King James. [Increased shouting and music. Chambers. Severity need not be tyrannical. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 41 Greaves. What ! Art thou o' the King's household, and dost thou talk thus ? Chambers. Master Greaves ! — To hear you speak, one might be excused for thinking that I had talked treason. I tell thee again, I think that the King is severe. Greaves. Nay, Master Christy, but what mean you when you say that " severity need not be tyrannical " } Is't not wonderfully like saying that tlie King is tyrannical? And are not our Scottish people apt to rebel against tyranny? And ought not tyranny to be rebelled against? And ought we to rebel against King James ? Eh, Master Christy ? Chambers. By our lady, what a row of questions ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! — As formidable as a rank of our spearmen when, shoulder to shoulder, they shout to the enemy — "Come on, loons ! " " Come on, dogs ! " " Saint Andrew for Scotland ! " Ha ! ha ! ha ! I will talk no treason with you ; by my faith. Master Greaves, no treason with you. \Music and shouting nearer. 42 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Greaves. By my faith, thou hadst better not, Master Christy. I know that we are well governed ; I know that our King has his people's weal at heart ; I know that he is a good and great man, and marry, Sir, I would not recommend anybody to speak scandal of him in my hearing. Chambers. Ha ! ha ! ha ! I daresay thou wouldst not call upon judge and jury to consider the offence ! But fear not for me, Thomas; I'm a true subject, man {Music and shouting at hand atid tumult in the street^ Come ! hear my vivats. \Going to the street doorway. Greaves {also going forward). Faith, I will join the chorus with good will. [^Enter, beyond, the King and his Courtiers riding in procession. The King, itnth bonnet in hand, is bowing courteously to the people : great shoutifig of '•'Long live King James," " God bless King James," and hurrahs. Greaves and Chambers vociferously joifi iti these accla?nations. The pro- cession, amid the tumult, moves slowly up the SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 43 street and gradually disappears. Music and shout- ing die away in the distance. Chambers. Faith, this is a sight that never palls on me. I love the pomp of state and all this shouting. Greaves. Ay, Christy, these shouts come not merely from men's mouths ; these shouts are not merely a noise. Enter a Squire accompanied by a Servant bearing some armour. Servant {laying down the armour). There ! Squire. Good-morrow, Greaves. Greaves. Good-morrow to you. Squire. I grieve to state, good Greaves, that the harness which my good friend has borne hither upon his good back 44 KING JAMES THE FIRST actii Greaves. My name is indeed Greaves, and I grieve to think that on this unhappy day I am called upon to deal with a youth so entirely foolish as your worship doth approve yourself. Squire. In these circumstances then, good Greaves, I grieve still more deeply to have to state that this harness is in a very grievous state ; and Greaves. Grievous indeed must be its state, — nay, inconti- nently, I should think that it must be altogether beyond repair, if it at all corresponds with the grievous con- dition of thy good jackass brains. May God ha' mercy on thee, youth ; may God ha' mercy on thee, or thou'rt in a bad way. Squire. I grieve to find, good Greaves, that thou seemest this very good morning to be in a devil of a bad way ! Greaves. Speak not of thy father so lightly, O youth, and be pleased to go thy ways. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 45 Squire. Dost reverence my father then, O Greaves ? Greaves. Judging from his son's demerits, I have but small indination to reverence him ; but again, I'll be well pleased to see thee go thy ways. Squire. " Go thy ways " means, I conjecture, " Go away ! " Dost think then, O Greaves, that "Go away!" is a polite thing to say to a gentleman ? Greaves. It may not be a very polite thing to say to a gentle- man, but it is a very proper thing to say to a strayed trencher-man. Squire. Dost know, O Greaves, that these eyes of mine saw the Earl of Buchan slay Harry the Fifth's brother ? Greaves. The story is not above suspicion ; but what matters it, O youth, if some flea, thy fellow-creature, sheltered 46 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii in one o' the seams of thy doublet, witnessed, as well, the death of Harry the Fifth's brother ? No honour re- coils upon the flea for having witnessed that slaughter; the flea is still a flea. Squire. Dost know, O Greaves, that I was present at Crevant and Verneuil ? Greaves. That also is news ; but if thou wert at Crevant and Verneuil it convinces me more and more that many a thief, and many a rogue, and many a scullion, was there present. Squire, Dost know, O Greaves, that your worshipful servant charged furiously at Crevant and Verneuil ? Greaves. I have no doubt whatever that thou didst charge very furiously, — mistake in the direction tho', I'll warrant, hinder parts to the enemy. Squire. Thou wouldst insinuate that my tailpiece was in danger ? SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 47 Greaves. The name is unknown to armoury, but I will swear that if thy tailpiece was not battered, no other part of thy body was. Squire. Rivet thy attention on these rivets ! {Taking a breastplate up and throwing it before Greaves.) Dost see how they are sprung ? Enter Sir Robert Graham disguised. He looks at the armour about the booth. Greaves. Rivet thy attention on virtue, O youth, and go thy ways, — yea, spring out of my booth ! [The attention of Chambers is meanwhile at- tracted by Sir Robert Graham, zuho busies himself zvith the armour. Chambers [aside). Sir Robert Graham ? Squire. My honourable soul revolts, — yes, I grieve to say, Greaves, that my honourable soul revolts 48 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Greaves. Thy foolery, youth, may cause my foot to revoh. ^^'"e spoke of tailpieces !— \I\Iaking a gesture. \The SQUiRE/Vr/'^ out of the way, a?id in doing so ru7is against Chambers, who is going out, looking wonderi?igly at Graham. Chambers. Confusion ! The devil take the fellow ! I've got toes ! Squire. You needn't boast about your toes, then. I've got toes as well as you, fool. Chambers. What the devil do you mean by tramping on my toes? Squire. And what the devil do you mean by inserting your toes in that particular part of space ? If your toes hadn't been there my feet wouldn't have tramped on them. Chambers. Whose donkey art thou, I wonder ! SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 49 Squire. I have just been wondering within me whose ass thou art, so our trains of thought have been jolting in the same ruts. Chambers. I'll kick thee presently. (Aside, looking at Graham) He here ! [Exit Chambers. Squire. Faith, that confirms your asinine pretensions. I'll be going : come along, Peter. Adieu, Greaves. [Exeunt Squire arid Servant. Greaves. Fustian-brained knaves are these that cannot speak of an honest cobbler and a pair of damaged soles but they must needs hope that the owner's soul is not in such a plight, or of an heir but they must needs speak of airy expectations ! I would not give the strings of my leather apron for any ten-thousand of such sorry fools ! Sir Robert Graham. Right ! right ! A ridiculous animal ! — Some good harness here, friend. E 50 KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT il Greaves. By Saint Andrew, Sir, it is good stuff. There's a brave suit. The arrow is not made yet, nor the bow- man born, that should send it through one of these plates. Sir Robert. Even if he were of England ? Greaves. If bowman, bow, and arrow were of England, yet would he not pierce these plates. 'Tis rarely wrought metal, light yet substantial, rich, not gaudy, and so perfectly jointed withal, that a knight cased in this armour might think himself safe, though in the midst of a hot fray. Sir Robert. 'Tis a fair suit. Greaves. 'Twill fit thee bravely : Come, don it. Sir Knight. Sir Robert. But it may not fit my purse bravely. The price of it? SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 51 Greaves. I'm impatient to see it on your shoulders. If it fits them — which I think it will as a charger's glossy coat fits its body — I think we'll make it fit your worship's purse. With your leave, Sir — {offering to put it on). Sir Robert. Nay, but the cost ; I must count the cost. Greaves. Certes, Sir Knight, I like, after all, to furbish gentle- men who count the cost : nay, a fig for those who make wealthy purchases without counting the cost ! The price of this suit is — let me see Sir Robert. What ? Greaves. But, by the Rood ! who art thou ? Sir Robert. Why, I'm a knight ; but what is that to you ? Greaves. What is that to me ? It is much to me ; and it is much to every citizen of Edinburgh and to every 52 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Scottishman that loves the King. Thou'rt a rebel, a traitor, Sir Robert Graham ! — I know you. Sir Robert. I do not dispute my person : I am Sir Robert Graham. Greaves. Sir Robert Graham ; and, by my faith, you entered this booth not to buy armour, but as a skulker. You're a banished man ; and it is my duty as a good and law-abiding Scottishman to hand you over Sir Robert. And, by my faith, it is my duty as another good Scottishman, who has no great liking for dungeon- life and no great wish to become practice for the executioner, to prevent you from handing me over to anybody — {drawing). Greaves. {Seizing a battle-axe and statiding on the defensive). By Heaven, an' you mean fight, you'll know that I'm something more than a mere maker of armour. \They stand facing each other for some moments. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 53 Sir Robert. You are a bold fellow; but to fight you would make such a devil of a din — I am in your hands. Greaves. Well for you. I'm no butcher : I've no ambition to kill a lion in a trap. Sir Robert. Thou'rt generous. I thank thee, armourer : I do believe my life is in your hands. Greaves. An' by my faith, I'm sorry for't. Your life is dangerous to better lives ; mercy upon you may mean outrage upon better men. Sir Robert. I thank thee, armourer ; I thank thee. I shall die thy debtor. Adieu ! \Exit Sir Robert. Greaves. By the Rood, 'tis a sore plight for me to be in ! {Going to the street-door and looking after Graham.) 54 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Out of sight already ! He's dived into some close. {Coining back into the booth.) Have I done wrong? My judgment says he's dangerous ; my feelings rebel against seizing even a criminal, if he's helpless. — Can he have any designs against the King ? I have done wrong, I have done wrong ! By the Rood, I have done wrong ! I must watch him. \Exit into adJoini?ig room. Scene II. — Edinburgh: Room in Athole House. Enter Sir Robert Stuart as if in deep thought. Stuart. E'en locks and keys declare that men are sinners ; E'en locks and keys fix on the human race A sad indictment : yet to other things, Say — to plot a good king's death, theft's trifling. In Satan's wardrobe there's no robe so black As damned hypocrisy : none denies that. — What ! Shall I don the blackest robe in hell To gain my purposes ? — I am a fool : I've gained the king's affection ; his esteem Doth daily shine upon me, and makes light The burden of my daily services. SCENE 11 KING JAMES THE FIRST 55 Enter Thomas Chambers. Chambers. My lord, A gentleman inquires if thou'rt within : What shall the answer be ? Stuart. What should it be, knave ? Do I tell lies ? Chambers. Nay, my young master ; you're a courtier. Surely we know that courtiers tell no lies — Except the truth be inconvenient, Stuart {aside). Cunning old dog ! Chambers. Is't your convenience. Sir, To see a gentleman ? Stuart. Who is he, pray ? Chambers. Who, I know not. {Aside) To know is not always convenient. 56 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii {Aloud) But this I'll say, giving my oath on it, He is no tailor out of needlework. He is no tin-pot maker. Stuart. Come, come, you know him well enough : But bring him up, knave ; show him to this room : I'll see him. Chambers. I will, my lord. (Aside) I know who he is ; But ignorance is oft of more account Than knowledge — especially in treasons. \Exit Chambers. Stuart. Cunning old dog ! Who can it be, I wonder ? — {Musingly) The thing that is to happen, it shall hap ; Everything else must be impossible. Yet there's no virtue in necessity. There must be truths of deepest consequence That are not subject to necessity. What did I hear the reverend Abbot say ? " Each man hath power if he exert the will To make his steps a pathway unto Heaven." SCENE 11 KING JAMES THE FIRST $7 Again — " 'Tis not God's fault all are not great alike : He gave to each the sense of right and wrong." Again — " Yield to temptation, be it but an inch, 'Twill speedily drag out of thee an ell." [Sir Robert Graham is shown in. Sir Robert Graham ! You here ? Graham. What's wrong ? Stuart. ^Vhy, man, you're mad, mad, mad ! Graham. Ha! ha! ha! Faith, 'tis a cheery welcome. Stuart. Faith, 'tis a welcome visit ! If you have no respect for your own life. Have some respect for mine. Do you not know That I am one o' the King's officers. And that if I chose to be dutiful, I'd have you in arrest immediately ? 58 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Graham. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ask an old cobbler If e'er the crystal globule of his eye Contained a bodkin's vision ! Tut, tut, man ! Like tin thy joke is scarcely good enough To play the shabby part of counterfeit. Zounds ! Only think of it, — You'd have me in arrest immediately ! Shame ! shame ! But, brave Sir Robert, mark you this : When I am arrested, somebody will die. Or I have made miscalculations. Stuart. You're a bold man : There is no fool who knows you but knows that ; But surely you are ten times o'er a fool To thrust your head into the lion's den When he's at home and wakeful. Graham. I fear no risks and I will spare no pains To break his teeth and cut his claws for him. Stuart. When came you here ? What brought you here ? SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 59 Graham. I entered the fair city yesternight, Just as the gates were closing. What brought me here ? That also I will tell you. I've simply come To feel the pulse o' the times. I grow dead tired In weary banishment ; I grow heartsick In listening to reports : that is the fact. How go the times ? Stuart. O thou dost place me in extremities. — No ! I have nought to say, — beUeve me. Sir. Get back into the Highlands. 'Twill be your health And mine. Graham. Get back into the Highlands ! Is't a command ? Stuart. No, I entreat you — Return to the Highlands. I've said it, Both for your health and mine. Graham. Ha ! ha ! I' faith, good Sir, 'Tis something to be healthy ; 'tis something 6o KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii To have one's shoulders mounted with a head ; But I have seen the day, no distant day, When you were not so chary ; I've seen the day When you were not averse to lour at James Or even talk of treason, manifest, — If it be treason to declare a right, If it be treason to condemn a wrong. Stuart. 'Twas irritation and much foolishness That made me then their spokesman. Much foolishness bewitched me and I repent, Yea, I repent it very heartily, What folly made me speak. My wisdom now Would have those words unspoken. Graham. O, worship wisdom Stuart. That were good advice : There is no safety out of wisdom's ways. Graham. Wisdom, thou dost receive strange courtesy — Bepraised in word and soundly kicked in deed ; SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 6i 'Tis roughish treatment, Sir. O, how I hate Your prim, conventional, smug gentlemen, Whose hearts are black as is the nether hell. Yet — smoothly smile and talk propriety ! Sir Robert Stuart ! Stuart. Well ? Graham. Listen to me. — I know thee better than thou know'st thyself. Thou hast a treasonable inclination. Which, before this, I have been witness to. Stuart, And which I now regret and now disown, And with sincere intent seek to cut out As a corrupting cancer. Surely a man May seek to cure himself of a disease ! Graham. Listen, Sir ! Once more I tell thee this : I know thee better than thou know'st thyself I've used a bad word. That word " treason " Breaks harsh upon the ear and conjures up 62 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii A multitude of weakly fantasies. What if I say — Rise up and claim your right ? What if I say — Rise up and seek revenge For all your murdered kinsmen ? Stuart. But there are rights which profitably die, And there are grievous wrongs that wrong the least When unpursued by vengeance. Graham. Heavens ! Be a priest ! Stuart. Nay, taunt me not ! I've misery enough without such scorn. Graham. {Aside) Humph ! No use now. {Aloud) Pardon, Sir Robert : I will say no more ; Though it doth cut me to the very heart To see you bear your wrongs so squeamishly ; But should you e'er be troubled with the wish To sit as lawfully on James's throne As e'er a burgher sat upon a seat, Think of the mortal wrongs he did to me, SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 63 Think of the mortal hale I bear to him, — Rise up and conquer, Stuart. Whither go you now ? Do you leave Edinburgh ? Graham. I am in hiding at Sir John Hall's house : If you would see me further seek me there : I linger in the city yet awhile, — Till it's too hot to hold me. Stuart. My grandsire is at Holyrood, thank God ! Or, peradventure, it might well have been Too hot for you e'en now. Graham. At Holyrood.? Humph ! I should like to see him. Stuart. For God's sake, no ! It were your ruin and mine : his mind's made up To bear the present order in the state. 64 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Graham. Ha ! Age doth make him queasy. The time hath been when my good lord of Athole Was fond of brawUng ; but — age cools the blood. Stuart. And steadies oft the judgment. Graham. Yes, age is a tamer Yet I should like to see him ; but no more. Only remember what I've said to you. I've bearded James amid his Parliament, There branded him a tyrant ; I'm prepared To do a worse thing now. Adieu, Sir Robert : May the impression of your royal rights Deepen upon you ! May the bloody wrongs Of the devoted house of Albany Stir up your heart to vengeance ! Stuart. No word of this abroad : I'll think of what you say. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST ,65 Graham. Gravestones shall be more clamorous of the sins Of the poor sleepers that do lie below Than I of what you've uttered. Adieu ! Stuart. Adieu ! \Exit Sir Robert Graham. Sancta Cruets sigmim defendat me ! How strange he should have come just at this time, When I do ponder deeply of those things ! — My rights ! The \\Tongs of Albany ! Revenge ! What of them ? — Revenge sprang into being When from the walls of Heaven were hurled down To hell's infernal depths, the fallen archangel And his guilty hosts. — My rights, what of them ? — Ho, Chambers ! — He knows Graham well enough. \Exit. Scene HI. — Edinburgh: a Room iti Holyrood. Courtiers movmg about. Enter King James and the Abbot. Abbot. Why pride ourselves in knowledge ? Knowledge is not wisdom : 'tis a tree F 66 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii On which doth grow both good and evil fruit, Which Eve not tasting of had never died, But till to-day remained — the flower of Paradise. But wisdom's tree, it is the tree of life ; It grows ambrosial food for gods not fabled, But for Supremest Jove, for God Himself, And for the favoured race, whom He would bless. That sacred tree was planted by His hands. Watered by Him and given its increase. That all might freely taste the blissful fruit, That tasting, they might covet straight to feast. Feast, without surfeit, freely, growing glad. And never die. King. True, Sir ; 'tis true ; You make a fair distinction and a wise. Knowledge, gifts, genius, in themselves are naught Standing before the throne of the Most High, But how we use those gifts is everything. Who useth best the gifts he doth possess — Howe'er so mean they be — At once doth best fulfil his being's end, And lives and dies and lives again for aye. The best, the noblest, and the greatest man. scene iii king james the first 67 Abbot. Holy Writ, your Grace, Contains no greater teaching. School learning Is froth and drivel and futility Compared to truth like that. It is a truth As lordly and as kind as the great sun. Shining as brightly into poor men's huts As into softly-cushioned palaces. — They form a dance. King. Let us stand by. Queen {approaching). Nay, nay, my lord, truly thou'lt not stand by : In great affairs the King must not stand by, — Thou'lt dance. King. Is not the Queen's word law ? I'm at your Grace's service. Queen. You, my lord Abbot- Abbot. Mercy ! gracious lady. In this the crown May not command the mitre. Say, Madam, 68 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Would'st have me shake my robes canonical For every rogue to jeer at ! Ha ! ha ! Queen. AVell, well, Sir, We'll not bring our contention to the bar. Abbot. Good your Grace, To judge a matter of such weight as this Would take ten general councils of the Church. Queen. And the tenth general council would break up With — No decision come to. Ha ! ha ! Abbot. Ha! ha! ha! King. What is the dance ? Shall't be an English jig, a Scottish reel, A French cotillion, or a minuet Straight from the sunny land of Italy ? Dunbar. In honour of the Queen, Let us dance English. SCENE HI KING JAMES THE FIRST 69 Queen. Long live England ! But, In honour of brave Scotland and the King, Let us dance Scotch. Besides, Sir David, I am a lover of activity. King. The Queen rules. Music, strike up ! Let mirth and glee resound in Holyrood. Up, gentlemen ; fair partners are to all. And never fail to trip it dashingly : The Queen's a lover of activity. \All take partners : the Queen gives her hand to Dunbar. King. Will fairest Catherine stoop to honour me ? Lady Catherine. Your Highness, I will stoop to honour you. \They dance a Scotch dance very merrily. Dunbar {to the Queen). My humblest thanks, your Grace. Queen. Why ! Is it finished ? I could dance on for ever. ^o KING JAMES THE FIRS7 act ii Abbot. Faith, Madam, My toes tripped after you in sympathy. King {to Lady C. Douglas). I thank your ladyship right heartily. 'Twas a rare dance, and you have danced most rarely. Lady Catherine. We share the praise, your Grace : You are a king of dancers. King. We seemed on wings — but ! Lady Catherine. But ? King. I am in grief. Lady Catherine. Wherefore in grief, Sir ? SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 7i King. There is Sir David : I have usurped His knightship's rightful place, so I'm in grief. Will you forgive me, gentle Catherine ? Lady Catherine. Most happily I do forgive your Grace The dire offence of giving no offence. For I am very, very merciful. King. Here, Sir David, You make this gentle lady miserable By your neglect. Come, comfort her. Dunbar. Yea, yea, my service ! Lady Catherine. O, I'm in need of comfort ! Know, good Sir David, that I, Kate Douglas, Am steeped in the most miserable bliss Through thy forgetfulness. King. Unto your skill I will commend this case. \_Joining another group. 72 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Dunbar. Come, Kate, I will rebuke your malady. Lady Catherine. And I'll rebuke another malady. \They move 07i. Sir Robert Stuart (aside). All gay but me ! My feet may dance although they weigh like lead : Within my heart's no dancing. King {approaching). Cousin, whither's fled Thy customary wit and gaiety ? Is't love hath crost thee, else what naughty thing ? Sir Robert. Marry, your Highness, I am like one Who sits down to a richly-furnished feast, Yet hath no appetite for banqueting. King. What discomposes you ? SCEXE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 73 Sir Robert. Truth, my lord, 'Tis more a thing of feehng than of sense, — Beyond articulation. King. What is the wound ? Can sympathy provide no balm for it ? Sir Robert. Most gracious Sovereign ever ! Since yesternight a fit of pensiveness, Occasioned by your dream, hath saddened me : Its influence I have not yet shook off, — So strange and weird it was. King. Ah ! it was strange. But I beseech you, cousin, think not of it. There are some things, ay, there are many things. We fain would sink in deep oblivion : Let this be one of them. Here comes our uncle. \Enter Earl of Athole. How go you, uncle ? Athole. Lamely, Sir ; ay. By the blessed A^irgin, I go lamely : 74 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Infirmity doth daily creep on me. In troth, I go most lamely. King. Speak not so, uncle. At your ripe age, Supple you cannot well expect to be : For me, if I attain unto your years. And, with those years, your health and heartiness, I'll think myself much favoured. Athole, Ah ! your Grace, seventy-five years Sit heavily upon us ; seventy-five years Trip not on tiptoe ; seventy-five years Cry " Check " upon our dancing. King. But yet your fancy trips as lightsomely As forty years ago. Athole. Forty years ago ! — Ah, forty years ago, Heavy the sword was that I could not handle, But now this hand doth feebly grasp a staff. On which I totter feebly. On a time I could both couch a lance and shake a spear, SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 75 But any housewife now could cudgel me — Humph ! — with a distaff. King. A valorous housewife, she ! Athole. Forty-eight years ago — in your grandfather's days — I fought and Douglas died at Otterburne, And Harry Hotspur was our prisoner. — O, glorious Otterburne ! It was a deadly, death-despising strife, And, one to three, we had the victory. O, blood was held cheap that day ! — Now, faith, Scarce could I fight a chicken. King. Ha ! ha ! — O, uncle, for its own good, I mean, Better it be a tough one ! [Efiier Walter Straiton. Walter ! Hast seen a ghost, man ? Straiton. Your Highness, Here's a strange paper. \Handing it to the King. King. Tied to a stone ? 76 KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT ii Athole. What is't ? Sir Robert. What can it mean ? King. We'll see. [ Unfastening it. Where did it come from ? Where was it found ? Straiton. I found it, your Highness, upon your bedroom floor. The casements were open. It must have been thrown in. King {looking over the paper). Ay!— Treason's not dead yet. Athole. Treason ? Sir Robert. Treason ? Athole. What means your Grace ? SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 77 King. Hush ! Let us keep silence. Sir Robert. 'Tis better. King. Ho ! Another dance ! A hall ! A hall ! Good gentlemen, upon your feet again ! Strike up, musicians ! SjSJtisic. The Gentlemen again take partners : a dance. Now we'll retire. [The King, the Earl of Athole, Sir Robert Stuart, and the Abbot of Scone retire during the dance. Conclusion of the dance. Curtaiji falls. Scene IV. — Edi?iburgh : another Room in Holy rood. Enter the King, the Earl of Athole, Sir Robert Stuart, Sir William Crichton, and the Abbot. Abbot. What's on the paper? 78 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Sir Robert. Read it, my liege. King. I'll read it, and, by my faith, 'Tis a rare document. Athole. I am all ears to hear it. King {reads). " To the tyrant, James Stuart, " Bearing himself as King of Scotland. " Sir — You are a tyrant. You have wantonly robbed me of my estates, and persecuted me and my family. For those acts of oppression, as for the many other ruthless robberies and executions which you have done upon better men than yourself, and for your total disregard of the country's laws and your corona- tion oaths, I hereby renounce my allegiance sworn to you, maintaining that you are a cruel tyrant, and de- claring, by the Holy Rood, that I will seize the earliest opportunity of killing you, ay. Sir, less remorselessly than I would kill a mad cur. This is to preserve you from surprise when the time shall come. Never say I have not given you fair warning. I subscribe myself your mortal enemy, Robert Graham." SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 79 Sir Robert. Zounds ! Crichton. The villain ! Abbot. 'Tis a bold ruffian ! Athole. Sir Robert Graham again ! King. We must look after him. Is he in Edinburgh ? What think you ? Sir Robert. Or is't some desperate retainer's deed ? {Aside) Mad fool ! Abbot. It may be that some stranger hath been seen Lurking about the palace. King. Ay, we'll call the guard And make a full inquiry ; but I think \Scnitinising the paper. 8o KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT II Sir Robert. King. This hath been newly written. Your Grace ? Abbot. So? King. Look into it : the ink is scarcely dry. Athole. Ha ! So ? Abbot. 'Tis newly written ! Crichton. Newly written ! \ \ (looking closely at it). J Sir Robert (aside). O furious fool ! King. Yes,- Doubtless he's in the city, or within An easy distance of it. SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST Si Abbot. 'Tis proven : Jesu, the son of Mary, shield your Grace ! Sir Robert. Amen ! Crichton. Amen ! Athole. But what about this chieftain ? Crichton. His blood is much o'ercharged with fiery humours ; He might be bled to our advantages : How shall we catch him ? Abbot. Let an alarum peal be sounded forth To rouse the citizens, Athole. Nay, my lord Abbot, that would never do. 'Tis not a fire we deal with ; 'tis a beast Of a most cunning instinct, a sly fox That prowls about our roost. The clang of bells, G 82 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii The bray of trumpets and the popular shout, The din and chatter of the brainless throng, Would scare the beast away and spoil all plans To catch the ravener. King. My uncle's right. Abbot. King. Yes, he is right. We must concert quiet measures. Dark treason must be met with vigilance ; And vigilance calls keen-eyed stratagem To act as her ally. But, first of all. Has he got friends ? Athole. That is a weighty question ; but 'Twill have to travel far for a reply, That we can hang much faith on. King. Is the Court well affected ? Or have we traitors round us ? SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 83 Abbot. Surely not. Sir Robert. In the Court there are no traitors. Crichton. In this, perhaps, you are too confident : Traitors are not all branded in the face, That men may know their calling. King. 'Tis a too common truth : Devils may lurk behind a smiling face. Hell may be hid behind a show of Heaven. What's to be done ? Go, Robert, and inquire amongst the guard If any skulking stranger hath been seen About the grounds since nightfall. Athole. Raise no excitement : Seek as if you sought not. Sir Robert. I go, your Grace : I'll do it quietly. \Exit Sir Robert. 84 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii King. O me ! 'tis weary work. I do my best ; these are my thanks for it. Crichton {looking at the paper). He writes most ruffianly : Insult and murder breathe in every word. Here erred your Grace in mercy. Robert Graham Should never have survived until this day : His last outrage did claim such reckoning As doth the headsman pay. King, I knew it, but willed mercy. 'Tis hard to know when to be merciful Without offending justice. Athole. And hard it is aye to be strictly just Without offending mercy. King. True, uncle, true ; also in this, Perhaps I have offended. SCENE IV KING JAAIES THE FIRST 85 Athole. Nay, nay, your Highness : I did not say so ; (aside) though I meant it so ; [Aloud) I spoke of common conduct. King. But, in defence of seeming cruelty, I had red wrongs to think of Abbot. My gracious lord, Your brother's blood, like righteous Abel's blood, Cried from the ground to Heaven. King. Mercy nor justice neither did appear To speak a word for Rothesay, — Heaven knows ; The gray hairs of my father did descend Into the grave in sorrow, — all know that ; For nineteen years I was a prisoner Far from beloved Scotland, while Scotland's self Was torn with factions, groaned in agony. And daily weltered in her richest blood. Who caused all this but the two Albanies ? They who will think that I'm tyrannical, They should remember the fierce anarchy I had to grapple with. — I 86 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Crichton. Ay, your Highness, — Pillage, stark murder, treasons manifold ! Abbot. They should remember it. Athole {aside). Humph. King. But that they won't. Many are slow to chain effect to cause. They see the punishment, forget the crime That made the punishment necessity ; Then, with ill-regulated sympathy For him whose crime has brought him to the bar, They angrily do flout the tribunal. Which in the execution of its task, Did rightfully decree the punishment. Crichton. Thus is it often : The memory of the crime is washed away In floods of pity for the criminal ; And pity, which kind Nature did intend SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 87 To mollify the sores of human life, Becomes a lash to scourge them. Abbot, Even so ! Athole (aside). They're all philosophers ! King. Well, I do swear [Re-enter Sir Robert Stuart. Ha ! cousin, what speed ? Sir Robert. None, your Grace. The guards have seen no person : all is quiet. King. So!— What of the night ? Sir Robert. Pitch dark ! — No moon is visible, Nor glimmer of a star. King. Ha ! just a night for crime to stalk at large. 88 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii In cover of the gloom our friend hath crept Up to the palace windows and thrown in This dainty missive. But you — tell us — ! How pale you look ! Sir Robert. Am I pale ? 'Twas thus : I gropingly made circuit round the chapel To find if aught was stirring. While thus engaged The bird of night, the dreary screech-owl, Flapped past on lazy wings, and as it passed It seemed to turn, and shrieked most dismally Almost into my ear. It froze my blood : I turned, and posted back with hurried step, But in my stumbling flight I, luckless, fell. Thus am I pale, your Grace. King. Faith, Sir, I wonder not : I am no stranger to such influence. — And saw you nothing ? Stuart. Only the owl and I were found abroad. King. Pity it is SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 89 Stuart. But, your Grace, Uneasiness hath crept into the Court. The dance hath ceased, and they are whispering And ask — What's wrong ? Enter the Queen. Queen. My lord ? King. Be not alarmed, love. Queen. Nay, what is it ? King. 'Tis nothing much. Our friend. Sir Robert Graham's on foot again : That's all. Calm you, my love. Queen. Hath he done violence King. No, no, 'tis nothing. He sends a scroll, In which he doth renounce allegiance 90 KING JAMES THE FIRST act n Unto our crown ; calls me oppressor, Tyrant, murderer ; and swears big oaths That, at convenient opportunity, He'll slay me, sans remorse, like a mad cur. There's the whole message. Queen. Can you do anything ? What will you do ? Where is he ? King. Faith, we know nothing yet. — Indeed, my lords, we may put off the quest Until to-morrow. What think you ? Crichton. To-night we can do little. Athole. Double the guard, charge all the officers To practise double caution. That done, my liege, We can no more. Queen. O my good lords. Take measures for the King's security. SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 91 His life is Scotland's weal ; his hurt her woe. My prattling, precious, pretty little son Leaves his defence King. Dear wife ! dear wife ! dear wife ! We're fit to cope with rebels. Calm thee, sweet ! No hurt will come to us. Crichton. My gracious lady, fear not I A thousand gallant hearts are round the King To save the King from harm ; a thousand hearts Do guard the cradle of the sweet young prince, Sleeping in innocence. Fear not, Madam, All shall be well. King. All shall be well. Prythee, dear wife, fear not. Come, my lords, all. Let us to supper ! — If we are spared to see another day. We'll set a loud-tongued proclamation forth For good Sir Robert's capture. If he's caught — ^Vhy!— I am the chief physician to the state. And strong diseases need strong remedies. Come — to supper. 92 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Abbot {half aside). We need faith's thread to lead us safely through The worse than Cretan labyrinths of ill. \Exeimt. Scene V. — Edinburgh: A Room in Athole House. Enter the Earl of Athole and Sir Robert Stuart. Athole. Tell me not ! I say 'Tis all an earthquake in a coal-scuttle, A bit of sheer bravado meant to break Our worthy King's repose. Believe me, lad, 'Twill come to nothing. Sir Robert. {Aside) Shall I enlighten him ? {Aloud) Marry, my lord, I know not ; but do men Play mere bravadoes in the hangman's face ? Athole. Ha! ha! It is not every man's amusement. Sir ; But — Robert Graham ! 'tis an egregious rogue. Ha! ha! SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 93 He is a most immeasurable rogue ; He is as bold as Sin. Sir Robert. Marry, my lord, far bolder ; For turn on Sin and it will flee from you. But turn on Robert Graham and he will stand, Ay, to the death, Sir, Athole. Ha ! ha ! ha ! 'tis a good jest. By our lady, were I disposed to treason. There's ne'er a man, dear Rob, in all the world That I would nourish more religiously. Sir Robert. He, John and Thomas Hall, Make a fine set. Athole. A glorious set : They could excel away far out of sight In any villany. Conspiracy Runs in their very blood ; fair setting-on And they'll conspire against the light o' the sun To hide the earth in darkness. O rare three ! 94 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Sir Robert {aside). What shall I do ? Athole. What thought you of our gentle King's assault On " the two Albanies " ? Sir Robert. What do you mean, my lord ? Athole. What do I mean ? why — What he said to-night. Did you not hear him ? Sir Robert. Athole. To-night ? O, I remember well, You had gone out. He mightily indulged In the old vein you spoke of yesternight. Sir Robert. Ha ! was't so ? 'Tis a disease in him To talk of Albany. SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 95 Athole. It seems so. Sir Robert. What did he say to-night ? Athole. Played the old tune ; you know it. 'Twere loss of time to hum it o'er again, For it, methinks, is scarcely musical. Sir Robert. Strange ! Athole. By all accounts, He seems to brood upon it night and day. Sir Robert. Yes, 'Tis a disease in him. His conscience pricks. And his strong words are a protest against it ; But still his conscience pricks. Athole. Well doth he know That he was too severe with the Duke Murdoch 96 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii And with his sons and Lennox. I believe Their ghosts bend o'er his couch. Sir Robert. His sleep is not as calm As infants' slumbers. (Aside) Neither is mine. {Aloud) His conscience bites. {Aside) So, mine. Athole. Quoth he — " I am the chief physician to the state, And strong diseases need strong remedies " — And this he uttered in a threatening mood, As much as if he had inclined to say^ " Mild measures, I will practise none o' them ; I'll not be trifled with."— By Heavens, how was't meant? What say you, Rob? Was it a kind of covert hint to us To walk with circumspection ? was it a threat To keep our fingers from malpractices ? Sir Robert, There was suspicion in't ; — He's aye suspicious of the nobility, Threatening and louring on them. SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 97 Athole. By Holy Andrew ! If I should think he wished to frighten me With frowning brows and stamping of the feet, He'd better look to it ! Yes, I will say, He'd better look to it ! Sir Robert. {Aside) I need not sow the seed : My grandad yearns to show husbandry. {Aloud) I know, my lord, you'd scarcely be content To be his menial. Athole. His menial ! The bauble of the fool and his lath dagger Shall be my own particular property When I'm his menial ; take note of it ! The parti-coloured suit, the cap and bells, Shall be my own particular cognisance When I do stoop to him. Ay, mark it, Rob, If I speak one submissive word to him. Go to the lion herald's and wipe out My house's arms and emblazonments ; Yea, for the future, let my bearings be A jackass rampant, and on the scroll H 98 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Inscribe this sentiment of chivalry — "An ass I frisk !" Sir Robert. Ha! ha! Athole. No, no, King James.- — True, I may be your subject, but I'll have A dash of independence in my blood. Or write me ninny, noodle, jackanape ! Sir Robert. I've often thought, my lord, and often said, That Nature did intend you for a king. You're full of royal instincts. Subjection ! The very word Athole. My father was a king, — A brave king and a wise. I honour him ; Yet his domestic life was not a life Where angels would see perfect purity. There's something more than doubt that James's father, Robert the Third, of pious memory, My father's eldest son by his first queen. Was born out of lawful wedlock's bonds. SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 99 Marring his royal lineage. That's a thing Which hath been very little cavilled at, — E'en spoken of in whispers — but mark this : James and his son, Prince James, the kingdom's heir, Are now the only representatives Of my dear sire's first marriage, — think of that ; And who can fail to see their coat is marred Even as Robert Third, their sire's, was marred. Or should have bee?i, by the bar sinister ? Now of my father's second marriage 'Tis I alone survive. There is no blot On my escutcheon. Sir Robert. None, none. Athole. I'm of pure blood ; And thus the crown belongs of right to me. And yet, quoth he, — it makes me choleric ! — " I am the chief physician to the state. And strong diseases need strong remedies;" This with a shake o' the head in't. Ha ! ha ! He'd have us tremble at his sovereign growl. Who has small right to be a sovereign. By God, I like it not. ICX) KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Sir Robert. No, my lord, You have no cause to like it ; 'tis unseemly, And shows much want of reverence in James To speak in such a strain before your lordship, — Of better blood than his, and riper years, And born to be a king. Athole. Even, methinks, in a domestic sense, It seemeth much unseemly that he should So hector before me. Sir Robert. I like it not. It chafes me much to see my father's sire, The being whom I honour most on earth. And born to regal honours, treated thus : I like it not. Athole. Fret not, dear Rob, — Although in very truth it doth revive The baneful memory of twelve years ago, When Douglas and Strathearn, Angus, March And all the flower of our nobility Were soiled and crushed in the exuberance. SCEXE V KING JAMES THE FIRST loi In the first flush, of his young tyranny. 'Twas then, I trow, — too late repentance tho' ! — We should have boldly sprung a strong revolt. Sir Robert. Even now the thought Doth stir my hot blood to rebellion : My soul revolts alike at past and present. Athole. We let the tide run out : We're stranded high and dry upon the beach. Sir Robert, Grandad, tides ebb and flow. Athole. Ha ! the tide is far out now. Sir Robert. The highest tides ebb lowest : The lowest ebb attains the highest flow. Watch, my lord, watch ! 'Tis a fresh sight to see : The ebb hath ceased, the flood comes rolling in ; Embark on't ! I02 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Athole. What mean you ? Sir Robert. Sail to sovereignty. Athole {surprised). Dethrone the King ? Sir Robert. And be enthroned : You never had a better chance than now. Athole {?neditatively). Dethrone the King The thought hath never ta'en this shape before. — But, Robert, Robert, what is this you say ? Are my old ears false to their offices As thou dost seem to thine ? Bethink thee, lad : Hath the King ta'en a biter to his bosom. In form a dove, a cooing, gentle dove ? The King hath shown you love ; and you, no less, Have shown yourself to him a loving subject. Say, how is this ? SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 103 Sir Robert. Grandfather, Is't thus I'm scanned and studied ? O Heavens ! But you do afflict my heart. Athole. Lad, lad, what's this ? Tut, tut, tut ! Leave this to girls, prythee : Tears are for women ; blows belong to men. Sir Robert. That I should live To hear myself so rated, and by you ! Athole. 'Tis nothing ! nothing ! nothing ! Sir Robert. You whom I strive to serve ; You whom I worship. Athole. Forgive me, lad, forgive me. — I know it. These were but words that raised their heels against, And broke away from, judgment. It is past : Forgive me ! 104 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Sir Robert. I've served the King, but that hath ever been My duty unto you. Athole. No more o't, lad, no more ; I ask your pardon, Rob. — I am in straits About this business. — Dethrone the King ! It might be bloody work. Could it be done ?• — Sancta Maria ! I who am coasting close upon fourscore, I with my hazy eyes and shrunken cheeks. My flabby throat and my poor tweaking voice, I who am frail, cripple, irresolute, Shall I strike for a crown ? O Vanity ! I who should now be studying saints' lives. And striving hard to lead a saintly life ; I who had better live in quiet at home, Contemplating the life that is to come ; I who should seek the incorruptible. And, more than death, shun all corruption ; Who should devoutly gaze at Heaven's crowns, And look with scorn on earth's diadems, — Shall I O Vanity ! O little Vanity ! O wind and all confusion ! Look not. Heaven ! SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 105 Sir Robert. But, my lord, You do forget 'tis the King's tyranny That we would war against. Athole. Ay, put it so. — Can it be done ? Can it be done, boy ? — The question doth remain — Can it be done ? Sir Robert. With ease, my lord. Athole. I doubt it much. The King is fixed in the affections Of nearly all his people. Only a few Of malcontents 'mongst the nobility Would be upon our side. Hast thought of this ? Sir Robert. Perhaps, my lord, affection follows power. Athole. Nay, rather, power Follows affection ; fear follows power. io6 KING JAMES THE FIRST act ii Sir Robert. There is Sir Robert Graham. Athole. There is Sir Robert Graham. — My feet totter : doth my head totter too ? No more to-night, no more to-night ! Good-night ! Sir Robert. Do you retire, my lord ? Athole. I will retire ; good-night ! Sir Robert. Good-night ! Athole {Iialf -aside). Is't come to this ? O, is it come to this ? \Exeunt. ACT III Scene I. — Edinburgh : a R00771 in HoJyrood. Etiter the King ajid the Abbot. King. But can you tell me this : Why should a man go to a monkery, Although 'twere to live strictly and to keep, With most religious unction, every vow Of poverty, obedience, chastity. And all the rest that he hath sworn to ? Abbot. Truly, your Grace, despite my abbacy, My thoughts have sometimes played me such a strain, When I have been communing with myself. King. Ostensibly, It is to shun temptations men go there, And crucify the cravings of the flesh. io8 KING JAMES THE FIRST act in Abbot. 'Tis even so. King. Can four stone walls shut out temptation ? Abbot. Stone walls, if high as Heaven And built as solid as the Grampians, Could not shut out temptation ; no, not they. Desires and fancies tempt as much as forms And the reahties of daily life ; And it is only these we can shut out. King. And if retirement crucifies the flesh, Can 't ever crucify the lawless wish, The unbridled and immoderate desire. Wherein is sin ? Abbot. Vain ! vain ! King. But granting that the eremitic life Could keep us safe from all temptations SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 109 And crucify all fleshly weaknesses, What is the hermit's praise ? Abbot. What is it ? King. He is unwounded ; but why ? He hath but cowardly thrown his arms down And run out of the battle ; — He is no warrior that blinks at arms. Abbot. By the Virgin, Can I gainsay it — 'spite my abbacy ? King. I am, my lord, convinced that the Most High Did never yet design a human soul To be sent off under a guard to Heaven, Or packed, like our French velvets, in a case (Fondly deemed weather-proof), Largely addressed to the celestial land. All to escape — wayside catastrophes ! No ! no ! That is not life : We come not to this earth to find repose. no KIXG JAAIES THE FIRST act hi If life were easy, life were meaningless : Strife is the life of life, the death of death. Our duty is, as I interpret it. To go forth bravely against every foe That meets us in the natural course of life. And stand or fall in the hot action. In this do we find glory. Abbot. Even in this : But yet your Grace would not condemn outright Our very institution in the state ? King. Faith, no ! I am too much indebted to the Church And the religious orders to condemn Your very institution in the state. You helped to save me from the o'ergrown power Of my proud, turbulent nobility; And that I'll not forget ; but, more than that, To speak unselfishly, the monasteries Have some important functions to fulfil Which, lacking them, would lack fulfilment. Abbot. Ha ! ha ! Your Highness truly grants us little praise. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST iii Saint David, your most kingly ancestor, Thought more of us. King. Ha! ha! Forgive me, my lord Abbot, if I call Saint David, my most kingly ancestor, A sore saint to the crown ! Marry, my lord, — O the broad lands, tall houses, and big rights That he did grant out of our heritage ! [E/iter Sir Robert Stuart. Ha, cousin ! What news ? How goes our proclamation ? Sir Robert. The town is in commotion : The populace, your Grace, swells high with wrath. King. At me or Graham ? Sir Robert. My lord, a needless question ! Should Robert Graham appear upon the streets — O that he would for your sake ! — He would be torn piecemeal by the crowd And asked no questions. 112 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi King. Are they so roused ? Sir Robert. O they are roused ! Mahound was ne'er so cursed By the redoubted knights o' the red cross As Robert Graham is by the citizens. To listen to it doth refresh one's ears ! how they rage at him ! Now may your Grace Have full assurance that the people's heart Doth hold you its first treasure. King. They are kind, they are kind ; 1 will protect them ; I will live for them ; And, if need were, yes, I could die for them. God bless my people ! Abbot {aside). A noble King ! And yet We fight for our own interests best of all When we strive most for others' interests. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 113 Enter Walter Straiton. Straiton. May it please your Grace, A citizen seeks audience of your Highness. His name? King. Straiton. "A citizen" is all the name he gives, — "A citizen who loves your Majesty." King. Ah ! we'll see our citizen : go, Walter, Surely we'll see our loving citizen. Straiton. He's here, your Grace. \Going to the door and introduci?ig Greaves. [Exit Straiton. King. Good-morrow, citizen ; a fair good-morrow to you. Greaves. Your Grace's humblest servant. May your Grace pardon my boldness. 114 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi King {aside). Faith, 'tis the speech of a born courtier. — {Aloud) Nay, good citizen, say not so. I am my people's servant ; and, believe me, they may command me always in a good thing. What is your complaint ? Is it some failure of justice that brings Greaves. May it please your Grace, it is no failure of justice that brings me into your presence, nor is it anything that, at the outset, concerns me or mine. I would speak to your Grace about this morning's proclamation. King. Ha ! speak, good friend : know you aught of Sir Robert Graham ? Greaves. By Saint Margaret, I may not have peace until he is brought to justice ! King. What mean you ? Greaves. Pardon me, your Grace. I have seen this traitor, this villain, who insults your Grace and threatens your royal life. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 115 King. Ha! Abbot and Sir Robert. Seen him ! Sir Robert (aside). O Heavens ! King. He's in the city, then ? Or where have you seen him ? This may be fruitful. Greaves. May your Grace forgive me ! He is in the city. I ought to have taken him ere now, or died in attempt- ing it. King. What happened .'' Sir Robert {aside). OGod! Greaves. Your Grace rode yesterday to the ParUament. You had scarcely passed my booth ii6 KING JAMES THE FIRST act in King. Where was this ? Greaves. I' the Canongate, your Grace. — You had scarcely passed my booth when a stranger-knight hurried in and busied himself in looking over my armour. King. Well ? Greaves. At first I saw nothing suspicious about him; but when he began to bargain with me for a suit of mail, and I saw him more closely, I knew my visitor, — Sir Robert Graham, under a thin disguise. King. This is of interest : go on. Greaves. My first impulse— well, I was staggered : I declared his name— a thing I should not have done. When he saw that he was known he drew on me, and I, in self-defence, seized an axe, but he, fearing that a fight would attract the ears of passers-by, flung his 8CENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 117 sword into its scabbard and threw himself on my mercy. King. What then ? Greaves. Forgive me, your Grace. He had not then prac- tised his latest villainy. It ran through my mind that he had perhaps come to Edinburgh with no ill designs. My duty to you, my gracious sovereign, and my pity for him, my perhaps distressed fellow-mortal, had a hard struggle. Pity overcame ; I let him go ; but this morning's news tells me I made a mistake. I beseech your Grace's mercy. Sir Robert {aside). Is that all ? King. Honest mistakes need no mercy ; a deed of mercy asks no mercy. You did well, good friend, to let Sir Robert Graham go ; and still have you done well in bringing us the news. Greaves. I humbly thank your Grace. Ii8 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi King. We thank you heartily : you have done us good service. You have given us proof that Sir Robert Graham is in Edinburgh, and we will strictly press the search. — I think you said you were an armourer? Greaves. Your Grace's servant is an armourer. King. Your name is ? Greaves. Thomas Greaves. King. Greaves : I know the name. Sir Robert. At the sign o' the breastplate ? Greaves. The same, Sir. King. We will not forget this service, Master Greaves. You have approved yourself a right gallant fellow, and we would be mindful of you. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 119 Greaves. I very humbly thank your Highness. \Exit Greaves. Stuart {aside). Thank Heaven ! King. Methinks this is a rare good fellow. Sir Robert Graham was wise in his way. He did well in more senses than one not to press our good armourer to extremities. Abbot. He is a sturdy fellow, in good sooth. Sir Robert. He is devoted to your Highness quite, In heart and soul. King. Scotland should be devoted unto me, For I am all devoted unto Scotland. Abbot. In truth, it should be ; but. If we except a few malignant spirits. Much doth she love your Grace. I20 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iii King. My people's love is the rich gem I seek. — Come, my lord Abbot, and good cousin, come ; We'll see how goes this business. Afterwards We'll lay our plans for Perth. \Exeu7it. Scene II. — Edinburgh : a Roovi in Sir John Hall's House. Enter Sir Robert Graham and Sir John Hall. Graham. Yea, I will bray Lofty Ben Ledi low as Vennachar With an apothecary's pill-pestle, If I do fail in this work. Hall. Prosperity sings loudly in the breeze And fills the sails of resolution ; Success doth laughing sit in her keen prow. Thine is a good resolve : we'll drink to it. Ho ! villains ! Enter a Servant. Servant. Did you call. Sir ? SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 121 Hall. Ay, bring us wine. We want no stinted draughts : fill full the flagons. \_Exit Servant. Again,— Graham. Are all your household to be trusted ? Hall. To the last man. I know the dogs : they are all faithful, — As faithful, nigh, as the old witnesses That sealed their faith with blood. Trust me. Sir Robert, If they should turn on me or blab a word. That your old mastiff, sleeping on your hearth. Will rise and run to the King's audience-chamber, Rear on his haunches, clap familiar paws Upon the King's broad shoulders and, forthwith, Bark, bay, and growl — "Ho ! treason !" Graham. Ha ! ha ! a fair conceit ! I trust old Growler. 122 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi Hall. And trust my merry men : Kill me, if they're found wanting. Graham. I'm content. You know old Thomas Chambers, One o' the Earl's grooms at Athole House ? Hall. I know him well : — a sly old rogue is he ! Graham. I think that he, as well's the armourer, Knew me too well. Hall. So? Graham. He leered at me, I thought, suspiciously. Hall. O he is safe ! he's like my dogs : He will not bite his master. \Enter Servant ivith wine and drinking vessels. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 123 Faith, Sir, I'm thirsty. Fill them up, good rogue ! There is more wine in France : come, fill them up. There, Sir Robert. \Pushiug a beaker towards him. Here is a brimming cup : Health to our cause ! Death to all tyranny ! \prinking. Graham. Death to all tyranny ! Health to our cause ! \prinking. Hall. I feel the better of it— Here, Hugh, before you go, Throw on more coal. Pile it up high, man. Let not this foul December reach our hearths, But keep it out o' doors wi' violence. I hate these rheumy, raw, and dripping fogs. Graham. It would afflict a statue with the ague. \Exit Servant. Hall. Fill up again ! [Filling the beakers. We will defy all agues. Here's to thee ! Success ! Success ! [Drinking. 124 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iii Graham. If turning the old city upside down Be a success, we've had success to-day. Hall. Ha ! ha ! there's been a hubbub, — And you are safe. Graham. 'Tis perfect order and tranquiUity Compared to what shall be. We'll make the ears Of the stout burghers tingle ere we've done. we'll have sweet revenge upon the tyrant ! Here's death to James ! [Brinkmg. Hall. Methinks the billet that you threw last night Into his sleeping-chamber will not bring Peace to his royal slumbers. 'Twas a bold throw ! Graham. The greedy tyrant ! 1 wonder how he takes it. Hall. The devil grant that he may sleep no more Till he hath had his death-dose. SCENE If KING JAMES THE FIRST 125 Graham. If only, Sir, Our ever lily-livered, poltroon friend. Shifty Sir Robert Stuart, could be got To be our figure-head, or, better still, If we could get the hardy countenance Of stout old Athole ! In ancient days He had abundant store of devilry, — Like other very good men, did not grudge To sit upon a plot. Hall. But different now. AVith his old age Athole grows fond of comfort. Graham. True ! true ! Hall. Trust me, he'll shy at plots. He hath a lurking fancy for his neck, Which ill becomes Reformers. Graham. Faith, a brave thought 1 We'll call ourselves Reformers. Ha ! ha ! ha ! 126 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi Big fools and thieves, cowards and murderers, May practise folly and commit low thefts, Perpetrate murders and run fast away From a base enemy, and be called wise. Honest and kind and brave — if all be done I' the name o' Christ and dear humanity. Ridiculous, fat-porker-witted men ! We'll call ourselves Reformers. Hall. Stick to it long enough and they'll believe us ! \_A knocking at the outer door. Hark! Graham. Who can't be ? Hall. The devil knows ! It may be Termagaunt for aught I know, Wi' broods o' long-tongued demons at his tail. Graham. Is my sword handy ? If cold steel should be wanted — faith. Sir John, \Rismg. Your wine is strong. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 127 Hall {going to the door and listening). Hark! If it's an enemy, into your den ! but — By the old Harry ! 'tis Stuart ! Graham. The devil, man ! Is't he ? Hall. 'Tis he, or I'm bewitched. Graham. Zounds I I never counted on't. Hall. 'Tis he I 'tis he ! Graham. By Heavens, our scheme thrives : We must improve the occasion. Hall. High welcome to him. \E71ter Sir Robert Stuart as if flushed with wi?ie. Aha ! Sir Robert Stuart ! our prince that should be 1 Welcome ! 128 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi Graham. Welcome ! our prince to be ! Stuart. I am beholden to you, gentlemen. Hall. Welcome ! thrice three times welcome ! Ho ! Hugh ! \_Enter Servant. A wine-cup ! Servant. There, Sir. \Setting down a cup. Hall. That's a good Hugh {^filling all the cups) ; and now Replenish us this flagon to the brim Out of our ripest vintage. It will be hard To make our service cap the dignity Of this most fair occasion ; but, by our Lady, All that our service lacks in stateliness Shall be atoned for by much reverence And lowliest, heart-devoted courtesy Unto our princely guest. Stuart. You are too kind, Sir John. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 129 Hall. I am so kind, indeed, that if my power Did bear the least proportion to my will- But I hate talk. I can do better this : Here's to thee, prince that shall be ! Life, health, prosperity ! [D^'inks. Grahaal Prince Robert ! May dignities ever increase on you ! {Drhiks. Stuart. Faith, gentlemen, I have not utterance Half to express my heartfelt thankfulness For the rich favours you have heaped on me. My heart is overcharged with plenteous wealth Of gratitude and love to you, kind friends ; But, like an avaricious miser, 'Tis famine-struck amid its opulence. Having no tongue to distribute its wealth. I did not think to drink again to-night, But after such a toast as you have drunk That were gross churlishness. Mark, gentlemen, I am no churlish knave. Health, gentlemen ! \He drinks. K I30 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi I am your very faithful, loving friend. Health to you ! \Again drinks deeply. Hall. Drunk like a prince ! Graham. Stuart. Like a prince ! Gentlemen — Your wine is goo-good, Sir John. Hall. An' if it were the best that ever left The sunny hills o' the Rhine, 'twere the right stuff To put before your Highness. My humble service : — Let me fill up your cup. Stuart. Hold !— But it is no-oble wine. Hall. And 'tis a princely drinker. Stuart. Gentlemen, your very good healths ! \^Dritikmg. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 131 Graham. Robert the Fourth to be ! Hurrah ! Hall. Hurrah ! Long live Robert the Fourth ! Stuart. Gentlemen, you are my ve-ery good friends, {He sinks overpowered into his chair). Enough to Bacchus ! Graham {to Hall). There's sense in that. Hall {to Graham). Mum ! we've fooled ourselves. Stuart. Ye-es, gentlemen, I am you-our very good friend, and you are my very goo-ood friends, and the King is a ty-yrant. I maintai-ain, gentlemen, that the Ki-ing is a ty-yrant. I came here, Sir Robert Graham, to spe-eak a word with you, and I maintai-ain, gentlemen, that the Ki-ing is a tyrant, and that your wine, Sir John Ha-all, is very goo-ood. — And these things I will maintai-ain, and throw my gau-auntlet down to main- 132 KING JAMES THE FIRST act hi tain them, in face of all the wo-orld. What say you-ou, gentlemen ? Graham. By my faith, there is no truer doctrine than that the King is a tyrant, a most bloody tyrant ! Stuart. And shall not ty-yrants die, gentlemen ? Hall. They shall die. Stuart. I mai-aintain, gentlemen, that they shall die, and sha-all not the King die, gentlemen ? Hall. We've sworn it, and, after your grandsire, you shall be our King. Stuart. Who said that I was fa-alse to the King, gentlemen ? — I deny it, I deny it ! — Who ki-illed Rothesay ? — Tre-eason is ha-ateful, I maintain. — I never dreamt of Rothesay's mu-urder. — I go, gentlemen, to Perth with the Ki-ing. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 133 Graham. To Perth ? When do you go ? Stuart. He is a ty-yrant, gentlemen, and shall die ; but an honest man is not afrai-aid to live in-in-in Edinburgh. It was the King, gentlemen, that dreamt of Rothesay's murder. I never murdered him. Graham. No : but what of Perth ? Stuart {sings). Your hands are wet with blood, mother. Your hands are wet with blood ; I will not kiss you now, mother ; Your hands are wet with blood. — What say you-ou, gentlemen ? Hall {to Graham). Humph ! where reason ends the brute begins. 'Tis no creature to plot with. Stuart. Yes, gentlemen, you are my very goo-ood friends, and I am your very good friend 134 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iii Graham. The demon of babble has entered into him. Stuart. — And why sho-ould not everybo-ody be very good fri-ends ? It's the devil, gentlemen, who ma-akes bad friends. Graham (to Hall). Is the King about to leave Edinburgh, think you ? Have we frightened him ? Hall {to Graham). It appears so. {To Stuart) You are right. Sir Robert. It is the devil that makes bad friends. Stuart. Give me your hand, Sir John Ha-all. I rejoice to ma-ake your acquaintance. We are very old fri-ends. —Why shouldn't everybody be very o-old friends? Will you go to Perth, Sir John ? Hall. Gladly, Sir Robert. Graham. This is fortunate. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST I35 Graham {aside to Hall). Hear! Stuart. You will excuse me, ge-entlemen, but I must to bed. — We are too merry. — {Sings) Into a time lived two merry men, All in the merry greenwood-a, The one o' them hight Little John, The other, Robin Hood-a. — Yes, gentlemen, — I will to bed. Hall. At -your service. Sir Robert. It is getting late. — Hugh ! — {To Graham) He must sleep here to-night. {Enter Servant). Lights to Sir Robert's room. [Exit Servant. Stuart. To bed ! To bed ! To bed ! Hall, Allow me, Sir Robert, to have the honour of con- ducting you. Stuart. Gentlemen, I allow honour to any worthy ma-an, and I mai-aintain that a-any gentleman has a right to 136 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iii go to bed. — Why sho-ould not a worthy man have ho-onour ! — Why should not a man of honour go to be-ed! — To Perth we go. — My lord of Athole commends himself to you. Graham {to Hall). Sense gleams through nonsense. The Earl's with us. {To Stuart) Commend us to his lordship. Hall (to Graham). This is a giant's stride towards our design. {To Stuart) We are his lordship's very loving friends. Stuart. Yes, gentlemen, we, are all very goo-ood friends. I am your very good friend, and you-ou are my very good friends. — Give me your hands, gentlemen. — Sancta Maria, why should not everybody be better friends ! To Perth we go together. [Exeunt. ACT IV Scene I. — Edinburgh : a Roan in Holyrood. Enter the Earl of Athole and Sir Robert Stuart. Athole. The die is cast ; we've crossed the Rubicon ; And if we have to meet a pack of devils, I will not turn my back on't. Stuart. You blame me not ? You share the burden of it ? Athole. If there is blame I take it on myself. If threescore and fifteen do kick the beam 'Gainst five and twenty in the other scale, The threescore and fifteen must lay the blame Even on their own lightness. — 138 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Vengeance doth call me on ; Ambition pricks me hard to follow her. Stuart. The King's not to be trusted. Besides, Should his malignant spirit look our way, What price shall ransom us ? Athole. After Sir Robert Graham and the two Halls, Who are our other agents ? Stuart. Who shall they be ? Athole. A sieve holds water Better than some men nourish secrecy. Stuart. Athole. Right ! Let me see ! There are some men Who'll plot against Saint Peter or the devil, According as you take them. Let me see ! — Old Chambers, shall he be in it ? SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 139 Stuart. My lord, he's in't already : 'Twas unavoidable. Athole. Ah ! no danger there. Stuart. None : And he'll call in his frank son, Christopher — He hath got mettle in him ; and his tasks Lie much about the person of the King. [Enter Sir David Dunbar, passing through the room. Whither away. Sir David ? Dunbar. Ha ! gentlemen, you take it easily : Go you not wi' the King ? Stuart. We go wi' the King. Dunbar. It is arranged, do you know, To go by Stirling ? Stuart. Yes. I40 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Dunbar. I haste to make my preparations : We set out instantly, Stuart. We'll be wi' you. \Exit Dunbar. Athole. Is he of any use ? Stuart. Ne'er think of him : The King's the light of his eyes. Athole. Ha! Stuart. But come, my lord ; we have no time to lose. Everything prospers. Perth is a fit place To nurse our scheme. \Exeimt, Scene II. — A lonely Road near Stirling: Stirling Castle in the distance. Enter Courtiers on horseback. 1ST Courtier. Yonder old Stirling royally towers Into the wintry sky. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 141 2D Courtier. 'Tis a brave place : It doth proclaim itself the abode of kings. It looks as proud as if it were the seat O' the world's empire. 3D Courtier. The sight o't gladdens me. 'Tis getting dusk and, by my faith, I'm cold. 1ST Courtier. Look at the sky, — west and north-west. What a strange hue it shows ! 2D Courtier. As if 'twere stained with blood ! 1ST Courtier. Fair Stirling's towers seem dipt in't. 2D Courtier. In that ensanguined sky Old men and beldames will read prophecies Of dark portent. 142 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv 1ST Courtier. They say that when the sky Is all bestained as if with life's red juice, It doth foretell much strife and bloodshed dire Within the state. 2D Courtier. God grant no harm may come o't to the King ! Christ save us ! {^Making the sign of the cross. 1ST Courtier. Strong Jesus, son of Mary, Save the King ! \Making the sign of the cross. Exeunt Courtiers. Enter the King, the Earl of xA.thole, arid Sir Robert Stuart. How still it is ! King. Athole. 'Tis bitter cold. King. Faith, it is cold : 'twould make an arctic bear Shiver its skin off! SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 143 Athole. For me, I'll be well pleased To get the shelter of old Snowdoun's towers. King. Marry, Neither will I shun them : we'll hurry on. — Fair Hesperus hath lit, with sapphire light, His diamond lamp for mortals' ecstasy, And wanders westward. But, uncle, look ! — How strangely tinged the western sky appears ! Athole. Tinged ! how tinged ? My old eyes see nothing. Stuart (starting). 'Tis tinged — as if with blood ! Athole. As if with blood ? Ha ! The sky doth often take a ruddy hue When the weather's frosty. King. Soothsayers say Such signs are only seen in the high heavens 144 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv When the death o' kings and mortal tragedies Are hastening to appal our human ears. Athole. Soothsayers, my lord, Are sometimes arrant rogues and sometimes fools ; Sometimes both rogues and fools. I never waste A moment's thought on them. King. What of old Ercildoune, — He with the tongue of fate that could not lie ? Athole. And he lamented it, Thinking that it would make him all unfit For church, for market, or for kingly court, Or, more than all, for gentle lady's bower ! Ha! ha!— There is a stroke of satire in the tale Against poor human nature. \An old Highla?id Sibyl appears under the shade of a tree by the wayside. King {Jiis horse swerving). Quiet, Madge ! quiet ! Who's the gaunt figure standing in the shade O' that bare tree ? SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST I45 Stuart. Is't a poor woman gathering some sticks ? Athole. Ride on ! King. As she stands there her figure makes my thoughts Run on the memory o' the weird sisters That met Macbeth upon the blasted heath, As he returned victor from the fight. We'll speak to her. Stuart. Hark ! she speaks. Sibyl. My lord King ! my lord King ! Stuart. She knows you are the King : She would speak to your Grace. King. What is't, poor soul ? I hear you. L 146 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Sibyl. My lord King ! my lord King ! — Pass not the water o' Forth ! If once you pass, You'll ne'er come back alive to the hither side. Curst spirits in the deepest caverns Of the deep hell weave a damn'd spell To catch the priceless treasure of your life. Pass the dun tides o' Forth and the spell's spun. Take an old woman's warning, my lord King : — Pass not the fatal water o' the Forth ! Let us ride on ! Athole. Whip the old hag away ! King. Nay ! speak not so unkindly. It may be that dire poverty hath wrenched Her reason from its hinges ; yet withal She seems not frenzied ; nay, on closer view I see nought but a mild and gracious look Inspired by earnestness. {To the Sibyl) What's this you say ? Sibyl. Pass not Forth's fatal water, my lord King. I warn you. Shun it as you would shun SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST I47 The deadliest juices o' the deadUest herbs That witch e'er gathered by the light o' the moon, Adown the path that leads to the lost abyss. Athole. Faith, she's a witch herself. She ought before this to have been, methinks, Convicta et co^nbusta. Avaunt, witch ! avaunt ! Let us go forward. King. Uncle, you are unkind. Sibyl. I know thee, my lord Athole ; I know thee. King. Tell me, good woman, prythee tell me true, Is there aught meaning living in your speech ? Sibyl. My lord, my rede is read. My prayer is That you take heed to it. King. Take heed to it !— But what's the meaning of it ? Speak, woman : Why should I dread the passing o' the Forth ? I4S KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT iv Athole. The bridge, will it break down under the King, Or what's i' the wind ? Come tell us. King. You speak of spirits of hell Weaving accursed spells to catch my life. — What meaneth this ? and why do you connect it With the passing o' the Forth ? Sibyl. Alas ! alas ! advice falls on dull ears ! I'll speak no more. Athole. By our lady, a good, safe resolution ! Common is speech, but — rendering reasons rare. 'Tis a wise harridan ! Faith, I grow cold. King. Then, may I ask — Whence is your information ? Have you power To draw the veil from the future ? Do you see In the great chart of God, who makes events, The shaping of events that are to be ? Or are you leagued with some pernicious sprite SCEXE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 149 Who, poaching on the future, doth bring back Unhallowed prey to rouse ill appetites In ever-sinning mortals ? Sibyl. Press me no further : Spirits that do not lie have spoken to me, And I with honest speech have told their tale. If the King's wase, he will attend to it. \^Going. Athole. Gramercy ! a safe answer ! Tell the King this — Will the bridge break down under his Majesty ? It is a simple question. Ha ! ha ! Perhaps your hagship will provide a sieve, Or a witched cockle-shell, to ferry him Across to the other side ! Sibyl. My lord King, here's further warning to you : — Beware of hoary age ! Beware of youth ! Athole. Faith, another witchly warning ! It will bear A broad interpretation. — Away, hag ! I50 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv King. Some money, Robert. Sibyl. Nay, my lord King, — I'm poor, But may your money burn my fingers off If I do touch it ! King. Herein she differs from some other witches. Athole. Away, harridan ! Sibyl. My lord of Athole, Another word to you and I will go. — Again, I know you. [Retiring. The direst weed that grows in Hecate's dell Yields wholesomeness and rosy health compared To the vile venom which your heart distils In its wild throbbings. Athole. Damn you, witch ! SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 151 Sibyl. My lord King, I've met you here In deep concern for your Grace's life, And with no hankering for your royal bounty. Yet for your kindness and mild courtesy You have my thanks. Hear me and be advised ! — Pass not the fatal water o' the Forth ! Athole. Away ! \She disappears m the forest, the party silently looking after her. Night's down on us ! King. She's gone. Strange ! strange ! Does she know something of Sir Robert Graham ? Ah well, friends are around me. Hence, care ! I do but live to live, without reproach. In the affections of my countrymen : What should I fear ! — Athole. A hag ! A foul impostor ! King. Let us on ! [Exeunt. 152 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Scene III. — A deep recess m a Forest near Perth. Enter Sir Robert Stuart, Sir Robert Graham, and Sir John Hall. Stuart. This business brings much sorrow. Graham. Marry, Sir Robert, You're looking for ripe corn in the blade Where't never yet was found. Stuart. It is my weakness : I play a part I am not fitted for ; Yet, I'll be resolute. Hall. Muddy roads Oft lead to fairest landscapes. Graham. After the struggle comes the victory ; After the pain, the pleasure. SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 153 Hall. Without the struggle there's no victory ; Without the pain, no pleasure. Stuart. I'll be resolute, I'll be resolute. — (Aside) My spirits sink and swell like ocean tides. {Aloud) But who can tell what strifes we're coming to ? Graham. True ! Strife may be expected. Silver and gold and diamonds do not lie Upon the surface of their mother earth, Nor pearls on the bosom of the deep. Men dig and dive and sweat and choke for them. Stuart. Three weeks ago, as we drew nigh to Stirling, The western sky did seem all steeped in blood : They say that this doth tell of bloody strife. Graham. The dream of curst imposture ! Tell us, rather, about my lord of Athole. Are we to strike in your name or in his ? 1 54 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Shall it be Walter First or Robert Fourth That wears the crown ? Stuart. My grandsire seeks it not ; He says he is too old. He'll be content To have a strong voice in the government. Graham. Good, Sir ; good ! Then, by the grace of God, Robert the Fourth, We strike for you. Hall, For you. Stuart. I thank you, gentlemen. Graham. God save your Grace ! And now — When shall the blow be struck ? Hall. Be it at once : High virtue lies in expeditiousness. SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 155 Graham. Now let us see : — The King is housed wi' the Dominicans ; We know the passages throughout the house : What hind'reth that we should not do the work To-morrow night ? Hall. What hindereth ? Stuart. Put off a while ! For God's sake, Let us put off a while ! Graham. What profits it ? Stuart. Strength, certainty. Hall. Nay, weakness rather, and uncertainty, And many fears. By the Rood, strike at once ! 'Tis the best policy. Stuart. O, must it be ! 156 KING JAMES THE FIRST act iv Graham. About to cut a tooth, man ! Why grizzle over it ? 'Twill soon be well. — When does the King retire to rest o' nights ? Stuart. Midnight. Graham. Midnight ! That will do well. Look here, Sir Robert. Put a bold front to it ! Old Chambers and his son are in the plot : Is it not so ? Stuart. They know it. Graham. 'Tis well ! They can remove the locks and bolts and bars From the King's sleeping chamber ? Stuart {aside). He slew my cousin and he may slay us : He's very cruel, he's tyrannical. — {Aloud) What said you ? SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 157 Graham. I spoke of Thomas Chambers and his son : They can remove the bolts and bars and locks From the King's room. Is it not so ? Stuart. Merciful Heaven ! — Must we be damned for ever ! {Exeunt. ACT V Scene I. — Dominicaji Monastery at Perth: Room in the same. Enter the Abbot and Sir Robert Stuart. Stuart. How far may men go on in wickedness And still hope to return ? Abbot. How far ! — no distance : Tread not one step aside from virtue's path. Even by this rule the angels must abide ; A grain's indulgence yields a load of sin. Stuart. AVhat's faith ? How much can it do ? Abbot. Faith's good, but if it is not yoked with works, SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 159 Faith's faithless. Yet, after all, true faith, methinks, Will aye be yoked with works. Stuart. What is true faith ? Abbot. That trust in God which springeth, like a flower. Out of a heartfelt sorrow for our sins, And meekly looks above at Christ and Heaven. Stuart. What is repentance ? Abbot. That heartfelt sorrow for all sinfulness, From whence doth spring true faith. Stuart. Repentance, — Can't wipe out anything ? Abbot. Can't wipe out anything ! Ah, my dear son, Sweet innocence is more to be desired Than the most deep repentance. Not the mere wish To share in blessed prospects clears the way l6o KING JAMES THE FIRST act a^ Up the steep, rocky path. No, no, my son ; The love of Christ, the love of innocence, The love of moral beauty in itself. This fair love shining through our every act, Such is the guide that ne'er doth miss the way, But leads us on infallibly to Heaven. Stuart. The true guide ! the true guide ! Abbot. There is none other. Who comes ? Stuart. My grandfather. Abbot. He : I haste To see how go the preparations For this blithe night's crowning festivities. I'll be with you anon, \_Exit Abbot. Enter Lord Athole. Athole. Who hath gone from you ? SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST i6i Stuart. The Abbot, my lord, — Only the good Abbot. Athole. Humph ! 'Tis a good Abbot. I'm sorry that we're likely to disturb His good repose to-night ; but, hap what may, He will get over it. Stuart. O, he'll get over it. May Heaven grant we all get over it With no more moan than he ; though 'twill afflict him, Yea, to his heart's heart. Athole. He's James's friend. Stuart. O, they are brothers. Athole. Is your pulse steady, Rob ? Stuart, I'll not say " ay " to that. A leech would swear, were he to sound me now, I had a heart affection. M 1 62 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Athole. Courage, man ! courage ! Stuart. O heavy day ! Would God that it were ended ! Athole. Tush ! you're a child ! To-day you merely are Sir Robert Stuart ; To-morrow you shall be — Robert of Scotland. Stuart. You are doubly kind, my lord. Let that be as you wall : the right is yours. Athole. " Doubly kind ! " " Let that be as I will ! " "The right is mine ! " — Faith, my dear Rob, You're no hot aspirant for dignities ! There's not a single spark of jealousy [Enter Thomas Chambers. Ha, sirrah ! whither go you ? Chambers. About my business, my lord. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 163 Athole. The diligent man shall stand before the King. Chambers. I do my business, my lord, whether it's before the King or not before the King. If it's my business I do it, and there's an end of it. That is my rule. Athole. Not a bad one, neither. Where lies thy present business, prythee? Chambers. Behind the door o' the King's bed-chamber : there it lies, my lord ; and list if I preach it either on the ground-floor or on the house-top. Athole. Beware ! See if the Kinsi's about. 'to Chambers. Trust me for that. In this business I neither want to stand before kings nor anybody else. Trust me for caution, my lord, or say I'm some other than Thomas Chambers. \_Exit Chambers. 1 64 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Athole. There's a man for you, Rob. Stuart. Man or devil, which ? Athole. Marry, he's cool. To do us service. He'll cut a throat as unconstrainedly As cooks shred leeks and onions in a pot. Take hints from him. Stuart. O my lord, my lord, — I ne'er knew pain before. Athole. Courage, man ! courage, and blench not ! You've got beyond your bib and tucker days. No more o' that ! You will unman yourself Stuart. Unman myself ! Grandfather, If I could man myself sufficiently. If we could man ourselves sufficiently. SCENE I KING JAMES THE FIRST 165 We'd make a full confession to the King And throw us on his mercy. Athole. Zounds ! Nightmares ! Ask mercy of the man who in cold blood Slew Albany and Lennox for no crime ! Ask mercy of the man who slew his kin, And oft with evil eye hath looked on us, Who never yet have done him injury ! Art thou bewitched, boy ? Stuart. My lord, Is this a war of vengeance or ambition ? However else I would convince myself, The glitter of the crown hath dazzled me, And I have lost my judgment. Athole. A child ! a child !— Boy, Would you light the fire and run away ! Look, Sir, I tell you frankly, if you fail us now, I'll spurn you as a rat, for decency ! See to it ! See to it ! — When I have fairly set my face to the front I rarely look behind me. i66 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Stuart {aside). O, agony ! [Exeunt Scene II. — Perth: a Room of State in the Monastery. Courtiers moving about. Etiter Sir David Dunbar and Lady Catherine Douglas. Sir David. Will you play chess ? Lady Catherine. Save us ! No. Sir David. Why not ? Lady Catherine. I hate knights and bishops. Sir David. I love a lady better myself. Will your ladyship harp? Lady Catherine. Heaven knows, I am no harper. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 167 Sir David. If you were a wandering minstrel all Scotland would follow in your train. Will you sing ? Lady Catherine. I would rather tell ten stories than sing one song. My voice is cracked. Sir David. Rather would I listen to your cracked voice than to another lady's whole one. Whether you sing, or harp, or tell stories, it is equally divine ; but if you like, I'll sing to you. Lady Catherine. The crow can emulate the nightingale — by the crow's way of thinking. Sir David. Tell me a story, then. Lady Catherine. That I will not. When did I say I would tell you a story ? Sir David. Read a romance. 1 68 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Lady Catherine. That were a romance as foolish as any that was ever penned. Sir David. Recite a ballad. I'll bring you " Sir Cauline and the lovely Christabelle." Lady Catherine. When I take to reciting ballads, call the doctor in. Sir David. Then I'll recite to you. Lady Catherine. You're like an ill-bound book : A book ill bound will of itself fly open, Whether we wish to read in it or not. Sir David. Here is a book. Lady Catherine. Which is equivalent to saying, " Here's an immode- rate deal of folly set forth at large, and narrowly 'bound up." SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 169 Sir David. You are severe on writers of books. Lady Catherine. Writers of books have small compassion on their fellow men and women. Sir David. This is a book. Lady Catherine. I'll swear it's all about dreams and fountains, and flowers and nightingales, and those creatures known as lovers, of whom each pair fancy that the whole uni- verse exists only to revolve about their two silly selves. Sir David. This is a book, — 'Twill be a part of Heaven's library : Angels will be enraptured o'er its page. Lady Catherine. Haste ! Let us hear What will enrapture angels. I70 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Sir David. Of one I read — One of the fairest of " the glad empire Of blissful Venus ; " one who possessed " Beauty enough to make a world to dote." Lady Catherine. Ah ! " The King's Quair," — in sooth, a kingly book, And written by a king ! Sir David {reading). " Early astir to taste the morn of May, Her robe thrown loosely o'er her shoulders white, Half-open, as in haste, yet maidenly " Lady Catherine, 'Tis poetry, 'tis sweetest poetry ! The breath of May is in it. \_They pass on. Enter Sir Robert Stuart and Lord Angus. Stuart. Did you go far afield to-day ? Angus, Not far. 'Twas not inviting. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 171 Stuart. What of your goshawk ? Angus. Not worth its jesses. How do you Uke your roan ? Stuart {abse?itly). Worse than damnation ! Angus. Ha! ha! ha! You paint your disUke in strong colouring. Hath she thrown you ? Stuart. My new roan ? Angus. Ha! ha! You say you hke her worse than damnation ! I asked if she had thrown you. Stuart. O, my lord, pardon me ; It is the foolish fashion of my tongue. 172 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Angus (aside). He is possessed. [Leaving him. Stuart {aside). I would exchange my state for James's state, Though he's to die to-night. Enter the Earl of Athole, looking at Sir Robert Stuart. Athole {aside). He's in torture. Nature declares herself against the deed ; But if 'tis forged in hell it must be done. \Exit Athole. Enter the King, the Queen, the Abbot, and Courtiers. King. Come, my lord Abbot, tell us — How can we e'er contrive to give you thanks For your unbounded hospitality ? Abbot. To give us thanks ! Say, would your Grace come back next week from Stirling, That would be thanks. SCENE 11 KING JAMES THE FIRST 173 Queen. That were a knavish way to pay our thanks. Abbot. Madam, it would be princely thanks,— Especially if your Grace should deign return Under our humble roof. Queen. You are too kind, my lord. King. Too kind ! Abbot. Nay! The monastery is all your own, my hege, And, under God, we are your Grace's servants, Albeit you think little of our tribe. And flout against that " sore saint to the crown," Kingly King David, who thought much of us. King. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Thus doth revenge o'ertake all foolishness ! 174 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v I'm sorry I have spoken in that strain. — Well ! well ! men are not wise. Queen. It hath been a merry yule-tide. Never in merry England have I spent A yule so merrily and happily. King. Yea, each blithe day hath been to its to-morrow A happy harbinger. Queen. We have seen Nothing but gladsome cheer and joyous faces. King. Amidst it all, in these quiet cloisters. My spirit hath been bathed in peacefulness. The angels' hymn at the nativity, " Peace upon earth and goodwill unto men," Hath stolen on my senses ; I have heard The sacred whispers of eternity. \^Re-e7iter the Earl of Athole. Well, uncle, I am much inclined to take A lesson from your book. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST i75 Athole. He's a wise man who's willing to be taught : What lesson have I chanced to teach your Grace ? King. Distrust in soothsayers. Athole. Ha! King. Methinks our sibyl spoke false prophecies. Athole (aside). Perhaps ! {Aloud) O, rogues and fools ! rogues and fools ! King. Weeks have gone by since we crossed o'er the Forth, And we've seen nothing but prosperity. Queen. Not a cloud Hath come 'tween us and sunshine ; not a cloud Now peers o'er our horizon : all is clear. 176 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Stuart (aside). Hath hell a pang like this ! \Exit Sir Robert. Abbot. Never yet Did such deceiver herald e'en the day, Whereon the glancing swallow would appear To greet the pleasant springtide. Athole. Never yet did witch or wizard tell When a clown's greedy appetite would pinch And pine for supper-time ! — Only kings' deaths, Famines, plagues, slaughters and gaunt miseries. Are worth their godly notice. Those they read As easily as priests their litanies. King. Yet, who knows, 'Tis possible that we speak hastily. Enter Christopher Chambers. Athole (aside). Possible. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 177 King, We've crossed the Forth and everything is well ; We have not yet recrossed it : so, after all, The sibyl may be right. Chambers {aside). I'll reveal it. [Approaching the King. Athole. She may, your Highness. — All's possible but the impossible : I've newly crossed the threshold of this room ; 'Tis possible my breath may be too short To bear me out again. E7iter Straiton. Straiton, May't please your Grace, A woman seeks to see you. King. Me?— And at this hour ! Who is she, Walter ? Straiton. A frenzied creature : She clamours loudly at the postern N 178 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v That she may see your Grace, and wildly raves Of plottings and of murders. Chambers {aside). I'll do it — \Again approaching the King. But I cannot. King. Our friend the sibyl, uncle. 'Tis an untimely hour or we would see her. What a strange creature ! Queen. Poor thing ! Go, speak to her, my lord. Athole. The woman's drunk, beheve me. What does the porter think of ! Go, Walter, — Bid him turn her away. Straiton. My lord earl, She will not take denial. I think she's mad. Athole. By our lady, if I go out, I'll give her a denial. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST 179 Queen. Hark! Sibyl {famtly from outside). My lord King ! Chambers {aside). Yes, I'll tell all, \Agai71 app7'oacJmtg the King. He will be merciful. \He ivavers again. Queen. How wild it is ! {To tjie King) Go to her, my lord. She's in distress, perchance. Athole. Let her be thrown into the moat ! Go, bid the warders do it. King. Nay, we will see her. Athole. Be advised, your Highness. It is not fitting that your Highness give An audience unto every frantic hag That fancies asking for it, especially At such an hour as this. Do this, Sir, I So KING JAMES THE FIRST act v And you'll continually have crowds o' them Hanging about your gates. Sibyl {faintly from outside). My lord King ! Queen. Hear her ! Chambers (aside). It sticks in my throat. King. Let us go out. Athole. Do not, your Highness, I pray you, do not. 'Tis unbecoming to the majesty Of kings and princes to give ready ear To every strong-lunged bawler. More than that, 'Twill be set down to superstitiousness More than to kingly grace, should you thus stoop To pass words with a woman who pretends To see into the future, — to declare The secret programme of unacted fate. King. Perhaps you're right. SCENE II KING JAMES THE FIRST i8i Athole. I like it not. I will go out myself, And I'll translate her dark-tongued prophecies. King. Be not unkind to her. Abbot {to Straiton). See if she's in want. Straiton. I will, my lord. King. We'll speak to her to-morrow. [Exeunt the Earl of Athole ajid Straiton. Angus. Those chances are unhappy, and they strike A note of discord in our merriment. Abbot, I am vexed. King. Prythee, ne'er think of it. We'll drown the discord. Musicians ! iS2 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Abbot. Supper, your Grace. King. Ha! better still. [Exeunt all except CnxuB^^s. Chambers. I cannot speak to him ! I cannot speak ! Fiends hold me back. O hell, thy powers are strong ! [Exit. Scene III. — 77/1? Monastery : the King's Bedchamber, 7vhich is dimly lighted. Enter Thomas Cham- bers softly. Chambers {listening at t/ie door). They are at supper. — All's quiet. Now, then, or never ! — Let me see. — If anybody comes, where shall I shuffle to ? That's important. — Let me see {looking about the rooni). Ah ! behind these curtains ; that will do. — O, that son Christy of mine is a fool, an arrant fool ! SchooUng has been lost upon him. How strange it is that so few sons are blessed with their father's virtues ! — Hist ! {sound of footsteps in the pass- age) somebody comes. I'm in here {Jiiding behind the bed-curtains). SCENE III KING JAMES THE FIRST 183 Enter a Groom. Groom {trolling). There was a miller on the Dee, He had a bonnie daughter, And many lads of high degree, From far and near they sought her. {Arranging clothes, etc.) That will do. — All's right, I think {looking around). My lord King's nice. — Ah, the fire's low. I'd better look to it {throwing oti coals). Now, everything's right. — O, to be a king and lie on that bed o' down wi' its canopy, and its curtains, and its lions ! And such a queen ! — As fair's the lass o' the Dee : — \Trolli71g. For such the magic of this maid. Dowered with her wealth of beauty, That if she glanced on a saint staid. He did forget his duty : Singing troll-oU-oU. \Exit Groom. Chambers {coining out of hiding). Go, dolt ! Be glad that you're an ass and no king. Your sleep is sounder and your breath is surer than the King's. Let me see ! — Remove the bolts ! No, that were not altogether a cautious man's policy. Some- body might ask what had come over them, and in- i84 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v quiries might be made, and things inconvenient might be laid bare. No, here's a trick worth ten o't [lie vigorously sets to work, bends the bolts luith a crow-bar, and destroys the cha?nbers of the locks). Ha ! that's about it. — An ocean of melted butter will not help that bolt to slide.- — If it were to rain oil to all eternity it would never rain enough to make that lock work ; and they'll never see this night what's the matter. For the nonce, that door is no door, I'll swear. — Aha, my lord Athole, I've done my business ; once more I've done my business, and that as purposely as if I had been accustomed to boltcraft and keycraft all my life. Gadzooks ! the man of business only wants a job to do and space to work in. [Exit. Scene IV. — Fort of the Garden of the Mofiastery girded by a Moat. Thomas Chambers throwing planks and hurdles across. Moonlight. Chambers {in a low voice). It's safe. Come on ! A Conspirator. Will't bear me ? Chambers. Pshaw ! man, will't bear a weasel ? Come on ! SCENE IV KING JAMES THE FIRST 185 Conspirator. I come. (jE';^?/^^ Conspirator.) I'm safe : 'tis as firm's a rock. Chambers. Come on, friends. Enter Sir Robert Graham. Graham. Safe ! Come on ! Lose no time over it. Enter Sir John Hall, Thomas Hall, mid band of Conspirators. Sir John Hall. Are we all here ? Graham. A full muster. Is the way clear ? Chambers. All's clear. Sir; I've drugged the warders' drink. They're sound asleep. Graham. Are the lights out ? 1 86 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Chambers. All out, except i' the King's room. Graham. 'Tis well ! Lead the way. {Enter the Sibyl from the garde?i.) What brach's this ? Sibyl {taken by surprise). O God, the spirits lie not. — What do you here ? Sir John Hall {seizing her). And what do you here ? Sibyl {struggling wildly). Murder ! help ! the King ! help ! murder ! Graham. Gag her ! Thomas Hall. I'll stop her music. There! {stabbing her) as dead's a drum-stick ! Sibyl {faintly). Help ! Save the King ! {Dies. SCEJJE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 187 Graham. If fools will come in the way ! Sir John Hall. Zounds ! 'tis unfortunate. Graham. Perhaps she has awoke the monastery. We must retreat : we'll view the effects from the other side o' the moat. Sir John Hall. Come on ! [Exeunt Scene V. — The King's Bedchamber. A fire brightly burning. The Queen and her Ladies listening with startled looks. Queen. It seemed a cry for help. Lady Elizabeth Douglas. It is, perhaps, The poor sad creature who feigns prophecies Still lingering at the gates. i88 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Lady Catherine Douglas. 'Twas but the wind. Another Lady. Only the wind. Enter the King in a dressing-gown. Queen. Do you see any one ? King. No, sweet ; not a soul moving. Queen. What of the night 1 King. A fine night. The moon doth brightly shine, but the wind's up : Doubtless, my love, you heard a gust o' wind. Lady Catherine. It must have been. \Going to the ivindow. Queen. I know not. It seemed a woman's cry, and that for help ; SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 189 But I'm so fearful that a little thing Imposes on my senses. King. Silly dove ! Wilt tremble when I'm near thee ? Here's a kiss : 'Twill fright away your fears. Queen, Would you had seen that hapless wanderer, — Lord Athole's so ungentle. King. My uncle's harsh, sometimes unscrupulous. But he is ripe in council. — To-morrow We'll inquire into her woes. Queen. Would it were here ! King. In a few hours The shrill-piped, cottage-rousing chanticleer. Will herald in the morn with blithe note \ And your own gentle hands will minister Unto the poor dame's wants. I90 KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT v Queen. My lord ! my love ! Lady Catherine {Jrom the window). All's well, your Grace. The night is lovely and there is no sound, — Only the wind is blowing. King. Nothing more : but ladies, look you here ! — Here is a mystery with fullest claims On feminine attention. Lady Elizabeth. A mystery ! A Lady. King. It is too deep for me : I cannot fathom it. Lady Catherine. The mystery ? Let us hear it ! SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 191 Lady Elizabeth. What is the mystery ? King. It is beyond my plummet line's poor reach ; But I will stake a falcon to a fly, Some lady has a line to fathom it, — Ay, were it ten times deeper. Lady Catherine. The mystery, your Grace, the mystery ! We'll try our lines, — tell us the mystery. King. Which of you ladies, tell me, hath bewitched Sir Robert Stuart ? Lady Catherine. O, he's bewitched ! King. Who hath bewitched him ? — you, Elizabeth 1 Lady Elizabeth. Not I, your Grace ; I have no skill. 192 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v King {to Lady Catherine). Is't you, my lady Pert ? Lady Catherine. Not I, in faith. 'Twas yesterday I threw a jest at him : If I had thrown a boot-jack at his head He might have been astonished equally, But not a tittle more than with my jest. King. Ha! ha! ha! Lady Catherine. He seemed blank with amazement. Had I said — " Sir Robert Stuart, you're accused of treason : In the King's name you are my prisoner," His showing had not seemed more wild and scared The unhappy youth's deranged most ruefully : Faith, I do pity him. Queen. Ah ! shrew, — What of my knight, Dunbar ? Dost pity him ? King. Kate, Kate, these tell-tale blushes ! SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 193 Lady Catherine. Do I blush, Sir? King. Ne'er mind, fair Kate ; Hide not the rosy blush of modest nature. I love the pretty blushes on your cheeks, I love the love that glances in your eyes, I love the laughing dimples Queen. My lord, my lord ! — You'll rouse my jealousy. Frown on him, Kate. Quell his audacity. King, Ha! ha! ha! The blood of twenty-four is in my veins, Though I am four-and-forty. That brings to mind — Ah, swift time ! — Queen, That brings to mind — what, my good lord ? King. It brings to mind The fair scenes and fond words of other days. Do you remember, love, the happy day When we did plight our troth ? o 194 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Queen. Ah, happy day ! I do remember it : May every line of hallowed memory That hath been written into my life's book Be scorched and shrivelled up when that goes down Amongst the things forgotten. To me life dawned The day of our betrothal. King. Sweetest ! the scene's before me now. Queen. It was the evening of a summer day, And close to royal Windsor. — King. My prison — Yet the birthplace of my bliss. That evening, As we strayed through the kine-scented meadows, And by the shining river whose fair banks Were broidered thick with sweet forget-me-nots, — Do you remember it ? Queen. O, I remember it. SCENE V KING JAMES THE FIRST 195 King. The firmament was gorgeous with its wealth Of sunset glory, all magnificent ; The gently breathing air was musical With the loved notes of nature's minstrelsy, — The low, soft tinklings from the fleecy flock. The twittering of swallows at their sport. The busy hum of the industrious bee, Bearing its load of treasure havenward ; Whilst in a neighbouring copse the little birds Warbled glad vespers, and Philomel Attuned her sacred hymn to the mild night. That evening love ? Queen. The tramp of feet ! — Do you not hear it ? — King. O God! \A battering at the outer doors is heard. Queen. Hear ! crash ! — They seek your life. King. The villain Graham ! 196 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Queen. Flee! King, Sweet wife ! Queen. My husband, flee ! King. No escape ! they're in the passages ! Bolt the door ! {Jiastening fo bolt it) It will not work ! The key ! — God ! the lock's broken ! — Treason ! \He flies to the window. Ha ! stanchioned with iron bars ! Lost ! Queen. Lost ! lost ! lost ! [Fainting. King. O God ! Lady Catherine. I'll bolt the door ! \Leaning against it and inserting her arm in the staples. Tear up the floor ! a vault's beneath. \TJie door is attacked. SCRNEV KING JAMES THE FIRST 197 Lady Elizabeth. Mercy on us, O God ! \Soine of the Ladies help Lady Catherine .- some scream wildly ; meanwhile the King seizes the tongs, tears tip some planks in the floor and descends. Lady Catherine. Cover it up ! — [Ladies replace planks. Help ! help ! mercy ! O God ! Straiton {fighting outside). Back, damned villains ! A Conspirator. Ho ! coistril, wilt thou be in the fun ! Ha ! Straiton. I'm killed ! help ! O ! \_The door is assailed afresh. Lady Catherine. My arm ! my arm ! I can no more. — Mercy ! help ! O my arm ! \^The door is burst open: some of the Ladies scream. Enter Conspirators with drawn swords and torches. They search the room. 198 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Thomas Hall. Here's a pretty sight, my merry men ; But where's the cock o' the roost ? A Conspirator. Hath he flown through the roof? — Where is he ? speak, dames. Another Conspirator. Here's the Queen, I'll stop her Graham. Nay, that were too damned a deed ! We have no war with women. Another Conspirator. What rat's this ? (dragging in the body of Walter Straiton). He's dead ! He should have kept his hole. Sir John Hall {to Lady Catherine). Ha ! you're a Douglas ! — Tell us, my pretty lady, where's the King ? SCENE VI KING JAMES THE FIRST 199 Lady Catherine. Poor Walter ! O cruel, hateful, bloody ruffians ! \Oiher Ladies cower round about Lady Catherine. Sir John Hall. Where's the King ? come, pretty lady, tell us. We'll leave you to your dreams if you will say AVhere he has slipt to. Lady Catherine. He's safe, thank God ! O murderers, you'll pay for this black deed ! Conspirators. He has escaped us ! Graham. This will not do : on through the house ! He must be found ! [Conspirators going out. Lady Catherine. The headsman waits you all : the King is safe ! He's safe and we defy you ! \Scene closes. Scene VL — A Vault beneath the Royal Bedroom : light gli77iineringfrom above. The King appears out of the gloom. King. They do not hear me. {In a low voice) Hist ! ho ! 200 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Lady Catherine (/;/ a low voice from above). Did your Grace speak ? King. Are you safe ? Lady Catherine. The Queen has swooned. King. God save her ! — Kate ! Lady Catherine. I hear. King. Can you help me up ? Lady Catherine. 'Twere perilous : they're searching still. They may come back. King. If I'm found here 'tis fatal, There seems to be no outlet from the cell : I can find none. Is no help coming ? SCENE VI KING JAMES THE FIRST 201 Lady Catherine. I fear not, but keep still. — You will be safe. King. Kate ! Lady Catherine. Ay, my lord. King. Tie the bed-clothes together Lady Catherine. Still, my lord, still ! They come again ! O God ! [ Closing the plank. King {crouching back in the darkness). O Christ, my help's in thee. Conspirators re-enter above. Thomas Chambers {above). I'll show you the fox's den. \The planks are torn up, and Chambers, throw- ing the light of a torch into the cell, looks in from above. Ho ! ho ! Reynard's at home : there he grins in the corner. 202 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v A Conspirator. Who will unearth him ? Sir John Hall (leaping dozan mto the vault). I will. Your race is run, Sir. King. What have I done ? Sir John Hall. This dagger is my answer. King. I will not die like a sheep i' the shambles. \_TIie King grapples desperately raith Hall and receives dagger-wounds, but at le?igth dashes him on the floor. Sir John Hall. Help ! [Thomas Hall leaps down. The King also encounters him, and after another desperate struggle succeeds in throwiiig him, but the King himself falls, exhausted and sorely wounded. SCENE VI KING JAMES THE FIRST 203 King. Murderers ! Sir John Hall. Help! [Sir Robert Graham leaps down. Graham. I'll finish this. King. Villain ! hast thou no dread of hell ? Hold thy damned hand ! Mercy ! Graham. Mercy ! Where was your Kingship's mercy when you slew Your own most noble kindred ? King. I showed you mercy ; I'll answer- Graham. To me and to my kin You've given bloody mercy. [^Pointing his sword at the King's breast. 204 KING JAMES THE FIRST ACT V King. Mercy ! Graham. I'll give it back to you still bloodier : Revenge ! {Stabbing the King. King. Fiend ! devil ! For my soul's salvation Let me have a confessor. Graham. A confessor ! Dost ask a fiend for thy confessor, Sir ? This steel's the one you'll have. \Agai7i stabbing him. The two Halls also stagger forward and stab him. King. Ruffians ! {Fai?itly) Help ! my wife — children \_Dies. Sir John Hall. The work's done, but I'm half-strangled. Thomas Hall. So am I — I can scarcely speak. SCENE VI KING JAMES THE FIRST 205 A Conspirator {from above). Fly ! we're beset, Graham, What ! Here's a door ! Locked ? No ! {opening it) Come on ! \Exeunt. Enter the Abbot, the Earl of Angus, Lady Catherine Douglas, and others. Abbot. O heavy night ! O miserable night ! Legions of devils must have trooped from hell To inspire this horrid orgy. Angus, There's the King. Abbot, Dead ! dead ! dead ! Lady Catherine. O woful ruin ! O most noble King ! Enter Sir David Dunbar, wounded. Dunbar. Athole and Stuart are in this damned plot. 2o6 KING JAMES THE FIRST act v Angus. My God ! what an accursed crime ! Abbot. A crime to make the blackest midnight blush ! A crime that might make Satan penitent And weep hot tears o'er his apostasy ! — O bravest King ! O hapless, gentle Queen ! O ruined country ! Angus. Let us take up His stricken body very tenderly, And bear it to a fairer resting-place. O, it was honour's temple ! Abbot. This deed of shame seeks retribution. — Let us go hence ! 'Tis meet we dry our tears. Great God will make our loss his endless gain. Though sorrowing in our grief, the saints will hold, Over his death, high holiday in Heaven, Having him for their sweet companionship. \Cnrtain falls. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. ROBERT DE BRUCE, AN HISTORICAL PLAY. Post %vo. Price 6^. CHAPMAN & HALL, LONDON. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "Mr. Graham has not only fire and expression, but poetical ■faculties of no mean order. Take the soliloquy of Badenoch when he has determined to betray Bruce to Edward. . . . The whole soliloquy is powerful, and the four lines we have set in italics felicitous in the extreme. ... It is only fair to say that here he is at his best, but this indicates the height to which he is capable of rising, and the dramatic force he can command at will. There is indeed throughout the volume much promise, as there are indications that the fragment by no means measures the full poetical stature of the author." — Oxford Times. "... There are some well-wrought scenes in the drama and some excellent situations." — SaftcrJay Peviezv. 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