University of Virginia Library

SCENE III.

—Council-room, with Lawyers, &c.
FIRST LAWYER.
The scales of law have been suspended long,
But yet the balance trepidates in doubt;
I see no outlet from the labyrinth
In which we err, confounded more and more,
Groping for an escape.

SECOND LAWYER.
I do opine
That Baliol's claim is better by the right
Of primogeniture convey'd to John
Through Donagill and Marg'ret, two descents—

THIRD LAWYER.
But that priority seems overborn
By Bruce's greater nearness to the stock,
He being grandson to the Royal Earl;
Whereas his rival is great grandson merely,
A point to be perpended much.

FOURTH LAWYER.
My Lords,
The question then, from all its multiply'd
And various shoots, converges to this issue:
Shall seniority and feudal custom
In kingdoms govern the succession, as
In other heirships and more small entails?
Or shall, in questions where a throne depends,
Superior sex, and one degree's more close
Proximity, have weight to overpoise
That right of birthdom strong in other cases?
Speak your opinion, lords and councillors.

Semichorus of Lawyers.
We are perplex'd!

Semichorus of Lawyers.
We vibrate unresolved.

[Here King Edward enters.
KING EDWARD.
My lords and counsellors, I greet you well,
And wish you happy sweet deliverance
From the long fret of this world-teasing theme.
For me—I am deliver'd; after close
Cautious suspension, weary waiting on,
Both day and night, to note and to detect
The trepidation of the mental balance,
Assisted by that better unseen power
That ever hovers o'er the heart of kings,
Touching their slightest thoughts with some divinity,
I am concluded in this fair resolve;—
That John De Baliol, son of Donagill,
Grandson of Marg'ret, Huntington's great grandson,
As being of the eldest daughter's branch,
Bears the true title to the Scottish crown,
Over all other claimants. This my sentence,
Not without Heav'n, as I do hope, resolved,
Will meet, as I believe, earth's gather'd wisdom
To 'stablish it:—Therefore, I conjure you,
By the regards and deference you owe
To gods and kings, and their superior guidance,
And by your love of peace, inducing you
T'avoid blood-stirring black dissension,
That you pronounce, in unison with ours,
A verdict friendly to the Baliol name;—
And so may God defend and help the right!

FIRST LAWYER.
At the king's face, as mists before the sun's,
My doubts dissolve.

FOURTH LAWYER.
The sky of thought clears up.

THIRD LAWYER.
Thank God, the golden thread of Ariadne
Is cast:—I do opine, with England's Majesty,
That Baliol is the true inheritor.

Semichorus of Lawyers.
King John!

Semichorus of Lawyers.
King John!

Chorus of Lawyers.
Vivat King John for ever!

KING EDWARD.
God's grace—'tis well; a peaceful fair result;
One which, though now shut up and pinn'd within
Th'epitome of this poor church, will soon
Fly out on fame, and amplify its range
From Europe's western to her eastern bound,
Winning all tongues of subjects and of kings
To gratulate and bid acclaim to it:—
Now then announce it to the trumpeters,
Those brazen-breath'd artificers of sound,
That stand without all ready, with their gear,
To volley our decision to the spheres,
That the broad firmament may ring of it,
And send it hence in echoes to Dunbar;
Thence Edinburgh Fort may hollow up
The news to Stirling, and that central citadel,
In circling waves of sound, reverberate
Around that land to which it appertains,
That John De Baliol is her chosen king!