Online Book Reader

Home Category

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - Israel Gollancz William Shakespeare [567]

By Root 18876 0
in flames, like to the prince of fiends,

Do, with his smirch'd complexion, all fell feats

Enlink'd to waste and desolation?

What is't to me when you yourselves are cause,

If your pure maidens fall into the hand

Of hot and forcing violation?

What rein can hold licentious wickednes

When down the hill he holds his fierce career?

We may as bootless spend our vain command

Upon th' enraged soldiers in their spoil,

As send precepts to the Leviathan

To come ashore. Therefore, you men of Harfleur,

Take pity of your town and of your people

Whiles yet my soldiers are in my command;

Whiles yet the cool and temperate wind of grace

O'erblows the filthy and contagious clouds

Of heady murder, spoil, and villainy.

If not- why, in a moment look to see

The blind and bloody with foul hand

Defile the locks of your shrill-shrieking daughters;

Your fathers taken by the silver beards,

And their most reverend heads dash'd to the walls;

Your naked infants spitted upon pikes,

Whiles the mad mothers with their howls confus'd

Do break the clouds, as did the wives of Jewry

At Herod's bloody-hunting slaughtermen.

What say you? Will you yield, and this avoid?

Or, guilty in defence, be thus destroy'd?

GOVERNOR.

Our expectation hath this day an end:

The Dauphin, whom of succours we entreated,

Returns us that his powers are yet not ready

To raise so great a siege. Therefore, great King,

We yield our town and lives to thy soft mercy.

Enter our gates; dispose of us and ours;

For we no longer are defensible.

KING HENRY.

Open your gates. [Exit GOVERNOR] Come, uncle Exeter,

Go you and enter Harfleur; there remain,

And fortify it strongly 'gainst the French;

Use mercy to them all. For us, dear uncle,

The winter coming on, and sickness growing

Upon our soldiers, we will retire to Calais.

To-night in Harfleur will we be your guest;

To-morrow for the march are we addrest.

[Flourish. The KING and his train enter the town]

SCENE IV. Rouen. The FRENCH KING'S palace

Enter KATHERINE and ALICE

KATHERINE.

Alice, tu as ete en Angleterre, et tu parles bien le langage.

ALICE.

Un peu, madame.

KATHERINE.

Je te prie, m'enseignez; il faut que j'apprenne a

parler. Comment appelez-vous la main en Anglais?

ALICE.

La main? Elle est appelee de hand.

KATHERINE.

De hand. Et les doigts?

ALICE.

Les doigts? Ma foi, j'oublie les doigts; mais je me

souviendrai. Les doigts? Je pense qu'ils sont appeles de fingres;

oui, de fingres.

KATHERINE.

La main, de hand; les doigts, de fingres. Je pense que

je suis le bon ecolier; j'ai gagne deux mots d'Anglais vitement.

Comment appelez-vous les ongles?

ALICE.

Les ongles? Nous les appelons de nails.

KATHERINE.

De nails. Ecoutez; dites-moi si je parle bien: de hand,

de fingres, et de nails.

ALICE.

C'est bien dit, madame; il est fort bon Anglais.

KATHERINE.

Dites-moi l'Anglais pour le bras.

ALICE.

De arm, madame.

KATHERINE.

Et le coude?

ALICE.

D'elbow.

KATHERINE.

D'elbow. Je m'en fais la repetition de tous les mots que

vous m'avez appris des a present.

ALICE.

Il est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense.

KATHERINE.

Excusez-moi, Alice; ecoutez: d'hand, de fingre, de

nails, d'arma, de bilbow.

ALICE.

D'elbow, madame.

KATHERINE.

O Seigneur Dieu, je m'en oublie! D'elbow.

Comment appelez-vous le col?

ALICE.

De nick, madame.

KATHERINE.

De nick. Et le menton?

ALICE.

De chin.

KATHERINE.

De sin. Le col, de nick; le menton, de sin.

ALICE.

Oui. Sauf votre honneur, en verite, vous prononcez les mots

aussi droit que les natifs d'Angleterre.

KATHERINE.

Je ne doute point d'apprendre, par la grace de Dieu,

et en peu de temps.

ALICE.

N'avez-vous pas deja oublie ce que je vous ai enseigne?

KATHERINE.

Non, je reciterai a vous promptement: d'hand, de fingre,

de mails-

ALICE.

De nails, madame.

KATHERINE.

De nails, de arm, de ilbow.

ALICE.

Sauf votre honneur, d'elbow.

KATHERINE.

Ainsi dis-je; d'elbow, de nick, et de sin. Comment

appelez-vous le pied et la robe?

ALICE.

Le foot,

Return Main Page Previous Page Next Page

®Online Book Reader