Cath. *SCENE V. The French Camp. Enter Catharine, and an old Gentlewoman. A 8 LICE, tú as efté en Angleterre, & tú parles bien le language. Alice. Un peu, Madame. Cath. Je te prie de m'enfeigner; il faut, que j' apprenné à parler. Comment appellez vous la main en Anglois? Alice. La main? ell' eft appellée, de band. Sir T. Hanmer has rejected it. The scene is indeed mean enough, when it is read, but the grimaces of two French women, and the odd accent with which they uttered the English, made it divert upon the ftage. It may be observed, that there is in it not only the French language, but the French fpirit. Alice compliments the princefs upon her. knowledge of four words, and tells her that the pronounces like the English themselves. The princess fufpects no deficiency in her inftructress, nor the inftructrefs in herself. Throughout the whole scene there may be found French fervility, and French va nity. I cannot forbear to transcribe the first fentence of this dialogue from the edition of 1608, that the reader who has not looked into the old copies may judge of the ftrange negligence with which they are printed. Kate. Alice venecia, vous aves cates en, vou partè fort bon Angloys englatara, Coman Sae palla vou la main en francoy. 8 Cath. Alice, tu as eftée] I have regulated several Speeches in this French Scene: Some whereof were given to Alice, and yet evidently belonged to Catharine: and fo, vice verfa. It is not material to distinguish the particular Tranfpofitions I have made. Mr. Gildon has left nơ bad Remark, I think, with Regard to our Poet's Conduct in the Character of this Princefs: for why he should not allow her (fays he) to speak in English as well as all the other French, I can't imagine: fince it adds no Beauty; but gives a patch'd and pye-bald Dialogue of no Beauty or Force. THEOBALD. Alice. Le doyt? ma foy, je oublie le doyt; mais je me fouviendra le doyt; je penfe, qu'ils ont appellé des fingres; ouy, de fingres. Cath. La main, de band; le doyt, le fingres. Je pense, que je fuis le bon efcolier. ' ay gaignée deux mots d' Anglois viftement; comment appellez vous les ongles? Alice. Les ongles, les appellons de nayles. Efcoutes: dites moy, fi je parle bien: de band, de fingres, de nayles. Alice. C'ft bien dit, madame; il eft fort bon Anglois. Alice. De arme, madame. Alice. D' elbow. Cath. D' elbow: je m'en faitz la repetition dé tous les mots, que vous m'avez appris dès à prefent. Alice. Il eft trop difficile, madame, comme je penfe. Cath. Excufe moy, Alice; efcoutez; d' band, de fingre, de nayles, d'arme, de bilbow. Alice. D' elbow, madame. Cath. O Signeur Dieu! je m'en oublie d' elbow; comment appellez vous le col? Alice. De neck, madame. Cath. De neck; & le menton? Alice. De chin. Cath. De fin le col, de neck: le menton, de fin. Alice. Ouy. Sauf voftre honneur, en verité, vous prononcez les mots auffi droit, que les natifs d' Angleterre. Cath. Je ne doute point d'apprendre par la grace de Dieu, & en peu de temps. Alice. N'avez vous pas deja oublié ce que je vous ay enfeignée ? Cath. Non, je reciteray à vous promptement; d'band, de fingre, de maynes, de arme. 9 de fingre, &c.] It is apparent by the correction of Alice, that the princefs forgot the nails, and therefore it should be left out in her part. Alice. De nayles, madame. Cath. De nayles, de arme, de ilbow. Cath. Ainfi, dis je d elbow, de neck, de fin com ment appellez vous les pieds, & de robe. Alice. Le foot, madame, & le coun. Cath. Le foot, & le coun! O Seigneur Dieu! ces font des mots mauvais, corruptibiles & impudiques, & non pour les dames d'honneur d'ufer: je ne voudrois prononcer ces mots devant les Seigneurs de France, pour tout le monde! il faut le foot, & le coun, neant-moins. Je reciterey une autrefois ma leçon enfemble; d' band, de fingre, de nayles, d'arme, d'elbow, de neck, de fin, de foot, de coun. Alice. Excellent, madame. Cath. C'eft affez pour une fois, allons nous en difner. SCENE VI. Prefence-Chamber in the French Court. [Exeunt. Enter the King of France, the Dauphin, Duke of Fr. King. IS certain, he hath pafs'd the river Some. Con. And if he be not fought withal, my Lord, our fathers' luxury,] In this place, as in others, luxury means luft. 2 Savage is here used in the French original fenfe, for filvan, uncultivated, the fame with wild. Bour. Bour. Normans, but bastard Normans; Norman baftards. Mort de ma vie ! if thus they march along Unfought withal, but I will fell my Dukedom, In that nook-fhotten 3 Ifle of Albion. Con. Dieu de Batailles! why, whence have they this mettle? Is not their climate foggy, raw and dull? Upon our house-tops, while more frofty people Our madams mock at us, and plainly fay, Bour. They bid us to the English dancing-schools, And teach La volta's high, and fwift Corantos; Saying, our grace is only in our heels; And that we are moft lofty run-aways. Fr. King. Where is Mountjoy, the herald? speed him hence; 3 In that nook-fbotten Ifle of Albion.] Shotten fignifies any thing projected: So nook-fhotten Ifle, is an Ifle that shoots out into capes, promontories and necks of land, the very figure of GreatBritain. WARBURTON. can fadden water, VOL. IV. A drench for fur-reyn'd jades,-] The exact meaning of Jur-reyn'd I do not know. It is common to give horses over-ridden or feverifh, ground malt and hot water mixed, which is called a mah. To this he alludes. Ee Let 5 Let him greet England with our sharp defiance. High Dukes, great Princes, Barons, Lords and Knights, Con. This becomes the great. Sorry am I, his numbers are fo few, His foldiers fick, and famifht in their march 5 Charles Delabreth, &c.] Milton fomewhere bids the English take notice how their names are mifpelt by foreigners, and feems to think that we may lawfully treat foreign names in return with the fame neglect. This privilege feems to be exercised in this catalogue of French names, which, fince the fenfe of the authour is not atferted, I have left it as I found it. 6 The poet has here defeated himself by paffing too foon from one image to another. To bid the French rush upon the English as the torrents formed from melted fnow ftream from the Alps, was at once vehement and proper, but its force is destroyed by the groffnefs of the thought int the next line. |