K. Henry.

Before the Gates of Harfleur.

Enter King Henry and his Train.

JOW yet refolves the Governor of the town?

How

This is the lateft parle we will admit;

Therefore to our beft mercy give yourselves,

Or, like to men proud of destruction,

Defy us to our worst.

As I'm a foldier,

A name, that, in my thoughts, becomes me beft, If I begin the batt'ry once again,

I will not leave the half-atchieved Harfleur

'Till in her afhes fhe lie buried.

The gates of mercy fhall be all fhut up;

And the flesh'd foldier, rough and hard of heart,
In liberty of bloody hand fhall range

With confcience wide as hell, mowing like grafs
Your fresh fair virgins, and your flow'ring infants.
What is it then to me, if impious war,

Array'd in flames like to the Prince of fiends,
Do with his fmircht complexion all fell feats, 7
Enlinkt to waste and defolation?

What is't to me, when you yourselves are caufe,
If your pure maidens fall into the hand

Of hot and forcing violation?

What rein can hold licentious wickedness,
When down the hill he holds his fierce career?
We may, as bootless, spend our vain command
Upon th' enraged foldiers in their spoil,

As fend our precepts to th' Leviathan

To come a fhoar. Therefore, you men of Harfleur, Take pity of your town and of your people,

7

-fell feats,

Enlinkt to wafle and deflation?]

All the favage practices naturally concomitant to the fack of cities. While

While yet my foldiers are in my command;

* While yet the cool and temp'rate wind of grace
O'er-blows the filthy and contagious clouds
Of heady murder, fpoil and villainy.

If not; why, in a moment, look to fee
The blind and bloody foldier with foul hand
Defile the locks of your fhrill-fhrieking daughters;
Your fathers taken by the filver beards,

And their moft reverend heads dafht to the walls
Your naked infants fpitted upon pikes,

While the mad mothers with their howls confus'd
Do break the clouds; as did the wives of Jewry,
At Herod's bloody-hunting flaughter-men.
What fay you? will you yield, and this avoid?
Or, guilty in defence, be thus destroy'd ?

Enter Governor upon the Walls.

Gov. Our expectation hath this day an end;
The Dauphin, whom of fuccours we entreated,
Returns us, that his pow'rs are not yet ready
To raise fo great a fiege. Therefore, great King,
We yield our town and lives to thy foft mercy,
Enter our gates, difpofe of us and ours,
For we no longer are defenfible.

K. Henry. Open your gates. Come, uncle Exeter,
Go you and enter Harfleur, there remain,
And fortify it strongly 'gainst the French.
Ufe mercy to them all. For us, dear Uncle,
The winter coming on, and fickness growing
Upon our foldiers, we'll retire to Calais.
To-night in Harfleur we will be your guest,
To morrow for the march we are addreft.

[Flourish, and enter the town.

Enter Catharine, and an old Gentlewoman.

Cath. LICE, tu as efté en Angleterre, & tu parles 8 bien le language.

Cath. Je te prie de m'enseigner; il faut, que j' aprenne à parler. Comment appellez vous la main en

Alice. La main? ell' eft appellée, de band.
Cath. De band. Et le doyt?

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 penfe, 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.

Cath. De nayles. Efcoutes: dites moy, fi je parle bien: de band, de fingres, de nayles.

Alice. C'est bien dit, madame; il eft fort bon Anglois. Cath. Dites moy en Anglois, le bras.

Alice. De arme, madame.

Cath. Et le coude.

Alice. D' elbow.

Cath. D' elbow: je m'en faitz la repetition de tous les mots, que vous m'avez appris dès a prefent.

Alice. Il eft trop difficile, madame, comme je penfe. Cath. Excufe moy, Alice; efcoutez; d' hand, 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 vofire bonneur, en verité, vous prononcez les mots auffi droict, 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'hand, de fingre, de mayles, de arme. 9

9 de fingre, &c.] It is apparent by the correction of Alice, that the princess forgot the nails,

and therefore it should be left out in her part.

Alice. De nayles, madame.

Cath. De nayles, de arme, de ilbow.
Alice. Sauf voftre honneur, d'elbow.

Cath. infi, dis je d' elbow, de neck, de fin: comment 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 reciteray une autrefois ma leçon ensemble; 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.

[Exeunt,

Prefence-Chamber in the French Court.

Enter the King of France, the Dauphin, Duke of Bourbon, the Conftable of France, and others.

'TIS

Fr. King. IS certain, he hath pafs'd the river Some.

Con. And if he be not fought withal, my Lord, Let us not live in France; let us quit all, And give our vineyards to a barb'rous people. Dau. O Dieu vivant! fhall a few fprays of us, The emptying of our fathers' luxury,

Our Syens, put in wild and favage stock,
Sprout up fo fuddenly into the clouds,
And over-look their grafters ?

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 same with wild.

Bour.