Speeches (Lines) for Katharine in "History of Henry V"

Henry V. Open your gates. 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 we will be your guest;
To-morrow for the march are we addrest.

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

Alice. Un peu, madame.

Katharine. Je te prie, m'enseignez: il faut que j'apprenne à
parler. Comment appelez-vous la main en Anglais?

Alice. La main? elle est appelée de hand.

Katharine. 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
appelés de fingres; oui, de fingres.

Katharine. La main, de hand; les doigts, de fingres. Je pense
que je suis le bon ecolier; j'ai gagné deux mots
d'Anglois vitement. Comment appelez-vous les ongles?

Alice. Les ongles? nous les appelons de nails.

Katharine. De nails. Écoutez; dites-moi, si je parle bien: de
hand, de fingres, et de nails.

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

Katharine. Dites-moi l'Anglais pour le bras.

Alice. De arm, madame.

Katharine. Et le coude?

Alice. De elbow.

Katharine. De elbow. Je m'en fais la répétition de tous les
mots que vous m'avez appris des a present.

Alice. Il est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense.

Katharine. Excusez-moi, Alice; ecoutez: de hand, de fingres,
de nails, de arma, de bilbow.

Alice. De elbow, madame.

Katharine. Ô Seigneur Dieu, je m'en oublie! de elbow. Comment
appelez-vous le col?

Alice. De neck, madame.

Katharine. De nick. Et le menton?

Alice. De chin.

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

Alice. Oui. Sauf votre honneur, en vérite, vous prononcez
les mots aussi droit que les natifs d'Angleterre.

Katharine. 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?

Katharine. Non, je reciterai a vous promptement: de hand, de
fingres, de mails--

Alice. De nails, madame.

Katharine. De nails, de arm, de ilbow.

Alice. Sauf votre honneur, de elbow.

Katharine. Ainsi dis-je; de elbow, de nick, et de sin. Comment
appelez-vous le pied et la robe?

Alice. De foot, madame; et de coun.

Katharine. De foot et de coun! Ô Seigneur Dieu! ce sont mots
de son mauvais, corruptible, gros, et impudique, et
non pour les dames d'honneur d'user: je ne voudrais
prononcer ces mots devant les seigneurs de France
pour tout le monde. Foh! le foot et le coun!
Néanmoins, je reciterai une autre fois ma lecon
ensemble: de hand, de fingres, de nails, de arm, de
elbow, de nick, de sin, de foot, de coun.

Alice. Excellent, madame!

Katharine. C'est assez pour une fois: allons-nous a dîner.

Henry V. Fair Katharine, and most fair,
Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms
Such as will enter at a lady's ear
And plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?

Katharine. Your majesty shall mock at me; I cannot speak your England.

Henry V. O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with
your French heart, I will be glad to hear you
confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do
you like me, Kate?

Katharine. Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell wat is 'like me.'

Henry V. An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel.

Katharine. Que dit-il? que je suis semblable à les anges?

Henry V. I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to
affirm it.

Katharine. Ô bon Dieu! les langues des hommes sont pleines de
tromperies.

Henry V. The princess is the better Englishwoman. I' faith,
Kate, my wooing is fit for thy understanding: I am
glad thou canst speak no better English; for, if
thou couldst, thou wouldst find me such a plain king
that thou wouldst think I had sold my farm to buy my
crown. I know no ways to mince it in love, but
directly to say 'I love you:' then if you urge me
farther than to say 'do you in faith?' I wear out
my suit. Give me your answer; i' faith, do: and so
clap hands and a bargain: how say you, lady?

Katharine. Sauf votre honneur, me understand vell.

Henry V. Marry, if you would put me to verses or to dance for
your sake, Kate, why you undid me: for the one, I
have neither words nor measure, and for the other, I
have no strength in measure, yet a reasonable
measure in strength. If I could win a lady at
leap-frog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my
armour on my back, under the correction of bragging
be it spoken. I should quickly leap into a wife.
Or if I might buffet for my love, or bound my horse
for her favours, I could lay on like a butcher and
sit like a jack-an-apes, never off. But, before God,
Kate, I cannot look greenly nor gasp out my
eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation;
only downright oaths, which I never use till urged,
nor never break for urging. If thou canst love a
fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth
sun-burning, that never looks in his glass for love
of any thing he sees there, let thine eye be thy
cook. I speak to thee plain soldier: If thou canst
love me for this, take me: if not, to say to thee
that I shall die, is true; but for thy love, by the
Lord, no; yet I love thee too. And while thou
livest, dear Kate, take a fellow of plain and
uncoined constancy; for he perforce must do thee
right, because he hath not the gift to woo in other
places: for these fellows of infinite tongue, that
can rhyme themselves into ladies' favours, they do
always reason themselves out again. What! a
speaker is but a prater; a rhyme is but a ballad. A
good leg will fall; a straight back will stoop; a
black beard will turn white; a curled pate will grow
bald; a fair face will wither; a full eye will wax
hollow: but a good heart, Kate, is the sun and the
moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon; for it
shines bright and never changes, but keeps his
course truly. If thou would have such a one, take
me; and take me, take a soldier; take a soldier,
take a king. And what sayest thou then to my love?
speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee.

Katharine. Is it possible dat I sould love de enemy of France?

Henry V. No; it is not possible you should love the enemy of
France, Kate: but, in loving me, you should love
the friend of France; for I love France so well that
I will not part with a village of it; I will have it
all mine: and, Kate, when France is mine and I am
yours, then yours is France and you are mine.

Katharine. I cannot tell vat is dat.

Henry V. No, Kate? I will tell thee in French; which I am
sure will hang upon my tongue like a new-married
wife about her husband's neck, hardly to be shook
off. Je quand sur le possession de France, et quand
vous avez le possession de moi,--let me see, what
then? Saint Denis be my speed!--donc votre est
France et vous etes mienne. It is as easy for me,
Kate, to conquer the kingdom as to speak so much
more French: I shall never move thee in French,
unless it be to laugh at me.

Katharine. Sauf votre honneur, le Français que vous parlez, il
est meilleur que l'Anglais lequel je parle.

Henry V. No, faith, is't not, Kate: but thy speaking of my
tongue, and I thine, most truly-falsely, must needs
be granted to be much at one. But, Kate, dost thou
understand thus much English, canst thou love me?

Katharine. I cannot tell.

Henry V. Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate? I'll ask
them. Come, I know thou lovest me: and at night,
when you come into your closet, you'll question this
gentlewoman about me; and I know, Kate, you will to
her dispraise those parts in me that you love with
your heart: but, good Kate, mock me mercifully; the
rather, gentle princess, because I love thee
cruelly. If ever thou beest mine, Kate, as I have a
saving faith within me tells me thou shalt, I get
thee with scambling, and thou must therefore needs
prove a good soldier-breeder: shall not thou and I,
between Saint Denis and Saint George, compound a
boy, half French, half English, that shall go to
Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard?
shall we not? what sayest thou, my fair
flower-de-luce?

Katharine. I do not know dat

Henry V. No; 'tis hereafter to know, but now to promise: do
but now promise, Kate, you will endeavour for your
French part of such a boy; and for my English moiety
take the word of a king and a bachelor. How answer
you, la plus belle Katharine du monde, mon tres cher
et devin deesse?

Katharine. Your Majesté ’ave fausse French enough to deceive de
most sage demoiselle dat is en France.

Henry V. Now, fie upon my false French! By mine honour, in
true English, I love thee, Kate: by which honour I
dare not swear thou lovest me; yet my blood begins to
flatter me that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor
and untempering effect of my visage. Now, beshrew
my father's ambition! he was thinking of civil wars
when he got me: therefore was I created with a
stubborn outside, with an aspect of iron, that, when
I come to woo ladies, I fright them. But, in faith,
Kate, the elder I wax, the better I shall appear:
my comfort is, that old age, that ill layer up of
beauty, can do no more, spoil upon my face: thou
hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst; and thou
shalt wear me, if thou wear me, better and better:
and therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you
have me? Put off your maiden blushes; avouch the
thoughts of your heart with the looks of an empress;
take me by the hand, and say 'Harry of England I am
thine:' which word thou shalt no sooner bless mine
ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud 'England is
thine, Ireland is thine, France is thine, and Harry
Plantagenet is thine;' who though I speak it before
his face, if he be not fellow with the best king,
thou shalt find the best king of good fellows.
Come, your answer in broken music; for thy voice is
music and thy English broken; therefore, queen of
all, Katharine, break thy mind to me in broken
English; wilt thou have me?

Katharine. Dat is as it sall please de roi mon père.

Henry V. Nay, it will please him well, Kate it shall please
him, Kate.

Katharine. Den it sall also content me.

Henry V. Upon that I kiss your hand, and I call you my queen.

Katharine. Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foi, je
ne veux point que vous abaissiez votre grandeur en
baisant la main d'une de votre seigeurie indigne
serviteur; excusez-moi, je vous supplie, mon
très-puissant seigneur.

Henry V. Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.

Katharine. Les dames et demoiselles pour être baisées devant
leur noces, il n'est pas la coutume de France.