(EnterKatharineandAlice.)Kath.Alice, tu as esté en Angleterre, et tu parles bien le langage.Alice.Un peu, madame.Kath.Je te prie, m'enseignez; il fault que j'apprenne à parler. Comment appellez-vous la main en Anglois?Alice.La main? elle est appellée de hand.Kath.De hand. Et les doigts?Alice.Les doigts? ma foy, j'oublie les doigts; mais je me soubviendra. Les doigts? je pense y qu'ils sont appellez de fingres; ouy, de fingres.Kath.La main, de hand; les doigts, de fingres. Je pense que je suis le bon escholier. J'ay gagné deux mots d'Anglois vistement. Comment appellez-vous les ongles?Alice.Les ongles? nous les appellons, de nails.Kath.De nails. Escoutez: dites-moy, si ie parle bien: de hand, de fingres, et de nails.Alice.C'est bien dict, madame; il est fort bon Anglois.Kath.Dites-moi l'anglois pour le bras.Alice.De arm, madame.Kath.Et le coude.Alice.D'elbow.Kath.D'elbow. Je m'en fais la répétition de tous les mots que vous m'avez appris dès à present.Alice.Il est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense.Kath.Excusez-moy, Alice; escoutez: de hand, de fingre, de nails, de arm, de bilbow.Alice.De elbow, madame.Kath.O Seigneur Dieu! je m'en oublie; de elbow. Comment appelez-vous le col?Alice.De nick, madame.Kath.De nick: et le menton?Alice.De chin.Kath.De sin. Le col, de nick: le menton, de sin.Alice.Ouy. Saulve vostre honneur, en vérité vous prononcez les mots aussi droict que les natifs d'Angleterre.Kath.Je ne doubte poinct d'apprendre, par la grace Dieu, et en peu de temps.Alice.N'avez vous pas desjà oublié ce que je vous ay enseigné?Kath.Non, je réciteray a vous promptement. De hand, de fingre, de mails—Alice.De nails, madame.Kath.De nails, de arme, de ilbow.Alice.Saulve vostre honneur, de elbow.Kath.Ainsi dis-je; de elbow, de nick, et de sin: comment appelez-vous le pied and la robbe?Alice.De foot, madame; et de coun.Kath.De foot, et de coun? O Seigneur Dieu! ce sont mots de son maulvais, corruptible, gros, et impudique, et non pour les dames d'honneur d'user. Je ne vouldrois prononcer cez mots devant les Seigneurs de France, pour tout le monde. Il fault de foot, et de coun, neant-moins. Je reciteray une aultre fois ma leçon ensemble: de hand, de fingre, de nails, de nick, de sin, de foot, de coun.Alice.Excellent, madame!Kath.C'est assez pour une fois; allons-nous à disner.
(EnterKatharineandAlice.)
Kath.Alice, tu as esté en Angleterre, et tu parles bien le langage.
Alice.Un peu, madame.
Kath.Je te prie, m'enseignez; il fault que j'apprenne à parler. Comment appellez-vous la main en Anglois?
Alice.La main? elle est appellée de hand.
Kath.De hand. Et les doigts?
Alice.Les doigts? ma foy, j'oublie les doigts; mais je me soubviendra. Les doigts? je pense y qu'ils sont appellez de fingres; ouy, de fingres.
Kath.La main, de hand; les doigts, de fingres. Je pense que je suis le bon escholier. J'ay gagné deux mots d'Anglois vistement. Comment appellez-vous les ongles?
Alice.Les ongles? nous les appellons, de nails.
Kath.De nails. Escoutez: dites-moy, si ie parle bien: de hand, de fingres, et de nails.
Alice.C'est bien dict, madame; il est fort bon Anglois.
Kath.Dites-moi l'anglois pour le bras.
Alice.De arm, madame.
Kath.Et le coude.
Alice.D'elbow.
Kath.D'elbow. Je m'en fais la répétition de tous les mots que vous m'avez appris dès à present.
Alice.Il est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense.
Kath.Excusez-moy, Alice; escoutez: de hand, de fingre, de nails, de arm, de bilbow.
Alice.De elbow, madame.
Kath.O Seigneur Dieu! je m'en oublie; de elbow. Comment appelez-vous le col?
Alice.De nick, madame.
Kath.De nick: et le menton?
Alice.De chin.
Kath.De sin. Le col, de nick: le menton, de sin.
Alice.Ouy. Saulve vostre honneur, en vérité vous prononcez les mots aussi droict que les natifs d'Angleterre.
Kath.Je ne doubte poinct d'apprendre, par la grace Dieu, et en peu de temps.
Alice.N'avez vous pas desjà oublié ce que je vous ay enseigné?
Kath.Non, je réciteray a vous promptement. De hand, de fingre, de mails—
Alice.De nails, madame.
Kath.De nails, de arme, de ilbow.
Alice.Saulve vostre honneur, de elbow.
Kath.Ainsi dis-je; de elbow, de nick, et de sin: comment appelez-vous le pied and la robbe?
Alice.De foot, madame; et de coun.
Kath.De foot, et de coun? O Seigneur Dieu! ce sont mots de son maulvais, corruptible, gros, et impudique, et non pour les dames d'honneur d'user. Je ne vouldrois prononcer cez mots devant les Seigneurs de France, pour tout le monde. Il fault de foot, et de coun, neant-moins. Je reciteray une aultre fois ma leçon ensemble: de hand, de fingre, de nails, de nick, de sin, de foot, de coun.
Alice.Excellent, madame!
Kath.C'est assez pour une fois; allons-nous à disner.
It is not surprising, remembering Shakespeare's friendship with the Huguenots, to find him quoting from the Genevan Bible in the same play.[333]When he composed it, he must haveFRENCH NEGLECTED IN GRAMMAR SCHOOLShad astrong inclination to write French, as he sometimes uses the language rather inconsistently, making the Dauphin, for instance, speak French one moment and English the next.
On the whole, Shakespeare's French seems to have been fairly correct grammatically, if not quite idiomatic.[334]It contains just enough mistakes and anglicisms to make it extremely unlikely that he received help from any Frenchman; for example, we find the Princess Katharine of France saying, "Je suis semblablea lesanges." On other occasions, when Englishmen are speaking, Shakespeare purposely makes their French incorrect and clumsy. That he could read French is shown by the fact that some of the originals on which he based his plays were not translated into English.[335]Moreover, he probably read Montaigne in the original, unless, like Cornwallis, Florio allowed him to see his translation in manuscript—a rather remote possibility, as the French would be easier of access. No doubt many others besides Shakespeare owed a good deal of their knowledge of French to direct intercourse with Frenchmen, a means of improvement strongly advocated by the professional teachers of the time. "Get you acquainted with some Frenchman" is their cry.
In addition to the refugees, students or men belonging to no particular craft or profession who took up the teaching of their language on their arrival in England, there were also professional schoolmasters—French, Flemish, and Walloon. Many of the latter, we may surmise, were no doubt driven from their country by the edict issued by Margaret, Duchess of Parma, in 1567. One clause was particularly directed against schoolmasters who might teach any error or false doctrine. None of these teachers, however, would find any opening in the grammar schools, which were then "little nurseries of the Latin tongue." The memorizing of Latin grammar, with the study of rhetoric in the Latin writers, both in verse and prose, formed almost the whole of the curriculum.[336]In the books on education of the time the studyof French was equally ignored. These works, however, are mainly from the pen of pedants, and have but little bearing on practical education.[337]For them French was not a 'learned' tongue, in spite of the efforts of Palsgrave to secure its recognition as such.
But it is not difficult to reconcile the general prevalence of the study of French with its absence from the grammar schools. At this time, and throughout the seventeenth century, there was a great division between scholastic education and social requirements.[338]The school and educational writers, in refusing to recognize French, held aloof from the social needs of the day: "non vitae sed scholae discimus"; and in retaining the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Middle Ages they ignored the new spirit of nationalism which called modern languages into prominence. The school had little, if any, effect in retarding the progress of French, which came to be looked upon in the light of an 'extra,' to be studied privately and with the help of tutors. Many scholars of the public or grammar schools had a private tutor who would teach them French when occasion served. Such, for instance, was the case with Sir Philip Sidney. Fulke Grenville and Sidney both entered Shrewsbury School at the age of ten, in the year 1564. Two years later a letter of Sir Henry Sidney informs us that he had received two letters from his son, one in Latin and the other in French, "whiche I take in good parte, and will you to exercise that Practice and Learning often: For that will stand you in most steade, in that profession of lyf that you are born to live in."[339]Apparently, then, Sidney had received lessons in French either at home or out of school hours. He had also, in all probability, had a French tutor before he went to Shrewsbury.
French, however, was not entirely neglected in all schools. As the grammar schools were "Latin" schools, there arose in the second half of the sixteenth century a considerablePRIVATE FRENCH SCHOOLSnumber of private "French" schools, where this languagereceived special attention. The earliest of these owed their origin to the refugees, both professional schoolmasters and others. St. Paul's Churchyard, the busy centre of city life, was the quarter round which many of these schools were grouped. There they were most likely to get a good clientèle, partly, it may be, among those boys attending St. Paul's School who desired, like Sir Philip Sidney, to extend their studies. In St. Paul's Churchyard, also, lived the chief booksellers, who generally seem to have cultivated friendly relations with French teachers, especially those whose books they were commissioned to sell. Frequently they acted as agents for the teachers, who in their grammars advise prospective pupils to "inquire" at the bookseller's. And, at this time, when indications of address were given by reference to the nearest place of importance, printers' signs are frequently used to locate the situation of French schools. At least one of these schools seems to have been very well known, for in 1590 the printer W. Wright, senior, gave as his address, "neare to the French School."[340]
All of them, however, did not owe their origin to the French refugees. We hear, for instance, of a certain John Love, an Englishman, son of the steward of the Jesuit college founded by the English Catholics at Douay, who had a French school near St. Paul's, at the end of the century. But he was suspect, as it was feared he might be an "intelligenceer."[341]Among the earliest, however, if not the first of these French schools, was that of Peter Du Ploich, a Frenchman, and no doubt a refugee; at any rate the text-book for teaching French which he published shows his strong sympathy with the Protestants. This was entitledA Treatise in English and Frenche right necessary and profitable for al young children, and was first issued in about 1553 from the press of Richard Grafton, who had "privilege de l'imprimer seul."[342]Of this schoolmaster's life little is known.[343]From his little French text-book, "right necessary to come to the knowledge of the same," we learn that he kepthis school at the sign of the Rose in Trinity Street; that he was married, and probably received some of his pupils into his house; and that he taught French, Latin, and writing. Probably religious instruction also formed part of the curriculum, as it did in the other schools of the time; both Henry VIII. and Edward VI. issued orders that the Paternoster, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed should be taught to children.[344]Not only Du Ploich but other French teachers of the time provided religious formularies in their books for teaching the language, and in 1559-1560 the printer William Griffith received a licence to print a Catechism in Latin, French, and English.[345]
The Catechism, Litany, Suffrages, and prayers occupy a large part of Du Ploich'sTreatise, which is of quarto size, and consists of about fifty leaves.[346]All these formularies are given in both French and English, arranged in two columns on each page.[347]Then come three familiar dialogues which constitute the third, fourth, and fifth chapters of the book. The first of these gives us a lively picture of family life at the time. From the street, where we meet friends and are taught how to greet and address them, we pass into the house, where we are spectators of the family repast and of the arrival of the guests, and hear conversation on many subjects in which Du Ploich finds an opportunity for self-advertisement by mentioning his school and address. A child reads a passage from the New Testament, and the meal is preceded and followed by lengthy thanksgivings, which, however, do not interfere with the joviality and conviviality of the host.
Sir, you make no good chere.Mons., vous ne faictes pas bonne chere.You say nothing.Vous ne dictes rien.What sholde I say?Que diroys-ie?I cannot speake frenche.Je ne sais pas parler françois.I understande you not.Je ne vous entens pas.O God, what say you?O Dieu, que dictes-vous?You speake as well as I doo and better.Vous parlez aussy bien que je fais et mieus aussy.Pardon me.Pardonnez moy.It pleaseth you to say so.Il vous plaist de dire ainsy . . . etc.
The next two dialogues deal with subjects characteristic ofPETER DU PLOICHthesebooks for teaching French—asking the way, the arrival and entertainment at an inn, and finally, buying, selling, and bargaining—all topics useful for merchants and merchants' apprentices, from whose ranks Du Ploich probably recruited a number of his pupils. "L'aprentif" is the word he uses in speaking of his pupils, though there is no proof to show that he employed it in any special sense. Then comes a fifth chapter containing the following headings: "Pour demander le chemin," "Aultre communication en chevauchant," "Pour aller coucher," "Pour soy descoucher," and beginning thus:
Sir, we be oute of our way.Monsieur, nous somes hors de nostre chemin.We be not.Non sommes.But we be.Si sommes.We go well.Nous allons bien.We doo not.Non faisons.But we doo, abyde.Si faisons, attendez.Beholde there cometh a woman.Voyla une femme qui vient.We will aske her whiche is the way.Nous voulons lui demander ou est le droict chemin.Good wife, shew me the ryghte way here hence to the nexte towne.M'amie, monstre moy le droict chemin d'icy au prochain village.Streyghte before you.Tousiours devant vous.Upon whiche hande?A quelle main?On the lefte hande.A la main gauche, etc.
In the sixth chapter the merchants leave the inn in the early morning to transact their business:
Wil we go see if we can bye some thyng?Voulons nous aller veoir sy nous pourrons acheter quelque chose?That shold be wel done, but it is yet too tymely.Ce seroit bien faict, mais il est encore trop tempre.By your licence it is tyme.Pardonnez moy il est temps.Have you any Eglyshe cloth?Avez vous dez draps d'Engleterre?Ye, what colour.Ouy, quelle couleur . . . etc.
At the end come the names of the figures, necessary for such transactions, and finally information and advice in verse form, without any English rendering, "pour gens de finance":
Toy qui est receveur du RoyJe te prie entens et me croy.Reçoy avant que tu escripves,Escriptz avant que tu delivres,De recevoir faitz diligenceEt fais tardifve delivrance.En tes clers pas tant ne te fieQue veoir te fais souvent oublie.Regarde souvent en ton papierQuant, quoy, combien il fault payer.Prens lettres quy soyent vaillables,Aye parrolles amiables,Et soys diligent de compter.Ainsy pourras plus hault monter.
Toy qui est receveur du RoyJe te prie entens et me croy.Reçoy avant que tu escripves,Escriptz avant que tu delivres,De recevoir faitz diligenceEt fais tardifve delivrance.En tes clers pas tant ne te fieQue veoir te fais souvent oublie.Regarde souvent en ton papierQuant, quoy, combien il fault payer.Prens lettres quy soyent vaillables,Aye parrolles amiables,Et soys diligent de compter.Ainsy pourras plus hault monter.
Du Ploich seems to have brought with him to England a Genevan "A B C," or book of elementary instruction and prayers for children, such as was common in France as well as in England. The next section of his treatise treats of the French A B C in words identical with those of anA B C françoisprinted at Geneva in 1551. This is followed by a few very slight rules in English, which tell us not to pronounce the last letter of a French word, excepts,t, andp, when the next word begins with a consonant; to neglect a vowel at the end of a word when the following word begins with another vowel; also that the accusative precedes the verb; that afterau,ou,i, andeu,lis not sounded; that the consonantssp,st, andctshould not be separated in pronunciation; and that the negative is formed by placingnebefore the verb andpasorpointafter it. To this scanty grammatical information, which bears considerable resemblance to that contained in some previous works,[348]the eighth and last chapter adds the conjugation of the two auxiliaries in Latin, English, and French. The treatise closes with a Latin poem addressed to "preceptor noster Du Ploich" by John Alexander, one of his pupils, and with a table of contents.
No doubt French was the basis of the whole of the instruction given by Du Ploich in his school. His pupils learnt to write from this French text-book, and memorized the Latin verbs with the French verbs. The fact that Du Ploich places his few grammar rules at the end of the work, and after the practical reading-exercises, shows what slight importance he attached to them. He would, we may assume, refer his pupils to them as occasion arose, but practical exercises and conversation formed the chief part of his lessons. He made free use of English in explaining the meaning of the French, and throughout his book he sacrifices the English phrase in order to render more closely the meaning of the French, for which he duly apologizes: "that none blame or reprove this sayd translacion thus made in Englishe because that it is a litlecorrupt.DU PLOICH'S METHOD OF TEACHINGFor the author hath done it for the better declaryng of the diversitie of one tounge to the other, and it is turned almost worde for worde and lyne for lyne, that it may be to his young scholars more easy and lyght."
Du Ploich was thoughtful for his young pupils. "A little at a time, and that done well" was his motto. On this method, he says, the child will learn more in a week than he would do in two months by attempting a great deal at the beginning. The master should repeat the lesson two or three times before allowing the child to say it, and be ready to explain difficulties, and not wait for the child to guess. If not, the pupil will lose patience and the little courage he possesses. Du Ploich would have the verbs learnt on the plan already advocated on a larger scale by Duwes, that is, he advises the student to practise them negatively and interrogatively as well as in the usual affirmative form.
Some time later, probably after Du Ploich's death, or when he had left England, there appeared another edition of his grammar. This was printed by John Kingston, and finished on the fourteenth day of April 1578.[349]An important change in the arrangement of the chapters distinguishes it from the edition of 1553; in the later edition the chapter on the alphabet and grammar is placed at the beginning, although in both issues the chapter on the two auxiliaries closes the work. Kingston—for he was probably responsible for the change—thus yielded to the tendency, which became stronger and stronger as time advanced, of placing theoretical before practical instruction. In addition to slight variations, other differences between the two works are the omission of the verses for "gens de finance," and of the Latin poem addressed to Du Ploich by one of his pupils.
The Little Treatise in English and Frenchwas not the only work produced by Du Ploich during his residence in England. On its completion he turned his attention to the composition of a work on the estate of princes, which he called aPetit Recueil tresutile et tresnecessaire de l'Etat dez Princes, dez Seigneurs temporelz et du commun peuple, faict par Pierre Du Ploych.[350]ThisRecueilis written in French. Its subjectmatter is not of much interest, but the Latin verses with which it closes inform us that Du Ploich had a law degree (Licentiatus Legum). He dedicated the manuscript, which is not dated, to the "Roy tres puissant Eduard sixieme de ce nom," who graciously received it and rewarded Du Ploich's industry by a generous gift.[351]This favourable reception encouraged the French teacher to present another work to his "Soverain lord and master" in the course of the following year. This second manuscript is shorter than the earlierRecueil;[352]it bears the title ofPetit Recueil des homaiges, honneurs et recognoissances deubz par les hommes a Dieu le createur, avec certaines prieres en la recognoissance de soy mesme. At the end occurs a passage of some interest in which Du Ploich expresses his intention of providing the work, unworthy as it is, with an English translation, as soon as he finds time and opportunity for such an undertaking, for he has not English "de nature."[353]This rendering, he says, will be "mot pour mot et ligne pour ligne, affin d'augmenter les couraiges des professeurs." We may infer from this that he thought of having the work printed in French and English for the use of students.
A French school very similar to that of Du Ploich, but of which we have more details, was kept by Claude de Sainliens, De Sancto Vinculo, or, as he anglicized it, Holyband. A native of Moulins and a Huguenot, Holyband probably sought refuge in England from the persecutions. In 1571 he is said to have been in England seven years;[354]hence he must have begun his long career in London as a teacher of French in the year 1564. In 1566 he took out letters of denization.[355]Holyband was not exactly a scholar, but rather a man of broad interests, sustained by extraordinary vitality, and before he had been in England three years he had published two books for teaching French, which became very popular, and continued to be reprinted for nearly a century. There is no extant copy of the earliest edition of the first of these, but it appeared mostprobably in 1565.CLAUDE HOLYBANDThe earliest copy known is dated 1573, and bears the title,The French Schoolemaister, wherin is most plainlie shewed the true and most perfect way of pronouncinge of the French Tongue. The contents of this little book are of the kind which became characteristic of works for teaching French. It opens with rules for pronunciation and grammar in English, of little value or originality, and purposely made as concise as possible. These are followed by dialogues, collections of proverbs, golden sayings, prayers, and graces before meat, and a large vocabulary. The dialogues are by far the most interesting portion of the work. Like those of Du Ploich, they show a close connexion between the teaching of French and the daily concerns of life. They give us a picture of the busy London of the time, and especially of St. Paul's Churchyard, as well as lively family scenes, together with the usual wayside and tavern conversation. We see the boy setting off to school in the morning, threading his way through the busy streets, and again see him return to the hearty and hospitable family dinner, during which he finds occasion to speak of his French studies. These dialogues are given in French and English arranged on opposite pages. Their dramatic interest may be gathered from the opening passage, where we listen to the servant hurrying the boy off to school:
Hau François, levez vous et allez a l'eschole: vous serez battu, car il est sept heures passées: abillez vous vistement.Ho Francis, arise and go to schoole: you shall be beaten, for it is past seven: make you ready quickly.Dites voz prieres, puis vous aurez vostre desiuner: sus, remuez vous.Say your prayers, then you shall have your breakfast: go to, stirre.Marguerite, baillez moy mes chausses.Margaret, give me my hosen.Despeschez vous ie vous prie: où est mon pourpoint? apportez me iartieres et mes souliers: donnez moy ce chausse-pied.Dispatch I pray you: where is my doublet? bring my garters and my shoes: give me that shooing-horne.Que faites vous là? que ne vous hastez vous?What do you there? why make you no haste?Prenez premierement une chemise blanche, car la vostre est trop sale: n'est elle pas?Take first a cleane shirt, for yours is too foule: is it not?Hastez vous donc, car ie demeure trop.Make haste then, for I do tarry too long.Elle est encore moite, attendez un peu que ie la seiche au feu: i'auray tost fait.It is moist yet, tarry a litle that I may drie it by the fire: I will have soone done.Je ne sauroye tarder si longuement.I cannot tarry so long.Allez vous en, ie n'en veux point.Go your way, I will none of it.Vostre mere me tancera si vous allez a l'eschole sans vostre chemise blanche.Your mother will chide me if you go to school without your clean shirt.
And after quarrelling with Margaret, and using rather bad language, Francis receives his parents' blessing, and starts off to school. Unfortunately we are not spectators of his doings there.
Whether Holyband had opened his French school or not when he composed theFrench Schoolemaisteris uncertain; but the school was evidently in full swing at the time his second work appeared, about a year later, in 1566. The contents of the new work,The French Littleton, a most easie, perfect, and absolute way to learn the French tongue, are much the same as those of theFrench Schoolemaister. There is, however, one important difference between the two works. In theSchoolemaisterthe rules precede the practical exercises, but this order is reversed in theLittleton. In the first work Holyband does not appear to have fully evolved his method of teaching French. By the time he wrote theFrench Littletonhe was able to lay down principles, based, no doubt, on experience, and consequently he attached a higher value to the second of his works, and used it himself in teaching. TheFrench Schoolemaisterwas intended more for the use of private pupils. It was described as a "perfect way" of learning French without any "helpe of Maister or teacher,[356]set foorthe for the furtherance of all those whiche doo studie privately in their own study or houses." Holyband himself does not seem to have given it much attention after its first appearance. Nevertheless it enjoyed as great a popularity and went through as many editions, or nearly so, as its author's more favoured work. Other French teachers made up for Holyband's neglect by editing it themselves in the early seventeenth century. So great indeed was its success that in 1600 a tax of 20 per cent was levied on each edition for the benefit of the poor.[357]We may perhaps conclude from this that those who studied French privately were numerous.
The value of theFrench Littletonis more educational; it expounds all the favourite theories of its author. The name is taken from the popular work on English law, the text-book for all law-students, Littleton'sTenures. While theFrench Schoolemaisterwas a small octavo, theLittletonwas printed to the size of a tiny pocket-book, in 16mo. First come practicalHOLYBAND'S FRENCH GRAMMARSexercisesin the form of dialogues in French and English,[358]but of less lively interest than those of theSchoolemaister. They deal, however, with the same subjects,[359]only, as we read them we do not forget, as we were inclined to do in the earlier book, that we are reading exercises intended for school use. Then follow proverbs, golden sayings, prayers, the creed, the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, a treatise on the iniquity of dancing (Traité des Danses), and finally a vocabulary less comprehensive and of less value than that of theFrench Schoolemaister.
TheFrench Littletonderives additional interest from the fact that in it Holyband sets forth a new system for rendering the pronunciation of French easier to the English. He realized the difficulties placed in their way by the many unsounded letters present in certain French words. He had no desire, however, to join the extremists, who advocated the omission of all such consonants in orthography as well as in pronunciation. Holyband considered such letters an essential part of the word, and often a useful indication of the pronunciation of vowels and of the derivation. He therefore proposed a compromise which he thought would please both parties: he retains the unsounded letters, but distinguishes them from those which were pronounced by placing a small cross below them,[360]a device adopted in later editions of theFrench Schoolemaisteralso. A short quotation from the conversation for travellers and merchants will show how Holyband applied his method:
Monsieur ou pikezxvous si bellement?Sir whither ride you so softly?A Londres à la foire de la Berthxelemy.To London to Barthelomews faire.Je vay au Landi à Paris, je vay à Rouen.I go to Landi to Paris, to Rouen.Etxmoy aussi: allons ensemble: je suyAnd I also: let us go together: I ambien aise d'avoir trouvé compagnie.very glad to have found company.Allonsxde par Dieu: picquons un peu,Let us go in God's name: let us pricke a littell,j'ay pour que nousxne venionsxpasxlàI fear we shall not come thitherde jour, car le solxeil s'en va coucher.by daylight: the sunne goeth downe.Mais où logeronsxnous? où exstxleBut where shall we lodge? where is themeilleur logis? la meilleurexhostelerie?best lodging? the best inne?Ne vous souciezxpasxde cela:Care you not for that: it isc'esxt au grandxmarché a l'enseigne de laat the great market, at the sign of thefleur de lis, vis à vis de la croix.flower Deluce, right over against the crosse.Je suy joyeuxxd'esxtre arrivé, carI am glad that I am arrived, forcertes g'ay bon appetit: J'espère detruly I have a good stomacke: I hope tofairexà ce soir souper de marchant.make to-night a marchauntes supper.Nousxdisons en nosxtre pais que desiunerWe say in our country, that huntersde chasseurs, disxner d'adxvocatsx, souperbreakefast, lawyers dinner, supperde marchantxs etxcollacion de moynes exstxof marchauntes, and monkes drinking isla meixlleure chere qu'on sauroitxfaire, etthe best cheere that one can make, andpour vivrexen epicurien.to live like an epicure.Etxon dit en nosxtre paroisse que jeunexsAnd they say in our parish that youngmedecins fontxles cymetieres bossusphisitions make the churchardes crookedetxvieuxxprocureurs, procès tortus: maisand old attornies sutes to go awry, butau contraire que jeunesxprocureurs eton the contrary that young lawyers,vieuxxmedecins, jeune chair, etxolde phisitions, young flesh, and oldvieilxpoisson sontxlesxmeixlleurs.fishe be the best.Or bien, irons nous acheter ce qu'ilWell shall we go and buy that whichenousxfaut? Nousxdemourons trop.we doe lack? We tarie to long.Roland que ne te levesx-tu? ouvreRoland, why doest thou not rise? openla boutique: estxtu encorexau lit?the shop: are you yet a bed?Tu aimesxbien la plume: si monThou loveth the fethers well: if mymaisxtre descendx, etxqu'il ne treuvemaister commeth downe and find notla boutiquexouverte, il se courroucera.the shop opened, he will be angry.Messieurs, monsieur, madame, mesdames, mademoiselle,Sirs, sir, my lady, maistres, gentlewoman,que demandezxvous? que cerchezxvous?what lack you? what seek you?Qu'acheteriezxvousxvolontiers?What would you buy willingly?...
The most interesting of the dialogues in theFrench Littleton, however, is that in which we have a picture of Holyband's school, which was first opened in St. Paul's Churchyard at the sign of Lucrece—the shop of the printer Thomas Purfoote. Here we see children arriving for their lessons early in the morning, each with his own books and other materials. The schoolroom seems to have been a lively place; the scholars are represented as fighting, pulling each other's hair, tearing their books, and indulging in other pranks of the kind. Holyband sought to keep order by means of a birch, and one of the many offences which called it into action wasthe speaking of English.HOLYBAND'S FRENCH SCHOOLIn this little school of his, Holyband appears to have laboured at the task he set himself of leading the English nation "comme par la main au cabinet de (nostre) langue françoyse," under excellent conditions. The whole atmosphere seems to have been French. The curriculum, however, was not confined to this one language. Holyband had to safeguard his interests by instructing his pupils in the subjects taught in the ordinary English schools, and so we find him teaching Latin, writing, and counting, as well as French, and probably by means of French. With some of his pupils Holyband studied Terence, Vergil, Horace, theOfficesof Cicero, and with others, Cato, thePueriles Confabulatiunculae, and Latin grammar, according to their capacity. Yet others learnt reading, writing, and French only. Morning school, which closed with prayer at eleven, was devoted chiefly to the study of Latin. The afternoon was given over entirely to French; and it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that other scholars came then specially for instruction in French. The pupils returned for afternoon work at mid-day, and began by translating French into English and then retranslated the English back into French, using, we may be sure, Holyband'sFrench Littleton. Next came a little practice in vocabulary, in which "maister Claude" asked them the French for various English words. Grammar was not neglected, but questions concerning it do not appear to have been invited until some difficulty in the text rendered it necessary. The pupils were also required to decline various nouns and verbs which occurred in the text. The auxiliaries they were expected to learn by heart. Not until five o'clock did the long French lesson draw to a close, and then the scholars lit their torches or lanterns and set off home after being dismissed with evening prayers. Before their departure, they received instructions to read the lesson for the following day six or seven times after supper. By doing this, their master assured them, it would appear easy on the morrow, and be learnt without effort.
Holyband informs us that his charges were one shilling a week or fifty shillings a year. He allows that this was more than the fees asked for in most schools, but justifies the higher charge by the superior instruction imparted. At any rate his school was very prosperous. In 1568, when it had been in existence for at least two, and perhaps three years, wefind him assisted by an usher, one John Henrycke, said to be a Frenchman.[361]He was, no doubt, the Jehan Henry "Maistre d'Eschole," who wrote a dizain in praise of Holyband'sFrench Schoolemaister(1573), where, in rather questionable French, he summoned the students of France to devote all their attention to "ce poli et belle œuvre," and not to read
Des ravaudeurs le reste,Qui souloyent quelques regles escrire,Mais, au vray indignes de les lire.
Des ravaudeurs le reste,Qui souloyent quelques regles escrire,Mais, au vray indignes de les lire.
Holyband, as we have noticed, was a very active and somewhat restless person, never staying long in one place, and it is difficult to follow him in his frequent changes of residence. For a time he removed his school to Lewisham, then outside London. Here, sometime before 1573, he had an interview with Queen Elizabeth, who perhaps visited his school as she passed through the village, for the head boy, Harry Edmondes, pronounced a discourse before Her Majesty.
In 1576 Holyband had given up his French school, and entered the ranks of French private tutors, living in the house of a patron. He was one of the aliens dwelling in Salisbury Court, the residence of Lord Buckhurst, and, no doubt, was engaged in teaching French to the younger children of his protector. He had previously come into contact with this noble family, and had probably received some assistance from this quarter on his arrival in England, and may have taught French to the eldest son, Robert Sackville, now at Oxford,[362]to whom he dedicated both his early works.
When we first hear of Holyband he was already married and had children. His wife died probably before he went to Salisbury Court. Two years later he married an Englishwoman, Anne Smith,[363]and had resumed his French school in St. Paul's Churchyard, but his address was now at the sign ofthe Golden Bell,HOLYBAND'S TEACHING CAREERfor the printer Thomas Purfoote had moved his sign to Newgate Market. Here he remained for some time, until 1581 at the earliest, and probably somewhat later. He also attended the French Church. At this period of his life he again turned his attention to writing on the French language, and collecting together notes which he had no doubt compiled in past years. In 1580 three new works on French appeared from his pen. One was aTreatise for Declining Verbs—a subject which he calls "the second chiefest worke of the Frenche tongue"—written at the request of several gentlemen and merchants. The book itself is of little value, and did not by any means share the popularity of his earliest books. Still, two other editions appeared, one in 1599 and the other much later, in 1641. The second of these works, dealing with French pronunciation on much the same lines as theFrench Littleton, was even less popular. It was intended for the "learned," and consequently written in Latin—De Pronuntiatione linguae gallicae.[364]Holyband was also becoming more ambitious in his dedications; probably through Lord Buckhurst, the queen's cousin on his mother's side, he was able to dedicate his treatise "ad illustrissimam simulque doctissimam Elizabetham Anglorum Reginam." At the end Holyband added a dialogue in three different kinds of spelling—the new, the old, and his own—as well as a Latin sermon on the Resurrection. A French-English Dictionary was the third of these works, published in 1580, with the title:The Treasurie of the French Tong, Teaching the way to varie all sorts of Verbs, Enriched so plentifully with Wordes and Phrases (for the benefit of the studious in that language), as the like hath not before bin published.Many years later, in 1593, Holyband again gave proof of his deep interest in French lexicography by the publication of hisDictionarie French and English, published for the benefit of the studious in that language, based on his earlier work, but on a much larger scale.[365]
Meanwhile he had had an opportunity to extend his knowledge and to refresh his mind by a long journey on the Continent. Once more he had yielded to his love of change and movement, and entered the service of another powerful patron, Lord Zouche, to whom he dedicated his dictionaryof 1593. In the dedication we are told how he had undertaken a "long, lointain, penible et dangereux voyage" with his noble protector, who was to him "plutot pere ou baston de vieillesse que non pas maistre, Seigneur ou commandeur." Thus we may conclude that, when Lord Zouche crossed to Hamburg by sea in March 1587, intending to qualify himself for public service on the Continent, as well as to "live cheaply," Holyband accompanied him, and, no doubt, found many opportunities for serious study. They proceeded to Heidelberg, where their names were inscribed on the matriculation register of the university in May.[366]Zouche then travelled to Frankfort, Basle (1588), Altdorf (1590), and thence to Vienna (1591), and on to Verona, returning to England in 1593.[367]
After the publication of this last of his works in 1593, we lose sight of Holyband in his rôle of teacher of French. He was, however, still in England in 1597, when he dedicated a new edition of hisFrench Littletonto a new patron, Lord Herbert of Swansea. Thereafter he is not mentioned, and subsequent editions of his most popular works—theSchoolemaisterandFrench Littleton—were issued without his supervision. Probably he had returned to his native country, for in the last of his published works he assumes the title of "gentilhomme bourbonnais," which suggests that he had come into the possession of some property in his native province, where his name was still known in the seventeenth century.[368]Certain it is that he did not remain in England. There is no further trace of his children, of whom he had at least four.[369]Thus silently, as if forgetful of his former habits, he slipped out of sight after he had spent nearly forty years teaching his language in England. He won the praise of the scholar Richard Mulcaster, soon to be appointed Head of St. Paul's School, near which Holyband had so long had his own modest establishment; and the poet George Gascoigne wrote a sonnet in his honour: