No. 16. Free from his fetters grim
(BALLAD)
Fairfax
FAIRFAX Free from his fetters grim—
Free to depart;
Free both in life and limb—
In all but heart!
Bound to an unknown bride
For good and ill;
Ah, is not one so tied
A pris'ner still, a pris'ner still?
Ah, is not one so tied
A pris'ner still?
Free, yet in fetters held
Till his last hour,
Gyves that no smith can weld,
No rust devour!
Although a monarch's hand
Had set him free,
Of all the captive band
The saddest he, the saddest he!
Of all the captive band
The saddest, saddest he!
[Enter SERGEANT MERYLL
FAIRFAX Well, Sergeant Meryll, and how fares thy pretty
charge,Elsie Maynard?
MERYLL Well enough, sir. She is quite strong again, and
leaves us to-night.
FAIRFAX Thanks to Dame Carruthers' kind nursing, eh?
MERYLL Aye, deuce take the old witch! Ah, 'twas but a sorry
trick you played me, sir, to bring the fainting girl
to me. It gave the old lady an excuse for taking up
her quarters in my house, and for the last two years
I've shunned her like the plague. Another day of it
and she would have married me! [Enter DAME CARRUTHERS
and KATE] Good Lord, here she is again! I'll e'en go.
[Going]
DAME Nay, Sergeant Meryll, don't go. I have something of
grave import to say to thee.
MERYLL [aside] It's coming.
FAIRFAX [laughing] I'faith, I think I', not wanted here.
[Going]
DAME Nay, Master Leonard, I've naught to say to thy father
that his son may not hear.
FAIRFAX [aside] True. I'm one of the family; I had forgotten!
DAME 'Tis about this Elsie Maynard. A pretty girl, Master
Leonard.
FAIRFAX Aye, fair as a peach blossom— what then?
DAME She hath a liking for thee, or I mistake not.
FAIRFAX With all my heart. She's as dainty a little amid as
you'll find in a midsummer day's march.
DAME Then be warned in time, and give not thy heart to her.
Oh, I know what it is to give my heart to one who will
have none of it!
MERYLL [aside] Aye, she knows all about that.
[Aloud] And why is my boy to take heed of her? She's
a good girl, Dame Carruthers.
DAME Good enough, for aught I know. But she's no girl.
She's a married woman.
MERYLL A married woman! Tush, old lady— she's promised to
Jack Point, the Lieutenant's new jester.
DAME Tush in thy teeth, old man! As my niece Kate sat by
her bedside to-day, this Elsie slept, and as she slept
she moaned and groaned, and turned this way and that
way— and, "How shall I marry one I have never seen?"
quoth she— then, "An hundred crowns!" quoth she—
then,"Is it certain he will die in an hour?" quoth
she— then, "I love him not, and yet I am his wife,"
quoth she! Is it not so, Kate?
KATE Aye, aunt, 'tis even so.
FAIRFAX Art thou sure of all this?
KATE Aye, sir, for I wrote it all down on my tablets.
DAME Now, mark my words: it was of this Fairfax she spake,
and he is her husband, or I'll swallow my kirtle!
MERYLL [aside] Is it true, sir?
FAIRFAX [aside to MERYLL] True? Why, the girl was raving!
[Aloud] Why should she marry a man who had but an hour
to live?
DAME Marry? There be those who would marry but for a
minute, rather than die old maids.
MERYLL [aside] Aye, I know one of them!
No. 17. Strange adventure!
(QUARTET)
Kate, Dame, Carruthers, Fairfax and Sergeant Meryll
ALL Strange adventure! Maiden wedded
To a groom she's never seen—
Never, never, never seen!
Groom about to be beheaded,
In an hour on Tower Green!
Tower, Tower, Tower Green!
Groom in dreary dungeon lying,
Groom as good as dead, or dying,
For a pretty maiden sighing—
Pretty maid of seventeen!
Seven— seven— seventeen!
Strange adventure that we're trolling:
Modest maid and gallant groom—
Gallant, gallant, gallant groom!—
While the funeral bell is tolling,
Tolling, tolling, Bim-a-boom!
Bim-a, Bim-a, Bim-a-boom!
Modest maiden will not tarry;
Though but sixteen year she carry,
She must marry, she must marry,
Though the altar be a tomb—
Tower— Tower— Tower tomb!
Tower tomb! Tower tomb!
Though the altar be a tomb!
Tower, Tower, Tower tomb!
[Exeunt DAME CARRUTHERS, MERYLL, and KATE.
FAIRFAX So my mysterious bride is no other than this winsome
Elsie! By my hand, 'tis no such ill plunge in
Fortune's lucky bag! I might have fared worse with my
eyes open! But she comes. Now to test her principles.
'Tis not every husband who has a chance of wooing his
own wife!
[Enter ELSIE
FAIRFAX Mistress Elsie!
ELSIE Master Leonard!
FAIRFAX So thou leavest us to-night?
ELSIE Yes. Master Leonard. I have been kindly tended, and I
almost fear I am loth to go.
FAIRFAX And this Fairfax. Wast thou glad when he escaped?
ELSIE Why, truly, Master Leonard, it is a sad thing that a
young and gallant gentleman should die in the very
fullness of his life.
FAIRFAX Then when thou didst faint in my arms, it was for joy
at his safety?
ELSIE It may be so. I was highly wrought, Master Leonard,
and I am but a girl, and so, when I an highly wrought,
I faint.
FAIRFAX Now, dost thou know, I am consumed with a parlous
jealousy?
ELSIE Thou? And of whom?
FAIRFAX Why, of this Fairfax, surely!
ELSIE Of Colonel Fairfax?
FAIRFAX Aye. Shall I be frank with thee? Elsie— I love thee,
ardently, passionately! [ELSIE alarmed and surprised]
Elsie, I have loved thee these two days— which is a
long time— and I would fain join my life to thine!
ELSIE Master Leonard! Thou art jesting!
FAIRFAX Jesting? May I shrivel into raisins if I jest! I love
thee with a love that is a fever— with a love that is
a frenzy— with a love that eateth up my heart! What
sayest thou? Thou wilt not let my heart be eaten up?
ELSIE [aside] Oh, mercy! What am I to say?
FAIRFAX Dost thou love me, or hast thou been insensible these
two days?
ELSIE I love all brave men.
FAIRFAX Nay, there is love in excess. I thank heaven there are
many brave men in England; but if thou lovest them
all, I withdraw my thanks.
ELSIE I love the bravest best. But, sir, I may not listen—
I am not free— I— I am a wife!
FAIRFAX Thou a wife? Whose? His name? His hours are
numbered—nay, his grave is dug and his epitaph set up!
Come, his name?
ELSIE Oh, sir! keep my secret— it is the only barrier that
Fate could set up between us. My husband is none other
than Colonel Fairfax!
FAIRFAX The greatest villain unhung! The most ill-favoured,
ill-mannered, ill-natured, ill-omened, ill-tempered
dog in Christendom!
ELSIE It is very like. He is naught to me— for I never saw
him. I was blindfolded, and he was to have died within
the hour; and he did not die— and I am wedded to him,
and my heart is broken!
FAIRFAX He was to have died, and he did not die? The
scoundrel! The perjured, traitorous villain! Thou
shouldst have insisted on his dying first, to make
sure. 'Tis the only way with these Fairfaxes.
ELSIE I now wish I had!
FAIRFAX [aside] Bloodthirsty little maiden!
[Aloud] A fig for this Fairfax! Be mine— he will never
know— he dares not show himself; and if he dare, what
art thou to him? Fly with me, Elsie— we will be
married tomorrow, and thou shalt be the happiest wife
in England!
ELSIE Master Leonard! I am amazed! Is it thus that brave
soldiers speak to poor girls? Oh! for shame, for
shame! I am wed— not the less because I love not my
husband. I am a wife, sir, and I have a duty, and— oh,
sir!— thy words terrify me— they are not honest— they
are wicked words, and unworthy thy great and brave
heart! Oh,shame upon thee! shame upon thee!
FAIRFAX Nay, Elsie, I did but jest. I spake but to try thee—
[Shot heard
[Enter SERGEANT MERYLL hastily
No. 18. Hark! What was that, sir?
(SCENE)
Elsie, Phoebe, Dame Carruthers, Fairfax. Wilfred, Point,
Lieutenant, Sergeant
MERYLL Hark! What was that, sir?
FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus—
Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.
MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour! What can it mean!
[Enter CHORUS excitedly
CHORUS Now what can that have been—
A shot so late at night,
Enough to cause a fright!
What can the portent mean?
Are foemen in the land?
Is London to be wrecked?
What are we to expect?
What danger is at hand?
Let us understand
What danger is at hand!
[LIEUTENANT enters, also POINT and WILFRED
LIEUT. Who fired that shot? At once the truth declare?
WILFRED My lord, 'twas I— to rashly judge forebear!
POINT My lord, 'twas he— to rashly judge forebear!
WILFRED Like a ghost his vigil keeping—
POINT Or a spectre all-appalling—
WILFRED I beheld a figure creeping—
POINT I should rather call it crawling—
WILFRED He was creeping—
POINT He was crawling—
WILFRED He was creeping, creeping—
POINT Crawling!
WILFRED He was creeping—
POINT He was crawling—
WILFRED He was creeping, creeping—
POINT Crawling!
WILFRED Not a moment's hesitation—
I myself upon him flung,
With a hurried exclamation
To his draperies I hung;
Then we closed with one another
In a rough-and-tumble smother;
Col'nel Fairfax and no other
Was the man to whom I clung!
ALL Col'nel Fairfax and no other,
Was the man to whom he clung!
WILFRED After mighty tug and tussle—
POINT It resembled more a struggle—
WILFRED He, by dint of stronger muscle—
POINT Or by some infernal juggle—
WILFRED From my clutches quickly sliding—
POINT I should rather call it slipping—
WILFRED With a view, no doubt, of hiding—
POINT Or escaping to the shipping—
WILFRED With a gasp, and with a quiver—
POINT I'd describe it as a shiver—
WILFRED Down he dived into the river,
And, alas, I cannot swim.
ALL It's enough to make one shiver,
With a gasp, and with a quiver,
Down he dived into the river;
It was very brave of him!
WILFRED Ingenuity is catching;
With the view my King of pleasing,
Arquebus from sentry snatching—
POINT I should rather call it seizing—
WILFRED With an ounce or two of lead
I dispatched him through the head!
ALL With an ounce or two of lead
He dispatched him through the head!
WILFRED I discharged it without winking,
Little time I lost in thinking,
Like a stone I saw him sinking—
POINT I should say a lump of lead.
ALL He discharged it without winking,
Little time he lost in thinking.
WILFRED Like a stone I saw him sinking—
POINT I should say a lump of lead.
WILFRED Like a stone, my boy, I said—
POINT Like a heavy lump of lead.
WILFRED Like a stone, my boy, I said—
POINT Like a heavy lump of lead.
WILFRED Anyhow, the man is dead,
Whether stone or lump of lead!
ALL Anyhow, the man is dead,
Whether stone or lump of lead!
Arquebus from sentry seizing,
With the view his King of pleasing,
Arquebus from sentry seizing,
With the view his King of pleasing,
Wilfred shot him through the head,
And he's very, very dead!
And it matters very little
Whether stone or lump of lead,
It is very, very certain that
he's very, very dead!
LIEUT. The river must be dragged— no time be lost;
The body must be found, at any cost.
To this attend without undue delay;
So set to work with what dispatch ye may!
[Exit LIEUTENANT
ALL Yes, yes,
We'll set to work with what dispatch we may!
[Men raise WILFRED, and carry him off on their shoulders.
ALL Hail the valiant fellow who
Did this deed of derring-do!
Honours wait on such an one;
By my head, 'twas bravely done,
'twas bravely done!
Now, by my head, 'twas bravely done!
[Exeunt all but ELSIE, POINT, FAIRFAX, and PHOEBE.
POINT [to ELSIE, who is weeping] Nay, sweetheart, be
comforted. This Fairfax was but a pestilent fellow,
and, as he had to die, he might as well die thus as
any other way. 'Twas a good death.
ELSIE Still, he was my husband, and had he not been, he was
nevertheless a living man, and now he is dead; and so,
by your leave, my tears may flow unchidden, Master
Point.
FAIRFAX And thou didst see all this?
POINT Aye, with both eyes at once— this and that. The
testimony of one eye is naught— he may lie. But when
it is corroborated by the other, it is good evidence
that none may gainsay. Here are both present in court,
ready to swear to him!
PHOEBE But art thou sure it was Colonel Fairfax? Saw you his
face?
POINT Aye, and a plaguey ill-favoured face too. A very hang-
dog face— a felon face— a face to fright the headsman
himself, and make him strike awry. Oh, a plaguey, bad
face, take my word for it. [PHOEBE and FAIRFAX laugh]
How they laugh! "Tis ever thus with simple folk— an
accepted wit has but to say "Pass the mustard," and
they roar their ribs out!
FAIRFAX [aside] If ever I come to life again, thou shalt pay
for this, Master Point!
POINT Now, Elsie, thou art free to choose again, so behold
me: I am young and well-favoured. I have a pretty wit.
I can jest you, jibe you, quip you, crank you, wrack
you, riddle you—
FAIRFAX Tush, man, thou knowest not how to woo. 'Tis not to be
done with time-worn jests and thread-bare sophistries;
with quips, conundrums, rhymes, and paradoxes. 'Tis an
art in itself, and must be studied gravely and
conscientiously.
No. 19. A man who would woo a fair maid
(TRIO)
Elsie, Phoebe, and Fairfax
FAIRFAX A man who would woo a fair maid,
Should 'prentice himself to the trade;
And study all day,
In methodical way,
How to flatter, cajole, and persuade.
He should 'prentice himself at fourteen,
And practise from morning to e'en;
And when he's of age,
If he will, I'll engage,
He may capture the heart of a queen,
the heart of a queen!
ALL It is purely a matter of skill,
Which all may attain if they will.
But every Jack
He must study the knack
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
ELSIE If he's made the best use of his time,
His twig he'll so carefully lime
That every bird
Will come down at his word,
Whatever its plumage and clime.
He must learn that the thrill of a touch
May mean little, or nothing, or much;
It's an instrument rare,
To be handled with care,
And ought to be treated as such,
Ought to be treated as such.
ALL It is purely a matter of skill,
Which all may attain if they will:
But every Jack,
He must study the knack
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
PHOEBE Then a glance may be timid or free;
It will vary in mighty degree,
From an impudent stare
To a look of despair
That no maid without pity can see!
And a glance of despair is no guide—
It may have its ridiculous side;
It may draw you a tear
Or a box on the ear;
You can never be sure till you've tried!
Never be sure till you've tried!
ALL It is purely a matter of skill,
Which all may attain if they will:
But every Jack,
He must study the knack
If he wants to make sure of his Jill,
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
But every Jack,
He must study the knack,
But every Jack,
Must study the knack
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
Yes, every Jack,
Must study the knack
If he wants to make sure of his Jill!
FAIRFAX [aside to POINT] Now, listen to me— 'tis done thus—
[aloud] Mistress Elsie, there is one here who, as thou
knowest, loves thee right well!
POINT [aside] That he does— right well!
FAIRFAX He is but a man of poor estate, but he hath a loving,
honest heart. He will be a true and trusty husband to
thee, and if thou wilt be his wife, thou shalt lie
curled up in his heart, like a little squirrel in its
nest!
POINT [aside] 'Tis a pretty figure. A maggot in a nut lies
closer, but a squirrel will do.
FAIRFAX He knoweth that thou wast a wife— an unloved and
unloving wife, and his poor heart was near to
breaking. But now that thine unloving husband is dead,
and thou art free, he would fain pray that thou
wouldst hearken unto him, and give him hope that thou
wouldst one day be his!
PHOEBE [alarmed] He presses her hands— and whispers in her
ear! Ods bodikins, what does it mean?
FAIRFAX Now, sweetheart, tell me— wilt thou be this poor
goodfellow's wife?
ELSIE If the good, brave man— is he a brave man?
FAIRFAX So men say.
POINT [aside] That's not true, but let it pass.
ELSIE If the brave man will be content with a poor,
penniless, untaught maid—
POINT [aside] Widow— but let that pass.
ELSIE I will be his true and loving wife, and that with my
heart of hearts!
FAIRFAX My own dear love! [Embracing her]
PHOEBE [in great agitation] Why, what's all this? Brother—
brother— it is not seemly!
POINT [also alarmed, aside] Oh, I can't let that pass!
[Aloud] Hold, enough, Master Leonard! An advocate
should have his fee, but methinks thou art over-paying
thyself!
FAIRFAX Nay, that is for Elsie to say. I promised thee I would
show thee how to woo, and herein lies the proof of the
virtue of my teaching. Go thou, and apply it
elsewhere! [PHOEBE bursts into tears]
No. 20. When a wooer goes a-wooing
(QUARTET)
Elsie, Phoebe, Fairfax, and Point
ELSIE When a wooer Goes a-wooing,
Naught is truer Than his joy.
FAIRFAX Maiden hushing All his suing—
Boldly blushing, bravely coy!
Bravely coy! Boldly blushing—
ELSIE Boldly blushing, bravely coy!
ALL Oh, the happy days of doing!
Oh, the sighing and the suing!
When a wooer goes a-wooing,
Oh the sweets that never cloy!
PHOEBE [weeping] When a brother leaves his sister
For another, sister weeps,
Tears that trickle,
Tears that blister—
'Tis but mickle Sister reaps!
ALL Oh, the doing and undoing,
Oh, the sighing and the suing,
When a brother goes a-wooing,
And a sobbing sister weeps!
POINT When a jester Is outwitted,
Feelings fester, Heart is lead!
Food for fishes Only fitted,
Jester wishes He was dead!
Food for fishes Only fitted,
Jester wishes He was dead!
ALL Oh, the doing and undoing,
Oh, the sighing and the suing,
When a jester goes a-wooing,
And he wishes he was dead!
Oh, the doing and undoing,
Oh, the sighing and the suing,
When a jester goes a-wooing,
And he wishes he was dead,
And he wishes he was dead!
[Exeunt all but PHOEBE, who remains weeping.
PHOEBE And I helped that man to escape, and I've kept his
secret, and pretended that I was his dearly loving
sister, and done everything I could think of to make
folk believe I was his loving sister, and this is his
gratitude! Before I pretend to be sister to anybody
again, I'll turn nun, and be sister to everybody— one
as much as another!
[Enter WILFRED
WILFRED In tears, eh? What a plague art thou grizzling for
now?
PHOEBE Why am I grizzling? Thou hast often wept for jealousy—
well, 'tis for jealousy I weep now. Aye, yellow,
bilious, jaundiced jealousy. So make the most of that,
Master Wilfred.
WILFRED But I have never given thee cause for jealousy. The
Lieutenant's cook-maid and I are but the merest
gossips!
PHOEBE Jealous of thee! Bah! I'm jealous of no craven cock-
on-a-hill, who crows about what he'd do an he dared!
I am jealous of another and a better man than thou—
set that down, Master Wilfred. And he is to marry
Elsie Maynard, the pale little fool— set that down
Master Wilfred— and my heart is wellnigh broken!
There, thou hast it all! Make the most of it!
WILFRED The man thou lovest is to marry Elsie Maynard? Why,
that is no other than thy brother, Leonard Meryll!
PHOEBE [aside] Oh, mercy! what have I said?
WILFRED Why, what matter of brother is this, thou lying little
jade? Speak! Who is this man whom thou hast called
brother, and fondled, and coddled, and kissed!— with
my connivance, too! Oh Lord! with my connivance! Ha!
should it be this Fairfax! [PHOEBE starts] It is! It
is this accursed Fairfax! It's Fairfax! Fairfax, who—
PHOEBE Whom thou hast just shot through the head, and who
lies at the bottom of the river!
WILFRED A— I— I may have been mistaken. We are but fallible
mortals, the best of us. But I'll make sure— I'll make
sure. [Going]
PHOEBE Stay— one word. I think it cannot be Fairfax— mind, I
say I think— because thou hast just slain Fairfax. But
whether he be Fairfax or no Fairfax, he is to marry
Elsie— and— and— as thou hast shot him through the
head, and he is dead, be content with that, and I will
be thy wife!
WILFRED Is that sure?
PHOEBE Aye, sure enough, for there's no help for it! Thou art
a very brute— but even brutes must marry, I suppose.
WILFRED My beloved. [Embraces her]
PHOEBE [aside] Ugh!
[Enter LEONARD MERYLL, hastily
LEONARD Phoebe, rejoice, for I bring glad tidings. Colonel
Fairfax's reprieve was signed two days since, but it
was foully and maliciously kept back by Secretary
Poltwhistle, who designed that it should arrive after
the Colonel's death. It hath just come to hand, and it
is now in the Lieutenant's possession!
PHOEBE Then the Colonel is free? Oh, kiss me, kiss me, my
dear! Kiss me, again, and again!
WILFRED [dancing with fury] Ods bobs, death o' my life! Art
thou mad? Am I mad? Are we all mad?
PHOEBE Oh, my dear— my dear, I'm well nigh crazed with joy!
[Kissing LEONARD]
WILFRED Come away from him, thou hussy— thou jade— thou
kissing, clinging cockatrice! And as for thee, sir,
devil take thee, I'll rip thee like a herring for
this! I'll skin thee for it! I'll cleave thee to the
chine! I'll— oh! Phoebe! Phoebe! Who is this man?
PHOEBE Peace, fool. He is my brother!
WILFRED Another brother! Are there any more of them? Produce
them all at once, and let me know the worst!
PHOEBE This is the real Leonard, dolt; the other was but his
substitute. The real Leonard, I say— my father's own
son.
WILFRED How do I know this? Has he "brother" writ large on his
brow? I mistrust thy brothers! Thou art but a false
jade!
[Exit LEONARD.
PHOEBE Now, Wilfred, be just. Truly I did deceive thee
before— but it was to save a precious life— and to
save it, not for me, but for another. They are to be
wed this very day. Is not this enough for thee? Come—
I am thy Phoebe— thy very own— and we will be wed in
a year— or two— or three, at the most. Is not that
enough for thee?
[Enter SERGEANT MERYLL, excitedly, followed by DAME
CARRUTHERS, who listens, unobserved.
MERYLL Phoebe, hast thou heard the brave news?
PHOEBE [still in WILFRED's arms] Aye, father.
MERYLL I'm nigh mad with joy! [Seeing WILFRED] Why, what's
all this?
PHOEBE Oh, father, he discovered our secret thorough my
folly, and the price of his silence is—
WILFRED Phoebe's heart.
PHOEBE Oh, dear, no— Phoebe's hand.
WILFRED It's the same thing!
PHOEBE Is it?
[Exeunt WILFRED and PHOEBE.
MERYLL [looking after them] "Tis pity, but the Colonel had to
be saved at any cost, and as thy folly revealed our
secret, thy folly must e'en suffer for it!
[DAME CARRUTHERS comes down] Dame Carruthers!
DAME So this is a plot to shield this arch-fiend, and I
have detected it. A word from me, and three heads
besides his would roll from their shoulders!
MERYLL Nay, Colonel Fairfax is reprieved.
[Aside] Yet, if my complicity in his escape were
known! Plague on the old meddler! There's nothing for
it—
[aloud]— Hush, pretty one! Such bloodthirsty words ill
become those cherry lips!
[Aside] Ugh!
DAME [bashfully] Sergeant Meryll!
MERYLL Why, look ye, chuck— for many a month I've— I've
thought to myself— "There's snug love saving up in
that middle-aged bosom for some one, and why not for
thee— that's me— so take heart and tell her— that's
thee— that thou— that's me— lovest her— thee— and—
and— well,I'm a miserable old man, and I've done it—
and that's me!" But not a word about Fairfax! The
price of thy silence is—
DAME Meryll's heart?
MERYLL No, Meryll's hand.
DAME It's the same thing!
MERYLL Is it?
No. 21. Rapture, rapture
(DUET)
Dame Carruthers and Sergeant Meryll
DAME Rapture, rapture
When love's votary,
Flushed with capture,
Seeks the notary,
Joy and jollity
Then is polity;
Reigns frivolity!
Rapture, rapture!
Joy and jollity
Then is polity;
Reigns frivolity!
Rapture, rapture!
MERYLL Doleful, doleful!
When humanity
With its soul full
Of satanity,
Courting privity,
Down declivity
Seeks captivity!
Doleful, doleful!
Courting privity,
Down declivity
Seeks captivity!
Doleful, doleful!
DAME Joyful, joyful!
When virginity
Seeks, all coyful,
Man's affinity;
Fate all flowery,
Bright and bowery,
Is her dowery!
Joyful, joyful!
Fate all flowery,
Bright and bowery,
Is her dowery!
Joyful, joyful!
MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!
When man, sorrowful,
Firstly, lastly,
Of to-morrow full,
After tarrying,
Yields to harrying—
Goes a-marrying.
Ghastly, ghastly!
DAME Joyful, joyful!
MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!
DAME Joyful, joyful!
MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!
DAME MERYLL
Joyful, joyful! Ghastly, ghastly!
Joyful, joyful, joyful! Ghastly, ghastly,ghastly!
Rapture, rapture Doleful, doleful!
When love's votary, When humanity
Flushed with capture, With its soul full
Seeks the notary, Of satanity,
Joy and jollity Courting privity,
Then is polity; Down declivity
Reigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!
Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!
Joy and jollity Courting privity,
Then is polity; Down declivity
Reigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!
Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!
Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!
Rapture, rapture, Doleful, doleful,
Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!
Joy and jollity Courting privity,
Then is polity; Down declivity
Reigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!
Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!
[Exeunt DAME and SERGEANT MERYLL.
No. 22. Comes the pretty young bride
(FINALE OF ACT II)
Ensemble
[Enter YEOMEN and WOMEN
WOMEN Comes the pretty young bride,
a-blushing, timidly shrinking—
Set all thy fears aside—
cheerily, pretty young bride!
Brave is the youth to whom thy lot
thou art willingly linking!
Flower of valour he—
loving as loving can be!
Brightly thy summer is shining,
Brightly thy summer is shining,
Fair as the dawn, as the dawn of the day;
Take him, be true to him—
Tender his due to him—
Honour him, honour him, love and obey!
[Enter DAME, PHOEBE, and ELSIE as Bride
PHOEBE, ELSIE
& DAME 'Tis said that joy in full perfection
Comes only once to womankind—
That, other times, on close inspection,
Some lurking bitter we shall find.
If this be so, and men say truly,
My day of joy has broken duly
With happiness my/her soul is cloyed—
With happiness is cloyed—
With happiness my/her soul is cloyed—
This is my/her joy-day
unalloyed, unalloyed,
This is my/her joy-day unalloyed!
ALL Yes, yes, with happiness her soul is cloyed!
This is her joy-day unalloyed!
[Flourish. Enter LIEUTENANT
LIEUT. Hold, pretty one! I bring to thee
News— good or ill, it is for thee to say.
Thy husband lives— and he is free,
And comes to claim his bride this very day!
ELSIE No! No! recall those words— it cannot be!
[all four blocks below sung at once]
KATE and CHORUS DAME CARRUTHERS and PHOEBE
Oh, day of terror! Oh, day of terror!
Oh, day of terror! Oh, day of terror!
Day of terror! The man to whom thou art
Day of tears! allied
Day of terror! Appears to claim thee
Day of tears! as his bride.
Who is the man who, The man to whom thou art
In his pride, allied
Claims thee as his bride? And claim me as his bride.
Day of terror! Day of terror!
Day of tears! Day of tears!
LIEUT., MERYLL, and WILFRED ELSIE
Come, dry these unbecoming tears,
Most joyful tidings greet
thine ears,
Come, dry these unbecoming tears, Oh, Leonard,
Most joyful tidings greet Oh,Leonard,
thine ears, Come thou to my side,
The man to whom thou art allied And claim me as
Appears to claim thee thy loving bride!
as his bride. Day of terror!
The man to whom thou art allied Day of tears!
Appears to claim thee
as his bride.
[Flourish. Enter COLONEL FAIRFAX, handsomely dressed,and
attended by other Gentlemen
FAIRFAX [sternly] All thought of Leonard
Meryll set aside.
Thou art mine own! I claim thee as my bride.
ALL Thou art his own!
Alas! he claims thee as his bride.
ELSIE A suppliant at thy feet I fall;
Thine heart will yield to pity's call!
FAIRFAX Mine is a heart of massive rock,
Unmoved by sentimental shock!
ALL Thy husband he!
ELSIE [aside] Leonard, my loved one— come to me.
They bear me hence away!
But though they take me far from thee,
My heart is thine for aye!
My bruised heart,
My broken heart,
Is thine, my own, for aye!
Is thine, is thine, my own,
Is thine, for aye!
ELSIE [To FAIRFAX] Sir, I obey!
I am thy bride;
But ere the fatal hour
I said the say
That placed me in thy pow'r
Would I had died!
Sir, I obey!
I am thy bride!
[Looks up and recognizes FAIRFAX
Leonard!
FAIRFAX My own!
ELSIE Ah! [Embrace]
ELSIE &
FAIRFAX With happiness my soul is cloyed,
This is our joy-day unalloyed!
ALL Yes, yes!
With happiness their souls are cloyed,
This is their joy-day unalloyed!
With happiness their souls are cloyed,
This is their joy-day unalloyed,
Their joy-day unalloyed, unalloyed!
[Enter JACK POINT
POINT Oh, thoughtless crew!
Ye know not what ye do!
Attend to me, and shed a tear or two—
For I have a song to sing, O!
ALL Sing me your song, O!
POINT It is sung to the moon
By a love-lorn loon,
Who fled from the mocking throng, O!
It's a song of a merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye.
ALL Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
ELSIE I have a song to sing, O!
ALL What is your song, O!
ELSIE It is sung with the ring
Of the songs maids sing
Who love with a love life-long, O!
It's the song of a merrymaid, peerly proud,
[optional— nestling near,]
Who loved her lord, and who laughed aloud
[optional— but dropped a tear]
At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,
Whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,
Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
ALL Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
Heighdy! heighdy!
Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!
He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,
As he sighed for the love of a ladye!
Heighdy! heighdy!
Heighdy! heighdy!
Heighdy! heighdy!
[FAIRFAX embraces ELSIE as POINT falls insensible at their
feet.
CURTAIN