<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"></SPAN></p>
<br/>
<h2> ACT II </h2>
<p>Scene.—Palace Yard, Westminster. Westminster Hall, L. Clock<br/>
tower up, R.C. Private Willis discovered on sentry, R. Moonlight.<br/>
<br/>
SONG—PRIVATE WILLIS.<br/>
<br/>
When all night long a chap remains<br/>
On sentry-go, to chase monotony<br/>
He exercises of his brains,<br/>
That is, assuming that he's got any.<br/>
Though never nurtured in the lap<br/>
Of luxury, yet I admonish you,<br/>
I am an intellectual chap,<br/>
And think of things that would astonish you.<br/>
I often think it's comical—Fal, lal, la!<br/>
How Nature always does contrive—Fal, lal, la!<br/>
That every boy and every gal<br/>
That's born into the world alive<br/>
Is either a little Liberal<br/>
Or else a little Conservative!<br/>
Fal, lal, la!<br/>
<br/>
When in that House M.P.'s divide,<br/>
If they've a brain and cerebellum, too,<br/>
They've got to leave that brain outside,<br/>
And vote just as their leaders tell 'em to.<br/>
But then the prospect of a lot<br/>
Of dull M. P.'s in close proximity,<br/>
All thinking for themselves, is what<br/>
No man can face with equanimity.<br/>
Then let's rejoice with loud Fal la—Fal lal la!<br/>
That Nature always does contrive—Fal lal la!<br/>
That every boy and every gal<br/>
That's born into the world alive<br/>
Is either a little Liberal<br/>
Or else a little Conservative!<br/>
Fal lal la!<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Fairies, with Celia, Leila, and Fleta. They trip round<br/>
stage.)<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES.<br/>
<br/>
Strephon's a Member of Parliament!<br/>
Carries every Bill he chooses.<br/>
To his measures all assent—<br/>
Showing that fairies have their uses.<br/>
Whigs and Tories<br/>
Dim their glories,<br/>
Giving an ear to all his stories—<br/>
Lords and Commons are both in the blues!<br/>
Strephon makes them shake in their shoes!<br/>
Shake in their shoes!<br/>
Shake in their shoes!<br/>
Strephon makes them shake in their shoes!<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Peers from Westminster Hall.)<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF PEERS.<br/>
<br/>
Strephon's a Member of Parliament!<br/>
Running a-muck of all abuses.<br/>
His unqualified assent<br/>
Somehow nobody now refuses.<br/>
Whigs and Tories<br/>
Dim their glories,<br/>
Giving an ear to all his stories<br/>
Carrying every Bill he may wish:<br/>
Here's a pretty kettle of fish!<br/>
Kettle of fish!<br/>
Kettle of fish!<br/>
Here's a pretty kettle of fish!<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller from Westminster Hall.)<br/>
<br/>
CELIA. You seem annoyed.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Annoyed! I should think so! Why, this<br/>
ridiculous protege of yours is playing the deuce with everything!<br/>
To-night is the second reading of his Bill to throw the Peerage<br/>
open to Competitive Examination!<br/>
LORD TOLL. And he'll carry it, too!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Carry it? Of course he will! He's a<br/>
Parliamentary Pickford—he carries everything!<br/>
LEILA. Yes. If you please, that's our fault!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. The deuce it is!<br/>
CELIA. Yes; we influence the members, and compel them to vote<br/>
just as he wishes them to.<br/>
LEILA. It's our system. It shortens the debates.<br/>
LORD TOLL. Well, but think what it all means. I don't so<br/>
much mind for myself, but with a House of Peers with no<br/>
grandfathers worth mentioning, the country must go to the dogs!<br/>
LEILA. I suppose it must!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. I don't want to say a word against brains—I've<br/>
a great respect for brains—I often wish I had some myself—but<br/>
with a House of Peers composed exclusively of people of intellect,<br/>
what's to become of the House of Commons?<br/>
LEILA. I never thought of that!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. This comes of women interfering in politics. It<br/>
so happens that if there is an institution in Great Britain which<br/>
is not susceptible of any improvement at all, it is the House of<br/>
Peers!<br/>
<br/>
SONG—LORD MOUNTARARAT.<br/>
<br/>
When Britain really ruled the waves—<br/>
(In good Queen Bess's time)<br/>
The House of Peers made no pretence<br/>
To intellectual eminence,<br/>
Or scholarship sublime;<br/>
Yet Britain won her proudest bays<br/>
In good Queen Bess's glorious days!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS. Yes, Britain won, etc.<br/>
<br/>
When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,<br/>
As every child can tell,<br/>
The House of Peers, throughout the war,<br/>
Did nothing in particular,<br/>
And did it very well:<br/>
Yet Britain set the world ablaze<br/>
In good King George's glorious days!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS. Yes, Britain set, etc.<br/>
<br/>
And while the House of Peers withholds<br/>
Its legislative hand,<br/>
And noble statesmen do not itch<br/>
To interfere with matters which<br/>
They do not understand,<br/>
As bright will shine Great Britain's rays<br/>
As in King George's glorious days!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS. As bright will shine, etc.<br/>
<br/>
LEILA. (who has been much attracted by the Peers during this<br/>
song). Charming persons, are they not?<br/>
CELIA. Distinctly. For self-contained dignity, combined with<br/>
airy condescension, give me a British Representative Peer!<br/>
LORD TOLL. Then pray stop this protege of yours before it's<br/>
too late. Think of the mischief you're doing!<br/>
LEILA (crying). But we can't stop him now. (Aside to Celia.)<br/>
Aren't they lovely! (Aloud.) Oh, why did you go and defy us, you<br/>
great geese!<br/>
<br/>
DUET—LEILA and CELIA.<br/>
<br/>
LEILA. In vain to us you plead—<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
Your prayers we do not heed—<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
It's true we sigh,<br/>
But don't suppose<br/>
A tearful eye<br/>
Forgiveness shows.<br/>
Oh, no!<br/>
We're very cross indeed—<br/>
Yes, very cross,<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
<br/>
FAIRIES. It's true we sigh, etc.<br/>
<br/>
CELIA. Your disrespectful sneers—<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
Call forth indignant tears—<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
You break our laws—<br/>
You are our foe:<br/>
We cry because<br/>
We hate you so!<br/>
You know!<br/>
You very wicked Peers!<br/>
You wicked Peers!<br/>
Don't go!<br/>
<br/>
FAIRIES. LORDS MOUNT. and TOLL.<br/>
<br/>
You break our laws— Our disrespectful sneers,<br/>
You are our foe: Ha, ha!<br/>
We cry because Call forth indignant tears,<br/>
We hate you so! Ha, ha!<br/>
You know! If that's the case, my dears—<br/>
You very wicked Peers! FAIRIES. Don't go!<br/>
Don't go! PEERS. We'll go!<br/>
<br/>
(Exeunt Lord Mountararat, Lord Tolloller, and Peers. Fairies gaze<br/>
wistfully after them.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Fairy Queen.)<br/>
<br/>
QUEEN. Oh, shame—shame upon you! Is this your fidelity to<br/>
the laws you are bound to obey? Know ye not that it is death to<br/>
marry a mortal?<br/>
LEILA. Yes, but it's not death to wish to marry a mortal!<br/>
FLETA. If it were, you'd have to execute us all!<br/>
QUEEN. Oh, this is weakness! Subdue it!<br/>
CELIA. We know it's weakness, but the weakness is so strong!<br/>
LEILA. We are not all as tough as you are!<br/>
QUEEN. Tough! Do you suppose that I am insensible to the<br/>
effect of manly beauty? Look at that man! (Referring to Sentry.)<br/>
A perfect picture! (To Sentry.) Who are you, sir?<br/>
WILLIS (coming to "attention"). Private Willis, B Company,<br/>
1st Grenadier Guards.<br/>
QUEEN. You're a very fine fellow, sir.<br/>
WILLIS. I am generally admired.<br/>
QUEEN. I can quite understand it. (To Fairies.) Now here is<br/>
a man whose physical attributes are simply godlike. That man has<br/>
a most extraordinary effect upon me. If I yielded to a natural<br/>
impulse, I should fall down and worship that man. But I mortify<br/>
this inclination; I wrestle with it, and it lies beneath my feet!<br/>
That is how I treat my regard for that man!<br/>
<br/>
SONG—FAIRY QUEEN.<br/>
<br/>
Oh, foolish fay,<br/>
Think you, because<br/>
His brave array<br/>
My bosom thaws,<br/>
I'd disobey<br/>
Our fairy laws?<br/>
Because I fly<br/>
In realms above,<br/>
In tendency<br/>
To fall in love,<br/>
Resemble I<br/>
The amorous dove?<br/>
(Aside.) Oh, amorous dove!<br/>
Type of Ovidius Naso!<br/>
This heart of mine<br/>
Is soft as thine,<br/>
Although I dare not say so!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS. Oh, amorous dove, etc.<br/>
<br/>
On fire that glows<br/>
With heat intense<br/>
I turn the hose<br/>
Of common sense,<br/>
And out it goes<br/>
At small expense!<br/>
We must maintain<br/>
Our fairy law;<br/>
That is the main<br/>
On which to draw—<br/>
In that we gain<br/>
A Captain Shaw!<br/>
(Aside.) Oh, Captain Shaw!<br/>
Type of true love kept under!<br/>
Could thy Brigade<br/>
With cold cascade<br/>
Quench my great love, I wonder!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS. Oh, Captain Shaw! etc.<br/>
<br/>
(Exeunt Fairies and Fairy Queen, sorrowfully.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Phyllis.)<br/>
<br/>
PHYL. (half crying). I can't think why I'm not in better<br/>
spirits. I'm engaged to two noblemen at once. That ought to be<br/>
enough to make any girl happy. But I'm miserable! Don't suppose<br/>
it's because I care for Strephon, for I hate him! No girl could<br/>
care for a man who goes about with a mother considerably younger<br/>
than himself!<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller.)<br/>
<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Phyllis! My darling!<br/>
LORD TOLL. Phyllis! My own!<br/>
PHYL. Don't! How dare you? Oh, but perhaps you're the two<br/>
noblemen I'm engaged to?<br/>
LORD MOUNT. I am one of them.<br/>
LORD TOLL. I am the other.<br/>
PHYL. Oh, then, my darling! (to Lord Mountararat). My own!<br/>
(to Lord Tolloller). Well, have you settled which it's to be?<br/>
LORD TOLL. Not altogether. It's a difficult position. It<br/>
would be hardly delicate to toss up. On the whole we would rather<br/>
leave it to you.<br/>
PHYL. How can it possibly concern me? You are both EarIs,<br/>
and you are both rich, and you are both plain.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. So we are. At least I am.<br/>
LORD TOLL. So am I.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. No, no!<br/>
LORD TOLL. I am indeed. Very plain.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Well, well—perhaps you are.<br/>
PHYL. There's really nothing to choose between you. If one<br/>
of you would forgo his title, and distribute his estates among his<br/>
Irish tenantry, why, then, I should then see a reason for accepting<br/>
the other.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Tolloller, are you prepared to make this<br/>
sacrifice?<br/>
LORD TOLL. No!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Not even to oblige a lady?<br/>
LORD TOLL. No! not even to oblige a lady.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Then, the only question is, which of us shall<br/>
give way to the other? Perhaps, on the whole, she would be happier<br/>
with me. I don't know. I may be wrong.<br/>
LORD TOLL. No. I don't know that you are. I really believe<br/>
she would. But the awkward part of the thing is that if you rob me<br/>
of the girl of my heart, we must fight, and one of us must die.<br/>
It's a family tradition that I have sworn to respect. It's a<br/>
painful position, for I have a very strong regard for you, George.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. (much affected). My dear Thomas!<br/>
LORD TOLL. You are very dear to me, George. We were boys<br/>
together—at least I was. If I were to survive you, my existence<br/>
would be hopelessly embittered.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Then, my dear Thomas, you must not do it. I say<br/>
it again and again—if it will have this effect upon you, you must<br/>
not do it. No, no. If one of us is to destroy the other, let it<br/>
be me!<br/>
LORD TOLL. No, no!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Ah, yes!—by our boyish friendship I implore you!<br/>
LORD TOLL. (much moved). Well, well, be it so. But,<br/>
no—no!—I cannot consent to an act which would crush you with<br/>
unavaillng remorse.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. But it would not do so. I should be very sad at<br/>
first—oh, who would not be?—but it would wear off. I like you<br/>
very much—but not, perhaps, as much as you like me.<br/>
LORD TOLL. George, you're a noble fellow, but that tell-tale<br/>
tear betrays you. No, George; you are very fond of me, and I<br/>
cannot consent to give you a week's uneasiness on my account.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. But, dear Thomas, it would not last a week!<br/>
Remember, you lead the House of Lords! On your demise I shall take<br/>
your place! Oh, Thomas, it would not last a day!<br/>
PHYL. (coming down). Now, I do hope you're not going to fight<br/>
about me, because it's really not worth while.<br/>
LORD TOLL. (looking at her). Well, I don't believe it is!<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Nor I. The sacred ties of Friendship are<br/>
paramount.<br/>
<br/>
QUARTET—LORD MOUNTARARAT,<br/>
LORD TOLLOLLER, PHYLLIS, and PRIVATE WILLIS.<br/>
<br/>
LORD TOLL. Though p'r'aps I may incur your blame,<br/>
The things are few<br/>
I would not do<br/>
In Friendship's name!<br/>
<br/>
LORD MOUNT. And I may say I think the same;<br/>
Not even love<br/>
Should rank above<br/>
True Friendship's name!<br/>
<br/>
PHYL. Then free me, pray; be mine the blame;<br/>
Forget your craze<br/>
And go your ways<br/>
In Friendship's name!<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Oh, many a man, in Friendship's name,<br/>
Has yielded fortune, rank, and fame!<br/>
But no one yet, in the world so wide,<br/>
Has yielded up a promised bride!<br/>
<br/>
WILLIS. Accept, O Friendship, all the same,<br/>
<br/>
ALL. This sacrifice to thy dear name!<br/>
<br/>
(Exeunt Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller, lovingly, in one<br/>
direction, and Phyllis in another. Exit Sentry.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Lord Chancellor, very miserable.)<br/>
<br/>
RECITATIVE—LORD CHANCELLOR.<br/>
<br/>
Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:<br/>
Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:<br/>
Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,<br/>
And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!<br/>
<br/>
SONG—LORD CHANCELLOR.<br/>
<br/>
When you're lying awake with a dismal headache, and repose is<br/>
taboo'd by anxiety,<br/>
I conceive you may use any language you choose to indulge in,<br/>
without impropriety;<br/>
For your brain is on fire—the bedclothes conspire of usual<br/>
slumber to plunder you:<br/>
First your counterpane goes, and uncovers your toes, and your<br/>
sheet slips demurely from under you;<br/>
Then the blanketing tickles—you feel like mixed pickles—so<br/>
terribly sharp is the pricking,<br/>
And you're hot, and you're cross, and you tumble and toss till<br/>
there's nothing 'twixt you and the ticking.<br/>
Then the bedclothes all creep to the ground in a heap, and you<br/>
pick 'em all up in a tangle;<br/>
Next your pillow resigns and politely declines to remain at its<br/>
usual angle!<br/>
Well, you get some repose in the form of a doze, with hot<br/>
eye-balls and head ever aching.<br/>
But your slumbering teems with such horrible dreams that you'd<br/>
very much better be waking;<br/>
For you dream you are crossing the Channel, and tossing about in<br/>
a steamer from Harwich—<br/>
Which is something between a large bathing machine and a very<br/>
small second-class carriage—<br/>
And you're giving a treat (penny ice and cold meat) to a party of<br/>
friends and relations—<br/>
They're a ravenous horde—and they all came on board at Sloane<br/>
Square and South Kensington Stations.<br/>
And bound on that journey you find your attorney (who started that<br/>
morning from Devon);<br/>
He's a bit undersized, and you don't feel surprised when he tells<br/>
you he's only eleven.<br/>
Well, you're driving like mad with this singular lad (by the by,<br/>
the ship's now a four-wheeler),<br/>
And you're playing round games, and he calls you bad names when<br/>
you tell him that "ties pay the dealer";<br/>
But this you can't stand, so you throw up your hand, and you find<br/>
you're as cold as an icicle,<br/>
In your shirt and your socks (the black silk with gold clocks),<br/>
crossing Salisbury Plain on a bicycle:<br/>
And he and the crew are on bicycles too—which they've somehow or<br/>
other invested in—<br/>
And he's telling the tars all the particulars of a company he's<br/>
interested in—<br/>
It's a scheme of devices, to get at low prices all goods from<br/>
cough mixtures to cables<br/>
(Which tickled the sailors), by treating retailers as though they<br/>
were all vegetables—<br/>
You get a good spadesman to plant a small tradesman (first take<br/>
off his boots with a boot-tree),<br/>
And his legs will take root, and his fingers will shoot, and<br/>
they'll blossom and bud like a fruit-tree—<br/>
From the greengrocer tree you get grapes and green pea,<br/>
cauliflower, pineapple, and cranberries,<br/>
While the pastrycook plant cherry brandy will grant, apple puffs,<br/>
and three corners, and Banburys—<br/>
The shares are a penny, and ever so many are taken by Rothschild<br/>
and Baring,<br/>
And just as a few are allotted to you, you awake with a shudder<br/>
despairing—<br/>
You're a regular wreck, with a crick in your neck, and no wonder<br/>
you snore, for your head's on the floor, and you've needles and<br/>
pins from your soles to your shins, and your flesh is a-creep, for<br/>
your left leg's asleep, and you've cramp in your toes, and a fly on<br/>
your nose, and some fluff in your lung, and a feverish tongue, and<br/>
a thirst that's intense, and a general sense that you haven't been<br/>
sleeping in clover;<br/>
But the darkness has passed, and it's daylight at last, and the<br/>
night has been long—ditto ditto my song—and thank goodness<br/>
they're both of them over!<br/>
<br/>
(Lord Chancellor falls exhausted on<br/>
a seat.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Lords Mountararat and Tolloller.)<br/>
<br/>
LORD MOUNT. I am much distressed to see your Lordship in this<br/>
condition.<br/>
LORD CH. Ah, my Lords, it is seldom that a Lord Chancellor<br/>
has reason to envy the position of another, but I am free to<br/>
confess that I would rather be two Earls engaged to Phyllis than<br/>
any other half-dozen noblemen upon the face of the globe.<br/>
LORD TOLL. (without enthusiasm). Yes. It's an enviable<br/>
position when you're the only one.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Oh yes, no doubt—most enviable. At the same<br/>
time, seeing you thus, we naturally say to ourselves, "This is very<br/>
sad. His Lordship is constitutionally as blithe as a bird—he<br/>
trills upon the bench like a thing of song and gladness. His<br/>
series of judgements in F sharp minor, given andante in six-eight<br/>
time, are among the most remarkable effects ever produced in a<br/>
Court of Chancery. He is, perhaps, the only living instance of a<br/>
judge whose decrees have received the honour of a double encore.<br/>
How can we bring ourselves to do that which will deprive the Court<br/>
of Chancery of one of its most attractive features?"<br/>
LORD CH. I feel the force of your remarks, but I am here in<br/>
two capacities, and they clash, my Lords, they clash! I deeply<br/>
grieve to say that in declining to entertain my last application to<br/>
myself, I presumed to address myself in terms which render it<br/>
impossible for me ever to apply to myself again. It was a most<br/>
painful scene, my Lords—most painful!<br/>
LORD TOLL. This is what it is to have two capacities! Let us<br/>
be thankful that we are persons of no capacity whatever.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. Come, come. Remember you are a very just and<br/>
kindly old gentleman, and you need have no hesitation in<br/>
approaching yourself, so that you do so respectfully and with a<br/>
proper show of deference.<br/>
LORD CH. Do you really think so?<br/>
LORD MOUNT. I do.<br/>
LORD CH. Well, I will nerve myself to another effort, and,<br/>
if that fails, I resign myself to my fate!<br/>
<br/>
TRIO—LORD CHANCELLOR, LORDS MOUNTARARAT and TOLLOLLER.<br/>
<br/>
LORD MOUNT. If you go in<br/>
You're sure to win—<br/>
Yours will be the charming maidie:<br/>
Be your law<br/>
The ancient saw,<br/>
"Faint heart never won fair lady!"<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Never, never, never,<br/>
Faint heart never won fair lady!<br/>
Every journey has an end—<br/>
When at the worst affairs will mend—<br/>
Dark the dawn when day is nigh—<br/>
Hustle your horse and don't say die!<br/>
<br/>
LORD TOLL. He who shies<br/>
At such a prize<br/>
Is not worth a maravedi,<br/>
Be so kind<br/>
To bear in mind—<br/>
Faint heart never won fair lady!<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Never, never, never,<br/>
Faint heart never won fair lady!<br/>
While the sun shines make your hay—<br/>
Where a will is, there's a way—<br/>
Beard the lion in his lair—<br/>
None but the brave deserve the fair!<br/>
<br/>
LORD CH. I'll take heart<br/>
And make a start—<br/>
Though I fear the prospect's shady—<br/>
Much I'd spend<br/>
To gain my end—<br/>
Faint heart never won fair lady!<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Never, never, never,<br/>
Faint heart never won fair lady!<br/>
Nothing venture, nothing win—<br/>
Blood is thick, but water's thin—<br/>
In for a penny, in for a pound—<br/>
It's Love that makes the world go round!<br/>
<br/>
(Dance, and exeunt arm-in-arm<br/>
together.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Strephon, in very low spirits.)<br/>
<br/>
[The following song was deleted from production]<br/>
<br/>
Fold your flapping wings,<br/>
Soaring legislature.<br/>
Stoop to little things,<br/>
Stoop to human nature.<br/>
Never need to roam<br/>
members patriotic.<br/>
Let's begin at home,<br/>
Crime is no exotic.<br/>
Bitter is your bane<br/>
Terrible your trials<br/>
Dingy Drury Lane<br/>
Soapless Seven Dials.<br/>
Take a tipsy lout<br/>
Gathered from the gutter,<br/>
Hustle him about,<br/>
Strap him to a shutter.<br/>
What am I but he,<br/>
Washed at hours stated.<br/>
Fed on filagree,<br/>
Clothed and educated<br/>
He's a mark of scorn<br/>
I might be another<br/>
If I had been born<br/>
Of a tipsy mother.<br/>
Take a wretched thief,<br/>
Through the city sneaking.<br/>
Pocket handkerchief<br/>
Ever, ever seeking.<br/>
What is he but I<br/>
Robbed of all my chances<br/>
Picking pockets by<br/>
force of circumstances<br/>
I might be as bad,<br/>
As unlucky, rather,<br/>
If I'd only had,<br/>
Fagin for a father.<br/>
<br/>
STREPH. I suppose one ought to enjoy oneself in Parliament,<br/>
when one leads both Parties, as I do! But I'm miserable, poor,<br/>
broken-hearted fool that I am! Oh Phyllis, Phyllis!—<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Phyllis.)<br/>
PHYL. Yes.<br/>
STREPH. (surprised). Phyllis! But I suppose I should say "My<br/>
Lady." I have not yet been informed which title your ladyship has<br/>
pleased to select?<br/>
PHYL. I—I haven't quite decided. You see, I have no mother<br/>
to advise me!<br/>
STREPH. No. I have.<br/>
PHYL. Yes; a young mother.<br/>
STREPH. Not very—a couple of centuries or so.<br/>
PHYL. Oh! She wears well.<br/>
STREPH. She does. She's a fairy.<br/>
PHYL. I beg your pardon—a what?<br/>
STREPH. Oh, I've no longer any reason to conceal the<br/>
fact—she's a fairy.<br/>
PHYL. A fairy! Well, but—that would account for a good many<br/>
things! Then—I suppose you're a fairy?<br/>
STREPH. I'm half a fairy.<br/>
PHYL. Which half?<br/>
STREPH. The upper half—down to the waistcoat.<br/>
PHYL. Dear me! (Prodding him with her fingers.) There is<br/>
nothing to show it!<br/>
STREPH. Don't do that.<br/>
PHYL. But why didn't you tell me this before?<br/>
STREPH. I thought you would take a dislike to me. But as<br/>
it's all off, you may as well know the truth—I'm only half a<br/>
mortal!<br/>
PHYL. (crying). But I'd rather have half a mortal I do love,<br/>
than half a dozen I don't!<br/>
STREPH. Oh, I think not—go to your half-dozen.<br/>
PHYL. (crying). It's only two! and I hate 'em! Please<br/>
forgive me!<br/>
STREPH. I don't think I ought to. Besides, all sorts of<br/>
difficulties will arise. You know, my grandmother looks quite as<br/>
young as my mother. So do all my aunts.<br/>
PHYL. I quite understand. Whenever I see you kissing a very<br/>
young lady, I shall know it's an elderly relative.<br/>
STREPH. You will? Then, Phyllis, I think we shall be very<br/>
happy! (Embracing her.)<br/>
PHYL. We won't wait long.<br/>
STREPH. No. We might change our minds. We'll get married<br/>
first.<br/>
PHYL. And change our minds afterwards?<br/>
STREPH. That's the usual course.<br/>
<br/>
DUET—STREPHON and PHYLLIS.<br/>
<br/>
STREPH. If we're weak enough to tarry<br/>
Ere we marry,<br/>
You and I,<br/>
Of the feeling I inspire<br/>
You may tire<br/>
By and by.<br/>
For peers with flowing coffers<br/>
Press their offers—<br/>
That is why<br/>
I am sure we should not tarry<br/>
Ere we marry,<br/>
You and I!<br/>
<br/>
PHYL. If we're weak enough to tarry<br/>
Ere we marry,<br/>
You and I,<br/>
With a more attractive maiden,<br/>
Jewel-laden,<br/>
You may fly.<br/>
If by chance we should be parted,<br/>
Broken-hearted<br/>
I should die—<br/>
So I think we will not tarry<br/>
Ere we marry,<br/>
You and I.<br/>
<br/>
PHYL. But does your mother know you're—I mean, is she aware<br/>
of our engagement?<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Iolanthe.)<br/>
<br/>
IOL. She is; and thus she welcomes her daughter-in-law!<br/>
(Kisses her.)<br/>
PHYL. She kisses just like other people! But the Lord<br/>
Chancellor?<br/>
STREPH. I forgot him! Mother, none can resist your fairy<br/>
eloquence; you will go to him and plead for us?<br/>
IOL. (much agitated). No, no; impossible!<br/>
STREPH. But our happiness—our very lives—depend upon our<br/>
obtaining his consent!<br/>
PHYL. Oh, madam, you cannot refuse to do this!<br/>
IOL. You know not what you ask! The Lord Chancellor is—my<br/>
husband!<br/>
STREPH. and PHYL. Your husband!<br/>
IOL. My husband and your father! (Addressing Strephon, who<br/>
is much moved.)<br/>
PHYLL. Then our course is plain; on his learning that<br/>
Strephon is his son, all objection to our marriage will be at once<br/>
removed!<br/>
IOL. No; he must never know! He believes me to have died<br/>
childless, and, dearly as I love him, I am bound, under penalty of<br/>
death, not to undeceive him. But see—he comes! Quick—my veil!<br/>
<br/>
(Iolanthe veils herself. Strephon and Phyllis go off on tiptoe.)<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Lord Chancellor.)<br/>
<br/>
LORD CH. Victory! Victory! Success has crowned my efforts,<br/>
and I may consider myself engaged to Phyllis! At first I wouldn't<br/>
hear of it—it was out of the question. But I took heart. I<br/>
pointed out to myself that I was no stranger to myself; that, in<br/>
point of fact, I had been personally acquainted with myself for<br/>
some years. This had its effect. I admitted that I had watched my<br/>
professional advancement with considerable interest, and I<br/>
handsomely added that I yielded to no one in admiration for my<br/>
private and professional virtues. This was a great point gained.<br/>
I then endeavoured to work upon my feelings. Conceive my joy when<br/>
I distinctly perceived a tear glistening in my own eye!<br/>
Eventually, after a severe struggle with myself, I<br/>
reluctantly—most reluctantly—consented.<br/>
<br/>
(Iolanthe comes down<br/>
veiled.)<br/>
<br/>
RECITATIVE—IOLANTHE (kneeling).<br/>
<br/>
My lord, a suppliant at your feet I kneel,<br/>
Oh, listen to a mother's fond appeal!<br/>
Hear me to-night! I come in urgent need—<br/>
'Tis for my son, young Strephon, that I plead!<br/>
<br/>
BALLAD—IOLANTHE.<br/>
<br/>
He loves! If in the bygone years<br/>
Thine eyes have ever shed<br/>
Tears—bitter, unavailing tears,<br/>
For one untimely dead—<br/>
If, in the eventide of life,<br/>
Sad thoughts of her arise,<br/>
Then let the memory of thy wife<br/>
Plead for my boy—he dies!<br/>
<br/>
He dies! If fondly laid aside<br/>
In some old cabinet,<br/>
Memorials of thy long-dead bride<br/>
Lie, dearly treasured yet,<br/>
Then let her hallowed bridal dress—<br/>
Her little dainty gloves—<br/>
Her withered flowers—her faded tress—<br/>
Plead for my boy—he loves!<br/>
<br/>
(The Lord Chancellor is moved by this appeal. After a pause.)<br/>
<br/>
LORD CH. It may not be—for so the fates decide!<br/>
Learn thou that Phyllis is my promised bride.<br/>
IOL. (in horror). Thy bride! No! no!<br/>
LORD CH. It shall be so!<br/>
Those who would separate us woe betide!<br/>
<br/>
IOL. My doom thy lips have spoken—<br/>
I plead in vain!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES (without). Forbear! forbear!<br/>
<br/>
IOL. A vow already broken<br/>
I break again!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES (without). Forbear! forbear!<br/>
<br/>
IOL. For him—for her—for thee<br/>
I yield my life.<br/>
Behold—it may not be!<br/>
I am thy wife.<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES (without). Aiaiah! Aiaiah! Willaloo!<br/>
<br/>
LORD CH. (recognizing her). Iolanthe! thou livest?<br/>
<br/>
IOL. Aye!<br/>
I live! Now let me die!<br/>
<br/>
(Enter Fairy Queen and Fairies. Iolanthe kneels to her.)<br/>
<br/>
QUEEN. Once again thy vows are broken:<br/>
Thou thyself thy doom hast spoken!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES. Aiaiah! Aiaiah!<br/>
Willahalah! Willaloo!<br/>
Willahalah! Willaloo!<br/>
<br/>
QUEEN. Bow thy head to Destiny:<br/>
Death thy doom, and thou shalt die!<br/>
<br/>
CHORUS OF FAIRIES. Aiaiah! Aiaiah! etc.<br/>
<br/>
(Peers and Sentry enter. The Queen raises her spear.)<br/>
<br/>
LEILA. Hold! If Iolanthe must die, so must we all; for, as<br/>
she has sinned, so have we!<br/>
QUEEN. What?<br/>
CELIA. We are all fairy duchesses, marchionesses, countesses,<br/>
viscountesses, and baronesses.<br/>
LORD MOUNT. It's our fault. They couldn't help themselves.<br/>
QUEEN. It seems they have helped themselves, and pretty<br/>
freely, too! (After a pause.) You have all incurred death; but I<br/>
can't slaughter the whole company! And yet (unfolding a scroll)<br/>
the law is clear—every fairy must die who marries a mortal!<br/>
LORD CH. Allow me, as an old Equity draftsman, to make a<br/>
suggestion. The subtleties of the legal mind are equal to the<br/>
emergency. The thing is really quite simple—the insertion of a<br/>
single word will do it. Let it stand that every fairy shall die<br/>
who doesn't marry a mortal, and there you are, out of your<br/>
difficulty at once!<br/>
QUEEN. We like your humour. Very well! (Altering the MS. in<br/>
pencil.) Private Willis!<br/>
SENTRY (coming forward). Ma'am!<br/>
QUEEN. To save my life, it is necessary that I marry at once.<br/>
How should you like to be a fairy guardsman?<br/>
SENTRY. Well, ma'am, I don't think much of the British<br/>
soldier who wouldn't ill-convenience himself to save a female in<br/>
distress.<br/>
QUEEN. You are a brave fellow. You're a fairy from this<br/>
moment. (Wings spring from Sentry's shoulders.) And you, my<br/>
Lords, how say you, will you join our ranks?<br/>
<br/>
(Fairies kneel to Peers and implore them to<br/>
do so.)<br/>
<br/>
(Phyllis and Strephon enter.)<br/>
<br/>
LORD MOUNT. (to Lord Tolloller). Well, now that the Peers are<br/>
to be recruited entirely from persons of intelligence, I really<br/>
don't see what use we are, down here, do you, Tolloller?<br/>
LORD TOLL. None whatever.<br/>
QUEEN. Good! (Wings spring from shoulders of Peers.) Then<br/>
away we go to Fairyland.<br/>
<br/>
FINALE.<br/>
<br/>
PHYL. Soon as we may,<br/>
Off and away!<br/>
We'll commence our journey airy—<br/>
Happy are we—<br/>
As you can see,<br/>
Every one is now a fairy!<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Every, every, every,<br/>
Every one is now a fairy!<br/>
<br/>
IOL., QUEEN, Though as a general rule we know<br/>
and PHYL. Two strings go to every bow,<br/>
Make up your minds that grief 'twill bring<br/>
If you've two beaux to every string.<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Though as a general rule, etc.<br/>
<br/>
LORDCH. Up in the sky,<br/>
Ever so high,<br/>
Pleasures come in endless series;<br/>
We will arrange<br/>
Happy exchange—<br/>
House of Peers for House of Peris!<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Peris, Peris, Peris,<br/>
House of Peers for House of Peris!<br/>
<br/>
LORDS CH., Up in the air, sky-high, sky-high,<br/>
MOUNT., Free from Wards in Chancery,<br/>
and TOLL. I/He will be surely happier, for<br/>
I'm/He's such a susceptible Chancellor.<br/>
<br/>
ALL. Up in the air, etc.<br/>
<br/>
CURTAIN<br/></p>
<p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"></SPAN></p>
<br/>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />