LILIOMSCENE ONESCENE—A lonely place in the park, half hidden by trees and shrubbery. Under a flowering acacia tree stands a painted wooden bench. From the distance, faintly, comes the tumult of the amusement park. It is the sunset of the same day.When the curtain rises the stage is empty.MARIEenters quickly, pauses at center, and looks back.MARIEJulie, Julie! [There is no answer.] Do you hear me, Julie? Let her be! Come on. Let her be. [Starts to go back.][JULIEenters, looks back angrily.]JULIEDid you ever hear of such a thing? What’s the matter with the woman anyway?MARIE[Looking back again.] Here she comes again.JULIELet her come. I didn’t do anything to her. All of a sudden she comes up to me and begins to raise a row.MARIEHere she is. Come on, let’s run. [Tries to urge her off.]JULIERun? I should say not. What would I want to run for? I’m not afraid of her.MARIEOh, come on. She’ll only start a fight.JULIEI’m going to stay right here. Let herstarta fight.MRS. MUSKAT[Entering.] What do you want to run away for? [ToJULIE.] Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. But there’s one thing I want to tell you, my dear. Don’t let me catch you in my carousel again. I stand for a whole lot, I have to in my business. It makes no difference to me whether my customers are ladies or the likes of you—as long as they pay their money. But when a girl misbehaves herself on my carousel—out she goes. Do you understand?JULIEAre you talking to me?MRS. MUSKATYes, you! You—chamber-maid, you! In my carousel——JULIEWho did anything in your old carousel? I paid my fare and took my seat and never said a word, except to my friend here.MARIENo, she never opened her mouth. Liliom came over to her of his own accord.MRS. MUSKATIt’s all the same. I’m not going to get in trouble with the police, and lose my license on account of you—you shabby kitchen maid!JULIEShabby yourself.MRS. MUSKATYou stay out of my carousel! Letting my barker fool with you! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?JULIEWhat? What did you say?MRS. MUSKATI suppose you think I have no eyes in my head. I see everything that goes on in my carousel. During the whole ride she let Liliom fool with her—the shameless hussy!JULIEHe did not fool with me! I don’t let any man fool with me!MRS. MUSKATHe leaned against you all through the ride!JULIEHe leaned against the panther. He always leans against something, doesn’t he? Everybody leans where he wants. I couldn’t tell him not to lean, if he always leans, could I? But he didn’t lay a hand on me.MRS. MUSKATOh, didn’t he? And I suppose he didn’t put his hand around your waist, either?MARIEAnd if he did? What of it?MRS. MUSKATYou hold your tongue! No one’s asking you—just you keep out of it.JULIEHe put his arm around my waist—just the same as he does to all the girls. He always does that.MRS. MUSKATI’ll teach him not to do it any more, my dear. No carryings on in my carousel! If you are looking for that sort of thing, you’d better go to the circus! You’ll find lots of soldiers there to carry on with!JULIEYou keep your soldiers for yourself!MARIESoldiers! As if we wanted soldiers!MRS. MUSKATWell, I only want to tell you this, my dear, so that we understand each other perfectly. If you ever stick your nose in my carousel again, you’ll wish you hadn’t! I’m not going to lose my license on account of the likes of you! People who don’t know how to behave, have got to stay out!JULIEYou’re wasting your breath. If I feel like riding on your carousel I’ll pay my ten heller and I’ll ride. I’d like to see anyone try to stop me!MRS. MUSKATJust come and try it, my dear—just come and try it.MARIEWe’ll see what’ll happen.MRS. MUSKATYes, you will see something happen that never happened before in this park.JULIEPerhaps you think you could throw me out!MRS. MUSKATI’m sure of it, my dear.JULIEAnd suppose I’m stronger than you?MRS. MUSKATI’d think twice before I’d dirty my hands on a common servant girl. I’ll have Liliom throw you out. He knows how to handle your kind.JULIEYou think Liliom would throw me out.MRS. MUSKATYes, my dear, so fast that you won’t know what happened to you!JULIEHe’d throw me—— [Stops suddenly, forMRS. MUSKAThas turned away. Both look off stage untilLILIOMenters, surrounded by four giggling servant girls.]LILIOMGo away! Stop following me, or I’ll smack your face!A LITTLESERVANTGIRLWell, give me back my handkerchief.LILIOMGo on now——THEFOURSERVANTGIRLS[Simultaneously.] What do you think of him?—My handkerchief!—Give it back to her!—That’s a nice thing to do!THELITTLESERVANTGIRL[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] Please, lady, make him——MRS. MUSKATOh, shut up!LILIOMWill you get out of here? [Makes a threatening gesture—the four servant girls exit in voluble but fearful haste.]MRS. MUSKATWhat have you been doing now?LILIOMNone of your business. [Glances atJULIE.] Have you been starting with her again?JULIEMister Liliom, please——LILIOM[Steps threateningly toward her.] Don’t yell!JULIE[Timidly.] I didn’t yell.LILIOMWell, don’t. [ToMRS. MUSKAT.] What’s the matter? What has she done to you?MRS. MUSKATWhat has she done? She’s been impudent to me. Just as impudent as she could be! I put her out of the carousel. Take a good look at this innocent thing, Liliom. She’s never to be allowed in my carousel again!LILIOM[ToJULIE.] You heard that. Run home, now.MARIECome on. Don’t waste your time with such people. [Tries to leadJULIEaway.]JULIENo, I won’t——MRS. MUSKATIf she ever comes again, you’re not to let her in. And if she gets in before you see her, throw her out. Understand?LILIOMWhat has she done, anyhow?JULIE[Agitated and very earnest.] Mister Liliom—tell me please—honest and truly—if I come into the carousel, will you throw me out?MRS. MUSKATOf course he’ll throw you out.MARIEShe wasn’t talking to you.JULIETell me straight to my face, Mister Liliom, would you throw me out? [They face each other. There is a brief pause.]LILIOMYes, little girl, if there was a reason—but if there was no reason, why should I throw you out?MARIE[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] There, you see!JULIEThank you, Mister Liliom.MRS. MUSKATAnd I tell you again, if this little slut dares to set her foot in my carousel, she’s to be thrown out! I’ll stand for no indecency in my establishment.LILIOMWhat do you mean—indecency?MRS. MUSKATI saw it all. There’s no use denying it.JULIEShe says you put your arm around my waist.LILIOMMe?MRS. MUSKATYes, you! I saw you. Don’t play the innocent.LILIOMHere’s something new! I’m not to put my arm around a girl’s waist any more! I suppose I’m to ask your permission before I touch another girl!MRS. MUSKATYou can touch as many girls as you want and as often as you want—for my part you can go as far as you like with any of them—but not this one—I permit no indecency in my carousel. [There is a long pause.]LILIOM[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] And now I’ll ask you please to shut your mouth.MRS. MUSKATWhat?LILIOMShut your mouth quick, and go back to your carousel.MRS. MUSKATWhat?LILIOMWhat did she do to you, anyhow? Tryin’ to start a fight with a little pigeon like that . . . just because I touched her?—You come to the carousel as often as you want to, little girl. Come every afternoon, and sit on the panther’s back, and if youhaven’t got the price, Liliom will pay for you. And if anyone dares to bother you, you come and tellme.MRS. MUSKATYou reprobate!LILIOMOld witch!JULIEThank you, Mister Liliom.MRS. MUSKATYou seem to think that I can’t throw you out, too. What’s the reason I can’t? Because you are the best barker in the park? Well, you are very much mistaken. In fact, you can consider yourself thrown out already. You’re discharged!LILIOMVery good.MRS. MUSKAT[Weakening a little.] I can discharge you any time I feel like it.LILIOMVery good, you feel like discharging me. I’m discharged. That settles it.MRS. MUSKATPlaying the high and mighty, are you? Conceited pig! Good-for-nothing!LILIOMYou said you’d throw me out, didn’t you? Well, that suits me; I’m thrown out.MRS. MUSKAT[Softening.] Do you have to take up every word I say?LILIOMIt’s all right; it’s all settled. I’m a good-for-nothing. And a conceited pig. And I’m discharged.MRS. MUSKATDo you want to ruin my business?LILIOMA good-for-nothing? Now I know! And I’m discharged! Very good.MRS. MUSKATYou’re a devil, you are . . . and that woman——LILIOMKeep away from her!MRS. MUSKATI’ll get Hollinger to give you such a beating that you’ll hear all the angels sing . . . and it won’t be the first time, either.LILIOMGet out of here. I’m discharged. And you get out of here.JULIE[Timidly.] Mister Liliom, if she’s willing to say that she hasn’t discharged you——LILIOMYou keep out of this.JULIE[Timidly.] I don’t want this to happen on account of me.LILIOM[ToMRS. MUSKAT,pointing toJULIE.] Apologize to her!MARIEA-ha!MRS. MUSKATApologize? To who?LILIOMTo this little pigeon. Well—are you going to do it?MRS. MUSKATIf you give me this whole park on a silver plate, and all the gold of the Rothschilds on top of it—I’d—I’d—— Let her dare to come into my carousel again and she’ll get thrown out so hard that she’ll see stars in daylight!LILIOMIn that case, dear lady [takes off his cap with a flourish], you are respectfully requested to get out o’ here as fast as your legs will carry you—I never beat up a woman yet—except that Holzer woman who I sent to the hospital for three weeks—but—if you don’t get out o’ here this minute, and let this little squab be, I’ll give you the prettiest slap in the jaw you ever had in your life.MRS. MUSKATVery good, my son. Now youcango to the devil. Good-bye. You’re discharged, and you needn’t try to come back, either. [She exits. It is beginning to grow dark.]MARIE[With grave concern.] Mister Liliom——LILIOMDon’t you pity me or I’ll giveyoua slap in the jaw. [ToJULIE.] And don’t you pity me, either.JULIE[In alarm.] I don’t pity you, Mister Liliom.LILIOMYou’re a liar, youarepitying me. I can see it in your face. You’re thinking, now that Madame Muskat has thrown him out, Liliom will have to gobegging. Huh! Look at me. I’m big enough to get along without a Madame Muskat. I have been thrown out of better jobs than hers.JULIEWhat will you do now, Mister Liliom?LILIOMNow? First of all, I’ll go and get myself—a glass of beer. You see, when something happens to annoy me, I always drink a glass of beer.JULIEThen youareannoyed about losing your job.LILIOMNo, only about where I’m going to get the beer.MARIEWell—eh——LILIOMWell—eh—what?MARIEWell—eh—are you going to stay with us, Mister Liliom?LILIOMWill you pay for the beer? [MARIElooks doubtful; he turns toJULIE.] Will you? [She does not answer.] How much money have you got?JULIE[Bashfully.] Eight heller.LILIOMAnd you? [MARIEcasts down her eyes and does not reply.LILIOMcontinues sternly.] I asked you how much you’ve got? [MARIEbegins to weep softly.] I understand. Well, you needn’t cry about it. You girls stay here, while I go back to the carousel and get my clothes and things. And when I come back, we’ll go to the Hungarian beer-garden. It’s all right, I’ll pay. Keep your money. [He exits.MARIEandJULIEstand silent, watching him until he has gone.]MARIEAre you sorry for him?JULIEAre you?MARIEYes, a little. Why are you looking after him in that funny way?JULIE[Sits down.] Nothing—except I’m sorry he lost his job.MARIE[With a touch of pride.] It was on our account he lost his job. Because he’s fallen in love with you.JULIEHe hasn’t at all.MARIE[Confidently.] Oh, yes! he is in love with you. [Hesitantly, romantically.] There is someone in love with me, too.JULIEThere is? Who?MARIEI—I never mentioned it before, because you hadn’t a lover of your own—but now you have—and I’m free to speak. [Very grandiloquently.] My heart has found its mate.JULIEYou’re only making it up.MARIENo, it’s true—my heart’s true love——JULIEWho? Who is he?MARIEA soldier.JULIEWhat kind of a soldier?MARIEI don’t know. Just a soldier. Are there different kinds?JULIEMany different kinds. There are hussars, artillerymen, engineers, infantry—that’s the kind that walks—and——MARIEHow can you tell which is which?JULIEBy their uniforms.MARIE[After trying to puzzle it out.] The conductors on the street cars—are they soldiers?JULIECertainly not. They’re conductors.MARIEWell, they have uniforms.JULIEBut they don’t carry swords or guns.MARIEOh! [Thinks it over again; then.] Well, policemen—are they?JULIE[With a touch of exasperation.] Are they what?MARIESoldiers.JULIECertainly not. They’re just policemen.MARIE[Triumphantly.] But they have uniforms—and they carry weapons, too.JULIEYou’re just as dumb as you can be. You don’t go by their uniforms.MARIEBut you said——JULIENo, I didn’t. A letter-carrier wears a uniform, too, but that doesn’t make him a soldier.MARIEBut if he carried a gun or a sword, would he be——JULIENo, he’d still be a letter-carrier. You can’t go by guns or swords, either.MARIEWell, if you don’t go by the uniforms or the weapons, whatdoyou go by?JULIEBy—— [Tries to put it into words; fails; then breaks off suddenly.] Oh, you’ll get to know when you’ve lived in the city long enough. You’re nothing but a country girl. When you’ve lived in the city a year, like I have, you’ll know all about it.MARIE[Half angrily.] Well, howdoyou know whenyousee a real soldier?JULIEBy one thing.MARIEWhat?JULIEOne thing—— [She pauses.MARIEstarts to cry.] Oh, what are you crying about?MARIEBecause you’re making fun of me. . . . You’re a city girl, and I’m just fresh from the country . . . and how am I expected to know a soldier when I see one? . . . You, you ought to tell me, instead of making fun of me——JULIEAll right. Listen then, cry-baby. There’s only one way to tell a soldier: by his salute! That’s the only way.MARIE[Joyfully; with a sigh of relief.] Ah—that’s good.JULIEWhat?MARIEI say—it’s all right then—because Wolf—Wolf—— [JULIElaughs derisively.] Wolf—that’s his name. [She weeps again.]JULIECrying again? What now?MARIEYou’re making fun of me again.JULIEI’m not. But when you say, “Wolf—Wolf—” like that, I have to laugh, don’t I? [Archly.] What’s his name again?MARIEI won’t tell you.JULIEAll right. If you won’t say it, then he’s no soldier.MARIEI’ll say it.JULIEGo on.MARIENo, I won’t. [She weeps again.]JULIEThen he’s not a soldier. I guess he’s a letter-carrier——MARIENo—no—I’d rather say it.JULIEWell, then.MARIE[Giggling.] But you mustn’t look at me. You look the other way, and I’ll say it. [JULIElooks away,MARIEcan hardly restrain her own laughter.] Wolf! [She laughs.] That’s his real name. Wolf, Wolf, Soldier—Wolf!JULIEWhat kind of a uniform does he wear?MARIERed.JULIERed trousers?MARIENo.JULIERed coat?MARIENo.JULIEWhat then?MARIE[Triumphantly.] His cap!JULIE[After a long pause.] He’s just a porter, you dunce. Red cap . . . that’s a porter—and he doesn’t carry a gun or a sword, either.MARIE[Triumphantly.] But he salutes. You said yourself that was the only way to tell a soldier——JULIEHe doesn’t salute at all. He only greets people——MARIEHe salutes me. . . . And if his nameisWolf, that doesn’t prove he ain’t a soldier—he salutes, and he wears a red cap and he stands on guard all day long outside a big building——JULIEWhat does he do there?MARIE[Seriously.] He spits.JULIE[With contempt.] He’s nothing—nothing but a common porter.MARIEWhat’s Liliom?JULIE[Indignantly.] Why speak of him? What has he to do with me?MARIEThe same as Wolf has to do with me. If you can talk to me like that about Wolf, I can talk to you about Liliom.JULIEHe’s nothing to me. He put his arm around me in the carousel. I couldn’t tell him not to put his arm around me after he had done it, could I?MARIEI suppose you didn’t like him to do it?JULIENo.MARIEThen why are you waiting for him? Why don’t you go home?JULIEWhy—eh—hesaidwe were to wait for him.[LILIOMenters. There is a long silence.]LILIOMAre you still here? What are you waiting for?MARIEYou told us to wait.LILIOMMust you always interfere? No one is talking to you.MARIEYou asked us—why we——LILIOMWill you keep your mouth shut? What do you suppose I want with two of you? I meant that one of you was to wait. The other can go home.MARIEAll right.JULIEAll right. [Neither starts to go.]LILIOMOne of you goes home. [ToMARIE.] Where do you work?MARIEAt the Breier’s, Damjanovitsch Street, Number 20.LILIOMAnd you?JULIEI work there, too.LILIOMWell, one of you goes home. Which of you wants to stay? [There is no answer.] Come on, speak up, which of you stays?MARIE[Officiously.] She’ll lose her job if she stays.LILIOMWho will?MARIEJulie. She has to be back by seven o’clock.LILIOMIs that true? Will they discharge you if you’re not back on time?JULIEYes.LILIOMWell, wasn’t I discharged?JULIEYes—you were discharged, too.MARIEJulie, shall I go?JULIEI—can’t tell you what to do.MARIEAll right—stay if you like.LILIOMYou’ll be discharged if you do?MARIEShall I go, Julie?JULIE[Embarrassed.] Why do you keep asking me that?MARIEYou know best what to do.JULIE[Profoundly moved; slowly.] It’s all right, Marie, you can go home.MARIE[Exits reluctantly, but comes back, and says uncertainly.] Good-night. [She waits a moment to see ifJULIEwill follow her.JULIEdoes not move.MARIEexits. Meantime it has grown quite dark. During the following scene the gas-lamps far in thedistance are lighted one by one.LILIOMandJULIEsit on the bench. From afar, very faintly, comes the music of a calliope. But the music is intermittently heard; now it breaks off, now it resumes again, as if it came down on a fitful wind. Blending with it are the sounds of human voices, now loud, now soft; the blare of a toy trumpet; the confused noises of the show-booths. It grows progressively darker until the end of the scene. There is no moonlight. The spring irridescence glows in the deep blue sky.]LILIOMNow we’re both discharged. [She does not answer. From now on they speak gradually lower and lower until the end of the scene, which is played almost in whispers. Whistles softly, then.] Have you had your supper?JULIENo.LILIOMWant to go eat something at the Garden?JULIENo.LILIOMAnywhere else?JULIENo.LILIOM[Whistles softly, then.] You don’t come to this park very often, do you? I’ve only seen you three times. Been here oftener than that?JULIEOh, yes.LILIOMDid you see me?JULIEYes.LILIOMAnd did you know I was Liliom?JULIEThey told me.LILIOM[Whistles softly, then.] Have you got a sweetheart?JULIENo.LILIOMDon’t lie to me.JULIEI haven’t. If I had, I’d tell you. I’ve never had one.LILIOMWhat an awful liar you are. I’ve got a good mind to go away and leave you here.JULIEI’ve never had one.LILIOMTell that to someone else.JULIE[Reproachfully.] Why do you insist I have?LILIOMBecause you stayed here with me the first time I asked you to. You know your way around, you do.JULIENo, I don’t, Mister Liliom.LILIOMI suppose you’ll tell me you don’t know why you’re sitting here—like this, in the dark, alone with me—You wouldn’t ’a’ stayed so quick, if you hadn’t done it before—with some soldier, maybe. This isn’t the first time. You wouldn’t have been so ready to stay if it was—whatdidyou stay for, anyhow?JULIESo you wouldn’t be left alone.LILIOMAlone! God, you’re dumb! I don’t need to be alone. I can have all the girls I want. Not onlyservant girls like you, but cooks and governesses, even French girls. I could have twenty of them if I wanted to.JULIEI know, Mister Liliom.LILIOMWhat do you know?JULIEThat all the girls are in love with you. But that’s not whyIstayed. I stayed because you’ve been so good to me.LILIOMWell, then you can go home.JULIEI don’t want to go home now.LILIOMAnd what if I go away and leave you sitting here?JULIEIf you did, I wouldn’t go home.LILIOMDo you know what you remind me of? A sweetheart I had once—I’ll tell you how I met her—— One night, at closing time, we had put out the lights in the carousel, and just as I was—— [He isinterrupted by the entrance of two plainclothesPOLICEMEN.They take their stations on either side of the bench. They are police, searching the park for vagabonds.]FIRSTPOLICEMANWhat are you doing there?LILIOMMe?SECONDPOLICEMANStand up when you’re spoken to! [He tapsLILIOMimperatively on the shoulder.]FIRSTPOLICEMANWhat’s your name?LILIOMAndreas Zavoczki. [JULIEbegins to weep softly.]SECONDPOLICEMANStop your bawling. We’re not goin’ to eat you. We are only making our rounds.FIRSTPOLICEMANSee that he doesn’t get away. [THESECONDPOLICEMANsteps closer toLILIOM.] What’s your business?LILIOMBarker and bouncer.SECONDPOLICEMANThey call him Liliom, Chief. We’ve had him up a couple of times.FIRSTPOLICEMANSo that’s who you are! Who do you work for now?LILIOMI work for the widow Muskat.FIRSTPOLICEMANWhat are you hanging around here for?LILIOMWe’re just sitting here—me and this girl.FIRSTPOLICEMANYour sweetheart?LILIOMNo.FIRSTPOLICEMAN[ToJULIE.] And who are you?JULIEJulie Zeller.FIRSTPOLICEMANServant girl?JULIEMaid of All Work for Mister Georg Breier, Number Twenty Damjanovitsch Street.FIRSTPOLICEMANShow your hands.SECONDPOLICEMAN[After examiningJULIE’Shand.] Servant girl.FIRSTPOLICEMANWhy aren’t you at home? What are you doing out here with him?JULIEThis is my day out, sir.FIRSTPOLICEMANIt would be better for you if you didn’t spend it sitting around with a fellow like this.SECONDPOLICEMANThey’ll be disappearing in the bushes as soon as we turn our backs.FIRSTPOLICEMANHe’s only after your money. We know this fine fellow. He picks up you silly servant girls and takes what money you have. Tomorrow you’ll probably be coming around to report him. If you do, I’ll throw you out.JULIEI haven’t any money, sir.FIRSTPOLICEMANDo you hear that, Liliom?LILIOMI’m not looking for her money.SECONDPOLICEMAN[Nudging him warningly.] Keep your mouth shut.FIRSTPOLICEMANIt is my duty to warn you, my child, what kind of company you’re in. He makes a specialty of servant girls. That’s why he works in a carousel. He gets hold of a girl, promises to marry her, then he takes her money and her ring.JULIEBut I haven’t got a ring.SECONDPOLICEMANYou’re not to talk unless you’re asked a question.FIRSTPOLICEMANYou be thankful that I’m warning you. It’s nothing to me what you do. I’m not your father, thank God. But I’m telling you what kind of afellow he is. By tomorrow morning you’ll be coming around to us to report him. Now you be sensible and go home. You needn’t be afraid of him. This officer will take you home if you’re afraid.JULIEDo Ihaveto go?FIRSTPOLICEMANNo, you don’thaveto go.JULIEThen I’ll stay, sir.FIRSTPOLICEMANWell, you’ve been warned.JULIEYes, sir. Thank you, sir.FIRSTPOLICEMANCome on, Berkovics. [ThePOLICEMENexit.JULIEandLILIOMsit on the bench again. There is a brief pause.]JULIEWell, and what then?LILIOM[Fails to understand.] Huh?JULIEYou were beginning to tell me a story.LILIOMMe?JULIEYes, about a sweetheart. You said, one night, just as they were putting out the lights of the carousel—— That’s as far as you got.LILIOMOh, yes, yes, just as the lights were going out, someone came along—a little girl with a big shawl—you know—— She came—eh—from—— Say—tell me—ain’t you—that is, ain’t you at all—afraid of me? The officer told you what kind of a fellow I am—and that I’d take your money away from you——JULIEYou couldn’t take it away—I haven’t got any. But if I had—I’d—I’d give it to you—I’d give it all to you.LILIOMYou would?JULIEIf you asked me for it.LILIOMHave you ever had a fellow you gave money to?JULIENo.LILIOMHaven’t you ever had a sweetheart?JULIENo.LILIOMSomeone you used to go walking with. You’ve had one like that?JULIEYes.LILIOMA soldier?JULIEHe came from the same village I did.LILIOMThat’s what all the soldiers say. Wheredoyou come from, anyway?JULIENot far from here. [There is a pause.]LILIOMWere you in love with him?JULIEWhy do you keep asking me that all the time, Mister Liliom? I wasn’t in love with him. We only went walking together.LILIOMWhere did you walk?JULIEIn the park.LILIOMAnd your virtue? Where did you lose that?JULIEI haven’t got any virtue.LILIOMWell, you had once.JULIENo, I never had. I’m a respectable girl.LILIOMYes, but you gave the soldier something.JULIEWhy do you question me like that, Mister Liliom?LILIOMDid you give him something?JULIEYou have to. But I didn’t love him.LILIOMDo you love me?JULIENo, Mister Liliom.LILIOMThen why do you stay here with me?JULIEUm—nothing. [There is a pause. The music from afar is plainly heard.]LILIOMWant to dance?JULIENo. I have to be very careful.LILIOMOf what?JULIEMy—character.LILIOMWhy?JULIEBecause I’m never going to marry. If I was going to marry, it would be different. Then I wouldn’t need to worry so much about my character. It doesn’t make any difference if you’re married. But I shan’t marry—and that’s why I’ve got to take care to be a respectable girl.LILIOMSuppose I were to say to you—I’ll marry you.JULIEYou?LILIOMThat frightens you, doesn’t it? You’re thinking of what the officer said and you’re afraid.JULIENo, I’m not, Mister Liliom. I don’t pay any attention to what he said.LILIOMBut you wouldn’t dare to marry anyone like me, would you?JULIEI know that—that—if I loved anyone—it wouldn’t make any difference to me what he—even if I died for it.LILIOMBut you wouldn’t marry a rough guy like me—that is,—eh—if you loved me——JULIEYes, I would—if I loved you, Mister Liliom. [There is a pause.]LILIOM[Whispers.] Well,—you just said—didn’t you?—that you don’t love me. Well, why don’t you go home then?JULIEIt’s too late now, they’d all be asleep.LILIOMLocked out?JULIECertainly. [They are silent a while.]LILIOMI think—that even a low-down good-for-nothing—can make a man of himself.JULIECertainly. [They are silent again. A lamp-lighter crosses the stage, lights the lamp over the bench, and exits.]LILIOMAre you hungry?JULIENo. [Another pause.]LILIOMSuppose—you had some money—and I took it from you?JULIEThen you could take it, that’s all.LILIOM[After another brief silence.] All I have to do—is go back to her—that Muskat woman—she’llbe glad to get me back—then I’d be earning my wages again. [She is silent. The twilight folds darker about them.]JULIE[Very softly.] Don’t go back—to her—— [Pause.]LILIOMThere are a lot of acacia trees around here. [Pause.]JULIEDon’t go back to her—— [Pause.]LILIOMShe’d take me back the minute I asked her. I know why—she knows, too—— [Pause.]JULIEI can smell them, too—acacia blossoms—— [There is a pause. Some blossoms drift down from the tree-top to the bench.LILIOMpicks one up and smells it.]LILIOMWhite acacias!JULIE[After a brief pause.] The wind brings them down. [They are silent. There is a long pause before]THECURTAINFALLS
LILIOM
SCENE—A lonely place in the park, half hidden by trees and shrubbery. Under a flowering acacia tree stands a painted wooden bench. From the distance, faintly, comes the tumult of the amusement park. It is the sunset of the same day.
When the curtain rises the stage is empty.
MARIEenters quickly, pauses at center, and looks back.
MARIE
Julie, Julie! [There is no answer.] Do you hear me, Julie? Let her be! Come on. Let her be. [Starts to go back.]
[JULIEenters, looks back angrily.]
JULIE
Did you ever hear of such a thing? What’s the matter with the woman anyway?
MARIE
[Looking back again.] Here she comes again.
JULIE
Let her come. I didn’t do anything to her. All of a sudden she comes up to me and begins to raise a row.
MARIE
Here she is. Come on, let’s run. [Tries to urge her off.]
JULIE
Run? I should say not. What would I want to run for? I’m not afraid of her.
MARIE
Oh, come on. She’ll only start a fight.
JULIE
I’m going to stay right here. Let herstarta fight.
MRS. MUSKAT
[Entering.] What do you want to run away for? [ToJULIE.] Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. But there’s one thing I want to tell you, my dear. Don’t let me catch you in my carousel again. I stand for a whole lot, I have to in my business. It makes no difference to me whether my customers are ladies or the likes of you—as long as they pay their money. But when a girl misbehaves herself on my carousel—out she goes. Do you understand?
JULIE
Are you talking to me?
MRS. MUSKAT
Yes, you! You—chamber-maid, you! In my carousel——
JULIE
Who did anything in your old carousel? I paid my fare and took my seat and never said a word, except to my friend here.
MARIE
No, she never opened her mouth. Liliom came over to her of his own accord.
MRS. MUSKAT
It’s all the same. I’m not going to get in trouble with the police, and lose my license on account of you—you shabby kitchen maid!
JULIE
Shabby yourself.
MRS. MUSKAT
You stay out of my carousel! Letting my barker fool with you! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?
JULIE
What? What did you say?
MRS. MUSKAT
I suppose you think I have no eyes in my head. I see everything that goes on in my carousel. During the whole ride she let Liliom fool with her—the shameless hussy!
JULIE
He did not fool with me! I don’t let any man fool with me!
MRS. MUSKAT
He leaned against you all through the ride!
JULIE
He leaned against the panther. He always leans against something, doesn’t he? Everybody leans where he wants. I couldn’t tell him not to lean, if he always leans, could I? But he didn’t lay a hand on me.
MRS. MUSKAT
Oh, didn’t he? And I suppose he didn’t put his hand around your waist, either?
MARIE
And if he did? What of it?
MRS. MUSKAT
You hold your tongue! No one’s asking you—just you keep out of it.
JULIE
He put his arm around my waist—just the same as he does to all the girls. He always does that.
MRS. MUSKAT
I’ll teach him not to do it any more, my dear. No carryings on in my carousel! If you are looking for that sort of thing, you’d better go to the circus! You’ll find lots of soldiers there to carry on with!
JULIE
You keep your soldiers for yourself!
MARIE
Soldiers! As if we wanted soldiers!
MRS. MUSKAT
Well, I only want to tell you this, my dear, so that we understand each other perfectly. If you ever stick your nose in my carousel again, you’ll wish you hadn’t! I’m not going to lose my license on account of the likes of you! People who don’t know how to behave, have got to stay out!
JULIE
You’re wasting your breath. If I feel like riding on your carousel I’ll pay my ten heller and I’ll ride. I’d like to see anyone try to stop me!
MRS. MUSKAT
Just come and try it, my dear—just come and try it.
MARIE
We’ll see what’ll happen.
MRS. MUSKAT
Yes, you will see something happen that never happened before in this park.
JULIE
Perhaps you think you could throw me out!
MRS. MUSKAT
I’m sure of it, my dear.
JULIE
And suppose I’m stronger than you?
MRS. MUSKAT
I’d think twice before I’d dirty my hands on a common servant girl. I’ll have Liliom throw you out. He knows how to handle your kind.
JULIE
You think Liliom would throw me out.
MRS. MUSKAT
Yes, my dear, so fast that you won’t know what happened to you!
JULIE
He’d throw me—— [Stops suddenly, forMRS. MUSKAThas turned away. Both look off stage untilLILIOMenters, surrounded by four giggling servant girls.]
LILIOM
Go away! Stop following me, or I’ll smack your face!
A LITTLESERVANTGIRL
Well, give me back my handkerchief.
LILIOM
Go on now——
THEFOURSERVANTGIRLS
[Simultaneously.] What do you think of him?—My handkerchief!—Give it back to her!—That’s a nice thing to do!
THELITTLESERVANTGIRL
[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] Please, lady, make him——
MRS. MUSKAT
Oh, shut up!
LILIOM
Will you get out of here? [Makes a threatening gesture—the four servant girls exit in voluble but fearful haste.]
MRS. MUSKAT
What have you been doing now?
LILIOM
None of your business. [Glances atJULIE.] Have you been starting with her again?
JULIE
Mister Liliom, please——
LILIOM
[Steps threateningly toward her.] Don’t yell!
JULIE
[Timidly.] I didn’t yell.
LILIOM
Well, don’t. [ToMRS. MUSKAT.] What’s the matter? What has she done to you?
MRS. MUSKAT
What has she done? She’s been impudent to me. Just as impudent as she could be! I put her out of the carousel. Take a good look at this innocent thing, Liliom. She’s never to be allowed in my carousel again!
LILIOM
[ToJULIE.] You heard that. Run home, now.
MARIE
Come on. Don’t waste your time with such people. [Tries to leadJULIEaway.]
JULIE
No, I won’t——
MRS. MUSKAT
If she ever comes again, you’re not to let her in. And if she gets in before you see her, throw her out. Understand?
LILIOM
What has she done, anyhow?
JULIE
[Agitated and very earnest.] Mister Liliom—tell me please—honest and truly—if I come into the carousel, will you throw me out?
MRS. MUSKAT
Of course he’ll throw you out.
MARIE
She wasn’t talking to you.
JULIE
Tell me straight to my face, Mister Liliom, would you throw me out? [They face each other. There is a brief pause.]
LILIOM
Yes, little girl, if there was a reason—but if there was no reason, why should I throw you out?
MARIE
[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] There, you see!
JULIE
Thank you, Mister Liliom.
MRS. MUSKAT
And I tell you again, if this little slut dares to set her foot in my carousel, she’s to be thrown out! I’ll stand for no indecency in my establishment.
LILIOM
What do you mean—indecency?
MRS. MUSKAT
I saw it all. There’s no use denying it.
JULIE
She says you put your arm around my waist.
LILIOM
Me?
MRS. MUSKAT
Yes, you! I saw you. Don’t play the innocent.
LILIOM
Here’s something new! I’m not to put my arm around a girl’s waist any more! I suppose I’m to ask your permission before I touch another girl!
MRS. MUSKAT
You can touch as many girls as you want and as often as you want—for my part you can go as far as you like with any of them—but not this one—I permit no indecency in my carousel. [There is a long pause.]
LILIOM
[ToMRS. MUSKAT.] And now I’ll ask you please to shut your mouth.
MRS. MUSKAT
What?
LILIOM
Shut your mouth quick, and go back to your carousel.
MRS. MUSKAT
What?
LILIOM
What did she do to you, anyhow? Tryin’ to start a fight with a little pigeon like that . . . just because I touched her?—You come to the carousel as often as you want to, little girl. Come every afternoon, and sit on the panther’s back, and if youhaven’t got the price, Liliom will pay for you. And if anyone dares to bother you, you come and tellme.
MRS. MUSKAT
You reprobate!
LILIOM
Old witch!
JULIE
Thank you, Mister Liliom.
MRS. MUSKAT
You seem to think that I can’t throw you out, too. What’s the reason I can’t? Because you are the best barker in the park? Well, you are very much mistaken. In fact, you can consider yourself thrown out already. You’re discharged!
LILIOM
Very good.
MRS. MUSKAT
[Weakening a little.] I can discharge you any time I feel like it.
LILIOM
Very good, you feel like discharging me. I’m discharged. That settles it.
MRS. MUSKAT
Playing the high and mighty, are you? Conceited pig! Good-for-nothing!
LILIOM
You said you’d throw me out, didn’t you? Well, that suits me; I’m thrown out.
MRS. MUSKAT
[Softening.] Do you have to take up every word I say?
LILIOM
It’s all right; it’s all settled. I’m a good-for-nothing. And a conceited pig. And I’m discharged.
MRS. MUSKAT
Do you want to ruin my business?
LILIOM
A good-for-nothing? Now I know! And I’m discharged! Very good.
MRS. MUSKAT
You’re a devil, you are . . . and that woman——
LILIOM
Keep away from her!
MRS. MUSKAT
I’ll get Hollinger to give you such a beating that you’ll hear all the angels sing . . . and it won’t be the first time, either.
LILIOM
Get out of here. I’m discharged. And you get out of here.
JULIE
[Timidly.] Mister Liliom, if she’s willing to say that she hasn’t discharged you——
LILIOM
You keep out of this.
JULIE
[Timidly.] I don’t want this to happen on account of me.
LILIOM
[ToMRS. MUSKAT,pointing toJULIE.] Apologize to her!
MARIE
A-ha!
MRS. MUSKAT
Apologize? To who?
LILIOM
To this little pigeon. Well—are you going to do it?
MRS. MUSKAT
If you give me this whole park on a silver plate, and all the gold of the Rothschilds on top of it—I’d—I’d—— Let her dare to come into my carousel again and she’ll get thrown out so hard that she’ll see stars in daylight!
LILIOM
In that case, dear lady [takes off his cap with a flourish], you are respectfully requested to get out o’ here as fast as your legs will carry you—I never beat up a woman yet—except that Holzer woman who I sent to the hospital for three weeks—but—if you don’t get out o’ here this minute, and let this little squab be, I’ll give you the prettiest slap in the jaw you ever had in your life.
MRS. MUSKAT
Very good, my son. Now youcango to the devil. Good-bye. You’re discharged, and you needn’t try to come back, either. [She exits. It is beginning to grow dark.]
MARIE
[With grave concern.] Mister Liliom——
LILIOM
Don’t you pity me or I’ll giveyoua slap in the jaw. [ToJULIE.] And don’t you pity me, either.
JULIE
[In alarm.] I don’t pity you, Mister Liliom.
LILIOM
You’re a liar, youarepitying me. I can see it in your face. You’re thinking, now that Madame Muskat has thrown him out, Liliom will have to gobegging. Huh! Look at me. I’m big enough to get along without a Madame Muskat. I have been thrown out of better jobs than hers.
JULIE
What will you do now, Mister Liliom?
LILIOM
Now? First of all, I’ll go and get myself—a glass of beer. You see, when something happens to annoy me, I always drink a glass of beer.
JULIE
Then youareannoyed about losing your job.
LILIOM
No, only about where I’m going to get the beer.
MARIE
Well—eh——
LILIOM
Well—eh—what?
MARIE
Well—eh—are you going to stay with us, Mister Liliom?
LILIOM
Will you pay for the beer? [MARIElooks doubtful; he turns toJULIE.] Will you? [She does not answer.] How much money have you got?
JULIE
[Bashfully.] Eight heller.
LILIOM
And you? [MARIEcasts down her eyes and does not reply.LILIOMcontinues sternly.] I asked you how much you’ve got? [MARIEbegins to weep softly.] I understand. Well, you needn’t cry about it. You girls stay here, while I go back to the carousel and get my clothes and things. And when I come back, we’ll go to the Hungarian beer-garden. It’s all right, I’ll pay. Keep your money. [He exits.MARIEandJULIEstand silent, watching him until he has gone.]
MARIE
Are you sorry for him?
JULIE
Are you?
MARIE
Yes, a little. Why are you looking after him in that funny way?
JULIE
[Sits down.] Nothing—except I’m sorry he lost his job.
MARIE
[With a touch of pride.] It was on our account he lost his job. Because he’s fallen in love with you.
JULIE
He hasn’t at all.
MARIE
[Confidently.] Oh, yes! he is in love with you. [Hesitantly, romantically.] There is someone in love with me, too.
JULIE
There is? Who?
MARIE
I—I never mentioned it before, because you hadn’t a lover of your own—but now you have—and I’m free to speak. [Very grandiloquently.] My heart has found its mate.
JULIE
You’re only making it up.
MARIE
No, it’s true—my heart’s true love——
JULIE
Who? Who is he?
MARIE
A soldier.
JULIE
What kind of a soldier?
MARIE
I don’t know. Just a soldier. Are there different kinds?
JULIE
Many different kinds. There are hussars, artillerymen, engineers, infantry—that’s the kind that walks—and——
MARIE
How can you tell which is which?
JULIE
By their uniforms.
MARIE
[After trying to puzzle it out.] The conductors on the street cars—are they soldiers?
JULIE
Certainly not. They’re conductors.
MARIE
Well, they have uniforms.
JULIE
But they don’t carry swords or guns.
MARIE
Oh! [Thinks it over again; then.] Well, policemen—are they?
JULIE
[With a touch of exasperation.] Are they what?
MARIE
Soldiers.
JULIE
Certainly not. They’re just policemen.
MARIE
[Triumphantly.] But they have uniforms—and they carry weapons, too.
JULIE
You’re just as dumb as you can be. You don’t go by their uniforms.
MARIE
But you said——
JULIE
No, I didn’t. A letter-carrier wears a uniform, too, but that doesn’t make him a soldier.
MARIE
But if he carried a gun or a sword, would he be——
JULIE
No, he’d still be a letter-carrier. You can’t go by guns or swords, either.
MARIE
Well, if you don’t go by the uniforms or the weapons, whatdoyou go by?
JULIE
By—— [Tries to put it into words; fails; then breaks off suddenly.] Oh, you’ll get to know when you’ve lived in the city long enough. You’re nothing but a country girl. When you’ve lived in the city a year, like I have, you’ll know all about it.
MARIE
[Half angrily.] Well, howdoyou know whenyousee a real soldier?
JULIE
By one thing.
MARIE
What?
JULIE
One thing—— [She pauses.MARIEstarts to cry.] Oh, what are you crying about?
MARIE
Because you’re making fun of me. . . . You’re a city girl, and I’m just fresh from the country . . . and how am I expected to know a soldier when I see one? . . . You, you ought to tell me, instead of making fun of me——
JULIE
All right. Listen then, cry-baby. There’s only one way to tell a soldier: by his salute! That’s the only way.
MARIE
[Joyfully; with a sigh of relief.] Ah—that’s good.
JULIE
What?
MARIE
I say—it’s all right then—because Wolf—Wolf—— [JULIElaughs derisively.] Wolf—that’s his name. [She weeps again.]
JULIE
Crying again? What now?
MARIE
You’re making fun of me again.
JULIE
I’m not. But when you say, “Wolf—Wolf—” like that, I have to laugh, don’t I? [Archly.] What’s his name again?
MARIE
I won’t tell you.
JULIE
All right. If you won’t say it, then he’s no soldier.
MARIE
I’ll say it.
JULIE
Go on.
MARIE
No, I won’t. [She weeps again.]
JULIE
Then he’s not a soldier. I guess he’s a letter-carrier——
MARIE
No—no—I’d rather say it.
JULIE
Well, then.
MARIE
[Giggling.] But you mustn’t look at me. You look the other way, and I’ll say it. [JULIElooks away,MARIEcan hardly restrain her own laughter.] Wolf! [She laughs.] That’s his real name. Wolf, Wolf, Soldier—Wolf!
JULIE
What kind of a uniform does he wear?
MARIE
Red.
JULIE
Red trousers?
MARIE
No.
JULIE
Red coat?
MARIE
No.
JULIE
What then?
MARIE
[Triumphantly.] His cap!
JULIE
[After a long pause.] He’s just a porter, you dunce. Red cap . . . that’s a porter—and he doesn’t carry a gun or a sword, either.
MARIE
[Triumphantly.] But he salutes. You said yourself that was the only way to tell a soldier——
JULIE
He doesn’t salute at all. He only greets people——
MARIE
He salutes me. . . . And if his nameisWolf, that doesn’t prove he ain’t a soldier—he salutes, and he wears a red cap and he stands on guard all day long outside a big building——
JULIE
What does he do there?
MARIE
[Seriously.] He spits.
JULIE
[With contempt.] He’s nothing—nothing but a common porter.
MARIE
What’s Liliom?
JULIE
[Indignantly.] Why speak of him? What has he to do with me?
MARIE
The same as Wolf has to do with me. If you can talk to me like that about Wolf, I can talk to you about Liliom.
JULIE
He’s nothing to me. He put his arm around me in the carousel. I couldn’t tell him not to put his arm around me after he had done it, could I?
MARIE
I suppose you didn’t like him to do it?
JULIE
No.
MARIE
Then why are you waiting for him? Why don’t you go home?
JULIE
Why—eh—hesaidwe were to wait for him.
[LILIOMenters. There is a long silence.]
LILIOM
Are you still here? What are you waiting for?
MARIE
You told us to wait.
LILIOM
Must you always interfere? No one is talking to you.
MARIE
You asked us—why we——
LILIOM
Will you keep your mouth shut? What do you suppose I want with two of you? I meant that one of you was to wait. The other can go home.
MARIE
All right.
JULIE
All right. [Neither starts to go.]
LILIOM
One of you goes home. [ToMARIE.] Where do you work?
MARIE
At the Breier’s, Damjanovitsch Street, Number 20.
LILIOM
And you?
JULIE
I work there, too.
LILIOM
Well, one of you goes home. Which of you wants to stay? [There is no answer.] Come on, speak up, which of you stays?
MARIE
[Officiously.] She’ll lose her job if she stays.
LILIOM
Who will?
MARIE
Julie. She has to be back by seven o’clock.
LILIOM
Is that true? Will they discharge you if you’re not back on time?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
Well, wasn’t I discharged?
JULIE
Yes—you were discharged, too.
MARIE
Julie, shall I go?
JULIE
I—can’t tell you what to do.
MARIE
All right—stay if you like.
LILIOM
You’ll be discharged if you do?
MARIE
Shall I go, Julie?
JULIE
[Embarrassed.] Why do you keep asking me that?
MARIE
You know best what to do.
JULIE
[Profoundly moved; slowly.] It’s all right, Marie, you can go home.
MARIE
[Exits reluctantly, but comes back, and says uncertainly.] Good-night. [She waits a moment to see ifJULIEwill follow her.JULIEdoes not move.MARIEexits. Meantime it has grown quite dark. During the following scene the gas-lamps far in thedistance are lighted one by one.LILIOMandJULIEsit on the bench. From afar, very faintly, comes the music of a calliope. But the music is intermittently heard; now it breaks off, now it resumes again, as if it came down on a fitful wind. Blending with it are the sounds of human voices, now loud, now soft; the blare of a toy trumpet; the confused noises of the show-booths. It grows progressively darker until the end of the scene. There is no moonlight. The spring irridescence glows in the deep blue sky.]
LILIOM
Now we’re both discharged. [She does not answer. From now on they speak gradually lower and lower until the end of the scene, which is played almost in whispers. Whistles softly, then.] Have you had your supper?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
Want to go eat something at the Garden?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
Anywhere else?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
[Whistles softly, then.] You don’t come to this park very often, do you? I’ve only seen you three times. Been here oftener than that?
JULIE
Oh, yes.
LILIOM
Did you see me?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
And did you know I was Liliom?
JULIE
They told me.
LILIOM
[Whistles softly, then.] Have you got a sweetheart?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
Don’t lie to me.
JULIE
I haven’t. If I had, I’d tell you. I’ve never had one.
LILIOM
What an awful liar you are. I’ve got a good mind to go away and leave you here.
JULIE
I’ve never had one.
LILIOM
Tell that to someone else.
JULIE
[Reproachfully.] Why do you insist I have?
LILIOM
Because you stayed here with me the first time I asked you to. You know your way around, you do.
JULIE
No, I don’t, Mister Liliom.
LILIOM
I suppose you’ll tell me you don’t know why you’re sitting here—like this, in the dark, alone with me—You wouldn’t ’a’ stayed so quick, if you hadn’t done it before—with some soldier, maybe. This isn’t the first time. You wouldn’t have been so ready to stay if it was—whatdidyou stay for, anyhow?
JULIE
So you wouldn’t be left alone.
LILIOM
Alone! God, you’re dumb! I don’t need to be alone. I can have all the girls I want. Not onlyservant girls like you, but cooks and governesses, even French girls. I could have twenty of them if I wanted to.
JULIE
I know, Mister Liliom.
LILIOM
What do you know?
JULIE
That all the girls are in love with you. But that’s not whyIstayed. I stayed because you’ve been so good to me.
LILIOM
Well, then you can go home.
JULIE
I don’t want to go home now.
LILIOM
And what if I go away and leave you sitting here?
JULIE
If you did, I wouldn’t go home.
LILIOM
Do you know what you remind me of? A sweetheart I had once—I’ll tell you how I met her—— One night, at closing time, we had put out the lights in the carousel, and just as I was—— [He isinterrupted by the entrance of two plainclothesPOLICEMEN.They take their stations on either side of the bench. They are police, searching the park for vagabonds.]
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
What are you doing there?
LILIOM
Me?
SECONDPOLICEMAN
Stand up when you’re spoken to! [He tapsLILIOMimperatively on the shoulder.]
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
What’s your name?
LILIOM
Andreas Zavoczki. [JULIEbegins to weep softly.]
SECONDPOLICEMAN
Stop your bawling. We’re not goin’ to eat you. We are only making our rounds.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
See that he doesn’t get away. [THESECONDPOLICEMANsteps closer toLILIOM.] What’s your business?
LILIOM
Barker and bouncer.
SECONDPOLICEMAN
They call him Liliom, Chief. We’ve had him up a couple of times.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
So that’s who you are! Who do you work for now?
LILIOM
I work for the widow Muskat.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
What are you hanging around here for?
LILIOM
We’re just sitting here—me and this girl.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Your sweetheart?
LILIOM
No.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
[ToJULIE.] And who are you?
JULIE
Julie Zeller.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Servant girl?
JULIE
Maid of All Work for Mister Georg Breier, Number Twenty Damjanovitsch Street.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Show your hands.
SECONDPOLICEMAN
[After examiningJULIE’Shand.] Servant girl.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Why aren’t you at home? What are you doing out here with him?
JULIE
This is my day out, sir.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
It would be better for you if you didn’t spend it sitting around with a fellow like this.
SECONDPOLICEMAN
They’ll be disappearing in the bushes as soon as we turn our backs.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
He’s only after your money. We know this fine fellow. He picks up you silly servant girls and takes what money you have. Tomorrow you’ll probably be coming around to report him. If you do, I’ll throw you out.
JULIE
I haven’t any money, sir.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Do you hear that, Liliom?
LILIOM
I’m not looking for her money.
SECONDPOLICEMAN
[Nudging him warningly.] Keep your mouth shut.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
It is my duty to warn you, my child, what kind of company you’re in. He makes a specialty of servant girls. That’s why he works in a carousel. He gets hold of a girl, promises to marry her, then he takes her money and her ring.
JULIE
But I haven’t got a ring.
SECONDPOLICEMAN
You’re not to talk unless you’re asked a question.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
You be thankful that I’m warning you. It’s nothing to me what you do. I’m not your father, thank God. But I’m telling you what kind of afellow he is. By tomorrow morning you’ll be coming around to us to report him. Now you be sensible and go home. You needn’t be afraid of him. This officer will take you home if you’re afraid.
JULIE
Do Ihaveto go?
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
No, you don’thaveto go.
JULIE
Then I’ll stay, sir.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Well, you’ve been warned.
JULIE
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
FIRSTPOLICEMAN
Come on, Berkovics. [ThePOLICEMENexit.JULIEandLILIOMsit on the bench again. There is a brief pause.]
JULIE
Well, and what then?
LILIOM
[Fails to understand.] Huh?
JULIE
You were beginning to tell me a story.
LILIOM
Me?
JULIE
Yes, about a sweetheart. You said, one night, just as they were putting out the lights of the carousel—— That’s as far as you got.
LILIOM
Oh, yes, yes, just as the lights were going out, someone came along—a little girl with a big shawl—you know—— She came—eh—from—— Say—tell me—ain’t you—that is, ain’t you at all—afraid of me? The officer told you what kind of a fellow I am—and that I’d take your money away from you——
JULIE
You couldn’t take it away—I haven’t got any. But if I had—I’d—I’d give it to you—I’d give it all to you.
LILIOM
You would?
JULIE
If you asked me for it.
LILIOM
Have you ever had a fellow you gave money to?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
Haven’t you ever had a sweetheart?
JULIE
No.
LILIOM
Someone you used to go walking with. You’ve had one like that?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
A soldier?
JULIE
He came from the same village I did.
LILIOM
That’s what all the soldiers say. Wheredoyou come from, anyway?
JULIE
Not far from here. [There is a pause.]
LILIOM
Were you in love with him?
JULIE
Why do you keep asking me that all the time, Mister Liliom? I wasn’t in love with him. We only went walking together.
LILIOM
Where did you walk?
JULIE
In the park.
LILIOM
And your virtue? Where did you lose that?
JULIE
I haven’t got any virtue.
LILIOM
Well, you had once.
JULIE
No, I never had. I’m a respectable girl.
LILIOM
Yes, but you gave the soldier something.
JULIE
Why do you question me like that, Mister Liliom?
LILIOM
Did you give him something?
JULIE
You have to. But I didn’t love him.
LILIOM
Do you love me?
JULIE
No, Mister Liliom.
LILIOM
Then why do you stay here with me?
JULIE
Um—nothing. [There is a pause. The music from afar is plainly heard.]
LILIOM
Want to dance?
JULIE
No. I have to be very careful.
LILIOM
Of what?
JULIE
My—character.
LILIOM
Why?
JULIE
Because I’m never going to marry. If I was going to marry, it would be different. Then I wouldn’t need to worry so much about my character. It doesn’t make any difference if you’re married. But I shan’t marry—and that’s why I’ve got to take care to be a respectable girl.
LILIOM
Suppose I were to say to you—I’ll marry you.
JULIE
You?
LILIOM
That frightens you, doesn’t it? You’re thinking of what the officer said and you’re afraid.
JULIE
No, I’m not, Mister Liliom. I don’t pay any attention to what he said.
LILIOM
But you wouldn’t dare to marry anyone like me, would you?
JULIE
I know that—that—if I loved anyone—it wouldn’t make any difference to me what he—even if I died for it.
LILIOM
But you wouldn’t marry a rough guy like me—that is,—eh—if you loved me——
JULIE
Yes, I would—if I loved you, Mister Liliom. [There is a pause.]
LILIOM
[Whispers.] Well,—you just said—didn’t you?—that you don’t love me. Well, why don’t you go home then?
JULIE
It’s too late now, they’d all be asleep.
LILIOM
Locked out?
JULIE
Certainly. [They are silent a while.]
LILIOM
I think—that even a low-down good-for-nothing—can make a man of himself.
JULIE
Certainly. [They are silent again. A lamp-lighter crosses the stage, lights the lamp over the bench, and exits.]
LILIOM
Are you hungry?
JULIE
No. [Another pause.]
LILIOM
Suppose—you had some money—and I took it from you?
JULIE
Then you could take it, that’s all.
LILIOM
[After another brief silence.] All I have to do—is go back to her—that Muskat woman—she’llbe glad to get me back—then I’d be earning my wages again. [She is silent. The twilight folds darker about them.]
JULIE
[Very softly.] Don’t go back—to her—— [Pause.]
LILIOM
There are a lot of acacia trees around here. [Pause.]
JULIE
Don’t go back to her—— [Pause.]
LILIOM
She’d take me back the minute I asked her. I know why—she knows, too—— [Pause.]
JULIE
I can smell them, too—acacia blossoms—— [There is a pause. Some blossoms drift down from the tree-top to the bench.LILIOMpicks one up and smells it.]
LILIOM
White acacias!
JULIE
[After a brief pause.] The wind brings them down. [They are silent. There is a long pause before]
THECURTAINFALLS