ACT II.

ACT II.Scene.—A ruined chapel by moonlight. Aisles divided by pillars and arches; ruined Gothic windows at back.General Stanleydiscovered seated pensively, surrounded by his daughters.Chorus.Oh, dry the glistening tearThat dews that martial cheek;Thy loving children hear,In them thy comfort seek.With sympathetic careTheir arms around thee creep,For oh, they cannot bearTo see their father weep.EnterMabel.Solo.—Mabel.Dear father, why leave your bedAt this untimely hour,When happy daylight is dead,And darksome dangers lower?See, heaven has lit her lamp,The midnight hour is past,The chilly night air is damp,And the dews are falling fast!Dear father, why leave your bedWhen happy daylight is dead?Fredericenters down aisle.Mab.Oh, Frederic, cannot you reconcile it with your conscience to say something that will relieve my father’s sorrow?Fred.I will try, dear Mabel. But why does he sit, night after night, in this draughty old ruin?Gen.Why do I sit here? To escape from the pirates’ clutches, I described myself as an orphan, and I am no orphan! I come here to humble myself before the tombs of my ancestors, and to implore their pardon for having brought dishonour on the family escutcheon.Fred.But you forget, sir, you only bought the property a year ago, and the stucco in your baronial hall is scarcely dry.Gen.Frederic, in this chapel are ancestors; you cannot deny that. With the estate, I bought the chapel and its contents. I don’t know whose ancestors theywere, but I know whose ancestors theyare, and I shudder to think that their descendant by purchase (if I may so describe myself) should have brought disgrace upon what, I have no doubt, was an unstained escutcheon.Fred.Be comforted. Had you not acted as you did, these reckless men would assuredly have called in the nearest clergyman, and have married your large family on the spot.Gen.I thank you for your proffered solace, but it is unavailing. At what time does your expedition march against these scoundrels?Fred.At eleven; and before midnight I hope to have atoned for my involuntary association with the pestilent scourges by sweeping them from the face of the earth. And then, my Mabel, you will be mine!Gen.Are your devoted followers at hand?Fred.They are; they only wait my orders.Recitative.—General.Then, Frederic, let your escort lion-heartedBe summoned to receive a general’s blessing,Ere they depart upon their dread adventure.Fred.Dear sir, they come.EnterPolice, marching in double file. Form in line facing audience.Song.—Sergeant.When the foeman bares his steel,Tarantara! tarantara!We uncomfortable feel,Tarantara!And we find the wisest thing,Tarantara! tarantara!Is to slap our chests and sing.Tarantara!For when threatened with emeutes,Tarantara! tarantara!And your heart is in your boots,Tarantara!There is nothing brings it round,Tarantara! tarantara!Like the trumpet’s martial sound.Tarantara!Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!All.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Mab.Go, ye heroes, go to glory;Though you die in combat goryYe shall live in song and story.Go to immortality.Go to death, and go to slaughter;Die, and every Cornish daughterWith her tears your grave shall water.Go, ye heroes; go and die.All.Go, ye heroes; go and die.Pol.Though to us it’s evident,Tarantara! tarantara!These attentions are well meant,Tarantara!Such expressions don’t appear,Tarantara! tarantara!Calculated men to cheer,Tarantara!Who are going to meet their fateIn a highly nervous state,Tarantara!Still to us it’s evidentThese attentions are well meant.Tarantara!Edith.Go and do your best endeavour,And before all links we severWe will say farewell for ever;Go to glory and the grave.For your foes are fierce and ruthless,False, unmerciful, and truthless.Young and tender, old and toothless,All in vain their mercy crave.All.Yes, your foes are fierce and ruthless, etc.Serg.We observe too great a stressOn the risks that on us press,And of reference a lackTo our chance of coming back.Still perhaps it would be wiseNot to carp or criticise,For it’s very evidentThese attentions are well meant.All.Yes, to them it’s evidentOur attentions are well meant.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Go, ye heroes, go to glory, etc.Gen.Away, away.Pol.(without moving).Yes, yes, we go.Gen.These pirates slay.Pol.Yes, yes, we go.Gen.Then do not stay.Pol.We go, we go.Gen.Then why all this delay?Pol.All right—we go, we go.Yes, forward on the foe,Ho, ho! Ho, ho!We go, we go, we go!Tarantara-ra-ra!Then forward on the foe!All.Yes, forward!Pol.Yes, forward!Gen.Yes, but you don’t go!Pol.We go, we go, we go!All.At last they really go—Tarantara-ra-ra!Ensemble.Chorus of all but Police.Chorus of Police.Go and do your best endeavour,Such expressions don’t appear,And before all links we severTarantara! tarantara!We will say farewell for ever;Calculated men to cheer,Go to glory and the grave.Tarantara!For your foes are fierce and ruthless,Who are going to their fate,False, unmerciful and truthless.Tarantara! tarantara!Young and tender, old and toothless,In a highly nervous state.All in vain their mercy crave.Tarantara!We observe too great a stress,Tarantara! tarantara!On the risks that on us press,Tarantara!And of reference a lack,Tarantara! tarantara!To our chance of coming back.Tarantara![Mabeltears herself fromFredericand exit, followed by her sisters, consoling her. TheGeneraland others follow thePoliceoff.Fredericremains.Recitative.—Frederic.Now for the pirate’s lair! Oh, joy unbounded!Oh, sweet relief! Oh, rapture unexampled!At last I may atone, in some slight measure,For the repeated acts of theft and pillageWhich, at a sense of duty’s stern dictation,I, circumstance’s victim, have been guilty.[ThePirate KingandRuthappear at the window armed.King.Young Frederic! (Covering him with pistol.)Fred.Who calls?King.Your late commander! (Coming down.)Ruth.And I, your little Ruth! (Covering him with pistol.)Fred.Oh, mad intruders,How dare ye face me? Know ye not, oh rash ones,That I have doomed you to extermination?[KingandRuthhold a pistol to each ear.King.Have mercy on us, hear us, ere you slaughter.Fred.I do not think I ought to listen to you.Yet, mercy should alloy our stern resentment,And so I will be merciful—say on.Trio.—Ruth, King, and Fred.When first you left our pirate foldWe tried to cheer our spirits faint,According to our customs old,With quips and quibbles quaint.But all in vain the quips we heard,We lay and sobbed upon the rocks,Until to somebody occurredA curious paradox.Fred.A paradox!King(laughing).A paradox.Ruth.A most ingenious paradox.We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat this paradox!Ha! ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho! ho!King.We knew your taste for curious quips,For cranks and contradictions queer,And with the laughter on our lips,We wished you had been there to hear.We said, “If we could tell it him,How Frederic would the joke enjoy,”And so we’ve risked both life and limbTo tell it to our boy.Fred.(interested).That paradox? That paradox!King and Ruth(laughing).That most ingeniousparadox!We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat that paradox!Ha, ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho, ho!Chant.—King.For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,Some person in authority, I don’t know who—very likely the Astronomer Royal—Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February twenty-eight days as a general rule are plenty,One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.Through some singular coincidence—I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy—You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap year, on the twenty-ninth of February,And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover,That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays, you’re only five and a little bit over!Ruth.Ha! ha! ha! ha!King.Ho! ho! ho! ho!Fred.Dear me!Let’s see! (Counting on fingers.)Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!All.Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho, ho! (Fredericmore amused than any.)Fred.How quaint the ways of paradox!At common sense she gaily mocks!Though counting in the usual way,Years twenty-one I’ve been alive,Yet, reckoning by my natal day,I am a little boy of five!All.He is a little boy of five. Ha, ha!At common sense she gaily mocks;So quaint a way is paradox.All.Ha, ha, ha, ha!King.Ho, ho, ho, ho!Ruth.Ha, ha, ha, ha!Fred.Ha, ha, ha, ha!All.Ho, ho, ho, ho![RuthandKingthrow themselves back on seats, exhausted with laughter.]Fred.Upon my word, this is most curious—most absurdly whimsical. Five and a quarter! No one would think it to look at me.Ruth.You are glad now, I’ll be bound, that you spared us. You would never have forgiven yourself when you discovered that you had killedtwo of your comrades.Fred.My comrades?King.I’m afraid you don’t appreciate the delicacy of your position. You were apprenticed to us——Fred.Until I reached my twenty-first year.King.No, until you reached your twenty-firstbirthday(producing document), and, going by birthdays, you are as yet only five and a quarter.Fred.You don’t mean to say you are going to hold me to that?King.No, we merely remind you of the fact, and leave the rest to your sense of duty.Fred.(wildly). Don’t put it on that footing! As I was merciful to you just now, be merciful to me! I implore you not to insist on the letter of your bond just as the cup of happiness is at my lips!Ruth.We insist on nothing; we content ourselves with pointing out to youyour duty.Fred.(after a pause). Well, you have appealed to my sense of duty, and my duty is only too clear. I abhor your infamous calling; I shudder at the thought that I have ever been mixed up with it; but duty is before all—at any price I will do my duty!King.Bravely spoken. Come, you are one of us once more.Fred.Lead on; I follow. (Suddenly.) Oh, horror!King and Ruth.What is the matter?Fred.Ought I to tell you? No, no, I cannot do it; and yet, as one of your band——King.Speak out, I charge you, by that sense of conscientiousness to which we have never yet appealed in vain.Fred.General Stanley, the father of my Mabel——King and Ruth.Yes, yes!Fred.He escaped from you on the plea that he was an orphan?King.He did.Fred.It breaks my heart to betray the honoured father of the girl I adore, but, as your apprentice, I have no alternative. It is my duty to tell you that General Stanley is no orphan.King and Ruth.What!Fred.More than that, he never was one!King.Am I to understand that, to save his contemptible life, he dared to practise on our credulous simplicity? (Fredericnods as he weeps.) Our revenge shall be swift and terrible. We will go and collect our band and attack Tremorden Castle this very night.Fred.But——King.Not a word. He is doomed. (Goes up and down stage.)Trio.King and Ruth.Frederic.Away, away, my heart’s on fire,Away, away, ere I expire—I burn this base deception to repay,I find my duty hard to do to-day!This very day my vengeance direMy heart is filled with anguish dire,Shall glut itself in gore. Away, away!It strikes me to the core. Away, away!King.With falsehood foulHe tricked us of our brides.Let vengeance howl;The pirate so decides.Our nature stemHe softened with his lies,And, in return,To-night the traitor dies.All.Yes, yes; to-night the traitor dies.Ruth(crosses toFrederic).To-night he dies.King.Yes, or early to-morrow.Fred.His girls likewise?Ruth.They will welter in sorrow.King.The one soft spot——Fred.In their natures they cherish,And all who plot——Ruth.To abuse it shall perish!All.Yes, all who plotKing.To abuse it shall perish!Away, away, etc.[ExeuntKingandRuth.Fredericthrows himself on a stone in blank despair.EnterMabel.Recitative.—Mabel.All is prepared, your gallant crew await you.My Frederick in tears? It cannot beThat lion-heart quails at the coming conflict?Fred.No, Mabel, no. A terrible disclosureHas just been made! Mabel, my dearly loved one,I bound myself to serve the pirate captainUntil I reached my one and twentieth birthday——Mab.But you are twenty-one?Fred.I’ve just discoveredThat I was born in leap year, and that birthdayWill not be reached by me till 1940.Mab.Oh, horrible! catastrophe appalling!Fred.And so, farewell!Mab.No, no! Oh, Frederic, hear me.Duet.—Mabel and Frederic.Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay!They have no legal claim;No shadow of a shameWill fall upon thy name.Stay, Frederic, stay!Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay,To-night I quit these walls,The thought my soul appals,But when stem duty calls,I must obey.Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay——Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay——Mab.They have no claim——Fred.But duty’s name!The thought my soul appals,But when stern duty calls,I must obey.Ballad.—Mabel(kneels).Oh, leave me not to pineAlone and desolate;No fate seemed fair as mine,No happiness so great.And nature, day by day,Has sung, in accents clear,This joyous roundelay,“He loves thee—he is here.Fal-la, fa-la, fa-la.”Fred.Ah, must I leave thee hereIn endless night to dream,Where joy is dark and drear,And sorrow all supreme!Where nature, day by day,Will sing, in altered tone,This weary roundelay,“He loves thee—he is gone.Fa-la, fa-la, fa-la.”He loves thee, he is gone. (Rises.)Fred.In 1940 I of age shall be.I’ll then return, and claim you—I declare it.Mab.It seems so long!Fred.Swear that, till then, you will be true to me.Mab.Yes, I’ll be strong!By all the Stanleys dead and gone,I swear it!Ensemble.Oh, here is love, and here is truth,And here is food for joyous laughter.He}{his}She} will be faithful to {her} soothTill we are wed, and even after.{he}What joy to know that though; {I} mustEmbrace piratical adventures,He}{his}She} will be faithful to {her} trust{he is}{his}Till {I am} out of {my} Ventures.Fred.Farewell! Adieu!Both.Farewell! Adieu![Fredericrushes to window and leaps out.Mab.(feeling pulse).Yes, I am brave! Oh, family descent,How great thy charm, thy sway how excellent!Come, one and all, undaunted men in blue;A crisis, now, affairs are coming to.EnterPolice, marching in single file.Serg.Though in body and in mind,Tarantara! tarantara!We are timidly inclined,Tarantara!And anything but blind,Tarantara! tarantara!To the danger that’s behind,Tarantara!Yet, when the danger’s near,Tarantara! tarantara!We manage to appearTarantara!As insensible to fearAs anybody here.Tarantara!Tarantara! tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Mab.Sergeant, approach. Young Frederic was to have led you to death and glory.All.That is not a pleasant way of putting it.Mab.No matter; he will not so lead you, for he has allied himself once more with his old associates.All.He has acted shamefully.Mab.You speak falsely. You know nothing about it. He has acted nobly.All.He has acted nobly.Mab.Dearly as I loved him before, his heroic sacrifice to his sense of duty has endeared him to me tenfold. He has done his duty. I will do mine. Go ye, and do yours.[ExitMabel.All.Very well.Serg.This is perplexing.All.We cannot understand it at all.Serg.Still he is actuated by a sense of duty——All.That makes a difference, of course. At the same time we repeat, we cannot understand it at all.Serg.No matter; our course is clear. We must do our best to capture these pirates alone. It is most distressing to us to be the agents whereby our erring fellow-creatures are deprived of that liberty which is so dear to all—but we should have thought of that before we joined the force.All.We should.Serg.It is too late now!All.It is.Song.—Sergeant.When a felon’s not engaged in his employment—All.His employment,Serg.Or maturing his felonious little plans—All.Little plans,Serg.His capacity for innocent enjoyment—All.’Cent enjoyment,Serg.Is just as great as any honest man’s—All.Honest man’s.Serg.Our feelings we with difficulty smother—All.’Culty smother,Serg.When constabulary duty’s to be done—All.To be done,Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—All.With another,Serg.A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.All.When constabulary duty’s to be done,The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.Serg.When the enterprising burglar’s not a-burgling—All.Not a-burgling,Serg.When the cut-throat isn’t occupied in crime—All.’Pied in crime,Serg.He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling—All.Brook a-gurgling,Serg.And listen to the merry village chime—All.Village chime.Serg.When the coster’s finished jumping on his mother—All.On his mother,Serg.He loves to lie a-basking in the sun—All.In the sun.Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—All.With another,Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.When constabulary duty’s to be done—All.To be done,Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one—All.Happy one.Chorus of Pirates(without, in the distance).A rollicking band of pirates we,Who, tired of tossing on the sea,Are trying their hands in a burglaree,With weapons grim and gory.Serg.Hush, hush! I hear them on the manor poaching;With stealthy step the pirates are approaching.Chorus of Pirates(resumed nearer).We are not coming for plate of gold—A story General Stanley’s told—We seek a penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.Pol.They seek a penalty—Pir.(without).Fifty-fold;We seek a penalty—Pol.Fifty-fold;All.{We}{They} seek a Penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.Pol.They come in force, with stealthy stride,Our obvious course is now—to hide.[Policeconceal themselves in aisle. As they do so, thePirates, withRuthandFrederic, are seen appearing at ruined window. They enter cautiously.Samuelis laden with burglarious tools and pistols, etc.Chorus.—Pirates(very loud).With cat-like tread,Upon our prey we steal;In silence dreadOur cautious way we feel.Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!Pir.No sound at all,We never speak a word,A fly’s foot-fallCould be distinctly heard—Pol.Tarantara! tarantara!Pir.Ha! ha!Ho! ho!So stealthily the pirate creepsWhile all the household soundly sleeps.Ha! ha! ho! ho!Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!(Forte.)Tarantara!Sam.(distributing implements to various members of the gang).Here’s your crowbar and your centrebit,Your life preserver—you may want to hit;Your silent matches, your dark lantern seize,Take your file and your skeletonic keys.All(fortissimo).With cat-like tread, etc.Recitative.Fred.Hush, not a word. I see a light inside.The Major-General comes, so quickly hide.Gen.(without).Yes, yes, the Major-General comes.Pir.He comes.Gen.(entering in dressing-gown, carrying a light).Yes, yes, I come.Pol.He comes.Gen.Yes, yes, I come.All.The Major-General comes.[ExitFrederic.Solo.—General.Tormented with the anguish dreadOf falsehood unatoned,I lay upon my sleepless bed,And tossed and turned and groaned.The man who finds his conscience acheNo peace at all enjoys,And as I lay in bed awakeI thought I heard a noise.Pir.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha!Pol.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha! (Very loud.)Gen.No, all is stillIn dale, on hill;My mind is set at ease.So still the scene—It must have beenThe sighing of the breeze.Ballad.—General.Sighing softly to the riverComes the loving breeze,Setting nature all a-quiver,Rustling through the trees—All.Through the trees.Gen.And the brook in rippling measureLaughs for very love,While the poplars, in their pleasure,Wave their arms above. (Goes up stage and returns.)Pol. and Pir.Yes, the trees, for very love,Wave their leafy arms above,River, river, little river,May thy loving prosper ever.Heaven speed thee, poplar tree;May thy wooing happy be.Gen.Yet, the breeze is but a rover;When he wings away,Brook and poplar mourn a lover!Sighing well-a-day!All.Well-a-day!Gen.Ah, the doing and undoingThat the rogue could tell!When the breeze is out a-wooing,Who can woo so well?Pol. and Pir.Shocking tales the rogue could tell,Nobody can woo so well.Pretty brook, thy dream is over,For thy love is but a roverSad the lot of poplar treesCourted by the fickle breeze.Enter theGeneral’sdaughters, all in white peignoirs and nightcaps, and carrying lighted candles.Girls.Now, what is this, and what is that, and why does father leave his restAt such a time as this, so very incompletely dressed?Dear father is, and always was, the most methodical of men;It’s his invariable rule to go to bed at half-past ten.What strange occurrence can it be that calls dear father from his restAt such a time of night as this, so very incompletely dressed?King(springing up).Forward, my men, and seize that General there![They seize theGeneral.Pir.Ha! ha! we are the pirates, so despair—King.With base deceitYou worked upon our feelingsRevenge is sweet,And flavours all our dealings.With courage rareAnd resolution manly,For death prepare,Unhappy General Stanley!Fred.(coming forward).Alas, alas, unhappy General Stanley!Gen.Frederic here! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!Summon your men and effect their capture.Mab.Frederic, save us!Fred.Beautiful Mabel,I would if I could, but I am not able.Pir.He’s telling the truth, he is not able.Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara.Mab.(wildly). Is he to die, unshriven-unannealed?Girls.Oh, spare him!Mab.Will no one in his cause a weapon wield?Girls.Oh, spare him!Pol.(springing up).Yes, we are here, though hitherto concealed!Girls.Oh, rapture!Pol.So to our prowess, pirates, quickly yield!Girls.Oh, rapture![A struggle ensues betweenPiratesandPolice. Eventually thePoliceare overcome, and fall prostrate, thePiratesstanding over them with drawn swords.Ladiesrun down.Chorus of Police and Pirates.You}We} triumph now, for well we trowOur mortal career’s cut short,No pirate band will take its standAt the Central Criminal Court.Serg.To gain a brief advantage you’ve contrived,But your proud triumph will not be long-lived.King.Don’t say you are orphans, for we know that game.Serg.On your allegiance we’ve a nobler claim.We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name!King(baffled).You do!Pol.We do;We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name![Pirateskneel,Policestand over them triumphantly.King.We yield at once, with humbled mien,Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen,Pol.Yes, yes; with all their faults, they love their Queen.Ladies.Yes, yes; with all, etc.[Police, holdingPiratesby the collar, take out handkerchiefs and weep.Ruthenters.Gen.Away with them, and place them at the bar.Ruth.One moment; let me tell you who they are.They are no members of the common throng;They are all noblemen, who have gone wrong!Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,allnoblemen?King and Pir.Yes, all noblemen!Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,all?King.Well, nearly all!Gen.No Englishmen unmoved that statement hears,Because, with all our faults, we love our House of Peers.[All kneel toPirates.Recitative.—General.I pray you, pardon me, ex-Pirate King,Peers will be peers, and youth will have its fling.Resume your ranks and legislative duties,And take my daughters, all of whom are beauties.Finale.Mab.Poor wandering ones,Though ye have surely strayed,Take heart of grace,Your steps retrace,Poor wandering ones!Poor wandering ones,If such poor love as oursCan help you findTrue peace of mind,Why, take it, it is yours!All.Poor wandering ones, etc.THE END.PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.

Scene.—A ruined chapel by moonlight. Aisles divided by pillars and arches; ruined Gothic windows at back.General Stanleydiscovered seated pensively, surrounded by his daughters.

Chorus.

Oh, dry the glistening tearThat dews that martial cheek;Thy loving children hear,In them thy comfort seek.With sympathetic careTheir arms around thee creep,For oh, they cannot bearTo see their father weep.

Oh, dry the glistening tear

That dews that martial cheek;

Thy loving children hear,

In them thy comfort seek.

With sympathetic care

Their arms around thee creep,

For oh, they cannot bear

To see their father weep.

EnterMabel.

Solo.—Mabel.

Dear father, why leave your bedAt this untimely hour,When happy daylight is dead,And darksome dangers lower?See, heaven has lit her lamp,The midnight hour is past,The chilly night air is damp,And the dews are falling fast!Dear father, why leave your bedWhen happy daylight is dead?

Dear father, why leave your bed

At this untimely hour,

When happy daylight is dead,

And darksome dangers lower?

See, heaven has lit her lamp,

The midnight hour is past,

The chilly night air is damp,

And the dews are falling fast!

Dear father, why leave your bed

When happy daylight is dead?

Fredericenters down aisle.

Mab.Oh, Frederic, cannot you reconcile it with your conscience to say something that will relieve my father’s sorrow?

Fred.I will try, dear Mabel. But why does he sit, night after night, in this draughty old ruin?

Gen.Why do I sit here? To escape from the pirates’ clutches, I described myself as an orphan, and I am no orphan! I come here to humble myself before the tombs of my ancestors, and to implore their pardon for having brought dishonour on the family escutcheon.

Fred.But you forget, sir, you only bought the property a year ago, and the stucco in your baronial hall is scarcely dry.

Gen.Frederic, in this chapel are ancestors; you cannot deny that. With the estate, I bought the chapel and its contents. I don’t know whose ancestors theywere, but I know whose ancestors theyare, and I shudder to think that their descendant by purchase (if I may so describe myself) should have brought disgrace upon what, I have no doubt, was an unstained escutcheon.

Fred.Be comforted. Had you not acted as you did, these reckless men would assuredly have called in the nearest clergyman, and have married your large family on the spot.

Gen.I thank you for your proffered solace, but it is unavailing. At what time does your expedition march against these scoundrels?

Fred.At eleven; and before midnight I hope to have atoned for my involuntary association with the pestilent scourges by sweeping them from the face of the earth. And then, my Mabel, you will be mine!

Gen.Are your devoted followers at hand?

Fred.They are; they only wait my orders.

Recitative.—General.

Then, Frederic, let your escort lion-heartedBe summoned to receive a general’s blessing,Ere they depart upon their dread adventure.

Then, Frederic, let your escort lion-hearted

Be summoned to receive a general’s blessing,

Ere they depart upon their dread adventure.

Fred.Dear sir, they come.

EnterPolice, marching in double file. Form in line facing audience.

Song.—Sergeant.

When the foeman bares his steel,Tarantara! tarantara!We uncomfortable feel,Tarantara!And we find the wisest thing,Tarantara! tarantara!Is to slap our chests and sing.Tarantara!For when threatened with emeutes,Tarantara! tarantara!And your heart is in your boots,Tarantara!There is nothing brings it round,Tarantara! tarantara!Like the trumpet’s martial sound.Tarantara!Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!All.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Mab.Go, ye heroes, go to glory;Though you die in combat goryYe shall live in song and story.Go to immortality.Go to death, and go to slaughter;Die, and every Cornish daughterWith her tears your grave shall water.Go, ye heroes; go and die.All.Go, ye heroes; go and die.Pol.Though to us it’s evident,Tarantara! tarantara!These attentions are well meant,Tarantara!Such expressions don’t appear,Tarantara! tarantara!Calculated men to cheer,Tarantara!Who are going to meet their fateIn a highly nervous state,Tarantara!Still to us it’s evidentThese attentions are well meant.Tarantara!Edith.Go and do your best endeavour,And before all links we severWe will say farewell for ever;Go to glory and the grave.For your foes are fierce and ruthless,False, unmerciful, and truthless.Young and tender, old and toothless,All in vain their mercy crave.All.Yes, your foes are fierce and ruthless, etc.Serg.We observe too great a stressOn the risks that on us press,And of reference a lackTo our chance of coming back.Still perhaps it would be wiseNot to carp or criticise,For it’s very evidentThese attentions are well meant.All.Yes, to them it’s evidentOur attentions are well meant.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Go, ye heroes, go to glory, etc.Gen.Away, away.Pol.(without moving).Yes, yes, we go.Gen.These pirates slay.Pol.Yes, yes, we go.Gen.Then do not stay.Pol.We go, we go.Gen.Then why all this delay?Pol.All right—we go, we go.Yes, forward on the foe,Ho, ho! Ho, ho!We go, we go, we go!Tarantara-ra-ra!Then forward on the foe!All.Yes, forward!Pol.Yes, forward!Gen.Yes, but you don’t go!Pol.We go, we go, we go!All.At last they really go—Tarantara-ra-ra!

When the foeman bares his steel,

Tarantara! tarantara!

We uncomfortable feel,

Tarantara!

And we find the wisest thing,

Tarantara! tarantara!

Is to slap our chests and sing.

Tarantara!

For when threatened with emeutes,

Tarantara! tarantara!

And your heart is in your boots,

Tarantara!

There is nothing brings it round,

Tarantara! tarantara!

Like the trumpet’s martial sound.

Tarantara!

Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!

All.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!

Mab.Go, ye heroes, go to glory;Though you die in combat goryYe shall live in song and story.Go to immortality.Go to death, and go to slaughter;Die, and every Cornish daughterWith her tears your grave shall water.Go, ye heroes; go and die.

Mab.Go, ye heroes, go to glory;

Though you die in combat gory

Ye shall live in song and story.

Go to immortality.

Go to death, and go to slaughter;

Die, and every Cornish daughter

With her tears your grave shall water.

Go, ye heroes; go and die.

All.Go, ye heroes; go and die.

Pol.Though to us it’s evident,Tarantara! tarantara!These attentions are well meant,Tarantara!Such expressions don’t appear,Tarantara! tarantara!Calculated men to cheer,Tarantara!Who are going to meet their fateIn a highly nervous state,Tarantara!Still to us it’s evidentThese attentions are well meant.Tarantara!

Pol.Though to us it’s evident,

Tarantara! tarantara!

These attentions are well meant,

Tarantara!

Such expressions don’t appear,

Tarantara! tarantara!

Calculated men to cheer,

Tarantara!

Who are going to meet their fate

In a highly nervous state,

Tarantara!

Still to us it’s evident

These attentions are well meant.

Tarantara!

Edith.Go and do your best endeavour,And before all links we severWe will say farewell for ever;Go to glory and the grave.For your foes are fierce and ruthless,False, unmerciful, and truthless.Young and tender, old and toothless,All in vain their mercy crave.

Edith.Go and do your best endeavour,

And before all links we sever

We will say farewell for ever;

Go to glory and the grave.

For your foes are fierce and ruthless,

False, unmerciful, and truthless.

Young and tender, old and toothless,

All in vain their mercy crave.

All.Yes, your foes are fierce and ruthless, etc.

Serg.We observe too great a stressOn the risks that on us press,And of reference a lackTo our chance of coming back.Still perhaps it would be wiseNot to carp or criticise,For it’s very evidentThese attentions are well meant.

Serg.We observe too great a stress

On the risks that on us press,

And of reference a lack

To our chance of coming back.

Still perhaps it would be wise

Not to carp or criticise,

For it’s very evident

These attentions are well meant.

All.Yes, to them it’s evidentOur attentions are well meant.Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!Go, ye heroes, go to glory, etc.

All.Yes, to them it’s evident

Our attentions are well meant.

Tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!

Go, ye heroes, go to glory, etc.

Gen.Away, away.

Pol.(without moving).Yes, yes, we go.

Gen.These pirates slay.

Pol.Yes, yes, we go.

Gen.Then do not stay.

Pol.We go, we go.

Gen.Then why all this delay?

Pol.All right—we go, we go.Yes, forward on the foe,Ho, ho! Ho, ho!We go, we go, we go!Tarantara-ra-ra!Then forward on the foe!

Pol.All right—we go, we go.

Yes, forward on the foe,

Ho, ho! Ho, ho!

We go, we go, we go!

Tarantara-ra-ra!

Then forward on the foe!

All.Yes, forward!

Pol.Yes, forward!

Gen.Yes, but you don’t go!

Pol.We go, we go, we go!

All.At last they really go—Tarantara-ra-ra!

Ensemble.

[Mabeltears herself fromFredericand exit, followed by her sisters, consoling her. TheGeneraland others follow thePoliceoff.Fredericremains.

Recitative.—Frederic.

Now for the pirate’s lair! Oh, joy unbounded!Oh, sweet relief! Oh, rapture unexampled!At last I may atone, in some slight measure,For the repeated acts of theft and pillageWhich, at a sense of duty’s stern dictation,I, circumstance’s victim, have been guilty.

Now for the pirate’s lair! Oh, joy unbounded!

Oh, sweet relief! Oh, rapture unexampled!

At last I may atone, in some slight measure,

For the repeated acts of theft and pillage

Which, at a sense of duty’s stern dictation,

I, circumstance’s victim, have been guilty.

[ThePirate KingandRuthappear at the window armed.

King.Young Frederic! (Covering him with pistol.)Fred.Who calls?King.Your late commander! (Coming down.)Ruth.And I, your little Ruth! (Covering him with pistol.)Fred.Oh, mad intruders,How dare ye face me? Know ye not, oh rash ones,That I have doomed you to extermination?

King.Young Frederic! (Covering him with pistol.)

Fred.Who calls?

King.Your late commander! (Coming down.)

Ruth.And I, your little Ruth! (Covering him with pistol.)

Fred.Oh, mad intruders,How dare ye face me? Know ye not, oh rash ones,That I have doomed you to extermination?

Fred.Oh, mad intruders,

How dare ye face me? Know ye not, oh rash ones,

That I have doomed you to extermination?

[KingandRuthhold a pistol to each ear.

King.Have mercy on us, hear us, ere you slaughter.Fred.I do not think I ought to listen to you.Yet, mercy should alloy our stern resentment,And so I will be merciful—say on.

King.Have mercy on us, hear us, ere you slaughter.

Fred.I do not think I ought to listen to you.Yet, mercy should alloy our stern resentment,And so I will be merciful—say on.

Fred.I do not think I ought to listen to you.

Yet, mercy should alloy our stern resentment,

And so I will be merciful—say on.

Trio.—Ruth, King, and Fred.

When first you left our pirate foldWe tried to cheer our spirits faint,According to our customs old,With quips and quibbles quaint.But all in vain the quips we heard,We lay and sobbed upon the rocks,Until to somebody occurredA curious paradox.Fred.A paradox!King(laughing).A paradox.Ruth.A most ingenious paradox.We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat this paradox!Ha! ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho! ho!King.We knew your taste for curious quips,For cranks and contradictions queer,And with the laughter on our lips,We wished you had been there to hear.We said, “If we could tell it him,How Frederic would the joke enjoy,”And so we’ve risked both life and limbTo tell it to our boy.Fred.(interested).That paradox? That paradox!King and Ruth(laughing).That most ingeniousparadox!We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat that paradox!Ha, ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho, ho!

When first you left our pirate fold

We tried to cheer our spirits faint,

According to our customs old,

With quips and quibbles quaint.

But all in vain the quips we heard,

We lay and sobbed upon the rocks,

Until to somebody occurred

A curious paradox.

Fred.A paradox!

King(laughing).A paradox.

Ruth.A most ingenious paradox.We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat this paradox!Ha! ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho! ho!

Ruth.A most ingenious paradox.

We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,

But none to beat this paradox!

Ha! ha! ha! ha! ho! ho! ho! ho!

King.We knew your taste for curious quips,For cranks and contradictions queer,And with the laughter on our lips,We wished you had been there to hear.We said, “If we could tell it him,How Frederic would the joke enjoy,”And so we’ve risked both life and limbTo tell it to our boy.

King.We knew your taste for curious quips,

For cranks and contradictions queer,

And with the laughter on our lips,

We wished you had been there to hear.

We said, “If we could tell it him,

How Frederic would the joke enjoy,”

And so we’ve risked both life and limb

To tell it to our boy.

Fred.(interested).That paradox? That paradox!

Fred.(interested).

That paradox? That paradox!

King and Ruth(laughing).That most ingeniousparadox!We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,But none to beat that paradox!Ha, ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho, ho!

King and Ruth(laughing).

That most ingeniousparadox!

We’ve quips and quibbles heard in flocks,

But none to beat that paradox!

Ha, ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho, ho!

Chant.—King.

For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,Some person in authority, I don’t know who—very likely the Astronomer Royal—Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February twenty-eight days as a general rule are plenty,One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.Through some singular coincidence—I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy—You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap year, on the twenty-ninth of February,And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover,That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays, you’re only five and a little bit over!Ruth.Ha! ha! ha! ha!King.Ho! ho! ho! ho!Fred.Dear me!Let’s see! (Counting on fingers.)Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!

For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal,

Some person in authority, I don’t know who—very likely the Astronomer Royal—

Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February twenty-eight days as a general rule are plenty,

One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.

Through some singular coincidence—I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy—

You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap year, on the twenty-ninth of February,

And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you’ll easily discover,

That though you’ve lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays, you’re only five and a little bit over!

Ruth.Ha! ha! ha! ha!

King.Ho! ho! ho! ho!

Fred.Dear me!Let’s see! (Counting on fingers.)Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!

Fred.Dear me!

Let’s see! (Counting on fingers.)

Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!

All.Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho, ho! (Fredericmore amused than any.)

Fred.How quaint the ways of paradox!At common sense she gaily mocks!Though counting in the usual way,Years twenty-one I’ve been alive,Yet, reckoning by my natal day,I am a little boy of five!All.He is a little boy of five. Ha, ha!At common sense she gaily mocks;So quaint a way is paradox.All.Ha, ha, ha, ha!King.Ho, ho, ho, ho!Ruth.Ha, ha, ha, ha!Fred.Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Fred.How quaint the ways of paradox!At common sense she gaily mocks!Though counting in the usual way,Years twenty-one I’ve been alive,Yet, reckoning by my natal day,I am a little boy of five!

Fred.How quaint the ways of paradox!

At common sense she gaily mocks!

Though counting in the usual way,

Years twenty-one I’ve been alive,

Yet, reckoning by my natal day,

I am a little boy of five!

All.He is a little boy of five. Ha, ha!At common sense she gaily mocks;So quaint a way is paradox.

All.He is a little boy of five. Ha, ha!

At common sense she gaily mocks;

So quaint a way is paradox.

All.Ha, ha, ha, ha!

King.Ho, ho, ho, ho!

Ruth.Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Fred.Ha, ha, ha, ha!

All.Ho, ho, ho, ho!

[RuthandKingthrow themselves back on seats, exhausted with laughter.]

Fred.Upon my word, this is most curious—most absurdly whimsical. Five and a quarter! No one would think it to look at me.

Ruth.You are glad now, I’ll be bound, that you spared us. You would never have forgiven yourself when you discovered that you had killedtwo of your comrades.

Fred.My comrades?

King.I’m afraid you don’t appreciate the delicacy of your position. You were apprenticed to us——

Fred.Until I reached my twenty-first year.

King.No, until you reached your twenty-firstbirthday(producing document), and, going by birthdays, you are as yet only five and a quarter.

Fred.You don’t mean to say you are going to hold me to that?

King.No, we merely remind you of the fact, and leave the rest to your sense of duty.

Fred.(wildly). Don’t put it on that footing! As I was merciful to you just now, be merciful to me! I implore you not to insist on the letter of your bond just as the cup of happiness is at my lips!

Ruth.We insist on nothing; we content ourselves with pointing out to youyour duty.

Fred.(after a pause). Well, you have appealed to my sense of duty, and my duty is only too clear. I abhor your infamous calling; I shudder at the thought that I have ever been mixed up with it; but duty is before all—at any price I will do my duty!

King.Bravely spoken. Come, you are one of us once more.

Fred.Lead on; I follow. (Suddenly.) Oh, horror!

King and Ruth.What is the matter?

Fred.Ought I to tell you? No, no, I cannot do it; and yet, as one of your band——

King.Speak out, I charge you, by that sense of conscientiousness to which we have never yet appealed in vain.

Fred.General Stanley, the father of my Mabel——

King and Ruth.Yes, yes!

Fred.He escaped from you on the plea that he was an orphan?

King.He did.

Fred.It breaks my heart to betray the honoured father of the girl I adore, but, as your apprentice, I have no alternative. It is my duty to tell you that General Stanley is no orphan.

King and Ruth.What!

Fred.More than that, he never was one!

King.Am I to understand that, to save his contemptible life, he dared to practise on our credulous simplicity? (Fredericnods as he weeps.) Our revenge shall be swift and terrible. We will go and collect our band and attack Tremorden Castle this very night.

Fred.But——

King.Not a word. He is doomed. (Goes up and down stage.)

Trio.

King.With falsehood foulHe tricked us of our brides.Let vengeance howl;The pirate so decides.Our nature stemHe softened with his lies,And, in return,To-night the traitor dies.All.Yes, yes; to-night the traitor dies.Ruth(crosses toFrederic).To-night he dies.King.Yes, or early to-morrow.Fred.His girls likewise?Ruth.They will welter in sorrow.King.The one soft spot——Fred.In their natures they cherish,And all who plot——Ruth.To abuse it shall perish!All.Yes, all who plotKing.To abuse it shall perish!Away, away, etc.

King.With falsehood foulHe tricked us of our brides.Let vengeance howl;The pirate so decides.Our nature stemHe softened with his lies,And, in return,To-night the traitor dies.

King.With falsehood foul

He tricked us of our brides.

Let vengeance howl;

The pirate so decides.

Our nature stem

He softened with his lies,

And, in return,

To-night the traitor dies.

All.Yes, yes; to-night the traitor dies.

Ruth(crosses toFrederic).To-night he dies.

Ruth(crosses toFrederic).

To-night he dies.

King.Yes, or early to-morrow.

Fred.His girls likewise?

Ruth.They will welter in sorrow.

King.The one soft spot——

Fred.In their natures they cherish,And all who plot——

Fred.In their natures they cherish,

And all who plot——

Ruth.To abuse it shall perish!

All.Yes, all who plot

King.To abuse it shall perish!Away, away, etc.

King.To abuse it shall perish!

Away, away, etc.

[ExeuntKingandRuth.Fredericthrows himself on a stone in blank despair.

EnterMabel.

Recitative.—Mabel.

All is prepared, your gallant crew await you.My Frederick in tears? It cannot beThat lion-heart quails at the coming conflict?Fred.No, Mabel, no. A terrible disclosureHas just been made! Mabel, my dearly loved one,I bound myself to serve the pirate captainUntil I reached my one and twentieth birthday——Mab.But you are twenty-one?Fred.I’ve just discoveredThat I was born in leap year, and that birthdayWill not be reached by me till 1940.Mab.Oh, horrible! catastrophe appalling!Fred.And so, farewell!Mab.No, no! Oh, Frederic, hear me.

All is prepared, your gallant crew await you.My Frederick in tears? It cannot beThat lion-heart quails at the coming conflict?

All is prepared, your gallant crew await you.

My Frederick in tears? It cannot be

That lion-heart quails at the coming conflict?

Fred.No, Mabel, no. A terrible disclosureHas just been made! Mabel, my dearly loved one,I bound myself to serve the pirate captainUntil I reached my one and twentieth birthday——

Fred.No, Mabel, no. A terrible disclosure

Has just been made! Mabel, my dearly loved one,

I bound myself to serve the pirate captain

Until I reached my one and twentieth birthday——

Mab.But you are twenty-one?

Fred.I’ve just discoveredThat I was born in leap year, and that birthdayWill not be reached by me till 1940.

Fred.I’ve just discovered

That I was born in leap year, and that birthday

Will not be reached by me till 1940.

Mab.Oh, horrible! catastrophe appalling!

Fred.And so, farewell!

Mab.No, no! Oh, Frederic, hear me.

Duet.—Mabel and Frederic.

Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay!They have no legal claim;No shadow of a shameWill fall upon thy name.Stay, Frederic, stay!Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay,To-night I quit these walls,The thought my soul appals,But when stem duty calls,I must obey.Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay——Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay——Mab.They have no claim——Fred.But duty’s name!The thought my soul appals,But when stern duty calls,I must obey.

Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay!They have no legal claim;No shadow of a shameWill fall upon thy name.Stay, Frederic, stay!

Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay!

They have no legal claim;

No shadow of a shame

Will fall upon thy name.

Stay, Frederic, stay!

Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay,To-night I quit these walls,The thought my soul appals,But when stem duty calls,I must obey.

Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay,

To-night I quit these walls,

The thought my soul appals,

But when stem duty calls,

I must obey.

Mab.Stay, Frederic, stay——

Fred.Nay, Mabel, nay——

Mab.They have no claim——

Fred.But duty’s name!The thought my soul appals,But when stern duty calls,I must obey.

Fred.But duty’s name!

The thought my soul appals,

But when stern duty calls,

I must obey.

Ballad.—Mabel(kneels).

Oh, leave me not to pineAlone and desolate;No fate seemed fair as mine,No happiness so great.And nature, day by day,Has sung, in accents clear,This joyous roundelay,“He loves thee—he is here.Fal-la, fa-la, fa-la.”Fred.Ah, must I leave thee hereIn endless night to dream,Where joy is dark and drear,And sorrow all supreme!Where nature, day by day,Will sing, in altered tone,This weary roundelay,“He loves thee—he is gone.Fa-la, fa-la, fa-la.”He loves thee, he is gone. (Rises.)Fred.In 1940 I of age shall be.I’ll then return, and claim you—I declare it.Mab.It seems so long!Fred.Swear that, till then, you will be true to me.Mab.Yes, I’ll be strong!By all the Stanleys dead and gone,I swear it!

Oh, leave me not to pine

Alone and desolate;

No fate seemed fair as mine,

No happiness so great.

And nature, day by day,

Has sung, in accents clear,

This joyous roundelay,

“He loves thee—he is here.

Fal-la, fa-la, fa-la.”

Fred.Ah, must I leave thee hereIn endless night to dream,Where joy is dark and drear,And sorrow all supreme!Where nature, day by day,Will sing, in altered tone,This weary roundelay,“He loves thee—he is gone.Fa-la, fa-la, fa-la.”He loves thee, he is gone. (Rises.)

Fred.Ah, must I leave thee here

In endless night to dream,

Where joy is dark and drear,

And sorrow all supreme!

Where nature, day by day,

Will sing, in altered tone,

This weary roundelay,

“He loves thee—he is gone.

Fa-la, fa-la, fa-la.”

He loves thee, he is gone. (Rises.)

Fred.In 1940 I of age shall be.I’ll then return, and claim you—I declare it.

Fred.In 1940 I of age shall be.

I’ll then return, and claim you—I declare it.

Mab.It seems so long!

Fred.Swear that, till then, you will be true to me.

Mab.Yes, I’ll be strong!By all the Stanleys dead and gone,I swear it!

Mab.Yes, I’ll be strong!

By all the Stanleys dead and gone,

I swear it!

Ensemble.

Oh, here is love, and here is truth,And here is food for joyous laughter.He}{his}She} will be faithful to {her} soothTill we are wed, and even after.{he}What joy to know that though; {I} mustEmbrace piratical adventures,He}{his}She} will be faithful to {her} trust{he is}{his}Till {I am} out of {my} Ventures.Fred.Farewell! Adieu!Both.Farewell! Adieu!

Oh, here is love, and here is truth,

And here is food for joyous laughter.

He}{his}

She} will be faithful to {her} sooth

Till we are wed, and even after.

{he}

What joy to know that though; {I} must

Embrace piratical adventures,

He}{his}

She} will be faithful to {her} trust

{he is}{his}

Till {I am} out of {my} Ventures.

Fred.Farewell! Adieu!

Both.Farewell! Adieu!

[Fredericrushes to window and leaps out.

Mab.(feeling pulse).Yes, I am brave! Oh, family descent,How great thy charm, thy sway how excellent!Come, one and all, undaunted men in blue;A crisis, now, affairs are coming to.

Mab.(feeling pulse).

Yes, I am brave! Oh, family descent,

How great thy charm, thy sway how excellent!

Come, one and all, undaunted men in blue;

A crisis, now, affairs are coming to.

EnterPolice, marching in single file.

Serg.Though in body and in mind,Tarantara! tarantara!We are timidly inclined,Tarantara!And anything but blind,Tarantara! tarantara!To the danger that’s behind,Tarantara!Yet, when the danger’s near,Tarantara! tarantara!We manage to appearTarantara!As insensible to fearAs anybody here.Tarantara!Tarantara! tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!

Serg.Though in body and in mind,

Tarantara! tarantara!

We are timidly inclined,

Tarantara!

And anything but blind,

Tarantara! tarantara!

To the danger that’s behind,

Tarantara!

Yet, when the danger’s near,

Tarantara! tarantara!

We manage to appear

Tarantara!

As insensible to fear

As anybody here.

Tarantara!

Tarantara! tarantara, ra-ra-ra-ra!

Mab.Sergeant, approach. Young Frederic was to have led you to death and glory.

All.That is not a pleasant way of putting it.

Mab.No matter; he will not so lead you, for he has allied himself once more with his old associates.

All.He has acted shamefully.

Mab.You speak falsely. You know nothing about it. He has acted nobly.

All.He has acted nobly.

Mab.Dearly as I loved him before, his heroic sacrifice to his sense of duty has endeared him to me tenfold. He has done his duty. I will do mine. Go ye, and do yours.

[ExitMabel.

All.Very well.

Serg.This is perplexing.

All.We cannot understand it at all.

Serg.Still he is actuated by a sense of duty——

All.That makes a difference, of course. At the same time we repeat, we cannot understand it at all.

Serg.No matter; our course is clear. We must do our best to capture these pirates alone. It is most distressing to us to be the agents whereby our erring fellow-creatures are deprived of that liberty which is so dear to all—but we should have thought of that before we joined the force.

All.We should.

Serg.It is too late now!

All.It is.

Song.—Sergeant.

When a felon’s not engaged in his employment—All.His employment,Serg.Or maturing his felonious little plans—All.Little plans,Serg.His capacity for innocent enjoyment—All.’Cent enjoyment,Serg.Is just as great as any honest man’s—All.Honest man’s.Serg.Our feelings we with difficulty smother—All.’Culty smother,Serg.When constabulary duty’s to be done—All.To be done,Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—All.With another,Serg.A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.All.When constabulary duty’s to be done,The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.Serg.When the enterprising burglar’s not a-burgling—All.Not a-burgling,Serg.When the cut-throat isn’t occupied in crime—All.’Pied in crime,Serg.He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling—All.Brook a-gurgling,Serg.And listen to the merry village chime—All.Village chime.Serg.When the coster’s finished jumping on his mother—All.On his mother,Serg.He loves to lie a-basking in the sun—All.In the sun.Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—All.With another,Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.When constabulary duty’s to be done—All.To be done,Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one—All.Happy one.

When a felon’s not engaged in his employment—

All.His employment,

Serg.Or maturing his felonious little plans—

All.Little plans,

Serg.His capacity for innocent enjoyment—

All.’Cent enjoyment,

Serg.Is just as great as any honest man’s—

All.Honest man’s.

Serg.Our feelings we with difficulty smother—

All.’Culty smother,

Serg.When constabulary duty’s to be done—

All.To be done,

Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—

All.With another,

Serg.A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

All.When constabulary duty’s to be done,The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

All.When constabulary duty’s to be done,

The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

Serg.When the enterprising burglar’s not a-burgling—

All.Not a-burgling,

Serg.When the cut-throat isn’t occupied in crime—

All.’Pied in crime,

Serg.He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling—

All.Brook a-gurgling,

Serg.And listen to the merry village chime—

All.Village chime.

Serg.When the coster’s finished jumping on his mother—

All.On his mother,

Serg.He loves to lie a-basking in the sun—

All.In the sun.

Serg.Ah, take one consideration with another—

All.With another,

Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.When constabulary duty’s to be done—

Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one.

When constabulary duty’s to be done—

All.To be done,

Serg.The policeman’s lot is not a happy one—

All.Happy one.

Chorus of Pirates(without, in the distance).

A rollicking band of pirates we,Who, tired of tossing on the sea,Are trying their hands in a burglaree,With weapons grim and gory.Serg.Hush, hush! I hear them on the manor poaching;With stealthy step the pirates are approaching.

A rollicking band of pirates we,Who, tired of tossing on the sea,Are trying their hands in a burglaree,With weapons grim and gory.

A rollicking band of pirates we,

Who, tired of tossing on the sea,

Are trying their hands in a burglaree,

With weapons grim and gory.

Serg.Hush, hush! I hear them on the manor poaching;With stealthy step the pirates are approaching.

Serg.Hush, hush! I hear them on the manor poaching;

With stealthy step the pirates are approaching.

Chorus of Pirates(resumed nearer).

We are not coming for plate of gold—A story General Stanley’s told—We seek a penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.Pol.They seek a penalty—Pir.(without).Fifty-fold;We seek a penalty—Pol.Fifty-fold;All.{We}{They} seek a Penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.Pol.They come in force, with stealthy stride,Our obvious course is now—to hide.

We are not coming for plate of gold—A story General Stanley’s told—We seek a penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.

We are not coming for plate of gold—

A story General Stanley’s told—

We seek a penalty fifty-fold

For General Stanley’s story.

Pol.They seek a penalty—

Pir.(without).Fifty-fold;We seek a penalty—

Pir.(without).Fifty-fold;

We seek a penalty—

Pol.Fifty-fold;

All.{We}{They} seek a Penalty fifty-foldFor General Stanley’s story.

All.{We}

{They} seek a Penalty fifty-fold

For General Stanley’s story.

Pol.They come in force, with stealthy stride,Our obvious course is now—to hide.

Pol.They come in force, with stealthy stride,

Our obvious course is now—to hide.

[Policeconceal themselves in aisle. As they do so, thePirates, withRuthandFrederic, are seen appearing at ruined window. They enter cautiously.Samuelis laden with burglarious tools and pistols, etc.

Chorus.—Pirates(very loud).

With cat-like tread,Upon our prey we steal;In silence dreadOur cautious way we feel.Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!Pir.No sound at all,We never speak a word,A fly’s foot-fallCould be distinctly heard—Pol.Tarantara! tarantara!Pir.Ha! ha!Ho! ho!So stealthily the pirate creepsWhile all the household soundly sleeps.Ha! ha! ho! ho!Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!(Forte.)Tarantara!Sam.(distributing implements to various members of the gang).Here’s your crowbar and your centrebit,Your life preserver—you may want to hit;Your silent matches, your dark lantern seize,Take your file and your skeletonic keys.All(fortissimo).With cat-like tread, etc.

With cat-like tread,Upon our prey we steal;In silence dreadOur cautious way we feel.

With cat-like tread,

Upon our prey we steal;

In silence dread

Our cautious way we feel.

Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!

Pir.No sound at all,We never speak a word,A fly’s foot-fallCould be distinctly heard—

Pir.No sound at all,

We never speak a word,

A fly’s foot-fall

Could be distinctly heard—

Pol.Tarantara! tarantara!

Pir.Ha! ha!Ho! ho!So stealthily the pirate creepsWhile all the household soundly sleeps.Ha! ha! ho! ho!

Pir.Ha! ha!

Ho! ho!

So stealthily the pirate creeps

While all the household soundly sleeps.

Ha! ha! ho! ho!

Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!(Forte.)Tarantara!

Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara!

(Forte.)Tarantara!

Sam.(distributing implements to various members of the gang).Here’s your crowbar and your centrebit,Your life preserver—you may want to hit;Your silent matches, your dark lantern seize,Take your file and your skeletonic keys.

Sam.(distributing implements to various members of the gang).

Here’s your crowbar and your centrebit,

Your life preserver—you may want to hit;

Your silent matches, your dark lantern seize,

Take your file and your skeletonic keys.

All(fortissimo).With cat-like tread, etc.

Recitative.

Fred.Hush, not a word. I see a light inside.The Major-General comes, so quickly hide.Gen.(without).Yes, yes, the Major-General comes.Pir.He comes.Gen.(entering in dressing-gown, carrying a light).Yes, yes, I come.Pol.He comes.Gen.Yes, yes, I come.All.The Major-General comes.[ExitFrederic.

Fred.Hush, not a word. I see a light inside.The Major-General comes, so quickly hide.

Fred.Hush, not a word. I see a light inside.

The Major-General comes, so quickly hide.

Gen.(without).Yes, yes, the Major-General comes.

Gen.(without).

Yes, yes, the Major-General comes.

Pir.He comes.

Gen.(entering in dressing-gown, carrying a light).Yes, yes, I come.

Gen.(entering in dressing-gown, carrying a light).

Yes, yes, I come.

Pol.He comes.

Gen.Yes, yes, I come.

All.The Major-General comes.[ExitFrederic.

All.The Major-General comes.

[ExitFrederic.

Solo.—General.

Tormented with the anguish dreadOf falsehood unatoned,I lay upon my sleepless bed,And tossed and turned and groaned.The man who finds his conscience acheNo peace at all enjoys,And as I lay in bed awakeI thought I heard a noise.Pir.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha!Pol.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha! (Very loud.)Gen.No, all is stillIn dale, on hill;My mind is set at ease.So still the scene—It must have beenThe sighing of the breeze.

Tormented with the anguish dread

Of falsehood unatoned,

I lay upon my sleepless bed,

And tossed and turned and groaned.

The man who finds his conscience ache

No peace at all enjoys,

And as I lay in bed awake

I thought I heard a noise.

Pir.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha!

Pol.He thought he heard a noise—ha! ha! (Very loud.)

Gen.No, all is stillIn dale, on hill;My mind is set at ease.So still the scene—It must have beenThe sighing of the breeze.

Gen.No, all is still

In dale, on hill;

My mind is set at ease.

So still the scene—

It must have been

The sighing of the breeze.

Ballad.—General.

Sighing softly to the riverComes the loving breeze,Setting nature all a-quiver,Rustling through the trees—All.Through the trees.Gen.And the brook in rippling measureLaughs for very love,While the poplars, in their pleasure,Wave their arms above. (Goes up stage and returns.)Pol. and Pir.Yes, the trees, for very love,Wave their leafy arms above,River, river, little river,May thy loving prosper ever.Heaven speed thee, poplar tree;May thy wooing happy be.Gen.Yet, the breeze is but a rover;When he wings away,Brook and poplar mourn a lover!Sighing well-a-day!All.Well-a-day!Gen.Ah, the doing and undoingThat the rogue could tell!When the breeze is out a-wooing,Who can woo so well?Pol. and Pir.Shocking tales the rogue could tell,Nobody can woo so well.Pretty brook, thy dream is over,For thy love is but a roverSad the lot of poplar treesCourted by the fickle breeze.

Sighing softly to the riverComes the loving breeze,Setting nature all a-quiver,Rustling through the trees—

Sighing softly to the river

Comes the loving breeze,

Setting nature all a-quiver,

Rustling through the trees—

All.Through the trees.

Gen.And the brook in rippling measureLaughs for very love,While the poplars, in their pleasure,Wave their arms above. (Goes up stage and returns.)

Gen.And the brook in rippling measure

Laughs for very love,

While the poplars, in their pleasure,

Wave their arms above. (Goes up stage and returns.)

Pol. and Pir.Yes, the trees, for very love,Wave their leafy arms above,River, river, little river,May thy loving prosper ever.Heaven speed thee, poplar tree;May thy wooing happy be.

Pol. and Pir.Yes, the trees, for very love,

Wave their leafy arms above,

River, river, little river,

May thy loving prosper ever.

Heaven speed thee, poplar tree;

May thy wooing happy be.

Gen.Yet, the breeze is but a rover;When he wings away,Brook and poplar mourn a lover!Sighing well-a-day!

Gen.Yet, the breeze is but a rover;

When he wings away,

Brook and poplar mourn a lover!

Sighing well-a-day!

All.Well-a-day!

Gen.Ah, the doing and undoingThat the rogue could tell!When the breeze is out a-wooing,Who can woo so well?

Gen.Ah, the doing and undoing

That the rogue could tell!

When the breeze is out a-wooing,

Who can woo so well?

Pol. and Pir.Shocking tales the rogue could tell,Nobody can woo so well.Pretty brook, thy dream is over,For thy love is but a roverSad the lot of poplar treesCourted by the fickle breeze.

Pol. and Pir.Shocking tales the rogue could tell,

Nobody can woo so well.

Pretty brook, thy dream is over,

For thy love is but a rover

Sad the lot of poplar trees

Courted by the fickle breeze.

Enter theGeneral’sdaughters, all in white peignoirs and nightcaps, and carrying lighted candles.

Girls.Now, what is this, and what is that, and why does father leave his restAt such a time as this, so very incompletely dressed?Dear father is, and always was, the most methodical of men;It’s his invariable rule to go to bed at half-past ten.What strange occurrence can it be that calls dear father from his restAt such a time of night as this, so very incompletely dressed?King(springing up).Forward, my men, and seize that General there![They seize theGeneral.Pir.Ha! ha! we are the pirates, so despair—King.With base deceitYou worked upon our feelingsRevenge is sweet,And flavours all our dealings.With courage rareAnd resolution manly,For death prepare,Unhappy General Stanley!Fred.(coming forward).Alas, alas, unhappy General Stanley!Gen.Frederic here! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!Summon your men and effect their capture.Mab.Frederic, save us!Fred.Beautiful Mabel,I would if I could, but I am not able.Pir.He’s telling the truth, he is not able.Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara.Mab.(wildly). Is he to die, unshriven-unannealed?Girls.Oh, spare him!Mab.Will no one in his cause a weapon wield?Girls.Oh, spare him!Pol.(springing up).Yes, we are here, though hitherto concealed!Girls.Oh, rapture!Pol.So to our prowess, pirates, quickly yield!Girls.Oh, rapture!

Girls.Now, what is this, and what is that, and why does father leave his rest

At such a time as this, so very incompletely dressed?

Dear father is, and always was, the most methodical of men;

It’s his invariable rule to go to bed at half-past ten.

What strange occurrence can it be that calls dear father from his rest

At such a time of night as this, so very incompletely dressed?

King(springing up).Forward, my men, and seize that General there!

King(springing up).

Forward, my men, and seize that General there!

[They seize theGeneral.

Pir.Ha! ha! we are the pirates, so despair—

King.With base deceitYou worked upon our feelingsRevenge is sweet,And flavours all our dealings.With courage rareAnd resolution manly,For death prepare,Unhappy General Stanley!

King.With base deceit

You worked upon our feelings

Revenge is sweet,

And flavours all our dealings.

With courage rare

And resolution manly,

For death prepare,

Unhappy General Stanley!

Fred.(coming forward).Alas, alas, unhappy General Stanley!

Fred.(coming forward).

Alas, alas, unhappy General Stanley!

Gen.Frederic here! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!Summon your men and effect their capture.

Gen.Frederic here! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!

Summon your men and effect their capture.

Mab.Frederic, save us!

Fred.Beautiful Mabel,I would if I could, but I am not able.

Fred.Beautiful Mabel,

I would if I could, but I am not able.

Pir.He’s telling the truth, he is not able.

Pol.(pianissimo).Tarantara! tarantara.

Mab.(wildly). Is he to die, unshriven-unannealed?

Girls.Oh, spare him!

Mab.Will no one in his cause a weapon wield?

Girls.Oh, spare him!

Pol.(springing up).Yes, we are here, though hitherto concealed!

Pol.(springing up).

Yes, we are here, though hitherto concealed!

Girls.Oh, rapture!

Pol.So to our prowess, pirates, quickly yield!

Girls.Oh, rapture!

[A struggle ensues betweenPiratesandPolice. Eventually thePoliceare overcome, and fall prostrate, thePiratesstanding over them with drawn swords.Ladiesrun down.

Chorus of Police and Pirates.

You}We} triumph now, for well we trowOur mortal career’s cut short,No pirate band will take its standAt the Central Criminal Court.Serg.To gain a brief advantage you’ve contrived,But your proud triumph will not be long-lived.King.Don’t say you are orphans, for we know that game.Serg.On your allegiance we’ve a nobler claim.We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name!King(baffled).You do!Pol.We do;We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name![Pirateskneel,Policestand over them triumphantly.King.We yield at once, with humbled mien,Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen,Pol.Yes, yes; with all their faults, they love their Queen.Ladies.Yes, yes; with all, etc.[Police, holdingPiratesby the collar, take out handkerchiefs and weep.Ruthenters.Gen.Away with them, and place them at the bar.Ruth.One moment; let me tell you who they are.They are no members of the common throng;They are all noblemen, who have gone wrong!Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,allnoblemen?King and Pir.Yes, all noblemen!Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,all?King.Well, nearly all!Gen.No Englishmen unmoved that statement hears,Because, with all our faults, we love our House of Peers.[All kneel toPirates.

You}We} triumph now, for well we trowOur mortal career’s cut short,No pirate band will take its standAt the Central Criminal Court.

You}

We} triumph now, for well we trow

Our mortal career’s cut short,

No pirate band will take its stand

At the Central Criminal Court.

Serg.To gain a brief advantage you’ve contrived,But your proud triumph will not be long-lived.

Serg.To gain a brief advantage you’ve contrived,

But your proud triumph will not be long-lived.

King.Don’t say you are orphans, for we know that game.

Serg.On your allegiance we’ve a nobler claim.We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name!

Serg.On your allegiance we’ve a nobler claim.

We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name!

King(baffled).You do!

Pol.We do;We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name![Pirateskneel,Policestand over them triumphantly.

Pol.We do;

We charge you yield, in Queen Victoria’s name!

[Pirateskneel,Policestand over them triumphantly.

King.We yield at once, with humbled mien,Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen,

King.We yield at once, with humbled mien,

Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen,

Pol.Yes, yes; with all their faults, they love their Queen.

Ladies.Yes, yes; with all, etc.

[Police, holdingPiratesby the collar, take out handkerchiefs and weep.

Ruthenters.

Gen.Away with them, and place them at the bar.

Ruth.One moment; let me tell you who they are.They are no members of the common throng;They are all noblemen, who have gone wrong!

Ruth.One moment; let me tell you who they are.

They are no members of the common throng;

They are all noblemen, who have gone wrong!

Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,allnoblemen?

King and Pir.Yes, all noblemen!

Gen., Pol., and Girls.What,all?

King.Well, nearly all!

Gen.No Englishmen unmoved that statement hears,Because, with all our faults, we love our House of Peers.[All kneel toPirates.

Gen.No Englishmen unmoved that statement hears,

Because, with all our faults, we love our House of Peers.

[All kneel toPirates.

Recitative.—General.

I pray you, pardon me, ex-Pirate King,Peers will be peers, and youth will have its fling.Resume your ranks and legislative duties,And take my daughters, all of whom are beauties.

I pray you, pardon me, ex-Pirate King,

Peers will be peers, and youth will have its fling.

Resume your ranks and legislative duties,

And take my daughters, all of whom are beauties.

Finale.

Mab.Poor wandering ones,Though ye have surely strayed,Take heart of grace,Your steps retrace,Poor wandering ones!Poor wandering ones,If such poor love as oursCan help you findTrue peace of mind,Why, take it, it is yours!All.Poor wandering ones, etc.

Mab.Poor wandering ones,

Though ye have surely strayed,

Take heart of grace,

Your steps retrace,

Poor wandering ones!

Poor wandering ones,

If such poor love as ours

Can help you find

True peace of mind,

Why, take it, it is yours!

All.Poor wandering ones, etc.

THE END.

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.

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