No. 16. Free from his fetters grim(BALLAD)FairfaxFAIRFAX Free from his fetters grim—Free to depart;Free both in life and limb—In all but heart!Bound to an unknown brideFor good and ill;Ah, is not one so tiedA pris'ner still, a pris'ner still?Ah, is not one so tiedA pris'ner still?Free, yet in fetters heldTill his last hour,Gyves that no smith can weld,No rust devour!Although a monarch's handHad set him free,Of all the captive bandThe saddest he, the saddest he!Of all the captive bandThe saddest, saddest he![Enter SERGEANT MERYLLFAIRFAX Well, Sergeant Meryll, and how fares thy prettycharge,Elsie Maynard?MERYLL Well enough, sir. She is quite strong again, andleaves us to-night.FAIRFAX Thanks to Dame Carruthers' kind nursing, eh?MERYLL Aye, deuce take the old witch! Ah, 'twas but a sorrytrick you played me, sir, to bring the fainting girlto me. It gave the old lady an excuse for taking upher quarters in my house, and for the last two yearsI've shunned her like the plague. Another day of itand she would have married me! [Enter DAME CARRUTHERSand KATE] Good Lord, here she is again! I'll e'en go.[Going]DAME Nay, Sergeant Meryll, don't go. I have something ofgrave import to say to thee.MERYLL [aside] It's coming.FAIRFAX [laughing] I'faith, I think I', not wanted here.[Going]DAME Nay, Master Leonard, I've naught to say to thy fatherthat his son may not hear.FAIRFAX [aside] True. I'm one of the family; I had forgotten!DAME 'Tis about this Elsie Maynard. A pretty girl, MasterLeonard.FAIRFAX Aye, fair as a peach blossom— what then?DAME She hath a liking for thee, or I mistake not.FAIRFAX With all my heart. She's as dainty a little amid asyou'll find in a midsummer day's march.DAME Then be warned in time, and give not thy heart to her.Oh, I know what it is to give my heart to one who willhave none of it!MERYLL [aside] Aye, she knows all about that.[Aloud] And why is my boy to take heed of her? She'sa good girl, Dame Carruthers.DAME Good enough, for aught I know. But she's no girl.She's a married woman.MERYLL A married woman! Tush, old lady— she's promised toJack Point, the Lieutenant's new jester.DAME Tush in thy teeth, old man! As my niece Kate sat byher bedside to-day, this Elsie slept, and as she sleptshe moaned and groaned, and turned this way and thatway— and, "How shall I marry one I have never seen?"quoth she— then, "An hundred crowns!" quoth she—then,"Is it certain he will die in an hour?" quothshe— then, "I love him not, and yet I am his wife,"quoth she! Is it not so, Kate?KATE Aye, aunt, 'tis even so.FAIRFAX Art thou sure of all this?KATE Aye, sir, for I wrote it all down on my tablets.DAME Now, mark my words: it was of this Fairfax she spake,and he is her husband, or I'll swallow my kirtle!MERYLL [aside] Is it true, sir?FAIRFAX [aside to MERYLL] True? Why, the girl was raving![Aloud] Why should she marry a man who had but an hourto live?DAME Marry? There be those who would marry but for aminute, rather than die old maids.MERYLL [aside] Aye, I know one of them!No. 17. Strange adventure!(QUARTET)Kate, Dame, Carruthers, Fairfax and Sergeant MeryllALL Strange adventure! Maiden weddedTo a groom she's never seen—Never, never, never seen!Groom about to be beheaded,In an hour on Tower Green!Tower, Tower, Tower Green!Groom in dreary dungeon lying,Groom as good as dead, or dying,For a pretty maiden sighing—Pretty maid of seventeen!Seven— seven— seventeen!Strange adventure that we're trolling:Modest maid and gallant groom—Gallant, gallant, gallant groom!—While the funeral bell is tolling,Tolling, tolling, Bim-a-boom!Bim-a, Bim-a, Bim-a-boom!Modest maiden will not tarry;Though but sixteen year she carry,She must marry, she must marry,Though the altar be a tomb—Tower— Tower— Tower tomb!Tower tomb! Tower tomb!Though the altar be a tomb!Tower, Tower, Tower tomb![Exeunt DAME CARRUTHERS, MERYLL, and KATE.FAIRFAX So my mysterious bride is no other than this winsomeElsie! By my hand, 'tis no such ill plunge inFortune's lucky bag! I might have fared worse with myeyes open! But she comes. Now to test her principles.'Tis not every husband who has a chance of wooing hisown wife![Enter ELSIEFAIRFAX Mistress Elsie!ELSIE Master Leonard!FAIRFAX So thou leavest us to-night?ELSIE Yes. Master Leonard. I have been kindly tended, and Ialmost fear I am loth to go.FAIRFAX And this Fairfax. Wast thou glad when he escaped?ELSIE Why, truly, Master Leonard, it is a sad thing that ayoung and gallant gentleman should die in the veryfullness of his life.FAIRFAX Then when thou didst faint in my arms, it was for joyat his safety?ELSIE It may be so. I was highly wrought, Master Leonard,and I am but a girl, and so, when I an highly wrought,I faint.FAIRFAX Now, dost thou know, I am consumed with a parlousjealousy?ELSIE Thou? And of whom?FAIRFAX Why, of this Fairfax, surely!ELSIE Of Colonel Fairfax?FAIRFAX Aye. Shall I be frank with thee? Elsie— I love thee,ardently, passionately! [ELSIE alarmed and surprised]Elsie, I have loved thee these two days— which is along time— and I would fain join my life to thine!ELSIE Master Leonard! Thou art jesting!FAIRFAX Jesting? May I shrivel into raisins if I jest! I lovethee with a love that is a fever— with a love that isa frenzy— with a love that eateth up my heart! Whatsayest thou? Thou wilt not let my heart be eaten up?ELSIE [aside] Oh, mercy! What am I to say?FAIRFAX Dost thou love me, or hast thou been insensible thesetwo days?ELSIE I love all brave men.FAIRFAX Nay, there is love in excess. I thank heaven there aremany brave men in England; but if thou lovest themall, I withdraw my thanks.ELSIE I love the bravest best. But, sir, I may not listen—I am not free— I— I am a wife!FAIRFAX Thou a wife? Whose? His name? His hours arenumbered—nay, his grave is dug and his epitaph set up!Come, his name?ELSIE Oh, sir! keep my secret— it is the only barrier thatFate could set up between us. My husband is none otherthan Colonel Fairfax!FAIRFAX The greatest villain unhung! The most ill-favoured,ill-mannered, ill-natured, ill-omened, ill-tempereddog in Christendom!ELSIE It is very like. He is naught to me— for I never sawhim. I was blindfolded, and he was to have died withinthe hour; and he did not die— and I am wedded to him,and my heart is broken!FAIRFAX He was to have died, and he did not die? Thescoundrel! The perjured, traitorous villain! Thoushouldst have insisted on his dying first, to makesure. 'Tis the only way with these Fairfaxes.ELSIE I now wish I had!FAIRFAX [aside] Bloodthirsty little maiden![Aloud] A fig for this Fairfax! Be mine— he will neverknow— he dares not show himself; and if he dare, whatart thou to him? Fly with me, Elsie— we will bemarried tomorrow, and thou shalt be the happiest wifein England!ELSIE Master Leonard! I am amazed! Is it thus that bravesoldiers speak to poor girls? Oh! for shame, forshame! I am wed— not the less because I love not myhusband. I am a wife, sir, and I have a duty, and— oh,sir!— thy words terrify me— they are not honest— theyare wicked words, and unworthy thy great and braveheart! Oh,shame upon thee! shame upon thee!FAIRFAX Nay, Elsie, I did but jest. I spake but to try thee—[Shot heard[Enter SERGEANT MERYLL hastilyNo. 18. Hark! What was that, sir?(SCENE)Elsie, Phoebe, Dame Carruthers, Fairfax. Wilfred, Point,Lieutenant, SergeantMERYLL Hark! What was that, sir?FAIRFAX Why, an arquebus—Fired from the wharf, unless I much mistake.MERYLL Strange— and at such an hour! What can it mean![Enter CHORUS excitedlyCHORUS Now what can that have been—A shot so late at night,Enough to cause a fright!What can the portent mean?Are foemen in the land?Is London to be wrecked?What are we to expect?What danger is at hand?Let us understandWhat danger is at hand![LIEUTENANT enters, also POINT and WILFREDLIEUT. Who fired that shot? At once the truth declare?WILFRED My lord, 'twas I— to rashly judge forebear!POINT My lord, 'twas he— to rashly judge forebear!WILFRED Like a ghost his vigil keeping—POINT Or a spectre all-appalling—WILFRED I beheld a figure creeping—POINT I should rather call it crawling—WILFRED He was creeping—POINT He was crawling—WILFRED He was creeping, creeping—POINT Crawling!WILFRED He was creeping—POINT He was crawling—WILFRED He was creeping, creeping—POINT Crawling!WILFRED Not a moment's hesitation—I myself upon him flung,With a hurried exclamationTo his draperies I hung;Then we closed with one anotherIn a rough-and-tumble smother;Col'nel Fairfax and no otherWas the man to whom I clung!ALL Col'nel Fairfax and no other,Was the man to whom he clung!WILFRED After mighty tug and tussle—POINT It resembled more a struggle—WILFRED He, by dint of stronger muscle—POINT Or by some infernal juggle—WILFRED From my clutches quickly sliding—POINT I should rather call it slipping—WILFRED With a view, no doubt, of hiding—POINT Or escaping to the shipping—WILFRED With a gasp, and with a quiver—POINT I'd describe it as a shiver—WILFRED Down he dived into the river,And, alas, I cannot swim.ALL It's enough to make one shiver,With a gasp, and with a quiver,Down he dived into the river;It was very brave of him!WILFRED Ingenuity is catching;With the view my King of pleasing,Arquebus from sentry snatching—POINT I should rather call it seizing—WILFRED With an ounce or two of leadI dispatched him through the head!ALL With an ounce or two of leadHe dispatched him through the head!WILFRED I discharged it without winking,Little time I lost in thinking,Like a stone I saw him sinking—POINT I should say a lump of lead.ALL He discharged it without winking,Little time he lost in thinking.WILFRED Like a stone I saw him sinking—POINT I should say a lump of lead.WILFRED Like a stone, my boy, I said—POINT Like a heavy lump of lead.WILFRED Like a stone, my boy, I said—POINT Like a heavy lump of lead.WILFRED Anyhow, the man is dead,Whether stone or lump of lead!ALL Anyhow, the man is dead,Whether stone or lump of lead!Arquebus from sentry seizing,With the view his King of pleasing,Arquebus from sentry seizing,With the view his King of pleasing,Wilfred shot him through the head,And he's very, very dead!And it matters very littleWhether stone or lump of lead,It is very, very certain thathe's very, very dead!LIEUT. The river must be dragged— no time be lost;The body must be found, at any cost.To this attend without undue delay;So set to work with what dispatch ye may![Exit LIEUTENANTALL Yes, yes,We'll set to work with what dispatch we may![Men raise WILFRED, and carry him off on their shoulders.ALL Hail the valiant fellow whoDid this deed of derring-do!Honours wait on such an one;By my head, 'twas bravely done,'twas bravely done!Now, by my head, 'twas bravely done![Exeunt all but ELSIE, POINT, FAIRFAX, and PHOEBE.POINT [to ELSIE, who is weeping] Nay, sweetheart, becomforted. This Fairfax was but a pestilent fellow,and, as he had to die, he might as well die thus asany other way. 'Twas a good death.ELSIE Still, he was my husband, and had he not been, he wasnevertheless a living man, and now he is dead; and so,by your leave, my tears may flow unchidden, MasterPoint.FAIRFAX And thou didst see all this?POINT Aye, with both eyes at once— this and that. Thetestimony of one eye is naught— he may lie. But whenit is corroborated by the other, it is good evidencethat none may gainsay. Here are both present in court,ready to swear to him!PHOEBE But art thou sure it was Colonel Fairfax? Saw you hisface?POINT Aye, and a plaguey ill-favoured face too. A very hang-dog face— a felon face— a face to fright the headsmanhimself, and make him strike awry. Oh, a plaguey, badface, take my word for it. [PHOEBE and FAIRFAX laugh]How they laugh! "Tis ever thus with simple folk— anaccepted wit has but to say "Pass the mustard," andthey roar their ribs out!FAIRFAX [aside] If ever I come to life again, thou shalt payfor this, Master Point!POINT Now, Elsie, thou art free to choose again, so beholdme: I am young and well-favoured. I have a pretty wit.I can jest you, jibe you, quip you, crank you, wrackyou, riddle you—FAIRFAX Tush, man, thou knowest not how to woo. 'Tis not to bedone with time-worn jests and thread-bare sophistries;with quips, conundrums, rhymes, and paradoxes. 'Tis anart in itself, and must be studied gravely andconscientiously.No. 19. A man who would woo a fair maid(TRIO)Elsie, Phoebe, and FairfaxFAIRFAX A man who would woo a fair maid,Should 'prentice himself to the trade;And study all day,In methodical way,How to flatter, cajole, and persuade.He should 'prentice himself at fourteen,And practise from morning to e'en;And when he's of age,If he will, I'll engage,He may capture the heart of a queen,the heart of a queen!ALL It is purely a matter of skill,Which all may attain if they will.But every JackHe must study the knackIf he wants to make sure of his Jill!If he wants to make sure of his Jill!ELSIE If he's made the best use of his time,His twig he'll so carefully limeThat every birdWill come down at his word,Whatever its plumage and clime.He must learn that the thrill of a touchMay mean little, or nothing, or much;It's an instrument rare,To be handled with care,And ought to be treated as such,Ought to be treated as such.ALL It is purely a matter of skill,Which all may attain if they will:But every Jack,He must study the knackIf he wants to make sure of his Jill!If he wants to make sure of his Jill!PHOEBE Then a glance may be timid or free;It will vary in mighty degree,From an impudent stareTo a look of despairThat no maid without pity can see!And a glance of despair is no guide—It may have its ridiculous side;It may draw you a tearOr a box on the ear;You can never be sure till you've tried!Never be sure till you've tried!ALL It is purely a matter of skill,Which all may attain if they will:But every Jack,He must study the knackIf he wants to make sure of his Jill,If he wants to make sure of his Jill!But every Jack,He must study the knack,But every Jack,Must study the knackIf he wants to make sure of his Jill!Yes, every Jack,Must study the knackIf he wants to make sure of his Jill!FAIRFAX [aside to POINT] Now, listen to me— 'tis done thus—[aloud] Mistress Elsie, there is one here who, as thouknowest, loves thee right well!POINT [aside] That he does— right well!FAIRFAX He is but a man of poor estate, but he hath a loving,honest heart. He will be a true and trusty husband tothee, and if thou wilt be his wife, thou shalt liecurled up in his heart, like a little squirrel in itsnest!POINT [aside] 'Tis a pretty figure. A maggot in a nut liescloser, but a squirrel will do.FAIRFAX He knoweth that thou wast a wife— an unloved andunloving wife, and his poor heart was near tobreaking. But now that thine unloving husband is dead,and thou art free, he would fain pray that thouwouldst hearken unto him, and give him hope that thouwouldst one day be his!PHOEBE [alarmed] He presses her hands— and whispers in herear! Ods bodikins, what does it mean?FAIRFAX Now, sweetheart, tell me— wilt thou be this poorgoodfellow's wife?ELSIE If the good, brave man— is he a brave man?FAIRFAX So men say.POINT [aside] That's not true, but let it pass.ELSIE If the brave man will be content with a poor,penniless, untaught maid—POINT [aside] Widow— but let that pass.ELSIE I will be his true and loving wife, and that with myheart of hearts!FAIRFAX My own dear love! [Embracing her]PHOEBE [in great agitation] Why, what's all this? Brother—brother— it is not seemly!POINT [also alarmed, aside] Oh, I can't let that pass![Aloud] Hold, enough, Master Leonard! An advocateshould have his fee, but methinks thou art over-payingthyself!FAIRFAX Nay, that is for Elsie to say. I promised thee I wouldshow thee how to woo, and herein lies the proof of thevirtue of my teaching. Go thou, and apply itelsewhere! [PHOEBE bursts into tears]No. 20. When a wooer goes a-wooing(QUARTET)Elsie, Phoebe, Fairfax, and PointELSIE When a wooer Goes a-wooing,Naught is truer Than his joy.FAIRFAX Maiden hushing All his suing—Boldly blushing, bravely coy!Bravely coy! Boldly blushing—ELSIE Boldly blushing, bravely coy!ALL Oh, the happy days of doing!Oh, the sighing and the suing!When a wooer goes a-wooing,Oh the sweets that never cloy!PHOEBE [weeping] When a brother leaves his sisterFor another, sister weeps,Tears that trickle,Tears that blister—'Tis but mickle Sister reaps!ALL Oh, the doing and undoing,Oh, the sighing and the suing,When a brother goes a-wooing,And a sobbing sister weeps!POINT When a jester Is outwitted,Feelings fester, Heart is lead!Food for fishes Only fitted,Jester wishes He was dead!Food for fishes Only fitted,Jester wishes He was dead!ALL Oh, the doing and undoing,Oh, the sighing and the suing,When a jester goes a-wooing,And he wishes he was dead!Oh, the doing and undoing,Oh, the sighing and the suing,When a jester goes a-wooing,And he wishes he was dead,And he wishes he was dead![Exeunt all but PHOEBE, who remains weeping.PHOEBE And I helped that man to escape, and I've kept hissecret, and pretended that I was his dearly lovingsister, and done everything I could think of to makefolk believe I was his loving sister, and this is hisgratitude! Before I pretend to be sister to anybodyagain, I'll turn nun, and be sister to everybody— oneas much as another![Enter WILFREDWILFRED In tears, eh? What a plague art thou grizzling fornow?PHOEBE Why am I grizzling? Thou hast often wept for jealousy—well, 'tis for jealousy I weep now. Aye, yellow,bilious, jaundiced jealousy. So make the most of that,Master Wilfred.WILFRED But I have never given thee cause for jealousy. TheLieutenant's cook-maid and I are but the merestgossips!PHOEBE Jealous of thee! Bah! I'm jealous of no craven cock-on-a-hill, who crows about what he'd do an he dared!I am jealous of another and a better man than thou—set that down, Master Wilfred. And he is to marryElsie Maynard, the pale little fool— set that downMaster Wilfred— and my heart is wellnigh broken!There, thou hast it all! Make the most of it!WILFRED The man thou lovest is to marry Elsie Maynard? Why,that is no other than thy brother, Leonard Meryll!PHOEBE [aside] Oh, mercy! what have I said?WILFRED Why, what matter of brother is this, thou lying littlejade? Speak! Who is this man whom thou hast calledbrother, and fondled, and coddled, and kissed!— withmy connivance, too! Oh Lord! with my connivance! Ha!should it be this Fairfax! [PHOEBE starts] It is! Itis this accursed Fairfax! It's Fairfax! Fairfax, who—PHOEBE Whom thou hast just shot through the head, and wholies at the bottom of the river!WILFRED A— I— I may have been mistaken. We are but falliblemortals, the best of us. But I'll make sure— I'll makesure. [Going]PHOEBE Stay— one word. I think it cannot be Fairfax— mind, Isay I think— because thou hast just slain Fairfax. Butwhether he be Fairfax or no Fairfax, he is to marryElsie— and— and— as thou hast shot him through thehead, and he is dead, be content with that, and I willbe thy wife!WILFRED Is that sure?PHOEBE Aye, sure enough, for there's no help for it! Thou arta very brute— but even brutes must marry, I suppose.WILFRED My beloved. [Embraces her]PHOEBE [aside] Ugh![Enter LEONARD MERYLL, hastilyLEONARD Phoebe, rejoice, for I bring glad tidings. ColonelFairfax's reprieve was signed two days since, but itwas foully and maliciously kept back by SecretaryPoltwhistle, who designed that it should arrive afterthe Colonel's death. It hath just come to hand, and itis now in the Lieutenant's possession!PHOEBE Then the Colonel is free? Oh, kiss me, kiss me, mydear! Kiss me, again, and again!WILFRED [dancing with fury] Ods bobs, death o' my life! Artthou mad? Am I mad? Are we all mad?PHOEBE Oh, my dear— my dear, I'm well nigh crazed with joy![Kissing LEONARD]WILFRED Come away from him, thou hussy— thou jade— thoukissing, clinging cockatrice! And as for thee, sir,devil take thee, I'll rip thee like a herring forthis! I'll skin thee for it! I'll cleave thee to thechine! I'll— oh! Phoebe! Phoebe! Who is this man?PHOEBE Peace, fool. He is my brother!WILFRED Another brother! Are there any more of them? Producethem all at once, and let me know the worst!PHOEBE This is the real Leonard, dolt; the other was but hissubstitute. The real Leonard, I say— my father's ownson.WILFRED How do I know this? Has he "brother" writ large on hisbrow? I mistrust thy brothers! Thou art but a falsejade![Exit LEONARD.PHOEBE Now, Wilfred, be just. Truly I did deceive theebefore— but it was to save a precious life— and tosave it, not for me, but for another. They are to bewed this very day. Is not this enough for thee? Come—I am thy Phoebe— thy very own— and we will be wed ina year— or two— or three, at the most. Is not thatenough for thee?[Enter SERGEANT MERYLL, excitedly, followed by DAMECARRUTHERS, who listens, unobserved.MERYLL Phoebe, hast thou heard the brave news?PHOEBE [still in WILFRED's arms] Aye, father.MERYLL I'm nigh mad with joy! [Seeing WILFRED] Why, what'sall this?PHOEBE Oh, father, he discovered our secret thorough myfolly, and the price of his silence is—WILFRED Phoebe's heart.PHOEBE Oh, dear, no— Phoebe's hand.WILFRED It's the same thing!PHOEBE Is it?[Exeunt WILFRED and PHOEBE.MERYLL [looking after them] "Tis pity, but the Colonel had tobe saved at any cost, and as thy folly revealed oursecret, thy folly must e'en suffer for it![DAME CARRUTHERS comes down] Dame Carruthers!DAME So this is a plot to shield this arch-fiend, and Ihave detected it. A word from me, and three headsbesides his would roll from their shoulders!MERYLL Nay, Colonel Fairfax is reprieved.[Aside] Yet, if my complicity in his escape wereknown! Plague on the old meddler! There's nothing forit—[aloud]— Hush, pretty one! Such bloodthirsty words illbecome those cherry lips![Aside] Ugh!DAME [bashfully] Sergeant Meryll!MERYLL Why, look ye, chuck— for many a month I've— I'vethought to myself— "There's snug love saving up inthat middle-aged bosom for some one, and why not forthee— that's me— so take heart and tell her— that'sthee— that thou— that's me— lovest her— thee— and—and— well,I'm a miserable old man, and I've done it—and that's me!" But not a word about Fairfax! Theprice of thy silence is—DAME Meryll's heart?MERYLL No, Meryll's hand.DAME It's the same thing!MERYLL Is it?No. 21. Rapture, rapture(DUET)Dame Carruthers and Sergeant MeryllDAME Rapture, raptureWhen love's votary,Flushed with capture,Seeks the notary,Joy and jollityThen is polity;Reigns frivolity!Rapture, rapture!Joy and jollityThen is polity;Reigns frivolity!Rapture, rapture!MERYLL Doleful, doleful!When humanityWith its soul fullOf satanity,Courting privity,Down declivitySeeks captivity!Doleful, doleful!Courting privity,Down declivitySeeks captivity!Doleful, doleful!DAME Joyful, joyful!When virginitySeeks, all coyful,Man's affinity;Fate all flowery,Bright and bowery,Is her dowery!Joyful, joyful!Fate all flowery,Bright and bowery,Is her dowery!Joyful, joyful!MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!When man, sorrowful,Firstly, lastly,Of to-morrow full,After tarrying,Yields to harrying—Goes a-marrying.Ghastly, ghastly!DAME Joyful, joyful!MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!DAME Joyful, joyful!MERYLL Ghastly, ghastly!DAME MERYLLJoyful, joyful! Ghastly, ghastly!Joyful, joyful, joyful! Ghastly, ghastly,ghastly!Rapture, rapture Doleful, doleful!When love's votary, When humanityFlushed with capture, With its soul fullSeeks the notary, Of satanity,Joy and jollity Courting privity,Then is polity; Down declivityReigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!Joy and jollity Courting privity,Then is polity; Down declivityReigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!Rapture, rapture, Doleful, doleful,Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful!Joy and jollity Courting privity,Then is polity; Down declivityReigns frivolity! Seeks captivity!Rapture, rapture! Doleful, doleful![Exeunt DAME and SERGEANT MERYLL.No. 22. Comes the pretty young bride(FINALE OF ACT II)Ensemble[Enter YEOMEN and WOMENWOMEN Comes the pretty young bride,a-blushing, timidly shrinking—Set all thy fears aside—cheerily, pretty young bride!Brave is the youth to whom thy lotthou art willingly linking!Flower of valour he—loving as loving can be!Brightly thy summer is shining,Brightly thy summer is shining,Fair as the dawn, as the dawn of the day;Take him, be true to him—Tender his due to him—Honour him, honour him, love and obey![Enter DAME, PHOEBE, and ELSIE as BridePHOEBE, ELSIE& DAME 'Tis said that joy in full perfectionComes only once to womankind—That, other times, on close inspection,Some lurking bitter we shall find.If this be so, and men say truly,My day of joy has broken dulyWith happiness my/her soul is cloyed—With happiness is cloyed—With happiness my/her soul is cloyed—This is my/her joy-dayunalloyed, unalloyed,This is my/her joy-day unalloyed!ALL Yes, yes, with happiness her soul is cloyed!This is her joy-day unalloyed![Flourish. Enter LIEUTENANTLIEUT. Hold, pretty one! I bring to theeNews— good or ill, it is for thee to say.Thy husband lives— and he is free,And comes to claim his bride this very day!ELSIE No! No! recall those words— it cannot be![all four blocks below sung at once]KATE and CHORUS DAME CARRUTHERS and PHOEBEOh, day of terror! Oh, day of terror!Oh, day of terror! Oh, day of terror!Day of terror! The man to whom thou artDay of tears! alliedDay of terror! Appears to claim theeDay of tears! as his bride.Who is the man who, The man to whom thou artIn his pride, alliedClaims thee as his bride? And claim me as his bride.Day of terror! Day of terror!Day of tears! Day of tears!LIEUT., MERYLL, and WILFRED ELSIECome, dry these unbecoming tears,Most joyful tidings greetthine ears,Come, dry these unbecoming tears, Oh, Leonard,Most joyful tidings greet Oh,Leonard,thine ears, Come thou to my side,The man to whom thou art allied And claim me asAppears to claim thee thy loving bride!as his bride. Day of terror!The man to whom thou art allied Day of tears!Appears to claim theeas his bride.[Flourish. Enter COLONEL FAIRFAX, handsomely dressed,andattended by other GentlemenFAIRFAX [sternly] All thought of LeonardMeryll set aside.Thou art mine own! I claim thee as my bride.ALL Thou art his own!Alas! he claims thee as his bride.ELSIE A suppliant at thy feet I fall;Thine heart will yield to pity's call!FAIRFAX Mine is a heart of massive rock,Unmoved by sentimental shock!ALL Thy husband he!ELSIE [aside] Leonard, my loved one— come to me.They bear me hence away!But though they take me far from thee,My heart is thine for aye!My bruised heart,My broken heart,Is thine, my own, for aye!Is thine, is thine, my own,Is thine, for aye!ELSIE [To FAIRFAX] Sir, I obey!I am thy bride;But ere the fatal hourI said the sayThat placed me in thy pow'rWould I had died!Sir, I obey!I am thy bride![Looks up and recognizes FAIRFAXLeonard!FAIRFAX My own!ELSIE Ah! [Embrace]ELSIE &FAIRFAX With happiness my soul is cloyed,This is our joy-day unalloyed!ALL Yes, yes!With happiness their souls are cloyed,This is their joy-day unalloyed!With happiness their souls are cloyed,This is their joy-day unalloyed,Their joy-day unalloyed, unalloyed![Enter JACK POINTPOINT Oh, thoughtless crew!Ye know not what ye do!Attend to me, and shed a tear or two—For I have a song to sing, O!ALL Sing me your song, O!POINT It is sung to the moonBy a love-lorn loon,Who fled from the mocking throng, O!It's a song of a merryman, moping mum,Whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,As he sighed for the love of a ladye.ALL Heighdy! heighdy!Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,As he sighed for the love of a ladye!ELSIE I have a song to sing, O!ALL What is your song, O!ELSIE It is sung with the ringOf the songs maids singWho love with a love life-long, O!It's the song of a merrymaid, peerly proud,[optional— nestling near,]Who loved her lord, and who laughed aloud[optional— but dropped a tear]At the moan of the merryman, moping mum,Whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,Who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,As he sighed for the love of a ladye!ALL Heighdy! heighdy!Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,As he sighed for the love of a ladye!Heighdy! heighdy!Misery me—lack-a-day-dee!He sipped no sup, and he craved no crumb,As he sighed for the love of a ladye!Heighdy! heighdy!Heighdy! heighdy!Heighdy! heighdy![FAIRFAX embraces ELSIE as POINT falls insensible at theirfeet.CURTAIN