 | Fallen Fairies ; Or, The Wicked World |  |
Scene.—Fairyland, which for the purposes of the play, is supposed
to be situate on the upper side of a cloud which floats
over the earth. The scene represents a land of ideal beauty,
with fountains, trees, waterfalls, &c. At L. is the Fairy
Queen's bower.
Darine and Locrine are discovered on an eminence R.C., up stage, which overlooks gap in the cloud.
Dear sisters, I bring news. Ere very long,
Lutin, who, by the will of that great king
To whom we all yield faithful suzerainty,
Left Fairyland to join him in mid-earth,
Will home return. He is the only one
Of our immortal race
Who has set foot upon that wicked world!
Zayda.
Lutin returning! He will set at rest
Our wild and wondering theories, and reveal,
In picture-painting words, the demon deeds
Of all the goblin murder-mongers that
Infest that sink of seething infamy!
Enter Ethais, a male Fairy, followed by Phyllon, another male Fairy.
Ethais.
In truth, dear sister, if Man's face and form
Were a true index to his character,
He were a fearsome thing to look upon.
But Man, alas! is formed as we are formed.
False from the first, he comes into the world
Wearing a smiling lie upon his face
That he may cheat ere he can use his tongue!
Darine.
As we are formed?
Phyllon.
'Tis so, in very truth.
Dost thou not know that every soul on earth
Hath, in our ranks, his fairy counterpart?
Darine.
His counterpart?
Selene.
Aye, on that wicked world
Thou, I, and all who dwell in Fairyland,
May find a parallel identity—
So perfect that, if it were possible
To place us by those earthly counterparts,
No man on earth, no fairy in the clouds
Could tell which was the fairy—which the man!
Zara.
Is there no shade of difference?
Phyllon.
Yes, one,
For we are absolutely free from sin,
While all our representatives on earth
Are stained with every kind of infamy!
Zayda.
Are all our counterparts so steeped in sin?
Selene.
All, in a greater or a less degree.
Zayda.
What, even mine?
Selene.
Alas!
Zayda.
Oh, no—not mine!
Selene.
All men and women sin!
[Selene retires up and exit.
Darine.
I wonder what
My counterpart is doing now!
Zayda.
Some deed
Detestable in its degeneracy!
Best not enquire! See, Lutin comes at last!
He'll tell thee—so prepare ye for the worst!
Enter Lutin, appearing through the gap in the cloud as though rising from the earth below.
Chorus.
Hail, Lutin, wondrous traveller!
Thrice welcome back to Fairyland!
Exploring fay, thyself bestir
To tell us all
That did befall
Thy stay amid those mortals banned
While far away from Fairyland!
Darine.
We to ascertain are eager
All the ills that did beleaguer
And assail thy mortal portals
Whilst thou wast among the mortals.
Fleta.
Didst thou join in all their revels?
Drink and dance with all their devils?
Didst thou see, with awestruck daring,
Dicer dicing, swearer swearing?
Zayda.
Didst thou watch, with sorrow sobbing,
Liar lying, robber robbing,
Drinker drinking, gorger gorging,
Pinker pinking, forger forging?
Locrine.
Cooer cooing, biller billing,
Wooer wooing, killer killing,
Prater prating, blabber blabbing,
Hater hating, stabber stabbing?
All four.
Kicker kicking, beater beating,
Sticker sticking, cheater cheating?
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Chorus.
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Didst thou join in all their revels?
Didst thou dance with all their devils?
Didst thou watch, with sorrow sobbing,
Liar lying, robber robbing? &c.
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Lutin
(rcit.).
What! tell you all? Not so!
All that down there occurred?
'Twould numb your souls with awe—
You know not what you ask!
Describe you all I know?
Repeat you all I heard?
Narrate you all I saw?
God save me from such a task!
One tale I'll try to tell—it will suffice
To illustrate their tendency to vice!
Song.—Lutin.
Lutin.
One incident I'll tell that will appal
Each gentle little heart and head.
Come, fairies, gather round me, one and all—
(The details to impart I dread!)
A tale to cause a demon's flesh to creep,
And absolutely shock his ears;
'Twould summon tears to eyes that never weep,
And melt a very rock to tears!
Chorus.
'Twould melt a very rock to tears!
Lutin.
So horribly bad that tale appears,
It's scarcely fit for fairy spheres;
'Twould outrage e'en a demon's ears—
And I'm going to tell it to you, my dears!
Chorus
(in great delight).
He's going to tell it to us, my dears!
Lutin.
Although 'twill make your blood run cold,
The terrible details I'll unfold!
Chorus.
So horribly bad that tale appears,
It's scarcely fit for fairy spheres;
'Twould outrage e'en a demon's ears—
Lutin.
And I'm going to tell it to you, my dears!
There was a gallant knight of Portugee,
Who loved a Moorish maid so well
That he took ship and sailed for Barbaree
(That's where the little jade did dwell).
He journeyed o'er the stormy sea apace
(Of nothing was that knight afraid),
And when at last they met in an embrace,
What do you think that naughty maiden said?
Chorus.
We wonder what the little hussy said!
Lutin.
She said—but no, their dark careers
Would shock your souls and draw your tears;
They're quite unfit for decent ears—
And I'm hanged if I'll tell 'em to you, my dears!
Chorus
(disappointed).
He'll be hanged if he'll tell 'em to us, my dears!
Lutin.
First thoughts are silver—second, gold;
And I'm sorry to say that they can't be told!
Chorus
(vexed).
His tale is cast in mocking mould—
He says it is both bad and bold;
We hoped for details, and behold—
Lutin and Chorus.
I'm/He's sorry to say that they can't be told!
Ethais and Phyllon enter.
Lutin.
Attend. Obedient to our King's command,
I met him in mid-earth. He bade me send
Both Ethais and Phyllon down below.
Ethais.
Down to mid-earth?
Lutin.
Down to mid-earth at once.
He hath some gift, some priceless privilege,
With which he would endow our fairy world,
And he hath chosen Phyllon and thyself
To bear his bounty to this home of ours.
Zayda.
Another boon? Why, brother Ethais,
What can our monarch give that we have not?
Phyllon.
In truth I cannot say! 'Twould seem that we
Had reached the sum of fairy happiness!
Selene.
But then we thought the same before our King
Endowed us with the gift of melody;
And now how tame our fairy life would seem
Were melody to perish from our land!
Ethais.
Well said, Selene. Come, then, let's away,
And on our journey through the outer air
We will take note of its inhabitants
And bring you full account of all we see.
Farewell, dear sisters—
Selene.
Brothers, fare ye well!
[Ethais and Phyllon take leave of the Fairies and descend through the gap in the cloud. Exit Lutin.
Zayda.
Now here's a riddle that I cannot solve:—
Why do these mortals bear their weight of woe
When they can end it at their will? They need
Not live unless they like. Nevertheless,
With swords and daggers hanging at their sides,
With drowning seas and rivers at their feet,
With deadly poisons in their very grasp,
Men live, and live—and seem to like to live!
Darine.
How strangely inconsistent!
Selene.
Not at all.
With all their misery—with all the sin—
With all the elements of wretchedness
That teem on that unholy world of theirs,
They have one great and ever-glorious gift
That compensates for all they have to bear!
Song.—Selene.
[During this song, the Fairies, who at the commencement were scattered over the stage, have very gradually crept nearer and nearer to her, until, at the finish, they are grouped closely around her.
Darine.
Why, what have we in all our Fairyland
To bear comparison with such a gift!
Zayda.
Oh for one hour of such a love as that,
O'er all things paramount! Why, after all,
That wicked world is the true Fairyland!
Zara.
Why, who can wonder that poor, erring Man
Clings to the world, all poisoned though it be,
When on it grows this glorious antidote!
Zayda.
And may we never love as mortals love?
Selene.
No, that can never be. Of earthy things,
This love of theirs ranks as the earthliest.
We do not need it in our perfect land.
Moreover, there's this gulf 'tween it and us—
Only a mortal can inspire such love,
And mortal foot may never touch our land.
Zayda.
But—is that so?
Selene
(surprised).
Of course!
Zayda.
Yet I have heard
That there's a half-forgotten law which says
That, when a fairy quits his fairy home
To visit earth, those whom he leaves behind
May summon from that wicked world below
That absent fairy's mortal counterpart,
And that that mortal counterpart may stay
In Fairyland and fill that fairy's place
Till he return. Is there not some such law?
Selene
(horrified).
And if there were, wouldst put that law in force?
Zayda
(frightened).
No, not for all the love of all the world!
Selene.
A man in Fairyland! Oh, horrible!
He would exhale the poison of his soul,
And we should even be as mortals are—
Hating as man hates!
Darine
(enthusiastically).
Loving as man loves!
[Selene looks at her in blank surprise.
Too horrible! Still—
Selene.
Well?
Darine.
I see a trace
Of wisdom lurking in this ancient law.
Selene.
Where lurks that wisdom, then? I see it not!
Duet.—Darine and Zayda.
Darine.
Man is a being all accuse
Of every vice detestable:
To virtue blinded, he pursues
A course that's unarrestable.
Yet if we let one man of shame
Observe our lives immaculate,
He would (returning whence he came)
Ecstatically ejaculate—
“Atone, atone!
Repent, repent!
The pure alone
Know true content!”
These tidings good,
No doubt, he would
Ecstatically ejaculate!
Chorus.
The news would take the world by storm,
And be received with welcome warm;
Those words he would, in some such form,
Ecstatically ejaculate!
Zayda.
Man is a brute, oppressed by strange
Unintellectuality:
Enlighten him, and you will change
His normal immorality.
If we exhibited to some
Our course of life delectable,
They might in course of time become
Comparatively respectable!
Oh, picture then
Our joy sublime,
If mortal men
Became in time—
Suppose we say,
In guarded way,
Comparatively respectable!
Chorus.
The news would take the world by storm,
And be received with welcome warm,
And all would be by this reform
Comparatively respectable!
Selene
(reflectively).
There is some truth in this.
Zayda.
Some truth indeed!
Oh, terrible, dear sister, to reflect
That to our cold and culpable neglect
All mortal follies may be chargeable!
Selene
(surprised).
To our neglect?
Darine.
It may in truth be so!
Fleta.
In very truth I'm sure that it is so!
Selene
(after a pause).
It shall be so no more! Their sin is ours!
But there—'tis easy still to make amends.
A mortal shall behold our sinless state,
And learn the beauties of our blameless life.
Come, let us summon mortal Ethais!
[All delighted.
Darine.
But—
Selene.
Not a word—I am resolved to this!
Darine.
But, sister—
Selene.
Well?
Darine
(timidly).
Why summon only one?
Selene.
Why summon more?
Darine.
The world's incredulous;
Let two be summoned to our sinless home;
Then should their wondrous story be received
With ridicule or incredulity,
One could corroborate the other.
Zayda.
Yes.
Phyllon has gone with Ethais—let us call
The mortal counterpart of Phyllon too!
Selene.
Two mortals! Two unhappy men of sin
In this untainted spot!
Locrine.
Well, sister dear,
Two Heralds of the Truth will spread that Truth
At the least twice as rapidly as one!
Selene.
Two miserable men! Why, one alone
Will bring enough pollution in his wake
To taint our happy land from end to end!
Zayda.
Then, sister, two won't make the matter worse!
Selene.
There's truth in that!
[After a pause.
The two shall come to us!
[All the Fairies are delighted. Selene looks reprovingly at them, and they at once become demure.
(Severely)
We have deserved this fearful punishment!
[All the Fairies sigh.
Our power, I think, is limited to two?
Locrine.
Unfortunately!
Selene.
Yes. More might be done
Had each of us a pupil to herself.
Scena.—Selene.
And now to summon them. But, sisters dear,
Receive our guests with gracious courtesies.
Show no repugnance to them while they're here;
Subdue your natural antipathies.
Kind, gentle, tender, pitiful be ye—
Be not severe, nor hastily condemn.
Treat them as though they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them!
All.
We'll act as though they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them!
Selene.
What form of words accomplishes our aim?
Darine.
Two roses shall be cast down from the skies,
Then, as each rose is thrown, pronounce the name
Of him whose mortal self it typifies.
[Giving her two roses.
Selene
(taking them).
Well then, fair rose, I name thee “Ethais”—
Thy mortal counterpart we summon here.
This rose is Phyllon—come to our realms of bliss:
By virtue of this talisman, appear!
All.
Go, then, fair rose. We name thee “Ethais”—
Thy mortal counterpart we summon here.
Sir Phyllon, in our realms of blameless bliss,
By virtue of this talisman appear!
[Hurried music. Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon rise through the gap in the cloud, as though violently impelled from below. They are two handsome, barbaric Hunnish knights, clad in picturesque skins and rude armour, and while bearing a strong facial resemblance to their Fairy counterparts, present as strong a contrast as possible in their costume and demeanour. Their swords are drawn, the knights having been interrupted in a duel. The Fairies conceal themselves behind trees.
Recit. and Duet.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
Ethais.
By god and man, who brought us here, and how?
Phyllon.
Where in the name of witchcraft are we now?
Ethais
(fiercely).
Why, who should answer that as well as thou?
Phyllon
(surprised).
As I?
Ethais.
Aye, devil's whelp, as thou!
Duet.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
Ethais
(fiercely).
This is some wizardry of thy design
To save thy sconce!
Thou scurvy dog, no sorcery of thine
Shall serve e'en for the nonce!
Let all thy hell-hounds howl their requiem,
And when I've done with thee I'll do with them!
Phyllon
(savagely).
Bah! I need no such devil-begotten stuff
To flog a knave!
This trusty falchion serves me well enough
To make a coward crave!
Though demons swarm in myriads round about,
Or here or there we'll fight our quarrel out!
[They fight. The Fairies, half concealed behind portions of the set, watch the combat with great interest.
Darine.
What are they doing?
Selene.
It's some game of skill.
It's very pretty.
Darine.
Very.
[Knights pause to take breath.
Oh, they've stopped!
Phyllon.
Come, come—on guard!
Zayda.
Now they begin again!
[They fight.
Ethais
(seeing Fairies, who have gradually surrounded him).
Hold, we are overlooked!
[Ethais, who has turned for a moment in saying this, is severely wounded in the right arm.
Selene.
You may proceed.
We like it much!
Darine.
You do it very well.
Begin again!
Ethais.
Black curses on that thrust!
I am disabled! Ladies, bind my wound—
And, if it please you still to see us fight,
We'll fight for those bright eyes and cherry lips
Till one or both of us shall bite the dust!
Phyllon
(aside to Ethais).
Hold! Call a truce till we return to earth—
Here are bright eyes enough for both of us!
Ethais.
I don't know that! Well, there, till we return—
[Shaking hands.
But, once on earth again, we will take up
Our argument where it was broken off,
And let thy devils whirl me where they may
We'll reach conclusion and corollary!
[During this the Fairies show that they have been very strongly influenced by the two knights.
Darine
(gazing at Phyllon).
Oh, fairyhood!
How wonderfully like our Phyllon!
Selene
(gazing in rapture at Ethais).
Yes!
And see—how strangely like our Ethais!
(Sighing.)
Thou hast a gallant carriage, gentle knight!
Ethais.
It's little wonder that I'm like myself!
Why I am he!
Selene
(sighing).
No, not our Ethais!
Ethais.
In truth I am the Ethais of all
Who are as gentle and as fair as thou!
Selene
(tenderly).
That's bravely said! Thou hast a silver tongue!
Why, what can gods be like if these be men?
[During this Darine, Zayda, Locrine, and other Fairies show, by their manner, that they take a tender interest in Ethais and Phyllon.
Say, dost thou come from earth or heaven?
Ethais
(gallantly placing his arm round Selene and Darine).
I think I've come from earth to heaven!
Selene
(delightedly to Zayda).
Oh, didst thou hear?
He comes from earth to heaven! No, Ethais,
We are but fairies: this, our native home—
Our fairyland—rests on a cloud which floats
Hither and thither as the breezes will.
We see the world; yet, saving that it is
A very wicked world, we know it not.
But on the lands o'er which our island hangs
We shed fair gifts of plently and good-will,
Drop tears of love upon the thirsty earth
And shower fair water on the growing grain.
This is our mission.
Phyllon.
'Tis a goodly one!
But tell me now—why have you summoned us?
Selene.
Because we seek to teach you solemn truths
That now ye wot not of, poor gentlemen!
(Tenderly.)
Poor gentlemen! Poor wayward gentlemen!
Song.—Selene.
Poor, purblind, untaught youths,
We seek to teach ye truths
Which now ye wot not of, as we suppose!
Our aid ye sorely need,
For ye are frail indeed—
Each a poor fragile reed
Swayed to and fro by every breeze that blows!
[Taking his hand and stroking it tenderly.
And we are good and pure,
Safe from temptation's lure.
(There are no tempters to disturb our rest!)
Unknown the fierce delights
That lure attractive knights
Into disastrous plights!
(Aside to Zayda.)
They are attractive, it must be confessed!
All.
Though worldly passions animate each breast,
They are attractive, it must be confessed!
Selene.
Poor maidens to deceive
A potent spell ye weave,
To which those all-too-willing victims yield!
[Kissing his hand.
We fairies hope to show
The ills that from it flow,
And teach you to forego
The marvellous enchantment that ye wield.
[Gently stroking his face.
Homeward returning then,
Pure, simple, guileless men,
Warn all poor maids with whom ye are in touch
(Would they live free from harm)
To shun, in wild alarm,
Your strange mysterious charm!
(Aside to Zayda, sighing.)
The maids may shun it, but I doubt it much.
All.
Would ye escape the plights
That spring from love's delights,
Shun all attractive knights!
(Aside to each other, sighing.)
The maids may do so, but I doubt it much!
[During Selene's song and the chorus, Darine, Zayda, and others have been dealing tenderly with Phyllon. All show that they are deeply impressed by the two knights.
Ensemble.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon (nudging each other).
Phyllon.
With keen remorse
We tell you penitentially,
Our lives are coarse
And villainous essentially—
But bred and born
In pagan Principality,
We view with scorn
Our former immorality.
Ethais.
Of blameless state
We've hope infinitesimal
(We calculate
Its value to a decimal),
Unless at once
You give, experimentally,
Each wayward dunce
A polish-up, parentally!
Phyllon
(to Ethais).
This humble pie
Is but a tough comestible
Which he and I
Find rather indigestible!
Ethais
(to Selene).
That's just his way—
An ill-bred Oriental man.
Forgive him, pray—
Of course he's not a gentleman!
Phyllon.
My penitence
Perhaps is unconventional.
Ethais
(to Selene).
Don't take offence—
I'm sure it's unintentional.
Both.
We both are bound
For fairy course probational;
So pray expound
Your system educational!
Trio.—Darine, Zayda, and Locrine.
Oh, gentle knights, with joy elate,
We'll teach you to abjure
All earthly dross, and cultivate
The blameless and the pure!
Be docile pupils in our school,
While we, with earnest heart,
Of all that's good and beautiful
The principles impart!
Recit.—Selene.
If my obedient pupils you would be,
You must avow your loyalty to me.
No doubt you recognize
Some formula, word-wise,
That binds your heart in solemn fealty?
Couplets.—Sir Ethais and Selene.
Ethais.
When homage to his Queen a subject shows
(A Queen that's duly crowned),
He puts his arm around
That monarch's waist—like this,
[Doing so.
And plants a very long and tender kiss
Sometimes upon her cheeks of creamy rose,
But, preferably, just below the nose!
Chorus.
There is some reason—so we must suppose—
Why preferably, just below the nose?
Phyllon.
A still more binding process I propose:
For though no doubt it's true
One formal kiss might do,
Administered like this,
[Kissing Darine on cheek.
The pledge works more effectively, I wis,
When several dozen kisses he bestows—
Placed preferably just below the nose!
Chorus.
I hope he'll tell us all before he goes
Why preferably just below the nose?
Darine
(aside to Selene).
A simple kiss a simple friendship shows.
'Tis an insipid thing
That no delight can bring,
Placed on the brow—like this.
[Kisses Selene's brow.
Yet on these gentle knights' hypothesis
Some unexpected virtue 'twill disclose,
Placed preferably just below the nose!
Chorus.
Some explanation certainly he owes—
Why preferably just below the nose?
Selene.
Our outlook widens as experience grows.
That form is quite unknown
In our ethereal zone—
A kiss is but a kiss.
Yet if these knights be surely bound by this,
There is no need to ask them to disclose
Why preferably just below the nose?
Chorus.
Still there's some reason—so we must suppose—
Why preferably just below the nose.
Selene.
That form is not in vogue in Fairyland.
Still, as it holds on earth, no doubt 'twill have
Far greater weight with you, poor sons of earth,
Than any formula we could impose.
Ethais.
Its weight is overpowering!
[About to kiss her.
Selene.
But stay—
We would not wrest this homage from you, sir.
Or give it willingly, or not at all.
Phyllon.
Most willingly, fair Queen, we give to you!
Selene.
Good—then proceed.
[Sir Ethais kisses Selene. Sir Phyllon kisses Darine.
Ethais.
There—does it not convey
A pleasant sense of influence?
Selene.
It does.
(To Darine.)
Some earthly forms seem rational enough!
[Sir Ethais staggers as though about to faint.
Why, Ethais, what ails thee?
Ethais.
Nothing grave—
I'm weak from loss of blood. Here, take this scarf,
And bind it round my arm—so—have a care!
There, that will do till I return to earth,
Then Lutin, who's a very skilful leech,
Shall doctor it.
Selene
(amazed).
Didst thou say Lutin?
Ethais.
Yes.
Darine.
How strange. Sir Ethais has a Lutin too!
Lutin has entered unobserved.
Ethais.
Yes, he's my squire—a poor half-witted churl,
Who shudders at the rustling of a leaf.
He hath a potion that will heal my wound,
A draught whose power works instantaneously.
Were he here I should soon—
[Sees Fairy Lutin, who has entered unobserved.
Why, here he is!
By all the gods, pranked out in masquerade!
(To Lutin.)
Give me the potion!
Lutin
(in amazement).
Give thee what?
Ethais
(impatiently).
The draught!
Dost thou not see my wound?
Lutin
(contemptuously).
I have no draught!
Ethais.
Thou scurvy rogue,
I bade thee never leave thy home without it!
Thy hide shall pay!
Lutin.
Who is this insolent?
A mortal here in Fairyland?
Locrine.
Yes—two!
Lutin.
Who are these men?
Selene.
The mortal counterparts
Of Ethais and Phyllon. Look at them!
Dost thou not love them?
Lutin
(indignantly).
No!
Cora.
How very strange!
Why, we all loved them from the very first!
Lutin.
Is this indeed the truth?
Darine
(demurely).
It is indeed.
Obedient to our Queen's command, we have
Subdued our natural antipathies.
[Fondling Phyllon.
Zayda
(demurely).
They are our guests, all odious though they be,
And we must bid them welcome to our home,
As though e'en now they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them.
[Fondling Phyllon.
Lutin.
Be warned in time and send these mortals hence!
Why, don't you see that in each word they speak
They breathe of Love?
Selene
(enthusiastically).
They do!
Lutin.
Why, Love's the germ
Of every sin that stalks upon the earth!
Song.—Lutin.
Recitative.
Zayda
(to Ethais).
Nay, heed him not! A tale has reached our ears
That man is infamous in high degree,
And he believes it—so indeed did we,
Till we beheld you, gallant cavaliers!
Darine
(to Selene).
Send him to earth—then we can summon here
His mortal counterpart!
[Selene looks at her reprovingly. Darine changes her tone.
Another reed
No doubt who stands in very sorest need
Of virtuous counselling and guidance clear!
Selene.
Well said, Darine! Thy words are words of worth.
Lutin, begone at once!
Ethais.
Return to earth!
Insolent varlet, get thee quickly hence!
Lutin.
Oh, mortal plague! Oh, walking pestilence!
Listen and learn,
Oh, incarnation of uncleanliness!
Song.—Lutin.
Hark ye, you sir! On yonder ball
You've Kings and Queens to whom you fall,
And humbly cringe and creep and crawl,
Cast dust and ashes too your head upon,
That they some civil word may say to you.
Well, sir, there's not a King on earth,
There's not a Prince of royal birth,
Who would not barter all he's worth
To lick the very dust I tread upon—
And I'm the meanest here! Good day to you!
[Lutin goes up stage and prepares to descend.
Chorus.
Good day, to you—
Away, to you—
That's all we have to say to you.
Don't stay, to you—
Delay, to you—
Don't hurry back, we pray to you.
Away, to you—
Good day to you—
Away!
Good day!
[Lutin descends. The Fairies then turn to Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
Ensemble.
Fairies.
Oh, gallant gentlemen,
You see our plight;
Take pity on us, then,
And give us light!
Our prayer—ah! do not spurn—
This we beseech:
We brought you here to learn—
Stay ye to teach!
We foolish fairies thought
Your guides to be,
But we are all untaught,
As ye may see.
Oh, gallant gentlemen,
You see our plight,
Take pity on us, then,
And give us light!
Take pity on us, list to our appeal
As humble suppliants at your feet we kneel!
Oh, grant this prayer, all other prayers above:
Teach us, oh, gallant gentlemen, to love!
Ethais and Phyllon
to each other.
As gallant gentlemen,
We see their plight;
We will take pity, then,
And give them light!
Their prayer we will not spurn,
So they beseech:
They brought us here to learn—
We'll stay to teach!
These foolish fairies thought
Our guides to be,
But they are all untaught,
As we may see.
As gallant gentlemen, (to Fairies)
We seek your plight;
We will take pity, then,
And give you light!
In pity, then, we list to your appeal
As humble suppliants at our feet you kneel!
We'll grant your prayer, all other prayers above,
And show how gallant gentlemen can love.
[Some of the Fairies kneel at the feet of the knights, Selene embracing Sir Ethais; Darine, Zayda, and Lochrine hanging on Sir Phyllon's neck. The remaining Fairies are grouped in attitudes of entreaty at the feet of the two knights.
Darine and Locrine are discovered on an eminence R.C., up stage, which overlooks gap in the cloud.
Locrine.
Oh, world below!
Oh, wicked world,
Where sin and woe
Lie all unfurled!
Oh, world of shame,
Of guilt and greed,
Where joy in name
Is woe indeed!
May angels' tears be shed on thee,
Thou wicked world of misery!
[As Locrine sings, Fairies enter from different approaches and fill the stage, Neodie, Zayda, Cora, Lila, and others leading them.
Enter Darine.
Solo.
Darine.
Oh, picture to thyself a mortal crew
Sinning throughout their lives, as demons do!
Fierce wild barbaric shapes, all foul within—
Howling with hunger for more sin—more sin!
Fierce wild barbaric shapes,
All head and tail;
Some like red raving apes,
Some clad in scale;
Others like dead-fleshed ghouls
With horny eyes,
Squatting on black toadstools
Of monstrous size!
All of them foul without and foul within;
All glimmering in the lurid light of sin!
Chorus.
All of them foul without and foul within;
All glimmering in the lurid light of sin!
Neodie
(recit.).
Selene comes; as silvery moon serene,
Radiant with loveliness, our sister-Queen!
Enter Selene.
Chorus.
Pure as the air, sweet as the morning dew,
Cometh our Queen!
Bright in all eyes as Heaven's ethereal blue,
Cometh our Queen!
Spirit of love! as thou hast ever been,
Be to us evermore, oh sister-Queen!
Unsullied source
Of tranquil joy,
Pursue thy course
Of pure employ—
Be thou, as thou hast ever been,
Our all-beloved sister-Queen!
Selene.
Oh, world below!
Oh, wicked world,
Where sin and woe
Lie all unfurled!
Oh, world of shame,
Of guilt and greed,
Where joy in name
Is woe indeed!
May angels' tears be shed on thee,
Thou wicked world of misery!
[As Locrine sings, Fairies enter from different approaches and fill the stage, Neodie, Zayda, Cora, Lila, and others leading them.
Enter Darine.
Solo.
Darine.
Oh, picture to thyself a mortal crew
Sinning throughout their lives, as demons do!
Fierce wild barbaric shapes, all foul within—
Howling with hunger for more sin—more sin!
190
All head and tail;
Some like red raving apes,
Some clad in scale;
Others like dead-fleshed ghouls
With horny eyes,
Squatting on black toadstools
Of monstrous size!
All of them foul without and foul within;
All glimmering in the lurid light of sin!
Chorus.
All of them foul without and foul within;
All glimmering in the lurid light of sin!
Neodie
(recit.).
Selene comes; as silvery moon serene,
Radiant with loveliness, our sister-Queen!
Enter Selene.
Chorus.
Pure as the air, sweet as the morning dew,
Cometh our Queen!
Bright in all eyes as Heaven's ethereal blue,
Cometh our Queen!
Spirit of love! as thou hast ever been,
Be to us evermore, oh sister-Queen!
Unsullied source
Of tranquil joy,
Pursue thy course
Of pure employ—
Be thou, as thou hast ever been,
Our all-beloved sister-Queen!
Dear sisters, I bring news. Ere very long,
Lutin, who, by the will of that great king
To whom we all yield faithful suzerainty,
Left Fairyland to join him in mid-earth,
Will home return. He is the only one
Of our immortal race
Who has set foot upon that wicked world!
Zayda.
Lutin returning! He will set at rest
Our wild and wondering theories, and reveal,
In picture-painting words, the demon deeds
Of all the goblin murder-mongers that
Infest that sink of seething infamy!
Enter Ethais, a male Fairy, followed by Phyllon, another male Fairy.
Ethais.
In truth, dear sister, if Man's face and form
Were a true index to his character,
He were a fearsome thing to look upon.
191
False from the first, he comes into the world
Wearing a smiling lie upon his face
That he may cheat ere he can use his tongue!
Darine.
As we are formed?
Phyllon.
'Tis so, in very truth.
Dost thou not know that every soul on earth
Hath, in our ranks, his fairy counterpart?
Darine.
His counterpart?
Selene.
Aye, on that wicked world
Thou, I, and all who dwell in Fairyland,
May find a parallel identity—
So perfect that, if it were possible
To place us by those earthly counterparts,
No man on earth, no fairy in the clouds
Could tell which was the fairy—which the man!
Zara.
Is there no shade of difference?
Phyllon.
Yes, one,
For we are absolutely free from sin,
While all our representatives on earth
Are stained with every kind of infamy!
Zayda.
Are all our counterparts so steeped in sin?
Selene.
All, in a greater or a less degree.
Zayda.
What, even mine?
Selene.
Alas!
Zayda.
Oh, no—not mine!
Selene.
All men and women sin!
[Selene retires up and exit.
Darine.
I wonder what
My counterpart is doing now!
Zayda.
Some deed
Detestable in its degeneracy!
Best not enquire! See, Lutin comes at last!
He'll tell thee—so prepare ye for the worst!
Enter Lutin, appearing through the gap in the cloud as though rising from the earth below.
Chorus.
Hail, Lutin, wondrous traveller!
Thrice welcome back to Fairyland!
Exploring fay, thyself bestir
To tell us all
That did befall
Thy stay amid those mortals banned
While far away from Fairyland!
192
We to ascertain are eager
All the ills that did beleaguer
And assail thy mortal portals
Whilst thou wast among the mortals.
Fleta.
Didst thou join in all their revels?
Drink and dance with all their devils?
Didst thou see, with awestruck daring,
Dicer dicing, swearer swearing?
Zayda.
Didst thou watch, with sorrow sobbing,
Liar lying, robber robbing,
Drinker drinking, gorger gorging,
Pinker pinking, forger forging?
Locrine.
Cooer cooing, biller billing,
Wooer wooing, killer killing,
Prater prating, blabber blabbing,
Hater hating, stabber stabbing?
All four.
Kicker kicking, beater beating,
Sticker sticking, cheater cheating?
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Chorus.
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Didst thou join in all their revels?
Didst thou dance with all their devils?
Didst thou watch, with sorrow sobbing,
Liar lying, robber robbing? &c.
Tell us all that did befall—
Tell us some and tell us all!
Lutin
(rcit.).
What! tell you all? Not so!
All that down there occurred?
'Twould numb your souls with awe—
You know not what you ask!
Describe you all I know?
Repeat you all I heard?
Narrate you all I saw?
God save me from such a task!
One tale I'll try to tell—it will suffice
To illustrate their tendency to vice!
Song.—Lutin.
Lutin.
One incident I'll tell that will appal
Each gentle little heart and head.
Come, fairies, gather round me, one and all—
(The details to impart I dread!)
A tale to cause a demon's flesh to creep,
And absolutely shock his ears;
'Twould summon tears to eyes that never weep,
And melt a very rock to tears!
Chorus.
'Twould melt a very rock to tears!
Lutin.
So horribly bad that tale appears,
It's scarcely fit for fairy spheres;
'Twould outrage e'en a demon's ears—
And I'm going to tell it to you, my dears!
193
(in great delight).
He's going to tell it to us, my dears!
Lutin.
Although 'twill make your blood run cold,
The terrible details I'll unfold!
Chorus.
So horribly bad that tale appears,
It's scarcely fit for fairy spheres;
'Twould outrage e'en a demon's ears—
Lutin.
And I'm going to tell it to you, my dears!
There was a gallant knight of Portugee,
Who loved a Moorish maid so well
That he took ship and sailed for Barbaree
(That's where the little jade did dwell).
He journeyed o'er the stormy sea apace
(Of nothing was that knight afraid),
And when at last they met in an embrace,
What do you think that naughty maiden said?
Chorus.
We wonder what the little hussy said!
Lutin.
She said—but no, their dark careers
Would shock your souls and draw your tears;
They're quite unfit for decent ears—
And I'm hanged if I'll tell 'em to you, my dears!
Chorus
(disappointed).
He'll be hanged if he'll tell 'em to us, my dears!
Lutin.
First thoughts are silver—second, gold;
And I'm sorry to say that they can't be told!
Chorus
(vexed).
His tale is cast in mocking mould—
He says it is both bad and bold;
We hoped for details, and behold—
Lutin and Chorus.
I'm/He's sorry to say that they can't be told!
Ethais and Phyllon enter.
Lutin.
Attend. Obedient to our King's command,
I met him in mid-earth. He bade me send
Both Ethais and Phyllon down below.
Ethais.
Down to mid-earth?
Lutin.
Down to mid-earth at once.
He hath some gift, some priceless privilege,
With which he would endow our fairy world,
And he hath chosen Phyllon and thyself
To bear his bounty to this home of ours.
Zayda.
Another boon? Why, brother Ethais,
What can our monarch give that we have not?
Phyllon.
In truth I cannot say! 'Twould seem that we
Had reached the sum of fairy happiness!
Selene.
But then we thought the same before our King
Endowed us with the gift of melody;
And now how tame our fairy life would seem
194
Ethais.
Well said, Selene. Come, then, let's away,
And on our journey through the outer air
We will take note of its inhabitants
And bring you full account of all we see.
Farewell, dear sisters—
Selene.
Brothers, fare ye well!
[Ethais and Phyllon take leave of the Fairies and descend through the gap in the cloud. Exit Lutin.
Zayda.
Now here's a riddle that I cannot solve:—
Why do these mortals bear their weight of woe
When they can end it at their will? They need
Not live unless they like. Nevertheless,
With swords and daggers hanging at their sides,
With drowning seas and rivers at their feet,
With deadly poisons in their very grasp,
Men live, and live—and seem to like to live!
Darine.
How strangely inconsistent!
Selene.
Not at all.
With all their misery—with all the sin—
With all the elements of wretchedness
That teem on that unholy world of theirs,
They have one great and ever-glorious gift
That compensates for all they have to bear!
Song.—Selene.
With all the misery, with all the shame
That stain the earth,
One holy influence these mortals claim—
A gift of priceless worth!
The gift of Love—shield against deadly foes
That crowd in serried shoals—
A Love that's anodyne to all the woes
That wring their souls!
Oh, kindly Love! Man sorrowing and oppressed,
Beneath his load of shame would surely fall,
But for the sweet enchantment in his breast
That tells him that he bears no load at all!
That stain the earth,
One holy influence these mortals claim—
A gift of priceless worth!
The gift of Love—shield against deadly foes
That crowd in serried shoals—
A Love that's anodyne to all the woes
That wring their souls!
Oh, kindly Love! Man sorrowing and oppressed,
Beneath his load of shame would surely fall,
But for the sweet enchantment in his breast
That tells him that he bears no load at all!
In its most pure and most enduring form
It knows no end;
To deed of shame or stress of worldly storm
Such love will never bend.
Time cannot wither it, nor Death destroy;
When the relentless Thief
Has robbed it of the power to live on joy,
It lives on grief!
Oh, wondrous Love—pure as the silver sky!
Even when Death has set the loved one free,
This love supernal doth not—cannot die;
It lives upon the loved one's memory!
It knows no end;
To deed of shame or stress of worldly storm
Such love will never bend.
Time cannot wither it, nor Death destroy;
When the relentless Thief
Has robbed it of the power to live on joy,
It lives on grief!
195
Even when Death has set the loved one free,
This love supernal doth not—cannot die;
It lives upon the loved one's memory!
[During this song, the Fairies, who at the commencement were scattered over the stage, have very gradually crept nearer and nearer to her, until, at the finish, they are grouped closely around her.
Darine.
Why, what have we in all our Fairyland
To bear comparison with such a gift!
Zayda.
Oh for one hour of such a love as that,
O'er all things paramount! Why, after all,
That wicked world is the true Fairyland!
Zara.
Why, who can wonder that poor, erring Man
Clings to the world, all poisoned though it be,
When on it grows this glorious antidote!
Zayda.
And may we never love as mortals love?
Selene.
No, that can never be. Of earthy things,
This love of theirs ranks as the earthliest.
We do not need it in our perfect land.
Moreover, there's this gulf 'tween it and us—
Only a mortal can inspire such love,
And mortal foot may never touch our land.
Zayda.
But—is that so?
Selene
(surprised).
Of course!
Zayda.
Yet I have heard
That there's a half-forgotten law which says
That, when a fairy quits his fairy home
To visit earth, those whom he leaves behind
May summon from that wicked world below
That absent fairy's mortal counterpart,
And that that mortal counterpart may stay
In Fairyland and fill that fairy's place
Till he return. Is there not some such law?
Selene
(horrified).
And if there were, wouldst put that law in force?
Zayda
(frightened).
No, not for all the love of all the world!
Selene.
A man in Fairyland! Oh, horrible!
He would exhale the poison of his soul,
And we should even be as mortals are—
Hating as man hates!
196
(enthusiastically).
Loving as man loves!
[Selene looks at her in blank surprise.
Too horrible! Still—
Selene.
Well?
Darine.
I see a trace
Of wisdom lurking in this ancient law.
Selene.
Where lurks that wisdom, then? I see it not!
Duet.—Darine and Zayda.
Darine.
Man is a being all accuse
Of every vice detestable:
To virtue blinded, he pursues
A course that's unarrestable.
Yet if we let one man of shame
Observe our lives immaculate,
He would (returning whence he came)
Ecstatically ejaculate—
“Atone, atone!
Repent, repent!
The pure alone
Know true content!”
These tidings good,
No doubt, he would
Ecstatically ejaculate!
Chorus.
The news would take the world by storm,
And be received with welcome warm;
Those words he would, in some such form,
Ecstatically ejaculate!
Zayda.
Man is a brute, oppressed by strange
Unintellectuality:
Enlighten him, and you will change
His normal immorality.
If we exhibited to some
Our course of life delectable,
They might in course of time become
Comparatively respectable!
Oh, picture then
Our joy sublime,
If mortal men
Became in time—
Suppose we say,
In guarded way,
Comparatively respectable!
Chorus.
The news would take the world by storm,
And be received with welcome warm,
And all would be by this reform
Comparatively respectable!
197
(reflectively).
There is some truth in this.
Zayda.
Some truth indeed!
Oh, terrible, dear sister, to reflect
That to our cold and culpable neglect
All mortal follies may be chargeable!
Selene
(surprised).
To our neglect?
Darine.
It may in truth be so!
Fleta.
In very truth I'm sure that it is so!
Selene
(after a pause).
It shall be so no more! Their sin is ours!
But there—'tis easy still to make amends.
A mortal shall behold our sinless state,
And learn the beauties of our blameless life.
Come, let us summon mortal Ethais!
[All delighted.
Darine.
But—
Selene.
Not a word—I am resolved to this!
Darine.
But, sister—
Selene.
Well?
Darine
(timidly).
Why summon only one?
Selene.
Why summon more?
Darine.
The world's incredulous;
Let two be summoned to our sinless home;
Then should their wondrous story be received
With ridicule or incredulity,
One could corroborate the other.
Zayda.
Yes.
Phyllon has gone with Ethais—let us call
The mortal counterpart of Phyllon too!
Selene.
Two mortals! Two unhappy men of sin
In this untainted spot!
Locrine.
Well, sister dear,
Two Heralds of the Truth will spread that Truth
At the least twice as rapidly as one!
Selene.
Two miserable men! Why, one alone
Will bring enough pollution in his wake
To taint our happy land from end to end!
Zayda.
Then, sister, two won't make the matter worse!
Selene.
There's truth in that!
[After a pause.
The two shall come to us!
[All the Fairies are delighted. Selene looks reprovingly at them, and they at once become demure.
198
We have deserved this fearful punishment!
[All the Fairies sigh.
Our power, I think, is limited to two?
Locrine.
Unfortunately!
Selene.
Yes. More might be done
Had each of us a pupil to herself.
Scena.—Selene.
And now to summon them. But, sisters dear,
Receive our guests with gracious courtesies.
Show no repugnance to them while they're here;
Subdue your natural antipathies.
Kind, gentle, tender, pitiful be ye—
Be not severe, nor hastily condemn.
Treat them as though they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them!
All.
We'll act as though they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them!
Selene.
What form of words accomplishes our aim?
Darine.
Two roses shall be cast down from the skies,
Then, as each rose is thrown, pronounce the name
Of him whose mortal self it typifies.
[Giving her two roses.
Selene
(taking them).
Well then, fair rose, I name thee “Ethais”—
Thy mortal counterpart we summon here.
This rose is Phyllon—come to our realms of bliss:
By virtue of this talisman, appear!
All.
Go, then, fair rose. We name thee “Ethais”—
Thy mortal counterpart we summon here.
Sir Phyllon, in our realms of blameless bliss,
By virtue of this talisman appear!
[Hurried music. Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon rise through the gap in the cloud, as though violently impelled from below. They are two handsome, barbaric Hunnish knights, clad in picturesque skins and rude armour, and while bearing a strong facial resemblance to their Fairy counterparts, present as strong a contrast as possible in their costume and demeanour. Their swords are drawn, the knights having been interrupted in a duel. The Fairies conceal themselves behind trees.
Recit. and Duet.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
Ethais.
By god and man, who brought us here, and how?
Phyllon.
Where in the name of witchcraft are we now?
199
(fiercely).
Why, who should answer that as well as thou?
Phyllon
(surprised).
As I?
Ethais.
Aye, devil's whelp, as thou!
Duet.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
Ethais
(fiercely).
This is some wizardry of thy design
To save thy sconce!
Thou scurvy dog, no sorcery of thine
Shall serve e'en for the nonce!
Let all thy hell-hounds howl their requiem,
And when I've done with thee I'll do with them!
Phyllon
(savagely).
Bah! I need no such devil-begotten stuff
To flog a knave!
This trusty falchion serves me well enough
To make a coward crave!
Though demons swarm in myriads round about,
Or here or there we'll fight our quarrel out!
[They fight. The Fairies, half concealed behind portions of the set, watch the combat with great interest.
Darine.
What are they doing?
Selene.
It's some game of skill.
It's very pretty.
Darine.
Very.
[Knights pause to take breath.
Oh, they've stopped!
Phyllon.
Come, come—on guard!
Zayda.
Now they begin again!
[They fight.
Ethais
(seeing Fairies, who have gradually surrounded him).
Hold, we are overlooked!
[Ethais, who has turned for a moment in saying this, is severely wounded in the right arm.
Selene.
You may proceed.
We like it much!
Darine.
You do it very well.
Begin again!
Ethais.
Black curses on that thrust!
I am disabled! Ladies, bind my wound—
And, if it please you still to see us fight,
We'll fight for those bright eyes and cherry lips
Till one or both of us shall bite the dust!
Phyllon
(aside to Ethais).
Hold! Call a truce till we return to earth—
Here are bright eyes enough for both of us!
200
I don't know that! Well, there, till we return—
[Shaking hands.
But, once on earth again, we will take up
Our argument where it was broken off,
And let thy devils whirl me where they may
We'll reach conclusion and corollary!
[During this the Fairies show that they have been very strongly influenced by the two knights.
Darine
(gazing at Phyllon).
Oh, fairyhood!
How wonderfully like our Phyllon!
Selene
(gazing in rapture at Ethais).
Yes!
And see—how strangely like our Ethais!
(Sighing.)
Thou hast a gallant carriage, gentle knight!
Ethais.
It's little wonder that I'm like myself!
Why I am he!
Selene
(sighing).
No, not our Ethais!
Ethais.
In truth I am the Ethais of all
Who are as gentle and as fair as thou!
Selene
(tenderly).
That's bravely said! Thou hast a silver tongue!
Why, what can gods be like if these be men?
[During this Darine, Zayda, Locrine, and other Fairies show, by their manner, that they take a tender interest in Ethais and Phyllon.
Say, dost thou come from earth or heaven?
Ethais
(gallantly placing his arm round Selene and Darine).
I think I've come from earth to heaven!
Selene
(delightedly to Zayda).
Oh, didst thou hear?
He comes from earth to heaven! No, Ethais,
We are but fairies: this, our native home—
Our fairyland—rests on a cloud which floats
Hither and thither as the breezes will.
We see the world; yet, saving that it is
A very wicked world, we know it not.
But on the lands o'er which our island hangs
We shed fair gifts of plently and good-will,
Drop tears of love upon the thirsty earth
And shower fair water on the growing grain.
This is our mission.
Phyllon.
'Tis a goodly one!
But tell me now—why have you summoned us?
Selene.
Because we seek to teach you solemn truths
That now ye wot not of, poor gentlemen!
(Tenderly.)
Poor gentlemen! Poor wayward gentlemen!
201
Poor, purblind, untaught youths,
We seek to teach ye truths
Which now ye wot not of, as we suppose!
Our aid ye sorely need,
For ye are frail indeed—
Each a poor fragile reed
Swayed to and fro by every breeze that blows!
[Taking his hand and stroking it tenderly.
And we are good and pure,
Safe from temptation's lure.
(There are no tempters to disturb our rest!)
Unknown the fierce delights
That lure attractive knights
Into disastrous plights!
(Aside to Zayda.)
They are attractive, it must be confessed!
All.
Though worldly passions animate each breast,
They are attractive, it must be confessed!
Selene.
Poor maidens to deceive
A potent spell ye weave,
To which those all-too-willing victims yield!
[Kissing his hand.
We fairies hope to show
The ills that from it flow,
And teach you to forego
The marvellous enchantment that ye wield.
[Gently stroking his face.
Homeward returning then,
Pure, simple, guileless men,
Warn all poor maids with whom ye are in touch
(Would they live free from harm)
To shun, in wild alarm,
Your strange mysterious charm!
(Aside to Zayda, sighing.)
The maids may shun it, but I doubt it much.
All.
Would ye escape the plights
That spring from love's delights,
Shun all attractive knights!
(Aside to each other, sighing.)
The maids may do so, but I doubt it much!
[During Selene's song and the chorus, Darine, Zayda, and others have been dealing tenderly with Phyllon. All show that they are deeply impressed by the two knights.
Ensemble.—Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon (nudging each other).
Phyllon.
With keen remorse
We tell you penitentially,
Our lives are coarse
And villainous essentially—
202
In pagan Principality,
We view with scorn
Our former immorality.
Ethais.
Of blameless state
We've hope infinitesimal
(We calculate
Its value to a decimal),
Unless at once
You give, experimentally,
Each wayward dunce
A polish-up, parentally!
Phyllon
(to Ethais).
This humble pie
Is but a tough comestible
Which he and I
Find rather indigestible!
Ethais
(to Selene).
That's just his way—
An ill-bred Oriental man.
Forgive him, pray—
Of course he's not a gentleman!
Phyllon.
My penitence
Perhaps is unconventional.
Ethais
(to Selene).
Don't take offence—
I'm sure it's unintentional.
Both.
We both are bound
For fairy course probational;
So pray expound
Your system educational!
Trio.—Darine, Zayda, and Locrine.
Oh, gentle knights, with joy elate,
We'll teach you to abjure
All earthly dross, and cultivate
The blameless and the pure!
Be docile pupils in our school,
While we, with earnest heart,
Of all that's good and beautiful
The principles impart!
Recit.—Selene.
If my obedient pupils you would be,
You must avow your loyalty to me.
No doubt you recognize
Some formula, word-wise,
That binds your heart in solemn fealty?
Couplets.—Sir Ethais and Selene.
Ethais.
When homage to his Queen a subject shows
(A Queen that's duly crowned),
He puts his arm around
That monarch's waist—like this,
[Doing so.
And plants a very long and tender kiss
203
But, preferably, just below the nose!
Chorus.
There is some reason—so we must suppose—
Why preferably, just below the nose?
Phyllon.
A still more binding process I propose:
For though no doubt it's true
One formal kiss might do,
Administered like this,
[Kissing Darine on cheek.
The pledge works more effectively, I wis,
When several dozen kisses he bestows—
Placed preferably just below the nose!
Chorus.
I hope he'll tell us all before he goes
Why preferably just below the nose?
Darine
(aside to Selene).
A simple kiss a simple friendship shows.
'Tis an insipid thing
That no delight can bring,
Placed on the brow—like this.
[Kisses Selene's brow.
Yet on these gentle knights' hypothesis
Some unexpected virtue 'twill disclose,
Placed preferably just below the nose!
Chorus.
Some explanation certainly he owes—
Why preferably just below the nose?
Selene.
Our outlook widens as experience grows.
That form is quite unknown
In our ethereal zone—
A kiss is but a kiss.
Yet if these knights be surely bound by this,
There is no need to ask them to disclose
Why preferably just below the nose?
Chorus.
Still there's some reason—so we must suppose—
Why preferably just below the nose.
Selene.
That form is not in vogue in Fairyland.
Still, as it holds on earth, no doubt 'twill have
Far greater weight with you, poor sons of earth,
Than any formula we could impose.
Ethais.
Its weight is overpowering!
[About to kiss her.
Selene.
But stay—
We would not wrest this homage from you, sir.
Or give it willingly, or not at all.
Phyllon.
Most willingly, fair Queen, we give to you!
Selene.
Good—then proceed.
[Sir Ethais kisses Selene. Sir Phyllon kisses Darine.
204
There—does it not convey
A pleasant sense of influence?
Selene.
It does.
(To Darine.)
Some earthly forms seem rational enough!
[Sir Ethais staggers as though about to faint.
Why, Ethais, what ails thee?
Ethais.
Nothing grave—
I'm weak from loss of blood. Here, take this scarf,
And bind it round my arm—so—have a care!
There, that will do till I return to earth,
Then Lutin, who's a very skilful leech,
Shall doctor it.
Selene
(amazed).
Didst thou say Lutin?
Ethais.
Yes.
Darine.
How strange. Sir Ethais has a Lutin too!
Lutin has entered unobserved.
Ethais.
Yes, he's my squire—a poor half-witted churl,
Who shudders at the rustling of a leaf.
He hath a potion that will heal my wound,
A draught whose power works instantaneously.
Were he here I should soon—
[Sees Fairy Lutin, who has entered unobserved.
Why, here he is!
By all the gods, pranked out in masquerade!
(To Lutin.)
Give me the potion!
Lutin
(in amazement).
Give thee what?
Ethais
(impatiently).
The draught!
Dost thou not see my wound?
Lutin
(contemptuously).
I have no draught!
Ethais.
Thou scurvy rogue,
I bade thee never leave thy home without it!
Thy hide shall pay!
Lutin.
Who is this insolent?
A mortal here in Fairyland?
Locrine.
Yes—two!
Lutin.
Who are these men?
Selene.
The mortal counterparts
Of Ethais and Phyllon. Look at them!
Dost thou not love them?
Lutin
(indignantly).
No!
Cora.
How very strange!
Why, we all loved them from the very first!
205
Is this indeed the truth?
Darine
(demurely).
It is indeed.
Obedient to our Queen's command, we have
Subdued our natural antipathies.
[Fondling Phyllon.
Zayda
(demurely).
They are our guests, all odious though they be,
And we must bid them welcome to our home,
As though e'en now they were what they will be
When they have seen what we shall be to them.
[Fondling Phyllon.
Lutin.
Be warned in time and send these mortals hence!
Why, don't you see that in each word they speak
They breathe of Love?
Selene
(enthusiastically).
They do!
Lutin.
Why, Love's the germ
Of every sin that stalks upon the earth!
Song.—Lutin.
The warrior, girt in shining might,
Knows, as he bares his sword,
That, should he murderously fight,
And cut and thrust and slash and smite
(No matter wrong, no matter right),
Love will be his reward.
The footpad nerves his coward arm
With draughts of mead and mull,
And stupefies his soul's alarm,
And all his stealthy dread of harm,
By pondering on the tipsy charm
Of some poor tavern trull!
Knows, as he bares his sword,
That, should he murderously fight,
And cut and thrust and slash and smite
(No matter wrong, no matter right),
Love will be his reward.
The footpad nerves his coward arm
With draughts of mead and mull,
And stupefies his soul's alarm,
And all his stealthy dread of harm,
By pondering on the tipsy charm
Of some poor tavern trull!
Oh, Love's the source of every ill!
Compounded with unholy skill,
It proves, disguise it as you will,
A gilded but a poisoned pill!
Compounded with unholy skill,
It proves, disguise it as you will,
A gilded but a poisoned pill!
Love instigates the brawler bold;
For love the lover lies;
The miser hoards ill-gotten gold
To buy the prize, so lightly sold,
That looks so warm yet burns so cold—
The love of two bright eyes!
For lawless love the wife elopes,
And blights her husband's lot;
For love denied the moper mopes,
To toast his love the toper topes,
With heavy heart the hoper hopes
For love that loves him not!
For love the lover lies;
The miser hoards ill-gotten gold
To buy the prize, so lightly sold,
That looks so warm yet burns so cold—
The love of two bright eyes!
For lawless love the wife elopes,
And blights her husband's lot;
For love denied the moper mopes,
To toast his love the toper topes,
With heavy heart the hoper hopes
For love that loves him not!
Oh, Love's a poison foul and fleet,
Nor is its horror less complete
Because, with devil-born deceit,
It looks so fair and tastes so sweet!
Nor is its horror less complete
Because, with devil-born deceit,
It looks so fair and tastes so sweet!
206
Zayda
(to Ethais).
Nay, heed him not! A tale has reached our ears
That man is infamous in high degree,
And he believes it—so indeed did we,
Till we beheld you, gallant cavaliers!
Darine
(to Selene).
Send him to earth—then we can summon here
His mortal counterpart!
[Selene looks at her reprovingly. Darine changes her tone.
Another reed
No doubt who stands in very sorest need
Of virtuous counselling and guidance clear!
Selene.
Well said, Darine! Thy words are words of worth.
Lutin, begone at once!
Ethais.
Return to earth!
Insolent varlet, get thee quickly hence!
Lutin.
Oh, mortal plague! Oh, walking pestilence!
Listen and learn,
Oh, incarnation of uncleanliness!
Song.—Lutin.
Hark ye, you sir! On yonder ball
You've Kings and Queens to whom you fall,
And humbly cringe and creep and crawl,
Cast dust and ashes too your head upon,
That they some civil word may say to you.
Well, sir, there's not a King on earth,
There's not a Prince of royal birth,
Who would not barter all he's worth
To lick the very dust I tread upon—
And I'm the meanest here! Good day to you!
[Lutin goes up stage and prepares to descend.
Chorus.
Good day, to you—
Away, to you—
That's all we have to say to you.
Don't stay, to you—
Delay, to you—
Don't hurry back, we pray to you.
Away, to you—
Good day to you—
Away!
Good day!
[Lutin descends. The Fairies then turn to Sir Ethais and Sir Phyllon.
207
Fairies.
Oh, gallant gentlemen,
You see our plight;
Take pity on us, then,
And give us light!
Our prayer—ah! do not spurn—
This we beseech:
We brought you here to learn—
Stay ye to teach!
We foolish fairies thought
Your guides to be,
But we are all untaught,
As ye may see.
Oh, gallant gentlemen,
You see our plight,
Take pity on us, then,
And give us light!
Take pity on us, list to our appeal
As humble suppliants at your feet we kneel!
Oh, grant this prayer, all other prayers above:
Teach us, oh, gallant gentlemen, to love!
Ethais and Phyllon
to each other.
As gallant gentlemen,
We see their plight;
We will take pity, then,
And give them light!
Their prayer we will not spurn,
So they beseech:
They brought us here to learn—
We'll stay to teach!
These foolish fairies thought
Our guides to be,
But they are all untaught,
As we may see.
As gallant gentlemen, (to Fairies)
We seek your plight;
We will take pity, then,
And give you light!
In pity, then, we list to your appeal
As humble suppliants at our feet you kneel!
We'll grant your prayer, all other prayers above,
And show how gallant gentlemen can love.
[Some of the Fairies kneel at the feet of the knights, Selene embracing Sir Ethais; Darine, Zayda, and Lochrine hanging on Sir Phyllon's neck. The remaining Fairies are grouped in attitudes of entreaty at the feet of the two knights.
| Fallen Fairies ; Or, The Wicked World | |