The Pirates of Penzance ; Or, The Slave of Duty An Entirely Original Comic Opera, in Two Acts |
 | 1. | ACT I. |
| 2. |
 | The Pirates of Penzance ; Or, The Slave of Duty |  |
ACT I.
Scene.—A rocky sea-shore on the coast of Cornwall. Under the rock is a cavern. In the distance is a calm sea, on which a schooner is lying at anchor. As the curtain rises groups of Pirates are discovered—some drinking, some playing cards. Samuel, the pirate lieutenant, is going from one group to the other, filling the cups from a flask. Frederic is seated in a despondent attitude at the back of the scene. Ruth kneels at his feet.Sam.
Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry;
Fill, oh, fill the pirate glass;
And, to make us more than merry,
Let the pirate bumper pass.
Solo. Sam.
For to-day our pirate 'prentice
Rises from indenture freed;
Strong his arm and keen his scent is,
He's a pirate now indeed!
All.
Here's good luck to Frederic's ventures!
Frederic's out of his indentures.
Solo. Sam.
Two and twenty now he's rising,
And alone he's fit to fly,
Which we're bent on signalizing
With unusual revelry.
Here's good luck to Frederic's ventures!
Frederic's out of his indentures,
So pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry, etc.
King.
Yes, Frederic, from to-day you rank as a full-blown
member of our band.
All.
Hurrah!
Fred.
My friends, I thank you all, from my heart, for your
kindly wishes. Would that I could repay them as they deserve!
King.
What do you mean?
Fred.
To-day I am out of my indentures, and to-day I leave
you for ever.
King.
But this is quite unaccountable; a keener hand at
scuttling a Cunarder or cutting out a White Star never shipped
a handspike.
Fred.
Yes, I have done my best for you. And why? It
was my duty under my indentures, and I am the slave of duty.
As a child I was regularly apprenticed to your band. It was
through an error—no matter, the mistake was ours, not yours,
and I was in honour bound by it.
Sam.
An error? What error?
Fred.
I may not tell you; it would reflect upon my well-loved
Ruth.
[Ruth comes down to Frederic.
Ruth.
Nay, dear master, my mind has long been gnawed by
the cankering tooth of mystery. Better have it out at once.
Song.—Ruth.
His father thought he'd 'prentice him to some career seafaring.
I was, alas, his nursery-maid, and so it fell to my lot
To take and bind the promising boy apprentice to a pilot—
A life not bad for a hardy lad, though certainly not a high lot.
Though I'm a nurse, you might do worse than make your boy a pilot.
And I did not catch the word aright, through being hard of hearing;
Mistaking my instructions, which within my brain did gyrate,
I took and bound this promising boy apprentice to a pirate.
A sad mistake it was to make and doom him to a vile lot.
I bound him to a pirate—you—instead of to a pilot.
But I hadn't the face to return to my place, and break it to my master.
A nursery-maid is never afraid of what you people call work,
So I made up my mind to go as a kind of piratical maid of all work;
Which you wouldn't have found, had he been bound apprentice to a pilot.
(Kneeling at his feet.)
Oh, pardon! Frederic, pardon!
Fred.
Rise, sweet one; I have long pardoned you.
Ruth
(rises).
The two words were so much alike.
Fred.
They were. They still are, though years have rolled
over their heads.
(Ruth goes up with Samuel.)
But this
afternoon my obligation ceases. Individually I love you all
with affection unspeakable, but collectively, I look upon you
with a disgust that amounts to absolute detestation. Oh! pity
me, my beloved friend, for such is my sense of duty, that once
out of my indentures I shall feel myself bound to devote
myself heart and soul to your extermination!
All.
Poor lad! poor lad!
(All weep.)
King.
Well, Frederic, if you conscientiously feel that it is
your duty to destroy us, we cannot blame you for acting on
that conviction. Always act in accordance with the dictates
of your conscience, my boy, and chance the consequences.
Sam.
Besides, we can offer you but little temptation to
remain with us. We don't seem to make piracy pay. I'm
sure I don't know why, but we don't.
Fred.
I know why, but, alas! I mustn't tell you; it wouldn't
be right.
King.
Why not, my boy? It's only half-past eleven, and
you are one of us until the clock strikes twelve.
Sam.
True, and until then you are bound to protect our
interests.
All.
Hear, hear!
Fred.
Well, then, it is my duty, as a pirate, to tell you that
you are too tender-hearted. For instance, you make a point of
never attacking a weaker party than yourselves, and when you
attack a stronger party, you invariably get thrashed.
King.
There is some truth in that.
Fred.
Then, again, you make a point of never molesting an
orphan!
Sam.
Of course: we are orphans ourselves, and know what
it is.
Fred.
Yes, but it has got about, and what is the consequence?
Every one we capture says he's an orphan. The
last three ships we took proved to be manned entirely by
orphans, and so we had to let them go. One would think that
Great Britain's mercantile navy was recruited solely from her
orphan asylums—which we know is not the case.
But, hang it all, you wouldn't have us absolutely
merciless?
Fred.
There's my difficulty; until twelve o'clock I would,
after twelve I wouldn't. Was ever a man placed in so delicate
a situation!
Ruth.
And Ruth, your own Ruth, whom you love so well,
and who has won her middle-aged way into your boyish heart,
what is to become of her?
King.
Oh, he will take you with him.
Fred.
Well, Ruth, I feel some little difficulty about you.
It is true that I admire you very much, but I have been
constantly at sea since I was eight years old, and yours is the
only woman's face I have seen during that time. I think it is
a sweet face!
Ruth.
It is, oh, it is!
Fred.
I say I think it is; that is my impression. But as I
have never had an opportunity of comparing you with other
women, it is just possible I may be mistaken.
King.
True.
Fred.
What a terrible thing it would be if I were to marry
this innocent person, and then find out that she is, on the
whole, plain!
King.
Oh, Ruth is very well, very well indeed.
Sam.
Yes, there are the remains of a fine woman about Ruth.
Fred.
Do you really think so? Then I will not be so
selfish as to take her from you. In justice to her, and in consideration
for you, I will leave her behind.
(Hands Ruth to
King.)
King.
No, Frederic, this must not be. We are rough men,
who lead a rough life, but we are not so utterly heartless as to
deprive thee of thy love. I think I am right in saying that
there is not one here who would rob thee of this inestimable
treasure for all the world holds dear.
All
(loudly).
Not one!
King.
No, I thought there wasn't. Keep thy love, Frederic,
keep thy love.
(Hands her back to Frederic.)
Fred.
You're very good, I'm sure.
King.
Well, it's the top of the tide, and we must be off.
Farewell, Frederic. When your process of extermination
begins, let our deaths be as swift and painless as you can conveniently
make them.
Fred.
I will! By the love I have for you, I swear it!
Would that you could render this extermination unnecessary
by accompanying me back to civilization!
No, Frederic, it cannot be. I don't think much of
our profession, but, contrasted with respectability, it is comparatively
honest. No, Frederic, I shall live and die a pirate
king.
Song.—Pirate King.
Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,
Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.
Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well to do;
But I'll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a pirate king.
For I am a pirate king.
All.
You are!
Hurrah for our pirate king!
King.
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a pirate king.
All.
Hurrah! (Cheering action by Pirates.)
Hurrah for our pirate king!
King.
When I sally forth to seek my prey
I help myself in a royal way:
I sink a few more ships, it's true,
Than a well-bred monarch ought to do;
But many a king on a first-class throne,
If he wants to call his crown his own,
Must manage somehow to get through
More dirty work than ever I do,
Though I am a pirate king.
All.
You are!
Hurrah for our pirate king!
King.
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a pirate king!
All.
It is!
Hurrah for our pirate king!
[After song, the King, Samuel, and all the Pirates, excepting Frederic and Ruth, go off; Frederic comes, followed by Ruth.)
Ruth.
Oh, take me with you! I cannot live if I am left
behind.
Fred.
Ruth, I will be quite candid with you: you are very
dear to me, as you know, but I must be circumspect. You see,
you are considerably older than I. A lad of twenty-one usually
looks for a wife of seventeen.
Ruth.
A wife of seventeen! You will find me a wife of a
thousand!
No, but I shall find you a wife of forty-seven, and
that is quite enough. Ruth, tell me candidly, and without
reserve—compared with other women, how are you?
Ruth.
I will answer you truthfully, master; I have a slight
cold, but otherwise I am quite well.
Fred.
I am sorry for your cold, but I was referring rather to
your personal appearance. Compared with other women—are
you beautiful?
Ruth
(bashfully).
I have been told so, dear master.
Fred.
Ah, but lately?
Ruth.
Oh no, years and years ago.
Fred.
What do you think of yourself?
Ruth.
It is a delicate question to answer, but I think I am
a fine woman.
Fred.
That is your candid opinion?
Ruth.
Yes, I should be deceiving you if I told you otherwise.
Fred.
Thank you, Ruth; I believe you, for I am sure you
would not practise on my inexperience. I wish to do the right
thing, and if—I say if—you are really a fine woman, your age
shall be no obstacle to our union.
(Shakes hands with her.
Chorus of Girls heard in the distance, “Climbing over rocky
mountain,” etc. See entrance of Girls.)
Hark! Surely I
hear voices! Who has ventured to approach our all but
inaccessible lair? Can it be Custom House? No, it does not
sound like Custom House.
Ruth
(aside).
Confusion! it is the voices of young girls! If
he should see them I am lost.
Fred.
(climbing rocky arch and looking off).
By all that's
marvellous, a bevy of beautiful maidens!
Ruth
(aside).
Lost! lost! lost!
Fred.
How lovely! how surpassingly lovely is the plainest of
them! What grace! what delicacy! what refinement! And
Ruth—Ruth told me she was beautiful!
Recitative.
Fred.
Oh, false one, you have deceived me.
Ruth.
I have deceived you?
Fred.
Yes, deceived me. (Denouncing her.)
Duet.—Frederic and Ruth.
Fred.
You told me you were fair as gold!
Ruth
(wildly).
And, master, am I not so?
Fred.
And now I see you're plain and old.
Ruth.
I am sure I am not a jot so.
Upon my ignorance you play.
Ruth.
I'm not the one to plot so.
Fred.
Your face is lined, your hair is grey.
Ruth.
It's gradually got so.
Fred.
Faithless woman to deceive me,
I who trusted so!
Ruth.
Master, master, do not leave me.
Hear me, ere you go.
My love, without reflecting,
Oh, do not be rejecting.
Take a maiden tender—her affection, raw and green,
At very highest rating,
Has been accumulating
Summers seventeen—summers seventeen.
Don't belovèd master,
Crush me with disaster.
What is such a dower to the dower I have here?
My love, unabating,
Has been accumulating
Forty-seven year—forty-seven year!
Ensemble.
Ruth.
Don't, beloved master,
Crush me with disaster.
What is such a dower to the dower
I have here, etc.
Frederic.
Yes, your former master
Saves you from disaster.
Your love would be uncomfortably fervid, it is clear,
If, as you are stating,
It's been accumulating
Forty-seven year—forty-seven year.
[At the end he renounces her, and she goes off in despair.
Recitative.—Frederic.
What shall I do? Before these gentle maidens,
I dare not show in this detested costume.
No, better far remain in close concealment
Until I can appear in decent clothing.
[Hides in cave as they enter, climbing over the rocks and through arched rock.
Girls.
Climbing over rocky mountain,
Skipping rivulet and fountain;
Passing where the willows quiver
By the ever-rolling river,
Swollen with the summer rain;
Threading long and leafy mazes
Dotted with unnumbered daisies;
Scaling rough and rugged passes,
Climb the hardy little lasses,
Till the bright sea-shore they gain.
Let us gaily tread the measure,
Make the most of fleeting leisure;
Hail it as a true ally
Though it perish by-and-by.
All.
Hail it as a true ally
Though it perish by-and-by.
Edith.
Every moment brings a treasure
Of its own especial pleasure.
Though the moments quickly die,
Greet them gaily as they fly.
Kate.
Far away from toil and care,
Revelling in fresh sea air,
Here we live and reign alone
In a world that's all our own.
Here in this our rocky den,
Far away from mortal men,
We'll be queens, and make decrees;
They may honour them who please.
All.
Let us gaily tread the measure, etc.
Kate.
What a picturesque spot! I wonder where we are!
Edith.
And I wonder where papa is. We have left him ever
so far behind.
Isa.
Oh, he will be here presently! Remember, poor papa is
not as young as we are, and we have come over a rather difficult
country.
Kate.
But how thoroughly delightful it is to be so entirely
alone! Why, in all probability we are the first human beings
who ever set foot on this enchanting spot.
Isa.
Except the mermaids—it's the very place for mermaids.
Kate.
Who are only human beings down to the waist!
Edith.
And who can't be said strictly to set foot anywhere.
Tails they may, but feet they cannot.
Kate.
But what shall we do until papa and the servants
arrive with the luncheon?
[All rise and come down.
Edith.
We are quite alone, and the sea is as smooth as glass
Suppose we take off our shoes and stockings and paddle.
All.
Yes, yes. The very thing!
[They prepare to carry out the suggestion. They have all taken off one shoe, when Frederic comes forward from cave.
Recitative.
Fred.
Stop, ladies, pray!
All
(hopping on one foot).
A man!
Fred.
I had intended
Not to intrude myself upon your notice
In this effective but alarming costume,
It is my bounden duty to inform you
That your proceedings will not be unwitnessed.
Edith.
But who are you, sir? Speak! (All hopping.)
Fred.
I am a pirate.
All
(recoiling hopping).
A pirate! Horror!
Fred.
Ladies, do not shudder!
This evening I renounce my vile profession;
And to that end, oh, pure and peerless maidens!
Oh, blushing buds of ever-blooming beauty!
I, sore of heart, implore your kind assistance.
Edith.
How pitiful his tale!
Kate.
How rare his beauty!
All.
How pitiful his tale! How rare his beauty!
[Put on their shoes, and group in semicircle.
Song.—Frederic.
Oh! is there not one maiden breast
Which does not feel the moral beauty
Of making worldly interest
Subordinate to sense of duty?
Who would not give up willingly
All matrimonial ambition,
To rescue such a one as I
From his unfortunate position?
All.
Alas! there's not one maiden breast
Which seems to feel the moral beauty
Of making worldly interest
Subordinate to sense of duty.
Fred.
Oh, is there not one maiden here,
Whose homely face and bad complexion
Have caused all hopes to disappear
Of ever winning man's affection?
To such a one, if such there be,
I swear by heaven's arch above you,
If you will cast your eyes on me—
However plain you be—I'll love you!
All.
Alas! there's not one maiden here,
Whose homely face and bad complexion
Have caused all hope to disappear
Of ever winning man's affection.
Fred.
(in despair).
Not one!
All.
No, no—not one!
Fred.
Not one?
No, no!
Mab.
Yes, one!
All.
'Tis Mabel!
Mab.
Yes, 'tis Mabel!
Recitative.—Mabel.
Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name,
For shame!
It's true that he has gone astray,
But pray,
Is that a reason good and true
Why you
Should all be deaf to pity's name?
For shame!
All
(aside).
The question is, had he not been a thing of beauty,
Would she be swayed by quite as keen a sense of duty?
Song.—Mabel.
Poor wandering one,
Though thou hast surely strayed,
Take heart of grace,
Thy steps retrace,
Be not afraid.
Poor wandering one,
If such poor love as mine
Can help thee find
True peace of mind—
Why, take it, it is thine!
Take heart, fair days will shine.
Take any heart—take mine.
All.
Take heart; no danger lowers.
Take any heart—but ours.
[Mabel and Frederic exit into cave and converse. Kate beckons her sisters, who form in a semicircle around her.
Edith.
What ought we to do,
Gentle sisters, pray?
Propriety, we know,
Says we ought to stay;
While sympathy exclaims,
“Free them from your tether—
Play at other games—
Leave them here together.”
Her case may, any day,
Be yours, my dear, or mine.
Let her make her hay
While the sun doth shine.
Let us compromise
(Our hearts are not of leather);
Let us shut our eyes,
And talk about the weather.
Ladies.
Yes, yes; let's talk about the weather.
[Edith, Kate, and Girls retire and sit two and two, facing each other, in a line across.
Mabel and Frederic enter from cave.
Chattering Chorus.
How beautifully blue the sky,
The glass is rising very high,
Continue fine I hope it may,
And yet it rained but yesterday;
To-morrow it may pour again
(I hear the country wants some rain);
Yet people say, I know not why,
That we shall have a warm July.
(During Mabel's solo the Girls continue chatter pianissimo, but listening eagerly all the time.
Solo—Mabel.
Did ever maiden wake
From dream of homely duty,
To find her daylight break
With such exceeding beauty?
Did ever maiden close
Her eyes on waking sadness,
To dream of goodness knows
How much exceeding gladness?
Fred.
Oh yes—ah, yes; this is exceeding gladness.
[Frederic and Mabel turn and see that the Girls are listening; detected, they continue their chatter forte.
Girls.
How beautifully blue the sky, etc.
[During this, Girls continue their chatter pianissimo as before, but listening intently all the time.
Did ever pirate roll
His soul in guilty dreaming,
And wake to find that soul
With peace and virtue beaming?
Did ever pirate loathed
Forsake his hideous mission,
To find himself betrothed
To lady of position?
Mab.
Ah, yes—ah, yes; I am a lady of position.
[Mabel and Frederic turn as before; Girls resume their chatter forte.
Ensemble.
Mabel.
Did ever maiden wake, etc.
Fred.
Did ever pirate loathed, etc.
Girls.
How beautifully blue the sky, etc.
Recitative.—Fred.
Stay, we must not lose our senses;
Men who stick at no offences
Will anon be here.
Piracy their dreadful trade is;
Pray you, get you hence, young ladies,
While the coast is clear.
Girls.
No, we must not lose our senses
If they stick at no offences.
Piracy their dreadful trade is—
Nice associates for young ladies!
Let us disappear.
[During this chorus the Pirates have entered stealthily, and formed in a semicircle behind the Girls. As the Girls move to go off, each Pirate seizes a girl. King seizes Edith, Samuel seizes Kate.
All.
Too late!
Pirates.
Ha! Ha!
All.
Too late!
Pir.
Ha! ha!
Ha! ha! ha! ha! Ha! ha! ha! ha!
(Pirates pass in front of Ladies.)
Pirates.
Here's a first-rate opportunity
To get married with impunity,
And indulge in the felicity
Of unbounded domesticity.
You shall quickly be parsonified,
Conjugally matrimonified
By a doctor of divinity,
Who is located in this vicinity.
(Ladies pass in front of Pirates.)
Ladies.
We have missed our opportunity
Of escaping with impunity;
So farewell to the felicity
Of our maiden domesticity.
We shall quickly be parsonified,
Conjugally matrimonified
By a doctor of divinity,
Who is located in this vicinity.
Recitative.—Mabel (coming forward).
How, monsters! Ere your pirate caravanserai
Proceed, against our will, to wed us all,
Just bear in mind that we are wards in Chancery,
And father is a major-general!
Sam.
(cowed).
We'd better pause, or danger may befall;
Their father is a major-general.
Ladies.
Yes, yes; he is a major-general.
The Major-General has entered unnoticed on rock.
Gen.
Yes, I am a major-general.
All.
You are!
Hurrah for the Major-General!
Gen.
And it is a glorious thing
To be a major-general.
All.
It is!
Hurrah for the Major-General!
Song.—Major-General.
I am the very pattern of a modern major-gineral,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral;
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical;
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical;
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o'news—
(Bothered for next rhyme.)
—Lot o'news—lot o'news— (struck with an idea)
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
(Joyously.)
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
All.
With many cheerful facts, etc.
Gen.
I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous.
I am the very model of a modern major-gineral.
All.
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern major-gineral.
Gen.
I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's,
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous.
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies;
I know the croaking chorus from the “Frogs” of Aristophanes.
Then I can hum a fugue, of which I've heard the music's din afore,
(Bothered for next rhyme.)
—Din afore, din afore, din afore— (struck with an idea)
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense “Pinafore.”
(Joyously.)
And whistle all the airs, etc.
All.
And whistle all the airs, etc.
Gen.
Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,
And tell you every detail of Caractacus's uniform.
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very pattern of a modern major-gineral.
All.
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very pattern of a modern major-gineral.
Gen.
In fact, when I know what is meant by mamelon and ravelin,
When I can tell at sight a chassepôt rifle from a javelin,
When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at,
And when I know precisely what is meant by commissariat,
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery;
In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy,
(Bothered for next rhyme.)
—Strategy, strategy— (struck with an idea)
You'll say a better major-general has never sat a gee—
(Joyously.)
You'll say a better major-general has never sat a gee!
All.
You'll say a better, etc.
Gen.
For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century,
But still in learning vegetable, animal, and mineral, etc.
All.
But still in learning vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern major-general.
Gen.
And now that I've introduced myself I should like to
have some idea of what's going on.
Kate.
Oh, papa—we—
Sam.
Permit me, I'll explain in two words: we propose to
marry your daughters.
Gen.
Dear me!
Girls.
Against our wills, papa—against our wills!
Gen.
Oh, but you mustn't do that. May I ask—this is a
you?
King.
We are all single gentlemen.
Gen.
Yes, I gathered that—anything else?
King.
No, nothing else.
Edith.
Papa, don't believe them, they are pirates—the famous
Pirates of Penzance!
Gen.
The Pirates of Penzance? I have often heard of them.
Mab.
All except this gentleman—
(indicating Frederick)
—
who was a pirate once, but who is out of his indentures to-day,
and who means to lead a blameless life evermore.
Gen.
But wait a bit. I object to pirates as sons-in-law.
King.
We object to major-generals as fathers-in-law. But
we waive that point. We do not press it. We look over it.
Gen.
(aside).
Hah! an idea!
(Aloud.)
And do you mean
to say that you would deliberately rob me of these the sole
remaining props of my old age, and leave me to go through the
remainder of life unfriended, unprotected, and alone?
King.
Well, yes, that's the idea.
Gen.
Tell me, have you ever known what it is to be an
orphan?
Pirates
(disgusted).
Oh, dash it all!
King.
Here we are again!
Gen.
I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an
orphan?
King.
Often!
Gen.
Yes, orphan. Have you ever known what it is to be one?
King.
I say, often.
All
(disgusted).
Often, often, often.
(Turning away.)
Gen.
I don't think we quite understand one another. I ask
you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan, and
you say “orphan.” As I understand you, you are merely repeating
the word “orphan” to show that you understand me.
King.
I didn't repeat the word often.
Gen.
Pardon me, you did indeed.
King.
I only repeated it once.
Gen.
True, but you repeated it.
King.
But not often.
Gen.
Stop, I think I see where we are getting confused.
When you said “orphan,” did you mean “orphan”—a person
who has lost his parents; or often—frequently?
King.
Ah, I beg pardon, I see what you mean—frequently.
Gen.
Ah, you said often—frequently.
King.
No, only once.
(irritated).
Exactly, you said often, frequently, only
once.
Finale.
Recitative.—General.
Oh, men of dark and dismal fate,
Forego your cruel employ;
Have pity on my lonely state,
I am an orphan boy.
King.
An orphan boy?
Gen.
An orphan boy!
Pirates.
How sad—an orphan boy!
Solo.—General.
These children whom you see
Are all that I can call my own!
Pir.
Poor fellow!
Gen.
Take them away from me
And I shall be indeed alone.
Pir.
Poor fellow!
Gen.
If pity you can feel,
Leave me my sole remaining joy.
See, at your feet they kneel;
Your hearts you cannot steel
Against the sad, sad tale of the lonely orphan boy!
Pir.
(sobbing).
Poor fellow!
See, at our feet they kneel;
Our hearts we cannot steel
Against the sad, sad tale of the lonely orphan boy.
King.
The orphan boy!
Sam.
The orphan boy!
All.
The lonely orphan boy! Poor fellow!
[General comes down. Principals come down. Ladies rise.
Ensemble.
General.
But it doesn't diminish my glory;
For they would have taken my daughters
Over the billowy waters,
Indulged in an innocent fiction;
Which is not in the same category
As a regular terrible story.
Girls
(aside).
Which will tend to diminish his glory.
Though they would have taken his daughters
Over the billowy waters,
To call it an innocent fiction;
But it comes in the same category
As a regular terrible story.
Pirates
(aside).
If he's telling a terrible story
He shall die by a death that is gory,
One of the cruellest slaughters
That ever were known in these waters;
And we'll finish his moral affliction
By a very complete malediction,
As a compliment valedictory,
If he's telling a terrible story.
Although our dark career
Sometimes involves the crime of stealing,
We rather think that we're
Not altogether void of feeling.
Although we live by strife,
We're always sorry to begin it,
And what, we ask, is life
Without a touch of Poetry in it?
All
(kneeling).
Hail, Poetry, thou heaven-born maid,
Thou gildest e'en the pirate's trade!
Hail, flowing fount of sentiment!
All hail, Divine Emollient! (All rise.)
King.
You may go, for you're at liberty, our pirate rules protect you,
And honorary members of our band we do elect you.
Sam.
For he is an orphan boy.
Chorus.
He is an orphan boy.
Gen.
And it sometimes is a useful thing
To be an orphan boy.
Chorus.
It is! Hurrah for the orphan boy!
Quartette.
Oh, happy day, with joyous glee
We will away and merry be!
Should it befall auspiciouslee,
My sisters all will bridesmaids be.
Chorus.
Oh, happy day, with joyous glee
They will away, and merry be;
Should it befall auspiciouslee,
Our sisters all will bridesmaids be!
Ruth enters, and comes down to Frederic, and kneels.
Ruth.
Oh, master, hear one word, I do implore you!
Remember Ruth, your Ruth, who kneels before you!
[Pirates come in front of Ladies.
Chorus.
Yes, yes, remember Ruth who kneels before you.
Fred.
(Pirates threaten Ruth).
Away, you did deceive me!
Chorus.
Away, you did deceive him!
Ruth.
Oh, do not leave me!
Chorus.
Oh, do not leave her!
Fred.
Away, you grieve me!
Away, you grieve her!
Fred.
I wish you'd leave me.
[Frederic casts Ruth from him. Exit Ruth.
Ensemble.
Pray observe the magnanimity
We/They display to lace and dimity;
Never was such opportunity
To get married with impunity,
But we/they give up the felicity
Of unbounded domesticity,
Though a doctor of divinity
Is located in this vicinity.
King.
For we are all orphan boys,
All.
We are,
Hurrah for the orphan boys!
Gen.
And it sometimes is a useful thing
To be an orphan boy.
All.
It is.
Hurrah for the orphan boy!
[Girls and General go up rocks, while Pirates indulge in a wild dance of delight. The General produces a British flag, and the Pirate King, on arched rock, produces a black flag with skull and cross-bones. Picture.
| The Pirates of Penzance ; Or, The Slave of Duty | |