|
Nancy tries to find the reason for Lady Harriet's boredom
and melancholy:
|
NANCY
With your beauty, charm and brilliance
All the world is at your feet.
Not a man among the millions
Could resist a prize so sweet.
Half a hundred any day
Would gladly wipe those tears away.
HARRIET
Why should I desire their praises?
Love despised is worse than death.
Melting words and gallant phrases --
These to me are waste of breath.
NANCY
Dukes and barons fawn and flatter;
Princes worship and adore.
HARRIET
I repeat, they little matter,
For I find them all a bore.
NANCY
(Here I spot the crucial factor:
Boredom is ever but a sign;
And unless I can distract her
She will wither on the vine ...)
|
|
|
Introducing two farmers, Lionel and Plunkett:
|
LIONEL
Long before I can remember
You have shared your all with me;
With affection warm and tender
You have been my family.
At your farm, my banished father
Found the peace, before denied.
Still in mourning for my mother,
Here within your arms he died.
PLUNKETT
Who he was -- his rank and station --
Of his name we've not a clue.
All he left for indication
Is the ring he gave to you ...
|
|
The aristocratic ladies meet the farmers:
|
HARRIET and NANCY
Bold indeed! Though not at all alarming.
Let's proceed, and travel on our merry way.
So naive, they should go back to farming;
How they try, but know not what to say.
PLUNKETT and LIONEL
Never have I seen a girl so charming;
Fair as Eve, and milder than the month of May.
Eyes so sweet, and manner so disarming --
My delight I'm helpless to convey.
|
|
|
Lady Harriet and Nancy find themselves caught up
in a ghastly mistake:
|
CROWD
Maybe awful, but it's lawful!
Listen, honey, you took money,
And from what I hear,
It's clear, my dear,
You're stuck for one whole year.
|
|
At their new home, they receive an unwelcome lesson in spinning:
|
PLUNKETT
Turn the wheel to start it whirring,
On the pedal lightly tread;
When you hear the merry purring,
Feed the flax and draw the thread.
|
|
Twelve o'clock! End of an eventful day:
|
LIONEL
Go to sleep, and yet with sorrow
For the love you hold so light.
When we meet again tomorrow
Be more tender ... so, good night.
NANCY
Off to bed, to dream in sorrow
Of escape and speedy flight.
Pray to God that by tomorrow
We'll be gone ... so, good night.
PLUNKETT
Off to sleep, but not in sorrow,
For I like you well despite.
Mind you mend your ways tomorrow,
Little lady ... so, good night.
HARRIET
With a heart too full of sorrow
For a love I can't requite,
I can only hope tomorrow
Offers comfort ... so, good night.
|
|
Lionel is unable to forget "Martha":
|
LIONEL
Angel on earth, gentle and fair,
Tender creature of light and air,
Mild as the May, soft as the dove --
When I saw, I fell in love.
Until then, all forlorn,
I would sigh for dreams denied;
On that day, hope was born,
And despair I cast aside ...
|
|
|
Disillusioned, Lionel becomes bitter:
|
LIONEL
Pray that God above may pardon
Your malign and cruel sport
That has brought despair and horror
To an all too trusting heart.
Fervent hopes and dreams lie broken,
Crushed beneath a mortal blow;
First deceived and then forsaken,
My despair to you I owe,
Mortal pain, despair and horror
That have town my life apart ...
|
|
Plunkett and Nancy break the ice:
|
PLUNKETT
There's a lady far above me,
But a most unlikely spouse,
For she'd never stoop to love me,
And she hates my simple house.
Bad at cooking, worse at spinning,
And her needlework is nil;
Yet her ways are oh, so winning!
That I love her come what will.
NANCY
I have heard of matches stranger;
Though a far from perfect spouse,
If she loves you, she may change her
Mind about your simple house.
So her cooking has no merit,
And her needlework is nil?
If you'll learn to grin and bear it
She might cultivate the skill.
|
|
|
And a repentant Martha returns:
|
HARRIET
With springtime returning,
The rose in flower,
Comes a fresh, new morning
And a sweeter hour.
Green leaves now flutter
And the day turns bright,
And the bird in the meadow
Sings a song of delight.
|
