Copyright, 1920, by Frank Shay.
All rights reserved.
The Shepherd in the Distance was first produced by the Washington Square Players, at the Bandbox Theatre, New York City, on the night of March 26, 1915, with the following cast:
| The Princess | Frances Paine. |
| The Attendant | Beatrice Savelli. |
| The Shepherd | Robert Locher. |
| The Wazir | Arvid Paulson. |
| The Vizier | John Alan Houghton. |
| Ghurri-wurri [the Beggar] | Harry Day. |
| The Goat | E. J. Ballantine. |
| Slaves of the Princess { | Josephine Niveson. |
| Edwina Behre. | |
| The Maker of Sounds | Robert Edwards. |
Produced under the direction of William Pennington. Scenes and costumes designed
by Robert Locker.
| THE PERSONS: |
| The Princess. The Attendant. The Slaves. The Wazir [her guardian]. The Vizier. The Nubian. The Shepherd. The Goat. Ghurri-wurri. The Maker of Sounds. |
The Shepherd in the Distance is published for the first time. The editors are indebted to Mr. Holland Hudson for permission to include it in this volume. The professional and amateur stage rights on this pantomime are strictly reserved by the author. Applications for permission to produce the pantomime should be made to Frank Shay, Care Stewart & Kidd Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
I. The Princess beholds The Shepherd in the Distance and goes in quest of him.
II. Ghurri-Wurri, enraged by the Princess' meager alms, swears vengeance.
III. He reveals her destination to the Wazir.
IV. Pursuit ensues.
V. The Princess meets The Shepherd in the Distance. Her capture is averted by the faithful Goat.
VI. The Goat's long head evolves a means of rescuing The Shepherd from the cruel Wazir.
VII. The Princess joins The Shepherd in the Distance.
Of the Princess, we know only that she was fair and slender as the lily, that somehow the fat and stupid Wazir became her guardian, and that he neglected her utterly and played chess eternally in the garden with his almost-equally-stupid Vizier. Is it any wonder she was bored?
One afternoon the Princess called for her ivory telescope, and, placing it to her eye, sought relief from the deadly ennui which her guardian caused. In the Distance she discerned a Shepherd, playing upon his pipe for the dancing of his favorite Goat. While he played the Princess marveled at his comeliness. She had never seen before a man so pleasing in face and person. At the end of his tune it seemed to her that the Shepherd turned and beckoned to her. She dared watch him no longer, lest her guardian observe her.
When the Wazir, the Vizier and the Nubian were deep in their afternoon siesta, the Princess stole out of the garden with her personal retinue and her small, but precious hope chests, and set forth toward the Distance.
Now on the highway between the foreground and the Distance lived a wretched and worthless beggar who had even lost his name and was called Ghurri-Wurri because he looked absolutely as miserable as that. He pretended to be blind and wore dark spectacles. The greatest affliction of his life was that his dark spectacles prevented him from inspecting the coins that fell in his palm, and he received more than his share of leaden counterfeits.
When Ghurri-Wurri observed the approach of the Princess and her retinue he reasoned from the richness of their attire that alms would be plentiful and large and he fawned and groveled before them. The Princess was generous, but she was also in haste, so bade her attendant give him the first coin that came to hand, and hurried on.
Ghurri-Wurri's rage knew no bounds. He wept, he stamped, he shook his fists, he railed, and he cursed. Then, perceiving the Princess' destination, he made haste to notify her guardian. The Wazir would not believe him at first and the beggar would have lost his head if he had not happened on the Princess' telescope and placed it in the Wazir's hand.
Gazing toward the Distance, the Wazir saw the Princess and her retinue nearing their destination. He lost his temper and did all of the undignified things which Ghurri-Wurri had done. Then, with the Vizier and the Nubian, he set forth in pursuit, forcing the reluctant Ghurri-Wurri to guide them. They ran like the wind, till the beggar gasped and staggered, only to be jerked to his feet and forced on by the implacable Vizier, who was cruel as well as stupid.
Meanwhile the Princess arrived in the Distance. The Shepherd, who was as wise as he was comely, had proper regard for her rank and danced in her honor to his own piping. They had scarcely spoken to each other when the faithful Goat warned them of the furious approach of the raging Wazir. The Goat carried the Princess to a place of safety on his back while the Shepherd stayed to delay her pursuers. Of the Nubian he made short work indeed, but the Vizier overcame him with his great scimiter and they led him captive to the garden, leaving Ghurri-Wurri cursing on the sands.
Arrived at the garden, the Wazir ordered the Shepherd bound in chains and went on with his chess game. The Shepherd, in a gesture of despair, came upon the Princess' telescope and, seeking some ray of hope, gazed into the Distance. Here he saw the Princess and his faithful Goat, who, he perceived, had invented a plan for his deliverance.
Soon the Princess returned to the garden, disguised as a wandering dancer. She danced before the Wazir and pleased him so much that he bade her come nearer. She did so, and bound the Vizier's arms with a scarf, which so amused the Wazir that he laughed loud and long. Then she bound the Wazir's arms in the same manner and it was the Vizier's turn to laugh. Into their laughing mouths she thrust two poisoned pills so that in another instant they fell over, quite dead, amongst the chessmen.
The omnivorous Goat delivered the Shepherd from his chains with his strong teeth and they all returned to the Distance, where they still dwell in more-than-perfect bliss and may be discerned through an ivory telescope any fine afternoon.
[1] A synopsis for readers only.
In the original production by The Washington Square Players, The Shepherd in the Distance was played in front of backgrounds of black velvet. The garden scene consisted of a black velvet drop about half-way between the curtain and back-wall, upon which a decorative white design merely suggesting the garden and its gate was appliquéd. This drop was made in three sections, the middle one hung on a separate set of lines so that it could be raised to show the "Distance" (as seen through the telescope) without disturbing the rest of the scene.
The "Distance" consisted of a velvet drop hung slightly behind the middle section of the garden scene, on the middle of which two large, white concentric circles were appliquéd around a circular opening about five feet in diameter. The bottom of the opening was about eighteen inches above the stage. Behind this stood a platform just large enough to hold four characters at one time. Black masking drapes were provided at both sides of the stage and behind the platform.
The Prologue, Scenes II, IV, V, the first part of Scene VII and the Epilogue were all played before a plain velvet drop hung a few feet upstage of the curtain line.
The Shepherd in the Distance has also been produced in colors very effectively by the Hollywood Community Theatre, at Hollywood, California. There is no reason why any highly decorative treatment of scenery and costuming will not enhance the production if it be well planned and consistent throughout.
The properties consist principally of a small chess table with most of the chessmen glued on, two stools, a telescope, a balloon and papier maché chain which are employed as a ball and chain, a very large Chinese crash cymbal for the stage manager's use, and such personal properties as occur in the text.
Whatever scheme is selected for the scenery, the costumes and make-up should be consistent with it. In the original production, all of the characters but the Nubian were made up completely with clown white or "Plexo," the eyebrows and eyes outlined in black and mouths rouged but slightly. No unwhitened flesh was visible at all.
The Princess wore a white satin pseudo-Oriental costume with stiff ruffs at the collar, wrists and knees, the trousers not gathered at the ankles, a flat close-fitting turban with a number of ornaments and a hanging veil, and white slippers. In the dance in Scene VI she used a long black gauze scarf and a white one. Her attendant wore a similar costume of cheaper material, an unornamented turban and black slippers. Her slaves were also similarly garbed, in cotton, but with bulkier turbans, and baggy trousers, gathered at the ankles.
The Wazir, armed with a preposterous "corporation," wore baggy white trousers, gathered at the ankles, a sleeveless vest with wide, horizontal black-and-white stripes, a white cloak hanging from his shoulders which terminated in a large black tassel, a turban, a beard made of several lengths of black portière cord sewed to white gauze, and white pointed shoes. His bare arms were whitened, his eyebrows were short, thick and high up on his forehead, and he carried a black snuff-box.
The Vizier's white trousers were not so full as the Wazir's; his tight white vest had tight white sleeves; his cloak was shorter and without a tassel. His white turban, however, was decorated with antennæ of white milliner's wire. He affected high arching eyebrows, a long pointed nose, a drooping mustache, a disdainful mouth, carried a white wooden scimiter about four feet long with a black handle and wore bells on his pointed white shoes.
The Nubian wore black tights and shirt, black slippers and a white skull cap and breech-clout. The rest of him, excepting his eyes and mouth, which were whitened, was a symphony in burnt cork.
The Shepherd wore white, knee-length trunks, frayed at the ends, a little drapery about the upper man, slippers and a cap. His body was whitened profusely and he carried a tiny flute.
The Goat wore a white furry skin, horns, and foot and hand coverings resembling hoofs. His make-up approached the animal's face as nearly as possible.
Ghurri-Wurri wore tattered white baggy trousers, vest and cloak, a turban and black goggles.
The Maker of Sounds was garbed in an all-enveloping white burnous and a white skull cap.
Left and right, in this text, refer to the actor's, not the spectator's, point of view. The action of the piece is meant to be two-dimensional; the actors are to perform in profile as far as possible; except when registry of facial expression is important the action should be parallel with the back drop.
The entire action must be rhythmical and the rhythms should be used as definite themes, one for the Princess and her retinue, another for the Wazir, etc. The performance should be extremely rapid and must never drag. The cast should direct special attention to the comic features, and the director to the pictorial elements of the piece. The director may consider the performance as an animated poster which moves rapidly from design to design.
A Pantomime
By Holland Hudson
[The curtain rises on a plain drop curtain. The Maker of Sounds enters with his arms full of instruments, crosses the scene and sits with his back against one side of the proscenium, outside the curtain line. He tries out all his instruments, wind, string, percussion and "traps." He yawns. He becomes impatient and raps on the stage.]
| Cymbal Crash | The lights go out |
| The drop is lifted in the darkness | |
| Cymbal Crash | The lights are turned on |
[The Wazir's garden. Discovered left to right, the Nubian, standing with folded arms, the Vizier, seated at the chess table, playing with the Wazir. At the other side of the stage, the Princess, her attendant, her two slaves. All stand motionless until set in action by the Maker of Sounds.]
| The Music | The Pantomime, etc. |
| Tap—on Chinese wood block | Nubian unfolds his arms |
| Tap | He salaams |
| Tap | Resumes original pose |
| Tap | Vizier moves a chessman |
| Tap | Wazir moves a chessman |
| Tap | Vizier moves a chessman |
| Tap | Wazir picks up snuff-box |
| Tap | Opens it |
| Tap | Offers Vizier snuff |
| Tap | Vizier takes a pinch |
| Sand blocks | Sniffs it |
| Drum crash | Vizier sneezes |
| Drum crash | Sneezes again |
| No sound | Sneezes again |
| Nubian sneezes synchronously with Vizier's paroxysms | |
| Tap | Vizier returns snuff-box |
| Tap | Wazir puts it away |
| Bell | Princess yawns |
| Tap | Signals her attendant |
| Tap | Attendant picks up telescope |
| Tap | Hands it to Princess |
| Wind instrument | Princess uses telescope |
| [The middle portion of the back drop is lifted to show the "Distance" in which the Shepherd is discovered piping for the Goat's dancing.] | |
| Stringed instrument | The Shepherd sees the Princess, stops piping, and declares his adoration across the distance. He beckons her to join him. |
| Princess promises to do so. | |
| [The lifted portion of the drop is lowered again. The "Distance" vanishes.] | |
| Tap | Princess signals to her retinue |
| Tap | Attendant relays the signal |
| Tap | Slaves stoop. |
| Tap | Lift the hope chests to their shoulders |
| Bass chord on stringed instrument | Princess and retinue take one step downstage |
| Treble chord | All lean forward, watching Wazir |
| Drum crash | Wazir and Vizier stand up |
| Drum crash | They glare at Princess |
| Tap on wood block | They sit |
| Bass chord | Vizier yawns |
| Bass chord | Wazir yawns |
| Bass chord | Nubian yawns |
| Bass chord | Vizier nods |
| Bass chord | Wazir nods |
| Bass chord | Nubian drops on one knee |
| Treble chord | Princess and retinue lean forward |
| Bass chord | They take one step |
| [A continuation of this business takes them off at the left] | |
| The lights go out | |
| Cymbal crash | [In the darkness. Princess and retinue cross to right of stage, ready for Scene II] |
| The plain drop is lowered | |
| Cymbal crash | The lights come up |
| Tambourine jingles | Ghurri-Wurri discovered above at center, with his dark glasses pushed up on his forehead, counting his money. |
| Tap on piece of crockery | He finds a bad coin |
| Sand blocks | Bites it |
| Tap crockery | Throws it away |
| Begins the Princess rhythms on Chinese wood block | Hears the Princess and retinue approaching |
| [Telegraphically expressed it is ... ... ... ... Musically, accented triplets, common time, presto] | He pulls glasses over his eyes He grovels |
| Princess rhythm continues | Princess and retinue enter from the right |
| They pass by Ghurri-Wurri without pause | |
| Drum crash | Ghurri-Wurri runs ahead and prostrates himself before the Princess |
| Tap | Princess' retinue halts |
| Tap | Princess signals to attendant |
| Tap | Attendant signals to nearest slave |
| Tap | Slave proffers chest |
| Tap, Tap, Tap | Attendant opens it, takes coin, closes it |
| Tap | Gives coin to Princess |
| Tap on crockery | Princess drops coin in beggar's hand |
| Princess rhythm | Princess and retinue exit at the left |
| Begin drum roll pp. cresc. to ff. | Ghurri-Wurri looks at coin, scrambles to his feet, looks after Princess, shakes his fists, starts to the right, turns, shakes his fist again, exits at right, raging |
| Cymbal crash | Lights out |
| In the darkness Ghurri-Wurri crosses to left of stage, ready for Scene III | |
| The drop is lifted | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights up |
[The Wazir's Garden as in Scene I]
| Bass chords | Wazir, Vizier and Nubian asleep as before |
| Tap on drum | Ghurri-Wurri enters at the left |
| Tap on drum | Prostrates himself before Wazir |
| Bass chord | Wazir and court sleep on |
| Tap on drum | Ghurri-Wurri again prostrates himself |
| Bass chord | The Court sleeps on |
| Drum crash | Ghurri-Wurri slams himself down hard |
| Drum crash | Wazir, Vizier, Nubian awake |
| Drum roll | Wazir shakes his fist at the beggar |
| Wood-block tap | Signals Vizier |
| Sand blocks | Vizier runs thumb along his scimiter blade |
| Tap | Ghurri-Wurri retreats to the right |
| Tap | He stumbles over the telescope |
| Tap, tap | He picks it up and hands it to the Wazir |
| Tap | Ghurri-Wurri points to the "Distance." |
| Tap | The Wazir uses the telescope |
| Princess rhythm | The "Distance" is revealed as in Scene I |
| Princess and retinue are seen traveling [across the platform from right to left] | |
| Tap | The Wazir lowers the telescope |
| The "Distance" vanishes as in Scene I | |
| Drum crash | Wazir stamps his foot |
| Drum roll | He shakes his fists, first at the distance, then off left |
| Tap | Points at Ghurri-Wurri |
| Tap | Vizier seizes Ghurri-Wurri by the scruff of the neck |
| Tap | Vizier points off left with his scimiter |
| Wazir rhythm on wood-drum [Telegraphically stated ... ... etc. Musically, accented eighth notes in 2/4 time, presto] |
The Court and Ghurri-Wurri begin to run, Nubian
first, then Ghurri-Wurri, then Vizier, then
Wazir. The running is entirely vertical in
movement, no ground being covered at all. Lights out [In the darkness, the runners move downstage without losing step. A plain drop is lowered behind them] |
| Cymbal crash Cymbal crash | Lights on |
| Wazir rhythm, crescendo and acceleramento | The runners increase their speed throughout the scene |
| Ghurri-Wurri slips to his knees, | |
| Vizier, without losing a step, jerks him back on his feet | |
| Ghurri-Wurri, pointing left, resumes running | |
| Wazir points left | |
| When the runners have reached their maximum speed | |
| Cymbal crash | The lights go out |
| In the darkness the Wazir's court and Ghurri-Wurri exit and take their places at the right ready for Scene V | |
| The Shepherd and Goat take their places | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights up |
| Wind instrument | [A plain drop] |
| The Shepherd is discovered well to the left, piping for the Goat | |
| Goat is dancing | |
| Begin Princess rhythm | Goat stops to listen, looks off to the right |
| Shepherd looks to the right | |
| Goat crosses to extreme right, bows | |
| Princess and retinue enter | |
| Tap | They halt |
| Tap | The Shepherd kneels to the Princess, then dances for her |
| Stringed instrument | |
| Drum roll pp. crescendo | The Goat becomes alarmed |
| All turn and look to the right | |
| Goat, on all fours, offers his back to the Princess | |
| Shepherd induces | |
| Princess to sit on Goat's back | |
| Princess rhythm | Goat exits, followed by Princess and retinue |
| Tap | Shepherd folds his arms |
| Wazir rhythm | Wazir's Court and Ghurri-Wurri enter from the right |
| Tap | They halt |
| Tap | Wazir points to Shepherd |
| Tap | Vizier brandishes his scimiter |
| Drum roll | Nubian approaches Shepherd |
| Drum crash | Nubian falls |
| Drum roll Crescendo to |
Wazir shakes his fists Points at Shepherd Vizier attacks Shepherd with scimiter Shepherd grasps scimiter They struggle, conventionally, one, two, three, four, five, six |
| Drum crash | The Shepherd falls |
| Drum roll | The Vizier waves his scimiter aloft |
| Drum roll | Wazir exults |
| Tap | Nubian rises |
| Tap | Wazir points to the right |
| Tap | Vizier points at Shepherd with scimiter |
| Tap | Nubian seizes the Shepherd |
| Wazir rhythm | Wazir's Court and Shepherd exit at the right, ignoring Ghurri-Wurri, Nubian and Shepherd first, then Vizier, then Wazir. [All cross behind the drop to left of stage ready for Scene VI] |
| Drum crash | Ghurri-Wurri stamps his foot |
| Drum roll | Shakes his fists after them |
| Drum roll | Runs to left and shakes his fists at the Princess |
| Drum roll | Runs to right and shakes them at the Wazir |
| Runs to center and shakes them at the audience | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights out |
| Ghurri-Wurri exits | |
| The drop is raised | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights on |
[The Wazir's garden. No characters on scene]
| Wazir rhythm | Nubian enters from left, holding the Shepherd |
| The Wazir and Vizier follow | |
| Tap | Wazir takes his seat, smirking |
| Tap | Wazir orders Shepherd thrown down at the right |
| Drum crash | Nubian complies |
| Tap | Vizier orders Nubian off right |
| Wazir rhythm, fast | Nubian hurries out |
| Wazir rhythm, slow | Reënters, staggering under a ball and chain [the chain of papier maché and the ball a balloon] |
| Drum crash | Drops these beside the Shepherd |
| Clank, clank | Rivets chain to Shepherd's leg |
| Tap | Rises |
| Tap | Vizier orders Nubian off, left |
| Wazir rhythm | Nubian exits left |
| Tap | Vizier sits |
| Tap | Wazir moves a chessman |
| Tap | Vizier moves a chessman |
| Tap | Shepherd, in a gesture of despair, finds the telescope |
| He looks into the "Distance" | |
| [The "Distance" is shown as in Scene I] | |
| Stringed music | Princess and Goat discovered in conference. Goat has an idea. He points to the Shepherd, then to the Wazir, then to the Princess and executes an ancient dance movement which is contemporaneously described as the "shimmy" |
| The Princess claps her hands and exits, followed by the Goat | |
| Tap | Shepherd lowers the telescope |
| [The "Distance" vanishes] | |
| Tap | Shepherd is puzzled |
| Stringed music | Princess enters from the left, veiled and carrying a scarf in her hands |
| Goat enters with her, goes at once to the Shepherd | |
| Princess poses at center | |
| Wazir and Vizier turn, smirking | |
| Princess dances | |
| Wazir leers and strokes his beard | |
| Princess ends dance beside Vizier | |
| Chords, agitato | She ties his arms with her scarf |
| Sand blocks | Wazir is convulsed with laughter |
| Chords | Princess binds Wazir's arms with her veil |
| Sand blocks | Vizier is convulsed with laughter |
| Princess rhythm on wood drum | The Attendant enters from the left with a box on which a skull and cross-bones are conspicuous |
| Tap | Princess takes two pills from the box |
| Tap | She pops them into her prisoners' open mouths |
| Princess rhythm | The Attendant exits as she came |
| Sand blocks | Wazir and Vizier swallow vigorously |
| Drum crash | They lay their heads upon the chess table and die |
| Tap | Princess beckons to the Shepherd |
| Tap | Shepherd points to his fetters |
| Tap | Goat attacks the ball and chain |
| Drum crash | He "bites" the ball [bursts the balloon] |
| Tap | He "bites" the chain. |
| String music | Princess, Shepherd and Goat dance in a circle |
| Cymbal crash | Lights out |
| Princess and Shepherd and Goat ready at left for next scene | |
| The drop is lowered | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights up |
| String music | Princess and Shepherd dance across followed by the Goat, who is playing on the Shepherd's pipe |
| Princess and Shepherd, behind the drop take their places on the platform | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights out |
| [The drop is lifted] | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights on |
| [The Wazir's garden with the middle section of the drop lifted to show the "Distance"] | |
| String music | Shepherd and Princess discovered in the "Distance" posed in a kiss |
| Cymbal crash | Lights out |
| [The drop is lowered] | |
| Cymbal crash | Lights on |
| The Maker of Sounds rises, yawns cavernously, bows very slightly and exits |
[Curtain.]
Copyright, 1920, by Stewart & Kidd Co.
All rights reserved.
| PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. |
| Florio [a poet]. Olivia [Florio's mistress]. Violante [a Florentine noblewoman]. Lizzia [Florio's serving-woman]. Dioneo [a member of Boccaccio's party]. One Voice. Another Voice. Various Processions Bearing the Dead. |
Time: The year of the Great Plague, A. D. 1348.
Place: Florence.
Published by permission of and special arrangement with Harry Kemp. Applications for the right of performing Boccaccio's Untold Tale must be made to Mr. Harry Kemp, in care of Brentano's, New York.
A Play
By Harry Kemp
[Scene: A lower room in Florio's house. It is wide and simply furnished.
In the center, at back, is a large doorway, hung with great black arras. In the right-hand extreme corner is a small altar to the Virgin.
In wall, at back, high up on left, a small window.
A smaller doorway, hung with arras of black, is on the left, well toward the front. This doorway gives on the study of the poet.
At rise of curtain the stage is lit with the uncertain light of tapers.
Lizzia, the old servant, is discovered kneeling at the altar.
Soon she rises, crossing herself devoutly.
Demurringly and with deprecating shakes of the head, she begins hanging wreaths about the walls of the room.
After the hanging of each wreath she crosses herself, and, with agitated piety verging on superstition, she bends the knee briefly before altar.
Now the wreaths are all in place.... Through the small window the grayness that comes before dawn begins to glimmer in.
One by one Lizzia snuffs out the tapers.
For a moment everything is left in the gray half-darkness.
But now Lizzia draws aside the large black arras in the back. There is revealed a magnificent panoramic view of medieval Florence, flushing gradually from pearl-gray to soft, delicate rose, then to the full gold of accomplished sunrise.
Again the old woman kneels at the altar.
Enter, through the open doorway at back, Violante—rather tall, good-looking, quite dark.
Violante stands silent for a moment. One can see that it is in her thought to wait till Lizzia finishes her devotions ... then she becomes impatient and breaks in on them.]
Violante
Lizzia, where bides your master, Florio?
I sped a servant hither yesterday,
To bid him come to me, and now, this morning,
I come myself.
Lizzia
For three days he has looked upon no one.
Even I, who wait upon him, have not seen him.
Violante
Where keeps he, then?
Lizzia [indicating the small doorway].
Yonder, within that arras.
Violante
Summon him forth!
Say the Lady Violante waits his presence.
Lizzia
He will grow wroth with me—nor will he greet you.
Violante
Fears he, then, the Plague so? Is he too such
As dare not walk abroad nor breathe the air
Lest he should drink infection?
Lizzia
Not so, Lady, but he—
Violante
Tell him, then,
Our friend Boccaccio, the story-teller,
Has shaped a brave device against the Plague....
Before the sun climbs higher into day
And the night's Dead are heaped up in the streets
For buriers and priests to draw away,
A group of goodly ladies and gentlemen
Go forth to a sequestered country place
Remote from Florence and invisible Death.
There, in green gardens full of birds and leaves,
The blue, cloud-wandering heaven spread above,
We shall beguile the time with merriment,
Music and song and telling of many tales,
Trusting that Death, glutted with multitudes,
Will pass us by.... We need but Florio
To bring our perfect pleasure to the brim.
Lizzia [obstinately]
But he will see no one, Lady, not even you.
He is—he is—
Violante
Not smitten by the Plague?
Lizzia [hesitating]
Nay, he has taken a vow of close seclusion.
Violante [confidently]
But he knows not I am here—the Lady Violante! [A pause.]
[Impetuously] Go, tell him it is I,—
Nor take upon yourself such high command!
Lizzia [somewhat resentfully]
I am a servant,
I only do as he commanded me....
[Barring way.]
Violante [distractedly]
Strange that he should so change in ten days' space.
[With passionate abandonment]
Old woman, go this instant—summon him!
I will abide your crabbed ways no longer.
Lizzia [stung to retaliation]
Lady, he would not look upon your face
If you made him ruler of the world for it.
Violante [flaming]
What new freak of his is this?
He is as full of moods as any woman....
But I had never thought—
[Determined]
I will go to him!
Lizzia [again barring way]
I could tell you many things,
But I would spare you.
Violante
Spare me!... you insolent, presumptuous old woman,
What have I,
I, the Lady Violante Ugolini,
To do with your good master, Florio,
Beyond a fostering friendship for his song!
Else he were nothing to me....
You are presuming on your age and service—
He shall rebuke you for this....
Lizzia
Very well, Lady, if you must know—
He has sworn that he will look upon no one
Till he behold—Olivia!
Violante [startled]
Olivia!... who is Olivia?
Lizzia
She is a girl who came from Padua
Hither, to flee the Plague ... and fled in vain.
He has loved her just ten days ... since first she came....
She came to him, a stranger, singing songs—
His songs!
Violante
And flattering him so—he loved her!
Lizzia
Nay, she was beautiful, my noble lady,—
Surpassing wonderful.... "His shining dream
Of ivory and gold," he called her....
Violante [coldly]
What has all this to do with me?
[Relapsing into forgetful eagerness.]
Tell me, where, then, is his Olivia now?
Lizzia
The Plague! He gave her to a doctor's care,
Beggaring himself therefor, as one who loves!
Violante
And now he shuts himself away for grief
Because she died!... But, if she be dead,
Wherefore these garlands?—
Or does he think she will come back, alive?
Lizzia
The learned doctor swears if she survives
Three days, she shall not die.
Violante
Not die, in sooth!
Who is this man who resurrects the Dead?
Why, folk whose nerves and sinews sing with life
Sicken, fall down, and seethe with death and worms
Within an hour, and they, the few who live,
Living, curse God because they did not die....
He would best think of the Living, and forget
The Dead.
Lizzia
Half-crazed with love, he dreams she will return....
This is the morning after the third day—
This is the very hour she would return.
Suppose the learned doctor keep his word?—
Hence have I hung these garlands.
[The sounds of a funeral procession heard approaching.... The procession passes the large doorway, going by, along the street, without. The people bear candles.... They pass slowly by the open door ... bodies being carried in shrouds.]
One Voice
We bore the son ... and now we bear the father....
Another Voice
And I or you, mayhap, will be the next.
Lizzia [continuing]
These wreaths, they seem a mockery of Heaven.
I pray that God will smite me not—I do
What I am bid!...
Violante [half to herself]
She will not come!...
[To Lizzia]
Is there nothing will cure his madness?
Lizzia
Even if she die they are to bring her hither....
Violante
Hither? And all corrupt? Then Death will strike you both!
Lizzia
Lady, I am so old I'd rather sleep
Than walk this sinful, weary world; and be—
He will unshroud her, kiss her lips, and die!
Violante [with great bitterness]
Fie, this our Florio—he has loved before,
And he will love again, and yet again....
Women's beauty he loves, not any woman!
Lizzia
What you have said were true ten days ago—
Do I not know him, Lady?... But a change
Has come upon him that I marvel at—
So great a change in such a little while....
Ah, looked you on them when they were together,
Saw you how he is caught up in her face
And all the beauty of her, you would say
"Here is a love, at last, that climbs from earth to heaven!"
Violante [laughing harshly]
It is her beauty he loved; not she
The thing he loved! A poet, he!...
[A pause.]
It were as well you tore these garlands down:
If, by a miracle, she should return,
The Plague will have marked her with such ugliness
That even you will shine like Helen of Troy beside her!
Much will he care, then, if she sing his songs!
Had she a voice like a garden of nightingales
He could not listen to her without loathing....
[Sounds of approach of another funeral procession.]
Violante [continuing]
Pray draw the arras, Lizzia, and close out
The things that they bring by.... They have begun
To move the night's innumerable Dead.
[Lizzia draws the large arras.... From now on, till the very last, just before climax, sound and murmur of processions are continually heard.]
Violante [persistently]
I think she will not come—
But, if she does, she should be spared the cruelty
Of his heart's change,
And he, her marred, plague-broken face!
Stand aside—let me pass....
Lizzia [barring way again]
He took his oath
Before that altar, to the most high God!
You shall not break his vow....
Violante
Let me go to him—here are my jewels!
Florio [calling from within]
Who is it speaks without? Whose voice is this
Wrangling and breaking in upon my peace?
Lizzia
The Lady Violante Ugolini!
Florio
To-day, of all days, must I be alone....
[Florio pushes out arras from small doorway and stands before it, so that he remains unseen to Violante and Lizzia.]
Florio [to Lizzia]
Go, Lizzia, I will speak with the Lady....
Have you the wreaths hung, Lizzia?
Lizzia
Aye, master Florio!
Florio
Have you the table heaped with delicacies
In the green space by the fountain-shaken pool?
Lizzia
I go to set the viands now, my master.
[Lizzia goes out.]
Florio
Violante, if you would speak with me,
Stay where you are—I cannot look upon you.
Violante
Not look upon me?
Florio
Nor must you look on me.... I have vowed a vow!
Violante
How strange you are!...
I had thought to rush into your arms!...
Have you forgotten so soon the oaths you took?
[She starts toward him.]
Florio [hearing the rustle of her garment.]
Move one step further and I draw the arras!
Violante [halting and hesitating]
Have you forgotten the first time you saw my face
And sent a sonnet to me?... It seems but a day
Since you were awed by my nobility....
And when I let you press your burning lips
Against my hand, you swore it made you God!
[Sadly]
From that time it was not far to my mouth....
And, after that, what with the shining moon,
And nightingales beginning in the dusk,
And songs and music that you made for me—
In a little while I was entirely yours!...
Florio
Remember that young nobleman who died
For love of you?... I was your pastime, merely that!
And so I sipped what honey came my way.
But why do you come now?
Did you not leave me without a word?
Violante
My father....
[Sombrely] My father whom the Pestilence has smitten—
Florio [quickly]
You sent me no message.
Violante
Every door was watched ... he might have had you slain....
He bore me off to Rome....
Florio
You loved me, then?
Violante
And did not you love me?
Florio
I could have sworn I did.
Violante
O Florio!...
Where is my pride of rank, my woman's shame.
That I should come like this to you!
Florio
Speak not so, Violante—I pray you go!
Violante
You love another, then?
Florio [ecstatically]
I have loved beauty, beauty all my life!
Violante
We are not metaphors and pale abstractions,
We women ... nor would we be prized alone
For smooth perfections.... [Low and intense] Say that you loved a woman
Smitten with the Plague, say, further, that she lived—
One among ten thousand—that she came back to you,
[The one thing sure] hideous and marred—
Florio
You try me sorely!
Violante, I pray you, go!
Violante [persistently]
I have come hither
To bid you come away with me.
Florio
It may not be.
Violante [slowly]
The other one—there is another one!—
I pity her!
Florio
You need not.
Violante
Ah, then, there is another?
Florio
Have you no pride, my Lady Violante?
Violante
That I have not,
For shameless is the heart that loves.
Florio
Then shamelessly I love
Another face, another heart and body,
Another soul, unto eternity—
She is all beauty to me, and all life—
So shall she be forever!
Violante
Forever? That is what you swore to me.
Florio
I have not sworn a single oath to her,
And yet she made earth heaven in a day,
And earth continues heaven.... Go, noble Lady!
Violante
You have no pity on me?...
You see
How humbly I've become....
Florio
To pity you, Lady, would be cruel to her!...
In a month you will be glad.
Violante
You have slain me, Florio!
Florio
Farewell, Violante!
[Violante affects to go. But she stops quickly at large door in back and reënters on tiptoe. Florio withdraws to his study again, after listening for a moment.]
Lizzia [reëntering]
You have not gone, my Lady Violante?
Violante
I will not go
Till I have looked upon this woman's face!
[As she finishes these words, the great black arras in the back is listed and a hooded and veiled woman enters. She stands regarding the two other women in silence.]
Violante
Ah!
Lizzia
The miracle has come to pass!
[Crosses herself.]
Violante
Do they call you Olivia? Speak, woman!
Olivia
Yea, I am she—but where is Florio?
[Violante straightens, proud and erect, as if she had been struck an invisible blow.]
Lizzia
He waits for you within.
Olivia
So he had faith I would not die?
Lizzia
He had these garlands hung for your return.
He has lived beneath a holy vow, the days
You were not here: shut in his room,
Yours must be the first face
He sees, on his return to light and life.
He must have fallen asleep from weariness
Or he had heard your voice.
[To Violante.]
Now, Lady Violante, you must go!
Violante [indignant]
How? I must go?
Lizzia
You would not stay?
Violante
Yea, I would stay to see this love grow dark
And shrink to hate.
Olivia [astonished]
And shrink to hate?
Violante
When you remove your veil
Behind which ugliness that beggars hell
Lies hidden—
Olivia [dazed]
Ugliness?
Violante
Cast by your veil!...
Well may you shrink from your own hideousness
Since the foul plague has withered up your face
And seared it till you die....
There shines your mirror, wrought of polished brass—
How many hours you have dallied at it
Only the beauty that you once possessed
Can tell.
You will no longer find a use for it.
Olivia [recovering herself]
I trust I shall!
Lizzia [to Olivia]
Alas, dear God! And is it true, Olivia?
Olivia [to Lizzia]
Would he not love me still if it were true?
Lizzia [to Olivia]
I am old and wretched and full of woe.
I have known life too long.
Violante [to Olivia]
He whose one cry is beauty! How could that be?
Olivia [almost singing in speech]
Then, God be praised, I need not try him thus!
For God has wrought two miracles with me:
I live, and I am beautiful!
Violante
Unveil your face, then—give yourself to sight.
Olivia
His must be the first eyes that look on me.
Violante
Ah, so you trust that you, with fond deceit,
May find some magic way to cozen him?
Lizzia [with great emotion]
Go, Lady—I see darkness in the air,
I thrill to some strange horror, yet unguessed....
Go, Lady Violante, I pray you, go!
[Lizzia lifts arras in back for Violante's exit. Violante does not move from where she stands.]
Violante [persistently, to Olivia]
Woman it is your beauty that he loved,
And that alone ... just as he loves a flower
Or sunset.... That gone, lo, his love is gone!
Olivia
Strange woman, there is evil in your voice!
And yet I know he loves me for myself,
Taking my beauty, none the less, in gladness
Like any transitory gift from God.
Violante
And yet you dare not put him to the test?
Olivia
What test?
Violante
To make him first believe
That you are ugly!
Olivia
I would not toy with such a splendid gift
As a man's love.
Violante [mocking]
Ah ... in sooth?
Olivia
How strange you look ... yet stranger is your speech.