登陆注册
5419900000040

第40章

In other professions in which men engage (Said I to myself said I), The Army, the Navy, the Church, and the Stage (Said I to myself--said I), Professional licence, if carried too far, Your chance of promotion will certainly mar--And I fancy the rule might apply to the Bar (Said I to myself--said I!).

(Exit Lord Chancellor.)

(Enter Iolanthe)

STREPH.Oh, Phyllis, Phyllis! To be taken from you just as I was on the point of making you my own! Oh, it's too much--it's too much!

IOL.(to Strephon, who is in tears).My son in tears--and on his wedding day!

STREPH.My wedding day! Oh, mother, weep with me, for the Law has interposed between us, and the Lord Chancellor has separated us for ever!

IOL.The Lord Chancellor! (Aside.) Oh, if he did but know!

STREPH.(overhearing her).If he did but know what?

IOL.No matter! The Lord Chancellor has no power over you.

Remember you are half a fairy.You can defy him--down to the waist.

STREPH.Yes, but from the waist downwards he can commit me to prison for years! Of what avail is it that my body is free, if my legs are working out seven years' penal servitude?

IOL.True.But take heart--our Queen has promised you her special protection.I'll go to her and lay your peculiar case before her.

STREPH.My beloved mother! how can I repay the debt I owe you?

FINALE--QUARTET.

(As it commences, the Peers appear at the back, advancing unseen and on tiptoe.Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller lead Phyllis between them, who listens in horror to what she hears.)STREPH.(to Iolanthe).When darkly looms the day, And all is dull and grey, To chase the gloom away, On thee I'll call!

PHYL.(speaking aside to Lord Mountararat).What was that?

LORD MOUNT.(aside to Phyllis).

I think I heard him say, That on a rainy day, To while the time away, On her he'd call!

CHORUS.We think we heard him say, etc.

(Phyllis much agitated at her lover's supposed faithlessness.)IOL.(to Strephon).When tempests wreck thy bark, And all is drear and dark, If thou shouldst need an Ark, I'll give thee one!

PHYL.(speaking aside to Lord Tolloller).What was that?

LORD TOLL.(aside to Phyllis).

I heard the minx remark, She'd meet him after dark, Inside St James's Park, And give him one!

CHORUS.We heard the minx remark, etc.

PHYL.The prospect's very bad.

My heart so sore and sad Will never more be glad As summer's sun.

PHYL., IOL., LORD TOLL., STREPH.

The prospect's not so bad, My/Thy heart so sore and sad May very soon be glad As summer's sun;PHYL., IOL., LORD TOLL., STEPH., LORD MOUNT.

For when the sky is dark And tempests wreck his/thy/my bark, he should If thou shouldst need an Ark, I should She'llhim I'll give thee one!

mePHYL.(revealing herself).Ah!

(Iolanthe and Strephon much confused.)

PHYL.Oh, shameless one, tremble!

Nay, do not endeavour Thy fault to dissemble, We part--and for ever!

I worshipped him blindly, He worships another--STREPH.Attend to me kindly, This lady's my mother!

TOLL.This lady's his what?

STREPH.This lady's my mother!

TENORS.This lady's his what?

BASSES.He says she's his mother!

(They point derisively to Iolanthe, laughing heartily at her.She goes for protection to Strephon.)(Enter Lord Chancellor.Iolanthe veils herself.)LORD CH.What means this mirth unseemly, That shakes the listening earth?

LORD TOLL.The joke is good extremely, And justifies our mirth.

LORD MOUNT.This gentleman is seen, With a maid of seventeen, A-taking of his dolce far niente;And wonders he'd achieve, For he asks us to believe She's his mother--and he's nearly five-and-twenty!

LORD CH.(sternly).Recollect yourself, I pray, And be careful what you say--As the ancient Romans said, festina lente.

For I really do not see How so young a girl could be The mother of a man of five-and-twenty.

ALL.Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!

STREPH.My Lord, of evidence I have no dearth--She is--has been--my mother from my birth!

BALLAD.

In babyhood Upon her lap I lay, With infant food She moistened my clay;Had she withheld The succour she supplied, By hunger quelled, Your Strephon might have died!

LORD CH.(much moved).

Had that refreshment been denied, Indeed our Strephon might have died!

ALL (much affected).

Had that refreshment been denied, Indeed our Strephon might have died!

LORD MOUNT.But as she's not His mother, it appears, Why weep these hot Unnecessary tears?

And by what laws Should we so joyously Rejoice, because Our Strephon did not die?

Oh rather let us pipe our eye Because our Strephon did not die!

ALL.That's very true--let's pipe our eye Because our Strephon did not die!

(All weep.Iolanthe, who has succeeded in hiding her face from Lord Chancellor, escapes unnoticed.)PHYL.Go, traitorous one--for ever we must part:

To one of you, my Lords, I give my heart!

ALL.Oh, rapture!

STREPH.Hear me, Phyllis, ere you leave me.

PHYL.Not a word--you did deceive me.

ALL.Not a word--you did deceive her.

(Exit Strephon.)

BALLAD--PHYLLIS.

For riches and rank I do not long--

Their pleasures are false and vain;

I gave up the love of a lordly throng For the love of a simple swain.

But now that simple swain's untrue, With sorrowful heart I turn to you--A heart that's aching, Quaking, breaking, As sorrowful hearts are wont to do!

The riches and rank that you befall Are the only baits you use, So the richest and rankiest of you all My sorrowful heart shall choose.

As none are so noble--none so rich As this couple of lords, I'll find a niche In my heart that's aching, Quaking, breaking, For one of you two-and I don't care which!

ENSEMBLE.

PHYL.(to Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller).

To you I give my heart so rich!

ALL (puzzled).To which?

PHYL.I do not care!

To you I yield--it is my doom!

ALL.To whom?

PHYL.I'm not aware!

I'm yours for life if you but choose.

ALL.She's whose?

PHYL.That's your affair!

I'll be a countess, shall I not?

ALL.Of what?

PHYL.I do not care!

ALL.Lucky little lady!

Strephon's lot is shady;

Rank, it seems, is vital, "Countess" is the title, But of what I'm not aware!

(Enter Strephon.)

STREPH.Can I inactive see my fortune fade?

No, no!

PEERS.Ho, ho!

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 琥珀

    琥珀

    周喜良他们上班头一天,看见了那个叫菱香的女人。上班头一天,不是下井,是参加培训。新工人下井前,都要进行一周时间的安全培训。参加那次培训的是新来的农民工。松塔儿沟一共来了他们五个人,除周喜良外,还有王乐、郭永顺、江玉水、刘树山。那时候刚过了年,汽车在飘飘洒洒的小雪中整整跑了一天,才来到了这个井口。巨大的矸子山就像埃及的金字塔,高高的贮煤仓就像卫星发射塔。宿舍的火炕上摆放着他们自己带来的被褥,地上一个个摆放着他们盛杂物的箱子,还有一个暖壶放在箱子上,再就是他们下井带饭用的饭盒子。他们新奇着,兴奋着,又说又笑。
  • The Master and Margarita
  • 人道圣王

    人道圣王

    太古蛮荒,万族争锋,神魔统治天下。浩浩天域,茫茫星空,无尽的传说无尽的宝藏。这是个波澜壮阔的大世,神圣携妖魔共舞。这也是原始残酷的乱世,荣耀与枯骨并存。大争之世,看少年英豪,聚龙魂,斩妖魔,血战三万里,率人族杀出大荒!问苍茫大地,谁主沉浮?唯我圣王!
  • 后会无期

    后会无期

    哥哥的死让林沐阳难以接受,带着哥哥的临死前的嘱托,林沐阳决定告别原来的身份,用哥哥的身份继续活着。找到哥哥爱着的女孩江小娴,却被心细的女孩一眼看穿,然而两个人都没有揭穿对方。江小娴小心翼翼的寻找着男友突然消失的原因,还有这个冒牌男友的来历。真相到底能隐瞒多久。林沐阳前女友的突然出现又会给这对假情侣带来怎样的危机,而林沐阳是否真的对以前的身份彻底的告别呢?
  • 刺客信条始皇剑

    刺客信条始皇剑

    现代宅男魏悦燃被圣殿骑士绑架,通过animus进入荆轲未等到的祖先刺客魏羽的记忆中,为了给好友报仇,魏羽能否成功刺杀秦始皇?魏悦燃面对命运的漩涡,是选择加入圣殿骑士,还是去履行自己生而为刺客的责任?
  • 飞碟百怪之谜(天文科学丛书)

    飞碟百怪之谜(天文科学丛书)

    多少年来,我们从未停止过捕捉飞碟,却只获得一圈飞逝的光环。让我们跟随飞碟的轨迹,寻找它们的家园,触摸它们的身影。《飞碟百怪之谜(天文科学丛书)》包括发光的草帽状飞碟、救生圈形状飞碟、脸盆形状的飞碟、夜晚的篮球型飞碟等内容,能够激起热爱科学和追求科学的热情,掌握开启宇宙的金钥匙。
  • 迷雾围城:(《人生若如初相见》原著小说)

    迷雾围城:(《人生若如初相见》原著小说)

    已改编成电视剧《人生若如初相见》,由韩东君、孙怡、方中信、侯勇等人主演,2017年即将播出。《迷雾围城》作为《来不及说我爱你》的前传,讲述的是与慕容家二分天下的易氏家族的爱情故事。喜爱《来不及说我爱你》的读者,还能在《迷雾围城》中见到少年时代的慕容沣。英雄美人,烽烟乱世,三千里江山如画;一时豪杰,家国情仇,再回首,夜色微澜。被禁锢在三少奶奶名分中的女学生;为夺嫡位相互残杀的易家兄弟;日本陆军士官学校的中国留学生;艳名远播的风尘女子;割据一方的大军阀……一场看似寻常地追捕与营救,将这些人联系在一起。他们怀着各不相同的目的,周旋在彼此身边。掩人耳目的“面具”之下,隐藏着无法告人的欲望和真实身份。窃密、刺杀、胁迫,一切手段背后,是各方势力、不同信念的博弈,也是财富利益的争夺。而巨大的阴谋如一张网,早已在他们周围悄然密布……荒烟蔓草的年代,权势江山面前,是否还有爱情的一席之地?
  • 藏地密码5

    藏地密码5

    一部关于西藏的百科全书式小说!了解西藏,就读《藏地密码》!十年经典,强势回归!火爆热销10周年!数千万粉丝的真爱之选!藏獒之王海蓝兽之谜。这是一个西藏已经开放为全世界的旅游胜地却依旧守口如瓶的秘密——公元838年,吐蕃末代赞普朗达玛登位,随即宣布禁佛。在禁佛运动中,僧侣们提前将宝物埋藏,随后将其秘密转移,他们修建了一座神庙,称为帕巴拉神庙。随着时光流失,战火不断,那座隐藏着无尽佛家珍宝的神庙彻底消失于历史尘埃之中……1938年和1943年,希特勒曾派助手希姆莱两次带队深入西藏;上世纪63年代,斯大林曾派苏联专家团前后五次考察西藏,他们的秘密行动意味深远,没有人知道他们的真实目的。多年之后,藏獒专家卓木强巴突然收到一封信,里面是两张远古神兽的照片……不久后,一支由特种兵、考古学家、密修高手等各色人物组成的神秘科考队,悄悄出发,开始了一场穿越生死禁地的探险之旅,他们要追寻藏传佛教千年隐秘历史的真相……西藏,到底向我们隐瞒了什么?
  • 战魂永生

    战魂永生

    村野少年右眼天生顽疾,却因祸得福得到逆天神器,获得无上道法,从此只手遮天,霸绝天下!
  • 培养孩子的领导力

    培养孩子的领导力

    在领导者的能力中,大多可以通过培养获得。从小锻炼孩子的领导才能,让他们能够在群体中脱颖而出,使他们能够带领一班人完成更大的事业,这对社会、对个人都非常有帮助。任何一个家长都希望自己的孩子成为佼佼者,那何不行动起来呢?