Chapter XIX: Act II: Scene 1

_Groups of village girls are sitting or standing about on the green_. _A dais has been put up at one end of it_.

MARION. How slow the time do pass, this May Day.

ROSE. Let’s while it away with a song or two.

[_They all join in singing_. _At the end of the song the gipsy comes slowly and painfully across the green_, _casting black looks to right and to left_. _She is followed by_ SUSAN, _who appears weighed down by sadness_.

ROSE. Good afternoon, Princess Royal Rags. Are we to see you cutting capers before his lordship this afternoon?

MARION. Get along and hide your bare feet behind the tree, Royal. I’d be ashamed to go without shoes if ’twas me.

SUSAN. O leave me alone—you be worse nor a nest of waspes—that you be.

GRANDMOTHER. [_Turning fiercely round_.] Us’ll smoke them out of their holes one day—see if us do not.

[_They pass over to the tree where the_ GRANDMOTHER _sits down and_ SUSAN _crouches by her side_. _Presently they are joined by_ JOCKIE. _The girls sing a verse or two of another song_, _and during this_ LADY MILLICENT, _enveloped in a big cloak_, _goes over to the tree_, _followed by_ ALICE, _also wearing a long cloak and they sit down by the side of_ SUSAN.

MARION. [_Pointing_.] Who are those yonder, Rose?

ROSE. I’m sure I don’t know, Marion—strangers, may be.

MARION. O my heart goes wild this afternoon.

ROSE. Mine too. Look, there they come.

[_The Music begins to play and old_ LADY CULLEN, _followed by her lady companions_, _comes slowly towards the dais_, _on which she seats herself_.

LADY CULLEN. Dear me, what a gathering to be sure.

HER LADY. Indeed it is an unusual sight.

LADY CULLEN. And O what a sad infatuation on the part of my poor boy.

HER LADY. The war has been known to turn many a brain.

LADY CULLEN. And yet my son holds his own with the brightest intelligences of the day.

HER LADY. Only one little spot of his lordship’s brain seems to be affected.

LADY CULLEN. Just so. But here he comes, poor misguided youth.

[LORD CULLEN _comes slowly over the green_, _looking to right and to left_. _He mounts the dais and sits down by his mother_, _and the music plays for a country dance_. “_The Twenty Ninth of May_.” _The girls arrange themselves_, _and during the dance_ LORD CULLEN _scans each face very eagerly_. _The dance ends and the girls pass in single file before the dais_.

LORD CULLEN. No, no—that was not the music of it, that was not the dance—not a face among them resembles the image I carry in my heart.

LADY CULLEN. [_Aside_.] Thank goodness. May that face never be seen again.

[_A fresh group come up and another dance is formed and danced_.

LORD CULLEN. [_At the end of it_.] Worse and worse. Could I have dreamed both the music and the dance and the dancer?

LADY CULLEN. [_Soothingly_.] I am sure this was the case, my dear son.

LORD CULLEN. [_Rallying_.] I heard her voice singing in the forest before ever she began to dance. It was the sweetest voice and song I ever heard. [_Looking around_.] Can any of these maid, sing to me, I wonder?

MARION. [_Steps forward_.] I only know one song, my lord.

[LORD CULLEN _signs to her to sing_, _and she stands before the dais and sings a verse of_ “_Bedlam_.”

LORD CULLEN. [_Impatiently_.] No, no—that is not in the least what I remember. [_Turning to_ ROSE.] You try now.

ROSE. I don’t sing, my lord—but—[_Indicating another girl in the group_] she has a sweet voice, and she knows a powerful lot of songs.

[_A girl steps out from the others and sings a verse of_ “_The Lark in the Morn_.”

LORD CULLEN. Not that. Mine was a song to stir the depths of a man’s heart and bring tears up from the fountains of it.

[_He leans back in deep dejection—and at this moment_ LADY MILLICENT _and_ ALICE _come forward_.

LORD CULLEN. [_Eagerly_.] I seem to know that russet skirt—those bare, small feet. [_Standing up quickly_.] Mother, look at that maid with the red kerchief on her head.

LADY CULLEN. Some sort of a gipsy dress, to all appearance.

LORD CULLEN. [_Doubtfully_.] The skirt she wore was torn and ragged—that day in the forest. She had no gold rings to her ears, nor silken scarf upon her head—But this might be her dress for holidays.

[JOCKIE _advances and begins to play the tune of_ “_Princess Royal_.”

LORD CULLEN. [_Eagerly_.] That is the right music—O is it possible my quest is ended!

[LADY MILLICENT _and_ ALICE, _standing opposite one to another begin to dance—slowly and clumsily_, _and in evident doubt as to their steps_. LORD CULLEN _watches them for a moment and then claps his hands angrily as a sign for the music to stop_. _The dancers pause_.

LORD CULLEN. This is a sad mimicry of my beautiful love. But there lies something behind the masquerade which I shall probe.

[_He leaves the dais and goes straight towards_ LADY MILLICENT, _who turns from him in confusion_.

LORD CULLEN. From whom did you take the manner and the colour of your garments, my maid?

[LADY MILLICENT _remains obstinately silent_.

LORD CULLEN. [_To_ ALICE.] Perhaps you have a tongue in your head. From whom did you try to learn those steps?

[ALICE _turns sulkily away_. JOCKIE _comes forward_.

JOCKIE. I’ll tell your lordship all about it, and I’ll take your lordship straight to the right wench, that I will, if so be as your lordship will give a shilling to a poor little swine-herd what goes empty and hungered most of the year round.

LORD CULLEN. A handful of gold, my boy, if you lead me rightly.

[JOCKIE _leads the way to the tree where_ SUSAN _is sitting_. _She stands up as_ LORD CULLEN _approaches_, _and for a moment they gaze at one another in silence_.

GRANDMOTHER. You might curtsey to the gentleman, Susan.

LORD CULLEN. No—there’s no need of that, from her to me. [_Turning to_ JOCKIE _and putting his hand in his pocket_.] Here, my boy, is a golden pound for you—and more shall follow later.

[_He then takes_ SUSAN’S _hand and leads her to the foot of the dais_.

LORD CULLEN. Will you dance for me again, Susan?

SEVERAL OF THE GIRLS. [_Mockingly_.] Princess Royal is her name.

MARION. [_Rudely_.] Or Princess Rags.

SUSAN. ’Tis all took out of my hands now, I can but do as your lordship says. Jockie, play me my music, and play it bravely too.

[JOCKIE _places himself near her and begins to play_. SUSAN _dances by herself_. _At the end of her dance_ LORD CULLEN _leads the applause_, _and even the ladies on the dais join faintly in it_. _He then takes_ SUSAN _by the hand and mounts the dais with her and presents her to his mother_.

LADY CULLEN. [_Aside_, _to her companion_.] I wonder if the young person understands that my poor boy is a little touched in the brain?

LORD CULLEN. Here is your daughter, mother.

[LADY CULLEN _and_ SUSAN _look at one another in silence_. _After a moment_ SUSAN _turns to_ LORD CULLEN.

SUSAN. I’m a poor ragged thing to be daughter to the likes of she. But the heart within of me is grander nor that of any queen, because of the love that it holds for you, my lord.

[LORD CULLEN _takes her hand and leads her to the front of the dais_.

LORD CULLEN. We will be married to-morrow, my princess. And all these good people shall dance at our wedding.

MARION. [_Springing up_.] And we’ll do a bit of dancing now as well. Come, Jockie, give us the tune of “Haste to the Wedding.”

ROSE. That’s it. Come girls—

LADY MILLICENT. [_To_ ALICE.] I pray he won’t find out about me.

[_The old_ GRANDMOTHER _has come slowly towards the middle of the green_.

GRANDMOTHER. Ah, and my little wench will know how to pay back some of the vipers tongues which slandered her, when she sits on her velvet chair as a countess, the diamonds a-trickling from her neck and the rubies a-crowning of her head. Her’ll not forget the snakes what did lie in the grass. Her’ll have her heel upon they, so that their heads be put low and there shan’t go no more venom from their great jaws to harm she, my pretty lamb—my little turtle.

[_The music begins to play and all those on the green form themselves for the dance_. LORD CULLEN _and_ SUSAN _stand side by side in front of the dais_, _and the_ GRANDMOTHER _lights a pipe and smokes it as she watches the dance from below_. _At the end of the dance_ LORD CULLEN, _leading_ SUSAN, _comes down from the dais and_, _followed by_ LADY CULLEN _and her ladies_, _passes between two lines of girls and so off the stage_. _The girls follow in procession_, _and lastly the_ GRANDMOTHER _preceded by_ JOCKIE, _beating his drum_.

[_Curtain_.]

THE SEEDS OF LOVE

CHARACTERS

JOHN DANIEL, _aged_ 30, _a Miller_.

ROSE-ANNA _his sister_.

KITTY, _aged_ 16, _his sister_.

ROBERT PEARCE, _aged_ 26.

LIZ, JANE _elderly cousins of Robert_.

JEREMY, _John’s servant—of middle age_.

MARY MEADOWS, _aged_ 24, _a Herbalist_.

LUBIN.

ISABEL.

_The time is Midsummer_.