Chapter V: Act II (1)

[_Same scene an hour later._ SANTA CLAUS, MOTHER GOOSE,
_and_ JENNIE WREN _stand in a row, center, shaking
hands with guests_. JACK FROST _at door shouts names
of guests as they appear R. at ring of door bell_.]

MOTHER GOOSE. I do love to have the Auld Lang Syne Club meet with us. Santa, you must try to look a little pleasanter. Just as soon as the guests are all here we will tell them our troubles and be guided by their advice. So let us now cheer up and act as if nothing sad had happened.

JENNIE. Your collar is a little crooked, Santa. Now let the smiles come. There, you look better.

JACK. The Man in the Moon.

[_Enter_ THE MAN IN THE MOON, _lantern in hand,
yellow robe, and smiling face_.]

THE MAN IN THE MOON. Good evening, Santa and Mother Goose and Jennie. I hope I am not too early. I always seem to come down too soon. [_Stands next to_ JENNIE _L._]

SANTA. No, no. You are never too early to please us. We like to see your shining face at any time.

JACK. William Tell of Switzerland.

WILLIAM TELL. [_Tyrolese costume, an apple in hand, bow and arrow under arm._] Good evening, everybody, what pleasant weather! Thirteen degrees below zero. It reminds me of our Alps at home. [_Stands next to_ THE MAN IN THE MOON.]

JENNIE. How is your son, Mr. Tell? Is he just as brave as ever? Do you ever shoot apples off his head nowadays?

WILLIAM TELL. Thank you, Jennie. Little Billy is well and happy. He is always a fearless child. He is tending a herd of chamois on Mt. Blanc this winter. Yes, we often practise a little sharpshooting.

JACK. [_Aside._] Now that chamois herding is a job I’d like to hold down myself. [_Aloud._] The Clerk of the Weather.

THE CLERK OF THE WEATHER. [_Carrying thermometer, weathercock, telescope, umbrella, weather bulletin._] Good evening, all. I am so glad to be here. I had a great time getting my work arranged so I could get off. I am afraid now [_looking at bulletin_] that there will be floods or blizzards or something. There are so many hitches in a business like mine. [_Stands next to_ TELL.]

JACK. Robinson Crusoe and Friday.

[ROBINSON CRUSOE _and_ FRIDAY _are dressed in furs_.
FRIDAY _leads toy goat_. JACK _blows on_ FRIDAY,
_who shivers_.]

ROBINSON CRUSOE. Good evening, Santa and Mother Goose. Allow me to present Friday. No, thank you, we will retain our furs. This weather is so different from the climate in the tropics, you know. [_Crosses and stands by_ MOTHER GOOSE.]

THE CLERK OF THE WEATHER. [_Tartly._] Now, that’s just the way it goes. It isn’t warm enough for you, Robinson, and here’s William Tell who thinks it just right. It is hard to please everybody on weather. I get almost distracted at the complaints all over the planet. It keeps me changing things all the time.

JACK. Mother Shipton.

MOTHER SHIPTON. [_Very solemn and important._] Yes, here I am. I came in one of those carriages without horses that they call automobiles. Really they ought to be called Shiptonians in honor of me, for it was I who gave the idea of them to the world. We prophets are seldom believed, though, I suppose, we are lucky not to be stoned.

JACK. How about 1881, Mother Shipton? Why didn’t you hit that date a little closer for the world to come to an end?

MOTHER SHIPTON. [_Stands next to_ CRUSOE _and_ FRIDAY.] That was simply a misprint, young man. Just you wait long enough and you will see the world come to an end yet. Wait till 2881 and see what happens!

JACK. Rip Van Winkle and Schneider.

RIP VAN WINKLE. [_Leading toy dog._] Goot efening, good efening. So I bring mein little dog Schneider. I am so lonesome already ven I don’t have along the schmall dog, ain’t it? Mein frau like not Schneider never in the house. Have you some objectifications mit him, Mother Goo-ze? [_Stands by_ MOTHER SHIPTON.]

MOTHER GOOSE. Not at all, Rip. He seems a very pleasant dog. You must always bring him with you.

JACK. [_Aside._] I say, I’d like a game of ninepins on the ice with Rip. [_Aloud._] Dick Whittington and the cat.

JENNIE. Oh, Mr. Whittington, good evening. I am so glad to see you and the cat. I have so often heard of this wise old pussy of yours.

DICK WHITTINGTON. Oh, you don’t see me anywhere without that little mascot of mine. Here, Tabby, don’t be afraid of Schneider. Schneider is a good little dog. [_Dog chases cat._]

JACK. Captain Kidd and Robin Hood.

CAPTAIN KIDD. [_Dressed as a pirate with cutlass, earrings, etc._] Here we all meet again on this pleasant occasion. It is seldom we old rovers have this home feeling anywhere on the globe. We go cruising around all the time visiting scenes of old. But you know, Mother Goose, we always make a point of coming to the Auld Lang Syne Club to meet with you, even if we have to come from Cape Horn or Cape of Good Hope.

ROBIN HOOD. [_In hunter’s green._] Yes, yes, Santa, we look forward all the year to this quiet evening with you. I am happier here than I am anywhere except with my merry men in Sherwood Forest. The Auld Lang Syne meeting is worth a trip across the planet. [KIDD _goes R._ ROBIN _goes L._]

JACK. Dame Rumor.

DAME RUMOR. [_Spectacles and ear trumpet, enters talking very fast._] I am sorry to be so late, but I met so many people on the way and there were so many things to tell and to hear that I thought I never should get here. They say—[_Goes whispering to_ MOTHER SHIPTON.]

JACK. Pocahontas and Lo, the Poor Indian.

POCAHONTAS. [_Dressed, as is_ LO, _in Indian costume, beads, feathers, etc._] Lo and I stopped to see the Falls of Minnehaha and that has made us late, I am afraid. We always linger at that lovely place.

MOTHER GOOSE. No, no, Pocahontas. You are in good time. You must stay all the longer for being a little tardy.

DAME RUMOR. Santa, why are you not laughing and joking as usual? I never saw you so downcast.

MOTHER GOOSE. Really, Dame Rumor, Santa Claus is feeling quite sad this evening. He will tell you all about what is weighing on his spirits, and I hope the wisdom of this good company will help him to look at matters more cheerfully.

SANTA CLAUS. Yes, friends, I am sorry to appear so sad on an occasion that ought to be so happy—an occasion when we old friends meet after a long separation.

RIP VAN WINKLE. Yes, yes, I haf never so much joyness any more as in this house, Santa. Here only is the beoples that can remember mit me the happy times long ago.

DAME RUMOR. They say you used to be grumbled at a good deal in those happy days, Rip.

JENNIE. Oh, now, Dame Rumor, let bygones be bygones. Please all listen to what Santa Claus has to tell. I want very much to see what the Auld Lang Syne Club will advise him to do. Go on, dear Santa.

SANTA CLAUS. Well, my friends, I thought I would try the experiment this year of running a wireless line from the North Pole to most of the school yards in the country in order to hear the children telling what they would like to have for Christmas.

DAME RUMOR. Dear me, I’d like to have a wireless line connecting with every _home_ in the country! It was a fine idea, Santa.

ROBINSON CRUSOE. I wish we had had one down on the island, Friday.

SANTA CLAUS. Well, I have just got the connections made, and to-day I went to the Pole to spend the forenoon taking notes from school grounds in various parts of the country. And, to my utter astonishment, I heard children in each section of the nation all saying they did not believe in Santa Claus!

ALL. [_Laughing._] Not believe in Santa Claus! How ridiculous!

DAME RUMOR. Oh, Santa Claus, you don’t take that seriously, do you? Why, I have heard that gossip for years, and I have also heard people saying that they did not believe the story of George Washington chopping down the cherry-tree. And yet I used to know a lady who knew a lady whose cousin’s brother-in-law had a piece of cherry-pie made from cherries that grew on that tree before George ever had the hatchet,—yes, indeed!

WILLIAM TELL. Santa, we are all in the same boat. Don’t let such remarks trouble your mind. It’s the fate of every popular character to be disbelieved. People have gone so far as to discredit me and the story of the shooting of the apple off little William’s head. Think of that!

DAME RUMOR. Yes, William, I have heard that apple shooting contradicted, too, and wasn’t that charming song, “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree,” written in honor of a tree that sprang from some of those seeds that you shot out of the apple on little William’s head that day?

POCAHONTAS. Santa, you must not let such gibes hurt your feelings. My own existence has been denied over and over, notwithstanding John Smith’s testimony. One must simply live such things down.

LO, THE POOR INDIAN. [_Solemnly._] Pocahontas is right, Santa. Don’t you know there is a theory among critics that I exist only in the pages of Cooper’s Indian stories? Think of just being shut up in a book all the time!

JACK. Wouldn’t that make you gloomy?

ROBINSON CRUSOE. I can understand how Lo feels. For it is now claimed by critics that a certain Alexander Selkirk instead of myself was the hero of my adventures. Think of having the ground taken from under your feet like that! Here is Friday and here is the goat, and yet they say there is no Robinson Crusoe!

FRIDAY. If Robinson Crusoe didn’t discover me then I am not discovered yet, and I never made those tracks.

RIP VAN WINKLE. Just alike mit me come all dese peoples. Some beople say now I haf not hat that nap already, and we haf not seen that game of ninepins in dose Kaatskils, ain’t it, Schneider.

CAPTAIN KIDD. Haven’t I been ruled out of existence, too. But wait till they find my buried treasure, some day! Then they will know that those piles of gold were never hidden without hands. Oh, my name was Captain Kidd, as I sailed.... Ha ha!

ROBIN HOOD. Well, Santa, they have long had me down as a fabulous character myself, and I suppose I’m out of it. But then just think what they say of the great King Arthur! I understand that King Arthur and all the Knights of the Round Table are now considered merely as a romance, if you please. So you see we are all in good company, my friends.

DICK WHITTINGTON. Yes, I also belong to the large class of the unbelieved-in. But Tabby and I are not concerned about what others think. We just deserve to have friends, and then it’s up to the people to love us. Don’t you see?

JENNIE. Well, if anybody has ever earned love it is our faithful old Santa Claus.

ALL. Yes, indeed it is. Everybody that knows him loves Santa Claus.

THE MAN IN THE MOON. Santa, when you have been laughed out of existence as often as I have, you can well complain. Why, I have been called everything from a piece of green cheese to an extinct volcano! But you never see me moping over it. I just keep a shining face, clouds or no clouds.

THE CLERK OF THE WEATHER. Yes, I will vouch for that. The Man in the Moon is always beamy. And, Santa, just note how I send the rain on the just and unjust alike, although they all say there is no such person as I, and call the weather itself just a me-teor-o-log-i-cal phe-nom-e-non. No, Santa, do not mind a few chance remarks. Those children will know more by and by.

DAME RUMOR. Santa, there are still hundreds and thousands who _do_ believe in you; for I have heard children all over the world, talking of your loving-kindness. I myself always take pains to tell what you have brought to this one and that one.

SANTA CLAUS. Dear friends, I have noted what you say and it really cheers me very much to find that I am not alone in being disbelieved in.

MOTHER GOOSE. Then you will forgive the children whom you overheard, Santa, and you will not desert the faithful ones who have always loved you?

JENNIE. And you will not think of that sorrow again, and you _will_ go down with the reindeer as usual and take those ten thousand dolls to the ten thousand good little girls?

JACK. Oh, forget it, Santa, and take down those horns and drums for the boys on that waiting list. Think of the fun those kiddies will have!

ALL. Oh, yes, Santa, the world cannot spare you. We love you, and the children love you.

SANTA CLAUS. [_Smiling at_ MOTHER GOOSE _and the rest_.] Your words give me new courage. Yes, I will go on as if nothing had happened. I will never desert the dear children. They shall have their Christmas gifts as long as there is a Santa Claus.

CURTAIN [_and distribution of gifts_].

The First Thanksgiving Day

_A One Act Play for Schools_

_By Agnes Miller_

In order to make this play practicable for general use,
the scenery and stage-directions suggested have been
made as simple as possible. Regarding costumes, it may
be said the play can be effectively produced when the
children wear ordinary clothes, the Puritan costume
being suggested by white caps and deep collars and
cuffs for the women characters, and broad-brimmed hats
and wide collars for the men. These accessories can be
easily made of very inexpensive material, and copied
from any of the well-known Puritan pictures. The Indians
may either appear in the Indian costumes possessed by so
many boys, or, in case these are unavailable, they may
be draped in gay blankets and wear feather head-bands,
which may be easily imitated.

CAST

JOHN WINTHROP, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
WILLIAM PIERCE, Captain of the ship _Lyon_.
THOMAS DUDLEY, Deputy-Governor of the colony.
JOHN WILSON, }
ROGER CLAP, } Colonists.
MRS. FREEMAN, }
MRS. GARRETT, }
PATIENCE FREEMAN, aged 8, daughter to Mrs. Freeman.
SAMUEL GARRETT, aged 10, son to Mrs. Garrett.
Chief of the Narragansett Indians.
Young Narragansett brave.
Man-servant to Governor Winthrop.

SCENE

A room in Governor Winthrop’s house in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. The front door of the
house opens at center back of stage, and has small
windows on each side of it. A door on the left
opens into the next room. The room is very plainly
furnished, and is evidently used for transacting
business. On the right of the front door is a
settee, with a chest standing near it, and on the
left of the door is a chair. Near the front of the
stage, on the right, stands a flour barrel, and
beside it, a table with weighing-scales. On the
left side of the room there is a chair before a
desk covered with papers, etc. Several portraits
and old prints hang on the walls.

[_A knock is heard on the front door. Enter_ SERVANT,
_at the left, who crosses to front door, and opens
it, disclosing_ MRS. FREEMAN _and_ PATIENCE. MRS.
FREEMAN _has a basket on her arm_.]

MRS. FREEMAN. Is the Governor at home?

SERVANT. Yes, madam; he has just come in.

MRS. FREEMAN. Will you let him know that I am here?

SERVANT. Directly, madam. Please be seated. [_Motions them to settee, and exit, left_; MRS. FREEMAN _and_ PATIENCE _sit down on the settee_. PATIENCE _breathes on her hands, to warm them_.]

PATIENCE. [_Fretfully._] Mother, do you really think the Governor will give us some more corn? I’m so tired of having nothing good to eat!

MRS. FREEMAN. Why, Patience, of course he will if he can spare us any; but you must remember how many sick people there are in the colony, who need it more than we do.

PATIENCE. Yes, Mother, but why can there not be enough for everybody?

MRS. FREEMAN. I hope that there may be before long, my dear. We must try to think that our ship with provisions is coming in soon. ’Sh-h! I hear the Governor coming! Now remember your manners! Rise and curtsey as I have taught you.

[WINTHROP _enters at left; bows to_ MRS. FREEMAN.
_She and_ PATIENCE _curtsey_.]

WINTHROP. Good day, Mistress Freeman. I trust that you and all your family are well.

MRS. FREEMAN. All well, Your Excellency, and thankful to be so in this season of want and cold. All that we could complain of is that our larder is getting low, so I came to see if I could buy a few pounds of corn.

WINTHROP. [_Evidently worried, but trying to conceal the fact._] Why, Mistress Freeman, it is about just that matter that I am awaiting tidings. This morning I sent word to the chief of the Narragansetts that we should like to trade with him for corn. I expect that Master Dudley and Master Wilson, who took the message, will be back soon. Can you not wait till their return? If our trade is good, we shall doubtless have plenty of food for all.

[MRS. FREEMAN _and_ PATIENCE _sit down on settee_.
WINTHROP _sits on chair at left_.]

MRS. FREEMAN. I suppose Your Excellency has, as yet, no word of the good ship _Lyon_?

WINTHROP. Not yet. No doubt the date of her sailing was deferred.

MRS. FREEMAN. It would seem so, for Captain Pierce sailed last August to fetch us provisions, and here it is now February.

WINTHROP. If we were all in health, the delay would not matter so much. But when half our people are too sick to leave their beds, we long to give them some of the comforts they left in England.

[_Knock on front door._ SERVANT _enters at left, and
opens door. Enter_ MRS. GARRETT, _who curtseys to
the company. Exit_ SERVANT.]

Ah! Mistress Garrett! I was lamenting to Mistress Freeman that we had few English comforts for our sick, but I did not forget that we brought the best nurse in England with us!

MRS. GARRETT. Your Excellency is very kind. I could only wish that I might do more in all the homes where sickness has entered. I thought, however, that you might like to hear that Master Humphrey and his wife are much better of their fever. [_Sits at center._]

WINTHROP. I rejoice to hear such good news, and I trust that you can give as good an account of your other patients.

MRS. GARRETT. I would that I could, Your Excellency, but what with this biting cold and our poor victuals, it goes hard with them. Is there still no hope of the _Lyon_?

WINTHROP. No immediate hope, madam, but I am expecting that we may be able to buy corn from the Narragansetts.

[_Knock on the front door. Enter_ SERVANT _at left,
opens door to admit_ DUDLEY, WILSON, _the
Narragansett chief, and the young brave_. DUDLEY
_and_ WILSON _greet the company, and, with the
Indians, come forward to right center of stage_.
SERVANT _stands in background, at left of front
door_.]

DUDLEY. [_To_ WINTHROP.] We have brought the chief back with us, Your Excellency, as you directed, but he does not seem favorable to making a trade. However, we can but try. [DUDLEY _and_ WILSON _then endeavor to conduct the trade, in dumb show, as follows_: DUDLEY _beckons the chief over to the flour barrel, and indicates to him by gesture that it is empty. He and_ WILSON _then go to the chest, and take from it several long and showy strings of beads, which they offer to the chief, suggesting by their motions that the Indians may have the beads if they will fill the barrel. The chief shakes his head. Both men urge him in vain for some time._ WINTHROP _then takes a red blanket from the chest, approaches the chief, and offers it in similar fashion. Finally, after_ _all three men have persisted in their offers for some time, both the chief and the young brave shake their heads decidedly, and by pointing to their own mouths and showing their empty hands, indicate that they themselves have not enough to eat. Upon this_ WINTHROP _lays down the blanket upon the table, and_ DUDLEY _and_ WILSON _cease their offers, in apparent despair. The Indians then file stolidly out of the front door, which is opened for them by the_ SERVANT. _Exit_ SERVANT.]

[_A silence falls on the company. It is broken by_
PATIENCE, _who is frightened, and begins to cry_.]

PATIENCE. [_Clinging to her mother’s hand._] Mother!

MRS. FREEMAN. Yes, what is it, little daughter?

PATIENCE. If we had only stayed in England, we should have had plenty to eat!

[MRS. FREEMAN _does not answer her, but puts her arm
around her, and turns to_ WINTHROP.]

MRS. FREEMAN. Is it not hard sometimes, Your Excellency, for all of us to realize how much more precious liberty is than the comforts we gave in exchange for it?

WINTHROP. You speak truly, Mistress Freeman. But we have crossed the sea in safety; we have been kept from harm among the savages; we have founded a colony where freedom is to be the birthright of every citizen. I believe that we have a right to expect to receive our daily bread. Whatever happens, we must not give up hope. I will proclaim a day of prayer and fasting for to-morrow. We must not lose faith, for all may yet be well.

[WILSON, _who has been standing by the table, crosses
to the barrel and glances into it_.]

WILSON. See, there is still some corn in the bottom of our last barrel. May not this be a sign that we shall be fed until help comes, even as we read in the Scriptures that the widow’s handful of meal lasted till the famine was past? [_As the company nod approval to his words, there is a knock on the front door._ SERVANT _enters at left, and opens door to admit_ ROGER CLAP. CLAP _is wild-eyed and shivering, and looks distractedly about until he sees_ WINTHROP. SERVANT _stands at left of door_.]

CLAP. [_Impetuously crossing stage to_ WINTHROP.] Your Excellency, my wife is dying, and my children have been without food for two days. Can you give me nothing for them?

[WINTHROP _goes to barrel, and scoops out a small portion
of meal_.]

WINTHROP. [_Sadly._] This is the last of our corn. [_Looks at_ MRS. FREEMAN.]

MRS. FREEMAN. [_Promptly._] Let Clap have it, by all means. What say you, neighbors?

ALL. Yes, let him have it, to be sure!

[WINTHROP _puts meal in a dish, which he is about to
hand to_ CLAP, _when there is a knock on the door.
It opens before the_ SERVANT _can reach it, and_
SAMUEL GARRETT _rushes in._]

SAMUEL. [_To_ WINTHROP, _breathlessly._] Your Excellency, the _Lyon_ has come! [_The company are startled and surprised, and scarcely believe him._]

WINTHROP. Boy, is this the truth? How do you know?

SAMUEL. Indeed, Your Excellency, it is nothing but the truth! I was down on the shore, when I looked across the bay, and saw a great ship entering the harbor. And as I ran up to bring you word, I heard a man saying that Captain Pierce was even now being rowed ashore.

[_Before any one can speak, there is a loud knock on
the door, and as the_ SERVANT _hastily opens it_,
CAPTAIN PIERCE _appears on the threshold._ WINTHROP
_rushes to meet him, and seizes him by both hands._]

WINTHROP. Never was man, or ship, more welcome! William Pierce! Thank Heaven!

[_The others crowd around_ PIERCE, _and greet him with
joyous and grateful exclamations._]

PIERCE. [_To_ WINTHROP.] Your Excellency, I have the honor to report the safe arrival of the _Lyon_!

WINTHROP. An hour ago we had well-nigh given you up!

PIERCE. We have met with many unforeseen delays on our voyage.

WILSON. Did you meet with storms?

PIERCE. Many of them, one so severe that one of our sailors was washed overboard. But our greatest delay was caused by our meeting a dismasted bark, which we must needs tow back to Bristol. We could only imagine what you must suffer in our absence. I, too, thank Heaven we have arrived!

DUDLEY. Have you provisions aboard?

PIERCE. Yes, verily, a goodly store. We have wheat, peas, and oatmeal; we have beef and pork and cheese and butter! [_Great relief and thankfulness shown by the company._]

[_To_ WINTHROP.] If Your Excellency will ask a few men to volunteer to go down to the _Lyon_ and help us unlade her, we shall have everybody fed within the hour.

SAMUEL. [_Eagerly._] _I_ will volunteer!

[_All laugh._ PIERCE _pats him on the shoulder._]

PIERCE. You shall come down to the ship with me. There is plenty for smart lads to do as well as men.

WINTHROP. Friends, I will now proclaim not a day of fasting and prayer, but one of praise and thanksgiving for our deliverance. However great the destiny that may await our colony, struggling here in the wilderness, this day must never be forgotten!

[CURTAIN]

EVERYCHILD

BY CONTENT S. NICHOLS

(_A School Morality_)

How Everychild sought for a companion on her quest for Goodness and Beauty, and having at length chosen, received also certain treasures.

CHARACTERS

EVERYCHILD.
JOY.
MATHEMATICS.
LATIN.
IDLENESS.
SERVICE.
GAIETY.
DISCIPLINE.
A Page (if necessary).
No stage setting except a chair.

[_Enter_ EVERYCHILD.]

EVERYCHILD. Were there not voices here? I came to see
If this could be my chosen company.
For I am growing now, and seek to come
Where Goodness, and where Beauty, have their home.
I am alone; but Everychild, they say,
May choose what friends she’ll have upon her way.
[_Thinks._]
I’ll call for Idleness, she is so soft!
She will not make me climb, nor scold me oft.
Idleness! Idleness! come!

[_Enter, slowly_, IDLENESS, _in soft robes,
with large fan and box of chocolates_.]

IDLENESS. [_Languidly._] Beautiful dreams
And chocolate creams
Are all I desire of the world as a boon.
No heat, and no strife;
The pleasantest life
Is to swing in a hammock the long afternoon.
[_Sinks into a chair._]

EVERYCHILD. But will you talk with me, and guard me well,
And guide where Beauty bright, and Goodness, dwell?

IDLENESS. No heat and no strife;
The pleasantest life
Is to swing in a hammock the long afternoon.
Beautiful dreams—

EVERYCHILD. But will you, Idleness,—

IDLENESS. Beautiful dreams
And chocolate creams
Are all I desire of the world—

EVERYCHILD. I cannot bear you! Lazy thing! away!
I will have friends that laugh, and run, and play!
[IDLENESS _goes languidly out,
fanning herself_.]

EVERYCHILD. I’ll call for Gaiety! She is so fleet.
Her bright wings fly beyond our mortal feet,
And she has passed all shores, and knows full well
Where radiant Goodness, and where Beauty, dwell.
Gaiety! Gaiety! come!

[GAIETY _runs and dances on, in light costume, with
wings. She flies to and fro across the stage,
while_ EVERYCHILD _runs after her, crying, “Take
me!” but is left behind_. GAIETY _slaps her and
runs off_.]

EVERYCHILD. [_Sobbing._] She slapped me just
because I could not fly,
And now she leaves me all alone to cry!
What shall I do? How shall I ever come
Where Beauty bright, and Goodness, have their home?
—I’ll call for Joy! She has bright hair of gold,
Sweet songs, and dancing footfalls, so I’m told.
Joy! O Joy! [_No answer._]
“Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee
Jest, and youthful Jollity;
Quips and cranks, and wanton wiles,
Nods and becks and wreathèd smiles,
Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek
And love to live in dimple sleek;
Sport, that wrinkled Care derides,
And Laughter, holding both his sides!”
Joy! Joy! come! [_No answer._]
She will not come. Alas!

[_Enter_ LATIN, _in dark gown, with blue veiling over
hair and shoulders, carrying heavy volumes._]

EVERYCHILD. Oh, who are you? you don’t look very nice.

LATIN. Stella, stellae, stellae, stellam, stella:
Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant.

EVERYCHILD. But what’s your name! How old are you!

LATIN. My name is Latin. Ages old am I,
And many a state have I seen rise and die.
I reigned alone in Europe many a year;
Barbarians trembled when my voice drew near.
To Dante, Latin was his other tongue;
In Latin, Milton, as in English, sung;
And many a child have I trained up to see
How different Tweedle_dum_ from Tweedle_dee_!

EVERYCHILD. Oh, I don’t know! You look so old and blue.
And must I study those great books all through?

LATIN. Yes, that you must. But take my hand and come,
For I have treasures in my mountain home:
Right habits, carefulness, foundations firm
For every language that the moderns learn,
Choice words, the source of English sound and pure.
How say you? Can you follow, and endure?

EVERYCHILD. But can you play with me, and guard me well,
And guide where Beauty bright, and Goodness, dwell?

LATIN. Aye, that I can. I know their home on high—

[_As_ EVERYCHILD _puts her hand in_ LATIN’S _and
advances a step, enter_ MATHEMATICS, _also in
dark gown, with head covered, carrying slate or
compasses._]

LATIN. Hail, Sister!

MATHEMATICS. Hail!

EVERYCHILD. But who is this? And must she with us go?
Your family are all so dark and slow!
No, I don’t think I like you. What’s your name?

MATHEMATICS. In every tongue my symbols are the same.
2 × 1 are 2, 2 × 2 are 4, 2 × 3 are 6—
My name is Mathematics. Many a year
We’ll doubtless be acquainted—never fear.

EVERYCHILD. But you look stiff and stern.
Why don’t you sing,
And smile, and wear soft robes?

MATHEMATICS. A mighty king
I serve, and it is mine to teach and train.

A trinomial is a perfect square when two of its terms
are perfect squares and positive, and the third
term is twice the product of their square roots.

EVERYCHILD. [_Who has put her fingers to her ears
during the definition._]
No, I don’t like you! I won’t take your hand,
For you have nothing that I want.
[_Turns away._]

MATHEMATICS. Nay, stand!
Stand thou and listen! Royal gifts have I,
Gifts men have sold their mortal lives to buy.
’Tis I that build the house, that count the tide;
I lay the rails, I span the waters wide;
I teach how planets sail the ether high;
I guide the aëroplane that dares the sky;
I tunnel deep where mighty rivers roll;
I plant the stars and stripes upon the pole!
Lo, this is I!

EVERYCHILD. Oh, let me go with you! and can you tell
Where radiant Goodness, and where Beauty, dwell?

MATHEMATICS. Their servant am I. I can lead you—Stay!

[_As they begin to go off together, enter_
DISCIPLINE, _in black gown and cap, with
bunch of switches, arms folded, frowning._]

EVERYCHILD. Oh, I’m afraid—I think I’ll run away.
You naughty thing! How dare you! Go away!

DISCIPLINE. Control yourself.

EVERYCHILD. I won’t. I want to do just as I choose!

LATIN. [_After a pause._] Then you must leave us.
Ah—do not refuse
To follow Discipline, for he is good;
He tames the insolent, informs the rude.
He frowns, but he will let you run and grow
If but his precepts you incline to know.

DISCIPLINE. Let kittens play, but men must toil and soar;
Honor thyself, but honor others more.
No vulgar aim to monarchs do I bring;
Rule well thy mind, for in it thou art king!

LATIN. Through Discipline alone canst thou attain to be
Thyself, thy highest self, eternally.

EVERYCHILD. Yes, I was silly. I will take his hand.
He too shall guide me into Beauty’s land.

[_She advances to take his hand. As he says the next
lines, he throws down his switches, or, if a girl,
throws off dark gown and veil, and draws forth
a box of treasures. At the same time_, LATIN
_and_ MATHEMATICS _throw off their dark gowns and
veils, and appear in light garments, with flowers,
fillets, or wreaths on their heads. The_ PAGE _may
give_ LATIN _a wreath_, MATHEMATICS _a lighted
lantern, and gather up the gowns._]

DISCIPLINE. O strong young child, since you have followed me,
No longer ugly Discipline I’ll be.
A fairer self I show to each brave soul:
In Beauty’s land they call me Self-control.
Mine are these stores of treasures manifold.
[_Pouring into her hands._]
My silver rusts not, nor my well-tried gold.

LATIN. O thou dear child, that chose with me to come,
Now shall we reach the heights of Beauty’s home.
He that has climbed shall breathe the mountain air;
He that has learned shall read the pages fair,
Shall understand, shall learn himself to speak.
Fair are the flowers on the mountain peak!
[_Crowning her with the wreath._]
Beautiful words, and noble thoughts, are these,
Fine feelings, witty sayings, grace, and ease!

MATHEMATICS. O thou dear child, since thou wert not afraid
Of my slow step, dark dress, and heavy tread,
To thy small hand entrust I now this light
[_gives lantern_],
Through all the ages ever burning bright.
Clear thoughts be thine, and Truth shall keep the flame,
For from her altar at the first it came.

[_Enter_ JOY _and_ SERVICE, _quickly, hand in hand; in
bright floating dresses, with wings_. JOY _with
wreath of flowers, a star on her head and a wand_;
SERVICE _with Greek fillet, scattering flowers_.]

EVERYCHILD. Why, aren’t you Joy?

JOY. Oh, yes! I could not stay,
Where Service goes, I follow. That’s our way.

[_They kiss, and circle in a little dance, which may
end in a kiss._]

LATIN. To guide the child they come, on high command.
Service and Joy go ever hand in hand.

SERVICE. In our bright home I heard the spirits say
A child was seeking me this very day.
Gladly I hastened when I heard them speak;
Who seeketh Service hath not far to seek.
Then followed Joy, the loveliest of our band:
Service and Joy go ever hand in hand.

[_They repeat the dance and kiss._]

SERVICE. Now on our happy journey let us come
To that bright land where Goodness is at home,
Where Beauty is, where we desire to dwell.

JOY. Farewell, ye mortals all! Farewell!
[_Going._]

DISCIPLINE. Farewell!

LATIN, EVERYCHILD, _and_ MATHEMATICS.
Farewell!

“EVERYGIRL”

BY RACHEL LYMAN FIELD

CHARACTERS

EVERYGIRL.
HOPE.
MIRTH.
WEALTH.
BEAUTY.
KNOWLEDGE.
WORK.
HEALTH.
LOVE.
EIGHT DANCERS.

SCENE

Twilight in Everygirl’s garden.

DANCE OF THE FLOWERS

[_The dancers wear white dresses trimmed with the
flower which each represents._]

[_After the dance is finished, enter_
EVERYGIRL.]

EVERYGIRL. How fair this little garden seems to-night!
Small though it be, I love it well,
For here I learned to know each flower
By name; I never wish to leave it
Till to-night, when a strange voice
Seemed calling me away. I could not sleep,
But wandered here to lose my foolish thoughts
Among the flowers—
Why, here’s a white rose that but yesterday
Was just a bud, half hidden by the leaves
That tightly curled about it! See it now—
A full-blown rose, and opened to the night.
The gentle winds, the moon, and all the stars!
And thus it is with me; no more am I
A child. And so these restless thoughts
Are but to show me that I now am grown,
And that my life has opened like the rose.

[_Enter_ HOPE.]

HOPE. Dear Everygirl, these words you speak are true,
Hark! do you hear that far-off voice? Listen!
It is the World’s voice, Everygirl. It calls—
And you must follow, when the World calls.
I know the garden bids you stay,
And yet the World is stronger; you must go.
So, Everygirl, this night I come with cheer—
To say that you may choose three friends to go
Journeying with you hand in hand, to share
All joys and sorrows that the World may give.
Think well, and choose with care these three,
For they shall go with you forever.

EVERYGIRL. Dear lady, will you go with me?

HOPE. Oh, no, I fain would go where sorrow is
And pain, where loss has come and joy is fled.
When all is black and dark, then I
Steal softly in and bring with me new strength
And light. Then tired hearts are glad,
And weary souls rise up to struggle on once more.
For, Everygirl, my name is Hope, and often shall I visit you.

[_Exit_ HOPE.]

Black gown of sateen. Black cap with brown owl’s head and wings. Lamp made of gravy-boat, painted brown. Large pen for sword.]

[_Enter_ MIRTH, _dancing and singing to the tune of
“Funiculi, Funicula”_.]

MIRTH. With laughter and with joy I come to you,
The flowers among.
For now that you are bright and fresh and fair,
The world is young.

Oh, come, while all the way is green and glad,
We’ll be so gay
That time will touch us not. Oh, come, oh, come
With me away.

I am Mirth, Everygirl. Gladly will I go
Into the world with you. And you shall be
Lighthearted as I am, to laugh and sing
And frolic all day long. Come, take me;
We will feast and dance, paying no heed
To sorrow, pain, or dark and dreadful things.

EVERYGIRL. Oh, Mirth, while yet you spoke, I heard
A sound of hollow laughter, and a wail
That echoed through deserted banquet halls!
All the bright gold was tarnished, and the flowers
Were lying dead and withered all about.
Oh, Mirth, I like it not, this mocking laughter.

[MIRTH _stands silenced for a moment, then slowly exits_.]

White cotton frock: pale blue tunic, ornamented with white silk stars applied. Pale blue fillet on head with silver star.]

[_Enter_ WEALTH, _jingling bags of money_.]

WEALTH. Aha, my pretty one, so you would go into the world!
See this bright gold—’twill bring you what you ask.
All the World bows to me; and I will go
And be your friend, and always stay
To bring you fame, and joy, and everything
That only I, great Wealth, provide
For those who are my friends and followers.
All these great bags and more shall be your own,
Vast lands and houses, servants and the like,
Yea, all you ask shall I bring at your word!
I know that you will take _me_, Everygirl.
No one rejects great Wealth, or what I give.

[EVERYGIRL _hesitates, takes one of the bags, but
suddenly drops it, covering her face with her hands_.]

White cotton frock flowered in china blue, turned back over blue and white striped petticoat. White apron and cap.]

EVERYGIRL. Away! Away! I like you not, great Wealth!
Just now I heard a cry that shivered through my very heart.
It was the cry of toiling women, hungry and oppressed,
Working incessantly through heat and cold.
And there were little children, too, who wept
And struggled in the darkness of the mines,
And in foul places over all the earth!
The gold is theirs, not mine. Oh, Wealth,
Begone! [_Exit_ WEALTH.]

Camp-Fire costume made a little more elaborate by bead-embroidery and stencilling. Branch of Pine.]

[EVERYGIRL _stands weeping_.

ENTER BEAUTY.]

BEAUTY. Do not weep, Everygirl! I come to bring you joy
and happiness.
They call me Beauty, and the queen of all
The earth. All men look up to me,
And smile upon me—beautiful am I,
So shall you be, if I go with you.
All the World will stoop to kiss your hand,
And fairer shall you be than other maids.

EVERYGIRL. [_Taking_ BEAUTY
_by the hand_.]
And, Beauty, will you always stay with me?
And be my friend, and never go away?

BEAUTY. Ah, that I cannot do.
You know that I must sometime leave you.

EVERYGIRL. Beauty, stay always with me, never go away.

BEAUTY. Ah, no! I cannot be your friend forever.
[_Exit_ BEAUTY.]

[_Enter_ KNOWLEDGE, _clothed in
black_. EVERYGIRL _shrinks from
her_.]

KNOWLEDGE. You must not fear me, Everygirl, I am your friend.
Always we are friends. Was it not I
Who taught you once the names of all the flowers?
Men call me Knowledge, but I do not show
So fair a face as Beauty; mine is stern
And grim. No easy master am I,
But, if you now will take me for your friend,
I’ll show you all the wonders of the world—
Yea, and of many other worlds, also—
The magic of the deep and of the skies.
If you would have me with you,
You must search for knowledge and ever
Shall you be filled with wild desires
Never quite fulfilled. I’ll tell you all
The secrets of the world, even the thoughts
Of men and women shall be opened to you;
And those who pass along in busy throngs
Shall feel the mystic knowledge you possess.

Frock of thin white cotton or China silk: angel sleeves shirred at shoulder: gold paper heart on left side. Gold fillet in hair.]

EVERYGIRL. And will this knowledge help them too, as well
As me? Will it bring pleasure to sad hearts
And joy to tired lives?

[KNOWLEDGE _turns sorrowfully away_. EVERYGIRL _kneels,
her face in her hands_.]

EVERYGIRL. I know not what to do, nor whom to choose!

White cotton frock: points of yellow from neck, with gilded bells: wreath of daisies, and skipping rope wound with the same.]

[_Enter_ WORK, HEALTH, _and_ LOVE _at the back of the
garden_. WORK, _advancing, touches_ EVERYGIRL _upon
the shoulder_.]

WORK. It is I, Everygirl, who am the solace
And those who toil with me, though hard their lot,
Find gladness in the joy of working.
I would go with you. The World cares not
For idle hands. So take me, though I promise not
Delights and wild excesses of emotion.
For the great joy of labor and of toil I bring,
And you shall learn to glorify the work
Whate’er it be!

EVERYGIRL. Oh, stay with me, and never go away!

[WORK _takes her hand_.
HEALTH _advances_.]

HEALTH. You see in me the thing that makes work sweet,
Without me all the world is bitter.
For I am Health, and with me beauty
Comes, and strength to labor and do good.
All things do I make possible,
For I create a palace beautiful
In which your thoughts may live and grow more fine
Because of fair surroundings.
Oh, Everygirl, I bring you health,
Oh, surely you will let me go with you?

EVERYGIRL. Yes, yes, you must not leave me, Health.

[LOVE _advances; she is more radiantly beautiful
than all the rest_.]

Tunic of soft white silkaline flowered in pink roses: American Beauty rose made of wire and tissue paper for scepter, White skirt.]

EVERYGIRL. Your face I know. You are familiar to me.
I saw you in the blossoming of the flowers,
I saw your eyes in all the shining stars;
Your voice was in the wind among the trees,
Your light is in the eyes of one I know.
Who are you, that I feel your presence everywhere?

LOVE. I am Love, Everygirl.

EVERYGIRL. Oh, Love, the World is calling, lead me forth.

WEALTH

A Princess gown of white, stencilled in gold: robe of red also stencilled in gold: collar made of wired net with wild carrot blossoms sewed flat.]

[EVERYGIRL, _with one hand held by_ WORK _and one by_
HEALTH, _and led by_ LOVE, _leaves the garden. At the
gate she turns and faces the audience._]

Oh, Work, and Health, and Love, I shall not dread
The years that are to come, with you for friends!
Oh, stay you always by my side,
Then come what may I shall not fear
The world and all its strife. Perchance
With you I can help other girls to find
The Work and Health and Love that you have brought.

[_A camp-fire girl in her Indian costume steps
forward and recites the epilogue._]

You who have listened to our little play,
Come think on this before you go away:
Have you three friends to go and be your guide,
To ever journey with you side by side,
Sharing alike with you all joys and pains,
All the world’s losses and likewise its gains?
A glowing camp-fire shall our emblem be,
And ever doth its welcome burn for thee.
Oh, come, and gather with us by its blaze,
And in our songs, with us, your voices raise.

[CURTAIN]

THE EGYPTIAN CAT

(_A Shadow Play_)

BY IRENE WOODBRIDGE CLARK

The following little play was written for a special occasion, and was successfully presented as a side show at a church fair. Tickets were sold at ten cents each, and the performance, which was repeated several times, netted forty-two dollars. The expense of getting up the play is very slight. The screen upon which the shadows are thrown may be formed of two or more large sheets, sewed firmly together, and stretched smoothly from ceiling to floor, or to the platform of an improvised stage. Several strong tables—kitchen tables, for instance—ranged in line behind the screen, and as near to it as possible, would make an excellent platform, for as the actors walk close to the curtain, a wider flooring is not necessary. At each side of the stage and screen a heavy shawl or blanket should be hung, so that the actors may be concealed from the audience when not engaged in the performance. There should be but one light to throw the shadows. A kerosene lamp is very effective, if placed with the narrow side of the flame toward the screen, the object being to concentrate the light, and cause it to come from as small and yet as brilliant a point as possible. Set the lamp in a box of some kind; a wooden soap box would do, with one side open toward the screen. The box should be painted a dull black inside, or old black cloth may be tacked in as a lining. If the inside of the box is not black, it will reflect the light, and cause the shadows to appear blurred. On no account use a reflector, as this would have the same effect. An opening may be cut through the box, just above the lamp chimney, to allow the heat and smoke to escape. When it is necessary to shut off the light, as at the end of each scene, or at the close of the performance, this may be done by quickly sliding the cover of the box across the open front, and thus obscuring the lamp entirely. The box with the lamp should be about on a level with the actors’ feet, or a trifle higher, and should be at least five or six yards behind them, if possible to arrange it so.