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Read Ebook: Past Redemption: A Drama in Four Acts by Baker George M George Melville
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Ebook has 579 lines and 17110 words, and 12 pages
CHORUS. Good for you, Tom! good for you!
NAT. I'll give you a dollar for your chance.
TOM. No, you don't, Nat; I'm in luck.--Now, Kitty, I claim the privilege. A kiss for the finder of the red ear.
KITTY. Not from me, saucebox.
NAT. Run, Kitty, run!
TOM. It's no use, Kitty; you can't escape me.
STUB. "I'd offer thee dis cheek ob mine." If you want a smack take it. I won't struggle.
TOM . How's that for a smack?
STUB. Dat's de hand widout de heart: takes all de bloom out ob my complexion.
TOM. It's no use, Kitty: you must pay tribute.
KITTY. Never, never!
HARRY. Hallo! just in time. You've the red ear, Tom, so, as your friend, I'll collect the tribute.
KITTY . How dare you, Harry Maynard!
TOM. Yes, Harry Maynard, how dare you?
HARRY. Don't scold, Tom. It's the first game that has crossed my path to-day: the first shot I've made. So the corn is husked, and I not here to share your work. We've had a long tramp, and lost our way.
TOM . Empty bags! Well, you are smart gunners: not even a rabbit.
HARRY . No, Tom; they were particularly shy to-day, so I had to content myself with a deer, your dear, Tom.
KITTY . His dear, indeed! I'll have you to understand I'm not to be made game of.
HARRY. No, dear, no one shall make game of you; but keep a sharp lookout, for there's a keen hunter on the track, and when Tom Larcom flings the matrimonial noose--
KITTY. He may be as lucky as you have been to-day, and return empty-handed.
TOM. Don't say that, Kitty; haven't I been your devoted--
KITTY. Fiddlesticks! If there is any thing I hate, it's sparking before company.
NAT . And there's where you're right, Kitty. As much as I love you, I would never dare to be so outspoken before company.
TOM. Oh, you're a smart one, you are!
STUB. Supper's onto de table, and Miss Maynard, she says, says she, you're to come right into de kitchen, eat all you like, drink all you like, an' smash all de dishes if you like; an' dere's fourteen kinds ob pies, an' turnobers, an' turn-unders, an' cold chicken, an'--an'--cheese--
HARRY. That will do, Stub. My good mother is a bountiful provider, and needs no herald. So, neighbors, take your partners; Hanks will give you a march, and Mr. Thornton and I will join you as soon as we have removed the marks of the forlorn chase.
STUB. Yas, Massa Hanks, strike up a march: something lively. Dead march in Saul; dat's fus rate.
TOM . Kitty, shall I have the pleasure?
NAT . Miss Corum, shall I have the honor?
NAT. For life, Kitty?
KITTY. On a short lease.
TOM . Cut,--a decided cut. I must lay in wait for Yardstick when this breaks up, and I think he will need about a pound of beefsteak for his eyes in the morning.
HARRY . Why, Tom, don't you go in?
TOM. Certainly. Come, Hanks. They'll want your music in there, and I'm just in tune to play second fiddle.
HARRY . Now, Mr. Thornton, for a wash, and then we'll join them. Hallo! what's the matter? Homesick?
THORNTON . Not exactly; but there's something in this old barn, these merry huskers, this careless happy life you farmers lead, has stirred up old memories, until I was on the point of breaking out with that melancholy song, "Oh, would I were a boy again!"
HARRY. Now, don't be melancholy. That won't chime with the dear old place; for, though it has not been free from trouble, we drive all care away with willing hands and cheerful hearts.
THORNTON. It is a cheery old place, and so reminds me of one I knew when I was young; for, like you, I was a farmer's boy.
HARRY. Indeed! you never told me that.
THORNTON. No: for 'tis no fond recollection to me, and I seldom refer to it. I did not take kindly to it, so early forsook a country life for the stir and bustle of crowded cities. But, when one has reached the age of forty, 'tis time to look back.
HARRY. Not with regret, I trust: for you tell me you have acquired wealth in mercantile pursuits, and so pictured the busy life of the city, that I am impatient to carve my fortune there.
THORNTON. And you are right. The strong-armed, clear-brained wanderers from the country carry off the grand prizes there. You are ambitious: you shall rise; and, when you are forty, revisit these scenes, a man of wealth and influence.
HARRY. Ah, Mr. Thornton, when one has a friend like you to lead the way, success is certain. I am proud of your friendship, and thankfully place my future in your keeping.
THORNTON. That shows keen wit at the outset. Trust me, and you shall win. But I am keeping you from your friends, and I know a pair of bright eyes are anxiously looking for you.
JESSIE ,--
"In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore," &c.
HARRY. Ah! my "sweet by and by" is close at hand.
JESSIE. O you truant! Now, don't flatter yourself that I came in search of you. Do you see this pail? this is my excuse.
HARRY. 'Tis an empty one, Jessie. I am very sorry you have been anxious on my account; but I'm all ready, so let's in to supper.
JESSIE. Not so fast, sir: the pail must be filled. I'm going for milk.
HARRY. Then "I'll go with you, my pretty maid."--You'll excuse me a moment, Mr. Thornton.
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