The Complete Plays of Gilbert and SullivanGilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck)
General
The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck)
Operas -- Librettos
(Enter Mr. Wells from tent)
WELLS Good day, sir. (Aline much terrified.)
ALEXIS Good day—I believe you are a Sorcerer.
WELLS Yes, sir, we practice Necromancy in all its branches.
We've a choice assortment of wishing-caps, divining-rods,
amulets, charms, and counter-charms. We can cast you a nativity
at a low figure, and we have a horoscope at three-and-six that we
can guarantee. Our Abudah chests, each containing a patent Hag
who comes out and prophesies disasters, with spring complete, are
strongly recommended. Our Aladdin lamps are very chaste, and our
Prophetic Tablets, foretelling everything—from a change of
Ministry down to a rise in Unified—are much enquired for. Our
penny Curse—one of the cheapest things in the trade—is
considered infallible. We have some very superior Blessings,
too, but they're very little asked for. We've only sold one
since Christmas—to a gentleman who bought it to send to his
mother-in-law—but it turned out that he was afflicted in the
head, and it's been returned on our hands. But our sale of penny
Curses, especially on Saturday nights, is tremendous. We can't
turn 'em out fast enough.
SONG—MR. WELLS
Oh! my name is John Wellington Wells,
I'm a dealer in magic and spells,
In blessings and curses
And ever-filled purses,
In prophecies, witches, and knells.
If you want a proud foe to "make tracks"—
If you'd melt a rich uncle in wax—
You've but to look in
On the resident Djinn,
Number seventy, Simmery Axe!
We've a first-class assortment of magic;
And for raising a posthumous shade
With effects that are comic or tragic,
There's no cheaper house in the trade.
Love-philtre—we've quantities of it;
And for knowledge if any one burns,
We keep an extremely small prophet, a prophet
Who brings us unbounded returns:
For he can prophesy
With a wink of his eye,
Peep with security
Into futurity,
Sum up your history,
Clear up a mystery,
Humour proclivity
For a nativity—for a nativity;
With mirrors so magical,
Tetrapods tragical,
Bogies spectacular,
Answers oracular,
Facts astronomical,
Solemn or comical,
And, if you want it, he
Makes a reduction on taking a quantity!
Oh!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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