The Plays of W. E. Henley and R. L. StevensonStevenson, Robert Louis
General
The Plays of W. E. Henley and R. L. Stevenson
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Drama
BRODIE. Great heavens! answer in three words, and be hanged to you!
What are you, and where are you from?
HUNT. A patter-cove from Seven Dials.
BRODIE. Is it possible? All my life long have I been pining to meet
with a patter-cove from Seven Dials! Embrace me, at a distance. [A
patter-cove from Seven Dials!] Go, fill yourself as drunk as you dare,
at my expense. Anything he likes, Mrs. Clarke. He’s a patter-cove from
Seven Dials. Hillo! what’s all this?
AINSLIE. Dod, I’m for nae mair! (_At back_, _and rising_.)
PLAYERS. Sit down, Ainslie.—Sit down, Andra.—Ma revenge!
AINSLIE. Na, na, I’m for canny goin’. (_Coming forward with bottle_.)
Deacon, let’s see your gless.
BRODIE. Not an inch of it.
MOORE. No rotten shirking, Deacon!
[AINSLIE. I’m sayin’, man, let’s see your gless.
BRODIE. Go to the deuce!]
AINSLIE. But I’m sayin’—
BRODIE. Haven’t I to play to-night?
AINSLIE. But, man, ye’ll drink to bonnie Jean Watt?
BRODIE. Ay, I’ll follow you there. _A la reine de mes amours_!
(_Drinks_.) What fiend put this in your way, you hound? You’ve filled
me with raw stuff. By the muckle deil!—
MOORE. Don’t hit him, Deacon; tell his mother.
HUNT (_aside_). Oho!
SCENE III
_To these_, SMITH, RIVERS.
SMITH. Where’s my beloved? Deakin, my beauty, where are you? Come to
the arms of George, and let him introduce you. Capting Starlight Rivers!
Capting, the Deakin: Deakin, the Capting. An English nobleman on the
grand tour, to open his mind, by the Lard!
RIVERS. Stupendiously pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Deakin,
split me!
[BRODIE. We don’t often see England’s heroes our way, Captain, but when
we do, we make them infernally welcome.
RIVERS. Prettily put, sink me! A demned genteel sentiment, stap my
vitals!]
BRODIE. Oh Captain! you flatter me. [We Scotsmen have our qualities, I
suppose, but we are but rough and ready at the best. There’s nothing
like your Englishman for genuine distinction. He is nearer France than
we are, and smells of his neighbourhood. That d—d thing, the _je ne sais
quoi_, too! Lard, Lard, split me! stap my vitals! O such manners are
pure, pure, pure. They are, by the shade of Claude Duval!]
RIVERS. Mr. Deakin, Mr. Deakin [this is passatively too much]. What
will you sip? Give it the _h_anar of a neam.
BRODIE. By these most _h_anarable hands now, Captain, you shall not. On
such an occasion I could play host with Lucifer himself. Here, Clarke,
Mother Midnight! Down with you, Captain! (_forcing him boisterously into
a chair_.) I don’t know if you can lie, but, sink me! you shall sit.
(_Drinking_, _etc._, _in dumb-show_.)
MOORE (_aside to_ SMITH). We’ve nobbled him, Geordie!
SMITH (_aside to_ MOORE). As neat as ninepence! He’s taking it down
like mother’s milk. But there’ll be wigs on the green to-morrow, Badger!
It’ll be tuppence and toddle with George Smith.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account