The Works of Henry Fielding, vol. 12Fielding, Henry
General
The Works of Henry Fielding, vol. 12
Fielding, Henry
English literature -- 18th century
_Luck_. Be as noisy as you please--[_Shuts the door_.] Jack,
call a coach; and, d' ye hear? get up behind it and attend me.
ACT II.
SCENE I.--_The Playhouse_.--LUCKLESS, MARPLAY,
senior, MARPLAY, junior.
_Luck_. [_Reads_.]
"Then hence my sorrow, hence my ev'ry fear;
No matter where, so we are bless'd together.
With thee, the barren rocks, where not one step
Of human race lies printed in the snow,
Look lovely as the smiling infant spring."
_Mar. sen_. Augh! will you please to read that again, sir?
_Luck_. "Then hence my sorrow, hence my ev'ry fear."
_Mar. sen_. "Then hence my sorrow."--Horror is a much better
word.--And then in the second line--"No matter where, so we are
bless'd together."--Undoubtedly, it should be, "No matter where, so
somewhere we're together." Where is the question, somewhere is the
answer.--Read on, sir.
_Luck_. "With thee,----"
_Mar. sen_. No, no, I could alter those lines to a much better
idea.
"With thee, the barren blocks, where not a bit
Of human face is painted on the bark,
Look green as Covent-garden in the spring."
_Luck_. Green as Covent-garden!
_Mar. jun_. Yes, yes; Covent-garden market, where they sell
greens.
_Luck_. Monstrous!
_Mar. sen_. Pray, sir, read on.
_Luck_.
"LEANDRA: oh, my Harmonio, I could hear thee still;
The nightingale to thee sings out of tune,
While on thy faithful breast my head reclines,
The downy pillow's hard; while from thy lips
I drink delicious draughts of nectar down,
Falernian wines seem bitter to my taste."
_Mar. jun_. Here's meat, drink, singing, and lodging, egad.
_Luck_. He answers.
_Mar. jun_. But, sir----
_Luck_.
"Oh, let me pull thee, press thee to my heart,
Thou rising spring of everlasting sweets!
Take notice, Fortune, I forgive thee all!
Thou'st made Leandra mine. Thou flood of joy
Mix with my soul, and rush thro' ev'ry vein."
_Mar. sen_. Those two last lines again if you please.
_Luck_. "Thou'st made," &c.
_Mar. jun_.
"----Thou flood of joy,
Mix with my soul and rush thro' ev'ry vein."
Those are two excellent lines indeed: I never writ
better myself: but, Sar----
_Luck_.
"Leandra's mine, go bid the tongue of fate
Pronounce another word of bliss like that;
Search thro' the eastern mines and golden shores,
Where lavish Nature pours forth all her stores;
For to my lot could all her treasures fall,
I would not change Leandra for them all."
There ends act the first, and such an act as, I believe, never was on
this stage yet.
_Mar. jun_. Nor never will, I hope.
_Mar. sen_. Pray, sir, let me look at one thing. "Falernian
wines seem bitter to my taste."
Pray, sir, what sort of wines may your Falernian be? for I never heard
of them before; and I am sure, as I keep the best company, if there
had been such sorts of wines, I should have tasted them. Tokay I have
drank, and Lacrimas I have drank, but what your Falernian is, the
devil take me if I can tell.
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