Margaret Scott Oliver

“ Chang-sut-yen—Nay, tremble not, for I, your lover, shelter you in my heart.
Chorus—The Mandarin comes.
Kwen-lin— (Sadly.) The wine cup is drained, the love songs all are silenced.
(Enter Mandarin.)
Mandarin—Base thief and destroyer, at last I have found the hole in which you hide!
Chang-sut-yen—A lover seeks only food for his love. If he destroys or thieves what matter? Love is first.
Mandarin—My tongue sends flame into your viper soul. Go to your ancestors, they beckon you. ”

“ Sindibad—Thy wife is young.... I will not have the dancing slave.
Kodama—How now!
Sindibad—Thy wife is young. Her skin is of pearl, her eyes twin amber pools where men may—oh fool, oh blind, thy wife is young and beautiful. Canst thou not see?
Kodama—It is written: The blind man avoids the ditch into which the clear-sighted falls.
Sindibad—Thy heart is a dried grape. Thy wife is—
Kodama—My wife! Art thou an honest Arab that she should so dwell in thy thoughts? Take the dancing slave, and begone. ”

“ Feliciana—Nay, Pedro, thou canst show it to me at intervals, and I will let thee have a little peep at my ankles. It will refresh us in our modesty.
(General withdraws to side of stage.)
Pedro—Tsch! It is all an invention of thine to make me suffer for scolding thee. These tales of succumbing maidens are false. Thou dost know Señora Jacinta is a child of ten, and Lagrimas hath bestowed her heart ... elsewhere.
Feliciana—Jacinta will grow up, and Lagrimas is free. She must be protected from thy subtle charms.
[43] Pedro—Lagrimas is not free. She hath a lover who is mad for her. ”

“ Kodama—Allah has left no calamity more hurtful to man than woman. It was written in the stars. (To Slave.) Bring the women. Let music be played, and let there be dancing.
(Slaves and attendants enter, and there is music.)
Kodama— (To the body of Sindibad.) Dost hear the music for thy wedding feast? Thou art dead, honey babbler, and gone to the desert of forgotten desires. Thou art dead!
(Slave dances. As dance ends, Kodama's slave kneels before him.)
Slave—Master, thou hast killed a true believer. ”

“ Lagrimas—Little soldier, thou wast to conquer the Moriscoes; and capture Hafiz, the enemy of King Philip.
Rodriguez—I shall conquer nothing. Deeds of valor are possible only because a lady smiled.
Lagrimas—I smile always when with thee.
Rodriguez—Have thy jest. Broken lives mean nothing to a coquette.
Lagrimas—Timid lovers mean less.... Why rail against fate?
(Pedro and Feliciana enter with a rush.)
Feliciana—Dance! Dance! I will dance whenever I please.
Pedro—And have the commonest fellow in the ranks praise thine alluring ankles and twinkling feet. Hast thou no modesty? ”

“ Thy Kings are destroyers, and we who build, fear the jackals who tear down.
General—I warn thee, Hafiz, tolerance will not stretch much further.
Hafiz—Tolerance! Spain does not know the word. Thou hast banished the Jews, thou hast given the rack, the gibbet and the stake to the Christian heretics, thou wilt kill and exile the Moors. But beware, we are the growers of rice and sugar, of cotton and silk, how will Spain live when these fail? ”

“ Halima—I may not.
Sindibad—It is not forbidden. I am thy husband's kinsman. Let me see thy face!
(Halima drops veil. Sindibad prostrates himself.)
Sindibad—I am thy slave forever, oh fairer than the day at dawn.
Halima—Arise! they will see thee!
Sindibad—And thou hast married the merchant Kodama! Awah! Awah!
Halima—Arise! Arise!
[14] Kodama—Why cryest thou awah? This is not a time for wailing. Dost lament for the maiden of the desert?
Sindibad—Her image has changed ... as sand upon the desert's face.
(CURTAIN)
Scene—The same. ”

“ Kwen-lin—I will not marry the Ta-yin of Canton. He's ugly, he's bold, he's yellow as—
Mandarin—Gold!
Kwen-lin—He shakes when he walks—
Mandarin—He's a—
Kwen-lin—Hundred years old! My heart would crack with grief were I to marry him.
Mandarin—I never yet heard that any maiden died of grief at the prospect of being a bride.
Kwen-lin—Br-r-r-r!
Mandarin— (Jumping.) What was that?
Kwen-lin—My heart cracking. Death is clutching for me.
Mandarin— (Wearily.) Go away, Death. Take her, if you must, after she is wed. The wealthy Ta-yin can better bear the sad expenses. ”

“ You will see the Mandarin, (Mandarin appears, bows, and disappears) rich, proud, majestic, with eyes for everything that may tend to make him more powerful, but superbly blind to virtue and worth in the humble.
Kwen-lin, his daughter (Kwen-lin appears, bows, and retires) is swayed by love alone; a dangerous practice usually, but in this story, one begging your approval. Do not judge her harshly, in that her heart leads her. Remember she is a woman. Much may be forgiven women. ”

“ Chang-sut-yen—I renounce my rule. I am a lover, not a ruler.
Fate—You are a turtle dove. (To Mandarin.) To your home, and set forth majestic feasting. Chang-sut-yen will honor your house. He rules.
Chang-sut-yen—I rule not. I am a lover.
Kwen-lin—Exalted one, a lover is a turtle dove.
Fate—It is sometimes given to women to know the truth. Thus Fate is fulfilled, and Chang-sut-yen, the turtle dove, will live upon a Willow plate. ”

“ A slave is singing. Kodama is seated on the dais, while Halima comes in slowly and gazes anxiously at him. It is the next day.
Halima—Thy brows are still lowered. In what have I offended thee, my husband?
Kodama—Amber pools where men may—what do men find in thine eyes? ”

“ Chorus—It is the Mandarin who walks this way.
Chang-sut-yen— (Singing.) Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy,—who comes? Alas, not Kwen-lin the fragrant, but my master. He will spit anger that I linger in the garden. I must summon my snake tongue to puzzle his cow-brain, lest he suspect I wait for her. I will divest myself of my honorable senses, and speak with an empty head. I will be gloriously fool possessed. (Singing.) Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy. ”

“ Our hero, Chang-sut-yen, (Chang-sut-yen appears between the curtains, bows to right, left and centre, then disappears behind the curtains) will come before you as a servant, but in reality he is none other than the son of Chang-won-yin, the Great, ruler of this province of Canton. (Gong-bearer strikes the gong.) The God of Fate decreed that he should be known as a turtle dove, and have his image forever emblazoned on the shining surface of a Willow plate. ”

“ The men must fight this out to a finish.
Mrs. Quinn—It's likely to be our finish, alright, alright.
Mrs. Martin— (Unconsciously imitating the delegate.) It's not only for ourselves, but for our children that the war must be waged.
Mrs. Quinn—Our children! Sure, it shouldn't be a bequeathment job, this trolley business.
Mrs. Martin—He says our children will be saved a fight for their rights, if we conquer now.
Mrs. Quinn—Whist darlin', our children will have their own notion of rights and fights by the time they grow up. They can blow on their own broth when it bubbles over. ”

“ Rodriguez—I have heard thee say Spain must look to the people for her salvation.
General—Spain must look to her soldiers. Infidels are in the realm. Help the King crush them out. Fight, fight and put love aside.
Rodriguez—I may fight, but I will not give up [32] Lagrimas. ”

“ Feliciana—Thou dost not manage him right. Bring his Castilian nose nearer the earth. There are wholesome smells he is missing.
Pedro— (Shocked.) Feliciana!
Feliciana—Pedro, I'm going to dance, I feel I'm going to dance. Throw thy veil away. Beauty should never be hidden.
(Pedro throws the veil over the wall.)
Pedro—Feliciana!
(Pedro and Feliciana exeunt laughing.)
Lagrimas— (Shyly.) The little fellow is hurt.
Rodriguez—He is faint. Let me get some wine.
Tarik— (Sobbing.) I will not drink wine. It is forbidden.... I want my mother.... She will make me well.... I want my mother. ”

“ General—As I would kill all infidels who fight against Spain and our holy religion.
Cafour—I do not fight against thy country, or thy God. I beg for the life of my boy. He is not dead. I know he is not dead. Perhaps he fell into a tree, and is only hurt. Send down the soldiers and see.
General— (To Cafour.) Go!
[37] Cafour—Send down the soldiers and see, Allah will put a blessing on thy house. He will give thy son his delight. He will make his children to rule over men.
General—Infidel! I care not for thy blessing. (To Pedro.) Take her. ”

“ They wear scimiters in their sashes, and are smoking very long cigarettes. They bow to one another, and walk to the two sides of the stage, where they remain until first curtain, then go behind. This is repeated before and after each part of the play.
Scene—A room in the home of Halima. Music and laughter are heard, and as the curtain is drawn, a slave girl is seen finishing a wild dance. As she sinks exhausted to the floor there are applause and sounds of approval, in which the merchant Kodama leads. He is seated beside his bride, Halima, on a dais. ”

“ Handsome men are dangerous to be adventuring through the land in these days. It were better to veil them all, than have maidens' hopes go smashing.
General—Who will succumb to Pedro?
Feliciana—There are women among the Moorish prisoners. Pedro will flaunt his tempting face before them every day. It were sinful if they should love a Christian, and die of hopeless affection.
Pedro— (Contemptuously.) Moriscoes!
Feliciana—In the city, Señora Jacinta is pining for him already, and Lagrimas, the bull-fighter's daughter, will singe her wings on the altar of his beauty.
General— (Aside.) Lagrimas! ”

“ She will come when I am there. My heart is strong, and I can wait for her.
Man—My heart was strong and passionate; it pulses no longer like a man's, but serves to beat out the unconsidered tickings of the ashen days. ”

“ Seems like a man might have peace in his own house. Here I am walkin' the streets all day, with me legs and head that tired I'm ready to drop, and when I get home at night, a clatter that would wake the dead, in me ears.
Mrs. Quinn—Yer blood may be Irish, John Quinn, but yer nerves are American.... I never saw such a changed man in me life. It's bad enough to have ye walk out on strike—
Quinn—Now see here, I didn't walk out on strike, and ye know it. I'd be workin' yet if the Union hadn't told us to lay off until we got our rights.
Mrs. Quinn—Ye'll rot before ye get yer rights, I'm thinkin'. ”

“ Halima—They say—thou lovest me not.
Kodama—As thou art a woman, and beautiful, I love thee ... no more ... no less. Thou art a woman. I have said it!
(Kodama puts Halima from him, and leaves [19] abruptly R. Halima for an instant puts out her hands pleadingly to Kodama's retreating back, and then with a hopeless little gesture drops her head on the cushions. One of the women picks up her lute, and sings a plaintive song. The young slave boy of Sindibad's appears L.)
Slave Boy—The young Sheykh Sindibad leaves for his father's tent in the desert, and would say farewell to his kinsman's lady. ”

“ Molly—There was a crowd of strikers there, and one of them threw a brick into the car, and it struck my arm at the elbow. Crushed it pretty badly, I guess.
Quinn—My Gawd!
Molly— (Misunderstanding his emotion.) I'm not going to live on you, father. I know you and mother are hard enough pushed as it is.
Mrs. Quinn—What's ours is yours now. Ye'll stay here with us.
Quinn— (Dazed.) I wonder can I get a job at Newton's? They needed men last week. ”

“ All the persons in the play are in blue and white costumes, to make the plate picture. The Gong-Bearer may be in royal yellow, and Chorus in emerald green.
The Curtain is drawn slightly open, and the Gong-bearer appears, strikes the gong three times very slowly and ten times rapidly, then walks to the right side of the stage, and stands there throughout the play. Chorus appears between the parted curtains, holds up his left hand while the Gong-bearer strikes once, then addresses the audience in a very suave manner. ”

“ Quinn—And mine's made up too, the strike must be won.
(Quinn goes to wail rack, and takes down hat and coat.)
What are ye doin' with yer coat?
Quinn—I'll go and have a talk with the boys. I've some power with them. Violence must stop. I'll try to make them listen to reason, and if they won't, I guess I'm good for a job at Newton's.
(As he leaves room he is heard muttering.) Violence must stop!
Molly—I never knew father so set against a fight. What's he want to work in a coal yard for?
Mrs. Quinn—Never fear, he won't work in a coal yard. ”

“ Miss Brown—They'll beat it to a free lunch counter soon.
(She gets the Boy to hold a skein of worsted, which she unwinds and rolls into a ball. During the conversation between Bart and King, Miss Brown and the Boy now and then glance at them with a show of irritation, Miss Brown because they [107] are not buying any of her wares, and also because she cannot hear enough of their talk to make sense of it.) ”

“ As artists we could not consider it. (Property Man with a slight shrug leaves stage.) The Property Man is not sufficiently large minded to accept our ripe and impartial opinion. He is superbly indifferent to the luminous fruit from his successful rival's quill, and will probably sulk through his duties. ”

“ Miss Brown— (To Boy.) Watch the Café, while I'm gone, and don't you give nobody nothin'.
(Exeunt Bart, King, Miss Brown, Officer and Policeman. Boy puts record on machine, and before starting it, says, "Gee, life's great!" then dances to the music, stopping when Selina and Gentleman, in evening attire, appear at the door.)
Gentleman—It's too bad the tire's punctured.
Selina— (Graciously.) I really don't mind it in the least.
Gentleman—Really?
Selina—Really.
Gentleman—A car's such a rotten nuisance. Always something wrong with it; much rather ride in a hack. ”