Suitors

“ Sees Suitors and speaks.)
King.—
Ah! gentlemen! Good morning—hope you’re well.
Suitors.—
Yes!—thank your Highness!
King.—
That is good—now tell
Your business here.
Suitors.—
Yes—thank your High—
King.—
(Interrupting.) —Proceed!
You come as suitors,
Suitors.—
Yes, my liege!
King.—
Indeed!
(Aside.) Our daughter seems to be in great demand;
I wonder if they only want her hand.
That’s all that they can get—for I’m so poor
I don’t know where to find my lunch. I’m sure
The man that marries her must furnish gold,
And do it now—at once—they must be told.
(Turning to Suitors. Aloud.) ”

“ The suitors are supposed to have performed some actions which have gained them renown and entitled them to a wife. The [486] suitors are accepted or rejected by a person having authority, and this authority introduces an interesting and suggestive feature. The suitors are invited to stay or lodge in the house if accepted, probably meaning admission into the family. The girl is to “wake up,” and not sleep, that is, to rouse up, be merry, dress in bridal array, and prepare for the coming festival. ”

“ Suitors.—
Prepare for flight!
Sassy.—
You haven’t time!—here—with these feminine aids,
We’ll dress you up, and turn you into maids.
(Maids all take off cloaks and bonnets and dress up Suitors to look like girls.)
Quick!—all sit down and very quiet keep,
They’re coming—we must all be fast asleep.
(All sit and feign to sleep. Enter Chemists, Prof., King, and Cara., Chemists singing.) No. 6. ”

“ There is a desire shown to possess the girl for her beauty; and that a choice of a suitor could or would be made is shown by the remarks that she is too young and does not know the language and customs of this suitor.
The mention of the spurs conveys the suggestion that the suitors or ambassadors are men of quality and renown. To win their spurs was an object greatly desired by all young men. ”

“ Cara.—
So they appear.
I’m bored to death by suitors,—go away.
King.—
Just listen first to what they have to say,
They surely are entitled to be heard,
(Aside.) Besides, they’ve paid out money for a word.
Cara.—
Indeed. Well, let them talk, I’m all suspense;
Proceed, kind gentlemen, but utter sense.
(SUITORS all come down meekly and sing.) No. 6.
(Music.)
Suitors.—
Oh! Princess, we can talk and warble
In a most agreeable way, [11]
At tennis we are very prominent,
And also great at croquet. ”

“ Hire various suitors to keep at you. Threaten to leave and begin to pack up. Show letters calling you away with great promises; take yourself off somewhere, that absence may sharpen their desire for you. ”

“ Suitors.—
{ Again, boys. Put in, boys,
Cara. & K.—
{ Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Suitors.—
{ And show her how we fling.
Cara. & K.—
{ How perfectly absurd.
Suitors.—
{ To right—to left—in front—
Cara. & K.—
{ How perfectly absurd.
Suitors.—
{ Behind—below—oh—oh—oh—oh—
Cara. & K.—
{ How perfectly absurd.
(All dance furiously, Cara. and King laughing. At end of music Suitors all get down on knees and wait.)
Cara. (sarcastically) .—
And is this all? Quite finished? Surely done?
Not overlooked a single charm—not one?
You all excel in something—so you say ”

“ Besides, he has equal trouble and solicitude from small as from great matters. For every little favour which he has to bestow, he has numerous little suitors, as well as several great ones, who become suitors for the small, and think their reputation concerned not to be denied. ”

“ But Medon and the divine bard came near them from the palace of Ulysses, when sleep had left them. And they stood in the middle; and astonishment seized each man. And Medon, knowing prudent things, addressed them:
"Hear me now, Ithacans; for Ulysses did not devise these deeds without the will of the gods; I myself saw an immortal god, who stood near Ulysses, and he was in every thing like unto Mentor. But the immortal god at one time appeared before Ulysses, encouraging him, and at another inciting the suitors, made them rush in flight through the palace; and they fell near to one another." ”

“ When a smiling suitor comes, let them not reject his offer.’ See how well that answers! The suitor has come, and you have rejected his offer, and none will come again.”
“Dear mother, heed not what the planet says! my heart whispers me that I ought to love and honour the man whom I wed; and if I find no such man, or am sought by none, then let me remain single. I can maintain myself by my own hands. I will learn to be both content and happy; and nurse you in your old age, as a good daughter ought. ”

“ Courtship, love, presents, jointures, settlements, have no place in their thoughts; or terms whereby to express them in their language. The young couple meet, and are joined, merely because it is the determination of their parents and friends; it is what they see done every day, and they look upon it as one of the necessary actions of a reasonable being. ”

“ There is a circumstance in the history of courtship familiar to the experience of many women, that while the suitor is pleading his cause, his language may touch every fibre in the heart of his listener, yet substitute, as it were, another presence for his own. ”

“ Whoever undertakes a long journey, if he be wise, makes it his business to find out an agreeable companion. How cautious then should he be, who is to take a journey for life, whose fellow-traveller must not part with him but at the grave; his companion at bed and board, and sharer of all the pleasures and fatigues of his journey; as the wife must be to the husband! ”

“ My sister, indeed, is all I can wish in a companion; but our spirits are alike poorly, our reading and knowledge from the self-same sources, our communication with the scenes of the world alike narrow: never having kept separate company, or any "company" "together"—never having read separate books, and few books together—what knowledge have we to convey to each other? ”

“ My companion will be of the same nature as myself, and will be content with the same fare. We shall make our bed of dried leaves; the sun will shine on us as on man, and will ripen our food. The picture I present to you is peaceful and human, and you must feel that you could deny it only in the wantonness of power and cruelty. ”

“ Two young men were travelling this road, bound by that early friendship which is one of the strongest of human ties; the one going down to marry the sister of his friend,—the other to witness his happiness. ”

“ With how tender a gradation the first passion of delight in possession had softened into friendship, and the calm love of happily wedded people, and the delicious intimate camaraderie which springs of the unbroken companionship of board and bed, and the sharing of every little confidence of life! ”

“ Then I found I was to be the friend and companion of man—Man the image of Divinity!—Where, then, are the boundaries placed that are to restrain my thought?—To be the companion, I must be equal—To be the friend, I must have comprehension and judgment: must be able to assist, or willing to be taught. ”

“ There is something surpassingly beautiful—something, indeed, holy—in the ties that bind kindred and friends together on earth. Every one recognizes the beauty and sacredness of these ties. The links in that chain of love formed by the members of a happy family, how golden and precious! ”

“ The set of fellows with whom you cast your lot may make or mar you. College ties are strong. The boys with whom you eat and sleep, those with whom you solve the difficult problems and pick out the tangles in Greek and Latin, with whom you stroll of an evening to the falls or a Wednesday afternoon to the shore, to whom you tell your future plans, your love affairs, and your religious doubts, whose sympathies mingle with yours “like the interlacing of green, summer foliage,” those fellows are going to mould your ideals and determine your character. ”

“ That when any gentleman was initiated he must bring with him and present to the society some female relative, either a sister or cousin, mistress, or some beautiful female friend, so that in enjoying the relatives of other members he could have no advantage over them or their honour.
The young lady who had made herself my partner, I learned, was Mademoiselle de C-, daughter of Count C-, and sister to one of the gentlemen present. ”

“ Thus these companions in early studies—each afterwards foremost in important duties, pursuing divergent paths, yet always drawn towards each other by the attractions of mutual friendship—again meet and lie down together in the same sweet earth, in the shadow of kindred trees, through which the same birds sing a perpetual requiem. ”

“ I canvassed the notion with all the skill and fairness I could summon, starting the various objections against it, and answering them with what seemed to myself a most judicial impartiality.
“Who does a man usually entertain,” said I, “but his intimate friends?” Those whose agreeability is pleasing to him, or whose acquaintance is valuable from their station and influence. Now, with whom had I such an unrestrained and cordial intercourse as myself? Whose society never wearied, whose companionship always interested me? ”

“ The two young gentlemen, their attendants, have the air of taking life more seriously than the girls, but regard with respectful interest the mounting vivacity of their companions, which rises and sparkles like the bubbles in the slender glasses which they raise to their lips with the dainty grace of practice. ”

“ But Lor, what a child you were! What a companion you were!’
‘Companion? That’s just what I want to be to-day, Pa.’
‘You are safe to succeed, my love. Your brothers and sisters have all in their turns been companions to me, to a certain extent, but only to a certain extent. Your mother has, throughout life, been a companion that any man might—might look up to—and—and commit the sayings of, to memory—and—form himself upon—if he—’
‘If he liked the model?’ suggested Bella. ”

“ Few are the hearts whose happy lot it is at once to recognize in each other’s voices the partner intended for them by Providence, and to fly into a reciprocal and perfectly harmonious embrace. With most of us the courtship is of long duration. ”

“ Instead of having a companion to cheer him on the way—a friend to console him in his disappointments, and to assist him in his difficulties, he will be unceasingly mortified with tears and reproaches. ”

“ Your companion smiles at your simplicity, and wonders whether you have ever seen his sister when she is dressed for a ball. These are the families who cannot be separated without corresponding with each other every day. ”

“ She gets to know her husband’s every word, every mood, every gesture by heart. To call his presence companionship, or the boon that comes with friendship, would be to cast a slur on all companionship and friendship for ever. ”

“ Thy happy recollection of thy companion must be a support to thee. Thou must work on in our plans, for the sake of the good cause keep up the work until thou also at last shalt reach the end of the brief journey of life. ”

“ Which we were not. Now attend! All that familiarity may be understood in a guardian and ward, who are, besides, known to be betrothed to each other, and who keep their tacit promise to society by marriage. ”

“ The fact is unalterable, that a fellow-mortal with whose nature you are acquainted solely through the brief entrances and exits of a few imaginative weeks called courtship, may, when seen in the continuity of married companionship, be disclosed as something better or worse than what you have preconceived, but will certainly not appear altogether the same. ”

“ A companion who would amuse and occupy the young lady was so good an extinguisher to the flame of her dilemma that she threw a perfect flood of cordiality into her answer, and begged the coming guest to consider herself bound for six weeks at the very least. ”

“ His companions asked him, "What are you thinking about?" And he said, "I am thinking about this—When people put on new clothes, where do the old ones go to?" And his companions said, "These words are true." ”

“ Here were nearly a hundred young men who had lived together intimately during four of the most impressionable years of life, and who, not only once but again and again, in different ways, deliberately, seriously, dispassionately, chose as their representatives precisely those of their companions who seemed least to represent them. ”

“ May you long enjoy every satisfaction and delight which disinterested friendship can afford. May kindness and brotherly affection distinguish your conduct, as men and as Masons. Within your peaceful walls may your children's children celebrate with joy and gratitude the transactions of this auspicious solemnity. ”

“ It scarcely looks hospitable to leave your friend at an hotel, when you know we have plenty of room and welcome.' 'He wishes to speak to you on a very important subject, and, as much will depend on your answer, he and I thought it best he should for the present put up at The Falcon.' 'Is he any relative of the lady you propose making your wife?' 'No, mother. He has no relatives alive. ”

“ Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful if there are no penitentiary birds among them. Not that I’ve many—none nearer than second cousins. ”

“ I was almost disposed on hearing this to protest that if the girl had so little proper feeling her noble suitor had perhaps served her right; but after a while my curiosity as to just how her noble suitor had served her got the better of that emotion, and I asked a question or two which led my companion again to apply to him the invidious epithet I have already quoted. ”