Categories
- Antiques & Collectibles 13
- Architecture 36
- Art 47
- Bibles 22
- Biography & Autobiography 813
- Body, Mind & Spirit 137
- Business & Economics 27
- Computers 4
- Cooking 94
- Crafts & Hobbies 3
- Drama 346
- Education 45
- Family & Relationships 57
- Fiction 11812
- Games 19
- Gardening 17
- Health & Fitness 34
- History 1377
- House & Home 1
- Humor 147
- Juvenile Fiction 1873
- Juvenile Nonfiction 202
- Language Arts & Disciplines 88
- Law 16
- Literary Collections 686
- Literary Criticism 179
- Mathematics 13
- Medical 41
- Music 39
- Nature 179
- Non-Classifiable 1768
- Performing Arts 7
- Periodicals 1453
- Philosophy 63
- Photography 2
- Poetry 896
- Political Science 203
- Psychology 42
- Reference 154
- Religion 498
- Science 126
- Self-Help 79
- Social Science 80
- Sports & Recreation 34
- Study Aids 3
- Technology & Engineering 59
- Transportation 23
- Travel 463
- True Crime 29
The Scarlet Stigma A Drama in Four Acts
Download options:
-
139.84 KB -
389.96 KB
Description:
Excerpt
Act I.
Scene I.
—A tavern and a street in front of it. Settles on porch. Sailors smoking and drinking. Enter Captain Butts, singing.Butts.The Margery D. was a trim little ship,The men they could man, and the skipper could skip;
She sailed from her haven one fine summer day,
And she foundered at sea in the following way,—
To-wit:
All.A-rinkety, clinkety, clink, clank, clank,
The liquor they bathed in, the spirits they drank;
A sailor at sea with three sheets in the wind
Can hardly be called, sirs, quite sober.
Enter Mother Carey, from Tavern.
Carey. Cap'n! Cap'n Butts! Gen'le gen'lemen! would ye rune a pore widdy woman by a singing of sech filthy tunes? And me up for my license again nex' Tuesday!
Butts. Peace! Peace, Mother Carey, hear your chickens screech! Come, boys!
[Singing.
The captain was thirsty, and so was each man,They ladled the grog out by cup and by can,
The night it was stormy, they knew not the place,
And they sang as they sank the following grace,—
To-wit:
All.A-sinkety, sinkety, sink, sank, sunk,
Our captain is tipsy, our mate is quite drunk,
Our widows we leave to the world's tender care
And we don't give a damn for the Devil!
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Carey. O, Lord! O, Lord! If the magistrates should hear that song, they'd close my place!
Butts. There, there now. [Chucks her under the chin.] The magistrates are not as quick to hear a sailor sing as thou art to take his orders. Bring us a pint apiece.
Carey. Thou naughty man! [Slaps his jaws.] A pint apiece?
[Exit.
Butts. Aye. Now, lads, bargain out your time; ye'll not see a petticoat for many a day.
[Lights pipe and sits.
Sailors. Aye, aye, sir.
Citizens cross stage, singly and in groups, all going in the same direction. Enter Mother Carey from house with ale, serves it, looks up and down street as in expectation of some one, then goes in.
Butts. Mother Carey's lost one of her chicks. Here lads! here's to the mousey Puritan lassies! They won't dance, they can't sing—Ah! well! here's to them till we come again!
[All drink.
Enter along the street two Councilors.
Arnold. 'Tis very true; but, sir, though many break this law and go unpunished, our godly Company should not wink at known adultery.
Langdon. In other words, we must find scape-goats to bear our sins.
Arnold. Nay, not exactly that. We vindicate God's laws, and——
[Exeunt Councilors.
Butts. He must be Privy Councilor to the Lord Himself!
Enter a group of WOMEN.
First Woman. Her beauty, say'st thou? Pretty is as pretty does, say I. I'd beauty her! Go to! Who knows the father of her brat; can any tell?
Second Woman. Thou dost not doubt thy goodman?
First Woman. Trust none of them. I know mine own; dost thou know thine? As for her she hath shamed our sex, and I would—
[Exeunt Women.
Butts. God's-my-life, there's more poison in their tongues than in a nest of rattlesnakes? What's all this pother, lads?
Sailor. There's a trial, sir, on a charge of bastardy.
Butts. Ha! ha! ha! You rogues had better ship elsewhere; if the wind sits in that quarter, you'll find foul weather here....
