"Lexington": A Pageant-Drama of the American Freedom
Part 1
SECOND PRESENTATION _of the_ HISTORICAL PAGEANT DRAMA “_Lexington_” COMMEMORATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY _of the_ BATTLE OF LEXINGTON
ENACTED EVERY TEN YEARS _by the_ CITIZENS OF LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS
_AMPHITHEATRE_ EVERY EVENING, WEEK OF JUNE 15TH 1925
Copyright, 1924 The Lexington Historical Society All rights reserved
Printed in U. S. A.
_The production staged and under the personal direction of_
SAMUEL J. HUME
_Special Nights_
JUNE 15--PRESIDENT’S NIGHT In Honor of the President of the United States.
JUNE 16--GOVERNORS’ NIGHT In Honor of the Governors of the Thirteen Original States.
JUNE 17--BUNKER HILL NIGHT In Memory of the Patriots who fought at Bunker Hill.
JUNE 18--COLLEGE NIGHT In Honor of the visiting Alumni of the New England Colleges.
JUNE 19--HISTORICAL NIGHT In Honor of the Historical Societies of America.
JUNE 20--MILITARY NIGHT In Memory of the sons of Lexington who have fallen in the service of their country.
1775 “_Pageant of Lexington_” 1925 INC.
EDWARD C. STONE, _President_ WALDO F. GLIDDEN, _Vice-President_ EDWARD W. KIMBALL, _Vice-President_ EDWIN B. WORTHEN, _Treasurer_ DANIEL B. LEWIS, _Auditor_
FLETCHER W. TAFT _Director of Publicity_
WILLARD D. BROWN _Chairman of Construction_
SHELDON A. ROBINSON _Chairman, Grounds Committee_
DAVID HENNESSY _Superintendent Amphitheatre_
“_Lexington_”
_Citizens’ Committee of One Hundred_
EDWIN B. WORTHEN, _Chairman_ HARRY M. ALDRICH WILLIAM H. BALLARD S. LEWIS BARBOUR DR. WILLIAM L. BARNES EDWIN A. BAYLEY HALLIE C. BLAKE ARTHUR L. BLODGETT GEORGE E. BRIGGS FRED K. BROWN LEROY S. BROWN WILLARD D. BROWN ALBERT H. BURNHAM JOHN CALDER LYON CARTER WILLIAM E. CHAMBERLAIN CALVIN W. CHILDS EDMUND S. CHILDS ROBERT P. CLAPP JOSEPH H. CODY THEODORE A. CUSTANCE FRANCIS S. DANE CHARLES B. DAVIS FREDERICK L. EMERY RICHARD ENGSTROM ROBERT J. FAWCETT HARRY F. FAY ROBERT W. FERNALD EDWIN F. FOBES FREDERICK R. GALLOUPE GEORGE H. GIBSON GEORGE L. GILMORE WALDO F. GLIDDEN C. EDWARD GLYNN WM. ROGER GREELEY CHARLES ELLIOTT HADLEY GEORGE D. HARRINGTON ALTON H. HATHAWAY J. WILLARD HAYDEN, JR. DAVID HENNESSY WILLARD C. HILL CHARLES E. HOLT ROBERT H. HOLT RANDALL B. HOUGHTON WILLIAM HUNT J. CHESTER HUTCHINSON EDWARD W. KIMBALL HAROLD B. LAMONT DANIEL B. LEWIS HARRY W. LITCHFIELD ARTHUR N. MADDISON EDWARD H. MARA HUGH D. MCLELLAN EDWARD P. MERRIAM CHARLES H. MILES FRED W. MILLER FRED H. MOULTON JOHN E. A. MULLIKEN HERMANN DUDLEY MURPHY GEORGE W. NORTON CHARLES P. NUNN TIMOTHY H. O’CONNOR ALFRED PIERCE FRANK D. PIERCE DR. FRED S. PIPER ELWYN G. PRESTON WILLIAM W. REED WALTER W. ROWSE ROBERT L. RYDER EDWARD H. SARGENT EDWARD D. SAWYER O. GILBERT SEELEY JULIUS SELTZER CLARENCE SHANNON FRANK R. SHEPARD WILLIAM H. SHURTLEFF FRANKLIN P. SIMONDS CLARENCE E. SPRAGUE LESTER E. SMITH JAMES STUART SMITH JAMES W. SMITH WILLIAM L. SMITH EDWIN C. STEVENS EDWARD C. STONE ALBERT B. TENNEY ROCKWELL C. TENNEY DR. J. ODIN TILTON JOHN F. TURNER DR. WINSOR M. TYLER DR. HENRY C. VALENTINE HENRY L. WADSWORTH JAMES J. WALSH HOLLIS WEBSTER HERBERT L. WELLINGTON HARRY A. WHEELER HARVEY C. WHEELER HARVEY F. WINLOCK EDWARD WOOD FREDERICK O. WOODRUFF SYDNEY R. WRIGHTINGTON
_Executive Committee_
ROBERT P. CLAPP, _Chairman_ J. WILLARD HAYDEN, JR., _Executive Director_
HALLIE C. BLAKE GEORGE E. BRIGGS EDWARD P. MERRIAM CHARLES W. RYDER SYDNEY R. WRIGHTINGTON
_Finance Committee_
EDWARD P. MERRIAM, _Chairman_
LYON CARTER RICHARD ENGSTROM GEORGE L. GILMORE ALTON H. HATHAWAY J. CHESTER HUTCHINSON H. B. LAMONT ARTHUR N. MADDISON FRED H. MOULTON ELWYN G. PRESTON F. R. SHEPARD JAMES STUART SMITH
_Advisory Committee_
HALLIE C. BLAKE, _Chairman_
THEODORE A. CUSTANCE FREDERICK L. EMERY W. ROGER GREELEY WILLARD C. HILL ROBERT H. HOLT CHARLES H. MILES EDWARD H. SARGENT WILLIAM L. SMITH EDWIN C. STEVENS HARRY A. WHEELER
_Committee on Book_
JAMES P. MUNROE, _Chairman_
MISS MAUD E. ADLINGTON MISS MARIAN P. KIRKLAND DR. FRED S. PIPER HOLLIS WEBSTER
_Committee on Production_
WALDO F. GLIDDEN, _Chairman_
AMERICAN LEGION--STANLEY HILL POST NO. 38 Eugene J. Viano Charles M. Blake
AMERICAN LEGION--AUXILIARY NO. 38 Mrs. Clayton G. Locke Miss Lillian Viano
BOARD OF TRADE C. E. Hadley W. E. Mulliken
BUCKMAN TAVERN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Mrs. S. Randolph Kelley Mrs. E. W. Kimball
CATHOLIC CLUB (Ladies’) Mrs. Nancy M. Sealey Miss Julia O’Leary
CATHOLIC CLUB (Men’s) Geo. H. Gibson John J. Garrity
CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS OF AMERICA Mrs. Helen R. Fitzgerald Mrs. Mary F. Buckley
DAUGHTERS OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION--LEXINGTON CHAPTER Miss Amy E. Taylor Mrs. Edward L. Child Mrs. Alice Fay Stickel
EAST LEXINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION Edgar Harrod Albert Ross
FIRST PARISH MEN’S CLUB (Unitarian) Louis L. Crone Ralph H. Elvedt
FOLLEN CHURCH MEN’S CLUB--EAST LEXINGTON Jos. W. Cotton James M. Nickerson
GIRL SCOUTS DRUM CORPS Miss Hazel Whiting Mrs. Dorothy G. Hall
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC--GEO. G. MEADE POST NO. 119 John N. Morse Everett S. Locke
HANCOCK CHURCH MEN’S CLUB Henry L. Wadsworth William H. Shurtleff
HANCOCK SCHOOL Miss Harriet S. French Miss Margaret Noyes
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS--LEXINGTON COUNCIL NO. 94 James J. McKearney John J. McCormack
LAFAYETTE CLUB Miss Mary Manley Miss Anne Moakley
LEND-A-HAND (Senior) Mrs. A. B. Tenney Mrs. Clarence E. Sprague
LEXINGTON BOY SCOUTS Philip E. Perry Peter Robertson
LEXINGTON COUNCIL OF GIRL SCOUTS Mrs. Everett S. Emery Mrs. J. Chester Hutchinson
LEXINGTON DRUM CORPS Chester Doe Dana Greeley
LEXINGTON GOLF CLUB Edmund S. Childs Robert Whitney
LEXINGTON GRANGE NO. 233 Lawrence G. Mitchell Matthew Stevenson
LEXINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY Mrs. William Hunt Mrs. Hermann Dudley Murphy
LEXINGTON HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION Mrs. Walter C. Ballard Miss Grace P. French
LEXINGTON MINUTE MEN Ezra F. Breed Bion C. Merry
LEXINGTON PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION Miss Ellen Tower S. Lewis Barbour
LEXINGTON TEACHERS’ CLUB Miss Anne L. Forsyth Miss Bertha V. Hayward
LIBERTY HEIGHTS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION G. W. Nary James Guthrie
LIEUT. COL. JOHN W. HUDSON AUXILIARY NO. 11 Mrs. E. Esther Burnham Miss Ethel L. Burk
MEN’S CLUB--CHURCH OF OUR REDEEMER J. Fox Capt. Wm. Young
OLD BELFRY CLUB Jasper A. Lane Mrs. Harold B. Lamont
ORDER OF EASTERN STAR Mrs. Guyetta G. Broderic Mrs. Helen H. Smith
OUTLOOK CLUB Miss Marguerite Nichols Miss Clara Wadleigh
PARKER SCHOOL Miss Sadie I. Burgess Miss Ruth Morrison
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT--LEXINGTON Miss Mary C. Lusk Miss Anne L. Forsyth
SIMON W. ROBINSON LODGE, A. F. & A. M. George E. Smith Robert M. Stone
SONS OF VETERANS--LIEUT. COL. JOHN W. HUDSON CAMP NO. 105 Geo. E. Foster Alfred Haynes
UNITY LEND-A-HAND Mrs. Lyon Carter Mrs. Robert W. Fernald
UNITARIAN LAYMEN’S LEAGUE Arthur B. Howe Robert S. Sturtevant
WOMEN’S RELIEF CORPS NO. 97 Mrs. Edward L. Child Mrs. Robert W. Britton
“_Lexington_”
A PAGEANT DRAMA _of the_ AMERICAN FREEDOM
_Founded upon Great Sayings To be Acted in Dumb Show_
COMPILED AND, IN PART, WRITTEN BY SIDNEY HOWARD
_For the Celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington April 19th, 1775_
_Stage Manager_ WALDO F. GLIDDEN
_Musical Director_ CHARLES REPPER
_Director of Chorus_ CLARENCE E. BRIGGS
_To My Wife_
“_The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here_--”
A. LINCOLN
_Foreword_
The aim of this play is to represent the impulse and the progress of civil liberty in this country since the commencement of the War for Independence. The intention is never literal. In spite of a certain actuality in the presentation of the incidents of “The Glorious Morning” at Lexington, the play must always be considered and produced as an abstraction of the events with which it is concerned.
The events themselves are marked by the great sayings of our prophets of liberty and of sundry other minds of genius, all quite arbitrarily selected. Great sayings, through their immense significance to the popular imagination, become symbols of the periods which occasioned them. Great activities may, in the same sense, be looked upon as abstractions of the periods and movements which required them and made them possible.
The great activities of the story of American civil liberty are here treated in a kind of processional dumb show which amplifies the quotations placed in the mouths of the two Spokesmen, the Choir of speakers and the characters in the play. When the dumb show is not executed in procession, it devolves upon groups which act collectively as a single individual and, on certain occasions, speak in unison.
Comment upon the action is supplied by a few lines which have been written for the roles of the Chronicler and Freedom and for the Chorus of singers.
The play demands an almost continual musical accompaniment. This should be composed upon the foundation of period songs, particularly those which are indicated in the text. Also, the various speeches of the Spokesmen will be enhanced if the composer musically emphasizes their rhythms with some sort of accompaniment. In the opinion of the author, the score will be most effectively scored for brass and wind instruments. The chorus must be a male chorus. The play will suffer, always, for the introduction of any woman’s voice except as indicated in the text.
The action is continuous; its changes of locale and atmosphere being indicated only by shifting emphases in the lighting.
The acting presents no difficulty beyond that of securing actors with good voices who have troubled to learn how to speak the English language.
_Characters in the Play_
THE CHRONICLER. THE TWO SPOKESMEN. FREEDOM.
PARSON CLARK OF LEXINGTON. CAPTAIN JOHN PARKER OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY. SERGEANT MUNROE OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY. WILLIAM DIAMOND OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY (drummer). JONATHAN HARRINGTON OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY (fifer). MAJOR PITCAIRN. TWO BRITISH LIEUTENANTS. JOHN MUNROE OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY. EBENEZER MUNROE OF THE LEXINGTON COMPANY.
GEORGE WASHINGTON. EDMUND PENDLETON. PATRICK HENRY. THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
GENERAL HOWE. MAJOR ANDRE.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
JOHN BROWN. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. GENERAL GRANT. GENERAL LEE.
_Groups in the Play_
THE CITIZENS OF LEXINGTON. (Men, women and children.) THE LEXINGTON COMPANY. (Men.) TWO REGIMENTS OF BRITISH INFANTRY. (Men.) THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. (Men.) THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. (Men, women and children.) THE CITIZENS OF PHILADELPHIA. (Men and women.) THE PIONEERS. (Men, women and children.) THE SLAVES. (Men.) THE EXECUTIONERS OF JOHN BROWN. (Men.) THE ARMY OF THE UNION. (Men.) THE ARMY OF THE CONFEDERACY. (Men.) THE RAILROAD BUILDERS. (Men.) THE STEEL WORKERS. (Men.) THE COAL MINERS. (Men.) THE FARMERS. (Men.) THE BUILDERS. (Men.) THE FACTORY HANDS. (Women and children.) THE MEEK MEN. (Men.) WEALTH. (Men.) LABOR. (Men.) GOVERNMENT. (Men.) UNREST. (Men.) THE PAST. (Men.)
A CHOIR OF SPEAKERS. A CHORUS OF SINGERS. BUGLERS AND DRUMMERS.
“_Lexington_”
_Think of the place in which the play is to be produced, just as it has been adapted from the natural forest. Think of the curving sleeve of water which lies along the lowermost edge of the scene, of the rising slopes and levels which surmount one another so spaciously, of the trees which close in back and sides._
_Then, into the face of the slope immediately above the water’s edge and directly in the center, set a simple low throne and put a conventional lectern before it. Flank this with two lower seats, even more simple. Build this whole group as gracefully and as lightly as the best taste of the best Georgian period dictates and paint it the purest white._
_This done, go to the extreme limits of the front of the scene and, just at the edge of the trees, erect two pedestals. These, in height, must a little more than top a man’s stature. In style and decoration they are as chaste as the central group. Probably they are finished with an exquisite cornice and adorned with garlands in low relief, just brushed with gold. Upon each one of them set a solid, simple throne, quite like the one you have already put in the center._
_The Chronicler sits on the central throne. He is already in his place when the doors of the auditorium are opened to admit the first spectator. So are the two Drummers who occupy the low seats on either side of him. So are the two Spokesmen who sit atop the two pedestals._
_For the Chronicler’s role an actor of fine Anglo-Saxon type must be engaged, one able to speak English with beautiful and natural precision. The same is true of the roles of the two Spokesmen._
_The Chronicler wears buff breeches, a white shirt and a blue coat which hangs nobly from his shoulders and spreads over the arms of his seat. His hair, of a natural brown, is pulled back from his brow and tied with a black velvet ribbon. The lectern before him supports a great book. At the commencement of the play he opens this book and, at the end, he closes it. From time to time, during the action, he writes in it, using a large and snowy-white quill pen._
_The Drummers who sit on either side of him are dressed in scarlet and as alike as two peas, in costume, make up and cut of hair. Neither one of them has ever any occasion to speak. Each one of them must devote his attention wholly to playing upon a great kettledrum which will be provided for this purpose. The two drums are tuned a diminished third apart._
_The two Spokesmen will wear the scarlet robes and white wigs of British justices. They never move during the entire play._
_All of these five persons, it must be repeated, will be in their places when the auditorium opens. None of them can be allowed to move until the auditorium has emptied. They must think of themselves as parts of the fixed scene._
_Behind them, the slope flattens slightly and this area will, hereinafter, be described as the “Forestage.” Behind that, again, comes a second, slighter rise and that is succeeded by a much more considerable level place. This second level will hereinafter be spoken of as the “Stage.”_
_The stage is set to represent the Common of Lexington in the year 1775. The road from Cambridge and Boston enters at the back center and divides, passing the Meeting House on either side. The Meeting House is erected, full size, just at the back of the stage and directly in the center, thus masking this road. A little down on the right (in these stage directions right and left refer to the hands of the audience) stands the Old Belfry. Further over to the right, half buried in the trees, are the old horse sheds. Further down stage on the right stands the Marrett-Munroe House, also half buried in foliage, and the Concord Road leaves the Common as far down stage on the right as the planting permits. On the left, just a little below the position occupied on the right by the horse sheds, stands the Buckman Tavern. Then, all the way down stage left stands the Parsonage of the Rev. Jonas Clark. This should be set a little apart from the Common to suggest its remoteness. A road leads past this in the direction of Bedford._
_These entrances will hereinafter be referred to as the Boston, Concord and Bedford Roads respectively. Other village paths may be supposed to lead on to the Common at any convenient points._
_When the first member of the audience enters, it is twilight. He finds the life of the village going on with full realism of detail except that it is in no wise audible. He is looking at a soundless vision of the eighteenth day of April, one hundred and fifty years ago. Villagers are chatting about the doorway of the Buckman Tavern. They come in and go out. They wear long coats and smoke long pipes and drink long drinks. Some of them discuss a newspaper excitedly. What they are saying cannot be heard, for they play entirely in dumb show. A century and a half is too great a time to be bridged easily by sound._
_Silent as the rest a boy guards a flock of a few sheep in the center of the Common. Young girls, going about pleasure or business and quite free from any preoccupation with the serious matters which engross the tavern’s patrons, stop to chat with him._
_Presently a young farmer drives his cows in from pasture. Presently other farmers return from the fields, carrying the crude agricultural implements of their day. Presently another farmer drives his emptied truck wagon home from market._
_Presently a traveler on a jaded mare comes up the Boston Road and halts by the Buckman Tavern. The citizens gather about him greedily. Greedy, it would seem, for news. And he gives them news before he has finished his ale and ridden on down the Bedford Road._
_As the play’s commencement draws near, an old man comes out of the Meeting House. The children, playing about the Belfry, run into him and he admonishes them. Then he rings the bell. At first one cannot be quite sure of the bell. Then the spell becomes stronger and it does clang dimly through._
_Part One_
“_The Glorious Morning_”
[_The Chronicler opens his book and begins to write._
_In the far distance, a bugler blows “Assembly.”_
_For the first time, the Chronicler lifts his head and looks at the audience._
_Just a little nearer than the bugle some horns play “Yankee Doodle.”_
_In the darkling tavern faint voices of men take up the chorus._
_A very little light shines upon the Chronicler’s figure. He rises and lifts his right hand._
_The Drummers play a long roll._
_Then the Chronicler speaks._]
THE CHRONICLER
(_Directly into the audience._)
In the Book of American Freedom it has been written that the Town of Lexington, in the County of Middlesex, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, shall be designated as “The Birthplace of American Liberty.” This, says the book, is a fitting designation because the events which had their scene in Lexington on the glorious morning of the nineteenth of April one hundred and fifty years ago this year did forever mark and set aside the town to be a symbol of liberty to all free nations and all free peoples.
[_The Drummers play another roll on their drums and the Chronicler sits._
_Off stage, to a noble tune which gradually increases in volume, the Chorus sings two verses from Drayton’s “To the Virginian Voyage.”_]
THE CHORUS
You brave, heroic minds, Worthy your country’s name, That honor still pursue; Go and subdue! Whilst loitering hinds Lurk here at home with shame.
And in regions far, Such heroes bring ye forth As those from whom we came; And plant our name Under that star Not known unto our north.
[_As the singing diminishes, the light grows upon the thrones of the two Spokesmen and they begin. They speak eagerly, almost in a monotone, following no rhythm but the inevitable throb of Carlyle’s prose. The bell, too, follows this throb, sounding ever louder and more insistently through their words._]
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
The world is all so changed; so much that seemed vigorous has sunk decrepit, so much that was not is beginning to be!
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
(_Swinging antiphonally into tone and tempo._)
Borne over the Atlantic what sounds are these; muffled-ominous, new in our centuries?
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
Boston Harbor is black with unexpected Tea!
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
Behold a Pennsylvanian Congress gather!
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
And ere long, on Bunker Hill....
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
DEMOCRACY....
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
Announcing in rifle-volleys, death winged....
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
Under her Star Banner....
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
To the tune of Yankee-Doodle-Doo....
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
That she is _born_....
THE FIRST SPOKESMAN
And whirlwind-like....
THE SECOND SPOKESMAN
Will envelope the whole world!
[_The drums roll out. The lights die down on the Spokesmen. In the meanwhile, answering the summons of the bell ringer, the people of Lexington have come out of street and tavern in the twilight and gathered about the Meeting House steps._
_Jonas Clark has gone to them to stand upon the steps facing them. He is now in his forty-fifth year, a vigorous, lean, eager man with a spirit of gripping and convincing sincerity._
_At the conclusion of the words of the Spokesmen, all of the villagers are gathered together about their pastor, save one girl. She is distinguished from her sisters of the village, less by her dress (which is commonplace enough) than by a strange and wild loveliness and by a deep absorption in her own thoughts. She is tall and very beautiful and a prophetic intensity possesses her._
_Led by their pastor, the people about the Meeting House lift their voices in the fifty-ninth Psalm._]
PARSON CLARK
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: set me on high from those that rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from the blood-thirsty men.
THE PEOPLE
For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul; the mighty gather themselves together against me: not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord; they run and prepare themselves without my fault.
PARSON CLARK
For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride, and for cursing and lying which they speak.
THE PEOPLE
Yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my high tower, and a refuge in the day of my distress.
PARSON CLARK
Unto thee, O my Strength, will I sing praises, for God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.
[_Then the people fall silent and do not move. But the great words that they have spoken together have very deeply stirred this single girl who has stood apart and listened. With the last word of the Psalm, she seems of a sudden to grow taller. A smile like light itself spreads over her face. Light seems to grow out of her. She lifts her two arms in a wild abandonment to exaltation and cries out._]
THE GIRL
Ah!
[_The Chronicler looks up in amazement at this sudden shout._
_The girl takes a few tense steps down toward him and the light about her grows ever in whiteness._]
THE GIRL
Write more, write more, you Chronicler! Write how the roots Stir in the ground! Write how the sap Stirs in the trees! Write how the thaw Gives breath of life! And write how God Peers through the firmament Upon the continents; for this day is glory!
THE CHRONICLER
Who are you, Girl?
THE GIRL
Men call me different names. God calls me Freedom!
[_Upon this, a gigantic roll of the drums. The girl, Freedom, turns her back slowly upon the audience as Parson Clark begins to address his congregation. She goes up, tensely and superbly, face to face with him._]
PARSON CLARK