The World's Greatest Books — Volume 17 — Poetry and Drama

"The Mistakes of a Night, or She Stoops to Conquer," appeared at Covent Garden, in March, 1773. So convinced was George Colman that the public would endure nothing but sentiment...

_and_ LADY ALLWORTH _contracted to one another. He has told her that only a desire to promote the union of her promising young stepson_, ALLWORTH, _with_ MARGARET OVERREACH _tem...

SALADIN: What! Whose cruelty hath sown this sharp suspicion In thy fond heart? Ah! if there be two fathers At strife for thee, quit both, and take a third. Take Saladin for fath...

CLEMENT: Stay, stay, give me leave; my chair, sirrah. Master Knowell, you went to meet your son. Mistress Kitely, you went to find your husband; you, Master Kitely, to find your...

[TRIBOULET _has knelt down in the mud by the sack. The rain streams on him, and his face, convulsed with hideous joy, is illumined by the lightning._ SALTABADIL _enters the inn...

FAUSTUS: But Faustus' offence can ne'er be pardoned; the serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus. He must remain in hell for ever; hell, Oh, hell for ever. Sweet...

SCENE.--_A large, broad verandah attached to_ SOLNESS'S _dwelling-house. A flight of steps leads down to the garden below. Far to the right, among the trees, is a glimpse of the...

SCENE.--_A plainly furnished work-room in the house of_ HALVARD SOLNESS. _At the back, visible through an open door, is the draughtsman's office, where sit_ KNUT BROVIK _and his...

Léandre, between whom and Lucinde a mutual attachment subsists, has an interview with Sganarelle, at which he implores the latter's assistance to obtain a meeting with his mistr...

SCENE.--_A tumble-down inn on the outskirts of Paris by the edge of the Seine. The scene is represented on the stage in a sort of section, so that the spectator sees everything...

RUY BLAS: I only am a pawn with which he plays Against the queen. He seeks to ruin her By means of me. No! I will save her yet. Save her and lose her! Cunning though you are, Do...

Just when the day has been fixed for the marriage of Lucinde, daughter of M. Géronte, she suddenly becomes dumb, and no doctors are found skillful enough to cure her. One day Va...

MRS. SOLNESS _(lamenting)_: Oh heavens, easier! Halvard, you can never build up a real home again for _me. This_ is no home; It will be just as desolate, as empty there as here.

DON RUY GOMEZ: Only an hour, and then she is my wife! I have been jealous and unjust, and used Some violence. But now she is my bride She shall know how a man can love.

KHELSTAKOV: That lunch was very good! The fish was delicious! Where was it that we lunched? Was it not at the hospital? I saw the beds, but there were not many patients. Have th...

SCENE--_A field by the castle of Beaugenoy. A great gap has been made in the outer wall, through which looms the castle-keep. Two workmen are covering the gap with a vast black...

SCENE.--TRIBOULET, _the ugly little hunchback jester to_ KING FRANÇOIS, _has stolen from the Louvre to a secluded house in a remote part of Paris. He takes out the key to open t...

DON SALLUST: So, after twenty years of constant toil, And twenty years of honour and high power, The weak hand of a woman strikes me down Into the dust. Dishonoured and exiled!...

GOVERNOR (_addressing the policeman_): Ivan Karpovitch, summon the merchants here, brother. Complaining of me, indeed! Cursed lot of Jews! Little turtle doves! Ascertain who bro...

HASTINGS: Good and bad, you have lived pretty much among them; and yet, with all your experience you have never acquired any show of assurance. How shall you behave to the lady...

Bernick is apprised that he is to be most honourably fêted by his fellow citizens who are about to form a procession, and to parade before his house with music. The proudest mom...

SCENE--KING CHARLES _and some of his noblemen are creeping into the courtyard of the palace of_ DON RUY GOMEZ DE SILVA _at Saragossa. It is midnight, and the palace is dark, sav...

BERNICK: I am not at all pleased, Aune, with the way things are going on in the yard. The repairs are slow. The _Palm Tree_ should long since have been at sea. That American shi...

THOAS: Fierce anger rages in my riven breast, First against her whom I esteem'd so pure; Then 'gainst myself, whose foolish lenity Hath fashion'd her for treason. Vain my hope T...

CAMPOREAL: That is not so. Don Cesar never sees the queen alone. I know it. I have had them watched by spies. They shun each other. Do you know, he lives By Tormez mansion, in a...

THE TOWN CRIER (_arriving with a crowd_): "Ordinance. Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, unto all men, To whom these presents come, greeting! We will, Ordai...

THE KING: Oh, it is miserable to be a king That lives but does not govern. Richelieu Is killing all my friends. I sometimes think He wants their blood to dye his scarlet robes.

ALLWORTH _discovered. Having heard of the mutual attachment of_ MARGARET _and_ ALLWORTH, LORD LOVELL _has assured the latter that he will help bring it to a successful issue, an...

DAYA: A young knight Templar lately captive ta'en, But pardoned by the sultan. He it was Who burst through flame and smoke; and she believes Him but a transient inmate of the ea...

THOAS: To-day I come within this sacred fane, Which I have often entered to implore And thank the gods for conquest. In my breast I bear an old and fondly-cherish'd wish, To whi...

KRAP: The _Palm Tree_ can sail to-morrow, but as for the _Indian Girl_, in my opinion she will not get far. I have been secretly examining the bottom of the ship, where the repa...

DOÑA SOL: Yes, happiness and love are like a strain Of calm and lovely music. Hernani, Listen! (_The sound of a mountain horn floats on the air._) It is some mountaineer that pl...

BENVOLIO: Away! You love me not, to urge me thus. Shall I let slip so great an injury, When every servile groom jests at my wrongs, And in their rustic gambols proudly say, "Ben...

KRAP: I am ordered by the consul to tell you that you must stop those Saturday talks to the workmen about the injury that our new machines will do to them. Your first duty is to...

OSIP: Devil take it! I am famishing. It is two months since we left St. Petersburg. This master of mine has squandered all his money on the way, and here we are penniless. The o...

CHARLES: O mighty architect of Christendom, Inspire me now to carry on thy work! Ah, let me with the lightning of thy sword Smite the rebellious people down, and make Their king...

ELIZABETH: There he returns with his spoil! I must get the meal ready. Here, take the cellar keys and let them have of the best wine! They have deserved it.

MARRALL: This only, in a word: I know Sir Giles Will come upon you for security For his thousand pounds; which you must not consent to. As he grows in heat (as I'm sure he will)...

EMPEROR: I am tired of these merchants with their eternal complaints! Every shopkeeper wants help, and no one will stir against the common enemy of the empire and of Christianity.

HARDCASTLE: My house is turned topsy-turvy. His servants are drunk already. For his father's sake, I'll be calm. (_Enter_ MARLOW.) Mr. Marlow, sir, the conduct of your servants...

ORESTES: When I implor'd Apollo to remove The grisly band of Furies from my side, He promised aid and safety in the fane Of his lov'd sister, who o'er Tauris rules. Thus the pro...

USHER: Franz von Sickingen is without and sends word that having heard how faith has been broken with his brother-in-law, he insists upon justice, or within an hour he will fire...

IPHIGENIA: Unhappy man, I only loose thy bonds In token of a still severer doom. For the incensed king, should I refuse Compliance with the rites himself enjoin'd, Will choose a...

NATHAN: Once on a time, eastward, there dwelt a man Who prized a ring, set with a wondrous opal That made the owner loved of God and man. This ring he willed should ever more re...

GOETZ: Come, take the best arms with you, and leave the others here! Come, Elizabeth! Through this very gate I led you as a young bride. Who knows when we shall return? [_Exeunt...

FAUSTUS: All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be at my command: emperors and kings Are but obeyed in their several provinces; But his dominion that excels in this...

GOETZ: Almighty God! How lovely is it beneath Thy heaven! Farewell, my children! My roots are cut away, my strength totters to the grave. Let me see George once more, and sun my...

MRS. HARDCASTLE: Oh, you're for ever at your old wife. I'm not so old as you'd make me. I was twenty when my son Tony was born, and he's not come to years of discretion yet.

TONY: Ecod, I've got 'em. Cousin Con's necklaces, bobs and all. My mother shan't cheat the poor souls out of their fortin. Here's (_enter_ HASTINGS) your sweetheart's jewels. If...

WAGNER: I think my master means to die shortly. He has made his will, and given me his wealth, his house, his goods, and store of golden plate, besides two thousand ducats ready...

MARRALL: I've used all means; and the last night I caused His host, the tapster, to turn him out of doors; And since I've charged all of your friends and tenants To refuse him e...

GOETZ: May I say "yes" for you, Marie? You need not blush--your eyes have answered clearly. Well, then, Weislingen, take her hand, and I say Amen, friend and brother! I must cal...

IPHIGENIA: They hasten to the sea, where in a bay Their comrades in the vessel lie concealed, Waiting a signal. Me they have supplied With artful answers should the monarch send...

(_Reads_) "Why, Ned, I beseech thee, hast thou forsworn all thy friends i' the Old Jewry? Dost thou think us all Jews that inhabit there yet? If thou dost, come over and but see...

BRAIN-WORM: The truth is, my old master intends to follow my young master, dry-foot, over Moorfields to London this morning. Now I, knowing of this hunting match, or rather cons...

TONY: Why, where I found 'em! Led 'em astray, man. There's not a pond or a slough within five miles of the place but they can tell the taste of; and finished with the horsepond...

WELL-BRED: Why, dost thou not know him? He is a city magistrate, a justice here, an excellent good lawyer and a great scholar; but the only mad merry old fellow in Europe. [_Ent...

way to the Frankfurt Fair by_ Goetz _and his men, have escaped, leaving their goods in the hands of the knights. The page_ George _has, however, recaptured two of the merchants...

BOBADILL: Gentle Master Matthew! Sit down, I pray you. Master Matthew in any case, possess no gentlemen of our acquaintance with notice of my lodging. Not that I need to care wh...

[FAUSTUS _stabs his own arm, and writes. At the summons of_ MEPHISTOPHILIS _enter_ DEVILS, _who present_ FAUSTUS _with crowns and rich apparel. Exeunt_ DEVILS. FAUSTUS _reads th...

TEMPLAR: Nay, your wealth is naught to me. Yet, this, a coin or cloth for a new mantle, When this is done. Don't quake; it's strong and good To last awhile; but here it's singed...

GOVERNOR (_addressing the functionaries_): I have bad news. An inspector-general is coming from St. Petersburg. You must see that your various departments are set in order. The...

MATTHEW: Oh, it's your only fine humour, sir. Your true melancholy breeds your perfect fine wit. I am melancholy myself, divers times, and then I do no more but take pen and pap...

FAUD: Let me stay with you. I am no good below; they have hammered my old bones till I can scarcely move. (_Exit soldiers._) Here from the wall I can watch the fight.

persuade_ BRIDGET _to meet him at the Tower so that they may be married_. BRAIN-WORM _has been despatched to carry out other details of the plot. Meeting_ OLD KNOWELL _with_ FOR...

EMPEROR: Wonder of men, renowned magician, Thrice-learned Faustus, welcome to our court. Now, Faustus, as thou late didst promise us, We would behold that famous conqueror, Grea...

CHORUS: Learned Faustus, To find the secrets of astronomy Graven in the book of Jove's high firmament, Did mount him up to scale Olympus' top; Where, sitting in a chariot burnin...

HARDCASTLE: It means that you say and unsay things at pleasure; that you can address a lady in private and deny it in public; that you have one story for us and another for my d...

GEORGE: Oh, sir, I beg you to leave them at once, before they drag you away with them as prisoner, instead of following you as captain! (_Flames are seen rising from the distant...

TEMPLAR: Good woman, you torment me. From this day Pray know me not; and do not send the father! A Jew's a Jew, and I am rude and bearish. I have forgot the maiden; do not make...

GOETZ: What! Me? To break my oath? Stumpf, I thought you were a friend! Even if I were free, and you wanted to carry on as you did at Weinsberg, raving and burning, and murderin...

WEISLINGEN: May I, in these moments of lightheartedness, speak to you of serious matters? Goetz is probably by this time in our hands. The peasants' revolt is growing in violenc...

COB: A poor neighbour of your worship, come to crave the peace of your worship; a warrant for one that has wronged me, sir; an I die within a twelvemonth and a day, I may swear...

SALADIN (_to_ Sittah): Here, pay yourself with that. And look, I found This portrait 'midst the heap of plate and jewels. It is our brother Assad. I'll compare The likeness with...

WEISLINGEN: A wretched fever has dried my very marrow. No rest for me, day or night! Goetz haunts my very dreams. He is a prisoner, and yet I tremble before him. (_Enter_ MARIE....

BONAFIDES: The Patriarch hath ever work for me, And some I like not. Listen. He hath heard That hereabouts there dwells a certain Jew Who hath brought up a Christian as his child.

BRIDGET: Servant, in truth, you are too prodigal Of your wit's treasure thus to pour it forth Upon so mean a subject as my worth. What is this same, I pray you?

TEMPLAR: Alas! 'twas I. You took my suit so coldly That when from Daya I had learned your secret, I fancied you had little mind to give A Christian what from Christians you had...

SICKINGEN: To be deceived by him is an honour for you both. I want a mistress for my castles and gardens. In the field, at court, I want to stand alone.

GOETZ: Where can my men be? Up and down I have to walk, lest sleep should overcome me. Five days and nights already in ambush. But when I get thee, Weislingen, I shall make up f...

ATHANASIOS: Is this mere supposition, sir? If in our diocese such impious act Were done in truth, the Jew should die by fire. You will not name the man? I'll to the sultan, Who...

TONY: The old Buck's Head on the hill, one of the best inns in the whole county. But the landlord is rich and just going to leave off business; so he wants to be thought a gentl...

ADELHEID: Already you hesitate? Then give me back the phial. You played the hero, but you are only a boy; A man who wooes a noble woman stakes his life, honour, virtue, happines...

SICKINGEN: You may smile, but I felt the desire to possess you when you first looked upon me with your blue eyes, when you were with your mother at the Diet of Speier. I have lo...

[_Enter_ STEPHEN, _wearing_ DOWN-RIGHT'S _cloak, which he had picked up in the scrimmage. As they are arresting him_, DOWN-RIGHT _enters. He submits to arrest, but has_ STEPHEN...

MARIE: We must hurry to Weislingen. Only dire necessity can drive me to this step. Saving my brother's life I go to death. I shall kneel to him, weep before him. [_Exit._

on_ WELLBORN _succeeds. The rich_ LADY ALLWORTH _has feasted him and is fallen in love with him; he lives to be a greater prey than ever to_ OVERREACH. _Angered at the informati...