________________________________________________
_
ACT III: SCENE IV
SCENE: Meadows on Ipswich River.
[COREY and his men mowing; COREY in advance.]
COREY.
Well done, my men. You see, I lead the field!
I'm an old man, but I can swing a scythe
Better than most of yon, though you be younger.
[Hangs his scythe upon a tree.]
GLOYD (aside to the others).
How strong he is! It's supernatural.
No man so old as he is has such strength.
The Devil helps him!
COREY (wiping his forehead).
Now we'll rest awhile,
And take our nooning. What's the matter with you?
You are not angry with me,--are you, Gloyd?
Come, come, we will not quarrel. Let's be friends.
It's an old story, that the Raven said,
"Read the Third of Colossians and fifteenth."
GLOYD.
You're handier at the scythe, but I can beat you
At wrestling.
COREY.
Well, perhaps so. I don't know.
I never wrestled with you. Why, you're vexed!
Come, come, don't bear a grudge.
GLOYD.
You are afraid.
COREY.
What should I bc afraid of? All bear witness
The challenge comes from him. Now, then, my man.
[They wrestle, and GLOYD is thrown.]
ONE OF THE MEN.
That's a fair fall.
ANOTHER.
'T was nothing but a foil!
OTHERS.
You've hurt him!
COREY (helping GLOYD rise).
No; this meadow-land is soft.
You're not hurt,--are you, Gloyd?
GLOYD (rising).
No, not much hurt.
COREY.
Well, then, shake hands; and there's an end of it.
How do you like that Cornish hug, my lad?
And now we'll see what's in our basket here.
GLOYD (aside).
The Devil and all his imps are in that man!
The clutch of his ten fingers burns like fire!
COREY (reverentially taking off his hat).
God bless the food He hath provided for us,
And make us thankful for it, for Christ's sake!
[He lifts up a keg of cider, and drinks from it.]
GLOYD.
Do you see that? Don't tell me it's not Witchcraft
Two of us could not lift that cask as he does!
[COREY puts down the keg, and opens a basket. A voice is heard
calling.]
VOICE.
Ho! Corey, Corey!
COREY.
What is that? I surely
Heard some one calling me by name!
VOICE.
Giles Corey!
[Enter a boy, running, and out of breath.]
BOY.
Is Master Corey here?
COREY.
Yes, here I am.
BOY.
O Master Corey!
COREY.
Well?
BOY.
Your wife--your wife--
COREY.
What's happened to my wife?
BOY.
She's sent to prison!
COREY.
The dream! the dream! O God, be merciful!
BOY.
She sent me here to tell you.
COREY (putting on his jacket).
Where's my horse?
Don't stand there staring, fellows.
Where's my horse?
[Exit COREY.]
GLOYD.
Under the trees there. Run, old man, run, run!
You've got some one to wrestle with you now
Who'll trip your heels up, with your Cornish hug.
If there's a Devil, he has got you now.
Ah, there he goes! His horse is snorting fire!
ONE OF THE MEN.
John Gloyd, don't talk so! It's a shame to talk so!
He's a good master, though you quarrel with him.
GLOYD.
If hard work and low wages make good masters,
Then he is one. But I think otherwise.
Come, let us have our dinner and be merry,
And talk about the old man and the Witches.
I know some stories that will make you laugh.
[They sit down on the grass, and eat.]
Now there are Goody Cloyse and Goody Good,
Who have not got a decent tooth between them,
And yet these children--the Afflicted Children--
Say that they bite them, and show marks of teeth
Upon their arms!
ONE OF THE MEN.
That makes the wonder greater.
That's Witchcraft. Why, if they had teeth like yours,
'T would be no wonder if the girls were bitten!
GLOYD.
And then those ghosts that come out of their graves
And cry, "You murdered us! you murdered us!"
ONE OF THE MEN.
And all those Apparitions that stick pins
Into the flesh of the Afflicted Children!
GLOYD.
Oh those Afflicted Children! They know well
Where the pins come from. I can tell you that.
And there's old Corey, he has got a horseshoe
Nailed on his doorstep to keep off the Witches,
And all the same his wife has gone to prison.
ONE OF THE MEN.
Oh, she's no Witch. I'll swear that Goodwife Corey
Never did harm to any living creature.
She's a good woman, if there ever was one.
GLOYD.
Well, we shall see. As for that Bridget Bishop,
She has been tried before; some years ago
A negro testified he saw her shape
Sitting upon the rafters in a barn,
And holding in its hand an egg; and while
He went to fetch his pitchfork, she had vanished.
And now be quiet, will you? I am tired,
And want to sleep here on the grass a little.
[They stretch themselves on the grass.]
ONE OF THE MEN.
There may be Witches riding through the air
Over our heads on broomsticks at this moment,
Bound for some Satan's Sabbath in the woods
To be baptized.
GLOYD.
I wish they'd take you with them,
And hold you under water, head and ears,
Till you were drowned; and that would stop your talking,
If nothing else will. Let me sleep, I say.
Content of ACT III SCENE IV [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's play/drama: Giles Corey of the Salem Farms]
_
Read next: ACT IV: SCENE I
Read previous: ACT III: SCENE III
Table of content of Giles Corey of the Salem Farms
GO TO TOP OF SCREEN
Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book
