Barry Lyndon Page #6

COUNTRY FELLOW #1

Sure, he's the friend of the poor,

and good luck to him.

COUNTRY FELLOW #2

Was it any business of ours?

RODERICK:

(shouting)

Be off to your work, you pack of

rascals, or you will have a good

taste of my thong.

(to Mrs. O'Reilly)

Have you lost much?

MRS. O'REILLY

Everything -- my purse, containing

upwards of a hundred guineas, my

jewels, my snuff-boxes, watches.

And all because this blundering

coward fell to his knees...

FOOTMAN:

Be fair, ma'am, them wasn't so much.

Didn't he return you the thirteen

pence in copper, and the watch,

saying it was only pinchbeck?

MRS. O'REILLY

Don't be insolent, or I'll report

you to the Captain.

FOOTMAN:

Sorry, ma'am.

He shuffles a few steps away and frowns in the direction

that the Captain has vanished.

MRS. O'REILLY

That fool didn't know what was the

meaning of a hundred-pound bill,

which was in the pocket-book that

the fellow took from me.

RODERICK:

I am riding to Dublin myself, and if

your ladyship will allow me the

honor of riding with you, I shall do

my best to protect you from further

mishap.

MRS. O'REILLY

But I shouldn't like to put you to

such trouble, Mister...?

RODERICK:

O'Higgins... Mohawk O'Higgins.

EXT. ROADSIDE INN - DAY

They stop at the inn.

RODERICK:

(very gallantly)

As you have been robbed of your

purse, may I have permission to lend

your ladyship a couple of pieces to

pay any expenses which you might

incur before reaching your home?

MRS. O'REILLY

(smiling)

That's very kind of you, Mr.

O'Higgins.

He gives her two gold pieces.

INT. INN - DAY

Roderick and Mrs. O'Reilly finishing their meal.

We will hear dialogue underneath Roderick's voice over.

RODERICK (V.O.)

How different was her lively rattle

to the vulgar wenches at Kilwangan

assemblies. In every sentence, she

mentioned a lord or a person of

quality. To the lady's question

about my birth and parentage, I

replied that I was a young gentleman

of large fortune, that I was going

to Dublin for my studies, and that

my mother allowed me five hundred

per annum.

MRS. O'REILLY

You must be very cautious with

regard to the company you should

meet in Dublin, where rogues and

adventurers of all countries abound.

I hope you will do me the honor of

accepting lodgings in my own house,

where Captain O'Reilly will welcome

with delight, my gallant young

preserver.

Paying the bill.

RODERICK (V.O.)

Perhaps had I been a little older in

the world's experience, I should

have begun to see that Madame

O'Reilly was not the person of

fashion she pretended to be; but, as

it was, I took all her stories for

truth, and, when the landlord

brought the bill for dinner, paid it

with the air of a lord. Indeed, she

made no motion to produce the two

pieces I had lent her.

EXT. DUBLIN - STREET - NIGHT

They ride by.

RODERICK (V.O.)

And so we rode on slowly towards

Dublin, into which city we made our

entrance at nightfall. The rattle

and splendor of the coaches, the

flare of the linkboys, the number

and magnificence of the houses,

struck me with the greatest wonder;

though I was careful to disguise

this feeling.

EXT. O'REILLY HOUSE - DUBLIN - NIGHT

RODERICK (V.O.)

We stopped at length at a house of

rather mean appearance, and were let

into a passage which had a great

smell of supper and punch.

INT. O'REILLY HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

Captain O'Reilly, a stout red-faced man, without a

periwig, and in a rather tattered nightgown and cap.

Roderick and Mrs. O'Reilly.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

Mr. O'Higgins, I cannot say how

grateful I am for your timely

assistance to my wife.

RODERICK:

I am only sorry that I was unable to

prevent the villain from carrying

off all her ladyship's money and

pearls.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

Mr. O'Higgins, we are in your debt,

and rest assured, sir, you have

friends in this house whenever you

are in Dublin.

(pours a glass)

Mister O'Higgins, I wonder if I know

your good father?

RODERICK:

Which O'Higgins do you know? For I

have never heard your name mentioned

in my family.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

Oh, I am thinking of the O'Higgins

of Redmondstown. General O'Higgins

was a close friend of my wife's dear

father, Colonel Granby Somerset.

RODERICK:

Ah -- I see. No, I'm afraid mine

are the O'Higgins of Watertown.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

I have heard of them.

There are relics of some mutton-chops and onions on a

cracked dish before them.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

My love, I wish I had known of your

coming, for Bob Moriaty and I just

finished the most delicious venison

pasty, which His Grace the Lord

Lieutenant, sent us, with a flash of

sillery from his own cellar. You

know the wine, my dear? But as

bygones are bygones, and no help for

them, what say ye to a fine lobster

and a bottle of as good claret as

any in Ireland? Betty, clear these

things from the table, and make the

mistress and our young friend

welcome to our home.

Captain O'Reilly searches his pockets for some money to

give to Betty.

CAPTAIN O'REILLY

I'm sorry, Mr. O'Higgins, but I

don't seem to have any small change.

May I borrow a ten-penny piece to

give to the girl?

MRS. O'REILLY

I have some money, my dear. Here,

Betty, go to the fishmonger and

bring back our supper, and mind you

get the right change.

She takes out one of the golden guineas Roderick gave to

her.

INT. DINNING ROOM - LATER

They are eating.

RODERICK (V.O.)

Our supper was seasoned, if not by

any great elegance, at least by a

plentiful store of anecdotes,

concerning the highest personages of

the city, with whom, according to

himself, the captain lived on terms

of the utmost intimacy. Not to be

behind hand with him, I spoke of my

own estates and property as if I was

as rich as a duke.

INT. O'REILLY HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

The couple wishing Roderick goodnight.

RODERICK (V.O.)

Had I been an English lad, the

appearance of the chamber I occupied

might, indeed, have aroused

instantly my suspicion and distrust.

But we are not particular in Ireland

on the score of neatness, hence the

disorder of my bed-chamber did not

strike me so much.

Broken door.

RODERICK (V.O.)

Was there a lock to the door, or a

hasp to fasten it to?

Dress lying over bed.

RODERICK (V.O.)

Though my counterpane was evidently

a greased brocade dress of Mrs.

O'Reilly.

Cracked mirror.

RODERICK (V.O.)

And my cracked toilet-glass not much

bigger than a half-crown, yet I was

used to these sort of ways in Irish

houses, and still thought myself to

be in that of a man of fashion.

Drawers, full of junk.

RODERICK (V.O.)

There was no lock to the drawers,

which, when they did open, were full

of my hostess' rouge-pots, shoes,

stays, and rags.

INT. BEDROOM - O'REILLY HOUSE - NIGHT

In the middle of the night, Mrs. O'Reilly comes to

Roderick's room on a flimsy pretext, and in the course of

events, he has his first woman.

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