The Libertine Page #5

soldier's, scholar's,

eye, tongue,

sword,

and l,

of ladies most deject and wretched

that sucked the honey of his music vows

O, woe is me.

To see what l have seen .

O, see what l see.

And there's some fennel for you

and columbine.

And there's rue for you .

And here's some for me.

We may call it herb of grace o' Sundays.

O, you must wear your rue with a difference.

He is gone

He is gone

And we...

cast away, moan .

God have mercy on his soul

And of all ye Christian souls

No-one likes a clever bastard.

l pray God

God be wi' ye

Well, Lizzie, my congratulations.

Thank you, Mr Harris.

Will you take the air with me?

l was thinking...

a drink.

Lord Rochester left at the curtain .

Then l shall take the air alone.

Good night.

Go on!

My lord.

Hurry!

Argh!

John

Madam, this driveway will not do.

Good afternoon , my lord.

You sent no warning of your arrival.

The road is not functional

and the grounds are a swamp.

lf you were here more often ,

you'd know that Oxfordshire is not a dry county.

lt is a good thing that John devote himself

to the House. l will not hear him reproved for it.

lunderstood that he was devoting himself

to an engagement in the theatre.

That would not be appropriate

for a man of breeding.

Anyone can drink.

Only a few can match my determination .

We who are nobility

rise above the calls of the flesh.

lt is true.

We have our strength of will, do we not?

I hope we do.

But supposing we are perverse,

and use our will to bad ends?

Then we search deep inside ourselves,

and we tear out the evil.

Tear deeper, Mother.

Lizzie Barry!

Lizzie Barry!

Lizzie Barry!

l ran away from your love

and now l run towards it

Test my love in any way you see fit!

Test me!

l will not fail!

Get back some of the money l lost

on Lizzie ''Horseface'' Barry.

Yes, how is that little caper going, Johnny?

l hear she charges by the minute.

Come on , Johnny. All gentlemen together.

You're not a gentleman , George.

You were trained as a lawyer.

And you write plays for money.

Oh, yes. And what about your commission

from the King? Does that not count?

That is quite different.

''Different''? Of course.

May one enquire

how the great work progresses?

Written the first line yet?

l, at least, do not plagiarise the wit of my friends

and pass it off as my own .

Come on , Johnny, be fair.

Sit!

What was the wager ?

The wager was 1 5 guineas.

My Lord, the actress Elizabeth Barry's outside.

She will wait.

She's very insistent.

She is a whore and she will wait!

lt's a made hand!

l was not good in the play this afternoon .

I craved reassurance.

All l could think about was you .

You see, that is where there is still

imbalance between us.

Because you demand

so much of me and so little of yourself.

You took my small gift and polished it

until it shone.

Yet your own great gift you just throw away.

There.

You see? l went too far.

A trait which in you is fascinating,

but in me is a fault.

ROCHESTER:

''And wit was his vain , frivolous pretence,

of pleasing others at his own expense.''

Lizzie Barry.

Read me some more.

KlNG CHARLES ll:

l keep coming back to the French

- There they are, the envy of Europe.

- They keep a nice class of brothel.

Of course. They're a bunch of c*nts.

That's not the point.

lneed money and they can provide it, and

l won 't hide it from you , Johnny, things are bad.

l can 't get money out of Louis

unless l dissolve Parliament

and l can 't get money out of Parliament

unless l fight Louis.

Well, choose.

lneed money from both of them.

You spoke of a big challenge.

Louis's sent in a new ambassador.

Cultivated type.

Here's my plan .

Your great work,

we stage it to welcome him to London .

Big gesture of friendship.

And we show we're better than they are.

A spectacle with some really profound writing.

You're the man for it.

Will you do it for me?

At Betterton 's next spring

when the season 's finished.

You're desperate.

What we need to celebrate is life itself.

Well, l'm obviously the man for that.

Good. l'll send Chiffinch

to talk to you about the money.

Costumes, settings, something really splendid.

Splendid, yes.

And unusual.

There, John .

Fruit.

Fruit from South America...growing here.

Dazzles the mind.

Do you see what can be done

with knowledge and application ?

''l eat to swive and swive to eat again .''

lnk! lnk!

Bring me ink!

Not ''drink'', lump. lnk!

Alcock, did l not leave you in the country?

l walked back, my lord.

Back again?

Back again.

Sceptres bear. Fear.

l'm worried. This French business

couldn 't be more important.

What's he doing?

He's writing.

- For the first time since l've known him

- But what?

Sublime thoughts.

Philosophy in verse.

l believe he is on the verge of greatness.

You 've read some?

He shares everything with me.

You should wear more jewellery.

LlZZlE:
l cannot provide for i on my wages

CHARLES ll:
Does not the Earl provide?

The Earl is not one of life's providers.

But the King is.

lf you want the best, you may receive it from me.

l shall be everything you wish me to be.

l wish you to be my eyes and ears

on his earlship.

l am his lover.

But l am your true subject.

Then you'll serve me in this matter?

Yes, l will.

And we shall both...profit.

Does the writing of the play go well, my lord?

Alcock, try not to be a c*nt.

We will do this until you get it right.

My lord, Alice Twooney has sent word.

Her child is sick and she shan 't come.

What was to be her role?

- She was playing little Clytoris.

- Of course

Alcock!

- This is your moment. You will stand in for her.

-No, my lord.

- l beg your pardon .

- l'm Alcock.

Little Clytoris is beyond my range.

Molly.

l am not a visible person .

Do not cross me.

Madam, your d*ldos

are not to compare with what l've seen .

lndeed, they're paltry ware.

Short d*ldos leave the pleasure half undone.

l'm sorry, my lord, l do have a question .

Are you sure this entertainment will be fitting

for both the occasion and the company?

Molly, the entire piece has been devised

with the French in mind.

ln Paris, fornication in the streets

with total strangers is compulsory.

Oh, beg pardon , my lord,

my most southerly venture is Epsom.

HARRlS:
My lord!

l asked for no interruptions.

My suit is one of the utmost urgency.

The stage direction

at the end of this scene requires,

in my opinion , some authorial exposition .

lt seems straightforward enough.

Yes. Um...

''Then dance six naked men and women ,

the men doing obedience to the women 's c*nts,

kissing and touching them often .

The women in like manner to the men 's pricks,

kissing and dandling their cods,

and then fall to f***ing,

after which the women sigh

and the men look simple, and so sneak off.''

The end of the second act

A strong scene.

An eminently playable scene,

and, though l say it myself, a climactic one.

And will the kind of equipment

that young lady has in her hand

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