Read Complete Poems and Plays Online
Authors: T. S. Eliot
Tags: #Literature, #20th Century, #American Literature, #Poetry, #Drama, #v.5, #Amazon.com, #Retail
That I am the only sane person in this house.
Your behaviour all seems to me quite unaccountable.
What
has
happened, Amy?
A
MY
.
Harry is going away — to become a missionary.
H
ARRY
.
But …!
C
HARLES
.
A missionary! that’s never happened in our family!
And why in such a hurry? Before you make up your mind …
V
IOLET
.
You can’t really think of
living
in a tropical climate!
G
ERALD
.
There’s nothing wrong with a tropical climate —
But you have to go in for some sort of training;
The medical knowledge is the first thing.
I’ve met with missionaries, often enough —
Some of them very decent fellows. A maligned profession.
They’re sometimes very useful, knowing the natives,
Though occasionally troublesome. But you’ll have to learn the language
And several dialects. It means a lot of preparation.
V
IOLET
.
And you need some religious qualification!
I think you should consult the vicar …
G
ERALD
.
And don’t forget
That you’ll need various inoculations —
That depends on where you’re going.
C
HARLES
.
Such a thing
Has never happened in our family.
V
IOLET
.
I cannot understand it.
H
ARRY
.
I never said that I was going to be a missionary.
I would explain, but you would none of you believe it;
If you believed it, still you would not understand.
You can’t know why I am going. You have not seen
What I have seen. Oh why should you make it so ridiculous
Just now? I only want, please,
As little fuss as possible. You must get used to it;
Meanwhile, I apologise for my bad manners.
But if you
could
understand you would be quite happy about it,
So I shall say good-bye, until we meet again.
G
ERALD
.
Well, if you are determined, Harry, we must accept it;
But it’s a bad night, and you will have to be careful.
You’re taking Downing with you?
H
ARRY
.
Oh, yes, I’m taking Downing.
You need not fear that I am in any danger
Of such accidents as happen to Arthur and John:
Take care of
them.
My address, mother,
Will be care of the bank in London until you hear from me.
Good-bye, mother.
A
MY
.
Good-bye, Harry.
H
ARRY
.
Good-bye.
A
GATHA
.
Good-bye.
H
ARRY
.
Good-bye, Mary.
M
ARY
.
Good-bye, Harry. Take care of yourself.
[
Exit
H
ARRY
]
A
MY
.
At my age, I only just begin to apprehend the truth
About things too late to mend: and that is to be old.
Nevertheless, I am glad if I can come to know them.
I always wanted too much for my children
More than life can give. And now I am punished for it.
Gerald! you are the stupidest person in this room,
Violet, you are the most malicious in a harmless way;
I prefer your company to that of any of the others
Just to help me to the next room. Where I can lie down.
Then you can leave me.
G
ERALD
.
Oh, certainly, Amy.
V
IOLET
.
I do not understand
A single thing that’s happened.
[
Exeunt
A
MY
, V
IOLET
, G
ERALD
]
C
HARLES
.
It’s very odd,
But I am beginning to feel, just beginning to feel
That there is something I
could
understand, if I were told it.
But I’m not sure that I want to know. I suppose I’m getting old:
Old age came softly up to now. I felt safe enough;
And now I don’t feel safe. As if the earth should open
Right to the centre, as I was about to cross Pall Mall.
I thought that life could bring no further surprises;
But I remember now, that I am always surprised
By the bull-dog in the Burlington Arcade.
What if every moment were like that, if one were awake?
You both seem to know more about this than I do.
[
Enter
D
OWNING
,
hurriedly,
in
chauffeur’s
costume
]
D
OWNING
.
Oh, excuse me, Miss, excuse me, Mr. Charles:
His Lordship sent me back because he remembered
He thinks he left his cigarette-case on the table.
Oh, there it is. Thank you. Good night, Miss; good night,
Miss Mary; good night, Sir.
M
ARY
.
Downing, will you promise never to leave his Lordship
While you are away?
D
OWNING
.
Oh, certainly, Miss;
I’ll never leave him so long as he requires me.
M
ARY
.
But he will need you. You must never leave him.
D
OWNING
.
You may think it laughable, what I’m going to say —
But it’s not really strange, Miss, when you come to look at it:
After all these years that I’ve been with him
I think I understand his Lordship better than anybody;
And I have a kind of feeling that his Lordship won’t need me
Very long now. I can’t give you any reasons.
But to show you what I mean, though you’d hardly credit it,
I’ve always said, whatever happened to his Lordship
Was just a kind of preparation for something else.
I’ve no gift of language, but I’m sure of what I mean:
We most of us seem to live according to circumstance,
But with people like him, there’s something inside them
That accounts for what happens to them. You get a feeling of it.
So I seem to know beforehand, when something’s going to happen,
And it seems quite natural, being his Lordship.
And that’s why I say now, I have a feeling
That he won’t want me long, and he won’t want anybody.
A
GATHA
.
And, Downing, if his behaviour seems unaccountable
At times, you mustn’t worry about that.
He is every bit as sane as you or I,
He sees the world as clearly as you or I see it,
It is only that he has seen a great deal more than that,
And we have seen them too — Miss Mary and I.
D
OWNING
.
I understand you, Miss. And if I may say so,
Now that you’ve raised the subject, I’m most relieved —
If you understand my meaning. I thought that was the reason
We was off tonight. In fact, I half expected it,
So I had the car all ready. You mean them ghosts, Miss!
I wondered when his Lordship would get round to seeing them —
And so you’ve seen them too! They must have given you a turn!
They did me, at first. You soon get used to them.
Of course, I knew they was to do with his Lordship,
And not with me, so I could see them cheerful-like,
In a manner of speaking. There’s no harm in
them,
I’ll take my oath. Will that be all, Miss?
A
GATHA
.
That will be all, thank you, Downing. We mustn’t keep you;
His Lordship will be wondering why you’ve been so long.
[
Exit
D
OWNING
.
Enter
I
VY
]
I
VY
.
Where is Downing going? where is Harry?
Look. Here’s a telegram come from Arthur;
[
Enter
G
ERALD
and
V
IOLET
]
I wonder why he sent it, after telephoning.
Shall I read it to you? I was wondering
Whether to show it to Amy or not.
[
Reads
]
‘Regret delayed business in town many happy returns see you tomorrow many happy returns hurrah love Arthur.’
I mean, after what we know of what did happen,
Do you think Amy ought to see it?
V
IOLET
.
No, certainly not.
You do not know what has been going on, Ivy.
And if you did, you would not understand it.
I do not understand, so how could you? Amy is not well;
And she is resting.
I
VY
.
Oh, I’m sorry. But can’t you explain?
Why do you all look so peculiar? I think I might be allowed
To know what has happened.
A
MY’S
V
OICE.
Agatha! Mary! come!
The clock has stopped in the dark!
[
Exeunt
A
GATHA
and
M
ARY
.
Pause.
Enter
W
ARBURTON
]
W
ARBURTON
.
Well! it’s a filthy night to be out in.
That’s why I’ve been so long, going and coming.
But I’m glad to say that John is getting on nicely;
It wasn’t so serious as Winchell made out,
And we’ll have him up here in the morning.