GIFT OF Mrs. L.M. Ehrman r ch's International Copyrighted (in England, her Colonies nited States) Edition of the Works of the Best Authors '." ^T^T^ No. 233 The REVOLT A PLAY IN ONE ACT BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER Author of "Pig's is Pigs," etc. Copyright, 1912, by Samuel French TICE. The professional acting rights of this play are reserved by the publisher, and, permission for such performances must be obtained before performances are given. This notice does not apply to amateurs, who may perform this play without permission. All unauthorized professional productions will be pros- ecuted 10 thi' full extent of the law. PRICE 30 CENTS NEW YORK ; SAMUEL FRENCH P:-30 WEST 38xH STREET PUBLISHER LONDON SAMUEL FRENCH. LTD 26 SOUTHAMPTON STREET STRAND THE REVOLT A PLAY IN ONE ACT BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER Author of "Pigs Is Pigs/' etc. Copyright, 1912, BY SAMUIL FRENCH NOTICE. The professional acting right* of thi* play are reserved by the pub lit her, and pnni*sion for such performance* must be obtained before performance* are given. This notice does not apply to amateur*. 'who may perform the play without permission. All unauthorized professional production* will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. NEW YORK SAMUEL FRENCH PUBLISHER 28-30 WEST 38TH STREET LONDON SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. 26 SOUTHAMPTON STRUT STRAND THE REVOLT & PLAY IN ONE ACT By Effls Parker Butler, author of "Pigs Is Pigs'* CHAEACTEBS GRANDMA GEEGG Founder of the Flushing Acad- emy of Household Science for Young Ladies. PAULINE Working out her tuition. SUSAN JANE JONES An Emissary of the American Ladies' Association for the Promotion of Female Supremacy. KATE A student. GRACE A student. EDITH A student. IDA A student. MAY A student. Other young lady students. THE IDEAL HUSBAND by himself. SCENE. The class room of GRANDMA GREGG'S .Academy of Household Science for Young Ladies, at Flushing. TIME. Now or soon. THE REVOLT SCENE. The Class-room. A table. Chairs ar- ranged in semi-circle; an easy chair for GRAND- MA GREGG. Screen in one corner. Chairs or couch upon which to lay wraps and hats. Otherwise an ordinary room. Tea things on the table. (PAULINE, center of stage, with pail, broom, dusting rag, scrubbing brushes and mop, is discovered on hands and Icnees scrubbing. As curtain, rises she rises to her knees, throws scrubbing ^rush and soap into the pail, gets up with dif- fic-clty and mops the floor. She is singing.) PAULINE, (singing) "All alone, all alone, nobody here but me. Ail alone, all alone, nobody here but me, All alone, all " ( z ] ie stops mopping and leans on the mop handle) Here it is now two weeks I've been workin' out my tuition in this Academy of House- hold Science for Young Ladies, and 'tis nothin' but scrub, scrub, mop, mop, sweep, sweep, from mornin' 'til night! I see plenty of work, but none of that tuition has come my way yet. " Wanted," says the a'vertisement, "a young lady to work out her tuition in an academy." It says that, "Grandma Gregg's Flushing Academy of Household Science," it says, "fits the young ladies for to occupy properly their positions at the heads of their homes/' it says, "It will be a fine thing for you, Pauline," I says, "to be tuitioned in an Academy," so I come, (mops) "We'll begin your lessons right away/' says Grandma Gregg, 825736 THE REVOLT "take th' scrub brush an' a pail of water an' some soap air scrub th' cellar." Fve been scrubbin' ever emce. I don't care much for the higher education when there is so much scrub in it. (mops) (GRANDMA GREGG enters. PAULINE, not seeing her, goes to table and examines tea things, books', etc.) GRANDMA GREGG. Pauline! PAULINE, (beginning to mop hastily) Yes'm! GRANDMA. Don't forget your curtsey, Pauline. PAULINE, (making a curtsey) Good morning Grandma Gregg. I hope I see you well to-day. (changing her tone) If it ain't askin' too much, mam, when does my tuitioning begin? I've been scrubbin' for two weeks now, from mornin' V night" GRANDMA. Have you scrubbed the cellar J7aul " ine? PAULINE. Yes'm. GRANDMA. Don't forget your cixtsey, Pauline. PAULINE, (curtseying) NO'IP- (curtsey) Yes'm. (curtsey) GRANDMA. You have scrubbed the cellar? PAULINE (curtseying) Yes'm. GRANDMA. And the garret? And the first floor? And the second floor? PAULINE, (curtseying) Yes'm. GRANDMA. Very good, very good, Pauline. Then, when you have finished scrubbing this class room, you may scrub the front porch and the stable. Then it will be time to scrub the cellar again. You are doing very nicely. PAULINE. Yes'm, thank you, mam. (curtsey) But I was thinking mam, maybe I could have a little more tuition, and a little less work. "Work THE REVOLT 5 and tuition" was what the advertisement said, mam, an 3 I've seen nothin' but the work yet. GRANDMA. My dear child ! My dear, sweet child ! I don't understand you. You have done no work yet. PAULINE, (looking at her dress and at pail and mop) I've done no work? I wonder, now, what I have been doin' ! GRANDMA, (placidly) You have been receiving your tuition. In this academy the study of House- hold Science begins with the rudiments. Scrubbing is one of the rudiments. As a new scholar you begin with the rudiments, of course. And I must say you are doing very well. You are making excellent pro- gress. Apply yourself earnestly to your lessons and in a short time you will be promoted to another class. (PAULINE stands with her mouth open as GRANDMA talks. She seems to be stunned) Let me see you scrub, Pauline. PAULINE, (dropping on her Icnees and talcing "brush from pail) Yes'm. GRANDMA. Don't forget your curtsey, Pauline. PAULINE, (curtseying on her Icnees) No'm (curtsey. She scrubs) GRANDMA. Very good indeed ! Very good indeed ! You are progressing, Pauline ! You are progressing. Apply yourself faithfully to your lessons. You may study awhile on the front porch now. And don't be afraid to use your muscle. PAULINE, (gathers up her pail and mop f etc. At door she turns) Good morning, Grandma Gregg. (curtseys) (aside) Eudiment, is it? If I haven't done any work yet, I wonder now what the work will be like. GRANDMA, (has dropped into her chair and taken up her knitting) Pauline. PAULINE. Yes'm. 6 THE REVOLT GRANDMA. Did you curtsey, Pauline? PAULINE. No'm. (curtseys) But I will, (curt- seys) GRANDMA. Pauline, have the new Professors come yet? I have hired two new Professors. A Professor of Husbandology, and a Professor of Eudiments. They are very highly recommended. PAULINE. Beg pardon mam, but what's Husband- ology? GRANDMA. Husbandology is the Science of the Proper Treatment of Husbands. PAULINE. And I know what Eudiments is. It's scrubbin'. No, mam, nothin' like them has come yet. "All alone. All alone " (sings) (exit PAUL- INE) GRANDMA, (knits) Dear me! Dear me! I thought when I started this Academy the girls would flock to it most eagerly. When I was a young girl my mother would have been glad to have an academy like this for me to attend. I don't know what the world is coming to. Suffragists and Suffragettes, and Suffrage-tins and Suffrage-that ! If this acad- emy wasn't sustained by the Anti-suffrage League it would have to close its doors, (sees a book on table, takes it in hand) "Woman and Her Eights." (with disgust) Augh! Who brought that here? (throws it on floor)*! declare, I believe this is the last strong- hold of the old-fashioned home-loving woman. I teach the girls to be good wives, (door bell rings) (enter PAULINE) PAULINE, (curtseys) If you please, mam, there's a female at the door says she is the new Professor of Husbandology. It's Susan Jane Jones, mam. GRANDMA. Show her in, Pauline. PAULINE. Yes'm. GRANDMA. Don't forget your curtsey, Pauline. PAULINE. No'm. (curtseys) (exit PAULINE) THE REVOLT 7 GRANDMA. I hope Susan Jane Jones will be a real nice lady. There's nothing in the world more necessary than lessons on the Proper Treatment of Husbands. Women don't seem to know how to treat husbands now-a-days. They neglect 'em, the poor things. When I was a girl (enter SUSAN JANE JONES.) SUSAN, (strides into room with umbrella held by middle and hand bag under one arm. Slaps them on, table, and begins pulling off her gloves) . Well, here I am GRANDMA, (mildly) Don't forget your curtsey,, Miss Jones. SUSAN, (surprised) Hey? W T hat's that? GRANDMA, (gently) All the faculty and students curtsey when they come into my presence, Miss Jones. It is a sweet old-fashioned 'custom SUSAN. (brisJcly) Well, I'll soon change that I mean, Howdy! Howdy! (bobs several times) (aside) I must not forget I am here as a spy in the enemy's country. If you are going to do the Eomans you must do as the Eomans do. (to GRANDMA) Swell joint you've got here, old lady. GRANDMA, (rubbing knees) Swell joints? Yes,. my dear, a little rheumatiz makes the joints swell. But I don't complain. I'm an old lady* I have to expect some aches and pains at my time of life. I'm thankful I can do a little good work in the world. Do you understand what your duties will be? SUSAN. Sure Mike ! I'm the Husbandology lady. I teach the girls how to treat their husbands when they get 'em. GRANDMA. Just so. You will lecture on How to Coddle and Pet a Husband. Five lectures. Then you will give five lectures on Smoothing the Lines of 8 THE REVOLT Care from Hubby's Brow. Then of course yoti show by example how all this is done. SUSAN. By example? You don't have a man here, do you? GRANDMA. We use the practical method in our classes. "Practice makes perfect/' you know, (calls) Pauline ! PAULINE, (off stage) Yes'm, I'm comin'. GRANDMA, (calling) Bring me the Ideal Hus- band, Pauline. PAULINE. Yes'm. In a minute, mam. v (Enter PAULINE with the Dummy Husband under her arm. She throws it into a chair. Exit.) GRANDMA. There! That is our Ideal Husband. He is all a husband should be. He does not drink nor smoke. He does not go to the club at night. He never says an unkind word. And he is happy. Do you know why? SUSAN. Go ahead. I'll be the goat. What's the answer ? GRANDMA. He is happy because we are kind to him. Because we coddle and pet him. I think, be- fore I finally engage you, Miss Jones; I would like to see an example of your method of coddling and petting. ( SUSAN looks at the dumml/ thoughtfully, takes a step toward it and pauses, another step, and so on. Finally she jerks the dummy from the chair by the head and lays the head on her shoulder.) SUSAN. Poor hubby, does his poor head ache? (pats dummy) Was he out so late last night? (puts dummy gently in chair) Let little wifey rub his poor head, (does so) What did hubby say? All right, little wifey will tie a nice cold cloth around poor THE REVOLT 9 hubby's head, (does this) Now, kiss little wifey. (kisses dummy) What did hubby say? GRANDMA. What did he say? SUSAN. He said "For goodness sake get away from here and leave me alone. Can't you see I'm a sick man? Get out of here and stop bothering me." GRANDMA, (admiringly) How like a real man! And what do you do next? SUSAN, (looking around) I get a pillow, (gets one from couch and puts it back of dummy) And I wrap up his feet, (does it) There, poor dear. He's sleeping now. GRANDMA. Very good. You will do very well. Eemember to teach that wives should obey their husbands and be kind to them. Husbands are such tender creatures. We should love them and obey them. I will see that your room is in order. No doubt you will wish to practise coddling the Ideal Husband a little longer before your classes begin. (exit GRANDMA) SUSAN, (alone) Get off that chair, you big brute! (jerks dummy off chair) Come home intoxicated, will you? (throws dummy back on chair) Don't talk back to me! (takes up dummy again) You are go- ing out, are you? Well, go out! (walks toward screen, with dummy) Out you go! I'll stand no nonsense, I tell you! (throws dummy behind screen) Go, if you want to ! There ! Coddle and pet them ! That's how I coddle and pet them! (looks around) This is a nice situation for Susan Jane Jones, Cap- tain of Company A, First Eegiment, Militant Suf- fragettes ! But all is fair in Love and Votes for Women ! This academy is the last stronghold of the old-fashioned woman, and from in it the tender young girls learn the vicious habits of keeping house, being good housewives and attending to their own, 10 THE REVOLT affairs as their grandmothers did. From this root anti-suffragism might spread over the whole world, and I have crept in, like a spy, to corrupt and des- troy it. Woman must and will rule! (enter KATE pouting) KATE, (not seeing SUSAN) I don't care! I don't care one bit! I'm never, never going to speak to John Mason again as long as I live. I think he is just too horrid for anything, (takes off coat and hat an t d throws them on sofa) I just hate him. I hate every boy that ever lived, I do ! I think they are mean, overbearing, egotistical things, (wipes her eyes) SUSAN, (clapping her hands once) My senti- ments exactly ! I so consider all men. KATE, (startled) Oh ! I did not know anyone was here. Good morning! (curtseys) Please, you won't tell Grandma Gregg what\ I said, will you? (with head on one side) She wouldn't like it. (pick- ing at her fingers) She says females should admire and worship all males. SUSAN. Humph! Fiddlesticks! Absolutely explod- ed theory. Latest theory is, females should abhor and despise all males. What's a man ? He's a worm. A poor silly worm. Now, here! (takes KATE ly arm and leads her across stage) We understand each other. You have felt the cruel oppression of a man ! KATE. I I I just think John Mason treated me real mean, anyway. SUSAN. Woman, how else do men ever treat us? We are slaves. But we must be free. You think I am the new Professor of Husbandology, don't you? You think I am here to teach you how to treat husbands, don't you?" KATE. I did think so. SUSAN, (threateningly) Oh, I'll teach you how to treat husbands! (PAULINE enters and overhears,. THE REVOLT 11 unseen. She gradually comes closer to them.) I'll teach you how to treat all men. For ages man has crushed us under his cruel heel. KATE. Has he? SUSAN. But we will trample him under foot. KATE. Will we? SUSAN. We must throttle him. We must crush him. KATE. Must we ? SUSAN. Pooh ! He's a worm. We will do with- out him. We will drive him from the land. Ab-so- lutely. Man is a by-gone institution. I class him with the stage coach and the dodo bird. Woman can do his work better than he can. He must be driven from the land. PAULINE. But, now, mam, if he's driven from the land, he'll be taking a death of cold in the water. SUSAN. So much the better. The object that should burn in every true woman's heart is the utter extermination of man. (to KATE) You have felt a man's cruelty. (KATE wipes her eyes) KATE. I don't see why boys have to be so mean. SUSAN. And you, too, you poor creature. Have you not felt the heel of the oppressor? PAULINE. Heel of the oppressor ? Mercy sakes ! That reminds me. Grandma Gregg sent me for to get the Ideal Husband and take him down cellar and black his shoes for him. SUSAN, (triumphantly) You see! Man makes slaves of ' us all ! PAULINE. Has any of you seen the Ideal Hus- band? Grandma Gregg said he was in the Class- room conversin' with the new Professor. SUSAN, (carelessly) Oh, he's gone to his club. I mean,, look behind the screen. (PAULINE gets the dummy, and carries it out, its 12 THE REVOLT feet dragging behind her on the floor. Exit PAULINE.) SUSAN. My child, the time for the great revolu- tion is at hand. Woman Is about to take her right- fully supreme place in the world. In me you see one of the leaders of the Militant Suffragettes. Can I count on you? KATE. I don't know. I think John Mason treated me just too mean Oh ! here comes Grandma Gregg. SUSAN. Hush. Not a word of this ! (in a changed tone). Yes, my dear, when his head aches take a handful of chopped ice, and fold it in a bandage (Enter GRANDMA GREGG.) KATE, (curtseys) Good morning, Grandma Gregg. GRANDMA. Good morning, my dear. (GRANDMA seats herself and begins knitting. KATE takes sewing from bag and sews. SUSAN picks up book from floor and begins to read.) (Enter GRACE.) GRACE, (curtseys) Good morning. Grandma Gregg. GRANDMA. Good morning, my dear. (GRACE seats herself and sews. Enter EDITH and IDA.) EDITH and IDA. (curtsey) Good morning, Grand- ma Gregg. GRANDMA. Good morning, my dears. (Enter MAY and other girls.) MAY and OTHER GIRLS, (curtsey) Good morning, Grandma Gregg. GRANDMA. Good morning, my dears. And now we are all here, have you all done your home work? Let me see it. (the girls advance, by ones or twos and show their sewing) THE REVOLT 13 GRANDMA. Very good The stitches are a little too large, sweetheart This buttonhole might be a little neater, precious, etc. (girls take seats again, and sew) GRANDMA. Grace, will you act as monitor of the teapot ? GRACE. Yes, Grandma Gregg, (curtseys, and makes tea) GRANDMA. Now, young ladies, will you repeat the Golden Text for the day? ALL. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." SUSAN, (scornfully and aside) Yes, feed the beast and he'll grin. GRANDMA. Kate, do you know your precept? KATE, (curtseys) A husband is a precious thing, He is the woman's lord and king. SUSAN, (aside) He was, but now he's no such thing. GRANDMA. Grace ? GRACE, (with a curtsey) A wife should never hem and haw, Her husband's word should be her law. SUSAN, (aside) Does any woman think that?" Pshaw ! GRANDMA. Next. EDITH, (curtseys) Woman within her home should stay Her duties there should be her play. SUSAN, (aside) That sentiment don't go to-day* GRANDMA. Next. IDA. (curtseys) The man is noble, strong and brave; Woman should be his loving slave. SUSAN. That notion's in its little grave ! GRANDMA. Very good, my darlings, (she rises) 14 THE REVOLT Edith, yesterday you could not tell me all the ingre- dients of bread. Do you know now what you omitted ? EDITH. Yes, Grandma Gregg. Add a cup of butter. GRANDMA. Correct. Ida, if you had a husband and he came home very late, what would you do ? IDA. (curtseys) I would pretend to be fast, fast asleep. GRANDMA. Yes. And what would you say the next morning? IDA. "Good morning, dear. I was asleep when you came in. I hope you had a pleasant evening." (GRACE passes tea. Door bell rings.) GRANDMA. Now, Miss SUSAN. Susan Jane Jones. GRANDMA. Don't forget your curtsey, Miss Jones. ( SUSAN curtseys) You may take the class now, Miss Jones, and give it instruction in the proper treatment of husbands. Inculcate ideas of meekness and gentle- ness. SUSAN. Oh, HI inculcate. Have no fear of that. (Enter PAULINE. She has a telegram which she hands to GRANDMA. Also has the dummy, which she throws on the floor carelessly.) PAULINE. Here's your husband. GRANDMA. My dear child, you should not handle a husband in that manner. PAULINE. I'll not be handling that husband in any manner very long, mam. I'm going to quit my job. Nothing but scrub, scrub, mop, mop, from morn- ing to night. Look at them young ladies, a drinkin' tea and me doin' the scrub work. I'm tired of being scholar, I am. GRANDMA, (after reading telegram) You are tired of being a scholar, are you, Pauline? THE REVOLT 15 PAULINE. Yes'm. I'm sick of it. I've learned ihis scrubbin' lesson from the cellar up. GRANDMA. So you have, dear, so you have ! You do it very well. And I am going to reward you. PAULINE, (happily) Eeward me, mam? GRANDMA. Yes. I have just received word my newly engaged Professor of Eudimentary Household Science cannot come. How would you like to be a professor, Pauline? PAULINE. Oh, me a professor, mam ! Me, who has nothing but rags to my name, a professor ? GRANDMA. Yes, Pauline. I have made up my mind. I am going to make you my Professor of Rud- iments. Young ladies, this is our new Professor of Rudiments, (all curtsey) PAULINE, (wiping her eyes) I feel like I ought to make a speech, mam, but I can't, I'm that over- come. I don't feel like I could do justice to the job, mam. GRANDMA. Oh, yes you can, my dear. Now, your duties as Professor of Rudiments will consist in teach- ing the young ladies scrubbing PAULINE. Scrubbin' ? GRANDMA. Yes, scrubbing, and mopping, and blacking stoves. PAULINE. Scrubbin' an' moppin' an' blackin' stoves ? GRANDMA. Just so. And you will teach by exam- ple. The young ladies will study your methods. You will scrub and mop and black stoves, and they will watch you. PAULINE. I'll scrub and mop and It's mighty like the job of bein' scholar, ain't it, mam ? What pay do I get, mam, for all this scrub and mop ? GRANDMA. Pay? I am surprised you should ask for pay when I have given you such a position of 16 THE REVOLT trust and honor. But there. If yon mnst have pay, you shall have it. I will give yon the work you owe me for the tuition you have received. PAULINE, (puzzled) Yes'm. Thank you, mam. Now, now, do you do that work I owe you, or do I do it? GRANDMA. What a question ! You do it, of course. You owe it to me, child, don't you? (PAULINE stands puzzled) Now, young ladies, I will leave you to your two new Professors, (exit GRANDMA) (PAULINE, when she is gone, stands puzzled. Turn- ing her head she sees dummy. She grasps it, raises it above her head, and throws it down angrily) PAULINE. Get to work, you husband, get to work ! (she goes to tea table and eats and drinks during the following scene) SUSAN. Fellow females! (the girls ignore her. They chatter loudly with one another. Finally KATE'S voice is heard) KATE. Well, I'll never speak to John again as long as I live. GRACE. Well, he can't be a bit worse than Ar- thur. Oh, I'm so mad at Arthur. I was so mad I could have slapped him. EDITH. What did he do, Grace ? GRACE. I met him on Main Street, quite by chance, you know, and he said, "Hello, Grace, you don't want an ice cream soda, do you?" And I said, "Oh, I don't care." And he said, "Oh, well, if you don't care !" IDA. The horrid thing. I think boys are just too horrid for anything. I oo-ooed at George to-day, and he didn't oo-oo back at me at all. I'm through with George ! EDITH. Imagine ! When T oo-oo at a bov and he THE REVOLT 17 doesn't oo-oo back I consider it a deadly insult. I suppose he was talking to some other girl. IDA. No, he wasn't! He was riding his motor cycle, and he was only two blocks away EDITH. Perhaps he didn't hear you. IDA. That's no excuse at all. When a girl oo-oos it is a boy's duty to hear. I always hear when George oo-oos. MAY. Certainly ! Any gentleman would oo-oo back at a girl if she oo-ooed at him. KATE. I suppose you mean Henry would oo-oo back at you. You and Henry ! MAY. ' Thank you, but I don't speak to Henry any more. Fve sent him about his business ! I was going over to the tennis court yesterday, and I oo-ooed at him, and he said, "Where are you going, May?" and I said, "I'm going to play tennis, if I can find a partner." And what do you think he said? GKACE. What did he say? MAY. He said, "Well, I'm sorry I can't go with you !" ALL. Oh, how horrid ! EDITH. Well, I've had all of Sam I want! When I got home from school yesterday I sat on the front porch all afternoon. Of course I expected Sam would happen to pass by. KATE. Of course. Any gentleman would happen to pass by. EDITH. Certainly. And there I sat. And sat. And sat. And no Sam came by. Oh, I was mad. And what do you think his excuse was ? His mother had fallen down the cellar stairs and broken her arm. KATE. And he let that keep him home! Girls, I think the way the boys treat us is perfectly out- Tageous ! There are whole minutes in every day when they don't think of us at all. 18 THE REVOLT GRACE. Oh, not whole minutes. KATE. Well, parts of minutes, anyway. I under- stand that several times this term several of the boys almost knew their lessons. That couldn't happen if they thought of us all the time. ALL. The horrid things ! KATE. Well, for my part, I'm through with boys ! I wish they were all all extinct. SUSAN, (rapping on table with her umbrella) Ladies! Fellow females! I have heard what you said. Your wrongs are enormous, but what does man live for but to oppress us? We are down-trod, down-trod by man, that worm that like a roaring lion seeks to cast dust in our eyes with his soaring wings while he rends our heart with his cruel beak! Shall we, ladies, be slaves to a worm? PAULINE. Xo, mam. (curtseys) SUSAN. No! You wish the men were extinct. We will extinguish them. Why waste your lives here doing plain and fancy sewing PAULINE. And scrubbin' SUSAN. When woman was meant to occupy the noblest spheres ? Wives ? Faugh ! Housewives ? Faugh! Let us take the work of the men, and do it ! Follow the bright banner of Susan Jane Jones, the Militant Suffragette, and drive the men into the sea! I have heard the story of your wrongs KATE. Well, I do think Henry was just too mean for anything. SUSAN. Sewing! Scrubbing! Have you women never wished to do the work of men? KATE. Yes, I have. I always wanted to be a doctor, but my father wouldn't hear of it. GRACE. What kind of a doctor, Kate? KATE. Oh, a handsome doctor with curly gray hair. And you, Grace? THE REVOLT 19 GRACB. Oh, I want to be a lawyer, a plump, jolly lawyer. And you, Edith? EDITH. I want to be an editor. GRACE. Eepublican or Democrat? EDITH. I don't know. The kind with a big auto- mobile. And you, Ida? IDA. I want to be a politician. MAY. An honest one, of course. IDA. Well, no. A successful politician. And you, May? MAY. I want to run a vegetable market, where the women can come with their market baskets. 'SusAN. Where the men can come with their mar- ket baskets, (to PAULINE) And you, you poor crea- ture, have you never felt the longing to usurp man's sphere? Have you never longed to do a man's work? PAULINE. Oh, yes, mam. This humble heart (tapping her waist) has felt the what-you-call it many a time. I have always wished, mam, to be a pirate. ALL. A pirate ! PAULINE. A pirate. And why not? That's men's work. Listen: Since my mother's lap I played in When I was a wee small maiden SUSAN. Just so high! ALL. Just so high ! PAULINE. I have had a great ambition For to better my condition SUSAN. So have I. ALL. So have I. PAULINE. Dolls was things I much detested Toys left me uninterested. Even as a little baby i 20 THE REVOLT I had hopes that sometime, maybi I could be a roaring pirate, Be a swearing, tearing pirate, Be a shocking, wicked pirate, With a cruel, cruel eye. SUSAN. I call that a very noble and uplifting ambition for a modern young lady. PAULINE. Listen : I have dreamed of death and slaughter On the wild tumultuous water SUSAN. Oh, how dear ! ALL. Oh, how dear ! PAULINE. I have lonsred to wear a dagger And cut throats, and swear, and swagger. SUSAN. Hear ! Hear ! ALL. Hear! Hear! PAULINE. All around me, dead and dying, I would see my victims lying; And I'd laugh out loud and louder As I smelled the blood and powder, , For Fd be a roaring pirate, Be a swearing, tearing pirate, Bloody-bones, the heartless pirate, With a cruel, cruel eye. SUSAN. I consider Bloody-bones a very sweet name for a young lady pirate. Very ! PAULINE. Yes, mam. (curtseys) So, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to be a pirate, mam. SUSAN. Certainly. A pirate's life is a very man- nish occupation. KATE. Wouldn't it be lovely to be a pirate! It is much more interesting than being a doctor. PAULINE. Yes, Miss Kate. And there's no scrub- bin' on a pirate craft. The wash of the sea is merely a poetical term. And if the men is drove off the i THE REVOLT 21 land, they'll take to ships, do you see, and there'll be plenty of work for a respectable, blood-thirsty lady pirate to do, catchin' 'em and extinguishing 'em. GRACE. Oh, girls, wouldn't it be lovely to be pirates ? SUSAN. Then be pirates! The Militant Suffra- gettes need a navy as well as an army. Every revo- lution needs its privateers. KATE. No more sewing! (gathers up sewing and throws it down) PAULINE. No more scrubbin'. (throws away mop and brush) GRACE. No more rag bags! (takes rag bag from chair, and is about to throw it, when red rags fall out) PAULINE. Hold on, Miss Grace ! Pirates is mostly dressed out of rag bags, (winds red rag around GRACE'S head, and a red rag as sash. All do like- wise) Wait till I get the swords, (exit PAULINE) KATE, (front, with clenched fists) 00 I feel blood-thirsty ! SUSAN. And you look extremely blood-thirsty. GRACE. 00 I feel ferocious! SUSAN. And you look too ferocious for anything. EDITH. 00 I feel wicked! SUSAN. You are certainly a fear-compelling sight. IDA. 00 I feel murderous! SUSAN. You look like a most criminal character. MAY. 00 I feel dangerous! SUSAN. You look extremely dangerous. PAULINE, (entering with table knives, etc.) 00- I feel like if I seen a cake of soap I could kick it! (she distributes knives) SUSAN. Eeserve your wrath for the men. (draw- ing them all to her) Hist! To-night at dead of 22 THE REVOLT night we will capture a lumber schooner at Copp's lumber yard ALL. Aye ! Aye ! Mam ! SUSAN. . To-night at dead of night meet me at the corner of Main and Broadway ! ALL. Aye ! Aye ! Mam ! SUSAN. To-night at dead of night we will strangle the watchmen KATE. At dead of night? I don't think we ought to strangle watchmen at dead of night unless we have a chaperone, do you girls? SUSAN. Nonsense ! What kind of Suffragettes are you to need a chaperone? I don't have a chap- erone. GRACE. Well, I don't care! I'm not going out strangling at night without a chaperone ! It isn't proper. SUSAN. But you are a pirate. EDITH. I don't care if we are pirates. We don't have to be improper pirates. I want to strangle and murder in a perfectly proper manner. PAULINE. How about takin' the old lady with you? KATE. Grandma Gregg? Why, she's no Suffra- gette. Oh, girls ! The very thing ! We will take Grandma Gregg ! We'll capture her ! We'll take her, in chains ! SUSAN. Excellent ! You will have your chaperone, and I will be rid of the most dangerous Anti-suffra- gette ! Seek her and seize her ! ALL. We go ! We go ! (exit all, left, except PAUL- INE) (enter GRANDMA GREGG, right) GRANDMA. I thought I heard a noise, Pauline. How are the dear girls getting on with their les- sons? PAULINE, (curtseys] Fine, mam. They're learn- ing new tricks every day. THE HEVOLT 23 GRANDMA, (picking up dunimy and laying it over chair back) Very good. But I wouldn't wear a bandeau on my hair if I were you, Pauline. I don't like these ribbons bound around the head of young girls. They make them look like pirates. (PAULINE starts uneasily) PAULINE. Pirates, mam? What a notion! GRANDMA. Pirates, or Italian ditch diggers. PAULINE, (boldly) Well, mam, let it be pirates, then. Pirate is what I am. (hesitates) Grandma Gregg, you've always been good to me, barring the scrubbing and mopping and blacking shoes and stoves. If I was you, mam, I'd pack some clothes, so as to be ready for the sea voyage. GRANDMA. Me? A sea voyage? PAULINE. Yes'm. (curtseys} This Susan Jane Jones is not what she seems, mam. I let on, mam,. I was of her way of thinking, mam, but I ain't. A husband is good enough woman's rights for me, mam. A nice, quiet, well-behaved husband like that one there is all I want. GRANDMA. I don't understand you. PAULINE. Susan Jane Jones is a Militant Suf- fragette, mam. GRANDMA. A Militant Suffragette ? In this acad- emy? PAULINE. Yes, mam. (curtseys} She's here like a snake in the grass, mam, and her and the young ladies is goin' to extinguish all the men. They're all goin' to be pirates, mam, and most bloody minded pirates they be, too. And you, mam, that never did them any harm, they are going to capture and take along with them in-chains. For a chaperone, mam. GRANDMA, (hanging her head) And is this the reward for my efforts to make good wives of them! (Enter SUSAN cautiously. She beckons to the. girls.) 24 THE REVOLT SUSAN. This way! She's here! (The girls creep in, knives in their teeth, swagger- ing like story-book pirates. SUSAN folds her arms.) SUSAN. Woman! Your hour has come! GRANDMA. Well, I do declare! SUSAN. These poor maidens you thought to cor- rupt into housework ways, I have won from you. Here, to-day, the revolution that will sweep the men from the land and sea, begins ! We are resolved ! ALL. (shouting) We are resolved ! SUSAN. In these hearts burns nothing but hatred and detestation of man. ALL. (shouting) Hatred and detestation. KATE. We don't want to have anything more to do with men. GEACE. We are absolutely through with them. And with boys, too. GRANDMA. Now, my dears SUSAN. Enough ! Pirates, do your duty ! Seize that man! (two girls seize and bind the dummy) SUSAN. Ha! Ha! Now seize and bind and gag that woman, (points to GRANDMA. The girls rush at GRANDMA, who skips backward) SUSAN, (front, rubbing her hands with joy) My pirates! My faithful band of man-haters, (to audi- ence) You men, your turn is next I A BOY'S VOICE, (off stage) OO-oo! (KATE, who is about to bind GRANDMA, stops and listens.) KATE. That's John! SECOND BOY'S VOICE, (off stage) Oo-oo! Oo-oo! GRACE, (listening) That's that's Arthur! SEVERAL BOYS' VOICES. Oo-oo! Oo-oo! Oo-oo I THE REVOLT 25 EDITH, IDA and MAY. That's Sam! That's George! Thafs Henry! (all crowd to door and look out) KATE, (eagerly) Oh, girls! It's the hoys, they want us to come out! Where's my hat? (All rush in a crowd to sofa and begin digging wildly into wraps and hats, putting them on as hastily as possible.) SUSAN. Girls! Pirates! Stop! The revolution! Eemember your cause ! KATE, (pinning on her hat) Revolution! I haven't time for revolutions, don't you hear the boys calling us? SUSAN. Stop ! Are you not women ? GRACE, (as all come forward) Women? Pirates? Why no, we are just the I. I. Club. Just girls. Just sweet girls ! VOICES, (off stage) Oo-oo! GIRLS. Oo-oo! Oo-oo! Oo-oo! (they rush out) ( SUSAN slowly picks up umbrella and hand bag, and moves to door. GRANDMA takes up her knitting. PAULINE picks up her mop, and looks lovingly at dummy.) PAULINE. I'm ashamed of you, sir. Why didn't ?ou oo-oo at me when all them boys was oo-ooing? f you had oo-ooed at me I would have oo-ooed back. GRANDMA, (with interest) Did he speak to you, Pauline? PAULINE. No, mam. He's an Ideal Husband, and Ideal Husbands don't talk back, main. (CURTAIN) JUST PUBLISHED Nothing But the Truth A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts By James Montgomery Cast of Characters Bob Bennett B. M. Ralston Clarence Van Dusen Bishop Doran Dick Donnelly Gwen Mrs. Ralston Ethel Mable Sable Martha SCENES ACT 1. A Broker's Office ACT 2. Parlor of a Country Home ACT 3. TIME: The Present "Nothing- But the Truth" is built upon the simple idea of its hero speaking nothing- but the absolute truth for a stated period. He bets a friend ten thousand dollars that he can do it, and boldly tackles truth to win the money. For a very short time the task is placidly easy, but Truth routs out old man Trouble and then things be- gin to happen. Trouble doesn't seem very large^ and aggressive when he first pokes his nose into the noble resolve of our hero, but he grows rapidly and soon we see our dealer in truth disrupting the domestic relations of his partner. In fact, Trouble works overtime,* and reputations that have been unblemished are smirched. Situations that are absurd and complications almost knotted, pile up, all credited to Truth, and the result of the wager to foster and cherish that great virtue from the lips of the man who has espoused the cause of truth to win a wager. It is a novel idea and so well has it been worked out that an audience is kept in throes of laughter at the seemingly impossible task to "untangle snarls into which our hero has involved all those he comes into contact with. It is a clean bright farce of well drawn characters and was built for laughing .purposes only. William Collier played "Nothing But the Truth" for a, year at the Longacre Theatre, New York, and it has been on tour for over two seasons. After three years continuous success on the profess- ional stage we are now offering "Nothing But the Truth for amateur production. It is one of the funniest ana brightest farces ever written, and it is admirably suited to amateur production, PRICE 60 CENTS THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL PINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. SEP 19 1934 LD 21-100m-7,'33 Photomount Pamphlet Binder Gaylord Bros. Makers Syracuse, N. Y. W. JAN 21, 1908 825736 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY