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The Princess of Alfred Tennyson Re-cast as a Drama
The Princess of Alfred Tennyson Recast as a Drama Author:Alfred Tennyson Tennyson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE PRINCESS. ACT I. SCENE I.— A Presence-room In The King's Palace. The King seated, reading a letter, with an angry frown. A rich robe on the table be... more »fore him. The Prince standing with Cyril and Florian. King (tearing up the letter). An answer vague as wind ! He takes our gifts : Sends this return (holding up the robe) : grants that there did a kind Of compact pass, a show of baby troth, Betwixt his daughter and our son : he would It might be kept to; but she has a will And maiden fancies; loves to live alone Among her women; certain, will not wed. Not wed ! I'll send a hundred thousand men And bring her in a whirlwind. (Rends the robe in twain.) Prince. Let me go, My father: some gross error surely lies In this report, this answer of a king, Whom all men rate as kind and hospitable. Florian. I have a sister at the foreign court, Who moves about the Princess ; she, you know, Who wedded with a nobleman from thence ; He, dying lately, left her, as I hear, The lady of three castles in that land : Through her this matter might be sifted clean. Cyril. And take me with you too : in those strange lands, Trust me, I'll serve you better in a strait. I grate on rusty hinges here. King. No ! no ! You shall not; 'tis our quarrel: we ourself Will crush her pretty maiden fancies dead In iron gauntlets : break the council up. Exit King. Florian. One of her pretty fancies is, I hear, A university for maidens ; she The college head; the tutors, Lady Blanche And Lady Psyche, widows who had charge Of her. I've heard her sire, old Gama, say They fed her theories, in and out of place, Maintaining that with equal husbandry The woman were an equal of the man, And only knowledge makes the difference. They harped on this, and praised her lofty odes Abou...« less