Page:The Yeomen of the Guard.djvu/3

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THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD;

OR,

THE MERRYMAN AND HIS MAID.





ACT I.

SceneTower Green.

Phœbe discovered spinning.

SONG.—Phœbe.

When maiden loves, she sits and sighs,
She wanders to and fro;
Unbidden tear-drops fill her eyes,
And to all questions she replies,
With a sad "heigho!"
'Tis but a little word—"heigho!"
So soft, 'tis scarcely heard—"heigho!"
An idle breath—
Yet life and death
May hang upon a maid's "heigho!"

When maiden loves, she mopes apart,
As owl mopes on a tree;
Although she keenly feels the smart,
She cannot tell what ails her heart,
With its sad "Ah me !"
'Tis but a foolish sigh—"Ah me!"
Born but to droop and die — "Ah me!"
Yet all the sense
Of eloquence
Lies hidden in a maid's "Ah me!' (weeps).
 

Enter Wilfred.

Wil. Mistress Meryll!
Phœ. (looking up). Eh! Oh! it's you, is it? You may go away, if you like. Because I don't want you, you know.
Wil. Haven't you anything to say to me?