DICK WHITTINGTON.
Reading edition
SONG WITH TABLEAUX.
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1. “Clouds of trouble hover o’er me, I will leave this London drear; Save my cat, I’m lone and friendless, Naught but failure greets me here.” Thus said Dick; and off he wandered, Eyes bedimmed with burning tears, Till, fatigued, he paused and rested— Sweet-toned bells salute his ears. “Stay, O stay!” They seem to say. “Turn again, Whittington, Thrice Mayor of London.” 2. Years rolled by, and Dick was dwelling In a land beyond the sea; Fickle fortune smiled upon him, He was rich as man need be. Gold and jewels were his payment, But the labor was his cat’s— It had cleared the Prince’s palace Of a mighty swarm of rats. Still he hears, As pass the years, “Turn again, Whittington, Thrice Mayor of London.” 3. Once again in merry London Dick had landed safe and sound; Famed afar for truth and honor, Many were the friends he found. As Lord Mayor he counseled wisely, Cheered the poor man’s humble lot, For the struggles of his boyhood In success he ne’er forgot. Yet again Resounds the strain, “Long live Dick Whittington, Lord Mayor of London.”
Persons Represented in the Tableaux: Dick Whittington, a beggar, attendants, etc. A cat.
Scene. For Tableau I, an exterior; for Tableaux II and III, an interior.
N.B. The chimes played on the Fairy Bells or some similar instrument will greatly add to the effect.
Tableau I. Verse 1. Dick, with a bundle over his shoulder, turns round at the sound of the bells.
Tableau II. Verse 2. Dick, well dressed, sits fondling his cat.
Tableau III. Verse 3. Dick, as Lord Mayor of London, sits in a chair of state. He gives alms to a poor man who kneels before him. Attendants look on.