Context:
| Location: |
Cornwall, England |
| Year: |
Publ. 1833 |
| Time of Occurrence: |
Christmas |
| Collective Name: |
[Not given] |
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Source:
William Sandys
Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern,...
London, Richard Beckley, 1833
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Cast:
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Text:
{Enter the Turkish knight.}
Turkish Knight
Open your doors, and let me in,
I hope your favors I shall win;
Whether I rise or whether I fall,
I'll do my best to please you all.
Saint George is here, and swears he will come in,
And, if he does, I know he'll pierce my skin.
If you will not believe what I do say,
Let Father Christmas come in - clear the way,
{Retires.}
{Enter Father Christmas.}
Father Christmas
Here come I, old Father Christmas.
Welcome, or welcome not,
I hope old Father Christmas
Will never be forgot.
I am not come here to laugh or to jeer,
But for a pocketfull of money, and a skinfull of beer.
If you will not believe what I do say,
Come in the King of Egypt - clear the way.
{Enter the King of Egypt.}
King of Egypt
Here I, the King of Egypt, boldly do appear,
Saint George, Saint George, walk in, my only son and heir.
Walk in, my son Saint George, and boldly act thy part,
That all the people here may see thy wond'rous art.
{Enter Saint George.}
Saint George
Here come I, Saint George, from Britain did I spring,
I'll fight the Dragon bold, my wonders to begin.
I'll clip his wings, he shall not fly:
I'll cut him down, or else I die.
{Enter the Dragon.}
Dragon
Who's he that seeks the Dragon's blood,
And calls so angry, and so loud?
That English dog, will he before me stand?
I'll cut him down with my courageous hand.
With my long teeth, and scurvy jaw,
Of such I'd break up half a score,
And stay my stomach, till I'd more.
{St. George and the Dragon fight, the latter is killed.}
Father Christmas
Is there a doctor to be found
All ready, near at hand,
To cure a deep and deadly wound,
And make the champion stand?
{Enter Doctor}
Doctor
Oh! yes, there is a doctor to be found
All ready, near at hand,
To cure a deep and deadly wound,
And make the champion stand.
Father Christmas
What can you cure?
Doctor
All sorts of diseases,
Whatever you pleases,
The phthisic, the palsy, and the gout;
If the devil's in, I'll blow him out.
Father Christmas
What is your fee?
Doctor
Fifteen pound, it is my fee,
The money to lay down.
But, as 'tis such a rogue as thee,
I cure for ten pound.
I carry a little bottle of alicumpane,
Here Jack, take a little of my flip flop,
Pour it down thy tip top,
Rise up and fight again.
{The Doctor performs his cure, the fight is renewed,
and the Dragon again killed.}
Saint George
Here am I, Saint George,
That worthy champion bold.
And with my sword and spear
I won three crowns of gold.
I fought the fiery dragon,
And brought him to the slaughter;
By that I won fair Sabra,
The King of Egypt's daughter.
Where is the man, that now will me defy?
I'll cut his giblets full of holes,
and make his buttons fly.
{The Turkish Knight advances.}
Turkish Knight
Here come I, the Turkish night,
Come from the Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight Saint George, who is my foe,
I'll make him yield before I go;
He brags to such a high degree,
He think there's none can do the like of he.
Saint George
Where is the Turk, that will before me stand?
I'll cut him down with my courageous hand.
{The fight, the Knight is overcome, and falls on one knee.}
Turkish Knight
Oh! pardon me, Saint George, pardon of thee I crave,
Oh! pardon me this night, and I will be thy slave.
Saint George
No pardon shalt thou have, while I have foot to stand,
So rise thee up again, and fight out sword in hand.
{They fight again, and the Knight is killed,
Father Christmas calls for the Doctor, with
whom the same dialogue occurs as before,
and the cure is performed.}
{Enter the Giant Turpin.}
Giant Turpin
Here come I, the Giant, bold Turpin is my name,
And all the nations round do tremble at my fame.
Where'er I go, they tremble at my sight,
No lord or champion long with me would fight.
Saint George
Here's one that dares to look thee in the face,
And soon will send thee to another place.
{They fight, and the Giant is killed, medical aid is called in as before,
and the cure performed by the Doctor, who then, according to the stage
direction, is given a basin of girdy grout, and a kick, and driven out.}
Father Christmas
Now, ladies and gentlemen, your sport is most ended.
So prepare for the hat, which is highly commended.
The hat it would speak, if it had but a tongue.
Come throw in your money, and think it no wrong.
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File History:
1995-01-28 - Entered by Peter Millington
1997-03-25 - File named by Peter Millington
2021-01-15 - TEI-encoded by Peter Millington
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Extras:
Dramaturgical Chart
Click on the image to view the chart full size.
The chart reveals the dramaturgical structure of the play by showing which speeches in the script are spoken which character. Vertical lines indicate stage directions.
TEI-encoded File
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Text Relatives Map
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- As a histogram sorted by the number of shared lines
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Other Information
There may be more about this text at:
https://folkplay.info/resources/texts-and-contexts/cornish-christmas-play-1833.
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