Authors: Brian Friel

Brian Friel Plays 1 (67 page)

DOALTY:
Tell him his whole camp’s on fire,

LANCEY:
What’s your name? (
To
OWEN
) Who’s that lout?

OWEN:
Doalty Dan Doalty.

LANCEY:
Where does he live?

OWEN:
Tulach Alainn.

LANCEY:
What do we call it?

OWEN:
Fair Hill. He says your whole camp is on fire.

(
LANCEY
rushes
to
the
window
and
looks
out.
Then
he
wheels
on
DOALTY
.)

LANCEY:
I’ll remember you, Mr Doalty. (
To
OWEN
) You carry
a big responsibility in all this.

(
He
goes
off.
)

BRIDGET:
Mother of God, does he mean it, Owen?

OWEN:
Yes, he does.

BRIDGET:
We’ll have to hide the beasts somewhere – our Seamus’ll know where. Maybe at the back of Lis na nGradh – or in the caves at the far end of the Tra Bhan. Come on, Doalty! Come on! Don’t be standing about there!

(
DOALTY
does
not
move.
BRIDGET
runs
to
the
door
and
stops
suddenly.
She
sniffs
the
air.
Panic.
)

The sweet smell! Smell it! It’s the sweet smell! Jesus, it’s the potato blight!

DOALTY:
It’s the army tents burning, Bridget.

BRIDGET:
Is it? Are you sure? Is that what it is? God, I thought we were destroyed altogether. Come on! Come on!

(
She
runs
off.
OWEN
goes
to
SARAH
who
is
preparing
to
leave.
)

OWEN:
How are you? Are you all right?

(
SARAH
nods:
Yes.
)

OWEN:
Don’t worry. It will come back to you again.

(
SARAH
shakes
her
head.
)

OWEN:
It will. You’re upset now. He frightened you. That’s all’s wrong.

(
Again
SARAH
shakes
her
head,
slowly,
emphatically,
and
smiles
at
OWEN
.
Then
she
leaves,
OWEN
busies
himself
gathering
his
belongings.
DOALTY
leaves
the
window
and
goes
to
him.
)

DOALTY:
He’ll do it, too.

OWEN:
Unless Yolland’s found.

DOALTY:
Hah!

OWEN:
Then he’ll certainly do it.

DOALTY:
When my grandfather was a boy they did the same thing.

(
Simply,
altogether
without
irony
)
And after all the trouble you went to, mapping the place and thinking up new names for it.

(
OWEN
busies
himself.
Pause.
DOALTY
almost
dreamily.
)
I’ve damned little to defend but he’ll not put me out without a fight. And there’ll be others who think the same as me.

OWEN:
That’s a matter for you.

DOALTY:
If we’d all stick together. If we knew how to defend ourselves.

OWEN:
Against a trained army.

DOALTY:
The Donnelly twins know how.

OWEN:
If they could be found.

DOALTY:
If they could be found. (
He
goes
to
the
door.
)
Give me a shout after you’ve finished with Lancey. I might know

(
He
leaves.
)

(
OWEN
picks
up
the
Name-Book.
He
looks
at
it
momentarily,
then
puts
it
on
top
of
the
pile
he
is
carrying.
It
falls
to
the
floor.
He
stoops
to
pick
it
up – hesitates – leaves
it.
He
goes
upstairs.
As
OWEN
ascends,
HUGH
and
JIMMY JACK
enter.
Both
wet
and
drunk,
JIMMY
is
very
unsteady.
He
is
trotting
behind
HUGH
,
trying
to
break
in
on
HUGH
’s
declamation.
HUGH
is
equally
drunk
but
more
experienced
in
drunkenness:
there
is
a
portion
of
his
mind
which
retains
its
clarity.
)

HUGH:
There I was, appropriately dispositioned to proffer my condolences to the bereaved mother …

JIMMY:
Hugh –

HUGH:
… and about to enter the
domus lugubris
– Maire Chatach?

JIMMY:
The wake house.

HUGH:
Indeed – when I experience a plucking at my elbow: Mister George Alexander, Justice of the Peace. ‘My tidings are infelicitous‚’ said he – Bridget? Too slow. Doalty?

JIMMY:
Infelix
– unhappy.

HUGH:
Unhappy indeed. ‘Master Bartley Timlin has been appointed to the new national school.’ ‘Timlin? Who is Timlin?’ ‘A schoolmaster from Cork. And he will be a major asset to the community: he is also a very skilled bacon-curer!’

JIMMY:
Hugh –

HUGH:
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! The Cork bacon-curer!
Barbarus
hic
ego
sum
quia
non
intelligor
ulli
– James?

JIMMY:
Ovid.

HUGH:
Procede.

JIMMY:
‘I am a barbarian in this place because I am not understood by anyone.’

HUGH:
Indeed
–
(
Shouts
)
Manus! Tea! I will compose a satire on Master Bartley Timlin, schoolmaster and bacon-curer. But it will be too easy, won’t it? (
Shouts
)
Strong tea! Black!

(
The
only
way
JIMMY
can
get
HUGH
’s
attention
is
by
standing
in
front
of
him
and
holding
his
arms.
)

JIMMY:
Will you listen to me, Hugh!

HUGH:
James. (
Shouts
)
And a slice of soda bread.

JIMMY:
I’m going to get married.

HUGH:
Well!

JIMMY:
At Christmas.

HUGH:
Splendid.

JIMMY:
To Athene.

HUGH:
Who?

JIMMY:
Pallas Athene.

HUGH:
Glaukopis
Athene?

JIMMY:
Flashing-eyed, Hugh, flashing-eyed!

(
He
attempts
the
gesture
he
has
made
before:
standing
to
attention,
the
momentary
spasm,
the
salute,
the
face
raised
in
pained
ecstasy – but
the
body
does
not
respond
efficiently
this
time.
The
gesture
is
grotesque.
)

HUGH:
The lady has assented?

JIMMY:
She asked
me – I
assented.

HUGH:
Ah. When was this?

JIMMY:
Last night.

HUGH:
What does her mother say?

JIMMY:
Metis from Hellespont? Decent people – good stock.

HUGH:
And her father?

JIMMY:
I
’
m
meeting Zeus tomorrow. Hugh, will you be my best man?

HUGH:
Honoured, James; profoundly honoured.

JIMMY:
You know what I’m
looking for, Hugh, don’t you? I mean to say – you know – I – I – I joke like the rest of them – you know? –
(
Again
he
attempts
the
pathetic
routine
but
abandons
it
instantly.
)
You know yourself, Hugh – don’t you? – you know all that. But what I’m really looking for, Hugh – what I really want – companionship, Hugh – at my
time of life, companionship, company, someone to talk to. Away up in Beann na Gaoithe – you’ve no idea how lonely it is. Companionship – correct, Hugh? Correct?

HUGH:
Correct.

JIMMY:
And I always liked her, Hugh. Correct?

HUGH:
Correct, James.

JIMMY:
Someone to talk to.

HUGH:
Indeed.

JIMMY:
That’s all, Hugh. The whole story. You know it all now, Hugh. You know it all.

(
As
JIMMY
says
those
last
lines
he
is
crying,
shaking
his
head,
trying
to
keep
his
balance,
and
holding
a
finger
up
to
his
lips
in
absurd
gestures
of
secrecy
and
intimacy.
Now
he
staggers
away,
tries
to
sit
on
a
stool,
misses
it,
slides
to
the
floor,
his
feet
in
front
of
him,
his
back
against
the
broken
cart.
Almost
at
once
he
is
asleep.
HUGH
watches
all
of
this.
Then
he
produces
his
flask
and
is
about
to
pour
a
drink
when
he
sees
the
Name-Book
on
the
floor.
He
picks
it
up
and
leafs
through
it,
pronouncing
the
strange
names
as
he
does.
Just
as
he
begins,
OWEN
emerges
and
descends
with
two
bowls
of
tea.
)

HUGH:
Ballybeg. Burnfoot. King’s Head. Whiteplains. Fair Hill. Dunboy. Green Bank.

(
OWEN
snatches
the
book
from
HUGH
.)

OWEN:
I’ll take that. (
In apology.
) It’s only a catalogue of names.

HUGH:
I know what it is.

OWEN:
A mistake – my mistake – nothing to do with us. I hope that’s strong enough (
tea
)
.
(
He
throws
the
book
on
the
table
and
crosses
over
to
JIMMY
.)