Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-04-10


And the pirate king at one re-
leases them, explaining his motive
for SO doing in the following lines:
Although we live by strife,
We're always sorry to begin it;
Ana wat We ask Is life
Without a touch of poetry in it
At the mention of poetry the pirates
and the ladies' are moved to kneel and
sing the following hymn to her;
Hail, Poetry thou heaven.b9rn maid.
Thou gildest cen the pirates trlde;
" - SOWING fourt nf sentiment!
All hail, Divine EmOllient!
The young ladies are at once re.
leased, aud they, with Frederic and
their father, scale the rocks by which
they descended. waving an adieu to
the pirates, who indulge in a wild
dance of exultation at the triumph of
their guiding principle, as the cur
tain falls on the first act.
The second act takes place in the
ruined chapel. on General Stanley's
estate. The general is discovered in
1 state of terrible depression, owing
to the remorse caused by the contemp-
tible lie, by which he escaped from
the pirates clutches, His daughters
endeavor, but vainly, to console him,
and he has come to kneel at the tomb
of his ancestors and implore their par
don Tor the disgrace ne has brought
upon a hitherto u~nstained escuteheon.
It is littlet to the purpose that he is
reminded Of the fact that he only
bought the property a year ago, and
that the stuccO on his newly-erected
baronial castle is scarcely dry. His
reply Is unansWerable:
Frederick, in this chapel are an.
cestors-you cannot deny that. |
don't know whose ancestors they
we're, but l know whose ancestors
they are, and as their descendants
by purchase" (if | so describe my.
self l shudder to think Of the dis
race that ! have brought upon then.
Young Frederick, the ex-pirste,
who is BY this time formerly betroth-
ed to Mabel. and who has obtained a
commission in the Eleventh Hussars.
is that night to lead a body Of police
men against his former associates, and
The police enter to receive the gen
erals blessing before departing on
their hazardous expedition.
The rime of mind in which they
embark on the duty is revealed in a
.ong by the sergeant Of police, which
is chorused b. the rank and file, who
use their clubs as trumpets.
They receive the generals blessing
(which does not seem to have the
effect of raising their spirit, iHasmuoi
Is it is confined to a recommendation
to go to death and 90 to slaughter
md withdraw, Mabel taking a fond
farewell Of Frederic, who is left alone
to prepare himself for the coming
struggle. To his establishment Ruth
ind the pirate king appear at the win.
low at the back of the stage, and.
holding pistols to his head, implore
him not to slaughter them until he
has heard what they have come 20 tell
Under the circumstances he is scarcely
a free agent, and they proceed to tell
him that after his departure they dis
covered that he was %apprenticed to
their band, not until he reached his
tw~enty-frst year, as they had imag-
ined, but until he reached his twenty
FIRST birthday more material dis
tinction than might at first sight be
supposed, inasmuch as he was born on
the 10Th of February in leap year, and
that birthday will not be reached
until A. D. 1910. Frederic is horri-
fed at this discovery, and he has little
lificulty in coming to the conclusion
hat until hal date he is bound t.
devote himself to the interests of the
pirates. Overwhelmed as he is at thi,
discovery, and Notwithstanding hi
attachment to General Stanley, hC
nevertheless feels bound, as a member
# the gang, to reveal the fact tina.
General Stanley escaped from then
IN a fraudulent plea, inaSmueh as h
not only is not an orphan, but. worsl
than that, he never was one. Furiou
At having been made the victims Of
deception the pirate king and RutI
depart to collect their band and attacl
rremorden castle that very night
Frederic takes a fond farewell 0
Mabel, promising to return in 1914
md claim her, and then follows hi
old associates. Mabel summons tn
police, informs them of the fact tina
Frederic has felt himself bound t
rejoin his old associates, and urge
them to attack the pirates alone
This they determined to do, notwith
standing the fact that they sympathiz
rather with criminals than with prose
cutOrs, on grounds explained by tn
sergeant in a song.
At this point the pirates arrive, an,
the police coneal themselves in tn
left aisle Of the chapel. The pirates
whose tendency to indulge 10 vigorou
choruses is not even checked BY tn
fact that they are committing a bur
glary, describe the catlike way in whic'
they steal upon their foe in a voca
explosion which is almost calculate
to wake General Stanley's ancestor
by purchase" In effect it attract
the generals attention, who enter
under the impression that he "hear
no noise" BY this time the pirate
have concealed themselves in I'll
right isle ofthe chapel, and as the gen
eral sees nothing to account for th
, sound that arrests his attention,
concludes that it must have been IL
"sighing Of the breeze" He at one
sings an ode to the evening breeze, Il
pirates are supposed to be unaware
the presence Of the police, and Il
general is supposed to be unaware
. the presence of either, but this COL
= sideration does not prevent all parti
: from joining in the chorus whenev.