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INTRODUCTION.

Midi File MIDI FILE [16KB, 2' 43"] MIDI Karaoke Version [14' 19"]

Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall
MEN.
  Ye stately homes of England,
    So simple yet so grand;
  Long may ye stand and flourish,
    Types of our English land!
WOMEN.
  Ye stately homes of England,
    Such mansions only grew
  Where virtue reigned from cot to throne,
    And man and wife were true.
FULL CHORUS.
  Ye stately homes of England,
    Long may your towers stand;
  Types of the life of man and wife,
    Types of our English land!
  Types of the life of man and wife,
    Types of our English land!

ACT I.

SCENE. - The Terrace.

Midi File MIDI FILE [21KB, 2' 14"]

CHORUS.
  To-day, it is a festal time!
    The bridegroom comes to-day,
  And we are here to sing a rhyme
    To speed him on his way.
  To-day, our mistress, ever dear,
    Doth plight her virgin troth;
  And we are all forgathered here
    To sing, God bless them both!
  To-day, it is a festal time!
    The bridegroom comes to-day,
  And we are here to sing a rhyme
    To speed him on his way.
  We are all forgathered here
    To sing, God bless them both!

DANCE.

Enter DORCAS.

Midi File MIDI FILE [39KB, 6' 22"]

DORCAS.
  But midst our jubilation
    Comes the echo of a sigh;
  Its full signification
    Ye will gather by-and-bye.
  Now, lend me your attention
    While I tell you all a tale,
  Anent a dainty dormouse
    And an unattractive snail.
CHORUS.
  A dainty dormouse!
    An unattractive snail!
     
DORCAS.
  'Twas a dear little dormouse —
    A little mouse-maid!
  Her papa and mamma
    She had always obeyed.
  Pit-a-pat went her heart,
    And her cheek grew pale,
    When commanded to marry
    A stupid old snail.
Dorcas
Dorcas

      "Oh, father, I cannot!"
        "But, daughter, thou must;
      For he has a house,
        And we haven't a crust!"
         
  The snail he was ugly,
    The snail he was black;
    But for all that he carried
    A house on his back.
  Said the wily old dormouse,
    "When thou art his bride,
  He will lend us his house,
    And we'll all live inside!"
ALL.
      "Oh, father, I cannot!"
       

"But, daughter, thou must;
     

For he has a house

       

And we haven't a crust,
     

For he has a house
        And we haven't a crust!"
         
DORCAS.
  A gallant young squirrel
    Sat perched on a tree,
  And he thought to himself,
    There's a good wife for me!
  On the eve of the wedding
    He said to the mouse,
  "Wilt thou marry a squirrel
    Who hasn't a house?"
      "Oh, squirrel, I cannot!"
        "But, dormouse, thou must,
      Her heart to a squirrel
        A dormouse may trust."
         
  The squirrel was handsome,
    They plighted their vows,
  And the squirrel ran off
    With the little dormouse.
  And I'm sure if you ever
    Set eyes on a snail,
  You will all sympathize
    With the dormouse's wail
ALL.
      "Oh, father, I cannot!
        Don't tell me I must;
      Though he has a house
        And we haven't a crust,
      Though he has a house
        And we haven't a crust!"
CHORUS.
  But who is the dormouse
    And who, who is the snail?

Enter SIR GEORGE VERNON, LADY VERNON, and DOROTHY.

CHORUS.
  Hail to the Lord of Haddon!
    And thee, his silver bride!
  And to thy daughter, fairest flower
    Of all the country side!
WOMEN.
  Nor violet, lily,
    Nor bluebell we bring,
  To garland thy pathway
    With fragrance of spring.
  No beauty of blossom
    That dies in a day
  Can speak an affection
    That blossoms alway.
     
  And never a chaplet
    Our hearts could entwine
  Could tell the devotion
    That ever is thine.
CHORUS.
  In lieu of the lily
    And bonny bluebell,
  We lay on thine altar
    True love's immortelles.
     
DOROTHY.
  Dear playmates of childhood,
    Right welcome are you!
  More fragrant than lily
    A love that is true.
LADY VERNON.
  Like flower amaranthine
    Whose blossoms ne'er fade,
  It blooms in the sunshine
    And blooms in the shade.
     
DOROTHY and LADY VERNON.
  Right welcome are you,
Welcome, welcome are you.
     
CHORUS.
  In lieu of the lily
    And bonny bluebell,
  We lay on thine altar
    True love's immortelles.
     
DOROTHY, LADY VERNON and SIR GEORGE.
  Oh, welcome!
CHORUS.
    Nor violet!
DOROTHY, LADY VERNON and SIR GEORGE.
  Oh, welcome!
CHORUS.
    Nor lily!
DOROTHY, LADY VERNON and SIR GEORGE.
  Oh, welcome!
CHORUS.
  But lay on thine altar
    True love's immortelles.
     
SIR GEORGE.
  Welcome, I bid ye welcome, one and all!
    Let youth and beauty keep their merry May;
  For all too soon the leaves of autumn fall,
    And evening shadows quench the laughing day.

MADRIGAL.

Midi File MIDI FILE [16KB, 3' 11"]

SIR GEORGE.
  When the budding bloom of May
    Paints the hedgerows red and white,
  Gather then your garlands gay;
    Earth was made for man's delight!
LADY VERNON.
      May is playtime —
DOROTHY.
      June is hay time —
SIR GEORGE.
      Seize the day time -
TRIO.
      Fa la la!
    Carol now the birds of spring!
Let our hearts in chorus sing!
CHORUS.
  Ere the golden day is pale,
    Dawns the silver orb of light;
  Sweetly trills the nightingale,
    "Earth was made for man's delight!"
      Fa la la la,
Fa la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la!
    "Earth was made for man's delight!"
       
SIR GEORGE.
  When the leaves of autumn sigh,
    "Nearer death and further birth!"
  Time enough for hearts to cry,
    "Man was only made for earth!"
LADY VERNON.
      Youth is pleasant —
DOROTHY.
      Grasp the present —
SIR GEORGE.
      Moons are crescent —
TRIO.
      Fa la la!
    Time enough for hearts to sigh!
Now the noonday sun is high!
CHORUS.
  Day in cloth of gold is gay,
    Robe of silver wears the night;
  All creation seems to say,
    "Earth was made for man's delight!"
      Fa la la la,
Fa la la la la la la la,
Fa la la la!
    "Earth was made for man's delight!"

Exeunt Chorus and DORCAS.


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