"Hey, Watty!" "Stop!" "What do you think of Wales?" " Gorgeous, isn't it?" " Very hilly." "It's very bumpy." "Goodbye." "Meet you at the house." "Anybody at home?" "Good day, sir." " Anyone home?" " Squire." "Oh, delicious lady, delicious surprise." "How are you, Jones?" "Making the most of your half-day." " Good afternoon, sir." " Squat, man." " No ceremony with me." " I'll just get these out of sight." "Any sign of the new inhabitant?" "Any moment now, I think, if the train from London was on time." "And why, dear lady, did I not see you at the Travazelis wedding?" "Naughty man." "I sat with you at the breakfast." "Mr. Jones." " Colonel?" " Colonel Moffat." "We must welcome him properly." "What is this?" "Is he married?" "With children?" "No mention of it in his letters." " Do you speak English?" " I do." "Well, be a dear and hold that." " Why don't you say something?" " Never speak till I'm spoken to." " Who was that?" " My mommy." "Never had no daddy." "It's heavy." "Give us a hand." "Oh, heavy." "Full of books, I shouldn't be surprised." "Don't stand there gawking." "Come on, give us a hand with the luggage." "Tallyho, I thought we'd lost you." " Oh, dear." "Good afternoon." " Kitchen through here?" "And garden through here." "Has anybody got a sweetie?" "No." "Lovely." "Bigger than I expected." "So this is my house." "No, it isn't." "Well..." "Isn't this Pengarth house?" "The name of the building, I mean." " Yes, it is." " And it isn't yours, damn it." " Belongs to this..." " Moffat." "Yes." "Yes, it was left me by my uncle, Dr. Moffat." "I'm Miss Moffat." "And you must be Miss Ronberry, who so kindly corresponded with me." " How do you do?" " Do sit down." "But those letters were written by a man." "Well, if they were, I've been grossly deceiving myself for all these years." "Surely you signed your name very oddly." "My initials, L.C. Moffat." "You see, I never felt that Lily Christobel really suited me." "L.C. I thought it meant lieutenant colonel." "Yes, but there was a military title afterwards." "M.A., Master of Arts." "A female Master of Arts?" "Any objections?" "How long is this going to last?" "Quite a long time, I hope considering that we've been waiting for it for 2000 years." "Are you saved?" "Are you saved?" " Am I what?" " Are you high or low?" " I beg your pardon." " Church or chapel?" "I really don't know." "Low, I suppose." "And now you know all about me." "What do you do?" "I'm afraid I don't do anything." "Good heavens." "Nothing at all?" "What a waste." " Well, I mean to say..." " Mr. Treverby owns the hall." "Interesting." "I never had much to do with landed gentry." "If I may say so, dear lady, that is patently obvious and I will not intrude on you any longer." "Right, sir." "Turn, sir." "Out, sir." "March." " Good day, Jones." " Good day, sir." "Nobody could say that I've made a conquest there." "What's the matter with him?" " Oh, he's really very nice." " When you get to know him?" " Yes." " I'm afraid I'll never have the time." "I do thank both of you." "You've arranged everything quite splendidly." "I like this house." "May I look about?" "Oh, yes, of course." "Dear, where's his lordship?" "Took offense and left." " At her?" " I'm afraid so." "Ain't she a clinker?" "She is unusual." "She's a clinker, that's what." "Terrible strong-willed though." "Would bring me here." "I said, "No," I said." " "Not with my past," I said." " Your past?" "Yes, before she took me up." "But now, what with her..." "And since I've joined the corps." " The corps?" " Yes." "The Militant and Righteous Corps." "Singing and praying and collecting full blast." "I've been a different woman ever since." " Are you saved?" " Yes, I am." "So am I. Ain't it lovely?" "But what was your past?" "Light fingers." "Light?" "Fingers." "Terrible." "It was everything:" "Pennies, brooches, spoons, tiddly." "Every time there was a do, everything went." "And I always knew it was me." " Kitchen all right?" " Ain't seen no mice yet." " I'm going outside." " Oh, dear." "Come look at this." "Come out here a minute." "This barn out here." " Is it mine, by any chance?" " No chance." "It belongs to the Gwalia farm, but the farm burned down." "Sir Herbert Vesey owns it." "He lives in London." "Then it's available." "I mean, it could be bought or rented." "I suppose so." "We'll find out, we'll write him a letter." " Can we get in?" " Only too easily." "But you haven't come down to farm, have you?" "Hardly." "Perfect." "Perfectly awful, the smell." "I like the smell of cow dung." "Don't you, Mr. Jones?" "I don't think I ever thought about it." " Room for 30 desks here, blackboard there." " Desks?" " Cloakroom, office." " Office?" "We haven't properly met." "John Goronwy Jones, isn't it?" "Goronwy." " Goronwy." " Yeah." "You've had a grammar-school education." "You work as a clerk in a law firm and you're not happy in your work." "How much do they pay you?" "Why, 33 shillings a week." " I'll give you 34 and your lunch." " You will?" "Yes, I will." "I don't expect to pay you anything." "You've had a fair education, you live alone in a large house and have a quite ample annuity." " I will give you lunch, naturally." " Give me lunch?" "Well, you can't pretend your life is so full that you have no time for a worthy cause." "Well, not completely full at the moment, perhaps." "But when the right gentleman comes along..." "If you're a spinster well on in her 30s, he's lost his way and he isn't coming." "Why don't you face the facts and enjoy life, same as I do?" "You mean you've given up hope?" "Oh, what a horrid expression." "I don't recall that I ever had any hope." "How very odd." "What's that singing?" "Men, boys, coming from the mine." "They burst into song at the slightest provocation." "You mustn't take any notice." "On the contrary, I expect to take the keenest possible notice." "How many families live around here?" " Families?" " I mean, within a radius of five miles." "Well, there's the squire, of course." " Mrs. Rempryce in the castle out at..." " No, no, I mean ordinary families." " The villagers?" " Yes, how many families?" " Really haven't the faintest idea." " About 20 families in the village." "And 15 in the farms around." " Many children?" " What age?" "Up to 16 or 17." "Here, they are only children until they are 12 then they're sent into the mine." "And after one week, they are old men." "And all for a few pennies." " What did he say?" " Never mind." "How many can read or write?" " Next to none." " Why do you ask?" "Because she is going to start a school." "Perceptive of you, Mr. Jones." "For the ordinary children, you mean?" "Yes, my dear, for the ordinary children who came into the world by the same process exactly as you and I." "A school for them?" "What for?" "To teach them to read, teach them to write." "The old, the young..." "But who will teach them?" " Me." " You?" " And you." " Oh, no." "And you." "My goodness, miss, I don't care if you're not church or chapel, I'm with you." "Well, I couldn't teach those children, they smell." "If we'd never been taught to wash, so would we." "We'll put them under the pump." "Well?" "Well, I can do addition and subtraction." " But I cannot do multiplication." " We'll work on it." "The best thing about teaching is you're learning all the time, you'll see." "Here we are, three stolid, middle-aged folk and there are those infant creatures hardly out of their shells when they're pushed back under the ground." "Under the ground physically, and what is worse, under the ground mentally." "Why?" "Because they were silly enough to be born penniless." "They'll never have a chance unless..." "We have the blessed opportunity to raise up the children from the bowels of the earth where the devil hath imprisoned them in powers of darkness bringing them to the light of knowledge." "Well, that's one way of putting it, Mr. Jones." "Now, the letter about the barn." "Come on." "We'll have some tea." "We have to compose a letter that will make Sir Herbert Vesey want to give us the barn." "Our tea, Watty!" "Just one room." "All I need is one big schoolroom." "A floor, a stove, a few windows like this, as simple as can be." "No frills." "That's good, boys." "Now, then, underneath the pump, all hands." "That's good, boys." "That's it." "Now, then, let me have a look." "Show me your hands, everybody." " Cat." " Cat." "Good." " Miss Ronberry?" " Rat." "Rat." "Dog." "Dog." "Dog." "Please, Miss Ronberry, how do you spell it?" " What, dear?" " Curriculum." "Yes." "Now, what would you like?" "The Rivers of Europe or King Alfred and the Cake?" " Goodbye, Madaly." " Goodbye." "Bye-bye." "Ta-ta, Bladwin." "You here again?" " No, I said, are you here again?" " No, miss." " What do you mean, "No, miss"?" " We isn't here again, miss." "Well, what are you, then?" " We isn't this same lot as this morning." " Ain't you?" "Miss Ronnyberry tell us to wait, miss." " Good evening, sir." " Good evening." "I see you and the lady teacher behind the door." "Wait till you see Miss Moffat." "She will give you what for." "Wait till you see Miss Moffat." "She will give you what for." "You wait till you see Miss Moffat." "She will give you what for." "Boys, sorry to keep you waiting, I won't be a minute." "Yes, why don't you wash your hands by the pump?" "You'll find the soap." "Did you understand that?" " Yes, miss." " Thank you, miss." " Good." " Please, miss, can I have a kiss?" "I beg your pardon?" "What did you say?" "Please, miss, can I have a kiss?" "Of course you can." " Anyone else?" " Please, miss, can I have a broken jaw?" "I heard a dreadful noise." "What happened?" "That, I'm not quite sure." " Did they attack you?" " No, no, I'm afraid that I attacked them." "Oh, dear, our poor school." "The mine owners don't want us, the pub owners don't want us the chapel is suspicious, and now I've attacked the youth." "What are these?" "Books." "They must have dropped them." "I set them a composition." ""How I Would Spend My Holiday." The ones who write English." "Their holiday?" "Did they know what you meant?" "You know, I had a..." "Good morning." "Good morning, children." " Good morning." "And you too." " Sorry." "Peasant slut." "You'll have to hurry, Mr. Jones." "We're going to see the squire about the barn." "We'll catch him leaving the pub, I hope." " Good luck!" " We'll need it." "Hurry, hurry, fast as you can." "Stop." "Let me out." " Hello, lady." " Good morning." "I was just going to drive up the hill to see you." "May we have a little contact?" "We may, we may indeed." " I will wait for you at the post office." " Thank you." "Well?" "Yes, I have a very important message for you by word of mouth from a gent who's staying at my place this weekend." "Sir Herbert Vesey." "You know that name?" "Yes." "He's the owner of the Gwalia farm next to me." "And more to the point, he's the owner of the barn." "Yes, go on." "Sir Herbert has definitely decided he has no use for the old wreck." "Yes, I know that already." "But what you don't know, as he's only just now confided in me is that he does not see it as a school and under no circumstances will he let it as such." "To which end, you will receive official notice in tomorrow's post with profound regret, yours faithfully, et cetera." "But he implied in his first letter that he was willing to sell." "Well, then, some bigwig must've made him change his mind, mustn't he?" "You." "I'm not gonna have any of this damned hanky-panky in my village." " Your village?" " Yes, my village." " My mine." " Your mine?" "Half share of it." "That explains a good deal." "Now, just a minute." "I do my level best for the villagers." "They call me squire." "It's a term of affection, you know." "It's jolly touching." "I mean, a hamper of food every Christmas?" "The whole shoot." "They jabber away in that funny lingo, but bless their hearts, it's a free country." "But giving them ideas, trying to turn them into gentlemen what is the point, my dear madam?" "Stop calling me your dear madam." "I'm not married, I am not French and you haven't the slightest affection for me." "Right on every account." "Well, my dear lady, anything I can do to make your stay here more pleasant." "Just a minute." "I know I shall be sticking a pin into a whale, but here are two words about yourself." "You are the squire bountiful, are you?" "Adored by his contented subjects intelligent and benignly understanding, are you?" "I should just like to point out that there is a considerable amount of dirt ignorance, misery and discontent in this world and that a good deal of it is due to people like you because you're a stupid, conceited, greedy, good-for-nothing addle-pated nincompoop." "And you can go to blue blazes." "I perceive you have been drinking." "That was undignified, but I feel the better for it." "Good day, sir." "And good day, madam." "How can he be so mean?" "It's so frustrating." " That barn isn't even being used." " Cheer up." "I can't cheer up, the whole school is at stake." "I'm gonna turn that barn into a schoolroom if I have to die doing it." "Look, miss." "I got you a present, see?" "It's got a rope and everything." "We'll hang it on that tree over there." "I'll get those boys to help." "Morgan, Robbart." "Cheer up." "It will be nice to have a bell." "Oh, come on, boys." "It's a mess, and he won't budge, the big fat fool." "It's so unlike the squire, I can't believe it." "Oh, it's a mess, and I was so sure." "Men do know best, I think." "Then don't think." "No, I know I shouldn't." " Hand me your handkerchief." " Why?" "I want to blow my nose." "Why don't you have a good cry?" "Am I needed or am I just being stubborn?" "Should I just give up and get out?" "No, you're tired, you haven't stopped for weeks." "It will..." "Here, look at these." "They're so funny, listen." ""If I has ever holiday, I has breakfast and talks, then dinner and a rest tea, then nothing, then supper, then I talks, and I go sleep."" "From exhaustion, I suppose." " Where are you going?" " Just another walk." "What's the matter, little dear?" " Mom's hit me." " Naughty Mom." "Why?" "Just because I told her she was common." "That child's unhappy." "Everyone's unhappy." "You have to fight it." "Look at this." "I never wore bloomers in my life." ""Holiday time, that carefree, magic word." "What shall I do this year?" "Tobogganing among the eternal snows or bathing in the sunny south of France."" "That's beautiful." "I might think so too if I hadn't read it in the travel pamphlet that was opened on this desk." "Oh, you mustn't." "Listen to this, listen." ""The mine is dark." "If a light come in the mine, the rivers in the mine will run fast with the voice of many women." "The walls will fall in and it will be the end of the world..."" "The bell is up, miss." "Thank you, thank you." ""So the mine is dark." "But when I walk through the tan-something shaft in the dark I can touch with my hands the leaves on the trees and underneath, where the corn is green." "There is a wind in the shaft." "Not carbon monoxide they talk about, it smell like the sea only, like, as..."" "I can't read it. "As if..." "As if..."" "As if the sea had fresh flowers lying about." ""As if the sea had fresh flowers lying about."" "And that is my holiday." "Are you Morgan Evans?" "Yes, miss." "Did you write this?" "No, miss." "But it's in your book." " Yes, miss." " Then who wrote it?" "I don't know, miss." "Come inside." "Come in." "Did you write this?" "I don't know, miss." "What is the matter with it?" "Sit down." "Take your cap off." "Spelling was deplorable, of course." "Leaves, "L-A-F-S."" " What was it by rights?" " A V, to start with." "I never heard of no V's, miss." "Don't call me miss." " Are you not a miss?" " Yes, I am, but it's not polite." "You say, "Yes, Miss Moffat," or, "No, Miss Moffat."" "M-O-double-F-A-T." " No V's?" " No V's." "Where do you live?" "Llyn-y-Mwyn, Miss Moffat, four miles from here." "How big is it?" "Four houses and a beerhouse." "Have you any hobbies?" " Oh, yes." " What?" "Rum." "Rum?" "Do you live with your parents?" "No, by me own self." "Me mother is dead, my father and four big brothers was in the mine-shaft accident when I was 10." " Killed?" " Oh, yes, everybody was." "What sort of man was your father?" "He was a mongrel." "A what?" "He had a dash of English." "He learned it to me." "Do you go to chapel?" "No, thank you." "Who taught you to read and write?" " Taught?" " Taught." "The verb, to teach." "Oh, teached?" "Who taught you?" " I did." " Why?" " I don't know." " What books have you read?" "Books?" "Bit of the Bible and a book a fella stole for me." " What?" " The Ladies' Companion." " Can I go now, please?" " No, no." "Would you like to learn any more?" " No, thank you." " Why not?" "The other men would have a good laugh." "I see." "Have you ever written anything before this exercise?" " No." " Why not?" "Nobody never asked me to before." "What is the matter with it?" "Nothing's the matter with it." "Whether it means anything is too early for me to say." "But it shows exceptional talent for a boy in your circumstances." "Terrible long words, Miss Moffat." "This shows that you are very clever." "Has anyone ever said that to you before?" "It is news to me." "What effect does the news have on you?" "It is a bit sudden." "Except it makes me..." "Yes?" "I want to get more clever still." "I wanna know what is behind of all them books." "Can you be here tomorrow?" "Tomorrow I am working on the 6 till 4 shift." "I see." "Then can you be here at 5?" "Five?" "Not before 6, there's five miles to walk." "Yes, 7, then." "Of course." "In the meantime, I'll correct this for spelling and grammar." "Yes, Miss Moffat." "Well, that will be all." "Good night." "Good night, Miss Moffat." ""When I walk through the tan-something shaft in the dark I can touch with my hands the leaves on the trees and underneath, where the corn is green."" "That's right, more cleverness." "Ring that bell." "The hell with the barn." "Now, the history of Syracuse." "Morgan?" "Founded 734 B.C. By colonists from Corinth." "Became leading city of Sicily." "Seized by Gelon, the tyrant of Gela, in 485 B.C." "No, no, no." "Listen carefully." "Be not afeard." "The isle is full of noises sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not." "Sometimes, a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears, and then sometimes, voices that, if I then had waked after long sleep, will make me sleep again and then in dreaming, the clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me that when I waked, I cried to dream again." "Bravo." "Now..." "Oh, please, could you help me?" "It says in this book that seven eight's a 56." "And eight seven's a 56." "I can't understand that at all." " Now, look here." "Take this number and..." " Listen to this." ""The 18th century was a cauldron." "Vice and elegance boiled to a simmer until the kitchen of society reeked fulminously and the smell percolated to the marble halls above."" "Signed, Morgan Evans." "So expressive." "So..." " Do you know what he means?" " No." "Neither does he." " But he's reaching all those lovely words." " It's wonderful." "My plans are laid around here." " What plans?" " Not yet." "And to think that a year ago, he hardly knew no English." "And now he knows too much." "Stuck-up teacher's pet." "Well done." "Did either of you ever believe that our school would live to be 2 years old?" " It's wonderful." " Indeed, it's a miracle." " Guess what." " What?" " I'm a sergeant major." " You're not." "Remember Sergeant Major Hopkins deserting and marrying a sailor?" " Yes, yes." " Well, she's dead, poor soul, and I'm in." "But we had a fine service for her." "We saved three sinners." "And the collection." "I ain't seen so much "oof," not since the great Liverpool exposition." "But they didn't make a collection at the Liverpool exhibition." "No, but I did." " You must be feeling better, Bessie." " No, Miss Ronberry." "It's all this sitting down." "It's been going on two years now." "I hear tell it ends in everything rotting away." " What's rotting away?" " What's the matter, little dear?" "I believe all these lessons is bad for me insides." "I feel quite faint sometimes, as if me heart had stopped." "It feels like the end of the world." "Oh, come on, Bessie Watty, what is this dying doubt business?" "Everybody's against me!" "I'm gonna throw myself off a cliff and kill myself." "It'll make a nice case in the papers, me in pieces at the bottom of a cliff!" "I'm going mad, mad, and I'm gonna kill myself and nothing's gonna stop me!" "Stone dead at the bottom of a cliff!" "Oh, I've made a mess of your rug, ma'am, but it was worth it." "There's bad blood in this girl, you mark my word." "Well, she'll catch her death." "There's nothing better than a drop of cold water, ma'am." "I found that out with her father, he was foreign." "Better now, eh?" "I can't remember nothing." "I'm in a coma." "She's one of my failures, I'm afraid." " Fish out of water, guttersnipe species." " Oh, she's young." "She's young." "Watty's talked about sending her away into service." "I suppose that's best." "Has anyone seen my copy of Meditations?" "I don't see how Morgan can manage 10 hours in the pit." "And Marcus Aurelius on top of all the other stuff you've set for him." "I don't..." "Oh, for heaven's sake, where was it now?" "I don't see how he can." "I thought..." "He's incredible." "He left the mine on Friday." " Finished?" " Permanently." "He's agreed to accept a loan." "Have you looked at the accounts?" "I'm afraid we'll have to sell out a couple more of Uncle Robert's shares." "Forgive me if I start to cram." ""From my Grandfather Verus, I learned good morals and the management of my temper." "From my father, and my memory of him modesty and manliness."" ""From my mother..."" " Piety." " "Piety."" ""From my mother, piety and..."" " Giving?" " "Generosity" would be a better choice." "Generosity." ""Generosity and abstinence, not only from wicked deeds but from wicked thoughts." " And what is more..."" " Furthermore." ""And furthermore, from my great-grandfather not to go to public schools, but to have a good teacher at home."" "Continue." "Now, you must memorize this, Morgan." "As given any two, you can always find the third, because A..." "She has some wonderful plans for him, I can tell by her manner." "It's so exciting." "I think she's riding for a fall." " Bessie, why?" " All this ordering him about." "I got me eyes on the lad, if she hasn't." "He's getting sick of it." "She's got no idea." "I got some scent on my hands, Mr. Jones." "Would you like to smell them?" "No, thank you, Bessie." "I can smell them from here." "Sweetheart" "The man in the moon" "I'm going to marry him soon" "All right, try it again." "Good." "Don't forget." "That's the third one." "Remember it." "Then read it." "Was Duddy...?" "Can you repeat it?" "Evans?" "Evans?" "Evans?" " Are you there, Evans?" " Yes, Miss Moffat." "What are you mumbling about?" "Nothing." "Nothing at all." "Finished?" "Finally, Miss Moffat." "Let me see." "You are good, you know?" "Anything wrong?" "You tired?" "No, no, I'm not." "Give this a pull, will you?" "Why not kill two birds with one stone, get Voltaire by heart?" "If you can even argue a point like that, you'll do." "Thank you." "Take a bit of a run." "It'll clear your head." "Then start your essay on The Wealth of Nations." "You're buried under books." "Oh, you're here, Morgan." "Miss Moffat's having a bit of a walk." "And I am having a bit of a drink." " I'll go and find her." " I don't wanna see no Miss Moffat." " Morgan, the double negative..." " Now, don't you start." "I like the double negative, it says what I want the way I like." "I've never seen you like this before." "Come to think of it, I haven't either, not for two years." "And I'm surprised by me self and shocked by me self." "Got into one of them public houses and pouring poison rum down me nice, clean teeth." "What's come over you, Morgan Evans?" "Come back here to your little cage." "If you wash hands, comb hair and get your grammar right we might give you a nice bit of sewing to do." "Bloody Voltaire." "Don't you dare use an expression like that to me." "I got plenty of others, thank you, and they're all coming out." "You're in my road." "Move please, Miss Ronnyberry." " Going for a walk, Evans?" " Yes, Miss Moffat." " Can you repeat the Voltaire?" " Not yet." "It's very short." "Paper blowed away." "Copy it again and bring it to me, will you?" "Yes, miss." "I was just coming out to find you." " Morgan seems..." " He's gone for a walk." "I do hope he doesn't slow down." "Taking on Greek is gonna be a real task." "You don't think all this, in his situation, is rather sudden?" " I mean..." " Oh, no, no, not in his case, touch wood." "He has one of the most receptive brains I've ever come across." " Oh, I know his brain's all right, but..." " Oh, stop worrying." "Tomorrow you're gonna hear some news that will dumbfound you, dumbfound him." " You're going to see the squire?" " That's right." " But he was furious with you last time..." " That's right." " I'm afraid he might still..." " So am I, but I have to risk it." "Why?" "I can only tell you that my plan depends entirely on him." "How do I look?" "Oh, charming." " Is it a favor of the squire?" " Yes." " A big favor of the squire?" " Yes, big." "Then may I suggest that you should borrow Miss Ronberry's hat." " Her hat?" " Yes, her hat and we'll keep yours." "Miss Ronberry?" "Yes." "Yes, of course." " But it's so fluffy." " That's the whole point." "Oh, it all helps." "I should feel a perfect fool." " Ready?" " Yes, ready." "Oh, dear." "Wish me luck." "The door's open." "Good grief." "Is anyone here?" "I say, is anyone at home?" "This is the one." "Right." "Up you go there and I'll try and pass it up to you." "On the hook properly, is it?" "Good." "Good heavens." "Yes?" "Oh, squire." "I was just saying to myself, what a perfectly delightful room." "So manly." "Just the sort of place you'd expect an addle-pated nincompoop to live in I suppose." "Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?" "I know I don't deserve it, but I ask it anyway, as a woman." "A poor, foolish woman." "You've got a lot of nerve coming here uninvited, I must say." "I know, and how good of you, how big of you to receive me." "But then, madam, I haven't received you, have I?" "And I want to tell you to your face that I wouldn't..." "I won't." "You're quite right, of course." "I don't deserve it." "I should leave at once." "I should hope so, if you have any sense of shame." "I shall leave at once." " What's the matter?" "What's the matter?" " Nothing." " No, I'm all right." " Would you like a glass of water?" "No, no, I just..." "If I might sit here just for a minute." "Just for a minute." "Probably a touch of the sun." "That coupled with all the other problems at the school." "I heard you're a spiffing success." "Oh, such a lot of obstacles to be overcome." "So many times when one longs for the qualities of a man." "The courage of a lion, the cunning of a fox, the strength of a bear." "Yes, quite so." "I see what you mean, but..." "The skin of a rhinoceros." "Beg your pardon?" "So many things that only the wit and resourcefulness of a man can provide." "I'll grant you that, my dear." "A woman's way, weak, weak, weak." "What is it, my dear, you're suffering?" "Squire, I must bare my soul to you." "I have a problem, a problem with Morgan Evans." "Evans?" "Morgan Evans." " Can't say it rings a bell." " A pupil of mine." "A tenant of yours." "Well, what's he been up to?" "A bit of muslin?" "That little Cockney filly, eh?" " Bessie Watty, a schoolgirl?" " Don't you forget proximity is the mother of invention." "Well, you are so wise." "This boy is quite out of the ordinary." "Who?" " Oh, Morgan Evans." " Yes, yes." "I mean he was born with very extraordinary gifts." "You don't say." " He should be given every chance to..." " To do what?" " To write." " To write?" "What?" "Well, you see, if he had been born earlier, he would have had a protector." "Protector?" "Against what?" "I mean, a patron in the sense that Lord Bolingbroke was Pope's." "The pope?" "Alexander Pope, the writer." "Yes, well think of Shakespeare." " I will." " He dedicated The Rape of Lucrece to the right honorable earl of Southampton." ""Your Honor's in all duty, William Shakespeare."" "A rape?" "I'd just as soon not have the family name connected with a rape." "Southampton, his name will live forever because of the help that he gave to a poor and helpless writer." "I never thought of Shakespeare as poor." "Some say his father was a butcher." "You see, Southampton realized that the boy had genius." "And he fostered it." "He..." "He backed him like a horse." "Now, wait, a horse." " A horse." " And you think that...?" "Now, wait, wait, wait, wait just a minute, just a minute." "Why shouldn't I have my writer too?" "My little pit pony writer, eh?" "Why not, indeed." "But what do you mean?" "I don't under..." "Oh, yes, yes." "Now I understand." "What a wonderful idea." "Typical, isn't it?" "Everyone finally having to scream to you for help." " Scream away, dear lady, scream away." " Well." " There's a scholarship going." " Scholarship to where?" " Oxford." " Oxford." "A scholarship to Trinity College Oxford." "I've got a brother at Oxford." " No." " Yes." "I'll write to him." "Why not let me compose the recommendations for the boy?" "Save you the trouble, you have so many problems." " Then we could post it immediately." " I've got a better idea." "Why don't we all have dinner together this evening and talk about it then?" "You and Miss Ronberry, Jones and the boy." "What's his name, Pope?" "Pope." "How kind you are." "Nothing." "I'm glad you came to your senses." "Safe home." "See you later, 7:30." "Thank you so very much, squire." "Drive off." "For heaven's sake, drive off." "Bye-bye." "That man is so stupid, it sits on him like a halo." "Evans." "Are you here?" "I'm here." "Present for you." "What is it?" "Greek book." "What do I want with Greek?" "I'm entering you for a scholarship to Oxford." "Oxford?" "Trinity College Oxford." "Get your cap." "Wash your hands." "We're having dinner with the squire." "Don't want no fancy dinner." "Don't need any Greek." " Oh, yes, you do." " No good to me in the mine." "What did you say?" "I was born in a Welsh hay field when my mother was helping in the harvest." "And I always lived in a small house with no stairs, only a ladder." "And no water." "And until my brothers were killed, I never sleep except three in a bed." "Well, what on earth has three in a bed to do with learning Greek?" "It has a lot." "You can't carry a book of Greek into the Gwesmor Arms." "But my dear boy, you don't go to the Gwesmor Arms." "Oh, yes, I do." "I've been there every afternoon this week and I've been there now and that is why I can speak my mind." "Well..." "I had no idea you felt like this." "Because you are not interested in me." "Not interested in you?" "How could you be interested in a bloody machine?" "You put a penny in and if nothing comes out, you give it a good shake." "Evans, Evans, Evans." "My name is Morgan Evans, and all my friends call me Morgan." "If there's anything that gets on the wrong side of me, it's people calling me Evans." "The schoolmistress' little dog." "That's what they call me in the village." "What's it got to do with you if my hands are dirty?" "Mind your own business." "I..." "I've spent money on you." "I don't mind that." "Money is meant to be spent." "But time is different." "Two years of valuable currency." "I've spent two years on you." "Ever since that first day, the mainspring of this school has been your career." "Sometimes, in the middle of the night when I've been desperately tired, I've lain awake making plans." "Large and small." "Sensible and silly." "Plans for you." "And you tell me that I have no interest in you?" "If I say any more, I shall start to cry, and I haven't cried since I was younger than you are, and I'd never forgive you for that." "I'm going to that dinner." "I am going out." "I don't care for this conversation." "Please, never mention it again." "If you want to go on, be at school tomorrow." "If not, don't." "I don't want your money, and I don't want your time." "I don't wanna be thankful to no strange woman for anything." "Take your foot away from that door." "I don't understand you." "I don't understand you at all." "Sweetheart" "The man in the moon" "I'm going to marry him soon" "It'd fill me with bliss Just to give him one kiss" "But I know that a dozen" "I never would miss" "Mom's gone out, you know." "To one of her meetings." "The rest has all gone out to dinner." "It's funny." "We've never been by ourselves before." "You don't have to go to Oxford." "Clever chap like you." " Talking a lot, aren't I?" " Yes." "I think she's wicked." " Mind your own business." " I won't, you know." "I like to know about everything." "I like to do the things I like." "I like sweets." "Don't care if it does make me fat." "It's funny, isn't it?" "First time we've ever been alone together, just when I'm leaving." " Leaving?" " I'll be gone tomorrow." "A friend of me mom's has found a place for me at the house she works at in Cheltenham." "Will you miss me?" "I've got some scent on my hands." "Like to smell them?" "It's lovely." "It's lily of the valley." "Don't you want to?" "You want to, don't you?" "Then behind some dark cloud" "Where no one is allowed" "I'll make love to the man" "In the moon" "She doesn't understand." "What a man wants is a bit of comfort." "You always look at me like I wasn't there." "You see me now though, don't you?" "Naughty." "Can't you wait a bit?" "You're a big, wicked boy, aren't you?" "I can tell." "The sort to drive a girl wild." "Good morning, Miss Moffat." "Good morning, Morgan." "We'll..." "We'll work in the study." "Yes, Miss Moffat." "You will sit for your Oxford examinations on the 1 st of November." " We haven't a minute to waste." " I understand all of that." "Good." " Very pretty, Bessie." " Stylish, yes." "All Miss Ronberry." "I hope Cheltenham doesn't let you down." "I think my future lies in the city." "I'm not the school type, you might say." "Experience is more my line." "You know, something going on." " Goodbye, Bessie." " Goodbye." " Good luck." " Thank you." " Goodbye, all." " Bye-bye, Bessie." "Up I go." "Just so you don't go down." " Cheers." " Don't you worry about me." "Well, she's gone, and the Lord be praised." "Oh, you don't mean that." "You'll miss her." "I shouldn't think so." "I don't like her, you know?" "I never have." " But, Mrs. Watty, your own daughter." " I know." "But I've never been able to take to her." "First time I saw her, I said no." " You're not too tired, are you, Morgan?" " No." "I mean, in the head." "No, I don't think so." "I'm a bit worried, of course, now and then, about the..." "Examination, yes, but confident." "Well, yes." "I try to be." "You should be." "You're absolutely up to it." "I'm scared too, but I'm secure about you." "The main thing in any challenge is to keep your head." "If you come to something you feel you don't know, skip it for the moment." "Don't muddle about." "Answer everything you can." "Fast, clear, simply." "Then go back." "A try is better than a blank." "Who knows?" "You may hit it." "You have to sort of keep your sense of humor." "That really means not being too tired, not being too focused in one direction." "That's why we walk and laugh, pick the wild flowers enjoy God's gifts." "It cools the engine, levels things." " I think my engine is cool." " Good." "I think so too." " I'll run a bit." "I'll meet you at the rock." " Off you go." "Five minutes to 9." " Who was that?" " It was only Mr. Jones." " Announcing the time again." " Oh, I wish he wouldn't." "We're all nervy enough without that." "Still raining, I see." "Wouldn't it be splendid if he won?" "Oh, not very likely, not very likely." "He's up against wealthy boys who've been preparing for this since they were 6." " But surely he has a chance." " A chance." "A teeny little chance." "The syllabus rather attaches importance to general information of the academic sort." "His is bound to be patchy." "I've had to force it." "Two and a half years isn't enough, even for him." " It's odd." " What is?" "What is odd?" "You are odd." "I am odd." "I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about Henry Vlll." "I have a feeling there might be a question there about the old boy and the papacy." "I'll cram a few facts into him at the last minute." "Oh, my, my, my." "He must win it." "Bessie." "Your mother had a letter from you only yesterday." "Bessie." "Well, this is unexpected." "Isn't it just?" "Yes, you..." " You've arrived at an inconvenient time." " Oh, fancy." " Why are you here?" " I've come to see you." "I'll be in the study." "Morgan Evans is taking his Oxford examination here this morning." " Well, he needn't." " What do you mean?" "Because he won't ever be going to Oxford." "Why not?" "Because there's gonna be a little stranger." "You're lying." "Dr. Brett, The Firs, Cheltenham." "And if you don't believe it's Morgan Evans' you ask him about the night you and him had that row." "Stupid of me." "Stupid, stupid." "Does he know?" "Nobody knows." "He'll have to marry me." " Give the little stranger a name." " Stop saying "little stranger."" "If you must have a baby, then call it a baby." "The squire is coming up the road." "Bessie, how did you get here?" " I came by the coach..." " Mr. Jones." "We're having a rather private talk, if you..." " Yes, of course, but the squire..." " Yes, yes, I understand perfectly." " But for now..." " I'll just wait here for Morgan." "For the next three hours, he must not be disturbed." "And you are not going to see him." "You can't bully me, the way I am." "Couldn't see what was happening right under your nose because you were too busy managing everything." "You can't manage him any longer." "He's got to manage me now!" " Morgan has turned the corner up the hill." " There isn't much time." "Yes, I understand." "I'm afraid I'm gonna do a little managing now myself." "You're going up to your mother's room to wait until this session is finished." " Then we'll have our little talk." " He's here." "I've got to see him." "If you try and disobey me I shall not be responsible for the consequences." " You wouldn't dare lay a finger on me." " Yes, I would." "If you attempt to stay in this room or to blab to anyone about this before we've had our talk, even your mother I'm in a pretty nervous state myself this morning and I shall strike you so hard, I shall probably kill you." "I mean every word of that." "Now, move." "If you wanna get rid of me, it's gonna cost you a pretty penny." "Don't worry." "I'll make it more than worth your while, but we'll talk about it later." " No, not you." " That's right." "I want Bessie to wait upstairs in your room until the examination is over." "Very well, ma'am." "Where did you get that coat?" " It's a present." " Oh, that's all right." " Squire." " Oh, good morning." " Good morning, let me take your coat." " Thank you." " How kind of you to come." " Not at all, Mistress Pedagogue." "You'll have to explain to me exactly what you expect me to do." " We only have to invigilate." " Invigilate?" "Sounds positively indecent." "We were appointed by the university." "It's simply a question of our being present while he's sitting the examination so that he won't cheat." "Poor little beggar, doesn't stand a chance." "Don't say that." "To cheat, I mean, with us on the job." "I am sorry." "I've got some spiffing good news for you, my dear." "I've bought the barn from Sir Herbert." "We can move the whole shoot over come the spring." "Now, what do you think of that?" "Oh, how thrilling." "Yes, yes." " Is that all our headmistress is going to say?" " No, no." "No, it is thrilling." "It's just that this examination, it's very..." "Makes me nervous." "Run." " Hello." " Morgan." "Good morning, my boy." "Good day, sir." "I have a feeling that there may be a question on Henry Vlll." "Memorize those two dates." " Jolly good luck." " Thank you, sir." "White heather, just a thought." " Thank you." " Glad it isn't me." " Don't be exuberant." " No." " Don't be illegible." " No." "Aren't you going to wish my little protégé good fortune?" " Good luck." " Thank you." "Begin." "Henry Vlll." " What is it?" " It's gone." " What's gone?" " I know I put it in my pocket." " Where is it?" " What?" "This bloody suit." "I can't find anything." "All this fancy stuff, no key." " What key, boy?" " The key to my case." "It's gone, it's gone." "I must have dropped it..." "Now, calm down, Morgan." "We stop." "I'm sure I saw you put it in your pocket." "I know, I did put it in my pocket, but where is it?" "We'll miss the train." "We'll have to go back." " Check your pockets again." " I already have." "Check them again." "I'm sorry, I..." "There's another pocket inside the pocket." "No matter." "Off we go." "I'm sorry." "I'm afraid we're going to have to stop again." "His birth certificate." "I put it in my bag." "I remember putting it in this bag, and it isn't here." "Not to worry." "Where did you get that?" "Bit of pages." "Miss Moffat, please tell me again what I'm supposed to do." "I get to Oxford..." "You get to Oxford." "You meet the nine other finalists." "Then you probably will be introduced to the master and to several of the fellows." "Then you take the oral examination." " The viva." " Viva voce, living voice." "If you live." " Terrifying." " Yes." "All life is terrifying, Morgan." "You just have to do your best." "And you will." "You're a Welshman." "Then you come back here, and we wait." "We wait for their decision." "Yes or..." "Or no." "No or yes." "Yes or no." " Any news?" " Not yet." "I thought not." "You don't appear to be nervous." "I'm past being nervous." "If he's won, I shan't believe it, flatly." "And if he has lost?" "If he has lost we must proceed as if nothing had happened." "The sun rises and sets every day, and while it does we jolly well have to revolve around it." "The time to sit up and take notice will be the day it decides not to appear." "You're a clinker, you are, ma'am." "I hope so, Watty." "You're here." " Well..." " I'm not hopeful." "Why not?" " They talked to me for one hour at the viva." " There's nothing wrong with that." "Go on." "They jumped down hard on the New Testament question, as you said they would." " You're very pale." " Oh, better than raging fever." "Go on." "Well..." "I spent five minutes explaining why St. Paul sailed from a town 300 miles inland." "Oh, dear." "Parnell?" "Was gonna stick up for him, but when they started with "that Parnell" I told a tale against him for half an hour." "Wasn't born a Welshman for nothing." " Did the president send for you?" " I had half an hour with him." " You did?" " Yes, but so did the other nine candidates." "He was a very kind and grand old gentleman sitting in a drawing room the size of Penllyn Town Hall." " I talked about religion, same as you said." " "Just as you advised."" "Just as you advised." "He asked me if I'd ever had strong drink, and I looked him in the eye and said, "No."" " Of course." " I was terrible..." "Terribly nervous." "My collar stud fell off and I had to hold on to my collar with one hand." "And he did not seem impressed with me at all." "He was very curious about you." "Did you know there was an article in the post about the school?" "Never mind about that." "What else makes you despondent?" "The other candidates." "They appear to me brilliant." "I never thought they would be, somehow." "There was two from Eton, one from Harrow." "One of them very rich." "I never thought a scholarship man might be rich." " He had his own servant." " Gosh." "And the servant looked so like my father I thought it was at first." "And as I was leaving the examiners appeared to be sorry for me in some way." "And I received the impression that I'd failed." " When shall we know?" " The day after tomorrow." "They're writing to you." "The villagers are all in their best dressed up, talking about a holiday." "Stupid of them, because if you've failed..." "If I've failed?" " Don't speak about it." " We must speak about it." "You faced that possibility the day you left for Oxford..." "But I've been to Oxford, and come back since then." "Ever since the day I was born I've been a prisoner behind a stone wall." "Now somebody has given me a leg up to have a look at the other side." "They cannot drag me back again." "They must give me a push and send me over." "If three days at Oxford can do this to you..." "Yes, that's just it." "It would be everything I need, everything." "Starling and I spent three hours one night discussing the law." " Starling." "You know, the brilliant one." " Yes." "Words came pouring out of me." "All the words that I'd learnt and written down, but never spoken." "I suppose I was talking a lot of nonsense, but I was at least holding a conversation." "I suddenly realized that I had never done it before." "I'd never been able to." ""How are you, Morgan?" "Nice day, Mr. Jones." "Not bad for the harvest."" "A vocabulary of 20 words." "And there I was with Starling, talking, 19 to the dozen." "I came out of his rooms that night and I walked down the High." " That's their High Street, you know?" " Yes." "I looked up, and there was a moon behind Mag..." "Magdalen." "And everybody was walking very fast with their gowns on." "And the bells were ringing, and I was walking faster than anybody." "And I felt..." "The same as on the rum in the old days." "All of a sudden, in one big rush I saw this room." " You and me sitting here, studying." " Yes." "And all those books." "Everything I've learned from those books and from you was lighted up like a magic lantern." "Ancient Rome, Greece, Shakespeare, Milton." "Everything had a meaning because I was in a new world." "My world now." "And so it came to me why you worked like a slave to make me ready for this scholarship." "I can talk to you now." "Yes." "I'm glad." "There's no sign..." "There you are, Morgan." " Good day, sir." " Well?" "They're sending the results." " I find this waiting quite a strain." " Somebody said they'd seen..." " Day after tomorrow." " Were the examiners all right, my boy?" " Rather sticky, sir." " Well, I expect they're all old fogies." " Somebody said they'd seen Morgan." " Day after tomorrow." " Morgan, how are you, dear?" " Morgan." " You're back." " The suspense is terrible." " Are you hungry?" " Yes, I am a bit." "I've done you something lovely in the oven." "Oh, Morgan, the excitement." "I've never known nothing like it before, not in all my life." "Morgan, my boy, are you not exhausted after your journey?" " Would you not like something to eat?" " I'm gonna take him and feed him." "Get him something to eat before that mob get hold of him and treat him to a hero's welcome." "Oh, he's looking very well, isn't he?" "You seemed in a hurry to get them out of the room." "What's the matter?" "Hello." "How do you do?" "I'm very well, indeed, thank you." "How are you?" "Blooming?" "Yes, thank you." "What is this?" " Bessie." " Hello, Miss Ronberry." "How's geography?" "The world's still going around in circles?" "Hello, Mr. Jones." "Flirty as ever." "To what do we owe this honor?" "Well, it's like this..." "Don't you push me." "Three days ago, she sent you money." " Did you not receive the letter?" " Yes, I did and all the others till I was sick of them." "What is all this?" "Last week, I was glancing through the Mid-Wales Gazette and I'm here to congratulate a certain young gentleman on a scholarship he might have won." " What has that to do with you?" " Please, don't say it." "Four weeks yesterday, I had a baby boy." " You had a what?" " Baby boy." "Seven pounds, 13 ounces." " It is a disgusting subject." " It isn't disgusting at all." "If I had a wedding, wouldn't you think it was sweet?" "I'm just gonna take Morgan's luggage upstairs." " Yes, and I'll take his..." " Well, I'll be blowed." " No." " Yeah." "Hello." "I've just been telling them about you-know-what." "You little slut!" " Is that your basket?" " It's mine, all right." " What's in it?" " Well, it ain't no picnic lunch, I can tell you." "Oh, to think she was in my class." " This horrible, unnatural happening." " Don't talk nonsense." "It isn't horrible and it isn't unnatural." "On the contrary it's Mother Nature giving civilization a nasty tweak on the nose." "I think it's time you told us who the fellow was." " Well, as a matter of fact, it's..." " Morgan Evans." "What?" " I don't believe it." " That's right." "I've got a four-week-old baby, kicking and healthy and hungry." "And I've got no husband to keep him." "So his father's got to turn into my husband." "That's only fair, isn't it?" "I'm inclined to agree with her, I'm sorry." "You're sorry!" "What the hell do you think I am?" " My friend will be furious." " Friend?" "The gentleman I've got in Cheltenham." "Gentleman?" "He's quiet a swell, actually." " Anything I can do, I'll be outside." " Yes, thank you." "He's sporting, owns a race course." "I only met him 10 weeks ago." "Started serving behind a bar for fun." "I was the picture of health and ever so lucky in the counter being very high." "Then, when you stepped out from behind the counter the gentleman changed his mind about marrying you, that it?" "On the contrary, he talks of nothing else." " Then what is the impediment?" " Oh, "the impediment."" "Fancy." "The impediment is he won't have the baby." "So I've got to give up my friend to marry Morgan." "Unless..." "You don't suppose Morgan would consider the kid without me?" "The baby, without you?" "Your child?" " What about your mother love?" " Do you know I haven't any?" "What a vile thing to say." "I didn't want the baby." "Nobody would have." "I was careful so it'd be all right." "Oh, blazes, I want a good time too." "My bit of fun, while I'm still young enough to enjoy it." "I should have drowned her at birth." "You mean, if you could get rid of the..." "I mean, respectably rid of the baby, you'd be satisfied?" " That's a crude way of putting it." " Yes, let's be crude." " Where's Morgan?" " Or let's at least be factual." " You never did like me, did you?" " No, but that's not the point." "You have a baby, you don't want the baby, I will take the baby." " You?" "Oh, don't make me laugh." " Oh, ma'am." "Well, why not?" "I think of all the available prospects, I'm the logical choice." " But you don't know anything about babies." " That doesn't matter." " I'll bloody well learn." "Get the basket." " You get it." "Very well." "I had no idea he'd be so small." "Looks like a very nice baby." "Are you satisfied, Bessie?" "Are you?" "What's the matter?" "Cat got your tongue?" " I shall adopt it." "Are you satisfied?" " Good for you." "Yes, I suppose I am." "His papers." "Poor kid." "Well, that's that." " Thank you." " Don't mention it, I'm sure." " Go on, then, bad news." "Clear out." " Don't you worry, granny, I'll clear out." "Books, books, look at them all." "I've got more out of life at my age than she has out with them all her days and I'll get a lot more yet." "You'll never get anything out of life but a cheap thrill so you'd better hurry." "Thrills wilt with the passage of time." "Au revoir, Miss Paleface." "Well, she's gone." " And that's all settled then." " For which we must be truly thankful." "In a manner of speaking." " Has she gone?" " Why?" " The squire came to see me." " Oh, that fool." "That poor idiotic fool." "She and I..." "We don't know each other at all." "It was a long time ago." "I never thought again about it." "And neither did she, I know she didn't." " But we're going to adopt it." " What?" "I am going to adopt it." "What in hell do you take me for?" " Please, let me explain..." " No, I will listen to nothing." "I'm gonna do what any fellow must do, I'm gonna marry her." "You must try and understand..." "Bessie Watty and I are gonna get married as soon as possible, and that is final." "A telegram." "Open it, please." "You have won a scholarship." "First, Evans, second, Fayver-lles, third, Starling." "He's won." " He's won." " Please, please, everybody outside." "Morgan Evans has won the scholarship." "He's won." "Listen to me, Morgan." "For the first time, we're together." "We're friends in the true sense of the word." "The clock is ticking and there isn't a minute to lose." " I'm going to marry her." " And I am going to talk to you very simply." "I want you to change suddenly from a boy to a man." "The decision you make now will affect you the rest of your life." "Think." "Think." "And think sensibly." " Did you ever promise her marriage?" " No, never." " Did you tell her you were in love with her?" " No, never." "Then your situation now is the purest accident." "It's happened before, it will happen again." "Only one thing matters there is a child living and breathing on this earth and living and breathing because of me." " I have a duty." " Of course you have a duty to the child." "I'm not blind." "I know that." "But you have a duty too to go out into the world and make something of yourself." "Not a duty, Morgan, to go down the drain." " But why should you pick up the pieces?" " I'm happy to." "I'm happy to." "We're friends, don't you understand that?" " That is my privilege." " I cannot let you." "Two wrongs have never made a right." "You..." "You have brains." "You have shrewdness, eloquence, imagination." "And Oxford can give you enough of the graces." " For what?" " Maybe to become..." ""When you walk in the dark you can touch with your hands the leaves on the trees."" "Remember?" ""And underneath, where the corn is green."" "We all walk in the dark, Morgan." "And each of us must turn on his own light." "Don't..." "Don't lock yourself into a situation which cannot succeed." "It cannot succeed." "Not for you, not for her, not for your child." "You could be a man for us to be proud of." "Perhaps I'm mad." "I don't know." "It's up to you." "Is it all right to ring the bell to say holiday today?" "Yes." "Ring the bell, Mr. Jones." "Good for you." "I don't know what to say." "Then don't say anything." "I've been so much time in this room." "And the lessons are over." "I'll be back." "We'll be here." "Thank you." "School tomorrow, same as usual, Miss Moffat?" "School tomorrow, same as usual."