Jonathan Makes a Friend
[The scene represents the lumber room in the carriage house on John Clay's suburban estate. The room is crowded with old trunks, paintings, barrels, boxes, chests, furniture showing long residence during slow epochs of changing taste. Everything is in good order and carefully labelled. At the right of the room is a door opening onto the stairs which lead to the ground floor. A small window is set high in the peak of the gabled end up centre. At the left a chimney comes through the floor and cuts into the roof as though it had been added by Victorian standards of taste for exterior beautification. An open stove intrudes its pipe into the chimney. The single indication of the life of today having touched the place is the studied arrangement of an old rosewood square grand piano. The keyboard is uncovered. On the top is a tiny theatre—a model masked and touched with mystery, according to early adolescent standards. Two benches stand in front of the piano, and the piano stool is meticulously set in place. A flamboyant placard leaning against the music rack announces:
TODAY
ZENOBIA
A tragedy in ten acts
by
Alexander Jefferson, Sr.
The light in the room is dim, although it is quite bright out of doors. There are two low windows which are heavily barred. The little theatre is so arranged that when the manipulator stands on the box to work it, his head can be seen over the masking.
The curtain rises disclosing an empty room. Presently laborious steps are heard on the stairs and a key is turned in the lock. Then Aunt Letitia enters followed by Susan Sample. Aunt Letitia is a motherly old woman who has been in the Clay home for many years. She may have preferences, but like the buildings on the estate, she stays where she is. Susan Sample is a tall, slender girl of fourteen with a very gentle manner and a way of looking at people that indicates a receptivity rarely met in one so old. Letitia goes to one of the trunks marked E R in large white letters and unlocks it.
LETITIA
Here they are, my dear. Help me with the hasps.
SUSAN
What does E. R. really stand for, Mis' Letitia?
LETITIA
E. R.... That's a secret, Susan, that little girls aren't supposed to know.
SUSAN
I won't tell.
LETITIA
But what good would that do, my sweet? Please open the windows.
SUSAN (opening the window and returning to her question)
No one would know you told me.
LETITIA
I would know. Yes, I would know that I had told somebody else's secret.
SUSAN
Whose secret is it? Please.
LETITIA
I've been living in this house for thirty-five years, Susan, and I've known the secrets of all the boys and girls from time to time.
SUSAN
You know mine, too.
LETITIA
And I've never told one of them, either.
SUSAN
Does old Mr. John ever have secrets?
LETITIA
Old Mr. John! For shame!... Of course he has secrets.
SUSAN
I wish I knew some of his, Mis' Letitia.
LETITIA
My dear, you never will know them. John is very quiet.
SUSAN
Who in the family didn't have any secrets at all?
LETITIA
Oh, they all had secrets when they were young. Nathaniel had fewer than any of them and...
[Her words are lost tenderly in a memory.
SUSAN
Why hasn't he ever come back home?
LETITIA (as she busies herself with the contents of the trunk)
That is his secret, Susan, and we mustn't ask too many questions. Nathaniel is coming today. I won't ask any questions.... He was a fine young man. Yes, he's coming back today, my dear. He was the baby of the family.
SUSAN
How old is he now?
LETITIA
You little chatterbox! Between you and Jonathan I have to fight to keep anybody's secrets.
SUSAN
Does Jonathan ask many questions?
LETITIA
When we're alone he does. He's just like his Uncle Nathaniel. God bless him!
SUSAN (seeing a costume in the trunk)
Oh, isn't that just wonderful!
LETITIA (holding the costume up for Susan to see)
That is what you can wear in the pageant, my dear Susan.
SUSAN (taking the costume)
Oh! Oh! Oh!... I wish I knew whose it was.
LETITIA
Would that make it any prettier?
SUSAN
No, but I'd like to know just the same.... Was it E. R.'s?
[A cry is heard outside, "Aunt Letty! Aunt Letty!"
LETITIA
Oh, Susan, it's Nathaniel! It's my boy. Here I am, dear.
[She has an armful of costumes which she drops nervously.
SUSAN
Mis' Letitia, I believe you love him best of all!
LETITIA
No, I don't, but I always understood him, I think.
[The voice below calls again, "Where are you?"
Come up here, my boy. Come up to the lumber room.
[Steps are heard on the stairs, young eager steps, and Nathaniel Clay bursts into the room. He is an eternally young man of thirty-five, who has touched the dregs and the heights of the world and remained himself.
NATHANIEL [taking Letitia in his arms, then holding her from him as he inspects her.
Aunt Letty! Not a day older.... But oh, so wise.
LETITIA
Nathaniel, my boy, my darling, darling boy.
NATHANIEL
Now, now. Don't cry.
LETITIA
My boy, my boy. My splendid boy.
[Susan has forgotten her costume in her admiration for Nathaniel. She puts it down on the bench in front of the piano.
NATHANIEL
And this is—
LETITIA
This is Susan Sample.
NATHANIEL
Not—
LETITIA
Yes, time has been flying, Nathaniel. This young lady is Mary Sample's daughter.
NATHANIEL
How do you do? I can't believe it. You were only a little pink cherub up there in the sky when I ran—
LETITIA (hurriedly interrupting him)
Yes, Susan was born three years after you went away.
NATHANIEL
Oh!... And, Aunt Letitia, you've opened Emily's trunk!
LETITIA
Yes, Susan is going to be in a pageant.
SUSAN
Who was Emily?
NATHANIEL
She was—
LETITIA
Nathaniel dear, you must not satisfy her curiosity.
(To Susan)
You go find Jonathan, dear, and tell him that his uncle is here.
(To Nathaniel)
I'll put these things away, and we'll go into the house.
SUSAN (reluctantly)
Good-bye, Mr. Clay.
NATHANIEL
Good-bye, Susan. You'll come back, won't you?
SUSAN
Oh, yes. Good-bye.
NATHANIEL
Good-bye.
[Susan goes out.
LETITIA
She hates to go. She's never seen anyone just like you: and I have only seen one.
NATHANIEL
Who's Jonathan?
LETITIA
He's the one.... He's Emily's boy.
NATHANIEL
You mean Emily—
LETITIA
No, no, my dear. Emily was married, left the stage. She wasn't happy. The boy was her only comfort.
NATHANIEL
He's my nephew. Why, I'm Uncle Nathaniel. Oh, Aunt Letty, I'm getting to be an old man!
LETITIA
Nathaniel, Jonathan doesn't know about his mother. I sent Susan away because I didn't want her to associate these things with Jonathan's mother.
NATHANIEL
My God, Emily didn't do anything wrong.
LETITIA
Well, she was an actress.
NATHANIEL
And a good one, too.
LETITIA
Yes, yes, dear. All that has been talked over many times, but John is the head of the family and he doesn't approve of the stage.
NATHANIEL
So! John is still himself.
LETITIA
John is austere, Nathaniel. He is a Clay through and through and he holds to the traditions of the family.
NATHANIEL
I remember the traditions, Aunt Letitia.
LETITIA
I never oppose John. He feels that he is right. But it is very hard sometimes to live up to his rules.
NATHANIEL
Has he rules?
LETITIA
Well, he has ideas, dear—much like your father's. We might call them rules.
NATHANIEL
Where is Emily?
LETITIA
Two years ago, Nathaniel.
[There is a moment's silence.
NATHANIEL
Did she ever go back to the stage?
LETITIA
No. John forbade it.
NATHANIEL
And John is still forbidding.
LETITIA
John is the head of the family.
NATHANIEL
So.... The Clay family is still an absolute monarchy.
LETITIA
Nathaniel, dear, will you promise me—
NATHANIEL (with a smile)
I'll try.
LETITIA
Will you promise not to antagonize John?
NATHANIEL
Will John antagonize me? I came back to see my home—to see you, my dear aunt. But I am a grown man now.
LETITIA
Won't you try to be patient? It will be pleasanter for me. And I have waited so long to see you, Nathaniel. There are seventeen very, very long years for us to talk about. Let John have his way.
NATHANIEL
Well, I'll try for a few days. But I give you warning, my ideas have been settling during the past few years, too.
LETITIA
Remember, he is used to being obeyed just as your father was.
NATHANIEL
Yes, I remember that, dear Aunt; but John isn't my father. He is just a brother to whom fate gave a fifteen years' start by birth.
[As a voice calls, "Nathaniel, are you up there?" Nathaniel looks at Letitia.
NATHANIEL
His voice is just the same. (Calling) Yes, John, I am up here.
[The antagonism between the two brothers is apparent immediately.
John Clay enters. He is an austere, pompous man of fifty who has the softness of the tithe-collector and the hardness of the tax-collector. He speaks with an adamantine finality which is destined to rude shattering.
JOHN
How do you do, Nathaniel?
NATHANIEL
I am very well, I thank you, John. How are you?
[They shake hands perfunctorily.
JOHN
You arrived ahead of time.
NATHANIEL
Yes.
JOHN
We haven't met for seventeen years.
NATHANIEL
No. I've been away, John.
JOHN
Where have you been?
NATHANIEL
I shall be here for two weeks, John, and if I should tell you all about myself today, I should have nothing to talk about tomorrow.
JOHN (severely)
You haven't changed, Nathaniel. You are still frivolous.
NATHANIEL
I shall be serious when I am your age, brother.
JOHN
I came out here to ask you to be very careful of your conversation before the children.
NATHANIEL
The children?
JOHN
Yes, my two grandchildren.—
NATHANIEL
Grandchildren! My, that makes me a great uncle. I am getting old, Aunt Letitia!
JOHN
I do not care to have them or Jonathan hear about any revolutionary or other unusual ideas.
NATHANIEL
I shall try not to contaminate the children and Jonathan. How old are the children?
JOHN
Mary is four and John 3rd is two.
NATHANIEL
I shall try to spare their sensibilities.
JOHN
They may not understand you but they will hear.
NATHANIEL (to Letitia)
How old is Jonathan?
LETITIA
Fourteen.
NATHANIEL
JOHN
The silly age.
NATHANIEL
Brother John, no age is the silly age. Fourteen is the age of visions and enchantments and fears. What a boy of fourteen sees and hears takes on a value that we cannot underestimate. Most men are defeated in life between fourteen and twenty. At fourteen a boy begins to make a lens through which he sees life. He thinks about everything. Ambition is beginning to stir in him and he begins to know why he likes things, why he wants to do certain things. He formulates lasting plans for the future and he takes in impressions that are indelible. Things that seem nothing to old people become memories to him that affect his whole life. The memory of a smile may encourage him to surmount all obstacles and the memory of a bitterness may act as an eternal barrier.
JOHN
Nathaniel, are you a father?
NATHANIEL
No, John, I am only a bachelor who is very much in love with life in general and one lady in particular.
JOHN
You can know nothing of children, then.
NATHANIEL
I remember myself. Most men forget their younger selves and that is fatal.
JOHN
One would think to hear you talk that the most important things in life were a boy of fourteen and his moorings.
NATHANIEL
One might know it.
JOHN
You are still the same impractical theorist.
NATHANIEL
I am the same theorist—a little older, a little more travelled. The trouble with you, John, is that you think no age is important except your own. You always thought that, even when you were fourteen. Oh, I know I wasn't born then, but I know you.
JOHN
Did you come back to your home in order to lecture me?
NATHANIEL
No, no, I beg your pardon. I came back to see my home and Aunt Letitia and the children—and you, and I—I think—Jonathan.
JOHN
Nathaniel, when your letter came telling me that you had decided to come back to see us, I was going to ask you not to come—
NATHANIEL
I gave no address.
JOHN
But on second thought, I made up my mind to forgive you—
NATHANIEL
Thank you.
JOHN
NATHANIEL
That is the better way, brother: let the dead past bury its dead.
JOHN
Why did you run away from home?
NATHANIEL
Because we couldn't agree, John.
JOHN
I was older than you; my judgment was mature; I was the head of the family, in my father's place.
NATHANIEL
We didn't speak the same language. I wanted something out of life that you couldn't understand; that my father couldn't understand. I determined to get it by myself.
JOHN
Well?
NATHANIEL
And so, I ran away.
JOHN
Leaving no trace, no word.
NATHANIEL
Oh, yes, I left a very important word—"Good-bye."
JOHN
You were willing to leave all the work of our father's business on my shoulders.
NATHANIEL
You were willing to take it all. And I wanted my freedom.
JOHN
You were selfish and heartless.
NATHANIEL
Selfish? Because I had my life to live and meant to live it?
JOHN
You should have told us where you were living.
NATHANIEL
I preferred to work out my salvation alone, without interference. My going away gave you a free hand. John, don't tell me that you were not overjoyed that my flight gave you all my father's fortune.
JOHN
It was my duty as head of the family to protect you.
NATHANIEL
I didn't ask for protection. I wanted understanding.
JOHN
A boy of eighteen must not be allowed freedom.
NATHANIEL
Perhaps not, John, but he must be allowed to grow toward his goal. Eighteen is not too young for a man to fly through the air in defense of his country, or you. The burden of the world today is on the shoulders of men from eighteen to eighty, share and share alike.... I wanted to be a writer—
JOHN
And our brother Henry wanted to be a musical composer and our sister Emily wanted to be an actress! A fine putout for the leading commercial family of this state!
NATHANIEL
Well, John, our brother and our sister have paid the final penalty. They have died. Henry left a handful of worthless little tunes and Emily left a trunkful of costumes as monuments to their folly. And now Emily's boy is here under your wing.
JOHN
He's a dreamer like all the rest of you.
NATHANIEL (with interest; tenderly)
Yes?
JOHN
He spends all his leisure time playing with that fool toy there.
[He points to the model theatre.
Nathaniel smiles and crosses to the piano and lifts the cloth that covers the theatre; then he looks at the placard and laughs joyously.
NATHANIEL
"Zenobia." " Alexander Jefferson, Sr."
JOHN
He pretends that's his name—Alexander Jefferson, Sr!
NATHANIEL
People like to have other names. Look at all artists—like writers, pugilists, and actors, and base ball players. And the Sr. Is an effort to appear older.
JOHN
Well, I'm breaking him of all that nonsense. I allow him only a certain number of hours for play. Emily used to spoil him and it's been a task to conquer him.
NATHANIEL
Jonathan is fourteen. When I was fourteen—What are Jonathan's tastes?
JOHN
He reads all the time and he wants to write plays and poetry; but I am conquering that silliness.
NATHANIEL
I think I am going to like my nephew. John, I'll come into the house shortly. I think I'll look at this toy a moment and I'll get Aunt Letitia to show me some of Emily's things. A mere matter of sentiment.
JOHN
Now don't put any foolishness into the boy's head.
NATHANIEL
I promise you I sha'n't try to change the boy's head, brother.
JOHN
I play golf from five to six.
NATHANIEL
Oh, you've taken up athletics?
JOHN
The doctor's advice. Will you join me?
NATHANIEL
Thank you, no.
JOHN
Very well. I'll see you at dinner.
NATHANIEL
Thank you. (John goes out. Nathaniel looks musingly at Letitia who has been sitting silently on Emily's trunk, knitting, Nathaniel crosses to her and sits on a stool at her feet) Does John always talk to you so much, little church mouse?
LETITIA
I have been a poor relation for thirty-five years, my boy, and to be a successful poor relation, one must learn the art of silence.
NATHANIEL
No wonder I ran away!
LETITIA
But you should have written to me.
NATHANIEL
Perhaps—I should—yes—I should have written, but I didn't. You see, Aunt Letty, I was a sensitive boy. All my life I had dreamed of doing my own work. I saw Henry disappointed in life, I saw Emily made miserable enough through the traditions of the family. John couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand him. There was no common meeting-ground. John was the head of the family and so deeply was the idea of submission to rule ingrained in me that I could think of only one way out of my restraint. I wouldn't study engineering, and I wouldn't continue at Somerset School. Well, I ran away from my ancestral castle to find my way in a new world. I think I have found it.
LETITIA
Jonathan doesn't want to study engineering, either.
NATHANIEL (Looks closely at her a moment and then smiles)
As Ibsen would say—Ghosts! (He walks toward the window) Poor John!
LETITIA
[At this moment Jonathan enters the room. He is a slender boy of fourteen with a deep problem in his eyes. When he smiles before his elders, which is seldom, he seems always prepared to restrain the smile. His voice is just changing and this adds to his reticence. He has a tremendous capacity for expressing wonderment and, as usual with one of his type, he is capable of great displays of temper. He gives the impression of thinking about everything he sees. He is at the age of wonder and only custom prevents the world from becoming the promised land of visions and enchantments.
NATHANIEL
Poor Jonathan!
[He turns and sees the boy.
The two stand face to face for a moment. For Nathaniel it is the first moment of a new relationship. For Jonathan it is a moment of uncertainty. He has heard himself called "Poor Jonathan" and he is facing another male relative.
Jonathan looks first at Letitia, then at Nathaniel and then at Letitia.
LETITIA
Jonathan, this is your Uncle Nathaniel. Nathaniel, this is Emily's boy.
NATHANIEL (Holds out his hand which Jonathan takes very shyly)
Jonathan!
JONATHAN
How do you do, sir?
NATHANIEL
JONATHAN (quite conscious of his short trousers)
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
I didn't take you away from any studies, did I?
JONATHAN
No, sir.... I was just writing something when Susan called me.
NATHANIEL
May I ask what you were writing?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir....
[He swallows.
... A play.
NATHANIEL
A play! Zenobia?
JONATHAN (Looks quickly for some indication of laughter in Nathaniel's eyes)
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
It's a tragedy, isn't it?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
In ten acts.
JONATHAN
There may be only eight.
NATHANIEL
Then I know who you are! (Jonathan looks at him in surprise) You are the celebrated dramatist, Alexander Jefferson, Sr.
JONATHAN
Did Aunt Letitia tell you?
NATHANIEL
No, sir. I read it on the billboards. (Jonathan laughs with a catch in his breath) And I should like to attend a performance, Mr. Jefferson.
JONATHAN
It isn't finished yet.
NATHANIEL
Well, when am I to see this theatre?
LETITIA
Your Uncle Nathaniel and I shall come together.
JONATHAN
You've seen all the plays.
LETITIA
That doesn't make any difference. I'd like to see them again.
[Jonathan looks at her to be sure she is in earnest. Then he smiles.
JONATHAN
I'll finish Zenobia for tomorrow.
NATHANIEL
Agreed! Can you get the scenery ready?
JONATHAN
I painted it last week.
LETITIA
You must have the orchestra, too, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
Yes, ma'am. Susan has some new pieces.
NATHANIEL
Is Susan the orchestra?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
JONATHAN
A lot of plays, sir. Mother and I used to write little plays. I don't write many any more.
NATHANIEL
Why not?
JONATHAN
I'm getting too big.
NATHANIEL
Do you ever write anything beside plays?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
That's splendid. Stories?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.... And I've written some po—poetry.
NATHANIEL
Excellent!
JONATHAN
They're not very good, but Susan always wants me to write the poetry for the music.
[Aunt Letitia has repacked the trunk and locked it. She sees that Nathaniel and Jonathan are getting on famously.
LETITIA
I'll go to the house now and you can talk to Jonathan, Nathaniel.
[Jonathan looks appealingly at Letitia, but with a smile she goes downstairs.
Jonathan and Nathaniel look at each other for an embarrassed minute, then Jonathan takes refuge at his theatre.
NATHANIEL
JONATHAN
Do you really want to see them?
NATHANIEL
Yes.
[Jonathan goes to a box on the piano in which there are many manuscripts carefully bound. He hands one to Nathaniel.
JONATHAN
Here is one that mother and I wrote. She loved the theatre.
NATHANIEL (taking the strange-looking little manuscript. Reading:)
"Robin Hood and His Merry Men."
JONATHAN
We used to make all those old stories into plays.
NATHANIEL
Do you like to write?
JONATHAN
Oh, yes. I wish I could write real plays, but there's no one to help me now. My mother used to correct them and tell me what was wrong. She knew a lot about the theatre and she used to tell me all sorts of things. But now Aunt Letitia doesn't say anything. Sometimes she comes to a show, but she can't help me. And Uncle John doesn't like the theatre. He thinks I'm too old to give shows, but I can't help it. There's nothing I like so much.
NATHANIEL
May I read this some time?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.... Would you like to see it played?
NATHANIEL
JONATHAN
Forty-one of them?
NATHANIEL
Forty-one of them! Where do you keep them all?
JONATHAN
Here in this box.
[He shows all the manuscripts.
NATHANIEL
What are the pink ones?
JONATHAN
Those are the ones mother liked best and these—(showing blue ones) are the ones I liked best.... I like them all now, but it used to be lots of fun to choose our favorites.
NATHANIEL
What is this one that's different from all the rest?
JONATHAN
That's one that mother wrote all by herself. It's best of all.
NATHANIEL
You must save these carefully, Jonathan—all your life.
JONATHAN
Oh, yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
Some day you may be proud of them.
JONATHAN
See—she wrote this, and I wrote this. I was a bad writer, wasn't I?
NATHANIEL
What do you want to do, Jonathan?
JONATHAN
You mean what do I want to be?
NATHANIEL
Yes.
JONATHAN
I want to write plays.
NATHANIEL
Is that all?
JONATHAN
Well, I'd like to run a theatre.
NATHANIEL
What else?
JONATHAN
I'd—you won't tell anyone, will you?
NATHANIEL
Of course not.
JONATHAN
You see, Uncle John wants me to go to Somerset School to study engineering and learn the business.
NATHANIEL
And you don't want to—Is that it?
JONATHAN
I'd rather be a writer.
NATHANIEL
They say you can't make any money at writing.
JONATHAN
That's what Uncle John says, but I want to just the same.
NATHANIEL
If you follow John's advice, you'll be a rich man.
JONATHAN
I'd rather be poor. What would you do, Uncle Nathaniel?
NATHANIEL
I—why I'd—Oh, come now, Jonathan—you know John is the head of the Clay family and you and he must decide this question.
JONATHAN
Wouldn't you want to be what you want to be?
NATHANIEL
Perhaps I should.
JONATHAN
I don't see how anyone can decide what you want to be—no matter how old he is.
NATHANIEL
Have you ever talked to John?
JONATHAN
Oh, yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
What did he say?
JONATHAN
He said I had to study engineering or go to work in the factory next fall for good.
NATHANIEL
What do you want to do?
JONATHAN
I want to go to a fine prep school and then to college and then—
NATHANIEL
Then what?
JONATHAN
I want to be an actor!!
NATHANIEL
JONATHAN
Don't tell anybody.
NATHANIEL
I won't. That's pretty far from engineering, isn't it?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir. But everybody can't be alike. You and Uncle John aren't anything alike.
NATHANIEL
And we're brothers, too.
JONATHAN
Do you ever get all mixed up and don't know what to do?
NATHANIEL
Oh, yes. I think everybody does.
JONATHAN
What do you do then?
NATHANIEL
I do something very silly.
JONATHAN
Do you do silly things, too?
NATHANIEL
Yes. I'm afraid I do.
JONATHAN
What do you do when you get all mixed up?
NATHANIEL
I'll tell you—it might not work with everybody, you know—but it works with me.
JONATHAN
Yes, sir!
NATHANIEL
My mother used to sing me a song called—"There is a green hill far away." I always liked that song because it gave me a feeling of contentment and happiness. I imagined that I could see that hill with its pleasant green slopes and at its foot lay a little cottage all cool and pleasant and open to the winds. There were no locks and bolts to keep one out or to keep one in. I used to imagine that I was climbing that hill to the top of the world and when I reached the summit I could see—
JONATHAN (enthralled)
I know—the whole wide world.
NATHANIEL
Its very bigness made me happy in my imagination.... Then when I grew up and heavy troubles came to me I remembered the Green Hill Far Away and one day I found such a hill and I climbed it—clear to the top—and there below me lay the world—the whole wide world—and I told the world something then and felt the better for it.... Jonathan, there is nothing like a hilltop to make a man feel worth while.
JONATHAN
I know what you mean.... But I always want to jump when I look down from any place, do you?
NATHANIEL
I suppose everybody does.
JONATHAN
Uncle John thinks every boy ought to be alike.
NATHANIEL
Many schools used to think that way.
JONATHAN
But boys don't all think the same. They're different just like men, only they don't know so much.
NATHANIEL
Perhaps not.
JONATHAN
Uncle John won't let me put on long pants until I'm fifteen.
NATHANIEL
He let me put them on when I was fifteen, too.
JONATHAN
Were you as tall as I am?
NATHANIEL
Just about the same height, but my legs were like pipe stems and I was very much ashamed.
JONATHAN
So am I.
NATHANIEL
You'll forget all about it after you're fifteen.
JONATHAN
I can talk to you like I used to talk to my mother.
NATHANIEL
Thank you. We're going to be fine friends, aren't we?
JONATHAN
You bet. Is it silly for me to like to write plays?
NATHANIEL
Why do you ask that?
JONATHAN
Because Uncle John says it's silly.
NATHANIEL
Well, it all depends upon the way you look at it, Jonathan. The world has never been able to agree as to what is and what is not silly. Mr. Browning, the poet, might have considered hooks and eyes the silliest things in the world; but to Mr. de Long, they were, no doubt, the most important things in the world. Many men agree with Mr. Browning and many ladies agree with Mr. de Long.
JONATHAN
That's what I think.
NATHANIEL
You and I probably have many thoughts in common.
[Susan and Mlle. Perrault enter. Mlle. Perrault is a Frenchwoman of exquisite grace and poise. She speaks English fluently, but with a charming accent and an occasional Gallic phrase larding her pleasant sentences. Her entrance into the room is electric. She has already won Susan.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Ah, there you are, Mr. Nathaniel Clay. I met la belle Susanne in the roadway and she told me you were in the lumber room in the carriage house and I say to her, "We shall track him to his lair." Besides, I want to see what a lumber room is.
NATHANIEL
I was hiding from you.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Villain! And this is Jonathan. How do you do? Susanne tells me you write poetry and she writes music and she promise me that you will sing for me.
JONATHAN
I can't sing.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Ah! Susanne tell me you have a theatre and you write plays and paint scenery and write poetry and sing songs and she say if I come here to the lumber room in the carriage house you will play me a tragedy and sing me a song.
JONATHAN
Yes, ma'am.
NATHANIEL
Having introduced yourself to everybody, will you tell me, Susan, how Mlle. Perrault learned so much in such a little time?
SUSAN
Well, I was waiting for Jonathan to call me.
JONATHAN
Oh, I forgot.
MLLE. PERRAULT
She was sitting like a little fairy in the grass by the roadway, and I stop my car and ask for Mr. Nathaniel Clay and she say you are here in the lumber room in the carriage house and she tell me many things—because we like each other very, very much and we walk very, very slowly.
NATHANIEL
Now! Now that you know all about Miss Susan Sample and Mr. Jonathan—(He realizes he doesn't know Jonathan's second name) I think I shall introduce you by your pen name, Jonathan—Mr. Alexander Jefferson, Sr.
(To Mlle. Perrault)
I am going to let them know about you. This, lady and gentleman, is Mlle. Marthe Perrault of Paris, France. Mlle. Perrault, may I present my friend Susan and my nephew Jonathan?
MLLE. PERRAULT (falling into the mood)
I am very, very pleased to see you again, Miss Sample. It is a great pleasure to have the honor of meeting you, Mr. Alexander Jefferson, Sr. I am looking forward to the première of your great tragedy, Zenobia, of which Miss Sample has been telling me.
SUSAN (Puts her arms about Mlle. Perrault and Jonathan is uncertain whether to be happy or afraid)
He wrote lots of others, too.
JONATHAN
Forty-one.
NATHANIEL
I think I'll tell you two a secret. (Susan pricks up her ears) Do you like secrets?
SUSAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
And can you keep them?
SUSAN
Oh, yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
Well, some day Mlle. Perrault is going to be my wife.
[He kisses Mlle. Perrault's hand.
Mlle. Perrault shows her engagement ring.
SUSAN
When?
NATHANIEL
Very soon. She is here on some war work and when she and her father go back to France I shall follow and we shall be married.
SUSAN
Ooh—
NATHANIEL
Now you mustn't tell.
SUSAN
Honest.
JONATHAN
No, sir!
MLLE. PERRAULT
Now, we have a secret. And you are going to sing me a little song.
SUSAN
Come on, Jonathan. Let's do the new one.
JONATHAN
Well, I'll try.
[He is quite miserable with stage-fright.
Susan sits at the piano and plays a chord. Then Jonathan begins to sing with much fear in his voice.
JONATHAN (singing)
All on a summer's day,
With flowers by the way,
A fair young prince and his purple knight
Found a princess at her play.
So by the crescent moon
He asked a royal boon
And sat him down on a soft green knoll—
And the night-time came too soon.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Oh, that is just like a little French peasant song! How does it go? La—la—la—la—la—la.
[Susan begins to play it again.
Jonathan sings more surely than before.
Slowly Mlle. Perrault falls into the rhythm and very simply dances a little peasant dance to Jonathan's and Susan's song. The two youngsters are in the seventh heaven of delight.
So—when one is very happy or very sad, he makes a song and when he's very, very happy, he dances. And when he is very, very, very unhappy he dies. You see, I am very, very happy. When do you play Zenobia, Mr. Jefferson, Sr.?
JONATHAN
I'll have it ready tomorrow, maybe tonight.
NATHANIEL
We shall have a season ticket. But now, I want you to meet my blessed Aunt Letitia. She hasn't changed one bit in all these years.
MLLE. PERRAULT
To Aunt Letitia then. Good-bye, Jonathan. Tomorrow is the day of the great première.
JONATHAN (awkwardly)
Thanks.
MLLE. PERRAULT
And la belle petite Susanne, au revoir.
SUSAN
I'll walk with you part of the way.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Very well. Marchons, marchons....
[They go out.
NATHANIEL (holding back a little)
Good-bye, Mr. Manager.
[He goes out calling "Marthe."
Jonathan is left alone in his joy. As he stands, a strange, aimless, vacuous whistling is heard outside the window an though from one ambling by. Jonathan hears it unconsciously, moves to put his plays away, alternately whistling and singing "All on a summer's day."
Presently the whistling of the strange air is heard as though coming from downstairs. It stops and a voice calls out "Hi!"
JONATHAN
Who is it?
VOICE
It's me.
JONATHAN
What do you want?
[By this time the Voice has become a person in the shape of Hank, one of the scum of creation who asks nothing of life and gives nothing. He was born of woman and he grew into man's form, but one looking at him wonders how he survived dirt and the mere effort of breathing. He is stoutish with no marked coloring unless it be a cross between khaki and field-gray. Weather and time have conspired to render him inconspicuous. When he speaks his voice is produced with a careful effort to conserve energy. When he walks it seems to be a movement in answer to prayer rather than a physical fact.
HANK
Say—
JONATHAN
How'd you get in here?
HANK
Well, it's this way, you see. The gate was open out there and this looked pretty fine to me so I come in.
JONATHAN
You'd better go away before my uncle sees you.
HANK
Look here, young feller, I ain't goin' a-do no harm.
JONATHAN
Well, he doesn't allow strangers on the place.
HANK
I jus' come in to ask if I could sleep somewhere around here if I worked for my sleep and grub.
JONATHAN
No, he won't let you.
HANK
How do you know he won't?
JONATHAN
'Cause it's a rule.
[Hank whistles a snatch of the strange air and sits down.
HANK
Where's your pa?
JONATHAN
He's dead.
HANK
Long?
JONATHAN
Ten years ago.
HANK
How old are you?
JONATHAN
HANK
Your pa died when you were four. So did mine.
JONATHAN
Did you ever have an uncle?
HANK
How many you got?
JONATHAN
I got two living and one dead.
HANK
All three of mine's dead.
[He whistles a snatch of the strange air and takes a chew of tobacco.
Where's your ma?
JONATHAN (Is about to become impatient, but an innate tolerance causes him to answer)
She died when I was twelve.
HANK
So did mine. (Whistles) We're alike in lots of ways, ain't we?
JONATHAN
What did you do when your mother died?
HANK
I felt pretty sorry.
JONATHAN
Did your brothers and sisters help you any?
HANK
Have you any brothers and sisters?
JONATHAN
No—
HANK
Me neither. (Whistles casually) No one took no notice of me.
JONATHAN
What'd you do?
HANK
I went away.
JONATHAN
Why didn't you try to work?
HANK
Couldn't find nothing suitable. 'T first I felt sort o' worried an' then I kep' walkin' on and I seen so much trouble where I went I says to myself, "Hank, you're lucky," I says. "You ain't got no fam'ly to bother you an' you ain't got nothing to worry you an' you don't have to get no place in partic'lar and you don't have to stay no place." A man wot's got a wife's all the time worrying about her health or her money spendin' or her gaddin' or her naggin'. An' a man w'ots got a fam'ly's always wondering where they'll end. An' a man's wot's got a home's all time worrying about keepin' it locked up. I bet the poor nut wot owns this place can't breathe easy for bein' scared things'll be took or burnt up. W'y you—look at you—(Whistles) You're wishin' I'd go 'cause you're 'fraid I'll take somethin'. I won't take nothin', young feller, 'cause I don't need nothin' now and I won't need nothin' till it's cold again—and then I'll git an overcoat maybe. It's too much trouble takin' things—'cause you have to carry 'em. (Whistles) You goin' to let me sleep here some place?
JONATHAN
I can't. My uncle would drive you away. Maybe he'd have you arrested.
HANK
I ain't done nothin'. I ain't hurtin' nobody.
JONATHAN
Well, he doesn't allow strangers around.
HANK (Whistles. At the window)
That's where I went by jus' now.
JONATHAN
I heard you whistling.
HANK
That's a tune I made up once. (Whistles)
JONATHAN
Do you make up tunes?
HANK
That's the only one I ever done. It comes in handy and it don't hurt no one.
[Jonathan unconsciously tries to whistle a phrase of the tune.
HANK
No, that ain't it. It's this way.
[Whistles.
Jonathan tries it again and fails.
No. Here.
Jonathan makes it this time.
HANK
That's it. Say, what you got these bars for? It's like jail. Are they afraid you'll jump out on them rocks?
JONATHAN
No, I guess not. There isn't much danger of my wanting to jump out.
HANK
You never can tell for sure, young feller.
JONATHAN
It's to keep people from climbing in.
HANK
There ain't no bars over that one. (Pointing to gable window)
JONATHAN
That's too high.
HANK
It'd be like fallin' off the top of a house, wouldn't it?
[Whistles.
Jonathan whistles "All on a Summer's Day."
HANK
What you got there?
JONATHAN
That's my theatre.
HANK
A show?
JONATHAN
Yes.
HANK
How does it work?
JONATHAN
These are the actors.
HANK
What's the string fer?
JONATHAN
You put him in a groove and pull him.
HANK
Lemme see it.
JONATHAN
All right. I'll show you a scene from the play I'm going to play for my Uncle Nathaniel tomorrow.
HANK
[Jonathan lights the lamps that are back of the screen and pulls the blinds or some cover over the barred windows.
HANK
I wouldn't have all this junk if you'd give it to me. No, sir, when I move I carry my house with me and there ain't much o' that now. (Indicates his clothes)
JONATHAN
All ready. Now you sit there.
[Places Hank on the bench.
He goes behind the screen and taps some bells.
HANK
What's that fer?
JONATHAN
That's to get ready.
HANK
Well, I'm ready.
[Jonathan opens the curtain and discloses a scene from Zenobia.
That's beautiful. It's just like real.
[Jonathan pulls a figure across the stage.
Hello, old man. That's the one I jus' seen. Where's the string?
[Jonathan lifts the string.
JONATHAN
Here it is.
HANK
Now where's that feller goin' to?
JONATHAN (coming out from behind the screen)
Well, you see, Zenobia—
HANK
JONATHAN
They used to have names like that.
HANK
How d' you do it?
JONATHAN
Look, I'll show you a little.
[He goes behind the screen and closes the curtain.
HANK
What you doin' that for? I like to see that picture.
JONATHAN
I'm going to show you how I do it.
[Jonathan rings the bells.
HANK
All right. I'm ready. Let her go.
[Jonathan opens the curtain and pulls a character on, then another.
JONATHAN (in assumed voice)
"Hail, noble duke."
"All is well, I ween."
HANK
Say, are they talkin' to each other?
JONATHAN
Yes.
HANK
Which is the noble duke?
JONATHAN (pulling a string)
This one.
HANK.
And the other one's name is Iween, ain't it?
JONATHAN
No, his name is Rollo.
Jonathan Makes a Wish
Act I.
HANK
All right, fire ahead. I guess you know what you're doing.
JONATHAN (in assumed voice)
"Hail, noble duke."
"All is well, I ween."
"Not very well, noble duke."
"What is wrong?"
"Queen Zenobia is very mad, noble duke."
"What is she mad about, Rollo?"
[Uncle John enters suddenly.
JOHN
Jonathan—
[He sees Hank.
What does this mean?
HANK
I'm seein' a show.
JOHN
You get out of here this instant.
HANK
I ain't hurtin' nothin', mister, but I'll git out if you say so.
JOHN
What do you mean by this, Jonathan?
HANK
I'll git out. Thank you fer the show, boy.
[He goes out whistling.
John crosses to the door.
JOHN (calling after Hank)
Come on, get out of here quickly.
HANK (off)
JOHN
Now, Jonathan, what do you mean by bringing such people into this place?
JONATHAN
I didn't bring him in. He came up while I was working.
JOHN
Do you call that silly stuff working?
JONATHAN
I was getting it ready for Uncle Nathaniel.
JOHN
He's been putting that nonsense in your head, has he?
JONATHAN
He asked me to let him see all my plays.
JOHN
I suppose he told you to ask that dirty tramp in here.
JONATHAN
No, sir. He didn't see the tramp.
[Hank is heard whistling.
John crosses to one of the windows and opens it.
JOHN (calling)
You get away from there. Move on.
HANK'S VOICE
I guess the roadside's free, mister.
JOHN
We'll see about that.
[Hank whistles.
JOHN
Jonathan, I won't have you waste your time on this stuff. I've been pretty lenient with you and I've allowed you to keep your toys because Emily spoiled you; but you're too big for such things and I'm going to put my foot down right now. I'm not going to have this silly stuff around.
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel doesn't think it's silly.
JOHN
I'll decide what is and is not good for you.
JONATHAN
The same thing isn't good for everybody.
JOHN
Don't talk back to me, young man.
JONATHAN
I've got a right to think.
JOHN
Jonathan!
JONATHAN
If my mother was living, she wouldn't call everything I like to do silly.
JOHN
Your mother didn't know what was good for you.
JONATHAN
My mother was the best woman in the world.
JOHN
That will do, Jonathan. Your mother was my sister and I am not saying anything against her. But I do say that stuff must go.
[He starts for the door.
JONATHAN
If this theatre goes, I go, too. I'm not—
[John walks over to the theatre and sweeps the whole structure onto the floor.
JOHN
Now.
JONATHAN
You dirty coward, you—
[John turns upon the boy and strikes him across the face.
In mingled rage and humiliation Jonathan sobs wildly once or twice, then controls himself and glares violently at his uncle.
JOHN
I'll let you think about it. I'll leave you here with your toys like a girl-baby.
[He goes out the door, closing it and turning the key in the lock.
Jonathan runs to the door.
JONATHAN
You let me out of here! You let me out of here!
[He pounds the door with his fists.
Then he turns in despair and humiliation.
He paces the floor a moment, not knowing what to do. Suddenly Hank's whistle is heard. The boy listens as though fascinated and goes to the window and watches Hank. Jonathan goes to his wrecked theatre and, taking it up, piles his manuscripts, the pink and the blue, on it. He hesitates to include one in the pile, offering once or twice to put it in his pocket, but he finally places it in grim determination with the others. Then he takes it off and stuffs it in his pocket. He stuffs the pile in the stove and sets a match to it, watches it a moment, then writes on a piece of paper, fastens it to the door. Then he finds a piece of rope on a packing case, moves the ladder under the gable window, fastens the rope to a peg in the wall, climbs the ladder, considers a moment, returns to the stove with the beloved manuscript, stuffs it in the fire, remounts the ladder and lets his weight onto the rope. As he disappears from view, the rope breaks and a cry and sound of falling are heard.
The flames from the burning theatre and manuscripts flicker against the wall for a silent moment.
The key is heard to turn in the lock and John and Nathaniel enter.
JOHN
Jonathan!
NATHANIEL
He's hiding.
JOHN
Jonathan!
NATHANIEL (Sees paper on door)
What's this?
JOHN
What does it say?
NATHANIEL
"Good-bye!... Jonathan."
JOHN (Looks suspiciously at Nathaniel)
Did you tell the silly boy about your running away?
NATHANIEL
I told Jonathan nothing about myself. You are the head of the Clay family and out of custom I respected your position; but, by God, John, you're a failure with this boy.
JOHN
He—
[Hank enters carrying Jonathan in his arms. Jonathan is limp and pitiful. His clothes are torn. He is moaning pitifully.
HANK
He fell on the rocks out there.
NATHANIEL
Put him over here.
[Hank places Jonathan on the bench near the piano. Nathaniel places the costume, which Susan left there, under his head for a pillow.
JOHN
What was he doing?
HANK
He was—
NATHANIEL
This is no time for questions, John. Call a doctor.
[Jonathan moans and rolls his head, looking vacantly at Hank now and then.
JONATHAN (moaning)
Good-bye.... Jonathan.
JOHN
We'd better take him in the house.
JONATHAN
My mother was the best woman—
NATHANIEL
He'd better stay here until the doctor comes.
[John exits.
JONATHAN
All on a summer's day—
[All the time Nathaniel has been passing his hands over Jonathan.
HANK
He's out of his head, ain't he?
NATHANIEL
Perhaps, but sometimes one's heart speaks in a delirium.
HANK
He acts like his back's broke.
NATHANIEL
My God—his back!
[Touches the boy's back.
Jonathan winces with pain.
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
HANK
Listen, he's saying my name. We wuz pals, sure nuff.
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.