Mary. [Singing.]
I sowed the seeds of Love,
And I sowed them in the Spring.
I gathered them up in the morning so soon.
While the sweet birds so sweetly sing,
While the sweet birds so sweetly sing. [2]
[Mary comes out of the cottage, a bundle of enchanter’s nightshade in her arms. She hangs it by a string to the wall and then goes indoors.
Mary. [Singing.]
The violet I did not like,
Because it bloomed so soon;
The lily and the pink I really over think,
So I vowed I would wait till June,
So I vowed I would wait till June.
[During the singing Lubin comes slowly and heavily along the road. He wears the dress of a farm labourer and carries a scythe over his shoulder. In front of the cottage he pauses, looks round doubtfully, and then sits stiffly and wearily down on the bench beneath the window.
Mary. [Coming to the doorway with more plants and singing.]
“For the grass that has oftentimes been trampled underfoot,
Give it time, it will rise up again.”
Lubin. [Looking up gloomily.] And that it won’t, mistress.
Mary. [Suddenly perceiving him and coming out.] O you are fair spent from journeying. Can I do anything for you, master?