The Chorus
You brave, heroic minds,
Worthy your country’s name,
That honor still pursue;
Go and subdue!
Whilst loitering hinds
Lurk here at home with shame.
And in regions far,
Such heroes bring ye forth
As those from whom we came;
And plant our name
Under that star
Not known unto our north.
[As the singing diminishes, the light grows upon the thrones of the two Spokesmen and they begin. They speak eagerly, almost in a monotone, following no rhythm but the inevitable throb of Carlyle’s prose. The bell, too, follows this throb, sounding ever louder and more insistently through their words.]
The First Spokesman
The world is all so changed; so much that seemed vigorous has sunk decrepit, so much that was not is beginning to be!
The Second Spokesman
(Swinging antiphonally into tone and tempo.)
Borne over the Atlantic what sounds are these; muffled-ominous, new in our centuries?
The First Spokesman
Boston Harbor is black with unexpected Tea!