| "I will not cease from mental strife |
| Or let the sword fall from my hand |
| Till we have built Jerusalem |
| In—Ireland's—fair and lovely land." |
Lady Gregory, with William Butler Yeats and John Millington Synge, has been the very life of the Irish drama. The literary association of these three has been highly fruitful. She helped to found the Irish National Theatre Society, and for a number of years has been the managing force of the celebrated Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
Lady Gregory's chief interest has been in peasant comedies and folk-plays. Her Spreading the News, Hyacinth Halvey, The Rising of the Moon, The Workhouse Ward, and The Travelling Man are well-known contributions to contemporary drama.
It is a noteworthy fact that most of the plays of the Irish dramatic movement are one-act plays. Much of Irish life lends itself admirably to one-act treatment. Hyacinth Halvey is one of Lady Gregory's best productions. This play contains a universal idea: reputation is in great measure a matter of "a password or an emotion." Hyacinth, having a good reputation thrust upon him, may do as he likes—his good name clings to him notwithstanding.
| PERSONS |
| Hyacinth Halvey |
| James Quirke, a butcher |
| Fardy Farrel, a telegraph boy |
| Sergeant Carden |
| Mrs. Delane, postmistress at Cloon |
| Miss Joyce, the priest's housekeeper |
HYACINTH HALVEY
SCENE: Outside the post-office at the little town of Cloon. Mrs. Delane at post-office door. Mr. Quirke sitting on a chair at butcher's door. A dead sheep hanging beside it, and a thrush in a cage above. Fardy Farrell playing on a mouth-organ. Train-whistle heard.
MRS. DELANE. There is the four-o'clock train, Mr. Quirke.
MR. QUIRKE. Is it now, Mrs. Delane, and I not long after rising? It makes a man drowsy to be doing the half of his work in the night-time. Going about the country, looking for little stags of sheep, striving to knock a few shillings together. That contract for the soldiers gives me a great deal to attend to.