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ACT II

No. 8: CHORUS & SOLOS (Lady Psyche, Melissa & Chloe)
"Towards the empyrean heights "

MIDI File [20KB, 2' 42"]

SCENE:— Gardens in Castle Adamant. A river runs across the back of the stage, crossed by a rustic bridge. Castle Adamant in the distance. Girl Graduates discovered seated at the feet of Lady Psyche.

Setting for Act II (Pre-WWII)

Chorus.
Towards the empyrean heights
	Of ev'ry kind of lore,
We've taken several easy flights,
	And mean to take some more.
In trying to achieve success
	No envy racks our heart,
And all the knowledge we possess,
	We mutually impart.

Melissa.

Pray, what authors should she read
Who in Classics would succeed?

Jessie Bond, the original Melissa, 1884

Psyche.
If you'd climb the Helicon, You should read Anacreon,
	Ovid's Metamorphoses, Likewise Aristophanes,
And the works of Juvenal: These are worth attention, all;
	But, if you will be advised, You will get them Bowdlerized!

Chorus.
	Ah! we will get them Bowdlerized!

Kate Chard, the original Lady Psyche, 1884

Sacharissa.

Pray you, tell us, if you can,
What's the thing that's known as Man?

Psyche.
Man will swear and man will storm — Man is not at all good form —
	Man is of no kind of use — Man's a donkey — Man's a goose —
Man is coarse and Man is plain — Man is more or less insane —
	Man's a ribald — Man's a rake, Man is Nature's sole mistake

Sybil Grey, the original Sacharissa, 1884

Chorus.
We'll a memorandum make — Man is Nature's sole mistake!
And thus to empyrean height
	Of ev'ry kind of lore,
In search of wisdom's pure delight,
	Ambitiously we soar.
In trying to achieve success
	No envy racks our heart,
For all we know and all we guess
	We mutually impart!
And all the knowledge we possess,
	We mutually impart, We mutually impart, impart.

Act II set designed by James Wade, 1954

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