The 'Mind the Paint' Girl by Arthur Wing Pinero (i am malala young readers edition TXT) đ
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- Author: Arthur Wing Pinero
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De Castro.
Sitting in the chair in the middle of the room. Lil.
Jimmie.
I caught her eye, and she came straight over to me and sat down beside me. âShaky?â she said. âA corpse,â I said. And she quietly laid hold of my hand and held it till Dolly Ensor condescended to stroll in. And when I got up I asked her who she was, and she told me. âOh, my God,â I said, âIâll never forget your kindness! Why, of course, youâre the âMind the Paintâ girlââ!â
Roper, de Castro, and Von Rettenmayer.
Singing. âMind the paint! Mind the paint! Tra, lal, la, lal, la, lal, la, lal, la, lal, tra, la, la, laââ!â
Bland seats himself at the piano and thumps out the air of the refrain of âMind the Paint.â The three men, mouthing the time silently, wave their arms, and Lilyâs head and body move from side to side.
Bland.
With a groan. Ugh! Is there anything more ancient than a four-year-old comic song? Playing a few bars of the melody of the song. Shade of Nineveh and all the buried cities!
Roper, Von Rettenmayer, and de Castro.
To Lily, coaxingly. Lily! Goddess! Lil!
Lily.
Shaking her head. Oh, boys, itâs gone. Pressing temples. I couldnâtââ
Bland plays the introductory symphony and then pauses. Then she sings, he accompanying her. In a moment or two, the song comes back to her readily and she gives it with great witchery and allurement. Jeyes starts up and goes to the window in the wall on the right and looks out.
Lily.
Singing.
Iâve a very charming dwelling,
(You know where without the telling)
Decorated in a style thatâs rather quaint!
Smart and quaint!
When you pay my house a visit,
You may scrutinise or quiz it,
But you mustnât touch the paint!
Brand-new paint!
Mind the paint! Mind the paint!
(No matter whether Mapleâs bills are settled or they ainât!)
Once you smear it or you scratch it,
Itâs impossible to match it;
So take care, please, of the paintâof the paint!
Rising and coming to the middle of the room, Lily repeats the refrain, dancing to it gracefully. Jimmie also rises and she, Roper, Von Rettenmayer, and de Castro join in the chorus and the dance, the three men very extravagantly. Farncombe looks on, enraptured, while Mrs. Upjohn beats time with her hands.
Lily.
Singing.
Iâm possessed of all the graces,
Oh, a perfect dr-r-r-ream my face is!
(It may owe to Art a trifle or it maynât
Hâm, it maynât!)
And Iâll cry out for assistance.
Should you fail to keep your distance,
Goodness gracious, mind the paint!
Mind the paint!
Mind the paint! Mind the paint!
A girl is not a sinner just because sheâs not a saint!
But my heart shall hold you dearerâ
You may come a little nearerâ
If youâll only mind the paintâmind the paint!
The refrain is repeated as before, Mrs. Upjohn rising and taking a share in it. Then Lily drops on to the settee before the writing-table, laughing and holding up her hands in protest.
Lily.
No more, boys! Roper, Von Rettenmayer, and de Castro gather round her, applauding her and urging her to continue. No, no; no more! Iâve had such a stiff dayââ
Mrs. Upjohn.
With sudden energy, to everybody. Out you go, all of you; out you go!
Jimmie.
To the men. Come on; letâs mizzle. Shaking hands with Farncombe. Cruel of us to tire her so.
Mrs. Upjohn.
Tapping Von Rettenmayer on the shoulder. Now, then, Baron!
Von Rettenmayer.
Shaking hands with Lily. Iâm goming.
Jimmie.
Taking Von Rettenmayer to the door. Well, gome!
Mrs. Upjohn.
Pulling Roper away from Lily. Now, Uncle!
Roper.
Adjusting his coat. Mind the paint, Ma.
Jimmie.
Calling out. Good-bye, Lil!
Lily.
As she shakes hands with de Castro, calling to Jimmie. Good-bye!
Jimmie and Von Rettenmayer disappear.
Mrs. Upjohn.
Now, Mr. de Castro! Moving with Roper towards the door. âOwever dâye think sheâs goinâ to get through her work to-night!
De Castro.
Pausing to comb his moustache. Quite right, Maââ thoughtlessly and a thupper and a danthe afterwardth.
Roper.
Turning upon him quickly. Sssh! In a low voice. Dam fool!
De Castro.
Clapping his hand to his mouth. Ohââ!
They glance at Jeyes who, hearing de Castroâs remark, has left the window and come forward a step or two.
Roper.
Uneasily. Erâgood-bye, Nicko.
De Castro.
To Jeyes, in the same way. G-good-bye.
Jeyes.
To both, dryly. Good-bye.
Bland.
Talking to Lily, neither of them having heard de Castroâs slip. That jingleâan echo of old times, eh?
Lily.
Looking up at him. Yes, but not better times than these times, Vin?
Bland.
Sadly, holding her hand. Ah, Lil, there are so many tunes in life left for you, my dear!
Roper.
At the door, with Mrs. Upjohn and de Castroâto Bland. Come along, Vincent.
Bland joins the group at the door as Farncombe approaches Lily.
Farncombe.
Shaking hands with her. Thank you. With fervour. Glorious!
Lily.
Reproachfully. For shame!
Farncombe.
I mean it.
Lily.
Tâsh! Lightly. See you again some day, perhaps?
Farncombe.
Ah, yesâ
Roper.
Calling to Farncombe. Coming our way, Farncombe?
Roper, Bland, and de Castro depart. Farncombe bows to Lily and makes for the door.
Farncombe.
To Jeyes. Good-bye, Captain Jeyes.
Jeyes.
Who has wandered to the entrance to the conservatory, where he is now standing with his back to the roomâhalf turning. Good-bye.
Farncombe.
Shaking hands with Mrs. Upjohn. Delightful! Enjoyed myself amazingly.
Mrs. Upjohn.
Graciously. Oh, weâre always glad when a few folks pop inâ he wrings her hand if they donât over-stay their welcome.
Farncombe.
Naturally. Hurriedly. Good-bye. He vanishes.
Mrs. Upjohn.
Remaining at the door. Captainââ
Jeyes.
Advancing. I want just half a dozen words with Lily, Mrs. Upjohn.
Lily.
To Mrs. Upjohn. Tell Maud to put out my old green frock, mother; Iâll be up in a minute or two.
Mrs. Upjohn.
To Jeyes. Now, you wonât keep âer longer, will you?
Jeyes.
Grimly. No, no; I know she wonât be in bed till four oâclock to-morrow morning at the earliest. Mrs. Upjohn goes out, closing the door, and Jeyes comes to Lily. So Smythe is giving you a grand feed to-night at the theatre, Lil?
Lily.
Arranging the pillows on the settee. In the foyer.
Jeyes.
And a dance, it appears.
Lily.
Yawning. Oh-h-h-h! Lying upon the settee at full length. Who told you, grumpy?
Jeyes.
Roper and your mother told me about the supper. You didnât.
Lily.
Ha, ha! You were in such a vile mood last night, coming home.
Jeyes.
Who will there be to dance with to-night?
Lily.
The men of the Company.
Jeyes.
That doesnât sound very inspiring.
Lily.
Rather school-treaty, isnât it!
Jeyes.
Nobody from outside?
Lily.
No; itâs to be only the men in the theatre and the principal ladies.
Jeyes.
Roperâs going.
Lily.
Uncle Lal? Oh, well, heâs hardly from outside.
Jeyes.
And de Castro.
Lily.
Sam?
Jeyes.
Iâm sure of it, from something I heard him say just now.
Lily.
Sam used to finance Carlton. I suppose they reckon him one of us.
Jeyes.
Sitting in the chair in the middle of the room. Smythe might have extended the compliment to me, Lil. He knows how I stand towards you.
Lily.
Awfully sorry; I canât help it.
Jeyes.
Twining his fingers together. You see, if Roper and de Castro are asked, there may be others.
Lily.
Changing her position. Oh, lal, lal, lal, lal, la!
Jeyes.
With a set jaw. Some of the more juvenile âboys,â perhaps. Examining his nails. Lil.
Lily.
What?
Jeyes.
When did you make the acquaintance of the young sprig oâ the nobility whoâs been here this afternoon?
Lily.
Lord Farncombe? Bertie brought him and introduced him one day last week.
Jeyes.
Ha! Heâs at your feet now.
Lily.
Phuh!
Jeyes.
Oh, you may âphuhâ! Heâs in front every blessed night. There he sits, Row B., three stalls from the end, prompt side!
Lily.
There are a few good-looking girls at the Pandora besides your humble servant.
Jeyes.
Rubbish! His glass follows you all over the stage. I watched him talking to you in this roomââ
Lily.
Raising herself. Did you indeed!
Jeyes.
Beating his clenched hands upon the arms of his chair. God in heaven! First itâs one, then itâs another, chasing you!
Lily.
Putting her feet to the ground. Oh, youâre maddening, Nicko! You are; youâre maddening. Last night it was Stewie Heneage you chose to be jealous of, simply because youâd heard him sounding my praises at Cataniâs! You almost broke the window of the car, you went on so!
Jeyes.
I confess I object to Heneage, or any man, raving about you at the top of his voice in a public place.
Lily.
Sakes alive, why shouldnât Stewie rave about me in a public place, if he feels like it! I belong to the public. He might rave about a girl whoâs a jolly sight less deserving of being raved about, as a girl and an artist, than I am.
Jeyes.
Well, weâll dismiss Heneage.
Lily.
Yes, exit Stewie and enter somebody else for you fuss and fume about. This afternoon itâs Lord Farncombe, and to-morrow itâll be a fresh person altogether. One âud think, to hear you, that I donât know how to take care of myself, and of any poor boy who loses his head over me! Rising and walking away. Youâre growing worse and worse with your jealousy, Nicko. Stop it! Iâm surprised at you, after all these years! Itâs beginning to fret me, and thatâs bad for my spirits and bad for me in business. At the tea-table, grabbing a piece of bread-and-butter and biting at it. And now youâre making me spoil my dinnerâ relenting and thatâs not good for me either, you brute!
Jeyes.
His hands hanging loosely between his knees, sighing heavily. Oh, Lily, Lilyââ!
Lily.
Yes, oh, Lily, Lily!
Jeyes.
Whyâwhy donât you put me out of my misery?
Lily.
Munching. Poison you?
Jeyes.
Marry me.
Lily.
Behind his chair. Marry you? Taking his handkerchief from his breast-pocket and wiping her fingers upon itâsarcastically. Have you come to tell me youâve got some work to do at last? Break it gently, Nicko; the shock might be too great for me.
Jeyes.
Oh, Iâd find a billet soon enough, Lil, if only Iâd an incentive to hunt for it.
Lily.
Incentive! You had an incentive twelve months ago, when I was willing to engage myself to you absolutely if you could obtain a good secretaryship or something of the sort.
Jeyes.
IâIâve no fancy for a beggarly secretaryship.
Lily.
No; all youâve a fancy for, seemingly, is for living on your unfortunate people. Throwing him his handkerchief and leaving him. How a man of your age can rest satisfied with being a burden to others passes my dull comprehension!
Jeyes.
IâI have been a bit slack, I ownâI have been a bit leisurely; butââ
Lily.
Inspecting some of the flowers about the room. Nicko, that pendant, or whatever it is, youâve given meâI donât want to hurt you, but I wonât accept it. You take it away with you; do you hear?
Jeyes.
Not heeding her, weakly. Lilââ
Lily.
Iâm in earnest; you remove it from off my premises.
Jeyes.
Lilâ she returns to him my eldest brotherâRobertâ looking up at her Bobâ She nods inquiringly. Bobâs at me to go out to Rhodesia, to manage a group of stock farms heâs interested in near Bulawayo.
Lily.
Oh, why donât you
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