Cromwell: Mother, dear.

(BRIDGET returns with AMOS.  Very quietly he sings:)

  When I shall in the churchyard lie,
    Poor scholar though I be,
  The wheat, the barley, and the rye
    Will better wear for me.

  For truly have I ploughed and sown,
    And kept my acres clean;
  And written on my churchyard stone
    This character be seen;

  “His flocks, his barns, his gear he made
    His daily diligence,
  Nor counted all his earnings paid
    In pockets full of pence.”

(While he is singing MRS. CROMWELL falls asleep and he goes.  CROMWELL stands for a time with BRIDGET, watching his mother asleep.)

Cromwell: Daughter, we must be loving, one with another.  No man is sure of himself, ever.  He can but pray for faith.

Bridget: Father, you have done all that a man might do.  You have delivered England.

Cromwell: I have said a word for freedom, a poor, confused word.  It was all I could reach to.  We are frail, with our passions.  We are beset.

(He prays at his mother’s bedside, BRIDGET standing beside him.)

Thou hast made me, though very unworthy, a mean instrument to do the people some good, and Thee service.  And many of them have set too high a value upon me, though others wish and would be glad of my death.  But, Lord, however Thou dost dispose of me, continue and go on to do good for them.  Give them one heart, and mutual love.  Teach those who look too much upon Thy instrument to depend more upon Thyself.  Pardon such as desire to trample upon the dust of a poor worm, for they are Thy people, too.  And pardon the folly of this short prayer, even for Jesus Christ’s sake.  And give us a good night if it be Thy pleasure.

THE SCENE CLOSES

THE END

* * * * *

[Transcriber’s Note: 

The following text was printed at the beginning of the original book. 
It is included here for historical interest only.]

Copyright, 1921, by Houghton Mifflin Company

Dramatic Rights in the United States
Controlled by William Harris, Jr

CAUTION

All dramatic rights for John Drinkwater’s Oliver Cromwell in North America are owned and controlled by William Harris, Jr., Hudson Theatre, New York City.  Special notice should be taken that possession of this book without a valid contract for production first having been obtained from Mr. Harris confers no right or license to professionals or amateurs to produce the play publicly or in private for gain or charity.  Until further notice performances of this play in North America will be limited to those companies which appear under Mr. Harris’s direction, and he absolutely forbids other performances by professionals or amateurs, including “readings,” tableaux, and anything of such nature approximating a performance.  The play is fully protected by copyright and any violations will be prosecuted.