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3 Court Now Sitting |
From Mary Celeste |
[Fanfare (faintly reminiscent of The Flying Dutchman overture); Ghosts depart; Attorney's Herald bangs her ceremonial staff on the ground and delivers a very authoritative recitative]
Herald
Whether or not your 'mystery ship' continues on its journey
depends upon the verdict of her Majesty's attorney!
[Attorney swipes the Ballad of 'Marie Celeste' from Barker 2 and turns to read the verses we have not yet heard, which strike him as foolish and fanciful. He sings jovially]
Attorney
My earnest friends! You can't believe
the tales this woman is telling?
'cos when it comes to facts
she's pretty lax:
you probably spotted the spelling!
I hate to be a purist
but in court where I preside
it's only with the surest
facts I'm occupied
a ballad for a tourist
is not a proper guide
for judging exactly what occurred
[Attorney hands back the Ballad with a flourish; Herald hands him a great dossier of legal papers, to which he gestures while addressing the Barkers in the next stanza]
The gossip web those verses weave
delights my sense of humour
but it's a salvage case!
I cannot place
my trust in idle rumour.
It ought to make me furious
that you've set it to a waltz
to titillate the curious
with sleaze and schmaltz
But in this case the spurious
rubs shoulders with the false!
The whole truth is still distinctly blurred.
[Music becomes more vigorous: two of the actual crew from the Dei Gratia come forward, indignantly seizing the fake caps from the embarrassed Tourists. These are Deveau and Wright, eager to assert their part in the saga]
Deveau
He can damn 'em all with doubt
but he dare not contradict
how the Dei Gratia's gallant men rowed out
to take in hand the derelict
Wright
You can doubt the truth and fitness
of the gossip that you sift
But today you'll hear a witness
Deveau & Wright
who saw, with his own eyes, Mary Celeste adrift
[Attorney takes these interruptions in his stride; with a gesture he acknowledges the legitimacy of Deveau and Wright, his final witnesses; then he turns magnanimously to the spellbound Tourists]
Attorney
Whatever verdict we achieve
I must report to London
But it will be rehearsed
made public first
when I emerge at sundown
The argument's been fiery
long days of hard debate:
today's official diary
shows the final date
for the result of my enquiry
you haven't long to wait
When these vital witnesses are heard,
My friends! Wait here, to learn the final word
[Attorney retires through a door into the unseen courtroom; outside Herald clicks her heels, bangs her staff, sings her recitative, and follows the Attorney]
Herald
Her Majesty Queen Victoria in her office of admiralty: against the ship or vessel supposed to be called Mary Celeste and her cargo proceeded against as derelict,
court now sitting.
Tourists
Hip hip, hip hip hooray!
Deveau & Wright
For God's sake, why're you cheering?
Tourists
We can sit here playing guessing games all day!
And one of us might guess the outcome of the hearing!
[Self-important tones from the Tourists]
One of us might guess
the outcome of the hearing!
[New tune, reggae feel: Deveau and Wright, sensing a receptive audience, make the most of their yarn]
Deveau & Wright
While we're waiting for the judge's herald
you can hear from my mate and me
how our health was all imperilled
on that floating infirmary
when we rowed across the sea
[Crowd applaud this plan, their cheers turning into scene-setting sea-noises which persist well into the next number]