Original subtitles

From the raw Australia of the 1900s

comes a turbulent saga that spans the decades,

in Colleen McCullough's best-selling novel.

The Thorn Birds.

I'll never have what I want...

The story of a priest driven by ambition,

never be what I want.

Tormented by desire.

And I don't know how to stop... wanting.

Hello, I'm Father de Bricassart.

And you be Mary Carson's brother?

That's right, father.

From the moment he saw her, he knew...

And who are you? I'm Meggie.

He would love her forever.

I gave you Mary Carson.

The richest woman in Australia

and the loneliest. Shoot 'em, Frank.

You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen,

Ralph de Bricassart.

I thought it was my soul you were after, Mary.

Why do you tug so at my heart?

Why do you fill that space God can't fill?

When you were a little girl, you were like my own child.

I could have you then.

You can have me now.

You can marry me.

I have chosen to destroy you, priest.

Oh, I'll go to hell for it, of course,

but it'll be nothing to the hell I'm planning for you.

No one could stir Meggie's heart,

no one till a rover named Luke O'Neill.

God, you are beautiful.

Marry me, Meghann.

The story that travels around the world,

from the Vatican to the Australian Outback,

from the islands of Greece to London.

I have tried so hard to get her out of my heart.

The saga that spans half a century,

echoing through three generations.

Starring Richard Kiley, Jean Simmons,

Ken Howard, Mare Winningham, Philip Anglim,

Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown,

Barbara Stanwyck, Rachel Ward, and Richard Chamberlain.

A love unattainable,

forbidden, forever.

The Thorn Birds.

Good day, Father De Bricassart.

Happy Christmas to you.

The same to you, Mrs. Smith.

Why are the roses here on Drogheda

always the loveliest to be found?

Aren't they heavenly?

But it's the heat makes them bloom so.

Makes me wilt.

Nothing is given without a disadvantage in it.

True enough, Father. True enough.

Well, I'll lay things out for mass.

Custodiat animam meam in vitam eternam.

Amen.

Ecce agnus dei,

ecci qui tollis peccata mundi.

Domine, non sum dingus ut intres sub tectum meum,

sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi

custodiat animam tuam in vitam eternam.

Happy Christmas, Mrs. Carson.

Ah, Father, how many times do I have to tell you

my name is Mary?

And yet, you never call me Ralph.

Happy Christmas, Ralph.

And it's very kind of you

to spend it with a lonely woman.

Oh, hardly that.

On the contrary, it's very kind of you

to invite a lonely priest...

and fellow Irishman.

Oh, that's right.

This is your first Christmas

in exile, isn't it?

Exile?

It's my first in Australia, if that's what you mean.

That's not what I mean

and you know it. Six months,

and I still haven't figured out why

the Church banished you out here

to the land of never-never.

What sin did you commit, Ralph?

What priestly vow did you break?

Poverty? Obedience?

Perhaps chastity?

You're quite sure I have been banished?

Well, of course. Look at you.

You're aristocratic, witty, ambitious...

despite that facade of humility.

And God knows you have a subtle mind.

You're the stuff

cardinals are made of, Ralph.

And you would look magnificent in red.

So you've said before...

so you say each time I visit you.

And you're going to say, "but my dear Mrs. Carson

"I am a priest.

"Surely I can do god's work here

as well as in the seats of ecclesiastical power."

Sometimes, Mary, I think you know me

better than I know myself.

I'm certain of that too.

All right, now.

Ready?

Go!

Come on!

Come on!

Come on! You can do it!

Ralph won!

I bet on you, Father Ralph!

Well done, Father De Bricassart.

How do you like him?

He's beautiful!

Good! He's yours. Happy Christmas!

Well, thank you.

And I'll take great pleasure

in riding him whenever I'm here,

but I can't accept him as a gift.

Why not? You accepted the car I gave you.

Because it allows me to see my parishioners more often.

A fine distinction.

You'll accept my gifts

only if some holy use could be made of them.

Well, it wasn't poverty.

I beg your pardon?

The vow you broke that got you banished.

Uh-huh. It, uh...

it must have been chastity, yes?

All right.

My Christmas gift to you.

I insulted a bishop

on a matter of local church policy.

You broke your vow of obedience.

That was ambitious of you.

Well, there's some comfort in the fact

the Pope himself later came out

in favor of my views in the matter.

Has he now? And he hasn't rescued you?

My dear Mrs. Carson,

priests are expendable, bishops aren't.

It's not so terrible a banishment.

If I have you to remind me

of the existence of civilization,

and I have Drogheda.

Oh, yes, you would like that, wouldn't you?

You'd like to have my Drogheda.

Oh, would I?

Oh, yes, you would. If you could charm me

into leaving Drogheda to the Church,

his holiness would have to rescue you, reward you,

maybe even give you that beautiful red cardinal's robe.

A masterful plan,

but my dear Mrs. Carson, I am a priest.

Surely I can serve god as well here

as in the seats of ecclesiastical power.

Oh, and how you would hate it.

Still I have to give Drogheda to someone someday, don't I?

That's worth thinking about.

Ah, Mrs. Smith, I must go.

Please give my thanks to Mrs. Carson

for a delightful day.

That will be all. Thank you.

Ralph, you're not leaving so soon.

It's late and a long way back to the parish.

Oh, well, I hope I didn't say anything

this afternoon to upset you.

I mean, all that talk

about inheriting Drogheda.

You didn't upset me in the least.

Good.

Have you thought about it?

About what, Mrs. Carson?

About charming me out of Drogheda,

because I didn't say I couldn't be charmed.

Mrs. Carson.

What is it you want from me?

Why...

only your spiritual guidance

of course, Father.

You see, I have a decision to make.

You're the only one that can help me.

I'll do what I can.

It's about my brother.

Your brother?

I thought you once said you had no family left.

Oh, I have a brother.

I haven't seen him in years.

He lives in New Zealand.

We both left Ireland to make our fortunes,

but Paddy hasn't fared too well.

He's an experienced man with the land, however,

and he has a house full of sons.

I'm thinking of bringing him here

and making him my head stockman.

I wonder you didn't think of it sooner.

Oh, I did. I did.

I've just been waiting, shall we say, to, uh,

to see what might develop.

And it would be a comfort to me

to know I would be helping Paddy,

to know I'm not all alone in this world,

not-Not quite reduced

to leaving all my pretty pennies to the Church.

It's a most generous gift, Mary.

No, no. Never a gift.

No, whoever inherits Drogheda...

earns it.

Thank you, Father.

Good night, Mrs. Carson.

Father, Father, it's time you were off.

All right, Annie.

I'll be right there.

It'll be nice for Mrs. Carson

having her brother's family.

Father, Father, I must see you

about the chalk supply.

Chalk? Three boxes are missing. Three!

I'll... look into it.

In Father Watty's time, Father,

we took a much closer account

of such things.

Hello. I'm Father De Bricassart.

Sorry, I'm late.

And you be Mary Carson's brother?

That's right, Father. Paddy Cleary.

This is my wife Fiona.

Mrs. Cleary.

I'll be taking you on to Drogheda.

I know you've had a very difficult journey.

You're very kind.

These are my boys, Father. This is Bob...

Hello, Bob.

Jack... Jack...

And Stuie here. Take off your hat.

And Frank.

Frank.

And who are you?

I'm Meggie.

Meggie.

Meggie.

Oh, are we going to live here?

Well, not exactly.

I'll show you your house later, Meggie.

Meggie?

Yes, this is Meggie.

Mary, we have no words to thank you for your kindness

in bringing us here.

Well, when you're as old as I am and as rich,

the vultures start to circle.

You're my only flesh and blood, Paddy.

I don't have any sons

and Michael's been dead for over 30 years.

A long time to be alone.

I wonder you never married again.

Marry again?

And give some man control over me and all I have?

Oh, no. No, that's not what I call living.

No. As long as I am alive, Drogheda is mine

and only mine.

It's well to remember that.

Why, of course, Mary.

Well, let's have mass right away,

and then I'm sure we'd all enjoy

a nice hot meal at your table, Mary.

That sounds very nice indeed, Father.

Meggie?

A hundred and twenty-five thousand sheep,

1000 head of cattle,

and more fence than you can ride in a month.

A round of work is endless.

But Drogheda is the biggest in New South Wales and the best.

I've seen to that.

Well, all I can say

is it looks like heaven to me.

Well, if your idea of heaven is hard work,

you're right.

We Clearys know about hard work-

Not that it got us very far in Ireland.

Paddy, I don't want you just to lead the men.

I want you to work with them,

and to keep on working long after they've quit.

When things go wrong, you take the blame.

When they go right, don't expect any credit.

And I'll give you a free hand with the land, Paddy,

as long as you keep Drogheda the biggest and the best.

Well, Mr. Gough, the gold is holding.

And I think the investment looks sound,

but you're my lawyer.

The steel is still down of course since the war,

but nothing to worry about.

And as we discussed, Carson Limited

is doing well with your expansion plan.

Meaning I'm still one of the richest women

in Australia.

If not the richest.

Mary, does your brother have any idea of all this?

No. No one has.

And that's the way I want it kept

until the day I die. Do you understand?

Of course.

It would be amusing

to know what people would say

if they know Drogheda

was only a hobby with me.

Hello, Father.

Fee.

You're fighting a losing battle.

There are three things

you'll never defeat here in the outback:

The dust, the heat, and the flies.

You're certainly not like New Zealand priests.

They keep very much to themselves.

You're not a Catholic, are you?

When I lost faith in my own church,

I saw no reason to espouse a creed

that is equally meaningless to me.

But Paddy's a Catholic,

and we're rearing the children Catholic,

if it's worrying you.

It isn't, and I won't try to convert you.

But I would like to be your friend.

You're very kind to us.

I like to know my parishioners,

so I make the rounds of all the stations.

But I must confess to a weakness for Drogheda.

Perhaps it's my Irish blood.

Irish? I thought you were of French background.

No, De Bricassart is an old Norman name,

but I'm Irish, all right,

and the last of the De Bricassart line.

In fact, I was born in County Meath,

just a stone's throw from the town of Drogheda.

Call it fate.

Yahoo!

Yahoo!

Bye, Meggie. Wish you could go.

Have fun, Stuie!

Poor little Meggie.

It must be hard being the only girl.

But I've been blessed with sons,

these and two I've buried.

It's her sons a mother thinks of, isn't it?

Meggie, don't dawdle.

You've got the chickens to feed.

Father Ralph!

Excuse me.

Father Ralph!

Father Ralph!

Hello, Meghann Cleary.

Let's go feed those chookies, shall we?

Yes, but there's something I must show you first.

Come on.

What is it, Meggie?

Isn't it beautiful, Father?

Yes, I suppose it is.

Father, do you suppose that God

is really all around us all the time?

What makes you ask me that, my little girl?

Because if he is, I think he must be here.

Don't you?

Ah! God is in his wool room,

all is right with the world.

And why not? He did choose a stable once.

Oh, come on, Ralph. That's a bit precious.

Except why not? Why not make this

the epicenter of the papal map,

and then you could be cardinal after all.

And what would that make you? Surely not the Pope?

No. Too dull. Satan, perhaps.

That's more interesting.

And more powerful.

Every heaven needs one to stay in business.

You argue like a Jesuit.

Well, isn't it true?

Without Satan, there's no struggle.

And it's the struggle that keeps us alive.

What keeps us alive is the point of that struggle-

The hope of attaining perfection.

If by perfection, you mean heaven.

But you have to die to get there, don't you?

Sometimes, Mary, I think you're after my very soul.

I am...

unless it's already been taken.

Meggie, fetch the milk, will you.

Yes, Mama.

Fiona, you are hopelessly old-fashioned.

If you don't raise your hemlines

and stop wearing all those petticoats,

you are going to die in this heat.

Oh, Fiona.

Where did you get this furniture?

And this spinet?

The furniture was my grandmother's.

She taught me how to play.

What was your maiden name?

My father's name was Roderick Armstrong.

My dear Fiona,

the Armstrongs are practically New Zealand's first family.

You have come down in the world, haven't you?

I don't think so.

Well, you're better born than we Clearys,

if I do say so.

The only thing I had going for me

when I came out to Australia was a face, figure,

more brains than any woman was supposed to have,

but it got me Michael Carson.

You've done very well, Mary.

He doted on me till the day he died.

Then you ought to know what it is to have

the love of a good man.

Michael was rich, but a bit of a fool.

Paddy's not a fool.

No, but he's penniless.

Can you really have loved him enough

to give up your place in society?

My reasons for what I do, Mary, are my own.

I do not discuss them.

Can I help, Frank?

Not likely. These beasts would gobble you up

right along with this kangaroo meat.

You stupid bloody beasts!

Frank! Stop it!

Stop it!

Shoot 'em, Frank!

Shoot them? Frank!

Don't worry, Meggie.

What's the trouble here?

Daddy, Aunt Mary says

the dogs have got to be shot.

All right, darling.

You go on about your work.

Yes, Daddy.

Get the gun.

I'm not gonna shoot those dogs.

They were just fighting a little.

Just fighting, huh?

Today those two fight, tomorrow they'll all turn wild.

We'll have a paddock full of sheep

with their throats torn out.

There's no room here for anything wild, Frank.

Those dogs are here to work and to obey.

Just like me, right?

That's all I do around here is work and obey.

That's right, and as long as I'm your Father,

that's what you will do.

Now get the gun.

Yes, Daddy.

Ah, hello, Meggie!

Now don't you go telling her majesty

I fired up this engine,

for it's only to be used at shearing time.

Pete!

I thought you boys wanted to learn shearing.

If you're not a fine pair of jackaroos!

Never saw a machine shears,

and here you'll be cockys of the whole place one day!

That steam engine runs it?

It runs the shears, turns the grinding wheel,

works the wool dumper,

and it will boil a belly for your tea.

Look at that. I could even beat Daddy with these.

Nobody could beat Daddy.

Daddy was the fastest man

with the hand shears in all Wahine, New Zealand!

Meggie, aren't you to be fetching the milk?

I never was what you could call a gun shearer myself,

but I can teach you right enough.

Here, I brought a few sheep in to practice on.

Get out here, you brainless dummy!

You're about to be made an example of!

Bob, get yourself a sheep.

The fastest bladesman I ever saw

was old Hee Sing, a Chinaman.

He could ring any shed in the country,

could old Hee Sing.

Get in there!

Finished!

What do you think, Pete?

Well, Bob, I'd say you're a champion shearer...

Oh, thanks, Pete!

In the making.

All right, Stuie.

Now just walk right straight toward him.

Slowly.

Ah, see, look him right straight in the eye.

That's-No, don't look at me, Stu, look at him.

Why do you think I sent you in there?

That's it.

Lay off, will you? The poor kid's only 11.

Go on, Stu.

For God's-

You stay out of this. No son of mine

is gonna be scared of any animal in this place.

That's it, Stu. Go ahead.

Stuie!

You think that's funny? You think that's funny?

Stop it! Frank!

Get back to work.

You pull a trick like that again,

and I'll take a stick with you in front of God and all.

Will you, now? Come on, then!

Come on, then. Now's your chance.

You've fought and scrapped

and acted like a savage your whole life,

but I'll not have it anymore, not here.

Now get back to work!

Hello, Meggie. I've been looking for you.

What's wrong, Meggie?

Nothing.

I never get to do anything!

The boys got to ride all the way out

to the far paddock with Pete.

They won't even let me on a horse.

Well, Meggie, maybe your mum doesn't think it's safe.

Ha. She doesn't even know I'm alive.

She doesn't care about anyone except Frank.

But I'll tell you one thing, Father.

When I'm grown-up,

I'm never gonna love one of my children

any more than the others.

Here, let me help you.

What are you doing anyway?

Cleaning out this drain

so we can get water to the sheep.

You really ought to be in school, Meggie.

Wouldn't you like that?

Yes. But they need me to help.

Anyway, I guess I don't need school

just to live here on Drogheda.

Oh, but you do.

Because when your family inherits Drogheda,

you'll be a proper young lady.

You need to be prepared for that.

And who knows?

You might not even want to spend your life here.

Because big as Drogheda is,

it's only a tiny corner of the world.

There's so much else out there,

so many other lives you might choose,

so many opportunities for you.

Father...

do you ever wish that you could go out

and see the world?

I'm a priest, wee Meggie.

I must go where the Church sends me.

Let's see if this works.

We did it!

Come on.

I'll take you back to the house.

There's some things I want to talk to your Aunt Mary about.

I wonder that we trouble building and mending fences.

The rabbits tunnel under them,

the kangas jump over them,

the wild pigs just charge right through them.

Look at this hellish wasteland.

A man would wonder anything could live.

It's not like home.

Home was as green as anything.

You'll see a bit of green when the rains come...

if they come.

It's sheep have turned this land into desert...

and man.

I'd say that rabbit is as safe as houses at this rate.

This is- Well, this is life!

Good god, boy!

I'll tell you what life is.

Life is what you just poured into the ground.

Sorry, Pete.

Well, you'll learn.

But you must always know

that no matter how much you love the outback

she'll find a dozen ways to kill you before sundown.

What is it, boy?

What are you smelling now?

What is that thing?

Jack, hold that dog.

It's a wild pig, a boar.

Let's get him. No!

Stuart, get down from there!

I want to shoot at him.

No! He's too far away.

And if you shoot at a wild boar,

believe me, you'd better kill him,

or he'll kill you.

Damn!

Come on, lads. Come on!

Stuie, no!

Stuie!

Stuie!

Thanks, twerp.

What's my best girl been up to today?

It was so nice, Frank.

Father Ralph came to see me.

Really, Meggie, he came to see everyone.

Set the table.

Mum, let me.

That's all right.

You know how Daddy feels

about you boys doing women's work.

Frank...

I want you to get along with Paddy a little better.

Hello, Paddy.

Boys not with you?

They're out with Pete.

Should've been in by now.

That smells good, Mother.

Frank, I'm about...

finished classing the ewes.

Tomorrow you're to start for the far paddocks

and begin mustering the rams for breeding.

If you think I can handle it.

I don't know if you can handle it or not,

but the man you were skincracking to fight quit!

So you can do his work for him!

Fee, you best put him up plenty of tucker.

He'll be out for a while.

Never mind, Mom, I'll do it.

You've got enough to do already.

Now what's that supposed to mean?

Look at her! She's so tired, she can't even see straight!

You may think you can treat the rest of us like slaves,

but not her! She's not some ignorant clodhopping yokel!

Frank!

Like me, huh? Go on, say it!

Your mother might as well see

how much respect you've got for me.

I'm sorry, Daddy.

Daddy, wait till you hear.

Stuie shot a boar!

He was huge,

the ugliest devil you ever saw.

And Stuie stepped up as nice as you please.

Bob, let Stuie tell it.

I can't believe it.

Stuie?

We were farmers, you know, back in Galway.

One day my dad told me to go fetch a breeding bull

from the next farm up.

We were too poor to have one of our own.

I tried, but that old bull was a killer.

I came back without him.

My dad called me a good-for-nothing coward.

He said he'd show me how to fetch a bull.

I felt so bad, I sat down and cried.

Then after a while, I looked up

and here come my dad down the lane.

He had a rope in his hand, all right,

but there was no bull at the end of it.

He just walked on by me, never said a word at all.

But he never called me a coward again after that.

...for thy bounty which we are about to receive,

for the beauty of earth and sky,

and for the blessings of the children

thou hast given us, Lord,

let us be truly grateful.

Amen.

Amen.

You're a beautiful woman, Fee.

Paddy, I...

Mary thought I might be more comfortable

in lighter clothes, perhaps.

You told her about the baby then?

No, no.

Isn't Stuie something, though?

Whatever you said to him, Paddy,

made him so happy.

Well, that's one anyway.

I'm sorry I lost my temper with Frank.

No. He was very wrong.

There's just something about him

I don't understand. Something...

wild.

But what he said

about how hard you have to work,

it's true.

I know this is still not the life

you should have, Fee, but...

someday.

Don't talk someday, Paddy.

You've given me as much as any woman

could possibly hope for.

Well, what are we going to name

this baby anyway?

It smells like eggs again.

It's the brimstone.

Father Ralph says hell must be like this.

Hey, twerp.

What are you doing out of bed?

You shouldn't be out of bed.

You'll be leaving early in the morning.

It's too hot to sleep.

What is it? Hmm?

You've been moping around all week.

I don't want to go away to school

and leave you.

Silly goose.

Gillanbone's only 40 miles away.

Father Ralph will be there.

Yes, that's so.

I'll miss you.

And Mum really needs me here to help.

Meggie, sit up for a minute

and listen to me.

You know how they always preach to us

about how we must work together

for the good of us all,

how we must never think of ourselves first?

You've got to think of yourself

because they never will.

Yes, they do.

It was Daddy who said I could go to school.

Because Father Ralph insisted he fixed it

so Aunt Mary would pay for you,

the tight-fisted old witch.

I want you to go, do you hear?

I want you to go!

Run along, boys. Run along.

Poor Meggie.

Such a hard time fitting in.

How's our little project coming?

Almost finished.

Excuse me.

Hold your hands out, please.

Your hands, Meghann Cleary.

So we're still biting them, are we?

Yes, Sister.

All right.

Turn them over.

That will do, Sister.

Thank you.

Come along, Meggie.

I'm sorry, Father.

Are you going to send me back to Drogheda?

That's up to you, Meggie.

Do you want to go back?

Oh, no!

I love school and being here with you.

But Sister Agatha...

Well, I think she understands

a little better now, don't you?

But you know, the convent

isn't really a homey place for you.

In fact...

Annie and I have been thinking

that what you need

is your very own special place.

Here... with us.

Would you like that, Meggie?

Oh, could I? Honest?

Come on.

Oh, Father!

Why do you tug so at my heart?

Why do you fill that space God can't fill?

Frank!

I thought you could use some company.

Your mother says

you've been alone out here for weeks.

Not long enough. Hey!

Hey!

How's Meggie?

She's doing beautifully in school.

She sends her love.

We've got to get this lot in.

The monsoons are coming.

Why did you become a priest?

Because I love God.

And I want to help others

feel his love.

Why do you ask, Mike?

Because you don't act much like a priest to me.

Being out here gives me an escape

from my priestly duties at the parish.

I need that, I'm afraid.

I can understand that, right enough.

Stuck out here in this hellish place.

No picnic, is it?

No, it's not.

No.

The church has such power, Frank.

Or rather, God has,

working through the Church.

The power to shape the lives of millions

and millions of people,

to change the whole course of history.

And I want to be a part of that.

I try to hold the thought

that even out here,

I do share in that power,

but sometimes

I find it very difficult.

Then why don't you escape?

Why do you put up with it, a man like you?

You could be anything that you wanted to be.

Yet, I give up every ambition,

every desire, to be the perfect priest.

"The perfect priest."

How can I explain?

I'm a vessel, Frank.

And sometimes I'm filled with God.

If I were a better priest,

there would be no periods of emptiness,

no need to escape.

I would always be filled with God.

That, to me, would be perfection.

Nobody can be that perfect...

not even you.

Perhaps me least of all.

I haven't found it easy anyway

to keep my vows,

to forgo the love of a woman or money

or to be obedient.

That's been the hardest, obedience.

But I've learned to obey.

This place has taught me that.

Maybe I should become a priest.

I'd qualify, all right.

No woman, no money, and, oh, do I obey!

"Yes, Daddy. No, Daddy. Quite right, Daddy."

Why do you put up with it?

Because I can't get away from him!

But you're 22 now.

He can't hold you anymore.

He'll hold me till I die.

No, Frank.

You're a man, and past the age

when another man can hold you.

If you're held, it's by something else...

or someone else.

Oh, Frank.

Mum.

It's so... beautiful.

I've been so worried about you.

Out there for weeks in this storm.

God!

He's got you pregnant again.

Frank!

He just can't leave you alone, can he!

This is no different from the way

you came into the world.

It deserves the same respect.

Respect? When he paws at you

like a dirty goat that he is?

He is my husband!

When you insult him, you insult me!

I'm not the blessed Virgin!

I'm not pure, untainted, and holy!

Frank!

Frank!

I'll end up killing him!

Then you'll kill me as well.

No!

I'll free you!

I can never be free.

I don't want to be free.

God!

Mother!

Look at yourself!

Look at your life!

The waste!

You don't belong with him!

Son, you're a man now.

You've got to stop thinking about me so much.

You need a wife.

It's time.

Father, you're a sight!

I should've come around back, I suppose.

Quite all right.

Just leave your things here. I'll collect them later.

Thank you, Mrs. Smith.

You are the most beautiful man

I have ever seen, Ralph de Bricassart.

But, of course, you already know that.

Curious how you view us mortals with contempt

for admiring that beauty.

And yet, you would use it without compunction

to get whatever you wanted, wouldn't you?

I thought it was my soul

you were after, Mary.

It is.

Because at my age, officially...

I'm supposed to be beyond the drives of my body.

And one mustn't expect miracles...

even from you.

How many women have loved you, Ralph,

besides your mother?

Did she love me?

I don't know.

She ended up hating me.

Because you didn't need her.

Because I needed God more.

Interesting.

And now...

now you can't need any woman...

can you, Cardinal de Bricassart?

Father, I'm so glad you're back.

Father, what's wrong?

I'll never have what I want!

Never be what I want!

And I don't know how to stop...

wanting!

It's all right, Meggie.

It's all right.

It's just that sometimes God's lessons

are very hard for me.

Like Sister Ag and her ruler.

Yes.

Come on.

It's cold in here.

You'll spoil your dinner.

No, thank you. Not for me.

Let's see if we can find your family.

And now, ladies and gents,

it is my pleasure to present

queen of the 1921 Gillanbone show,

Miss Judy Sutton!

Good on you, Judy.

Oh, well, bless my beads.

It's the good Father.

Congratulations, Judy.

How about a kiss for Miss Gilly, huh?

Give me something to confess on Sunday.

Well...

I mustn't make my best girl jealous, now must I?

Oh, no.

Around and around she goes,

the wheel of fortune. Step right up.

Make way! Coming through!

All right, lads, have yourselves a good time,

but stay out of the pub.

Thanks, Daddy.

Let's go find Pete and unload the rams.

Here, son.

Daddy! Frank!

Meggie, me love!

Hello.

Look at you in your uniform!

Where's Stuie? Where's Mum?

With the baby due so soon,

we thought Mum best not travel.

Stuie stayed home with her.

Stuie's been aching to see you, Meggie,

but never mind, 'cause we're gonna

buy him something nice with this money, all right?

All right.

Hello, Aunt Mary.

Father.

Mary, you're looking splendid.

Will you be staying over?

I'd rather hoped you'd invite me

to stay at the rectory.

You could stay in my room.

Your room?

I thought you were at the convent.

Oh, no. Father Ralph gave me my very own room...

right next to his.

You're very welcome to stay, Mary.

I'm sure my housekeeper will be happy

to share her room with Meggie tonight.

No, thank you.

I wouldn't want to disturb

all your little... arrangements.

Nice bit of riding, Alastair.

Congratulations, Angus. That's a fine horse.

Thank you, Mary.

Oh, Angus, this is my brother Paddy Cleary.

Paddy, Angus MacQueen and his son Alastair.

This is my aunt, Sarah MacQueen.

Mr. Cleary.

Sarah, how is Melbourne these days?

Well, really, I hardly know.

I've been in Palm Beach for most of the season,

then Hawaii.

Of course, one longs for the continent,

but it's so impossibly depressing since the war.

Paddy, would you get me

some more champagne, please.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Oop. Sorry, ma'am.

You look as though

you could use a real drink, Paddy.

Oh, hello, Mr. Gough.

Oh, none of that Mr. Gough stuff. Harry to you.

Well, Harry, then.

I'm feeling a proper fool, and that's the truth.

If Fee was here, she could hold her own with this lot,

but I'm...

Our squatters like to lay it on.

Hoity-toity. Helps them forget

their grandfathers were burned in the hand

and sent here in prisoner ships.

But you just as well get used to them.

You'll be leader of the flock one day.

Lord help me.

Come on, let's get cracking while the pub's still open.

We've had early closing these days.

Well, I'd like to, but Mary wanted some-

Uh, champagne for Mrs. Carson.

Now be grateful we don't have

prohibition like the yanks.

Here it is, gents!

Jimmy Sharman's famous boxing troupe!

The world's greatest fighters,

plus, a purse to be had by any chap

brave enough to have a go!

Look, they're in their drawers.

Here we go, step right up! Five minutes before fight time!

Come on, lads, who'll take it for a fiver?

The last chance, last chance for a fiver.

Here we go! Five minutes left before the fight!

Come on, lads, here we go. Who wants to win a five?

Look at the size of 'em all- I will!

You will! Come right up here! Frank, no!

Ah, we have a taker, a brave lad.

Step right up. Here's a pair of gloves for you.

What are you laughing at now?

It's not the size of the dog in the fight,

it's the size of the fight in the dog!

Is that right? Ah, come on.

Go right inside. Here we go.

Come along, Meggie.

No! I want to stay.

Come on. I can't let you go, Meggie.

Your father would flay me alive.

Now come along.

No! I'm gonna stay with Frank!

Buy your lady fish and chips and a glass of ale.

What do you have to lose, lads? You work harder on the farm.

And this brave young lad is Frank Cleary!

Frank!

Frank!

Break! Break!

Meggie.

Meggie!

Meggie!

Look, I won. I fought four fights, and I won.

Frank, it was too scary.

You didn't let her see it, did you?

Well, short of binding and gagging the child,

I couldn't see how to keep her away.

Don't be angry, Frank. She's been upset enough already.

Hey, you mustn't ever let Daddy know

that you were there.

Do you understand me?

You really won?

Frank, didn't you hear me shouting after you?

You were supposed to meet-

Oh, dear God, look at him, would you?

I'm searching all over for you

and you're off picking fights again.

Not fighting, Daddy. Boxing.

I beat four of Jimmy Sharman's champions. Four!

Champions? A bunch of punch-drunk old has-beens

from the country show.

I made meself £20, Daddy.

More than Aunt Mary pays you in a month.

£20 and the respect of every man present.

Ah, respect! Why don't you grow up, Frank,

for your mother's sake if nothing else.

For her sake?

You stinking old he-goat.

After what you've done to her.

You couldn't leave her alone, could you?

You couldn't keep your hands off her.

How dare you speak to me like that?

I'm her husband. You're nothing better

than an old ram in rut is what you are.

And you're no better than the bastard

who fathered you, whoever he was-

Frank! No!

Oh, God. I didn't mean that, Frank.

Frank, I didn't mean that. I didn't mean it.

You meant it.

Let me go, Father.

I won't touch him, so help me God.

So help you God.

God rot your souls, both of you.

If you've ruined that child, I'll kill you.

I should have let you kill each other,

you miserable self-centered cretins!

Son... wh-

What I said, i-it's not true.

No.

No.

I've always felt it.

I've always known that you came after me.

That she was mine first.

I've always blamed you

for dragging her down all these years.

It was me.

It was me.

No, Frank.

It's not your fault.

Sometimes God's ways are hard for us to understand.

Your preaching makes me want to puke, Father!

Frank!

Never mind.

Never mind. I'm going.

And I won't be back.

But Frank, you can't go away.

What will I tell your mother?

Frank, you mean more to her

than all the rest of us put together.

She'd never forgive me, Frank.

God in heaven, Paddy.

What possessed you to tell him?

God, why aren't you older

so that I could explain this to you?

Meggie...

it weren't...

That argument that Daddy and I had...

it's just a kind of a sign

that it's time for me to be going on my own.

But you mustn't tell mum about it, do you hear?

But aren't you going to tell Mum goodbye?

I'll write to her.

She'll understand.

Where are you going, Frank?

Well, you know the money I won for boxing?

The man who owns the whole troupe,

Jimmy Sharman,

he wants me to be one of his regular fighters.

Really?

Think of that.

I'll get to travel around the whole country

and see things you've never dreamed of.

I wish you'd take me with you.

Will you, Frank?

No.

What kind of life would that be for you?

Meggie, you must stay here

and learn to be a great lady.

Because you know something?

You'll be all grown up sooner than you know.

Why don't you love me anymore?

I do love you, Meggie.

No, you don't.

You wouldn't leave me if you did.

My darling, darling Meggie.

No one will ever love you

more than I.

Frank!

Frank!

I was the dairy hands.

I used to see Fee in the distance

walking with Frank.

He was only a baby then.

Then one day,

old Roderick Armstrong came to see me.

He said his daughter had disgraced the family.

They wanted to send her away,

but the old grandmother wouldn't hear of it.

Now the old lady was dying,

there was nothing to stop them.

They said...

said if I married Fee, take her away,

they'd pay me enough money to set us up.

So you married a lady far above you.

Well, it wasn't the money, Father.

She was so beautiful.

I wanted to see her safe and not abused.

To me, she's beautiful still.

She is indeed.

And in Meggie, I can see what she must've been like then.

Yeah.

I was frightened to death of her at first.

It took me two years to get up enough courage to-

Was a...

be a proper husband to her.

I love her so much, Father.

I know she's never had that feeling for me...

not even in the most private moments

of our lives together.

But never once in all these years

has she ever complained or cried or...

or laughed.

How's Meggie?

What in heaven's name happened here today?

Oh, Father.

Promise you won't ever leave me.

Oh, Meggie.

Darling Meggie.

Meggie, Frank had to leave.

Why? Because...

because it hurt him too much to stay.

It'll hurt more without mum and me...

because we're the ones who love him.

Meggie, for each of us, there comes a time

when he must search

for the thing he thinks he needs above all else,

no matter what it costs.

You mean the thing that will make him happy?

Happy.

There's a story...

a legend...

about a bird that sings just once in its life.

The moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree

and never rests until it's found one.

And then it sings...

more sweetly than any other creature

on the face of the earth.

And singing, it impales itself

on the longest, sharpest thorn.

But... as it dies,

it rises above its own agony,

to outsing the lark and the nightingale.

The thorn bird pays its life

for just one song...

but the whole world stills to listen.

And god in his heaven smiles.

What does it mean, Father?

That the best...

is bought only at the cost of great...

pain.

Thank you, Meggie.

What a pleasure having you do that for me.

From now on, I'll call you "Our Lady of the Gates."

How many of those wretched gates are there

between Gillanbone and Drogheda?

Twenty-seven, Father. Twenty-seven.

And that means one has to stop and get out...

Well, how many times?

Fifty-four, Father.

Well done. Fifty-four times coming and 54 times going.

Now, if a priest were to travel between Gilly and Drogheda

to see his favorite person, say, once each month,

how many times would he have to stop and get out

during one year's time?

It's all right, Father.

With the baby to take care of,

I'll be too busy to miss school.

Oh, Meggie.

Meggie.

Sometimes I long to throw open all those gates,

and race down the road and never stop.

Just leave all 27 of them gaping open

like astonished mouths behind me.

Goodbye, Father.

Hello, Mum.

Hello, Meggie.

Oh, Mum!

Hal's beautiful!

Father de Bricassart,

how very nice to see you again.

Why did you do it, Mary?

When the dress on your back

would pay her tuition for the rest of the year!

Ralph, I don't believe I've ever seen you

so-So impassioned.

I thought it best to take Meghann out of school.

Fee is not well. She needs the help.

Why do you dislike Meggie so much?

She's a beautiful, intelligent little girl,

yet no one seems to give a rap about her!

Which means you can be sure of her love,

and it's all so innocent

and so safe for you, isn't it?

No danger to your reputation,

no threat to those not-so-holy ambitions of yours.

Oh, Mary, this is unworthy even of you.

I am, after all, a priest.

You are a man first, Ralph de Bricassart.

No, Mary. A priest.

First, last, and always.

Coming along beautifully, Meggie.

This time next year,

you'll be ready for the horse trials at the Gilly fair.

But then, Father, by this time next year,

you could be in Rome.

Poor little Hal, I think he's a might feverish, Meggie.

Uh, Mrs. Smith, please take the children

in the kitchen for tea.

You have heard the news?

The pope has decided that Australia

should have its very own cardinal.

I had no idea you stayed current

with Church politics.

But it's so intriguing, don't you think?

His Holiness is sending a papal legate

to search the length and breadth of this land

to find a man worthy enough to wear the biretta.

Now, that's like Cinderella!

Mary, much as I love sparring with you,

it's time we made a truce.

A truce?

The priest confesses.

It's true I once had ambitions-

great ambitions, which I thwarted

by my own stupid lack of humility.

Then I was sent here.

And here you were, a good Catholic,

with Drogheda, and no heirs.

Or so I thought.

And you thought, "Aha! My ticket to the Vatican."

Put with typical cruelty,

but... perhaps not undeserved.

The point is I've changed,

and it's largely you I have to thank for it.

Me?

When you made the Clearys your heirs,

you dashed all my hopes, just as you intended.

But it freed me, too, from all my old desires.

Mary, I'm a priest.

Only that,

and content.

Oh, bravo, Ralph! Bravo!

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a performance more.

Mary.

"All my old desires."

Oh, that is wonderful. That is wonderful.

Well, I'll let you stew a while longer.

But your day of reckoning is coming.

Don't you ever doubt it.

How you do love

the illusion of your own power.

Don't make me pity you.

Pity me? Pity me?!

Ho ho! Do you doubt I can't make you writhe yet,

do you think I can't make you sell yourself

like a painted whore before I'm finished with you?

I don't doubt you'll try,

but take care.

In trying so hard to destroy my soul,

you may lose your own...

if there's still one there to lose.

Or still one there to destroy!

In a Christian country,

all this commotion would mean rain.

Those grazing lands are as dry as chips.

Not a mouthful of grass anywhere.

I reckon we'll be lucky lads

if this lightning doesn't set the whole range aflame.

Did I ever really say Drogheda was heaven?

Good night, Fish.

Daddy, come on.

Little Hal is very sick.

Fee, what-

Oh, Daddy!

It's very bad, Paddy.

For God's sake, someone get a doctor!

I phoned from Aunt Mary's.

He's all the way out to Dibban-Dibban.

Bob, get some more sulfur from the storehouse.

May Christ receive thee who hath called thee,

and may the angels bear thee

unto Abraham's bosom.

Meggie, what is it?

I'm all right.

But you're not.

Will you just talk to me?

There's nothing wrong with me.

Leave me alone!

Meggie!

Meggie!

She's doing it again, Father.

She's been like this ever since little Hal died.

I know. She won't talk to me, either.

Well, we can't let this go on.

Meggie.

Meggie, listen to me.

You've got to stop this.

I know how much you loved Hal,

but you can't go on grieving this way.

Meggie, please,

you're wasting away before my very eyes.

I can't bear it!

Father, you make me so ashamed.

It's...

It's not Hal.

I mean, I do miss him, but...

What, then? Are you sick?

I can't tell you.

You can tell me anything.

That's what I'm here for. I'm a priest.

And I love you, just the way God loves you, wee Meggie.

Father...

I'm dying.

Dying?

Just like Hal, only it's-

It's some kind of tumor or something.

How do you-How do you know this, dear heart?

I get the most awful pains, Father.

And then there's a lot of blood.

But it's not all the time.

Just every month or so?

Yes.

How did you know that?

My precious girl...

You're not dying.

You're growing up.

Why your mum didn't explain all this to you...

She should have, you know.

You mean mum does it too?

All healthy women do, Meggie,

except when they're expecting a baby.

Then it's needed to nourish the baby inside their womb.

Do you understand?

Sort of. Like when it says

"blessed be the fruit of thy womb, Jesus"?

That's right.

Meggie...

do you know what...

what makes babies?

Of course, Father!

It comes from mating, like the rams and ewes.

I've tried to watch them.

But Daddy said I mustn't.

But I've heard the boys talking.

Isn't that right, Father?

Yes, but...

You see, Meggie,

it's very different with people,

or it should be because God intended

that when a man and a woman mate,

they do it as a way of showing their love

for each other.

So it's a mating not just of bodies,

but of souls.

It must be so wonderful.

So I understand.

Will it be that way for you and me?

What?

When I grow up and we get married.

Now, Meggie...

you know priests can't marry.

You can always stop being a priest.

Oh, no.

No, no, Meggie, darling.

I can never stop being a priest.

Not ever.

What about those tarts you promised me.

Yes! Come on.

Father, I'm so glad I'm not dying.

What would I ever do without you?

You'll never be without me.

What would her majesty be wanting with me

at this late date?

Heaven knows.

Still a thousand things to do

and the guests are almost upon us.

I'll take that. I'm going up anyway.

Come in.

Happy birthday, ma'am.

And if we aren't a picture today.

Thank you, Pete.

But birthdays at our ages

are rather a mixed blessing, aren't they?

What is that?

Oh, I was just taking it along to Meggie, ma'am.

I thought you wouldn't mind

if the Clearys dressed here

so as they wouldn't be dust to the waist from walking.

Mm-hmm, good. That's a pretty color for Meghann.

What do you call that?

Ashes of roses, ma'am.

It's quite the thing just now.

Now you will help her

dress this evening.

We want her to look absolutely irresistible.

Has Father de Bricassart arrived yet?

Uh, no, not yet.

But your lawyer Mr. Gough is here.

Good... good.

Now, I want you both to watch me sign this paper,

and then I want you

to put your names beneath mine.

Oh, you can write, can't you, Pete?

I can manage a little bit, yes, ma'am.

Fine, fine.

It's just that you are a witness

that this is indeed my signature,

in case there's ever a question.

Good.

And please, send Harry Gough to me.

Yes, ma'am.

I'll fetch Mr. Gough.

Why, Mrs. Cleary, you look stunning.

Thank you.

For once in her life,

Mary's opened up her wallet wide enough

to let the moths fly out, hasn't she?

But I suppose she doesn't want her poor relations

shaming her on her 75th birthday.

Well, I best get this to Meggie

or she'll be late.

Fee.

Why, Paddy, you look like a diplomat.

Do I?

I feel like an undertaker.

But you...

Oh, Fee,

you look just grand.

Harry, doesn't she look grand?

My dear Fee, you look like the lady of the manor.

Is that a legal opinion, Mr. Gough?

Help me with these, will you?

Yes, yes.

I think they'll do,

even if they're not quite real.

Never you mind.

Someday, I'm going to buy you

the finest strand of pearls

in all of Australia.

Really, it's astonishing

how few interesting men there are since the war.

And that's been 10 years,

I mean, virtually one's whole life.

But they're either doddering

or they're mere children.

Where on Earth has Meggie got to?

Mrs. Smith's says she's about got her ready.

That's Stuart Cleary.

Little Stuie Cleary?

Honestly, Lucy. Not bad-looking, I suppose,

but such a rube like all those Clearys.

Still, he might do for you.

And of course they'll be frightfully rich

when she goes.

Father.

Happy birthday, Mary.

How delightful you look, like a young girl.

Well, Mary, you've outdone yourself.

This must be the finest party

the district has seen in 50 years.

Easily, easily.

I hope you're staying over

because I've planned

some real festivities for tomorrow.

I'd be delighted.

Harry.

Hello, Father.

Father, what a delight to see you.

Good evening, Miss Carmichael.

But you've been dreadfully neglectful, you know.

Mother was just saying the other day

you hadn't been to Beel-Beel for the longest time.

Thank you.

Hello, Alastair.

How are you fellows this evening?

Paddy, you remember my sister Sarah.

Yes, of course.

But I don't know if you've met my wife Fiona?

Heavens, I would never have dreamed

you were Paddy's wife.

Sarah just returned from the States.

Oh, my dears,

you can't imagine what the crash has done-

Wall Street is a shambles.

People throwing themselves out of windows.

That can't happen here,

not with the wool market we've got.

Do you realize how much this country

exported last year?

Good Lord. Who is that?

Excuse me.

Meggie, you're so beautiful.

Oh, thanks, Stuie.

I give you Mary Carson.

A dear-A dear and generous sister,

a great lady,

and queen of this beautiful land of Drogheda,

may she reign forever.

Thank you, thank you, all.

And thank you, Paddy, for your words and wishes.

But no one reigns forever.

The time is coming and soon

when I must pass the reign of Drogheda

on to someone else.

As we all know, those of us who have lived here

and fought the drought and the floods,

and the heat and the cold,

and yet managed to prosper

and become masters of all we survey,

this land can be a heaven...

or a hell.

My fondest wishes for those who come after me

is that it be far more one than the other.

Happy birthday.

Dance with me, Mary.

Oh, no, Father. I'm too decrepit.

Nonsense. I insist.

That was a beautiful speech, Mary.

You made Paddy very happy.

I truly wonder

if she isn't getting a bit senile.

I mean, tricked out exactly like a bride.

So grossly unsuitable.

Someone should've told her

she looks like death in white.

Beauty and the beast.

Look at him, grinning at her just like he didn't care

she left that lot to those Clearys.

Of course, he's too holy for filthy lucre

and such like anyhow, isn't he?

Of course it does make those Cleary boys

more interesting. Hmm.

Ah, she's a grand old girl, eh, Paddy?

Aye, that she is.

By the by, I've been meaning to ask,

Mary usually chairs the race committee

for the Gilley Show,

but I wondered if you might be interested

in doing the honors this year?

As she's declined.

Thank you, Angus.

Thank you.

What's the matter, Mary? Are you all right?

Yes. I'm all right, I'm all right.

Let's let the others have a chance.

Please, dance.

Cynthia.

I never supposed we could still dance together.

How long has it been, do you think?

It's been 30 years in January.

How can you remember that?

Oh, I remember it very well.

We went to the century ball in Wahine on New Year's Eve.

Frank was just a baby.

Good evening, Meggie.

Will you dance with me?

Oh, thank you, Alastair.

Um, I don't know how to dance.

It's awfully hot for dancing anyway.

Perhaps you'd care for some punch?

Yes, thank you.

Look at the boys, will you?

Standing around shy as kangas.

It's my fault.

I should've taught them a few of the social graces.

How to dance, what to say to a girl.

There's been little time for anything

but hard work all these years.

I guess we're just beginning to realize

how many changes there will be in our lives.

Will it make you happy, Paddy, being rich?

I could never be a rich man, Fee.

Not if I was to have a million pounds.

I wouldn't know how to be.

It's knowing you'll be living

the way you always should have,

that you'll take your place again.

That's what makes me happy.

Father Ralph, about the bingo,

I must take exception to it.

If could we have a little talk-

Father?

Are you enjoying the party?

Oh, Meggie, yes.

Are you?

Yes, it's a lovely party.

Excuse me, Meggie.

Father.

She is lovely, isn't she?

There's not a man in this room

who wouldn't give up everything

just to have her, is there?

Now, Mary, you're baiting me again.

Not one man.

Except perhaps you.

Once a long time ago

I offered you a chance at the cardinal's robe,

and you turned me down.

But I wonder-I wonder...

if you had to choose between Meggie...

and the cardinal's robe...

which would you choose?

Oh, Mary,

what would I have done without you

these past years?

Your wit, perception...

your malice.

Father, why don't you want to be with me?

Talk to me?

Is there something wrong?

You look lovely, Meggie.

So grown up.

I have to speak to the MacQueens.

Meggie.

What a sweet dress.

Thank you, Miss Carmichael.

Mrs. Smith made it for me.

I helped, though.

Did you?

Well, I'm sure I haven't seen anything like it

in the fashion pages.

You know, I keep expecting to see you at the horse tracks.

Ralph tells me you might become quite an able rider one day.

Of course some people are saying

that it isn't quite the thing for him

to be spending so much time in Drogheda.

But I think it's splendid of Ralph

to take such an interest in you Clearys.

Ralph, you haven't danced with me all evening.

You must do the Black Bottom with me.

You always do it so well.

Look, everyone,

Father's going to do the Black Bottom.

Father, it's time for me to go up.

Please, everybody, it's almost dawn.

Please stay and enjoy yourselves.

Goodnight, Mary.

Will you see me up the stairs?

Of course.

Good night. It's been a wonderful party, Mary.

Yes, hasn't it?

It was a wonderful party, Mary,

and I hope a wonderful birthday for you.

My last. I'm tired of living. I'm going to stop.

Fiddlesticks.

You know you're planning something special

for tomorrow. You told me so yourself.

Yes, I remember, I remember.

But I won't see you.

Kiss me goodbye, Ralph.

Mary...

Good night. Sleep well.

No! On my mouth!

Kiss me on my mouth as if we were lovers!

Mary, I am a priest.

A priest! You're not a man nor a priest!

You're some impudent useless thing

that doesn't know how to be either.

You're wrong, Mary. I know how to be a man,

but to be a man on your terms is to be no priest,

and I have chosen to be a priest.

With the free will God has given us,

and with that same free will,

I have chosen to destroy you, priest.

Oh, I'll go to hell for it, of course,

but it'll be nothing to the hell

I'm planning for you.

It's yourself you'll destroy

with this everlasting hatred of yours.

When Satan tempted Christ with the whole world,

is it because he hated him or because he loved him?

You don't love me. I have always loved you!

So much so I would've killed you

for not wanting me!

But I-I found a better method.

No, not love.

I'm the goad of your old age, that's all.

A reminder of what you can no longer be.

Let me tell you something,

Cardinal de Bricassart,

about old age

and about that God of yours,

that vengeful God who ruins our bodies

and leaves us with only enough wit for regret.

Inside this stupid body,

I am still young!

I still feel! I still want!

I still dream!

And I still love you!

Oh, God, how much!

Meggie!

Meggie.

Meggie.

Meggie, darling, don't cry.

Here...

Here now.

Dry your eyes like a good girl.

I don't want it!

I'm not a child anymore.

Why don't you just go back to your dancing?

I know you're not a child.

Anyone can see you've grown

into a beautiful young woman.

You were by far the loveliest girl

at the party tonight.

But that's just the problem.

They all know I come to Drogheda

more often than I need.

If I paid you

a scary bit of attention tonight,

it would've been all over the district in record time.

Don't you see?

No, I don't see.

I think you do.

Come here.

Come on.

Now, Meggie...

Meggie, Meggie...

we've been over this before.

What you mustn't do

is get in the habit of dreaming about me

in some sort of romantic fashion.

When you're a woman, you'll meet the man

destined to be your husband.

And then you'll be far too busy

getting on with your life to think about me,

except as an old friend who helped you through

some of the bad times of growing up.

All right, my Meggie?

Yes, Father.

I understand.

Come on.

Come on.

What are you thinking, Father?

Just about the land.

That it's so beautiful, so pure,

and so indifferent to the fates of the creatures

who presume to rule it.

And what are you thinking,

my dearest Meggie?

Just that I wish the sun would never come up.

And we could stay like this forever.

Father!

What is it, Mrs. Smith?

It's Mrs. Carson, Father.

She's dead.

In nomine patris,

et filii,

et spiritus sancti.

Mrs. Smith, we'll have to hold

the funeral right away, with this heat.

Yes, Father. I've sent Pete down for Paddy

and I've telephoned to the others.

Many of them haven't even reached home yet

from the party, you know.

Father...

Harry, you've heard?

It's terrible.

Terrible.

Father, I must speak to you.

Can it wait? I have some arrange-

Mary's orders. Please.

Fancy the old monster popping off like that

to spite God and all.

She probably did herself in.

Unless it was the devil doing us all a favor.

Crying shame all the ice got used up last night.

I have here Mary's will.

As you've probably guessed,

she left everything to Paddy and his family.

Well, she did leave a bit to the Church

and some to you.

Shouldn't the Clearys be here for this?

Yes, we'll have the reading later,

after the funeral.

But Mary gave this to me

last night before the party.

I was to read it to you

the moment I learned of her death.

Of course, I had no idea then...

Good Lord. It's a new will.

Dated yesterday.

But why would she make it without me?

"I, Mary Elizabeth Carson, et cetera, etc.,

"bequeath all my worldly goods

"to the Holy Catholic Church of Rome

"on the conditions that she show appreciation

"of the worth and ability of her servant,

"Father Ralph de Bricassart,

"and that said Father Ralph de Bricassart

"serve as the chief authority

in charge of my estate."

Well.

Congratulations, Father.

You got the lot after all,

all £13 million of it.

£13 million? I...

But what about the Clearys?

Oh, they, uh...

They get to stay on as managers.

Decent of her not to throw them out entirely.

And there's, uh...

Ten thousand a year for your personal use.

And a note to you.

"My dear Ralph, how do you like my new will?

"Of course you can destroy it if you wish.

"It's the only copy.

"My lawyer will never tell.

"No one will be the wiser and Meggie will be...

"the richer, won't she?

"But I know what you'll do,

"I know it as surely as if I could be there

watching when they give you that red robe and mitre."

Father, listen...

there's no denying it was Mary's property

to dispose of in any manner she wished.

I'm not a Catholic, so forgive me.

But we both know

the Church has no right to the estate.

Please...

let's just destroy this.

Let poor old Paddy and his family

have what's rightfully theirs.

Father...

it's so awful.

Paddy, I'm so sorry.

My poor sister.

I can't believe it. I can't believe it.

What are we going to do?

I don't know what to do.

"De profundis clamavi ad te,

"domine, exaudi vocem meam.

"Fiant aures tuae intendentes,

"in vocem deprecationis meae.

"Si iniquitates observaveris, domine.

"Domine, quis sustinebit?

"Quia apud te propitiatio est,

"et propter legem tuam sustini te, domine.

"Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus,

speravit anima mea in domino..."

We gather here,

shocked and saddened by the sudden death

of our friend, Mary Carson.

Yet, we take comfort in the knowledge

that in her last hour she was not alone.

Not the greatest

nor the humblest living being dies alone.

For in the hour of our death,

our Lord Jesus Christ is with us, within us,

and death is sweet.

We all know what Mary was.

A pillar of the community, a pillar of the Church.

And it was the Church she loved

more than any living being.

For she understood so well the words of Saint Matthew,

"where your treasure is, there will be your heart also."

Let us pray for her immortal soul,

that she, whom we loved in life,

will enjoy her just and eternal reward.

And as we pray, let us remember

that our Lord is rich in mercy.

And let us not forget...

that we are dust,

and unto dust we shall return.

"...by my hand, this 24th day of November,

"in the year of our Lord 1929,

Mary Elizabeth Carson, nee Cleary."

Yesterday.

Well...

I won't deny it's a bit of a disappointment.

Paddy, I want you to contest.

That wouldn't be right.

It was her money, wasn't it?

If she wanted to leave it to the Church...

And then, 13 million quid, I...

I wouldn't know how to look after

that kind of money.

You don't understand, Paddy.

There are hundreds of people employed

to look after it for you.

Please contest.

I'll get you the best KC's in the country.

We'll fight it all the way to the privy council if necessary.

Well...

What do you think?

But we can live on Drogheda anyway,

and have this house.

Isn't that what the will says?

No one can throw you off Drogheda

so long as even one of your Father's grandchildren lives.

What more do we want?

Damn!

I hate to see you cheated.

Fee, I don't know what to do.

All the things I wanted for you.

I don't want.

Mary's 13 million pieces of silver.

Then that settles it.

No, thank you.

No, thank you. I think it's time we were going.

They're reading the will.

You don't think that I'm going to leave

until I've seen their faces, do you?

Sarah, sometimes I think you lack human feeling.

Paddy's very grieved about Mary's death.

Still, what is the harm

in congratulating him?

Here they come.

Father...

Please don't think

there are any hard feelings on our side.

Mary was never swayed

by another human being in all her life,

brother or priest.

If she left it to the Church

it was because you were mighty good to her.

You've been mighty good to us, as well.

We'll never forget that.

Thank you, Paddy.

The old bitch.

Father?

Father, what is it?

She's won, Meggie.

I've betrayed you.

Betrayed me?

Oh, she knew me so well.

She knew if she stripped you of everything,

I'd have no choice, but no.

She made sure you'd neither want for anything

nor have anything either.

All your life, you'll have to look to me.

I don't understand.

You'll be respectable,

even socially admissible,

but you'll never quite be "Miss Cleary,"

never quite be one of them.

I don't want to be one of them.

To be stupid and vicious and cruel like Miss Carmichael.

How can you think of that, Father?

Oh, Meggie, don't call me Father.

I'll be going away, Meggie, soon.

Oh, Father.

Why?

Don't you see?

It's part of her plan.

I've brought in £13 million.

And a holy priest who's brought in £13 million

will not be left to languish here in the back and beyond.

The Church knows how to reward its own.

Oh, no.

No!

My Meggie...

it's better this way.

How can it be better,

to take away what I love most in the world?

Then better for me.

Better than someday having to marry you to somebody else.

Better than staying here to watch you change

into something I can never have.

Meggie, when I saw you last night,

I almost hated you.

Hated me?

For growing up?

Yes! Yes!

Oh, Meggie...

when you were a little girl,

you were like my own child to me,

you were the rose of my life.

I could have you then.

You can have me now.

You can marry me.

You love me!

But I love God more.

I do love you, Meggie.

I always will.

But I can't be a husband to you.

If only I could make you understand

what being a priest means to me.

How God fills a need in me no human being ever could.

Not even me?

I can't!

I can't!

Goodbye, my Meggie.

Father!

Father!

Go on, then.

Go on to that God of yours.

But you'll come back to me

because I'm the one who loves you.

The saga continues,

as a way of life is threatened

and forbidden love is given...

Oh, you've come back.

Then taken away.

My life belongs to God.

And new desires are ignited.

He was a fool to let you go.

While ambition lights the road to Rome.

The Thorn Birds continues.