Original subtitles

- Dr Merivel - In a moment

- Doctor - In a moment

- Merivel, we must move on - I've sprinkled the lavell in to heal

This will strengthen the hand We must not allow the tendons to atrophy

- Merivel - I'll return this afternoon

Old Mr Parr is suffering from an extreme shortness of breath

- What do you prescribe? - Let's try some syrup of sage flower

- Doctor Doctor - Citron pills to relieve coughing

- Doctor - I shall be with you presently, Mr Watchurst

- I'm starving - You can't be

- I am - You've already eaten

I had a piece of bread and scarcely any cheese

There's no time to eat

For the five years we've worked here, there is never time to eat

There is no time to drink There is no time, even, to look after our patients

Doctor Doctor Merivel

Samuel needs you

Sam-Samuel Samuel Look Look at me

It's Robert It's Robert Quiet now Be quiet Be quiet

Merivel You must see to Parr He'll only accept comfort from you

Give him a complice for his head and some chamomile

Mr Parr

Mr Parr, tell me how you're feeling

Is there hope I will get well again?

There is always hope

You must rest and allow my medicines to do their work

Dr Merivel Doctor

I-I do what I can to treat them

But our science gives us no hope of curing most of them,

and I am frustrated

No, I'm frightened

Of what?

Their faith and my ignorance

That is why you prefer a life of debauchery

Your mother died believing you were a man of honor

And I beg her pardon every night, and I am at the hospital every day for her

You mean your whoring is interrupted daily by the care of the sick

You've not come to me for money to spend on your medicines

Indeed I have, in a sense

The five shillings I require are for

well, for a pawnbroker so I can redeem my case of instruments

Father, I am sorry to confess it

- You should be damned for it - I should

Look Look at these hands Look at them

Worked to the bone for your case of instruments,

for your teachers and for the books on your table

Or have they been pawned too?

So that the son of a glove maker

should not be denied the use of those gifts

which marked you as a physician before you could spell "physic"

My gifts?

Your gifts, Robert

Oh, yes, my gifts

My first patient was a frog I cured him of jumping

Now I can cure people of breathing

My gifts, Father, bring me to dark despair in dark rooms

so I can hear joy in the street

The King is restored to us, the theaters are open,

the tailors and wig makers are happy as whores

and rich men go to heaven again

I would like to shake the King's hand

Take the hand of your friend Pearce, Robert

He is the example to follow

He may dress like a crow,

but he once infected himself with scarlet fever,

the better to study the disease

Well, in my own small way, I'm doing the same for the clap

Look at this glove Touch it

This glove is for the King

And that is the closest you will ever get

to touching the hand of the King of England

Here are your five shillings

Redeem your case of instruments

And if you've a heart,

redeem your gift, Robert

Thank you, Father

And don't spend the money on women

Merivel I must prevail on you

to come to the examining theater this instant

I won't be a moment, Pearce

Merivel

He's probably fled because of your antics

Pearce, you must not take my romping as an affront to you

I simply answer the call of nature

Yes, well, your nature, like mine, is very much fallen

That awful truth ought to go somewhere towards discouraging your unsightly

bouts of debauchery

I suppose you're right But I do very much enjoy them

This is the fellow

Shall I unbuckle?

Please, yes

Good God

A fracture of the ribs occasioned by a fall from his horse

was brought to a terrible suppuration

The doctors feared it would never heal

You can see the sconce of the old ulcer at the edge here

Yes

Merivel, we are witnessing a living, beating heart

Might a man touch it with his hand?

No one has ever dared

Yes Yes?

Sir?

I cannot

- Pearce, it's just - Please I mean Just please

Perhaps your friend

Are you not afraid?

I'm beyond fear, sir Are you?

You're touching the organ, sir?

Can you not feel my grip?

I feel nothing at all

No pain?

Nothing

Tell me, who is the young doctor?

Robert Merivel, Your Majesty

You will summon him to the palace this very afternoon

Watch where you're going, you fool

Your stockings

It's the young doctor, Your Majesty

Do you know why I've summoned you here?

I

A great heaviness hangs over me

causing me a most abject desperation

Someone very close to me is dying

Someone without whom I cannot live

My doctors have bled her repeatedly;

have tried, without success, lesions, emetics and purges

Shaved the hair off her body in order to cup her

But she does not rally

You are my final hope, Merivel

If you can cure her, I will offer you a place here as a court physician

And if I fail?

You must not fail

Her name is Lou Lou

"Lou Lou", Your Majesty?

Your own name, by the way, has a very pleasing cadence

Thank you, Sire

Merivel Very pretty to the ear

Lou Lou?

Oh, my darling is not well

Come, Merivel

Call for any medicines, anything you deem suitable

You will stay until the little creature recovers

Of course

Do not disappoint me, Merivel

I shall not, Sire

There was a time she would've answered me

What have they done to you?

My dear Pearce,

by the time you read this letter my fate will be sealed

This morning, my future never glowed so bright,

and now it is sputtering out in the life of a sick spaniel

If I save her, my life will be changed utterly

If she dies, I may as well go with her

I think of our great teacher, William Harvey

Though I was often drunk at his lectures, I remember his cry:

"Trust in the power of nature"

Is that the best hope now, for Lou Lou and me?

To let her sleep and give nature a chance to work quietly within her?

But what if I'm wrong?

How will I explain this prescription to His Majesty?

This is well done I like you, Merivel

Yours is a curious and original mind

And in this new age, originality is of great value

We shall open our palace to you, Merivel

its treasures and temptations

and we shall see what you make of yourself

Thank you, Sire

You have been given an extraordinary opportunity for one of your rank

Haven't I? I have

- You must at every moment please the King - That would mean

- If you do not, suffice it to say, I shall be watching - Good

Now it is my task to lay out for you your life in this place

This shall be your lodging

The royal tailors will be continually at your disposal

And these shall be your playfellows

This paper sets forth the following duties for one Robert Merivel, physician:

The daily care and comfort of the 18 royal dogs

with, as required, the right to perform operations upon them

It's ten years wasted I'm warning you, your life will be undone

No, not wasted, Pearce, for those years have brought me to this new life

I'm to the palace, and that's an end of it

My dear, we must be pleased for each other

You must be pleased for my appointment

as I am pleased that you have, uh, given up drinking sack

And found my peace in Quakerism

Even so, Pearce Even so

My dear Pearce,

a year has passed most profitably and pleasurably,

leaving me no moment in which to write to you

All day I am thick in the affairs of state,

yet I manage to employ my medical knowledge

especially in anatomy in the services of the King,

who's particularly fond of my trick of farting at will

I am Aeolius,

King of the Winds

That my dear departed father could see me now,

for the King shows me a flattering affection

that stems, I suspect, from my ability to amuse him

Our physician has become our fool

What do you make of the preparations, Merivel?

Oh, sir Most wondrous, Sire What is it for?

- A wedding - Ohh

- A most lavish affair - Yes

- Who's to be married? - Celia Clemence

Um I understood she was your mistress

Then you understood right, Merivel

That is generosity indeed

Merivel, let me explain

Celia Clemence's presence in my bed

continues to be necessity

So, too, does that of my grand amour, Barbara Castlemaine

But her tantrums on the subject of Miss Clemence

are making me edgy

So Miss Clemence is to be married

and seemingly dispatched out of London with her husband,

while, in fact, I secret her near the river in Kew,

the better to sport with her unobserved

And for her husband, I need a man

who is far too enamored of women in general

to make the mistake of loving one in particular

Ah Again, a most superior aspect of the plan

And whom has Your Majesty chosen for this particular honor?

Yes, in fact I've decided that you should be the one to marry her, Merivel

Marry, Your Majesty?

"Marry Merivel" The phrase is very pretty to my ear

But, Sire, I do not wish to marry

I'm not asking you to wish it I'm asking you to do it

Merivel, have I not done you very many favors in the past?

Yes, Sire, many favors, but

Voila You owe me at least one in return

I shall, of course, reward you for it

Make you a knight, give you a most agreeable estate in Suffolk

- and my second best bed - I would prefer to stay at court

No, no You will go to Suffolk

and you will make something of the house

And, perhaps, if the time is right,

we shall favor you with a visit

- Aye - Go now

Only remember this, Merivel: If she's over there with you,

there will be no intimacy of any kind between you

Though she is your wife, she is yours in name only

You are to be a paper bridegroom

Here, miss

One Two,

troix

"Sir Robert Merivel, Bidnold"

A new or newly discovered

own observations and strange edit

for inspection own opinion

and the signed documents

In other animals act According to Socrates rule

Hence observations about foreign

I've come to give you these

- These are These are your medical books - I know

- Your copy of Harvey - I know

I have resolved to abandon medicine

The King has made other plans for me

I have been given a knighthood, an estate and a wife

This is my time of preferment, Pearce This is my time

What?

Nothing

Merivel

When you stood in this room

and put your hand around that man's heart

something I did not dare do that day

your vital flame was burning

Now, you see, the light has gone out of your eyes

No, my study of medicine has given me nothing

but a perpetual and visible awareness of mortality;

that were I to continue, it would very shortly bring me to despair

- Very well - I must see to my dogs

Very well

Merivel

Merivel

Merivel

Harvey revealed his work to us so that treading in the same path

we might discover very many things as yet unknown to others

- You have a gift for healing, Merivel - I do not

Yes Oh, yes, you do For understanding sickness

Death is a terrible thing, Pearce

I need color and light, not darkness and death

I feel I've had quite enough of dark things

I want bright things and decorative things

I am, after all, a creature of the new age

I shall pray for you

Come along, Mr Bung

Your bride

He filled your jar with spice

To the wedding chamber

- Bed her well, Merivel - Bed her well, Merivel

Bed her well, Merivel

Bed her well, Merivel Bed her well

Bed her well, Merivel Bed her well, Merivel

Bed her well, Merivel

Fair thee well

I believe our kiss convinced them, Lady Celia

Well done, Merivel

Well done We fooled 'em all

You are a most useful fellow, Merivel Most useful

And at the moment you are most useful to me

in Suffolk

Oh Yes

Your disguise is behind the pillar

Pearce, this will make no sense to you,

as it makes no sense to me,

but the moment I saw Lady Celia I was captivated by her

When I think of her, I feel faint, my heart aches

and I fear there is no cure for me,

for I cannot stop thinking of her, even in my sleep

Sir Robert

Welcome to Bidnold

Ah, Will Gates at your service

You are alone, sir?

Yes Lady Merivel desired that I act as a vanguard

and see the lay of the land

I trust that the wedding went off as planned

Yes, most well Um, I shall now retire

Oh, could you send up some strong liquor?

Yes, sir

Good morning, Sir Robert

Mr Gates, I find the house induces in me

a most melancholy frame of mind

And exceeding dark

The King confiscated it from a Puritan

Oh

Mr Gates

I must be straight with you

We shall not expect Lady Merivel's arrival for some time

Well

one cannot stay in bed indefinitely

What one needs is a diversion

The King told me to make something of the house

Oh And you are monarch here

We shall have color and light

With purples and golds and crimsons and scarlets and carmines

- What, all together in one place, sir? - Yes, Mr Gates

We will make this house so beautiful that if Lady Celia

were to pay us a visit, she would never want to leave

Ah, the Dutchman

Yes

All of it

Yes

Mr Gates, to divert myself further

and to display our lavish decoration,

I feel the urge for company

Perhaps a visit from the neighbors

will restore my old uncontainable nature

A pox on wisdom

Let us all be mares and stallions

Sir Robert, someone at the door

What? At the door? Another man come to whinny in our festivities

Why do you not have a turban?

Guy, supply Mr Gates with a turban

Sir Robert Merivel

Oh, Lady

Would you show me immediately to my rooms?

Yes, of course, and without delay

Without delay

Where am I?

I attempted to take you back to your room last night, sir,

but you were most insistent to sleep here

What What's the bird?

A gift from Lady Violet

Oh, Mr Gates, I've just had a most extraordinary dream

I dreamed that Lady Celia did arrive at Bidnold in the most foul humor

I'm afraid she did, sir, and she has now repaired to the garden room

All right, now, gently Gently

Careful Careful

I've got it

Keep it to your left

Lady Celia

I have come to bid you welcome to Bidnold

No, I do not desire to be made welcome

- The King will very soon ask me back to him - I'm sure he will

I'm sure he has of late been most distracted by the foreign wars

But in the meantime, if there's any comfort

I might provide here at Bidnold for Your Ladyship

No, there is nothing Nothing

Well um, well, then together we shall wait

for the return of the King's love

Love? You use that word?

The King and his love for me made use of you

He looked around for the stupidest man he could find, and he found you

I begged him not to marry me to such a fool

I have brought a

Stay away from me

"Celia, my loneliness consumes me,

but I see your unhappiness is as great as mine"

Well, come in, please

I hope my playing isn't disturbing you

No, it is I who am disturbing you

I No

What is the bird?

I am told it is an Indian nightingale It was a gift

- From the King? - Yes, from the King

- It's most beautiful - Mmm

- Only it does not sing - No

Perhaps it wants encouragement

Now, if it were to hear you play, for your playing, as I recall,

has about it an exceeding sweetness

Would it be asking too much if I were to keep the bird in my room?

No, nothing would be too much Will

No, no I'll

And let the garden room be my private habitation,

where I shall perhaps from time to time invite you

Um

I find much of the decoration here rather disturbing

Yes, certain of the servants regularly complain of it

Merivel, forgive me if I spoke before of matters that do not regard me

We live in an age where many are made fools and many are deceived

I, in my faith for the King's love, am probably as foolish as you

Oh

It's from my old friend, Mr Pearce

It seems he's now working in a hospital with his Quakers

Will, will you sit down? Please

Is there a Mrs Gates?

Oh, no, sir

The messy constellations I see through my telescope

offer me no clue to my destiny

There is, I fear, a great deal about the world and my role in it

which, despite all my early learning, I have utterly failed to understand

I must restrain my thoughts and do something altogether more constructive

What is the matter, sir?

I have done the one thing forbidden by the King:

I have fallen in love with my wife

Merivel, there is someone to see you

This is Mr Finn, a painter

A painter?

A painter Welcome

A painter Most excellent

- Did I send for a painter? - No, sir

Never mind I'm a keen painter myself

I call it "Le Matin de Merivel I'Automne"

What do you make of it, honestly?

It is an excrescence

Ah Perhaps that is the word for it

But to me it's a rather memorable rendering

of all the colors I have in my park

You must not show this painting to anyone

- You must, I think, burn it - Oh

Merivel, Mr Finn has arrived with a commission

A commission From whom?

Robin Hood?

Robin Hood? Oh, yes My Lincoln green

How funny

Now, if I may, this letter commands

the following commission by one Elias Finn, myself,

a noble and beautiful portrait of Lady Merivel

"An excellent painting will earn Mr Finn a small place at court"

So, you see, not Robin Hood the King

Shall we go?

My imprisonment is over The King means me to return

- Aw, cherubs - Uh-huh

The King has often told me he cannot abide the cherub

I would not depend upon this for your future, either of you

- Why not, Merivel? - It is a commission from the King

My dear Flinn No, Finch

- Uh, "Finn" - Oh

Many portraits are commissioned by the King,

and most of the poor artists are still waiting to be paid

Yes, well, we shall have to make the painting too beautiful to be resisted

And, Celia, there seems to be no mention of your returning to court

- But why else would he ask for a portrait? - Souvenir, perhaps

A letter, Sir Robert

Mmm

From the King

If I may If I may

What mention does the King make of the painting in his letter?

Oh, it's None

I would frame some message to him, but I don't know what to say

Celia, if I do not set sail now, I shall not reach London by morning

And we both know the King regards a betrayal of time as a betrayal of faith

there is a void

Ah, Merivel Is it you?

It is me

It-It is in fact I, Sire

Time has changed you, Merivel

As with many of my people, some vital part of you appears to be asleep

Something has arrived, Merivel

Something that may rouse even you from sleep

The plague La peste

Deptford, four people have died It will spread

Some of us will be spared and some will die

But all of us will awake

Come along, Merivel There is much to discuss

You see, I have started work upon this toad

- Ah - Will you help me to dissect it?

Yes, if you wish me to, Sire

Yes, I do wish you to, Merivel

I have summoned you to talk about your wife

Pin, Merivel

When I married her to you, it was to hide her

from the intelligent gaze of my mistress, Lady Castlemaine

Now, observe the sheen of the gut It's like a jewel

You may imagine, then, my fury when she commanded me

to end my liaison with Lady Castlemaine

and likewise to terminate my amours

with certain actresses of the playhouse

So I banished her to Suffolk

Now the grosser part of me

is uncommonly sensible to her absence

The royal tool is waving about in search of her

She is skillful and enthusiastic in these matters

Merivel, I desire you to impress upon Celia

to be content with what she has

Tell her to come to me in humility and she may have it all again:

Her house, servants, money and the King in her bed from time to time

I desire her penitent return

when the portrait is finished

Um he's a slow painter, Your Majesty, what with all the cherubs

What is a painting without cherubs? Hmm?

Precisely, Sire

Make this clear, Merivel:

I expect her in my bed when the portrait is complete

The King would give no promise whatsoever with regard to you

But he must have said something

He desired that you stay here at Bidnold

until you became aware of the changeful nature of all things

But how long does he say this will take?

Months? Years?

Am I to grow old and see my beauty vanish

and all that once pleased him turn to decay?

I'm sure he does not intend that,

but he has put the matter into your hands and into mine

Into your hands?

Yes

For I am to judge when you are ready

And the King has promised to correspond with me regularly over the matter

And how shall I arrive at this wisdom?

He has suggested, perhaps, that we together

exercise our gifts for music

- Just arrived, sir - Will, I need you to do something for me

- Anything, sir - You mustforge a letter to me from the King

Sir

And, uh, the King makes no mention of a date

for me to have, uh, completed the painting?

- My dear Finch - "Finn"

Ah

He has no interest, it seems, in the painting whatsoever

but for his continued suspicion of cherubs

So it seems to me that it is to music

that His Majesty owes his greatest affection

- We are all mere pawns - Mmm Prawns, yes

No, no, "pawns" "Pawns"

Hmm

Merivel, wake up There is something I must tell you

Celia

The bird is ill

The bird The bird Oh, the bird

Please, we must do something

Birds are not really my specialty

But, Merivel, it is dying

Merivel, why are you no longer a physician?

Um

When I asked the King why he was marrying me to such a fool,

he said that you had a great gift for healing

Perhaps I should stay We should watch over the bird together

Yes, I would like that

It's dead

Are you not putting yourself at terrible risk, sir?

Forging the King's seal is a hanging offense

I love her, Will I must do all I can

to discourage completion of the portrait

Sir Robert?

I'm sure your wife is greatly dismayed

at the loss of her favorite bird

Inconsolable, I fear

Which must, in turn, cause you much distress

Of course I did all that I could

Sir Robert, now that the painting is nearly complete,

I feel it is my duty to thank you for your hospitality during my stay here

Th-Th-The desire to finish the work

has perhaps made me less than an ideal guest

- For that I am sorry - No, matter, Finn No matter

I understand better than most the lure of court

- Sir Robert - Hmm?

May I be forward with you?

During my stay here, I-I've noticed

that a certain bond has formed

between yourself and Lady Merivel

A-And that you are perhaps

although she has warmed considerably

unsure how to further the matter

Perhaps i-i-i-if I were to broach the subject with her,

her natural shyness might find some release?

My God, it's a most delicate situation

But that might be the very thing

I think Well, I'll do what I can

I will, of course, act most subtly

Merivel

I have spoken to Lady Celia, and my impression is

that your advances would not be unwelcome

Voila Venus Uncommonly bright

A good portent Venus being the brightest of all the evening stars

and the reigning planet of earthly love

Come and look

Uh, uh Here Here

Ah

- You're right, Merivel It really is a beautiful star - Yes

And it smiles on us from on high

We are blessed

Merivel?

Merivel

No

No No

Celia, you must think no more of the King

If he is not weary of you now, he soon will be

- You're wrong, Merivel - The King wants me back

Do you think he will curtail his amours with the actresses of the playhouse? Never

He is a loose fish He cannot be held or kept

I am your husband, and all that I ask is that you allow me to love you

It just arrived from the palace, sir

Mr Finn has betrayed us

I-I shall leave for court in the morning

And, Will, pack one of our pineapples

I shall take it as a gift to the King,

though I fear that

What, sir?

That no offering of this kind will be enough

Ah, Merivel

This is my new plan for our native city, Merivel

Yes, come along, Merivel

See how Fleet Street is thus straightened

And there is here one straight view from Ludgate Circus

past St Paul's and on to the Royal Exchange

And here's another street from, uh from Smithfield down to the river

where, perhaps, the halls of the lesser companies

might be built along Thames Quay

All for the beauty, ornament and convenience of the city

Sit down, Merivel

Ohh

I-It is a brave new plan, Sire

Now, I have

Do you remember we once made a plan together, Merivel?

And in that plan, love was not asked of you

Indeed, it was the only thing specifically forbidden of you

By ignoring what we agreed,

you have driven yourself out of paradise

Out of paradise?

Well, yes For what is your role now?

I had not intended to love Celia I do not know how it happened

It happened because you allowed it to happen

By trying to be the thing that you were charged with pretending to be,

you have rendered yourself useless to me

I'm taking Bidnold from you

What'll I do?

Hmm What did you do before?

I was I worked as a physician

Ah, yes In the hospital

Well, you can use that skill again

- I cannot - Why not, Merivel?

Because I'm afraid

Precisely So, au revoir, Merivel

I shall not say adieu, for who knows,

perhaps in the future, history may have another role for you

Your Majesty, you took me from the Royal College,

gave me your dogs to look after, liked me for my foolishness

No, Merivel

I liked you for your skill,

for then the two were in you light and dark

But now, your skill is fallen away

and you are one foolish, quivering mass

The plague is coming, Merivel,

and the plague rouses men from their sleep

You know, Will, in my time at Bidnold

I have grown uncommonly fond of you

And I if I may say so, sir am uncommonly fond of you

So you're off to Mr Pearce and the Quakers, sir?

I've nowhere else to go

Ah How may I help you, friend?

I-I've come to visit my friend, Pearce

You must be Robert

Please, enter

Daniel

Ah, John told us one day you would like to join us

- Ah, did he? - Get some oats for the horse

I do not intend staying long

I hate being housed up anywhere for too long, sir

Robert

Robert

Pearce Pearce

- John - John?

Here in Whittlesea, I'm John and you're Robert

I'm bound, after all these years, to find that difficult

Come on Let's get you out of the wet and up to your room

It's the size of one of my linen cupboards

Here we give prominence to other things, Robert

When I saw your life before among the terrible luxuries of the courts, I, uh

well, I prayed you would be taken out of it

And yet I was uncommonly fond of it, Pearce

This is our new friend Robert

This is Ambrose,

Daniel

and our dear sisters,

Hannah and Eleanor

Robert is well qualified to help us

He claims to have forgotten medicine, but I know he has not

- I have Sadly, I have - Not

- Well, regrettably, but in fact - Stop it

Lord, send a light to show Robert the way

Dear Jesus, be with Robert

God in heaven, take Robert's hand

Be at his side

And even when night comes, still be at his side

Amen

The inmates are looked after in a series of barns

This is the men's barn

And in the women's barn, the invalid friends weave sailcloth

The keepers must never enter the barns alone

Yes, I certainly understand

This is alarming

This is our work now

But how has madness undone so many?

By a hundred different ways

Madness is a brother and sister to misfortune

Poverty and abandonment are prime causes

This is Robert He's come to help us in our work

Say the name to yourselves

and keep it precious because he is your friend

- Robert - Robert

We have one here, a young Irish woman Katharine

She was abandoned one night by her husband

And now, she will not sleep

Are you another man sent to do me injustice?

Katharine, this is our new friend Robert He won't hurt you

Red may now, having passed under the hoop, endeavor to roquet black

May we not play a little croquet here, Robert?

Um No No The sight of a croquet hoop

would produce in John a most extraordinary reaction

What is she doing?

She calls it her leaving step

That's some kind of dance?

- Hello, Robert - Hello

Every man on earth has his leaving step

If my husband had been a small man,

he would not have been able to leave

He was a large man Stepped over me as I slept,

in one giant stride

The king, too, being plagued by fools from whom he wishes to walk away,

has perfected his leaving step to a walk of unsurpassed elegance

Show me then that walk

Um

Well, sort of

Uh I cannot

My imitation is too poor The shoes are all wrong and, uh

But you, too, are a man Have you not your own leaving step?

No It is others who leave me

Lunacy is a devilish liquid thing

It can only be coaxed out by blood, vomit or feces

Do you not smell the choler?

See She's quiet now

Of course She's lost a lot of blood

Do you honestly believe that the bleeding is necessary?

I hope to make her sleep Sleep is the best thing for her

Is there not some other way?

Robert, you've not seen the nature of her madness

She marches up and down at night, shouting and crying

- What does she shout? - That she is not mad

Perhaps she is not mad

On two occasions she tried to take her own life

Mightn't that be despair?

What you and I would feel were we locked away with the mad

Why do you tear your clothes?

I'm making windows for my limbs to see through

Clothes make me blind and I must be watchful at all times,

lest someone come to hurt me again

This is for you The robe of sleep

To comfort you, as you comfort your doll

Robert

I shall be along shortly

Why are you afraid to sleep?

Once I fell asleep,

but the evil in me was wakeful

And I let slip my little girl

Your daughter?

My man was an English soldier One of Cromwell's

He was good to my family

And I was green as a goose

And fair looking

It was he who took you to London?

A little girl was born to us and lived three years before she was taken

She liked to see the boats

We watched the river and the river watched us

until one day I closed my eyes

and the river took her for drownin'

You must be watchful always, Robert

Do not sleep

We will be watchful for each other

You can sleep I will take the first watch

I cannot

Across the sea, in the Land of Mar

there is a valley where are kept all the things lost on earth

Lost kingdoms, lost riches,

lost hours, lost loves

The people go there to discover their lost days and lost deeds

And often they are surprised to come across a few of their lost wits

Simply because they'd never in the least missed them

Robert, if you're seen to be overattentive to one,

you'll be seen to be less than attentive to the others

I helped her to sleep So perhaps I was near a cure for her

That is somewhat arrogant

Cures are not performed by us Only Jesus cures

We are merely His agents

But may we not, as His agents, look to ourselves?

To our own experience to aid in a cure?

When I am ill, I will seek out

at the first sign or footstep of that illness

the services of a physician to help me to a cure

And the insane man, on the contrary,

is not brought to any bedlam or hospital until the disease is far advanced

For all our inmates there was a time before

When there was no madness in them

We should try to ask each one of those in our care

to try to remember how it was to be in the time before

And to return them there

Perhaps as sleep returns Katharine to her time before,

in times of joy,

and in this way we might discover

the imprint of the steps to madness

There, just under the surface,

there could be cures by dancing and laughter

I see Daniel playing a tarantella

I see the women dancing like happy children

I see I see

all the things lost on earth

Robert

This is not the Court Masque

I know that

But you cannot banish joy, for that is the road to madness

And, and all this

has come to me from the Lord

I suspect

Today, instead of walking round the tree, we're gonna dance

Or skip Or gallop Anything

And your keepers will dance with you

Um, this is a twirling dance

so why do you not twirl and turn and dance?

Hello, Robert

One, two and three and four

Yes Yes

Ha ha

- Dance with me - Oh, I cannot

Robert cannot, for he is the music

Perhaps, uh, John will ask you to dance with him

Come on

Why was this music not always with us?

Aha

John?

John?

John

Robert

For a month now,

and I'm telling this to you and nobody else,

I've felt certain symptoms come upon me

First, you must rest

Only then, Pearce, can I prescribe my remedy

- John - Ah, John, then,

but you'll be neither one nor the other if you allow yourself to die

I cannot stay in bed, there's so much work to do

Please do not make me lose my temper

Have I not a hundred times since we've met allowed you to command me

and done this or that thing at your bidding?

I have So do not even consider contradicting me

What do you prescribe?

Syrup of roses to warm your blood and soothe your coughing

A burdock poultice for your head

- And for the slime in the lung? - Sal ammoniac

And a balsam

Yes, we shall try several dissolved in boiling water and inhaled

It's all come back to you then, Robert?

The right knowledge at the right time

Perhaps We shall see

Tell me more tales of the Land of Mar

In the woods there lived great families of badger

And people liked to bring their children there to see them

The children are always told that if they are very quiet, they will see them

As far as I know,

they are never quiet enough

This shall be our meeting place

Yes

And I'll wait for ya

And you'll come to me

I will

Merivel?

Why had you go out?

Oh, when I cannot sleep, sometimes I walk

in the air at night

Let's see

Hmm

You're burning up

You called me Merivel

Since this fever I've

I've forgotten your other name

Robert

Robert That's it

What I do remember is

how I witnessed the beating heart

Yes, I remember

You put your hand in and touched it, but I could not

I remember

And yet the man felt nothing

No, he felt nothing

Pray for me that I might become that man and feel no pain

I shall

It is not the plague then?

No It's his lung A potent consumption

Let us pray for our friend John in his time of trouble

that his pain may be the less

Stay with me

The pain is less when you stay with me

Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forever more

From the rising of the sun

and the going down of the same,

the Lord's name is to be praised

It troubles me to take with me to my grave so much that I do not know

I'd rather you did not talk about the grave, John

Of course you would

There are many matters, ever since I met you,

upon which you would prefer me to remain silent

But it has never been my way

Here

Your copy of Harvey

You have a gift, Merivel Use it

Robert

Robert

Robert

Robert

Robert is my lover

Robert

He is my lover

Robert

Robert

He is my lover

Farewell, my friend

When the time is right, Robert shall leave us

And he will take Katharine with him

Why?

Because, Daniel, she is carrying his child

- Good-bye, Hannah - Good-bye, Robert

- Good-bye, Ambrose - Good-bye, Robert

Walk on

He will never teach me croquet now

Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross

To see a fine lady ride on her white horse

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

And she shall have music wherever

Are you content now?

Why should I not be?

Will you be Quakerish all the way to London?

You know, in Ireland, a man with a horse, a cart,

and a book he knows how to read is the catch of the county

Well, perhaps when we have made fire of the cart,

and eaten the horse, wiped our asses with the book,

you'll have become acquainted with what you have caught

Oy Hop it

Find the lady

She's here, she's there, you seek her everywhere

She's floating in the air

Where is she? Find the lady

That was my sixpence if I had played

- Here is our chance of money - Here's your chance

- to be shorn like a sheep - Ho, fellow

Move on or you'll lose your breeches

Thank you, but I'm not one of your bog- dwelling Irish bumpkins

I have had some traffic with the affairs of men

We must have money

There's money inside my skirt

Sarah

She is simple

We are doctor and patient

I am the doctor

Show me the cards

Find the lady

I have lost everything

Not quite everything, sir

I cannot That was a gift from the King

Pity

Once more

"Sir Robert Merivel

Master of Bidnold"

Show me the cards

Find the lady

She's here, she's there, she's floating in the air

Find the lady

Nooo

Oh, I've made her mad again

Ah, gold

Heavy as a hen egg against everything he's lost

- And breakfast - She's simple

It's gold Even-Stevens, then

And breakfast

Oh, shame To rob an idiot girl

That's not kind, Robert

Find the lady

No

Ha

But, how?

Simple

Ride a cockhorse to Banbury Cross

To see a fine lady ride on her white horse

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

She shall have music wherever she goes

Hello?

Hello?

Hello

I once lived here

Put your hand on my belly

I'm frightened that something might happen to take it away

We'll build him a big strong castle in the Land of Mar,

and put him in a high tower where he will be safe

Where he will feel none of the unkindness of the world;

scheming, ugliness

And should he pass through the valley of lost things,

nothing of him will ever be lost

And we shall call him John

No one will ever be able to take him from you

Do not enter, sir

I've come looking for work

I, uh, I attended the college

That ward is struck, and once a ward or a house is struck,

then all the people therein are quarantined for 40 days

- Both sick and well? - Both together

What happens?

We leave them Mostly they die

What about the physicians?

All fled Physicians have become the men most despised

Perhaps you'd like that, sir

Physicians used to wear them to purify the air against the plague

Well, you can keep it

The physician who wore it comes here no more

Nor does he go anywhere

Nor has breath

John

You have a gift, Merivel Use it

For the child

Why do you stay with me?

Because the child has weaved our lives together

I know you don't love me as you've loved others

Um, perhaps I do not recognize love, Katharine I'm not a wise man

In the Land of Mar,

which lies just above Africa

To help you sleep

You must sleep, Robert,

if you are to heal others as you've healed me

It's all right It's all right

We can only wait and pray

And then, if she should start to slip away?

Then there is only one thing can be done

Katharine Katharine

The baby is large

You cannot push it out of you

Is there nothing can be done to save it?

I must cut into the womb

But if I do, I shall lose you

And I don't want to lose you, Katharine

You must save the child

Are you not afraid?

You're leaving me, I fear

Nothing else

Be with me now, Pearce

Now, help me Hold back the flesh

while I gently lever the child out

Ah Oh Huh

Katharine

Katharine

Katharine

There's nothing more I can do

Sir

Robert

It is no John, it is our little girl

We shall call her Margaret

Margaret

I love you, Robert

I love you

Keep her safe

I will

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,

in sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life

the Lord, Jesus Christ who shall

I write this for you, dear Margaret,

to tell you something of my life

Whatever is good in it I owe to two people

whom I could not save

Your mother loved you and gave her life for yours

She was the bravest spirit I ever knew

The most compassionate was my friend John Pearce

Now I know I must return to our work in the hospital,

and take on the role that was always meant for me

I have arranged for your safekeeping

For if I become ill, I will not return

But they are tied to the bed

Those already affected with the plague are tied

to prevent them going into the streets like madmen and infecting other people

But the sick and the well must be separated

Open it

I can't, sir The proclamation The plague

Then I shall open it

The sick and the well they keep quarantined together

If I were merely to separate them, a great many lives would be saved

Who do I have to thank for this kindness?

One John Pearce

The sick I can offer no cure

But my presence among them may bring with it some hope

Fear is our greatest enemy

And hope our best weapon against the disease

They have mistaken me for John Pearce

A mistake to which I have contributed

I allow them to continue to honor my friend

Dr Pearce

Excellent

There you are Mary will show you out

Margaret

- Dr Pearce - Who calls?

Pearce

I give her into your hands

Call for any medicines Anything you deem suitable

Why have they sent another doctor to me?

You must want to live, Lady Celia

No

Not in so wretched a state

Tell me, Doctor,

why is it that those that we love

do not love us in return?

I once loved a woman who did not love me

Yet I believed that she did

Is it not equally possible

to mistakenly feel unloved?

I am one of many I know no special place in the King's heart

The King does love you, Lady Celia

Why would he reveal such intimacies to you and not to me?

He told me nothing, but I recognized in him

the very feelings I myself have known

How may I arrive at such an understanding?

I used to look to the constellations for some explanation

in mysterious times of my own life

But the stars hold only part of the answer, Lady Celia

Now I look toward myself and those who believed in me

and loved me for the man I was

Now I know we have the power to shape our own destiny

Your voice sounds familiar

Perhaps from some other time in my life, when I was a child

Yes

Perhaps when we were children

Sire, I am familiar with the many symptoms of the plague

Lady Celia suffers from a different illness, a fever,

which I have treated and from which she will recover

And something else She is with child

Good Doctor,

you have made my heart exceeding glad

But she is still haunted by a profound melancholy

It can be relieved only by some assurance of love

I do believe I understand you

I believe I do

And now you must remove your headdress

and make yourself known to us

That, if Your Majesty will forgive me, I cannot do

I only hope I've proved useful

A large part of the city is on fire

Boatsman

Go in

All right

I must find my daughter

Now, go in closer

- Am I not near Cheapside? - Save yourself, sir

Cheapside is gone

- Where am I? - Get away from me

- What street is this? - I don't know

Margaret

Margaret

Someone in there

Where am I?

Where am I?

You have come back to Bidnold

Will

I remember the journey

I think not, sir

You were asleep for the most part of it

They found you 15 miles from here

Stuck fast under a tree

Margaret?

No word of Margaret?

Sir?

I wish you might have known her, Will

I had a little daughter A most beautiful little girl

I feel as though old age has come upon me in the space of a moment

I fear I'm dreaming

No, Merivel You are awake

- Lady Celia has recovered - She was ill, Sire?

Yes, and I was led to believe that a colleague of yours,

a certain John Pearce, was responsible for her recovery

However, Celia thinks differently

And her suspicions were confirmed

when a midwife carrying a very young child

came to our palace in search of one

Robert Merivel

Your child, I believe

Merivel

I am not mistaken, am I, Merivel,

about your love for this place?

No, Sire There are here in Bidnold certain combinations of color

I do not think exist anywhere else in the world

Yes, quite

Yes, your man Gates sent to us and told us that

you had returned to your house

My house, Sire?

Yes

I am giving you Bidnold

until my reign is over and another age comes

What was taken from you is restored to you

in return for the lives you've saved

and the man that you have become

It is your house, Merivel

And I shall never take it from you

And I have commissioned a portrait of you

And it shall be called "A Physician"

The fire in its fury has consumed the great plague

Misfortune may leave behind unlooked-for blessings,

none dearer than you, my little Margaret

I will return to the city to my work as a doctor,

and the rebuilding of the King's hospital

The stars that once confused me

seem now to light a path that is clear,

that I have in truth been traveling for all these days

Where I met what came and left behind my sorrows

And I'm traveling still