The Minstrel Act I scene 1. Darkness. Blondel appears. Blondel I wander lonely as a cloud in the night, driven forward by an invisible wind to abstruse destinies, without meaning, without direction and without possibility to say anything against the wind. Everything is dark, and I am blind, and only terrors surround me in this world of constant threats by strangers and dangers; for I have lost my king. Abandoned I am quite alone in a world of only darkness, for the only light in the world I had was my king. (Some light shows a dark street. Blondel encounters a hoodlum.) Hoodlum Watch your step, you ass hole! Blondel I am no ass. Hoodlum Of course you aren’t, you blind hedgehog! Blondel Neither am I any hedgehog. Hoodlum What are you then? A mole will find his way by faltering better than a sloth like you! Blondel What kind of an animal is a sloth? Hoodlum A slothful good-for-nothing of course. Blondel You are just pulling my legs. Hoodlum Can’t you take a joke? You are too sober! Let me buy you a drink! Blondel So you don’t want to hurt me? Hoodlum What kind of a knave do you think I am? I just came out from the tavern but will gladly go back there. Come along! (Pushes him into the tavern, which opens and displays many merry customers in the primitive middle ages.) Look what I found! Someone who has come wrong! Lady We have thousands of them. Every single soul is lost in this world. Hoodlum But this is the servant of a noble man! He is almost like real page! Blondel Where am I? Guest In Vienna, of course! Here you are at home! Blondel (aside) Yes, I am at home here and well taken care of, for no one will here suspect my secret. Gentleman Where did you find such a small quaint fellow, you hooligan? Hoodlum He was just wandering loose and distracted in the street, so I thought I could get him a drink and help the poor fellow to some orientation. Gentleman He is not from this country. Hoodlum Any devil can see that! What will it be, you lost miserable fool? Blondel Anything. Gentleman Who are you? Blondel I think I have lost my memory. Lady I know who he is. Anyone can see that he is someone’s discarded lackey. Gentleman Well he certainly has no master, but who was his master?
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