George Bernard Shaw a penn State Electronic Classics Series Publication

behind his chair; clasps his head hard for a moment; then begins
to draw her hands from his forehead back to his ears]. Thank
you. [Drowsily]. That’s very refreshing. [Waking a little]. Don’t
you hypnotize me, though. I’ve seen men made fools of by
hypnotism.

---

80
Heartbreak House
ELLIE 
[steadily]. Be quiet. I’ve seen men made fools of with-
out hypnotism.
MANGAN 
[humbly]. You don’t dislike touching me, I hope.
You never touched me before, I noticed.
ELLIE
. Not since you fell in love naturally with a grown-up
nice woman, who will never expect you to make love to her.
And I will never expect him to make love to me.
MANGAN
. He may, though.
ELLIE 
[making her passes rhythmically]. Hush. Go to sleep.
Do you hear? You are to go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep;
be quiet, deeply deeply quiet; sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep.
He falls asleep. Ellie steals away; turns the light out; and goes
into the garden.
Nurse Guinness opens the door and is seen in the light which
comes in from the hall.
GUINNESS 
[speaking to someone outside]. Mr Mangan’s not
here, duckie: there’s no one here. It’s all dark.
MRS HUSHABYE 
[without]. Try the garden. Mr Dunn and
I will be in my boudoir. Show him the way.
GUINNESS
. Yes, ducky. [She makes for the garden door in
the dark; stumbles over the sleeping Mangan and screams]. Ahoo!
O Lord, Sir! I beg your pardon, I’m sure: I didn’t see you in
the dark. Who is it? [She goes back to the door and turns on the
light]. Oh, Mr Mangan, sir, I hope I haven’t hurt you plump-
ing into your lap like that. [Coming to him]. I was looking
for you, sir. Mrs Hushabye says will you please [noticing that
he remains quite insensible]. Oh, my good Lord, I hope I
haven’t killed him. Sir! Mr Mangan! Sir! [She shakes him; and
he is rolling inertly off the chair on the floor when she holds him
up and props him against the cushion]. Miss Hessy! Miss Hessy!
[quick, doty darling. Miss Hessy! [Mrs Hushabye comes in
from the hall, followed by Mazzini Dunn]. Oh, Miss Hessy,
I’ve been and killed him.
Mazzini runs round the back of the chair to Mangan’s right hand,
and sees that the nurse’s words are apparently only too true.
MAZZINI
. What tempted you to commit such a crime,
woman?
MRS HUSHABYE 
[trying not to laugh]. Do you mean, you
did it on purpose?
GUINNESS
. Now is it likely I’d kill any man on purpose? I
fell over him in the dark; and I’m a pretty tidy weight. He
never spoke nor moved until I shook him; and then he would

---

81
GB Shaw
have dropped dead on the floor. Isn’t it tiresome?
MRS HUSHABYE 
[going past the nurse to Mangan’s side,
and inspecting him less credulously than Mazzini]. Nonsense!
he is not dead: he is only asleep. I can see him breathing.
GUINNESS
. But why won’t he wake?
MAZZINI 
[speaking very politely into Mangan’s ear]. Mangan!
My dear Mangan! [he blows into Mangan’s ear].
MRS HUSHABYE
. That’s no good [she shakes him vigor-
ously]. Mr Mangan, wake up. Do you hear? [He begins to roll
over]. Oh! Nurse, nurse: he’s falling: help me.
Nurse Guinness rushes to the rescue. With Mazzini’s assistance,
Mangan is propped safely up again.
GUINNESS 
[behind the chair; bending over to test the case