That Hamilton Woman

My friend Pierrot

Lend me your plume

To write a word

My candle is burnt out

I no longer have fire

Open up your door

For the love of God

My candle is burnt out

I no longer have fire

Open up your door

For the love of God

In my father's garden laurels are in bloom

In my father's garden laurels are in bloom

- Good evening, sir. - Good evening, madame.

How much is the cider?

- That cider? - Yes, yes.

- Five francs. - Oh, that's too expensive. Good evening, sir.

Good evening, madame.

My girlfriend's house is nearby

It is good, is good, is good

My girlfriend's house is nearby

Finally, my beauty

Let go of me! How dare you, you brutes! Let go of me.

You didn't get away this time, huh?

- She's English. - What's she doing here?

- Stealing. - It's a lie! Keep your dirty hands off me!

How dare you touch me!

I can buy thousands of bottles of your filthy wine. I'll show you who I am.

Ah, I didn't recognise you. Forgive me, my lady.

My lady is right, you pig.

What is it you...

Here, dearie, it'll do you good.

Thank you, dear.

You've all been very kind.

I didn't mean to get you into trouble.

No trouble at all.

I always wanted to kick that swine in the pants, anyhow. I'm glad I done it.

I'm English, too.

My name's Smith - Mary Smith. What's yours, dearie?

- Emma. - Emma.

I knew a girl whose name was Emma. Emily Burrows.

What's yours?

My name?

My name is Emma Lady Hamilton.

Oh...

That's one on me.

It serves me right. I shouldn't be so nosy.

Well, darlin', if you don't want to tell me your name,

I'd be the last one to poke my nose in anybody's secrets.

I remember my mother telling me Lady Hamilton was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Have you got a mirror?

Yes.

Better you didn't, dearie.

Oh, well.

I know it.

I know that face.

For ten years it has looked back at me from different mirrors.

It must be me.

But I always wait for the miracle, that one time, just once more,

when it will be another face that looks at me again.

A face I knew before.

But that face must be dead.

Go on, tell us all about it.

It doesn't matter if it's true or not.

True or not.

I don't know it myself.

It's so long ago, I don't know it anymore.

My life really began when I was 18

I was beautiful then

Coach from London!

One day I arrived in Naples

At the palace of His Excellency the British Ambassador

How's London, Gavin?

- How's my nephew? Did he send everything? - It's all here, Your Excellency.

Give me a hand with this chisel!

- Mr Greville sends his regards. - Don't bother me about Mr Greville now!

- Give me a hammer and chisel. - It's most important, sir.

Exquisite.

Come and look at this.

- Enchanting. Whose work is it? - George Romney.

If he could paint reality, he would be a master.

Isn't that reality?

The ideal an artist dreams of.

No woman ever lived with such colouring, such god-like simplicity.

I thought so too till I met her.

You've met her?

In London, last year. And if you're patient, you may see her in Naples one day.

- Your Excellency. - Oh, not now, Gavin. I'll see you presently.

But I must tell you.

Very well, if you must, but tell me quickly.

Mum? Mum? Look, it's lovely.

It's a real palace.

Oh, I do hope Sir William will like us.

Don't worry, darling. Of course he'll like you.

I'll do all the talking. Charlie told me exactly what to answer to everything.

Why on earth didn't you tell me? Where are they?

Sshh. Here he comes.

You must forgive me. It's disgraceful.

I'd no idea you'd come.

- How do you do, Miss er... - Emma Hart, if it pleases Your Excellency.

- How could I forget? - This is my mother, Your Excellency.

Welcome to Naples, madam. This is my friend the French Ambassador.

Did you stay in Rome?

Yes, Your Excellency and thought it very beautiful.

We saw the Colosseum by moonlight and were deeply impressed by the Vatican.

We just missed the Pope by ten minutes.

That was a great pity, madam.

Did you come through Pisa? Did you see the famous leaning tower?

Yes, Your Excellency, and we thought it very beautiful.

We thought the leaning tower of Pisa one of the most remarkable

and lovely phenomena in the whole of Europe.

A chimney went like that in Liverpool last year at the soap works.

It leant right over the gin warehouse and the Bishop said it was the finger of God.

Charles - Mr Greville - sent you many kind wishes, Your Excellency.

And he hopes I will prove worthy of your kindness

and speak good French and Italian when he comes to take me home in October.

He is coming the first week in October.

And er... he sent his uncle... a kiss.

Well, that's the first present I've ever received from Charles Greville.

I feel sure you must be tired after your journey, madam.

Francis, show the ladies their rooms.

Goodbye, madame. Goodbye, Miss Hart.

- Who is she? - Charles Greville found her.

Where can you find things like that?

Charles happened to find her at Featherstone Castle - Sir Harry's place.

- Oh, she's a relation of Sir Harry? - You might call her that.

She lived there for a whole hunting season and a very gay hunting season it was, I'm told.

Oh. And where did Sir Harry find her?

Well, you remember Dr Graham's Temple of Hell and the famous dance of the seven veils?

- She's a dancer? - You might call her that.

She was quite a success. The fewer the veils the greater the success.

But, alas, the police locked the place just after the last veil fell.

The older I get, the less I seem to know about women.

It's the penalty of your wicked youth, Your Excellency.

Don't ask me what happened to her before.

The usual past, I suppose.

A poor little country girl wronged once and then wronged again.

The old story. Lower and lower, but always up and up.

And now she's the guest of an ambassador.

With a past like that.

Past?

Look at this statue. Two hundred years in a Greek temple.

Then thrown into the mud by some barbarian soldier.

2,000 years sinking lower and lower into the mud, then dug up by the plough of a peasant,

changing hands every year until at last it comes to its rightful place.

Into the hands of someone who understands the glory of its beauty.

Because, my friend, it is still beautiful, isn't it, despite its past?

Gavin.

I'll dine tonight with Miss Hart

Alone, at eight o'clock.

GAVlN: Yes Your Excellency

Thank you, my man. I'll ring for you later, if I want you.

Very good, madam.

Two ambassadors, Mum, two!

Well, what did you think of me? Wasn't I wonderful?

You were all that, darling, and more.

So far, so good.

But, please, Mum, not another word about the soap factory. Not till I've married Charlie.

Charlie said Sir William was very fussy about that sort of thing.

Don't worry your pretty head about Sir William.

You'll have him eating out of your hand within three months.

Three months? Three days? He'll be eating out of it tonight.

And in a month,

Charlie will be here to take us home.

How pleased he'll be with me.

He will indeed, but there's no great hurry.

It's very nice here just now and it's not costing us a farthing.

It's all very well for you, but what about me? ''Yes, Your Excellency. No, Your Excellency.

Of course, Your Excellency.''

- Oh, how I miss my Charlie. - Yes, he's a likely, young fellow.

Burt there's no-one good enough for my Emily, though it's her own mother who says so.

But, Mother, I wouldn't exist without Charlie. He's done everything for me, everything.

Well, he's... made me a lady.

I know, darling, I know.

Oh! Look at that mountain with the smoke coming out of it.

The coachman said it went off a few years ago and killed several people.

That would never happen in Liverpool.

Oh, Mother, you're hopeless. That's a famous volcano. People come miles to see it.

What do they call it? Charles told me 100 times.

Smoking mountain. Vesuvius, that's it, Vesuvius.

If Sir William asks you what you think of it, just say it's lovely.

- Yes, dear. - It's mixed up with the history of Ancient Rome.

Nero set it on fire and said the Christians did it.

Remember, Mother, it's knowing little things like that that makes you a lady.

Whenever I have a nice piece of fish, it always makes me think of the sea.

- The what? - The sea Your Excellency

Oh, yes.

Charles was wonderful about things like that.

- About fish? - Oh!

You're so funny, Your Excellency.

Every time you call me ''Your Excellency'', it adds one year to my life.

- Sir William? - That's getting better

Tell me, my dear. Was my nephew so positive about coming here?

Oh, absolutely. He would have brought me here himself, if he hadn't been detained in London.

Just a second, my dear.

As we're to live together under the same roof

I see no reason why we should not be perfectly frank with one another

As much as I hate to spoil this beautiful picture that you have drawn for yourseIf of my nephew,

there's one point that must be made quite clear.

Charles Greville will never come to Naples