The Agreeable Surprise
The Agreeable Surprise is a 1781 comic opera in two acts, with music composed by Samuel Arnold and the libretto by John O'Keeffe.
Sir Felix and his friend, Compton, secretly plan to reveal the truth and have Eugene and Laura marry each other.
The comic song Lingo sings of his love for the milkmaid, Cowsllip, is the most quoted part of the text―it is often printed as a poem and given the title "Amo Amas".
It demonstrates Lingo's facility with Latin: Amo, Amas, I love a lass As a cedar tall and slender; Sweet cowslip's grace is her nominative case, And she's of the feminine gender.
Rorum, Corum, sunt divorum, Harum, Scarum divo; Tag-rag, merry-derry, periwig and hat-band Hic hoc horum genitivo.
Rorum, Corum, sunt divorum, Harum, Scarum divo; Tag-rag, merry-derry, periwig and hat-band Hic hoc horum genitivo.
Rorum, Corum, sunt divorum, Harum, Scarum divo; Tag-rag, merry-derry, periwig and hat-band Hic hoc horum genitivo.
In Act Two, Mrs. Cheshire, the widow of the cheesemonger, plans with her lawyer to prevent the wedding, by threatening to force Eugene to marry her instead, or else she will send him to prison if he can’t repay the money she has given him.
