“And down the long and silent street,
The dawn, with silver-sandalled feet,
Crept like a frightened girl.”
The Harlot's House http://www.poetry-archive.com/w/the_harlots_house.html, st. 12 (1885)
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Oscar Wilde 812
Irish writer and poet 1854–1900Related quotes
Though research done for Wikiquote indicates that the attribution of this remark to Hugo seems extensive on the internet, no source has been identified. It seems to be a statement a modern satirist might make, derived from one made circa 1910 by Mrs Patrick Campbell regarding homosexuals: "Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses?"
Disputed
Alphabet St.
Song lyrics, Lovesexy (1988)
Reply to a young actress who asserted that an older actor in a production showed too much affection for the leading man (c. 1910); as reported by Alan Dent in Mrs. Patrick Campbell, p. 78 (1961).
[horses]Variants: "My dear, I don't care what they do, so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"I don’t mind where people make love, so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"It doesn't make any difference what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
"Does it really matter what these affectionate people do, so long as they don't do it on the street and frighten the horses?"
On the internet, a similar comment regarding politicians has been widely attributed to Victor Hugo, but without any definite sources. It appears to be a modern satirical invention, derived from Mrs. Campbell's statements.
“All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.”
Tulips and Chimneys (1923) IV
“Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon.”
Silver.
