Page "Iolanthe" Paragraph 26

Disappointed, Strephon calls on Iolanthe for help.

She appears and promises to support him in every way.

Spying on the two, the peers – led by the brainless and stuffy Earls Tolloller and Mountararat – together with Phyllis, see Iolanthe and Strephon in a warm embrace.

All three jump to the obvious conclusion, since the centuries-old Iolanthe appears to be a girl of seventeen.

The peers scoff at the seemingly absurd claim that Iolanthe is Strephon's mother (" She is, has been, my mother from my birth ").

Phyllis angrily rejects Strephon for his supposed infidelity and declares that she will marry either Lord Tolloller or Lord Mountararat ("... and I don't care which !").

Strephon at last calls for help from the fairies.

They appear on cue, but are mistaken by the peers for a girls ' school on an outing.

Offended, the Fairy Queen pronounces a magical " sentence " upon the peers: Strephon shall not only become a Member of Parliament, but will have the power to pass any bill he proposes, including throwing the peerage open to competitive examination.

The curtain closes with the fairies threatening the peers.