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 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 A TRAGEDY. 
 
 BY 
 
 AMELIE 
 
 AUTHOR or "THE QUICK OR THE DEAD?" "VIRGINIA OF VIRGINIA, 
 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
 
 TO MY HUSBAJSTD. 
 
 Copyright, 1888, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
 
 LIPPINCOTT S 
 
 MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 SEPTEMBER, 1888. 
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I. A hall in HEROD S palace. 
 Enter JOSEPH and SOHEMUS. 
 
 Joseph. It hath come, good Sohemus. T hath come. 
 
 Sohemus. What, brother? 
 
 Jos. The king is summoned by Antonius 
 Unto Laodicea concerning 
 
 Soh. Well? 
 
 Jos. Lower, I pray you why, concerning, sir, 
 The death of Aristobulus. 
 
 Soh. Heaven save us ! 
 
 What saith the queen ? 
 
 Jos. Which queen, my Sohemus ? 
 
 There are so many queens in Herod s palace, 
 We needs must name them when we speak of them. 
 By Moses beard ! the wild bees have more wisdom : 
 They have one queen, where Herod houses four. 
 There is his mother Cypros, and his sister 
 My wife Salome : they do hate most violently 
 His consort Mariamne, and her mother, 
 The old king s daughter, Alexandra. 
 
 Soh. Nay, 
 
 All this I know by demonstration, sir. 
 The information that I crave concerns 
 Queen Mariamue. Doth she think her brother 
 To have been murdered ? 
 
 Jos. There, sir, lies the matter. 
 
 She doth not think so, while her mother doth. 
 
 305
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 They have been wrangling o er it all the morning, 
 And wrangle yet. My wife and Cypros sulk 
 Within their own apartments ; and the king 
 Is closeted with Antony s messenger. 
 
 Soh. Where is Hyrcanus ? 
 
 Jos. Sleeping, sir, I think. 
 
 The kind old king hath but that refuge now 
 When the queens quarrel. 
 
 Soh. A most fitting refuge ! 
 
 For when queens quarrel kings are kings in vain. 
 Soft, friend ! is that not Mariamne s voice ? 
 
 Jos. It is, and Alexandra s. Let us go, 
 Ere we be dragged into their mad dispute. [Exeunt. 
 
 Enter MABIAMNE and ALEXANDRA. 
 
 Alex. Art thou my daughter ? 
 
 Mar. If thou dost tell truth. 
 
 Alex. Insolence ! Wilt thou mock me ? God of Moses ! 
 Almost I think that I unknowing lie 
 And that thou art a changeling ! Sure no blood 
 Of mine makes blue those traitorous veins o thine ! 
 To call him brother, and yet love the king 
 Who murdered him ! 
 
 Mar. Madam, I will not think it. 
 
 Alex. Not think it ? Will not think it ! 
 
 Mar. No, madam. 
 
 Nor hear it said. Therefore be silent. 
 
 Alex. Silent ! 
 
 This unto me, thy mother ? Silent ? Oh, 
 Would I were tongued like nature ! thou shouldst hear 
 A hundred thousand voices utter, " Murder !" 
 Why, I do tell thee I have knowledge of it 
 From ten reliable sources. It was planned 
 Ay, planned from first to last. And he, thy brother, 
 So young, so fair, that even thou didst show 
 Old and uncomely by his side ! 
 
 Mar. Good mother, 
 
 None loved my brother more than I did love, 
 And love him : therefore go I quietly, 
 Thinking how did he live he would prefer 
 That we should mourn him, not with cries and curses, 
 But in the stillness of our hearts with prayer. 
 
 Alex. Prayers for his murderer ? Oh, tis well ! tis well ! 
 Thou art so eaten with unnatural love 
 For this thy kingly sinner, that thy heart 
 Hath no unoccupied cranny where might lodge 
 Love natural for him whom he hath murdered. 
 
 Mar. I will not hear that word again. 
 
 Alex. Not hear it ? 
 
 Canst command deafness, that thou wilt not hear it ?
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 307 
 
 I say that Herod hath thy brother murdered, 
 Murdered ! Ay, murdered ! murdered ! Dost thou hear ? 
 Or, being queen, canst thou command thy ears 
 That they drink not unwelcome sounds ? 
 
 Mar. No, madam ; 
 
 But I can twenty hands command to take thee 
 Where thy voice cannot reach my ears. 
 
 Alex. Ay, do it ! 
 
 Do it, I say ! Twere well that Herod s wife 
 Took Herod s way ; twere well Hyrcanus daughter 
 Should be o er-daughtered in Hyrcanus palace ; 
 Twere well the blood of Aristobulus 
 Should not cry out, lest Herod seeking sleep 
 Should be disturbed. O God of Israel, 
 God of the widowed and the childless, hear ! 
 To Thee I turn, to Thee shall mount my grief ; 
 Thine ears shall drink this murder, and Thine arm 
 Destroy the murderer. 
 
 Mar. Madam, have done. 
 
 Alex. Have done ! Have done, didst say ? When hell is 
 
 finished, 
 
 Packed full, and the gates locked against new-comers, 
 I will have done. O Aristobulus, 
 This was thy sister, and is wife to him 
 Who had thee murdered. 
 
 Mar. Mother, be advised. 
 
 My duty as thy daughter hath a limit. 
 
 Alex. Thy duty unto Herod hath no limit. 
 What ! wilt thou take his hand, lie by his side, 
 Be mother of his children, and the blood 
 Of the high-priest thy brother red between ye ? 
 I tell thee, woman, thou wilt know my pangs 
 When thou hast brought forth sons for him to slay ! 
 
 Mar. Mother, here comes the king ! Twere best indeed 
 He did not hear thee. 
 
 Alex. Ay, now it were best ; 
 
 But there will come a time, I tell you, girl, 
 He ll curse the day that he was born with ears ! 
 
 Mar. In truth, you d best be silent. 
 
 Alex. I will go ; 
 
 Fear not but that I ll go. God blast these eyes 
 If ever they are willing witnesses 
 Unto thy dalliance with Herod ! [Exit. 
 
 Mar. Nay, 
 
 God knows I loved my brother, and do mourn him 
 With a sore heart ; but when my mother thus 
 Doth lay his death upon the king my husband, 
 She doth divide my pity with her hate, 
 And makes my grief half Herod s. Ay, by heaven ! 
 Though he be rash, hot-natured, mad in wrath,
 
 308 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 And prone to take occasion by the throat, 
 He is as little capable of murder 
 As this my heart of killing the great love 
 That I do bear him. Ah, he comes, and anger 
 Hot at his heels ! 
 
 Enter HEROD. 
 
 Herod. [Not seeing MARIAMNE.] Herod commanded by a 
 
 Roman turn-coat ! 
 
 Antony summon Herod ! Antony, 
 The by-word of all nations, the last toy 
 Of an Egyptian wanton ! Who that reads 
 In future ages will believe it ? Oh 
 That Antony had summoned me in person ! 
 The Egyptian harlot had been loverless 
 In less time than she takes to make a kiss. 
 Ah, Mariamne ! 
 
 Mar. Shall I stay, my lord ? 
 
 Her. Hath Herod ever bid thee from him ? 
 
 Mar. No. 
 
 But I can well imagine that this summons 
 Hath left thee with a love of loneliness. 
 
 Her. Come close. Give me thine eyes. Dost think with 
 
 Antony 
 Concerning this affair ? 
 
 Mar. With Antony ? 
 
 Her. Ay, that thy brother s blood is on my hands. 
 Thou dost not think it ? 
 
 Mar. As I live, my lord, 
 
 If I do think it, let me live no longer. 
 
 Her. Then I care not who thinks it. Mariamne, 
 I am not Herod when I am with thee. 
 
 Mar. What then, my lord ? 
 
 Her. Why, Mariamne s lover. 
 
 I am no longer king, no longer soldier, 
 No longer conqueror, unless in truth 
 I rule thy heart. 
 
 Mar. Thou knowest that my heart 
 
 Is but thy throne. 
 
 Her. Let me be king of thee, 
 
 And God is welcome to the sway of heaven. 
 
 Mar. Do not blaspheme. 
 
 Her. Away ! thy veins run milk 
 
 A nd make thy heart a baby. Not blaspheme ! 
 Love cannot utter blasphemy, for Love 
 Is his own god and king of his own heaven. 
 Well, dost thou love me ? 
 
 Mar. Thou dost know I do. 
 
 Her. Thou dost not ! Thou dost make a pet of Duty, 
 And fatten him on what should be my food.
 
 HEROD .AND MARIAMNE. 309 
 
 Love me ? Not thou ! Thou lovest the cold peace 
 That s child of frozen virtue. I have fire 
 To melt the Sphinx, but not to warm the blood 
 Of one chaste woman. 
 
 Mar. Chaste I am, my lord, 
 
 Yet for that chasteness do but better love thee. 
 
 Her. I tell thee no ! Thou dost but use the word 
 To play with, as a child its father s sword. 
 Thou hast ne er seen it scarlet with joy s death, 
 Or smoking with the heart s blood of a thought. 
 What ! thou lie wake o nights ? Thou scorch thy brain 
 With bootless wishing? Thou eat pictured lips? 
 Thou feed regret with memory, and then rage 
 Because he is not satisfied ? Thou love ? 
 Nay, girl, the sun will set the sea afire 
 Ere thy cool heart be set aflame with love. 
 Moreover, look you, sooner shall the waves 
 Of that same ocean cool the thirsty sun 
 Than thy pale humor make me moderate. 
 
 Mar. I would not have thee love me less. 
 
 Her. Thou wouldst not ? 
 
 Why dost thou shrink, then ? Look how thou dost pale 
 And redden when I touch thee. Come, thine eyes, 
 Thine arms, thy lips, still shrinking? Israel s God ! 
 Shall Herod coax his lawful wife for favors? 
 I say thou dost not love me, yea, moreover, 
 That thou dost lie when thou wouldst have me think 
 Thou dost not blame me for thy brother s death. 
 I know thou thinkest that I had him slain. 
 
 Mar. I do not think it, Herod. Dost thou think 
 I would be here if I believed it ? 
 
 Her. Where, 
 
 Where wouldst thou be, then ? Not here, say st thou ? 
 Where then ? Speak, woman ! where ? 
 
 Mar. Why, dead, maybe ; 
 
 But not with thee. 
 
 Her. Thou liest! Didst thou die, 
 
 I d have thy body brought into my chamber 
 And make my bed thy sepulchre. 
 
 Mar. Ay, Herod, 
 
 My body, but not me. Nay, my dear lord, 
 Why waste such moments as are left in strife 
 And harsh dissension ? Soon thou wilt be gone, 
 And Mariamne but a recollection. 
 
 Why dost thou doubt me ? Why should I not love thee, 
 Who art the chief of men and lovers ? Nay, 
 If, as thou sayest, I shrink, it is because 
 My love doth fear the violence of thy love, 
 Not I thyself, not Mariamue Herod. 
 
 Her. Love is not blind, as the Greeks fable it,
 
 310 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 For he doth look from these fair eyes o thine, 
 Else am I Pleasure s bondman. 
 
 Mar. Nay, not so. 
 
 Thou rt husband to the truest wife in Jewry. 
 
 Her. And the least loving. 
 
 Har. Wilt thou wrong me still ? 
 
 I know not how to dress out love in words. 
 I can but tell thee o er and o er again 
 The naked fact, I love thee. 
 
 Her. Would to heaven 
 
 I knew what loving means to thee ! 
 
 Mar. I ll tell thee : 
 
 It means to put myself beyond myself, 
 To think of him I love in that self s stead, 
 To be sleep s enemy because of him, 
 Because of him to be the friend of pain, 
 To have no thought, no wish, no dream, no memory, 
 That is not servant to him ; to forget 
 All earlier loves in his, all hates, all wrongs ; 
 Being meek to him, though proud unto all others ; 
 Gentle to him, though to all others harsh ; 
 To him submissive, though unto high heaven 
 Something rebellious. Last, to keep my patience 
 And bear his doubts, who have his children borne. 
 
 Her. Enough, enough. Thou most magnificent 
 Of queens and women, I will never doubt thee 
 After to-day. 
 
 Mar. Alas, my lord, to-morrow 
 
 To-morrow ll be to-day. 
 
 Her. I will not doubt thee 
 
 So long as I do live. 
 
 Mar. Oh that thou wouldst not ! 
 
 Doubt is the shaft wherewith Love wounds himself: 
 Doubt me no more, and be no more unhappy. 
 
 Her. Alas ! unhappiness doth wait below 
 To ride with me, seeing I must leave thee, love, 
 And that for such a summons ! Jewry s throne ! 
 Antony summon me ? It is as though 
 The dog did whistle for his master. 
 
 Mar. Ay, 
 
 It is most insolent. But need st thou go ? 
 Is it imperative ? 
 
 Her. More than thou knowest. 
 
 Let us not talk of it. Tell me thou lt miss me. 
 How wilt thou spend the hours when I am gone ? 
 
 Mar. In wishing for the hour when thou lt return. 
 
 Her. God s heart ! how I do love thee ! Ha ! a step ! 
 Cursed be any that doth interrupt us, 
 Though it be mine own mother ! 
 
 Mar. [Starting away from Aim.] Tis thy mother.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 311 
 
 Love me not in her presence, lest she hate me 
 The more for thy much loving. 
 
 Enter CYPBOS. 
 
 Oyp. Good my son, 
 
 Thy horses wait for thee. 
 
 Her. Do thou likewise. 
 
 Seest thou not that I am occupied ? 
 
 Oyp. A wife should urge her husband to his duty, 
 Not keep him from it. 
 
 Her. Out ! Such musty maxims 
 
 Affront the air. Leave me. I ll send for thee 
 When I desire thee. 
 
 Oyp. Madam, wilt thou hear this 
 
 And say no word ? 
 
 Her. Think st thou that I ll hear that 
 
 And say no word ? Depart o the instant ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, 
 
 I ll wait below. Thy mother hath some message, 
 Some special word for thee. I will be there, 
 Fear not, to give thee my last love and blessing. 
 Now let me leave thee, as I love thee. 
 
 Her. Go, then. 
 
 Mar. Why dost thou say t so harshly ? 
 
 Her. If thou lovedst me 
 
 Thou wouldst not be so ready to be gone. 
 
 Mar. Doubt st me again ? Remember what thou saidst 
 A moment past, and to thy word be true. 
 
 Her. Well, go. I will believe thee. [Exit MAE.] 
 
 How now, mother ? 
 
 What reason shall make good of this offence 
 To plead thy pardon ? 
 
 Oyp. Love, my son. 
 
 Her. What love 
 
 Can pardon plead for interrupting mine? 
 Thy love, sayest thou ? The love of all the mothers 
 Back counted unto Eve, and smelted down 
 In one huge mass, would not so much as make 
 My love a weapon. 
 
 Oyp. Then I ll say my pride, 
 
 Which guards thy dignity as twere mine own. 
 
 Her. My dignity ? 
 
 Oyp. Thy honor and thy dignity. 
 
 Her. My dignity ? My honor ? Quick, give word ! 
 What wouldst thou touch ? 
 
 Oyp. But that which touches thee. 
 
 Her. My honor ! By the throne of God, thy honor 
 Shall not survive this moment of thy speaking, 
 If thou hast played with me. 
 
 Oyp. Nay, good my son,
 
 312 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Think you a woman so infirm as I 
 Would take a lion-whelp for plaything ? Nay, 
 Did I upon my knees approach the throne 
 Of great Jehovah, I were not more serious. 
 
 Her. What then ? Give word. Who is it ? Hath some one 
 Proved treacherous in the household ? 
 
 Gyp. Ay, the one 
 
 Who should above all else be faithful. 
 
 Her. WTiat ! 
 
 Joseph ? my treasurer ? thy son-in-law ? 
 What hath he done? Speak, madam: I ve no time 
 To tariy information. 
 
 Oyp. Nay, not Joseph. 
 
 Her. Not Joseph ? Then tis Sohemus. By heaven ! 
 Trust hath denied herself if he be false ! 
 
 Oyp. Neither is Sohemus the guilty one. 
 
 Her. Who is it, then ? Delay no longer, woman. 
 I ll have it, though it blast me ! Who is it? 
 
 Oyp. Mayhap I had best tell thee the offence 
 Ere naming the offender ? 
 
 Her. No, I say, 
 
 I ll hear the name. Who is it ? 
 
 Oyp. Mariamne. 
 
 Her. Thou liest ! Dost thou hear? Thou liest ! Stop ! 
 Keep from me. Come not near me. Thou rt my mother, 
 But tempt me not with nearness, tempt me not. 
 Dost know what tis to anger Herod ? Answer ! 
 What ! Mariamne ? Mariamne false ? 
 How false ? False to my bed ? Were this proved false, 
 I d have thee burned to warm her bedchamber ! 
 False? " Mariamne? How? With whom? How false? 
 Down on thy knees and swear it ! 
 
 Oyp. I do swear it. 
 
 But she is false only in thought, not deed. 
 
 Her. In thought ? In thought ? How canst thou know her 
 
 thought? 
 
 This is a lie, and thou shalt die for it. 
 Without, there ! 
 
 Oyp. Herod, hear me. Call no witness 
 
 Unto thy shame. 
 
 Her. My shame ? Away ! Away ! 
 
 Oyp. Salome ll prove it. 
 
 Her. Though great God Himself 
 
 Came down as witness, I would not believe it 1 
 
 Oyp. My son, if thou wouldst only let me speak 
 
 Her. Speak, then. But I do warn thee that thy life 
 Hangs in the balance. One thin thread of gold 
 From Mariamne s temple would outweigh it. 
 
 Oyp. I have had certain knowledge that thy wife 
 Hath sent her picture
 
 HEROD AND MARJAMNE. 313 
 
 Her. Ah? 
 
 Gyp. To Antony. 
 
 Her. Woman, dost thou crave death, that thus thou tempt st it? 
 To Antony ? To Antony ? Her picture ? 
 Hath sent her picture to Mark Antony, 
 The Egyptian harlot s lover? She, my wife, 
 The queen of Jewry ? Mariamne ? She, 
 The wife of Herod ? Oh, if thou hast lied, 
 I ll have thy heart cut out and thrown straightway 
 Beneath the feet of Mariamne ! 
 
 Oyp. Nay, 
 
 Thou sham st thyself, my son, more than thou dost thy mother, 
 To give thy wrath the rein. I have had word. 
 I know the thing I speak. Salome, too, 
 Doth know it. 
 
 Her. That she hath her picture sent 
 
 Unto Mark Antony ? 
 
 Oyp. Ev n so. 
 
 Her. That she 
 
 God ! she shall come herself and answer this. 
 
 Oyp. Not so ; but wait until thou art arrived 
 In Laodicea, and then, in off-hand manner, 
 Bring up the subject to Mark Antony, 
 Or Gallius, or some one of his picked friends, 
 But carelessly, as though thou found st it matter 
 For mirth. 
 
 Her. Ha ! now I see why Antony 
 
 Hath summoned me. 
 
 Oyp. For what, my son ? 
 
 Her. For what? 
 
 To take my life, that he may take my wife ! 
 I see it all. It is a plot between them. 
 I see it ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 
 Oyp. Is this a time for laughter, Herod ? 
 
 Beseech you, quietly. At what dost laugh ? 
 
 Her. I laugh to think how I will foil them, madam ! 
 Where s Joseph ? Where is Sohemus ? 
 
 Oyp. My son, 
 
 Sure thou wilt not word this to Sohemus, 
 To Joseph ? 
 
 Her. I will word it to Beelzebub 
 
 If it doth pleasure me ! Out of my way ! 
 Oh, I will play into their hands ! I ll aid them ! 
 I ll make them merry ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! Oh, I ll make them 
 merry ! [Exit, laughing. 
 
 Enter SALOME. 
 
 Sal. Why laughed my brother ? 
 
 Oyp. At what should he laugh ? 
 
 A Herod laughs where a mere man would weep.
 
 314 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Sal. Hast told him of the picture? 
 
 Oyp. Ay. 
 
 SaL What said he? 
 
 Oyp. He laughed, and asked me where thy husband was. 
 
 Sal. Asked thee where Joseph was ? 
 
 Sal. God above ! 
 
 This will ruin all. Joseph would take her part 
 Against great heaven. 
 
 Oyp. But he cannot deny t. 
 
 Sal. He ll find some means to soothe him. 
 
 Oyp. Well, so be it. 
 
 I ve done all in my power to ruin her. 
 
 Sal. Insolent vixen ! I would give one-half 
 Of my young life, could I but spend the other 
 In watching her abasement. 
 
 Oyp. Soft ! Come on. 
 
 Herod returns this way. [Exewnt. 
 
 Enter HEROD and JOSEPH. 
 
 Jos. What ! Sent her picture to Mark Antony ? 
 Thy mother told thee this ? Wilt thou believe it ? 
 
 Her. Whether or not I do believe it, uncle, 
 I ve a command for thee. 
 
 Jos. In all, my liege, 
 
 I ll prove obedient. 
 
 Her. Thou knowest, sir, 
 
 This summons is a dangerous one. 
 
 Jos. My lord, 
 
 God s kinghood watches over Israel s kings. 
 
 Her. But Israel s God hath naught to do, good uncle, 
 With Roman Antony. Look ! this command 
 Is one most sacred. 
 
 Jos. I will keep it, sire, 
 
 As mine own soul. 
 
 Her. Then, Joseph, if that Antony 
 
 Doth take my life, do thou take Mariamne s ; 
 For even in death I would not be without her. 
 
 Jos. Dear my lord 
 
 Her. Say no word. Thou hast thy orders. 
 
 Jos. But kill her, sire ? thy queen, whom thou so lovest ? 
 
 Her. Tis for that reason I would have her slain. 
 
 Jos. But sure, my lord, this is a savage love. 
 
 Her. As savage as the heart it quickens. Look, sir ! 
 Thou wilt be faithful ? 
 
 Jos. As unto my God. 
 
 Her. [Taking off a ring.~\ Thus, then, I seal thee to me. 
 
 Wear this ring, 
 
 And never look on it but what thou thinkest 
 Of that which thou art sworn to.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 315 
 
 Jos. I ll remember. 
 
 Her. Commend me to my mother and thy wife, 
 Also to Alexandra and Hyrcanus. 
 My queen doth wait for me without. Farewell. 
 Remember thou art sealed to this. 
 
 Jos. My lord, 
 
 Death will forget ere I do. 
 
 Her. Then farewell. [Exit. 
 
 Jos. How he doth love her ! Yet a love more cruel 
 Than hottest hate. I know not, on my soul, 
 If Herod s hate or Herod s love be crueller. 
 Ay, to be Herod s wife were punishment 
 Enough for a she-angel grown rebellious, 
 Where Lucifer was hurled into a hell. 
 Sealed to his orders ? Sealed unto a murder ! 
 Yet he hath ever used me kindly, ay, 
 With trust and courtesy. It is this love, 
 Which makes a madman even of a king, 
 That hath so spurred him. Now would unto heaven 
 Salome did not so abhor the queen ! 
 For, though imperious, she is a woman 
 To win the liking even of a woman. 
 She send her picture to Mark Antony ! 
 Why, sooner would she scar her wondrous beauty 
 Than so unveil it to the eyes of lust. 
 She send the fool of Cleopatra love-tokens ! 
 Nay, let the sea turn traitor to the moon 
 And fill some reedy pond for love ! Well, well, 
 Her innocence doth wait to welcome him 
 In Laodicea. [Exit. 
 
 Enter ALEXANDRA and HYBCANUS. 
 
 Alex. What, father ! thou art with this Herod too ? 
 Thou think st him guiltlass ? Thou canst speak of him 
 With kindness, and thy only grandson dead 
 At his command ? Oh, are there mothers in heaven 
 Who have so suffered upon earth ? If so, 
 If any such there be, to them I kneel, 
 To them cry out, to them denounce this Herod ! 
 
 Hyr. My daughter, thou hast heavy grief to bear. 
 
 Alex. Help me to bear it, then ! Take thou thy share, 
 And help me to my vengeance ! Thou art king, 
 Thou art the king of Jewry, not this Herod, 
 This low-born conqueror, this thief o crowns, 
 This son of scorned Antipater ! Oh, I marvel 
 That thou canst eat, and drink, and sleep, and wake, 
 And call thyself Hyrcanus, and yet bear it ! 
 Whence came his greatness ? Whence his power ? Yea, 
 And whence his crown ? The first two were thy gifts, 
 The third he stole to show his gratitude !
 
 316 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 What, sire ! wilt thou endure J t, wilt sit so calm 
 
 While Fortune strips thee to make rich this traitor ? 
 
 Rise, be a king once more ; nay, be a man ! 
 
 Appeal unto the people ; they do love thee. 
 
 Resume thy throne, resume thy dignity, 
 
 Denounce this Herod ! Seize this Herod ! Slay this Herod ! 
 
 Hyr. More gently, good my daughter. I am old. 
 
 Alex. Ay, old in patience ! Make me but thine heir, 
 And I ll defy him. 
 
 Hyr. Nay, I crave but peace 
 
 As pillow for my age. My time to rule 
 Is past, and Time is ruler over me. 
 Believe me, thou dost somewhat wrong the man. 
 He is ambitious, but hath not kept all 
 Of this my kingdom. 
 
 Alex. What ! not all ? Not all ? 
 
 Oh, noble generosity ! Not all ? 
 Thy kingdom is thy spouse, and is there beggar 
 So lost that he would share with any man 
 His lawful wife ? Hyrcanus, O my father, 
 By thy white hairs I charge thee honor them 
 And give them back their crown ! 
 
 Hyr. Dear daughter, patience. 
 
 Had I the wish, the means were not with me. 
 
 Alex. Take thou thy part, and God will give thee means. 
 Oh, would I were Hyrcanus, and a man ! 
 Thou soon shouldst see this Herod made a slave ! 
 
 Hyr. Hast thou forgot he is thy daughter s husband ? 
 
 Alex. Forgotten it ! Though memory were worn 
 So full of gaps twould not hold yesterday, 
 That should be recollected ! What ! forgotten 
 A Herod s blood doth mingle in the veins 
 That should be clogged with it as with some poison ? 
 That my grandchildren are half Herod ? she, 
 My child, their willing mother ? No, O God ! 
 When I forget this thing, forget Thou me ! 
 
 Enter CYPROS and SALOME. 
 
 Oyp. Madam, thou dost talk loudly for a palace. 
 
 Alex. Madam, thou dost talk pertly for a commoner. 
 
 Oyp. How ! Commoner ! The mother of King Herod ? 
 
 Alex. Common for that, if not a commoner. 
 
 Oyp. Insolent shrew ! dost not thou fear to word me ? 
 
 Alex. Insolent citizen ! dost not thou fear 
 To word me ? 
 
 Sal. Madam, best you have a care. 
 
 Hyr. Ay, good my daughter, pray you guard your tongue. 
 Who rouses Hate must look for hell to follow. 
 Come with me.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 317 
 
 Alex. Nay, not I. Let these go forth, 
 
 If they would not be worded. 
 
 Gyp. We go forth 
 
 At thy command ? Let God obey the devil. 
 Go thou forth, shrew. 
 
 Alex. Let God obey the devil, 
 
 For I will not. 
 
 Sal. Dost thou insinuate? 
 
 Oyp. Ay, dost thou dare ? 
 
 Hyr. Good Cypros, good Salome, 
 
 Good Alexandra 
 
 Alex. Ay, call evil good ! 
 
 It is thy trade, since thou st called Herod generous. 
 
 Oyp. The king shall hear of this on his return. 
 Ay, instantly ! 
 
 Alex. He hath not yet departed. 
 
 Here is the lawful king of Israel [points to HYRCANUS], 
 And here his daughter. 
 
 Oyp. Herod shall know of this. 
 
 Alex. Ay, tell the shoe that the foot chafes with it. 
 Do, gentle commoner ; do, citizen ; Cypros, do. 
 
 Hyr. Oh, daughter, daughter, you do dig a pit 
 And rush into it. Please you, madam, patience. 
 
 Oyp. Dost tell me patience ? Thou hast heard her ? Come, 
 Salome : if the king be not yet gone, 
 He shall have word of this. 
 
 Sal. Ay, as I live ! 
 
 [Exeunt SALOME and CYPROS. 
 
 Hyr. Oh, woe is me, my daughter, that my life 
 May not glide onward stilly to its silence, 
 But thus by words be lashed into a storm 
 To toss this frail old bark that bears my soul. 
 Canst thou not feign a peace, though set for war ? 
 Surely thou need st not use such taunting terms 
 As those with which thou hast just heaped the mother 
 And sister of the king. 
 
 Alex. The king again ? 
 
 And thou dost call him king ? More sovereignty 
 There is in this my tender woman s body 
 Than e er was topped by thy lost diadem. 
 Let us begone. The very air s infected 
 That they have breathed. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. Before the palace gates. 
 MARIAMNE, with her two sons, ALEXANDER and ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 Mar. How long he tarries ! Run, my boys, run quickly, 
 And see if ye can glimpse him. [Exeunt boysJ\ 
 
 This delay 
 Hath signs that make me fearful. What if Cypros
 
 318 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Hath poured some falsehood in his jealous ears 
 
 To poison love ? He s here. I ll meet him. Well, 
 
 Enter HEROD. 
 
 At last thou rt come, my lord. 
 
 Alex. [Running to his mother. ] Oh, mother, mother I 
 He flung me from him, that I tripped and fell ! 
 
 Mar. Herod, was this well done ? Hush, hush, my boy : 
 King s sons weep not for scratches. Good my lord, 
 Wilt thou not answer ? 
 
 Her. Tis a comely boy. 
 
 Think you that Antony could father better ? 
 
 Mar. Mark Antony ? How should I know, my lord ? 
 
 Her. How shouldst thou know ? That s well, that s very well. 
 How shouldst thou know ? Ay, ay, there is the riddle 
 The Sphinx hath failed to answer. Tis for that 
 He turns from Egypt for its solving. 
 
 Mar. Sire, 
 
 Thou art in merry mood for sad occasion. 
 Goest thou in truth to Antony ? 
 
 Her. Ay, madam. 
 
 Wilt thou come with me ? 
 
 Mar. No, not if I could. 
 
 Her. Ha ? Wherefore not ? 
 
 Mar. Because I m weary, Herod, 
 
 Of thy fierce humors. 
 
 Her. Weary of my humors ? 
 
 Weary of me ? Thou wilt confess it, then, 
 Unto my face? 
 
 Mar. . I said not I was weary 
 
 Of thee, but of thy humors. As to that, 
 When they do touch me only, I can bear them ; 
 But when they touch my children, I am roused 
 Above submission. See how thou st bruised him, sir ! 
 And he doth look to thee as unto God, 
 And loves thee above God, ay, worships thee, 
 And thus thou usest him ! 
 
 Her. Come to me, boy. 
 
 Thy mother, doth she speak the truth ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, sire, 
 
 My mother always speaks the truth. 
 
 Her. So ! does she ? 
 
 Thou lov st me, then ? 
 
 Alex. Yes, sire. 
 
 Her. With all thy heart? 
 
 Alex. With all that s not my mother s. 
 
 Her. Dost not know 
 
 Herod will not take part of anything? 
 Well, tremble not. So ! Let me see thine eyes : 
 What color are they ?
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 319 
 
 Alex. Mother saith, like thine. 
 
 Her. Ay, doth she ? Look ! how wouldst thou like a brother 
 With Roman eyes ? 
 
 Alex. What are they like, my lord ? 
 
 Her. Like Antony s. 
 
 Alex. Is that the Antony 
 
 My mother talks of ? 
 
 Her. Dost thou say so, boy ? 
 
 Doth she talk of him ? Soft, soft, soft ! no tears ! 
 This Antony thy mother talks of, soft ! 
 No tears, I tell thee, come, what doth she say 
 Of Antony ? 
 
 Alex. That he s a bad, bad Roman, 
 
 Who hath sent here to take thee from us. 
 
 Her. Hold ! 
 
 Look at me. Thou hast honest eyes. 
 
 Mar. [Coming forward.] Ay, Herod, 
 
 And he is honest. Wilt thou doubt thy son, 
 As well as her who mothered him ? Sweet boy, 
 Come close to me. Why should he not be honest ? 
 He is Hyrcanus grandson, and the son 
 Of Mariamne. 
 
 Her. Not of Herod? 
 
 Mar. Now 
 
 Shame on thee, doubting king ! I will bear all 
 But that which slurs my honor. Darest thou stand, 
 Look in my eyes, and hint me wanton ? No, 
 Thou dost not dare to do it. Come, my sons, 
 These are no words to fill your innocent ears : 
 Bid God-speed to the king your father. 
 
 Alex. Sire, 
 
 God speed thee on thy journey. 
 
 Aris. God be with thee. 
 
 Mar. Farewell, my lord. God be with thee indeed, 
 To mend thy doubting heart. [Exit with her sons. 
 
 Her. Stay, Mariamne ! 
 
 No, I ll not call her back to melt resolve 
 With love s quick fire. I will be firm in this. 
 And yet was guilt ne er foreheaded like that. 
 The child, too, said that she named Antony 
 But to abuse him. Yet that is no proof, 
 He may have been instructed so to speak. 
 I will proceed unto the truth in person. 
 How if it were some trick ? My mother hates her, 
 Salome too. But then they dared not trick me ; 
 Moreover, they do know that proof awaits me 
 Whether of their dishonesty or truth. 
 Be that as t may, if she hath sent her picture 
 Unto Mark Antony, by Israel s God, 
 I ll send her to his wanton as a slave ! 
 VOL. XLIL 21
 
 320 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 SCENE I. Laodicea. A room in ANTONY S house. 
 Enter ANTONY and HEROD. 
 
 Ant. Nay, say no more about it. I m content 
 Unto the full with what thou st told me. Tut ! 
 I might have known twas woman s babble. 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 These women that are kin to those we love ! 
 Methinks that Satan was a married man, 
 And his wife s mother egged him to rebel, 
 Seeing that heaven would not hold them both. 
 
 Ant. Well said ! Well said ! Thou hast the trick o humor. 
 Thou canst trim old facts with invention, sir, 
 Until they seem not worn. Thou lt be well missed 
 In Laodicea. But look you ; it is said 
 Arabia doth not give willing tribute. 
 How s that? 
 
 Her. Thou st tapped a cedar,, Antony, 
 
 And look for it to give forth balsam. 
 
 Ant. So? 
 
 Arabia s king is niggardly? 
 
 Her. Good sooth, 
 
 As covetous of his gold as Earth herself, 
 And tighter holds it. 
 
 Ant. So ? I have heard as much 
 
 From Cleopatra. What s the tribute ? Know you ? 
 
 Her. It was two hundred talents, but of late 
 It has been less, considerably less. 
 
 Ant. Less ? That s not well, not well. I like not that. 
 I have no time to war against Arabia. 
 Two hundred talents ? That rich country s veins 
 Could spare ten hundred drops o gold, nor beat 
 One pulse-stroke weaker. If there must be war 
 
 Her. Well? 
 
 Ant. If there must be war, I ll look to thee 
 
 To manage it. 
 
 Her. So be it. [AsideJ] He shrinks from murder 
 
 Of one alone, but to secure his death 
 Would order thousands unto theirs. 
 
 Ant. [Muttering.] Tis pity. 
 
 Tis pity. I d not have it so. [Rousing. ~\ What say you ? 
 
 Her. Nothing. 
 
 Ant. If there be war, I look to thee, 
 
 Remember. 
 
 Her. I ll remember. 
 
 Ant. Hold a little, 
 
 There are some papers, those I told thee of. 
 Wait for me here. [Exit ANTONY.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 321 
 
 Her. Thou Roman hypocrite ! 
 
 Wait for thee? Ay, I ll wait, I ll wait. Fear not 
 But that I ll wait. Thou cunning plot-maker ! 
 Make war against Arabia ? Thou dst make war 
 Against red hell, if Satan s wife were comely. 
 And yet this man doth take my hand and clasp me 
 His closest friend, speak of the things that irk him, 
 Quote Csesar freely, whistle Caesar s Rome 
 Into my Jewish ears, make light or serious 
 As the mood takes him ; and doth brood withal 
 O er schemes to have me butchered. Israel s God, 
 If such is friendship, be not Thou my friend ! 
 Here comes the Roman lover o Jews wives. 
 
 Enter ANTONY. 
 
 Ant. Here are the papers : please you look at them : 
 They can be sealed again. Note this, and this, 
 And this particularly. Is t not strange ? 
 Here, too, is something strikes me inconsistent, 
 And here again. Dost thou return to-day? 
 I do not willing spare thee. 
 
 Her. And I go 
 
 Less willingly for thy unwillingness. 
 When shall I look to welcome thee, my lord, 
 In Jewry? 
 
 Ant. Why, ere very long, I trust, 
 
 If all works as I d have it. 
 
 Her. [Aside.~\ Ay, ay, ay 
 
 If all works as thou dst have it. Verily 
 I do believe thee. 
 
 Ant. Whatsay st? 
 
 Her. That these errors 
 
 Are strange indeed. Who drew up these reports ? 
 
 Ant. Athenion. 
 
 Her. With his own hand ? 
 
 Ant. I think so. 
 
 Her. Best thou madest certain. Then thou lt come to Jewry, 
 If all doth work as thou wouldst have it, sir? 
 
 Ant. Indeed, most joyously. 
 
 Her. Be sure o that. 
 
 Ant. What, Herod? 
 
 Her. That thou lt come most joyously. 
 
 Ant. Why, I am sure of it. 
 
 Her. Sure ? 
 
 Ant. What s the matter ? 
 
 Thou makest a mountain of this mole-hill. 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 But twere a task as difficult, Antony, 
 To make a mole-hill of a mountain.
 
 322 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Ant. Well, 
 
 Thou rt in strange mood to-day. And thou wilt go ? 
 
 Her. Ay, Antony. 
 
 Ant. I do suspect thee, friend 
 
 Her. Of what? 
 
 Ant. Of being somewhat in my plight. 
 
 There is one only difference. 
 
 Her. And that ? 
 
 Ant. Thou callest thy Cleopatra Mariamne. 
 
 Her. Antony ! 
 
 Ant. What ! So moved at the mere name ? 
 
 Her. Not at the name, but at the way of naming : 
 Name not the wife of Herod and thy wanton 
 In the same breath. 
 
 Ant. How, sir ! 
 
 Her. Yes, I repeat it, 
 
 And do but ask what I myself fulfil. 
 Thou hast ne er heard me name Octavia 
 In such connection. 
 
 Ant. By the gods ! thy pride 
 
 Would make Jove s throne its footstool ! Have a care ! 
 Dost brave me? 
 
 Her. Thou mayst call it as thou wilt, 
 
 The fact remains, I will not have my queen 
 Come near thy wanton, even in a sentence. 
 
 Ant. Gods, sir ! 
 
 Her. I know I m in thy power. Yet, Roman, 
 
 I ve done but what in my place thou hadst done. 
 
 Ant. Well well well well. She s fair enough, in truth, 
 To make a lover even of a Herod. 
 
 Her. How dost thou know she s fair? By hearsay? 
 
 Ant. Ay, 
 
 By hearsay and by demonstration both. 
 I have her picture. 
 
 Her. [ Calmly and with tightened lipsJ] Ah ! thou hast her 
 picture ? 
 
 Ant. And well done, too. One Procrius, a Greek, 
 Hath limned it. I have oft bethought me, sir, 
 That thou shouldst have it. 
 
 Her. [More calmly and more rigid.~\ Hast thou so, indeed ? 
 
 Ant. Ay, from the hour I knew it had been sent 
 By Alexandra, I did purpose to 
 
 Her. By Alexandra ! God ! by Alexandra ? 
 Didst thou say Alexandra ? 
 
 Ant. Ay. What then ? 
 
 Her. Did Alexandra send it to thee? Speak! 
 Hyrcanus daughter, Alexandra ? 
 
 Ant. Ay. 
 
 What, man ! art going mad ? Without, there ! ho ! 
 Wine ! Water ! Anything to drink ! Wine, there !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 323 
 
 Her. [AsideJ\ (And I have doubted her, have thought her 
 
 false, 
 
 Bid her a. cold farewell.) I cry you grace. 
 Give me to drink some water. No, not wine ! 
 Water, I tell you ! Tis the air, I think, 
 The closeness of the day. Notice me not. 
 The picture, thou dost say, was sent to thee 
 By Alexandra ? 
 
 Ant. Ay, by Alexandra. 
 
 Her. Dost thou know, Antony, I lied just now ? 
 
 Ant. Lied? 
 
 Her. Lied ! I gave thee, friend, to understand 
 
 That my wife s mother stood not in my love. 
 
 Ant. And so thou didst. 
 
 Her. Well, hear me, Antony : 
 
 Before the one great God of Israel, 
 I dote upon her ! 
 
 Ant. Well, of all thy moods 
 
 This is the strangest. 
 
 Her. Yet the welcomest ; 
 
 Look you, the picture, can I see it now ? 
 
 Ant. I will go bring it to thee. 
 
 Her. I m thy debtor. [Exit ANTONY. 
 
 Oh, Mariamne, Mariamne, Mariamne ! 
 Thou shalt set foot upon my neck for this, 
 Loll on my throne, and take my diadem 
 To girdle thee. 
 
 And I did bid her cold farewell, and thus 
 Am one kiss short for all eternity ! 
 And the boy, too, I hurt him. A brave boy, 
 So proud he would not weep, although I gripped him 
 To hurt one tougher by a good ten years. 
 A valiant boy. And she so fierce for him ; 
 Ay, ay, she hurt me well for hurting him. 
 Oh, I ll invent some higher name than prince 
 To give her sons ! 
 
 Good Joseph ! he believed in her. Now, truth, 
 I am half envious of Joseph s goodness. 
 But he shall not outdo me after this : 
 Herod the king shall as a warning take 
 Herod the husband. Yet without a cause 
 I was not jealous. No, by Jewry s throne, 
 
 I was not jealous without cause ! My mother 
 
 Ay, but she did not lie in everything. 
 
 No, Alexandra, Alexandra, she 
 
 Hyrcanus daughter ! Ha ! there s mischief here, 
 Though of a different temper. She to send 
 The picture of my wife to Antony ? 
 To Antony ? Ah, let me think on this ! 
 This hath, in truth, a twang of treachery,
 
 324 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 False, scheming Jezebel ! Yet I ll forgive her, 
 That twas herself, not Mariamne, yea, 
 Not Mariarnne ! But she mast to prison, . 
 To prison, for a time at least. 
 
 Enter ANTONY. 
 
 Ant. Here is the picture : it is something rough 
 In certain parts : a taking roughness, though. 
 
 Her. Ay, ay, tis like, tis very like : her eyes 
 Unto an eyelash, yet not to an eyelash : 
 There s margin here for the imagination 
 To make perfection out of, almost. Why, 
 I like it for its lack o sleekness, man. 
 Tis only God who can afford to finish ! 
 Tis like her, but as sunlight s like the sun. 
 The color s here, but not the radiance. 
 I thank thee, Antony. This thought o thine 
 Shall father many deeds. As to Arabia, 
 I will do all that thou couldst there desire : 
 Fear not the issue. Now give me the papers ; 
 Thou hast not sealed them, though. Here is a lamp ; 
 Despatch, I pray thee, for I must begone ; 
 Or shall I seal them ? 
 
 Ant. Oh, I ll do it for thee. 
 
 Gaze on thy pictured queen in peace meantime. 
 As to the tribute from Arabia, 
 Tis in thy hands. All such auxiliaries 
 As thou didst purpose for my army s strengthening, 
 Take in this cause if needs be so: These papers 
 Are now as tight as is my trust in thee, 
 And, like that trust, stamped with my seal. Commend me 
 Unto thy queen, thy mother, and thy household ; 
 Farewell, if thou wilt go. 
 
 Her. I must, my friend. 
 
 In everything depend on me. 
 
 Ant. I will. 
 
 Her. Then, once more thanking thee as to this matter, 
 The likeness of my queen, farewell. 
 
 Ant. Farewell. [Exit HEROD. 
 
 Twas well imagined. Ay, twill serve a turn. 
 Fate hath by this woven his very heart-strings 
 Into the pattern of my destiny. 
 He will remember I returned that picture, 
 Where, otherwise, myself would be forgot. 
 Ah, well, so goes it. Yet, as I m a Roman, 
 Twere almost worth my while to turn a Jew 
 Could I by so becoming fall in love 
 With mine own lawful spouse. Yet, after all, 
 The Jews God is a bachelor, therefore wise 
 In that respect above our Roman Jove :
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE, 325 
 
 There s nothing quicker rouses envious spleen 
 
 Than to behold a man who s deep in love 
 
 With his own wife ! [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II. A room in HEROD S palace. 
 Enter JOSEPH and SALOME. 
 
 Jos. Ay, madam, I repeat it, I repeat it ; 
 I know thou art my wife, and I repeat it. 
 God wot, I know that thou rt my lawful wife, 
 And yet I do repeat it. Heaven witness 
 That I remember Cypros is thy mother, 
 Thyself my wife Salome, yet again 
 I do repeat it : ye are both unjust, 
 Unwise, unwomanly, in this your hatred 
 Of noble Mariamne. 
 
 Sal. Sir, be warned : 
 
 Thou hadst best guard thy tongue. 
 
 Jos. Do thou, then, wife, 
 
 Set me example. 
 
 Sal This to me ? to me ? 
 
 Jos. This unto any one who hates the queen. 
 I say twas base in thee to run to Herod 
 With this tale of the picture. Ay, moreover, 
 That I will ne er believe she knew twas sent, 
 Till Raphael be commissioned so to say ! 
 
 Sal. Sir, I do tell thee 
 
 Jos. Madam, I tell thee 
 
 I will not rest till this be set at rights. 
 She send her picture to Mark Antony ! 
 She would as soon have Satan for a lover. 
 Ay, that I ll swear to. She to send her picture ! 
 Salome, in God s name all praise be His ! 
 Wherefore, in God s name, as I said, do ye, 
 Your mother and yourself, so hate the queen ? 
 
 Sal. Wherefore ? Didst say wherefore ? Thou dost observe 
 
 her, 
 
 Her insolence, her arrogance, her scorn, 
 Her sideward smiles, her upward eyebrows, ay, 
 Her hints and innuendoes, and then ask 
 Wherefore ? Away ! Thou art so blind with doting 
 Upon this virtuous queen, thou canst not see 
 When she insults thy wife. 
 
 Jos. I can well see 
 
 When that my wife insults me. Come, be careful : 
 No more o that. 
 
 Sal. No more of what ? 
 
 Jos. Of that 
 
 I shame to mention, how much more to hear ! 
 Woman, see that thou dost not drop again 
 Into such wicked hinting. Nay, no word :
 
 326 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 I will not hear it. God protect the queen 
 
 From thy tongue s venom ! In the mean time, I, 
 
 Being His servant, will do what I can 
 
 To keep her happy. Nay, I tell thee, peace. 
 
 I will not hear so much as one foul word 
 
 Against Queen Mariamne ! 
 
 Sal. Will not? 
 
 Jos. Ay, 
 
 Will not. 
 
 Sal Thou wilt not hear me speak ? Thou ? thou ? 
 Thou wilt not hear me speak ? Salome ? me ? 
 Thy wife, and Herod s sister ? 
 
 Jos. Herod s self 
 
 Should not to me insult his queen. 
 
 Sal. Out, slave ! 
 
 Jos. Slave, maybe, but unchained. Therefore be still. 
 Here comes the queen herself. 
 
 Sal. [Muttering.~] A crowned baggage. 
 
 Enter MABIAMNE and her two sons. 
 
 Mar. Let us sit here, sweet boys. Madam, good-morrow. 
 Fair greeting to thee, friend. Come, Alexander, 
 Bring me thy bow, I ll string it. 
 
 Sal. Pray you, madam, 
 
 Whence came that bow ? 
 
 Mar. It was my husband s, madam, 
 
 When that he was a lad. 
 
 Sal. He will ill take it 
 
 That thou hast fingered o er his trappings thus. 
 
 Mar. Ah ! dost thou think so ? Not so hard, my boy ; 
 Set thy knee to it steadily. Now, now, 
 There goes the string ! Now see if thou canst bend it. 
 
 Alex. Almost. Tis stiff. Whew ! but it stung my wrist ! 
 There. Is that better? 
 
 Jos. Good, good, good, my lad ! 
 
 Thy father will be boy again to watch thee. 
 Well done ! Well done ! 
 
 Alex. What sayest thou, mother ? 
 
 Mar . Why, 
 
 Well done, indeed, my warrior. 
 
 Sal. Have care ; 
 
 I know thy father s humor, boy. Beware 
 Lest thy fine weapon turn into a rod 
 For thy chastisement. 
 
 Alex. Madam, dost thou think 
 
 A son of Herod would be beaten? 
 
 Sal. Ay, 
 
 If Herod snuffed occasion. Ay, young sir, 
 I do, most surely. 
 
 Mar. Then thou art mistaken.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 327 
 
 He is not only Herod s son, but mine. 
 Think you I d see him beaten ? 
 
 Sal. Whatwouldstdo? 
 
 Close thine eyes, girl ? 
 
 Mar. No, but have closed in death 
 
 The eyes of any who did try it. 
 
 Sal. Ay, 
 
 Were it the king himself. I can believe thee. 
 
 Mar. Thou tulkest idly, madam, and beyond 
 Thy mark o freedom. Come here, pretty one. 
 
 [To AKISTOBULUS.] 
 Wouldst thou shoot, too ? 
 
 Aris. Ay, mother, that I would. 
 
 But that s too big for me. 
 
 Mar. I ll have one cut, then, 
 
 Fit for thy dainty grasp. How s that, my heart ? 
 
 Aris. Oh, well, well, well ! I will shoot too. Oh, ay ! 
 Brother ! oh, brother, look, I m going to shoot, 
 Better than thee ! I m going to kill a tiger 
 And sleep upon his hide. And then another ; 
 That shall be mother s. Then another yet 
 For Uncle Joseph. Uncle, wouldst thou like it ? 
 Thou wilt not mind the hole my arrow makes, 
 Wilt thou ? Look, uncle, big as this. Look, mother, 
 As big as this ! 
 
 Mar. Sweet chatterer, conie here. 
 
 Thou rt treading on thy aunt Salome s robe. 
 
 Sal. What s that? Let him tread on. His mother, truth, 
 Sets foot upon my neck : then why not he 
 Upon my garments ? Go on, boy, go on. 
 
 Alex. Why, what s the matter, aunt ? What has he done ? 
 
 Sal. What is the matter ? Out, thou babbling brat ! 
 I ll answer thee. [Cuff 8 him. ] 
 
 Mar. [Seizing her wrist and swinging her to her knees by a 
 sudden movement.] 
 
 Ask thou his pardon, there. 
 Do as I bid thee. It were best for thee. 
 Look in my eyes, and thou wilt know twere best 
 FOF thee and thine that thou obeyed st me ! Quick, 
 His pardon. 
 
 Sal. [As if cowed.~\ Well, I ask it, then. 
 
 Mar. More, more. 
 
 Say, " Alexander, son of Mariamne, 
 I crave thy pardon with all humbleness." 
 Say it ! 
 
 Sal. I say it. 
 
 Mar. Woman, speak those words ! 
 
 Speak ! 
 
 Sal. Alexander, son of Mariamne, 
 I crave thy pardon.
 
 328 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Mar. With all humbleness. 
 
 Sal. Well, with all humbleness. 
 
 Mar. Now crave thou mine. 
 
 Jos. Nay, madam. 
 
 Mar. Crave thou mine ! 
 
 Sal. [Sneeringly.~\ Ay, Joseph, plead ! 
 
 Mar. Crave thou my pardon, woman ! 
 
 Sal. Well, I crave it. [Rising to her fed .] 
 
 But better for thee hadst thou cursed high heaven 
 Than dared Salome s vengeance ! [Exit. 
 
 Jos. Good madam, if it had been possible, 
 I would thou hadst left this undone. 
 
 Mar. Good uncle, 
 
 In that she is thy wife, with all my heart 
 I wish so too. But it was written so. 
 Think on t no more. Thou hast my trust and love 
 In everything save in thy spouse, good uncle. 
 I cannot feign. Therein is my chief fault 
 Or virtue, as you will. Look, little one, 
 Go with thine uncle : he will see thy bow 
 Doth suit thee. 
 
 Aris. Wilt thou truly, uncle dear ? 
 
 Jos. Ay, that I will. Come on. Sweet niece, I thank thee. 
 
 [Exit AEISTOBULUS and JOSEPH. 
 
 Alex. Mother, I loved thee when thou flungest her down ! 
 How strong thou art ! Oh, thou art very queen 
 Without thy diadem, as night is night 
 Without the stars. Sweet mother ! 
 
 Mar. Ah, my boy, 
 
 Thou dost not know 
 
 Alex. What, mother? 
 
 Mar. [Absently,] What it is 
 
 To be a Herod s wife. 
 
 Alex. How dost thou mean ? 
 
 Mar. [As if to herself.] 
 Doubted at every turn, insulted, braved 
 By those who most should cherish me, my children 
 Subject to slights which I could better bear, 
 My mother scorned, her father set a t naught, 
 And I not even queen over his moods. 
 
 Alex. What art thou saying, mother ? Please remember 
 That which thou saidst thou dst tell me. 
 
 Mar. What, dear? 
 
 Alex. Why, 
 
 How thou first saw st my father! How he threw 
 The javelin ! how rode the Arab horse ! 
 Oh, thou dost know. Wilt thou not tell me now ? 
 
 Mar. How I first saw thy father ? 
 
 Alex. Ay. Please do it, 
 
 Mar. It is so long ago.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 329 
 
 Alex. Oh, mother, please ! 
 
 Don t say thou hast forgotten it, sweet mother ! 
 Think I 
 
 Mar. God in heaven ! it is the one last thing 
 That I would do. Nay, never heed me, child ; 
 I do remember what thou dst have. So, then, 
 Sit there. How like, how like thine eyes are, sweet, 
 Unto thy father s ! Well, I ll on. Let s see : 
 How was it, now ? His very trick o lip. 
 Well, well, I ll tell thee. Twas a summer day, 
 And I a maid of Spring. Canst thou think, boy, 
 Of me as being some sweet little maid 
 Such as thou lt some day woo and marry ? 
 
 Alex. 
 
 I will not wed her unless she be in truth 
 Thy very copy as thou art this instant. 
 
 Mar. Oh, darling ! thy old mother ? 
 
 Alex. Old! Thou old? 
 
 But tell the story, for thou shalt not tease me. 
 
 Mar. Twas Nisan, then, a day o cloud and shine, 
 Yet all the clouds condensed would scarce have dyed 
 One o thy swarthy locks. There was a festival, 
 And there were promised many feats of strength 
 And skill in various ways, especially 
 Casting the javelin. Thou knowest, sweet, 
 Samaria was my home, the lovely " vale 
 Of many waters," so they call it. Oh 
 To see the great pomegranate-trees in bloom 
 Once more but once ! It was in very truth 
 As though the heart s blood of the year had stained them. 
 I m coming to thy father ! I was then 
 Affianced to him only, ne er had seen 
 Even his pictured face, and greatly feared 
 To think of how he might appear. At last, 
 When almost we were tired o watching youths 
 Draw bows or brandish spears, he came. His horse, 
 A coal-black Arab, trapped in beaten gold, 
 As though dark Night had borrowed of bright Day, 
 Chafed at the reins and reared. At that the king, 
 Herod, thy father, dashed his mighty fist 
 Against the brute s strained crest, then, loosing rein, 
 Poised lithely, with his javelin aloft, 
 Keen on the changing air. Onward they swooped, 
 Straight on, with singing hair and hoofs a-thunder, 
 Like to a wind made visible. 
 
 Alex. On, mother ! 
 
 Tell me the rest ! Please, mother ! mother ! mother ! 
 Don t stop to think of it ! Tell me the rest ! 
 
 Mar. He cast the javelin. The severed air 
 Shrieked with its wound, and, lo ! the last shot arrow
 
 330 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 That marked the target quivered, cleft in twain 
 By that sure-hurlecl blade. 
 
 Alex. He cleft the arrow ? 
 
 The shaft itself? Oh, mother, dost thou think 
 I could so cast a javelin some day ? 
 Not now, but when I m bigger ? Dost thou think it ? 
 
 Mar. I know not if thou couldst excel withal 
 To such extent as did thy father, dear : 
 He is world-honored for such feats. But, truth, 
 I think thou couldst in part approach his skill. 
 Thou hast his very swing o carriage. 
 
 Alex. Well, 
 
 What next ? What did he then ? 
 
 Mar. Leaped from his horse 
 
 And caught me in his arms. 
 
 Enter HEROD. 
 
 Her. As he doth now ! 
 
 What ! trembling ? Oh, my queen ! my wife ! my life ! 
 Tremble no more ! Give me thy lips ! Look up ! 
 Nay, sweet, look down. [Kneeling, ,] Here is my rightful place ; 
 Here let me kneel forever ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, my lord, 
 
 Thy place is something higher, for tis here. 
 
 [Touching her heart.] 
 
 Her. Then lift me to it, for I dare not rise 
 Of my sole self unto such happiness. 
 
 Mar. [Lifting him.~\ Come, then. 
 
 Her. Oh, God ! to love like this is pain. 
 
 Give me thy shoulder for a moment, sweet. 
 All of me that s not Herod is in mine eyes. 
 
 Mar. And all that s Herod or not Herod, love, 
 Is in my heart. 
 
 Her. [Taking her face into his liandsJ] In nothing changed : 
 
 the same 
 
 Deep, maddening eyes ; lips curled for love ; rich locks 
 That tempt the fingers. Ay, the same, the same, 
 Even to that flutter in thy throat when touched, 
 As though thy heart were some wild, wing&l thing 
 That struggled to be free. Wild heart, I ll kiss thee 
 For being wild. [Kisses her throat.~\ 
 
 Mar. Ah, Herod ! ah, thy corselet ! 
 
 It cuts my arm. 
 
 Her. Let my lips plead its pardon. 
 
 [Kissing her shoulder^ God s heart, girl, thou art twenty times 
 
 more sweet 
 
 Than all thy dear Samaria s sun-kissed fruits. 
 Thy lips ! Once more thy lips ! thy lips ! thy lips ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, Herod ! Herod ! thou forgett st the boy. 
 This is not seemly.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 331 
 
 Her. Ho ! Not seemly, say st thou ? 
 
 Herod and seemly harnessed, were as well 
 As were a tiger lashed unto a dove. 
 
 Mar. Yet doves, the Greeks do tell us, draw Love s chariot. 
 
 Her. The chariot of Love s queen. The king of love 
 Guides heel-winged tigers with a sword of flame. 
 Talk not to me of doves : it is as though 
 One little, milk-white cloud did near the blaze 
 Of some red sunset. Heaven is in my heart 
 Because of thee, but heaven on fire. Look, boy ; 
 Come to my knee. Thou art a well-knit lad : 
 Wouldst learn to cast the javelin ? 
 
 Alex. Oh, father ! 
 
 Her. That s well, that s well. Ay, call me father, boy : 
 I like it better than more stately terms 
 From thy young lips. He hath thy brows, my queen. 
 
 Mar. Nay, thine unto a hair. 
 
 Her. Why, heart, look here : 
 
 For th dark original of this proud arch 
 I first did love thee. Mine ? Thou knowest well 
 Those were ne er copied from my shaggy front. 
 Look thou, to-morrow ere the sun be high 
 I ll teach thee how to cast a javelin. 
 
 Alex. Sire ! 
 
 Her. Nay, father, or no javelin. 
 
 Alex. Dear father ! 
 
 Her. Thou rogue! that knack o sweetness, without ques 
 tion, 
 
 Was from thy mother gotten. Well, come kiss me. 
 Now off. 
 
 Alex. Ay, father. Mother dear, farewell ! [Exit. 
 
 Her. Now to my lips ! 
 
 Mar. My lord. 
 
 Her. Nay? do not speak. 
 
 Mar. I cannot breathe. 
 
 Her. Ah, peace ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, let me breathe. 
 
 Her. Presently, by and by. Why, struggle not. 
 I would not hurt thee. 
 
 Mar. But thou dost, thou dost. 
 
 Thou art so strong thou dost not know. 
 
 Her. Well, there. 
 
 Come lean against me. Look ! what thinkest thou 
 That I have here? [Touching his breast. ] 
 
 Mar. I cannot think. 
 
 Her. But try, 
 
 To please me. Come. 
 
 Mar. A lock of hair ? 
 
 Her. Ay, that, 
 
 Since first I loved thee ; but there s something else.
 
 332 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Mar. Indeed I cannot think what tis. 
 
 Her. [Taking out picture.] Why, here, 
 
 What dost thou think o this ? 
 
 Mar. Why, tis myself ! 
 
 When didst thou have it done ? And where ? By whom ? 
 Am I as fair as that ? 
 
 Her. Is moonlight fair 
 
 As starlight ? 
 
 Mar. Nay, m y e y es a- 1 " 6 n t so large. 
 
 Her. Larger. 
 
 Mar. Oh, Herod, no ! And see what lips ! 
 
 Her. I d rather feel them. Nay, shrink not, shrink not : 
 Thou dost not know how t chafes me when thou shriukest. 
 
 Mar. I will not, then. Who painted it ? 
 
 Her. A Greek 
 
 Named Procrius. Here, take it in thy hands. 
 Tis well done, is it not ? [.Aside.] She is as true 
 To me as I was false to her. I d swear 
 By every goddess in the Roman heaven 
 That she ne er eyed that picture in her life. 
 Ay, twas all Alexandra. God of Israel ! 
 Would to Thy mercy that, like Adam s wife, 
 All others could be mothered by a rib ! 
 
 Mar. [Coming towards Aim.] It is most wondrous. 
 
 In truth, my love, it gladdens me at heart 
 That thou st so good a copy of myself, 
 To help remembrance when thou rt absent. 
 
 Her. Nay, 
 
 Memory needs no aid from Mariamne. 
 But how thinkest thou I got this picture ? 
 
 Mar. Truth, 
 
 It is beyond me. 
 
 Her. Whose dost think it was 
 
 Ere it was mine ? 
 
 Mar. I cannot dream. 
 
 Her. Why, then 
 
 Mark Antony s. 
 
 Mar. Mark Antony s ! Thou jestest. 
 
 Her. I do not jest. Thy mother sent this picture 
 Unto Mark Antony. 
 
 Mar. No ! no ! Why should she ? 
 
 Her. I know not ; but for no good, that I know. 
 
 Mar. What wilt thou do ? 
 
 Her. Thou knowest as well as I 
 
 That for offence so grave imprisonment 
 Were a light punishment. 
 
 Mar. Ah, for my sake 
 
 Forgive her. Thou dost know how rash she is, 
 How hot o temper. Twas a crime, indeed, 
 To bare my face unto the Roman s eyes ;
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 333 
 
 But I, who bare my very soul to thee, 
 
 Do crave her pardon. Look, my lord, I kneel. 
 
 Her. No, by my soul ! thou never shalt bend knee 
 To any save thy God. She was forgiven 
 At thy first asking. 
 
 Mar. Now thou rt king indeed, 
 
 Now Herod at his best. 
 
 Her. Come, prove it, then, 
 
 Upon my lips. Who comes? 
 
 Enter JOSEPH and ABISTOBUIAJS. 
 
 Aris. [Brandishing a little bow and arrow.] Oh, mother, 
 look! look! look! [Seeing the king.] Oh, uncle ! 
 
 Her. Soft ! 
 
 Come here, boy. Why, thou art most bravely weaponed. 
 Canst bend that monstrous bow? Good uncle, greeting. 
 
 Jos. I knew not thou wert back, my lord, indeed. 
 When didst thou come ? 
 
 Her. Why, some few moments gone. 
 
 Uncle, I would have word with thee. My love, 
 Farewell until this interview be o er. 
 Wait for me in our chamber. 
 
 Mar. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Come, little archer. [EaM with ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 Her. Good uncle, thou wert right in all thou saidst : 
 The mother of my queen, and not herself, 
 Did send her picture to Mark Antony. 
 
 Jos. Praise be to God for this ! And, good my lord, 
 Let it be long ere thou again dost doubt her. 
 
 Her. Is never long enough ? 
 
 Jos. Ay, if thou rt serious. 
 
 But close thine ears against the slanders, sire, 
 My wife and thine own mother are most sure 
 Again to bring thee. 
 
 Her. Death s not deafer, sir, 
 
 Than I will be. 
 
 Jos. Nor let looks stir thee. 
 
 Her. None, 
 
 As I am king. 
 
 Jos. As thou art man ! 
 
 .Her. Ay, then, 
 
 As I am man. Not one, not one. Rest, uncle ; 
 I will be staunch. But look you, sir : what object 
 Dost think Hyrcanus daughter had in this ? 
 
 Jos. Nay, I know not. Some woman s muddle, surely. 
 Thou lt not stir up dissension when tis napping, 
 For such small cause ? 
 
 Her. Small cause, say you ? Small cause ! 
 
 Just heaven ! it hath never seemed- so great 
 As by this " small" o thine. Small cause, that she,
 
 334 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 My queen, hath been unveiled unto the eyes 
 That are a wanton s daily mirrors ! Oh, 
 Small cause had God to punish Lucifer, 
 If that my cause against this shrew be small ! 
 
 Jos. What wilt thou, then ? 
 
 Her. I would have prisoned her, 
 
 But that my queen did plead against it, sir. 
 Unto less heart-near matters : Antony 
 Has given Crelosyria to his jade. 
 
 Jos. That s better for Judea than for Antony. 
 Sawest Cleopatra while in Laodicea? 
 
 Her. Ay. How she hates me ! 
 
 Jos. Thou wert safer, nephew, 
 
 In Cleopatra s hate than in her love. 
 
 Her. Ay, but she works against me. 
 
 Enter CYPBOS. 
 
 Greeting, mother. 
 How dost thou? 
 
 Cyp. Well in body, but in mind 
 
 Something less easy. Sir, I crave your leave. 
 [-Aside.] Bid him go forth. I have some news for thee. 
 
 Her. Is it so musty now it will not keep ? 
 
 Gyp. It doth concern Hyrcanns daughter, Herod. 
 If thou st no care to hear it, I will go. 
 
 Her. Nay, stay. Of Alexandra? I will hear it. 
 Uncle, thy leave. 
 
 Jos. Nephew, thy promise. 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 I will remember. 
 
 Jos. Heaven aid thee, then ! [Exit. 
 
 Her. Mother, thou art not in my love just now. 
 How earnest thou to state so falsely, madam, 
 This matter of the picture ? 
 
 Gyp. Good my son, 
 
 How dost thou mean ? 
 
 Her. Thou knewest all the while 
 Hyrcanus daughter sent it, not my wife. 
 
 Gyp. Nay, Herod, as I live. But how dost know 
 Twas only Alexandra ? 
 
 Her. That s no matter. 
 
 Suffice it that I know. What s this thou saidst 
 Thouhadstto tell me? 
 
 Gyp. While that thou wast gone, 
 
 Reports did reach us thou wert slain by Antony ; 
 Whereon this woman strove to coax thy uncle 
 That he would set forth straightway from Judea 
 And seek protection with the Roman legion. 
 
 Her. She did? 
 
 Gyp. Ay, by my soul !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 335 
 
 Her. Thou hast once lied : 
 
 How shall I know if once thou speakest truth ? 
 
 Gyp. Here comes Salome : ask her. 
 
 Her. Hath Salome 
 
 The writ of truth about her ? [Entet* SALOME.] 
 
 Look you, sister, 
 What of this flying to the Roman ensigns ? 
 
 Sal. True. 
 
 Her. Wilt thou swear it ? 
 
 Sal. Ay. 
 
 Her. God knows ye women 
 
 Would swear hell heaven, to win the devil over. 
 How shall I know? 
 
 Oyp. Ask Joseph. 
 
 Sal. Nay, not Joseph. 
 
 Her. Why not? 
 
 Sal. Because he would swear wet were dry, 
 
 To win one smile from thy chaste queen. 
 
 Her. What meanest thou ? 
 
 Sal. But what I said. 
 
 Her. Why saidst thou " my chaste queen" ? 
 
 Sal. Is she not chaste ? 
 
 Her. Softly ! No insolence ! 
 
 Why should I not ask Joseph ? 
 
 Sal. Ask him, then : 
 
 Tis naught to me. 
 
 Her. But tis not naught to me ! 
 
 Woman, give word. Why dost thou simper? Speak ! 
 What dost thou smirk at? 
 
 Sal. Why, at mine own thoughts. 
 
 Her. Are they so merry ? Mother, dost thou know 
 Why thus she Josephs me ? 
 
 Oyp. Tis not unnatural 
 A wife should feel some jealousy when 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 When what ? This ( what s the thing. Sister, have care, 
 Have care : I am more Mariamne s husband 
 Than I m thy brother. 
 
 Sal. Think st thou that is news ? 
 
 Her. Then answer. 
 
 Sal. I have answered. 
 
 Her. Trifle not. 
 
 What dost thou hint at? 
 
 Sal. Hinting s not my way. 
 
 Thank God, I have the courage to be honest. 
 
 Her. Then demonstrate it. What didst mean just now, 
 By saying that Joseph would swear wet were dry, 
 To win a smile from Mariamne ? 
 
 Sal. Why, 
 
 That he would do it. There s no mystery there. 
 VOL. XLIL 22
 
 336 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Her. Pernicious vixen ! I d not husband thee 
 Though on our wedding-day I were to pose 
 God of the hundredth heaven! What dost thou mean, 
 Thou smirking obstinacy ? Speak, I say ! 
 If that thou dost not word it o th instant, 
 I ll give thy vaunted courage work to do. 
 
 Sal. If thou wouldst hear thy shame told as a tale, 
 Pardon me if I would not so hear mine. 
 
 Her. My shame and thine? My shame? Have care ! have 
 
 care! 
 
 Herod is Herod, though ten times a brother. 
 My shame? My shame? My shame? Ay, let thy blood 
 Forswear thy poisonous lips, as that of thee 
 In my hot veins forswears thy poisonous self. 
 Mother, begone ! we ll have this out alone. 
 No word ! Depart ! [Exit CYPEOS.] 
 
 Now, woman. 
 
 Sal. Why dost glare ? 
 
 Tis not my fault. 
 
 Her. Fault? Fault? Who spoke of fault? 
 
 Just now twas shame. Well, shame s a fault, that s true. 
 And faults are shameful when found out. Come, hasten, 
 Madam, this matter. 
 
 Sal. [Pulling out a bracelet^] Hast thou e er seen this ? 
 
 Her. Ah, tis the bracelet I gave Mariamne 
 At our betrothal. Jade, how didst thou get it? 
 She wears it ever on her left arm. 
 
 Sal. Nay, 
 
 Did wear, not wears it. 
 
 Her. Girl, where didst thou find it? 
 
 Sal. In Joseph s closet. 
 
 Her. May that lie thrice damn thee ! 
 
 What ! thou wouldst have me think oh, devilish harpy ! 
 
 Have I e er called thee sister ? Look, Salome, 
 If thou hast jested, I ll forgive thee. 
 
 Sal. 
 
 If I had jested, I would not forgive 
 Myself. 
 
 "Her. Oh, devil ! devil ! 
 
 Sal. Why, just powers ! 
 
 Let me begone ere that I am quite murdered 
 For doing what s my duty. 
 
 Her. Move no step 
 
 Until I wring that poisonous mind o thine 
 Of its last drop. Thou say st thou found st this bracelet 
 Within thy husband s closet? 
 
 Sal Ay. 
 
 Her. Then thou 
 
 Didst steal and put it there ! 
 
 Sal. Brother !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 337 
 
 Her. I say, 
 
 If thou didst find the bracelet of my wife 
 In Joseph s closet, thou didst steal it thence 
 And put it there for reasons of thine own ! 
 
 Sal. Herod! 
 
 Her. Ay, that s the name of Jewry s king. 
 
 Doth any dare to brave him who doth bear it? 
 Look you, if this be false, nay, it is false, 
 Why, mark you, then, if when I show this bracelet 
 Unto my queen, with word of thy foul slander, 
 If, when I tell her this, she pleads not for thee, 
 To have thee pardoned, dear as is this toy 
 For all the memories that it doth enring, 
 I ll have it beaten to an arrow-head, 
 And send it through thy false and shrivelled heart 
 With mine own hand ! [Exit. 
 
 Sal. AccursM be ye both ! 
 
 ACT III, 
 
 SCENE I. A room, in HROD S palace. 
 Enter MARIAMNE and ALEXANDRA. 
 
 Mar. Mother, I do but ask thee be advised. 
 
 Alex. Thou dost but ask me be advised ? Indeed ! 
 So thou dost only ask me be advised ? 
 Well, am I not a docile, patient mother? 
 A gentle, good, obedient, humble queen ? 
 Thou ask st me be advised ! Now, let a babe 
 Advise its mother how to suckle it, 
 The stars grow independent, and turn back 
 Upon their courses to instruct high God 
 How they should move, earth rail at heaven s method,- 
 The entire and changeless system change about, 
 Until at last the nations rule their kings, 
 Not kings their nations ! Thou advise me ! 
 
 Mar. Madam, 
 
 Thou must acknowledge that it was not seemly 
 To send my picture to the Roman general. 
 What purpose hadst thou ? 
 
 Alex. What is that to thee, 
 
 Since twas unseemly ? Thou wouldst not seek, surely, 
 To learn unseemly matters? 
 
 Mar. Good my mother, 
 
 Wilt thou not see that all my care in this 
 Hath been to place thee beyond scorn or danger ? 
 Thou ran st a risk almost as terrible 
 As when thou soughtest to convey thyself
 
 338 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 And Aristobulus to Cleopatra 
 Concealed in perforated coffins. 
 
 Alex. Risk ! 
 
 What risk? Of what? 
 
 Mar. Of being imprisoned. 
 
 Alex. I ? 
 
 I be imprisoned ? I ? Hyrcanus daughter ? 
 The sometime queen of this usurping king ? 
 
 Mar. Mother, have care. 
 
 Alex. He to imprison me ? 
 
 He Herod to imprison Alexandra? 
 Out ! I will not believe it. 
 
 Mar. Best thou didst. 
 
 Alex. What ! thou wouldst suffer it ? 
 
 Mar. To be a queen 
 
 Doth mean to suffer many things, good mother ; 
 And who should know this better than thyself? 
 
 Alex. Ay, who indeed, O God ! 
 
 Mar. Then for my sake 
 
 Be warned in time. For there may come an hour 
 When even Mariamne 11 plead in vain. 
 
 Alex. What wouldst thou ? 
 
 Mar. ^ Be but careful. Make no plans 
 
 To follow secret ways. Thou knowest well 
 Thou rt watched at every turn. 
 
 Alex. Ay, well I know it. 
 
 But what s more exquisite than by thy skill 
 To make the watcher watch in vain, outwit him, 
 Baffle him utterly ? 
 
 Mar. But recollect 
 
 How thou hast ever failed unto this moment. 
 
 Alex. We must thrice fail to be successful once. 
 I have once more to fail. 
 
 Mar. Believe me, mother, 
 
 That " once" might never live to breed success. 
 Here comes the king. I ll ask thee now to go : 
 Twere best he did not now see us together. 
 
 Alex. I ll think of what thou st said, but will not promise. 
 No promises. [Exit. 
 
 Mar. She is my body s mother, 
 
 And yet she seems as daughter to my soul. 
 Oh, would to God that she would be advised ! 
 There s something ominous to me of late 
 In very silence, and my urgent heart 
 Cries, " Herod ! Herod ! Herod !" till the night 
 Is vibrant with his name. Would unto God 
 I knew to what extent he loveth me, 
 Or could but sift his passion through his love 
 And note how much the one outweighs the other ! 
 Joseph doth hold unto the theory
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 339 
 
 That he doth cherish me above ambition ; 
 And yet I doubt : men so oft love the pleasure 
 Above the pleasure-giver. Love lives on trifles, 
 And we can lose him wholly with an eye, 
 A broken tooth, an arm, our tresses gold. 
 How if some day this face which now he worships 
 Were by some grievous accident scarred o er, 
 Made hideous ? How if mine eyes were blurred 
 By some fierce, sudden blight ? my figure mangled ? 
 How if oh, God ! I were a leper ? Then 
 Would he then love me ? Nay, a leprous soul 
 Were easier borne of men than that one lock 
 
 Enter HEROD. 
 
 Should lose its beauty ! Yet, withal, how Joseph 
 Doth dwell upon his constancy ! Good Joseph ! 
 His wife s the only evil thing about him. 
 Good, faithful Joseph ! 
 
 Her. Madam, I am come. 
 
 Is Joseph here ? 
 
 Mar. No. Dost thou wish for him ? 
 
 I ll have him called. 
 
 Her. Nay, but I heard his name ; 
 
 I m sure I heard his name. 
 
 Mar. Why, so thou didst : 
 
 I spoke of him. 
 
 Her. Spoke of him ? What of him ? 
 
 Do thy thoughts oft run Joseph-wards ? 
 
 Mar. Indeed they do, my lord. 
 
 Her. Ha ! 
 
 Mar. I am certain, sir, 
 
 He is the faithfullest of those about thee. 
 
 Her. The faithfullest? 
 
 Mar. Ay. Why dost thou so stare ? 
 
 Her. Know st thou this bracelet ? 
 
 Mar. Oh ! where didst thou find it ? 
 
 Thank God tis found ! How strange that thou shouldst find it ! 
 
 Her. Strange? 
 
 Mar. Ay. What then? 
 
 Her. Wherefore is it so strange 
 
 That I should find thy bracelet? 
 
 Mar. Twas my thought, 
 
 My woman s way o conjuring coincidence 
 Out of a leaf-fall. I did say twas strange 
 Because it is the bracelet thou didst give me 
 At our betrothal. Aristobulus 
 Did slip it from mine arm this very morn 
 While playing, and I have not seen it since, 
 Though every servant hath been erranded 
 Throughout the palace to make search for it.
 
 340 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Her. Where is the boy ? 
 
 Mar. With Joseph. 
 
 Her. Is there none 
 
 Save Joseph to amuse him ? 
 
 Mar. Nay, thine uncle 
 
 Doth love our boys. 
 
 Her. And our boys mother, yes. 
 
 Mar. I think he doth. He is the only one 
 Of all thy household who is civil to me. 
 
 Her. Insinuations? 
 
 Mar. Dost insinuate 
 
 That I insinuate? 
 
 Her. Why not? thou art 
 
 A woman. 
 
 Mar. And a queen. 
 
 Her. By heaven, thou lookest it ! 
 
 See that thou act it, too. Have the boy called. 
 
 Mar. Who ? Aristobulus ? 
 
 Her. Ay. 
 
 Mar. Wherefore, sir? 
 
 Her. Have the boy called, I say. 
 
 Mar. I pray you, Herod, 
 
 If that he hath offended, if (more like) 
 Thy sister and thy mother have borne tales 
 Concerning him 
 
 Her. Away ! 
 
 Mar. If thou st been urged 
 
 To harshly deal with him, do not, I pray thee. 
 
 Her. Peace! 
 
 Mar. He s so young, so frail, so timorous, 
 
 So fearful of thee. 
 
 Her. It were well his mother 
 
 Took lesson by that last. Call him, I say. 
 
 Mar. And I, that I will not, unless thyself 
 Dost tell me why thou wishest him. 
 
 Her. Thou wilt not? 
 
 Without, there ! [Enter Servant.~\ 
 
 Tell the young prince Aristobulus 
 To wait on me immediately. Hasten ! 
 
 Mar. If tis thy purpose to ungently use him, 
 Myself shall stand between ye ! 
 
 Enter ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 Come, my heart ; 
 None shall entreat thee. 
 
 Aris. Is he angry with me ? 
 
 Mar. I know not ; but he shall not hurt thee. 
 
 Her. Boy, 
 
 When didst thou have this bracelet ? 
 
 Mar. Ah !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 341 
 
 Aris. This morning. 
 
 Oh, mother, who did find it ? I m so glad ! 
 Did the king find it, mother? 
 
 Mar. I know not. 
 
 Her. Where didst thou have it last? 
 
 Aris. I don t remember. 
 
 Her. Thou dost not? 
 
 Aris. No. I think 
 
 Her. Well, out with it ! 
 
 What dost thou think? 
 
 Aris. I think my uncle Joseph 
 
 Took us into his chamber, and I think 
 I think I think 
 
 Her. Gods ! what dost stammer at ? 
 
 I will not eat thee. 
 
 Mar. Thou dost eye him so. 
 
 Her. What, then ! shall I not look at mine own son ? 
 What is it that thou thinkest, boy ? 
 
 Aiis. Twas there 
 
 I dropped it. 
 
 Her. Come to me. 
 
 Aris. Oh, mother ! 
 
 Her. Come. 
 
 Mar. Nay, go, my boy. If thou dost hurt him, Herod, 
 From that same moment I m no more thy wife ! 
 
 Her. So be it, then. Come to me, boy. Now up, 
 Up for a kiss. Here, take this chain with thee : 
 Twill make as bright a plaything as the bracelet. 
 Now, dost thou love me ? 
 
 Aris. I I think so. Oh ! 
 
 I mean, I do. Don t hurt me. Put me down. 
 
 Her. Go, then. 
 
 Aris. May I go, mother ? 
 
 Mar. Ay. 
 
 Exit ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 Her. My queen, 
 
 Come, let me new-betroth thee. 
 
 Mar. First, my lord, 
 
 Tell me the meaning of this most strange scene 
 Through which we have just gone. 
 
 Her. For what wouldst know ? 
 
 Mar. For that I am thy wife and Jewry s queen. 
 Thinkest thou, my lord, that thou canst doubt me ay, 
 In any way and that I ll meekly bear it? 
 I tell thee thou hadst better doubt thyself 
 Ten thousand times than Mariamne once ! 
 
 Her. I do not doubt thee. 
 
 Mar. Thou hast doubted me ; 
 
 And once to doubt is ever to be doubtful. 
 Thinkest thou I did not mark the hidden meaning
 
 342 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 With which thou didst enweigh the boy s least word, 
 How thou didst question and cross-question him, 
 Frighten, soothe, frown, and smile all in an instant? 
 Why didst thou summon him my child, my last-born 
 To answer what his mother had replied to ? 
 Ay, wherefore didst thou that ? And as thou entered st, 
 Why didst thou eye me when I spoke of Joseph ? 
 There s more in all of this than Joseph only. 
 Can it be Joseph s wife ? 
 
 Her. How if it were? 
 
 Mar. Then farewell happiness, farewell peace, hope, 
 Life, joy, content, ay, Herod, fare thee well ! 
 
 Her. How dost thou mean ? 
 
 Mar. If Herod once hath listened 
 
 Unto Salome, Death may wed with Life 
 Ere Mariamne be again a queen ! 
 
 Her. Why, what dost mean ? 
 
 Mar. That thy trust was my throne, 
 
 Thy love my sceptre, and thy faith my crown. 
 Shall I be queen and yet despoiled of these ? 
 A beggar of small favors in the kingdom 
 Where I was wont to reign ? Not I ! O God ! 
 I d rather be Thy humblest slave, than queen 
 Unto a king whom a Salome rules ! 
 
 Her. Nay, Mariamne. 
 
 Mar. Am I Mariamne, 
 
 And yet my child made witness gainst me ? Mariamne, 
 And yet Salome heard before me ? Mariamne, 
 And yet by Herod doubted ? 
 
 Her. By my kingdom, 
 
 I do not doubt thee. 
 
 Mar. Then why brought st my child 
 
 To prove me ? Yea, if that the flesh were false 
 From whence he sprung, why should he be more true ? 
 How didst thou know twere not a lesson taught, 
 That guiltiness might look like innocence ? 
 Who is there in the breadth of Israel 
 To prove that Mariamne is not false ? 
 
 Her. Herself ! He who could meet thine eyes and doubt thee 
 Would prove himself the very core of falseness ! 
 
 Mar. He who Salome trusts doubts Mariamne. 
 Thou canst not both believe in Jove and Jah : 
 Honor to one doth mean to one dishonor, 
 For one a throne, for one a sepulchre. 
 
 Her. Madam, I swear to thee. 
 
 Mar. Swear unto God : 
 
 His throne is sure. 
 
 Her. No surer than thine own. 
 
 Mar. Then heaven s kingdom rocks. 
 
 Her. Nay, be assured.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 343 
 
 Mar. Of what ? Of my abasement ? Would to God 
 I were as sure of ultimate content * 
 
 Herr. Nay, Marianme, hear me. Let me speak. 
 I never was suspicious without cause. 
 
 Mar. And such a cause ! 
 
 Her. Why, there was reason in t. 
 
 Mar. One grain of reason leavens a huge mass 
 Of inconsistency. Of what, my lord, 
 Am I suspected ? 
 
 Her. I was told to-day 
 
 This bracelet had been found in Joseph s closet. 
 
 Mar. What if it had? What then? In Joseph s closet? 
 What if it had been found in Joseph s closet? 
 
 Her. Why, sure thou seest where conclusion points ? 
 
 Mar. He points into a blackness where mine eyes 
 Are sensible of naught but blackness. 
 
 Her. Why, 
 
 Thou knowest how mine uncle worships thee, 
 Is ever ready to defend or serve thee, 
 Doth in the least thing find thee love-worthy. 
 
 Mar. And so he doth. What then ? What hath my bracelet 
 To do with this ? 
 
 Her. Why, tis self-evident. 
 
 Thou hast ne er parted from it till to-day, 
 Not once since I first clasped it on thee. Well, 
 Then, when I hear dost mark me? when I hear 
 It has been found in Joseph s closet, ay, 
 When I hear where twas found, was it but natural 
 
 That I should think should find it strange should wonder 
 
 Oh, thou must understand what I would say. 
 It is all past : let us not think on it, 
 Let us not think. 
 
 Mar. I will be queen to Death 
 
 When I have ceased to think upon it. What ! 
 Thou didst suspect me with thine uncle? Me? 
 Thy queen, thy wife, the mother of thy sons ? 
 Thou hast suspected me, and with thine uncle ? 
 Now, God in heaven, commemorate this day 
 By pardoning Satan, for Thou mayest withal 
 Unjustly have condemned him ! 
 
 Her. Hear me, madam. 
 
 Mar. Hear thee, to have mine ears more blasted ? Nay, 
 Let deafness rescue me from further words 
 That thou mayst utter ! 
 
 Her. Madam. 
 
 Mar. Out ! Away ! 
 
 I will not hear thee ! False with Joseph ? False ? 
 False with his treasurer? Nay, God, with any? 
 Why, I must laugh at this ! The world must laugh !
 
 344 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Oh, God ! Oh, God ! I am indeed unqueened ! 
 My heart and sceptre both at once are broken ! 
 
 Her. Weep not. 
 
 Mar. I do not weep ! Tears, such as women 
 
 Do shed for lesser causes, I would scorn 
 To offer this my sorrow. The red drops 
 Shed from my riven heart, no man may witness, 
 Though he were ten times tyrant, ten times king, 
 Ten times a Herod ! 
 
 Her. Mariamne. 
 
 Mar. Ay, 
 
 Murder my name, now thou hast slain my honor ! 
 Cry, " Mariamne," till the west doth ring 
 An echo to the east, north unto south, 
 The earth to heaven, until the very stars 
 Cease in their song, to shriek, " Adulteress !" 
 
 Her. Why, thou art mad ! 
 
 Mar. Oh, would to God I were ! 
 
 That this my reason had not joy survived, 
 To view my misery as a thing apart ! 
 O God ! Shame is chief torturer in hell : 
 Kill me outright, and be more merciful 
 Than hadst Thou spared more lives than I have griefs ! 
 
 Her. Wilt thou not listen ? 
 
 Mar. Shall I tutor God ? 
 
 Since He is deaf to me, I unto thee 
 Will be deaf also ! 
 
 Her. Mariamne, stay. 
 
 Mar. She was the queen of Jewry, and was slain 
 By one of Herod s words. I am the queen 
 Of my sole self; therefore I will begone. [Exit. 
 
 Her. How she defies me ! Yet I swear I love her 
 The more for her defiance. She were one 
 To sit beside Jah on His throne and nod 
 At quits with Juno. She hath scourged me bravely, 
 Yet from each wound my heart s blood leaped with love, 
 To kiss the hand that smote. And she was proud, 
 Held herself loftily, and veiled her eyes 
 Beneath her haughty lids, as who should say, 
 " Thine halves can view sufficiently this Herod." 
 Israel s God ! her mind is virgin yet : 
 I ve never wedded save her body. She 
 To word me thus, she, Mariamne, she, 
 The conquered daughter of a conquered king ? 
 And yet I love her for t. Yea, were I God, 
 And able to fill space with Mariamne, 
 Compact the stars into her diadem, 
 Darken heaven to give her light, and of eternity 
 Make one embrace, I were an-hungered still ! 
 
 [Enter Servant.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 345 
 
 Serv. A messenger, my lord, from Antony. 
 
 Her. From Antony ? Command him hither. [Exit Servant. 
 
 So! 
 
 Shall public warfare chafe the ill-shod heel 
 Of private strife ? Can I not rest a moment ? 
 
 [Enter Messenger. 
 
 Papers from Antony? What can they treat of? [Opens them. ] 
 What s this ? What s this, I say ? Knew st thou of this ? 
 Lysanius of Syria put to death ! 
 Leagued with the Parthiaus ! His rule given o er 
 Given to the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra ! 
 Know you the contents of these papers, sir ? 
 
 Mess. In part, my lord. 
 
 Her. All this since I have left ! 
 
 And is Lysanius dead ? 
 
 Mess. Even so, my liege. 
 
 Her. Lysanius dead, and Cleopatra queen 
 Of his domain ? God ! let me on on on ! 
 What ! More donations ? The Nabalacan kingdom, 
 The sea-coast what ! Palestine s sea-coast all 
 From Eleutherus even unto Egypt, 
 With only Tyre and Sidon, sir, excepted? 
 This greedy wanton would storm heaven itself 
 Were Babel s tower standing ! What ! More yet ? 
 Jericho, too ? Without, there, ho ! [Enter Attendant. 
 
 Thou, sir, 
 
 Bid Sohemus and Saramallas hither 
 
 Stay, let them wait within my audience-chamber. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 
 While I fold these, sir, know st thou if the queen 
 Went into Syria with Antony ? 
 
 Mess. She did, my lord. 
 
 Her. Ah ! Say you ? There s the germ 
 
 Whence sprung this crooked tree o knowledge. Come. 
 Let s to my audience- chamber. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE II. Enter ALEXANDRA and HYKCANUS. 
 
 Alex. But why not write to Malchus ? Is not Malchus 
 Thy friend ? Hath he not proved himself thy friend ? 
 Now, as Arabia s governor and lord, 
 Is he not placed to take the part of friend 
 In verity towards us ? Thou must know it ! 
 Ask that he send some horsemen to escort us 
 In safety from Jerusalem s boundaries. 
 What s in a letter ? Thou couldst find some ten, 
 Ay, twelve, to bear t in secret. There s Dositheus ! 
 I m sure Dositheus loves thee. 
 
 Hyr. So he doth ; 
 
 Ay, so he doth, he doth, I m sure he doth.
 
 346 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 But as for writing unto Malchus, why, 
 It is too much to ask of friendship. 
 
 Alex. What? 
 
 What is too much ? That he do send us horsemen 
 To aid us in our flight ? Call st thou that much ? 
 Why, twere an office he would claim with gladness. 
 As for the multitude, thou knowest well 
 They are with thee, not Herod. 
 
 Hyr. Daughter, daughter, 
 
 Why wilt thou not let peace sleep peacefully ? 
 Quiet doth seem to me a boon, good daughter, 
 That kings might place before their diadems. 
 I am too old to plan new orders. 
 
 Alex. So ? 
 
 Then let me do t. The future race of kings 
 That yet may spring to power from Mariamne 
 Will never find that fault, believe me, father, 
 Among the virtues of their sovereignty. 
 Come, here is pen ; come, here is parchment. Write, 
 Write, write. 
 
 Hyr. To Malchus ? That he send us horsemen ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, escort to the lake Asphaltites. 
 Write, sire, as thou wast king and wilt be ! Write. 
 
 Syr. Soft, daughter, soft ! How would it be if Herod 
 Should by some means discover I had written ? 
 Would it not anger him ? Hast pondered that ? 
 
 Alex. Oh, wilt thou pause to think of Herod s anger, 
 When thine should make thee pitiless ? Plunge thy pen 
 Into my veins, that my resolved blood 
 May of itself form the important words 
 And save thy dubious hand the trouble ! 
 
 Hyr. 
 
 Nay, nay ; be not so violent, good daughter. 
 Canst thou not give me time to ponder this ? 
 If Herod finds thou hadst a part in it, 
 How then ? How then ? 
 
 Alex. Let then take care of then. 
 
 This now is in our charge. Oh, father, write. 
 Think on thy murdered grandson, think on him, 
 The boy thou loved st, so fair, so pure, so holy, 
 So all that Herod is not ! Think on him, 
 And on his fate, on what our fates may be, 
 And write to Malchus. See, here is the parchment 
 Close to thy hand, and wax made ready. See 
 I ll write it for thee, That he ll send straightway 
 A troop of horsemen to escort us hence. 
 That s all. Look ! thou hast but to sign thy name 
 And seal it with thy seal : unto Dositheus 
 I will myself commit it privately. 
 As for Dositheus, thou knowest, father,
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 347 
 
 He could not prove unfaithful. He knows well 
 What tis to lose kinspeople by this means, 
 This Herod-plague. Ay, ay, Dositheus 
 Will be as true to thee as thine own arm. 
 Fear not. Wilt thou not sign ? 
 
 Hyr. How if I sign 
 
 My death-warrant? 
 
 Alex. Think not such woman thoughts : 
 
 They do unsex thee. Naught can come of it 
 But good to thee and thine. 
 
 Hyr. Sometimes death s good 
 
 When life is evil. 
 
 Alex. Oh, delay no longer ! 
 
 Sign, as thou lovest me, as I love thee, 
 As God doth love us both ! Sign, sign, Hyrcanus. 
 
 Hyr. Thou rt sure thou hast not asked but that ? 
 
 Alex. But what? 
 
 Hyr. That he send horsemen to escort us ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, 
 
 As I m thy daughter, that is all. Now sign. 
 Good father, sweet, sweet father, sign the letter. 
 Wilt thou not sign to please me, father ? Look ! 
 I have not had a pleasure since the day 
 On which we lost our Aristobulus. 
 It will so please me. 
 
 Hyr. Well 
 
 Alex. Oh, do it ! do it ! 
 
 Some one may come. There is no time. 
 
 Hyr. Thou rt sure 
 
 Thou st only asked for escort ? 
 
 A lex. Sure, sure, sure. 
 
 Now sign it, father, dearest father. 
 
 Hyr. Well, 
 If thou art sure thou st asked no more than that 
 
 Alex. I swear it by my dead boy s murdered body ! 
 
 Hyr. Soft ! not so shrilly, not so shrilly, daughter. 
 There [signs letter], will that pleasure thee ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, God alone 
 
 Doth know how much ! Oh, dear my father, trust me, 
 When we are safe beyond these listening walls, 
 I ll tell thee how I thank thee ! Some one comes. 
 
 Enter MARIAMNE, slowly. 
 
 Sweet father, say no word to her as yet : 
 
 She must not know of this till by and by. 
 
 Why, gods ! how pale she is ! Daughter, good-morrow. 
 
 What ails thee ? 
 
 Mar. Nothing. Mine own spirit. Ah ! 
 
 How farest thou, dear Hyrcanus ? 
 
 Hyr. Why, my sweet one,
 
 348 HEROD AND MARIA MNE. 
 
 As old men fare who have no occupation 
 Save thinking on what occupied them once. 
 
 Mar. Tis a sad way to live. 
 
 Hyr. Think you? 
 
 Mar. Ay, sire ; 
 
 But to live any way is sad. 
 
 Aim. How now? 
 
 What sour experience gave that maxim birth ? 
 What hath gone wrong ? 
 
 Mar. My destiny. 
 
 Alex. Why, girl, 
 
 I never saw thee in such plight before. 
 
 Mar. Nor I myself. 
 
 Hyr. Dost thou feel ill, my star ? 
 
 But then how rustily old wits do work ! 
 Stars are exempt from maladies and ailments, 
 As thou shouldst be, my blossom. 
 
 Mar. Thou rt so good, 
 
 So gentle ever, I do love thee. Here, 
 Give me thy hand. Doth not my forehead burn ? 
 
 Hyr. Ay, ay, it doth. What s well for fever, daughter ? 
 The child hath fever. 
 
 Mar. There s no cure for this. 
 
 Alex. Now, by my faith, thou hast a fever, girl ! 
 This comes o too much roof-walking by night. 
 Thou knowest I warned thee not to stay so late. 
 But then I have a drink of balsam-flowers 
 That savors more of magic and strange arts 
 Than doth beseem a Jewish beverage. 
 I ll give thee some to drink. 
 
 Mar. Twill do no good. 
 
 Alex. How dost thou say? I tell thee that it will. 
 Come, be not obstinate. 
 
 Hyr. Ay, go, my lamb, 
 
 Go, take thy mother s brew. Go, pretty one : 
 She makes rare brews. There s one she hath of late, 
 Twill stop an aching back, tis wonderful. 
 
 Mar. Hast one will stop an aching heart for aye ? 
 
 Enter JOSEPH. 
 
 Jos. [To HYR.] My lord, the king would speak with thee. 
 
 Hyr. Well, Joseph 
 
 Be docile, pretty one : thy mother s brews 
 
 Are brewed with strange discretion. Best you hearkened. 
 
 Wilt hearken, daughter? Yes, I come, good Joseph. 
 
 Fair health attend thee, fair one. Take the brew. [Exit. 
 
 Jos. Sweet niece, how pale thou art ! How is t, in truth ? 
 Is she ill, madam ? 
 
 Alex. Why, I know not, sir. 
 
 Mayhap she ll not acknowledge it. She looks so.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 349 
 
 Mar. Nay, I am well enough, good uncle. Mother, 
 Reach me my needlework. 
 
 Alex. What ! wilt thou work ? 
 
 Best that thou took st the air awhile. 
 
 Jos. Ay, madam. 
 
 Wilt thou not walk? 
 
 Mar. Good uncle, let me rest. 
 
 Alex. How? peevish? 
 
 Mar. Possibly. Despair, good mother, 
 
 Dons strange disguises. Seemed I peevish, uncle ? 
 I m sorry for it. 
 
 Jos. Tut ! tut ! tut ! tis nothing. 
 
 I mean, thou wert not peevish. 
 
 Mar. Nay, I was. 
 
 Alex. Ay, ay, thou wert indeed. What hath gone wrong? 
 Haply thy Herod hath his favors stinted, 
 Doth not so hotly love thee ? 
 
 Jos. Madam, madam, 
 
 The king s love doth not wane with lesser fires, 
 But, like the sun, burns steadily, always, 
 Though sometimes by a cloud tis darkened. 
 
 Alex. Pshaw ! 
 
 It twinkles like a star ; is no more fixed 
 Than torch-reflections in a restless sea ; 
 Waneth and waxeth ever with the moon ; 
 Needeth, like any lamp, to be refilled 
 With flattery s oil ; flares with the wind o passion, 
 Like any earth-born flame. 
 
 Jos. Wilt thou, sweet niece, 
 
 Hear this of thy fond lord, and yet be silent ? 
 
 Mar. Whom is he fond of? 
 
 Jos. Madam, canst thou ask it ? 
 
 Mar. Sir, canst thou answer it ? 
 
 Jos. Ay, that can I. 
 
 With all my heart I ll speak in his heart s cause. 
 If ever man loved woman, Jewry s king 
 Doth love the queen of Jewry. 
 
 Alex. Pah ! go to ! 
 
 Go to, I say ! He d love her ten times better 
 Were she the queen of somewhere else. 
 
 Jos. Nay, lady, 
 
 Man were a god could he love more than Herod. 
 
 Alex. Ay, ay, ay, more than Herod loves himself. 
 I can believe thee. 
 
 Jos. [Turning to MARIAMNE.] Madam, sure thou knowest 
 How dear thy husband holds thee. 
 
 Mar. No, good uncle. 
 
 Jos. No ! Ah, thou meanest thou wouldst make me think 
 Tis past thy comprehension. 
 
 Alex. Pshaw, I say !
 
 350 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 He loves her by the moment, by the mood, 
 To fill the gap twixt war and war. 
 
 Jos. Why, surely 
 
 Thou dost not think so, madam ? As I live, 
 There are ten thousand proofs he loves his queen, 
 Ay, more, that Herod doth love Mariamne 
 Till Antony and Cleopatra s loves 
 Seem like as sparks blown off from his great fire. 
 
 Alex. Sparks that may scorch his robe of self-esteem 
 Some windy day. What are ten thousand proofs ? 
 Give me but one, and all the doubtful rest 
 Shall sleep beneath my blessing. Where s a proof? 
 Come, proof, sir. 
 
 Jos. Proof? And is there need of proof? 
 
 Not that I have it not, but marvel, madam, 
 That thou wouldst have it. Lady, pray thee listen. 
 Dost thou too wish a proof? 
 
 Mar. If such there be, 
 
 I will not close mine ears against it. 
 
 Jos. How ! 
 
 If such there be ! If such there be ! Just heaven ! 
 If there be proof that Herod loves thee ? Why, 
 I have one single one that would outsize 
 Ten thousand thousand ! 
 
 Alex. Oh, there s room for it. 
 
 Come, yield it, yield, good Joseph. 
 
 Jos. Thou, my queen, 
 
 Wilt have me speak ? 
 
 Mar. Ay, if thou carest to. 
 
 Jos. Why, then, but speak not of it to the king : 
 I know not if he d like its mentioning, 
 Though twere to prove his love, ere he set forth 
 To Laodicea, he did instruct me, madam, 
 Commission me 
 
 Alex. Well, on : this wondrous proof, 
 
 I thirst to hear it. Say you, daughter ? 
 
 Mar. Ay, 
 
 Tell on, good uncle. 
 
 Jos. He commissioned me, 
 
 So dearly did he love thee, that should death 
 
 Be meted him by Antony in fact, 
 
 Should he be put to death 
 
 Mar. To death ? What then ? 
 
 Jos. So doth he worship thee, so doteth on thee, 
 That he commissioned me, in such event, 
 
 In case, as I have said, that Antony 
 
 Who s there ? Is t no one ? Nay, I saw a figure. 
 Some one moved near the door, and, o my word, 
 This must be kept with us.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 351 
 
 Mar. Well, on ! on ! on ! 
 
 What did he tell thee? 
 
 Jos. That if Antony 
 
 Did order him to death, did slay him, madam, 
 If Antony 
 
 Mar. If Antony did what? 
 
 Good uncle, thou st a Cleopatra tongue, 
 That thus thou dinnest ever Antony 
 In Mariamne s ears. They d hear of Herod. 
 
 Jos. Well, then, in short, he did commission me, 
 If such were his sad fate, to send thee after. 
 
 Mar. How, sir ? Not slay me ? 
 
 Jos. Ay, that was his order. 
 
 So dearly did he love thee that in death 
 Even in death he would not be without thee. 
 
 Mar. Oh, mother, mother, take me to thy breast 1 
 I m but thy child again, no wife ! no wife ! 
 No wife ! 
 
 Jos. Why, lady ! 
 
 Alex. Dost thou mean to say 
 
 That crowned devil bade thee murder her? 
 My daughter ? 
 
 Jos. Nay, not murder. 
 
 Alex. He hath murdered, 
 
 Why not again ? Blood-lust doth grow with tasting, 
 And murders breed as summer locusts do. 
 He hath her brother murdered, why not her ? 
 Why not the sister ? Shall there be a limit 
 Unto a Herod s thirst : Avhen he cries out 
 For blood to slake it, doth that being live 
 Who d dare deny him ? Yea ! For I am she, 
 I, Alexandra, rightful queen of Jewry ! 
 What! call you this a proof? a proof of love? 
 That she be murdered ? Oh, how he doth love her ! 
 So that s thy proof? Oh, how he worships her! 
 It is thy proof, you say ? Witness, O God, 
 How he must dote upon her ! Mariamne, 
 Up ! up ! Wilt thou bear this ? Ah ! she hath swooned. 
 Some water, pray you. Toss me that cushion quickly. 
 Here, place it here. Water, I pray you, sir. [Exit JOSEPH. 
 O God of Gods, whose brow is bound with justice, 
 Whose loins with vengeance, Thou whose changeless shadow 
 Breaks on the edge of Space, whose sheltering wings 
 Enroof the windy temple of the stars, 
 To whom the stars themselves are but as gold-dust 
 From noiseless wheels of thy Triumphal Car, 
 Thou who of Thine Omnipotence madest man 
 Visible in Thine image, and invisible 
 Of Thine own essence, let not his spilt blood 
 Cry out to Thee in vain. Judge Thou, O Jah, 
 VOL. XLIL 23
 
 352 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 The murderer of Aristobulus, 
 Of him who as my son was dear indeed, 
 But as thy high-priest precious beyond words ! 
 Judge Thou in all the would-be murderer 
 Of this mine other child, the lawful daughter 
 Of Alexander Thine anointed king ! 
 Judge him by his desires, not by his deeds, 
 And Thou wilt have to make another hell 
 To scorch another Satan ! 
 
 SCENE III. Another room in the palace. 
 Enter SALOME, laughing. 
 
 Sal. Oh, fool, fool, fool ! Oh, excellent, sweet fool ! 
 Sweet husband fool ! Sweet, simple, foolish Joseph ! 
 How thou hast played into mine hands with this ! 
 To tell her that, ha ! ha ! to tell her that, 
 Of all things in the world, to prove his love ! 
 When thou art dead, mine ow r n dear fool of fools, 
 I will turn Roman and erect a temple 
 Unto thy godlike memory ! Oh, this 
 This is beyond my utmost expectation, 
 Mine enemy to toss into my lap 
 The ball of fate, my loyal husband oh ! 
 I never loved him until now ! ha ! ha ! 
 What wisdom s in the fooling of some fools ! 
 Here comes my brother. This will please you, brother, 
 Sweet brother, this will please you when you hear it. 
 Wilt have the bracelet made to an arrow-head 
 To reach my heart, good brother ? Nay, not yet, 
 Not yet, by that of Herod that s mine own ! 
 Farewell, sweet brother, till thou hear st this news. 
 Oh, Joseph, thou hast made me bride again. 
 I am again in love with thee for this ! 
 Oh, darling fool ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! [Exit, laughing. 
 
 Enter HEROD, folding some papers, followed by Attendant. 
 
 Her. Run after Saramallas with these papers, 
 And bid the queen attend me. [Exit Attendant. 
 
 How accursed 
 
 These quarrels that divide us ! I am thirsty 
 Already for her lips. Her angry eyes 
 Yet paint the air with horror. Death ! that look 
 That look she gave me ! Yet I did deserve it ; 
 Ay, ay, twas well deserved. How her lips curled, 
 Like threads that writhe in fire, and her thin nostrils 
 Sucked like a veil blown o er an open mouth. 
 I swear, were she but angry with another, 
 I should more love her angry than composed ! 
 Ah, she is here. My blood leaps hard to meet her.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 353 
 
 Now, as I live, she shall be friends with me, 
 Or I will make an enemy of God ! 
 
 Enter MARIAMNE. 
 
 My queen ! 
 
 Mar. Not thine 
 
 In anything. 
 
 Her. What, madam? 
 
 Mar. Neither queen, 
 
 Nor wife, nor friend, nor slave, of thine. 
 
 Her. What, madam ? 
 
 Mar. My name is Mariamne. I am sister 
 To Aristobulus, that Aristobulus 
 Who died conveniently. 
 
 Her. Why, what is this? 
 
 Mar. The truth in person. 
 
 Her. Mariamue, thou 
 
 Even thou mayst go too far. 
 
 Mar. How ? To my grave ? 
 
 Her. Hast thou gone mad ? 
 
 Mar. If to face fate be madness. 
 
 Her. Is this some trick, some fantasy ? 
 
 Mar. Why, no. 
 
 It is my freedom s birthday. 
 
 Her. How? Thy freedom ? 
 
 Mar. Have I not said ? I am mine own and God s : 
 None other owns so mucli as the sixth share 
 In my least drop of blood. 
 
 Her. Dost thou defy me? 
 
 Mar. No, Herod ; I despise thee. 
 
 Her. What? 
 
 Mar. Despise 
 
 And scorn thee. 
 
 Her. Thou art mad, I m sure of it ; 
 
 Ay, thou art mad, mad, mad ! 
 
 Mar. If it be madness 
 
 To scorn thee, I am mad. 
 
 Her. To scorn me? Thou? 
 
 To scorn me ? Thou, whom I have loved ! God ! loved ! 
 
 Mar. Loved ? Loved ? Blaspheme not Love s most holy 
 
 name, 
 
 Lest he do blast thee. What, thou love ? What ! thou ? 
 Herod, and say thou st loved ? Oh, love most mighty, 
 Most infinite, most tender, to contemplate 
 The murder of the thing it loved ! 
 
 Her. The murder? 
 
 Wert thou not mad 
 
 Mar. The murder, ay, the murder. 
 
 What ! thou canst stand and bare thine eyes to mine, 
 And speak of love ? Oh, wise to make my butcher
 
 354 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Him whom thou didst suspect me with, ay, Herod, 
 The man whom thou didst think my paramour ! 
 
 Her. What dost thou mean ? 
 
 Mar. That thou didst love me well 
 
 Most well and nobly, when thou ordered st Joseph, 
 If thou wert slain by Marc Antonius, 
 To slay me also, whom thou dost so love ! 
 
 Her. Who told thee this? Who told thee this, I say? 
 
 Mar. Joseph himself. 
 
 Her. Adulteress ! 
 
 Mar. Sir 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 Adulteress ! Now know I thou art false. 
 What ! dost thou think a man would give such words 
 Unto a woman lest there were between them 
 A tie more strong than death? would thus brave death, 
 Nay, woo death as a bride ? Cursed be ye both ! 
 Thou, woman, thou, whom I have called my wife, 
 May there be drought throughout thy treacherous veins 
 As in a land accursed ! Ay, mayst thou shrivel 
 To a lank, eye-blasting horror day by day, 
 Until a million million lagging years 
 Have sucked thy blood, as babes once sucked thy breast 
 W r hen thou wast Herod s wife ! 
 
 Mar. Thy coward curse 
 
 I do shake off as twere a stain&l garment. 
 God is with me. Thou, Herod, stancl st alone. 
 Thou hast scared even pity from thy side 
 With those foul words. There is my crown, there all 
 Of Mariamne that remains to thee ! 
 
 [Flings her crown at his feet, and Exit. 
 
 Her. Oh, God ! I choke ! Wine, there ! Nay, blood, 
 blood, blood ! [Exit. 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 SCENE I. A room in HEROD S palace. 
 Enter HEROD, laughing. 
 
 Her. Am I called Herod, and shall Fate laugh at me ? 
 
 No, I will laugh at Fate ! 
 
 Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! Oh, I have been well fooled, 
 
 Herod the Fool, not Herod King of Jewry. 
 
 Who was the man in Egypt had a treasurer 
 
 Called Joseph ? But that Joseph was not false. 
 
 Potiphar s Joseph unto Herod s Joseph 
 
 Was as the smile of God unto His frown. 
 
 God s frown ? Ay, God can frown ; but so can Herod. 
 
 And Herod s wife to Potiphar s ? Ay, there
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 355 
 
 There is the matter : my wife unto Potiphar s 
 
 Is as one drop of mud unto another ! 
 
 Oh, curse her ! curse her ! What ! false unto me ? 
 
 My queen, and with my treasurer ? Both false ? 
 
 Not even the cutting comfort of his truth 
 
 To hug ? Adulteress ! adulteress ! 
 
 Now let such angels as cry " Holy !" thrice 
 
 Before the throne of God, so shriek that word 
 
 " Adulteress" that she may hear it ring 
 
 From heaven to hell, when she doth stand in pride 
 
 Before the throne of Satan ! May she live 
 
 To die ten times a pulse-beat ! May starved fiends, 
 
 With faces like her children s, gnaw her heart 
 
 And spit it in her eyes to dry her tears ! 
 
 May she be Baal s drudge, and bear him devils 
 
 To rend her paramour ! God ! God ! God ! God ! 
 
 That I were but Thyself, to revise hell 
 
 And multiply capacity for pain 
 
 By all the worlds in space ! 
 
 Enter SOHEMUS. 
 
 Soh. I am here, my liege. 
 
 Her. Go bid my mother and Salome hither. 
 Ay, let her come. [Exit SOHEMUS.] Tis well that she should 
 
 come. 
 
 She shall this dainty pleasure share with me. 
 For every pang of anguish I endure, 
 She shall be torn with two, ay, with a hundred. 
 Oh, devil, devil, to have told me of it ! 
 And yet I d know. But twas a devil s errand. 
 
 [Enter SALOME and CYPEOS. 
 
 So, madam, thou hast come, and thou ? Ye re welcome. 
 The day is fair. 
 
 Sal. What mean st thou ? 
 
 Her. What mean st thou ? 
 
 Sal. When? 
 
 Her. When thou brought st me that bracelet ? 
 
 Sal. Why, 
 
 My meaning was as easily observed 
 As was the bracelet. 
 
 Her. [Seizing her by the throat^] Darest thou, jade ? So ! so ! 
 
 Oyp. Herod, hold off thy hands ! Thou lt choke her ! 
 
 Her. Ay, 
 
 By God s help or the devil s, so I will. 
 
 Oyp. Thou rt mad ! Help, ho ! The king is mad ! 
 
 Her. Tis madness 
 
 To say a king is mad. Well, there she is : 
 Mayst thou rejoice in her ! 
 
 Oyp. Thou hast half killed her.
 
 356 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Her. Would it were wholly ! Serpents die not thus. 
 
 Gyp. Thou art a fiend ! 
 
 Her. Else were I not her brother. 
 
 Look thou, thou, madam, who art lying there, 
 Die not ere thy reward be given thee. 
 I took thee for a liar, but in all 
 Thou hast been true, I do acknowledge it, 
 In all, in all. I ve somewhat roughly used thee, 
 But thou shalt have amends, ay, ay, amends. 
 What thinkest thou twill be ? Thou canst not dream, 
 Canst thou, poor dove ? thou art so sadly ruffled 
 Since thou didst choose to preen thy dainty feathers 
 Betwixt a tiger s paws, poor dove, poor dove ! 
 But there shall be reward. 
 
 Oyp. Speak what thou meanest. 
 
 Canst thou not see she is half dead poor girl ! 
 With thy rough usage ? 
 
 Her. She shall have a toy 
 
 To soothe her waking, ay, a pretty ball 
 To toss withal, of red and white and black. 
 Like you the colors? 
 
 Sal. Dost thou mean in truth 
 
 Thou hast aught for me ? 
 
 Her. Ay. 
 
 Sal. What is it? 
 
 Her. Why, 
 
 Thy husband s head ! Without, there, ho ! {Enter Attendant. 
 
 Send Sohemus 
 
 Straightway unto me. What ! dost pale ? What ! thou, 
 A Joseph s wife, and pale ? Thou ! thou ! Oh, thou 
 Shalt feel what tis to suffer. [Enter SOHEMUS. 
 
 Sohemus, 
 
 Take forth this woman s husband, the Idumean 
 Joseph, sometime my trusted treasurer, 
 And let him not return. 
 
 Sal. How ! Banish him ? 
 
 Her. No. 
 
 Sal What then ? 
 
 Her. Slay him. 
 
 Sal. Never ! thou wouldst not. 
 
 Her. Soft ! shall I break a promise ? Twas my word. 
 Thou shalt be paid in full, in full, in full. 
 By God ! I am half minded that thy lap 
 Should serve as block for his beheading ! Sir, 
 Away unto thy office ! Ay, there, crouch, 
 Crouch, thou foul, damneM thing. What ! still so white, 
 For all thy well-daubed red ? Ere it be night 
 Thou shalt have blood for paint ! 
 
 Oyp. My son ! my son ! 
 
 Her. No son of thine, to call that monster sister.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 357 
 
 Let me not thrice remind thee, Sohemus : 
 To work without delay. To work ! 
 
 Soh. But, sire 
 
 Her. Tempt me not thrice, I say. Begone ! 
 
 [SOHEMUS attempts to go, but SALOME clings to him 
 and prevents him from leaving .] 
 
 Sal. By God, 
 
 He shall not till I know what thou dost purpose. 
 
 Her. Why, then remain, good Sohemus ; remain. 
 Twill give me joy such as kings seldom know 
 To tell her what I purpose. It is this. 
 With the first western streak of evening red, 
 It is my purpose wilt thou write it down ? 
 Here are my tablets, if thou hast none. No ? 
 So be it. As I said, with the first stain 
 Of blood from Night s wound on the brow of Day 
 The blood of thy sweet spouse shall stain likewise 
 The sword of him I shall appoint herewith 
 To strike his fair head from his comely neck. 
 Tis now some minutes short of sunsetting. 
 Let Sohemus place a chair beside this window 
 Ere he goes forth. Methinks.it is but just 
 That after all thy crafty painstaking 
 Thou shouldst enjoy results unto the full. 
 The execution will take place there, seest thou ? 
 Beneath that date-tree. Sohemus, a chair. 
 
 Sal. Thou wouldst not do it ! 
 
 Her. No, I ll have it done. 
 
 From childhood I ve abhorred the sight of blood, 
 Save when it s battle-shed : it turns me faint. 
 Wilt thou not have the chair ? 
 
 Sal. Thou couldst not kill him. 
 
 Her. What didst thou think that I would do, sweet sister, 
 When thou hadst proved him false ? Have him to sup ? 
 A higher honor waits him, trust me, madam : 
 He shall be Herod s chief ambassador 
 To Satan, and his power unlimited. 
 There are some things in hell that I d have changed, 
 Ay, some in heaven. Thou rt pale. Nay, have the chair. 
 
 Sal. If thou wouldst kill him, let her die with him. 
 
 Her. Make her ambassadress who was a queen ? 
 It were not seemly. 
 
 Sal. Tis the law of Jewry 
 
 That both should die. 
 
 Her. Herod is Herod s law. 
 
 Sal. Brother, I lied I In all I lied ! In everything 
 I was a liar ! 
 
 Her. Ay, and thou dost lie, 
 
 In all thou liest, and in everything 
 Thou art a liar, still !
 
 358 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Sal. Good brother, hear rue 
 
 Her. A Herod hear a liar? 
 
 Sal. Twas her fault, 
 
 Not his, but hers. 
 
 Her. Devil ! I d shed his blood 
 
 To wipe those words out, if for nothing else ! 
 What ! thou art not yet satisfied ? God s wrath ! 
 I ll make thee drain a goblet of his blood 
 Unto my health ! Away ! The west is red ; 
 The headsman s sword is thirsty. 
 
 Sal. Herod 
 
 Her. Nay, 
 
 Remind me not that I am Herod, woman, 
 If thou wouldst gain thy plea. 
 
 Sal. Brother 
 
 Her. That s worse. 
 
 Sal. As Jewry s king I kneel to thee. 
 
 TT A > 
 
 Her. As wire 
 
 To an adulterous hound I spurn thee. 
 
 Sal. [To CYPROS.] Madam, 
 
 Help me to plead. 
 
 Oyp. Wilt-thou not hear me, sir? 
 
 Her. No ! for thou art her mother. Sohemus, 
 Forth on my errand. 
 
 Sal. [Clinging to SOHEMUS.] Nay, he shall not. 
 
 Oyp. Sir, 
 
 Think what thou doest. 
 
 Soh. Ay, in God s name, sire 
 
 Her. In mine own name I do command thee forth. 
 Unhand him, madam. Thou weak, snivelling wretch, 
 Unloose him, or I will compel thee, thus. 
 
 [Dragging SALOME away from SOHEMUS.] 
 Sohemus, forth upon my errand. Lo ! 
 The west is yet more red ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! 
 
 SCENE II. Enter MARIAMNE. 
 
 Mar. Oh, God ! that I were dead ! that I were dead ! 
 That I were dead ! or that I had not lived 
 To be the sepulchre of mine own heart ! 
 What ! Mariamne called adulteress 
 By Herod ? Herod call me that ? Just heaven ! 
 All things are possible after this thing ! 
 Oh, that foul name ! Would he had sent his sword 
 To find the utmost secret of my heart, 
 Or ever my quick ears had sucked that poison ! 
 Where shall I turn for comfort ? Is to live 
 Always to wish for death ? Now, were it so, 
 And my veins nourishing an unborn child, 
 I d spill their plenty unto lapping dogs 
 Ere breath should be its portion ! Let me think,
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 359 
 
 Ay, let me think. He shed my brother s blood, 
 
 And my blood feeds the hearts of his two sons. 
 
 What horror were beyond this horrible ? 
 
 Ay, there is one. He hath been loved by me ! 
 
 I ve held his murderous hands, played with the curls 
 
 That warmed his murder-pregnant brain, ay, kissed 
 
 Oft kissed the lips that spoke the murdering words, 
 
 Lain down my head above the awful secret 
 
 His heart so well did keep ! Oh, God ! oh, God ! 
 
 Must I know this and live ? Sweet heaven, but rid me 
 
 Of this disgraced body, and my soul 
 
 Upon the wind of knowledge may be blown 
 
 Eternally an alien and accursed, 
 
 Yet I will think Thee merciful. 
 
 Enter ALEXANDER with pomegranate-flowers. 
 
 Alex. Look, mother, 
 
 Sweet, mother, look ! Here are pomegranate-flowers, 
 To make thee think thou rt in Samaria, 
 Are those more beautiful ? Look, mother ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, 
 
 Nay, do not touch me ! do not speak to me ! 
 Oh, look not so, my heart, my life, my son, 
 Mine, and not his ! Come, touch me ! touch me ! touch me ! 
 Speak to me ! kiss me ! clasp me ! let me hear 
 Ten thousand w r ords of love ! 
 
 Alex. Why dost thou hold me ? 
 
 Thou lt crush the flowers. And pray thee tell me, mother, 
 Why wast not pleased at first ? Have I been naughty ? 
 I thought thou dst like the flowers so much. 
 
 Mar. I do, 
 
 I do. The pretty flowers, ay, they are lovely, 
 And colored like to blood, like unto blood. 
 
 Alex. Why dost thou say it so ? The ugly word ! 
 I hate that word, that " blood." Wilt thou not wear them ? 
 
 Mar. Ay, ay, upon my heart, there is the place. 
 Look not at me out of his eyes. Dost hear ? 
 Thou hast his eyes, I say ! Do not look at me ! 
 
 Alex. Mother! 
 
 Mar. No, not that word ! Dost hear me, boy ? 
 Why, they re his very eyelids ! Get thee gone ! 
 Away with thee ! Oh, God ! Come back ! come back ! 
 I did not mean it. Look at me, nor weep ! 
 I did not mean it. Look, I ll drink thy tears 
 With kisses. Would that they were poisonous ! 
 Is this the dagger that I gave thee ? Come, 
 Give it to me again, and here [Uncovering her neck. 
 
 Alex. Nay, mother, 
 
 What dost thou mean ? Take care ! It is so sharp ; 
 I sharpened it to-day.
 
 360 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Mar. To-day is well ; 
 
 To-day should every sword throughout Judea 
 Be newly whetted, and their edges proved 
 Upon one heart ! 
 
 Alex. At what dost look so hard ? 
 
 Mar. Upon that glare of steel. Stand not like that, 
 Tis so he stands a hundred times a day. 
 Move, walk, change that position, anything, 
 So thou dost not look like him. Yes, thy flowers, 
 Thy flowers. When hast thou seen thy father ? Nay, 
 I mean thou must not name him unto me 
 So long as thou dost live. Dost understand ? 
 
 Alex. I must not name my father to thee ? 
 
 Mar. Ay, 
 
 Thou must not. 
 
 Alex. Why ? Dost thou not like his name ? 
 
 I will not say his name. 
 
 Mar. Thou lt not speak of him 
 
 In any wise. Dost hear ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, mother, but 
 
 Mar. Where didst thou get these flowers ? They are so fresh. 
 Didst thou think of it all of thine own self? 
 There is one pity : they have not a perfume. 
 Perfume s the soul of flowers. I think such flowers 
 As have no perfume will not bloom in heaven, 
 But perish, with the beasts. Thou hast not seen him, 
 Thy father, then, to-day ? Nay, speak not ! Look, 
 Here is the way the fruit begins to grow. 
 Did he speak to thee ? Nay, no word, no word. 
 There, go ! go ! go ! Bring me some flowers, my heart, 
 That have sweet perfumes. Run ! run ! run ! 
 
 \_Exii ALEXANDER. 
 
 SCENE III. Enter HEROD and DOSITHEUS. 
 
 Her. A letter from Hyrcanus unto Malchus ? 
 Malchus ? What should Hyrcanus with this Malchus ? 
 
 Dos. My liege, I d have thee read. My tongue rebels : 
 Twill not be proxy for disloyal words. 
 
 Her. Disloyal? 
 
 Dos. When thou st read the letter, sire, 
 
 I think thou wilt agree with me. 
 
 Her. Disloyal ? 
 
 He gave it to thee? 
 
 Dos. He and Alexandra. 
 
 Her. Ah ! Alexandra ! Well, I ll read it. So ! 
 An escort to Arabia ! That s well, 
 Excellent. Ay, I m very glad to know 
 He s in such gallant health. An escort, sir, 
 Unto Arabia ! He s somewhat aged
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 361 
 
 Think you ? to look on travelling as a pleasure. 
 Fin glad his health s so good. 
 
 -Dos. Was I right, sire, 
 
 To bring the letter to thee ? 
 
 Her. Right, most right. 
 
 Tis at all times a cheering thing, Dositheus, 
 To know thy wife s grandfather is in health. 
 It cheers me, sir, it cheers me, verily. 
 I thought he coughed of late. 
 
 Dos. And so he doth. 
 
 Her. No matter : he d ride double with his cough 
 Into Arabia. It cannot, sir, 
 Be very heavy. Come, re-seal this letter. 
 
 Dos. Seal it ? 
 
 Her. Ay, seal it. And when it is sealed, 
 
 Bear it, as thou wast told to do, to Malchus. 
 
 Dos. My liege ? 
 
 Her. Sir, I have said. 
 
 Dos. That I this letter 
 
 Bear to Arabia s governor ? 
 
 Her. Ay. 
 
 Dos. Sire, 
 
 Thou canst not understand its full import. 
 
 Her. Possibly. 
 
 Dos. But, my lord, take it to Malchus ? 
 
 How if he answers it ? 
 
 Her. Dositheus, 
 
 It is not how if he will answer it, 
 But, if he answers, how it will be answered. 
 
 Dos. I think I comprehend thy meaning, sire. 
 
 Her. Think not, but act. Take thou the fleetest horse 
 From out my stables, and to Malchus, ho ! 
 To Malchus ere tis night ! Dositheus, 
 Be prompt, and thou shalt win a higher place 
 Than even now thou hast in mine esteem. 
 Away to Malchus. 
 
 Dos. I will ride, my lord, 
 
 As lover to his maid. Trust me in all. [Exit. 
 
 Her. [Looking after him. ] In all but all. This works to 
 
 thine advantage : 
 
 Therefore I trust thee. Were Hyrcanus king, 
 Thou shouldst not be the letter-carrier 
 Of Herod, good Dositheus, no, no, 
 I promise thee ! God ! how my head burns ! Oh ! 
 It is as though my skull were but a crucible 
 For flames to dance in. Ha ! ha ! ha ! That s famous ! 
 A crowned crucible ! I ve not the knack 
 Of fitting big ideas to little words : 
 I m Herod, more a poem than a poet. 
 Poets are mad, they say, leastwise in Persia ;
 
 362 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Well, I m in Jewry, and I m not a poet, 
 
 Ergo, not mad ; yet I ve sometimes bethought me, 
 
 If the worst madness were not sanity, 
 
 To be most mad s to think thyself most sane. 
 
 But if thou rt sane and think st thou mayest be mad ? 
 
 How then ? Were it not better many times 
 
 To be unknowing mad ? honestly raving ? 
 
 Tis not a pleasant task at hush of night 
 
 To daub upon the canvas of the future 
 
 Such scenes as thou mayst choose to conjure up 
 
 When thou shalt have declared a war gainst Reason. 
 
 Tis better to dream sleeping than awake. 
 
 Traitors go mad sometimes, so I have heard, 
 
 For thinking on their sins ; beggars, they say, 
 
 Are sometimes starved to madness ; felons, too, 
 
 Rave in the galleys. I do offctimes wonder 
 
 If madness ever seized a king ? Ay, ay, 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar grazed ; but Balaam s ass 
 
 Forsook his asshood and adopted speech : 
 
 It is a serious question which was madder, 
 
 The man who took the ass s method, or 
 
 The ass who took the method of the man. 
 
 I ll have my chief interpreter take notes 
 
 Upon that theme, if Balaam s ass was mad. 
 
 On his decision hangs a serious question : 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar s sanity. What s that ? [A scream without.] 
 
 What s that, I say ? 
 
 Enter ALEXANDER, running, pale as death. 
 
 Alex. Oh, father, father, father ! 
 
 Her. What is it ? Speak, I say ! Where is thy tongue ? 
 
 Speak, o the instant ! Is thy mother Ha ! 
 
 Whato thy mother? 
 
 A lex. Mother doth not know. 
 
 Oh, come with me, quick, quick ! 
 
 Her. What is it, sir ? 
 
 God ! I will know. 
 
 Alex. Oh, sir, I know it s false, 
 
 But they have bound my uncle Joseph. Oh ! 
 The cords have cut him so ! They say, moreo er, 
 Tis thy command, and that he must be killed, 
 His head chopped off. Oh, father, come ! don t wait ! 
 I know thou lt come. He kissed me ; and he wept ; 
 He said thou hadst his blessing ; and the blood 
 Was all upon his wrists, and on his robe, 
 And they are cutting off his beard and hair. 
 Oh, come ! come ! come ! 
 
 Her. Well, boy, why should I come? 
 
 Alex. Oh, father, please be different ; mock me not, 
 Mock me not now : afterwards thou mayst tease me
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 363 
 
 Until my heart is like to burst, but now 
 
 Oh, quickly, father, quickly give me leave 
 
 To have chopped off the heads of those who seized him. 
 
 Oh, twas so pitiful ! 
 
 He d just begun to show me how a storm 
 
 A sand-storm in the desert smothered men 
 
 And camels. Come ! come ! come ! 
 
 The cord has cut so deep into his wrists ! 
 
 Come, father ! 
 
 Her. How if I told thee I had ordered this? 
 
 Alex. Oh, do not mock ! Twill be too late ! Oh, come ! 
 
 Her. Thy uncle Joseph dies at my command. 
 
 Alex. Oh, no ! no ! no ! 
 
 Her. I say he doth. 
 
 Alex. And I, 
 
 That thou art mad to say it. 
 
 Her. Mad ! 
 
 Alex. Ay, mad ! 
 
 Oh, father, come ! I kneel. 
 
 Her. It is too late. 
 
 Alex. No ! no ! not if thou lt hurry. 
 
 Her. I do tell thee 
 
 It is too late. [Turns to window .] Ha ! there he is. Good uncle, 
 Good-even to thee. Bear King Lucifer 
 Word of my everlasting fealty. So ! 
 Up in my arms, boy. Look ! 
 
 Alex. [Shrieks. ] Oh, uncle ! uncle ! 
 
 Speak to him, father ! Oh ! the sword ! the sword ! 
 Make him put up his sword. We re coming, uncle ! 
 Uncle, we re coming. Oh, why doth he kneel? 
 Why doth he bend his neck ? Oh, God ! oh, God ! 
 The blood ! the blood ! the blood ! 
 
 [ Turns suddenly with a wild gesture^ 
 Thou rt not my father ! 
 Thou art a devil. Devils wear not crowns. 
 There, devil ! 
 
 [Snatches off" his father s crown and flings it out 
 of the window, then swoonsJ] 
 
 Her. [Dashing him down.] Not thy father ? I believe thee. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I. A room in HEROD S paface. 
 Enter SALOME and Cup-Bearer . 
 
 Sal. The king returns to-day. 
 Chip-Bearer. Ay, madam. 
 
 8aL Well, 
 
 Art sure thou knowest thy part ?
 
 364 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Cap-Bearer. Hear me, and see. 
 
 Sal. Be quick, then. Soft ! I ll draw this curtain first. 
 Now, quickly. 
 
 Cup-Bearer. First, then, madam, I m to wait 
 Till thou send st for me ; then, on some occasion 
 When the king hath had words more violent 
 Than usual with the queen, I enter in, 
 Hastily, yet with a composed mien, 
 That I may seem assured in every way 
 As to the service I m about to render. 
 Next I do tell the king Queen Mariamne 
 Hath coaxed me to assist her in the mixture 
 Of a love-potion, all of whose ingredients 
 I do not know ; that this was kept a secret 
 From all but us who brewed it ; that I thought 
 My safest course, both for myself and him, 
 Was to confess it all. Is not that right? 
 
 SaL Ay, ay. But shouldst thou falter 
 
 Oup-Bearer. I ll not falter, 
 
 Trust me, good madam, I have not forgotten 
 The day she had me scourged for making free 
 To pinch the ears of Aristobulus 
 For sprinkling me with water. I ll not shrink. 
 Her servants whips have sealed me to thy service. 
 
 SaL Well, go thy ways till I have need of thee. 
 Go with a usual face : purse not thy brows, 
 Nor look as though thy heart hung on thy ribs 
 A bag o secrets. Go : some one is coming. 
 Think of the gold that shall be thine. That s well. 
 Now go. Ha ! it is she herself. Go quickly ! [Exit Oup-Bearer. 
 
 Enter MARIAMNE. 
 
 Good-morrow, murderess. 
 
 Mar. Wouldst thou, poor wretch, 
 
 Raise anger from the dead ? Thy woes, Salome, 
 Make me forbearing. 
 
 SaL So they make not me, 
 
 Proud-nostrilled harlot ! 
 
 Mar. Darest thou ? 
 
 Sal. Dare I? God, 
 
 Help me to laugh ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! Dare I ? 
 
 Mar. Nay, I forgot, thou rt mad. Poor, fond, weak 
 
 wretch, 
 
 In seeking my destruction thou hast compassed 
 Thy husband s death. 
 
 Sal. Wilt thou remind me of it ? 
 
 Take that ! [Stabs at her.] 
 
 Mar. [Quietly, holding her by both wrisfc.] Yes, I will take 
 
 it, verily, 
 But not as thou didst mean that I should take it.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 365 
 
 I am as far thy better in my body 
 
 As in my soul. There ! get thee gone ! away ! 
 
 Ere I am tempted unto what I would not. 
 
 I ll keep thy dagger as a dear memento 
 
 Of this most gentle scene ; and should my heart 
 
 Grow soft in thinking of thy grief, my soul 
 
 Shall profit by the lesson of this steel. 
 
 Go, woman. 
 
 Sal. Ay, I go, to come again. [Exit. 
 
 Mar. Murderess ? Yea, I feel a murderess. 
 Ah, Joseph, had I known, had I but known, 
 Torture could not have wrung those words from me, 
 For I d have wedded dumbness on the rack. 
 
 God, O God, is this Thy king? this Herod? 
 This Mariamne s husband ? this rage-buifeted 
 And passion-driven slayer of the innocent ? 
 This king whose humors rule him ? this fond fool 
 Who wears distemper s motley, and whose crown 
 Is but a badge of sin ? Rather hath not 
 
 Some devil dispossessed his soul, to reign 
 
 Over his body s kingdom ? 
 
 Oh, this is not the man whose bride I was, 
 
 The king whose queen, the conqueror whose wife ! 
 
 Ah me ! we women, how have we vexed Love, 
 
 That he doth scourge us speak we but his name? 
 
 1 will be gentle with her, for the sake 
 
 Of him who was her husband ; but this dagger 
 Shall keep me ever cautious. 
 
 Enter HEBOD. 
 
 Her. What say you ? 
 
 Mar. I spoke, sir, with a ghost. 
 
 Her. Ha? 
 
 Mar. With a ghost 
 
 Which was thy handicraft. 
 
 Her. Woman ! 
 
 Mar. A ghost 
 
 That wore a scarlet collar, one whose head 
 Was plastered on with blood. 
 
 Her. Away, thou fiend ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, send me not away : I should much please thee. 
 There is the making of a pretty ghost 
 In me, my lord, and scarlet is my color. 
 
 Her. Devil ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, wife to one. 
 
 Her. [Drawing a dagger. ] Begone, I say ! 
 
 Mar. Ay, strike ! Thou hast a genius, sire, believe me, 
 For ghost-making. Strike ! there is nothing ay, 
 Nothing in all the world would so enchant me 
 As being made a ghost to haunt thee ! Nay,
 
 366 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Glare not as I already were a ghost. 
 I see thou art not in a loving mood : 
 Therefore I will begone. Great king of ghosts, 
 Good-morrow. [Exit. 
 
 Her. I said that I d have blood, I said so, ay, 
 But there is not enough in all the land 
 To slake my humor s thirst. Oh that I were 
 Another Pharaoh, and another Moses 
 Would turn the Nile to blood a second time, 
 That I might swim through its encrimsoned waves ! 
 Oh that I were a thing of quenchless thirst, 
 A vampire monstrous, flattened at the throat 
 Of one vast body which should be the flesh 
 Incorporate of every thing alive ! 
 
 Enter DOSITHEUS. 
 
 Dositheus, 
 Is t thou? 
 
 Dos. My liege, the letter. 
 
 Her. How ? From Malchus ? 
 
 Dos. From Malchus, sire. 
 
 Her. That s well ; that s well. Ah ha ! 
 
 Look here, Dositheus : what think you, man, 
 Of that, and that, and that ? 
 He will not only send an escort, sir, 
 To his beloved Hyrcanus, dost thou mark ? 
 But will make welcome all whom he may bring, 
 Even all the Jews that may be of his party, 
 And he shall lack for nothing. God of Israel ! 
 There s one thing that he shall not lack for, death ! 
 
 Dos. My liege 
 
 Her. So the good Malchus doth agree ? 
 
 Dos. My liege 
 
 Her. I ll show this letter to the Sanhedrim, 
 And he shall straightway suffer to the utmost 
 The law that deals with traitors ! 
 
 Dos. But, my liege 
 
 Her. Away ! Send me Hyrcanus and his daughter. 
 Bid them at once attend me. [Exit DOSITHEUS. 
 
 Would to heaven 
 
 His withered veins held more of that red fluid 
 Which can alone quench my insatiate thirst ! 
 Such drops as death may wring from his dry body 
 Will but make wet the door- way of a throat 
 That gapes for rivers. 
 
 Enter HYRCANUS and ALEXANDRA. 
 
 Thou art come, my lord. 
 I m glad to see that thou rt not more infirm. 
 I pray thee, sit. Sit, madam.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 367 
 
 Alex. No, I ll stand. 
 
 I can breathe better standing. What is it ? 
 
 Her. Why, sure thou wouldst not hear before thy father, 
 Thou who art courteous to thy waiting-woman 
 And cry thy needle pardon if thou breakest it ? 
 Thou lt sit, sir ? 
 
 Hyr. Yes, I thank thy courtesy, 
 
 I m better friends with bed each day I live. 
 
 Her. Yet thou rt industrious for an old man, sir. 
 
 Hyr. Industrious? 
 
 Her. Ay; thou doest many things 
 
 Which young men could not better. 
 
 Hyr. I, my son ? 
 
 Alex. What dost thou mean ? 
 
 Her. Softly, good mother-in-law : 
 
 I speak unto thy father. Good Hyrcanus, 
 Thou hast a talent that I dreamed not of. 
 
 Hyr. Thou flatterest me, sir. I won a crown 
 From the Athenian senate once ; but, truth, 
 Twas long ago. 
 
 Her. The thing of which I speak 
 
 Might, sir, have won thee back the crown of Jewry, 
 Had it succeeded. 
 
 Alex. What? 
 
 Her. I speak, my friend, 
 Of this thy unsuspected talent 
 
 Alex. Well ? 
 
 Her. Of letter-writing. [Shows him the letter.] 
 
 I assure thee, sir, 
 
 I could not trace upon my honor, sir 
 Characters clearer or more shapely. 
 
 Hyr. Daughter, 
 
 It is some jest, is t not ? Pray you, inform me : 
 I never had the trick o jest-catching. 
 
 Alex. Father, come with me. Ay, it is a jest, 
 It is a jest. Come, father ; come, Hyrcanus. 
 
 Her. Stay, both of ye ! Stir not a step ! A jest ? 
 A jest to make hell merry ! 
 
 What ! wouldst feign ignorance, thou damned traitress ? 
 Thou, sir, dost thou in truth dare to pretend 
 Thou dost not recognize this letter ? this, 
 The one thou sent st unto Arabia s governor, 
 To Malchus ? Ha ! I touch thee ! Good my lord, 
 This Malchus is an honest friend o thine. 
 Look ! he will send thee escort. Look ! thy party, 
 Even such Jews as thou mayest take with thee, 
 Will be provided for. Look here, and here ! 
 Thou shalt not want for aught. Oh, would to heaven 
 That I had such a friend ! that this same Malchus 
 VOL. XLIL 24
 
 368 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 "Were Herod s friend [ALEXANDRA sinh half fainting into a 
 
 chair ]. What, madam, wilt thou sit, 
 Now that thy father stands ? It is not seemly. 
 Up on thy feet : thou canst breathe better so. [Laughing.~\ 
 Methinks thou shouldst thank God with all thy breath 
 That thou dost breathe at all ! 
 
 Alex. It was my fault : 
 
 Lay all the blame on me, on me. 
 
 Her. Attend. 
 
 This is thy father s signature, is t not ? 
 
 Alex. I teased him to it. Oh, if any suffers, 
 It should be I ! 
 
 Hyr. Nay, nay, thou must not suffer : 
 
 It was my fault to let thee bring me to it. 
 I am old, Herod, but not yet so old 
 As to have outlived courage. Weep not, daughter ; 
 I ll bear the fullest consequence; weep not: 
 Would I could weep ! 
 
 Her. Thou shalt, and tears of blood. 
 
 Without, there, ho ! [Enter Attendants. ] 
 
 Lead forth this man straightway 
 Unto the palace prison, and send Sohemus 
 Unto me in my closet. 
 
 Alex. Thinkest thou, Herod, 
 
 While Alexandra still is Alexandra, 
 Her father shall be fingered by a slave ? 
 Thou knave, thou durst not touch him. Father, come ; 
 Come with me, so. Thou, sirrah, lead the way. 
 Good father, lean on me. 
 
 Hyr. I m very old ; 
 
 Death hath been close to me for many years. 
 I am not frightened. Hath he naught to say ? 
 Naught of his reasons ? 
 
 Alex. He hath none to speak of. 
 
 Come, come, come, come. 
 
 Hyr. Well, I am old, and death is like a friend 
 Who comes disguised as an enemy. 
 Think st thou he ll let me speak to Mariamne 
 And to her pretty boys ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, ay. Come on. 
 
 Hyr. Her boys are like her, but. one hath his eyes. 
 Well, well, I ve lived to be so old that death 
 Even death will not seem new to me. Lead on. 
 Farewell, Antipater. [Exewnt, 
 
 Her. That s over. Would it were to do again ! 
 Her face ha ! ha ! her face was sure the servant 
 Of a most furious soul. I can believe it, 
 That twas her plot ; yet he must die for it. 
 And who can say Antipater is cruel 
 When he doth give another that one thing
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Which he desires, a swift and sudden death ? 
 What s cruelty? A tree whose roots split hell, 
 Whose crest disturbs the stars. Methinks my star 
 Hath long since been a cinder, and its fire 
 Is all here in my brain. Do men go mad 
 For dreading madness ? [Enter MARIAMNE.] 
 
 Ha ! What wouldst them ? 
 
 Mar. Madman ! 
 
 Is this thing true? 
 
 Her. Why dost thou call me madman ? 
 
 I am not mad. 
 
 Mar. Is this thing true, I say ? 
 
 Hast thou given orders that he be imprisoned? 
 Hyrcanus ? 
 
 Her. Wherefore didst thou call me madman? 
 
 Thou never call dst me so till now. 
 
 Mar. Till now 
 
 Thou ne er wast mad. Give answer to my question. 
 Hast sent Hyrcanus unto prison ? 
 
 Her. Ay. 
 
 Mar. Thou hast? O God, where is Thy justice? 
 
 Her. Look you, 
 
 Why said you I was mad ? I am not so. 
 Was I e er calmer ? 
 
 Mar. Thou hast sent Hyrcanus 
 
 To prison, under charge of treachery ? 
 Hyrcanus, he who was a king in all 
 To make thee seem his sceptre s shadow ! 
 
 Her. Now 
 
 Why, now, now, now look now how calm I am ! 
 Seem I a madman? 
 
 Mar. He who is still king 
 
 By every right which cries thee wrong ! a man 
 To make thy memory a woman, one 
 Beside whom thou dost show as black-ribbed clouds 
 Against an evening sun ! Thou send Hyrcanus 
 To prison? Thou? Thou, Herod? Now let Satan 
 Send God to hell that he may rule in heaven ! 
 What ! he in prison at thy order ? he 
 Who even with sin dealt ever holily, 
 He whose white hair the very winds did reverence, 
 He unto whom thy every dignity 
 
 Thou owest, thy wealth, thy crown, thy throne, thy sceptre, 
 That very power which now doth wrong him ! Oh, 
 Let me believe thee mad, ere that thy reason 
 Cried " Amen" to this deed ! 
 
 Her. He is a traitor. 
 
 Mar. And what art thou ? thou who usurped his throne, 
 Who filched his crown, who stole away his sceptre, 
 Who hath his grandchild called adulteress ?
 
 370 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Ay, what art thou, thou, sir, whose name is Herod, 
 Whose heart is hell condensed ? 
 
 Her. Thou sayest, a madman. 
 
 Mar. No ! no ! thou art not mad ! Look not like that. 
 When thou didst order him to prison, then, 
 Then wast thou mad. Not now ; not now. 
 
 Her. I am not ? 
 
 Mar. No, no, I tell thee. What dost stare at ? Come, 
 Thou didst not mean it : I am sure o that. 
 Look ! I ll forget my wrongs, all, all, all, all, 
 So thou dost not wrong him. 
 
 Her. Why, it were madness 
 
 To set him free. I would not give the people 
 So good a cause to say that I am mad. 
 
 Mar. They could not have a better cause than this 
 That now they have in his imprisonment. 
 What ! will the foulest beggar in the streets 
 Think that in sanity thou wouldst imprison 
 A gentle, fond, feeble, retired old man 
 For treachery ? Nay, but believe me, Herod, 
 Thou st ta en the surest way to prove thy madness. 
 
 Her. Say it no more. 
 
 Mar. Say what ? That thou art mad ? 
 
 Then give me no more cause to say it. See ! 
 I ve forgot all but what should be remembered, 
 That I am Mariarnne and thy wife, 
 Thy queen, the mother of thy sons. Take me, 
 And set Hyrcanus free ! 
 
 Her. What ! wilt thou kiss me ? 
 
 Mar. Yes. 
 
 Her. What ! be as my wife again ? 
 
 Mar. Yes, yes ! 
 
 All that I was, and more, I will be, Herod, 
 So thou dost set him free. 
 
 Her. Wilt love me too? 
 
 Mar. I will be all to thee that thou couldst wish. 
 
 Her. Save loving? 
 
 Mar. If thou dost find fault with me, 
 
 Send me to prison in Hyrcanus stead. 
 
 Her. Then thou lt not swear to love me? 
 
 Mar. Oh, my lord, 
 
 What deed could better merit love than this one 
 I d have thee do ? As thou lt some day be old, 
 Think on his age, and do him reverence. 
 
 Her. Nay, 
 
 I am not old, and think of thee each moment. 
 Is that the way to calmness ? 
 
 Mar. What s his crime? 
 
 Or who hath slandered him ? His innocence 
 I ll prove sire, with my life.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 371 
 
 Her. [Handing her Malchus s letter."] Not with thy love ? 
 Head that. The governor s reply is here, 
 On this side, here. 
 
 Mar. [Reading.~\ Would go to Asphaltites 
 And to Arabia. Would have an escort, 
 He and my mother. Signed Hyrcanus. Well, 
 What s there of treachery? I see no harm here. 
 
 Her. No harm ? Thou seest no harm in it? No harm ! 
 No harm ! No harm ! But soft ! soft ! soft ! Read on. 
 Read Malchus answer. 
 
 Mar. Escort granted them ; 
 
 All done iu s power to aid them ; shelter promised 
 Unto his party. Well ? 
 
 Her. No, ill, by God ! 
 
 Give me the papers : thou wilt tear them, girl. 
 We ll see if that the Sanhedrim thinks with thee. 
 No harm ! [Laughing, ,] Tis harm to think there is no harm. 
 
 Mar, Thou canst not purpose to submit those letters 
 Unto the Sanhedrim ? 
 
 Her. It is my purpose, 
 
 This very moment. 
 
 Mar. Herod, hear me ! Look ! 
 
 Look on me ! Look, my lord ! I kneel ; I kneel. 
 Am I less fair than when thou loved st me ? 
 
 Her. Wilt swear to love me now ? 
 
 Mar. All that a wife 
 
 Should be I will be. 
 
 Her. All save loving. Ay, 
 
 Thou dost not love me, and he shall not live 
 To take the love that should be mine ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, hear me ! 
 
 Her. No more ! no more ! [Enter Cup-Bearer. ] 
 
 Ha, slave ! what dost thou there? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. My lord, I come on most important matters. 
 
 Her. Important matters ? Whom do they concern ? 
 Hyrcanus ? 
 
 Oup-Bearer. No ; the queen. 
 
 Her. The queen ? What queen ? 
 
 Queen Mariamne ? Well ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Yesterday noon, 
 
 Your majesty, the queen did come to me 
 And ask that I would help her brew a potion 
 A love-drink for your majesty. Being won 
 By much fine gold, I did consent, but afterwards 
 Bethought me that, not knowing all the contents 
 Of that which she had given me, twere best 
 Both for my lord and iy lord s faithful servant 
 That I should tell my lord concerning it. 
 
 Her. A love-drink ! Ha ! for me ? Madam, what s this ? 
 
 Mar. As bold a lie as ever was well lied.
 
 372 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Sirrah, hast thou forgot my eunuchs whips, 
 That thus thou bravest me ? 
 
 Gup-Bearer. Your majesty, 
 
 I ve not forgotten them. 
 
 Her. A love-drink ! So ! 
 
 For me ? Hast thou this drink ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Not now, my lord. 
 
 Princess Salome hath it in her charge. 
 
 Mar. [ Aside. ] Salome ! 
 
 Her. Bid her here at once. 
 
 Mar. What, Herod ! 
 
 Thou lt hear thy slave and sister before me ? 
 Canst thou not see he lies ? Dost thou not know 
 He is in her employ and hired to lie ? 
 Thou craven hound ! stir not until I bid thee. 
 Look in mine eyes and say those words again ! 
 Thou seest : he cannot do it. Mark him, sir : 
 He cannot look at me. 
 
 Her. Canst thou not so ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. My lord, mistake me not j it is not fear 
 Which keeps me from returning the queen s look, 
 But that my duty unto thee, my liege, 
 Forbids that I should gaze upon thy consort. 
 
 Her. Well said ! Well said ! Madam, thou art rebuked. 
 
 Mar. Rebuked ! and by that worm ? Thy queen rebuked ! 
 And by thy cup-bearer? Now long farewell, 
 Hyrcanus ! Peace be thine, as must be death. 
 I have done all for thee that woman could 
 And yet be woman. 
 
 Her. ^ a j> what dost thou mean ? 
 
 Where art thou going ? 
 
 Mar. Where I ll find honor, sir, 
 
 Unto Hyrcanus. 
 
 Her. I forbid it ! 
 
 Mar. I 
 
 Am not to be forbidden. Stand aside. 
 If thou art Herod, I am Mariamne, 
 And queen unto the end, though crownless. [Exit. 
 
 Her. So 
 
 Then she is mad, not I. I am not mad. 
 Who said so ? No one. But they must not think so, 
 Not think so, either. I will see a madman 
 And make comparison. Ho, there ! you, sir, 
 Do men run mad in Jewry ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Ay, my lord. 
 
 Her. Hast thou seen any ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. WMat ? Madmen, my lord ? 
 
 Her. Ay, madmen. 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Scores, my lord. 
 
 Her. How looked they, slave ?
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 373 
 
 Seemed they to be in any sort acquainted 
 With their affliction ? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Some did, sire. 
 
 Her. Some did? 
 
 They were not mad, then no ! they were not mad. 
 A man may not be mad and know it, slave, 
 Think stthou? 
 
 Cup-Bearer. Why, yes, my lord, sometimes. 
 
 Her. Away ! 
 
 Away ! thou traitorous hound ! thou knave ! thou villain ! 
 Out of my sight ! Dost hint that I am mad ? 
 
 [Exit Cup-Bearer. 
 
 When Herod s mad, let God be writ a fool, 
 And wisdom s sucklings swarm the throne of heaven. 
 What ! shall a man go mad and talk of it ? 
 No ! no ! no ! no ! Cunning is twin to madness. 
 Madmen will swear unto their sanity 
 W r ith th self-same ravings that proclaim them mad. 
 Why, I am calmer than I was a month 
 A week a day nay, even a moment past. 
 I let her go unhanded, let her word me, 
 Took even her insults calmly, where a madman 
 Had torn her into shreds, ay, into ribbons ! 
 A potion? A love-potion ? Let me see : 
 That s not so bad. Methinks there s something here 
 Not altogether venomous. I ll ponder. 
 What if she loves me after all ? would win me 
 By crafty means ? I ve heard that such things happen. 
 If that were so, if this love-drink were harmless, 
 
 If ah ! if Mariamne loveth me ! Why, 
 
 Though hell should burst in flames beneath my feet, 
 I d take her back again, and with my kisses 
 Make its worst blaze seem cool ! Oh, I m on fire, 
 On fire ! But let me recollect. The potion, 
 He said he thought twas best to tell me. Why ? 
 Why was it best ? Sure there could be no harm, 
 
 Unless unless ah ! there s the thing, unless 
 
 He did suspect that it was poisoned. Ay, 
 
 There is a possibility. No matter ! 
 
 I will not think on it. She poison me? 
 
 She, Mariamne, poison Herod ? Well, 
 
 I m glad I am not mad, since were I so 
 
 I might have fall n into this snare. And yet 
 
 It is enough to make a Solomon 
 
 Cry Wisdom wanton, and as lawful wife 
 
 Clip easy Foolishness. Now would to God 
 
 That I were mad, to know not of this horror ! 
 
 Sweet Madness, come, come, come ! Scoop out my brains 
 
 To feed thy henchmen, and in this racked skull 
 
 Take up thy wild abode ! Let every cranny
 
 374 HEROD AND MARIAHXE. 
 
 In my once-loving heart be packed with ravellings 
 
 From Fate s accursed loom, snatch off my crown 
 
 To make the harlot Circumstance a zone, 
 
 And use my sceptre as a rod wherewith 
 
 To scourge all wise men to thy service ! [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II. A dungeon, HYRCANUS and ALEXANDRA. 
 
 Hyr. Good daughter, I am weary : loose these chains 
 A little. 
 
 Alex. Oh, God help me, sir, I cannot ! 
 Father, thou knowest with what joy of heart 
 I d be there in thy place. Thou kuowest that, 
 Dost thou not, father ? Look ! lean so, against me. 
 Is it not easier ? Here s water, sir, 
 If thou art thirsty. 
 
 Hyr. No, I m only tired. 
 
 Thou think st he ll let me see my little grandsons 
 Ere I am led to execution ? Speak ! 
 Dost not, good daughter? 
 
 Alex. Nay, talk not like that. 
 
 He would not dare to kill thee. 
 
 Hyr. Ay, ay, ay, 
 
 He would. But Mariamne 11 plead for me? 
 Thou saidest so, didst not ? 
 
 Alex. Ay, father. 
 
 Hyr. Well, 
 
 Tis all with her. Why dost thou weep, my daughter ? 
 
 Alex. Alas ! how canst thou ask me why I weep ? 
 Dost thou not suffer for me ? Was t not I 
 Who lured thee to thy ruin ? Did not I 
 Draw up that paper and then torture thee 
 Until thou dst signed it ? And am I not free, 
 While thou art fettered ? I, thy daughter, I, 
 Who should have been the comfort of thy age, 
 The councillor of all to thy advantage, 
 Thy stay in time of trouble ! Look, Hyrcanus : 
 I brought thee to thy death. Oh ! curse me ! curse me ! 
 I kneel to hear thy curses as another 
 To receive blessings. Let me no more writhe 
 Beneath thy gentleness. Come, curse me ! curse me ! 
 
 Hyr. Good daughter, do not weep. If it be death, 
 Why, Death and 1 are friends, and glad to meet. 
 And say not tis thy fault if that I die ; 
 For in that letter there was naught, believe me, 
 To merit this the law s extremest course. 
 
 Alex. No: was there? Was there? Answer quickly, father. 
 Thou knowest I only wished to place thee, sir, 
 Beyond his reach. 
 
 Hyr. I know it. Do not weep.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 375 
 
 I know it, daughter. Hark ! I hear a footfall. 
 Hush ! listen ; listen. 
 
 Enter MABIAMNE. 
 
 Alex. Mariamne ! Oh, 
 
 Thou rt welcome, thou art welcome ! Yet thine eyes 
 Are not as I would have them. 
 
 Hyr. Pretty one, 
 
 How will it fare with me? 
 
 Mar. As it should fare 
 
 With him who wrongs thee. Sire, he is a monster, 
 And his heart petrified long ere this hour 
 Into the corner-stone of a new hell. 
 
 Alex. And thou canst speak so calmly, Mariamne ? 
 Knowest his doom, and yet can tell him of t 
 With not so much as even one false note 
 In all thy soft voice-music ? 
 
 Mar. Am I calm ? 
 
 I think I m mine own ghost ; for I feel nothing 
 As I was wont to feel. I know the headsman, 
 And sent his wife a brew only this Nisan, 
 When she lay sick to death. There ll be no mis-stroke. 
 Thou art not feared, sir ? 
 
 Hyr. No, my pretty one, 
 
 I am not feared of anything but life, 
 Now that I have made friends with Death. But, heart, 
 I d say farewell unto our pretty boys. 
 
 Mar. I ll call them. [Exit. 
 
 Alex. Devil ! devil ! Oh, this Herod ! 
 
 Lucifer were a paragon to him, 
 And Satan lovable. O God ! O God ! 
 Instruct me how to demonize myself, 
 That I may meet him on equality 
 And curse him as a sister ! Father, father, 
 Art thou asleep ? 
 
 Hyr. Almost. I am fast drowsing 
 
 Unto the final moment, when my pillow 
 Shall be the block, and all my dreaming death. 
 Peace ! peace ! weep not. 
 
 Enter MARIAMNE, ALEXANDER, and ARISTOBULUS. 
 
 Ah, pretty ones, come here. 
 Thou lookest pale, my soldier. What s the matter ? 
 
 Mar. He hath not yet recovered, dear Hyrcanus, 
 From witnessing his uncle s death. 
 
 Hyr. So ! so ! 
 
 Well, he must not see mine. 
 
 Alex. Oh, no ! no ! no ! 
 
 No ! no ! no ! no ! 
 
 Hyr. There, there, my prince, thou shalt not.
 
 376 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Why, how thou trembles! ! Look, I am to die, 
 And yet I tremble not. 
 
 Alex. I d rather die 
 
 Ten thousand thousand times than see thee killed. 
 But then he cannot kill thee, he cannot. 
 He is a devil, but he could not kill thee. 
 Say that he could not, mother, mother, say it ! 
 Oh, I did love him so ! I loved him so ! 
 And now, whenever I do think of him, 
 There is a shining redness comes between us 
 Faugh ! and a smell of blood, a thick, wet red, 
 A damp, fresh, sickening, faint, far-reaching smell ! 
 Oh, uncle ! uncle ! 
 
 JEFyr. So ! poor boy ! poor boy ! 
 
 And I must die? 
 
 Mar. Would I could die for thee ! 
 
 Who s there? 
 
 Enter Attendant and Herald. 
 
 Herald. Hyrcanus, thou art summoned 
 
 To come straightway before the Sanhedrim. 
 
 Hyr. Then kiss me, pretty ones. Come close to me. 
 Nay, daughter, do not weep. Come, Mariamne. 
 Kneel for my blessing, all of ye ; kneel there, 
 Where I can touch ye. Nay, come closer yet. 
 The God of Israel forever keep ye, 
 As I would keep ye, were I Israel s God, 
 Forever love, bless, guard, and cherish ye. 
 Don t weep ; don t weep ! I can no more, my heart. 
 Unloose this bracelet, I have missed the clasp, 
 Wear it, and think sometimes of him who wore it. 
 This for thee, boy, and this for thee, and this 
 For thee, my daughter ; all that s left, for Death. 
 Don t tremble, Alexander ! this poor body 
 Hath not sufficient blood to fill a goblet 
 To Herod s health. Farewell, farewell, farewell ! 
 
 [ALEXANDRA swoons. 
 
 What, daughter ! wilt thou go before me ? Why, 
 It is not like thee so to lack in deference. 
 Look to her, sweet, and if in truth she s dead, 
 See that she be entombed with me. Farewell, 
 Farewell, farewell ! Why, I am young again, 
 To think how soon I will be quit of age. 
 Lead on. Hyrcanus is once more a king, 
 And goes to meet King Death as equal ! [Exeunt HYRCANUS 
 and Attendant. 
 
 Mar. Father ? 
 
 Nay, let me not disturb him. Come, my boys, 
 
 Let s to thy father, let s unto thy father 
 
 With this sweet news. Let s to him with our thanks.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 377 
 
 Let s take him kisses, ha ! ha ! ha ! such kisses ! 
 
 Let s fall upon our knees to honor him. 
 
 Was ever such a father ? Come, let s hurry ! 
 
 Let s kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss him ! Run ! run ! run ! 
 
 [Exit, runniny, leading he) two boys by either hand. 
 
 SCENE III. A room in the palace. 
 Enter HEROD and SALOME. 
 
 Her. Thou canst not swear that it was poisoned ? 
 
 Sal. No ; 
 
 But can there be a doubt ? 
 
 He)-. Ha ! 
 
 Sal. I repeat it, 
 
 Can there be any doubt ? She knows too well 
 That thou art but her fancy s slave, her toy, 
 To brew thee merely love-potions. 
 
 Her. Her slave ? 
 
 I ll make thee slave to her ! So ? I a slave ! 
 Thou hast a daring bent o mind ? Look thou ! 
 Unless thou prove this love-brew poisonous, 
 Thou shalt in prison rot. As I am Herod, 
 I do believe thou st lied from first to last 
 Concerning this affair and all that s touched it. 
 Thou art a most accomplished liar. Prove it, 
 Or I will make her ten times queen again, 
 And brand the hideous story of thy falseness 
 With red-hot irons on thy naked flesh, 
 Then have thee whipped through every street and by-way 
 Of all the towns in Jewry, that all men 
 May read of it ! Away, and bring me proof, 
 Or look for death in agony unequalled ! [Exit SALOME. 
 
 What if I ve been deceived in everything 
 From then till now ? 
 
 Enter MARIAMNE and boys. 
 
 What ! Mariamne ? 
 
 Mar. Ay. 
 
 Who looks like Mariamne, save herself? 
 And these, sir, are her sons. She comes to thank thee . 
 She and her sons for thy last kindness to them. 
 
 Her. Wilt thou not sit ? Here is a chair. 
 
 Mar. Nay, Herod, 
 
 I d have mine eyes at level with thine own ; 
 And loving thanks are better proffered standing. 
 
 Her. Why so? 
 
 Mar. Tis hard to give thanks graciously. 
 
 Her. Not when tis Mariamne thanking Herod. 
 
 Mar. More then than ever. 
 
 Her. Say st thou ?
 
 378 HEROD AND MARIAMXE. 
 
 Mar. Ay, my lord, 
 
 More then than ever. 
 
 Her. Why, right well thou knowest 
 
 I m always thankful to be thanked by thee. 
 Come, kiss me. For what wouldst thou thank me ? 
 
 Mar. For 
 
 Hyrcanus death ! Nay, kiss me ! I am sister 
 To Aristobulus. Nay, wilt not kiss me? 
 Thy treasurer Joseph loved me. Nay, now kiss me. 
 I am the grandchild of Hyrcanus ! 
 
 Her. What ! what ! wilt thou dare ? 
 
 Mar. Then thou lt not kiss me ? Haply 
 
 I am not looking fair enough to-day ? 
 I ll have a robe dyed in Hyrcanus blood, 
 And broidered richly with the hair of Joseph 
 And Aristobulus, to wear withal 
 When I would please thee. Come, a kiss, a kiss. 
 
 Her. Devil ! 
 
 Mar. Or, if that will not pleasure thee, 
 
 I ll make a feast for thee, and in thine honor 
 These thy two sons I ll have served up, with blood 
 For wine. 
 
 Her. Devil, I say ! 
 
 Mar. Or, if that dish 
 
 Were something coarse for such a mighty king, 
 Their hearts alone I d offer thee. 
 
 Her. God s heart ! 
 
 Dost think I ll let thee live to mock me ? 
 
 Mar. No : 
 
 Killing s thy forte. I pray thee send me, sir, 
 To Aristobulus, and Joseph, and Hyrcanus. 
 Haply thou hast some tender message, sir, 
 That I could bear them? J Tis the only errand 
 On which for thee I would go willingly. 
 Come, send me, send me. 
 
 Her. Can a man bear this 
 
 And not go mad ? 
 
 Mar. Mad? Oh, no, thou rt not mad. 
 
 I m mad, the time is mad, earth, sea, heaven, hell, 
 The past, the future, but not Herod ! No ! 
 He ll stand a monument to sanity 
 When for some excellent reason he hath slain 
 Everything save his reason ! 
 
 Her. God in heaven ! 
 
 Mar. Nay, God is not in heaven ! If He were there, 
 Herod would not be here ! He travels, sir ; 
 There s a rebellion on some distant star, 
 And He hath gone to quell it. 
 
 Ay, in heaven 
 Thou know st but these three souls, Hyrcauus, Joseph,
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 379 
 
 \ 
 
 And Aristobnlns. Cry out to them ! 
 Cry out to them ! cry out to them ! 
 
 Her. Thou darest? 
 
 Woman ! 
 
 Mar. Ay, to my woe. The wife of Herod 
 Should have by justice been a dragoness, 
 Giving birth to monsters that had murdered him, 
 Not unto men for him to murder. 
 
 Her. Curse thee ! 
 
 Mar. Curse me, didst say ? curse me ? Now, as I live, 
 May everything that hath on every world 
 Since the creation, died, be resurrected 
 To curse thee with a separate curse ! Oh, demon, 
 Thou st found the core of sin and eaten it. 
 What ! thou wouldst curse me ? Am I not accursed 
 Sufficiently in having been thy wife ? 
 Didst thou not curse me with a curse complete 
 When thou didst make me mother of thy sons? 
 Be thou accursed, Herod, ay, accursed, 
 Beyond thy utmost knowledge of a curse. 
 Forget that I once loved thee. Recollect 
 My hatred only. Thirst, thou shalt have blood, 
 And blood alone, to quench thy torment. Hunger, 
 Thou shalt not eat, but be thyself devoured. 
 Cry out to heaven, and thy prayers rebounding 
 Shall hurl thee into hell ; while death to thee 
 Shall be one dream of life most horrible ! 
 
 Her. Oh, God! 
 
 Mar. Ay, tremble ; for He hears not thee, 
 
 While Mariamne s curse is registered ! [Exit. 
 
 Her. What ! Mariamne ! Mariamne ! Mariamne ! 
 Return ! Thou canst not hate me ! No ! no ! no ! 
 That s to be mad, to say that Mariamne 
 Hates Herod. And I am not mad. I dreamed. 
 Then I am dead ! She said that I would dream 
 Of life in death. Who said so? Mariamne? 
 No, one who looked like her. Yet there is none 
 Not one who looks like her, saving herself. 
 She said that, too. Her eyes ! her eyes ! her eyes ! 
 They were two fires ; they burned into my heart s core. 
 Nay, but my heart s a fire. My heart ? What heart ? 
 I gave my heart to Mariamne, yea, 
 And she fed anger on it. Well, I m glad, 
 I m glad, in spite of all, that I m not mad ; 
 Else might I think all this had really happened ; 
 And now I know I m dreaming. 
 
 Enter SALOME. 
 
 Good Salome, 
 Wake me, I pray you. [Aside. ] But that s foolish : ay,
 
 380 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 She s part and parcel of my dream. Good sister, 
 How come you in my dream ? 
 
 Sal What ! art thou mad ? 
 
 Her. No, dreaming. 
 
 Sal. Why, that s madness on occasion. 
 
 Up ! Rouse ye ! rouse ye ! Here s the potion. Look ! 
 
 Her. Is ; t poisonous ? 
 
 Sal. Ay. 
 
 Her. Then give it me. 
 
 Sal. For what ? 
 
 Her. To drink. 
 
 Sal. Go to ! Why, thou art mad in verity. 
 
 Her. Would that I were ! 
 
 Sal. I say thou art. 
 
 Her. Then once 
 
 Thou bringest me welcome tidings. 
 
 Sal. Brother. 
 
 Her. Well? 
 
 Sal. What is the matter? 
 
 Her. Why, I m mad, I hope. 
 
 Thou saidst that I was mad, but then, good sooth, 
 Thou art a famous liar lied about. 
 But look thou, there s a something in me, jade, 
 That whispers madmen may go madder. 
 
 Sal. Sir, 
 
 Rouse ye. Look here : this is the love-potion 
 That Mariamne brewed to kill thee. 
 
 Her. Ah ! 
 
 Sal. If it be not a poison, I implore 
 That thou wilt torture me for pastime. 
 
 Her. How ! 
 
 To kill me ? 
 
 Sal. Ay : who else ? Wake up ! wake up ! 
 
 Her. Why, now, that s right. That is as I would have it. 
 I would not longer sleep. 
 
 Sal. Then rouse ye ! Here, 
 
 Take t in thy hand. There in thy palm thou boldest 
 What might have been thy death. 
 
 Her. Poison, thou sayest? 
 
 Sal. Ay, ay. 
 
 Her. And brewed by Mariamne? 
 
 Sal. Ay. 
 
 Her. By Mariamne for King Herod ? 
 
 Sal. Ay. 
 
 All this thou knowest. Why wilt question me ? 
 It is for thee to prove if I speak truth. 
 
 Her. And I will prove thee, monster ! Ay, by heaven ! 
 The dream is past, and Herod is awake, 
 To sleep no more ! Without, there !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 381 
 
 Enter Attendant. 
 
 Send me straightway 
 
 A slave from out the workers in the vineyard. 
 Thou shalt be proved. Fear not : thou shalt be proved, 
 In all, in all. But then I am not mad, 
 If this is not a dream. So ! thou art come? 
 
 Enter Attendant and Slave. 
 
 Salome, here s thy proof, a pretty proof. 
 What is thy age ? 
 
 Boy. A score of years, my lord. 
 
 Her. Dost thou hate life ? 
 
 Boy. No, sire. Why should I hate it ? 
 
 I m very happy. 
 
 Her. Were t not better, boy, 
 
 That thou shouldst part with it ere thou dost hate it ? 
 Give me thy answer. 
 
 Boy. I know not, my lord. 
 
 Her. I know, and will decide for thee. Drink this. 
 
 Boy. [Drinks.] Unto thy health, sire. 
 
 Her. Ha ! 
 
 Boy. Oh, God ! what s this ? 
 
 Water, I pray you. [Dies. 
 
 Her. Thou art proved, Salome : 
 
 Salome, thou art proved ! I will believe thee 
 Though thou shouldst say thou never wast a liar ! 
 Almost a merry death this would have been. 
 It scarce had loosed my crown or stirred my sceptre. 
 Look how he s stretched, as easily, I wager, 
 As were he sleeping in the vineyard sunlight. 
 I am not sorry that he s dead. No ! no ! 
 He might have lived to be a Herod. Ay, 
 He might have lived to have a wife. 
 
 Sal. Come, rouse thee ! 
 
 Wilt thou hang thus above a dead slave s body ? 
 Away ! 
 
 Her. For what? 
 
 Sal. For vengeance ! Dost thou ask me, 
 
 And that thou mightst have been, there at thy foot ? 
 Away ! to bring the would-be murderess 
 To justice. 
 
 Her. No ! let justice go to her ! 
 
 I will not see her more, though we should live 
 A million years within our voices sound ! 
 
 Sal. Live ! dost thou speak of life as possible 
 Unto that demon ? one who never loved thee ? 
 Who made thy love a means unto her ends ? 
 A traitress ? an adulteress ? Ay, thou st said it ! 
 Almost a murderess, quite one in heart? 
 She who seduced thy sister s husband? she
 
 382 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Her. Enough ! enough ! thou hast named crimes sufficient 
 To make thyself seem holy in comparison ! 
 
 Sal Sir! 
 
 Her. Oh, be satisfied ; be satisfied : 
 
 She shall not live. 
 
 Sal. Now thou art Herod ! 
 
 Her. No, 
 
 Now I m a madman ! [JEbft, laughing. 
 
 Sal. And now I have conquered ! 
 
 She is already prisoned, and I ll follow, 
 To see that she doth soon meet death ! [Exit. 
 
 SCENE IV. A dungeon. MARIAMNE chained. Two guards, talking. 
 
 1st Guard. She hath not said a word since I have watched her, 
 Nor moved. I have not seen her weep, not once. 
 2d Guard. Believe you all that s said of her ? 
 1st Guard. Not I. 
 
 2d Guard. In thine ear, friend : I do suspect foul play. 
 1st Guard. Most like. Here comes the sister of the king. 
 
 Enter SALOME. 
 
 Sal. Slaves, where s the prisoner ? 
 
 1st Guard. There, madam. 
 
 Sal. Ah ! 
 
 Good-morrow, madam. I do trust your queenship 
 Is in all things provided for ? Not so ? 
 What ! sulky ? Fie ! fie ! fie ! knit not thy brows. 
 I fear thou hast a temper, gentle queen. 
 A queen should not indulge in mortal passions. 
 And, by the way, if any ill befall thee, 
 I know twill comfort thee to think thy sons, 
 Thy pretty sons, Prince Aristobulus, 
 The one who trod upon my robe, rememberest ? 
 And Alexander, he who less resembles 
 My husband Joseph, that into my charge 
 They will be given. Ha ! have I touched thee, harlot? 
 What ! No word yet ? Well, thy blood speaks for thee : 
 It ne er leaped readier to Herod s kisses 
 Than it doth to the words of Herod s sister. 
 Be honest, now : why didst thou lure my husband 
 From loyalty to me and to the king? 
 
 Twas madness. Ay, thou mightst have known I d trace it. 
 Come, now ; speak. Tell me. Didst thou truly love him, 
 Or was t mere wantonness ? Nay, do not die, 
 Of rage, before thy time, thy time s so near, 
 Ha ! ha ! so near, so near. Well, of thy sons 
 I ll promise thee one thing. 
 
 Mar. What? 
 
 Sal. Ah ! thou speakest !
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 333 
 
 Thou art not dumb, as I began to fear? 
 
 I ll promise thee one thing, but one, though. 
 
 Mar. Well, 
 
 What is it ? 
 
 Sal. Patience ! patience ! 
 
 Mar. What is it ? 
 
 Sal. I will not cuff them more than twice a day. 
 Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! Have care, have care, good girl ! 
 Thou lt die, if thou so giv st thy fury vent. 
 
 Mar. Joseph ! Joseph ! Joseph ! rise from thy grave 
 And blast this devil with thy festering horror ! 
 Leap to her arms all headless as thou art, 
 And venge my wrongs : I, Mariamne, summon thee, 
 Who was and am the Queen of Jewry ! 
 
 Sal. Fiend ! 
 
 Mar. [Breaking loose and seizing SALOME.] 
 O God ! Make me the tool to venge his murder ! 
 Off, cords ! Be brittle as all joy ! Off ! off ! 
 Ha ! wilt speak more of cuffing ? 
 
 Sal. Help, there ! ho ! 
 
 The queen is mad ! Help ! help ! The queen is mad ! 
 
 Mar. One other cry, and thou shalt stand straightway 
 Face unto face with thy wronged husband s ghost. 
 Ay, presently I mean to send thee to him, 
 No matter what thou doest. Dost thou hear me ? 
 First cry me pardon, though, pardon, dost hear? 
 And then to bloody Joseph ! 
 
 Sal. Hold thy hands ! 
 
 Thou rt choking me. 
 
 Mar. Presently, but not yet. 
 
 My pardon. 
 
 Sal. Thou art mad ! Well, pardon, pardon. 
 
 Now let me go. 
 
 Mar. [Stabbing her.] Ay, unto Joseph ! So ! 
 Know st thou this dagger? I return it to thee ! 
 
 Sal. [Swoon*.] Oh ! I am killed ! 
 
 Enter Guards. 
 
 1st Guard. Oh, heaven! what s this? 
 
 2d Guard. We will be put to death. 
 
 Mark how she bleeds. 
 
 1st Guard. Softly ! she is but wounded. 
 
 2d Guard. Did the queen do it ? 
 
 1st Guard. Ay, she must have. 
 
 2d Guard. Look ! 
 
 She s stiller, sir, than ever. 
 
 1st Guard. Well, I know not, 
 
 Mayhap the princess killed herself. 
 
 id Guard. Soft! soft! 
 
 VOL. XLIL- 25
 
 384 HEROD AND MARIA MNE. 
 
 She moves. She is not dead. Come on, sir ; come. 
 
 [Exeunt, bearing SALOME out. 
 Mar. [Staring at the blood left from SALOME S wound upon the 
 
 floor.] 
 
 Why, her blood s red, like any other woman s! 
 I had thought it would be black, black as her soul, 
 As Herod s. 
 
 Enter SARAMALLAS and SOHEMUS. 
 
 Sar. Look, friend, how she stares ! 
 
 Soh. In truth, 
 
 There s something here What ! blood ? Look, Saramallas ! 
 
 Sar. Tis blood, assuredly. Look to the queen : 
 She may have stabbed herself. 
 
 Soh. Would God she had ! 
 
 Sar. Ay, Sohemus, Amen with all my heart. 
 Was his command to kill her final ? 
 
 Soh. Final. 
 
 Sar. And must she die ? Is there no way ? not one ? 
 
 Soh. Thoa knowest well that I would die to save her. 
 
 Sar. And thou rt to take a napkin to the king 
 Dipped in her blood? 
 
 Soh. Oh, speak not of it, man ! 
 
 I love my mistress, and would kill ten Herods 
 Rather than look to see one single hair 
 Of her bright head disturbed. 
 
 Sar. Well, t must be done. 
 Your majesty, the Sanhedrim 
 
 Mar. I know, 
 
 I know, good Saramallas. Sohemus, 
 Good-morrow. It is well. I care not now. 
 She s dead : my sons are safe. Thou, Sohermis, 
 Protect them all that s in thy power from Cypros. 
 Yet I do not much fear her, now the power 
 That urged her is subdued. Good Sohemus, 
 Cypros without Salome is a hell 
 Without a devil. See they say their prayers, 
 And do not break the Sabbath with their games, 
 And letter-cutting on the lintels. Nay, 
 Thou wast a boy, and know how boys will do it, 
 Even the gentlest. Well, I m ready. Come. 
 
 Soh. Oh, mistress well beloved and always loving, 
 Thou knowest that I d rather suffer death 
 Ten thousand times than see thee even unhappy. 
 
 Mar. Yea, friend, even so. But once to suffer death 
 Is nevermore to suffer anything. 
 Therefore rejoice with me, whose not-long life 
 Hath been so full of pain, I would not purchase 
 Another day of life were t purchasable 
 For the mere asking. I will bear thy love
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 385 
 
 To Joseph. Nay, no tears, good Sohemus. 
 
 Mine eyes are dry as are these breasts of mine, 
 
 Which once did nourish princes. Cease, I pray thee. 
 
 I ll walk alone, a queen unto the last. [Exit. 
 
 SCENE V. Enter HEROD. 
 
 What ! she prepare a poison for me ! Oh, 
 
 Foul ! foul ! She, Mariarane ? she, my queen ? 
 
 Nay, she was Joseph s wanton, not my queen. 
 
 Was not that vile? But thus to seek my life, 
 
 That s viler. No, not that : to slay my honor, 
 
 That was more vile. And yet she might have known it, 
 
 That I would pardon her. But she must die, 
 
 She must die now. Die? Mariamne? Nay, 
 
 He who doth spill a drop of her rare blood 
 
 Shall kill his best-beloved for my pleasure 
 
 Upon a holiday ! What ! die? Her lips, 
 
 That I so oft have kissed, to rot i th tomb 
 
 Like any beggar s? What ! an end of all? 
 
 All our soft hours, our million-pleasured years, 
 
 Even our quarrelling ? And yet, and yet, 
 
 She plotted for my death. Soft! is that sure? 
 
 Soft, soft, Salome ! But I saw him die 
 
 Die, with these very eyes. Oh, God ! I care not : 
 
 One kiss would make a thousand deaths seem easy, 
 
 And there s no poison like to fruitless yearning ! 
 
 I care not what she purposed, I ll forgive her, 
 
 I -will forgive her, and be writ forever 
 
 Herod the happy fool of Mariamne ! 
 
 Ay, ay, a happy fool is wise in all things 
 
 Above the sourest knowledge-wrinkled seer 
 
 That scoffs at him ! Yes, yes, I will forgive her, 
 
 And teach her not to hate me. [Enter SOHEMUS.] 
 
 Ay, sir, thou, 
 
 Thou art the very man I seek. Good Sohemus, 
 Attend. I did speak rashly to thee, friend, 
 Some moments past. 
 
 Soh. Rashly, my lord ? 
 
 Her. Ay, Sohemus. 
 
 There is a burning here doth sometimes urge me 
 To violence whose half I do not mean. 
 I gave thee orders which I would retract, 
 I would retract. 
 
 Soh. For God s sake, Herod, speak ! 
 
 Her. Why, what s the matter ? Here, sir ! wouldst thou. 
 
 swoon ? 
 
 What is the matter ? I would have the queen 
 Set free again. Dost hear? 
 
 Soh. The queen is free.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMSE. 
 
 Ay, Herod, she hath soared beyond thy reach 
 Forever. Here s the kerchief thou commanded st 
 That I should dip in her warm blood. 
 
 Her. Thou liest ! 
 
 What ! dost thou dare to show me that vile rag 
 And say tis stained with Mariamne s blood ? 
 
 Soh. Ay, Herod : I have but obeyed thy order. 
 
 Her. Dog, thou dost lie ! Who put thee to this trick? 
 Where is Salome? She hath hired thee to it. 
 Speak, sir ! Where is she ? 
 
 Soh. Wounded unto death. 
 
 The poor queen, frenzied by her coward taunts, 
 Did burst her bonds and stab her nigh to death. 
 
 Her. The poor queen ? What poor queen ? What dost thou 
 
 hint? 
 
 Dost dare speak thus of Mariamne? Go ! 
 Bid her unto me. Bid her here, I say. 
 Away ! 
 
 Soh. Nay, Herod, be convinced. Thy queen 
 No longer lives : that blood is hers indeed, 
 And I the most unhappy man on earth ! 
 
 Her. Dost thou dare say thou art, when Herod s here? 
 Thou most unhappy? Thou? O dog, dog, dog ! 
 Would thou hadst twenty lives, that I might take them 
 Each in a different way ! She s dead, thou say st? 
 And that s her blood ? Back to her with this message : 
 " My chief fault was obedience ; and Herod, 
 Being a madman, killed me for obeying." 
 
 [Runs SOH EMUS through with his sword. 
 
 Soh. I m glad to go to her. Thou hast done well. [Dies. 
 
 Her. That Mariamne s blood? Oh, God ! let redness 
 Possess the earth, the heavens forswear their blue, 
 The sea its green ! ay, let the very stars 
 Put on her color, and burn bloodily 
 To do her honor ! I will build a pyramid 
 Unto her memory, and its littlest stone 
 Shall twice outsize Cheops entirety ; 
 While for a mortar I will mix the dust 
 Of emperors dead with blood of living kings ! 
 To work ! to work ! for earth s foundation-stone 
 Must be the first in the tremendous pile ! [Exit madly. 
 
 Enter two or three attendants, running. 
 
 1st Att. Was t not the king? 
 
 2d Att. I m sure I heard him. 
 
 3d Att. Ay, 
 
 And so am I ; but he s not here. Look there ! 
 Is t not Lord Sohemus ? 
 
 1st Att. Ay,- dead, I think.
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 387 
 
 2d Alt. Alas ! alas ! He had the kindest heart 
 In all of Jewry. 
 
 1st Att. So he had ; and heaven 
 
 Now hath his soul. Let s bear him hence. Come on. 
 
 [Exeunt, bearing the body of SOHEMUS. 
 
 SCENE VI. Another part of the palace. 
 Enter HEROD and ALEXANDER. 
 
 Her. Boy, where s thy mother ? Where s thy mother, boy ? 
 Speak, boy : I will not hurt thee. Look, I m gentle, 
 I am not angry. Look, I ll throw my sword 
 After my crown. Thou seest I recollect it, 
 Thy insolent waggery, ha ! ha ! and yet am gentle. 
 Thou seest? Come, then, my pretty prince. Look here: 
 This ring for thee. Now tell me, where s thy mother ? 
 
 Alex. In heaven, where thou lt never be, vile king. 
 Call me no more sweet names; for I do hate thee! 
 Hate thee ! hate thee ! 
 
 Her. What s that, thou devil ? Ha ! 
 
 She taught thee that. 
 
 Alex. She never taught me anything 
 
 But what was good ; nor could I teach myself 
 A better way of honoring her memory 
 Than by abhorring thee ! 
 
 Her." Devil! 
 
 Alex. I tell thee, 
 
 Thou lt be thrice damned, if after killing her 
 Thou seek st to kill her honor ! Slay me ! do ! 
 I m not afraid. Thou st thrown away thy sword ; 
 Then take thy hands. I ask no more, by heaven, 
 Than to be sent to her ! Oh, mother ! mother ! 
 
 Her. Where is she, then ? Where is she? Tell me that, 
 And thou shalt go to her. Don t weep ; don t weep. 
 Look, I am sorry if I called thee devil. 
 Look, for thou lt see what no man saw ere this, 
 Herod a pardon-beggar. Look, I m sorry. 
 
 Alex. Go beg of God ; for I have naught to give thee 
 Save only hate. [Exit. 
 
 Her. Now know I thou rt his son ! 
 
 No ! no ! no ! no ! I did not mean it ! Oh, 
 Return, return, my son, my Alexander, 
 My son and hers ! Or if that thou dost hate me, 
 Be a dear hypocrite, and feign to love me ! 
 What s that, though ? Soft ! if one may feign to love, 
 May not one feign to hate? Might she not so? 
 She doth not hate me : no, she hath but feigned it, 
 This hatred, that I may her love more value 
 When she confesses it. Without, there ! ho !
 
 388 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 
 
 Enter Attendants. 
 
 Sirs, bid the queen at once attend me. Quick ! 
 
 Why do ye stand there as though death had gripped ye ? 
 
 Summon the queen at once ! 
 
 Alt. What queen, my lord ? 
 
 Her. What queen, dog? Wilt thou give me back my words? 
 What queen ? Know that there is one only queen 
 In Herod s catalogue. Call Mariamne, 
 The Queen of Jewry ; bid her come to me 
 Here o the instant. Oh, away with ye ! 
 
 [Exeunt Attendants. 
 
 Now shall all nights to this night be as leaves 
 From Wisdom s tree, unto its golden fruit, 
 As sparks to stars, as stars unto God s crown ! 
 Let some new God be born to conquer heaven, 
 Dethrone Jehovah, and create new worlds 
 For that prince who shall some day live as proof 
 Of this night s wonder. Mariamne, come ! 
 I ll shake the stars from out their blackened sockets 
 To light our bridal bed ; the choir of heaven 
 Shall chant us to our sleep ; and for thy coverlet 
 Thou shalt the mantle of God s glory. Shout, 
 Ye tempest-riding spirits ; earth, give voice ; 
 Resound, ye forests, like to harps; let ocean 
 Her cymbal-clashing waves send unto heaven 
 And sweep down echo from the halls of Zeus ! 
 Yea, let hell on the forehead of this night 
 Be bound as torch to light our ecstasy ! 
 
 He-enter Attendants. 
 
 So, sirs ! Where is the queen ? 
 
 Alt. Thou must know, sire 
 
 Her. Must know ? Is that an answer for thy king ? 
 Call me Queen Mariamne from the dooES. 
 Call her, I say. 
 
 Att. Oh, sire, the queen is dead. 
 
 She w ? as beheaded full an hour ago. 
 
 Her. Damned be thy lying tongue ! Away ! away ! 
 Or I will go myself to summon her ! [Exit Attendants^ 
 Beheaded ? Mariamne ? There was blood, 
 Ay, there was blood, but there s no sign in that. 
 A lamb s blood might stand proxy for a queen s, 
 And no one know the difference. Dead ? Dead ? 
 Were God to say it, I d cry God a liar 1 ! 
 Stay ! something comes to me, something comes back. 
 
 I did commission Sohemus The napkin 
 
 Oh, God ! it was her blood, and she is dead ! 
 O Mariamne, Mariamne, Mariamne ! 
 What am I who have slain thee? Lucifer
 
 HEROD AND MARIAMNE. 389 
 
 Is holy unto Herod, for in truth 
 
 He was sin s victim, I the king of vice ! 
 
 Beheaded ? God ! was there no other way 
 
 But death must roll that proud head on the ground 
 
 As children roll a ball ? What ! do I live, 
 
 And Mariamne dead ? What ! am I Herod, 
 
 And Mariamne slain at my command ? 
 
 That Herod whom men call the Great ? Just God ! 
 
 Herod the Great ? Ay ! Herod the great in sin ! 
 
 [Falls forward on his face. 
 
 Amelie Rives. 
 
 THE END.
 
 390 A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT MISS RIVES. 
 
 A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT MISS RIVES. 
 
 IX literature, as in life, the candor of innocence is sometimes mistaken 
 for that of intentional impurity. But our deception with regard 
 to it is apt to be very short-lived, and is usually resultant from our 
 own blunt or languid vision. I confess that a second reading of Miss 
 Rives s remarkable story " The Quick or the Dead ?" has made it evi 
 dent to me just where the cause of the whole misunderstanding has 
 lain ; for there seems to be no doubt that in this work she has offended 
 the tastes of readers whom her " Farrier Lass o Piping Pebworth" 
 and other tales of a like beauty and freshness had forcibly charmed. 
 Miss Rives has steeped a love-story in realism, acted on by some 
 peculiar force of her time, without stopping to consider what dangers, 
 with a writer of her strongly romantic trend, must surround any such 
 literary exploit, unless a good deal of discriminative caution be made to 
 accompany it. But caution of this kind does not usually consort with 
 authors of youth and inexperience. Had Miss Rives been commencing 
 her career as a novelist about a half-century ago, she would have 
 painted the episodes between Barbara and her lover in hues that no one 
 would have found too glaring. But being inevitably a child of the 
 period, she has told a modern story in the modern manner. Now, as 
 it chanced, she had an extremely difficult story for a young writer to 
 tell. It was one which George Sand would have delighted to deal with 
 in French ; it involved the question as to just how far human love is a 
 physical magnetism and just how far it is an attraction of that finer 
 and subtler sort which even materialists, for want of a better descriptive 
 term, must call " spiritual." This whole donne is one of surpassing 
 dramatic interest, and w r orthy to be treated by the greatest writers of 
 fiction. Still, the appeal is constantly being made to Barbara through 
 those fleshly qualities possessed by the man who so marvellously re 
 sembles her adored dead husband. Early in the work it is said of the 
 heroine, on her first meeting with this extraordinary counterfeit present 
 ment, " She began to think that she was in a dream, the figure, the 
 step, the pose, were so identically her husband s ; but the greatest shock 
 of all was when he spoke." In the very next line we learn that when 
 he did speak "the voice was Val s voice." This living likeness of 
 Barbara s husband is his cousin, and claims promptly a cousin s inti 
 mate privileges. They two are incessantly alone together in a great 
 old Virginian homestead. He is filled with youthful vigor and fire, 
 and almost hourly finds himself growing more and more in love with 
 his kinsman s widow. She is a woman whose temperament has an al 
 most tropical ardor, and whom we can imagine performing scarcely a 
 single act in life without giving it the florid hues of her own rather 
 theatric personality. Miss Rives means her for a very emotional being, 
 and so she is ; but her mentality is limited in an unfortunate degree, 
 considering the numerous tempting opportunities with which she is 
 presented by her creator for behaving in a silly fashion, and which she / 
 constantly embraces. J
 
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