JUDITH^BETHULIA BY-ALDRICH TH UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA LIBRARY CASE * A- ^^l Q . C&omas 33atlep WORKS. Riverside Edition. With two Portraits. POETICAL WORKS, 2 vols., $3.00. PROSE WORKS, 6 vols., $9.00. The set, 8 vols., i2mo, $12.00. I., II. POEMS. III. MARJORIE DAW AND OTHER STORIES. IV. PRUDENCE PALFREY, AND A RIVERMOUTH ROMANCE. V. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, AND OTHER STORIES. VI. THE STILLWATER TRAGEDY. VII. THE STORY OF A BAD BOY, AND THE LITTLE VIOLINIST, WITH OTHER SKETCHES. VIII. FROM PONKAPOG TO PESTH, AND AN OLD TOWN BY THE SEA. JUDITH OF BETHUUA. With portrait of Miss Nance O'Neil in the part of Judith. Crown 8vo, gilt top, Ji.oo, net. Postage extra. PONKAPOG PAPERS. Narrow i2mo, $uao*et. Post- age 7 cents. A SEA TURN AND OTHER MATTERS. Short Stories, lamo, $1.25. POEMS. Household Edition. With Portrait and Illus- trations. Crown 8vo, $1.50. For the numerous single-volume editions of Mr. A I" dricWs writings^ see Catalogue. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK. JUDITH OF BETHULIA JUDITH OF BETHULIA A TRAGEDY BY THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 1904 COPYRIGHT 1904 BY THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published November 7904 THIS play written for Miss Nance O'Neil and produced at the Tremont Theatre, Boston, October 13, 1904 .is in part a dramatization of the au- thor's narrative poem "Judith and Holofernes." Though it contains lines and passages from the story, the drama is essentially a distinct work, dealing with characters, incidents, and situa- tions not to be found in the poem or in the apocryphal episode upon which both pieces were based. November, 1904. 39713'J CHARACTERS HOLOFERNES, Chief-captain of the Assyrians ACHIOR, The Ammonite, lately fled from Holof ernes and in love with Judith BAGOAS, Captive and slave to Holof ernes OZIAS, -v CHARMIS, \ Patriarchs of the beleaguered town CHABRIS, j JOACHIM, Two Scholars NATHAN, ABNER, 1 \ Captains of the Watch HADAD, ) ELIKA, ) > Spearmen LAMECH, J FIRST CAPTAIN SECOND CAPTAIN THIRD CAPTAIN of Holof ernes' Army FOURTH CAPTAIN FIFTH CAPTAIN AN ARCHER JUDITH, A rich widow of Bethulia MARAH, Handmaid and companion to Judith NAOMI, A woman of the people Dancing-girls, musicians, Assyrian lords, and soldiers of both armies. ACT I JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I SCENE I. A street in Bethulia. Time : close upon day- break. It is still very dark. Enter Ozias, Charmis, and Chabris with Abner and Hadad, captains of the guard, preceded by several night-watchmen carrying lighted lanterns slung on long staffs. The light- bearers, on halting, form in a half circle behind the speakers. OZIAS HERE let us pause a moment and take breath. (To Abner) What is the hour ? ABNER 'T is close upon the dawn. CHARMIS At dawn it was we were to hear their prayer. OZIAS Their orders, rather. We no longer rule. H. : OF BETHULIA ACT i CHABRIS Hunger and thirst and fever rule us now. The people threaten to break down the gates Unless within the limit of five days We somehow get them bread and meat and drink, Or come to terms with the Assyrians. CHARMIS That means surrender. CHABRIS And surrender means OZIAS Slaughter, since Holofernes seldom spares Woman or child. Scant mercy will he show To us who for a month have blocked his march Through the hill-passes. CHARMIS Can the town be held Much longer? OZIAS No. Starvation faces us, Draws each day nearer. We have still some grain, SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 5 And just outside the Eastern Gate a spring The foe have not discovered. HADAD Pardon, lord. This night they crept up to the outer wall And dammed the water-course. OZIAS, angrily Where were our guards, To let that happen ? HADAD Thrice their number came And fell upon them in the dead of night. The bodies of our comrades choke the stream. CHABRIS Each moment brings some new calamity ! CHARMIS Aye ; it is whispered that the pest is here. At set of sun two women and a child Were taken with strange sickness on the street. CHABRIS Perchance they drank of some infected well. 6 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I CHARMIS Enoch the leech, most wise in that disease, Named it the plague. OZIAS Alas, that this should be ! (To Hadad) What other stroke has fortune dealt to us By stealth ? HADAD Nought else. The foe have made no move Save that I told thee of. OZIAS Unwatchful eyes, Methinks, are those we trust to guard our sleep ! ABNER Few are the eyes that have not watched this night. Even the widow Judith hath stood guard, Since dusk, upon the Tower. CHARMIS What brings her there ? ABNER I know not. Achior the Ammonite, Who has not quit the courtyard since she came, SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 7 Told me, in passing, that late yestere'en He saw her hasten through the court and climb The mouldy stairway, at whose foot he waits To shield her from mischance when she descends. Rude folk, and wanton, wander in the dark. CHABRIS Strange she should spend the night upon the Tower ! OZIAS Doubtless she sought the quiet of the place There in the starlight to commune with God. Standing in silence on some lofty height I have myself felt nearer unto Him. A holy woman, dead Manasseh's wife. Her feet are swift to mercy. Through the siege Her touch has soothed the dying, and her voice In the dull ear of sorrow whispered hope. An angel of sweet mercy has she been ! CHARMIS Yet till we fell upon this evil time She held herself aloof in her own house, Leading a life of penances and prayers. If she went forth, 't was with a widow's veil 8 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I That muffled up her beauty from the gaze. Comely and fair is she to look upon ! OZIAS Her beauty goes unhidden. She is seen In every dingy by-way of the town Where grief or pain has builded its abode. No hovel is so loathsome but the earth Before the door-sill bears her sandal-print. ABNER A saint among the poor ! The common folk Look on her as a kind of prophetess, Like Deborah. CHABRIS I would that she might find Another Jael ! But such women now Walk not the earth. OZIAS Who knows ? In every age Have mighty spirits dwelt unseen with man, Biding the hour that needed them. The stage lightens a little CHARMIS Behold, The dawn creeps on apace. T is well we stir. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 9 What answer shall we give the desperate folk Who bid us meet them in the council-hall With some device to ease their misery ? What can we do that has been left undone ? CHABRIS Such food as is, the fighting man must have, Though wife and children starve an old, old tale ! OZIAS To yield the city is to seal our doom At once. The people grant us five days' grace. In this brief respite what may chance, God knows. CHABRIS Then at the end we open wide our gates To Holofernes and his hungry swords ! OZIAS, lifting up his hands Unless God help us. ( Turns to Abner) We can find our way Without the lanterns. Get thee now to bed, Thou and thy men, who long have been a-foot. The peace of God rest on thee and thy house ! The two officers salute the Patriarchs and go out, fol- lowed by the light-bearers extinguishing their lan- terns. io JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I Our path leads by the Tower ; I fain would speak With Judith, if she be not gone from there. That woman's name, pronounced just now by chance, Sent a quick thrill of lightness to my heart, An exultation, wherefore I know not, And something whispered me : "Go talk with her ! " CHARMIS She must have gone by this. OZIAS 'T is but a step, And we shall know. Meanwhile the certainty That she awaits us yonder in the court Hath such possession of me I can see The woman standing there, beneath the arch, With parted lips as if to speak to us ! CHABRIS Go first, Ozias ; we will follow thee. Dark stage and change of scene SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA n SCENE II. Early dawn. A spacious courtyard closed in at the rear by the city-wall. Antiquated archi- tecture. Groups of squalid figures of men, women, and children dimly seen lying asleep here and there in the background. A dilapidated archway spans the left-hand upper entrance. A short flight of stone steps on the right leads to the door of a round tower forming part of the fortifications. Achior, in helmet and breastplate, is discovered standing near the foot of the steps in an attitude of expectancy. Presently he paces to and fro, glancing from time to time up at the tower with an anxious expression. A distant peal of trumpets is heard. The purple gradually lightens behind the battlements. As the scene progresses, citizens of wretched aspect cross the back of the stage, and at intervals a wounded soldier is borne by on a litter. The effect to be produced is that of a crowded town in a state of siege. ACHIOR, halting in front of the tower All this long night upon the battlements Has Judith kept her vigil, and I here, Low at her feet, where I would ever be Merari's daughter, dead Manasseh's wife, 12 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I Who, since the barley harvest when he died, Has dwelt three years* a widow in her house And looked on no man : where Manasseh sleeps In his strait sepulchre, there sleeps her heart. She will not give me pleasure of her eyes Nor any word of comfort. (Pauses) There she stands, Fairer than morning in Arabia, Her beauty blending with the light of dawn On yonder tower. Now she turns, and now, Like one that wanders in a dream, descends. At last ! Achior withdraws a little. Judith appears in the door- way of the tower JUDITH, descending the steps The Lord be with thee, Achior, all thy days ! May peace and grace walk ever at thy side. ACHIOR Daughter of heaven, would He but grant thy prayer, I should not be the lonely man I am. May I a word with thee ? SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 13 JUDITH, brushing past him Indeed not now. Nay, stop me not, for I have haste to speak Of weighty matters with the Patriarchs, Who come this way as if God sent them to me ! ACHIOR, aside, impatiently So ends my waiting ! Never have I chance To be alone with her but some ill thing Steps in between us ! Then some other hour, Fair Judith ? JUDITH, preoccupied Yes, some other hour than this. Enter Ozias, Chabris, and Charmis. * CHARMIS, aside to Chabris Lo ! she is here. 'T is as Ozias said. She seems like one foreknowing we would come. Judith approaches the Patriarchs with her hands crossed upon her bosom, and makes low obeisance. Achior retires up the stage, and during the ensu- ing dialogue watches the speakers with deep interest. OZIAS, pausing and gazing Intently at Judith I marvel much that in this stricken town 14 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I Is one face left not pinched with fear, nor wan With grief's acquaintance. Such is Judith's face. CHARMIS That woman walketh in the light of God. JUDITH Would it were so ! If so, I know it not j Yet this I know, that where faith is, is light. Oh, is it true, Ozias, thou hast mind To yield the city to the infidels After five days, unless the Lord shall stoop From heaven to help us ? OZIAS, with a despairing gesture It is even so. The enemy have failed to batter down Our gates of bronze, or decent entrance make With beam or catapult in these tough walls, Or with their lighted arrows fire the roofs. Thus far our strength has baffled them ; but lo ! The wells run dry, the store of barley shrinks. Our young men faint upon the battlements, Our wives and children by the empty tanks Lie down and perish. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 15 JUDITH If we doubt, we die. But whoso trusts in God, as Isaac did, Though suffering greatly even to the end, Dwells in a citadel upon a rock : Wave shall not reach it, nor fire topple down. OZIAS Our young men die upon the battlements, And day by day beside the dusty wells Our wives and children. JUDITH They shall go and drink At living streams, through heavenly pastures walk With Saints and Prophets in eternal life ! Is there no God ? OZIAS One only, one true God. But now His face is turned aside from us, He sees not Israel. JUDITH Is His mercy less Than that of Holof ernes ? Shall we trust In this fierce Bull of Asshur ? 16 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I CHABRIS, -with an air of ending the discussion All is said ! The foe has hemmed us in on every side, The plague is come, and famine walks the streets. For five days more we place our trust in God. JUDITH, turning upon him sharply Ah, His time is not man's time, learned scribe ! And who are we the dust beneath His feet To name the hour of our deliverance, Saying to Him : Thus shalt Thou do, and so ! Ozias, thou to whom the heart of man Is as a scroll illegible, dost thou Pretend to read the mystery of God ? CHARMIS The woman sayeth wisely. We are wrong That in our anguish broke the staff of faith Whereon we leaned till now. These aged eyes Have lost their use if I see not in her A God's white Angel bearing messages. OZIAS She seems like one inspired mark her brow, The radiance of it ! Thus some Sibyl looks, SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 17 In trance, delivering her oracles. When such lips speak, 't is to the souls of men. Speak thou, we hear. What is it thou wouldst have ? JUDITH I cannot answer thee, nor make it plain In mine own thought. This night I had a dream Not born of sleep, for both my eyes were wide, My sense alive a vision, if thou wilt, Of which the scattered fragments in my mind Are as the fragments of a crystal vase That, slipping from a slave-girl's careless hand, Falls on the marble. No most cunning skill Shall join the pieces and make whole the vase. So with my vision. I seem still to hear Weird voices round me, inarticulate, Words shaped and uttered by invisible lips. At whiles there seems a palm prest close to mine That fain would lead me somewhere. I know not What all portends. Some great event is near. Last night celestial spirits were on wing Over the city. As I sat alone Within the tower, alone yet not alone, i8 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I A strangest silence fell upon the land ; Like to a sea-mist stretching east and west It spread, and close on this there came a sound Of snow-soft plumage rustling in the dark, And voices that such magic whisperings made As the sea makes at twilight on a strip Of sand and pebble. Suddenly I saw Look, look, Ozias ! Charmis, Chabris, look ! See ye not, yonder, a white mailed hand That with its levelled finger points through air ? See, it still lingers, like a silver mist ! It changes, fades, and then comes back again, And now 't is ruby-red as red as blood ! Judith shades her eyes with one palm as if the bright- ness dazzled. The Patriarchs, stricken with awe by Judith's words and manner, follow the direction of her gaze, but evidently see nothing. They look at one another wonderingly. Then Judith, after a pause : 'T is gone ! Fear not ; it was a sign to me, To me alone. Ozias, didst thou note The way it pointed ? to the Eastern Gate ! Send the guard orders not to stay me there. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 19 Oh, question not ! The omen I obey. I must go hence. Before the shadow slants Upon the courtyard thrice I shall 'return, Else shall men's eyes not look upon me more. What darkness lies between this hour and that Tongue may not say. The thing I can, I will, Leaning on God, remembering what befell Jacob in Syria when he fed the flocks Of Laban, and how Isaac in his day, And Abraham, were chastened by the Lord. OZIAS This passes understanding. We would more Of thy design, for thou art dear to us. JUDITH Wait thou in patience. Till I come, keep thou The sanctuaries. Swear to keep them swear The Patriarchs draw a little apart and appear to con- sult together for a moment. OZIAS, stepping from the group Although thy speech is fraught with mystery, There lives conviction in it, and we swear To hold the town, and if we hold it not, 20 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I Then shalt thou find us in the synagogue Dead near the Sacred Ark ; the spearmen dead At the four gates ; upon the parapets The archers bleaching. JUDITH . Be it so, my lords f Yet be it not so ! Shield me with thy prayers ! Judith bows down before the Patriarchs ; they lift their hands in benediction above her head, and then slowly move away. ACHIOR, advancing swiftly down the stage Daughter of heaven ! what mad thing is this ? Of thy dark commerce with these aged men Something I caught, but nothing definite. To some most perilous action on thy part They seemingly consented. Tell me all ! JUDITH Time and the place prevent me j and in truth, Whereof we spoke concerns thee not to know. Such scanty knowledge as thou hast of it Keep locked within thy memory for a while. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 21 ACHIOR Thou hast some wild and dangerous intent That chills my blood. Can I not counsel thee ? What evil dream at midnight in the tower Has stolen thy reason ? Whither wouldst thou go ? JUDITH, hesitating a moment Didst see that finger pointing to yon camp ? ACHIOR I saw it not, nor thou ! JUDITH Thither I go. ACHIOR That thou shalt not ! JUDITH, haughtily Thou sayest ? ACHIOR, grasping her -wrist Thou shalt not ! O Judith, listen ! Rough I am in words That would be gentle. What thy purpose is Lies hidden from me. I see only this, In yonder camp, among those barbarous hordes, Swift death awaits thee, or some darker fate. 22 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I JUDITH That must I venture. Other will than mine Ordains the trial. O Achior, free my wrist ! Dear friend, brave soldier ! Naught shall bar my way. ACHIOR, releasing her Judith, let love bar it ! Since the hour, Now two years gone, when first I looked on thee, No thought of mine by day or dream by night Has been without thy image. JUDITH, recoiling Say it not ! ACHIOR Can I behold thee go to shameful death, And speak no word ? My fear has made me bold. Judith, I love thee. The dull sward that knows Thy foot's light touch is hallowed ground to me. 1 would not have the blossom from a bough To fall upon thee rudely. JUDITH,/*ra/j>>, and then -with sudden gentleness Peace, I say ! Dear soul, my heart lies buried in a grave, I have no love to give thee. Elsewhere seek SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 23 Some Jewish maiden worthy of thy worth. I am thine elder both in time and grief. No more of this. In kindness, pain me not. ACHIOR Then is my life a maimed and worthless thing. Yet this is left me. If thou still art bent On thy mysterious errand to yon camp, I '11 go with thee. In other days I served Prince Holofernes, from whose wrath I fled To dwell, a wanderer, in alien tents, And since have set my breast against his spears. I know him well. 'T would fit his darksome mind To lay a hand on me. Together, then ! JUDITH The Patriarchs shall forbid it ! /forbid ! Our path divides here, and so fare-thee-well ! Too long have I been spendthrift of my time. I must prepare me for the journey hence. (Abstractedly) I shall go richly decked, pearls in my hair And diamonds on my bosom. My handmaid Shall even drape me in the rustling silk 24 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT I That in a chest of camphor-wood has lain Unworn since I was wed the proud silk robe, Heavy with vine-work, silvery flower and star, And looped at either shoulder with a gem To ransom princes. (Suddenly conscious of Achior) What, still art thou here ? Thou hast thy answer. Trouble me no more ! ACHIOR Thou art gone mad ! The grievous sights and sounds Of this beleaguered town have turned thy brain And bred in it some desperate resolve. Whatever chances, I must follow thee. I '11 to the Patriarchs and get their leave With or without it, thine shall be my doom. JUDITH Thou hast no part in it. God calls His own, And I am His and Israel's ! I go To free my people, and, if needs must be, Gladly to pay the forfeit with my life. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 25 There lie the pith and sum of my intent. Stand back and give me passage, Achior ! Judith brushes him aside and makes a swift exit through the archway at the rear of the stage. Daybreak. CURTAIN ACT II ACT II SCENE I. The Eastern Gate. A stretch of the an- cient city-wall. In the centre of the masonry is a wide gateway before which stand several soldiers. Two spearmen, Lamech and Elika, with levelled lances are keeping back, right and left, a surging mob of men, women, and children. Here and there is a woman carrying an inverted water-jar. Nathan and two or three other respectably dressed citizens are seen in the throng. Murmurs and gesticulations. Voices in the crowd cry : " Drink ! give us drink ! " The rabble momently increases. Time : forenoon. LAMECH FALL back, good folk ! Last night the enemy Poisoned the spring outside the city wall. It is forbidden to draw water now. No soul may pass here. Back, poor creatures, back ! VOICES Drink ! give us drink ! we die of thirst of thirst ! AN OLD MAN, leaning on a staff Oh, are we not Thy children who of old, 30 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II Trod the Chaldean idols in the dust, And built our altars only unto Thee ? VOICES Bread ! we are starving. Bread, or we must die ! A WOMAN Just one poor wheaten loaf since yesterday For three of us ! In mercy's name, a crust ! My little Ruth is dying ! LAMECH Woman, peace ! 'T is better so. I saw our Rachel die, Our last born ewe lamb, and I shed no tear, Knowing that hunger could not grieve her more. So weep not thou. ELIKA My bosom aches for thee, Beneath this breastplate. VOICES Water ! water ! bread ! NATHAN, apart With fire and sword and famine, evil days Have fallen upon us ! What is happening ? SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 31 A perceptible new commotion in the crowd, then a sud- den hush as Joachim enters in haste. JOACHIM, excitedly Two minutes since, as I was pondering The famished folk that haunt the market-place, Where one had fallen, smitten with the pest, A woman swept me by if 't was indeed A woman, not an angel in a blaze Of gems and snowy raiment. Such a shape Comes to men's dreams. Along the crowded streets Thin, pleading hands reached out to touch her hem, Rude archers doffed their head-gear as she passed, And all the people stood amazed, as though 'T was some seraphic creature sent of God To save us in our misery. Behold, The shining apparition moves this way ! The crowd silently huddle together on one side of the stage and gaze wonderingly in the direction indicated by Joachim. VOICES A miracle ! a miracle ! NATHAN, shading his eyes and looking off Not SO ! 32 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT 11 And yet a wonder ! dead Manasseh's wife, Not in her mournful widow's-weeds, but decked As for a banquet ! I remember her In those same bridal garments as she stood Before the High Priest in the synagogue One happier day than this ! What may it mean ? Surely she would not mock us with her state. JOACHIM I knew her not in that unwonted guise. Enter Judith partly veiled, a crowd following. She is richly dressed, with jewels in her hair and at the throat. A mantle falling from one shoulder exposes the splendor of her attire. Close behind follows Marah, the handmaid, carrying an osier basket. A woman holds up a child to Judith, who bends down and caresses it. JUDITH My heart bleeds for thee, thou most sorrowful ! From brow and bosom I would tear these jewels Couldst thou but eat them, or were food to buy. I give thee silver, though 't is mockery ; A dozen grains of barley were more worth. Judith hurriedly hands the woman several pieces of SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 33 silver from a pouch. As she falls back into the crowd, a woman clutches Judith by the skirt. Unloose thy fingers and delay me not ! i I go to Holofernes, and perchance By prayer and supplication I shall win His princely mercy for this stricken town And all the wretched folk within its walls. Nay, loose thy hold, each moment hath its price ! Judith wrests herself from the woman's grasp, arranges the veil over her face, and approaches the two spear- men at the gate, who stop her with their crossed lances held breast-high. LAMECH None may pass forth without the captain's seal. JUDITH, drawing a parchment from her girdle That have I here. Already thou hast word To speed me and my handmaid. I am she The parchment tells of. (Looking closely at one of the spearmen -while the other examines the scroll} Thou I knew thee once, Elika, son of Jorim, aforetime My husband's herdsman a brave soldier now. 34 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II Thy gentle sister and thy mother, friend, How fares it with them ? ELIKA She that clutched thy gown, That was my mother. Reason fled from her When Leah died. JUDITH, wringing her hands And that was Naomi, And I repulsed her ! Whither has she gone ? Judith turns passionately to the crowd, which opens and shows Naomi standing in the background with a blank expression on her countenance. Judith takes her tenderly by the hand and leads her forward. Dost thou not know me ? It was in thine arms I lay and slept the hour that I was born. Dear nurse, look on me. It is even I, " Judith the wilful " thou didst call me so. NAOMI Ay, it is Judith, a grown maiden now, The pearl of maidens. 'T is thy wedding day, And my sweet Leah has gone, I know not where Somewhere hard by to gather snow-white flowers To deck thee. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 35 JUDITH Oh, she stabs me to the heart With her unreason ! ELIKA Ever thus she talks, Unmindful, wandering from place to place In search of Leah. She seems to know thee now, But presently her mind will be a blur. See how she stares at thee ! NAOMI, gazing vaguely at Judith And who art thou To stay me in the street here ? Dost thou bring Tidings of Leah ? Has she told thee all How we two lay at midnight parched with thirst, And would not touch the water in the jar (Scarcely a gill there was !), but each to each Smiled, and said : "Drink thou !" Then I fell asleep, And just at dawn, I being in a drowse, She brought the jar and set it to my lip, And I, unwitting, drained the precious drops That might have saved her ! When the morning came 36 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT n She spoke no more, but lay there white and cold. Was that the tale she told thee ? Oh, 't was true ! JUDITH If this be not a dream, her heart is broken ! NAOMI Listen behind the wainscot I have hid A cup of sweet rain-water. I would die A thousand deaths ere I would taste of it ! Let her come back to me, my best beloved ! JUDITH This is too piteous ! Some one take her hence. (Discovering Nathan in the crowd}) Ah thou, good Nathan ; lead her to my house And bid my people there to care for her Till I God willing shall come back again. Go with him, Naomi. Such balm as heals A wounded spirit send Thou to this one ! Judith places the hand of Naomi in that of Nathan, who leads her away. LAMECH, returning the scroll to Judith Manasseh's widow may God guard thee pass ! Attendant soldiers throw open the heavy gates. Lamech SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 37 and Elika range themselves on either side and salute Judith impressively as she passes out. JUDITH, over her shoulder Quick, Marah, follow me ! Dark stage and change of scene 38 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II SCENE II. The Camp of Asshur. An open space sur- rounded by cedar and olive trees. In the distant background are tents arranged in a semicircle under arching boughs. Part way down the stage on the left is a marquee with green hangings covering the en- trance. Under a fringed canopy in the middle fore- ground Holofernes is discovered lying upon a leop- ard skin, his head propped up on one hand. On each side of him are groups of Assyrian lords and captains. Spearmen and men-of-all-arms observed lounging at the wings. Bagoas stands a little dis- tance from his master. The soldiers in miscellaneous costumes, Holofernes' army being composed of con- scripts from a dozen different conquered nations. Time: noon. ; HOLOFERNES O lords and captains, we are put to shame. How does it happen that a little town, Stuck like a hornet's nest against a rock, Checks and defies such mighty hosts as ours ? Till now we swept in triumph through the land. As the pent whirlwind, breaking from its leash, SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 39 Seizes upon the yellow desert sands And hurls them in dark masses right and left, So have we scattered the great armies sent To stop our progress. All the nations saw Our might, and cowered. One by one they came And swore allegiance, grovelling at our feet The sons of Esau and the Moabites, The tribes that dwelt beside the salt-sea dunes, And those that builded on the mountain-tops. All, save these dogs of Hebrews, bent the knee. (An archer enters suddenly) What would that man ? His coming vexes me. THE ARCHER, kneeling O lord and prince, that should know all, know this : An hour ago a watchman on the height That overlooks the city saw two shapes From out the eastern gateway issue forth In quest of water, it was thought at first. But no, they paused not at the ruined well Piled up three-deep with those we slew last night. Straight on they pressed, and plunged into the wood That hides a hundred footpaths through the hills, 40 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II And there, as if by magic, disappeared. Swift runners were despatched to seek these two, But all in vain. HOLOFERNES Begone ! It matters not. I would two thousand issued from that gate And gave us chance to feed them with our swords. Fool of the gods, to fetch me such a tale ! \The Archer salaams and goes out crestfallen Let no one else break in on our discourse. Give me your wisdom, ye who lead my hosts. For a moon's length have we been held at bay By a mere handful in a crumbling town That blocks our passage through the narrow pass. This is the key unlocks a world beyond. Jerusalem should have fallen long ago And all the riches of Judea been ours. Some spell more potent than the Hebrew spears Must work behind them. Speak ; what shall be done? ( Waves his hand toward one of the lords') Say on, brave Captain of the Elymeans. What voice is thine ? SCENE ii JUDITH OF BETHULIA 41 IST CAPTAIN My voice is for assault. Better lie dead, each man upon his shield, Than waste here with no grass to feed the mares And scant meat left. Rust gathers on our swords. HOLOFERNES, turning to another chief And thou ? 2D CAPTAIN My lord, a soberer counsel mine. Wide is the moat and many are the spears, And stout the gates. Have we not flung our men Against the well-set edges of their swords ? Note how the ravens wheel in hungry files Above the trenches ; watch them as they rise Red-beaked and surfeited. Has it availed ? The city still defies us ; but within There 's that shall gnaw its heart out, if we wait ; For white-cheeked famine and red-spotted pest Are our allies. 30 CAPTAIN A judgment ! Let us wait. 4TH CAPTAIN, turning fiercely on the last two speakers Ye should have tarried on the river's bank 42 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II At home, and decked your hair with butterflies Like the King's harlots. Little use are ye ! 5TH CAPTAIN Nay, valiant Dara, they did well to come ; They have their uses. When our meat is gone We '11 even feed upon the tender flesh Of these tame girls, who, though they dress in steel, Like more the tremor of a cithern string Than the sharp whisper of an arrowhead. Tumult and angry mutterings among the captains; several of them lay hand on their sword-hilts, and threaten one another. The bowmen and spearmen at the wings make ready with their weapons. Holo- fernes springs to his feet arid glares menacingly at the chiefs. HOLOFERNES Hold ! Keep thy falchions for the enemy. Who draws a blade shall sheathe it in his breast ! The conclave ends. Later I speak my will. Judith, followed by Marah, enters from the rear of the stage, halts in terror halfway down, and then swiftly advances, looking about her to ascertain whom she shall address. Murmurs of surprise and admiration are heard on every side. Marah remains in the back- ground, holding the osier basket in her arms. SCENE ii JUDITH OF BETHULIA 43 HOLOFERNES, starting Who breaks upon our councils ? Silence, all ! Whence comest thou thy mission and thy name? JUDITH Judith of Bethulia I am called. HOLOFERNES, partly aside Methought the phantom of some murdered queen Had risen from the ground beneath my feet ! If these Samarian women are thus shaped, O my brave captains, let not one be slain ! What seekest thou within the hostile tents Of Asshur? JUDITH Holofernes. HOLOFERNES This is he. JUDITH, throwing herself at his feet Most mighty prince and master, if indeed Thou art that Holofernes whom I seek, And dread, in truth, to find, see at thy feet A hapless woman who in fear has flown From a doomed people. 44 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II HOLOFERNES If thy words are true, Thou shalt have shelter of our tents, and food, And meet observance, though our enemy. Touching thy people, they with tears of blood, And ashes on their heads, shall rue the hour They paid not tribute to our sovereign lord, The King at Nineveh. But thou shalt live. JUDITH, rising O gracious prince, I do beseech thee now Let those that listen stand awhile aloof, For I have that for thine especial ear Of import to thee. At a gesture from Holofernes the captains and men-at- arms retire, making different exits. Bagoas lingers. Judith with a quick look calls the attention of Holo- fernes to the circumstance. He motions to Bagoas to withdraw. My lord, if yet thou boldest in thy thought The words which Achior the Ammonite Once spoke to thee concerning Israel, Oh, treasure them, for in them was no guile. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 45 True is it, master, that our people kneel To an unseen but not an unknown God, And while we worship Him we cannot fall, Our tabernacles shall be unprofaned, Our spears invincible ; but if we sin, If we transgress the law by which we live, Our sanctuaries shall be desecrate, Our tribes thrust forth into the wilderness, Scourged and accursed. Therefore, O my lord, Seeing my nation wander from the faith Taught of the Prophets, I have fled dismayed. HOLOFERNES, partly to himself In this wise, I remember, Achior spoke, And warned me not to meddle with the Jews. I banished him, and straight he refuge sought Among the Israelites, who gave him place And honor in their councils. Now his sword Is turned against us. Hebrew, weigh thy words ! JUDITH Heed, Holofernes, what I speak this day, And if the thing I tell thee prove not so, Let not thy falchion tarry in its sheath, 46 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT n But seek my heart. Why should thy handmaid live, Having deceived thee, flower and crown of men ! HOLOFERNES, aside This woman's voice falls sweeter on my ear Than the soft laughter of the Assyrian girls In the bazaars, or when in the cool night, After the sultry heat of the long day, They sit beside the fountain with their lutes. JUDITH Oh, listen, Holofernes, my sweet lord, And thou shalt rule not only Bethulia, Rich with its hundred altars' crusted gold, But Cades-Barne' and Jerusalem, And all the vast hill-land to the blue sea. I bring to thee the keys of Israel. HOLOFERNES Speak, for I needs must hearken to thy words. JUDITH Know then, O prince, it is our yearly use To lay aside the first fruits of the grain, And so much oil, so many skins of wine, SCENE II JUDITH OF BETJIULIA 47 Which, being sanctified, are held intact For the High Priests who serve before the Lord In the great temple at Jerusalem. This holy food which even to touch is death The people would lay hands on, being starved ; And they have sent a runner to the Priests (The Jew Abijah, who, at dead of night, Sped like a javelin between thy guards), Begging permit to eat the sacred corn. 'T will not be granted them, as time will prove, Yet will they eat it. Then shalt thou behold The archers tumbling headlong from the walls, Their strength gone from them ; thou shalt see the spears Splitting like reeds within the spearmen's hands, And the strong captains tottering like old men Stricken with palsy. Then, O mighty prince, Then with thy trumpets blaring doleful dooms, And thy proud banners waving in the wind, With squares of men and eager clouds of horse Thou shalt sweep down on them, and strike them dead! 48 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II HOLOFERNES The picture, sorceress, lives before my eyes ! JUDITH But now, my lord, ere this shall come to pass Five days must wane, for they touch not the food Until the Jew Abijah shall return With the Priests' message. Here beneath thy tents, Holofernes, would I dwell the while, Asking but this, that I and my handmaid Each night, at the sixth hour, may egress have Into the valley, undisturbed to pray. 1 would not be thy prisoner, but thy guest. HOLOFERNES Thou shalt be free to come and go, and none Shall stay thee, nor molest thee, these five days. And if, O rose of women, the event Prove not a dwarf beside the prophecy, Then has the sun not looked upon thy like. Thy name shall be as honey on men's lips ; Thou shalt have chests of costly sandal-wood, And robes in texture like the ring-dove's neck, And milk-white mares, and chariots, and slaves ; SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 49 And thou shalt dwell with me in Nineveh, In Nineveh, the City of the Gods ! JUDITH, making a half imperceptible clutch at her bosom Oh, who am I that should gainsay my lord ? HOLOFERNES Bagoas shall wait on thee ; command the slave. Bid him fetch fruit and meat for thy repast. JUDITH It is not lawful we should eat of them. My maid has brought a pouch of parched corn, And bread and figs and wine of our own land, Which shall not fail us. HOLOFERNES Even as thou wilt, O fair Samarian ! My slave shall come To do thy bidding. \Holofernes goes out JUDITH O Marah, is it night, and do I dream ? Is this the dread Assyrian rumor paints, He who upon the plains of Ragau smote The hosts of King Arphaxad, and despoiled 50 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT II Sidon and Tyrus, and left none unslain ? Gentle he seems we thought so terrible, Whose name we stilled unruly children with At bedtime See / the Bull of Asshur comes / And all the little ones would straight to bed. MARAH, slowly Mistress, he looks not what we pictured him. JUDITH Is he not statured as should be a king ? Beside our tallest captain this grave prince Towers like the palm above the olive tree. A gentle prince, with gracious words and ways. How sayest thou ? MARAH A gentle prince he is To look on. I misdoubt his ways and words. JUDITH And I, O Marah, I would trust him not ! Beneath his smoothness all is cruelty. A tiger's talons thus are shod with down. (Enter Bagoas ; Judith perceives him, and says quickly) Marah, he waits to show thee to the tent. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 51 (Aside) The prince's slave his shadow, so it seems. I would not have the ill-will of this man. Bagoas relieves Marah of the basket and enters the green pavilion with her. He immediately reappears, crossing the stage behind Judith. She observes him attentively. Thy lord, Bagoas, is a powerful prince. BAGOAS, coming forward Men fear him greatly. JUDITH And thou fearest him ? BAGOAS I serve him, lady, since I am his slave. JUDITH Now thou art mine, I buy thee of thyself With coin of kindness rarer J t is than gold. Thy speech and manner seem beyond thy state. BAGOAS In my own land I was less humbly placed. A merchant was I, but a scholar's son, And had some strain of learning in my blood. I travelled in far lands with merchandise, 52 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT n Lord of rich caravans. Then came a war. From Koordistan he brought me with his spoils, This conqueror of cities, slayer of men. I pine in my captivity, and dream Of where the swift Nerbudda laves its banks And one sad woman waits for me in vain. The gold he throws me in his lavish moods I hoard to pay my ransom. JUDITH, taking a ring from her finger Is it so ? Here 's that shall aid thee ; add it to thy store. BAGOAS My prayers shall go with thee both day and night. [Heiresses the ring to his lips as he goes out JUDITH At least he will not be an enemy. (Muses) 'T was not so evil as I feared, and yet My heart is cold with terror. What step next ? The end appalls me. A black precipice Yawns at my feet whichever way I turn. I am like one that a magician's wand SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 53 Hath laid a spell upon ; I neither speak Nor move but as some unseen power directs. I^seem to wander in a land of dream And walk with spectres. As a skein of flax, Dropt by a weaver working at his loom, Lies in a tangle, and but snarls the more, And slips the fingers searching for the clue, So all my plan lies tangled in my brain. How stands the matter ? I have gained five days In which to act, and in the interval May come and go unchallenged by the guard. Thus far God lights me. All the rest is dark. Achior abruptly appears at the remote rear of the stage same entrance as Judith. He halts irreso- lutely, glancing back over his shoulder, as if he were pursued. Judith turns and discovers him. She rushes to Achior and seizes him by the arm. Fly from this place, O Achior, here is death ! ACHIOR I would not were it possible. Unseen I reached the inner lines, but there I fell Upon two Tartar sentinels asleep ; 54 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT H I broke their slumber and they gave alarm. I think they follow closely on my heels. JUDITH What brings thee to the tents of Asshur? ACHIOR Thou! It was my hope to be thy sword and shield. JUDITH I was not in thy keeping, reckless man ! Thy rashness will be like to ruin me. ACHIOR Deny me when they question. I will swear I never knew or saw thee till this hour. Torture shall wring no other word from me. JUDITH Too late. This very hour I spoke of thee To Holofernes. ACHIOR Say, then, I am one Thy scorn has withered, that my wits are gone, And that I vex thee with my vain pursuit ; Then bid him end me. JUDITH Thou indeed art mad. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 55 Less wise than daring, see how thou hast rushed Headlong on failure ! Sounds of voices and clanking arms off the stage. Several Tartar soldiers rush in and secure Achior. Holofernes enters from the opposite side attended by Bagoas bearing flowers and palm leaves in his arms. Holofernes on seeing Achior starts back in surprise, and then advances with a cynical smile on his lips. 9 HOLOFERNES Who thus honors us ? Unless my vision tricks me, it is he, My valorous Captain of the Ammonites, My poet-soldier, breaker of maids' hearts, Harp-player that shall play upon a rack ! JUDITH, aside There spoke the Holofernes of my thought. Holofernes remains silent a few seconds, glancing from Judith to Achior alternately, and finally lets his gaze rest upon Judith. HOLOFERNES, suspiciously Thou know'st this man ? JUDITH, indifferently By sight, but more by name. A stranger's face is his among the Jews. 56 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT n I 've seen him on the streets in Bethulia. How came he here ? HOLOFERNES Perhaps he followed thee. JUDITH, playing with her necklace I want him not. HOLOFERNES Nor I ! This Ammonite Has little earthly value, it appears - A kind of carrion that finds no bids Among the buyers in the market-place. How then dispose of him ? Thou dost not beg His life of me ? JUDITH Why should I, lord of all? I would not beg of thee my own poor life Were that at issue. HOLOFERNES 'T were an empty plea Hadst thou the cause to make it ! JUDITH, to herself We are lost ! HOLOFERNES Though thou wert in my very heart-strings wrapt SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 57 I 'd tear thee out, didst thou play false with me ! I '11 think on it. Meanwhile what shall be done ? JUDITH Do what thou wilt, O sovereign lord. HOLOFERNES Well said! Thou hast a cunning fashion in thy speech. (To the guard) Take him away, and as thou lovest light, See he escape not. (To Achior with a mock air of deference) In some leisure hour I '11 crave thy company. Out of my sight ! (To Judith tenderly) Lady, I bring thee flowers ! The soldiers prepare to drag Achior off, one of them unclasping a belt with which to bind him. Judith stands rigid and cold in the centre of the stage. As Holofernes offers the flowers to her, he looks over his shoulder suspiciously at Achior. Marah, who has partly drawn back the curtain of the pavilion, peers out timidly between the draperies. CURTAIN ACT III ACT III SCENE I. A secluded wood near the Assyrian camp. Early twilight. Judith is seated on the trunk of a fallen tree arranging wild flowers in her lap. She has discarded the ornaments worn in Act II, a white scarf replacing the pearl necklace; her cos- tume otherwise the same. Marah stands at her side holding a small wicker pannier containing lilies, ferns, etc. MARAH, handing flowers to Judith I WOULD, dear mistress, we might not return To yonder camp. Rude folk for such as thou, Those long-haired men that from the Tigris come, And they that stain their teeth with betel-nut Fire-worshippers and bowers-down to stone. Even the good Bagoas in his pack Hath a flint image that he mutters to ! JUDITH And I, in truth, I too would not go back ; But that must be, my mission is not done. 62 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT ill Not long our exile now. Hast left behind Some love-lorn dark-eyed youth in Bethulia ? Here in the summer quiet of this wood How far we seem from that distracted town Wrapped in the vapor of its own sick breath ! Conscience reproaches me that I have found Some transient moments of forgetfulness Plucking these wild flowers. Twas a truce with fate. Great peril threatens us. Would thou wert safe ! Cruel was I to drag thee in this coil ! MARAH What danger threatens that I would not share With thee, sweet mistress ? JUDITH Ah, thou know'st not all. To-night, when slumber has sealed every ear, I '11 tell thee what dark embassy is mine And what fell doom upon disaster waits. Then, if thou waver, still is time to fly And save thee. (Rises to her feet, and listens) SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 63 Hark ! some foot of man or beast Has crushed a dry twig in the thicket there ! Bagoas enters hurriedly. BAGOAS Fair lady, I have sought thee far and wide. My lord commands that thou shalt feast with him This night, and bade me lead thee to his tent. JUDITH, aside Full well I knew he would not long delay ! (Aloud) O Marah, see ! my lord keeps not his word. He is as those false jewellers who change A rich stone for a poorer when none looks. Five days he promised, and not three are gone, And now he begs me come to sup with him ! MARAH No choice hast thou, alas ! JUDITH One needs must go When kings invite. The master's will is mine. Such gloom has touched me lately, I would fain Know mirthfulness. I jest, for in my heart 64 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT ill There lurks an unnamed terror. O Bagoas ! He would not slay me in some sudden freak ? (Bagoas shrugs his shoulder s) Does he wear arms when supping ? BAGOAS No, he hangs His falchion on a peg within the tent ; Dagger he hath none. JUDITH, softly to herself God be thanked for that. . . . Upon a peg within the tent ! (Reflects) Bagoas ! BAGOAS What wouldst thou have, my lady ? JUDITH Dost thou serve The prince to-night ? BAGOAS He has so ordered it. JUDITH Take it not ill if I persuade my lord To do without thy service by and by, Leaving thee free to go what way thou wilt. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 65 T would please my humor just for once to play Cup-bearer to the prince, and fetch him drink In that great chalice thou hast told me of. And should I find him in a gracious mood, As often men are between cups of wine, I '11 breathe a word for thee into his ear. MARAH, aside She plans to be alone with him ! BAGOAS, Toith a quick glance at Judith No slave had ever such petitioner. If thou but smile, thou 'It have no need to speak j Thy suit, unspoken, will be granted thee. MARAH, aside, with a little laugh My mistress hath bewitched the man ! JUDITH But hold ! Perhaps my lord has other guests at hand, And thou must still remain to wait on them. BAGOAS My lord's musicians and his dancing-girls He brings such in his train may come awhile For thy divertisement. No other guests. 66 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT in JUDITH That will content me better. BAGOAS, hesitating May I speak ? JUDITH A friend's ear listens to thee ; speak. BAGOAS This night Thou standest in great danger. My lord's eyes Are ravished with thy beauty fatal gift! His love is pitiless. (Pauses) Should it so turn That he, before he hath drunk deep of wine, Should fall into a drowse, then thou wert safe For that time being. JUDITH Does wine make him sleep ? BAGOAS, significantly Some wine might make him. JUDITH, eagerly What is in thy thought ? BAGOAS I had an illness once ; sleep fled my lids Till I went mad with wakefulness. A man SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 67 Of Koordistan, well skilled in subtle drugs, Gave me a medicine that cured the ill, And taught me to compound it. JUDITH, quickly Hast thou this ? (Bagoas nods his head affirmatively) Then give it me ! BAGOAS, handing her a minute metal box, -which he holds between forefinger and thumb A dozen grains or so, Dropt in a drink, will straightway dull the sense And bring a gentle slumber presently. 'T is not a poison. JUDITH, flaring the box in her bosom Would it were that I, At need, might take it. Though it all prove naught, I am beholden to thee. ( With an affectionate gesture she gives her hand to Bagoas, who kisses it respectfully) Tell me, now, How fares it with the Ammonite ? 68 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT m BAGOAS He has Such faring as a fox within a trap Caught but not killed. JUDITH What harder lies in store ? BAGOAS I think my lord intends to take him back To Nineveh. JUDITH That were not well for him ? BAGOAS Most ill, my lady. JUDITH And how bears he this ? BAGOAS As one that has looked peril in the face By field and flood on many a desperate day, And so disdains it. At the first my lord Questioned him keenly, being much perplexed That one same hour should bring ye both to camp. The prince suspected I know not just what. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 69 JUDITH And now ? BAGOAS He doubts not that the Ammonite And thou are strangers. JUDITH He has ventured life For me, Bagoas 1 If the chance befell That thou couldst loose the latchet of his trap, Wouldst thou not do it ? BAGOAS For thy sake I would. But 't will not happen. JUDITH Heaven is over all. Strange things ere now have happened in Judea ! Let 's on ; I must make ready for my lord. (Aside) He said upon a peg within the tent ! Dark stage and change of scene 70 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT III SCENE II. The, tent of Holofernes. A large blue pavilion set diagonally across the left rear corner of the stage. The entrance, which is very wide, hung with embroidered draperies, now drawn back. Within, a lighted cresset depends from the ceiling ; near the doorway, and nearly blocking it, a low couch placed at an angle. At the right and left of the tent, outside, is a small stand upon which slaves are arranging flasks of wine, chalices, and dishes of food, fruit, etc., as the curtain rises. Among the overhanging boughs of trees glimmer lanterns of colored glass-work, and slender tripods supporting cups of burning perfume stretch in a line on either side of the stage. The scene softly illuminated. Holofernes discovered seated on a long bench or settle, over which is spread a leopard skin. Behind this is his shield, fastened to the shaft of a javelin thrust into the ground. From the boss of the shield glares a green and gold dragon rampant. The slaves retire. HOLOFERNES All day have I been haunted by a dream That in the breathless middle of the night Robbed sleep of its refreshment. In my thought SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 71 I found myself in a damp catacomb Searching by torchlight for my own carved name On a sarcophagus ; and as I searched, A file of wailing shapes drew slowly near The hates and passions of my early youth Become substantial and immortal things With tongues to blazon forth each hidden crime. Then terror fell upon me, who have known Neither remorse nor terror, and I woke. (Rises dejectedly from the settle) The dream still frets me, still unstrings my heart. Is it an omen sent me by the gods ? Such things foretell the doom of fateful men, Stars, comets, apparitions hint their doom. The night before my grandsire got his wound In front of Memphis, and therewith was dead, He dreamed a lying Ethiop he had slain Was strangling him ; and, later, my own sire Saw death in a red writing on a leaf. And I too. . . . (Throws himself uf on the settle) Oh, I am ill and troubled in the mind. 72 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT m This Hebrew woman shall beguile my gloom. The hour should bring her, if she have not fled. By what sly necromancy was I won To give her unwatched freedom in the camp ! Should she not come, would not my mighty name Be as a jest and gibe 'mong womankind ? Maidens would laugh behind their unloosed hair. Judith enters, attended by Marah and Bagoas. As they step beyond the wings, Judith turns quickly and lays her hand on Marah's arm. JUDITH, in a low, hurried voice No further, thou. Go hide thee in the wood Hard by, and when I call unto thee come, And do the thing I bade thee. Fail me not ! MARAH, lingering, pretends to arrange Judith's robe I shall not fail thee, thou adorable ! [Marah goes out Judith, her manner indicating suppressed agitation, ad- vances to the centre and bends low before Holofernes, who rises quickly, and taking Judith by the hand, leads her to the settle. HOLOFERNES The course has wearied tbee, so rest thee here, O Heart's Desire, upon this leopard skin. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 73 From out the jungle by the Ganges' side The creature leapt on me ; and now I bear The trophy ever with me in my wars A kind of talisman. Meanwhile it makes A throne whereon a haughty queen might sit. Judith, in dumb-show, declines the proffered seat, and begins to remove the mantle which covers her from head to foot. She throws it over the back of the settle. JUDITH No queen am I, but only thy handmaid. HOLOFERNES Ere now a handmaid has become a queen. JUDITH To serve thee is to reign. I keep my state, And am most jealous of my servitude. This night, O prince, no other slave than I Shall wait on thee with meat and fruit and wine, And fetch the scented water for thy hands, And spread the silvered napkin on thy knee. So subtle am I, I shall know thy wish Ere thou canst speak it. Let Bagoas go This night among his people, save he fear 74 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT m To lose his place and wage, through some one else More trained and skilful showing his defect. HOLOFERNES, turning to Bagoas Thou nearest, O Bagoas, what she says ? Another hath usurped thee. Get thee gone, Son of the midnight ! But stray not from camp, Lest the lean tiger-whelps should break their fast, And thou forget I must be waked at dawn. BAGOAS I hear, O prince. HOLOFERNES And send us presently The Arab girls and him that plays the lute. BAGOAS, aside as he goes out Poor lady, in her whiteness how she looks Like some rare idol that a conqueror Tears from its niche, in pillaging a town, And sets among the trappings of his tent. ( Under his breath) Fear not, O prince. I shall not stray from camp ! While Holof ernes divests himself of his breastplate and hangs his falchion on a peg inside the tent, Judith SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 75 goes to one of the tables, and standing with her back to him, but in a position that enables her action to be observed by the audience, fills a flagon with wine, into which she hastily drops the contents of the little metal box given to her by Bagoas. JUDITH, aside O Thou who lovest Israel, give me strength And cunning such as never woman had, That my deceit may be his stripe and scar, My kiss his swift destruction ! If the drug Work not its magic on him, then what then ! Judith returns to the settle, and, kneeling, presents the cup to Holofernes. Holofernes drinks. HOLOFERNES Richer the wine is for those slender hands And that gold bangle slipping down the wrist. Now sit by me. (She obeys) Cup-bearer, hold the cup. What a rare slave thou art ! A helmet heaped with pearls, i' the market-place, Could buy thee not from me. How shall I make Thy chains seem lighter? Our chance-builded camp 76 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT in Has little entertainment in its stores ; But I have brought my troop of dancing-girls From Nineveh, and they shall dance for us, And one among them, that has voice, shall sing A love-song that a Persian poet made Before I slew him for a halting verse. JUDITH Surely thou didst not slay a man for that ! HOLOFERNES Lady, it was a very grievous fault. Who cheats in weights or measures merits death. The Medes and Persians have it in their laws. Enter a troop of Arab girls, with a clash of cymbals. They prostrate themselves before Judith and Holo- f ernes, and then fall to dancing. Slaves place a small round table near the settle and bring a dish of fruit, a flask of wine, and two flagons. Holofernes and Judith eat and converse in pantomime, he insisting from time to time on her drinking from his cup, which she constantly refills. At the conclusion of the dance the Arab girls again prostrate themselves. While they are retiring, a soft music, chiefly from stringed instru- ments, is heard, and these verses are sung by a single SCENE ii JUDITH OF BETHULIA 77 voice behind the scenes. Holofernes rests an elbow on one knee, and supporting his chin on his hand, listens stolidly to the song. O cease, sweet music, let us rest ! Too soon the hateful day is born ; Henceforth let day be counted night, And midnight called the morn. O cease, sweet music, let us rest ! A tearful, languid spirit lies, Like the dim scent in violets, In beauty's gentle eyes. There is a sadness in sweet sound That quickens tears. O music, lest We weep with thy soft sorrow, cease ! Be still, and let us rest JUDITH, aside A strange new look has crept into his face. He listened to the music as a man That strains his ear to catch some distant sound Whose meaning baffles him. What is 't, my lord ? HOLOFERNES Thy coming chased the blackness of my day, But now the heaviness that clouded me Has come again. 78 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT ill JUDITH The music saddened thee. HOLOFERNES Not so. I am not fashioned like a harp That some chance touch may sadden or make glad. (Rises from the settle) That pungent scent of burning sandal-wood, (Puts his hand vaguely to his forehead) Or the dull opiate of those wilted flowers, Or some malignant influence of the night Hath drowsed me. Let me rest upon the couch A moment ; it will pass. They enter the tent together. JUDITH Lie there, my prince, I will keep watch and ward. Holofernes reclines upon the couch, propping himself on one elbow. He points to a low tabouret at the side of the couch. HOLOFERNES And sit thou here, Thou of the dove's eyes and the proud swan's throat. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 79 Thy tresses give out odors of the rose. Thy breath upon my cheek is as the air Blown from a far-off grove of cinnamon. Fairer art thou than is the night's one star (Smiling) Thou makest me a poet with thine eyes ! He puts one arm around her neck and gently draws her head to his breast. Judith rests there motionless for a moment, then slowly disengages herself and rises to her feet with a dazed, troubled look. In a second or two she recovers herself, and stooping picks up the flagon, which has fallen to the floor of the tent. JUDITH Sweet prince, I have forgot mine office. See, The flagon 's empty ! I '11 go fetch thee wine. She hurries out, and sets the cup on a table, resting one hand on the edge of it, the other hand pressed against her heart. Oh, save me, Lord, from that dark cruel prince, And from mine own self save me ! for this man, A worshipper of senseless carven gods, Slayer of babes upon the mother-breast, He, even he, hath by some conjurer's trick, Or by his heathen beauty, in me stirred 8o JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT in Such pity as unnerves the lifted hand. Oh, let not my hand fail me, in Thy name ! (She returns to the tent with wine) Drink this, my lord. HOLOFERNES In the full compass of my thirty years At no one time have I so drunk of wine. Holofernes, who has fallen back on the cushions, raises himself with effort on his elbow. He passes his arm around Judith's waist and constrains her to sit down on the edge of the couch. Then takes the cup and drinks. Sweet vision, 't is a medicine that cures, Grief will it cure and every ill, save love. Who first did think to press it from the grape ? (He stares vacantly at Judith, as if he had half forgotten the question) JUDITH My lord, I know a pleasant-thoughted verse, An old-time legend of an ancient king, The first on earth that ever tasted wine, Who drank, and from him cast the grief called life. SCENE ii JUDITH OF BETHULIA 81 HOLOFERNES, confusedly Say on, I hear thee, though thy voice seems far. Art going ? Nay, I see thou hast not stirred. I am the plaything of vain fantasies ! Judith looks at him with curious inteirtness for a few seconds, then gently removes his arm from her waist, and seats herself on the tabouret at his side. A very faint orchestral accompaniment as Judith recites. JUDITH The small green grapes in heavy clusters grew, Feeding on mystic moonlight and white dew And amber sunshine the long summer through ; Till, with faint tremor in her veins, the Vine Felt the delicious pulses of the wine ; And the grapes ripened in the year's decline. And day by day the Virgins watched their charge ; And when, at last, beyond the horizon's marge, The harvest moon droopt beautiful and large, The subtle spirit in the grape was caught, And to the slowly dying monarch brought In a great cup fantastically wrought. 82 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT ill Of this he drank, then straightway from his brain Went the weird malady, and once again He walked the palace, free of scar or pain But strangely changed, for somehow he had lost Body and voice ; the courtiers, as he crossed The royal chambers, whispered The King's Ghost! The orchestral accompaniment ends with the verses. The arm of Holofernes slips from his breast and falls over the side of the couch, the flagon which he has retained in his grasp clashing on the floor. Judith rises, startled. My lord ? ... He sleeps ! . . . Unending be his dream 1 She advances a step outside the tent, grasping the folds of the looped curtain in one hand, then turns and gazes upon Holofernes. The ignoble slumber that has fettered him Robs not his pallid brow of majesty Nor from the curved lip takes away the scorn. (Lets the curtain fall across the entrance to the tent) Bagoas shall not awaken him at dawn ! (Pauses) SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 83 broken sword of proof ! O prince betrayed ! In me he trusted, he who trusted none ! (Pauses again) 1 did not longer dare to look on him, Lest I should lose my reason through my eyes. This man this man, had he been of my race, And I a maiden, and we two had met What visions mock me ! Some ancestral sin Hath left a taint of madness in my brain. Were I not I, I would unbind my hair And let the tresses cool his fevered cheek, And take him in my arms Oh, am I mad ? Yonder the watch-fires flare upon the walls, Like red hands pleading to me through the dark ; There famished women weep, and have no hope. The moan of children moaning in the streets Tears at my heart. O God ! have I a heart ? Why do I falter ! (Kneeling) Thou that rulest all, Hold not Thy favor from me that I seek This night to be Thy instrument ! Dear Lord, Look down on me, a widow of Judea, A feeble thing unless Thou sendest strength ! 84 JUDITH OF BETHUL1A ACT m A woman such as I slew Sisera. The hand that pierced his temples with a nail Was soft and gentle, like to mine, a hand Moulded to press a babe against her breast ! Thou didst sustain her. Oh, sustain Thou me, That I may free Thy chosen from their chains ! Each sinew in my body turns to steel, My pulses quicken, I no longer fear ! My prayer has reached Him, sitting there on high ! The hour is come I dreamed of ! This for thee, O Israel, my people, this for thee ! Soft orchestral music. Judith rushes wildly into the tent, closing the hangings behind her. The boom of a gong is heard and a sentinel near by cries : " Mid- night ! Midnight ! All is well ! " A second sentinel, further off, takes up the cry, which is repeated by a third in the remote distance. Marah, with anxious face, is observed at the right-hand middle entrance. She carries a heavy mantle thrown over one arm. After an appreciable time, Judith violently thrusts the draperies aside, and appears grasping an un- sheathed falchion, which she flings from her as she throws herself into Marah's arms. SCENE II JUDITH OF BETHULIA 85 JUDITH, pushing Marah away T is done ! Do thou ! Marah goes into the tent. Judith stands motionless for a moment, with both hands pressed against her eyes, as if to shut out some appalling spectacle. Marah emerges from the pavilion bearing the head of Holofernes enveloped in the mantle. Judith gives a start on perceiving it. Marah seizes her by the wrist to drag her from the stage. Bagoas appears in the background of the scene at the instant the curtain descends. QUICK CURTAIN ACT IV ACT IV The market-place in Bethulia. Far back on the right, the entrance to the great synagogue ; the long flight of gradually ascending steps leading to the portals crowded with spectators. Garlands and cloths of gold and purple tissues hang from the windows of the houses facing on three sides of the quadrangle. In the centre of the square, a platform two or three feet in height supports a large antique chair richly draped. With the exception of the space surround- ing the dais, the stage is slowly filled up by people of every condition. Enter Nathan and Joachim conversing excitedly. NATHAN WAS it not wonderful ! O day of days ! The Ammonite, held captive, saw it all. It thrills the blood to hear him tell of it. When they discovered Holofernes slain And lying headless 'mid the tapestries, A sudden silence fell upon the camp, And all the people stood like blocks of stone 90 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT iv In some deserted quarry ; then a voice Blown through a trumpet clamored : He is dead! The Prince is dead! The Hebrew witch hath slain Prince Holof ernes / Fly, Assyrians, fly ! On this a panic seized the Asshur hosts ; They broke and fled from that strong mountain- hold, Leaving their arms, their chariots, and their tents, Even the camels tethered at the stake ! Our children's children shall be told this tale. JOACHIM Three days and nights at point of our red spears The cohorts scattered. Such as know not death Are safe now in Damascus, or beyond. NATHAN Twas Achior led the horsemen. It is said A man he made a friend of in the camp Set Achior free. JOACHIM That in effect is true A captive Holofernes held in thrall SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 91 As slave. That gaunt and swarthy-visaged man Who follows Achior everywhere is he. NATHAN, meditatively To think a woman did it ! Day of days ! Yet is not Judith made of tenderness ? I saw her stoop once in the crowded street To kiss a sickly child the mother held. JOACHIM A warrior's soul, a woman's heart ! I hear That she has begged the Patriarchs to remove The head of Holofernes from the lance On which 't is set above the Eastern Gate. NATHAN, still meditative Such pity meetly crowns the daring act. I wonder, now, the peril being past And all her pulses stilled, if in her thought There is not some vague, nameless sense of dread Of her own self that could do such a deed ! JOACHIM O Nathan, son of Paul, thou ever wert A splitter of fine hairs ! Had she not slain That monster in his hour of victory, 92 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT iv Making his pride to bite the very dust, What had become of thee, and all of us ! NATHAN True ! through God's grace and that one woman's hand The tombs and temples of Judea were saved. I would not look good fortune in the teeth, But somehow the event breeds thoughts in me. JOACHIM It were more wholesome to have fewer, man ! I trust thou hast not spoken much of this. NATHAN Do I look like a fool ? JOACHIM No, no, good friend That 's what astonishes ! But say no more. This hour comes Judith to the market-place, Where a glad people fain would honor her With pipe and timbrel and the heart's acclaim. See what a mighty throng has gathered here ! [Nathan and Joachim stand aside Enter Bagoas and Achior. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 93 BAGOAS Captain, be not prodigal of thanks. 'T was that brave lady bade me break thy chain. ACHIOR Alas, Bagoas, that did not set me free ! 1 am a prisoner whose manacles Are newly riveted. 'T is mine to have A most sweet cruel jailer who forbids My presence. Only by a chance like this May I behold her. \Aflourish of trumpets^ then distant music BAGOAS There my lady comes ! My fate and thine are one, brave Ammonite. Though I go back to Koordistdn enriched With all the gold and trappings that were found In Holof ernes' tent her gift to me I still go back a captive, ever bound In bands of love and reverence for her. Daring and meek and merciful is she, And pure as is the white eternal snow That lies unreached upon the mountain top. 94 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT iv ACHIOR Thou didst watch over her that dreadful night. I envy thee the office that was thine, To stand there in the dark, with dagger drawn, To save her or avenge, had all gone ill. BAGOAS And thou for her sake didst thou not dare death ? The music approaches. The multitude sways to and fro, and voices cry: "She is coming!" "She who saved us is coming ! " Achior and Bagoas join Na- than and Joachim at the wings near the footlights. The crowd parts right and left to give way to Ozias, Chabris, and Charmis, accompanied by chief captains, civic dignitaries, and men-at-arms bearing banners. Enter a troop of maidens dancing, followed by Judith dressed in her widow's weeds as in Act I. She is very pale, and walks with bowed head, Marah a few steps in the rear. The music dies down to a low murmur. NATHAN I thought she would come clad in cloth of gold, Not in the sombre livery of grief. JOACHIM Like some victorious chief returned from war, She lays aside her armor. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHULIA 95 The Patriarchs conduct Judith to the foot of the dais, and motion her to ascend. She seems to demur. The Patriarchs, apparently embarrassed, expostulate in dumb-show, pointing appealingly to the empty chair. NATHAN See! she halts Before the throne ; they urge her to ascend, And she, as one unworthy, still protests. She takes her triumph modestly, methinks. JOACHIM Nigh unto Dothaim is a sepulchre Where all her pride lies buried. ACHIOR, sadly And her love ! One of the chief captains reaches forward and places a light chaplet of laurel upon Judith's brow. Tumul- tuous cries and cheers. JUDITH, in a low voice Oh, who am I to sit upon a throne ? It were more fitting I should bow me down At the throne's foot, my forehead in the dust. Ozias, I have drunk a bitter cup ! Deck me with rue and fennel, if thou wilt. 96 JUDITH OF BETHULIA ACT iv OZIAS to Judith Nay, gentle Judith, they will take it ill That came from far and near to honor thee. Thy name is in their hearts and in their prayers, And they would look upon thy face this day. JUDITH So be it, then it was for love of them ! My city, Bethulfa, 't was for thee ! NATHAN See ! she consents. ACHIOR, rapturously Her face is like a star ! Judith slowly mounts the dais and stands erect, with one hand resting on the arm of the chair. There is a beatific expression on her features as she faces the populace. Those immediately about the platform kneel. Mark how the warm blood steals into her cheek ! Such tint it brings as in the season's prime Creeps up the slender stem to dye the rose. NATHAN, smiling A singer of love canticles was spoiled When Achior turned soldier. SCENE I JUDITH OF BETHtfUA' '" JOACHIM Peace, man, peace ! I wonder will she speak. She lifts her hand As if to beg the silence of the crowd. JUDITH Oh, not to me, but unto the Most High Lift up thy voices !* Glorify His name With pipe and harp and solemn chanted psalm ! Let the triumphant breath of trumpets blow The news to the four winds, Judea is saved ! For once again hath God delivered us. He was the hand, and I was but the sword, The sword was I, and He the hand that smote. Glory and praise to Him forevermore ! (Pauses) The spell is broken. Now farewell to all, To votive wreath and music's blandishment. ( Takes off the chaflet and holds it in her hand) From this day forth I dwell apart, alone In mine own house, where laughter may not come Nor any light, vain voices of the world. Only the sorrowful shall find the door Unbarred and open. tcc4 JlfDfTH OF BETHULIA ACT iv (Descends the first step of the dais, and lingers} In thy memory Keep me as some beloved wife or child Or sister that died long and long ago ! Cries of "Judith!" "Judith!" "Judith!" Children scatter flowers and palm-sprays at her feet. A sud- den blare of trumpets, followed by soft orchestral music. Judith descends from the dais. The crowd falls back in silence. Achior impulsively advances a pace or two towards her, and then halts, irresolute. ACHIOR, with an imploring gesture Judith ! JUDITH, hurriedly wrapping herself in the black veil, one end of which she throws over the lower part of her face Let no one born of woman follow me ! [Swift exit Bagoas grasps Achior by the arm, restraining him. The crowd leans forward with outstretched hands, and stands spellbound gazing after Judith. Tableau. SLOW CURTAIN Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton. &* Co. Cambridge, Mass., U.S. A. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY