The Blood of Rachel

The Blood of RachelA Dramatization of EstherAnd Other PoemsBy COTTON NOEAuthor of "The Loom of Life"Publishers LogoJOHN P. MORTON & COMPANYINCORPORATEDLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY1916Copyright 1916By COTTON NOEAll producing rights reserved, including photo play.Permission to produce must be obtained from the author.ToHONORABLE MOSES KAUFMANFrom whom I differ on some political and religiousquestions, but whose warm friendship andkeen literary appreciation have been asource of much inspiration to me,particularly in the writingof this drama.CONTENTS.PAGEThe Blood of Rachel1The Old Dog Irons79The Age Electric82Grandmother Days86Just to Dream88Amnemon90A Romance of the Cumberland102Morning Glories111Christmastide112Kinship113Precocity114The Secret115A Rhymeless Sonnet116Ambition117Opportunity118Holiday Thoughts119The Old Year and the New120Fellow Travelers121James Whitcomb Riley122Cale Young Rice123Pilate's Monologue124The Virile Spirit128Bluebird131An Autumn Minor132Slabs and Obelisk133On Broadway134An Ember Etching137A Tragedy in Birdland140PERSONS OF THE DRAMAAhasuerusKing of PersiaVashtiQueen of PersiaEstherSecond Queen of PersiaHamanPremierMordecaiA Jew, afterwards PremierZereshWife of HamanMeheumanA ChamberlainAbagthaAnother ChamberlainAhafidCourt PoetSmerdisCourt FoolSaadiYoung Court PoetParshandathaLady in Waiting to ZereshZetharLady in Waiting to VashtiChamberlains,Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court,Heralds,Royal Dancers,Nubian Slaves,Waiters,and others.The Blood of RachelACT IScene IPlace—Shushan, the Capital of Persia.Time—478 B.C.[A hall in the palace of the king. Enter Smerdis, the king's jester, and Ahafid, poet and minstrel to the king, from opposite sides of the hall. Ahafid is already an old man, with long grey beard and a little stooped with age. He carries a golden Persian harp on which he plays and accompanies his own song.]Ahafid[Sings.]Now War has doffed his mailed coatAnd Peace forgot her art;The lute but not the bugle's noteCan stir the kingly heart;Nights of revel and carp,And days of sensuous rust,How can a poet's harpIntone a song of lust?The king is mad. His flight from SalamisWas bad enough. But that could be excused.For six months now what has he done but drink,Carouse and wallow in lascivious ease,While subjects driven to despair with taxHave fallen on the poisoned sword and cursedIn death the son of their once goodly king?SmerdisAhafid, you do seem to think the firstGreat business of a king is war. Now prayYou, why should Xerxes waste the lusty daysOf youth in bloody strife? To furnish themes,No doubt, for dullard bards and minstrelsy.Ahasuerus is the wisest kingThat ever sat upon a Persian throne.You graybeard fool, stupid as poets are.Can you not see the wisdom of our kingIn substitution of the flight for death,Of feast for fight, of wine for blood? Think you'Tis wise to wear the plaited mail of MarsWhen Venus bids you to the festivalOf love?AhafidYou call me then a graybeard fool!Though I have dropped the purple bloom of springThe autumn's silvery down may indicateThe ripened fruit of wisdom which your youthHas never tasted. Smerdis, you are blind!My beard is white, but vision clear. The kingDoes daily waste the substance of his realm,And nightly dissipates his energiesIn vices of the blood. Vashti, the queen,The idol of her people, is in grief.SmerdisIn grief for what? Does she too wish the kingTo take the field? I know our queen is fairOf face and most voluptuous of form.Perhaps her grief is due to jealousy.Would she monopolize his love, becauseHer beauty is surpassing?AhafidVashti doesNot know that she is beautiful. She lovesHer country and is brave as well as good.I dread the issue of this night. The kingHas ordered that the queen be brought beforeThe court, a target for licentious eyes.She will refuse to go because her heartIs pure. Ahasuerus, flushed with wine,Will brook no opposition to his will.A tragedy that never Persia knewWill see the rising of to-morrow's sun.SmerdisA tragedy no country ever knew—A woman who is beautiful, but doesn't know it's true.Ahafid[Sings.]Oh, for a song to cleanse the heartOr touch the sceptred power;Oh, might the gods a strength impartTo meet this tragic hour.[Exeunt Ahafid and Smerdis.][Enter Vashti and Zethar.]VashtiOh, Zethar, do you think this night will endThe revels that dishonor Persia's king?To-day unknown I strolled through squalid partsOf this old city and observed the poor.My lord, unmindful of their misery,Has laid a heavy tax for his insaneExtravagance upon the helpless childThat begs in Shushan's streets. Not here alone,This suffering; but Persia's peasantry,The glory of the old empire, the heartThat once defied the world, is broken onThe wheel of tax. And all for what?ZetharO queen,Always the world has had its poverty.You shall forget the poor. One stoop of wineWill bring you happiness. Vashti, drink.VashtiForgive me, Zethar, but no wine to-night.[Enter Meheuman, Biztha and Abagtha.]Meheuman[Loftily.]Our most imperial queen, the king has laidA banquet in the palace garden court,The crowning act of that munificenceToward prince and people great and small alike,Ahasuerus now for many monthsHas shown the loyal subjects of his realm.The adornment of the court displays a richMagnificence of taste; the couches areOf fretted gold and silver set uponA pavement of mosaic inlaid stone.The drinking is according to the law—None can compel, each vessel is diverse,But all of gold. Th' abundance of the wineShows the unstinted bounty of the king.Our monarch's heart is merry in the cup,And boasts that Vashti's beauty does excelIn magic power the fabled Helen's charms,And bids us bring immediately beforeThe court great Persia's matchless queen!VashtiMeheuman, tell Ahasuerus IMust thank his majesty since he can stillRemember Vashti's beauty, though his graceHas lost all sense of modesty and shame.You say his heart is merry now in wineAnd that he glories with exceeding prideBecause my face is fair to look upon!I do not doubt his tongue is eloquent;The fiery phrase is his! Why, often IHave heard him praise his horse in language thatSeemed kindled at the altar of the gods.It may be that he holds me higher thanHis hundred concubines.MeheumanYour majesty,The king does hold his queen a goddess.VashtiWell,Perhaps he thinks himself divine. Go tellThe king I do not wish to be enrolledAmong divinities. I am the queen—He must respect me as the one who wearsThe Persian crown.'Tis scarce three years since heBegan to reign. He was Darius' son—A king of whom the world was proud. He wooedMe as a prince of noble blood, and IReceived his hand with dignity as wellAs love. I was a princess, but I hadA heart. Long since I found that he had none.A hundred eighty days continuous feastHe has oppressed the people of his ruleWith drunken revels and with wanton waste.And now to crown his sensualityHe sends his vulgar chamberlains to bringMe to his palace garden that his lordsMay gaze with unchaste eyes upon my form.Meheuman, Biztha, will you tell the kingThat Vashti bids him come to her if heWould see the queen.MeheumanYou understandThe costly hangings of the garden courtAre blue and green and white?VashtiNow pray you whatSignificance has that? What if each couchIs gold and silver and each goblet setWith stones?MeheumanThe king's great love for Vashti!VashtiThenHe has prepared this banquet for his queen?And does he think this is an evidenceOf love. It rather means the king's debauched.I will not be a party to his sin.MeheumanThe etiquette of court commands you toObey.VashtiCommands! Well, has it come to that?But I will not obey. I am a queen!Here! Take this purple robe and coronet,And tell Ahasuerus to adornSome harlot of his harem. She will graceThe queenship of his kingdom better thanA pure and modest wife.AbagthaYou do not knowThe meaning of your words!VashtiAbagtha, whyDo you admonish me? Do I not knowThe forfeit? Chamberlains, this message takeLicentious Xerxes from his virtuous queen:I do not fear his wrath. I will not comeAt his command. I have a royal heartAnd will not thus disgrace the Persian throne.The king that's halfway worthy of my handWould hate the queen that yielded to his lust.My heart, O chamberlains, is broken, notThat Vashti's crown is lost, but oh, to seeThe regal name of Persia brought so low!I weep. The tears are for my country. Go![Exeunt Vashti, Abagtha, etc.][Curtain is lowered to denote the passage of six years.]Scene II[Outer hall in palace. Throne room back concealed by curtain. Queen Esther, disguised by loose dress thrown over royal robe and head and face below the eyes hidden by mask, approaches the door where Mordecai, the Jew, is standing.]MordecaiAh, Esther! Though your queenly robe you doConceal, I know that regal gait. BeforeI ever looked upon these palace walls,When you were yet a little child beyondThe purple peaks, where shepherds led their flocksIn pastures green, I often dreamed that youWould one day wear a golden coronetAnd sit in majesty upon a throne.Esther[Dejectedly.]Four years I have been queen, which time I haveNot heard the voice of any one I love;And though disguised, I hardly dare to speakMy heart even to you. This palace isA gloomy prison cell. The Persian crownIs meaningless to me. The hundred gemsThat blaze upon its field of gold are dullAnd heavy lead. I would exchange it allFor but a glint of sunshine on the hillsWhere I was born. But why this interview?MordecaiMy royal niece, I know that you are queen.EstherA queen? But what of that? Though of my blood,You can not even look upon my face.What would you have?[Wailing without.]MordecaiMy daughter, do you hearThe cries of anguish that disturb the peaceOf Shushan's streets? Your people everywhereAre clothed in sackcloth. Read the king's decree![Handing her paper.]Esther[Reads.]"It has been written and commanded byAhasuerus, emperor of allThe East, and sealed in every tongue with hisOwn ring—the royal seal—that governorsAnd princes and lieutenants, everyoneWithin the Persian rule, shall make and causeTo die and perish every Jew, both youngAnd old, the women and the children, richAnd poor alike, and forfeit all their goods.This is Ahasuerus' sovereign willAnd shall be done and executed inThe month of Adar on the thirteenth day."Oh, God! It is Ahasuerus' seal.MordecaiBut Haman's hand.EstherWhy does the premier hateThe Jews?MordecaiBecause the children of the trueAnd living God will never bend the kneeTo heathen pride. He hates the Jews becauseYour uncle is a child of AbrahamAnd will not do obeisance to a sonOf Baal. Esther, though I made you queen,I plead not for the life of Mordecai,But for the sacred blood of Israel.You alone can intervene. Go straightBefore the king and make demand that heReverse this law that puts the Jews to death.EstherA Persian king can not reverse his ownDecree. Besides, the queen who goes intoThe presence of her lord unless by hisExpress command, must sacrifice her life,Except through some unguarded impulse heExtends his golden sceptre that she live.I can not go unto the king.MordecaiYour lifeIs forfeited already, child; you areA Jew.EstherYou did conceal my blood nor dareReveal my lineage now. Your own deceitHas brought this death upon the house of Israel,Nor will Jehovah hold you guiltless inThe hour of doom.MordecaiEsther, if you keepYour peace when Rachel's children wail and cryFor help, deliverance will ariseUnto the Jews but you shall be destroyedAnd all your father's house.EstherDepart.[Sound of trumpets within.]The kingIs on his throne. I go, and if I die,I can but perish. Peace to Israel.[Exit Mordecai.][The curtain back rises and discloses Ahasuerus on his throne surrounded by court. Esther approaches to center of hall before the king, and extends her hands as though supplicating. The king seems dazed for a moment and then deeply moved; slowly he lifts the golden sceptre and extends it toward the queen who approaches and touches it.]AhasuerusWhy did you, Esther, O most beauteous queen,Thus dare to come unbidden to the king?'Twas jealous Death unbarred the royal doorThat he might claim you for his paramour?Your innocence and charms have saved your life!Esther[Innocently.]My lord, how now was I in danger? Ah,You know I am your loyal wife? I wouldNot be your queen alone. The crown is naughtCompared to pleasures of companionship.O Xerxes, may not Esther share your joysOf wine and song? Too long you have deniedThat which I covet most—to be besideMy king.AhasuerusThere is no favor, Esther, IWould longer hold from you; even to halfMy kingdom, tell me what you most desire,And I will give it you.EstherMy lord, I haveAlready spoke my heart, but you will notBelieve. To test Ahasuerus' love,I have a favor I would ask of you;But first that my most gracious lord may knowHis queen has taste and skill as well as charms,I will prepare a banquet for the kingWith my own hands. You are a judge of wine,And every dish that graces banquet halls.To-morrow, let Ahasuerus come,And bring his premier Haman, who no doubtCan tell a heron from a hawk, and ifMy lord shall praise my art, and IFind favor in his sight, I will make knownMy dearest wish.AhasuerusOh, Esther, you have pleasedYour king already far beyond what heHad ever hoped. To-morrow night at six![Music and revels. Esther retires.][The king and retinue retire in opposite direction. Haman and followers pass out front where Mordecai sits by the gate, together with others. All except Mordecai salaam, but the Jew remains stiff, looking Haman defiantly in the face.][Curtain.]Scene IIIHome of Haman—two days later.[Enter Haman, Zeresh, and Parshandatha.]HamanMy star grows brighter with each setting sun;The lowly child of old HammedethaIs first among the servants of the king.Ah, Mordecai, you did not know I amAn Agagite, who fed upon the breastOf unrelenting hate toward every childOf Israel, who will not bend the kneeSave to the God of Abraham. Oh, do[Wailing in Street.]You, Zeresh, hear that wail of anguish? Love,I know that you are proud to be the wifeOf him who can direct such music.ZereshIAm proud of Haman's power.HamanGo call our friends.ZereshBefore the rising sun had touched with goldThe treetops on the peaks of Zagros, Tesh,The son of Zalphon, was abroadIn Shushan on the errand of my lord.HamanNot only in this city, but, my spouse,In every province of the king, the JewsIn sackcloth mourn because of Haman's might.But would you know the secret of my strength?This ring! The seal of Xerxes. It is deathTo every drop of Jacob's blood withinThe Domain of Ahasuerus' rule.ZereshThe guests are coming.HamanOh, the messagesOf enmity are swift as shafts of love.Now, Zeresh, call the servants of the houseAnd set a sumptuous feast, for Haman wouldTake counsel of his friends.ZereshMy gracious lord,The table is already set. Go greetThe guests and bring them in.[Exit Haman.][Zeresh continues.]Parshandatha,What do you think of Haman? Did you noteMy lord?ParshandathaI did, madam. His happinessIs most complete. His rapid rise to powerHas all but ravished him with joy. And yet,Methought that something still he lacked. PerhapsThe queen's consent has not yet been obtainedTo this decree that puts the Jews to death.ZereshWhat do you mean? The queen's consent? My LordHas naught to do with Xerxes' wife, and whyShould he be troubled for a woman's whim?Besides, who knows but Esther does approveThis slaughter of the Jews?ParshandathaApprove, madam?She is a queen, but still a woman!ZereshSoAm I, though not a queen! A woman, yesBut with no stomach for that hated race!Parshandatha'Tis whispered in the court that Esther isHerself a Jew.ZereshThe Persian queen a Jew!Then let her perish with her blood.ParshandathaBut wouldMy lord consent to Esther's death?ZereshConsentAgain! Parshandatha, why do you harpUpon consent? Now listen to my words.But should you e'er disclose one breathOf what I say, you are yourself a Jew,Nor is there any power in Persia's kingTo save your life. My lord pretends to hateThe Jews. His hate is only wounded pride.The deference of Mordecai is allThat Haman wants. He does not know the queenIs Hebrew blood. This fact must still be keptConcealed—concealed, that is, until the dayOf death. Oh, he shall know who Esther is—This Israelite that banquets with my lord!You think his rise is due to Esther's power?ParshandathaMadam, I do not know.ZereshNot know! not know!But what think you, Parshandatha? Of courseYou do not know.ParshandathaMadam, he often dinesWith Esther and the king. The king no doubtIs very fond of your most gracious lord.ZereshThe king!ParshandathaMayhap the queen also. Your lordIs young and handsome still. The king is farBeyond the queen in years.ZereshI canNot catch your drift.ParshandathaMadam, your husband hasA ready wit. The queen enjoys life.ZereshEnjoys life!And so do I, and likewise death. Now holdYour blasted tongue. My husband sups againTo-morrow with the Jewish queen. They sayWhen Haman dines her majesty preparesThe banquet with her own most dainty hand!Parshandatha, whose hand, think you, has laidThe feast of Adar?Parshandatha

The Blood of RachelA Dramatization of EstherAnd Other PoemsBy COTTON NOEAuthor of "The Loom of Life"Publishers LogoJOHN P. MORTON & COMPANYINCORPORATEDLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY1916

A Dramatization of Esther

And Other Poems

By COTTON NOEAuthor of "The Loom of Life"

Publishers Logo

JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANYINCORPORATEDLOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY1916

HONORABLE MOSES KAUFMAN

From whom I differ on some political and religiousquestions, but whose warm friendship andkeen literary appreciation have been asource of much inspiration to me,particularly in the writingof this drama.

PERSONS OF THE DRAMA

Chamberlains,Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court,Heralds,Royal Dancers,Nubian Slaves,Waiters,and others.

Place—Shushan, the Capital of Persia.

Time—478 B.C.

[A hall in the palace of the king. Enter Smerdis, the king's jester, and Ahafid, poet and minstrel to the king, from opposite sides of the hall. Ahafid is already an old man, with long grey beard and a little stooped with age. He carries a golden Persian harp on which he plays and accompanies his own song.]

Ahafid

[Sings.]

Now War has doffed his mailed coatAnd Peace forgot her art;The lute but not the bugle's noteCan stir the kingly heart;Nights of revel and carp,And days of sensuous rust,How can a poet's harpIntone a song of lust?The king is mad. His flight from SalamisWas bad enough. But that could be excused.For six months now what has he done but drink,Carouse and wallow in lascivious ease,While subjects driven to despair with taxHave fallen on the poisoned sword and cursedIn death the son of their once goodly king?

The king is mad. His flight from SalamisWas bad enough. But that could be excused.For six months now what has he done but drink,Carouse and wallow in lascivious ease,While subjects driven to despair with taxHave fallen on the poisoned sword and cursedIn death the son of their once goodly king?

Smerdis

Ahafid, you do seem to think the firstGreat business of a king is war. Now prayYou, why should Xerxes waste the lusty daysOf youth in bloody strife? To furnish themes,No doubt, for dullard bards and minstrelsy.Ahasuerus is the wisest kingThat ever sat upon a Persian throne.You graybeard fool, stupid as poets are.Can you not see the wisdom of our kingIn substitution of the flight for death,Of feast for fight, of wine for blood? Think you'Tis wise to wear the plaited mail of MarsWhen Venus bids you to the festivalOf love?

Ahafid

You call me then a graybeard fool!Though I have dropped the purple bloom of springThe autumn's silvery down may indicateThe ripened fruit of wisdom which your youthHas never tasted. Smerdis, you are blind!My beard is white, but vision clear. The kingDoes daily waste the substance of his realm,And nightly dissipates his energiesIn vices of the blood. Vashti, the queen,The idol of her people, is in grief.

Smerdis

In grief for what? Does she too wish the kingTo take the field? I know our queen is fairOf face and most voluptuous of form.Perhaps her grief is due to jealousy.Would she monopolize his love, becauseHer beauty is surpassing?

Ahafid

Vashti doesNot know that she is beautiful. She lovesHer country and is brave as well as good.I dread the issue of this night. The kingHas ordered that the queen be brought beforeThe court, a target for licentious eyes.She will refuse to go because her heartIs pure. Ahasuerus, flushed with wine,Will brook no opposition to his will.A tragedy that never Persia knewWill see the rising of to-morrow's sun.

Smerdis

A tragedy no country ever knew—A woman who is beautiful, but doesn't know it's true.

Ahafid

[Sings.]

Oh, for a song to cleanse the heartOr touch the sceptred power;Oh, might the gods a strength impartTo meet this tragic hour.

[Exeunt Ahafid and Smerdis.]

[Enter Vashti and Zethar.]

Vashti

Oh, Zethar, do you think this night will endThe revels that dishonor Persia's king?To-day unknown I strolled through squalid partsOf this old city and observed the poor.My lord, unmindful of their misery,Has laid a heavy tax for his insaneExtravagance upon the helpless childThat begs in Shushan's streets. Not here alone,This suffering; but Persia's peasantry,The glory of the old empire, the heartThat once defied the world, is broken onThe wheel of tax. And all for what?

Zethar

O queen,Always the world has had its poverty.You shall forget the poor. One stoop of wineWill bring you happiness. Vashti, drink.

Vashti

Forgive me, Zethar, but no wine to-night.

[Enter Meheuman, Biztha and Abagtha.]

Meheuman

[Loftily.]

Our most imperial queen, the king has laidA banquet in the palace garden court,The crowning act of that munificenceToward prince and people great and small alike,Ahasuerus now for many monthsHas shown the loyal subjects of his realm.The adornment of the court displays a richMagnificence of taste; the couches areOf fretted gold and silver set uponA pavement of mosaic inlaid stone.The drinking is according to the law—None can compel, each vessel is diverse,But all of gold. Th' abundance of the wineShows the unstinted bounty of the king.Our monarch's heart is merry in the cup,And boasts that Vashti's beauty does excelIn magic power the fabled Helen's charms,And bids us bring immediately beforeThe court great Persia's matchless queen!

Vashti

Meheuman, tell Ahasuerus IMust thank his majesty since he can stillRemember Vashti's beauty, though his graceHas lost all sense of modesty and shame.You say his heart is merry now in wineAnd that he glories with exceeding prideBecause my face is fair to look upon!I do not doubt his tongue is eloquent;The fiery phrase is his! Why, often IHave heard him praise his horse in language thatSeemed kindled at the altar of the gods.It may be that he holds me higher thanHis hundred concubines.

Meheuman

Your majesty,The king does hold his queen a goddess.

Vashti

Well,Perhaps he thinks himself divine. Go tellThe king I do not wish to be enrolledAmong divinities. I am the queen—He must respect me as the one who wearsThe Persian crown.'Tis scarce three years since heBegan to reign. He was Darius' son—A king of whom the world was proud. He wooedMe as a prince of noble blood, and IReceived his hand with dignity as wellAs love. I was a princess, but I hadA heart. Long since I found that he had none.A hundred eighty days continuous feastHe has oppressed the people of his ruleWith drunken revels and with wanton waste.And now to crown his sensualityHe sends his vulgar chamberlains to bringMe to his palace garden that his lordsMay gaze with unchaste eyes upon my form.Meheuman, Biztha, will you tell the kingThat Vashti bids him come to her if heWould see the queen.

Well,Perhaps he thinks himself divine. Go tellThe king I do not wish to be enrolledAmong divinities. I am the queen—He must respect me as the one who wearsThe Persian crown.

'Tis scarce three years since heBegan to reign. He was Darius' son—A king of whom the world was proud. He wooedMe as a prince of noble blood, and IReceived his hand with dignity as wellAs love. I was a princess, but I hadA heart. Long since I found that he had none.A hundred eighty days continuous feastHe has oppressed the people of his ruleWith drunken revels and with wanton waste.And now to crown his sensualityHe sends his vulgar chamberlains to bringMe to his palace garden that his lordsMay gaze with unchaste eyes upon my form.Meheuman, Biztha, will you tell the kingThat Vashti bids him come to her if heWould see the queen.

Meheuman

You understandThe costly hangings of the garden courtAre blue and green and white?

Vashti

Now pray you whatSignificance has that? What if each couchIs gold and silver and each goblet setWith stones?

Meheuman

The king's great love for Vashti!

Vashti

ThenHe has prepared this banquet for his queen?And does he think this is an evidenceOf love. It rather means the king's debauched.I will not be a party to his sin.

Meheuman

The etiquette of court commands you toObey.

Vashti

Commands! Well, has it come to that?But I will not obey. I am a queen!Here! Take this purple robe and coronet,And tell Ahasuerus to adornSome harlot of his harem. She will graceThe queenship of his kingdom better thanA pure and modest wife.

Abagtha

You do not knowThe meaning of your words!

Vashti

Abagtha, whyDo you admonish me? Do I not knowThe forfeit? Chamberlains, this message takeLicentious Xerxes from his virtuous queen:I do not fear his wrath. I will not comeAt his command. I have a royal heartAnd will not thus disgrace the Persian throne.The king that's halfway worthy of my handWould hate the queen that yielded to his lust.My heart, O chamberlains, is broken, notThat Vashti's crown is lost, but oh, to seeThe regal name of Persia brought so low!I weep. The tears are for my country. Go!

[Exeunt Vashti, Abagtha, etc.]

[Curtain is lowered to denote the passage of six years.]

[Outer hall in palace. Throne room back concealed by curtain. Queen Esther, disguised by loose dress thrown over royal robe and head and face below the eyes hidden by mask, approaches the door where Mordecai, the Jew, is standing.]

Mordecai

Ah, Esther! Though your queenly robe you doConceal, I know that regal gait. BeforeI ever looked upon these palace walls,When you were yet a little child beyondThe purple peaks, where shepherds led their flocksIn pastures green, I often dreamed that youWould one day wear a golden coronetAnd sit in majesty upon a throne.

Esther

[Dejectedly.]

Four years I have been queen, which time I haveNot heard the voice of any one I love;And though disguised, I hardly dare to speakMy heart even to you. This palace isA gloomy prison cell. The Persian crownIs meaningless to me. The hundred gemsThat blaze upon its field of gold are dullAnd heavy lead. I would exchange it allFor but a glint of sunshine on the hillsWhere I was born. But why this interview?

Mordecai

My royal niece, I know that you are queen.

Esther

A queen? But what of that? Though of my blood,You can not even look upon my face.What would you have?

[Wailing without.]

Mordecai

My daughter, do you hearThe cries of anguish that disturb the peaceOf Shushan's streets? Your people everywhereAre clothed in sackcloth. Read the king's decree!

[Handing her paper.]

Esther

[Reads.]

"It has been written and commanded byAhasuerus, emperor of allThe East, and sealed in every tongue with hisOwn ring—the royal seal—that governorsAnd princes and lieutenants, everyoneWithin the Persian rule, shall make and causeTo die and perish every Jew, both youngAnd old, the women and the children, richAnd poor alike, and forfeit all their goods.This is Ahasuerus' sovereign willAnd shall be done and executed inThe month of Adar on the thirteenth day."Oh, God! It is Ahasuerus' seal.

Mordecai

But Haman's hand.

Esther

Why does the premier hateThe Jews?

Mordecai

Because the children of the trueAnd living God will never bend the kneeTo heathen pride. He hates the Jews becauseYour uncle is a child of AbrahamAnd will not do obeisance to a sonOf Baal. Esther, though I made you queen,I plead not for the life of Mordecai,But for the sacred blood of Israel.You alone can intervene. Go straightBefore the king and make demand that heReverse this law that puts the Jews to death.

Esther

A Persian king can not reverse his ownDecree. Besides, the queen who goes intoThe presence of her lord unless by hisExpress command, must sacrifice her life,Except through some unguarded impulse heExtends his golden sceptre that she live.I can not go unto the king.

Mordecai

Your lifeIs forfeited already, child; you areA Jew.

Esther

You did conceal my blood nor dareReveal my lineage now. Your own deceitHas brought this death upon the house of Israel,Nor will Jehovah hold you guiltless inThe hour of doom.

Mordecai

Esther, if you keepYour peace when Rachel's children wail and cryFor help, deliverance will ariseUnto the Jews but you shall be destroyedAnd all your father's house.

Esther

Depart.[Sound of trumpets within.]The kingIs on his throne. I go, and if I die,I can but perish. Peace to Israel.

Depart.[Sound of trumpets within.]

The kingIs on his throne. I go, and if I die,I can but perish. Peace to Israel.

[Exit Mordecai.]

[The curtain back rises and discloses Ahasuerus on his throne surrounded by court. Esther approaches to center of hall before the king, and extends her hands as though supplicating. The king seems dazed for a moment and then deeply moved; slowly he lifts the golden sceptre and extends it toward the queen who approaches and touches it.]

Ahasuerus

Why did you, Esther, O most beauteous queen,Thus dare to come unbidden to the king?'Twas jealous Death unbarred the royal doorThat he might claim you for his paramour?Your innocence and charms have saved your life!

Esther

[Innocently.]

My lord, how now was I in danger? Ah,You know I am your loyal wife? I wouldNot be your queen alone. The crown is naughtCompared to pleasures of companionship.O Xerxes, may not Esther share your joysOf wine and song? Too long you have deniedThat which I covet most—to be besideMy king.

Ahasuerus

There is no favor, Esther, IWould longer hold from you; even to halfMy kingdom, tell me what you most desire,And I will give it you.

Esther

My lord, I haveAlready spoke my heart, but you will notBelieve. To test Ahasuerus' love,I have a favor I would ask of you;But first that my most gracious lord may knowHis queen has taste and skill as well as charms,I will prepare a banquet for the kingWith my own hands. You are a judge of wine,And every dish that graces banquet halls.To-morrow, let Ahasuerus come,And bring his premier Haman, who no doubtCan tell a heron from a hawk, and ifMy lord shall praise my art, and IFind favor in his sight, I will make knownMy dearest wish.

Ahasuerus

Oh, Esther, you have pleasedYour king already far beyond what heHad ever hoped. To-morrow night at six!

[Music and revels. Esther retires.]

[The king and retinue retire in opposite direction. Haman and followers pass out front where Mordecai sits by the gate, together with others. All except Mordecai salaam, but the Jew remains stiff, looking Haman defiantly in the face.]

[Curtain.]

Home of Haman—two days later.

[Enter Haman, Zeresh, and Parshandatha.]

Haman

My star grows brighter with each setting sun;The lowly child of old HammedethaIs first among the servants of the king.Ah, Mordecai, you did not know I amAn Agagite, who fed upon the breastOf unrelenting hate toward every childOf Israel, who will not bend the kneeSave to the God of Abraham. Oh, do

[Wailing in Street.]

You, Zeresh, hear that wail of anguish? Love,I know that you are proud to be the wifeOf him who can direct such music.

Zeresh

IAm proud of Haman's power.

Haman

Go call our friends.

Zeresh

Before the rising sun had touched with goldThe treetops on the peaks of Zagros, Tesh,The son of Zalphon, was abroadIn Shushan on the errand of my lord.

Haman

Not only in this city, but, my spouse,In every province of the king, the JewsIn sackcloth mourn because of Haman's might.But would you know the secret of my strength?This ring! The seal of Xerxes. It is deathTo every drop of Jacob's blood withinThe Domain of Ahasuerus' rule.

Zeresh

The guests are coming.

Haman

Oh, the messagesOf enmity are swift as shafts of love.Now, Zeresh, call the servants of the houseAnd set a sumptuous feast, for Haman wouldTake counsel of his friends.

Zeresh

My gracious lord,The table is already set. Go greetThe guests and bring them in.

[Exit Haman.]

[Zeresh continues.]

Parshandatha,What do you think of Haman? Did you noteMy lord?

Parshandatha

I did, madam. His happinessIs most complete. His rapid rise to powerHas all but ravished him with joy. And yet,Methought that something still he lacked. PerhapsThe queen's consent has not yet been obtainedTo this decree that puts the Jews to death.

Zeresh

What do you mean? The queen's consent? My LordHas naught to do with Xerxes' wife, and whyShould he be troubled for a woman's whim?Besides, who knows but Esther does approveThis slaughter of the Jews?

Parshandatha

Approve, madam?She is a queen, but still a woman!

Zeresh

SoAm I, though not a queen! A woman, yesBut with no stomach for that hated race!

Parshandatha

'Tis whispered in the court that Esther isHerself a Jew.

Zeresh

The Persian queen a Jew!Then let her perish with her blood.

Parshandatha

But wouldMy lord consent to Esther's death?

Zeresh

ConsentAgain! Parshandatha, why do you harpUpon consent? Now listen to my words.But should you e'er disclose one breathOf what I say, you are yourself a Jew,Nor is there any power in Persia's kingTo save your life. My lord pretends to hateThe Jews. His hate is only wounded pride.The deference of Mordecai is allThat Haman wants. He does not know the queenIs Hebrew blood. This fact must still be keptConcealed—concealed, that is, until the dayOf death. Oh, he shall know who Esther is—This Israelite that banquets with my lord!You think his rise is due to Esther's power?

Parshandatha

Madam, I do not know.

Zeresh

Not know! not know!But what think you, Parshandatha? Of courseYou do not know.

Parshandatha

Madam, he often dinesWith Esther and the king. The king no doubtIs very fond of your most gracious lord.

Zeresh

The king!

Parshandatha

Mayhap the queen also. Your lordIs young and handsome still. The king is farBeyond the queen in years.

Zeresh

I canNot catch your drift.

Parshandatha

Madam, your husband hasA ready wit. The queen enjoys life.

Zeresh

Enjoys life!And so do I, and likewise death. Now holdYour blasted tongue. My husband sups againTo-morrow with the Jewish queen. They sayWhen Haman dines her majesty preparesThe banquet with her own most dainty hand!Parshandatha, whose hand, think you, has laidThe feast of Adar?

Parshandatha

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