The same persons,Zoraya
Zoraya.(Without seeingZaguir,toAisha) Who is here with you?
Aisha.Zaguir, who has no right to be here!—but he has a good excuse—since yesterday he has seen men prowling round the house. (She points to the right,Zorayacrosses the scene and goes to the window.)
Zaguir.They have passed the night under the fig trees.
Aisha.(ToZoraya) On the hillside—look! Ah! They are going away—do you see them?
Zoraya.Yes!—They are going down to the bridge. (ToZaguir) Follow them!
Zaguir.As far as the city?
Zoraya.All about the city—and see where they stop.
Zaguir.Yes, mistress!
Zoraya.Go! Go!
Zaguirleaves, running.
Zoraya,Aisha
Zoraya.(At the window, constantly looking out) Why are those bells ringing on this beautiful morning?—Is there some Christian festival today?
Aisha.I know of none.
Zoraya.(Reëntering the scene) After waiting for him all night I finally fell asleep. They awakened me and I heard your voice. I believed he was there, and I nearly betrayed myself by calling his name in the boy’s presence.
Aisha.We must continue hoping that Don Enrique will come tonight.
Zoraya.Two nights without seeing him!—And no word from him—what torture! And those bad dreams! Give me the spotted cards.
Aishabrings a pack of cards which she lays out on the little table. The sound of the bells gradually dies out.
Aisha.He has probably been warned of the presence of those men.
Zoraya.Last night, yes—But the night before—did Zaguir see them then?
Aisha.No.
Zoraya.(Constantly occupied in arranging the cards) Then it was something else.
Aisha.Perhaps some sudden duty?
Zoraya.Doubtful! He is free! He has no father, no mother, no wife, no children!
Aisha.He commands the archers, the blunderbuss men and the cross-bowmen of the city. He may be detained by the service.
Zoraya.For two days?
Aisha.He is a member of the Council of Castile, which may have been summoned to Aranjuez where the king is sojourning.
Zoraya.Yes, possibly that is so!—Ah! if only we had some means of secretly writing to each other!
Aisha.Allah protect us! That would be a quicker way of losing ourselves!—we are threatened often enough, now!
Zoraya.Ah! (She raises a card.)
Aisha.What?
Zoraya.The Cavalier of the Sword—now I am beginning to detect the cause!
Aisha.You see!—I thought until this minute that we should not be left long in security! You had decided to do as the others advised and flee to the coast of Africa to escape the persecutions of the Nazarenes! Then, it was necessary to meet this man! Ah! misery upon us! Ever since the time when he unexpectedly appeared while we were breathing the evening breeze on the hill and when you so foolishly threw yourself into his arms, I have believed that I hear the black wings of Azrael, the angel of death, brushing the roof of our house!
Zoraya.“Our Destiny,” says the Prophet, “is suspended from our necks”—If it is written that I shall die for Enrique, then I may likewise wish that it should be in his arms!
Aisha.Oh! my daughter, you who were so chaste in your widowhood, why are you enamored with this infidel, this enemy of the true God?
Zoraya.Do you know how and why I love him? I was at his mercy! A word, and he could have thrown me into the dungeons of the Inquisition. It was good of him to save my honor, a price which they always extort from our other women. I will risk anything for him. Those men were there to act as my safeguards during the night. I shall wait for an opportune time and flee to Toledo before evening!
Aisha.Rain of Heaven!
Zoraya.But what weakness is ours! He is young, he is generous in his love, his gaze is tender!—when he liberated me, I could dream no more of fleeing.
Aisha.Alas!
Zoraya.(Returning to the cards) Ah! “The King!”—A powerful enemy!
Aisha.You see! You see!
Zoraya.Sh——.
Aisha.What?
Zoraya.I believe I hear him.
Aisha.No!
Zoraya.Besides, he would not come before night!
Aisha.Ah! I hope he will not come this evening—and never again!
Zoraya.Silence! You wretch! Do you want me to die of sorrow?
Aisha.That would be better than being buried alive in an oubliette as poor Kalem’s accomplice and for a crime similar to his!
Zoraya.I should die first!
Aisha.Allah! Allah! listen to her—Where is there a love that has made any one reasonable! All these nights I have been there, I, cowering on my couch waiting and listening and trembling at the least noise. And you can be happy—you—with such a menace hanging over you!—What folly!
Zoraya.(Rising and putting away the cards) You do not understand anything, poor Aisha! To love without peril is beautiful—it is the common kind of love. But the kind that is outlawed, accursed and condemned at its beginning—the love that braves all perils, that defies death, that brings the bitter-sweet of forbidden kisses and maddening embraces during which it is said, “This may be the last!”—that is love!—that is love!
Aisha.(Groaning) Ah!
Zoraya.Be silent! This time it is his step. (She runs to the door at the left and opens it) It is he!—Ah! it is he!—It is he!
Enriqueappears on the threshold of the little door.
Zoraya.Finally—Ah! God!—At last! at last! (ToAishaas she passesEnriqueto fasten the little door) Watch carefully. (After fastening the draperies,Aishagoes into the garden.)
Zoraya,Enrique
Zoraya.(ToEnrique) Your heart beats!—You have been running?
Enrique.Yes!
Zoraya.They have pursued you?
Enrique.(Removing his mantle) No!
Zoraya.And on the road, did you see no one?
Enrique.Not one person! (He places on the stool his mantle, his hat and his sword.) I did not come by way of the bridge, but by the path up the hillside after crossing the river in a boat.
Zoraya.(Seated on the cushions) In daylight! What imprudence! And instead of coming last night when I waited so anxiously for you!
Enrique.I, too, have had occasion to think of that!—When I left you at dawn the day before yesterday I saw standing at the end of the bridge a man whom I knew had no ordinary reason for being there at that hour. I passed him quickly, covering myself closely with my cloak. He followed me, but I reached my residence after throwing him off my trail in an alley.
Zoraya.He followed you?—You are certain?
Enrique.Absolutely certain. It was to baffle him that I forced myself to remain away from you last night and the night before and that I crossed the river in a boat, below the Mirador.
Zoraya.Yes! (Rising) Oh! it is clear now! It is well for you that they watched only at night.
Enrique.And why?
Zoraya.The men watched there behind those fig trees. (He goes toward the terrace.) No!—they have gone away, thinking it useless to watch for you in the daytime.
Enrique.How many?
Zoraya.Three. One of them seemed to be the chief.
Enrique.Did he have a small, grizzly beard?
Zoraya.Yes.
Enrique.(Eagerly) It was he who spied upon me. I believe I recognize him! (Seats himself at right on the fountain basin.) It is Cardenos, one of my father’s old soldiers, but now an agent of the Holy Office and a religious bigot!
Zoraya.(At his right, standing) Then! he has recognized you!
Enrique.I doubt it. He would hardly wait one day. He knows only that you are receiving some unknown person in the night. If I were suspected they would prowl round my house and I have seen nothing of them—At least, whatever there is in this, we must be on guard.
Zoraya.Oh, yes!
Enrique.And for the sake of prudence give up seeing each other.
Zoraya.For several days—surely.
Enrique.Say—some weeks.
Zoraya.(Protesting) Several weeks?
Enrique.It is the only way to stop them from spying upon us.
Zoraya.Several weeks!—without seeing each other?
Enrique.My Zoraya, you must resign yourself to it.
Zoraya.Resign myself!—Oh, resignation is easy for you! Our love is not the only affair of your life!—But I!—I cannot conquer my loneliness after you depart with the thought that you will return when the first star flowers in the heavens. I shall no more, during the great heat of the day, dream of the night’s divine joys, which live again in thoughts of you. I shall feel lonely enough in this house during the coolness of evening when alone I shall hear the soft wind in the branches, the songs of my birds, the purling of my streams—then all that charms me at other times will bring in your absence only sorrow and tears!—Those two nights without you, how long they seemed!—and you speak of weeks!—several weeks, you say. “Where is he? What is he doing? Does he think of me? If he should never return!” (Enriquemakes a quick movement.) Ah! perhaps that is what you wish to say and dare not tell me!
Enrique.I!
Zoraya.If you fear those men?—If you wish to see me no more?
Enrique.(Protesting) You believe me cowardly!—When I have risked myself in plain day to see you for an instant!
Zoraya.That is true!—But you seem so preoccupied, so troubled—
Enrique.Like yourself—by this danger.
Zoraya.Yes, but I am more tender than you—While you—they say that your heart is always far away—far away from me!—Look at me!—I want you to look at me!—Quickly!—without taking time to invent a lie! (She turnsEnrique’sface toward her.) Your gaze seems to tell me that your love has been stolen from me!
Enrique.Ah! My charmer! What a long time until then!—Since the hour when we first met, they have followed me everywhere, those eyes, there—they call to me day and night!—Ramiro had said to me, “Take care, my lord, that the magician does not throw over you some kind of a love charm!”
Zoraya.Ramiro is a silly fellow. There has been neither a magician nor magic. “Life,” said my father, “is a combat, where, like flights of arrows, contrary minds strive among themselves for a victory, which finally rests with the fallen.” I desired ardently to be loved by you. You did not know how to defend yourself. I have shot my arrow into your heart—in that lies all of my sorcery.
Enrique.And why did you so fervently desire me to love you?
Zoraya.(PassingEnrique,to the left) First, because of cowardice, my dear lord!—to extort from you my pardon—and later on, if I conquered you, to flee from Toledo!
Enrique.Ingrate!
Zoraya.(Sitting) It is bold of me to tell you now—and next—for bravado, malice and revenge!
Enrique.Revenge?
Zoraya.Yes, yes, revenge! I wanted to have the pleasure of humiliating in you the Spaniard, the Christian, the conqueror of my people, the enemy of my race, which you declare impure! I wanted to make you renounce your faith like the heroes of that book of love (she points to the book on the table), “Celastine,” which you have given me to read—like Calixte, who said to his dear Melibee: “I am no more Christian or pagan. I am Melibee! I believe in no one but Melibee, I adore no one but Melibee!” And, after all!—after all!—I wanted to be loved—for the sake of love! Leaning against you, nearly in your arms, as I am now, with your cheek brushing my cheek—I felt little by little the chaste coldness of my widowhood, which Aisha always glorified, melting like snow in the glowing warmth of our clasped hands, in the burning breath from our hot lips—This fever of love which I believe will never be cured has crept stealthily into my blood. I am like one intoxicated. And when you say to me: “Go away, you are free!” I shall take with me in leaving the hope, the dear hope, that you will come to me very soon on some dark night and demand a ransom for my freedom. Ah! my adored conqueror, you are well avenged! She who would rule is no more than an humble slave at your feet, subdued and tender as a tamed gazelle! (Sounds of the distant bells.Enriquestarts.Zorayadoes not move.) What disturbs you?
Enrique.Those bells!
Zoraya.Well, they are ringing. What is that to us?
Enrique.It means that they are calling me and that it is time for us to part.
Zoraya.(Rising) So soon? What for? You may remain here until the hour of the siesta when the streets are deserted.
Enrique.Oh, no! That is impossible! (He rises.)
Zoraya.Impossible!
Enrique.There is to be a great feast in the palace and a great ceremony in the cathedral. All of my men are under arms and I must be at their head. I have scarcely time to return to the city in the same way that I came.
Zoraya.By boat?
Enrique.Yes. (He takes up his hat, mantle and sword.)
Zoraya.And if they should watch for you on the other side of the river?
Enrique.Do not dream of that!—Fear nothing!
Zoraya.Oh! I fear everything just now, those men—and for you!
Enrique.For me?
Zoraya.Yes! Yes! For either of us, who knows? Last night I had a menacing dream! You entered by that door! I ran to you! You were nothing but a shadow, a vapor which dissolved in my arms!
Enrique.What folly!—A dream!
Zoraya.All dreams are not lies! If this one should be true, what then?—Do assure me that you are not going away to forsake me!
Enrique.Oh!
Zoraya.For another!
Enrique.Hush! Hush!
Zoraya.I would kill you first!—No, no! Do not believe that! Pardon me for saying that—I have suffered so much during these last two days. And such bad omens! When do we meet again?
Enrique.God knows when! So soon as we can without danger.
Zoraya.Here?
Enrique.Oh, no!
Zoraya.Where then?
Enrique.I shall advise you.
Zoraya.(In his arms) And how shall I know?
Enrique.That will be arranged!—And, until I come, my dear love, believe nothing, do you hear!—nothing, only in my love for you! (The bells begin to ring again.)
Zoraya.Ah! those bells which always take you from my arms!
Enrique.I hope to see you soon!
Zoraya.Watch carefully during your return to the city.
Enrique.Yes, yes!
She gazes at him until he disappears through the doorway.
Aishaopens the curtains in the left arch. Seeing thatZorayais alone, she descends into the scene.
Aisha.He is gone?
Zoraya.(Going back to the right) Yes, and let us hope safely. He will not return until many days have passed.
Aisha.I have turned away the poor men who came at their usual hour seeking aid from you.
Zoraya.Ah! I am in a fine state of mind to console others!
Aisha.I have again given Al Mansour’s wife that black liquor which lessens her husband’s sufferings. I also gave a purse of gold to Farizade. Poor Saada is here again. She is discouraged. Her sister suffers more than ever from that malady.
Zoraya.Alas! And there is no remedy!
Aisha.She begs you to have pity on this unfortunate woman, who asks that death relieve her and who implores you to send her a beverage which will put her into a sweet and everlasting sleep. (The bells stop ringing.)
Zoraya.Ah! that is the right kind of charity. They give that to a diseased dog, but they condemn human beings whom they love to suffer useless tortures—it is barbarous and stupid!
Aisha.Saada will return tomorrow.
Zoraya.Prepare for her bitter almond essence in a covering of pure wax the size of a muscat grain. That will take away the poor girl in less time than one can say: “There is no other God but Allah!” If it is a crime to do this, I am ready to face the charge. Is that all?
Aisha.(With hesitation) No!—there is another whom I did not want to send away. It is an urgent case, she said. She is anxiously waiting out there.
Zoraya.Do I know her?
Aisha.(The same) She is an old friend of your mother’s—Fatoum.
Zoraya.(Quickly) That wretched woman who was converted! I will not see her!
Aisha.She assures me she has been faithful to the Prophet’s law.
Zoraya.Well, what does she want?
Aisha.She is accompanied by a young girl in a litter.
Zoraya.Ill?
Aisha.Probably.
Zoraya.Let Fatoum alone enter.
Zoraya,Aisha,Fatoum
Aisharaises the portière at the left to admitFatoum,an old Moorish woman, who has been converted.
Zoraya.Come forward!
Fatoum.(She goes toZoraya,who is seated, kneels and kisses the hem of her skirt) May Allah be merciful to you and rain his gifts upon you!
Zoraya.(Severely) Dare you pronounce His sacred name, you who have renounced the God of your fathers! Take care that He does not hear you!
Fatoum.He reads my heart and sees that I am converted only because I do not want to be separated from the child, whom I have brought here.
Zoraya.Your daughter?
Fatoum.By birth, no, Zoraya; by affection, ah! certainly, yes! She was ten years old when her mother died, and I have reared her.
Zoraya.A Spaniard?
Fatoum.Yes! You alone can heal her.
Zoraya.That is a case for the Christian physicians.
Fatoum.They know little or nothing. I have come to you because your father—on him rested Allah’s benediction—was their master in everything and taught you the secrets of his art.
Zoraya.Well, who is she?
Fatoum.She consented to come only when I promised not to reveal her name.
Zoraya.Then she may go!
Fatoum.Zoraya, have pity! This child’s father is a hardened Catholic!—If he knew that I had taken his daughter to a Moor’s home, I would be cruelly punished! Out of fondness for me, she keeps it a secret!
Zoraya.She need not know that you have betrayed it.
Fatoum.If you promise me——
Zoraya.Yes, I promise!—Who is she?
Fatoum.Doña Joana, daughter of the Governor of Toledo!
Zoraya.(Quickly rising) That madman who is hunting our refugees in the Sierra and killing them without pity!
Fatoum.Allah, the Most High, rewards the faithful for their sufferings! This child is innocent of her father’s cruelties. She is charitable and good, the same as we ourselves. Moreover, she is very pious. She has been out of the convent only four days and will be married today.
Zoraya.Ah! those bells!
Fatoum.Her marriage! In order to have her visit you we have taken advantage of a journey to the convent of Mercy on this beautiful morning to ask the benediction of the abbess.
Zoraya.The convent of Mercy!—In it is confined the poor creature who loved Kalem, whom they stoned to death.
Fatoum.I do not know.
Zoraya.I, myself, know it—and I shall tell Joana my price for healing her—Let her enter!
AishaandFatoumgo out and return, bringing inJoana.
The same persons andDoña Joana
Joanaenters, timid, frightened and supported inFatoum’sarms.
Zoraya.(Kindly) Do you not fear, señorita, to come into a pagan’s home?
Joana.Fatoum has told me that you are charitable. That is the law of the Gospel!
Zoraya.And also that of the Koran—In that our religions are the same!—Seat yourself, my daughter (she sits upon the cushions at her side)—and tell me your trouble.
Joana.(Timidly) Permit Fatoum to tell it instead of me.
Fatoum.(Seated on a stool whichAishahas placed in the left of the scene) It is very strange—She rises in her sleep at night. Without seeing any one, she goes, comes, attends to her ordinary duties and returns to her bed—and during all that time she is in a dream.
Zoraya.(TakingJoana’shand, which relaxes) And she remembers nothing of it?
Joana.Oh, nothing!
Fatoum.This also happened in the convent.
Zoraya.No, no! I prefer to have her tell me about it, herself.
Joana.While in the convent I was frequently seized at night by a desire which led me to walk barefoot through the corridors to the chapel where I lighted the altar candles, prayed and sang a canticle!—and the next day the candles were still burning and I would not believe that I had lighted them. I prayed in vain to God to deliver me from this infirmity. I decided to come to you this morning with Fatoum, who says you are so wise!—For I am to be married today. If my husband sees me get up in the night and promenade like a phantom, he will believe it is a punishment from Heaven!—He will abhor me and I will die of shame!
Zoraya.(Leaning towards her) And during the day when you pray you fall into a dream of ecstasy, do you not—and you make believe that you are no more on this earth?
Joana.(Feeling gradually the suggestions to sleep) Oh, yes—yes!—It is so beautiful! Ah, it is delicious! I see Heaven!—blue—all blue, encircled with a golden light!—I hear the songs of seraphim and archangels!——
Zoraya.And is all beautiful in this delicious slumber into which you are falling?
Joana.(Sleepily) Yes!—Yes, beautiful!
Zoraya.As this? (She closesJoana’seyes.)
Joana.Yes!—I see—I—I——
Zoraya.Sleep! I want you to!
Joanafalls asleep with her head resting onZoraya’sshoulder.
Fatoum.(In a low voice) Is she asleep?
Zoraya.It is a sleep like that in which she walks at night.
Fatoum.Joana!—Señorita!—My child!
Joanadoes not move.
Zoraya.She does not hear your voice!—Does she also speak of taking the veil?
Fatoum.Ah, God!—It is her only dream. But she is her father’s only child. He will not consent to it and is obliging her to marry, which makes her disconsolate.
Zoraya.Does she object to the marriage, or to the man who is to be her husband? (Calling) Joana! (Joanamoves.Zorayacontinues.) Answer!—Do you feel tenderly for him whom you are to marry?
Joana.(Feebly) I do not love him.
Zoraya.Then, it is a feeling of aversion?
Joana.No! (Sadly) I do not want to marry!—I want to be a nun.
Fatoum.Do you hear that!—To me, to her father, to the abbess and to the sisters at Mercy—she has nothing to say but: “I want to be a nun.” Do you think that they have encouraged her with that idea in the convent and pictured marriage as something frightful? She is afraid that she will fall into one of those sleep-walking dreams tonight, which would cause a scandal!
Zoraya.Perhaps marriage would cure this malady.
Fatoum.Oh! I implore you, Zoraya, to heal her yourself, at once——
Zoraya.In a day, it is impossible!—Can you not come later? I shall surely succeed in curing her by frequently placing her in the present state in which she thinks of nothing, feels nothing and moves only at my command.
Fatoum.Is it possible?—It is magic!
Zoraya.No!—It is one of the mysterious laws of Nature that one will can fasten upon another, as mine has upon this child’s, and cause it to submit. It is so, Fatoum, for good or bad. If my power over this weaker creature were better established, and not so recent, I could say to her at this moment: “On such a day, at such an hour, you shall sleep this same sleep.” And unless she guarded herself while asleep, the least remembrance of that order on the stated day and hour would cause her to sleep unexpectedly in spite of her will, completely enslaved by mine. It is time to awaken her.
Fatoum.Not yet, I pray you!—Your will is so powerful. Can you not give her some protection against this disease tonight?
Zoraya.I can attempt it with great hope of success.
Fatoum.Oh! do it, Zoraya!—Do it! I shall forever bless you!
Zoraya.Joana! I tell you not to have the least fear that your trouble will return tonight. I have protected you. Do you understand?
Joana.(Feebly) Yes!—Yes!
Fatoum.May Allah reward you!
Zoraya.I tell you to awaken.
She drawsJoanato her, leans over her shoulder, places her hand on the top of her head, breathes on her eyes and opens her eyelids.Joanasighs, rouses herself, awakens and looks astonished.
Joana.(Sadly) Ah! you see!—I have slept again.
Zoraya.No, señorita, no!—It is I who made you sleep.
Joana.You can do that!
Zoraya.And can also cure you.
Joana.(Quickly) God has guided you!
Zoraya.Be assured, your malady will not trouble you tonight. (Signs of joy fromJoana.Zorayacontinues.) All service, of course, is worthy of reward. Therefore, I put a price on your healing.
Joana.Ah! I promise to pay in advance.
Zoraya.You are going to the convent of Mercy?
Joana.Yes, to ask for the blessing of the Holy Abbess.
Zoraya.There is in that convent a Christian maid, who, for having loved Kalem, is confined in a dungeon where she never sees daylight, where she awaits death to deliver her, if she has not yet answered its call.
Joana.Yes, poor girl, I know—but her crime——
Zoraya.You should quickly judge her as being the least guilty.—Implore for that unfortunate girl the mercy of the abbess, who will refuse you nothing on this, your nuptial day—Ask that this miserable creature be brought out of her living tomb, that she be given a cell where she may see a ray of sunlight, and that she be fed with other nourishment than bread and water, which increase the sufferings to which she is condemned. As for this today—Too late, we fear.
Joana.I shall request this as a favor.
Zoraya.You swear that you will?
Joana.Before God!
The distant bells again ring.
Zoraya.(Without rising) Those are your marriage bells, dear child. (AishaassistsJoanato rise) I hope that you will have good health, a happy and contented love and that your youth will be decked with flowers.
Joanaleaves withAisha,whileFatoumstops to kissZoraya’shand.
Fatoum.Allah’s benediction upon you!
Fatoumgoes out withJoana.
Zoraya,Aisha,Zaguir
At the instant thatFatoumandJoanadisappear in the garden,Zaguirappears on the threshold of the little door.
Zoraya.You followed those men?
Zaguir.Yes, mistress!—Far into the city, but I lost them in the crowd. All of the world seems to be in the streets, for there is a great fête.
Zoraya.Yes, I know—the marriage.
Zaguir.Of the Governor’s daughter and Don Enrique Palacios!
Zorayastifles a heartrending cry.
Aisha.(Running toZoraya) Ah! unhappy child! (Zorayaclings fast to her, bewildered, swaying, choking. She finally falls on the cushions betweenAishaandZaguir,who rush to aid her.) My Zoraya!—My poor Zoraya!
(Curtain)
Scene—Evening in a Spanish patio in the governor’s palace. It is seen obliquely. In the foreground and on the three other sides a portico of columns surrounds the central space which is open to the sky. The court is ornamented with flowers and shrubs and pomegranate, orange, myrtle and laurel trees in red earthen pots. Seats of all kinds are scattered about. At the foot, on the ground floor, is a large chamber with a door in the middle and windows on the sides. At the right, in the foreground, under the portico, a small stairway of five carpeted steps faces the audience and ends on a landing which gives access to a vestibule and the bridal chamber, where the outlines of dimly-lighted windows are seen. The columns of the portico are decorated with palms, foliage and flowers fastened with silk ribbons. Roses and jasmines climb on the walls. At the left, clearly in view, is a door opening on the street, which is brightly lighted by the moon when the door is open. The moon also shines intensely bright on the front and right side of the house. The rooms on the first floor have lighted windows. Lanterns hang from the pillars of the portico. Hung from a pillar at the left, a Madonna lamp lights the front of the scene. There are doors at the right, the left, the foot and at the extremities of the portico.
Through the door and windows of the first floor is seen the great dining chamber containing a table. In the scene, cavaliers, women, bourgeoise and invited guests of all kinds are seated everywhere; valets are hurrying about passing basins of silver with fruits, cake, etc. The señoras, seated, fan themselves, chatter and gossip. There is a loud noise of talk and laughter. Music is heard in the banquet hall, interrupted with lively bursts of applause and exclamations of joy. Little Spanish airs are played sweetly on instruments like flutes, violins and hautebois.
Cardenos,Ramiro,Doña Rufina,Doña Serafina,Doña Syrena,Doña Fabia,Velasco,Don Ambrosio,Rioubos,Cristobol,Cavaliers, Women, etc.
Ambrosio,Syrena,Serafina,Fabia,are seated in the foreground.CristobolandRioubosare outside.
Doña Fabia.Ah! here is Doña Rufina.
Doña Rufinaenters withRamirointo the foreground. Salutations.
Ramiro.(ToDoña Rufina) Then, Señora, you were not at the cathedral?
Doña Rufina.(Seating herself in a chair whichRamiroplaces at the left) No!—I have just arrived from Aranjuez, bringing the Queen’s gift to the bride—a very costly girdle-buckle.
Cristobol.It was a beautiful ceremony, Señora.
Rioubos.His Eminence Cardinal Ximénès himself pronounced the nuptial blessing.
Doña Syrena.Naturally! Doña Joana is his god-daughter.
Doña Rufina.The city seems to me very gay.
Doña Fabia.Compared with it ordinarily.
Ramiro.Yes, all day they have had on the Plaza del Zocodover entertainments by jugglers, buffoons, dancers and monstrous African monkeys!
Don Ambrosio.(An old cavalier sitting in an arm-chair) Yes, at this moment there is singing and dancing in all the public places.
Doña Syrena.Among us, this marriage was a long time postponed.
Doña Fabia.Yes—they were betrothed five years.
Ramiro.Pardon me, Señoras. When Don Enrique’s father—the Lord Palacios—felt that he could not live much longer he decided to select a wife for his son’s future marriage. He and the Governor made an arrangement whereby Don Enrique and Doña Joana were affianced. As Doña Joana was then only ten years old, her father made her go to the convent to grow up!
Doña Rufina.They say she became so devout they believed she would never come out.
Doña Syrena.She did not have a radiant air in the church—the bride!
Rioubos.No more than did Enrique.
Cristobol.There was one radiant person—the Governor!
Velasco.(Unexpectedly) Undoubtedly because his daughter did not take the veil!
Ramiro.(ToVelasco) What! are you here, Velasco?—I believed you were in Alpujarras, chasing the Moors.
Velasco.(Bowing to the women) I was, in a way; but I have returned for this fête.
Don Ambrosio.Have they not yet taught these rebels to be reasonable?
Velasco.They have retreated into inaccessible places where it is impossible to follow them.
Don Ambrosio.They are chasing these pagans too long.
Ramiro.Not now, Don Ambrosio. His Eminence and the Governor are after them with the hand of death.
Don Ambrosio.Then, Ramiro, you will see the advantages of severe treatment. Within six months thousands of Moors will be converted.
Murmurs of satisfaction. The music ceases.
Cardenos.That is a mere farce, my Lord Ambrosio! (Gravely) These new Christians are liars—they go to mass, only to laugh when they come away. They themselves confess of avowing only to silly things. When their children are baptized, they wash them quickly to cleanse them of what they call the pollution of the blessed holy oil. (Murmurs of indignation) Their daughters are married at our altars, dressed as Christians, but when they reënter their homes they dress themselves as Moors—and celebrate their nuptials with dances and forbidden Arabian songs, such as the zambra, to the music of tambourines, trumpet-shells, cymbals and other instruments also forbidden!
Doña Rufina.For my part, I can overlook the zambra and the tambourine, but I strongly approve prohibiting Moorish women from dyeing their eyebrows and eyelashes. They are bold enough looking without that.
Doña Syrena.Oh, my! I think the most admirable royal edict is the one which provides the penalty of execution for any intimacy between a Spaniard and a Mooress—for there are truly beautiful girls in the homes of these Africans, and you are not too little inclined, my lords, to perceive them.
Rioubos.And for my part, Señora, I strongly approve of the edict which punishes with solitary confinement in a dungeon any Spanish woman who loves one of these blacks to whose beauty you are not always indifferent.
Doña Syrena.(Quickly) Oh! but that is all the more excusable.
Laughter and exclamations.
Doña Rufina.(Quickly) Ah, my dear, what did you say then?
Doña Syrena.(A little confused by her blunder) You see!—Yes!—The circumstances are very different.
The same sounds of laughter.
Ramiro.Ah! see, I beg of you, Señora—see the difference!
Doña Syrena.What!—If the intrigue has results, is it not so?
All.Yes!
Ramiro.A child!
Doña Syrena.In the first case, the mother being Moorish the child is a little Mussulman—in the second case, where the mother is Spanish, it is a little Christian!—Dear angel!—And there are never too many of those!
All.(Laughing in approval) Oh! very good! Very ingenious! Charming!
Three trumpet calls are sounded in the banquet room.
Doña Rufina.The banquet is ended. (She rises.)
Doña Syrena.They are going to drink to the healths of the newly married ones!
All rise. Shouts and acclamations in the hall, followed by very sweet music. All the guests come out, those in front turning to look into the banquet hall.Fatoumappears on the pavement, while valets distribute flowers among the assistants.
The same,FatoumandZoraya
Zoraya,veiled, cautiously enters unnoticed from the street and goes to the middle of the foreground. While getting her bearings, she seesFatoumon the landing-place and goes toward her, raising her veil.
Zoraya.Fatoum!
Fatoum.Ah! Zoraya!
Zoraya.(Imposing silence with a gesture) Yes!—I concluded that results would be surer if I repeated the mesmeric treatment which I gave Joana this morning.
Fatoum.Oh! I am grateful to you! You have arrived at an opportune time! It is the end of the banquet. They are now offering congratulations. Joana is about to enter her apartment. You will pass for one of the new servant women whom I have chosen!
She points to the landing-place of the right stairway and leads her to it.
Zoraya.Ah! it is there?
Fatoum.Yes, where the windows are lighted.
Zoraya.(Looking about) And he!—Where is he?
Fatoum.He?
Zoraya.The husband!
Fatoum.In the large chamber waiting for the poor child to be put to bed.
Zorayastops on the stairway an instant to turn towards the banquet hall, then followsFatoum.
The same withoutZorayaandFatoum. AfterwardDoña Joanaand her women,Cleofas
While dance music is being played, the great double door of the chamber is thrown open—the guests crowd to the windows. The women arrange themselves at the left of the patio, the men at the right.Doña Joanacomes out of the chamber, followed by her female attendants. As she descends, she is saluted by the women, who make courtesies before her, and by the cavaliers, who bow. Each, at the moment she passes, throws a flower at her feet and murmurs a wish for happiness.
Doña Syrena.Joy and health, Señora!
Doña Rufina.Be happy, Doña Joana!
Doña Serafina.Everlasting happiness, Señora!
The Cavaliers.Our best wishes, Señora!
Doña Joanathanks them as she descends into the foreground and goes up the steps leading to her apartment. The women watch her and bow reverently as she stops on the threshold to look at them before entering the room.Fatoumis waiting for her. The music stops when they enter.
Doña Fabia.(At the left withDoña RufinaandDoña Syrena,afterJoanadisappears) She is pale, the dear!
Doña Rufina.(Giggling) With emotion!
Doña Syrena.They create such false ideas about a moment like that!
Doña Rufina.And exaggerate them so!
They group themselves, seated, near the right column. After the procession has passed,Cleofasdescends at the right, talking withRamiroandCristobol.The guests disperse in the patio, sitting or standing. There is a murmur of confused voices.
Cleofas.Whew!—it is warm in that chamber!
Doña Syrena.(ToDoña Fabiain a low voice) Especially after they have emptied all the flagons!
Doña Rufina.(ToCleofas) Cleofas would have done well had he given the bride some comforting elixir.
Cleofas.(Gaily) Oh, yes! Those nuns have pictured marriage to her as something horrible!
Doña Rufina.The poor little child has had no one to give her a mother’s care.
Ramiro.Oh, yes!—there is Fatoum, the convert, who has brought her up.
Don Ambrosio.And, speaking of converts, Master Cleofas, the Very Holy Inquisition, of which you are the physician, seems to me to be enjoying a very long moment of leisure.
Cleofas.(With satisfaction) Oh, oh! the Tribunal is not out of work. And, after a short time, I believe that I may promise these ladies a very jolly bonfire.
Murmurs of satisfaction.
Doña Syrena.Of heretics?
Cleofas.Of heretics. Moors, Jews, renegades and backsliders—a sample of each.
Doña Rufina.And of sorcerers?
Cleofas.Of sorcerers and sorceresses, also—but fewer in number than is desirable.
Cardenos.(ToCleofasin a low voice) Master Cleofas, I should like to say two words to you in that regard.
Cleofas.At Your Grace’s disposition!
He goes to the left of the scene, followed byCristobol,RioubosandRamiro,who surround him.
Cardenos.You have not forgotten an Arabian physician named Abou-Abassa?
Cleofas.A physician!—said to be a charlatan, who resided on the left bank of the river in a house on the hillside, where his daughter now lives.
Cardenos.Zoraya!
Cleofas.Oh, yes! I knew him!—I was enraged to see Bishop Talavera honor and protect a Moor, who had, they say, healed a sprain with friction—in reality, Cardenos, by means of mystic signs and magic incantations.
Cardenos.Then you are sure that man was——
Cleofas.A necromancer! And worse than that! Listen and judge, friend Cardenos! (He seats himself) One day I was riding my mule on the road leading to the bridge of San Martino. They called to me to examine a child which had been taken from the river apparently dead. “Have you,” I asked, dismounting, “suspended it by the feet in order to expel the water from the body? ‘Yes, lord’—And that has not resulted in resuscitation?—‘No, lord’—Then, there is nothing more to do. Good evening!”—And I passed on—The child was dead, was it not?
Cardenos and the Young Men.Yes!
Cleofas.Eight days later I re-passed the same place and whom do you think I saw playing on the rocks with a gang of ragamuffins?—Who?—My drowned child!
All.Oh!
Cleofas.Astounded, I questioned the child and found that after I left they had recourse to that quack, Abou-Abassa, who had breathed in the child’s mouth, made strange motions with its arms and succeeded in reanimating him after an hour and one half!—The magic was shown in the breathing and gestures and in this diabolical resurrection, which was an ignoble parody on the miracles in the Scriptures!
Cardenos.It is the same evidence.
Cleofas.The wretch is dead!—But, his daughter, who has been devoted to the works of the devil since her birth, interferes just as he did with the treatment of my patients: even with my own governor, Pétronille, whom I attended after fainting spells. I gave him hartshorn, which, you know, is the best cure for such illnesses, as is also the oil of ants and the salt of wood-lice—what is it they call this Olivera—whom they have given me for a colleague in the Tribunal?
Cardenos.The surgeon?
Cleofas.Yes, this ignoramus goes so far as to make sport of the inclusion of pearls and precious stones in our remedies; as if it were not proved every day that sapphires are the principal cures for ulcers, and emeralds infallible preventatives of pests!
He rises.
Cardenos.Assuredly!
Cleofas.Between us, this Olivera is to be watched, Cardenos—I am sure he believes more in the devil and witches than he does in medicine.
Cardenos.What is your reason?
Cleofas.Oh! nothing—He smells of it and I advise you to watch him—I said then—where was I?
Cardenos.You spoke of Pétronille.
Cleofas.Ah! yes, my governor! Do you believe that this wretch would, without consulting me, let himself be conducted to Zoraya’s home? Seeing him lively and apparently cured, I said: “Ha, my hartshorn powders?”—“No such thing!” he replied. “It was not your powders—it was a remedy which the Moorish woman gave me!—Swindler! pick up your packets and leave at once.”—It is better for me to work myself to death giving my own remedies than to deceive patients with the kinds which she uses!
Cardenos.Certainly!—if it is magic——
Cleofas.It is magic, Cardenos, do not doubt it. This sorceress is competing with me dishonestly. This is not all—she takes no pay from the poor for her attention or her medicines. And will you believe me when I tell you that she sends them away with their hands full of gold?—We shall have to struggle now!—Our practise is being ruined.
Cardenos.Your Honor may be reassured—they have an eye on her.
An agent of the Inquisition, dressed in black, enters from the street.
The Agent.(Going to them) Lord Cardenos, His Eminence prays you to come without delay, for urgent business.
Cardenos.I shall come at once!—This, Master Cleofas, may have something to do with your Mooress.
Cleofas.Good! Good!
Cardenosand the man go into the street. They play a saraband in the banquet hall.
The same,Don Enrique,Lopez de Padilla, guests, men and women, etc.
Don Enrique,accompanied byLopez de Padillaand other cavaliers and gentlemen, descends from the banquet chamber in the midst of an uproar of congratulations and salutations, the cavaliers kissing the hands of the women. The guests begin to disperse. Most of them go out of the door into the street; others go out at the left. There is laughter as they go away.
Doña Rufina,Doña FabiaandDoña Syrena. (ToEnrique,laughing and making courtesies) Good night, my lord.
He conducts them to the door opening on the street. Returning, he findsPadillaand some friends. Meanwhile the servants put out the lanterns and the patio is lighted only by the moon.
Padilla.(Surrounded by the men, toEnrique) The only thing which marred this feast, Don Enrique, was the absence of your father, whom we needed.
Enrique.It was the fulfillment of his dearest wish and I thank Your Excellency.
Padilla.I have bestowed upon you, my child, all of the esteem and affection which I had for the dear companion-in-arms of my youth. I have placed in your care what is dearest to me in this world with the assurance that you will be a tender husband to my adored daughter.
Enrique.And to you, my lord (he kisses his hand) a most respectful son.
Padilla.(To the others) Then, gentlemen, it is time for such graybeards as we to leave this impatient youth.—Until tomorrow, my child!
Enrique.Until tomorrow, my father!
While the valets are closing the street door on the last departing guests,Padillaand the other gentlemen go towards the left door, accompanied to the threshold byEnrique.Joana’swomen attendants descend the stairway, cross the patio and leave by the door at the right. They meetEnriquecoming up. He descends and receives their salutes as they pass, turning toward the stairway to re-ascend after they have disappeared. At that moment all is dark, except the vestibule, the landing-place and the right window. While the women are going out,Zorayacomes out of the vestibule, stops on the landing-place to assure herself that the patio is vacant and motionless awaitsEnrique.
Zoraya,Enrique
This scene follows the last sounds of laughter, conversation and music.
Enrique.(Stopping at the foot of the stairway on seeingZorayaveiled) Who are you, woman, and why do you not leave with the others? (Zorayais silent.) Do you not hear me?—Who are you?
Zoraya.(Raising her veil) I am the sorrow and you are the traitor!
Enrique.(Recoiling) Zoraya!
Zoraya.You have forgotten, have you not, to invite me to this feast?
Enrique.(Looking about uneasily) You! here—in this house!
Zoraya.In your wife’s home, yes.
Enrique.To tell her——
Zoraya.(Sorrowfully) Ah! you wretch! Your only thought is for her. My despair does not move you so much as the fear that she will not accept the lover of a Saracen!
Enrique.(Uneasily) Lower! Speak lower! I beg of you!
Zoraya.(Without listening) You are not so innocent as you were on the steps of the church——
Enrique.You were there!
Zoraya.It was to the entire city that I failed to cry: “That Christian is my lover!” But that cry would have sent you to the King’s galleys. My heart failed me and coward that I am, I was ready to flee, weeping.
Enrique.Do not condemn me without hearing me!
Zoraya.Oh, God!—you, you, who this morning—Oh, God! God! Is it possible?
She falls seated at the foot of the column.
Enrique.My Zoraya, my mistake, mine alone for not telling you the first day——
Zoraya.Do you love this girl?
Enrique.Ah! certainly, no!—I was forced——
Zoraya.You betrayed me for her?
Enrique.It is she whom I have betrayed for you!—I have known you only three months. She and I were betrothed years ago!—But I was so sure she would take the veil and remain in the convent. After this marriage was arranged contrary to her wish and my own, I found so many pretexts for postponing it that further delay would have roused suspicion. They would have searched for the reason and found it, perhaps. Then!—then, during the last two days when I did not see you, I resolved to confess all to you.—This morning I attempted to tell you—But I saw you so roused over a single thought of another woman that I did not have the courage to cause a scene and withstand your reproaches, which would have been needless, as I could not let your tears cause me to forget my solemn obligations as a Christian, my word as a gentleman and my most sacred duties.
Zoraya.Yes! All of your duties are sacred except those towards me!—and you hope, do you not, that I have considered them as fulfilled?
Enrique.Yes!
Zoraya.That I shall receive your return to me with open arms?
Enrique.That you will pardon me, at least, and join me in returning faithfully to our love.
Zoraya.Oh, indeed!—More in love than ever! The contrast of the Moor and the Spaniard! A variety of pleasures always prevents one’s taste from becoming stale!
Enrique.(Seating himself near her) But I do not love this child!—I do not love her!
Zoraya.(Rising, going to the left) Yes, this is the cry of the brutal, egotistical male!—You do not love her!—But it is to her that you sacrifice me.—You do not love her, but I stop you on the threshold of her room!—A few paces from her bed!—I should scorn myself as a woman of the street if I could discover in my mind a single thought which is not for you!—I should curse my eyes if they gazed for an instant on any other face but yours!—Where could I wash away the stain if any other lips than yours touched mine?—And it appears natural for you to be at the same time the husband of your wife and the lover of your mistress—to run from one to the other and to bring to me smiling the dessert of your nuptial night!—And it is you who say to me: “Believe nothing, nothing in the world but my love for you!” Ah, coward!—coward! liar!—Here is your love!—Here it is!
Enrique.(Standing) My dear Zoraya!
Zoraya.(Quickly, restraining her tears) Oh, leave me! Wretch! Leave me! I hate you!
She leans sobbing against a pillar at the left.
Enrique.Lower! Speak lower!—I beg of you!—If they should hear us!
Zoraya.Oh! If only they would hear!—Let them come! and let them kill me!—It is all the same to me if it happens now!