Chapter I: Part 1

A KING’S DAUGHTER

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

_Uniform with this Volume_

REYNARD THE FOX: A POEM
RIGHT ROYAL: A POEM
ENSLAVED, AND OTHER POEMS
KING COLE, AND OTHER POEMS
THE DAFFODIL FIELDS: A POEM
DAUBER: A POEM
GOOD FRIDAY: A PLAY IN VERSE
THE FAITHFUL: A PLAY
LOLLINGDON DOWNS, AND OTHER POEMS
MELLONEY HOLTSPUR: A PLAY
PHILIP THE KING, AND OTHER POEMS
A POEM AND TWO PLAYS

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD.

A KING’S DAUGHTER

A TRAGEDY IN VERSE

BY
JOHN MASEFIELD

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD.

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
BIDLING AND SONS, LTD., GUILDFORD AND ESHER

TO
MY WIFE

This play was performed at the Oxford Playhouse on Friday and Saturday, May 25 and 26, 1923, by the following cast of the Hill Players:

JEZEBEL (Queen of Samaria) PENELOPE WHEELER.
ROSE-FLOWER (First Chorus) JUDITH MASEFIELD.
MOON-BLOSSOM (Second Chorus) JEAN DOWNS.
HAMUTAL (the Steward’s Wife) PAULISE DE BUSH.
A PROPHET BASIL MAINE.
JEHU (Captain of the Horse) RONALD HAY.
MICAIAH (a Seer) GEORGE G. EDWARDS.
AHAB (King of Samaria) LESLIE DAVEY.
PHARMAS (Court Attendant) WILFRED MESSENGER.
ASHOBAL (Court Attendant) HENRY CHAPIN.
NABOTH (a Farmer) DUDLEY BARLOW.
AHAZIAH (Crown Prince of Samaria) W. E. MAY.
JORAM (his Younger Brother) WILFRED HOWE-NURSE.
ZAKKUR (Jehu’s Messenger) H. G. WAKEFORD.
PASHUR (the Bringer of the News) C. E. J. VINCENT.
ZIKRI (Spearman) F. J. SAUNDERS.
KALLAI (Spearman) BERNARD GRIFFITHS.

SCENE: The Palace in Samaria.

A KING’S DAUGHTER

FIRST ACT.

JEZEBEL.

I am Queen Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife. I was princess in Sidon long ago, But in an evil day I became Queen Over these strangers in Samaria.

Here, for these last ten months, we fought the Syrians, Till hope was gone; then, suddenly, all changed; The Syrian army fell into our hands.

King Ahab had two choices: one, to kill All of the Syrians; one, to let them go. He made a peace with them and let them go.

Now all the people of this city rage At Ahab, for his peace, and cry aloud That I, the foreign queen with foreign gods, Made Ahab make the peace to please my friends.

Four days ago, King Ahab sought to buy A vineyard from one Naboth, who refused To sell the vineyard, even to his King.

To-day the rebels of the town prepare A feast to Naboth for refusing him, And at the feast the prophets and seditious Will urge our murder as a godly deed.

What is King Ahab doing to defeat them? Nothing. For these three days he has been hidden, Brooding upon his bed in bitterness; Refusing food and drink; refusing speech With me, his wife; neglecting court and state; Letting rebellion grow, and seeing no man Except our younger son, evil Prince Joram, Who longs for war against the Syrians.

So I, the Queen, not knowing what may come When the King sickens and the people rage, Have sent for help, called home our eldest son, Prince Ahaziah, from his frontier post With all his horsemen. He should soon be here.

With Ahaziah and his horsemen here We shall be safer from our enemies, The Teshbon prophet and the soldier Jehu, The captain of the horse under the King.

* * * * *

Those are the enemies whom most I dread, Lord Jehu and the Prophet, hand and mouth To violence and unwise ways of life, Violent and brainless both, as lightning is. When violence and madness are in league, Destruction comes.

And they are coming now, Here to the palace of the King and Queen, To plot their evil with our followers.

I will go hence, to pray that Ahaziah May come in time to thwart their wickedness. [_Exit_

_Enter the_ PROPHET.

PROPHET.

Lord Jehu!

_Enter_ JEHU.

JEHU.

Ha, my Prophet!

PROPHET.

Is all well?

JEHU.

Yes. All goes well. This King, this imbecile, This Ahab, still is sulking like a child, Speaking with no one, making all things easy For us, my Prophet, who will now succeed. Nothing can stop us now. All works for us. Ahab is hated; Jezebel detested; The army sickened at their loss of plunder, All hot against them both. Our only danger Their son, Prince Ahaziah, far away, Their other son, Prince Joram, working for us. And now this feast to Naboth as a crown To all these helps, an opportunity.

PROPHET.

Truly our work is godly, since it prospers. Since all is thriving, it is surely time That we set forth together to this feast.

JEHU.

Wait, yet, my Prophet, while I ask you this: What objects will be served by this our feast?

PROPHET.

Why, it will honour Naboth for resisting The tyrant whom we hate, and give our friends A chance to come together with Prince Joram To cry aloud for war with Syria.

JEHU.

True, Prophet; “Honour Naboth; cry for war;” Such were our objects when we planned the feast: That was the plan, but, friend, it is not now. No, Prophet, no; for I have changed my mind. This feast to Naboth which we have prepared Must be the prelude to a mightier deed. Prophet, I know thy zeal for true religion, And you know mine; now, therefore, stand by me. I am determined to be King this day. The chances are all for me, and the feast Puts them within my hand for me to take. Now, therefore, Prophet, when you see me there, Sitting at feast among the men-of-war, Send out some youngling of the Prophet tribe There to anoint me King in Ahab’s stead. Then I will rise and lead those men-at-arms To end this Ahab and his Jezebel, And stamp them with our horses’ feet, and bring A true religion back: by God, we need it. No. Doubt not the success. Anoint me King, The men will follow. For, by God, now, Prophet, Look at my eyes, I mean this to succeed. This is the way, because all other ways, The way we planned before and any way, Must end in this; so send the stripling to me. Make me the King.

PROPHET.

Truly a spirit speaks within you, Jehu. Truly the devilries of Jezebel Have brimmed the cup, and Ahab’s treachery Has spilled it over. You shall be the King. Here with my blood I do anoint you King. My young man shall anoint you with the oil, But will the captains follow you as King?

JEHU.

They’ll follow; some for plunder, some for fear. Now let us to this Naboth’s feast, to raise Our following against this doting King.

PROPHET.

Here is our friend Ashobal with some news.

_Enter_ ASHOBAL.

ASHOBAL.

I was afraid that you had gone, Lord Jehu. Prophet, Lord Jehu, there is danger here. I have just heard from Jezebel’s own lips That she has ordered Ahaziah hither With all his horse, and that he will be here Within two hours.

PROPHET.

Gods!

JEHU.

Did Jezebel
Tell you of this?

ASHOBAL.

No; I was hidden, and
I overheard her as she told her women.

PROPHET.

She sent for them?

ASHOBAL.

She said so.

PROPHET.

But for what?
To be a bodyguard?

ASHOBAL.

She did not say,
But that is what they will be when they come.

PROPHET.

Then she suspects us.

PROPHET.

Probably.

JEHU.

The hag!

PROPHET.

These women of false gods shall die the death.

JEHU.

Yes, unless we die first. Thank you, Ashobal, You bring the message in the nick of time. Why has she sent for them? Is Ahab dying? No; he is ill, not dying. By the gods, The harlot may be plotting against Ahab To crown her son? No, by the gods, put by these pleasant dreams, The likelier thing will be the explanation. One of the little sheep within our fold Has bleated to the shepherd: we have been Betrayed, my Prophet and my sweet Ashobal, Betrayed.... By whom? By all the gods, this harlot is a man. She hears of us, at once decides to strike, Sends for the cavalry to cut our throats, Calls Ahaziah to be King until Her Ahab be a man again, and so Bids for her husband’s crown. There are the facts.

ASHOBAL.

Even so I judged it, from the way she spoke.

PROPHET.

Then we had better scatter into hiding, For we are lost.

JEHU.

True, brother Prophet, all our heads are loose, But yet not lost.

PROPHET.

But what are we to do?

JEHU.

Stop Ahaziah in his coming here. It can be done if he be two hours hence. He must be coming by the desert road Passing by Springs. Well, he shall meet his match. Go, Prophet, to the feasting, as we planned. Praise Naboth and be bitterer than spurge About this peace. Pharmas must know of this. Find Pharmas, that the Prophet speak with him. Then tell what friends you can. Remember, Prophet, Hold to our former plans till I return. Now I must go. [_Exit_ JEHU.

PROPHET.

And we had better go
Straight into hiding, while we have the time.

ASHOBAL.

No, we must keep to what is planned and do What Jehu tells us.

PROPHET.

I must see Pharmas, then; find Pharmas for me.

ASHOBAL.

I cannot yet. Pharmas is in attendance on the Queen.

PROPHET.

Why should he be with her, to-day of all days? He is the King’s attendant, not the Queen’s.

ASHOBAL.

True, but the Queen commanded him this morning To write at her dictation; he will be There until noon; but it is nearly noon.

PROPHET.

We are discovered by this Jezebel. And Pharmas has betrayed us.

ASHOBAL.

No, he is faithful to us. Five years since This Jezebel once chided him in public For breaking of a cup. He has remembered; He swore to be revenged and means to be. Now I say this: Come on the stroke of noon, Here, to have speech with Pharmas and myself. We may have news by then. If the worst happen, We shall have time enough for flight at noon.

PROPHET.

You may be right; pray Heaven that you be.

ASHOBAL.

Hark! there is someone coming through the court. By Heaven!

PROPHET.

Why, who is it? What has happened?

ASHOBAL.

It is the King, recovered from his brooding And dressed as for an audience with his peers. If Ahab be in health again, why, death----

PROPHET.

What shall we do? Oh, say!

ASHOBAL.

Be not found here. He’s coming hither with his man, Micaiah. Go quickly, quickly. [_Exit_ PROPHET.

_Enter_ MICAIAH.

MICAIAH.

Way for their Majesties! It is commanded That all avoid. Way for their Majesties! Avoid the room, Ashobal, for the King. [_Exit_ ASHOBAL.

_Enter_ AHAB.

AHAB.

Micaiah, put my staff into my hands. Go, now, desire the Queen to give me audience. [_Exit_ MICAIAH.

Thus does the climber on a pinnacle. He stands exhausted on the peak and feels Nothing beneath him but the mist of cloud Hiding the precipice. I have my foothold; Around me, the sheer fall into the pit.

_Enter_ JEZEBEL.

JEZEBEL.

So, my good lord, at last I look upon you After these days of anguish. O my lord, What has afflicted you, that you should shut Your doors upon me, send no word to me, No word till now, not even let me know If you were ill or well? But no upbraiding. Tell me what is the trouble of your soul?

AHAB.

What do you think?

JEZEBEL.

I know not what to think, Living alone, shut from you, that should tell me. Men say that you are grieved because a farmer, One Naboth, would not sell his vineyard to you.

AHAB.

I, grieved, at that?

JEZEBEL.

I have no guide save rumour.

AHAB.

His vineyard? Why, I did not want the vineyard.

JEZEBEL.

Not want it, lord?

AHAB.

Why should I want it; think?

JEZEBEL.

I cannot think, indeed, why you should want it.

AHAB.

Jehu was wanting it, to bring it in Within the city wall, for in the siege The Syrian archers shot our people from it. Jehu demanded it.

JEZEBEL.

Jehu? Not you? Yet do you know that men are cursing you For wanting Naboth’s land; and feasting Naboth To-day, in public, for refusing you? And that our crowns and even our lives are threatened?

AHAB.

No, Queen, I do not know and cannot care. What is the raging of the fools to me Who ponder day and night upon a question, A question that goes down into the bone And burns like fire, till I cannot sleep Or eat or work, for it is always here. No, do not look like that, I am not mad, Not yet; I am not mad. But always night and day This question is about me and within me, Haunting and harsh: the question, “Am I wrong? Are these, my people who oppose my will, Right, after all, righter than I, the King? Righter throughout my twenty years of kingship?”

JEZEBEL.

How can these preys to every passionate flaw Be righter than an upright mind and conscience?

AHAB.

I cannot tell, and yet I think they are.

JEZEBEL.

You know they are not.

AHAB.

No, I do not know. I wonder, if the blunt and bawdy world Be not the worse for wisdom, not the better.

JEZEBEL.

It is a sin and cowardice to say so.

AHAB.

Is it, my Queen? I wonder if it be. Here have I striven twenty years, for peace With Syria, and for liberty of thought Within our borders, yet with what results? Almost continual war with Syria. Almost a civil war within this land. Such being the fruits, I think the seeds were wrong.

JEZEBEL.

The seeds were right, and if the fruit has failed, Blame the bad soil, the bitter weather, drought, Evil of many men hacking the plant, All things, but you who planted, and the seed.

AHAB.

Even if the seed were right, the ground was wrong. And then I sowed it out of season, lady. I could have smitten Syria to the dust, Yet granted terms. I risked a civil war To grant the terms. They do not keep the terms. And these my people prefer blood to quiet. And now I doubt the usefulness of wisdom, Doubt my whole life; and wonder, if the prophets, The people, and the bloody ways they love, Be not indeed God’s ways for governing. If these things be, then I have failed my country.

JEZEBEL.

O King, you cannot say that things are wrong Because they fail. All good things seem to fail; The road that men make is not straight nor smooth, Nor like the perfect roadway that they planned; And yet among the thorns and broken flint, And twistings where the adder lies in wait, It is a path where no path was before. So with your Syrian pact and with these people, You have hewed out a way where men will tread. Be comforted and proud, for you have done it, As the lone artist makes the perfect thing, With every blind malignant saying “No!” You have made peace as generous as yourself And thought as free. So let the madman rave And let the savage shriek for blood, and let The blind worm of the many-creeping world Crawl its obstruction, you have conquered them.

AHAB.

It is not true. I have not conquered them. They conquer me. I am defeated. Yes, I cannot think, or master, or decide, Having no longer any faith remaining In what we planned together and have done. The ground is gone from under me, the light Is gone from in me, and the sky above Is black with punishment that threatens me. These ruffian prophets have been proven right, Our policies have been accursed; ay, And the reward is death.

JEZEBEL.

O husband, stay!

AHAB.

I will not stay. The penalty is death, With hell to follow, as the blind man’s payment Fully deserved. [_Exit_ AHAB.

JEZEBEL.

Gods save us, he is mad, or over-wrought Up to the point of madness; now, indeed, We have been conquered, for we have no King Save one distraught with trouble. How am I To help in this? So ends my queenship with him. It is well That I have called Prince Ahaziah home. But, till he come, I govern, I am King, And one act of a King must now be done: This rebels’ feast to Naboth must be stopped. (_She claps her hands for_ MICAIAH, _who enters_.) Micaiah, is there dust upon the road To show the Prince’s coming?

MICAIAH.

Not yet, Madam.

JEZEBEL.

How soon can he be here?

MICAIAH.

Within two hours. Unless he halt for noontide by the Springs. He might be here much sooner. Say, one hour.

JEZEBEL.

Who is the captain of the guard to-day?

MICAIAH.

Rechab, to-day, good lady.

JEZEBEL.

Go, Micaiah, Tell Pharmas that I wait him in the throne room; Bid him bring ink and seals; bid him be quick Attend me there.

MICAIAH.

Madam, I go.
[_Exit_ MICAIAH.

JEZEBEL.

Though the King sicken, it shall still be seen That I, the Syrian woman, am a queen. [_Exit_ JEZEBEL.

_Enter_ PROPHET.

PROPHET.

Pharmas! Ashobal! Hark! Is Pharmas there? It is full noon, but Pharmas is not here, No, nor Ashobal. But there seems to be Less danger than I feared: I was not questioned, And men go unmolested to the feast.

_Enter_ ASHOBAL.

Here is Ashobal. Where is Pharmas, friend?

ASHOBAL.

Gone to the Queen again, with ink and seals. There is this news: the King and Queen have talked And Ahab now is in his room again, Moodily sharpening his sword, and muttering. I myself think that Ahab has gone mad.

PROPHET.

No word from Jehu yet, of Ahaziah?

ASHOBAL.

None yet, nor will be for a while.

PROPHET.

King Jehu, Jehu, the King, God’s comet, bringing change. Come soon, come soon. Oh, what is Pharmas doing?

ASHOBAL.

He writes some pressing matter for the Queen.

PROPHET.

We shall be late. Come, Pharmas! Hurry, hurry! Would he were here and we away from this. We are like hunters in the lion’s den, Knowing the lion to be near.

ASHOBAL.

I hear him.
Yes; this is Pharmas coming. Here he is.

_Enter_ PHARMAS.

PROPHET.

Pharmas, we have been waiting for you; come. We must be going. Listen to your orders. During this feast go down among the guards ...

PHARMAS.

Do not you talk of feasting, nor of guards. The Queen has sent Micaiah with the guards To fetch poor Naboth here.

ASHOBAL.

Why?

PROPHET.

What to do?

PHARMAS.

I do not know; but not for any good. “Fetch Naboth here before me,” was the order. It has gone off by this.

ASHOBAL.

This is the end!

PROPHET.

What can she want with Naboth? Painted hag, Thus to command a man.

ASHOBAL.

Was the guard ordered to suppress the feast?

PHARMAS.

No, but it is suppressed with Naboth taken.

ASHOBAL.

We shall be taken next, so save yourself.

PROPHET.

I will be gone. You know my hiding-place, The old one near the wall; send word to me There, if you have a message. [_Exit._

MICAIAH.

Way for Her Majesty the Queen, make way!

_Enter_ MICAIAH.

Set forth the chair of audience for the Queen. Be reverent; the Queen approaches. Hail!

_Enter_ JEZEBEL.

JEZEBEL.

Micaiah, Pharmas, and Ashobal, stay. Within few moments, when the guards return, You will return to take your places here, Even as you stand this minute.

THE MEN.

We will do so.

JEZEBEL.

All three of you; you understand?

THE MEN.

Yes, Madam.

JEZEBEL.

Dismiss then, till the guards appear.
[_The_ MEN _go_.

I am the King, upon whose balance lies The nation’s need to prompt me to be wise. Ruin to all I cherish, if I fail. God, judge for me, thy wisdom turn the scale.

CURTAIN.

FIRST CHORUS

ROSE-FLOWER.

Once long ago young Nireus was the King
In Syme Island, so the stories say,
And at his birth the gods made holiday,
And blessed the child and gave him each one thing,

Courage, and skill, and beauty, and bright eyes,
Wisdom, and charm, and many another power,
So that he grew to manhood like a flower
For beauty, and like God for being wise.

Now Nireus’ friend was Paris, out of Troy,
Paris, the prince, the archer, who had seen
The goddesses within the forest green;
King Priam’s son, a peacock of a boy.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

At Sparta’s court, not far from Syme Isle,
Bright Helen lived, King Menelaus’ Queen,
The loveliest woman that has ever been,
Who made all mortals love her by her smile.

Nireus and Paris went together there
To Helen’s palace: and when Nireus saw
Helen the Queen, the lovely without flaw,
He loved her like her shadow everywhere.

And Paris, when he saw her with her mate,
Helen, the rose, beside that withered weed,
Loved her no less, but with a young man’s greed
That wants the moon from heaven and cannot wait.

ROSE-FLOWER.

Straightway he wooed Queen Helen to be his,
And won her love, and cried to Nireus then,
“O Nireus, help to save us from this den,
Lend us your ship to bring us out of this.”

So Nireus, though his heart was torn with pain,
Well knowing what would come, yet took the pair
To many-towered Troy and left them there,
To live in love and be the city’s bane.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

When Menelaus knew of Helen’s flight,
He led all Greece in arms to punish Troy,
Nireus went with him in the fleet, and joy
Ceased in the world, for all men went to fight.

Nine years they fought there in the tamarisk field,
And in the tenth, in some blind midnight stour,
Nireus killed Paris underneath the tower.
Men bore him back to Helen on his shield.

ROSE-FLOWER.

Then Troy was sacked and Menelaus took
Beautiful Helen as his prisoner home,
And locked her in his castle as a gnome
Might lock a gem on which no man might look.

TOGETHER.

Thus Nireus lost his love, and killed his friend,
And knew despair; so going to his ship,
He sailed to where the constellations dip,
In the great west, to look for the world’s end.

SECOND CHORUS

ROSE-FLOWER.

When Troy was sacked and all her towers
Blazed up and shook into the sky,
Smoke like great trees and flame like flowers,
And Priam’s bodyguard did die,

Then the Queen’s women snatched up spears,
And fought their way out of the gate;
Seized horses from the charioteers
And fled like mountain-streams in spate.

They would not stay for slavery
To some Greek lord until they died,
They rode the forest to be free,
Up on the peaks of snowy Ide.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

And in the forest on a peak They hewed a dwelling with the bronze, And lived, unconquered by the Greek, Fierce, sun-burned women, neither tame nor weak, The panther-women called the Amazons.

They lived there on the heights and knew no men.
Having beheld the lusts of men destroy
The town of windy Troy,
They killed all men they met; their only joy
Was hunting for the wild beasts in the glen.

TOGETHER.

The wild boar and the many-branching stag, Horse-killing panthers hidden by the brook, The spotted death among the yellow flag, All these with their bright spears these women took. All these, and men, for even to be seen By men, these hunter-women thought unclean.

So no man saw them save a glimpse afar. Of panther-skins flung back, and swift feet flying, And the red stag brought low to the fierce Ha! Of women’s spear-thrusts driven in the dying. They ruled the crags like wolves, they kept their pride Savage and sovereign like the snow on Ide.

SECOND ACT

MICAIAH.

Madam, the soldiers have brought the farmer, Naboth; they have him in the guard-room, waiting for your orders.

JEZEBEL.

Were you set upon as you brought him through the city?

MICAIAH.

No, Madam, but a crowd followed, which is now at the palace gates.

JEZEBEL.

Is it threatening?

MICAIAH.

No, Madam, but uneasy.

JEZEBEL.

Thank you, Micaiah. What standing has this Naboth?

MICAIAH.

He lives in the city, but has this vineyard and some other ground outside the walls. He is a small farmer, strict in religion. Nothing but religion will move him.

JEZEBEL.

I will try whether that be true. Go now, without, and bring me Ashobal and Pharmas.

MICAIAH.

I will, Madam. [_Exit._

JEZEBEL.

If I can persuade this man to sell his land, then this gathering will lose all purpose. If he will not sell, as I doubt he will not, then, how then?

MICAIAH, PHARMAS, ASHOBAL _enter_.

Stand where you are and pay especial heed To what is said by us.

THE MEN.

We will, great Queen.

JEZEBEL.

I thank you. Will you bring the man, Micaiah?

_Enter MICAIAH, with NABOTH, crowned as for a feast._

MICAIAH.

Madam, your servant waits for your commands.

JEZEBEL.

Thank you, Micaiah. Keep in presence here. You are that Naboth of the South-west Precinct? (NABOTH _nods_.)

Our calling of you here may come untimely. You are at feast, or going to a feast?

NABOTH.

I’m here; you’ve caught me; do the worst you can, But do not mock me.

JEZEBEL.

I mock no one, Naboth. I sent for you because I wished to speak About the purchase of your vineyard near The city wall.

NABOTH.

Why do you want my vineyard, tell me that?

JEZEBEL.

I do not want it.

NABOTH.

Well, your husband does.

JEZEBEL.

He does not, Naboth. Listen, all of you. There is a false suspicion spread abroad That we, the King and Queen, have coveted This land of Naboth’s. It is wholly false. We do not want it, never wanted it, But bid for it, on public grounds, because Lord Jehu, captain of the bodyguard, The overseer of the town’s defences, Urged, and still urges, that the vineyard be Brought in within the city wall. As King, The King made offer for the land, through one ... Which of you was it?

ASHOBAL.

I made the offer for His Majesty,
So please you, Madam.

JEZEBEL.

Since it is not your rulers but your city That needs the land, we ask you to consider The giving up your holding to be walled.

NABOTH.

God pleased to put my vineyard where it is, Why should you change it?

MICAIAH.

In the siege, good Naboth, The Syrian archers used to shoot from it Into the city.

NABOTH.

And they might again
Soon in another siege?

JEZEBEL.

So Jehu thought.

NABOTH.

If you idolaters had done God’s will And killed these Syrians when God bade you kill, You would have had no other siege to dread.

ASHOBAL.

You must not speak this evil of your rulers. Say nothing but as touching on the treaty.

JEZEBEL.

Whether your land should be enclosed or no I cannot tell: Duke Jehu says it should be; Says that for public good it should be walled. You would not sorrow that your land should go For greater safety of your fellow townsmen?

NABOTH.

I would.

JEZEBEL.

I do not think you would, good sir; Yet, if a war should follow and a siege Threaten again, your vineyard would be taken Maugre your will, and walled in spite of you By public means; and you would lose it, so.

NABOTH.

I would not lose it. It would still be mine.

JEZEBEL.

I cannot well see how; but let that be. I ask you now to be content to treat For this your plot. May we proceed in this?

NABOTH.

Dismiss your gang of killers here, these three Lying in wait upon a poor man’s words.

JEZEBEL.

These are no killers, but my palace servants. We are in treaty for exchange of land, Or hope to be, and civil law prescribes That sales of land be bargained before witness.

NABOTH.

Where are my witnesses, to speak for me?

JEZEBEL.

Well thought of, Naboth. Will you therefore send To three, your friends, to witness to your words?

NABOTH.

No, I will not.

JEZEBEL.

Why not?

NABOTH.

No matter why. You have caught me, but catch my friends yourself If you do want them.

JEZEBEL.

Will you choose three men
Here in the palace, then, as witnesses?

NABOTH.

I have a witness, stronger than your three, Already present, woman of false gods.

ASHOBAL.

Do not misname the person of your Queen. You will lose all by rudeness. You have heard That our great Queen demands to bargain with you, But means no harm to you, nor to your friends.

JEZEBEL.

Thank you, Ashobal. (_Then to_ NABOTH)
May we now proceed?

NABOTH.

I have not yet agreed to treat with you.

JEZEBEL.

You waste our time. Speak. Will you treat or not?

NABOTH.

Before I treat, what do you offer for it?

JEZEBEL.

What is its yearly value?

ASHOBAL.

Seven casks.

MICAIAH.

Madam, that may have been the yearly yield In its best seasons, but it is not now. It is no vineyard now, great Queen; the vines Were routed up by Syrians in the siege.

JEZEBEL.

So? Did you know of this, Ashobal?

ASHOBAL.

No.

JEZEBEL.

Not know of it?

ASHOBAL.

Not when I bargained for it.

JEZEBEL.

Yet knew it now, and never mentioned it? Would let me bargain for a vineless vineyard As though it gave full vintage.

ASHOBAL.

O good Madam,
You asked its yearly value, not its worth.

JEZEBEL.

That shall be proved. Naboth, I did not know That this your vineyard had been rooted up.

NABOTH.

That damned idolater, your husband, knew it. He said that as it was not now a vineyard, He could plant herbs there.

JEZEBEL.

Bridle you your tongue. When did His Majesty the King say this? To whom?

NABOTH.

It is well known he said it openly.

JEZEBEL.

To you?

NABOTH.

No.

JEZEBEL.

Then to whom? To one of these? You are all silent. Yet the King has seen No other man, since his return to Shemer, Except Prince Joram; therefore what you say Is false in fact, seditious being said. Ashobal, what was offered for the vineyard?

ASHOBAL.

A better vineyard; then, that being refused, Three vineyards, each one better, in full bearing, Two of red grapes and one of white, O Queen.

JEZEBEL.

And he refused?

MICAIAH.

He did.

JEZEBEL (_to_ NABOTH).

And do you still?

NABOTH.

Yes.

JEZEBEL.

Why?

NABOTH.

Because the vineyards that he offered
Aren’t his to offer.

JEZEBEL.

But they are, good Naboth.
They are the King’s.

NABOTH.

Does the King work them, then?

JEZEBEL.

Yes, they are worked at his command. How else?

NABOTH.

His sweat does not fall on them.

JEZEBEL.

It has done so. He with his own hands worked those vineyards, Naboth, Before his father, Omri, became King, As you well know.

NABOTH.

I’ll have no slave-tilled vineyard.

JEZEBEL.

Men cannot live without the work of others; You yourself do not. Did you make that robe, Those shoes, that pouch? But we are wandering. Let me, the Queen, make offer for your vineyards. I offer the King’s vineyards as before, And with them, the three marrowy olive-groves Which Shemer planted.

NABOTH.

Shemer! And what more?

MICAIAH.

What more?

ASHOBAL.

Good heaven, you surely ask no more?

NABOTH.

I do. It’s not enough.

JEZEBEL.

Then name your price.

NABOTH.

I cannot be buyer and seller both.

JEZEBEL.

Then I will offer these: a bale of scarlet, A camel-load of wool, woven or raw, Three tent-rugs such as desert tribesmen weave, Three desert-cushions made of coloured leather, And one sealed roll of linen from the Nile, The deckings of a house, in fact. With these, Something to gladden dwellers in the house, A score of honey, and a man-sized jar Of olive oil, a measure of fine flour, A pack of dates and seven porters’ loads Of matured wine; the feastings of a house. With these, I offer treasures for your house: Gums from Arabia to burn as perfumes, A tusk of ivory two cubits long, A bar of silver from the mines of Bakht, A casket made of turkis filled with beryl, A piece of gold, the size of a man’s hand.

NABOTH.

I want no ivory nor gold nor scarlet, Nor silver bars nor trash nor vanity.

MICAIAH.

Good Madam, might it not be wise to offer Stock for his farm?

JEZEBEL.

Take horses, then, or oxen
To till your holding.

NABOTH.

I will not take them, then.

MICAIAH.

Would you not like them?

NABOTH.

No; I do without;
I need nor horse nor ass, nor cow nor camel.

JEZEBEL.

What can I offer?

NABOTH.

Sacrifice to the God of Israel.

JEZEBEL.

I do not offer that.

NABOTH.

You are not one To search unto the spirit, nor be single Within your heart. You are possessed by things; Dead things, with stink and colour, brought in ships; Your purples and the jewels for your hair, Your ivory room, God save us! you being mortal, Dwelling in ivory, while God himself Lives in the wooden room darkened by wings.

MICAIAH.

Yes, Naboth; but reserve this for the feast, Where those who hear it will enjoy it more Than we do here.

NABOTH.

I do not speak to you.

JEZEBEL.

No, Naboth, you are speaking to your Queen, Who bids you to be silent, if you care To keep whole bones. Come from him, then, Micaiah. Hear a last offer, Naboth; you are old, Soon to become infirm, soon to bear pain. And find it weariness to cross the room. Might I not set provision for old age Against your vineyard? Might I settle on you A pension that would bring you quietness And what age loves, respect and ease and state; Might we not give you rank, as Elder, say, With pay and servants fitting to the rank; These things to be assured to you for life, And after, to your son?

NABOTH.

I have no son. My son was killed while fighting for King Ahab In this last war. I will not sell my vineyard For all the rank, for all the slaves and ease In this realm that you make the gate of hell. God blot me from the record of the blest If I give up my father’s heritage, If I commit into polluted hands, Red with the blood of offerings to false gods, The earth my father worked and worshipped in. It is my vineyard and it shall be mine, By God’s red hand the King should be ashamed; You too would be ashamed were you not shameless, To tempt a poor man’s soul with merchandise; You, smeared with spice, painted, and dripping perfume, A shameless woman, chaffering with a man, And he, the King, a dallier with God’s foes, Conspiring thus to cheat me of my vineyard. God puts a word into my mouth to say, He makes my mouth to spit upon you both. There is for you. And there is for the King. I spit upon you both and bid God curse you, Curse you to ruin and to rottenness. As here I curse you; him for making peace, Where no peace is, and you, you insolent woman, For being, like the King, a curse on Israel, A bringer down into the pit of hell.

MICAIAH.

You shall avoid the presence when you curse.
[_Exit with_ NABOTH.

JEZEBEL.

You heard the curses of this frantic man?

ASHOBAL _and_ PHARMAS.

Madam, we did. We longed to silence him.

JEZEBEL.

Rechab is captain of the guard to-day?

PHARMAS.

Yes, Madam.

ASHOBAL.

Rechab, with the Jezreel troop,
Mounts guard till night.

JEZEBEL.

That will be well, Ashobal. You know the ivory room that the King made? You know that it was never planned nor used For anything, save as an inmost shrine For worshipping of God?

PHARMAS _and_ ASHOBAL.

We know it, Madam.

JEZEBEL.

Here is Micaiah back. Has Naboth gone?

MICAIAH.

Yes, Madam, to the rabble of his friends Waiting his coming at the palace gate. Now they are taking him triumphantly Up to the feast, shouting, “He held his own Against the royal tyrants.” At the feast, When they have drunken, they will speak worse evil.

JEZEBEL.

You all remember what he uttered here? How he misused the name of God, and cursed The King and me?

MICAIAH, ASHOBAL, _and_ PHARMAS (_together_).

We do remember.

JEZEBEL.

Wait, then, some minutes, till the feast be set, Then summon up the chapter of the priests, And Rechab with his troop of bodyguard. Then march with priests and soldiers to the banquet. Let the priests call for silence from the throng, And in the silence do you three stand forth, Bear witness against Naboth in these terms: “Thou didst blaspheme God and the King!” repeat The words he uttered, bear each other witness; And if a further witness be required, Say I, the Queen, will come to testify, Who heard the words, yet spared the speaker of them, So that the priests, whose cause it is, might judge. Then call upon the priests to utter judgment According to the laws of blasphemy.

MICAIAH, PHARMAS, _and_ ASHOBAL.

We will obey your orders instantly. [_They go out._

JEZEBEL.

Which brings the greater woe; to pass an evil, Or break your Being’s law to combat it? The allotted sorrow ever has a gateway.

CURTAIN.

THIRD CHORUS

ROSE-FLOWER.

Nireus sailed; and a strange wind blew him to islands unseen before,
Where the gods sat throned on the crags with peace on their
marvellous faces,
Clouds and the smoke of fire, that glittered and changed, they wore!
And unto them came the crying of all man’s sorrowful races.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

They cried to him as he passed, “You are seeking and you shall find,
Not in the way you hope, not in the way foreseen;
Out of horror of soul, ache, and anguish of mind,
Out of the desert of all, shall come the leaf that is green.”

ROSE-FLOWER.

Then the wind blew on to an island where millet is ever in ear,
And the horses that live in the sea come thronging in thousands to
eat,
And the horses that live on the island will never let them come near,
But they fight on the beaches forever with flashing and thunder of
feet.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

Then he sailed by invisible islands, he smelt the fruit on the trees,
And heard the noise in the shipyards and the crowing of cocks unseen,
Then sheered from the roar of breakers and on over unknown seas,
And ever he grieved for Paris, and thought of the beautiful Queen.

ROSE-FLOWER.

Then he came to a sea of terror, where monsters rose from the sea,
Things with the beaks of birds and arms like the suckers of vines:
Things like ghosts in the water coming motionlessly
To tatter the flesh of men with teeth like the cactus-spines.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

Over unending water ever he held his course,
Birds that were curses followed, crying around and above:
“Nireus, broken by beauty, broken again by remorse,
Goes to the breaking of death for killing his friend and love.”

ROSE-FLOWER.

And ever he cursed himself for bringing them both to wreck,
Helen and Paris, the lovely; and ever the waves seemed filled
With skull-bones hollow in death, that rose and peered on the deck:
And he thought, “They are those from Troy whom I in my madness
killed.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

“Had I refused, when they asked for my help to escape,
Paris would still be alive, Troy, the city, would stand,
And all the killed of the war would be tilling the corn and the grape,
Not ghosts with a curse in the air and torn bones strewing the land.”

ROSE-FLOWER.

So he sailed; but at night in the dark when the lantern bubbled aloft,
And men lay sleeping, when all save he were asleep,
And the ship slid on with a gurgle of water soft,
He knew that the dead of Troy came with him over the deep.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

Out of the long-backed roller that slid from its crest of foam,
Gibbered the bloodless dead, white faces with haggard eyes,
Pointing the bones of their hands at him who had forced them from home,
Their curses came to his ears like little twittering cries.

TOGETHER.

Whenever he moored at an island for water or food or rest,
Soon those wraiths of the dead would rise and bid him begone,
To harry the resting gannet out of the roller’s crest,
And carry the curse of his soul to the unknown, on and on.

FOURTH CHORUS

MOON-BLOSSOM.

In the grey of morning When the stars were paling, Nireus sailing, Saw land ahead. An island shining With city towers, Where bells were ringing And men singing.

ROSE-FLOWER.

As Nireus stepped ashore there He stood staring, For all men there Were the dead of the war: The Greeks and Trojans, Beautiful and swift, Killed in the trampled tamarisks Beneath Troy town.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

Stars were in their hair, Their brows were crowned with violets, They stepped like stags, Comrade with comrade. They had forgotten The mud and death, The heat and flies Of the plain of Troy.

ROSE-FLOWER.

There among them Came a prince in scarlet, With his hands stretched In welcoming. It was Paris, his friend, Paris whom he killed In the midnight raid Beneath Troy wall.

MOON-BLOSSOM.

Paris cried, “Nireus, my comrade, Nireus, my belovèd, My friend of old! Here we have forgiven What my young man’s folly bred, We feast as friends In the violet fields.”

ROSE-FLOWER.

Then he led Nireus To the hall of feasting. There they feasted In the violet fields. Three summer days and nights, It seemed, they feasted, Each summer day and night Was ten years long.

TOGETHER.

Paris and the heroes Cried to Nireus, “We loved Helen, When we were men. Now we love her still And we see her lonely, Old, and haunted By her lovers dead.

“Take to Helen Gifts from her lovers, In her old age find her And give her these: Beauty and peace And our forgiveness, And all our thanks For what she was.”

MOON-BLOSSOM.

As they ceased speaking They faded from him, The island faded, Nireus was at sea. He and his men Were all grown old, Thirty years Had fallen on them.

TOGETHER.

As old men failing They came to Sparta; All unavailing Their coming was. Helen was gone And none knew whither, To search for peace Or to find release.

Over the seas In lands and islands Nireus sought her, But could not find. For the gods retire When men desire, Though it burn like fire And make men blind.

THIRD ACT

PROPHET.

Come, you avenging Powers, who with swords Smite at the bidding of your overlords; Come, all you threatening things, who, with slant eyes, Wait to snatch spirits in the mood unwise; Come, eagle spirits, that do drink man’s blood, Hurry on smeared wings hither to your food: I, who am Prophet, give you King and Queen.

_Enter_ ASHOBAL.

ASHOBAL.

What are you raging for? Be silent, Prophet, The King is coming hither.

PROPHET.

Tell him this: “I am the herald of a mightier King, Who bids me stand before this palace door And cry a curse on Ahab and his wife. Ahab, the dog, Ahab, the murderer, And Jezebel the harlot murderess.”

_Enter_ AHAB.

AHAB.

So! Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?

PROPHET.

Yes, I have found thee, and before I lose thee Will speak one word. What hast thou done, thou devil, On Naboth, that most upright man of God!

AHAB.

An upright man is in God’s hands, O Prophet.

PROPHET.

True, he is in God’s hands. Who sent him there?

AHAB.

I know not, Prophet, but if he be there, He will be much at peace.

PROPHET.

You fiend of hell! You, who hath murdered Naboth, to exult Over his corpse, still bleeding as it is.

AHAB.

I have not murdered Naboth, nor do know That he is dead, nor how, nor why. Explain.

PROPHET.

You damned him to be stoned for blasphemy.

AHAB.

I, do you say?

PROPHET.

Yes, you; or if not you,
Your bloody-hearted hirelings and the priests.

AHAB.

The priests alone can judge of blasphemy. Which do you call my hirelings?

PROPHET.

The accursed
Idolaters who follow on your Queen.

_Enter_ JEZEBEL.

JEZEBEL.

I am the Queen. Where is the man who dares Call those who follow me accurst?

PROPHET.

Here, devil. Here is the man who dares call you and them Accurst as murderers of Naboth dead.

AHAB.

You say that priests condemned him for blaspheming.

PROPHET.

You stirred the priests to prosecuting him.

AHAB.

No, not in any way soever, Prophet.

PROPHET.

Then you, co-devil with him, did this thing.

JEZEBEL.

Hearken, old ruffian, and be warned by Naboth. He cursed his God and King here in my presence, Breaking the kingdom’s laws of blasphemy. I, who uphold this kingdom’s laws, gave order That he should be arraigned for blasphemy. Do I conclude that there are still some men Who do their ruler’s bidding in this kingdom?

AHAB.

He was arraigned, condemned, and stoned?

PROPHET.

He was.

JEZEBEL.

So perish all such breakers of the law.

PROPHET.

Easily spoken words for King and Queen; And easy laws for King and Queen to keep, Living in purple in the ivory room; And useful laws for killing enemies. But there are other laws which do persist After the enemies are killed. For Naboth We left his body lying on its face, And the wild dogs slink in and lick his blood; And the bald birds that watch in heaven for deaths Settle, and wait until the dogs have done. But ... as those dogs and buzzards come to Naboth, The dogs and kites of vengeance come to you. I tell you this ... Since you have sold yourself thus to work evil, I will bring evil on you, take away All your posterity, and make your house Like Jeroboam’s house, And like the accursed house, Baasha’s house. Those of your house that die within the city The dogs shall eat, and those that die afield The fowls of the air shall eat; and Jezebel ... Dogs shall eat Jezebel by the city wall. Now royal rottenness in purple hedged, I call a great cry from the Spirit of God. Come all you dogs and vultures, Come on your noiseless wings out of great Heaven, Come upon padding footsteps stealthily. Follow your victims in the hearts of men, And by the ways of men, and take their blood As they took his, as they took his, as they Took his, upon the stones; blood, blood, that shrieks.

(_The spirit passes out of him. He swoons._)

AHAB.

So, Jezebel, you see what you have done.

JEZEBEL.

Would you have pardoned Naboth, had you heard him?

AHAB.

No; but to give our enemies this handle Against us, at this time, and for no reason.

JEZEBEL.

The laws are plain: would you have pardoned him?

AHAB.

I tell you, no.

JEZEBEL.

Then what would you have done?

AHAB.

Made him a mocking, or imprisoned him, Or had him publicly displayed and shamed.

JEZEBEL.

Why did you not then do as you have said? I told you plainly of the need of action. One of us rulers had to play the King And check this rebel. Since you did not, I did. And he is checked for ever, and his friends Daunted: so daunted that you have the chance Now to take hold and be indeed the King, And rule according to your royal will, Not as the frenzy of a rebel bids.

AHAB.

This thing that you have done has ruined all The little chance I had of governing. You bring me to the pitch of having to choose Between your fancies and the people’s will. Perhaps it is too late to remedy The evil that must follow from your folly. Naboth is dead: this prophet shows our future; If there be any future left for us. Do not now answer me; I must debate this Within myself. You may have ruined me, But that or no, you have been mad, by Heaven. [_Exit_ AHAB.

JEZEBEL.

How blest to be a prophet, who forever Does but condemn another man’s endeavour. How blest, not to decide, nor be, nor do, But help the many to condemn the few.

_Enter_ JORAM.

Joram, my son, do you come to comfort your mother?

JORAM.

No, mother, I do not. I come to look for my father.

JEZEBEL.

If you are looking for the King, this is the King.

JORAM.

What is this body, Madam? The prophet? Is he dead?

JEZEBEL.

Only swooned from cursing your father and mother.

JORAM.

Mother, you are talking very strangely.

JEZEBEL.

I have been mad, by Heaven. Why, Joram, you come to tell my father so; do you not, boy?

JORAM.

I do not know how to answer you.

JEZEBEL.

You reckon me a curse upon this country?

JORAM.

As my father’s officer I have to report what the citizens feel.

JEZEBEL.

You feel it with them.

JORAM.

Whatever I feel I can restrain; but since you insist, I say that it is hard that my father should be ruined by your Syrian policy and gods and self.

JEZEBEL.

You are half-Syrian.

JORAM.

Through you, I was. But in this war, while I lay wounded, a Syrian trooper kicked me and spurred me in the face. That took my last drop of Syrian blood; your blood. There is nothing Syrian in me now. But I mean to pay the Syrians for that kicking and spurring when they lie wounded. You have made father mild and Ahaziah like yourself; but after them perhaps I shall be King; perhaps sooner.

JEZEBEL.

You are leagued with your father’s enemies. And do you think that they will make you the King?

JORAM.

It is not a question of what I think, but of the needs of this land.

JEZEBEL.

When the mob comes to sack the palace, there is always some prince to open the door.

JORAM.

If I ever am the King, the Syrians will see.

JEZEBEL.

May it be long before you become King.

JORAM.

Your killing Naboth may make it very long. But I am not here to talk with you, but with the King.

JEZEBEL.

As I told you, this is the King, here on the ground.

_Enter_ AHAB.

JORAM.

Save you, O King, I bring a message from the Council.

AHAB.

What is it?

JORAM.

Something that would be better said by Ahaziah than myself.

AHAB.

Let me hear it.

JORAM.

If I did not bring it as a message, it would be my duty as your officer to bring it as a report.

JEZEBEL.

The Council sends word by your son that you, the King, should banish the Queen.

JORAM.

Madam, do not add to the pain of my mission. The Council is composed of manly and godly men, the best of our country, whose wills are worth the weighing. They bid me say, sir, this, that they deplore that such a King should have for counsellor one who brings peace with Syria, and the death of an upright man whom they esteemed.

AHAB.

By this counsellor they mean your mother, the Queen?

JORAM.

Sir, you are ever wise and they ever respectful. They feel that a foreign influence is not for your people’s good, nor for justice in your people’s causes.

JEZEBEL.

My son, speak openly, for the people’s good.

AHAB.

What do they demand?

JORAM.

They bid me say, sir, that they cannot doubt that you would care only for your people’s good, were it made apparent.

JEZEBEL.

Make it apparent.

JORAM.

Sire, I would that the prince, my brother, might have had this task.

JEZEBEL.

I, too, wish that, my son. Is not banishment enough, then? Do they ask for my death?

JORAM.

Sir, those are their feelings.

AHAB.

They hate my Queen and wish her gone?

JORAM.

Sir, truth cannot be hidden from you.

AHAB.

And if I ignore their feelings, or crush their mutterings?

JORAM.

Sir, they think you too great a man, for either way.

AHAB.

But if they err, and I do?

JORAM.

You would not.

AHAB.

If I did, what then?

JORAM.

Your Majesty has too good a memory.

AHAB.

What do you mean by that, boy?

JORAM.

Sir, your father only came to the crown because a former King ignored men’s feelings. King Nadab ignored his subjects’ feelings. What happened to him? King Elah did. What happened to him? King Zimri did. What happened to him? Men now living saw all these Kings; and what came to them? The crown is granted on certain terms, according with the Life of this Race. My father, I beseech you, think what this Race asks.

AHAB.

I never cease to think it. Leave us.
[_Exit_ JORAM.

You heard what he said?

JEZEBEL.

Yes.

AHAB.

They want me to put you aside.

JEZEBEL.

Yes, Ahab.

AHAB.

What urged you to prosecute Naboth at such a time?

JEZEBEL.

Someone had to act.

AHAB.

You acted fatally.

JEZEBEL.

I was myself, Ahab; a princess of Sidon; your Queen.

AHAB.

This is not Sidon, but Shemer.

JEZEBEL.