Chapter XXIV: Part 24

CORY. Come, let us separate, and sit alone
A little while, and lay a plot whereby
We may outdo each other.

[_They seat themselves on opposite sides of the wall._]

PIER. [_off stage_]. Ehe Pierrette!

COLU. [_off stage_]. My name is Columbine!
Leave me alone!

THYR. [_coming up to the wall_].
Corydon, after all, and in spite of the fact
I started it myself, I do not like this
So very much. What is the sense of saying
I do not want you on my side the wall?
It is a silly game. I'd much prefer
Making the little song you spoke of making,
About the lamb, you know, that thought himself
A shepherd!--what do you say?

[_Pause._]

CORY. [_at wall_]. (I have forgotten
The line)

COTH. [_prompting_]. "How do I know this isn't a trick"

CORY. Oh, yes.... How do I know this isn't a trick
To get upon my land?

THYR. Oh, Corydon,
You _know_ it's not a trick. I do not like
The game, that's all. Come over here, or let me
Come over there.

CORY. It is a clever trick
To get upon my land.

[_Seats himself as before._]

THYR. Oh, very well! [_Seats himself as before_] [_To himself._]
I think I never knew a sillier game.

CORY. [_coming to wall_].
Oh, Thyrsis, just a minute!--all the water
Is on your side the wall, and the sheep are thirsty.
I hadn't thought of that.

THYR. Oh, hadn't you?

CORY. Why, what do you mean?

THYR. What do I mean?--I mean
That I can play a game as well as you can.
And if the pool is on my side, it's on
My side, that's all.

CORY. You mean you'd let the sheep
Go thirsty?

THYR. Well, they're not my sheep. My sheep
Have water enough.

CORY. _Your_ sheep! You are mad, to call them.
Yours--mine--they are all one flock! Thyrsis, you can't mean
To keep the water from them, just because
They happened to be grazing over here
Instead of over there, when we set the wall up?

THYR. Oh, can't I?--wait and see!--and if you try
To lead them over here, you'll wish you hadn't!

CORY. I wonder how it happens all the water
_Is_ on your side.... I'll say you had an eye out
For lots of little things, my innocent friend,
When I said, "Let us make a song," and you said,
"I know a game worth two of that!"

COLU. [_off stage_].

D'you know, I think you must be getting old,
Or fat, or something,--stupid, anyway!--
Can't you put on some other kind of collar?

THYR. You know as well as I do, Corydon,
I never thought of anything of the kind.
_Don't_ you?

CORY. I _do_ not.

THYR. Don't you?

CORY. Oh, I suppose so.
Thyrsis, let's drop this,--what do you say?--it's only
A game, you know ... we seem to be forgetting
It's only a game ... a pretty serious game
It's getting to be, when one of us is willing
To let the sheep go thirsty, for the sake of it.

THYR. I know it, Corydon.

[_They reach out their arms to each other across the wall._]

COTH. [_prompting_]. "But how do I know?"

THYR. Oh, yes.... But how do I know this isn't a trick
To water your sheep, and get the laugh on me?

CORY. You can't know, that's the difficult thing about it,
Of course,--you can't be sure. You have to take
My word for it. And I know just how you feel.
But one of us has to take a risk, or else,
Why don't you see?--the game goes on forever--
It's terrible, when you stop to think of it....
Oh, Thyrsis, now for the first time I feel
This wall is actually a wall, a thing
Come up between us, shutting me away
From you.... I do not know you any more!

THYR. No, don't say that! Oh, Corydon, I'm willing
To drop it all, if you will! Come on over
And water your sheep! It is an ugly game.
I hate it from the first.... How did it start?

CORY. I do not know.... I do not know.... I think
I am afraid of you!--you are a stranger!
I never set eyes on you before! "Come over
And water my sheep," indeed!--They'll be more thirsty
Then they are now, before I bring them over
Into your land, and have you mixing them up
With yours, and calling them yours, and trying to keep them!

[_Enter Columbine._]

COLU. [_to Cothurnus_]. Glummy, I want my hat.

THYR. Take it, and go.

COLU. Take it and go, indeed! Is it my hat,
Or isn't it? Is this my scene, or not?
Take it and go! Really, you know, you two
Are awfully funny!

[_Exit Columbine._]

THYR. Corydon, my friend,
I'm going to leave you now, and whittle me
A pipe, or sing a song, or go to sleep.
When you have come to your senses, let me know.

[_Goes back to where he has been sitting, lies down and sleeps._]

[_Corydon, in going back to where he has been sitting, stumbles
over bowl, of colored confetti and colored paper ribbons._]

CORY. Why, what is this?--Red stones--and purple stones--
And stones stuck full of gold!--The ground is full
Of gold and colored stones!... I'm glad the wall
Was up before I found them!--Otherwise,
I should have had to share them. As it is,
They all belong to me.... Unless--

[_He goes to wall and digs up and down the length of it, to see if
there are jewels on the other side._]

None here--
None here--none here--They all belong to me!

[_Sits._]

THYR. [_awakening_]. How curious! I thought the little black lamb
Came up and licked my hair! I saw the wool
About its neck as plain as anything!
It must have been a dream. The little black lamb
Is on the other side of the wall, I'm sure.

[_Goes to wall and looks over. Corydon is seated on the ground,
tossing the confetti up into the air and catching it._]

Hello, what's that you've got there, Corydon?

CORY. Jewels.

THYR. Jewels?--And where did you ever get them?

CORY. Oh, over here.

THYR. You mean to say you found them,
By digging around in the ground for them?

CORY. [_unpleasantly_]. No, Thyrsis.
By digging down for water for my sheep.

THYR. Corydon, come to the wall a minute, will you?
I want to talk to you.

CORY. I haven't time.
I'm making me a necklace of red stones.

THYR. I'll give you all the water that you want,
For one of those red stones,--if it's a good one.

CORY. Water?--what for?--what do I want of water?

THYR. Why, for your sheep.

CORY. My sheep?--I'm not a shepherd!

THYR. Your sheep are dying of thirst.

CORY. Man, haven't I told you
I can't be bothered with a few untidy
Brown sheep all full of burdocks?--I'm a merchant,
That's what I am!--And I set my mind to it,
I dare say I could be an emperor!
[_To himself_.] Wouldn't I be a fool to spend my time
Watching a flock of sheep go up a hill,
When I have these to play with--when I have these
To think about?--I can't make up my mind
Whether to buy a city, and have a thousand
Beautiful girls to bathe me, and be happy
Until I die, or build a bridge, and name it
The Bridge of Corydon,--and be remembered
After I'm dead.

THYR. Corydon, come to the wall,
Won't you?--I want to tell you something.

CORY. Hush!
Be off! Be off! Go finish your nap, I tell you!

THYR. Corydon, listen: If you don't want your sheep,
Give them to me.

CORY. Be off. Go finish your nap.
A red one--and a blue one--and a red one--
And a purple one--give you my sheep, did you say?--
Come, come! What do you take me for, a fool?
I've a lot of thinking to do,--and while I'm thinking,
The sheep might just as well be over here
As over there.... A blue one--and a red one--

THYR. But they will die!

CORY. And a green one--and a couple
Of white ones, for a change.

THYR. Maybe I have
Some jewels on my side.

CORY. And another green one--
Maybe, but I don't think so. You see, this rock
Isn't so very wide. It stops before
It gets to the wall. It seems to go quite deep,
However.

THYR. [_with hatred_]. I see.

COLU. [_off stage_]. Look, Pierrot, there's the moon!

PIER. [_off stage_]. Nonsense!

THYR. I see.

COLU. [_off stage_]. Sing me an old song, Pierrot,--
Something I can remember.

PIER. [_off stage_]. Columbine,
Your mind is made of crumbs,--like an escallop
Of oysters,--first a layer of crumbs, and then
An oystery taste, and then a layer of crumbs.

THYR. I find no jewels ... but I wonder what
The root of this black weed would do to a man
If he should taste it.... I have seen a sheep die,
With half the stalk still drooling from its mouth.
'Twould be a speedy remedy, I should think,
For a festered pride and a feverish ambition.
It has a curious root. I think I'll hack it
In little pieces.... First I'll get me a drink;
And then I'll hack that root in little pieces
As small as dust, and see what the color is
Inside. [_Goes to bowl on floor._]
The pool is very clear. I see
A shepherd standing on the brink, with a red cloak
About him, and a black weed in his hand....
'Tis I. [_Kneels and drinks._]

CORY. [_Coming to wall_]. Hello, what are you doing, Thyrsis?

THYR. Digging for gold.

CORY. I'll give you all the gold
You want, if you'll give me a bowl of water.
If you don't want too much, that is to say.

THYR. Ho, so you've changed your mind?--It's different,
Isn't it, when you want a drink yourself?

CORY. Of course it is.

THYR. Well, let me see ... a bowl
Of water,--come back in an hour, Corydon. I'm busy now.

CORY. Oh, Thyrsis, give me a bowl
Of water!--and I'll find the bowl with jewels,
And bring it back!

THYR. Be off, I'm busy now.

[_He catches sight of the weed, picks it up and looks at it,
unseen by Corydon._]

Wait!--Pick me out the finest stones you have....
I'll bring you a drink of water presently.

CORY. [_goes back and sits down, with the jewels before him_].

A bowl of jewels is a lot of jewels.

THYR. [_chopping up the weed_]. I wonder if it has a bitter taste?

CORY. There's sure to be a stone or two among them
I have grown fond of, pouring them from one hand
Into the other.

THYR. I hope it doesn't taste
Too bitter, just at first.

CORY. A bowl of jewels
Is far too many jewels to give away....
And not get back again.

THYR. I don't believe
He'll notice. He's thirsty. He'll gulp it down
And never notice.

CORY. There ought to be some way
To get them back again.... I could give him a necklace,
And snatch it back, after I'd drunk the water,
I suppose ... why, as for that, of course, a _necklace_....

[_He puts two or three of the colored tapes together and tries
their strength by pulling them, after which he puts them around
his neck and pulls them, gently, nodding to himself. He gets up
and goes to the wall, with the colored tapes in his hands._

_Thyrsis in the meantime has poured the powdered root--black
confetti--into the pot which contains the flower and filled it up
with wine from the punch-bowl on the floor. He comes to the wall
at the same time, holding the bowl of poison._]

THYR. Come and get your bowl of water, Corydon.

CORY. Ah, very good!--and for such a gift as that
I'll give you more than a bowl of unset stones.
I'll give you three long necklaces, my friend.
Come closer. Here they are.

[_Puts the ribbons about Thyrsis' neck._]

THYR. [_putting bowl to Corydon's mouth_]. I'll hold the bowl
Until you've drunk it all.

CORY. Then hold it steady.
For every drop you spill I'll have a stone back
Out of this chain.

THYR. I shall not spill a drop.

[_Corydon drinks, meanwhile beginning to strangle Thyrsis._]

THYR. Don't pull the string so tight.

CORY. You're spilling the water.

THYR. You've had enough--you've had enough--stop pulling
The string so tight!

CORY. Why, that's not tight at all....
How's this?

THYR. [_drops bowl_]. You're strangling me! Oh, Corydon!
It's only a game!--and you are strangling me!

CORY. It's only a game, is it?--Yet I believe
You've poisoned me in earnest!

[_Writhes and pulls the strings tighter, winding them about
Thyrsis' neck._]

THYR. Corydon! [_Dies._]

CORY. You've poisoned me in earnest.... I feel so cold....
So cold ... this is a very silly game....
Why do we play it?--let's not play this game
A minute more ... let's make a little song
About a lamb.... I'm coming over the wall,
No matter what you say,--I want to be near you....

[_Groping his way, with arms wide before him, he strides through
the frail papers of the wall without knowing it, and continues
seeking for the wall straight across the stage._]

Where is the wall?

[_Gropes his way back, and stands very near Thyrsis without
knowing it; he speaks slowly._]

There isn't any wall,
I think.

[_Takes a step forward, his foot touches Thyrsis' body, and he
falls down beside him._]

Thyrsis, where is your cloak?--just give me
A little bit of your cloak!...

[_Draws corner of Thyrsis' cloak over his shoulders, falls across
Thyrsis' body, and dies._

_Cothurnus closes the prompt-book with a bang, arises
matter-of-factly, comes down stage, and places the table over the
two bodies, drawing down the cover so that they are hidden from
any actors on the stage, but visible to the audience, pushing in
their feet and hands with his boot. He then turns his back to the
audience, and claps his hands twice._]

COTH. Strike the scene!

[_Exit Cothurnus. Enter Pierrot and Columbine._]

PIER. Don't puff so, Columbine!

COLU. Lord, what a mess
This set is in! If there's one thing I hate
Above everything else,--even more than getting my feet wet--
It's clutter!--He might at least have left the scene
The way he found it.... don't you say so, Pierrot?

[_She picks up punch bowl. They arrange chairs as before at ends
of table._]

PIER. Well, I don't know. I think it rather diverting
The way it is.
[_Yawns, picks up confetti bowl._]
Shall we begin?

COLU. [_screams_]. My God!
What's that there under the table?

PIER. It is the bodies
Of the two shepherds from the other play.

COLU. [_slowly_]. How curious to strangle him like that,
With colored paper ribbons!

PIER. Yes, and yet
I dare say he is just as dead.
[_Pause. Calls Cothurnus._]
Come drag these bodies out of here! We can't
Sit down and eat with two dead bodies lying
Under the table!... The audience wouldn't stand for it!

COTH. [_off stage_]. What makes you think so?--Pull down the
tablecloth
On the other play, and hide them from the house,
And play the farce. The audience will forget.

PIER. That's so. Give me a hand there, Columbine.

[_Pierrot and Columbine pull down the table cover in such a way
that the two bodies are hidden from the house, then merrily set
their bowls back on the table, draw up their chairs, and begin the
play exactly as before, speaking even more rapidly and
artificially._]

COLU. Pierrot, a macaroon,--I cannot _live_
Without a macaroon!

PIER. My only love,
You are _so_ intense!... Is it Tuesday, Columbine?--
I'll kiss you if it's Tuesday.

[_Curtains begin to close slowly._]

COLU. It is Wednesday,
If you must know.... Is this my artichoke,
Or yours?

PIER. Ah, Columbine, as if it mattered!
Wednesday.... Will it be Tuesday, then to-morrow,
By any chance?

[_Curtain._]

HELENA'S HUSBAND

AN HISTORICAL COMEDY

BY PHILIP MOELLER

Copyright, 1915, by Philip Moeller.
Copyright, 1916, by Doubleday, Page & Co.
All rights reserved.

CHARACTERS

HELENA, _the Queen_.
TSUMU, _a black woman, slave to Helena_.
MENELAUS, _the King_.
ANALYTIKOS, _the King's librarian_.
PARIS, _a shepherd_.

HELENA'S HUSBAND was first produced by the Washington Square Players,
under the direction of Mr. Moeller, at the Bandbox Theatre, New York,
on the night of October 4, 1915, with the following cast:

HELENA [_Queen of Sparta_] _Noel Haddon_.
TSUMU [_the slave_] _Helen Westley_.
MENELAUS [_the King_] _Frank Conroy_.
ANALYTIKOS [_his librarian_] _Walter Frankl_.
PARIS [_a shepherd_] _Harold Meltzer_.

The scene was designed by Paul T. Frankl and the costumes by Robert
Locker.

Reprinted from "Five Somewhat Historical Plays" published by Alfred
A. Knopf, by special permission of Mr. Moeller. The professional and
amateur stage rights on this play are strictly reserved by the author.
Applications for permission to produce the play should be made to Mr.
Philip Moeller, care Alfred A. Knopf, 220 West 42nd Street, New York.

HELENA'S HUSBAND

AN HISTORICAL COMEDY BY PHILIP MOELLER

[_SCENE is that archaeological mystery, a Greek interior. A door
on the right leads to the King's library, one on the left to the
apartment of the Queen. Back right is the main entrance leading to
the palace. Next this, running the full length of the wall, is a
window with a platform, built out over the main court. Beyond is a
view of hills bright with lemon groves, and in the far distance
shimmers the sea. On the wall near the Queen's room hangs an old
shield rusty with disuse. A bust of Zeus stands on a pedestal
against the right wall. There are low coffers about the room from
which hang the ends of vivid colored robes. The scene is bathed in
intense sunlight. Tsumu is massaging the Queen._]

HELENA. There's no doubt about it.

TSUMU. Analytikos says there is much doubt about all things.

HELENA. Never mind what he says. I envy you your complexion.

TSUMU [_falling prostrate before Helena_]. Whom the Queen envies should beware.

HELENA [_annoyed_]. Get up, Tsumu. You make me nervous tumbling about like that.

TSUMU [_still on floor_]. Why does the great Queen envy Tsumu?

HELENA. Get up, you silly. [_She kicks her._] I envy you because you can run about and never worry about getting sunburnt.

TSUMU [_on her knees_]. The radiant beauty of the Queen is unspoilable.

HELENA. That's just what's worrying me, Tsumu. When beauty is so perfect the slightest jar may mean a jolt. [_She goes over and looks at her reflection in the shield._] I can't see myself as well as I would like to. The King's shield is tarnished. Menelaus has been too long out of battle.

TSUMU [_handing her a hand mirror_]. The Gods will keep Sparta free from strife.

HELENA. I'll have you beaten if you assume that prophetic tone with me. There's one thing I can't stand, and that's a know-all.

[_Flinging the hand mirror to the floor._]

TSUMU [_in alarm_]. Gods grant you haven't bent it.

HELENA. These little mirrors are useless. His shield is the only thing in which I can see myself full-length. If he only went to war, he'd have to have it cleaned.

TSUMU [_putting the mirror on a table near the Queen_]. The King is a lover of peace.

HELENA. The King is a lover of comfort. Have you noticed that he spends more time than he used to in the library?

TSUMU. He is busy with questions of State.

HELENA. You know perfectly well that when anything's the matter with the Government it's always straightened out at the other end of the palace. Finish my shoulder. [_She examines her arm._] I doubt if there is a finer skin than this in Sparta.

[_Tsumu begins to massage the Queen's shoulder._]

HELENA [_taking up a mirror_]. That touch of deep carmine right here in the center of my lips was quite an idea.

TSUMU [_busily pounding the Queen_]. An inspiration of the Gods!

HELENA. The Gods have nothing to do with it. I copied it from a low woman I saw at the circus. I can't understand how these bad women have such good ideas.

[_Helen twists about._]

TSUMU. If your majesty doesn't sit still, I may pinch you.

HELENA [_boxing her ears_]. None of your tricks, you ebony fiend!

TSUMU [_crouching_]. Descendant of paradise, forgive me.

HELENA. If you bruise my perfect flesh, the King will kill you. My beauty is his religion. He can sit for hours, as if at prayer, just examining the arch of my foot. Tsumu, you may kiss my foot.

TSUMU [_prostrate_]. May the Gods make me worthy of your kindness!

HELENA. That's enough. Tsumu, are you married?

TSUMU [_getting up_]. I've been so busy having babies I never had time to get married.

HELENA. It's a great disillusionment.

TSUMU [_agast_]. What!

HELENA. I'm not complaining. Moo Moo is the best of husbands, but sometimes being adored too much is trying. [_She sighs deeply._] I think I'll wear my heliotrope this afternoon.

[_A trumpet sounds below in the courtyard. Tsumu goes to the
window._]

TSUMU. They are changing the guards at the gates of the palace. It's almost time for your bath.

[_She begins scraping the massage ointment back into the box._]

HELENA. You're as careful with that ointment as Moo Moo is with me.

TSUMU. Precious things need precious guarding.

HELENA. It's very short-sighted on Moo Moo's part to send everybody to the galleys who dares lift a head when I pass by--and all these nice-looking soldiers! Why--the only men I ever see besides Moo Moo are Analytikos and a lot of useless eunuchs.

TSUMU. Oh, those eunuchs!

HELENA [_as she sits dreaming_]. I wish, I wish--

[_She stops short._]

TSUMU. You have but to speak your desire to the King.

HELENA [_shocked_]. Tsumu! How can you think of such a thing? I'm not a bad woman.

TSUMU. He would die for you.

HELENA [_relieved_]. Ah! Do you think so, Tsumu?

TSUMU. All Sparta knows that His Majesty is a lover of peace, and yet he would rush into battle to save you.

HELENA. I should love to have men fighting for me.

TSUMU [_in high alarm_]. May Zeus turn a deaf ear to your voice.

HELENA. Don't be impertinent, Tsumu. I've got to have some sort of amusement.

TSUMU. You've only to wait till next week, and you can see another of the priestesses sacrificed to Diana.

HELENA. That doesn't interest me any longer. The girls are positively beginning to like it. No! My mind is set on war.

TSUMU [_terrified_]. I have five fathers of my children to lose.

HELENA. War, or--or--

TSUMU [_hopefully_]. Have I been so long your slave that I no longer know your wish?

HELENA [_very simply_]. Well, I should like to have a lover.

TSUMU [_springs up and rushes over in horror to draw the curtains across the door of the library. All of a tremble_]. Gods grant they didn't hear you.

HELENA. Don't be alarmed, Tsumu. Analytikos is over eighty.

[_She bursts into a loud peal of laughter and Menelaus rushes into
the room._]

MENELAUS [_in high irritation_]. I wish you wouldn't make so much noise in here. A King might at least expect quiet in his own palace.

HELENA. Tsumu, see if my bath is ready. [_Tsumu exits._] You used not speak like that to me, Moo Moo.

MENELAUS [_in a temper_]. How many times must I tell you that my name is Menelaus and that it isn't "Moo Moo"?

HELENA [_sweetly_]. I'll never do it again, Moo Moo. [_She giggles._]

MENELAUS. Your laugh gets on my nerves. It's louder than it used to be.

HELENA. If you wish it, I'll never, never laugh again.

MENELAUS. You've promised that too often.

HELENA [_sadly_]. Things are not as they used to be.

MENELAUS. Are you going to start that again?

HELENA [_with a tinge of melancholy_]. I suppose you'd like me to be still and sad.

MENELAUS [_bitterly_]. Is it too much to hope that you might be still and happy?

HELENA [_speaking very quickly and tragically_]. Don't treat me cruelly, Moo Moo. You don't understand me. No man ever really understands a woman. There are terrible depths to my nature. I had a long talk with Dr. AEsculapius only last week, and he told me I'm too introspective. It's the curse of us emotional women. I'm really quite worried, but much you care, much you care. [_A note of tears comes into her voice._] I'm sure you don't love me any more, Moo Moo. No! No! Don't answer me! If you did you couldn't speak to me the way you do. I've never wronged you in deed or in thought. No, never--never. I've given up my hopes and aspirations, because I knew you wanted me around you. And now, NOW--[_She can contain the tears no longer._] Because I have neglected my beauty and because I am old and ugly, you regret that Ulysses or Agamemnon didn't marry me when you all wanted me, and I know you curse the day you ever saw me.

[_She is breathless._]

MENELAUS [_fuming_]. Well! Have you done?

HELENA. No. I could say a great deal more, but I'm not a talkative woman.

[_Analytikos comes in from the library._]

ANALYTIKOS. Your Majesty, are we to read no longer to-day?

HELENA. I have something to say to the King.

[_Analytikos goes toward the library. Menelaus anxiously stops
him._]

MENELAUS. No. Stay here. You are a wise man and well understand the wisdom of the Queen.

ANALYTIKOS [_bowing to Helena_]. Helena is wise as she is beautiful.

MENELAUS. She is attempting to prove to me in a thousand words that she's a silent woman.

ANALYTIKOS. Women are seldom silent. [_Helen resents this._] Their beauty is forever speaking for them.

HELENA. The years have, indeed, taught you wisdom.

[_Tsumu enters._]

TSUMU. The almond water awaits your majesty.

HELENA. I hope you haven't forgotten the chiropodist.

TSUMU. He has been commanded but he's always late. He's so busy.

HELENA [_in a purring tone to Menelaus_]. Moo Moo.

[_Menelaus, bored, turns away._]

HELENA [_to Tsumu_]. I think after all I'll wear my Sicily blue.

[_She and Tsumu go into the Queen's apartment._]

ANALYTIKOS. Shall we go back to the library?

MENELAUS. My mind is unhinged again--that woman with her endless protestations.

ANALYTIKOS. I am sorry the poets no longer divert you.

MENELAUS. A little poetry is always too much.

ANALYTIKOS. To-morrow we will try the historians.

MENELAUS. No! Not the historians. I want the truth for a change.

ANALYTIKOS. The truth!

MENELAUS. Where in books can I find escape from the grim reality of being hitched for life to such a wife? Bah!

ANALYTIKOS. Philosophy teaches--

MENELAUS. Why have the Gods made woman necessary to man, and made them fools?

ANALYTIKOS. For seventy years I have been resolving the problem of woman and even at my age--

MENELAUS. Give it up, old man. The answer is--don't.

ANALYTIKOS. Such endless variety, and yet--

MENELAUS [_with the conviction of finality_]. There are only two sorts of women! Those who are failures and those who realize it.

ANALYTIKOS. Is not Penelope, the model wife of your cousin Ulysses, an exception?

MENELAUS. Duty is the refuge of the unbeautiful. She is as commonplace as she is ugly. [_And then with deep bitterness._] Why didn't _he_ marry Helen when we all wanted her? He was too wise for that. He is the only man I've ever known who seems able to direct destiny.

ANALYTIKOS. You should not blame the Gods for a lack of will.

MENELAUS [_shouting_]. Will! Heaven knows I do not lack the will to rid myself of this painted puppet, but where is the instrument ready to my hand?

[_At this moment a Shepherd of Apollonian beauty leaps across the
rail of the balcony and bounds into the room. Menelaus and
Analytikos start back in amazement._]

ANALYTIKOS. Who are you?

PARIS. An adventurer.

ANALYTIKOS. Then you have reached the end of your story. In a moment you will die.

PARIS. I have no faith in prophets.

ANALYTIKOS. The soldiers of the King will give you faith. Don't you know that it means death for any man to enter the apartments of the Queen?

PARIS [_looking from one to the other_]. Oh! So you're a couple of eunuchs.

[_Though nearly eighty this is too much for Analytikos to bear. He
rushes to call the guard, but Menelaus stops him._]

PARIS [_to Analytikos_]. Thanks.

ANALYTIKOS. You thank me for telling you your doom?

PARIS. No--for convincing me that I'm where I want to be. It's taken me a long while, but I knew I'd get here. [_And then very intimately to Menelaus._] Where's the Queen?

MENELAUS. Where do you come from?

PARIS. From the hills. I had come down into the market-place to sell my sheep. I had my hood filled with apples. They were golden-red like a thousand sunsets.

MENELAUS [_annoyed_]. You might skip those bucolic details.

PARIS. At the fair I met three ancient gypsies.

MENELAUS. What have they to do with you coming here?

PARIS. You don't seem very patient. Can't I tell my story in my own way? They asked me for the apple I was eating and I asked them what they'd give for it.

MENELAUS. I'm not interested in market quotations.

PARIS. You take everything so literally. I'm sure you're easily bored.

MENELAUS [_with meaning_]. I am.

PARIS [_going on cheerfully_]. The first was to give me all the money she could beg, and the second was to tell me all the truth she could learn by listening, and the third promised me a pretty girl. So I chose--

[_He hesitates._]

ANALYTIKOS. You cannot escape by spinning out your tale.

PARIS. Death is the end of one story and the beginning of another.

MENELAUS. Well! Well! Come to the point. Which did you choose?

PARIS [_smiling_]. Well, you see I'd been in the hills for a long while, so I picked the girl.

ANALYTIKOS. It would have been better for you if you had chosen wisdom.

PARIS. I knew you'd say that.

ANALYTIKOS. I have spoken truly. In a moment you will die.

PARIS. It is because the old have forgotten life that they preach wisdom.

MENELAUS. So you chose the girl? Well, go on.

PARIS. This made the other cronies angry, and when I tossed her the apple one of the others yelped at me: "You may as well seek the Queen of Sparta: she is the fairest of women." And as I turned away I heard their laughter, but the words had set my heart aflame and though it cost me my life, I'll follow the adventure.

ANALYTIKOS [_scandalized_]. Haven't we heard enough of this?

MENELAUS [_deeply_]. No! I want to hear how the story ends. It may amuse the King.

[_He makes a sign to Analytikos._]

PARIS. And on the ship at night I looked long at the stars and dreamed of possessing Helen.

[_Analytikos makes an involuntary movement toward the balcony, but
Menelaus stops him._]

PARIS. Desire has been my guiding Mercury; the Fates are with me, and here I am.

ANALYTIKOS. The wrath of the King will show you no mercy.

PARIS [_nonchalantly_]. I'm not afraid of the King. He's fat, and--a fool.

ANALYTIKOS. Shall I call the guards?

[_Menelaus stops him._]

MENELAUS [_very significantly_]. So you would give your life for a glimpse of the Queen?

PARIS [_swiftly_]. Yes! My immortal soul, and if the fables tell the truth, the sight will be worth the forfeit.

MENELAUS [_suddenly jumping up_]. It shall be as you wish!

PARIS [_buoyantly_]. Venus has smiled on me.

MENELAUS. In there beyond the library you will find a room with a bath. Wait there till I call you.

PARIS. Is this some trick to catch me?

MENELAUS. A Spartan cannot lie.

PARIS. What will happen to you if the King hears of this?

MENELAUS. I will answer for the king. Go.

[_Paris exits into the library._]

ANALYTIKOS [_rubbing his hands_]. Shall I order the boiling oil?

MENELAUS [_surprised_]. Oil?

ANALYTIKOS. Now that he is being cleaned for the sacrifice.

MENELAUS. His torture will be greater than being boiled alive.

ANALYTIKOS [_eagerly_]. You'll have him hurled from the wall of the palace to a forest of waiting spears below?

MENELAUS. None is so blind as he who sees too much.

ANALYTIKOS. Your majesty is subtle in his cruelty.

MENELAUS. Haven't the years taught you the cheapness of revenge?

ANALYTIKOS [_mystified_]. You do not intend to alter destiny.

MENELAUS. Never before has destiny been so clear to me.

ANALYTIKOS. Then the boy must die.

MENELAUS [_with slow determination_]. No! He has been sent by the Gods to save me!

ANALYTIKOS. Your majesty!

[_He is trembling with apprehension._]

MENELAUS [_with unbudgeable conviction_]. Helena must elope with him!

ANALYTIKOS [_falling into a seat_]. Ye Gods!

MENELAUS [_quietly_]. I couldn't divorce the Queen. That would set a bad example.

ANALYTIKOS. Yes, very.

MENELAUS. I couldn't desert her. That would be beneath my honor.

ANALYTIKOS [_deeply_]. Was there no other way?

MENELAUS [_pompously_]. The King can do no wrong, and besides I hate the smell of blood. Are you a prophet as well as a scholar? Will she go?

ANALYTIKOS. To-night I will read the stars.

MENELAUS [_meaningfully_]. By to-night I'll not need you to tell me. [_Analytikos sits deep in thought._] Well?

ANALYTIKOS. Ethics cite no precedent.

MENELAUS. Do you mean to say I'm not justified?

ANALYTIKOS [_cogitating_]. Who can establish the punctilious ratio between necessity and desire?

MENELAUS [_beginning to fume_]. This is no time for language. Just put yourself in my place.

ANALYTIKOS. Being you, how can I judge as I?

MENELAUS [_losing control_]. May you choke on your dialectics! Zeus himself could have stood it no longer.

ANALYTIKOS. Have you given her soul a chance to grow?

MENELAUS. Her soul, indeed! It's shut in her rouge pot. [_He has been strutting about. Suddenly he sits down crushing a roll of papyrus. He takes it up and in utter disgust reads._] "The perfect hip, its development and permanence." Bah! [_He flings it to the floor._] I've done what I had to do, and Gods grant the bait may be sweet enough to catch the Queen.

ANALYTIKOS. If you had diverted yourself with a war or two you might have forgotten your troubles at home.

MENELAUS [_frightened_]. I detest dissension of any kind--my dream was perpetual peace in comfortable domesticity with a womanly woman to warm my sandals.

ANALYTIKOS. Is not the Queen--?

MENELAUS. No! No! The whole world is but her mirror. And I'm expected to face that woman every morning at breakfast for the rest of my life, and by Venus that's more than even a King can bear!

ANALYTIKOS. Even a King cannot alter destiny. I warn you, whom the Gods have joined together--

MENELAUS [_in an outburst_]. Is for man to break asunder!

ANALYTIKOS [_deeply shocked_]. You talk like an atheist.

MENELAUS. I never allow religion to interfere with life. Go call the victim and see that he be left alone with the Queen.

[_Menelaus exits and Analytikos goes over to the door of the
library and summons Paris, who enters clad in a gorgeous robe._]

PARIS. I found this in there. It looks rather well, doesn't it? Ah! So you're alone. I suppose that stupid friend of yours has gone to tell the King. When do I see the Queen?

ANALYTIKOS. At once.

[_He goes to the door of the Queen's apartment and claps his hand.
Tsumu enters and at the sight of her Paris recoils the full length
of the room._]

PARIS. I thought the Queen was a blonde!

ANALYTIKOS. Tell Her Majesty a stranger awaits her here.

[_Tsumu exits, her eyes wide on Paris._]

You should thank the Gods for this moment.

PARIS [_his eyes on the door_]. You do it for me. I can never remember all their names.

[_Helena enters clad in her Sicily blue, crowned with a garland of
golden flowers. She and Paris stand riveted, looking at each
other. Their attitude might be described as fantastic. Analytikos
watches them for a moment and then with hands and head lifted to
heaven he goes into the library._]

PARIS [_quivering with emotion_]. I have the most strange sensation of having seen you before. Something I can't explain--

HELENA [_quite practically_]. Please don't bother about all sorts of fine distinctions. Under the influence of Analytikos and my husband, life has become a mess of indecision. I'm a simple, direct woman and I expect you to say just what you think.

PARIS. Do you? Very well, then--[_He comes a step nearer to her._] Fate is impelling me toward you.

HELENA. Yes. That's much better. So you're a fatalist. It's very Greek. I don't see what our dramatists would do without it.

PARIS. In my country there are no dramatists. We are too busy with reality.

HELENA. Your people must be uncivilized barbarians.

PARIS. My people are a genuine people. There is but one thing we worship.

HELENA. Don't tell me it's money.

PARIS. It's--

HELENA. Analytikos says if there weren't any money, there wouldn't be any of those ridiculous socialists.

PARIS. It isn't money. It's sincerity.

HELENA. I, too, believe in sincerity. It's the loveliest thing in the world.

PARIS. And the most dangerous.

HELENA. The truth is never dangerous.

PARIS. Except when told.

HELENA [_making room on the couch for him to sit next to her_]. You mustn't say wicked things to me.

PARIS. Can your theories survive a test?

HELENA [_beautifully_]. Truth is eternal and survives all tests.

PARIS. No. Perhaps, after all, your soul is not ready for the supremest heights.

HELENA. Do you mean to say I'm not religious? Religion teaches the meaning of love.

PARIS. Has it taught you to love your husband?

HELENA [_starting up and immediately sitting down again_]. How dare you speak to me like that?

PARIS. You see. I was right.

[_He goes toward the balcony._]

HELENA [_stopping him_]. Whatever made you think so?

PARIS. I've heard people talk of the King. You could never love a man like that.

HELENA [_beautifully_]. A woman's first duty is to love her husband.

PARIS. There is a higher right than duty.

HELENA [_with conviction_]. Right is right.

PARIS [_with admiration_]. The world has libeled you.

HELENA. Me! The Queen?

PARIS. You are as wise as you are beautiful.

HELENA [_smiling coyly_]. Why, you hardly know me.

PARIS. I know you! I, better than all men.

HELENA. You?

PARIS [_rapturously_]. Human law has given you to Menelaus, but divine law makes you mine.

HELENA [_in amazement_]. What!

PARIS. I alone appreciate your beauty. I alone can reach your soul.

HELENA. Ah!

PARIS. You hate your husband!

HELENA [_drawing back_]. Why do you look at me like that?

PARIS. To see if there's one woman in the world who dares tell the truth.

HELENA. My husband doesn't understand me.

PARIS [_with conviction_]. I knew you detested him.

HELENA. He never listens to my aspirations.

PARIS. Egoist.

HELENA [_assuming an irresistible pose_]. I'm tired of being only lovely. He doesn't realize the meaning of spiritual intercourse, of soul communion.

PARIS. Fool!

HELENA. You dare call Moo Moo a fool?

PARIS. Has he not been too blind to see that your soul outshines your beauty? [_Then, very dramatically._] You're stifling!

HELENA [_clearing her throat_]. I--I--

PARIS. He has made you sit upon your wings. [_Helena, jumping up, shifts her position._] You are groping in the darkness.

HELENA. Don't be silly. It's very light in here.

PARIS [_undisturbed_]. You are stumbling, and I have come to lead you.

[_He steps toward her._]

HELENA. Stop right there! [_Paris stops._] No man but the King can come within ten feet of me. It's a court tradition.

PARIS. Necessity knows no tradition. [_He falls on his knees before her._] I shall come close to you, though the flame of your beauty consume me.

HELENA. You'd better be careful what you say to me. Remember I'm the Queen.

PARIS. No man weighs his words who has but a moment to live.

HELENA. You said that exactly like an actor. [_He leans very close to her._] What are you doing now?

PARIS. I am looking into you. You are the clear glass in which I read the secret of the universe.

HELENA. The secret of the universe. Ah! Perhaps you could understand me.

PARIS. First you must understand yourself.

HELENA [_instinctively taking up a mirror_]. How?

PARIS. You must break with all this prose. [_With an unconscious gesture he sweeps a tray of toilet articles from the table. Helena emits a little shriek._]

HELENA. The ointment!

PARIS [_rushing to the window and pointing to the distance_]. And climb to infinite poesie!

HELENA [_catching his enthusiasm, says very blandly_]. There is nothing in the world like poetry.

PARIS [_lyrically_]. Have you ever heard the poignant breathing of the stars?

HELENA. No. I don't believe in astrology.

PARIS. Have you ever smelt the powdery mists of the sun?

HELENA. I should sneeze myself to death.

PARIS. Have you ever listened to the sapphire soul of the sea?

HELENA. Has the sea a soul? But please don't stop talking. You do it so beautifully.

PARIS. Deeds are sweeter than words. Shall we go hand in hand to meet eternity?

HELENA [_not comprehending him_]. That's very pretty. Say it again.

PARIS [_passionately_]. There's but a moment of life left me. I shall stifle it in ecstasy. Helena, Helena, I adore you!

HELENA [_jumping up in high surprise_]. You're not making love to me, you naughty boy?

PARIS. Helena.

HELENA. You've spoken to me so little, and already you dare to do that.

PARIS [_impetuously_]. I am a lover of life. I skip the inessentials.

HELENA. Remember who I am.

PARIS. I have not forgotten, Daughter of Heaven. [_Suddenly he leaps to his feet._] Listen!

HELENA. Shhh! That's the King and Analytikos in the library.

PARIS. No! No! Don't you hear the flutter of wings?

HELENA. Wings?

PARIS [_ecstatically_]. Venus, mother of Love!

HELENA [_alarmed_]. What is it?

PARIS. She has sent her messenger. I hear the patter of little feet.

HELENA. Those little feet are the soldiers below in the courtyard.

[_A trumpet sounds._]

PARIS [_the truth of the situation breaking through his emotion_]. In a moment I shall be killed.

HELENA. Killed?

PARIS. Save me and save yourself!

HELENA. Myself?

PARIS. I shall rescue you and lead you on to life.

HELENA. No one has even spoken to me like that before.

PARIS. This is the first time your ears have heard the truth.

HELENA. Was it of you I've been dreaming?

PARIS. Your dream was but your unrealized desire.

HELENA. Menelaus has never made me feel like this. [_And then with a sudden shriek._] Oh! I'm a wicked woman!

PARIS. No! No!

HELENA. For years I've been living with a man I didn't love.

PARIS. Yes! Yes!

HELENA. I'm lost!

PARIS [_at a loss_]. No! Yes! Yes! No!

HELENA. It was a profanation of the most holy.

PARIS. The holiest awaits you, Helena! Our love will lighten the Plutonian realms.

HELENA. Menelaus never spoke to me like that.

PARIS. 'Tis but the first whisper of my adoration.

HELENA. I can't face him every morning at breakfast for the rest of my life. That's even more than a Queen can bear.

PARIS. I am waiting to release you.

HELENA. I've stood it for seven years.

PARIS. I've been coming to you since the beginning of time.

HELENA. There is something urging me to go with you, something I do not understand.

PARIS. Quick! There is but a moment left us.

[_He takes her rapturously in his arms. There is a passionate
embrace in the midst of which Tsumu enters._]

TSUMU. The chiropodist has come.

HELENA. Bring me my outer garment and my purse.

[_Tsumu exits, her eyes wide on Paris._]

PARIS. Helena! Helena!

[_Helena looks about her and takes up the papyrus that Menelaus
has flung to the floor._]

HELENA. A last word to the King. [_She looks at the papyrus._] No, this won't do; I shall have to take this with me.

PARIS. What is it?

HELENA. Maskanda's discourse on the hip.

[_A trumpet sounds below in the courtyard._]

PARIS [_excitedly_]. Leave it--or your hip may cost me my head. We haven't a minute to spare. Hurry! Hurry!

[_Helena takes up an eyebrow pencil and writes on the back of the
papyrus. She looks for a place to put it and seeing the shield she
smears it with some of the ointment and sticks the papyrus to
it._]

PARIS [_watching her in ecstasy_]. You are the fairest of all fair women and your name will blaze as a symbol throughout eternity.

[_Tsumu enters with the purse and the Queen's outer robe._]

HELENA [_tossing the purse to Paris_]. Here, we may need this.

PARIS [_throwing it back to Tsumu_]. This for your silence, daughter of darkness. A prince has no need of purses.

TSUMU [_looking at him_]. A prince!

HELENA [_gloriously_]. My prince of poetry. My deliverer!

PARIS [_divinely_]. My queen of love!

[_They go out, Tsumu looking after them in speechless amazement.
Suddenly she sees the papyrus on the shield, runs over and reads
it and then rushes to the door of the library._]

TSUMU [_calling_]. Analytikos.

[_She hides the purse in her bosom. Analytikos enters, scroll in
hand._]

ANALYTIKOS. Has the Queen summoned me?

TSUMU [_mysteriously_]. A terrible thing has happened.

ANALYTIKOS. What's the matter?

TSUMU. Where's the King?

ANALYTIKOS. In the library.

TSUMU. I have news more precious than the gold of Midas.

ANALYTIKOS [_giving her a purse_]. Well! What is it?

TSUMU [_speaking very dramatically and watching the effect of her words_]. The Queen has deserted Menelaus.

ANALYTIKOS [_receiving the shock philosophically_]. Swift are the ways of Nature. The Gods have smiled upon him.

TSUMU. The Gods have forsaken the King to smile upon a prince.

ANALYTIKOS. What?

TSUMU. He was a prince.

ANALYTIKOS [_apprehensively_]. Why do you say that?

TSUMU [_clutching her bosom_]. I have a good reason to know. [_There is a sound of voices below in the courtyard. Menelaus rushes in expectantly. Tsumu falls prostrate before him._] Oh, King, in thy bottomless agony blame not a blameless negress. The Queen has fled!

MENELAUS [_in his delight forgetting himself and flinging her a purse_]. Is it true?

TSUMU. Woe! Woe is me!

MENELAUS [_storming_]. Out of my sight, you eyeless Argus!

ANALYTIKOS [_to Tsumu_]. Quick, send a messenger. Find out who he was.

[_Tsumu sticks the third purse in her bosom and runs out._]

MENELAUS [_with radiant happiness, kneeling before the bust of Zeus_]. Ye Gods, I thank ye. Peace and a happy life at last.

[_The shouts in the courtyard grow louder._]

ANALYTIKOS. The news has spread through the palace.

MENELAUS [_in trepidation, springing up_]. No one would dare stop the progress of the Queen.

TSUMU [_rushes in and prostrates herself before the King_]. Woe is me! They have gone by the road to the harbor.

MENELAUS [_anxiously_]. Yes! Yes!

TSUMU. By the King's orders no man has dared gaze upon Her Majesty. They all fell prostrate before her.

MENELAUS. Good! Good! [_Attempting to cover his delight._] Go! Go! You garrulous dog.

[_Tsumu gets up and points to shield. Analytikos and the King look
toward it. Analytikos tears off the papyrus and brings it to
Menelaus. Tsumu, watching them, exits._]

MENELAUS [_reading_]. "I am not a bad woman. I did what I had to do." How Greek to blame fate for what one wants to do.

[_Tsumu again comes tumbling in._]

TSUMU [_again prostrate before the King_]. A rumor flies through the city. He--he--

ANALYTIKOS [_anxiously_]. Well? Well?

TSUMU. He--he--

MENELAUS [_furiously to Analytikos_]. Rid me of this croaking raven.

TSUMU. Evil has fallen on Sparta. He--

ANALYTIKOS. Yes--yes--

MENELAUS [_in a rage_]. Out of my sight, perfidious Nubian.

[_Sounds of confusion in the courtyard. Suddenly she springs to
her feet and yells at the top of her voice._]

TSUMU. He was Paris, Prince of Troy!

[_They all start back. Analytikos stumbles into a seat. Menelaus
turns pale. Tsumu leers like a black Nemesis._]

ANALYTIKOS [_very ominously_]. Who can read the secret of the Fates?

MENELAUS [_frightened_]. What do you mean?

ANALYTIKOS. He is the son of Priam, King of Troy.

TSUMU [_adding fuel_]. And of Hecuba, Queen of the Trojans.

[_She rushes out to spread the news._]

ANALYTIKOS. That makes the matter international.

MENELAUS [_quickly_]. But we have treaties with Troy.

ANALYTIKOS. Circumstances alter treaties. They will mean nothing.

MENELAUS. Nothing?

ANALYTIKOS. No more than a scrap of papyrus. Sparta will fight to regain her Queen.

MENELAUS. But I don't want her back.

ANALYTIKOS. Can you tell that to Sparta? Remember, the King can do no wrong. Last night I dreamed of war.

MENELAUS. No! No! Don't say that. After the scandal I can't be expected to fight to get her back.

ANALYTIKOS. Sparta will see with the eyes of chivalry.

MENELAUS [_fuming_]. But I don't believe in war.

ANALYTIKOS [_still obdurate_]. Have you forgotten the oath pledged of old, with Ulysses and Agamemnon? They have sworn, if ever the time came, to fight and defend the Queen.

MENELAUS [_bitterly_]. I didn't think of the triple alliance.

ANALYTIKOS. Can Sparta ask less of her King?

MENELAUS. Let's hear the other side. We can perhaps arbitrate. Peace at any price.

ANALYTIKOS. Some bargains are too cheap.

MENELAUS [_hopelessly_]. But I am a pacifist.

ANALYTIKOS. You are Menelaus of Sparta, and Sparta's a nation of soldiers.

MENELAUS [_desperately_]. I am too proud to fight!

ANALYTIKOS. Here, put on your shield. [_A great clamor comes up from the courtyard, Analytikos steps out on the balcony and is greeted with shouts of "The King! The King!" Addressing the crowd._] People of Sparta, this calamity has been forced upon us. [_Menelaus winces._] We are a peaceful people. But thanks to our unparalleled efficiency, the military system of Sparta is the most powerful in all Greece and we can mobilize in half an hour.

[_Loud acclaims from the people. Menelaus, the papyrus still in
hand, crawls over and attempts to stop Analytikos._]

ANALYTIKOS [_not noticing him_]. In the midst of connubial and communal peace the thunderbolt has fallen on the King. [_Menelaus tugs at Analytikos' robe._] Broken in spirit as he is, he is already pawing the ground like a battle steed. Never will we lay down our arms! We and Jupiter! [_Cheers._] Never until the Queen is restored to Menelaus. Never, even if it takes ten years. [_Menelaus squirms. A loud cheer._] Even now the King is buckling on his shield. [_More cheers. Analytikos steps farther forward and then with bursting eloquence._] One hate we have and one alone! [_Yells from below._]

Hate by water and hate by land,
Hate of the head and hate of the hand,
Hate of Paris and hate of Troy
That has broken the Queen for a moment's toy.

[_The yells grow fiercer._]

Zeus' thunder will shatter the Trojan throne.
We have one hate and one alone!

[_Menelaus sits on the floor dejectedly looking at the papyrus. A
thunder of voices from the people._]

We have one hate and one alone. Troy! Troy!

[_Helmets and swords are thrown into the air. The cheers grow
tumultuous, trumpets are blown, and the_

_Curtain falls._]

THE SHADOWED STAR

BY MARY MACMILLAN

Copyright, 1913, by Stewart & Kidd Company.
All rights reserved.

CAST

A WOMAN, _the mother_.
AN OLD WOMAN, _the grandmother_.
TWO GIRLS, _the daughters_.
A MESSENGER BOY.
A NEIGHBOR.
ANOTHER NEIGHBOR.

THE SHADOWED STAR is reprinted from "Short Plays" by Mary MacMillan by
permission of Messrs. Stewart & Kidd Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. The
acting rights of this play are reserved by the author. Address all
correspondence to the author in regard to production.

THE SHADOWED STAR

BY MARY MACMILLAN

[_A very bare room in a tenement house, uncarpeted, the boards
being much worn, and from the walls the bluish whitewash has
scaled away; in the front on one side is a cooking-stove, and
farther back on the same side a window; on the opposite side is a
door opening into a hallway; in the middle of the room there is a
round, worn dining-room table, on which stands a stunted, scraggly
bit of an evergreen-tree; at the back of the room, near the
window, stands an old-fashioned safe with perforated tin front;
next it a door opening into an inner room, and next it in the
corner a bed, on which lies a pallid woman; another woman, very
old, sits in a rocking-chair in front of the stove and rocks.
There is silence for a long space, the old woman rocking and the
woman on the bed giving an occasional low sigh or groan. At last
the old woman speaks._]