Chapter VI: Act II: Afternoon

SCENE I. _The Hall in the Wazir Mansur’s Mansion._

_The same scene as the last, but richly embroidered curtains
have now been drawn between the columns to keep out the glare
of the afternoon sun. This gives the room a more intimate
feeling. Two large cushions have been placed on the floor and
between them a low wine-table with beakers of wine, drinking
bowls, fruits, sweetmeats, and a bunch of aromatic herbs._

_MANSUR is reclining on one cushion. AFIFE and KAFUR are on the
diwan. TWO SLAVES stand ready to replenish the cups._

_On the cushion to the left is seated HAJJ, in a brilliant
fantastic Persian robe and a gorgeous turband. He sits up very
erect, his eyes sparkling, his arms outstretched—evidently at
the climax of his story._

HAJJ. “Thereupon, O hearer, the fox saw his foe, the wolf, was slain; and henceforth he abode alone in the vineyard, secure to the hour of his death.” But Allah is all-knowing!

MANSUR. In sooth, a pleasing tale!

(_He drains his cup and holds it out to the SLAVE, who fills it
up again._)

KAFUR. Good! Good!

AFIFE. (_Clapping his hands._) More! More! More!

MANSUR. (_Signing to the slave behind HAJJ._) Nay, first another cup——

HAJJ. (_Putting his hand over his cup._) O my Lord, pardon me. I am not wont to drink wine.

MANSUR. Tush! ’Tis nothing. Thin, red morning tipple. This night will we robe us in robes of gold and flame-colour and fall to quaffing in earnest; sweet Greek vintage that breeds gladness even to madness. (_He holds out the cup, which the SLAVE fills. Then MANSUR passes it to HAJJ._) May I never be afflicted with thy loss.

(_HAJJ, bowing to MANSUR, accepts the cup and kisses it._)

HAJJ. The slave to thy wishes revealed or concealed. (_He drains it and returns it to MANSUR._)

MANSUR. (_Pointedly._) So thou sayest and hast said.

HAJJ. Put me to the test, O my master. What tale dost thou desire?

MANSUR. What tale? (_Confidentially to HAJJ._) Harkee, O Hajj. Thou hast wasted thy years. Thou canst turn the ear inside out by thy talk. Long ago thy wit should have won thee a wazirdom.

HAJJ. I? Wazir?

MANSUR. Yehh! Thou art marked for it by fate. Is this not so, O Kafur?

KAFUR. Thou hast said it.

MANSUR. (_To HAJJ._) Thou seest? There’s no escaping honours, O Hajj the Wazir! O the Wazir Hajj!

HAJJ. (_Stroking his moustachios._) The Wazir Hajj! O my lord, what stair will lead me to so high a minaret?

MANSUR. What stair?

(_The ATTENDANT enters by the door._)

ATTENDANT. ’Tis the hour of the diwan, O my lord.

MANSUR. The diwan! ’Tis well. (_Rises._) (_The ATTENDANT leaves._) I go to robe myself. Await me but a handful of moments, O my friend. When I return I shall open a gate undreamt of by thy dearest dream. Till then, Allah increase thee, O Wazir to be.

(_MANSUR goes off followed by KAFUR, AFIFE, and the TWO
SLAVES._)

HAJJ. Wazir! Wazir! Another cup! A cup to thee, O Wazir Hajj, thou friend of the great, thou of the great thyself. (_He drinks another cup and struts across the room._) Wazir! (_He approaches the diwan._) Yehh! Why not? (_He seats himself on the diwan._) Even such a seat was destined my limbs from eternity! (_With a chuckle._) The Wazir Hajj!

(_MISKAH, a slave-girl, enters through the curtains at the
back. She is, of course, veiled. She looks about cautiously,
then glides to HAJJ’S side, and throws herself at his feet._)

MISKAH. O my master, my mistress bids me come kiss the dust of thy slippers.

HAJJ. Yehh! Who may be the mistress of so fair a messenger?

MISKAH. Hush! If we be heard ’tis death.

HAJJ. Speak low then. What is it?

MISKAH. ’Tis sooner told than mended. At noon-tide, lying within the lattice of the harim, my lady saw thee cross the courtyard—the servants bowing to earth before thy valiant stride.

HAJJ. (_Delighted._) Valiant stride! (_He strokes his moustachios._) Yehh! Did she, forsooth?

MISKAH. O noble stranger, who art thou? Whence comest thou? What is the measure of thy staying? Such and more would my mistress know. For from noon till now is all her being become one yearning question.

HAJJ. And all my being from now to eternity one burning reply. So haste! Bring us together that we may spell a sweet completeness.

MISKAH. Follow me, then. But by the life of thy head mark thy path. For we must step over the sleeping door-keeper of the harim. I have plied him with drugs. Three blessed hours will he lie thus in stupor—no longer. After me!

HAJJ. Hold! I cannot leave. Any moment the Wazir may return. Might not thy mistress favour me with her coming?

MISKAH. Hither?

HAJJ. (_Pointing to the door._) Thou couldst stand guard.

MISKAH. I’ll take thy message, O my master. But her consent means madness. (_She disappears through the curtains._)

HAJJ. (_Left alone, smiles._) “Madness!” “Valiant stride!” (_He sits erect._) “Noble stranger!” O Hajj! Thou wast not so mistaken in thyself. There’s a something, a somehow about thee—no doubt of that!

(_He draws out his sword using the blade as a mirror by which
to arrange his moustachios._)

(_The curtains part again—MISKAH re-enters._)

MISKAH. She comes! (_She glides rapidly to the door left and sits listening._)

(_KUT-AL-KULUB enters, a voluptuous woman of the ripe oriental
type—she is about eight and twenty. Her dress is very rich,
over it a gorgeous mantle. Her veil is of the thinnest._)

KUT-AL-K. (_Kneeling before him._) Welcome and well come to my illustrious lord.

HAJJ. A thousand blessings on thy white forehead, O mistress of my days.

KUT-AL-K. Allah, forgive me! Only the wildness of despair could drive me to break the bonds of my harim.

HAJJ. I am earth to thy treading.

KUT-AL-K. (_With a sigh and exaggerated emotion._) Now, by my life! I knew mine eyes beheld a king the instant they lighted upon the grace of thy being. Help me! Help me! I am oppressed beyond endurance.

HAJJ. Who art thou? One of Mansur’s wives?

KUT-AL-K. (_Springing up, indignantly._) One——? I am the Wife of wives!

MISKAH. S—sh!

HAJJ. His first? The great lady?

KUT-AL-K. First in fact. Yet might I be the least and lowest—a blackamoor kitchen wench—were I to be ranked by his reckoning.

HAJJ. Never tell me he ceases adoring thee even for the wink of an eye-lid.

KUT-AL-K. (_Shrilly._) Cease adoring! He!

MISKAH. (_Warningly._) S—sh!

KUT-AL-K. (_Turning to HAJJ, with appeal._) Behold this arm! (_She produces a gorgeous arm from her cloak._) Is this arm shrivelled? Shrunk?

HAJJ. (_Admiringly._) Shrivelled? What dog says shrivelled?

KUT-AL-K. (_Opening her cloak._) This bosom yellow?

HAJJ. (_Overcome._) Yellow, this field of lilies?

KUT-AL-K. (_Turning back._) Now tell me, by thine honour: callest thou me hump-backed?

(_She drops the cloak and turns round revealing her form,
provokingly clad in scanty splendour._)

HAJJ. O thou copious beauty! Am I a boy that thou shouldst mock me thus?

KUT-AL-K. (_Unveiling her face._) Or is my face pock-pitted? My nose crooked? My mouth crumpled?

HAJJ. Allah help me! What art thou doing to me, O cruel one?

KUT-AL-K. (_With a gliding step as she approaches him languorously._) And my gait? (_Making slow gestures._) Is my motion like a popinjay’s on a perch? (_Coming close to him and sitting on the diwan below him._) My glance the stare of a dead thing?

HAJJ. O sun of the age! Dazzle not my sight to blindness! Strike not my senses to frenzy.

KUT-AL-K. (_Feigning surprise, veiling her face, and turning from him._) Woe upon me! Hath my rage disrobed me?

HAJJ. O light of splendour, cloud not thy rays. Shut me not in blackest darkness.

KUT-AL-K. (_Lifting her veil a little from her face, coquettishly._) So much?

HAJJ. More.

KUT-AL-K. So much?

HAJJ. More.

KUT-AL-K. (_Dropping her veil completely._) O thou man among men! Why must I obey thy bidding? (_She looks down provokingly._)

HAJJ. (_Drawing close._) What is thy name?

KUT-AL-K. Kut-al-Kulub, the food of hearts.

HAJJ. In very sooth, thou art the food of hearts. I could feast on thy plenty for ever and yet be an-hungered still.

KUT-AL-K. Alas! Why have I never heard words like thine till now?

HAJJ. (_Coaxing._) Never till now?

KUT-AL-K. (_Coyly._) By my head, never! All day and all night I sit alone under my silent dome, in the fever of my solitude; my tears my sole consolers.

HAJJ. Tears! Thou must let me come to thee and kiss them away.

KUT-AL-K. (_Pretending horror._) Art thou mad?

HAJJ. Aye, maddened by the insolence of thy beauty.

KUT-AL-K. (_Rising and turning from him, provokingly._) Allah! Kiss me? Thou? Out on thee! ’Tis easily seen thou art loved too much, by too many.

HAJJ. (_He follows her, comes close to her, and suddenly says in a very businesslike way._) When shall it be?

KUT-AL-K. (_Dropping all artifice, eagerly._) This evening—early—with the new risen moon.

HAJJ. How shall I reach thee?

KUT-AL-K. Come to this courtyard. My faithful slave of the firehole shall await thy coming and lead thee by an unknown passage under the baths straight to the heart of the harim.

MISKAH. (_Springing up, anxiously._) O mistress! (_She points to the door._)

(_HAJJ kisses KUT-AL-K. on the lips. She tears herself away and
hurries off through the curtains followed by MISKAH._)

KUT-AL-K. (_With a final glance._) Allah!

HAJJ. (_Flinging his arms out in ecstacy._) Allah!

(_Hearing MANSUR, he quickly resumes the position on the floor,
in which MANSUR left him._)

(_MANSUR re-enters clad in armour, followed by KAFUR and
AFIFE._)

MANSUR. O Wazir Hajj—are thine eyes ready for me to open?

HAJJ. Ready, O my master.

MANSUR. Swear that thou wilt never reveal what I shall unveil. (_He resumes his seat on the diwan._)

HAJJ. I give thee the bond of Allah, to whom belong honour and glory.

MANSUR. ’Tis well. How prompt art thou to do a deed?

HAJJ. (_Kneeling._) Order me do, and ’tis done.

MANSUR. (_After a pause._) Kill the Caliph.

HAJJ. (_Thunderstruck._) The—Caliph?

MANSUR. I said what I said.

HAJJ. The Caliph! The Viceroy of the Prophet! Shed his sacred blood?

MANSUR. Sacred? Abdallah? A toy to a tutor? Prince Omar should be reigning in his stead.

HAJJ. Prince Omar!

MANSUR. Yehh! He’s no parchment-worm! He’s a man, a warrior, a king to the core.

HAJJ. And were Prince Omar Caliph—how would that help my cause?

MANSUR. The hour he’s proclaimed Caliph, that hour am I Grand Wazir. Once Grand Wazir, there’s no favour too lofty for thee to climb to.

HAJJ. Yehh! But why choose me for the deed? Me, from all the servants that encircle thee as the white of the eye doth the black.

MANSUR. I wish to honour thee.

HAJJ. (_Not without humour._) Honour me less, I pray thee.

MANSUR. Wouldst thou have me pick a fool for such work? I tell thee, thou art the man.

HAJJ. (_Confused._) Awah! The Caliph! To attempt to approach him surrounded as he is ever by a body-guard of ready scymitars!

MANSUR. Nought so easy. He holds his diwan after mid-afternoon prayer, dealing decrees to great and small, bidding and forbidding. Didst thou not say erstwhile thou knewest how to juggle?

HAJJ. Trick on trick! Oft I play them at my corner! A wizard from Morocco was my teacher.

MANSUR. The very device! Even such another Moorman shalt thou stand to-day before the Caliph seeking protection as a stranger. I’ll turn it so that he bids thee unfold these tricks of thine. Do thou, by thy skill, draw him step by step from his throne, till he pass beyond the circle of safety and stand unguarded, unheedful by thy side. Then sudden plunge thy dagger.

HAJJ. The guards would cut me down.

MANSUR. Once the Caliph killed, the command of the guards falls unto me.

HAJJ. Ask aught else. This I cannot.

MANSUR. (_Half aloud as to himself temptingly._) Hajj, the Wazir! The Wazir Hajj!

HAJJ. I cannot kill Allah’s messenger. Cut off my hand and let me go.

MANSUR. (_Rising._) Let thee go? Now? Thy hand to ransom thee with such a secret in thy heart? By the Venger of villainy, thou shalt not leave this house alive! ’Tis either my cup companion, or (_pointing_) down into the vaults of oblivion.

HAJJ. Was it for this I was raised to favour?

MANSUR. (_Sneeringly._) For thy beauty—mayhap?

HAJJ. (_Clenching his hands._) The Caliph. I cannot! I cannot!

MANSUR. Thou art a coward.

HAJJ. Not for myself. But I have others in my life. Affections that bind me. I have a daughter. Awah! (_He grovels on the ground._)

MANSUR. (_With a sudden look at KAFUR._) Young? Unmarried?

HAJJ. Unmarried. Awah!

MANSUR. Fair?

HAJJ. Fairer than fair. With a voice like a nightingale’s. A thousand songs are hers. When she dances—the gates of Paradise are opened.

MANSUR. (_Doubtfully._) Sayest thou so. (_He makes signs to AFIFE and KAFUR, unobserved by HAJJ._)

HAJJ. I tell thee she is a slice of the moon! With lips tender, and waist slender, and graces countless, no tongue can render.

MANSUR. By Allah! Thou hast set me afire. I’ll take her to wife.

HAJJ. (_Overcome._) Thou? The Wazir Mansur—my Marsinah?

MANSUR. Even so.

HAJJ. (_Rising—still doubting._) Wife?

MANSUR. Yea, wife—not concubine. My other wives will I put away from me. She shall be first of them all.

HAJJ. Thou’lt swear it?

MANSUR. Swear it? (_He raises his right hand._) The Opening Chapter of the Koran be between me and thee upon this. Afife, Kafur, be ye sponsors to our compact before the Most High. (_He holds out his right palm._)

HAJJ. (_Putting his right palm against MANSUR’S._) Ye have heard.

AFIFE AND KAFUR. (_Together._) We have heard.

MANSUR. So be it. I’ll make her mine at sunset. The eunuchs of the harim shall bring her hither this self-same hour.

HAJJ. Nay, let me go with them. Such tidings shall she learn from none save her father. (_He moves to the door._)

MANSUR. Hold! A little question! How stand we as to the Caliph?

HAJJ. The Caliph? Now thou hast sworn to marry my daughter, by Him the Most High, the One, the Omnipotent, here do I swear to stab the Caliph to death this day.

MANSUR. (_To the others._) Ye have heard?

KAFUR AND AFIFE. (_Raising their right hands together._) Amin!

MANSUR. (_Raising his hand._) Amin!

HAJJ. (_Raising his hand._) Amin! (_A moment’s silence. From the distant minaret comes the call to prayer._)

MANSUR. (_Sanctimoniously._) O my brothers, the call to prayer.

HAJJ. (_In the same tone._) Prayer!

(_With one accord they all kneel and bend devoutly to Meccah._)

[CURTAIN]

SCENE II

_The Courtyard of a poor House. (The same scene as Act I.
Scene III.). The hot sun of the afternoon is kept off by some
awnings. The birds in the cages hang on the wall._

_MARSINAH is seated on the bench, her lute in her lap. She sings_:—

I.

Under my veil
What hide I not?
Now cheeks so pale,
Now blushes hot:
Under my veil!

II.

Under my veil
What hold I not?
The sweetest tale
Of kisses got,
Under my veil!

NARJIS. (_Coming out of the house with a large water-jar and going to the well._) Out upon thee, singing away thy day! An thou help me not in the house, I’ll take away thy trinkets.

MARSINAH. Touch me, and my father shall hear of it!

NARJIS. Thy father! ’Twill be long ere thou seest thy father again.

MARSINAH. I’ll not believe it.

NARJIS. I tell thee this sudden wealth—(_With a gesture of thieving._)—came but by way of his fingers. They’ve found him. They’ve taken him.

(_A knock on the house door._)

MARSINAH. Yehh! ’Tis he!

NARJIS. Or the watch come for thy anklets.

MARSINAH. (_Hiding her anklets as she sits._) O Narjis!

(_Another knock._)

NARJIS. (_Hurries to the door calling out._) Here am I! Here am I! Who knocks?

HAJJ. (_Outside._) I! Thy master. Open, O Narjis.

NARJIS. Allah! ’Tis thy father. (_She unlocks the house door._)

MARSINAH. (_Springing up._) What said I?

(_Enter HAJJ. He is, of course, in his brilliant Persian gown
with his silver sword in his belt._)

HAJJ. Where’s Marsinah? (_He enters the court._)

MARSINAH. (_Overcome by his appearance._) O my father! What fresh magnificence is this? Did they set thee free?

HAJJ. (_Looking at NARJIS._) What hast thou been saying to her? Calling me thief behind my heels?

NARJIS. Not a word, O my lord. I am thy slave of admiration.

HAJJ. O slippery mouth! Are thieves clad in robes of honour? Are thieves given swords of office?

MARSINAH. By my youth! ’Tis all silver.

HAJJ. ’Twill be gold before night.

MARSINAH. Gold?

HAJJ. And before yet another night all jewels and gems.

MARSINAH. Gold! Jewels! O king of fathers! Hast thou discovered some enchanted treasure?

HAJJ. Yea, a treasure for me and a treasure for thee! My dreams are dreams no longer. They are alive as the breath of thy lips. (_To NARJIS._) Go fetch me my bundle of magic.

NARJIS. All the tricks?

HAJJ. All, and the robes.

NARJIS. Hearing and obedience. (_She goes into the house at back._)

HAJJ. (_To MARSINAH._) Thy birds!

MARSINAH. My birds? Thou wilt have a care of them as ever? (_She brings the bird cages to him._)

HAJJ. Care? Care matters not now, O my doe! Thou shalt have braver birds than those ere long. Flocks of white ones and black ones to fly at thy beck and call.

MARSINAH. White ones? Black ones?

HAJJ. (_Laughing._) Ha! Ha! My large-eyed wonder! Human birds; slaves! Slaves!

MARSINAH. (_Amazed._) I—slaves?

HAJJ. (_Squats and looks into MARSINAH’S eyes._) Larger and larger! As many as thy whims cry out for. O Marsinah, child of mine! Allah hath poured blessings untold upon thee. Thou art to be wed to-night.

MARSINAH. (_Joyfully._) O my father! Thou hast seen him! (_She glances up at the garden wall._)

HAJJ. Him? Whom?

MARSINAH. (_Confused._) Him!

HAJJ. Thy husband? Seen him? I am his cup-companion, the friend of his bosom, his wazir to come.

MARSINAH. His wazir?

HAJJ. Indeed, how canst thou guess? There! I’ll play with thee no longer. Know thy full happiness. Thou art to be wife to the Wazir Mansur.

MARSINAH. (_Breathless._) Mansur?

HAJJ. He! What sayest thou now! Has thy joy stifled thee quite?

MARSINAH. (_Blankly._) Mansur? (_She sinks down, staring before her._)

HAJJ. Yes, say it! Say it! Till thy heart learneth to hold it! To beat to its measure! Mansur! Mansur! Mansur! Mighty now, mightier still ere long! His wife! None above thee, none thine equal!

MARSINAH. (_Faintly, looking up._) O my father, I kiss the ground. Wed me not to this man.

HAJJ. (_Rises._) Not? Not?

MARSINAH. Not to him, O my father. I pray Allah’s pardon, not to him.

HAJJ. ’Tis Mansur I speak of—the Wazir of Police. The favoured of Fortune. Him thou art to wed, to be his great lady, his wife of wives.

MARSINAH. Alas, my long grief! Say it not again, I entreat thee.

HAJJ. Say it not again?

MARSINAH. O my father. Thou’lt not do this to me.

HAJJ. Not what?

MARSINAH. Not give me to him. Not to him.

HAJJ. Thou shalt be his by sundown.

MARSINAH. Sundown? Sundown? This night?

HAJJ. How oft must I say it!

MARSINAH. By the Ineffable! May I be thy ransom here and hereafter! But this,—this,—by the warmth twixt my heart and thine, the sacred bond of child and parent, do not this thing to me, O my father and lord, not this!

HAJJ. Art thou raving?

MARSINAH. O sweet my father! Gentle my father! Father of the true eyes and tender! Thou didst love my mother! Thou wert her salvation, her soul’s consolation in the hour of her need! By her memory, I conjure thee.

HAJJ. (_Gently._) O Marsinah, my gazelle, rise! What sudden fright is thine? Has the might of Mansur’s name o’erwhelmed thee?

MARSINAH. O, ’tis not his name! ’Tis not fright! ’Tis—(_Sits up, with sudden horror._) I cannot go to him! I will not!

HAJJ. Will not? Will not? Now woe to thee, O thou daughter of sin! May Allah never bless thee! Is such my recompense for all the years of toiling and moiling, of cark and care? Have I worked at my begging from dawn to dusk, screamed myself hoarse for thy sake? And dost thou now cry out, “I will not?” “Will not!” to me, thine own father?

MARSINAH. (_Quieter._) Pardon me, O my lord. I meant—I cannot. I cannot!

HAJJ. Cannot, forsooth? Cannot! Art thou all my soul holds dear on earth, and come I here to thee with the tiding of tidings—and thou like the hyena snarlest and bitest the hand that feedeth thee? Why canst thou not? Why wilt thou not? What is the why of thy why? Speak!

MARSINAH. Awah! Awah! Awah! (_She weeps on the ground._)

HAJJ. (_Squatting by her side, imitating her._) “Awah! Awah!” By Allah! Verily he was a suffering father who said: “a son is the lamp of a dark house—a daughter a desolation.”

(_NARJIS comes out of the house, with a robe and a bright
kerchief._)

NARJIS. (_Seeing MARSINAH on the ground._) What’s here?

HAJJ. Comest thou too? A pretty child I have, indeed! A pretty spirit thou hast fostered in her.

NARJIS. I—O my master?

HAJJ. Thou—O hell hag. Look on her! There she lieth grovelling and howling like a kicked dog, so the whole quarter will wonder and come rapping on the door. And what for? What for? Because the honour of honours has fallen upon her and she is to be wife to the Wazir Mansur.

NARJIS. Mansur’s wife! By the prophet, is this so? (_She comes to MARSINAH and kneels beside her._) O Marsinah! Hath thy star risen at last?

MARSINAH. O Narjis, I wish not to be his wife.

HAJJ. (_Rises._) I wish not! I cannot! I will not! Whose wife then wouldst thou be, O thou misery?

MARSINAH. I know not. No one’s. If our neighbour the gardener had a son—his wife would I be.

NARJIS. I’ve told thee before—he hath no son.

HAJJ. Ha! The old man, the gardener, a son? He, with a face like a cobbler’s apron? Ha! Ha! Thou art jesting. ’Tis well. Thou hast fooled me long enough. Dry thy tears. Dry thy tears, I tell thee.

MARSINAH. I am not jesting. Sooner would I die than go to the Lord Mansur.

HAJJ. By my soul—sayst thou true?

MARSINAH. By thy soul. (_She holds up her right hand._)

HAJJ. (_With intense rage._) Now Allah damn the mother that bore thee, and the father that begot thee! May thy bones rot and thy body be flung on the ash-heaps beyond the gates of the city—thou child of abomination, thou shame unforgettable! We shall see! (_He goes to the street door and opens it—calling._) Ho, masters! Hither!

(_TWO EUNUCHS of the Guard of the Harim enter. MARSINAH veils
herself._)

HAJJ. (_To the EUNUCHS._) This way! Lead ye this maid to your Lord Mansur! Her life be on your heads.

(_The EUNUCHS cross to MARSINAH and lay hands on her._)

MARSINAH. (_Making a final appeal to her father, kneeling._) O my father.

HAJJ. (_Sternly._) Away!

MARSINAH. Awah! Awah! Awah!

(_She is dragged off by the EUNUCHS._)

(_HAJJ and NARJIS look at each other and nod their heads with
utmost content._)

[CURTAIN]

SCENE III

_The Caliph’s Diwan (Audience Hall). On the lower left side,
raised by a few steps, stands the Caliph’s diwan or throne:
below it, to its left, a single gold cushion, the seat of
honour. At the back and to the right a lofty row of arches
opens onto a terrace from which can be seen the whole city
of Baghdad. To the right, benches for the dignitaries of the
court. At the end of the terrace left, behind the Caliph’s
throne, a great tower with a massive door which leads down into
the prisons. The architecture is of the finest Arabian. The
view of Baghdad is gorgeous and sun-lit._

_The young CALIPH is seen seated on his diwan, magnificently
robed. By his side stands a low table with a vase, from which
rises the single rose given him by MARSINAH. Now and again he
takes the rose and smells it. Above him stands the Wazir ABU
BAKR. Later on, he seats himself to the left of the CALIPH, in
the place of honour. Behind the throne stand ARCHERS with their
lances, and on its steps the GUARDS with scymitars drawn._

_THREE ELDERLY MEN in Egyptian costume kneel before the throne.
Behind them stands a mummy-case with FOUR BLACK SLAVES. In the
background kneel female MUSICIANS and DANCERS—eight in all._

_The CHAMBERLAIN approaches the throne and prostrates himself._

CHAMBERLAIN. O Prince of True Believers, the Ambassadors of Egypt stand before thee bearing a petition and gifts for thy gracious acceptance.

CALIPH. Display the gifts.

(_The CHAMBERLAIN takes their petition to the CALIPH. Music
strikes up._)

(_The AMBASSADORS bow and sit on the bench, right. At a signal
the SLAVES open the mummy-case, and an Almah (a dancer) steps
out, who does a strange, peacock-like Egyptian dance, ending in
a seductive posture at the feet of the throne. The FOUR SLAVES
carry the mummy-case off to the right._)

CALIPH. (_Turning to the three Egyptian men._) O Wazirs of Cairo, return ye to Egypt and tell our viceroy I accept his gifts of these slave-girls and will consider his petition. (_To the CHAMBERLAIN._) See robes of honour be bestowed on the Ambassadors.

CHAMBERLAIN. Hearkening and obeying.

THE THREE AMBASSADORS. (_Bowing low and speaking together._) Allah increase thy glory, O Commander of the Faithful.

(_Conducted by the CHAMBERLAIN, who crosses to them, they
withdraw._)

CALIPH. (_To the dancers and musicians._) As for ye, O damsels, this hour I grant you freedom and a purse of ten thousand dirhams to each of you. (_To an attendant._) Conduct them in all honour from the palace.

(_The ATTENDANT leads the MAIDENS off by the terrace, the Almah
following them with a final appealing gesture to the CALIPH._)

ABU BAKR. (_Kneeling before the CALIPH._) O King of the Earth, may thy tutor speak to his charge of many years?

CALIPH. Speak, O my father.

ABU BAKR. Of a truth, thou committest a wrong, O my lord, in despising thus hourly the gifts of fair women. Hath Allah not created thee a man in thy manhood?

CALIPH. Seest thou this rose? ’Tis holier to me than the red rose of the Prophet! Now by its holiness do I swear to thee, to-night shall put an end to my singleness.

ABU BAKR. Thou hast found what thou seekest?

CALIPH. The while thou didst ponder over the revenues of the kingdom, I took my pleasure in thy garden. And lo! The Bestower sent what I prayed for—a sweet maid of a thousand wonders. After sundown I will ride forth to bring her home in full pomp, as she were a princess from a kingdom afar.

ABU BAKR. And who might this Chosen of the chosen be, O my lord?

CALIPH. Who? (_Smelling of the rose._) The partner of my dreams, the half of my heart, my first love and my last. (_He takes a golden bead and throws it into a cup on the table: it rings like a gong._)

(_A HERALD with a trumpet enters from the terrace._)

CALIPH. Let the diwan begin!

(_The HERALD bows, and goes out onto the terrace again._)

(_ABU BAKR moves to the left of the throne, and sits on the
golden cushion._)

HERALD. (_Blows his trumpet, then speaks._) Whoso hath authority, let him come to the Caliph’s Carpet of Justice!

(_SLAVES unroll a gorgeous carpet before the throne._)

(_Stately music begins._)

(_The CHAMBERLAIN enters with a volume of the law which he
brings to the throne, he then retires below the throne to the
furthest left corner, behind ABU BAKR._)

(_After him follow SIX DIGNITARIES of the Household, who bow to
the CALIPH, and seat themselves near the columns leading to the
terrace._)

(_Crowds gather outside on the terrace behind the arches._)

(_TEN WAZIRS and KAZIS enter, making their obeisance and going
to their seats at the right._)

(_Finally MANSUR arrives, followed by KAFUR and AFIFE. MANSUR
crosses and bows to the CALIPH, remaining before the throne._)

(_FOUR NEGRO ARCHERS follow and place themselves between the
columns at the back, drawing their scymitars and so forming a
barrier to keep the crowd from entering the hall._)

(_The music ceases._)

(_The CALIPH signs and all the WAZIRS sit._)

MANSUR. O Commander of the Faithful! Would heaven thou hadst not wearied thyself by honouring thy slave with a letter. The accountings of my treasuries are ready and in full tale. They shall be at thy feet to-morrow before noon-prayer.

CALIPH. It is well.

(_MANSUR bows and goes to his seat right, in front of the other
WAZIRS._)

(_There is a murmur of conversation among the WAZIRS._)

(_The CALIPH throws the bead into the cup a second time._)

HERALD. (_Blows his trumpet again._) Whoso hath grievance, let him come to the Caliph’s Carpet of Justice!

CHAMBERLAIN. (_At the foot of the throne, left, stepping forward and unrolling a roll._) In the name of the Judge of Judges, peace and silence. (_The crowd ceases murmuring._) The first case: Jawan the highwayman. By command of the Wazir Mansur.

MANSUR. (_Rising._) O Gracious Sovereign! The mighty Monarch that forewent thee, did banish all robbers from Baghdad both by writ and proclamation. Yet this one is come to flaunt it in the white sunlight as though the word of our beloved lord had been vain as a rain-shower in the sea. Hence ordered I the outlaw before thee.

(_JAWAN approaches from the terrace, right, supported by TWO
ARCHERS._)

CALIPH. Canst thou not walk without aid?

JAWAN. (_Kneeling and bowing._) O Commander of the Faithful, Allah hath smitten my limbs with a curse. Thou seest my hours are numbered. I came not to Baghdad with evil intent. I came to pray for salvation at the tombs of the saints, hoping that my gift of alms would somewhat wipe out mine offending.

CALIPH. Thou hast given money to the poor?

JAWAN. Send to the high priest of the cathedral-mosque. I seek refuge in him and his knowledge of my charities.

CALIPH. By all the laws of the realm thy life is forfeit. Yet ’tis written “Better a generous sinner than a stingy saint.” Go one of you to the high priest. (_To one of the KAZIS._) Kazi Shimas, thou. Inquire into this. (_To JAWAN._) An thou sayest sooth, repentance and alms have won for thee the kerchief of pardon. (_Gesture with handkerchief._)

(_One of the WAZIRS rises, bows, and goes off through the arch
right._)

JAWAN. Thy sentence is just as the scales of judgment day!

CALIPH. Nay, hear me out. Till word be brought, thou shalt to prison.

JAWAN. Prison?

CALIPH. A short penance for thy long list of sins. Take him away.

JAWAN. Allah preserve and prosper His regent on earth! (_JAWAN bows to the CALIPH and is led off into the prison-tower._)

CALIPH. What is there to follow?

CHAMBERLAIN. (_Consulting his list._) The case of a Moorish juggler. By command of the Wazir Mansur.

MANSUR. (_Rising._) O Prince of True Believers. This Moorman is a most marvellous wizard. Yet by his very excellence has he roused the jealousy of our native fellows of his craft, who would drive him out of the city. Hence doth he come to kneel to thee for protection.

CALIPH. Baghdad never yet grudged hospitality to the stranger of worth. Bring hither the Moor.

CHAMBERLAIN. The Moor!

(_An ATTENDANT echoes the Chamberlain’s call and voices are
heard without repeating: “The Moor! The Moor!”_)

(_HAJJ enters from the right through the columns. On his
shoulders like a pair of scales, he balances a pole, the two
bird cages at either end,—his magic cloth in his hand._)

HAJJ. (_Coming forward and kneeling._) O Light of Islam—here lies thy slave between thy hands!

CALIPH. Art thou this famous Moorish magician?

HAJJ. O King, I am as famous as I am Moorish, as Moorish as I am magician.

CALIPH. An thou prove thy repute, thou shalt remain unmolested within our walls.

HAJJ. Try me and be thy judgment my doom.

CALIPH. Allah granteth thee this. Begin.

(_HAJJ bows to the CALIPH, slips off his cloak and waves his
magic cloth in a circle._)

HAJJ.

Round is the sky!
Round is the eye!
Round is nought!
Round is wrought!

(_Throwing the cloth over his shoulder mysteriously._)

By Iblis curst;
By devils worst;
By every name:—
Flame, fire, flame!

(_He produces a bowl of flaming fire from his cloth._)

CALIPH. (_Coming down the steps a little._) Allah! Good.

(_HAJJ sets the bowl on the floor._)

(_The CROWD murmurs approval._)

HAJJ. (_Pointing to the bird-cages._) O King of glorious degree and never ending! Look thou next on these two cages; one harbouring a fair bird of maiden whiteness; the other a bird black as the royal banner of thy house. Now even as yon flame of fire, so doth the flame of longing scorch the hearts of these hapless lovers, caged apart. Say me then, shall I invoke a kindlier lot upon the two, bringing them breast to breast?

CALIPH. (_Who during the speech has come down from his throne; eagerly._) Is’t easily done?

HAJJ. Most easily. (_He waves his magic cloth with his left hand and quickly draws his dagger with his right._) As easily, O my lord, as this! (_He gives the CALIPH a violent thrust._)

CALIPH. (_Sinking backwards on the steps of the throne._) Awah!

ABU BAKR. (_Throwing himself between HAJJ and the CALIPH._) O villain! O hound! Seize him! Pinion him!

(_HAJJ is surrounded in an instant by the GUARD. Indescribable
confusion ensues. The WAZIRS start from their seats. The crowd
breaks through the guards. All shout and try to get at HAJJ.
Cries such as these are heard_: “Tear out his eyes!” “Rip
out his heart!” “O son of Satan!” “Crucify him over the city
gate!” “Scorch his eyes to blindness!” “Chop off his accursed
fingers!” “Cut out his tongue!” “Into the flames with him!” “O
dog!” “O hell hound!” “O son of perdition!” “Down with him!”
“Down!”)

ABU BAKR. (_Bending over the CALIPH._) How is’t with thee?

CALIPH. (_Recovering himself and mounting the throne._) Silence! Silence! (_He throws the bead into the cup._)

CALIPH. Silence! (_Comparative silence._) Touch not the man. Touch him not, I say.—I am safe! Allah hath shielded me by the grace of my coat of mail. (_He displays it._)

(_Gradually absolute silence is restored._)

MANSUR. (_With unction._) Praise Eternal to the Preserver of our King.

ALL. “Praise to the Preserver!” “Amin!” “A thousand years to the Caliph!” “Life forever to Abdallah” etc.

(_The cup is struck again. All regain their respective places._)

(_HAJJ is brought forward, held by FOUR BLACK ARCHERS. His
whole appearance is dishevelled. He looks deathly pale._)

(_Outside the day begins to wane._)

CALIPH. Why didst thou this?

HAJJ. (_After a moment._) I know not. The crime was foredoomed me by Fate.

CALIPH. Before the whole world, in the place of places, in front of my palace, there shall thy soul be stripped from thee, shred by shred. Into the Prison of Wrath with him.

HAJJ. Nay, hear me! Hear me! I was tempted beyond measure.

CALIPH. How’s this? Who tempted thee?

HAJJ. I have sworn silence.

CALIPH. By my holy office of Imam, I absolve thee of thine oath. Speak.

HAJJ. (_Half looking round at MANSUR._) I—cannot.

CALIPH. The key of torture shall soon unlock thy lips.

HAJJ. Torture! Nay, by the Pardoner, since thou dost absolve me, there sits he who tempted me! The Wazir Mansur.

ALL. (_In amazement._) “Mansur?” “The Wazir?” “He?” “What says he?”

CALIPH. Mansur?

MANSUR. (_Rises, glibly._) The man’s be-devilled, O my lord. Bewitched by fiends. I know him not.

HAJJ. Know me not? I have shared my salt with him. He swore to make my daughter his bride, would I but end thy days. Kafur, Afife! Bear ye witness!

CALIPH. (_With surprise to MANSUR._) How’s this? He calls thy men by name?

MANSUR. What of that? Mayhap the villain has frequented my halls in search of some favour. Nay, now I look on him—true. I’ve done the dog a kindness. He came indeed to offer me his daughter, and I accepted of her. Yet not for myself, O King, but to serve my scavenger blackamoors.

HAJJ. (_With a cry of horror, trying to throw himself on MANSUR._) Ah!

(_The ARCHERS restrain him, he struggles madly._)

CALIPH. (_Calling out at once._) Silence him!

(_One of the Archers from behind slips a black cloth over
HAJJ’S mouth._)

(_The sky is lighted with the blaze of sunset._)

MANSUR. Yet though the drab be now in my harim, by the Koran I swear, O King, even as this day ends red so shall she end red this day.

CALIPH. This matter is too full for the crowded course of the Diwan. I shall examine into it apart—after sundown. No! (_He takes up the rose half unconsciously._) Not after sundown. To-morrow. (_With a significant look._) O Mansur, fail thou me not. Thy words do far from hush my doubts in thee.

MANSUR. Hearkening and obedience.

CALIPH. I shall sit in my scarlet of anger. Let the executioner be notified. Off with the wretch. Not a crust, not a drop to him. No hospitality shall bind us. He shall be made a warning to all, the blackest death in Islam! Away!

(_HAJJ is dragged off through the prison-door, impotent and
bound._)

(_A general murmur among the crowd._)

(_The CALIPH puts down the rose and throws the bead into the
cup._)

(_Silence._)

CALIPH. What case have we to come?

CHAMBERLAIN. (_Taking up the list._) The case of Kabirah, the widow.

(_The little old woman of the Bazaar appears and totters
forward, kneeling before the throne._)

[CURTAIN]

SCENE IV. _The Prison of the Palace._

_The place is dark except for a small barred window in the
right wall, high up. Through this come the red rays of the
setting sun, which fall on the wall, left—a brilliant patch
creeping slowly higher and higher._

_Under the window in the shadow lies JAWAN, the highwayman, an
unrecognisable heap._

_A moment of silence. Then the door is unlocked and unbolted
and creaking loudly, to the rattle of keys, it admits KUTAYT,
the Gaoler, a huge, dark-skinned man of brute force. He pushes
open the door, and crosses to some chains fixed to an angle
that juts out, left, under the patch of sunlight._

_Outside is heard the shuffle of feet and blows. HAJJ appears
directly, pushed and driven by the FOUR BLACK ARCHERS. His
mouth is still covered with the black bandage. The ARCHERS drag
him to the wall, left, where KUTAYT stands ready to clap the
chains on his wrists._

KUTAYT. (_Turning HAJJ round._) What outlandish garments have we here? Not Arabian. How? (_HAJJ gives a muffled reply._) (_KUTAYT pulling the bandage from his mouth._) How?

HAJJ. (_Breathless._) Moorish, O my master.

KUTAYT. Moorish! Hoo! Hoo! Wilt thou buy straw from me?

HAJJ. I have no money.

KUTAYT. No money?

HAJJ. Not a danik.

KUTAYT. (_Shouting._) Nothing? Shall I waste my breath sucking of an empty bottle? Here with thy paws, O misery! (_He claps the chains on HAJJ._) Yehh, what a life is mine, crushing lice! (_He throws HAJJ down on the ground._) Lie there, thou vermin. Moorish! (_He spits on HAJJ, then follows the others banging the door to behind him, bolting and locking it from without._)

(_A moment of silence._)

HAJJ. (_Groaning._) There is no majesty nor might save Allah! Is it this I have come to? (_Rattling the chains, he sinks down beating palm on palm in despair._) O thou purse! Thou little purse flung me at sunrise! Thou hast been mine undoing! Thou wast from Satan! From him, mine enemy. O Jawan! Jawan! As Allah is my witness, may thy soul be cast down into the fires of hell to burn and boil to infinity without end.

(_Out of the gloom of the opposite wall comes JAWAN’S sharp
voice, half mockingly._)

JAWAN. Who calls me? Can it be thou, O Hajj?

HAJJ. (_Amazed._) Allah! (_He sits up._) Art thou an Ifrit speaking?

JAWAN. No Ifrit, O brother. No spirit of air or fire. But thy flesh-and-bones enemy, whom thou dost curse so sweetly.

HAJJ. Jawan—thyself—here?

JAWAN. Even as thou, O my friend of long ago.

HAJJ. (_He laughs._) Ha! Ha! By Allah! Thou here! And through me! For ’twas I who told Mansur of thee! My prayer is answered. We shall end side by side. ’Tis well. I die content.

JAWAN. Why art thou here?

HAJJ. For attempting the Caliph’s days.

JAWAN. The Caliph’s? Thou? Then art thou indeed dead.

HAJJ. Even as thou art.

JAWAN. Nay, I shall be free. I tell thee I shall live, live to see my son. Yehh! As clearly as I see him now with the eyes of the heart. As clearly as I saw him last with the eyes of the head. (_In an exalted strain._) There he stood, my Yusuf, in the wold and wild, by my tent, the dust-cloud of the coming foe walling the horizon. I made him kneel before me and blessed and kissed him. And as I did so an amulet hung forth from my breast. I broke it in half—a hand of Fatimah. (_He taps his chest._) Half I kept for myself, here. The other I fixed on the chain round his neck. By that broken half shall I find him again. I know it.

HAJJ. (_Laughing derisively._) Ha! Ha! After twenty-five years? Thou art in thy dotage.

JAWAN. Allah will give him back to me. I have gone to Mecca thrice. All my moneys have I spent in charity.

HAJJ. Charity? Will charity quicken my little son, whom thou didst slaughter? Charity restore the wife thou didst rob me of? I tell thee thou shalt surely die to-morrow. Thy blood and mine shall mingle together on the thirsty ground. That is my sole consolation, the honey in this my bitterness.

(_The lock is heard to turn and the door is unbolted. KUTAYT
reappears with a document in his hand._)

(_The sunlight begins to fade._)

KUTAYT. (_Going to JAWAN, holding out the document._) The Commander of the Faithful has lent ear to the pleadings of the High Priest. Thou art pardoned and released.

JAWAN. Allah prolong the Caliph’s days of Glory!

KUTAYT. Canst thou climb the stairs unaided?

JAWAN. Where are my slaves?

KUTAYT. Thy slaves? Alas! When they saw thee prisoner they turned and fled!

JAWAN. Whoreson knaves! How shall I get me from here? (_Chinking a purse._) This purse of fifty dinars, an thou canst find me a litter.

KUTAYT. (_Obsequiously._) O my lord, there is a stretcher above to carry away the dead. Will that suffice thy graciousness?

JAWAN. Anything, so I need no longer weary thine hospitality. He! He! He!

KUTAYT. (_Laughing politely._) Hoo, Hoo! Hearing is obeying.

HAJJ. (_Eagerly._) Am I pardoned too? Am I free?

KUTAYT. Hoo! Hoo! Pardoned? Free? Wait till thy tongue’s torn out, thine eyes scorched to blindness, thy body nailed to the dome over the Gate of Destruction. Then wilt thou be free—indeed—at last! Hoo! Hoo!

HAJJ. (_Tugging at his chains._) Allah damn thee for thy mocking!

KUTAYT. Hoo? Curse me, O thou? That for thee, thou offal, thou stench. (_He strikes HAJJ over the head with the huge door-key. HAJJ with a cry totters, then sinks on his knees and faints._) How? Fainted? Hoo! Hoo! Fainted. Rose-water for the Princess! Rose-water and fumes and ambergris! Fainted! (_Turning and bowing obsequiously to JAWAN._) O my lord, thy litter shall be with thee on the instant.

(_He goes off and slams the door, bolts and locks it._)

(_Silence._)

HAJJ. (_After some groans, slowly returning to consciousness, in the whining tone of the beggar, not realising where he is._) Alms for the love of Allah! For the love of—— (_He awakes slowly to his surroundings; with a cry of horror._) Ah! I am here! I am here. ’Tis over—is it? Is it over?

JAWAN. He! He! He! ’Tis not yet begun.

HAJJ. ’Tis not? (_Coming to the full realisation of things._) Thou! Now I know. Thou! Oh! The sun is setting! Red! Red! (_With a sudden cry._) Mansur!—Thou fiend of lowest hell! “Even as the day ends red, so shall she end red this day!” O Marsinah! O Marsinah! And I in prison—in chains!

JAWAN. He! He! He!

HAJJ. Laugh! Thou canst laugh? Thou the beginning—thou the end of my sufferings! (_Tugging at the chains._) O Allah! Give me strength. Make these strong arms doubly, trebly strong! Put all the power of a lifetime into these sinews; only for once, O Allah, that I may snap these maddening chains in twain!

JAWAN. Never! Never! (_He laughs jeeringly._) He! He! He!

HAJJ. Once! Only once! (_He tugs, he twists, then with a wild cry of delight he has broken himself free._) Free! Free! The Granter hath granted!

JAWAN. (_With terror—breathless._) Wah——

HAJJ. (_Sitting up, very quietly._) At last!

JAWAN. (_Trembling._) What—what art thou thinking?

HAJJ. (_Rises._) What—what? (_He crouches slightly and slowly, step by step, like a wild beast, creeps over to JAWAN’S corner._)

JAWAN. No nearer! I have a knife.

HAJJ. A knife—hast thou?

JAWAN. ’T has served me a thousand times. Luck’s written on the blade.

HAJJ. Luck? I take my luck. (_With a cry._) Allah is all great! (_He springs into the dark at JAWAN._)

(_A fierce struggle as of two panthers fighting. Groans,
hisses, heavings and cries. After a minute—silence. Then HAJJ
emerges from the dark._)

HAJJ. (_Breathless and fervently._) O Allah mine, thou hast given me this hour. Behold my sacrifice to thee. At last, at last, I am avenged! Avenged! (_Laughing bitterly._) But my Marsinah!—Oh spare her, O Lord of justice, spare her from Mansur and the horror of his harim. (_A thought striking him._) The harim! Kut-al-Kulub! The Wife of wives! Even now she is waiting for me! If I could reach her! She’d help me to save Marsinah! She’d— (_He goes to the door pounding on it desperately._) Free! Free! Free!—(_He stops and turns hopelessly._) Madness! (_Looking at JAWAN’S body._) They’ll find him the moment the litter comes, and then—(_With sudden inspiration._) The litter! Allah! Dost Thou open the door of escape? Dost Thou? (_Wildly._) Ha! Ha! Ha! If it succeed! If it succeed! (_He goes into the corner to the body._) The cloak! The turband! The purse! In his sleeve,—his breast? (_He comes across the chain on his breast._) The chain! The broken hand of Fatimah! (_Imitating JAWAN._) “I shall see my son again! I shall find him!” Wilt thou? (_He takes off the chain._) Wilt thou? (_Putting it over his own neck._) Hang thou here on my neck now thou broken hand of Fatimah! I shall find him, so Allah will it. I shall! Ha! (_He finds the purse and chinks it._) Fifty dinars! For the gaoler! Good! Now off with thy cloak. What? (_He stops and listens._) Nothing. Nothing. Keep thine eyes cool and clear, O Hajj. Cool and clear. (_He returns to the body._) So! So! _Thou_ shalt play the Moorman now, O my king. Dead. Ha! Ha! Thou art dead, dost thou hear? And yet, O dead one, ’tis thou shalt draw me out of my grave—me thy slayer! (_He drags the body to where he lay fainting when the gaoler went out and covers it with his own cloak._) So! Lie thou there! Quiet! Budge not, I pray thee. Faint! (_He turns to JAWAN’S cloak and turband._) Now for mine own beautifying! (_As he picks up the garments he sees the knife which he discarded._) The knife! Luck’s written on the blade. (_He puts the knife into his belt._) Luck! So be it. Luck shall carry me into the street. Luck let me leap from the litter! Luck bring me to the harim and to thee, O my Marsinah, O my——(_The door outside is unlocked._)

(_HAJJ throwing the cloak over himself, hurries into JAWAN’S
dark corner and lies down. KUTAYT reappears with a lanthorn,
followed by two men with a rough stretcher._)

KUTAYT. The stretcher, O my lord.

HAJJ. (_Coughing and imitating JAWAN’S voice._) Here! (_He throws the purse._)

KUTAYT. (_Picking it up and examining it by the light of the lanthorn._) Allah bless thy journey. (_To the men as they lift up HAJJ._) Carefully. Lift the Sheikh of sheikhs carefully. (_He chinks the purse and turns to the dead body._) How? Still fainted! Hoo! Hoo! Look, O my lord—(_He goes to the body and raises up an arm._) Still fainted!

HAJJ. (_As the litter is lifted up and carried out, imitating JAWAN’S laugh._) He! He! He! (_He is carried through the door._)

KUTAYT. (_Dropping the arm._) Rose water! (_Kicking the body._) Rose water! Hoo! Hoo!

HAJJ. (_From the staircase, without._) He! He! He!

(_KUTAYT turns slowly and follows the litter, slamming the door
behind him._)

[CURTAIN]

_End of Act II_