Chapter I: Part 1

_American Dramatists Series_

SIX
ONE-ACT PLAYS

_The Hand of the Prophet_--_Children
of Granada_--_The Turtle Dove_--_This
Youth-Gentlemen_--_The Striker_--_Murdering
Selina_

MARGARET SCOTT OLIVER

BOSTON: RICHARD G. BADGER
TORONTO: THE COPP CLARK CO., LIMITED

Copyright, 1916, by Margaret Scott Oliver

All Rights Reserved

These plays in their printed form are intended for the reading public only. All dramatic rights are fully protected by copyright, and any performance--professional or otherwise--may be given only with the written permission of the author.

MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THE GORHAM PRESS, BOSTON, U. S. A.

To
L. S. O.

CONTENTS

PAGE

The Hand of the Prophet 11

Children of Granada 27

The Turtle Dove 53

This Youth-Gentlemen! 73

The Striker 81

Murdering Selina 103

Notes pertaining to the plays 127

Music used in plays 128

THE HAND OF THE PROPHET

AN ARABIAN EPISODE

CAST

KODAMA, _A Merchant of Riad_.
HALIMA, _His Bride_.
SINDIBAD, _A Young Sheykh, Cousin to Kodama_.
SLAVE, _To Kodama_.
SLAVE, _To Sindibad_.
A SINGER.
A DANCING GIRL.
WEDDING GUESTS, SLAVES AND DESERT MEN.

_Scene--A room in the home of Halima._

The Hand of the Prophet

_From between the parted curtains two desert men in white costumes, with red sashes and turbans appear. They wear scimiters in their sashes, and are smoking very long cigarettes. They bow to one another, and walk to the two sides of the stage, where they remain until first curtain, then go behind. This is repeated before and after each part of the play._

_Scene--A room in the home of Halima. Music and laughter are heard, and as the curtain is drawn, a slave girl is seen finishing a wild dance. As she sinks exhausted to the floor there are applause and sounds of approval, in which the merchant Kodama leads. He is seated beside his bride, Halima, on a dais. In the room are slaves, attendants and members of the two families. The wedding celebration is in progress, and all are in festal mood and dress. Rose petals are strewn on the floor, platters heaped with fruits are at the front and side of the stage, and incense is burning in two braziers._

KODAMA--Thy slave dances with the grace of a startled gazelle. Command her again before night comes. I am pleased with her!

HALIMA--I am glad she is fair in thine eyes, my husband. She knows many magic dances that will delight thee.... But the wedding feast has continued four days, my lord, and thy kinsman from the desert not appeared.

KODAMA--Four days more shall the feasting last. There is yet time.

HALIMA--I am eager for the jewels, and cloths of gold he was to bring. Thou didst promise my father--

KODAMA--Enough, enough! Art thou a child that patience is not in thee? Before the feast has ended he will come. I weary of these murmurings.

HALIMA--(_Claps hands._) Music for my lord.

(_Slave sings. As the song ends a slave appears before Kodama._)

SLAVE TO KODAMA--The young Sheykh Sindibad is here.

(_Sindibad appears L. with some men from his caravan, and a young slave, who is carrying three bundles tied in silken cloths. He walks airily to the dais._)

KODAMA--Sindibad!

(_Sindibad and Kodama embrace. Halima, with a coquettish gesture, puts her veil before her face._)

SINDIBAD--Let forgiveness for my tardiness be granted, cousin, when thou seest what I have brought. Many treasures have I found thy lady, before whom I prostrate myself.

(_Sindibad kneels and kisses Halima's hand and then his own. His slave boy quickly opens the bundles, and the contents are eagerly examined._)

KODAMA--I had thought to see thee sooner; the wedding is four days old.

SINDIBAD--I had thought to come sooner, but there was a maiden.... Never have I seen such stars as were her eyes, and her lips, the blood of pomegranate.

KODAMA--Thou wast ever led easily by starry eyes.

HALIMA--(_Holding out scarf._) See, it is a wondrous cloth, with threads of gold and silver.

SINDIBAD--Thy loveliness will enhance its beauties a thousand times.

HALIMA--My loveliness did not tempt thee to hasten.

SINDIBAD--I have never seen thy face, and there was a maiden....

KODAMA--There was a maiden. Have done with thy raving! (_To Halima._) Let thy slave dance!

HALIMA--Dance!

(_As the slave dances, all watch eagerly save Sindibad, who gazes at Halima._)

SINDIBAD--Thy voice is soothing as the sound of water in the heart of the desert. Let me see thy face.

HALIMA--Look at these fabrics rather.

SINDIBAD--Nay, but an instant, while they watch the dancer, unveil, and let me see thy face.

HALIMA--I may not.

SINDIBAD--It is not forbidden. I am thy husband's kinsman. Let me see thy face!

(_Halima drops veil. Sindibad prostrates himself._)

SINDIBAD--I am thy slave forever, oh fairer than the day at dawn.

HALIMA--Arise! they will see thee!

SINDIBAD--And thou hast married the merchant Kodama! Awah! Awah!

HALIMA--Arise! Arise!

KODAMA--Why cryest thou awah? This is not a time for wailing. Dost lament for the maiden of the desert?

SINDIBAD--Her image has changed ... as sand upon the desert's face.

(_CURTAIN_)

_Scene--The same. Kodama and Halima are seated on the dais as before. Two slave girls are in the room. Kodama's slave enters C. and stands before Kodama._

SLAVE TO KODAMA--The merchant from Baghdad awaits. Shall I bring him to have audience here?

KODAMA--I will speak with him in the myrtle court. Keep watch over my wife and the women. (_Exit C._)

(_Sindibad enters L. as a slave comes from R. The slave is carrying coffee, and reaches Halima as Sindibad approaches._)

SINDIBAD--I drink to thine amber eyes.

HALIMA--Thou must not.

SINDIBAD--Send thy women away.

HALIMA--I dare not.

SINDIBAD--Send thy women away! I have words they must not hear.

HALIMA--(_To attendants._) Go!

(_Kodama's slave stands motionless._)

SINDIBAD--(_To Slave._) I am cousin to thy master. Go with the women.

(_Slave goes slowly C. from the room. Halima has risen from the dais, and seated herself on a rug in the centre of the room. She is humming coquettishly and is admiring herself in a mirror. Sindibad watches her eagerly for an instant._)

SINDIBAD--My blood has changed to leaping flame.

HALIMA--If thou comest nearer I shall call my women back.

SINDIBAD--Unbind thy wondrous hair. It is a fountain of living gold.

HALIMA--Thou must not sit so close.

SINDIBAD--I love thee, and shall stay until thou sayest, "I love thee."

HALIMA--(_Stopping her song._) I am thy kinsman's wife.

SINDIBAD--By Allah! Thou art no man's wife but mine!

HALIMA--I am but a dream. Awake, lest the Prophet smite thee!

SINDIBAD--Oh, beautiful dream, I am mad for thee. To-night thou shalt fly with me into the desert.

(_Kodama enters C. unnoticed, and listens._)

HALIMA--I am thy kinsman's wife. My father gave me to him.

SINDIBAD--The fire of youth has gone from his blood. He is old. Thou canst not love him.

KODAMA--Allah!

HALIMA--(_Slowly._) I am his wife. (_Exit R._)

(_Sindibad starts to follow her, but is arrested by the sound of Kodama's entrance._)

KODAMA--Alone?

SINDIBAD--With a dream.

KODAMA--The beautiful maiden who delayed thy progress hither?

SINDIBAD--I tell thee I have forgotten her.

KODAMA--Thy heart is fickle surely.

SINDIBAD--I have seen one more beautiful.

KODAMA--The dancing slave?

SINDIBAD--Yea ... even the dancing slave.

KODAMA--Thou shalt have her. She is like the little moon when it first peeps above the date palms. Thou shalt have her.

SINDIBAD--Thy wife is young.... I will not have the dancing slave.

KODAMA--How now!

SINDIBAD--Thy wife is young. Her skin is of pearl, her eyes twin amber pools where men may--oh fool, oh blind, thy wife is young and beautiful. Canst thou not see?

KODAMA--It is written: The blind man avoids the ditch into which the clear-sighted falls.

SINDIBAD--Thy heart is a dried grape. Thy wife is--

KODAMA--My wife! Art thou an honest Arab that she should so dwell in thy thoughts? Take the dancing slave, and begone.

SINDIBAD--Thy words are crystal dewdrops quivering on a leaf.

KODAMA--Thou art young--tempt me not too far.

(_Slave enters immediately C. with a tray on which is wine._)

SINDIBAD--By the beard of the Prophet, wine! The Koran forbids it.

KODAMA--It shall turn to milk in the throat of the true believer.

SINDIBAD--Thou hast said it.

(_Kodama and Sindibad drink, and look at one another searchingly._)

KODAMA--Thy black angel is ever at thy left side in the city. It will persuade thee into mighty wrong. Young cousin, it is wise that thou shouldst return to thy people. Go quickly, lest evil come. I will give thee rich presents for thy father. As for thee, choose one of the slave girls--

SINDIBAD--I will take with me nothing--but a dream. (_Exit L._)

KODAMA--Allah send him swift away.... There shall be no returning.

(_CURTAIN_)

_Scene--The same. A slave is singing. Kodama is seated on the dais, while Halima comes in slowly and gazes anxiously at him. It is the next day._

HALIMA--Thy brows are still lowered. In what have I offended thee, my husband?

KODAMA--Amber pools where men may--what do men find in thine eyes?

HALIMA--I know not, unless thou sayest.

KODAMA--And thy skin is of pearl, is it not so?

HALIMA--Shall I send away the women, oh my lord?

KODAMA--I am not loving thee. Let the women and the lights remain.

HALIMA--I had hoped--

KODAMA--Thou hadst hoped! Am I a fledgling to faint under thy beauty?

HALIMA--Thou didst marry me.

KODAMA--It was a wise bargain with thy father, whose hands will help carry my trade into the desert, and beyond.

HALIMA--I thought thy kinsman Sindibad would do that. He is a son of the desert.

KODAMA--I like not my kinsman. He is a fool and a magpie.

HALIMA--He is young and handsome, full of fire and poetry.

KODAMA--Full of deceit and treachery, with honeyed words that mean nothing. But yesterday he raved of a maiden whom he met in the desert. To-day he is mad for thy--

HALIMA--For my--?

KODAMA--For thy dancing slave. To-morrow he will go to the desert with another nightingale piping at his elbow. He knows not constancy, but flies from one deluded maiden to another.

HALIMA--Surely thou wrongest him.

KODAMA--I wrong him not. We shall not talk of him.... Thy shimmering hair has hidden thine ear. Let me put it back.

HALIMA--Oh, Kodama, thou hast never praised my hair before. See, it is a fountain of living gold!

KODAMA--(_Quickly._) Who told thee that?

HALIMA--My ... women.

KODAMA--What other pretty things do they say to swell thy vanity?

HALIMA--They say--thou lovest me not.

KODAMA--As thou art a woman, and beautiful, I love thee ... no more ... no less. Thou art a woman. I have said it!

(_Kodama puts Halima from him, and leaves abruptly R. Halima for an instant puts out her hands pleadingly to Kodama's retreating back, and then with a hopeless little gesture drops her head on the cushions. One of the women picks up her lute, and sings a plaintive song. The young slave boy of Sindibad's appears L._)

SLAVE BOY--The young Sheykh Sindibad leaves for his father's tent in the desert, and would say farewell to his kinsman's lady.

HALIMA--Let him come. (_To attendants._) I would be alone! (_Exeunt attendants C._)

(_Sindibad enters L. and looks at Halima's despairing figure for a moment._)

SINDIBAD--To-night I go to my people.

HALIMA--Allah, the compassionate, the merciful, guide thy footsteps.

SINDIBAD--And thou, white rose, wouldst thou be free?

HALIMA--Free!

SINDIBAD--A strong mehari is below, and my men are waiting.

HALIMA--I am afraid.

SINDIBAD--By the hand of the Prophet, it was written thou shouldst love me, and I thee.

HALIMA--His wrath--

SINDIBAD--Thou art not bound to him by any law.

HALIMA--He loves me not, and yet--

SINDIBAD--Come to the golden desert, and thou shalt learn the many ways of love.

HALIMA--He took me to seal a bargain with my father. But thou, thou wilt soon tire of me. He said thou lovest any woman.

SINDIBAD--I will not fail thee, until soul and body part.

HALIMA--Oh, hungry ears, be not so eager for these words of love.

SINDIBAD--Thy body is wonderful as a hidden river whereon the moonlight dances. Rest thou upon my beating heart, oh beloved.

HALIMA--All of heaven is here.

SINDIBAD--I drink thy lips like wine. (_Kisses her. Exeunt. Stage is empty for a very short time._)

(_The Slave and Kodama enter hurriedly R._)

SLAVE TO KODAMA--This way, my master, they went but a moment since, and thou canst get them ere they reach the court.

KODAMA--(_Drawing scimiter._) Stay! (_Exit C._)

(_The slave remains motionless on the stage, and there is silence. Then Kodama returns wiping his blade. He spits on the floor._)

KODAMA--Allah!

(_Halima enters C. She rushes to Kodama._)

HALIMA--Thou hast killed him!

KODAMA--The babbling fool, to think he could steal thee from me.

HALIMA--(_Whispering._) Thou hast killed him.

KODAMA--Go to thy women.

HALIMA--Bring him back.

KODAMA--Peace.

HALIMA--Bring him back.

KODAMA--Peace, peace, I say.

HALIMA--Oh, Sindibad, my love.

KODAMA--Love!

HALIMA--Thou snarling camel, hast thou lost thine ears? Age has dried thy bones, and turned thy blood to dust. I'll none of thee.

KODAMA--(_Claps hands. Slave appears L._) Bring him here. Go!

(_Slave carries in the body of Sindibad, and puts it on the dais. Halima sinks beside it with a little cry of distress._)

HALIMA--He was Allah's shadow upon the earth. Thou canst buy a woman, but not hold her. Let me go with him.

KODAMA--Oh, amber pools where men may find oblivion, close ... close (_chokes her._)

(_The body falls beside Sindibad's._)

KODAMA--Allah has left no calamity more hurtful to man than woman. It was written in the stars. (_To Slave._) Bring the women. Let music be played, and let there be dancing.

(_Slaves and attendants enter, and there is music._)

KODAMA--(_To the body of Sindibad._) Dost hear the music for thy wedding feast? Thou art dead, honey babbler, and gone to the desert of forgotten desires. Thou art dead!

(_Slave dances. As dance ends, Kodama's slave kneels before him._)

SLAVE--Master, thou hast killed a true believer.

KODAMA--I have killed--

SLAVE--In mistake, oh master.

KODAMA--And art thou a true believer?

SLAVE--Even as thou sayest.

KODAMA--Then I make thee free that the blood-wit be paid! Go forth, thou art free! (_Suddenly and hoarsely to the musicians._) Break your lutes!

(_Music stops._) Let there be lamentations! This is a house of sorrow!

(_CURTAIN_)

CHILDREN OF GRANADA

A SPANISH PLAY

SPANIARDS

GENERAL DON FERNANDO DE LERMA.
LIEUT. DON RODRIGUEZ--_His Son_.
PEDRO--_An Officer_.
LAGRIMAS--_The Daughter of a Bull-Fighter_.
FELICIANA--_A Dancer_.

MOORS

HAFIZ BEN ALI.
HASSAN AKBAR.
CAFOUR--_A Wife of Hafiz ben Ali_.
TARIK, _Son of Hafiz and Cafour_.
SPANISH SOLDIERS AND MOORISH PRISONERS.

_Time--Spain during the reign of Philip III, about 1609._

_Place--Courtyard of Alhambra in Granada._

Children of Granada

_Scene--The back-drop shows mountains in the distance. Along the entire back of stage is a stone bench against a low wall which overlooks the Valley of the Darro River. The tops of one or two trees show above it. At right back is a little turret, with entrance toward the audience. Entrance at front right, through Moorish gateway. Entrance at left front from garden._

_Don Rodriguez and Lagrimas are discovered sitting together on the bench. The soft tinkle of guitars is heard. Don Rodriguez is looking straight out towards the audience with his hands clasped. Lagrimas is gazing over the wall._

RODRIGUEZ--I tell thee it would be the easiest thing in the world to capture Hafiz the Moor. I could creep through the Darro, for the thirsty sun swallows the little river with one gulp in summer, and it is dry as the road to Cordova. No one would see me until I reached the Mosque, where Hafiz will be at his infidel prayers. Hafiz the Moor! The greatest enemy to our King in all Spain, and I, I have found a way to capture him with a handful of men. I think my father will call me a soldier then, and thou wilt smile on my love, Lagrimas. No maiden can resist a victorious soldier.

LAGRIMAS--Look at the swallows building in the little turret. It must be nesting time.

RODRIGUEZ--Lagrimas!

LAGRIMAS--Don Rodriguez!

RODRIGUEZ--I have been telling thee my plans to take Hafiz the Moor, and of my love for thee, and thou answerest with some nonsense about swallows, and nesting time.

LAGRIMAS--I am very wise at times.

RODRIGUEZ--Surely it's not unwise to hear of my love and bravery?

LAGRIMAS--I have heard thee speak much of both, Don Rodriguez.

RODRIGUEZ--I am a fool to think I could ever win thee. Thou dost make sport of my affection, one minute cold, one minute hot. I never know how to take thee.

LAGRIMAS--Do not take me at all, Don Rodriguez.

(_They sit silently a moment, Rodriguez in despair. At last Lagrimas peeps provokingly at him._)

LAGRIMAS--There is a caballero wooing his inamorata. Listen to the guitar. Music is very soothing in the cool of the evening. How rich and soft his voice is! I would find it hard to flout such a seductive lover. Dost thou not hear him?

RODRIGUEZ--No!

LAGRIMAS--I can hear him plainly. What has stopped thine ears?

RODRIGUEZ--The beating of my heart.

LAGRIMAS--A soldier's heart should not beat so loudly.

RODRIGUEZ--Mine does.

LAGRIMAS--Poor soldier!

RODRIGUEZ--I'll not have thy scorn.... When I'm killed by the Moriscoes, thou mayest repent thy coldness.

LAGRIMAS--Little soldier, thou wast to _conquer_ the Moriscoes; and capture Hafiz, the enemy of King Philip.

RODRIGUEZ--I shall conquer nothing. Deeds of valor are possible only because a lady smiled.

LAGRIMAS--I smile always when with thee.

RODRIGUEZ--Have thy jest. Broken lives mean nothing to a coquette.

LAGRIMAS--Timid lovers mean less.... Why rail against fate?

(_Pedro and Feliciana enter with a rush._)

FELICIANA--Dance! Dance! I _will_ dance whenever I please.

PEDRO--And have the commonest fellow in the ranks praise thine alluring ankles and twinkling feet. Hast thou no modesty?

FELICIANA--If my ankles were thick, and my feet clumsy, I'd be modest as a nun, and keep them chastely for thine eyes alone. Why should I hide them when they are beautiful?

PEDRO--They tempt men to foolishness.

FELICIANA--Foolishness is wonderful.

PEDRO--Well, they are not so bewitching as I have said. I have praised them in moments of weakness, but they are only so-so.

FELICIANA--Don Rodriguez, I appeal to thee! Thou givest many an admiring glance when I dance the zambra in the orange grove. Thine eyes betray thee, now say, are they but so-so? (_Raises skirt._)

RODRIGUEZ--I--well--that is--

LAGRIMAS--Why dost thou not answer? Feliciana's feet are small, but not invisible. Look at them, and pronounce judgment.

RODRIGUEZ--I grieve for thee, Pedro. They will often dance on thy heart, I fear, but in all truth and honesty, they are not so-so.

FELICIANA--Brave Don Rodriguez! I shall dance for thee to pay for thy gallant approval.

(_Feliciana dances with castanets, while the others keep time with hands. Before the dance has finished, General Don Fernando comes upon the scene, and surveys it with much displeasure._)

GENERAL--Is it in this fashion the soldiers of Philip protect their country?

PEDRO--One must relax sometime, General.

FELICIANA--Caramba! Am I a relaxation? I thought thou didst take love more seriously, Lieut. Pedro. Seek new amusements for thine idle hours.

(_Exit Feliciana--Pedro runs after her._)

PEDRO--Feliciana, I swear by the stars--

(_Exit. Pause._)

GENERAL--Does my son court shame behind my back?

RODRIGUEZ--I love Lagrimas, I have asked her to be my wife.

GENERAL--Thou hast asked her?

RODRIGUEZ--I offer my hand, where I have given my heart.

GENERAL--Dost thou not owe me the courtesy of knowledge? Am I to stumble on thy secret like any outsider?

RODRIGUEZ--I would have told thee to-day.

GENERAL--To-day is too late. Thou hast not my permission to marry.

RODRIGUEZ--I am old enough to know when, and whom I shall marry.

GENERAL--And if the door of my home is closed to thee?

RODRIGUEZ--If Lagrimas will marry me, I shall make a home of my own.

GENERAL--Fool! If she will marry thee? Dost think she will allow thee to slip through her fingers?

LAGRIMAS--I shall marry no son of thine, General Don Fernando de Lerma.

(_Exit Lagrimas._)

RODRIGUEZ--Lagrimas!

GENERAL--The daughter of a bull-fighter!

RODRIGUEZ--My grandfather fought the bulls.

GENERAL--Thy grandfather! The most gallant gentleman of the Spanish court, who rode into the arena on his own steed, and defied the bull in the name of his lady love. To-day her father prods a sorry hack to its death, and fights ... for a handful of silver!

RODRIGUEZ--She is poor, I grant, but no word of scandal has ever tarnished her name. Why dost thou oppose?

GENERAL--Canst thou blot out thy life, and the traditions of thy race? Wilt thou not sicken of this girl's people?

RODRIGUEZ--I marry Lagrimas, not her family.

GENERAL--Oh, blindness of youth!

RODRIGUEZ--I have heard thee say Spain must look to the people for her salvation.

GENERAL--Spain must look to her soldiers. Infidels are in the realm. Help the King crush them out. Fight, fight and put love aside.

RODRIGUEZ--I may fight, but I will not give up Lagrimas.

GENERAL--Thou must decide.

RODRIGUEZ--I have decided.

GENERAL--If thou goest from me to-day, thou goest forever.

RODRIGUEZ--I am a man.

GENERAL--When thou tirest of her, do not beat on my door. Lock thy bitterness in thine own breast, for mine will none of thee. (_Exit._)

(_Rodriguez walks up and down._)

RODRIGUEZ--He is hard, he is unjust. But I have defied him ... I have defied him.

(_Lagrimas enters and goes to the bench against the wall._)

LAGRIMAS--I left my fan.

RODRIGUEZ--Thy fan?

LAGRIMAS--It is enough, Don Rodriguez. (_Starts to go._)

RODRIGUEZ--Hast found it?

LAGRIMAS--It is of no consequence. Do not let me keep thee from thy father.

RODRIGUEZ--Ah, he hurt thee with his cruel speech.

LAGRIMAS--Nay, he was right. I can give thee nothing.

RODRIGUEZ--Thou canst give me what I most lack, faith in myself. I am a make believe soldier, a boy decked out with a sword at my side, and a plume in my hat. Until this day I never questioned his bidding, and now I have defied him, I have defied my father.

LAGRIMAS--Will he forgive thee?

RODRIGUEZ--I know not. Pride of birth, pride of position, pride of power, these are his gods. I have dared to attack his power.

LAGRIMAS--Make him proud of _thee_. Capture Hafiz. He will forgive thee then.

RODRIGUEZ--Capture Hafiz? That may not be so easy.

LAGRIMAS--Thy plan will succeed because of its very daring. I know thou canst do it. (_Slowly._) I believe thee to be a brave man.

RODRIGUEZ--And thou?

LAGRIMAS--I shall be proud also.

RODRIGUEZ--I must have thy promise. What else is there to inspire me?

LAGRIMAS--Thy name as a soldier of Spain, thy devotion to thy father, thy loyalty to holy church.

RODRIGUEZ--Church, country, my father, these do not count, if I have not thee.

LAGRIMAS--I stand between thee and thy father.

RODRIGUEZ--Between me and life itself.

LAGRIMAS--The sin of separating thee shall not be on my head. Make peace with thy father, fight as a soldier fights, and forget--

RODRIGUEZ--Thee?

LAGRIMAS--Make peace with thy father.

RODRIGUEZ--Now I _know_ thou dost not love me.

LAGRIMAS--(_Slowly._) I do not love thee!

(_Rodriguez looks at her an instant, then walks quickly away._)

LAGRIMAS--I came for something. (_Takes fan from bosom._) My fan? No, no! I do not love thee? Maria, forgive the lie!

(_CURTAIN_)

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

(_A group of Moorish prisoners, five men and two women are on the stage. The men and women are standing a little apart, the women veiled, all are motionless. Two Spanish soldiers are stationed at either end of the stage. The muezzin is heard from the Valley calling to prayer. The Moors prostrate themselves with face to East, then assume original position. There is silence for a moment, and birds are heard singing._)

(_Pedro enters, and goes to the group to look them over._)

PEDRO--Hafiz! He did get thee! Well, thou art a prisoner worth taking, and if I can read the temper of our General, thy infidel soul and body may part company before the sun sets to-night.

(_Moors remain silent. Pedro leaves laughing._)

HAFIZ--What manner of brutes are these Christians!

HASSAN--What manner of fools are we to be prisoners.

HAFIZ--No man could have forseen the trick of the Spanish Rodriguez, may his forehead be blackened with mud!

(_Cafour sways back and forth, moaning._)

HAFIZ--Soldiers everywhere. There is no chance to escape, unless we go over the wall.

HASSAN--(_Looking over wall._) We would perish.

CAFOUR--(_To Hafiz._) What have they done with my son?

HAFIZ--The boy has gone the way of death.

CAFOUR--Death! And thou his father, stand calmly by, and know him dead!

HAFIZ--Have I not other sons to avenge him?

CAFOUR--The sons of other mothers, but not of my blood!

HASSAN--The Spanish General--

(_The Moors again are silent. General enters with Pedro._)

GENERAL--When were they taken?

PEDRO--Last night, General. We tried to get thee, but thy house was closed and dark.

GENERAL--They said eight prisoners. I count but seven.

PEDRO--There was a lad who flung himself over the wall into the Darro.

GENERAL--A brave lad!

PEDRO--We have not looked for the body.

CAFOUR--Oh, my son!

GENERAL--Why are these women here?

PEDRO--They followed the prisoners. The Lieutenant would not have them harmed.

GENERAL--Thy victorious lieutenant hath a tender heart.

PEDRO--Tender? He has proved there is no braver soldier in Spain. Don Rodriguez will be an idol now.

GENERAL--(_Amazed._) Don Rodriguez!

PEDRO--The men who went with him say he did it all as--(_To Cafour._) Back there to thy place.

GENERAL--My son!

CAFOUR--I would speak!

PEDRO--Speak when spoken to. Get back to thy place.

CAFOUR--I would speak to him. (_Pointing to General._)

GENERAL--Remove thy veil.

(_Cafour hesitates a moment, then throws back her veil. The Moors turn their backs, that they may not see her face._)

GENERAL--Thou art not a Moorish woman.

CAFOUR--I am Cafour, the Abyssinian, third wife of Hafiz the Moor.

GENERAL--What dost thou desire of me?

CAFOUR--I want to know of my son.

GENERAL--Thy son?

CAFOUR--It was he who jumped, there. (_Points over the wall._)

PEDRO--The boy who would not be a prisoner.

CAFOUR--Thou saidst "brave." Send down and see if he lives.

GENERAL--He could not live.

CAFOUR--He could not die. He is young, strong, happy,--he could not die.

GENERAL--If he lives, I will have him shot for trying to escape.

CAFOUR--Thou saidst "brave," thou wouldst not kill him?

GENERAL--As I would kill all infidels who fight against Spain and our holy religion.

CAFOUR--I do not fight against thy country, or thy God. I beg for the life of my boy. He is not dead. I know he is not dead. Perhaps he fell into a tree, and is only hurt. Send down the soldiers and see.

GENERAL--(_To Cafour._) Go!

CAFOUR--Send down the soldiers and see, Allah will put a blessing on thy house. He will give thy son his delight. He will make his children to rule over men.

GENERAL--Infidel! I care not for thy blessing. (_To Pedro._) Take her.

CAFOUR--Oh, heart that is dead to pity! As my child is lost to me, so thy child shall be lost to thee! Allah will make it so.

GENERAL--Take her away!

(_Cafour is led out by a soldier._)

GENERAL--(_To Hafiz._) A boy to capture thee! Surely Allah slept while thou didst pray in the Mosque, Hafiz!

HAFIZ--He will not sleep forever.

GENERAL--Ye serve a God who betrays. Renounce thy false Mohammed, thy futile faith--

HAFIZ--Is faith so lightly changed?

GENERAL--Believe in the holy church.

HAFIZ--Is there but one road to Paradise, but one God who points the way?

GENERAL--There is the true God of the Christians.

HAFIZ--(_Bitterly._) Shall I measure the depth of his mercy by--thine?

GENERAL--Beware lest thy tongue cut thy throat.

HAFIZ--I shall give it fair chance.

GENERAL--Thou art too wise to throw thy life away. A man of thy cunning could be of value to the King.

HAFIZ--The King! A weakling whose brain's befogged with the ignorance and bigotry of women and priests. Hafiz has not fallen so low he can serve such a one.

GENERAL--The King will give thee freedom and safe passage to Africa if thou wilt but place in his hands the plans of those Moriscoes who head this uprising.

HAFIZ--Yea, turn traitor to serve a traitor, and after I betray my people, be traitorously killed.

GENERAL--Philip does not forget those who work for the welfare of the crown.

HAFIZ--Am I a miserable animal that experience has not taught me how short is the memory of Kings? Have I not heard of that Italian who found land beyond the farthest seas, and gave Spain a greater glory than she had ever known? Unhappy voyager, he sailed to a death of obscurity and neglect! Thy Kings are destroyers, and we who build, fear the jackals who tear down.

GENERAL--I warn thee, Hafiz, tolerance will not stretch much further.

HAFIZ--Tolerance! Spain does not know the word. Thou hast banished the Jews, thou hast given the rack, the gibbet and the stake to the Christian heretics, thou wilt kill and exile the Moors. But beware, we are the growers of rice and sugar, of cotton and silk, how will Spain live when these fail?

GENERAL--Enough! Cool thy Moorish spleen in the dungeon. When fasting brings discretion, thou mayest talk more soberly.

HAFIZ--Glut thy pious hatred as the priests and fanatic Kings dictate. Spain's life is the price! Her glory will go with the going of the Moor.

GENERAL--Away with him.

(_The guards march the Moors off the stage._)

PEDRO--He hath an evil tongue.

GENERAL--The honor of Spain is not to be attacked. (_To Pedro._) He must have no food until I give thee word.

(_Exit Pedro. Enter Rodriguez._)

RODRIGUEZ--Father, I tried to see thee last night, and thy door was closed to me. I craved but thy blessing.

GENERAL--I know of thy bravery. All Spain will praise thee.

RODRIGUEZ--I want no praise.

GENERAL--Thou hast chosen thy way. Is it bitter so soon?

RODRIGUEZ--Can it be aught but bitter when thou hast turned against me? Am I not of thy blood, flesh of thy flesh?

GENERAL--Why dost thou come back to me?

RODRIGUEZ--Last night when I faced the Moor, Death stood grinning at my side, and I was afraid. Suddenly I thought of thee and my childhood. I forgot everything that success or failure might bring, I fought only to win thy love. My arm grew strong, and the grim spectre at my side faded, for Love was stronger than Death!

GENERAL--Hast thou given up this girl?

RODRIGUEZ--(_Slowly._) No!

GENERAL--(_Coldly._) It shall be my duty to report to the King and ask for thy promotion. Thou art a brave soldier, and Spain will not be slow to honor thee.

RODRIGUEZ--I seek no honor from my country-men. I beg only for thy love.

GENERAL--(_Sneering._) Art thou a soldier or a troubadour that love is always on thy lips?

RODRIGUEZ--I am thy son.

GENERAL--I speak to Lieutenant don Rodriguez de Lerma.

RODRIGUEZ--Thy son.

GENERAL--(_Slowly._) I have no son!

(_CURTAIN_)

LATER IN THE SAME DAY

(_Lagrimas is discovered leaning far over the wall._)

LAGRIMAS--Brave little lad, brave little lad, the limb of the tree will hold thee, and then my hand. Come, steady, steady....

TARIK--My arm!

LAGRIMAS--Did I hurt? Steady, little lad. (_Tarik climbs over the wall._) Brave little lad--

LAGRIMAS AND TARIK--(_Together._) Thou art an infidel!

LAGRIMAS--I thought thou wast a Spanish boy.

TARIK--I thought thou wast my mother. The blood was in my eyes, I could not see. Now, I must throw myself down again.

LAGRIMAS--Little fool, is not once with death enough?

TARIK--I am Tarik, son of Hafiz the Moor, and Cafour his wife. I will not live to be the slave of a Christian.

LAGRIMAS--I won't eat thee, dirty infidel! (_Shakes Tarik and he all but faints on her hands. She is smitten with remorse and stanches the blood which flows from his head._)

LAGRIMAS--If thou wouldst not be a slave, why didst thou come back?

TARIK--There are soldiers in the valley.

LAGRIMAS--There are soldiers here, hundreds of them.

TARIK--(_Half sobbing._) I--I wanted my mother.

LAGRIMAS--(_Tenderly._) Little lamb, little lamb.

(_General and Pedro enter, closely followed by Feliciana. Lagrimas tries to get away with Tarik whom she shields with her dress. They escape to the turret._)

FELICIANA--Pedro, thou art unveiled!

PEDRO--Sh!

FELICIANA--Unveiled, and not an hour since thou didst swear--

PEDRO--I swore only to please thee.

GENERAL--Is the dancer always at thy side?

PEDRO--She is a dancer no longer, General.

FELICIANA--I am not so sure, Pedro. There was thy part to the bargain. If thou failest, I shall not answer for my feet.

PEDRO--I pray thee, Feliciana,--

FELICIANA--Do not attempt to silence me, a bargain's a bargain. I promised to cover my feet, only if thou wouldst cover thy face. Where is the veil I gave thee?

PEDRO--Why must thou shame me before the General?

FELICIANA--(_Fumbling in Pedro's coat and bringing forth a veil._) There, put it on.

GENERAL--Why art thou veiled, Pedro?

PEDRO--I never meant to wear it. It is a whim of hers because I spoke against her dancing.

FELICIANA--Thou must learn not to break hearts. Handsome men are dangerous to be adventuring through the land in these days. It were better to veil them all, than have maidens' hopes go smashing.

GENERAL--Who will succumb to Pedro?

FELICIANA--There are women among the Moorish prisoners. Pedro will flaunt his tempting face before them every day. It were sinful if they should love a Christian, and die of hopeless affection.

PEDRO--(_Contemptuously._) Moriscoes!

FELICIANA--In the city, Senora Jacinta is pining for him already, and Lagrimas, the bull-fighter's daughter, will singe her wings on the altar of his beauty.

GENERAL--(_Aside._) Lagrimas!

PEDRO--Curse my alluring face!

FELICIANA--Nay, Pedro, thou canst show it to me at intervals, and I will let thee have a little peep at my ankles. It will refresh us in our modesty.

(_General withdraws to side of stage._)

PEDRO--Tsch! It is all an invention of thine to make me suffer for scolding thee. These tales of succumbing maidens are false. Thou dost know Senora Jacinta is a child of ten, and Lagrimas hath bestowed her heart ... elsewhere.

FELICIANA--Jacinta will grow up, and Lagrimas is free. She must be protected from thy subtle charms.

PEDRO--Lagrimas is not free. She hath a lover who is mad for her.

FELICIANA--The lover hath been discarded, Lagrimas will none of him.

GENERAL--(_Aside._) Santissima Maria, my son!

FELICIANA--Now, I will not have thee create havoc. Thou must hide thy loveliness behind a veil, or thou too shalt be discarded, and the city can mock thee also.

(_General arises in silent rage and walks back and forth._)

PEDRO--(_To Feliciana._) The lover of Lagrimas is--

FELICIANA--I know!

PEDRO--This discussion! The General's pride!

FELICIANA--It is time he understood that people do not lie in the road to keep his haughty feet free of dust.

(_Enter Rodriguez. Lagrimas again attempts to steal off with Tarik--but is discovered by the General._)

GENERAL--Who goes there?

PEDRO--(_Stops them._) Santa Maria, a miracle!

GENERAL--Who is this boy?

PEDRO--It is the boy who was killed!

RODRIGUEZ--Killed?

PEDRO--The woman's boy who flung himself over the wall. He must have been killed. It is a miracle.

GENERAL--Hold him! (_To Lagrimas._) Thou, what art thou doing here?

LAGRIMAS--I came to help the boy. I saw him struggling up the face of the wall. He is hurt, let me care for him.

GENERAL--(_Sternly._) He is a prisoner.

LAGRIMAS--Surely thou dost not fight against children, as well as women? Let me care for him.

GENERAL--Lieutenant Don Rodriguez, wilt thou explain that our King deems it a crime against holy church to aid or shelter the infidels?

RODRIGUEZ--My word will have little weight.

GENERAL--Love should make thy tongue eloquent.

RODRIGUEZ--(_To Lagrimas._) Do not bother with the child, let Pedro take him.

LAGRIMAS--(_Bitterly._) Has success withered thy brave heart, soldier?

RODRIGUEZ--Wilt thou not understand? Interference may spell death.

LAGRIMAS--Better my body, than my soul to die. (_To General._) Is there no pity in thee? Does thy lust for conquest extend to babies?

GENERAL--It is for thy safety he pleads.

LAGRIMAS--I do not need his pleading.

GENERAL--Is it thus thou showest love for Don Rodriguez?

LAGRIMAS--I have not said I love Don Rodriguez.

GENERAL--Hast thou not promised to marry him?

LAGRIMAS--No, no, no!

RODRIGUEZ--I have no power to either make her love or marry me.

GENERAL--No power! The man who captured Hafiz the Moor, to have no power with a woman!

RODRIGUEZ--A woman is difficult.

GENERAL--Dost thou not know, the people in the streets say she flouts thee, and mock thee for a sorry lover?

RODRIGUEZ--They will talk anyway.

GENERAL--Where is thy pride? Wilt thou have them jest at thee?

RODRIGUEZ--What have I to do with pride?

GENERAL--If thou wouldst be a son of mine, marry her out of hand. Marry her, I say! Scorn Don Rodriguez, the jade! It is intolerable.

(_Exit._)

FELICIANA--Thy father must be a terrible care, Don Rodriguez.

RODRIGUEZ--He is not always easy to understand.

FELICIANA--Thou dost not manage him right. Bring his Castilian nose nearer the earth. There are wholesome smells he is missing.

PEDRO--(_Shocked._) Feliciana!

FELICIANA--Pedro, I'm going to dance, I feel I'm going to dance. Throw thy veil away. Beauty should never be hidden.

(_Pedro throws the veil over the wall._)

PEDRO--Feliciana!

(_Pedro and Feliciana exeunt laughing._)

LAGRIMAS--(_Shyly._) The little fellow is hurt.

RODRIGUEZ--He is faint. Let me get some wine.

TARIK--(_Sobbing._) I will not drink wine. It is forbidden.... I want my mother.... She will make me well.... I want my mother.

(_Lagrimas and Rodriguez catch him as he faints._)

LAGRIMAS--See, his eyes are open again.

TARIK--I am well. Let me stand alone.

RODRIGUEZ--Thou art a brave lad despite thy brown skin.

(_Enter soldier._)

SOLDIER--The General says the boy prisoner is to go with his mother.

(_Tarik looks at Lagrimas, then stoops and kisses the hem of her dress._)

TARIK--Allah will bless thee, and thy little children. It is written. (_Exit with soldier._)

(_Lagrimas and Don Rodriguez sit as they were in the opening scene._)

LAGRIMAS--It is just as it was last night.

RODRIGUEZ--(_Quietly._) But I have captured Hafiz.

LAGRIMAS--And thou speakest neither of thy bravery nor thy--

RODRIGUEZ--I am getting wisdom.

LAGRIMAS--Too much wisdom will make a monk of thee.

RODRIGUEZ--(_After a pause._) I think the stars will shine to-night.

LAGRIMAS--(_Piqued._) Oh, dost thou?

RODRIGUEZ--The air is blowing up a little sharp.

LAGRIMAS--Maria be adored, there is always the weather.

RODRIGUEZ--Of what else shall I speak?

LAGRIMAS--Of thee and--oh anything!

(_Silence. Guitars tinkle in the valley._)

LAGRIMAS--Dost hear the guitars?

RODRIGUEZ--No.

LAGRIMAS--I can hear them plainly. The senor is a constant lover; she will yield to him soon.... What has stopped thine ears?

RODRIGUEZ--The beating of my heart.

LAGRIMAS--A soldier's heart--(_stops suddenly._)

RODRIGUEZ--Hast thou lost something?

LAGRIMAS--It is no matter. I do not want it back.

(_Looks fixedly at his coat until he fidgets._)

RODRIGUEZ--Why dost thou stare? Is my coat--?

LAGRIMAS--What I lost, it has gone inside thy breast. I saw it.

RODRIGUEZ--(_Bewildered._) I--oh--what is it?

LAGRIMAS--My heart, most beautifully stupid, my heart!

RODRIGUEZ--(_Clasping her._) Lagrimas!

(CURTAIN)

THE TURTLE DOVE

A Chinese Play

CAST

CHORUS.
CHANG-SUT-YEN, son of CHANG-WON-YIN, the GREAT, _ruler of the Province
of Canton_.
THE MANDARIN.
KWEN-LIN, _His daughter_.
THE GOD OF FATE.
THE PROPERTY MAN.
THE GONG BEARER.

The Turtle Dove

_The play is acted in the Chinese manner, without stage setting. The back drop is painted to represent a Willow plate. Chorus is present at the left side of the stage throughout the action, to explain the story, announce the characters as they appear, and thank the audience for its interest. The Property Man, in a black costume, remains at the back of the stage. At various specified times, he hands the necessary properties to the several characters, from a small box beside him. When not occupied with stage work, he spends the time reading a Chinese paper, and smoking a pipe or cigarette._

_All the persons in the play are in blue and white costumes, to make the plate picture. The Gong-Bearer may be in royal yellow, and Chorus in emerald green._

_The Curtain is drawn slightly open, and the Gong-bearer appears, strikes the gong three times very slowly and ten times rapidly, then walks to the right side of the stage, and stands there throughout the play. Chorus appears between the parted curtains, holds up his left hand while the Gong-bearer strikes once, then addresses the audience in a very suave manner._

CHORUS--Most illustrious friends, I deliver the three bows to Heaven, Earth, and Man, (_bows ceremoniously to right, left, and centre_) and obtrude myself on your exalted vision that you may know the meaning of our poor play. The story deals with the always new love of youth for maid, the abrupt tempering of a father's wrath to forgiveness, and the immutability of Fate.

Our hero, Chang-sut-yen, (_Chang-sut-yen appears between the curtains, bows to right, left and centre, then disappears behind the curtains_) will come before you as a servant, but in reality he is none other than the son of Chang-won-yin, the Great, ruler of this province of Canton. (_Gong-bearer strikes the gong._) The God of Fate decreed that he should be known as a turtle dove, and have his image forever emblazoned on the shining surface of a Willow plate. To avert this calamitous ending to his august life, Chang-sut-yen has fled the home of his father, and entered the service of a rich and powerful Mandarin, where he hopes, by virtue of his obscure position, to escape the notice of the God. But, as we have said, Fate is immutable, what the God plans must ever be, despite the efforts of puny man.

You will see the Mandarin, (_Mandarin appears, bows, and disappears_) rich, proud, majestic, with eyes for everything that may tend to make him more powerful, but superbly blind to virtue and worth in the humble.

Kwen-lin, his daughter (_Kwen-lin appears, bows, and retires_) is swayed by love alone; a dangerous practice usually, but in this story, one begging your approval. Do not judge her harshly, in that her heart leads her. Remember she is a woman. Much may be forgiven women.

(_The Property Man appears, bows, and looks inquiringly at Chorus, who hesitates an instant, and then, as if fulfilling a rather unpleasant duty, proceeds._) I would I might ignore the Property Man. He composed a version of this poetic tale, putting in all the ugly truths, and serenely forgetting all the possible flower like episodes. As artists we could not consider it. (_Property Man with a slight shrug leaves stage._) The Property Man is not sufficiently large minded to accept our ripe and impartial opinion. He is superbly indifferent to the luminous fruit from his successful rival's quill, and will probably sulk through his duties. That you may not be disturbed by his presence, we have clothed him invisibly in black, and you will therefore be spared the pain of seeing him at all.

I fear I have kept you all too long from the feast prepared for your delectation. If my brothers behind the curtain show not that histrionic merit you so rightly demand, I pray you be lenient, and listen with ears, and see with eyes, not too critical. I conduct you at once to the moon-lit garden of the wealthy Mandarin, where Chang-sut-yen is loitering, hoping to meet there the Mandarin's beautiful daughter, Kwen-lin, who smiles on him. Is it not traditionally the fashion of women to adore most that youth who is forbidden?

I bow to you for your attentively honorable ears. I bow. I bow. (_Gong-bearer strikes gong. Chorus walks to left of stage, and curtains are pulled apart, revealing Chang-sut-yen standing before the back drop._)

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy._ Kwen-lin will know that song. It is nothing, it says nothing, therefore it is pregnant with meaning, and my Bright Water-lily will understand. (_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy._ She will come, dancing like sun-rays on the flowers of my mind, and I will press my honorable lips to hers, and our solemn breaths will mingle. Though I seem but a servant, I am Chang-sut-yen, son of Chang-won-yin, the Great, ruler of this province. (_Gong-bearer strikes gong._) I am also the most glorious lover the Gods have made. My soul was fashioned from the wind of Heaven, and the purple fire of the mountain peak. My illustrious body is the sturdy tree to which maidens will ever sigh their timid love.

CHORUS--It is the Mandarin who walks this way.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy_,--who comes? Alas, not Kwen-lin the fragrant, but my master. He will spit anger that I linger in the garden. I must summon my snake tongue to puzzle his cow-brain, lest he suspect I wait for her. I will divest myself of my honorable senses, and speak with an empty head. I will be gloriously fool possessed. (_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy._

(_Enter Mandarin._)

MANDARIN--The night is full of chill. If the God of Frost bites his sharp teeth into my fruit trees, they will perish. Br-r-r, cold!

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Clasping Mandarin in his arms._) August one, the white moon lady slumbers in the chamber of Heaven, while I wait for you to light the path of my dreams.

MANDARIN--Ancestors, save me!

CHANG-SUT-YEN--We will make loud prayers to the tablets of our magnificently worthy ancestors after we embrace. Let me pluck you, and wear you across my heart, before your flower beauty fades.

MANDARIN--(_Recognizing him._) Miserable three footed dog, what maiden did you think to greet?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--I press to my superb breast only your lily feet, honorable Cherry Blossom.

MANDARIN--I am no Cherry Blossom.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--You are all the Cherry Blossoms in the Garden of Earth, shedding perfume and petals with every sighing breeze.

MANDARIN--I shed nothing but the light of Truth and Justice.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--My heart cracks with love for you, and your tasks. At night when sleep seals the minds of other servants, I journey forth to count again your dazzling possessions. Your peach trees bend before me, and I am blinded. I beg to work for you until Death sews a black seam in my brain, and I go to my ancestors.

MANDARIN--You have departed your unhappy wits. I give you to-morrow to offer gifts to the gods. Pursue sleep, and think not of my possessions, but rather of your venerable poverty. Your august brain is not large enough for Death to waste thread on. Thread is costly. Away with you, and rest.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--May your golden finger nails grow, and grow, and grow, until they grasp all wealth and honor. (_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy._

(_Exit Chang, singing._)

MANDARIN--He is a faithful dog, who begs but a kick to make him lick my hand. I have given him too many tasks. He is bereft of his toad mind. I dislike a man who sings as he works. Life does not plan it so.

CHORUS--Kwen-lin, Bright Water-Lily, comes to meet her lover.

(_Enter Kwen-lin, singing. Property Man hands her a branch of blossoms._)

KWEN-LIN--(_Singing._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo, chin lo, bor lo un doy._

MANDARIN--The mad one croaked that. (_Turns back and sings._) _Bor lo un doy, bor lo un doy, chin lo_,--

KWEN-LIN--(_Clasping him._) Supreme lover! The happy breezes dance when your voice is the lute.

MANDARIN--My important ears to be so assailed! The world box collapses, and tumbles round me.

KWEN-LIN--Noble father! I thought it was my--

MANDARIN--Your?

KWEN-LIN--My singing bird.

MANDARIN--A Cherry Blossom, and a singing bird! An illustrious choice for a man of high position.

KWEN-LIN--You sound very like a singing bird.

MANDARIN--Something has broken in their heads. Spring has tangled the brain threads. It must be Spring!

KWEN-LIN--It is Spring, and soon it will be superb Summer, then Fall, then Winter. The year gone pff! like that, and miserable life flower desolated.

MANDARIN--Before the honorable year goes pff! like that, you will be an exalted wife.

KWEN-LIN--A wife! I, a wife?

MANDARIN--For seventeen years of moons, your nurses and teachers have polished you into a state of passable excellence. You are very wonderful as foolish little girls go. You are something of a somebody.

KWEN-LIN--But to what impressive man are my charms to be presented?

MANDARIN--(_Looking at invisible garden._) This late frost will surely steal the jewels in my garden. The servant Chang must cover the iris. I can trust Chang.

KWEN-LIN--You marry me to Chang-sut-yen?

MANDARIN--Do I throw my child of five thousand and one delectable graces into the arms of a servant? I was speaking of my garden.

KWEN-LIN--If I am to wed, let us speak of husbands.

MANDARIN--Ah, many men have sought to wed you, but I have turned their eyes away, until the sublime one should ask.

KWEN-LIN--To whom do I go?

MANDARIN--To the greatest of all! To be dazzled, to be petted, to be surrounded by every superior luxury.

KWEN-LIN--(_Impatiently._) To whom do I go?

MANDARIN--There is honor and eminence the alliance will give me, and money it will add to my already considerable store. We will not, as a matter of policy, show we are flattered. We will be proud, we will be haughty, we will drive a shrewd bargain when the wealthy Ta-yin of Canton would make you his bride.

KWEN-LIN--The Ta-yin of Canton! I will not marry the Ta-yin of Canton!

MANDARIN--What strange words do your lips produce? Does my daughter oppose her insect mind to mine?

KWEN-LIN--I will not marry the Ta-yin of Canton. He's ugly, he's bold, he's yellow as--

MANDARIN--Gold!

KWEN-LIN--He shakes when he walks--

MANDARIN--He's a--

KWEN-LIN--Hundred years old! My heart would crack with grief were I to marry him.

MANDARIN--I never yet heard that any maiden died of grief at the prospect of being a bride.

KWEN-LIN--Br-r-r-r!

MANDARIN--(_Jumping._) What was that?

KWEN-LIN--My heart cracking. Death is clutching for me.

MANDARIN--(_Wearily._) Go away, Death. Take her, if you must, after she is wed. The wealthy Ta-yin can better bear the sad expenses.

KWEN-LIN--I'm dying now, dying, dying. It's quite delicious! (_Lies down. Property Man puts a blue cushion under her head._) I'm almost dead!

MANDARIN--You can't die like this. It's most absurd, besides being unbeautiful.

KWEN-LIN--Have no fear, my death will be magnificently beautiful. I have practiced many times, and know.

MANDARIN--Get up, fox soul!

KWEN-LIN--(_Sitting up._) Have respect for my solemnly departing life. My heart will not throb longer. (_Lies down._) I am dead!

MANDARIN--(_Prodding her with foot._) Get up, get up, get up! I must carry her! (_Stoops, and puts arms under Kwen-lin._) Oh, for the strong muscles of my lusty young arms. We have fed her too well. She weighs many pounds. (_Stands up, and claps hands. Chang-sut-yen enters._)

CHANG-SUT-YEN--My serene mind presents itself to you, great master.

MANDARIN--Sleep should be gathering up the ends of your serene mind, but it is as well. My daughter's honorable body has persuaded itself to seek its illustrious ancestors--

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Kneeling beside Kwen-lin._) Kwen-lin dead, dead! Then let the lady moon fall from the mighty loft of Heaven, and burn my life to ashes of wistaria!

MANDARIN--Your overwhelming grief at my bereavement becomes a servant, but let not the pockets of your eyes fill with tears. Bear her to the house. She shall be whipped alive! (_Kwen-lin shudders._) The sublime wasp shakes at that?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Bending over Kwen-lin, and looking into her wide open eyes._) It was a death throe, exalted one.

MANDARIN--Can your arms support her?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--I lift a Cherry Blossom with more effort.

MANDARIN--Speak not of Cherry Blossoms. Pick her up. (_Chang starts to lift Kwen-lin._) No, no, that is not wise. How shall we do it?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Craftily._) I can guard the crystal vase of her departed soul, while you go for help.

MANDARIN--It had not penetrated my disturbed brain. I go for help.

(_Exit Mandarin._)

KWEN-LIN--(_Sitting up._) Superb love mate!

CHANG-SUT-YEN--(_Hurriedly._) Augustly enter the world of the venerable dead again, luscious one, your honorable father looks this way.

KWEN-LIN--(_Lying down._) Do your eyes grow pearls that I am with my ancestors?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--The love butterflies are winging in the happy recesses of my heart. My breath will smother me with joy.

KWEN-LIN--(_Sitting up._) Joy, when my father is going to marry me to the Ta-yin of Canton?

CHANG-SUT-YEN--Exalted joy, because before that can happen my father will have the Ta-yin beheaded.

KWEN-LIN--An orphan has no father.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--I have a celestial now and then father, who does these necessary but disagreeable things. I think he will dispose of the wealthy Ta-yin if I ask him.

KWEN-LIN--It must be a wonderful convenience. We will make a list of all those superbly annoying persons we do not like, and have your celestial now and then father, behead them.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--We will ponder it, Bright Water-lily, when we are not serenely happy.

KWEN-LIN--I do not like being whipped alive! My teeth chatter when I think of it, and I can't be happy.

CHANG-SUT-YEN--A base whip to touch you! Nay, my lips shall make you live. (_Kisses her._) I am gloriously versed in lip magic. (_Kisses her again._)

KWEN-LIN--Let us fly on our illustrious legs, and be married with the six ceremonies, before my father returns. I like that lip magic. It makes singing here.

(_Kwen-lin touches heart. She and Chang-sut-yen exeunt. The Property Man looks around the stage slowly, glances in the property box, then saunters casually off._)

(_CURTAIN_)

CHORUS--I bow.

(_Chorus leaves stage followed by Gong-bearer._)

_Scene II_

(_Chorus again appears before the closed curtains, and raises his left hand, while the Gong-bearer, who has walked to his original position at the right side of the stage strikes the Gong once._)