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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr 
 

Esther Wake 
 
 or 
 The Spirit of the Regulators 
 
 A Play in 
 Four Acts 
 
 By 
 Adolph Vermont 
 
 All rights reserved under the Copyright Act, Performance 
 
 forbidden, and rights of representation reserved. 
 
 Application for the right of performing 
 
 the above piece must be 
 
 made to the author 
 
 at 
 
 Smithfield, North Carolina 
 
 RALEIGH. N. C. 
 
 Edwards <fe Brou?hton Printinfi: Co. 
 
 1913 
 
 iiimmmnniniiiiiinimiifflniii 
 

 iCLD 33618 
 
Introductory Note 
 
 At the University of North Carolina, on the evening of 
 July 4, 1911, the Summer School Dramatic Club, under the 
 direction of Mr. Adolph Vermont, presented As You Like It. 
 On this occasion the dramatic power and skill of Mr. Ver- 
 mont stood revealed to a North Carolina audience. The 
 writer of this note at once suggested to Mr. Vermont that 
 he write a play based upon North Carolina history, to be 
 presented before the Summer School of 1912; and he fur- 
 ther suggested the theme: the struggle of the new order 
 against the old that culminated in the American Revolu- 
 tion. Esther Wake is the result. It was presented by 
 the Summer School Dramatic Club on the campus of the 
 University, July 4, 1912. The reception it received from a 
 large and cosmopolitan audience was spontaneous and en- 
 thusiastic; and this time the power and skill of the play- 
 wright were revealed, for he had seized upon a dramatic 
 incident in our history and brought us face to face with 
 the "times that tried men's souls." He had brought back 
 the spirit that animated and dominated our forefathers 
 when they wrought out American freedom. 
 
 In this play the dramatist lays no claim to literal his- 
 toric accuracy. It was not his purpose simply to write a 
 chapter of history, but rather to bring us face to face with 
 the spirit of the Revolution. He found it necessary to 
 depart here and there from strict historic truth; but in 
 doing so he has only exercised the prerogative and freedom 
 of the playwright. What matters it if Esther Wake never 
 existed in reality? A heroine was needed. What matters 
 it if the hymn, AMde With Me, was not written until long 
 afterwards? It is the only song that fits where it is used 
 and is superior to anything that could be written for the 
 purpose. Changing a line from Mrs. Browning, 
 
 Only facts to make a play! 
 
 and continuing the quotation, we have a further answer: 
 
 "Exact 
 The literal unities of time and place 
 When 'tis the essence of passion to ignore 
 Both time and place? Absurd! Keep up the fire, 
 And leave the generous flames to shape themselves." 
 
Introductory Note 
 
 The early history of North Carolina is peculiarly rich in 
 events and characters that lend themselves readily to dra- 
 matic treatment. It is, as Mr. Vermont expresses it, "a 
 veritable mine of dramatic gold-ore." There is Virginia 
 Dare and the Lost Colony, Cornelius Harnett and the re- 
 jection of the stamps, the Edenton Tea Party, Elizabeth 
 Steel and the Mecklenburg Patriots, Flora McDonald and 
 Moore's Creek, all waiting to be touched by the imagination 
 of the poet and playwright and brought back to us by his 
 genius. Let us express the hope that Mr. Vermont will 
 give further of his time and talent to this high service. 
 
 N. W. Walker. 
 
 Chapel Hill, N. C. 
 June 5, 1913. 
 
The Persons of the Play 
 
 James Ptjgh, a gunsmith, leader of the Regulators. ^ 
 
 Trton, Governor of North Carolina. 
 
 Edmund Panning, friend of Tryon, enemy of the Regulation. 
 
 Dick, old servant in the house of Tryon. 
 
 Allen, old servant in the house of Tryon. 
 
 Waddell, prominent North Carolinian. 
 
 Caswell, prominent North Carolinian. 
 
 Pearson (old man), Regulator. 
 
 Hov^ELL, Regulator. 
 
 Hunter (farmer), Regulator. 
 
 William, grandson of Pearson. 
 
 Wood, deputy sheriff of Orange County. 
 
 Husbands, a Quaker preacher. 
 
 Herald. 
 
 ESTHER WAKE. 
 
 Margaret (a commoner), friend of Esther Wake. 
 
 Courtiers, Soldiers, Regulators. 
 
ESTHER WAKE 
 
 THE FIRST ACT. The scene is laid in front 
 of the palace of Governor Tryon, at Newhern. 
 Through the hrilliantly lighted windowSj there 
 comes an abundant light on the stage, A sim- 
 ple rustic bench in the foreground completes 
 the scene. 
 
 Enter Dick and AtJjAN^ two old men in 
 
 the service of Tryon. 
 
 Dick : Aye, Allan, I like style and manners, I 
 am proud of the Colony tonight: my lord 
 Tryon has not forgotten the grand old days of 
 dear Eiig] and. 
 
 Allan (indifferently) : Even so, Dick. 
 
 Dick: There is music in the heavens tonight. 
 Up yonder the stars twinkle merrily, and down 
 here the light dances gaily through the win- 
 dows. 
 
 Allan : You seem very happy, Dick. 
 
 Dick: And you sad, where all are merry. 
 Come, man, the betrothal of Miss Esther should 
 drive away all care from your brow. 
 
 Allan : I love her well, Dick. 
 
 Dick : By the gods, you should ! She is fair as 
 a lily, free as the breeze. Do you remember 
 the night, when our old master called us in his 
 room, and laid her in your arms? A little 
 mite then, now a full groT\Ti woman, and the 
 fairest lady of the land. 
 
 Allan (becoming interested) : She has played 
 many a time with these old whiskers. I love 
 her as if she were mv own blood. 
 
8 Esther Wake 
 
 Dick: And the night of the storm! How 
 brave! You remember when we came over? 
 Old sailors were pale, when the lightning 
 leaped over the waters and she, brave little 
 heart, stood by the mast, singing her song to 
 the wind. It did my old eyes good to see her 
 so dauntless. 
 
 Allan: Yesterday, Mistress Margaret said 
 that she was sweeter-faced than Saint Agnes, 
 who stands behind the altar in the stained 
 window. I wish that she and Margaret could 
 meet. I have told her so much about good 
 Margaret. 
 
 Dick: That must not be. Margaret is a com- 
 moner, a woman of the people, though I grant 
 she has schooling. Nobility and commons 
 can not meet. 
 
 Allan : Margaret is more than common good, 
 then she brings up her children well. 
 
 Dick: I am her friend, Allan, do not let us 
 quarrel about her. Let us speak of more joy- 
 ful things: tonight Miss Esther — thank 
 God!— 
 
 Allan (interrupts him) : Do not say that. 
 
 Dick: What ails you, friend? 
 
 Allan : Forgive me, sir, I am prattling like an 
 old man. 
 
 Dick : You deceive yourself and me, your 
 friend. There is sorrow in your soul, your 
 heart is heavy, and there are tears within 
 your eyes. 
 
 Allan (suddenly): Dick, I am not happy. 
 
 Dick: I guessed it but too well. What is it 
 
Esther Wake 9 
 
 that disturbs you, especially tonight, when 
 Miss Esther will publicly bestow her hand on 
 the most cultured man in the Colony? 
 
 Allan: There lies my sorrow. That bright- 
 est, that most cultured man in the Colony is 
 not loved by the people among whom he 
 dwells. The citizens of Orange County hate 
 him. 
 
 Dick : That is a mistake, you are not well in- 
 formed. 
 
 Allan : A thousand tongues have repeated this 
 news, and it has traveled to the ears of my 
 lady. She asked me and I could not deny. 
 The enemies of her future fiance have organ- 
 ized themselves under the leadership of one 
 brave and almost desperate Pugh, a youth of 
 uncommon character. There is trouble brew- 
 ing. 
 
 Dick: How does Miss Esther feel? Does she 
 believe this accusation against her fiance? 
 
 Allan : She is worried, sir. She has met this 
 young man Pugh, she knows his strong deter- 
 mination ; still she fears no evil will come out 
 of the trouble. Pugh is fair and noble 
 minded — 
 
 Dick (interrupting) : There he comes again. 
 
 Allan: Who? 
 
 Dick: He! He came here twice to ask an 
 audience of the Governor. I refused him en- 
 trance, because he disclosed neither his name 
 nor the burden of his errand. Then he does 
 not wear the proper clothes, he entirely disre- 
 gards style. 
 
10 Esther Wake 
 
 Allan : Heavens ! it is the gunsmith of Hills- 
 boro. I say it again, Dick; there is trouble 
 brewing. 
 
 PuGH enters. 
 
 Dick (draws himself up rather pompously): 
 Here again, sir? Your card? 
 
 Allan: No guests will be allowed without 
 their card. 
 
 PuGH : I have no card. I wish to see the Gov- 
 ernor, I must see him tonight. 
 
 Allan : You can not be admitted to his pres- 
 ence without requesting first an audience. 
 His Excellency is very busy with the festivi- 
 ties of tonight. 
 
 Dick : Furthermore, young friend, as I have 
 said before, your hunting suit is out of place 
 at the palace. 
 
 PuGH : I am sorry, sir, that my hair is not 
 powdered, and that my shoes are without 
 buckles, but I prefer the odor of the wood- 
 floAvers to the perfume of your puffs. I have 
 come to see your master, once more I respect- 
 fully request an audience. 
 
 Dick (excited): In that apparel? Tonight! 
 Why etiquette! Style! 
 
 Pugh: Stjle be damned! I will go in peace- 
 ably if you let me enter, forcibly if you longer 
 oppose me. 
 
 Allan : Pray, young gentleman, your interest 
 will be better served by your patience. My 
 old friend Dick is somewhat hastj^ May I 
 inform His Excellency of the errand — 
 
Esther Wake 11 
 
 Pugh: Tell him that I am the messenger of 
 the people of Orange County, that in their 
 name I wish to speak to him, that I must see 
 him. 
 
 Allan : Your name young man? 
 
 Pugh : James Pugh, the gunsmith of Hillshoro. 
 
 Allan : I will go in at once. You may either 
 be seated or stroll about the lawn. (Exit.) 
 
 Pugh (to Dick toho stands erect like a statue) : 
 Do not move, friend, you might hurt yourself. 
 Do not laugh, you might snap! Keep cool — 
 I will walk around you. 
 
 Dick: Upon my word, what does he mean? 
 (He folloivs Pugh at some distance.) Why 
 you are entirely unused to the style and man- 
 ners of gentlefolk, a rank barbarian. This 
 country is not civilized. If I were not so old, 
 young man, I would teach you a valuable 
 lesson ! 
 
 Margaret (enters on the opposite side, calls): 
 Dick ! 
 
 Dick: Well, is that you. Mistress Margaret? 
 Do you see that vandal over there? That 
 man is a barbarian. What ! are you weeping? 
 
 Margaret : I am so unhappy, Dick ! 
 
 Dick: You, Mistress Margaret? Impossible. 
 
 Margaret : I have spent the last shilling of my 
 widow's pension. My children! my children! 
 That was a cruel storm which took away their 
 father from them, and buried him in the 
 deep sea. Dick, you were my husband's best 
 friend, you must help me. 
 
 Dick : He certainly was kind and good. 
 
12 Esther Wake 
 
 Margaret : Dick, you must help. If only I had 
 a shilling for tonight. 
 
 Dick: A shilling! upon my word, you shall 
 have it. First, because you are a fine young 
 widow; second, because you are a gentle 
 widow; third, because you are a beautiful, 
 gentle young widow. Upon my word, this is 
 no flattery either (feels about for a shilling) 
 only, I have no shilling here. 
 
 Margaret: My little ones must eat, Dick. 
 They have fasted since this morning. Their 
 little eyes are filled Avith hunger, their little 
 bodies are so weak, and they are so beautiful. 
 
 Dick : Wait here, Margaret. Let me run. No, 
 pardon me, do not wait here. Some guests 
 might arrive soon and would not understand 
 your presence. Your widow weeds do not 
 suit the happy occasion. 
 
 Margaret : I remain but a moment ; go, Dick. 
 
 Dick : We have orders to admit guests who are 
 invited and no others. Not to permit any one 
 about. Suppose you sit on yonder bench, I 
 will run fast. 
 
 Esther Wake quietly appears through 
 the palace door, stops and listens. 
 
 Margaret: If you think it better, if I must 
 go— 
 
 Esther (advancing) : You must not. Eest 
 here on this seat. Mrs. Margaret, it seems 
 to me we are no strangers ; Allan has so often 
 spoken about you and your children. I wish 
 to be your friend. 
 
Esther Wake 13 
 
 Margaret: How can I be, Miss Esther? I am 
 a poor sailor's widow. You are the first lady 
 in tj^e land! 
 
 Esther : You are a woman and I am a woman. 
 Birth made me gentle, your character enno- 
 bled you. You belong to the knightly rank 
 of gentle women, whose nobility is not by the 
 favor of some prince, or the right of ancestry. 
 You are knighted by the admiration of all 
 who honor holy motherhood. Shall we be 
 friends? 
 
 Margaret : Still, I am a woman of the people. 
 
 Esther: But more than a commoner to me. 
 Travel forces companions on us, society visit- 
 ors. We are polite to both, but soon forget 
 their presence. Our own hearts choose our 
 friends, and I choose mine whenever and 
 wherever I please. I stand guard at the gates 
 of my soul, and they alone may enter to whom 
 my hand opens. Shall we be friends? 
 
 Dick coughs and tries to shoto his dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 Esther : You are faithful, Dick, but you do not 
 understand. (She takes the hand of Margaret 
 and presents her to DiCK.j Margaret is my 
 friend, Dick, the friend of Esther Wake. What 
 say you? 
 
 Dick : That you are right, Miss Esther, always 
 right. 
 
 Esther : Here is a little present for you and for 
 your children. Kiss them goodnight for me. 
 
 Margaret : The Colony worships you. Miss Es- 
 ther, and I love you ! (Exit.) 
 
14 Esther Wake 
 
 Esther : Who is the youth who is strolling up 
 and down the lawn? 
 
 Dick : That is him ! 
 
 Esther: Who? 
 
 Dick : That barbarian from Hillsboro, who has 
 been here since yesterday, and has caused me 
 no end of trouble. 
 
 Esther: A barbarian, Hillsboro? 
 
 Dick: Yes, they call him Pugh, he is not even 
 civilized. 
 
 Esther (smiling): I know him well, Dick. 
 Look, he is gentle and his step is graceful. 
 
 Dick : Upon my word, he stops to speak to Mar- 
 garet! He offers her his arm, and she — 
 accepts. 
 
 Esther : Those are not the ways of a barbarian, 
 Dick. 
 
 Dick: He comes from Orange County, the 
 country of the Regulators. He is a Regulator, 
 too, their leader, and he has no respect for old 
 English customs and authority. He is^ — 
 I wish he would return to his county! 
 
 Esther: Come, Dick, he must have uninten- 
 tionally offended you! Let no little incident 
 mar our happiness. Go tell Allan that I wish 
 to see him. (She takes letter from her hosom^ 
 whilst Dick goes out; she reads and seems to 
 pause in thought.) 
 Allan enters. 
 
 Esther: There you are, good Allan. Did you 
 place this letter on my table? 
 
 Allan : No, my dear Mistress. 
 
Esther Wake 15 
 
 Esther: Read it, Allan. 
 
 Allan (reads): "Beware of Hillsboro and Or- 
 ange County." 
 
 Esther: Why do you turn so pale? 
 
 Allan: Because — because, God help us, gentle 
 Mistress: the man to whom you will publicly 
 bestow your hand tonight, is not loved by his 
 neighbors. 
 
 Esther: And someone else wished to tell me! 
 I have keenly felt this anger of the people. 
 They are my friends and warn me of some im- 
 pending danger. I had thought the unfriend- 
 liness of the people to Mr. Fanning a passing 
 danger. What is there in his character that 
 makes him so unwelcome to the people? He 
 is cultured and of elegant manner. He is my 
 brother's best friend. Brother tells me often 
 of him, and praises him. 
 
 Allan : Alas, the hatred increases day by day ! 
 The Colonists of Orange have sent here a 
 young man, a certain Pugh, a sturdy lad, with 
 a message to the Governor. 
 
 Esther: A neighbor of Mr. Fanning. I have 
 known him well. I was in his very smithy, 
 I stood and watched his inborn courtesy. His 
 people love him. 
 
 Allan : Aye, a noble lad. 
 
 Esther: Young, brave, intensely patriotic. He 
 loves his people with a love undying. (To 
 herself): Why is not Mr. Fanning like him? 
 
 Allan : Perhaps we have exaggerated these re- 
 ports. The cloud of today is the lake of to- 
 morrow. After your wedding you will settle 
 
16 Esther Wake 
 
 in Hillsboro, your gentle ways will win the 
 hearts of the people to you and to your hus- 
 band. You will be happy. 
 
 Esther: Would and it were so! This letter 
 spells trouble, someone else has seen the 
 clouds lower. 
 
 Allan : No, gentle Mistress, you are too kind, 
 too good. No storm must pass over your head. 
 I am old, old, I could not bear to see you 
 suffer. 
 
 Esther: Dear old Allan, you shall go with us, 
 and see your little Esther happy. (She gently 
 takes his hand, he fondly kisses hers.) 
 
 Allan: Heaven bless you, gentle one. (Es- 
 ther emt.) Aye, you are more gracious than 
 ever! 
 
 Dick (hears the last words of AllanJ; Those 
 are sweet things you mutter about our mis- 
 tress. 
 
 Allan : They are true, Dick. 
 
 Dick: Did you see Miss Esther? 
 
 Allan : I found her here. 
 
 Dick: There comes Lord Tryon, arm in arm 
 with Colonel Fanning. 
 
 Allan: They seem in deepest earnest. ("Dick 
 and Allan withdraw to the rear.) 
 
 Tryon (entering ivith Col. Fanning; ; No, Col. 
 Fanning, the people do not understand us. It 
 is absurd that citizens of this Colony should 
 demand all the rights of a free-born English- 
 man. These Colonists are undeveloped^ en- 
 tirely unable to govern themselves, certainly 
 not able to make their own laws. 
 
Esther Wake 17 
 
 Fanning: That makes their attitude towards 
 Your Excellency so provoking. What are they 
 after all but farmers, commoners, little 
 tradesmen? They can never understand the 
 wise principles on which you base the admin- 
 istration of this Colony. 
 
 Tryon : Aye, there lies the trouble. 
 
 Fanning: England has always selected and 
 trained her sons for the higher tasks of gov- 
 ernment. Her future statesmen are the ob- 
 ject of her greatest care, and in this wise se- 
 lection lies her strength. Do not worry. Your 
 Excellency, if a handful of farmers of Orange 
 County do not appreciate your motives. 
 
 Tryon : That is it. Colonel, their minds are un- 
 tutored. I regret however, I deeply regret 
 that the people of North Carolina do not un- 
 derstand my aversion to turmoil, my ardent 
 desire for peace. 
 
 Fanning: They are at variance with you, but 
 not on personal grounds. They are good, 
 kind-hearted in some things; in others woe- 
 fully ignorant, supremely stubborn. 
 
 Tryon : Well, they must obey the law. Colonel. 
 Their sedition must stop. I trust that you 
 will support me in bringing this misguided 
 people to reason, and to obedience to England. 
 And if kind persuasion will not win them — 
 
 Fanning: What then, my Lord? 
 
 Tryon: They call me the Great Wolf. By 
 
 Heaven! they will hear the Great Wolf howl 
 
 on the hills of Occoneechee! The good old 
 
 blood of the Tryons runs red in my veins, I 
 
 2 
 
18 Esther Wake 
 
 will crush the damned rebellion under my 
 heel. But come, let us speak of brighter 
 things : this evening will be memorable to you, 
 my brother-in-law to be. (He sees Dick and 
 Allan.) Dick, Allan, I will devote myself to 
 the pleasures of the evening; admit no one on 
 business. Only guests come in, who present 
 their card. 
 Dick: There is a Regulator here from Hills- 
 boro, who insists on seeing you, a most impu- 
 dent young fellow. 
 Allan : I have tried to find you, my Lord, to 
 
 ask audience for him. 
 Tryon: You heard my orders. Tell him to re- 
 return in the morning. (Dick and Allan how 
 assent.) 
 Allan : I shall so inform him. Sir. 
 
 Enter Various Colples talking and 
 laughing. They offer their cards and pass 
 in. Then suddenly The Scene Changes 
 and discloses the interior of the palace. 
 Music is heard and the couples arrange 
 themselves laughingly in the order of a min- 
 uet. They dance, talk^ laugh and disperse. 
 Some leave the scene, others walk up and 
 down. 
 Caswell (coming to the front): A delightful 
 dance, indeed. The Colony may be proud of 
 her men and women. Those are handsome 
 couples. 
 Waddell: The Governor entertains well. The 
 elite of the province is here tonight, the aris- 
 tocracy of our fair land. We do not yield in 
 elegance to the proudest blood in England. 
 
Esther Wake 19 
 
 Caswell : I do wish that the Governor and the 
 people of England might appreciate better the 
 fact that Carolina is the peer of England in 
 civilization and in stnrdy manners. If our 
 English cousins could see us from nearby, 
 they would not call us so provincial. (Dick 
 enters all excited.) What has happened, 
 Dick? 
 
 Dick: He came in, Colonel, he is coming — 
 no he is not in yet, he is at the door, that 
 barbarian of Orange County. Allan is try- 
 ing to persuade him not to enter. I told 
 him to come back in the morning. Why he is 
 a common Regulator. His suit is an out- 
 rage against the style of this pleasant cere- 
 mony. 
 
 Waddell: a Regulator? 
 
 Dick: Yes, Pugh, their leader. You may 
 know him, he looks at me with eyes like a 
 wolf's. When I refused him entrance, he 
 placed his fist under my chin. "Old Rusty," 
 said he, "let me in, or I will shove your head 
 from its hinges." I lost my courage, sir, and 
 left him with Allan. He further swore that 
 he would come in and that all hell would not 
 stop him. 
 
 Caswell: Mr. Pugh is a true man, Dick. Go 
 talk it all over with him, Dick, be brave, be 
 brave. 
 
 Dick: I am brave, sir, until I see him. Then 
 my courage evaporates, sir, evaporates, evap- 
 orates. (He repeats the luords as they urge 
 him out.) 
 
 Caswell: I esteem the Governor sincerely. 
 
20 Esther Wake 
 
 General, and wish that he might please the 
 Colonists. It is true that some of the men 
 are hard to please, but they are men and can 
 be appealed to as men. 
 Waddell: If England took the broader view 
 and extended all the privileges of her subjects 
 to North Carolina, there would be no Regula- 
 tion. 
 Caswell: He makes one unfortunate mistake: 
 he leaves Mr. Fanning in charge of the clerk's 
 office in Orange County, and Mr. Fanning is 
 not acceptable to the people of Orange. I re- 
 joice though, in his winning of Miss Esther's 
 hand, though I doubt that love alone brought 
 them together. 
 Waddell: What do you mean, sir? 
 Caswell: That perhaps the influence of the 
 Governor was not foreign to this match. That 
 politics led cupid by the hand — But I won- 
 der how our old friend Dick and Mr. Pugli 
 are getting on? The Regulators are becom- 
 ing daily bolder, and Pugh is brave among 
 the bravest. Yet it would be unwise for him 
 to force himself into this palace at this unpro- 
 pitious moment. 
 
 Blast of trumpets. Herald appears. Pro- 
 cession of young men and women arranged 
 in ttvo rotvs. They advance to the front of 
 the stage, preceded a feiv steps hy Governor 
 Tryon. They hold sticks covered with rih- 
 hons and roses, which form an all-tvhite 
 archway under which there advance Fan- 
 ning and Esther. They are all in sump- 
 tuous court costumes. 
 
Esther Wake 21 
 
 Herald (after blowing another blasts reads 
 from broad parchment) : In the name of the 
 King of Love, Chief Kuler of the Domain of 
 Youth. Be it known to all here present, that 
 on this, the first day of September, 1769, in 
 this goodly town of Newbern, the gracious and 
 most noble Esther Wake, Sister-in-law to His 
 Excellency the Governor of His Majesty's 
 Province of North Carolina, does solemnly 
 betroth herself to and publicly bestow her 
 hand on the most worthy and worshipful Ed- 
 mund Fanning, Colonel in the Armies of His 
 Majesty, and Clerk of the Court of Orange 
 County. So be ye all witnesses, and may 
 Heaven grant them long life and prosperity. 
 
 All: Long life and prosperity! 
 
 Waddell: In tlie name of the distinguished 
 company, I extend to the young couple and 
 to His Excellency, our most sincere congratu- 
 lations. Long may they live and prosper! 
 
 All (repeat Waddell's words.) 
 
 PuGH enters suddenly^ facing the couple. 
 Immediate silence. 
 
 Fanning: James Pugh? 
 
 PuGH : James Pugh, sir. 
 
 Tryon : What is this intrusion, young man? 
 Dick, why did you allow this man to enter? 
 
 Dick : He just came in, sir. 
 
 Pugh : Pardon me. Governor, I have asked au- 
 dience three times, and three times have I 
 been refused. Our people are oppressed with 
 unjust taxes and we demand redress. Your 
 
22 Esther Wake 
 
 officers have squeezed the lifeblood from our 
 veins. In the name of the people I demand 
 justice. 
 Tryon : You insolently intrude yourself on this 
 assembly. Do you knoAV, sir, where you are? 
 
 Fanning: Let him be ejected, Lord Tr^^on. 
 
 PuGH : Slowly, Mr. Fanning. You are the very 
 man whom the people of Orange consider the 
 worst oppressor of the Colony. You are the 
 man who stands accused in the Court of Hills- 
 boro of extortion. I, in the name of the peo- 
 ple, accuse you. 
 
 Tryon : Do you know in whose presence you 
 stand, James Pugh? I represent His Majes- 
 ty, the King of England. 
 
 Pugh : I represent no one, I am the people, 
 the young people of Carolina grown into the 
 strength of manhood. And we demand of 
 you and of the King not political oppression, 
 but the supreme gift of liberty. 
 
 Tryon : These are rebellious words. Men like 
 you are a danger to the rest of the Colony. 
 Dick, call the guards. (To Pugh): You are 
 arrested. 
 
 Pugh : You will lay your hands on the mes- 
 senger of a freedom-loving people. 
 
 Esther (to Tryon) : Brother, permit me to 
 make one request on this memorable evening. 
 You, too, will permit me, Mr. Fanning. You 
 both wish the people well; why not meet and 
 settle all your differences? 
 
 Pugh : Gracious lady, the Court will soon meet 
 in Orange County, the Court before which 
 
Esther Wake 23 
 
 Mr. Fanning stands accused. We have asked 
 that his cause be tried: our prayer has been 
 vain. Delay has succeeded delay, and oppres- 
 sion is growing bitter. We want the Governor 
 to go to Hillsboro and be present at the trial. 
 Mr. Fanning, let the Court pronounce, but 
 let the Court be just. If you are innocent 
 and falsely accused, then let your innocence 
 be knoAvn. Governor, come and be with your 
 people. 
 Esther: Is this your only request? 
 
 Fanning : He asks you to surrender under 
 veiled threats, to the Regulation. If you ac- 
 cept the invitation, there will be no further 
 trouble, and if you do not — 
 
 Pugh: We will meet you openly, as friend. 
 Will you meet us as our friend? 
 
 Esther: Gracious brother, in the name of our 
 sweet betrothal, go. Mr. Fanning, if wrongs 
 have been committed, there has been no malice 
 on the part of the authorities. All wrongs 
 may be redressed. Let there be rejoicing, 
 peace and harmony in the Colony. Mr. Fan- 
 ning, ask His Excellency with me. 
 
 Fanning : Miss Wake, the Regulators are inso- 
 lent and overbearing. In the kindness of 
 your heart, you ask that we surrender to these 
 men. I am no coward. I will meet you, Mr. 
 Pugh, at Hillsboro. May I invite my bride- 
 to-be to go and witness the justice of a court, 
 which shall proclaim my innoncence? I wooed 
 you with shield unstained, I'll marry you with 
 arms unsullied. 
 
24 Esther Wake 
 
 Tryon: Miss Esther, I will decide later. The 
 principle involved in this request — I will think 
 this over. 
 
 Esther: Brother, in the name of Carolina and 
 dear England, promise that you will go and 
 meet these people. Let there be peace. 
 
 Tryon : Sister, I never have refused you a fa 
 vor. Today above all days, I must yield. Mr 
 Pugh, tell the people of Hillsboro and of Or 
 ange County, that I shall hasten the trial 
 At the request of Miss Wake, you are free to 
 return to your county, for peace, if you wish 
 for war, if you do not cease your rebellious 
 efforts. 
 
 Pugh: I thank you, gracious lady. We shall 
 meet at Hillsboro; the men will honor you. 
 Miss Wake. As to you, gentlemen, there are 
 no cowards in Orange County. 
 Curtain. 
 
Esther Wake 25 
 
 ACT II, Scene 1. A loioly cabin, the home of 
 Margaret. The furniture shotos some refine- 
 ment, the decorations on the wall suggest sail- 
 or's life. Esther and Margaret are discovered 
 in the foreground. In the rear of the room, 
 one of her little children sleeps on a couch. 
 
 Esther: I too, will go to Hillsboro, Margaret, 
 but you must go with me. 
 
 Margaret: What help can I be? 
 
 Esther: Listen. I told you of dear Allan's 
 death — Before he sank to rest he took 
 my hand in his : '^You need a friend," he said, 
 ^'and only Avoman is woman unto woman. I 
 am glad that you met Margaret, her words are 
 soft and healing to a troubled soul. Her heart 
 is gentle and her soul is true. She will be 
 your friend." 
 
 Margaret: But you have not suffered? 
 
 Esther : My soul is in a whirl, there is a storm 
 within me. 
 
 Margaret (places her hand affectionately on 
 the hand of Esther) : I love you, Miss Es- 
 ther. 
 
 Esther: Then let your love speak. Do the 
 Colonists esteem me as much as they say 
 they do? 
 
 Margaret: They do. 
 
 Esther (suddenly) : Why do they not love Mr. 
 Fanning? Why does he not love those men 
 and women of a youthful nation, who have 
 grappled with the forest and torn from its 
 flanks their simple homes? 
 
26 Esther Wake 
 
 Margaret (avoiding ansicer): When I met Mr. 
 Pugh and he escorted me so courteously home, 
 that night, he told me how in Orange County, 
 the Colonists have woven love and reverence 
 about your name. Of all the men and women, 
 who came over from England, none is as dear 
 to them as Esther Wake. You will be wel- 
 come on the Eno. 
 
 Esther: Brother thinks that sentiment befogs 
 my reason. ^'Thej^ will say,'' he said, ^'she 
 came for fear. That Mr. Fanning might be 
 safe." 
 
 Margaret: Your brother is mistaken. "She 
 came for love of all," the Colonists will say, 
 you will be Avelcome. 
 
 Esther (silent a moment , then suddenly rising 
 in the deepest emotion) : I dare not go. 
 
 Margaret: You, brave Esther Wake? 
 
 Esther (clasping Margaret^ s hand) : Marga- 
 ret, do you see this diamond sparkle in this 
 ring? It is the lover's eye that looks within 
 your soul, a witness to your truth and stead- 
 fastness. It beams with joy when the bride- 
 to-be is true, it flashes bitter bolts when the 
 bride-to-be grows cold. Margaret, this dia- 
 mond reflects the shadows of the night. 
 
 Margaret: But you are true to Mr. Fanning? 
 
 Esther: Sometimes I think I love. Sometimes 
 I think that I am influenced by the subtle 
 charm of culture and of manner, which make 
 me esteem him, yet — do I love? My broth- 
 er's words of praise, for he is my broth- 
 er's favorite counselor — the adulation of 
 
Esther Wake 27 
 
 which Mr. Fanning is the object at the Pal- 
 ace — all bewilder me. I seem to love him, when 
 I am with him; and when alone, I doubt. 
 Even at the supreme moment of our betrothal, 
 involuntarily I shuddered — I doubted for an 
 instant. Heaven ! at that very moment, there 
 suddenly appeared before me a man, such as 
 I had dreamed of in my dreams. 
 
 Margaret: Miss Esther! 
 
 Esther : He stood before me, before my fiance, 
 before the Governor, before the Court, his 
 brow held high, his eye unflinching. A com- 
 moner, Avhose dress betrayed the wood, whose 
 words marked him a prince reared in the 
 halls of freedom. He spoke of love for his 
 people, love for his Carolina, and demanded 
 justice from England and its representatives. 
 
 Margaret: He is brave. 
 
 Esther: Brave and beautiful in his supreme 
 devotion to his country. I looked at him, his 
 ej^es met mine. I tried, I tried, but I can not 
 forget. 
 
 Margaret: No heart is purer than the heart 
 of Esther Waive. Your heart must be your 
 guide. Esther Wake, even at this hour of 
 storm, England and Carolina call on you to 
 do your duty for their sake. Your courtesy 
 has won the love of the Colonists. They are 
 on the very brink of rebellion, of revolt. Their 
 hand is on the hilt of the sword. You must 
 go and keep the sword in the scabbard. You 
 will witness the trial, and in the troubled 
 waves of a thousand passions, you will pour 
 the calming oil of love. Go, I go with you. 
 
28 Esther Wake 
 
 Esther: And your children? 
 
 Margaret : Aunt Cliloe will take care of them. 
 They will be safe— But hush, little Effie 
 wakes — 
 
 Effie (slowly rises, and comes to Miss Esther, 
 idIio takes her on her knee) : I know who you 
 are. Mama told us all about you. She said 
 you are Miss Esther and that you are good 
 and kind. Mama said she loved you — 
 
 Esther: And do you love me, too? 
 
 Effie : Mama loves you, brother loves you, and 
 I love you, too — Won't you sing me back to 
 sleep? 
 
 Esther (kisses her) : I will, you are very sweet. 
 
 Dick (enters, a wrap on his arm and an old- 
 fashioned lantern with a candle in his hand) : 
 Miss Esther. (He coughs to call attention; he 
 frowns.) Margaret's child on the knees of Es- 
 ther Wake! 
 
 Esther: Dick, your light blinds the child. 
 Stand over there, and I will sing. (She sings 
 softly the first stanza of ^"^ Abide With Me/^ 
 The child goes back to sleep, Margaret kneels 
 at the feet of Esther, bending her head in 
 prayer. Dick stands and listens respectfully.) 
 
 The Scene Changes. 
 
 The Scene represents Maddox Mill on the Eno 
 River, near a ford. A campfire burns brightly. 
 Several men are gathered around it. Others 
 take care of horses near by, some just ride into 
 camp on their ivay to Newbern. 
 
 All: A song, a song! 
 
Esther Wake 29 
 
 Howell : Let us have a cup of coffee first, boys, 
 and pour it careful. Don't spill a drop. With 
 these here taxes on it, it'll soon be worth a 
 pound a whiff. 
 
 Hunter: And they have taxed the sugar, too. 
 Well, we always will have water if we get too 
 thirsty, though I say that water is a poor drink 
 for a gentleman. 
 
 Howell: They have just put on a new tax. It 
 is powder this time, and the tax is way up. 
 
 Hunter: Ain't we got rabbit traps? When 
 them Englismen think they will keep the game 
 to thesselves, they is sure mistaken. 
 
 Howell : That is a tax I won't pay. I will just 
 keep a little powder around, taxes or no taxes. 
 
 Hunter: You have a mighty fine gun, Howell, 
 and mine is not a bad one, either. I suppose, 
 you would not mind using a little of that high 
 tax powder on Fanning, would you Ked? 
 
 Howell : I do not know as I would object let- 
 ting a little daylight in the gentleman. 
 
 Hunter: Might feed a little lead to the Great 
 Wolf, too. Those fellows have been loading 
 their stomachs pretty heavy on us poor folks. 
 We might let them throw up some of the tax- 
 money. 
 
 Howell : Men, we have just to stop that whole 
 business. Fanning thinks that he can keep 
 shearing the wool from our backs, but we will 
 show him that the men of Orange are not lit- 
 tle bleating lambs. Why, that man comes 
 here from the great University of Yale, he 
 says, to civilize us, he says; this civilizing 
 business comes mighty high ! 
 
30 Esther Wake 
 
 Hunter: The more civilization I get, the less 
 money I have in my pocket. 
 
 Howell: If the officers continue to grant us 
 the blessings of civilization and high taxa- 
 tion, the whole damn county will be busted. 
 Well, I am glad that Pugh sued him in the 
 Court at Hillsboro. I don't know as the Court 
 will do anything with him, they are all in with 
 him. 
 
 Hunter: Well, I say, that there is one man, 
 who will stand for what is right. That is 
 young Chief-Justice Henderson. 
 
 Howell: I wished they were all like him, but 
 
 they ain't. Hallo, there is old man Pearson. 
 
 Give us a song, Pearson, your new song. 
 All: A song! a song! (They gather around 
 
 him.) 
 Hunter: We just can't get along without you, 
 
 Pearson, tune up your fiddle. 
 Pearson : I have just tried something you will 
 
 all like. 
 All : Let us hear it, let us hear it ! 
 
 Pearson (tunes up) : Wait and I will line out 
 this song, it is a brand new one. (He sings first , 
 the others sing after him. The tune may he 
 taken from ^^Auld Lang Syne.^^) 
 
 Song : 
 
 When Fanning first to Orange came, 
 
 He looked both pale and wan, 
 
 An old patched coat was on his back. 
 
 An old blind mare he rode on. 
 
 Both mare and man wan't worth five pounds 
 
 As I've been often told, 
 
 But by his civil robberies he's laced his coat with gold. 
 
Esther Wake 31 
 
 Howell : Good song, boys, and it tells the truth. 
 By the Avay, did you hear that he is going to 
 marry Miss Esther Wake, the sister of the 
 Governor? 
 
 Hunter : Well, I'll be damned ! 
 
 Howell: She is going to marry him just the 
 same, though I think she does not love him. 
 
 Hunter : She just can't, that is all ! 
 
 Howell : Pugh told me that she is promised to 
 him, he was there when she did. She is too 
 fine a woman for a man like him. 
 
 Hunter: She is the finest Avoman in Carolina! 
 I would like to see a better one! That is the 
 Governor and all the other folks over there 
 that is influencing her. She just can't love a 
 man like Fanning. He is just too proud and 
 haughty. 
 
 Howell: They ain't married yet. 
 
 Pearson : And I trust they won't be — 
 
 Hunter: Who is that? 
 
 Howell: Bless my eyes, my innocent eyes, if 
 that is not Mr. Wood, Mr. Fanning's right- 
 hand man. Come in, come right in, Mr. Wood, 
 we would give you a cup of coffee, only our 
 hospitality can't stand the expense. 
 
 Wood: Thank you, gentlemen, have you seen 
 anything of old man Pearson? 
 
 Pearson : Here I am, sir, can I do anything for 
 you? 
 
 Wood : I have been at your house several times, 
 but missed you. I have a little bill against 
 you, old friend, a little something for taxes. 
 
32 Esther Wake 
 
 You were miglity slow in paying, and I am in- 
 structed to seize your horse. 
 
 Pearson : You do not mean to say tliat you are 
 going to talie my horse? 
 
 Wood: Pearson, I cannot help myself. I am 
 acting in the name of the Government, and you 
 know taxes has to be paid. 
 
 Pearson : My wife has been sick, and I have 
 had a lot of expense. The horse is my only 
 chance of making a crop, if you take it— 
 
 Howell: Give the poor devil a chance, Wood, 
 and the devil will give you one some day, you 
 will need it bad enough. (So7ne say "That's 
 right, that's right!") 
 
 Wood : One of you men lend him the money. It 
 is only twenty shillings. 
 
 Howell: Only twenty shillings! and at this 
 time of the year! You can find that money 
 only in the pockets of the officers. 
 
 Wood: Quit your jesting. I am here on the 
 King's business, in the name of His Majesty, 
 do you surrender the money or the animal? 
 
 Pearson : Wood, I pity you and the men who 
 sent you. These old hands have never held a job 
 like yours, they never helped to crush a man. 
 They have always lifted up, never borne down. 
 Well, you have the law on your side, and 
 maybe you are right. England needs our 
 taxes ; our wives and children may go hungry, 
 but England shall have its taxes. William, 
 bring old Grey. 
 
 William : You are not going to give him up. 
 Grandpa? 
 
Esther Wake 33 
 
 Pearson : Hush, my boy, bring him here. 
 
 William: Please don't. He is my horse and 
 grandma's, too. 
 
 Wood : Stand back little fellow. Your grandpa 
 and you are too proud to pay your taxes. How 
 will you run the government, eh? Pearson, 
 pay that pound and keep the old horse. 
 
 Pearson (leads in horse hij the bridle. Where 
 this can not he done conveniently , only the 
 bridle lines should be shown) : Here he is, sir. 
 
 Wood : Perhaps some of you would like to bid 
 on him. I will sell him right here, that will 
 save me the trouble of taking him home. 
 What am I bid for this animal? 
 
 William : Please, sir, don't sell him. 
 
 Wood (paying no attention to William j .• Come 
 on, a little good will. Who wants him? One 
 pound, ten shillings. Five shillings, who of- 
 fers one shilling? 
 
 All silent. 
 
 Wood : Who starts him at one shilling? (Thun- 
 der in the distance.) If you do not bid, gen- 
 tlemen, I shall have to take him home with 
 me — for the last time, no one bids? Give me 
 the horse, here we go. 
 
 William (stepping before him): No, sir, you 
 shall not have him, he is my horse. 
 
 Wood: Get away, little fellow, or I will hurt 
 you. 
 
 Howell (intervening) : That you won't. Lay 
 your finger on that boy, and there will be 
 trouble. 
 
34 Esther Wake 
 
 Pearson : Be calm, men, he represents the law. 
 
 Howell: I don't care a damn, whom he repre- 
 sents. If he touches that boy, I'll burst his 
 head! 
 
 Wood (draws pistol): Careful, Howell, care- 
 ful! 
 
 Pearson : Gentlemen, we must obey, although 
 it is hard to do sometimes. We are a law- 
 abiding people. (Ee takes William to Mm.) 
 Here you, my boy. Take the horse, Wood. Re- 
 member the day of freedom is at hand, Eng- 
 land will soon stop to treat her Colonists like 
 slaves. The clouds are thickening over Caro- 
 lina and soon the storm will break. (Thun- 
 der^ lightning.) Take the horse. 
 
 William (shakes himself loose from his grand- 
 father) : He shall not have him ! 
 
 Howell (advances again): I swear, he shall 
 not have him. (Wood aims at him.) 
 
 PuGH (entering rapidly) : Put up your weapon, 
 W^ood. Here is your pound. I have ridden all 
 the way from Hillsboro to find you, and pay 
 Pearson's tax. 
 
 Wood: You came in time to save trouble, sir. 
 Howell, I will report you for contempt of the 
 the law. 
 
 Howell: Contempt, contempt! You are not 
 wortliy of my contempt. Coward, if you are a 
 man, put up your pistol, and let us liave it out, 
 man to man. 
 
 PuGH : You are too hot-headed, Howell. Mr. 
 Wood, you have your money; do not quarrel 
 further. I think it wiser for you to go. 
 
Esther Wake 35 
 
 (^WooD exit sloiclij.) Confound you, men, you 
 are too hasty: for the sake of a horse, you 
 would have good men killed. We need evei^ 
 one of you. I am just from Hillsboro. The 
 news has reached us, that the Governor has 
 changed his mind, that he will not attend the 
 Court. 
 
 Pearson : He gave his word that he would 
 meet us. 
 
 Hunter: It is just like I said it would have 
 been. The courts is rotten. 
 
 PuGH : There remains one more chance. The 
 Chief-Justice, Mr. Henderson, can not be 
 bought. He may see to it that the others do 
 their duty. You must go back; you must not 
 go to Newbern. Boys, the Regulation needs 
 you. Keep your rifles ready, and your powder 
 dry. England has long enough oppressed us. 
 She will soon hear the eagle scream over the 
 hills of the Eno. 
 
 (Violent thunder clap.) 
 
 Husbands (whose voice is heard after the noise 
 of the thunder, hehind the scene, from the 
 ford) : Asses ! Asses ! You are even as asses 
 laden under a burden. 
 
 PuGH : Parson Husbands, what brings you 
 here? 
 
 Husbands : I seek men and I only find asses. 
 Men of Carolina, what a falling-off there is 
 here! Men endowed with reason and under- 
 standing have basely degenerated into asses. 
 They have lowly crouched themselves under 
 the burden of oppression. Men, you have sold 
 your birthright: when the time of election 
 
36 Esther Wake 
 
 came, wealthy flatterers lay in wait for you to 
 buy your votes. With money in their right 
 and drink in their left, they bought your souls. 
 For a few days of riot and of gluttony, you 
 have given your liberty. North Carolinians, 
 you have published to the world that you are 
 asses. 
 PuGH : Your words are bitter, sir. 
 
 Husbands: Not half as bitter as your deeds. 
 Pugh, where is the Great Wolf, who promised 
 to visit us and redress our griefs? Two weeks 
 have elapsed since he promised to see the offi- 
 cers who robbed us brought to justice. He has 
 not come, and only the fawning Panning and 
 a couple of ladies are on their way to Orange. 
 
 Howell: How do you know? 
 
 Husbands : There, beyond the ford, they are en- 
 camped. Fanning, Miss Esther Wake, and a 
 woman Margaret, together with an old and 
 quarrelsome servant. The Great Wolf is not 
 there. 
 
 (Thunder and lightning increase. Rain 
 'begins to fall.) 
 
 Husbands : They asked me if the ford was safe. 
 I pointed to the angry heavens, and told them 
 to remember Pharaoh and his army. I would 
 not wonder if the arm of Providence should 
 not strike them because of the iniquity of their 
 race. 
 
 Pugh: Parson, there are women among those 
 travelers. Curse the men, but not a word 
 against the women. 
 
 Husbands : Young man, you have seen the face 
 of Esther Wake. Like all the others you think 
 
Esther Wake 37 
 
 her great and wonderful. Young man, yon 
 Esther may be a Delilah. 
 
 Pugh: Parson Husbands, this is neither the 
 time nor the place for idle words. We all 
 know that the Governor refuses to meet us, 
 that we are facing a long and bitter struggle 
 with England. Every day we are drifting 
 further and further apart. Carolinians, let us 
 be united in this struggle for freedom. Caro- 
 lina calls us. Sir, I pray you as a minister of 
 God to pray with us to that God in this free 
 forest, where his lightnings leap unchained, 
 where his winds sing of everlasting freedom, 
 pray that the God of freedom may be with us. 
 
 Pearson : Brother Pugh is right, lead us in 
 prayer. 
 
 Husbands: God of the Heavens, whose frown 
 is night, whose smile is day ; God, who smitest 
 the proud and tenderly liftest up the Aveak, we 
 call on Thee tonight. Thy thunder rolls from 
 chasm to chasm, thy lightning leaps from 
 abyss unto abyss, and chasm and abyss are in 
 the hollow of thine hand. Thou art the Mas- 
 ter: before Thee we stand with heads bowed 
 and souls bared. We pray thee for our coun- 
 try. These men are about to battle for their 
 altars and for Thee. Make them strong in 
 their fight. Protect the woman by her fireside, 
 the babe that smiles in her arms. Thou, who 
 rulest the earth, destroy injustice and oppres- 
 sion, uphold the arm of thy people. God go 
 with us, and be with us. Amen ! 
 
 All : Amen. 
 
38 Esther Wake 
 
 PuGH : One word before we go, Brother Regu- 
 lators. You have sworn the oath of the Regu- 
 lation, do you swear once more, that you will 
 resist oppression even until death? 
 
 All: Even until death. 
 
 Pugh: Then meet me at Hillsboro, brethren, 
 when the Court meets. Let each man bring 
 his rifle. If we cannot obtain justice in the 
 court, if Fanning goes free, if he is permit- 
 ted to suck further the last drop from our 
 veins, then down with England and let your 
 rifles talk. 
 
 (Cri/ in the distance.) 
 
 Margaret (rushing up): Help! help! a woman 
 in the ford ! Save them, the water is carrying 
 them away. Miss Wake, Dick and Mr. Fan- 
 ning. They tried to cross, but suddenly the 
 creek rose and swept them off. Save them, 
 save them ! 
 
 Howell: Save Fanning? Never! Let him 
 drown. 
 
 Margaret: But the w^oman! 
 
 Pugh: We fight neither men nor women who 
 are dying. Come, men, come! 
 
 (He rushes off, they folloio him.) 
 
 Margaret (tries to folloiv, hut staggers against 
 a tree): Heaven help them! What a scene, 
 a fearful scene! O, the waters! the waters — 
 Yonder they reach the ford. Flash lightning 
 from every nook and corner and crevice of 
 heaven. Multiply your radiant shafts and 
 throw the light of day upon those waters! 
 Beacon lights of the sky, rush from the bosom 
 
Esther Wake 39 
 
 of the clouds into the bosom of those waters. 
 Spend your brightness on bank and tree and 
 root and rock, that they may find her whom 
 my heart adores. Hush, thunders, that they 
 may hear her voice, waves cease your roaring. 
 They reach the bank. Pugh, brave Pugh, 
 wades in. (Lightning.) The waves roll against 
 his breast. He falters — no he goes forward. 
 They reach him a torch ! On ! On ! my hero ! 
 Look, he stretches forth his arm. He catches 
 something dark. (Lightning.) He staggers 
 with his burden — The men surround him. They 
 help him. It is Esther, Esther ! Thank Heav- 
 ens she is safe ! (She staggers a step further.) 
 Look, yonder man saves Dick, and Mr. Fan- 
 ning — Saved, all saved! 
 
 Pugh (assisted hy two companions^ brings in 
 Esther wrapped in a blanket): Stir up the 
 fire, men. 
 
 Husbands (coming near) : The daughter of the 
 Philistine in the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Pugh : A w^oman in the hands of gentlemen, sir ! 
 ( Margaret kneels by Esther, and strokes 
 her facCy as the latter is still faint.) 
 
 Pugh: Attend to your fair companion. Mis- 
 tress Margaret, she is coming to. 
 (The fire flickers up.) 
 
 Esther (awakening): Where am I? — O! the 
 water ! 
 
 Margaret: Safe, Miss Esther, we are all safe! 
 
 Esther: And Dick and Mr. Fanning? 
 
 Margaret : Safe, safe. These men snatched us 
 from death. 
 
40 Esther Wake 
 
 Esther: Gentlemen, we owe our lives to you. 
 
 William (quickly advances and gives Esther a 
 red rose): Take this rose, Miss Esther, I 
 plucked it in the light of the lightning for you, 
 because you are good. 
 
 Esther: Thank you, little friend. Gentlemen, 
 your kindness overwhelms me. How shall I 
 ever repay you? 
 
 Pearson : Your love for our people is our pay, 
 our ample pay. Come, men, whilst they wait 
 on Miss Wake, let us help the others. 
 (All run off; PuGH remains.) 
 
 PuGH : They are happy. Miss Wake, because 
 they saved you. 
 
 (Fire hums 'brightly.) 
 
 Margaret: Not "they'' did save you — ^^he 
 snatched you from the waves. 
 
 Esther: Mr. Pugh — you saved me. (8he is 
 startled, then suddenly, ivithout a word, gives 
 him the rose.) 
 
 Pugh: This rose shall be more to me than 
 any other gift from your hand. A child of 
 Carolina plucked it for you, England's daugh- 
 ter; you give it to a son of Carolina. Miss 
 Wake, we have long honored you in Orange 
 County; tonight the storm has brought us 
 nearer. All these freemen are your friends. 
 (He reverently kisses the rose.) Yonder they 
 are helping your escort because of you — With 
 them I pledge you my devotion. (He quietly 
 walks toward the ford. Esther follows him 
 with her eyes, Margaret places her arm about 
 ESTHER.) Curtain. 
 
Esther Wake 41 
 
 ACT III, Scene 1. Hillshoro. A room elegantly 
 furnished. 
 
 Esther : He Avill come ! 
 
 Margaret: And he will help us. 
 
 Esther: How powerful this man is among 
 men ! The Kegulators love him more and 
 more, what makes him so beloved? 
 
 Margaret : His own love for Carolina. On her 
 altars he would gladly lay down his life, that 
 his brethren might have peace and prosperity. 
 You did right to send for him, for he alone is 
 master of these masses. 
 
 Esther: I must beg him that Mr. Fanning be 
 spared. Guiltless or guilty, the frenzied Reg- 
 ulators may not let him go unharmed. If they 
 should lay hands on him, the representative of 
 his Majesty, will not all England resent the 
 insult? Mr. Fanning's courage challenges my 
 admiration; still I wish that his imprudence 
 had not brought about this trial. 
 
 Margaret : All is not lost. It is true that yon- 
 der (she goes to the windoio) the crowds are 
 gathering in ominous nearness of the court- 
 house. I see them carry sticks and other 
 weapons. In this very storm of passion, there 
 will be one voice to bid the winds be still. 
 
 Esther (seizing Margaret hy both hands) : Mar- 
 garet, why do I feel so strangely? At his ap- 
 proach my body trembles and I feel almost 
 faint. Do stay with me. 
 
 Margaret: Esther Wake, once upon a time a 
 Jewish girl saved her people from destruction, 
 
42 Esther Wake 
 
 and her name was Esther. Do you love your 
 Carolina? Your heart is pure and the God of 
 Esther of old is still your God. I believe in 
 you and your unselfish devotion to the people. 
 You must meet Mr. Pugh and plead for peace. 
 You must stay the sword that dangles over 
 the head of Carolina. 
 Esther: Good Margaret, be with me, and let 
 me be brave for the sake of my England and 
 my Carolina. Hush, I hear a step ! 
 
 Margaret: It is he. Let me open. (She opens 
 the door; Pugh enters and makes a slight rev- 
 erential greeting.) 
 
 Esther: Mr. Pugh. 
 
 Pugh (holding between his fingers a little note) : 
 
 Miss Wake, you sent for me? 
 Esther: I regret that you should have been 
 
 disturbed by my invitation to this interview. 
 
 Pugh: Your wishes. Miss Esther, are pleasant 
 orders to the men of Orange. 
 
 Esther: How does the trial proceed. Is all 
 the testimony in against Mr. Fanning? 
 
 Pugh : It is, I w^as the last witness against him. 
 
 Esther: You were his main accuser? 
 
 Pugh : In the name of my people, I taxed him 
 with illegal robbery and with oppression. 
 
 Esther (going to the windoiv) : Why are those 
 crowds gathered about the court-house? Why 
 their weapons? 
 
 Pugh : They believe the Court unfair. 
 
 Esther: And will take the law into their own 
 hands ? 
 
Esther Wake 43 
 
 PUGH : They believe that they will not receive 
 justice. 
 
 Esther: What if Mr. Fanning is found guilty? 
 
 PuGH : They may be satisfied. 
 
 Esther: If innocent? 
 
 PuGH : Heaven then have mercy on his soul ! 
 His head in the lion's jaws. 
 
 Esther : The Court is just ; why will the people 
 not receive its decision? 
 
 PuGH : The people believe all corrupt. There 
 is but one man whom they respect, Chief Jus- 
 tice Henderson, but what can he do against 
 the many friends of Mr. Fanning on the bench 
 and at the bar? 
 
 Esther: Mr. Pugh, there must be no trouble. 
 No harm must come to Mr. Fanning. 
 
 Pugh: Why did he oppress the people? He is 
 in the midst of those whom he crushed under 
 his infamous taxes; how can he save himself? 
 
 Esther : Mr. Pugh, you are brave and fair : 
 grant Mr. Fanning brave. He came Avithout 
 a tremor in the midst of the men who hated 
 him. Today he faces you, one against a hun- 
 dred. 
 
 Pugh : The sheriff is his friend, so are the law- 
 yers and the Court, let them protect him. 
 
 Esther: Who can chain again the loosened 
 passions of an infuriated people? Who can 
 control a mob ? When the hue and the cry are 
 raised against a man, men cease to be human. 
 The primeval brute that sleeps within them 
 rises from its slumber, bursts the light bonds 
 of superficial civilization and takes possession 
 
44 Esther Wake 
 
 of each furious breast. Men are no longer 
 men, but plain, destroying, rabid brutes that 
 know no joy, but the agony of a victim; no 
 limit to their cruelty but the utter destruction 
 of the object of their insensate wrath ; yet that 
 mob must be calm. 
 
 PuGH : Miss Wake, you yourself asked the ques- 
 tion: who will calm them? 
 
 Esther: One man can hold yonder men in 
 bonds, because those men believe him brave, 
 noble, true. That man must shield the repre- 
 sentative of the King and of the law, even 
 were he a thousand times unworthy. The 
 peace of Carolina, the weal of its citizens de- 
 mand that he shall speak. 
 
 Pugh: Who is that man? 
 
 Esther: You — must have him. 
 
 Pugh: I, his bitterest enemy? 
 
 Esther : In your soul you would not harm him. 
 True, your lips accused him, but will you lift 
 a hand to strike him? 
 
 Pugh : Miss Wake, this hand shall never harm 
 Mr. Fanning. But he represents England and 
 all the odious laws that have oppressed us. 
 Why do not your people understand that we 
 are freemen? We are perhaps unlettered, as 
 they say across the sea. One thing, however, 
 we know ; that is the Saxon's love of freedom. 
 Let Mr. Fanning and his lawyers cease to ex- 
 asperate the people and peace will reign su- 
 preme. 
 
 Esther: There is confusion now between Eng- 
 land and Carolina, a better day will dawn, 
 
Esther Wake 45 
 
 when the old mother country will embrace her 
 youthful daughter. Then will old Avrongs be 
 forgotten and there will be peace. Once more, 
 I beg you, let the wounds that bleed in our 
 common hearts not be further irritated. Pro- 
 tect him, save him. 
 
 PuGH : He is my enemy, he hates me : yet will 
 I try to save him because of my love for Caro- 
 lina, and my esteem for you. (He draios hack 
 a few steps, then returns as if in deep thought.) 
 Miss Wake, do you remember the night at 
 Newbern, when I saw you in the splendor of 
 your court? 
 
 Esther silent. 
 
 PuGH : Do you remember the night about the 
 campfire, when we gladly braved the waves 
 that you might live? Those nights Avere the 
 dawn of a new day in my soul. Your goodness 
 and your kindness have shone brightly about 
 me; I have lived happily in that light, and to- 
 day it shall be my guide when I shall walk 
 with a smile in the very valley of death — 
 
 Esther: Of death? 
 
 PuGH : Of death ! See yonder the mob is gath- 
 ering faster, men are standing in ever-growing 
 groups. Those heads are bent in earnest con- 
 versation. Those fists are clenched — Yet I go, 
 because you have wished it. 
 
 Esther : I knew that you are brave and strong. 
 
 PUGH (coming nearer): Because you have 
 willed it — Esther Wake — my law and my love. 
 
 Esther: Do not say those words, I am be- 
 trothed. 
 
46 Esther Wake 
 
 Pugh: I love you, Esther Wake, and I will 
 love you as long as yonder hills stand on the 
 banks of the Eno. I will love you even if you 
 should hate me — but no, you do not hate me — 
 on my heart there lies a red, red rose. Your 
 lips have kissed it, it is mine. Do you hate 
 me — do you love me? Tell me ere I go. 
 
 Esther: I may not — I must not — but James, I 
 do — ! Pugh Jdsses her hand.) 
 Dick knocks at the door. 
 
 Esther: Someone there? (Pugh goes out, greet- 
 ing her reverently.) 
 
 Dick (entering): Mr. Fanning is at the door. 
 Miss Esther, and wishes to see you. 
 
 Esther : Let him enter, Dick. 
 
 Dick: And Miss Esther, permit me. I think 
 that it is high time for us to return to New- 
 bern. I do not like the looks of things about 
 me. The people are all excited and gathered 
 in front of the court-house. Then there is that 
 man, who just left the room. It seems he 
 looks at me all the time; he has no manners. 
 
 Esther: Hush, Dick, he is a gentleman. 
 
 Dick: To you, of course. Miss Esther, who 
 would not be? Well, I have decided, with your 
 kind permission, not to remain any longer in 
 this land of barbarians. I am obliged to leave. 
 (Fanning is heard at the door. Dick draws 
 hack and lets him enter.) 
 
 Fanning: Good morning, Miss Esther. I wish 
 to come and inform you that things are better 
 and brighter for me. 
 
Esther Wake 47 
 
 Esther: You are kind, Mr. Fanning, I sin- 
 cerely trust that everything will come out 
 right for you. 
 
 Fanning: Aye, my lady, Pugh and his Regu- 
 lators will soon see that there are still judges 
 in England ! They accused me falsely. 
 
 Esther: Could Mr. Pugh have imagined that 
 he was right? 
 
 Fanning: Miss Esther, he is our bitterest en- 
 emy. He hates the very name of England. 
 He is the unforgiving foe of the Governor, he 
 hates us all. 
 
 Esther: Maybe that in the collecting of those 
 taxes some mistakes were made, some unfor- 
 tunately harsh measures taken. 
 
 Fanning: Miss Wake, do you Avish to excuse 
 the enemy of your fiance? 
 
 Esther : I try to be on the side of justice. Any 
 love that I should bear a man must not blind 
 me to his mistakes. If you are wrong, there 
 is still time to acknowledge the error which 
 you made. Meet the people frankly, there is 
 still time. 
 
 Fanning: They are a vulgar rabble, led and 
 captained by one man without principle. Me 
 they hate. I in turn despise them. The case 
 is in the hands of the Court: let the Court 
 decide. 
 
 Esther: I love those freemen! Mr. Fanning, 
 I wish that they might esteem you. 
 
 Fanning: You do not understand them. Miss 
 Wake. They have treated you with ostenta- 
 
48 Esther Wake 
 
 tious hospitality, since one saved you from 
 the waters of the Eno. Their love may be 
 feigned. 
 
 Esther: Mr. Fanning. 
 
 Fanning: Who can trust him, who left these 
 apartments. Why was he here? 
 
 Esther: Because / sent for him. I asked him 
 to make a last effort for peace. 
 
 Fanning: Thank you, fair love! (sarcasti- 
 cally). A last effort for peace with — me. May 
 1 be present at your next interview? Then, 
 when he shall accuse me, I shall have an op- 
 portunity to defend myself. 
 
 Esther : Sir, I regret that our interview should 
 have caused you displeasure. Permit me, the 
 peace in the Colony must not be disturbed. 
 (Going to the window.) Do you see the men 
 of Orange gathered in front of the court- 
 house? When have we seen such a crowd in 
 Hillsboro? Are you sure that you will be un- 
 harmed? 
 
 Fanning : Not one of that vulgar rabble would 
 dare to touch me. They are too cowardly. 
 But, I must go, my love ; I know your thoughts 
 will go with me, and I shall think of you. 
 Pray, may I have the rose my love wears? 
 
 Esther (slowly talcing the rose from her hosom, 
 shakes it and the leaves fall) : It is with- 
 ered, its leaves are falling. 
 
 Fanning (takes it, all the leaves fall): It is 
 
 still a rose. 
 Esther (slowly): A dead — dead — rose. 
 
Esther Wake 49 
 
 Call on the Outside: "Fanning, Colonel Ed- 
 mund Fanning, come into court; Edmund 
 Fanning, come into courf 
 
 Esther: I hear your name; the Court has re- 
 sumed its session. 
 
 Fanning: The jury will be ready for the ver- 
 dict. Good-bye my fiancee — you shall soon see 
 me free — (Exit.) 
 
 The scene represents the outside of the 
 court-house at Eillshoro. A vast multitude 
 is crowded about the door, prominent among 
 the men are the Regulators. 
 Hunter (stands nearest the door, on a barrel. 
 Ee describes to his companions the scene in- 
 side the building, looking in over the heads of 
 the people) : Shut your mouths, fellows, I can 
 not hear a damn thing. 
 Howell: That is right, keep still. We will 
 
 soon hear the verdict ; keep still, I say ! 
 Hunter: Shut up, men, shut up! They are 
 coming in now, the jury is ready to report. — 
 (silence) — Guilty, men, Fanning is guilty! 
 Howell : The scoundrel is guilty ! Hurrah for 
 the Court! Down with Fanning! 
 
 All: Hurrah for the Court! Down with Fan- 
 ning! 
 
 Hunter: Shut up, shut up, the judge is going 
 to talk. (Silence and attention of all.) He 
 fines him one penny ! One damn penny ! 
 
 All : One penny, one damn penny ! Down with 
 Fanning, down with the Court, down with 
 Tryon! Away with England! Down with 
 England. 
 
50 Esther Wake 
 
 Howell: Down with the lawyers! Hang them 
 all! 
 
 Hunter: They are taking out the lawyers 
 through the back door, they are going to hang 
 them. The Chief Justice alone goes free. The 
 lawyers, the clerks are all to blame ! 
 
 Hunter: Men, men! Here comes Fanning. 
 Let us hang him! (They divide in two groups 
 ready to surround Fanning as he comes out.) 
 
 Howell: Look out. Regulators! here comes our 
 enemy ! 
 
 Fanning (coming out of the court-house) : Let 
 me go — (they seize him) infernal cowards! 
 Let me loose ! 
 
 All: A rope, a rope! 
 
 Fanning: Get your rope, you assassins! Do 
 you dare to let me say a word before you kill 
 me? 
 
 Howell: Not a word! 
 
 Hunter: You old publican, you old tyrant, we 
 have got you, and we shan't turn you loose. 
 
 All: Down with the tyrant! 
 
 Howell: They fined him one penny, men! 
 
 Hunter: He put some of our best men in jail 
 for debt. He did not want old man Pearson 
 to make an honest living ! He wanted to take 
 his horse. 
 
 All: Here comes the men with the rope. The 
 rope ! The rope ! (They throw it around Fan- 
 ning' s neck.) 
 
 Pearson: Hold on, brethren, don't hang that 
 man, it is a crime before God and men ! (The 
 
Esther Wake 51 
 
 crowd listens to him a momeyit, then the noise 
 begins again.) If you do not want to turn him 
 loose, give him at least a chance to pray ! 
 
 Fanning (all silent) : I am all right. I am not 
 afraid to die. What I want to say is this: 
 Howell, Pearson, listen ! 
 
 Hunter: He wants to get away, pull the rope. 
 Sling it over that limb. Throw it over, I say, 
 can't you do it? 
 
 PuGH (rushing out from court-house) : Give me 
 that rope! (He pulls it down from the tree.) 
 By God, men, what do you mean? Ten against 
 one! 
 
 Howell: He is a tyrant! 
 
 Hunter : An oppressor. The tool of England ! 
 
 Howell : The Court is rotten. They fined him 
 one penny! 
 
 PuGH : I know that ! Still what do you mean. 
 Brother Regulators, killing a man, twenty 
 against one ! Take a man unawares ! What 
 of the sacred oath of the Regulation that tells 
 us to treat all our foes fair? I have no love 
 for this man, I have no love for England that 
 sent him, but I will not stab a man in the 
 back ! Who has heard that a man was ever 
 fought in Orange County, without having first 
 received a warning? We notify the enemies 
 of the Regulation, who has told this man to 
 stay away? 
 
 Hunter: He has used foul means against us! 
 
 PuGH : And if he has, must the Regulators 
 play foul? Regulators, they call us barba- 
 rians at Newbern: let us show those English 
 
52 Esther Wake 
 
 flunkeys that the Kegulation stands for fair 
 and open fight. 
 
 Pearson : That is right ! Then there are others 
 guilty besides him ! 
 
 PuGH : If you hang this man, you must hang 
 all! Brethren, are we executioners? 
 
 Hunter: He shan't go. He has put several of 
 our people in jail. Hang him! Pull that 
 rope, men! 
 
 All : Pull the rope ! the rope ! 
 
 PuGH (snatches rope from Panning's neck) : De- 
 fend yourself, take this knife. (Be throios 
 him a knife.) I swear that I will kill the first 
 man who makes a step nearer. The first man, 
 who touches Fanning, is my man ! Come on, 
 Kegulators, kill a brother Regulator, kill a 
 neighbor and a friend! 
 
 Pearson : Pugh is our leader ! 
 (All hesitate.) 
 
 Hunter (advances against Fanning; 
 Pugh seizes him and throtvs him doivn.) 
 
 Pugh : By God, Hunter, I do not want to hurt 
 you, but stand back, I say ! 
 
 Pearson (rushes in) : Hold on, Hunter ! Pugh 
 is right. We are not giving him a fair show ! 
 Howell, are you going back on your old 
 friend? 
 
 Howell (hesitates a moment^ then suddenly 
 stands hy Pugh) : I am with you, Jim! Let 
 Fanning go, boys! 
 (All fall hack.) 
 
 Pugh (to Fanning) : You are free, sir! 
 
 Howell : He is free. But we must meet again ! 
 
Esther Wake 53 
 
 Fanning: I am no coward, sir. If you had 
 hanged me, I would have shown you how to 
 die. I do not beg for my life. Still I thank 
 you for having saved your countrymen from 
 this murder. Generous foe, between you and 
 me there must, however, not be peace. In an- 
 other place, and at another time, I will explain. 
 (To the Regulators): You men of Orange, 
 have committed a heinous crime: you have 
 insulted the Government of His Majesty. Of 
 your own free will, you have chosen war. 
 (Murmur.) Whether I go free or not, you will 
 have to fight a stronger man than me. When 
 the time comes, I shall meet you sword in 
 hand, face to face, and there will be no quar- 
 ter! 
 
 PuGH : Tell your master, that we will be ready 
 when you call. We men of Orange are free- 
 born citizens, a plain people, who know but 
 one law. That law is not written on the 
 statute books of yonder court, but in our 
 hearts. That law is eternal: it is the law of 
 uncompromising liberty and justice. Tell the 
 Great Wolf that the men of Orange wear no 
 man's collar. It is war, you say; war with 
 England. Let war come, deadly, grim and 
 without mercy. We will fight for the same 
 liberty for which our Saxon fathers fought. 
 Personally, Mr. Fanning, I give you rendevous 
 in the thickest of the battle where brave men 
 meet and where cowards do not set foot. You 
 will find me there. 
 
 Fanning : If we meet, remember that I never 
 asked of you or anyone, to save my life today. 
 
54 Esther Wake 
 
 PuGH : Farewell, sir. Gather together your 
 
 soldiers, the time has come. Stand back, boys, 
 
 and let him pass. 
 
 (All fall hack and let him go off the stage.) 
 PuGH : Regulators ! our fight with England has 
 
 begun. Hurrah, for Old Orange! Hurrah, 
 
 for Carolina! 
 
 The scene changes. 
 Scene 3. Miss Wake's reception room. 
 Esther: What good news, Mr. Fanning? 
 Fanning: Free my love, yet is the news not 
 
 good. There will be war, bitter war, between 
 
 England and the Colonies. 
 Esther: I do not see the reason. 
 Fanning: They have mortally insulted your 
 
 brother and the whole English nation. 
 
 Esther: I do not understand you. Colonel. 
 
 Fanning: The much heralded onslaught of 
 Pugh proved me innocent; his testimony was 
 utterly worthless. He, the leader of the Reg- 
 ulation, could find no valid charge against 
 me. The Court found me guilty of some minor 
 errors ; the judge arose and pronounced me in- 
 nocent. For form's sake he fined me one 
 penny. Then the rabble broke into a frenz}^, 
 they seized the lawyers and beat them with- 
 out mercy. 
 
 Esther: And you? 
 
 Fanning: They dragged me on the green, and 
 threatened to hang me. They heaped the vilest 
 insults on me. I fought like one possessed, 
 but could not resist their numbers. Then I 
 
Esther Wake 55 
 
 resolved to die with a smile of contempt on 
 my lips for those Orange cowards. Suddenly 
 Pugh intervened and interposed himself be- 
 tween his people and vile murder. He ob- 
 tained my freedom. 
 
 Esther: He is brave. 
 
 Fanning: Aye, he is brave. Still I owe him 
 nothing. I would not beg him for my life. I 
 would not have cared if they had murdered 
 me. 
 
 Esther: Mr. Fanning! 
 
 Fanning : I despise them all. I hate them like 
 a vile diseased crowd. I wish that I might de- 
 stroy them. 
 
 Esther: They did not destroy you. You had 
 some friends among them. 
 
 Fanning: Is Pugh my friend? I hate him 
 with all the most intense power of my soul. 
 Esther silent. 
 
 Fanning: He is the man who brought 
 about this trouble. He is the man who stirred 
 the ashes in the bosom of his fellow Regulators 
 and blew into lurid flames, their hatred 
 against me. 
 
 Esther : And he saved you ! 
 
 Fanning : He saved me. I hate life at the hands 
 of this subtle Greek. I have challenged him 
 to a mortal duel on the battlefield, when his 
 mob and our soldiers shall meet. He has ac- 
 cepted my challenge ; he or I must die. 
 
 Esther : You are beside yourself with emotion, 
 Colonel. 
 
56 Esther Wake 
 
 Fanning (growing more passionate) : On the 
 contrary, my lady love (sarcastically) I am 
 as calm as a slumbering lake in the lap of the 
 valley. I am calm, but my eyes are not blind. 
 
 Esther: Not blind? 
 
 Fanning: Are you my betrothed? Did you 
 solemnly pledge that you would marry me? 
 
 Esther : I did. 
 
 Fanning: This morning a certain man, before 
 he came here, swore that he would see me 
 hanged, if the Court set me free. If the peo- 
 ple used violence against me, he would not lift 
 his finger to protect me. Barely an hour af- 
 terwards, that same man stood in the midst 
 of the mob and defied any man to touch me. 
 Who changed him? 
 
 Esther: / asked that no violence be done. 
 
 Fanning : Miss Wake, I do not doubt your pop- 
 ularity among the Kegulators : but that man 
 did not change his mind because of courtesy 
 alone ! 
 
 Esther: He yielded to the force of my argu- 
 ments — to my reason. 
 
 Fanning : Arguments, reasons ! There is an- 
 other force that is mightier than reason. The 
 force which drove Francesca in the arms of 
 her Paolo, that fashioned with everlasting 
 chains Abelard and Heloise; the force that 
 sent Dante through hell in search of his Beat- 
 rice — Miss Esther in the crowd, Pugh and I 
 stood face to face. When he had succeeded in 
 staying the hands of the assassins, I read in 
 his eyes, not care and consideration, but deep- 
 
Esther Wake 57 
 
 est hatred and defiance. His lips were 
 wreathed in triumph, in subtle triumph over 
 me. 
 
 Esther: In subtle triumph over you? 
 
 Fanning: Suddenly I guessed the truth, the 
 whole truth : he is no longer my rival in poli- 
 tics; he is no longer the self-appointed guar- 
 dian of the people's right ; he has entered an- 
 other field against me. He, the lonely black- 
 smith of a little country village, dares to raise 
 his eyes to the first lady of the land. Am I 
 wrong? If so, on both my knees I beg your 
 pardon. 
 
 Esther: Your words are bitter. 
 
 Fanning: They are true: Miss Wake, do you 
 still love me? 
 
 Esther: I still esteem you for your courage, 
 for your manly qualities! 
 
 Fanning: But do you love me? 
 
 Esther: I am still your fiancee. Yet in my 
 soul doubt and coldness seem to dawn — yes, 
 deep in my soul — 
 
 Fanning: Do not say the fatal words (with 
 supreme determination). I understand 
 enough, Miss Wake. Tonight I leave for New- 
 born to inform your brother of the happenings 
 of the day. He swore to crush out this sedi- 
 tion. As to him, you have confirmed the sen- 
 tence of death on him — or on me — 
 
 Esther : I have prayed for peace between Eng- 
 land and Carolina — Peace between you and 
 him. 
 
 Fanning: And between him and me, you have 
 dug an abyss that is deeper than the deepest 
 
58 Esther Wake 
 
 depths of hell — Farewell, my lady — (He goes 
 to the dooVy then slowly returns.) If, how- 
 ever, there still be hope for me — If you would 
 go with me — to your brother's palace — 
 Esther (interrupting him): Tell brother, that 
 you came alone. (8he sinks on the table ^ her 
 face in her hands. Fanning sloioly goes out.) 
 Margaret enters^ finds Esther, her head 
 hent on the table ^ and approaching care- 
 fully, she places her arm about Esther's 
 neck, and comforts her. 
 Dick (all upset) : Upon my word and the word 
 of all my ancestors, Miss Esther, I must go. I 
 want to go. I shan't stay in this savage coun- 
 try any longer. These barbarians have threat- 
 ened to kill the whole Court and the Governor. 
 They SAvear that they will hang the King from 
 the highest tree in Orange County. They have 
 whipped all the lawyers, they have dragged 
 Mr. Fanning by the heels, they have hung him, 
 and quartered him; until he finally got away. 
 Margaret stejiping back, motions Dick 
 to be quiet. 
 Dick (seeing Esther) : Great Heavens! What 
 is that? Have the wretches been here, too? 
 Have they tried to hurt my mistress? By jove, 
 there must be an end to all this. (He seizes a 
 pair of pistols, which are lying on the table 
 near him, he brandishes them and places 
 himself squarely in front of the middle en- 
 trance door.) Now let them come, if they dare, 
 the damned rascals ! I defy them, one and all. 
 Miss Esther, Margaret, do not fear any longer, 
 
 am right here. 
 
 Curtain. 
 
Esther- Wake 59 
 
 ACT IV, Scene 1. An open field, trees, rocks. 
 The scene represents the battlefield of Ala- 
 mance. 
 
 PuGH : This is the place. From here we con- 
 trol the road to the Great Wolf's tent. 
 
 Howell: It will get a little hot here, I guess. 
 
 PuGH : Are your guns, ready? Mind your prim- 
 ing, gentlemen. Howell and Hunter, you get 
 behind that tree as soon as you see them com- 
 ing. William, you stay right with me. Load 
 my rifles, and ram the bullets as tight as 
 you can. 
 
 Howell: Well, I have waited a long time for 
 this here party. I hope it may be a pleasant 
 occasion for our British friends. 
 
 Hunter (runs up all excited) : James Pugh ! 
 
 Pugh: Well, sir! 
 
 Hunter: We must fight, there is no way out 
 of it. 
 
 Pugh: Well, then, the blood will be on the 
 head of the Great Wolf. 
 
 Hunter: Parson Husbands just met him, he 
 went to his tent, and begged him to take his 
 soldiers back to Newbern, and not to drive the 
 men of Orange into the fight. He begged and 
 he begged for peace. Husbands promised that 
 the Regulators would go home quietly, and 
 that all could be settled friendly. 
 
 Howell: I know the Wolf did not listen, he 
 wants blood. 
 
60 Esther Wake 
 
 Hunter : He made an oath that he was tired of 
 the damned rebellion, that he would see every 
 Kegulator hanged before morning. 
 
 PuGH : Hand me that gun, William, and the 
 rod. (He rams the gun as tightly as he can.) 
 
 Howell: You are ramming her mighty tight, 
 sir. 
 
 PuGH : This is for him. 
 
 Hunter: And men, he killed old man Thomp- 
 son! 
 
 All : The best man in Orange County ! 
 
 Hunter : Yes, he was with Husbands when the 
 parson went to see the Governor. When Par- 
 son Husbands could not do a thing with Tryon, 
 old man Thompson turned to the Great Wolf 
 and told him his plain mind : ^'Governor,'' he 
 said, ''this is unworthy of you and of Old Eng- 
 land. You have advanced against your people, 
 with trained men, and with cannon. There 
 will be no end of bloodshed. War is a crime, 
 where we still can have peace.'' The Governor 
 got impatient, he drew his pistol, and shot the 
 poor man dead. 
 
 PuGH : The foul murder ! 
 
 Howell : I hope the Great Wolf will come this 
 way. I will also spare him a good straight 
 bullet. 
 
 William : Look over yonder ! (He points to 
 the tent of the Governor.) 
 
 Howell : Where? 
 
 William : I see a white flag. 
 
 Pearson (coming nearer) : It is a flag of truce. 
 
 PuGH : Damn his white flag ! 
 
Esther Wake 61 
 
 Pearson : What do you mean, friend, fire on a 
 
 flag of truce? 
 PuGH : He killed our messenger ! (shoots) 
 
 There goes his sheet ! 
 Hunter: Lord have mercy! See the fellow 
 
 run, he does not even take up his little sheet. 
 
 You cut the staff clean in two. 
 PuGH : Thompson dead ! Regulators, they will 
 
 pay us dearly. 
 William : Look ! Look ! 
 Pugh: Yonder they come, the Governor and 
 
 his staff. Here hold this gun, while I fire — 
 
 (he aims) Now for him — (he fires) missed 
 
 him! Shoot, Howell, shoot! Damn the luck, 
 
 you missed him, too ; he is riding like the wind ! 
 
 Fire again, fire! Yonder they go — let us run 
 
 and meet them — 
 
 (All fire. 'Noise, shooting on all sides.) 
 Pugh (before running off, looks hack a moment 
 
 at William ) : Come on with us, William, and 
 
 bring that gun. What is that? 
 William (staggers and drops his gun): I am 
 
 hurt, sir, I am hurt ! 
 Pugh (runs up to him and seizes him) : Where 
 
 William, where? 
 William (pointing to his side) : In my side, sir, 
 
 look at the blood ! 
 Pugh : Pearson, come back quick ! They have 
 
 shot William! 
 Pearson : My boy, my boy ! What hurts you, 
 
 my boy? 
 William : Nothing, grandpa. Do not worry, 
 
 it is nothing. 
 
62 Esther Wake 
 
 Pearson: Look, Pngh, he is dying! They have 
 murdered him ! They have murdered my boy ! 
 
 PuGH : I believe he is gone to rest — Lay him 
 down gently — He gave the rose to Miss Es- 
 ther — (A sJiot is fired near hy, Pugh rushes 
 off.) 
 
 Pearson: Dead! dead! How white his lips, 
 how glassy his eyes — William, if they had only 
 shot me and spared you — 
 
 Howell: Look out, Pearson — look out — they 
 are rushing us. 
 
 Pearson : I am glad they came. (Be takes his 
 gun, aims and fires.) Damn you red coats! 
 
 Howell and Pugh (run in): Look out, look 
 out! Yonder comes Fanning! 
 
 Fanning (running in): Here at last. Damn 
 you, I have looked for you. Come on ! 
 
 Pugh : I am glad we met. Here is our chance ! 
 (They clinch.) 
 
 Howell (catchhig a soldier by the throat): 
 Here you damn Redcoat, you are mine. (Both 
 roll on the ground.) 
 
 Regulators and British soldiers rush in. 
 The fight is general. Hunter and Pearson 
 are tvounded. Pugh is about to kill Fan- 
 ning, tvhen two British soldiers, seize him 
 and bear him down. 
 
 Fanning (rises): You are mine, James Pugh! 
 Soldier (to Fanning): Shall I shoot him, sir? 
 Fanning : No, he must hang, the damned rebel ! 
 Pugh (to Fanning) : You coward, why did you 
 
 not fight me single-handed? Your soldiers 
 
 overwhelmed me. 
 
Esther Wake 63 
 
 Fanning: Kush liim to the camp, men! The 
 Governor will be glad to see the leader of the 
 Kegulation. They will all swing. (They rush 
 off the prisoners.) 
 
 Fanning (remaining behind): What, Pearson, 
 you crying? 
 
 Pearson: You killed my son! you killed my 
 son! 
 
 Fanning : Damn him. If he is dead, there will 
 be one rebel less to swing. 
 
 Pearson (half rising): God help our country! 
 They have taken my child, my William — and 
 they will murder Pugh, the noblest of them 
 all ! — (He sinks dead on the body of his hoy.) 
 
 Scene 2. Interior of plantation home serving as 
 headquarters to Tryon. Ordinary rough table y 
 chairs, etc. 
 
 Fanning : Thus did I capture him, my lord. 
 
 Tryon : A splendid capture. Colonel. I am 
 grateful to you for your brave assistance. The 
 wretched rebels need a lesson. The time has 
 come to execute the men, who are condemned 
 to die. See to it at once, that they be hanged. 
 
 Fanning: Hanged, drawn, and quartered. 
 
 Tryon : There is, however, a change, a change 
 in numbers that occurred to me. To please 
 some, w^e will execute only six of the twelve. 
 To the others I will grant life, because of the 
 many appeals that have reached me. 
 
 Fanning : My lord, what becomes of justice if 
 you pardon these? Their crime was atrocious, 
 your mercy will be termed weakness, and soon 
 the rebellion will begin again. 
 
64 Esther Wake 
 
 Tryon: I have thought it all over, Colonel. 
 There is no danger in leniency. The rebels 
 have learned their lesson; we have crushed 
 them and scattered the Regulators to the four 
 winds. 
 
 Fanning: A strong example would bring the 
 men of Orange to submission for ever. What 
 will England say? 
 
 Tryon : Six silent men on the gallows will talk 
 
 loud enough to the whole colony. 
 Fanning: May I know their names? 
 Tryon : Here on the table lies the list. 
 Fanning (reads): Pugh, Howell, Messer — 
 
 Pugh was the soul of the rebellion. 
 
 Tryon : Therefore he heads the list of those 
 condemned to die. 
 
 Fanning: He has powerful friends, my lord, 
 who would like to see him live. Friends, who 
 forget that your fight is England's fight. Sir, 
 you are doing more than subduing a few farm- 
 er^) you are battling for the eternal principles 
 *of government. Shall Britain rule or shall 
 Britain bend to the whims and wishes of a 
 handful of her colonists? Pugh is not only 
 your foe, he is the foe of all England. If he 
 lives, there will be no end of rebellion. 
 
 Tryon : You are right, Colonel. He is guilty 
 of the blackest crime of all. He must die, who 
 rises in rebellion against the King. 
 
 Fanning : He bears you little love. He boasted 
 that his bullet grazed your temple. He re- 
 gretted that it did not find its aim. 
 
Esther Wake 65 
 
 Tryon : By jove, he came near bagging the 
 Great Wolf. I grant him a good sportsman. 
 
 Fanning : You are a fair foe, sir. 
 
 Tryon : Every Britisher admires fair sport. 
 
 Still, this young gunsmith has gone too far. 
 
 He led his companions into the rebellion; he 
 
 shall lead them to the gallows. 
 
 Fanning: I go to execute your orders, my 
 lord. I will prepare the execution at once, I 
 trust that you will be present. 
 
 Dick (enters^ Fanning stai/s) : Miss Esther, sir, 
 wishes to see you at once. She is all pale and 
 excited. She says she must see you at once. 
 
 Tryon : Tell the little girl that I am here. 
 Poor little heart, she sympathizes too much 
 with the rebels. 
 
 Fanning : She loves them but too well. She is 
 too generous. 
 
 Esther: Brother! brother! Mr. Fanning! 
 
 Fanning: Miss Wake. 
 
 Tryon (to Fanning) : See to it, sir, that you 
 march the prisoners at once to the place of exe- 
 cution. I will join you as they pass by this 
 house. 
 
 Fanning (saluting) : At your orders, sir. 
 
 Esther: Brother, you must not! You must 
 spare these men. 
 
 Tryon : Did you come all the way to tell me 
 this? 
 
 Esther: I rode day and night from Newbern, 
 to tell you that these men must not die. 
 5 
 
66 Esther Wake 
 
 Tryon: You tremble all over. Why are you 
 
 so excited? 
 Esther : You are too good, too kind, too noble, 
 
 to have them executed. 
 
 Tryon : My child, this is not a question of per- 
 sonal feeling. These men are not our personal 
 enemies only : they have risen in rebellion 
 against the King. They will set the whole 
 continent afire, if they be permitted to live. 
 Britain never forgives high treason. 
 
 Esther: No, brother, they fought because they 
 believed their cause was holy. They resented 
 oppression, they had lost confidence in the 
 Court — they thought that their redress lay in 
 the sword. 
 
 Tryon : And their conduct was execrable. They 
 were at war with the throne, with all England. 
 
 Esther: Brother, you have the power in your 
 hands, to make these men your friends forever. 
 Revenge forges brittle shackles of fear ; mercy, 
 golden chains of love. You must be merciful. 
 
 Tryon: I can not. 
 
 Esther: The greatest kings are they who wear 
 the robes of mercy. Theirs is the sword in 
 the roar of battle, the olive branch in the time 
 of peace. In the melee they fight; after the 
 fight they forgive. These men must live and 
 be your friends. 
 
 Tryon : You are a good girl, Esther ; unfortu- 
 nately your sentiment swa^^s your cooler mind. 
 You went to Hillsboro to prevent trouble, and 
 I did not oppose you. Did you infiuence the 
 rebels? 
 
Esther Wake 67 
 
 Esther: They granted life to your friend, Colo- 
 nel Fanning. 
 
 Tryon : He saved himself from the rabble. 
 
 Esther : And if the Court had done its duty ! 
 
 Tryon: Esther, Esther! you know not what 
 you are saying. You are slandering the Court. 
 England's judges have ever been her greatest 
 boast. 
 
 Esther : I plead in favor of a people ignorant, 
 misguided but intensely human. Love them 
 and in turn they will love you. 
 
 Tryon : I have partly granted your prayer. 
 Twelve were condemned to death. I have par- 
 doned six. The other six will be executed. 
 
 Esther: Six must die! 
 
 Tryon : Here is the list of those condemned to 
 death. 
 
 Esther (reads): James Pugh! Why did not 
 Colonel Fanning intercede for him? He saved 
 Mr. Fanning from a horrible death. 
 
 Tryon : Mr. Fanning does not allow his per- 
 sonal feelings to overrule his broad conception 
 of duty. 
 
 Esther : Mr. Pugh dragged me from the waters 
 of the Eno. He risked his life for me, the sis- 
 ter of the man, who signed his death warrant. 
 
 Tryon : For whom he reserved his best shots at 
 tlie battle of Alamance. 
 
 Esther: He is young, gallant, true, he misun- 
 derstood you. Let him live — 
 
 Tryon : He is proud and insolent, he shall die. 
 
 Esther: On my knees, dear brother! 
 
68 Esther Wake 
 
 Tryon : Do not beg, Esther, do not kneel — 
 
 England, England demands justice. 
 Esther: And Carolina, mercy. 
 
 Tryon (hesitating) : Perhaps that I might yield. 
 
 Would Pugh renounce his allegiance to the 
 
 Regulation? 
 Esther: Would you spare him? 
 Tryon : And submit on oath to the King? 
 Esther: He would. 
 Tryon : Then will I grant him life. 
 
 Fanning (entering ^ salutes): Sir, the prison- 
 ers are at the door. 
 
 Tryon : Esther desires a last interview with 
 the prisoner Pugh. Please defer to her wishes ; 
 bring in the prisoner and guard the outside. 
 (Exit,) 
 
 Esther: Mr. Fanning, help me save him. 
 
 Fanning: Have you interceded with your 
 brother? Why does not he save him? 
 
 Esther : His loyalty to England blinds him to 
 all mercy. He has granted me to speak to him. 
 Mr. Pugh must not die. 
 
 Fanning : The Governor and the wise men, who 
 surround him think otherwise. They have at 
 heart the interest of Britain and of the Col- 
 ony. They are not swayed by passion. 
 
 Esther: They are enemies of the Regulators 
 and their hatred is their mightiest counselor. 
 These men must live. 
 
 Fanning: Why should I intercede for them? 
 If I am their foe, they are mine. My house 
 torn down by their hands, my body stained 
 
Esther Wake 69 
 
 with the marks of their outrages, proclaim 
 them my bitter enemies. My soul still smarts 
 under all their insults and their injuries. They 
 are the men, who fought me cowardly, who 
 smote me. Their mouth vomited forth against 
 me their vilest calumnies. As to him — you 
 yourself have condemned him to death. 
 Esther silent. 
 
 Fanning: Do you still wear that diamond 
 ring? I placed it on your hand, the night of 
 of our betrothal. That ring is mine, your 
 heart is his — Why do you love him? 
 
 Esther : Because Love is the echo of the Word 
 that flung worlds into space. Who has con- 
 trolled it? Who has mapped out its bounda- 
 ries? It made the stars leap in their courses 
 and suns stand still in the deep gulfs of im- 
 mensity. Who shall stay that Word? Bar- 
 riers of Society? Custom? Rank? All these 
 are even as dust before its onward rushing. 
 Love is the the Supreme Fiat, eternally crea- 
 tive — It is a fire kindled by the hand of Him 
 who rules the human hearts. A fire that 
 flashes, melts, fuses souls into inseparable 
 oneness. The flames of Love are ever-burning ; 
 all the waters of the seas, all the oceans of the 
 heavens can — will never extinguish it. 
 
 Panning: Then, why did you tell me that you 
 love me? 
 
 Esther: There was I sorely mistaken. I took 
 esteem for love, admiration for affection. For- 
 give him and hold me guilty — in the greatness 
 of your soul, save him ! 
 
70 Esther Wake 
 
 Fanning (struggling with* himself) : Esther — 
 Esther — I will save him — if you will forget 
 him, and remember me — (she staggers) The 
 prisoner is waiting at the door. My instruc- 
 tions are to leave you with him. Speak to 
 him, ask him to leave this land forever, and he 
 shall live — (Exit.) 
 
 PuGH : My love, you here? 
 
 Esther: I have come to save you, James, you 
 must live. 
 
 PuGH : Esther ! 
 
 Esther : My brother grants you life, if you but 
 will it. And you must will it for your sake 
 and for mine. 
 
 PuGH (affected): I have prayed that I might 
 live for you and for my land. 
 
 Esther: Your life is in your hand, decide. 
 Live, James, my heart breaks when I see the 
 abyss at your feet — 
 
 Pugh: Did you beg him in the name of our 
 love? 
 
 Esther: I shall tell him, when you shall have 
 chosen life. You must swear allegiance to the 
 British Crown and forget the Kegulation. 
 Then will you be free. 
 
 Pugh : Forsake my country and be free? 
 
 Esther: Not be a traitor to your country, but 
 bury your arms and live in peace. 
 
 Pugh : And see the grip of the oppressor about 
 the throat of Carolina? Stand still in silence, 
 when Carolina calls? 
 
 Esther: Let others fight the fight: come with 
 me and leave this land. We shall go into the 
 
Esther Wake 71 
 
 wilderness. Your eye shall be the sun of my 
 
 existence, your smile shall light my path. 
 
 Come live for me — 
 PuGH : My love, my all ! I may not choose. 
 
 My clays with you would be an everlasting 
 
 spring, and still — 
 Esther : James, it must be ! 
 
 PuGH : Yonder men have fought and bled with 
 
 me: shall they be free? 
 Esther: He promised liberty to you. 
 PuGH : And death to them. 
 
 Esther: A word, a word of submission. We 
 shall go where the trout leaps in the placid 
 brook, where the rose mirrors her glory in 
 the stream. You shall not hear of England 
 again, and of the Regulators. You shall for- 
 get, forget — 
 
 PuGH : In the breeze at night, I shall hear the 
 sighs of Carolina. In the storm, her call to 
 arms. My soul will not forget: I would leave 
 your side, and be once more a rebel against 
 England. 
 
 Esther: We shall go where the foot of man 
 has never trampled the leaf of the forest, 
 where the deer shall lick our hand, and the 
 wolf gentler than man, shall sleep by our fire- 
 side. Forget, we shall forget! 
 
 PuGH : Forget the men, who were my daily 
 comrades in the task of peace? My faithful 
 followers in the clash of war? I should live, 
 and they should die? 
 
 Esther: I love you, James — live for me. 
 
72 Esther Wake 
 
 Pugh: Esther, I have played the game with 
 grim Old England, I have lost. I will pay the 
 price. You will remember me, when I shall 
 slumber in the shadow of the pines. My soul 
 shall come to you at evening-fall, and again we 
 shall be as one. I am happy, for the noblest, 
 the best of Carolina's women today has wept 
 for me. Come, let me die a man, I could not 
 live a faint heart — 
 
 (Drum is heard on the outside.) 
 
 Pugh: I hear the beating of the drum. The 
 hour has come — Farewell, my love — 
 
 Esther: James — my James — (In a supreme 
 moment of devotion^ they embrace.) 
 
 (Drum comes nearer. They release their 
 grasp. Tryon enters^ together with Fan- 
 ning, and a number of soldiers.) 
 
 Tryon (to Esther) : What has your rebel finally 
 decided? 
 
 Pugh : That men of Orange can live and fight, 
 can lose and die. 
 
 Esther : Brother, spare him ! 
 
 Fanning: For another rebellion, my Lord. 
 
 Tryon : Will you forsake the Regulation, swear 
 allegiance to the King, and lay down your 
 arms? 
 
 Pugh (firmly and calmly) : No ! 
 
 Tryon: You are proud, even at this solemn 
 hour. You are brave and I admire your cour- 
 age. England will not forgive, but that you 
 repent. 
 
 Pugh : Sir, I love the hills and the light that is 
 upon them. I have listened to the rush of the 
 
Esther Wake 73 
 
 rivers, the song of the pines, and I love their 
 music. They would hush their voices, and the 
 hills would hide their crests in darkness, should 
 their freeman-sons bow down before a master. 
 Son of England, we, too, are Saxons. We 
 have learned the law of liberty from the lips 
 of our fathers. They brought this law with 
 them from their Saxon homes, and their love 
 of freedom grew in the untrammeled forest, on 
 the unspoiled plains, under the expanse of our 
 wide heavens. On our necks there is no place 
 for the foot of the tyrant. Our Saxon hearts 
 know love, they do not know submission — 
 Your battle has but begun : unless you put 
 away from you your faithless counselors, un- 
 less you and England treat the Colonists as 
 freemen, not only Carolina, but the East and 
 the South will array itself in war against your 
 scarlet soldiers. Alamance prophesies your 
 defeat: the blood you shed is martyr blood, 
 from every drop will spring a race of men, un- 
 daunted and unconquered. The echoes of our 
 battle will be heard on all this Continent, the 
 groans of the dying Regulators will be a call 
 to arms to the young American race. You can 
 not grant me life; I can not accept. On these 
 shores this Young America and Old, Old Eng- 
 land can not live side by side — (He steps for- 
 ward to tohere Esther is standing.) Farewell, 
 Miss Wake — upon my heart there lies a red — 
 red rose — 
 Tryon : You have chosen, sir ; your blood is on 
 your head. 
 6 
 
74 Esther Wake 
 
 Fanning (to the soldiers ivhUst he draws his 
 sivord in command) : Forward! March! 
 (The soldiers step alongside of Pugh, then 
 turn about and march out. Fanning and 
 Tryon remain.) 
 
 Esther tries a step towards the window, 
 hut she staggers helplessly. Margaret 
 gently supports her. Finally Esther draws 
 away from her support and looks at the 
 Governor and Fanning, who seem to ob- 
 serve the execution from the window. 
 
 Esther : Brother, you have won ! England has 
 won! What a wretched victory! God help 
 my native land, God help my Carolina. And 
 he — his silent lips are calling, calling, and 
 America will hear — I die with him — I loved 
 him well, his heart was mine, and mine was 
 his. I leave your court forever, where Jus- 
 tice never met her sister Mercy — (She takes 
 her ring from her finger.) Mr. Fanning, here 
 is your ring, the token of a love that never 
 shall be. Esther Wake shall never be your 
 bride. (She drops the ring on the floor.) 
 Some day the sons of Carolina will tell of him, 
 whom my heart adores; they will weave his 
 name with mine in song undying, for he is 
 great, who on the altars of his country, gladly 
 offered love, and life and all. 
 The End. 
 
 Smithfield, N. C, 23 April, 1913. 
 
IN 27 1913