^^ '^<^ •.^^•° /\ "°'W^-' **'% -.nr/ /\ ^/V .Ho^ ; - ^^ / ^I&A^o U ^^ *^^ L^^r 'CpV >^^. - ^ 5."^*> . :Cl°^ . ;♦ oT -bv^ '; >^^^. '. ^o.^-^- •^^-^'^ -ov^'' «' '^^.^^ /% A-:^. ,0- • '^^^'i-' ■ €.»"«.<* ;* Arith Mons. Jervois, whom I detest! Now Mons. Martin is head over ears in love with her. Well, I am trying to help him in his suit. Julie. Yes, but what has this to do with the affair betw^een my brother and Mons. Martin? Gil. Don't you understand? Why, Mons. Jaques is desperately jealous of Mons. Martin Julie. Well I'll smooth brother Jaques' ruffled feathers while you pacify your future brother-in-law. These men bluster and look fierce and growl, but we women manage them without their know^ing it, (they talk in action.) Mart, (aside to Jean R. C). You must make all arrangements with Mons. Brissac's friend. Ceil! This is a nuisance. We shall have to postpone our trip to Pountainbleau till the day after to- morrow. Jean. Henri, how^ did you get yourself into this affair? Mart. Oh, I was getting out of practice. My wrist was getting stiff, and Mons de Brissac is a splendid fencer, you know. Oh, you will see some fine sword play. It will be a brilliant affair, (Jerv. and Yvette go up in window. ) Jean Excuse me Henri, (goes to Helene. ) Mart, (by book case, glares after Jerv. and Yvette). I believe that oily devil has hypnotized Yvette. I can't get a word out of her. I wish he was back in Thibet ! Helene. You left Italy so abruptly, Mons. Jean, that I feared we should never meet again, Jean. Not my fault, Mile I was called to Paris by a trouble of which I have never spoken to you. Helene (kindly). Mons. Jean a trouble is halved when shared with a true friend. i 8 Jean. I should have told you all. I know it was not honorable. But I could not find the courage. Helene. Well, my friend, I listen. Jean. *Tis this: When scarcely more than a boy, I was unfortu- nately married to a beautiful, but fickle and vicious woman. — the Marchoness Celeste Auvray. It was not a marriage of love, but one arranged by our parents and resulted as might have been expected. She was unfaithful to me and we parted. Helene. My poor, poor friend. But there, go on. Jean. That was ten years ago. Although m^ heart escaped, my honor was wounded. I could never discover my wronger and so wipe out the stain. Out of respect to her family, I never sought a divorce till I met you. It was to attend to the final details of that divorce that I left Italy so suddenly Now you know all. Helene. Indeed, indeed, Mon Ami I Your life has had its sor- rows (They converse silently ) YvETTE (as Jerv. starts and turns from window). Claude! Why did that woman, in the street yonder, glare at you so, and why did you start and turn away? Do you know her? .Jerv. (back to window) No, Yvette That is— well—. I will tell you, but do not let it worry you. The other day she mistook me for some one she had known. She is insane, I think, which makes my resemblance to this unknown somebody most unfortunate. YvETTE. How annoying. Don't let her see you. I will watch from here (he stands out front of alcove, in room). Jerv. (aside, back of Jean). Celeste! And he here. too. A strange coincidence. Helene. We missed you and hoped and waited to hear from you. Jean. I though it but honorable to remain silent till I was free. But now, at your coming, the sunshine of the Riviera beams on our darker North. Helene (smiling). Ah, Mon Ami, you should have been a Trou- badour of the age of Romance. Jean. And why not now, with such an inspiration? Since, in this later, colder age, the Queen of Love and Beauty is re-incarnated? Helene (pained). Dear friend, do not speak in a jesting mood of anything so sacred as incarnation. I am a believer in Bramah, you know, Jean Oh, pardon me if my words cause you pain I would de- vote my life to shielding you from pain Helene Ah, your old favorite theme, Mons. Jean Jean (impassioned). Pardon me, Helene! I cannot help it. I love you! (she tries to stop him) I know you think me a fortune hunter. I am not! 9 Helene. No. Monsieur, I do not think that, but — .fEAN I know nothing- of your fortunes, nor do I care to know I am wealthy — of the bluest blood of France, descended from the proud Dukes of Anjau. I am no adventurer. I love you I Helene (gravely but tenderly rising) Jean, my dear, g-ood friend. Listen, perhaps some day I may let you tell me this. I prom- ise you, at least, that no other man shall find me a willing- listener — Jean. But why not now. Helene? Helene. I have a sacred mission, — a vow inwoven with the very fibers of our ancient faith. When that vow is fulfilled I will come to you and say: Jean, I can listen now (gives him her hand ) Jean (kisses her hand). My Empress Helene I With such a hope could I not wait? HELE>fE. Till then, you shall be my good brother. Jean. My ang-ell (all laugh.) Julie (approaching L) •'Angel?" (Mart approaching R ) Helene (laughing looks at Mart) No, Julie. I am quite the re- verse. I'm '*Mlle. Satan." Mart. ( with mock horror) . Mercy, judge, mercy! Don't punish my crime by remembering it. Forgive me for comparing you to 'Old Nick." Helene. No, I like the ''Nick'* name, (all laugh. Gil crosses to Mart , Helene and Jean and Julie talking L ) Mart, (points toward window). See there, he draws her after him like a magnet Gilbert, can she be in love with that— that bilious graven image of the great First Napoleon? Gil. I can't understand it, Mons. Henri. When she is near him she seems strangely drawn to him: but. when she is away from him, the spell seems broken. Mart. Then I wish he'd go away to the North Star, and stay away a thousand years or so, till I could get a fair start with Yvette! Julie (seated below Helene L). My dear Helene, your letter was a, glad surprise. When we left, you told me you expected to remain in Italy. Helene (gravely). It was not your gay capitol, nor — I will be frank — nor even the pleasure of seeing you again: but my sacred mis- sion. You two are my dearest friends, and I will tell you, in confi- dence, the sign of our Great Master pointed me hither. Julie. The sign of your Great Master? I do not understand. Helene. dear I Ceil I You are not a Nihilist? Helene (laughs, then more gravely). Me? No, Ma Chere. What an ideal I mean Brahma, the Divine Master of our holy faith of India. 10 Jean (standing- L of Helene's chair). But how could that bring you hither? Helene. I will tell you. I have a sacred and sworn duty— a mis- sion that dominates my very existence. Till that is accomplished, it must be the one object, aim and purpose of my life. There, don't look so troubled and frightened. It has no political significance: but is solely connected with our ancient faith. Jean. Still, you have not answered our question. Helene. I will tell you both, trusting to your love. Julie and Jean. There, sister, you know the secret of my heart, (puts her hands in theirs) trusting that you will not breathe w^hat I am about to tell you to a living soul. The great Mahatmahs of India, the Holy Ones, bade us go to Italy. While there, the sign appeared to us. and we were bidden to come here; and I have a strange presentiment that here, in Paris, our mission will end. Then, my holy vow fulfilled, I shall be free (sees Mart C). Hush I Mart, (approaching with Gil). You two are monopolizing the honored guest of the occasion. I want to redeem myself for my rude- ness to the Duchess. Helene (rising). No. Monsieur, not Duchess while in Paris. I have accepted your christening and am "'M'lle Satan.'" Call me any- thing else and I withdraw my pardon. Mart, (bowing). Oh, if his naughty Majesty were half as charm- ing, I fear there would be no saints left shortly I Gil. OhI He has said something complimentary. I fear he is going insane, (all laugh). (Aside to him) I'll go and spoil that tate- tate for you (she joins Yvette and Jerv. at window.) Mart, (as Jaq. and Maj. re-enter D. L. 2). Has our wild-eyed poet here sung you a ballad to your glove-buttons yet? Since his re- turn from Italy, he has done nothing but sing your praises. Helene (smiling, going to seat C). 'Twas ever thus. The jester mocks the Troubadour (sitsC.) Mart. (R. C). Oh, these poets I I knew one once, an honest, out- at-elbows fellow. The odes he made he sold for gold, and what he ow^ed he paid. Julie. Silence, vandal! Cease annoying your friend. Mart. Oh, the thread-bare poet was not Jean. THAT poor fel- low HAD to write poetry for BREAD. HE was PARDONABLE. But Jean has no such excuse. Think of a poet with a title and a coat of arms (bombastic.) "An Eagle sable surmounted by a Lion ord!" Helene (starts to her feet excited). HeavensI A lionl An eaglel (all up. ) Julie (down L). Helene, dear, what is it? (all show alarm.) Jean. (L of her, starts to her). Are vou ill?. 11 Helene (puts up her hand). Oh, don't heed it! *Tis nothing-. (Aside) Heavens I It cannot be I Julie (crosses up to her L). Are you ill? Are you faint, Helene? Helene (controlling herself). There, only a passing faintness. The journey — the fatigue. Mart. What have I done? Have I offended you? Helene. No, no, ray friend. It is over now (closes eyes.) Ah- deeb, come to me. .Julie. Ahdeeb? Helene. Yes. I have called him. Can I see him alone, when he comes. Julie. Yes, dear. Have you sent for him? Helene. I have called him. If he were in another country he would hear my summons and come to me. This seems strange to you; but we who know the mysteries of the East think nothing of it. Jekv. (down R). Yes. I know. The telepathy of India. Do you believe this? Helene. You have lived in India. Can you doubt it? .Terv. I simply doubt it until I know. What proofs have you? Helene. Our own experience. What proofs have you that the electric telegraph is not a myth? Yet we, of the Inner Mysteries, com- municate as easily, and through the agency of mind alone. But you shall see. Maj. (L. by Jaques). WhatI You mean to say — Great ScottI I pass. I beg your pardon, ma'am. But that beats Yankee ingenuity all holler. Jerv. (smiles sarcastically). Well. I'm open to conviction when I see the proofs. Helene. You shall have the proofs, Mons. Jervois, (closes her eyes.) Ahdeeb, you shall name these guests of Mme. de Tourney,) opens eyes to Jerv.) Will that convince you, Mons. le Marquis? Jerv Most certainly, your Grace. Servant (at door L. F). Mons. Ahdeeb Dahnmoot, secretary of the Duchess Torgoffski. Ahdeeb (in door way, to Helene, all surprised). My queen, you called me (kisses her hand and puts it to heart and brow.) YVETTE (aside to Gil. R. C). Wonderful! Gil (aside to her). I'm half afraid. Ahd. (bows to them, crosses R. C). Mile. Mourant, you and your sister, Gilbert, have no cause for fear. Ah, Marquis Claude Jervois, you have lived in India, and yet doubt. Are you yet con- vinced? Jerv. (annoyed, bows). Yes. Mons. Ahdeeb. Pardon my skep- ticism. 12 Ahdeeb. I forgive your lack of faith fturns and sees Mart). Ah. Mons. Henri Martin, your servant (shalces hands.) Mart, (amazed). Mons. Ahdeebl (Ahd. crosses L. C.) This is wonderful. Maj. (L. by Jaques), Well, that beats my time (gives hand.) How are you. Mr. Ahdeeb. Ahd. Ah, Major Sapp, (turns L. and meets Jaq.) and Mons. de Brissac, too? Messrs. this is a pleasure! Jaques (shaking- hands). Welcome to Paris, Mons. Ahbeeb. Ahd. (to Mme. de T., R. of Jaq). Your pardon Mme. de Tourney, I come an unbidden guest. Mme. Julie (giving hand). But none the less welcome. An un- expected blessing is a most agreeable surprise. Ahd. (kisses her hand). Ah, Madame, yours is the true courtesy; the courtesy of kindness, not of form (to Jean. ) Mons Flaroque (give hand). Jean. I am glad that the Duchess and yourself have paid us a visit. Ahd. Thanks, Monsieur (going up L. O. to Helene). T await your bidding (up L.) (Bugle call heard in street, off R. U.) Gil. (at window). Oh, lookl lookl Here come the Hussars, and with them the General. The hero of the hour I Quickl Everybody I (Yvette, Jerv., Mart., Maj., and Jaques go the window.) Julie (crossing R). Come, you must see our latest Parisian lion I Helene (hurriedly). No! Go, Julie, and take him, (Jean) with you. I must speak to Ahdeeb alone. Julie (to Jean). Come. Mosieur. They will join us presently (they join group at window.) Ahd. (coming down L. of Helene). My Queen, your servant waits. Why did you call me. Helene (excited). Ahdeeb. the spirit of your murdered father came to you and told you that w^hen we had found the Accursed One we should know it by a sign. What was that sign? Ahd. (reverently). "He who hath done the deed of darkness and of blood, shall be found when the golden lion and the black eagle shall meetl"' Helene ( staggers and clutches at him for support. He supports her). Ah! Ahd. (surprised). What is the matter? Helene (trembling). Ahdeeb. the lion and the eagle have met. Ahd. When?— Where? Helene (in agony). Oh, Heavens I Must I do this? Can I tell him? Ahd. (firmly). I am your slave: but. mark me. I charge you I I 13 Remember your awful oath I Helene (offers to kneel at his feet). Oh, Ahdeeb, spare me! Ahd. (raising- her). Oh, if I could! But would the Divine Trinity spare us if we were perjured and foresworn? WHO IS THE MAN? Helene (faintly, in despair). Jean Flaroque. Ahd. (astonished, then in deep sympathy). What? Oh my poor, poor lady. Helene (looks up with looks of helpless agony). Ahdeeb! Ahd. Oh, my Queen, I suffer in your pain. I know all: you love him. Helene (half wildly ). Love him, Ahdeeb? Oh, Heaven! I — Ahd. There is a gulf of blood between you that you may not cross. But, stay. How do you know this? You may be wrong. Helene. On his coat of arms are the golden lion and the black eagle. Ahd. (firmly). He is the man! Helene (in despair). No hope! No hope! Ahd. No, Lady. The dread prophesy is fulfilled. This is the beginning of the end. Let us go. Helene (starts up fiercely). No, I will see! I will know if it is he. Ahd. Hush! What would you do? Control yourself. (Seats her on sofa up C. Others come down from window. Jaques and Maj. cross down L., also Jean down extreme L. Julie back of Helene and Yvette, and Gil R. of her. Mart. R near book case, or near sofa R. Jerv. down R., Ahd. back of Helene and little to her L. ) (N. B. — This scena between Helene and Ahd. must be intense, but at the same time show that they are not letting the company see anything to at- ract attention. It is as if ''ASIDE.") Gil. Oh, you missed it all! It was a splendid sight, too! Mart. How the sight of a bit of gold lace will dazzle the eyes of a young demoselle (all laugh.) Gil. Oh, hear! The oracle hath spoken! Why, you overgrown child you. Girls are not so easily dazzled as you think. Infant! (all laugh. ) Mart. Why, girls are like young robins, who open their mouths and shut their eyes and swallow anything, from a sugar plum to a tack ( all laugh. ) Gil. Oh, slanderer! Magpie! Helene (composedly ). Ahdeeb and I were so occupied with im- portant business that we missed one of the sights of your grand Paris. I love the sight of soldiers. My ancestors were soldiers, and my early childhood in India was passed among the garrisons. Jaq. What, among the English officers? Ah. grand fellows, they i u are. too. One in particular was a dear friend of mine. Col. Sir George Paget. (.Jean shows no emotion, but Jerv. unnoticed by any- one, starts.) Helene (half rising). Ah. Ahd (touches her shoulder, as if by accident). Take care. Jaq. Poor fellow, he fell in the Sepoy rebellion. Helene (fiercely, rising). No, he was murdered. (All surprised, .Jerv. uneasy.) Jaq. Murdered? Did you know him? Helene Yes, he — (Ahd. touches hand or warns her.) He was a friend of my mother's family. Jaq. And you say he was murdered. By whom? A Hindoo? Helen (watching Jean, who is unmoved). He and his friend and companion, a Hindoo of high caste, one of the highest and holiest of the Brahmins, Rahm Dlee, were murdered — foully murdered— byj.a white man who was robbing a hoh' shrine. Jerv, (greatly excited). How do you know this? (Ahd. watching both Jean and Jerv. now. i Helene. I know it. Tnat is all I may tell you now. This rob- ber, surprised in his crime, strangled Col Paget with the cord of Kali, and afterwards stabbed Rahm Dlee. who had come to his friend's rescue. Jaq. But was this wretch never caught? Helene. No, Monsieur. He escaped, unexpected, at the time: but the end was not yet. A fate more awful than any human justice shall overtake him at the last. .Jerv. (intense, supreme excitement). What fate can overtake him after all these years, and in another land? Ahd. (with prophetic power). You would know the fearful doom that waits him who has slain a holy one and desecrated our sacred shrines? He shall live in fear and horror, haunted by his crime: and at the beginning of the end the sign of Siva, the destroyer, shall ap- pear to him in fire, and from that hour shall drive him to madness and tc» death. Jerv. (desperately). Bah I I laugh at your myths and fables of the East. Your cheating, priest-craft tricks to terrify — (sees sign of Siva appear over D. L F.) Ahl (stands appalled. Ahd. follows his gaze, sees sign.) Ahd. The sign of Siva I (kneels low to it. Jerv. gives gurgling- cry and falls on face, C. toward sign.) HELEN'S (standing over him triumphant, points to sign). Behold the beginning of the end I (PICTURE. CURTAIN.). GOORLAH OR SERVANT RING CURTAIN. 15 ACT II. SCENTE 1. — Handsome Hindoo interior prop, with scrim C. for vision in 2. Stand with deep cloth to floor, trick rise behind and large Indian urn on it L. of scrim and against or near drop for entrance of Rahm. Trick opening in drop for same back of scrim, in 3 tab drop to represent interior of temple of the Brahmins, with stone Aving R. for Jerv. to hide behind. Chair R. of scrim near Tor, wing, for Helene. 16 bars Grand Indian March from opera of L'Africane (somber music). GoORLAH (discovered looking off L. 1). Oh, my beautiful I My gazelle I Will you never smile again? Why has the light gone from your beautiful eyes, my queen, heart of my life? I know, my fawn, you loved him. You loved him I Aye, as the lotus of our own far-off India loves the kiss of the bright sun and turns its glad face toward its smile. Savitra! why did you drive him from you? To him your sigh was like the breath of jassamine. Your voice like the "Bul-bul's" song. Vishnu keep thee, pearl of my heart I Ahdeeb (entering R. 1). What ails thee, Goorlah? GooRLAH (kneels to himj. Great Master of the Holy Secrets. Ahd. Rise Goorlah (she obeys). Tell me, what has happened? Goorlah. Oh, my queen! Our lady ! It is for her I moan. Oh, Ahdeeb Dahnmootl You are wise. Tell me, my master, why are her eyes dim? Why is her heart sad? She drove him from her, and then her heart scood still. Ahd. (much moved. ) Oh, Vishnu shield her from this pain. Does she still grieve in silence? Has she eaten? Has she slept? Goorlah. No food, no rest. Nothing but tearless silence, as she walks the floor, so troubled that I tremble for her reason and her life. Ahd. Tell her a brother's heart aches for a sister's pain. Say that I wait in patience till she comes to me. Goorlah (going L.) I go, master, ff she will but talk to you, 'twill do her good. I know it! (Exit L.) Ahd. What a strange thing is life. How the lines of joy and sorrow cross and tangle. How love and hate twine like strands into one cord of life. My queen, this pain that wraps you, twines like a python round my heart, crushing it in its folds. I have been your pro- tector, your companion, your brother in our holy mysteries. Our hearts have always spoken to each other, even when far apart. Why should not my heart bleed with yours now? (Helene enters L. 1, in silence. He kneels.) My Empress! Why do you grieve so? Helene. Oh. Ahdeeb? Why did Karmah plant love here, where 16 it should have planted hate? Why has Heaven doomed me to love hhn whom I have sworn to destroy? Ahd. No, you but follow the Divine commands. Siva will de- stroy (seats her R. ) Selene. I see no difference in the treacherous hand tnat leads the victim to his fate and the cruel hand that slays. Ahd. (raises hand). Hush I Great Siva is not cruel. He is just. Think of the awful crime. Helene. 1 can think of naug-ht but him. Tell me. Ahdeeb. what proofs you have that a white man did this? Ahd. The temple had been robbed. No Hindoo would have dared do that. Next, your father was strangled w^ith the cord of Kali, as the thugs of India kill their victims, but it was not the skilled hand of a thug that threw that cord. 'Twas badly thrown, and the assassin seized his victim's throat with his hands, and left on it the coloring he had used to make his skin dark, like my race. And then the knife with which he killed the Holy Rahm Dlee, was not made in India, but in Europe. The wretch who did that crime was from France. Helene. How could you know that? Ahd. The thug's cord is weighted at the end with a bronze head of Kali, their Goddess of murder. The cord he used did not have that head, but a paper weight, made of cannon bronze and shaped like the hat of the great French conqueror. Napoleon, and bore the words, ''D'Austerlitz.'' The dagger with which he killed Rahm Dlee broke off, leaving the blade in my father's breast; and the murderer threw down the useless handle. Here it is (shows it.) See, on it the French eagle, grasping the thunderbolt. Helene. True, true I The eagle 1 That reminds me. Tell me of the prophesy of the lion and the eagle. Ahd. Nine years after that crime|was done, a trinity of trinities of years, my father's spirit came to me and told me he had been mur- dered, and that when the black eagle and the golden lion shall meet, the accursed one will have been found. They have met Helene. Jean, Jean, would I could save youl Is there no hope? Oh, Ahdeeb, might it not be Jervois alone? Ahd. No, it is in the other that the prophesy is complete. But Jervois' terror shows he too is guilty. Helene. But Jean Flaroque! Oh Ahdeeb, I love him so. Oh, friend, brother, spare me (kneeling to him. ) Do not make me the in- strument of Siva's vengeance. Ahd. It is not I, but Heaven that has given you this sacred mis- sion. I, like you, am but its humble instrument. Helene. But, oh, Ahdeeb, the cruelty of it To make me the ruin of the heart that loves me and that I love. A woman's holv love is i 17 her life, her hope, her heaven, her all. I cannot! I cannot I Ahd. Remember your sacred vow. This is no holy love that comes between you and your solemn oath, — that rises as a shield be- tween the justice of Heaven and the cowering- wretch whose hands are red with the blood of your own father. Helene, Ahdeeb, with all your wisdom do you not know in all the universe there's no philosophy profound enoug-h to sound the deep mystery of a woman's heart? Ahd. And it is deeper than the Eternal Truth. Heaven's justice on the guilty is the divine mercy that protects the innocent and marks the line between the right and wrong. Against this misguided love I set your awful oath, our holy faith, the life of him from whom your own life sprung. All that is summed in that most sacred w^ord: duty. Helene (starts up). Ahdeeb DahmootI Have you one reason of your own to hate this man"? Have I been wrong in giving you a sister's love? Ahd. (jjained, but dignified, folded arms). What I Can you doubt me, lady? I read between your words. Did I not i-ejoice that your heart had found a joy in his love, and was I not his friend till I learned the awful truth? Lady, you have wronged a brother's love. How gladly would I give my life to make him, whom you love, inno- cent of that awful sin I Cut when my holy task is ended, you will see me no more. I will go back to our sacred shrines in the bright land of the Lotus — H'^LENB (deeply moved). Oh, Ahdeeb! Playmate of my child- hood, my guide and my protector. Do not leave me ! Friend and brother as you have always been, forgive my cruel, angry words I Ahd. (kindly but sadly takes her hands in his.) You could not so wrong me, sister, but that it forgiven ere it is done. I am not angry. You are, as Brahma created you. a woman with a woman's one weak- ness : her heart. Helene (still clinging to his hand). You pardon me. Brother Ahdeeb 1 And you will not leave me? Ahd. (sad but firm. ) I am a Brahmin! My life belongs to our Holy Faith, and I must go. It is the call of duty. But you shall not be alone, my sister. If our lives are worthy, at your call, though oceans divide us, Aye, though we dwelt apart in different stars, Ah- deeb Dahnmoot would stand before you, as of old. Hblrne. But I shall miss you so! You who were always near me. But tell me ! Is there no way that we may know, beyond all doubt, if it were he ? Ahd. Yes, lady ! That is why I sent to ask this interview. .Just twenty-seven years ago tonight that crime was done. Tonight, then, is the mystic number of the Divine Three, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva. i 18 It is thrice a trinity of trinities of years. Tonig-ht I may call the spirit of my father, the holy Rahm Dlee. He will show me the vision of the awful deed, wherein the astral bodies of those three shall live over that fatal scene. I shall see the face of him who did this thing. Leave me now. I alone may look upon this sight. If there is hope — if I may know that it was not he — I will come to you. Helene (takes his hand). Oh, Ahdeeb I Brother! Friend! I feel my hopes are yours. Heaven grant they may be true ! Ahd. (holds her hands to his breast, then to his brow). I hope so too, for your dear sake, my Empress Helene. (She exits L. 1). Poor girl I Poor child ! She was my little play-fellow. For the first time in all my life, I tremble to draw back the curtains of the Sacred Mysteries, and to unveil the past. Tremble, not for myself, but for thy aching heart, Helene. Oh, Vishnu I If she cannot be spared this suffering — if it is the bitter truth — give her the strength to bear it and stand firm in our ancient, holy faith. (Takes phial from his breast, pours it on contents of jar. white smoke, dense, rises.) Hear- me. oh Brahma ! Hear me. oh Vishnu ! Hear me, oh Siva ! For the fulfill- ment of your dread commands. I pray open the gates of silence, that my father, the holy Rahm Dlee, may come forth, and make Ahdeeb Dahnmoot thy servant, wise to do your awful bidding. Father I Rahm Dlee I Thy son calls to thee I From the Silence, the Darkness and the Mystery of Death and Sleep, come forth. (Stage has darkened gradually. Rahm Dlee rises out of the smoke of the urn. Ahd. pros- trates himself before him.) Rahm Dlee. Ahdeeb Dahnmoot, thy life is pure and holy in our holy faith. Thy voice has reached me in Xervanna. What would you ask of me. my son? Ahd. Holy Rahm Dlee, thy son would see that dark page of the past, that he may know the one accurst of the Great Trinity of India. Rahm Dlee. Wat