On its white pebbles break, And the vast desert, silent, sand-invested, These kingdoms all are mine, and thine shall be, If thou wilt worship me! CHRISTUS. Get thee behind me, Satan! thou shalt worship The Lord thy God; Him only shalt thou serve! ANGELS MINISTRANT. The sun goes down; the evening shadows lengthen, The fever and the struggle of the day Abate and pass away; Thine Angels Ministrant, we come to strengthen And comfort thee, and crown thee with the palm, The silence and the calm. III. THE MARRIAGE IN CANA. THE MUSICIANS. Rise up, my love, my fair one, The flowers appear on the earth, The time of the singing of birds is come, How serene And the voice of the turtle is heard His aspect is! manly yet womanly. in our land. As if he were Elias, the White Witness, To do with thee? Mine hour is not yet Come from his cave on Carmel to fore tell The end of all things? PARANYMPHUS. That is Manahem come. MARY to the servants. Whatever he shall say to you, that do. CHRISTUS. The Essenian, he who dwells among Fill up these pots with water. the palms Near the Dead Sea. ARCHITRICLINUS. He who foretold to Herod He should one day be King? PARANYMPHUS. The same. ARCHITRICLINUS. Then why THE MUSICIANS. Come, my beloved, Let us go forth into the field, Let us get up early to the vineyards, CHRISTUS. Draw out now Doth he come here to sadden with his And bear unto the Ruler of the Feast. presence Our marriage feast, belonging to a sect wine? The Ruler of the Feast is gazing at me, Why art thou here? I see as in a vision I see a cross uplifted in the darkness, ARCHITRICLINUS. things that are, and that hereafter shall be, The things that might have been, and yet were not, The fading twilight of great joys departed, The daybreak of great truths as yet un risen, Give us more wine. These goblets are The intuition and the expectation And all they that were with him? How he entered Unto the poor; to heal the brokenhearted; To comfort those that mourn, and to throw open The prison doors of captives, and pro claim The Year Acceptable of the Lord, our God! He closes the book and sits down. A PHARISEE. Into the house of God, and ate the shew- Who is this youth? He hath taken the bread, Teacher's seat! Will he instruct the Elders? |