House of Rimmon, The - Act 3
ACT III
Time : A month later: dawn
S CENE I
R UAHMAH :
Peace and good health to you, Saballidin,
Good morrow to you all. How fares my lord?
S ABALLIDIN :
The curtains of his tent are folded still:
They have not moved since we returned, last night,
And told him what befell us in the city.
R UAHMAH :
Told him! Why did you make report to him
And not to me? Am I not captain here,
Intrusted by the King's command with care
Of Naaman until he is restored?
'Tis mine to know the first of good or ill
In this adventure: mine to shield his heart
From every arrow of adversity.
What have you told him? Speak!
S ABALLIDIN :
Lady, we feared
To bring our news to you. For when the King
Of Israel had read our monarch's letter,
He rent his clothes, and cried, " Am I a god,
To kill and make alive, that I should heal
A leper? Ye have come with false pretence,
Damascus seeks a quarrel with me. Go! "
But when we told our lord, he closed his tent,
And there remains enfolded in his grief.
I trust he sleeps; 'twere kind to let him sleep!
For now he doth forget his misery,
And all the burden of his hopeless woe
Is lifted from him by the gentle hand
Of slumber. Oh, to those bereft of hope
Sleep is the only blessing left, — the last
Asylum of the weary, the one sign
Of pity from impenetrable heaven.
Waking is strife; sleep is the truce of God!
Ah, lady, wake him not. The day will be
Full long for him to suffer, and for us
To turn our disappointed faces home
On the long road by which we must return.
R UAHMAH :
Return! Who gave you that command? Not I!
The King made me the leader of this quest,
And bound you all to follow me, because
He knew I never would return without
The thing for which he sent us. I'll go on
Day after day, unto the uttermost parts
Of earth, if need be, and beyond the gates
Of morning, till I find that which I seek, —
New life for Naaman. Are ye ashamed
To have a woman lead you? Then go back
And tell the King, " This huntress went too far
For us to follow: she pursues the trail
Of hope alone, refusing to forsake
The quarry: we grew weary of the chase;
And so we left her and retraced our steps,
Like faithless hounds, to sleep beside the fire. "
Did Naaman forsake his soldiers thus
When you went forth to hunt the Assyrian Bull?
Your manly courage is less durable
Than woman's love, it seems. Go, if you will, —
Who bids me now farewell?
S OLDIERS :
Not I, not I!
S ABALLIDIN :
Lady, lead on, we'll follow you forever!
R UAHMAH :
Why, now you speak like men! Brought you no word
Out of Samaria, except that cry
Of impotence and fear from Israel's King?
S ABALLIDIN :
I do remember while he spoke with us
A rustic messenger came in, and cried
" Elisha saith, bring Naaman to me
At Dothan, he shall surely know there is
A God in Israel. "
R UAHMAH :
What said the King?
S ABALLIDIN :
He only shouted " Go! " more wildly yet,
And rent his clothes again, as if he were
Half-maddened by a coward's fear, and thought
Only of how he might be rid of us.
What comfort could there be for him, what hope
For us, in the rude prophet's misty word?
R UAHMAH :
It is the very word for which I prayed!
My trust was not in princes; for the crown,
The sceptre, and the purple robe are not
Significant of vital power. The man
Who saves his brother-men is he who lives
His life with Nature, takes deep hold on truth,
And trusts in God. A prophet's word is more
Than all the kings on earth can speak. How far
Is Dothan?
S OLDIER :
Lady, 'tis but three hours' ride
Along the valley southward.
R UAHMAH :
Near! so near?
I had not thought to end my task so soon!
Prepare yourselves with speed to take the road.
I will awake my lord.
S ABALLIDIN :
Ruahmah, stay!
I've been your servant in this doubtful quest,
Obedient, faithful, loyal to your will, —
What have I earned by this?
R UAHMAH :
The gratitude
Of him we both desire to serve: your friend, —
My master and my lord.
S ABALLIDIN :
No more than this?
R UAHMAH :
Yes, if you will, take all the thanks my hands
Can hold, my lips can speak.
S ABALLIDIN :
I would have more.
R UAHMAH :
My friend, there's nothing more to give to you.
My service to my lord is absolute.
There's not a drop of blood within my veins
But quickens at the very thought of him;
And not a dream of mine but he doth stand.
Within its heart and make it bright. No man
To me is other than his friend or foe.
You are his friend, and I believe you true!
S ABALLIDIN :
I have been true to him, — now, I am true
To you.
R UAHMAH :
Why, then, be doubly true to him.
O let us match our loyalties, and strive
Between us who shall win the higher crown!
Men boast them of a friendship stronger far
Than love of woman. Prove it! I'll not boast,
But I'll contend with you on equal terms
In this brave race: and if you win the prize
I'll hold you next to him: and if I win
He'll hold you next to me; and either way
We'll not be far apart. Do you accept
My challenge?
S ABALLIDIN :
Yes! For you enforce my heart
By honour to resign its great desire,
And love itself to offer sacrifice
Of all disloyal dreams on its own altar.
Yet love remains; therefore I pray you, think.
How surely you must lose in our contention.
For I am known to Naaman: but you
He blindly takes for Tsarpi. 'Tis to her
He gives his gratitude: the praise you win
Endears her name.
R UAHMAH :
Her name? Why, what is that?
A name is but an empty shell, a mask
That does not change the features of the face
Beneath it. Can a name rejoice, or weep,
Or hope? Can it be moved by tenderness
To daily services of love, or feel the warmth
Of dear companionship? How many things
We call by names that have no meaning! Kings
That cannot rule; and gods that are not good;
And wives that do not love! It matters not
What syllables he utters when he calls,
'Tis I who come, — 'tis I who minister
Unto my lord, and mine the living heart
That feels the comfort of his confidence,
The thrill of gladness when he speaks to me, —
I do not hear the name!
S ABALLIDIN :
And yet, be sure
There's danger in this error, — and no gain!
R UAHMAH :
I seek no gain: I only tread the path
Marked for me daily by the hand of love.
And if his blindness spared my lord one pang
Of sorrow in his black, forsaken hour, —
And if this error makes his burdened heart
More quiet, and his shadowed way less dark,
Whom do I rob? Not her who chose to stay
At ease in Rimmon's House! Surely not him!
Only myself! And that enriches me.
Why trouble we the master? Let it go, —
To-morrow he must know the truth, — and then
He shall dispose of me e'en as he will!
S ABALLIDIN :
To-morrow?
R UAHMAH :
Yes, for I will tarry here,
While you conduct him to Elisha's house
To find the promised healing. I forebode
A sudden danger from the craven King
Of Israel, or else a secret ambush
From those who hate us in Damascus. Go,
But leave me twenty men: this mountain-pass
Protects the road behind you. Make my lord
Obey the prophet's word, whatever he commands,
And come again in peace. Farewel!
S ONG
Above the edge of dark appear the lances of the sun;
Along the mountain-ridges clear his rosy heralds run;
The vapours down the valley go
Like broken armies, dark and low.
Look up, my heart, from every hill
In folds of rose and daffodil
The sunrise banners flow.
O fly away on silent wing, ye boding owls of night!
O welcome little birds that sing the coming-in of light!
For new, and new, and ever-new,
The golden bud within the blue;
And every morning seems to say:
" There's something happy on the way,
" And God sends love to you! "
N AAMAN :
O let me ever wake to music! For the soul
Returns most gently then, and finds its way
By the soft, winding clue of melody,
Out of the dusky labyrinth of sleep,
Into the light. My body feels the sun
Though I behold naught that his rays reveal.
Come, thou who art my daydawn and my sight,
Sweet eyes, come close, and make the sunrise mine!
R UAHMAH :
A fairer day, dear lord, was never born
In Paradise! The sapphire cup of heaven
Is filled with golden wine: the earth, adorned
With jewel-drops of dew, unveils her face
A joyful bride, in welcome to her king.
And look! He leaps upon the Eastern hills
All ruddy fire, and claims her with a kiss.
Yonder the snowy peaks of Hermon float
Unmoving as a wind-dropt cloud. The gulf
Of Jordan, filled with violet haze, conceals
The river's winding trail with wreaths of mist.
Below us, marble-crowned Samaria thrones
Upon her emerald hill amid the Vale
Of Barley, while the plains to northward change
Their colour like the shimmering necks of doves.
The lark springs up, with morning on her wings,
To climb her singing stairway in the blue,
And all the fields are sprinkled with her joy!
N AAMAN :
Thy voice is magical: thy words are visions!
I must content myself with them, for now
My only hope is lost: Samaria's King
Rejects our monarch's message, — hast thou heard?
" Am I a god that I should cure a leper? "
He sends me home unhealed, with angry words,
Back to Damascus and the lingering death.
R UAHMAH :
What matter where he sends? No god is he
To slay or make alive. Elisha bids
You come to him at Dothan, there to learn
There is a God in Israel.
N AAMAN :
I fear
That I am grown mistrustful of all gods;
Their secret counsels are implacable.
R UAHMAH :
Fear not! There's One who rules in righteousness
High over all.
N AAMAN :
What knowest thou of Him?
R UAHMAH :
Oh, I have heard, — the maid of Israel, —
Rememberest thou? She often said her God
Was merciful and kind, and slow to wrath,
And plenteous in forgiveness, pitying us
Like as a father pitieth his children.
N AAMAN :
If there were such a God, I'd worship Him
Forever!
R UAHMAH :
Then make haste to hear the word
His prophet promises to speak to thee!
Obey it, my dear lord, and thou shalt find
Healing and peace. The light shall fill thine eyes.
Thou wilt not need my leading any more, —
Nor me, — for thou wilt see me, all unveiled, —
I tremble at the thought.
N AAMAN :
Why, what is this?
Why shouldst thou tremble? Art thou not mine own?
R UAHMAH :
I am, — thy handmaid, — all and only thine, —
The very pulses of my heart are thine!
Feel how they throb to comfort thee to-day —
To-day! Because it is thy time of trouble.
N AAMAN :
Thou art too dear to injure with a kiss, —
How should I take a gift may bankrupt thee,
Or drain the fragrant chalice of thy love
With lips that may be fatal? Tempt me not
To sweet dishonour; strengthen me to wait
Until thy prophecy is all fulfilled,
And I can claim thee with a joyful heart.
R UAHMAH :
Thou wilt not need me then, — and I shall be
No more than the faint echo of a song
Heard half asleep. We shall go back to where
We stood before this journey.
N AAMAN :
Never again!
For thou art changed by some deep miracle.
The flower of womanhood hath bloomed in thee, —
Art thou not changed?
R UAHMAH :
Yea, I am changed, — and changed
Again, — bewildered, — till there's nothing clear
To me but this: I am the instrument
In an Almighty hand to rescue thee
From death. This will I do, — and afterward —
Hearken, the trumpet sounds, the chariot waits.
Away, dear lord, follow the road to light!
S CENE II
F IRST S OLDIER :
We have delivered my lord's greeting and his message.
S ECOND S OLDIER :
Yes, and near lost our noses in the doing of it! For the servant slammed the door in our faces. A most unmannerly reception!
F IRST S OLDIER :
But I take that as a good omen. It is a mark of holy men to keep ill-conditioned servants. Look, the door opens, the prophet is coming.
S ECOND S OLDIER :
No, by my head, it is that notable mark of his master's holiness, that same lantern-jawed lout of a servant.
G EHAZI :
My master, the prophet of Israel, sends word to Naaman the Syrian, — are you he? — " Go wash in Jordan seven times and be healed. "
N AAMAN :
What insolence is this? Am I a man
To be put off with surly messengers?
Has not Damascus rivers more renowned
Than this rude muddy Jordan? Crystal streams,
Abana! Pharpar! flowing smoothly through
A paradise of roses? Might I not
Have bathed in them and been restored at ease?
Come up, Saballidin, and guide me home!
S ABALLIDIN :
Bethink thee, master, shall we lose our quest
Because a servant is uncouth? The road
That seeks the mountain leads us through the vale.
The prophet's word is friendly after all;
For had it been some mighty task he set,
Thou wouldst perform it. How much rather then
This easy one? Hast thou not promised her
Who waits for thy return? Wilt thou go back
To her unhealed?
N AAMAN :
No! not for all my pride!
I'll make myself most humble for her sake,
And stoop to anything that gives me hope
Of having her. Make haste, Saballidin,
Bring me to Jordan. I will cast myself
Into that river's turbulent embrace
A hundred times, until I save my life
Or lose it!
N AAMAN :
Behold a man delivered from the grave
By thee! I rose from Jordan's waves restored
To youth and vigour, as the eagle mounts
Upon the sunbeam and renews his strength!
O mighty prophet deign to take from me
These gifts too poor to speak my gratitude;
Silver and gold and jewels, damask robes, —
E LISHA :
As thy soul liveth I will not receive
A gift from thee, my son! Give all to Him
Whose mercy hath redeemed thee from thy plague.
N AAMAN :
He is the only God! I worship Him!
Grant me a portion of the blessed soil
Of this most favoured land where I have found
His mercy; in Damascus will I build
An altar to His name, and praise Him there
Morning and night. There is no other God
In all the world.
E LISHA :
Thou needst not
This load of earth to build a shrine for Him;
Yet take it if thou wilt. But be assured
God's altar is in every loyal heart,
And every flame of love that kindles there
Ascends to Him and brightens with His praise.
There is no other God! But evil Powers
Make war against Him in the darkened world;
And many temples have been built to them.
N AAMAN :
I know them well! Yet when my master goes
To worship in the House of Rimmon, I
Must enter with him; for he trusts me, leans
Upon my hand; and when he bows himself
I cannot help but make obeisance too, —
But not to Rimmon! To my country's King
I'll bow in love and honour. Will the Lord
Pardon thy servant in this thing?
E LISHA :
My son,
Peace has been granted thee. 'Tis thine to find
The only way to keep it. Go in peace.
N AAMAN :
Thou hast not answered me, — may I bow down?
E LISHA :
The answer must be thine. The heart that knows
The perfect peace of gratitude and love,
Walks in the light and needs no other rule.
When next thou comest into Rimmon's House,
Thy heart will tell thee how to go in peace.
Time : A month later: dawn
S CENE I
R UAHMAH :
Peace and good health to you, Saballidin,
Good morrow to you all. How fares my lord?
S ABALLIDIN :
The curtains of his tent are folded still:
They have not moved since we returned, last night,
And told him what befell us in the city.
R UAHMAH :
Told him! Why did you make report to him
And not to me? Am I not captain here,
Intrusted by the King's command with care
Of Naaman until he is restored?
'Tis mine to know the first of good or ill
In this adventure: mine to shield his heart
From every arrow of adversity.
What have you told him? Speak!
S ABALLIDIN :
Lady, we feared
To bring our news to you. For when the King
Of Israel had read our monarch's letter,
He rent his clothes, and cried, " Am I a god,
To kill and make alive, that I should heal
A leper? Ye have come with false pretence,
Damascus seeks a quarrel with me. Go! "
But when we told our lord, he closed his tent,
And there remains enfolded in his grief.
I trust he sleeps; 'twere kind to let him sleep!
For now he doth forget his misery,
And all the burden of his hopeless woe
Is lifted from him by the gentle hand
Of slumber. Oh, to those bereft of hope
Sleep is the only blessing left, — the last
Asylum of the weary, the one sign
Of pity from impenetrable heaven.
Waking is strife; sleep is the truce of God!
Ah, lady, wake him not. The day will be
Full long for him to suffer, and for us
To turn our disappointed faces home
On the long road by which we must return.
R UAHMAH :
Return! Who gave you that command? Not I!
The King made me the leader of this quest,
And bound you all to follow me, because
He knew I never would return without
The thing for which he sent us. I'll go on
Day after day, unto the uttermost parts
Of earth, if need be, and beyond the gates
Of morning, till I find that which I seek, —
New life for Naaman. Are ye ashamed
To have a woman lead you? Then go back
And tell the King, " This huntress went too far
For us to follow: she pursues the trail
Of hope alone, refusing to forsake
The quarry: we grew weary of the chase;
And so we left her and retraced our steps,
Like faithless hounds, to sleep beside the fire. "
Did Naaman forsake his soldiers thus
When you went forth to hunt the Assyrian Bull?
Your manly courage is less durable
Than woman's love, it seems. Go, if you will, —
Who bids me now farewell?
S OLDIERS :
Not I, not I!
S ABALLIDIN :
Lady, lead on, we'll follow you forever!
R UAHMAH :
Why, now you speak like men! Brought you no word
Out of Samaria, except that cry
Of impotence and fear from Israel's King?
S ABALLIDIN :
I do remember while he spoke with us
A rustic messenger came in, and cried
" Elisha saith, bring Naaman to me
At Dothan, he shall surely know there is
A God in Israel. "
R UAHMAH :
What said the King?
S ABALLIDIN :
He only shouted " Go! " more wildly yet,
And rent his clothes again, as if he were
Half-maddened by a coward's fear, and thought
Only of how he might be rid of us.
What comfort could there be for him, what hope
For us, in the rude prophet's misty word?
R UAHMAH :
It is the very word for which I prayed!
My trust was not in princes; for the crown,
The sceptre, and the purple robe are not
Significant of vital power. The man
Who saves his brother-men is he who lives
His life with Nature, takes deep hold on truth,
And trusts in God. A prophet's word is more
Than all the kings on earth can speak. How far
Is Dothan?
S OLDIER :
Lady, 'tis but three hours' ride
Along the valley southward.
R UAHMAH :
Near! so near?
I had not thought to end my task so soon!
Prepare yourselves with speed to take the road.
I will awake my lord.
S ABALLIDIN :
Ruahmah, stay!
I've been your servant in this doubtful quest,
Obedient, faithful, loyal to your will, —
What have I earned by this?
R UAHMAH :
The gratitude
Of him we both desire to serve: your friend, —
My master and my lord.
S ABALLIDIN :
No more than this?
R UAHMAH :
Yes, if you will, take all the thanks my hands
Can hold, my lips can speak.
S ABALLIDIN :
I would have more.
R UAHMAH :
My friend, there's nothing more to give to you.
My service to my lord is absolute.
There's not a drop of blood within my veins
But quickens at the very thought of him;
And not a dream of mine but he doth stand.
Within its heart and make it bright. No man
To me is other than his friend or foe.
You are his friend, and I believe you true!
S ABALLIDIN :
I have been true to him, — now, I am true
To you.
R UAHMAH :
Why, then, be doubly true to him.
O let us match our loyalties, and strive
Between us who shall win the higher crown!
Men boast them of a friendship stronger far
Than love of woman. Prove it! I'll not boast,
But I'll contend with you on equal terms
In this brave race: and if you win the prize
I'll hold you next to him: and if I win
He'll hold you next to me; and either way
We'll not be far apart. Do you accept
My challenge?
S ABALLIDIN :
Yes! For you enforce my heart
By honour to resign its great desire,
And love itself to offer sacrifice
Of all disloyal dreams on its own altar.
Yet love remains; therefore I pray you, think.
How surely you must lose in our contention.
For I am known to Naaman: but you
He blindly takes for Tsarpi. 'Tis to her
He gives his gratitude: the praise you win
Endears her name.
R UAHMAH :
Her name? Why, what is that?
A name is but an empty shell, a mask
That does not change the features of the face
Beneath it. Can a name rejoice, or weep,
Or hope? Can it be moved by tenderness
To daily services of love, or feel the warmth
Of dear companionship? How many things
We call by names that have no meaning! Kings
That cannot rule; and gods that are not good;
And wives that do not love! It matters not
What syllables he utters when he calls,
'Tis I who come, — 'tis I who minister
Unto my lord, and mine the living heart
That feels the comfort of his confidence,
The thrill of gladness when he speaks to me, —
I do not hear the name!
S ABALLIDIN :
And yet, be sure
There's danger in this error, — and no gain!
R UAHMAH :
I seek no gain: I only tread the path
Marked for me daily by the hand of love.
And if his blindness spared my lord one pang
Of sorrow in his black, forsaken hour, —
And if this error makes his burdened heart
More quiet, and his shadowed way less dark,
Whom do I rob? Not her who chose to stay
At ease in Rimmon's House! Surely not him!
Only myself! And that enriches me.
Why trouble we the master? Let it go, —
To-morrow he must know the truth, — and then
He shall dispose of me e'en as he will!
S ABALLIDIN :
To-morrow?
R UAHMAH :
Yes, for I will tarry here,
While you conduct him to Elisha's house
To find the promised healing. I forebode
A sudden danger from the craven King
Of Israel, or else a secret ambush
From those who hate us in Damascus. Go,
But leave me twenty men: this mountain-pass
Protects the road behind you. Make my lord
Obey the prophet's word, whatever he commands,
And come again in peace. Farewel!
S ONG
Above the edge of dark appear the lances of the sun;
Along the mountain-ridges clear his rosy heralds run;
The vapours down the valley go
Like broken armies, dark and low.
Look up, my heart, from every hill
In folds of rose and daffodil
The sunrise banners flow.
O fly away on silent wing, ye boding owls of night!
O welcome little birds that sing the coming-in of light!
For new, and new, and ever-new,
The golden bud within the blue;
And every morning seems to say:
" There's something happy on the way,
" And God sends love to you! "
N AAMAN :
O let me ever wake to music! For the soul
Returns most gently then, and finds its way
By the soft, winding clue of melody,
Out of the dusky labyrinth of sleep,
Into the light. My body feels the sun
Though I behold naught that his rays reveal.
Come, thou who art my daydawn and my sight,
Sweet eyes, come close, and make the sunrise mine!
R UAHMAH :
A fairer day, dear lord, was never born
In Paradise! The sapphire cup of heaven
Is filled with golden wine: the earth, adorned
With jewel-drops of dew, unveils her face
A joyful bride, in welcome to her king.
And look! He leaps upon the Eastern hills
All ruddy fire, and claims her with a kiss.
Yonder the snowy peaks of Hermon float
Unmoving as a wind-dropt cloud. The gulf
Of Jordan, filled with violet haze, conceals
The river's winding trail with wreaths of mist.
Below us, marble-crowned Samaria thrones
Upon her emerald hill amid the Vale
Of Barley, while the plains to northward change
Their colour like the shimmering necks of doves.
The lark springs up, with morning on her wings,
To climb her singing stairway in the blue,
And all the fields are sprinkled with her joy!
N AAMAN :
Thy voice is magical: thy words are visions!
I must content myself with them, for now
My only hope is lost: Samaria's King
Rejects our monarch's message, — hast thou heard?
" Am I a god that I should cure a leper? "
He sends me home unhealed, with angry words,
Back to Damascus and the lingering death.
R UAHMAH :
What matter where he sends? No god is he
To slay or make alive. Elisha bids
You come to him at Dothan, there to learn
There is a God in Israel.
N AAMAN :
I fear
That I am grown mistrustful of all gods;
Their secret counsels are implacable.
R UAHMAH :
Fear not! There's One who rules in righteousness
High over all.
N AAMAN :
What knowest thou of Him?
R UAHMAH :
Oh, I have heard, — the maid of Israel, —
Rememberest thou? She often said her God
Was merciful and kind, and slow to wrath,
And plenteous in forgiveness, pitying us
Like as a father pitieth his children.
N AAMAN :
If there were such a God, I'd worship Him
Forever!
R UAHMAH :
Then make haste to hear the word
His prophet promises to speak to thee!
Obey it, my dear lord, and thou shalt find
Healing and peace. The light shall fill thine eyes.
Thou wilt not need my leading any more, —
Nor me, — for thou wilt see me, all unveiled, —
I tremble at the thought.
N AAMAN :
Why, what is this?
Why shouldst thou tremble? Art thou not mine own?
R UAHMAH :
I am, — thy handmaid, — all and only thine, —
The very pulses of my heart are thine!
Feel how they throb to comfort thee to-day —
To-day! Because it is thy time of trouble.
N AAMAN :
Thou art too dear to injure with a kiss, —
How should I take a gift may bankrupt thee,
Or drain the fragrant chalice of thy love
With lips that may be fatal? Tempt me not
To sweet dishonour; strengthen me to wait
Until thy prophecy is all fulfilled,
And I can claim thee with a joyful heart.
R UAHMAH :
Thou wilt not need me then, — and I shall be
No more than the faint echo of a song
Heard half asleep. We shall go back to where
We stood before this journey.
N AAMAN :
Never again!
For thou art changed by some deep miracle.
The flower of womanhood hath bloomed in thee, —
Art thou not changed?
R UAHMAH :
Yea, I am changed, — and changed
Again, — bewildered, — till there's nothing clear
To me but this: I am the instrument
In an Almighty hand to rescue thee
From death. This will I do, — and afterward —
Hearken, the trumpet sounds, the chariot waits.
Away, dear lord, follow the road to light!
S CENE II
F IRST S OLDIER :
We have delivered my lord's greeting and his message.
S ECOND S OLDIER :
Yes, and near lost our noses in the doing of it! For the servant slammed the door in our faces. A most unmannerly reception!
F IRST S OLDIER :
But I take that as a good omen. It is a mark of holy men to keep ill-conditioned servants. Look, the door opens, the prophet is coming.
S ECOND S OLDIER :
No, by my head, it is that notable mark of his master's holiness, that same lantern-jawed lout of a servant.
G EHAZI :
My master, the prophet of Israel, sends word to Naaman the Syrian, — are you he? — " Go wash in Jordan seven times and be healed. "
N AAMAN :
What insolence is this? Am I a man
To be put off with surly messengers?
Has not Damascus rivers more renowned
Than this rude muddy Jordan? Crystal streams,
Abana! Pharpar! flowing smoothly through
A paradise of roses? Might I not
Have bathed in them and been restored at ease?
Come up, Saballidin, and guide me home!
S ABALLIDIN :
Bethink thee, master, shall we lose our quest
Because a servant is uncouth? The road
That seeks the mountain leads us through the vale.
The prophet's word is friendly after all;
For had it been some mighty task he set,
Thou wouldst perform it. How much rather then
This easy one? Hast thou not promised her
Who waits for thy return? Wilt thou go back
To her unhealed?
N AAMAN :
No! not for all my pride!
I'll make myself most humble for her sake,
And stoop to anything that gives me hope
Of having her. Make haste, Saballidin,
Bring me to Jordan. I will cast myself
Into that river's turbulent embrace
A hundred times, until I save my life
Or lose it!
N AAMAN :
Behold a man delivered from the grave
By thee! I rose from Jordan's waves restored
To youth and vigour, as the eagle mounts
Upon the sunbeam and renews his strength!
O mighty prophet deign to take from me
These gifts too poor to speak my gratitude;
Silver and gold and jewels, damask robes, —
E LISHA :
As thy soul liveth I will not receive
A gift from thee, my son! Give all to Him
Whose mercy hath redeemed thee from thy plague.
N AAMAN :
He is the only God! I worship Him!
Grant me a portion of the blessed soil
Of this most favoured land where I have found
His mercy; in Damascus will I build
An altar to His name, and praise Him there
Morning and night. There is no other God
In all the world.
E LISHA :
Thou needst not
This load of earth to build a shrine for Him;
Yet take it if thou wilt. But be assured
God's altar is in every loyal heart,
And every flame of love that kindles there
Ascends to Him and brightens with His praise.
There is no other God! But evil Powers
Make war against Him in the darkened world;
And many temples have been built to them.
N AAMAN :
I know them well! Yet when my master goes
To worship in the House of Rimmon, I
Must enter with him; for he trusts me, leans
Upon my hand; and when he bows himself
I cannot help but make obeisance too, —
But not to Rimmon! To my country's King
I'll bow in love and honour. Will the Lord
Pardon thy servant in this thing?
E LISHA :
My son,
Peace has been granted thee. 'Tis thine to find
The only way to keep it. Go in peace.
N AAMAN :
Thou hast not answered me, — may I bow down?
E LISHA :
The answer must be thine. The heart that knows
The perfect peace of gratitude and love,
Walks in the light and needs no other rule.
When next thou comest into Rimmon's House,
Thy heart will tell thee how to go in peace.
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