The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rada, by Alfred Noyes

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Title: Rada
A Drama of War in One Act

Author: Alfred Noyes

Release Date: April 30, 2004 [EBook #12220]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RADA ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Juliet Sutherland, Charles M. Bidwell
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RADA

_A DRAMA OF WAR IN ONE ACT_

BY
ALFRED NOYES

Author of "The Wine Press," "Tales of the Mermaid Tavern," Etc.

1913

PERSONS OF THE PLAY

RADA, _wife of the village doctor_.
SUBKA, _her daughter, aged twelve_.
ARRAM } _two hostile soldiers quartered_
MICHAEL } _in her house, in time of war_.
NANKO, _a half-witted schoolmaster_.

Several soldiers.

THE SCENE is in the Balkans, in a village which has just been taken by the
enemy, on Christmas Eve.

RADA

SCENE--_A guest-chamber, the typical living-room of a prosperous village
doctor in the Balkans. On the left, a small window and an entrance door.
On the right, a door leading into a bedroom. At the back, an open fire of
logs is burning brightly. Over the fireplace is the eikonostasis, with
three richly coloured and gilded eikons, the central one of the Madonna.
The light, which is never allowed to go out, is burning before it. The
room is lit at present only by this, the fire-light, and two candles in
brass candlesticks on a black wooden table under the window. Rows of
porcelain plates round the walls gleam fitfully. On either side of the
eikonostasis is a large chibouk, with inlaid bowl and amber mouth-piece.
There is a divan with scarlet rugs flung across it to the right of the
fire; and there are several skins and rugs on the floor.

Two Roumanian soldiers_, ARRAM_ and _MICHAEL, are seated at the table,
drinking_.

RADA, _a dark handsome woman, sits weeping with her head bowed in her
hands, on the divan_.

NANKO, _the idiot, sits on the floor, rubbing his hands, snapping his
fingers, chuckling to himself, and staring into the fire_.

ARRAM
Look here, my girl, where's the use of snivelling? You ought to think
yourself damned lucky to be alive.

RADA
O my God!