l. The common folk
Shall suffer; Naaman shall sink with them
In wreck; but I shall rise, and you shall rise
Above me! You shall climb, through incense-smoke,
And days of pomp, and nights of revelry,
Glorious rites and ecstasies of love,
Unto the topmost room in Rimmon's tower,
The secret, lofty room, the couch of bliss,
And the divine embraces of the god.

TSARPI: [_Throwing out her arms in exultation._]
All, all I wish! What must I do for this?

REZON:
Turn Naaman away from thoughts of war;
Or purchase him with love's delights to yield
This point,--I care not how,--and afterwards
The future shall be ours.

TSARPI:
And if I fail?

REZON:
I have another shaft. The last appeal,
Before the king decides, is to the oracle
Of Rimmon. You shall read the signs!
A former priestess of his temple, you
Shall be the interpreter of heaven, and speak
A word to melt this brazen soldier's heart
Within his breast.

TSARPI:
But if it flame instead?

REZON:
I know the way to quench that flame. The cup,
The parting cup your hand shall give to him!
What if the curse of Rimmon should infect
That wine with sacred venom, secretly
To work within his veins, week after week
Corrupting all the currents of his blood,
Dimming his eyes, wasting his flesh? What then?
Would he prevail in war? Would he come back
To glory, or to shame? What think you?

TSARPI:
I?
I do not think; I only do my part.
But can the gods bless this?

REZON:
The gods can bless
Whatever they decree; their will makes right;
And this is for the glory of the house
Of Rimmon,--and for thee, my queen. Come, come!
The night grows dark: we'll perfect our alliance.

[_REZON draws her with him, embracing her, through the shadows of the
garden. RUAHMAH, who has been sleeping in the arbour, has been
awakened during the dialogue, and has been dimly visible in her white
dress, behind the vines. She parts them and comes out, pushing back
her long, dark hair from her temples._]

RUAHMAH:
What have I heard? O God, what shame is this
Plotted beneath Thy pure and silent stars!
Was it for this that I was brought away
Captive from Israel's blessed hills to serve
A heathen mistress in a land of lies?
Ah, treacherous, shameful priest! Ah, shameless wife
Of one too noble to suspect thy guilt!
The very greatness of his generous heart
Be