The House of Rimmon | Page 4

earnestness.] Then, lord, if thou must go,
I pray thee speak,-- I know not how,--but so that all must hear. With
magic of unanswerable words Persuade thy foes. Yet watch,--beware,--
NAAMAN: Of what?
RUAHMAH: [Turning aside.] I am entangled in my speech,--no
light,-- How shall I tell him? He will not believe. O my dear lord, thine
enemies are they Of thine own house. I pray thee to beware,--
Beware,--of Rimmon!
NAAMAN: Child, thy words are wild; Thy troubles have bewildered
all thy brain. Go, now, and fret no more; but sleep, and dream Of Israel!
For thou shall see thy home Among the hills again.
RUAHMAH: Master, good-night, And may thy slumber be as sweet
and deep As if thou camped at snowy Hermon's foot, Amid the music
of his waterfalls And watched by winged sentries of the sky. There
friendly oak-trees bend their boughs above The weary head, pillowed
on earth's kind breast, And unpolluted breezes lightly breathe A song of
sleep among the murmuring leaves. There the big stars draw nearer,

and the sun Looks forth serene, undimmed by city's mirk Or smoke of
idol-temples, to behold The waking wonder of the wide-spread world,
And life renews itself with every morn In purest joy of living. May the
Lord Deliver thee, dear master, from the nets Laid for thy feet, and lead
thee out, along The open path, beneath the open sky! Thou shall be
followed always by the heart Of one poor captive maid who prays for
thee.
[Exit RUAHMAH: NAAMAN stands looking after her.]

SCENE II.
TIME: The following morning.
The audience-hall in BENHADAD'S palace. The sides of the hall are
lined with lofty columns: the back opens toward the city, with
descending steps: the House of Rimmon with its high tower is seen in
the background. The throne is at the right in front: opposite is the royal
door of entrance, guarded by four tall sentinels. Enter at the rear
between the columns, RAKHAZ, SABALLIDIN, HAZAEL, IZDUBHAR.
IZDUBHAR: [An excited old man.] The city is all in a turmoil. It boils
like a pot of lentils. The people are foaming and bubbling round and
round like beans in the pottage.
HAZAEL: [A lean, crafty man.] Fear is a hot fire.
RAKHAZ: [A fat, pompous man.] Well may they fear, for the
Assyrians are not three days distant. They are blazing along like a
waterspout to chop Damascus down like a pitcher of spilt milk.
SABALLIDIN: [Young and frank.] Cannot Naaman drive them back?
RAKHAZ: [Puffing and blowing.] Ho! Naaman? Where have you been
living? Naaman is a broken reed whose claws have been cut. Build no
hopes on that foundation, for it will upset in the midst of the sea and
leave you hanging in the air.

SABALLIDIN: He clatters like a windmill. What would he say,
Hazael?
HAZAEL: Naaman can do nothing without the command of the King;
and the King fears to order the army to march without the approval of
the gods. The High Priest is against it. The House of Rimmon is for
peace with Asshur.
RAKHAZ: Yes, and all the nobles are for peace. We are the men whose
wisdom lights the rudder that upholds the chariot of state. Would we be
rich if we were not wise? Do we not know better than the rabble what
medicine will silence this fire that threatens to drown us?
IZDUBHAR: But if the Assyrians come, we shall all perish; they will
despoil us all.
HAZAEL: Not us, my lord, only the common people. The envoys have
offered favourable terms to the priests, and the nobles, and the King.
No palace, no temple, shall be plundered. Only the shops, and the
markets, and the houses of the multitude shall be given up to the Bull.
He will eat his supper from the pot of lentils, not from our golden plate.
RAKHAZ: Yes, and all who speak for peace in the council shall be
enriched; our heads shall be crowned with seats of honour in the
processions of the Assyrian king. He needs wise counsellors to help
him guide the ship of empire onto the solid rock of prosperity. You
must be with us, my lords Izdubhar and Saballidin, and let the stars of
your wisdom roar loudly for peace.
IZDUBHAR: He talks like a tablet read upside down,--a wild ass
braying in the wilderness. Yet there is policy in his words.
SABALLIDIN: I know not. Can a kingdom live without a people or an
army? If we let the Bull in to sup on the lentils, will he not make his
breakfast in our vineyards?
[Enter other courtiers, following SHUMAKIM, a crooked little jester,
in blue, green and red, a wreath of poppies around his neck and a

flagon in his hand. He walks