Nydia :: :: University of Virginia Library

Nydia

Boker, George H. (1823-1890)

ACT III

Collapse All | Expand All expand section

ACT III

Scene: The Study in the House of Arbaces
A vast room, containing strange astrological and chemical instruments
Arbaces discovered, examining a horoscope
Arbaces:
The stars all seem propitious. No, just here,
Saturn hangs baleful in my house of life.
That is to come; but that escaped, behold
How clear my sky! This aspect I distrust.
[It is too fair to be quite natural,
Weighing my life against man's common lot.
I saw this strange conjunction once before,
In Nero's case; one danger, threatening thus,
And, then, all clear beyond. To him it meant
Death and the mystery of death. How clear
To him, perhaps; how fathomless to us!]
Certain it is some danger, soon to fall,
Hangs o'er this town, if I may trust the stars.
For that I am prepared. My ships equipped,
And fretting at their cables, ride the bay;
And in another day they shall set sail,
With fair Ione, their most precious freight.
For go she shall. Have I lived all these years,
These years of burning love and watchfulness;
Have I forged wills and letters,—steeped my pride
In crime and meanness, till I scorn myself,
Now to be crossed by that Athenian boy?

(Sounds the sistrum
Enter Dromo
Dromo:
My lord?

Arbaces:
Summon Calenus here.
(Dromo bows and exit)
Calenus? hm! I cannot trust the man.
Somewhat I must however. Sordid slave,
Gold is his only master, and his faith
The thing that pays him most.

Enter Calenus
Calenus:
I was at hand;
I have been waiting on your leisure, master.
The matter of Apaecides has reached
A crisis. He declines the vows of priesthood.

Arbaces:
Indeed?

Calenus:
And more; he threatens to reveal
The secrets of the temple. This I know
From people who have heard him. All the town
[Stands now agog, to see the mystery stripped
From Isis; and the priests of Jupiter—
No better than ourselves, if tricks be sins—]
Encourage recreant Apaecides
To make a public statement.

Arbaces:
This is sad,
And most embarrassing to me just now;
For, as you know, Apaecides must die,
And suddenly, before his lips disclose
His threatened revelations.

Calenus:
That might do
In Egypt, master; but in Italy,
With Roman law about one's ears—'Twould cost
A deal of gold, to have it neatly done.

Arbaces:
If gold be all, take what you need. But hark;
Spare him until I have another chance
To win him from his purpose.

Calenus:
But the gold?

Arbaces:
Here, here, you glutton! Gather up these bags,
And go your dirty way!

(Calenus takes bags from a table)
Calenus:
(Aside)
My dirty way
Will be to put this money in my chest,
And ask for more, before I do the deed.

Arbaces:
Remember this, Calenus, you must keep
Your eyes upon Apaecides. Watch, watch
His slightest motion. If he go abroad,
Be you a shadow in his track. Begone!

Calenus:
My lord, as I came in, there was a stir
About your door; a lady in the act
Of 'lighting from her litter. Who is she?—
Another proselyte for Isis? (Laughing)

Arbaces:
Peace!
(Exit Calenus: Arbaces sounds the sistrum)

Enter Dromo
Dromo, show in Ione. Mark you, man;
No one must enter here until she leaves.
No matter what the outcries, sounds of strife,
Or calls for help, no one must pass that door,
Unless I sound the sistrum. Heed me well.
And when you go, stay in the atrium:
I shall not need you. Do you understand?
'Twere better for your body that you do.
(Dromo bows, and exit)
Now to assume the sage again.
(Seats himself, and seems to be lost in study)
Ah, hark!
That footfall, and the rustle of that robe,
Set my blood bounding.
Enter Ione
Dear Ione, welcome! (Rises)

Ione:
You show scant hospitality, my lord,
Not to receive me in your atrium.

Arbaces:
That which you seek is here.
(Pointing to a large coffer)
I was absorbed
In reading o'er your horoscope.

Ione:
(Laughing)
Ha! ha!
What say the riddling stars about a girl
As humble as myself?

Arbaces:
Nothing but good,
If you but heed the stars' interpreter.

Ione:
But of the letter?

Arbaces:
Open for yourself:
That is forbidden me by your father's will.

Ione:
So then. (Unlocks the coffer)
What's here? jewels and gold! Ah, yes;
Here is a letter. By your leave, my lord. (Reads)

Arbaces:
(Aside)
Let me read you, as you peruse the lines.
Distress?—a frown?—what, anger and disgust?
No sign of pleasure! Have I come to this?—
A priest and king of Egypt, of a race
Older than earth's traditions! Upstart Greek,
Those looks shall cost you dearly!

Ione:
This is all?

Arbaces:
All that I know of, and that little all
Seems not to please you.

Ione:
Do you know, Arbaces,
The substance of this letter?

Arbaces:
Certainly:
Your father read it to me as he wrote.
It was his darling project; planned, he thought,
To be your happiness and mine.

Ione:
You know,
Bound as I am by honor and by choice,
'Tis now impossible—nay, always was,
And always will be. Let me pass. (Going)

Arbaces:
Not yet. (Prevents her)

Listen to me. My rights outdate, undo
All other pledges. When you were a child,
I but a man, your father solemnly
Betrothed us two; as far as then he could,
Joined us as one forever. You have read
His dying testament, confirming that;

And there enjoining you, by all the love
You bear his memory, to obey his will,
And, at a marriageable age, to join
Yourself to me in wedlock.

Ione:
I cannot:
The thought is monstrous.

Arbaces:
Why? The fleeting fancy
For this Athenian is a child's desire
To catch a painted butterfly; and that
Will pass like other fancies. Credit me,
A life-long marriage is too grave a thing
To be so slightly founded.

Ione:
Let me go.
There was no moment in my life or yours,
When the mere thought of marriage with you
Could have been tolerable to me.

Arbaces:
(Preventing her going)
Alas!
And I have loved you, ah! so tenderly!
Not with a parent's or a tutor's love,
But with the fiery passion of a man
Who saw before him the one hope of you,
And bent his life to compass that. For that
I toiled, I studied, won both wealth and power;
Made man my subject, and the hands of men
My willing instruments; became, Ione,
That which I am, that which you know I am,
A giant among pygmies. O, I pray you,
Pause ere you put this mighty love aside,
To pick up slighter morsels! You are great;
Your spirit longs for grandeur and for power:
See, I can give them! Think you I abide
In this dull country, rather than the land
Where I am priest and monarch, for aught else

Than to crown you my empress? Let us fly
To dateless, deathless Egypt; to the realm
That ruled the world ere history began!
Come, come, aboard! My ships await us, love,
Eager to start as I am!

Ione:
Graceless man,
This is ungenerous—nay, cowardly,
To trap me here for this absurd display
Of wordy passion. Off, off! let me pass;
Or you shall reckon for your disrespect
With Glaucus!

Arbaces:
Glaucus! Never shall he think
Of your betrothal but with abject shame
After tonight. You shall no refuge find,
Henceforth, Ione, save within my arms! (Seizes her)

Ione:
Help, help!—oh! monster! (Struggles with him)

Arbaces:
You have made me that.

(She escapes from him, and falls on her knees)
Ione:
Pallas Athena, guard thy helpless child!

Enter Glaucus and Nydia. He dashes Arbaces down
Glaucus:
The goddess hears!—My darling! yes, look up!
There's naught to harm you.
(Arbaces snatches a sword from the table, and rushes at Glaucus who disarms him)
Said I not the truth?

Nydia:
(Apart to Glaucus)
Strike, or you'll rue it!

(She steals to the table, and removes the sistrum)
Glaucus:
Down upon your knees,
Villain and coward! Thank this gracious maid
That, by her presence, saves your life! And thank

The filthy gods you worship, that your crime
Failed of fulfillment; or their eyes had seen
Your carcass swimming in your guilty blood,
Here, at her outraged feet!

Arbaces:
Insulting Greek,
Dare you to vapor thus beneath my roof,
Caught, like your mistress, in the selfsame trap?
Yes, there shall be a reckoning ere we part,
Paid, coin by coin, in blood!
(Rushes to the table for the sistrum)
Gone! Are my gods
Against me too?

Glaucus:
There are no deities,
Worthy the name, that are not ever found
Upon the side of right. O, hide your head,
Lest your gods see you, and avenge themselves
On your defiance of their majesty.
Stand where you are. I am your master now,
And look for strict obedience; or my arm
Shall teach you how to cringe. Come, Nydia;
Lead out Ione to her litter. Dear,
Pardon this show of necessary force
Before your gentle eyes. Stir not, Egyptian!
Nay, seat yourself—down, down! (Arbaces sits)

Ione:
O Glaucus, Glaucus
The savior of my soul—

Glaucus:
There, there, my love!
You are too suffering yet to speak. Go, go!
Nydia, who really was your rescuer.
Will tell you all.

Nydia:
And you?

Glaucus:
I shall remain,
To keep Arbaces company; for fear
Our hospitable host should vex himself
With vain exertions.

Nydia:
There 's a coffer here:
Somewhere; where, where?
(Feels about, till she finds it)
Yes, here. Is this yours?

Ione:
Yes.
Oh! take me hence! I can endure no more.

Glaucus:
Why do you linger?

Nydia:
You are blinder far
Than I, lord Glaucus. Exit, with Ione)

Arbaces:
O ye gods, how long
Must I consent to this humility?

Glaucus:
Arbaces, in the silence of the night,
In solitude, when conscience and your soul
Stand face to face with memory; do you think
How vile a man you are? Do you recall
Your fraudful jugglings, wretched mountebank,
With simple people? how you dupe the world
Of ignorance with your mechanic Isis—
Her rolling eyes, her oracles?—oh! fie!
What think you of your efforts to corrupt
The pure, high nature of your former ward,
Apaecides, with orgies so obscene
That they disgusted even that fiery youth
Which is too prone to passion? Worse than all;
How will you answer, traitor to your trust,

For the infernal purpose of today?
Once more, I bid you to thank heaven it failed;
Or, at this moment, by the doleful Styx
You would be wandering, a guilty ghost
Awaiting awful judgment. Mend your life:
Employ your learning and your mental powers
In man 's behalf. Be not a cunning cheat,
Only to rule a rabble you despise.

Arbaces:
Save your own soul, if it be worth your care,
And give yourself instruction. I have had
Enough of your sarcastic virtue, Greek.
Go, leave me! but believe me there shall be
For you a reckoning for this day 's work,—
(A noise of coming slaves without)
Nay, it is on you! You have overstayed
Your time, and toiled yourself;—ha! ha! Without,
Without there, slaves!

Enter Scoros and other slaves of Ione, armed with slaves
Glaucus:
At fault once more.
Will you not learn that wickedness is weak,
Untrustworthy?—that good alone is strong;
And, in the gods' own day, triumphant?

Arbaces:
I—
I—

Glaucus:
Silence! Scoros?

Scoros:
I was sent to fetch
This coffer.

Glaucus:
Take it. (Slaves take up the coffer)

Scoros:
And my lady prays
Your instant presence.

Glaucus:
I shall come at once.
Go on before.

Scoros:
I cannot leave without you.

Glaucus:
There's Nydia's hand once more. Well, well! My lord,
With some reluctance, as you see, I must
Wish you good evening!

Arbaces:
Wish me nothing more,
To please me fully. Man, look here! The gods
Have given to you this day; but do you think
Your insolent triumph can outlast the day?
I'll pay you scorn with scorn. When next we meet,
Look to yourself: you'll need it!

Glaucus:
Until then,
Once more I have the honor to salute
Your baffled guilt, your malice, and yourself!
O sage of Egypt, go to school, and learn
At least the elements of simple truth.

(Exit, followed by slaves)
Arbaces:
O Isis, Isis, canst thou bear all this?—
Hast thou no thunderbolt to strike him dead?

(Sinks into a chair)
Curtain

“If you wish to add to the spectacle, you might open Act III with an orgy such as Nydia has already described, in which music and ballet dancing could be introduced. In that case, the scene should be a splendid hall in Arbaces' palace. On the termination of the spectacle, Arbaces could take the horoscope from a case, examine it, and begin as in the text.”

“The sistrum was an instrument peculiar to Egypt, and was used in place of a bell. It should be made of brass, so as to make a loud sound.

a) A bronze or brass frame.

b) Three bronze rods sliding freely through holes in the frame, each rod having a loose brass ring at each end.

It was grasped by the handle and shaken like a child's rattle. This instrument you will have to get made.”

“She is arranging matters to provide for his safety, which he at the moment does not apprehend; although he discovers it later, when Ione's slaves enter.”