Page:Joseph and His Brethren A Pageant Play.djvu/170

 Woman! Woman! Thou pourest poison into my veins!

Set the Pharaoh free; redeem thy brother! Deliver Egypt; slay the man I hate

[Quickly] Why dost thou hatest him?

[In a wild outburst of passion] Because I love him! Because he spurned me! Ah, gods! Shall I ever forget! Twice I destroyed him, and twice he sprang up refreshed! Ah! Slay him! Slay him! And ask what reward thou wilt!

They have stripped me of my weapons.

[Handing him a jeweled dagger] Here!—Here! Hide this under thy cloak. Beware! A scratch is death—'tis poisoned!

I am alone—if I make to touch him, his servants will fall upon me

Oh, faint heart! Wait till thy brethren be at thy side

[Eagerly] And then—Zuleika?

Begone—swiftly! My bearers come.

[Quite calm] Eavesdropping, my lord?

[Cold and stern] Thy name shall be a byword of shame.

And thine a by-word of mockery.

No word of repentance?

Ay, I repent me that I have failed.

[More sternly] But—to me!