Page:Joseph and His Brethren A Pageant Play.djvu/63



RACHEL: [Who has been watching him keenly.] Son of Leah, where is my child?

SIMEON: Thou gavest him into Reuben's charge; ask Reuben.

[Meanwhile the stage has gradually filled with men and maidens, who stand shyly and awkwardly around the walls.]

LEVI: Behold, Father, the maids and men grow impatient.

JACOB: Can we begin without Reuben and Joseph?

LEVI: They will be here anon.

JACOB: Begin, then; but I am troubled.

[He takes his place on the throne. RACHEL sits by his side, on his right. BILHAH and ZILPAH stand behind him.] [The minstrels [harp, shawm, psaltery, flutes, and drum.] group themselves on JACOB'S right, near the footlights.]

ISSACHAR: Ho! I am the master of the revels! Maids and men! Israel, the Soldier of God, taketh the high-seat. Sound, shawms and timbrels! Sound, songs of rejoicing! The dance! The dance!

''[The center of the stage is cleared. While the dance is in progress, the SLAVES hand round the food and the drink to JACOB and his group, to the brothers, who stand together on the opposite side of the stage, and to the non-dancers. The non-dancers, not otherwise occupied, clap their hands rhythmically to the dance.]''

[First, the men unwind from the crowd where they appear to have been standing in no particular