Page:Joseph and His Brethren A Pageant Play.djvu/74

 that Pharaoh will send Potiphar forth to strike down rebellion. I will throw myself at my lord's feet; he shall let me fight at his side; fighting I will win freedom, and then, when I come back, a free man, mine eyes shall gaze into thine; and my tongue shall tell thee why my heart beateth so wildly.

But in the battle thou may'st be slain.

At least I shall be free!

And I forever bound.

Asenath—! [With agony] Oh! I forget my bonds!

Rid thyself quickly of thy bonds, lest thou be too late.

Too late?

My father is the priest of the great goddess Neith.

Alas, I know not thy strange gods.

Thou shalt tell me of thine in happier days. My father is a stern man. There is one man at court, a great officer in the Pharaoh's household, who standeth next to him when he breaketh bread—

[Laughing] Of monstrous girth: I know him well—

He seeketh me to be his wife.

He—! That ancient mountain—!

My father loveth him. [The Girls come down] I plead I am too young; the Chief Baker pleadeth he waxeth too old. Oh Joseph, the day is near when I must choose—

Choose—! There is choice, then?

Ay—'twixt wedding the old lord, or leaving the world forever, in the sisterhood of Neith.

[Violently] Neither one or the other! By the true God, I swear—!