Upon a stage, a herald with a trumpet,
Clad like the Angel Gabriel, proclaims
The mystery that will now be represented.

THE NATIVITY.9

A Miracle-Play.

INTROITUS.

Præco. Come, good people, all and each,
Come and listen to our speech!
In your presence here I stand,
With a trumpet in my hand,
To announce the Easter Play,
Which we represent to-day!
First of all we shall rehearse,
In our action and our verse,
The Nativity of our Lord,
As written in the old record
Of the Protevangelion,

So that he who reads may run!
(Blows his trumpet.)

I. HEAVEN.

Mercy (at the feet of God). Have pity, Lord! be not afraid To save mankind, whom thou hast made,

Nor let the souls that were betrayed

Perish eternally!

Justice. It cannot be, it must not be!
When in the garden placed by thee,
The fruit of the forbidden tree
He ate, and he must die!

Mercy. Have pity, Lord! let penitence
Atone for disobedience,

Nor let the fruit of man's offence
Be endless misery!

Justice. What penitence proportionate
Can e'er be felt for sin so great?
Of the forbidden fruit he ate,
And damned must he be !

God. He shall be saved, if that within
The bounds of earth one free from sin

Be found, who for his kith and kin

Will suffer martyrdom.

The Four Virtues. Lord! we have searched the world around, From centre to the utmost bound,

But no such mortal can be found;
Despairing, back we come.

Wisdom. No mortal, but a God made man,
Can ever carry out this plan,
Achieving what none other can,
Salvation unto all !

God. Go, then, O my beloved Son!
It can by thee alone be done;
By thee the victory shall be won
O'er Satan and the Fall!

(Here the ANGEL GABRIEL shall leave Paradise and fly towards the Earth; the jaws of Hell open below, and the Devils walk abou', making a great noise.)

II. MARY AT THE WELL.

Mary. Along the garden walk, and thence
Through the wicket in the garden fence,
I steal with quiet pace,
My pitcher at the well to fill,
That lies so deep and cool and still
In this sequestered place.

These sycamores keep guard around;
I see no face, I hear no sound,

Save bubblings of the spring,

And my companions, who within
The threads of gold and scarlet spin,
And at their labour sing.

The Angel Gabriel. Hail, Virgin Mary, full of grace!

(Here MARY looketh around her, trembling, and then saith:)

Mary. Who is it speaketh in this place,
With such a gentle voice?

Gabriel. The Lord of Heaven is with thee now!
Blessed among all women thou,

Who art his holy choice!

Mary (setting down the pitcher).

What can this mean? No one is near,

And yet, such sacred words I hear,

I almost fear to stay.

(Here the Angel, appearing to her, shall say:)

Gabriel. Fear not, O Mary! but believe!
For thou, a Virgin, shalt conceive

A child this very day.

Fear not, O Mary! from the sky
The majesty of the Most High

Shall overshadow thee!

Mary. Behold the handmaid of the Lord!

According to thy holy word,

So be it unto me!

(Here the Devils shall again make a great noise under the stage.)

H. THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN PLANETS BEARING THE STAR OF

BETHLEHEM.

The Angels. The angels of the Planets Seven,
Across the shining fields of heaven
The natal star we bring!

Dropping our sevenfold virtues down,
As priceless jewels in the crown
Of Christ, our new-born King.
Raphael. I am the Angel of the Sun,
Whose flaming wheels began to run
When God's almighty breath
Said to the darkness and the Night,
Let there be light! and there was light!
I bring the gift of Faith.
Gabriel. I am the Angel of the Moon,
Darkened, to be rekindled soon
Beneath the azure cope!
Nearest to earth, it is my ray
That best illumes the midnight way.
I bring the gift of Hope!

Anael. The Angel of the Star of Love,
The Evening Star, that shines above
The place where lovers be,

Above all happy hearths and homes,
On roofs of thatch, or golden domes,
I give him Charity!

Zobiachel. The Planet Jupiter is mine!
The mightiest star of all that shine,
Except the sun alone!

He is the High Priest of the Dove,
And sends, from his great throne above,
Justice, that shall atone!

Michael. The Planet Mercury, whose place
Is nearest to the sun in space,
Is my allotted sphere!
And with celestial ardour swift
I bear upon my hands the gift
Of heavenly Prudence here!
Uriel. I am the Minister of Mars,

The strongest star among the stars!
My songs of power prelude
The march and battle of man's life,
And for the suffering and the strife,
I give him Fortitude!

Orifel. The Angel of the uttermost

Of all the shining, heavenly host,
From the far-off expanse
Of the Saturnian, endless space

I bring the last, the crowning grace,
The gift of Temperance!

(A sudden light shines from the windows of the stable in the village below.)

IV. THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST.

The Stable of the Inn. The VIRGIN and CHILD. Three Gipsy King GASPAR, MELCHIOR, and BELSHAZZAR, shall come in.

Gaspar. Hail to thee, Jesus of Nazareth!

Though in a manger thou drawest thy breath,

Thou art greater than Life and Death,

Greater than Joy or Woe!

This cross upon the line of life
Portendeth struggle, toil, and strife,
And through a region with dangers rife
In darkness shalt thou go!

Melchior. Hail to thee, King of Jerusalem!
Though humbly born in Bethlehem,
A sceptre and a diadem

Await thy brow and hand!
The sceptre is a simple reed,

The crown will make thy temples bleed,
And in thy hour of greatest need,

Abashed thy subjects stand!

Belshazzar. Hail to thee, Christ of Christendom!
O'er the earth thy kingdom come!
From distant Trebizond to Rome

Thy name shall men adore!
Peace and good-will among all men,
The Virgin has returned again,
Returned the old Saturnian reign

And Golden Age once more.

The Child Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, am I,

Born here to suffer and to die

According to the prophecy,

That other men may live!

The Virgin. And now these clothes, that wrapped him, take,
And keep them precious, for his sake;

Our benediction thus we make,

Nought else have we to give.

(She gives them swaddling clothes, and they depart.)

V. THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.

(Here shall JOSEPH come in, leading an ass, on which are seated MARY and the CHILD.)

Here will we rest us, under these
O'erhanging branches of the trees,

Where robins chant their Litanies
And canticles of joy.

Joseph. My saddle-girths have given way
With trudging through the heat to-day;
To you I think it is but play

To ride and hold the boy.

Mary. Hark! how the robins shout and sing,
As if to hail their infant King!

I will alight at yonder spring
To wash his little coat.

Joseph. And I will hobble well the ass,
Lest, being loose upon the grass,
He should escape; for by the mass,

He is nimble as a goat.

(Here MARY shall alight and go to the spring.)
Mary. O Joseph! I am much afraid,

For men are sleeping in the shade;
I fear that we shall be waylaid,
And robbed and beaten sore!

Here a band of robbers shall be seen sleeping, two of whom shall rise and come forward.)

Dumachus. Cock's soul! deliver up your gold!
Joseph. I pray you, Sirs, let go your hold!
Of wealth I have no store.

Dumachus. Give up your money!

Titus.

Prythee cease.

Let these good people go in peace.

Dumachus. First let them pay for their release,

And then go on their way.

Titus. These forty groats I give in fee,
If thou wilt only silent be.

Mary. May God be merciful to thee

Upon the Judgment day!

Jesus. When thirty years shall have gone by,
I at Jerusalem shall die,

By Jewish hands exalted high

On the accursed tree.

Then on my right and my left side,
These thieves shall both be crucified,
And Titus thenceforth shall abide

In Paradise with me.

(Here a great rumour of trumpets and horses, like the noise of a king with his army, and the robbers shall take flight.)

VI. THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS.

King Herod. Potz-tausend! Himmel-sacrament!
Filled am I with great wonderment

At this unwelcome news!