COREY.
No, I have not.
FARMER.
Then do not see him, Corey.
COREY.
Why should I not?
FARMER.
Because he’s angry with you.
So keep out of his way. Avoid a quarrel.
COREY.
Why does he seek to fix a quarrel on me?
FARMER.
He says you burned his house.
COREY.
I burn his house?
If he says that, John Proctor is a liar! The night his house was burned I was in bed, And I can prove it! Why, we are old friends! He could not say that of me.
FARMER.
He did say it.
I heard him say it.
COREY.
Then he shall unsay it.
FARMER.
He said you did it out of spite to him For taking part against you in the quarrel You had with your John Gloyd about his wages. He says you murdered Goodell; that you trampled Upon his body till he breathed no more.
And so beware of him; that’s my advice! [Exit.
COREY.
By heaven! this is too much! I’ll seek him out, And make him eat his words, or strangle him. I’ll not be slandered at a time like this, When every word is made an accusation,
When every whisper kills, and every man Walks with a halter round his neck!
Enter GLOYD in haste.
What now?
GLOYD.
I came to look for you. The cattle–
COREY.
Well,
What of them? Have you found them?
GLOYD.
They are dead.
I followed them through the woods, across the meadows; Then they all leaped into the Ipswich River, And swam across, but could not climb the bank, And so were drowned.
COREY.
You are to blame for this;
For you took down the bars, and let them loose.
GLOYD.
That I deny. They broke the fences down. You know they were bewitched.
COREY.
Ah, my poor cattle!
The Evil Eye was on them; that is true. Day of disaster! Most unlucky day!
Why did I leave my ploughing and my reaping To plough and reap this Sodom and Gomorrah? Oh, I could drown myself for sheer vexation! [Exit.
GLOYD.
He’s going for his cattle. He won’t find them. By this lime they have drifted out to sea. They will not break his fences any more, Though they may break his heart. And what care I? [Exit.
SCENE III. — COREY’s kitchen. A table with supper. MARTHA knitting.
MARTHA.
He’s come at last. I hear him in the passage. Something has gone amiss with him today; I know it by his step, and by the sound
The door made as he shut it. He is angry.
Enter COREY with his riding-whip. As he speaks he takes off his hat and gloves and throws them down violently.
COREY.
I say if Satan ever entered man
He’s in John Proctor!
MARTHA.
Giles, what is the matter?
You frighten me.
COREY.
I say if any man
Can have a Devil in him, then that man Is Proctor,–is John Proctor, and no other!
MARTHA.
Why, what has be been doing?
COREY.
Everything!
What do you think I heard there in the village?
MARTHA.
I’m sure I cannot guess. What did you hear?
COREY.
He says I burned his house!
MARTHA.
Does he say that?
COREY.
He says I burned his house. I was in bed And fast asleep that night; and I can prove it.
MARTHA.
If he says that, I think the Father of Lies Is surely in the man.
COREY.
He does say that
And that I did it to wreak vengeance on him For taking sides against me in the quarrel I had with that John Gloyd about his wages. And God knows that I never bore him malice For that, as I have told him twenty times
MARTHA.
It is John Gloyd has stirred him up to this. I do not like that Gloyd. I think him crafty, Not to be trusted, sullen and untruthful. Come, have your supper. You are tired and hungry.
COREY.
I’m angry, and not hungry.
MARTHA.
Do eat something.
You’ll be the better for it.
COREY (sitting down).
I’m not hungry.
MARTHA.
Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
COREY.
It has gone down upon it, and will rise To-morrow, and go down again upon it.
They have trumped up against me the old story Of causing Goodell’s death by trampling on him.
MARTHA.
Oh, that is false. I know it to be false.
COREY.
He has been dead these fourteen years or more. Why can’t they let him rest? Why must they drag him Out of his grave to give me a bad name?
I did not kill him. In his bed he died, As most men die, because his hour had come. I have wronged no man. Why should Proctor say Such things bout me? I will not forgive him Till he confesses he has slandered me.
Then, I’ve more trouble. All my cattle gone.
MARTHA.
They will come back again.
COREY.
Not in this world.
Did I not tell you they were overlooked? They ran down through the woods, into the meadows, And tried to swim the river, and were drowned. It is a heavy loss.
MARTHA.
I’m sorry for it.
COREY.
All my dear oxen dead. I loved them, Martha, Next to yourself. I liked to look at them, And watch the breath come out of their wide nostrils, And see their patient eyes. Somehow I thought It gave me strength only to look at them. And how they strained their necks against the yoke If I but spoke, or touched them with the goad! They were my friends; and when Gloyd came and told me They were all drowned, I could have drowned myself From sheer vexation; and I said as much
To Gloyd and others.
MARTHA.
Do not trust John Gloyd
With anything you would not have repeated.
COREY.
As I came through the woods this afternoon, Impatient at my loss, and much perplexed With all that I had heard there in the village, The yellow leaves lit up the trees about me Like an enchanted palace, and I wished
I knew enough of magic or of Witchcraft To change them into gold. Then suddenly
A tree shook down some crimson leaves upon me, Like drops of blood, and in the path before me Stood Tituba the Indian, the old crone.
MARTHA.
Were you not frightened?
COREY.
No, I do not think
I know the meaning of that word. Why frightened? I am not one of those who think the Lord Is waiting till He catches them some day In the back yard alone! What should I fear? She started from the bushes by the path, And had a basket full of herbs and roots For some witch-broth or other,–the old hag.
MARTHA.
She has been here to-day.
COREY.
With hand outstretched
She said: “Giles Corey, will you sign the Book?” “Avaunt!” I cried: “Get thee behind me, Satan!” At which she laughed and left me. But a voice Was whispering in my ear continually:
“Self-murder is no crime. The life of man Is his, to keep it or to throw away!”
MARTHA.
‘T was a temptation of the Evil One! Giles, Giles! why will you harbor these dark thoughts?
COREY (rising).
I am too tired to talk. I’ll go to bed.
MARTHA.
First tell me something about Bridget Bishop. How did she look? You saw her? You were there?
COREY.
I’ll tell you that to-morrow, not to-night. I’ll go to bed.
MARTHA.
First let us pray together.
COREY.
I cannot pray to-night.
MARTHA.
Say the Lord’s Prayer,
And that will comfort you.
COREY.
I cannot say,
“As we forgive those that have sinned against us,” When I do not forgive them.
MARTHA (kneeling on the hearth).
God forgive you!
COREY.
I will not make believe! I say to-night There’s something thwarts me when I wish to pray, And thrusts into my mind, instead of prayers, Hate and revenge, and things that are not prayers. Something of my old self,–my old, bad life,– And the old Adam in me rises up,
And will not let me pray. I am afraid The Devil hinders me. You know I say
Just what I think, and nothing more nor less, And, when I pray, my heart is in my prayer. I cannot say one thing and mean another. If I can’t pray, I will not make believe!
[Exit COREY. MARTHA continues kneeling.
ACT III.
SCENE I. — GILES COREY’S kitchen. Morning. COREY and MARTHA sitting at the breakfast-table.
COREY (rising).
Well, now I’ve told you all I saw and heard Of Bridget Bishop; and I must be gone.
MARTHA.
Don’t go into the village, Giles, to-day. Last night you came back tired and out of humor.
COREY.
Say, angry; say, right angry. I was never In a more devilish temper in my life.
All things went wrong with me.
MARTHA.
You were much vexed;
So don’t go to the village.
COREY (going).
No, I won’t.
I won’t go near it. We are going to mow The Ipswich meadows for the aftermath,
The crop of sedge and rowens.
MARTHA.
Stay a moment,
I want to tell you what I dreamed last night. Do you believe in dreams?
COREY.
Why, yes and no.
When they come true, then I believe in them When they come false, I don’t believe in them. But let me hear. What did you dream about?
MARTHA.
I dreamed that you and I were both in prison; That we had fetters on our hands and feet; That we were taken before the Magistrates, And tried for Witchcraft, and condemned to death! I wished to pray; they would not let me pray; You tried to comfort me, and they forbade it. But the most dreadful thing in all my dream Was that they made you testify against me! And then there came a kind of mist between us; I could not see you; and I woke in terror. I never was more thankful in my life
Than when I found you sleeping at my side!
COREY (with tenderness).
It was our talk last night that made you dream. I’m sorry for it. I’ll control myself
Another time, and keep my temper down! I do not like such dreams.–Remember, Martha, I’m going to mow the Ipswich River meadows; If Gardner comes, you’ll tell him where to find me. [Exit.
MARTHA.
So this delusion grows from bad to worse First, a forsaken and forlorn old woman, Ragged and wretched, and without a friend; Then something higher. Now it’s Bridget Bishop; God only knows whose turn it will be next! The Magistrates are blind, the people mad! If they would only seize the Afflicted Children, And put them in the Workhouse, where they should be, There’d be an end of all this wickedness. [Exit.
SCENE II. — A street in Salem Village. Enter MATHER and HATHORNE.
MATHER.
Yet one thing troubles me.
HATHORNE.
And what is that?
MATHER.
May not the Devil take the outward shape Of innocent persons? Are we not in danger, Perhaps, of punishing some who are not guilty?
HATHORNE.
As I have said, we do not trust alone To spectral evidence.
MATHER.
And then again,
If any shall be put to death for Witchcraft, We do but kill the body, not the soul.
The Unclean Spirits that possessed them once Live still, to enter into other bodies.
What have we gained? Surely, there’s nothing gained.
HATHORNE.
Doth not the Scripture say, “Thou shalt not suffer A Witch to live”?
MATHER.
The Scripture sayeth it,
But speaketh to the Jews; and we are Christians. What say the laws of England?
HATHORNE.
They make Witchcraft
Felony without the benefit of Clergy. Witches are burned in England. You have read– For you read all things, not a book escapes you– The famous Demonology of King James?
MATHER.
A curious volume. I remember also
The plot of the Two Hundred, with one Fian, The Registrar of the Devil, at their head, To drown his Majesty on his return
From Denmark; how they sailed in sieves or riddles Unto North Berwick Kirk in Lothian,
And, landing there, danced hand in hand, and sang, “Goodwife, go ye before! good wife, go ye! If ye’ll not go before, goodwife, let me!” While Geilis Duncan played the Witches’ Reel Upon a jews-harp.
HATHORNE.
Then you know full well
The English law, and that in England Witches, When lawfully convicted and attainted,
Are put to death.
MATHER.
When lawfully convicted;
That is the point.
HATHORNE.
You heard the evidence
Produced before us yesterday at the trial Of Bridget Bishop.
MATHER.
One of the Afflicted,
I know, bore witness to the apparition Of ghosts unto the spectre of this Bishop, Saying, “You murdered us!” of the truth whereof There was in matter of fact too much Suspicion.
HATHORNE.
And when she cast her eyes on the Afflicted, They were struck down; and this in such a manner There could be no collusion in the business. And when the accused but laid her hand upon them, As they lay in their swoons, they straight revived, Although they stirred not when the others touched them.
MATHER.
What most convinced me of the woman’s guilt Was finding hidden in her cellar wall
Those poppets made of rags, with headless pins Stuck into them point outwards, and whereof She could not give a reasonable account.
HATHORNE.
When you shall read the testimony given Before the Court in all the other cases, I am persuaded you will find the proof
No less conclusive than it was in this. Come, then, with me, and I will tax your patience With reading of the documents so far
As may convince you that these sorcerers Are lawfully convicted and attainted.
Like doubting Thomas, you shall lay your hand Upon these wounds, and you will doubt no more. {Exeunt.
SCENE III. — A room in COREY’s house. MARTHA and two Deacons of the church.
MARTHA.
Be seated. I am glad to see you here. I know what you are come for. You are come To question me, and learn from my own lips If I have any dealings with the Devil;
In short, if I’m a Witch.
DEACON (sitting down).
Such is our purpose.
How could you know beforehand why we came?
MARTHA.
‘T was only a surmise.
DEACON.
We came to ask you,
You being with us in church covenant, What part you have, if any, in these matters.
MARTHA.
And I make answer, No part whatsoever. I am a farmer’s wife, a working woman;
You see my spinning-wheel, you see my loom, You know the duties of a farmer’s wife,
And are not ignorant that my life among you Has been without reproach until this day. Is it not true?
DEACON.
So much we’re bound to own,
And say it frankly, and without reserve.
MARTHA.
I’ve heard the idle tales that are abroad; I’ve heard it whispered that I am a Witch; I cannot help it. I do not believe
In any Witchcraft. It is a delusion.
DEACON.
How can you say that it is a delusion, When all our learned and good men believe it,– Our Ministers and worshipful Magistrates?
MARTHA.
Their eyes are blinded and see not the truth. Perhaps one day they will be open to it.
DEACON.
You answer boldly. The Afflicted Children Say you appeared to them.
MARTHA.
And did they say
What clothes I came in?
DEACON.
No, they could not tell.
They said that you foresaw our visit here, And blinded them, so that they could not see The clothes you wore.
MARTHA.
The cunning, crafty girls!
I say to you, in all sincerity,
I never have appeared to anyone
In my own person. If the Devil takes My shape to hurt these children, or afflict them, I am not guilty of it. And I say
It’s all a mere delusion of the senses.
DEACON.
I greatly fear that you will find too late It is not so.
MARTHA (rising).
They do accuse me falsely.
It is delusion, or it is deceit.
There is a story in the ancient Scriptures Which I much wonder comes not to your minds. Let me repeat it to you.
DEACON.
We will hear it.
MARTHA.
It came to pass that Naboth had a vineyard Hard by the palace of the King called Ahab. And Ahab, King of Israel, spake to Naboth, And said to him, Give unto me thy vineyard, That I may have it for a garden of herbs, And I will give a better vineyard for it, Or, if it seemeth good to thee, its worth In money. And then Naboth said to Ahab,
The Lord forbid it me that I should give The inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house displeased
And heavy at the words which Naboth spake, And laid him down upon his bed, and turned His face away; and he would eat no bread. And Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, came
And said to him, Why is thy spirit sad? And he said unto her, Because I spake
To Naboth, to the Jezreelite, and said, Give me thy vineyard; and he answered, saying, I will not give my vineyard unto thee.
And Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, said, Dost thou not rule the realm of Israel?
Arise, eat bread, and let thy heart be merry; I will give Naboth’s vineyard unto thee. So she wrote letters in King Ahab’s name, And sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters Unto the elders that were in his city
Dwelling with Naboth, and unto the nobles; And in the letters wrote, Proclaim a fast; And set this Naboth high among the people, And set two men, the sons of Belial,
Before him, to bear witness and to say, Thou didst blaspheme against God and the King; And carry him out and stone him, that he die! And the elders and the nobles in the city Did even as Jezebel, the wife of Ahab,
Had sent to them and written in the letters.
And then it came to pass, when Ahab heard Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose to go
Down unto Naboth’s vineyard, and to take Possession of it. And the word of God
Came to Elijah, saying to him, Arise, Go down to meet the King of Israel
In Naboth’s vineyard, whither he hath gone To take possession. Thou shalt speak to him, Saying, Thus saith the Lord! What! hast thou killed And also taken possession? In the place
Wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth Shall the dogs lick thy blood,–ay, even thine!
Both of the Deacons start from their seats.
And Ahab then, the King of Israel,
Said, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? Elijah the Prophet answered, I have found thee! So will it be with those who have stirred up The Sons of Belial here to bear false witness And swear away the lives of innocent people; Their enemy will find them out at last,
The Prophet’s voice will thunder, I have found thee! [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. — Meadows on Ipswich River, COREY and his men mowing; COREY in advance.
COREY.
Well done, my men. You see, I lead the field! I’m an old man, but I can swing a scythe Better than most of yon, though you be younger.
Hangs his scythe upon a tree.
GLOYD (aside to the others).
How strong he is! It’s supernatural. No man so old as he is has such strength. The Devil helps him!
COREY (wiping his forehead).
Now we’ll rest awhile,
And take our nooning. What’s the matter with you? You are not angry with me,–are you, Gloyd? Come, come, we will not quarrel. Let’s be friends. It’s an old story, that the Raven said,
“Read the Third of Colossians and fifteenth.”
GLOYD.
You’re handier at the scythe, but I can beat you At wrestling.
COREY.
Well, perhaps so. I don’t know.
I never wrestled with you. Why, you’re vexed! Come, come, don’t bear a grudge.
GLOYD.
You are afraid.
COREY.
What should I bc afraid of? All bear witness The challenge comes from him. Now, then, my man.
They wrestle, and GLOYD is thrown.
ONE OF THE MEN.
That’s a fair fall.
ANOTHER.
‘T was nothing but a foil!
OTHERS.
You’ve hurt him!
COREY (helping GLOYD rise).
No; this meadow-land is soft.
You’re not hurt,–are you, Gloyd?
GLOYD (rising).
No, not much hurt.
COREY.
Well, then, shake hands; and there’s an end of it. How do you like that Cornish hug, my lad? And now we’ll see what’s in our basket here.
GLOYD (aside).
The Devil and all his imps are in that man! The clutch of his ten fingers burns like fire!
COREY (reverentially taking off his hat). God bless the food He hath provided for us, And make us thankful for it, for Christ’s sake!
He lifts up a keg of cider, and drinks from it.
GLOYD.
Do you see that? Don’t tell me it’s not Witchcraft Two of us could not lift that cask as he does!
COREY puts down the keg, and opens a basket. A voice is heard calling.
VOICE.
Ho! Corey, Corey!
COREY.
What is that? I surely
Heard some one calling me by name!
VOICE.
Giles Corey!
Enter a boy, running, and out of breath.
BOY.
Is Master Corey here?
COREY.
Yes, here I am.
BOY.
O Master Corey!
COREY.
Well?
BOY.
Your wife–your wife–
COREY.
What’s happened to my wife?
BOY.
She’s sent to prison!
COREY.
The dream! the dream! O God, be merciful!
BOY.
She sent me here to tell you.
COREY (putting on his jacket).
Where’s my horse?
Don’t stand there staring, fellows. Where’s my horse?
[Exit COREY.
GLOYD.
Under the trees there. Run, old man, run, run! You’ve got some one to wrestle with you now Who’ll trip your heels up, with your Cornish hug. If there’s a Devil, he has got you now.
Ah, there he goes! His horse is snorting fire!
ONE OF THE MEN.
John Gloyd, don’t talk so! It’s a shame to talk so! He’s a good master, though you quarrel with him.
GLOYD.
If hard work and low wages make good masters, Then he is one. But I think otherwise.
Come, let us have our dinner and be merry, And talk about the old man and the Witches. I know some stories that will make you laugh.
They sit down on the grass, and eat.
Now there are Goody Cloyse and Goody Good, Who have not got a decent tooth between them, And yet these children–the Afflicted Children– Say that they bite them, and show marks of teeth Upon their arms!
ONE OF THE MEN.
That makes the wonder greater.
That’s Witchcraft. Why, if they had teeth like yours, ‘T would be no wonder if the girls were bitten!
GLOYD.
And then those ghosts that come out of their graves And cry, “You murdered us! you murdered us!”
ONE OF THE MEN.
And all those Apparitions that stick pins Into the flesh of the Afflicted Children!
GLOYD.
Oh those Afflicted Children! They know well Where the pins come from. I can tell you that. And there’s old Corey, he has got a horseshoe Nailed on his doorstep to keep off the Witches, And all the same his wife has gone to prison.
ONE OF THE MEN.
Oh, she’s no Witch. I’ll swear that Goodwife Corey Never did harm to any living creature.
She’s a good woman, if there ever was one.
GLOYD.
Well, we shall see. As for that Bridget Bishop, She has been tried before; some years ago A negro testified he saw her shape
Sitting upon the rafters in a barn, And holding in its hand an egg; and while He went to fetch his pitchfork, she had vanished. And now be quiet, will you? I am tired,
And want to sleep here on the grass a little.
They stretch themselves on the grass.
ONE OF THE MEN.
There may be Witches riding through the air Over our heads on broomsticks at this moment, Bound for some Satan’s Sabbath in the woods To be baptized.
GLOYD.
I wish they’d take you with them, And hold you under water, head and ears, Till you were drowned; and that would stop your talking, If nothing else will. Let me sleep, I say.
ACT IV
SCENE I. — The Green in front of the village Meeting-house. An excited crowd gathering. Enter JOHN GLOYD.
A FARMER.
Who will be tried to-day?
A SECOND.
I do not know.
Here is John Gloyd. Ask him; he knows.
FARMER.
John Gloyd,
Whose turn is it to-day?
GLOYD.
It’s Goodwife Corey’s.
FARMER.
Giles Corey’s wife?
GLOYD.
The same. She is not mine.
It will go hard with her with all her praying. The hypocrite! She’s always on her knees; But she prays to the Devil when she prays. Let us go in.
A trumpet blows.
FARMER.
Here come the Magistrates.
SECOND FARMER.
Who’s the tall man in front?
GLOYD.
Oh, that is Hathorne,
A Justice of the Court, and a Quarter-master In the Three County Troop. He’ll sift the matter. That’s Corwin with him; and the man in black Is Cotton Mather, Minister of Boston.
Enter HATHORNE and other Magistrates on horseback, followed by the Sheriff, constables, and attendants on foot. The Magistrates dismount, and enter the Meeting-house, with the rest.
FARMER.
The Meeting-house is full. I never saw So great a crowd before.
GLOYD.
No matter. Come.
We shall find room enough by elbowing Our way among them. Put your shoulder to it.
FARMER.
There were not half so many at the trial Of Goodwife Bishop.
GLOYD.
Keep close after me.
I’ll find a place for you. They’ll want me there. I am a friend of Corey’s, as you know,
And he can’t do without me just at present. [Exeunt.
SCENE II. — Interior of the Meeting-house. MATHER and the Magistrates seated in front of the pulpit. Before them a raised platform. MARTHA in chains. COREY near her. MARY WALCOT in a chair. A crowd of spectators, among them GLOYD. Confusion and murmurs during the scene.
HATHORNE.
Call Martha Corey.
MARTHA.
I am here.
HATHORNE.
Come forward.
She ascends the platform.
The Jurors of our Sovereign Lord and Lady The King and Queen, here present, do accuse you Of having on the tenth of June last past, And divers other times before and after, Wickedly used and practised certain arts Called Witchcrafts, Sorceries, and Incantations, Against one Mary Walcot, single woman,
Of Salem Village; by which wicked arts The aforesaid Mary Walcot was tormented, Tortured, afflicted, pined, consumed, and wasted, Against the peace of our Sovereign Lord and Lady The King and Queen, as well as of the Statute Made and provided in that case. What say you?
MARTHA.
Before I answer, give me leave to pray.
HATHORNE.
We have not sent for you, nor are we here, To hear you pray, but to examine you
In whatsoever is alleged against you. Why do you hurt this person?
MARTHA.
I do not.
I am not guilty of the charge against me.
MARY.
Avoid, she-devil! You may torment me now! Avoid, avoid, Witch!
MARTHA.
I am innocent.
I never had to do with any Witchcraft Since I was born. I am a gospel woman.
MARY.
You are a gospel Witch!
MARTHA (clasping her hands).
Ah me! ah me!
Oh, give me leave to pray!
MARY (stretching out her hands).
She hurts me now.
See, she has pinched my hands!
HATHORNE.
Who made these marks
Upon her hands?
MARTHA.
I do not know. I stand
Apart from her. I did not touch her hands.
HATHORNE.
Who hurt her then?
MARTHA.
I know not.
HATHORNE.
Do you think
She is bewitched?
MARTHA.
Indeed I do not think so.
I am no Witch, and have no faith in Witches.
HATHORNE.
Then answer me: When certain persons came To see you yesterday, how did you know
Beforehand why they came?
MARTHA.
I had had speech;
The children said I hurt them, and I thought These people came to question me about it.
HATHORNE.
How did you know the children had been told To note the clothes you wore?
MARTHA.
My husband told me
What others said about it.
HATHORNE.
Goodman Corey,
Say, did you tell her?
COREY.
I must speak the truth;
I did not tell her. It was some one else.
HATHORNE.
Did you not say your husband told you so? How dare you tell a lie in this assembly? Who told you of the clothes? Confess the truth.
MARTHA bites her lips, and is silent.
You bite your lips, but do not answer me!
MARY.
Ah, she is biting me! Avoid, avoid!
HATHORNE.
You said your husband told you.
MARTHA.
Yes, he told me
The children said I troubled them.
HATHORNE.
Then tell me,
Why do you trouble them?
MARTHA.
I have denied it.
MARY.
She threatened me; stabbed at me with her spindle; And, when my brother thrust her with his sword, He tore her gown, and cut a piece away.
Here are they both, the spindle and the cloth.
Shows them.
HATHORNE.
And there are persons here who know the truth Of what has now been said. What answer make you?
MARTHA.
I make no answer. Give me leave to pray.
HATHORNE.
Whom would you pray to?
MARTHA.
To my God and Father.
HATHORNE.
Who is your God and Father?
MARTHA.
The Almighty!
HATHORNE.
Doth he you pray to say that he is God? It is the Prince of Darkness, and not God.
MARY.
There is a dark shape whispering in her ear.
HATHORNE.
What does it say to you?
MARTHA.
I see no shape.
HATHORNE.
Did you not hear it whisper?
MARTHA.
I heard nothing.
MARY.
What torture! Ah, what agony I suffer!
Falls into a swoon.
HATHORNE.
You see this woman cannot stand before you. If you would look for mercy, you must look In God’s way, by confession of your guilt. Why does your spectre haunt and hurt this person?
MARTHA.
I do not know. He who appeared of old In Samuel’s shape, a saint and glorified, May come in whatsoever shape he chooses. I cannot help it. I am sick at heart!
COREY.
O Martha, Martha! let me hold your hand.
HATHORNE.
No; stand aside, old man.
MARY (starting up).
Look there! Look there!
I see a little bird, a yellow bird
Perched on her finger; and it pecks at me. Ah, it will tear mine eyes out!
MARTHA.
I see nothing.
HATHORNE.
‘T is the Familiar Spirit that attends her.
MARY.
Now it has flown away. It sits up there Upon the rafters. It is gone; is vanished.
MARTHA.
Giles, wipe these tears of anger from mine eyes. Wipe the sweat from my forehead. I am faint.
She leans against the railing.
MARY.
Oh, she is crushing me with all her weight!
HATHORNE.
Did you not carry once the Devil’s Book To this young woman?
MARTHA.
Never.
HATHORNE.
Have you signed it,
Or touched it?
MARTHA.
No; I never saw it.
HATHORNE.
Did you not scourge her with an iron rod?
MARTHA.
No, I did not. If any Evil Spirit
Has taken my shape to do these evil deeds, I cannot help it. I am innocent.
HATHORNE.
Did you not say the Magistrates were blind? That you would open their eyes?
MARTHA (with a scornful laugh).
Yes, I said that;
If you call me a sorceress, you are blind! If you accuse the innocent, you are blind! Can the innocent be guilty?
HATHORNE.
Did you not
On one occasion hide your husband’s saddle To hinder him from coming to the sessions?
MARTHA.
I thought it was a folly in a farmer To waste his time pursuing such illusions.
HATHORNE.
What was the bird that this young woman saw Just now upon your hand?
MARTHA.
I know no bird.
HATHORNE.
Have you not dealt with a Familiar Spirit?
MARTHA.
No, never, never!
HATHORNE.
What then was the Book
You showed to this young woman, and besought her To write in it?
MARTHA.
Where should I have a book?
I showed her none, nor have none.
MARY.
The next Sabbath
Is the Communion Day, but Martha Corey Will not be there!
MARTHA.
Ah, you are all against me.
What can I do or say?
HATHORNE.
You can confess.
MARTHA.
No, I cannot, for I am innocent.
HATHORNE.
We have the proof of many witnesses That you are guilty.
MARTHA.
Give me leave to speak.
Will you condemn me on such evidence,– You who have known me for so many years? Will you condemn me in this house of God, Where I so long have worshipped with you all? Where I have eaten the bread and drunk the wine So many times at our Lord’s Table with you? Bear witness, you that hear me; you all know That I have led a blameless life among you, That never any whisper of suspicion
Was breathed against me till this accusation. And shall this count for nothing? Will you take My life away from me, because this girl, Who is distraught, and not in her right mind, Accuses me of things I blush to name?
HATHORNE.
What! is it not enough? Would you hear more? Giles Corey!
COREY.
I am here.
HATHORNE.
Come forward, then.
COREY ascends the platform.
Is it not true, that on a certain night You were impeded strangely in your prayers? That something hindered you? and that you left This woman here, your wife, kneeling alone Upon the hearth?
COREY.
Yes; I cannot deny it.
HATHORNE.
Did you not say the Devil hindered you?
COREY.
I think I said some words to that effect.
HATHORNE.
Is it not true, that fourteen head of cattle, To you belonging, broke from their enclosure And leaped into the river, and were drowned?
COREY.
It is most true.
HATHORNE.
And did you not then say
That they were overlooked?
COREY.
So much I said.
I see; they’re drawing round me closer, closer, A net I cannot break, cannot escape from! (Aside).
HATHORNE.
Who did these things?
COREY.
I do not know who did them.
HATHORNE.
Then I will tell you. It is some one near you; You see her now; this woman, your own wife.
COREY.
I call the heavens to witness, it is false! She never harmed me, never hindered me
In anything but what I should not do. And I bear witness in the sight of heaven, And in God’s house here, that I never knew her As otherwise than patient, brave, and true, Faithful, forgiving, full of charity,
A virtuous and industrious and good wife!
HATHORNE.
Tut, tut, man; do not rant so in your speech; You are a witness, not an advocate!
Here, Sheriff, take this woman back to prison.
MARTHA.
O Giles, this day you’ve sworn away my life!
MARY.
Go, go and join the Witches at the door. Do you not hear the drum? Do you not see them? Go quick. They’re waiting for you. You are late. [Exit MARTHA; COREY following.
COREY.
The dream! the dream! the dream!
HATHORNE.
What does he say?
Giles Corey, go not hence. You are yourself Accused of Witchcraft and of Sorcery
By many witnesses. Say, are you guilty?
COREY.
I know my death is foreordained by you, Mine and my wife’s. Therefore I will not answer.
During the rest of the scene he remains silent.
HATHORNE.
Do you refuse to plead?–‘T were better for you To make confession, or to plead Not Guilty.– Do you not hear me?–Answer, are you guilty? Do you not know a heavier doom awaits you, If you refuse to plead, than if found guilty? Where is John Gloyd?
GLOYD (coming forward).
Here am I.
HATHORNE.
Tell the Court
Have you not seen the supernatural power Of this old man? Have you not seen him do Strange feats of strength?
GLOYD.
I’ve seen him lead the field, On a hot day, in mowing, and against
Us younger men; and I have wrestled with him. He threw me like a feather. I have seen him Lift up a barrel with his single hands,
Which two strong men could hardly lift together, And, holding it above his head, drink from it.
HATHORNE.
That is enough; we need not question further. What answer do you make to this, Giles Corey?
MARY.
See there! See there!
HATHORNE.
What is it? I see nothing.
MARY.
Look! Look! It is the ghost of Robert Goodell, Whom fifteen years ago this man did murder By stamping on his body! In his shroud
He comes here to bear witness to the crime!
The crowd shrinks back from COREY in horror.
HATHORNE.
Ghosts of the dead and voices of the living Bear witness to your guilt, and you must die! It might have been an easier death. Your doom Will be on your own head, and not on ours. Twice more will you be questioned of these things; Twice more have room to plead or to confess. If you are contumacious to the Court,
And if, when questioned, you refuse to answer, Then by the Statute you will be condemned To the peine forte et dure! To have your body Pressed by great weights until you shall be dead! And may the Lord have mercy on your soul!
ACT V.
SCENE I. — COREy’s farm as in Act II., Scene I. Enter RICHARD GARDNER, looking round him.
GARDNER.
Here stands the house as I remember it. The four tall poplar-trees before the door; The house, the barn, the orchard, and the well, With its moss-covered bucket and its trough; The garden, with its hedge of currant-bushes; The woods, the harvest-fields; and, far beyond, The pleasant landscape stretching to the sea. But everything is silent and deserted!
No bleat of flocks, no bellowing of herds, No sound of flails, that should be beating now; Nor man nor beast astir. What can this mean?
Knocks at the door.
What ho! Giles Corey! Hillo-ho! Giles Corey!– No answer but the echo from the barn,
And the ill-omened cawing of the crow, That yonder wings his flight across the fields, As if he scented carrion in the air.
Enter TITUBA with a basket.
What woman’s this, that, like an apparition, Haunts this deserted homestead in broad day? Woman, who are you?
TITUBA.
I’m Tituba.
I am John Indian’s wife. I am a Witch.
GARDNER.
What are you doing here?
TITUBA.
I am gathering herbs,–
Cinquefoil, and saxifrage, and pennyroyal.
GARDNER (looking at the herbs).
This is not cinquefoil, it is deadly nightshade! This is not saxifrage, but hellebore!
This is not pennyroyal, it is henbane! Do you come here to poison these good people?
TITUBA.
I get these for the Doctor in the Village. Beware of Tituba. I pinch the children;
Make little poppets and stick pins in them, And then the children cry out they are pricked. The Black Dog came to me and said, “Serve me!” I was afraid. He made me hurt the children.
GARDNER.
Poor soul! She’s crazed, with all these Devil’s doings.
TITUBA.
Will you, sir, sign the book?
GARDNER.
No, I’ll not sign it.
Where is Giles Corey? Do you know Giles Corey!
TITUBA.
He’s safe enough. He’s down there in the prison.
GARDNER.
Corey in prison? What is he accused of?
TITURA.
Giles Corey and Martha Corey are in prison Down there in Salem Village. Both are witches. She came to me and whispered, “Kill the children!” Both signed the Book!
GARDNER.
Begone, you imp of darkness!
You Devil’s dam!
TITUBA.
Beware of Tituba!
[Exit.
GARDNER.
How often out at sea on stormy nights, When the waves thundered round me, and the wind Bellowed, and beat the canvas, and my ship Clove through the solid darkness, like a wedge, I’ve thought of him upon his pleasant farm, Living in quiet with his thrifty housewife, And envied him, and wished his fate were mine! And now I find him shipwrecked utterly,
Drifting upon this sea of sorceries, And lost, perhaps, beyond all aid of man! [Exit.
SCENE II.. — The prison. GILES COREY at a table on which are some papers.
COREY.
Now I have done with earth and all its cares; I give my worldly goods to my dear children; My body I bequeath to my tormentors,
And my immortal soul to Him who made it. O God! who in thy wisdom dost afflict me With an affliction greater than most men Have ever yet endured or shall endure,
Suffer me not in this last bitter hour For any pains of death to fall from Thee!
MARTHA is heard singing.
Arise, O righteous Lord!
And disappoint my foes;
They are but thine avenging sword, Whose wounds are swift to close.
COREY.
Hark, hark! it is her voice! She is not dead! She lives! I am not utterly forsaken!
MARTHA, singing.
By thine abounding grace,
And mercies multiplied,
I shall awake, and see thy face; I shall be satisfied.
COREY hides his face in his hands. Enter the JAILER, followed by RICHARD GARDNER.
JAILER.
Here’s a seafaring man, one Richard Gardner, A friend of yours, who asks to speak with you.
COREY rises. They embrace.
COREY.
I’m glad to see you, ay, right glad to see you.
GARDNER.
And I am most sorely grieved to see you thus.
COREY.
Of all the friends I had in happier days, You are the first, ay, and the only one, That comes to seek me out in my disgrace! And you but come in time to say farewell, They’ve dug my grave already in the field. I thank you. There is something in your presence, I know not what it is, that gives me strength. Perhaps it is the bearing of a man
Familiar with all dangers of the deep, Familiar with the cries of drowning men, With fire, and wreck, and foundering ships at sea!
GARDNER.
Ah, I have never known a wreck like yours! Would I could save you!
COREY.
Do not speak of that.
It is too late. I am resolved to die.
GARDNER.
Why would you die who have so much to live for?– Your daughters, and–
COREY.
You cannot say the word.
My daughters have gone from me. They are married; They have their homes, their thoughts, apart from me; I will not say their hearts,–that were too cruel. What would you have me do?
GARDNER.
Confess and live.
COREY.
That’s what they said who came here yesterday To lay a heavy weight upon my conscience By telling me that I was driven forth
As an unworthy member of their church.
GARDNER.
It is an awful death.
COREY.
‘T is but to drown,
And have the weight of all the seas upon you.
GARDNER.
Say something; say enough to fend off death Till this tornado of fanaticism
Blows itself out. Let me come in between you And your severer self, with my plain sense; Do not be obstinate.
COREY.
I will not plead.
If I deny, I am condemned already,
In courts where ghosts appear as witnesses, And swear men’s lives away. If I confess, Then I confess a lie, to buy a life
Which is not life, but only death in life. I will not bear false witness against any, Not even against myself, whom I count least.
GARDNER (aside).
Ah, what a noble character is this!
COREY.
I pray you, do not urge me to do that You would not do yourself. I have already The bitter taste of death upon my lips;
I feel the pressure of the heavy weight That will crush out my life within this hour; But if a word could save me, and that word Were not the Truth; nay, if it did but swerve A hair’s-breadth from the Truth, I would not say it!
GARDNER (aside).
How mean I seem beside a man like this!
COREY.
As for my wife, my Martha and my Martyr,– Whose virtues, like the stars, unseen by day, Though numberless, do but await the dark To manifest themselves unto all eyes,–
She who first won me from my evil ways, And taught me how to live by her example, By her example teaches me to die,
And leads me onward to the better life!
SHERIFF (without).
Giles Corey! Come! The hour has struck!
COREY.
I come!
Here is my body; ye may torture it, But the immortal soul ye cannot crush!
[Exeunt.
SCENE III– A street in the Village. Enter GLOYD and others.
GLOYD.
Quick, or we shall be late!
A MAN.
That’s not the way.
Come here; come up this lane.
GLOYD.
I wonder now
If the old man will die, and will not speak? He’s obstinate enough and tough enough
For anything on earth.
A bell tolls.
Hark! What is that?
A MAN.
The passing bell. He’s dead!
GLOYD.
We are too late.
[Exeunt in haste.
SCENE IV. — A field near the graveyard, GILES COREY lying dead, with a great stone on his breast. The Sheriff at his head, RICHARD GARDNER at his feet. A crowd behind. The bell tolling. Enter HATHORNE and MATHER.
HATHORNE.
This is the Potter’s Field. Behold the fate Of those who deal in Witchcrafts, and, when questioned, Refuse to plead their guilt or innocence, And stubbornly drag death upon themselves.
MATHER.
O sight most horrible! In a land like this, Spangled with Churches Evangelical,
Inwrapped in our salvations, must we seek In mouldering statute-books of English Courts Some old forgotten Law, to do such deeds? Those who lie buried in the Potter’s Field Will rise again, as surely as ourselves
That sleep in honored graves with epitaphs; And this poor man, whom we have made a victim, Hereafter will be counted as a martyr!
FINALE
SAINT JOHN
SAINT JOHN wandering over the face of the Earth.
SAINT JOHN.
The Ages come and go,
The Centuries pass as Years;
My hair is white as the snow,
My feet are weary and slow,
The earth is wet with my tears
The kingdoms crumble, and fall
Apart, like a ruined wall,
Or a bank that is undermined
By a river’s ceaseless flow,
And leave no trace behind!
The world itself is old;
The portals of Time unfold
On hinges of iron, that grate
And groan with the rust and the weight, Like the hinges of a gate
That hath fallen to decay;
But the evil doth not cease;
There is war instead of peace,
Instead of Love there is hate;
And still I must wander and wait,
Still I must watch and pray,
Not forgetting in whose sight,
A thousand years in their flight
Are as a single day.
The life of man is a gleam
Of light, that comes and goes
Like the course of the Holy Stream. The cityless river, that flows
From fountains no one knows,
Through the Lake of Galilee,
Through forests and level lands,
Over rocks, and shallows, and sands Of a wilderness wild and vast,
Till it findeth its rest at last
In the desolate Dead Sea!
But alas! alas for me
Not yet this rest shall be!
What, then! doth Charity fail?
Is Faith of no avail?
Is Hope blown out like a light
By a gust of wind in the night?
The clashing of creeds, and the strife Of the many beliefs, that in vain
Perplex man’s heart and brain,
Are naught but the rustle of leaves, When the breath of God upheaves
The boughs of the Tree of Life,
And they subside again!
And I remember still
The words, and from whom they came, Not he that repeateth the name,
But he that doeth the will!
And Him evermore I behold
Walking in Galilee,
Through the cornfield’s waving gold, In hamlet, in wood, and in wold,
By the shores of the Beautiful Sea. He toucheth the sightless eyes;
Before Him the demons flee;
To the dead He sayeth: Arise!
To the living: Follow me!
And that voice still soundeth on
From the centuries that are gone,
To the centuries that shall be!
From all vain pomps and shows,
From the pride that overflows,
And the false conceits of men;
From all the narrow rules
And subtleties of Schools,
And the craft of tongue and pen;
Bewildered in its search,
Bewildered with the cry,
Lo, here! lo, there, the Church!
Poor, sad Humanity
Through all the dust and heat
Turns back with bleeding feet,
By the weary road it came,
Unto the simple thought
By the great Master taught,
And that remaineth still:
Not he that repeateth the name,
But he that doeth the will!
********
JUDAS MACCABAEUS.
ACT I.
The Citadel of Antiochus at Jerusalem.
SCENE I. — ANTIOCHUS; JASON.
ANTIOCHUS.
O Antioch, my Antioch, my city!
Queen of the East! my solace, my delight! The dowry of my sister Cleopatra
When she was wed to Ptolemy, and now Won back and made more wonderful by me!
I love thee, and I long to be once more Among the players and the dancing women
Within thy gates, and bathe in the Orontes, Thy river and mine. O Jason, my High-Priest, For I have made thee so, and thou art mine, Hast thou seen Antioch the Beautiful?
Jason.
Never, my Lord.
ANTIOCHUS.
Then hast thou never seen
The wonder of the world. This city of David Compared with Antioch is but a village,
And its inhabitants compared with Greeks Are mannerless boors.
JASON.
They are barbarians,
And mannerless.
ANTIOCHUS.
They must be civilized.
They must be made to have more gods than one; And goddesses besides.
JASON.
They shall have more.
ANTIOCHUS.
They must have hippodromes, and games, and baths, Stage-plays and festivals, and most of all The Dionysia.
JASON.
They shall have them all.
ANTIOCHUS.
By Heracles! but I should like to see These Hebrews crowned with ivy, and arrayed In skins of fawns, with drums and flutes and thyrsi, Revel and riot through the solemn streets Of their old town. Ha, ha! It makes me merry Only to think of it!–Thou dost not laugh.
JASON.
Yea, I laugh inwardly.
ANTIOCHUS.
The new Greek leaven
Works slowly in this Israelitish dough! Have I not sacked the Temple, and on the altar Set up the statue of Olympian Zeus
To Hellenize it?
JASON.
Thou hast done all this.
ANTIOCHUS.
As thou wast Joshua once and now art Jason, And from a Hebrew hast become a Greek,
So shall this Hebrew nation be translated, Their very natures and their names be changed, And all be Hellenized.
JASON.
It shall be done.
ANTIOCHUS.
Their manners and their laws and way of living Shall all be Greek. They shall unlearn their language, And learn the lovely speech of Antioch.
Where hast thou been to-day? Thou comest late.
JASON.
Playing at discus with the other priests In the Gymnasium.
ANTIOCHUS.
Thou hast done well.
There’s nothing better for you lazy priests Than discus-playing with the common people. Now tell me, Jason, what these Hebrews call me When they converse together at their games.
JASON.
Antiochus Epiphanes, my Lord;
Antiochus the Illustrious.
ANTIOCHUS.
O, not that;
That is the public cry; I mean the name They give me when they talk among themselves, And think that no one listens; what is that?
JASON.
Antiochus Epimanes, my Lord!
ANTIOCHUS.
Antiochus the Mad! Ay, that is it.
And who hath said it? Who hath set in motion That sorry jest?
JASON.
The Seven Sons insane
Of a weird woman, like themselves insane.
ANTIOCHUS.
I like their courage, but it shall not save them. They shall be made to eat the flesh of swine, Or they shall die. Where are they?
JASON.
In the dungeons
Beneath this tower.
ANTIOCHUS.
There let them stay and starve,
Till I am ready to make Greeks of them, After my fashion.
JASON.
They shall stay and starve.–
My Lord, the Ambassadors of Samaria Await thy pleasure.
ANTIOCHUS.
Why not my displeasure?
Ambassadors are tedious. They are men Who work for their own ends, and not for mine There is no furtherance in them. Let them go To Apollonius, my governor
There in Samaria, and not trouble me. What do they want?
JASON.
Only the royal sanction
To give a name unto a nameless temple Upon Mount Gerizim.
ANTIOCHUS.
Then bid them enter.
This pleases me, and furthers my designs. The occasion is auspicious. Bid them enter.
SCENE II. — ANTIOCHUS; JASON; THE SAMARITAN AMBASSADORS.
ANTIOCHUS.
Approach. Come forward; stand not at the door Wagging your long beards, but demean yourselves As doth become Ambassadors. What seek ye?
AN AMBASSADOR.
An audience from the King.
ANTIOCHUS.
Speak, and be brief.
Waste not the time in useless rhetoric. Words are not things.
AMBASSADOR (reading). “To King Antiochus, The God, Epiphanes; a Memorial
From the Sidonians, who live at Sichem.”
ANTIOCHUS.
Sidonians?
AMBASSADOR.
Ay, my Lord.
ANTIOCHUS.
Go on, go on!
And do not tire thyself and me with bowing!
AMBASSADOR (reading).
“We are a colony of Medes and Persians.”
ANTIOCHUS.
No, ye are Jews from one of the Ten Tribes; Whether Sidonians or Samaritans
Or Jews of Jewry, matters not to me; Ye are all Israelites, ye are all Jews.
When the Jews prosper, ye claim kindred with them; When the Jews suffer, ye are Medes and Persians: I know that in the days of Alexander
Ye claimed exemption from the annual tribute In the Sabbatic Year, because, ye said,
Your fields had not been planted in that year.
AMBASSADOR (reading).
“Our fathers, upon certain frequent plagues, And following an ancient superstition,
Were long accustomed to observe that day