Historia Amoris. Saltus Edgar

of her absent lover.)

      Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou takest thy flocks to rest at noon that I may not wander among the flocks of thy comrades.

       An Odalisque

      If thou knowest not, O thou fairest among women, follow the flock and feed thy kids by the shepherds’ tents.

       Solomon

       (to the Shulamite.)

      To my horse, when harnessed to the chariot that Pharaoh sent me, I compare thee, O my love. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of pearls, thy neck with charms of coral. We will make for thee necklaces of gold, studded with silver.

       The Shulamite

       (aside.)

      While the King sitteth at his divan, my spikenard perfumes me and to me my beloved is a bouquet of myrrh, unto me he is as a cluster of cypress in the vines of Engedi.

       Solomon

      Yes, thou art fair, my beloved. Yes, thou art fair. Thine eyes are the eyes of a dove.

       The Shulamite

       (thinking of the absent one.)

      Yes, thou art fair, my beloved. Yes, thou art charming, and our tryst is a litter of green.

       Solomon

       (to whom constancy has no meaning.)

      The beams of our house are cedar and our rafters of fir.

       The Shulamite

       (singing.)

      I am the rose of Sharon The lily of the valley am I.

       (Enter suddenly the Shepherd.)

       The Shepherd

      As a lily among thorns, so is my love among daughters.

       The Shulamite

       (running to him.)

      As is the apple among fruit, so is my beloved among men. In delight I have sat in his shadow and his savor was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banquet hall and put o’er me the banner of love.

      (Turning to the Odalisques.)

      Stay me with wine, strengthen me with fruit, for I am swooning with love.

      (Half-fainting she falls in the Shepherd’s arms.)

      His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me.

       The Shepherd

       (to the Odalisques.)

      I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the hinds of the field, that ye stir not, nor awake my beloved till she will.

       The Shulamite

       (dreaming in the Shepherd’s arms.)

      My own love’s voice. Arise, my fair one, he tells me, arise and let us go. …

       The Shepherd

      I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not, nor awake my beloved till she will.

       (Solomon motions; the Shepherd is removed.)

      Act II.

      A Street in Jerusalem.

      In the distance is Solomon and his retinue.

       Chorus of Men

      Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness, exhaling the odor of myrrh and of frankincense and all the powders of the perfumer?

       (Solomon and his retinue advance.)

       First Jerusalemite

      Behold the palanquin of Solomon. Three score valiant men are about it. They all hold swords. …

       Second Jerusalemite

      King Solomon has had made for him a litter of Lebanon wood. The supports are of silver, the bottom of gold, the covering of purple. In the centre is a loved one, chosen from among the daughters of Jerusalem.

      The Chorus

       (calling to women in the houses.)

      Come forth, daughters of Zion, and behold the King. …

      Act III.

      The Seraglio.

       Solomon

       (to the Shulamite.)

      Yes, thou art fair, my love, yes, thou art fair. Thou hast dove’s eyes. … Thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot on thee.

       The Shepherd

       (without, in the garden, calling to the Shulamite and referring in veiled terms to the seraglio and its dangers.)

      Come to me, my betrothed, come to me from Lebanon. Look at me from the top of Amana, from the summit of Shenir and Hermon, from the lion’s den and the mountain of leopards.

       (The Shulamite goes to a window and looks out.)

       The Shepherd

      You have strengthened my heart, my sister betrothed, you have strengthened my heart with one of thine eyes, with one of the curls that float on thy neck. How dear is thy love, my sister betrothed! Thy caresses are better than wine, and the fragrance of thy garments is sweeter than spice.

       The Shulamite

      Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its pleasant fruits.

       The Shepherd

      I am come into my garden, my sister betrothed, I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk.

      (To the chorus.)

      Eat, comrades, drink abundantly, friends.

       (The Shepherd and the chorus withdraw.)

      Act IV.

      The Seraglio.

       The Shulamite

       (musing.)

      I sleep but my heart waketh. I heard the voice of my beloved. He knocked. Open to me! he said. My sister, my love, my immaculate dove, open to me, for my head is covered with dew, the locks of my hair are wet … I rose to open to my beloved … but he was gone. My soul faileth me when he spoke not. I sought him, but I could not find him. I called him but he did not reply.

      (A pause. She relates the story of her abduction.)

      The watchman that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me, and the keepers of the walls took away my veil.

      (To the Odalisques.)

      I pray you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him that I die of love.

       Chorus of Odalisques

      In what is the superiority of thy lover, O pearl among women, that thou beseechest us so?

       The Shulamite

      My beloved’s skin is white and ruddy. He is one in a thousand. … His eyes are as doves. … His cheeks are a bed of flowers. … He is charming. Such is my beloved, such is my dear one, O daughters of Jerusalem.

       Chorus of Odalisques

      Whither is thy beloved gone, O pearl among women? Which way did he turn, that we may seek him with thee?

       The Shulamite

      My beloved is gone from the garden. … But I am his and he is mine. He feedeth his flocks among lilies.

       (Enter Solomon.)

      (The