PLACE: The Queen's apartment.
CHARACTERS: Queen Esther, King Ahasuerus, Haman,
Servants, Mordecai.
[_The servants are preparing the feast. Enter_ ESTHER.]
_Esther:_ See ye that the feast is in readiness, for the
King will soon arrive.
[_Servants bow._]
_Servant:_ The King cometh!
_Esther_ [_going to meet the_ KING _as he enters_]: Welcome,
my lord!
[_The_ KING _sits upon a throne prepared for him._]
_King:_ I am happy to be with thee, my fair Queen. Thou must
have a request which thou desirest to make--speak, be not
afraid. I will grant it though it be half of my kingdom.
_Esther:_ If I have found favor in thy sight, O King, and if
it please the King, let my life be saved and the lives of my
people--the Hebrew people. We are to be destroyed, to be
slain and to perish.
_King:_ Thy people? The Hebrew people? Who is this and where
is he that dareth in his heart to do this thing to thy
people?
_Esther:_ The enemy is thy chief counselor, this wicked
Haman.
_King:_ Did Haman do this deed? How didst thou know of his
plan?
_Esther:_ O King, Mordecai, the Jew, my uncle, hath shown me
the letter which Haman hath sent over the country. The Jews
are to be killed on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month.
I am begging thee for my life and for the lives of my
people!
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Queen Esther pleads for her people]
_King:_ Fear not, Esther; thy people shall be saved.
Mordecai, the Jew, hath once done me a great service. He
hath not been rewarded for this. He shall have honor, for he
deserveth it.
_Servant:_ The great Haman hath come, O Queen.
[HAMAN _enters; they seat themselves, and the feast is
served._]
_King:_ Haman, what shall be done unto the man whom the King
delighteth to honor?
_Haman_ [_aside_]: Whom would the King like to honor more
than myself? [_To the_ KING]: For the man whom the King
delighteth to honor, let the royal apparel be brought which
the King useth to wear, and the horse which the King rideth
upon, and the royal crown which is set upon his head; and
let these be given the man whom the King delighteth to
honor; and let him ride on horseback through the streets of
the city; and proclaim before him, "Thus it shall be done
unto the man whom the King delighteth to honor!"
_King:_ Make haste and take the royal apparel and the horse
as thou hast said and do even so unto Mordecai, the Jew,
that sitteth at the King's gate. Let nothing fail of all
that thou hast spoken.
[HAMAN _bows his head low and goes out to_ MORDECAI.]
_Servant:_ O King, Haman hath built a gallows upon which to
hang Mordecai, the Jew, this day.
[HAMAN _returns with_ MORDECAI _and puts on the crown,
etc._]
_King:_ Let him who hath made the gallows hang upon it!
[_Servant takes_ HAMAN _out._]
_King:_ Come near, Mordecai. Thou hast found great favor in
mine eyes. From henceforth thou shalt be my chief counselor,
and thou shalt rule the land in Haman's place. Thy people
shall be spared, and letters shall be sent over all the
land and into every province which shall state that the
Hebrew people shall not be destroyed, but instead they shall
be honored and have joy and feasting.
_Mordecai:_ I thank thee, O King and Esther, my Queen, for
the great deliverance and for this great honor to me. May
the Lord give me strength to deal wisely with these peoples.
_Esther:_ This is a great happiness which thou hast bestowed
upon me, O King.