thy neck, and save the city.
ZEDEKIAH
I should bring shame on all the kings whose throne is my heritage; I
should disgrace the mantle of my forefathers.
JEREMIAH
Think no longer of those who have been. They are dead, and worms have
eaten them. Think of the city and of those who now live therein.
ZEDEKIAH
Not me alone will Nebuchadnezzar abase, but God also.
JEREMIAH
God smiles at those who would abase him. Open the gates, open thy heart
to humbleness.
ZEDEKIAH
Nebuchadnezzar would enter the holy of holies which none may approach.
JEREMIAH
God will avert it, should it be his will; thou canst not avert it. Open
the gates, open thy heart to humbleness.
ZEDEKIAH
[Angrily] Thy wisdom is stubbornness; thy counsel, insolence. With deaf
ears dost thou hearken, and thine answer is hard as flint.
JEREMIAH
Am I to laud thy blindness, to approve whate'er thou sayest? Feigning to
ask counsel, thou wouldst have naught but flattery. May my tongue
consume away in my mouth, my bones fall apart, ere I praise thy folly
and cease from crying against thy blindness.
ZEDEKIAH
Why railest thou thus, when thou hast not yet heard my purpose?
JEREMIAH
I know thy purpose. With words dost thou fawn on me, whilst thy will is
set up against me. Wouldst mock me, and play with God's word? Thou hast
not summoned me to help thee decide. Long ere this has the message been
signed and sealed within thy soul. Thou mayst deceive thyself, King of
Israel, but me thou canst not deceive.
ZEDEKIAH
Jeremiah!
JEREMIAH
Yea, verily, I, Jeremiah, say unto thee, the king: Thou dealest falsely
with me, and thy words are a blind. No longer is thy will free, nor dost
thou truly desire me to influence thy decision.
ZEDEKIAH
[Unsteadily] How canst thou know this?
JEREMIAH
Thy lips betray thee. Thou quailest before my wrath like a guilty man.
Fain wouldst thou tempt me to approve thy decision, to lift the guilt
from thy shoulders. Woe unto him who tempts men, for he tempts the god
that is in men.
ZEDEKIAH
[Hesitates, greatly moved. Then he speaks in low tones] Much, indeed, is
it given thee to know, Jeremiah. Too true are thy words. My will is no
longer free, I have delivered my message to the envoy.
JEREMIAH
Recall it! Save the city.
ZEDEKIAH
He is on his way to Nebuchadnezzar.
JEREMIAH
Send for him! Bring him back!
ZEDEKIAH
Too late. The advice comes too late.
JEREMIAH
Hasten after him. Pursue him with runners and riders.
ZEDEKIAH
It is too late. By now my message must have reached the king of Ashur.
JEREMIAH
[Hides his face, lamenting] Woe, woe unto Jerusalem, woe unto Jerusalem!
ZEDEKIAH
[Drawing near him in alarm] What ails thee Jeremiah?
[JEREMIAH does not heed the king. Sobs shake his frame. Soon, however,
he draws himself up once more. Now his gaze is fixed on the distance. He
speaks as in a dream, raising his hands, like one inspired]
JEREMIAH
How art thou fallen from heaven,
Jerusalem, sun of the morning!
Thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
Alas, thou art fallen from glory,
Art sunken in darkness and night.
ZEDEKIAH
[Calls to him loudly, hoping to awaken him from the trance] Jeremiah!
JEREMIAH
What star was brighter than thine,
Thou city of Jacob,
Thou fortress of David,
Thou tabernacle of Solomon,
God's treasure and his holy house?
Who could herald thy ways, who could signal thy praise?
All happy the psalteries, the cymbals grew light,
With sounding thy triumphs from morning till night.
ZEDEKIAH
Thou ravest, Jeremiah; awake, awake!
JEREMIAH
[Unheeding] How still art thou now, my beloved.
Thy brightness, say, where hath it gone?
The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride
No longer are heard among thy houses.
The market hath become desolate.
Quenched are the voice of joy,
The voice of gladness,
The sound of flute playing,
And the song of the maidens.
A slayer hath fallen upon thee,
An avenger from the north.
Waste places are thy streets,
Nettles grow in thy pleasant places,
Thorns and brambles in the palace of thy kings.
Alas, thy walls are laid low,
All thy towers are broken down;
Shamefully overthrown
Is the everlasting heart of thy sanctuary.
ZEDEKIAH
Accursed one, thou liest! High and hale stand the walls of Jerusalem.
JEREMIAH
[With growing frenzy] Every head hath been shorn,
Every beard hath been clipt.
The mothers, wearing sackcloth,
Tear the flesh from their cheeks,
Wailing:
"Where are my sons, where are my daughters?"
Woe is me!
The dead bodies of the sons
Lie like dung in the streets
Where they have perished by the sword;
The daughters have been strangled with their own hair,
And the women with child have been ripped up.
The jackals of the wilderness are gorged,
The ravens weary with feasting.
ZEDEKIAH
Be silent, be silent! Thou liest!
JEREMIAH
What availeth it to seek safety in thorny thickets,
To flee from death into the burning fissures of the rock?
They hunt thee with horses, with companies of spearmen,
Track thee down, and with sticks beat the coverts for their game,
Drive thee forth from the crannies with firebrands and smoke,
Pursue thee, and seize thee, and slay.
They ravish the women, they slaughter the elders,
Just men are made slaves of their lowliest bondsmen,
Made servants of servants the daughters of kings.
ZEDEKIAH
Hold thy peace, liar, lest my wrath smite thee!
JEREMIAH
[Lamenting] Jerusalem, virgin and daughter of Judah,
The heathen make mock of thy pitiful plight.
Woe is me that I must look on thine affliction.
All thine enemies have opened their mouths against thee,
Laughing, and hissing, and gnashing their teeth,
Saying:
"We have swallowed her up!
"Is this the city that men call
"The perfection of beauty,
"The joy of the whole earth?
"Verily we have laid her low.
"Certainly this is the day we looked for,
"We have found it,
"We have seen it."
ZEDEKIAH
[Beside himself with rage, clenching his fists] Be silent, liar, I will
listen no longer.
JEREMIAH
Jerusalem, holy city of the Lord,
Cradle of the nations, treasure of the world!
Who will extol thee, who now will search thee out?
A legend of the ages hast thou become,
A fable and a proverb among the peoples.
Ah, I see ...
ZEDEKIAH
Raving madman, naught more shalt thou see.
JEREMIAH
I see thy suffering, I witness thy death,
I see ...
ZEDEKIAH
[Grappling with him, bursts out in a fury] Naught more shalt thou see! I
will have thee blinded.
JEREMIAH
[Stares around, as if suddenly and dreadfully awakened. Then laughing
loudly, he chants with renewed frenzy]
Me?
Blind me? Nay, ruthless one,
Not such is the purpose of God.
Know well that one shall be blinded
Ere these days draw to a close.
'Tis one with eyes that see not,
With ears that will not hear.
Yet hearken now, King Zedekiah!
[ZEDEKIAH releases JEREMIAH, and regards him with amazement and terror.
JEREMIAH raises his hands in denunciation, and continues]
Thee
Shall they seize,
The servants of Ashur,
Seize thee in God's temple which thou hast destroyed.
They tear thee away from the horns of the altar,
To which thy hands cleave in the vain hope of help.
Naught availeth thy sword, for they break it in sunder,
Then bind thine arms straitly with fetters of brass,
Haling thee forth and the stairway adown;
Like a beast for the sacrifice scourging thee on;
To him will they bring thee whose hand thou rejectedst;
To him will they bring thee whose yoke thou hast broken,
To him who thy fiery doom will have spoken.
[ZEDEKIAH has retreated several steps, and makes gestures as if to avert
the threatened fate]
To thy knees as they force thee with curses and blows,
In the air-blast the furnace roars fiercely and glows.
Now the iron is heated, gleaming red, flashing white.
In thine eyeballs they plunge it, the scorching steel.
Thy flesh smokes and hisses, thy senses reel.
God's daylight has vanished in infinite night.
[ZEDEKIAH screams, and claps his hands to his eyes as if blinded]
But ere thy sight, in a fiery mist
Of blood and tears, is forever gone,
Thy sons, by the sharp sword fiercely kissed,
Shall be slain in thy presence, one by one,
As the headsman's blade flashes through flesh and through bone.
Bootless thy struggles; the slaves hold thee fast!
The first falls, the second, the third and last!
They are sped, and thy weeping and wailing are vain.
Their blood drenches the ground, while thou, in thy pain,
Ere the burning steel seareth the sight from thine eyes,
Seest how Israel's race and kingship dies.
ZEDEKIAH
[Groping his way across the room like a blind man, staggers to the
couch. Now he puts up his hands beseechingly] Mercy! Have mercy!
JEREMIAH
By thy cries all in vain will the darkness be riven,
As thou liftest thy hands to the unseen heaven,
God's mercy imploring! God no mercy will show
To the king whose false pride Zion's temple laid low.
He casteth thee down among worms which are blind,
Which crawl on their bellies, each after his kind.
With despised and rejected, the sick, the forsworn,
Shalt thou walk, Zedekiah, debased and forlorn,
Consorting with lepers, with halt and with lame,
Among outcasts the poorest. Thus thy pride God shall tame.
With beggars shall harbor; a beggar thyself,
Wearing sackcloth and ashes, shalt pass through the land.
Those who know thee--once splendent in power and in pelf,
King erstwhile in Zion--uplifting the hand,
Shall curse thee, Zedekiah.
ZEDEKIAH
[Utterly crushed by the adjuration, has collapsed, groaning, on to the
couch. Now he slowly rises, and contemplates JEREMIAH blankly] What a
power is entrusted to thee, Jeremiah. Thou hast broken the strength of
my limbs. The very marrow is frozen in my bones. Terrible are thy words,
Jeremiah.
JEREMIAH
[He has awakened from his trance, and the fire in his eyes is quenched]
Poor are my words, Zedekiah. Weakness is all my strength. I know, but
cannot act!
ZEDEKIAH
Why didst thou not come to me sooner?
JEREMIAH
I was ever at hand, but thou couldst not find me.
ZEDEKIAH
Thou hast filled my heart with dread, yet I bear thee no grudge. There
must be no quarrel betwixt us twain who stand in the shadow of death.
Get thee back whence thou hast come. Thou shalt not lack food, for I
will share my last crust with thee. Let none know of our converse, save
God. [JEREMIAH turns to go] Stay, Jeremiah. Must the fate be, which thou
hast foretold? Jerusalem, my Jerusalem. Canst thou not avert it?
JEREMIAH
[Gloomily] Naught can I do to avert it. I can only prophesy. Woe upon
the impotent.
ZEDEKIAH
[After a pause] Jeremiah, I did not want war. I was forced to declare
war, but I loved peace. And I love thee because of thy love for peace.
Not with a light heart did I take up arms, but before I lived there was
war under God's heaven, and there will be war after I am dead. I have
suffered greatly, as thou canst testify when the time comes. Be thou
near me when thy words are fulfilled.
JEREMIAH
I will be near thee, Zedekiah, my brother. [Slowly he averts his face
from the king and moves towards the doorway]
ZEDEKIAH
Jeremiah! [JEREMIAH turns] Thou hast cursed me, Jeremiah. Bless me now,
ere we part.
JEREMIAH
[After a moment's hesitation, strides back and holds his hands over the
king] The Lord bless thee, and keep thee in all thy ways. May the light
of his countenance shine upon thee, and may he give thee peace.
ZEDEKIAH
[As in a dream] May he give us peace.
THE SUPREME AFFLICTION
SCENE SEVEN
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck off the
hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. ISAIAH L, 6.
SCENE SEVEN
The following morning; the great square before the temple. A large
crowd, consisting chiefly of women and children, is swarming up the
steps leading to the palace, shouting and screaming. The leaders of the
mob have reached the palace door, and are hammering on it with their
fists.
THE DOORKEEPER
[Appearing through a wicket which he closes behind him] Are you still
there? I have told you already that no more bread will be given out
to-day.
A WOMAN
But I am hungry.
A SECOND WOMAN
You gave me one tiny loaf for my three children, a loaf no larger than
my fist. Look at my little girl here; see how skinny her fingers are.
[She lifts the child to show him]
A THIRD WOMAN
Look at mine too. [She also shows her child]
CONFUSED AND ANGRY VOICES
I am hungry.--Give me bread.--We are hungry.--Bread.--Bread.
ANOTHER VOICE
Let us have the keys.
VOICES
Yes.--Give us the keys.--Open the storehouses.
THE DOORKEEPER
[Pushing back the foremost among the mob] Away with you! The king's
orders are that everyone shall have a loaf at daybreak. Then the
storehouses are to be closed.
A VOICE
I got no loaf.
OTHER VOICES
Nor I, nor I.
A WOMAN
You could hardly see mine; and I have a child at the breast. Justice!
A SECOND
Mine was full of sand and gravel.
A THIRD
They are not the same loaves we used to get. We are being cheated.
Justice!
THE DOORKEEPER
Nahum treats you all alike. He is perfectly fair.
A VOICE
Where is he?
OTHER VOICES
Where is he? We want to see him.--Let him show himself.--We will talk to
him.--He is a thief.--Where is he?
ANOTHER VOICE
[Shouting stridently] He sits at home and fattens up his own household.
They bake cake for themselves.
A SECOND VOICE
Yes, the rich have hoarded all they need.
VOICES
While we go hungry.--Bread for the poor.--Bread, bread.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
The king has golden dishes filled with dainties. In the palace they
would rather throw their leavings to the dogs than feed our children.
A VOICE
I don't believe that.
OTHER VOICES
Yes.--Yes.--I have seen them do it.--My sister says they do.--Where is
Nahum?--Give us bread.
[Gradually the voices fuse into a single shout for bread. The mob
thronging the steps grows more threatening. Some of those in the front
ranks are about to seize the doorkeeper, while others continue to beat
on the closed door. The doorkeeper blows a trumpet]
ABIMELECH
[Hastening from the palace, attended by a number of soldiers] Away with
you. Push them back. Down the steps. Clear the entrance to the palace.
[The soldiers use the hafts of their spears freely, and the mob yields
ground, panicstricken]
VOICES
He struck me.--They are killing us.--Where is my child?--Help.--Help!
[The crowd forms again at the foot of the steps, and faces ABIMELECH
angrily]
ABIMELECH
Are you all mad? The enemy is attacking us. Since dawn I have been on
the ramparts to marshal the defence, and you meanwhile are raising a
tumult at our backs. What would ye, rabble?
VOICES
Bread.--We are hungry.--Bread.--Our children have nothing to eat.
ABIMELECH
Everyone has had his loaf.
VOICES
Not I.--They left me out.--Not enough.
ABIMELECH
The town is besieged. You must make the most of what you have. We are at
war.
VOICES
There is not enough bread.--We are hungry.
ABIMELECH
Well, be hungry! We are shedding our blood for you. The city must be our
first care. [Trying to hearten them up he exclaims] Jerusalem for ever!
A VOICE
[Half-heartedly] Jerusalem for ever!
THE STRIDENT VOICE
Who or what is Jerusalem? Has Jerusalem a stomach? Has Jerusalem blood?
The stones and the walls are not Jerusalem. We are Jerusalem.
VOICES
Yes, we are Jerusalem.--Give us life.--Give us food.--Feed our
children.--What is Jerusalem to me? I want bread.
ABIMELECH
[Stamping fiercely] Be silent, all. Back to your homes. Why do you
loiter in the marketplace? Do you not know that we are at war?
A WOMAN
Why are we at war?
VOICES
Yes, why?--Why are we at war?--Let us make peace.--Peace.--Peace.--Bread.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
Was it not well with us under Nebuchadnezzar? Was not his yoke light?
Were not our days pleasant?
VOICES
Yea, yea.--Peace with Nebuchadnezzar.--End the war.--Down with the
war.--A curse on him who began the war.
A WOMAN
It was Zedekiah's doing. He wanted war to help his friends the
Egyptians.
VOICES
Yes, he has betrayed us.--While we suffer, he lies at ease among his
wives.
ABIMELECH
Who dares to slander the Lord's anointed? He is ever in the forefront of
the battle.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
It is false.
ABIMELECH
Who says it is false? Let him stand forth and face my sword. Who says
it? [The crowd is silent] Beware of slanderers! Now then, off home with
you. Let those who can fight, man the walls.
VOICES
[From the back] Nahum, Nahum! Here he comes. [The crowd surges round
NAHUM] Nahum, good Nahum.--Give us bread.--Bread.--Bread.--You will
treat us fairly.--Help us.--Good Nahum.
NAHUM
[Elbowing his way through the press] Let me pass!
THE CROWD
[Follows him up the steps] Nahum! Nahum!
ABIMELECH
Back! Stand back.
[The soldiers raise their spears, and the crowd shrinks away to the foot
of the steps]
NAHUM
What would ye?
A VOICE
Open the storehouses.
NAHUM
The storehouses are empty. Each of you has a loaf every day. That must
suffice.
VOICES
I have had no loaf.--Nor I.--Open the storehouses.
NAHUM
I tell you they are empty.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
Let us see for ourselves.
VOICES
Yes, let us see for ourselves.--I don't believe it.--Open the
storehouses.--Let us see for ourselves.
NAHUM
I swear to you ...
THE STRIDENT VOICE
When we see we will believe. We have been cheated too long.
VOICES
They are all cheats, the priests, the king, all.--Give up the keys.--How
they lied when they prophesied victory. [The voices become more
menacing] Where are the Egyptians?--Zedekiah promised that the Egyptians
would help us.--Where are the signs and wonders?--Bread, bread,
bread.--Give up the keys.
[The mob surges up the steps once more, surrounding NAHUM and
endeavoring to snatch the keys]
NAHUM
Help, help!
ABIMELECH
[Beating them back, aided by his men] Down, down!
A VOICE
Oh, I am wounded. See, I bleed!
ABIMELECH
For the last time. To your homes! Clear the marketplace, or I shall use
my sword.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
The marketplace and the city belong to us.
[A messenger appears at the back of the crowd]
MESSENGER
Abimelech! Where is Abimelech?
ABIMELECH
Here.
THE CROWD
There he is, the wretch, the murderer!
MESSENGER
Help, Abimelech. They have broken in at Moria Gate.
[Cries of terror arise from the crowd]
ABIMELECH
[Cutting a path through them with his sword] Make way, make way.
[He strides off. DOORKEEPER, NAHUM, and the soldiers withdraw through
the wicket]
[The crowd becomes chaotic. Previously it had been animated by a
definite will. Now its units form a confused medley of horror-stricken
persons, giving vent to hardly intelligible cries of terror and
distress]
VOICES
They have broken in at Moria Gate.--All is lost.--My wife.--My
children.--God help us.--To the temple.--Elijah, Elijah!--Where shall we
hide?--What will become of us?
A VOICE
To the walls! Man the walls!
A MAN
[Rushing in] We are betrayed! The king has fled! We are lost!
VOICES
We are betrayed.--We are lost.--Where is the king?--Where are the
priests?--Where is Hananiah?--Revenge, revenge.--Death is upon us.--The
Chaldeans.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
Curses upon the king!
VOICES
[Fiercely] Curses upon the king!
THE STRIDENT VOICE
A curse on the priests! A curse on the prophets! They lied to us one and
all.
VOICES
Yes, curse them every one!
THE STRIDENT VOICE
They persecuted those who warned us, those who counseled peace.
A VOICE
They persecuted Jeremiah.
A SECOND VOICE
Yes, Jeremiah told us what would happen.
VOICES
He warned us.--He wanted peace.--In this very place he shouted for
peace.--I heard him.--He is the true prophet.--Everything has happened
as he foretold. Where is Jeremiah?--Fetch Jeremiah. He will help
us.--Where is he?--Where is he?
A VOICE
They have prisoned him in the pit, here in the palace.
[Cries of fury arise from the crowd]
VOICES
Set him free.--He will save us.--Force the doors.--Jeremiah, Jeremiah!
God has sent him to help us.--Jeremiah, man of God, come to our
aid.--Down with the false prophets.--God spoke through Jeremiah.--Bring
an axe to force the door.--Jeremiah shall be king.--Where is our
saviour?
[For a time nothing can be heard but the cry, _Jeremiah, Jeremiah_, and
the noise made by the beating of axes and staves upon the door. Suddenly
the door is opened and the doorkeeper appears]
DOORKEEPER
What would ye?
THE CROWD
Let us pass.--Jeremiah, Jeremiah!
[The DOORKEEPER is thrust aside]
DOORKEEPER
Help, help!
[Part of the mob disappears through the doorway, and from within is
heard the noise of doors being broken down with axes. Those who remain
on the steps are tense with excitement and impatience]
VOICES
[From within] The dogs have lowered him into the pit.--They were afraid
of him.
VOICES
[From the steps] He is a holy man.--He is the chosen of the
Lord.--Jeremiah will save us all.
A WOMAN
[Frenzied with excitement] He stretched forth his hand and cried, Peace.
God's fire breathed from his lips. His brow shone like that of an angel.
He will save us.
ANOTHER WOMAN
Could I but look upon his blessed face once more. It will shed light
over Jerusalem.
[Cries come from within]
VOICES
They have found him.--He is saved.--We are saved.--God will help
us.--Jeremiah! Jeremiah!
[Reappearing from within, the rest of the crowd brings JEREMIAH
triumphantly to the top of the steps. He stands with his hand shielding
his eyes from the light]
VOICES
[Ecstatically] Holy One!--Master!--Samuel.--Elijah.--Prophet.--Save us,
Jeremiah.--King.--Anointed of the Lord.--Israel hear his
words.--Jeremiah.
THE FRENZIED WOMAN
[Throwing herself at his feet] Why do you hide your face? Your glance
brings healing. Look on this child of mine that it may grow hale. Look
upon us all that we may arise from death.
JEREMIAH
[Slowly withdraws his hand from his eyes. His gaze is serious and even
gloomy, as he contemplates the agitated and expectant throng] The light
is strange to my eyes, and burns them. Strange, too, is this love you
show me, and it burns my soul. What would ye?
THE CROWD
Save us, Jeremiah, anointed of the Lord.--Save the city.--Be our
king.--Show a miracle.
JEREMIAH
Your words are dark to me. What is your will?
THE CROWD
[All speaking at once] Moria.--The fortress of Zion.--Save Jerusalem.--A
miracle.--We are lost.--You are our shepherd.--Save us.--Save Jerusalem.
JEREMIAH
Speak one at a time.
THE WOMAN
[Again throwing herself at his feet] Holy One, anointed of the Lord,
star of our hope! Stretch forth your hand and save Jerusalem. What you
foretold hath been fulfilled. The Chaldeans are upon us.
A VOICE
They have broken down Moria Gate.
A SECOND VOICE
Our men have been defeated.
A THIRD VOICE
[Despairingly] Save Jerusalem, or we perish.
THE CROWD
[Taking up the cry] Save Jerusalem, or we perish.
[JEREMIAH stands motionless, hiding his face in his hands]
THE WOMAN
We would take vengeance on your enemies; we would tear the faces of
those who have reviled you. Have pity on us, you who are our saviour and
our hope.
A VOICE
Who shall save us unless it be you?
THE STRIDENT VOICE
The priests have betrayed us. The king has sold us to the enemy.
JEREMIAH
[Indignantly] It is false! Why slander ye the king?
VOICES
Zedekiah has forsaken us.--Where is he?--Why does he not come to our
help?--He has fled.
JEREMIAH
[Vehemently] It is not true.
VOICES
It is true.--They led us into this war.--They have sacrificed us.--We
wanted peace.--Let us have peace.
JEREMIAH
Tardily comes your longing for peace. Why do ye put your transgressions
on the king's shoulders? Ye clamored for war.
THE CROWD
No, not I.--No, not I.--It was the king.--Not I.--Not one of us.
JEREMIAH
Ye all wanted war, all, all! Your hearts are fickle, and ye sway in the
wind like reeds. The very ones who now shout for peace, I have heard
howling for war. Those who raise their voices against the king, hounded
him on to the fray. Woe unto you, O people! Ye speak with two voices,
and drive before every breeze. Ye have fornicated with war, and shall
now bear the fruit of war. Ye have played with the sword, and shall now
taste its edge.
VOICES
Alas, he spurns us.--Jeremiah, be merciful to us in our distress.--Aid
us in our wretchedness.
JEREMIAH
No man can help you. Help cometh from God alone.
THE STRIDENT VOICE
God has forsaken us.
THE CROWD
Yea, God has forsaken us.--Where is he?--Where is the covenant?
FUGITIVES
[Rush past shouting] The enemy is within the gates. Abimelech is slain.
THE CROWD
[Shrieks with terror, and then appeals once more to JEREMIAH] Hearken,
hearken!--We are lost!--Show a miracle, a miracle.
JEREMIAH