JACOBUS, KURT
( Yes, yes!—yes, yes!—Let go—let go—
( No, no!—I will not—No! . . . No
[Exeunt left, dancing.
OTHERS
( Keep time, keep time! Have mercy!—Time!
( Oh, let me—go!—Let go—let go!
( Yes, yes—Yes, yes—No, no—no—no!
[BARBARA appears, pale and beautiful;—richly dressed in white, with flowing locks. She is wan and exhausted.—The dance-mania, as it seizes her, makes her circle slowly and dazedly with a certain pitiful silliness. The nuns and monks accompanying her point in horror. But they, too, dance off with each other, willy-nilly,—like leaves in a tempest. BARBARA is left alone, still circling slowly. The piping sounds softer. She staggers against a tree, and keeps on waving her hands and turning her head, vaguely, in time.
MICHAEL looks forth from the well; then climbs out and approaches her.
MICHAEL
She is so beautiful,—how dare, I tell her?
My heart, how beautiful! The blessed saint! . . .
Fear nothing, fairest Lady.—You are saved.
[She looks at him unseeingly, and continues to dance.—He holds
out his arms to stop her.
Pray you, the danger's gone. Pray you, take breath!
Poor, shining dove,—I would not hold thee here,
Against thy wish.—'Tis Michael, the sword-eater.
[The piping ceases.]
BARBARA
[murmuring]
Yes, yes—I must—I must—I must. . .
[Reenter the PIPER from the thickets.]
MICHAEL
Look, I will guard you like a princess, here;
Yes, like Our Lady's rose-vine.
BARBARA
[gasping]
Ah, my heart!
[The PIPER comes towards her. She sees him and holds out
her arms, crying:—
Oh, he has saved me!—I am thine—thine—thine!
[Falls into his arms half-fainting. The PIPER
stands amazed, alarmed, chagrined.