A room with a grated window. A bed, a chair. The Wife is lying upon a sofa, supported by pillows.
The Man (entering). I wish to be left alone with the countess.
The Wife of the Physician (without). My husband will be very angry if....
The Man (closing the door). Leave us in peace!
Approaches his wife.
Voice (from the ceiling). You have chained and fettered God himself! You have already put one God to death on the cross; I am the second, and you have given me into the hands of the headsman.
Voice (under the floor). Kneel down before the King, your Lord!
Voice (from the wall on the left). The comet tracks its way in fire across the sky; the day of wrath already breaks—the trump of Judgment sounds!
The Man. Mary—do you know me?