I can direct thee to the proper path, If thou wilt let the words which once I spake On earth possess thee in thine inmost soul. And if thou art resolved to find the life That lives within those words upon those planes On which thou now canst see me face to face, The proper path shall be made plain to thee.
Curtain, while the Monk, the Spirit of Benedictus, Lucifer, and Ahriman are still on the stage
The same. The First Preceptor; Joseph Keane; then the Grand Master with Simon; later the First and the Second Master of Ceremonies. Joseph Keane is there first; the Preceptor approaches him.
Thou didst send word thou wouldst have speech with me. What is the news that thou art come to bring?
Most weighty matters both to thee and me. Thou knowst the master miner Thomas here, Who renders service to thee?
Well I know The worthy man; we prize him for his skill, And his subordinates hold him in love.
And dost thou know my child, Cecilia, too?
It hath so chanced that I have seen the maid When I have met thee with thy family.
It happened that soon after Thomas came He paid us frequent visits in our home. They grew more frequent; it was evident That to Cecilia his whole heart went out. We did not marvel that this should be so. But, knowing our girl's nature, it was long Ere we could think that she returned his love. Her life was well nigh one continuous prayer, And almost all society she shunned. Yet ever doth it now appear more clear That to this stranger she hath giv'n her heart. And as things are, we feel ourselves compelled Not to oppose the wishes of our child; Thomas she loves, and she would marry him.
FIRST PRECEPTOR (with faltering movements):
Why runs this marriage counter to thy will?
My lord, there is no need for me to tell Of my devotion to the brotherhood. My heart would have to bear a heavy load If my child's love, in its entirety, Were cast upon the side of those who say That you and I alike are heretics. The monk who now o'er yonder abbey rules Close by our home, and who doth ever seek To thwart the mission of the brotherhood, Hath won dominion o'er our daughter's soul. As long as she is still beneath my roof So long shall I too not abandon hope That she may yet again retrace the path Which leads from spirit-darkness unto light. But I shall have to give her up for lost When she shall have become the wife of one Who, like herself, works for the weal of man According to the precepts of that monk. His Reverence hath had complete success In foisting such opinions as he holds On Thomas, who receives them in full faith. A thrill of terror would run over me To hear the curses pour from Thomas' lips Whene'er we spake about the brotherhood.
