THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN [_passing from exaltation to distress_] It means nothing to him: in this land of discouragement the sublime has become the ridiculous. [_Turning on the hopelessly puzzled Zozim_] 'Behold, thou hast made my days as it were a span long; and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee.' {Poppa, Poppa: dont look like THE WIFE.} [_running_] {that. THE DAUGHTER.}[_to him_] {Oh, granpa, whats the matter? ZOZIM [_with a shrug_] Discouragement! THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN [_throwing off the women with a superb gesture_] Liar! [_Recollecting himself, he adds, with noble courtesy, raising his hat and bowing_] I beg your pardon, sir; but I am NOT discouraged. _A burst of orchestral music, through which a powerful gong sounds, is heard from the temple. Zoo, in a purple robe, appears in the doorway._ ZOO. Come. The oracle is ready. _Zozim motions them to the threshold with a wave of his staff. The Envoy and the Elderly Gentleman take off their hats and go into the temple on tiptoe, Zoo leading the way. The Wife and Daughter, frightened as they are, raise their heads uppishly and follow flatfooted, sustained by a sense of their Sunday clothes and social consequence. Zozim remains in the portico, alone._ ZOZIM [_taking off his wig, beard, and robe, and bundling them under his arm_] Ouf! [He goes home]. ACT III _Inside the temple. A gallery overhanging an abyss. Dead silence. The gallery is brightly lighted; but beyond is a vast gloom, continually changing in intensity. A shaft of violet light shoots upward; and a very harmonious and silvery carillon chimes. When it ceases the violet ray vanishes._ _Zoo comes along the gallery, followed by the Envoy's daughter, his wife, the Envoy himself, and the Elderly Gentleman. The two men are holding their hats with the brims near their noses, as if prepared to pray into them at a moment's notice. Zoo halts: they all follow her example. They contemplate the void with awe. Organ music of the kind called sacred in the nineteenth century begins. Their awe deepens. The violet ray, now a diffused mist, rises again from the abyss._ THE WIFE [_to Zoo, in a reverent whisper_] Shall we kneel? ZOO [_loudly_] Yes, if you want to. You can stand on your head if you like. [_She sits down carelessly on the gallery railing, with her back to the abyss_]. THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN [_jarred by her callousness_] We desire to behave in a becoming manner. ZOO. Very well. Behave just as you feel. It doesn't matter how you behave. But keep your wits about you when the pythoness ascends, or you will forget the questions you have come to ask her. THE ENVOY} {[[_very nervous, takes out a paper to_] } [[_simul-_] {[_refresh his memory_]] Ahem! THE DAUGHTER} [_taneously_]]{[[_alarmed_]] The pythoness? Is she } {a snake?