DAVID And now all this long, cold, snowy evening she'll sit by the fire alone, thinking of her dead, and the fire will sink lower and lower, and she won't be able to touch it, because it's the holy Sabbath, and there'll be no kind Kathleen to brighten up the grey ashes, and then at last, sad and shivering, she'll creep up to her room without a candlestick, and there in the dark and the cold---- KATHLEEN [_Hysterically bursting into tears, dropping her parcel, and untying her bonnet-strings_] Oh, Mr. David, I won't mix the crockery, I won't---- DAVID [_Heartily_] Of course you won't. Good night. [_He slips out hurriedly through the street-door as KATHLEEN throws off her bonnet, and the curtain falls quickly. As it rises again, she is seen strenuously poking the fire, illumined by its red glow._] Act II _The same scene on an afternoon a month later. DAVID is discovered at his desk, scribbling music in a fever of enthusiasm. MENDEL, dressed in his best, is playing softly on the piano, watching DAVID. After an instant or two of indecision, he puts down the piano-lid with a bang and rises decisively._ MENDEL David! DAVID [_Putting up his left hand_] Please, please---- [_He writes feverishly._] MENDEL But I want to talk to you seriously--at once. DAVID I'm just re-writing the Finale. Oh, such a splendid inspiration! [_He writes on._] MENDEL [_Shrugs his shoulders and reseats himself at piano. He plays a bar or two. Looks at watch impatiently. Resolutely_] David, I've got wonderful news for you. Miss Revendal is bringing somebody to see you, and we have hopes of getting you sent to Germany to study composition. [_DAVID does not reply, but writes rapidly on._] Why, he hasn't heard a word! [_He shouts._] David! DAVID [_Writing on_] I can't, uncle. I _must_ put it down while that glorious impression is fresh. MENDEL What impression? You only went to the People's Alliance. DAVID Yes, and there I saw the Jewish children--a thousand of 'em--saluting the Flag. [_He writes on._] MENDEL Well, what of that? DAVID What of that? [_He throws down his quill and jumps up._] But just fancy it, uncle. The Stars and Stripes unfurled, and a thousand childish voices, piping and foreign, fresh from the lands of oppression, hailing its fluttering folds. I cried like a baby. MENDEL I'm afraid you _are_ one. DAVID Ah, but if you had heard them--"Flag of our Great Republic"--the words have gone singing at my heart ever since-- [_He turns to the flag over the door._] "Flag of our Great Republic, guardian of our homes, whose stars and stripes stand for Bravery, Purity, Truth, and Union, we salute thee. We, the natives of distant lands, who find [_Half-sobbing_] rest under thy folds, do pledge our hearts, our lives, our sacred honour to love and protect thee, our Country, and the liberty of the American people for ever." [_He ends almost hysterically._]