It was many and many a year ago In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden lived, whom you all may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. Is there a real Maeterlinck house? we asked ourselves. Or is his habitation of such dream stuff as the House of Usher? Is the land of Maeterlinck a material land, or is it somewhere “hard by the dim lake of Auber, in the misty mid-region of Weir: down by the dark tarn of Auber, in the Ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir?” THE MIRACLE OF SAINT ANTHONY THE MIRACLE OF SAINT ANTHONY _The entrance-hall of a large old-fashioned house. Front-door on the left. At the back, a few steps with on the left a glass door with lace curtains, leading to the dining-room, and on the right a fair of folding glass doors, also with lace curtains, leading to the drawing-room. Against the wall, a leather-covered bench, one or two wooden stools and an umbrella-stand with hats and coats on it._ _The curtain rises on VIRGINIE, the old servant. Her skirts are pinned up, showing her bare legs and sabots; she is surrounded with brass pails, swabbing-cloths, brooms and scrubbing-brushes and is busily washing the flagstones composing the floor. She stops working from time to time, blows her nose noisily and wipes away a big tear._ _There is a ring at the front-door. VIRGINIE half opens it, revealing on the threshold a long lean old man, barefoot, bareheaded, with tangled hair and beard, and clad in a sort of frieze habit of faded brown, muddy, out of shape and patched._ VIRGINIE (_Holding the door ajar._) This is the thirty-sixth time that I’ve been to the door.... Another beggar! Well, what is it? SAINT ANTHONY Let me in. VIRGINIE No, you’re all over mud. Stay there. What do you want? SAINT ANTHONY I want to come in. VIRGINIE What for? SAINT ANTHONY To bring Mademoiselle Hortense back to life. VIRGINIE Bring Mademoiselle Hortense back to life? Get out! Who are you? SAINT ANTHONY Saint Anthony. VIRGINIE Of Padua? SAINT ANTHONY The same. (_His halo lights up and shines._) VIRGINIE Lord bless me, it’s true! (_She opens the door wide, falls on her knees and mutters a prayer, with her hands folded over the handle of her broom, after which she kisses the hem of the SAINT’S habit and continues, in a mechanical and bewildered sing-song._) Saint Anthony, pray for us! Blessed Saint Anthony, look down upon us! Saint Anthony, pray for us! SAINT ANTHONY Shut the door. VIRGINIE (_Gets up crossly._) Wipe your feet on the mat. (_SAINT ANTHONY wipes them awkwardly._) No, that won’t do: rub them hard, rub them hard. (_She closes the front door._) SAINT ANTHONY (_Pointing to the folding-doors._) She is laid out in there. VIRGINIE