Come, come, our social joys renew, And thus where trust and friendship grew, Let true hearts welcome you, O come, come away. RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _enter from the inn at right front, arm in arm. They go to the center, then to the rear of the stage, turn and face the inn, pause a moment or two, listening to the choir, and then go out at rear left. The choir continues:_ From toils and the cares On which the day is closing, The hour of eve brings sweet reprieve, O come, come away. O come where love will smile on thee, And round its hearth will gladness be, And time fly merrily, O come, come away. _While the choir is singing the last three lines of the song_, SIMEON _and_ ISAAC _enter from rear left, leaning on their shepherd's crooks. They pause at rear center and listen to the singing. When the song is finished the organ continues the same music softly._ SIMEON. Make haste, my son, the hour is waxing late, The night is cold, methinks our sheep await. ISAAC. Nay gran'ther, I would liefer tarry here. The town is gay, the inns are full of cheer. SIMEON (_points to rear right_). But there our duty lies, the wind grows cold! Come, let's away and put the sheep in fold. (_Starts off right._) ISAAC. Nay, Simeon, wait! What means this crowd of men And women here in peaceful Bethlehem? SIMEON (_comes to him_). Herod the King hath issued a decree That each and all his subjects taxed be; And every one who in this town saw light Must here return and register tonight. From all Judea, aye, from th' distant land, Each Bethlehemite must come at his command. ISAAC (_comes to the doorway of the inn and peers in_). The town is full of people, great and small, Each inn is crowded to its very wall. SIMEON (_comes down center and takes his arm_). But come, we're wasting time, 'tis very late. Make haste, my son, I know the flocks await! ISAAC. Thou speakest true, though I would rather stay, Our duty calls, so to the hills, away! (_They go out at rear right._) _The concealed choir repeats the first stanza of the song softly. After a slight pause_ DEBORAH _enters from the inn._ DEBORAH (_coming down to right front_). My inn is crowded to the doors. The heat Is stifling, but out here the air is sweet. (_Looks upward._) The bright stars twinkle with mysterious light, Methinks there's something strange about the night. _She sits on the bench in front of the inn._ TIMOTHY _enters from rear left._ DEBORAH _continues her soliloquy._ The air is still, the night is very cold, The shepherds seek the hills to watch the fold. (_Sees him._) (TIMOTHY _goes out at rear R._) DEBORAH. Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.