ZAYA. And in the crowd there will be blind who shall see, and deaf who shall hear, and dumb who shall speak. DELETHI. Perhaps Mieris, our good mistress, will be cured of her blindness at last. HANOU. And when she who is chosen goes forth from the house of the God.... Tell us, Zaya, tell us the manner of her going forth. ZAYA. Three days before the appointed day, in the town and throughout the land, they will begin the preparations for the festival. When the moment comes, the crowd will surge before the temple, guarded by Lybian soldiers. And she, she, the elect, the saviour, will come forth, ringed by the high priests of Ammon in purple and in gold, and aloft on a chariot where perfumes burn, deafened by sound of trumpet and cries of joy, she will behold the people stretch unnumbered arms to her.... ALL. Oh! DELETHI. And she will be borne to the Nile.... ZAYA. And she will be borne to the Nile. She will board the barge of Ammon.... DELETHI. And the barge will glide from the bank.... ZAYA. And the barge will glide from the bank where all the crowd will bow their faces to the dust. [_She stops, greatly moved_] And when the barge returns she will be gone. ALL [_in low tones_] And when the barge returns she will be gone. ZAYA. And after two days the waters of the Nile will rise. ALL. The waters of the Nile will rise.... DELETHI. And as far as the waters flow they will speak her name, who made the sacrifice, with blessings and with tears. HANOU. If it were I!... ALL [_save Yaouma_] If it were I!... _Yaouma rises to a sitting posture._ ZAYA. If it were you, Yaouma? YAOUMA. Perhaps I should refuse. ALL. Oh! MOUENE [_mischievously_] I know why! I know why! DELETHI. We know why. ZAYA. Tell us.... YAOUMA. Tell them.... DELETHI. 'Tis the same reason that has held you there this many a day. YAOUMA. Yes. MOUENE. She watches for the coming of the galley with twenty oars, bearing the travellers from the North. There is a young priest among them, the potter's son. DELETHI. A young priest, the potter's son, who went away two years ago. YAOUMA. He is my betrothed. NAHASI. But you know what they say? ZAYA. They say that on the same boat there comes a scribe who preaches of new gods.... YAOUMA. I know. DELETHI. Of false gods. MOUENE. The priests will stop the boat, and eight days hence, perhaps, Yaouma will still be awaiting her betrothed. YAOUMA. I shall wait. _The Steward enters and whispers to Delethi._ DELETHI. The mistress sends word the hour is come to go indoors. _They go out L, Sitsinit picking up the writing box, Nahasi juggling with oranges, Mouene carrying her cage and dancing about, Delethi plays her harp singing with Hanou and Nagaou._ Black is the hair of my love, More black than the brows of the night, Than the fruit of the plum tree.