THE EQUINOX
the wharf, and so out, either into orchestra or at the
back of theatre. They are followed by juria and
JOANNA, who bear the sacred Vesica in their arms.
Nu. Cast off! three sons bend to the larboard oars,
And three strong daughters man the starboard thwart.
My wife shall spy, while I shall steer for, shores
Worthy to welcome home our Argonaut.
[yuLta plays music. The wind is heard to rise and the
waves to wash, until a gust blows out the last candle on
the stage, when the curtain falls, The bell tolls twelve
strokes. In the distance one hears the chant of the
sailors, at first strong and near, gradually dying away.
Through the tempest, toward the dark,
Ploughs the fate-fulfilling bark,
Laden with the sacred ark.
All the earth is drenched and drowned.
Every other ship’s unsound :
We alone are homeward bound.
Harnessed to eternity,
Life’s sole sanctuary, we
Breast alone the winter sea.
We shall sight the surging shore,
Slack the sail and ship the oar,
Hear the anchor rattle and roar.
Through the tempest, toward the dark,
Ploughs the fate-fulfilling bark,
Laden with the sacred ark.
[yuLtia’s music, which has grown fainter and more distant,
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now finally fails.