The scene is a space, in which stands a throne, raised wpon a few steps. If the pageant is played within doors, the stage may be draped with simple curtains. There is an entrance on the left amd another on the right. Where a drop-curtain is used, THE FATHER, THE MOTHER, THE MAIDEN, amd THE CHILD are on the stage when the curtain rises. Where a drop-curtain is not used, they enter from the right. Their dress shows them to be of the common people.
Child	Will it be long before she comes?
Father	We cannot tell. We have waited long. The throne, you see, is empty.
Mother	Sometimes I fear the Queen will not come back to us again. How many weary days we've stood and watched and waited!
Maiden	Mother, we must believe! Did they not say that, if the young men went upon this quest, then they should find her? And they have gone.
Child	And will they all come back when they have found the Queen?
Father	No, they will not all come back.
Child	Why did she go away from us?
Father	Men drove her out.
Child	But I have heard people say that she is very beautiful and that the world is happy when she sits upon her throne.
Mother	Yes, little one, the world is happy.
Child	I do not remember the Queen upon her throne. What was it like when the world was happy?
Father	My son worked with me. I was old and had knowledge; he was young and had strength. We laboured side by side. There is a great joy for men who labour. It is to see the thought of their mind take shape at last in the work of their hands. Sometimes I grew weary and remembered that my working days must end; but I looked upon my son, and to myself I said: "When I am taken from the task, he wîll remain and his son after him." And then I smiled, for I was satisfied. It ìs a great thing for men to know that the work of the world will not be left undone. And, little one, when the throne is empty, men are sad, because they must destroy.
Child	(To THE MOTHER.) And what do you remember from the time when the world was happy?
Mother	I remember the gladness of my home and the joy in all my care. I remember the voices of my sons, their sudden laughter, their little turns of song, and how, for me, their words were softened. I remember their steps drawing near the door, and how, when they were sad of heart, I had from God the old, old gift of comfort.
Child	And, in that time, you did not sit quiet by the fire, trying to hide that you were crying?
Mother	No, little one. Then, as I sat by the fire, I only thought: "To-morrow I must do this for them, or that for them." And sometimes, when I looked up, they would turn to me and smile.
Child	(To THE MAIDEN.) And you were happy, too?
Maiden	Yes, little one. I was happy also. I walked with my lover in the closing of the day. I saw the light in his eyes when I came near. We were chosen, each for each. We had our own truth and trusted. We did not know the future, but we had no fear. It was a way, hidden not by darkness, but by a mist where a white lamp shone. Oh! It has been bitter for the lovers, and many such as I have nothing now but memory.
Child	It is a great pity that men drove the Queen away! Why did they do it? I have heard that men are good and wise.
Father	No, little one; they only wish to be. Sometimes, pride walks amongst them in a golden cloak and speaks with swollen words, and then there is an end to goodness and to wisdom,
Maiden	(Looking to the right.) Here comes one whose face we know.
Father	Yes; he walks in the public places.
Mother	He may bring news of the great Queen.
	Enter the MAN OF DOUBT. He is very old and grey and gaunt, dressed in a dark garment.
Father	Sir, we greet you.
Man of Doubt	I greet you all.
Mother	Sir, have you news of the Queen?
Man of Doubt	What Queen?
Mother	Her name is Peace.
Man of Doubt	And do you wait for her?
Mother	It is said she is to dwell with us for ever.
Man of Doubt	Friends, you lose your time. You listen to a legend. What was, shall be.
Mother	But, sir, it was for this our sons went forth to find her.
Man of Doubt	Men go upon a hundred ways, and a hundred times when they come back, their hands are empty.
Father	If they do not bring her, tomorrow is but as yesterday. There is no end to loss, and men's work will be broken for ever.
Man of Doubt	Their work will be broken for ever. What was, shall be.
Maiden	You speak thus in the market place! You cloud the sky, when we look towards the sun. O Man of Doubt, will not there still be tears enough? Do you not see the people would have her Queen for evermore?
Man of Doubt	Yes; once again the people dream.
Child	Don't dreams come true?
Mother	Hark! What sound is that?
	A hymn of peace is heard on the left, swelling slowly.
Maiden	Voices, many joyful voices.
Father	(Looking away left.) Look! A crowd upon the road.
Mother	They come this way!
Maiden	Oh! If it should be the Queen.
Mother	At last! The Queen!
Man of Doubt	(Who stands apart, unmoved.) The people make a holiday. It is their fashion. They are happy for an hour—and they forget.
Father	My sight is dim.
Mother	(To THE MAIDEN.) Tell us —what can you see?
Maiden	A crowd of men and women. And they are glad!
Child	Oh, yes! So glad! I didn't know that men and women could be so very happy.
Father	Tell me. Who walks before them?
Maiden	One clothed in white! Her face is calm and beautiful. They press about her. She smiles, and—oh!—her smile is blessing.
Father	It is the Queen.
Mother	Yes, the Queen, whose name is Peace! O God, we thank Thee now, we, the mothers of men!
Maiden	O God, we thank Thee now; we who love them and are loved!
Father	O God, we thank Thee now; we who build the world a temple to Thy plan!
Child	O God, the little children thank Thee!
Father	Who walks beside the Queen?
Maiden	Someone who leads her by the hand towards the throne.
Child	Poor man! He looks so tired!
Mother	Who is it leads her by the hand towards her throne?
Maiden	A young man, weary and broken, dressed in a soldier's clothes.
	Enter from the left a crowd of the PEOPLE singing their hymn of peace. They gather together on either side of the throne, wiih their faces turned expectantly towards the entrance. Then enters the OUEEN OF PEACE. She is dressed in white amd her face is calm amd kind and beautiful. The YOUNG MAN leads her by the hand towards the throne. He is dressed as a soldier, and his clothes are worn amd stained. He carries a rifle slung across his shoulder. Standing before the throne, the OUEEN waits a little till the singing ends.
Queen	I come again from exile. O ye, who have been my people, is it your common will that I take the throne once more?
Crowd	Yes! Our common will!
Mother	O Queen, it is our common prayer!
Father	Without you, we are nothing and the work of our hands is dust!
Queen	O my people, will you not remember? Has it not been before? Must wisdom be for ever bought at this great price of pain? Without me, you are nothing and the work of your hands is dust. Why, therefore, is your allegiance frail? Why is my reign rejected? Why do men send me from their midst—only to learn once more their utter need of me?
Father	O calm, kind Queen, once more we learn it!
Mother	We learn it, and our need is great!
Maiden	Oh, give us back those smiling days whose joy was greater than we knew!
Queen	All that I have, I give you! This is my gift. The son shall share the father's labour, and all men shall reap where they have sown. The son shall dry the mother's tears, and she shall lean on his strong arm. The maiden shall meet her lover, and they shall walk hand-in-hand together in the beauty of the world. The child shall play beside the door, and on his play there shall no longer fall the shadow that he knows not of. I gladly take the throne.
	The OUEEN seats herself on the throne. The CROWD breaks into cheering.
Young Man	So, then—at last—my task is done!
Queen	A task well done! (To the PEOPLE.) In exile, I yearned for my own place. Knowing your hearts, I knew that, in the tumult, you were whispering my name. And, because of your great need, the Young Man arose and came to find me. Now, O my people, as you welcome me, remember that the gift I bring you is the Young Man's gift. Let that not pass with things forgotten. He came to seek me by the way of sorrows, where there is always blood upon the stones.
Father	O Young Man from the bitter way, what shall the old men give you, as you come back from your quest?
Mother	O son of some poor waiting mother, what do you ask of us who have waited for our sons?
Maiden	O lover of some lonely maid, what shall we give, whose loneliness is done?
Child	You have made all the people glad. Please—will you let me kiss you?
	(THE YOUNG MAN bends to kiss THE CHILD. A murmur of sympathy runs through THE CROWD.
Father	Make your demand. Say now what you would ask of us.
Young Man	To eat no pauper bread. To labour while I may. To sit a little in the sun and talk with friends.
Father	You do not ask enough. (To THE CROWD.) Friends, is that the whole of his deserving?
Crowd	No! Let him speak again!
Father	You went the way of sorrows and found our Queen. Ask now your heart's desire.
Young Man	You grant my heart's desire?
Crowd	Yes! Readily!
Young Man	If you would give me my heart's desire, give me to know this little child shall never go the way I went; give me to know that women shall no more weep for men who die before the hour; give me to know that I have truly carried out the task you set me; give me to know that the long red riot of the world is done!
Queen	Speak! Do you give him his heart's desire? Am I to be dethroned by a man's mad word? Must another come one day the same sad way to bring me back? Am I, indeed, the people's Queen?
Crowd	You are our Queen! You are our Queen!
Young Man	(Unslinging his rifle.) I bore this as your servant, and, as your servant, I lay it at your feet. (To THE CROWD.) Come, friends, let us now pledge allegiance. (Raising his hand.) With all my heart, for all my days, I bind myself to you!

[More text to be added]