ELSIE. 
And at midnight,
As she lay upon her bed,
She heard a voice
Call to her from the garden,
And, looking forth from her window,
She saw a beautiful youth
Standing among the flowers. 
It was the Lord Jesus;
And she went down to Him,
And opened the door for Him;
And He said to her, “O maiden! 
Thou hast thought of me with love,
And for thy sake
Out of my Father’s kingdom
Have I come hither: 
I am the Master of the Flowers. 
My garden is in Paradise,
And if thou wilt go with me,
Thy bridal garland
Shall be of bright red flowers.” 
And then He took from his finger
A golden ring,
And asked the Sultan’s daughter
If she would be his bride. 
And when she answered Him with love,
His wounds began to bleed,
And she said to Him,
“O Love! how red thy heart is,
And thy hands are full of roses.” 
“For thy sake,” answered He,
“For thy sake is my heart so red,
For thee I bring these roses;
I gathered them at the cross
Whereon I died for thee! 
I Come, for my Father calls. 
Thou art my elected bride!”
And the Sultan’s daughter
Followed Him to his Father’s garden.

PRINCE HENRY. 
Wouldst thou have done so, Elsie?

ELSIE. 
Yes, very gladly.

PRINCE HENRY. 
Then the Celestial Bridegroom
Will come for thee also. 
Upon thy forehead He will place,
Not his crown of thorns,
But a crown of roses. 
In thy bridal chamber,
Like Saint Cecilia,
Thou shalt hear sweet music,
And breathe the fragrance
Of flowers immortal! 
Go now and place these flowers
Before her picture.

A ROOM IN THE FARM-HOUSE

Twilight.  URSULA Spinning.  GOTTLIEB asleep in his chair.

URSULA. 
Darker and darker!  Hardly a glimmer
Of light comes in at the window-pane;
Or is it my eyes are growing dimmer? 
I cannot disentangle this skein,
Nor wind it rightly upon the reel. 
Elsie!

GOTTLIER, starting. 
The stopping of thy wheel
Has awakened me out of a pleasant dream. 
I thought I was sitting beside a stream,
And heard the grinding of a mill,
When suddenly the wheels stood still,
And a voice cried “Elsie,” in my ear! 
It startled me, it seemed so near.

URSULA. 
I was calling her:  I want a light. 
I cannot see to spin my flax. 
Bring the lamp, Elsie.  Dost thou hear?

ELSIE, within. 
In a moment!

GOTTLIEB. 
         Where are Bertha and Max?

URSULA. 
They are sitting with Elsie at the door. 
She is telling them stories of the wood,
And the Wolf, and little Red Ridinghood.

GOTTLIEB. 
And where is the Prince?

URSULA. 
                In his room overhead;
I heard him walking across the floor,
As he always does, with a heavy tread.