whereby indeed I divine? Now, drink with me, friends, and be merry.
[All fall to with merry talk. Only the EGYPTIANS are silent and gloomy. In the gardens at the back are MINSTRELS and DANCING GIRLS. The MINSTRELS play very softly, and the DANCING GIRLS dance silently]
[The Hebrews are keenly interested. The EGYPTIANS take no notice of the dancers. Presently ENENKHET takes the cup JOSEPH has drunk from, goes out at door, L. 2., and is seen carrying the cup outside across the garden from the L. to R. Then he returns. Meanwhile, the dialogue continue]
JOSEPH: [To the EGYPTIANS] Nay, but ye, the lords of the land, ye drink not, and your faces are dark.
TEHUTI: Our souls are heavy, my lord, for we are bondmen.
SEBNI: [Violently.] Lo! We have given our money, our cattle, our lands, and our bodies to the Pharaoh.
ATHA: There is nothing left but death!
DEDEFRE: How, then, can we be merry?
SEBNI: Shall a man laugh by his own graveside?
[Angry murmur and gestures among the EGYPTIANS. The HEBREWS are interested. ASENATH anxious]
JOSEPH: Ye mourn too soon. Behold, I have bought you and your land for the Pharaoh
[The EGYPTIANS leap to their feet with an angry roar]
TEHUTI: Wilt thou make a boast of it?
