Blind Bartimeus! Do not disturb the Master.
BARTIMEUS, crying more vehemently.
Son of David, Have mercy on me! ONE OF THE CROWD.
See, the Master stops.
Be of good comfort; rise, He calleth thee! BARTIMEUS, casting away his cloak.
Chilion! good neighbors! lead me on.
CHRISTUS.
What wilt thou That I should do to thee?
BARTIMEUS.
Good Lord! my sight-- That I receive my sight! CHRISTUS.
Receive thy sight! Thy faith hath made thee whole! THE CROWD.
He sees again! CHRISTUS passes on, The crowd gathers round BARTIMEUS.
BARTIMEUS.
I see again; but sight bewilders me! Like a remembered dream, familiar things Come back to me.

I see the tender sky Above me, see the trees, the city walls, And the old gateway, through whose echoing arch I groped so many years; and you, my neighbors; But know you by your friendly voices only.
How beautiful the world is! and how wide! Oh, I am miles away, if I but look! Where art thou, Chilion?
CHILION.
Father, I am here.
BARTIMEUS.
Oh let me gaze upon thy face, dear child! For I have only seen thee with my hands! How beautiful thou art! I should have known thee; Thou hast her eyes whom we shall see hereafter! O God of Abraham! Elion! Adonai! Who art thyself a Father, pardon me If for a moment I have thee postponed To the affections and the thoughts of earth, Thee, and the adoration that I owe thee, When by thy power alone these darkened eyes Have been unsealed again to see thy light! VI JACOB'S WELL A SAMARITAN WOMAN.
The sun is hot; and the dry east-wind blowing Fills all the air with dust.

The birds are silent; Even the little fieldfares in the corn No longer twitter; only the grasshoppers Sing their incessant song of sun and summer.
I wonder who those strangers were I met Going into the city?
Galileans They seemed to me in speaking, when they asked The short way to the market-place.

Perhaps They are fishermen from the lake; or travellers, Looking to find the inn.

And here is some one Sitting beside the well; another stranger; A Galilean also by his looks.
What can so many Jews be doing here Together in Samaria?
Are they going Up to Jerusalem to the Passover?
Our Passover is better here at Sychem, For here is Ebal; here is Gerizim, The mountain where our father Abraham Went up to offer Isaac; here the tomb Of Joseph,--for they brought his bones Egypt And buried them in this land, and it is holy.
CHRISTUS.
Give me to drink.
SAMARITAN WOMAN.
How can it be that thou, Being a Jew, askest to drink of me Which am a woman of Samaria?
You Jews despise us; have no dealings with us; Make us a byword; call us in derision The silly folk of Sychar.