Marion Craig Wentworth

“ Hedwig: [Nodding slowly.]
What I said—to breed a soldier for the empire; to restock the land. [Fiercely.] And for what? For food for the next generation's cannon. Oh, it is an insult to our womanhood! You violate all that makes marriage sacred! [Agitated, she walks about the room.] Are we women never to get up out of the dust? You never asked us if we wanted this war, yet you ask us to gather in the crops, cut the wood, keep the world going, drudge and slave, and wait, and agonize, lose our all, and go on bearing more men—and more—to be shot down! ”

“ She acts as if she didn't want to bring her child into the world. She talks wild. I tell you I must have that child, Amelia! I cannot live else. Hedwig frightens me. The other night I found her sitting on the edge of her bed staring,—when she should have been asleep,—as if she saw visions, and whispering, "I will send a message to the emperor." ”

“ Amelia a war bride, too! Good!
Hoffman:
You'll be proud to hear her called that, won't you, Mother? Give us your blessing.
Minna:
I'd rather be a wife or a widow any day than be an old maid; and to be a war bride—oh!
[Amelia is blushing and tremulous.]
Mother: [With a far-away look.]
It is for the fatherland, Amelia. Aye, aye, the masters have said so. It is the will and judgment of those higher than us. They are wise. Our country will need children. Aye. Say yes, my daughter. You will not say no when your country bids you! It is your emperor, your country, who asks, more than Hans Hoffman. ”

“ Hedwig:
My child? For this end? For the empire—the war that is to be? No!
Mother: [Half to herself.]
He may look like Franz.
[Hedwig quickly seizes the pistol from the mantel-shelf and moves to the bedroom door.
Amelia, watching her, sees her do it, and cries out in alarm and rushes to take it from her.]
Amelia: [In horror.]
Hedwig! What are you doing? Give it to me! No, you must not! You have too much to live for.
AMELIA: No, you must not! You have too much to live for. Hedwig: [Dazed.]
To live for? Me? ”

“ Hoffman: [Kissing Amelia on both cheeks.]
There, it's all settled. [A faint cheer is heard without.] To-morrow they will cheer you like that; and when I go, I shall have a bride to wave me good-by instead of—
[Enter Hedwig.
She stands in the doorway, looking out on the distant crowds. She is tall, well built, and carries herself proudly. Strong, intelligent features, but pale. Her eyes are large with anxiety. She has soft, wavy black hair. An inward flame seems to be consuming her.
The sounds continue in the distance, cheering, disputing mingled with far bugle-calls and marching feet.] ”

“ Hedwig: [Rushing from the house.]
They have taken my Franz!
Mother:
Get her back! I feared it. Grief has made her mad.
[Amelia runs out. A clamor of voices outside. Hedwig can be heard indistinctly speaking to the women. Finally her voice alone is heard, and in a moment she appears, backing into the doorway, still talking to the women.]
Hedwig: [A tragic light in her face, and hand uplifted.]
I shall send a message to the emperor. If ten thousand women send one like it, there will be peace and no more war. Then they will hear our tears. ”

“ But you are right, Amelia. I have something to do first.
[Lets Amelia put the pistol away in the cupboard.] I must send a message to the emperor. [The others are more alarmed for her in this mood than in her grief.]
You said you were going to the front to be a nurse, Amelia. Can you take this message for me? I might take it myself, perhaps.
Amelia: [Hesitating, not knowing what to say or do.]
Let me give you some tea, Hedwig.
[Voices are heard outside, and the sounds of sorrow. Some one near the house is weeping. A wild look and a fierce resolve light Hedwig's face.] ”

“ Are you aware that that is treason?
Hedwig:
Why are they asking this, Herr Captain?
Hertz:
Our statesmen are wise. They are thinking of the future state. The nation is fast being depopulated. We must take precautionary measures. We must have men for the future. I warn you, that to do or say anything which subverts the plan of the empire for its own welfare, especially at a time when our national existence is in peril—well, it is treason. ”

“ Now and then a bugle blows or a drum beats in the distance. A squad of soldiers marches quickly by. There is everywhere the tense atmosphere of unusual circumstance, the anxiety and excitement of war.
Amelia, a slight, flaxen-haired girl of nineteen, comes in. She brushes off the hay with which she is covered, and goes to packing a bag with a secret, but determined, air. The Mother passes the window and appears in the doorway. She is old and work-worn, but sturdy and stoical. Now she carries a heavy load of wood, and is weary. She casts a sharp eye at Amelia. ”

“ That is what comes of letting Franz go to a factory town, Maria. That is where he met this girl. Factory towns breed these ideas. [To Hedwig.] Well, we'll have none of that here. [Authoritatively.] Another word of this kind of insurrection, another word to the women of your treason, and you will be locked up and take your just punishment. You remember I had to look out for you in the beginning when you talked against this war. You're a firebrand, and you know how we handle the like of you. ”

“ Through the open door may be seen women stacking grain. Others go by carrying huge baskets of grapes or loads of wood, and gradually it penetrates the mind that all these workers are women, aristocrats and peasants side by side. ”