rances of
Wolf, his father's friend, in spite of Theoda's and his mother's tears,
he worships at Moloch's feet together with the majority of his
followers.

Velleda, his mother, a somewhat mystic personage, who foresees every
misfortune, {492} prophetically sees her son in the fearful monster's
jaws; she veils herself shuddering and withdraws into the woods.

Theoda, who loves Teut hopelessly tries all her simple wiles and
allurements on him in vain. When Hiram sacrifices a pair of doves and
a ram to the idol, the people all join in his exulting cry of "Moloch
is King, he is Lord over all", with which grand and impressive chorus
the first Act closes.

The second Act takes place near the sacred yew of the Thuleans. Wolf
meets Theoda, and tells her, that Teut is alienating the people with
the new religion, and that he must be slain. Theoda opposes him, but
he turns from her, and goes to summon the old King to pronounce
judgment.

Meanwhile Hiram approaches the yew, accompanied by the labourers, who
are returning from their work. He has taught them to plough the
ground, to sow, to till the soil, and now he deems it time to fell the
old tree, which they have hitherto held sacred, and under the branches
of which the King is wont to pronounce judgment.

Hiram is about to lay the axe to its roots, when the King appears.
Seeing his son bearing a foreign sword, he bids him lay it down at his
feet. But Teut declares, that he has received the sword for the
protection of Moloch, and audaciously summons his father to dedicate
his own ancestral weapon to the new god.

{493}

Hiram joins him in this demand, and rouses the anger of the King, who
would have stabbed the priest but for Teut, who throws himself between
the two. Then the outraged monarch turns his sword against his son,
whose sense of duty however hinders him from attacking his father,
before whom he bends his knee. Yet he only meets with scorn and
sneers, and stung by these he seizes his sword. Theoda now intervenes,
and Teut throws down his weapon. The King does likewise, and both
begin to wrestle. Teut overcomes his father, who, overpowered either
by the shock or by shame, becomes unconscious. When Teut perceives
what he has done, he is struck with sorrow, but seizing the royal sword
he hands it to Hiram, to be taken to Moloch.

When the King comes to his senses, he is so humiliated by his defeat,
that he begs his son to kill him. Teut refuses to d