Excerpt from Heliogabalus: A Buffoonery in Three Acts All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian. In its present form this play is dedicated to the reading public only, and no performances of it may be given without the permission of the authors who may be addressed in care of the publisher. Any piracy or infringement W111 be prosecuted in accordance with the penalties provided by the United States Statutes. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"Heliogabalus: A Buffoonery in Three Acts" is a book written by Mencken and his co-editor friend George Jean Nathan to show how easy it was to write a play. The book tells the story of Heliogabalus, Emperor of Roman Imperium who gets to choose every night from eleven gorgeous spouses. The Emperor was charmed by a Christian damsel who is proving difficult to get. He soon got irritated by her virtue and returned to his old ways. The authors combined their talent, wits, and cleverness to bring this masterpiece to the public.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 edition. Excerpt: ... act ii Sometime in the middle of the year 221 A.d. The scene is the cubicula nocturna, or bedroom, of the Emperor in the Palace. Time: 10 P.M. A rather shallow and crowded apartment, with doors at the left and upper right, and a single window at the right. The Romans, of course, did not have beds of the sort we sleep in today. The thing they used was a sort of chaise-longue--that is, it had no foot-board. Heliogabalus' bed is to the left of the spectator, with its back against the back wall and its foot facing the footlights. Beside it, separated by a space of no more than two feet, is the huge bed of his wives. It is, in design, exactly like his own, but it is at least 20 feet wide. The bed-clothing stretches unbrok enly from side to side of it, but there are separate pillows--twelve of them, each embroidered with a large monogram in purple. The pillow with the "L" for Lucia is nearest Heliogabalus' bed. In the narrow space between this huge bed and Heliogabalus' there is a small night table, and on it are a lamp and a bottle of water and goblet. This lamp furnishes the only light in 73 the room. Twelve clothes-racks, piled with finery, are at the extreme right. As the curtain rises, Heliogabalus is propped up in bed, reading a scroll by the light of the lamp. Lucia is the only occupant of the other bed. She is lying near the middle of it, and is thus about 10 feet from Heliogabalus. Heliogabalus, still holding the scroll in one hand, reaches over, pours out a goblet of water, looks at it sourly, makes a face, heaves a sigh, and drinks it. Heliogabalus What stuff! No wonder I've still got the stomachache. Slowly rolling up the scroll as he gives it a final scrutiny Hm--hm--hm--... lucia After a pause, sleepily What have you been doing, ...