Esther
[With suppressed emotion.]
Oh, king, your tongue is most acute. But whence,
Think you, this tinct of cinnamon that makes
The savor of the dish.
Ahasuerus
[Tasting for a long time.]
I give it up,
Unless it came from Java or Ceylon.
Esther
[Laughing, changing rapidly to deep feeling.]
My lord, it is not cinnamon at all,
But spice that grew a thousand years ago
In hills beyond the Jordon. Haman, can
You tell the flavor of the grape that fills
Your goblet?
Haman