O queen,
Always the world has had its poverty.
You shall forget the poor. One stoop of wine
Will bring you happiness. Vashti, drink.
Vashti
Forgive me, Zethar, but no wine to-night.
[Enter Meheuman, Biztha and Abagtha.]
Meheuman
[Loftily.]
Our most imperial queen, the king has laid
A banquet in the palace garden court,
The crowning act of that munificence
Toward prince and people great and small alike,
Ahasuerus now for many months
Has shown the loyal subjects of his realm.
The adornment of the court displays a rich
Magnificence of taste; the couches are
Of fretted gold and silver set upon
A pavement of mosaic inlaid stone.
The drinking is according to the law—
None can compel, each vessel is diverse,
But all of gold. Th' abundance of the wine
Shows the unstinted bounty of the king.
Our monarch's heart is merry in the cup,
And boasts that Vashti's beauty does excel
In magic power the fabled Helen's charms,
And bids us bring immediately before
The court great Persia's matchless queen!
Vashti
Meheuman, tell Ahasuerus I
Must thank his majesty since he can still
Remember Vashti's beauty, though his grace
Has lost all sense of modesty and shame.
You say his heart is merry now in wine
And that he glories with exceeding pride
Because my face is fair to look upon!
I do not doubt his tongue is eloquent;
The fiery phrase is his! Why, often I
Have heard him praise his horse in language that
Seemed kindled at the altar of the gods.
It may be that he holds me higher than
His hundred concubines.
Meheuman