“Strange intelligence!”
“With which, however, you have already long been made acquainted.”
“Is that your opinion?”
“Certainly it is. And I know with still greater certainty that once—you hear me—once, he succeeded in bending the will of these rulers of his to his own.”
“I very seldom hear news from home, and do not understand what you are speaking of.”
“There I believe you, for if you knew what I meant and could stand there quietly without clenching your fist, you would be no better than a dog who only whimpers when he’s kicked and licks the hand that torments him.”
The physician turned pale. “I know that Amasis has injured and insulted me,” he said, “but at the same time I must tell you that revenge is far too sweet a morsel to be shared with a stranger.”
“Well said! As to my own revenge, however, I can only compare it to a vineyard where the grapes are so plentiful, that I am not able to gather them all myself.”
“And you have come hither to hire good laborers.”
“Quite right, and I do not even yet give up the hope of securing you to take a share in my vintage.”