“Do so,” returned the monarch; “whilst beloved by you, I am indifferent to all others.”
“So, then, if I asked it,” said Semiramis, “you would banish all your other wives, and love me alone? I should be alone your consort, the partaker of your power, and queen of Assyria?”
“Queen of Assyria! Are you not so already,” said Ninus, “since you reign, by your beauty, over its king?”
“No—no,” answered his lovely mistress; “I am at present only a slave whom you love. I reign not; I merely charm. When I give an order, you are consulted before I am obeyed.”
“And to reign, then, you think so great a pleasure?”
“Yes, to one who has never experienced it.”
“And do you wish, then, to experience it? Would you like to reign a few days in my place?”
“Take care, O king! do not offer too much.”
“No, I repeat it,” said the captivated monarch. “Would you like, for one whole day, to be sovereign mistress of Assyria? If you would, I consent to it.”
“And all which I command, then, shall be executed?”