SCENE II

[_The curtain rises, disclosing Ahasuerus, Esther, Haman, and attendants at the banquet table._]

_Ahasuerus_

Beloved Esther, my most beauteous queen, This banquet does surpass in excellence Even the feast of yesterday, which you Prepared for Haman and the king. Your hand Grows deft with practice.

_Esther_

But, my lord, you are A connoisseur, and can but speak these words In flattery. O king, it was my heart, And not my hand that flavored every dish That lies before you.

_Ahasuerus_

Esther, now it is Your tongue that flatters. Still, it does rejoice Me much to hear such language from the queen. A connoisseur, say you? Haman, can You tell me, now, what bay or bight in all The salted seas once held this shrimp?

[_Holding up shrimp._]

_Haman_

[_Tasting it meditatively._]

My lord, I think it must have been the Persian Gulf.

_Ahasuerus_

Ha, ha, Haman, why you do not know A wild goose from the Bird of Paradise. This crangonoid is found nowhere except Along the Red Sea beach not far from where The hosts of Pharaoh were engulfed and lost.

_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_

[_Flattered._]

Oh, I think it must have grown In islands of the blue Aegean Sea.

_Esther_

[_Turning to the king._]

My lord, it is the selfsame cup they drank From sacred vessels at Belshazzar's feast That night in Babylon.

_Haman_

What means the queen, This wine is not that old, and yet, 'tis not Excelled at banquets of the gods.

_Ahasuerus_

[_Showing effect of wine._]

Nor kings. This is a joyous night! Oh, queen, your wit Has filled my cup with wine of happiness. What think you, Haman, should be done to him The king delighteth most to honor now?

_Haman_

Bring forth the robe, O king, your majesty Does wear, and place it on the one your grace Does most delight to honor. Xerxes, set This man upon your royal horse, and place Your majesty's own jeweled crown upon His head, and let him be proclaimed Throughout the public streets.

_Ahasuerus_

[_Rises. Emphatic._]

So let it then Be done to Mordecai, the Jew beside The palace gate.

_Haman_

What words are these? You can not mean the Jew!

_Ahasuerus_

[_More emphatic._]

The Jew I mean. Last night I could not sleep, and so I had The book of records read, the chronicles, Wherein I learned that this same Mordecai The Jew had saved Ahasuerus' life, When Teresh and another chamberlain Had sought to lay the hand of violence Upon your king. Let nothing fail of all That you have spoken should be done to him The king delighteth now to honor most. And Esther, tell Ahasuerus now Your dearest wish. On yesterday I begged To know the favor you did most desire And now it shall be granted unto you, Whatever your request, even to half My kingdom, it shall be performed.

_Esther_

[_With hands extended toward the king._]

Have I Found favor in your sight, O king, then let My life be given unto me at my Petition and my people live at my Request! For we are sold to be destroyed-- To perish and be slain.

_Ahasuerus_

[_Surprised and dazed._]

O where is he-- Oh, who is he, that dare presume to lay The hand of violence upon my queen!

_Esther_

There stands this adversary, O my king, The wicked Haman!

_Ahasuerus_

Haman! Haman! What Can be the meaning of this speech? This man I have advanced to be my premier?

_Esther_

I mean this craven whom you have advanced To put to death with your own royal seal The queen, as well as every other Jew That breathes the Persian air, both young and old Alike, the laughing child and gray-haired sire.

_Ahasuerus_

What! Esther, you a Jew!

_Esther_

[_Proudly._]

I am a Jew. A daughter of the tribe of Benjamin-- Pure Hebrew blood!

[_A dramatic pause. Esther awaits the decision of the king, who for a time seems to waver, then extends his sceptre toward Esther. Harbonah, the king's high officer, appears. Haman throws himself at Esther's feet._]

_Haman_

[_Pleading._]

Oh, queen, I do beseech You, save me from his wrath.

_Ahasuerus_

[_Angrily._]

Harbonah, let This traitor, Haman, die at once.

_Harbonah_

My lord, You know the scaffold that the premier built For Mordecai?

_Ahasuerus_

The premier! What's that, Harbonah? You mock your king? Let him Be hanged upon this gallows. Call the Jew! He holds the first place in my kingdom now.

[_Exeunt Ahasuerus, Esther, Haman, Harbonah, and attendants._]

_Zeresh_

[_Who has been concealed in a corner of the hall, advancing._]

At Esther's feet! An Aggagite! Ha, Ha! A hater of the Jews! You hypocrite! A lover of this queen! A paramour Of her who boasts that she can trace her blood An unpolluted stream a thousand years To one who watched his humble flocks on bleak Judean hills. A shepherd queen that rules The Persian throne, and you, O Haman, you That fed on venom for her race, are now, Though premier, a cringing, craven wretch, Begging this Jewish girl for worthless life. "A rainbow over polar snows," ha, ha! No doubt her grace was fair to look upon. False-hearted queen, O royal prostitute! It was your jeweled hand that laid this feast But Zeresh's heart that furnished all the wine!

[_Curtain._]