Ackazarpses: 

You must not tremble, Illustrious Lady; you must not tremble.

Queen: 

They are such terrible men, Ackazarpses.

Ackazarpses: 

But you must not tremble, for your raiment is now perfect; yet if you tremble, alas! who may say how it will hang?

Queen: 

They are such huge, terrible men.

Ackazarpses: 

O the raiment, the raiment; you must not, you must not!

Queen: 

O I cannot bear it.  I cannot bear it.  There is Rhadamandaspes, that huge, fierce soldier, and the terrible Priest of Horus, and... and...  O I cannot see them, I cannot see them.

Ackazarpses: 

Lady, you have invited them.

Queen: 

O say I am ill, say I am sick of a fever.

Quick, quick, say I have some swift fever and cannot see them.

Ackazarpses: 

Illustrious Lady——­

Queen: 

Quick, for I cannot bear it.

    [Exit Ackazarpses.]

Queen: 

O, I cannot bear to have enemies.

Ackazarpses: 

Lady, they are here.

Queen: 

O what shall we do?...  Set this bow higher upon my head so that it must be seen. [Ackazarpses does so.] The pretty bow.

    [She continues to look in a hand mirror.  A Slave descends the
    stairs.  Then Rhadamandaspes and Zophernes.  Rhadamandaspes and
    Zophernes stop; the Slave stops lower down.]

Zophernes: 

For the last time, Rhadamandaspes, consider.  Even yet we may turn back.

Rhadamandaspes: 

She had no guards outside nor was there any hiding place for them. 
There was the empty plain and the Nile only.

Zophernes: 

Who knows what she may have in this dark temple?

Rhadamandaspes: 

It is small and the stairway narrow; our friends are close behind us. 
We could hold these steps with our swords against all her men.

Zophernes: 

True.  They are narrow steps.  Yet...  Rhadamandaspes, I do not fear man or god or even woman, yet when I saw the letter this woman sent bidding us banquet with her I felt that it was not well that we should come.

Rhadamandaspes: 

She said that she would love us though we were her enemies.

Zophernes: 

It is not natural to love one’s enemies.

Rhadamandaspes: 

She is much swayed by whims.  They sway her as the winds in spring sway flowers—­this way and that.  This is one of her whims.

Zophernes: 

I do not trust her whims.

Rhadamandaspes: 

They name you Zophernes, giver of good counsel, therefore I will turn back because you counsel it, though I would fain go down and banquet with this little playful lady.

    [They turn and mount.]

Zophernes: