u a father
or a mother?"

"Only a mother. My father died two years ago. My brethren are all older
than I,--they are from the first marriage; only my sister and I have
sprung from the second."

"Is thy sister as comely as thou?"

"She is little. She is but nine."

The king laughs quietly, embraces Sulamith, draws her to him, and
whispers into her ear:

"Therefore, she hath no such breast as thine? A breast as proud, as
warm?..."

She is silent, burning with shame and happiness. Her eyes glow and grow
dim, with the mist of a happy smile over them. The king feels the
riotous beating of her heart within his hand.

"The warmth of thy garments hath a goodlier smell than myrrh, than
nard," he is saying, avidly touching her ear with his lips. "And when
thou breathest, the smell of thy nostrils is like that of apples unto
me. My sister, my beloved, thou hast ravished my heart with one glance
of thy eyes, with one chain of thy neck."

"O, gaze not upon me!" implores Sulamith. "Thine eyes stir me."

But of her own accord she bends backward and lays her head upon
Solomon's breast. Her lips glow over the gleaming teeth, her eyelids
tremble with intense desire. Solomon's lips cling greedily to her
enticing mouth. He feels the flame of her lips and the slipperiness of
her teeth, and the sweet moistness of her tongue; and he is all consumed
of an unbearable desire, such as he has never yet known in his life.

Thus passes one minute; then two.

"What dost thou with me!" says Sulamith faintly, closing her eyes.

But Solomon passionately whispers near her very mouth:

"Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under
thy tongue.... O, come away with me, speedily. Here, behind the wall, it
is dark and cool. None shall see us. The green is soft here underneath
the cedars."

"Nay, nay, leave me. I desire it not, I can not."

"Sulamith ... thou dost desire it, thou dost desire it.... Come to me,
my sister, my beloved!"

Some one's steps resound below, upon the highway, below the wall of the
vineyard, but Solomon detains the frightened girl by her hand.

"Tell me, quickly,--where dwellest thou? This night shall I come to thee,"
he is hurriedly saying.

"Nay, nay, nay ... I shall not tell thee this. Let me go. I shall not
tell thee."

"I shall not let thee go, Sulamith, till thou dost tell.... My desire is
unto thee!"

"It is well, I shall tell thee.... But first promise not to come this
night..