Sentence:  And finally, at end of a banquet when candied spices were served, the First Chamberlain handed the dragée box to the <WSD>Spicer</WSD> for an assay, and then passed it to the senior person of the Duke's Houshold present; this person presented the box to the Prince, and then returned it to the First Chamberlain, who in turn replaced it into the hands of the <WSD>Spicer</WSD> - always assuming this last person to have survived the earlier assay of his product! 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  One who seasons with spice.