'And how can I assist you?'

'I am about to invite her to a feast in my house: I wish to dazzle--to
bewilder--to inflame her senses. Our arts--the arts by which Egypt
trained her young novitiates--must be employed; and, under veil of the
mysteries of religion, I will open to her the secrets of love.'

'Ah! now I understand:--one of those voluptuous banquets that, despite
our dull vows of mortified coldness, we, the priests of Isis, have
shared at thy house.'

'No, no! Thinkest thou her chaste eyes are ripe for such scenes? No;
but first we must ensnare the brother--an easier task. Listen to me,
while I give you my instructions.'



Chapter V

MORE OF THE FLOWER-GIRL. THE PROGRESS OF LOVE.

THE sun shone gaily into that beautiful chamber in the house of Glaucus,
which I have before said is now called the 'Room of Leda'. The morning
rays entered through rows of small casements at the higher part of the
room, and through the door which opened on the garden, that answered to
the inhabitants of the southern cities the same purpose that a
greenhouse or conservatory does to us. The size of the garden did not
adapt it for exercise, but the various and fragrant plants with which it
was filled gave a luxury to that indolence so dear to the dwellers in a
sunny clime. And now the odorous, fanned by a gentle wind creeping from