fact were known, it could not be communicated; although of course, my
dear madam, there are very grave objections to accepting such views in
their fulness."

"Of course," echoed Valeria. "Pisander, read Pratinas that little poem
of Archilochus, whose sentiment I so much admired, when I happened on
it yesterday."

Pisander fumbled among his rolls, then read, perhaps throwing a bit of
sarcasm into his tone:--

"Gyges'[67] wealth and honours great
Come not nigh to me!
Heavenly pow'r, or tyrant's state,
I'll not envy thee.
Swift let any sordid prize
Fade and vanish from my eyes!"

[67] A Lydian king whose wealth was placed on a par with that of the
better known Croesus.

"Your ladyship," said Pratinas, appearing entranced by the lines, "is
ever in search of the pearls of refined expression!"

"I wish," said Valeria, whose mind ran from Gorgias to Archilochus,
and then back to quite foreign matters, with lightning rapidity, "you
would tell Kallias, the sculptor, that the head-dress on my statue in
the atrium must be changed. I don't arrange my hair that way any
longer. He must put on a new head-dress without delay."[68]