Then, with iron severity, she asked: "As it seems to be one of the
demands of your nature, woman, to allure and kindle the hearts of all who
bear the name of man, even though they have not yet donned the garb of
the Ephebi, so, too, you seem to appear to delight in idle ornaments.
Or," and as she spoke she touched Barine's shoulder"--or why should you
wear, during the hours of slumber, that circlet on your arm?"

Barine had watched with increasing anxiety the marked change in the
manner and language of the Queen. She now beheld a repetition of what
she had experienced at the Adonis festival, but this time she knew what
had roused Cleopatra's jealousy. She, Barine, wore on her arm a gift
from Antony. With pallid face she strove to find a fitting answer, but
ere she could do so Iras advanced to the side of the incensed Queen,
saying: "That circlet is the counterpart of the one your august husband
bestowed upon you. The singer's must also be a gift from Mark Antony.
Like every one else in the world, she deems the noble Imperator the
greatest man of his day. Who can blame her for prizing it so highly that
she does not remove it even while she sleeps?"

Again Barine felt as if a thorn had pierced her; but though the
resentment which she had previously experienced once more surged hotly
within her heart, she forced herself to maintain seemly external
composure, and struggled for some word in answer; but she found none
suitable, and remained silent.

She had told the truth. From early youth she had followed the impulses
of her own nature without heeding the opinion of mortals, as the
teachings of the Stoics directed, and she had been allowed to do so
because this nature was pure, truthful, alive to the beautiful, and,
moreover, free from those unbridled, volcanic impulses to which the Queen