in her suburban villa; wished first to prepare her and to open her soul
to salvation. In this task no teacher of the congregation should assist
her. She, and she alone, should win to the Redeemer the soul of this
fair creature that had walked so resolutely in the ways of the heathen;
this was required of her as the condition of the covenant that she felt
she had made with Him, it was with the price of this labor that she hoped
to purchase her own child's eternal happiness. Day after day she had
Arsinoe into her own room, that was decked with flowers and with
Christian symbols, and devoted several hours to her instruction. But her
disciple proved less impressionable and less attentive every day; while
Paulina was speaking Arsinoe was thinking of Pollux, of the children, of
the festival prepared for the Emperor or of the beautiful dress she was
to have worn as Roxana. She wondered what young girl would fill her
place, and how she could ever hope to see her lover again. And it was
the same during Paulina's prayers as during her instruction, prayers that
often lasted more than hour, and which she had to attend, on her knees on
Wednesday and Friday, and with hands uplifted on all the other days of
the week.

When her adoptive mother had discovered how often she looked out into the
street she thought she had found out the reason of her pupil's distracted
attention and only waited the return of her brother, the architect, in
order to have the window blocked up.

As Pontius entered the lofty hall of his sister's house, Arsinoe came to
meet him. Her cheeks were flushed, she had hurried to fly down as fast
as possible from her window to the ground floor, in order to speak to the
architect before he went into the inner rooms or had talked with his
sister, and she looked lovelier than ever. Pontius gazed at her with
delight. He knew that he had seen this sweet face before, but he could