to yours." But, as matters now stood, her first duty was to quell her
passion and retrain faithful to the end, even though the cause were lost.
She was Greek to the backbone; she knew it and felt it, and yet her eye
had sparkled with pride as she heard the steward's tale, and she seemed
to see Constantine at the head of his horsemen, rushing upon the heathen
and driving them to the four winds like a flock of sheep. Her heart beat
high for the foe rather than for her hapless friends--these were but
bruised reeds--those were the incarnation of victorious strength.

These divided feelings worried and vexed her; but her grandmother had
suggested a way of reconciling them. Where he commanded victory
followed, and if the Christians should succeed in destroying the image of
Serapis the joints of the world would crack and the earth would crumble
away. She herself was familiar with the traditions and the oracles which
with one consent foretold this doom; she had learnt them as an infant
from her nurse, from the slave-women at the loom, from learned men and
astute philosophers--and to her the horrible prophecy meant a solution of
every contradiction and the bitter-sweet hope of perishing with the man
she loved.

As it grew dark another person appeared: the Moschosphragist--[The
examiner of sacrificed animals]--from the temple of Serapis, who, every
day, examined the entrails of a slaughtered beast for Damia; to-day the
augury had been so bad that he was almost afraid of revealing it. But
the old woman, sure of it beforehand, took his soothsaying quite calmly,
and only desired to be carried up to her observatory that she might watch
the risings of the stars.

Gorgo remained alone below. From the adjoining workrooms came the
monotonous rattle of the loom at which, as usual, a number of slaves were