Would that he were now here! The hour is serene, and the air which comes
in so gently from the West, such as he loves.'

As Fausta uttered these words, our eyes at the same moment caught the
forms of Zenobia and Longinus, as they emerged from a walk very near, but
made dark by overhanging and embowering roses. We immediately advanced
toward them, and begged them to join us.

'We are conversing,' said Julia, 'upon such things as you both love.
Come and sit now with us, and let us know what you can say upon the
same themes.'

'We will sit with you gladly,' said the Queen; 'at least for myself I may
say it, for I am sure that with you I shall find some other subjects
discussed beside perplexing affairs of state. When alone with
Longinus--as but now--our topic is ever the same.'

'If the subject of our discourse, however, be ever the same,' said the
Greek, 'we have this satisfaction in reflecting upon it, that it is one
that in its nature is real and tangible. The well-being of a nation is
not an undefined and shadowy topic, like so many of those which occupy
the time and thoughts of even the wise. I too, however, shall gladly
bear a part in whatever theme may engross the thoughts of Julia, Fausta,
and Piso.'

With these words, we returned to the seats we had left, which were not
within the arbor of Julia, but were the marble steps which led to it.
There we placed ourselves, one above and one beside another, as
happened--Zenobia sitting between Fausta and Julia, I at the feet of Julia,
and Longinus on the same step with myself, and next to Fausta. I could