horses in the care of attendant slaves, and pursue the remainder of the
way on foot. The hill which we now had to ascend was thickly grown over
with every variety of tree and bush, with here and there a mountain stream
falling from rock to rock, and forcing its way to the valley below. The
sultry heat of the day compelled us frequently to pause, as we toiled up
the side of the hill, seating ourselves, now beneath the dark shadows of a
branching cedar or the long-lived terebinth, and now on the mossy banks of
a descending brook. The mingled beauty and wildness of the scene, together
with such companions, soon drove the Queen, Rome, and Palmyra, from my
thoughts. I could not but wish that we might lose our way to the hermit's
cave, that by such means our walk might be prolonged.

'Is it, I wonder,' said Fausta, 'the instruction of his religion which
confines this Christian saint to these distant solitudes? What a
singular faith it must be which should drive all who embrace it to the
woods and rocks! What would become of our dear Palmyra, were it to be
changed to a Christian city? The same event, I suppose, Julia, would
change it to a desert.'

'I do not think Christianity prescribes this mode of life, though. I do
not know but it may permit it,' replied the princess. 'But of this, the
Hermit will inform us. He may have chosen this retreat on account of his
extreme age, which permits him no longer to engage in the affairs of an
active life.'

'I trust for the sake of Christianity it is so,' added Fausta; 'for I
cannot conceive of a true religion inculcating, or even permitting
inactivity. What would become of the world, if it could be proved that the
gods required us to pass our days in retired contemplation?'