[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D. W. ]

A THORNY PATH

By Georg Ebers

Volume 7. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The high-priest of Serapis presided over the sacrifices to be offeredthis morning. Caesar had given beasts in abundance to do honor to thegod; still, the priest had gone but ill-disposed to fulfill his part; forthe imperial command that the citizens' houses should be filled with thetroops, who were also authorized to make unheard-of demands on theirhosts, had roused his ire against the tyrant, who, in the morning, afterhis bath, had appeared to him unhappy indeed, but at the same time agifted and conscientious ruler, capable of the highest and grandestenterprise. 

Melissa, in obedience to the lady Euryale, had taken an hour's rest, andthen refreshed herself by bathing. She now was breakfasting with hervenerated friend, and Philostratus had joined them. He was able to tellthem that a swift State galley was already on its way to overtake andrelease her father and brother; and when he saw how glad she was to hearit, how beautiful, fresh, and pure she was, he thought to himself withanxiety that it would be a wonder if the imperial slave to his ownpassions should not desire to possess this lovely creature. 

Euryale also feared this, and Melissa realized what filled them withanxiety; yet she by no means shared the feeling, and the happy confidencewith which she tried to comfort her old friends, at the same timepacified and alarmed them. It seemed to her quite foolish and vain tosuppose that the emperor, the mighty ruler of the world, should fall inlove with her, the humble, obscure gem-cutter's child, who aspired to onesuitor alone. It was merely as a patient wishes for the physician, sheassured herself, that the emperor wished for her presence--Philostratushad understood that. During the night she had certainly been seized withgreat fears, but, as she now thought, without any cause. What she reallyhad to dread was that she might be falsely judged by his followers;still, she cared nothing about all these Romans. However, she would begEuryale to see Diodoros, and to tell him what forced her to obey theemperor's summons, if he should send for her. It was highly probablethat the sick man had been informed of her interview with Caracalla, and, as her betrothed, he must be told how she felt toward Caesar; for thiswas his right, and jealous agitation might injure him. 

Her face so expressed the hope and confidence of a pure heart that when, after a little time, she withdrew, Euryale said to the philosopher:

"We must not alarm her more! Her trustful innocence perhaps may protecther better than anxious precautions. "

And Philostratus agreed, and assured her that in any case he expectedgood results for Melissa, for she was one of those who were the elect ofthe gods and whom they chose to be their instruments. And then herelated what wonderful influence she had over Caesar's sufferings, andpraised her with his usual enthusiastic warmth. 

When Melissa returned, Philostratus had left the matron. She was againalone with Euryale, who reminded her of the lesson conveyed in theChristian words that she had explained to her yesterday. Every deed, every thought, had some influence on the way in which the fulfillment oftime would come for each one; and when the hour of death was over, noregrets, repentance, or efforts could then alter the past. A singlemoment, as her own young experience had taught her, was often sufficientto brand the name of an estimable man. Till now, her way through lifehad led along level paths, through meadows and gardens, and others hadkept their eyes open for her; now she was drawing near to the edge of aprecipice, and at every turning, even at the smallest step, she mustnever forget the threatening danger. The best will and the greatestprudence could not save her if she did not trust to a higher guidance;and then she asked the girl to whom she raised her heart when she prayed;and Melissa named Isis and other gods, and lastly the manes of her deadmother. 

During this confession, old Adventus appeared, to summon the girl to hissovereign. Melissa promised to follow him immediately; and, when the oldman had gone, the matron said:

"Few here pray to the same gods, and he whose worship my husband leads isnot mine. I, with several others, know that there is a Father in heavenwho loves us men, his creatures, and guards us as his children. You donot yet know him, and therefore you can not hope for anything from him;but if you will follow the advice of a friend, who was also once young, think in the future that your right hand is held firmly by the invisible, beloved hand of your mother. Persuade yourself that she is by you, andtake care that every word, yes, every glance, meets with her approval. Then she will be there, and will protect you whenever you require heraid. "

Melissa sank on the breast of her kind friend, embracing her as closelyand kissing her as sincerely as if she had been the beloved mother towhose care Euryale had commended her, The counsels of this true friend agreed with those of her own heart, andso they must be right. When at last they had to part, Euryale wished tosend for one of the gentlemen of the court, whom she knew, that he mightescort her through the troops of Caesar's attendants and friends who werewaiting, and of the visitors and petitioners; but Melissa felt so happyand so well protected by Adventus, that she followed him without furtherdelay. In fact, the old man had a friendly feeling for her, since shehad covered his feet so carefully the day before; she knew it by the toneof his voice and by the troubled look in his dim eyes. 

Even now she did not believe in the dangers at which her friends trembledfor her, and she walked calmly across the lofty marble halls, theanteroom, and the other vast rooms of the imperial dwelling. Theattendants accompanied her respectfully from door to door, in obedienceto the emperor's commands, and she went on with a firm step, lookingstraight in front of her, without noticing the inquisitive, approving, or scornful glances which were aimed at her. 

In the first rooms she needed an escort, for they were crowded withRomans and Alexandrians who were waiting for a sign from Caesar to appealfor his pardon or his verdict, or perhaps only wishing to see hiscountenance. The emperor's "friends" sat at breakfast, of whichCaracalla did not partake. The generals, and the members of his courtnot immediately attached to his person, stood together in the variousrooms, while the principal people of Alexandria--several senators andrich and important citizens of the town--as well as the envoys of theEgyptian provinces, in magnificent garments and rich gold ornaments, heldaloof from the Romans, and waited in groups for the call of the usher. 

Melissa saw no one, nor did she observe the costly woven hangings on thewalls, the friezes decorated with rare works of art and high reliefs, northe mosaic floors over which she passed. She did not notice the hum andmurmur of the numerous voices which surrounded her; nor could she indeedhave understood a single coherent sentence; for, excepting the ushers andthe emperor's immediate attendants, at the reception-hour no one wasallowed to raise his voice. Expectancy and servility seemed here tostifle every lively impulse; and when, now and then, the loud call ofone of the ushers rang above the murmur, one of those who were waitingspontaneously bowed low, or another started up, as if ready to obey anycommand. The sensation, shared by many, of waiting in the vicinity of ahigh, almost godlike power, in whose hands lay their well-being ormisery, gave rise to a sense of solemnity. Every movement was subdued;anxious, nay, fearful expectation was written on many faces, and onothers impatience and disappointment. After a little while it waswhispered from ear to ear that the emperor would only grant a few moreaudiences; and how many had already waited in vain yesterday, for hours, in the same place!

Without delay Melissa went on till she had reached the heavy curtainwhich, as she already knew, shut off Caesar's inner apartments. 

The usher obligingly drew it back, even before she had mentioned hername, and while a deputation of the town senators, who had been receivedby Caracalla, passed out, she was followed by Alexandrian citizens, thechiefs of great merchant-houses, whose request for an audience he hadsanctioned. They were for the most part elderly men, and Melissarecognized among them Seleukus, Berenike's husband. 

Melissa bowed to him, but he did not notice her, and passed by without aword. Perhaps he was considering the enormous sum to be expended on theshow at night which he, with a few friends, intended to arrange at thecircus in Caesar's honor. 

All was quite still in the large hall which separated the emperor'sreception-room from the anteroom. Melissa observed only two soldiers, who were looking out of window, and whose bodies were shaking as thoughthey were convulsed with profound merriment. 

It happened that she had to wait here some time; for the usher begged herto have patience until the merchants' audience was over. They were thelast who would be received that day. He invited her to rest on the couchon which was spread a bright giraffe's skin, but she preferred to walk upand down, for her heart was beating violently. And while the ushervanished from the room, one of the warriors turned his head to look abouthim, and directly he caught sight of Melissa he gave his comrade a push, and said to him, loud enough for Melissa to hear:

"A wonder! Apollonaris, by Eros and all the Erotes, a precious wonder!"

The next moment they both stepped back from the window and stared at thegirl, who stood blushing and embarrassed, and gazed at the floor when shefound with whom she had been left alone. 

They were two tribunes of the praetorians, but, notwithstanding theirhigh grade, they were only young men of about twenty. Twin brothers ofthe honorable house of the Aurelia, they had entered the army ascenturions, but had soon been placed at the head of a thousand men, andappointed tribunes in Caesar's body-guard. They resembled one anotherexactly; and this likeness, which procured them much amusement, theygreatly enhanced by arranging their coal-black beards and hair in exactlythe same way, and by dressing alike down to the rings on their fingers. One was called Apollonaris, the other Nemesianus Aurelius. They were ofthe same height, and equally well grown, and no one could say which hadthe finest black eyes, which mouth the haughtiest smile, or to which ofthem the thick short beard and the artistically shaved spot between theunder lip and chin was most becoming. The beautifully embossed ornamentson their breast-plates and shirts of mail, and on the belt of the shortsword, showed that they grudged no expense; in fact, they thought only ofenjoyment, and it was merely for the honor of it that they were servingfor a few years in the imperial guard. By and by they would rest, afterall the hardships of the campaign, in their palace at Rome, or in thevillas on the various estates that they had inherited from their fatherand mother, and then, for a change, hold honorary positions in the publicservice. Their friends knew that they also contemplated being married onthe same day, when the game of war should be a thing of the past. 

In the mean time they desired nothing in the world but honor andpleasure; and such pleasure as well-bred, healthy, and genial youths, with amiability, strength, and money to spend, can always command, theyenjoyed to the full, without carrying it to reckless extravagance. Twomerrier, happier, more popular comrades probably did not exist in thewhole army. They did their duty in the field bravely; during peace, andin a town like Alexandria, they appeared, on the contrary, like mereeffeminate men of fashion. At least, they spent a large part of theirtime in having their black hair crimped; they gave ridiculous sums tohave it anointed with the most delicate perfumes; and it was difficult toimagine how effectively their carefully kept hands could draw a sword, and, if necessary, handle the hatchet or spade. 

To-day Nemesianus was in the emperor's anteroom by command, andApollonaris, of his own freewill, had taken the place of another tribune, that he might bear his brother company. They had caroused through halfthe night, and had begun the new day by a visit to the flower market, for love of the pretty saleswomen. Each had a half-opened rose stuck inbetween his cuirass and shirt of mail on the left breast, plucked, as thecharming Daphnion had assured them, from a bush which had been introducedfrom Persia only the year before. The brothers, at any rate, had neverseen any like them. 

While they were looking out of the window they had passed the time byexamining every girl or woman who went by, intending to fling one rose atthe first whose perfect beauty should claim it, and the other flower atthe second; but during the half-hour none had appeared who was worthy ofsuch a gift. All the beauties in Alexandria were walking in the streetsin the cool hour before sunset, and really there was no lack of handsomegirls. The brothers had even heard that Caesar, who seemed to haverenounced the pleasures of love, had yielded to the charms of a lovelyGreek. 

Directly they saw Melissa they were convinced that they had met thebeautiful plaything of the imperial fancy, and each with the same actionoffered her his rose, as if moved by the same invisible power. 

Apollonaris, who had come into the world a little sooner than hisbrother, and who, by right of birth, had therefore a more audaciousmanner, stepped boldly up to Melissa and presented his, while Nemesianusat the same instant bowed to her, and begged her to give his thepreference. 

Though their speeches were flattering and well-worded, Melissa repulsedthem by remarking sharply that she did not want their flowers. 

"We can easily believe that, " answered Apollonaris, "for are you notyourself a lovely, blooming rose?"

"Vain flattery, " replied Melissa; "and I certainly do not bloom for you. "

"That is both cruel and unjust, " sighed Nemesianus, "for that which yourefuse to us poor fellows you grant to another, who can obtain everythingthat other mortals yearn for. "

"But we, " interrupted his brother, "are modest, nay, and pious warriors. We had intended offering up these roses to Aphrodite, but lo! the goddesshas met us in person. "

"Her image at any rate, " added the other. 

"And you should thank the foam-born goddess, " continued Apollonaris; "forshe has lent you, in spite of the danger of seeing herself eclipsed, herown divine charms. Do you think she will be displeased if we withdrawthe flowers and offer them to you?"

"I think nothing, " answered Melissa, "excepting that your honeyedremarks annoy me. Do what you like with your roses, I will not acceptthem. "

"How dare you, " asked Apollonaris, approaching her--"you, to whom themother of love has given such wonderfully fresh lips--misuse them byrefusing so sternly the humble petition of her faithful worshipers? Ifyou would not have Aphrodite enraged with you, hasten to atone for thistransgression. One kiss, my beauty, for her votary, and she will forgiveyou. "

Here Apollonaris stretched out his hand toward the girl to draw her tohim, but she motioned him back indignantly, declaring that it would bereprehensible and cowardly in a soldier to use violence toward a modestmaid. 

At this the two brothers laughed heartily, and Nemesianus exclaimed, "Youdo not belong to the Temple of Vesta, most lovely of roses, and yet youare well protected by such sharp thorns that it requires a great deal ofcourage to venture to attack you. "

"More, " added Apollonaris, "than to storm a fortress. But what camp orstronghold contains booty so well worth capturing?"

Thereupon he threw his arm round Melissa and drew her to him. 

Neither he nor his brother had ever conducted themselves badly towards anhonorable woman; and if Melissa had been but the daughter of a simplecraftsman, her reproachful remarks would have sufficed to keep them at adistance. But such immunity was not to be granted to the emperor'ssweetheart, who could so audaciously reject two brothers accustomed toeasy conquests; her demure severity could hardly be meant seriously. Apollonaris therefore took no notice of her violent resistance, but heldher hands forcibly, and, though he could not succeed in kissing her forher struggling, he pressed his lips to her cheek, while she endeavored tofree herself and pushed him off, breathless with real indignation. 

'Till now, the brothers had taken the matter as a joke; but whenApollonaris seized the girl again, and she, beside herself with fear, cried for help, he at once set her free. 

It was too late; for the curtains of the audience-room were alreadywithdrawn, and Caracalla approached. His countenance was red anddistorted; he trembled with rage, and his angry glance fell like a flashof lightning on the luckless brothers. Close by his side was the prefectMacrinus, who feared lest he should be attacked by a fresh fit; andMelissa shared his fears, as Caracalla cried to Apollonaris in an angryvoice, "Scoundrel that you are, you shall repent of this!"

Still, Aurelius had, by various wanton jokes, incurred the emperor'swrath before now, and he was accustomed to disarm it by some insinuatingconfession, so he answered him with a roguish smile, while raising hiseyes to him humbly:

"Forgive me, great Caesar! Our poor strength, as you well know, iseasily defeated in conflicts against overpowering beauty. Dainties aresweet, not only for children. Long ago Mars was drawn to Venus; and ifI--"

He had spoken these words in Latin, which Melissa did not understand;but the color left the emperor's face, and, pale with excitement, hestammered out laboriously:

"You have--you have dared--"

"For this rose, " began the youth again, "I begged a hasty kiss fromthe beauty, which certainly blooms for all, and she--" He raised hishands and eyes imploringly to the despot; but Caracalla had alreadysnatched Macrinus's sword from its sheath, and before Aurelius coulddefend himself he was struck first on the head with the flat of theblade, and then received a series of sharp cuts on his brow and face. 

Streaming with blood from the gaping wounds which the victim, tremblingwith fear and rage, covered with his hands, he surrendered himself to thecare of his startled brother, while Caesar overwhelmed them both with aflood of furious reproaches. 

When Nemesianus began to bind up his wounded brother's head with ahandkerchief handed to him by Melissa, and Caracalla saw the gapingwounds he had inflicted, he became quieter, and said:

"I think those lips will not try to steal kisses again for some time fromhonorable maidens. You and Nemesianus have forfeited your lives; however, the beseeching look of those all-powerful eves has saved you--youare spared. Take your brother away, Nemesianus. You are not to leaveyour quarters until further orders. "

With this he turned his back on the twins, but on the threshold he againaddressed them and said:

"You were mistaken about this maiden. She is not less pure and noblethan your own sister. "

The merchants were dismissed from the tablinum more hastily than was dueto the importance of their business, in which, until this interruption, the sovereign had shown a sympathetic interest and intelligence whichsurprised them; and they left Caesar's presence disappointed, but withthe promise that they should be received again in the evening. 

As soon as they had retired, Caracalla threw himself again on the couch. 

The bath had done him good. Still somewhat exhausted, though his headwas clear, he would not be hindered from receiving the deputation forwhich he had important matters to decide; but this fresh attack of ragerevenged itself by a painful headache. Pale, and with slightly quiveringlimbs, he dismissed the prefect and his other friends, and desiredEpagathos to call Melissa. 

He needed rest, and again the girl's little hand, which had yesterdaydone him good, proved its healing power. The throbbing in his headyielded to her gentle touch, and by degrees exhaustion gave way to thecomfortable languor of convalesence. 

To-day, as yesterday, he expressed his thanks to Melissa, but he foundher changed. She looked timidly and anxiously down into her lapexcepting when she replied to a direct question; and yet he had doneeverything to please her. Her relations would soon be free and inAlexandria once more, and Zminis was in prison, chained hand and foot. This he told her; and, though she was glad, it was not enough to restorethe calm cheerfulness he had loved to see in her. 

He urged her, with warm insistence, to tell him what it was that weighedon her, and at last, with eyes full of tears, she forced herself to say:

"You yourself have seen what they take me for. "

"And you have seen, " he quickly replied, "how I punish those who forgetthe respect they owe to you. "

"But you are so dreadful in your wrath!" The words broke from her lips. "Where others blame, you can destroy; and you do it, too, when passioncarries you away. I am bound to obey your call, and here I am. But Ifancy myself like the little dog--you may see him any day--which in thebeast-garden of the Panaeum, shares a cage with a royal tiger. The hugebrute puts up with a great deal from his small companion, but woe betidethe dog if the tiger once pats him with his heavy, murderous paw--and hemight, out of sheer forgetfulness!"

"But this hand, " Caesar broke in, raising his delicate hand covered withrings, "will never forget, any more than my heart, how much it owes toyou. "

"Until I, in some unforeseen way--perhaps quite unconsciously--exciteyour anger, " sighed Melissa. "Then you will be carried away by passion, and I shall share the common fate. "

Caracalla was about to reply indignantly, but just then Adventus enteredthe room, announcing the chief astrologer of the Temple of Serapis. Caracalla refused to receive him just then, but he anxiously askedwhether he had any signs to report. The reply was in the affirmative, and in a few minutes Caesar had in his hand a wax tablet covered withwords and figures. He studied it eagerly, and his countenance cleared;still holding the tablets, he exclaimed to Melissa:

"You, daughter of Heron, have nothing to fear from me, you of all theworld! In some quiet hour I will explain to you how my planet yearns toyours, and yours--that is, yourself--to mine. The gods have created usfor each other, child; I am already under your influence, but your heartstill hesitates, and I know why; it is because you distrust me. "

Melissa raised her large eyes to his face in astonishment, and he wenton, pensively:

"The past must stand; it is like a scar which no water will wash out. What have you not heard of my past? What did they feel, in their self-conscious virtue, when they talked of my crimes? Did it ever occur toany one, I wonder, that with the purple I assumed the sword, to protectmy empire and throne? And when I have used the blade, how eagerly havefingers pointed at me, how gladly slanderous tongues have wagged! Whohas ever thought of asking what compulsion led me to shed blood, or howmuch it cost me to do it? You, fair child--and the stars confirm it--youwere sent by fate to share the burden that oppresses me, and to you Iwill ease my heart, to you I will confide all, unasked, because my heartprompts me to do so. But first you must tell me with what tales theytaught you to hate the man to whom, as you yourself confessed, younevertheless felt drawn. "

At this Melissa raised her hands in entreaty and remonstrance, and Caesarwent on:

"I will spare you the pains. They say that I am ever athirst for freshbloodshed if only some one is rash enough to suggest it to me. You weretold that Caesar murdered his brother Geta, with many more who did butspeak his victim's name. My father-in-law, and his daughter Plautilla, my wife, were, it is said, the victims of my fury. I killed Papinian, the lawyer and prefect, and Cilo--whom you saw yesterday--nearly sharedthe same fate. What did they conceal? Nothing. Your nod confesses it--well, and why should they, since speaking ill of others is their greatestdelight? It is all true, and I should never think of denying it. Butdid it ever occur to you, or did any one ever suggest to you, to inquirehow it came to pass that I perpetrated such horrors; I--who was broughtup in the fear of the gods and the law, like you and other people?"

"No, my lord, never, " replied Melissa, in distress. "But I beg you, Ibeseech you, say no more about such dreadful things. I know full wellthat you are not wicked; that you are much better than people think. "

"And for that very reason, " cried Caesar, whose cheeks were flushed withpleasure in the hard task he had set himself, "you must hear me. I amCaesar. There is no judge over me; I need give account to none for myactions. Nor do I. Who, besides yourself, is more to me than the flieson that cup?"

"And your conscience?" she timidly put in. 

"It raises hideous questions from time to time, " he replied, gloomily. "It can be obtrusive, but we can teach ourselves not to answer--besides, what you call conscience knows the motives for every action, and, remembering them, judges leniently. You, child, should do the same; foryou--"

"O my lord, what can my poor judgment matter?" Melissa panted out; butCaracalla exclaimed, as if the question pained him:

"Must I explain all that? The stars, as you know, proclaim to you, as tome, that a higher power has joined us as light and warmth are joined. Have you forgotten how we both felt only yesterday? Or am I mistaken?Has not Roxana's soul entered into that divinely lovely form because itlonged for its lost companion spirit?"

He spoke vehemently, with a quivering of his eyelids; but feeling herhand tremble in his own, he collected himself, and went on in a lowertone, but with urgent emphasis:

"I will let you glance into this bosom, closed to every other eye; formy desolate heart is inspired by you to fresh energy and life; I am asgrateful to you as a drowning man to his deliverer. I shall suffocateand die if I repress the impulse to open my heart to you!"

What change was this that had come over this mysterious being? Melissafelt as though she was gazing on the face of a stranger, for, though hiseyelids still quivered, his eyes were bright with ecstatic fire and hisfeatures looked more youthful. On that noble brow the laurel wreath hewore looked well. Also, as she now observed, he was magnificentlyattired; he wore a close-fitting tunic, or breast-plate made of thickwoolen stuff, and over it a purple mantle, while from his bare throathung a precious medallion, shield-shaped, and set in gold and gems, thecenter formed by a large head of Medusa, with beautiful though terriblefeatures. The lion-heads of gold attached to each corner of the shortcloak he wore over the sham coat of mail, were exquisite works of art, and sandals embroidered with gold and gems covered his feet and ankles. He was dressed to-day like the heir of a lordly house, anxious to charm;nay, indeed, like an emperor, as he was; and with what care had his body-slave arranged his thin curls!

He passed his hand over his brow and cast a glance at a silver mirror onthe low table at the head of his couch. When he turned to her again hisamorous eyes met Melissa's. 

She looked down in startled alarm. Was it for her sake that Caesar hadthus decked himself and looked in the mirror? It seemed scarcelypossible, and yet it flattered and pleased her. But in the next instantshe longed more fervently than she ever had before for a magic charmby which she might vanish and be borne far, far away from thisdreadful man. In fancy she saw the vessel which the lady Berenike had inreadiness. She would, she must fly hence, even if it should part her fora time from Diodoros. 

Did Caracalla read her thought? Nay, he could not see through her; soshe endured his gaze, tempting him to speak; and his heart beat high withhope as he fancied he saw that she was beginning to be affected by hisintense agitation. At this moment he felt convinced, as he often hadbeen, that the most atrocious of his crimes had been necessary andinevitable. There was something grand and vast in his deeds of blood, and that--for he flattered himself he knew the female heart--must winher admiration, besides the awe and love she already felt. 

During the night, at his waking, and in his bath, he had felt that shewas as necessary to him as the breath of life and hope. What heexperienced was love as the poets had sung it. How often had he laughedit to scorn, and boasted that he was armed against the arrows of Eros!Now, for the first time, he was aware of the anxious rapture, the ardentlonging of which he had read in so many songs. There stood the object ofhis passion. She must hear him, must be his--not by compulsion, not byimperial command, but of the free impulse of her heart. 

His confession would help to this end. 

With a swift gesture, as if to throw off the last trace of fatigue, he sat up and began in a firm voice, with a light in his eyes:

"Yes, I killed my brother Geta. You shudder. And yet, if at this day, when I know all the results of the deed, the state of affairs were thesame as then, I would do it again! That shocks you. But only listen, and then you will say with me that it was Fate which compelled me to actso, and not otherwise. "

He paused, and then mistaking the anxiety which was visible in Melissa'sface for sympathetic attention, he began his story, confident of herinterest:

"When I was born, my father had not yet assumed the purple, but healready aimed at the sovereignty. Augury had promised it to him; mymother knew this, and shared his ambition. While I was still at mynurse's breast he was made consul; four years later he seized the throne. Pertinax was killed, the wretched Didius Julianus bought the empire, andthis brought my father to Rome from Pannonia. Meanwhile he had sent uschildren, my brother Geta and me, away from the city; nor was it till hehad quelled the last resistance on the Tiber that he recalled us. 

"I was then but a child of five, and yet one day of that time I remembervividly. My father was going through Rome in solemn procession. Hisfirst object was to do due honor to the corpse of Pertinax. Richhangings floated from every window and balcony in the city. Garlands offlowers and laurel wreaths adorned the houses, and pleasant odors werewafted to us as we went. The jubilation of the people was mixed with thetrumpet-call of the soldiers; handkerchiefs were waved and acclamationsrang out. This was in honor of my father, and of me also, the futureCaesar. My little heart was almost bursting with pride; it seemed to methat I had grown several heads taller, not only than other boys, but thanthe people that surrounded me. 

"When the funeral procession began, my mother wished me to go with herinto the arcade where seats had been placed for the ladies to view, butI refused to follow her. My father became angry. But when he heard medeclare that I was a man and the future Emperor, that I would rather seenothing than show myself to the people among the women, he smiled. Heordered Cilo, who was then the prefect of Rome, to lead me to the seatsof the past consuls and the old senators. I was delighted at this; butwhen he allowed my younger brother Geta to follow me, my pleasure wasentirely spoiled. "

"And you were then five years old?" asked Melissa, astonished. 

"That surprises you!" smiled Caracalla. "But I had already traveledthrough half the empire, and had experienced more than other boys oftwice my age. I was, at any rate, still child enough to forgeteverything else in the brilliant spectacle that unfolded before my eyes. I remember to this day the colored wax statue which represented Pertinaxso exactly that it might have been himself risen from the grave. And theprocession! It seemed to have no end; one new thing followed another. All walked past in mourning robes, even the choir of singing boys andmen. Cilo explained to me who had made the statues of the Romans who hadserved their country, who the artists and scholars were, whose statuesand busts were carried by. Then came bronze groups of the people ofevery nation in the empire, in their costumes. Cilo told me what theywere called, and where they lived; he then added that one day they wouldall belong to me; that I must learn the art of fighting, in case theyresisted me, and should require suppressing. Also, when they carried theflags of the guilds past, when the horse and foot soldiers, the race-horses from the circus and several other things came by, he continued toexplain them. I only remember it now because it made me so happy. Theold man spoke to me alone; he regarded me alone as the future sovereign. He left Geta to eat the sweets which his aunts had given him, and when Itoo wanted some my brother refused to let me have any. Then Cilo strokedmy hair, and said: 'leave him his toys. When you are a man you shallhave the whole Roman Empire for your own, and all the nations I told youof. ' Geta meanwhile had thought better of it, and pushed some of thesweetmeats toward me. I would not have them, and, when he tried to makeme take them, I threw them into the road. "

"And you remember all that?" said Melissa. 

"More things than these are indelibly stamped on my mind from that day, "said Caesar. "I can see before me now the pile on which Pertinax was tobe burned. It was splendidly decorated, and on the top stood the giltchariot in which he had loved to ride. Before the consuls fired the logsof Indian wood, my father led us to the image of Pertinax, that we mightkiss it. He held me by the hand. Wherever we went, the senate andpeople hailed us with acclamations. My mother carried Geta in her arms. This delighted the populace. They shouted for her and my brother asenthusiastically as for us, and I recollect to this day how that went tomy heart. He might have the sweets and welcome, but what the people hadto offer was due only to my father and me, not to my brother. At thatmoment I first fully understood that Severus was the present and I thefuture Caesar. Geta had only to obey, like every one else. 

"After kissing the image, I stood, still holding my father's hand, towatch the flames. I can see them now, crackling and writhing as theygained on the wood, licking it and fawning, as it were, till it caughtand sent up a rush of sparks and fire. At last the whole pile was onehuge blaze. Then, suddenly, out of the heart of the flames an eaglerose. The creature flapped its broad wings in the air, which was goldenwith sunshine and quivering with heat, soaring above the smoke and fire, this way and that. But it soon took flight, away from the furnacebeneath. I shouted with delight, and cried to my father: 'Look at thebird! Where is he flying?' And he eagerly answered: 'Well done!If you desire to preserve the power I have conquered for you alwaysundiminished, you must keep your eyes open. Let no sign pass unnoticed, no opportunity neglected. '

"He himself acted on this rule. To him obstacles existed only to beremoved, and he taught me, too, to give myself neither peace nor rest, and not to spare the life of a foe. --That festival secured my father thesuffrages of the Romans. Meanwhile Pescennius Niger rose up in the Eastwith a large army and took the field against Severus. But my father wasnot the man to hesitate. Within a few months of the obsequies ofPertinax his opponent was a headless corpse. 

"There was yet another obstacle to be removed. You have heard of ClodiusAlbinus. My father had adopted him and raised him to share his throne. But Severus could not divide the rule with any man. 

"When I was nine years old I saw, after the battle of Lugdunum, the deadface of Albinus's head; it was set up in front of the Curia on a lance. 

"I now was the second personage in the empire, next to my father; thefirst among the youth of the whole world, and the future emperor. WhenI was eleven the soldiers hailed me as Augustus; that was in the waragainst the Parthians, before Ktesiphon. But they did the same to Geta. This was like wormwood in the sweet draught; and if then--But what cana girl care about the state, and the fate of rulers and nations?"

"Yes, go on, " said Melissa. "I see already what you are coming to. Youdisliked the idea of sharing your power with another. "

"Nay, " cried Caracalla, vehemently, "I not only disliked it, it wasintolerable, impossible! What I want you to see is that I did not grudgemy brother his share of my father's inheritance, like any petty trader. The world--that is the point--the world itself was too small for two ofus. It was not I, but Fate, which had doomed Geta to die. I am certainof this, and so must you be. Yes, it was Fate. Fate prompted thechild's little hand to attempt its brother's life. And that was longbefore my brain could form a thought or my baby-lips could stammer hishated name. "

"Then you tried to kill your brother even in infancy?" asked Melissa, andher large eyes dilated with horror as she gazed at the terrible narrator. But Caracalla went on, in an apologetic tone:

"I was then but two years old. It was at Mediolanum, soon after Geta'sbirth. An egg was found in the court of the palace; a hen had laid itclose to a pillar. It was of a purple hue-red all over like the imperialmantle, and this indicated that the newly born infant was destined tosovereignty. Great was the rejoicing. The purple marvel was shown evento me who could but just walk. I, like a naughty boy, flung it down; theshell cracked, and the contents poured out on the pavement. My mothersaw it, and her exclamation, 'Wicked child, you have murdered yourbrother!' was often repeated to me in after-years. It never struck me asparticularly motherly. "

Here he paused, gazing meditatively into vacancy, and then asked thegirl, who had listened intently:

"Were you never haunted by a word so that you could not be rid of it?"

"Oh, yes, " cried Melissa; "a striking rhythm in a song, or a line ofpoetry--"

Caracalla nodded agreement, and went on more vehemently: "That is what Iexperienced at the words, 'You have murdered your brother!' I not onlyheard them now and then with my inward ear, but incessantly, like thedreary hum of the flies in my camp-tent, for hours at a time, by day andby night. No fanning could drive these away. The diabolical voicewhispered loudest when Geta had done anything to vex me; or if things hadbeen given him which I did not wish him to have. And how often thathappened! For I--I was only Bassianus to my mother; but her youngest washer dear little Geta. 

"So the years passed. We had, while still quite young, our own teams inthe circus. One day, when we were driving for a wager-we were stillboys, and I was ahead of the other lads--the horses of my chariot shiedto one side. I was thrown some distance on the course. Geta saw this. He turned his horses to the right where I lay. He drove over his brotheras he would over straw and apple-parings in the dust; and his wheel brokemy thigh. Who knows what else it crushed in me? One thing is certain--from that date the most painful of my sufferings originated. And he, themean scoundrel, had done it intentionally. He had sharp eyes. He knewhow to guide his steeds. He had never driven his wheel over a hazel-nutin the sand of the arena against his will; and I was lying some distancefrom the driving course. "

Caesar's eyelids blinked spasmodically as he uttered this accusation, andhis very glance revealed the raging fire that was burning in his soul. Melissa's sad cry of:

"What terrible suspicion!" he answered with a short, scornful laugh andthe furious assertion:

"Oh, there were friends enough who informed me what hope Geta had foundedon this act of treachery. The disappointment made him irritable andlistless, when Galenus had succeeded in curing me so far that I was ableto throw away my Crutch; and my limp--at least so they tell me--is hardlyperceptible. "

"Not at all, most certainly not at all, " Melissa sympathetically assuredhim. He, however, went on:

"Yet what I endured meanwhile!--and while I passed so many long weeks ofpain and impatience on a couch, the words my mother had said about thebrother whom I murdered rang constantly in my ears as though a reciterwere engaged by day and night to reiterate them. 

"But even this passed away. With the pain, which had spoiled many goodhours for me, the quiet had brought me something more to the purpose-thoughts and plans. Yes, during those peaceful weeks the things myfather and tutor had taught me became clear and real for the first time. I realized that I must become energetic if I meant ever to be a thoroughsovereign. As soon as I could use my foot again I became an industriousand docile pupil under Cilo. From a child up to the time of this cruelexperience, my youthful heart had clung to my nurse. She was a Christianfrom my father's African home--I knew she loved me best on earth. Mymother knew of no higher destiny than that of being the Domna, --[Domna, lady or mistress, in corrupt Latin. Hence her name of Julia Domna] thelady of the soldiers, the mother of the camp, and the lady philosopheramong the sages. What she gave me in the way of love was but copperalms. She threw golden solidi of love into Geta's lap in lavishabundance. And her sister and her nieces, who often lived with us, treated me exactly as she did. They were distantly civil, or theyshunned me; but my brother was their spoiled plaything. I was asincapable as Geta was master of the art of stealing hearts; but in mychildhood I needed none of them: for, if I wished for a kind word, a sweet kiss, or the love of a woman, my nurse's arms were open to me. Nor was she an ordinary woman. As the widow of a tribune who had fallenin my father's service, she had undertaken to attend on me. She loved meas no one else ever did. She was also the only person whom I wouldwillingly obey. I came into the world full of wild instincts, but sheknew how to tame them kindly. My aversion to my brother was the onething she checked but feebly, for he was a thorn in her side too. Ilearned this when she, who was so gentle, explained to me, with asperityin her tone, that there was but one God in heaven, and on earth but oneemperor, who should govern the world in his name. She also impartedthese convictions to others, and this turned to her disadvantage. Mymother parted us, and sent her back to her African home. She died soonafter. " He was silent, and gazed pensively into vacancy; soon, however, he collected his thoughts and said, lightly:

"Well, I became Cilo's diligent pupil. "

"But, " asked Melissa, "did you not say that at one time you attempted hislife?"

"I did so, " replied Caracalla darkly; "for a moment arrived when Icursed his teaching, and yet it was certainly wise and well meant. Yousee, child, all of you who go through life humbly and without power aretrained to submit obediently to the will of Heaven. Cilo taught me toplace my own power, and the greatness of the realm which it would beincumbent on me to reign over, above everything, even above the gods. It was impressed upon you and yours to hold the life of another sacred;to us, our duty as the sovereign transcends this law. Even the blood ofa brother must flow if it is for the good of the state intrusted to us. My nurse had taught me that being good meant doing unto others as wewould be done by; Cilo cried to me: 'Strike down, that you may not bestruck down--away with mercy, if the welfare of the state is threatened!'And how many hands are raised against Rome, the universal empire, which Irule over! It needs a strong hand to keep its antagonistic partstogether. Otherwise it would fall apart like a bundle of arrows when thestring that bound them is broken. And I, even as a boy, had sworn to myfather, by the Terminus stone in the Capitol, never to abandon a singleinch of his ground without fighting for it. He, Severus, was the wisestof the rulers. Only the blind love for his second son, encouraged by thewomen, caused him to forget his moderation and prudence. My brother Getawas to reign together with me over the empire, which ought to have beenmine alone as the first-born. Every year festivals were kept, withprayers and sacrifices, to the "love of the brothers. " You have perhapsseen the coins, which show us hand in hand, and have on them theinscription, 'Eternal union'!

"I in union--I hand in hand with the man I most hated under the sun!It almost maddened me only to hear his voice. I would have liked bestof all to spring at his throat when I saw him with his learned fellowssquandering their time. Do you know what they did? They invented thenames by which the voices of different animals were to be known. Once Isnatched the pencil out of the hand of the freedman as he was writing thesentences, 'The horse neighs, the pig grunts, the goat bleats, the cowlows, the sheep baas. ' 'He, himself, ' I added, 'croaks like a hoarsejay. '

"That I should share the government with this miserable, faint-hearted, poisonous nobody could never be, --this enemy, who, when I said 'Yes, 'cried 'No!' Who frustrated all my measures, --it was impossible! Itwould have caused the destruction of the state, as certainly as it wasthe unfairest and unwisest of the deeds of Severus, to place the youngerbrother as co-regent with the first-born, the rightful heir to thethrone. I, whom my father had taught to watch for signs, was remindedevery hour that this unbearable position must come to an end. 

"After the death of Severus, we lived at first close to one another inseparate parts of the same palace like two lions in a cage across which apartition has been erected, so that they may not reciprocally mangle eachother. 

"We used to meet at my mother's. 

"That morning my mastiff had bitten Geta's wolfhound and killed him, and they had found a black liver in the beast he had sent for sacrifice. I had been informed of this. Destiny was on my side. This indolentinactivity must be brought to a close. I myself do not know how I feltas I mounted the steps to my mother's rooms. I only remember distinctlythat a demon cried continually in my ear, 'You have murdered yourbrother!' Then I suddenly found myself face to face with him. It wasin the empress's reception-room. And when I saw the hated flat-shapedhead so close to me, when his beardless mouth with its thick underlipsmiled at me so sweetly and at the same time so falsely, I felt as if Iagain heard the cry with which he had cheered on his horse. And I felt . . . I even felt the pain-as if he broke my thigh again with hiswheel. And at the same time a fiend whispered in my ear: 'Destroy him, or he will kill you, and through him Rome will perish!'

"Then I seized my sword. In his odious, peevish voice he said something--I forget what nonsense--to me. Then it appeared to me as if all thesheep and goats over which he had squandered his time were bleating atme. The blood rushed to my head. The room spun round me in a circle. Black spots on a red ground danced before my eyes. 

"And then--What flashed in my right hand was my own naked sword! Ineither heard nor said anything further. Nor had I planned, nor everthought of, what then occurred. . . . But suddenly I felt as if amountain of oppressive lead had fallen from my breast. How easily Icould breathe again! All that had just before turned round me in a mad, whirling dance stood still. The sun shone brightly in the large room; ashaft of light, showing dancing dust, fell on Geta. He sank on his kneesclose to me, with my sword in his breast. My mother made a fruitlesseffort to shield him. His blood trickled over her hand. I can still seeevery ring on those slender, white fingers. I also remember distinctlyhow, when I raised my sword against him, my mother rushed in between usto protect her favorite. The sharp blade, as she tried to seize it, accidentally grazed her hand--I know not how--only the skin was slightlycut. Yet what a scream she gave over the wound which the son had givenhis mother! Julia Maesa, her daughter Mammara, and the other women, rushed in. How they exaggerated! They made a river out of every drop ofblood. 

"So the dreadful deed was done; and yet, had I let the wretch live, Ishould have been a traitor to Rome, to myself, and to my father's life'swork. That day, for the first time, I was ruler of the world. Those whoaccuse me of fratricide no doubt believe themselves to be right. Butthey certainly are not. I know better. You also know now with me thatdestiny, and not I, struck Geta out from among the living. "

Here he sat for some time in breathless silence. Then he asked Melissa:

"You understand now how I came to shed my brother's blood?"

She started, and repeated gently after him: "Yes, I understand it. "

Deep compassion filled her heart, and yet she felt she dare not sanctionwhat she had heard and deplored. Torn by deep and conflicting feelingsshe threw back her head, brushed her hair off her face, and cried: "Letme go now; I can bear it no longer!"

"So soft-hearted?" asked he, and shook his head disapprovingly. "Liferages more wildly round the throne than in an artist's home. You willhave to learn to swim through the roaring torrent with me. Believe me, even enormities can become quite commonplace. And, besides, why does itstill shock you when you yourself know that it was indispensable?"

"I am only a weak girl, and I feel as if I had witnessed these fearfuldeeds, and had to bear the terrible blood-guiltiness with you!" brokefrom her lips. 

"That is what you must and shall do! It is to that end that I haveconfided to you what no one else has ever heard from my mouth!" criedCaracalla, his eyes flashing more brightly. She felt as though this crycalled her from her slumbers and revealed the precipice to which she hadstrayed in her sleepwalking. 

When Caracalla had begun telling her of his youth, she had only listenedwith half an ear; for she could not forget Berenike's rescuing ship. Butsoon his confessions completely attracted her attention, and the lamentof this powerful man on whom so many injuries and wrongs had fallen, whoeven in childhood had been deprived of the happiness of a mother's love, had touched her tender heart. That which was afterward told to her shehad identified with her own humble life; she heard with a shudder that itwas to the malice of his brother that this unhappy being owed the injurywhich, like a poisonous blight, had marred for him all the joys ofexistence, while she owed all that was loveliest and best in heryoung life to a brother's love. 

The grounds on which Caracalla had based the assertion that destiny hadcompelled him to murder Geta appeared to her young and inexperienced mindas indisputable. He was only the pitiable victim of his birth and of acruel fate. Besides, the humblest and most sober-minded can not resistthe charm of majesty; and this hapless man, who had honored Melissa withhis confidence, and who had assured her so earnestly that she was of suchimportance to him and could do so much for him, was the ruler of theuniverse. 

She had also felt, after Caesar's confession, that she had a right to beproud, since he had thought her worthy to take an interest in the tragedyin the imperial palace, as if she had been a member of the court. In herlively imagination she had witnessed the ghastly act to which he--as shehad certainly believed, even when she had replied to his question--hadbeen forced by fate. 

But the demand which had followed her answer now recurred to her. Thepicture of Diodoros, which had completely vanished from her thoughtswhile she had been listening, suddenly appeared to her, and, as shefancied, he looked at her reproachfully. 

Had she, then, transgressed against her betrothed?

No, no, indeed she had not!

She loved him, and only him; and for that very reason, her uprightjudgment told her now, that it would be sinning against her lover tocarry out Caracalla's wish, as if she had become his fellow-culprit, or certainly the advocate of the bloody outrage. She could think of noanswer to his "That is what you must and shall do!" that would not awakenhis wrath. Cautiously, and with sincere thanks for his confidence inher, she begged him once more to allow her to leave him, because sheneeded rest after such a shock to her mind. And it would also do himgood to grant himself a short rest. But he assured her he knew that hecould only rest when he had fulfilled his duty as a sovereign. Hisfather had said, a few minutes before he drew his last breath:

"If there is anything more to be done, give it me to do, " and he, theson, would do likewise. 

"Moreover, " he concluded, "it has done me good to bring to light thatwhich I had for so long kept sealed within me. To gaze in your face atthe same time was, perhaps, even better physic. "

At this he rose and, seizing the startled girl by both hands, he cried:

"You, child, can satisfy the insatiable! The love which I offer youresembles a full bunch of grapes, and yet I am quite content if you willgive me back but one berry. "

At the very commencement, this declaration was drowned by a loud shoutwhich rang through the room in waves of sound. 

Caracalla started, but, before he could reach the window, old Adventusrushed in breathless; and he was followed, though in a more dignifiedmanner, with a not less hasty step and every sign of excitement, byMacrinus, the prefect of the praetorians, with his handsome young son anda few of Caesar's friends. 

"This is how I rest!" exclaimed Caracalla, bitterly, as he releasedMelissa's hand and turned inquiringly to the intruders. 

The news had spread among the praetorians and the Macedonian legions, that the emperor, who, contrary to his custom, had not shown himself fortwo days, was seriously ill, and at the point of death. Feelingextremely anxious about one who had showered gold on them, and given themsuch a degree of freedom as no other imperator had ever allowed them, they had collected before the Serapeum and demanded to see Caesar. Caracalla's eyes lighted up at this information, and, excitedly pleased, he cried:

"They only are really faithful!"

He asked for his sword and helmet, and sent for the 'paludamentum', the general's cloak of purple, embroidered with gold, which he neverotherwise wore except on the field. The soldiers should see that heintended leading in future battles. 

While they waited, he conversed quietly with Macrinus and the others;when, however, the costly garment covered his shoulders, and when hisfavorite, Theocritus, who had known best how to support him during hisillness, offered him an arm, he answered imperiously that he required noassistance. 

"Nevertheless, you should, after so serious an attack--" the physician inordinary ventured to exhort him; but he interrupted him scornfully, and, glancing toward Melissa, exclaimed:

"Those little hands there contain more healing power than yours and thegreat Galenus's put together. "

Thereupon he beckoned to the young girl, and when she once more besoughthis permission to go, he left the room with the commanding cry, "You areto wait!"

He had rather far to go and some steps to mount in order to reach thebalcony which ran round the base of the cupola of the Pantheon which hisfather had joined to the Serapeum, yet he undertook this willingly, asthence he could best be seen and heard. 

A few hours earlier it would have been impossible for him to reach thispoint, and Epagathos had arranged that a sedan-chair and strong bearersshould be waiting at the foot of the steps; but he refused it, for hefelt entirely restored, and the shouts of his warriors intoxicated himlike sparkling wine. 

Meanwhile Melissa remained behind in the audience-chamber. She must obeyCaesar's command. Yet it frightened her; and, besides, she was womanenough to feel it as an offense that the man who had assured her sosincerely of his gratitude, and who even feigned to love her, should haverefused so harshly her desire to rest. She foresaw that, as long as heremained in Alexandria, she would have to be his constant companion. Shetrembled at the idea; yet, if she tried to fly from him, all she lovedwould be lost. No, this must not be thought of! She must remain. 

She threw herself on a divan, lost in thought, and as she realized theconfidence of which the unapproachable, proud emperor had thought herworthy, a secret voice whispered to her that it was certainly adelightful thing to share the overwhelming agitations of the highestand greatest. And was he then really bad, he who felt the necessity ofvindicating himself before a simple girl, and to whom it appeared sointolerable to be misjudged and condemned even by her? Besides beingthe emperor and a suffering man, Caracalla had also become her wooer. It never once entered her mind to accept him; but still it flatteredher extremely that the greatest of men should declare his love for her. Why, then, need she fear him? She was so important to him, she could doso much for him, that he would surely take care not to insult or offendher. This modest child, who till quite lately had trembled before herown father's temper, now, in the consciousness of Caesar's favor, feltherself strong to triumph over the wrath and passions of the mostpowerful and most terrible of men. In the mean time she dared not riskconfessing to him that she was another's bride, for that might determinehim to let Diodoros feel his power. The thought that the emperor couldcare about her good opinion greatly pleased her; it even had the effectof raising the hope in her inexperienced mind that Caracalla wouldmoderate his passion for her sake--when old Adventus came into the room. 

He was in a hurry; for preparations had to be made in the dining-hallfor the reception of the ambassadors. But when at his appearance Melissarose from the divan he begged her good-naturedly to continue resting. No one could tell what humor Caracalla might be in when he returned. She had often seen how rapidly that chameleon could change color. Who that had seen him just now, going to meet his soldiers, would believethat he had a few hours before sent away, with hard words, the widow ofthe Egyptian governor, who had come to beg mercy for her husband?

"So that wretch, Theocritus, has really carried out his intention ofruining the honest Titianus?" asked Melissa, horrified. 

"Not only of ruining him, " answered the chamberlain; "Titianus is by thistime beheaded. "

The old man bowed and left the room; but Melissa remained behind, feelingas if the floor had opened in front of her. He, whose ardent assuranceshe had just now believed, that he had been forced to shed the blood ofan impious wretch, in obedience to an overpowering fate, was capable ofallowing the noblest of men to be beheaded, unjudged, merely to pleasea mercenary favorite! His confession, then, had been nothing but arevolting piece of acting! He had endeavored to vanquish the disgust shefelt for him merely to ensnare her and her healing hand more surely--ashis plaything, his physic, his sleeping draught. And she had entered thetrap, and acquitted him of the most horrible blood-guiltiness. 

He had that very day rejected, without pity, a noble Roman lady whopetitioned for her husband's life, and with the same breath he hadafterwards befooled her!

She started up, indignant and deeply wounded. Was it not ignominiouseven to wait here like a prisoner in obedience to the command of thiswretch? And she had dared for one moment to compare this monster withDiodoros, the handsomest, the best, and most amiable of youths!

It seemed to her inconceivable. If only he had not the power to destroyall that was dearest to her heart, what pleasure it would have been toshout in his face:

"I detest you, murderer, and I am the betrothed of another, who is asgood and beautiful as you are vile and odious!"

Then the question occurred to her whether it was only for the sake of herhealing hands that he had felt attracted to her, and had made her anavowal as if she were his equal. 

The blood mounted to her face at this thought, and with a burning browshe walked to the open window. 

A crowd of presentiments rushed into her innocent and, till then, unsuspecting heart, and they were all so alarming that it was a relief toher when a shout of joy from the panoplied breasts of several thousandarmed men rent the air. Mingling with this overpowering demonstration ofunited rejoicing from such huge masses, came the blare of the trumpetsand horns of the assembled legions. What a maddening noise!

Before her lay the square, filled with many legions of warriors whosurrounded the Serapeum in their shining armor, with their eagles andvexilla. The praetorians stood by the picked men of the Macedonianphalanx, and with these were all the troops who had escorted the imperialgeneral hither, and the garrisons of the city of Alexander who hoped tobe called out in the next war. 

On the balcony, decorated with statues which surrounded the colonnade ofthe Pantheon on which the cupola rested, she saw Caracalla, and at arespectful distance a superb escort of his friends, in red and whitetogas, bordered with purple stripes, and wearing armor. Having taken offhis gold helmet, the imperial general bowed to his people, and at everynod of his head, and each more vigorous movement, the enthusiastic cheerswere renewed more loudly than ever. 

Macrinus then stepped up to Caesar's side, and the lictors who followedhim, by lowering their fasces, signaled to the warriors to keep silence. 

Instantly the ear-splitting din changed to a speechless lull. 

At first she still heard the lances and shields, which several of thewarriors had waved in enthusiastic joy, ringing against the ground, andthe clatter of the swords being put back in their sheaths; then this alsoceased, and finally, although only the superior officers had arrived onhorseback, the stamping of hoofs, the snorting of the horses, and therattle of the chains at their bits, were the only sounds. 

Melissa listened breathlessly, looking first at the square and thesoldiers below, then at the balcony where the emperor stood. In spiteof the aversion she felt, her heart beat quicker. It was as if thisimmeasurable army had only one voice; as if an irresistible force drewall these thousands of eyes toward one point--the one little man up thereon the Pantheon. 

Directly he began to speak, Melissa's glance was also fixed on Caracalla. 

She only heard the closing sentence, as, with raised voice, he shouted tothe soldiers; and from it she gathered that he thanked his companions inarms for their anxiety, but that he still felt strong enough to share alltheir difficulties with them. Severe exertions lay behind them. Therest in this luxurious city would do them all good. There was still muchto be conquered in the rich East, and to add to what they had alreadywon, before they could return to Rome to celebrate a well-earned triumph. The weary should make themselves comfortable here. The wealthy merchantsin whose houses he had quartered them had been told to attend to theirwants, and if they neglected to do so every single warrior was man enoughto show them what a soldier needed for his comfort. The people herelooked askance at him and his soldiers, but too much moderation would bemisplaced. 

There certainly were some things even here which the host was not boundto supply to his military; he, Caesar, would provide them with these, andfor that purpose he had put aside two million denarii out of his ownpoverty to distribute among them. 

This speech had several times been interrupted by applause, but now sucha tremendous shout of joy went up that it would have drowned the loudestthunder. The number of voices as well as their power seemed to havedoubled. 

Caracalla had added another link to the golden chain which already boundhim to these faithful people; and, as he smiled and nodded to thedelighted crowd from the balcony, he looked like a happy, light-heartedyouth who had prepared a great treat for himself and several belovedfriends. 

What he said further was lost in the confusion of voices in the square. The ranks were broken up, and the cuirasses, helmets, and arms of themoving warriors caught the sun and sent bright beams of light crossingone another over the wide space surrounded with dazzling white marblestatues. 

When Caracalla left the balcony, Melissa drew back from the window. 

The compassionate impulse to lighten the lot of a sufferer, which hadbefore drawn her so strongly to Caracalla, had now lost its sense andmeaning for this healthy, high-spirited man. She considered herselfcheated, as if she had been fooled by sham suffering into givingexcessively large alms to an artful beggar. 

Besides, she loved her native town, and Caracalla's advice to thesoldiers to force the citizens to provide luxurious living for them, had made her considerably more rebellious. If he ever put her againin a position to speak her mind freely to him, she would tell him allundisguisedly; but instantly it again rushed into her mind that she mustkeep guard over her tongue before the easily unchained wrath of thisdespot, until her father and brothers were in safety once more. 

Before the emperor returned, the room was filled with people, of whom sheknew none, excepting her old friend the white-haired, learned Samonicus. She was the aim and center of all eyes, and when even the kindly old mangreeted her from a distance, and so contemptuously, that the blood rushedto her face, she begged Adventus to take her into the next room. 

The Chamberlain did as she wished, but before he left her he whispered toher: "Innocence is trusting; but it is not of much avail here. Takecare, child! They say there are sand-banks in the Nile which, like softpillows, entice one to rest. But if you use them they become alive, anda crocodile creeps out, with open jaws. I am talking already inmetaphor, like an Alexandrian, but you will understand me. "

Melissa bowed acknowledgment to him, and the old man went on:

"He may perhaps forget you; for many things had accumulated during hisillness. If the mass of business, as it comes in, is not settled fortwenty four hours, it swells like a mill-stream that has the sluice down. But when work is begun, it quite carries him away. He forgets then toeat and drink. Ambassadors have arrived also from the Empress-mother, from Armenia, and Parthia. If he does not ask for you in half an hour, it will be suppertime, and I will let you out through that door. "

"Do so at once, " begged Melissa, with raised, petitioning hands; but theold man replied: "I should then reward you but ill for having warmed myfeet for me. Remember the crocodile under the sand! Patience, child!There is Caesar's zithern. If you can play, amuse yourself with that. The door shuts closely and the curtains are thick. My old ears just nowwere listening to no purpose. "

But Caracalla was so far from forgetting Melissa that although he hadattended to the communication brought to him by the ambassadors, andthe various dispatches from the senate, he asked for her even at the doorof the tablinum. He had seen her from the balcony looking out on thesquare; so she had witnessed the reception his soldiers had given him. The magnificent spectacle must have impressed her and filled her withjoy. He was anxious to hear all this from her own lips, before hesettled down to work. 

Adverntus whispered to him where he had taken her, to avoid thepersecuting glances of the numerous strangers, and Caracalla noddedto him approvingly and went into the next room. 

She sat there with the zithern, letting her fingers glide gently over thestrings. 

On his entering, she drew back hastily; but he cried to her brightly:"Do not disturb yourself. I love that instrument. I am having a statueerected to Mesomedes, the great zithern-player--you perhaps know hissongs. This evening, when the feast and the press of work are over, Iwill hear how you play. I will also playa few airs to you. "

Melissa then plucked up courage and said, decidedly: "No, my lord; I amabout to bid you farewell for to-day. "

"That sounds very determined, " he answered, half surprised and halfamused. "But may I be allowed to know what has made you decide on thisstep?"

"There is a great deal of work waiting for you, " she replied, quietly. 

"That is my affair, not yours, " was the crushing answer. 

"It is also mine, " she said, endeavoring to keep calm; "for you have notyet completely recovered, and, should you require my help again thisevening, I could not attend to your call. "

"No?" he asked, wrathfully, and his eyelids began to twitch. 

"No, my lord; for it would not be seemly in a maiden to visit you bynight, unless you were ill and needed nursing. As it is, I shall meetyour friends--my heart stands still only to think of it--"

"I will teach them what is due to you!" Caracalla bellowed out, and hisbrow was knit once more. 

"But you can not compel me, " she replied, firmly, "to change my mind asto what is seemly, " and the courage which failed her if she met a spider, but which stood by her in serious danger as a faithful ally, made herperfectly steadfast as she eagerly added: "Not an hour since you promisedme that so long as I remained with you I should need no other protector, and might count on your gratitude. But those were mere words, for, whenI besought you to grant me some repose, you scorned my very reasonablerequest, and roughly ordered me to remain and attend on you. "

At this Caesar laughed aloud. 

"Just so! You are a woman, and like all the rest. You are sweet andgentle only so long as you have your own way. "

"No, indeed, " cried Melissa, and her eyes filled with tears. "I onlylook further than from one hour to the next. If I should sacrifice whatI think right, merely to come and go at my own will, I should soon be notonly miserable myself, but the object of your contempt. "

Overcome by irresistible distress, she broke into loud sobs; butCaracalla, with a furious stamp of his foot, exclaimed:

"No tears! I can not, I will not see you weep. Can any harm come toyou? Nothing but good; nothing but the best of happiness do I proposefor you. By Apollo and Zeus, that is the truth! Till now you have beenunlike other women, but when you behave like them, you shall--I swear it--you shall feel which of us two is the stronger!"

He roughly snatched her hand away from her face and thereby achieved hisend, for her indignation at being thus touched by a man's brutal handgave Melissa strength to suppress her sobs. Only her wet cheeks showedwhat a flood of tears she had shed, as, almost beside herself with anger, she exclaimed:

"Let my hand go! Shame on the man who insults a defenseless girl! Youswear! Then I, too, may take an oath, and, by the head of my mother, youshall never see me again excepting as a corpse, if you ever attemptviolence! You are Caesar--you are the stronger. Who ever doubted it?But you will never compel me to a vile action, not if you could inflict athousand deaths on me instead of one!"

Caracalla, without a word, had released her hand and was staring at herin amazement. 

A woman, and so gentle a woman, defying him as no man would have dared todo!

She stood before him, her hand raised, her bosom heaving; a flame ofanger sparkled in her eyes through their tears, and he had never beforethought her so fair. What majesty there was in this girl, whose simplegrace had made him more than once address her as "child"! She was like aqueen, an empress; perhaps she might become one. The idea struck him forthe first time. And that little hand which now fell--what soothing powerit had, how much he owed to it! How fervently he had wished but just nowto be understood by her, and to be thought better of by her than by therest! And this wish still possessed him. Nay, he was more stronglyattracted than ever to this creature, worthy as she was of the highest inthe land, and made doubly bewitching by her proud willfulness. That heshould see her for the last time seemed to him as impossible as that heshould never again see daylight; and yet her whole aspect announced thather threat was serious. 

His aggrieved pride and offended sense of absolute power struggled withhis love, repentance, and fear of losing her healing presence; but thestruggle was brief, especially as a mass of business to be attended tolay before him like a steep hill to climb, and haste was imperative. 

He went up to her, shaking his head, and said in the superior tone of asage rebuking thoughtlessness:

"Like all the rest of them--I repeat it. My demands had no object inview but to make you happy and derive comfort from you. How hot must theblood be which boils and foams at the contact of a spark! Only too likemy own; and, since I understand you, I find it easy to forgive you. Indeed, I must finally express myself grateful; for I was in danger ofneglecting my duties as a sovereign for the sake of pleasing my heart. Go, then, and rest, while I devote myself to business. "

At this, Melissa forced herself to smile, and said, still somewhattearfully: "How grateful I am! And you will not again require me toremain, will you, when I assure you that it is not fitting?"

"Unluckily, I am not in the habit of yielding to a girl's whims. "

"I have no whims, " she eagerly declared. "But you will keep your wordnow, and allow me to withdraw? I implore you to let me go!"

With a deep sigh and an amount of self-control of which he wouldyesterday have thought himself incapable, he let go her hand, and shewith a shudder thought that she had found the answer to the question hehad asked her. His eyes, not his words, had betrayed it; for a woman cansee in a suitor's look what color his wishes take, while a woman's eyesonly tell her lover whether or no she reciprocates his feelings. 

"I am going, " she said, but he remarked the deadly paleness whichoverspread her features, and her colorless cheeks encouraged him in thebelief that, after a sleepless night and the agitations of the last fewhours, it was only physical exhaustion which made Melissa so suddenlyanxious to escape from him. So, saying kindly:

"'Till to-morrow, then, " he dismissed her. 

But when she had almost left the room, he added: "One thing more!To-morrow we will try our zitherns together. After my bath is the timeI like best for such pleasant things; Adventus will fetch you. I amcurious to hear you play and sing. Of all sounds, that of the humanvoice is the sweetest. Even the shouting of my legions is pleasing tothe ear and heart. Do you not think so, and does not the acclamation ofso many thousands stir your soul?"

"Certainly, " she replied hastily; and she longed to reproach him forthe injustice he was doing the populace of Alexandria to benefit hiswarriors, but she felt that the time was ill chosen, and everythinggave way to her longing to be gone out of the dreadful man's sight. 

In the next room she met Philostratus, and begged him to conduct her tothe lady Euryale; for all the anterooms were now thronged, and she hadlost the calm confidence in which she had come thither. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

As Melissa made her way with the philosopher through the crowd, Philostratus said to her: "It is for your sake, child, that thesehundreds have had so long to wait to-day, and many hopes will bedisappointed. To satisfy all is a giant's task. But Caracalla must doit, well or ill. "

"Then he will forget me!" replied Melissa, with a sigh of relief. 

"Hardly, " answered the philosopher. He was sorry for the terrified girl, and in his wish to lighten her woes as far as he could, he said, gravely:"You called him terrible, and he can be more terrible than any manliving. But he has been kind to you so far, and, if you take my advice, you will always seem to expect nothing from him that is not good andnoble. "

"Then I must be a hypocrite, " replied Melissa. "Only to-day he hasmurdered the noble Titianus. "

"That is an affair of state which does not concern you, " repliedPhilostratus. "Read my description of Achilles. I represent him amongother heroes such as Caracalla might be. Try, on your part, to see himin that light. I know that it is sometimes a pleasure to him to justifythe good opinion of others. Encourage your imagination to think the bestof him. I shall tell him that you regard him as magnanimous and noble. "

"No, no!" cried Melissa; "that would make everything worse. "

But the philosopher interrupted her. 

"Trust my riper experience. I know him. If you let him know your trueopinion of him, I will answer for nothing. My Achilles reveals the goodqualities with which he came into the world; and if you look closely youmay still find sparks among the ashes. "

He here took his leave, for they had reached the vestibule leading to thehigh-priest's lodgings, and a few minutes later Melissa found herselfwith Euryale, to whom she related all that she had seen and felt. Whenshe told her older friend what Philostratus had advised, the lady strokedher hair, and said: "Try to follow the advice of so experienced a man. It can not be very difficult. When a woman's heart has once beenattached to a man--and pity is one of the strongest of human ties--thebond may be strained and worn, but a few threads must always remain. "

But Melissa hastily broke in:

"There is not a spider's thread left which binds me to that cruel man. The murder of Titianus has snapped them all. "

"Not so, " replied the lady, confidently. "Pity is the only form of lovewhich even the worst crime can not eradicate from a kind heart. Youprayed for Caesar before you knew him, and that was out of pure humancharity. Exercise now a wider compassion, and reflect that Fate hascalled you to take care of a hapless creature raving in fever and hardto deal with. How many Christian women, especially such as callthemselves deaconesses, voluntarily assume such duties! and good isgood, right is right for all, whether they pray to one God or to several. If you keep your heart pure, and constantly think of the time which shallbe fulfilled for each of us, to our ruin or to our salvation, you willpass unharmed through this great peril. I know it, I feel it. "

"But you do not know him, " exclaimed Melissa, "and how terrible he canbe! And Diodoros! When he is well again, if he hears that I am withCaesar, in obedience to his call whenever he sends for me, and if eviltongues tell him dreadful things about me, he, too, will condemn me!"

"No, no, " the matron declared, kissing her brow and eyes. "If he lovesyou truly, he will trust you. "

"He loves me, " sobbed Melissa; "but, even if he does not desert me when Iam thus branded, his father will come between us. "

"God forbid!" cried Euryale. "Remain what you are, and I will always bethe same to you, come what may; and those who love you will not refuse tolisten to an old woman who has grown gray in honor. "

And Melissa believed her motherly, kind, worthy friend; and, with the newconfidence which revived in her, her longing for her lover began to stirirresistibly. She wanted a fond glance from the eyes of the youth wholoved her, and to whom, for another man's sake, she could not give allhis due, nay, who had perhaps a right to complain of her. This shefrankly confessed, and the matron herself conducted the impatient girl tosee Diodoros. 

Melissa again found Andreas in attendance on the sufferer, and she wassurprised at the warmth with which the high-priest's wife greeted theChristian. 

Diodoros was already able to be dressed and to sit up. He was paleand weak, and his head was still bound up, but he welcomed the girlaffectionately, though with a mild reproach as to the rarity of hervisits. 

Andreas had already informed him that Melissa was kept away by hermediation for the prisoners, and so he was comforted by her assurancethat if her duty would allow of it she would never leave him again. Andthe joy of having her there, the delight of gazing into her sweet, lovelyface, and the youthful gift of forgetting the past in favor of thepresent, silenced every bitter reflection. He was soon blissfullylistening to her with a fresh color in his cheeks, and never had he seenher so tender, so devoted, so anxious to show him the fullness of hergreat love. The quiet, reserved girl was to-day the wooer, and with thezeal called forth by her ardent wish to do him good, she expressed allthe tenderness of her warm heart so frankly and gladly that to him itseemed as though Eros had never till now pierced her with the rightshaft. 

As soon as Euryale was absorbed in conversation with Andreas, she offeredhim her lips with gay audacity, as though in defiance of some sterndragon of virtue, and he, drunk with rapture, enjoyed what she grantedhim. And soon it was he who became daring, declaring that there would betime enough to talk another day; that for the present her rosy mouth hadnothing to do but to cure him with kisses. And during this sweet giveand take, she implored him with pathetic fervor never, never to doubt herlove, whatever he might hear of her. Their older friends, who had turnedtheir backs on the couple and were talking busily by a window, paid noheed to them, and the blissful conviction of being loved as ardently asshe loved flooded her whole being. 

Only now and then did the thought of Caesar trouble for a moment therapture of that hour, like a hideous form appearing out of distantclouds. She felt prompted indeed to tell her lover everything, but itseemed so difficult to make him understand exactly how everything hadhappened, and Diodoros must not be distressed. And, indeed, intoxicatedas he was with heated passion, he made the attempt impossible. 

When he spoke it was only to assure her of his love; and when the ladyEuryale at last called her to go, and looked in the girl's glowing face, Melissa felt as though she were snatched from a rapturous dream. 

In the anteroom they were stopped by Andreas. Euryale had indeedrelieved his worst fears, still he was anxious to lay before the girl thequestion whether she would not be wise to take advantage of this verynight to make her escape. She, however, her eyes still beaming withhappiness, laid her little hand coaxingly on his bearded mouth, andbegged him not to sadden her high spirits and hopes of a better time bywarnings and dismal forecasts. Even the lady Euryale had advised her totrust fearlessly to herself, and sitting with her lover she had acquiredthe certainty that it was best so. The freedman could not bear todisturb this happy confidence, and only impressed on Melissa that sheshould send for him if ever she needed him. He would find her a hiding-place, and the lady Euryale had undertaken to provide a messenger. Hethen bade them godspeed, and they returned to the high-priest's dwelling. 

In the vestibule they found a servant from the lady Berenike; in hismistress's name he desired Euryale to send Melissa to spend the nightwith her. 

This invitation, which would remove Melissa from the Serapeum, waswelcome to them both, and the matron herself accompanied the young girldown a private staircase leading to a small side-door. Argutis, who hadcome to inquire for his young mistress, was to be her escort and to bringher back early next morning to the same entrance. 

The old slave had much to tell her. He had been on his feet all day. Hehad been to the harbor to inquire as to the return of the vessel with theprisoners on board; to the Serapeum to inquire for her; to Dido, to giveher the news. He had met Alexander in the forenoon on the quay where theimperial galleys were moored. When the young man learned that thetrireme could not come in before next morning at the soonest, he had setout to cross the lake and see Zeus and his daughter. He had chargedArgutis to let Melissa know that his longing for the fair Agatha gave himno peace. 

He and old Dido disapproved of their young master's feather-brain, whichhad not been made more steady and patient even by the serious events ofthis day and his sister's peril; however, he did not allow a word ofblame to escape him. He was happy only to be allowed to walk behindMelissa, and to hear from her own lips that all was well with her, andthat Caesar was gracious. 

Alexander, indeed, had also told the old man that he and Caesar were"good friends"; and now the slave was thinking of Pandion, Theocritus, and the other favorites of whom he had heard; and he assured Melissathat, as soon as her father should be free, Caracalla would be certain toraise him to the rank of knight, to give him lands and wealth, perhapsone of the imperial residences on the Bruchium. Then he, Argutis, wouldbe house steward, and show that he knew other things besides keeping theworkroom and garden in order, splitting wood, and buying cheaply atmarket. 

Melissa laughed and said he should be no worse off if only the first wishof her heart were fulfilled, and she were wife to Diodoros; and Argutisdeclared he would be amply content if only she allowed him to remain withher. 

But she only half listened and answered absently, for she breathed fasteras she pictured to herself how she would show Caesar, on whom she hadalready proved her power, that she had ceased to tremble before him. 

Thus they came to the house of Seleukus. 

A large force had taken up their quarters there. In the pillared hallbeyond the vestibule bearded soldiers were sitting on benches orsquatting in groups on the ground, drinking noisily and singing, orlaughing and squabbling as they threw the dice on the costly mosaicpavement. A riotous party were toping and reveling in the beautifulgarden of the impluvium round a fire which they had lighted on the velvetturf. A dozen or so of officers had stretched themselves on cushionsunder one of the colonnades, and, without attempting to check the wildbehavior of their men, were watching the dancing of some Egyptian girlswho had been brought into the house of their involuntary host. AlthoughMelissa was closely veiled and accompanied by a servant, she did notescape rude words and insolent glances. Indeed, an audacious youngpraetorian had put out his hand to pull away her veil, but an olderofficer stopped him. 

The lady Berenike's rooms had so far not been intruded on; for Macrinus, the praetorian prefect, who knew Berenike through her brother-in-law thesenator Coeranus, had given orders that the women's apartments were to beexempt from the encroachments of the quartermaster of the body-guard. Breathing rapidly and with a heightened color, Melissa at last enteredthe room of Seleukus's wife. 

The matron's voice was full of bitterness as she greeted her youngvisitor with the exclamation "You look as if you had fled to escapepersecution! And in my house, too! Or"--and her large eyes flashedbrightly--"or is the blood-hound on the track of his prey? My boat isquite ready--" When Melissa denied this, and related what had happened, Berenike exclaimed: "But you know that the panther lies still and gathershimself up before he springs; or, if you do not, you may see it to-morrowat the Circus. There is to be a performance in Caesar's honor, the likeof which not even Nero ever saw. My husband bears the chief part cf thecost, and can think of nothing else. He has even forgotten his onlychild, and all to please the man who insults us, robs and humiliates us!Now that men kiss the hands which maltreat them, it is the part of womento defy them. You must fly, child! The harbor is now closed, but itwill be open again to-morrow morning, and, if your folks are set free inthe course of the day, then away with you at once! Or do you really hopefor any good from the tyrant who has made this house what you nowsee it?"

"I know him, " replied Melissa, "and I look for nothing but the worst. "

At this the elder woman warmly grasped the girl's hand, but she wasinterrupted by the waiting woman Johanna, who said that a Roman officerof rank, a tribune, craved to be admitted. 

When Berenike refused to receive him, the maid assured her that he was ayoung man, and had expressed his wish to bring an urgent request to thelady's notice in a becoming and modest manner. 

On this the matron allowed him to be shown in to her, and Melissa hastilyobeyed her instructions to withdraw into the adjoining room. 

Only a half-drawn curtain divided it from the room where Berenikereceived the soldier, and without listening she could hear the loud voicewhich riveted her attention as soon as she had recognized it. 

The young tribune, in a tone of courteous entreaty, begged his hostess toprovide a room for his brother, who was severely wounded. The suffererwas in a high fever, and the physician said that the noise and rattle ofvehicles in the street, on which the room where he now lay looked out, and the perpetual coming and going of the men, might endanger his life. He had just been told that on the side of the women's apartments therewas a row of rooms looking out on the impluvium, and he ventured toentreat her to spare one of them for the injured man. If she had abrother or a child, she would forgive the boldness of his request. 

So far she listened in silence; then she suddenly raised her head andmeasured the petitioner's tall figure with a lurid fire in her eye. Thenshe replied, while she looked into his handsome young face with a half-scornful, half-indignant air: "Oh, yes! I know what it is to see one welove suffer. I had an only child; she was the joy of my heart. Death--death snatched her from me, and a few days later the sovereign whomyou serve commanded us to prepare a feast for him. It seemed to himsomething new and delightful to hold a revel in a house of mourning. At the last moment--all the guests were assembled--he sent us word thathe himself did not intend to appear. But his friends laughed and reveledwildly enough! They enjoyed themselves, and no doubt praised our cookand our wine. And now--another honor we can duly appreciate!--he sendshis praetorians to turn this house of mourning into a tavern, a wine-shop, where they call creatures in from the street to dance and sing. The rank to which you have risen while yet so young shows that you are ofgood family, so you can imagine how highly we esteem the honor of seeingyour men trampling, destroying, and burning in their camp-fireseverything which years of labor and care had produced to make our littlegarden a thing of beauty. Only look down on them! Macrinus, whocommands you, promised me, moreover, that the women's apartments shouldbe respected. No praetorian, whether common soldier or commander, ' andhere she raised her voice, "shall set foot within them! Here is hiswriting. The prefect set the seal beneath it in Caesar's name. "

"I know of the order, noble lady, " interrupted Nemesianus, "and should bethe last to wish to act against it. I do not demand, I only appealhumbly to the heart of a woman and a mother. '

"A mother!" broke in Berenike, scornfully; "yes! and one whose soulyour lord has pierced with daggers--a woman whose home has beendishonored and made hateful to her. I have enjoyed sufficient honor now, and shall stand firmly on my rights. "

"Hear but one thing more, " began the youth, timidly; but the ladyBerenike had already turned her back upon him, and returned with a proudand stately carriage to Melissa in the adjoining apartment. 

Breathing hard, as if stunned by her words, the tribune remained standingon the threshold where the terrible lady had vanished from his sight, andthen, striving to regain his composure, pushed back the curling locksfrom his brow. But scarcely had Berenike entered the other room thanMelissa whispered to her: "The wounded man is the unfortunate Aurelius, whose face Caracalla wounded for my sake. "

At this the lady's eyes suddenly flashed and blazed so strangely that thegirl's blood ran cold. But she had no time to ask the reason of thisemotion, for the next moment the queenly woman grasped the weaker one bythe wrist with her strong right hand, and with a commanding "Come withme, " drew her back into the room they had just quitted. She called tothe tribune, whose hand was already on the door, to come back. 

The young man stood still, surprised and startled to see Melissa; but thelady Berenike said, calmly, "Now that I have learned the honor that hasbeen accorded to you, too, by the master whom you so faithfully serve, the poor injured man whom you call your brother shall be made welcomewithin these walls. He is my companion in suffering. A quiet, airychamber shall be set apart for him, and he shall not lack carefulattention, nor anything which even his own mother could offer him. Only two things I desire of you in return: that you admit no one of yourcompanions-in-arms, nor any man whatever, into this dwelling, save onlythe physician whom I shall send to you. Furthermore, that you do notbetray, even to your nearest friend, whom you found here besides myself. "

Under the mortification that had wounded his brotherly heart, AureliusNemesianus had lost countenance; but now he replied with a soldier'sready presence of mind: "It is difficult for me to find a proper answerto you, noble lady. I know right well that I owe you my warmest thanks, and equally so that he whom you call our master has inflicted as deep awrong on us as on you; but Caesar is still my military chief. "

"Still!" broke in Berenike. "But you are too youthful a tribune for meto believe that you took up the sword as a means of livelihood. "

"We are sons of the Aurelia, " answered Nemesianus, haughtily, "and it isvery possible that this day's work may be the cause of our deserting theeagles we have followed in order to win glory and taste the delights ofwarfare. But all that is for the future to decide. Meanwhile, I thankyou, noble lady, and also in the name of my brother, who is my secondself. On behalf of Apollinaris, too, I beg you to pardon the rudenesswhich we offered to this maiden--"

"I am not angry with you any more, " cried Melissa, eagerly and frankly, and the tribune thanked her in his own and his brother's name. 

He began trying to explain the unfortunate occurrence, but Berenikeadmonished him to lose no time. The soldier withdrew, and the ladyBerenike ordered her handmaiden to call the housekeeper and otherserving-women. Then she repaired quickly to the room she had destinedfor the wounded man and his brother. But neither Melissa nor the otherwomen could succeed in really lending her any help, for she herself putforth all her cleverness and power of head and hand, forgetting nothingthat might be useful or agreeable in the nursing of the sick. In thatwealthy, well-ordered house everything stood ready to hand; and in lessthan a quarter of an hour the tribune Nemesianus was informed that thechamber was ready for the reception of his brother. 

The lady then returned with Melissa to her own sleeping apartment, andtook various little bottles and jars from a small medicine-chest, beggingthe girl at the same time to excuse her, as she intended to undertake thenursing of the wounded man herself. Here were books, and there Korinna'slute. Johanna would attend to the evening meal. Tomorrow morning theycould consult further as to what was necessary to be done; then shekissed her guest and left the room. 

Left to herself, Melissa gave herself up to varying thoughts, tillJohanna brought her repast. While she hardly nibbled at it, theChristian told her that matters looked ill with the tribune, and that thewound in the forehead especially caused the physician much anxiety. Manyquestions were needed to draw this much from the freedwoman, for shespoke but little. When she did speak, however, it was with greatkindliness, and there lay something so simple and gentle in her wholemanner that it awakened confidence. Having satisfied her appetite, Melissa returned to the lady Berenike's apartment; but there her heartgrew heavy at the thought of what awaited her on the morrow. When, atthe moment of leaving, Johanna inquired whether she desired anythingfurther, she asked her if she knew a saying of her fellow-believers, which ran, "The fullness of time was come. "

"Yes, surely, " returned the other; "our Lord himself spoke them, and Paulwrote them to the Galatians. "

"Who is this Paul?" Melissa asked; and the Christian replied that of allthe teachers of her faith he was the one she most dearly loved. Then, hesitating a little, she asked if Melissa, being a heathen, had inquiredthe meaning of this saying. 

"Andrew, the freedman of Polybius and the lady Euryale, explained it tome. Did the moment ever come to you in which you felt assured that foryou the time was fulfilled?"

"Yes, " replied Johanna, with decision; "and that moment comes, sooner orlater, in every life. "

"You are a maiden like myself, " began Melissa, simply. "A heavy tasklies before me, and if you would confide to me--"

But the Christian broke in: "My life has moved in other paths than yours, and what has happened to me, the freedwoman and the Christian, can haveno interest for you. But the saying which has stirred your soul refersto the coming of One who is all in all to us Christians. Did Andrew tellyou nothing of His life?"

"Only a little, " answered the girl, "but I would gladly hear more ofHim. "

Then the Christian seated herself at Melissa's side, and, clasping themaiden's hand in hers, told her of the birth of the Saviour, of Hisloving heart, and His willing death as a sacrifice for the sins of thewhole world. The girl listened with attentive ear. With no word did sheinterrupt the narrative, and the image of the Crucified One rose beforeher mind's eye, pure and noble, and worthy of all love. A thousandquestions rose to her lips, but, before she could ask one, the Christianwas called away to attend the lady Berenike, and Melissa was again alone. 

What she had already heard of the teaching of the Christians occurred toher once more, and above all that first saying from the sacred Scriptureswhich had attracted her attention, and about which she had just askedJohanna. Perhaps for her, too, the time was already fulfilled, when shehad taken courage to defy the emperor's commands. 

She rejoiced at this action, for she felt that the strength would neverfail her now to set her will against his. She felt as though she bore acharm against his power since she had parted from her lover, and sincethe murder of the governor had opened her eyes to the true character ofhim on whom she had all too willingly expended her pity. And yet sheshuddered at the thought of meeting the emperor again, and of having toshow him that she felt safe with him because she trusted to hisgenerosity. 

Lost in deep thought, she waited for the return of the lady and theChristian waiting-woman, but in vain. At last her eye fell upon thescrolls which the lady Berenike had pointed out to her. They lay inbeautiful alabaster caskets on an ebony stand. If they had only beenthe writings of the Christians, telling of the life and death of theirSaviour! But how should writings such as those come here? The casketonly held the works of Philostratus, and she took from it the rollcontaining the story of the hero of whom he had himself spoken to her. Full of curiosity, she smoothed out the papyrus with the ivory stick, andher attention was soon engaged by the lively conversation between thevintner and his Phoenician guest. She passed rapidly over the beginning, but soon reached the part of which Philostratus had told her. Under theform of Achilles he had striven to represent Caracalla as he appeared tothe author's indulgent imagination. But it was no true portrait; itdescribed the original at most as his mother would have wished him to be. There it was written that the vehemence flashing from the hero's brighteyes, even when peacefully inclined, showed how easily his wrath couldbreak forth. But to those who loved him he was even more endearingduring these outbursts than before. The Athenians felt toward him asthey did toward a lion; for, if the king of beasts pleased them when hewas at rest, he charmed them infinitely more when, foaming withbloodthirsty rage, he fell upon a bull, a wild boar, or some suchferocious animal. 

Yes, indeed! Caracalla, too, fell mercilessly upon his prey! Had shenot seen him hewing down Apollinaris a few hours ago?

Furthermore, Achilles was said to have declared that he could drive awaycare by fearlessly encountering the greatest dangers for the sake of hisfriends. But where were Caracalla's friends?

At best, the allusion could only refer to the Roman state, for whose sakethe emperor certainly did endure many a hardship and many a wearisometask, and he was not the only person who had told her so. 

Then she turned back a little and found the words: "But because he waseasily inclined to anger, Chiron instructed him in music; for is it notinherent in this art to soothe violence and wrath--And Achilles acquiredwithout trouble the laws of harmony and sang to the lyre. "

This all corresponded with the truth, and tomorrow she was to discoverwhat had suggested to Philostratus the story that when Achilles beggedCalliope to endow him with the gifts of music and poetry she had givenhim so much of both as he required to enliven the feast and banishsadness. He was also said to be a poet, and devoted himself mostardently to verse when resting from the toils of war. 

To hear that man unjustly blamed on whom her heart is set, onlyincreases a woman's love; but unmerited praise makes her criticise himmore sharply, and is apt to transform a fond smile into a scornful one. Thus the picture that raised Caracalla to the level of an Achilles madeMelissa shrug her shoulders over the man she dreaded; and while she evendoubted Caesar's musical capacities, Diodoros's young, fresh, bell-likevoice rose doubly beautiful and true upon her memory's ear. The image ofher lover finally drove out that of the emperor, and, while she seemed tohear the wedding song which the youths and maidens were so soon to singfor them both, she fell asleep. 

It was late when Johanna came to admonish her to retire to rest. Shortlybefore sunrise she was awakened by Berenike, who wished to take somerest, and who told her, before seeking her couch, that Apollinaris wasdoing well. The lady was still sleeping when Johanna came to informMelissa that the slave Argutis was waiting to see her. 

The Christian undertook to convey the maiden's farewell greetings to hermistress. 

As they entered the living-room, the gardener had just brought in freshflowers, among them three rose-bushes covered with full-blown flowers andhalf-opened, dewy buds. Melissa asked Johanna timidly if the ladyBerenike would permit her to pluck one--there were so many; to which theChristian replied that it would depend on the use it was to be put to. 

"Only for the sick tribune, " answered Melissa, reddening. So Johannaplucked two of the fairest blooms and gave them to the maiden--one forthe man who had injured her and one for her betrothed. Melissa kissedher, gratefully, and begged her to present the flowers to the sick man inher name. 

Johanna carried out her wish at once; but the wounded man, gazingmournfully at the rose, murmured to himself: "Poor, lovely, gentlechild! She will be ruined or dead before Caracalla leaves Alexandria!"

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Obstacles existed only to be removedSpeaking ill of others is their greatest delightThe past must stand; it is like a scar