[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. ]

ARACHNE

By Georg Ebers

Volume 6. 

CHAPTER V. 

At the third hour after sunrise a distinguished assemblage of peoplegathered at the landing place east of the Temple of Poseidon in the greatharbour of Alexandria. 

Its members belonged to the upper classes, for many had come in carriagesand litters, and numerous pedestrians were accompanied by slaves bearingin delicately woven baskets and cornucopias a laurel wreath, a papyruscrown, or bright-hued flowers. 

The most aristocratic among the gentlemen had gathered on the westernside of the great sanctuary, between the cella and the long row of Doriccolumns which supported the roof of the marble temple. 

The Macedonian Council of the city was already represented by several ofits members. Among their number was Archias, Daphne's father, a man ofmiddle height and comfortable portliness, from whose well-formed, beardless face looked forth a pair of shrewd eyes, and whose quickmovements revealed the slight irritability of his temperament. 

Several members of the Council and wealthy merchants surrounded him, while the grammateus Proclus first talked animatedlv with othergovernment officials and representatives of the priesthood, and then withArchias. The head of the Museum, who bore the title of "high priest, "had also appeared there with several members of this famous centre of theintellectual life of the capital. They shared the shade of this part ofthe temple with distinguished masters of sculpture and painting, architecture and poetry, and conversed together with the gracefulanimation of Greeks endowed with great intellectual gifts. 

Among them mingled, distinguishable neither by costume nor language, a number of prominent patrons of art in the great Jewish community. Their principal, the alabarch, was talking eagerly with the philosopherHegesias and the Rhodian leech Chrysippus; Queen Arsinoe's favourite, whom at Althea's instigation she had sent with Proclus to receive thereturning traveller. 

Sometimes all gazed toward the mouth of the harbour, where the expectedship must soon pass the recently completed masterpiece of Sostratus, thetowering lighthouse, still shining in its marble purity. 

Soon many Alexandrians also crowded the large platform in front of theTemple of Poseidon, and the very wide marble staircase leading from it tothe landing place. 

Beneath the bronze statues of the Dioscuri, at the right and left of thetopmost step, had also gathered the magnificent figures of the Phebi andthe younger men from the wrestling school of Timagetes, with garlands ontheir curling locks, as well as many younger artists and pupils of theolder masters. 

The statues of the gods and goddesses of the sea and their loftypedestals, standing at the sides of the staircase, cast upon the marblesteps, gleaming in the radiance of the morning sun, narrow shadows, whichattracted the male and female chorus singers, who, also wearing beautifulgarlands, had come to greet the expected arrival with solemn chants. 

Several actors were just coming from rehearsal in the theatre ofDionysus, east of the Temple of Poseidon, of which, like all the stagesin the city, Proclus was chief manager. 

A pretty dancing girl, who hung on the arm of the youngest, extended herhand with a graceful gesture toward the staircase, and asked:

"Whom can they be expecting there? Probably some huge new animal for theMuseum which has been caught somewhere for the King, for yonder stiffwearer of a laurel crown, who throws his head back as though he wouldlike to eat the Olympians and take the King for a luncheon into thebargain, is Straton, the denier of the gods, and the little man with thebullethead is the grammarian Zoilus. "

"Of course, " replied her companion. "But there, too, is Apollodorus, thealabarch of the Jews, and the heavy money-bag Archias--"

"Why look at them!" cried the younger mime. "It's far better worth whileto stretch your neck for those farther in front. They are genuinefriends of the Muses--the poets Theocritus and Zenodotus. "

"The great Athene, Apollo, and all his nine Pierides, have sent theirenvoys, " said the older actor pathetically, "for there, too, are thesculptors Euphranor and Chares, and the godlike builder of thelighthouse, Sostratus in person. "

"A handsome man, " cried the girl flute-player, "but vain, I tell you, vain--"

"Self-conscious, you ought to say, " corrected her companion. 

"Certainly, " added the older actor, patting his smooth cheeks and chinwith a rose he held in his hand. Who can defend himself against thehighest merit, self-knowledge? But the person who is to have thisreception, by the staff of Dionysus! if modesty flies away from him likethe bird from a girl, it ought Just look there! The tall, broad-shouldered fellow yonder is Chrysippus, the right hand of Arsinoe, as ourgrammateus Proclus is her left. So probably some prince is expected. "

"The gentlemen of the Museum and the great artists yonder would not stira foot, far less lose so precious a morning hour, for any mere wearer ofa crown or sceptre, " protested the other actor; "it must be--"

"That the King or the Queen command it, " interrupted the older player. "Only Arsinoe is represented here. Or do you see any envoy of Ptolemy?Perhaps they will yet arrive. If there were ambassadors of the greatRoman Senate--"

"Or, " added the dancer, "envoys from King Antiochus. But--goose that Iam!--then they would not be received here, but in the royal harbour atthe Lochias. See if I don't prove to be right! Divine honours are to bepaid to some newly attracted hero of the intellect. But--just follow myfinger! There--yonder--it comes floating along at the left of the islandof Antirrhodus. That may be his galley! Magnificent! Wonderfullybeautiful! Brilliant! Like a swan! No, no, like a swimming peacock!And the silver embroidery on the blue sails! It glitters and sparkleslike stars in the azure sky. "

Meanwhile the elder actor, shading his eyes with his hand, had beengazing at the harbour, where, amid the innumerable vessels, the expectedone, whose sails were just being reefed, was steered by a skilful hand. Now he interrupted the blond beauty with the exclamation: "It isArchias's Proserpina! I know it well. " Then, in a declamatory tone, hecontinued: "I, too, was permitted on the deck of the glittering vessel, lightly rocked by the crimson waves, to reach my welcome goal; as theguest of peerless Archias, I mean. The most magnificent festival in hisvilla! There was a little performance there in which Mentor and Iallowed ourselves to be persuaded to take part. But just see how thebeautiful ship uses the narrow passage between the two triremes, as if ithad the bloodleech's power of contraction! But to return to the festivalof Archias: the oyster ragout served there, the pheasant pasties--"

Here he interrupted himself, exclaiming in surprise: "By the club ofHercules, the Proserpina is to be received with a full chorus! And thereis the owner himself descending the stairs! Whom is she bringing?"

"Come! come!" cried the dancing girl to her companion, dragging him afterher, "I shall die of curiosity. "

The singing and shouting of many voices greeted the actors as theyapproached the platform of the Temple of Poseidon. 

When from this spot the dancer fixed her eyes upon the landing place, shesuddenly dropped her companion's arm, exclaiming: "It is the handsomeblind sculptor, Hermon, the heir of the wealthy Myrtilus. Do you learnthis now for the first time, you jealous Thersites? Hail, hail, divineHermon! Hail, noble victim of the ungrateful Olympians! Hail to thee, Hermon, and thy immortal works! Hail, hail, hail!"

Meanwhile she waved her handkerchief with frenzied eagerness, as if shecould thus force the blind man to see her, and a group of actors whomProclus, the grammateus of the Dionysian arts, had sent here to receiveHermon worthily, followed her example. 

But her cries were drowned by the singing of the chorus and by thousandsof shouting voices, while Hermon was embraced by Archias on board thegalley, and then, by his guidance, stepped on shore and ascended thestaircase of the Temple of Poseidon. 

Before the ship entered the harbour, the artist had had a large goblet ofunmixed wine given to him, that he might conquer the emotion that hadoverpowered him. 

Though his blind eyes did not show him even the faintest outline of afigure, he felt as if he was flooded with brilliant sunshine. 

While the Proserpina was bearing him past the lighthouse, Gras told himthat they had now reached the great harbour, and at the same time heheard the shouts, whistles, signals, and varying sounds of the landingplace with its crowded shipping, and of the capital. 

His blood surged in his veins, and before his mind rose the vision of thecorn-flower blue sky, mirrored in the calm surface of the bluest of seas. The pharos built by Sostratus towered in dazzling whiteness above thetide, and before him rose the noble temple buildings, palaces, andporticoes of the city of Alexandria, with which he was familiar, andbefore and between them statue after statue of marble and bronze, thewhole flooded with radiant golden light. 

True, darkness sometimes swallowed this wonderful picture, but an effortof the will was sufficient to show it to him again. 

"The Temple of Poseidon!" cried Gras. "The Proserpina is to land at thefoot of the steps. " And now Hermon listened to the sounds from theshore, whose hum and buzz transported him into the midst of the long-missed city of commerce, knowledge, and arts. 

Then the captain's shouts of command fell imperiously upon his ears, thestrokes of the oars ceased, their blades sank with a loud splash into thewater, and at the same instant from the temple steps Hermon was greetedby the solemn notes of the chorus, from whose rhythm his own name rangforth again and again like so many shouts of victory. 

He thought his heart would fairly burst through his arched chest, and thepassionate violence of its throbbing did not lessen when Gras exclaimed:"Half Alexandria has assembled to greet you. Ah, if you could only seeit! How the kerchiefs are waving! Laurel after laurel in every hand!All the distinguished people in the capital have gathered on the sacredsoil of the Temple of Poseidon. There is Archias, too; there are theartists and the famous gentlemen of the Museum, the members of theEphebi, and the priests of the great gods. "

Hermon listened with his hand pressed on his breast, and while doing sothe power of his imagination showed the vast, harmoniously noblestructure of the many-pillared Temple of Poseidon, surrounded by as manythousands as there were in reality hundreds. From all parts of thesanctuary, even from the tops of the roofs, he beheld laurel branches andkerchiefs waving and tossing, and wreaths flung on the ground before him. If this picture was correct, the whole city was greeting him, headed bythe men whom he honoured as great and meritorious, and in front of themall Daphne, with drooping head, full of feminine grace and heart-winninggoodness. 

While the chorus continued their song, and the welcoming shouts grewlouder, the brilliant picture faded away, but in return he felt friendlyarms clasp him. First Archias, then Proclus, and after him a successionof fellow-artists-the greatest of all--drew him into a warm embrace. 

Finally he felt himself led away, placed his feet as his Uncle Archiaswhispered directions, and as they gropingly obeyed them ascended thetemple steps and stood in utter darkness upon the platform listening tothe speeches which so many had prepared. 

All the distinguished men in the city expressed their sympathy, theirpity, their admiration, their hopes, or sent assurances of them to him. The Rhodian Chrysippus, despatched by the Queen, delivered the wreathwhich the monarch bestowed, and informed Hermon, with her greetings, thatArsinoe deemed his Demeter worthy of the laurel. 

The most famous masters of his art, the great scholars from the Museum, the whole priesthood of Demeter, which included Daphne, the servants ofApollo, his dear Ephebi, the comrades of his physical exercises--all whomhe honoured, admired, loved-loaded him with praises and good wishes, aswell as the assurance of their pride in numbering him among them. 

No form, no colour from the visible world, penetrated the darknesssurrounding him, not even the image of the woman he loved. Only his earsenabled him to receive the praises, honours, congratulations lavishedhere and, though he sometimes thought he had received enough, he againlistened willingly and intently when a new speaker addressed him in warmwords of eulogy. What share compassion for his unprecedentedly sorrowfulfate had in this extravagantly laudatory and cordial greeting, he did notask; he only felt with a throbbing heart that he now stood upon a summitwhich he had scarcely ventured to hope ever to attain. His dreams ofoutward success which had not been realized, because he deemed it treasonto his art to deviate from the course which he believed right and bestadapted to it, he now, without having yielded to the demands of the oldschool, heard praised as his well-earned possessions. 

He felt as if he breathed the lighter, purer air of the realms of theblessed, and the laurel crown which the Queen's envoy pressed upon hisbrow, the wreaths which his fellow-artists presented to him by hands noless distinguished than those of the great sculptor Protogenes, andNicias, the most admired artist after the death of Apelles, seemed, likethe wings on the hat and shoes of Hermes, messenger of the gods, to raisehim out of himself and into the air. 

Darkness surrounded him, yet a bright dazzling light issued from his souland illuminated his whole being with the warm golden radiance of the sun. 

Not even the faintest shadow dimmed it until Soteles, his fellow-studentat Rhodes, who sustained him with ardent earnestness in the struggle toprefer truth to beauty, greeted him. 

He welcomed him and wished that he might recover his lost sight as warmlyas his predecessors. He praised the Demeter, too, but added that thiswas not the place to say what he missed in her. Yet that she did lack itawakened in him an emotion of pain, for this, Hermon's last work, apparently gave the followers of the ancients a right to number him intheir ranks. 

His cautious expression of regret must refer to the head of his Demeter. Yet surely it was not his fault that Daphne's features bore the impressof that gentle, winning kindness which he himself and Soteles, imitatinghim, had often condemned as weak and characterless. 

The correctness of his belief was instantly proved to him by the addressof gray-haired, highly praised Euphranor, who spoke of the Demeter'scountenance with warm admiration. And how ardently the poets Theocritusand Zenodotus extolled his work to the skies!

Amid so much laudation, one faint word of dissatisfaction vanished like adrop of blood that falls into a clear stream. 

The welcome concluded with a final chant by the chorus, and continued toecho in Hermon's ears as he entered his uncle's chariot and drove awaywith him, crowned with laurel and intoxicated as if by fiery wine. 

Oh, if he could only have seen his fellow-citizens who so eagerlyexpressed their good will, their sympathy, their admiration! But theblack and coloured mist before his eyes revealed no human figure, noteven that of the woman he loved, who, he now learned for the first timefrom her father, had appeared among the priestesses of Demeter to greethim. 

Doubtless he was gladdened by the sound of her voice, the clasp of herhand, the faint fragrance of violets exhaling from her fair hair, whichhe had often remembered with so much pleasure when alone in Tennis; butthe time to devote himself to her fully and completely had not yet come, for what manifold and powerful impressions, how much that was elevating, delightful, and entertaining awaited him immediately!

The Queen's envoy had expressed his mistress's desire to receive thecreator of the Demeter, the Ephebi and his fellow-artists had invited himto a festival which they desired to give in his honour, and on the wayArchias informed him that many of his wealthy friends in the MacedonianCouncil expected that he, the honoured hero of the day, would adorn withhis presence a banquet in their houses. 

What a rich, brilliant life awaited him in spite of his blindness! Whenhe entered his uncle's magnificent city home, and not only all theservants and clients of the family, but also a select party of ladies andgentlemen greeted him with flowers and hundreds of other tokens ofaffection and appreciation, he gave himself up without reserve to thisnovel excess of fame and admiration. 

Notwithstanding his blindness, he felt, after the burns on his face hadhealed, thoroughly well, as strong as a giant--nay, more vigorous andcapable of enjoyment than ever. What prevented him from revelling to thefull in the superabundant gifts which Fate, recently so cruel, nowsuddenly cast into his lap with lavish kindness?

Yet many flattering and pleasant things as he had experienced that day, he was far from feeling satiety. On entering the hall of the men in hisuncle's dwelling, the names of famous men and proud beauties had beenrepeated to him. Formerly they had taken little notice of him, yet noweven the most renowned received him like an Olympian victor. 

What did all these vain women really care for him? Yet their favour waspart of the triumph whose celebration he must permit to-day. His heartheld but one being for whom it yearned, and with whom thus far he hadbeen able only to exchange a few tender greetings. 

The time for a long conversation had not yet arrived, but he asked Thyoneto lead him to her and, while she listened anxiously, described withfeverish animation the incidents of the last few days. But he soonlowered his voice to assure her that he had not ceased to think of hereven for a single hour, and the feeling of happiness which, in spite ofhis misfortune, had filled and lent wings to his soul, was not least dueto the knowledge of being near her again. 

And her presence really benefited him almost as much as he hadanticipated during the hours of solitary yearning in Tennis; he felt ita great favour of Fate to be permitted to strive to possess her, felteven during the delirium of this reception that he loved her. What atremendous longing to clasp her at once in his arms as his betrothedbride overwhelmed him; but her father's opposition to the union of hisonly child with a blind man must first be conquered, and the greatagitation in his soul, as well as the tumult around him, seemed like amockery of the quiet happiness which hovered before him when he thoughtof his marriage with Daphne. Not until everything was calmer would thetime come to woo her. Until then both must be satisfied with knowingfrom each other's lips their mutual love, and he thought he perceived inthe tone of her voice the deep emotion of her heart. 

Perhaps this had prevented Daphne's expressing her congratulations uponthe success of his Demeter as eagerly and fully as he had expected. Painfully disturbed by her reserve, he had just attempted to induce herto give a less superficial opinion of his work, when the curtains of thedining room parted-the music of flutes, singing, and pleasant odoursgreeted him and the guests. Archias summoned them to breakfast, and aband of beautiful boys, with flowers and garlands of ivy, obeyed thecommand to crown them. 

Then Thyone approached the newly united pair and, after exchanging a fewwords with Daphne, whispered in an agitated voice to the blind sculptor, over whose breast a brown-locked young slave was just twining a garlandof roses: "Poverty no longer stands between you and the object of yourlove; is it Nemesis who even now still seals your lips?"

Hermon stretched out his hand to draw her nearer to him and murmur softlythat her counsel had aided him to break the power of the terriblegoddess, but he grasped the empty air. At the same time the deep voiceof his love's father, whose opposition threatened to cloud his newhappiness, singing, flute-playing, and the laughter of fair women greetedhim and, only half master of his own will, he assented, by a slight bendof the head, to the matron's question. A light shiver ran through hisframe with the speed of lightning, and the Epicurean's maxim that fearand cold are companions darted through his brain. But what should hefear? He had endured severe trials, it is true, for the sake ofremaining faithful to truth in art and life; but who probably everreached the age of manhood without once deviating from it? Besides, hewas surely aware that, had he been obliged to answer Thyone in words, hewould not have been guilty of the falsehood. His reply had consisted ofa slight motion of the head, and it negatived nothing; it was merelyintended to defer for a short time the thing he most desired. 

Yet the rash answer weighed heavily on his mind; but it could no longerbe recalled that day, and was believed, for Thyone whispered, "We shallsucceed in reconciling the terrible being. "

Again the light tremour ran through him, but it lasted only an instant;for Chrysilla, the representative of the dead mistress of the house, whose duty it was to assign the guests their places, called to Hermon, "The beautiful Glycera does you the honour of choosing you for aneighbour" and, before the sentence was finished, Archias himselfseized his arm and led him to the cushions at the side of the much-courted beauty. 

The guests began the banquet in a very joyous mood. 

Greek gaiety, and the quick intellect and keen wit of the Alexandrians, combined with the choicest viands of the luxurious capital, where thewines and dainties of all the countries of the Mediterranean foundsellers and buyers, and the cook's vocation was developed into a fineart, to spice this banquet with a hundred charms for the mind and senses. To-day the principal place in this distinguished circle of famous men, great and wealthy nobles, beautiful and aristocratic women, was awardedto the blind sculptor. He was pledged by every one who had admired hisDemeter, who compassionated his sad fate, or who desired to be agreeableto him or his host. 

Every kind remark about his person, his blindness, and his masterpiecewas repeated to him and, after the wine and the effort to attractDaphne's attention and shine in the presence of his beautiful neighbourhad heated and winged his thoughts, he found an apt reply to eachnoteworthy word. 

When the dessert was finally eaten, and after sunset, in the brilliantlight of the lamps and candles, greater attention was paid to the mixingvessels, all remained silent to listen to his fervid speech. 

Glycera had asked him, at the beginning of the banquet, to tell her aboutthe attack in Tennis. Now he yielded to her wish that he should repeatthe captivating tale to the others, and the spirits of the wine helpedhim to perform the task with such animation that his hearers listened tohis description in breathless suspense, and many eyes rested on thehandsome face of the great blind artist as if spellbound. 

When he paused, loud applause rewarded him, and as it reached him fromevery part of the spacious room, his deep, resonant voice put him incommunication even with the more distant guests, and he might have beentaken for the symposiarch or director of the banquet. 

This conspicuous position of the feted artist did not please every one, and a rhetorician, famed for his sharp tongue, whispered to hisneighbour, one of Hermon's older fellow-artists, "What his eyes have lostseems to benefit his tongue. " The sculptor answered: "At any rate, theimpetuous young artist might succeed better in proving himself, by itsassistance, a good entertainer, than in creating more mediocremasterpieces like the Demeter. "

Similar remarks were made on other cushions; but when the philosopherHegesias asked the famous sculptor Euphranor what he thought of Hermon'sDemeter, the kindly old man answered, "I should laud this noble work as amemorable event, even if it did not mark the end, as well as thebeginning, of its highly gifted creator's new career. "

Nothing of this kind was uttered near Hermon. Everything that reachedhim expressed delight, admiration, sympathy, and hope. At dessert thebeautiful Glycera divided her apple, whispering as she gave him one half, "Let the fruit tell you what the eyes can no longer reveal, you poor andyet so abundantly rich darling of the gods. "

He murmured in reply that his happiness would awake the envy of theimmortals if, in addition, he were permitted to feast upon the sight ofher beauty. 

Had he been able to see himself, Hermon, who, as a genuine Greek, wasaccustomed to moderate his feelings in intercourse with others, wouldhave endeavoured to express the emotions of joy which filled his heartwith more reserve, and to excel his companions at the festival lessrecklessly. 

His enthusiastic delight carried many away with him; others, especiallyDaphne, were filled with anxious forebodings by his conduct, and othersstill with grave displeasure. 

Among the latter was the famous leech Erasistratus, who shared Archias'scushions, and had been solicited by the latter to try to restore hisblind nephew's sight. But the kindly physician, who gladly aided eventhe poorest sufferer, curtly and positively refused. To devote his timeand skill to a blind man who, under the severest of visitations, lulledhimself so contentedly in happiness, he considered unjust to others whodesired recovery more ardently. 

"When the intoxication of this unbridled strength passes away, and isfollowed by a different mood, " remarked the merchant, "we will talk ofthis matter again, " and the confident tone of his deep voice gave thesimple sentence such significance that the learned leech held out hishand, saying: "Only where deep, earnest longing for recovery fills thesufferer's mind will the gods aid the physician. We will wait for thechange which you predict, Archias!"

The guests did not disperse until late, and the best satisfied of all wasthe grammateus Proclus, who had taken advantage of the rich merchant'shappy mood, and his own warm intercession in behalf of his nephew's work, to persuade Archias to advance Queen Arsinoe a large sum of money for anenterprise whose object he still carefully concealed. 

The highly honoured blind artist spent the night under his uncle's roof. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Hermon rose from his couch the next morning alert and ready for newpleasures. 

He had scarcely left the bath when envoys from the Ephebi and the youngerartists invited him to the festivities which they had arranged in hishonour. He joyously accepted, and also promised messengers from many ofArchias's friends, who wished to have the famous blind sculptor amongtheir guests, to be present at their banquets. 

He still felt as if he were intoxicated, and found neither dispositionnor time for quiet reflection. His great strength, fettered as it wereby his loss of sight, now also began to stir. Fate itself withheld himfrom the labour which he loved, yet in return it offered him a wealth ofvarying pleasure, whose stimulating power he had learned the day before. He still relished the draught from the beaker of homage proffered by hisfellow-citizens; nay, it seemed as if it could not lose its sweetness fora long time. 

He joined the ladies before noon, and his newly awakened feeling of joybeamed upon them scarcely less radiantly than yesterday. Though Thyonemight wonder that a man pursued by Nemesis could allow himself to beborne along so thoughtlessly by the stream of pleasure, Daphne certainlydid not grudge him the festal season which, when it had passed, couldnever return to the blind artist. When it was over, he would yearn forthe quiet happiness at her side, which gazed at him like the calm eyes ofthe woman he loved. With her he would cast anchor for the remainder ofhis life; but first must come the period when he enjoyed the compensationnow awarded to him for such severe sufferings. 

His heart was full of joy as he greeted Daphne and the Lady Thyone, whomhe found with her; but his warm description of the happy emotion whichhad overpowered him at the abundant honours lavished upon him wasinterrupted by Archias. 

In his usual quick, brisk manner, he asked whether Hermon wished tooccupy the beautiful villa with the magnificent garden on Lake Mareotis, inherited from Myrtilus, which could scarcely be reached in a vehiclefrom the Brucheium in less than an hour, or the house situated in thecentre of the city, and Hermon promptly decided in favour of the latter. 

His uncle, and probably the ladies also, had expected the contrary. Their silence showed this plainly enough, and Hermon therefore added in atone of explanation that later the villa would perhaps suit his conditionbetter, but now he thought it would be a mistake to retire to the quietwhich half the city was conspiring to disturb. No one contradicted him, and he left the women's apartment with a slight feeling of vexation, which, however, was soon jested away by the gay friends who sought him. 

When he removed to the city house the next day, he had not yet found timefor a serious talk with Daphne. His uncle, who had managed the estate ofMyrtilus, and wished to give Hermon an account of his inheritance, wasrefused by the blind artist, who assured him that he knew Archias hadgreatly increased rather than diminished his property, and thanked himsincerely and warmly. In the convenient and spacious city house theyoung sculptor very soon thought he had good reason to be satisfied withhis choice. 

Most of his friends were busy artists, and what loss of time every visitto the remote villa would have imposed upon them, what haste he himselfwould have been obliged to use to reach home from the bath, where heoften spent many hours, from the wrestling school, from the meetings offashionable people in the Paneum gardens, and at sunset by the seashoreon the royal highway in the Brucheium. All these places were very farfrom the villa. It would have required whole hours, too, to reach afamous cookshop in the Canopus, at whose table he liked to assemblebeloved guests or revel with his friends. The theatre, the Odeum, mostof the public buildings, as well as the houses of his best friends, andespecially the beautiful Glycera, were easily reached from his city home, and, among the temples, that of Demeter, which he often visited to pray, offer sacrifices, and rejoice in the power of attraction which his statueof the goddess exerted upon the multitude. It stood at the back of thecella in a place accessible to the priesthood alone, visible only throughthe open doors, upon a pedestal which his fellow-artists pronouncedrather too high. Yet his offer to have it made smaller was not accepted, because had it been lower the devout supplicants who stood there to praycould not have raised their eyes to it. 

It was not only at the festivals of the dead that he went to the Greekcemetery, where he had had a magnificent monument erected for his deadmother. If his head ached after a nocturnal carouse, or the disagreeablealarming chill stole over him which he had felt for the first time whenhe falsely answered Thyone that he was still under the ban of Nemesis, hewent to the family monuments, supplied them with gifts, had sacrificesoffered to the souls of the beloved dead, and in this way sometimesregained a portion of his lost peace of mind. 

The banquet in the evening always dispelled whatever still oppressed himon his return home from these visits, for, though months had elapsedsince his brilliant reception, he was still numbered, especially inartist circles, with the most honoured men; he, the blind man, no longerstood in any one's way; conversation gained energy and meaning throughthe vivacity of his fervid intellect, which seemed actually deepened byhis blindness when questions concerning art were at issue, and from amodest fellow-struggler he had become a patron bestowing orders. 

The sculptor Soteles, who had followed his footsteps since theapprenticeship in Rhodes, was intrusted with the erection of the monumentto Myrtilus in Tennis, and another highly gifted young sculptor, whopursued his former course, with the execution of the one to his mother. 

From a third he ordered a large new mixing vessel of chased silver forthe society of Ephebi, whose members had lauded him, at the magnificentfestival given in his honour, with genuine youthful fervour. 

In the designs for these works his rich and bold gift of invention andthe power of his imagination proved their full value, and even his olderfellow-artists followed him with sincere admiration when, in spite of hisdarkened eyes, he brought before them distinctly, and often even with thecharcoal or wax tablet in his hand, what he had in mind. Whatmagnificent things might not this man have created had he retained hissight, what masterpieces might not have been expected! and his formerworks, which had been condemned as unlovely, offensive, and exaggerated, were now loudly admired; nay, the furious Maenads struggling on theground and the Street Boy Eating Figs, which were no longer his property, were sold at high prices. No meeting of artists was complete withoutHermon, and the great self-possession which success and wealth bestowed, besides his remarkable talent and the energy peculiar to him, soon aidedhim to great influence among the members of his profession; nay, he wouldspeedily have reached the head of their leaders had not the passionateimpetuosity of his warlike nature led the more cautious to seek torestrain the powerful enthusiast. 

Archias's wealthy friends had no such apprehension. To them the laudedblind artist was not much more than a costly dish certain to please theirguests; yet this, too, was no trifle in social circles which spent smallfortunes for a rare fish. 

At the banquets of these princes of commerce he often met Daphne, stillmore frequently the beautiful Glycera, whose husband, an old ship-ownerof regal wealth, was pleased to see famous men harnessed to his youngwife's chariot of victory. Hermon's heart had little to do with theflirtation to which Glycera encouraged him at every new meeting, and theThracian Althea only served to train his intellect to sharp debates. Butin this manner he so admirably fulfilled her desire to attract attentionthat she more than once pointed out to the Queen, her relative, theremarkably handsome blind man whose acquaintance she had made on a nightof mad revel during the last Dionysia but one. Althea even thought itnecessary to win him, in whom she saw the future son-in-law of thewealthy Archias, for through the graminateus Proclus the merchant hadbeen persuaded to advance the King's wife hundreds of talents, andArsinoe cherished plans which threatened to consume other large sums. 

Thyrone watched Hermon's conduct with increasing indignation, whileDaphne perceived that these women had no more power to estrange her loverfrom her than the bedizened beauties who were never absent from theartists' festivals. How totally different was his intercourse with her!His love and respect were hers alone; yet she saw in him a soul-sick man, and persistently rejected Philotas, who wooed her with the same zeal asbefore, and the other suitors who were striving to win the wealthyheiress. She had confessed her feelings to her father, her best friend, and persuaded him to have patience a little longer, and wait for thechange which he himself expected in his nephew. 

This had not been difficult, for Archias loved Hermon, in spite of themany anxieties he had caused him, as if he were his own son and, knowinghis daughter, he was aware that she could be happy with the man whopossessed her heart though he was deprived of sight. 

The fame which Hermon had won by great genius and ability had gratifiedhim more than he expressed, and he could not contradict Daphne when sheasserted that, in spite of the aimless life of pleasure to which bedevoted himself, he had remained the kind-hearted, noble man he hadalways been. 

In fact, he used, unasked and secretly, a considerable portion of hislarge revenues to relieve the distress of the poor and suffering. Archias learned this as the steward of his nephew's property, and when todo good he made new demands upon him, he gladly fulfilled them; only heconstantly admonished the blind man to think of his own severe sufferingsand his cure. Daphne did the same, and he willingly obeyed her advice;for, loudly and recklessly as he pursued pleasure in social circles, heshowed himself tenderly devoted to her when he found her alone in herfather's house. Then, as in better days, he opened his heart to hernaturally and modestly and, though he refrained from vows of love, heshowed her that he did not cease to seek with her, and her alone, whathis noisy pleasures denied. Then he also found the old tone ofaffection, and of late he came more frequently, and what he confided tono one else implied to her, at least by hints. 

Satiety and dissatisfaction were beginning to appear, and what he hadattempted to do for the cure of his eyes had hitherto been futile. Theremedies of the oculists to whom he had been directed by Daphne herselfhad proved ineffectual. The great physician Erasistratus, from whom hefirst sought help, had refrained, at her entreaty and her father's, fromrefusing to aid him, but indignantly sent him away when he persisted inthe declaration that it would be impossible for him to remain for monthssecluded from all society and subsist for weeks on scanty fare. 

He would submit even to that, he assured Daphne, after she represented tohim what he was losing by such lack of resignation, when the time of resthad come for which he longed, but from which many things still withheldhim. Yesterday the King had invited him to the palace for the firsttime, and to decline such an honour was impossible. 

In fact, he had long wished for this summons, because he had beeninformed that no representative of the sovereign had been present athis reception. Only his wife Arsinoe had honoured him by a wreath andcongratulations. This lack of interest on the part of the King hadwounded him, and the absence of an invitation from the royal connoisseurhad cast a shadow into the midst of many a mirthful hour. He haddoubtless been aware what great and important affairs of state wereclaiming the conscientious sovereign just at this time, and how almostunbearable his restless, unloving spouse was rendering his domestic life;yet Hermon thought Ptolemy might have spared a short time for an event inthe art life of the city, as his Demeter had been called hundreds oftimes. 

Now the long-desired command to appear before the sovereign had finallyreached him, and, in the secure belief that it would bring freshrecognition and rare honours, he entered the royal palace. 

Proclus, who neglected no opportunity of serving the nephew of the richman whose aid he constantly required for the Queen's finances, was hisguide, and described the decoration of the inner apartments of the royalresidence. Their unostentatious simplicity showed the refined taste oftheir royal occupant. There was no lack of marble and other rare kindsof stone, and the numerous bas-reliefs which covered the walls like themost superb tapestry were worthy of special attention. In the oblongapartment through which the blind man was guided these marble picturesrepresented in magnificent work scenes from the campaigns in whichPtolemy, the King's father, had participated as Alexander's general. Others showed Athene, Apollo, the Muses, and Hermes, surrounding orhastening toward the throne of the same monarch, and others again Greekpoets and philosophers. Magnificent coloured mosaic pictures covered thefloor and many flat spaces above door and windows, but gold and silverhad been sparingly used. 

Masterpieces of painting and sculpture were the ornaments of the room. In the antechamber, where Hermon waited for the King, Proclus mentionedone of the finest statues of Alexander by Lysippus, and an exquisite Erosby Praxiteles. 

The period of waiting, however, became so long to the spoiled artist thathe anticipated the monarch's appearance with painful discomfort, and theresult of the few minutes which Ptolemy II devoted to his reception wasfar behind the hopes he had fixed upon them. 

In former days he had often seen the narrow-shouldered man of barelymedium height who, to secure his own safety, had had two brothers killedand sent another into exile, but now ruled Egypt shrewdly and prudently, and developed the prosperity of Alexandria with equal energy andforesight. 

Now, for the first time, Hermon heard him speak. He could not deny thathis voice was unusually pleasant in tone, yet it unmistakably issued fromthe lips of a sufferer. 

The brief questions with which he received the blind artist were kindly, and as natural as though addressing an equal, and every remark made inconnection with Hermon's answers revealed a very quick and keenintellect. 

He had seen the Demeter, and praised the conception of the goddessbecause it corresponded with her nature. The sanctity which, as it were, pervaded the figure of the divine woman pleased him, because it made thesupplicants in the temple feel that they were in the presence of a beingwho was elevated far above them in superhuman majesty. 

"True, " he added, "your Demeter is by no means a powerful helper in timeof need. She is a goddess such as Epicurus imagines the immortals. Without interfering with human destiny, she stands above it in sublimegrandeur and typical dignity. You belong, if I see correctly, to theEpicureans?"

"No, " replied Hermon. "Like my lord and King, I, too, number myselfamong the pupils of the wise Straton. "

"Indeed?" asked Ptolemy in a drawling tone, at the same time casting aglance of astonishment at the blind man's powerful figure and well-formed, intellectual face. Then he went on eagerly: "I shall scarcely bewrong in the inference that you, the creator of the Fig-eater, hadexperienced a far-reaching mental change before your unfortunate loss ofsight?"

"I had to struggle hard, " replied Hermon, "but I probably owe the successof the Demeter to the circumstance that I found a model whose mind andnature correspond with those of the goddess to a rare degree. "

The monarch shook his fair head, and protested in a tone of positivesuperior knowledge: "As to the model, however well selected it may be, it was not well chosen for this work, far less for you. I have watchedyour battle against beauty in behalf of truth, and rejoiced, though Ioften saw you and your little band of young disciples shoot beyond themark. You brought something new, whose foundation seemed to me sound, and on which further additions might be erected. When the excrescencesfell off, I thought, this Hermon, his shadow Soteles, and the others whofollow him will perhaps open new paths to the declining art which isconstantly going back to former days. Our time will become the point ofdeparture of a new art. But for that very reason, let me confess it, Iregret to see you fall back from your bold advance. You now claim foryour work that it cleaves strictly to Nature, because the model is takenfrom life itself. It does not become me to doubt this, yet the stamp ofdivinity which your Demeter bears is found in no mortal woman. Understand me correctly! This is certainly no departure from the truth, for the ideal often deserves this lofty name better than anything thevisible world offers to the eye; but hitherto you have done honour toanother truth. If I comprehend your art aright, its essence is opposedto the addition of superhuman dignity and beauty, with which you, or themodel you used, strove to ennoble and deify your Demeter. Admirably asyou succeeded in doing so, it forces your work out of the sphere ofreality, whose boundary I never before saw you cross by a single inch. Whether this occurred unconsciously to you in an hour of mental ecstasy, or whether you felt that you still lacked the means to represent thedivine, and therefore returned to the older methods, I do not ventureto decide. But at the first examination of your work I was consciousof one thing: It means for you a revolution, a rupture with your formeraspirations; and as--I willingly confess it--you had been marvellouslysuccessful, it would have driven you, had your sight been spared, out ofyour own course and into the arms of the ancients, perhaps to yourmaterial profit, but scarcely to the advantage of art, which needs arenewal of its vital energies. "

"Let me assure you, my lord, " Hermon protested, "that had I remained ableto continue to create, the success of the Demeter would never, never haverendered me faithless to the conviction and method of creation which Ibelieved right; nay, before losing my sight, my whole soul was absorbedin a new work which would have permitted me to remain wholly andcompletely within the bounds of reality. "

"The Arachne?" asked the King. 

"Yes, my lord, " cried Hermon ardently. "With its completion I expectedto render the greatest service, not only to myself, but to the cause oftruth. "

Here Ptolemy interrupted with icy coldness: "Yet you were certainlywrong; at least, if the Thracian Althea, who is the personification offalsehood, had continued to be the model. " Then he changed his tone, andwith the exclamation: "You are protected from the needs of life, unlessyour rich uncle throws his property into the most insatiable of gulfs. May Straton's philosophy help you better to sustain your courage in thedarkness which surrounds you than it has aided me to bear other trials!"he left the room. 

Thus ended the artist's conversation with the King, from which Hermon hadexpected such great results and, deeply agitated, he ordered the driverof his horses to take him to Daphne. She was the only person to whom hecould confide what disappointment this interview had caused him. 

Others had previously reproached him, as the King had just done, withhaving, in the Demeter, become faithless to his artistic past. How falseand foolish this was! Many a remark from the critics would have beenbetter suited to Myrtilus's work than to his. Yet his fear in Tennis hadnot been true. Only Daphne's sweet face did not suit his more vigorousmethod of emphasizing distinctions. 

What a many-hued chameleon was the verdict upon works of plastic art!Once--on his return to the capital--thousands had united in the same one, and now how widely they differed again!

His earlier works, which were now lauded to the skies, had formerlyinvited censure and vehement attacks. 

What would he not have given for the possibility of seeing his admiredwork once more!

As his way led past the Temple of Demeter, he stopped near it and wasguided to the sanctuary. 

It was filled with worshippers, and when, in his resolute manner, he toldthe curator and the officiating priest that he wished to enter the cella, and asked for a ladder to feel the goddess, he was most positivelyrefused. 

What he requested seemed a profanation of the sacred image, and it wouldnot do to disturb the devout throng. His desire to lower the pedestalcould not be gratified. 

The high priest who came forward upheld his subordinates and, after ashort dispute, Hermon left the sanctuary with his wish unfulfilled. 

Never had he so keenly lamented his lost vision as during the remainderof the drive, and when Daphne received him he described with passionatelamentation how terribly blindness embittered his life, and declaredhimself ready to submit to the severest suffering to regain his sight. 

She earnestly entreated him to apply to the great physician Erasistratusagain, and Hermon willingly consented. He had promised to attend abanquet given that day by the wealthy ship-owner Archon. The feastlasted until early morning, but toward noon Hermon again appeared in hisuncle's house, and met Daphne full of joyous confidence, as if he werecompletely transformed. 

While at Archon's table he had determined to place his cure in the handsof higher powers. This was the will of Fate; for the guest whose cushionhe shared was Silanus, the host's son, and the first thing he learnedfrom him was the news that he was going the next day, with severalfriends, to the oracle of Amon in the Libyan Desert, to ask it whatshould be done for his mother, who had been for several years an invalidwhom no physician could help. He had heard from many quarters that thecounsel of the god, who had greeted Alexander the Great as his son, wasinfallible. 

Then Hermon had been most urgently pressed by the young man to accompanyhim. Every comfort would be provided. One of his father's fine shipswould convey them to Paraetonium, where tents, saddle horses, and guidesfor the short land journey would be ready. 

So he had promised to go with Silanus, and his decision was warmlyapproved by his uncle, Daphne, and the gray-haired Pelusinian couple. Perhaps the god would show the blind man the right path to recovery. Hewould always be able to call the skill of the Alexandrian leeches to hisaid. 

Soon after Hermon went on board Archon's splendidly equipped vessel and, instead of a tiresome journey, began a new and riotous period offestivity. 

Lavish provision had been made for gay companions of both sexes, merryentertainment by means of dancing, music, and song, well filled dishesand mixing vessels, and life during the ride through the coast and desertregions was not less jovial and luxurious than on the ship. 

It seemed to the blind man like one vast banquet in the dark, interruptedonly by sleep. 

The hope of counsel from the gods cheered the depressed mood which hadweighed upon him for several weeks, and rich young Silanus praised thelucky fate which had enabled him to find a travelling companion whoseintellect and wit charmed him and the others, and often detained themover the wine until late into the night. 

Here, too, Hermon felt himself the most distinguished person, theanimating and attracting power, until it was said that the voyage wasover, and the company pitched their tents in the famous oasis near theTemple of Amon. 

The musicians and dancers, with due regard to propriety, had been leftbehind in the seaport of Paraetonium. Yet the young travellers weresufficiently gay while Silanus and Hermon waited for admission to theplace of the oracle. A week after their arrival it was opened to them, yet the words repeated to them by the priest satisfied neither Hermon norArchon's son, for the oracle advised the latter to bring his motherherself to the oasis by the land road if she earnestly desired recovery, while to Hermon was shouted the ambiguous saying:

 "Only night and darkness spring from the rank marsh of pleasure; Morning and day rise brightly from the starving sand. "

Could Silanus's mother, who was unable to move, endure the desertjourney? And what was the meaning of the sand, from which morning andday--which was probably the fresh enjoyment of the light--were to risefor Hermon? The sentence of the oracle weighed heavily upon him, as wellas on Archon's son, who loved his mother, and the homeward journey becameto the blind man by no means a cheerful but rather a very troubled dream. 

Thoughtful, very disturbed, dissatisfied with himself, and resolved toturn his back upon the dreary life of pleasure which for so long a timehad allowed him no rest, and now disgusted him, he kept aloof from histravelling companions, and rejoiced when, at Alexandria, he was ledashore in the harbour of Eunostus. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Hermon entered his house with drooping head. 

Here he was informed that the grammateus of the Dionysian artists hadalready called twice to speak to him concerning an important matter. When he came from the bath, Proclus visited him again. His errand was toinvite him to a banquet which was to take place that evening at hisresidence in a wing of the royal palace. 

But Hermon was not in the mood to share a joyous revel, and he franklysaid so, although immediately after his return he had accepted theinvitation to the festival which the whole fellowship of artists wouldgive the following day in honour of the seventieth birthday of the oldsculptor Euphranor. The grammateus alluded to this, and most positivelyinsisted that he could not release him; for he came not only by his ownwish, but in obedience to the command of Queen Arsinoe, who desired totell the creator of the Demeter how highly she esteemed his work and hisart. She would appear herself at dessert, and the banquet must thereforebegin at an unusually early hour. He, Proclus, was to have the highhonour of including the royal lady among his guests solely on Hermon'saccount, and his refusal would be an insult to the Queen. 

So the artist found himself obliged to relinquish his opposition. He didthis reluctantly; but the Queen's attention to him and his art flatteredhis vanity and, if he was to abandon the intoxicating and barren life ofpleasure, it could scarcely be done more worthily than at a festivalwhere the King's consort intended to distinguish him in person. 

The banquet was to begin in a few hours, yet he could not let the daypass without seeing Daphne and telling her the words of the oracle. Helonged, with ardent yearning, for the sound of her voice, and still moreto unburden his sorely troubled soul to her. 

Oh, if only his Myrtilus still walked among the living! How totallydifferent, in spite of his lost vision, would his life have been!

Daphne was now the only one whom he could put in his place. 

Since his return from the oracle, the fear that the rescued Demeter mightyet be the work of Myrtilus had again mastered him. However loudlyoutward circumstances might oppose this, he now felt, with a certaintywhich surprised him, that this work was not his own. The approval, aswell as the doubts, which it aroused in others strengthened his opinion, although even now he could not succeed in bringing it into harmony withthe facts. How deep had been the intoxication in which he had so longreeled from one day to the next, since it had succeeded in keeping everydoubt of the authorship of this work far from him!

Now he must obtain certainty, and Daphne could help him to it; for, as apriestess of Demeter, she possessed the right to procure him access tothe cella and get permission for him to climb the lofty pedestal and feelthe statue with his fingers, whose sense of touch had become much keener. 

He would frankly inform her of his fear, and her truthful nature wouldfind the doubt that gnawed his heart as unendurable as he himself. 

It would have been a grave crime to woo her before he was relieved ofthis uncertainty, and he would utter the decisive words that very day, and ask her whether her love was great enough to share the joys andsorrows of life with him, the blind man, who perhaps must also divesthimself of a false fame. 

Time pressed. 

He called at Archias's house with a wreath on his head and in festalrobes; but Daphne was in the temple, whither old Philippus and Thyone hadgone, and his uncle was attending a late session of the Council. 

He would have liked to follow Daphne to the sanctuary, but the late hourforbade it, and he therefore only charged Gras to tell his young mistressthat he was going to Proclus's banquet, and would return early the nextmorning to discuss a most important subject with her. 

Then he went directly to the neighbouring palace. The Queen might haveappeared already, and it would not do to keep her waiting. 

He was aware that she lived at variance with her husband, but how couldhe have suspected that she cherished the more than bold design of hurlingthe sovereign from his throne and seizing the Egyptian crown herself. 

Proclus and Althea were among the conspirators who supported Arsinoe, andthe Queen thought it would be an easy matter to win over to her cause andherself the handsome sculptor, whom she remembered at the last Dionysia. 

The wealthy blind artist, so highly esteemed among the members of hisprofession, might become valuable to the conspiracy, for she knew whatenthusiastic devotion the Alexandrian artists felt for the King, andeverything depended upon forming a party in her own favour among them. This task was to fall to Hermon, and also another, still more importantone; for he, his nephew and future son-in-law, if any one, could persuadethe wealthy Archias to lend the plot his valuable aid. Hitherto themerchant had been induced, it is true, to advance large sums of money tothe Queen, but the loyal devotion which he showed to her royal husbandhad rendered it impossible to give him even a hint of the conspiracy. Althea, however, declared that the blind man's marriage to Daphne wasonly a question of time, and Proclus added that the easily excited nephewwould show himself more pliant than the uncle if Arsinoe exerted upon himthe irresistible charm of her personality. 

When Hermon entered the residence of the grammateus in the palace, theguests had already assembled. The Queen was not to appear until afterthe feast, when the mixing jars were filled. The place by Hermon's side, which Althea had chosen for herself, would then be given up to Arsinoe. 

The sovereign was as unaccustomed to the society of a blind artist asHermon was to that of a queen, and both eagerly anticipated theapproaching meeting. 

Yet it was difficult for Hermon to turn a bright face toward hiscompanion. The sources of anxiety and grief which had previouslyburdened his mind would not vanish, even under the roof of the royalpalace. 

Althea's presence reminded him of Tennis, Ledscha, and Nemesis, who forso long a time seemed to have suspended her persecution, but since he hadreturned from the abode of the oracle was again asserting the old rightto him. During many a sleepless hour of the night he had once more heardthe rolling of her terrible wheel. 

Even before the journey to the oasis of Amon, everything life could offerhim, the idle rake, in his perpetual darkness, had seemed shallow andscarcely worth stretching out his hand for it. 

True, an interesting conversation still had power to charm him, but oftenduring its continuance the full consciousness of his misfortune forceditself upon his mind; for the majority of the subjects discussed by theartists came to them through the medium of sight, and referred to newcreations of architecture, sculpture, and painting, from whose enjoymenthis blindness debarred him. 

When returning home from a banquet, if his way lay through the city, hewas reminded of the superb buildings, marble terraces and fountains, statues and porticoes, which had formerly satiated his eyes with delight, and must now be illumined with a brilliant radiance by the morningsunbeams, though a hostile fate shut them out from his eyes, starving andthirsting for beautiful forms. 

But it had seemed to him still harder to bear that his blinded eyesrefused to show him the most beautiful of all beautiful things, the humanform, when he lingered among the Ephebi or the spectators of a festalprocession, or visited the gymnasium, the theatre, the Aphrodisium, orthe Paneum gardens, where the beautiful women met at sunset. 

The Queen was to appear immediately, and when she took her place near himhis blindness would again deprive him of the sight of her delicately cutfeatures, prevent his returning the glances from her sparkling eves, andadmiring the noble outlines of her thinly veiled figure. 

Would his troubled spirit at least permit him to enjoy and enter withoutrestraint into the play of her quick wit?

Perhaps her arrival would relieve him from the discomfort which oppressedhim here. 

A stranger, out of his own sphere, he felt chilled among these closelyunited men and women, to whom no tie bound him save the presence of thesame host. 

He was not acquainted with a single individual except the mythographCrates, who for several months had been one of the members of the Museum, and who had attached himself to Hermon at Straton's lectures. 

The artist was surprised to find this man in such a circle, but helearned from Althea that the young member of the Museum was a relative ofProclus, and a suitor of the beautiful Nico, one of the Queen's ladies inwaiting, who was among the guests. 

Crates had really been invited in order to win him over to the Queen'scause; but charming fair-haired Nico had been commissioned by theconspirators to persuade him to sing Arsinoe's praises among hisprofessional associates. 

The rest of the men present stood in close connection with Arsinoe, andwere fellow-conspirators against her husband's throne and life. Theladies whom Proclus had invited were all confidants of Arsinoe, the wivesand daughters of his other guests. All were members of the highest classof society, and their manners showed the entire freedom from restraintthat existed in the Queen's immediate circle. Althea profited by theadvantage of being Hermon's only acquaintance here. So, when he took hisplace on the cushion at her side, she greeted him familiarly andcordially, as she had treated him for a long time, wherever they met, and in a low voice told him, sometimes in a kindly tone, sometimes withbiting sarcasm, the names and characters of the other guests. 

The most aristocratic was Amyntas, who stood highest of all in theQueen's favour because he had good reason to hate the other Arsinoe, thesister of the King. His son had been this royal dame's first husband, and she had deserted him to marry Lysimachus, the aged King of Thrace. 

The Rhodian Chrysippus, her leech and trusted counsellor, also possessedgreat influence over the Queen. 

"The noble lady, " whispered Althea, "needs the faithful devotion of everywell-disposed subject, for perhaps you have already learned how cruellythe King embitters the life of the mother of his three children. Many acaprice can be forgiven the suffering Ptolemy, who recently expressed awish that he could change places with the common workmen whom he saweating their meal with a good appetite, and who is now tortured by thegout; yet he watches the hapless woman with the jealousy of a tiger, though he himself is openly faithless to her. What is the Queen to him, since the widow of Lysimachus returned from Thrace--no, from Cassandrea, Ephesus, and sacred Samothrace, or whatever other places there are whichwould no longer tolerate the murderess?"

"The King's sister--the object of his love?" cried Hermon incredulously. "She must be forty years old now. "

"Very true, " Althea assented. "But we are in Egypt, where marriagesbetween brothers and sisters are pleasing to gods and men; and besides, we make our own moral laws here. Her age! We women are only as old aswe look, and the leeches and tiring women of this beauty of fortypractise arts which give her the appearance of twenty-five, yet perhapsthe King values her intellect more than her person, and the wisdom of ahundred serpents is certainly united in this woman's head. She will makeour poor Queen suffer unless real friends guard her from the worst. Thethree most trustworthy ones are here: Amyntas, the leech Chrysippus, andthe admirable Proclus. Let us hope that you will make this three-leavedclover the luck-promising four-leaved one. Your uncle, too, has oftenwith praiseworthy generosity helped Arsinoe in many an embarrassment. Only make the acquaintance of this beautiful royal lady, and the lastdrop of your blood will not seem too precious to shed for her! Besides--Proclus told me so in confidence--you have little favour to expect fromthe King. How long he kept you waiting for the first word concerning awork which justly transported the whole city with delight! When he didfinally summon you, he said things which must have wounded you. "

"That is going too far, " replied Hermon. 

"Then he kept back his real opinion, " Althea protested. "Had I not madeit a rule to maintain absolute silence concerning everything I hear inconversation from those with whom I am closely associated--"

Here she was interrupted by Chrysippus, who asked if Althea had told herneighbour about his Rhodian eye-salve. 

He winked at her and made a significant gesture as he spoke, and theninformed the blind artist how graciously Arsinoe had remembered him whenshe heard of the remedy by whose aid many a wonderful cure of blind eyeshad been made in Rhodes. The royal lady had inquired about him and hissufferings with almost sisterly interest, and Althea eagerly confirmedthe statement. 

Hermon listened to the pair in silence. 

He had not been able to see them, it is true, yet he had perceived theirdesign as if the loss of sight had sharpened his mental vision. Heimagined that he could see the favourite and Althea nudge each other withsneering gestures, and believed that their sole purpose was to renderhim--he knew not for what object--the obedient tool of the Queen, who hadprobably also succeeded in persuading his usually cautious uncle torender her great services. 

The remembrance of Arsinoe's undignified conduct at the Dionysia, and theshameful stories of her which he had heard returned to his mind. At thesame time he saw Daphne rise before him in her aristocratic dignity andkindly goodness, and a smile of satisfaction hovered around his lips ashe said to himself: "The spider Althea again! But, in spite of myblindness, I will be caught neither in her net nor in the Queen's. Theyare the last to bar the way which leads to Daphne and real happiness. "

The Rhodian was just beginning to praise Arsinoe also as a special friendand connoisseur of the sculptor's art when Crates, Hermon's fellow-student, asked the blind artist, in behalf of his beautiful companion, why his Demeter was placed upon a pedestal which, to others as well ashimself, seemed too high for the size of the statue. 

Hermon replied that he had heard several make this criticism, but thepriests of the goddess refused to take it into account. 

Here he hesitated, for, like a blow from an invisible hand, the thoughtdarted through his mind that perhaps, on the morrow, he would see himselfcompelled before the whole world to cast aside the crown of fame which heowed to the statue on the lofty pedestal. He did not have even theremotest idea of continuing to deck himself with false renown if hisdread was realized; yet he doubtless imagined how this whole aristocraticcircle, with the Queen, Althea, and Proclus at its head, would turn withreckless haste from the hapless man who had led them into such a shamefulerror. 

Yet what mattered it, even if these miserable people consideredthemselves deceived and pointed the finger of scorn at him? Betterpeople would thereby be robbed of the right to accuse him offaithlessness to himself. This thought darted through his heated brainlike a flash of lightning, and when, in spite of his silence, theconversation was continued and Althea told the others that only Hermon'sblindness had prevented the creation of a work which could have beenconfidently expected far to surpass the Demeter, since it seemed to havebeen exactly suited to his special talent, he answered his beautifulcompanion's remark curtly and absently. 

She perceived this with annoyance and perplexity. 

A woman who yearns for the regard of all men, and makes love a toy, easily lessens the demands she imposes upon individuals. Only, eventhough love has wholly disappeared, she still claims consideration, andAlthea did not wish to lose Hermon's regard. 

When Amyntas, the head of the conspirators, attracted the attention ofthe company by malicious remarks about the King's sister, the Thracianlaid her hand on the blind artist's arm, whispering: "Has the image ofthe Arachne which, at Tennis, charmed you even in the presence of theangry Zeus, completely vanished from your memory? How indifferent youlook! But I tell you"--her deep blue eyes flashed as she spoke--"that solong as you were still a genuine creating artist the case was different. Even while putting the last touches of the file to the Demeter, for whichArchias's devout daughter posed as your model, another whom you could notbanish from your mind filled your imagination. Though so loud a denialis written on your face, I persist in my conviction, and that no idledelusion ensnares me I can prove!"

Hermon raised his sightless eyes to her inquiringly, but she went on witheager positiveness: "Or, if you did not think of the weaver while carvingthe goddess, how did you happen to engrave a spider on the ribbon twinedaround the ears of grain in Demeter's hand? Not the smallest detail of awork produced by the hand of a valued friend escapes my notice, and Iperceived it before the Demeter came to the temple and the loftypedestal. Now I would scarcely be able to discover it in the duskycella, yet at that time I took pleasure in the sight of the ugly insect, not only because it is cleverly done, but because it reminded me ofsomething"--here she lowered her voice still more--"that pleased me, though probably it would seem less flattering to the daughter of Archias, who perhaps is better suited to act as guide to the blind. Howbewildered you look! Eternal gods! Many things are forgotten afterlong months have passed, but it will be easy for me to sharpen yourmemory. 'At the time Hermon had just finished the Demeter, ' the spidercalled to me, 'he scratched me on the gold. ' But at that very time--yes, my handsome friend, I can reckon accurately--you had met me, Althea, inTennis, I had brought the spider-woman before your eyes. Was it reallynothing but foolish vanity that led me to the conviction that you werethinking of me also when you engraved on the ribbon the despised spider-for which, however, I always felt a certain regard--with the delicate webbeneath its slender legs?"

Hitherto Hermon had listened to every word in silence, labouring forbreath. He was transported as if by magic to the hour of his return fromPelusium; he saw himself enter Myrtilus's studio and watch his friendscratch something, he did not know what, upon the ribbon which fastenedthe bunch of golden grain. It was--nay, it could have been nothing else--that very spider. The honoured work was not his, but his deadfriend's. How the exchange had occurred he could not now understand, butto disbelieve that it had taken place would have been madness or self-deception. 

Now he also understood the doubts of Soteles and the King. Not he--Myrtilus, and he alone, was the creator of the much-lauded Demeter!

This conviction raised a hundred-pound weight from his soul. 

What was applause! What was recognition! What were fame and laurelwreaths! He desired clearness and truth for himself and all the worldand, as if frantic, he suddenly sprang from his cushions, shouting to thestartled guests: "I myself and this whole great city were deceived! TheDemeter is not mine, not the work of Hermon! The dead Myrtilus createdit!"

Then pressing his hand to his brow, he called his student friend to hisside, and, as the scholar anxiously laid his arm on his shoulder, whispered: "Away, away from here! Only let me get out of doors into theopen air!"

Crates, bewildered and prepared for the worst, obeyed his wish; butAlthea and the other guests left behind felt more and more impressedby the suddenly awakened conviction that the hapless blind man had nowalso become the victim of madness. 

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Aimless life of pleasure