[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 8. 

Hermon, filled with longing, went down toward evening to the shore. 

The sun was setting, and the riot of colours in the western horizonseemed like a mockery of the torturing anxiety which had mastered hissoul. 

He did not notice the boat that was approaching the land; many travellerswho intended to go through Arabia Petrea landed here, and for severaldays--he knew why--there had been more stir in these quiet waters. 

Suddenly he was surprised by the ringing shout with which he had formerlyannounced his approach to Myrtilus. 

Unconsciously agitated by joy, as if the sunset glow before him hadsuddenly been transformed into the dawn of a happy day, he answered by aloud cry glad with hope. Although his dim eyes did not yet permit him todistinguish who was standing erect in the boat, waving greetings to him, he thought he knew whom this exquisite evening was bringing. 

Soon his own name reached him. It was his "wise Bias" who shouted, andsoon, with a throbbing heart, he held out both hands to him. 

The freedman had performed his commission in the best possible manner, and was now no longer bound to silence by oath. 

Ledscha had left him and Myrtilus to themselves and, as Bias thought hehad heard, had sailed with the Gaul Lutarius for Paraetonium, thefrontier city between the kingdom of Egypt and that of Cyrene. 

Myrtilus felt stronger than he had done for a long time, and had sent himback to the blind friend who would need him more than he did. 

But worthy Bias also brought messages from Archias and Daphne. They werewell, and his uncle now had scarcely any cause to fear pursuers. 

Before the landing of the boat, the shade had covered Hermon's eyes; butwhen, after the freedman's first timid question about his sight, heraised it again, at the same time reporting and showing what progress hehad already made toward recovery, the excess of joy overpowered thefreedman, and sometimes laughing, sometimes weeping, he kissed theconvalescent's hands and simple robe. It was some time before he calmedhimself again, then laying his forefinger on the side of his nose, hesaid: "Therein the immortals differ from human beings. We sculptors canonly create good work with good tools, but the immortals often use thevery poorest of all to accomplish the best things. You owe your sight tothe hate of this old witch and mother of pirates, so may she find peacein the grave. She is dead. I heard it from a fellow-countryman whom Imet in Herocipolis. Her end came soon after our visit. "

Then Bias related what he knew of Hermon's uncle, of Daphne, andMyrtilus. 

Two letters were to give him further particulars. 

They came from the woman he loved and from his friend, and as soon asBias had lighted the lamp in the tent, at the same time telling hismaster in advance many items of news they contained, he set about thedifficult task of reading. 

He had certainly scarcely become a master of this art on board the Hydra, yet his slow performance did all honour to the patience of his teacherMyrtilus. 

He began with Daphne's letter, but by the desire of prudent Archias itcommunicated few facts. But the protestations of love and expressions oflonging which filled it pierced the freedman's soul so deeply that hisvoice more than once failed while reading them. 

Myrtilus's letter, on the contrary, gave a minute description of his modeof life, and informed his friend what he expected for him and himself inthe future. The contents of both relieved Hermon's sorely troubledheart, made life with those who were dearest to him possible, andexplained many things which the reports of the slave had not renderedperfectly clear. 

Archias had gone with Daphne to the island of Lesbos, his mother's nativecity. The ships which conveyed travellers to Pergamus, where Myrtiluswas living, touched at this port, and Bias, to whom Hermon had confidedthe refuge of the father and daughter, had sought them there, and foundthem in a beautiful villa. 

After being released from his oath, Myrtilus had put himself intocommunication with his uncle, and just before Bias's departure themerchant had come to Pergamus with his daughter. As he had the mostcordial reception from the Regent Philetaerus, he seemed inclined tosettle permanently there. 

As for Myrtilus, he had cast anchor with Ledscha in the little Mysianseaport town of Pitane, near the mouth of the Caicus River, on which, farther inland, was the rapidly growing city of Pergamus. 

She had found a hospitable welcome in the family of a seafarer who wererelatives, while the Gaul continued his voyage to obtain informationabout his tribe in Syria. But he had already returned when Bias reachedPitane with the two talents intended for him. Myrtilus had availedhimself of Ledscha's permission long before and gone to Pergamus, wherehe had lived and worked in secrecy until, after the freedman's returnfrom Ledscha, who at once left Pitane with the Gaul, he was released fromhis oath. 

During the absence of Bias he had modelled a large relief, a triumphalprocession of Dionysus, and as the renown of his name had previouslyreached Pergamus, the artists and the most distinguished men in the cityflocked to his studio to admire the work of the famous Alexandrian. 

Soon Philetoerus, who had founded the Pergamenian kingdom seven yearsbefore, and governed it with great wisdom, came to Myrtilus. 

Like his nephew and heir Eumenes, he was a friend to art, and induced thelaurel-crowned Alexandrian to execute the relief, modelled in clay, inmarble for the Temple of Dionysus at Pergamus. 

The heir to the throne of Philetaerus, who was now advancing in years, was especially friendly to Myrtilus, and did everything in his power tobind him to Pergamus. 

He succeeded, for in the beautiful house, located in an extremelyhealthful site, which Eumenes had assigned for a residence and studio tothe Alexandrian artist, whose work he most ardently admired, and whom heregarded as the most welcome of guests, Myrtilus felt better physicallythan he had for years. Besides, he thought that, for many reasons, hisfriend would be less willing to settle in Alexandria, and that thepresence of his uncle and Daphne would attract him to Pergamus. 

Moreover, Hermon surely knew that if he came to him as a blind man hewould find a brother; if he came restored to sight, he would also find abrother, and likewise a fellow-artist with whom he could live and work. 

Myrtilus had told the heir to the throne of Pergamus of his richly giftedblind relative, and of the peculiarity of his art, and Eumenes eagerlyendeavoured to induce his beloved guest to persuade his friend to removeto his capital, where there was no lack of distinguished leeches. 

If Hermon remained blind, he would honour him; if he recovered his sight, he would give him large commissions. 

How deeply these letters moved the heart of the recovering man! Whatprospects they opened for his future life, for love, friendship, and, notleast, for his art!

If he could see--if he could only see again! This exclamation blendedwith everything he thought, felt, and uttered. Even in sleep it hauntedhim. To regain the clearness of vision he needed for his work, he wouldwillingly have submitted to the severest tortures. 

In Alexandria alone lived the great leeches who could complete the workwhich the salve of an ignorant old woman had begun. Thither he must go, though it cost him liberty and life. The most famous surgeon of theMuseum at the capital had refused his aid under other circumstances. Perhaps he would relent if Philippus, a friend of Erasistratus, smoothedthe way for him, and the old hero was now living very near. The ships, whose number on the sea at his feet was constantly increasing, wereattracted hither by the presence of the Egyptian King and Queen on theisthmus which connects Asia and Africa. The priest of Apollo at Clysma, and other distinguished Greeks whom he met there, had told him the daybefore yesterday, and on two former visits to the place, what was goingon in the world, and informed him how great an honour awaited the easternfrontier in these days. The appearance of their Majesties in person mustnot only mean the founding of a city, the reception of a victorious navalcommander, and the consecration of a restored temple, but also have stilldeeper causes. 

During the last few years severe physical suffering had brought theunfortunate second king of the house of Ptolemy to this place to seekthe aid of the ancient Egyptian gods, and, besides the philosophy, busyhimself with the mystic teachings and magic arts of their priesthood. 

Only a short period of life seemed allotted to the invalid ruler, and theservice of the time-honoured god of the dead, to whom he had erected oneof the most magnificent temples in the world at Alexandria, to whichEgyptians and Hellenes repaired with equal devotion, opened hopes for thelife after death which seemed to him worthy of examination. 

For this reason also he desired to secure the favour of the Egyptianpriesthood. 

For this purpose, for the execution of his wise and beneficentarrangements, as well as for the gratification of his expensive tastes, large sums of money were required; therefore he devoted himself withespecial zeal to enlarging the resources of his country, already so richby nature. 

In all these things he had found an admirable assistant in his sisterArsinoe. As the daughter of the father and mother to whom he himselfowed existence, he could claim for her unassailable legitimacy the samerecognition from the priesthood, and the same submission from the peoplerendered to his own person, whom the religion of the country commandedthem to revere as the representative of the sun god. 

As marriages between brothers and sisters had been customary from ancienttimes, and were sanctioned by religion and myth, he had married thesecond Arsinoe, his sister, immediately after the banishment of the firstQueen of this name. 

After the union with her, he called himself Philadelphus--brotherly love--and honoured his sister and wife with the same name. 

True, this led the sarcastic Alexandrians to utter many a biting, more orless witty jest, but he never had cause to regret his choice; in spite ofher forty years, and more than one bloody deed which before her marriageto him she had committed as Queen of Thrace and as a widow, the secondArsinoe was always a pattern of regally aristocratic, dignified bearingand haughty womanly beauty. 

Though the first Philadelphus could expect no descendants from her, hehad provided for securing them through her, for he had induced her toadopt the first Arsinoe's three children, who had been taken from theirexiled mother. 

Arsinoe was now accompanying her royal husband Philadelphus to theeastern frontier. There the latter expected to name the city to be newlyfounded "Arsinoe" for her, and-to show his esteem for the priesthood--toconsecrate in person the new Temple of Tum in the city of Pithom, nearHeroopolis. 

Lastly, the monarch had been endeavouring to form new connections withthe coast countries of eastern Africa, and open them to Egyptiancommerce. 

Admiral Eumedes, the oldest son of Philippus and Thyone, had succeeded indoing this most admirably, for the distinguished commander had not onlyfounded on the Ethiopian shore of the Red Sea a city which he named forthe King "Ptolemais, " but also won over the princes and tribes of thatregion to Egypt. 

He was now returning from Ethiopia with a wealth of treasures. 

After the brilliant festivals the invalid King, with his new wife, was togive himself up to complete rest for a month in the healthful air of thedesert region which surrounded Pithom, far from the tumult of the capitaland the exhausting duties of government. 

The magnificent shows which were to be expected, and the presence of theroyal pair, had attracted thousands of spectators on foot or horseback, and by water, and the morning after Bias's return the sea near Clysma wasswarming with vessels of all kinds and sizes. 

It was more than probable that Philippus, the father, and Thyone, themother of the famous returning Admiral Eumedes, would not fail to bepresent at his reception on his native soil, and therefore Hermon wishedto seek out his dear old friends in Heroopolis, where the greeting was totake place, and obtain their advice. 

The boat on which the freedman had come was at the disposal of his masterand himself. Before Hermon entered it, he took leave, with an agitatedheart and open hand, of his Amalekite friends and, in spite of the mistwhich still obscured everything he beheld, he perceived how reluctantlythe simple dwellers in the wilderness saw him depart. 

When the master and servant entered the boat, in spite of the sturdysailors who manned it, it proved even more difficult than they had fearedto make any progress; for the whole narrow end of the arm of the sea, which here extended between Egypt and Arabia Petrea, was covered with wargalleys and transports, boats and skiffs. The two most magnificent stategalleys from Heroopolis were coming here, bearing the ambassadors who, inthe King's name, were to receive the fleet and its commander. Otherlarge and small, richly equipped, or unpretending ships and boats werefilled with curious spectators. 

What a gay, animated scene! What brilliant, varied, strange, hithertounseen objects were gathered here: vessels of every form and size, sailswhite, brown, and black, and on the state galleys and boats purple, blue, and every colour, adorned with more or less costly embroidery! Whatrising and falling of swiftly or slowly moving oars!

"From Alexandria!" cried Bias, pointing to a state galley which the Kingwas sending to the commander of the southern fleet. 

"And there, " remarked Hermon, proud of his regained power ofdistinguishing one thing from another, and letting his eyes rest on oneof the returning transports, on whose deck stood six huge Africanelephants, whose trumpeting mingled with the roaring of the lions andtigers on the huge freight vessels, and the exulting shouts of the menand women in the ships and boats. 

"After the King's heart!" exclaimed Bias. "He probably never received atone time before so large an accession to his collection of rare animals. What is the transport with the huge lotus flower on the prow probablybringing?"

"Oh, and the monkeys and parrots over yonder!" joyously exclaimed theAmalekite boy who had been Hermon's guide, and had accompanied him intothe boat. Then he suddenly lowered his voice and, fearing that hisdelight might give pain to the less keen-sighted man whom he loved, heasked, "You can see them, my lord, can't you?"

"Certainly, my boy, though less plainly than you do, " replied Hermon, stroking the lad's dark hair. 

Meanwhile the admiral's ship had approached the shore. 

Bias pointed to the poop, where the commander Eumedes was standingdirecting the course of the fleet. 

As if moulded in bronze, a man thoroughly equal to his office, he seemed, in spite of the shouts, greetings, and acclamations thundering aroundhim, to close his eyes and ears to the vessels thronging about his shipand devote himself body and soul to the fulfilment of his duty. He hadjust embraced his father and mother, who had come here to meet him. 

"The King undoubtedly sent by his father the laurel wreath on hishelmet, " observed Bias, pointing to the admiral. "So many honours whilehe is still so young! When you went to the wrestling school inAlexandria, Eumedes was scarcely eight years older than you, and Iremember how he preferred you to the others. A sign, and he will noticeus and allow you to go on his ship, or, at any rate, send us a boat inwhich we can enter the canal. "

"No, no, " replied Hermon. "My call would disturb him now. "

"Then let us make ourselves known to the Lady Thyone or her husband, " thefreedman continued. "They will certainly take us on their large stategalley, from which, though your eyes do not yet see as far as a falcon's, not a ship, not a man, not a movement will escape them. "

But Hermon added one more surprise to the many which he had alreadygiven, for he kindly declined Bias's well-meant counsel, and, resting hishand on the Amalekite boy's shoulder, said modestly: "I am no longer theHermon whom Eumedes preferred to the others. And the Lady Thyone mustnot be reminded of anything sad in this festal hour for the mother'sheart. I shall meet her to-morrow, or the day after, and yet I hadintended to let no one who is loyal to me look into my healing eyesbefore Daphne. "

Then he felt the freedman's hand secretly press his, and it comfortedhim, after the sorrowful thoughts to which he had yielded, amid theshouts of joy ringing around him. How quietly, with what calm dignity, Eumedes received the well-merited homage, and how disgracefully the falsefame had bewildered his own senses!

Yet he had not passed through the purifying fire of misfortune in vain!The past should not cloud the glad anticipation of brighter days!

Drawing a long breath, he straightened himself into a more erect posture, and ordered the men to push the boat from the shore. Then he pressed afarewell kiss on the Amalekite boy's forehead, the lad sprang ashore, andthe journey northward began. 

At first the sailors feared that the crowd would be too great, and theboat would be refused admission to the canal; but the helmsman succeededin keeping close behind a vessel of medium size, and the Macedonianguards of the channel put no obstacle in their countryman's way, whileboats occupied by Egyptians and other barbarians were kept back. 

In the Bitter Lakes, whose entire length was to be traversed, the shipshad more room, and after a long voyage through dazzling sunlight, andalong desolate shores, the boat anchored at nightfall at Heroopolis. 

Hermon and Bias obtained shelter on one of the ships which the sovereignhad placed at the disposal of the Greeks who came to participate in thefestivals to be celebrated. 

Before his master went to rest, the freedman--whom he had sent out tolook for a vessel bound to Pelusium and Alexandria the next day or thefollowing one--returned to the ship. 

He had talked with the Lady Thyone, and told Hermon from her that shewould visit or send for him the next day, after the festival. 

His own mother, the freedman protested, could not have rejoiced morewarmly over the commencement of his recovery, and she would have comewith him at once had not Philippus prevented his aged wife, who wasexhausted by the long journey. 

The next morning the sun poured a wealth of radiant light upon thedesert, the green water of the harbour, and the gray and yellow walls ofthe border fortress. 

Three worlds held out their hands to one another on this water waysurrounded by the barren wilderness--Egypt, Hellas, and Semitic Asia. 

To the first belonged the processions of priests, who, with images of thegods, consecrated vessels, and caskets of relics, took their places atthe edge of the harbour. The tawny and black, half-naked soldiers who, with high shields, lances, battle-axes and bows, gathered aroundstrangely shaped standards, joined them, amid the beating of drums andblare of trumpets, as if for their protection. Behind them surged a vastmultitude of Egyptians and dark-skinned Africans. 

On the other side of the canal the Asiatics were moving to and fro. Thebest places for spectators had been assigned to the petty kings andprinces of tribes, Phoenician and Syrian merchants, and well-equipped, richly armed warriors. Among them thronged owners of herds and seafarersfrom the coast. Until the reception began, fresh parties of bearded sonsof the desert, in floating white bernouse, mounted on noble steeds, wereconstantly joining the other Asiatics. 

The centre was occupied by the Greeks. The appearance of everyindividual showed that they were rulers of the land, and that theydeserved to be. How free and bold was their bearing! how brightly andjoyously sparkled the eyes of these men, whose wreaths of green leavesand bright-hued flowers adorned locks anointed for the festivals! Strongand slender, they were conspicuous in their stately grace among the leanEgyptians, unbridled in their jests and jeers, and the excitableAsiatics. 

Now the blare of trumpets and the roll of drums shook the air likeechoing lightning and heavy peals of thunder; the Egyptian priests sang ahymn of praise to the God King and Goddess Queen, and the aristocraticpriestesses of the deity tinkled the brass rings on the sistrum. Then achorus of Hellenic singers began a polyphonous hymn, and amid its full, melodious notes, which rose above the enthusiastic shouts of "Hail!" fromthe multitude, King Ptolemy and his sister-wife showed themselves to thewaiting throng. Seated on golden thrones borne on the broad shoulders ofgigantic black Ethiopians, and shaded by lofty canopies, both were raisedabove the crowd, whom they saluted by gracious gestures. 

The athletic young bearers of the large round ostrich-feather fans whichprotected them from the sunbeams were followed in ranks by the monarch's"relatives" and "friends, " the dignitaries, the dark and fair-hairedbands of the guards of Grecian youths and boys, as well as divisions ofthe picked corps of the Hetairoi, Diadochi, and Epigoni, in beautifulplain Macedonian armour. 

They were followed in the most informal manner by scholars from theMuseum, many Hellenic artists, and wealthy gentlemen of Alexandria ofGreek and Jewish origin, whom the King had invited to the festival. 

In his train they went on board the huge galley on which the receptionwas to take place. Scarcely had the last one stepped on the deck when itbegan. 

Eumedes came from the admiral's galley to the King's. Ptolemy embracedhim like a friend, and Arsinoe added a wreath of fresh roses to thelaurel crown which the sovereign had sent the day before. 

At the same time thundering plaudits echoed from the walls of thefortifications and broke, sometimes rising, sometimes falling, againstthe ships and masts in the calm water of the harbour. 

The King had little time to lose. Even festal joy must move swiftly. There were many and varied things to be seen and done; but in the courseof an hour--so ran the order--this portion of the festivities must beover, and it was fully obeyed. 

The hands and feet of the woolly-headed blacks who, amid loudacclamations, carried on shore the cages in which lions, panthers, andleopards shook the bars with savage fury, moved as if they were winged. The slender, dark-brown Ethiopians who led giraffes, apes, gazelles, andgreyhounds past the royal pair rushed along as if they were under thelash; and the sixty elephants which Eumedes and his men had caught in theland of Chatyth moved at a rapid pace past the royal state galley. 

At the sight of them the King joined in the cheers of thousands of voiceson the shore; these giant animals were to him auxiliaries who could putto flight a whole corps of hostile cavalry, and Arsinoe-Philadelphus, theQueen, sympathized with his pleasure. 

She raised her voice with her royal husband, and it seemed to thespectators on the shore as if they had a share in the narrative when shelistened to Eumedes's first brief report. 

Only specimens of the gold and ivory, spices and rare woods, junipertrees and skins of animals which the ships brought home could be bornepast their Majesties, and the black and brown men who carried them movedat a breathless rate. 

The sun was still far from the meridian when the royal couple and theirtrain withdrew from the scene of the reception ceremonial, and drove, ina magnificent chariot drawn by four horses, to the neighbouring city ofPithoin, where new entertainments and a long period of rest awaited them. Hermon had seen, as if through a veil of white mists, the objects thataroused the enthusiasm of the throng, and so, he said to himself, it hadbeen during the whole course of his life. Only the surface of thephenomena on which he fixed his eyes had been visible to him; he had notlearned to penetrate further into their nature, fathom them to theirdepths, until he became blind. 

If the gods fulfilled his hope, if he regained his vision entirely, andeven the last mists had vanished, he would hold firmly to the capacity hehad gained, and use it in life as well as in art. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The messenger from Philippus appeared in the afternoon. It was the younghipparch who had studied in Athens and accompanied the commandant ofPelusium to Tennis the year before. He came charged with the commissionto convey the artist, in the carriage of the gray-haired comrade ofAlexander, to the neighbouring city of Pithom, where Philippus, by theKing's command, was now residing. 

On the way the hipparch told the sculptor that the Lady Thyone hadrecently done things unprecedented for a woman of her age. 

She had been present at the founding of the city of Arsinoe, as wellas at the laying of the corner stone of the temple which was to beconsecrated to the new god Serapis in the neighbourhood. The day beforeshe had welcomed her returning son before the entry of the fleet into thecanal, and to-day had remained from the beginning to the end of hisreception by the King, without being unduly wearied. 

Her first thought, after the close of the ceremony, had concerned herconvalescing young friend. New entertainments, in which the Queencommanded her to participate, awaited her in Pithom, but pleasure at thereturn of her famous son appeared to double her power of endurance. 

Pithom was the sacred name of the temple precincts of the desert city ofThekut--[The biblical Suchot]--near Heroopolis, where the citizens livedand pursued their business. 

The travellers reached the place very speedily. Garlands of flowers andhangings adorned the houses. The sacred precinct Pithom, above whichtowered the magnificently restored temple of the god Turn, was also stilladorned with many superb ones, as well as lofty masts, banners, andtriumphal arches. 

Before they reached it the equipage passed the sumptuous tents which hadbeen erected for the royal pair and their attendants. If Hermon had notknown how long the monarch intended to remain here, their size and numberwould have surprised him. 

A regular messenger and carrier-dove service had been established betweenAlexandria and Pithom for the period of Ptolemy's relaxation; and thesovereign was accompanied not only by several of the chief councillorsand secretaries, but artists and some of the Museum scientists with whomhe was on specially intimate terms, who were to adorn the festival on thefrontier with their presence, and cheer the invalid King, who neededentertainment. Singers and actors also belonged to the train. 

As they passed the encampment of the troops who accompanied thesovereign, the hipparch could show Hermon a magnificent militaryspectacle. 

Heroopolis was fortified, and belonged to the military colonies whichAlexander the Great had established throughout all Egypt in order to winit over more quickly to Grecian customs. A Hellenic phalanx and Libyanmercenaries formed the garrison there, but at Pithom the King hadgathered the flower of his troops around him, and this circumstanceshowed how little serious consideration the cautious ruler, who usuallycarefully regarded every detail, gave to the war with Cyrene, in which hetook no personal part. The four thousand Gauls whom he had sent acrossthe frontier as auxiliary troops promised to become perilous to the foe, who was also threatened in the rear by one of the most powerful Libyantribes. 

Therefore, the artist was assured by his military companion, Philadelphuscould let the campaign take its course, and permit himself the briefperiod of rest in this strangely chosen place, which the leeches hadadvised. 

The house where the aged couple lived with their son, Admiral Eumedes, was on the edge of the precincts of the temple. It belonged to the mostdistinguished merchant in the place, and consisted of a large opencourtyard in the form of a square, surrounded by the building and itscommunicating wings. 

When the hipparch led Hermon into this place a number of people hadalready assembled there. Soldiers and sailors stood in groups in thecentre, awaiting the orders of the old general and his subordinateofficers. Messengers and slaves, coming and going on various errands, were crossing it, and on the shady side benches and chairs stood under alight awning. Most of these were occupied by visitors who came tocongratulate the mother of the fame-crowned admiral. 

Thyone was reclining on a divan in their midst, submitting with a sigh tothe social duties which her high position imposed upon her. 

Her face was turned toward the large doorway of the main entrance, whileshe sometimes greeted newly introduced guests, sometimes bade farewell todeparting ones, and meanwhile answered and asked questions. 

She had been more wearied by the exertions of the last few days than heranimated manner revealed. Yet as soon as Hermon, leaning on the younghipparch's arm, approached her, she rose and cordially extended bothhands to him. True, the recovering man was still unable to see herfeatures distinctly, but he felt the maternal kindness with which shereceived him, and what his eyes could not distinguish his ears taught himin her warm greetings. His heart dilated and, after he had kissed herdear old hand more than once with affectionate devotion, she led himamong her guests and presented him to them as the son of her dearestfriend. 

A strange stir ran through the assembled group, nearly all whose membersbelonged to the King's train, and the low whispers and murmurs around himrevealed to Hermon that the false wreaths he wore had by no means beenforgotten in this circle. 

A painful feeling of discomfort overwhelmed the man accustomed to thesilence of the desert, and a voice within cried with earnest insistence, "Away from here!"

But he had no time to obey it; an unusually tall, broad-shouldered man, with a thick gray beard and grave, well-formed features, in whom hethought he recognised the great physician Erasistratus, approachedThyone, and asked, "The recluse from the desert with restored sight?"

"The same, " replied the matron, and whispered to the other, who wasreally the famous scientist and leech whom Hermon had desired to seek inAlexandria. "Exhaustion will soon overcome me, and how many importantmatters I had to discuss with you and the poor fellow yonder!"

The physician laid his hand on the matron's temples, and, raising hisvoice, said in a tone of grave anxiety: "Exhaustion! It would be betterfor you, honoured lady, to keep your bed. "

"Surely and certainly!" the wife of the chief huntsman instantlyassented. "We have already taxed your strength far too long, my noblefriend. "

This welcome confession produced a wonderful effect upon the othervisitors, and very soon the last one had vanished from the space underthe awning and the courtyard. Not a single person had vouchsafed Hermona greeting; for the artist, divested of the highest esteem, had beeninvolved in the ugly suspicion of having driven his uncle fromAlexandria, and the monarch was said to have spoken unfavourablyof him. 

When the last one had left the courtyard, the leech exchanged a quickglance of understanding, which also included Hermon, with Thyone, and themajordomo received orders to admit no more visitors, while Erasistratusexclaimed gaily, "It is one of the physician's principal duties to keepall harmful things--including living ones--from his patient. "

Then he turned to Hermon and had already begun to question him about hishealth, when the majordomo announced another visitor. "A verydistinguished gentleman, apparently, " he said hastily; "Herophilus ofChalcedon, who would not be denied admittance. "

Again the eyes of Erasistratus and the matron met, and the formerhastened toward his professional colleague. 

The two physicians stopped in the middle of the courtyard and talkedeagerly together, while Thyone, with cordial interest, asked Hermon totell her what she had already partially learned through the freedmanBias. 

Finally Erasistratus persuaded the matron, who seemed to haveforgotten her previous exhaustion, to share the consultation, but theconvalescent's heart throbbed faster as he watched the famous leeches. 

If these two men took charge of his case, the most ardent desire of hissoul might be fulfilled, and Thyone was certainly trying to induce themto undertake his treatment; what else would have drawn her away from himbefore she had said even one word about Daphne?

The sculptor saw, as if through a cloud of dust, the three consultingtogether in the centre of the courtyard, away from the soldiers andmessengers. 

Hermon had only seen Erasistratus indistinctly, but before his eyes wereblinded he had met him beside the sick-bed of Myrtilus, and no one whohad once beheld it could forget the manly bearded face, with the grave, thoughtful eyes, whose gaze deliberately sought their goal. 

The other also belonged to the great men in the realm of intellect. Hermon knew him well, for he had listened eagerly in the Museum to thelectures of the famous Herophilus, and his image also had stamped itselfupon his soul. 

Even at that time the long, smooth hair of the famous investigator hadturned gray. From the oval of his closely shaven, well-formed face, withthe long, thin, slightly hooked nose, a pair of sparkling eyes had gazedwith penetrating keenness at the listeners. Hermon had imaginedAristotle like him, while the bust of Pythagoras, with which he wasfamiliar, resembled Erasistratus. 

The convalescent could scarcely expect anything more than beneficialadvice from Herophilus; for this tireless investigator rarely renderedassistance to the sick in the city, because the lion's share of his timeand strength were devoted to difficult researches. The King favouredthese by placing at his disposal the criminals sentenced to death. Inhis work of dissection he had found that the human brain was the seatof the soul, and the nerves originated in it. 

Erasistratus, on the contrary, devoted himself to a large medicalpractice, though science owed him no less important discoveries. 

The circle of artists had heard what he taught concerning the blood inthe veins and the air bubbles in the arteries, how he explained theprocess of breathing, and what he had found in the investigation of thebeating of the heart. 

But he performed his most wonderful work with the knife in his hand as asurgeon. He had opened the body of one of Archias's slaves, who had beennursed by Daphne, and cured him after all other physicians had given himup. 

When this man's voice reached Hermon, he repeated to himself the wordsof refusal with which the great physician had formerly declined to devotehis time and skill to him. Perhaps he was right then--and howdifferently he treated him to-day!

Thyone had informed the famous scientist of everything which she knewfrom Hermon, and had learned of the last period of his life through Bias. 

She now listened with eager interest, sometimes completing Hermon'sacknowledgments by an explanatory or propitiating word, as the leechessubjected him to a rigid examination, but the latter felt that hisstatements were not to serve curiosity, but an honest desire to aid him. So he spoke to them with absolute frankness. 

When the examination was over, Erasistratus exclaimed to his professionalcolleague: "This old woman! Precisely as I would have prescribed. Sheordered the strictest diet with the treatment. She rejected every stronginternal remedy, and forbade him wine, much meat, and all kinds ofseasoning. Our patient was directed to live on milk and the same simplegifts of Nature which I would have ordered for him. The herb juice inthe clever sorceress's salve proved the best remedy. The incantationscould do no harm. On the contrary, they often produce a wonderful effecton the mind, and from it proceed further. "

Here Erasistratus asked to have a description of the troubles which stillaffected Hermon's vision, and the passionate eagerness with which theleeches gazed into his eyes strengthened the artist's budding hope. Never had he wished more ardently that Daphne was back at his side. 

He also listened with keen attention when the scientists finallydiscussed in low tones what they had perceived, and caught the words, "White scar on the cornea, " "leucoma, " and "operation. " He also heardHerophilus declare that an injury of the cornea by the flame of the torchwas the cause of the blindness. In the work which led him to thediscovery of the retina in the eye he had devoted himself sedulously tothe organs of sight. This case seemed as if it had been created for hisfriend's keen knife. 

What expectations this assurance aroused in the half-cured man, who feltas if the goal was already gained, when, shortly after, Erasistratus, thegreatest physician of his time, offered to make the attempt in Alexandriato remove, by a few little incisions, what still dimmed his impairedvision!

Hermon, deeply agitated, thanked the leech, and when Thyone perceivedwhat was passing in his mind she ventured to ask the question whether itwould not be feasible to perform the beneficent work here, and, ifpossible, the next day, and the surgeon was ready to fulfil the wish ofthe matron and the sufferer speedily. He would bring the necessaryinstruments with him. It only depended upon whether a suitable roomcould be found in the crowded city, and Thyone believed that such a onecould not be lacking in the great building at her disposal. 

A short conversation with the steward confirmed this opinion. 

Then Erasistratus appointed the next morning for the operation. Duringthe ceremony of consecrating the temple it would be quiet in the houseand its vicinity. The preliminary fasting which he imposed upon hispatients Hermon had already undergone. 

"The pure desert air here, " he added, "will be of the utmost assistancein recovery. The operation is slight, and free from danger. A few dayswill determine its success. I shall remain here with their Majesties, only--" and here he hesitated doubtfully--" where shall I find acompetent assistant?"

Herophilus looked his colleague in the face with a sly smile, saying, "If you credit the old man of Chalcedon with the needful skill, he is atyour disposal. "

"Herophilus!" cried Thyone, and tears of emotion wet her aged eyes, which easily overflowed; but when Hermon tried to give expression to hisfervent gratitude in words, Erasistratus interrupted him, exclaiming, ashe grasped his comrade's hand, "It honours the general in his purplerobe, when he uses the spade in the work of intrenchment. "

Many other matters were discussed before the professional friendswithdrew, promising to go to work early the next morning. 

They kept their word, and while the temple of the god Turn resounded withmusic and the chanting of hymns by the priests, whose dying notes enteredthe windows of the sick-room, while Queen Arsinoe-Philadelphus led theprocession, and the King, who was prevented by the gout from entering andpassing around the sanctuary at her side, ordered a monument to beerected in commemoration of this festival, the famous leeches toiledbusily. 

When the music and the acclamations of the crowd died away, their taskwas accomplished. The great Herophilus had rendered his equallydistinguished colleague the aid of an apprentice. When Hermon's lipsagain tried to pour forth his gratitude, Herophilus interrupted him withthe exclamation: "Use the sight you have regained, young master, increating superb works of art, and I shall be in your debt, since, withlittle trouble, I was permitted to render a service to the whole Grecianworld. "

Hermon spent seven long days and nights full of anxious expectation in adarkened room. Bias and a careful old female slave of the Lady Thyonewatched him faithfully. Philippus, his wife, and his famous son Eumedeswere allowed to pay him only brief visits; but Erasistratus watched thesuccess of the operation every morning. True, it had been by no meansdangerous, and certainly would not have required his frequent visits, butit pleased the investigator, reared in the school of Stoics, to watch howthis warm-blooded young artist voluntarily submitted to live in accordwith reason and Nature--the guiding stars of his own existence. 

But Hermon opened his soul to his learned friend, and what Erasistratusthus learned strengthened the conviction of this great alleviator ofphysical pain that suffering and knowledge of self were the bestphysicians for the human soul. The scientist, who saw in the arts thenoblest ornament of mortal life, anticipated with eager interest Hermon'sfuture creative work. 

On the seventh day the leech removed the bandage from his patient's eyes, and the cry of rapture with which Hermon clasped him in his arms richlyrewarded him for his trouble and solicitude. 

The restored man beheld in sharp, clear, undimmed outlines everything atwhich the physician desired him to look. 

Now Erasistratus could write to his friend Herophilus in Alexandria thatthe operation was successful. 

The sculptor was ordered to avoid the dazzling sunlight a fortnightlonger, then he might once more use his eyes without restriction, andappeal to the Muse to help in creating works of art. 

Thyone was present at this explanation. After she had conquered thegreat emotion which for a time sealed her lips, her first question, afterthe physician's departure, was: "And Nemesis? She too, I think, has fledbefore the new light?"

Hermon pressed her hand still more warmly, exclaiming with joyousconfidence: "No, Thyone! True, I now have little reason to fear theavenging goddess who pursues the criminal, but all the more the otherNemesis, who limits the excess of happiness. Will she not turn her swiftwheel, when I again, with clear eyes, see Daphne, and am permitted towork in my studio once more with keen eyes and steady hand?"

Now the barriers which had hitherto restricted Hermon's socialintercourse also fell. Eumedes, the commander of the fleet, oftenvisited him, and while exchanging tales of their experiences they becamefriends. 

When Hermon was alone with Thyone and her gray-haired husband, theconversation frequently turned upon Daphne and her father. 

Then the recovered artist learned to whom Archias owed his escape frombeing sentenced to death and having his property confiscated. Papers, undeniably genuine, had proved what large sums had been advanced by themerchant during the period of the first Queen Arsinoe's conspiracy, andenvious foes had done their best to prejudice the King and his sister-wife against Archias. Then the gray-haired hero fearlessly intercededfor his friend, and the monarch did not remain deaf to hisrepresentations. King Ptolemy was writing the history of the conquerorof the world, and needed the aged comrade of Alexander, the sole survivorwho had held a prominent position in the great Macedonian's campaigns. It might be detrimental to his work, on which he set great value, if heangered the old warrior, who was a living source of history. Yet theKing was still ill-disposed to the merchant, for while he destroyedArchias's death sentence which had been laid before him for hissignature, he said to Philippus: "The money-bag whose life I give you wasthe friend of my foe. Let him beware that my arm does not yet reach himfrom afar!"

Nay, his resentment went so far that he refused to receive Hermon, whenEumedes begged permission to present the artist whose sight had been sowonderfully restored. 

"To me he is still the unjustly crowned conspirator, " Philadelphusreplied. "Let him create the remarkable work which I formerly expectedfrom him, and perhaps I shall have a somewhat better opinion of him, deemhim more worthy of our favour. "

Under these circumstances it was advisable for Archias and Daphne toremain absent from Alexandria, and the experienced couple could onlyapprove Hermon's decision to go to Pergamus as soon as Erasistratusdismissed him. A letter from Daphne, which reached Thyone's hands atthis time, increased the convalescent's already ardent yearning to thehighest pitch. The girl entreated her maternal friend to tell herfrankly the condition of her lover's health. If he had recovered, hewould know how to find her speedily; if the blindness was incurable, shewould come herself to help him bear the burden of his darkened existence. Chrysilla would accompany her, but she could leave her father alone inPergamus a few months without anxiety, for he had a second son there inhis nephew Myrtilus, and had found a kind friend in Philetaerus, theruler of the country. 

From this time Hermon daily urged Erasistratus to grant him entireliberty, but the leech steadfastly refused, though he knew whither hisyoung friend longed to go. 

Not until the beginning of the fourth week after the operation did hehimself lead Hermon into the full sunlight, and when the recovered artistcame out of the house he raised his hands in mute prayer, gushing fromthe inmost depths of his heart. 

The King was to return to Alexandria in a few days, and at the same timePhilippus and Thyone were going back to Pelusium. Hermon wished toaccompany them there and sail thence on a ship bound for Pergamus. 

With Eumedes he visited the unfamiliar scenes around him, and his newlyrestored gift of sight presented to him here many things that formerly hewould scarcely have noticed, but which now filled him with grateful joy. Gratitude, intense gratitude, had taken possession of his whole being. This feeling mastered him completely and seemed to be fostered andstrengthened by every breath, every heart throb, every glance into hisown soul and the future. 

Besides, many beauties, nay, even many marvels, presented themselves tohis restored eyes. The whole wealth of the magic of beauty, intellect, and pleasure in life, characteristic of the Greek nature, appeared tohave followed King Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe-Philadelphus hither. Gardens had been created on the arid, sandy soil, whose gray and yellowsurface extended in every direction, the water on the shore of the canalwhich united Pithom with the Nile not sufficing to render it possible tomake even a narrow strip of arable land. Fresh water flowed frombeautiful fountains adorned with rich carvings, and the pure fluid filledlarge porphyry and marble basins. Statues, single and in groups, stoodforth in harmonious arrangement against green masses of leafage, andGrecian temples, halls, and even a theatre, rapidly constructed in thenoblest forms from light material, invited the people to devotion, to theenjoyment of the most exquisite music, and to witness the perfectperformance of many a tragedy and comedy. 

Statues surrounded the hurriedly erected palaestra where the Ephebi everymorning practised their nude, anointed bodies in racing, wrestling, andthrowing the discus. What a delight it was to Hermon to feast his eyesupon these spectacles! What a stimulus to the artist, so long absorbedin his own thoughts, who had so recently returned from the wilderness tothe world of active life, when he was permitted, in Erasistratus's tent, to listen to the great scholars who had accompanied the King to thedesert! Only the regret that Daphne was not present to share hispleasure clouded Hermon's enjoyment, when Eumedes related to his parents, himself, and a few chosen friends the adventures encountered, and theexperiences gathered in distant Ethiopia, on land and water, in battleand the chase, as investigator and commander. 

The utmost degree of variety had entered into the simplicity of themonotonous desert, the most refined abundance for the intellect and theneed of beauty appeared amid its barrenness. 

The poet Callimachus had just arrived with a new chorus of singers, tablets by Antiphilus and Nicias had come to beautify the last days ofthe residence in the desert--when doves, the birds of Aphrodite, flewwith the speed of lightning into Pithom, but instead of bringing a newmessage of love and announcing the approach of fresh pleasure, they boreterrible tidings which put joy to flight and stifled mirthfulness. 

The unbridled greed of rude barbarians had chosen Alexandria for itsgoal, and startled the royal pair and their chosen companions from thesea of pleasure where they would probably have remained for weeks. 

The four thousand Gauls who had been obtained to fight against Cyrenewere in the act of rushing rapaciously upon the richest city in theworld. The most terrible danger hung like a black cloud over the capitalfounded by Alexander, whose growth had been so rapid. True, GeneralSatvrus asserted that he was strong enough, with the troops at hisdisposal, to defeat the formidable hordes; but a second dove, sent by theepitropus who had remained in Alexandria, alluded to serious disasterwhich it would scarcely be possible to avert. 

The doves now flew swiftly to and fro; but before the third arrived, Eumedes, the commander of the fleet just from Ethiopia, was already onthe way to Alexandria with all the troops assembled on the frontier. 

The King and Queen, with the corps of pages and the corps of youths, entered the boats waiting for them to return, drawn by teams of fourswift horses, to Memphis, to await within the impregnable fortress of theWhite Castle the restoration of security in the capital. 

The Greeks prized the most valiant fearlessness so highly that no shadowcould be suffered to rest upon the King's, and therefore the monarch'shurried departure was made in a way which permitted no thought of flight, and merely resembled impatient yearning for new festivals and the earnestdesire to fulfil grave duties in another portion of the kingdom. 

Many of the companions of the royal pair, among them Erasistratus, accompanied them. Hermon bade him farewell with a troubled heart, andthe leech, too, parted with regret from the artist to whom, a yearbefore, he had refused his aid. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Hermon went, with Philippus and Thyone, on board the ship which was toconvey them through the new canal to Pelusium, where the old commandanthad to plan all sorts of measures. In the border fortress the artist wasagain obliged to exercise patience, for no ship bound to Pergamus orLesbos could be found in the harbour. Philippus had as much work as hecould do, but all his arrangements were made when carrier doves announcedthat the surprise intended by the Gauls had been completely thwarted, andhis son Eumedes was empowered to punish them. 

The admiral would take his fleet to the Sebennytic mouth of the Nile. 

Another dove came from King Ptolemy, and summoned the old general at onceto the capital. Philippus resolved to set off without delay and, as theway led past that mouth of the Nile, met his son on the voyage. 

Hermon must accompany him and his wife to Alexandria, whence, withoutentering the city, he could sail for Pergamus; ships bound to all theports in the Mediterranean were always in one of the harbours of thecapital. A galley ready to weigh anchor was constantly at the disposalof the commandant of the fortress, and the next noon the noble pair, withHermon and his faithful Bias, went on board the Galatea. 

The weather was dull, and gray clouds were sweeping across the sky overthe swift vessel, which hugged the coast, and, unless the wind shifted, would reach the narrow tongue of land pierced by the Sebennytic mouth ofthe Nile before sunrise. 

Though the general and his wife went to rest early, Hermon could notendure the close air of the cabin. Wrapped in his cloak he went on deck. The moon, almost full, was sailing in the sky, sometimes covered by darkclouds, sometimes leaving them behind. Like a swan emerging from theshadow of the thickets along the shore upon the pure bosom of the lake, it finally floated into the deep azure of the radiant firmament. Hermon's heart swelled. 

How he rejoiced that he was again permitted to behold the starry sky, andsatiate his soul with the beauty of creation! What delight it gave himthat the eternal wanderers above were no longer soulless forms, that heagain saw in the pure silver disk above friendly Selene, in the rollingsalt waves the kingdom of Poseidon! To-morrow, when the deep blue waterwas calm, he would greet the sea-god Glaucus, and when snowy foam crownedthe crests of the waves, white-armed Thetis. The wind was no longer anempty sound to him; no, it, too, came from a deity. All Nature hadregained a new, divine life. Doubtless he felt much nearer to hischildhood than before, but he was infinitely less distant from theeternal divinity. And all the forms, so full of meaning, which appearedto him from Nature, and from every powerful emotion of his own soul, werewaiting to be represented by his art in the noblest of forms, those ofhuman beings. There were few with whose nature he had not becomefamiliar in the darkness and solitude that once surrounded him. 

When he began to create again, he had only to summon them, and heawaited, with the suspense of the general who is in command of newtroops on the eve of battle, the success of his own work after thegreat transformation which had taken place in him. 

What a stress and tumult!

He had controlled it since the first hour when he regained his fullvision. He would fain have transformed the moon into the sun, the shipinto the studio, and begun to model. 

He knew, too, what he desired to create. 

He would model an Apollo trampling under foot the slain dragon ofdarkness. 

He would succeed in this work now. And as he looked up and saw Selenejust emerging again from the black cloud island, the thought entered hismind that it was a moonlight night like this when all the unspeakablyterrible misfortune occurred--which was now past. 

Yet neither the calm wanderer above nor a resentful woman had exposed himto the persecution of Nemesis. In the stillness of the desert he hadperceived what had brought all this terrible suffering upon him; but hewould not repeat it to himself now, for he felt within his soul the powerto remain faithful to his best self in the future. 

With clear eyes he gazed keenly and blithely at the new life. Nothing, least of all, futile self-torturing regret for faults committed, shouldcloud the fair morning dawning anew for him, which summoned him to activework, to gratitude and love. 

Uttering a sigh of relief, he paced the deck--now brilliantly illuminatedby silvery light--with long strides. 

The moon above his head reminded him of Ledscha. He was no longer angrywith her. The means by which she had intended to destroy him had beentransformed into a benefit, and while in the desert he had perceived howoften man finally blesses, as the highest gain, what he at first regardedas the most cruel affliction. 

How distinctly the image of the Biamite again stood before his agitatedsoul!

Had he not loved her once?

Or how had it happened that, though his heart was Daphne's, and hersalone, he had felt wounded and insulted when his Bias, who was leaningover the railing of the deck yonder, gazing at the glittering waves, hadinformed him that Ledscha had been accompanied in her flight from herunloved husband by the Gaul whose life he, Hermon, had saved? Was thisdue to jealousy or merely wounded vanity at being supplanted in a heartwhich he firmly believed belonged, though only in bitter hate, solely tohim?

She certainly had not forgotten him, and while the remembrance of herblended with the yearning for Daphne which never left him, he sat downand gazed out into the darkness till his head drooped on his breast. 

Then a dream showed the Biamite to the slumbering man, yet no longer inthe guise of a woman, but as the spider Arachne. She increased beforehis eyes to an enormous size and alighted upon the pharos erected bySostratus. Uninjured by the flames of the lighthouse, above which shehovered, she wove a net of endlessly long gray threads over the wholecity of Alexandria, with its temples, palaces, and halls, harbours andships, until Daphne suddenly appeared with a light step and quietly cutone after the other. 

Suddenly a shrill whistle aroused him. It was the signal of the flute-player to relieve the rowers. 

A faint yellow line was now tingeing the eastern horizon of the gray, cloudy sky. At his left extended the flat, dull-brown coast line, whichseemed to be lower than the turbid waves of the restless sea. The coldmorning wind was blowing light mists over the absolutely barren shore. Not a tree, not a bush, not a human dwelling was to be seen in thisdreary wilderness. Wherever the eye turned, there was nothing but sandand water, which united at the edge of the land. Long lines of surfpoured over the arid desert, and, as if repelled by the desolation ofthis strand, returned to the wide sea whence they came. 

The shrill screams of the sea-gulls behind the ship, and the hoarse, hungry croaking of the ravens on the shore blended with the roaring ofthe waves. Hermon shuddered at this scene. Shivering, he wrapped hiscloak closer around him, yet he did not go to the protecting cabin, butfollowed the nauarch, who pointed out to him the numerous vessels which, in a wide curve, surrounded the place where the Sebennytic arm of theNile pierced the tongue of land to empty into the sea. 

The experienced seaman did not know what ships were doing there, but itwas hardly anything good; for ravens in a countless multitude were to beseen on the shore and all moved toward the left. 

Philippus's appearance on deck interrupted the nauarch. He anxiouslyshowed the birds to the old hero also, and the latter's only reply was, "Watch the helm and sails!"

Yonder squadron, Philippus said to the artist, was a part of his son'sfleet; what brought it there was a mystery to him too. 

After the early meal, the galley of Eumedes approached his father'strireme. Two other galleys, not much inferior in size, were behind, andprobably fifty smaller vessels were moving about the mouth of the Nileand the whole dreary tongue of land. 

All belonged to the royal war fleet, and the deck of every one wascrowded with armed soldiers. 

On one a forest of lances bristled in the murky air, and upon itssouthward side a row of archers, each man holding his bow in his hand, stood shoulder to shoulder. 

At what mark were their arrows to be aimed? The men on board the Galateasaw it distinctly, for the shore was swarming with human figures, herestanding crowded closely together, like horses attacked by a pack ofwolves; yonder running, singly or in groups, toward the sea or into theland. Dark spots on the light sand marked the places where others hadthrown themselves on the ground, or, kneeling, stretched out their armsas if in defence. 

Who were the people who populated this usually uninhabited, inhospitableplace so densely and in so strange a manner?

This could not be distinguished from the Galatea with the naked eye, butPhilippus thought that they were the Gauls whose punishment had beenintrusted to his son, and it soon proved that the old general was right;for just as the Galatea was approaching the shore, a band of twenty orthirty men plunged into the sea. They were Gauls. The light complexionsand fair and red bristling hair showed this--Philippus knew them, andHermon remembered the hordes of men who had rushed past him on the rideto Tennis. 

But the watchers were allowed only a short time for observation; briefshouts of command rang from the ships near them, long bows were raised inthe air, and one after another of the light-hued forms in the water threwup its arms, sprang up, or sank motionless into the waves around them, which were dyed with a crimson stain. 

The artist shuddered; the gray-haired general covered his head with hiscloak, and the Lady Thyone followed his example, uttering her son's namein a tone of loud lamentation. 

The nauarch pointed to the black birds in the air and close above theshore and the water; but the shout, "A boat from the admiral's galley!"soon attracted the attention of the voyagers on the Galatea in a newdirection. 

Thirty powerful rowers were urging the long, narrow boat toward them. Sometimes raised high on the crest of a mountain wave, sometimes sinkinginto the hollow, it completed its trip, and Eumedes mounted a swingingrope ladder to the Galatea's deck as nimbly as a boy. 

Here the young commander of the fleet hastened toward his parents. Hismother sobbed aloud at his anything but cheerful greeting; Philippus saidmournfully, "I have heard nothing yet, but I know all. "

"Father, " replied the admiral, and raising the helmet from his head, covered with brown curls, he added mournfully: "First as to these menhere. It will teach you to understand the other terrible things. YourUncle Archias's house was destroyed; yonder men were the criminals. "

"In the capital!" Philippus exclaimed furiously, and Hermon cried in noless vehement excitement: "How did my uncle get the ill will of thesemonsters? But as the vengeance is in your hands, they will atone forthis breach of the peace!"

"Severely, perhaps too severely, " replied Eumedes gloomily, andPhilippus asked his son how this evil deed could have happened, and thepurport of the King's command. 

The admiral related what had occurred in the capital since his departurefrom Pithom. 

The four thousand Gauls who had been sent by King Antiochus to theEgyptian army as auxiliary troops against Cyrene refused, before reachingParaetonium, on the western frontier of the Egyptian kingdom, to obeytheir Greek commanders. As they tried to force them to continue theirmarch, the barbarians left them bound in the road. They spared theirlives, but rushed with loud shouts of exultation toward Alexandria, whichwas close at hand. 

They had learned that the city was almost stripped of troops, and themost savage instinct urged them toward the wealthy capital. 

Without encountering any resistance, they broke through the necropolisinto Alexandria, crossed the Draco canal, and marched past the unfinishedTemple of Serapis through the Rhakotis. At the Canopic Way they turnedeastward and rushed through this main artery of traffic till, in theBrucheium, they hastened in a northerly direction toward the sea. 

South of the Theatre of Dionysus they halted. One division turned towardthe market-place, another toward the royal palaces. 

Until they reached the Brucheium the hordes, so eager for booty, hadrefrained from plunder and pillage. 

Their whole strength was to be reserved, as the examination proved, forthe attack upon the royal palaces. Several people who were thoroughlyfamiliar with Alexandria had acted as guides. 

The instigator of the mutiny was said to be a Gallic captain who hadtaken part in the surprise of Delphi, but, having ventured to punishdisobedient soldiers, he was killed. A bridge-builder from the ranks, and his wife, who was not of Gallic blood, had taken his place. 

This woman, a resolute and obstinate but rarely beautiful creature, whenthe division that was to attack the royal palaces was marching past thehouse which Hermon had occupied as the heir of Myrtilus, pressed forwardherself across the threshold, to order the mutineers who followed her todestroy and steal whatever came in their way. The bridge-builder went tothe market-place, and in pillaging the wealthy merchants' houses beganwith Archias's. Meanwhile it was set on fire and, with the largewarehouses adjoining it, was burned to the foundation walls. 

But the robbers were to obtain no permanent success, either in themarket-place or in Myrtilus's house, which was diagonally opposite to thepalaestra; for General Satyrus, at the first tidings of their approach, had collected all the troops at his disposal and the crews of several wargalleys, and imprisoned the division in the market-place as though in amouse-trap. The bands to which the woman belonged were forced by thecavalry into the palaestra and the neighbouring Maander, and kept thereuntil Eumedes brought re-enforcements and compelled the Gauls tosurrender. 

The King sent from Memphis the order to take the vanquished men to thetongue of land where they now were, and could easily be imprisonedbetween the sea and the Sebennytic inland lake. They were guilty ofdeath to the last man, and starvation was to perform the executioner'soffice upon them. 

He, Eumedes, the admiral concluded, was in the King's service, and mustdo what his commander in chief ordered. 

"Duty, " sighed Philippus; "yet what a punishment!"

He held out his hand to his son as he spoke, but the Lady Thyone shookher head mournfully, saying: "There are four thousand over yonder; andthe philosopher and historian on the throne, the admirable art criticwho bestows upon his capital and Egypt all the gifts of peace, whounderstands how to guard and develop it better than any one else--yetwhat influence the gloomy powers exert upon him!"

Here she hesitated, and went on in a low whisper: "The blood of twobrothers stains his hand and his conscience. The oldest, to whom thethrone would have belonged, he exiled. And our friend, DemetriusPhalereus, his father's noble councillor! Because you, Philippus, interceded for him--though you were in a position of command, becausePtolemy knows your ability--you were sent to distant Pelusium, and therewe should be still--"

"Guard your tongue, wife!" interrupted the old general in a tone of graverebuke. "The vipers on the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt symbolizethe King's swift power over life and death. To the Egyptians thePhiladelphi, Ptolemy and Arsinoe, are gods, and what cause have weto reproach them except that they use their omnipotence?"

"And, mother, " Eumedes eagerly added, "do not the royal pair on thethrone merely follow the example of far greater ones among the immortalgods? When the very Gauls who are devoted to death yonder, greedy forbooty, attacked Delphi, four years ago, it was the august brother andsister, Apollo and Artemis, who sent them to Hades with their arrows, while Zeus hurled his thunderbolts at them and ordered heavy boulders tofall upon them from the shaken mountains. Many of the men over therefled from destruction at Delphi. Unconverted, they added new crimes tothe old ones, but now retribution will overtake them. The worse thecrime, the more bloody the vengeance. 

"Even the last must die, as my sovereign commands; only I shall determinethe mode of death according to my own judgment, and at the same time, mother, feel sure of your approval. Instead of lingering starvation, I shall use swift arrows. Now you know what you were obliged to learn. It would be wise, mother, for you to leave this abode of misery. Dutysummons me to my ship. " He held out his hand to his parents and Hermonas he spoke, but the latter clasped it firmly, exclaiming in a tone ofpassionate emotion, "What is the name of the woman to whom, though she isnot of their race, the lawless barbarians yielded?"

"Ledscha, " replied the admiral. 

Hermon started as if stung by a scorpion, and asked, "Where is she?"

"On my ship, " was the reply, "if she has not yet been taken ashore withthe others. "

"To be killed with the pitiable band there?" cried Thyone angrily, looking her son reproachfully in the face. 

"No, mother, " replied Eumedes. "She will be taken to the others underthe escort of trustworthy men in order, perhaps, to induce her to speak. It must be ascertained whether there were accomplices in the attack onthe royal palaces, and lastly whence the woman comes. "

"I can tell you that myself, " replied Hermon. "Allow me to accompanyyou. I must see and speak to her. "

"The Arachne of Tennis?" asked Thyone. Hermon's mute nod of assentanswered the question, but she exclaimed: "The unhappy woman, who calleddown the wrath of Nemesis upon you, and who has now herself fallen a preyto the avenging goddess. What do you want from her?"

Hermon bent down to his old friend and whispered, "To lighten herterrible fate, if it is in my power. "

"Go, then, " replied the matron, and turned to her son, saying, "LetHermon tell you how deeply this woman has influenced his life, and, when her turn comes, think of your mother. "

"She is a woman, " replied Eumedes, "and the King's mandate only commandsme to punish men. Besides, I promised her indulgence if she would make aconfession. "

"And she?" asked Hermon. 

"Neither by threats nor promises, " answered the admiral, "can thissinister, beautiful creature be induced to speak. "

"Certainly not, " said the artist, and a smile of satisfaction flittedover his face. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A short row took Hermon and Eumedes the admiral's galley. Ledscha hadalready been carried ashore. There she was to be confronted with the menwho were suspected of having showed the mutineers the way to the city. 

Absorbed in his own thoughts, Hermon waited for the admiral, who at firstwas claimed by one official duty after another. The artist's thoughtslingered with Daphne. To her father the loss of his house, nay, perhapsof his wealth, would seem almost unendurable, yet even were he beggared, provision was made for him and his daughter. He, Hermon, could againcreate, as in former days, and what happiness it would be if he werepermitted to repay the man to whom he owed so much for the kindnessbestowed upon him!

He longed to give to the woman he loved again and again, and it wouldhave seemed to him a favour of fortune if the flames had consumed eventhe last drachm of her wealthy father. 

Completely engrossed by these reflections, he forgot the horrors beforehim, but when he raised his eyes and saw the archers continuing theirterrible work he shuddered. 

The admiral's galley lay so near the shore that he distinguished thefigures of the Gauls separately. Some, obeying the instinct of selfpreservation, fled from the places which could be reached by the arrowsof the archers on the ships, but others pressed toward the shafts. Afrightful, heart-rending spectacle, yet how rich in food for the long-darkened eyes of the artist! Two brothers of unusual height, who, nudelike all their comrades in death, offered their broad, beautifully archedchests to the arrows, would not leave his memory. It was a terriblesight, yet grand and worthy of being wrested from oblivion by art, and itimpressed itself firmly on his mind. 

After noon Eumedes could at last devote himself to his young friend. Although the wind drove showers of fine rain before it, the admiralremained on deck with the sculptor. What cared they for the inclementweather, while one was recalling to mind and telling his friend how thehate of an offended woman had unchained the gloomy spirits of revengeupon him, the other, who had defied death on land water, listened to hisstory, sometimes in surprise, sometimes with silent horror?

After the examination to which she had been subjected, Eumedes hadbelieved Ledscha to be as Hermon described her. He found nothing pettyin this beautiful, passionate creature who avenged the injusticeinflicted upon her as Fate took vengeance, who, with unsparing energy, anticipated the Nemesis to whom she appealed, compelled men's obedience, and instead of enriching herself cast away the talents extorted to bringdown fresh ruin upon the man who had transformed her love to hate. 

While the friends consulted together with lowered voices, theirconjecture became conviction that it was the Biamite's inextinguishablehate which had led her to the Gauls and induced her to share the attackupon the capital. 

The assault upon the houses of Archias and Myrtilus was a proof of this, for the latter was still believed to be Hermon's property. She hadprobably supposed that the merchant's palace sheltered Daphne, in whom, even at Tennis, she had seen and hated her successful rival. 

Only the undeniable fact that Ledscha was the bridge-builder's companionpresented an enigma difficult to solve. The freedman Bias had remainedon Philippus's galley, and could not now be appealed to for aconfirmation of his assertions, but Hermon distinctly remembered hisstatement that Ledscha had allowed the Gaul, after he had received themoney intended for him, to take her from Pitane to Africa. 

When the short November day was drawing to a close, and the friends hadstrengthened themselves with food and drink, the rain ceased and, as thesun set, its after-glow broke through the rifts and fissures in the blackwall of clouds in the western horizon like blazing flames in theconflagration of a solid stone building. Yet the glow vanished swiftlyenough. The darkness of night spread over the sea and the arid strip ofland in the south, but the greedy croaking of the ravens and vulturesechoed more and more loudly from the upper air. From time to time theoutbursts of rage and agony of despairing men, and horrible jeeringlaughter, drowned the voices of the flocks of birds and the roaring ofthe tempestuous sea. Sometimes, too, a sharp word of command, or asignal heard for a long distance, pierced through the awful sounds. 

Here and there, and at last everywhere on the squadron, which surroundedthe tongue of land in a shallow curve, dim lights began to appear on themasts and prows of the ships; but darkness brooded over the coast. Onlyin the three fortified guardhouses, which had been hastily erected here, the feeble light of a lantern illumined the gloom. 

Twinkling lights also appeared in the night heavens between the swiftlyflying clouds. One star after another began to adorn the blue islands inthe cloudy firmament, and at last the full moon burst through the heavybanks of dark clouds, and shone in pure brilliancy above their heads, like a huge silver vessel in the black catafalque of a giant. 

At the end of the first hour after sunset Eumedes ordered the boat to bemanned. 

Armed as if for battle, he prepared for the row to the scene of misery, and requested Hermon to buckle a coat of mail under his chlamys and puton the sword he gave him. True, a division of reliable Macedonianwarriors was to accompany them, and Ledscha was in a well-guarded place, yet it might perhaps be necessary to defend themselves against anoutburst of despair among the condemned prisoners. On the short trip, the crests of the tossing waves sometimes shone with a flickering light, while elsewhere long shadows spread like dark sails over the sea. Theflat coast on which both men soon stepped was brightly illumined by themoonbeams, and the forms of the doomed men stood forth, like the blackfigures on the red background of a vase, upon the yellowish-brown sandon which they were standing, running, walking, or lying. 

At the western end of the tongue of land a sand hill had been surroundedby a wall and moat, guarded by heavily armed soldiers and severalarchers. The level ground below had been made secure against any attack, and on the right side was a roof supported by pillars. 

The officials intrusted with the examination of the ringleaders hadremained during the day in this hastily erected open hut. The latter, bound to posts, awaited their sentence. 

The only woman among them was Ledscha, who crouched, unfettered, on theground behind the enclosure, which consisted of short stakes fastened bya rope. 

Without presenting any serious obstacle, it merely indicated how far theprisoners might venture to go. Whoever crossed it must expect to bestruck down by an arrow from the wall. This earthwork, it is true, menaced those held captive here, but they also owed it a debt ofgratitude, for it shut from their eyes the horrible incidents on thesandy plain between the sea and the inland lake. 

This spot was now made as light as day by the rays of the full moon whichfloated in the pure azure sky far above the black cloud mountains, like awhite lotus flower on clear waters, and poured floods of silvery radianceupon the earth. 

Eumedes commanded the Macedonians who formed his escort to remain at thefortress on the dune, and, pointing out Ledscha by a wave of the hand, he whispered to Hermon: "By the girdle of Aphrodite! she is terriblybeautiful! For whom is the Medea probably brewing in imagination thepoisoned draught?"

Then he gave the sculptor permission to promise her immunity frompunishment if she would consent at least to explain the Gauls' connectionwith the royal palaces; but Hermon strenuously refused to undertake thisor a similar commission to Ledscha. 

Eumedes had expected the denial, and merely expressed to his friend hisdesire to speak to the Biamite after his interview was over. Howeverrefractory she might be, his mother's intercession should benefit her. Hermon might assure her that he, the commander, meant to deal leniently. He pressed the artist's hand as he spoke, and walked rapidly away toascertain the condition of affairs in the other guardhouses. 

Never had the brave artist's heart throbbed faster in any danger than onthe eve of this meeting; but it was no longer love that thrilled it sopassionately, far less hate or the desire to let his foe feel that herrevenge was baffled. 

It was easy for the victor to exercise magnanimity, and easiest of allfor the sculptor in the presence of so beautiful an enemy, and Hermonthought he had never seen the Biamite look fairer. How exquisitelyrounded was the oval, how delicately cut the profile of her face, howlarge were the widely separated, sparkling eyes, above which, even in thepale moonlight, the thick black brows were visible, united under theforehead as if for a dark deed to be performed in common!

Time had rather enhanced than lessened the spell of this wonderful youngcreature. Now she rose from the ground where she had been crouching andpaced several times up and down the short path at her disposal; but shestarted suddenly, for one of the Gauls bound to the posts, in whom Hermonrecognised the bridge-builder, Lutarius, called her name, and when sheturned her face toward him, panted in broken Greek like one overwhelmedby despair: "Once more--it shall be the last time--I beseech you! Layyour hand upon my brow, and if that is too much, speak but one kind wordto me before all is over! I only want to hear that you do not hate melike a foe and despise me like a dog. What can it cost you? You needonly tell me in two words that you are sorry for your harshness. "

"The same fate awaits us both, " cried Ledscha curtly and firmly. "Leteach take care of himself. When my turn comes and my eyes grow dim indeath, I will thank them that they will not show you to me again, basewretch, throughout eternity. "

Lutarius shrieked aloud in savage fury, and tore so frantically at thestrong ropes which bound him that the firm posts shook, but Ledschaturned away and approached the hut. 

She leaned thoughtfully against one of the pillars that supported theroof, and the artist's eyes watched her intently; every movement seemedto him noble and worth remembering. 

With her hand shading her brow, she gazed upward to the full moon. 

Hermon had already delayed speaking to her too long, but he would havedeemed it criminal to startle her from this attitude. So must Arachnehave stood when the goddess, in unjust anger, raised the weaver's shuttleagainst the more skilful mortal; for while Ledscha's brow frownedangrily, a triumphant smile hovered around her mouth. At the same timeshe slightly opened her exquisitely formed lips, and the little whiteteeth which Hermon had once thought so bewitchingly beautiful glitteredbetween them. 

Like the astronomer who fixes his gaze and tries to imprint upon hismemory some rare star in the firmament which a cloud is threatening toobscure, he now strove to obtain Ledscha's image. He would and couldmodel her in this attitude, exactly as she stood there, without her veil, which had been torn from her during the hand-to-hand conflict when shewas captured, with her thick, half-loosened tresses falling over her leftshoulder; nav, even with the slightly hooked nose, which was opposed tothe old rule of art that permitted only the straight bridge of the noseto be given to beautiful women. Her nature harmonized with the ideal. Even in the smallest detail; here any deviation from reality must tend toinjure the work. 

She remained motionless for minutes in the same attitude, as if she knewthat she was posing to an artist; but Hermon gazed at her as if spellbound till the fettered Gaul again called her name. 

Then she left the supporting pillar, approached the barrier, stopped atthe rope which extended from one short stake to another, and gazed at theman who was following her outside of the rope. 

It was a Greek who stood directly opposite to her. A black beard adornedhis grave, handsome countenance. He, too, had a chlamys, such as she hadformerly seen on another. Only the short sword, which he wore suspendedat his right side in the Hellenic fashion, would not suit that other; butsuddenly a rush of hot blood crimsoned her face. As if to save herselffrom falling, she flung out both arms and clutched a stake with her rightand her left hand, thrusting her head and the upper portion of her bodyacross the rope toward the man whose appearance had created so wild atumult in her whole being. 

At last she called Hermon's name in such keen suspense that it fell uponhis ear like a shrill cry. 

"Ledscha, " he answered warmly, extending both hands to her in sinceresympathy; but she did not heed the movement, and her tone of calm self-satisfaction surprised him as she answered: "So you seek me inmisfortune? Even the blind man knows how to find me here. "

"I would far rather have met you again in the greatest happiness!" heinterrupted gently. "But I am no longer blind. The immortals againpermit me, as in former days, to feast my eyes upon your marvellousbeauty. "

A shrill laugh cut short his words, and the "Not blind!" which fell againand again from her lips sounded more like laughter than speech. 

There are tears of grief and of joy, and the laugh which is anaccompaniment of pleasure is also heard on the narrow boundary betweensuffering and despair. 

It pierced the artist's heart more deeply than the most savage outburstof fury, and when Ledscha gasped: "Not blind! Cured! Rich and possessedof sight, perfect sight!" he understood her fully for the first time, andcould account for the smile of satisfaction which had just surprised himon her lips. 

He gazed at her, absolutely unable to utter a word; but she went onspeaking, while a low, sinister laugh mingled with her tones: "So thisis avenging justice! It allows us women to be trampled under foot, andholds its hands in its lap! My vengeance! How I have lauded Nemesis!How exquisitely my retaliation seemed to have succeeded! And now? Itwas mere delusion and deception. He who was blind sees. He who was toperish in misery is permitted, with a sword at his side, to gloat overour destruction. Listen, if the good news has not already reached you!I, too, am condemned to death. But what do I care for myself? Even lessthan those to whom we pray and offer sacrifices for the betrayed woman. Now I am learning to know them! Thus Nemesis thanks me for the lavishgifts I have bestowed upon her? Just before my end she throws you, therewarded traitor, into my way! I must submit to have the hated foe, whose blinding was the sole pleasure in my ruined life, look me in theface with insolent joy. "

Hermon's quick blood boiled. 

With fierce resentment he grasped her hand, which lay on the rope, pressed it violently in his strong clasp, and exclaimed, "Stop, madwoman, that I may not be forced to think of you as a poisonous serpentand repulsive spider!"

Ledscha had vainly endeavoured to withdraw her hand while he wasspeaking. Now he himself released it; but she looked up at him inbewilderment, as if seeking aid, and said sadly: "Once--you know thatyourself--I was different--even as long as I supposed my vengeance hadsucceeded. But now? The false goddess has baffled every means withwhich I sought to punish you. Who averted the sorest ill treatment frommy head? And I was even defrauded of the revenge which it was my right, nay, my duty, to exercise. "

She finished the sentence with drooping head, as if utterly crushed, andthis time she did not laugh, but Hermon felt his wrath transformed tosympathy, and he asked warmly and kindly if she would let nothing appeaseher, not even if he begged her forgiveness for the wrong he had done her, and promised to obtain her life, nay, also her liberty. 

Ledscha shook her head gently, and gravely answered: "What is left mewithout hate? What are the things which others deem best and highest toa miserable wretch like me?"

Here Hermon pointed to the bridge-builder, bound to the post, saying, "Yonder man led you away from the husband whom you had wedded, and fromhim you received compensation for the love you had lost. "

"From him?" she cried furiously, and, raising her voice in a tone of themost intense loathing: "Ask yonder scoundrel himself! Because I needed aguide, I permitted him to take me away from my unloved husband and fromthe Hydra. Because he would help me to shatter the new and undeservedgood fortune which you--yes, you--do you hear?--enjoyed, I remained withhim among the Gauls. More than one Alexandrian brought me the news thatyou were revelling in golden wealth, and the wretch promised to make youand your uncle beggars if the surprise succeeded. He did this, though heknew that it was you who took him up from the road and saved his life;for nothing good and noble dwells in his knavish soul. He yearned forme, and still more ardently for the Alexandrians' gold. Worse than thewolf that licked the hand of the man who bandaged its wounds, he wouldhave shown his teeth to the preserver of his life. I have learned this, and if he dies here of starvation and thirst he will receive only what hedeserves. He knows, too, what I think of him. The greedy beast of preywas not permitted even to touch my hand. Just ask him! There he is. Let him tell you how I listened to his vows of love. Before I wouldhave permitted yonder wretch to recall to life what you crushed inthis heart--"

Here Lutarius interrupted her with a flood of savage, scarcelyintelligible curses, but very soon one of the guards, who came outof the hut, stopped him with a lash. 

When the Gaul, howling under the blows, was silenced, Hermon asked, "Soyour mad thirst for vengeance also caused this suicidal attack?"

"No, " she answered simply; "but when they determined upon the assault, and had killed their leader, Belgius, yonder monster stole to their head. So it happened--I myself do not know how--that they also obeyed me, and Itook advantage of it and induced them to begin with your house andArchias's. When they had captured the royal palaces, they intended toassail the Temple of Demeter also. "

"Then you thought that even the terrible affliction of blindness wouldnot suffice to punish the man you hated?" asked Hermon. 

"No, " she answered firmly; "for you could buy with your gold everythinglife offers except sight, while in me--yes, in me--gloom darker than theblackest night shrouded my soul. Through your fault I was robbed of all, all that is clear to woman's heart: my father's house, his love, mysister. Even the pleasure in myself which had been awakened by yoursweet flatteries was transformed by you into loathing. "

"By me?" cried Hermon, amazed by the injustice of this severe reproach;but Ledscha answered his question with the resolute assertion, "By youand you alone!" and then impatiently added: "You, who, by your art, couldtransform mortal women into goddesses, wished to make me a humiliatedcreature, with the rope which was to strangle her about her neck, and atthe same time the most repulsive of creeping insects. 'The hideous, gray, eight-legged spider!' I exclaimed to myself, when I raised my armsand saw my shadow on the sunlit ground. 'The spider!' I thought, when Ishook the distaff to draw threads from the flax in leisure hours. 'Yourimage!' I said, when I saw spiders hanging in dusty corners, and catchingflies and gnats. All these things made me a horror to myself. Andat the same time to know that the Demeter, on whom you bestowed thefeatures of the daughter of Archias, was kindling the whole great cityof Alexandria with enthusiasm, and drawing countless worshippers to hersanctuary! She, an object of adoration to thousands, I--the much-praisedbeauty--a horror to myself! This is what fed my desire for vengeancewith fresh food by day and night; this urged me to remain with yonderwretch; for he had promised, after pillaging the royal palaces, toshatter your Demeter, the image of the daughter of Archias, which theylauded and which brought you fame and honour--it was to be done before myeyes--into fragments. "

"Mad woman!" Hermon again broke forth indignantly, and hastily told herhow she had been misinformed. 

Ledscha's large black eyes dilated as if some hideous spectre was risingfrom the ground before her, while she heard that the Demeter was the workof Myrtilus and not his; that his friend's legacy had long since ceasedto belong to him, and that he was again as poor as when he was in Tennisduring the time of their love. 

"And the blindness?" she asked sadly. 

"It transformed life for me into one long night, illumined by no singleray of light, " was the reply; "but, the immortals be praised, I was curedof it, and it was old Tabus, on the Owl's Nest at Tennis, whose wisdomand magic arts you so often lauded, who gave the remedy and advice towhich I owe my recovery. "

Here he hesitated, for Ledscha had seized the rope with one hand and thestake at her right with the other, in order not to fall upon her knees;but Hermon perceived how terribly his words agitated her, and spoke toher soothingly. Ledscha did not seem to hear him, for while stillclinging to the rope she looked sometimes at the sand at her feet, sometimes up to the full moon, which was now flooding both sky and earthwith light. 

At last she dropped it, and said in a hollow tone: "Now I understandeverything. You met her when Bias gave her the bridal dowry which wasto purchase my release from my husband. How it must have enraged her!I thought of it all, pondered and pondered how to spare her; but throughwhom, except Tabus, could I return to Hanno the property, won in battleby his blood, which he had thrown away for me? Tabus kept the familywealth. And she--the marriage bond which two persons formed was sacredand unassailable--the woman who broke her faith with her husband andturned from him--was an abomination to her. How she loved her sons andgrandsons! I knew that she would never forgive the wrong I did Hanno. From resentment to me she cured the man whom I hated. "

"Yet probably also, " said Hermon, "because my blighted youth aroused herpity. "

"Perhaps so, " replied Ledscha hesitatingly, gazing thoughtfully intovacancy. "She was what her demons made her. Hard as steel and gentleas a tender girl. I have experienced it. Oh, that she should die withrancour against me in her faithful old heart! She could be so kind!--even when I confessed that you had won my love, she still held me dear. But there are many great and small demons, and most of them were probablysubject to her. Tabus must have learned through them how deeply Ioffended her son Satabus, and how greatly his son Hanno's life wasdarkened through me. That is why she thwarted my vengeance, and herspirits aided her. Thus all these things happened. I suspected it whenI heard that she had succumbed to death, which I--yes, I here--had heldback from her with severe toil through many a sleepless night. O thesedemons! They will continue to act in the service of the dead. WhereverI may go, they will pursue me and, at their mistress's bidding, bafflewhat I hope and desire. I have learned this only too distinctly!"

"No, Ledscha, no, " Hermon protested. "Every power ceases with death, even that of the sorceress over spirits. You shall be freed, poor woman!You will be permitted to go wherever you desire; and I shall model nospider after your person, but the fairest of women. Thousands will seeand admire her, and--if the Muse aids me--whoever, enraptured by herbeauty, asks, 'Who was the model for this work which inflames the mostobdurate heart?' will be told, 'It was Ledscha, the daughter of Shalit, the Biamite, whom Hermon of Alexandria found worthy of carving in costlymarble. "

Ledscha uttered a deep sigh of relief, and asked: "Is that true? May Ibelieve it?"

"As true, " he answered warmly, "as that Selene, who promised to grant youin her full radiance the greatest happiness, is now shedding her mild, forgiving light upon us both. "

"The full moon, " she murmured softly, gazing upward at the shining disk. 

Then she added in a louder tone: "Old Tabus's demons promised mehappiness--you know. It was the spider which so cruelly shadowed it forme on every full moon, every day, and every night. Will you now swear tomodel a statue from me, the statue of a beautiful human being that willarouse the delight of all who see it? Delight--do you hear?--notloathing--I ask again, will you?"

"I will, and I shall succeed, " he said earnestly, holding out his handacross the rope. She clasped it, looked up to the full moon again, andwhispered: "This time--I will believe it--you will keep your promisebetter than when you were in Tennis. And I--I will cease to wish youevil, and I will tell you why. Bend your ear nearer, that I may confessit openly. " Hermon willingly obeyed the request, but she leaned her headagainst his, and he felt her laboured breathing and the warm tears thatcoursed silently down her cheeks as she said, in a low whisper: "Becausethe moon is full, and will yet bring me what the demons promised, andbecause, though strong, I am still a woman. Happiness! How long ago Iceased to expect it!--but now-yes, it is what I now feel! I am happy, and yet can not tell why. My love--oh, yes! It was more ardent than theburning hate. Now you know it, too, Hermon. And I--I shall be free, yousay? And Tabus, how she lauded rest--eternal rest! Oh dearest--thissorely tortured heart, too--you can not even imagine how weary I am!"

Here she was silent, but the man into whose face she was gazing withloving devotion felt a sudden movement at his side as she uttered theexclamation. 

He did not notice it, for the sweet tone of her voice was penetrating theinmost depths of his heart. It sounded as though she was speaking fromthe happiest of dreams. 

"Ledscha!" he exclaimed warmly, extending his arm toward her--but she hadalready stepped back from his side, and he now perceived the terribleobject--she had snatched his sword from its sheath, and as, seized bysudden terror, he gazed at her, he saw the shining blade glitter in themoonlight and suddenly vanish. 

In an instant he swung his agile body over the rope and rushed to her. But she had already sunk to her knees, and while he clasped her in isarms to support her, he heard her call his own name tenderly, then murmurit in a lower tone, and the words "Full moon" and "Happiness" escape herlips. 

Then she was silent, and her beautiful head dropped on her breast like aflower broken by a tempest. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

"It was best so for her and for us, " said Eumedes, after gazing long atLedscha's touchingly beautiful, still, dead face. 

Then he ordered her to be buried at once and shouted to the guards:"Everything must be over on this strip of land early to-morrow morning!Let all who bear arms begin at once. Selene will light the men brightlyenough for the work. "

The terrible order given in mercy was fulfilled, and hunger and thirstwere robbed of their numerous prey. When the new day dawned the friendswere still on deck, engaged in grave conversation. The cloudless sky nowarched in radiant light above the azure sea. White seagulls came flyingfrom the right across the ship, and sportive dolphins gambolled aroundher keel. 

The flutes of the musicians, marking time for the rowers, echoed gaily upfrom the hold, and, obedient to quick words of command, the seamen werespreading the sails. 

The voyage began with a favourable wind. As Hermon looked back for thelast time, the flat, desolate tongue of land appeared like a line of graymist in the southeastern horizon; but over it hovered, like a gloomythundercloud, the flocks of vultures and ravens, whose numbers wereconstantly increasing. Their greedy screaming could still be heard, though but faintly, yet the eye could no longer distinguish anything inthe fast-vanishing abode of horror, save the hovering whirl of darkspots--ravens and vultures, vultures and ravens. 

Whatever human life had moved there yesterday, now rested from bloodygreed for booty, after victory and defeat, mortal terror, fury, anddespair. 

Eumedes pointed out the quiet grave by the sea to his parents, saying:"The King's command is fulfilled. Not even the one man who is usuallyspared to carry the news remains out of the four thousand. "

"I thank you, " exclaimed Alexander's gray-haired comrade, shaking hisson's right hand, but Thyone laid her hand on Hermon's arm, saving:"Where the birds are darkening the air behind us lies buried whatincensed Nemesis against you. You must leave the soil of Egypt. True, it is said that to live in foreign lands, far from the beloved home, darkens the existence; yet Pergamus, too, is Grecian soil, and thereI see the two noblest of stars illumine your path with their pure light-art and love. "

And his old friend's premonition was fulfilled. 

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

The story of Arachne is ended. It closed on the Nile. Hermon's new lifebegan in Pergamus. 

As Daphne's husband, under the same roof with the wonderfully invigoratedMyrtilus, his Uncle Archias, and faithful Bias, Hermon found in the newhome what had hovered before the blind man as the fairest goal ofexistence in art, love, and friendship. 

He did not long miss the gay varied life of Alexandria, because he founda rich compensation for it, and because Pergamus, too, was a rapidlygrowing city, whose artistic decoration was inferior to no other inGreece. 

Of the numerous works which Hermon completed in the service of the firstthree art-loving rulers of the new Pergamenian kingdom, Philetaerus, Eumenes, and Attalus, nothing was preserved except the head of a Gaul. This noble masterpiece proves how faithful Hermon remained to truth, which he had early chosen for the guiding star of his art. It is themodest remnant of the group in which Hermon perpetuated in marble the twoGallic brothers whom he saw before his last meeting with Ledscha, as theyoffered their breasts to the fatal shafts. 

One had gazed defiantly at the arrows of the conquerors; the other, whose head has been preserved, feeling the inevitable approach of death, anticipates, with sorrowful emotion, the end so close at hand. Philetaerus had sent this touching work to King Ptolemy to thank him forthe severity with which he had chastised the daring of the barbarians, who had not spared his kingdom also. The Gaul's head was again found onEgyptian soil. 

 [Copied in Th. Schrieber's The Head of the Gaul in the Museum of Ghizeh in Cairo. Leipsic, 1896. With appendix. By H. Curschmann. ]

Hermon also took other subjects in Pergamus from the domain of real life, though, in most of his work he crossed the limits which he had formerlyimposed upon himself. But one barrier, often as he rushed forward to itsoutermost verge, he never dared to pass--moderation, the noblest demand, to which his liberty-loving race subjected themselves willingly in lifeas well as in art. The whole infinite, limitless world of the ideal hadopened itself to the blind man. 

He made himself at home in it by remaining faithful to the rule which hehad found in the desert for his creative work, and the genuine happinesswhich he enjoyed through Daphne's love and the great fame his sculpturesbrought him increased the strong individuality of his power. 

The fruits of his tireless industry, the much-admired god of light, Phoebus Apollo, slaying the dragons of darkness, as well as hisbewitching Arachne, gazing proudly at the fabric with which shethinks she has surpassed the skill of the goddess, were overtaken bydestruction. In this statue Bias recognised his countrywoman Ledscha, and often gazed long at it with devout ecstasy. Even Hermon's works ofcolossal size vanished from the earth: the Battle of the Amazons and therelief containing numerous figures: the Sea Gods, which the RegentEumenes ordered for the Temple of Poseidon in Pergamus. 

The works of his grandson and grandson's pupils, however, are preservedon the great altar of victory in Pergamus. 

The power and energy natural to Hermon, the skill he had acquired inRhodes, everything in the changeful life of Alexandria which had inducedhim to consecrate his art to reality, and to that alone, and whatever hehad, finally, in quiet seclusion, recognised as right and in harmony withthe Greek nature and his own, blend in those works of his successor, which a gracious dispensation of Providence permits us still to admireat the present day, and which we call in its entirety, the art ofPergamus. 

The city was a second beloved home to him, as well as to his wife andMyrtilus. The rulers of the country took the old Alexandrian Archiasinto their confidence and knew how to honour him by many a distinction. He understood how to value the happiness of his only daughter, thebeautiful development of his grandchildren, and the high place thatHermon and Myrtilus, whom he loved as if they were his own sons, attainedamong the artists of their time. Yet he struggled vainly against thelonging for his dear old home. Therefore Hermon deemed it one of thebest days of his life when his turn came to make Daphne's father a happyman. 

King Ptolemy Philadelphus had sent laurel to the artist who had fallenunder suspicion in Egypt, and his messenger invited him and Myrtilus, andwith them also the exiled merchant, to return to his presence. Ingratitude for the pleasure which Hermon's creation afforded him and hiswife, the cause that kept the fugitive Archias from his home should beforgiven and forgotten. 

The gray-haired son of the capital returned with the Bithynian Gras tohis beloved Alexandria, as if his lost youth was again restored. Therehe found unchanged the busy, active life, the Macedonian Council, thebath, the marketplace, the bewitching conversation, the biting wit, theexquisite feasts of the eyes--in short, everything for which his hearthad longed even amid the happiness and love of his dear ones in Pergamus. 

For two years he endeavoured to enjoy everything as before; but when theworks of the Pergamenian artists, obtained by Ptolemy, had been exhibitedin the royal palaces, he returned home with a troubled mind. Like therest of the world, he thought that the reliefs of Myrtilus, representingscenes of rural life, were wonderful. 

The Capture of Proserpina, a life-size marble group by his son-in-lawHermon, seemed to him no less perfect; but it exerted a peculiar influence upon his paternal heart, for, in the Demeter, he recognisedDaphne, in the Proserpina her oldest daughter Erigone, who bore the nameof Hermon's mother and resembled her in womanly charm. How lovely thisbudding girl, who was his grand-daughter, seemed to the grandfather! Howgraceful, in spite of the womanly dignity peculiar to her, was themother, encircling her imperilled child with her protecting arm!

No work of sculpture had ever produced such an effect upon the old patronof art. 

Gras heard him, in his bedroom, murmur the names "Daphne" and "Erigone, "and therefore it did not surprise him when, the next morning, he receivedthe command to prepare everything for the return to Pergamus. It pleasedthe Bithynian, for he cared more for Daphne, Hermon, and their childrenthan all the pleasures of the capital. 

A few weeks later Archias found himself again in Pergamus with hisfamily, and he never left it, though he reached extreme old age, and waseven permitted to gaze in wondering admiration at the first attempts ofthe oldest son of Hermon and Daphne, and to hear them praised by others. 

This grandson of the Alexandrian Archias afterward became the master whotaught the generation of artists who created the Pergamenian works, inexamining which the question forced itself upon the narrator of thisstory: How do these sculptures possess the qualities which distinguishthem so strongly from the other statues of later Hellenic antiquity?

Did the great weaver Imagination err when she blended them, through themighty wrestler Hermon, with a tendency of Alexandrian science and art, which we see appearing again among us children of a period so much later?

Science, which is now once more pursuing similar paths, ought and willfollow them further, but Hermon's words remain applicable to the presentclay: "We will remain loyal servants of the truth; yet it alone does nothold the key to the holy of holies of art. To him for whom Apollo, thepure among the gods, and the Muses, friends of beauty, do not open it atthe same time with truth, its gates will remain closed, no matter howstrongly and persistently he shakes them. "

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