many years."
Those who were thus dismissed withdrew, only the king's dresser, a
Macedonian of rank, paused doubtfully at the door, but Euergetes signed
to him to retire immediately, calling after him:

"I am very merry and shall not go to bed.  At three hours after sunrise I
expect Aristarchus--and for work too.  Put out the manuscripts that I
brought.  Is the Eunuch Eulaeus waiting in the anteroom?  Yes--so much
the better!

"Now we are alone, my wise friends Hierax and Komanus, and I must explain
to you that on this occasion, out of pure prudence, you seem to me to
have been anything rather than prudent.  To be prudent is to have the
command of a wide circle of thought, so that what is close at hand is no
more an obstacle than what is remote.  The narrow mind can command only
that which lies close under observation; the fool and visionary only that
which is far off.  I will not blame you, for even the wisest has his
hours of folly, but on this occasion you have certainly overlooked that
which is at hand, in gazing at the distance, and I see you stumble in
consequence.  If you had not fallen into that error you would hardly have
looked so bewildered when, just now, I exclaimed 'Capital!'

"Now, attend to me.  Philometor and my sister know very well what my
humor is, and what to expect of me.  If I had put on the mask of a
satisfied man they would have been surprised, and have scented mischief,
but as it was I showed myself to them exactly what I always am and even
more reckless than usual, and talked of what I wanted so openly that they
may indeed look forward to some deed of violence at my hands but hardly
to a treacherous surprise, and that tomorrow; for he who falls on his
enemy in the rear makes no noise about it.

"If I believed in your casuistry, I might think that to attack the enemy
from behind was not a particularly fine thing to do, for even I would
rather see a man's face than his rear--particularly in the case of my
brother and sister, who are both handsome to look upon.  But what can a
man do?  After all, the best thing to do is what wins the victory and
makes the game.  Indeed, my mode of warfare has found supporters among
the wise.  If you want to catch mice you must waste bacon, and if we are
to tempt men into a snare we must know what their notions and ideas are,
and begin by endeavoring to confuse them.

"A bull is least dangerous when he runs straight ahead in his fury; while
his two-legged opponent is least dangerous when he does not know what he
is about and runs feeling his way first to the right and then to the
left.  Thanks to your approval--for I have deserved it, and I hope to be
able to return it, my friend Hierax.  I am curious as to your report.
Shake up the cushion here under my head--and now you may begin."

"All appears admirably arranged," answered the general.  "The flower of
our troops, the Diadoches and Hetairoi, two thousand-five hundred men,
are on their way hither, and by to-morrow will encamp north of Memphis.
Five hundred will find their way into the citadel, with the priests and
other visitors to congratulate you on your birthday, the other two
thousand will remain concealed in the tents.  The captain of your brother
Philometor's Philobasilistes is bought over, and will stand by us; but
his price was high--Komanus was forced to offer him twenty talents before
he would bite."

"He shall have them," said the king laughing, "and he shall keep them
too, till it suits me to regard him as suspicious, and to reward him
according to his deserts by confiscating his estates.  Well! proceed."

"In order to quench the rising in Thebes, the day before yesterday
Philometor sent the best of the mercenaries with the standards of
Desilaus and Arsinoe to the South.  Certainly it cost not a little to
bribe the ringleaders, and to stir up the discontent to an outbreak."

"My brother will repay us for this outlay," interrupted the king, "when
we pour his treasure into our own coffers.  Go on."

"We shall have most difficulty with the priests and the Jews.  The former
cling to Philometor, because he is the eldest son of his father, and has
given large bounties to the temples, particularly of Apollinopolis and
Philae; the Jews are attached to him, because he favors them more than
the Greeks, and he, and his wife--your illustrious sister--trouble
themselves with their vain religious squabbles; he disputes with them
about the doctrines contained in their book, and at table too prefers
conversing with them to any one else."

"I will salt the wine and meat for them that they fatten on here," cried
Euergetes vehemently, "I forbade to-day their presence at my table, for
they have good eyes and wits as sharp as their noses.  And they are most
dangerous when they are in fear, or can reckon on any gains.

"At the same time it cannot be denied that they are honest and tenacious,
and as most of them are possessed of some property they rarely make
common cause with the shrieking mob--particularly here in Alexandria.

"Envy alone can reproach them for their industry and enterprise, for the
activity of the Hellenes has improved upon the example set by them and
their Phoenician kindred.

"They thrive best in peaceful times, and since the world runs more
quietly here, under my brother and sister, than under me, they attach
themselves to them, lend my brother money, and supply my sister with cut
stones, sapphires and emeralds, selling fine stuffs and other woman's
gear for a scrap of written papyrus, which will soon be of no more value
than the feather which falls from the wing of that green screaming bird
on the perch yonder.

"It is incomprehensible to me that so keen a people cannot perceive that
there is nothing permanent but change, nothing so certain as that nothing
is certain; and that they therefore should regard their god as the one
only god, their own doctrine as absolutely and eternally true, and that
they contemn what other peoples believe.

"These darkened views make fools of them, but certainly good soldiers
too--perhaps by reason indeed of this very exalted self-consciousness and
their firm reliance on their supreme god."

"Yes, they certainly are," assented Hierax.  "But they serve your brother
more willingly, and at a lower price, than us."

"I will show them," cried the king, "that their taste is a perverted and
obnoxious one.  I require of the priests that they should instruct the
people to be obedient, and to bear their privations patiently; but the
Jews," and at these words his eyes rolled with an ominous glare, "the
Jews I will exterminate, when the time comes."

"That will be good for our treasury too," laughed Komanus.

"And for the temples in the country," added Euergetes, "for though I seek
to extirpate other foes I would rather win over the priests; and I must
try to win them if Philometor's kingdom falls into my hands, for the
Egyptians require that their king should be a god; and I cannot arrive
at the dignity of a real god, to whom my swarthy subjects will pray with
thorough satisfaction, and without making my life a burden to me by
continual revolts, unless I am raised to it by the suffrages of the
priests."

"And nevertheless," replied Hierax, who was the only one of Euergetes'
dependents, who dared to contradict him on important questions,
"nevertheless this very day a grave demand is to be preferred on your
account to the high-priest of Serapis.  You press for the surrender of a
servant of the god, and Philometor will not neglect--"

"Will not neglect," interrupted Euergetes, "to inform the mighty
Asclepiodorus that he wants the sweet creature for me, and not for
himself.  Do you know that Eros has pierced my heart, and that I burn
for the fair Irene, although these eyes have not yet been blessed with
the sight of her?

"I see you believe me, and I am speaking the exact truth, for I vow I
will possess myself of this infantine Hebe as surely as I hope to win my
brother's throne; but when I plant a tree, it is not merely to ornament
my garden but to get some use of it.  You will see how I will win over
both the prettiest of little lady-loves and the high-priest who, to be
sure, is a Greek, but still a man hard to bend.  My tools are all ready
outside there.

"Now, leave me, and order Eulaeus to join me here."

"You are as a divinity," said  Komanus, bowing deeply, "and we but as
frail mortals.  Your proceedings often seem dark and incomprehensible to
our weak intellect, but when a course, which to us seems to lead to no
good issue, turns out well, we are forced to admit with astonishment that
you always choose the best way, though often a tortuous one."

For a short time the king was alone, sitting with his black brows knit,
and gazing meditatively at the floor.  But as soon as he heard the soft
foot-fall of Eulaeus, and the louder step of his guide, he once more
assumed the aspect of a careless and reckless man of the world, shouted a
jolly welcome to Eulaeus, reminded him of his, the king's, boyhood, and
of how often he, Eulaeus, had helped him to persuade his mother to grant
him some wish she had previously refused him.

"But now, old boy," continued the king, "the times are changed, and with
you now-a-days it is everything for Philometor and nothing for poor
Euergetes, who, being the younger, is just the one who most needs your
assistance."

Eulaeus bowed with a smile which conveyed that he understood perfectly
how little the king's last words were spoken in earnest, and he said:

"I purposed always to assist the weaker of you two, and that is what I
believe myself to be doing now."

"You mean my sister?"

"Our sovereign lady Cleopatra is of the sex which is often unjustly
called the weaker.  Though you no doubt were pleased to speak in jest
when you asked that question, I feel bound to answer you distinctly that
it was not Cleopatra that I meant, but King Philometor."

"Philometor?  Then you have no faith in his strength, you regard me as
stronger than he; and yet, at the banquet to-day, you offered me your
services, and told me that the task had devolved upon you of demanding
the surrender of the little serving-maiden of Serapis, in the king's
name, of Asclepiodorus, the high-priest.  Do you call that aiding the
weaker?  But perhaps you were drunk when you told me that?

"No?  You were more moderate than I?  Then some other change of views
must have taken place in you; and yet that would very much surprise me,
since your principles require you to aid the weaker son of my mother--"

"You are laughing at me," interrupted the courtier with gentle
reproachfulness, and yet in a tone of entreaty.  "If I took your side it
was not from caprice, but simply and expressly from a desire to remain
faithful to the one aim and end of my life."

"And that is?"

"To provide for the welfare of this country in the same sense as did your
illustrious mother, whose counsellor I was."

"But you forget to mention the other--to place yourself to the best
possible advantage."

"I did not forget it, but I did not mention it, for I know how closely
measured out are the moments of a king; and besides, it seems to me as
self-evident that we think of our personal advantage as that when we buy
a horse we also buy his shadow."

"How subtle!  But I no more blame you than I should a girl who stands
before her mirror to deck herself for her lover, and who takes the same
opportunity of rejoicing in her own beauty.

"However, to return to your first speech.  It is for the sake of Egypt
as you think--if I understand you rightly--that you now offer me the
services you have hitherto devoted to my brother's interests?"

"As you say; in these difficult times the country needs the will and the
hand of a powerful leader."

"And such a leader you think I am?"

"Aye, a giant in strength of will, body and intellect--whose desire to
unite the two parts of Egypt in your sole possession cannot fail, if you
strike and grasp boldly, and if--"

"If?"  repeated the king, looking at the speaker so keenly that his eyes
fell, and he answered softly:

"If Rome should raise no objection."

Euergetes shrugged his shoulders, and replied gravely:

"Rome indeed is like Fate, which always must give the final decision in
everything we do.  I have certainly not been behindhand in enormous
sacrifices to mollify that inexorable power, and my representative,
through whose hands pass far greater sums than through those of the
paymasters of the troops, writes me word that they are not unfavorably
disposed towards me in the Senate."

"We have learned that from ours also.  You have more friends by the Tiber
than Philometor, my own king, has; but our last despatch is already
several weeks old, and in the last few days things have occurred--"

"Speak!" cried Euergetes, sitting bolt upright on his cushions.  "But if
you are laying a trap for me, and if you are speaking now as my brother's
tool, I will punish you--aye! and if you fled to the uttermost cave of
the Troglodytes I would have you followed up, and you should be torn in
pieces alive, as surely as I believe myself to be the true son of my
father."

"And I should deserve the punishment," replied Eulaeus humbly.  Then he
went on: "If I see clearly, great events lie before us in the next few
days."

"Yes--truly," said Euergetes firmly.

"But just at present Philometor is better represented in Rome than he has
ever been.  You made acquaintance with young Publius Scipio at the king's
table, and showed little zeal in endeavoring to win his good graces."

"He is one of the Cornelii," interrupted the king, "a distinguished young
man, and related to all the noblest blood of Rome; but he is not an
ambassador; he has travelled from Athens to Alexandria, in order to learn
more than he need; and he carries his head higher and speaks more freely
than becomes him before kings, because the young fellows fancy it looks
well to behave like their elders."

"He is of more importance than you imagine."

"Then I will invite him to Alexandria, and there will win him over in
three days, as surely as my name is Euergetes."

"It will then be too late, for he has to-day received, as I know for
certain, plenipotentiary powers from the Senate to act in their name in
case of need, until the envoy who is to be sent here again arrives."

"And I only now learn this for the first time!" cried the king springing
up from his couch, "my friends must be deaf, and blind and dull indeed,
if still I have any, and my servants and emissaries too!  I cannot bear
this haughty ungracious fellow, but I will invite him tomorrow morning--
nay I will invite him to-day, to a festive entertainment, and send him
the four handsomest horses that I have brought with me from Cyrene.  I
will--"

"It will all be in vain," said Eulaeus calmly and dispassionately.
"For he is master, in the fullest and widest meaning of the word, of the
queen's favor--nay--if I may permit myself to speak out freely--of
Cleopatra's more than warm liking, and he enjoys this sweetest of gifts
with a thankful heart.  Philometor--as he always does--lets matters go
as they may, and Cleopatra and Publius--Publius and Cleopatra triumph
even publicly in their love; gaze into each other's eyes like any pair of
pastoral Arcadians, exchange cups and kiss the rim on the spot where the
lips of the other have touched it.  Promise and grant what you will to
this man, he will stand by your sister; and if you should succeed in
expelling her from the throne he would boldly treat you as Popilius
Laenas did your uncle Antiochus: he would draw a circle round your
person, and say that if you dared to step beyond it Rome would march
against you."

Euergetes listened in silence, then, flinging away the draperies that
wrapped his body, he paced up and down in stormy agitation, groaning from
time to time, and roaring like a wild bull that feels itself confined
with cords and bands, and that exerts all its strength in vain to rend
them.

Finally he stood still in front of Eulaeus and asked him:

"What more do you know of the Roman?"

"He, who would not allow you to compare yourself to Alcibiades, is
endeavoring to out-do that darling of the Athenian maidens; for he is not
content with having stolen the heart of the king's wife, he is putting
out his hand to reach the fairest virgin who serves the highest of the
gods.  The water-bearer whom Lysias, the Roman's friend, recommended for
a Hebe is beloved by Publius, and he hopes to enjoy her favors more
easily in your gay palace than he can in the gloomy temple of Serapis."

At these words the king struck his forehead with his hand, exclaiming:
"Oh! to be a king--a man who is a match for any ten! and to be obliged to
submit with a patient shrug like a peasant whose grain my horsemen crush
into the ground!

"He can spoil everything; mar all my plans and thwart all my desires--and
I can do nothing but clench my fist, and suffocate with rage.  But this
fuming and groaning are just as unavailing as my raging and cursing by
the death-bed of my mother, who was dead all the same and never got up
again.

"If this Publius were a Greek, a Syrian, an Egyptian--nay, were he my own
brother--I tell you, Eulaeus, he should not long stand in my way; but he
is plenipotentiary from Rome, and Rome is Fate--Rome is Fate."

The king flung himself back on to his cushions with a deep sigh, and as
if crushed with despair, hiding his face in the soft pillows; but Eulaeus
crept noiselessly up to the young giant, and whispered in his ear with
solemn deliberateness:

"Rome is Fate, but even Rome can do nothing against Fate.  Publius Scipio
must die because he is ruining your mother's daughter, and stands in the
way of your saving Egypt.  The Senate would take a terrible revenge if he
were murdered, but what can they do if wild beasts fall on their
plenipotentiary, and tear him to pieces?"

"Grand! splendid!"  cried Euergetes, springing again to his feet, and
opening his large eyes with radiant surprise and delight, as if heaven
itself had opened before them, revealing the sublime host of the gods
feasting at golden tables.

"You are a great man, Eulaeus, and I shall know how to reward you; but
do you know of such wild beasts as we require, and do they know how to
conduct themselves so that no one shall dare to harbor even the shadow of
a suspicion that the wounds torn by their teeth and claws were inflicted
by daggers, pikes or spearheads?"

"Be perfectly easy," replied Eulaeus.  "These beasts of prey have already
had work to do here in Memphis, and are in the service of the king--"

"Aha! of my gentle brother!"  laughed Euergetes.  "And he boasts of never
having killed any one excepting in battle--and now--"

"But Philometor has a wife," interposed Eulaeus; and Euergetes went on.

"Aye, woman, woman! what is there that a man may not learn from a woman?"

Then he added in a lower tone: "When can your wild beasts do their work?"

"The sun has long since risen; before it sets I will have made my
preparations, and by about midnight, I should think, the deed may be
done.  We will promise the Roman a secret meeting, lure him out to the
temple of Serapis, and on his way home through the desert--"

"Aye, then,--" cried the king, making a thrust at his own breast as
though his hand held a dagger, and he added in warning: "But your beasts
must be as powerful as lions, and as cautious-as cautious, as cats.  If
you want gold apply to Komanus, or, better still, take this purse.  Is it
enough?  Still I must ask you; have you any personal ground of hatred
against the Roman?"

"Yes," answered Eulaeus decisively.  "He guesses that I know all about
him and his doings, and he has attacked me with false accusations which
may bring me into peril this very day.  If you should hear that the queen
has decided on throwing me into prison, take immediate steps for my
liberation."

"No one shall touch a hair of your head; depend upon that.  I see that it
is to your interest to play my game, and I am heartily glad of it, for a
man works with all his might for no one but himself.  And now for the
last thing:  When will you fetch my little Hebe?"

"In an hour's time I am going to Asclepiodorus; but we must not demand
the girl till to-morrow, for today she must remain in the temple as a
decoy-bird for Publius Scipio."

"I will take patience; still I have yet another charge to give you.
Represent the matter to the high-priest in such a way that he shall think
my brother wishes to gratify one of my fancies by demanding--absolutely
demanding--the water-bearer on my behalf.  Provoke the man as far as is
possible without exciting suspicion, and if I know him rightly, he will
stand upon his rights, and refuse you persistently.  Then, after you,
will come Komanus from me with greetings and gifts and promises.

"To-morrow, when we have done what must be done to the Roman, you shall
fetch the girl in my brother's name either by cunning or by force; and
the day after, if the gods graciously lend me their aid in uniting the
two realms of Egypt under my own hand, I will explain to Asclepiodorus
that I have punished Philometor for his sacrilege against his temple, and
have deposed him from the throne.  Serapis shall see which of us is his
friend.

"If all goes well, as I mean that it shall, I will appoint you Epitropon
of the re-united kingdom--that I swear to you by the souls of my deceased
ancestors.  I will speak with you to-day at any hour you may demand it."

Eulaeus departed with a step as light as if his interview with the king
had restored him to youth.

When Hierax, Komanus, and the other officers returned to the room,
Euergetes gave orders that his four finest horses from Cyrene should be
led before noonday to his friend Publius Cornelius Scipio, in token of
his affection and respect.  Then he suffered himself to be dressed, and
went to Aristarchus with whom he sat down to work at his studies.




CHAPTER XIV.

The temple of Serapis lay in restful silence, enveloped in darkness,
which so far hid its four wings from sight as to give it the aspect of a
single rock-like mass wrapped in purple mist.

Outside the temple precincts too all had been still; but just now a
clatter of hoofs and rumble of wheels was audible through the silence,
otherwise so profound that it seemed increased by every sound.  Before
the vehicle which occasioned this disturbance had reached the temple, it
stopped, just outside the sacred acacia-grove, for the neighing of a
horse was now audible in that direction.

It was one of the king's horses that neighed; Lysias, the Greek, tied him
up to a tree by the road at the edge of the grove, flung his mantle over
the loins of the smoking beast; and feeling his way from tree to tree
soon found himself by the Well of the Sun where he sat down on the
margin.

Presently from the east came a keen, cold breeze, the harbinger of
sunrise; the gray gloaming began by degrees to pierce and part the tops
of the tall trees, which, in the darkness, had seemed a compact black
roof.  The crowing of cocks rang out from the court-yard of the temple,
and, as the Corinthian rose with a shiver to warm himself by a rapid walk
backwards and forwards, he heard a door creak near the outer wall of the
temple, of which the outline now grew sharper and clearer every instant
in the growing light.

He now gazed with eager observation down the path which, as the day
approached, stood out with increasing clearness from the surrounding
shades, and his heart began to beat faster as he perceived a figure
approaching the well, with rapid steps.  It was a human form that
advanced towards him--only one--no second figure accompanied it; but it
was not a man--no, a woman in a long robe.  Still, she for whom he waited
was surely smaller than the woman, who now came near to him.  Was it the
elder and not the younger sister, whom alone he was anxious to speak
with, who came to the well this morning?

He could now distinguish her light foot-fall--now she was divided from
him by a young acacia-shrub which hid her from his gaze-now she set down
two water-jars on the ground--now she briskly lifted the bucket and
filled the vessel she held in her left hand--now she looked towards the
eastern horizon, where the dim light of dawn grew broader and brighter,
and Lysias thought he recognized Irene--and now--Praised be the gods!  he
was sure; before him stood the younger and not the elder sister; the very
maiden whom he sought.

Still half concealed by the acacia-shrub, and in a soft voice so as not
to alarm her, he called Irene's name, and the poor child's blood froze
with terror, for never before had she been startled by a man here, and at
this hour.  She stood as if rooted to the spot, and, trembling with
fright, she pressed the cold, wet, golden jar, sacred to the god, closely
to her bosom.

Lysias repeated her name, a little louder than before, and went on, but
in a subdued voice:

"Do not be frightened, Irene; I am Lysias, the Corinthian--your friend,
whose pomegranate-blossom you wore yesterday, and who spoke to you after
the procession.  Let me bid you good morning!"

At these words the girl let her hand fall by her side, still holding the
jar, and pressing her right hand to her heart, she exclaimed, drawing a
deep breath:

"How dreadfully you frightened me!  I thought some wandering soul was
calling me that had not yet returned to the nether world, for it is not
till the sun rises that spirits are scared away."

"But it cannot scare men of flesh and blood whose purpose is good.
I, you may believe me, would willingly stay with you, till Helios departs
again, if you would permit me."

"I can neither permit nor forbid you anything," answered Irene.  "But,
how came you here at this hour?"

"In a chariot," replied Lysias smiling.

"That is nonsense--I want to know what you came to the Well of the Sun
for at such an hour."

"I What but for you yourself?  You told me yesterday that you were glad
to sleep, and so am I; still, to see you once more, I have been only to
glad to shorten my night's rest considerably."

"But, how did you know?"

"You yourself told me yesterday at what time you were allowed to leave
the temple."

"Did I tell you?  Great Serapis!  how light it is already.  I shall be
punished if the water-jar is not standing on the altar by sunrise, and
there is Klea's too to be filled."

"I will fill it for you directly--there--that is done; and now I will
carry them both for you to the end of the grove, if you will promise me
to return soon, for I have many things to ask you."

"Go on--only go on," said the girl; "I know very little; but ask away,
though you will not find much to be made of any answers that I can give."

"Oh! yes, indeed, I shall--for instance, if I asked you to tell me all
about your parents.  My friend Publius, whom you know, and I also have
heard how cruelly and unjustly they were punished, and we would gladly do
much to procure their release."

"I will come--I will be sure to come," cried Irene loudly and eagerly,
"and shall I bring Klea with me?  She was called up in the middle of the
night by the gatekeeper, whose child is very ill.  My sister is very fond
of it, and Philo will only take his medicine from her.  The little one
had gone to sleep in her lap, and his mother came and begged me to fetch
the water for us both.  Now give me the jars, for none but we may enter
the temple."

"There they are.  Do not disturb your sister on my account in her care of
the poor little boy, for I might indeed have one or two things to say to
you which she need not hear, and which might give you pleasure.  Now, I
am going back to the well, so farewell!  But do not let me have to wait
very long for you."  He spoke in a tender tone of entreaty, and the girl
answered low and rapidly as she hurried away from him:

"I will come when the sun is up."

The Corinthian looked after her till she had vanished within the temple,
and his heart was stirred--stirred as it had not been for many years.  He
could not help recalling the time when he would teaze his younger sister,
then still quite a child, putting her to the test by asking her, with a
perfectly grave face, to give him her cake or her apple which he did not
really want at all.  The little one had almost always put the thing he
asked for to his mouth with her tiny hands, and then he had often felt
exactly as he felt now.

Irene too was still but a child, and no less guileless than his darling
in his own home; and just as his sister had trusted him--offering him
the best she had to give--so this simple child trusted him; him, the
profligate Lysias, before whom all the modest women of Corinth cast down
their eyes, while fathers warned their growing-up sons against him;
trusted him with her virgin self--nay, as he thought, her sacred person.

"I will do thee no harm, sweet child!"  he murmured to himself, as he
presently turned on his heel to return to the well.  He went forward
quickly at first, but after a few steps he paused before the marvellous
and glorious picture that met his gaze.  Was Memphis in flames?  Had fire
fallen to burn up the shroud of mist which had veiled his way to the
temple?

The trunks of the acacia-trees stood up like the blackened pillars of a
burning city, and behind them the glow of a conflagration blazed high up
to the heavens.  Beams of violet and gold slipped and sparkled between
the boughs, and danced among the thorny twigs, the white racemes of
flowers, and the tufts of leaves with their feathery leaflets; the clouds
above were fired with tints more pure and tender than those of the roses
with which Cleopatra had decked herself for the banquet.

Not like this did the sun rise in his own country!  Or, was it perhaps
only that in Corinth or in Athens at break of day, as he staggered home
drunk from some feast, he had looked more at the earth than at the
heavens?

His horses began now to neigh loudly as if to greet the steeds of the
coming Sun-god.  Lysias hurried to them through the grove, patted their
shining necks with soothing words, and stood looking down at the vast
city at his feet, over which hung a film of violet mist--at the solemn
Pyramids, over which the morning glow flung a gay robe of rose-color--on
the huge temple of Ptah, with the great colossi in front of its pylons--
on the Nile, mirroring the glory of the sky, and on the limestone hills
behind the villages of Babylon and Troy, about which he had, only
yesterday, heard a Jew at the king's table relating a legend current
among his countrymen to the effect that these hills had been obliged to
give up all their verdure to grace the mounts of the sacred city
Hierosolyma.

The rocky cliffs of this barren range glowed at this moment like the fire
in the heart of the great ruby which had clasped the festal robe of King
Euergetes across his bull-neck, as it reflected the shimmer of the
tapers: and Lysias saw the day-star rising behind the range with blinding
radiance, shooting forth rays like myriads of golden arrows, to rout and
destroy his foe, the darkness of night.

Eos, Helios, Phoebus Apollo--these had long been to him no more than
names, with which he associated certain phenomena, certain processes and
ideas; for he when he was not luxuriating in the bath, amusing himself in
the gymnasium, at cock or quail-fights, in the theatre or at Dionysiac
processions--was wont to exercise his wits in the schools of the
philosophers, so as to be able to shine in bandying words at
entertainments; but to-day, and face to face with this sunrise,
he believed as in the days of his childhood--he saw in his mind's eye
the god riding in his golden chariot, and curbing his foaming steeds,
his shining train floating lightly round him, bearing torches or
scattering flowers--he threw up his arms with an impulse of devotion,
praying aloud:

"To-day I am happy and light of heart.  To thy presence do I owe this,
O! Phoebus Apollo, for thou art light itself.  Oh! let thy favors
continue--"

But he here broke off in his invocation, and dropped his arms, for he
heard approaching footsteps.  Smiling at his childish weakness--for such
he deemed it that he should have prayed--and yet content from his pious
impulse, he turned his back on the sun, now quite risen, and stood face
to face with Irene who called out to him:

"I was beginning to think that you had got out of patience and had gone
away, when I found you no longer by the well.  That distressed me--but
you were only watching Helios rise.  I see it every day, and yet it
always grieves me to see it as red as it was to-day, for our Egyptian
nurse used to tell me that when the east was very red in the morning it
was because the Sun-god had slain his enemies, and it was their blood
that colored the heavens, and the clouds and the hills."

"But you are a Greek," said Lysias, "and you must know that it is Eos
that causes these tints when she touches the horizon with her rosy
fingers before Helios appears.  Now to-day you are, to me, the rosy dawn
presaging a fine day."

"Such a ruddy glow as this," said Irene, "forebodes great heat, storms,
and perhaps heavy rain, so the gatekeeper says; and he is always with the
astrologers who observe the stars and the signs in the heavens from the
towers near the temple-gates.  He is poor little Philo's father.
I wanted to bring Klea with me, for she knows more about our parents than
I do; but he begged me not to call her away, for the child's throat is
almost closed up, and if it cries much the physician says it will choke,
and yet it is never quiet but when it is lying in Klea's arms.  She is so
good--and she never thinks of herself; she has been ever since midnight
till now rocking that heavy child on her lap."

"We will talk with her presently," said the Corinthian.  "But to-day
it was for your sake that I came; you have such merry eyes, and your
little mouth looks as if it were made for laughing, and not to sing
lamentations.  How can you bear being always in that shut up dungeon
with all those solemn men in their black and white robes?"

There are some very good and kind ones among them.  I am most fond of old
Krates, he looks gloomy enough at every one else; but with me only he
jokes and talks, and he often shows me such pretty and elegantly wrought
things."

"Ah! I told you just now you are like the rosy dawn before whom all
darkness must vanish."

"If only you could know how thoughtless I can be, and how often I give