asure
in rowing in their own boats. Others had come to see the imperial barge,
which had been newly furnished up, and which was splendid enough to
attract even the luxurious Alexandrians. Gold and ivory, purple sails,
bronze and marble statues at the prow and stern, and in the little
shrines on the after-deck, combined in a gorgeous display, made all the
more brilliant by the low sun, which added vividness to every hue.

It was pleasant to linger on the strand at this hour. Spreading
sycamores and plumed palms cast a pleasant shade; the heat of the day
had abated, and a light air, which always blew in from the lake, fanned
Melissa's brow. There was no crushing mob, and no dust came up from the
well-watered roadway, and yet the girl had lost her cheerful looks,
in spite of the success of her bold venture; and Andreas walked by her
side, silent and ill-pleased.

She could not understand him; for, as long as she could remember, his
grave looks had always brightened at anything that had brought gladness
to her or to her mother. Besides, her success with the Roman would be
to the advantage of Diodoros, and the freedman was devoted to him.
Every now and then she perceived that his eye rested on her with a
compassionate expression, and when she inquired whether he were anxious
about the sufferer, he gave her some evasive answer, quite unlike his
usual decisive speech. This added to her alarm. At last his dissatisfied
and unsatisfactory replies vexed the usually patient girl, and she told
him so; for she could not suspect how painfully her triumph in her hasty
deed jarred on her truth-loving friend. He knew that it was not to
the great Galenus, but to the wealthy Serenus Samonicus, that she had
spoken; for the physician's noble and thoughtful features were familiar
to him from medals, statues, and busts. He had seen Samonicus, too, at
Antioch, and held his medical lore, as expressed in verse, very cheap.
How worthless would this man's help be! In spite of his promise,
Diodoros would after all have to be conveyed to the Serapeum; and yet
Andreas could not bear to crush his darling's hopes.

He had hitherto known her as a patient, dutiful child; to-day he had
seen with what unhesitating determination she could carry out a purpose;
and he feared that, if he told her the truth, she would at once make her
way into Caesar's quarters, in defiance of every obstacle, to crave the
assistance of the true Galen. He must leave her in erro