le chorus of a theatre invited by a friend of art, excited women who
dragged with them a goat that was to be slaughtered to Dionysus--none had
been able to resist the temptation to join the procession. It turned down
the Moon-street, keeping to the middle of the road which was planted with
elms, and had on each side of it a raised foot-way, which at this time of
night no one used. How clear was the sound of the double-pipes, how
bravely the girls hit the calf-skin of the tambourines with their soft
fists, how saucily the wind tossed and tangled the dishevelled hair of
the riotous women and played with the smoke of the torches which were
wielded in the air by audacious youths, disguised as Pan or as Satyrs,
and shouting as they went.

Here a girl, holding her tambourine high in the air, rattled the little
bells on its hoop, as she flew along, as violently as though she wanted
to shake the hollow metal balls out of their frame, and send them
whistling through the air on their own account-there, side by side with
his comrades, who were excited almost to madness, a handsome lad came
skipping along in elaborately graceful leaps, but carrying over his arm,
with comic care, a long bull's-tail that he had tied on, and blowing
alternately up and down the short scale from the shortest to the longest
of the reeds composing his panpipes. Through the noisy crowd as they
rushed by, sounded, now and again, a loud roar, that might as easily have
been caused by pain as joy; but it was each time hastily drowned in mad
laughter, extravagant singing and jubilant music.

Old and young, great and small, all in short that came near this rabble
train, were carried off with irresistible force to follow it with shouts
of triumph. Even Pollux and Arsinoe had for some time ceased to walk
soberly side by side, but moved their feet, laughingly in time to the
merry measure.

"How nice it sounds," cried the artist. "I could dance and be merry too
Arsinoe, dance and make merry with you like a madman!"

Before she could find time to say 'yes' or 'no,' he shouted a loud "To,
To, Dionysus," and flung her up in the air. She too was caught by the
spirit of the thing, and waving her hand above her head she joined in his
shout of triumph, and let him drag her along to a corner of the
Moon-street where a seller of garlands offered her wares for sale. There
she let him wreathe her with ivy, she stuck a laurel wreath on his head,
twisted a streamer of ivy rou