d vexed her; but her grandmother had
suggested a way of reconciling them. Where he commanded victory followed,
and if the Christians should succeed in destroying the image of Serapis
the joints of the world would crack and the earth would crumble away. She
herself was familiar with the traditions and the oracles which with one
consent foretold this doom; she had learnt them as an infant from her
nurse, from the slave-women at the loom, from learned men and astute
philosophers--and to her the horrible prophecy meant a solution of every
contradiction and the bitter-sweet hope of perishing with the man she
loved.

As it grew dark another person appeared: the Moschosphragist--[The
examiner of sacrificed animals]--from the temple of Serapis, who, every
day, examined the entrails of a slaughtered beast for Damia; to-day the
augury had been so bad that he was almost afraid of revealing it. But the
old woman, sure of it beforehand, took his soothsaying quite calmly, and
only desired to be carried up to her observatory that she might watch the
risings of the stars.

Gorgo remained alone below. From the adjoining workrooms came the
monotonous rattle of the loom at which, as usual, a number of slaves were
working.

Suddenly the clatter ceased. Damia had sent a slave-girl down to say that
they might leave off work and rest till next day if they chose. She had
ordered that wine should be distributed to them in the great hall, as
freely as at the great festival of Dionysus.

All was silent in the Gynaeconitis. The garlands of flowers, which Gorgo
herself had helped some damsels of her acquaintance to twine for the
temple of Isis, lay in a heap-the steward had told her that the venerable
sanctuary was to be closed and surrounded by soldiers. This then put an
end to the festival; and she could have been heartily glad, for it
relieved her of the necessity of defying Constantine; still, it was with
tender melancholy that she thought of the gentle goddess in whose
sanctuary she had so often found comfort and support. She could remember,
as a tiny child, gathering the first flowers in her little garden, and
sticking them in the ground near the tank from which water was fetched
for libations in the temple; with the pocketmoney given her by her
elders, she had bought perfumes to pour on the altars of the divinity;
and often when her heart was heavy she had found relief in prayer before
the marble statue of the goddess. How splendid had t