rcists, come to bann the evil spirits and daemons
that must surely haunt this high place of idolatry and abominations. They
carried crosses which they flourished like weapons against an unseen foe,
and touched the columns with them, the pavement and the few remaining
statues; they fell on their knees, making the sign of the cross with the
left hand; and, finally, they ranged themselves like soldiers in three
ranks in front of the niche containing the statue, pointed their crosses
at the god, and recited in loud, angry, and commanding tones the potent
anathemas and mysterious formulas which they thought calculated to expel
the most reprobate and obdurate of all the heathen devils. A host of
acolytes, following at their heels, swung their censers about the
plague-spot--the shrine of the king of idols; while the exorcists dipped
wands into a cauldron carried by their attendants, and sprinkled the
mystical figures on the hanging and on the mosaic pavement.

All this occupied several minutes. Then--and Gorgo's heart beat
high--then Constantine came in, armed and equipped, and behind him an Ala
of picked men, the elite of his troop; bearded men with tanned and
scarred faces. Instead of swords they carried axes, and they were
followed by sappers bearing tall ladders which, by Constantine's orders,
they leaned up against the niche. The infantry ranged under the
colonnades at the sides were evidently startled at the sight of these
ladders, and Gorgo could perceive by the trembling of the curtain near
which she and Apuleius were standing, how deeply the physician was
agitated. It was as though the axe had been displayed with which a king
was about to be decapitated.

Now the Bishop came in with the municipal dignitaries; priests and monks,
chanting as they walked, filled the broad hall, incessantly making the
sign of the cross; and the crowd that poured into the hypostyle pressed
as far forward as they were allowed by the chain which the soldiers held
outstretched between them and their superiors.

The populace-heathen and Christian of every sect and degree-filled the
aisles, too; but the chain also kept them off the upper end, on to which
the room opened in which Porphyrius lay; so that Gorgo's view of the
curtain and apse remained unhindered.

The psalm rang loudly through the temple-courts above the murmur and
grumble of the angry, terrified and expectant mob. They were prepared for
the worst; each one knew the crime which