patiate on all that she had to forego and
to endure in the oasis, and she discoursed of virtue and the duties of a
wife, and of the wickedness and audacity of men.

Hermas, she said, was no better than the rest, and because she had shown
herself somewhat kind to him, he fancied already that he had a claim on
her liking; but he was greatly mistaken, and if only the courtyard had
been empty, she would long ago have shown him the door.

The young hermit was soon only half listening to all she said, for his
attention had been riveted by the armor which lay before him, and which
gave a new direction to his excited feelings. He involuntarily put
out his hand towards the gleaming helmet, and interrupted the pretty
preacher with the question, "May I try it on?"

Sirona laughed out loud and exclaimed, much amused and altogether
diverted from her train of thought, "To be sure. You ought to be a
soldier. How well it suits you! Take off your nasty sheepskin, and let
us see how the anchorite looks as a centurion."

Hermas needed no second telling; he decked himself in the Gaul's armor
with Sirona's help. We human beings must indeed be in a deplorable
plight; otherwise how is it that from our earliest years we find such
delight in disguising ourselves; that is to say, in sacrificing our
own identity to the tastes of another whose aspect we borrow. The child
shares this inexplicable pleasure with the sage, and the stern man who
should condemn it would not therefore be the wiser, for he who wholly
abjures folly is a fool all the more certainly the less he fancies
himself one. Even dressing others has a peculiar charm, especially for
women; it is often a question which has the greater pleasure, the maid
who dresses her mistress or the lady who wears the costly garment.

Sirona was devoted to every sort of masquerading. If it had been needful
to seek a reason why the senator's children and grandchildren were so
fond of her, by no means last or least would have been the fact that
she would willingly and cheerfully allow herself to be tricked out in
colored kerchiefs, ribands, and flowers, and on her part could contrive
the most fantastic costumes for them. So soon as she saw Hermas with
the helmet on, the fancy seized her to carry through the travesty he
had begun. She eagerly and in perfect innocence pulled the coat of armor
straight, helped him to buckle the breastplate and to fasten on the
sword, and as she performed the task, at w