be removed to-morrow, it is true; you know that our gracious Queen
may return any day-victorious if the immortals are just. This piece of
sculpture, which is created in her honour, to afford her pleasure, must
greet her on her arrival, so the Regent send me to-day to communicate
his wish, which, as he represents the Queen--"

"Yet," interrupted the architect, who had again warmly assured the old
man's granddaughter of his aid, "yet your friends will endeavour to
persuade the Regent to find another place for the statues."

"They are at liberty to do so," said the officer. "What will happen
later the future will show. My office merely requires me to induce the
worthy owner of this house and garden to submit to-day to the Queen's
command, which the Regent and my own heart bid me clothe in the form of
a request."

During this conversation the old man had at first listened silently to
the magistrate's words, gazing intently into his face. So it was true.
The demand to yield up his garden, and even the little house, for
fifty years the scene of his study and creative work, for the sake of a
statue, would be made. Since this had become a certainty, he had stood
with his eyes fixed upon the ground. Grief had paralyzed his tongue, and
Helena, who felt this, for the aged head seemed as if it were bending
under a heavy burden, had drawn close to his side.

The shouts and howls of the throng outside echoed through the open roof
of the impluvium, but the old man did not seem to hear them, and did not
even notice his granddaughter. Yet, no sooner did he feel her touch than
he hurriedly shrank away, flung back his drooping head, and gazed around
the circle of intruders.

The dull, questioning eyes of the old commentator and writer of many
books now blazed with the hot fire of youthful passion and, like a
wrestler who seeks the right grip, he measured Apollonius and his
companions with wrathful glances. The fragile recluse seemed transformed
into a warrior ready for battle. His lips and the nostrils of his
delicate nose quivered, and when Apollonius began to say that it would
be wise to remove the contents of the summer-house that day, as it
would be torn down early the next morning, Didymus raised his arms,
exclaiming:

"That will not be done. Not a single roll shall be removed! They will
find me at work as usual early to-morrow morning, and if it is still
your wish to rob me of my property you must use violence to attain your