n obliged to act
as if the battle had been already determined in their favour, for the
architectural preparations for the reception of the conquerors were
entrusted to his charge, and that very day must witness the decision of
the location of the colossal statues which represented Antony hand in
hand with his royal love.

The epitrop Mardion, a eunuch, who as Regent, represented Cleopatra; and
Zeno, the Keeper of the Seal, who rarely opposed him, wished to have
the piece of sculpture erected in a different place from the one he
favoured. The principal objection to the choice made by the powerful
head of the government was that it had fallen on land owned by a private
individual. This might lead to difficulties, and Gorgias opposed it.
As an artist, too, he did not approve Mardion's plan; for though, on
Didymus's land, the statues would have faced the sea, which the Regent
and the Keeper of the Seal regarded as very important, no fitting
background could have been obtained.

At any rate, the architect could now avail himself of Caesarion's
invitation to overlook from the appointed place of meeting--the lofty
steps of the Temple of Isis--the Bruchium, and seek the best site for
the twin statues. He was anxious to select the most suitable one; the
master who had created this work of art had been his friend, and had
closed his eyes in death shortly after its completion.

The sanctuary whence Gorgias commenced his survey was in one of the
fairest portions of the Bruchium, the Alexandrian quarter, where stood
the royal palace with its extensive annexes, the finest temples--except
the Serapeum, situated in another part of the city-and the largest
theatres; the Forum invited the council of Macedonian citizens to its
assemblies, and the Museum afforded a resort for the scholars.

The little square closed in the east by the Temple of Isis was called
the "Corner of the Muses," on account of the two marble statues of women
before the entrance of the house, which, with its large garden facing
the square northward and extending along the sea, belonged to Didymus,
an old and highly respected scholar and member of the Museum.

The day had been hot, and the shade of the Temple of Isis was very
welcome to the architect.

This sanctuary rested upon a lofty foundation, and a long flight of
steps led to the cella. The spot afforded Gorgias a wide prospect.

Most of the buildings within his vision belonged to the time of
Alexander an