went no further; for his hearers--many of whom knew the
brilliant, generous Dion, and Barine, the fair singer at the last Adonis
festival--gave the orator tokens of their indignation, which were all
the more pitiless because of the pleasure they felt in seeing an expert
vanquished by an untrained foe. The wordy war would not have ended so
quickly, however, had not restlessness and alarm taken possession of
the crowd. The shout, "Back! disperse!" ran through the multitude, and
directly after the trampling of hoofs and the commands of the leader
of a troop of Libyan cavalry were heard. The matter at stake was not
sufficiently important to induce the populace to offer an armed force
resistance which might have entailed serious danger. Besides, the
blustering war of tongues had reached a merry close, and loud laughter
blended with the shouts of fear and warning; for the surging throng
had swept with unexpected speed towards the fountain and plunged
Philostratus into the basin. Whether this was due to the wrath of some
enemy, or to mere accident, could not be learned; the vain efforts of
the luckless man to crawl out of the water up the smooth marble were so
comical, and his gestures, after helping hands had dragged him dripping
upon the pavement of the square, were so irresistibly funny, that more
laughing than angry voices were heard, especially when some one cried,
"His hands were soiled by blackening Didymus, so the washing will do
him good." "Some wise physicians flung him into the water," retorted an
other; "he needed the cold application after the blows Dion dealt him."

The Regent, who had sent the troop of horsemen to drive the crowd away
from Didymus's house, might well be pleased that the violent measure
encountered so little resistance.

The throng quickly scattered, and was speedily attracted by something
new at the Theatre of Dionysus--the zither-player Anaxenor had just
announced from its steps that Cleopatra and Antony had won the most
brilliant victory, and had sung to the accompaniment of his lute a hymn
which had deeply stirred all hearts. He had composed it long before,
and seized the first opportunity--the report had reached his ears while
breakfasting in Kanopus--to try its effect.

As soon as the square began to empty, Barine left her post of
observation. It was long since her heart had throbbed so violently. Not
one of the many suitors for her favour had been so dear to her as Dion;
but she now felt