e;
but she thought with some confusion of the impression made in her mind
by the Athenian's figure, which had reappeared several times in her
dreams. Without knowing why she associated Actaeon's appearance with that
of Zeus when he came to earth in mortal form in search of human love.

In her moments of tedium in Athens, when she used to submit with
repugnance to caresses for piles of gold, she experienced the vague
desire of being loved by a god. She thought of Leda, of Psyche, even of
the effeminate Ganymede beloved of the guests on Olympus, and she was in
despair at the impossibility of finding a god who should transport her
captive through a mysterious forest, or along some roadway leading to
the unknown. She longed to contemplate her image in the depths of eyes
animated by the splendor of the infinite; to kiss a mouth which served
as a portal to supreme wisdom; to feel herself imprisoned in arms
possessed of the immense strength of omnipotence. She had experienced a
suggestion of this joy in loving her poet, who was sometimes as majestic
and sublime as a divine being; but the simplicity of youth prevented her
appreciation of that joy, and now, in her maturity, she only met men
like those she had known in Athens, some rude and brutal, others
effeminate and captious, lacking the severe and sovereign beauty she
admired in statues.

She left her bath breathing with happy, childlike thrills, while her
hair scattered a light shower at every step.

Odacis called, and three slaves entered; they were those who assisted at
their mistress' toilet, the _tractatrices_ in charge of the massage of
the body.

Sonnica allowed herself to be manipulated by the three women who rubbed
her vigorously, stretching her limbs to keep them supple and agile. Then
she seated herself in a marble chair, resting her pink elbows on the
dolphins which formed the arms of the seat, and in this position, erect
and motionless, she waited for the slaves to proceed with the toilet.

One who was almost a child, wrapped in a mantle of broad stripes, knelt
on the floor holding a great engraved bronze mirror in which Sonnica
gazed at herself down to her thighs. Another arranged the toilet
articles on the tables, and Odacis began to smooth her mistress'
splendid hair with ivory combs. Meanwhile, the other slave approached
with a bronze patera filled with a gray ointment. It was the bean-flour
used by the Athenians of refinement to preserve the skin firm