ine Lake, and the attendant exhausting amusements. When her
brother-in-law entered the room, she raised her carefully tinted
eyebrows, and observed with great languor:--

"So you have gotten away from Rome, at last, my Lucius?"

"For a few days," replied Lentulus, in no very affable tone; "the heat
and din of the city will drive me mad! And I have had no end of
troublesome business. The senators are all fools or slaves of Caesar.
That treacherous rascal, Curio, is blocking all our efforts. Even
Pompeius is half-hearted in the cause. It wouldn't take much to make
him go back to Caesar, and then where would we be?"

"Where would we be?" said Claudia, half conscious of what she said,
turning over wearily. "Don't talk politics, my dear brother. They are
distressingly dull. My head aches at the very word." And she held out
her hand and took the golden cup of hot drink which the negress
offered her.

"Aye," replied Lentulus, not in the least subdued, "where _will_ we
be, if Pompeius and Caesar become friends? If there is no war, no
proscription, no chance to make a sesterce in a hurry!"

"My dear brother," said Claudia, still more languidly, and yawning at
length, as she handed back the cup, "have I not said that the mere
mention of politics makes my head ache?"

"Then let it," said the other, brutally; "I must have some plain words
with you." And he pointed toward the door. The two serving-maids took
the hint, and retired.

Claudia settled her head back on the pillows, and folded her hands as
if to resign herself to a very dull tete-a-tete.

"Have you any new debts?" demanded Lentulus.

"What a tiresome question," murmured the lady. "No--no--yes; I owe
Pomponius the fancier--I don't quite know how much--for my last
Maltese lap dog."

"Thank the gods that is all," went on her brother-in-law. "Now listen
to me. I have been living beyond my means. Last year the canvass to
get on the board of guardians of the Sibylline Books--in which that
graceless son-in-law of Cicero's, Publius Dolabella, defeated me--cost
a deal of money. This year I have the consulship. But it has taken
every denarius I own, and more too. All my estates are involved, so
that it will require years to redeem them, in the ordinary way."

"How extremely unfortunate!" sighed Claudia, looking dreadfully bored.

"If that was all I had to tell you," snapped back Lentulus, "I would
not have disturbed your ladyship's repose. But you must be so
indulgen