t of us when blows
begin to whistle and war-cries start to ring, there is no doubt also
that the pleasure of protecting Phorenice, and the distaste for seeing
her pulled down by those rude, uncouth fishers put special nerve and
vehemence into my blows.

The cause of the matter was the unrest and the prevalency to street
violence which I have spoken of above, and the desperate poverty of
the common people, which led them to take any risk if it showed them a
chance of winning the wherewithal to purchase a meal. We had once more
mounted the litter, and once more the bearers, with their heads beneath
the pole, bore us on at their accustomed swinging trot. Phorenice was
telling me about her new supplies of gold. She had made fresh sumptuary
laws, it appeared.

"In the old days," said she, "when yellow gold was tediously dredged up
grain by grain from river gravels in the dangerous lands, a quill
full would cost a rich man's savings, and so none but those whose high
station fitted them to be so adorned could wear golden ornaments. But
when the sea-water gave me gold here by the double handful a day, I
found that the price of these river hoards decreased, and one day--could
you credit it?--a common fellow, who was one of my smiths, came to me
wearing a collar of yellow gold on his own common neck. Well, I had
that neck divided, as payment for his presumption; and as I promised
to repeat the division promptly on all other offenders, that special
species of forwardness seems to be checked for the time. There are many
exasperations, Deucalion, in governing these common people."

She had other things to say upon the matter, but at this point I saw two
clumsy boats of fishers paddling to us from over the ripples, and at the
same time amongst the narrow lanes which led between the houses on
the other side of us, savage-faced men were beginning to run after the
litter in threatening clusters.

"With permission," I said, "I will step out of the conveyance and
scatter this rabble."

"Oh, the people always cluster round me. Poor ugly souls, they seem
to take a strange delight in coming to stare at my pretty looks. But
scatter them. I have said I did not wish to be followed. I am taking
holiday now, Deucalion, am I not, whilst you learn to woo me?"

I stepped to the ground. The rough fishers in the boats were beginning
to shout to those who dodged amongst the houses to see to it that we
did not escape, and the numbers who hemmed u