lone. He is a Roman, no subject of mine; and
I am not sure of him. Whom shall I send? Once again Alexandros?"

"No," said Theodora, "he is too young for such a task. No." And she
became thoughtfully silent. "Justinian," she said at last, "you shall
see that I can sacrifice my personal dislikes for the sake of the
empire, when it is necessary to choose the right man. I propose my
enemy, Petros, the cousin of Narses, the fellow-student of the Prefect,
the sly rhetorician--send him!"

"Theodora!" cried the Emperor, embracing her; "God himself has given
you to me! Cethegus--Petros--Belisarius. Barbarians! you are lost!"

CHAPTER XVI.

The morning following this conversation the beautiful Empress rose in
great good-humour from her swelling cushions, which were filled with
the delicate neck-feathers of the Pontian crane, and covered with pale
yellow silk.

Before the bed stood a tripod holding a silver basin, representing
Oceanus; in it lay a massive golden ball. The Empress lifted the ball
and let it fall clanging into the basin. The clear tone roused the
Syrian slave who slept in the ante-room. She entered, and, approaching
the bed of the Empress with her arms crossed upon her bosom, drew back
the heavy violet-coloured curtains of Chinese silk. Then she took a
soft Iberian sponge, which, soaked in asses' milk, lay in a crystal
dish, and carefully wiped off the coating of oily paste with which the
neck and face of her mistress were covered during the night.

Next she kneeled down before the bed, her face bent almost to the
earth, and stretched out her hand to the Empress, who, taking it,
slowly set her foot upon the neck of the kneeling girl, and sprang
elastically to the ground.

The slave rose and threw over her mistress, who, clad only in an
under-tunic of the finest lawn, sat upon the palm-wood frame of the
bed--a fine dressing-mantle of rose-coloured stuff. Then she made a
profound obeisance, turned to the door, cried "Agave!" and disappeared.

Agave, a young and beautiful Thessalian girl, entered the room. She
rolled a washstand of citrean-wood, covered with countless boxes and
bottles, close before her mistress, and began to rub her face, neck,
and hands with soft cloths dipped in different wines and essences. This
task completed, the Empress rose from the bedside and stepped on to a
couch covered with panther's skins.

"The large bath towards mid-day," she said.

Agave pu