rmed. He spoke
of the long and mysterious consultation which Scevinus and Natalis
had held together on the preceding day; he described the singular
conduct and demeanor which Scevinus had subsequently manifested, the
execution of his will, his wild and incoherent conversation, his
directions in respect to the sharpening of the knife and the
preparation of the bandages; and, to crown his proofs, he produced
the knife itself, which he had kept for this purpose, and which thus
furnished, in some sense, an ocular demonstration of the truth of
what he had declared.

Officers were immediately sent to seize Scevinus, and to bring him
into the presence of the emperor. Scevinus knew, of course, that the
only possible hope for him was in a bold and resolute denial of the
charge made against him. He accordingly denied, in the most solemn
manner, that there was any plot or conspiracy whatever, and he
attempted to explain all the circumstances which had awakened his
servant's suspicions. The knife or dagger which Milichus had
produced, was an ancient family relic, he said,--one which he had
kept for a long time in his chamber, and which his servant had
obtained surreptitiously, for the purpose of sustaining his false
and malicious charge against his master. As to his will, he often
made and signed a will anew, he said, as many other persons were
accustomed to do, and no just inference against him could be drawn
from the circumstance that he had done this on the preceding day;
and in respect to the bandages and other preparation for the
dressing of wounds which Milichus alledged that he had ordered, he
denied the statement altogether. He had not given any such orders.
The whole story was the fabrication of a vile slave, attempting, by
these infamous means, to compass his master's destruction. Scevinus
said all this with so bold and intrepid a tone of voice, and with
such an air of injured innocence, that Nero and his friends were
half disposed to believe that he was unjustly accused, and to
dismiss him from custody. This might very probably have been the
result, and Milichus himself might have been punished for making a
false and malicious accusation, had not the sagacity of his wife,
who was all the time watching these proceedings with the most
anxious interest, furnished a clew which, in the end, brought the
whole truth to light.

She called attention to the long conference which Scevinus had held
with Natalis on the preceding