fortune and partly out of her husband's pocket, and that half of it was
therefore hers and half of it the property of Marcus and himself;
but that by her husband's will the control and management were hers
absolutely. She had endeavored to carry out the intentions of her
deceased husband by entrusting the stewardship of the estate to
Demetrius while he was still quite young; under his care the income had
increased, and she had no doubt that in the future he might achieve even
greater results; at the same time, the misunderstandings that the whole
business had given rise to were not to be endured, and must positively
be put an end to, even if their income were to diminish by half.

"I," she exclaimed, "am a Christian, with my whole heart and soul. I
have dedicated my body and life to the service of my Saviour. What shall
all the treasures of the world profit me if I lose my soul; and that,
which is my immortal part, must inevitably perish if I allow my pockets
to be filled by the toil of heathen peasants and slaves. I therefore
must insist--and on this point I will not yield a jot--that our slaves
in Cyrenaica, a flock of more than three thousand erring sheep, shall
either submit to be baptized or be removed to make way for Christians."

"That is to say..." began Demetrius hastily.

"I have not yet done," she interrupted. "So far as the peasants are
concerned who rent and farm our land they all, without exception--as you
said yesterday--are stiff-necked idolaters. We must give them time to
think it over, but the annual agreement will not be renewed with any who
will not pledge themselves to give up the old sacrifices and to worship
the Redeemer. If they submit they will be safe--in this world and
the next; if they refuse they must go, and the land must be let to
Christians in their stead."

"Just as I change this seat for another!" said Demetrius with a laugh,
and lifting up a heavy bronze chair he flung it down again on the hard
mosaic pavement so that the floor shook.

Maria started violently.

"My body may tremble," she said in great excitement, "but my soul
is firm when its everlasting bliss is at stake. I insist--and my
representative, whether he be you or another, must carry my orders into
effect without an hour's delay--I insist that every heathen shrine,
every image of the field and garden-gods, every altar and sacred stone
which the heathens use for their idolatrous practices shall be pulled
down, overthro