ore than a drop of blood or the hair of an eyelash.

Olympius was still in concealment in the house of Porphyrius--Olympius,
whose mind and will had formerly had such imperious hold on the fate
of the city, and to whose nod above half of the inhabitants were still
obedient. Porphyrius and his family shared his views and regarded
themselves as his confederates; but, even among them, the minor details
of life claimed their place, and Gorgo, who entered into the struggle
for the triumph of the old gods, gave but a half-hearted attention to
the great cause to which she was enthusiastically devoted, because a
companion of her childhood, to whose attentions she had every claim,
delayed his visit longer than was kind.

She had performed her 'Isis' lament the day before with all her heart
and soul, and had urgently claimed Agne's assistance; but to-day, though
she had been singing again and well, she had stopped to listen whenever
she heard a door open in the adjoining room or voices in the garden,
and had sung altogether with so much less feeling and energy than before
that Karnis longed to reprove her sharply enough. This, however, would
have been too indiscreet, so he could only express his annoyance by
saying to his son, in a loud whisper:

"The most remarkable gifts, you see, and the highest abilities are of no
avail so long as Art and Life are not one and the same--so long as Art
is not the Alpha and Omega of existence, but merely an amusement or a
decoration."

Agne had been true to herself, and had modestly but steadfastly declared
that she could not possibly enter the temple of Isis, and her refusal
had been accepted quite calmly, and without any argument or controversy.
She had not been able to refuse Gorgo's request that she would repeat
to-day the rehearsal she had gone through yesterday, since, to all
appearance, her cooperation at the festival had been altogether given
up. How could the girl guess that the venerable philosopher, who had
listened with breathless admiration to their joint performance, had
taken upon himself to dissipate her doubts and persuade her into
compliance?

Olympius laid the greatest stress on Agne's assistance, for every
one who clung to the worship of the old gods was to assemble in the
sanctuary of Isis; and the more brilliant and splendid the ceremony
could be made the more would that enthusiasm be fired which, only too
soon, would be put to crucial proof. On quitting the temple the