d she was delighted with the flowers
and thanked him warmly when he set the modius down before her. He held
out his hands to her calmly and kindly, and she gave him hers, feeling
very happy under the steady, compassionate gaze of his large eyes which
had often watched her, on board ship, for some minutes at a time. She
longed to say something to him, but she could not speak; and she looked
on quite unmoved as the statue of the god and the hall in which it stood
were wrapt in flames. No smoke mingled with this clear and genial blaze,
but it compelled her to shade her dazzled eyes; and as she lifted her
hand she woke to see Medius standing in front of her.

He desired her to come home with him at once, and she rose to obey,
listening in silence to his assurances that the lives of Karnis and
Orpheus would not be worth a sesterce if they fell into the hands of the
Roman soldiers.

She walked on, more hopeless and depressed than she had ever felt in her
life before, past the unfinished hulks in the ship-yard where no one was
at work to-day when, coming down the lane that divided the wharf from
the temple precincts, she saw an old man and a little boy. She had not
time to ask herself whether she saw rightly or was mistaken before
the child caught sight of her, snatched his hand away from that of his
companion, and flew towards her, shouting her name. In the next moment
little Papias had rushed rapturously into her arms and, as she lifted
him up, had thrown his hands round her neck, clinging to her as if he
would never leave go again, while she hugged him closely for joy, and
kissed him with her eyes full of tears. She was herself again at once;
the sad and anxious girl was the lively Dada once more.

The man who had been leading the little boy was immediately besieged
with questions, and from his answers they learnt that he had found the
child the evening before at the corner of a street, crying bitterly;
that he had taken him home, and with some little difficulty had
ascertained from him that he belonged to some people who were living
on board a barge, close to a ship-yard. In spite of the excitement that
prevailed he had brought the child home as soon as possible, for
he could fancy how anxious his parents must be. Dada thanked the
kind-hearted artisan with sincere warmth, and the man, seeing how happy
the girl and the child were at having met, went his way quite satisfied.

Medius had stood by and had said nothing, but