intellectual inheritance; the
traditions of a brilliant past. They, who had been persecuted and
contemned, now had the upper hand; they were in power, and the more
insolently they treated their opponents, the more injustice they
did them, and the less the victimized heathen were able to revenge
themselves, the more bitterly did the Christians detest the party they
contemned as superstitious idolaters. In their care for the soul--the
spiritual and divine part--the Christians had hitherto neglected the
graces of the body; thus the heathen had remained the undisputed masters
of the palaestra and the hippodrome. In the gymnasium the Christian
refused even to compete, for the exhibition of his naked body he
regarded as an abomination; but on the race-course he had lately been
willing to display his horses, and many times had disputed the crown
with the hereditary victors, so that, even here, the heathen felt
his time-honored and undisputed supremacy endangered. This was
intolerable--this must be averted--the mere thought of being beaten on
this ground roused the idolaters to wrath and malice. They displayed
their color in wreaths of scarlet poppies, pomegranate flowers and red
roses, with crimson ribbands and dresses; white and green, the colors
formerly adopted by the competitors, were abandoned; for all the heathen
were unanimous in combining their forces against the common foe.
The ladies used red sun-shades and the very baskets, in which the
refreshments were brought for the day, were painted red.

The widow Mary, on the other hand, and all the Christians were robed in
blue from head to foot, their sandals being tied with blue ribbands;
and Dada's blue shoulder-knot was in conspicuous contrast to her bright
rose-colored dress.

The vendors of food who wandered round the circus had eggs dyed blue
and red, cakes with sugared icing and refreshing drinks in jars of both
colors. When a Christian and a Heathen found themselves seated side by
side, each turned a shoulder to the other, or, if they were forced to
sit face to face, eyed each other with a scowl.

Cynegius did all he could to postpone the races as long as possible;
he was anxious to wait till the Comes had finished his task in the
Serapeum, so that the troops might be free to act in any emergency that
might arise before the contests in the Hippodrome were fairly ended.
Time did not hang heavy on his hands for the vast multitude here
assembled interested him grea