rcely have tarried so long. His
anger was generally fierce, but of short duration; could it be that in
this case his sense of injury was so great as to make him more
unreasoning than usual? Her heart sank yet lower with a new weight of
despair; but again hope whispered alleviation. He had been drinking
deeply--she said to herself--and had not clearly comprehended what he
had done. And afterward he had probably forgotten all about it, and had
fallen off into sleep. Upon the morrow he would be himself again.
Perhaps he would not then remember the outrage he had committed against
her. Certainly his anger would not still burn when corrected by
returning reason. She must therefore endeavor to gain access again to
the palace, and there avoid his presence, until the morrow brought to
him fresher reflection and a better inclination to listen to
explanation.

And accordingly she commenced her departure from her hiding place, and
slowly crept along the blank flanking wall of the little street, hoping
soon to gain the palace front. At first it seemed a very easy thing to
do so. Though she had never before been in that portion of the city, she
knew enough of its geography to feel certain that if she followed the
street in either direction, she could not fail to come to some
intersecting alley, through which she could reach the Triumphal Way.
Once there, the route was familiar to her, and she could arrive at her
home in a few minutes. But as she advanced, she found that what had
appeared to be an easy stroll, seemed converted into a toilsome and
perplexing journey. Confused and terrified, the coolness necessary to
pursue in safety even so short a route began to fail her. At times she
imagined that she heard strangers approaching, and then it became
needful to conceal herself again, as well as she could, behind
projections or in recesses of the wall. Then, when once more venturing
out, the shadows of the wall itself or of neighboring buildings would
terrify her into seeking other concealments. And once, after having
resumed her course, she discovered that she had mistaken the direction,
and was retracing her steps.

At last, after a journey of nearly an hour, during which she had only
advanced as far as a resolute person might have gone in a few minutes,
she reached an intersecting street leading to the Triumphal Way. It was
a wider passage than that which she was leaving, and this fact added to
her dismay. For though she had at fi