cause them to forget the motto of the greatest philosopher
among their poets--never to be astonished at anything--repeatedly pushed
each other with surprise and admiration; nay, the centurion Julius
Martialis, who had just now had a visit in camp from his wife and
children, in defiance of orders, while Caesar himself was looking on,
struck his fist on his greaves, and, exclaiming loudly, "Look out!"
pointed to Seleukus's chariot, for which four runners, in tunics with
long sleeves, made of sea-green bombyx, richly embroidered with silver,
were making a way through the crowd.

The barefooted lads, with their nimble, gazellelike legs, were all well
looking, and might have been cast all in one mold. But what struck the
centurion and his comrades as most remarkable in their appearance were
the flash and sparkle from their slender ankles, as the setting sun
suddenly shot a fleeting ray through a rift in the heavy clouds. Each of
these fellows wore on his legs gold bands set with precious stones, and
the rubies which glittered on the harness of Seleukus's horse were of
far greater value.

He, as master of the festival, had come betimes, and this was the first
of many such displays of wealth which followed each other in quick
succession, as soon as the brief twilight of Egypt had given way to
darkness, and the lighting up of the Circus was begun.

Here came a beautifully dressed woman in a roomy litter, over which
waved a canopy entirely of white ostrich-plumes, which the evening
breeze swayed like a thicket of fern-leaves. This throne was borne by
ten black and ten white slave-girls, and before it two fair children
rode on tame ostriches. The tall heir of a noble house, who, like Caesar
at Rome, belonged to the "Blues," drove his own team of four splendid
white horses; and he himself was covered with turquoises, while the
harness was set with cut sapphires.

The centurion shook his head in silent admiration. His face had been
tanned in many wars, both in the East and West, and he had fought even
in distant Caledonia, but the low forehead, loose under lip, and dull
eye spoke of small gifts of intellect. Nevertheless, he was not lacking
in strength of will, and was regarded by his comrades as a good beast
of burden who would submit to a great deal before it became too much for
him. But then he would break out like a mad bull, and he might long
ago have risen to higher rank, had he not once in such a fit of passion
nearly t