correcting or explaining her descriptions,
while carving a head of Poseidon for the prow of a newly built boat.

As Gorgias unexpectedly crossed the threshold, the dim light of the lamp
fed by kiki-oil seemed transformed into sunshine. How brightly their eyes
sparkled, how joyous were their exclamations of welcome and surprise!
Then came questions, answers, news! Gorgias was obliged to share the
family supper, which had only waited the return of the father who had
brought the guest.

The fresh oysters, langustae, and other dishes served tasted more
delicious to the denizen of the city than the most delicious banquets of
the "Comrades of Death" to which he was now frequently invited by the
Queen.

All that Pyrrhus said voluntarily and told his sons in reply to their
questions was so sensible and related to matters which, because they were
new to Gorgias, seemed so fascinating that, when Dion's good wine was
served, he declared that if Pyrrhus would receive him he, too, would
search for pursuers and be banished here.

When the three again sat alone before the plain clay mixing vessel it
seemed to the lonely young couple as if the best part of the city life
which they had left behind had found its way to them, and what did they
not have to say to one another! Dion and Barine talked of their hermit
life, Gorgias of the Queen and the tomb, which was at the same time a
treasure chamber. The slanting walls were built as firmly as if they were
intended to last for centuries and defy a violent assault. The centre of
the lower story was formed by a lofty hall of vast dimensions, in whose
midst were the large marble sarcophagi. Men were working busily upon the
figures in relief intended for the decoration of the sides and lids. This
hall, whose low arched ceiling was supported by three pairs of heavy
columns, was furnished like a reception-room. The couches, candelabra,
and altars were already being made. Charmian had kept the fugitives well
informed. In the subterranean chambers at the side of the hall, and in
the second story, which could not be commenced until the ceiling was
completed, store-rooms were to be made, and below and beside them were
passages for ventilation and the storage of combustible materials.

Gorgias regretted that he could not show his friend the hall, which was
perhaps the handsomest and most costly he had ever created. The noblest
material-brown porphyry, emerald-green serpentine, and the dark varieti