nd her
sister exclaimed:

"Show him the sword too, that you always declared belonged to Caesar, and
if he gives you a good sum for it you will buy me a gold bracelet."

"And Selene shall have one, too. But I have the very slenderest hopes of
the sword, for a connoisseur would hardly pronounce it genuine. But I
have other things, many others. Hark! that is Gabinius, no doubt. Quick,
Selene, throw the chiton round me again. My chaplet, Arsinoe. A
well-to-do man always gets a higher price than a poor one. I have ordered
the slave to await him in the ante-room; it is always done in the best
houses."

The curiosity dealer was a small, lean man, who, by prudence and good
luck, had raised himself to be one of the most esteemed of his class and
a rich man. Having matured his knowledge by industry, and experience, he
knew better than any man how to distinguish what was good from what was
indifferent or bad, what was genuine from what was spurious. No one had a
keener eye; but he was abrupt in his dealings with those from whom he had
nothing to gain. In circumstances where there was profit in view, he
could, to be sure, be polite even to subservience and show inexhaustible
patience. He commanded himself so far as to listen with an air of
conviction to the steward as he told him in a condescending tone that he
was tired of his little possessions, that he could just as well keep them
as part with them; he merely wanted to show them to him as a connoisseur
and would only part with them if a good round sum were offered for what
was in fact idle capital. One piece after another passed through the
dealer's slender fingers, or was placed before him that he might
contemplate it; but the man spoke not, and only shook his head as he
examined every fresh object. And when Keraunus told him whence this or
that specimen of his treasures had been obtained, he only
murmured--"Indeed" or "Really."

"Do you think so?" After the last piece of property had passed through
his hands, the steward asked:

"Well, what do you think of them?"

The beginning of the sentence was spoken confidently, the end almost in
fear, for the dealer only smiled and shook his head again before he said:

"There are some genuine little things among them, but nothing worth
speaking of. I advise you to keep them, because you have an affection for
them, while I could get very little by them."

Keraunus avoided looking towards Selene, whose large eyes, full of dread,