scha had only half understood its
meaning, and pointing her slender forefinger at the face of his completed
work, she demanded to know whom she recognised in this statue.

"The goddess Demeter," he answered quietly; "but if it pleases you
better, as you seem to be on the right track, also the daughter of
Archias."

Then, angered by the wrathful glance she cast at him, he added more
sternly: "She is kind-hearted, free from disagreeable whims and the
disposition to torture others who are kindly disposed toward her. So I
adorned the goddess with her pleasant features."

"Mine, you mean to say," Ledscha answered bitterly, "would be less
suitable for this purpose. Yet they, too, can wear a different expression
from the present one. You, I think, have learned this. Only I shall never
acquire the art of dissimulation, not even in your society."

"You seem to be angry on account of my absence yesterday evening?" Hermon
asked in an altered tone, clasping her hand; but Ledscha snatched it from
him, exclaiming: "The model of the Demeter, the daughter of the wealthy
Archias, detained you, you were going to tell me, and you think that
ought to satisfy the barbarian maiden."

"Folly!" he answered angrily. "I owe a debt of gratitude to her father,
who was my guardian, and custom commands you also to honour a guest. But
your obstinacy and jealousy are unbearable. What great thing is it that I
ask of your love? A little patience. Practise it. Then your turn will
come too."

"Of course, the second and third will follow the first," she answered
bitterly. "After Gula, the sailor's wife, you lured my innocent young
sister, Taus, to this apartment; or am I mistaken in the order, and was
Gula the second?"

"So that's it!" cried Hermon, who was surprised rather than alarmed by
this betrayal of his secret. "If you want confirmation of the fact, very
well--both were here."

"Because you deluded them with false vows of love."

"By no means. My heart has nothing what ever to do with these visits.
Gula came to thank me because I rendered her a service--you know
it--which to every mother seems greater than it is."

"But you certainly did not underestimate it," Ledscha impetuously
interrupted, "for you demanded her honour in return."

"Guard your tongue!" the artist burst forth angrily. "The woman visited
me unasked, and I let her leave me as faithful or as unfaithful to her
husband as she came. If I used her as a model--"

"Gula, whom