she would certainly
fall too. He had once heard it said, that sleep-walkers always threw
themselves down when they heard their names spoken; this statement now
recurred to his mind, and he forbore from calling out to her.

Once more the unhappy woman waved him off; his very heart stopped
beating, for her movements were wild and vehement, and he could see that
the stone which she was holding on by shifted its place. He understood
nothing of all the words which she tried to say--for her voice, which
only yesterday had been so sweet, to-day was inaudibly hoarse--except
the one name "Phoebicius," and he felt no doubt that she clung to the
stone over the abyss, so that, like the mountain-goat when it sees
itself surprised by the hunter, she might fling herself into the depth
below rather than be taken by her pursuer. Paulus saw in her neither her
guilt nor her beauty, but only a child of man trembling on the brink
of a fearful danger whom he must save from death at any cost; and the
thought that he was at any rate not a spy sent in pursuit of her by
her husband, suggested to him the first words which he found courage to
address to the desperate woman. They were simple words enough, but they
were spoken in a tone which fully expressed the childlike amiability of
his warm heart, and the Alexandrian, who had been brought up in the most
approved school of the city of orators, involuntarily uttered his words
in the admirably rich and soft chest voice, which he so well knew how to
use.

"Be thankful," said he, "poor dear woman--I have found you in a
fortunate hour. I am Paulus, Hermas' best friend, and I would willingly
serve you in your sore need. No danger is now threatening you, for
Phoebicius is seeking you on a wrong road; you may trust me. Look at
me! I do not look as if I could betray a poor erring woman. But you are
standing on a spot, where I would rather see my enemy than you; lay your
hand confidently in mine--it is no longer white and slender, but it is
strong and honest--grant me this request and you will never rue it! See,
place your foot here, and take care how you leave go of the rock there.
You know not how suspiciously it shook its head over your strange
confidence in it. Take care! there--your support has rolled over into
the abyss! how it crashes and splits. It has reached the bottom, smashed
into a thousand pieces, and I am thankful that you preferred to follow
me rather than that false support." While Paulus