life and
warmth and color by some god. Young, modest, rose and white, and just
about as tall as Your Majesty. If you will allow me, I will not tell you
who she is, till after I have been to our tent to fetch the gems with
the copies of the marble."

"You will find them in an ivory casket at the bottom of my
clothes-chest," said Publius; "here is the key."

"Make haste," cried the queen, "for we are all curious to hear where in
Memphis you discovered your modest, rose and white Hebe."

CHAPTER X.

An hour had slipped by with the royal party, since Lysias had quitted
the company; the wine-cups had been filled and emptied many times;
Eulaeus had rejoined the feasters, and the conversation had taken
quite another turn, since the whole of the company were not now equally
interested in the same subject; on the contrary, the two kings were
discussing with Aristarchus the manuscripts of former poets and of the
works of the sages, scattered throughout Greece, and the ways and means
of obtaining them or of acquiring exact transcripts of them for the
library of the Museum. Hierax was telling Eulaeus of the last Dionysiac
festival, and of the representation of the newest comedy in Alexandria,
and Eulaeus assumed the appearance--not unsuccessfully--of listening
with both ears, interrupting him several times with intelligent
questions, bearing directly on what he had said, while in fact his
attention was exclusively directed to the queen, who had taken entire
possession of the Roman Publius, telling him in a low tone of her
life--which was consuming her strength--of her unsatisfied affections,
and her enthusiasm for Rome and for manly vigor. As she spoke her cheeks
glowed and her eyes sparkled, for the more exclusively she kept the
conversation in her own hands the better she thought she was being
entertained; and Publius, who was nothing less than talkative, seldom
interrupted her, only insinuating a flattering word now and then when
it seemed appropriate; for he remembered the advice given him by the
anchorite, and was desirous of winning the good graces of Cleopatra.

In spite of his sharp ears Eulaeus could understand but little of their
whispered discourse, for King Euergetes' powerful voice sounded loud
above the rest of the conversation; but Eulaeus was able swiftly to
supply the links between the disjointed sentences, and to grasp the
general sense, at any rate, of what she was saying. The queen avoided
wine, but