ible tie, and he, as if he must burst it by
the force of his utterance, said with awful solemnity, in his deepest
tones and emphasizing every syllable:

"Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica is dead."

At these words Cleopatra's pale cheeks were suddenly dyed with a crimson
glow, and clenching her little hands she struck them together, and
exclaimed with flashing eyes:

"I hoped so!"

Euergetes withdrew a step from his sister, and said: "You were right.
It is not only among the race of gods that the most fearful of all are
women!"

"What have you to say?" retorted Cleopatra. "And am I to believe that a
toothache has kept the Roman away from the banquet yesterday, and again
from coming to see me to-day? Am I to repeat, after you, that he died of
it? Now, speak out, for it rejoices my heart to hear it; where and how
did the insolent hypocrite meet his end?"

"A serpent stung him," replied Euergetes, turning from his sister. "It
was in the desert, not far from the Apis-tombs."

"He had an assignation in the Necropolis at midnight--it would seem to
have begun more pleasantly than it ended?"

Euergetes nodded assent to the question, and added gravely:

"His fate overtook him--but I cannot see anything very pleasing in the
matter."

"No?" asked the queen. "And do you think that I do not know the asp that
ended that life in its prime? Do you think that I do not know, who set
the poisoned serpent on the Roman? You are the assassin, and Eulaeus and
his accomplices have helped you! Only yesterday I would have given my
heart's blood for Publius, and would rather have carried you to the
grave than him; but to-day, now that I know the game that the wretch has
been playing with me, I would even have taken on myself the bloody deed
which, as it is, stains your hands. Not even a god should treat your
sister with such contempt--should insult her as he has done--and
go unpunished! Another has already met the same fate, as you
know--Eustorgos, Hipparchon of Bithynia, who, while he seemed to be
dying of love for me, was courting Kallistrata my lady in waiting;
and the wild beasts and serpents exercised their dark arts on him too.
Eulaeus' intelligence has fallen on you, who are powerful, like a
cold hand on your heart; in me, the weak woman, it rouses unspeakable
delight. I gave him the best of all a woman has to bestow, and he dared
to trample it in the dust; and had I no right to require of him that he
should pour out the best th