wore
away the beauty of my countenance. And though I was free in name, yet I
was ever watched; nor might I stir beyond the palace grounds.

And at length came the day which brought with it Quintus Dellius, that
false Roman knight who ever served the rising star. He bore letters
to Cleopatra from Marcus Antonius, the Triumvir, who, fresh from the
victory of Philippi, was now in Asia wringing gold from the subject
kings with which to satisfy the greed of his legionaries.

Well I mind me of the day. Cleopatra, clad in her robes of state,
attended by the officers of her Court, among whom I stood, sat in
the great hall on her throne of gold, and bade the heralds admit the
Ambassador of Antony, the Triumvir. The great doors were thrown wide,
and amidst the blare of trumpets and salutes of the Gallic guards the
Roman came in, clad in glittering golden armour and a scarlet cloak of
silk, and followed by his suite of officers. He was smooth-faced and
fair to look upon, and with a supple form; but his mouth was cold, and
false were his shifting eyes. And while the heralds called out his name,
titles, and offices, he fixed his gaze on Cleopatra--who sat idly on her
throne all radiant with beauty--as a man who is amazed. Then when
the heralds had made an end, and he still stood thus, not stirring,
Cleopatra spoke in the Latin tongue:

"Greeting to thee, noble Dellius, envoy of the most mighty Antony, whose
shadow lies across the world as though Mars himself now towered up above
us petty Princes--greeting and welcome to our poor city of Alexandria.
Unfold, we pray thee, the purpose of thy coming."

Still the crafty Dellius made no answer, but stood as a man amazed.

"What ails thee, noble Dellius, that thou dost not speak?" asked
Cleopatra. "Hast thou, then, wandered so long in Asia that the doors of
Roman speech are shut to thee? What tongue hast thou? Name it, and We
will speak in it--for all tongues are known to Us."

Then at last he spoke in a soft full voice: "Oh, pardon me, most lovely
Egypt, if I have thus been stricken dumb before thee: but too great
beauty, like Death himself, doth paralyse the tongue and steal our sense
away. The eyes of him who looks upon the fires of the mid-day sun are
blind to all beside, and thus this sudden vision of thy glory, royal
Egypt, overwhelmed my mind, and left me helpless and unwitting of all
things else."

"Of a truth, noble Dellius," answered Cleopatra, "they teach a pretty
school