lames fell dainty caskets of ivory, cedar, and
ebony, and as they clashed against the firewood they burst open,
spilling treasures within--collars of pearls, clusters of topazes and
emeralds, diamond earrings, the whole scale of precious stones, which
sparkled for an instant against the half-burnt wood like gleaming
salamanders. Then came the tapestries, the silver-embroidered veils,
the tunics of spun-gold flowers, the golden sandals, the chairs with
lion claws, the couches with metal clamps, mirrors, lamps, bottles of
perfume, rich inlaid marble tables, all the splendors of Sonnica the
rich. The poverty-stricken multitude, transported by this sacrifice,
applauded with bellowing enthusiasm as it saw the fire grow and grow
with so much fuel, until the flames mounted to a great height and
scattered ashes and sparks over the roofs of the houses.

"Hannibal wants riches!" shouted Sonnica in a hoarse voice which
resembled a howl. "Come, pile here your treasures, and let the African
lay siege to the fire for them!"

No need of urging them to imitate her! Many of the Elders who had
withdrawn at the first moment of confusion now returned to the Forum
carrying chests beneath their white mantles, and flung them into the
fire. They were the hoarded treasures from their houses.

Above the heads of the multitude furniture and rich fabrics passed from
hand to hand until they tumbled into the immense furnace, which whirled
its flames higher and higher, crowned by a white and luminous smoke.

It was a holocaust in honor of the dead and silent gods on the
Acropolis. Houses seemed to turn themselves inside out to fling their
adornments and riches upon the fire. The men pursued their work of
destruction silently and gloomily; but the women seemed mad, and they
danced around the huge bonfire, disheveled, screaming, their eyes
bulging from their sockets, hypnotized, caressing the flames with their
garments, intoxicated by the glare, scratching their faces unconscious
of their acts, and bellowing curses with mouths foaming with rage.
Crazed by the infernal round, unable to resist the fascination of the
lambent flames, one of them sprang and fell into the fire. Her hair and
clothing blazed for an instant like a torch, and she sank among the
white-hot coals. Another hurled into the roaring crematory, as if it
were a ball, the babe she had borne in her arms clinging to her empty
breast, and then, as if repentant for her crime, she followed