garments;
he presented a singular appearance. The old man was discoursing eagerly
to the prefect; but as soon as he saw Arsinoe he broke off his harangue,
clapped his hands and was quite excited with the pleasure of seeing
once more the fair Roxana for whom he had once visited in vain all the
gold-workers' shops in the city.

"But I am tired," cried Plutarch, with quite youthful vivacity, "I am
quite tired of keeping the ornaments for you. There are quite enough
other useless things in my house. They belong to you, not to me, and
this very day I will send them to the noble Julia, that she may give
them to you. Give me your hand, dear child; you have grown paler but
more womanly. What do you think, Titianus, she would still do for
Roxana; only your wife must find a dress for her again. All in white,
and no ribband in your hair!--like a Christian."

"I know some one who will find out the way to fitly crown these soft
tresses," replied Julia. "Arsinoe is the bride of Pollux, the sculptor."

"Pollux!" exclaimed Plutarch, in extreme excitement. "Move me forward,
Antaeus and Atlas, the sculptor Pollux is her lover? A great, a splendid
artist! The very same, noble Titianus, of whom I just now speaking to
you."

"You know him?" asked the prefect's wife.

"No, but I have just left the work-shop of Periander, the gem-cutter,
and there I saw the model of a statue of Antinous that is unique,
marvellous, incomparable! The Bithynian as Dionysus! The work would do
no discredit to a Phidias, to a Lysippus. Pollux was out of the way,
but I laid my hand at once on his work; the young master must execute it
immediately in marble. Hadrian will be enchanted with this portrait
of his beautiful and devoted favorite. You must admire it, every
connoisseur must! I will pay for it, the only question is whether I
or the city should present it to Caesar. This matter your husband must
decide."

Arsinoe was radiant with joy at these words, but she stepped modestly
into the background as an official came in and handed Titianus a
dispatch that had just arrived.

The prefect read it; then turning to his friend and his wife, he said:

"Hadrian ascribes to Antinous the honors of a god."

"Fortunate Pollux!" exclaimed Plutarch. "He has executed the first
statue of the new divinity. I will present it to the city, and they
shall place it in the temple to Antinous of which we must lay the first
stone before Caesar is back here again. Farewell, my