art of listener while Balbilla was
sitting. When the architect, after begging him not to let Pollux know of
the incident, told him of what had occurred in the screened-off studio,
and how angry the young Roman lady had been at the caricature, which
was certainly very offensive, Hadrian rubbed his hands and laughed aloud
with delight. Pontius ground his teeth, and then said very earnestly:

"Balbilla seems to me a merry-hearted girl, but of a noble nature. I
see no reason to laugh at her." Hadrian looked keenly into the daring
architect's eyes, laid his hand on his shoulder, and replied with a
certain threatening accent in his deep voice:

"It would be an evil moment for you, or for any one, who should do so
in my presence. But age may venture to play with edged tools, which
children may not even touch."

CHAPTER XVIII.

Selene entered the gate-way in the endlessly-long walk of sun-dried
bricks which enclosed the wide space where stood the court-yards,
water-tanks and huts, belonging to the great papyrus manufactory of
Plutarch, where she and her sister were accustomed to work. She could
generally reach it in a quarter of an hour, but to-day it had taken more
than four times as long and she herself did not know how she had managed
to hold herself up, and to walk-limp-stumble along, in spite of the
acute pain she was suffering. She would willingly have clung to every
passer-by, have held on to every slow passing vehicle, to every beast
of burden that overtook her--but man and beast mercilessly went on their
way, without paying any heed to her. She got many a push from those who
were hurrying by and who scarcely turned round to look at her, when
from time to time she stopped to sink for a moment on to the nearest
door-step, or some low cornice or bale of goods; to dry her eyes, or
press her hand to her foot, which was now swollen to a great size,
hoping, as she did so, to be able to forget, under the sense of a new
form of pain, the other unceasing and unendurable torment, at least for
a few minutes.

The street boys who had run after her, and laughed at her, ceased
pursuing her when they found that she constantly stopped to rest. A
woman with a child in her arms once asked her, as she stopped to rest a
minute on a threshold, whether she wanted anything, but walked on when
Selene shook her head and made no other answer.

Once she thought she must give up altogether, when suddenly the street
was filled with jee