the nearer he approached his destination the denser was the crowd
of inquisitive citizens, who stood closely packed round the vast
circumference of the building. Quite from a distance the prefect could
see a bright light; it rose to heaven from the large pans of pitch which
were placed on the towers on each side of the tall gate of the Caesareum
which faced the sea. To the right and left of this gate stood a tall
obelisk, and on each of these, men were lighting lamps which had been
attached to the sides and placed on the top, on the previous day.

"In honor of Sabina," said the prefect to himself. "All that this
Pontius does is thoroughly done, and there is no more complete sinecure
than the supervision of his arrangements."

Fully persuaded of this he did not think it necessary to go up to the
illuminated door-way which led into the temple erected by Octavian in
honor of Julius Caesar; on the contrary, he directed the charioteer to
stop at a door built in the Egyptian style, which faced the garden of
the palace of the Ptolemies, and which led to the imperial residence
that had been built by the Alexandrians for Tiberius, and had been
greatly extended and beautified under the later Caesars. A sacred grove
divided it from the temple of Caesar, with which it communicated by
a covered colonnade. Before this door there were several chariots and
horses, and a whole host of slaves, black and white, were in attendance
with their masters' litters. Here lictors kept back the sight-seeking
crowd, officers were lounging against the pillars, and the Roman guard
were just assembling with a clatter of arms, to the sound of a trumpet
within the door, to await their dismissal.

Everything gave way respectfully before the chariot of the prefect, and
as Titianus walked through the illuminated arcades of the Caesareum,
passing by the masterpieces of statuary placed there, and the rows of
pictures--and reached the halls in which the library of the palace was
kept, he could not help thinking of all the care and trouble which with
the assistance of Pontius, he had for months devoted to rendering this
palace which had not been used since Titus had set out for Judaea, fit
quarters for Hadrian's reception. The Empress now lived in the rooms
intended for her husband, and decorated with the choicest works of art,
and Titianus reflected with regret that, after Sabina had once become
aware of their presence there, it would be quite impossible to