and
the murder of a second wife. Two thirds of the city
of Rome was burned, and the emperor has been
accused of having had the fire set so he could
enjoy the sight. Be that as it may, Nero laid the
blame on the Christians whom he persecuted. They
were thrown into prison, fed to wild beasts in the
arena, and burned on poles. Among the captives were
the maid Lygia, and her faithful guard, Ursus.
Vinicius, Lygia's lover, belonged to the Roman
nobility. He had once tried to seize Lygia, but
Ursus had foiled his plan by killing the attendant,
Croton.

The prefect of the city waved a red handkerchief, the
hinges opposite Caesar's podium creaked, and out of
the dark gully came Ursus into the brightly lighted arena.

The giant blinked, dazed evidently by the glitter of the
arena; then he pushed into the center, gazing around as 5
if to see what he had to meet. It was known to all the
Augustans and to most of the spectators that he was the
man who had stifled Croton; hence at sight of him a
murmur passed along every bench. In Rome there was
no lack of gladiators larger by far than the common 10
measure of man, but Roman eyes had never seen the like
of Ursus. Cassius, standing in Caesar's podium, seemed
puny compared with that Lygian.

Senators, vestals, Caesar, the Augustans, and the people
gazed with the delight of experts at his mighty limbs as 15
large as tree trunks, at his breast as large as two shields
joined together, and his arms of a Hercules. The murmur
rose every instant. For those multitudes there could be
no higher pleasure than to look at those muscles in play
in the exertion of a struggle. The murmur rose to shouts,
and eager questions were put: Where did the people live 5
who could produce such a giant?

He stood there, in the middle of the amphitheater, naked,
more like a stone colossus than a man, with a collected
expression, and at the same time the sad look of a barbarian;
and while surveying the empty arena, he gazed 10
wonderingly with his blue childlike eyes, now at the spectators,
now at Caesar, now at the grating of the cunicula,
whence, as he thought, his executioners would come.

At that moment when he stepped into the arena his
simple heart was be