favourite book. But I am surprised
that you were not sent to the Ult-ziagirian Huns and the mines of
Cherson to keep our friend Petros company. If Justinian so severely
punishes the forgery of documents--how harshly must he punish veracity
in history! And you have so mercilessly scourged his indecision, his
avarice, his mistakes in the choice of generals and officers--I wonder
that you go unpunished."

"Oh, I have not escaped punishment," said the historian gravely. "He
left me my head: but he tried to rob me of my honour; and _she_ still
more, the beautiful demon. For I had hinted that Justinian was tied to
her apron-string. And she as passionately tries to hide her dominion
as to uphold it. When my book was published, she called me to her.
When I entered her apartment, and saw those pages upon her lap, I
thought--Adrastaransalanes took off the hand that wrote; this woman
will take off the head that thought. But she contented herself with
giving me her little golden shoe to kiss; smiled very sweetly, and
said, 'You write Greek better than any other author of our day,
Procopius. So beautifully and so truly! I have been advised to sink you
to the dumb fishes in the Bosphorus. But the man who so well told the
truth when it was bitter to us, will also tell the truth when it is
sweet to our ears. The greatest censurer of Justinian shall be his
greatest panegyrist. Your punishment for the book upon Justinian's
warlike deeds--shall be a book upon Justinian's peaceful deeds. You
will write by the imperial order a book upon the edifices erected by
the Emperor. You cannot deny that he has done great things in that
line. If you were a better jurist than your camp-life with the great
Belisarius has, unfortunately, allowed you to become--you should
describe the Emperor's great piece of mosaic--his pandects. But for
that your legal education is not complete enough' (and she was right!).
'Therefore you will describe the edifices of Justinian; and you
yourself will be a living monument of his generosity. For you must
confess that, for far less heinous offences, many an author under
former Emperors has lost eyes, nose, and other things that it is
disagreeable to miss. No Emperor has ever allowed such things to be
said of him, and, moreover, rewarded candour with new commissions. But
if the edifices of Justinian were to displease you, then indeed I fear
you would not long outlive your want of taste--the gods would punish
such ingratitu