o now are gone.'

The armor bearer shrugged his shoulders.

'Is that all?' he said. 'Wives are plenty in this city of Rome. When I
first came from Gaul, I too had a wife, and, like you, lost her. What
then? I suppose that she is happy, wherever she may be; and I--I have
not allowed myself to be lonely since. But neither did I let myself
slink behind, when I stood in the market; but I pressed forward and
struck upon my chest, and called to the highborn and the rich to look
upon me, and see how a man could be made, and what he could be good for.
And here am I now, a slave, indeed--that cannot be helped--but for all
that, a ruler over the other slaves, and my master's favorite and
companion. By the immortal gods! there is more manliness in yonder
dwarf, with his open face, than in you, with your whimpering and your
tears. I will call him forward to teach you a lesson how to act.'

At the first beck the dwarf pressed forward with a smile, alternately
stretching up to make the most of his diminutive proportions, and then
bowing low to crave the good will of the spectators. His appearance
brought him instant commendation; and more particularly did the
praetorian captain break forth into expressions of appreciation.

'A proper dwarf! a most excellent dwarf! Smaller and more ugly by a
quarter than one which I have known to be sold for forty sestertia! And
see, Bassus, how he bows and rubs his hands and shows his teeth at
yourself. He has perhaps been the buffoon in a Grecian theatre, and in
you now recognizes a brother in the art. Take him, therefore, for your
choice. At the very least, he will be of value to carry your bag of
plays before you, and he may even help you act.'

The comedian forced a sickly smile upon his features, not daring to
quarrel with his companion, yet not insensible to the sneering tone with
which he was addressed. He had, at the first, been struck with the
dwarf, and half inclined to choose him. But now the mocking speech
deterred him.

'You are disposed to be merry,' he said; 'nor do you reason well. It is
not an ape that an actor wants to carry his plays. There are enough such
to listen to them. I will leave the dwarf, therefore, for you to
purchase. Perhaps, after all, there may be a place found for him
somewhere in your own household. I will make another selection for
myself.'

And descending from the piazza, he moved in among the captives for the
purpose of entering upon a more careful inspe