e found himself the
possessor of an inheritance of which the extent and importance greatly
astonished him.

At Alexandria he had been far better acquainted with the theatre than
with the Museum or the school of the Serapeum; nay, as an amateur, he
had often sung in the chorus there and acted as deputy for the regular
leader. The theatre in his native town of Tauromenium had also been a
famous one of old, but, at the time of his return, it had sunk to a very
low ebb. Most of the inhabitants of the beautiful city nestling at
the foot off Etna, had been converted to Christianity; among them the
wealthy citizens at whose cost the plays had been performed and the
chorus maintained. Small entertainments were still frequently given,
but the singers and actors had fallen off, and in that fine and spacious
theatre nothing was ever done at all worthy of its past glories. This
Karnis deeply regretted, and with his wonted energy and vigor he soon
managed to win the interest of those of his fellow-citizens who remained
faithful to the old gods and had still some feeling for the music and
poetry of the ancient Greeks, in his plans for their revival.

His purpose was to make the theatre the centre of a reaction against the
influence of the Christians, by vieing with the Church in its efforts
to win back the renegade heathen and confirming the faithful in
their adhesion. The Greeks of Tauromenium should be reminded from the
stage-boards of the might of the old gods and the glories of their past.
To this end it was needful to restore the ruined theatre, and Karnis,
after advancing the greater part of the money required, was entrusted
with the management. He devoted himself zealously to the task, and
soon was so successful that the plays at Tauromenium, and the musical
performances in its Odeum, attracted the citizens in crowds, and were
talked of far and wide. Such success was of course only purchased at
a heavy cost, and in spite of Herse's warnings, Karnis would never
hesitate when the object in view was the preservation or advancement of
his great work.

Thus passed twenty years; then there came a day when his fine fortune
was exhausted, and a time when the Christian congregation strained every
nerve to deal a death-blow to the abomination of desolation in their
midst. Again and again, and with increasing frequency, there were
sanguinary riots between the Christians who forced their way into the
theatre and the heathen audience, t