suffering of Vinicius.

At last the evening arrived. The sight was in truth magnificent. All
that was powerful, brilliant and wealthy in Rome was there. The lower
seats were crowded with togas as white as snow. In a gilded padium sat
Nero, wearing a diamond collar and a golden crown upon his head. Every
eye was turned with strained gaze to the place where the unfortunate
lover was sitting. He was exceedingly pale, and his forehead was covered
with drops of sweat. To his tortured mind came the thought that faith of
itself would spare Lygia. Peter had said that faith would move the earth
to its foundations. He crushed doubt in himself, compressed his whole
being into the sentence, "I believe," and he looked for a miracle.

The prefect of the city waved a red handkerchief, and out of the dark
gully into the brilliantly lighted arena came Ursus. In Rome there was
no lack of gladiators, larger by far than the common measure of man; but
Roman eyes had never seen the like of Ursus. The people gazed with the
delight of experts at his mighty limbs, as large as tree trunks; at his
breast, as large as two shields joined together, and his arms of a
Hercules. He was unarmed, and had determined to die as became a follower
of the Lamb, peacefully and patiently. Meanwhile he wished to pray once
more to the Saviour. So he knelt on the arena, joined his hands and
raised his eyes towards the stars. This act displeased the crowd. They
had had enough of those Christians, who died like sheep. They understood
that if the giant would not defend himself, the spectacle would be a
failure. Here and there hisses were heard. Some began to cry for
scourgers, whose office it was to lash combatants unwilling to fight.
But soon all had grown silent, for no one knew what was waiting for the
giant, nor whether he would not defend himself when he met death eye to
eye.

In fact, they had not long to wait. Suddenly the shrill sound of brazen
trumpets was heard, and at that signal into the arena rushed, amid the
shouts of the beast-keepers, an enormous German aurochs, bearing on his
head the naked body of a woman.

Vinicius sprang to his feet.

"Lygia! Oh, ... I believe! I believe! Oh, Christ, a miracle! a miracle!"
And he did not even know that Petronius had covered his head at that
moment with a toga. He did not look; he did not see. The feeling of some
awful emptiness possessed him. In his head there remained not a thought.
His lips merely repeated