ds. Often the warder would
announce the senator and his wife, and their vigorous and healthy minds
always hit on the very thing she needed. Martina, particularly, with her
subtle motherly instinct, always understood whatever was agitating her;
and once she showed her a letter from Heliodora, in which she spoke of
the calmness she had won through nursing their dear invalid, and said
how thankful she was to see the reward of her care and toil. Narses was
already quite another man, and she could know no higher task than that
of reconciling the hapless man to life, nay, of making it dear to him
again. She no longer thought of Orion but as she might of a beautiful
song she once had heard in a delightful hour.

Thus time passed, even for the imprisoned maiden, till only two nights
remained before St. Serapis' day when the fearful marriage was to be
solemnized.

It was evening when the bishop came to visit Paula. He regarded it as
his duty to tell her that the execution of her sentence was fixed for
the day after to-morrow. He should hope and believe till the last, but
his own power over the misguided mob was gone from him. In any case, and
if the worst should befall, he would be at her side to protect her by
the dignity of his office. He had come now, so as to give her time to
prepare her self in every respect. The care of her noble father till his
last hour on earth he would take upon himself as a dear and sacred duty.

Though she had believed herself surely prepared long since for the
worst, this news fell on her like a thunderbolt. What lay before her
seemed so monstrous, so unexampled, that it was impossible that she ever
could look forward to it firmly and calmly.

For a long time she could not help clinging desperately to her faithful
Betta, and it was only by degrees that she so far recovered herself as
to be able to speak to the bishop, and thank him. He, however, could
only lament his inability to earn her fullest gratitude, for the
patriarch's reply to his complaint of those who promised rescue to the
people by the instrumentality of a heathen abomination--a document on
which he had founded his highest hopes for her--had had a different
result from that which he had expected. The patriarch, to be sure,
condemned the abominable sacrifice, but he did it in a way which lacked
the force necessary to terrify and discourage the misled mob. However,
he would try what effect it might have on the people, and a number of