agerly as she
listened to Medea's words, her sharp ears heard the doleful gasping and
whimpering behind the hanging; and this distressed and dismayed her; her
breath came short, and a deep, torturing sense of misfortune possessed
her wholly. The wailing child-spirit within, a portion of whose joys
Medea said had been allotted to her--nay, she had not robbed him,
certainly not--for who could be more wretched than she? It was only that
beautiful, languishing young creature who was so lavishly endowed by
Fortune with gifts enough and to spare for others without number. Oh!
if she could but have snatched them from her one after another, from the
splendid ruby she was wearing to-day, to Orion's love!

She was pale and tremulous as she rose at the call of the sorceress,
after she also had offered seven gold pieces. She would gladly have
purchased annihilating curses to destroy her happier rival.

The black liquid in the saucer began to stir, and a sharply smelling
vapor rose from it; the witch blew this aside, and as soon as the murky
fluid was a little cool, and the surface was smooth and mirror-like,
she asked Katharina what she most desired to know. But the answer was
checked on her lips; a fearful thundering and roaring suddenly made
the house shake; Medea dropped the saucer with a piercing shriek, the
contents splashed up, and warm, sticky drops fell on the girl's arms and
dress. She was quite overcome with the startling horror, and Heliodora,
who could herself scarcely stand, had to support her, for she tottered
and would have fallen.

The sorceress had vanished; a half-grown lad, a young man, and a very
tall Egyptian girl in scanty attire were rushing about the room. They
flew hither and thither, throwing all the vessels they could lay hands
on into an opening in the floor from which they had lifted a trap-door;
pouring water on the braziers and extinguishing the lights, while they
drove the two strangers into a corner of the hall, rating and abusing
them. Then the lads clambered like cats up to the opening in the roof,
and sprang off and away.

A shrill whistle rang through the house, and in moment Medea burst into
the room again, clutched the two trembling women by the shoulders, and
exclaimed: "For Christ's sake, be merciful! My life is at stake Sorcery
is punishable by death. I have done my best for you. You came here--that
is what you must say--out of charity to nurse the sick." She pushed them
both behind the