sh upon the white cheek of the Roman.

'My brother is younger than I,' he said, 'and his blood runs quicker.
All that he says, though it be a picture of the truest heart ever lodged
in man, is yet to be taken with abatement. But for him, this work would
have been far below its present merit. Let me ask you especially to mark
the broad border, where is set forth the late triumph, and ambassadors,
captives, and animals of all parts of the earth, especially of the East,
are seen in their appropriate forms and habits. That is all from the
chisel of my brother. Behold here'--and rising he approached the vase,
and vast as it was, by a touch, so was it constructed, turned it
round--'behold here, where is figured the Great Queen of--'; in the
enthusiasm of art, he had forgotten for a moment to whom he was
speaking; for at that instant his eye fell upon the countenance of
Julia, who stood near him,--while hers at the same moment caught the
regal form of Zenobia, bent beneath the weight of her golden chains--and
which he saw cast down by an uncontrollable grief. He paused, confused
and grieved--saying, as he turned back the vase, 'Ah me! cruel and
indiscreet! Pardon me, noble ladies! and yet I deserve it not.'

'Go on, go on, Demetrius,' said Julia, assuming a cheerful air. 'You
offend me not. The course of Empire must have its way; individuals are
but emmets in the path. I am now used to this, believe me. It is for
you rather, and the rest, to forgive in me a sudden weakness.'

Demetrius, thus commanded, resumed, and then with minuteness, with much
learning and eloquence, discoursed successively upon the histories, or
emblematic devices, of this the chief work of his hands. All were sorry
when he ceased.

'To what you have overlooked,' said Aurelian, as he paused, 'must I call
you back, seeing it is that part of the work which I most esteem, and in
which at this moment I and all, I trust, are most interested--the
sculptures upon the platter; which represent the new temple and
ceremonies of the dedication, which to-morrow we celebrate.'

'Of this,' replied Demetrius, 'I said less, because perhaps the work is
inferior, having been committed, our time being short, to the hands of a
pupil--a pupil, however, I beg to say, who, if the Divine Providence
spare him, will one day, and that not a remote one, cast a shadow upon
his teachers.'

'That will he,' said the brother; 'Flaccus is full of the truest
inspiration.'

'But to th