instance of this: for having in my evening cups exceeded the bounds of temperance, a wretched night has been presenting to me shocking and dreadful visions, so that I still fancy myself besprinkled and defiled with human gore.'

""Tis not gore,' he replied with a smile, 'you are sprinkled with, but chamber-lye; and yet I too, thought, in my sleep, that my throat was cut: some pain, too, I felt in my neck, and I fancied that my very heart was being plucked out: and even now I am quite faint, my knees tremble, I stagger as I go, and feel in want of some food to refresh my spirits.'

"Look,' cried I, 'here's breakfast all ready for you;' and so saying, I lifted my wallet from off my shoulders, and at once handed him some cheese and bread, saying, 'Let us sit down near that plane-tree.'

"We did so, and I also helped myself to some refreshment. While looking at him somewhat more intently, as he was eating with a voracious appetite, I saw that he was faint, and of a hue like box-wood; his natural colour in fact had so forsaken him, that as I recalled those nocturnal furies to my frightened imagination, the very first piece of bread I put into my mouth, though a very tiny bit, stuck in the middle of my throat, so that it could neither pass downward, nor yet return upward. And then besides, the number of people passing along increased my apprehensions; for who would believe that one of two companions could meet with his death without any harm done by the other?

"Meanwhile, after having devoured a sufficient quantity of food, he began to be impatient for some drink; for he had voraciously eaten a good part of a most excellent cheese; and not very far from the roots of the plane tree, a gentle stream flowed slowly along, just like a placid lake, rivalling silver or glass in its lustre. Look,' said I, 'drink your fill of the water of this stream, bright as the Milky Way.'

"He arose, and, wrapping himself in his cloak,* with his knees doubled under him, knelt down upon the shelving bank, and bent greedily towards the water. Scarcely had he touched the dewy surface of the water with the edge of his lips, when the wound in his throat burst wide open, the sponge suddenly rolled out, a few drops of blood accompanying it; and then, his body, bereft of life, would have

* In his cloak.]—' Palliolo' seems a preferable reading to ‘paululum.'

fallen into the river, had I not laid hold of one of his feet, and dragged it with the utmost difficulty and labour to the top of the bank; where, having, as well as the time permitted, lamented my unfortunate companion, I buried him in the sandy soil that eternally begirt the stream. For my own part, trembling and terror-stricken, I fled through various and unfrequented places; and, as though conscious of the guilt of homicide, abandoning my country and my home, and embracing a voluntary exile, I now dwell in Ætolia, where I have married another wife."

END OF THE FIRST EPISODE.

Here Aristomenes ended his story, but his companion, who from the very first had rejected it with obstinate incredulity, at once exclaimed, "Nothing is there in fable more fabulous than this story, nothing more absurd than these lies." Then turning to me: And you,' ," said he, "who are a person of liberal education, as your dress and appearance bespeak, do you give credit to this story ?"

I replied, "I consider nothing impossible, but hold that just as the Fates have preordained, so all things happen to mortals. For both to me and to you, and to all men, many things do happen of so wonderful a nature, that they are nigh to not happening at all; which, nevertheless, if narrated to an ignorant person, would fail to obtain belief. But this story, by Hercules, I do believe, and I return right hearty thanks to the narrator, for having so well entertained us by his pleasant recital, that I have got over a rough and tedious portion of my journey without labour or weariness. With this good service, I fancy that this nag of mine is also much gratified, inasmuch as I have been carried, without fatigue to him, up to the very gate of this city, not on his back, but by my ears.' This was the termination of our conversation and of our journey together; for both my fellow-travellers turned away to some neighbouring villages on the left; while I approached the first inn I cast eyes upon, and at once accosted the old woman who kept it: "Is this the city of Hypata?” said I; she gave me to understand, by a nod, that it was. "Do you know," said I, a certain person of the name of Milo, who is

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one of the first men of the city?" She smiled, and replied, "With good reason is this Milo considered one of the first* men, inasmuch as he dwells beyond the whole city, and in the Pomorium." "Joking apart," said I, "tell me, I beg of you, good mother, what kind of man he is, and in what house he lives."

"Do you see," said she, "those last windows which look on this side towards the city, and that gate on the other side, looking upon the blind alley in front? There it is that Milo dwells, a man abounding in money, and extremely opulent; but disgraced by inordinate avarice and shameful sordidness. In short, he entirely devotes himself to usury, taking pledges of gold and silver. Shut up in a scanty house, and always bending over his pelf, there he dwells with a wife, the partner of his misery. And no one besides does he keep in his house, except one servant girl; and when he goes abroad, he is always dressed like a common beggar."

"Well," said I to myself, with a smile, "my friend Demeas has taken excellent care of me, in giving me a letter of introduction to such a man; while I stay with him I need not be afraid of smoke, or the smell of the kitchen."

Thus saying, and proceeding to a little distance, I came to the gate, which was strongly bolted, and began to hallo and knock.

At length, a damsel came out, and said, "Hallo! you who have been knocking at our door so violently, what is the pledge on which you want to borrow money? Are you the only person that doesn't know that we take in no pledge except it is gold or silver ?"

"Meet me with words of better omen," said I, "and rather inform me, whether I have found your master at home?" Certainly," she replied; "but what is the cause of your

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enquiry?"

*One of the first.]-The landlady puns on the word 'primus.' He may well be called 'the first' man, as you come to his house first of all on approaching the city. + The Pomarium.]· The word Pomorium' was probably compounded of 'post,' 'behind,' and 'morium,' the old name for a wall,' and signified a space of ground adjoining the city walls, within which the city auspices were to be taken. The limits of the 'Pomorium' were marked by stone pillars at certain distances.

"I have brought a letter," said I, "written to him by Demeas, the duumvir of Corinth."*

"Wait here," said she, "while I deliver your message to him." And so saying, she fastened the door again, and returned into the house.

She came back in a few minutes, and, opening the door, said, "My master requests you to come in." I accordingly entered, and found him reclining on a very small couch, and just beginning his dinner. His wife was sitting at his feet, t and a scantily furnished table was before them; pointing at which, he said, "Behold your entertainment."

""Tis well," said I, and immediately delivered him the letter from Demeas. Having hastily read it, he said, "I thank my friend Demeas for having introduced to me such a worthy guest:" and then he ordered his wife to leave the room, and invited me to sit in her place; at the same time taking hold of my garment, and drawing me towards him, as I still hesitated through bashfulness. "Sit down there," said he, "for through fear of robbers, we cannot provide ourselves with seats, nor even as much other furniture as we have need of." I did so. "From the genteel appearance of your person," he continued, "and from this maiden bashfulness of yours, I might reasonably conjecture that you are sprung from a good family. Besides, my friend Demeas also asserts the same thing in his letter. I beg, therefore, you will not despise the poverty of our little cottage; and, look you, you will have the little bedchamber adjoining to this room, where you will be very comfortable. Do not, therefore, hesitate to take up your abode with us. For you will magnify our poor house through your condescension, and will, besides, procure for yourself no small

* Duumvir of Corinth.]-The 'duum viri' here mentioned were the chief magistrates who presided over the Roman colonies and municipia.' + Sitting at his feet.]-His couch was so scanty in dimensions that it would not admit of more than one to recline on it; consequently, his wife had to sit on a chair or stool at his feet. Although, however, this explanation may be admitted in the present instance, as consonant with Milo's stinginess, it was not uncommon for wives among the Greeks to take their seats by the couches as their husbands reclined at meals. We learn from Plautus that parasites were frequently obliged to content themselves with stools or benches, while the other guests were reclining.

To leave the room.]-He orders his wife to leave the room, because the dinner was only enough for two.

renown, if, content with a humble dwelling, you emulate the virtues of Theseus, your father's namesake,* who did not disdain the slender hospitality of the aged woman Hecale."†

Then, calling to the maid-servant, "Fotis," said he, "take the baggage of our guest, and put it with care in that bedchamber, and at the same time, bring quickly from the storeroom some oil for anointing, towels for drying, and other needful things useful, and then conduct my guest to the nearest baths; for he must be weary after his very long and toilsome journey.'

On hearing these directions, I reflected upon the mode of living, and the parsimonious habits of Milo, and wishing to ingratiate myself with him in a still greater degree—“I do not stand in need of any of these things," said I, "as I generally carry them with me on a journey. And as to the baths, I can easily find my way thither by enquiring where they are. My principal concern is for my horse, who has so stoutly carried me hither; do you, therefore, Fotis, take this money, and buy me some hay and barley."

When matters were arranged, and my things had been put into the bedchamber, I went into the provision market on my road towards the baths, that I might first provide us with something in the way of eating. There I saw a splendid supply of fish on sale, and after asking the price of some, and declining it, because the dealer asked a hundred pieces of money, I finally bought it for twenty denars. Just as I was going away from there, I was followed out by one Pytheas, who had been a fellow-student of mine at Athens; who, after having recognised me at last, embraced me in a friendly manner, and exclaimed, "By Gemini, friend Lucius, what a time it is since I last saw you! By Hercules! not since we left our master and quitted the city. But what is the cause of this journey of yours?"

* Your father's namesake.]-Many of the commentators rush to the conclusion that Theseus was the name of the father of Apuleius; founding the notion upon the present passage,

+ Aged woman Hecale.]-Hecale was a poor old woman, who received Theseus, on his travels, with marked hospitality; for which that hero established a festival in her honor. She is also mentioned by Callimachus, Ovid, and Plutarch.

A hundred pieces.]-The 'nummus' here mentioned was probably adidrachm,' the same in value as two ' denarii.'

§ Quitted the city.]- Astu,' the city,' was the name by which, in familiar discourse, Athens was generally called among the Greeks.