It happened one day that Byrrhæna pressingly invited me to sup with her; and though I made many excuses, she would not let me off. I, therefore, had to resort to Fotis, and take counsel from her, as from an oracle; and though unwilling that I should depart from her the breadth of a nail, yet she kindly indulged me with a little respite from our amatory warfare.

"But, look you," said she, "take care that you return early from this supper, for a frantic faction of the young nobles has been disturbing the public tranquillity, and you will see murdered men lying here and there in the streets; nor can the forces of the prefect of the province, in consequence of the remoteness of their stations, relieve the city from these outrages. Now, your superior fortune, and contempt for you, as a foreigner, may possibly cause you to be waylaid."

"Do not be under any apprehensions, my Fotis," said I; "for besides that I prefer my own pleasures to the banquets of others, I will return early, in order to remove these fears of yours. However, I shall not go unattended; for girded with my trusty sword, I shall carry a protector of my safety.'

Thus equipped I proceeded to the entertainment. There was a numerous assembly of guests, and as Byrrhæna was a woman of rank, it comprised some of the first-rate people of the city. The repast was sumptuous; the couches, framed with polished ivory, were covered with cloth of gold; the cups were capacious, of various graceful designs, and all unique in value. Some were of glass, with figures exquisitely embossed: others of the purest crystal; others, again, of burnished silver, or of

dirige, et grassare naviter, et occide moriturus. Hodierna pugna non habet missionem. Hæc simul dicens, inscenso grabbatulo, super me cossim residens, ac crebra subsiliens, lubricisque gestibus mobilem spinam quatiens, pendulæ Veneris fructu me satiavit; usque dum, lassis animis et marcidis artubus defatigati, simul ambo corruimus inter mutuos amplexus, animas anhelantes.

His et hujuscemodi colluctationibus ad confinia lucis usque pervigiles egimus, poculis interdum lassitudinem refoventes, et libidinem incitantes, et voluptatem integrantes. Ad hujus noctis exemplar similes adstruximus alias plusculas.

glittering gold, or of amber, admirably wrought and hollowed out into beakers. In short, whatever one thought impossible to be made by man, was there.

The carvers* were numerous, and their dresses splendid; the dishes were abundant, damsels waited gracefully at table, while youths with curled locks, and beautifully attired, ever and anon handed to the guests old wine in cups of precious

stone.

And now, lights being brought in, the conversation gradually became more convivial; there was abundance of laughter, and good-humoured quips and jokes flew about in every direction, when Byrrhæna thus addressed me: "How do you enjoy yourself in this country of ours? If I am not mistaken, we greatly excel all other cities in temples, baths, and other public works. And then we have an extraordinary abundance of all the commodities of life. Beyond a doubt here one enjoys full liberty, and may live at his ease; for the stranger who is a man of business, there is all the bustle of Rome, while for the new-comer who is of retiring habits, the quiet of a country-house is here to be found. In fine, our city is a place of resort for all the pleasure-seekers of this province."

"What you say is quite true," I replied, "and no where have I felt myself more perfectly at liberty than I am here. But I am sadly frightened at the dark mysteries and irresistible spells of the magic art. For it is said, that here not even the sepulchres of the dead are unmolested, but that certain remnants and cuttings from the dead bodies are sought from the tombs and funeral-piles, to ensure deadly misfortune to the living. I am told also that when foreigners are buried, old hags of sorceresses are in the habit of outstripping the funeral procession, in their speed to ravage the corpse."

"No doubt of it," observed one of the guests; "and what is more, in this place they do not even spare the living. There is a certain person-I don't name him-who suffered from an attack of this nature, and whose face was mutilated and deformed in all manner of ways."

At these remarks, an uncontrollable fit of laughter burst forth from all the guests, and the faces and eyes of all were

* The carvers.]-Diribitores.' It was probably the duty of these servants to carry round the viands and distribute them among the guests.

turned towards a person who sat in a corner, apart from the rest of the company. This person, confused by the long-continued merriment, and indignantly muttering between his teeth, was preparing to rise and leave the room, when Byrrhæna addressed him, and said, "Nay, my good Telephron, do not go, but stop a little while, and with your usual good humour, do tell us that adventure of yours over again, that my son, Lucius, here, may also enjoy the pleasure of hearing your entertaining story."

To this the other replied, "You, indeed, madam, always preserve a scrupulous regard for good breeding, but the insolence of some people is such as not to be tolerated.”

These words were pronounced by him in a tone of great excitement. Byrrhæna, however, reiterated her request, and conjuring him as he valued her life to tell the story, forced him at last to comply, whether he liked or not. Accordingly, gathering up the coverings of the couch in a heap, resting his elbow thereon, and raising his body a little on the couch, he extended his right hand and arranged his fingers after the manner of our orators, closing the last two, and pointing the rest straight forward, with the thumb upturned.* Then, with a courteous smile, he began as follows:

THIRD EPISODE.

STORY OF TELEPHRON, THE STUDENT.

"While I was yet pursuing my studies, I went from Miletus,† to see the Olympic games; and as I wished also to pay a visit to the chief places of this celebrated province, I travelled over all Thessaly, and arrived under unlucky auspices at Larissa. As the money I had brought with me for my journey had been nearly all got rid of in my rambles, I was put to my shifts to repair my impoverished state. While so doing, I saw a tall

* With the thumb upturned.]—Contrary to our practice, the ancients used considerable gesticulation with the thumb, when speaking in public or engaging in a dispute. The upturned thumb was the sign of emphatic and impressive discourse.

Went from Miletus.]- Mileto profectus' seems necessarily to have this meaning, though, singularly enough, Taylor and Sir G. Head concur in rendering it, went to Miletus.'

old man, standing on a stone* in the middle of the forum, and making proclamation in a loud voice: 'If any one will undertake to guard the body of a dead man, he shall be well rewarded for his services.'

"On this, I said to one of the bystanders, 'What am I to understand by this? Are the dead in the habit of running away in this country?'

"Hold your tongue,' replied he, 'for you are a boy, and a green one too, and a foreigner all over, not to know that you are in Thessaly, where it is a universal practice with witches to tear off pieces from the faces of the dead with their teeth, in order to use them as ingredients in the magic art.'

"Pray, tell me,' said I, 'in what does this funeral wardenship consist?'

"In the first place,' he replied, you must watch incessantly the livelong night, with eyes fixed steadily on the corpse, wide open and not indulging in a wink; nor must your gaze ever be turned away to the one side or the other, no, not even may you cast a glance aside it. For these most abominable shifters of their skins, changing, in appearance, into any animal they please, creep upon you unawares, so that they can easily elude the very eyes of Justice and of the Sun. For they assume the forms of birds, dogs, mice, ay, and even of flies; and thus disguised, they exert their dire incantations, and overwhelm the guardians with sleep. Nor can any person sufficiently describe the extent of the devices which they make use of, for the sake of gratifying their libidinous appetite. And yet, after all, no larger pay than four or six pieces of gold is offered as the reward of such a dangerous service as this. But stop; there is one thing I had almost forgotten: if the person who watches does not on the following morning give up possession of the dead body in an entire state, he is compelled to make good the whole of it with strips cut from his own face, to match whatever has been torn off from that of the corpse.'

"On learning these facts, I summoned up all my courage, and going straightway to the crier, Cease from making proclama

* Standing on a stone.]-We learn from the Bacchides of Plautus and other works that it was the general custom for the 'præco,' or 'crier,' to mount a stone before making his proclamation.

tion,' said I; 'here is a guardian ready to your hand; teli me what is to be the reward.'

"A thousand pieces of money will be paid you,' said ǹe. 'But look, young man, you must be very careful to preserve the dead body, which is that of the son of one of the principal persons of this city, from the abominable Harpies.'

"You are talking nonsense to me,' said I, 'and mere trifles. You behold in me a man of iron nerve, proof against sleep, and, beyond a doubt, more sharp-sighted than Lynceus himself, or Argus; in fact, one who is eyes all over.'

"I had no sooner said this, than he at once led me to a certain house, the main entrance of which being closed, he introduced me through a low back door, and into a darkened bedchamber, with closed window shutters, where there was a lady dressed in black garments, and weeping. Going up to her, the crier said, 'This person has agreed to your terms, and confidently undertakes to watch the body of your husband.'

"On this, the lady, throwing back on each side the hair that hung down over her face, which even in grief was beautiful, and turning towards me, said, 'Take care, I beg of you, to perform vigilantly the duty which you have undertaken.'

"Never fear,' said I, only have in readiness something to throw into the bargain as a present.'

66

Assenting to this request, she hastily arose, and bade me follow her into another bedchamber. There, in the presence of seven witnesses who had been introduced into the room, she pointed with her hand to a dead body that was covered with a linen cloth of the purest white; and having wept for a considerable time at the sight of it, she called upon those present to bear testimony, and carefully pointed out to them every particular; while a person made notes on tablets of the parts of the body, which were severally touched for that purpose.

"Behold,' said she, 'the nose entire, the eyes in a sound condition, the ears safe, the lips untouched, and the chin perfect. Do you, worthy citizens,* bear testimony to this.' Having thus said, and the tablets duly signed and sealed, she was departing, when I said to her,

"Have the goodness, madam, to order that all things may be furnished to me which are requisite for my use.' "And what are they?' said she.

* Worthy citizens.]—' Quirites,' more properly 'Roman citizens.'