Vergilius | Page 5

walk. She turned quickly, and looked
back at him as he approached. Her face had grown pale.
"I--I shall never speak with you again," she whispered.
"Oh, have mercy upon me, beautiful sister of Appius!" said the young
knight, and there was a note of despair in his voice. "Have mercy upon

me!"
"Young sir," said she, retreating slowly, as he advanced, "I do not love
you--I do not love you."
She turned quickly, and ran to the peristyle, and, stopping not to glance
back at him, entered the great marble home of her fathers.
He stood a moment looking at the sun-glow behind roof and dome and
tower. A bridge of light, spanning the hollow of the city, had laid its
golden timbers from hill to hill; and for a little the young man felt as if
he were drowning in the shadows under it. He turned presently and
hurried into the palace.
CHAPTER 3
"He is more honored than Jupiter these days," the philosopher was
saying as Vergilius re-entered.
"Who?" inquired the young man.
"Who else but Caesar, and it is well. The gods--who are they?"
"The adopted children of Vergil and Homer," said Appius, brother of
Arria, who had just returned from the baths.
"But our great father Augustus--who can doubt that he deserves our
worship?" said the philosopher, a subtle irony in his voice. It was this
learned man who had long been the instructor of Vergilius.
"Who, indeed?" was the remark of another.
"But these gods!"
"At least they are not likely to cut off one's head," said Aulus.
"Speak not lightly of the gods," said Vergilius. "They are still a power
with the people, and the people have great need of them. What shall
become of Rome when the gods fall?"

"It shall sicken," said the philosopher, with a lift of his hand. "You that
are young may live to see the end. It shall be like the opening of the
underworld. Our republic is false, our gods are false, and, indeed, I
know but one truth."
"And what may it be?" said another.
"We are all liars," he quickly answered.
"O tempora!" said the Lady Lucia. "It is an evil day, especially among
men. When Quinta Claudia went with her noble sisters to meet the
Idaean mother at Terracina they were able to find in Rome one virtuous
man to escort them. But that was more than two hundred years ago."
"If one were to find him now, and he were to go," said the philosopher,
"by the gods above us! I fear he would return a sad rake indeed."
"'Tis not a pleasant theme," said the Lady Lucia, by way of introducing
another.
"The dear old girl!" said young Gracus, in a low tone, as he turned to
the senator. "Her hair is a lie, her complexion is a lie, her lips are a lie."
"And her life is a lie," said the other.
"You enjoyed your walk?" asked the mother of Arria, addressing
Vergilius.
"The walk was a delight to me and its end a sorrow," he answered.
"And you obeyed me?"
"To the letter." It is true, he thought, we are a generation of liars, but
how may one help it? Then, quickly, a way seemed to suggest itself,
and he added: "Madame, forgive me. I do now remember we had a
word or two about love; but, you see, I was telling the legend of this
coin. It has the power to show one if he be loved."
"By tossing?"

"By tossing. Head, yes; the reverse, no."
"Let me try." She flung it to the oaken beams and it fell on the great rug
beside her.
"Madame, the hand is up," said Vergilius. "I fear it is not infallible."
"Let me see," she answered, stooping gravely to survey the coin.
Something passed between her and her pleasure, and for one second a
shadow wavered across her face.
"It is Death's hand, of course," she remarked, sadly. "Love is for the
young and death is for the old."
"Old, madame! Why, your cheeks have roses in them."
"Good youth, you are too frank," said she, with a quick glance about
her. "Did the coin say that she loved you?"
"It did."
"And what did she say?"
The young man hesitated.
"Come, you innocent! Of course, I knew that you would talk of nothing
but love. What said she?"
"That she does not love me; but I am sure it is mere coquetry."
"Dear youth! You have a cunning eye. This very day speak, my brave
Vergilius--speak to her brother Appius. To-night take him to dine with
you."
"I had so planned."
A gong of silver rang in the palace halls. It was the signal to prepare for
dinner, and the guests made their