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orders when addressed in such a tone."

"Insolent hound," the young Roman exclaimed, "I will chastise you," and

he struck Malchus with his stick. In an instant the latter sprang upon

him, struck him to the ground, and wrenching the staff from his hand

laid it heavily across him. At that moment Flavia, followed by her

daughter, hurried in at the sound of the struggle. "Malchus," she

exclaimed, "what means this?"

"It means," Sempronius said rising livid with passion, "that your slave

has struck me--me, a Roman patrician. I will lodge a complaint against

him, and the penalty, you know, is death."

"He struck me first, Lady Flavia," Malchus said quietly, "because I

would not do his behests when he spoke to me as a dog."

"If you struck my slave, Sempronius," Flavia said coldly, "I blame him

not that he returned the blow. Although a prisoner of war, he is, as you

well know, of a rank in Carthage superior to your own, and I wonder not

that, if you struck him, he struck you in return. You know that you had

no right to touch my slave, and if you now take any steps against him I

warn you that you will never enter this house again."

"Nor will I ever speak a word to you," Julia added.

"But he has struck me," Sempronius said furiously; "he has knocked me

down and beaten me."

"Apparently you brought it upon yourself," Flavia said. "None but

ourselves know what has happened; therefore, neither shame nor disgrace

can arise from it. My advice to you is, go home now and remain there

until those marks of the stick have died out; it will be easy for you to

assign an excuse. If you follow the matter up, I will proclaim among

my friends how I found you here grovelling on the ground while you were

beaten. What will then be said of your manliness? Already the repeated

excuses which have served you from abstaining to join the armies in

the field have been a matter for much comment. You best know whether it

would improve your position were it known that you had been beaten by a

slave. Why, you would be a jest among young Romans."

Sempronius stood irresolute. His last hopes of winning Julia were

annihilated by what had happened. The tone of contempt in which both

mother and daughter had spoken sufficiently indicated their feelings,

and for a moment he hesitated whether he would not take what revenge he

could by denouncing Malchus. But the thought was speedily put aside. He

had been wrong in striking the domestic slave of another; but the fact

that Malchus had been first attacked, and the whole influence of the

house of Gracchus, its relations, friends, and clients exerted in his

behalf, would hardly suffice to save him. Still the revenge would be

bought dearly in the future hostility of Flavia and her friends, and

in the exposure of his own humiliating attitude. He, therefore, with a

great effort subdued all signs of anger and said:

"Lady Flavia, your wish has always been law to me, and I would rather

that anything should happen than that I should lose your favour and

patronage, therefore, I am willing to forget what has happened, the more

so as I own that I acted wrongly in striking your slave. I trust that

after this apology you will continue to be the kindly friend I have

always found you."

"Certainly, Sempronius," Flavia said graciously, "and I shall not forget

your ready acquiescence in my wishes."

It was the more easy for Sempronius to yield, inasmuch as Malchus had,

after stating that he had been first struck, quietly left the apartment.

For some little time things went on as before. Malchus was now at

home in Rome. As a slave of one of the most powerful families, as was

indicated by the badge he wore on his dress, he was able, when his

services were not required, to wander at will in the city. He made the

circuit of the walls, marked the spots which were least frequented and

where an escape would be most easily made; and, having selected a spot

most remote from the busy quarter of the town, he purchased a long rope,

and carrying it there concealed it under some stones close to one of the

flights of steps by which access was obtained to the summit of the wall.

The difficulty was not how to escape from Rome, for that, now that he

had so much freedom of movement, was easy, but how to proceed when he

had once gained the open country. For himself he had little doubt that

he should be able to make his way through the territories of the allies

of Rome, but the difficulty of travelling with Clotilde would be much

greater.

"Clotilde," he said one day, "set your wits to work and try and think of

some disguise in which you might pass with me. I have already prepared

for getting beyond the walls; but the pursuit after us will be hot, and

until we reach the Carthaginian lines every man's hand will be against

us."

"I have thought of it, Malchus; the only thing that I can see is for me

to stain my skin and dye my hair and go as a peasant boy."

"That is what I, too, have thought of, Clotilde. The disguise would be

a poor one, for the roundness of your arms and the colour of your eyes

would betray you at once to any one who looked closely at you. However,

as I can see no better way, I will get the garments and some for myself

to match, and some stuff for staining the skin and hair."

The next day Malchus bought the clothes and dye and managed to bring

them into the house unobserved, and to give to Clotilde those intended

for her.

The lion, under the influence of the mingled firmness and kindness of

Malchus, had now recovered his docility, and followed him about the

house like a great dog, sleeping stretched out on a mat by the side of

his couch.

Sempronius continued his visits. Malchus was seldom present when he

was with Flavia, but Clotilde was generally in the room. It was now the

height of summer, and her duty was to stand behind her mistress with a

large fan, with which she kept up a gentle current of air over Flavia's

head and drove off the troublesome flies. Sometimes she had to continue

doing so for hours, while Flavia chatted with her friends.

Sempronius was biding his time. The two slaves were still high in

Flavia's favour, but he was in hopes that something might occur which

would render her willing to part with them. He watched Julia narrowly

whenever Malchus entered the room, and became more and more convinced

that she had taken a strong fancy for the Carthaginian slave, and the

idea occurred to him that by exciting her jealousy he might succeed in

obtaining his object. So careful were Malchus and Clotilde that he had

no idea whatever that any understanding existed between them. This,

however, mattered but little; nothing was more likely than that

these two handsome slaves should fall in love with each other, and he

determined to suggest the idea to Julia.

Accordingly one day when he was sitting beside her, while Flavia was

talking with some other visitors, he remarked carelessly, "Your mother's

two slaves, the Carthaginian and the Gaul, would make a handsome

couple."

He saw a flush of anger in Julia's face. For a moment she did not reply,

and then said in a tone of indifference:

"Yes, they are each well favoured in their way."

"Methinks the idea has occurred to them," Sempronius said. "I have seen

them glance at each other, and doubt not that when beyond your presence

they do not confine themselves to looks."

Julia was silent, but Sempronius saw, in the tightly compressed lips and

the lowering brow with which she looked from one to the other, that the

shaft had told.

"I have wondered sometimes," he said, "in an idle moment, whether

they ever met before. The Carthaginians were for some time among the

Cisalpine Gauls, and the girl was, you have told me, the daughter of a

chief there; they may well have met."

Julia made no reply, and Sempronius, feeling that he had said enough,

began to talk on other subjects. Julia scarcely answered him, and at

last impatiently waved him away. She sat silent and abstracted until the

last of the visitors had left, then she rose from her seat and walked

quietly up to her mother and said abruptly to Clotilde, who was standing

behind her mistress: "Did you know the slave Malchus before you met

here?"

The suddenness of the question sent the blood up into the cheeks of the

Gaulish maiden, and Julia felt at once that the hints of Sempronius were

fully justified.

"Yes," Clotilde answered quietly, "I met him when, with Hannibal, he

came down from the Alps into our country."

"Why did you not say so before?" Julia asked passionately. "Mother, the

slaves have been deceiving us."

"Julia," Flavia said in surprise, "why this heat? What matters it to us

whether they have met before?"

Julia did not pay any attention, but stood with angry eyes waiting for

Clotilde's answer.

"I did not know, Lady Julia," the girl said quietly, "that the affairs

of your slaves were of any interest to you. We recognized each other

when we first met. Long ago now, when we were both in a different

position--"

"And when you loved each other?" Julia said in a tone of concentrated

passion.

"And when we loved each other," Clotilde repeated, her head thrown back

now, and her bearing as proud and haughty as that of Julia.

"You hear that, mother? you hear this comedy that these slaves have been

playing under your nose? Send them both to the whipping post."

"My dear Julia," Flavia exclaimed, more and more surprised at her anger,

"what harm has been done? You astonish me. Clotilde, you can retire.

What means all this, Julia?" she went on more severely when they were

alone; "why all this strange passion because two slaves, who by some

chance have met each other before, are lovers? What is this Gaulish

girl, what is this Carthaginian slave, to you?"

"I love him, mother!" Julia said passionately.

"You!" Flavia exclaimed in angry surprise; "you, Julia, of the house of

Gracchus, love a slave! You are mad, girl, and shameless."

"I say so without shame," Julia replied, "and why should I not? He is a

noble of Carthage, though now a prisoner of war. What if my father is

a consul? Malchus is the cousin of Hannibal, who is a greater man than

Rome has ever yet seen. Why should I not wed him?"

"In the first place, it seems, Julia," Flavia said gravely, "because

he loves someone else. In the second place, because, as I hear, he is

likely to be exchanged very shortly for a praetor taken prisoner at

Cannae, and will soon be fighting against us. In the third place,

because all Rome would be scandalized were a Roman maiden of the

patrician order, and of the house of Gracchus, to marry one of the

invaders of her country. Go to, Julia, I blush for you! So this is the

reason why of late you have behaved so coldly to Sempronius. Shame on

you, daughter! What would your father say, did he, on his return from

the field, hear of your doings? Go to your chamber, and do not let me

see you again till you can tell me that you have purged this madness

from your veins."

Without a word Julia turned and left the room. Parental discipline was

strong in Rome, and none dare disobey a parent's command, and although

Julia had far more liberty and license than most unmarried Roman girls,

she did not dare to answer her mother when she spoke in such a tone.

Flavia sat for some time in thought, then she sent for Malchus. He had

already exchanged a few words with Clotilde, and was therefore prepared

for her questions.

"Malchus, is it true that you love my Gaulish slave girl?"

"It is true," Malchus replied quietly. "When we met in Gaul, two years

since, she was the daughter of a chief, I a noble of Carthage. I loved

her; but we were both young, and with so great a war in hand it was not

a time to speak of marriage."

"Would you marry her now?"

"Not as a slave," Malchus replied; "when I marry her it shall be before

the face of all men--I as a noble of Carthage, she as a noble Gaulish

maiden."

"Hannibal is treating for your exchange now," Flavia said. "There are

difficulties in the way, for, as you know, the senate have refused to

allow its citizens who surrender to be ransomed or exchanged; but the

friends of the praetor Publius are powerful and are bringing all their

influence to bear to obtain the exchange of their kinsman, whom Hannibal

has offered for you. I will gladly use what influence I and my family

possess to aid them. I knew when you came to me that, as a prisoner of

war, it was likely that you might be exchanged."

"You have been very kind, my Lady Flavia," Malchus said, "and I esteem

myself most fortunate in having fallen into such hands. Since you know

now how it is with me and Clotilde, I can ask you at once to let me

ransom her of you. Any sum that you like to name I will bind myself, on

my return to the Carthaginian camp, to pay for her."

"I will think it over," Flavia said graciously. "Clotilde is useful to

me, but I can dispense with her services, and will ask you no exorbitant

amount for her. If the negotiations for your exchange come to aught, you

may rely upon it that she shall go hence with you."

With an expression of deep gratitude Malchus retired. Flavia, in thus

acceding to the wishes of Malchus, was influenced by several motives.

She was sincerely shocked at Julia's conduct, and was most desirous of

getting both Malchus and Clotilde away, for she knew that her daughter

was headstrong as she was passionate, and the presence of Clotilde in

the house would, even were Malchus absent, be a source of strife and

bitterness between herself and her daughter.