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as she recognised Alypius; for she thought of his kindness and attention at the Circus; and she also remembered the painful cause of her indisposition, which had called for his assistance. But soon her agitation was conquered; and she joined her mother in entertaining their visitors, with a grace and intelligence that added to the admiration with which Alypius already regarded her.

The visit was a short one, for the young men feared to intrude; but, to the great satisfaction of one of them, Marcella begged them to repeat it; and added that a festive assembly was to take place in a few days, at her house, to celebrate the departure of her son, Orestes, to his priestly duties at Phylæ, when Medora was to accompany her brother, and make some stay in the sacred isle. To this entertainment she invited Alypius and his friend, telling them that they must not be surprised if they saw many customs and observances practised on that occasion which they had never seen in the houses of their Greek or Roman acquaintances.

"In honour of my son," she continued, "we shall follow the practices of the Egyptian ancestors of my husband as far as it is in our power to do so. Indeed the habits of our daily life are much more Egyptian than Roman."

"All that I see around me is pure and classical, from whichever nation it may be derived," replied Alypius, glancing at the costly furniture and rich draperies which adorned the room, and then resting his eyes on the graceful form of Medora, who seemed quite unconscious of the admiration which she excited.

The visitors departed; and the succeeding days seemed long to Alypius, until that of the festival to which he was invited.

At length the wished-for day arrived, and Alypius again presented himself at the mansion of Sophis. He found many guests already assembled in the vestibule, and in the handsome and tastefully-decorated saloon, where the embroidered hangings, and polished marble floors, and richly inlaid seats and tables would have engaged much of his attention, had it not all been absorbed by one object. Medora stood beside her mother at the upper end of the apartment. Her countenance was beaming with smiles, as she assisted in giving a courteous welcome to the guests. Her dress was strictly Egyptian; and yet so tastefully was it arranged, and so gracefully was it worn, that it had none of the stiffness and formality which Alypius would have expected; and which were discernible in the costumes of the other members of her family-especially of Orestes, her priestly brother.

Medora was attired in a long and flowing robe of snow-white linen, of a texture peculiar to the looms of Egypt, and so delicately fine as to be partly transparent. The dress and its long hanging sleeves were bordered with elaborate embroidery in gold and rich-coloured threads. A girdle of gold and precious stones encircled her slender waist, confining her inner vest, and gleaming through the loose folds of an upper robe; and long tassels of the same costly materials depended from it in front. Her beautiful brown hair, which hardly looked in keeping with her Egyptian costume, was carefully plaited and fastened at the back of her head with long gold pins, which were richly set with sparkling gems, while above her forehead a golden crescent shone as an emblem of Isis. Her neck and arms were also adorned with chains of gold; and her small feet,

as they peeped from beneath the folds of her long robe, showed a pair of elegantly-fitting sandals of polished dark-green leather, fastened with golden clasps.

Such was the dress of the ancient Egyptian maidens; and such was still, on state occasions, the costume in which Sophis wished his daughter to appear. His wife also, although a Greek by birth-and from whom Medora had derived her fair complexion and sunny hair-was attired in the most correct Egyptian manner, which became her stately person, and gave her an air of dignity and repose as she moved about among her guests. To Alypius she accorded a gracious smile, and permitted him to converse with her and her daughter for a short time. But soon Medora was led away to another part of the saloon, and Alypius stood watching her graceful form and animated countenance in utter forgetfulness of everything else.

"Are you moonstruck, my friend ?" said Julius, laughing, as he suddenly approached and disturbed the contemplations of Alypius. "It is a pity that you are not of pure Egyptian birth, and given to the worship of cats, and apes, and serpents, as well as of the silvery moon. Then perhaps you might be preferred to that close-curled image of a man, with his long, antique-looking eyes, and his stiffly-folded dress, in which he seems to have walked out of the royal tombs at Thebes. Look how he glides up to the fair Medora, and what a fine contrast his sallow complexion and raven hair form to her fair skin and rich brown locks. Will she greet him with one of her sunny smiles ?

"Who is he ?" asked Alypius, speaking very eagerly, but trying vainly to look perfectly unconcerned.

"He is a friend of the priest Orestes," replied Julius, smiling at his companion's evident agitation. "His name is Muthis; he possesses wide and fertile fields on the borders of the Nile; and it is reported that he is a suitor for the hand of his countrywoman, Medora."

"His countrywoman!" repeated Alypius, contemptuously. "She may indeed have been born in Egypt, and her father may have Egyptian blood in his veins, but she is a type of the purest Grecian race. She is fit to have been the model of one of the statues of Phidias or Praxiteles."

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Nevertheless, she is an Egyptian in religion," replied Julius ; "and you see she openly wears an emblem of the goddess whom she worships. No doubt some of our divinities are earthly enough; but we who are enlightened, know what to believe and what to reject. We leave the grosser superstitions to the ignorant lower orders, and only reverence abstract spiritual ideas under material forms. The Egyptian theology is far more degraded, and some of their deities are absolutely hideous, as you well know."

"But Medora could not worship those deities. If she pays reverence to Osiris and Isis, and to the moon as a type of the goddess, her religion is at least as pure and elevated as that which Rome inculcates. Nothing mean or degrading could find an entrance into the soul that dwells in that lovely shrine."

"I never knew you so enthusiastic before, Alypius. You had better take care of your heart; for I much doubt if any Roman would ever be allowed to aspire to become the son-inlaw of Sophis."

"Who ever dreamt of such a thing?" replied Alypius, hastily. But at the same time the colour mounted to his brow, and a pang shot through his heart, and he thought how blessed it would be if he and Medora were sharers of one faith-and that a faith which could fill the soul and satisfy the craving spirit, and also ennoble and purify the life. At that moment he recalled the expression of holy trust and confidence which he had seen on the countenances of the Christian martyrs; especially of the two maidens, who in age and sex, and feminine gentleness, resembled Medora; and he thought how such an expression would ennoble and beautify her lovely features. He felt that he could be willing to brave the Christian's fate, and die the martyr's death, if only he and Medora could learn to believe in the Christian's God, and live or die together.

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