shore was covered with laticlaves[1] and military uniforms. He stopped, some paces from the column, and began to examine the stylite, wiping his face meanwhile with the skirt of his toga. Being of a naturally curious disposition, he had observed many things in the course of his long voyages. He liked to remember them, and intended to write, after he had finished his Punic history, a book on the remarkable things he had witnessed. He seemed much interested by the spectacle before him.
"This is very curious!" he said, puffing and blowing. " And — which is a circumstance worthy of being recorded — this man was my guest. Yes, this monk supped with me last year, after which he carried off an actress."
Turning to his secretary —
"Note that, my son, on my tablets; also the dimensions of the column, not omitting the shape of the top of it."
Then, wiping his face again —
"Persons deserving of belief have assured me that this monk has not left his column for a single moment since he mounted it a year ago. Is that possible, Aristæus?"
"That which is possible to a lunatic or a sick man," replied Aristæus, "would be impossible to a
- ↑ The laticlave was a toga, with a broad purple band, worn by Roman senators as the distinguishing mark of their high office.
