"But, Mesembrius, you gave me no time to speak; all that you are saying has nothing to do with me. I will frankly confess that during my one day's stay in Rome I had more to do with the slaves who were sent to me by their mistresses than with their husbands, to whom I had been sent; but it is not my habit to attribute any special importance to such matters. I am a member of the Manlius family, in which it is an ancient custom for the men to love only one woman, but faithfully and forever--to mourn her constantly if she dies, to kill her if she betrays him, and to avenge her if she is wronged." "These are fine words, Manlius, but I see a ring glittering on your finger of a style which men do not wear; I suppose it belongs to the woman you love." "You are not mistaken in one thing. The ring belongs to a lady, and I wear it solely on your account." "Mine, Manlius? What is the ring to me?" "When I left the Capitol yesterday evening a veiled matron slipped a thin roll of manuscript into my hand and vanished swiftly among the colonnades; the roll was passed through this ring. From curiosity I opened the parchment and read the following mysterious words: 'Manlius Sinister! You love a maiden whose father is your friend. This old man and his young daughter are threatened by a danger which, except by the gods and their foes, is known to me alone. If you wish to learn it, hasten to me. The bearer of this letter will wait for you at the _Pons Sacer_, night and day, until you come. If you show her this ring, she will lead you to me. Signed, A woman who has loved you from your childhood, and whom you have always scorned; who is hated by those whom she desires to save.'" "This is a strange occurrence, Manlius." "To me it is an incomprehensible mystery. Who has the power to look into the depths of my heart and read its feelings? Have my dreams betrayed me, that some one knows I love your daughter, whom I saw four years ago, and have been unable since to forget? And who can the woman be who seeks to save another woman whose love shuts out her own?" The old man's face darkened. The wine stood untouched a long time before the two who, during the conversation, had become perfectly sober. But their hearts, which the wine had opened, remained unveiled. "Let me look at the ring more closely," said Mesembrius in a low tone. Manlius held out his hand. The stone in the ring was a wonderfully carved cameo--the white bust of a beautiful woman, with Greek features, upon a purplish-yellow ground. Mesembrius frowned gloomily as he examined the cameo; he averted his head, again gazed fixedly at the ring, and at last with a gesture of loathing, thrust it from him and bowed his gray head despairingly on his breast. "Why do you look so sad?" asked Manlius. "Do you know this ring? Do you know its owner!" "I know her," replied the old man in a hollow tone. "Speak, who is it?"