But Agrippina ignored the order and continued: “By whose orders was Germanicus poisoned? Who has killed Sosius? Who has exiled Sosia? Ay, who strangled Claudia? The gods? Who but recently arrested Sabinus? Dost thou wish that I should sing and dance? Oh! the aroma from that invisible flower that drags me down bears the odors of savage hate, of murder, of stifling blood!” Tiberius angrily said to her: “Thy words are the emanations of a diseased mind. Thou wilt talk more calmly when thou art well again. I sacrificed but yesterday to the Divine Augustus, and--” “Such hypocrisy!” interrupted Agrippina. “Is it consistent in thee to offer victims to the deified Augustus and then to persecute his children? His divine spirit was not transfused into dumb statues. The genuine images of the Divine Augustus are the living descendants of his celestial blood. I myself am one. Why dost thou persecute me?” “I understand thee, Agrippina. Thou thinkest thou art injured because thou dost not rule.” “Nay, ’tis not power I seek. Relieve my solitude. Give me a husband. I am still young enough for the married state. Cannot Rome afford a man who would think it no dishonor to receive the wife of Germanicus?” At the announcement of this most just and diplomatic request Tiberius started. He had not thought her capable of such reasoning. To have given her a husband would have been a fatal mistake. He moved towards the vestibule without making reply to this suggestion. He felt that he must consult with Sejanus before committing himself to such a project. Turning to Agrippina, he abruptly said, as he moved towards the door, “Our interview is at an end.” As he entered his palace, he was surrounded by suitors and petitioners, whose noise so infuriated him in his already angered condition that he refused to see them. Entering his private apartments, he immediately sent for Sejanus. When the minister appeared, the ill-humor of the emperor had moderated. “Two days hence I leave Rome. Thou shalt go with me,” he commanded. “What means this sudden determination?” asked Sejanus, concealing his inward joy. “Rome has become unbearable. Among the crowd of suitors and petitioners I recognize the faces of too many whose friends have been condemned according to the laws. Ay, I sometimes meet my mother, who refuses to speak to me. The she-wolf, Agrippina, continually shows her teeth. Ay, we will leave Rome and strike from a distance.” “Thou hast, then, seen Agrippina?” “Ay; but for her pale and thin face I would say she had feigned her illness.” “I too called upon her. She is as defiant as ever.” “Ay; Sabinus must be killed. The order for his death shall be the first duty on our way to Neapolis.” “Didst thou question her?” “Nay. She so used her invective against me that I was forced to depart. If ’twere not for her weakened condition, I would not allow her to leave her home for a year.” “She already calls herself a prisoner.” “And whom does she call her jailer?”