which the courts of justice were held. The hour for opening court has arrived._] _Bore_ [_suddenly remembering that he has given bond to appear in a certain suit, and that if he fails to appear this suit will go against him by default_]. Won't you kindly attend me here in court a little while? _Horace._ I can't help you any. Hang it, I'm too tired to stand around here; and I don't know anything about law, anyhow. Besides, I'm in a hurry to get--you know where. _Bore._ I'm in doubt what to do, whether to leave you or my case. _Horace._ Leave me, by all means. _Bore_ [_after a brief meditation_]. No, I don't believe I will. [_He takes the lead, and Horace helplessly follows. The Bore starts in on the subject which is uppermost in his mind._] How do you and Mæcenas get on? He's a very exclusive and level-headed fellow, now, isn't he? No one has made a better use of his chances. You would have an excellent assistant in that quarter, one who could ably support you, if only you would introduce yours truly. Strike me dead, if you wouldn't show your heels to all competitors in no time. _Horace._ Why, we don't live there on any such basis as you seem to think. There is no circle in Rome more free from self-seeking on the part of its members, or more at variance with such a feeling. It makes no difference to me if another man is richer or more learned than I. Every man has his own place there. _Bore._ You don't really mean that? I can scarcely believe it. _Horace._ And yet such is the case. _Bore._ You only make me more eager to be admitted. _Horace_ [_with contemptuous sarcasm_]. O, you have only to wish it: such is your excellence, you'll be sure to gain your point. To tell the truth, Mæcenas is a soft-hearted fellow, and for this very reason guards the first approach to his friendship more carefully. _Bore_ [_taking Horace's suggestion in earnest_]. O, I shall keep my eyes open. I'll bribe his servants. And if I don't get in to-day, I'll try again. I'll lie in wait for chances, I'll meet him on the street corners, and walk down town with him. You can't get anything in this life without working for it. [_Enter Aristius Fuscus, an intimate friend of Horace. They meet and exchange greetings_]. _Horace_ [_to Fuscus_]. Hello! where do you come from? _Fuscus._ Where are you going? [_Horace slyly plucks his friend's toga, pinches his arm, and tries by nods and winks to get Fuscus to rescue him from the Bore. But Fuscus pretends not to understand._] _Horace_ [_to Fuscus_]. Didn't you say that you had something to say to me in private? _Fuscus._ Yes, but I'll tell you some other time. To-day is a Jewish festival. You wouldn't have me insult the Jews, would you? _Horace._ O, I have no such scruples myself. _Fuscus._ But I have. I'm just one