She began to disappear for days and nights at a time, always praying with her Jews, and calling herself a Christian. My old man and I grew alarmed, and then, suddenly, began the persecution of Christians. At first we, of course, thought that only those good-for-nothing Jews would be persecuted, and we were very pleased, because we hated them. But the news spread that there was an order to catch all other Christians too. We lived in terror, expecting trouble every day. We did all we could to keep Lydia at home, but there, she would not even listen to us. ‘We pray together,’ was all she said, ‘and we will die together.’ One day, a month ago, she went to a secret meeting, and never returned. We learned that she was in prison, we bribed the gaolers, and managed to see her. She was in a feverish state of rapture and exultation. ‘Be happy for me,’ she said; ‘I shall see Christ, and be with Him for ever.’ With bitter tears, we implored her to renounce this madness. Her old father and I, we fell on our knees before her—nothing helped! It was not only once that we went to her, nor twice, nor three times. What a fortune we spent on bribes! Though that, indeed, matters little. What do we want with riches now that we have no one to whom to leave them? One day, about a fortnight ago, we went to her. She was pale and faint, and in tears. She took us into a corner, away from the other prisoners, threw them furtive, frightened glances, and whispered: ‘We are condemned to death. They are going to throw us to the wild beasts in the circus. It is terrible—oh! it is terrible!’ She was shivering and sobbing. ‘I cannot sleep at night—I always see a tiger, falling on me and tearing me to pieces. Save me! Save me! I will agree to anything now! But don’t tell the others, or they will despise me and laugh at me.’ In wild haste we rushed off to our best client, the Senator Claudius Massimus. All day we sat in his atrium, waiting to be received. At last, in the evening, the Senator comes to us, hears us, and answers: ‘Very well, my good old people, I will do what I can for you. Let your daughter only make a sacrifice to the gods, and publicly curse her past folly.’ Hardly feeling our feet under us for joy and thankfulness, we rushed with our news to Lydia. But oh! misery! misery! In the meantime their chief priest had been to the prison, the wicked, accursed old villain! I don’t know what he told them, but Lydia came out to us, beaming with happiness. ‘I no longer need anything,’ she said, embracing us. ‘Thank you for your solicitude on my behalf, but however great your love may be for me, you cannot give me the joys that are prepared for me in Heaven.’ We implored her, besought her all in vain. Lydia only laughed, and kissed us. We staggered home, and the same night my old man had a paralytic stroke. From that moment I have not been able to leave him. To-day we have been together in silence, without moving from dawn till sunset. Do you know, do you