“MY BELOVED MASTER,--I am well. I slept a little more than usual on account of my slight cold, which seems to be well again. So I spent my time from five till nine in the morning partly in reading Cato’s agriculture, partly in writing, not quite so badly as yesterday indeed. Then after waiting upon my father I soothed my throat with honey-water, ejecting it without swallowing. Then I attended my father as he offered sacrifice. Then to breakfast. What do you think I ate? Only a little bread, though I saw others devouring beans, onions, and sardines! Then we went out to the vintage and got hot and merry, but left a few grapes still hanging, as the old poet says, ‘atop on the topmost bough.’ At noon we got home again; I worked a little but it was not much good. Then I chatted a long time with my mother as she sat on her bed. My conversation consisted of, ‘What do you suppose my Fronto is doing at this moment?’ to which she answered, ‘and my Gratia, what is she doing?’ and then I, ‘and our little darling, the younger Gratia?’ And while we were talking and quarrelling as to which of us loved all of you best, the gong sounded, which meant that father had gone across to the bath. So we bathed, and dined in the oilpress room. I don’t mean that we bathed in the press room; but we bathed and then dined and amused ourselves with listening to the peasants’ banter. And now that I am in my own room again, before I roll over and snore, I am fulfilling my promise and giving an account of my day to my dear tutor; and if I could love him better than I do, I would consent to miss him even more than I miss him now. Take care of yourself, my best and dearest Fronto, wherever you are. The fact is that I love you, and you are far away.” So far we have seen only the edifying--almost priggish--side of Marcus’ character. The monotony of his perfection is relieved by the following incident, which shows that at this time he had just enough mischief in him--though it be but little--to make him amiable. He writes:--“When my father returned home from the vineyards, I mounted my horse as usual, and rode on ahead some little way. On the road was a herd of sheep, standing crowded together as though the place were a desert, with four dogs and two shepherds but nothing else. Then one shepherd said to another on seeing the horsemen: ‘I say, look at these horsemen; they do a deal of robbery.’ On hearing this, I clap spurs to my horse and ride straight for the sheep. They scatter in consternation--hither and thither they are fleeting and bleating. A shepherd throws his fork and the fork falls on the horseman who came next to me. We make our escape.”