"But, by Hercules, I did my fair share of the work of destruction.

If only now--but stay! I have an idea worthy of Aristotle himself! that breakfast, to which I invited you to-morrow morning, most noble Pontius, is all ready at my mother's, and can be warmed up in a few minutes.

Do not be alarmed, worthy sir, but the dish in question is cabbage with sausages--a mess which, like the soul of an Egyptian, possesses at the instant of resurrection, nobler qualities than when it first sees the light." "Excellent," cried Hadrian.

"Cabbage and sausages!" He wiped his full lips with his hand, smiling with gratification, and he broke into a hearty laugh of amusement as he heard a loud "Ah!" of satisfaction from Antinous, who drew nearer to the canvas screen.

"There is another whose mouth waters and whose imagination revels in a happy future," said the Emperor to the prefect, pointing to his favorite.
But he had misinterpreted the lad's exclamation, for it was the mere name of the dish--which his mother had often set on the table of his humble home in Bithynia--which reminded him of his native country and his childhood, and transplanted him in thought back into their midst.