all these were henceforth forgotten. Thus did God's providence prepare the way for bringing forth that new principle of unity which was already leavening the earth. Such thoughts, however, would at that time have seemed premature, even to the Christian spectator; still less could they be looked for in the two persons who, from the deck of their small vessel, were enjoying the calmness of this beautiful evening. As the wind had now nearly sunk, they scarcely moved through the water; and they did not reach the land till the moon had risen upon them, and cast her light, first on the splendid temples at the summit of the hill before them; then on the palace, which lay in its centre; and, at last, on the beach towards which they were tending. The captain, who, notwithstanding his roughness of manner, had begun to take considerable interest in his passenger, was asking what prospects he had at Nicomedia, and whether he had brought introductions with him. "The letter which you say you have from the Cæsar Constantius to his son Constantine will no doubt be of great use to you. He is well thought of by the soldiers, and in much favour with the emperor Dioclesian himself." "Besides this," said Lucius, "I have an introduction from a near relation to Dorotheus, who, I believe, is one of the emperor's chamberlains. There has long been an intimacy, and, I believe, some connexion between them. This prospect was the pecu liar inducement with my friends for sending me on so distant a journey." "If you can interest Dorotheus for you," said his companion, "you may, no doubt, make your fortune speedily. They say that no one has the emperor's ear more completely. Have you brought any other letters?" "I have one to Anthimus, the bishop of the Christians." "If what they talk of in Italy is true," said the other, "that will do you no great good, if it comes to the emperor's ears." "Why! what do they expect?" "When you land at Nicomedia," said the captain, "you will hear enough about it; and here comes the boat which is to convey us on shore." A kindly leave ended their short acquaintance; not without a promise, on the part of the young Briton, that he would visit his seafaring friend, if he could find opportunity. The trader went to seek the merchant to whom his cargo was consigned, and Lucius inquired the road which led to the palace. CHAPTER II. The Palace. The world thou hast not seen, much less her glory, Paradise Regained. THE interior of Dioclesian's palace was fitted to increase the awe and admiration which his power created among all the innumerable subjects of his empire. Lucius, who had never seen a greater man than the governor of York, was amazed at the size of the palace-courts, at the number of soldiers who filled them, at the crowd of attendants who were moving in every direction, as well as at the magnificence of the porticoes, and the beauty of the statues which ornamented the building. Both in the palace, however, and in the streets through which he passed to it, he had been struck by a degree of hurry and anxiety, which he was disposed to attribute to his own unacquaintance with such scenes. But when he was introduced to Dorotheus, he could not help feeling, notwithstanding the general kindness with which he was received, that the emperor's favourite seemed to share the common in quietude, and that something of moment was at hand. Indeed, Dorotheus told him that he was arrived at an anxious moment; that he hoped he might derive advantage from his journey, but that, at the present time, all things were in peculiar uncertainty. A friend came in while he was with the chamberlain, and began to whisper Dorotheus, in a low voice, that the messenger had returned from Miletus, and that the answer which he brought was supposed to be of an unpleasant kind. Their further conversation was cut short by the entrance of a young man, of about Lucius' own age, to whose care Dorotheus committed him, stating that in a few days he should be placed in some situation in the imperial service. Till that time, it was arranged that Gallus,—such was the young man's name,-should allow him to share the apartment which he himself occupied in the palace. The friend from whom he brought introductions had prepared him to find Dorotheus a Christian; this circumstance, perhaps, induced Gallus to inquire, so soon as they left the chamberlain's presence, whether he was himself of that body. "I am not," he answered; "but why should you take the trouble of asking the religion of a stranger?" "You know, I suppose," said Gallus, "how much interest the subject creates at present." "I am just from a long voyage, and am ignorant what is passing." "Has nothing travelled abroad, then, respecting those secret discussions which the emperors have been holding all winter long, and which have created so much alarm in this place? Though, like you, no Christian myself, I have friends among them, and am interested for their safety." This, then, Lucius found, was the cause of the anxiety he had witnessed. On further inquiry, he was told that throughout the winter the emperor Dioclesian and his son-in-law, the Cæsar Galerius, had been continually shut up together in secret. Something was evidently in preparation; and the mother of Galerius had uttered expressions which had alarmed the Christians. She was addicted to various superstitious rites, and attributed her elevation from her original state, as the wife of a Dacian peasant, to the favour of the gods of her native woods and mountains. To them she held feasts at the very time when the Christian members of her household were celebrating their Lent-fast before the time of Easter. Her anger had been particularly excited by their refusing to partake in her festivities. When the emperors had completed their private deliberations, it was known that a council of officers had been held; and since that time a message had been sent to the oracle of Apollo at Miletus. "Putting all things together," Gallus said, "the Christian population of Nicomedia was in a state of great anxiety, and anticipated some diminution of their privileges, if not the actual breaking out of a fresh persecution." And considering how great was Dio |