The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-06-14

favor in very high quarter indeed"
Paulus had his mind too full Of other
thoughts to pay moro attention, either to the
object handed to him or to Sejanus's words,
than just to say "Tbank YOU" and to take
the ring. Away then moved in separate direc-
tions the two PROFESSIONS; that of the soldiery
to their various quarters and that which had
rescued and was guarding the young maiden
to the lodgings of the Lady Aglais.
| 1t was midnight when the mother, who was
| waiting in indescribable suspense the outcome
! of that evenings expedition, clasped her
daughter In her arms We will not try to de-
scribe that interview; we leave it to be imag-
ined.
About two hours later, while it was still
dark, sejanus, in obedience to sudden and
imperiously-worded summons, had left his bed,
and was standing in the presence of Tiberius
Cesar.
To the world at large" said Tiberius, 1
am entirely ignorant of what may have be-
fallen a certain damsel, ignorant where she is,
disdainful of all that concerns her or hers.
But you have been my confdant; you have
been in all my secrets. How comes then, this
inexplicable and monstrous account which has
reached me, on such authority that, perforce
1 must believe it . Have you, or have you not
delivered certain damsel from u certain most
respectable and noble housed"
My sovereign, have"
And in this ost extraordinary proceeding
have you, or have you not, used the armed
public force under your commando
Cesar, have"
And, pray, why am 1 not, from this mo-
ment, to cast you off as enemy and traitor,
dangerous to me treacherous and audacious
| beyond all conception, and certainly migrate
full beyond forgiveness :"
MY Cesar, I merely obeyed the express
orders of Augustus, who sent me as my war
rant his own signet-ring."
Tiberius sank upon q couch, and visions of
Rhodes, to which he had once boon banished
for years by Augustus rose before his mind.
Augustus, then, knows ALL" he exclaimed,
"Who brought this signet-ring to your"
Dionysius the Athenian ~
After few minutes of reflection, Tiberus
resumed:
The conclusion Of this whole business is,
that Cneius Pso has been guilty of fagitious
offence. So have you, if any participation in
it can be traced to you. You must, between
you, bear the blame and the penalties (if any
Gomez; he chiefly, you partly; and will en-
able you both to bear them. AS for Lygdus,
he must be put to death sooner or later It
would not be amiss if il were now; but we
need him still for Gormanicus at least, /. of
course, need him not; but Plancina and Cneius
Plso say that he is necessary to them for
their plans about that pernicious pretender,
observe this he must have u round sum of
money, this Lygdus and disappear for q time.
With regard to young Paulus Lepidus Emil.
ius, and his mother and sister, will load them
with favors; everything which has occurred
to them is entirely forgotten; in fact, nothing
whatever has occurred to them, SO far as am
concerned. admire them extremely like
them very much. l have rot had saw, apv
share in, and have not even had so much as
any knowledge of, their troubles None what
ever. am completely and absolutely ipnor.
ant of everything which has aggrieved them.
But this I will say, that Augustus has been
rather ungrateful and unjust to the only son
OF the brave officer who served him so well at
Philippi as he was indeed to that officer him
self. So far from taking away the property of
the family, Augustus ought to have bestowed
a new estate upon them"
" understand" replied Seianus.
with this understandings" concluded I'll
berius, that is, with the understanding that
condemn and reprobate the conduct of Cneius
fiso' and yours, too, if it can be proved you
are still my trusty sejanus. Go! Farewell"
sejauus took his leave respectfully, and
gravely, but rode back through the streets.
grinning all the way.
| CHAPTER XXI.
One morning, about week later when Pan
lus showed his mother and sister the sienet
ring RENTED to him by Sejanus adding that
it was wonderful it had not been reclaimed nv
Augustus and that he now would ask Diony-
sius, or some one, to give it back to the en-,
peror, the ladies laughed, and told him the
history of the ling presented by the triumyir
Lepidus to Agatha. But this could not quite
explain what had occurred. Agatha mem
toned that Esther Maccabeus was to have
SHOWN the iocket to Velleius Paterculus. u
timately' by carefully pieoing together various
circumstances, they understood that va,laips
Patercnlus himself must have oontrived the
rescue; and that Augustus never wrote a GER
tain remarkable letter to Seianus at all. Rut