“Is that thy ambition, then, my sweet one?”
“Yes, that is part of my ambition; but the whole is to be a Vestal Maxima. Oh! do not think me foolish, dearest lady, but I should love to have my statue carved in marble, and stand for ever in our noble hall, and for those who pass to read my name, ‘Hyacintha Severa.’ Is it too much to think of?”
“Dear child!” Terentia said, “when I called you to rest by me, the thought was in my mind which you have put into words.
“To-morrow, as you know, you will take up your full duties in the temple. The sculptor is to unveil my likeness in the pure marble in which it was wrought. It will not be placed with my noble predecessors till I resign my high office or die while holding it. Then it will be placed in either case in the atrium, and my name will be followed by whatsoever it may please the priest and the emperor to inscribe on the pedestal. But I shall leave on record that it is my will that you should be elected in my room, and that day may not be far off.”
Hyacintha’s eyes sought those of Terentia anxiously. The joy of her announcement was tempered with sorrow.
“You must not leave us yet,” she said; “you must not speak of it. And I am young and untried, and I fear——”
“What dost thou fear, dear child?”
“That many would consider others should take place before me.”
“The future is hidden,” said Terentia. “I may live for years, instead of months; we will not speak more of this now. Hast thou any longing beside?”
“Nay; except to hear of those I best love: Casca my brother, and my faithful Ebba.”