The stone gate jarred on its hinge; Castus, thrusting through, dismounted and wiped the foam from his gallant steed.
'What a fool I have been!' he murmured. 'Never again will I traffic with a woman. Vale, O Femina—in eternum vale! Henceforth I dedicate my life to Rome—
"Romae matri meae—
Orbis Imperatrici."'
And, ratifying his vow by the head of Cæsar, he fell to the ground, unconscious through loss of blood.
Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press