Manlius went to the Pons Sacer.
Before the statue of Triton sat the old woman who had given him the ring. When she saw Manlius she rose and went to meet him.
"Have you the ring with you, my lord?" she asked.
"Look at it."
"Will you go with me?"
"That is the purpose of my coming here."
"I have waited for you four days. Why did you not appear sooner?"
"Pleasure never comes too late," replied Manlius bitterly, and allowed himself to be conducted through gardens, byways, and covered passages till his guide opened a small bronze gate, and taking him by the hand, led him through a dark corridor into a circular hall, adorned with pillars and lighted by a single round window above.
Here the old woman left him and went to summon her mistress.
Manlius looked around him. He had imagined the apartment of a Roman lady an entirely different room. He had expected to see jasper columns, garlanded with climbing plants, fountains perfumed with rose water, representations of frivolous love scenes, an atmosphere saturated with heavy fragrance, purple couches, and silver mirrors, and instead he found himself in a lofty, noble, temple-like hall, whose walls were adorned with masterly pictures of battles and heroes, while in the centre stood the marble bust of a bald-headed old man.