And so the babe was christened.
"I perceive," said the presbyter, after the religious services were ended and all of them partook of suitable refreshments and engaged in conversation, "that thou hast fixed thy heart upon having this child devoted unto the service of our Lord. It seemeth strange to me that, having such a pious desire for him, thou that art learned and intelligent hast never thyself sought to preach the gospel of our Lord!"
"I might truly have rejoiced so to do," answered Ammonius, "but that the python's influence prevented me."
"The python!" exclaimed the presbyter; "why, brother, what can the serpent have to do with thee?"
"This," replied Ammonius. "Some time before I came into the world, at Alexandria, to which great city strangers resort from the four quarters of the world even as unto imperial Rome, there came certain priests out of India to witness the ceremonies of a great festival in honor of a new Apis, and in their train certain jugglers who wrought various wonders, and carried with them immense pythons which they had charmed and rendered harmless. While my mother stood on the propylon of our house, watching the vast procession, one of the pythons, that had its tail entwined round the neck and body of an Indian passing below, suddenly sprang up out of its coil erect, and brandished its hideous head before my mother's face, so that she fainted thereat with terror. When I came into the world she was horrified at being able to trace out in the conformation of my head and face the similitude of the cobra; and with many prayers and offerings she had me early dedicated to Ammon, thinking that perchance the idol might remove the peculiarity of my features which made me loathsome in her sight by continually recalling the fearful image of the python. As I grew older, this conformation largely faded out, but all my life, whenever my feelings or passions are aroused, involuntary action of the muscles runneth from the feet upward, and maketh me to writhe like a serpent, and throweth a sibilant sharpness into my voice, so that anything like public speaking is well-nigh impossible to me; and I am compelled to master all emotions and to preserve a perfect serenity of mind, in order to avoid this serpentine appearance which is distressful to some and fearful unto others, and am compelled to speak in the slow, methodical manner thou hearest. But for this affliction, I would gladly have entered into the public service of the Master. God grant that my boy inherit not this strange malady! Pray thou for him."
"Yea, most gladly and earnestly will I," said the presbyter. "But repine thou not, my brother; for, although thou preachest not publicly, thy godly walk and conversation are a living sermon, which all who know thee must ponder with delight and edification."
And afterward the presbyter departed, and all who had attended the service went each one his own way, with sincerest benedictions upon the little family of Baucalis, and warmest sympathy with the earnest desire of the parents that their babe might live and grow up to be a minister of Christ.
CHAPTER III.
HOW MEN LIVED IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
Soon the ripple of excitement caused by the arrival of the young Arius at the Baucalis farm passed away, and the life of the dwellers there resumed its wonted quiet. Ammonius, generally bareheaded and naked from the waist up and from the knees down, as the custom of the country was, his olive skin glistening with healthful perspiration, pursued the various labors of the farm, and his wife attended to the fruits and vegetables nigh the house; and old Thopt prepared their food, and did the washing which their simple style of living rendered necessary; and both women devoted the hours not otherwise employed to the manufacture of woolen, cotton, and linen goods for domestic uses. Neither Jewish, Greek, nor Roman women generally adopted the luxurious manners and elegance of dress and ornament common to noble or opulent Egyptians; and those Egyptians who dwelt in the agricultural portions of Cyrenaica, especially those who were Christians, followed the simpler manners of the same classes among their neighbors. At the Baucalis farm everything about the house was scrupulously clean and neat, manifestly designed for comfort and convenience, nothing for ostentation. In the business of the place, out-doors and in-doors, there was never seen any of that driving spirit which indicates a thirst for accumulation, but all duties were prosecuted as if reasonable diligence were esteemed to be both a duty and a pleasure. At the end of a year's labor Ammonius would have felt no concern at all if he had found that he had not gained a single coin beyond the sum requisite to pay taxes, but he would have experienced a humiliating sense of shame and unworthiness if the occupant of so fine a farm had failed to have enough and to spare for every call of charity, for every reasonable claim upon his hospitality, or for liberal contribution to every work in which the Church was interested. Corn, wheat, and barley, variously prepared for table use, a large variety of fruits both preserved and fresh, and many kinds of vegetables, formed their chief food. Fish of choice kinds, and in great abundance, was in common use, and domestic fowls were raised by all. The consumption of flesh was not an everyday thing with these simple and healthful people. Twice, or, at most, thrice a week neighbors would club together and kill and part among themselves a kid or sheep. Beef was little used among them, and was raised for market chiefly. Swine's flesh they never used, and they wondered at the Roman appetite for coarse, strong meat dishes. The light, pleasant wine made everywhere along the coast was in general use among them all. The every-day dress of both sexes was cotton cloth, a short kilt reaching from the shoulder to the knee, and over this, when not actively at work, a loose gown covering the person from neck to ankle, and confined at the waist with a girdle or sash of bright-colored cloth. They had garments of finest wool and linen for extraordinary occasions.