Saronia / A Romance of Ancient Ephesus

by Richard Short

'Why?'

'Because I am an outcast; my sins are so great that I dare not pray. I am past feeling, and would die.'

'Art thou in such a state?'

'Yea, and worse: I am let alone by the gods and man.'

'Thou art, then, a wandering star?'

'Yes, thou sayest truly, for I shall soon shoot into the darkness of the unknown and be for ever lost.'

'Hast thou no occupation?'

'None.'

'Canst thou do anything to earn an honest livelihood?'

'I am skilled in magic, having learnt it in my youth; but the art is so common in Ephesus that my gains are very small.'