'Why should I say?' replied he.
'Speak on; we know thou wilt favour her.'
'What, then, do you wish me to say? I cannot speak as if I were delivering an oration on Saronia.'
'To be plain, then,' said Venusta, 'dost thou think it meet that this slave-girl should fill the throne of the High Priestess of Diana?'
'Yes, I do.'
'By what right or reason? Say on.'
'By being the fittest, if those who know her best speak the truth.'
'Oh, Chios, why are you so fascinated by this snake-like creature?'
'I am not fascinated, most noble Venusta. I speak as reason prompts me. If my reason is awry, then call me mad.'
'No, no; thou art not mad. If any man in Ionia has a well-balanced and healthy mind, it is thou; but, nevertheless, although I alter the picture on my mind of an innocent bird drawn on to destruction by the piercing eye of a snake, yet the conditions are the same within me, and I must say I cannot for my life understand why such a sensible man can be led by the charming of such a wicked girl.'