“Hast thou been sent again with letters to the emperor?” inquired the father, with anxious interest.
“Only once,” replied Gannon; “but I saw not the emperor. On the way I passed Nero, that most fortunate of princes. He assumes the manly habit in a few days.”
“In the games and entertainments which he gives the people to celebrate that event, Psyche will dance,” proudly said the mother.
“What character portrayest thou, my sister?” asked Gannon.
“Niobe,” she replied.
“I like thy Daphne better,” he suggested.
“’Tis more pleasing, but the character of Niobe requires more art.”
“Ay, but the movements are more graceful in Daphne. Niobe is too sad.”
“The dance begins in lively fashion,” she insisted.
“True. But I like Apollo better when he pursues a lovely maiden than when he shoots to kill,” said Gannon, still unconvinced.