Lucius answered that, if the cabin was suitable for his wife and his father, he and the little slave would do the best they could on the half-deck or in the hold; and he beckoned to his family to come on board and paid the passage-money.
For Caleb had advanced him a goodly sum on the value of the quadrireme, for the immediate needs of the voyage; and Caleb himself had set out, with a great following, for his dear Saba, first because he wanted to forget his lovesickness in the pleasures of Arabia Felix and then to make a start by selling many of Lucius’ slaves and jewels, his ornaments and furniture at Mariaba, the capital, because it was safer to get this done as quickly as possible. The sale of the great ship herself would be difficult enough.
Uncle Catullus remained on board of her. He did not wish to be a burden on his poor nephew Lucius; he had contrived to hoard a modest capital with one gold piece after another that had accidentally slipped through Lucius’ fingers; and he was to sail to Alexandria in the ship, after she had been sold, and there, in the city of the finest cooking, to spend his old age in a small apartment in the Hermes House. And so he had taken a tearful leave of Lucius, Thrasyllus and Cora and had said to her:
“Dear Cora, just as you were going to call me uncle, we part and perhaps forever. Ah, Egypt is the death of me! Egypt will irrevocably be the death of me! For I can never go back to Rome, poor old exile that I am, because Tiberius—may he die a thousand deaths!—would rob me of my few pence even as he has robbed Lucius of his treasures. …”
The merchant trireme glided away over a smooth sea; and the travellers on the deck waved farewell to Uncle Catullus, who stood on the prow and waved back. It was a leave-taking for good. And the master asked, inquisitively:
“Is that lord, who stands waving his hand to you, the owner of that splendid vessel?”
“Yes, master,” Lucius lied, “and he’s my uncle. And one day I shall be his heir.”
“Then you will do well to hold him in honour, sir,” said the master, growing very respectful. “Whew! That’s a prospect not to be sneezed at! What a noble ship! What a magnificent quadrireme! But tell me, master,” he continued, more and more inquisitively, “in that case why don’t you stay with your uncle?”
“Because it’s not a good thing, master, for poor relations to be always hanging round the rich. For then you only annoy them and they end by cutting you off with a shilling. And that is why, master,” said Lucius, pressing Cora, by his side, to him “after seeing and admiring Egypt at my rich uncle’s expense, I am now paying a visit to Babylon with my father, my wife and my little slave. From there we shall go through Assyria and Asia Minor to the island of Cos, where my wife was born and where I want to settle down as a sculptor.”
The master thought this very natural; and, as the wind was now blowing a stiff breeze, with the first cold, autumnal gusts, Lucius, happy, gay and healthy, led Cora into her cabin, while Tarrar squatted outside, like a faithful, clever little monkey, and Thrasyllus, within, carefully rolled up the maps, books and itineraries which he had consulted during their tour.
Postscript
Caleb of Mariaba (Saba), joint proprietor of the Great Diversorium, the Hermes House, at Alexandria, near the Canopian Gate, to the ever noble Lord Publius Lucius Sabinus, sculptor, at Cos.
“Written at Alexandria, at the second hour of the fourteenth day of the month of Pacothi, in the ninth year of the benevolent reign of our gracious Emperor Tiberius Augustus.
My ever noble Lord, greeting!
“It is a pleasure to me, Caleb of Mariaba, to inform you by this letter, entrusted to Alexandros of Alexandria, master of the merchant trireme Berenice, that by chance and great good fortune I have succeeded in disposing of the valuable quadrireme, the pleasure-ship Aphrodite, once your property, noble lord, and in the presence of witnesses, free men, transferred to me at Cape Dire, by the Pillars of Sesostris6 … selling her at Arsinoe, previous to the passage through the Nechao Canal (which would probably have been liable to legal objections), at the very profitable price (as, considering all the circumstances, it appears to me, your most obedient, humble servant, friend, guide and companion in the chase) of (after deducting my commission and all my expenses) 900,000 (say, nine hundred thousand) sesterces, a sum reckoned according to the Roman value, item that noble quadrireme Aphrodite and three hundred rowers (slaves), item all the necessary and most complete equipment, item costly furniture, carpets, plate and treasures of art, which would probably have produced large sums had it been possible to sell them separately, without danger of seizure in the name of our gracious Emperor Tiberius Augustus, but the separate sale of which would, in the circumstances aforesaid, have entailed innumerable drawbacks;
“Whereas I, Caleb of Mariaba, acting and appearing on my own behalf, as actual owner of the noble quadrireme Aphrodite, have been able to sell this magnificent pleasure-ship to the noble Lord Baabab, a Persian satrap, residing at Susa;
“Wishing, my noble Lord Lucius, companion of the chase and friend, to act to your ever noble advantage, I propose, in order to reduce to a minimum all risks of shipwreck and piracy and other fatal accidents (such as a jealous fate keeps ever hanging over the heads of us poor mortals), to remit to you at frequent intervals, by the intermediary of a master
