Page:Afterglow; pastels of Greek Egypt, 69 B.C. (IA afterglowpastels00buck).pdf/32

28 peoples. There were Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, dwellers of the desert. There were innumerable women, clad in costumes of all colors, laden with jewels in gold or silver or the blue clay of the Egyptians. Many of these were courtesans who moved proudly in conscious beauty among the groups of men. Here and there, a poor girl, clad simply in a rough tunic, walked with downcast eyes, darting an occasional appealing glance at men who turned carelessly away to admire her more richly bedecked rivals. The wide street was paved with marble. All about uprose the porches and columns of magnificent palaces, overtopped, beyond, with the golden roof of the Sena.

Thessalos had seen nearly three score years and his hair and beard were white. Yet he walked erect with a firm step, and seemed more like a soldier than a diligent