In falling,
he had struck his head against the corner of the marble pedestal
supporting the statue of the god who ruled in this household, and had
been carried away unconscious.
Ah, no, he had not forgotten!
Aurelius entered the court just in time to hear his wife saying
To Virgilia in her severest tone: "Thou art exactly like thy
step-brother, Martius, self-willed and foolish. Why else has he
been exiled from Rome by thy father? He has worshipped strange gods,
has followed after a man named Christus, a malefactor, a thief,
crucified with thieves--"
"Mother!" exclaimed Virgilia, and there was that in her voice which
stopped the stream of language, and made Claudia sit up straight and
grasp the griffin-heads on the arms of her chair.
"Wilt tell me that thou, too, art mad over the dead Christus?" she
shrieked. "Then art thou no daughter of mine! Thou shall go forth from
here, homeless, an outcast. Join thyself with the beggarly band of men
and women who hide in the dark places of the earth that they may work
their spells--"
"Claudia, cease thy talking," exclaimed Aurelius, taking his daughter
in his arms.
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