Before they separated, the Egyptian leader gave to Daphne, whom he looked on as having authority over the rest, a powdered substance in a small linen bag.

"This," said he, "is that Nepenthe of which your poet sings, the most soothing of all medicines, and known to the Egyptians from very ancient times. When ye come to our trysting-place on the coast, and the other maidens begin to be again afraid, mix this drug with sweet wine and they will forget their sorrow. Say to them that it is a remedy against the plague. As soon as ye have par-