Nay, fear not; when she awakes she will but laugh,
for she bade me be sure to bring thee instantly, whether she slept or
woke. See, I have her signet."
So we passed up the beautiful chamber till we came to where the eunuchs
stood with drawn swords, and these would have barred my entry. But
Charmion frowned, and drawing the signet from her bosom held it before
their eyes. Having examined the writing that was on the ring, they
bowed, dropping their sword points and we passed through the heavy
curtains broidered with gold into the resting-place of Cleopatra. It was
beautiful beyond imagining--beautiful with many coloured marbles, with
gold and ivory, gems and flowers--all art can furnish and all luxury
can dream of were here. Here were pictures so real that birds might
have pecked the painted fruits; here were statues of woman's loveliness
frozen into stone; here were draperies fine as softest silk, but woven
of a web of gold; here were couches and carpets such as I never saw. The
air, too, was sweet with perfume, while through the open window places
came the far murmur of the sea. And at the further end of the chamber,
on a couch of gleaming silk and sheltered by a net of finest gauze,
Cleopatra lay asleep. There she lay--the fairest thing that man ever
saw--fairer than a dream, and the web of her dark hair flowed all about
her.
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