By the Bishop’s orders, Nitida knelt down and undressed Thais.  The child was quite naked; round her neck was an amulet.  The Pontiff plunged her three times into the baptismal font.  The acolytes brought the oil, with which Vivantius anointed the catechumen, and the salt, a morsel of which he placed on her tongue.  Then, having dried that body which was destined, after many trials, to life immortal, the slave Nitida put on Thais the white robe she had woven.

The Bishop gave to each and all the kiss of peace, and, the ceremony being terminated, took off his sacerdotal insignia.

When they had left the crypt, Ahmes said—­

“We ought to rejoice that we have this day brought a soul to the good Lord God; let us go to the house of your Holiness and spend the rest of the night in rejoicing.”

“Thou hast well said, Theodore,” replied the Bishop, and he led the little band to his house, which was quite near.  It consisted of a single room, furnished with a couple of looms, a heavy table, and a worn-out carpet.  As soon as they had entered,

“Nitida,” cried the Nubian, “bring hither the stove and the jar of oil, and we will have a good supper.”

Saying thus, he drew from under his cloak some little fish which he had kept concealed, and lighted a fire and fried them.  The Bishop, the girl, the two boys, and the two slaves sat in a ring on the carpet, ate the fried fish, and blessed the Lord.  Vivantius spoke of the torture he had undergone, and prophesied the speedy triumph of the Church.  His language was grotesque, and full of word-play and rhetorical tropes.  He compared the life of the just to a tissue of purple, and to explain the mystery of baptism, he said—­

“The Divine Spirit floated on the waters, and that is why Christians receive the baptism of water.  But demons also inhabit the brooks; springs consecrated to nymphs are especially dangerous, and there are certain waters which cause various maladies, both of the soul and of the body.”

Sometimes he spoke enigmatically, and the child listened to him with profound awe and wonder.  At the end of the repast he offered his guests a little wine, and this unloosed their tongues, and they began to sing lamentations and hymns.  Ahmes and Nitida then rose, and danced a Nubian dance which they had learned as children, and which, no doubt, had been danced by their tribe since the early ages of the world.  It was a love dance; waving their arms, and moving their bodies in rhythmic measure, they feigned, in turn, to fly from and to pursue each other.  Their big eyes rolled, and they showed their gleaming teeth in broad grins.

In this strange manner did Thais receive the holy rite of baptism.

She loved amusements, and, as she grew, vague desires were created in her mind.  All day long she danced and sang with the children in the streets, and when at night she returned to her father’s house, she was still singing—­