“What have these details of the vainest worldly pleasure to do with my conversion, you will ask.  But listen a while.  When Saul went forth to seek his father’s asses he found a crown.

“One day we had gone out in our gilded boats, and the Lesbian girl Archidike had made ready a feast for us in her house, a feast such as could scarcely be offered even in Rome.

“Since the taking of our city by Diocletian, after the insurrection of Achilleus, the Imperial troops who came to Alexandria behaved insolently enough.  Between some of my friends, and certain of the young officers of Roman patrician families, there had been a good deal of rough banter for some months past, as to their horses, women—­I know not what; and it happened that we met these very gentry at the house of Archidike.

“Sharp speeches were made, which the soldiers replied to after their fashion, and at last they came to insulting words, and as the wine heated us and them, to loud threats.

“The Romans left the house of entertainment before we did.  Crowned with garlands, singing, and utterly careless, we followed soon after them, and had almost reached the quay, when a noisy troop rushed out of a side street, and fell upon us with naked weapons.  The moon was high in the heavens, and I could recognize some of our adversaries.  I threw myself on a tall tribune, throttled him, and, as he fell, I fell with him in the dust.  I am but dimly conscious of what followed, for sword-strokes were showered upon me, and all grew black before my eyes.  I only know what I thought then, face to face with death.”

“Well—?” asked Stephanus.

“I thought,” said Paulus reddening, “of my fighting-quails at Alexandria, and whether they had had any water.  Then my dull heavy unconsciousness increased; for weeks I lay in that state, for I was hacked like sausage-meat; I had twelve wounds, not counting the slighter ones, and any one else would have died of any one of them.  You have often wondered at my scars.”

“And whom did the Lord choose then to be the means of your salvation?”

“When I recovered my senses,” continued Paulus, “I was lying in a large, clean room behind a curtain of light material; I could not raise myself, but just as if I had been sleeping so many minutes instead of days, I thought again directly of my quails.  In their last fight my best cock had severely handled handsome Nikander’s, and yet he wanted to dispute the stakes with me, but I would assert my rights!  At least the quails should fight again, and if Nikander should refuse I would force him to fight me with his fists in the Palaestra, and give him a blue reminder of his debt on the eye.  My hands were still weak, and yet I clenched them as I thought of the vexatious affair.  ‘I will punish him,’ I muttered to myself.

“Then I heard the door of the room open, and I saw three men respectfully approaching a fourth.  He greeted them with dignity, but yet with friendliness, and rolled up a scroll which he had been reading, I would have called out, but I could not open my parched lips, and yet I saw and heard all that was going on around me in the room.