After the fog rolled in, Rouen looked from the city walls as though one were in London—at least, that was how it seemed to Mr. Dumont.
He was a typical British gentleman. Along the way, he had been telling Georgiana about what he had seen on his travels. When he mentioned Naples, he suddenly remembered something and took a small black velvet pouch from his coat pocket, handing it to Georgiana.
"What is this?" Georgiana asked as she opened it.
"A gift for you," Mr. Dumont said happily. "Though they are not as valuable as what Mr. Monroe gave you."
Georgiana opened the pouch. By the light of the full Moon, she saw a very old pair of compasses and a small black female figurine.
"These were found in the ancient city of Pompeii," Mr. Dumont said. "The compasses from two thousand years ago are not much different from the ones we use now. That basalt sculpture was a weight used by the people of Pompeii. If you look closely, you will see ring-shaped earrings made of grain on her ears. They could be threaded through hemp rope, and they may also represent the goddess Astermia."
"It is striking," Georgiana said, unable to stop herself from studying the figurine in her hand.
Astermia was the daughter of the goddess Themis. Statues of Themis could often be seen at courthouse entrances: a woman with her eyes covered, holding a sword and a pair of scales.
Themis governed fairness in heaven, while Astermia governed fairness among mankind. She too held a sword and scales, but hers were used to weigh grain, signifying that she was the goddess of fair trade.
Though these were everyday objects, and though they had been recovered from the ancient city of Pompeii after thousands of years, they