The VestaHs Maxima did not talk much,
and evidently did not expect anyone to speak
to her unless addressed first. If Livia, who
was on her right, chose to ignore this procedure

21T



218 FAUSTULA

and made a remark intended for her, she either
did not notice it, and appeared to suppose it was
meant for Caria, who was next to Livia on the
other side, or merely nodded without making
any reply,

Faustula perceived that this irritated Livia,
but that the others did not care. It was evi-
dent that Livia was not popular, and that any
small snub administered to her rather pleased
them. Faustula also noticed that when she
had thus addressed Volumina without eliciting
any response, the "Maxima" would presently
make some remark to Marcia, who had the
place on her left, as second senior after Livia.
Marcia was quite content to eat without
much conversation; the two meals of the day
were its two principal events for her. She was
over thirty but looked a good deal younger
than either Volumina or Livia. She was
plump, and had httle gleaming eyes that
seemed to grow annually smaller as her smooth
cheeks grew rounder. Livia, on the other
hand, was meagre and spare, but not because
she starved herself, for she ate quite as much
as Marcia, but she swallowed her food in a
hasty, impatient way, as if she were hiding it,
and defying it to make her fat. She had al-
ways finished her portion of each dish long
before anyone else.
