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 PTiin\<\.'
 
 THE GLADIATORS: 
 
 ^ ^ak of lHomt anb ^i"^^''"^- 
 
 BY 
 
 G. J. WHYTE MELVILLE, 
 
 A0THOK OF ' DICBY GHAIvD,' ' THE rNTEKPRETF.l;,' ' HCiLMBY HOUSE, 
 'THE QUEEK'S MAKIF^,' ETC. 
 
 IX THllEE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. L 
 
 tJ-^« i 9 > J 
 
 LOiVnON: 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GltEEN. 
 
 1863. 
 
 [The right of Translation is reserved.']
 
 lX)SDOS: I'RINTED HI' IVILLIAM Cl/JIVKS Ahl> SONS, SjTAMKnUL) STKKKT 
 AND CHAKING CKUSS.
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 EROS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. P,cK 
 
 THE IVORY GATE 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE MARBLE PORCH . , . . . . .11 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HERMES ......... 28 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 APHRODITE . . . . . . . . . .J8 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 •'kome" ......... 54 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE WOliSHIP OF ISIS ....... 71 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TRUTH 91 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE JEW ......... 109 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE ROMAN .122
 
 IV CO:\^TENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. PAGE 
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS ..... 143 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 STOLEN WATERS ........ 163 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 ■' myrrhina" 172 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 NOLENS — VOLENS . . . . . . . ,190 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 C/ESAR 200 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 jtED falernian . . . . . . . .216 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 the training-school ....... 234 
 
 CHAPTER XVn. 
 A veiled heart ....... 250 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 WINGED WORDS ........ 271 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ARENA ........ 288 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 the trident AND THE NET ...... 310
 
 THE GLADIATORS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 EROS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE n^OEY GATE. 
 
 AEK and stern, in their weird beauty, 
 lower the sad brows of the Queen of 
 HelL Dear to her are the pomp and 
 power, the shadowy vastness, and the 
 terrible splendour- of the nether world. Dear to 
 her the pride of her unbending consort ; and 
 doubly dear the wide imperial sway, that rules 
 the immortal destinies of souls. But dearer far 
 than these, — dearer than flashing crown and iiery 
 sceptre, and throne of blazing gold, — are the me- 
 mories that ghmmer bright as sunbeams athwart 
 those vistas of gloomy grandeur, and seem to fan 
 her weary spirit like a fresh breeze from the realms 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 • EROS. 
 
 of upper eartli. She lias not forgotten, she never can 
 forget, the dewy flowers, the blooming fragrance of 
 lavish Sicily, nor the sparkling sea, and the sum- 
 mer haze, and the golden harvests that wave and 
 whisper in the garden and granary of the world. 
 
 Then a sad smile steals over the haughty face ; 
 the stern beauty softens in the gleam, and, for a 
 while, the daughter of Ceres is a laughing girl 
 once more. 
 
 So the Ivory Gate swings back, and gentle 
 
 doves come forth on snowy wings, flying upwards 
 
 through the gloom, to bear balm and consolation 
 
 to the weary and the wounded and tlie lost. Now 
 
 this was the dream the birds of Peace brought 
 
 with them, to soothe the broken spirit of a sleeping 
 
 slave. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The old boar has turned to bay at last. Long 
 and severe has been the chase, through many an 
 echoing woodland, down many a sunny glade, 
 by copse and dingle, rock and cave, through 
 splashing stream, and deep, dank, quivering mo- 
 rass, the large rough hounds have tracked him, 
 unerring and pitiless, till they have set him up 
 here, against the trunk of the old oak-tree, and he 
 has turned— a true British denizen of the waste —
 
 THE IVORY GATE. 3 
 
 to sell Lis life clearly, and fight uncoiiquered to 
 the last. 
 
 His small eye glows like a burning coal; the 
 stiff bristles are up along his huge black body, 
 flecked with white froth that he churns and throws 
 about him, as he offers those curved and ripping 
 tusks, now to one, now to another of his crowding, 
 baying, leaping foes. 
 
 " Have at him ! Good dogs !" shouts the hunter, 
 running in with a short, broad-bladed boar-spear 
 in his hand. Breathless is he, and wearied with 
 the long miles of tangled forests he has traversed ; 
 but his heart is glad within him, and his blood 
 tingles with a strange wild thrill of triumph known 
 only to the votaries of the chase. 
 
 Gelert is down, torn and mangled from flank to 
 dewlap ; Luath has the wild swine by tlie throat ; 
 and a foot of gleaming steel, driven home by a 
 young, powerful arm, has entered behind the neck 
 and pierces downwards to the very brisket. The 
 shaft of the spear snaps short across, as the tliick 
 unwieldy body turns slowly over, and the boar 
 shivers out his life on the smooth sward, soft and 
 green as velvet, that exists nowhere but in Britain. 
 
 The dream changes. The boar has disappeared, 
 and the woodland gives place to a fair and smiling
 
 4 EEOS. 
 
 plain. Vast herds of shaggy red cattle are brows- 
 iug contentedly, with their wide-horned heads to 
 the breeze ; flocks of sheep dot the green, undu- 
 lating pastures, that stretch away towards the sea. 
 A gull turns its white wing against the clear blue 
 sky ; there is a hum of insects in the au', mingled 
 with the barking of dogs, the lowing of kine, the 
 laughter of women, and other sounds of peace, 
 abundance, and content. A child is playing round 
 its mother's knee — a child with frank bold brow, 
 and golden curls, and large blue, fearless eyes, 
 sturdy of limb, quick of gesture, fond, imperious 
 and wilful. The mother, a tall woman, with a 
 beautiful but mournful face, is gazing stedfastly 
 at the sea, and seems unconscious of her boy's 
 caresses, who is fondling and kissing the white 
 hand he holds in both his own. Her large shapely 
 figure is draped in snowy robes that trail upon the 
 ground, and massive ornaments of gold encircle 
 arms and ankles. At intervals she looks fondly 
 down upon the child ; but ever her face resumes 
 its wistful expression, as she fixes her eyes again 
 upon the sea. There is nothing of actual sorrow 
 in that stedfast gaze — still less of impatience, or 
 anger, or discontent. Memory is the prevailing 
 sentiment portrayed — memory, tender, absorbing,
 
 THE IVORY GATE. 5 
 
 irresistible, without a ray of hope, but without a 
 shadow of self-reproach. There is a statue of 
 Mnemosyne at one of the entrances to the Forum 
 that carries on its marble brow the same crushing- 
 weight of thought ; that wears on its delicate 
 features, graven into the saddest of beauty by the 
 Athenian's chisel, just such a weary and despondent 
 look. A^Tiere can the British child have seen those 
 tasteful spoils of Greece that deck her Imperial 
 Mistress ? And yet he thinks of that statue as he 
 looks up in his mother's face. 
 
 But the fair tall woman shivers and draws her 
 robe closer about her, and taking the child in her 
 arms, nestles his head against her bosom and 
 covers him over with her draperies, for the Avind 
 blows moist and chill, the summer air is white 
 with di-iving mist, huge shapeless forms loom 
 through the haze, and the busy sounds of life and 
 laughter have subsided into the stillness of a vast 
 and dreary plain. 
 
 The child and its mother have disappeared, but 
 a tall, strong youth, just entering upon manhood, 
 with the same blue eyes and fearless brow, is pre- 
 sent in their stead. He is armed for the first 
 time with the weapons of a warrior. He has seen 
 blows struck in anger now, and fronted the Legions
 
 6 EROS. 
 
 as they advanced, and waged his fearless unskil- 
 ful valour against the courage, and the tactics, and 
 the discipline of Home. So he is invested with 
 sword, and helm, and target, and takes his place, 
 not without boyish pride, amongst the young war- 
 riors who encircle the hallowed spot where the 
 Druids celebrate their solemn and mysterious rites. 
 The mist comes thicker still, driving over the 
 plain in waves of vapour, that impart a ghostly 
 air of motion to the stones that tower erect around 
 the mystic circle. Grey, moss-grown, and unhewn, 
 hand of man seems never to have desecrated 
 those mighty blocks of granite, standing there, 
 changeless and awful, like types of eternity. Dim 
 and indistinct are they as the worship they guard. 
 Hard and stern as the pitiless faith of sacrifice, 
 veugeance, and oblation, inculcated at their base. 
 A wild low chant comes wailing on the breeze, and 
 through the gathering mist a long Ime of white- 
 robed priests winds slowly into the circle. Stern 
 and gloomy are they of aspect, lofty of stature, 
 and large of limb, with long grey beards and 
 tresses waving in the wind. Each wears a crown 
 of oak-leaves round his head ; each grasps a wand 
 covered with ivy in his hand. The youth cannot 
 resist an exclamation of surprise. There is dese-
 
 THE IVOEY GATE. i 
 
 cration in his tlioiiglit, there is profanity iu his 
 words. Louder and louder swells the chant. 
 Closer and closer still contracts the circle. The 
 white-robed priests are hemming him in to the 
 very centre of tlie mystic ring, and see ! the 
 sacrificial knife is already bared and whetted, and 
 flourished in the air by a long brawny arm. The 
 young warrior strives to fly. Horror! his feet 
 refuse to stir, his hands cleave powerless to his 
 sides. He seems turning to stone. A vague fear 
 paralyses him that he too will become one of those 
 granite masses to stand there motionless during 
 eternity. His heart stops beating within him, and 
 the transformation seems about to be completed, 
 when lo ! a warlike peal of trumpets breaks the 
 spell, and he shakes his spear aloft and leaps 
 gladly from the earth, exulting in the sense of 
 life and motion once more. 
 
 Again the dream changes. Frenzied priest and 
 Druidical stone have vanished like the mist that 
 encircled them. It is a beautiful balmy night in 
 June. The woods are black and silver in the 
 moonlight. Kot a breath of air stirs the topmost 
 twigs of the lofty elm cut clear and distinct against 
 the sky. Not a ripple blurs the surface of the 
 lake, spread out and gleaming like a sheet of
 
 » EEOS. 
 
 polished steel. The bittern calls at intervals from 
 the adjacent marsh, and the nightingale carols 
 in the copse. All is peaceful and beautiful, and 
 suggestive of enjoyment or repose. Yet here, 
 lying close amongst the foxglove and the fern, 
 long lines of white-robed warriors are waiting but 
 the signal for assault. And yonder, where the 
 earth -rock rises dark and level against the sky, 
 paces to and fro a high-crested sentinel, watching 
 over the safety of the Eagles, with the calm and 
 ceaseless vigilance of that discipline which has 
 made the legionaries masters of the world. 
 
 Once more the trumpets peal ; the only sound to 
 be heard in that array of tents, drawn up with 
 such order and precision, behind the works, except 
 the footfall of the Roman guard, firm and regular, 
 as it relieves the previous watch. In a short space 
 that duty will be performed ; and then, if ever, 
 must the attack be made with any probability of 
 success. Youth is impatient of delay — the young 
 warrior's pulse beats audibly, and he feels the 
 edge of his blade and the point of his short-han- 
 dled javelin, with an intensity of longing that is 
 absolutely painful. At length the word is passed 
 from rank to rank. Like the crest of a sea- wave 
 breaking into foam, rises that wavering line of
 
 THE lYORY GATE. 9 
 
 white, rolling its length out in the moonlight, as 
 man after man springs erect at the touch of his 
 comrade ; and then a roar of voices, a rush of 
 feet, and the wave dashes up and breaks against 
 the steady solid resistance of the embankment. 
 
 But discipline is not to be caught thus napping. 
 Ere the echo of their trumpets has died out among 
 the distant hills, the legionaries stand to their 
 arms throughout the camp. Abeady the rampart 
 gleams and bristles with sliield and helmet, javelin, 
 sword and spear. Already the Eagle is awake and 
 defiant ; unruffled, indeed, in plumage, but with 
 beak and talons bare and whetted for defence. 
 The tall centurions marshal their men in Kne even 
 and regular, as though about to defile by the throne 
 of Caesar, rather than to repel the attack of a wild 
 barbarian foe. The tribunes, with their golden 
 crests, take up their appointed posts in the four 
 corners of the camp ; while the Praetor huuself 
 gives his orders calm and unmoved from the centre. 
 
 Over the roar of the swarming Britons, sounds 
 the clear trumpet-note pealing out its direc- 
 tions, concise and intelligible as a living voice, 
 and heard by the combatants far and wide, in- 
 spiring covu-age and confidence, and order in the 
 confusion.
 
 10 EROS. 
 
 Brandisliing tlieir long swords, the wliite-cla 
 warriors of Britain rush tumultuously to the attack. 
 
 Already, they have filled the ditch and scaled 
 the earthwork; but once and again they recoil 
 from the steady front and rigid discipline of the 
 invader, ^vliile the short stabbing sword of the 
 Eoman soldier, covered as he is by his ample 
 shield, does fearful execution at close quarters. 
 But still fresh assailants pour in, and the camp is 
 carried and overrun. The young warrior rushes 
 exulting to and fro, and the enemy fall in heaps 
 before hira. Such moments are worth whole 
 years of peaceful life. He has reached the Prae- 
 torium. He is close beneath the Eagles, and he 
 leaps wildly at them to bring them off in triumph 
 as trophies of his victory. But a grim centurion 
 strikes him to the earth. Wounded, faint and 
 bleeding, he is carried away by his comrades, the 
 shaft of the Roman standard in his hand. They 
 bear him to a war-chariot, they lash the wild 
 galloping steeds, the roll of the wheels thunders 
 in his ears as they dash tumultuously across the 
 plain, and then * * * * the gentle mission is 
 fulfilled, the doves fly down again to Proserpine, 
 and the young, joyous, triumphant warrior of 
 Britain wakes up a Roman slave.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE MARBLE PORCH. 
 
 T was the sound of a cliariot, trulv 
 enough, that roused the dreamer 
 from his slumbers ; but bow different 
 the scene on which his drowsy eyes 
 unclosed, to that which fancy had conjured up in 
 the shadowy realms of sleep ! 
 
 A beautiful portico, supported on slender columns 
 of smooth white marble, protected him from the 
 rays of the morning sun, already pouring down 
 ^A-ith the intensity of Italian heat. Garlands of 
 leaves and flowers, cool and fresh in their contrast 
 with the snowy surface of these dainty pillars, 
 were wreathed around their stems, and twined 
 amono-st the delicate carvins: of their Corinthian 
 capitals. Large stone vases, urn-shaped and 
 massive, stood in long array at stated intervals, 
 bearing the orange-tree, the myrtle, and other 
 dark-green flowering shrubs, which formed a fair
 
 12 EKOS. 
 
 perspective of retirement and repose. Shapely 
 statues filled the niches in the wall, or stood out 
 more prominently in the vacant spaces of the 
 colonnade. Here cowered a marble Venus, in the 
 shame-faced consciousness of unequalled beauty ; 
 there stood forth a bright Apollo, exulting in the 
 perfection of godlike symmetry and grace. 
 Eome could not finger the chisel like her in- 
 structress Greece, the mother of the Arts, but the 
 hand that firmly grasps the sword need never 
 want for anything skill produces, or genius creates, 
 or gold can buy, so it is no marvel that the master- 
 pieces and treasures of the nations she subdued 
 found their way to the Imperial City, mistress of 
 the world. Even where the sleeper lay reclined 
 upon a couch of curiously-carved wood from the 
 forests that clothe Mount Hymettus, an owl so 
 beautifully chiselled that its very breast-plumage 
 seemed to ruffle in the breeze, looked down upon 
 him from a niche where it had been placed at a 
 cost that miglit have bought a dozen such human 
 chattels as himself; for it had been brought from 
 Athens as the most successful effort of a sculjDtor, 
 who had devoted it to the honour of Minerva in 
 his zeal. Refinement, luxury, nay, profusion, 
 reigned paramount even here outside the sumptuous
 
 THE MARBLE POECH. 1 
 
 o 
 
 dwelling of a Eoman lady ; and the very ground 
 in her porch, over Avhich she was borne, for she 
 seldom touched it with her feet, Avas fresh swept 
 and sanded as often as it had been disturbed by 
 the tread of her litter-bearers, or the wheels of 
 her chariot. 
 
 Many a time was this ceremony performed in 
 the tvventy-four hours ; for Valeria was a woman 
 of noble rank, great possessions, and the highest 
 fashion. Not a vanity of her sex, not a folly was 
 there of her class, in which she scrupled to in- 
 dulge ; and then, as now, ladies were prone to rush 
 into extremes, and frivolity, when it took the garb 
 of a female, assumed preposterous dimensions, and 
 a thirst for amusement, incompatible Avith reason 
 or self-control. 
 
 There is always a certain hush, and as it were, 
 a pompous stillness about the houses of the great, 
 even long after inferior mortals are astir in pursuit 
 of their pleasure or their business. To-day was 
 Valeria's birthday, and as such was duly observed 
 by the hanging of garlands on the pillars of her 
 porch; but after the completion of this graceful 
 ceremony, silence seemed to have sunk once more 
 upon the household, and the slave whose dream 
 we have recorded, coming into her gates with an
 
 ] 4 EEOS. 
 
 offering from his lord, and finding no domestics in 
 tlie way, had sat him dowTi to wait in the grateful 
 shade, and overcome with heat, might have slept 
 on till noon had he not been roused by the grind- 
 ins: chariot-wheels, which mingled so confusedly 
 with his dream. 
 
 It was no plebeian vehicle that now rolled 
 into the colonnade, driven at a furious pace, and 
 stopping so abruptly as to create considerable con- 
 fusion and insubordination amongst the noble 
 animals that di'ew it. The car, momited on two 
 wheels, was constructed of a highly-polished wood, 
 cut from the wild fig-tree, elaborately inlaid with 
 ivory and gold ; the very spokes and felloes of the 
 wheels were carved in patterns of vine-leaves and 
 flowers, whilst the extremities of the pole, the 
 axle, and the yoke, were wrought into exquisite 
 representations of the wolf's head, an animal, from 
 historical reasons, ever dear to the fancy of the 
 Roman. There was but one person besides the 
 driver in the carriage, and so light a draught 
 might indeed command any rate of speed, when 
 whirled along by four such horses as now plunged 
 and reared, and i)it each other's crests in the 
 portico of Valeria's mansion. These were of a 
 milky white, with dark muzzles, and a bluish
 
 THE MARBLE POECH. 15 
 
 tinge under the coat, denoting its soft texture, and 
 the Eastern origin of the animals. Somewhat 
 thick of neck and shoulders, with semicircular 
 jowl, it was the broad and tapering head, the small 
 quivering ear, the wide red nostril, that demon- 
 strated the purity of their blood, and argued ex- 
 traordinary powers of speed and endurance ; while 
 their short, round backs, prominent muscles, flat 
 legs and dainty feet, promised an amount of 
 strength and activity only to be attained by the 
 production of perfect symmetry. 
 
 These beautiful animals were harnessed four 
 abreast — the inner pair, somewhat in the fasliion 
 of our modern cm-ricle, being yoked to the pole, of 
 which the very fastening-pins were steel overlaid 
 with gold, whilst the outer horses, drawing only 
 from a trace attached respectively on the inner 
 side of each to the axle of the chariot, were free to 
 wheel their quarters outwards in every direction, 
 and kick to their heart's content — a libertv of 
 which, in the present instance, they seemed well 
 disposed to avail themselves. 
 
 The slave started to his feet as the nearest 
 horse winced and swerved aside from his un- 
 expected figure, snorting the while in mingled 
 wantonness and fear. The axle gi*azed his tunic
 
 16 EROS. 
 
 while it passed, and the driver, irritated at his 
 horse's unsteadiness, or perhaps in the mere inso- 
 lence of a great man's favom-ite, struck at him 
 heavily with his whip as he went by. The 
 Briton's blood boiled at the indignity ; but his 
 sinewy arm \^'as up like lightning to parry the 
 blow, and as the lash curled round his wrist, 
 he drew the weapon quickly from the driver's 
 hand, and would have returned the insult with 
 interest, had he not been deterred from his pur- 
 pose by the youthful effeminate appearance of 
 the aggressor. 
 
 " I cannot strike a girl !" exclaimed the slave, 
 contemptuously, throwing the whip at the same 
 time into the floor of the chariot, where it lit at 
 the feet of the other occupant, a sumptuously- 
 dressed nobleman, who enjoyed the discomfiture 
 of his charioteer with the loud frank glee of a 
 master jeering a dependant. 
 
 " Well said, my hero !" laughed the patrician ; 
 adding in good-humoured though haughty tones, 
 " Not that I would give much for the chance of 
 man or woman in a grasp like yours. By Jupiter ! 
 you've got the arms and shoulders of Antaeus ! 
 Who owns you, my good fellow ? and what do you 
 here ?"
 
 THE MARBLE PORCH. 17 
 
 " Nay, I would strike him again to some purpose 
 if I were on the ground with liim," interrupted 
 the charioteer, a handsome, petulant youth of 
 some sixteen summers, whose long flowing curls 
 and rich scarlet mantle denoted a pampered and 
 favourite slave, " Gently, Scipio ! So-ho, Ju- 
 gurtha ! The horses will fret for an hour now 
 they have been scared by his ugly face." 
 
 *' Better let him alone, Automedon !" observed 
 his master, again shaking his sides at the obvious 
 discomfiture portrayed on the flushed face of his 
 favourite. " Through your life keep clear of a 
 man when he shuts his mouth like that, as vou 
 would of an ox with a wisp of hay on his horn. 
 You silly boy ! why he would swallow such a slen- 
 der frame as yours at a gulp ; and nobody but a fool 
 ever strikes at a man unless he knows he can reach 
 him, ay, and punish him too, without hurting his 
 own knuckles in retmn ! But what do you here, 
 good fellow ?" he repeated, addressing himself once 
 more to the slave, who stood erect, scanning his 
 questioner with a fearless, though respectful eye. 
 
 " ftiy master is your friend," was the outspoken 
 answer, "You supped with him only the night 
 before last. But a man need not be in the house- 
 hold of Licinius, nor have spent his best years at 
 
 VOL. L C
 
 18 EEOS. 
 
 Eome, to know the face of Julius Placidus, tlie 
 Tribune." 
 
 A smile of gratified vanity stole over tlie pa- 
 trician's countenance while he listened; a smile 
 that had the effect of imparting to its lineaments 
 an expression at once mocking, crafty, and ma- 
 licious. In repose, and such was its usual con- 
 dition, the face was almost handsome, perfect in 
 its regularity, and of a fixed, sedate composure 
 which bordered on vacuity, but when disturbed, 
 as it sometimes, though rarely, was, by a passing 
 emotion, the smile that passed over it like a 
 lurid gleam, became truly diabolical. 
 
 The slave was right. Amongst all the no- 
 torious personages who crowded and jostled each 
 other in the streets of Eome at that stormy period, 
 none was better known, none more courted, flat- 
 tered, honoured, hated, and mistrusted than the 
 occupant of the gilded chariot. It was no time 
 for men to wear their hearts in their hands — it 
 was no time to make an additional enemy, or to 
 lose a possible friend. Since the death of Tibe- 
 rius, emperor had succeeded emperor with alarm- 
 ing rapidity. Nero had indeed died by J i is own 
 hand, to avoid the just retribution of unexampled 
 vices and crmies ; but the poisoned mushroom
 
 THE MARBLE PORCH. 19 
 
 had carried oflf his predecessor, and the old man 
 who succeeded him fell by the Aveapons of the 
 very guards he had enlisted to protect his gray 
 head from violence. Since then another suicide 
 had indued Yitellius Mith the purple ; but the 
 throne of the Caesars was fast becoming synony- 
 mous with a scaffold, and tlie sword of Damocles 
 quivered more menacingly, and on a slenderer 
 hair than ever, over the diadem. 
 
 AVhen great political convulsions agitate a 
 State, already seething witli general vice and 
 luxmy, the moral scum seems, by a law of nature, 
 to float invariably to the surface — the characters 
 most destitute of principle, the readiest to obey 
 the instincts of self-aggrandizement and expe- 
 diency, achieve a kind of spurious feme, a doubtful 
 and temporary success. Under the rule of Nero, 
 perhaps, there was but one path to Court favour, 
 and that lay in the disgraceful attempt to vie with 
 this Emperor's brutalities and crimes. The palace 
 of Caesar was then indeed a sink of foul iniquity 
 and utter degradation. The sycophant who could 
 most readily reduce liimself to the level of a beast, 
 in gross sensuality, while he boasted a demon's le- 
 finement of cruelty, and morbid depravity of heart, 
 became the first fevourite for the time witli his
 
 20 EROS. 
 
 imperial master. To be fat, slothful, weak, glut- 
 tonous, and effeminate, while the brow was crowned 
 with roses, and the brain was drenched with wine, 
 and the hands were steeped in blood — this it was 
 to be a friend and counsellor of Caesar. Men 
 waited and wondered in stupefied awe when they 
 marked the monster reeling from a debauch to some 
 fresh feast of horrors, some ingenious exhibition of 
 the complicated tortm-es tliat may be inflicted on a 
 human being, some devilish experiment of all the 
 body can bear, eie the soul takes wing from its 
 ghastly, mutilated tenement, and this not on one, 
 but a thousand victims. They waited and Avon- 
 dered what the gods were about, that Divine 
 vengeance should slumber through such provoca- 
 tions as these. 
 
 But retribution overtook him at last. The heart 
 which a slaughtered mother's spectre could not 
 soften, which remorse for a pregnant wife's fate, 
 kicked to death by her brutal lord, failed to wring, 
 quailed at tlie approach of a few exasperated 
 soldiers ; and the tvrant who had so often smiled 
 to see blood flow like water in the amphitheatre, 
 died by his own hand — died as he had lived, a 
 coward and a murderer to the last. 
 
 Since then, the Court was a sphere in which
 
 THE MAEBLE POECH. 21 
 
 any bold unscrupulous man might be pretty sure 
 of attaining success. Tlie present emperor was a 
 goodliumoured glutton, one whose faculties, origi- 
 nally vigorous, had been warped and deadened by 
 excess, just as his body had become bloated, his 
 eye dimmed, his strength palsied, and his courage 
 destroyed by the same course. The scheming 
 statesman, the pliant courtier, the successful sol- 
 dier had but one passion now, one only object for 
 the exercise of his energies, both of mind and 
 body — to eat enormously, to drink to excess, to 
 study every art by which fi-esh appetite, could be 
 stimulated, when gorged to repletion — and then — 
 to eat and drink again. 
 
 With such a patron, any man who united to a 
 tendency for the pleasures of the table, a strong 
 brain, a cool head, and an aptitude for business 
 might be sure of considerable influence. The 
 Emperor thoroughly appreciated one who would 
 take trouble oif his hands, while at the same time 
 he encouraged his master, by precept and example, 
 in his swinish propensities. It was no slight ser- 
 vice to Vitellius, to rise from a debauch and give 
 those necessar)^ orders in an unforeseen emergency 
 which Caesar's sodden brain was powerless to ori- 
 ginate or to understand.
 
 22 EKOS. 
 
 Ere Placidus had been a month about the Court, 
 he had insinuated himself thoroughly into the good 
 graces of the Emperor. 
 
 This man's had been a strange and stirring 
 history. Born of patrician rank, he had used his 
 family influence to advance him in the military 
 service, and already, whilst still in the flower of 
 youth, had attained the grade of Tribune in Ves- 
 pasian's army, then occupying Judfea under that 
 distinguished general. Although no man yielded 
 so willingly, or gave himself up so entirely to the 
 indolent enjoyments of Asiatic life, Placidus pos- 
 sessed many of the qualities which are esteemed 
 essential to the character of a soldier. Personal 
 bravery, or we should rather say, insensibility to 
 danger, was one of his pecuKar advantages. Per- 
 haps this is a quality inseparable from such an 
 organization as his, in which, while the system 
 seems to contain a wealth of energy and vitality, 
 the nerves are extremely callous to irritation, and 
 completely under control. The Tribune never 
 came out in more favourable colours than when 
 every one about him was in a state of alarm 
 and confusion. On one occasion, at the siege of 
 Jotapata, where the Jews were defending them- 
 selves with the desperate energy of their race,
 
 THE MAEBLE POKCH. 23 
 
 Placidus won golden opinions from Vespasian by 
 the cool dexterity with which he saved from de- 
 struction a whole company of soldiers and their 
 centurion, under the very eye of his general. 
 
 A maniple, or, in the military language of to- 
 day, a wing of the cohort led by Placidus was 
 advancing to the attack, and the first centurion, 
 with the company under his command, was already 
 beneath the wall, bristling as it was Avith defenders, 
 who hurled down on their assailants darts, jave- 
 lins, huge stones, every description of weapon or 
 missile, including molten lead and boiling oil. 
 Under cover of a moveable pent-house, which 
 protected them, the head of the column had 
 advanced their battering-ram to the very wall, 
 and were swinging the huge engine back, by 
 the ropes and pulleys which governed it, for 
 an increased impulse of destruction, when the 
 Jews, who had been watching their opportunity, 
 succeeded in balancing an enormous mass of 
 granite immediately above the pent-house and 
 the materials of offence, animate and inanimate, 
 which it contained. A Jewish warrior clad in 
 shining armour had taken a lever in his hand, 
 and was in the act of ajjplying that instrument to 
 the impending tottering mass ; in another instant
 
 24 EEOS. 
 
 it must have craslied down upon tlieir heads, and 
 buried the whole band beneath its w^eight. At 
 his appointed station by the Eagle, the Tribune 
 was watching the movements of his men with 
 his usual air of sleepy, indolent approval. And 
 even in this critical moment his eye never bright- 
 ened, liis colour never deepened a shade. The 
 voice was calm, low, and perfectly modulated in 
 which he bade the trumpeter at his right hand 
 sound the recall ; nor, though its business-like 
 rapidity could scarce have been exceeded by the 
 most practised archer, was the movement the 
 least hurried with which he snatched the bow 
 from a dead Parthian auxiliary at his feet and 
 fitted an arrow to its string. In the twinkling of 
 an eye, while the granite vibrated on the very 
 parapet, that arrow was quivering between the 
 joints of the warrior's harness who held the lever, 
 and he had fallen with his head over the wall in 
 the throes of death. Before another of the de- 
 fenders could take his place the assaulting party 
 had retired, bringing along with them, in their 
 cool and rigid discipline, the battering ram and 
 wooden covering which protected it, while the 
 Tribune quietly observed, as he replaced tlie bow 
 into the fallen Parthian's hand, " A company saved
 
 THE MAKBLE PORCH. 25 
 
 is a liuncli'ed men gained. A dead barbarian is 
 exactly worth my tallest centurion, and the 
 smartest troop I have in the maniple !" 
 
 Vespasian was not the man to forget such an 
 instance of cool promptitude, and Julius Placidus 
 was marked out for promotion from that day forth. 
 
 But with its courage, the Tribune possessed the 
 cunning of the tiger, not without something also 
 of that fierce animal's outward beauty, and much 
 of its watchful, pitiless, and untiring nature. A 
 brave soldier should have considered it a degrada- 
 tion, under any circumstances, to play a double 
 part ; but with Placidus every step was esteemed 
 honourable so long as it was on the ascent. The 
 successful winner had no scruple in deceiving all 
 about him at Rome, by the eagerness with which 
 he assumed the character of a mere man of plea- 
 sm-e, while he lost no opportunity the while, of 
 ingratiating himself with the many desperate 
 spirits who were to be found in the imperial city, 
 ready and willing to assist in any enterprise which 
 should tend to anarchy and confusion. While he 
 rushed iato every extravagance and pleasure of 
 that luxm-ious Com-t — while he vied with Csesar 
 himself in his profusion, and surpassed him in his 
 orgies — he suffered no symptoms to escape him of
 
 26 
 
 EEOS. 
 
 a liiglier ambition than tliat of excellence in trifling, 
 — of deejjer projects than those which affected the 
 wine-cup, the pageant, and the passing follies of 
 the hour. Yet all the while, within that damty 
 reveller's brain, schemes were forming and thoughts 
 burning that should have withered the very roses 
 on his brow. 
 
 It might have been the strain of Greek blood 
 which filtered through his veins, that tempered 
 liis Roman courage and endurance, with the 
 pliancy, essential to conspiracy and intrigue. A 
 strain that was apparent in his sculptured regu- 
 larity of features, and general symmetry of form. 
 His character has already been compared, to the 
 tiger's, and his movements had all the pliant ease 
 and stealthy freedom of that graceful animal. His 
 stature was little above the average of his country- 
 men, but his frame was cast in that mould, of exact 
 proportion which promises the extreme of streugth 
 combined with agility and endurance. Had he 
 been caught like Milo, he would have writhed 
 himself out of the trap, with the sinuous persistency 
 of a snake. There was something snake-like too 
 in his small glittering eye, and the clear smooth- 
 ness of his skin. With all its brightness no 
 woman worthy of the name but would have
 
 THE SIARBLE POECH. 27 
 
 winced Mith womanly instincts of aversion and re- 
 pugnance from liis glance. With all its beauty- 
 no child would have looked up frankly and con- 
 fidingly in his face. Men turned, indeed, to scan 
 him approvingly as he passed ; but the brave owned 
 no sympathy Avith that smooth set brow, that 
 ci"afty and malicious smile, while the timid or 
 the superstitious shuddered and slu-ank away, 
 averting their own gaze from what they felt to be 
 the influence of the evil eye. 
 
 And yet in his snowy tunic bleached to dazzling 
 white, in his collar of linked gold, his jewelled 
 belt, his embroidered sandals, and the ample folds 
 of his deep violet mantle, nearly approaching 
 jiurple, Julius Placidus was no unworthy repre- 
 sentative of his time and his order, no mean 
 specimen of the wealth, and foppery, and extrava- 
 gance of Rome. 
 
 Such was the man who now stood up in his 
 gilded chariot at Valeria's door, masking with his 
 usual expression of careless indolence, the real 
 impatience he felt for tidings of its mistress.
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 HEEMES. 
 
 T was customary with the more reiined 
 aristocracy of Kome, during the first 
 century of the Empire, to pay great 
 respect to Mercury, the god of inven- 
 tion and intrigue. Not that the qualities gene- 
 rally attributed to that power were calculated to 
 inspire admiration or esteem, but simply because 
 he had acquired a fortuitous popularity at a period 
 when the graceful Pantheism of the nation was 
 regulated by general opinion, and when a deity 
 went in and out of fashion, like a dress. 
 
 At Valeria's porch, in common with many other 
 great houses, stood an exquisite statue of the god, 
 representing him as a youth, of athletic and sym- 
 metrical proportions, poised on a winged foot in 
 the act of running, with the broad-leaf hat on his 
 head, and the snake-turned rod in his hand. The
 
 HEEMES. 
 
 29 
 
 countenance of the statue was expressive of intel- 
 lect and vivacity, while the form was wrought into 
 the highest ideal of activity and strengtli. It was 
 placed on a square pedestal of marble immediately 
 opposite the door ; and behind this pedestal, the 
 slave retired in some confusion when a train of 
 maidens appeared from within, to answer the 
 summons of Julius Placidus in his chariot. 
 
 The Tribune did not think it necessary to alight, 
 but producing from the bosom of liis tunic a 
 jewelled casket, leaned one hand on the shoulder 
 of Automedon, while with the other he proffered 
 his gift to a damsel who seemed the chief among 
 her fellows, and whose manners partook largely of 
 the flippancy of the waiting-maid. 
 
 " Commend me to your mistress," said Placidus, 
 at the same time throwing a gold chain round her 
 neck on her own account, and bending carelessly 
 down to take a receipt for the . same, in the shape 
 of a caress ; " bid her every good omen from the 
 most faithful of her servants, and ask her at what 
 hour I may hope to be received on this her birth- 
 day, which the trifle you carry to her from me 
 will prove I have not forgotten." 
 
 The waiting-maid tried hard to raise a blush, but 
 with all her eflbrts the rich Southern colour would
 
 30 EEOS. 
 
 not deepen on lier clieek ; so she thought better of 
 it, and looked him full in the face with her bold 
 black eyes, while she replied : '• You have for- 
 gotten siu-ely, my lord, that this is the feast of 
 Isis, and no lady, that is a lady, at least here in 
 Rome, can have leisure to-day for anything but 
 the sacred mysteries of the goddess." 
 
 Placidus laughed outright ; and it was strange 
 how his laugh scared those who watched it. 
 Automedon fairly turned pale, and even the wait- 
 ing-maid seemed disconcerted for a moment. 
 
 " I have heard of these mysteries," said he, 
 "my pretty Myrrliina, and who has not? The 
 Eoman ladies keep them somewhat jealoush'" to 
 themselves ; and by all accounts it is well for our 
 sex that they do so. Nevertheless, there are yet 
 some hours of sunlight to pass before the chaste 
 rites of Egypt can possibly begin. Will not 
 Valeria see me in the interval ?" 
 
 A ver^ quick ear might have detected the least 
 possible tremor in the Tribune's voice as he spoke 
 the last sentence ; it was not lost upon Myrrliina, for 
 she showed all the white teeth in her large well- 
 formed mouth, while she enumerated with immense 
 volubility those different pursuits which filled up 
 the day of a fashionable Roman lady.
 
 HEEMES. 31 
 
 " Impossible !" burst out the damsel. " She has 
 not a moment to spare from now till sunset. 
 There's her dinner,* and her fencing-lesson, and 
 her bath, and her dressing, and the sculptor 
 coming for her hand, and the painter for her face, 
 and the new Greek sandals to be 6tted to her feet. 
 Then she has sent for Philogemon, the augur, to 
 cast her horoscope, and for Galanthis, who is 
 cleverer than ever Locusta was, and has twice the 
 practice, to prepare a philtre. Maybe it is for ' 
 you, my lord," added the girl roguishly. '* 1 hear 
 the ladies are all using them just now." 
 
 The evil smile crossed the Tribune's face once 
 more ; perhaps he too had been indebted to the 
 potions of Galanthis, for purposes of love or hate, 
 and he did not care to be reminded of them. 
 
 " Xay," said he meaningly, " there is no need 
 for that. Valeria can do more Avith one glance of 
 her bright eyes, than all the potions and poisons of 
 Galanthis put together. Say, Myrrhina — you are 
 in my interest — does she look more favourably of 
 late?" 
 
 " How can I tell, my lord ?" answered the girl, 
 with an arch expression of amusement and defi- 
 
 * The dinner, or prandium of Eome, was the first meal in 
 the dav.
 
 32 EKOS. 
 
 ance in her face. " My mistress is but a woman 
 after all, and they say women are more easily mas- 
 tered by the strong hand, than lured by the 
 honeyed lip. She is not to be won by a smooth 
 tongue and a beardless face, I know, for I heard 
 her say so to Paris myself, in the very spot where 
 we are now standing. Juno ! but the player slunk 
 away somewhat crest-fallen, I can tell you, when 
 she called him ' a mere girl in her brother's clothes ' 
 at the best. No ; the man who wins my mistress 
 will be a man all over, I'll answer for it ! So far, 
 she is like the rest of us, for that matter." 
 
 And Myrrhina sighed, thinking, it may be, of 
 some sunburnt youth the while, whose rough but 
 not unwelcome wooing had assailed her in her early 
 girlhood, ere she came to Eome ; far away yonder 
 amongst the blushiug vines, in the bright Campa- 
 nian hills. 
 
 " Say you so ?" observed the Tribune, obviously 
 flattered by the implied compliment; for he 
 was proud in his secret heart of his bodily 
 strength. "Nay, there was a fellow standing 
 here when I drove up, who would make an easy 
 conquest of you, Myrrhina, if, like your Sabine 
 grandams, you must be borne off to be wed, on 
 your lover's shoulders. By the body of Hercules !
 
 HERMES. 33 
 
 he would tuck you up under his arm as easily as 
 you cany that casket, which you seem so afraid to 
 let out of your hand. Ay, there he is ! lurking 
 behind Hermes. Stand forth, my good fellow! 
 What ! you are not afraid of Automedon, are you, 
 and the crack of that young reprobate's whip ?" 
 
 While he spoke, the slave stepped fonvard from 
 his lurking place behind the statue, where the 
 quick eye of Placidus had detected him, and 
 presented to Myrrliina with a respectful gesture 
 the offerinw of his lord to her mistress — a filioree 
 basket of frosted silver, filled with a few choice 
 fruits and flowers — 
 
 '' From Caius Licinius, greeting," said he, " in 
 honom* of Valeria's natal day. The flowers are 
 scarce yet dry fi-om the spray that brawling Anio 
 flings upon its banks; the fruits were glowdng in 
 yesterday's sun, on the brightest sIodcs of Tiber. 
 My master offers the freshest and fairest of his 
 fruits and flowers to his kinswoman, w^ho is frtsher 
 and fairer than them all." 
 
 He delivered his message, which he had obvi- 
 ously learned by rote, in sufficiently pure and 
 fluent Latin, scarcely tinged with the accent of a 
 barbarian, and bowing low as he placed the basket 
 in Myrrhina's hand, drew himself up to his noble 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 
 
 EEOS. 
 
 height, and looked proudly, almost defiantly, at 
 the Tribune. 
 
 The girl started and turned pale — it seemed as 
 if the statue of Hermes had descended from its 
 pedestal to do her homage. He stood there, that 
 glorious specimen of manhood, in his majestic 
 strength and symmetry, in the glow of his youth, 
 and health, and beauty, like an impersonation of 
 the god. Myrrhina, in common with many of her 
 sex, was easily fascinated by external advantages, 
 and she laughed nervously, while she accepted with 
 shaking hands the handsome slave's offering to his 
 master's kinswoman. " Will you not enter ? " 
 said she, the colour mantling once more, and this 
 time mthout an effort, in her burning cheeks. " It 
 is not the custom to depart from Valeria's house 
 without breaking bread and drinking Mine." 
 
 But tlie slave excused himself, abruptly, almost 
 rudely, losing, be sure, by his refusal, none of the 
 ground he had already gained in Myrrhina's good 
 graces. It chafed him to remain even at the 
 porch. The atmosphere of luxury that pervaded 
 it, seemed to weigh upon his senses, and oppress 
 his breath. Moreover, the insult he had sustained 
 from Automedon, yet rankled in his heart. How 
 he wished the boy-charioteer was nearer his match
 
 HERMES, 35 
 
 in size and strength. He would have hurled him 
 from the chariot where he stood, turning his curls 
 so insolently round his dainty fingers — hurled him 
 to earth beyond his horses' heads, and taught him 
 the strength of a Briton's arm and the squeeze of 
 a Briton's gripe. "Ay! and his master after 
 him !" thought the slave, for already he ex- 
 perienced towards Placidus that unaccountable in- 
 stinct of aversion which seems to warn men of a 
 future foe, and which, to give him his due, the 
 Tribune was not unused to awaken in a brave 
 and honest breast. 
 
 Placidus, however, scanned him once more, as 
 he strode away, with the critical gaze of a judge 
 of human animals. It was this man's peculiarity 
 to look on all he met as possible tools, that might 
 come into use for various purposes at a future and 
 indefinite time. If he observed more than usual 
 courage in a soldier, superior acuteness in a freed- 
 man, nay, even uncommon beauty in a woman, he 
 bethought himself that although he might have no 
 immediate use for these qualities, occasions often 
 arose on which he could turn them to his profit^ 
 and he noted, and made sure of, their amount 
 accordingly. In the present instance, although 
 somewhat surprised that he had never before
 
 36 EEOS. 
 
 remarked the slave's stalwart proportions in the 
 household of Licinius, whose affection for the 
 Briton had excused him from all menial offices, 
 and consequent contact with yisitors, he deter- 
 mined not to lose sight of one so formed by nature 
 to excel in the gymnasium, or the amphi- 
 theatre, while there crejDt into his heart a cruel 
 cold-blooded feeling of satisfaction at the possi- 
 bility of witnessing so muscular and shapely a 
 figure in the contortions of a mortal struggle, or 
 the throes of a painful death. 
 
 Besides, there was envy too at the bottom — envy 
 in the proud patrician's breast, leaning so negli- 
 gently on the cushions of his gilded chariot, with 
 all his advantages of rank, reputation, wealth, and 
 influence — envy of the noble bearing, the personal 
 comeliness, and the free manly step of the slave. 
 
 " Had he struck thee, Automedon," said his 
 master, unable to resist taunting the petted youth 
 who held the reins ; " had he but laid a finger on 
 thee, thou had'st never spoken again, and I had 
 been rid of the noisiest and most useless of my 
 household. Gentlv with that outside horse : dost 
 see how he chafes upon the rein. Gently, boy, 
 I say ! and drive me back into the Forum." 
 
 As he settled himself among the cushions and
 
 HERMES. 37 
 
 rolled swiftly away, Myrrhina came forth into the 
 porch, once more. She seemed, however, scarcely 
 to notice the departing chariot, but looked 
 dreamily about her, and then re-entered the house 
 with a shake of the head, a smile, and something 
 that was almost a sigh. 
 
 *l! 

 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 W^Fvi 
 
 1^ 
 
 fm 
 
 llH 
 
 W^Mf. 
 
 ^^^a 
 
 APHRODITE. 
 
 NEGRO bov, the ugliest of his kind, 
 and probably all the more prized for 
 that reason, was shifting uneasily 
 from knee to knee, in an attitude of 
 constraint that showed how long and tiresome he 
 felt liis office, and how wearied he was of Valeria's 
 own apartment. Such a child, for the urchin 
 seemed of the tenderest age, might be initiated 
 without impropriety into the mysteries of a lady's 
 toilet ; and, indeed, the office it was his duty to 
 undertake, formed the most indispensable part of 
 the whole performance. With a skill and steadi- 
 ness beyond his years, though with a rueful face, 
 he was propping up an enormous mirror, in which 
 liis mistress might contemplate the whole galaxy 
 of her charms. A mirror formed of one broad plate 
 of silver, burnished to the brightness and lucidity 
 of glass, set in an oval frame of richly chased
 
 APHEODIT^.. 39 
 
 gold, wrought into fantastic patterns and studded 
 with emeralds, rubies, and other precious stones. 
 Not a speck was to be discerned on the polish of 
 its dazzling surface ; and, indeed, the time of one 
 maiden, was devoted to the task alone of preserv- 
 ing it from the lightest breath that might dim its 
 brightness, and cloud the reflection of the stately 
 form that now sat before it, undergoing, at the 
 hands of her attendants, the pleasing tortures of an 
 elaborate toilet. 
 
 The reflection was that of a large handsome 
 woman in the very prime and noon-tide of her 
 beauty. A woman whose every movement and 
 gesture bespoke physical organization of a 
 vigorous nature and perfect health. While the 
 strong white neck gave grace and dignity to her 
 carriage — while the deep bosom and somewhat 
 massive shoulders partook more of Juno's majestic 
 frame than Hebe's pliant youth — while the full 
 sweep and outline of her figure deuited maturity 
 and completeness in every part — ^the long round 
 limbs, the shapely hands and feet, might have 
 belonged to Diana, so perfect was their symmetry ; 
 the warm flush that tinted them, the voluptuous 
 ease of her attitude, the gentle languor of her 
 whole bearing, w^ould have done no discredit to the
 
 40 EROS. 
 
 goddess, hanging over tlie mountain-tops in the 
 golden summer-nights to look down upon Endy- 
 mion, and bathe her sleeping favourite in floods 
 of light and love. 
 
 Too fastidious a critic might have objected to 
 Valeria's form that it expressed more of physical 
 strength than is compatible with perfect womanly 
 beauty, that the muscles were developed overmuch, 
 and the whole frame, despite its flowing outlines, 
 partook somewhat of a man's organization, and a 
 man's redundant strength. The same fault might 
 have been found in a less degree with her counte- 
 nance. There was a little too much resolution in the 
 small aquiline nose, something of manly audacity 
 and energy in the large well-formed mouth, with 
 its broad white teeth that the fullest and reddest 
 of lips could not conceal — a shade of masculine 
 sternness on the low wide brow, smooth and white, 
 but somewhat prominent, and scarcely softened by 
 the arch of the marked eyebrows, or the dark sweep 
 of the lashes that fringed the long laughing eyes. 
 
 And vet it was a face that a man, and still 
 more a boy, could hardly have looked on without 
 misgivings that he might too soon leai'n to long 
 for its glances, its smiles, its approval, and its love. 
 There was such a glow of health on the soft trans-
 
 APHRODIT^. 41 
 
 parent skin, such a freshness and vitality in the 
 colour of those blooming cheeks, such a sparkle in 
 the grey eyes, that flashed so meaningly wlien she 
 smiled, that gleamed so clear and bright and cold 
 when the features resumed their natural expres- 
 sion, grave, scornful, almost stern in their repose ; 
 and then such womanly softness in the masses of 
 rich nut-brown hair that showered down neck and 
 shoulders, to form a framework for this lovely, 
 dangerous, and too alluring picture. Even the 
 little negro, wearied as he was, peeped at intervals 
 from the back of the mirror he upheld, fawning 
 like a dog for some sign of approval from his 
 haughty, careless mistress. At length she bade 
 him keep still, Avith a half-scornful smile at his 
 antics ; and the shar23 white teeth gleamed from 
 ear to ear of the dusky little face, as it grinned with 
 pleasm-e, while the boy settled himself once more 
 in an attitude of patience and steady submission. 
 
 Nor was Valeria's apartment unworthy of the 
 noble beauty who devoted it to the mysterious rites 
 of dress and decoration. Everything that luxury 
 could imagine for bodily ease, everything that 
 science had as yet discovered for the preservation 
 or the production of feminine attractions, was 
 there to be found in its handsomest and costliest
 
 42 EEOS. 
 
 form. In one recess, shrouded by transparent 
 curtains of the softest pink, was the bath that 
 could be heated at will to any temperature, and 
 the marble steps of which that shapely form was 
 accustomed to descend twice and thrice a day. 
 In another stood the ivory couch with its quilted 
 crimson silks and ornamented pillars of solid gold, 
 in which Valeria slept, and dreamed such dreams 
 as hover round the rest of those M'hose life is 
 luxury, and whose business is a ceaseless career of 
 pleasure. On a table of cedar wood, fashioned 
 like a palm-leaf opening out from a pedestal that 
 terminated in a single claw of grotesque shape, 
 stood her silver night-lamp, exhaling odours of 
 perfumed oil, and near it lay the waxen tablets, 
 on which she made her memorandums, or 
 composed her love-letters, and from which, as 
 from an unfinished task, the sharp pointed steel 
 pencil had rolled away upon the shining floor. 
 Through the whole court, — for court it might be 
 called, with its many entrances and recesses, its 
 cool and shady nooks, its lofty cieling and its 
 tesselated pavement, — choice vases, jewelled cups, 
 burnished chalices, and exquisite little statues, 
 were scattered in systematic irregularity, and 
 graceful profusion. Even the very water in the
 
 APHRODITE. 43 
 
 bath flowed tlirougli tlie mouth of a marble Cupid ; 
 and two more winged urchins wrought in bronze, 
 supported a stand on which was set a formidable 
 array of perfumes, essences, cosmetics, and such 
 material for offensive and defensive warfare. 
 
 The walls, too, of this seductive arsenal, were 
 delicately tinted of a light rose-colour, that should 
 throw the most becoming shade over its inmates, 
 relieved at intervals by oval wreaths wrought out 
 in bas-relief, enclosing diverse mythological sub- 
 jects, in which the figure of Venus, goddess of love 
 and laughter, predominated. Bound the cornices 
 stretched a frieze representing, also in relief, the 
 fabulous contests of the Amazons with every de- 
 scription of monster, amongst which the most 
 conspicuous foe was the well-known gryphon, or 
 griffin, an abnormal quadruped, with the head and 
 neck of a bird of prey. 
 
 It was curious to trace in the female warriors thus 
 delineated, something of the imperious beauty, 
 the vigorous symmetry, and the dauntless bearing 
 that distinguished Valeria herself, though their 
 energetic and spirited attitudes afforded, at the 
 same time, a marked contrast to the pleasing lan- 
 guor that seemed to pervade every movement of 
 that luxurious lady reclining before her mirror,
 
 44 EROS. 
 
 and submitting indolently to tlie attentions of her 
 maid-servants. 
 
 These were five in number, and constituted the 
 principal slaves of her household ; and the most 
 important among them seemed to be a tall ma- 
 tronly woman, considerably older than her com- 
 rades, who filled the responsible ofiice of house- 
 keeper in the establishment, — a dignity which did 
 not, however, exempt her from insult, and even 
 blows, when she failed to satisfy the caprices of 
 a somewhat exacting mistress : the others, comely 
 laughing girls, with the sparkling eyes and wliite 
 teeth of their countrywomen, seemed principally 
 occupied with the various matters that constituted 
 their lady's toilet, — a daily penance, in which, not- 
 withstanding the rigour of its discipline, and the 
 severities that were sure to follow the most trifling 
 act of negligence, they took an inexplicable and 
 essentially feminine delight. 
 
 Of these it was obvious that Myrrhina was the 
 first in place as in favour. She it was wlio brought 
 her mistress the warm towels for her bath ; who 
 was ready with her slippers wlien she emerged ; 
 who handed every article of clothing as it was re- 
 quired ; whose taste was invariably consulted, and 
 whose decision was considered final, on such impor-
 
 APHEODITE. 45 
 
 tant points as tlie position of a jewel, the studied ne- 
 gligence of a curl, or the exact adjustment of a fold. 
 This girl possessed, with an Italian exterior, 
 the pliant cunning and plausible fluency of the 
 Greek. Born a slave on one of Valeria's estates 
 in the country, she had been reared a mere pea- 
 sant, on a simple country diet, and amidst health- 
 ful country occupations, till a freak of her mistress 
 brought her to Kome. With a woman's versatility 
 — with a woman's quickness in adapting herself to 
 a strange phase of life and a total change of cir- 
 cumstances — the countrv-srirl had not been a vear 
 in her new situation, ere she became the acutest and 
 cleverest waiting-maid in the capital, with what 
 benefit to her own morals and character, it is 
 needless to inquire. Who so quick as Myrrliina 
 to prepare the unguents, the perfumes, or the cos- 
 metics that repaired the injm-ies of climate, and 
 effaced the marks of dissij)ation ? Who so deli- 
 cate a sempstress ; who had such taste in colours ; 
 who could convey a note or a message with half 
 such precision, simplicity, and tact ? In short, 
 who was ever so ready in an emergency, with 
 brush, crisping-Lron, needle, hand, eye, or tongue ? 
 Intrigue was her native element. To lie on her 
 mistress's behalf, seemed as natural as on her own.
 
 46 EROS. 
 
 He who would advance in Valeria's good will, must 
 begin by bribing her maid ; and many a Roman 
 gallant had ere this discovered that even that royal 
 road to success was as tedious as it was costly, and 
 might lead eventually to discomfiture and disgrace. 
 
 As she took the pouncet-box from one of the 
 girls, and proceeded to sprinkle gold-dust in Va- 
 leria's hair, Myrrhina's eye was caught by the 
 gift of Placidus, lying neglected at her feet, the 
 casket open, the jewels scattered on the floor. 
 Such as it was, the waiting-maid owned a con- 
 science. It warned lier that she had not as yet 
 worked out the value of the costly chain thrown 
 round her neck by the Tribune. 
 
 Showering the gold-dust liberally about her 
 lady's head, Myrrhina felt her way cautiously to 
 the delicate therQe : 
 
 " There's a new fashion coming in for heado-ear 
 when the weather gets cooler," said she. " It's 
 truth, I tell you, madam, for I heard it direct 
 from Selina, who was told by the Empress's first 
 tirewoman, though even Caesar himself cannot 
 think Galeria looks well, with that yellow mop 
 stuck all over her head. But it's to be the 
 fashion, nevertheless, and right sorry I am to 
 hear it ; nor am I the only one for that matter."
 
 APHRODITE. 47 
 
 "Why so?" asked Valeria, languidly; "is it 
 more troublesome than the present ?" 
 
 Myrrhina had done with the gold-dust now, 
 and holding the comb in her mouth, was throw- 
 ing a rich brown curl across her wrist, while she 
 laid a plat carefully beneath it. Notwithstanding 
 the impediment between her lips, however, she 
 was able to reply with great volubility. 
 
 " The trouble counts for nothing, madam, when 
 a lady has got such hair as yours. It's a pleasure 
 to run your hands through it, let alone dressing 
 and crisping it, and plaiting it up into a crown 
 that's fit for a queen. That this new fashion -will 
 make us all alike, whether we're as bald as old 
 Lyce, or wear our curls down to our ankles, like 
 Neaera. Still, to hide such hair as yours ; — as 
 my lord said, only this morning " 
 
 "What lord? this morning!" interrupted 
 Valeria, a dawn of interest wakins: on her hand- 
 some features ; " not Licinius, my noble kinsman ? 
 His approval is indeed worth having." 
 
 "Better worth than his gifts," answered 
 Mp-rliina, pertly ; pointing to the filigree basket 
 which occupied a place of honour on the toilet- 
 table. " Such a birthday present I never saw ! 
 A few late roses and a bunch or two of figs to the
 
 48 EEOS. 
 
 richest lady in Eome. To be sure he sent a mes- 
 
 * 
 senger with them, who might have come direct 
 
 from Jove, and the properest man I ever set eyes 
 on." And Myrrhina moved to one side, that her 
 lady might not observe the blush that rose, even 
 to her shameless brow, as she recalled the impres- 
 sion made on her by the handsome slave. 
 
 Valeria liked to hear of proper men : she woke 
 up a little out of her languor, and flung the hair 
 back from her face. 
 
 " Go on," said she, as Myrrhina hesitated, half 
 eager and half loth to pursue the pleasing topic. 
 
 But the waiting-maid felt the chain round her 
 neck, and acknowledged in her heart the equiva- 
 lent it demanded. 
 
 " It was the Tribune, madam," said she, " who 
 spoke about your hair, Julius Placidus, who values 
 every curl you wear, more than a whole mine of 
 gold. Ah ! there's not a lord in Kome has such 
 a taste in dress. Only to see him this morning, 
 with his violet mantle and his jewels sparkling in 
 the sun, with the handsomest chariot and the four 
 whitest horses in the town. Well ! if I was a 
 lady, and wooed by such a man as that " 
 
 " 3Ian call you him ?" interrupted her mistress, 
 with a scornful smile. "Nay, when these curled,
 
 APHR0DIT16. ' 49 
 
 perfumed, close-shaven things are called men, 'tis 
 time for us women to bestir ourselves, lest 
 strength and courage die out in Eome altogether. 
 And you, too, Myrrhina, Avho know Licinius and 
 Hippias, and saw with your o^ti eyes two hundred 
 gladiators in the Circus, only yesterday, you 
 ought to be a better judge. Man, forsooth ! Why 
 you wiVi be calling smooth-faced Paris a man 
 next !" 
 
 Here maid and mistress burst out laughing:, for 
 thereby hung a tale of which Valeria was a little 
 proud. This Paris, a young Egyptian, of beau- 
 tiful but effeminate appearance, had lately come 
 to Italy to figure with no small success on the 
 Eoman stage. His delicate features, his symme- 
 trical shape, and the girlish graces of his panto- 
 mimic gestures, had made sad havoc in the hearts 
 of the Eoman ladies, at all times too susceptible 
 to histrionic charms. He lost nothing, either, of 
 public attention, by bearing the name of Nero's 
 ill-fated favourite, and embarked at once, unhesi- 
 tatingly, on the same brilliant and dangerous 
 career. But although it was the fashion to be in 
 love with Paris, Valeria alone never yielded to 
 the mode, but treated him with all the placid 
 indifference she felt for attractions that found no 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 EEOS. 
 
 favour in her sight. Stung by such neglect, the 
 petted actor paid devoted court to the woman who 
 despised him, and succeeded, after much impor- 
 tunity, in prevailing on her to accord him an 
 interview in her own house. Of this he had the 
 bad taste to make no small boast in anticipation ; 
 and Myrrhina, who found out most things, lost no 
 time in informing her mistress that her con- 
 descension was already as much misrepresented 
 as it was misj^laced. The two laid their plans 
 accordingly ; and when Paris, attired in the utmost 
 splendour, arrived panting to the promised inter- 
 view, he found himself seized by some half-dozen 
 hideous old negresses, who smothered him with 
 caresses, stripped him from head to foot, forced 
 him into the bath, and persisted in treating him 
 as if he were a delicate young lady, but with a 
 quiet violence the while, that it was useless to 
 resist. The same swarthy tirewomen then dressed 
 him in female garments ; and despite of threats, 
 struggles, outcries, and entreaties, placed him in 
 Valeria's litter, and so carried him home to his 
 own door. 
 
 The ready wit of the play-actor put upon his 
 metamorphosis the construction least favourable 
 to the character of its originator ; but he vowed
 
 APHEODIT^. 51 
 
 a summary vengeance, we may be sure, never- 
 theless. 
 
 "I think Paris knows what you think of him 
 only too well," resumed Myrrhina ; " not but that 
 he has a fair face of his own, and a lovely shape 
 for dancing, though to be sure Placidus is a finer 
 figure of a man. Oh ! if you could have seen him 
 this morning, madam, when he laid back so 
 graceful in his chariot, and chid tliat pert lad of 
 his for striking with his whip at the tall slave, who 
 to be sure vanished like a flash of lightning, you 
 Avould have said there wasn't such another 
 patrician in the whole city of Rome !" 
 
 "Enough of Placidus!" interrupted her mis- 
 tress, impatiently, " the subject wearies me. What 
 of this tall slave, Mp-rliina, who seems to have 
 attracted your attention ? Did he look like one 
 of the barbarians my kinsman Licinius cries up so 
 mightily ? Is he handsome enough to step with 
 my Liburnians, think you, under the day-litter ?" 
 
 The waiting-maid's eyes sparkled as she thought 
 how pleasant it would be to have him in the same 
 household as herself; and any little restraint she 
 might have experienced in rmming over the per- 
 sonal advantages that had captivated her fancy 
 disappeared before this agi'eeable prospect.
 
 52 EROS. 
 
 " Handsome enough, madam !" she exclaimed, 
 removing the comb from her mouth, droppiag 
 her lady's hair, and flourishing her hands with 
 true Italian emphasis and rapidity, — " Handsome 
 enough ! why he would make the Liburnians look 
 like bald-headed vulture^, beside a golden eagle ! 
 Barbarian, like enough he may be, Cimbrian, 
 Frisian, Ansi-barian, or what not, for I caught 
 the foreign accent tripping on his tongue, and we 
 have few men in Rome of stature equal to his. A 
 neck like a tower of marble ; arms and shoulders 
 like the statue of Hercules, yonder in the vesti- 
 bule; a face, ay, twice as beautiful as Pericles, 
 on your medallion, with the golden curls clustering 
 round a forehead as wliite as milk ; and eyes — " 
 
 Here Myrrhina stopped, a little at a loss for a 
 simile, and a good deal out of breath besides. 
 
 " Go on," said Valeria, who had been listening 
 in an attitude of languid attention, her eyes half- 
 closed, her lips parted, and the colour deepening 
 on her cheek. " What were his eyes like, 
 Myrrhina ?" 
 
 "Well, they were like the blue sky of Cam- 
 pania in the vintage ; they were like the stones 
 round the boss of your state-mantle; they were 
 like the sea at noonday from the long walls of
 
 APHEODITlfi. 53 
 
 Ostia. And yet they flaslied into sparks of fire 
 when he looked at poor little Automedon. I 
 wonder the boy wasn't frightened ! I am sure I 
 should have been, only notliino; fricrhtens those 
 impudent young charioteers." 
 
 " Was he my kinsman's slave ; are you sure, 
 Myrrhina?" said her mistress, in an accent of 
 studied unconcern, and never moving: a finger 
 from her listless and comfortable attitude. 
 
 " No doubt of it, madam," repKed the waiting- 
 maid; and Avould probably have continued to 
 enlarge on the congenial subject, had she not 
 been interrupted by the entrance of one of the 
 damsels who had been summoned from the apart- 
 ment, and returned to announce that Hippias, the 
 retired gladiator, was in waiting — " Would Valeria 
 take her fencing-lesson ?" 
 
 But Valeria decHned at once, and sat on before 
 her mirror, without even raising her eyes to the 
 tempting picture it displayed. Whatever was 
 the subject of her thoughts it must have been 
 very engrossing, she seemed so loth to be dis- 
 turbed.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ROME. 
 
 EAN^YHILE the British slave, uncon- 
 scious that he was already the object 
 of Valeria's interest and Myrrhina's 
 admiration, was threading his way 
 through the crowded streets that adjoined the 
 Forum, enjoying that vague sense of amusement 
 with which a man surveys a scene of bustle and 
 confusion that does not affect his immediate con- 
 cerns. 
 
 Thanks to the favoui- of his master, his time 
 
 was nearly at his own disposal, and he had ample 
 leism'e to observe the busiest scene in the known 
 world, and to compare, it perhaps, with the peace 
 and simplicity of those early days, which seemed 
 now like the memories of a dream, so completely 
 had they passed away.
 
 '•' ROME." 55 
 
 The business of the Fornm was over: the 
 markets were diso-oro-ino; their miiio:le(i stream of 
 purveyors, purchasers, and idle lookers-on. The 
 whole population of Eome was hurrying home to 
 dinner, and a motley crowd it was. The citizens 
 themselves, the Plebeians, properly so called, 
 scarcely formed one half of the swarming assem- 
 blage. Slaves innumerable hm-ried to and fro, to 
 speed the business or the pleasure of their lords ; 
 slaves of every coloiu" and of every nation, from 
 the Scandinavian giant, with blue eyes and waving 
 yellow locks, to the sturdy Ethiopian, thick- 
 lipped, and woolly-haired, the swarthy child of 
 Africa, whose inheritance has been servitude from 
 the earliest ages until now. Many a Eoman born 
 was there, too, amongst the servile crowd, aping 
 the appearance and manner of a citizen, but who 
 shrank from a master's frown at home, and who, 
 despite the acquirement of wealth, and even the 
 attainment of power, must die a bondsman as he 
 had lived. 
 
 Not the least characteristic feature of the state 
 of society under the Empire was the troop of fi*eed- 
 men that everywhere accompanied the person, 
 and swelled the retinue of each powerful patrician. 
 These manumitted slaves were usually bound by
 
 56 EEOS. 
 
 tlie ties of interest as much as gratitude to the 
 former master, who had now become their patron. 
 Dependent on him in many cases for their daily- 
 food, doled out to them in rations at his door; 
 they were necessarily little emancipated from his 
 authority by their lately acquired freedom. While 
 the relation of patron and client was productive of 
 crying evils in the imperial city, while the former 
 threw the shield of his powerful protection over 
 the crimes of the latter, and the client in return 
 became the willing pander to his patron's vices, it 
 was the freedman who, more than all others, 
 rendered himself the willing tool to his patrician 
 employer, who yielded unhesitatingly, time, 
 affections, probity, and honour itself, to the caprices 
 of his lord. They swarmed about the Forum 
 now, running hither and thither with the obse- 
 quious haste of the parasite, bent on errands 
 which in too many cases, would scarce have borne 
 the light of day. 
 
 Besides these, a vast number of foreigners, 
 wearing the costumes of their different countries, 
 hindered the course of trafiBc as they stood gaping, 
 stupefied by the confusing scene on which they 
 gazed. The Gaul, with his short, close-fitting 
 garment ; the Parthian, with his conical sheepskin
 
 " ROME. 57 
 
 cap ; the Mede, with his loose silken trousers ; 
 the Jew, barefoot and robed in black ; the stately- 
 Spaniard, the fawning Egyptian, and amongst them 
 all, winding his way wherever the crowd was closest, 
 with perfect ease and self-possession, the smooth 
 and supple Greek. When some great man passed 
 through the midst, borne aloft in his litter, or 
 leaning on the shoulder of a favourite slave, and 
 freedmen and clients made a passage for him 
 .with threat, and push, and blow, the latter would 
 invariably miss the Greek, to light on the pate of 
 a humble mechanic, or the shoulders of a sturdy 
 barbarian, wliile the descendant of Leonidas or 
 Alcibiades would reply in whining sing-song 
 tones to the verbal abuse, with some biting retort, 
 which was sure to turn the laughter of the crowd 
 on the aggressor. 
 
 If Eome had once overrun and conquered the 
 dominions of her elder sister in civilization, the 
 invasion seemed now to be all the other way. 
 With the turn of the tide had come such an over- 
 flow of Greek manners, Greek customs, Greek 
 morals, and Greek artifice, that the Imperial City 
 was already losing its natural characteristics ; and 
 the very language was so interlarded with the 
 vocabulary of the conquered, that it was fast
 
 58 EEOS. 
 
 becoming less Latin than Greek. The Roman 
 ladies, especially, delighted in those euphonious 
 syllables, which clothed Athenian eloquence in 
 such melodious rhythm ; and their choicest terms 
 of endearment in the language of love, were in- 
 variably whispered in Greek. 
 
 That supple nation, too, adapting itself to the 
 degradation of 'slavery and the indulgence of 
 ease, as it had risen in nobler times to the exi- 
 gencies of liberty and the efforts demanded by 
 war, had usurped the greater portion of art, 
 science, and even power, in Rome. The most 
 talented painters and sculptors were Greeks. 
 The most enterprising contractors and engineers 
 were Greeks. Rhetoric and elocution could only 
 be learned in a Greek school, and mathematics 
 unless studied with Greek letters must be esteemed 
 confused and useless; the fashionable invalid 
 who objected to consult a Greek physician de- 
 served to die, and there was but one astrologer in 
 Rome who could cast a patrician-horoscope. Of 
 course he was a Greek. In the lower walks of 
 criminal industry, in the many iniquitous profes- 
 sions called into existence by the luxury of a 
 great city, the Greeks drove a thriving, and al- 
 most an exclusive trade. Whoever was in most
 
 « ROME." 59 
 
 repute, as an eA^il counsellor, a low buffoon, a 
 money-lender, pimp, pander, or parasite, whatever 
 might be his other qualifications, was sure to be a 
 Greek. 
 
 And many a scrutinizing glance was cast by 
 professors of this successful nation at the Briton's 
 manly form, as he strode through the crowd 
 making his way quietly but surely from sheer 
 weight and strength. They followed him Avith 
 covetous eyes, as they speculated on the various 
 pm-poses to which so much good manhood might 
 be applied. They appraised him, so to speak, 
 and took an inventory of his thews and sinews, his 
 limbs, his stature, and his good looks ; but they 
 refrained from accosting him with importunate 
 questions or insolent proposals, for there was a 
 bold confident air about him, that bespoke the 
 stout heart ^and the ready hand. The stamp of 
 freedom had not vet faded from his brow, and 
 
 If 
 
 he looked like one who was accustomed to take 
 his own part in a crowd. 
 
 Suddenly a stoppage in the traffic arrested the 
 moving stream, which swelled in continually to a 
 struggling, eager, vociferating mass. A dray 
 containing huge blocks of marble, and drawn by 
 several files of oxen, had become entangled with
 
 60 EEOS. 
 
 the chariot of a passing patrician, and another 
 great man's litter being checked by the obstruc- 
 tion, much confusion and bad language was the 
 result. Amused with the turmoil, and in no 
 hurry to^ get home, the British slave, stood look- 
 ing over the heads of the populace at the irritated 
 and gesticulating antagonists, when a smart blow 
 on the shoulder, caused him to wheel suddenly 
 round, prepared to return the injury with interest, 
 At the same instant a powerful hand dragged him 
 back by the tunic, and a grasp was laid on him, 
 from which he could not shake himself free, while 
 a rough good-humoured voice whispered in his ear, 
 
 " Softly, lad, softly ! Keep hands off Caesar's 
 lictors an' thou be'st not mad in good earnest. 
 These gentry give more than they take, I can 
 promise thee !" 
 
 Tbe speaker was a broad powerful man of mid- 
 dle size, with the chest of a Hercules ; he held the 
 Briton firmly pinioned in his arms while he spoke, 
 and it was well that he did so, for the lictors 
 were indeed forcing a passage for the Emperor 
 himself, who was proceeding on foot, and as far as 
 was practicable incog, to inspect the fish-market. 
 
 Vitellius shuffled along with the lagging step 
 of an infirm and bloated old man. His face was
 
 " ROME." 61 
 
 pale and flabby, liis eye dim, though sparkling at 
 intervals with some little remnant of the ready 
 wit and pliant humour that had made him the 
 favourite of three emperors ere he himself at- 
 tained the Purple. Supported by two freedmen, 
 preceded and followed only by a file of lictors, 
 and attended by three or four slaves, Caesar was 
 taking his short walk in hopes of acquiring some 
 little appetite for dinner : what locality so favoura- 
 ble for the furtherance of this object as the fish- 
 market, where the imperial glutton could feast 
 his eyes, if nothing else, on the choicest dainties 
 of the deep ? He was so seldom seen abroad in 
 Rome, that the Briton could not forbear followinfr 
 him with his glance, while his new friend, relaxing 
 his hold with great caution, whispered once more 
 in his ear : 
 
 "Ay, look well at him, man, and give Jove 
 thanks thou art not an emperor. There's a 
 shape for the Purple ! There's a head to carry 
 a diadem ! Well, well, for all he's so white and 
 flabby now, like a Lucrine tm-bot, he could diive 
 a chariot once, and hold his owti at sword and 
 buckler with the best of them. They say he can 
 drink as well as ever still. Not that he was a 
 match for Nero in his best davs, even at that
 
 62 EEOS. 
 
 game. Ay, ay, tliey may talk as they will, 
 we've never had an emj)eror like Idm before nor 
 since. Wine, women, shows, sacrifices, wild beast 
 fights ; — a legion of men all engaged in the circus 
 at once ! Such a friend as he was to our trade." 
 
 " And that trade ?" inquired the Briton good- 
 humouredly enough, now his hands were free : 
 " I think I can guess it without asking too many 
 questions." 
 
 " No need to guess," replied the other. " I'm 
 not ashamed of my trade, nor of my name neither. 
 May-be you have heard of Hirpinus, the Gladia- 
 tor? Tuscan born, free Eoman citizen, and 
 willing to match himself with any man of his 
 weight, on foot or on horseback, blindfold or 
 half-armed, in or out of a war-chariot, with two 
 swords, sword and buckler, or sword or spear. 
 Any weapon, and every weapon, always excepting 
 the net, and the noose. Those I can't bear talking 
 about — to my mind they are not fair fighting. 
 But what need I tell you all about it ?" he added, 
 running his eye over the slave's powerful frame. 
 " I must surely have seen you before. You look 
 as if you belonged to tlie family* yourself!" 
 
 * A techuical term for a school of gladiators trained by the 
 same master.
 
 <( nmTxn " 
 
 EOME." 63 
 
 The slave smiled, not insensible to the com- 
 pliment. 
 
 " 'Tis a manlier way of getting bread than 
 most of the employments I see practised in 
 Rome," was his reply, though he spoke more to 
 himself, than his companion. " A man might die 
 a worse death than in the amphitheatre," he 
 added, meditatively. 
 
 " A worse death !" echoed Hirpinns. " He 
 could scarce die a better ! Think of the rows 
 of heads one upon another piled up like apples, 
 to the very awnings. Think of the patricians and 
 senators wagering their collars and bracelets, and 
 their sesterces in millions, on the strength of your 
 arm, and the point of your blade. Think of your 
 own vigour and manhood, trained till you feel as 
 strong as an elephant, and as lithe as a panther, 
 with an honest wooden buckler on your arm, and 
 two feet of pliant steel in yom- hand, as you 
 defile by Caesar, and bid him, ' Good-morrow, 
 from those who have come here to die f Think 
 of the tough bout with your antagonist, foot to 
 foot, hand to hand, eye to eye, feeling liis blade 
 with your own (why a swordsman, lad, can fence 
 as well in the dark as the dayhght !), foiling his 
 passes, drawing his attack, learning his feints,
 
 64 EROS. 
 
 watcliing your opportunity : when you catcli it at 
 last, in you dasli like a wild-cat, and the guard 
 of your sword rings sharp and true, against his 
 breast-bone, as he goes over backwards on the 
 sand !" 
 
 " And if he gets the opportunity first ?" asked 
 the slave, interested in spite of himself at the 
 enthusiasm which carried him irresistibly along 
 with it. " K your guard is an inch too high, your 
 return a thought too slow ? If you go backwards 
 on the sand, with the hilt at your breast-bone, 
 and the two feet of steel in your bosom ? How 
 does it feel then ?" 
 
 " Faith, lad, you must cross the Styx, to have 
 that question fairly answered," replied the other. 
 " I have had no such experience yet. When it 
 comes I shall know how to meet it. But this 
 talking makes a man thirsty, and the sun is hot 
 enough to bake a negro here. Come with me, 
 lad ! I know a shady nook, where we can pierce 
 a skin of wine, and after^^■ards play a game at 
 quoits, or have a bout of wrestling, to wile away 
 the afternoon." 
 
 The slave was nothing loth. Besides the debt 
 of gratitude he owed for preservation from a 
 serious danger, there was something in liis new
 
 " ROME." 65 
 
 friend's rough, good-humoured, and athletic man- 
 hood tiiat won on the Briton's favour. Hirpinus, 
 with even more than their fierce courage/ had less 
 than the usual brutality of his class, and possessed 
 besides a sort of quaint and careless good-liumom-, 
 by no means rare amongst the athletes of every 
 time, wliich found its w^ay at once to the natural 
 sympathies of the slave. They started off accord- 
 ingly, on the most amicable terms, in search of 
 that refreshment wliich a few hours' exposure to 
 an Italian sun rendered very desirable ; but the 
 crow d had not yet cleared off, and their progress 
 was necessarily somewhat slow, notwithstanding 
 that the throng of passengers gave way readih' 
 enough before two such stalwart and athletic 
 forms. 
 
 Hirpinus thought it incumbent on him to take 
 the Briton, as it were, under his protection, and 
 to point out to him the different objects of interest, 
 and the important personages, to be seen at that 
 hour in the streets of the capital, totally iiTCspec- 
 tive of the fact, that his pupil was as well instructed 
 on these points as himself. But tlie glach'ator dearly 
 loved a listener, and, truth to tell, was extremely 
 diffuse in his narratives when he had got one to 
 his mind. These generally turned on his own 
 
 VOL. I, F
 
 66 EKOS. 
 
 physical prowess, and his deadly exploits in the am- 
 phitheatre, which he was by no means disposed to 
 underrate. There are some really brave men who 
 are also boasters, and Hirpinus was one of them. 
 
 He was in the midst of a long dissertation on 
 the beauties of an encounter fought out between 
 naked combatants, armed only with the sword, 
 and was explaining at gTeat length a certain fatal 
 thrust outside his antagonist's guard, and over his 
 elbow, which he affirmed to be his own invention, 
 and irresistible by any parry yet discovered, when 
 the slave felt his gown plucked by a female hand, 
 and turning sharply round was somewhat dis- 
 concerted to find himself face to face with Valeria's 
 waiting-maid. 
 
 " You are wanted," said she unceremoniously, 
 and with an imperious gesture. "You are to 
 come to my lady this instant. Make haste, man ; 
 she cannot brook waiting." 
 
 Myrrhina pointed while she spoke, to where a 
 closed litter borne aloft by four tall Liburnian 
 slaves, had stopped the traffic, and already become 
 the nucleus of a crowd. A white hand peeped 
 through its curtains, as the slave approached, 
 sm-prised and somewhat abashed at this unexpected 
 appeal.
 
 i( 
 
 EOME." 67 
 
 Hii'pinus looked on with grave approval the 
 while. Arriving close beneath the litter, of which 
 the curtain was now open, the slave paused and 
 made a graceful obeisance ; then drawing him- 
 self up proudly, stood erect before it, looking 
 unconsciously his best, in the pride of his youth 
 and beauty. Valeria's cheek was paler than usual, 
 and her attitude more languid, but her grey eyes 
 sparkled, and a smile played round her mouth as 
 she addressed him. 
 
 " Mp-rhina tells me that you are the man who 
 brought a basket of flowers to my house this 
 morning from Licinius. Why did you not wait to 
 carry back my salutations to my kinsman ?" 
 
 The colour mounted to the slave's brow as he 
 thought of Automedon's msolence, but he only 
 replied humbly, " Had I known it was your wish, 
 lady, I had been standing in your porch till 
 now." 
 
 She marked his rising colour, and attributed it 
 to the effect of her own dazzling beauty. 
 
 " Myrrhina knew you at once in the crowd," 
 said she, graciously ; " and indeed yours is a face 
 and figm'e not easily mistaken in Eome. 1 
 should recognize you myself anywhere now." 
 
 She paused expecting a suitable reply, but the
 
 68 EEOS. 
 
 slave, albeit not insensible to the compliment, 
 only blushed again and was silent. 
 
 Valeria, meanwhile, whose motives in summon- 
 ing him to her litter had been in the first instance 
 of simple curiosity to see the stalwart barbarian 
 who had so excited Myrrhina's admiration, and 
 whom that sharp-sighted damsel had recognized 
 in an instant amongst the populace, now found 
 herself pleased and interested by the quiet de- 
 mean oin- and noble bearing of this foreign slave. 
 She had always been susceptible to manly beauty, 
 and here she beheld it, in its noblest type. She 
 was raj)acious of admiration in all quarters ; and 
 here she could not but flatter herself she gathered 
 an undoubted tribute to the power of her charms. 
 She owned all a woman's interest in anything that 
 had a spice of mystery or romance, and a woman's 
 nnfailing instinct in discovering high birth and 
 gentle breeding under every disguise ; and here 
 she found a delightful puzzle in the manner and 
 appearance of her kinsman's messenger, whose 
 position seemed so at variance with his looks. She 
 had never in her life laid the slightest restraint on 
 her thoughts, and but little on her actions — she 
 had never left a purpose unfulfilled, nor a wish un- 
 gratiHcid — but a strange and new feeling, at which
 
 (( 
 
 EOME." 69 
 
 even her courageous nature quailed, seemed 
 springing up in her heart while she gazed with 
 half-closed eyes at the Briton, and hesitated to 
 confess, even to herself, that she had never seen 
 such a man as this in her life before. 
 
 It was in a softened tone that she again ad- 
 dressed him, moving on her couch to show an ivory 
 shoulder and a rounded arm to the best advantajre. 
 
 "You are a confidential servant of my kins- 
 man's? You are attached to his person, and 
 always to be foimd in his household ?" she asked, 
 more with a view of detaining him than for auv 
 fixed purpose, 
 
 " I would give my life for Licinius !" was the 
 prompt and spirited reply. 
 
 "But you are gentle born," she resumed, with 
 increasing interest ; " how came you in your 
 present dress, your present station ? Licinius has 
 never mentioned you to me. I do not even know 
 your name. AMiat is it ?" 
 
 " Esca," answered the slave proudly, and looking 
 the while anything but a slave. 
 
 " Esca," she repeated, dwelHng on the syllables, 
 with a slow soft cadence, " Esca, 'tis none of our 
 Latin names ; but that I might have known al- 
 ready. — AYho, and what are you ?"
 
 70 EEOS. 
 
 There was something of defiance in the melan- 
 clioly tone with whicli he answered : 
 
 " A prince in my own country, and a chief of 
 ten thousand. A barbarian, and a slave in 
 Kome." 
 
 She gave him her hand to kiss, with a gesture 
 of pity that was ahnost a caress, and then, as 
 though ashamed of her own condescension, bade 
 the Libiu-nians angrily to " go on." 
 
 Esca looked long and wistfully after the litter 
 as it disappeared ; but Hirpinus clapping him on 
 the back with his heavy hand burst into a hearty 
 laugh while he declared : 
 
 " 'Tis a clear case, comrade. ' Came, saw, and 
 conquered,' as the great soldier said. I have 
 known it a hundred times, but always to men of 
 muscle like thee and me. By Castor and Pollux ! 
 lad, thou art in luck. Ay, ay, 'tis always so. 
 She takes thee for a gladiator, and they'll look at 
 nothing but a gladiator now. Come on, brother ; 
 we'll drink a cup to every letter of her name !"
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE WORSHIP OF ISIS, 
 
 ^T was the cool and calming hour of siin- 
 "'^j set. Esca was strolling quietly home- 
 wards after the pursuits of the day. He 
 had emptied a wine-skin with Hir- 
 pinus ; and, resisting that worthy's entreaties to 
 mark so auspicious a meeting by a debauch, had 
 accompanied him to the gymnasium, where the 
 Briton's magnificent strength and prowess raised 
 him higher than ever in tlie opinion of the 
 experienced athlete. Untiring as were the 
 trained muscles of the professional, he found him- 
 self unable to cope with the barbarian in such 
 exercises as demanded chiefly untaught physical 
 power and length of limb. In running, leaj)ing, 
 and wrestling Esca was more than a match for the 
 gladiator. In hurling the quoit, and fencing with
 
 72 EEOS. 
 
 wooden foils, tlie latter's constant practice gave 
 liim tlie advantage, and when lie fastened round 
 ]iis wrists and hands the leathern thong or 
 cestus, used for the same purpose as our modern 
 boxing-glove, and proposed a round or two of that 
 manly exercise to conclude Avith, he little doubted 
 that his own science, and experience, would afford 
 him an easy victory. The result, however, was 
 far different from his expectations. His an- 
 tagonist's powers were especially adajjted to this 
 particular kind of contest, his length of limb, his 
 quickness of eye, hand, and foot, his youthful 
 elasticity of muscle, and his unfailing wind, 
 rendered him an invincible combatant, and it was 
 with something like pique that Hirpinus was com- 
 pelled to confess as much to himself. 
 
 At the end of the first round he was satisfied 
 of his mistake in underrating so formidable an op- 
 ponent. Ere the second was half through, he had 
 exhausted all the resources of his own skill with- 
 out gaining the slightest advantage over his 
 antagonist ; and with the conclusion of a third, he 
 flung away tlie cestus in well-feigned disgust at 
 the heat of the weatlier, and proposed one more 
 skin of wine before parting, to drink success 
 to the profession, and speedy employment for the
 
 THE WOESHIP OF ISIS. 73 
 
 gladiators at the approaching games in the amphi- 
 theatre. 
 
 " Join us, man !" said Hirpinus, dropping some- 
 thing of the patronizing air he had before 
 affected. " Thou wert born to be a swordsman. 
 Hippias woukl teach thee in a Meek to hold thine 
 own against the best fencers in Eome. I myself 
 will look to thy food, thy training, and thy private 
 practice. Thou wouldst gain thy liberty easily, 
 after a few victories. Tliink it over, man!, and 
 when thou hast decided, come totlie fencing-school 
 yonder, and ask for old Hirpinus. The steel may 
 have a speck of rust on it, but it's tough and true 
 stiU ; so fare thee well, lad. I count to hear from 
 thee ao;ain before long !" 
 
 The gladiator accordingly rolled off with more 
 than his usual assumption of manly independence, 
 attributable to the measure of rouirh Sabine wine 
 of which he had drank his full share, whilst the 
 Briton walked quietly away in the direction of his 
 home, enjoying the cool breeze that fanned his 
 brow, and following out a train of vague and com- 
 plicated reflections, originating in the advice of 
 his late companion. 
 
 The crimson glow of a summer evening had 
 faded into the serene beauty of a summer night.
 
 <4 EROS. 
 
 Stars were flashing out, one by one, with mellow 
 lustre, not glimmering faintly, as in our northern 
 climate, but hanging like silver lamps, in the 
 infinity of the sky. Tlie busy turmoil of the 
 streets had subsided to a low and drowsy hum; 
 the few chance passengers who still paced them 
 went softly and at leisure, as though enjoying the 
 soothing influence of the hour. Even here, in the 
 great city, everji^hing seemed to breathe of peace, 
 and contentment, and repose. Esca walked slowly 
 on, lost in meditation. 
 
 Suddenly the clash of cymbals and the sound of 
 voices struck upon his ear. A wild and fitful 
 melody, rising and falling with strange thrilling 
 cadence, was borne upon the breeze. Even while 
 he stopped to listen, it swelled into a full har- 
 monious chorus, and he recognized the chant 
 of the worshippers of Isis, returning from the 
 unholy celebration of her rites. Soon the glare 
 of torches heralded its approach, and the tumul- 
 tuous procession wound round the corner of the 
 street with all the strange grotesque ceremo- 
 nies of their order. Clashing their cymbals, 
 dashing their torches together till the sparks flew 
 up in showers, tossing their bare arms aloft with 
 frantic gestures, the smooth-faced priests, having
 
 THE WORSHIP OF ISIS. O 
 
 girt their linen garments tightly round their loins, 
 were dancing to and fro before the image of the 
 goddess with bacchanahan energy. Some were 
 bare-headed, some crowned with garlands of the 
 lotus-leaf, and some wore masks representing the 
 heads of dogs and other animals ; but all, though 
 leaping wildly here and there, danced in the same 
 step, all used the same mysterious gestures of 
 which the meaning was only known to the initiated. 
 The figure of the goddess herself was borne 
 aloft on the shoulders of two sturdy priests, fat, 
 oily, smooth, and sensual, with the odious look of 
 their kind. It represented a stately woman 
 crowned with the lotus, holding a four-barred 
 lyre in her hand. Gold and silver tinsel was 
 freely scattered over her flowing garments, and 
 jewels of considerable value, the gifts of unusually 
 fervent devotees, might be observed upon her 
 bosom and around her neck and arms. Behind 
 her were carried the different symbols by which 
 her qualities were supposed to be typified : 
 amongst these an image of the sacred cow, 
 wrought in frosted silver Avith horns and hoofs of 
 gold, showed the most conspicuous, borne aloft 
 as it was bv an acolvte in the ^^-ildest stage of 
 inebriety, and wavering, with the uncertain
 
 76 EEOS. 
 
 movements of its bearer, over the heads of the 
 throng. 
 
 In the van moved the priests, bloated eunuchs 
 clad in white; behind these came the sacred 
 images carried by younger votaries, who aspiring 
 to the sacerdotal office and already prepared for 
 its functions, devoted themselves assiduously in 
 the mean time to the oro-ies with which it was 
 their custom to celebrate the worship of 'their 
 deity. Maddened with wine, bare-limbed and 
 with dishevelled locks, they danced frantically to 
 and fro, darting at intervals from their ranks, and 
 compelling the passengers whom they met to turn 
 behind them, and help to swell the rear of the 
 procession. This was formed of a motley crew. 
 Rich and poor, old and young, the proud pa- 
 trician and the squalid slave, were mingled to- 
 gether in turbulent confusion ; and it was difficult 
 to distinguish those who formed a part of the 
 original pageant from the idlers who had at- 
 tached themselves to it, and having caught the 
 contagious excitement, vociferated as loudly, and 
 leaped about as wildly, as the initiated themselves. 
 
 Amongst these might be seen some of the 
 fairest and proudest faces in Rome. Noble 
 matrons reared in luxury, under the very
 
 THE WORSHIP OF ISIS. 77 
 
 busts of those illustrious ancestors who had been 
 counsellors of kings, defenders of the com- 
 monwealth, senators of the empire, thought it 
 no shame to be seen reeling about the public 
 streets, unveiled and flushed with wine in the 
 company of the most notorious and profligate of 
 their sex. A multitude of torches shed their 
 glare on the upturned faces of the throng, and 
 on one that looked, with its scornful lips and 
 defiant brow, to have no business there. Amongst 
 the wildest of these revellers, Valeria's haughty 
 head moved on, towering above the companions, 
 with whom she seemed to have nothing in 
 common, save a fierce determination to set 
 modesty and propriety at defiance. 
 
 Esca caught her glance as she swept by. She 
 blushed crimson he observed even in the torch- 
 light, and seemed for an instant to shrink behind 
 the portly form of a priest who marched at her 
 side ; but immediately recovering herself, moved 
 on with a gradually paling cheek, and a haughtier 
 step than before. 
 
 He had little leisure, however, to observe the 
 scornful beauty, whose charms, to tell the truth, 
 had made no slight impression on his imagination, 
 for a disturbance at its head, which had now
 
 78 EROS. 
 
 passed him some distance, had stopped the pro- 
 gress of the whole procession, and no small con- 
 fusion was the result. 
 
 The torch-bearers were hurrying to the front. 
 The silver cow had fallen and been replaced in an 
 upright position more than once. The goddess 
 herself had nearly shared the same fate. The 
 sacred chant had ceased, and instead a hundred 
 tongues were vociferating at once, some in anger, 
 some in expostulation, some in maudlin ribaldry 
 and mirth. " Let her go !" cried one. " Hold 
 her fast !" shouted another. " Brino; her alonsr 
 with you," reasoned a drunken acolyte. " If she 
 be worthy she will conform to the worship of the 
 goddess. If she be unworthy she shall experience 
 the divine wrath of Isis !" " Mind what you are 
 about," interposed a more cautious votary, " She 
 is a Koman maiden," said one. "She's a bar- 
 barian !" shrieked anotlier. " A Mede !" " A 
 Spaniard!" "A Persian!" "A Jewess! A 
 Jewess !" 
 
 In the meantime, the unfortunate cause of all 
 this turmoil, a young girl closely veiled and 
 dressed in black, was struggling in the arms of a 
 large unwieldy eunuch, who had seized her, as a 
 hawk pounces on a pigeon, and despite her ago-
 
 THE WOESHIP OF ISIS. 79 
 
 nized entreaties, for the poor thing was in mortal 
 fear, held her ruthlessly in his grasp. She had 
 been surrounded by the lawless band, ere she was 
 aware, as she glided quietly round the street 
 corner, on her homeward way, had shrunk up 
 against the wall in the desperate hope she might 
 remain unobserved or unmolested, and found her- 
 self, as was to be expected, an immediate object of 
 insult to the dissolute and licentious crew. 
 Though her di-ess was torn and her arms bruised 
 in the unmanly violence to which she was sub- 
 jected, with true feminine modesty she kept her 
 veil closely drawn round her face, and resisted 
 every eifort for its removal, with a firm strength, 
 of wliich those slender \msts seemed hardly 
 capable. 
 
 As the eunuch grasped her with drunken 
 violence, bending his huge body and bloated face 
 over the shrinking figm-e of the girl, she could 
 not suppress one piercing shriek for helj), though 
 even while it left her lips, she felt how futile it 
 must be, and how utterly hopeless was her situa- 
 tion. It was echoed by a hundred voices in tones 
 of mockery and derision. 
 
 Little did Spado, for such was the eunuch's name, 
 little did Spado think how near was the aid for
 
 so EEOS. 
 
 which liis victim called, — how sudden would be the 
 reprisals that should astonish himself with their 
 prompt and complete redress, reminding him of 
 what he had long forgotten, the strength of a 
 mart's blow, and the weight of a mans arm. At 
 the first sound of the girl's voice, Esca had forced 
 his way through the crowd to her assistance. In 
 three strides he had come up with her assailant, 
 and laid his heavy grasp on Spado's lat shoulder, 
 while he bade him in low determined accents to 
 release his prey. The eunuch smiled insolently, 
 and replied with a brutal jest. Valeria, interested 
 in spite of herself, could not resist an impulse to 
 press forward and see what was going on. Long 
 afterwards she delighted to recall the scene she 
 now beheld with far more of exultation and ex- 
 citement than alarm. It had indeed especial 
 attraction for an imagination like hers. 
 
 Standing out in the red glare of the torches, 
 like the bronze statue of some demigod starting 
 into life, towered the tall figure of Esca, defiance 
 in his attitude, anger on his brow, and resistless 
 strength in the quivering outline of each sculp- 
 tured limb. Within arm's length of him, the 
 obese, ungraceful shape of Spado, witli his broad 
 fat face, expressive chiefly of gluttony and sensual
 
 THE AYOESHIP OF ISIS. 81 
 
 enjoyment, but wearing now an ugly look of 
 maKce and apprehension. Starting back from his 
 odious embrace to the utmost length of her out- 
 stretched arms, the veiled form of the frightened 
 girl, her head turned from the eunuch, her hands 
 pressed against liis chest, every line of her figure 
 denoting the extreme of horror, and aversion, and 
 disgust. Eound the three, a shifting mass of 
 grinning faces, and tossing arms, and wild bac- 
 chanalian gestures ; the whole rendered more 
 grotesque and unnatural by the lurid, flickering- 
 light. With an unaccountable fascination Valeria 
 watched for the result. 
 
 " Let her go !" repeated Esca, in the distinct ac- 
 cents with which a man speaks who is about to 
 strike, tightening at the same time a gripe which 
 went into the eunuch's soft flesh like iron. 
 
 Spado howled in mingled rage and fear, but 
 released the girl nevertheless, who cowered in- 
 stinctively close to her protector. 
 
 " Help !" shouted the eunuch, looking round 
 for assistance from his comrades, " Help ! I say. 
 — Will ye see the priest mishandled and the 
 goddess reviled ? Down with him ! down with 
 him, comrades, and keep him down !" 
 
 There is little doubt that had Esca's head once 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 EKOS. 
 
 touclied the gToiind it had never risen again, for 
 the priests were crowding about liim with wild 
 yells and savage eyes, and the fierce revelry of a 
 while ago was fast warming into a thirst for blood. 
 Valeria thrust her way into the circle, though 
 she never feared for the Briton — ^not for an in- 
 stant. 
 
 It was getting dangerous though to remain any 
 longer amongst this frantic crew. Esca wound 
 one arm round the girl's waist and opposed the 
 other shoulder to the throng. Spado, encouraged 
 by his comrades, struck wildly at the Briton, and 
 made a furious effort to recover his prey. 
 
 Esca drew himself together like a panther 
 about to spring, then his long sinewy arm flew out 
 vdih the force and impulse of a catapult, and the 
 eunuch, reeling backwards, fell heavily to the 
 ground, with a gash upon his cheek like the 
 wound inflicted by a sword. 
 
 " Uuge .'" exclaimed Valeria, in a thrill of 
 admiration and delight. ''Well struck, by 
 Hercules ! Ah ! these barbarians have at least 
 the free use of their limbs. Why the priest went 
 down like a ^^llite ox at the Mucian Gate. Is he 
 much hurt, thmlc ye ? Will he rise again ?" 
 The last sentence was addressed to the tlirong
 
 THE WOESHIP OF ISIS. 83 
 
 who now crowded round the prostrate Spado, and 
 was but the result of that pity which is never 
 quite dormant in a woman's breast. The fallen 
 eunuch seemed indeed in no hurry to get upon his 
 legs again. He rolled about in hideous discom- 
 fitm-e, and gave vent to his feelings in loud and 
 pitiful moans and lamentations. 
 
 After such an example of the Briton's prowess, 
 none of her other votaries seemed to think it 
 incumbent on them to vindicate the majesty of 
 the goddess by further interference with the 
 maiden and her protector. Supporting and almost 
 canying her drooping form, Esca hurried her 
 away with swift firm strides, pausing and looking 
 back at intervals, as though loth to leave his work 
 half finislied, and by no means unwilling to renew 
 the contest. The last Valeria saw of him was the 
 turn of his noble head bending down with a 
 courteous and protecting gesture, to console and 
 reassure his frightened charge. 
 
 All her womanly instincts revolted at that 
 moment from the odious throng with whom she 
 was involved. She could have found it in her 
 heart to envy that obscure and unknown girl 
 hurrying away yonder through the darkening 
 streets on the arm of her powerful protector,
 
 84 EROS. 
 
 could have wislied herself a peasant or a slave, 
 with some one being in the world to look up to, 
 and to love. Valeria's life had been that of a 
 spoiled child from the day she left her cradle, 
 — that gilded cradle over which the nurses had 
 repeated theii- customary Eoman blessing with an 
 emphasis that in her case seemed to be prophetic : 
 
 " May monarchs woo thee, darling! to their bed, 
 And roses blossom where thy footsteps tread !" 
 
 The metaphorical flowers of wealth, prosperity 
 and admiration, did indeed seem to spring up 
 beneath her feet, and her stately beauty would 
 have done no discredit to an imperial bride ; but it 
 must have been something more than outward 
 pomp and show — something nobler than the 
 purple and the diadem — that could have won its 
 wav to Valeria's heart. 
 
 She was habituated to the beautiful, the costly, 
 the refined, till she had learned to consider such 
 qualities as the mere essentials of life. It seemed 
 to her a simple matter of course that houses 
 should be noble, and chariots luxurious, and 
 horses swift, and nien brave. The nil adniirari 
 was the maxim of the class in wliich she lived ; 
 and whilst their standard was thus placed at the
 
 THE WORSHIP OF ISIS. 85 
 
 superlative, that wliicli came up to it received no 
 credit for excellence, that which fell short was 
 treated with disapproval and contempt. Valeria's 
 life had been one constant round of pleasure and 
 amusement ; yet she Avas not happy, not even 
 contented. Day by day she felt the want of 
 some fresh interest, some fresh excitement ; and 
 it was this craving probably, more than innate 
 depravity, which drove her, in common with many 
 of her companions, into such disgraceful scenes as 
 were enacted at the worship of Juno, Isis, and the 
 other gods and goddesses of mythology. 
 
 Lovers, it is needless to say, Valeria had won 
 in plenty. Each new face possessed for her but 
 the attraction of its novelty. The favoiu*ite of the 
 hour had small cause to plume himseK on his 
 position. For the first week he interested her 
 curiosity, for the second he pleased her fancy, 
 after which, if he was wise, he took his leave 
 gracefully, ere he was bidden to do so with a 
 frankness that admitted of no misconception. 
 Perhaps the only person in the world whom she 
 respected was her kinsman Licinius ; and this, 
 none the less, that she possessed no kind of in- 
 fluence over his feeKngs or his opinions, that she 
 well knew he viewed her proceedings often with
 
 86 EROS. 
 
 disapprobation, and entertained for her character 
 a kindly pity not far removed from contempt. 
 Even Julius Placidus, who was the most per- 
 severing, as he was the craftiest, of her adorers, 
 had made no impression on her heart. She ap- 
 preciated his intellect, she was amused with his 
 conversation, she approved of his deep schemes, 
 his lavish extravagance, his unprincipled reckless- 
 ness ; but she never thought of him for an instant 
 after he was out of her sight, and there was some- 
 thing in the cold-blooded ferocity of his character 
 from which, even in his presence, she unconsciously 
 recoiled. Perhaps she admired the person of 
 Hippias her fencing-master, a retired gladiator, 
 who combined handsome regularity of features 
 with a certain worn and warlike air, not without 
 its charm, more than that of any man whom she 
 had yet seen, and with all her pride and her cold 
 exterior Valeria was a woman to be captivated by 
 the eye ; but Hippias, from his professional reputa- 
 tion, was the darhng of half the matrons in Rome, 
 and it may be that she only followed the example 
 of her friends, with whom at this period of the 
 Empire, it was considered a proof of the liighest 
 fashion, and the best taste, to be in love with a 
 gladiator.
 
 THE WOESHIP OF ISIS. 87 
 
 Strong in her passions, as in her physical organi- 
 zation, the former were only bridled by an un- 
 bending pride, and an intensity of will more than 
 masculine in its resolution. As under that 
 smooth skin, the muscles of the round white arm 
 were tu*ni and hard like marble, so beneath that 
 fair and tranquil bosom, there beat a heart tliat 
 for good or evil could dare, endure, and defy the 
 worst. Valeria was a woman whom none but a 
 very bold or very ignorant suitor would have taken 
 to his breast ; yet it may be that the right man 
 could have tamed, and made her gentle and 
 patient as the dove. 
 
 And now something seemed to tell her that the 
 void in her heart was filled at last. Esca's manly 
 beauty had made a strong impression on her 
 senses ; the anomaly of his position had captivated 
 her imagination; there was something very at- 
 tractive in the mystery that surrounded him ; there 
 was even a wild thrill of pleasure in the shame of 
 loving a slave. Then, when he stood forth, the 
 champion of that poor helpless gu-l, bmve, hand- 
 some, and victorious, the charm was complete ; and 
 Valeria's eyes followed him as he disappeared 
 with a longing loving look, that had never glis- 
 tened in them in her life before.
 
 88 EROS. 
 
 The Briton hurried away with his arm round 
 the drooping figure of his companion, and for a 
 time forbore to speak a word even of encourage- 
 ment or consolation. At first the reaction of her 
 feelings turned her sick and faint, then a burst of 
 weeping came to her relief; ere long the tears 
 were flowing silently ; and the girl, who indeed 
 showed no lack of courage, had recovered herself 
 sufficiently to look up in her protector's face, and 
 pour out her thanks with a quiet earnestness that 
 showed they came direct from the heart. 
 
 "I can trust you," she said, in a voice of 
 pecuKar sweetness, though her Latin, like his own, 
 was touched with a slightly foreign accent. " I 
 can read a brave man's face, none better — we 
 have not far to go now. You will take me safe 
 home ?" 
 
 " I will guard you to your very door," said he, 
 in tones of the deepest respect. " But you need 
 fear nothing now, the drunken priests and their 
 mysterious deity are far enough off by this time. 
 'Tis a noble worship truly for such a city as this ! 
 The mistress of the world." 
 
 "False gods ! false gods!" replied the girl, very 
 earnestly. " Oh how can men be so blind ! so 
 degraded!" Here she stopped suddenly, and
 
 THE WOESHIP OF ISIS. 89 
 
 clung closer to her companion's arm, drawing Ler 
 veil tighter round her face the while. Her quick 
 ear had caught the sound of hurrying footsteps, 
 and she dreaded pursuit. 
 
 "'Tis nothing," said Esca, encouraging her; 
 " the most we have to dread now is some drunken 
 freedman or client reeling home from his patron's 
 supper-table. They are a weakly race, these 
 Koman citizens," he added, good-humouredly ; " I 
 think I can promise to stave them off if they come 
 not more than a dozen at a time." 
 
 The cheerful tone reassured her no less than 
 the strong arm to which she clung. It was de- 
 lightful to feel so safe after the fright she had 
 undergone. The footsteps were indeed those of a 
 few dissolute idlers loitering home after a de- 
 bauch. Tliey had hastened forward on espying a 
 female figure ; but there was something in the air 
 of her protector that forbade a near approach, and 
 they shrunk to the other side of the way rather 
 than come in contact with so powerful an op- 
 ponent. The girl felt jjroud of her escort, and 
 safer every minute. 
 
 By this time she had guided him into a dark 
 and narrow street, at the end of wliich the Tiber 
 might be seen gleaming under the star-lit sky.
 
 90 EROS. 
 
 She stopped at a mean-looking door, let into a 
 dead-wall, and aj^plying her hand to a secret 
 spring, it opened noiselessly to her touch. Then 
 she turned to face her companion, and said frankly, 
 " I have not thanked you half enough. Will you 
 not enter our poor dwelling, and share with us a 
 morsel of food, and a cup of wine, ere you depart 
 ujDon your way ?" 
 
 Esca was neither hungry nor thirsty, yet he 
 bowed his head, and followed her into the house.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TKUTH. 
 
 ["HE dwelling in wLiich the Briton now 
 found himself presented a strange 
 contrast of simplicity and splendour, 
 of wealth and frugality, of obscure 
 poverty and costly refinement. The wall was 
 bare and weather-stained ; but a silver lamp, bm-n- 
 ing perfumed oil, was fixed against its surface on a 
 bracket of common deal. Though the stone floor 
 was damp and broken, it was partially covered 
 by a soft tliick carpet of brilliant colours, while 
 shawls from the richest looms of Asia, hung over 
 the mutilated wooden seats and the crazy couch 
 which appeared to be the congenial furniture of 
 the apartment. Esca could not but remark on 
 the same inconsistency, throughout all the minor 
 details of the household. A measure of rich wine
 
 92 EROS. 
 
 from the Lebanon, was cooling in a pitcher of 
 coarse earthenware, a draught of fair water 
 sparkled in a cup of gold. A bundle of eastern 
 javelins, inlaid with ivory and of beautiful finish 
 and workmanship, kept guard, as it were, over a 
 plain two-edged sword devoid of ornament, and 
 with a handle frayed and worn as though from con- 
 stant use, that looked like a weapon born for work not 
 show, some rough soldier's rude but trusty friend. 
 The room of which Esca thus caught a hasty glance 
 as he passed through, opened on an inner apart- 
 ment which seemed to have been originally equally 
 bare and dilapidated, but of which the furniture 
 was even more rich and incongruous. It was flooded 
 by a soft warm light, shed from a lamp burning 
 some rare Syrian oil, that was scarcely to be 
 procured for money in Rome. It dazzled Esca's 
 eyes as he followed the girl through the outer 
 apartment into this retreat, and it was a few 
 seconds ere he recovered his sight sufficiently to 
 take note of the objects that surrounded him. 
 
 A venerable man with bald head and Ions: 
 silvery beard was sitting at the table when they 
 entered, reading from a roll of parchment filled 
 to the very margin with characters in the Syriac 
 language, then generally spoken over the whole
 
 TKUTH. 93 
 
 of Asia Minor, and sufficiently familiar at Rome, 
 So immersed was he in his studies, that he did 
 not seem to notice her amval, till the girl rushed 
 up to him and without unveiling, threw herself into 
 his arms with many expressions of endearment and 
 delight at her o^^^l retm-n. The language in 
 wliich she spoke was unknown to the Briton ; but 
 he gathered from her gestures, and the agitation 
 which again overcame her for an instant, that she 
 was relating her own troubles, and the part he had 
 himself borne in the adventm-es of the night. 
 Presently she turned, and drew him forward, while 
 she said in Latin, mth a little sob of agitation 
 between everv sentence, 
 
 " Behold my preserver ! The youth w4io came 
 in like a lion to save me from those wicked men. 
 Thank him in my father's name, and yours, and 
 all my kindred and all my tribe. Bid him wel- 
 come to the best our house affords. It is not 
 every day a daughter of Judah meets wdth an arm 
 and a heart like his, when she falls into the 
 grasp of the heathen and the oppressor !" 
 
 The old man stretched his hand to Esca Avith 
 cordiality and good-will: as he did so, the 
 Briton could not but observe how kindly was the 
 smile that mantled oa er his serene and gentle face.
 
 94 EEOS. 
 
 " My brother will be home ere long," said he, 
 "and will himself thank you for preserving his 
 daii2:hter from insult and worse. Meantime 
 Calchas bids you heartily welcome to Eleazar's 
 house. Mariamne," he added, turning to the girl, 
 " prepare us a morsel of food that we may eat. 
 It is not the custom of our nation to send a 
 stranger fasting from the door." 
 
 The girl dej)arted on her hospitable mission, 
 and Esca making light of his prowess, and of the 
 danger incurred, gave his own version of the 
 night's occurrence, to which Calchas listened 
 with grave interest and approval. When he had 
 concluded, the old man pointed to the scroll he 
 had been reading, which now lay rolled up on the 
 table at his hand. 
 
 " The time will come," said he, " when tlie 
 words that are written here shall be in the 
 mouths of all men on the sm-face of the known 
 eartli. Then sliall there be no more strife, nor 
 oppression, nor suffering, nor sorrow. Then shall 
 men love each other like brothers, and live only 
 in kindliness and good-will. The day may seem 
 far distant, and the moans may seem poor and 
 inadequate now, yet so it is written here, and so 
 will it be at last."
 
 TRUTH. 95 
 
 " You think that Rome will extend her domi- 
 nions farther and farther ? That she will conquer 
 all known nations, as she has conquered us ? That 
 she means to be in fact what she proudly styles 
 herself, ' The Mistress of the World ?' In truth 
 the Eagle's wings are wide and strong. His beak is 
 very sharp, and where his talons have once fastened 
 themselves, they never again let go their hold !" 
 
 Calchas smiled and shook his head. 
 
 " The Dove will prevail against the Eagle, as 
 love is a stronger power than hate. But it is not 
 of Eome I speak as the future influence that 
 shall establish the great good on earth. The 
 Legions are indeed well-trained, and brave even 
 to the death ; but I know of soldiers in a better 
 service than Caesar's, whose warfare is harder, 
 whose watches are longer, whose adversaries are 
 more numerous, but whose triumph is more cer- 
 tain, and more glorious at the last." 
 
 Esca looked as if he understood him not. The 
 Briton's thoughts were wandering back to the 
 tramp of columns and the clash of steel, and the 
 gallant stand made against the invader by the white- 
 robed warriors with their long swords, amongst 
 whom he had been one of the boldest and the best. 
 
 "It is hard to strive against Eome," said he.
 
 96 EEOS. 
 
 with a glowing cheek and sparkling eye. " Yet I 
 cannot but think if we had never been provoked 
 to an attack ; if we had kept steadily on the de- 
 fensive, if we had moved inland as he approached, 
 harassing and cutting him off whenever we saw 
 an opportunity, but never suffering him to make 
 one for himself — trusting more to our woods and 
 rivers, and less to our own right hands — we might 
 have tamed the Eagle and clipped his wings, 
 and beat him back across the sea at last. But 
 what have I to do with such matters now?" he 
 added, wliile his whole countenance fell in bitter 
 humiliation. " I, a poor barbarian captive, and a 
 slave here in Eome !" 
 
 Calchas studied his face with a keen scrutinizine: 
 glance, then he laid his hand on the young man's 
 shoulder, and said, inquiringly, 
 
 " There is not a grey hair in your clustering 
 locks, nor a wrinkle on your brow, yet you have 
 known sorrow ?" 
 
 " Who has not ?" replied the other cheerfully, 
 " and yet I never thought to have come to this." 
 
 "You are a slave, and you would be free?" 
 asked Calchas, slowly and impressively. 
 
 " I am a slave," repeated the Briton, " and I 
 shall be free. But not till death."
 
 TKUTH. 97 
 
 " And after death ?" proceeded the old man, in 
 the same gentle inquiiing tone. 
 .. " After death," answered the other, " I shall be 
 free as the elements I have been taught to 
 worship, and into wliich they tell me I shall be 
 resolved. What need I know or care more than 
 that in death there will be neither pleasure nor 
 pain ?" 
 
 " And is not life with all its changes too sweet 
 to lose on such terms as these ?" asked the older man. 
 " Are you content to believe that, like one walk- 
 ing through a quicksand, the footsteps you leave 
 are filled up, and obliterated behind you as you 
 pass on ? Can you bear to think that yesterday 
 is indeed banished and gone for ever ? That a 
 to-morrow must come of black and endless night ? 
 Death should be really terrible if this is your 
 conviction, and your creed !" 
 
 "Death is never terrible to a brave man," 
 answered Esca. " A Briton need not be tauffht 
 how to die sword in hand." 
 
 "You think you are brave," said Calchas, 
 looking wistfull}^ on the other's rising colour 
 and kindling eyes. "Ah! you have not seen 
 my comrades die, or you would know that some- 
 thing better than coiu-age is requu-ed for the 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 EROS. 
 
 service to which, we belong. What think ye of 
 weak women, tender shrinking maidens, worn 
 with fatigue, emaciated with hunger, fainting 
 with heat and thirst, brought out to be devoured 
 by beasts, or to suffer long and agonizing tortures, 
 yet smiling the while in quiet calm contentment, 
 as seeing the home to which they are hastening, 
 the triumph but a few short hours off? What 
 think ye of the captains under whom I served, 
 who here at Rome, in the face of Csesar and his 
 power, vindicated the honour of their Lord and 
 died without a murmur for his cause? I was 
 with Peter, I tell you, Peter the Galilean, of 
 whom men talk to this day, of whom men shall 
 never cease to talk in after ages, when he opposed 
 to Simon's magic arts his simple faith in the 
 Master whom he served, and I saw the magician 
 hurled like a stricken vulture to the ground. I 
 was present when the fiercest and the wickedest of 
 the Caesars, returning from the expedition to 
 Greece, wherein his buffooneries had earned the 
 contemj)t even of that subtle nation of flatterers, 
 sentenced him to death upon the cross for that he 
 hud dared to oppose Nero's vices, and to tell Nero 
 the truth. I heard him petition that he might be 
 crucified with his head downward, as not worthy
 
 TEUTH. 99 
 
 to suffer in the same posture as liis Lord — and I 
 can see him now, the pale face, the noble head, 
 the dark keen eye, the slender sinewy form, and 
 above all, the seK-sustaining confidence, the 
 triumphant daring of the man as he walked fear- 
 lessly to death. I was with Paul, tlie noble 
 Pharisee, the naturalized Roman citizen, when he, 
 alone amongst a crowd of passengers and a 
 century of soldiers, quailed not to look on the 
 black waves raging round our broken ship, and 
 bade us all be of good cheer, for that every soul, 
 to the number of two hundred and seventy-five, 
 should come safe to shore. I remember how 
 trustfully we looked on that low spare form, that 
 grave and gracious face with its kindly eyes, its 
 bushy brows and thick beard sprinkled here and 
 there with grey. It was the soul we knew that 
 sustained and strengthened the weakly body of 
 the man. The very barbarians where we landed 
 acknowledged its influence, and would fain have 
 worshipped him for a God. Nero might well fear 
 that quiet, humble, trusting, yet energetic nature ; 
 and where the imperial monster feared, as where 
 he admired, loved, hated, envied, or despised, the 
 sentiment must be quenched in blood." 
 
 " And did he too fail a victim ?" inquired Esca,
 
 100 EKOS. 
 
 whose interest, notwithstanding occasional glances 
 at the door through which Mariamne had gone out, 
 seemed thoroughly awakened by the old man's 
 narrative. 
 
 "They might not crucify him," answered 
 Calchas, "for he was of noble lineage and a 
 Koman citizen born ; but they took him from 
 amongst us, and they let him languish in a prison, 
 till they released him at last and brought him out 
 to be beheaded. Ay, Eome was a fearful sight 
 that day ; the foot was scorched as it trod the 
 ashes of the devastated city, the eye smarted in tlie 
 lurid smoke that hung like a pall upon the heavy 
 air and would not pass away. Palaces were 
 crumbling in ruins, the shrivelled spoils of an 
 empire were blackening around, the dead were 
 lying in the choked-up highways half-festering, 
 half-consumed — orphan cliildren were wandering 
 about starved and shivering, with sallow faces and 
 large shining eyes, or worse still, playing thought- 
 lessly, unconscious of their doom. They said the 
 Christians had set fire to the city, and many an 
 innocent victim suffered for this foul and ground- 
 less slander. The Christians forsooth ! oppressed, 
 persecuted, reviled, whose only desire was to live 
 in brotherhood with all men, whose very creed is
 
 TRUTH. 101 
 
 peace and good-will on earth. I counted twenty 
 of them, men, women, and children, neighbours 
 Avith whom I had held kindly fellowship, friends 
 with whom I had broken bread, lying stiff and 
 cold in the Flaminian Way on the morning Paul 
 was led out to die. But there was peace on the 
 dead faces, and the rigid hands were clasped in 
 prayer ; and though the lacerated emaciated body, 
 the mere shell, was grovelling there in the dust, 
 the spirit had gone home to God who made it, to 
 the other world of which you have not so much as 
 heard, yet which you too must some day visit, to 
 remain for ever. Do you understand me ? not for 
 ages, but for ever, — mthout end !" 
 
 " Where is it ?" asked Esca, on whom the idea 
 of a spiritual existence, innate from its very 
 organization in every intelligent being, did not 
 now da-svn for the first time. "Is it here, or 
 there ? below, or above ? in the stars, or the 
 elements ? I know the world in which I live ; I 
 can see it, can hear it, can feel it ; but that other 
 world, ivJiere is it ?" 
 
 " Where is it ?" repeated Calchas, " where are 
 the dearest wishes of yom- heart, the noblest 
 thoughts of your mind ? Where are your loves, your 
 hopes, your affections — above all, your memories ?
 
 102 EROS. 
 
 ^Mlere is the whole better part of your natm-e ; 
 your remorse for evil, your aspirations after good, 
 your speculations on the future, your convictions 
 of the reality of the past ? WTiere these are, 
 tliei'e is that other world. You cannot see it, you 
 cannot hear it, yet you Icnow that it must be. Is 
 any man's happiness complete? is any man's 
 misery when it reaches him so overwhelming as 
 it seemed at a distance ? And whv is it not ? 
 Because something tells him that the present life 
 is but a small segment in the complete circle of a 
 soul's existence. And the cu'cle, you have not 
 lived in Kome without learning, is the symbol of 
 infinity." 
 
 Esca pondered and was silent. There are 
 convictions which men hold unconsciously, and to 
 which they are so accustomed that then- attention 
 can only be directed to them from without, just as 
 they wear their skins and scarcely know it, till 
 the familiar covering has been lacerated by injury 
 or disease. At last he looked up with a brighten- 
 ing countenance, and exclaimed, " In that world 
 surely, all men will be free !" 
 
 "AU men will be equal," replied Calchas, "but 
 no mortal or immortal ever can be free. Sui^pose 
 a being totally divested of all necessity for effort.
 
 TRUTH. 103 
 
 all responsibility to his fellows or himself, all par- 
 ticipation in the great scheme of which govern- 
 ment is the essential condition in its every part, 
 and you suppose one whose own feelings would be 
 an intolerable burden, whose own wishes would be 
 an unendui-able torture. Man is made to bear a 
 yoke ; but the Captain whom I serve has told me 
 tliat ' his yoke is easy and his burden is light.' 
 How easy and how light I experience every 
 moment of my life." 
 
 " And yet you said but now that death and 
 deo-radation were the lot of those who bore arms 
 by your side in the ranks," observed the Briton, 
 still intently regarding his companion. 
 
 A ray of triumphant courage and exultation 
 flashed up into the old man's face. For an 
 instant Esca recognized the fierce daring of a 
 nature essentially bold, reckless, and defiant ; but 
 it faded as it came, and was succeeded by an ex- 
 pression of meek, chastened humility, whilst he 
 replied — 
 
 "Death welcome and long-looked for! De- 
 gradation that confers the highest honours in this 
 world and the next ! At least to those who are 
 held worthy of the great glory of martyrdom. 
 Oh ! that I might be esteemed one of that noble
 
 104 EKOS. 
 
 band ! But my work will be laid to my hand, and 
 it is enough for me to be the lowest of the low in 
 the service of my Master." 
 
 " And that master ? Tell me of that master/' 
 exclaimed Esca, whose interest was excited, as his 
 feelings Avere roused, by converse with one who 
 seemed so thoroughly impressed with the truth of 
 what he spoke, who was at once so earnest, so 
 gentle and so brave. The old man bowed his 
 head with unspeakable reverence, but in his face 
 shone the deep and fervent joy of one who looks 
 back with intense love and gratitude to the great 
 epoch of his existence. 
 
 " I saw Him once," said he, " on the shore of the 
 Sea of Gahlee — I that speak to you now saw Him 
 Avith my own eyes — there were little children at 
 His feet. But we will talk of this again, for you 
 are weary and exhausted. Meat and drink are even 
 now prepai-ed for you. It is good to refresh the 
 body if the mind is to be vigorous and discerning. 
 You have done for us to-night the act of a true 
 friend. You will henceforth be always welcome 
 in Eleazar's house." 
 
 While he spoke, the girl whom Esca had res- 
 cued so opportunely, entered the apartment, bear- 
 ing in some food on a coarse and common
 
 TRUTH. 105 
 
 trencher, with a wine-skin, of which she poured 
 the contents into a jewelled cup, and presented it 
 to her preserver with an embarrassed but very- 
 graceful gesture, and a soft shy smile. 
 
 Mariamne had unveiled ; and if Esca's expecta- 
 tions during their homeward walk, had been raised 
 by her gentle feminine manners, and the sweet 
 tones of her voice, they were not now disappointed 
 with what he saw. The dark eyes that looked up 
 so timidly into his own, were full and lustrous as 
 those of a deer. They had, moreover, the mom-n- 
 ful, pleading expression peculiar to that animal, 
 and thi'ough aU their softness and intelligence, 
 betrayed the watchful anxiety of one whose life is 
 passed in constant vicissitudes, and occasional 
 danger. The girl's face was habitually pale, 
 though the warm blood mantled in her cheek as 
 she drooped beneath Esca's gaze of honest 
 admiration, and her regular features were 
 sharpened, a little more than was natural to 
 them, by daily care and apprehension. This was 
 especially apparent in the delicate aquiline of the 
 nose, and a slight prominency of the cheek bones. 
 It was a face that in prosperity would have been 
 rich and sparkling as a jewel, that in adversity 
 preserved its charms from the rare and chastened
 
 106 EEOS. 
 
 beauty in wbich it was modelled. Her dress 
 betrayed the same incongruity that was so re- 
 markable in the furniture of her home. Like her 
 veil it was black, and of a coarse and common 
 material, but where it was looped up, the folds 
 were fastened by one single gem of considerable 
 value; and two or three links of a heavy gold 
 chain were visible round her white and well-turned 
 neck. 
 
 Moving through the room, busied with the 
 arrangements of the meal which she must herself 
 have prepared, Esca could not but observe the 
 pliant grace of her form, enhanced by a certain 
 modest dignity, very different from the vivacious 
 gestures of the Eoman maidens to whom he was 
 accustomed, and especially pleasing to the eye of 
 the Briton. 
 
 Calchas seemed to love the girl as a daughter ; 
 and his kind face grew kinder and gentler still, 
 while he followed her about in her different move- 
 ments, with eyes of the deepest and fondest 
 affection. 
 
 Esca could not but observe that the board was 
 laid for three persons, and that by one of the wooden 
 platters stood a drinking-cup of great beauty and 
 value. Mariamne's glance followed his as it rested
 
 TRUTH. 
 
 107 
 
 on the spare place. " For my father," said she, 
 gently, in answer to the inquiry she read on his 
 face. " He is later than usual to-night, and, I fear 
 — I fear ; my father is so bold, so prompt to draw 
 steel when he is angered. To-night he has left 
 his sword at home ; and I know not whether to be 
 most frightened or reassured at his being alone 
 in this wicked toAMi, unarmed." 
 
 " He is in God's hand, my child," said Calchas, 
 reverently. " But I should not fear for Eleazai'," 
 he added, with a proud and martial air, " were he 
 surrounded by a score of such as we see prowling 
 nightly in the streets of Rome, though they were 
 armed to the teeth, and he with only a shepherd's 
 staff to keep his head." 
 
 " Is he then so redoubtable a warrior ?" asked 
 Esca, on whom good manhood seldom failed to 
 produce a favom-able impression. AMiile he spoke 
 he looked from one to the other with increasing 
 curiosity and interest. 
 
 "You shall judge for yom-self," answered 
 Calchas, " for it cannot now be long ere he re- 
 turn. Nevertheless, the man who could leap 
 down from the walls of a beleaguered city, as my 
 brother did naked and unarmed — who could break 
 the head off a Roman battering-ram by main
 
 108 EROS. 
 
 force, and render that engine useless — wlio could 
 reach the wall again with his prize, covered with 
 wounds, having fought his way through a whole 
 maniple of Koman soldiers, and could ask but for 
 a draught of water, ere he donned his armour, and 
 took his place once more upon the rampart — is not 
 likely to fear aught that can befall him from a 
 few idlers in a common street-broil. Neverthe- 
 less, as I said before, you shall judge for yourself." 
 
 " And here he is !" exclaimed Mariamne, while 
 the outer door shut to, and a man's step was 
 heard advancing through the adjoining apart- 
 ment, with a firm and measured footfall. 
 
 She had been pale enough all night in the eyes 
 of Esca, who was watching her intently ; but he 
 thought now she seemed to turn a shade paler 
 than before.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE JEW, 
 
 I HE man who entered the apartment 
 with the air of one to whom every 
 nook and corner was familiar, must 
 have been fully threescore years of 
 age, yet his dark eye still glittered with the fii'e 
 of youth, his thick curling beard and hair, were 
 but slightly sprinkled with gTay, and the muscles 
 of his square powerful frame, seemed but to have 
 acquired solidity and consistency with age. His 
 appearance was that of a warrior ; toughened, and, 
 as it were, forged into iron, by years of strife, 
 hardship, and unremitting toil. 
 
 If something in the line of his aquiline features 
 resembled Calchas, no two faces could have been 
 more different in their character and expression 
 than those of Eleazar and liis brother. The
 
 110 EROS. 
 
 former was all gentleness, kindliness, and jDeace ; 
 on the latter, fiery passions, deep schemes, con- 
 tinual peril, and contention, had set their indeli- 
 ble marks. The one was that of the spectator, 
 who is seated securely on the cliff, and marks the 
 seething waters below, with interest indeed and 
 sympathy, but with feelings neither of agitation 
 nor alarm ; the other was the strong swimmer, 
 breasting the waves fiercely, and battling with 
 their might, striving for his life inch by inch, 
 and stroke by stroke, conscious of his peril, confi- 
 dent in his strength, and never despairing for an 
 instant of the result. 
 
 At times indeed the influence of opposite feel- 
 ings, softening the one and kindling the other, 
 would bring out the family likeness clear and 
 apparent upon each ; but in repose no two faces 
 c^uld be more dissimilar, no two types of charac- 
 ter more utterly at variance than those of the 
 Christian and the Jew. 
 
 As Eleazar's warlike figm-e came into the light, 
 Esca could not but remark with what a 2:lance of 
 mistrust his quick eye took in the presence of a 
 stranger, how the strong fingers closed instinc- 
 tively round the staff he was in ihe act of laying 
 down, and the whole form seemed to gather itself
 
 THE JEW. Ill 
 
 in an instant as though ready for the promptest 
 measures of resistance or attack. Such trifling 
 gestures spoke volumes of the character and 
 habits of the man. 
 
 Nevertheless Calchas rapidly explained to his 
 brother the cause of tliis addition to their supper- 
 party ; and Mariamne, who seemed in considerable 
 awe of her father, busied herself in placing food 
 and wine before him, with even more alacrity 
 than she had shown when serving their guest. 
 
 The Jew thanked his new friend for the kind- 
 ness he had rendered his daughter, with a few 
 brief cordial words, as one brave man expresses 
 his gratitude to another, then fell to on the 
 meat and drink provided, with a voracity that 
 argued weU for his physical powers, and denoted 
 a strong constitution and a long fast. 
 
 As he took breath after a deep draught of wine 
 in which, though he pledged him not, he 
 challenged his guest to join, Calchas asked his 
 brother how he had sped in the affairs that kept 
 him from home all day. 
 
 " 111," answered the other, shooting from under 
 his thick eyebrows a penetrating glance at the 
 Briton, " 111 and slowly, yet not so ill but that 
 something has been gained, another step taken in
 
 112 EROS. 
 
 the direction at wbicli I aim. Yet I have been 
 to-day in high places, have seen those bloated 
 gluttons, and dnmkards, who are the ministers 
 of Caesar's will, have spoken with that spotted 
 panther, Vespasian's scheming agent, forsooth ! 
 who thinks he hath the cunnino;, as he can 
 doubtless boast of the treachery and the gaudy 
 colours of the beast of prey. Let him take 
 care ! Weaker hands than mine have ere this 
 strangled a fiercer- animal for the worth of his 
 shining skin. Let him beware ! Eleazar-Ben- 
 Manahem is a match, and more than a match, for 
 Julius Plaeidus the Tribune !" 
 
 Esca glanced quickly at the speaker, as his ear 
 caught the familiar name. The look was not lost 
 upon his host. 
 
 " You know him ?" said he, with a fierce smile 
 that showed the strong white teeth gleaming 
 through his bushy beard. " Then you know as 
 cool and well-taught a soldier as ever buckled on 
 a sword. I wish I had a few like him to officer 
 the Sicarii* at home. But you know also, a man 
 who would not scruple to slay his own father for 
 the worth of the clasp that fastens his gown. I 
 
 * " Sicarii," or homicides ; bands of assassins, regularly- 
 organized in JuQ£ea, who made a trade of murder.
 
 THE JEW. 113 
 
 have seen him in the field, and I have seen him 
 in the council. He is bold, skilful, and he can 
 be treacherous in both ! \Miere met you him 
 last ?" he added, with a searching glance at Esca, 
 while at the same time he desired Mariamne to 
 fill the stranger's cup and his own. 
 
 The latter proceeding engrossed the Briton's 
 whole attention. It was with the utmost careless- 
 ness that he replied to the question, by relating 
 liis interview, that very morning, with the Tribune 
 at Valeria's door. He scarcely marked how pre- 
 cisely the father noted down the name in his 
 tablets, for the daughter's white arm was reaching 
 over his shoulder, so close that it almost touched 
 his cheek. 
 
 It was indeed well worth Eleazar's while to obtain 
 information, from whatever source, of any in- 
 fluence that might affect those in authority witli 
 whom he was in daily contact at Eome. His 
 position was one which called for courage, tact, 
 skill, and even cunning to a great extent. 
 Charged by the Supreme Council at Jerusalem, 
 then in the last stage of perplexity, and sorely 
 beset by Vespasian and his legions, with a j^rivate 
 mission to Vitellius, who much mistrusted the suc- 
 cessful general, he represented the hopes and 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 EROS. 
 
 fears, tlie temporal and political prosperity, nay, 
 the very existence of the Chosen People. Nor to 
 all appearance could a better instrument have 
 been selected for the purpose. Eleazar, though a 
 bigoted and fanatical Jew of the strictest sect, was 
 a man of keen and powerful intellect, whose 
 obstinacy was open to no conviction, whose perse- 
 verance was to be deterred by no obstacle. A 
 distinguished and fearless soldier, he possessed the 
 confidence of the large and fighting portion of the 
 nation, who looked on Eoman supremacy with 
 abhorrence, and who clung dearly to the notion of 
 earthly dominion, wrested from the heathen with 
 the sword. His rigid observance of its fasts, its 
 duties, and its ceremonials, had gained him the 
 affections of the priesthood, and the more enthusi- 
 astic followers, of that religion in which outward 
 forms were so strictly enjoined and so faithfully 
 observed ; while a certain fierce, defiant, and un- 
 bending demeanour towards all classes of men, 
 had won for him a character of frankness which 
 did him good service in the schemes of intrigue 
 and dissimulation with which he was continually 
 engaged. 
 
 Yet perhaps the man was honest too, ns far as 
 his own convictions went. He esteemed all means
 
 THE JEW. 115 
 
 la'VN'ful for the furtherance of a lawful object. He 
 was one of those who deem it the most contempt- 
 ible of weakness to shrink from doing evil that 
 good may come. Like Jephthah he would have 
 sacrificed his daughter unflinchingly in perform- 
 ance of a vow ; nay, had Mariamne stood between 
 him and the attainment of his ambition, or even 
 the accomplishment of his revenge, he would have 
 walked ruthlessly over the body of his child. 
 
 Versed in the traditions of his family and the 
 history of his nation, he was steeped to" the lips in 
 tliat pride of pedigi'ee which was so essential a 
 feature of the Je\^ ish character : he was convinced 
 that the eventual destiny of his people was to lord 
 it over the whole earth. He possessed more than 
 his share of that hauo'htv self-sufficiencv which 
 bade the Pharisee hold aloof from those of lower 
 pretensions and humbler demeanour than himself; 
 while he had all the fierce courage and energy of 
 the liion of Judah, so terrible when roused, so 
 difficult to be appeased when victorious. In his 
 secret heart he anticipated the time when Jeru- 
 salem should again become a sovereign city, when 
 the Eoman eagles should be scared away from 
 Syria, and a hierarchy established once more as 
 the government of the people chosen by Heaven.
 
 116 EROS. 
 
 That lie should be a second Judas Maccabseus, a 
 chief commander of the armies of the faithful in 
 the new order of things, was an ambition natur- 
 ally enough entertained by the bold and skilful 
 soldier ; but to do Eleazar justice, individual 
 aggrandizement had but little share in his 
 schemes, and personal interest never crossed those 
 visions for the future, on which his dark and 
 dangerous enthusiasm so loved to dwell. 
 
 It was a delicate matter to intrigue wi'th 
 Vitellius in Rome against the very general 
 who held supreme authority, at least ostensibly, 
 from the Emperor. It was playing a hazardous 
 game, to receive power and instructions from the 
 Council at Jerusalem, and to use or suppress 
 them according to the bearer's own political views 
 and future intentions. 
 
 It was no easy task to hold his own against 
 such men as Placidus, in the contest of finesse, 
 subtlety, and double-dealing ; yet the Jew entered 
 upon his perilous career with a strenuous energy, 
 a cool calculating audacity, that was engraved in 
 the very character of the man. 
 
 Another draught of the rich licbanon wine 
 served to improve their acquaintance, and Eleazar, 
 with considerable tact, drew from the Briton all
 
 THE JEW. 117 
 
 the information he could obtain as to the habits 
 and movements of his antagonist the Tribune, 
 while he seemed but to be carrying on the 
 courteous conversation of a host with his guest. 
 Esca's answers, notwithstanding that thoughts and 
 eyes wandered frequently towards Mariamne, were 
 frank and open like his disposition. He too en- 
 tertained no very cordial liking for Placidus, and 
 experienced towards the Tribune that unconscious 
 antipathy, which the honest man so often feels for 
 the knave. 
 
 Calchas, meanwhile, had returned to the 
 perusal of his scroll, on which his brother cast 
 occasional glances of unfeigned contempt, not- 
 withstanding that the reader was the person wliom 
 he most loved and respected on earth. Mariamne 
 moving about the apartment, looked covertly on 
 the fair face and stately form of her preserver, 
 approving largely of what she saAV : once their 
 eyes met, and the Jewess blushed to her temples 
 for very shame. So the time passed quickly ; the 
 night stole on, the Lebanon was nearly finished, 
 and Esca rose to bid his entertainers farewell. 
 
 " You have done me a rare service," said 
 Eleazar, feeling in his breast while he spoke, and 
 producing, from under his coarse garment, a jewel
 
 lis EKOS. 
 
 of considerable value — " a service neither thanks 
 nor guerdon can requite ; yet I pray you, 
 keep this trinket in remembrance of the Jew 
 and the Jew's daughter, who come of a people 
 that forgive not an injury, and forget not a 
 benefit." 
 
 The colour mounted to Esca's forehead, and an 
 expression of pain, almost of anger, came into his 
 face, while he replied : 
 
 " I have done nothing to merit either thanks or 
 reward. It is no such matter to put a fat eunuch 
 on his back, or to defend an unprotected woman 
 in a town Kke tliis. Take back your jewel, I pray 
 you. Any other man would have done as much." 
 
 "It is not every man who could have inter- 
 posed so eiiectually," replied Eleazar, with a 
 glance of hearty approval at the thewes and 
 sinews of his friend, rej^lacing the jewel mean- 
 wliile in his vestment, without the least signs of 
 displeasure at its being declined. He would have 
 bestowed it freely, no doubt, but if Esca did not 
 want it, it would serve some other purpose : 
 precious stones and gold would always fetch their 
 value at Eorae. " At least you will let me give 
 you a safe-conduct home," he added ; " the night 
 is far advanced, and I should be loth that you
 
 THE JEW. 119 
 
 should suffer wrong for your interposition in our 
 behalf." 
 
 Esca burst out laughing now. In the pride of 
 his strength, it seemed so impossible that he 
 should require protection or assistance from any 
 one. He squared his lai-ge shoulders and drew 
 himself to his full height. 
 
 " I should wish no better pastime," said he, 
 " than a bout with a dozen of them ! I too was 
 brought up a warrior, in a land you have never 
 heard of, many a long mile from Kome ; a land 
 fairer far than this, of green valleys and wooded 
 hills, and noble rivers -sA'iuding calmly towards the 
 sea; a land where the oaks are lofty and the 
 flowers are sweet, Avhere the men are strong and the 
 women fair. I have followed the chase afoot from 
 sunrise to sunset through many a summer's day. 
 I have fronted the invader, sword in hand, ever 
 since my arm was long enough to draw blade from 
 sheath, or I had not been here now. You too are 
 a soldier, I see it in your eye — you can believe 
 that my limbs grow stiff, my spirits droop for lack 
 of martial exercise. In faith, it seems to me that 
 even a vulgar broil in the street makes my blood 
 dance in my veins once more !" 
 
 Mariamne was listening with parted lips and
 
 120 EROS. 
 
 shining eyes. She drank in all he said of his 
 distant home with its woodland scenery, its forest 
 trees, its fragrant flowers, and above all its lovely 
 women. She felt so kindly towards this bold 
 young stranger, exiled from kin and country, she 
 attributed her interest to pity and gratitude, nor 
 could she help wondering to find these sentiments 
 so strong. 
 
 Calchas looked up from his studies. " Fare 
 thee well !" said he. " Take an old man's warning, 
 and strike not unless it be in self-defence. Mark 
 well the turning from the main street to the 
 Tiber, so shalt thou find thy way to our poor home 
 again." 
 
 Esca promised faithfully to return, and fully 
 intended to redeem his promise. 
 
 " Another cup of wine," said Eleazar, emptying 
 the leathern bottle into a golden vessel ; " the sun 
 of Italy cannot ripen such a vintage as this." 
 
 But the rich produce of the Lebanon was all 
 too cloying for the healthy palate and the thirst 
 of youth. Esca prayed for a draught of fair 
 water, and Mariamne brought him the pitcher and 
 gave him to drink with her own hand. 
 
 For the second time to-night their eyes met, 
 and although they were instantly averted, the
 
 THE JEW. 121 
 
 Briton felt that he was drinking from a cup more 
 intoxicating than all the wine-presses of Syria 
 could produce, — a cup that made him unconscious 
 of the past as of the future, and only too keenly 
 sensible of the present by its joy. He forgot that 
 he was a barbarian, he forgot that he was a slave. 
 He forgot everything iDut Mariamne and her dark 
 imploring trustful eyes.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE ROMAN. 
 
 T is time to give some account of 
 Esca's anomalous position in the 
 capital of the world. To explain 
 how the young British noble (for 
 that was indeed the rank he held in his own 
 country) found himself a slave in the streets of 
 Rome. In order to do so it is necessary to take 
 a glimpse at the interior of a patrician's house 
 about the hour of supper ; perhaps also to intrude 
 upon the reflections of its owner, as he paces up 
 and down the colonnade in the cool air of sunset, 
 absorbed in his own thoughts, and deep in the 
 memories of the past. 
 
 His mansion is of stat<?ly proportion, and large 
 size, but all its ornaments and accessories are 
 chastened by a severe simplicity of taste. An
 
 THE IIOJIAN. 123 
 
 observer might identify the man by the very 
 nature of the objects that surround him. In liis 
 vestibule the columns are of the Ionic order, and 
 their elaborate capitals have been WTought into 
 the utmost degree of finish which that style will 
 allow. In the smaller entrance-hall or lobby, 
 which leads to the principal apartments, and 
 which is guarded by an image of a dog, let into 
 the pavement in mosaic, there are no florid 
 seulptm-e, nor carvings, nor any attempt at 
 decoration beyond the actual beauty of the stone- 
 work, and the scrupulous care with which it is 
 kept clean. The doors themselves are of bronze, 
 so well burnished as to need no mixtm-e of gold 
 or silver inlaid to enhance its brightness ; whilst 
 in the principal hall itself, the room in which 
 friends are welcomed, clients received, and busi- 
 ness transacted, the walls, instead of frescoes and 
 such gaudy ornaments, are simply overlaid with 
 entablatures of white and polished marble. The 
 dome is veiy lofty, rising majestically towards 
 the circular opening at the top, through which 
 the sky is visible ; and round the fountain or 
 cistern immediately below this are ranged four 
 colossal statues, representing the Elements. 
 These, with the busts of a long line of illustrious
 
 124 EROS. 
 
 ancestors, are the only efforts of the sculptor's art 
 throughout the apartment. A large banqueting- 
 hall, somewhat more luxuriously furnished, opens 
 from one side of the central room, and as much 
 as can be seen of it displays considerable attention 
 to convenience and personal comfort. Frescoes, 
 representing scenes of military life, adorn the 
 walls, and at one end stands a trophy, composed 
 of deadly weapons and defensive armour, arranged 
 so as to form a glittering and conspicuous orna- 
 ment. Large flagons and chalices of burnished 
 gold, some of them adorned with valuable jewels, 
 are ranged upon a side-board; but it is evident 
 that no guests are expected to-night, for near the 
 couch against the wall has been drawn a small 
 table, laid for one person only, with a clean 
 napkin, and a cup and platter of plain silver 
 thereon. That person is none other than the 
 master of the house, bodily pacing up and down 
 his own colonnade in Kome, mentally gazing on 
 a fair expanse of wood and vale and shining 
 river, drinking in the cool breezes, the fragrant 
 odours, and the wild luxuriant beauty of distant 
 Britain. 
 
 Five-and-twenty years ! and yet it seems but 
 yesterday. The brow wrinkles, the hair turns
 
 THE EOMAN. 125 
 
 grey, strengtli wastes, energ}^ fails, the brain gets 
 torpid, and the senses dull, but the heart never 
 grows old. Business, ambition, pleasure, dangers, 
 duties, difficulties, and successes have filled that 
 quarter of a century, and passed away like a 
 dream ; but the touch of a hand, the memory of 
 a face, have outlived them all. Caius Lucius 
 Licinius, Eoman patrician. General, Praetor, 
 Consul, and Procurator of the Empire, is the 
 young commander of a legion once more, with 
 the world before him, and the woman he loves by 
 his side. This is what he sees now, as he has 
 seen it so often in his dreams by night, and his 
 wakinc: visions bv dav. 
 
 An old oak tree, a mossy sward, soft and level 
 as velvet, delicate fern bending and whispering 
 in the summer breeze, fleecy clouds drifting across 
 the blue sk}% and a gi-aceful form, in its white 
 robes, coming shyly up the glade, with faltering 
 step, and sidelong glance, and timid gesture, to 
 keep her tryst with her Roman lover. She is in 
 his arms now. The rich brown curls are scattered 
 over his breastplate, and the blue eyes are looking 
 up into his own, liquid with the love-light that 
 thrills to a man's heart but from one pair of eyes 
 in a life-time.
 
 126 EEOS. 
 
 She is, indeed, no contemptible prize, in the 
 glory of her beauty and the pride of her blooming 
 womanhood. With the rounded form, the noble 
 features, and the dazzling colour of her nation, 
 she possesses the courage and constancy of a 
 high-born race, and a mtchery half imperious, 
 half playful, peculiarly her own. There are 
 women who find their way to the core of a man's 
 heart, who pervade it all, and saturate it, so to 
 speak, with their influence. 
 
 " Testa semel imbuta diu servabit odorem.'"* 
 
 The vessel that has once held this rich and 
 rare liquid is ever after impregnated with its 
 fragrance, and even when it has been spilt every 
 drop, and a fresh infusion poured in, the new 
 wine smacks strangely and wildly of the old. 
 She is one of them ; he knows it too well. 
 
 They should have nothing in common these 
 two, the British chieftain's daughter and the 
 Roman conqueror. But there is a truce between 
 the nations ; a truce in which the elements of 
 discord are nevertheless smouldering, ready to 
 blaze out afresh at the first opportunity, and they 
 
 * "You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will, 
 But the scent of ttio rosea will bang round it still."
 
 THE ROMAN. 127 
 
 have seen each other accidentally, and been 
 thrown together by circumstances, till curiosity 
 has become interest, and interest grown into 
 liking, and liking ripened into love. The British 
 maiden might not be won lightly, and many a 
 tear she wept in secret, and sore she strove 
 against her own heart ; but when it conquered her 
 at last she gave it, as such women will, wholly and 
 unreservedly. She would have lived for him, 
 died for him, followed him to the end of the world. 
 And Licinius worshipped her as a man worships 
 the one woman who is the destiny of his life. 
 Most men have at some time or other experienced 
 this folly, infatuation, madness, call it what you 
 ^vill. They are not likely to forget it. Possibly, 
 alas probably, the bud they then watched opening- 
 has never expanded into bloom, at least, for 
 them. The worm may have destroyed it, or the 
 cold wind cut it to the earth, or another's hand 
 may have borne it away in triumph to gladden 
 another's breast; but there is something in the 
 May mornings that reminds them of the sweet 
 flower still, and they wander round the fairest 
 gardens of earth rather drearily to-day, because 
 of the memory that has never faded, and the 
 blank where She is not
 
 128 EROS. 
 
 V 
 
 Licinius liolds the British maiden to his breast, 
 and they discourse of their own happiness and 
 revel in the sunny hour, and plan schemes for the 
 future, — schemes in which each is to the other 
 all in all, and dream not that when to-day is 
 past for them there will be no to-morrow. The 
 woman, indeed, heaves a gentle sigh at intervals, 
 as though in the midst of her happiness some 
 foreboding warned her of the brooding tempest ; 
 but the man is hopeful, buoyant, and impetuous, 
 playful in his tenderness, and joyous in his own 
 triumphant love. 
 
 They parted that evening more reluctantly 
 than usual. They lingered round the oak, they 
 found excuse after excuse for another loving 
 word, another fond caress. When at last they 
 went their several ways, how often Licinius 
 turned to look after the receding form that 
 carried with it all his hope and all liis happiness ! 
 Little did he think how, and when, and where he 
 would see Guenebra again. 
 
 Ten years went heavily by. TTie commander 
 of a leffion was the cliief of an army now, 
 Licinius had served Kome in Gaul, in Spain, in 
 Syria. Men said he bore a charmed life; and, 
 indeed, while his counsels showed the forethought.
 
 THE EOMAN. 12U 
 
 the caution, and the patience of a skilful officer, 
 his personal conduct was remarkable for a reckless 
 disregard of danger, wliich would have been 
 esteemed foolhardy in the meanest soldier. It 
 was observed, too, that a deej) and abiding- 
 melancholy had taken possession of the once 
 light-hearted patrician. He only seemed to 
 brighten up into his former self under the 
 pressure of imminent danger, in the confusion of 
 a repulse, or the excitement of a charge. At 
 other times he was silent, depressed, preoccupied ; 
 never morose, for his kindly heart Avas open to 
 the griefs of others, and the legionaries knew 
 that their daring general was the friend of all 
 who were in sorrow or distress. But the men 
 talked him over, too, by their watch-fires ; they 
 marvelled, those honest old campaigners, how 
 one, who was so ready m the field, could be so 
 sparing of the wine-cup; how the leader, who 
 could stoop to fill his helmet from the running 
 stream under a storm of javelins, and drink 
 composedly with a jest and a smile, should be so 
 backward in the revel, should show such a 
 disinclination to those material pleasures which 
 they esteemed the keenest joys of life. 
 
 One old centm-ion, who had followed his 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 EROS. 
 
 fortunes from tlie Thames to the Euphrates, from 
 the confines of Pannonia to the Pillars of Hercules, 
 averred that he had never seen his chief discom- 
 fited but once, and that was on the day when he 
 liad been accorded a triumph for his services in 
 the streets of Rome. The veteran used to swear 
 he never could forget the dejected look upon 
 those brows, encircled witli their laurel garland, 
 nor the weary listlessness of that figure, to which 
 all eyes were directed in its gilded chariot; the 
 object of admiration to the whole city, and, for 
 that day, scarcely second even to Coesar himself. 
 It was a goodly triumph, no doubt ; the spoils 
 were rich, the car was lofty, the people shouted, 
 and tlie victims fell, but what was glory without 
 Guenebra ? and the hero's eye could not rest in 
 peace on one of all those gazing thousands for 
 lack of the loving face, framed in its rich brown 
 hair. 
 
 On the very night Licinius and Guenebra 
 parted, a long meditated rising had broken out 
 among the Islanders, — conquered but not subdued. 
 Nothing but the cool courage of its young com- 
 mander, and the immovable discipline of the 
 legionaries saved the Roman camp. Ere morn- 
 ing, Guenebra had been forced away by her
 
 THE EO^IAN, 131 
 
 tribe many miles from tlie scene of action, the 
 Britons too retired into their strongholds, those 
 natui'al fastnesses impregnable by regular troops. 
 The whole country was once more in a state of 
 open warfare. Prompt and decisive measures were 
 taken : Publius Ostorius, the Eoman general, in 
 execution of a manoeuvre, by which he preserved 
 his line of operation, despatched Licinius and his 
 legion to a different part of the island, and with 
 all his exertions and all his influence, the young 
 officer could never obtain tidings of Guenebra 
 again. It was after this event that the change 
 came over Licinius which was so commented on 
 by the soldiers under his command. 
 
 Ten years of brilliant and successful services 
 had elapsed when he returned to Britain. Nero 
 had but lately succeeded to the Purple, nor had 
 he then degenerated into the monster of iniquity 
 wliich he afterwards became. Until sapjied by 
 his ungovernable passions, the Emperor's adminis- 
 trative abihties were of no mean order; and he 
 selected Licinius for the important post assigned 
 to him, as being a consummate soldier, and ex- 
 perienced in the country with which he had to 
 deal. The latter accepted the appointment with 
 alacrity : through all change of time and fortune.
 
 132 EKOS. 
 
 he liad never forgotten his British love. Under 
 the burning skies of Syria, by the frozen shores of 
 the Danube, at home or abroad, in peace or war, 
 Guenebra's face was ever present to him, fond and 
 trustful as when last they parted under the old 
 oak-tree. He longed but to see it once more. And 
 so he did. Thus : — 
 
 A partial insurrection had been quelled beyond 
 the Trent. The Eoman vanguard had surprised 
 the Britons, and forced them to fly in great con- 
 fusion, leaving their baggage, their valuables, in 
 some cases even their arms behind. When Licinius 
 came up with the main body of his forces, he 
 found indeed no prisoners taken, for everything 
 animate had fled, but a goodly amount of spoil, 
 over which Eoman discipline had placed a strong 
 guard. One of his tribunes approached him w ith 
 a list of the captured articles ; and when his 
 general had perused it, the ofHcer hesitated as 
 though there was still some further report to 
 make. At last he spoke out : 
 
 " There is a hut left standiug within the lines 
 of the enemy. I would not order it to be de- 
 stroyed till I had provided for the bui'ial of a dead 
 body that lies beneath its shelter." 
 
 Licinius was counting the arms taken. "A
 
 THE EOMAX. 133 
 
 dead body," said he, carelessly ; " is it an oflfieer 
 of rank?" 
 
 " 'Tis a woman's corpse," answered the Tribune. 
 " A fair and stately woman. Apparently the 
 wife of some prince or chieftain at the least." 
 
 For Guenebra's sake, every woman, much more 
 every British Avoman, was an object of respect and 
 interest to Licinius. 
 
 " Lead on," said he. " I will give directions 
 when I have seen it;" and the General followed 
 his officer to the place already indicated. 
 
 It was but a rude hut made of a few planks 
 and branches hastily thl'own together. It seemed 
 to have been erected at a moment's notice, pro- 
 bably to shelter an inmate in the last stage of 
 dissolution. Through a wide rent in the roof the 
 summer sun streamed in brilliantly, throwing a 
 sheet of light on the dead face below. 
 
 The prostrate form was swathed in its white 
 robe, the bridal garment of the destroyer. A 
 band of white encircled the head and chin, and 
 the brown hair was parted modestly on the 
 smooth forehead calm and womanly as of old. It 
 was Guenebra's face that lay there so strangely 
 still. Guenebra's face, how like and yet how 
 changed ! As he stooped over it, and looked on
 
 131 EROS. 
 
 the closed eyes beneath their arching brows, the 
 fair and noble features chiselled by the hand of 
 death, — the sweet lips wreathed even now, with a 
 chastened loving smile, — he could not but mark 
 that there were lines of thought upon the forehead, 
 streaks of silver in the hair, the result it might 
 be of regrets, and memories, and sorrows, and care 
 for him. 
 
 Then the warm tears gushed up into the 
 soldier's ej^es, the pressure on his heart and brain 
 seemed to be relieved. As when the spear is 
 drawn out of a wound and the red stream spouts 
 freely forth, the previous agony was succeeded 
 by a dull hopeless resignation, that in comparison 
 seemed almost akin to peace. 
 
 He pressed his lips hard upon the cold dead 
 forehead, and turned away — a man for whom 
 from henceforth there was neither good to covet, 
 nor evil to be feared. 
 
 And thus it was that here, on earth, Licinius 
 looked once more upon his love. 
 
 Fresh victories crowned his arms iik Britain — 
 a fresh triumph awaited his return to Eome ; but 
 still as of old with Licinius, the glory seemed to 
 count for nothing, the service seemed to be all- 
 in-all. Only now, the restless, eager look had
 
 THE ROMAN. 135 
 
 left his face. He was always calm and unmoved, 
 even in the uncertainty of conflict or the triumph 
 of success. Still kindly in his actions, his out- 
 ward demeanour was very stern and cold. He 
 kept aloof from the intrigues, as from the plea- 
 sures of the court ; but was ever ready to serve 
 Eome with his sword, and on many occasions by 
 his coolness and conduct redeemed the errors and 
 incapacity of his colleagues or predecessors. 
 Fortune smiled upon the man who was insensible 
 to her frowns. Honours poured in on the soldier 
 who seemed so careless of their attainment ; and 
 Caius Lucius Licinius was perhaps the object of 
 more respect and less envy than any other person 
 of his rank in Rome. 
 
 It fell out that shortly before the death of 
 Nero, the General, in traversing the slave-market 
 on the way from the Forum, felt his sleeve 
 plucked by a notorious dealer in human wares, 
 named Gargilianus, who begged him earnestly to 
 come and examine a fresh importation of captives 
 lately arrived from Britain. To mention their 
 country was at once to excite the interest of 
 Licinius, who readily acceded to the request, 
 and spoke a few kind words in then- native lan- 
 guage to the unhappy barbarians as he passed
 
 136 EEOS. 
 
 tliroiigli their ranks. His attention was, however, 
 especially arrested by the appearance of one of the 
 conquered, a fine young man of great strength and 
 stature, who seemed to feel painfully the indignity 
 of his position, placed as he was on a huge stone 
 block, whereon his own towering height rendered 
 him a conspicuous object in the throng. He had 
 been severely wounded too in several places, as 
 was apparent from the scars scarce yet healed 
 over. Indeed had it not been so, he would never 
 probably have been here. 
 
 There was something in his face, and the ex- 
 pression of his large blue eyes, that roused a 
 painful thrill in the Roman general's breast. He 
 felt a strange and indefinable attraction towards 
 the captive, for which he could not account, and 
 pausing in his walk, scanned him with a wistful 
 searching gaze, which was not lost on the prac- 
 tised percejDtions of the dealer. 
 
 " He should have been shown in private," 
 whispered Gargilianus, with an important and 
 mysterious air. " Indeed, my man was just taking 
 him away, when I saw you coming, my honoured 
 patron, and I called to him to stop. Ay! you 
 may examine him all over, — tall, young, and 
 healthy. Sound, wind and limb, and stronger
 
 THE ROM AX. 137 
 
 than any gladiator in the amphitheatre. They 
 are men of iron, these barbarians, that's the 
 truth, and he has only just come over. There ! 
 look for yom-self, noble General, you will see the 
 chalk-marks* on his feet." 
 
 " But he is badly wounded," observed Licinius, 
 beginning to scan liim, as the other instinctively 
 felt, with the eye of a purchaser. 
 
 " That is nothing !" exclaimed Gargilianus. 
 " Mere scratches, skin-deep, and healed over now. 
 You will not be able to run your nail against 
 them in a week. Eye-sores, I grant you, to-day, 
 otherwise I would ask two thousand sesterces at 
 least for him. These Islanders are cheap at any 
 price." 
 
 "I wiU give you a thousand," said Licinius, 
 quietly. 
 
 " Impossible !" burst out the dealer, with a 
 quiver of his fingers, that expressed a most em- 
 phatic negative. " I should lose money by him, 
 generous patron ! What ! A man must live. 
 Csesar would give more for him to die in the 
 circus. Look at his muscles ! He would stand 
 up for a good five minutes against the tiger !" 
 
 * According to Pliuy, th3 distinguishing sign of newly-amved 
 slaves.
 
 138 EKOS. 
 
 This last consideration was probably not withont 
 its influence. After a little more haggling, the 
 British captive became the property of Licinius 
 at the cost of fifteen hundred sesterces;* and Esca 
 found the most indulgent and the kindest-hearted 
 master in Rome. 
 
 We must return to that master, pacing thought- 
 fully up and down the colonnade, in the cool and 
 pleasant evening air. 
 
 It 'is perhaps one of the most consoling and 
 merciful dispensations of Providence, that the 
 human mind is so constituted as to dwell on past 
 pleasures, rather than past pain. The sorrow that 
 is done with, returns indeed at intervals vividly and 
 bitterly enough ; but every fresh recurrence is less 
 cruel than the last, and we can look back to our 
 sufferings at length, with a calm and chastened 
 humility which is the first step towards resignation 
 and eventual peace. But the memory of a great 
 hai3piness seems so interwoven with the imperish- 
 able part of our being, that it loses none of its 
 reality by the lapse of time, none of its brightness 
 from the eifect of distance. Anger, sorrow, hatred, 
 contentions, fleet away like a dream ; but the smile 
 that gladdened us long ago, has passed into the 
 
 * About twelve pounds sterling.
 
 THE EOMAN. 139 
 
 very sunlight of noon-clay ; the whisper that 
 softened our sternest moods, steals with the breeze 
 of evening to our heart, gently and tenderly as 
 of yore, and we know, we feel, that while crime, 
 and misery, and remorse, are the temporary 
 aflSictions of humanity, pardon, and hope, and 
 love are its inheritance for evermore. 
 
 Licinius, pacing his long shadowy colonnade, 
 dwells not on the anxieties, and the separation, 
 and the sorrows of years ; not on the loss of his 
 dearest treasure and its possession by another ; not 
 even on the calm dead face bound with its linen 
 band. No ; he is back in Britain once more 
 with his living love, in the gTeen glade where the 
 bending ferns are whispering under the old oak- 
 tree. 
 
 A step in the hall rouses him from his medi- 
 tations, and a kind grave smile steals over the 
 General's face at the appreach of his favourite 
 slave. 
 
 The Eoman patrician looks what he is — a war- 
 worn veteran, bronzed and hardened by the 
 influence of many campaigns in many climates. 
 He is not yet past the prime of his bodily vigour, 
 and there is a severe beauty about his noble 
 features, and tne beard and hair already touched
 
 140 EKOS. 
 
 with grey, that possesses considerable attraction 
 still. Valeria, no mean judge, asserts that he is, 
 and always will be, a handsome man, but that he 
 does not know it. She respects him much, likes 
 him a good deal, and he is the only person on 
 earth for whose good opinion she has the slightest 
 value. In truth, though she would not confess it 
 even to herself, she is a little afraid of her good- 
 heai-ted, brave, and thouohtful kinsman. 
 
 A man who has reached mature age without 
 forming family ties is always to a certain extent 
 in a false position. No amount of public interest 
 will stop up the little chinks and corners, so to 
 speak, which are intended by Nature to contain 
 the petty cares and pleasures and vexations of 
 domestic life. ^Yitllout the constant association — 
 the daily friction — of wife and chilcbeu, a cynical 
 disposition becomes selfish and morose — a kind 
 one, melancholy and forlorn. 
 
 Licinius feels a blank in his existence, which 
 nothing he has yet found serves to fill ; and he 
 often wonders in himself why the barbarian slave 
 should be almost the only creature in Rome for 
 whom he entertains a feeling of interest and 
 regard. 
 
 As he takes his place on the couch by the
 
 THE EOMAN. 141 
 
 supper-table, Esca gives him to driuk ; and tlie 
 patrician cannot help thinking the while, how he 
 would like to have such a son, tall and handsome, 
 with so warlike an air, — a son whom he could 
 instruct in all the intricacies of his glorious pro- 
 fession, whose mind he could educate, whose genius 
 he could foster, and whose happiness he could 
 watch over and insure. 
 
 They converse freely enough during the Gene- 
 ral's temperate meal, — an egg, a morsel of kid, a 
 few grapes, and a flask of common Sabine wine. 
 Esca tells his master the encounter of the previous 
 evening, and the friendship he had made in con- 
 sequence after nightfall. Liciuius laughs at his 
 account of the skirmish, and the eunuch's discom- 
 fitm-e. 
 
 " Xevertheless," says he, "I trust he did not 
 recognise you. It can have been none other than 
 Spado, whom you treated so unceremoniously; 
 and Spado is just now a prime favourite with 
 Csesar. I might find it difficult to protect you if 
 he knew where to find you, for charms and philtres 
 are deadlier weapons in such hands as his, than 
 sword and spear in yours and mine. Did he take 
 note of your person think you, Esca, ere he went 
 down ?"
 
 142 EROS. 
 
 "I can hardly believe it," answered Esca. 
 " The evening was dark, and the confusion great. 
 Moreover, I fled with the poor gud they had 
 surrounded, the very instant I could snatch her 
 out of the throng." 
 
 " And you saw these Jews in their home, you 
 say ?" pursued Licinius, gi'avely. " I have heard 
 much of that people, and, indeed, served against 
 them in Syria. Are they not morose, cruel, blood- 
 thirsty ? Slayers of men, devourers of children ? 
 Have they not fearful orgies in which they feast 
 upon human ilesh? And one day in the week 
 that they devote to solitude and silence, and 
 schemes of hatred against all mankind ? Are you 
 sure that your entertainers belonged to this 
 detestable nation ?" 
 
 " Christians and Jews," replied Esca, who had 
 cauffht the sound of the former title in the course 
 of liis conversation with Calchas. 
 
 " Are thev not the same ?" returned Licmius ; 
 and to this question the barbarian was unable to 
 furnish a reply.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Pif 
 
 ^W^ 
 
 
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 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 
 
 XDER the porch of one of the most 
 luxurious houses iu Rome, two men 
 jostled in the dubious light of early 
 morning. Exclamations of impatience 
 were succeeded by a mutual recognition, and a 
 hearty laugh, as Damasippus and Oarses, freed- 
 men and staunch clients of Julius Placidus, 
 recognized each other's eagerness to pay court to 
 their joint patron. They had risen from their 
 beds while it Avas yet dark, and hurried hither in 
 order to be the lirst to salute the Tribune at his 
 morning levee. Yet they found the gi-eat hall 
 fiUing already with a bustling crowd of friends, 
 retainers, clients, and dependants. Damasippus 
 was a short, square, beetle-browed man, with a 
 villanous leer. Oarses, a pale, sedate, and some-
 
 144 EEOS. 
 
 wliat precise personage. But with this marked 
 difference of exterior, an expression of unscrupu- 
 lous and thorough-paced knavery was common to 
 both. Said Damasippus to Oarses, with a shrug 
 of affected disgust — 
 
 " It may be hours yet ere he will see us I Look 
 at this wretched crowd of parasites and flatterers ! 
 They will follow the patron to his bath ! They 
 will besiege him in his very bed ! Oh, my friend ! 
 Eome is no longer the place for an honest man." 
 
 To which Oarses replied, in subdued and humble 
 tones — 
 
 " The flies gather round the honey, though it is 
 only for what they can get. But the sincerest 
 gratitude and affection draw you and me, my dear 
 companion, to the side of the illustrious Tribune," 
 
 " You speak truth," returned Damasippus. " It 
 is sad to see how few clients are uninfluenced by 
 mean and sordid thoughts. An honest man is 
 becoming as rare at Kome as at Athens. It was 
 not so in the days of the republic — in the golden 
 age — in the good old times !" 
 
 " Oh, for the good old times !" exclaimed 
 Oarses, still in the same low and unmoved voice, 
 
 " Oh, for the good old times !" echoed Dama- 
 sippus ; and the two knaves, with their arms on
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 145 
 
 each other's shoulders, fell to 23acing tlie extremity 
 of tbe hall, and exchanging spiteful remarks on 
 the concourse with which it was filled. 
 
 The Tribune's house was the most perfect of its 
 kind in the whole city. Standing apart and 
 surrounded by a wall and garden of its own, it 
 combined the luxurious splendour of a palace 
 with the comfort and seclusion of a private resi- 
 dence. Everything of ornament that was most 
 costly and gorgeous, had been procured by Placidus 
 to decorate his mansion. Everything of art that 
 was most conspicuous and effective hung on his 
 w^alls, stood in picturesque groups about his apart- 
 ments, or lay scattered in rich profusion on his 
 floor. The hangings that veiled his own sleeping 
 room from the public eye, were of embroidered 
 crimson silk, woven in the looms of Asia, and 
 probably taken by the strong hand of the success- 
 ful soldier as spoils of war. The very pavement 
 of tlie hall was of the richest mosaic, traced in 
 fanciful patterns and inlaid with gold. 
 
 As the moruino; drew on, it was trodden bv a 
 multitude of feet. No one of his rank held so 
 numerous a levee as Julius Placidus. In tlie 
 concourse that thronged it now, might be seen 
 men of all countries, classes, characters, professions 
 
 VOL I. L
 
 146 EEOS. 
 
 and denomiuations. Unlike Licinius, who, indeed, 
 owed his influence solely to the firm consistency 
 and unbending rectitude of his character, the 
 Tribune let no opportunity pass of binding an 
 additional partizan to liis cause by the ties of self- 
 interest and expectation. They were crowding in 
 now through the wide open doors ; and while the 
 spacious hall was nearly filled, the approach to it, 
 and the street itself outside, were choked with 
 applicants, who had one and all, directly or in- 
 directly, something to get, or ask, or hope for, from 
 the Tribune. Here, an artist brought his picture 
 carefully di-aped in the remains of an old garment ; 
 yet not so entirely concealed, but that a varnished 
 corner might be visible, and the painter, nothing 
 loth, might be prevailed on by earnest solicitations 
 to reveal, bit by bit, all the beauties of his pro- 
 duction. There, a sculptor was diligently pre- 
 serving the outlines of his model, wrapped in its 
 wet cloth, from collision with the bystanders, and 
 assuming credit for the mysterious beauties of a 
 work, which, perhaps, if uncovered, would have 
 grievously disappointed the eyes that scanned it 
 so cmiously. In one corner stood a jeweller, 
 holding in his hand a gorgeous collar of pearls 
 and rubies, prepared by the patrician's orders, and
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 147 
 
 testifying at once to the ingenuity of the trades- 
 man, and the munificence of his employer. In 
 another, waited a common-looking slave, with a 
 down-cast eye and a bloated unwholesome face ; 
 who, nevertheless, assumed an important air that 
 seemed to say, he was sure of an early audience, 
 a^, indeed, was more than probable in consideration 
 of his tidings, a message from venal beauty to the 
 admirer who paid his welcome tribute in gold. 
 Parasites and flatterers elbowed their way insolently 
 in the midst, as though they had a right to be 
 there, whilst honest men, brown with toil, and 
 sighing wistfully for the fresh breezes of Tibur or 
 Prseneste, kept aloof, abashed and shrinking, 
 though they had but come to ask for their due. 
 Nearest the hangings that concealed the bed-room, 
 stood a dirty slave, bespattered with the tilth of 
 the fish-market, and exhaling an odour of garliek 
 that cleared for him an ample breathing-space 
 even in a Eoman crowd ; but the knave knew the 
 value of his intelligence, and how it would obtain 
 him favour in the Tribune's eyes. Ko less im- 
 portant a communication than this, that a mullet 
 had been taken the night before of nearly six 
 pounds weight, and that so lavish a patron as 
 Placidus, should have the first offer to purchase at
 
 148 EEOS. 
 
 ix thousand sesterces* a pound. He waited with 
 his eyes intently fastened on the curtains, and 
 took no notice of the jabber and confusion that 
 pervaded the halL 
 
 Presently the crowd gave way a little, ebbing 
 backward on either side, and forming a lane as it 
 were for three men, who were regarded as they 
 passed, with glances of great awe and admiration. 
 There was no mistaking the deep chest and broad 
 shoulders of one of these, even apart from the 
 loud frank voice in which Hirpinus the Gladiator 
 was Avont to convev his observations, without 
 much respect for persons. He was accompanied, 
 on the present occasion, by two individuals, ob- 
 viously of the same profession as himself — Hippias 
 the fencing-master, and Euchenor the boxer. All 
 three conversed and laughed boisterously. It 
 was obvious, that, even at that early hour, they 
 had not broken their fast without a generous 
 draught of wine. " Talk not to me," said Hirpi- 
 nus, rolling his strong shoulders, and observing 
 with great complacency the attention he excited — 
 " Talk not to me, I have seen them all — Dacians, 
 
 * The sedercius was at fliis period about one penny three 
 fartliinfjs, or rather more. Tlie sedercium, or tliouaaud acsterces, 
 lihiiut 7/. ICs.
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 149 
 
 Gauls, Cimbrians, Ethiopians, every barbarian 
 that ever put on a breastplate. By Hercules, 
 they were fools to this lad. Why, the big yellow- 
 haired German, whom Caesar gave us for the lion 
 last summer, would not have stood up to him 
 for a quarter of an hour. He was taller, maybe, 
 a little, but he hadn't the shape, man — he hadn't 
 the shape ! You'll hardly call me a kid that 
 hasn't put his horns out, will ye ? Well, he gave 
 me so much to do with the cestus, tbat 1 wouldn't 
 have taken it off for a flagon of cheap wine, I 
 tell ye. \^liat think ye of that, my little Greek ? 
 You don't call it so bad for a beginner, I hope ?" 
 
 He tm-ned to Euchenor as he spoke, a beau- 
 tifully-made young man, of extraordinary strength 
 and symmetry, with the regular chiselled features 
 of his country, and as evil an expression as ever 
 lowered on a fair face. 
 
 The Greek pondered awhile before he an- 
 swered. Then he made the apposite inquiry : — 
 
 " Were you sober, Hu-pinus, when you stood up 
 to liim? or had you sucked down a skinful of 
 wine, before you took your bellyful of boxing ?" 
 
 The other burst into a loud laugh. " Drunk or 
 sober," said he, " You know the stuff I am made 
 of, just as well as I know yom- weight to an
 
 150 EROS. 
 
 oimce, and your reach to an inch. Ay, and 
 your mettle too, my lad ! though it don't take 
 a six-foot rod to get to the bottom of that. 
 Hark'ye, this Briton of mine would eat such a 
 man as you, body and bones and all, just as I 
 would eat a thrush, and be ready for another 
 directly, without so much as washing his mouth 
 out." 
 
 A very sinister scowl passed across Euchenor's 
 face, who did not quite rehsh this low valuation of 
 his prowess, and, above all, his courage ; but he 
 was a professional boxer, and, as such, necessarily 
 possessed thorough command of temper, so he 
 only glanced a little scornfully over the other's 
 frame, which was getting somewhat into flesh, 
 and observed, — 
 
 " There will be money to be made out of him 
 then in the arena, if he falls into good hands, and 
 is properly trained." 
 
 Hitherto, the fencing-master had joined but care- 
 lessly in the conversation, and, indeed, scarcely 
 seemed aware of its purport ; but the concluding 
 sentence arrested his attention, and turning upon 
 Hii-pinus ratlier angrily, and with the air of one 
 accustomed to command, he said, abruptly, — 
 
 " Why did you not bring him to me at once ?
 
 A TEIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 151 
 
 If you have let liim slip tbroiigli those gTeat 
 fingei-s of yours, it will be the worst job you have 
 been concerned in for many a day. Have a care, 
 Hirpinus ! Better men than you have been under 
 the net ere now, and the great games are not so 
 far off. It needs but a Avord from me to send you 
 into the arena to-morrow, a fair prey for a 
 clumsy trident, and a ftithom or two of twine. 
 You know that as well as I do." 
 
 Hippias spoke truth. A retired gladiator, cele- 
 brated for his deadly swordmanship and the num- 
 ber of his victories, he had been long ago invested 
 by Kero with the wooden foil, whicli represented 
 a free discharge and immunity from future ser- 
 vices in the amphitheatre. Habituated, hoAvever, 
 to the excitement of the fatal sport, and rejoicing 
 in that spurious fame which so distinguished men 
 of his class at Rome, he had set up a school for 
 the express purpose of training swordsmen for the 
 arena ; and had won such favour, under two 
 successive emperors, by the proficiency to which 
 he brought his pupils, aud his talent for arranging 
 the deadly pageants in which they figured, that 
 he had gradually become an incontrovertible 
 authority on such matters, and the principal 
 manager of the games in the amphitheatre. Of
 
 152 EEOS. 
 
 his reputation for gallantry, and the strange fasci- 
 nation such men possessed for the Eoman ladies, 
 we have already spoken ; but if his smiles were 
 com-ted amongst the fair spectators of their con- 
 tests, his \Yord was law with the gladiatoi-s them- 
 selves. He it was who paired the combatants, 
 supplied them with weapons, adjusted theh dis- 
 putes, and, in most cases, held the balance on 
 which their very lives depended. A threat from 
 Hippias, was more dreaded by these ruffians, than 
 the home-thrust of spear and sword. 
 
 Now, Hirpiuus, although a fearless and skilful 
 fighter, had his assailable point. On one occasion, 
 when he had entered the circus as a secutor, that 
 is to say, a combatant armed with sword and 
 helmet, against the retiarius, who bore nothing 
 but a trident and net, he had the misfortune 
 to find himself involved in the meshes of the 
 latter, and at the mercy of his antagonist. The 
 lloman crowd, though fickle in its approval, and 
 uncertain in its antipathies, spared him in con- 
 sideration of the gallant fight he had made ; but 
 Hirpiuus, never forgot his sensations at that 
 moment. Bold and fierce as he was, it com- 
 pletely €(ywed him ; and the boisterous, boastful 
 prizefighter would turn pale at the mention of a
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 153 
 
 trident and a net. Tliere was something ludicrous 
 in the manner in wliich he now quailed before 
 Hippias, eyeing him with the same sort of im- 
 ploring glance that a dog casts at his master, and 
 obviously persuaded of the speedy fulfilment of 
 his threat. 
 
 "Patience, patron!" he growled, apologetically. 
 " I know where the lad is to be found. I can lay 
 my hand on him at any time. I can bring him 
 with me to the School. Why I talked myself 
 well-nigh hoarse, and stayed out the drinkiog 
 of two flagons of sour Sabine to boot, while I 
 canvassed him to become one of us, and join the 
 family forthwith. Why, you don't think, patron, 
 I would be so thick-witted as to let liim go with- 
 out finding out where he lives ? He is either a 
 freedman, or a slave of " 
 
 "Hush, fool?" interrupted Hippias, angi'ily, 
 observing that Damasippus and Oarses were hover- 
 ing near, and listening intently for a piece of 
 intelligence which he had resolved should be 
 conveyed bv himself, and none other, to the 
 Tribune's ear. " There is no occasion to publish 
 it by the crier. Hadst thou but brains, man, 
 in any sort of proportion to those great muscles 
 of thine, I could tell thee why, ^\'ith some hope
 
 154: EEOS. 
 
 of being; understood. Enong-li ! lose not sitrlit of 
 the lad ; and, above all, keep thy tongue within 
 thy teeth !" 
 
 The big gladiator nodded a sulky affirmative, 
 puzzled, but obedient ; and the two freedmen, 
 with many courteous bows and gestures, accosted 
 the champions with all the humility and defer- 
 ence to which such public characters were 
 entitled. 
 
 "They say there will be two hundred pairs 
 of swordsmen, matched at the same moment," 
 observed Damasippus, in allusion to the coming 
 games ; " and not a plate of steel allowed in the 
 circus, save sword and helmet. But of course, 
 my Hippias, ^ou know best if this is true." 
 
 "And three new lions from Libya, loose at 
 once," added Oarses, " with a scene representing 
 shepherds surprised over their watch-fires ; real 
 rocks, I have been told, and a stream of running 
 water in the amphitheatre, with a thicket of live 
 shrubs, from which the beasts are to emerge. 
 Your taste, illustrious Hippias, the people say, 
 is perfect. It has obviously been consulted here." 
 
 Hippias smiled mysteriously, and a little scorn- 
 fully. 
 
 " There is a lion from Libya," said he ; " I can
 
 A TKIBUXE OF THE LEGIOXS. 155 
 
 tell you thus mucli. I, myself, saw him fed only 
 yesterday, at sunset." 
 
 " Is he large ? is he strong ? is he fierce ?" 
 questioned the two, almost in a breath. " When 
 did he come ? is he quite fidl-grown ? will they 
 keep him without flesh? Of course the shep- 
 lierds are not to be armed ? Will they be con- 
 demned criminals, or only paid gladiators ? JSTot 
 that it matters much, if the lion is a pretty 
 good one. We had a tiger, you know, last year, 
 that killed five Ethiopian slaves, though they all 
 set on him at once." 
 
 " But they were unarmed," interrupted Euche- 
 nor, whose cheek had turjied a shade paler during 
 the discussion. "Give me the proper weapons, 
 and I fear no beast that walks the earth." 
 
 " Unarmed, of course !" repeated Damasippus, 
 "and so was the tiger. A more beautiful crea- 
 ture was never seen. Do you not remember, 
 Oarses, how he waved liis long tad and stroked 
 his face with his paws, like a kitten before it 
 begins to play ? And then, when he made his 
 spring, the first black was rolled up like a ball? 
 I was in the fifth row, my friends, yet I heard 
 his bones crack, distinctly, even there." 
 
 "He was a great loss that tiger," observed
 
 156 EEOS. 
 
 Oarses, more sadly than usual ; " they should 
 never have pitted him against a tusked elephant. 
 The moment I saw the ivory, I knew how the 
 fight must end, and I wagered against the 
 smaller animal directly. I would have lost my 
 sesterces, I think, willingly, for it to have won ; 
 but the beautiful beast never had a chance." 
 
 " It was the weight that did it, patrons — the 
 weight," observed Hirpinus. " Man or beast, 
 I will explain to you that weight must always — " 
 
 But here the Gladiator's dissertation was broken 
 off by the movement of the crimson hangings, 
 and the appearance of Placidus emerging on 
 his levee of expectants, bright and handsome, 
 ready dressed for the day. 
 
 The Tribune owned one advantage at least, 
 which is of no small service to a man who embarks 
 on a career demanding constant energy and 
 watchfulness ; he possessed that good digestion 
 wliich is proverbially held to accompany an 
 elastic conscience and a hard heart. Though 
 supper the previous evening had been a luxu- 
 rious and protracted meal, — though the wine- 
 cup had passed round very often, and the guests 
 with singing brains had shown themselves in 
 their own characters to their cool-headed and
 
 A TEIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 157 
 
 desiorniDg host, — the hitter, refreshed" bv a nioht's 
 rest, now appeared with the glow of health on 
 his cheek, and its lustre in his eye. As he looked 
 about him on the throng of clients and de- 
 pendants, his snow-white gowa fastened and looped 
 up with gold, his mantle adorned with a broad 
 violet hem, his hair and beard carefully per- 
 fumed and arranged; a murmur of applause 
 went round the chcle which, perhaps, for once 
 was really sincere, and even the rough gladiators 
 could not withhold their approbation from a 
 fig-ure that was at once so richly attired, so manly, 
 and so refined. 
 
 " Hail, my friends !" said the Tribune, pausing 
 in the entrance, and looking graciously around 
 him on the crowd. 
 
 " Hail, 2^''^'^i'0ii •" answered a multitude of 
 voices, in every key from the subdued and 
 polished treble of Oarses, to the deep hoarse bass 
 of the gladiators. 
 
 Piacidus moved from one to the other, with 
 an easy, though dignified cordiality of manner 
 which he well knew how to assume when disposed 
 to cultivate the favour of his inferiors. Clear- 
 headed and discerning, in a wonderfully short 
 space of time he had despatclied the various
 
 158 EKOS. 
 
 matters wliich constituted the business of his 
 morning levee. He had admired the model, 
 declined the painting, ordered the statue, bought 
 the jewels, answered the fair suppliant's message, 
 and secured the mullet by sending to the market 
 for it at once. The honest countr}Tnen, too, 
 he dismissed sufSciently well-pleased, considering 
 they had received nothing more substantial than 
 smiles ; and he now turned leisurely to Hippias, 
 as if life had no duty so engrossing as the pur- 
 suit of pleasure, and asked him eagerly after the 
 training of his gladiators, and the prospects of 
 the amiDhitheatre. 
 
 Hippias knew liis own value : he conversed 
 with the patrician as an equal ; but Hhpinus and 
 Euchenor, appreciating the worth of a rich patron, 
 gazed on Placidus with intense respect and admi- 
 ration. The latter, especially, watched the Tri- 
 bune with his bright cunning eye, as if prepared to 
 plant a blow on the first unguarded place. 
 
 "But your swordsmen are all too well known," 
 urged the patrician on the fencing-master. " Here 
 is old Hirpinus covers his whole body with two 
 feet of steel as if it were a complete suit of armour, 
 and never takes his point off his adversary's 
 heart the wliUe. The others are nearly as wary ;
 
 A TKIBL^XE OF THE LEGIONS. 159 
 
 if they encounter ordinary fencers they are sure 
 to conquer ; if we match them against each 
 other and the people Avould see blood drawn, 
 they must fight bhndfolded,* and it becomes a 
 matter of mere chance. Xo, what we want is 
 a new man ; one whom we can train without 
 his being discovered, and bring out as an unknown 
 competitor to try for the Emperor's prize. What 
 say you, Hijipias? 'Tis the only chance for a 
 winning game now." 
 
 " I have heard of such a one," answered Hin- 
 pias. " I think I can lay my hand on an untried 
 blade, that a few weeks' training will polish up 
 into the keenest weapon we have sharpened yet ; 
 at least, so Hirpinus informs me. What say'st 
 thou, old Trojan? Tell the patron how thou 
 earnest to light on thy match at last." 
 
 Thus adjured, the veteran gladiator related 
 at considerable length, interrupted by many ex- 
 clamations of wonder from Damasippus and 
 Oarses, his chance meeting with Esca in the 
 forum, and subsequent trial of strength and 
 skill at the gymnasium. Somewhat verbose, as 
 we have seen, when he could secure an audience, 
 Hirpinus waxed eloquent on so congenial a 
 
 * TLi.-i inhuman practice was actually in vogue.
 
 160 EROS. 
 
 theme as the beauty and stature of his new friend. 
 "As strong as an ox, patron," said he, "and as 
 lithe as a panther! Hand, and foot, and eye, 
 all keeping time together like a dancing girl's." 
 The spring of a wild-cat, and the light footfall 
 of a deer. Then he would look so well in the 
 arena, with his fair young face, set on his tower- 
 ing neck, like that of the son of Peleus. Indeed, 
 if he should be vanquished, the women would 
 save him every time. Why, one of the fairest 
 and the noblest ladies in Eome, stopped her litter 
 in the crowded street while we walked together, 
 and bade him come and speak to her from sheer 
 good-will. In faith, he was as tall, and twice as 
 handsome as the very Liburniaus who carried her 
 on their shoulders." 
 
 The Tribune was laughing heartily at the 
 athlete's eloquence ; but Damasippus, who never 
 took his eyes off his patron's face, thought the 
 evil lauah was more malicious than usual at the 
 mention of the Liburniaus, and there was a false 
 ring in the mirthful tones with which he asked 
 for more information as to this yomig Apollo, 
 and the dame on whom his appearance seemed 
 to have made such an impression. 
 
 " I know most of the great ladies pretty well
 
 A TRIBUNE OF THE LEGIONS. 161 
 
 by siglit," answered the honest swordsman. "Faith, 
 a man does not easily forget the faces he sees 
 turned on him in the arena, when he has his 
 point at his adversary's thi'oat, and they bid 
 him drive it merrily home, and never spare. 
 But of all the faces I see under the awning, 
 there's not one looks down so calm and beautiful 
 on a death-struf>:2:le as that of the noble Valeria." 
 
 "Like the moon on the torrent of Anio," ob- 
 served Damasijjpus. 
 
 " Like thei stars on the stormy Egean," echoed 
 Oai'ses. 
 
 " Like notliing but herself," continued Hir- 
 pinus, who esteemed liis own judgment incontro- 
 vertible on all matters relating to physical beauty 
 whether male or female. " The handsomest 
 face and the finest form in Eome. It was 
 not likely I could be mistaken, though I only 
 caught a glimpse of her neck and arm for a 
 moment, as she drew back the cm-tains of her 
 
 litter, like " And here Hirpinus paused 
 
 for a simile, concluding with infinite relish, " like 
 a blade half drawn, and retm-ned with a clash 
 into the sheath." 
 
 Again, Damasippus thought he perceived a 
 quiver on his patron's face. Again there was 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 EROS. 
 
 sometliing jarring in tlie Tribune's voice, as he 
 said to Hippias — 
 
 " We must not let this new Achilles escape us ! 
 
 See to it, Hippias. Who knows ? He may make 
 a worthy successor, even for thee, thou artist in 
 slaughter, when he has worked his way up step 
 by step, and victory by victory, to the topmost 
 branch of the tree." 
 
 Hippias laughed good-humom*edly, turning at 
 the same time his right thumb outward, and 
 pointing with it to the roof. It was the gesture 
 with wliich the Roman crowd in the amphitheatre 
 refused quarter to the combatant who was down.
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 STOLEN WATERS. 
 
 THE broken column of one of the build- 
 ings destroyed in the gi'eat lire of 
 Rome, and not yet restored, was 
 glowing crimson in the setting sun. 
 Beneath its base, the Tiber was gliding gently 
 on towards the sea. There was a subdued hum 
 even in the streets of the imperial city that 
 denoted how the burden' and heat of the day 
 were now past ; and the languor of the hour seemed 
 to pervade even those who Avere compelled to toil 
 on in the struggle for bread, and who could only 
 in imagination abandon themselves to repose. 
 Uu a fragment of the ruin sat Esca, gazing 
 intently on the water as it stole by. To all 
 appearance his listless and dreamy mood was 
 unconscious of surrounding objects, yet his atti-
 
 164 EROS. 
 
 tude was that of one prepared to start into action 
 at a moment's notice ; and though his arms were 
 folded and his head bent down, his ear was watch- 
 ing eagerly to catch the faintest sound. 
 
 It is a patience-wearing process, that same 
 waiting for a. woman ; and under the most favour- 
 able circumstances is productive of much irri- 
 ta,tion, disappointment, and disgust. In the first 
 place a man is invariably too soon, and this 
 knowingly and as it were with malice prepense. 
 Taking time thus by the forelock, delays his 
 flight considerably, and indeed reduces his pace 
 to the slowest jjossible crawl ; so that when the 
 appointed moment does arrive, it seems to the 
 watcher that it has been past a considerable 
 period, and that his vigil should be already over, 
 when in reality it is only just begun. Then, as 
 the minutes steal on, come the different mis- 
 givings and suspicions which only arise on such 
 occasions, and which in his right senses the self- 
 torturer would be incapable of harbouring. Cir- 
 cumstances which, when the appointment was 
 made, seemed expressly adapted to further his 
 designs, now change to insurmountable difficulties, 
 or take their place as links in a chain of deception 
 which he persuades himself lias been forged -with
 
 STOLEN WATERS. 165 
 
 unlieard-of duplicity, expressly for liis discom- 
 fiture. He thinks badlv of everv one, worst of all 
 of her, whose unpardonable fault is that she is now 
 some fifty seconds late. Then comes a revulsion 
 of feeling, and his heart leaps to his mouth, for 
 yonder, emerging on the long perspective, is a 
 female figure obviously advancing this way. The 
 expected object is tall, shm, pliant, and walks with 
 the firm fi*ee step of a deer on the heather. The 
 advancing shape is short, fat, awkward, and 
 waddles in its gait ; nevertheless, it is not till it 
 has reached within arm's length that he will allow 
 himself to be con^onccd of ]us disappointment. 
 If its ears are pretty quick, the unoffending figure 
 may well be shocked at the deep and startling- 
 execration which its presence calls forth. Then 
 begins another phase of despondency, humilia- 
 tion, and bitter self-contempt, tlirougli all which 
 pleasant changes of feeling the old feverish long- 
 ing remains as strong as ever. At last she comes 
 round the corner in good earnest, with the well- 
 known smile in her eyes, the well-known greeting 
 on her lips, and he forgets in an instant, as if they 
 had never been, liis anxiety, his anger, his re- 
 proaches, all but the presence that brings light to 
 his life and gladness to his heart once more.
 
 166 EKOS. 
 
 Esca rose impatiently at intervals, walked a 
 few paces to and fro, sat down again, and threw 
 small fragments of the rnin into the water. 
 
 Presently a figure draped in black and closely 
 veiled moved down to the river's side near where 
 the Briton sat, and began filling a pitcher from 
 the stream. It could hardly have passed the 
 column without seeing him, yet did it seem un- 
 conscious of his presence ; and who could tell how 
 tlie heart might be beating within the bosom, or 
 the cheek blushing behind the veil ?" 
 
 That veil was lifted, however, Avith an exclama- 
 tion of surprise, M'hen Esca stooped over her to 
 take the pitcher from her hand, and Mariamne's 
 cheek turned paler now than it had been even on 
 the memorable niglit when he rescued her from 
 the grasp of Spado and his fellow-bacchanals. 
 
 He too murmured some vague words of as- 
 tonishment at finding her here. If they were 
 honest, for wliom could he have been waiting so 
 impatiently ? and it is possible besides, Mariamne 
 might have been a little disappointed had she 
 been allowed to fill her pitcher from the Tiber for 
 herself. 
 
 The Jewess had been thinking about him a 
 good deal more than she intended, a good deal
 
 STOLEN WATERS. 167 
 
 more than she knew for the last two days. It is 
 strange liow very insensibly such thoughts gain 
 growth and strength without care or culture. 
 There are plants we prune and water every day 
 which never reach more than a sickly and stunted 
 vitality after all, and there are others that we 
 trample down, cut over, tear up by the very roots, 
 which nevertheless attain such vigour and luxu- 
 riance that our walls are covered by their 
 tendrils, and our dwellings pervaded by their 
 fragrance. 
 
 Mariamne was no bigoted daughter of Judah 
 for whom the stranger was an outcast because a 
 heathen. Her constant intercourse with Calchas 
 had taught her nobler truths than she had derived 
 from the traditions of her fathers. And with all 
 her pride of race and national predilections, she 
 had imbibed those principles of charity and tole- 
 ration which formed the ground-work of a new 
 religion destined to fehed its light upon all the 
 nations of the earth. 
 
 It was not precisely as a brother though, that 
 Mariamne had yet brought herself to regard the 
 handsome British slave. 
 
 They were soon conversing happily together. 
 The embarrassment of meeting had disappeared
 
 168 EROS. 
 
 Avith the first affectation of surprise. It was not 
 long before he told her how tired he had been 
 of watching by the broken column at the river- 
 side. 
 
 " How could you know I should come here ?" 
 asked the girl with a look of infinite simplicity 
 and candour, though she must have remembered 
 all the time, that she had not scrupled to hint at 
 the daily practice in course of conversation with 
 Calchas, on the night when Esca brought her 
 safely home. 
 
 *' I hoped it," he replied with a smile. " I have 
 been a hunter, you know, and have learned that 
 the shyest and wildest of animals seek the water- 
 side at sunset. I was here yesterday, and waited 
 two long hours in vain." 
 
 She glanced quickly at him, but withdi'ew her 
 eyes immediately, while the blood mounted to her 
 pale face. 
 
 " Did you expect to see me ?" she asked in a 
 trembling voice ; " and I never left the house the 
 whole of yesterday ! Oh, how T wish I had known 
 it !" then she stopped in painful embarrassment, 
 as having said too much. 
 
 He appeared not to notice her confusion. He 
 seemed to have some confession to make on his
 
 STOLEN WATERS. 169 
 
 own part. Something he hardly dared to tell her, 
 yet which Ms honest nature could not consent 
 should be withheld. At last he said it with an 
 effort. 
 
 " You know what I am ! My time is not my 
 own, my very limbs belong to another. It 
 matters not that the master is kind, good, and 
 considerate. Mariamue, I am a slave !" 
 
 " I know it," she answered, very gently, ^vith a 
 loving pity beaming in her dark eyes. "My 
 kinsman Calchas told me as much after you went 
 away." 
 
 He drew a long breath as if relieved. " And 
 yet you wished to see me again ?" he asked, while 
 a gleam of happiness brightened his face. 
 
 "Why not?" she rejDlied with a kind smile. 
 " Though that hand is a slave's it struck my enemy 
 down with the force of a himdred warriors : thouoh 
 that arm is a slave's, it bore me home with the 
 care and tenderness of a woman. Ah ! tell me 
 not of slavery when the limbs are strong, and the 
 heart is brave and pure. Though the body be 
 chained with iron fetters, what matter so long as 
 the spii'it is free? Esca, you do not believe I 
 think the worse of vou because vou are a heathen 
 and a slave ?"
 
 170 EKOS. 
 
 Her voice was very soft and low wliile slie spoke 
 his name. No voice had ever sounded so sweetly 
 in his ears before. A new, strange sense of happi- 
 ness seemed to pervade his whole being, yet he 
 had never felt his situation so galling and unen- 
 durable as now. 
 
 " I would not have you think the Avorse of me," 
 he answered, eagerly, " upon any account. Listen, 
 Mariamne : I was taken captive in war and 
 brought here with a hundred others to Rome. We 
 were set up like cattle in the slave-market. Like 
 cattle also we were purchased one by one by 
 those who esteemed themselves practised judges 
 of such human wares. I was bought by Caius 
 Lucius Licinius at the price of a yoke of oxen, or 
 a couple of chariot-horses. Bought and sold like 
 a beast of the field, and driven home to my new 
 master !" 
 
 He spoke with a scorn all the more bitter from 
 having been repressed so long. Yet he kept back 
 and smothered the indignation rising within him. 
 This was the first ear that had ever been open to 
 his wrongs, and the temptation was strong to pour 
 them freely forth to so interested and partial a 
 listener. To do him justice he refrained from the 
 indulgence. He had been taught from childhood
 
 STOLEX WATERS. 171 
 
 that it was weak and womanish to complain ; and 
 the man had not forgotten the lessons of the boy. 
 
 Her gentle voice again interposed in soothing 
 and consoling accents. 
 
 " But he is kind," she said, " kind and con- 
 siderate — you told me so yourself. I could not 
 bear to think him otherwise. Indeed, Esca, it 
 would make me very unhappy to know that 
 you " 
 
 Here she broke off suddenly, and snatched up 
 the pitcher he had been filling for her with such 
 haste as to spill half its contents over his dress 
 and her own. " There is some one watching us ! 
 Farewell !" she whispered in a breathless, fright- 
 ened voice, and hurried away, turning her head 
 once, however, to cast a glance over her shoulder, 
 and then hastened home faster than before. 
 
 Esca looked after her while she continued in 
 sight, either unconscious of their vicinity, or at all 
 events not noticing a pair of bold black eyes 
 that were fixed upon him with an expression of 
 arch and ludicrous surprise. He turned angrily, 
 however, upon the intruder, when the black eyes 
 had gazed their fill, and their owner burst out into 
 a loud, merrv, and mocking laugh.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " MYREHINA. 
 
 YitlvHINA'S voice was at all times 
 pitched in a high, key : her accents 
 were very distinct and shrill, admi- 
 rably ada]3ted for the expression of 
 derision or the conveyance of sarcastic remarks. 
 
 " So I have run you into a corner at last," she 
 said ; " and a pretty hunt you have given me ! 
 'Tis to draw water, of course, that you come down 
 to the Tiber-side just at suuset ; and you met her 
 quite by accident I dare say, that slip of a girl in 
 her wisp of black clothes, who flitted away just now 
 like a ghost going back again to Proserpine. Ah ! 
 you gape like a calf when they put the garland 
 on him for sacrifice, and the poor thing munches 
 the very flower-buds that deck him for destruc- 
 tion. Well, you at least are reserved for a
 
 " MYEKHINA." 173 
 
 nobler altar, and a worthier fate than to give 
 your last gasp to a sorceress in the suburbs. 
 Jupiter ! how you stare, and how handsome you 
 look, you great, strong barbarian, when you are 
 thoroughly surprised !" 
 
 She put her face so close up to his, to laugh at 
 him, that the gesture almost amounted to a 
 caress. MjTrhina had no slight inclination to 
 make love to the stalwart Briton on her own 
 account, pending the conclusion of certain nego- 
 tiations she felt bound to carry out on her 
 mistress's. These Avere the result of a conver- 
 sation held that morning while the maid was as 
 usual combing out her lady's long and beautiful 
 hair. 
 
 Valeria's sleep had been broken and restless. 
 She tossed and tm^ned upon her pillow, and put 
 back the hair from her fevered cheeks and 
 throbbing temples in vain. It was weary work 
 to lie gazing with eyes wide open at the flickering 
 shadows cast by the night-lamp on the opposite 
 wall. It was still less productive of sleep to 
 shut them tight and abandon herself to the vision 
 thus created, which stood out in life-like colours 
 and refused to be dispelled. Do what she would 
 to forget him, and conjure up some other object,
 
 174 EKOS. 
 
 tliere was tlie young barbarian, towering like a 
 demigod over the mean efifeminate throng ; there 
 were the waving linen garments, and the reeling- 
 symbols, and the tossing hands, and the scowling 
 faces of the priests of Isis ; there was the dark- 
 clad girl with her graceful pliant form ; and 
 there, yes, always there, in his maddening beauty, 
 was the tall brave figure, gathering itself in act 
 to strike. She could not analyse her feelings, 
 she believed herself bewitched, Valeria had not 
 reached the prime of her womanhood, without 
 havmg sounded, as she thought, eveiy chord of 
 feeling, tasted of every cup that promised grati- 
 fication or excitement. She had been flattered 
 by brave, courted by handsome, and admired by 
 clever men. Some slie fancied, some she liked, 
 some she laughed at, and some she told herself 
 she loved. But this was a new sensation alto- 
 gether. This intense and passionate longing she 
 had never felt before. But for its novelty it 
 would have been absolutely painfid. A timid 
 girl might have been frightened at it ; but Valeria 
 was no timid girl. She was a woman, on the 
 contrary, who, with all the eagerness and im- 
 petuosity of her sex, possessed the tenacity of 
 purpose and the resolution of a man.
 
 "MYKRHINA." 175 
 
 Obviously, as she could not conquer the senti- 
 ment, it was her nature to indulge it, 
 
 " I have a message to Licinius," said she, 
 turning at the same time from the mu-ror, and 
 suffering her long brown hair to fall over her 
 face like a veil. " A message that I do not care 
 to write, lest it should be seen by other eyes. 
 Tell me, Myrrhina, how can I best convey it to 
 my kinsman?" 
 
 The waiting-maid was far too astute to suggest 
 the obvious arrangement of a private interview, 
 than which nothmg could have been easier, or 
 to offer her o-wn services, as an emissary who had 
 already proved herself trustw^orthy in many a 
 well-conducted intrigue; for Myrrhina knew her 
 business too weU to hesitate in j)lajdng into the 
 hands of her mistress. So she assumed a look of 
 perplexity and deep reflection while, finger on 
 forehead, as the result of profound thought, she 
 made the following reply : — 
 
 " It would be safest. Madam, would it not, to 
 trust the matter to some confidential slave ?" 
 
 Valeria's heart was beatiug fast, and the fair 
 cheek was pale again now, while she answered, 
 with studied carelessness, 
 
 " Perhaps it would, if I could think of one.
 
 176 EKOS. 
 
 You know his household, Myrrhina. Can I safely 
 confide in any of them ?" 
 
 " Those barbarians are generally faithful," ob- 
 served the maid, ^Yith tlie most unconscious air. 
 " I know Liciuius has a British slave in Avhom 
 he places considerable trust. You have seen him 
 yourself, Madam." 
 
 " Have I ?" answered Valeria, moving restlessly 
 into a more comfoi'table attitude. " Should I 
 know him again ? What is he hke ?" 
 
 The blood had once more mounted to her 
 forehead, beneath the long hair. Mp'rhina, who 
 was beliind her, saw the crimson mantling even 
 on her neck. She was a slave, and a waiting- 
 maid, but she was also a woman, and she could 
 not resist the temptation ; so she answered ma- 
 liciously — 
 
 "He is a big awkward-looking youth, of lofty 
 statm-e, Madam, and with light curly hair. 
 Stupid doubtless, and as trusty, probably, as he 
 is thick-witted." 
 
 It is not safe to jest with a tigress unless you 
 are outside the bars of her cage. Valeria made 
 a quick impatient movement that warned the 
 speaker she had gone too far. The latter was 
 not wanting in reacUness of resource. " I could
 
 "MYEEHIXA. 177 
 
 bring him here, madam," she added, demureh', 
 "within six hours." 
 
 Her lady smiled pleasantly enough. " This 
 evening, Myrrhina," she said. "I shall scarcely 
 be ready before. By the way, I am tked of those 
 plain gold bracelets. Take them away, and don't 
 let me see them again. This evening you 
 said — I suppose I had better leave it entirely 
 to you." 
 
 Both maid and mistress knew what this meant 
 well. It implied full powers and handsome re- 
 muneration on one side, successful manceuvring 
 and judicious blindness on the other. Valeria 
 disposed herself for a long day's dreaming : 
 stretched indeed in bodily repose, but agitating 
 her mind with all the harassins; alternations of 
 anticij3ation, and hope, and doubt, and fear — not 
 without a considerable leavening of triumph, and 
 a shght tinge of shame : while Myrrhina set 
 herself energetically to work on the task she 
 had undertaken ; which, indeed, ajjpeared to pos- 
 sess its difficulties, when she had ascertained 
 at the first place she sought, namely the house 
 of Licinius, that Esca was abroad, and no one 
 knew in what direction he was likely to be found. 
 
 A woman's wit, however, usually derives fresh 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 EKOS. 
 
 stimulus from opposition. Myrrhiua was not 
 without a large circle of acquaintances ; and 
 amongst others owned a staunch friend, and oc- 
 casional admirer, in the person of Hirpinus the 
 gladiator. That worthy took a sufficient interest 
 in the athletic Briton to observe his movements, 
 and was aware that Esca had spent some two 
 or three hours by the Tiber-side on the previous 
 evening ; a fact which he imparted to Myrrhina, 
 on cross-examination by the latter, readily enough, 
 professing at the same time his own inability to 
 account for it, inasmuch as there was neither 
 wine-shop nor quoit-ground in the vicinity. Not 
 so his intriguing little questioner. "A man does 
 not wait two or tliree hours in one spot," thouglit 
 Myrrhiua, " for anything but a woman. Also, 
 the woman, if she comes at all, is never so far 
 behind her time. The probability then is, that 
 she disappointed him, and the conclusion that he 
 will be there again about sunset the following day." 
 Thus arguing, she resolved to attend at the 
 trysting-place, and make' a third in the interview, 
 whether welcome or not ; killing the intervening 
 time, which miglit otherwise have hung heavily 
 on her hands, by a sei'ies of experiments on the 
 susceptibility of Hirpinus — an amusing pastime.
 
 "MYKEHINA." 179 
 
 but wanting in excitement from its harmlessness ; 
 for the gladiator liad arrived at that period of 
 life when outward charms, at least, are esteemed 
 at their real value, and a woman must possess 
 something more than a merry eye and a saucy 
 lip if she would hope to rival the attraction of 
 an easy couch and a flagon of old wine. Never- 
 theless, she laughed, and jested, and ogled, 
 keeping her hand in, as it were, for practice 
 against worthier occasions, till it Avas time to 
 depart on her errand, when she made her escape 
 from her sluggish admirer, with an excuse as 
 false, and as plausible, as the smile on her lip. 
 
 Hu'pinus looked after her as she flitted away, 
 laughed, shook liis head, and strode heavily off 
 to the wine-shop, with an arch expression of 
 amusement on his brave, good-humoured, and 
 somewhat stupid face. 
 
 Mp-rhina, drawing a veil about her head and 
 shoulders so as effectually to conceal her features, 
 proceeded to thread her way through the laby- 
 rinth of impoverished streets that led to the 
 river side, as if familiar with their intricacies. 
 When she reached her destination at last, she 
 easily hid herself in a convenient lurking-place, 
 from which she took care not to emerge till she
 
 180 EKOS. 
 
 had learned all she wished to know about Esca 
 and his companion. 
 
 " What do you want with me ? " asked the 
 Briton, a little disturbed by this saucy apparition, 
 and not much pleased with the waiting-maid's 
 familiar and malicious air. 
 
 " I am unwelcome, doubtless," answered the 
 girl, with another peal of laughter ; " nevertheless 
 you must come with me whether you will or no. 
 We Roman maidens take no denial, young man ; 
 we are not like your tall, pale, frozen women of 
 the North." 
 
 Subscribing readily to this opinion, Esca felt 
 indignant at the same time to be so completely 
 taken possession of " I have no leisure," said he, 
 " to attend upon your fancies. I must homeward ; 
 it is already nearly supper-time." 
 
 "And you are a slave, I know," retorted 
 Myrrhina with a gesture of supreme and pro- 
 voking contempt. " A slave ! You, with your 
 strength, and stature, and courage, cannot call an 
 hour of tliis fine cool evening your own." 
 
 *•' I know it," said he, bowmg his head to con- 
 ceal the flusli of indignation that had risen to his 
 brow. "I know it. A slave must clean his 
 master's platter, and fill his cup to drink."
 
 " MYREHINA." 181 
 
 She could see that her thi-ust had pierced home ; 
 but with all her predilections for his handsome 
 person, she cared not how she wounded the manly 
 heart within. 
 
 " And being a slave," she resumed, " you may 
 be loaded and goaded like a mule ! You may be 
 kicked and beaten like a dog ! You cannot even 
 resent it with hoofs and fangs as the dumb animal 
 does when his treatment is harsher than he 
 deserves! Y^ou are a man, you know, though a 
 barbarian ! You must cringe, and whine, and bite 
 yom- lips, and be patient !" 
 
 Every syllable fi-om that sharp tongue seemed 
 to sting him hke a wasp : his whole fi-ame quivered 
 with anger at her taunts ; but he scorned to show 
 it, and putting a strong constraint upon his feel- 
 ings, he only asked quietly — 
 
 " AYhatwoidd you with me ? It was not to tell 
 me this that you watched and tracked me here." 
 
 Myrrhina thought she had now brought the 
 metal to a sufficiently high temperature for fusion. 
 She proceeded to mould it accordingly. 
 
 "I tracked you here," she said, "because I 
 wanted you. I wanted you, because it is in my 
 power to render you a great service. Listen, 
 Esca ; you must come with me. It is not ever}^
 
 182 EROS. 
 
 man in Eome would require so much persuasion 
 to follow the steps of a pretty girl." 
 
 She looked very arch and tempting while she 
 spoke, but her attractions were sadly wasted on the 
 preoccupied Briton ; and if she expected to win 
 from him any overt act of admiration or encourage- 
 ment, she was wofuUy disappointed. 
 
 "I cannot follow yours," said he ; "my way lies 
 in another direction. You have yourself reminded 
 me that I am not my own master." 
 
 " That is the very reason," she exclaimed, 
 clajDping her hands exultingly. "I can show you 
 the way to freedom. No one else can help you 
 but Myrrhina ; and if you attend to her directions 
 you can obtain your liberty without delay." 
 
 " And why should you be disposed to confer on 
 me such a benefit?" he asked, with instinctive 
 caution, for the impulsive nature that jumps so 
 hastily to conclusions, and walks open-eyed into a 
 trap, is rarely born north of the Alps. " I am a 
 barbarian, a stranger, almost an enemy. What 
 have you and I in common ?" 
 
 '' Perhaps I have fallen in love with you 
 myself," she laughed out ; " perhaps you may be 
 able to serve me in return. Come, you are as 
 cold as the icy cKmate in which you were bred.
 
 a TirfTDT^TTTXT . " 
 
 MTRKHINA. 183 
 
 You shall take your choice of the two reasons; 
 only waste no more time, but gird yourself, and 
 foUow me." 
 
 Though it had never been dormant, the desii'e 
 for liberty had, witliin the last two days, acqmred 
 a painful mtensity in Esca's breast. He had not 
 indeed yet confessed to himself \hat he cherished 
 an ardent attachment for Mariarane; but he was 
 conscious that lier society possessed for him an 
 indefinable attraction, and that \^-ithout her 
 neither liberty nor an^-thing else would be worth 
 having. This new sensation made his position 
 more galling than it had ever been before. He 
 could not ignore the fact, that it was absurd for 
 one whose existence was not his own, to devote 
 that existence to another; and the deoi-adation 
 of slavery, which his lord's kindness had veiled 
 from him as much as possible while in his house- 
 hold, now appeared in all its naked deformity. 
 He felt that no effort would be too desperate, no 
 sacrifice too costly, to make for liberty ; and that he 
 would readily risk hfe itself, and lose it, to be free, 
 if only for a week. 
 
 " You have seen my mistress," resumed Myrr- 
 hina, as they hun-ied on through the now darkening 
 streets ; " the fairest lady and the most powerful
 
 184 EROS. 
 
 in Eome ; a near kinswoman, too, of your master. 
 It needs but a word from her to make of you what 
 she pleases. But she is wilful, you must know, 
 and imperious, and cannot bear to be contradicted. 
 Few women can." 
 
 Esca had yet to learn this peculiarity of the 
 sex ; but he heard Myrrhina mention her mistress 
 with vague misgivings, and forebodings of evd far 
 different from the unmixed feelings of interest 
 such a communication would have called forth a 
 while ago. 
 
 " Did she send for me expressly ?" he asked, 
 with some anxiety of tone. " And how did you 
 know Avhere to find me in such a town as tliis ?" 
 
 "I know a great many things," rephed the 
 laughing damsel ; " but I do not choose every one 
 to be as wise as myself. I will answer both your 
 questions though, if you will answer one of mine in 
 return. Valeria did not mention you by name, and yet 
 I tliinli there is no other man in Eome would serve 
 her turn but yourself; and I knew that I should 
 find you by Tiber-side, because you cannot keep a 
 goose from the water, nor a fool from his fate- 
 Will you answer my question as frankly? Do 
 you love the dark, pale girl that fled away so 
 hastily when I discovered you together ?"
 
 "MYKEHINA." 185 
 
 Tliis was exactly what he had been asking himself 
 ilic tthole evenmg, with no very conclusive result ; 
 it was not likely, therefore, that J\Iyrrhina should 
 eKcit a satisfactory reply. The Briton coloured a 
 little, hesitated, and gave an evasive answer. 
 / " Like tends to like," said he. " What is there 
 in common between two strangers, from the two 
 farthest extremities of the empire ?" 
 
 Myrrhina clapped her hands in triumph. " Like 
 tends to like, say you ?" she exclaimed, exultingly. 
 " You will tell another tale ere an hour be past.' 
 Hush ! be silent now, and step softly ; but follow 
 close behind 7ne. It is very dark in here, under 
 the trees." 
 
 Thus cautioning him, she led Esca through a 
 narrow door out of the by-street, mto which they 
 had diverged, and stepped briskly on, with a con- 
 fidence born of local knowledge that he imitated 
 with difficulty. They were now in a thickly 
 planted shrubbery which effectually excluded the 
 rays of a rising moon, and in which it was scarce 
 possible to distinguish even Mp-rhina's white dress. 
 Presently they emerged upon a smooth and level 
 lawn, shut in by a black group of cedars, through 
 the lower branches of which peeped the crescent 
 moon that had not lono- left the horizon, and
 
 186 EKOS. 
 
 turniuo- tlie corner of a colonnade, under a eliostlv- 
 looking statue, traversed another door, wliich 
 opened softly to Myrrliina's toucli, and admitted 
 them into a long carjieted passage, with a lamp 
 at the farther end. 
 
 " Stay here wliile I fetch a light," wliispered 
 the damsel ; and gliding away for that pui'pose, 
 retm*ned presently to conduct Esca through a 
 large dark hall into another passage, where she 
 stopped abruptly, and lifting some silken hangings, 
 that served for the door of an apartment, simply 
 observed, "You will find food and wine there," 
 and pushed liim in. 
 
 Floods of soft and mellow light dazzled his eyes 
 at first ; but he soon realized the luxmious beautv 
 of the retreat into which he had been forced. It 
 was obvious that all the resources of wealth had 
 been applied to its decoration with a lavish hand, 
 guided by a woman's sensibility and a woman's 
 taste. The walls were painted in frescoes of the 
 richest colouring, and represented the most alluring 
 scenes. Here the three jealous goddesses flashed 
 upon bewildered Paris, in all the lustre of their 
 immortal charms. A living envy sat on Juno's 
 brow; a living scorn w^as stamped on Minerva's 
 pale, proud face ; and the living smile that won"
 
 " MYKEHINA." 187 
 
 her the golden ajiple, shone in Aphrodite's winning 
 eyes. There glowed imperial Chce in her magic 
 splendom* ; and the very victims of her spell 
 seemed yet to crave, with fiery glances and with 
 thirsty lips, for one more draught from the 
 tempting, luscious, and degrading cup. A shapely 
 Endymion lay stretched in di-eams of love. A 
 frightened Leda shi'ank while she caressed. Here 
 fair Adonis bled to death, ripped by the monster 
 ui the forest glade; there, where the broad- 
 leaved lilies lay sleeping on the shady pool, bent 
 fond Narcissus, to look and long his life away ; an 
 infant Bacchus rolled amongst the gTapes, m 
 bronze ; a little Cupid mourned his broken bow, 
 in marble. Around the cornices a circle of nymphs 
 and satyrs, in bas-relief, danced hand-in-hand — 
 wild woodland creatm-es, exulting in all the luxu- 
 riance of beauty, all the redundancy of strength ; 
 and, yonder, just where the lamp casts its softest 
 light on her attractions, stood the likeness of 
 Valeria herself, depicted by the cunning painter in 
 a loose, flowuig robe that enhanced without con- 
 ceahng the stately proportions of her figure, and 
 in an attitude essentially her own, — an attitude 
 expressive of dormant passion, lulled by the lan- 
 guid insolence of power, and tinged ^^'ith an im-
 
 188 EEOS. 
 
 perious coquetry that she had found to be the 
 most aUuring of her charms. 
 
 It was bad enough to sit in that voluptuous 
 room, under that mellow light, drinking the 
 daintiest produce of Falernian vineyards, and 
 gazmg on such an image as Valeria's — an image 
 of one who, beyond all women, was calculated 
 to madden a heated brain, whose beauty could 
 scarcely fail to captivate the outward senses, and 
 take the heart by storm. It was bad enough to 
 press the very couch of which the cushions still 
 retained the print of her form — to see the shawl 
 thrown across it, and trailing on the floor as though~- 
 but now flung off — to touch the open bracelet 
 hastily unclasped, yet warm fsom its contact with 
 her arm. AU this was bad enough, but worse was 
 still to come. 
 
 Esca was in the act of setting down the goblet 
 he had drained, and his eye was resting with an 
 expression of admiration, not to be mistaken, on 
 the picture opposite, when the rustling of the 
 hangings caused him to turn his head. There 
 was no more attraction now in bounding nymph 
 or brilliant enchantress ; haughty Juno, wise 
 IMinerva, and laugliing Venus with her sparkling 
 girdle, had passed into the shade. Valeria's likeness
 
 " MYREHIXA." 189 
 
 was no longer the masterpiece of tlie apartment, 
 for there in the doorway appeared the figure of 
 Valeria herself. Esca sprang to his feet, and thus 
 they stood, that noble pair, confronting each other 
 in the radiant light. The hostess and her guest 
 — the lady and the slave — the assailant and the 
 assailed.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 NOLENS — VOLENS. 
 
 ALEEIA trembled in every limb ; yet 
 should slie have remained the calmer 
 of the two, inasmuch as hers could 
 scarcely have been the agitation of 
 surprise. Such a step, indeed, as that on which 
 she now ventured, had not been taken without 
 much hesitation and many changes of mind. 
 
 No woman, we believe, ever becomes utterly 
 unsexed ; and the process by which even the bold- 
 est lose their instinctive modesty, is gradual in 
 the extreme. The power, too, of self-persuasion, 
 which is so finely developed in the whole human 
 race, loses none of its efficacy in the reasonings of 
 the less logical, and more impulsive half. People 
 do not usually plunge headlong into vice. The 
 shades are almost imperceptible by which the
 
 NOLEXS — VOLENS. 191 
 
 love of admiration deepens into vanity, and vanity 
 into imprudence, and imprudence, especially if 
 thwarted by advice and encouraged by opportunity, 
 into crime. Nevertheless, the stone that has 
 once been set in motion, is pretty sure to reach 
 the bottom of the hill at last : and " I mio-ht " 
 grows to " I will," and " I will," ere long, becomes 
 "I musty Valeria's first thought had only been 
 to look again upon an exterior that pleased her 
 eye ; then she argued that having sent for her 
 kinsman's slave, there could be no harm in speaking 
 to him : indeed, it would seem strange if she did 
 not ; and under any circumstances, of course there 
 was no occasion that her colloquy should be over- 
 heard by all the maidens of her establishment, or 
 even by Myi-rliina, who, trusty as she might be, 
 had a tongue of surpassing activity, and a love of 
 gossip not to be controlled. 
 
 She ignored, natm-ally enough, that any unusual 
 interest in the Briton should have caused her thus 
 to summon liim mto her own private and peculiar 
 retreat ; thus to surround him with all that was 
 dazzling to the eye, and allui-mg to the senses ; 
 thus to appear before him in the full glow of her 
 personal beauty, set off by all the accessories of 
 dress, jewels, lights, flowers, and perfumes, that
 
 192 EEOS. 
 
 she could command. If slie sent for liim, it was 
 but natural that he should find her encircled by 
 the usual advantages of her station. It was no 
 fault of hers, that these were gorgeous, picturesque, 
 and overpowering. 'He might as well blame the old 
 Falernian for its seduction of the palate, and its 
 confusion of the brain. Let him take care of 
 liimself ! she would see him, speak to him, smile 
 on him, perhaps, and be guided hy circumstances. 
 A wise resolution this last in all cases, and by no 
 means difficult to keep when the circumstances 
 are under our own control. 
 
 Valeria, woman-like, was the first to speak, 
 though she scarcely knew what to say. With a 
 veiy becoming air of hesitation she kept clasping 
 and unclasping a bracelet, the fellow of the one 
 on the couch. She was doubtless conscious tliat 
 her round white arm looked rounder and whiter 
 in the process. 
 
 " I have sent for you," she began, " because I 
 am informed I can rely implicitly on your truth 
 and secresy. You are one they tell me who is 
 incapable of betraying a trust. Is it not so ?" 
 
 It is needless to say that Esca was already 
 somewhat bewildered with the events of the 
 evening, and in a mood not to be surprised at
 
 NOLENS — VOLEXS. 193 
 
 anytliing. Nevertheless, be could only bow liis 
 bead in acknowledgment of this tribute to bis 
 honesty, and murmur a few indistinct syllables of 
 assent. She seemed to gain confidence now the 
 ice was broken, and went on more fluently. 
 
 "I have a secret to confide. A secret that 
 none but yourself must know. Honour, reputation, 
 the fame of a noble family, depend on its never 
 being divulged. And yet I am going to impart 
 this secret to you. Am I not rash, foolish, and 
 impulsive, thus to place myself in the power of 
 one whom I know so little ? What miLst you 
 thiak of me ? AMiat do you think of me ?" 
 
 The latter question, propounded with a deej^en- 
 ing colour and a glance that conveyed volumes, 
 was somewhat cHfQcult to answer. He mis^ht 
 have said, " Think of you ? Why, that you are 
 the most allm-ing mermaiden who ever tempted a 
 mai-iner to shipwreck on the rocks !" but what he 
 did say was this : 
 
 " I have never feared man, nor deceived woman 
 yet. 1 am not going to begin now." 
 
 She was a little disappointed at the coldness of 
 his answer ; yet her critical eye could not but 
 approve the proud attitude he assumed, the stern 
 look that came over liis face, while he spoke, 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 EEOS. 
 
 She edo-ecl a little nearer him and went on in a 
 softened tone. 
 
 "A woman is always somewhat lonely and 
 helpless, whatever may be her station, and oh! 
 how liable we are to be deceived, and how we 
 weep and wring our hands in vain when it is so- 
 But I knew you from the first. I can read cha- 
 racters at a glance. Do you remember when I 
 called you to my litter in the street while you 
 were walking with Hirpinus the gladiator ?" 
 
 Again that warm crimson in the cheek — again 
 that speaking ilash from those dangerous eyes. 
 Esca's head was beginning to turn, and his heart 
 to beat with a strange sensation of excitement and 
 surprise. 
 
 "I am not likely to forget it," said he, with a 
 sort of proud humility. " It was such an honour 
 as is seldom paid to one in my station." 
 
 She smiled on him more kindly than ever. " I 
 looked for you again," she murmured, '• and saw 
 you not. I wanted one in whom I could confide. 
 I have no counsellor, no champion, no friend. I 
 said what has become of him ? who else will do 
 my bidding, and keep my secret ? Then Myrrhina 
 told mo that you would be here to-night." 
 
 She seemed to liave something more to say
 
 NOLENS — YOLENS. 195 
 
 that would not out. She looked at the Briton 
 with expectant, almost imploring eyes ; but Esca 
 was young and frank and simple, so he waited for 
 her to go on, and Valeria, discouraged and intimi- 
 dated for the first time, proceeded in a colder and 
 more becomins^ tone. 
 
 " The packet with which I intrust you must be 
 delivered by yourself into the hands of Licinius. 
 Not another creature must set eyes on it. No 
 cme must know that you have received it from me, 
 nor, indeed, that you have been here to-night. If 
 necessary you must guard it "with your life ! Can 
 I depend upon you ?" 
 
 He was beginning to feel that he could not 
 depend upon himself much longer. The lights, 
 the perfumes, the locality, the seductive beauty 
 near him, so lovely and so kind, were making 
 wild work with his senses and liis reason. Never- 
 theless, the whole position seemed so strange, so 
 impossible, that he could hardly believe he was 
 awake. There was plenty of pride in his character, 
 but no leavening of vanity ; and like many another 
 gentle and inexperienced nature, he shrank from 
 offending a woman's delicacy, with a repugnance, 
 that in some cases is exceedingly puzzling and 
 provoking to the woman herself. So he put a
 
 196 EEOS. 
 
 strong constraint upon his feelings, and undertook 
 the delivery of the missive^ with incredible sim- 
 plicity and composm-e. The statue of Hermes at 
 the door could not have looked colder and more 
 impenetrable. She was a little at a loss. She 
 must detain him at all hazards, for she felt that 
 when once gone he would be gone for ever. She 
 determined to lead him into conversation ; and she 
 chose the topic which, originatingj perhaps, in the 
 instinctive jealousy of a woman, was of all others 
 the most subversive of her plans. 
 
 " I saw you once again," she said, " but it was 
 in the hurry and confusion of that sudden broil. 
 It was no fault of mine that the priests committed 
 so gross an outrage on the poor thing you rescued. 
 I would have helped you myself had you required 
 assistance, but you carried her off as an eagle 
 takes a kid. What became of the girl ?" 
 
 The question was accompanied by a sharp in- 
 quisitive glance, and a forced smile of very per- 
 ceptible annoyance wreathed her lip when she 
 perceived Esca's embarrassed manner and redden- 
 ing brow ; but she had unwittingly called up the 
 Briton's good genius, and for all women on earth, 
 gave one, he was a man of marble once more. 
 
 "I placed her in safety with her father," 'he
 
 NOLENS — YOLENS. 197 
 
 replied ; adding witli an assumption of deep humi- 
 lity, " Will you please to give me your commands 
 and let me depart ?" 
 
 Valeria was so totally unused to opposition in 
 any of her whims or caprices that she could 
 scarcely believe this obvious indifference was real. 
 She persuaded herself that the Briton was so over- 
 powered by her condescension, as to be only afraid 
 of trespassing too far on such unexpected kind- 
 ness, and she resolved that it should be no fault 
 of hers if he were not quickly undeceived. She 
 sank upon the couch in her most bewitching at- 
 titude, and looking fondly up in his face, bade 
 him fetch her tablets from the ^vriting-stand. 
 '•' For," said she, " I have not yet even prepared 
 my communication to Licinius. Shall you be 
 very weary of me, if I keep you my prisoner so 
 long ?" 
 
 Was it accident or desim that entan^ed those 
 rosy fingers with Esca's, as she took the tablets 
 from his hand ? Was it accident or design that 
 shook the hair off her face, and loosed the rich 
 brown clusters to fall across her glowing neck and 
 bosom. It was surely strange that when she bent 
 over the tablets her cheek turned pale, and her 
 hand shook so that she could not form a letter on
 
 198 EEOS. 
 
 the yielding wax. She beckoned him nearer and 
 bent her head towards him till the drooping curls 
 trailed across his arm. 
 
 "I cannot write," said she, in trembling ac- 
 cents. " Something seems to oppress me — I am 
 faint — I can scarcely breathe — Myrrhina shall 
 give you the missive to-morrow. In the mean- 
 time, we are alone. Esca, you will not betray 
 me. I can depend upon you. You are my slave, 
 is it not so? This shall be your manacle !" 
 
 While she yet spoke, she took the bracelet from 
 her arm and tried to clasp it round his wrist ; but 
 the glittering fetter was too narrow for the large- 
 boned Briton, and she could not make it meet. 
 Pressing it hard with both hands, she looked up 
 in his face and laughed. 
 
 One responsive glance. The faintest shadow of 
 yielding on those impassible features, and she 
 would have told him all. But it came not. He 
 shook the bracelet from his arm; and while he did 
 so, she recovered herself, with the instantaneous 
 self-command women seem to gather from an 
 emergency. 
 
 " It was but to try your honesty !" she said, very 
 haughtily, and rising to her feet. " A man who is 
 not to be tempted, even by gold, can be safely
 
 NOLENS — VOLENS. 199 
 
 trusted in such an affair as mine. You may go 
 now," she added, with the slightest bend of her 
 head. "To-morrow, if I require you, I shall 
 take care that you hear from me through Myr- 
 rhina." 
 
 She looked after liim as he disappeared under 
 the silken hangings of the portal : her face 
 quivered, her bosom heaved, and she clenched 
 both hands till the round white arms grew hard 
 as marble. Then she bit her lip once, savagely, 
 and so seemed to regain her accustomed com- 
 posure, and the usual dignity of her bearing. 
 
 Nevertheless, when the despised bracelet caught 
 her eye, lying neglected on the couch, she dashed 
 it fiercely down, and stamped upon it, and crushed 
 and ground the jewel beneath her heel against the 
 floor.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 C^SAE. 
 
 ^ HEN a woman feels herself scorned, 
 her first impulse seems to be revenge 
 at any price. Some morbid senti- 
 ment, which the other sex can hardly 
 fathom, usually prompts her in such cases to 
 select for her instrument the man, whom in her 
 heart, she loathes and despises, whose society is 
 an insult and whose attentions are a disgrace. 
 Thus lowering herself in her own esteem, she 
 knows that she inflicts a poisoned wound on the 
 offender. 
 
 With all Valeria's self-command, her feelings 
 had nearly got the better of her before Esca left 
 the house. Had it been so, she would never 
 have forgiven herself. But she managed to
 
 CiESAR. 201 
 
 restrain tliem, and preserved an outward com- 
 I^osure even wliile ^Myrrhina prepared her for 
 reposa That damsel was much puzzled by the 
 upshot of her mauceuvres. From a method of her 
 own, which long practice rendered familiar, she 
 had made herself acquainted with aU that oo- 
 curred between her mistress and the handsome 
 slave. Why their interview should have had no 
 more definite result, she was at a loss to conceive. 
 Altogether, Myrrhina was inclined to think that 
 Esca had been so captivated by her own charms, 
 as to be insensible to those of, Valeria. This 
 flattering supposition opened up a perspective of 
 hazard, intrigue, and cross-purposes, that it was 
 delicious to contemplate. The maid retu'ed to 
 her couch exulting. The mistress writhed in an 
 agony of wounded pride and shame. 
 
 Morning, however, brought its unfailing ac- 
 cession of clear-sightedness and practical resolve. 
 There are hom-s of the night in which we can 
 abandon ourselves to love, hatred, despair, or 
 sorrow with a helplessness that possesses in it 
 some of the elements of repose ; but with da^vn 
 reality resumes her sway, and the sufferer is 
 indeed to be pitied, who can turn away from 
 day light, without an impulse to be up and doing,
 
 202 EEOS. 
 
 wlio wishes only, in tlie lethargy of utter deso- 
 lation, that it was evening once more. 
 
 Valeria was not a woman to pass over the 
 slight she had sustained. Few of them but will 
 forgive an injury more readily than an insult. 
 
 Long before she rose she had made up her 
 mind where, and when, and how to strike ; no- 
 thing remained but to select the weapon, and put 
 a keener edge upon the steel. 
 
 Now Valeria had long been aware, that as £ar 
 as was compatible with his disposition Julius 
 Placidus was devoted to her service. Indeed he 
 had told her so many a time, with an assumption 
 of off-hand gallantry, which perhaps she estimated 
 at less than its proper value. Nevertheless, the 
 compliments she received from the Tribune were 
 scarcely so well turned as might be expected from 
 a man of his outward polish, refined manners, and 
 general bad character. The woman's ear could 
 detect the ring of truth, amidst all the jingle that 
 accompanied it ; and Valeria felt that the Tribime 
 loved her as much as it was possible for him to 
 love anything but himself. • 
 
 To do her justice, she liked him none the better 
 on that account. He was a man whom she must 
 have hated under any circumstances, but perhaps
 
 C.ESAE. 203 
 
 she despised him a little less for this one redeem- 
 ing quality of good taste. Here was a weapon, 
 however, keen, and strong, and pliant, placed 
 moreover, so to speak, within reach of her hand. 
 She rose and dressed, languid, haughty, and 
 composed as usual ; but Myrrhina, who knew her, 
 remarked a red spot burning on either cheek, 
 and once a shudder, as of intense cold, passed 
 over her, though it was, a sunny morning in 
 Bome. 
 
 Juhus Placidus received a letter ere noon that 
 seemed to afford him infinite satisfaction. The 
 gilded chariot flashed brighter than ever in the 
 sun, the white horses whirled it like lightning 
 through the streets. Automedon's curls floated 
 on the breeze, and the boy was even more insolent 
 than usual without rebuke. Lolling on his velvet 
 cushions the Tribune's smile seemed to have lost 
 something of its malice ; and though the tiger- 
 look was on him still, it was that of the sleek and 
 satisfied tiger who has been fed. That look never 
 left him all day, while he transacted business in 
 the Forum, while he showed his grace and agiKty 
 at ball in the Fives' Court, while he reposed after 
 his exertions at the bath; but it was more ap- 
 parent still when the hoiu' of supper arrived, and
 
 204 EKOS. 
 
 he took Ms place in the hanquetiug-hall of Csesar, 
 with some of the bravest sohliers, the noblest 
 senators, the greatest statesmen, wits, gluttons, and 
 profligates in the empire. 
 
 A banquet Avith Vitellius was no light and 
 simple repast. Leagues of sea and miles of forest 
 had been swept to furnish the mere ground-work 
 of the entertainment. Hardy fishermen had spent 
 tlieir nights on the heaving wave, that the giant 
 tm*bot might flap its snowy flakes on the Emperor's 
 table broader than its broad dish of gold. Many 
 a swelhng hill, clad in the dark oak coppice, had 
 echoed to ringing shout of hunter, and deep- 
 mouthed bay of hound, ere the wild boar yielded 
 his grim life by the morass, and the dark grisly 
 carcase was drawn off to provide a standing-dish 
 tliat was only meant to gratify the eye. Even 
 tJie jjeacock roasted in its feathers was too gross 
 a dainty for epicures, who studied the art of 
 gastronomy under Csesar; and that taste would 
 have been considered rustic in the extreme, 
 which could partake of more than the mere fumes 
 and savour of so substantial a dish. A thousand 
 nightingales had been trapped and killed, indeed, 
 for tliis one supper, but brains and tongues were 
 all they contributed ^to the banquet, while even
 
 C^SAE. 205 
 
 tlie wilier of a roasted hare would have been 
 considered far too coarse and common food for the 
 imperial board. 
 
 There were a dozen of guests reaching roimd 
 the ivory table, and so disposed that the head of 
 each was turned towards the giver of the feast. 
 Caesar was, indeed, in his glory. A garland of 
 white roses crowned his pale and bloated face, 
 enhancmg the unhealthiness of its aspect. His 
 features had originally been well-formed and 
 delicate, expressive of wit, energy, and great 
 versatility of character. Now the eyes were 
 sunken, and the vessels beneath them so puffed 
 and swollen as to discolour the skin ; the jowl, 
 too, had become large and heavy, imparting an 
 air of sensual stupidity to the whole countenance, 
 which brightened up, however, at the appearance 
 of a favourite dish, or the smack of some rich 
 luscious wine. He was busy at present with the 
 eager, guzzling avidity of a pig ; and he propped 
 his unwieldy body, clad in its loose white gown, 
 on one flabby arm, while with the other he fed 
 himself on sharp-biting salads, salted herrings, 
 pickled anchovies, and such stimulants as were 
 served in the &st course of a Eoman entertain- 
 ment, to provoke the hunger that the rest of the
 
 206 EEOS. 
 
 meal sliould satisfy. Now and then his eye 
 wandered for an instant tlii'ongh the long shining 
 vistas of the hall, amongst its marble pillars, its 
 crimson hangings, its vases crowned with blushing 
 fruit and flowers, its side-boards blazing with 
 chalices, and flagons, and plates of burnished 
 gold, as though he expected and winced from a 
 blow ; but the restless glance was sure to return 
 to the table, and quench itself once more in the 
 satisfaction of his favourite employment. 
 
 Next to the Emperor was placed Paris, the 
 graceful pantomimist, whose girlish face was 
 already flushed with wine, and who turned his 
 dark laughing eyes from one to another of the 
 guests with the good-humoured insolence of 
 incipient intoxication. The young actor's dress 
 was extravagant in the extreme, and he wore a 
 collar of pearls, the gift of an empress, that would 
 have purchased a province. He was talking 
 volubly to a fat coarse-featm-ed man, his neigh- 
 bour, who answered him at intervals with a grunt 
 of acquiescence, but in whose twinklhig eye 
 Im-ked a world of wit and sarcasm, and from 
 whose thick sensual lips, engrossed as they were 
 with the business of the moment, would drop ever 
 and anon some pungent jest, that was sure to be
 
 C^SAR. " 207 
 
 repeated to-morrow at every supper-table iii 
 Eome. Montauus was a crafty statesman and a 
 practised diplomatist, whose society was sought 
 for at the Court, whose opinions carried weight in 
 the Senate ; but the old voluptuary had long 
 discovered that there was no safety under the 
 Empire for those who took a leading part in 
 the Council, but that certain distinction awaited 
 proficiency at the banquet — so he devoted his 
 powerful intellect to the study of gastronomy and 
 the fabrication of witty sayings ; nor did he ever 
 permit the outward expression of his countenance 
 to betray a consciousness of the good things that 
 went into and came out of his mouth. 
 
 Beyond him again reclined Licinius ; his manly 
 face and noble bearing presenting a vivid contrast 
 to those who surrounded liim, and who treated 
 him, one and all, including Csesar himself, with 
 marked deference and respect. The old soldier, 
 however, appeared somewhat weary, and out of 
 his element. He loathed these Ions: entertain- 
 ments, so opiDOsed to his own simple habits ; and 
 regarded the comj)any in his secret heart with a 
 good-humoured, yet very decided contempt. So 
 he sat through the banquet as he would have 
 kept watch on an outpost. It was tedious, it
 
 208 EEOS. 
 
 was disagreeable. There was nothing to be 
 gained by it; but it was duty, and it must be 
 done. 
 
 Far different in the frank joyous expression lie 
 knew so well how to put on, was the mien of 
 Julius Placidus, as he replied to a brief, indistinct 
 question from the Emperor (murmured with his 
 mouth full), by a sally that set every one near 
 him laughing, and even raised a smile on the 
 pale face of Vitellius himself. It was the 
 Tribune's cue to make his society universally 
 popular — to be all tilings to all men, especially to 
 win the confidence of his imperial host. There is 
 an art in social success, no less than in any other 
 triumph of natural abih'ty. The rein must never 
 be completely loosed, the bow never stretched to 
 its full compass. Latent power, ready to be 
 called forth, is the secret of all grace ; and while 
 the observed does well, it must be apparent to 
 the observer that he could do better if he chose. 
 Also, to be really popular, a man, though a good 
 deal Kked, should be a little feared. Julius 
 Placidus, excelled in the " retort courteous," 
 which he could deliver without the slightest 
 hesitation or change of countenance ; and a nick- 
 name or a sarcasm once inflicted by the ready-
 
 C^SAE. 209 
 
 witted Tribune clung afterwards to its object like 
 a burr. Then he possessed besides the invaluable 
 qualification of a discriminating taste in seasonings, 
 the result of a healthy palate, refined, but not 
 destroyed, by the culture bestowed on it ; and 
 could drink every man of them, except Montanus, 
 under the table, without his stomach or his brain 
 being affected by the debauch. 
 
 Our acquaintance Spado was also of the party. 
 Generally a buffoon of no mean calibre, and one 
 whose special talent lay in such coarse and 
 practical jests as served to amuse Vitellius when 
 his intellects had become too torjjid to appreciate 
 the nicer delicacies of wit, the eunuch was to- 
 night peculiarly dull and silent. He reclined, 
 with liis head resting on his hand, and seemed to 
 conceal as much as he could of his face, one side 
 of which was swollen and discoloured as from a 
 blow. His fat unwieldy form looked more 
 disgusting than usual in its sumptuous dress, 
 fastened and looped up at every fold with clasps 
 of emeralds and pearls, and though he ate slowly 
 and with difficulty, he seemed determined to 
 lose none of the gratifications of the meaL 
 
 There were a few more guests, — one or two 
 senators, — who with the caution, but not the 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 EEOS. 
 
 genius of Montaniis, were conspicuous for nothing 
 but their fulsome adulation of the Emperor. A 
 tall sullen looking man, commander of the Prse- 
 torian Guard, who never laid aside the golden 
 breast-plate in which he was encased, and who 
 seemed only anxious for the conclusion of the 
 entertainment. Three or four unknown and 
 undistinguished persons, called in Koman society 
 by the expressive term " Shades," whose social 
 position, and, indeed, whose very existence, de- 
 pended on the patrons they followed. Amongst 
 these were two freedmen of the Emperor, pale 
 anxious-looking beings, with haggard eyes and 
 care-worn faces. It was their especial duty to 
 guard against poison, by tasting of every dish 
 served to their employer. It might be supposed, 
 that, as in previous reigns, one such functionary 
 would have been enough ; but the great variety 
 of dainties in which the enormous appetite of 
 Vitellius enabled him to indulge, rendered it 
 impossible for any one stomach to keep pace 
 with him throughout the whole of a meal, and 
 these devoted champions took it by turns to 
 guard their master with their lives. Keen appe- 
 tites and jovial looks, were not to be expected 
 from men engaged on such a duty.
 
 C^SAE. 211 
 
 The first coui'se, though long protracted, came 
 to an end at last. Its greatest delicacy, consist- 
 ing of dormice sprinkled with poppy-seed and 
 honey, had completely disappeared. The tables 
 were cleared by a band of Asiatic youths, richly 
 habited, who entered to the sounds of wild East- 
 ern music, and bore off the fragments that re- 
 mained. As they emerged at one door, a troop of 
 handsome, fair-haired maidens, — barbarian cap- 
 tives, — simjily clad in white muslin, and gar- 
 landed Avith flowers, entered at another, carrying 
 the golden dishes and vessels that contained the 
 second course. In the meantime, hanging cur- 
 tains parted slowly from before a recess in the 
 middle of the hall, and disclosed three Syrian 
 dancing-girls, grouped hke a picture, in different 
 attitudes of voluptuous grace. Shaded lamps 
 were so disposed as to throw a rosy light upon 
 their limbs and faces ; while soft thin vapom's 
 curled about them, rising from braziers burning 
 perfumed incense at their feet. Simultaneously 
 they clashed their cymbals, and bounded wildly 
 out upon the floor. Then began a measure of 
 alternate languor and activity, now swelling into 
 frantic bacchanalian gestures, now sinking into 
 tender lassitude or picturesque repose. The
 
 212 EEOS. 
 
 Avarm blood glowed in tlie dark faces of these 
 daugiiters of the Sun, the black eyes flashed 
 under their long eyelashes, and their white teeth 
 showed like pearls between the rich red lips; 
 while the beautifully turned limbs, and the flexi- 
 ble, undulatins: forms, writhed themselves into 
 attitudes suggestive of imperious conquest, coy 
 reluctance, or yielding love. 
 
 The dance w^as soon over ; wilder and faster 
 
 flitted the glancing feet, and tossed the shapely 
 
 hands, encu'cled w ith bracelets and anklets of tiny 
 
 silver bells. A\Tien the measure was whirling 
 
 at its speediest, the three stopped short, and 
 
 at once, as if struck into stone, formed a group 
 
 of rare fantastic beauty at the very feet of 
 
 Caesar's guests ; w^ho one and all broke into a 
 
 murmur of unfeigned applause. As, touching 
 
 their mouths and foreheads with their hands in 
 
 Eastern obeisance, they retired, Placidus flung 
 
 after them a collar of pearls, to be picked up by 
 
 her who was apparently the leader of the three. 
 
 One of the Emperor's freedmen seemed about 
 
 to follow his example, for he buried his hand 
 
 in his bosom, but either changed his niind or 
 
 else found nothing there, since he drew it forth 
 
 again empty ; while Vitellius himself, plucking
 
 C^SAE. 21 
 
 o 
 
 a bracelet from his arm, threw it after the re- 
 treating dancers, remarking that it was intended 
 as '' a bribe to go away, for they only distracted 
 attention from matters of real importance, now 
 that the second course had come in," — to wliich 
 Montanus gave his cordial approval, fixing his 
 eyes at the same time on the breast of a flamingo 
 in wliich the skilful carver had just inserted the 
 point of liis long knife. 
 
 It would be endless to go into the detaOs of 
 such a banquet as that which was placed before 
 the guests of Ca3sar. Wild boar, pasties, goats, 
 every kind of shell-fish, thrushes, beccaficoes, 
 vegetables of all descriptions, and poultry, were 
 removed to make way for the pheasant, the 
 guinea-hen, the tm-key, the capon, venison, ducks, 
 woodcocks, and turtle-doves. Ever}i:hing that 
 could creep, or fly, or swim, and could boast a 
 delicate flavom' when cooked, Avas pressed into 
 the service of the Emperor; and when appetite 
 was appeased and could do no more, the strongest 
 condiments and other remedies were used to 
 stimulate fi'esh hunger and consume a fresh 
 supply of superfluous dainties. But the great 
 business of the evening was not yet half finished. 
 Excess of eating was indeed the object; but it
 
 214 EKOS. 
 
 was to excess of di-inking that the gluttons of 
 that period looked as the especial relief of every 
 entertainment, since the hope of each seemed 
 to be, that when thoroughly flooded, and, so 
 to speak, washed out with wine, he might begin 
 eating again. The Eoman was no drunkard 
 like the barbarian, for the sake of that wild 
 excitement of the brain which is purchased by 
 intoxication. No, he ate to repletion that he 
 might drink with gratification. He drank to 
 excess, that he might eat again. 
 
 Another train of slaves now cleared the table. 
 These were Nubian eunuchs, clad in white tur- 
 bans and scarlet tunics, embroidered with seed 
 pearls and gold. They brought in the dessert — 
 choice fruits heaped upon vases of the rarest 
 porcelain, sweetmeats in baskets of silver filigi'ee, 
 S}Tian dates borne by miniature golden camels 
 01 exquisite workmanship — masses of flowers in 
 the centre, and perfimies burning at the corners 
 of the table. Behind each couch containing its 
 three guests stood a sable cup-bearer, deaf and 
 dumb, whose only business it was to fill for his 
 especial charge. These mutes were procured at 
 vast expense from every corner of the empire; 
 but Caesar especially prided himself on their
 
 C^SAE. 215 
 
 similarity in face and figure. To-day lie would 
 be served by Germans, to-morrow by Gauls, the 
 next by Ethiopians, and so on; nor, though 
 deprived of the organs of speech and hearing, 
 were these ministers of Bacchus unobservant of 
 what took place amongst the votaries on whom 
 they waited ; and it was said that the mutes in 
 the palace heard more confidences, and told more 
 secrets, than all the old women in Kome put 
 together. 
 
 And now, taking his cue from the Emperor, 
 each man loosened the belt of his tunic, shifted 
 the garland of flowers off his brows, disposed 
 himself in an easier attitude on his couch, and 
 proffered his cup to be filled by the attendant. 
 The great business of eating was for the present 
 concluded, and deep drinking about to commence. 
 AATien marvelling, however, at the quantity of 
 Avine consumed by the Eomans in their enter- 
 tainments, we must remember that it was the 
 pure and unadulterated juice of the grape, — that 
 it was in general freely mixed with water, and 
 that they thus imbibed but a very small portion 
 of alcohol, which is in reahty the destructive 
 quality of all stimulants to the welfare of the 
 stomach and the bram.
 
 CHAPTEE XY. 
 
 KED FALERNIAN. 
 
 ItESAR'S eye, though dim and sunken, 
 flashed up for a moment with a spark 
 of enthusiasm. 
 
 " The beccaficoes," said he, " were 
 a thought over-seasoned, but the capon's liver 
 stewed in milk was perfection. Varus, see that 
 it is served again at the Imperial table within 
 the week." 
 
 The freedman took out his tablets and made 
 a note of the royal commands with a somewhat 
 unsteady hand, while Vitellius, draining his cup 
 to the dregs, smacked his lips, and let his great 
 chin sink on his breast once more. 
 
 The other guests conversed freely. Licinius 
 and one of the senators were involved in an 
 argument on military matters, with which the
 
 EED FALEKNIAN. 217 
 
 man of peace seemed almost as conversant as 
 the man of war, and on whicli he laid down 
 the law with far more confidence. Placidus was 
 describing certain incidents of the campaign in 
 Judaea, with an an- of unassuming modesty and 
 a deference to the opinions of others, which won 
 him no little favour from those who sat near 
 and listened, throwing in, every now and then, 
 a chance expression or trilling anecdote, deroga- 
 tary, by implication, to Vespasian's military skill, 
 and eulogistic of Vitellius ; for this reason doubly 
 sweet in the ears of him at whose board the 
 Tribune sat. Montanus, whose cup Avas filled 
 and emptied with startling rapidity, looked about 
 him for a subject on which to vent some of the 
 sarcasm with which he was charged, and found it 
 in the woe-begone appearance of Spado, who, 
 despite the influence of food and wine, seemed 
 unusually depressed and ill-at-ease. The eunuch 
 on ordinary occasions was a prince of boon 
 companions, skilled in all the niceties of gastro- 
 nomy, versed in the laws of drinking, overflowing 
 with mirth and jollity, an adroit flatterer where 
 flattery was acceptable, and a joyous buffoon who 
 could give and take with equal readiness and 
 good-humom*, w^hen banter was the order of the
 
 218 EEOS. 
 
 day. Now, less thirsty tlian usual, the feast 
 seemed to have no enliveniDg effect on his dispo- 
 sition. He was silent, preoccupied, and to all 
 appearance intent only on concealing his bruised 
 cheek from the observation of those about him. 
 He had never been struck in anger, never even 
 stood face to face with a man before, and it 
 had cowed him. The soft self-indulgent volup- 
 tuary could neither forget nor overcome his feel- 
 ings of combined wi-ath, dismay, and shame. 
 Montanus tm-ned round and emptied a brimming 
 goblet to his health. 
 
 " You are cheerless to-night, man !" quoth the 
 senator ; " you drink not, neither do you speak. 
 What, has the red Falernian lost its flavour ? or 
 has some Canidia bewitched you with her evil 
 eye? You used to be a prince of boon-com- 
 panions, Spado, — tliirsty as a camel in the 
 Libyan desert, unsatiated as the sand on which he 
 travels, and now your eye is didl, your face de- 
 jected, and your cup stands untasted, unnoticed, 
 though bubbling to the brim. By the spear of 
 Bacchus, 'tis not the fault of the liquor!" and 
 IMontanus emptied his own goblet with the air of 
 a man who thoroughly appreciated the vintage he 
 extolled.
 
 BED FALEKNIAN. 219 
 
 Vitellius looked up for an iustant, roused by 
 the congenial theme. 
 
 " There is nothing the matter with the wine," 
 said Ctesar. "Fill round." The imperial hint 
 was not to be disregarded, and Spado, with a 
 forced smile, put his goblet to his lips and drained 
 it to the last chop. In doing so the discoloration 
 of his face was very apparent ; and the guests 
 who had now arrived at that stage of conviviality 
 where candom- takes the place of politeness, 
 proceeded to make then- remarks without re- 
 serve. 
 
 " You have painted too thick," said one of the 
 freedmen, alluding to an effeminacy of the times 
 which the male sex were not ashamed to practise. 
 
 " You have taken off the paste and the skin 
 with it," continued the other, whose own mistress 
 was in the daily habit of spreachng a kind of 
 poultice over her whole countenance, and who 
 might therefore be a good judge of the process 
 and its results. 
 
 "You have been in the wars!" sneered one 
 guest. "Or the ampliitheatre !" echoed another. 
 " 'Tis a love-token from Chloe !" laughed a 
 third. " Or a remembrance from Lydia !" added 
 a fom-th. " Nay," iutei-jiosed Montanus, " our
 
 220 EEOS. 
 
 friend is too experienced a campaigner to come 
 off second-best with a foe of tliat description. 
 There must have been a warm encounter to leave 
 such traces as those. She must have been a very 
 Amazon, Spado, that could maul thee thus," 
 
 The eunuch looked from one to another of his 
 tormentors with rather an evil smile. He well 
 knew, however, that any appearance of annoyance 
 would add tenfold to the ridicule which he must 
 make up his mind to undergo, and that the best 
 way for a man to turn a jest, even when to his 
 own disadvantage, is to join in it himself ; so he 
 glanced at the Emperor, took a long draught of 
 red Falernian, and assumed a face of quaint and 
 good-humom-ed self-commiseration. 
 
 " Talk not to me of Amazons," said he, whereat 
 there was a general laugh. "Tell me not of 
 Chloes, and Lydias, and Lalages, and the rest. 
 What's a Helen of Troy compared to a flask of 
 this red Falernian ? Why good wine gets better 
 the longer you keep it, while woman loses her 
 flavour year by year. 'Faith, if you only wait till 
 she is old enough, she becomes very sour vinegar 
 indeed. Even in the first flush of her beauty, 
 I doubt whether any of you in your hearts think 
 she is wortli the trouble of catching. Still you
 
 RED FALERNIAN. 221 
 
 know a man likes to look at a pretty face. Mine 
 had not otherwise been so disfigiu-ed now, I had 
 an adventure on that score but two nights ao-o. 
 Would Caesar like to hear it ?" 
 
 Caesar gave a nod and a grunt that signified 
 acquiescence. Thus encom*aged, Spado went on : 
 
 " It was the feast of Isis. I was coming from 
 the worship of the goddess, and the celebration of 
 those sacred rites, which may not be disclosed to 
 the vulgar and the profane — mysteries too holy 
 to be mentioned save to pm-e and virgin ears." 
 Here the countenance of Montanus assumed 
 an expression that made even Caesar smile, and 
 caused the rest to laugh outright. " The procession 
 was returning filled with inspiration from the 
 goddess. The acolytes leaping and dancing in 
 the van, the priests marching majestically under 
 her symbols, and some of the noblest matrons in 
 Eome bringing up the rear. The noblest and the 
 fairest," repeated Spado, glancing round him com- 
 placently. " I name no names ; but you all know 
 that om-s is not a vulgar worship, nor an illiberal 
 creed." Here Placidus stirred somewhat uneasily 
 on liis couch, and buried his face in his cup. 
 
 " The Eoman people have ever paid the highest 
 honours to our Egyptian goddess," proceeded the
 
 222 EROS. 
 
 eunuch; "we lack the support of the plebeiau, 
 no more than the worship of the patrician. Thus 
 we flourish and drain draughts of plenty from the 
 silver udders of our sacred cow. Well, they 
 made way for us in the streets, both men and 
 women — all but one slender girl dressed in black, 
 who coming quickly round a corner found her- 
 self in the midst of us, and seemed too frightened 
 to move. In another minute she would have 
 been trampled to death by the crowd, when I 
 seized hold of her in order to di'aw her into a 
 place of safety while they passed." 
 
 " Or to see what sort of a face she hid under 
 her black hood ?" interrupted Montanus. 
 
 " Not so," replied the narrator, though obviously 
 gratified by the impeachment. " Such follies I 
 leave to senators, and statesmen, and soldiers. 
 My object was simply to afford her my protection. 
 I liad better have plucked a nettle with my 
 naked hand. The gui screamed and struggled as 
 if she had never looked in a man's face before." 
 
 " She was frightened at your beard," said one 
 of the freedmen, looking at Spado's smooth fat 
 face. The latter winced but affected not to hear. 
 " Coax a frightened woman," said he, " and 
 frighten an angry one. I flatter myself I know
 
 EED FALERNIAN. 223 
 
 how to deal with them all. The girl would have 
 been quiet enough had I been let alone, when 
 just as she began to look kindly in my face, up 
 comes an enormous barbarian, a hideous giant 
 with waving yeUow hair, and tries to snatch the 
 maiden by main force fi-om my grasp. I am a 
 strong man as you may perhaps have observed, 
 my friends, and a fierce one when my blood is up. 
 I showed fight. I struck hun to the earth. He 
 rose again with redoubled fm'y, and taking me at 
 a disadvantage while I was protecting the ghl, 
 inflicted tliis iujiu-y on my face. I was stunned 
 for an instant, and he seized that opportunity to 
 make his escape. Well for him that he did so. 
 Let him keep out of the way if he be wise. Should 
 he cross my path again, he had better be in Eu- 
 chenor's hands than mine ; I will show him no 
 mercy ." and Spado quaffed off his wine and squared 
 his fat shoulders with the air of a gladiator. 
 
 " And what became of the gui ?" asked Paris, 
 who had hitherto listened to the recital with utter 
 indifference. 
 
 "She was carried off by the barbarian," replied 
 Spado. " Poor thing ! I believe sorely against 
 her will. Nevertheless, she was borne off by the 
 Briton."
 
 224 EEOS. 
 
 " A Briton !" exclaimed Licinius, whose intense 
 contempt for Spado liad hitherto kept liim silent, 
 and who had already heard the truth of the story 
 from his slave; 
 
 "A Briton," repeated the eunuch. "It was 
 impossible he could be otherwise from his size and 
 ferocity. The Gaul, you see, is bigger than 
 tiie Eoman. The German than the Gaul. The 
 Briton by the same argument must be bigger 
 than the German; ahd this hideous giant must 
 consequently have been one of those savage 
 islanders. I take my logic from the Greeks." 
 
 "But not your boxing, it seems," observed 
 Montanus. " We must have Euchenor to give you 
 some lessons, if you run your head into these 
 street-brawls whenever you come across a woman 
 with a veil." 
 
 " Nay," answered the eunuch, " he took me at a 
 disadvantage ; nevertheless he was a large and 
 powerful athlete, there is no denying it." 
 
 " They are the finest men we have in the em- 
 pire," said Licinius, thinking in his heart that the 
 women were the fairest too. 
 
 " Their oysters are better than ours," observed 
 Cffisar, with an air of jirofound and impartial 
 judgment.
 
 EED FALEENIAN. 225 
 
 " I grant the oysters, but I deny the men," said 
 Placidus, reflecting that his patriotism would be 
 acceptable to his audience. " The Eoman is the 
 natural conqueror of the world. They cannot 
 stand against our countrymen in the arena." 
 The guests all joined in a cordial assent. Had it 
 not been so, perhaps Licinius would have scarce 
 thought it worth while to continue the argument. 
 Now, though half ashamed of his warmth, he took 
 up the matter with energy. 
 
 " There is a Briton in my house at this mo- 
 ment," said he, " who is a stronger and finer man 
 than you will produce in Eome." 
 
 " You mean that long-legged lad with the mop 
 of light hair !" said Placidus, contemptuously. " I 
 have seen him. I call him a boy, not a man." 
 
 Licinius felt somewhat irritated. He did not 
 particularly like his company ; and between two 
 such opposite natures as his own and the Tribune's 
 there existed a certain hidden repugnance, which 
 was sure sooner or later to break forth. He 
 answered angrily — 
 
 "I will match him agaiust any one you can 
 j)roduce to run, leap, wrestle, throw the quoit, and 
 swim." 
 
 " Those are a boy's accomplishments," retorted 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 EEOS. 
 
 the other, coolly. " What I maintaiii is this, that 
 whether from want of courage or skill, or both, 
 these islanders are of no use with the steeL I 
 would ^\dsl^ no better sport than to fight him 
 myself in the arena, with the permission of 
 Caesar," — and the Tribune bowed gracefully to his 
 imperial host, who looked from one to the other of 
 the disputants, without the slightest apparent 
 interest in their discussion. 
 
 At this period of the empire, when, although 
 manners had become utterly dissolute, something 
 was still left of the old audacity that had made 
 the Roman a conqueror wherever he planted his 
 foot, it was by no means unusual for men of 
 patrician rank to appear in their own proper 
 persons, a spectacle for the vulgar, in the amphi- 
 theatre. It was perhaps not unnatural that a 
 desire for imitation should at last be aroused by 
 the excessive fondness for these games of blood- 
 shed, which pervaded all classes of the com- 
 munity. We have nothing in modern times that 
 can at all convey to us the passion of the Eoman 
 citizen for the amusements of his Circus. They 
 were as necessary to his existence as daily bread. 
 Panem et Circenses had passed into a familiar 
 j)roverb. He would leave his home, neglect his
 
 EED FALEENIAN. 227 
 
 business, forfeit his bath, to sit for hours on the 
 benches of the amphitheatre, exposed to heat and 
 crowding, and every sort of inconvenience, and 
 would bring liis food with him rather than run the 
 risk of losing his place. And all this to see 
 trained gladiators shedding each other's blood, wild 
 beasts tearing foreign captives limb from Hmb, 
 and imitation battles which differed in no respect 
 from real, save that the wounded were not spared, 
 and the slaughter consequently far greater in pro- 
 portion to the number of combatants engaged. If 
 a statesman wished to com-t popularity, if an 
 Emperor desii-ed to blot out a whole page of 
 enormities and crimes, he had but to give the 
 people one of these free entertainments of blood — 
 the more victims the better — and they were ready 
 to approve of any measure, and to pardon any 
 atrocitv. 
 
 Ere long some fierce sphits panted to take part 
 in the sports they so loved to contemplate ; and 
 the disgraceful exhibition ceased to be confined to 
 hireling gladiators or condemned slaves. Knights 
 and patricians entered the arena, to contend for 
 the praises of the vulgar ; and the noblest blood in 
 Rome was shed for the gratification of plebeian 
 spectators, who sitting at ease munching cakes and
 
 228 EEOS. 
 
 sausages, could contemplate with placid interest, the 
 death-agonies of the Cornelii or the Gracchi. 
 
 Julius Placidus, like many otlier foshionable 
 youths of the period, prided himself on his skill 
 in the deadly exercises of the Circus. He had 
 appeared before the Eoman public at different 
 times, armed with all the yarious weapons of the 
 gladiator ; but the exercise in which he considered 
 himself most perfect was that of the Trident and 
 the Xet. The contest between the retiarius and 
 the secutor was always a fayourite spectacle with 
 the public. The fomier carried an ample casting- 
 net upon his shoulders, a three-pronged spear in 
 his hand; beyond this he was totally imarmed 
 either for attack or defence. The latter with a 
 short sword, yizored helmet, and oblong sliield, 
 would at fii'st sight appear to haye fought 
 at great adyantage over his opjiouent. Neyer- 
 theless the arts of the retiarius in entangling 
 liis adversary had arrived at such perfection 
 that he was constantly the conqueror. Once 
 down, and involved in the fatal meshes, there was 
 no escape for the swordsman; and from some 
 wliimsieal reason the populace seldom granted 
 him quarter when vanquished. Great actiyij;y 
 and speed of foot were the principal qualities
 
 RED FALERNIAN. 229 
 
 required by the retiartus, for if he failed iu his 
 cast he was compelled to fly from his adversary 
 while preparing his net for a fresh attempt, and if 
 overtaken his fate was sealed. 
 
 Placidiis possessed extraordinaiy personal ac- 
 tivity. His eye was very correct and his throw 
 generally deadly. It may be too that there was 
 something pleasing to the natural cruelty of his 
 disposition in the contemplation of an antagonist 
 writhing and helpless on the sand. It was his 
 delight to figure in the arena with the deadly net 
 laid in careful festoons upon his shoulder, and 
 the long barbed trident quivering in his grasp. 
 Licinius fell into the snare, if snare it was, readilv 
 enough. 
 
 " I would wager a province on Esca," said he, 
 " against any one but a trained gladiator ; and I 
 think he could hold his own with the best of them, 
 after a month's practice." 
 
 " Then you accept my challenge !" exclaimed 
 Placidus, with a studied carelessness of manner 
 that dissembled an eagerness he coidd scarcely 
 control. 
 
 " Let us hear the terms over a fresh flask of 
 Falernian," observed the Emperor, glad of such a 
 stimulant with his wine.
 
 230 EROS. 
 
 " I ask for no weapons but the Trident and the 
 Net," said Placidus, looking fixedly at Licinius. 
 " Esca, if you so call him, may be armed as usual 
 wth sword and helmet." 
 
 *' And shield," interrupted the other : too old a 
 soldier, even in the excitement of the moment, to 
 throw a chance away. 
 
 Placidus affected to demur. " Well," said he, 
 after a few moments' hesitation. " 'Tis but a 
 young swordsman, and a barbarian ; I give you the 
 shield in." 
 
 A vision crossed the brain of Licinius, that 
 already made him repent of his rasliness. He saw 
 the fine form writhing in those pitiless meshes, 
 like a beast taken in the toils. He saw the 
 frank blue eyes, looking upward brave and kindly 
 even in their despair. He saw the unsparing arm 
 raised to strike, and the bright curling locks 
 dabbled all in blood. But then he remembered 
 the Briton's extraordinary strength and activity, 
 his natural courage and warlike education — he was 
 irritated too by the insolent malice that gleamed 
 in the Tribune's eyes ; and lie persuaded himself 
 that not! ling but renown and triumph could accrue 
 to his favourite from such a contest. 
 
 " Be it so," said lie ; " retiarius and secutor.
 
 EED FALEENIAN. 231 
 
 You will have no child's play, I can tell you : and 
 now for the terms of the wager. I stake no man's 
 life against a morsel of tinsel or a few polished 
 pebbles, I warn you at once." 
 
 He glanced while he sjx)ke somewhat con- 
 temptuously, over the costly ornaments that deco- 
 rated the Tribune's dress. 
 
 The latter laughed good-humouredly. "A 
 dozen slaves," said he, " would scarce fetch the 
 value of my sleeve-clasps. At least, a dozen of 
 these islanders, whom you may capture by scores 
 every time a legion moves its camp. Listen, I 
 will wager two of my white horses against your 
 picture of Daphne, or the bust of Euphrosyne that 
 stands in your bath-room. Nay, I will give you 
 more advantage stilL I will stake the whole 
 team, and the chariot into the bargain, against the 
 British slave himself!" 
 
 Again had the other been watching him nar- 
 rowly, he must have perceived a strange sup- 
 pressed eagerness on the Tribune's face, but he 
 was preoccupied and annoyed ; he had gone too 
 far to retract, and a murmur from the listening 
 guests denoted their opinion of the generosity 
 displayed in this last proposal. "When a man 
 has placed liimself in a false position, his efforts at
 
 232 EEOS. 
 
 extrication generally plunge him deeper than 
 before. Quick as lightning, Licinius bethought 
 him that the present bargain might probably save 
 Esca's life, in the unlikely event of his being 
 conquered, so he closed with it unhesitatingly, 
 though he regretted doing so a moment after- 
 wards. 
 
 The match was accordingly made upon the 
 following terms. That Esca should enter the 
 amphitheatre during the approaching games of 
 Ceres, armed with sword, shield, and helmet, to 
 oppose Placidus, whose only weapons were to be 
 the trident and the net. That in the event of 
 the latter being worsted, his four white horses and 
 gilded chariot should become the property of 
 Licinius ; but that if he obtained the victory, and 
 the populace permitted him to spare the van- 
 quished, then his late antagonist should become 
 his slave ; and how enviable would be that position 
 could 01 dy be known to the Tribune himself and 
 one other person from whom he had that day 
 received kinder looks and smiles than she had 
 ever before granted to an unwelcome suitor. 
 
 The business of di-inking, Avhich had been some- 
 what interrupted by these complicated discussions, 
 was now resumed with greater energy than before.
 
 RED FALERNIAX. 233 
 
 Placidus emptying his goblet with the triumphant 
 air of one who has successfully accomplished a 
 difficult task ; Licinius like a man who seeks to 
 dro\Mi anxiety and self-reproach in wine. The 
 Emperor quaffed and quaffed again with his 
 habitual greediness ; and the remainder of the 
 guests acted studiously in imitation of the 
 Emperor.
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 
 
 iUT Licinius had an ordeal to go through 
 on the following day, which was es- 
 pecially painful to the kind heart of 
 the Roman general. When the 
 terms of the combat were explained to the person 
 chiefly* interested, that young warrior eagerly 
 accepted the challenge as affording an opportunity 
 for indulgence in those feats of arms which early 
 education had rendered so pleasing to his martial 
 disposition. He could vanquish two such men 
 as tlie Tribune, he thought, at any exercise and 
 witli any weapons ; but his face sank when he 
 learned tlie penalty of failure, and a shudder 
 passed through his whole frame at the bare 
 IKJSsibility of becoming a slave to any one but his 
 present master. It nerved him, however, all the
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 235 
 
 more in bis resolntion to conquer ; and when Liei- 
 nius, reproacking himself bitterly the while, pro- 
 mised him bis liberty in the event of victory, 
 Esca's heart beat fast with joy and hope, and ex- 
 ultation once more. 
 
 A thousand vague possibilities danced tlirough 
 his brain ; a thousand wild and visionary schemes, 
 of which Mariamne formed the centre figure. 
 Life that had seemed so dull but one short week 
 ago, now shone again in the rosy light with which 
 youth — and youth alone — can tinge the long per- 
 spective of the future. Alas for Licinius! he 
 marked the glowing cheek and the kindling eye, 
 with a sensation of despondency weighing at his 
 heart. Nevertheless the lot was cast, the offer 
 was accepted. It was too late for looking back, 
 Notliing remained but to strain every nerve to 
 win. 
 
 In all bodily contests, in all mental labours, 
 in everything which human nature attempts, 
 systematic and continuous training is the essential 
 dement of success. The palm, as Horace says, 
 can only flourish where the dust is plentiful ; and 
 he who would attain a triumph either as an 
 atlilete or a scholar, must cultivate his natural 
 abilities with the utmost attention, and the most
 
 236 EROS. 
 
 rigid self-denial, ere he enters for the prize. It is 
 curious, too, how the mind, like the body, acquires 
 vigour and elasticity by gi-aduated exertion. The 
 task that was an impossibility yesterday, is but a 
 penance to-day, and will become a pleasure to- 
 morrow. Let us follow Esca into the training- 
 school, where his muscles are to be toughened, 
 and his skill perfected for the deadly exercises of 
 the arena. 
 
 It is a large square building, something like a 
 modern riding-house, lighted and ventilated at the 
 top, and is laid down three inches deep in sand, 
 an arrangement which increases, indeed, tlie 
 labour of all pedestrian exertion, but renders a 
 fall comparatively harmless, and accustoms the 
 pupil, moreover, to the yielding surface on which 
 hereafter he will have to struggle for his life. 
 Quoits, dumb-bells, ponderous weights, and massive 
 clubs are scattered in the corners, or propped 
 against the walls of the edifice, and a horizontal 
 leaping-bar, placed at the height of a man's breast, 
 denotes that activity is not neglected in the ac- 
 quisition of strength. Beside these insignia of 
 peaceful gymnastics, the cestus hangs conspicuous, 
 and racks are placed at intervals supporting the 
 deadly weapons, and defensive armour with which
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 237 
 
 the gladiator plies Lis formidable trade. There 
 are also pointless spears, and blunted swords for 
 practice, and a wooden figure hacked and hewed 
 out of all similitude to an enemy, on which the 
 cuts and thrusts most in request have been dealt 
 over and over again with increasing skill and 
 severity. 
 
 At one end of the building paces the master to 
 and fro ; now glancing with wary eye at the 
 movements of his pupils ; now pausmg to adjust 
 some implement of instruction ; now encouraging 
 or chiding with a gesture ; and anon catching up, 
 as though ill sheer absence of mind, one of the 
 idle weapons, and whuding it round his head with 
 a flomish that displays all the power and skill of 
 the practised professional. 
 
 Hippias, the retired gladiator, is a man of mid- 
 dle age, and of somewhat lofty stature, rendered 
 more commanding by its lengthy j)roportions, and 
 the peculiar setting on of the head. Constant 
 exercise, pushed indeed to the verge of toil, and 
 continued for manv vears, has toughened each 
 shapely limb into the hardness and consistency of 
 wire, and has rendered his large frame lean and 
 sinewy, like a greyhound's. All his gestures have 
 the graceful pliant ease which results from muscu-
 
 238 EROS. 
 
 lar strengtli, and his very walk — light, smooth and 
 noiseless — is like that of a panther traversing the 
 floor of its cage. His swarthy complexion has 
 been deeply tanned by exposure to heat and toil, 
 but tlie blood courses healthfully beneath, and 
 imparts a warm, mellow tint to the skin. The 
 fleshless face, in spite of a worn eager look, and a 
 dash of grey in the hair and beard, is not without 
 a wild defiant beauty of its oa;!! ; and though its 
 expression is somewhat dissolute and reckless, 
 there is a bold, keen flash in the eye, and the man 
 is obviously enterprising, courageous, and steel to 
 the back-bone. 
 
 The Koman ladies, with that depi-avity of taste 
 which marks a general deterioration of manners 
 and morality, delighted at this period to choose 
 their favourites from the ranks of the amphi- 
 theatre. There Avas a rage for warlike exercises, 
 Amazonian dresses, imitations of the deadly 
 sports, played out with considerable skill and 
 ferocity, nay for the very persons of the gladiators 
 themselves. It was no wonder, then, that the 
 handsome fencing-master, with his reputation for 
 strength and courage, should have been a marked 
 man with the proud capricious matrons of the 
 imperial city. The favour of each, too, was
 
 THE TRAIXDsG-SCHOOL. 239 
 
 doubtless his best recommendation to the ofood 
 graces of the rest; and Hippias might have 
 sunned himself in the smiles of the noblest ladies 
 in Eome. 
 
 He made but little account, however, of his 
 good fortune. The peaches fallen on the ground 
 are doubtless the ripest, yet they never seem so 
 tempting as those which sun themselves against 
 the wall, a hand's-breadth above our reach. Nor 
 can a man pay implicit obedience to more than 
 one dominion (at a time) ; and unless the yoke be 
 very heavy, it is scarce worth while to carry it at 
 all. Hippias was neither dazzled nor flattered by 
 the bright eyes that looked so kindly into his 
 war-worn face. He loved a flask of wine nearly 
 as well as a woman's beauty — two foot of pliant 
 st«el and a leathern buckler far better than 
 either : nevertheless, amono-st all the daintv dames 
 of his acquaintance, he was least disposed to 
 undervalue Valeria's notice, the more so, that she 
 rarely condescended to bestow it on him ; and he 
 took more pains with her fencing lessons, than 
 those of any other female pupU, and stayed longer 
 in her house than in that of any lady in Eome. 
 He approved of her strength, her resolution, her 
 quickness, above ail her cold manner and her
 
 240 EROS. 
 
 pride, besides admiring her personal cliarms ex- 
 ceedingly, in his own practical way. There is a 
 gleam of interest, almost of tenderness in his eyes, 
 as he pauses every now and then in his walk, and 
 reads a line or two from a scroll he carries in his 
 hand, which Myrrhina brought liim not an hour 
 ago. 
 
 The scroll is from Valeria. She has heard of 
 Esca's peril — nay slie has herself brought it on his 
 head ; and who knows the price it cost her 
 haughty wilful heart ? Yet in all her bitter anger, 
 vexation, shame, she cannot bear to think of the 
 noble Briton down on the sand, writhing and 
 heljiless at the mercy of his enemy. It is the 
 weapon now she hates, and not tlie victim. It 
 would give her intense pleasure, she feels, to see 
 Placidus humbled, defeated, slain. Such is the 
 sense of justice in a woman's breast — such are the 
 advantages gained by submission at any sacrifice 
 to do their bidding. We need not pity the 
 Tribune, however : in liis dealings with either sex, 
 he is well able to take care of himself. 
 
 Valeria accordingly sat her down and wrote a 
 few friendly b'nes to tlie fencing-master, who had 
 always stood high in her favour, and whose frank 
 bold nature she felt she could trust. Womanlike,
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 241 
 
 she tliouglit it necessary to fabricate an excuse 
 for her interest in the Briton, by aflirming that 
 she had staked heavily on his success in the 
 coming contest. She adjured Hippias to spare no 
 pains in counsel or instruction, and bade him 
 come to see her without delay, and report the pro- 
 gress of his pupil. He raised his eyes from the 
 scroll, and watched the said pupil holding liis own 
 gallantly at sword and buckler with Lutorius. 
 
 " One, two — Disengage the blade ! A feint at 
 the head, a cut at the legs, and come in over the 
 shield with a lunge ! Good 1 but scarce quick 
 enough. Try that again — the elbow turned 
 outwards, the WTist a little higher. So — once 
 more. Now, look at me. Thus." Tlie com- 
 batants paused for breath, Hippias seized a 
 wooden foil, and beckoning to Hirpinus, engaged 
 hiin in the required position, for Esca's especial 
 benefit. Trained and wary the old gladiator 
 knew every feint and parry in the game. Yet 
 had those blades been steel, Hirpinus would have 
 been gasping his life out, at the master's feet, 
 ere the close of their second encounter. Hippias 
 never shifted his ground, never seemed to exert 
 himself much, yet the quickest eye in Rome was 
 puzzled to follow the movements of his jioint, the 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 242 EEOS. 
 
 readiest hand to intercept it where it fell. Again 
 lie pitted Esca and Liitorius in tlie mimic strife, 
 and stood witli well-pleased coimtenance to watch 
 the result. 
 
 The Briton had, indeed, lost no time in be- 
 ginning a course of instruction which he hoped 
 was to insure him victory and its reward — his much- 
 desired freedom. 
 
 That morning Hirpinus had brought liim to the 
 school ; and the veteran gladiator watched, with 
 an interest that was almost touching, the prepara- 
 tions which were to fit his young friend for a career, 
 that at best must end ere long in a violent death. 
 Hippias was dehghted with the stature and strength 
 of his new pupil. He had matched him at once 
 with Lutorius, a why Gaul, who was supposed to 
 be the most scientific swordsman of " The Family^'' 
 and smiled to observe how completely, with an 
 occasional hint from himself, the Briton Avas a 
 match for his antagonist, who had expected an 
 easy victory, and was even more disgusted than 
 surprised. As the encounter was prolonged, and 
 the combatants, warming to their work, advanced, 
 retreated, struck, lunged, and parried ; now tra- 
 versing warily at full distance — now dashing 
 boldly in to close, the other gladiators gathered
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 243 
 
 round, excited to unusual interest by the excellence 
 of the play, and the dexterity of the barbarian. 
 
 "He is the best we've seen here for a lustre 
 at least," exclaimed Kufus, a gigantic cham- 
 pion from Northern Italy, proud of his stature, 
 proud of his swordsmanship, but above all, 
 proud that he was a Roman citizen, thoudi a 
 gladiator ; " those thrusts come home like lidit- 
 ning, and when he misses his parry, see, he jumps 
 away like a wild-cat. Faith, Manlius, if they 
 match him against thee at the games, thou wilt 
 have a handful. I would stake my rights as a 
 Roman citizen on him, toga and aU, barbarian 
 though he be. What, man ! he would have thee 
 down and disarmed, in a couple of passes !" 
 
 Manlius seemed to tliink so too, though he was 
 loth to confess it. He turned the subject by 
 vowing that Lutorius must be masking his play, 
 and not fighting his best, or he never could be 
 thus worsted by a novice. 
 
 " Masking his })lay !" exclaimed Hirpinus, in- 
 dignantly, " let liim unmask then as soon as he 
 will ! I tell thee this lad of mine hath not his 
 match in the empu-e. I shall see him champion of 
 the amphitheatre, and fu-st swordsman in Rome, 
 ere they give me the wooden foil with the silver
 
 244 EKOS. 
 
 guard,* and lay old Hirpinus on the shelf. I shall 
 be satisfied to retire then, for I shall leave some 
 good manhood to take my place." 
 
 "Well crowed!" replied Manlius, not quite 
 pleased at the value placed on his own prowess 
 in comparison. " To hear thee, a man would say 
 there never was but one gladiator in Eome, and 
 that this young mastiff must pull us all down by 
 the throat, because he fences like thyself, wild 
 and wide, and by main strength." 
 
 " It is no swordsmanship to run in like a bull 
 and take more than you give," observed Euchenor, 
 listening with his arms folded, and an expression 
 of supreme contempt on his handsome features. 
 
 " Nevertheless his blows fall thick and fast, like 
 a hailstorm, and Lutorius shifts his ground every 
 time the young one makes the attack," argued 
 honest Eufus, who had not a grain of either fear 
 or jealousy in his disposition, and who considered 
 his profession as a mere trade by which he could 
 obtain a liveliliood for wife and children in the 
 meantime, and a remote chance of independence 
 with a vineyard of his own beyond the Apennines, 
 
 * The form by wliicli a gladiator, wlm liad repeatedly dis- 
 tinguished himself, received his dismissal and immuuity from 
 the arena for life.
 
 THE TEAINIXG-SCHOOL. 245 
 
 should he escape a violent death in the amphi- 
 theatre at last. 
 
 "He thrusts too often overhand," observed 
 Manlius, " and his guard is always open for the 
 wrist." 
 
 "He is a strong fencer, but he has no style," 
 added Euehenor; and the boxer looked around 
 him with the air of a man who closes a controversv 
 by an unanswerable argument. 
 
 Hirpinus was boiling over with indignation ; but 
 his eloquence was by no means in proportion 
 to his corporeal gifts, and he could not readily 
 find words to express his dissent and his chsdain. 
 Banter, too, and a coarse, good-humoured sort of 
 wrangling was the usual form by which difference 
 of opinion found expression in the training-school. 
 QuaiTelling, amongst men whose very trade it 
 was to fight to the death, seemed simply absurd ; 
 and to come to blows except in public, and for 
 money, a mere childish waste of time. Indeed, 
 with all their contempt for death, and their extra- 
 ordinary courage when pitted against each other 
 to amuse the populace, these gladiators, perhaps 
 from the very nature of their profession, seem to 
 have been unsuited for any sustained efforts of 
 energy and endurance. When banded together
 
 246 EROS. 
 
 under the eagles, they were often so undisciplined 
 in camp, as by no means to be relied on before 
 an enemy. Perhaps there was something of 
 bravado in the flourish with which they entered 
 the Cu-cus, and hailed Caesar with their greet- 
 ings from ^'tliose about to die!"* Moreover, 
 they had to fight in a corner, and with the 
 impossibility of escape. Courage is of many 
 different kinds. Men are brave from various 
 motives — from ambition, from emulation, from the 
 habit of confronting danger ; some from a natm-ally 
 chivalrous disposition, backed by strong physical 
 nerves. The last alone are to be trusted in an 
 emergency ; and a really courageous man faces an 
 unexpected and unaccustomed peril, if not with 
 confidence, at least with an unflinching determi- 
 nation to do his best. 
 
 Hirpinus turned upon Euchenor, for whom he 
 had no great liking at any time. 
 
 " You talk of your science," said he, " and your 
 Greek skiU, against which even our Roman thews 
 and sinews are of no avail. Dare you stand up to 
 tliis barl)arian witli the cestus on? Only to 
 exchange half-a-dozen friendly buffets, you know, 
 in sheer sport." 
 
 * The well-known " Morituri to siiliitant !"
 
 THE TRAINING-SCHOOL. 247 
 
 But Euclienor excused himself -with great dis- 
 dain. Like many another successful professor, he 
 owed no inconsiderable share of liis fame to his 
 own assumption of superiority, and the judgment 
 with which, when practicable, he matched himself 
 against inferior performers. Champions avIio exist 
 on their reputation, such as it is, are not to peril 
 it lightly against the first tyro tliat comes, who 
 has everythuig to gain and nothing to lose by 
 an encounter with the celebrity; whereas the 
 celebrity derives no additional laurels from a 
 triumph, and a defeat tends to take the very 
 bread out of his mouth. Euchenor said as much ; 
 but Hirpinus was not satisfied till the subtle 
 Greek, who had learned the terms of the match in 
 \\liich Esca was engaged, observed carelessly, that 
 all the time the Briton had to spare should be 
 devoted to practice in the part he was about to 
 play before the Emperor. 
 
 The suggestion took effect upon Hirpinus at 
 once. He sprang across the school to where the 
 master had resumed his walk. The old gladiator 
 positively turned pale while he entreated Hippias 
 to mstruct his pupil in all the scientific devices 
 by which those deadly meshes could be foiled. 
 •' Xothing but art can save him," said be, in
 
 248 EEOS. 
 
 imploring accents, which seemed almost ludicrous 
 from one of his Herculean exterior. " Courage 
 and strength, ay and the activity of a wild-cat, 
 are all paralyzed when once that accm-sed twine is 
 round your limbs. I know it ! I have felt it ! I 
 was down under the net myself once. If a man is 
 to die, he should die like a man, not like a thrush, 
 caught in a springe. He must learn, Hippias, he 
 must practise day by day, and hour by hour : he 
 must study every movement of the caster. Pit 
 him against Manlius, he is the best netsman in 
 ' The Family.' If he learns to foil ?tim, he will take 
 the conceit out of Placidus readily enough. I tell 
 you I shall not be easy till I see him with his 
 foot on the gay Tribune's breast !" 
 
 " Patience, man," replied Hippias, " thou fearest 
 but one thing in the world, and that is a fathom 
 of twine. Thiukest thou all others are scared at 
 the same bugbear? Mind thine own training; 
 thou art yet too lusty by half to go into the 
 Circus ; and leave this young barbarian to me." 
 
 The master kept up his influence amongst these 
 lawless pupils, partly by a reserved demeanour and 
 a silent tongue, partly by neyer suffering liis 
 auth(jrity to be disputed for a moment. To have 
 said as much as he now did was tantamount to a
 
 THE TRATXIXG-SCHOOL. 249 
 
 confession of interest in tlie Briton's success ; and 
 Hirpinus resumed his own labours wdtli a lightened 
 heart, whilst Esca, in all the delightful flush of 
 youth and health, and muscular strength develop- 
 ing itself by scientific practice, plied his an- 
 tagonist with redoubled vigour, and enjoyed his 
 pastime to the utmost. 
 
 It was like taking an old friend by the hand, to 
 grasp a sword once more.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A VEILED HEART. 
 
 OR three whole days Mariarane had not 
 set eves on the Briton, so she felt 
 listless and dispirited. Not that she 
 aclaiowledged, even to herself, the 
 necessity of Esca's presence, nor that she was indeed 
 aware how much it had influenced her thouglits 
 and actions ever since she had known him, a period 
 that seemed now of indefinite length. She found 
 herself perpetually recalling the origin and growth 
 of their acquaintance ; she dwelt with a strange 
 l)leasure on the gross insult offered her by Spado, 
 which scarce seemed an agreeable subject of con- 
 templation ; nor, be sure, did she forget its prompt 
 and satisfactory redress. She remembered every 
 step of her subsequent walk home, and every 
 syllable of their conversation in that hasty and
 
 A VEILED HEART. 251 
 
 agitated progi-ess ; nay, every look and gesture of 
 her companion's and of her own. It pleased 
 lier to think of the favourable impression made 
 on her father and his brother by their guest ; and 
 the earthen pitcher, from which she gave the 
 latter to drink, assumed a new and unaccountable 
 value in her eyes. Also she strolled to Tiber- 
 side, whenever she had a spare half hour, and sat 
 her down under the shadow of a broken column, 
 with a strange persistency, and a vague expecta- 
 tion of something, she knew not what. 
 
 For the first day this dreamy, imaginative exist- 
 ence was delightful. Then came a feeling of 
 want, a consciousness that there was a void, which 
 it would be a great happiness to fill. Soon tliis 
 grew to a thirst — a craving for a repetition of those 
 hom-s AAhich had glided by so sweetly and so fast. 
 At rare intervals arose the startling thought, 
 "suppose she should never see him again," and 
 her heart stopped beating, and her cheek paled 
 with the bare possibility ; yet was there something 
 not wholly painful in a consciousness of the 
 sorrow such a privation would create. 
 
 Thoudi vouns:, Mariamne was no foolish and 
 inexperienced girl. Her life had been calculated 
 to elicit and bring to perfection some of woman's
 
 252 EEOS. 
 
 loftiest qualities. She had early learned the De- 
 bility of self-sacrifice, the necessity of self-reliance 
 and self-denial. Like the generality of her nation, 
 she possessed considerable pride of race, sup- 
 pressed indeed and kept down by the exigencies 
 in which the Jews had so often found themselves, 
 but none the wealcer nor the less cherished on 
 that account. Notwithstanding his many chas- 
 tisements and reverses, from his pilgrimage 
 through the wilderness to his different captivi- 
 ties by the great oriental powers, and final subjec- 
 tion under Eome, the Jew never forgot that he 
 sprang from a stem more especially planted by 
 the hand of the Almighty ; that he could trace 
 his lineage back, unbroken and unstained, to those 
 who held converse with Moses under the shadow 
 of Mount Sinai, nay, to the Patriarch himself, who 
 had liis authority direct from heaven, and who 
 was thought wortliy to entertain angels at his 
 tent door on the plains of Mamre. Such a con- 
 viction imparted a secret pride to every one of 
 his descendants. Man, woman, and child, were 
 persuaded that to them belonged of right the 
 dominion of the eai'th. 
 
 It may be supposed that one of Eleazar's dispo- 
 sition was not likely to bring up his family in any
 
 A VEILED HEART. 253 
 
 liumble notions of tlieir privileges and tlieir im- 
 portance. Marianine had been early taught to 
 consider her nationality as the first and dearest of 
 her advantages, and womanlike she clung to it 
 all the closer that her people had been forced to 
 submit to the Eoman yoke. Habits of patience, 
 of reflection and endurance, had been engendered 
 by the every-day life of the Jewish maiden, wit- 
 nessing her father's continued im})atience of the 
 existing state of things, and his energetic though 
 secret efforts to change the destinies of his coun- 
 trymen ; whilst all that such an education might 
 have created of hard, cunning, and unfeminine 
 in his daughter's mind, the society and counsels of 
 Calchas were eminently qualified to counteract. 
 Losing no opportunity of sowing the good seed, 
 of teaching both by precept and example the 
 lessons he had learned from those who had them 
 direct from the fountain-head, it was impossible to 
 remain long uninfluenced by the constant kindli- 
 ness and gentle bearing of one who understood 
 Christianity to signify, not only faith, and purity, 
 and devotion even to the death, Ijut also that 
 ]ieace and good-will amongst men, which its first 
 teachers inculcated as its fundamental principle 
 and essential element. Calchas indeed lacked not
 
 254 EROS. 
 
 the fieiy energy and the tameless instincts of liis 
 race. His nature perhaps Avas originally fierce 
 and warlike as his brothers, but it had been sub- 
 dued, softened, exalted by his religion ; and while 
 Ills heart was pitiful and kindly, notliing remained 
 of the warrior but his loyalty, his courage, and his 
 zeal. 
 
 CherishinGf a true attachment for that brother, 
 it was doubtless a cause of daily sorrow to ob- 
 serve how totally Eleazar's principles and conduct 
 were opposed to the meek and holy precepts of 
 the new faith. It seemed to human reasoning 
 impossible to convert the Jew from his grand and 
 simple creed, to modify or to explain it, to add to 
 it, or to take away from it, in the slightest degree 
 to alter liis belief in that direct thearcliy, to which 
 he was bound by the ties of gratitude, of tradition, 
 of national isolation and characteristic pride of 
 race. A reUgion which accepts the first great prin- 
 ciples of truth, the omni})otence and eternity of the 
 Deity, the immortality of souls, and the rewards 
 and punishments of a life to come, stands already 
 upon a solid basis from which it has little inclina- 
 tion to bo removed ; and, in all ages, the Jew, as 
 in a somewhat less degree the Mahometan, has 
 been most unwilling to add to his own stern tenets
 
 A VEILED HEART. 255 
 
 the mild and loving doctrines of our revealed 
 religion. Eleazar's was a character to which the 
 outuard and tangible ceremonials of his worship 
 were essentially acceptable. To him, the law, in 
 its severest and most literal sense, Avas the only 
 true guide for political measures as for private 
 conduct ; and where its burdens were multiplied 
 or its severities enhanced by tradition, he upheld 
 the latter gladly and inflexibly. To offer the 
 sacrifices ordained by Divine command, to exact 
 and rigidly fulfil the minutest points of observ- 
 ance, wliich the priests enjoined, to keep the 
 Sabbath inviolate by word and deed, also, when 
 opportunity offered, to smite the heathen hip-and- 
 thigh with the edge of the sword ; these were the 
 points of faith and practice on which Eleazar took 
 his stand, and from which no consideration of 
 affection, no temptation of ambition, no exigency 
 of the times, would have induced him to waver 
 one hair's-breadth. The fiercest soldier, the 
 Avildest barbarian, the most frivolous and dissolute 
 patrician of the Imperial Com-t, would have been 
 a more promising convert than such a man as 
 this. Yet did not Calchas despair : well he knew 
 that there is a season of seed-time and a season of 
 harvest, that the soil once choked with weeds, or
 
 256 EROS. 
 
 sown witli tares, may thereafter produce a good 
 crop, that waters have been kno^vn to flow freely 
 from the bare rock, and that nothing is imj)ossible 
 under heaven. So he loved his brother and prayed 
 for him, and took that brother's daughter to his 
 heart as though she had been his own child. 
 
 It must have required no small patience, no 
 small amount of self-control and humility, to 
 engraft in IMariamne the good fruit, which her 
 father held in such hatred and disdain. These, 
 too, were difficulties with which the early Chris- 
 tians had to contend, and of which we now make 
 small account. We read of theii* privations, their 
 persecutions, their imprisonments, and their mar- 
 tyrdoms, with a thrill of mingled horror and indig- 
 nation — we pity and admire, we even glorify them 
 as the heroic leaders of that forlorn hope which 
 was destined to head the armies of the only true 
 Conqueror ; but we never consider the daily and 
 harassing warfare in which they must have been 
 engaged, the domestic dissensions, the insults of 
 equals, the alienation of friends — above all, the 
 cold looks and estranged affections of those whom 
 they loved best on earth, whom they must give 
 up here, and whom, with the new light that had 
 broken in on them, they could scarce hope to see
 
 A VEILED HEART. 257 
 
 hereafter. So-called heroic deeds are not alwavs 
 deserving of that superiority which they claim 
 over mortal weakness, when emblazoned on the 
 glo\nng page of history. Many a man is capable, 
 so to speak, of winding himself up for one great 
 effort, even though it be to perish on the scaffold 
 or the breach ; but day after day, and year after 
 year to wage unceasing war against our nearest 
 and dearest, our own comforts, our ovni prosperity, 
 nay, our own weaknesses and inclinations, requires 
 the aid of a sustaining power that is neither with- 
 out nor within, nor anywhere below on earth, but 
 must reach the suppliant directly and continuously 
 from above. 
 
 Nevertheless the example of a true Christian, 
 in the real acceptation of the word, is never 
 without its effect on those who live under its 
 constant influence. Even Eleazar loved and 
 respected his brother more than anything on 
 earth, save his ambition and his creed ; while 
 Mariamne, whose trusting and gentle disposition 
 rendered her a willing recipient of those truths 
 which Calchas lost no oj)portunity of imparting, 
 gradually, and almost insensibly, imbibed the 
 opinions and the belief of one whose every-day 
 practice was so pure, so elevated, and so kindly, 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 EROS. 
 
 — to whom moreover slie was accustomed to look 
 as her counsellor in difficulty, and her refuge 
 in distress. 
 
 It was Calchas, then, whose studies she inter- 
 rupted as he sat with the scroll before him, that 
 was seldom out of his hand, perusing those Syriac 
 characters again and again, as a mariner consults 
 his chart, never weary of storing information 
 for his future course, and verif}dng the progress 
 he has already made. It was to Calchas she 
 had determined to apply for comfort because 
 Esca came not, and for assistance to see him 
 again — not that she admitted, even to herself, 
 that this was her intention or her wish. Never- 
 theless, she hovered about the old man's seat, 
 more caressingly than usual, and finding his 
 attention still riveted on his employment, she 
 laid one hand lightly on liis shoulder, and with 
 the other parted the thin grey hah* that sti'ayed 
 across his forehead. 
 
 He looked up with a pleasant smile. " What 
 is it, little one ?" said he, with the endearing 
 dimiinitive he had used in addi'cssing her from 
 her childhood. " You seem unusually busy with 
 your household affairs to-day. Is this room to 
 be decorated for a guest? My brother makes
 
 A VEILED HEART. 259 
 
 no acquaintances here in Eome; and we liave 
 given no stranger so much as a mouthful of food 
 since we arrived, save that goodly barbarian you 
 brought home with vou the other eveninjr. Is 
 he coming again to-night?" 
 
 A bright blush swept over her face, yet when 
 it faded, Calchas could not but remark that she 
 was paler than her wont ; and her manner, usually 
 so gentle and composed, was now restless, anxious, 
 and ill-at-ease. "Nay," she replied, "what 
 should I know of the barbarian's movements? 
 It was but a chance meeting that led him to 
 our quiet dwelling in the first instance ; and save 
 by the merest accident we are never likely to 
 see him more." 
 
 She tm^ned away while she spoke, trying to 
 steady her voice and give it a tone of cold indif- 
 ference, but failing utterly in the attempt. " There 
 is no such power as chance," said Calchas, looking 
 her keenly in the face. 
 
 " I know it," replied Mariamne, smiling sadly. 
 "And I know, too, that whatever befals us is 
 for the best. Yet some things are hard to bear 
 nevertheless. Not that I have aught to complain 
 of," she added, shrinking instinctively from the 
 very topic she wanted to bring on, "save my
 
 260 EROS. 
 
 constant anxiety for my father in tliese tumultu- 
 ous times." 
 
 "He is in God's hand," said Calchas, "who 
 will bring him safe through all his perils, though 
 they seem now to environ him as the l^reakers 
 boil round a stranded galley, when the wild 
 Adi-iatic is leaping and dashing for its prey. Take 
 comfort, little one ; I cannot bear to see your step 
 so listless and your cheek so pale." 
 
 "How can they be otherwise?" retm-ned the 
 girl, not very candidly. "It is a weaiy lot to 
 be a soldier's daughter. I could even find it 
 in mv heart to wish we had never left Judaea — 
 never come to Eome." 
 
 He tried his best to soothe and comfoi-t her — 
 his best such as it was, for the good old man 
 knew but little of a woman's heai-t — its wild 
 hopes, its indefinite aims, its way^^ard feelings, 
 and its inexpUcable tendency to self-torture. He 
 thought in his simplicity the real grievance was 
 that which she avowed, and he strove to remove 
 it in his own kind, hopeful way. 
 
 "My child," said he, "the evils that are 
 raging in Italy, the horrors that we hear of every 
 day, cannot but make Eleazar's position more 
 important and less hazardous, as they increase
 
 A VEILED HEAET. 261 
 
 the difficulties of tlie imperial councils. It is, 
 indeed, no child's play to bridle such a nation 
 as ours with one hand, and to grasp at the 
 imperial diadem with the other. It takes a 
 bold heart to draw the sword against Judah, 
 and a long arm to buffet Caesar across the seas. 
 Vespasian will have little leisure to persecute 
 our race ; and the Emperor, sore beset as he is, 
 wiU surely lend a favourable ear to my brother's 
 proposals for peace. Even now the legions are 
 declaring, far and wide, against Yitellius; and 
 civil war, the most di-eadful of all scourges is 
 desolating the provinces and entering Italy her- 
 self. It was but yesterday that news reached 
 Eome of the revolt of the whole fleet at Eavenna 
 — and ere this Cremona has j)erhaps fallen into 
 the power of Antonius, that sokUer-orator, with 
 the iron arm and the silver tongue. Well we 
 know, for we have been told by One whose 
 words shall never be forgotten, that "a house 
 divided against itself cannot stand ;" and is this 
 a time, think you, my child, for the worn-out 
 sensualist who wears the pm-ple here, to make 
 conditions with such a man as your father? 
 It is all in God's hand, as I never cease to insist ; 
 yet I cannot but feel that a better day must
 
 262 EROS. 
 
 at last be dawning upon Judaea, that her enemies 
 will be confounded, her armies victorious, and 
 her chiefs — but what have we to do with the 
 sword ?" he broke off abruptly, whUe his kindling 
 eye and animated gestures bore witness to the 
 ardent spirit that would flash out here and there 
 even now. " Our weapon is the Cross, our war- 
 fare is not of this world, our triumph is in our 
 humility, and when most we are brought low, 
 then are we most exalted. Oh, that the time 
 were come, as come it sm-ely will, when Csesar 
 shall be content to take only that which is 
 Cajsar's, and men shall be gathered under one 
 banner, and in one brotherhood, from all corners 
 of tlie world 1" 
 
 It was no exaggerated account Calchas thus 
 gave of the dilemma in which the emjDire was 
 placed at this juncture. Vespasian, with great 
 political talents, with coolness, patience, and auda- 
 city, was playing a game against which the 
 besotted brains of Vitellius were powerless to 
 compete. The former, adored by the army, who 
 saw in him a successful general, an intrepid 
 soldier, and a man of simple, virtuous habits, 
 contrasting nobly with the luxurious gluttony 
 and sensuality uf his rival, lost none of his in-
 
 A VEILED HEART. 263 
 
 fluence by the moderation lie displayed, and the 
 modesty, real or affected, with which he declined 
 the piu'ple. Not afraid to wait till advantage 
 ripened into opportunity, he could seize it when 
 the time came with a bold and tenacious grasp, 
 could turn it deftly to his own profit, and guide 
 those circumstances of which he seemed to be 
 the mere puppet with a master-hand. Though 
 at a distance from the scene of warfare, and to 
 all appearance little more than an unwilling 
 observer of the disturbances carried on in his 
 name, he directed as it were from behind a 
 curtain the operations of his generals ; and pulled 
 the strings that set in motion his numerous parti- 
 zans with a clear head, a delicate touch, and 
 that tenacity of purpose which is the essential 
 element of success. Vitellius, on the other hand, 
 whose natural abilities had been weakened, nay 
 destroyed, by an unceasing course of sensual 
 gratification, wavered in council and hesitated 
 in action — now determined to abdicate the diadem 
 and retire into obscurity — anon persuaded to fight 
 for dominion to the death ; and ever paralyzing 
 the energies of his warmest partisans by the 
 distrust he entertained for honest advisers, and
 
 264 EKOS. 
 
 the reliance he placed on the counsels of those 
 traitors who surrounded him. 
 
 The empire was perhaps at this period in a 
 more disheartening position than even under the 
 ferocious sway of Nero. Monster as the latter 
 was, he at least held the reins with a firm hand ; 
 and tyranny, however oppressive, is doubtless one 
 degree better than anarchy and confusion. Now, 
 the mighty fabric, of which Eomulus laid the first 
 stone and Augustus completed the pinnacle — the 
 work of seven centuries, to which every generation 
 had added its labours and its enterprise, till it 
 embraced the confines of the known world — was 
 beginning perceptibly to sink and crumble from 
 its own enormous size and weight. The legions 
 (and it must never be forgotten that the dominion 
 of Rome was essentially that of the sword) were 
 now recruited from natives of her distant colonies. 
 The Syrian and the Ethiop guarded the Eagles as 
 Nvell as the tall turbulent sons of Germany, and 
 the ever-changing ever-faithless Gaul. Armies 
 thus gathered under one standard from such 
 various climates could have but Httle in common 
 save a certain professional ferocity, and an ardent 
 liking for plunder, no less than pay. Mercenaries
 
 A VEILED HEAET. 265 
 
 have in all ages been easily bought by the one 
 and seduced by the other. Each legion gradually 
 came to consider itself a separate and independent 
 power, to be sold to the highest bidder. Perhaps 
 the fairest \nsion of all was a march upon Kome, 
 and a ten hours' sack of the city they were sworn 
 to defend. A great and good man, backed by 
 the glory of name, race, and illustrious actions, 
 could alone liave ruled such discordant elements, 
 and united these conflicting interests for the com- 
 mon good; but fate ordained that the weak, 
 worn-out, besotted Vitellius should be seated on 
 the throne of the Caesars, and that the cool, un- 
 flinching, and far-seeing Vespasian should be 
 watching with sleepless eye and ready hand to 
 snatch the diadem from his bewildered predeces- 
 sor, and place it firmly on his own head. 
 
 While the destinies of the world were thus 
 trembling in the balance — while her own nation 
 was fighting for its very existence, and the storm 
 gathering all around, obviously to burst in its 
 greatest fary on the imperial city — the care that 
 weighed heaviest at Mariamne's heart was, that 
 she had that day noticed a barbarian slave walk 
 into the training-school of a Roman gladiator. 
 
 "Is it true then," asked the girl, "that civil
 
 266 EROS. 
 
 war is indeed raging here, as we have seen it at 
 home ? That we shall have an enemy ere long 
 at the very gates of the city ?" 
 
 " Too true, my child," replied Calchas ; " and 
 the Koman people seem, as nsual, to make light 
 of the emergency, to eat, di-ink, buy, sell, and 
 feast their eyes on bloodshed in the Circus, as 
 though their idolatrous temple, where Janus over- 
 looks the usurers and money-changers of the city, 
 were shut up once for all, never to be opened 
 again." 
 
 She turned pale, and shuddered at the mention 
 of the Circus. 
 
 " Are they making no preparations ?" she asked, 
 timidly. "Did I not hear my father say they 
 were collecting the gladiators, and — and — some 
 of the nobles had enrolled their German and 
 British slaves, and were arming them against an 
 attack ?" 
 
 "It may be so," answered Calclias ; "but a 
 slave can scarcely be expected to fight very 
 stoutly for a cause which only serves to rivet his 
 chains. As for the gladiators, those tigers in 
 human form, it were surely better for them to 
 perish in open warfare, than to tear one another 
 to pieces in the arena, like the very beasts against
 
 A VEILED HEAET. 267 
 
 which I have seen them pitted. Yet these, too, 
 have souls to be saved." 
 
 " Surely have they," exclaimed Mariamne, with 
 kindling eyes, *' and none to help them, none to 
 show them so much as a ghmpse of the true 
 light. These men go out to die as the citizen 
 goes to his business or his bath ; and who is 
 answerable to man for their blood? who is an- 
 swerable to God for their souls ?" 
 
 His eye brightened while she spoke, and he 
 raised his head like a soldier who hears the trum- 
 pet summoning liim to the front. 
 
 "If I have a well in my court," said he, " and 
 a man fall down and die of thii'st at my gate, who 
 is answerable ? Surely I am guilty of my brother's 
 blood, that I never so much as reached him the 
 pitcher to drink. Shall these men go down daily 
 to death, and shall I not stretch out a finger lest 
 they perish everlastingly ? Mariamne, it seems 
 there is a task set to my hand, and I must accom- 
 plish it." 
 
 She was far from wishing to hinder him. Actu- 
 ated as human nature too often is by mixed 
 motives, she could yet respond, in her womanly 
 generosity of heart, to that noble self-sacrifice 
 which was so distinguishing a characteristic of the
 
 268 EKOS. 
 
 new religion, and could appreciate the devotion of 
 Calclias, while she hoped through his intervention 
 to obtain some alleviation of her anxiety on Esca's 
 behalf. She had caught a glimpse of the slave's 
 figure that very day as it entered the portals of 
 the training-school; and this rapid glance had 
 not served to quiet her misgivings on his account. 
 
 If Calchas should now think it right to interest 
 himself about a class of men the most reckless 
 and desjjerate of the whole Eoman population, it 
 was probable that he would at the same time learn 
 something of Esca's movements — perhaps be able 
 to dissuade him from joining the fierce band in 
 which she now feared he was about to be en- 
 rolled. " It may be that he has some wild hope 
 of thus obtaining liis liberty," thought the girl, 
 and her heart throbljed while she reflected that it 
 was for her sake liberty had now become so dear 
 to the barbarian. "It may be that he has ex- 
 torted some vague promise from his lord, and, in 
 his pride of strength and courage, he never dreams 
 of danger or defeat ; but oh ! if he should come 
 to h^m for my sake, what will become of me ? I 
 would rather die a thousand times than that his 
 white skin should be disfigured with a scratch !" 
 
 " They are practising for their deadly pastime
 
 A VEILED HEAET. 269 
 
 in the next street," said she. "I can hear the 
 blows as I go down to draw water. Blows dealt, 
 as it were, in sport; what must they be in 
 earnest ?" 
 
 "There is no time to be lost," said Calchas, 
 " The games of Ceres are to be soon celebrated, 
 and the Eoman crowd will think it but a poor 
 show if some himdreds of gladiators are not 
 slaughtered at the least. Child, I will visit these 
 men to-morrow ; they -svill revile me, but after a 
 time they will listen. If I can even gain over one, 
 be he the lowest and most degraded of the band, 
 it will be a triumph greater than a thousand vic- 
 tories, a gain infinitely more precious than all the 
 treasures of Eome." 
 
 "To-morrow may be too late," she returned, 
 moving across the room at the same time so as to 
 hide her face. " The school is fidl to-day. I — I 
 think I saw that barbarian who was here lately go 
 into it an hour or two ago." 
 
 " The Briton !" exclaimed Calchas, starting 
 from his seat. " WTiy did you not tell me so 
 before? Quick, ghl, fetch me my gown and 
 sandals. I will go there ^vithout delay." 
 
 She helped him, nothing loth. In a few minutes 
 Calchas was ready to go forth, and as she watched
 
 270 EEOS. 
 
 liim from the door, and saw him tm'n the corner 
 of the street, Mariamne clasped her hands and 
 muttered a thanksgiving for the success of lier 
 well-meant artifice ; while the old man strode 
 boldly to his destination, confident in the integ- 
 rity of his purpose, and rejoicing in the breast- 
 plate of proof wliich covers a good heart bound on 
 a pious mission. " It is no business of mine," 
 was a maxim unknown to the early Christian. 
 Fresh in his memory was the parable of the Good 
 Samaritan ; and it never occurred to him that, like 
 the Pharisee, he might "pass by on the other 
 side." The world is some centuries older, yet is 
 that tale of the friendless, wounded wayfarer less 
 suggestive now than it was then ?
 
 CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 WINGED WORDS. 
 
 HE gladiators were pausing from their 
 toil. Brawny chests heaved and 
 panted, deep voices laughed and 
 swore with returning breath, strong 
 arms looked heavier and stronger as the athlete 
 rested his wide hands upon his hips, and not un- 
 consciously brought his huge muscles into full relief 
 in the attitude, Esca and liis late antagonist were 
 wiping the sweat from their brows, and looking at 
 one another with wistful eyes, as if by no means 
 loth to renew the contest, so equally had the last 
 bout been waged. 
 
 Hirpinus laid down the weighty clubs he had 
 be«n wielding, with a gi-unt of relief. No un- 
 practised arm could have lifted those cumbrous 
 instruments from the ground, yet they were but
 
 272 EEOs. 
 
 as reeds in the hands of the gladiator ; neverthe- 
 less he lamented piteously the tendency of his 
 mighty frame to increasing bulk, wliich rendered 
 such heavy and unuiteresting work necessary, to 
 fit him for the arena. 
 
 " By the body of Hercules !" complained the 
 giant, " I would I were but such a half-starved 
 ape as thou, my Lutorius ! See wliat the master 
 calls training for a man of some solidity; and 
 thank the gods, that an hom-'s girls'-play with 
 sword and buckler is enough to keep that slender 
 waist of thine within the compass of a knight's 
 finger-ring." 
 
 " Girls'-play, call you it ?" answered Lutorius. 
 "In faith 'tis a game that would put thy fat 
 carcase on the sand, from sheer want of breath, in 
 a quarter of the time. No more girls'-play for us, 
 my lads, till after the feast of Ceres. The school 
 will be thinner then, or I am mistaken. How 
 many pau's are promised by the Consul for this 
 coming bout? I heard the crier teU us in the 
 street, but I have forgotten." 
 
 " One hundred at least, for sword and buckler 
 alone. And twenty of them out of The Family !" 
 answered Euchenor, readily, and with a malicious 
 smile. His profession as a boxer freed him from
 
 WINGED WOEDS. 273 
 
 any fatal apprehensions; but he took none the 
 less pleasure in recalling to his comrades the more 
 deadly nature of their encounters. Kufus alone 
 looked grave ; perhaps he was thinking of his wife 
 and chikh'en while he listened ; perhaps that 
 humble cottage iii the Apennines seemed further 
 off than ever, and the more desirable on that 
 account. The others smiled grimly, and a wolfish 
 expression gleamed for an instant from their eyes 
 — all but Esca, whose glowing young face disj)layed 
 only courage, excitement, and hope. 
 
 " Bii-d of ill-omen !" said Hippias, sternly. 
 " What do you know of the clash of steel ? Keep 
 to your o\\u boys'-play, and do not meddle with 
 the game that draws blood at every stroke. I 
 think I am master liere !" 
 
 Euchenor would have answered sullenly, but a 
 knock at the door arrested his attention. As it 
 swung ojjen, to the surprise of all, and of none 
 more than Esca, Calchas stood before them. 
 
 *' Salve !" said the old man kindly, as he looked 
 around, his venerable head and calm dignified 
 bearing contrasting nobly with the brute strength 
 and coarser faces of the gladiators. " Salve !" he 
 repeated, smiling at the astonishment his appear- 
 ance seemed to call forth. 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 EROS. 
 
 Hippias was not lacking in a certain rough 
 coui'tesy of tlie camp. He advanced to the new- 
 comer, bade him welcome as a stranger, and in- 
 quired the cause of his visit; "for," said he, 
 "judging by yom- looks, oh, my father! it can 
 scarcely be a mission connected either with me or 
 my disciples here, whose trade, you may observe, 
 is war." 
 
 " I too am a soldier," answered Calchas, quietly, 
 looking the astonished fencing-master full in the 
 face. The fjladiators had bv this time gathered 
 round ; like schoolboys at play, they were ripe for 
 mischief. And like schoolboys, it needed but the 
 merest trifle to urge them into any extreme, either 
 of good or evil. 
 
 "A soldier!" exclaimed Euchenor, "then you 
 fear not steel !" at the same moment he snatched 
 a short two-edged sword from the wall, and de- 
 livered a thrust with it full at the old man's 
 breast. Calchas moved not a muscle ; his colour 
 neither rose nor fell ; his eye-lash never quivered 
 as he looked steadily at the Greek, who probably 
 only intended a brutal jest, and cared but little 
 how dangerous might be its result. The point 
 had reached the folds of the visitor's gown, when 
 Eufus dashed it aside with his hand, while Hippias
 
 WINGED WOEDS. 275 
 
 dealt the oflfender a buffet, whicli sent liim reelins 
 to the opposite wall. 
 
 " AVhat now ?" exclaimed the Professor, in the 
 tone with which a man rates a disobedient hound. 
 '' Wliat now ? Am I not master here ?" 
 
 The others looked on approvingly. The jest 
 was well suited to their habits. Thev were 
 amused at the discomfiture of the Greek, and 
 pleased with the coolness shown by an old man 
 of such unwarlike exterior. Esca, however, strode 
 up to his friend's side, and glared about him in a 
 manner that boded no good to the originator of 
 any more such aggressions, either in sport or 
 earnest. 
 
 " Thou hast hurt the youth," remarked Calchas, 
 in as unmoved a tone as would have become the 
 fiercest gladiator of the schooL " Thou hast hurt 
 him, and he was but in jest after all. In truth, 
 Hippias, I have not seen so goodly a buffet dealt 
 since I came to Eome. That arm of thine can 
 strike to some purpose, and thy pupils are like 
 their master, brave, and strong, and skilful. I 
 have heard of the legion called 'Invincible,' 
 sm-ely I have found it here. My sons, are you 
 not the In\-incibles ?" 
 
 He spoke so quietly they knew not whether he
 
 276 EROS. 
 
 was jesting with them ; but the flattering title 
 tickled their ears pleasantly enough, and the 
 gladiators crowded round him, with shouts of en- 
 couragement and mii'th. 
 
 " Invincibles !" they laughed. " Inyincibles ! 
 Well said, old man ! yes, we are the Invincibles ! 
 Who can stand against ' The Family ?' Hast come 
 to join us ? We shall have plenty of space in the 
 ranks ere another moon be old." 
 
 " Give him a sword, one of you !" exclaimed 
 Rufus ; "let us see what he can do against Lutorius. 
 The Gaul has had a bellyful already, press liim, 
 old man, and he must go down !" 
 
 "Xay, let him have a bout A^-ith the wooden 
 foils," laughed Hirpinus. " He is but young and 
 tender. He would sicken at the sight of blood." 
 
 "Or a cast ATith the net and trident," con- 
 tinued Manlius. 
 
 "Or a round with the cestus," observed Eu- 
 chenor ; adding with a sneer, " I myself am ready 
 to exchange a buffet or two with him, for sheer 
 good-will." 
 
 " Hold ! my new comrades," interposed Esca, 
 Avith risino; colour. " In mv countrv we are 
 taught to venerate grey hairs. If ye are so keen 
 for cestus, lance, and sword-play, here am I, un-
 
 WINGED WORDS. 277 
 
 tried and inexperienced, willing to stand against 
 the best of you, from now till sundown." 
 
 The gladiators gathered round the last speaker 
 somewhat angrily : the challenge was indeed a 
 bold one in such company, and a contest begun in 
 play, amongst those turbulent spirits, might end 
 not improbably in too fatal earnest ; but Hippias 
 cut the matter short by commanding " silence," 
 in loud imperious tones, and turning to the new- 
 comer, bade him state at once the business that 
 had brought him there and have done with it. 
 
 " I came here," said the old man, looking round 
 with a glance of mingled pity and admiration — " I 
 came here to see with my own eyes, the band of 
 Invincibles. I have already told you that I too 
 am a' soldier, whose duty it is to go down, if need 
 be, daily unto death." 
 
 There was something so quiet and earnest in 
 the speaker's manner, such an absence of self-con- 
 sciousness or apprehension, a sincerity and good- 
 will so frank and evident, that the rude fierce 
 men whom he addressed, could not but give him 
 their attention. There was all the interest of 
 novelty in beholding one whose appearance and 
 habits were so at variance with thek own, thus 
 thro^\ing liimself fearlessly on their forbearance.
 
 278 EKOS. 
 
 and trusting, as it were, to that higher nature, 
 which, dormant though it might be, each man felt 
 to exist within himself. 
 
 Even Hippias- acknowledged the influence of his 
 visitor's confidence, and answered graciously enough, 
 
 " If you are a soldier, I need not tell you that 
 we are but on the drill-ground here. You will 
 see my band to better advantage when they defile 
 by Csesar at the games of Ceres." 
 
 Calchas looked inquiringly round. '"'And the 
 chorus," said he, " that I have heard ring out in 
 such a warhke tone, as yom* ranks marched past 
 the Imperial chair: are you perfect in it, my 
 friends? Do you practise the chant as you do 
 your sword-play and youi- wrestling ?" 
 
 He had fixed then- attention now. Half-in- 
 terested, half-amused at his strange persistency, 
 they looked laughingly at each other, and their 
 deep voices burst out into the wild and thrilling 
 cadence of then- fatal dirge — 
 
 " Ave, Ccesar ! Blorituri te salidant !" 
 
 As the last notes died away, silence pervaded 
 the school : to the rudest and most reckless, there 
 was something suggestive in the sounds they knew 
 too well would be the last music they should hear 
 on earth.
 
 WINGED WOEDS. 279 
 
 Calchas turned suddenly upon Hippias. " And 
 the wages Csesar gives your men ?" said he ; 
 " since he buys them, body and bones, they must 
 be very costly. How many thousand sesterces 
 doth he pay for each ?" 
 
 A brutal laugh echoed round him at the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " Sesterces !" answered Hippias. " Nay ; Caesar's 
 generosity provides handsomely for the training 
 and nom-ishment of his swordsmen." 
 
 " True enouirh !" added Eufus, at which there 
 was another laugh. " He finds us in meat, and 
 drink, and burial !" 
 
 " No more ?" said Calchas. " Yet I have been 
 told that in Eome everything fetches its price ; 
 but little did I think such men as these could be 
 bought for less money than a Syrian dancing-gii'l, 
 or a senator's white horses. So you are willing to 
 toil day after day, harder than the peasant on the 
 hill-side, or the oarsman in the galley, to live 
 simply, temperately, ay, virtuously, for months 
 together, and then to face certain death, often in 
 its ghastliest form, for the wages a Eoman citizen 
 gives his meanest slave — a morsel of meat and a 
 draught of wine ! If you conquer in the struggle, 
 a branch of palm may be added to a handful of
 
 280 EKOS. 
 
 silver, and you deem your reward is more than 
 enougli. Truly, I am old and feeble, these hands 
 are little worth to strike or parry, yet would I 
 grudge to sell tliis worn-out body of mine at so 
 mean a price. 
 
 " You told us you v/ere a soldier," observed 
 Eufus, on whom the argument of relative value 
 seemed to make no slight impression. 
 
 " So I am," replied Calchas ; " but not at such 
 a low rate of pay as yours. My duties are not 
 heavy. I am not forced to toil all day, nor to 
 watch all night. My head aches with no weighty 
 helmet ; breastplate and greaves of steel do not 
 gall my body nor cumber my limbs. I have 
 neither trench to dig, nor mound to raise, nor 
 eagles to guard. I need not stand, like you, 
 against my comrade and my friend, with my point 
 at his throat, and slay the man who has been to 
 me even as a brother, lest he slay me. Yet, 
 thongh my labours be so easy, and my service 
 be so deficient and inadequate, all the gold and 
 jewels you have seen glistening in a triumph — all 
 the treasures of Caesar and of Eome — would not 
 equal the reward I hope to earn." 
 
 The gladiators looked from one to the other 
 with glances of astonishment and curiosity. This
 
 WINGED WORDS. 281 
 
 was a subject that spoke to their personal interest, 
 and roused their feelings accordingly. 
 
 " Are there vacancies in your ranks, comrade ?" 
 asked Hirpiuus, using the military form of speech 
 habitually affected by his profession. " Will you 
 enrol a man of muscle like myself, who has been 
 looking all liis life for a service in Mhich there is 
 little to do and plenty to get ? Take my word for 
 it, you will not long want for recruits." 
 
 " There is room for all, and to spare," answered 
 Calchas, raising his voice till it rung through 
 every corner of the building. " My Captain will 
 enlist you freely, and Avithout reserve. Only you 
 come to him and range yourselves under his 
 banner, and stand by him for a few short Ayatches, 
 a week, a month, a decade or two of years at the 
 most, and he will stand by you when Caesar and his 
 legions are scattered to the four winds of Heaven ; 
 ay, and long after that, for ages and ages rolling 
 on in a circle that has no end ! Will you come, 
 brave hearts? I have authority to receive you 
 man by man." 
 
 " Where is your Captain ?" asked Hirpinus. 
 " He must needs have a large following. Is he 
 here in Rome ? Can we see him ere we take the 
 oaths and raise the standard ? Comrades !" he
 
 282 EEOS. 
 
 added, looking round, "this old man speaks as 
 though he were in earnest. Nay, he would 
 scarcely dare to laugh in our very beards !" 
 
 " You might have seen him," answered Calchas, 
 "not forty years ago, as I myself did, on the 
 sunny plains of Syria. You will not see liim now, 
 till a pinch of dust has been sprinkled on your 
 brow, and the death-penny put into your mouth. 
 Then, when you have crossed the dark river, he 
 will be waiting for you on the other side." 
 
 The gladiators looked at one another. " What 
 means he ?" said they. " Is he mad ?" " Is he an 
 augur?" "Doth he deal in magic?" Rufas 
 reared his tall head above the throng. "Would 
 you have us believe in what we cannot see ?" was 
 the apposite question of that practical swordsman. 
 
 The old man drew his mantle round his 
 shoulders with the air of one who prepares for 
 argument. All he wanted, was a fair hearing. 
 
 " Which is the nobler gift," he asked, " a 
 strong body, or a gallant heart ? Ye have fought 
 many times, most of you, in the arena. Answer 
 me truly, which is the conqueror, courage or 
 strength ?" 
 
 " Courage," they exclaimed, with one voice — 
 all except Euchenor, who muttered something
 
 WINGED WORDS. 283 
 
 about skill and good-fortime being preferable to 
 either. 
 
 " And yet you cannot see it," resumed Calclias. 
 " Will you therefore argue that it cannot exist ? 
 Is there one of vou here that doth not feel a 
 something wanting to complete his daily existence ? 
 Why do you long for the smiles of women, and the 
 bubble of the wine-cup ? Why can you not rest 
 when the training of to-day is over, for thinking of 
 the labours of to-morrow ? Why are you always 
 anxious, always anticipating, always dissatisfied? 
 Because a man consists of two parts, the body and 
 the spirit; because his life is made up of two 
 phases, the present and the future. Your bodies 
 belong to Csesar, let liim have them to do with 
 them what he Hkes, to-day, to-morrow, at the 
 games of Ceres, at the feast of Neptune, what 
 matter ? But the spirit, the man within you, is 
 your own. He it is who doth not wince when the 
 javelin pierces to the quick, or the wild beast rends 
 to the marrow. He it is who quails not when the 
 level sweep of sand seems to rock beneath him, and 
 heave up against his face ; when the white gar- 
 ments and eager faces of the crowd spin round 
 him faster and faster as they fade upon his dark- 
 ening eye. He is the better man of the two, and
 
 284 EROS. 
 
 he will live for ever. Shall you not provide for 
 him ? What is your present ? Much trouble, many 
 hours of toil. A foot or two of steel in the hand, 
 and a dash at a comrade's throat, then a back-fall 
 below the equestrian benches, and so the future 
 begins. Do you thmk there is nothing better 
 there, than old Charon's ferry-boat, and the pale, 
 misty banks of the uncertain river ? I know the 
 way to a golden land far brighter and fairer than 
 the fabled islands of the West. There is a high 
 wall round it, and the gate is low and narrow ; but 
 the key stands in the lock, and you need no death- 
 penny to purchase entrance for the poorest of you. 
 Go to the door in rags, with no other possession 
 but the hope and trust that you may crawl in upon 
 your knees, and it opens ere you have knocked." 
 
 Something in each man's heart told him, as he 
 listened, that if he could but believe this, the con- 
 viction was worth more than all the treasures of 
 the empire put together. Liable as were these 
 gladiators to stand in the jaws of death at a day's 
 notice, there was something inexpressibly elevating 
 in the idea that the supreme moment which the 
 most careless of them could not but sometimes 
 picture to himself, was the mere passage to a 
 nobler state of existence. The words of a man
 
 WIXGED WOEDS. 285 
 
 who is telling what he, himself, implicitly believes 
 to be the truth, carry with them no small amount 
 of persuasion ; and when Calchas paused, the 
 swordsmen looked doubtingly at him with eyes in 
 which incredulity and admiration were strangely 
 mingled ; not witliout a certain ^^•istful gleam of 
 hope. 
 
 Hippias, indeed, whose tastes inclined him to 
 materialism, and his reflections to utter disbelief 
 in everything save the temper of a blade, seemed 
 disposed to cut the matter short, as being a waste 
 of vahiable time ; but the anxiety of his pupils, 
 and especially of Esca, to hear more of the glow- 
 ing promises held out, induced him to fold his 
 arms and listen, with a smile of conscious supe- 
 riority, not devoid of contempt. 
 
 " And the Captain who leads us ?" asked the 
 Gaul, after a whisper, and a push from Hirpinus. 
 " What of him ? Your promises are fair enough, 
 I grant you, but I would fain know with whom I 
 serve." 
 
 Not one of them but noted the gleam on the 
 old man's face, as he replied — 
 
 " The Captain went up to death with a patient, 
 calm, and kindly face, for you, and you, and you, 
 and me — for those who had never seen him ; for
 
 286 EEOS. 
 
 those who mistrusted him ; for those who failed 
 him, and turned back from him at his need. Nay, 
 for those who tortured and slew him, and whom 
 he forgave with the free full forgiveness of a God \ 
 — ay, of a God ! Which of your gods has done as 
 much for you ? When did one of them leave 
 then- Mount Olympus, save for some human need, 
 or some human mission of bloodshed and crime ? 
 "\^Tiere is the king who would give up an earthly 
 throne, and go voluntarily to a shameful death for 
 the sake of his people ? You are men, my 
 friends, — brave, resolute, hearty men ; what 
 would you have in him whom you serve ? — cou- 
 rage, patience, mercy, good- will to all ? AVhat 
 think ye of him, who left the rulership of the 
 whole universe, and went so willingly to die, that 
 he might buy you to be his own here and here- 
 after? Come and range yom'selves under his 
 standard. I will tell you of liim day by day. 
 There is no jealousy amongst Jm soldiers. The 
 service is easy ; he has told us so himself ; and 
 neither mine nor any mortal tongue can calculate 
 the reward." 
 
 " Enough of this !" interrupted Ilippias, noting 
 the eager looks and excited gestures of the swords- 
 men ; interpreting as he did, the words of Calchas,
 
 WINGED WOEDS. 287 
 
 in their literal sense, and fearing lest lie might, 
 indeed, lose the services of the darins^ band, on 
 whose blood it was his trade to live — " Enough of 
 this, old man! We have heard you patiently, 
 and now begone ! My gladiators have enlisted 
 under Caesar, and they will not desert their 
 standard for any inducement you can offer. 1 
 know not why I have listened to you so long ; but 
 trespass not fm-ther on my forbearance. This 
 building is no Athenian school of rhetoric ; and 
 the only arguments acknowledged by Hippias, are 
 those which may be parried with two foot of steel. 
 Nevertheless, go in peace; old man, and fare you 
 well." 
 
 So Calchas went out from amongst these fierce 
 and turbulent spirits, unharmed and well satisfied. 
 He had sown a handful of tlie good seed, and 
 knew that somewhere it would take root. More 
 than one of the gladiators was already pondering 
 on his words ; and the young Briton, with his 
 ardent nature, his kind heart, and his predisposi- 
 tion in favour of Mariamne's kinsman, had re- 
 solved that he would hear more of these new 
 doctrines, which seemed to dawn upon him like 
 light from another world.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ARENA. 
 
 HUNDRED tlionsand tongues, whis- 
 pering and murmuring with Italian 
 vohibility, send up a busy hum like 
 that of an enormous beehive into the 
 sunny air. The Flavian Amphitheatre, Vespa- 
 sian's gigantic concession to the odious tastes of 
 liis people, has not yet been constructed; and 
 Rome must crowd and jostle in the great Circus, 
 if she would behold that slaughter of beasts, and 
 those mortal combats of men, in which she now 
 takes far more delight than in the innocent trials 
 of speed and skill for which the enclosure was 
 originally designed. That her luxurious citizens 
 are dissatisfied even with this roomy edifice, is 
 sufficiently obvious from the many complaints 
 that accompany the struggling and pushing of
 
 THE ARENA. 289 
 
 those who are anxious to obtain a good place. 
 To-day's bill-of-fare is indeed tempting to the 
 morbid appetites of high and low. A rhinoceros 
 and tiger are to be pitted against each other ; and 
 it is hoped that not\rithstanding many recent 
 failures in such combats, these two beasts may be 
 savage enough to afford the desired sport. Several 
 pairs of gladiators, at least, are to fight to the 
 death, besides those on whom the populace may 
 show mercy, or from whom they may withhold it 
 at \vill. In addition to all this, it has been whis- 
 pered that one well-known patrician intends to 
 exhibit his prowess on the deadly stage. Much 
 curiosity is expressed, and many a wager has been 
 already laid, on his name, his skill, the nature of 
 his conflict, and the chances of his success. 
 Though the Circus be large enough to contain the 
 population of a thriving city, no wonder that it is 
 to-day full to the very brim. As usual in such 
 assemblages, the hours of waiting are lightened 
 by eating and drinking, by jests, practical and 
 otherwise, by remarks, complimentary, sarcastic, 
 or derisive, on the several notabilities who enter 
 at short intervals, and take their places with no 
 small stir and assumption of importance. The 
 nobility and distinguished characters of this disso- 
 VOL. I. U
 
 290 EEOS. 
 
 lute age, are better known than respected by their 
 plebeian fellow-citizens. 
 
 There is, however, one exception. Thongh 
 Valeria's Liburnians lay themselves open to no 
 small amount of insolence, by the emphatic man- 
 ner in which they make way for their mistress, as 
 she proceeds with her usual haughty bearing to 
 her place near the patrician benches — an insolence 
 of which some of the more pointed missiles do not 
 spare the scornful beauty herseK — it is no sooner 
 observed that she is accompanied by her kinsman, 
 Licmius, than a change comes over the demeanour 
 even of those who feel themselves most aggi'ieved, 
 bv being elbowed out of their places, and pushed 
 violently against theh neighbours, while admiring 
 glances and a respectful silence, denote the 
 esteem in which the Eoman general is held by 
 hioh and low. 
 
 It wants a few minutes yet of noon. The 
 southern sun, though his intensity is modified 
 by canvas awnings stretched over the spectators 
 wherever it is possible to afford them shade, lights 
 and warms up every nook and cranny of the am- 
 phitheatre ; gleams in the raven hair of the Cam- 
 panian matron, and the black eyes of the astonished 
 urchin in her arms ; flashes off the golden bosses
 
 THE AEEXA. 291 
 
 that stud the white garments on the equestrian 
 benches, bleaches the level sweej) of sand so soon 
 to bear the prints of mortal struo-o-le, and flooding 
 the lofty tlirone where Caesar sits in state, deepens 
 the broad crimson hem that skirts his imperial 
 garment, and sheds a death-like hue over the 
 pale, bloated face, which betrays even now no 
 sign of interest, or animation, or delight. 
 
 Vitellius attends these brutal exhibitions with 
 the same immobility that characterizes his de- 
 meanour in almost all the avocations of life. The 
 same hstlessness, the same weary vacancy of 
 expression, pervades his countenance here, as in 
 the senate or the council. His eye never glistens 
 but at the appearance of a favourite dish ; and tlie 
 emperor of the world can only be said to live once 
 in the twenty-fom- hours, when seated at the ban- 
 quet. 
 
 Insensibilitv seems, however, in all asres to be 
 an affectation of the higher classes ; and here, 
 while the plebeians wrangle, and laugh, and 
 chatter, and gesticulate, the patricians are ap- 
 parently bent on proving that amusement is for 
 them a simple impossibility, and suffering or 
 slaughter matters of the most profound indif- 
 ference.
 
 292 ■ EROS. 
 
 And on common occasions who so impassible, 
 so cold, so unmoved by all that takes place 
 around her, as the haughty Valeria ? but to-day 
 there is an unusual gleam in the grey eyes, a 
 quiver of the lip, a fixed red spot on either cheek ; 
 adding new charms to her beauty, not lost upon 
 the observers who surround her. 
 
 Quoth Damasippus to Oarses (for the congenial 
 rogues stand as usual shoulder to shoulder), 
 
 "1 w^ould not that the patron saw her now. 
 I never knew her look so fah as this. Locusta 
 must have left her the secret of her love- 
 philtres." 
 
 " Oh, Innocent !" replies the other. "Knowest 
 thou not that the patron fights to-day? Seest 
 thou her restless hands, and that fixed smile, like 
 the mask of an old Greek player? She loves 
 him ; trust me, therefore, she has lost her power, 
 were she subtle as Arachne. Dost not know the 
 patron ? To do him justice he never prizes the 
 stakes when he has won the game." 
 
 And the two fall to discussing the dinner they 
 have brought with them, and think they are 
 perfectly familiar with the intricacies of a woman's 
 feelings. 
 
 Meantime Valeria seems to cling to Licinius as
 
 THE AEEXA. 29 
 
 Q 
 
 thougli there were some spell iu her kinsman's 
 presence to calm that beating heart of wliich she 
 is but now beginning to learn the wayward and 
 indomitable nature. 
 
 For the twentieth time she asks, — "Is he 
 prepared at all points? Does he know every 
 feint of the deadly game? Are his health and 
 strength as perfect as training can make them ? 
 And oh, my kinsman ! is he confident in himself ? 
 Does he feel sure that he will van ?" 
 
 To which questions Licinius, though wondering 
 at the interest she betrays in such a matter, 
 answers as before, — 
 
 " All that skill, and science, and Hippias can 
 do, has been done. He has the advantage in 
 strength, speed, and height. Above all, he has 
 the courage of his nation. As they get fiercer 
 tliey get cooler, and they are never so formidable 
 as when you deem them vanquished. I could not 
 sit here if I thought he would be worsted." 
 
 Then Valeria took comfort for a while, but soon 
 she moved restlessly on her cushions. " How 
 I wish they would begin !" said she ; yet every 
 moment of delay seemed at the same time to be 
 a respite of priceless value, even while it added to 
 the torture of suspense.
 
 294 EEOS. 
 
 Many liearts were beating in that crowd with 
 love, hope, fear, and anxiety ; but perhaps none so 
 wildly as those of two women, separated but by a 
 few paces, and whose eyes some indefinable at- 
 traction seemed to draw irresistibly towards each 
 other. 
 
 While Valeria, in common with many ladies 
 of distinction, had encroached upon the space 
 originally allotted to the vestal vu'gins, and 
 established by constant attendance in the amphi- 
 theatre a prescriptive right to a cushioned seat 
 for herself and her friends, women of lower rank 
 were compelled to station themselves in an upper 
 gallery allotted to them, or to mingle on suffer- 
 ance with the crowd in the lower tier of places, 
 where the presence of a male companion Avas 
 indispensable for protection from annoyance, and 
 even insult. Nevertheless, within speaking dis- 
 tance of the haughty Eoman lady stood Mariamne, 
 accompanied by Calchas, trembling with fear and 
 excitement in every limb, yet turning her large 
 dark eyes upon Valeria, with an expression of 
 curiosity and interest that could only have been 
 aroused by an instinctive consciousness of feehngs 
 common to both. The latter, too, seemed fasci- 
 nated by the gaze of the Jewish maiden, now
 
 THE AEENA. 295 
 
 bending on her a haughty and inquiring glance, 
 anon turning away with a gesture of affected 
 disdain ; but never unobservant, for many seconds 
 together, of the dark, pale beauty and her vene- 
 rable companion. 
 
 When she was at last fairlv wedo-ed in amono^st 
 the crowd, Mariamne could hardly explain to 
 herself how she came there. It had been with 
 great difficulty that she persuaded Calchas to 
 accompany her ; and, indeed, nothing but his 
 interest in Esca, and the hope that he might, 
 even here, find some means of doing good, would 
 have tempted the old man into such a scene. It 
 was with many a burning blush and painful thrill 
 that she confessed to herself, she must go mad 
 with anxiety were she absent from the death- 
 struggle to be Avaged by the man whom she now 
 knew she loved so dearly ; and it was with a wild 
 defiant recklessness that she resolved if aught of 
 evil should befal him to give herself up thence- 
 forth to despair. She felt as if she was in a 
 dream ; the sea of faces, the jabber of tongues, 
 the strange novelty of the spectacle, confused and 
 wearied her ; yet through it all Yaleria's eye 
 seemed to look down on her with an ominous 
 boding of ill : and when, with an effort, she forced .
 
 296 EROS. 
 
 her senses back into self-consciousness, she felt so 
 lonely, so frightened, and so unhappy, that she 
 wished she had never come. 
 
 And now, with peal of trumpets and clash of 
 cymbals, a bm'st of wild martial music rises above 
 the hum and murmur of the seething crowd. 
 Under a spacious archway, supported by marble 
 pillars, wide folding doors are flung open, and two 
 by two, with stately step and slow, march in the 
 gladiators, armed with the different weapons of 
 their deadly trade. Four hundred men are they, 
 in all the pride of perfect strength and symmetry, 
 and high training, and practised skill. With 
 head erect and haughty bearing, they defile once 
 round the arena, as though to give the spectators 
 an opportimity of closely scanning their appear- 
 ance, and halt with military precision to range 
 themselves in line under Caesar's throne. For 
 a moment there is a pause and hush of expecta- 
 tion over the multitude, while the devoted 
 champions stand motionless as statues in the full 
 glow of noon : then bursting suddenly into action, 
 they brandish their gleaming weapons over their 
 heads, and higher, fuller, fiercer, rises the ter- 
 rible chant that seems to combine the shout of 
 triumph with the wail of suffering, and to bid
 
 THE AEEXA. 297 
 
 a long and hopeless farewell to upper earth, 
 even in the very recklessness and defiance of its 
 despair — 
 
 " Ave, Caesar ! Morituri te salutant !" 
 
 Then they wheel out once more, and range 
 themselves on either side of the arena ; all but 
 a chosen band who occupy the central place of 
 honour, and of whom every second man at least is 
 doomed to die. 
 
 These ai-e the picked pupils of Hijipias; the 
 quickest eyes and the readiest hands in "The 
 Family ;" therefore it is that they have been se- 
 lected to fight by pairs to the death, and that it is 
 understood no clemency will be extended to them 
 from the populace. 
 
 With quickened breath, and eager looks, Valeria 
 and Mariamne scan their ranks in search of a 
 well-kno^vn figure : both feel it to be a question- 
 able relief that he is not there ; but the Koman 
 lady tears the edge of her mantle to the seam, 
 and the Jewish girl offers an incoherent prayer 
 in her heart, for she knows not what. 
 
 Esca's part is not yet to be performed, and he 
 is still in the back-grouud, preparing himself 
 carefully for the struggle. 
 
 The rest of " The Family," however, muster in
 
 298 EROS. 
 
 force. Tall Eiifus stalks to his appointed station 
 with a calm business-like air that bodes no good 
 to his adversary, whoever he may be. He has 
 fought too often not to feel confident in his own 
 invincible prowess ; and when compelled to de- 
 spatch a fallen foe, he Avill do it with sincere 
 regret, but none the less dexterously and effec- 
 tually for that. Hirpinus, too, assumes his usual 
 air of joyial hilarity. There is a smile on his 
 broad, good-humoured face ; and though, notwith- 
 standing the severity of his preparation, his huge 
 muscles are still a trifle too full and lusty, he will 
 be a formidable antagonist for any fighter whose 
 proportions are less than those of a Hercules. 
 As the crowd pass the different combatants in 
 review, none, with the exception perhaps of Eufus, 
 have more backers than their old favourite- 
 Lutorius too, notwithstanding his Gallic origin, 
 which places him but one remove, as it Avere, from 
 a barbarian, finds no slight favour with those who 
 pride themselves on their experience in such 
 matters. His great activity and endurance, com- 
 bined with thorough knowledge of his weapon, 
 have made him the victor in many a public 
 contest. As Damasippus observes to his friend : 
 "Lutorius can always tire out an adversary and
 
 THE AEEXA. 299 
 
 despatch him at leisure ;" to which Oarses replies, 
 " If ]ie be pitted to-day against Manlius, I will 
 wager tliee a thousand sesterces blood is not 
 drawn in the first three assaults." 
 
 The paii's had already been decided by lot ; but 
 amongst the score of combatants who were to 
 fight to the death, these formidable champions 
 were the most celebrated, and as such the espe- 
 cial favourites of the populace. Certain indivi- 
 duals in the crowd, who were sufficiently familiar 
 with the gladiators to exchange a word of greet- 
 ing, and to call them by their names, derived in 
 consequence, no small increase of importance 
 amongst the bystanders. 
 
 The swordsmen, although now ranged in order 
 round the arena, are destined, for a time, at least, 
 to remain inactive. The sports are to commence 
 with a combat between a lately imported rhinoceros, 
 and a Libyan tiger, already familiarly known to the 
 public, as having destroyed two or three Clu'istian 
 victims and a negro slave. It is only in the event 
 of these animals being unwilling to fight, or becom- 
 ing dangerous to the spectators, that Hippias will 
 call in the assistance of his pupils for their de- 
 struction. In the mean time, they have an excel- 
 lent view of the conflict, though perhaps it might
 
 300 EROS. 
 
 be seen in greater comfort from the farther and 
 safer side of the barrier. 
 
 Vitellius, with a feeble inclination of his head, 
 signs to begin, and a portable wooden building 
 which has been wheeled into the lists, creating no 
 little curiosity, is now taken to pieces by a few 
 strokes of the hammer. As the slaves carry away 
 the dismembered boards, with the rapidity of men 
 in terror of their Kves, a huge, unwieldy beast 
 stands disclosed, and the rhinoceros of which they 
 have been talking for the last week, bursts on the 
 delighted eyes of the Roman public. These are 
 perhaps a little disappointed at first, for the 
 animal seems peaceably, not to say indolently, dis- 
 posed. Taking no notice of the shouts which 
 greet his appearance, he digs his horned muzzle 
 into the sand in search of food, as though secure 
 in the overlapping plates of armour, that sway 
 loosely on his enormous body, with every move- 
 ment of his huge ungainly limbs. So intent are 
 the spectators on this rare monster, that their 
 attention is only directed to the farther end of the 
 arena, by the restlessness which the rhinoceros at 
 length exhibits. He stamps angi-ily with his 
 broad flat feet, his short pointed tail is furiously 
 agitated, and the gladiators who are near him,
 
 THE ARENA. 301 
 
 observe that his little eye is glowing like a coal. 
 A long, low, dark object, lies coiled up under the 
 barrier as though seeking shelter, nor is it till the 
 second glance, that A^aleria, whose interest, in 
 common with that of the multitude, is fearfully 
 excited, can make out the fa^^Tling, cruel head, 
 the glaring eyes, and the striped sineAvy form of 
 the Libyan tiger. 
 
 In vain the people wait for him to commence 
 the attack. Although he is sufficiently hungry, 
 having been kept for more than a day without 
 food, it is not his nature to carry on an open war- 
 fare. Damasippus and Oarses jeer him loudly as 
 he skulks under the barrier ; and Calchas cannot 
 forbear whispering to Mariamne, that "a curse 
 has been on the monster since he tore the brethren 
 limb from limb, in that very place, for the glory 
 of the true faith." 
 
 The rliinoceros, however, seems disposed to 
 take the initiative : with a short labouring trot 
 he moves across the arena, leaving such deep foot- 
 prints behind him, as sufficiently attest his enor- 
 mous bulk and weio-ht. There is a flash like real 
 fire from the tiger's eyes, hitherto only sullen and 
 watchful — his waving tale describes a semicircle 
 in the sand — and he coils himself more closelv to-
 
 302 EROS. 
 
 gether, -with a deep low growl : even now he is 
 not disposed to fight save at an advantage. 
 
 A hundred thousand pairs of eyes, straining 
 eagerly on the combatants, could scarce detect 
 the exact moment at which that spring was made. 
 All they can now discern is the broad mailed 
 back of the rhinoceros sw^avins; to and fro, as he 
 kneels upon his enemy ; and the grating of the 
 tiger's claws against the huge beast's impenetrable 
 armour, can be heard in the farthest corner of the 
 gallery that surrounds the amphitheatre. 
 
 The leap was made as the rhinoceros turned his 
 side for an instant towards his adversary : but with. 
 a quickness marvellous in a beast of such pro- 
 digious size, he moved his head round in time to 
 receive it on the massive horn that armed his nose, 
 driving the blunt instrument, from sheer muscular 
 strength, right through the body of the tiger, and 
 finishing his work by falling on him with his 
 knees, and pressing his life out under that enor- 
 mous weight. 
 
 Then he rose unhurt, and blew the sand out of 
 his nostrils, and left, as it seemed, unwillingly, 
 the flattened, crushed, and mangled carcase, turn- 
 ing back to it once and again, with a horrible, yet 
 ludicrous pertinacity, ere he suffered the Ethiop-
 
 THE AKENA. 303 
 
 ians ^Yho attended him to lure him out of the am- 
 phitheatre with a bundle or two of green vege- 
 table food. 
 
 The people shouted and applauded loudly. 
 Blood had been di-awn, and their appetite was 
 sharpened for slaughter. It was with open, un- 
 disguised satisfaction that they counted the paii-s 
 of gladiators, and looked forward to the next act 
 of the entertainment. 
 
 Again the trumpets sound, and the swordsmen 
 range themselves in opposite bodies, all armed 
 alike with a deep concave buckler, and a short, 
 stabbing, two-edged blade; but distinguished by 
 the colour of their scarfs. Wagers are rapidly 
 made on the green and the red : so skilfully has 
 the experienced Hippias selected and matched the 
 combatants, that the oldest patrons of the sport 
 confess themselves at a loss which to choose. 
 
 The bands advance against each other, three 
 deep, in imitation of the real soldiers of the empire. 
 At the fii'st crash of collision, when steel begins to 
 clink, as thrust and blow and parry are exchanged 
 by these practised warriors, the approbation of the 
 spectators rises to enthusiasm ; but men's voices are 
 hushed, and they hold theii- breath when the strife 
 begins to waver to and fro, and the ranks open out
 
 304 EEOS. 
 
 and disengage themselves, and blood is to be seen 
 in patches on those athletic frames, and a few are 
 already down, lying motionless where they fell. 
 
 The green is giving way, but their third rank 
 has been economized, and its combatants are as 
 yet fresh and untouched ; tliese now advance to 
 fill the gaps made among their comrades, and the 
 fortunes of the day seem equalized once more. 
 
 And now the arena becomes a ghastly and for- 
 bidding sight. They die hard, these men, whose 
 very trade is slaughter ; but mortal agony cannot 
 always suppress a groan, and it is pitiful to see 
 some prostrate giant, supporting himself painfully 
 on his hands, with drooping head and fast closing 
 eye fixed on the ground, while the life-stream is 
 pouring from his chest into the thirsty sand. 
 
 It is real sad earnest, this representation of war, 
 and resembles the battle-field in all save that no 
 prisoners are taken and quarter is but rarely 
 given. Occasionally, indeed, some vanquished 
 champion, of more than common beauty, or who 
 has displayed more than common address and 
 courage, so wins on the favour of the spectators, 
 that they sign for his life to be spared. Hands 
 are turned outwards, with the thumb pointing to 
 the earth, and the victor sheathes his sword, and
 
 THE ARENA. 305 
 
 retires with his worsted antagonist, from the eon- 
 test ; but more generally the fallen man's signal 
 for mercy is neglected : ere the shout " A hit !" 
 has died upon his ears, his despairing eye marks 
 the thumbs of his judges, pointing upwards, and 
 he disposes himself to " welcome the steel," with 
 a calm courage, worthy of a better cause. 
 
 The reserve, consisting of ten pau'S of picked 
 gladiators, has not yet been engaged. The green 
 and the red have fought with nearly equal suc- 
 cess ; but when the trumpet has sounded a halt, 
 and the dead have been dragged away by grap- 
 pling-hooks, leaving long tracks of crimson in their 
 wake, a careful enumeration of the survivors ffives 
 the victory by one, to the latter colour. Hippias, 
 coming forward in a suit of burnished armour, 
 declares as much, and is greeted with a round of 
 applause. In all her preoccupation, Valeria can- 
 not refrain from a glance of approval at the hand- 
 some fencing-master ; and Mariamne, who feels 
 that E sea's life hangs on the man's skill and 
 honesty, gazes at him with mingled awe and 
 horror, as on some being of' another world. 
 
 But the populace have little inclination to 
 waste the precious moments in cheering Hippias, 
 or in calculating loss and gain. Fresh wagers are 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 EROS. 
 
 indeed made on tlie matches about to take place ; 
 but the prevailiug feeling over that numerous 
 assemblage, is one of morbid excitement and 
 anticipation. The ten pairs of men now marching 
 so proudly into the centre of the lists, are pledged 
 to fight to the death. 
 
 It would be a disgaisting task to detail the 
 scene of bloodshed, to dwell on the fierce courage 
 wasted, and the brutal, useless slaughter perpe- 
 trated in those Eoman shambles: yet, sickening 
 as was the sight, so inured were the people to 
 such exhibitions, so completely imbued with a 
 taste for the horrible, and so careless of human 
 life, that scarcely an eye was tm-ned away, scarcely 
 a cheek grew paler, w^hen a disabling gash was 
 received, or a mortal blow driven home; and 
 mothers with babies in their arms would bid the 
 child turn its head to watch the death-pang on 
 the pale stern face of some prostrate gladiator. 
 
 Licinius had looked upon carnage in many 
 forms, yet, a sad, grave disapproval sat on the 
 general's noble features. Once after a glance at 
 his kinswoman's eager face, he turned from her 
 with a gesture of anger and disg-ust ; but Valeria 
 was too intent upon the scene enacted within a few 
 short paces to spare attention for anything besides,
 
 • 'THE ARENA. 307 
 
 except, perhaps, the vague foreboding of evil that 
 was gna\nng at her heart, and to which such a 
 moment of suspense as the present afforded a 
 temporary relief. 
 
 Rufus and Manlius had been pitted against 
 each other by lot. The taller frame and greater 
 strength of the former were supposed to' be 
 balanced by the latter's exquisite skQl. Collars 
 and bracelets were freely offered at even value 
 amongst the senators and equestrians on each. 
 While the other paii'S were waging their strife 
 with varying success in different parts of the 
 amphitheatre, these had found themselves 
 struggling near the barrier close under the seat 
 occupied by Valeria. She could hear distinctly 
 their hard-drawn breath, could read on eacli 
 man's face the stern, set expression of one who 
 has no hope save in victory, for whom defeat is 
 inevitable and instant death. No wonder she sat, 
 so still and spell-bound, with her pale lips parted 
 and her cold hands clenched. 
 
 The blood was pouring from more than one 
 gash on the giant's naked body, yet Eufus seemed 
 to have lost neither coolness nor strength. He 
 continued to ply his adversary with blow on blow, 
 pressing him, and following him up, till he drove
 
 308 EROS. 
 
 him nearly against the barrier. It was obvious 
 that Manlius, though still unwounded, was over- 
 matched and overpowered. At length Valeria 
 drew in her breath with a gasp, as if in pain. It 
 seemed as if she, the spectator, winced from that 
 fatal thi-ust, which was accepted so calmly by the 
 gladiator whom it pierced. Eufus could scarcely 
 believe he had succeeded in foiling his adversary's 
 defence, and di-iving it deftly home, so unmoved 
 was the familiar face looking over its shield into 
 his own — so steady and skilful was the return 
 which instantaneously succeeded his attack. But 
 that face was growing paler and paler with every 
 pulsation. Valeria, gazing with wild fixed eyes, 
 saw it Avreathed in a strange sad smile, and 
 Manlius reeled and fell where he stood, breaking 
 his sword as he went down, and burying it beneath 
 his body in the sand. 
 
 The other strode over him in act to strike. 
 A natural impulse of habit or self-preservation 
 bade the fallen man half raise his arm, with the 
 gesture by which a gladiator was accustomed to 
 implore the clemency of the populace, but he 
 recollected himself, and let it drop proudly by 
 his side. Tlion he looked kindly up in his victor's 
 face, "Tlu-ough the heart, comrade/' said he,
 
 THE ARENA. 309 
 
 quietly, " for old friendsliip's sake !" and he never 
 winced nor quailed when the giant drove the blow 
 home with all the strength that he could muster. 
 They had fed at the same board, and drank from 
 the same wine-cup for years ; and this was all he 
 had it in his power to bestow upon his friend. 
 
 The people applauded loudly, but Valeria, who 
 had heard the dead man^s last appeal, felt her 
 eyes fill with tears; and Mariamne, who had 
 raised her head to look at this unlucky moment, 
 bmied it once more in her kinsman's cloak, sick 
 and trembling, ready to faint with pity, and 
 dismay, and feai'.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 
 
 ^UT a slioiit was ringing through the 
 
 amphitheatre that roused the Jewish 
 maiden effectually to the business of 
 the day. It had begun in some 
 far-off corner with a mere whispered muttering, 
 and had been taken up by spectator after spectator, 
 till it swelled into a wild and deafening roar. 
 " A Patrician ! a Patrician !" vociferated the 
 crowd, thirsting fiercely for fresh excitement, and 
 palled with vulgar carnage, yearning to see the 
 red blood flow from some scion of an illustrious 
 house. The tumult soon reached such a heio:ht 
 as to compel the attention of Vitellius, who 
 summoned Hippias to his chair, and whispered a 
 few sentences in his ear. This somewhat calmed 
 the excitement ; and while the fencing-master's
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 311 
 
 exertions cleared the arena of the dead and 
 wounded, with whom it was cumbered, a general 
 stir might have been observed throughout the 
 assemblage, while each individual changed his 
 position, and disposed himself more comfortably 
 for sight-seeing, as is the custom of a crowd, when 
 anything of especial interest is about to take 
 place. Ere long Daraasippus and Oarses were 
 observed to applaud loudly; and then- example 
 being followed by thousands of imitators, the 
 clapping of hands, the stamping of feet, the 
 cheers, and other vociferations rose with redoubled 
 vigour, while Julius Placidus stepped gracefully 
 into the centre of the arena, and made his 
 obeisance to the crowd with his usual easy and 
 somewhat insolent bearing. 
 
 The Tribune's appearance was well calculated 
 to excite the admiration of the spectators, no 
 mean judges of the human form, accustomed as 
 they were to scan and criticise it in its highest 
 state of perfection. His graceful figure was 
 naked and unarmed, save for a white linen tunic, 
 reaching to the knee, and although he wore rings 
 of gold romid his ankles, his feet were bare to 
 insure the necessary speed and activity demanded 
 by his mode of attack. His long dark locks,
 
 312 EEOS. 
 
 carefully curled and perfumed for the occasion, 
 and bound by a single golden fillet, floated 
 carelessly over his neck, while his left shoulder 
 was tastefully draped, as it were, by the folds of 
 the dangling net, sprinkled and weighted with 
 small leaden beads, and so disposed as to be 
 whirled away at once without entanglement or 
 delay upon its deadly errand. His right hand 
 grasped the trident, a three-pronged lance, some 
 seven feet in length, capable of inflicting a fatal 
 wound, and the flourish with which he made it 
 quiver round his head displayed a practised arm 
 and a perfect knowledge of the offensive weapon. 
 
 To the shouts which greeted him, " Placidus ! 
 Placidus !" " Hail to the Tribune !" " Well done 
 the Patrician Order!" and other such demon- 
 strations of welcome, he replied by bowing re- 
 peatedly, especially directing his courtesies to 
 that portion of the amphitheatre in which Valeria . 
 was placed. With all his acuteness little did the 
 Tribune guess how hateful he was at this 
 moment to the very woman on whose behalf he 
 was pledged to engage in mortal strife — little did 
 he dream how earnest were her vows for his 
 speedy humiliation and defeat. Valeria, sitting 
 there with the red spots bui'niug a deeper crimson
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 313 
 
 in her cheeks, and her noble features set in a 
 mask of stone, would have asked nothing better 
 than to have leapt down from her seat, snatched 
 up sword and buckler, of which she well knew the 
 use, and done battle with him, then and there to 
 the death. 
 
 The Tribune now walked proudly round the 
 arena, nodding familiarly to his friends, a pro- 
 ceeding Avhich called forth raptures of applause 
 from Damasippus, Oarses, and other of his clients 
 and freedmen. He halted under the chair of 
 Caesar, and saluted the Emperor with marked 
 deference ; then, taking up a conspicious position 
 in the centre, and leaning on his trident, seemed 
 to await the arrival of his antagonist. 
 
 He was not kept long in suspense. With his 
 eyes riveted on Valeria, he observed the fixed 
 colour of her cheeks gTadually suffusing face, 
 neck, and bosom, to leave her as pale as marble 
 when it faded, and turning round he beheld liis 
 enemy, marshalled into the lists by Hippias and 
 Hirpinus — the latter, who had slain his man, thus 
 finding himself at liberty to afford coimsel and 
 countenance to liis young friend. The shouts 
 which greeted the new-comer were neither so long 
 nor so lasting as those that did honour to the
 
 314 EEOS. 
 
 Tribune; nevertheless if tlie interest excited by 
 each were to be calculated by intensity rather 
 than amount, the slave's suffrages would have far 
 exceeded those of his adversary. 
 
 Mariamhe's whole heart Avas in her eyes as she 
 welcomed the glance of recognition he directed 
 exclusively to Jier ; and Valeria tm'ning from one 
 to the other felt a bitter pang shoot to her very 
 marrow, as she instinctively acknowledged the ex- 
 istence of a rival. 
 
 Even at that moment of hideous suspense^, a 
 host of maddening feelings rushed through the 
 Eoman lady's brain. Many a sun-burnt peasant- 
 woman, jostled and bewildered in the cro\Yd, 
 envied that sumptuous dame with her place apart, 
 her stately beauty, her rich apparel, and her 
 blazing jewels; but the peasant-woman would 
 have rued the exchange had she been forced to 
 tahe, with these advantages, the passions that were 
 laying waste Valeria's heart. Wounded pride, 
 slighted love, doubt, fear, vacillation and remorse, 
 are none the more endm-able for being clothed 
 in costly raiment, and trapi3ed out with gems and 
 gold. 
 
 While Mariamne, in her singleness of heart, had 
 but one great and deadly fear — that he should
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 315 
 
 fail — Valeria found room for a thousand anxieties 
 and misgivings, of conflicting tendencies, and 
 chafed under a distressing consciousness that she 
 could not satisfy herself, what it was she most 
 dreaded or desired. 
 
 Unprejudiced and uninterested spectators, how- 
 ever, had hut one opinion as to the chances of the 
 Briton's success. If anything could have added 
 to the enthusiasm called forth by the appearance 
 of Placidus, it was the patrician's selection of so 
 formidable an antagonist. Esca, making his 
 obeisance to Coesar, in the pride of his powerful 
 form, and the bloom of his youth and beauty, 
 armed, moreover, with helmet, shield, and sword, 
 which he carried with the ease of one habituated 
 to their use, appeared as invincible a champion as 
 could have been chosen from the Avhole Roman 
 empire. 
 
 Even Hirpinus, albeit a man experienced in 
 the uncertainties of such contests, and cautious, if 
 not in giving, at least in backing, his opinion, 
 whispered to Hippias, that the Patrician looked 
 like a mere child by the side of their pupil, and 
 offered to Avager a flagon of the best Ealemian 
 " that he was carried out of the arena feet fore- 
 most within five minutes after the first attack if he
 
 316 EEOS. 
 
 missed his throw !" To which the fencing-master, 
 true to his habits of reticence and assumed 
 superiority, vouchsafed no reply save a contempt- 
 uous smile. 
 
 The adversaries took up their ground with ex- 
 ceeding caution. No advantage of sun or wind 
 was allowed to either, and having been placed by 
 Hippias at a distance of ten yards apart in the 
 middle of the arena, neither moved a limb for 
 several seconds, as they stood intently watching 
 each other, themselves the centre on which all 
 eyes were fixed. It was remarked that while 
 Esca's open brow bore only a look of calm resolute 
 attention, there was an evil smile of malice 
 stamped, as it were, upon the Tribune's face — the 
 one seemed an apt representation of Courage and 
 Strength — the other of Hatred and Skill. 
 
 "He carries the front of a conqueror," whis- 
 pered Licinius to his kinswoman, regarding his 
 slave with looks of anxious approval. " Trust me, 
 Valeria, we shall win the day. Esca will gain his 
 freedom ; the gilded chariot and the white horses 
 shall bring him and me to your door to-morrow 
 morning, and that gaudy Tribune will have had a 
 lesson, that I for one shall not be sorry to have 
 been the means of bestowing on him."
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 317 
 
 A bright smile liglitecl up Valeria's face, but 
 she looked from the speaker to a dark-haired girl 
 in the crowd below, and the expression of her 
 countenance changed till it grew as forbidding as 
 the Tribune's, while she replied with a careless 
 laugh — 
 
 " I care not who wins now, Licinius, since they 
 are both in the lists. To tell the truth, I did but 
 fear the courage of this Titan of yom-s might fail 
 him at the last moment, and the match would not 
 be fought out after all. Hippias tells me the 
 Tribune is the best netsman he ever trained.^' 
 
 He looked at her with a vague surprise ; but 
 following the direction of his kinswoman's eyes, he 
 could not but remark the obvious distress and 
 agitation of the cloaked figm-e on which they were 
 bent. 
 
 Mariamne, when she saw the Briton fairly 
 placed, front to front with his adversary, had 
 neither strength nor courage for more. Leaning 
 against Calchas the poor girl hid her face in her 
 hands and wept as if her heart would break. 
 Myrrhina, who, no more than her mistress, could 
 have borne to be absent from such a spectacle. 
 had forced her way into the crowd, accompanied 
 by a few of Valeria's favourite slaves.
 
 318 EEOS. 
 
 Standing within three paces of the Je^vess, that 
 voluble damsel expatiated loudly on the appear- 
 ance of the combatants, and her careless jests and 
 sarcasms cut Mariamne to the quick. It was pain- 
 ful to hear her lover's personal qualities canvassed 
 as though he were some handsome beast of prey, 
 and his chance of life and death balanced with 
 heartless nicety by the flippant tongue of a wait- 
 ing maid ; but there was yet a deeper sting in store 
 for her even than this. Myrrhina having got an 
 audience was nothing loth to profit by their at- 
 tention. " I'm sure," said she, " whichever way 
 the match goes I don't know what my mistress 
 will do. As for the Tribune he would get out of 
 his chariot any day on the bare stones to kiss the 
 very ground she walks on, and yet if he dare so 
 much as to leave a scratch ujjon that handsome 
 youth's skin, he need never come to our doors 
 again. Why time after time have I hunted that 
 boy all over the city to bring him home with me. 
 And it's no light matter for a slave and a bar- 
 barian to have won the favour of the proudest lady 
 in Kome. See how he looks up at her now, before 
 they begin !" 
 
 The light words wounded very sore ; and 
 Mariamne raised her head for one glance at the
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 319 
 
 Briton, half in fond appeal, half to protest, as it 
 were, against the slander she had heard. 
 
 What she saw, however, left no room in her 
 loving heart, for any feeliag save intense horror 
 and suspense. 
 
 With his eye fixed on his adversary, Esca was 
 advancing, inch by inch, like a tiger about to 
 sprmg. Covering the lower part of his face, and 
 most of his body, with his buckler, and holding 
 his short two-edged sword with bended arm, and 
 threatening point, he crouched to at least a foot 
 lower than his natural stature, and seemed to 
 have every muscle and sinew braced, to dash in 
 like lightning when the opportunity offered. A 
 false movement, he well knew, would be fatal, 
 and the chfficulty was to come to close quarters, 
 as, directly he was within a certain distance, the 
 deadly cast Avas sure to be made. Plaeidus, on 
 the other hand, stood perfectly motionless. His 
 eye was unusually accurate, and he could trust liis 
 practised arm to whirl* the net abroad at the exact 
 moment when its sweep would be irresistible. 
 So he remained in the same collected attitude, 
 his trident shifted into the left hand, his rio-ht 
 foot advanced, his right arm wrapped in the 
 gathered folds of the net which hung across his
 
 320 EROS. 
 
 body and covered the whole of liis left side and 
 shoulder. Once he tried a scornful gibe and 
 smile to draw his enemy from his guard, but 
 in vain ; and though Esca in return made a feint 
 with the same object, the former's attitude re- 
 mained immovable, and the latter's snake-like 
 advance continued with increasing caution and 
 vigilance. 
 
 An inch beyond the fatal distance, Esca halted 
 once more. For several seconds the combatants 
 thus stood at bay, and the hundred thousand 
 spectators crowded into that spacious amphi- 
 theatre, held their breath and watched them 
 like one man. 
 
 At length the Briton made a false attack, pre- 
 pared to spring back immediately and foil the 
 netsman's throw, but the ■s^•ily Tribune was not to 
 be deceived, and the only result was that with- 
 out appearing to shift his ground, he moved an 
 arm's lencth nearer his adversary. Then the 
 Briton dashed in, and this time in fierce earnest. 
 iFoot, hand, and eye, all together, and so rapidly 
 that the Tribune's thi'ow flew harmless over his 
 assailant's head, Placidus only avoiding his deadly 
 thrust by the cat-like activity with which he 
 leaped aside; then turning round, he scoured
 
 THE TRIDENT AND THE NET. 321 
 
 across the arena for life, gathering his net for a 
 fresh cast as he flew. " Coward !" hissed Valeria, 
 between her set teeth, while Mariamne breathed 
 once more — nay, her bosom panted, and lier eye 
 sparkled with something like triumph at the ap- 
 proaching climax. 
 
 She was premature, however, in her satisfaction, 
 and Valeria's disdain was also undeserved. Though 
 apparently flying for his life, Placidus was as cool 
 and brave at that moment, as when he entered 
 the arena. Ear and eye were alike on tlie 
 watch for the slightest false movement on the part 
 of his pursuer ; and ere he had lialf crossed the lists, 
 his net was gathered up, and folded with deadly 
 precision, once more. 
 
 The Tribune especially prided himself on his 
 speed of foot. It was on this quality that he 
 chiefly depended for safety in a contest which at 
 first sight appeared so unequal. He argued from 
 the great strength of his adversary, that the 
 latter would not be so pre-eminent in activity as 
 himself; but he omitted to calculate the effects of 
 a youth spent in the daily labours of the chase 
 amongst the woods and mountains of Britain. 
 Those following feet had many a time run dov, n 
 the wild-goat over its native rocks. 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 322 EROS. 
 
 Faster and faster fly the combatants, to the 
 intense delight of the crowd, who specially aifect 
 this kind of combat for the pastime it thus 
 affords. Speedy as is the Tribune, his foe draws 
 nearer and nearer, and now close to where Mari- 
 amne stands with Calchas, he is witliin a stride of 
 his antagonist. His arm is up to strike ! when 
 a woman's shriek rings through the amplii- 
 theatre, startling Vitellius on his throne, and the 
 SAA'ord flies aimlessly from the Briton's grasp as 
 he falls forward on his face, and the impetus 
 rolls him over and over in the sand. 
 
 There is no chance for him now. He is 
 scarcely do^vn ere the net whu-ls round him, 
 and he is fatally and helplessly entangled in 
 its folds. Mariamne gazes stupefied on the 
 »p rostrate form, with stony face and a fixed un- 
 meaning stare. Valeria springs to her feet in 
 a sudden impulse, forgetting for the moment 
 where she is. 
 
 Placidrjs striding over his fallen enemy, with 
 his trident raised, and the old sneering smdle 
 deepening and hardening on his face, observed 
 the cause of his downfall, and inwardly congratu- 
 lated himself on the lucky chance which had 
 aloue prevented their positions being reversed.
 
 THE TEIDENT AND THE NET. 323 
 
 The blood was streamino' from a wound in Esca's 
 foot. It will be remembered that where Man- 
 lius fell, liis sword was buried under him in the 
 sand. On removing his dead body the weapon 
 escaped observation, and the Briton treadiug in 
 hot haste on the ver}" spot where it lay concealed, 
 had not only been severely lacerated, but tripped 
 up and brought to the ground by the snare. 
 
 All this flashed through the conqueror's mind, 
 as he stood erect, prepared to deal a blow that 
 should close all accouftts, and looked up to 
 Valeria for the fatal sign. 
 
 Maddened with rage and jealousy, sick, be- 
 wildered, and scarcely conscious of her actions, 
 the Eoman lady was about to give it, when 
 Licinius seized her arms and held them down 
 by force. Then with a numerous party of friends 
 and clients, he made a strong demonstration 
 in favom- of mercy. The speed of foot too, 
 displayed by the vanquished, and the obvious 
 cause of his discomfiture, acted favourably on 
 the majority of spectators. Such an array of 
 hands turned outwards and pointing to the earth 
 met the Tribune's eye, that he could not forbear 
 his cruel purpose, so he gave his weapon to one 
 of the attendants who had now entered the arena,
 
 324 EROS. 
 
 took his cloak from the hands of another, and 
 with a graceful bow to the spectators turned 
 scornfully away from his fallen foe. 
 
 Esca, expecting nothing less than immediate 
 death, had his eyes fixed on the drooping figure 
 of Mariamne ; but the poor girl had seen nothing 
 since liis fall. Her last moment of consciousness 
 showed her a cloud of dust, a confused mass of 
 twine, and an ominous figiu^e with arm raised 
 in act to strike ; then barriers and arena, and 
 eager faces and white garments, and the whole 
 amphitheatre, pillars, sand, and sky, reeled ere 
 they faded into darkness ; sense and sight failed 
 her at the same moment, and she fainted help- 
 lessly in her kinsman's arms. 
 
 END OF VOLUME I. 
 
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