CHAPTER XXII.
As Melissa made her way with the philosopher through the crowd,Philostratus said to her: "It is for your sake, child, that thesehundreds have had so long to wait to-day, and many hopes will bedisappointed. To satisfy all is a giant's task. But Caracalla must doit, well or ill."
"Then he will forget me!" replied Melissa, with a sigh of relief.
"Hardly," answered the philosopher. He was sorry for the terrifiedgirl, and in his wish to lighten her woes as far as he could, he said,gravely: "You called him terrible, and he can be more terrible thanany man living. But he has been kind to you so far, and, if you take myadvice, you will always seem to expect nothing from him that is not goodand noble."
"Then I must be a hypocrite," replied Melissa. "Only to-day he hasmurdered the noble Titianus."
"That is an affair of state which does not concern you," repliedPhilostratus. "Read my description of Achilles. I represent him amongother heroes such as Caracalla might be. Try, on your part, to see himin that light. I know that it is sometimes a pleasure to him to justifythe good opinion of others. Encourage your imagination to think the bestof him. I shall tell him that you regard him as magnanimous and noble."
"No, no!" cried Melissa; "that would make everything worse."
But the philosopher interrupted her.
"Trust my riper experience. I know him. If you let him know your trueopinion of him, I will answer for nothing. My Achilles reveals the goodqualities with which he came into the world; and if you look closely youmay still find sparks among the ashes."
He here took his leave, for they had reached the vestibule leadingto the high-priest's lodgings, and a few minutes later Melissa foundherself with Euryale, to whom she related all that she had seen andfelt. When she told her older friend what Philostratus had advised,the lady stroked her hair, and said: "Try to follow the advice of soexperienced a man. It can not be very difficult. When a woman's hearthas once been attached to a man--and pity is one of the strongest ofhuman ties--the bond may be strained and worn, but a few threads mustalways remain."
But Melissa hastily broke in:
"There is not a spider's thread left which binds me to that cruel man.The murder of Titianus has snapped them all."
"Not so," replied the lady, confidently. "Pity is the only form of lovewhich even the worst crime can not eradicate from a kind heart. Youprayed for Caesar before you knew him, and that was out of pure humancharity. Exercise now a wider compassion, and reflect that Fate hascalled you to take care of a hapless creature raving in fever andhard to deal with. How many Christian women, especially such as callthemselves deaconesses, voluntarily assume such duties! and goodis good, right is right for all, whether they pray to one God or toseveral. If you keep your heart pure, and constantly think of thetime which shall be fulfilled for each of us, to our ruin or to oursalvation, you will pass unharmed through this great peril. I know it, Ifeel it."
"But you do not know him," exclaimed Melissa, "and how terrible he canbe! And Diodoros! When he is well again, if he hears that I am withCaesar, in obedience to his call whenever he sends for me, and if eviltongues tell him dreadful things about me, he, too, will condemn me!"
"No, no," the matron declared, kissing her brow and eyes. "If he lovesyou truly, he will trust you."
"He loves me," sobbed Melissa; "but, even if he does not desert me whenI am thus branded, his father will come between us."
"God forbid!" cried Euryale. "Remain what you are, and I will always bethe same to you, come what may; and those who love you will not refuseto listen to an old woman who has grown gray in honor."
And Melissa believed her motherly, kind, worthy friend; and, with thenew confidence which revived in her, her longing for her lover began tostir irresistibly. She wanted a fond glance from the eyes of the youthwho loved her, and to whom, for another man's sake, she could not giveall his due, nay, who had perhaps a right to complain of her. This shefrankly confessed, and the matron herself conducted the impatient girlto see Diodoros.
Melissa again found Andreas in attendance on the sufferer, and she wassurprised at the warmth with which the high-priest's wife greeted theChristian.
Diodoros was already able to be dressed and to sit up. He was paleand weak, and his head was still bound up, but he welcomed the girlaffectionately, though with a mild reproach as to the rarity of hervisits.
Andreas had already informed him that Melissa was kept away by hermediation for the prisoners, and so he was comforted by her assurancethat if her duty would allow of it she would never leave him again.And the joy of having her there, the delight of gazing into her sweet,lovely face, and the youthful gift of forgetting the past in favor ofthe present, silenced every bitter reflection. He was soon blissfullylistening to her with a fresh color in his cheeks, and never had he seenher so tender, so devoted, so anxious to show him the fullness of hergreat love. The quiet, reserved girl was to-day the wooer, and with thezeal called forth by her ardent wish to do him good, she expressed allthe tenderness of her warm heart so frankly and gladly that to him itseemed as though Eros had never till now pierced her with the rightshaft.
As soon as Euryale was absorbed in conversation with Andreas, sheoffered him her lips with gay audacity, as though in defiance of somestern dragon of virtue, and he, drunk with rapture, enjoyed what shegranted him. And soon it was he who became daring, declaring that therewould be time enough to talk another day; that for the present her rosymouth had nothing to do but to cure him with kisses. And during thissweet give and take, she implored him with pathetic fervor never, neverto doubt her love, whatever he might hear of her. Their older friends,who had turned their backs on the couple and were talking busily by awindow, paid no heed to them, and the blissful conviction of being lovedas ardently as she loved flooded her whole being.
Only now and then did the thought of Caesar trouble for a moment therapture of that hour, like a hideous form appearing out of distantclouds. She felt prompted indeed to tell her lover everything, but itseemed so difficult to make him understand exactly how everything hadhappened, and Diodoros must not be distressed. And, indeed, intoxicatedas he was with heated passion, he made the attempt impossible.
When he spoke it was only to assure her of his love; and when the ladyEuryale at last called her to go, and looked in the girl's glowing face,Melissa felt as though she were snatched from a rapturous dream.
In the anteroom they were stopped by Andreas. Euryale had indeedrelieved his worst fears, still he was anxious to lay before the girlthe question whether she would not be wise to take advantage of thisvery night to make her escape. She, however, her eyes still beamingwith happiness, laid her little hand coaxingly on his bearded mouth, andbegged him not to sadden her high spirits and hopes of a better time bywarnings and dismal forecasts. Even the lady Euryale had advised her totrust fearlessly to herself, and sitting with her lover she had acquiredthe certainty that it was best so. The freedman could not bear todisturb this happy confidence, and only impressed on Melissa thatshe should send for him if ever she needed him. He would find hera hiding-place, and the lady Euryale had undertaken to provide amessenger. He then bade them godspeed, and they returned to thehigh-priest's dwelling.
In the vestibule they found a servant from the lady Berenike; in hismistress's name he desired Euryale to send Melissa to spend the nightwith her.
This invitation, which would remove Melissa from the Serapeum, waswelcome to them both, and the matron herself accompanied the young girldown a private staircase leading to a small side-door. Argutis, whohad come to inquire for his young mistress, was to be her escort and tobring her back early next morning to the same entrance.
The old slave had much to tell her. He had been on his feet all day. Hehad been to the harbor to inquire as to the return of the vessel withthe prisoners on board; to the Serapeum to inquire for her; to Dido,to give her the news. He had met Alexander in the forenoon on the quaywhere the imperial galleys were moored. When the young man learned thatthe trireme could
not come in before next morning at the soonest, he hadset out to cross the lake and see Zeus and his daughter. He had chargedArgutis to let Melissa know that his longing for the fair Agatha gavehim no peace.
He and old Dido disapproved of their young master's feather-brain, whichhad not been made more steady and patient even by the serious eventsof this day and his sister's peril; however, he did not allow a wordof blame to escape him. He was happy only to be allowed to walk behindMelissa, and to hear from her own lips that all was well with her, andthat Caesar was gracious.
Alexander, indeed, had also told the old man that he and Caesar were"good friends"; and now the slave was thinking of Pandion, Theocritus,and the other favorites of whom he had heard; and he assured Melissathat, as soon as her father should be free, Caracalla would be certainto raise him to the rank of knight, to give him lands and wealth,perhaps one of the imperial residences on the Bruchium. Then he,Argutis, would be house steward, and show that he knew other thingsbesides keeping the workroom and garden in order, splitting wood, andbuying cheaply at market.
Melissa laughed and said he should be no worse off if only the firstwish of her heart were fulfilled, and she were wife to Diodoros; andArgutis declared he would be amply content if only she allowed him toremain with her.
But she only half listened and answered absently, for she breathedfaster as she pictured to herself how she would show Caesar, on whom shehad already proved her power, that she had ceased to tremble before him.
Thus they came to the house of Seleukus.
A large force had taken up their quarters there. In the pillaredhall beyond the vestibule bearded soldiers were sitting on benches orsquatting in groups on the ground, drinking noisily and singing, orlaughing and squabbling as they threw the dice on the costly mosaicpavement. A riotous party were toping and reveling in the beautifulgarden of the impluvium round a fire which they had lighted on thevelvet turf. A dozen or so of officers had stretched themselves oncushions under one of the colonnades, and, without attempting to checkthe wild behavior of their men, were watching the dancing of someEgyptian girls who had been brought into the house of their involuntaryhost. Although Melissa was closely veiled and accompanied by a servant,she did not escape rude words and insolent glances. Indeed, an audaciousyoung praetorian had put out his hand to pull away her veil, but anolder officer stopped him.
The lady Berenike's rooms had so far not been intruded on; for Macrinus,the praetorian prefect, who knew Berenike through her brother-in-law thesenator Coeranus, had given orders that the women's apartments were tobe exempt from the encroachments of the quartermaster of the body-guard.Breathing rapidly and with a heightened color, Melissa at last enteredthe room of Seleukus's wife.
The matron's voice was full of bitterness as she greeted her youngvisitor with the exclamation "You look as if you had fled to escapepersecution! And in my house, too! Or"--and her large eyes flashedbrightly--"or is the blood-hound on the track of his prey? My boat isquite ready--" When Melissa denied this, and related what had happened,Berenike exclaimed: "But you know that the panther lies still andgathers himself up before he springs; or, if you do not, you may see itto-morrow at the Circus. There is to be a performance in Caesar's honor,the like of which not even Nero ever saw. My husband bears the chiefpart cf the cost, and can think of nothing else. He has even forgottenhis only child, and all to please the man who insults us, robs andhumiliates us! Now that men kiss the hands which maltreat them, it isthe part of women to defy them. You must fly, child! The harbor is nowclosed, but it will be open again to-morrow morning, and, if your folksare set free in the course of the day, then away with you at once! Ordo you really hope for any good from the tyrant who has made this housewhat you now see it?"
"I know him," replied Melissa, "and I look for nothing but the worst."
At this the elder woman warmly grasped the girl's hand, but she wasinterrupted by the waiting woman Johanna, who said that a Roman officerof rank, a tribune, craved to be admitted.
When Berenike refused to receive him, the maid assured her that he was ayoung man, and had expressed his wish to bring an urgent request to thelady's notice in a becoming and modest manner.
On this the matron allowed him to be shown in to her, and Melissahastily obeyed her instructions to withdraw into the adjoining room.
Only a half-drawn curtain divided it from the room where Berenikereceived the soldier, and without listening she could hear the loudvoice which riveted her attention as soon as she had recognized it.
The young tribune, in a tone of courteous entreaty, begged his hostessto provide a room for his brother, who was severely wounded. Thesufferer was in a high fever, and the physician said that the noise andrattle of vehicles in the street, on which the room where he nowlay looked out, and the perpetual coming and going of the men, mightendanger his life. He had just been told that on the side of the women'sapartments there was a row of rooms looking out on the impluvium, and heventured to entreat her to spare one of them for the injured man. If shehad a brother or a child, she would forgive the boldness of his request.
So far she listened in silence; then she suddenly raised her head andmeasured the petitioner's tall figure with a lurid fire in her eye.Then she replied, while she looked into his handsome young face with ahalf-scornful, half-indignant air: "Oh, yes! I know what it is to seeone we love suffer. I had an only child; she was the joy of my heart.Death--death snatched her from me, and a few days later the sovereignwhom you serve commanded us to prepare a feast for him. It seemed to himsomething new and delightful to hold a revel in a house of mourning. Atthe last moment--all the guests were assembled--he sent us word that hehimself did not intend to appear. But his friends laughed and reveledwildly enough! They enjoyed themselves, and no doubt praised our cookand our wine. And now--another honor we can duly appreciate!--hesends his praetorians to turn this house of mourning into a tavern, awine-shop, where they call creatures in from the street to dance andsing. The rank to which you have risen while yet so young shows that youare of good family, so you can imagine how highly we esteem the honor ofseeing your men trampling, destroying, and burning in their camp-fireseverything which years of labor and care had produced to make ourlittle garden a thing of beauty. 'Only look down on them!' Macrinus, whocommands you, promised me, moreover, that the women's apartments shouldbe respected. 'No praetorian, whether common soldier or commander,' andhere she raised her voice, 'shall set foot within them!' Here is hiswriting. The prefect set the seal beneath it in Caesar's name."
"I know of the order, noble lady," interrupted Nemesianus, "and shouldbe the last to wish to act against it. I do not demand, I only appealhumbly to the heart of a woman and a mother.'
"A mother!" broke in Berenike, scornfully; "yes! and one whose soul yourlord has pierced with daggers--a woman whose home has been dishonoredand made hateful to her. I have enjoyed sufficient honor now, and shallstand firmly on my rights."
"Hear but one thing more," began the youth, timidly; but the ladyBerenike had already turned her back upon him, and returned with a proudand stately carriage to Melissa in the adjoining apartment.
Breathing hard, as if stunned by her words, the tribune remainedstanding on the threshold where the terrible lady had vanished fromhis sight, and then, striving to regain his composure, pushed back thecurling locks from his brow. But scarcely had Berenike entered the otherroom than Melissa whispered to her: "The wounded man is the unfortunateAurelius, whose face Caracalla wounded for my sake."
At this the lady's eyes suddenly flashed and blazed so strangely thatthe girl's blood ran cold. But she had no time to ask the reason of thisemotion, for the next moment the queenly woman grasped the weaker one bythe wrist with her strong right hand, and with a commanding "Come withme," drew her back into the room they had just quitted. She called tothe tribune, whose hand was already on the door, to come back.
The young man stood still, surprised and startled to see Melissa; butthe lady Berenike said, calmly, "Now that I have learned the hon
or thathas been accorded to you, too, by the master whom you so faithfullyserve, the poor injured man whom you call your brother shall be madewelcome within these walls. He is my companion in suffering. A quiet,airy chamber shall be set apart for him, and he shall not lack carefulattention, nor anything which even his own mother could offer him. Onlytwo things I desire of you in return: that you admit no one of yourcompanions-in-arms, nor any man whatever, into this dwelling, save onlythe physician whom I shall send to you. Furthermore, that you donot betray, even to your nearest friend, whom you found here besidesmyself."
Under the mortification that had wounded his brotherly heart, AureliusNemesianus had lost countenance; but now he replied with a soldier'sready presence of mind: "It is difficult for me to find a proper answerto you, noble lady. I know right well that I owe you my warmest thanks,and equally so that he whom you call our master has inflicted as deep awrong on us as on you; but Caesar is still my military chief."
"Still!" broke in Berenike. "But you are too youthful a tribune for meto believe that you took up the sword as a means of livelihood."
"We are sons of the Aurelia," answered Nemesianus, haughtily, "and it isvery possible that this day's work may be the cause of our deserting theeagles we have followed in order to win glory and taste the delights ofwarfare. But all that is for the future to decide. Meanwhile, I thankyou, noble lady, and also in the name of my brother, who is my secondself. On behalf of Apollinaris, too, I beg you to pardon the rudenesswhich we offered to this maiden--"
"I am not angry with you any more," cried Melissa, eagerly and frankly,and the tribune thanked her in his own and his brother's name.
He began trying to explain the unfortunate occurrence, but Berenikeadmonished him to lose no time. The soldier withdrew, and the ladyBerenike ordered her handmaiden to call the housekeeper and otherserving-women. Then she repaired quickly to the room she had destinedfor the wounded man and his brother. But neither Melissa nor the otherwomen could succeed in really lending her any help, for she herself putforth all her cleverness and power of head and hand, forgetting nothingthat might be useful or agreeable in the nursing of the sick. In thatwealthy, well-ordered house everything stood ready to hand; and in lessthan a quarter of an hour the tribune Nemesianus was informed that thechamber was ready for the reception of his brother.
The lady then returned with Melissa to her own sleeping apartment,and took various little bottles and jars from a small medicine-chest,begging the girl at the same time to excuse her, as she intended toundertake the nursing of the wounded man herself. Here were books, andthere Korinna's lute. Johanna would attend to the evening meal. Tomorrowmorning they could consult further as to what was necessary to be done;then she kissed her guest and left the room.
Left to herself, Melissa gave herself up to varying thoughts, tillJohanna brought her repast. While she hardly nibbled at it, theChristian told her that matters looked ill with the tribune, and thatthe wound in the forehead especially caused the physician much anxiety.Many questions were needed to draw this much from the freedwoman, forshe spoke but little. When she did speak, however, it was with greatkindliness, and there lay something so simple and gentle in her wholemanner that it awakened confidence. Having satisfied her appetite,Melissa returned to the lady Berenike's apartment; but there her heartgrew heavy at the thought of what awaited her on the morrow. When, atthe moment of leaving, Johanna inquired whether she desired anythingfurther, she asked her if she knew a saying of her fellow-believers,which ran, "The fullness of time was come."
"Yes, surely," returned the other; "our Lord himself spoke them, andPaul wrote them to the Galatians."
"Who is this Paul?" Melissa asked; and the Christian replied that of allthe teachers of her faith he was the one she most dearly loved. Then,hesitating a little, she asked if Melissa, being a heathen, had inquiredthe meaning of this saying.
"Andrew, the freedman of Polybius and the lady Euryale, explained it tome. Did the moment ever come to you in which you felt assured that foryou the time was fulfilled?"
"Yes," replied Johanna, with decision; "and that moment comes, sooner orlater, in every life."
"You are a maiden like myself," began Melissa, simply. "A heavy tasklies before me, and if you would confide to me--"
But the Christian broke in: "My life has moved in other paths thanyours, and what has happened to me, the freedwoman and the Christian,can have no interest for you. But the saying which has stirred yoursoul refers to the coming of One who is all in all to us Christians. DidAndrew tell you nothing of His life?"
"Only a little," answered the girl, "but I would gladly hear more ofHim."
Then the Christian seated herself at Melissa's side, and, clasping themaiden's hand in hers, told her of the birth of the Saviour, of Hisloving heart, and His willing death as a sacrifice for the sins of thewhole world. The girl listened with attentive ear. With no word did sheinterrupt the narrative, and the image of the Crucified One rose beforeher mind's eye, pure and noble, and worthy of all love. A thousandquestions rose to her lips, but, before she could ask one, the Christianwas called away to attend the lady Berenike, and Melissa was againalone.
What she had already heard of the teaching of the Christians occurredto her once more, and above all that first saying from the sacredScriptures which had attracted her attention, and about which shehad just asked Johanna. Perhaps for her, too, the time was alreadyfulfilled, when she had taken courage to defy the emperor's commands.
She rejoiced at this action, for she felt that the strength would neverfail her now to set her will against his. She felt as though she bore acharm against his power since she had parted from her lover, and sincethe murder of the governor had opened her eyes to the true characterof him on whom she had all too willingly expended her pity. And yet sheshuddered at the thought of meeting the emperor again, and of havingto show him that she felt safe with him because she trusted to hisgenerosity.
Lost in deep thought, she waited for the return of the lady and theChristian waiting-woman, but in vain. At last her eye fell upon thescrolls which the lady Berenike had pointed out to her. They lay inbeautiful alabaster caskets on an ebony stand. If they had only beenthe writings of the Christians, telling of the life and death of theirSaviour! But how should writings such as those come here? The casketonly held the works of Philostratus, and she took from it the rollcontaining the story of the hero of whom he had himself spoken to her.Full of curiosity, she smoothed out the papyrus with the ivory stick,and her attention was soon engaged by the lively conversation betweenthe vintner and his Phoenician guest. She passed rapidly over thebeginning, but soon reached the part of which Philostratus had told her.Under the form of Achilles he had striven to represent Caracalla ashe appeared to the author's indulgent imagination. But it was no trueportrait; it described the original at most as his mother would havewished him to be. There it was written that the vehemence flashing fromthe hero's bright eyes, even when peacefully inclined, showed how easilyhis wrath could break forth. But to those who loved him he was even moreendearing during these outbursts than before. The Athenians felt towardhim as they did toward a lion; for, if the king of beasts pleased themwhen he was at rest, he charmed them infinitely more when, foamingwith bloodthirsty rage, he fell upon a bull, a wild boar, or some suchferocious animal.
Yes, indeed! Caracalla, too, fell mercilessly upon his prey! Had she notseen him hewing down Apollinaris a few hours ago?
Furthermore, Achilles was said to have declared that he could drive awaycare by fearlessly encountering the greatest dangers for the sake of hisfriends. But where were Caracalla's friends?
At best, the allusion could only refer to the Roman state, for whosesake the emperor certainly did endure many a hardship and many awearisome task, and he was not the only person who had told her so.
Then she turned back a little and found the words: "But because he waseasily inclined to anger, Chiron instructed him in music; for is it notinherent in this art to soothe violence and wrath--And Achill
es acquiredwithout trouble the laws of harmony and sang to the lyre."
This all corresponded with the truth, and tomorrow she was to discoverwhat had suggested to Philostratus the story that when Achilles beggedCalliope to endow him with the gifts of music and poetry she had givenhim so much of both as he required to enliven the feast and banishsadness. He was also said to be a poet, and devoted himself mostardently to verse when resting from the toils of war.
To hear that man unjustly blamed on whom her heart is set, onlyincreases a woman's love; but unmerited praise makes her criticise himmore sharply, and is apt to transform a fond smile into a scornful one.Thus the picture that raised Caracalla to the level of an Achilles madeMelissa shrug her shoulders over the man she dreaded; and while she evendoubted Caesar's musical capacities, Diodoros's young, fresh, bell-likevoice rose doubly beautiful and true upon her memory's ear. The image ofher lover finally drove out that of the emperor, and, while she seemedto hear the wedding song which the youths and maidens were so soon tosing for them both, she fell asleep.
It was late when Johanna came to admonish her to retire to rest. Shortlybefore sunrise she was awakened by Berenike, who wished to take somerest, and who told her, before seeking her couch, that Apollinaris wasdoing well. The lady was still sleeping when Johanna came to informMelissa that the slave Argutis was waiting to see her.
The Christian undertook to convey the maiden's farewell greetings to hermistress.
As they entered the living-room, the gardener had just brought in freshflowers, among them three rose-bushes covered with full-blown flowersand half-opened, dewy buds. Melissa asked Johanna timidly if the ladyBerenike would permit her to pluck one--there were so many; to which theChristian replied that it would depend on the use it was to be put to.
"Only for the sick tribune," answered Melissa, reddening. So Johannaplucked two of the fairest blooms and gave them to the maiden--one forthe man who had injured her and one for her betrothed. Melissa kissedher, gratefully, and begged her to present the flowers to the sick manin her name.
Johanna carried out her wish at once; but the wounded man, gazingmournfully at the rose, murmured to himself: "Poor, lovely, gentlechild! She will be ruined or dead before Caracalla leaves Alexandria!"