Cæsar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century

through which Rudolph led me. It would beimpossible to adequately describe them. We moved noiselessly overcarpets soft and deep as a rich sward, but tinted with colors anddesigns, from the great looms of the world, beside which thecomparison of nature's carpets seemed insignificant. We passed upgreat winding stairs, over which, it seemed to me, three carriagesmight have been driven abreast; we were surrounded at every step byexquisite statuary and royal paintings; our course led through greatlibraries where the softened light fell on the endless arrays ofrichly-bound books. But they were as dead intelligence under thespell of a magician. No pale students sat at the tables here,availing themselves of the treasures which it had taken generationsto assemble, and some of which could scarcely be found elsewhere. Menand women passed and repassed us; for the house was so full ofservants that it seemed like a town in itself. Here and there werequiet-looking watchmen, who served the place of police in a greatcity, and whose duty it was to keep watch and ward over theinnumerable articles which everywhere met the eye--costly books,works of art, bronzes, jeweled boxes, musical instruments, smallgroups of exquisite statuary, engravings, curios, etc., from allquarters of the earth. It represented, in short, the very profligacyand abandon of unbounded wealth. Each room seemed to contain a king'sransom. I could not help but contrast this useless and extravagantluxury, which served no purpose but display and vanity, with thedreadful homes and working-places of the poor I had visited the daybefore. And it seemed to me as if a voice pierced my heart, cryingout through all its recesses, in strident tones, "How long, O Lord,how long?" And then I thought how thin a crust of earth separated allthis splendor from that burning hell of misery beneath it. And if themolten mass of horror should break its limitations and overflow theearth! Already it seemed to me the planet trembled; I could hear thevolcanic explosions; I could see the sordid flood of wrath and hungerpouring through these halls; cataracts of misery bursting throughevery door and window, and sweeping away all this splendor intonever-ending blackness and ruin. I stood still, lost in theseengrossing reflections, when Rudolph touched me on the arm, and ledthe way through a great hall, covered with ancestral portraits, intoa magnificent chamber. In the center stood a large table, and aroundit about two score chairs, all made of dark tropical wood. It waslike the council chamber of some great government, with the throne ofthe king at one end.

  "This," said Rudolph, in a solemn whisper, "this is where they meet.This is the real center of government of the American continent; allthe rest is sham and form. The men who meet here determine thecondition of all the hundreds of millions who dwell on the great landrevealed to the world by Columbus. Here political parties, courts,juries, governors, legislatures, congresses, presidents are made andunmade; and from this spot they are controlled and directed in thedischarge of their multiform functions. The decrees formulated hereare echoed by a hundred thousand newspapers, and many thousands oforators; and they are enforced by an uncountable army of soldiers,servants, tools, spies, and even assassins. He who stands in the wayof the men who assemble here perishes. He who would oppose them takeshis life in his hands. You are, young man, as if I had led you to thecenter of the earth, and I had placed your hand upon the very pivot,the well-oiled axle, upon which, noiselessly, the whole great globerevolves, and from which the awful forces extend which hold it alltogether."

  I felt myself overawed. It was as if mighty spirits even theninhabited that dusky and silent chamber; hostile and evil spirits ofwhom mankind were at once the subjects and the victims. I followedRudolph on tiptoe as he advanced to the end of the room.

  "Here," he said, entering through a wide arch "is a conservatorywhich is constantly kept supplied and renewed, from the hot-houses ofthe palace, with the most magnificent flowers. The only humanizingtrait the Prince seems to possess is an affection for flowers. And heespecially loves those strange Mexican and South American plants, the_cactaceae_, which unite the most exquisite flowers to the mostgrotesque and repulsive forms, covered with great spear-like spines,and which thrive only in barren lands, and on the poorest soil. Ihave taken advantage of the presence of these plants to construct thehiding-place about which I spoke to you. Here are some which arefifteen feet high. They touch the ceiling of the room. Around them Ihave arranged a perfect hedge or breast-work of smaller plants of thesame family, growing in large boxes. Nothing could penetrate throughthis prickly wall; and I have united the boxes by hooks and stapleson the inside. There is, however, one which a strong man can moveaside; and through the opening thus formed he can crawl to the centerof the barricade, and, having replaced the hooks, it would be almostimpossible to reach him; while he could not be seen unless one wereimmediately over him and looked down upon him. Then between him andthe council room I have arranged a screen of flowers, which will hideyou when you stand up, while between the blossoms you can seeeverything with little risk of being seen. But in case you should bedetected you will observe behind you a window, which, as the weatheris warm, I shall leave open. On the outside is a great ivy vine thatwill bear your weight. You will have to dare the spines of the cactibehind you; make a great leap to the window and take your chances ofescaping the fusillade of pistol shots, by flying in the darkness,into the garden. I will show you the grounds so that you will not belost in them, if you get that far. If caught, you will have topretend to be a burglar who entered at the window for purposes ofplunder. It would do you no good to inculpate me, for it would doomus both to instant death as spies; while a supposed burglar would besimply turned over to the law and punished by a term of imprisonment.I give you these instructions although I hope there will be nonecessity for them. This hiding-place has been several times used,and the deepest secrets of the aristocracy revealed to ourBrotherhood, without detection; and if you are prudent and carefulthere will be little to fear. The council will meet at eight o'clock;at half past seven it will be my duty to see that the rooms are inorder, and to make sure that there are no spies or intruders on thepremises, and to so report in person to the Prince, and deliver himthe key of the outer door. I shall cover your dress with the garmentsof one of the household servants, and take you with me to help makethat last examination; and, watching an opportunity, you will slipinto the hiding-place; having first taken off the disguise I havelent you, which we will hide among the plants. You must be armed andprepared for every emergency. I will meet you in the garden at halfpast six; before we part I will furnish you with a key to an outergate, by which you can enter. As soon as the council has broken up, Iwill return to the room and again disguise you in the servant'sdress. The Prince always entertains his guests with a lunch andchampagne before they separate.

  "In the meantime I will bring Estella to my room; you can then passout together and boldly advance to your carriage. You will first haveto agree with Maximilian where it will stand; and the guard at thedoor will show you to it. When once in it, drive like the wind. Youmust arrange with Maximilian as to what is to be done in case youfind you are followed, for in that event it will not do to drivedirectly to his house. You must enter the house of some one of theBrotherhood and pass rapidly through it, with Miss Washington, to acarriage that will be in waiting in a rear street. And you must beprepared with one or more such subterfuges, for you are dealing withmen of terrible power and cunning, whose arms reach everywhere; andon the night of their councils--and in fact upon all othernights--the place abounds with spies. Come with me and I will showyou the garden and how to enter it."

  I was struck with the intelligence, sagacity and executive capacityof the man; and I said to him:

  "How comes it that you, holding such a position of trust and power,where your compensation must be all you can ask, are, at the sametime, a member of a society which, if I understand aright, threatensto overturn the existing order of things. You are not driven torebellion by want or oppression."

  "No," he said; "I was educated at Heidelberg; I come of a wealthyfamily; but in my youth, while an enthusiastic lover of liberty andhumanity, I became a member of a German branch of this now unive
rsalBrotherhood. I had my dreams, as many have, of reforming the world.But my membership, by a strange accident, became known, and I wasforced to fly in disgrace, discarded by my relatives, to America.Here I lived in great poverty for a time, until the Brotherhood cameto my assistance and secured me a servant's place in this house. Ihave gradually risen to my present position. While I am not soenthusiastic as I once was, nor so sanguine of the good results ofthe promised revolution of the _proletariat_, I have neverthelessseen enough within these walls to show me the justice of our causeand the necessity for Some kind of reformation. I could not draw backnow, if I desired to; and I do not know that I would if I could. Weare all moving together on the face of the torrent, and whither itwill eventually sweep us no one can tell. But come," he added, "tothe garden, or our long conversation may be noticed, and