Quintus Claudius: A Romance of Imperial Rome. Volume 2

  CHAPTER VI.

  After the frightful scene in the sanctuary of Barbillus, Cornelia hadrushed blindly down the dark corridor, which brought her to a flight ofsteps in the outer wing of the building. She thus found her way intothe courtyard, and from thence into the anteroom, where Parmenio andChloe were waiting for her. "Fly!" she cried in desperate accents, andhurried on, past the ostiarius and out into the road.

  As soon as she reached home, she went to her own room, evading Chloe'swell-intentioned questions with angry retorts. She lay on her bed tillmorning, unable to sleep. Her whole being was unhinged. All that had,until now, seemed highest and most sacred, all the transcendentaldreams of her ecstatic spirit, were suddenly shown to be empty andbase, a miserable illusion, a sordid imposture. With her belief in thedivine mission of Barbillus, she flung from her all faith in Isis theuniversal mother, and indeed, in everything supernatural. It was asudden convulsion of her whole nature, that had rent and upheaved itsvery foundations.

  Through that long and dismal night, when she lay awake and in tears,strange voices seemed to sound in her ears. How often had shelistened, only half-attentive, to her uncle, as he and Ulpius Trajanussat discussing of the Nature of Things, of the great secret of theUniverse! She had never been able to understand how Cinna could dareto deny the existence of the gods, but now she recalled all she couldremember of these discussions. In fancy she saw that frank face, fullof bland and happy excitement, every feature bearing the seal of moralconviction. She reflected on the deep impression, which Cinna's wordsmade on Ulpius Trajanus--a calm, reflective mind. And then again,she saw the ludicrously grotesque figure with its hawk-head, and thepriest's insidious and hypocritical face. What a flagrant contrast!And if the priest with his debauched Osiris was the incarnation of alie, then Cinna must be the embodiment of truth. The conclusion was notlogical, but Cornelia philosophized from the heart.

  The next day she stole about the house, like the youth of Sais afterhe had lifted the veil. To Chloe she did not speak a word; it was asthough she felt her to be an accomplice and was ashamed.

  Towards noon Cornelius rode out on horseback, accompanied by Chariclesand one of the younger slaves.

  "How ill you look, child!" he said, as he took leave of Cornelia;"order your litter, and be carried out to the Field of Mars, the freshair will do you good. I shall be back as it grows dark.--I have somebusiness to attend to at Aricia. Say so, if by any chance I should beasked for."

  Cornelia dined in a little room opening out of her own, if a littlefruit could be called a meal. As it grew dark, her lover came to seeher. All day he had felt the same urgent craving for solitude andmeditation as Cornelia. The consciousness, that he had crossed thethreshold of a new and unknown life, and had sealed, solemnly andforever, a covenant with a new God, possessed him with irresistibleforce. He felt that he must clearly face and realize the fact, beforehe could go forth again into the wild turmoil of city life. Rome,which until lately he had considered as the element in which alonehe could live, now watched him with the jealous eye of an informer.Every corner-stone, every column cried mockingly: "Quintus, be on yourguard!" Every human countenance threatened betrayal and an ignominiousdeath.--Aye, beware, Quintus, and hide your secret as a murderer hideshis crime!

  By degrees the young man arrived at a clear view of himself and ofhis position. All that was needful, was calm presence of mind andabsolute silence. Not a soul must guess what, on the face of it, wasso incredible; no one--if only for his father's sake. Cornelia alone,that dear one, whose lofty nature had always been marked by what was atruly Nazarene longing for something absolutely divine--Cornelia aloneshould, by degrees, be admitted to know the great secret, and be wonover to the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The idea of not sharing everythought, to the inmost spring of his moral life, with the girl he sodevotedly loved, was so intolerable, that he determined to try at once,at least, to sound the depths of her feeling, for some ground where hemight, by-and-bye, find anchorage.

  The fact, that he found Cornelia alone, seemed to him of happy omen;he could talk with her undisturbed. The evening was too cool to allowof their sitting in the peristyle, and Cornelia received her lover inher uncle's study. Quintus was struck by her silence and uneasy looks;still, this seemed to him to be the very mood in which to speak to herof matters outside and above ordinary life.

  Their surroundings too, suggested an opening. A number of book-rolls,and among them the works of the elder Pliny, lay on the large ebonytable. Cinna had for a long time been engaged in writing a work onnatural history which, in many respects, went far beyond Pliny; thisled Quintus to speak of the wide difference between the views held bythe uncle and the niece. How surprised he was then to find Cornelia'swhole nature entirely altered, as it seemed to him, when she shook herhead and smiled bitterly over his passionate eloquence, and finallydeclared, shortly and drily, that she was cured once and forever of thefollies of her childhood, and would take every precaution to avoid arelapse.

  Quintus was so astonished, that he dropped the subject.

  "We will discuss this some time, when we are less fatigued and inbetter spirits," he said. "We both need rest; you are looking pale,Cornelia."

  A deep sigh was heard from a corner of the room. It was Chloe fillingup the brasier with a shovelful of charcoal broken small.

  "That may well be!" she murmured in a melancholy key.

  "What time is it?" Cornelia asked her, to stop her talking.

  "Half-way into the first vigil."

  "My uncle is very late!" said Cornelia. "He was to return at sundown.Hark! I hear steps...."

  Parmenio come into the room announcing Caius Aurelius.

  "At this hour!" cried Cornelia in surprise.

  "He is in a great hurry," said the slave. "He must speak to my lord, hesaid, even if you were gone to bed. I told him my master was gone toAricia; at first he seemed much pleased to hear it, but then he grewanxious again. Now he begs to be admitted."

  "How very strange! Well, tell him he is welcome."

  Aurelius came in, evidently bewildered and agitated. He greetedCornelia briefly, and asked whether Cinna was expected to return thatevening. Cornelia's reply made him thoughtful. Still, learning thatCinna, who was usually so punctual, was already nearly two hours behindtime, his face beamed with inexplicable satisfaction.

  "He may perhaps be detained for several days," he said emphatically."Be that as it may, you will allow me to leave two lines for him. Ifhe should happen to come in, give him the note instantly, everythingdepends upon it."

  "You alarm me!" said Cornelia. "What is happening?"

  "Forgive me, dear mistress, if I can tell you nothing more...."

  He went to the table, hastily seized the first piece of paper thatfell under his hand, and wrote as follows: "The Batavian to the nobleCornelius, greeting. Delay is danger. Remember Rodumna!"

  He folded up the leaf.

  "As soon as he arrives, before he has taken his cloak off--do youunderstand me, mistress? And if he should not return, tear the noteinto fragments, or throw it into the fire."

  "If he should not return?--but what should prevent him?"

  "I only mean, if he should not return this night."

  Quintus drew the excited visitor on one side.

  "What has happened?" he said.

  "The worst, Quintus. Cornelius is watched, followed--but by-and-bye, myfriend--just now I am as hard pressed as a stag followed by the hounds.Farewell! Who knows--by the gods! my brain is in a whirl."

  "Must you go?" said Cornelia.

  "Indeed I must. Farewell, the gods be with you all."

  He rushed out to the atrium, where Herodianus and Magus were waitingfor him in silence and darkness.

  "Now, come--as fast as possible, to the high-priest's house; Claudiais expecting me. If she could dream, that I am about to take leave ofher...."

  The whole house was wrapped in sleep, when Lucilia cautiously unboltedthe side-door. Claudia was standing in the co
lonnade, and her heartbeat high as the Batavian softly went up to her.

  "Forgive me," he said, "for daring to snatch an interview so late atnight. Claudia, do you feel strong enough to cling to me faithfullythrough every change of fate?"

  "What a dreadful question, Caius; and I have been so content to-day,so happy--the future looked so rosy.--Caius, my dear love, what hashappened? Your hand is trembling--what have you to tell me?"

  "I must go away, sweet Claudia--this very night."

  "Impossible! Ah, Caius! say this is a jest."

  "Nay, I will tell you all, only not now, not at this minute. Youshall very soon hear from me, Claudia; but as to whether I shall everreturn--that lies in the counsels of the Immortals. If you regret yourpromise, Claudia, if the remote and unknown future terrifies you, sayso in time; you shall not be bound. But, if you love me with all yoursoul, Fate cannot divide us. You will find out the path by which we maymeet again, and you will not be mistaken in the man you have chosen,happen what may."

  "Caius, you are breaking my heart! I do not understand it--but you willnot allow me to ask.--Well, so be it then, I submit. Come what may,Caius, I am your wife, and when you bid me I will follow you. Oh yegods! how cruel, how hard--in the midst of so much sunshine.--I cannotbear it!"

  "Forgive me, forgive me," said Aurelius, himself hardly able to checkhis tears. "It is a shame to spoil your happiness, but I cannot helpit.--Farewell, my Claudia. Love me, remember me, and trust to yourprotecting star!"

  "Farewell," sobbed the girl. "And you will tell me all, everything,will you not?"

  "All I can and may," said Aurelius. "Perhaps," he added tremulously,"I may be able to tell you that all is well, here, in Rome, inyour father's house. But, if what I am planning and hoping, mustfail---well, even then, I know that one thing will remain dearer andmore precious than success--you, my Claudia."

  He clasped her in his arms; then he tore himself away, and hurried offto the little door.

  "A thousand thanks, good soul!" he whispered to Lucilia as he passed.The bolt was cautiously pushed back into the rings, and Caius Aureliusflew home, leaning on the arm of Herodianus. It was almost midnight bythe time he reached home; the door-keeper was asleep, nor did he waketill they had knocked repeatedly.

  "You may go now, Antisthenes," said Herodianus. "I will shut up thehouse; you are released for to-night." The ostiarius went off to hislittle room.

  Herodianus not only bolted the door, but barred it too,[58] with thestrong iron stanchion which stood unused in the comer, slipping it intothe staples on each side of the door; and it was not till he had madeall fast that he followed his master, who had lighted the lamps in oneof the large rooms adjoining the peristyle, and opened a brass-platedcupboard in the wall. While Aurelius and Herodianus were busy packingup all their valuables, and particularly large quantities of gold coin,Magus, in the garden behind the house and adjoining the pillared court,was saddling three capital horses.

  He had just finished tightening the girths of the second, a fineCappadocian, when three thundering knocks at the front entrance echoedthrough the house.

  "What, already?" muttered the Goth. "Then indeed...."

  He flung the saddle on the third horse with double haste, and thenlistened in breathless anxiety. Meanwhile Herodianus had gone to thedoor.

  "Who is there?" he asked wrathfully. "Open the door," answered a gruffvoice.

  "By Pluto! My master only receives visitors in the day time."

  "Open it!" repeated the voice. "In the name of the city-prefect."[59]

  Herodianus just waited to make sure that the bar was fast in thestaples; then he ran as quickly as he was able back to the peristyle.

  "My lord, are you ready?" he said breathlessly to Aurelius, who wasgirding on a short sword. "The spies have come two hours too soon."

  "Then may the gods befriend us! I thought it was a messenger fromCinna...."

  "No indeed--from the city-prefect. Hark, they are shaking the house tothe foundations...."

  "I will speak to them," said Aurelius. "Do you meanwhile arm yourselfand see whether the road by the garden door is clear. As soon as youare ready, give me a signal."

  Herodianus flung the valuables they had packed, and five or six bagsof coin, into a large leather sack, which lay on the floor; then hehurried into the garden, gave the sack over to Magus, who swung itlightly over his shoulder, bid him mount, and, with cautious steps,went to reconnoitre from the side gate. Aurelius had gone out into theostium, which was still being shaken with the blows at the door.

  "Stop that!" he cried, as loud as he could shout. "Who dares to usesuch violence here? I am a Roman citizen and will have you punished foryour insolence."

  "Open the door, or we will break it in," said a voice outside.

  "It will be the worse for you if you do.--Who are you, that come toattack my house by force?"

  "Hold your tongue. I am here in the name of the city-prefect."

  "And what do you want with me?"

  "That you shall soon know. Open the door, or by Jupiter...!"

  "Very good, I will open it."

  He went forward and took hold of the bolt; as he did so he heard thatsome of the men outside were on horseback; this discovery chilled hisblood and almost paralyzed him. He stood motionless with his hand onthe bolt, which he had half thrust out of the staple.

  Just then a shrill whistle from the atrium reached his ear; it gave himnew life.

  "In a minute--directly," he shouted to the men, who were again rattlingat the door with their spears and swords. "This bar sticks--I will callthe slaves."

  With these words he flew into the garden, where Magus, who had whistledin the corridor between the atrium and the peristyle, was in the actof mounting his horse. Aurelius flung himself into the saddle; theside gate was open. Herodianus went forward slowly on the Cappadocian,which, since his misadventure in the Field of Mars, he had riddenpretty constantly. Aurelius followed on his often-proved Andalusian,and Magus came last. Hardly had the slave come through the gate, whenthe master's steed started and pricked his ears in alarm; at the sametime they heard distant hoofs.

  "They are riding round the hill," said the freedman.

  "Then we must turn to the left, towards the Porta Asinaria," criedAurelius. "Hurry! We are riding for our lives."

  The horses rushed on like the wind. The neighborhood in which theyfound themselves, south of the Caelian, was a very quiet one, and thefew passers-by, men on foot and chiefly of the lowest class, made wayin astonishment for the cavalcade that stormed by. In a few minutesthey were outside the walls of the city.

  The night was bright and starry, and Magus, looking round as theyturned a corner, could plainly see, at about three hundred paces behindthem, a troop of horsemen pursuing them at full gallop.

  "One, two--four--six," he said to himself. Then he laid his hand on hissword-hilt and struck spurs into his horse, which had fallen a littlebehind.

  "Curse them!" said Aurelius. "We are going far out of our way; thenearest road is by Ardea."

  Magus looked once more through the darkness and his keen eyes,accustomed to the gloomy nights of the northern seas, presentlydetected a cross-road at five or six hundred paces to the south-eastand cutting across the plain to join the Appian and Ardeatinian Ways.He pointed it out to his master.

  "Very good; let us try it."

  The spot indicated by the Goth was reached in a minute. The horsesheads were abruptly turned and they made a good pace across the opencountry, along an unpaved bridle-path. The hoofs of the pursuers rangout through the silent night--suddenly they ceased. The pursuers toohad reached the turning into the crossroad.

  "They ride like the Walkuere!" exclaimed the Goth.

  They galloped on, breathlessly, but with uncanny noiselessness, pasthuts and isolated villas, trees and hedge-rows, till they reachedthe wooden bridge over the Almo, across which Magus led the way andthe others followed. An interminable line of houses, standing outin silhouette against the western sky, here
marked the line of theVia Appia. From thence it was only a few hundred paces to the ViaArdeatina.[60]

  Meanwhile the distance between the pursued and the pursuers had neitherincreased nor diminished perceptibly; only one of the city-prefect'shorsemen had left his comrades behind and gained upon them everyminute. They were just crossing the Via Appia, when this man threwhis spear and it passed close by the head of Herodianus's horse. Thebeast shied on one side and reared; then it rushed on with increasedswiftness after Magus and the Batavian.

  Five or six minutes more slipped by. Neither of the fugitives nowthought of depending in any way on the others; a glance backwards, amovement, might be fatal. The distance between the foremost horsemanand his company might now be about two thousand paces, and he wasclose on the freedman's heels. They had long since struck into theVia Ardeatina, and could not now be very far from the Oracle of theFaun,[61] where the road turned off that led to Lavinium and fromthence to Laurentum[62] and Ostia. The soldier urged his horse witha desperate effort to overtake Herodianus, and drawing his sword hedrove it up to the hilt into the Cappadocian's flank. The horse fellas if struck by lightning, while Herodianus flew head foremost out ofthe saddle, and must have broken every bone in his body, if a hillockcovered with soft turf had not lain in the way. The horseman, who couldnot at once check his pace, shot over the mound and some paces farther.This gave Herodianus time to pick himself up and draw his sword, andhardly had he got on his feet and made ready to defend himself, whenthe man sprang back upon him; desiring him to give up his sword andsurrender.

  "Not so fast!" said Herodianus, whose anger had risen as he got overthe shock. "This hillock will serve for a fortress, and you may besiegeme in it if you will."

  "Idiot!" shouted the man. "I give you one more chance; throw down yoursword, or I will kill you."

  He put spurs to his horse, to take the mound at a leap and ride downHerodianus; but at this instant Aurelius appeared on the field, swordin hand. He was only just in time to save his worthy retainer, but hefell with such fury upon the mercenary that, after attempting a shortdefense, he hastened to withdraw; Aurelius had, however, given him adeep cut on the arm.

  "Where is your horse?" asked he.

  "There--by the ditch; the villain has killed it."

  "Come and mount behind me," said Aurelius. "Hi! Magus--what are youdoing?"

  The Goth had dashed past with his bridle hanging loose.

  "Magus!" shouted his master anxiously. "What are you going to do?" Andthen turning to Herodianus he added: "Well, make haste.--My horse cancarry two."

  "Pooh! Do you take your old friend for a shirker? Sooner will I fallinto the hands of that gang, than bring you to destruction too."

  "Here! Jump up here!" shouted the Goth. He held the soldier's horse bythe bridle. The rider was lying in the dust about a hundred paces off.

  "Hail to the victor!" cried Herodianus. "That is what I call promptreprisal."

  "He is a German like myself," shouted Magus, "and is not ashamed to rundown one of his own kith and kin! But I was down upon him, by Odin'sraven!"

  Herodianus, with a gasping effort, threw himself into the saddle.

  "On we go!" he exclaimed, as he settled himself and seized the bridle,and they started afresh along the echoing road. Only just in time, forthey heard the little group check their horses as they came up withtheir comrade, who had become unconscious from his heavy fall and fromloss of blood.

  "Pick him up, Aeolus," cried the leader of the little band. "The darkmass down there behind the trees is Ardea. We can leave him at thetavern."

  While one of the men stopped to rescue his senseless comrade, theothers mended their pace and rode on after the fugitives. But theirsteeds were not equal to it. Before they had reached Ardea one fell,the blood flowing from his nostrils, and the others panted so terribly,that the captain saw that the chase was hopeless and gave the order toslacken. In about twenty minutes they reached the northern gate of thetown and knocked up the innkeeper.

  Aurelius and his companions had meanwhile ridden at their original paceto a spot about a thousand paces beyond the little town. There theystopped; and finding that there was nothing to be seen or heard betweenthem and Ardea, they allowed themselves a minute to breathe and toswallow a draught of Setian wine,[63] after which they went forward atan easier gallop. Thus, in about an hour, they reached Antium, still inthe silence of the night. The town seemed dead, there was not a humanbeing to be seen in the deserted streets. At the north-west end ofthe harbor the trireme lay at anchor and, to his great satisfaction,Aurelius found the boat ready on the shore to carry him and his friendson board. He, then, was not the first to arrive.

  "Ho! Chrysostomus!" he cried, turning his horse towards the strand."How are things going on?"

  "Well, my lord. We have been waiting here ever since it grew dark. Yourfriends have all arrived. Half an hour since the old man came, the onewith white hair--Cocceius Nerva--he was the last."

  Herodianus and Magus went forward, and Aurelius followed. The Roman'shorse and the one Magus had ridden were left behind; Aurelius'sAndalusian they took with them. The boat pushed off, cut across thedark waters of the harbor and carried the party safe on board.

  FOOTNOTES:

  [58] HERODIANUS NOT ONLY BOLTED THE DOOR, BUT BARRED IT TOO. The fastening of the door was usually accomplished _either_ by bolts (_pessuli_), or by means of a crossbar (_sera_). Here the crossbar is used _besides_ the ordinary fastening of the bolt, as an additional means of security. The crossbar was generally made of wood.

  [59] CITY PREFECT, (_praefectus urbi_). His position under the emperors was similar to the office of a chief of police. He commanded the _cohortes urbanae_, the city-guard. His authority extended to the hundredth mile-stone.

  [60] VIA ARDEATINA. The highway to the little city of Ardea, situated on a hill eighteen miles south of Rome. See _Liv._ 1, 57; V, 11.

  [61] ORACLE OF THE FAUN. This was about two-thirds of the distance from Rome to Ardea.

  [62] LAVINIUM, LAURENTUM. Only the ruins of these two cities exist at the present day.

  [63] SETIAN WINE. Setia, a city in Latium, south-east of Suessa Pometia. A famous place for wine, now Sezze. See Liv. VI, 30; VII; 42 etc. Plin. _Hist. Nat._ XIV; 6, 60. Mart. _Ep._ IV, 64, 69; VI, 86; IX, 2; X, 13, 36; XIII, 23 (--"old Setian wine may be compared to Chian figs.")