CHAPTER V.
At the third hour after sunrise a distinguished assemblage of peoplegathered at the landing place east of the Temple of Poseidon in thegreat harbour of Alexandria.
Its members belonged to the upper classes, for many had come incarriages and litters, and numerous pedestrians were accompanied byslaves bearing in delicately woven baskets and cornucopias a laurelwreath, a papyrus crown, or bright-hued flowers.
The most aristocratic among the gentlemen had gathered on the westernside of the great sanctuary, between the cella and the long row of Doriccolumns which supported the roof of the marble temple.
The Macedonian Council of the city was already represented by several ofits members. Among their number was Archias, Daphne's father, a manof middle height and comfortable portliness, from whose well-formed,beardless face looked forth a pair of shrewd eyes, and whose quickmovements revealed the slight irritability of his temperament.
Several members of the Council and wealthy merchants surroundedhim, while the grammateus Proclus first talked animatedly with othergovernment officials and representatives of the priesthood, and thenwith Archias. The head of the Museum, who bore the title of "highpriest," had also appeared there with several members of this famouscentre of the intellectual life of the capital. They shared the shadeof this part of the temple with distinguished masters of sculptureand painting, architecture and poetry, and conversed together with thegraceful animation of Greeks endowed with great intellectual gifts.
Among them mingled, distinguishable neither by costume nor language, anumber of prominent patrons of art in the great Jewish community.Their principal, the alabarch, was talking eagerly with the philosopherHegesias and the Rhodian leech Chrysippus; Queen Arsinoe's favourite,whom at Althea's instigation she had sent with Proclus to receive thereturning traveller.
Sometimes all gazed toward the mouth of the harbour, where the expectedship must soon pass the recently completed masterpiece of Sostratus, thetowering lighthouse, still shining in its marble purity.
Soon many Alexandrians also crowded the large platform in front of theTemple of Poseidon, and the very wide marble staircase leading from itto the landing place.
Beneath the bronze statues of the Dioscuri, at the right and left of thetopmost step, had also gathered the magnificent figures of the Phebi andthe younger men from the wrestling school of Timagetes, with garlands ontheir curling locks, as well as many younger artists and pupils of theolder masters.
The statues of the gods and goddesses of the sea and their loftypedestals, standing at the sides of the staircase, cast upon the marblesteps, gleaming in the radiance of the morning sun, narrow shadows,which attracted the male and female chorus singers, who, also wearingbeautiful garlands, had come to greet the expected arrival with solemnchants.
Several actors were just coming from rehearsal in the theatre ofDionysus, east of the Temple of Poseidon, of which, like all the stagesin the city, Proclus was chief manager.
A pretty dancing girl, who hung on the arm of the youngest, extended herhand with a graceful gesture toward the staircase, and asked:
"Whom can they be expecting there? Probably some huge new animal for theMuseum which has been caught somewhere for the King, for yonder stiffwearer of a laurel crown, who throws his head back as though he wouldlike to eat the Olympians and take the King for a luncheon into thebargain, is Straton, the denier of the gods, and the little man with thebullethead is the grammarian Zoilus."
"Of course," replied her companion. "But there, too, is Apollodorus, thealabarch of the Jews, and the heavy money-bag Archias--"
"Why look at them!" cried the younger mime. "It's far better worthwhile to stretch your neck for those farther in front. They are genuinefriends of the Muses--the poets Theocritus and Zenodotus."
"The great Athene, Apollo, and all his nine Pierides, have sent theirenvoys," said the older actor pathetically, "for there, too, arethe sculptors Euphranor and Chares, and the godlike builder of thelighthouse, Sostratus in person."
"A handsome man," cried the girl flute-player, "but vain, I tell you,vain--"
"Self-conscious, you ought to say," corrected her companion.
"Certainly," added the older actor, patting his smooth cheeks and chinwith a rose he held in his hand. "Who can defend himself against thehighest merit, self-knowledge? But the person who is to have thisreception, by the staff of Dionysus! if modesty flies away from himlike the bird from a girl, it ought Just look there! The tall,broad-shouldered fellow yonder is Chrysippus, the right hand of Arsinoe,as our grammateus Proclus is her left. So probably some prince isexpected."
"The gentlemen of the Museum and the great artists yonder would not stira foot, far less lose so precious a morning hour, for any mere wearer ofa crown or sceptre," protested the other actor; "it must be--"
"That the King or the Queen command it," interrupted the older player."Only Arsinoe is represented here. Or do you see any envoy of Ptolemy?Perhaps they will yet arrive. If there were ambassadors of the greatRoman Senate--"
"Or," added the dancer, "envoys from King Antiochus. But--goose that Iam!--then they would not be received here, but in the royal harbour atthe Lochias. See if I don't prove to be right! Divine honours are to bepaid to some newly attracted hero of the intellect. But--just follow myfinger! There--yonder--it comes floating along at the left of theisland of Antirrhodus. That may be his galley! Magnificent! Wonderfullybeautiful! Brilliant! Like a swan! No, no, like a swimming peacock! Andthe silver embroidery on the blue sails! It glitters and sparkles likestars in the azure sky."
Meanwhile the elder actor, shading his eyes with his hand, had beengazing at the harbour, where, amid the innumerable vessels, the expectedone, whose sails were just being reefed, was steered by a skilfulhand. Now he interrupted the blond beauty with the exclamation: "It isArchias's Proserpina! I know it well." Then, in a declamatory tone, hecontinued: "I, too, was permitted on the deck of the glittering vessel,lightly rocked by the crimson waves, to reach my welcome goal; as theguest of peerless Archias, I mean. The most magnificent festival inhis villa! There was a little performance there in which Mentor and Iallowed ourselves to be persuaded to take part. But just see how thebeautiful ship uses the narrow passage between the two triremes, asif it had the bloodleech's power of contraction! But to return tothe festival of Archias: the oyster ragout served there, the pheasantpasties--"
Here he interrupted himself, exclaiming in surprise: "By the club ofHercules, the Proserpina is to be received with a full chorus! And thereis the owner himself descending the stairs! Whom is she bringing?"
"Come! come!" cried the dancing girl to her companion, dragging himafter her, "I shall die of curiosity."
The singing and shouting of many voices greeted the actors as theyapproached the platform of the Temple of Poseidon.
When from this spot the dancer fixed her eyes upon the landing place,she suddenly dropped her companion's arm, exclaiming: "It is thehandsome blind sculptor, Hermon, the heir of the wealthy Myrtilus. Doyou learn this now for the first time, you jealous Thersites? Hail,hail, divine Hermon! Hail, noble victim of the ungrateful Olympians!Hail to thee, Hermon, and thy immortal works! Hail, hail, hail!"
Meanwhile she waved her handkerchief with frenzied eagerness, as if shecould thus force the blind man to see her, and a group of actors whomProclus, the grammateus of the Dionysian arts, had sent here to receiveHermon worthily, followed her example.
But her cries were drowned by the singing of the chorus and by thousandsof shouting voices, while Hermon was embraced by Archias on board thegalley, and then, by his guidance, stepped on shore and ascended thestaircase of the Temple of Poseidon.
Before the ship entered the harbour, the artist had had a large gobletof unmixed wine given to him, that he might conquer the emotion that hadoverpowered him.
Though his blind eyes did not show him even the faintest outline of afigure, he felt as if he was flooded with brilliant sunshine.
While the Proserpina was bearing
him past the lighthouse, Gras told himthat they had now reached the great harbour, and at the same time heheard the shouts, whistles, signals, and varying sounds of the landingplace with its crowded shipping, and of the capital.
His blood surged in his veins, and before his mind rose the vision ofthe corn-flower blue sky, mirrored in the calm surface of the bluest ofseas. The pharos built by Sostratus towered in dazzling whiteness abovethe tide, and before him rose the noble temple buildings, palaces, andporticoes of the city of Alexandria, with which he was familiar, andbefore and between them statue after statue of marble and bronze, thewhole flooded with radiant golden light.
True, darkness sometimes swallowed this wonderful picture, but an effortof the will was sufficient to show it to him again.
"The Temple of Poseidon!" cried Gras. "The Proserpina is to land atthe foot of the steps." And now Hermon listened to the sounds fromthe shore, whose hum and buzz transported him into the midst of thelong-missed city of commerce, knowledge, and arts.
Then the captain's shouts of command fell imperiously upon his ears, thestrokes of the oars ceased, their blades sank with a loud splash intothe water, and at the same instant from the temple steps Hermon wasgreeted by the solemn notes of the chorus, from whose rhythm his ownname rang forth again and again like so many shouts of victory.
He thought his heart would fairly burst through his arched chest,and the passionate violence of its throbbing did not lessen when Grasexclaimed: "Half Alexandria has assembled to greet you. Ah, if you couldonly see it! How the kerchiefs are waving! Laurel after laurel in everyhand! All the distinguished people in the capital have gathered on thesacred soil of the Temple of Poseidon. There is Archias, too; there arethe artists and the famous gentlemen of the Museum, the members of theEphebi, and the priests of the great gods."
Hermon listened with his hand pressed on his breast, and while doingso the power of his imagination showed the vast, harmoniously noblestructure of the many-pillared Temple of Poseidon, surrounded by asmany thousands as there were in reality hundreds. From all parts of thesanctuary, even from the tops of the roofs, he beheld laurel branchesand kerchiefs waving and tossing, and wreaths flung on the ground beforehim. If this picture was correct, the whole city was greeting him,headed by the men whom he honoured as great and meritorious, and infront of them all Daphne, with drooping head, full of feminine grace andheart-winning goodness.
While the chorus continued their song, and the welcoming shouts grewlouder, the brilliant picture faded away, but in return he felt friendlyarms clasp him. First Archias, then Proclus, and after him a successionof fellow-artists-the greatest of all--drew him into a warm embrace.
Finally he felt himself led away, placed his feet as his Uncle Archiaswhispered directions, and as they gropingly obeyed them ascended thetemple steps and stood in utter darkness upon the platform listening tothe speeches which so many had prepared.
All the distinguished men in the city expressed their sympathy, theirpity, their admiration, their hopes, or sent assurances of them to him.The Rhodian Chrysippus, despatched by the Queen, delivered the wreathwhich the monarch bestowed, and informed Hermon, with her greetings,that Arsinoe deemed his Demeter worthy of the laurel.
The most famous masters of his art, the great scholars from the Museum,the whole priesthood of Demeter, which included Daphne, the servantsof Apollo, his dear Ephebi, the comrades of his physical exercises--allwhom he honoured, admired, loved-loaded him with praises and goodwishes, as well as the assurance of their pride in numbering him amongthem.
No form, no colour from the visible world, penetrated the darknesssurrounding him, not even the image of the woman he loved. Only his earsenabled him to receive the praises, honours, congratulations lavishedhere and, though he sometimes thought he had received enough, he againlistened willingly and intently when a new speaker addressed him in warmwords of eulogy. What share compassion for his unprecedentedly sorrowfulfate had in this extravagantly laudatory and cordial greeting, he didnot ask; he only felt with a throbbing heart that he now stood upon asummit which he had scarcely ventured to hope ever to attain. His dreamsof outward success which had not been realized, because he deemed ittreason to his art to deviate from the course which he believed rightand best adapted to it, he now, without having yielded to the demands ofthe old school, heard praised as his well-earned possessions.
He felt as if he breathed the lighter, purer air of the realms of theblessed, and the laurel crown which the Queen's envoy pressed upon hisbrow, the wreaths which his fellow-artists presented to him by handsno less distinguished than those of the great sculptor Protogenes, andNicias, the most admired artist after the death of Apelles, seemed,like the wings on the hat and shoes of Hermes, messenger of the gods, toraise him out of himself and into the air.
Darkness surrounded him, yet a bright dazzling light issued from hissoul and illuminated his whole being with the warm golden radiance ofthe sun.
Not even the faintest shadow dimmed it until Soteles, his fellow-studentat Rhodes, who sustained him with ardent earnestness in the struggle toprefer truth to beauty, greeted him.
He welcomed him and wished that he might recover his lost sight aswarmly as his predecessors. He praised the Demeter, too, but added thatthis was not the place to say what he missed in her. Yet that she didlack it awakened in him an emotion of pain, for this, Hermon's lastwork, apparently gave the followers of the ancients a right to numberhim in their ranks.
His cautious expression of regret must refer to the head of his Demeter.Yet surely it was not his fault that Daphne's features bore the impressof that gentle, winning kindness which he himself and Soteles, imitatinghim, had often condemned as weak and characterless.
The correctness of his belief was instantly proved to him by the addressof gray-haired, highly praised Euphranor, who spoke of the Demeter'scountenance with warm admiration. And how ardently the poets Theocritusand Zenodotus extolled his work to the skies!
Amid so much laudation, one faint word of dissatisfaction vanished likea drop of blood that falls into a clear stream.
The welcome concluded with a final chant by the chorus, and continued toecho in Hermon's ears as he entered his uncle's chariot and drove awaywith him, crowned with laurel and intoxicated as if by fiery wine.
Oh, if he could only have seen his fellow-citizens who so eagerlyexpressed their good will, their sympathy, their admiration! But theblack and coloured mist before his eyes revealed no human figure, noteven that of the woman he loved, who, he now learned for the first timefrom her father, had appeared among the priestesses of Demeter to greethim.
Doubtless he was gladdened by the sound of her voice, the clasp of herhand, the faint fragrance of violets exhaling from her fair hair, whichhe had often remembered with so much pleasure when alone in Tennis; butthe time to devote himself to her fully and completely had not yet come,for what manifold and powerful impressions, how much that was elevating,delightful, and entertaining awaited him immediately!
The Queen's envoy had expressed his mistress's desire to receive thecreator of the Demeter, the Ephebi and his fellow-artists had invitedhim to a festival which they desired to give in his honour, and onthe way Archias informed him that many of his wealthy friends in theMacedonian Council expected that he, the honoured hero of the day, wouldadorn with his presence a banquet in their houses.
What a rich, brilliant life awaited him in spite of his blindness!When he entered his uncle's magnificent city home, and not only all theservants and clients of the family, but also a select party of ladiesand gentlemen greeted him with flowers and hundreds of other tokens ofaffection and appreciation, he gave himself up without reserve to thisnovel excess of fame and admiration.
Notwithstanding his blindness, he felt, after the burns on his face hadhealed, thoroughly well, as strong as a giant--nay, more vigorous andcapable of enjoyment than ever. What prevented him from revelling tothe full in the superabundant gifts which Fate, recently so cruel, nowsuddenly cast into his lap with lavish
kindness?
Yet many flattering and pleasant things as he had experienced that day,he was far from feeling satiety. On entering the hall of the men in hisuncle's dwelling, the names of famous men and proud beauties had beenrepeated to him. Formerly they had taken little notice of him, yet noweven the most renowned received him like an Olympian victor.
What did all these vain women really care for him? Yet their favour waspart of the triumph whose celebration he must permit to-day. His heartheld but one being for whom it yearned, and with whom thus far he hadbeen able only to exchange a few tender greetings.
The time for a long conversation had not yet arrived, but he askedThyone to lead him to her and, while she listened anxiously, describedwith feverish animation the incidents of the last few days. But he soonlowered his voice to assure her that he had not ceased to think of hereven for a single hour, and the feeling of happiness which, in spite ofhis misfortune, had filled and lent wings to his soul, was not least dueto the knowledge of being near her again.
And her presence really benefited him almost as much as he hadanticipated during the hours of solitary yearning in Tennis; he felt ita great favour of Fate to be permitted to strive to possess her, felteven during the delirium of this reception that he loved her. What atremendous longing to clasp her at once in his arms as his betrothedbride overwhelmed him; but her father's opposition to the union ofhis only child with a blind man must first be conquered, and the greatagitation in his soul, as well as the tumult around him, seemed like amockery of the quiet happiness which hovered before him when he thoughtof his marriage with Daphne. Not until everything was calmer would thetime come to woo her. Until then both must be satisfied with knowingfrom each other's lips their mutual love, and he thought he perceived inthe tone of her voice the deep emotion of her heart.
Perhaps this had prevented Daphne's expressing her congratulations uponthe success of his Demeter as eagerly and fully as he had expected.Painfully disturbed by her reserve, he had just attempted to induce herto give a less superficial opinion of his work, when the curtains ofthe dining room parted-the music of flutes, singing, and pleasant odoursgreeted him and the guests. Archias summoned them to breakfast, and aband of beautiful boys, with flowers and garlands of ivy, obeyed thecommand to crown them.
Then Thyone approached the newly united pair and, after exchanging a fewwords with Daphne, whispered in an agitated voice to the blind sculptor,over whose breast a brown-locked young slave was just twining a garlandof roses: "Poverty no longer stands between you and the object of yourlove; is it Nemesis who even now still seals your lips?"
Hermon stretched out his hand to draw her nearer to him and murmursoftly that her counsel had aided him to break the power of the terriblegoddess, but he grasped the empty air. At the same time the deep voiceof his love's father, whose opposition threatened to cloud his newhappiness, singing, flute-playing, and the laughter of fair womengreeted him and, only half master of his own will, he assented, by aslight bend of the head, to the matron's question. A light shiver ranthrough his frame with the speed of lightning, and the Epicurean's maximthat fear and cold are companions darted through his brain. But whatshould he fear? He had endured severe trials, it is true, for the sakeof remaining faithful to truth in art and life; but who probably everreached the age of manhood without once deviating from it? Besides, hewas surely aware that, had he been obliged to answer Thyone in words, hewould not have been guilty of the falsehood. His reply had consistedof a slight motion of the head, and it negatived nothing; it was merelyintended to defer for a short time the thing he most desired.
Yet the rash answer weighed heavily on his mind; but it could no longerbe recalled that day, and was believed, for Thyone whispered, "We shallsucceed in reconciling the terrible being."
Again the light tremour ran through him, but it lasted only an instant;for Chrysilla, the representative of the dead mistress of the house,whose duty it was to assign the guests their places, called to Hermon,"The beautiful Glycera does you the honour of choosing you for aneighbour" and, before the sentence was finished, Archias himself seizedhis arm and led him to the cushions at the side of the much-courtedbeauty.
The guests began the banquet in a very joyous mood.
Greek gaiety, and the quick intellect and keen wit of the Alexandrians,combined with the choicest viands of the luxurious capital, where thewines and dainties of all the countries of the Mediterranean foundsellers and buyers, and the cook's vocation was developed into a fineart, to spice this banquet with a hundred charms for the mind andsenses. To-day the principal place in this distinguished circle offamous men, great and wealthy nobles, beautiful and aristocratic women,was awarded to the blind sculptor. He was pledged by every one who hadadmired his Demeter, who compassionated his sad fate, or who desired tobe agreeable to him or his host.
Every kind remark about his person, his blindness, and his masterpiecewas repeated to him and, after the wine and the effort to attractDaphne's attention and shine in the presence of his beautiful neighbourhad heated and winged his thoughts, he found an apt reply to eachnoteworthy word.
When the dessert was finally eaten, and after sunset, in the brilliantlight of the lamps and candles, greater attention was paid to the mixingvessels, all remained silent to listen to his fervid speech.
Glycera had asked him, at the beginning of the banquet, to tell herabout the attack in Tennis. Now he yielded to her wish that he shouldrepeat the captivating tale to the others, and the spirits of the winehelped him to perform the task with such animation that his hearerslistened to his description in breathless suspense, and many eyes restedon the handsome face of the great blind artist as if spellbound.
When he paused, loud applause rewarded him, and as it reached him fromevery part of the spacious room, his deep, resonant voice put him incommunication even with the more distant guests, and he might have beentaken for the symposiarch or director of the banquet.
This conspicuous position of the feted artist did not please everyone, and a rhetorician, famed for his sharp tongue, whispered to hisneighbour, one of Hermon's older fellow-artists, "What his eyes havelost seems to benefit his tongue." The sculptor answered: "At any rate,the impetuous young artist might succeed better in proving himself,by its assistance, a good entertainer, than in creating more mediocremasterpieces like the Demeter."
Similar remarks were made on other cushions; but when the philosopherHegesias asked the famous sculptor Euphranor what he thought of Hermon'sDemeter, the kindly old man answered, "I should laud this noble workas a memorable event, even if it did not mark the end, as well as thebeginning, of its highly gifted creator's new career."
Nothing of this kind was uttered near Hermon. Everything that reachedhim expressed delight, admiration, sympathy, and hope. At dessert thebeautiful Glycera divided her apple, whispering as she gave him onehalf, "Let the fruit tell you what the eyes can no longer reveal, youpoor and yet so abundantly rich darling of the gods."
He murmured in reply that his happiness would awake the envy of theimmortals if, in addition, he were permitted to feast upon the sight ofher beauty.
Had he been able to see himself, Hermon, who, as a genuine Greek, wasaccustomed to moderate his feelings in intercourse with others, wouldhave endeavoured to express the emotions of joy which filled his heartwith more reserve, and to excel his companions at the festival lessrecklessly.
His enthusiastic delight carried many away with him; others, especiallyDaphne, were filled with anxious forebodings by his conduct, and othersstill with grave displeasure.
Among the latter was the famous leech Erasistratus, who shared Archias'scushions, and had been solicited by the latter to try to restore hisblind nephew's sight. But the kindly physician, who gladly aided eventhe poorest sufferer, curtly and positively refused. To devote his timeand skill to a blind man who, under the severest of visitations, lulledhimself so contentedly in happiness, he considered unjust to others whodesired recovery more ardently.
"When the intoxication
of this unbridled strength passes away, and isfollowed by a different mood," remarked the merchant, "we will talk ofthis matter again," and the confident tone of his deep voice gave thesimple sentence such significance that the learned leech held out hishand, saying: "Only where deep, earnest longing for recovery fills thesufferer's mind will the gods aid the physician. We will wait for thechange which you predict, Archias!"
The guests did not disperse until late, and the best satisfied ofall was the grammateus Proclus, who had taken advantage of the richmerchant's happy mood, and his own warm intercession in behalf of hisnephew's work, to persuade Archias to advance Queen Arsinoe a large sumof money for an enterprise whose object he still carefully concealed.
The highly honoured blind artist spent the night under his uncle's roof.