CHAPTER XVII
THE GERMAN GUARD
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All was in confusion at the palace of the Caesars. The civil war that hadnow been raging for several hours in the capital, the tumults thatpervaded every quarter of the city, had roused the alarm, and to a certainextent the vigilance of such troops as still owned allegiance toVitellius. But late events had much slackened the discipline for whichRoman soldiers were so famous, and that could be but a spurious loyaltywhich depended on amount of pay and opportunities for plunder, which wasaccustomed moreover to see the diadem transferred from one successfulgeneral to another at a few months' interval. Perhaps his German guardswere the only soldiers of Vitellius on whom he could place any reliance;but even these had been reduced to a mere handful by slaughter anddesertion, while the few who remained, though unimpeachable in theirfidelity, were wanting in every quality that constitutes militaryefficiency, except the physical strength and desperate courage theybrought with them from the north.
They were, however, the Emperor's last hope. They occupied palace-gardensto-night, feeding their bivouac-fires with branches from its statelycedars, or uprooting its exotic shrubs to hurl them crackling in theblaze. The Roman citizens looking on their gigantic forms moving to andfro in the glare, shuddered and whispered, and pointed them out to eachother as being half men, half demons, while a passing soldier would raisehis eagle crest more proudly, relating how those were the foes over whomthe legions had triumphed, and would turn forthwith into a wineshop tocelebrate his prowess at the expense of some admiring citizen in thecrowd.
One of these German mercenaries may be taken as a sample of the rest. Hewas standing sentry over a narrow wicket that afforded entrance to thepalace-gardens, and was the first obstacle encountered by Esca, after thelatter had hastened from the Esquiline to give intelligence of the designagainst Caesar's life. Leaning on his spear, with his tall frame and largemuscles thrown into strong relief by the light of the bivouac-fire behindhim, he brought to the Briton's mind many a stirring memory of his ownwarlike boyhood, when by the side of just such champions, armed in such amanner, he had struggled, though in vain, against the discipline and thestrategy of the invader. Scarcely older than himself, the sentry possessedthe comely features and the bright colouring of youth, with a depth ofchest and squareness of shoulder that denoted all the power of maturemanhood. He seemed indeed a formidable antagonist for any single foe, andable to keep at bay half a score of the finest men who stood in the frontrank of the legions. He was clad in a long white garment of linen,reaching below the knee, and fastened at the neck by a single clasp ofgold; his shield and helmet too, although this was no state occasion, butone on which he would probably be massacred before morning, were of thesame metal, his spear-head and sword of the finest-tempered steel. Thelatter, especially, was a formidable weapon. Considerably longer than theRoman's, which was only used for the thrust at close quarters, it coulddeal sweeping blows that would cleave a headpiece or lop a limb, andmanaged lightly as a riding-wand by the German's powerful arm, would hewfearful gaps in the ranks of an enemy, if their line wavered, or theirorder was in any degree destroyed.
Notwithstanding the warlike nature of his arms and bearing, the sentry'sface was fair and smooth as a woman's; the flaxen down was scarcelyspringing on his chin, and the golden locks escaped beneath his helmet,and clustered in curls upon his neck. His light blue eye, too, had a mildand rather vacant expression as it roved carelessly around; but the Romanshad long ago learned that those light blue eyes could kindle into sparksof fire when steel was crossed, could glare with invincible hatred anddefiance even when fixed in death.
Esca's heart warmed to the barbarian guardsman with a feeling of sympathyand kindred. The latter sentiment may have suggested the plan by which heobtained entrance to the palace, for the difficulty of so doing hadpresented itself to him in brighter colours every moment as he approached.Pausing, therefore, at a few paces from the sentry, who levelled his spearand challenged when he heard footsteps, the Briton unbuckled his sword andcast it down between them, to indicate that he claimed protection and hadno intention of offence. The other muttered some unintelligible words inhis own language. It was obvious that he knew no Latin and that theirconversation must be carried on by signs. This, however, rather smoothedthan enhanced the difficulty; and it was a relief to Esca that the firstimpulse of the German had not been to alarm his comrades and resort toviolence. The latter seemed to entertain no apprehension from any singleindividual, whether friend or foe, and looked, moreover, with favourableeyes on Esca's appearance, which bore a certain family likeness to that ofhis own countrymen. He suffered him therefore to approach his post,questioning him by signs, to which the Briton replied in the same manner,perfectly ignorant of their meaning, but with a fervent hope that theresult of these mysterious gestures might be his admission within thewall.
Under such circumstances the two were not likely to arrive at a clearunderstanding. After a while the German looked completely puzzled, andpassed the word in his own language to a comrade within hearing,apparently for assistance. Esca heard the sound repeated in more than onevoice, till it died away under the trees; there was obviously a strongchain of sentries round Caesar's palace. In the meantime the German wouldnot permit Esca to approach within spear's-length of his post, though hekept him back good-humouredly with the butt-end of that weapon, nor wouldhe suffer him to pick his sword up and gird it round his waistagain--making nevertheless, all the while, signs of cordiality andfriendship; but though Esca responded to these with equal warmth, he wasno nearer the inside than at first.
Presently the heavy tramp of armed men smote his ear, and a centurion,accompanied by half a dozen soldiers, approached the wicket. These bore astrong resemblance, both in form and features, to the sentry who hadsummoned them; but their officer spoke Latin, and Esca, who had gained alittle time to mature his plan, answered the German centurion's questionswithout hesitation.
"I belong to your own division," said he, "though I come from farthernorth than your troop, and speak a different dialect. We were disbandedbut yesterday, by a written order from Caesar. It has turned out to be aforgery. We have been scattered through half the wineshops in Rome, and aherald came round and found me drinking, and bade me return to my dutywithout delay. He said we were to muster somewhere hereabouts, that weshould find a post at the palace, and could join it till our own officerscame back. I am but a barbarian, I know little of Rome, but this is thepalace, is it not? and you are a centurion of the German guard?"
He drew himself up as he spoke with military respect, and the officer hadno hesitation in believing his tale, the more so that certain of Caesar'stroops had lately been disbanded at a time when their services seemed tobe most in requisition. Taking charge of Esca's weapon, he spoke a fewwords in his own language to the sentry, and then addressed the Briton.
"You may come to the main-guard," said he. "I should not mind a few moreof the same maniple. We are likely to want all we can get to-night."
As he conducted him through the gardens, he asked several questionsconcerning the strength of the opposing party, the state of the town, andthe general feeling of the citizens towards Vitellius, all which Escaparried to the best of his abilities, hazarding a guess where he could,and accounting for his ignorance where he could not, on the plea that hehad spent his whole time since his dismissal in the wineshops--an excusewhich the centurion's knowledge of the tastes and habits of his divisioncaused him to accept without suspicion of its truth.
Arrived at the watch-fire, Esca's military experience, slight as it hadbeen, was enough to apprise him of the imminent dangers that threatenedthe palace in the event of an attack. The huge Germans lounged and layabout in the glare of the burning logs, as though feast, and song, andrevelry were the objects for which they were mustered. Wine was flowingfreely in large flagons, commensurate to the noble thirst of theseScandinavian
warriors; and even the sentries leaving their posts atintervals, as caprice or indolence prompted, strode up to the watch-fire,laughed a loud laugh, drained a full beaker, and walked quietly backagain, none the worse, to their beat. All hailed a new comrade with theutmost glee, as a further incentive to drink; and although Esca waspleased to find that none but their centurion was familiar with Latin, andthat he was consequently free from much inconvenient cross-examination, itwas obvious that there was no intention of letting him depart withoutpledging them in deep draughts of the rough and potent Sabine wine.
With youth, health, and a fixed resolve to keep his wits about him, theBriton managed to perform this part of a soldier's duty to thesatisfaction of his entertainers. The moments seemed very long, but whilstthe Germans were singing, drinking, and making their remarks upon him intheir own language, he had time to think of his plans. To have declared atonce that he knew of a plot against Caesar, and to call upon the centurionto obtain his admittance to the person of the Emperor, would, he was wellaware, only defeat his own object, by throwing suspicion on himself as aprobable assassin and confederate of the conspirators. To put the officeron the alert, would cause him, perhaps, to double his sentries, and tostop the allowance of wine in course of consumption; but Esca saw plainlythat no resistance from within the palace could be made to the large forcehis late master would bring to bear upon it. The only chance for theEmperor was to escape. If he could himself reach his presence, and warnhim personally, he thought he could prevail upon him to fly. This was thedifficulty. A monarch in his palace is not visible to everyone who maywish to see him, even when his own safety is concerned; but Esca hadalready gained the interior of the gardens, and that success encouragedhim to proceed.
The Germans, though believing themselves more vigilant than usual (to sucha low state the boasted discipline of Caesar's body-guard had fallen), wereconfused and careless under the influence of wine, and their attention tothe new-comer was soon distracted by a fresh chorus and a fresh flagon.Esca, under pretence that he required repose, managed to withdraw himselffrom the glare of the firelight, and borrowing a cloak from a ruddycomrade with a stentorian voice, lay down in the shadow of an arbutus, andaffected profound repose. By degrees, coiling himself along the sward likea snake, he slipped out of sight, leaving his cloak so arranged as toresemble a sleeping form, and sped off in the direction of the palace, towhich he was guided by numerous distant lights.
Some alarm had evidently preceded him even here. Crowds of slaves, bothmale and female, chiefly Greeks and Asiatics, were pouring from itsegresses and hurrying through the gardens in obvious dismay. The Britoncould not but remark that none were empty-handed, and the value of theirburdens denoted that those who now fled had no intention ever to return.They took little notice of him when they passed, save that a few of themore timid, glancing at his stalwart figure, turned aside and ran theswifter; while others, perceiving that he was unarmed, for he had left hissword with the Germans, shot at him some contemptuous gesture or ribaldjest, which they thought the barbarian would not understand in time toresent.
Thus he reached the spacious front of the palace, and here, indeed, thetrumpets were sounding, and the German guard forming, evidently forresistance to an attack. There was no mistaking the expression of themen's faces, nor the clang of their heavy weapons. Though they filled themain court, however, a stream of fugitives still poured from the side-doors, and through one of these, the Briton determined he would find nodifficulty in effecting an entrance. Glancing at the fine men gettingunder arms with such business-like rapidity, he thought how even thathandful might make such a defence as would give Caesar time to escape,either at the back of the palace, or, if that were invested, disguised asone of the slaves who were still hurrying off in motley crowds; andnotwithstanding his new-born feelings, he could not help, from oldassociation, wishing that he might strike a blow by the side of thesestalwart guardsmen, even for such a cause as theirs.
Observing a door opening on a terrace which had been left completelyundefended, Esca entered the palace unopposed, and roamed through hallafter hall without meeting a living creature. Much of value had alreadybeen cleared away, but enough remained to have excited the cupidity of therichest subject in Rome. Shawls, arms, jewels, vases, statues, caskets,and drinking-cups were scattered about in a waste of magnificentconfusion, while in many instances rapacious ignorance had carried offthat which was comparatively the dross, and left the more preciousarticles behind. Esca had never even dreamed of such gorgeous luxury as henow beheld. For a few minutes his mind was no less stupefied than his eyewas dazzled, and he almost forgot his object in sheer wonder andadmiration; but there was no time to be lost, and he looked about in vainfor some clue to guide him through this glittering wilderness to thepresence of the Emperor.
The rooms seemed endless, opening one into another, and each more splendidthan the last. At length he heard the sound of voices, and darting eagerlyforward, found himself in the midst of half a dozen persons clad in robesof state, with garlands on their heads, reclining round the fragments of afeast, a flagon or two of wine, and a golden cornucopia of fruit andflowers. As he entered, these started to their feet, exclaiming, "They areupon us!" and huddled together in a corner, like a flock of sheep whenterrified by a dog. Observing, however, that the Briton was alone andunarmed, they seemed to take courage, and a fat figure thrusting itselfforward, exclaimed in one breath, "He is not to be disturbed! Caesar isbusy. Are the Germans firm?"
His voice shook and his whole frame quivered with fear, nevertheless Escarecognised the speaker. It was his old antagonist Spado, a favouriteeunuch of the household, in dire terror for his life, yet showing the oneredeeming quality of fidelity to the hand that fed him. His comrades keptbehind him, taking their cue from his conduct as the bellwether of theflock, yet trusting fervently his wisdom would counsel immediate flight.
"I know you," said Esca hurriedly. "I struck you that night in anger. Itis all over now. I have come to save your lives, all of you, and to rescueCaesar."
"How?" said Spado, ignoring his previous injuries in the alarm of thehour. "You can save us? You can rescue Caesar? Then it _is_ true. Thetumult is grown to a rebellion! The Germans are driven in, and the game islost!"
The others caught up their mantles, girded themselves, and prepared forinstant flight.
"The guard can hold the palace for half an hour yet," replied Esca coolly."But the Emperor must escape. Julius Placidus will be here forthwith, atthe head of two hundred gladiators, and the tribune means to murder hismaster as surely as you stand trembling there."
Ere he had done speaking, he was left alone in the room with Spado. Thetribune's character was correctly appreciated, even by the eunuchs of thepalace, and they stayed to hear no more; but Spado only looked blankly inthe Briton's face, wringing his fat hands, and answered to the other'surgent appeals, "His orders were explicit. Caesar is busy. He must not bedisturbed. He said so himself. Caesar is busy!"