CHAPTER III.
A few weeks after this midnight meeting near Ravenna an assembly tookplace in Rome; just as secret, also under protection of night, but heldby very different persons for very different aims.
It took place on the Appian Way, near the C[oe]meterium of St.Calixtus, in a half-ruined passage of the Catacombs; those mysteriousunderground ways, which almost make a second city under the streets andsquares of Rome.
These secret vaults--originally old burial-places, often the refuge ofyoung Christian communities--are so intricate, and their crossings,terminations, exits, and entrances so difficult to thread, that theycan only be entered under the guidance of some one intimatelyacquainted with their inner recesses.
But the men, whose secret intercourse we are about to watch, feared nodanger. They were well led. For it was Silverius, the Catholicarchdeacon of the old church of St. Sebastian, who had led his friendsdirect from the crypt of his basilica down a steep staircase into thisbranch of the vaults; and the Roman priests had the reputation ofhaving studied the windings of these labyrinths since the days of thefirst confessor.
The persons assembled also seemed not to have met there for the firsttime; the gloom of the place made little impression upon them.Indifferently they leaned against the walls of the dismal semi-circularroom, which, scantily lighted by a hanging lamp of bronze, formed thetermination of the low passage. Indifferently they heard the drops ofdamp fall from the roof to the floor, or, when their feet now and thenstruck against white and mouldering bones, they calmly pushed them toone side.
Besides Silverius, there were present a few other orthodox priests, anda number of aristocratic Romans, nobles of the Western Empire, who hadremained for centuries in almost hereditary possession of the higherdignities of the state and city.
Silently and attentively they observed the movements of the archdeacon;who, after having mustered those present, and thrown several searchingglances into the neighbouring passages--where might be seen, keepingwatch in the gloom, some youths in clerical costume--now evidentlyprepared to open the assembly in form.
Yet once again he went up to a tall man who leaned motionless againstthe wall opposite to him, and with whom he had repeatedly exchangedglances; and when this man had replied to a questioning gesture by asilent nod, he turned to the others and spoke.
"Beloved in the name of the triune God! Once again are we assembledhere to do a holy work. The sword of Edom is brandished over our heads,and King Pharaoh pants for the blood of the children of Israel. We,however, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill thesoul, we fear much more those who may destroy both body and soul inhell-fire. We trust, during the terrors of night, to His help who ledHis people through the wilderness, in the day by a cloud of smoke, atnight by a pillar of fire. And to this we will hold fast: that what wesuffer, we suffer for God's sake; what we do, we do to the honour ofHis name. Thanks to Him, for He has blest our zeal. Small as those ofthe Gospel were our beginnings, but we are already grown like a tree bythe fresh water-springs. With fear and trembling we first assembledhere; great was our danger, weak our hope; noble blood of the best hasbeen shed; to-day, if we remain firm in faith, we may boldly say thatthe throne of King Pharaoh is supported on reeds, and that the days ofthe heathen are counted in the land."
"To business!" interrupted a young man with short curly black hair andbrilliant black eyes. Impatiently he threw his _sagum_ (or short cloak)back over his right shoulder, so that his broad sword became visible."To business, priest! What shall be done to-night?"
Silverius cast a look at the youth, which, with all its unctuousrepose, could not quite conceal his lively dissatisfaction at such boldindependence. In a sharp tone of voice he continued:
"Those who do not believe in the holiness of our aim, should not, wereit only for the sake of their own worldly aims, try to disturb thebelief of others in its sanctity. But to-night, my Licinius, my hastyyoung friend, a new and highly welcome member is to be added to ourleague; his accession is a visible sign of the grace of God."
"Who will you introduce? Are the conditions fulfilled? Do you answerfor him unconditionally, or have you other surety?" So asked another ofthose present, a man of ripe years with regular features, who, a staffbetween his feet, sat quietly on a projection of the wall.
"I answer for him, my Scaevola; besides, his person? is sufficient----"
"Nothing of the sort. The statutes of our league demand surety, and Iinsist upon it," said Scaevola quietly.
"Good, good; I will be surety, toughest of all jurists!" repeated thepriest with a smile.
He made a sign towards one of the passages to the left.
From thence appeared two young _ostiarii_ (doorkeepers), leading a maninto the middle of the vault, upon whose covered head all eyes werefixed. After a pause, Silverius lifted the cover from the head andshoulders of the new comer.
"Albinus!" cried the others, in surprise, indignation, and anger.
Young Licinius grasped his sword; Scaevola slowly rose; confusedexclamations sounded from all sides.
"What! Albinus, the traitor?"
The reviled man looked shyly about him; his relaxed features announcedinborn cowardice; as if beseeching help he turned his eyes towards thepriest.
"Yes, Albinus!" said the latter quietly, thus appealed to. "Will anyone of the colleagues speak against him? Let him speak."
"By my Genius!" cried Licinius, before any one could reply, "needs itto be told? We all know who and what Albinus is. A cowardly shamefultraitor"--anger suffocated his voice.
"Invectives are no proof," interposed Scaevola. "But I ask himself; heshall confess here before us all. Albinus, was it you, or was it not,who, when the existence of our league was betrayed to the tyrant andyou alone were accused, looked quietly on and saw the noble Boethiusand Symmachus, our confederates, because they defended you against thetyrant, despoiled of their fortune, persecuted, taken prisoners andexecuted; while you, the really accused, saved yourself by taking ashameful oath that you would never more trouble yourself about thestate, and by suddenly disappearing? Speak, was it you for whose sakethe pride of our fatherland fell?"
A murmur of indignation went through the assembly. The accused remaineddumb and trembled; even Silverius lost countenance for a moment.
Then the man who was leaning against the wall opposite, raised himselfand took a step forward; his mere vicinity seemed to embolden thepriest, who again began:
"Friends, what you say has happened, but not as you say it. Before allthings, know this: Albinus is the _least_ to blame. What he did, he didby my advice."
"By your advice!"
"You dare to confess it?"
"Albinus was accused through the treachery of a slave, who haddeciphered the secret writing in the letters to Byzantium. All thetyrant's suspicion was aroused; every appearance of resistance or ofconnection would increase the danger. The impetuosity of Boethius andSymmachus, who courageously defended Albinus, was noble but foolish,for it revealed to the barbarians the sentiments of the whole of theRoman aristocracy; and showed that Albinus did not stand alone. Theyacted against my advice, and alas! have suffered death for so doing.But their zeal was superfluous; for the hand of the Lord suddenlybereft the slave of life before further revelations, and the secretwritings of Albinus had been successfully destroyed before his arrest.
"But do you believe that Albinus would have been silent under torture,under the threat of death, if naming his co-conspirators could havesaved him? You do not believe it, Albinus himself did not believe it.Therefore it was necessary, before all else, to gain time and toprevent the use of torture. This was accomplished by his oath.Meanwhile, it is true, Boethius and Symmachus suffered; they could notbe saved; but of their silence, even under torture, we were sure.
"Albinus was freed from his prison by a miracle, like St. Paul atPhilippi. It was said that he had escaped to Athens, and the tyrant wascontented with prohibiting his return. But the triune God has prepa
reda refuge for him here in His temple until the hour of freedomapproaches. In the solitude of His sacred asylum the Lord has touchedhis heart in a wonderful manner, and, undismayed by the danger ofdeath, which once before had so nearly overtaken him, he again entersinto our circle, and offers to the service of God and the fatherlandhis whole immense fortune. Listen: he has made over all his property tothe church of St. Maria Majoris for the uses of our league. Would youdespise him and his millions?"
A pause of astonishment ensued; at last Licinius cried:
"Priest, you are as wise as----as a priest. But such wisdom pleases menot."
"Silverius," said the jurist, "you may take the millions. It is fittingthat you should do so. But I was the friend of Boethius; it is notfitting that I should have anything in common with that coward. Icannot forgive him. Away with him!"
"Away with him!" sounded from all sides. Scaevola had given utterance tothe sentiment of all present. Albinus grew pale; even Silverius quailedunder this general indignation. "Cethegus!" whispered he, claimingassistance.
This man, who, until now, had remained silent and had only regarded thespeakers with cool superiority, now stepped into the middle of theassembly.
He was tall and lean, but powerful, with a broad breast and muscles ofpure steel.
A purple hem on his toga and delicate sandals betrayed riches, rank andtaste, but a long brown soldier's mantle hid the remainder of hisunderclothing. His head was one of those which, once seen, are neveragain forgotten. His thick and still glossy black hair was cut short,after Roman fashion, round his lofty, almost too prominent forehead andnobly-formed temples. Deep under his finely-arched brows were hiddenhis narrow eyes, in whose undecided dark-grey colour lay a whole oceanof sunken passions and a still more pronounced expression of thecoolest self-control. Round his sharply cut and beardless lips lurked atrait of proud contempt of God and His whole creation.
As he stepped forward, and, with quiet distinction, allowed his eyes towander over the excited assembly; as he commenced his insinuating yetcommanding speech, every one felt his superiority, and few could remainin his presence without a consciousness of subordination.
"Why do you wrangle," he said coldly, "about things that must be done?Who wills the end, must will the means. You will not forgive? As youplease! That is of little consequence. But you must and you can forget.I also was a friend of the dead, perhaps their dearest. And yet--Iwill forget. I do so just because I was their friend. _He_ lovesthem, Scaevola, and he alone, who avenges them. For the sake ofrevenge---- Albinus, your hand!"
All were silent, awed more by the personality than convinced by thereasons of the speaker.
But the jurist still objected:
"Rusticiana, the influential woman, the widow of Boethius, the daughterof Symmachus, is favourable to our league. Will she remain so if thisman enters it? Can she ever forget and forgive? Never!"
"She can. Do not believe me, believe your eyes."
With these words Cethegus quickly turned and entered one of theside-passages, whose opening had been hidden until now by his ownperson.
Close to the entrance a veiled figure stood listening; he caught herhand:
"Come," whispered he, "come now."
"I cannot! I will not!" was the almost inaudible answer of theresisting woman. "I curse him! I cannot look at him, the wretch!"
"It must be. Come; you can and you shall--for I will have it so." Hethrew back her veil; one look, and she followed as if deprived of thepower of will.
They turned the corner of the entrance:
"Rusticiana!" cried the whole assembly.
"A woman in our meeting!" exclaimed the jurist. "It is against thestatutes, the laws."
"Yes, Scaevola; but the laws are made for the league, not the league forthe laws. And you would never have believed from _me_, that which younow see with your own eyes."
He laid the widow's hand within the trembling right hand of Albinus.
"Look! Rusticiana forgives! Who will now resist?"
Vanquished and overruled, all remained silent. For Cethegus all furtherproceedings seemed to have lost interest. He retired into thebackground with Rusticiana. But the priest now said:
"Albinus is a member of the league."
"And the oath that he swore to the tyrant?" hesitatingly asked Scaevola.
"Was forced, and he is absolved from it by Holy Church. But now it istime to depart. Let us only conclude the most pressing business. Here,Licinius, is the plan of the fortress of Neapolis: you must have itcopied by to-morrow; it goes to Belisarius. Here, Scaevola, letters fromByzantium, from Theodora, the pious wife of Justinian: you must answerthem. Here, Calpurnius, is an assignment of half a million _solidi_from Albinus: you will send them to the Frankish major domus; he hasgreat influence with his king. Here, Pomponius, is a list of thepatriots in Dalmatia; you know men and things there, take notice ifimportant names are omitted. And be it known to all of you, that,according to news received to-day from Ravenna, the hand of the Lordlies heavy on the tyrant. Deep melancholy, too tardy remorse for allhis sins, oppresses him, and the consolations of the true faith havenot yet penetrated into his soul. Have patience but a little while; theangry voice of the Judge will soon summon him; then comes the day offreedom. At the next Ides, at the same hour, we shall meet here again.The blessing of the Lord be with you!"
A motion of his hand dismissed the assembly; the young priests came outof the side-passage with torches, and led the members, each one singly,in different directions, to the secret exits of the Catacombs.