The Gladiators. A Tale of Rome and Judæa

by G. J. Whyte-Melville

  CHAPTER X

  FROM SCYLLA TO CHARYBDIS

  Up one street, down another, avoiding the main thoroughfares, now renderedimpassable by the tumult, his anxious freedmen threaded their way withdifficulty in the direction of the tribune's house. Mariamne seemed eitherto have fainted, or to have resigned herself to her fate, for she hadceased to struggle, and cowered down on the floor of the chariot, silentand motionless. Damasippus trusted his difficulties were nearly over, andresolved never again to be concerned in such an enterprise. Already heimagined himself safe in his patron's porch, claiming the reward of hisdexterity, when he was once more arrested by a stoppage which promised ahazardous and protracted delay.

  Winding its slow length along, in all the pomp and dignity affected by themaiden order, a procession of Vestals crossed in front of the whitehorses, and not a man in Rome but would have trembled with superstitiousawe at the bare notion of breaking in on the solemn march of these sacredvirgins, dedicated to the service of a goddess, whose peculiar attributeswere mystery, antiquity, and remorseless vengeance for offence. Dressed intheir long white garments, simple and severe, with no relief save a narrowpurple border round the veil, they swept on in slow majestic column, likea vision from the other world, led by a stately priestess, pale and calm,of lofty stature and majestic bearing. They believed that to them wasconfided the welfare of the State, the safety of the city; nay, that withthe mysterious symbols in their temple, they guarded the very existence ofthe nation; therefore on all public occasions of strife or disorder, theVestal Virgins were accustomed to show themselves confidently in thestreets, and use their influence for the restoration of peace. Nor hadthey need to fear either injury or insult. To touch the person of aVestal, even to obstruct the litter in which she was carried, waspunishable with death, and public opinion in such a case was even moreexacting than the law. Immunities and privileges of many kinds weregranted to the order by different enactments. When the Vestal went abroad,she was preceded and followed by the lictors of the State; and if she meta criminal under sentence of death, honestly by accident, during herprogress, he was pardoned and set free for her sake, on the spot.

  It may be that Mariamne had some vague recollection of this custom, for nosooner were the horses stopped to let the procession pass, than sheuttered a loud shriek, which brought it to a halt at once, and caused herown guards to gather round the chariot and prepare for resistance, Oarseswisely keeping aloof, and Damasippus, while he strove to wear a boldfront, quaking in every limb. At a signal from the superior priestess, thelong white line stood still, while her lictors seized the horses, andsurrounded the chariot. Already a crowd of curious bystanders wasgathering, and the glare of the burning Capitol shed its light even here,on their dark, eager faces, contrasting strangely with the veiled figuresthat occupied the middle of the street, cold and motionless as marble.

  Two lictors seized on Damasippus, each by a shoulder, and brought himunceremoniously to within a few paces of the priestess. Here he droppedupon his knees, and began wringing his hands in ludicrous dismay, whilstthe populace, gathering round, laughed and jeered at him, only refrainingfrom violence on account of the Vestal's presence.

  "She is a slave, our slave, bought with our own money in the market,sacred virgin. I can swear it. I can prove it. Here is the man who paidfor her. O accursed Oarses, hast thou left me in the lurch at last?"

  The wily Egyptian now came up, composed and sedate, with the air of a manconfident in the justice of his cause. Mariamne, meanwhile, could butstrive to release herself in vain. So effectually had she been bound andmuffled, that she could scarcely move, and was unable to articulate. Shestruggled on, nevertheless, in the wild hope of succour, writhing herwhole body to set her lips free from the bandages that stifled them. Withthe quiet dignity which was an especial attribute of her office, thepriestess pointed to the chariot containing the prisoner, and from beneathher veil, in clear, low tones, while the bystanders listened withrespectful awe, came the question--

  "What crime has she committed?"

  "No crime, sacred virgin, no crime whatsoever," replied the wily Oarses,well knowing that the privilege of pardon, which the Vestals loved toexercise, was less likely to be exerted for a refractory bondswoman than acondemned criminal. "She is but a runaway slave, a mere dancing-girl. Howshall I tell it in your august presence? I bought her scarce a week ago,as my friend here knows, and can swear. Canst thou not, Damasippus, worthycitizen? I gave but two thousand sesterces, nevertheless it was a largesum for me, who am a poor man; and I borrowed the half of it from myfriend here. I bought her in the open market, and I took her home with meto my wife and children, that she might beat flax and card wool, and sogain an honest livelihood--an honest livelihood, sacred virgin; and that iswhy she ran away from me; so I informed the aedile, and I sought herdiligently, and to-day I found her with her cheeks painted, and her bosomgilt, in her old haunts, drunk with wine. Then I bound her, and placed herin a litter, and the litter breaking down, for I am poor, sacred virgin,and of humble birth, though a Roman citizen--the litter, I say, breakingdown, and my patron's chariot passing by, I placed her within it, that Imight take her home, for she is insensible still. All this I swear, andhere is my friend who will swear it too. Damasippus, wilt thou not?"

  The latter worthy had indeed been accompanying every syllable of hisconfederate's statement with those eager Italian gestures which signify somuch of argument and expostulation. These were not without effect on thebystanders, predisposed as such generally are to believe the worst, andprone to be influenced by the last speaker, especially when supported bytestimony, however unworthy of reliance. They crowded in as near as theirawe of the priestess would allow, and angry looks were shot at the poor,dark figure lying helpless in the chariot.

  Under the Vestal's long white veil, there might have been a gleam of pityor a flash of scorn on the unseen face, according as she felt a kindlysympathy or womanly indignation for the sins of an erring sister. Butwhatever was her private opinion, with a priestess of her order, such anappeal as that of Oarses could have but one result. The pale slender handmade a gesture of contempt and impatience. The tall ghostly figure movedon with a prouder, sterner step, and the procession swept by, carryingaway with it the last fragile hope of succour that had comfortedMariamne's heart. Like a poor hunted hind caught in a net, when the sharpmuzzle of the deerhound touches her flank, the Jewess made one convulsiveeffort that loosened the shawl about her mouth. In her agony, the belovedname flew instinctively to her lips, and hopelessly, unconsciously, shecalled out, "Esca! Esca!" in loud piercing tones of terror and despair.

  The Vestals had indeed passed by, and the chariot was again set in motion,but the Briton's name seemed to act as a talisman on the crowd, for nosooner had she pronounced it, than the bystanders were seen to give way oneach side to the pressure of a huge pair of shoulders, surmounted by thefearless, honest face of Hirpinus the gladiator. That professional, incommon with a few chosen comrades, had found the last few hours hangexceedingly heavy on his hands. Bound by oath to keep sober, and, what wasperhaps even a more galling restriction, to abstain from fighting, thislittle party had seen themselves deprived at once of their two principalresources, the favourite occupations which gave a zest to their existence.But the saying that there is "Honour among thieves" dates farther backthan the institution of an amphitheatre; and as soon as the gladiator hadmade his bargain, he considered himself, body and soul, the property ofhis purchaser. So, when Hippias gave his final orders, insisting on theappearance of his myrmidons at a given place and a given time, fresh,sober, and without a scratch, he had no fear but that they would bepunctually and honestly obeyed.

  Accordingly, Hirpinus, Rufus, Lutorius, and a few of the surest blades inthe Family, had been whiling away their leisure with a stroll through theprincipal streets of Rome, and had met with not a few incidents peculiarlypleasing to men of their profession. They had been good enough to expresstheir appr
oval of the soldierlike manner in which the gardens of Sallustwere attacked and carried; they had also marked, with a certain grimsatisfaction, the assault on the Capitol, though they complained that whenit was fired the thick volumes of smoke that swept downwards from itswalls obstructed their view of the fighting, which was to them the chiefattraction of the entertainment, and which they criticised with manyinstructive and professional remarks; it was difficult, doubtless, toabstain from taking part in any of these skirmishes, more particularly aseach man was armed with the short, two-edged Roman sword; but, as theyreminded one another, it was only a temporary abstinence, and for a veryshort period, since, from all they could gather, before midnight theymight be up to their necks in wine, and over their ankles in blood. Now,supper-time was approaching, and the athletes were getting fierce, hungry,and weary of inaction. They had stood still to watch the procession ofVestals pass by, and even these wild, unscrupulous men had refrained fromword or gesture that could be construed into disrespect for the maidenorder; but they had shown little interest in the cause of stoppage, andscarce condescended to notice a discussion that arose from so mean asubject as a runaway slave. Suddenly, however, to the amazement of hiscomrades and the discomfiture of the bystanders, Hirpinus burst hastilythrough the crowd, unceremoniously thrusting aside those who stood in hisway, and lifting one inquisitive little barber clean off his legs, to hurlhim like a plaything into a knot of chattering citizens, much to theirindignation and the poor man's own physical detriment. Hands wereclenched, indeed, and brows bent, as the strong square form forged throughthe press, like some bluff galley through the surf, but _Cave! cave!_ waswhispered by the more cautious, and in such dread was a gladiator held byhis peaceful fellow-citizens, that the boldest preferred submission underinsult to a quarrel with a man whose very trade was strife. The chariotwas already in motion, when a strong hand forced the two centre horsesback upon their haunches, and the bold, frank voice of Hirpinus was heardabove the trampling hoofs and general confusion.

  "Easy, my little fellow, for a moment," said he to the indignantAutomedon. "I heard a comrade's name spoken just now, from within thatgilded shell of thine. Halt! I tell thee, lad, and keep that whip quiet,lest I brain thee with my open hand!"

  Automedon, little relishing the business from the beginning, pulled hishorses together, and looked very much disposed to cry. Damasippus,however, confident in the support of his companion, and the presence ofhalf a dozen armed slaves, stepped boldly forward, and bade the gladiator"make way there" in a high, authoritative voice. Hirpinus recognised thefreedman at once, and laughed loud and long.

  "What now?" said he, "my old convive and boon-companion. By Pollux! I knewthee not in thy warlike array of steel. In faith, a garland of rosesbecomes that red nose of thine better than the bosses of a helmet, and thestem of a goblet would fit thy hand more deftly than the haft of thatgaudy sword. What stolen goods are these, old parasite? I'll wager nowthat the jackal is but taking home a lump of carrion to the lion's den."

  "Stay me not, good friend," replied the other, with importance. "It iseven as you say, and I am about the business of your employer and mine,Julius Placidus the tribune."

  Hirpinus, in high good-humour, would have bade him pass on, but Mariamne,whose mouth was now released, gathered her exhausted energies for a lastappeal.

  "You are his comrade! you said so even now. Save me, save me, for Esca'ssake!"

  Again at that name the gladiator's eye glistened. He loved the youngBriton like a son--he who had so little to love in the world. He hadbrought him out, as he boasted twenty times a day. He had made a man--more,a swords-man--of him. Now he had lost sight of him, and, as far as hisnature permitted, had been anxious and unhappy ever since. If a dog hadbelonged to Esca, he would have dashed in to rescue it from danger at anyrisk.

  "Stand back, fool!" he shouted to Damasippus, as the latter interposed hisperson between the gladiator and the chariot. "Have a care, I tell thee! Iwant the woman out into the street. What! you will, willyou?--One--two.--Take it then, idiot! Here! comrades, close in, and keep offthis accursed crowd!"

  Damasippus, confident in the numbers of his escort, and believing, too,that his adversary was alone, had, indeed, drawn his sword, and called upthe slaves to his assistance, when the gladiator moved towards the chariotcontaining his charge. To dash the blade from his unaccustomed grasp, todeal him a straight, swift, crushing blow, that sent him down senseless onthe pavement, and then, drawing his own weapon, to turn upon the shrinkingescort a point that seemed to threaten all at once, was for Hirpinus amere matter of professional business, so simple as to be almost arelaxation. His comrades, laughing boisterously, made a ring round thecombatants. The slaves hesitated, gave ground, turned and fled; Hirpinusdragged the helpless form of Mariamne from the chariot, and Oarses, whohad remained in the background till now, leaped nimbly in, to assume thevacant place, and, whispering Automedon, went off at a gallop.

  The poor girl, terrified by the danger she had escaped, and scarcelyreassured by the mode of her rescue, or the appearance of her deliverers,clung, half-fainting, to the person of her supporter, and the oldswordsman, with a delicacy almost ludicrous in one of his rough exterior,soothed her with such terms of encouragement as he could summon at themoment: now like a nurse hushing a child off to sleep, anon like acharioteer quieting a frightened or fretful horse.

  In the meantime, the crowd, gathering confidence from the sheathed swordsand obvious good-humour of the gladiators, pressed round with many rudegestures and insulting remarks, regardless of the fallen man, who, onrecovering his senses, wisely remained for a while where he was, andchiefly bent on examining the features of the cloaked and hooded prize,that had created this pretty little skirmish for their diversion. Suchunmannerly curiosity soon aroused the indignation of Hirpinus.

  "Keep them off, comrades!" said he angrily; "these miserable citizens.Keep them off, I say! Have they never seen a veiled woman before, thatthey gape and stare, and pass their rancid jests, as they do on you and mewhen we are down on our backs for their amusement in the arena? Let herhave air, my lads, and she will soon come to. Pollux! She looks like thelily thy wife was watering at home, when we stopped there this morning,Rufus, for a draught of the five-year-old wine, and a gambol with thosebright-haired kids of thine."

  The tall champion to whom this remark was addressed, and who had that verymorning, in company with his friend, bidden a farewell, that might beeternal, to wife and children, as indeed it was nothing unusual for him todo, softened doubtless by the remembrance, now exerted himself strenuouslyto give the fainting woman room. Without the use of any but nature'sweapons, and from sheer weight, strength, and resolution, the gladiatorssoon cleared an ample space in the middle of the street for their comradeand his charge; nor did they seem at all indisposed to a task whichafforded opportunities of evincing their own physical superiority, and thesupreme contempt in which they held the mass of their fellow-citizens.Perhaps it was pleasant to feel how completely they could domineer overthe crowd by the use of those very qualities which made their dyingstruggles a spectacle for the vulgar; perhaps they enjoyed the repaymentin advance of some of the ribaldry and insult that would too surelyaccompany their end. At anyrate they shouldered the mob back withunnecessary violence, drove their spiked sandals into the feet of such ascame under their tread, and scrupled not to strike with open hand orclenched fist any adventurous citizen who was fool enough to put himselfforward for appeal or resistance. These, too, seemed terror-stricken bythis handful of resolute men. Accustomed to look on them from a safedistance in the amphitheatre, like the wild beasts with whom they oftensaw them fight, they were nearly as unwilling to beard the one as theother; and to come into collision with a gladiator in the street, was likemeeting a tiger on the wrong side of his bars. So Hirpinus had plenty ofroom to undo the girl's bands, and remove the stifling folds that muffledher head and throat.

  "Where am I?" she murmured, as she began to breathe more freely, lookinground bewildered and co
nfused. "You are Esca's friend. Surely I heard yousay so. You will take care of me, then, for Esca's sake."

  Instinctively she addressed herself to Hirpinus, instinctively she seemedto appeal to him for protection and encouragement. The veil had been takenfrom her head, and the beauty of the sweet pale face was not lost on thesurrounding gladiators. Old Hirpinus looked at her with a comicalexpression, in which admiration and pity were blended with astonishmentand a proud sense of personal appropriation in the defenceless girl whoseemed utterly dependent on him. He had never seen anything so beautifulin his life. He had never known the happiness of a home; never had wifenor child: but at that moment his heart warmed to her as a father's to adaughter.

  "Where are you," he repeated, "pretty flower? You are within a hundredpaces of the Flaminian Way. How came you here? Ay, that is more than I cantell you. Yonder knave lying there.--What? he is gone, is he? Ay! I couldnot hit hard enough at a man with whom I have emptied so many skins ofSabine.--Well, Damasippus brought thee here, he best knows why, in hismaster's gaudy chariot. I heard thee speak, my pretty one, and who lovesEsca, loves me, and I love him, or her, or whoever it may be. So I knockedhim over, that fat freedman, and took thee from the chariot, and pulledoff these wraps that were stifling thee, and indeed I think it was abouttime."

  He had raised her while he spoke, and supported her on his strong arm,walking slowly on, while the gladiators, closing round them, movedsteadily along the street, followed, though at a safe distance, by muchverbal insult and abuse. At intervals, two or three of the rear-guardwould turn and confront the mob, who immediately gave back and weresilent. Thus the party proceeded on its way, more, it would seem, with theview of leaving the crowd than of reaching any definite place of shelter.

  "Where are we going? and who are those who guard us?" whispered Mariamne,clinging close to her protector. "You will take care of me, will you not?"she added, in a confiding tone.

  "They are my comrades," he answered soothingly; "and old Hirpinus willguard you, pretty one, like the apple of his eye. We will take youstraight home, or wherever you wish to go, and not one of these willmolest you while I am by--never fear!"

  Just then, Euchenor, who was one of the band, and had overheard thisreassuring sentence, clapped the old swordsman on the shoulder.

  "You seem to forget our compact," said he, with his evil, mocking laugh.

  The face of Hirpinus fell, and his brow lowered, for he remembered thenthat Mariamne was not much better off here than in the captivity fromwhich he had rescued her.