by Mór Jókai
CHAPTER VI.
Sophronia, sobbing, threw her arms around her sister's neck. In rapidalternations of feeling the shining vision of a happy life passedbefore her mind. She saw her loving old father who guarded her soanxiously from every breath of air; she saw the youth whose pure lovepromised her long years of joy in the future. The girl's strength ofmind vanished before this alluring picture, and she sank on the bosomof her sister, who, with a brave though sad face, clasped her in herarms as a mythological goddess of war would embrace an angel thatbelonged to the realms of another deity.
"Hasten hence," she said, throwing her ample _himation_ around hersister's shoulders, and fastening the golden _balteus_ about her hips."You can follow my slave safely. No one will notice the exchange,especially amid the noisy tumult of the circus."
"No, I cannot accept this sacrifice," cried Sophronia, struggling withher own heart. "God forbids it."
"Your God is the God of Love," said Glyceria. "If on account of thisGod of Love you will not save yourself, I swear that this day shalllong be mentioned by the world as a day of horrors. I know all theformulas, before which the beings of darkness tremble, at whoseutterance the solid earth is shaken and blazing comets dash across thesky, sending down pestilences upon the living. If you sacrificeyourself to your God, I will sacrifice Rome to mine, and will destroyit so utterly that the centuries will find only fragments of its royalpurple."
The pallid girl trembled in her frowning sister's arms.
The latter now quietly fastened the anadem she had taken from herhead in her sister's hair, and drew her veil over her face.
"There, now you are safe. If you are asked who rescued you, say thatit was a stranger. I wish to cause no one sorrow. Never mention myname."
The weeping girl embraced her sister, from whom she could not bear topart. Glyceria herself urged her away:
"Go, hasten. Do not kiss me; it is not well to kiss me. Destruction ison my lips."
Yet Sophronia did kiss her, and at the same instant Aevius entered withthe guards who accompanied him.
"We are betrayed!" shrieked Glyceria, placing herself before hersister to protect her. Then, with savage fury, she cried: "Who sentyou to this place, miserable sycophant? You have made a mistake; thisis a prison, not a bacchanalian revel."
"It is a golden cage, in which I find two doves instead of one."
"Put your insipid jests into rhyme, but spare me their tastelessfolly. And now, go!"
"Very willingly if you will come with me; but the Augustus sent mehere."
Glyceria hastily whispered to Sophronia: "Do not betray that you aremy sister, or our father is lost, too."
Then she turned to the soldiers.
"Insolent knaves! Do you know me? I am the terrible Glyceria who sendsdown a rain of fire upon you when you are in camp, who makes therivers overflow their banks before you, and in the midst of summerbrings winter upon your bands so that you are swept away like flies?Do you no longer remember Trivius, whom in my wrath I transformed intoa stag, and did not restore his human form until the hounds had tornhim? Did you see before my palace the flesh-colored caryatides, whokeep guard before my door and seem to follow every passer-by withtheir eyes? They were slaves who disobeyed me, and whom with a singlebreath I transformed to stone. Do you wish to be fixed to these wallsas statues, or changed into wild beasts to rend one another to-morrowin the amphitheatre? Which of you dares to raise his hand; which ofyou will bar my way?"
The soldiers shrank back in superstitious terror. Aevius alone steppedbefore her.
"Divinely beautiful woman, it would be useless trouble to transformthese fellows to brutes. You ought rather to change my heart intostone, that it may have no feeling for you. But now permit me toconduct this Christian maiden to the Caesar, who will gladly see youthe next time, but now desires to behold her. Though you shouldvouchsafe to wreak your utmost wrath upon my innocent head, I can donothing else. My head and my heart are at your service, but Carinushas commanded my hands to bring this maiden before him."
Glyceria whispered impetuously to her pale-faced sister:
"Now a greater horror than death awaits you. But be strong. Under the_balteus_ which I fastened around you is a sharp dagger. You are aRoman; I need say no more."
She pressed Sophronia's hand as she spoke, and without vouchsafingAevius another glance, hastened through the ranks of the soldiers, whoswiftly made way for her.