CHAPTER XVIII
THE MIDNIGHT PLOT.
The scene of our story is now transferred to the Palace of the EmperorGalerius, one of the most sumptuous of the group of marble buildingswhich crowned the Palatine Hill. It is the hour of midnight; and in oneof the most private chambers of the palace a secret conspiracy is inprogress, which has for its object the destruction of theChristians--especially of those high in rank and influence. The lampsin the aula and vestibule burned dimly, and, in iron sockets along theoutside of the palace walls, flared and smoked torches made of towcovered with a coating of clay or plaster.[33]
Fausta, the mother of Galerius, and Furca, the high-priest of Cybele,were already conferring upon their secret plot. With them was BlackJuba, who had just returned from gathering, at "the witching hour ofnight," upon the unhallowed ground set apart for the burning of thedead, certain baleful plants--wolf's bane, bitter briony, andaconite--which she used in wicked spells and incantations. In her nativeNubia she had an evil reputation as a sorceress, and in Rome she stillcarried on by stealth her nefarious art. It was hinted, indeed, in thepalace, that by her subtle, deadly potions she fulfilled her ownprophecies of ill against the objects of the hatred of her employers.
"'Tis certain," hissed through her teeth the spiteful old Fausta, whilemurder gleamed from her sloe-black eyes, "that Galerius will not includein the Imperial rescript that painted doll, Valeria. She exertsunbounded fascination over him. It must be the spell of her falsereligion."
"The spell of her beauty and grace, rather," answered Furca, with agrin.
"What! Are you duped by her wiles, too?" asked Fausta, with bitterness.
"No; I hate her all the more," said the priest; "but I cannot close myeyes to what every one sees."
"It is something that I, at least, do not see," muttered the witheredcrone, whose own harsh features seemed the very incarnation of hatredand cruelty. "If we cannot get rid of her under the decree," she wenton, "we can, at least, in a surer but more perilous way. Cunning Juba,here, has access to her person; and by her skilled decoctions can makeher beauty waste, and her life flicker to extinction, like a lampunreplenished with oil."
"Yes, Juba has learned, in the old land of the Nile, some of the darksecrets of Egypt," whispered, with bated breath, the dusky African. "Butit is very perilous to use them. The palace is full of suspicion; andthat new favourite, Callirho[e:],--how I hate her!--keeps watch over hermistress like the wild gazelle of the desert over its mate. It willtake much gold to pay for the risk."
"Gold thou shalt have to thy heart's content, if thou do but rid me ofthat cockatrice, who has usurped my place in my son's affections,"hissed the wicked woman, who still felt a fierce, tiger-like love forthe soldier-son whom she had trained up like a tiger cub. And Jubaretired, to await further orders.
"But if she die thus," said Furca, with a malignant gleam in his eyes,"she dies alone. What we want is to have her drag others down withher--her mother, Prisca; that haughty Adauctus, who holds himself sohigh, and the rest of the accursed Christian brood."
"Yes, that is what we want, if it can be done," said Fausta; "but I fearit is impossible. You do not know how headstrong Galerius is in his ownway; and the more he is opposed, the fiercer he is."
"Here comes Naso," said the arch priest. "He hates the Christians, if hedoes not love the gods. We will hear his counsel."
"Welcome, good Naso," exclaimed Fausta, as the Prefect of the city wasushered into the room. "We need your advice in the matter of this edictagainst the Christians: how we may use it as a net to snare the highergame of the palace and the Imperial household."
"We must be wary as the weasel, sleepless as the basilisk, deadly as theaspic," said Naso, sententiously.
"Just what I have been saying," remarked Furca.
"Methinks we must employ the aspic's secret sting, rather than thepublic edict."
"I declare for the edict," exclaimed with energy the truculent Naso."Let its thunders smite the loftiest as well as the lowly. It will carrygreater terror, and make the ruin of the Christian party more complete.What is the use of lopping off the twigs, when the trunk and mainbranches are unscathed? I possess proof that will doom Adauctus, thesenator Aurelius, and others who stand higher still. The Christians tothe lions--every one, say I."
"And so say I," ejaculated Furca, with malicious fervour; "but herExcellency thinks that Galerius will interpose to protect one who standsnear the throne, though she be the chief encouragement of the Christianvermin that crawl at her feet."
"Madam, he dare not," exclaimed Naso, with his characteristic gesture ofclenching his hand as if grasping his sword. "His own crown would standin peril if beneath its shadow he would protect traitors to the Stateand enemies of the gods, however high their station."
"As head of the State," interjected the priest, "he is the champion ofthe gods, and bound to avenge their insulted majesty."
"You know not what he would dare," replied Fausta. "He would defy bothgods and men, if he took the whim."
"An accusation will be made before me," said Naso, "which not even theEmperors can over-look, against the Imperial Consort, Valeria, forintriguing with the Christians and bringing their priests to Rome, andconniving at their crimes against the State. We will see whether themajesty of the Empire or the beauty of a painted butterfly weighs theheavier in the scales."
"I will second in private what your accusation demands in public," saidthe implacable Fausta. "Methinks I could die content if I might onlytrample that minion under my feet."
"And I," said Furca, "will menace him with the wrath of the gods if herefuse to avenge their wrongs."
"Between us all," added Naso, "it will go hard if we do not crush theChristian vermin, even beneath the shadow of the throne."
FOOTNOTES:
[33] Such torch-holders may still be seen on the walls of the PalazzoStrozzi and in Florence and elsewhere. Torches of the sort we havedescribed were purchased by the writer at Pozzuoli, near Naples.
Valeria, the Martyr of the Catacombs: A Tale of Early Christian Life in Rome Page 20