The Young Carthaginian: A Story of The Times of Hannibal
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CHAPTER V: THE CONSPIRACY
Giscon led his companion along the narrow lanes until he reached theback entrance of the house where the meetings were held. Knocking ina particular way it was opened at once and closed behind them. As theyentered a slave took Malchus' horse without a word and fastened it to aring in the wall, where four or five other horses were standing.
"I rather wonder you are not afraid of drawing attention by riding onhorseback to a house in such a quarter," Malchus said.
"We dare not meet secretly, you know. The city is full of spies, anddoubtless the movements of all known to be hostile to Hanno and hisparty are watched, therefore we thought it best to meet here. We havecaused it to be whispered as a secret in the neighbourhood, that thehouse has been taken as a place where we can gamble free from thepresence of our elders. Therefore the only comments we excite is, 'Therego those young fools who are ruining themselves.' It is only because youare on horseback that I have come round to this gate; had you come onfoot we should have entered by the front. Fortunately there are among usmany who are deemed to be mere pleasure seekers--men who wager fortuneson their horses, who are given to banquets, or whose lives seem to bepassed in luxury and indolence, but who at heart are as earnest in thecause of Carthage as I am. The presence of such men among us gives aprobability to the tale that this is a gambling house. Were we all of mystamp, men known to be utterly hostile to Hanno and his party, suspicionwould fall upon our meetings at once. But here we are."
As he spoke he drew aside some heavy curtains and entered a large room.Some ten or twelve young men were assembled there. They looked up insurprise as Giscon entered followed by his companion.
"I have brought a recruit," Giscon said, "one whom all of you know byrepute if not personally; it is Malchus, the son of General Hamilcar. Heis young to be engaged in a business like ours, but I have been with himin a campaign and can answer for him. He is brave, ready, thoughtful andtrustworthy. He loves his country and hates her tyrants. I can guaranteethat he will do nothing imprudent, but can be trusted as one ofourselves. Being young he will have the advantage of being less likelyto be watched, and may be doubly useful. He is ready to take the oath ofour society."
As Giscon was the leading spirit of the band his recommendation wastaken as amply sufficient. The young men rose and formed in a circleround Malchus. All drew their daggers, and one, whom Malchus recognizedwith a momentary feeling of surprise as Carthalon, whom Adherbal hadpointed out at the Barcine Club as one who thought only of horse racing,said:
"Do you swear by Moloch and Astarte to be true to this society, todevote yourself to the destruction of the oppressors of Carthage, tocarry out all measures which may be determined upon, even at the certainrisk of your life, and to suffer yourself to be torn to pieces by thetorture rather than reveal aught that passes within these walls?"
"That I swear solemnly," Malchus said.
"I need not say," Carthalon said carelessly, "that the punishment of theviolation of the oath is death. It is so put in our rules. But we areall nobles of Carthage, and nobles do not break their oaths, so wecan let that pass. When a man's word is good enough to make him beggarhimself in order to discharge a wager, he can be trusted to keep hisword in a matter which concerns the lives of a score of his fellows. Andnow that this business is arranged we can go on with our talk; but firstlet us have some wine, for all this talking is thirsty work at best."
The young men threw themselves upon the couches around the room and,while slaves brought round wine, chatted lightly with each other abouthorses, the play presented the day before, the respective merits of thereigning beauties of Carthage, and other similar topics, and Malchus,who was impressed with the serious nature of the secret conspiracy whichhe had just sworn to aid, could not help being surprised at the carelessgaiety of the young men, although engaged in a conspiracy in which theyrisked their lives.
It was not until some minutes after the slaves had left the apartmentthat the light talk and banter ceased, as Giscon rose and said:
"Now to business. Malchus has told me that an old fisherman, who tooka lead in stirring up his fellows to declare for Hannibal, has beendecoyed away from his home and murdered; his body has been foundfloating in the lake, strangled. This is the nineteenth in the course ofa week. These acts are spreading terror among the working classes, andunless they are put a stop to we can no longer expect assistance fromthem.
"That these deeds are the work of the officials of the tribunals we haveno doubt. The sooner we strike the better. Matters are getting ripe. Ihave eight men sworn into my section among the weavers, and need buttwo more to complete it. We will instruct our latest recruit to raisea section among the fishermen. The sons of the man just murdered shouldform a nucleus. We agreed from the first that three hundred resolutemen besides ourselves were required, and that each of us should raisea section of ten. Malchus brings up our number here to thirty, and whenall the sections are filled up we shall be ready for action.
"Failure ought to be impossible. The houses of Hanno and thirty of hisparty will be attacked, and the tyrants slain before any alarm can begiven. Another thirty at least should be slain before the town is fairlyaroused. Maybe each section can undertake three if our plans are welllaid, and each chooses for attack three living near each other. We havenot yet settled whether it will be better to separate when this isdone, content with the first blow against our tyrants, or to preparebeforehand for a popular rising, to place ourselves at the head of thepopulace, and to make a clean sweep of the judges and the leaders ofHanno's party."
Giscon spoke in an ordinary matter-of-fact tone, as if he werediscussing the arrangements of a party of pleasure; but Malchus couldscarcely repress a movement of anxiety as he heard this proposal for thewholesale destruction of the leading men of Carthage. The council thusopened was continued for three hours. Most of those present spoke, but,to the surprise of Malchus, there was an entire absence of that gloomand mystery with which the idea of a state conspiracy was associated inhis mind.
The young men discussed it earnestly, indeed, but in the same spiritin which they would have agreed over a disputed question as to therespective merits of two horses. They laughed, joked, offered andaccepted wagers and took the whole matter with a lightness of heartwhich Malchus imitated to the best of his power, but which he was veryfar from feeling; and yet he felt that beneath all this levity hiscompanions were perfectly in earnest in their plans, but they joked nowas they would have joked before the commencement of a battle in whichthe odds against them were overwhelming and great.
Even Giscon, generally grave and gloomy, was as light hearted as therest. The aristocracy of Carthage were, like the aristocracy of allother countries, from tradition, training, and habit, brave to excess.Just as centuries later the noblesse of France chatted gaily on thetumbril on their way to execution, and offered each other their snuffboxes on the scaffold, so these young aristocrats of Carthage smiled andjested, though well aware that they were risking their lives.
No decision was arrived at, for this could only be decided upon ata special meeting, at which all the members of the society wouldbe present. Among those now in council opinions were nearly equallydivided. The one party urged that, did they take steps to prepare thepopulace for a rising, a rumour would be sure to meet the ears of theiropponents and they would be on their guard; whereas, if they scatteredquickly after each section had slain two of their tyrants, the operationmight be repeated until all the influential men of Hanno's faction hadbeen removed.
In reply to these arguments the other party urged that delays werealways dangerous, that huge rewards would be offered after the firstattempts, that some of the men of the sections might turn traitors, thatHanno's party would be on their guard in future, and that the judgeswould effect wholesale arrests and executions; whereas, were thepopulace appealed to in the midst of the excitement which would becaused by the death of Hanno and his principal adherents, the peoplewould rise and finish with their tyrants.
"These agents of ours, you see, Malchus, are not for the most partanimated by any feeling of pure patriotism, it is their own wrongs andnot the injuries of Carthage which they would avenge. But we must takethem as we find them; one cannot expect any deep feeling of patriotismon the part of the masses, who, it must be owned, have no very greatreason to feel any lively interest in the glories of the republic. Sothat they eat and drink sufficiently, and can earn their living, itmatters not very greatly to them whether Carthage is great and glorious,or humbled and defeated. But this will not always be so. When we havesucceeded in ridding Carthage of her tyrants we must next do all we canso to raise the condition of the common people that they may feel thatthey too have a common interest in the fate of our country. I shouldnot, of course, propose giving to them a vote; to bestow the suffrageupon the ignorant, who would simply follow the demagogues who would usethem as tools, would be the height of madness. The affairs of state, thegovernment of the country, the making of the laws, must be solely inthe hands of those fitted for the task--of the men who, by education,by birth, by position, by study and by leisure have prepared their mindsfor such a charge. But the people should share in the advantages ofa good government; they should not be taxed more than they couldreasonably pay, and any tax gatherers who should extort a penny beyondthe legal amount should be disgraced and punished.
"The courts should be open to all, the judges should be impartial andincorruptible; every man should have his rights and his privileges, theneach man, feeling an interest in the stability of the state, wouldbe ready to bear arms in its defence, and Carthage, instead of beingdependent entirely upon her tributaries and mercenaries, would be ableto place a great army in the field by her own unaided exertions.
"The barbarian tribes would cease to revolt, knowing that success wouldbe hopeless. And as we should be strong at home we should be respectedabroad, and might view without apprehension the rising power of Rome.There is plenty of room for both of us. For us, Africa and Spain; forher all the rest of Europe and as much of Asia as she cares to take. Wecould look without jealousy at each other's greatness, each secure inhis own strength and power. Yes, there may be a grand future beforeCarthage yet."
The meeting now broke up.
"Where are you going, Malchus?" Giscon asked the lad as they went outinto the courtyard; "to see the sacrifices? You know there is a grandfunction today to propitiate Moloch and to pray for victory for ourarms."
"No," Malchus said with a shudder. "I don't think I am a coward, Giscon,but these terrible rites frighten me. I was taken once by my father, andI then swore that never again, unless it be absolutely necessary for mein the performance of public office, will I be present at such a scene.For weeks afterwards I scarcely slept; day and night there was beforeme that terrible brazen image of Moloch. If I fell off to sleep, I wokebathed in perspiration as I heard the screams of the infants as theywere dropped into those huge hands, heated to redness, stretched out toreceive them. I cannot believe, Giscon, that the gods are so cruel.
"Then there was the slaughter of a score of captives taken in war. Isee them now, standing pale and stern, with their eyes directed to thebrazen image which was soon to be sprinkled with their blood, while thepriests in their scarlet robes, with the sacrificial knives in hand,approached them. I saw no more, for I shut my eyes till all was over.I tell you again, Giscon, I do not believe the gods are so cruel. Whyshould the gods of Phoenicia and Carthage alone demand blood? Thoseof Greece and Rome are not so bloodthirsty, and yet Mars gives as manyvictories to the Roman arms as Moloch does to ours."
"Blaspheme not the gods, Malchus," Giscon said gloomily; "you may besure that the wreath of a conquering general will never be placed aroundyour brow if you honour them not."
"If honouring them means approval of shedding the blood of infants andcaptives, I will renounce all hopes of obtaining victory by their aid."
"I would you had spoken so before, Malchus; had I known that you werea scorner of the gods I would not have asked you to join in ourenterprise. No good fortune can be expected to attend our efforts unlesswe have the help of the gods."
"The matter is easily mended, Giscon," Malchus said calmly. "So farI have taken no step towards carrying out your plans, and have butlistened to what you said, therefore, no harm can yet have been done.Strike my name off the list, and forget that I have been with you. Youhave my oath that I will say nought of anything that I have heard. Youcan well make some excuse to your comrades. Tell them, for example, thatthough I fear not for myself, I thought that, being the son of Hamilcar,I had no right to involve his name and family in such an enterprise,unless by his orders."
"Yes, it were better so," Giscon said after a pause; "I dare notcontinue the enterprise with one who condemns the gods among us; itwould be to court failure. I did not dream of this; who could havethought that a lad of your age would have been a spurner of the gods?"
"I am neither a condemner nor a spurner," Malchus said indignantly; "Isay only that I believe you worship them wrongfully, that you do theminjustice. I say it is impossible that the gods who rule the worldcan have pleasure in the screams of dying infants or the groans ofslaughtered men."
Giscon placed his hand to his ears as if to shut out such blasphemy,and hurried away, while Malchus, mounting his horse, rode out slowly andthoughtfully to his father's villa. He was not at heart sorry that hewas freed from this association into which, without knowing the measuresby which it intended to carry out its aims, he had rashly entered. Hewas ready for armed insurrection against the tyrants of Carthage, but herevolted from the thought of this plan for a midnight massacre--it wasnot by such means that he would have achieved the regeneration of hiscountry. He felt, too, that the reason which he had given Giscon was avalid one. He had no right, at his age, to involve his family in such aconspiracy. Did it fail, and were he found to be among the conspirators,Hanno and his associates would be sure to seize the fact as a pretextfor assailing Hamilcar. They would say that Malchus would never havejoined in such a plot had he not known that it had the approval of hisfather, and that he was in fact but the representative of his family inthe design for overthrowing the constitution of the republic.
Fortunately for Malchus, a few days later orders were given for theinstant embarkation of a portion of the reinforcements destined forHannibal. Hamilcar was to proceed in command of them, and, busiedwith his preparation for the start, Malchus thought little more of theconspiracy which was brewing. Thirty large merchant ships were hiredto convey the troops, who numbered six thousand. These were principallyLibyan footmen. The main body, with the Numidian horse, were to followshortly. At last the day for embarkation arrived, and the troops defiledthrough the temple of Moloch, where sacrifices were offered up for thesuccess of the enterprise.
Malchus, under the pretense that something was not ready, at the lastmoment lingered at home, and only joined his comrades, a hundred youngmen of the Carthaginian horse, on the quays. This body, all composedof young men of the best families of Carthage, were to sail in the sameship which carried Hamilcar. The scene was a busy one--the docksof Carthage were extensive, and the ships which were to convey theexpedition lay in deep water by the quays, so that the troops couldmarch on board. A great crowd of the populace had assembled to view theembarkation. These were with difficulty kept from crowding the troopsand impeding their movement by a cordon of soldiers.
As the troops marched on to the quay they were formed up in parties bythe side of the ships which were to convey them. Very different was thedemeanour of the
men of the different nationalities. The Libyans werestern and silent, they were part of the contingent which their statewas bound to furnish to Carthage, and went unwillingly, cursing in theirhearts the power which tore them from their homes to fight in a war inwhich they had neither concern nor interest.
Near them were a body of Garamantes, wrapped in the long bernous whichthen as now was the garb of the children of the desert. Tall, swarthyfigures these, lissome and agile, with every muscle standing out clearthrough the brown skin. Strange as must have been the scene to them,there was no wonder expressed in the keen glances which they shot aroundthem from underneath their dark eyebrows. Silent and taciturn, scarcea word was to be heard among them as they stood awaiting the orders toembark; they were there unwillingly, and their hearts were far away inthe distant desert, but none the less would they be willing to fightwhen the time came. Terrible foes these would be in a night attack,with their stealthy tiger-like tread, their gleaming, vengeful eyes, andtheir cruel mouths.
Very different were the band of Ethiopians from the distant Soudan, withtheir cloaks of lion skin, and the gaudy feathers fastened in a filletround their heads. Their black faces were alive with merriment andwonder--everything was new and extraordinary to them. The sea,the ships, the mighty city, the gathered crowd, all excited theirastonishment, and their white teeth glistened as they chattedincessantly with a very babel of laughter and noise.
Not less light hearted were the chosen band of young nobles grouped bythe general's ship. Their horses were held in ranks behind them for thelast time by their slaves, for in future they would have to attend tothem themselves, and as they gathered in groups they laughed and jestedover the last scandal in Carthage, the play which had been produced thenight before at the theatre, or the horse race which was to be run onthe following day. As to the desperate work on which they were to beengaged--for it was whispered that Hannibal had in preparation somemighty enterprise--it troubled them not at all, nor the thought thatmany of them might never look on Carthage again. In their hearts perhapssome of them, like Malchus, were thinking sadly of the partings they hadjust gone through with those they loved, but no signs of such thoughtswere apparent in their faces or conversation.
Presently a blast of trumpets sounded, and the babel of voices washushed as if by magic. The soldiers fell into military order, and stoodmotionless. Then Hamilcar walked along the quays inspecting carefullyeach group, asking questions of the captains of the ships as to theirstore of provisions and water, receiving from the officers charged withthat duty the lists of the war machines and stores which were storedaway in the hulls; and, having assured himself that everything was inorder, he gave the signal to his trumpeter, who again blew a long andpiercing blast.
The work of embarkation at once commenced. The infantry were soon onboard, but the operation of shipping the horses of the cavalry tooklonger. Half of these were stored away in the hold of the general'sship, the rest in another vessel. When the troops were all on boardthe soldiers who had kept back the crowd were withdrawn, and theCarthaginians thronged down on to the quay. A small space was still keptclear on the wharf by whose side the admiral's ship was lying, and herewas gathered a throng of the aristocracy of the city to see the last oftheir sons and relatives of the guard.
Having seen their horses safely stowed below the young men crowded tothe side of the ship to exchange adieus with their friends. The partingwas a brief one, for the wind was fair, and the general anxious to bewell out of the bay before nightfall. Therefore the signal was hoisted.Numbers of slaves seized the hawsers of the ships and towed them alongthrough the narrow passage which connected the docks with the sea. Ashout of adieu rose from the crowd, the sails were hoisted, and thefleet proceeded on its way.
The arrangements for the comfort of the troops at sea were simple andprimitive. Each man shifted for himself. The whole space below wasoccupied by cargo or horses. The troops lived and slept on deck. Here,on wide flat stones, they cooked their meals, whiled away the day bygames of chance, and slept at night on skins or thick rugs. Fortunatelythe weather was fair. It was early in March, but the nights were notcold.
The fleet hugged the coast, anchoring at night, until the northernshores stood out clear and well defined as Spain stretched down towardsAfrica. Then they crossed and cruised along until they arrived atCarthagena. Short as was the time which had elapsed since the foundationof that city, its aspect was already imposing and extensive. It lay atthe head of a gulf facing south, about a mile in depth and nearly doublethat width. Across the mouth of this bay was an island, with but anarrow passage on each side, protecting it from the southern winds, andforming with it a magnificent harbour.
On a bold hill at the head of the harbour stood the town. This hill rosefrom a wide lagoon, which communicated on one side with the sea, andwas on the other separated from it only by a strip of land, four hundredyards wide. Through this a wide channel had been dug. Thus the hill,which was of considerable extent, rugged and precipitous, was isolated,and could only be attacked by sea.
The town was built in a sort of amphitheatre facing the sea, andwas surrounded by a strong fortification two miles and a half incircumference, so that even should an assailant cross the lagoon, whichin summer was nearly dry, he would have before him an almost impregnabledefence to carry. Here, in buildings whose magnitude surprised thenewcomers, acquainted as they were with the buildings of Carthage,were stored the treasures, the baggage, the ammunition of war, and theprovisions of the army.
It had been the aim of the great Hamilcar, and of Hasdrubal after him,to render the army of Spain as far as possible independent of the mothercountry. They well knew how often the treasury of Carthage was emptyowing to the extravagance and dishonesty of her rulers, and howimpossible it would be to obtain thence the supplies required forthe army. Therefore they established immense workshops, where arms,munitions of war, machines for sieges, and everything required for theuse of the army were fabricated.
Vast as were the expenses of these establishments, the revenuesof Iberia were amply sufficient not only to defray all the cost ofoccupation, but to transmit large sums to Carthage. These revenues werederived partly from the tribute paid by conquered tribes, partly fromthe spoils taken in captured cities, but most of all from the mines ofgold and silver, which were at that time immensely rich, and were workedby the labour of slaves taken in war or of whole tribes subdued.
Some idea of the richness of these mines may be formed by the fact thatone mine, which Hannibal had inherited from his father, brought in tohim a revenue of nearly a thousand pounds a day; and this was but oneof his various sources of wealth. This was the reason that Hamilcar,Hasdrubal, and Hannibal were able to maintain themselves in spite of theintrigues of their enemies in the capital. Their armies were their ownrather than those of the country.
It was to them that the soldiers looked for their pay, as well as forpromotion and rewards for valour, and they were able, therefore, tocarry out the plans which their genius suggested untrammelled by ordersfrom Carthage. They occupied, indeed, a position very similar to that ofWallenstein, when, with an army raised and paid from his private means,he defended the cause of the empire against Gustavus Adolphus and theprinces of the Protestant league. It is true that the Carthaginiangenerals had always by their side two commissioners of the senate.The republic of Carthage, like the first republic of France, was everjealous of her generals, and appointed commissioners to accompany themon their campaigns, to advise and control their movements and to reporton their conduct; and many of the defeats of the Carthaginians were duein no small degree to their generals being hampered by the interferenceof the commissioners. They were present, as a matter of course, with thearmy of Hannibal, but his power was so great that their influence overhis proceedings was but nominal.
The war which was about to break out with Rome is called the secondPunic war, but it should rather be named the war of Hannibal withRome. He conceived and carried it out from his own resources, withoutinterference
and almost without any assistance from Carthage. Throughoutthe war her ships lay idle in her harbour. Even in his greatest needCarthage never armed a galley for his assistance. The pay of the armycame solely from his coffers, the material for the war from the arsenalsconstructed by his father, his brother-in-law, and himself. It was a warwaged by a single man against a mighty power, and as such there is, withthe exception of the case of Wallenstein, nothing to resemble it in thehistory of the world.
Passing through the narrow passage into the harbour the fleet sailed upto the end of the bay, and were soon alongside the spacious quays whichhad been erected. A large quantity of shipping already lay there, forthe trade of Carthagena with the mother city and with the ports ofSpain, Africa, and the East already rivaled that of Carthage. A group ofofficers were gathered on the quay as Hamilcar's ship, which wasleading the fleet, neared it, and Hamilcar exclaimed, "There is Hannibalhimself!"
As the ship moored alongside the quay Hannibal came on board and warmlyembraced his cousin, and then bestowed a cordial greeting upon Malchus.
"Why, cousin Malchus," he said, "though it is but a year since I was inCarthage, I should scarce have known you, so much have you grown. I seeyou have entered the cavalry. That is well. You cannot begin too earlyto accustom yourself to war."
Then turning, he went among the young men of the guard, to all of whomhe was personally known, greeting them with a cordiality and kindnesswhich greatly gratified them. Malchus gazed at him with admiration.Fortunately an accurate description of Hannibal has come down to us. Hewas one who, even at first sight, won all hearts by his lofty and nobleexpression, by the kindness and sincerity which his face expressed. TheCarthaginians, as a race, were short, but Hannibal was very tall, andhis great width of shoulders testified to his immense strength.
The beauty of the Carthaginian race was proverbial, but even amongthem he was remarkable. His head was well placed on his shoulders; hiscarriage was upright and commanding; his forehead lofty; his eye, thoughsoft and gentle at ordinary times, was said to be terrible in time ofbattle. His head was bare. His hair, of a golden brown, was worn long,and encircled by a golden band. His nose was long and straight, forming,with the forehead, a perfect profile. The expression of the mouth waskind but firm. His beard was short. The whole contour of the face wasnoble in the extreme.
In battle he wore a helmet of bronze closely fitting the head, behindwhich projected a curved metal plate covering his neck. A band of goldsurrounded the helmet; in front were five laurel leaves in steel; at thetemples two leaves of the lotus of the same metal. On the crest, risingfrom an ornament enriched with pearls, was a large plume of feathers,sometimes red and sometimes white. A tuft of white horsehair fell fromthe plate behind. A coat of mail, made of a triple tissue of chains ofgold, covered his body. Above this he wore a shirt of the finest whitelinen, covered to the waist by a jerkin of leather overlaid with goldplates. A large mantle of purple embroidered with gold hung from hisshoulders. He wore sandals and leggings of red morocco leather.
But it was only on special occasions that Hannibal was thusmagnificently clad. On the march he dressed generally in a simple blouselike that worn by his soldiers. His arms were borne behind him by anesquire. These consisted of his shield, of Galatian manufacture. Itsmaterial was bronze, its shape circular. In the centre was a conical,sharply pointed boss. The face of the shield was ornamented withsubjects taken from the history of Carthage in relief. The offensivearms were a sword, a lance, and a bow with arrows. But it was not to thesplendour of his appearance that Hannibal owed the enthusiasm by whichhe was regarded by his troops. His strength and skill were far superiorto those of any man in his army. His food was as simple as that of hissoldiers, he was capable of going for days without eating, and it wasseldom that he broke his fast until the day's work was over. When he ateit would be sitting on horseback, or as he walked about seeing to theneeds of the soldiers.
At night he slept among them, lying on a lion skin without covering. Hewas indifferent to heat and cold, and in the heaviest tempest of windand rain would ride bareheaded among his troops, apparently unconsciousof the tempest against which he was struggling. So far as was knownhe was without a vice. He seldom touched wine. His morals wereirreproachable. He never gave way to anger. His patience under trialsand difficulties of all sorts was illimitable.
In the midst of the greatest trials and dangers he preserved hischeerfulness, and had ever an encouraging word for his soldiers. Variousas were the nationalities of the troops who followed him, constrainedas most of them had been to enter the service of Carthage, so great wastheir love and admiration for their commander that they were readyto suffer all hardships, to dare all dangers for his sake. It was hispersonal influence, and that alone, which welded this army, composed ofmen of various nationalities and tribes, into one whole, and enabled itto perform the greatest military exploits in the world's history, andfor years to sustain a terrible struggle against the whole power ofRome.