Valerius. A Roman Story

by J. G. Lockhart

  _CHAPTER VII._

  Her mansion was situated about the middle of the Suburra, in aneighbourhood nowise splendid, and itself distinguished, on the sidefronting to the street, by no uncommon marks of elegance or opulence. Aplain brick wall covered almost the whole of the building from the eye ofthe passenger; and what was seen deserved the praise of neatness, ratherthan of magnificence. Nevertheless, the moment one had passed the gate,and entered the court, one could not help perceiving, that taste andwealth had been alike expended abundantly on the residence; for the broadterrace and gallery behind were lavishly adorned, the one with sculptureand the other with paintings; and the gardens, which these overlooked,appeared to be both extensive and elaborate.

  We were conducted through several pillared halls, and then up a widestaircase, of somewhat sombre magnificence, into the chamber where thecompany were already in part assembled, and busy in offering theircongratulations to the mistress of the feast. She was so much engaged withtheir flatteries that she did not at first perceive our entrance; but assoon as she knew who had come, the chief part of her attention was dividedbetween her victorious advocate and his blushing son.

  Rapidly as we have been advancing in our imitation of the manners of thecapital, our island, most unquestionably, has never yet displayed anything that could sustain the smallest comparison with what then met myeyes in the stately saloon of this widow. The group around her was gay andvarious, and she was worthy of forming its centre; young and handsome,dressed in a style of the utmost splendour, her deportment equally elegantand vivacious. Her complexion was of that clear rich brown which lends tothe eye a greater brilliancy than the most exquisite contrast of red andwhite; and over which the blood, when it does come into the face, diffusesat once the warmest and the deepest of blushes. Her hair appeared to beperfectly black, unless where the light, streaming from behind, gave anedging of glossy brown to the thick masses of her curls. Her robe ofcrimson silk was fastened by a girdle, which seemed to consist of nothingbut rubies and emeralds, strung upon threads of gold. She wore a tiarathat rose high above her tresses, and was all over resplendent withflowers woven in jewellery; and around her delicate wrists and ankles weretwined broad chains of virgin gold, interspersed with alternate wreaths ofsapphire. Her form was the perfection of luxury; and although I have saidthat her deportment was in general lively and brilliant, yet there was asoft seriousness that every now and then settled in her eyes, which gaveher, for a moment, a look of melancholy that seemed to me more likely tobe in harmony with the secret nature of her disposition. I watched her inparticular when she spoke to Sextus; her full rich-toned voice was thenmerry, and her large eyes sparkled; but when she was engaged with anyother person, she could not help gazing on the beautiful youth in silence;and then it was that her countenance wore its deepest expression ofcalmness--I had almost said, of sadness.

  I had been gazing on her, I know not how long, from another part of theroom, when I heard a hearty chuckle from behind me, and thought I couldnot be unacquainted with the voice. Looking round, I saw, not withoutdelight, the stately figure of my Praetorian Captain, Sabinus, whosecheerful eye soon distinguished me, and who forthwith came up to salute mein the most friendly manner. I introduced him to Licinius and Sextus, theformer of whom expressed himself as being much gratified with theattention the centurion had shewn to me during our voyage; so that I feltmyself, as it were, no longer a stranger in the place; and the lutes andtrumpets at that moment announcing that supper was ready to be served up,I took care to keep close to Sabinus, and to place myself near him on thecouch.

  The room in which the feast was prepared, communicated by a pair of brazenfolding doors, richly sculptured, with that in which the company hadassembled; but from it, although the sun had not yet gone down, all lightwas excluded, excepting what streamed from golden candelabra, and broadlamps of bronze suspended overhead from the high and painted ceiling. Theparty might consist of about twenty, who reclined along one demi-circularcouch, the covers of which were of the softest down, and the frame-workinlaid with ivory;--the part of the room enclosed by its outline beingoccupied with the table, and an open space to which the attendants hadfree access. We had no sooner taken our seats than a crowd of slavesentered, carrying large boards upon their heads, which being forthwitharranged on the table, were seen to be loaded with dishes of gold andsilver, and all manner of drinking vessels, also with vases of rareflowers, and urns of perfume. But how did the countenance of Sabinusbrighten, when the trumpet sounded a second time as if from below, and thefloor of the chamber was suddenly, as it were, pierced in twain, and thepealing music ushered up a huge roasted boar, all wreathed with statelygarnishings, and standing erect on his golden platform as on a chariot oftriumph! "Ah! my dear boy," cries he, "here comes the true king of beasts,and only legitimate monarch of the woods. What should we not have givenfor a slice of him when we were pent up, half-starved and fainting, inthat abominable ship of ours?--All hail, most potent conqueror! but whetherGermanic or Asiatic be thy proper title, I shall soon know, when thatexpert Ionian has daintily carved and divided thee." But why should Iattempt to describe to you the particulars of the feast? Let it suffice,that whatever idea I had formed of Roman profusion was surpassed, and thatthe splendour of the entertainment engaged the attention of all exceptRubellia herself, who, reclining immediately above Sextus, kept her eyesfixed almost all the time it lasted, upon his luxuriant curls of darkhair, unless when she caused the young damsel, her cup-bearer, to pour outto her wine in a goblet of onyx, which she touched with her lips, and thenhanded to the indifferent boy. When the supper was half over, thefolding-doors were again thrown open, and there entered a group of maidensand beautiful youths, who danced before us to the music of the lute, andscattered crowns of roses at the feet of Rubellia and her guests. Sheherself placed one of them on the head of Sextus, and another on that ofhis father, who lay on the other side of her, and then caused a large cupof wine to be carried all around, whereof each of us tasted, and drank tothe health of the orator, in whose honour the entertainment was made. Theladies that were present imitated the example of the hostess, and crownedsuch as were by them; but Sabinus and I, not being near enough to any ofthem, received that courtesy from some of the dancing maidens. Libationswere poured out abundantly on the marble floor, and all the gods wereinvoked to shower down their blessings on Rubellia, and those that hadbeen so fortunate as to serve her. Sweet strains of music resoundedthrough the tall pillars of the banqueting-room, and the lamps burnedheavily in an atmosphere overloaded with perfumes.

  It appeared to me, from the beginning, that my friend Sabinus witnessed,not without some feelings of displeasure, the excessive attentions whichRubellia lavished on young Sextus; and I gathered, from the way in whichhe every now and then looked towards them during the supper, that, had theplace permitted, he would not have allowed such things to go on withoutsome comment. But when we had left the banqueting-room, and removed toanother apartment, where, amidst various entertainments of dancing, music,and recitation, Rubellia still retained close to herself the heir ofLicinius, the centurion made to himself abundant amends for the previousrestraint to which his temper had been subjected. "Confess now," said he,"that she is a lovely creature, and that your British beauties are tameand insipid, when compared with such a specimen of Roman fascination; andconfess, withal, that this curled boy is either the most ignorant, or themost insusceptible of his sex. Good heavens! in what a different style wasshe treated by the old magistrate, whose very bust there, in the corner,looks quite blank and disconsolate with its great white eyes, while she,that sate for so many months pale and weeping by his bed-side, is thinkingof nothing but to bestow all the wealth he left her on a beardlessstripling, who appears to regard the bust and the beauty with almost equalindifference.--Alas! poor old withered Leberinus, little did you imaginethat so small a phial would suffice to hold all her tears. My only wonderis, that she still permits your marble image to occupy even a corner ofher
mansion; but, no doubt, you will soon be sent on your travels. I daresay, some cold pedestal in the garden will, ere long, be the best birthyou need look for.--Well, well, you see what fools we may be made by thecunning of these pretty crocodiles. I trust my dotage, when it does come,will not shew itself in the same shape with that of my good old friend. Ihope the ghost of the worthy Praetor will not frown unseen the night shetakes this Adonis to her arms. If I were in his place, I should give hercurtains a pretty shake. By Hermes! it would not be a pretty monument anda flowery epitaph that would make me lie still."

  "How long is it," said I, "since this venerable magistrate died? Surelyshe has allowed him the decency of a tenmonth's grief, before she began togive suppers, and perceive the beauty of Sextus?" "Whether it be atenmonth ago or not," replied the Centurion, "is more than I can take uponme to decide; all I know is, that it appears to me as if it were butyesterday that I supped here, (it was just before I set off for Britain,)and saw the young lady reclining, even at table, with those long blackcurls of her's, in the bosom of the emaciated Leberinus. By Jupiter! theold man would not taste a drop of wine unless she kissed the cup--shecoaxed every morsel he swallowed down his throat, and clasped the garlandround his bald pate with her own fingers; ay, twice before that sleekphysician--that solemn-faced Greek, whom you see at this moment talkingwith your kinsman, advised her to have him carried to his bed. For all thegravity of his looks, I would lay a trifle, that worthy Boeotian has hisown thoughts about what is passing, as well as I. But the worst-pleasedface in the whole room is, I think, that of old Rubellius himself yonder,who has just come in, without, it is evident, being aware that any feastwas going forward. Without question, the crafty usurer is of opinion hemight have been invited. I promise you, I can interpret the glances ofthat gray-headed extortioner; and well I may, for it is not the first timeI have had an opportunity of studying them. Ay, ay, quoth he to himself,she may do as she will with the bonds of Leberinus; but she might haveremembered, that a codicil can be easily tacked to the end of a livingman's testament."

  "But, after all," said I, "one must admit, that if she married oldLeberinus to please her father, the widow has some right to choose hersecond husband according to the pattern of her own fancy." "Oh! by allmeans," answered he; "let her please herself; let her make a fool ofherself now, if she will. She may perhaps learn, some time or other, thatit is as possible to have too young a husband, as to have too old a one.""Come now," said I, "Sabinus, confess that if she had selected somewell-made, middle-aged man--some respectable man--some man of note anddistinction, you would have judged less harshly of poor Rubellia." "Ah!you cunning dog," said he; "who would have thought that you had brought somuch wickedness from that new world of yours? But do you really think shewill wed Sextus? The boy appears strangely cold. I should not wonder, whenall is done, if the match were more of the orator's seeking than his own.""I can only tell you," said I, "that I have never heard Licinius mentionany thing about it; and, I dare say, Sextus would be very sorry to thinkof losing his liberty for the sake of the wealth of Leberinus--ay, or forthat of old Rubellius to boot." "Young friend," quoth he, "you are notquite acquainted with the way in which these matters are managed at Rome.If we had you six weeks at the other side of the Viminal, we should teachyou better."

  I know not how long this sort of talk might have lasted; but Licinius putan end to it by joining us, and soon engaged the worthy Centurion, andseveral more of us, with some lively, but unintelligible discussion on themerits of some new edict, of which none of us had ever heard, or werelikely ever to hear any thing again. We were glad to escape from thelawyer into another room, where some Greek slaves were performing a sortof comic pantomime, that appeared to give more delight to old Rubelliusthan any other of the spectators. As for Sextus, I saw plainly that he wasquite weary of the entertainment, and anxious to get away; but we wereobliged to remain till after Licinius was gone, for it was evident that hewished his son to see out the last. But no sooner had we heard his chariotdrive off, than the young man and I took leave of the lady, and withdrew.Sabinus lingered a moment behind us, and then joined us in the vestibule,from which, his course lying so far in the same direction as ours, we allproceeded homewards on foot.

  We had proceeded along the street of the Suburra for a considerable space,and were already beneath the shade of the great Temple of Isis andSerapis, (which stands on the northern side of the Esquiline Hill, nighover against the Amphitheatre of Vespasian,) when, from the opposite sideof the way, we were hailed by a small party of soldiers, who, as it turnedout, had been sent from the Praetorian camp in search of Sabinus, and oneof whom had now recognized his gait and stature, notwithstanding theobscurity of the hour. The Centurion went aside with the leader of thesemen for some moments, and then informed us that it was very fortunate theyhad so easily recognized him, as the business on which they had been sentwas such as did not admit of being negligently dealt with. "To-morrow,"said he, pointing to the Amphitheatre before us, "that glorious edifice isto be the scene of one of the grandest shows exhibited by Trajan since hisaccession to the empire. It is the anniversary of the day on which he wasadopted by Nerva, and the splendour of the spectacle will be in proportionto the gratitude and veneration with which he at all times regards thememory of that excellent benefactor. But there are some parts of theexhibition that I am afraid old Nerva, could he be present to behold them,would not regard with the same feelings as his successor." "Surely," saidI, "the beneficent Trajan will not stain the expression of his gratitudeby any thing unworthy of himself, or that could give displeasure toNerva?" "Nay," replied the Centurion, "it is not for me to talk about anything that Trajan chooses to do being unworthy of Trajan; but you wellknow that Nerva would never suffer any of the Christians to be molestedduring his reign, and now here are some of these unhappy fanatics, thatare to be compelled either to renounce their faith in the face of theassembly to-morrow, or to die in the arena. It is to inspect the conditionof these unfortunates, who, I know not for what reason, are confined in adungeon below the ramparts in the vicinity of our camp, and to announce tothem the final determination of their fate, that I, as Centurion of thenight, have now been summoned. If you are curious to see the men, you areat liberty to go with me, and I shall be obliged to you for your company."

  My curiosity having been excited in regard to the new faith and itsadherents, I was very desirous to accept of this offer. Nor did Sextus anysooner perceive that such was my inclination, than he advised me togratify it, undertaking, at the same time, to satisfy his father, in caseof any inquiry, that I was in a place of safety, and under the protectionof Sabinus. With him, therefore, and with his Praetorians, I proceededalong various streets which led us by the skirts of the Esquiline andViminal Hills, on to the region of the Mounds of Tarquin, over againstwhich, as you have heard, the great camp of those bands is situated;--ifindeed that ought of right to be called by the name of a camp, which isitself a city of no slender dimensions, and built with great splendour ofarchitecture, spread out beyond the limits of Rome, for the accommodationof that proud soldiery. There my friend took me into his chamber, andfurnished me with a cloak and helmet, that I might excite no suspicion byaccompanying him on his errand. The watch-word of the night also was givenme, _Silent faith_; and proceeding again, we shortly reached the placewhere the Christians were lying.