Valerius. A Roman Story

by J. G. Lockhart

  _CHAPTER II._

  We had to traverse a considerable part of the city; for this painter wasone of those who exercise their art during the public hours of the day inthe baths of the Palatine, where, as you have heard, in the wide circuitof the princely residence, abundant accommodation is set forth for allsuch ingenious persons. We proceeded along the edge of the river, and bythe west of the Capitol, following the line of that great Triumphal Waywhich has been witness of so many glorious pageants; for so, they told me,we should most easily ascend into the Caesarian courts. But when we hadcome thither, we found the whole open space, in front of the portico andstairs of Trajan, occupied by a detachment of the Praetorian cohorts, drawnup in splendid array to receive some promised donative; while the music,and the clamours of their mustering, had collected enough of spectators torender the passage onwards in some measure difficult. We were constrainedto form part of their attendance, and stood gazing among the multitude.Even Xerophrastes caught some animation from the brilliancy of thespectacle; and the enamoured and perplexed Sextus himself, beating time onmy shoulder, seemed to have forgotten, for a moment, the anxieties of hissituation.

  Some horsemen, however, riding along to keep the ground open in front ofthe soldiery, compelled us to shift to the eastward, where many chariotswere drawn up--and in one of these Rubellia. The lady looked paler than Ihad before seen her, and had not the air of being in the smallest degreeoccupied with what was passing. I did not think it necessary to take anynotice of her being there to my companions, and was willing, indeed, tokeep myself turned away from the place where she sat, in order to avoidour being recognized. Yet there was something in her aspect and attitude,that, as by a sort of fascination, drew my eyes to the spot I wished toavoid. From time to time, therefore, I felt myself constrained to regardthe melancholy lady; and by and by, Sextus perceived what it was thatattracted my attention:--so I discovered, although he said not a word, froma fervent pressure upon my arm as I stood before him. At that moment theredrew near a little ugly old woman, with no covering upon her head but longcoarse gray clusters of hair hanging matted and twisted down upon hershoulders, who lifted up a basket of trinkets, and presented it; butRubellia started on her seat, and, looking in the face of the oldcreature, manifested signs of no trivial emotion; for her colour returnedwith a sudden flush, and her eyes recovered all their animation, and itwas evident she had something to say which could not regard the gaudyornaments offered to her view. Whatever it was, however, she did notoccupy much time in saying it; for scarcely a minute elapsed before thebasket was lowered again, and the old woman began to move towards anotherpart of the crowd; on which Rubellia sunk back in her chariot, andappeared to relapse into pensive abstraction.

  Presently a low voice croaking out, "Rings, rings--amulets and rings!"amongst the crowd that stood immediately behind me; and I perceived thesame woman pushing her basket between Xerophrastes and Sextus.--"Nobleyouth," quoth the hag, leering, "lovely young gentleman--sweet Adonis, mycharming lord, do now look into old Pona's basket--do take a look atPonula's rings and amulets--her amulets and rings. Here is one that I couldhave sold a hundred times, but I was determined to keep it till I shouldsee the prettiest young gentleman in Rome, and I will never go back toNaples without selling it, after this day; for this little amulet must benobody's but yours. You will break my heart, my prince, if you buy not mybeautiful amulet."

  "And what," said Sextus, blushing and laughing, "may be the virtues ofyour amulet?"

  Then laying her yellow hand upon his shoulder, till she had made him stoopdown so that she might get close to his ear, she began to pour out, withmuch mysterious volubility, all the story of its marvellous potencies; butwhat she said even I could not know, only I heard the words, "AEthiopian,AEthiopian," and "Memnon, Memnon," and something about "not a pretty ladyin Rome." But just as the woman was most earnest in her whisper, andSextus, apparently at least, in listening, I found my gown plucked frombehind, and behold, there was Dromo, with a countenance tremulouslyagitated, and white as a piece of dead parchment, pointing to his youngmaster and the old hag, and beseeching me to separate them, by motions innowise to be mistaken. How he had come thither, or what was the cause ofthis anxiety, I had no time to conjecture, for before I could say a word,he began to bellow out,--"The horses, the horses--make room for the horses;"and immediately those that stood near him began to move a little, andthen, the cry being repeated, those that stood farther off mistaking thenoise of their feet for the approach of some new squadron, there arose asort of rushing among the crowd; and, in a twinkling, the voice of Ponawas heard grumbling and croaking at a distance from the place to which ourparty were borne. Close, nevertheless, did the faithful Cretan stick tous; and no sooner was quiet in some measure restored, and the false alarmhe had created at an end, than he whispered into my ear, "For the sake ofall that is sacred, let not that foul hag speak another word to my youngmaster--I will tell you more anon. Meantime, haste ye, haste ye. Make thebest of your speed to the Palatine; it will be much easier for you to pushyour way thither, than it was for me to reach you."

  My friend being already weary of the heat and the pressure, we were readyto take advantage of an opening pointed out by the Cretan. It so happened,however, that in the same commotion the chariot of Rubellia also hadchanged its situation; for just as we had escaped, as I thought, and wereabout to place our feet on the magnificent flight of stairs that leadsfrom the New Way to the Augustan Towers, there came to us a lad of thatlady's household, who told us she was near at hand, and desirous, if it sopleased us, of our company. Aware that we were in sight, how could wedisobey? We found the lady in her chariot, but not such as we had seen herbefore. On the contrary, the liveliness of her aspect seemed now to berestored, and she received us with her usual gaiety of address. "Carelessmen," said she, as we drew near; "I suppose I might have sat here till theGreek Kalends, before any one of you would have observed me."

  "Most noble lady," quoth Xerophrastes, "bear it not indignantly, thatamidst all the confusion of men and horses, and trumpets and shoutings,our attention was abstracted from that which was most worthy of notice. Myyoung friends deserve to be excused, since even I, who am not in the habitof being much troubled by such vanities, was so bewildered that I scarcelyknew my right hand from my left, in this human chaos.--Pardon, nobleRubellia; we have been unwitting offenders."

  "And was it so?" said the lady, not looking at the Stoic.--"But I did notcall for you to hear useless apologies. What new sight is it that attractsyou to the Palatine?--or is it only that you are desirous of exhibiting toValerius the old-established wonders of the place? In either case, I havehalf a mind to accompany you. In spite of all they tell us about theGolden House, I can scarcely think the Palatine shewed more splendidlythan it does now, even in the days of Nero."

  "Indeed," said I, as we began to mount together the broad slabbed stepswhich rise up, tier above tier, from the portico on the street, to thatwhich hangs on the brow--"Indeed, it is not easy for me to doubt thatRubellia is in the right."--For now, on one side, were all the pillars andarches of the Forum stretched out below us, and, on the other, lay thegreat Circus, topped with its obelisk; while before rose the gray cliffsof the Capitoline, with their domes and proud pinnacles in the glow ofnoontide--the space between, radiant with arms and banners. EvenXerophrastes did not refrain from some ejaculations.--"Illustrious Rome!how great is thy sublimity!" And then, after a pause, he repeated, in avoice of much majesty, those verses from the Fury of Ajax:

  "Oh! might I be where o'er the living deep Lies the broad shadow of the Sounian cliff, Waving with all its glorious garniture, Of rock-sprung foliage: from old Ocean's side, That I might look on Athens once again!"

  Some of the hints which had reached me concerning his nativity recurringto my recollection, I could not help echoing his quotation with anotherfrom the AEneid, about the wide tracts ploughed by the Thracians; of whichimpertinence the sage took no notice.

  Nor w
as admiration diminished when, having gained the top of that massivestaircase, or rather, as I should say, hill of marble, we passed beneaththe sounding portal, the sole remnant of the original pile of Augustus,and found ourselves within the first of those great imperial quadrangles,by which the whole summit of that once so variously and multitudinouslypeopled region is now occupied. The light and airy porticoes--the domes--theprincely towers--the universal profusion of marble, brass, ivory, flaminggold, lavished on arch, metope, and architrave--all conspired to dazzle thesight, and I stood still to gaze.

  "Observe," said Sextus, "those two equestrian statues of bronze on theleft hand. I have heard my father say that they mark the sites of twohouses, which, before Augustus began to enclose the whole Palatine in hiswalls, were inhabited, the one by Cicero, the other by Clodius; these arethe only traces of their mansions."

  "What grim-looking figures!" said the lady; "yet, I dare say, they don'tcast half such fierce looks on each other, as the predecessors youmention. I should like to have seen the countenance of old Tully, themorning he went down the hill to deliver his harangue for Milo."

  "I am glad," said I, "that Sextus has told me this; for in reading thosefamous philippics in time to come, I shall possess a new key to thebitterness of their phraseology, knowing, as I do, that the two lived justover the way from each other, and that the orator, when his spirits wereflagging, could derive a new reinforcement of spleen from merely puttinghis head out of the window."--"To hear you," says Rubellia, "one wouldthink you were studying the art of making philippics--I am afraid, that ifit be so, my joining your party may prove to have been but an ill-judgedthing; for if any of you be preparing to abuse me, my presence will serveto sharpen your weapons."--"In that case, however," interrupted the smilingXerophrastes, "my noble lady will admit, that the converse also will holdgood, and that if praise be in meditation, it will not be the feeblerbecause the subject of the intended panegyric has passed before oureyes."--"Most courteous of men," replied the lady, "who talks of thestiffness of the Porch? To-day and yesterday you have paid me as manycompliments as might give a lesson to the gayest trifler about thesebaths. If all," she continued, (gazing as she spoke, with all her eyesupon Sextus,)--"if all were as profuse, I should be unable to sustain theweight of their civilities."--"Nay, Oh! generous lady," quoth the sageagain, "it must be remembered, that, as the poet has expressed it, thereare two kinds of shame--there is the wicked shame and the good shame. Whyshould it be doubted, that a modest Verecundity, not unsuitable to theirage, has laid her finger on the lips of our young friends? I swear by theVictrix of Ida, that your presence itself is that which occasions theirsilence;--bear it not ill--bear it not harshly--the young will learn--notevery one has seen Corinth."--"No, truly," answered the laughing lady; "butI doubt whether they that have been so fortunate, have ever seen any thinghalf so fine as what now awaits Valerius."

  She pointed to the solemn Doric columns which sustain the portico of thefamous Temple of Apollo, whose shade lay far out upon the court before us;and, passing between those brazen horsemen, we soon began to ascend thesteps that lead up to the shrine. Nor can I tell you how delightful wasthe fragrant coolness, which reigned beneath the influence of that massivecanopy of marble, to us whose eyes had been so long supporting themeridian blaze. We entered with slow steps within the vestibule of theTemple, and stood there for some space, enjoying in silence the softbreath of air that played around the flowing fountains. Then passing on,the airy hall received us; and I saw the statue of Phoebus presiding, likea pillar of tender light, over the surrounding darkness of the vaultedplace; for, to the lofty shrine of the God of day no light of day hadaccess, and there lay only a small creeping flame burning thin upon hisaltar; but a dim and sweet radiance, like that of the stars in autumn, wasdiffused all upon the statue, and the altar, and the warlike trophiessuspended in the inner recesses, from the sacred tree of silver thatstands in the centre; amidst the trembling enamelled leaves and droopingboughs of which hung many lamps, after the shape and fashion ofpomegranates: and out of every pomegranate flowed a separate gleam of thatsoft light, supplied mysteriously through the stem of the silver tree.

  There appeared presently from behind the statue, a majestic woman, arrayedin long white garments, and having a fillet of laurel leaves twined aboveher veil. Venerable and stately was her mien, but haughty, rather thanserene, the aspect of her countenance. Without looking towards us, shewent up to the altar, and began to busy herself in trimming the sacredfire, which, as I have said, exhibited only a lambent flame. When, withmany kneelings and other ceremonies, she had accomplished this service,the priestess turned again, as if to depart; and then first, as it seemed,observing the presence of strangers, she stood still before the altar, andregarding us attentively, began to recognize the Lady Rubellia; whom,forthwith advancing, she saluted courteously, and invited to come with therest of us into her privacy, behind the shrine of the God.

  She led the way, Rubellia and the rest of us in her train, through severalfolding-doors, and along many narrow passages all inlaid, on roof, wall,and floor, with snow-white alabaster and rich mosaic work; until at lengthwe came to a little airy chamber, where three young maidens were sittingwith their embroidering cushions, while one, taller than the rest, whoseback was placed towards us, knelt on the floor, touching, with slowfingers, the strings of a Dorian lyre. Hearing the sound of her music aswe entered, we stood still in the door-way, and the priestess, willingapparently that our approach should remain unknown, advancing a step ortwo before us, said, "Sing on--I have trimmed the flame; but remember, Ipray you, that the precincts of Phoebus are not those of Pluto, and let notyour chant be of such funereal solemnity. We solitaries have little needof depressing numbers."

  "Dear friend," replied she that had been thus addressed, without changingher attitude, "you must bear with my numbers such as they are; for if youbid me sing only merry strains, I am afraid neither voice nor fingers maybe able well to obey you."

  These words were spoken in a low and melancholy voice, which I wellrecognized. Sextus, also, perceived who spoke; but when he looked at me tosignify this, I motioned to keep silence.

  "Then please yourself," said the priestess, laying her hand on Athanasia'sshoulders; "but do sing, for I should fain have my maidens to hearsomething truly of your music." With that she again applied her fingers tothe lyre, and stooping over it, began to play some notes of prelude, lesssorrowful than what we had at first heard. "Ay, my dear girl," says thepriestess, "you could not have chosen better. Heavens! how many lordlychoirs have I heard singing to that old Delian air. There are a hundredhymns that may be sung to it--give us whichsoever of them pleases yourfancy the best."--"I will try," replied the maiden, "to sing the words youhave heard before. If I remember, you liked them." Then boldly at once,yet gently, did her voice rush into the current of that ancient strainthat you have heard so often; but it was then that I myself for the firsttime heard it.

  The moon, the moon is thine, O night, Not altogether dark art thou; Her trembling crescent sheds its light, Trembling and pale, upon thine ancient brow.

  The moon is thine, and round her orb A thousand sweet stars minister, Whose twinkling rays dark wells absorb, And all the wide seas drink them far and near.

  They kiss the wide sea, and swift smiles Of gladness o'er the waters creep; Old hoary rocks rejoice, and isles, And there is glory on the slumbering deep

  Afar. Along the black hill's side, Right blithe of heart the wanderers go, While that soft radiance, far and wide, Gleams on the winding streams and woods below.

  And gaily for the fragile bark, Through the green waves its path is shorn, When all the murmurs of the dark Cold sea lie calm'd beneath that gliding horn.

  Yet hail, ye glittering streaks, that lie The eastern mountain tops upon! Hail, ye deep blushes of the sky, That speak the coming of the bridegroom sun!

  Hail to the healing beam of day, That rouses every living thing! The forest gulphs confess thy swa
y, And upon freshening branches glad birds sing.

  And loathsome forms, that crept unseen Beneath the star-light faint and wan, Cower in their brakes the thorns between, Dreading that fervid eye, and its sure scan

  Triumphant. Welcome life and light! Sing rocks and mountains, plain and sea; Fearful though lovely was the night; Hail to more perfect beauty--hail to THEE!

  "Why stop you, Athanasia?" said the priestess, finding that here shepaused,--"why do you rise up, and take your fingers from the lyre, beforeyou sing out the chorus?"--"No more, dear aunt--excuse me--no more. I havealready sung all that I can," replied Athanasia.--"Nay, then," says she,"if you be fatigued, sing not; but join me, maidens, in the close--perhapsit rises too high for Athanasia."

  And with that the ancient lady herself, joined by the three damsels thathad been embroidering, took up the strain, which, indeed, rose highertowards its end

  Hail to thee Phoebus, son of Jove, Glorious Apollo, Lord of Light, Hail, lovely in thy Delian grove, And terrible on Delphos' haunted height!

  Hail to thee here beneath the dome, Great Phoebus, of thy Latian shrine; All hail from Caesar and from Rome; Hail by thy dearest name, God Palatine!

  But as they were singing the last verse of all, Rubellia also aided theirmelody with a rich strong gushing voice, which rose far above all theothers; and the silent Athanasia turning round quickly, perceived, notwithout manifestation of alarm, by how many strangers her song had beenoverheard. On seeing who we were, she saluted Sextus and myself withmodest courtesy, amidst her confusion; and it may be that my companion, aswell as myself, blushed at the same moment; for he could not see Athanasiawithout thinking of Sempronia.

  It seemed as if her confusion were not unconnected with some suspicion ofhaving been recognized near the Praetorian guard-house; for, after thefirst glance, I in vain endeavoured to meet her eye; while on thecontrary, to Sextus she directed both looks and words, enough to provokevisibly some not altogether benign movements in our Rubellia. Such, atleast, was my interpretation of the fair widow's aspect, and the tone ofimpatience in which she, after a minute or two had passed, began to urgethe propriety of our proceeding to the part of the imperial edifice inwhich the painter was expecting us.

  The priestess of Apollo hearing her say so, courteously offered to guideus beyond the precincts of the temple, and our whole party were again inmotion; but Athanasia remained behind with the three young damsels, and I,who walked last, saw her, ere the portal received me, preparing again tohandle the lyre, with fingers visibly trembling, and a pale countenance,not as I thought unstained with some yet more distinct traces of keenemotion. The sight of her agitation fixed my footstep for a moment, and itwas then that, on her casting a sudden glance round to the place where Istood, I perceived truly that I had not been mistaken, and that the tearswere gathered within her eyelids. It was no more, however, than oneglance, for immediately she stooped again, and, dashing her fingers alongthe chords of the instrument, appeared to bury her thoughts in itsharmony. I stood for a moment, and then ashamed of myself, and troubledwith her troubles and with my own, I followed the rest into the greatlibrary which Augustus placed beneath the protection of the PalatineApollo. The priestess parted from us at its entrance, after pointing out alow and massive door of bronze on the right hand, within which, as shetold me, the remains of the Sybilline prophecies are preserved, unseen byprofane eyes, watched over perpetually by the guardians of the place.