by Georg Ebers
CHAPTER II.
One of the palaces built in Alexandria by the Ptolemaic kings stood onthe peninsula called Lochias which stretched out into the blue sea likea finger pointing northwards; it formed the eastern boundary of thegreat harbor. Here there was never any lack of vessels but to-day theywere particularly numerous, and the quay-road paved with smooth blocksof stone, which led from the palatial quarter of the town--the Bruchiomas it was called--which was bathed by the sea, to the spit of landwas so crowded with curious citizens on foot and in vehicles, thatall conveyances were obliged to stop in their progress before they hadreached the private harbor reserved for the Emperor's vessels.
But there was something out of the common to be seen at thelanding-place, for there lying under the shelter of the high mole werethe splendid triremes, galleys, long boats and barges which had broughtHadrian's wife and the suite of the imperial couple to Alexandria. Avery large vessel with a particularly high cabin on the after deckand having the head of a she-wolf on the lofty and boldly-carved prowexcited the utmost attention. It was carved entirely in cedar wood,richly decorated with bronze and ivory, and named the Sabina. A youngAlexandrian pointed to the name written in gold letters on the stern,nudging his companion and saying with a laugh:
"Sabina has a wolf's head then!"
"A peacock's would suit her better. Did you see her on her way to theCaesareum?" replied the other.
"Alas! I did," said the first speaker, but he said no more perceiving,close behind him, a Roman lictor who bore over his left shoulder hisfasces, a bundle of elmrods skilfully tied together, and who, witha wand in his right-hand and the assistance of his comrades, wasendeavoring to part the crowd and make room for the chariot of hismaster, Titianus, the imperial prefect, which came slowly in the rear.This high official had overheard the citizens' heedless words, andturning to the man who stood beside him, while with a light fling hethrew the end of his toga into fresh folds, he said:
"An extraordinary people! I cannot feel annoyed with them, and yet Iwould rather walk from here to Canopus on the edge of a knife than onthat of an Alexandrian's tongue."
"Did you hear what the stout man was saying about Verus?"
"The lictor wanted to take him up, but nothing is to be done with themby violence. If they had to pay only a sesterce for every venomous word,I tell you Pontius, the city would be impoverished and our treasurywould soon be fuller than that of Gyges at Sardis."
"Let them keep their money," cried the other, the chief architect of thecity, a man of about thirty years of age with highly-arched brows andeager piercing eyes; and grasping the roll he held in his hand with astrong grip, he continued:
"They know how to work, and sweat is bitter. While they are busy theyhelp each other, in idleness they bite each other, like unbroken horsesharnessed to the same pole. The wolf is a fine brute, but if you breakout his teeth he becomes a mangy hound."
"You speak after my own heart," cried the prefect. "But here we are,eternal gods! I never imagined anything so bad as this. From a distanceit always looked handsome enough!"
Titianus and the architect descended from the chariot, the formerdesired a lictor to call the steward of the palace, and then he and hiscompanion inspected first the door which led into it. It looked fineenough with its double columns which supported a lofty pediment, but,all the same, it did not present a particularly pleasing aspect, for thestucco had, in several places, fallen from the walls, the capitals ofthe marble columns were lamentably injured and the tall doors, overlaidwith metal, hung askew on their hinges. Pontius inspected every portionof the door-way with a keen eye and then, with the prefect, went intothe first court of the palace, in which, in the time of the Ptolemies,the tents had stood for ambassadors, secretaries, and the officers inwaiting on the king. There they met with an unexpected hindrance, foracross the paved court-yard, where the grass grew in tufts, and tallthistles were in bloom, a number of ropes were stretched aslant fromthe little house in which dwelt the gate-keeper; and on these ropes werehung newly-washed garments of every size and shape.
"A pretty residence for an Emperor," sighed Titianus, shrugging hisshoulders, but stopping the lictor, who had raised his fasces to cut theropes.
"It is not so bad as it looks," said the architect positively."Gate-keeper! hi, gate-keeper! Where is the lazy fellow hiding himself?"
While he called out and the lictor hurried forward into the interiorof the palace, Pontius went towards the gate-keeper's lodge, and havingmade his way in a stooping attitude through the damp clothes, therehe stood still. Ever since he had come in at the gate annoyance andvexation had been stamped on his countenance, but now his large mouthspread into a smile, and he called to the prefect in an undertone:
"Titianus, just take the trouble to come here."
The elderly dignitary, whose tall figure exceeded that of the architectin height by a full head, did not find it quite so easy to pass underthe ropes with his head bent down; but he did it with good humor, andwhile carefully avoiding pulling down the wet linen, he called out:
"I am beginning to feel some respect for children's shirts; one canat any rate get through them without breaking one's spine. Oh! this isdelicious--quite delicious!"
This exclamation was caused by the sight which the architect had invitedthe prefect to come and enjoy, and which was certainly droll enough.The front of the gate-keeper's house was quite grown over with ivy whichframed the door and window in its long runners. Amidst the greenery hungnumbers of cages with starlings, blackbirds, and smaller singing-birds.The wide door of the little house stood open, giving a view into atolerably spacious and gaily-painted room. In the background stood aclay model of an Apollo of admirable workmanship; above, and near this,the wall was hung with lutes and lyres of various size and form.
In the middle of the room, and near the open door, was a table, on whichstood a large wicker cage containing several nests of young goldfinches,and with green food twined among the osiers. There were, too, a largewine-jar and an ivory goblet decorated with fine carving. Close to thedrinking-vessels, on the stone top of the table, rested the arm of anelderly woman who had fallen asleep in the arm-chair in which she sat.Notwithstanding the faint grey moustache that marked her upper-lipand the pronounced ruddiness of her fore head and cheeks, she lookedpleasant and kind. She must have been dreaming of something that pleasedher, for the expression of her lips and of her eyes-one being half openand the other closely shut-gave her a look of contentment. In her lapslept a large grey cat, and by its side--as though discord never couldenter this bright little abode which exhaled no savor of poverty, but,on the contrary, a peculiar and fragrant scent--lay a small shaggy dog,whose snowy whiteness of coat could only be due to the most constantcare. Two other dogs, like this one, lay stretched on the floor at theold lady's feet, and seemed no less soundly asleep.
As the prefect came up, the architect pointed to this study ofstill-life, and said in a whisper:
"If we had a painter here it would make a lovely little picture."
"Incomparable," answered Titianus, "only the vivid scarlet on the dame'scheeks seems to me suspicious, considering the ample proportions of thewine-jar at her elbow."
"But did you ever see a calmer, kindlier, or more contentedcountenance?"
"Baucis must have slept like that when Philemon allowed himself leave ofabsence for once! or did that devoted spouse always remain at home?"
"Apparently he did. Now, peace is at an end." The approach of thetwo friends had waked one of the little dogs. He gave tongue, and hiscompanion immediately jumped up and barked as if for a wager. The oldwoman's pet sprang out of her lap, but neither his mistress nor the catlet themselves be disturbed by the noise, and slept on.
"A watcher among a thousand!" said the architect, laughing.
"And this phalanx of dogs which guard the palace of a Caesar," addedTitianus, "might be vanquished with a blow. Take heed, the worthy matronis about to wake."
The dame had in fact been disturbed by th
e barking. She sat up a little,lifted her hands, and then, half singing, half muttering a few words,she sank back again in her chair.
"This is delicious!" cried the prefect.
"Begone dull care" she sang in her sleep.
"How may this rare specimen of humanity look when she is awake?"
"I should be sorry to drive the old lady out of her nest!" said thearchitect unrolling his scroll.
"You shall touch nothing in the little house," cried the prefecteagerly. "I know Hadrian; he delights in such queer things and queerpeople, and I will wager he will make friends with the old woman in hisown way. Here at last comes the steward of this palace."
The prefect was not mistaken; the hasty step he had heard was that ofthe official they awaited. At some little distance they could alreadyhear the man, panting as he hurried up, and as he came, before Titianuscould prevent him, he had snatched down the cords that were stretchedacross the court and flung all the washing on the ground. As soon asthe curtain had thus dropped which had divided him from the Emperor'srepresentative and his companion, he bowed to the former as low as therotund dimensions of his person would allow; but his hasty arrival, theeffort of strength he had made, and his astonishment at the appearanceof the most powerful personage in the Nile Province in the buildingentrusted to his care, so utterly took away his breath--of which heat all times was but "scant"--that he was unable even to stammer outa suitable greeting. Titianus gave him a little time, and then, afterexpressing his regret at the sad plight of the washing, now strewn uponthe ground, and mentioning to the steward the name and position of hisfriend Pontius, he briefly explained to him that the Emperor wishedto take up his abode in the palace now in his charge; thathe--Titianus--was cognizant of the bad condition in which it then was,and had come to take council with him and the architect as to what couldbe done in the course of a few days to make the dilapidated residencehabitable for Hadrian, and to repair, at any rate, the more conspicuousdamage. He then desired the steward to lead him through the rooms.
"Directly--at once," answered the Greek, who had attained his presentponderous dimensions through many years of rest: "I will hasten to fetchthe keys." And as he went, puffing and panting, he re-arranged withhis short, fat fingers the still abundant hair on the right side of hishead. Pontius looked after him.
"Call him back, Titianus," said he. "We disturbed him in the midst ofcurling his hair; only one side was done when the lictor called himaway, and I will wager my own head that he will have the other sidefrizzled before he comes back. I know your true Greek!"
"Well, let him," answered Titianus. "If you have taken his measurerightly he will not be able to give his attention without reserve to ourquestions till the other half of his hair is curled. I know, too, how todeal with a Hellene."
"Better than I, I perceive," said the architect in a tone of conviction."A statesman is used to deal with men as we do with lifeless materials.Did you see the fat fellow turn pale when you said that it would be buta few days before the Emperor would make his entry here? Things mustlook well in the old house there. Every hour is precious, and we havelingered here too long."
The prefect nodded agreement and followed the architect into the innercourt of the palace. How grand and well-proportioned was the plan ofthis immense building through which the steward Keraunus, who returnedwith his fine curls complete all round, now led the Romans. It stood onan artificial hill in the midst of the peninsula of Lochias, and frommany a window and many a balcony there were lovely prospects of thestreets and open squares, the houses, palaces and public buildings ofthe metropolis, and of the harbor, swarming with ships. The outlook fromLochias was rich, gay and varied to the south and west, but east andnorth from the platform of the palace of the Ptolemies, the gaze fellon the never-wearying prospect of the eternal sea, limited only by thevault of heaven. When Hadrian had sent a special messenger from MountKasius to desire his prefect Titianus to have this particular buildingprepared for his reception, he knew full well what advantages itsposition offered; it was the part of his officials to restore order inthe interior of the palace, which had remained uninhabited from the timeof Cleopatra's downfall. He gave them for the purpose eight, or perhapsnine, days--little more than a week. And in what a condition didTitianus and Pontius find this now dilapidated and plundered scene offormer magnificence--the sweat pouring from their foreheads with theirexertions as they inspected and sketched, questioned and made notes ofit all.
The pillars and steps in the interior were tolerably well preserved,but the rain had poured in through the open roofs of the banqueting andreception-lulls, the fine mosaic pavements had started here and there,and in other places a perfect little meadow had grown in the midst of ahall, or an arcade; for Octavianus Augustus, Tiberius, Vespasian, Titusand a whole series of prefects, had already carefully removed the finestof the mosaics from the famous palace of the Ptolemies, and carried themto Rome or to the provinces, to decorate their town houses or countryvillas. In the same way the best of the statues were gone, with whicha few centuries previously the art-loving Lagides had decoratedthis residence--besides which they had another, still larger, on theBruchiom.
In the midst of a vast marbled hall stood an elegantly-wrought fountain,connected with the fine aqueduct of the city. A draught of air rushedthrough this hall, and in stormy weather switched the water all over thefloor, now robbed of its mosaics, and covered, wherever the foot couldtread, with a thin, dark green, damp and slippery coating of mossyplants and slime. It was here that Keraunus leaned breathless againstthe wall, and, wiping his brow, panted rather than said: "At last, thisis the end!"
The words sounded as if he meant his own end and not that of theirexcursion through the palace, and it seemed like a mockery of the manhimself when Pontius unhesitatingly replied with decision:
"Good, then we can begin our re-examination here, at once."
Keraunus did not contradict him, but, as he remembered the number ofstairs to be climbed over again, he looked as if sentence of death hadbeen passed upon him.
"Is it necessary that I should remain with you during the rest ofyour labors, which must be principally directed to details?" asked theprefect of the architect.
"No," answered Pontius, "provided you will take the trouble to lookat once at my plan, so as to inform yourself on the whole of what Ipropose, and to give me full powers to dispose of men and means in eachcase as it arises."
"That is granted," said Titianus. "I know that Pontius will not demand aman or a sesterce more or less than is needed for the purpose."
The architect bowed in silence and Titianus went on.
"But above all things, do you think you can accomplish your task ineight days and nine nights?"
"Possibly, at a pinch; and if I could only have four days more at mydisposal, most probably."
"Then all that is needed is to delay Hadrian's arrival by four days andnights."
"Send some interesting people--say the astronomer Ptolemaeus, andFavorinus, the sophist, who await him here--to meet him at Pelusium.They will find some way of detaining him there."
"Not a bad idea! We will see. But who can reckon on the Empress's moods?At any rate, consider that you have only eight days to dispose of."
"Good."
"Where do you hope to be able to lodge Hadrian?"
"Well, a very small portion of the old building is, strictly speaking,fit to use."
"Of that, I regret to say, I have fully convinced myself," said theprefect emphatically, and turning to the steward, he went on in a toneless of stern reproof than of regret.
"It seems to me, Keraunus, that it would have been your duty to informme earlier of the ruinous condition of the building."
"I have already lodged a complaint," replied the man, "but I was told inanswer to my report that there were no means to apply to the purpose."
"I know nothing of these things," cried Titianus.
"When did you forward your petition to the prefect's office?"
"Under your
predecessor, Haterius Nepos."
"Indeed," said the prefect with a drawl.
"So long ago. Then, in your place, I should have repeated my applicationevery year, without any reference to the appointment of a new prefect.However, we have now no time for talking. During the Emperor's residencehere, I shall very likely send one of my subordinates to assist you!"
Titianus turned his back on the steward, and asked the architect:
"Well, my good Pontius, what part of the palace have you your eye upon?"
"The inner halls and rooms are in the best repair."
"But they are the last that can be thought of," cried Titianus. "TheEmperor is satisfied with everything in camp, but where fresh air and adistant prospect are to be had, he must have them."
"Then let us choose the western suite; hold the plan my worthy friend."
The steward slid as he was desired, the architect took his pencil andmade a vigorous line in the air above the left side of the sketch,saying:
"This is the west front of the palace which you see from the harbor.From the south you first come into the lofty peristyle, which may beused as an antechamber; it is surrounded with rooms for the slavesand body-guard. The next smaller sitting-rooms by the side of the maincorridor we may assign to the officers and scribes, in this spacioushypaethral hall--the one with the Muses--Hadrian may give audience andthe guests may assemble there whom he may admit to eat at his table inthis broad peristyle. The smaller and well-preserved rooms, along thislong passage leading to the steward's house, will do for the pages,secretaries and other attendants on Caesar's person, and this longsaloon, lined with fine porphyry and green marble, and adorned with thebeautiful frieze in bronze will, I fancy, please Hadrian as a study andprivate sitting-room."
"Admirable!" cried Titianus, "I should like to show your plan to theEmpress."
"In that case, instead of eight days I must have as many weeks," saidPontius coolly.
"That is true," answered the prefect laughing. "But tell me, Keraunus,how comes it that the doors are wanting to all the best rooms?"
"They were of fine thyra wood, and they were wanted in Rome."
"I must have seen one or another of them there," muttered the prefect.
"Your cabinet-workers will have a busy time, Pontius."
"Nay, the hanging-makers may be glad; wherever we can we will close thedoor-ways with heavy curtains."
"And what will you do with this damp abode of fogs, which, if I mistakenot, must adjoin the dining-hall?"
"We will turn it into a garden filled with ornamental foliage."
"That is quite admissable--and the broken statues?"
"We will get rid of the worst."
"The Apollo and the nine Muses stand in the room you intend for anaudience-hall--do they not?"
"Yes."
"They are in fairly good condition, I think."
"Urania is wanting entirely," said the steward, who was still holdingthe plan out in front of him.
"And what became of her?" asked Titianus, not without excitement.
"Your predecessor, the prefect Haterius Nepos, took a particular fancyto it and carried it with him to Rome."
"Why Urania of all others?" cried Titianus angrily. "She, above all,ought not to be missing from the hall of audience of Caesar the pontiffof heaven! What is to be done?"
"It will be difficult to find an Urania ready-made as tall as hersisters, and we have no time to search one out, a new one must be made."
"In eight days?"
"And eight nights."
"But my good friend, only to get the marble--"
"Who thinks of marble? Papias will make us one of straw, rags andgypsum--I know his magic hand--and in order that the others may not betoo unlike their new-born sister they shall be whitewashed."
"Capital--but why choose Papias when we have Harmodius?"
"Harmodius takes art in earnest, and we should have the Emperorhere before he had completed his sketches. Papias works with thirtyassistants at anything that is ordered of him, so long as it brings himmoney. His last things certainly amaze me, particularly the Hygyeia forDositheus the Jew, and the bust of Plutarch put up in the Caesareum;they are full of grace and power. But who can distinguish what is hiswork and what that of his scholars? Enough, he knows how things shouldbe done; and if a good sum is to be got by it he will hew you out awhole sea-fight in marble in five days."
"Then give Papias the commission but the hapless mutilatedpavements-what will you do with them?"
"Gypsum and paint must mend them," said Pontius, "and where thatwill not do, we must lay carpets on the floor in the Eastern fashion.Merciful night! how dark it is growing; give me the plan Keraunus andprovide us with torches and lamps for to-day, and the next followingones must have twenty-four hours apiece, full measure. I must ask youfor half a dozen trustworthy slaves Titianus; I shall want them formessengers. What are you standing there for man? Lights, I said. Youhave had half a lifetime to rest in, and when Caesar is gone you willhave as many more years for the same laudable purpose--"
As he spoke the steward had silently gone off, but the architect did notspare him the end of the sentence; he shouted after him:
"Unless by that time you are smothered in your own fat. Is it Nile-mudor blood that runs in that huge mortal's veins?"
"I am sure I do not care," said the prefect, "so long as the gloriousfire that flows in yours only holds out till the work is done. Do notallow yourself to be overworked at first, nor require the impossible ofyour strength, for Rome and the world still expect great things of you.I can now write in perfect security to the Emperor that all will beready for him in Lochias, and as a farewell speech, I can only say, itis folly to be discouraged if only Pontius is at hand to support andassist me."