Der Kaiser. English

by Georg Ebers

  CHAPTER XXII.

  Antinous and Mastor at once quitted the Emperor's room; in the corridorthe lad beckoned the slave to him and said in a low voice:

  "You can hold your tongue I know, will you do me a favor?"

  "Three sooner than one," replied the Sarmatian.

  "You are free to-day--are you going into the city?"

  "I think so."

  "You are not known here, but that does not matter. Take these goldpieces and in the flower-market buy with one of them the most beautifulbunch of flowers you can find, with another you may make merry, andout of the remainder spend a drachma in hiring an ass. The driver willconduct you to the garden of Pudeus' widow where stands the house ofdame Hannah; you remember the name?"

  "Dame Hannah and the widow of Pudeus."

  "And at the little house, not the big one, leave the flowers for thesick Selene."

  "The daughter of the fat steward, who was attacked by our big dog?"asked Mastor, curiously.

  "She or another," said Antinous, impatiently, "and when they ask youwho sent the flowers, say 'the friend at Lochias,' nothing more. Youunderstand."

  The slave nodded and said to himself: "What! you too-oh! these women."

  Antinous signed to him to be silent, impressed on him in a few hastywords that he was to be discreet and to pick out the very choicestflowers, and then betook himself into the hall of the Muses to seekPollux. From him he had learnt where to find the suffering Selene, ofwhom he could not help thinking incessantly and wherever he might be. Hedid not find the sculptor in his screened-off nook; prompted by a wishto speak to his mother, Pollux had gone down to the gatehouse wherehe was now standing before her and frankly narrating, with many eagergestures of his long arms, all that had occurred on the previous night.His story flowed on like a song of triumph, and when he described howthe holiday procession had carried away Arsinoe and himself, the oldwoman jumped up from her chair and clapping her fat little hands, sheexclaimed:

  "Ah! that is pleasure, that is happiness! I remember flying along withyour father in just the same way thirty years ago."

  "And since thirty years," Pollux interposed. "I can still remember verywell how at one of the great Dionysiac festivals, fired by the powerof the god, you rushed through the streets with a deer-skin over yourshoulders."

  "That was delightful--lovely!" cried Doris with sparkling eyes. "Butthirty years since it was all different, very different. I have told youbefore now how I went with our maid-servant into the Canopic way to thehouse of my aunt Archidike to look on at the great procession. I had notfar to go for we lived near the Theatre, my father was stage-manager andyours was one of the chief singers in the chorus. We hurried along, butall sorts of people stopped us, and drunken men wanted to joke with me."

  "Ah, you were as sweet as a rose-bud then," her son interrupted.

  "As a rose-bud, yes, but not like your lovely rose," said the old woman."At any rate I looked nice enough for the men in disguise--fauns andsatyrs and were the cynic hypocrites in their ragged cloaks, to thinkit worth while to look at me and to take a rap on the knuckles when theytried to put an arm round me or to steal a kiss, I did not care forthe handsomest of them, for Euphorion had done for me with his fieryglances--not with words for I was very strictly kept and he had neverbeen able to get a chance to speak to me. At the corner of the Canopicway and the Market street we could get no farther, for the crowd hadblocked the way and were howling and storming as they stared at a partyof Klodones and other Maenads, who in their sacred fury were tearinga goat to pieces with their teeth. I shuddered at the spectacle, but Imust need stare with the rest and shout and halloo as they did. My maid,who I held on to tightly, was seized with the frenzy and dragged me intothe middle of the circle close up to the bleeding sacrifice. Two of thepossessed women sprang upon us, and I felt one clasping me tightly andtrying to throw me down. It was a horrible moment but I defended myselfbravely and had succeeded in keeping on my feet when your father sprangforward, set me free and led me away. What happened after I could nottell you now; it was one of those wild happy dreams in which you musthold your heart with both hands for fear it should crack with joy, orfly out and away up to the sky and in the very eye of the sun. Late inthe evening I got home and a week after I was Euphorion's wife."

  "We have exactly followed your example," said Pollux, "and if Arsinoegrows to be like my dear old woman I shall be quite satisfied."

  "Happy and contented," replied Doris. "Keep you health, snap yourfingers at care and sorrow, do your duty on work-days and drink till youare jolly in honor of the god on holidays, and then all will be well.Those who do all they are able and enjoy as much as they can get, makegood use of their lives and need feel no remorse in their last hours.What is past is done for, and when Atropos cuts our thread some one elsewill stand in our place and joys will begin all over again. May the godsbless you!"

  "You are right," said Pollux embracing his mother, "and two togethercan turn the work out of hand more lightly and enjoy the pleasures ofexistence better than each alone--can they not?"

  "I am sure of it; and you have chosen the right mate," cried the oldwoman. "You are a sculptor and used to simple things; you need noriches, only a sweet face which may every day rejoice your heart, andthat you have found."

  "There is nowhere a sweeter or a lovelier," said Pollux.

  "No, that there is not," continued Doris. "First I cast my eyes onSelene. She need not be ashamed to show herself either, and she is apattern for girls; but then as Arsinoe grew older, whenever she passedthis way I thought to myself: 'that girl is growing up for my boy,' andnow that you have won her I feel as if I were once more as young as yoursweetheart herself. My old heart beats as happily as if the little Loveswere touching it with their wings and rosy fingers. If my feet hadnot grown so heavy with constantly standing over the hearth and atwashing--really and truly I could take Euphorion by the arm and dancethrough the streets with him to-day."

  "Where is father?"

  "Out singing."

  "In the morning! where?"

  "There is some sect that are celebrating their mysteries. They pay welland he had to sing dismal hymns for them behind a curtain; the wildeststuff, in which he does not follow a word, and that I do not understanda half of."

  "It is a pity for I wanted to speak to him."

  "He will not be back till late."

  "There is plenty of time."

  "So much the better, otherwise I might have told him what you had tosay."

  "Your advice is as good as his. I think of giving up working underPapias and standing on my own feet."

  "You are quite right; the Roman architect told me yesterday that a greatfuture was open to you."

  "There are only my poor sister and the children to be considered. If,during the first few months I should find myself falling short--"

  "We will manage to pull through. It is high time that you yourselfshould reap from what you sow."

  "So it seems to me, for my own sake and Arsinoe's; if only Keraunus--"

  "Aye--there will be a battle to fight with him."

  "A hard one, a hard one," sighed Pollux.

  "The thought of the old man troubles my happiness."

  "Folly!" cried Doris. "Avoid all useless anxiety. It is almost asinjurious as remorse gnawing at your heart. Take a workshop of your own,do some great work in a joyful spirit, something to astonish the world,and I will wager anything that the old fool of a steward will onlybe vexed to think that he destroyed the first work of the celebratedPollux, instead of treasuring it in his cabinet of curiosities.Just imagine that no such person exists in the world and enjoy yourhappiness."

  "I will stick to that."

  "One thing more my lad: take good care of Arsinoe. She is young andinexperienced and you must not persuade her to do anything you wouldadvise her not to do if she were betrothed to your brother instead of toyourself."

  Doris had not done speaking when Antinous came into the gate-house anddelivered the commands of th
e architect Claudius Venator, to escort himthrough the city. Pollux hesitated with his answer, for he had stillmuch to do in the palace, and he hoped to see Arsinoe again in thecourse of the day. After such a morning what could noon and evening beto him without her? Dame Doris noticed his indecision and cried:

  "Yes, go; the festival is for pleasure, besides, the architect canperhaps advise you on many points, and recommend you to his friends."

  "Your mother is right," said Antinous. "Claudius Venator can be verytouchy, but he can also be grateful, and I wish you sincerely well--"

  "Good then, I will come," Pollux interposed while the Bithynian wasstill speaking, for he felt himself strongly attracted by Hadrian'simposing personality and considered that under the circumstances, itmight be very desirable to revel with him for a while.

  "I will come, but first I must let Pontius know that I am going to flyfrom the heat of the fray for a few hours to-day."

  "Leave that to Venator," replied the favorite, "and you must find someamusing disguise and procure masks for him and for me and, if you like,for yourself too. He wants to join the revel as a satyr and I in someother disguise."

  "Good," replied the sculptor. "I will go at once and order what isrequisite. A quantity of dresses for the Dionysiac processions are lyingin our workshop and in half an hour I will be back with the things."

  "But pray make haste," Antinous begged him. "My master cannot bear to bekept waiting, and besides--one thing--"

  At these words Antinous had grown embarrassed and had gone quite closeup to the artist. He laid his hand on his shoulder and said in a lowvoice but impressively:

  "Venator stands very near to Caesar. Beware of saying anything beforehim that is not in Hadrian's favor."

  "Is your master Caesar's spy?" asked Pollux, looking suspiciously atAntinous. "Pontius has already, given me a similar warning, and if thatis the case--"

  "No, no," interrupted the lad hastily.

  "Anything but that; but the two have no secrets from each other andVenator talks a good deal--cannot hold his tongue--"

  "I thank you and will be on my guard."

  "Aye do so--I mean it honestly." The Bithynian held out his hand to theartist with an expression of warm regard on his handsome features andwith an indescribably graceful gesture. Pollux took it heartily, butdame Doris, whose old eyes had been fixed as if spellbound on Antinous,seized her son's arm and quite excited by the sight of his beauty criedout:

  "Oh! what a splendid creature! moulded by the gods! sacred to the gods!Pollux, boy! you might almost think one of the immortals had come downto earth."

  "Look at my old woman!" exclaimed Pollux laughing, "but in truth friend,she has good reasons for her ecstasies, I could follow her example."

  "Hold him fast, hold him fast!" cried Doris. "If he only will let youtake his likeness you can show the world a thing worth seeing."

  "Will you?" interrupted Pollux turning to Hadrian's favorite.

  "I have never yet been able to keep still for any artist," saidAntinous. "But I will do any thing you wish to please you. It only vexesme that you too should join in the chorus with the rest of the world.Farewell for the present, I must go back to my master."

  As soon as the youth had left the house Doris exclaimed:

  "Whether a work of art is good for any thing or not I can only guess at,but as to what is beautiful that I know as well as any other womanin Alexandria. If that boy will stand as your model you will producesomething that will delight men and turn the heads of the women, and youwill be sought after even in a workshop of your own. Eternal gods! suchbeauty as that is sublime. Why are there no means of preserving such aface and such a form from old age and wrinkles?"

  "I know the means, mother," said Pollux, as he went to the door. "It iscalled Art: to her it is given to bestow eternal youth on this mortalAdonis."

  The old woman glanced at her son with pardonable pride, and confirmedhis words by an assenting nod. While she fed her birds, with manycoaxing words, and made one which was a special favorite pick crumbsfrom her lips, the young sculptor was hurrying through the streets withlong steps.

  He was greeted as he went with many a cross word, and many exclamationsrose from the crowd he left behind him, for he pushed his way by theweight of his tall person and his powerful arms, and saw and heard,as he went, little enough of what was going around him. He thought ofArsinoe, and between whiles of Antinous and of the attitude in which hebest might represent him--whether as hero or god.

  In the flower-market, near the Gymnasium, he was for a moment rousedfrom his reverie by a picture which struck him as being unusual andwhich riveted his gaze, as did every thing exceptional that came underhis eyes. On a very small dark-colored donkey sat a tall, well-dressedslave, who held in his right hand a nosegay of extraordinary size andbeauty. By his side walked a smartly dressed-up man with a splendidwreath, and a comic mask over his face followed by two garden-gods ofgigantic stature, and four graceful boys. In the slave, Pollux at oncerecognized the servant of Claudius Venator, and he fancied he must haveseen the masked gentlemen too before now, but he could not rememberwhere, and did not trouble himself to retrace him in his mind. At anyrate, the rider of the donkey had just heard something he did not like,for he was looking anxiously at his bunch of flowers.

  After Pollux had hurried past this strange party his thoughts revertedto other, and to him far nearer and dearer subjects. But Mastor'sanxious looks were not without a cause, for the gentleman who wastalking to him was no less a person than Verus, the praetor, who wascalled by the Alexandrians the sham Eros. He had seen the Emperor'sbody-slave a hundred times about his person; he therefore recognizedhim at once, and his presence here in Alexandria led him directly to thesimple and correct inference that his master too must be in the city.The praetor's curiosity was roused, and he at once proceeded to plythe poor fellow with bewildering cross-questions. When the donkey-ridershortly and sharply refused to answer, Verus thought it well to revealhimself to him, and the slave lost his confident demeanor when herecognized the grand gentleman, the Emperor's particular friend.

  He lost himself in contradictory statements, and although he did notdirectly admit it, he left his interrogator in the certainty thatHadrian was in Alexandria.

  It was perfectly evident that the beautiful nosegay, which had attractedthe praetor's attention to Mastor could not belong to himself. Whatcould be its destination? Verus recommenced his questioning, but theSarmatian would betray nothing, till Verus tapped him lightly first onone cheek and then on the other, and said gaily:

  "Mastor, my worthy friend Mastor, listen to me. I will make you certainproposals, and you shall nod your head, towards that of the estimablebeast with two pairs of legs on which you are mounted, as soon as one ofthem takes your fancy."

  "Let me go on my way," the slave implored, with growing anxiety.

  "Go, by all means, but I go with you," retorted Verus, "until I have hiton the thing that suits you. A great many plans dwell in my head, as youwill see. First I must ask you, shall I go to your master and tell himthat you have betrayed his presence in Alexandria?"

  "Sir, you will never do that!" cried Mastor.

  "To proceed then. Shall I and my following hang on to your skirts andstay with you till nightfall, when you and your steed must return home?You decline--with thanks! and very wisely, for the execution of thisproject would be equally unpleasant to you and to me, and would probablyget you punished. Whisper to me then, softly, in my ear, where yourmaster is lodging, and from whom and to whom you are carrying thoseflowers; as soon as you have agreed to that proposal I will let you goon alone, and will show you that I care no more for my gold pieces here,in Alexandria, than I do in Italy."

  "Not gold--certainly I will not take gold!" cried Mastor.

  "You are an honest fellow," replied Verus in an altered tone, "and youknow of me that I treat my servants well and would rather be kind tofolks than hard upon them. So satisfy my curiosity without any fear, andI will promise you in ret
urn, that not a soul, your master least of all,shall ever know from me what you tell me." Mastor hesitated a little,but as he could not but own to himself that he would be obliged at lastto yield to the stronger will of this imperious man, and as moreoverhe knew that the haughty and extravagant praetor was in fact one of thekindest of masters, he sighed deeply and whispered:

  "You will not be the ruin of a poor wretch like me, that I know, so Iwill tell you, we are living at Lochias."

  "There," exclaimed Verus clapping his hands. "And now as to theflowers?"

  "Mere trifling."

  "Is Hadrian then in a merry mood?"

  "Till to-day he was very gay--but since last night--"

  "Well?"

  "You know yourself what he is when he has seen lead signs in the sky."

  "Bad signs," said Verus gravely.

  "And yet he sends flowers?"

  "Not he, can you not guess?"

  "Antinous?"

  Mastor nodded assent.

  "Only think," laughed Verus. "Then he too is beginning to think itbetter worth while to admire than to be admired. And who is the fair onewho has succeeded in waking up his slumbering heart?"

  "Nay--I promised him not to chatter."

  "And I promise you the same. My powers of reserve are far greater thanmy curiosity even."

  "Be content, I beseech you with what you already know."

  "But to know half is less endurable than to know nothing."

  "Nay--I cannot tell you."

  "Then am I to begin with fresh suggestions, and all over again?"

  "Oh! my lord. I beg you, entreat you--"

  "Out with the word, and I go on my way, but if you persist inrefusing--"

  "Really and truly it only concerns a white-faced girl whom you would noteven look at."

  "A girl-indeed!"

  "Our big dog threw the poor thing down."

  "In the street?"

  "No, at Lochias. Her father is Keraunus the palace-steward."

  "And her name is Arsinoe?" asked Verus with undisguised concern, for hehad a pleasant recollection of the beautiful child who had been selectedto fill the part of Roxana.

  "No, her name is Selene, Arsinoe indeed is her younger sister."

  "Then you bring these flowers from Lochias?"

  "She went out, and she could not get back home again, she is now lyingin the house of a stranger."

  "Where?"

  "That must be quite indifferent to you--"

  "By no means, quite the contrary. I beg you to tell me the whole truth."

  "Eternal gods! what can you care about the poor sick creature?"

  "Nothing whatever; but I must know whither you are riding."

  "Down by the sea. I do not know the house, but the donkey driver--"

  "Is it far from here?"

  "About half an hour yet," said the lad.

  "A good way then," replied Verus. "And Hadrian is particularly anxiousto remain unknown."

  "Certainly."

  "And you his body-servant, who are known to numbers of others here fromRome, like myself, you propose to ride half a mile through the streetswhere every creature that can stand or walk is swarming, with a largenosegay in your hand which attracts every body's attention. Oh Mastorthat is not wise!"

  The slave started, and seeing at once that Verus was right, he asked inalarm:

  "What then can I do?"

  "Get off your donkey," said the praetor. "Disguise yourself and makemerry to your heart's content with these gold pieces."

  "And the flowers?"

  "I will see to that."

  "You will? I may trust you; and never betray to Antinous what youcompelled me to do?"

  "Positively not."

  "There--there are the flowers, but I cannot take the gold."

  "Then I shall fling it among the crowd. Buy yourself a garland, a maskand some wine, as much as you can carry. Where is the girl to be found?"

  "At dame Hannah's. She lives in a little house in a garden belonging tothe widow of Pudeus. And whoever gives it to her is to say that it issent by the friend at Lochias."

  "Good. Now go, and take care that no one recognizes you. Your secret ismine, and the friend at Lochias shall be duly mentioned."

  Mastor disappeared in the crowd. Verus put the nosegay into the hands ofone of the garden-gods that followed in his train, sprang laughing onto the ass, and desired the driver to show him the way. At the corner ofthe next street, he met two litters, carried with difficulty through thecrowd by their bearers. In the first sat Keraunus, whose saffron-coloredcloak was conspicuous from afar, as fat as Silenus the companion ofDionysus, but looking very sullen. In the second sat Arsinoe, lookinggaily about her, and so fresh and pretty that the Roman's easily-stirredpulses beat more rapidly.

  Without reflecting, he took the flowers from the hand of thegarden-god--the flowers intended for Selene--laid them on the girl'slitter, and said:

  "Alexander greets Roxana, the fairest of the fair." Arsinoe colored,and Verus, after watching her for some time as she was carried onwards,desired one of his boys to follow her litter, and to join him again inthe flower-market, where he would wait, to inform him whither she hadgone.

  The messenger hurried off, and Verus, turning his ass's head soonreached a semicircular pillared hall on the shady side of a large openspace, under which the better sort of gardeners and flower dealersof the city exposed their gay and fragrant wares to be sold by prettygirls. To-day every stall had been particularly well supplied, but thedemand for wreaths and flowers had steadily increased from an earlyhour, and although Verus had all that he could find of fresh flowersarranged and tied together, still the nosegay, though much larger, wasnot half so beautiful as that intended for Selene, and for which hesubstituted it.

  Now this annoyed the Roman. His sense of justice prompted him to makegood the loss he had inflicted on the sick girl. Gay ribbons were woundround the stalks of the flowers, and the long ends floated in the air,so Verus took a brooch from his dress and stuck it into the bow whichornamented the stem of the nosegay; then he was satisfied, and as helooked at the stone set in a gold border--an onyx on which was engravedEros sharpening his arrows--he pictured to himself the pleasure, thedelight of the girl that the handsome Bithynian loved, as she receivedthe beautiful gift.

  His slaves, natives of Britain, who were dressed as garden-gods, werecharged with the commission to proceed to dame Hannah's under theguidance of the donkey-driver to deliver the nosegay to Selene from'the friend at Lochias,' and then to wait for him outside the houseof Titianus, the prefect; for thither, as he had ascertained from hisswift-footed messenger, had Keraunus and his daughter been carried.

  Verus needed a longer time than the boy, to make his way through thecrowd. At the door of the prefect's residence he laid aside his mask,and in an anteroom where the steward was sitting on a couch waiting forhis daughter, he arranged his hair and the folds of his toga, and wasthen conducted to the lady Julia with whom he hoped, once more, to seethe charming Arsinoe.

  But in the reception-room, instead of Arsinoe he found his own wife andthe poetess Balbilla and her companion. He greeted the ladies gaily,amiably and gracefully, as usual, and then, as he looked enquiringlyround the large room without concealing his disappointment, Balbillacame up to him and asked him in a low voice:

  "Can you be honest, Verus?"

  "When circumstances allow it, yes."

  "And will they allow it here?"

  "I should suppose so."

  "Then answer me truly. Did you come here for Julia's sake, or did youcome--"

  "Well?"

  "Or did you expect to find the fair Roxana with the prefect's wife?"

  "Roxana?" asked Verus, with a cunning smile. "Roxana! Why she was thewife of Alexander the Great, and is long since dead, but I care onlyfor the living, and when I left the merry tumult in the streets it wassimply and solely--"

  "You excite my curiosity."

  "Because my prophetic heart promised me, fairest Balbilla, t
hat I shouldfind you here."

  "And that you call honest!" cried the poetess, hitting the praetor ablow with the stick of the ostrich-feather fan she held in her hand."Only listen, Lucilla, your husband declares he came here for my sake."The praetor looked reproachfully at the speaker, but she whispered:

  "Due punishment for a dishonest man." Then, raising her voice, she said:

  "Do you know, Lucilla, that if I remain unmarried, your husband is notwholly innocent in the matter."

  "Alas! yes, I was born too late for you," interrupted Verus, who knewvery well what the poetess was about to say.

  "Nay--no misunderstanding!" cried Balbilla. "For how can a woman ventureupon wedlock when she cannot but fear the possibility of getting such ahusband as Verus."

  "And what man," retorted the praetor, "would ever be so bold as to courtBalbilla, could he hear how cruelly she judges an innocent admirer ofbeauty?"

  "A husband ought not to admire beauty--only the one beauty who is hiswife."

  "Ah Vestal maiden," laughed Verus. "I am meanwhile punishing you bywithholding from you a great secret which interests us all. No, no, I amnot going to tell--but I beg you my lady wife to take her to task, andteach her to exercise some indulgence so that her future husband may nothave too hard a time of it."

  "No woman can learn to be indulgent," replied Lucilla. "Still wepractise indulgence when we have no alternative, and the criminalrequires us to make allowance for him in this thing or the other."

  Verus made his wife a bow and pressed his lips on her arm, then heasked. "And where is dame Julia?"

  "She is saving the sheep from the wolf," replied Balbilla.

  "Which means--?"

  "That as soon as you were announced she carried off little Roxana to aplace of safety."

  "No, no," interrupted Lucilla. "The tailor was waiting in an inner roomto arrange the charming child's costume. Only look at the lovely nosegayshe brought to Julia. And do you deny my right to share your secret?"

  "How could I?" replied Verus.

  "He is very much in need of your making allowances!" laughed Balbilla,while the praetor went up to, his wife and told her in a whisper what hehad learnt from Mastor. Lucilla clasped her hands in astonishment, andVerus cried to the poetess:

  "Now you see what a satisfaction your cruel tongue has deprived you of?"

  "How can you be so revengeful most estimable Verus," said the ladycoaxingly. "I am dying of curiosity."

  "Live but a few days longer fair Balbilla, for my sake," replied theRoman, "and the cause of your early death will be removed."

  "Only wait, I will be revenged!" cried the girl threatening him with herfinger, but Lucilla led her away saying:

  "Come now, it is time we should give Julia the benefit of our advice."

  "Do so," said Verus. "Otherwise I am afraid my visit to-day would seemopportune to no one.--Greet Julia from me."

  As he went away he cast a glance at the nosegay which Arsinoe had givenaway as soon as she had received it from him, and he sighed: "As we growold we have to learn wisdom."

  BOOK 2.