by Georg Ebers
CHAPTER V.
An artist, especially a great artist, finds it easy to give his house anattractive appearance. He desires comfort in it, and only the beautifulis comfortable to him. Whatever would disturb harmony offends his eye,and to secure the noblest ornament of his house he need not invite anystranger to cross its threshold. The Muse, the best of assistants, joinshim unbidden.
Leonax, Barine's father, had been thus aided to transform the interiorof his house into a very charming residence. He had painted on the wallsof his own work-room incidents in the life of Alexander the Great, thefounder of his native city, and on the frieze a procession of dancingCupids.
Here Barine now received her guests, and the renown of these paintingswas not one of the smallest inducements which had led Antony to visitthe young beauty and to take his son, in whom he wished to awaken atleast a fleeting pleasure in art. He also knew how to prize her beautyand her singing, but the ardent passion which had taken possession ofhim in his mature years was for Cleopatra alone. He whose easily wonheart and susceptible fancy had urged him from one commonplace love toanother had been bound by the Queen with chains of indestructible andsupernatural power. By her side a Barine seemed to him merely a work ofart endowed with life and a voice that charmed the ear. Yet he owed hersome pleasant hours, and he could not help bestowing gifts upon any oneto whom he was indebted for anything pleasant. He liked to be consideredthe most generous spendthrift on earth, and the polished bracelet setwith a gem, on which was carved Apollo playing on his lyre, surroundedby the listening Muses, looked very simple, but was really an ornamentof priceless value, for the artist who made it was deemed the beststone-cutter in Alexandria in the time of Philadelphus, and each one ofthe tiny figures sculptured on the bit of onyx scarcely three fingerswide was a carefully executed masterpiece of the most exquisite beauty.Antony had chosen it because he deemed it a fitting gift for the womanwhose song had pleased him. He had not thought of asking its value;indeed, only a connoisseur would have perceived it; and as the circletwas not showy and well became her beautiful arm, Barine liked to wearit.
Had not the war taken him away, Antony's second visit would certainlynot have been his last. Besides the singing which enthralled him, theconversation had been gay and brilliant, and in addition to Leonax'spaintings, he had seen other beautiful works of art which the former hadobtained by exchanging with many distinguished companions.
Nor was there any lack of plastic creations in the spacious apartment,to which the flashing of the water poured by a powerful man from thegoatskin bottle on his shoulder into a shell lent a special charm.
The master who had carved this stooping Nubian had also created themuch-discussed statues of the royal lovers. The clay Eros, who with bentknee was aiming at a victim visible to himself alone, was also his work.Antony, when paying his second visit, had laughingly laid the garland hewore before "the greatest of human conquerors," while a short timeago his son Antyllus had rudely thrust his bouquet of flowers into theopening of the curved right arm which was drawing the string. In doingso the statue had been injured. Now the flowers lay unheeded upon thelittle altar at the end of the large room, lighted only by a singlelamp; for the ladies had left it with their guest. They were in Barine'sfavourite apartment, a small room, where there were several pictures byher dead father.
Antyllus's bouquet, and the damage to the clay statue of Eros, hadplayed a prominent part in the conversation between the three, andrendered Archibius's task easier.
Berenike had greeted the guest with a complaint of the young Roman'srecklessness and unseemly conduct, to which Barine added the declarationthat they had now sacrificed enough to Zeus Xenios, the god ofhospitality. She meant to devote her future life to the modest householdgods and to Apollo, to whom she owed the gift of song.
Archibius had listened silently in great surprise until she had finishedher explanation and declared that henceforth she intended to live alonewith her mother, instead of having her father's workshop filled withguests.
The young beauty's vivid imagination transported her to this new andquieter life. But, spite of the clear and glowing hues in which shedescribed her anticipations, her grey-haired listener could not havebelieved in them fully. A subtle smile sometimes flitted over his grave,somewhat melancholy face--that of a man who has ceased to wrestle in thearena of life, and after severe conflict now preferred to stand amongthe spectators and watch others win or lose the prize of victory.Doubtless the wounds which he had received still ached, yet hissorrowful experiences did not prevent his being an attentive observer.The expression of his clear eyes showed that he mentally shared whateveraroused his sympathy. Whoever understood how to listen thus, and,moreover--the prominence of the brow above the nose showed it--was alsoa trained thinker, could not fail to be a good counsellor, and as suchhe was regarded by many, and first of all by the Queen.
The wise deliberation, which was one of his characteristic traits,showed itself on this occasion; for though he had come to persuadeBarine try a country residence, he refrained from doing until she hadexhausted the story of her own affairs and inquired the important causeof his visit.
In the principal matter his request was granted ere he made it. So hecould begin with the query whether the mother and daughter did notthink that the transition to the new mode of life could be effected moreeasily if they were absent from the city a short time. It would awakencomment they should close their house against guests on the morrow, andas the true reason could not be given, many would be offended. If, onthe contrary, they could resolve to quit the capital for a few weeks,many, it is true, would lament their decision, but what was alloted toall alike could be resented by no one.
Berenike eagerly assented, but Barine grew thoughtful. Then Archibiusbegged her to speak frankly, and after she had asked where they could,he proposed his country estate.
His keen grey eyes had perceived that something, bound her so firmlyto the city that in the case of a true woman like Barine it must bean affair of the heart. He had evidently judged correctly, for, athis prediction that there would be no lack of visits from her dearestfriends, she raised her head, her blue eyes sparkled brightly, and whenArchibius paused she to her mother, exclaiming gaily "We will go!"
Again the vivid imagination daughter conjured the future before her indistinct outlines. She alone knew whom she meant when she spoke of thevisitor she expected at Irenia, Archibius's estate. The name meant "Theplace of peace," and it pleased her.
Archibius listened smilingly; but when she began to assign him also apart in driving the little Sardinian horses and pursuing the birds, heinterrupted her with the statement that whether he could speedily allowhimself a pleasure which he should so keenly enjoy--that of breathingthe country air with such charming guests--would depend upon the fateof another. Thank the gods, he had been able to come here with a lighterheart, because, just before his departure, he had heard of a splendidvictory gained by the Queen. The ladies would perhaps permit him toremain a little longer, as he was expecting confirmation of the news.
It was evident that he awaited it in great suspense, and that his heartwas by no means free from anxiety.
Berenike shared it, and her pleasant face, which had hitherto reflectedher delight at her daughter's sensible resolution, was now clouded withcare as Archibius began: "The object of my presence here? You are makingit very easy for me to attain it. If I deemed it honest, I could nowconceal the fact that I had sought you to induce you to leave the city.I see no peril from the boyish insolence of the son of Antony. Thepoint in question, child, is merely to put yourself out of the reach ofCaesarion."
"If you could place me in the moon, it would please me best, as far ashe is concerned," replied Barine eagerly. "That is just what induced meto change our mode of life, since my door cannot be closed against theboy who, though still under a tutor, uses his rank as a key to open it.And just think of being compelled to address that dreamer, with eyespleading for help, by the title of 'king'!"
"Y
et what mighty impulse might not be slumbering in the breast of a sonof Julius Caesar and Cleopatra?" said Archibius. "And passion--I know,my child, that it is no fault of yours--has now awakened within him.Whatever the result may be, it must fill his mother's heart withanxiety. That is why it is needful to hasten your departure, and to keepyour destination a secret. He will attempt no violence; but--he is thechild of his parents--and some unexpected act may be anticipated fromhim."
"You startle me!" cried Barine. "You transform the cooing dove whichentered my house into a dangerous griffin."
"As such you may regard him," said the other, warningly. "You will bea welcome guest, Barine, but I invited you, whom I have loved from yourearliest childhood, the daughter of my dearest friend, not merely to doyou a service at Irenia, but to save from grief or even annoyance theperson to whom--who is not aware of it--I owe everything."
The words conveyed to both ladies the knowledge that, though they weredear to Archibius, he would sacrifice them, and with them, perhaps, allthe rest of the world, for the peace and happiness of the Queen.
Barine had expected nothing else. She knew that Cleopatra had made thephilosopher's son a wealthy man and the owner of extensive estates; butshe also felt that the source of his loyal devotion to the Queen, overwhom he watched like a tender father, was due to other causes. Cleopatraprized him also. Had he been ambitious, he could have stood at the helmof the ship of state, as Epitrop long ago, but--the whole city knewit--he had more than once refused to accept a permanent office, becausehe believed that he could serve his mistress better as an unassuming,unnoticed counsellor. Berenike had told Barine that the relationsbetween Cleopatra and Archibius dated back to their childhood, but shehad learned no particulars. Various rumours were afloat which, in thecourse of time, had been richly adorned and interwoven with anecdotes,and Barine naturally lent the most ready credence to those whichasserted that the princess, in her earliest youth, had cherished achildish love for the philosopher's son. Now her friend's conduct ledher to believe it.
When Archibius paused, the young beauty assured him that she understoodhim; and as the alabaster hanging lamp and a three-branched light casta brilliant glow upon the portrait which her father had painted of thenineteen-year-old Queen, and afterwards copied for his own household,she pointed to it, and, pursuing the current of her own thoughts, askedthe question:
"Was she not marvellously beautiful at that time?"
"As your father's work represents her," was the reply. "Leonax paintedthe portrait of Octavia, on the opposite side, the same year, andperhaps the artist deemed the Roman the fairer woman." He pointed ashe spoke to a likeness of Octavianus's sister, whom Barine's father hadpainted as the young wife of Marcellus, her first husband.
"Oh, no!" said Berenike. "I still remember perfectly how Leonax returnedin those days. What woman might not have been jealous of his enthusiasmfor the Roman Hera? At that time I had not seen the portrait, and when Iasked whether he thought Octavia more beautiful than the Queen, for whomEros had inflamed his heart, as in the case of most of the beautifulwomen he painted, he exclaimed--you know his impetuous manner--'Octaviastands foremost in the ranks of those who are called "beautiful"or "less beautiful"; the other, Cleopatra, stands alone, and can becompared with no one.'"
Archibius bent his head in assent, then said firmly, "But, as a child,when I first saw her, she would have been the fairest even in the danceof the young gods of love."
"How old was she then?" asked Barine, eagerly.
"Eight years," he answered. "How far in the past it is, yet I have notforgotten a single hour!" Barine now earnestly entreated him to tellthem the story of those days, but Archibius gazed thoughtfully at thefloor for some time ere he raised his head and answered: "Perhaps itwill be well if you learn more of the woman for whose sake I ask asacrifice at your hands. Arius is your brother and uncle. He stands nearto Octavianus, for he was his intellectual guide, and I know thathe reveres the Roman's sister, Octavia, as a goddess. Antony is nowstruggling with Octavianus for the sovereignty of the world. Octaviasuccumbed in the conflict against the woman of whom you desire to hear.It is not my place to judge her, but I may instruct and warn. Romannations burn incense to Octavia, and, when Cleopatra's name is uttered,they veil their faces indignantly. Here in Alexandria many imitate them.Whoever upholds shining purity may hope to win a share of the radianceemanating from it. They call Octavia the lawful wife, and Cleopatra thecriminal who robbed her of her husband's heart."
"Not I!" exclaimed Barine eagerly. "How often I have heard my uncle saythat Antony and Cleopatra were fired with the most ardent love for eachother! Never did the arrows of Eros pierce two hearts more deeply. Thenit became necessary to save the state from civil war and bloodshed.Antony consented to form an alliance with his rival, and, as securityfor the sincerity of the reconciliation, he gave his hand in marriage toOctavia, whose first husband, Marcellus, had just died--his hand, I say,only his hand, for his heart was captive to the Queen of Egypt. And ifAntony was faithless to the wife to whom statecraft had bound him,he kept his pledge to the other, who had an earlier, better title.If Cleopatra did not give up the man to whom she had sworn fidelityforever, she was right--a thousand times right! In my eyes--no matterhow often my mother rebukes me--Cleopatra, in the eyes of the immortals,is and always will be Antony's real wife; the other, though on hermarriage day no custom, no word, no stroke of the stylus, no gesturewas omitted, is the intruder in a bond of love which rejoices thegods, however it may anger mortals, and--forgive me, mother--virtuousmatrons."
Berenike had listened with blushing cheeks to her vivacious daughter;now with timid earnestness she interrupted: "I know that those are theviews of the new times; that Antony in the eyes of the Egyptians, andprobably also according to their customs, is the rightful husband of theQueen. I know, too, that you are both against me. Yet Cleopatra is inreality a Greek, and therefore--eternal gods!--I can sincerely pity her;but the marriage has been solemnized, and I cannot blame Octavia.She rears and cherishes, as if they were her own, the children of herfaithless husband and Fulvia, his first wife, who have no claim uponher. It is more than human to take the stones from the path of the manwho became her foe, as she does. No woman In Alexandria can pray morefervently than I that Cleopatra and her friend may conquer Octavianus.His cold nature, highly as my brother esteems him, is repellent tome. But when I gaze at Octavia's beautiful, chaste, queenly, noblecountenance, the mirror of true womanly purity--"
"You can rejoice," Archibius added, completing the sentence, and layinghis right hand soothingly on the arm of the excited woman, "only itwould be advisable at this time to put the portrait elsewhere, and restsatisfied with confiding your opinion of Octavia to your brother and afriend as reliable as myself. If we conquer, such things may pass; ifnot--The messenger tarries long--"
Here Barine again entreated him to use the time. She had only once hadthe happiness of being noticed by the Queen--just after her song at theAdonis festival. Then Cleopatra had advanced to thank her. She said onlya few kind words, but in a voice which seemed to penetrate the inmostdepths of her heart and bind her with invisible threads. MeanwhileBarine's eyes met those of her sovereign, and at first they rousedan ardent desire to press her lips even on the hem of her robe, butafterwards she felt as if a venomous serpent had crawled out of the mostbeautiful flower.
Here Archibius interrupted her with the remark that he rememberedperfectly how, after the song, Antony had addressed her at the same timeas the Queen, and Cleopatra lacked no feminine weakness.
"Jealousy?" asked Barine, in astonishment. "I was not presumptuousenough to admit it. I secretly feared that Alexas, the brother ofPhilostratus, had prejudiced her. He is as ill-disposed towards me asthe man who was my husband. But everything connected with those two isso base and shameful that I will not allow it to cloud this pleasanthour. Yet the fear that Alexas might have slandered me to the Queen isnot groundless.
"He is as shrewd as his brother, and through Antony, into whose
favourhe ingratiated himself, is always in communication with Cleopatra. Hewent to the war with him."
"I learned that too late, and am utterly powerless against Antony,"replied Archibius.
"But was it not natural that I should fear he had prejudiced theQueen?" asked Barine. "At any rate, I imagined that I detected a hostileexpression in her eyes, and it repelled me, though at first I had beenso strongly attracted towards her."
"And had not that other stepped between you, you could not have turnedfrom her again!" said Archibius. "The first time I saw her I was but amere boy, and she--as I have already said--a child eight years old."
Barine nodded gratefully to Archibius, brought the distaff to hermother, poured water into the wine in the mixing vessel, and after atfirst leaning comfortably back among the cushions, she soon bent forwardin a listening attitude, with her elbow propped on her knee, and herchin supported by her hand. Berenike drew the flax from the distaff, atfirst slowly, then faster and faster.
"You know my country-house in the Kanopus," the guest began. "It wasoriginally a small summer palace belonging to the royal family, andunderwent little change after we moved into it. Even the garden isunaltered. It was full of shady old trees. Olympus, the leech, hadchosen this place, that my father might complete within its walls thework of education entrusted to him. You shall hear the story. At thattime Alexandria was in a state of turmoil, for Rome had not recognizedthe King, and ruled over us like Fate, though it had not acknowledgedthe will by which the miserable Alexander bequeathed Egypt to him like afield or a slave.
"The King of Egypt, who called himself 'the new Dionysus,' was a weakman, whose birth did not give him the full right to the sovereignty.You know that the people called him the 'fluteplayer.' He really had nogreater pleasure than to hear music and listen to his own performances.He played by no means badly on more than one instrument, and, moreover,as a reveller did honour to the other name. Whoever kept sober at thefestival of Dionysus, whose incarnate second self he regarded himself,incurred his deepest displeasure.
"The flute-player's wife, Queen Tryphoena, and her oldest daughter--shebore your name, Berenike--ruined his life. Compared with them, theKing was worthy and virtuous. What had become of the heroes and thehigh-minded princes of the house of Ptolemy? Every passion and crime hadfound a home in their palaces!
"The flute-player, Cleopatra's father, was by no means the worst. Hewas a slave to his own caprices; no one had taught him to bridle hispassions. Where it served his purpose, even death was summoned to hisaid; but this was a custom of the last sovereigns of his race. In onerespect he was certainly superior to most of them--he still possesseda capacity to feel a loathing for the height of crime, to believe invirtue and loftiness of soul, and the possibility of implanting themin youthful hearts. When a boy, he had been under the influence of anexcellent teacher, whose precepts had lingered in his memory and led himto determine to withdraw his favourite children--two girls--from theirmother's sway, at least as far as possible.
"I learned afterwards that it had been his desire to confide theprincesses wholly to my parents' care. But an invincible power opposedthis. Though Greeks might be permitted to instruct the royal childrenin knowledge, the Egyptians would not yield the right to their religiouseducation. The leech Olympus--you know the good old man--had insistedthat the delicate Cleopatra must spend the coldest winter months inUpper Egypt, where the sky was never clouded, and the summer near thesea in a shady garden. The little palace at Kanopus was devoted to thispurpose.
"When we moved there it was entirely unoccupied, but the princesses weresoon to be brought to us. During the winter Olympus preferred the islandof Philae, on the Nubian frontier, because the famous Temple of Isis wasthere, and its priests willingly undertook to watch over the children.
"The Queen would not listen to any of these plans. Leaving Alexandriaand spending the winter on a lonely island in the tropics was an utterlyincomprehensible idea. So she let the King have his way, and no doubtwas glad to be relieved from the care of the children; for, evenafter her royal husband's exile from the city, she never visited herdaughters. True, death allowed her only a short time to do so.
"Her oldest daughter, Berenike, who became her successor, followed herexample, and troubled herself very little about her sisters. I heardafter wards that she was very glad to know that they were in charge ofpersons who filled their minds with other thoughts than the desire torule. Her brothers were reared at Lochias by our countryman Theodotus,under the eyes of their guardian, Pothinus.
"Our family life was of course wholly transformed by the reception ofthe royal children. In the first place, we moved from our house in theMuseum Square into the little palace at Kanopus, and the big, shadygarden delighted us. I remember, as though it were but yesterday, themorning--I was then a boy of fifteen--when my father told us that two ofthe King's daughters would soon become members of the household. Therewere three of us children--Charmian, who went to the war with the Queen,because Iras, our niece, was ill; I myself; and Straton, who died longago. We were urged to treat the princesses with the utmost courtesy andconsideration, and we perceived that their reception really demandedrespect; for the palace, which we had found empty and desolate, wasrefurnished from roof to foundation.
"The day before they were expected horses, chariots, and litters came,while boats and a splendid state galley, fully manned, arrived by sea.Then a train of male and female slaves appeared, among them two fateunuchs.
"I can still see the angry look with which my father surveyed all thesepeople. He drove at once to the city, and on his return his clear eyeswere as untroubled as ever. A court official accompanied him, and onlythat portion of the useless amount of luggage and number of persons thatmy father desired remained.
"The princesses were to come the next morning--it was at the end ofFebruary--flowers were blooming in the grass and on the bushes, whilethe foliage of the trees glittered with the fresh green which the risingsap gives to the young leaves. I was sitting on a strong bough of asycamore-tree, which grew opposite to the house, watching for them.Their arrival was delayed and, as I gazed meanwhile over the garden, Ithought it must surely please them, for not a palace in the city had oneso beautiful.
"At last the litters appeared; they had neither runners nor attendants,as my father had requested, and when the princesses alighted--both atthe same moment--I knew not which way to turn my eyes first, for thecreature that fluttered like a dragon-fly rather than stepped from thefirst litter, was not a girl like other mortals--she seemed like a wish,a hope. When the dainty, beautiful creature turned her head hither andthither, and at last gazed questioningly, as if beseeching help, intothe faces of my father and mother, who stood at the gate to receive her,it seemed to me that such must have been the aspect of Psyche when shestood pleading for mercy at the throne of Zeus.
"But it was worth while to look at the other also. Was that Cleopatra?She might have been the elder, for she was as tall as her sister, buthow utterly unlike! From the waving hair to every movement of the handsand body the former--it was Cleopatra--had seemed to me as if she wereflying. Everything about the second figure, on the contrary, was solid,nay, even seemed to offer positive resistance. She sprang from thelitter and alighted on the ground with both feet at once, clung firmlyto the door, and haughtily flung back her head, crowned with a wealthof dark locks. Her complexion was pink and white, and her blue eyessparkled brightly enough; but the expression with which she gazed at myparents was defiant rather than questioning, and as she glanced aroundher red lips curled scornfully as though she deemed her surroundingsdespicable and unworthy of her royal birth.
"This irritated me against the seven-year-old child, yet I said tomyself that, though it was very beautiful here--thanks to my father'scare--perhaps it appeared plain and simple when compared with themarble, gold, and purple of the royal palace whence she came. Herfeatures, too, were regular and beautiful, and she would have attractedattention by her loveliness among a multitude. When I soo
n heard herissue imperious commands and defiantly insist upon the fulfilment ofevery wish, I thought, in my boyish ignorance, that Arsinoe must be theelder; for she was better suited to wield a sceptre than her sister.I said so to my brother and Charmian; but we all soon saw which reallypossessed queenly majesty; for Arsinoe, if her will were crossed, wept,screamed, and raged like a lunatic, or, if that proved useless, beggedand teased; while if Cleopatra wanted anything she obtained it in adifferent way. Even at that time she knew what weapons would give hervictory and, while using them, she still remained the child of a king.
"No artisan's daughter could have been further removed from airs ofmajestic pathos than this embodiment of the most charming childlikegrace; but if anything for which her passionate nature ardently longedwas positively refused, she understood how to attain it by the melody ofher voice, the spell of her eyes, and in extreme cases by a silent tear.When to such tears were added uplifted hands and a few sweet words,such as, 'It would make me happy,' or, 'Don't you see how it hurts me?'resistance was impossible; and in after-years also her silent tearsand the marvellous music of her voice won her a victory in the decisivequestions of life.
"We children were soon playmates and friends, for my parents did notwish the princesses to begin their studies until after they felt athome with us. This pleased Arsinoe, although she could already readand write; but Cleopatra more than once asked to hear something from myfather's store of wisdom, of which she had been told.
"The King and her former teacher had cherished the highest expectationsfrom the brilliant intellect of this remarkable child, and Olympus oncelaid his hand on my curls and bade me take care that the princess didnot outstrip the philosopher's son. I had always occupied one of theforemost places, and laughingly escaped, assuring him that there was nodanger.
"But I soon learned that this warning was not groundless. You willthink that the old fool's heart has played him a trick, and in the magicgarden of childish memories the gifted young girl was transformed into agoddess. That she certainly was not; for the immortals are free from thefaults and weaknesses of humanity."
"And what robbed Cleopatra of the renown of resembling the gods?" askedBarine eagerly.
A subtle smile, not wholly free from reproach, accompanied Archibius'sreply: "Had I spoken of her virtues, you would hardly have thought ofasking further details. But why should I try to conceal what shehas displayed to the world openly enough throughout her whole life?Falsehood and hypocrisy were as unfamiliar to her as fishing is to thesons of the desert. The fundamental principles which have dominated thisrare creature's life and character to the present day are two ceaselessdesires: first, to surpass every one, even in the most difficultachievements; and, secondly, to love and to be loved in return. Fromthem emanated what raised her above all other women. Ambition and lovewill also sustain her like two mighty wings on the proud height to whichthey have borne her, so long as they dwell harmoniously in her fierysoul. Hitherto a rare favour of destiny has permitted this, and may theOlympians grant that thus it may ever be!"
Here Archibius paused, wiped the perspiration from his brow, asked ifthe messenger had arrived, and ordered him to be admitted as soon as heappeared. Then he went on as calmly as before:
"The princesses were members of our household, and in the course of timethey seemed like sisters. During the first winter the King allowed themto spend only the most inclement months at Philae, for he was unwillingto live without them. True, he saw them rarely enough; weeks oftenelapsed without a visit; but, on the other hand, he often came day afterday to our garden, clad in plain garments, and borne in an unpretendinglitter, for these visits were kept secret from every one save the leechOlympus.
"I often saw the tall, strong man, with red, bloated face, playing withhis children like a mechanic who had just returned from work. But heusually remained only a short time, seeming to be satisfied with havingseen them again. Perhaps he merely wished to assure himself that theywere comfortable with us. At any rate, no one was permitted to go nearthe group of plane-trees where he talked with them.
"But it is easy to hide amid the dense foliage of these trees, so myknowledge that he questioned them is not solely hearsay.
"Cleopatra was happy with us from the beginning; Arsinoe needed a longertime; but the King valued only the opinion of his older child, hisdarling, on whom he feasted his eyes and ears like a lover. He oftenshook his heavy head at the sight of her, and when she gave him oneof her apt replies, he laughed so loudly that the sound of his deep,resonant voice was heard as far as the house.
"Once I saw tear after tear course down his flushed cheeks, and yet hisvisit was shorter than usual. The closed 'harmamaxa' in which he camebore him from our house directly to the vessel which was to convey himto Cyprus and Rome. The Alexandrians, headed by the Queen, had forcedhim to leave the city and the country.
"He was indeed unworthy of the crown, but he loved his little daughterlike a true father. Still, it was terrible, monstrous for him to invokecurses upon the mother and sister of the children, in their presence,and in the same breath command them to hate and execrate them, but tolove and never forget him.
"I was then seventeen and Cleopatra ten years old. I, who loved myparents better than my life, felt an icy chill run through my veins andthen a touch upon my heart like balsam, as I heard little Arsinoe, afterher father had gone, whisper to her sister, 'We will hate them--may thegods destroy them!' and when Cleopatra answered with tearful eyes,'Let us rather be better than they, very good indeed, Arsinoe, that theimmortals may love us and bring our father back.'
"'Because then he will make you Queen,' replied Arsinoe sneeringly,still trembling with angry excitement.
"Cleopatra gazed at her with a troubled look.
"Her tense features showed that she was weighing the meaning of thewords, and I can still see her as she suddenly drew up her small figure,and said proudly, 'Yes, I will be Queen!'
"Then her manner changed, and in the sweetest tones of her soft voice,she said beseechingly, 'You won't say such naughty things again, willyou?'
"This was at the time that my father's instruction began to takepossession of her mind. The prediction of Olympus was fulfilled. True, Iattended the school of oratory, but when my father set the royal maidena lesson, I was permitted to repeat mine on the same subject, andfrequently I could not help admitting that Cleopatra had succeededbetter than I.
"Soon there were difficult problems to master, for the intellect ofthis wonderful child demanded stronger food, and she was introduced intophilosophy. My father himself belonged to the school of Epicurus, andsucceeded far beyond his expectations in rousing Cleopatra's interestin his master's teachings. She had been made acquainted with the othergreat philosophers also, but always returned to Epicurus, and inducedthe rest of us to live with her as a true disciple of the noble Samian.
"Your father and brother have doubtless made you familiar with theprecepts of the Stoa; yet you have certainly heard that Epicurusspent the latter part of his life with his friends and pupils in quietmeditation and instructive conversation in his garden at Athens. We,too--according to Cleopatra's wish--were to live thus and call ourselves'disciples of Epicurus.'
"With the exception of Arsinoe, who preferred gayer pastimes, into whichshe drew my brother Straton--at that time a giant in strength--we allliked the plan. I was chosen master, but I perceived that Cleopatradesired the position, so she took my place.
"During our next leisure afternoon we paced up and down the garden, andthe conversation about the chief good was so eager, Cleopatra directedit with so much skill, and decided doubtful questions so happily, thatwe reluctantly obeyed the brazen gong which summoned us to the house,and spent the whole evening in anticipating the next afternoon.
"The following morning my father saw several country people assembledbefore the secluded garden; but he did not have time to inquire whatthey wanted; for Timagenes, who shared the instruction in history--youknow he was afterwards taken to Rome as a prisoner of w
ar--rushed upto him, holding out a tablet which bore the inscription Epicurus hadwritten on the gate of his garden: 'Stranger, here you will be happy;here is the chief good, pleasure.'
"Cleopatra had written this notice in large letters on the top of asmall table before sunrise, and a slave had secretly fastened it on thegate for her.
"This prank might have easily proved fatal to our beautifulcompanionship, but it had been done merely to make our game exactly likethe model.
"My father did not forbid our continuing this pastime, but strictlyprohibited our calling ourselves 'Epicureans' outside of the garden, forthis noble name had since gained among the people a significance whollyalien. Epicurus says that true pleasure is to be found only in peace ofmind and absence of pain."
"But every one," interrupted Barine, "believes that people like thewealthy Isidorus, whose object in life is to take every pleasure whichhis wealth can procure, are the real Epicureans. My mother would nothave confided me long to a teacher by whose associates 'pleasure' wasdeemed the chief good."
"The daughter of a philosopher," replied Archibius, gently shaking hishead, "ought to understand what pleasure means in the sense of Epicurus,and no doubt you do. True, those who are further removed from thesethings cannot know that the master forbids yearning for individualpleasure. Have you an idea of his teachings? No definite one? Thenpermit me a few words of explanation. It happens only too often thatEpicurus is confounded with Aristippus, who places sensual pleasureabove intellectual enjoyment, as he holds that bodily pain is harderto endure than mental anguish. Epicurus, on the contrary, considersintellectual pleasure to be the higher one; for sensual enjoyment, whichhe believes free to every one, can be experienced only in the present,while intellectual delight extends to both the past and the future. Tothe Epicureans the goal of life, as has already been mentioned, is toattain the chief blessings, peace of mind, and freedom from pain. He isto practise virtue only because it brings him pleasure; for who couldremain virtuous without being wise, noble, and just?--and whoever is allthese cannot have his peace of mind disturbed, and must be really happyin the exact meaning of the master. I perceived long since the perillurking in this system of instruction, which takes no account of moralexcellence; but at that time it seemed to me also the chief good.
"How all this charmed the mind of the thoughtful child, still untouchedby passion! It was difficult to supply her wonderfully vigorousintellect with sufficient sustenance, and she really felt that to enrichit was the highest pleasure. And to her, who could scarcely endureto have a rude hand touch her, though a small grief or trivialdisappointment could not be averted, the freedom from pain which themaster had named as the first condition for the existence of everypleasure, and termed the chief good, seemed indeed the first conditionof a happy life.
"Yet this child, whom my father once compared to a thinking flower, borewithout complaint her sad destiny--her father's banishment, her mother'sdeath, her sister Berenike's profligacy. Even to me, in whom she founda second brother and fully trusted, she spoke of these sorrowful thingsonly in guarded allusions. I know that she understood what was passingfully and perfectly, and how deeply she felt it; but pain placed itselfbetween her and the 'chief good,' and she mastered it. And when she satat work, with what tenacious power the delicate creature struggled untilshe had conquered the hardest task and outstripped Charmian and even me!
"In those days I understood why, among the gods, a maiden rules overlearning, and why she is armed with the weapons of war. You have heardhow many languages Cleopatra speaks. A remark of Timagenes had falleninto her soul like a seed. 'With every language you learn,' he had said,'you will gain a nation.' But there were many peoples in her father'skingdom, and when she was Queen they must all love her. True, she beganwith the tongue of the conquerors, not the conquered. So it happenedthat we first learned Lucretius, who reproduces in verse the doctrinesof Epicurus. My father was our teacher, and the second year she readLucretius as if it were a Greek book. She had only half known Egyptian;now she speedily acquired it. During our stay at Philae she found atroglodyte who was induced to teach her his language. There were Jewsenough here in Alexandria to instruct her in theirs, and she alsolearned its kindred tongue, Arabic.
"When, many years later, she visited Antony at Tarsus, the warriorsimagined that some piece of Egyptian magic was at work, for sheaddressed each commander in his own tongue, and talked with him as ifshe were a native of the same country.
"It was the same with everything. She outstripped us in every branchof study. To her burning ambition it would have been unbearable to lagbehind.
"The Roman Lucretius became her favourite poet, although she was no morefriendly to his nation than I, but the self-conscious power of the foepleased her, and once I heard her exclaim 'Ah! if the Egyptians wereRomans, I would give up our garden for Berenike's throne.'
"Lucretius constantly led her back to Epicurus, and awakened a severeconflict in her unresting mind. You probably know that he teaches thatlife in itself is not so great a blessing that it must be deemed amisfortune not to live. It is only spoiled by having death appear tous as the greatest of misfortunes. Only the soul which ceases to regarddeath as a misfortune finds peace. Whoever knows that thought andfeeling end with life will not fear death; for, no matter how many dearand precious things the dead have left here below, their yearning forthem has ceased with life. He declares that providing for the body isthe greatest folly, while the Egyptian religion, in which Anubis stroveto strengthen her faith, maintained precisely the opposite.
"To a certain degree he succeeded, for his personality exerted apowerful influence over her; and besides, she naturally took greatpleasure in mystical, supernatural things, as my brother Straton didin physical strength, and you, Barine, enjoy the gift of song. You knowAnubis by sight. What Alexandrian has not seen this remarkable man? andwhoever has once met his eyes does not easily forget him. He does indeedrule over mysterious powers, and he used them in his intercourse withthe young princess. It is his work if she cleaves to the religiousbelief of her people, if she who is a Hellene to the last drop of bloodloves Egypt, and is ready to make any sacrifice for her independence andgrandeur. She is called 'the new Isis,' but Isis presides over the magicarts of the Egyptians, and Anubis initiated Cleopatra into this secretscience, and even persuaded her to enter the observatory and thelaboratory--
"But all these things had their origin in our garden of Epicurus, andmy father did not venture to forbid it; for the King had sent a messagefrom Rome to say that he was glad to have Cleopatra find pleasure in herown people and their secret knowledge.
"The flute-player, during his stay on the Tiber, had given his gold tothe right men or bound them as creditors to his interest. After Pompey,Caesar, and Crassus had concluded their alliance, they consented atLucca to the restoration of the Ptolemy. Millions upon millions wouldnot have seemed to him too large a price for this object. Pompey wouldrather have gone to Egypt himself, but the jealousy of the others wouldnot permit it. Gabinius, the Governor of Syria, received the commission.
"But the occupants of the Egyptian throne were not disposed to resign itwithout a struggle. You know that meanwhile Queen Berenike, Cleopatra'ssister, had been twice married. She had her miserable first husbandstrangled--a more manly spouse had been chosen by the Alexandrians forher second consort. He bravely defended his rights, and lost his life onthe field of battle.
"The senate learned speedily enough that Gabinius had brought thePtolemy back to his country; the news reached us more slowly. We watchedfor every rumour with the same passionate anxiety as now.
"At that time Cleopatra was fourteen, and had developed magnificently.Yonder portrait shows the perfect flower, but the bud possessed, ifpossible, even more exquisite charm. How clear and earnest was the gazeof her bright eyes! When she was gay they could shine like stars, andthen her little red mouth had an indescribably mischievous expression,and in each cheek came one of the tiny dimples which still delight everyone. Her nose was more d
elicate than it is now, and the slight curvewhich appears in the portrait, and which is far too prominent in thecoins, was not visible. Her hair did not grow dark until later in life.My sister Charmian had no greater pleasure than to arrange its wavyabundance. It was like silk, she often said, and she was right. I knowthis, for when at the festival of Isis, Cleopatra, holding thesistrum, followed the image of the goddess, she was obliged to wear itunconfined. On her return home she often shook her head merrily, and herhair fell about her like a cataract, veiling her face and figure. Then,as now, she was not above middle height, but her form possessed the mostexquisite symmetry, only it was still more delicate and pliant.
"She had understood how to win all hearts. Yet, though she seemed toesteem our father higher, trust me more fully, look up to Anubis withgreater reverence, and prefer to argue with the keen-witted Timagenes,she still appeared to hold all who surrounded her in equal favour, whileArsinoe left me in the lurch if Straton were present, and whenever thehandsome Melnodor, one of my father's pupils, came to us, she fairlydevoured him with her glowing eyes.
"As soon as it was rumoured that the Romans were bringing the King back,Queen Berenike came to us to take the young girls to the city. WhenCleopatra entreated her to leave her in our parents' care and notinterrupt her studies, a scornful smile flitted over Berenike's face,and turning to her husband Archelaus, she said scornfully, 'I thinkbooks will prove to be the smallest danger.'
"Pothinus, the guardian of the two princesses' brothers, had formerlypermitted them at times to visit their sisters. Now they were no longerallowed to leave Lochias, but neither Cleopatra nor Arsinoe made manyinquiries about them. The little boys always retreated from theircaresses, and the Egyptian locks on their temples, which marked the ageof childhood, and the Egyptian garments which Pothinus made them wear,lent them an unfamiliar aspect.
"When it was reported that the Romans were advancing from Gaza, bothgirls were overpowered by passionate excitement. Arsinoe's glittered inevery glance; Cleopatra understood how to conceal hers, but her colouroften varied, and her face, which was not pink and white like hersister's, but--how shall I express it?"
"I know what you mean," Barine interrupted. "When I saw her, nothingseemed to me more charming than that pallid hue through which thecrimson of her cheeks shines like the flame through yonder alabasterlamp, the tint of the peach through the down. I have seen it often inconvalescents. Aphrodite breathes this hue on the faces and figures ofher favourites only, as the god of time imparts the green tinge to thebronze. Nothing is more beautiful than when such women blush."
"Your sight is keen," replied Archibius, smiling. "It seemed indeed asif not Eos, but her faint reflection in the western horizon, was tintingthe sky, when joy or shame sent the colour to her cheeks, But whenwrath took possession of her--and ere the King's return this oftenhappened--she could look as if she were lifeless, like a marble statue,with lips as colourless as those of a corpse.
"My father said that the blood of Physkon and other degenerateancestors, who had not learned to control their passions, was assertingitself in her also. But I must continue my story, or the messenger willinterrupt me too soon.
"Gabinius was bringing back the King. But from the time of his approachwith the Roman army and the auxiliary troops of the Ethnarch of Judea,nothing more was learned of him or of Antipater, who commanded theforces of Hyrkanus; every one talked constantly of the Roman generalAntony. He had led the troops successfully through the deserts betweenSyria and the Egyptian Delta without losing a single man on thedangerous road by the Sirbonian Sea and Barathra, where many an army hadmet destruction. Not to Antipater, but to him, had the Jewish garrisonof Pelusium surrendered their city without striking a blow. He hadconquered in two battles; and the second, where, as you know, Berenike'shusband fell after a brave resistance, had decided the destiny of thecountry.
"From the time his name was first mentioned, neither of the girls couldhear enough about him. It was said that he was the most aristocratic ofaristocratic Romans, the most reckless of the daring, the wildest of theriotous, and the handsomest of the handsome.
"The waiting-maid from Mantua, with whom Cleopatra practised speakingthe Roman language, had often seen him, and had heard of him stillmore frequently--for his mode of life was the theme of gossip among allclasses of Roman men and women. His house was said to have descended ina direct line from Hercules, and his figure and magnificent black beardrecalled his ancestor. You know him, and know that the things reportedof him are those which a young girl cannot hear with indifference, andat that time he was nearly five lustra younger than he is to-day.
"How eagerly Arsinoe listened when his name was uttered! How Cleopatraflushed and paled when Timagenes condemned him as an unprincipledlibertine! True, Antony was opening her father's path to his home.
"The flute-player had not forgotten his daughters. He had remained alooffrom the battle, but as soon as the victory was decided, he pressed oninto the city.
"The road led past our garden.
"The King had barely time to send a runner to his daughters, fifteenminutes before his arrival, to say that he desired to greet them.They were hurriedly attired in festal garments, and both presented anappearance that might well gladden a father's heart.
"Cleopatra was not yet as tall as Arsinoe, but, though only fourteen,she looked like a full-grown maiden, while her sister's face and figureshowed that in years she was still a child. But she was no longer one inheart. Bouquets for the returning sovereign had been arranged as wellas haste permitted. Each one of the girls held one in her hand when thetrain approached.
"My parents accompanied them to the garden gate. I could see what waspassing, but could hear distinctly only the voices of the men.
"The King alighted from the travelling chariot, which was drawn by eightwhite Median steeds. The chamberlain who attended him was obliged tosupport him. His face, reddened by his potations, fairly beamed as hegreeted his daughters. His joyful surprise at the sight of both, butespecially of Cleopatra, was evident. True, he kissed and embracedArsinoe, but after that he had eyes and ears solely for Cleopatra.
"Yet his younger daughter was very beautiful. Away from her sister, shewould have commanded the utmost admiration; but Cleopatra was like thesun, beside which every other heavenly body pales. Yet, no; she shouldnot be compared to the sun. It was part of the fascination she exertedthat every one felt compelled to gaze at her, to discover the source ofthe charm which emanated from her whole person.
"Antony, too, was enthralled by the spell as soon as he heard the firstwords from her lips. He had dashed up to the King's chariot, and seeingthe two daughters by their father's side, he greeted them with a hastysalute. When, in reply to the question whether he might hope for hergratitude for bringing her father back to her so quickly, she said thatas a daughter she sincerely rejoiced, but as an Egyptian the task wouldbe harder, he gazed more keenly at her.
"I did not know her answer until later; but ere the last sound of hervoice had died away, I saw the Roman spring from his charger and flingthe bridle to Ammonius--the chamberlain who had assisted the King fromthe chariot--as if he were his groom. The woman-hunter had met withrare game in his pursuit of the fairest, and while he continued hisconversation with Cleopatra her father sometimes joined in, and his deeplaughter was often heard.
"No one would have recognized the earnest disciple of Epicurus. We hadoften heard apt replies and original thoughts from Cleopatra's lips,but she had rarely answered Timagenes's jests with another. Now shefound--one could see it by watching the speakers--a witty answer to manyof Antony's remarks. It seemed as if, for the first time, she had metsome one for whom she deemed it worth while to bring into the fieldevery gift of her deep and quick intelligence. Yet she did not lose fora moment her womanly dignity; her eyes did not sparkle one whit morebrightly than during an animated conversation with me or our father.
"It was very different with Arsinoe. When Antony flung himself from hishorse, she had moved nearer to
her sister, but, as the Roman continuedto overlook her, her face crimsoned, she bit her scarlet lips. Her wholeattitude betrayed the agitation that mastered her, and I, who knew her,saw by the expression of her eyes and her quivering nostrils that shewas on the point of bursting into tears. Though Cleopatra stood so muchnearer to my heart, I felt sorry for her, and longed to touch the arm ofthe haughty Roman, who indeed looked like the god of war, and whisperto him to take some little notice of the poor child, who was also adaughter of the King.
"But a still harder blow was destined to fall upon Arsinoe; for when theKing, who had been holding both bouquets, warned Antony that it was timeto depart, he took one, and I heard him say in his deep, loud tones,'Whoever calls such flowers his daughters does not need so many others.'Then he gave Cleopatra the blossoms and, laying his hand upon his heart,expressed the hope of seeing her in Alexandria, and swung himself uponthe charger which the chamberlain, pale with fury, was still holding bythe bridle.
"The flute-player was delighted with his oldest daughter, and told myfather he would have the young princess conveyed to the city on the dayafter the morrow. The next day he had things to do of which he desiredher to have no knowledge. Our father, in token of his gratitude, shouldretain for himself and his heirs the summer palace and the garden. Hewould see that the change of owner was entered in the land register.This was really done that very day. It was, indeed, his first act saveone--the execution of his daughter Berenike.
"This ruler, who would have seemed to any one who beheld his meetingwith his children a warm-hearted man and a tender father, at that timewould have put half Alexandria to the sword, had not Antony interposed.He forbade the bloodshed, and honoured Berenike's dead husband by astately funeral.
"As the steed bore him away, he turned back towards Cleopatra; he couldnot have saluted Arsinoe, for she had rushed into the garden, and herswollen face betrayed that she had shed burning tears.
"From that hour she bitterly hated Cleopatra.
"On the day appointed, the King brought the princesses to the city withregal splendour. The Alexandrians joyously greeted the royal sisters,as, seated on a golden throne, over which waved ostrich-feathers,they were borne in state down the Street of the King, surrounded bydignitaries, army commanders, the body-guard, and the senate of thecity. Cleopatra received the adulation of the populace with graciousmajesty, as if she were already Queen. Whoever had seen her as, withfloods of tears, she bade us all farewell, assuring us of her gratitudeand faithful remembrance, the sisterly affection she showed me--Ihad just been elected commander of the Ephebi--" Here Archibius wasinterrupted by a slave, who announced the arrival of the messenger, and,rising hurriedly, he went to Leonax's workshop, to which the man hadbeen conducted, that he might speak to him alone.