Last Days of Pompeii Part 33

Chapter IV

THE AMPHITHEATRE ONCE MORE.

GLAUCUS and Olinthus had been placed together in that gloomy and narrow cell in which the criminals of the arena awaited their last and fearful struggle. Their eyes, of late accustomed to the darkness, scanned the faces of each other in this awful hour, and by that dim light, the paleness, which chased away the natural hues from either cheek, a.s.sumed a yet more ashy and ghastly whiteness. Yet their brows were erect and dauntless-their limbs did not tremble-their lips were compressed and rigid. The religion of the one, the pride of the other, the conscious innocence of both, and, it may be, the support derived from their mutual companionship, elevated the victim into the hero.

'Hark! hearest thou that shout They are growling over their human blood,' said Olinthus.

'I hear; my heart grows sick; but the G.o.ds support me.'

'The G.o.ds! O rash young man! in this hour recognize only the One G.o.d. Have I not taught thee in the dungeon, wept for thee, prayed for thee?-in my zeal and in my agony, have I not thought more of thy salvation than my own?'

'Brave friend!' answered Glaucus, solemnly, 'I have listened to thee with awe, with wonder, and with a secret tendency towards conviction. Had our lives been spared, I might gradually have weaned myself from the tenets of my own faith, and inclined to thine; but, in this last hour it were a craven thing, and a base, to yield to hasty terror what should only be the result of lengthened meditation. Were I to embrace thy creed, and cast down my father's G.o.ds, should I not be bribed by thy promise of heaven, or awed by thy threats of h.e.l.l? Olinthus, no! Think we of each other with equal charity-I honoring thy sincerity-thou pitying my blindness or my obdurate courage. As have been my deeds, such will be my reward; and the Power or Powers above will not judge harshly of human error, when it is linked with honesty of purpose and truth of heart. Speak we no more of this. Hush! Dost thou hear them drag yon heavy body through the pa.s.sage? Such as that clay will be ours soon.'

'O Heaven! O Christ! already I behold ye!' cried the fervent Olinthus, lifting up his hands; 'I tremble not-I rejoice that the prison-house shall be soon broken.'

Glaucus bowed his head in silence. He felt the distinction between his fort.i.tude and that of his fellow-sufferer. The heathen did not tremble; but the Christian exulted.

The door swung gratingly back-the gleam of spears shot along the walls.

'Glaucus the Athenian, thy time has come,' said a loud and clear voice; 'the lion awaits thee.'

'I am ready,' said the Athenian. 'Brother and co-mate, one last embrace! Bless me-and farewell!'

The Christian opened his arms-he clasped the young heathen to his breast-he kissed his forehead and cheek-he sobbed aloud-his tears flowed fast and hot over the features of his new friend.

'Oh! could I have converted thee, I had not wept. Oh! that I might say to thee, "We two shall sup this night in Paradise!"'

'It may be so yet,' answered the Greek, with a tremulous voice. 'They whom death part not, may meet yet beyond the grave: on the earth-on the beautiful, the beloved earth, farewell for ever!-Worthy officer, I attend you.'

Glaucus tore himself away; and when he came forth into the air, its breath, which, though sunless, was hot and arid, smote witheringly upon him. His frame, not yet restored from the effects of the deadly draught, shrank and trembled. The officers supported him.

'Courage!' said one; 'thou art young, active, well knit. They give thee a weapon! despair not, and thou mayst yet conquer.'

Glaucus did not reply; but, ashamed of his infirmity, he made a desperate and convulsive effort, and regained the firmness of his nerves. They anointed his body, completely naked, save by a cincture round the loins, placed the stilus (vain weapon!) in his hand, and led him into the arena.

And now when the Greek saw the eyes of thousands and tens of thousands upon him, he no longer felt that he was mortal. All evidence of fear-all fear itself-was gone. A red and haughty flush spread over the paleness of his features-he towered aloft to the full of his glorious stature. In the elastic beauty of his limbs and form, in his intent but unfrowning brow, in the high disdain, and in the indomitable soul, which breathed visibly, which spoke audibly, from his att.i.tude, his lip, his eye-he seemed the very incarnation, vivid and corporeal, of the valor of his land-of the divinity of its worship-at once a hero and a G.o.d!

The murmur of hatred and horror at his crime, which had greeted his entrance, died into the silence of involuntary admiration and half-compa.s.sionate respect; and with a quick and convulsive sigh, that seemed to move the whole ma.s.s of life as if it were one body, the gaze of the spectators turned from the Athenian to a dark uncouth object in the centre of the arena. It was the grated den of the lion!

'By Venus, how warm it is!' said Fulvia; 'yet there is no sun. Would that those stupid sailors could have fastened up that gap in the awning!'

'Oh! it is warm, indeed. I turn sick-I faint!' said the wife of Pansa; even her experienced stoicism giving way at the struggle about to take place.

The lion had been kept without food for twenty-four hours, and the animal had, during the whole morning, testified a singular and restless uneasiness, which the keeper had attributed to the pangs of hunger. Yet its bearing seemed rather that of fear than of rage; its roar was painful and distressed; it hung its head-snuffed the air through the bars-then lay down-started again-and again uttered its wild and far-resounding cries. And now, in its den, it lay utterly dumb and mute, with distended nostrils forced hard against the grating, and disturbing with a heaving breath, the sand below on the arena.

The editor's lip quivered, and his cheek grew pale; he looked anxiously around-hesitated-delayed; the crowd became impatient. Slowly he gave the sign; the keeper, who was behind the den, cautiously removed the grating, and the lion leaped forth with a mighty and glad roar of release. The keeper hastily retreated through the grated pa.s.sage leading from the arena, and left the lord of the forest-and his prey.

Glaucus had bent his limbs so as to give himself the firmest posture at the expected rush of the lion, with his small and shining weapon raised on high, in the faint hope that one well-directed thrust (for he knew that he should have time but for one) might penetrate through the eye to the brain of his grim foe.

But, to the unutterable astonishment of all, the beast seemed not even aware of the presence of the criminal.

At the first moment of its release it halted abruptly in the arena, raised itself half on end, snuffing the upward air with impatient sighs; then suddenly it sprang forward, but not on the Athenian. At half-speed it circled round and round the s.p.a.ce, turning its vast head from side to side with an anxious and perturbed gaze, as if seeking only some avenue of escape; once or twice it endeavored to leap up the parapet that divided it from the audience, and, on failing, uttered rather a baffled howl than its deep-toned and kingly roar. It evinced no sign, either of wrath or hunger; its tail drooped along the sand, instead of lashing its gaunt sides; and its eye, though it wandered at times to Glaucus, rolled again listlessly from him. At length, as if tired of attempting to escape, it crept with a moan into its cage, and once more laid itself down to rest.

The first surprise of the a.s.sembly at the apathy of the lion soon grew converted into resentment at its cowardice; and the populace already merged their pity for the fate of Glaucus into angry compa.s.sion for their own disappointment.

The editor called to the keeper.

'How is this? Take the goad, p.r.i.c.k him forth, and then close the door of the den.'

As the keeper, with some fear, but more astonishment, was preparing to obey, a loud cry was heard at one of the entrances of the arena; there was a confusion, a bustle-voices of remonstrance suddenly breaking forth, and suddenly silenced at the reply. All eyes turned in wonder at the interruption, towards the quarter of the disturbance; the crowd gave way, and suddenly Sall.u.s.t appeared on the senatorial benches, his hair disheveled-breathless-heated-half-exhausted. He cast his eyes hastily round the ring. 'Remove the Athenian,' he cried; 'haste-he is innocent! Arrest Arbaces the Egyptian-HE is the murderer of Apaecides!'

'Art thou mad, O Sall.u.s.t!' said the praetor, rising from his seat. 'What means this raving?'

'Remove the Athenian!-Quick! or his blood be on your head. Praetor, delay, and you answer with your own life to the emperor! I bring with me the eye-witness to the death of the priest Apaecides. Room there!-stand back!-give way! People of Pompeii, fix every eye upon Arbaces-there he sits! Room there for the priest Calenus!'

Pale, haggard, fresh from the jaws of famine and of death, his face fallen, his eyes dull as a vulture's, his broad frame gaunt as a skeleton-Calenus was supported into the very row in which Arbaces sat. His releasers had given him sparingly of food; but the chief sustenance that nerved his feeble limbs was revenge!

'The priest Calenus!-Calenus!' cried the mob. 'Is it he? No-it is a dead man?'

'It is the priest Calenus,' said the praetor, gravely. 'What hast thou to say?'

'Arbaces of Egypt is the murderer of Apaecides, the priest of Isis; these eyes saw him deal the blow. It is from the dungeon into which he plunged me-it is from the darkness and horror of a death by famine-that the G.o.ds have raised me to proclaim his crime! Release the Athenian-he is innocent!'

'It is for this, then, that the lion spared him. A miracle! a miracle!' cried Pansa.

'A miracle; a miracle!' shouted the people; 'remove the Athenian-Arbaces to the lion!'

And that shout echoed from hill to vale-from coast to sea-'Arbaces to the lion!'

Officers, remove the accused Glaucus-remove, but guard him yet,' said the praetor. 'The G.o.ds lavish their wonders upon this day.'

As the praetor gave the word of release, there was a cry of joy-a female voice-a child's voice-and it was of joy! It rang through the heart of the a.s.sembly with electric force-it, was touching, it was holy, that child's voice! And the populace echoed it back with sympathizing congratulation!

'Silence!' said the grave praetor-'who is there?'

'The blind girl-Nydia,' answered Sall.u.s.t; 'it is her hand that has raised Calenus from the grave, and delivered Glaucus from the lion.'

'Of this hereafter,' said the praetor. 'Calenus, priest of Isis, thou accusest Arbaces of the murder of Apaecides?'

'I do.'

'Thou didst behold the deed?'

'Praetor-with these eyes...'

'Enough at present-the details must be reserved for more suiting time and place. Arbaces of Egypt, thou hearest the charge against thee-thou hast not yet spoken-what hast thou to say.

The gaze of the crowd had been long riveted on Arbaces: but not until the confusion which he had betrayed at the first charge of Sall.u.s.t and the entrance of Calenus had subsided. At the shout, 'Arbaces to the lion!' he had indeed trembled, and the dark bronze of his cheek had taken a paler hue. But he had soon recovered his haughtiness and self-control. Proudly he returned the angry glare of the countless eyes around him; and replying now to the question of the praetor, he said, in that accent so peculiarly tranquil and commanding, which characterized his tones: 'Praetor, this charge is so mad that it scarcely deserves reply. My first accuser is the n.o.ble Sall.u.s.t-the most intimate friend of Glaucus! my second is a priest; I revere his garb and calling-but, people of Pompeii! ye know somewhat of the character of Calenus-he is griping and gold-thirsty to a proverb; the witness of such men is to be bought! Praetor, I am innocent!'

'Sall.u.s.t,' said the magistrate, 'where found you Calenus?'

'In the dungeons of Arbaces.'

'Egyptian,' said the praetor, frowning, 'thou didst, then, dare to imprison a priest of the G.o.ds-and wherefore?'

'Hear me,' answered Arbaces, rising calmly, but with agitation visible in his face. 'This man came to threaten that he would make against me the charge he has now made, unless I would purchase his silence with half my fortune: I remonstrated-in vain. Peace there-let not the priest interrupt me! n.o.ble praetor-and ye, O people! I was a stranger in the land-I knew myself innocent of crime-but the witness of a priest against me might yet destroy me. In my perplexity I decoyed him to the cell whence he has been released, on pretence that it was the coffer-house of my gold. I resolved to detain him there until the fate of the true criminal was sealed, and his threats could avail no longer; but I meant no worse. I may have erred-but who amongst ye will not acknowledge the equity of self-preservation? Were I guilty, why was the witness of this priest silent at the trial?-then I had not detained or concealed him. Why did he not proclaim my guilt when I proclaimed that of Glaucus? Praetor, this needs an answer. For the rest, I throw myself on your laws. I demand their protection. Remove hence the accused and the accuser. I will willingly meet, and cheerfully abide by, the decision of the legitimate tribunal. This is no place for further parley.'

'He says right,' said the praetor. 'Ho! guards-remove Arbaces-guard Calenus! Sall.u.s.t, we hold you responsible for your accusation. Let the sports be resumed.'

'What!' cried Calenus, turning round to the people, 'shall Isis be thus contemned? Shall the blood of Apaecides yet cry for vengeance? Shall justice be delayed now, that it may be frustrated hereafter? Shall the lion be cheated of his lawful prey? A G.o.d! a G.o.d!-I feel the G.o.d rush to my lips! To the lion-to the lion with Arbaces!'

His exhausted frame could support no longer the ferocious malice of the priest; he sank on the ground in strong convulsions-the foam gathered to his mouth-he was as a man, indeed, whom a supernatural power had entered! The people saw and shuddered.

'It is a G.o.d that inspires the holy man! To the lion with the Egyptian!'

With that cry up sprang-on moved-thousands upon thousands! They rushed from the heights-they poured down in the direction of the Egyptian. In vain did the aedile command-in vain did the praetor lift his voice and proclaim the law. The people had been already rendered savage by the exhibition of blood-they thirsted for more-their superst.i.tion was aided by their ferocity. Aroused-inflamed by the spectacle of their victims, they forgot the authority of their rulers. It was one of those dread popular convulsions common to crowds wholly ignorant, half free and half servile; and which the peculiar const.i.tution of the Roman provinces so frequently exhibited. The power of the praetor was as a reed beneath the whirlwind; still, at his word the guards had drawn themselves along the lower benches, on which the upper cla.s.ses sat separate from the vulgar. They made but a feeble barrier-the waves of the human sea halted for a moment, to enable Arbaces to count the exact moment of his doom! In despair, and in a terror which beat down even pride, he glanced his eyes over the rolling and rushing crowd-when, right above them, through the wide chasm which had been left in the velaria, he beheld a strange and awful apparition-he beheld-and his craft restored his courage!

He stretched his hand on high; over his lofty brow and royal features there came an expression of unutterable solemnity and command.

'Behold!' he shouted with a voice of thunder, which stilled the roar of the crowd; 'behold how the G.o.ds protect the guiltless! The fires of the avenging Orcus burst forth against the false witness of my accusers!'

The eyes of the crowd followed the gesture of the Egyptian, and beheld, with ineffable dismay, a vast vapor shooting from the summit of Vesuvius, in the form of a gigantic pine-tree; the trunk, blackness-the branches, fire!-a fire that shifted and wavered in its hues with every moment, now fiercely luminous, now of a dull and dying red, that again blazed terrifically forth with intolerable glare!

There was a dead, heart-sunken silence-through which there suddenly broke the roar of the lion, which was echoed back from within the building by the sharper and fiercer yells of its fellow-beast. Dread seers were they of the Burden of the Atmosphere, and wild prophets of the wrath to come!

Then there arose on high the universal shrieks of women; the men stared at each other, but were dumb. At that moment they felt the earth shake beneath their feet; the walls of the theatre trembled: and, beyond in the distance, they heard the crash of falling roofs; an instant more and the mountain-cloud seemed to roll towards them, dark and rapid, like a torrent; at the same time, it cast forth from its bosom a shower of ashes mixed with vast fragments of burning stone! Over the crushing vines-over the desolate streets-over the amphitheatre itself-far and wide-with many a mighty splash in the agitated sea-fell that awful shower!

No longer thought the crowd of justice or of Arbaces; safety for themselves was their sole thought. Each turned to fly-each dashing, pressing, crushing, against the other. Trampling recklessly over the fallen-amidst groans, and oaths, and prayers, and sudden shrieks, the enormous crowd vomited itself forth through the numerous pa.s.sages. Whither should they fly? Some, antic.i.p.ating a second earthquake, hastened to their homes to load themselves with their more costly goods, and escape while it was yet time; others, dreading the showers of ashes that now fell fast, torrent upon torrent, over the streets, rushed under the roofs of the nearest houses, or temples, or sheds-shelter of any kind-for protection from the terrors of the open air. But darker, and larger, and mightier, spread the cloud above them. It was a sudden and more ghastly Night rushing upon the realm of Noon!

Chapter V

THE CELL OF THE PRISONER AND THE DEN OF THE DEAD. GRIEF UNCONSCIOUS OF HORROR.

STUNNED by his reprieve, doubting that he was awake, Glaucus had been led by the officers of the arena into a small cell within the walls of the theatre. They threw a loose robe over his form, and crowded round in congratulation and wonder. There was an impatient and fretful cry without the cell; the throng gave way, and the blind girl, led by some gentler hand, flung herself at the feet of Glaucus.

'It is I who have saved thee,' she sobbed; now let me die!'

'Nydia, my child!-my preserver!'

'Oh, let me feel thy touch-thy breath! Yes, yes, thou livest! We are not too late! That dread door, methought it would never yield! and Calenus-oh! his voice was as the dying wind among tombs-we had to wait-G.o.ds! it seemed hours ere food and wine restored to him something of strength. But thou livest! thou livest yet! And I-I have saved thee!'

This affecting scene was soon interrupted by the event just described.

'The mountain! the earthquake!' resounded from side to side. The officers fled with the rest; they left Glaucus and Nydia to save themselves as they might.

As the sense of the dangers around them flashed on the Athenian, his generous heart recurred to Olinthus. He, too, was reprieved from the tiger by the hand of the G.o.ds; should he be left to a no less fatal death in the neighboring cell? Taking Nydia by the hand, Glaucus hurried across the pa.s.sages; he gained the den of the Christian! He found Olinthus kneeling and in prayer.

'Arise! arise! my friend,' he cried. 'Save thyself, and fly! See! Nature is thy dread deliverer!' He led forth the bewildered Christian, and pointed to a cloud which advanced darker and darker, disgorging forth showers of ashes and pumice stones-and bade him hearken to the cries and trampling rush of the scattered crowd.

'This is the hand of G.o.d-G.o.d be praised!' said Olinthus, devoutly.

'Fly! seek thy brethren!-Concert with them thy escape. Farewell!'

Olinthus did not answer, neither did he mark the retreating form of his friend. High thoughts and solemn absorbed his soul: and in the enthusiasm of his kindling heart, he exulted in the mercy of G.o.d rather than trembled at the evidence of His power.

At length he roused himself, and hurried on, he scarce knew whither.

The open doors of a dark, desolate cell suddenly appeared on his path; through the gloom within there flared and flickered a single lamp; and by its light he saw three grim and naked forms stretched on the earth in death. His feet were suddenly arrested; for, amidst the terror of that drear recess-the spoliarium of the arena-he heard a low voice calling on the name of Christ!

He could not resist lingering at that appeal: he entered the den, and his feet were dabbled in the slow streams of blood that gushed from the corpses over the sand.

'Who,' said the Nazarene, 'calls upon the son of G.o.d?'

No answer came forth; and turning round, Olinthus beheld, by the light of the lamp, an old grey-headed man sitting on the floor, and supporting in his lap the head of one of the dead. The features of the dead man were firmly and rigidly locked in the last sleep; but over the lip there played a fierce smile-not the Christian's smile of hope, but the dark sneer of hatred and defiance. Yet on the face still lingered the beautiful roundness of early youth. The hair curled thick and glossy over the unwrinkled brow; and the down of manhood but slightly shaded the marble of the hueless cheek. And over this face bent one of such unutterable sadness-of such yearning tenderness-of such fond and such deep despair! The tears of the old man fell fast and hot, but he did not feel them; and when his lips moved, and he mechanically uttered the prayer of his benign and hopeful faith, neither his heart nor his sense responded to the words: it was but the involuntary emotion that broke from the lethargy of his mind. His boy was dead, and had died for him!-and the old man's heart was broken!

'Medon!' said Olinthus, pityingly, 'arise, and fly! G.o.d is forth upon the wings of the elements! The New Gomorrah is doomed!-Fly, ere the fires consume thee!'

'He was ever so full of life!-he cannot be dead! Come hither!-place your hand on his heart!-sure it beats yet?'

'Brother, the soul has fled! We will remember it in our prayers! Thou canst not reanimate the dumb clay! Come, come-hark! while I speak, yon crashing walls!-hark! yon agonizing cries! Not a moment is to be lost!-Come!'

'I hear nothing!' said Medon, shaking his grey hair. 'The poor boy, his love murdered him!'

'Come! come! forgive this friendly force.'

'What! Who could sever the father from the son?' And Medon clasped the body tightly in his embrace, and covered it with pa.s.sionate kisses. 'Go!' said he, lifting up his face for one moment. 'Go!-we must be alone!'

'Alas!' said the compa.s.sionate Nazarene, 'Death hath severed ye already!'

The old man smiled very calmly. 'No, no, no!' muttered, his voice growing lower with each word-'Death has been more kind!'