[pg 218]CHAPTER XIXMARCIANUSWhen the deacon Baudillas and his faithful Pedo emerged from the river, and stood on the bank, they were aware how icy was the blast that blew, for it pierced their sodden garments and froze the marrow in their bones.“Master,”said Pedo,“this is the beginning of a storm that will last for a week; you must get under shelter, and I will give you certain garments I have provided and have concealed hard by in a kiln. The gates of the town are shut. I have no need to inform you that we are without the city walls.”Pedo guided the deacon to the place where he had hidden a bundle of garments, and which was not a bowshot distant from the mouth of the sewer. The kiln was small; it had happily been in recent use, for it was still warm, and the radiation was grateful to Baudillas, whose teeth were chattering in his head.“I have put here bread and meat, and a small skin of wine,”said the slave.“I advise you, master, to[pg 219]make a meal; you will relish your food better here than in the black-hole. Whilst we eat we consume time likewise; but the dawn is returning, and with it the gates will be opened and we shall slip in among the market people. But, tell me, whither will you go?”“I would desire, were it advisable, to revisit my own house,”said the deacon doubtfully.“And I would advise you to keep clear of it,”said the slave.“Should the jailer discover that you have escaped, then at once search will be made for you, and, to a certainty it will begin at your habitation.”Then, with a dry laugh, he added,“And if it be found that I have assisted in your evasion, then there will be one more likely to give sport to the people at the forthcoming show. Grant me the wild beasts and not the cross.”“I will not bring thee into danger, faithful friend.”“I cannot run away on my lame legs,”said Pedo.“Ah! as to those shows. They are to wind up with a water-fight—such is the announcement. There will be gladiators from Arelate sent over to contend in boats against a fleet of our Nemausean ruffians. On the previous day there will be sport with wild[pg 220]beasts. I am told that there have been wolves trapped during the winter in the Cebennæ, and sent down here, where they are retained fasting. I have heard their howls at night and they have disturbed my sleep—their howls and the aches in my thigh. I knew the weather would change by the pains in my joint. There is a man named Amphilochius, a manumitted slave, who broke into and robbed the villa of the master who had freed him. He is a Greek of Iconium, and the public are promised that he shall be cast to the beasts; but whether to the panthers, or the wolves, or bear, or given to be gored by a bull, that I know not. Then there is a taverner from somewhere on the way to Ugernum, who for years has murdered such of his guests as he esteemed well furnished with money, and has thrown their carcasses into the river. He will fight the beasts. There is a bear from Larsacus; but they tell me he is dull, has not yet shaken off his winter sleep, and the people fear they will get small entertainment out of him.”“You speak of these scenes with relish.”“Ah! master, before I was regenerate I dearly loved the spectacles. But the contest with bulls! That discovers the agility of a man. Falerius[pg 221]Volupius Servilianus placed rosettes between their horns and gave a prize to any who would pluck them away. That was open to be contested for by all the youths of Nemausus. There was little danger to life or limb, and it taught them to be quick of eye and nimble in movement. But it was because none were gored that the spectators wearied of these innocent sports and clamored for the butchery of criminals and the contests of gladiators. There was a fine Numidian lion brought by a shipmaster to Agatha; a big price was asked, and the citizens of Narbo outbid us, so we lost that fine fellow.”“Ah, Pedo! please God that none of the brethren be exposed to the beasts.”“I think there will not be many. The Quatuor-viri are slow to condemn, and Petronius Atacinus most unwilling of all. There are real criminals in the prison sufficient to satisfy an ordinary appetite for blood. But, see! we are discussing the amphitheater and not considering whither thou wilt betake thyself.”“I have been turning the matter over, and I think that I will go first to Marcianus, my brother-deacon, and report myself to be alive and free, that he may inform the bishop; and I will take his advice[pg 222]as to my future conduct, and where I shall bestow myself.”“He has remained unmolested,”said the slave,“and that is to me passing strange, for I have been told that certain of the brethren, when questioned relative to the mutilation of the statue, have accused him by name. Yet, so far, nothing has been done. Yet I think his house is watched; I have noticed one Burrhus hanging about it; and Tarsius, they say, has turned informer. See, master! the darkness is passing away; already there is a wan light in the east.”“Had the mouth of the kiln been turned to the setting in place of the rising sun, we should not have felt the wind so greatly. Well, Pedo, we will be on the move. Market people from the country will be at the gates. I will consult with Marcianus before I do aught.”An hour later, Baudillas and his attendant were at the gate of Augustus, and passed in unchallenged. Owing to the furious mistral, accompanied by driving rain, the guards muffled themselves in their cloaks and paid little attention to the peasants bringing in their poultry, fish and vegetables for sale. The deacon and his slave entered unnoticed along[pg 223]with a party of these. In the street leading to the forum was a knot of people about an angry potter whose stall had been blown over by the wind. He had set boards on trestles, and laid out basins, pitchers, lamps, urns on the planks; over all he had stretched sail-cloth. The wind had caught the awning and beaten it down, upsetting and crushing his ware. The potter was swearing that he was ruined, and that his disaster was due to the Christians, who had exasperated the gods by their crimes and impieties.Some looking on laughed and asked, shouting, whether the gods did not blow as strong blasts out of their lungs every year about the same time, and whether they did so because annually insulted.“But they don’t break my crocks,”stormed the potter.“Charge double for what remain unfractured,”joked an onlooker.“Come, master,”said Pedo, plucking Baudillas by the sleeve.“If that angry fellow recognize you, you are lost. Hold my cloak and turn down the lane, then we are at theposticum, at the back of the house. I know some of the family, and they will admit us.”[pg 224]Near by was a shop for flowers. Over the shop front was the inscription,“Non vendo nisi amantibus coronas”(“I sell garlands to lovers only”).10The woman in charge of the bunches and crowns of spring flowers looked questioningly at Baudillas. Her wares were such as invited only when the sun shone. The poor flowers had a draggled and desponding appearance. No lovers came to buy in the bitter mistral.“Come, master, we shall be recognized,”said Pedo.In another moment they had passed out of the huffle of the wind and the drift of the rain into the shelter and warmth of a dwelling.Pedo bade a slave go to Marcianus and tell the deacon that someone below desired a word with him. Almost immediately the man returned with orders to conduct the visitor to the presence of the master.Baudillas was led along a narrow passage into a chamber in the inner part of the house, away from the apartments for the reception of guests.The room was warmed. It was small, and had a glazed window; that is to say, the opening was closed[pg 225]by a sheet of stalagmite from one of the caves of Larsacus, cut thin.In this chamber, seated on an easy couch, with a roll in his hand, which he was studying, was Marcianus. His countenance was hard and haughty.“You!”he exclaimed, starting with surprise.“What brings you here? I heard that you had been before the magistrate and had confessed. But, bah! of such as you martyrs are not made. You have betrayed us and got off clear yourself.”“You mistake, brother,”answered Baudillas, modestly.“In one thing are you right—I am not of the stuff out of which martyrs and confessors are fashioned. But I betrayed no one. Not that there is any merit due to me for that. I was in such a dire and paralyzing fright that I could not speak.”“How then come you here?”“As we read that the Lord sent His angel to deliver Peter from prison, so has it been with me.”“You lie!”said Marcianus angrily.“No miracle was wrought for you—for such as you who shiver and quake and lose power of speech! Bah! Come, give me a more rational explanation of your escape.”“My slave was the angel who delivered me.”“So you ran away! Could not endure martyr[pg 226]dom, saw the crown shining, and turned tail and used your legs. I can well believe it. Coward! Unworthy of the name of a Christian, undeserving of the cross marked on thy brow, unbecoming of the ministry.”“I know that surely enough,”said Baudillas;“I am of timorous stuff, and from childhood feared pain. But I have not denied Christ.”“What has brought you here?”asked Marcianus curtly.“I have come to thee for counsel.”“The counsel I give thou wilt not take. What saith the Scripture:‘He that putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back is not fit for the kingdom of God.’Thou wast called to a glorious confession, and looked back and ran away.”“And thy counsel?”“Return and surrender, and win the crown and palm. But it is waste of breath to say such words to thee. I know thee. Wast thou subjected to torture?”“No, brother.”“No; not the rack, nor the torches, nor the hooks, nor the thumbscrews. Oh, none of these!”“No, brother. It is true, I was scarce tried at[pg 227]all. Indeed, it was good luck—God forgive me!—it was through His mercy that I was saved from denying the faith. I was not even asked to sacrifice.”“Well; go thy ways. I cannot advise thee.”“Stay,”said Baudillas.“I saw in the outer prison some of the faithful, but was in too great fear to recognize any. Who have been taken?”“The last secured has been the widow Quincta. The pontiff and theflamenAugustalis and the priestess of Nemausus swear that she shall be put on the rack and tortured till she reveals where her daughter is concealed, and that amiable drone, the acting magistrate, has given consent. Dost thou know where the damsel Perpetua is concealed?”“Indeed, Marcianus, I know not. But tell me: hast thou not been inquired for? I have been told how that some have accused thee.”“Me! Who said that?”Marcianus started, and his face worked.“Bah! they dare not touch me. I belong to the Falerii; we have had magistrates in our family, and one clothed with the pro-consulship. They will not venture to lay hands on me.”“But what if they know, and it is known through[pg 228]the town, that it was thou who didst mutilate the statue of the founder?”“They do not know it.”“Nay, thou deceivest thyself. It is known. Some of those who were at the Agape have spoken.”“It was thou—dog that thou art!”“Nay, it was not I.”Marcianus rose and strode up and down the room, biting his nails. Then, contemptuously, he said:“My family will stand between me and mob or magistrate. I fear not. But get thee gone. Thou compromisest me by thy presence, thou runagate and jail-breaker.”“I came here but to notify my escape and to ask counsel of thee.”“Get thee gone. Fly out of Nemausus, or thy chattering tongue will be set going and reveal everything that ought to be kept secret.”Then taking a turn he added to himself,“I belong to the Falerii.”Baudillas left; and, as he went from the door, Pedo whispered in his ear:“Let us escape to Ad Fines. We can do so in this detestable weather. I have an old friend there, named Blanda. In my youth I loved—ah! welladay! that was long ago—and we were the chattels of different masters, so it[pg 229]came to naught. She is still a slave, but she may be able to assist us. I can be sure of that; for the remembrance of our old affection, she will do what lies in her power to secrete us.”He suddenly checked himself, plucked the deacon back, and drew him against the wall.An ædile, attended by a body of the city police, armed like soldiers, advanced and silently surrounded the house of Marcianus.Then the officer struck the door thrice, and called:“By the authority of Petronius Atacinus and Vibius Fuscianus, Quatuor-viri juridicundo, and in the name of the Imperator Cæsar Augustus, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, I arrest Cneius Falerius Marcianus, on the atrocious charge of sacrilege.”[pg 230]CHAPTER XXIN THE BASILICAThe Quatuorvir Petronius Atacinus, who was on duty, occupied his chair in the stately Plotinian Basilica, or court of justice, that had been erected by Hadrian, in honor of the lady to whose ingenious and unscrupulous maneuvers he owed his elevation to the throne of the Cæsars. Of this magnificent structure nothing remains at present save some scraps of the frieze in the museum.When the weather permitted, Petronius or his colleagues liked to hear a case in the open air, from a tribune in the forum. But this was impossible to-day, in the howling wind and lashing rain. The court itself was comparatively deserted. A very few had assembled to hear the trials. None who had a warmed home that day left it uncalled for. Some market women set their baskets in the doorway and stepped inside, but it was rather because they were wet and out of breath than because they were interested in the proceedings. Beside the magistrate sat the chiefpontifexwho was also Augustalflamen.[pg 231]Ofpontificesthere were three in the city, but one of these was a woman, the priestess of Nemausus.Throughout the south of Gaul the worship of Augustus had become predominant, and had displaced most of the ancestral cults. The temples dedicated to Augustus exceeded in richness all others, and were crowded when the rest were deserted.Jupiter was only not forgotten because he had borrowed some of the attributes of the Gallic solar deity, and he flourished the golden wheel in one hand and brandished the lightnings in the other. Juno had lent her name to a whole series of familiar spirits of the mountains and of the household, closely allied to theProxumes, a set of domestic Brownies or Kobolds, who were chiefly adored and propitiated by the women, and who had no other temple than the hearth. At Tarasconum, the Phœnician goddess Britomartis reigned supreme, and her worship was stimulated by a grand annual procession and dramatic representation of her conquest over a dragon. At Nemausus the corresponding god of war was called Mars Britovius. But the Volcæ Arecomici were a peaceably-disposed people, and paid little devotion to the god of battles. The cult[pg 232]of the founder Nemausus did not flag, but that of Augustus was in the ascendant. All the freedmen were united in one great sodality under his invocation, and this guild represented an important political factor in the land. It had its religious officers, itsflaminesandseviri, attended by lictors, and the latter had charge of all the altars at the crossroads, and sat next to the civic functionaries in the courts, at banquets, in the theater. Rich citizens bequeathed large sums to the town and to the sodalities to be expended in public feasts, in largesses, and in gladiatorial shows. The charge of these bequests, as also their distribution, was in the hands of theflaminesandseviri. The priesthood was, therefore, provided with the most powerful of all means for gaining and moving the multitude, which desired nothing better than bread and games.“Have that door shut!”called the magistrate.“It bangs in this evil wind, and I cannot even hear what my excellent friend Lucius Smerius is saying in my ear; how then can I catch what is said in court?”Then, turning to the pontiff, he said:“I detest this weather. Last year, about this time, I was struck with an evil blast, and lost all sense of smell and taste for nine months. I had pains in[pg 233]my loins and an ache in all my bones. I doubt if even the jests of Baubo could have made me laugh; I was in lower dumps than even Ceres. Even now, when seated far too long in this marble chair, I get an ache across my back that assures me I am no longer young. But I could endure that if my sense of taste had been fully restored. I do not relish good wine as of old, and that is piteous, and I really at times think of suicide.”“It was the work of enchantment,”said the pontiff.“These Christians, in their orgies, stick pins into images to produce pains in those the figures represent.”“How do you know this? Have you been initiated into their mysteries?”“I——! The Immortals preserve me therefrom.”“Then, by Pluto, you speak what you have heard of the gossips—old wives’ babble. I will tell you what my opinion is, Smerius. If you were to thrust your nose into the mysteries of the Bona Dea you would find—what? No more than did Clodius—nothing at all. My wife, she attends them, and comes home with her noddle full of all the tittle-tattle of Nemausus. It is so with the Christian[pg 234]orgies. I would not give a snap of the fingers for all the secrets confided to the initiated—neither in Eleusis nor in the Serapium, nor among the Christians.”“These men are not like others; they are unsociable, brutish, arrogant.”“Unsociable I allow. Brutish! The word is inapt; for, on the contrary, I find them very simple, soft-headed, pulp-hearted folk. They abstain from all that is boisterous and cruel. Arrogant they may be. There I am at one with you.‘Live and let live’is my maxim. We have a score of gods, home made and foreign, and they all rub and tumble together without squabbling. Of late we have had Madame Isis over from Egypt, and the White Ladies,11and the Proxumes, Victoria Augusta, Venus, and Minerva, make room for her without even a frown on their divine faces. And imperial Rome sanctions all these devotions. Why, did not the god Augustus build a temple here to Nemausus and pay him divine honors, though he had never heard him named before? Now this Christian sect is exclusive. It will suffer no gods to stand beside Him whom they adore. He must reign alone.[pg 235]That I call illiberal, narrow-minded, against the spirit of the age and the principle of Roman policy. That is the reason why I dislike these Christians.”“Here come the prisoners. My good friend, do not be too easy with them. It will not do. The temper of the people is up. The sodality of Augustus swear that they will not decree you a statue, and will oppose your nomination to the knighthood. They have joined hands with the Cultores Nemausi, and insist that proper retribution be administered to the transgressors, and that the girl be surrendered.”“It shall be done; it shall be so,”said the Quatuorvir. Then, raising his hand to his mouth, and speaking behind it—not that in the roar of the wind such a precaution was necessary—he said to the pontiff:“My dear man, a magistrate has other matters to consider than pleasing the clubs. There is the prince over all, and he is on the way to Narbonese Gaul. It is whispered that he is favorably disposed towards this Nazarene sect.”“The Augustus would not desire to have the laws set at naught, and the sodalities are rich enough to pay to get access to him and make their complaint.”“Well, well, well! I cannot please all. I have to steer my course among shoals and rocks. Keep the[pg 236]question of Christianity in the background and charge on other grounds. That is my line. I will do my best to please all parties. We must have sport for the games. The rabble desire to have some one punished for spoiling their pet image. But, by the Twins, could not the poor god hold his own head on his shoulders? If he had been worth an as, he would have done so. But there, I nettle you. You shall be satisfied along with the rest. Bring up the prisoners: Quincta, widow of Aulus Harpinius Læto, first of all.”The mother of Perpetua was led forward in a condition of terror that rendered her almost unconscious, and unable to sustain herself.“Quincta,”said the magistrate,“have no fear for yourself. I have no desire to deal sharply with you; if you will inform us where is your daughter, you shall be dismissed forthwith.”“I do not know——”The poor woman could say no more.“Give her a seat,”ordered Petronius. Then to the prisoner:“Compose yourself. No doubt that, as a mother, you desire to screen your daughter, supposing that her life is menaced. No such thing, madame. I have spoken with the priestess, and with[pg 237]my good friend here, Lucius Smerius, chief pontiff, Augustalflamen, and public haruspex.”He bowed to the priest at his side.“I am assured that the god, when he spoke, made no demand for a sacrifice. That is commuted. All he desires is that the young virgin should pass into his service, and be numbered among his priestesses.”“She will not consent,”gasped Quincta.“I hardly need to point out the honor and advantage offered her. The priestesses enjoy great favor with the people, have seats of honor at the theater, take a high position in all public ceremonies, and are maintained by rich endowments.”“She will never consent,”repeated the mother.“Of that we shall judge for ourselves. Where is the girl?”“I do not know.”“How so?”“She has been carried away from me; I know not whither.”“When the old ewe baas the lamb will bleat,”said the Quatuorvir.“We shall find the means to make you produce her. Lady Quincta, my duty compels me to send you back to prison. You shall be allowed two days’ respite. Unless, by the end of[pg 238]that time, you are able and willing to give us the requisite information, you will be put to the question, and I doubt not that a turn of the rack will refresh your memory and relax your tongue.”“I cannot tell what I do not know.”“Remove the woman.”The magistrate leaned back, and turning his head to the pontiff, said:“Did not your worthy father, Spurius, die of a surfeit of octopus? I had a supper off the legs last night, and they made me sleep badly; they are no better than marine leather.”Then to thevigiles:“Bring forward Falerius Marcianus.”The deacon was conducted before the magistrate. He was pale, and his lips ashen and compressed. His dark eyes turned in every direction. He was looking for kinsmen and patron.“You are charged, Falerius, with having broken the image of the god whom Nemausus delights to honor, and who is the reputed founder of the city. You conveyed his head to the house of Baudillas, and several witnesses have deposed that you made boast that you had committed the sacrilegious act of defacing the statue. What answer make you to this?”Marcianus replied in a low voice.[pg 239]“Speak up,”said the magistrate;“I cannot hear thee, the wind blusters and bellows so loud.”Aside to the pontiff Smerius he added:“And ever since that evil blast you wot of, I have suffered from a singing in my ears.”“I did it,”said the deacon. Again he looked about him, but saw none to support him.“Then,”said the magistrate,“we shall at once conclude this matter. The outrage is too gross to be condoned or lightly punished. Even thy friends and kinsfolk have not appeared to speak for thee. Thy family has been one of dignity and authority in Nemausus. There have been members who have been clothed with the Quatuorviratede aerarioand have been accorded the use of a horse at public charge. Several have been decurions wearing the white toga and the purple stripe. This aggravates the impiety of your act. I sentence Cneius Falerius Marcianus, son of Marius Audolatius, of the Voltinian tribe, to be thrown to the beasts in the approaching show, and that his goods be confiscated, and that out of his property restitution be made, by which a new statue to the god Nemausus be provided, to be set up in the place of that injured by the same Cneius Falerius Marcianus.”[pg 240]The deacon made an attempt to speak. He seemed overwhelmed with astonishment and dismay at the sentence, so utterly unexpected in its severity. He gesticulated and cried out, but the Quatuorvir was cold and weary. He had pronounced a sentence that would startle all the town, and he thought he had done enough.“Remove him at once,”said he.Then Petronius turned to the pontiff and said:“Now, my Smerius, what say you to this? Will not this content you and all the noisy rag-tag at your back?”Next he commanded the rest of the prisoners to be brought forward together. This was a mixed number of poor persons, some women, some old men, boys, slaves and freedmen; none belonged to the upper class or even to that of the manufacturers and tradesmen.“You are all dismissed,”said the magistrate.“The imprisonment you have undergone will serve as a warning to you not to associate with image-breakers, not to enter into sodalities which have not received the sanction of Cæsar, and which are not compatible with the well-being and quiet of the city and are an element of disturbance in the empire. Let[pg 241]us hear no more of this pestilent nonsense. Go—worship what god ye will—only not Christos.”Then the lictors gathered around the Quatuorvir and the pontiff, who also rose, and extended his hand to assist the magistrate, who made wry faces as rheumatic twinges nipped his back.“Come with me, Smerius,”said the Quatuorvir,“I have done the best for you that lay in my power. I hate unnecessary harshness. But this fellow, Falerius Marcianus, has deserved the worst. If the old woman be put on the rack and squeak out, and Marcianus be devoured by beasts, the people will have their amusement, and none can say that I have acted with excessive rigor—and, my dear man—not a word has been said about Christianity. The cases have been tried on other counts, do you see?”he winked.“Will you breakfast with me? There are mullets from the Satera, stewed in white wine—confound those octopi!—I feel them still.”[pg 242]CHAPTER XXIA MANUMISSION“Blanda, what shall I do?”Æmilius had withdrawn immediately after the interview in the citron-house, and Perpetua was left a prey to even greater distress of mind than before.Accustomed to lean on her mother, she was now without support. She drew towards the female slave, who had a patient, gentle face, marked with suffering.“Blanda, what shall I do?”“Mistress, how can I advise? If you had been graciously pleased to take counsel of my master, he would have instructed you.”“Alack! what I desire is to find my mother. If, as I suppose, she is in concealment in Nemausus, he will be unable to discover her. No clue will be put into his hand. He will be regarded with suspicion. He will search; I do not doubt his good will, but he will not find. Those who know where my mother is will look on him with suspicion. O[pg 243]Blanda, is there none in this house who believes, whom I could send to some of the Church?”“Lady,”answered the slave,“there be no Christians here. There is a Jew, but he entertains a deadly hate of such as profess to belong to this sect. To the rest one religion is as indifferent as another. Some swear by the White Ladies, some by Serapis, and there is one who talks much of Mithras, but who this god is I know not.”“If I am to obtain information it must be through some one who is to be trusted.”“Lady,”said the woman-slave,“the master has given strict orders that none shall speak of you as having found a shelter here. Yet when slaves get together, by the Juno of the oaks, I believe men chatter and are greater magpies than we women; their tongues run away with them, especially when they taste wine. If one of the family were sent on this commission into the town, tensestercesto anas, he would tell that you are here, and would return as owlish and ignorant as when he went forth. Men’s minds are cudgels, not awls. If thou desirest to find out a thing, trust a woman, not a man.”“I cannot rest till I have news.”“There has been a great search made after[pg 244]Christians, and doubtless she is, as thou sayest, in concealment, surely among friends. Have patience.”“But, Blanda, she is in an agony of mind as to what has become of me.”The slave-woman considered for awhile, and then said:“There is a man who might help; he certainly can be relied on. He is of the strange sect I know, and he would do anything for me, and would betray no secrets.”“Who is that?”“His name is Pedo, and he is the slave to Baudillas Macer, son of Carisius Adgonna, who has a house in the lower town.”“O Blanda!”exclaimed Perpetua,“it was from the house of Baudillas that I was enticed away.”Then, after some hesitation, she added:“That house, I believe, was invaded by the mob; but I think my mother had first escaped.”“Lady, I have heard that Baudillas has been taken before the magistrate, and has been cast into therobur, because that in his house was found the head of the god; and it was supposed that he was guilty of the sacrilege, either directly or indirectly.[pg 245]He that harbors a thief is guilty as the thief. I heard that yesterday. No news has since been received. I mistrust my power of reaching the town, of standing against the gale. Moreover, as the master has been imprisoned, it is not likely that the slave will be in the empty house. Yet, if thou wilt tarry till the gale be somewhat abated and the rain cease to fall in such a rush, I will do my utmost to assist thee. I will go to the town myself, and communicate with Pedo, if I can find him. He will trust me, poor fellow!”“I cannot require thee to go forth in this furious wind,”said Perpetua.“And, lady, thou must answer to my master for me. Say that I went at thine express commands; otherwise I shall be badly beaten.”“Is thy master so harsh?”“Oh, I am a slave. Who thinks of a slave any more than of an ass or a lapdog? It was through a severe scourging with the cat that I was brought to know Pedo.”“Tell me, how was that?”“Does my lady care for matters that affect her slave?”“Nay, good Blanda, we Christians know no differ[pg 246]ence between bond and free. All are the children of one God, who made man. Our master, though Lord of all, made Himself of no reputation, but took on Him the form of a servant; and was made subject for us.”“That is just how Pedo talks. We slaves have our notions of freedom and equality, and there is much tall talk in the servants’ hall on the rights of man. But I never heard of a master or mistress holding such opinions.”“Nevertheless this doctrine is a principle of our religion. Listen to this; the words are those of one of our great teachers:‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’”“Was he a slave who said that?”“No; he was a Roman citizen.”“That I cannot understand. Yet perhaps he spoke it at an election time, or when he was an advocate in the forum. It was a sentiment; very fine, smartly put, but not to be practiced.”“There, Blanda, you are wrong. We Christians do act upon this principle, and it forms a bond of union between us.”[pg 247]“Well, I understand it not. I have heard the slaves declaim among themselves, saying that they were as good as, nay, better than, their masters; but they never whispered such a thought where were their masters’ ears, or they would have been soundly whipped. In the forum, when lawyers harangue, they say fine things of this sort; and when candidates are standing for election, either as a sevir or as a quatuorvir, all sorts of fine words fly about, and magnificent promises are made, but they are intended only to tickle ears and secure votes. None believe in them save the vastly ignorant and the very fools.”“Come, tell me about thyself and Pedo.”“Ah, lady, that was many years ago. I was then in the household of Helvia Secundilla, wife of Calvius Naso. On one occasion, because I had not brought her May-dew wherewith to bathe her face to remove sun-spots, she had me cruelly beaten. There were knucklebones knotted in the cat wherewith I was beaten. Thirty-nine lashes I received. I could not collect May-dew, for the sky was overcast and the herb was dry. But she regarded not my excuse. Tullia, my fellow-slave, was more sly. She filled a flask at a spring and pretended that she[pg 248]had gathered it off the grass, and that her fraud might not be detected, she egged her mistress on against me. I was chastised till my back was raw.”“Poor Blanda!”“Aye, my back was one bleeding wound, and yet I was compelled to put on my garment and go forth again after May-dew. It was then that I encountered Pedo. I was in such pain that I walked sobbing, and my tears fell on the arid grass. He came to me, moved by compassion, and spoke kindly, and my heart opened, and I told him all. Then he gave me a flask filled with a water in which elder flowers had been steeped, and bade me wash my back therewith.”“And it healed thee?”“It soothed the fever of my blood and the anguish of my wounds. They closed, and in a few days were cicatriced. But Pedo had been fellow-slave with a Jewish physician, and from him had learned the use of simples. My mistress found no advantage from the spring-water brought her as May-dew. Then I offered her some of the decoction given me by Pedo, and that had a marvelous effect on her freckles. Afterwards her treatment of me was[pg 249]kinder, and it was Tullia who received the whippings.”“And did you see more of Pedo?”Blanda colored.“Mistress, that was the beginning of our acquaintance. He was with a good master, Baudillas Macer, who, he said, would manumit him at any time. But, alas! what would that avail me? I remained in bondage. Ah, lady, Pedo regarded me with tenderness, and, indeed, I could have been happy with none other but him.”“He is old and lame.”“Ah, lady, I think the way he moves on his lame hip quite beautiful. I do not admire legs when one is of the same length as another—it gives a stiff uniformity not to my taste.”“And he is old?”“Ripe, lady—full ripe as a fig in August. Sour fruit are unpleasant to eat. Young men are prigs and think too much of themselves.”“How long ago was it that this acquaintance began?”“Five and twenty years. I trusted, when my master, Calvius Naso—he was so called because he really had a long nose, and my mistress was wont to[pg 250]tweak it—but there! I wander. I did think that he would have given me my freedom. In his illness I attended to him daily, nightly. I did not sleep, I was ever on the watch for him. As to my mistress, she was at her looking-glass, and using depilatory fluid on some hairs upon her chin, expecting shortly to be a widow. She did not concern herself about the master. He died, but left money only for the erection of a statue in the forum. Me he utterly forgot. Then my mistress sold me to the father of my present master. When he died also he manumitted eight slaves, but they were all men. His monument stands beside the road to Tolosa, with eight Phrygian caps sculptured on it, to represent the manumissions; but me—he forgot.”“Then, for all these five and twenty years you have cared for Pedo and desired to be united to him!”“Yes, I longed for it greatly for twenty years, and so did he, poor fellow; but, after that, hope died. I have now no hope, no joy in life, no expectation of aught. Presently will come death, and death ends all.”“No, Blanda; that is not what we hold. We look for eternal life.”[pg 251]“For masters, not for slaves.”“For slaves as well as masters, and then God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.”“Alack, mistress. The power to hope is gone from me. In a wet season, when there is little sun, then the fruit mildews on the tree and drops off. When we were young we put forth the young fruit of hopes; but there has been no sun. They fall off, and the tree can bear no more.”“Blanda, if ever I have the power——”“Oh, mistress, with my master you can do anything.”“Blanda, I do not know that I can ask him for this—thy freedom. But, if the opportunity offers, I certainly will not forget thee.”A slave appeared at the door and signed to Blanda, who, with an obeisance, asked leave to depart. The leave was given, and she left the room.Presently she returned in great excitement, followed by Baudillas and Pedo, both drenched with rain and battered by the gale.Perpetua uttered an exclamation of delight, and rushed to the deacon with extended arms.“I pray, I pray, give me some news of my mother.”[pg 252]But he drew back likewise surprised, and replied with another question:“The Lady Perpetua! And how come you to be here?”“That I will tell later,”answered the girl.“Now inform me as to my mother.”“Alas!”replied Baudillas, wiping the rain from his face,“the news is sad. She has been taken before Petronius, and has been consigned to prison.”“My mother is in prison!”The deacon desired to say no more, but he was awkward at disguising his unwillingness to speak the whole truth. The eager eyes of the girl read the hesitation in his face.“I beseech you,”she urged,“conceal nothing from me.”“I have told you, she is in jail.”“On what charge? Who has informed against her?”“I was not in the court when she was tried. I know very little. I was near the town, waiting about, and I got scraps of information from some of our people, and from Pedo, who went into the city.”“Then you do know. Answer me truly. Tell me all.”[pg 253]“I—I was in prison myself, but escaped through the aid of Pedo. I tarried in an old kiln. He advised that I should come on here, where he had friends. Dost thou know that Marcianus has been sentenced? He will win that glorious crown which I have lost. I—I, unworthy, I fled, when it might have been mine. Yet, God forgive me! I am not ungrateful to Pedo. Marcianus said I was a coward, and unfit for the Kingdom of God; that I should be excluded because I had turned back. God forgive me!”Suddenly Perpetua laid hold of Baudillas by both arms, and so gripped him that the water oozed between her fingers and dropped on the floor.“I adjure thee, by Him in whom we both believe, answer me truly, speak fully. Is my mother retained in prison till I am found?”The deacon looked down nervously, uncomfortably, and shuffled from foot to foot.“Understand,”said he, after a long silence,“all I learned is by hearsay. I really know nothing for certain.”“I suffer more by your silence than were I to be told the truth, be the truth never so painful.”[pg 254]“Have I not said it? The Lady Quincta is in prison.”“Is that all?”Again he maintained an embarrassed silence.“It matters not,”said Perpetua firmly.“I will my own self find out what has taken place. I shall return to Nemausus on foot, and immediately. I will deliver myself up to the magistrate and demand my mother’s release.”“You must not go—the weather is terrible.”“I shall—nothing can stay me. I shall go, and go alone, and go at once.”“There is no need for such haste. It is not till to-morrow that Quincta will be put on the rack.”“On the rack!”“Fool that I am! I have uttered what I should have kept secret.”“It is said. My resolve is formed. I return to Nemausus.”“Then,”said the deacon,“I will go with thee.”“There is no need. I will take Blanda.”“I will go. A girl, a young girl shames me. I run away from death, and she offers herself to the sword. Marcianus said I was a renegade. I will[pg 255]not be thought to have denied my Master—to have fled from martyrdom.”“Then,”said Perpetua,“I pray thee this—first give freedom unto Pedo.”Baudillas administered a slight stroke on the cheek to his slave, and said:“Go; thou art discharged from bondage.”
[pg 218]CHAPTER XIXMARCIANUSWhen the deacon Baudillas and his faithful Pedo emerged from the river, and stood on the bank, they were aware how icy was the blast that blew, for it pierced their sodden garments and froze the marrow in their bones.“Master,”said Pedo,“this is the beginning of a storm that will last for a week; you must get under shelter, and I will give you certain garments I have provided and have concealed hard by in a kiln. The gates of the town are shut. I have no need to inform you that we are without the city walls.”Pedo guided the deacon to the place where he had hidden a bundle of garments, and which was not a bowshot distant from the mouth of the sewer. The kiln was small; it had happily been in recent use, for it was still warm, and the radiation was grateful to Baudillas, whose teeth were chattering in his head.“I have put here bread and meat, and a small skin of wine,”said the slave.“I advise you, master, to[pg 219]make a meal; you will relish your food better here than in the black-hole. Whilst we eat we consume time likewise; but the dawn is returning, and with it the gates will be opened and we shall slip in among the market people. But, tell me, whither will you go?”“I would desire, were it advisable, to revisit my own house,”said the deacon doubtfully.“And I would advise you to keep clear of it,”said the slave.“Should the jailer discover that you have escaped, then at once search will be made for you, and, to a certainty it will begin at your habitation.”Then, with a dry laugh, he added,“And if it be found that I have assisted in your evasion, then there will be one more likely to give sport to the people at the forthcoming show. Grant me the wild beasts and not the cross.”“I will not bring thee into danger, faithful friend.”“I cannot run away on my lame legs,”said Pedo.“Ah! as to those shows. They are to wind up with a water-fight—such is the announcement. There will be gladiators from Arelate sent over to contend in boats against a fleet of our Nemausean ruffians. On the previous day there will be sport with wild[pg 220]beasts. I am told that there have been wolves trapped during the winter in the Cebennæ, and sent down here, where they are retained fasting. I have heard their howls at night and they have disturbed my sleep—their howls and the aches in my thigh. I knew the weather would change by the pains in my joint. There is a man named Amphilochius, a manumitted slave, who broke into and robbed the villa of the master who had freed him. He is a Greek of Iconium, and the public are promised that he shall be cast to the beasts; but whether to the panthers, or the wolves, or bear, or given to be gored by a bull, that I know not. Then there is a taverner from somewhere on the way to Ugernum, who for years has murdered such of his guests as he esteemed well furnished with money, and has thrown their carcasses into the river. He will fight the beasts. There is a bear from Larsacus; but they tell me he is dull, has not yet shaken off his winter sleep, and the people fear they will get small entertainment out of him.”“You speak of these scenes with relish.”“Ah! master, before I was regenerate I dearly loved the spectacles. But the contest with bulls! That discovers the agility of a man. Falerius[pg 221]Volupius Servilianus placed rosettes between their horns and gave a prize to any who would pluck them away. That was open to be contested for by all the youths of Nemausus. There was little danger to life or limb, and it taught them to be quick of eye and nimble in movement. But it was because none were gored that the spectators wearied of these innocent sports and clamored for the butchery of criminals and the contests of gladiators. There was a fine Numidian lion brought by a shipmaster to Agatha; a big price was asked, and the citizens of Narbo outbid us, so we lost that fine fellow.”“Ah, Pedo! please God that none of the brethren be exposed to the beasts.”“I think there will not be many. The Quatuor-viri are slow to condemn, and Petronius Atacinus most unwilling of all. There are real criminals in the prison sufficient to satisfy an ordinary appetite for blood. But, see! we are discussing the amphitheater and not considering whither thou wilt betake thyself.”“I have been turning the matter over, and I think that I will go first to Marcianus, my brother-deacon, and report myself to be alive and free, that he may inform the bishop; and I will take his advice[pg 222]as to my future conduct, and where I shall bestow myself.”“He has remained unmolested,”said the slave,“and that is to me passing strange, for I have been told that certain of the brethren, when questioned relative to the mutilation of the statue, have accused him by name. Yet, so far, nothing has been done. Yet I think his house is watched; I have noticed one Burrhus hanging about it; and Tarsius, they say, has turned informer. See, master! the darkness is passing away; already there is a wan light in the east.”“Had the mouth of the kiln been turned to the setting in place of the rising sun, we should not have felt the wind so greatly. Well, Pedo, we will be on the move. Market people from the country will be at the gates. I will consult with Marcianus before I do aught.”An hour later, Baudillas and his attendant were at the gate of Augustus, and passed in unchallenged. Owing to the furious mistral, accompanied by driving rain, the guards muffled themselves in their cloaks and paid little attention to the peasants bringing in their poultry, fish and vegetables for sale. The deacon and his slave entered unnoticed along[pg 223]with a party of these. In the street leading to the forum was a knot of people about an angry potter whose stall had been blown over by the wind. He had set boards on trestles, and laid out basins, pitchers, lamps, urns on the planks; over all he had stretched sail-cloth. The wind had caught the awning and beaten it down, upsetting and crushing his ware. The potter was swearing that he was ruined, and that his disaster was due to the Christians, who had exasperated the gods by their crimes and impieties.Some looking on laughed and asked, shouting, whether the gods did not blow as strong blasts out of their lungs every year about the same time, and whether they did so because annually insulted.“But they don’t break my crocks,”stormed the potter.“Charge double for what remain unfractured,”joked an onlooker.“Come, master,”said Pedo, plucking Baudillas by the sleeve.“If that angry fellow recognize you, you are lost. Hold my cloak and turn down the lane, then we are at theposticum, at the back of the house. I know some of the family, and they will admit us.”[pg 224]Near by was a shop for flowers. Over the shop front was the inscription,“Non vendo nisi amantibus coronas”(“I sell garlands to lovers only”).10The woman in charge of the bunches and crowns of spring flowers looked questioningly at Baudillas. Her wares were such as invited only when the sun shone. The poor flowers had a draggled and desponding appearance. No lovers came to buy in the bitter mistral.“Come, master, we shall be recognized,”said Pedo.In another moment they had passed out of the huffle of the wind and the drift of the rain into the shelter and warmth of a dwelling.Pedo bade a slave go to Marcianus and tell the deacon that someone below desired a word with him. Almost immediately the man returned with orders to conduct the visitor to the presence of the master.Baudillas was led along a narrow passage into a chamber in the inner part of the house, away from the apartments for the reception of guests.The room was warmed. It was small, and had a glazed window; that is to say, the opening was closed[pg 225]by a sheet of stalagmite from one of the caves of Larsacus, cut thin.In this chamber, seated on an easy couch, with a roll in his hand, which he was studying, was Marcianus. His countenance was hard and haughty.“You!”he exclaimed, starting with surprise.“What brings you here? I heard that you had been before the magistrate and had confessed. But, bah! of such as you martyrs are not made. You have betrayed us and got off clear yourself.”“You mistake, brother,”answered Baudillas, modestly.“In one thing are you right—I am not of the stuff out of which martyrs and confessors are fashioned. But I betrayed no one. Not that there is any merit due to me for that. I was in such a dire and paralyzing fright that I could not speak.”“How then come you here?”“As we read that the Lord sent His angel to deliver Peter from prison, so has it been with me.”“You lie!”said Marcianus angrily.“No miracle was wrought for you—for such as you who shiver and quake and lose power of speech! Bah! Come, give me a more rational explanation of your escape.”“My slave was the angel who delivered me.”“So you ran away! Could not endure martyr[pg 226]dom, saw the crown shining, and turned tail and used your legs. I can well believe it. Coward! Unworthy of the name of a Christian, undeserving of the cross marked on thy brow, unbecoming of the ministry.”“I know that surely enough,”said Baudillas;“I am of timorous stuff, and from childhood feared pain. But I have not denied Christ.”“What has brought you here?”asked Marcianus curtly.“I have come to thee for counsel.”“The counsel I give thou wilt not take. What saith the Scripture:‘He that putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back is not fit for the kingdom of God.’Thou wast called to a glorious confession, and looked back and ran away.”“And thy counsel?”“Return and surrender, and win the crown and palm. But it is waste of breath to say such words to thee. I know thee. Wast thou subjected to torture?”“No, brother.”“No; not the rack, nor the torches, nor the hooks, nor the thumbscrews. Oh, none of these!”“No, brother. It is true, I was scarce tried at[pg 227]all. Indeed, it was good luck—God forgive me!—it was through His mercy that I was saved from denying the faith. I was not even asked to sacrifice.”“Well; go thy ways. I cannot advise thee.”“Stay,”said Baudillas.“I saw in the outer prison some of the faithful, but was in too great fear to recognize any. Who have been taken?”“The last secured has been the widow Quincta. The pontiff and theflamenAugustalis and the priestess of Nemausus swear that she shall be put on the rack and tortured till she reveals where her daughter is concealed, and that amiable drone, the acting magistrate, has given consent. Dost thou know where the damsel Perpetua is concealed?”“Indeed, Marcianus, I know not. But tell me: hast thou not been inquired for? I have been told how that some have accused thee.”“Me! Who said that?”Marcianus started, and his face worked.“Bah! they dare not touch me. I belong to the Falerii; we have had magistrates in our family, and one clothed with the pro-consulship. They will not venture to lay hands on me.”“But what if they know, and it is known through[pg 228]the town, that it was thou who didst mutilate the statue of the founder?”“They do not know it.”“Nay, thou deceivest thyself. It is known. Some of those who were at the Agape have spoken.”“It was thou—dog that thou art!”“Nay, it was not I.”Marcianus rose and strode up and down the room, biting his nails. Then, contemptuously, he said:“My family will stand between me and mob or magistrate. I fear not. But get thee gone. Thou compromisest me by thy presence, thou runagate and jail-breaker.”“I came here but to notify my escape and to ask counsel of thee.”“Get thee gone. Fly out of Nemausus, or thy chattering tongue will be set going and reveal everything that ought to be kept secret.”Then taking a turn he added to himself,“I belong to the Falerii.”Baudillas left; and, as he went from the door, Pedo whispered in his ear:“Let us escape to Ad Fines. We can do so in this detestable weather. I have an old friend there, named Blanda. In my youth I loved—ah! welladay! that was long ago—and we were the chattels of different masters, so it[pg 229]came to naught. She is still a slave, but she may be able to assist us. I can be sure of that; for the remembrance of our old affection, she will do what lies in her power to secrete us.”He suddenly checked himself, plucked the deacon back, and drew him against the wall.An ædile, attended by a body of the city police, armed like soldiers, advanced and silently surrounded the house of Marcianus.Then the officer struck the door thrice, and called:“By the authority of Petronius Atacinus and Vibius Fuscianus, Quatuor-viri juridicundo, and in the name of the Imperator Cæsar Augustus, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, I arrest Cneius Falerius Marcianus, on the atrocious charge of sacrilege.”[pg 230]CHAPTER XXIN THE BASILICAThe Quatuorvir Petronius Atacinus, who was on duty, occupied his chair in the stately Plotinian Basilica, or court of justice, that had been erected by Hadrian, in honor of the lady to whose ingenious and unscrupulous maneuvers he owed his elevation to the throne of the Cæsars. Of this magnificent structure nothing remains at present save some scraps of the frieze in the museum.When the weather permitted, Petronius or his colleagues liked to hear a case in the open air, from a tribune in the forum. But this was impossible to-day, in the howling wind and lashing rain. The court itself was comparatively deserted. A very few had assembled to hear the trials. None who had a warmed home that day left it uncalled for. Some market women set their baskets in the doorway and stepped inside, but it was rather because they were wet and out of breath than because they were interested in the proceedings. Beside the magistrate sat the chiefpontifexwho was also Augustalflamen.[pg 231]Ofpontificesthere were three in the city, but one of these was a woman, the priestess of Nemausus.Throughout the south of Gaul the worship of Augustus had become predominant, and had displaced most of the ancestral cults. The temples dedicated to Augustus exceeded in richness all others, and were crowded when the rest were deserted.Jupiter was only not forgotten because he had borrowed some of the attributes of the Gallic solar deity, and he flourished the golden wheel in one hand and brandished the lightnings in the other. Juno had lent her name to a whole series of familiar spirits of the mountains and of the household, closely allied to theProxumes, a set of domestic Brownies or Kobolds, who were chiefly adored and propitiated by the women, and who had no other temple than the hearth. At Tarasconum, the Phœnician goddess Britomartis reigned supreme, and her worship was stimulated by a grand annual procession and dramatic representation of her conquest over a dragon. At Nemausus the corresponding god of war was called Mars Britovius. But the Volcæ Arecomici were a peaceably-disposed people, and paid little devotion to the god of battles. The cult[pg 232]of the founder Nemausus did not flag, but that of Augustus was in the ascendant. All the freedmen were united in one great sodality under his invocation, and this guild represented an important political factor in the land. It had its religious officers, itsflaminesandseviri, attended by lictors, and the latter had charge of all the altars at the crossroads, and sat next to the civic functionaries in the courts, at banquets, in the theater. Rich citizens bequeathed large sums to the town and to the sodalities to be expended in public feasts, in largesses, and in gladiatorial shows. The charge of these bequests, as also their distribution, was in the hands of theflaminesandseviri. The priesthood was, therefore, provided with the most powerful of all means for gaining and moving the multitude, which desired nothing better than bread and games.“Have that door shut!”called the magistrate.“It bangs in this evil wind, and I cannot even hear what my excellent friend Lucius Smerius is saying in my ear; how then can I catch what is said in court?”Then, turning to the pontiff, he said:“I detest this weather. Last year, about this time, I was struck with an evil blast, and lost all sense of smell and taste for nine months. I had pains in[pg 233]my loins and an ache in all my bones. I doubt if even the jests of Baubo could have made me laugh; I was in lower dumps than even Ceres. Even now, when seated far too long in this marble chair, I get an ache across my back that assures me I am no longer young. But I could endure that if my sense of taste had been fully restored. I do not relish good wine as of old, and that is piteous, and I really at times think of suicide.”“It was the work of enchantment,”said the pontiff.“These Christians, in their orgies, stick pins into images to produce pains in those the figures represent.”“How do you know this? Have you been initiated into their mysteries?”“I——! The Immortals preserve me therefrom.”“Then, by Pluto, you speak what you have heard of the gossips—old wives’ babble. I will tell you what my opinion is, Smerius. If you were to thrust your nose into the mysteries of the Bona Dea you would find—what? No more than did Clodius—nothing at all. My wife, she attends them, and comes home with her noddle full of all the tittle-tattle of Nemausus. It is so with the Christian[pg 234]orgies. I would not give a snap of the fingers for all the secrets confided to the initiated—neither in Eleusis nor in the Serapium, nor among the Christians.”“These men are not like others; they are unsociable, brutish, arrogant.”“Unsociable I allow. Brutish! The word is inapt; for, on the contrary, I find them very simple, soft-headed, pulp-hearted folk. They abstain from all that is boisterous and cruel. Arrogant they may be. There I am at one with you.‘Live and let live’is my maxim. We have a score of gods, home made and foreign, and they all rub and tumble together without squabbling. Of late we have had Madame Isis over from Egypt, and the White Ladies,11and the Proxumes, Victoria Augusta, Venus, and Minerva, make room for her without even a frown on their divine faces. And imperial Rome sanctions all these devotions. Why, did not the god Augustus build a temple here to Nemausus and pay him divine honors, though he had never heard him named before? Now this Christian sect is exclusive. It will suffer no gods to stand beside Him whom they adore. He must reign alone.[pg 235]That I call illiberal, narrow-minded, against the spirit of the age and the principle of Roman policy. That is the reason why I dislike these Christians.”“Here come the prisoners. My good friend, do not be too easy with them. It will not do. The temper of the people is up. The sodality of Augustus swear that they will not decree you a statue, and will oppose your nomination to the knighthood. They have joined hands with the Cultores Nemausi, and insist that proper retribution be administered to the transgressors, and that the girl be surrendered.”“It shall be done; it shall be so,”said the Quatuorvir. Then, raising his hand to his mouth, and speaking behind it—not that in the roar of the wind such a precaution was necessary—he said to the pontiff:“My dear man, a magistrate has other matters to consider than pleasing the clubs. There is the prince over all, and he is on the way to Narbonese Gaul. It is whispered that he is favorably disposed towards this Nazarene sect.”“The Augustus would not desire to have the laws set at naught, and the sodalities are rich enough to pay to get access to him and make their complaint.”“Well, well, well! I cannot please all. I have to steer my course among shoals and rocks. Keep the[pg 236]question of Christianity in the background and charge on other grounds. That is my line. I will do my best to please all parties. We must have sport for the games. The rabble desire to have some one punished for spoiling their pet image. But, by the Twins, could not the poor god hold his own head on his shoulders? If he had been worth an as, he would have done so. But there, I nettle you. You shall be satisfied along with the rest. Bring up the prisoners: Quincta, widow of Aulus Harpinius Læto, first of all.”The mother of Perpetua was led forward in a condition of terror that rendered her almost unconscious, and unable to sustain herself.“Quincta,”said the magistrate,“have no fear for yourself. I have no desire to deal sharply with you; if you will inform us where is your daughter, you shall be dismissed forthwith.”“I do not know——”The poor woman could say no more.“Give her a seat,”ordered Petronius. Then to the prisoner:“Compose yourself. No doubt that, as a mother, you desire to screen your daughter, supposing that her life is menaced. No such thing, madame. I have spoken with the priestess, and with[pg 237]my good friend here, Lucius Smerius, chief pontiff, Augustalflamen, and public haruspex.”He bowed to the priest at his side.“I am assured that the god, when he spoke, made no demand for a sacrifice. That is commuted. All he desires is that the young virgin should pass into his service, and be numbered among his priestesses.”“She will not consent,”gasped Quincta.“I hardly need to point out the honor and advantage offered her. The priestesses enjoy great favor with the people, have seats of honor at the theater, take a high position in all public ceremonies, and are maintained by rich endowments.”“She will never consent,”repeated the mother.“Of that we shall judge for ourselves. Where is the girl?”“I do not know.”“How so?”“She has been carried away from me; I know not whither.”“When the old ewe baas the lamb will bleat,”said the Quatuorvir.“We shall find the means to make you produce her. Lady Quincta, my duty compels me to send you back to prison. You shall be allowed two days’ respite. Unless, by the end of[pg 238]that time, you are able and willing to give us the requisite information, you will be put to the question, and I doubt not that a turn of the rack will refresh your memory and relax your tongue.”“I cannot tell what I do not know.”“Remove the woman.”The magistrate leaned back, and turning his head to the pontiff, said:“Did not your worthy father, Spurius, die of a surfeit of octopus? I had a supper off the legs last night, and they made me sleep badly; they are no better than marine leather.”Then to thevigiles:“Bring forward Falerius Marcianus.”The deacon was conducted before the magistrate. He was pale, and his lips ashen and compressed. His dark eyes turned in every direction. He was looking for kinsmen and patron.“You are charged, Falerius, with having broken the image of the god whom Nemausus delights to honor, and who is the reputed founder of the city. You conveyed his head to the house of Baudillas, and several witnesses have deposed that you made boast that you had committed the sacrilegious act of defacing the statue. What answer make you to this?”Marcianus replied in a low voice.[pg 239]“Speak up,”said the magistrate;“I cannot hear thee, the wind blusters and bellows so loud.”Aside to the pontiff Smerius he added:“And ever since that evil blast you wot of, I have suffered from a singing in my ears.”“I did it,”said the deacon. Again he looked about him, but saw none to support him.“Then,”said the magistrate,“we shall at once conclude this matter. The outrage is too gross to be condoned or lightly punished. Even thy friends and kinsfolk have not appeared to speak for thee. Thy family has been one of dignity and authority in Nemausus. There have been members who have been clothed with the Quatuorviratede aerarioand have been accorded the use of a horse at public charge. Several have been decurions wearing the white toga and the purple stripe. This aggravates the impiety of your act. I sentence Cneius Falerius Marcianus, son of Marius Audolatius, of the Voltinian tribe, to be thrown to the beasts in the approaching show, and that his goods be confiscated, and that out of his property restitution be made, by which a new statue to the god Nemausus be provided, to be set up in the place of that injured by the same Cneius Falerius Marcianus.”[pg 240]The deacon made an attempt to speak. He seemed overwhelmed with astonishment and dismay at the sentence, so utterly unexpected in its severity. He gesticulated and cried out, but the Quatuorvir was cold and weary. He had pronounced a sentence that would startle all the town, and he thought he had done enough.“Remove him at once,”said he.Then Petronius turned to the pontiff and said:“Now, my Smerius, what say you to this? Will not this content you and all the noisy rag-tag at your back?”Next he commanded the rest of the prisoners to be brought forward together. This was a mixed number of poor persons, some women, some old men, boys, slaves and freedmen; none belonged to the upper class or even to that of the manufacturers and tradesmen.“You are all dismissed,”said the magistrate.“The imprisonment you have undergone will serve as a warning to you not to associate with image-breakers, not to enter into sodalities which have not received the sanction of Cæsar, and which are not compatible with the well-being and quiet of the city and are an element of disturbance in the empire. Let[pg 241]us hear no more of this pestilent nonsense. Go—worship what god ye will—only not Christos.”Then the lictors gathered around the Quatuorvir and the pontiff, who also rose, and extended his hand to assist the magistrate, who made wry faces as rheumatic twinges nipped his back.“Come with me, Smerius,”said the Quatuorvir,“I have done the best for you that lay in my power. I hate unnecessary harshness. But this fellow, Falerius Marcianus, has deserved the worst. If the old woman be put on the rack and squeak out, and Marcianus be devoured by beasts, the people will have their amusement, and none can say that I have acted with excessive rigor—and, my dear man—not a word has been said about Christianity. The cases have been tried on other counts, do you see?”he winked.“Will you breakfast with me? There are mullets from the Satera, stewed in white wine—confound those octopi!—I feel them still.”[pg 242]CHAPTER XXIA MANUMISSION“Blanda, what shall I do?”Æmilius had withdrawn immediately after the interview in the citron-house, and Perpetua was left a prey to even greater distress of mind than before.Accustomed to lean on her mother, she was now without support. She drew towards the female slave, who had a patient, gentle face, marked with suffering.“Blanda, what shall I do?”“Mistress, how can I advise? If you had been graciously pleased to take counsel of my master, he would have instructed you.”“Alack! what I desire is to find my mother. If, as I suppose, she is in concealment in Nemausus, he will be unable to discover her. No clue will be put into his hand. He will be regarded with suspicion. He will search; I do not doubt his good will, but he will not find. Those who know where my mother is will look on him with suspicion. O[pg 243]Blanda, is there none in this house who believes, whom I could send to some of the Church?”“Lady,”answered the slave,“there be no Christians here. There is a Jew, but he entertains a deadly hate of such as profess to belong to this sect. To the rest one religion is as indifferent as another. Some swear by the White Ladies, some by Serapis, and there is one who talks much of Mithras, but who this god is I know not.”“If I am to obtain information it must be through some one who is to be trusted.”“Lady,”said the woman-slave,“the master has given strict orders that none shall speak of you as having found a shelter here. Yet when slaves get together, by the Juno of the oaks, I believe men chatter and are greater magpies than we women; their tongues run away with them, especially when they taste wine. If one of the family were sent on this commission into the town, tensestercesto anas, he would tell that you are here, and would return as owlish and ignorant as when he went forth. Men’s minds are cudgels, not awls. If thou desirest to find out a thing, trust a woman, not a man.”“I cannot rest till I have news.”“There has been a great search made after[pg 244]Christians, and doubtless she is, as thou sayest, in concealment, surely among friends. Have patience.”“But, Blanda, she is in an agony of mind as to what has become of me.”The slave-woman considered for awhile, and then said:“There is a man who might help; he certainly can be relied on. He is of the strange sect I know, and he would do anything for me, and would betray no secrets.”“Who is that?”“His name is Pedo, and he is the slave to Baudillas Macer, son of Carisius Adgonna, who has a house in the lower town.”“O Blanda!”exclaimed Perpetua,“it was from the house of Baudillas that I was enticed away.”Then, after some hesitation, she added:“That house, I believe, was invaded by the mob; but I think my mother had first escaped.”“Lady, I have heard that Baudillas has been taken before the magistrate, and has been cast into therobur, because that in his house was found the head of the god; and it was supposed that he was guilty of the sacrilege, either directly or indirectly.[pg 245]He that harbors a thief is guilty as the thief. I heard that yesterday. No news has since been received. I mistrust my power of reaching the town, of standing against the gale. Moreover, as the master has been imprisoned, it is not likely that the slave will be in the empty house. Yet, if thou wilt tarry till the gale be somewhat abated and the rain cease to fall in such a rush, I will do my utmost to assist thee. I will go to the town myself, and communicate with Pedo, if I can find him. He will trust me, poor fellow!”“I cannot require thee to go forth in this furious wind,”said Perpetua.“And, lady, thou must answer to my master for me. Say that I went at thine express commands; otherwise I shall be badly beaten.”“Is thy master so harsh?”“Oh, I am a slave. Who thinks of a slave any more than of an ass or a lapdog? It was through a severe scourging with the cat that I was brought to know Pedo.”“Tell me, how was that?”“Does my lady care for matters that affect her slave?”“Nay, good Blanda, we Christians know no differ[pg 246]ence between bond and free. All are the children of one God, who made man. Our master, though Lord of all, made Himself of no reputation, but took on Him the form of a servant; and was made subject for us.”“That is just how Pedo talks. We slaves have our notions of freedom and equality, and there is much tall talk in the servants’ hall on the rights of man. But I never heard of a master or mistress holding such opinions.”“Nevertheless this doctrine is a principle of our religion. Listen to this; the words are those of one of our great teachers:‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’”“Was he a slave who said that?”“No; he was a Roman citizen.”“That I cannot understand. Yet perhaps he spoke it at an election time, or when he was an advocate in the forum. It was a sentiment; very fine, smartly put, but not to be practiced.”“There, Blanda, you are wrong. We Christians do act upon this principle, and it forms a bond of union between us.”[pg 247]“Well, I understand it not. I have heard the slaves declaim among themselves, saying that they were as good as, nay, better than, their masters; but they never whispered such a thought where were their masters’ ears, or they would have been soundly whipped. In the forum, when lawyers harangue, they say fine things of this sort; and when candidates are standing for election, either as a sevir or as a quatuorvir, all sorts of fine words fly about, and magnificent promises are made, but they are intended only to tickle ears and secure votes. None believe in them save the vastly ignorant and the very fools.”“Come, tell me about thyself and Pedo.”“Ah, lady, that was many years ago. I was then in the household of Helvia Secundilla, wife of Calvius Naso. On one occasion, because I had not brought her May-dew wherewith to bathe her face to remove sun-spots, she had me cruelly beaten. There were knucklebones knotted in the cat wherewith I was beaten. Thirty-nine lashes I received. I could not collect May-dew, for the sky was overcast and the herb was dry. But she regarded not my excuse. Tullia, my fellow-slave, was more sly. She filled a flask at a spring and pretended that she[pg 248]had gathered it off the grass, and that her fraud might not be detected, she egged her mistress on against me. I was chastised till my back was raw.”“Poor Blanda!”“Aye, my back was one bleeding wound, and yet I was compelled to put on my garment and go forth again after May-dew. It was then that I encountered Pedo. I was in such pain that I walked sobbing, and my tears fell on the arid grass. He came to me, moved by compassion, and spoke kindly, and my heart opened, and I told him all. Then he gave me a flask filled with a water in which elder flowers had been steeped, and bade me wash my back therewith.”“And it healed thee?”“It soothed the fever of my blood and the anguish of my wounds. They closed, and in a few days were cicatriced. But Pedo had been fellow-slave with a Jewish physician, and from him had learned the use of simples. My mistress found no advantage from the spring-water brought her as May-dew. Then I offered her some of the decoction given me by Pedo, and that had a marvelous effect on her freckles. Afterwards her treatment of me was[pg 249]kinder, and it was Tullia who received the whippings.”“And did you see more of Pedo?”Blanda colored.“Mistress, that was the beginning of our acquaintance. He was with a good master, Baudillas Macer, who, he said, would manumit him at any time. But, alas! what would that avail me? I remained in bondage. Ah, lady, Pedo regarded me with tenderness, and, indeed, I could have been happy with none other but him.”“He is old and lame.”“Ah, lady, I think the way he moves on his lame hip quite beautiful. I do not admire legs when one is of the same length as another—it gives a stiff uniformity not to my taste.”“And he is old?”“Ripe, lady—full ripe as a fig in August. Sour fruit are unpleasant to eat. Young men are prigs and think too much of themselves.”“How long ago was it that this acquaintance began?”“Five and twenty years. I trusted, when my master, Calvius Naso—he was so called because he really had a long nose, and my mistress was wont to[pg 250]tweak it—but there! I wander. I did think that he would have given me my freedom. In his illness I attended to him daily, nightly. I did not sleep, I was ever on the watch for him. As to my mistress, she was at her looking-glass, and using depilatory fluid on some hairs upon her chin, expecting shortly to be a widow. She did not concern herself about the master. He died, but left money only for the erection of a statue in the forum. Me he utterly forgot. Then my mistress sold me to the father of my present master. When he died also he manumitted eight slaves, but they were all men. His monument stands beside the road to Tolosa, with eight Phrygian caps sculptured on it, to represent the manumissions; but me—he forgot.”“Then, for all these five and twenty years you have cared for Pedo and desired to be united to him!”“Yes, I longed for it greatly for twenty years, and so did he, poor fellow; but, after that, hope died. I have now no hope, no joy in life, no expectation of aught. Presently will come death, and death ends all.”“No, Blanda; that is not what we hold. We look for eternal life.”[pg 251]“For masters, not for slaves.”“For slaves as well as masters, and then God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.”“Alack, mistress. The power to hope is gone from me. In a wet season, when there is little sun, then the fruit mildews on the tree and drops off. When we were young we put forth the young fruit of hopes; but there has been no sun. They fall off, and the tree can bear no more.”“Blanda, if ever I have the power——”“Oh, mistress, with my master you can do anything.”“Blanda, I do not know that I can ask him for this—thy freedom. But, if the opportunity offers, I certainly will not forget thee.”A slave appeared at the door and signed to Blanda, who, with an obeisance, asked leave to depart. The leave was given, and she left the room.Presently she returned in great excitement, followed by Baudillas and Pedo, both drenched with rain and battered by the gale.Perpetua uttered an exclamation of delight, and rushed to the deacon with extended arms.“I pray, I pray, give me some news of my mother.”[pg 252]But he drew back likewise surprised, and replied with another question:“The Lady Perpetua! And how come you to be here?”“That I will tell later,”answered the girl.“Now inform me as to my mother.”“Alas!”replied Baudillas, wiping the rain from his face,“the news is sad. She has been taken before Petronius, and has been consigned to prison.”“My mother is in prison!”The deacon desired to say no more, but he was awkward at disguising his unwillingness to speak the whole truth. The eager eyes of the girl read the hesitation in his face.“I beseech you,”she urged,“conceal nothing from me.”“I have told you, she is in jail.”“On what charge? Who has informed against her?”“I was not in the court when she was tried. I know very little. I was near the town, waiting about, and I got scraps of information from some of our people, and from Pedo, who went into the city.”“Then you do know. Answer me truly. Tell me all.”[pg 253]“I—I was in prison myself, but escaped through the aid of Pedo. I tarried in an old kiln. He advised that I should come on here, where he had friends. Dost thou know that Marcianus has been sentenced? He will win that glorious crown which I have lost. I—I, unworthy, I fled, when it might have been mine. Yet, God forgive me! I am not ungrateful to Pedo. Marcianus said I was a coward, and unfit for the Kingdom of God; that I should be excluded because I had turned back. God forgive me!”Suddenly Perpetua laid hold of Baudillas by both arms, and so gripped him that the water oozed between her fingers and dropped on the floor.“I adjure thee, by Him in whom we both believe, answer me truly, speak fully. Is my mother retained in prison till I am found?”The deacon looked down nervously, uncomfortably, and shuffled from foot to foot.“Understand,”said he, after a long silence,“all I learned is by hearsay. I really know nothing for certain.”“I suffer more by your silence than were I to be told the truth, be the truth never so painful.”[pg 254]“Have I not said it? The Lady Quincta is in prison.”“Is that all?”Again he maintained an embarrassed silence.“It matters not,”said Perpetua firmly.“I will my own self find out what has taken place. I shall return to Nemausus on foot, and immediately. I will deliver myself up to the magistrate and demand my mother’s release.”“You must not go—the weather is terrible.”“I shall—nothing can stay me. I shall go, and go alone, and go at once.”“There is no need for such haste. It is not till to-morrow that Quincta will be put on the rack.”“On the rack!”“Fool that I am! I have uttered what I should have kept secret.”“It is said. My resolve is formed. I return to Nemausus.”“Then,”said the deacon,“I will go with thee.”“There is no need. I will take Blanda.”“I will go. A girl, a young girl shames me. I run away from death, and she offers herself to the sword. Marcianus said I was a renegade. I will[pg 255]not be thought to have denied my Master—to have fled from martyrdom.”“Then,”said Perpetua,“I pray thee this—first give freedom unto Pedo.”Baudillas administered a slight stroke on the cheek to his slave, and said:“Go; thou art discharged from bondage.”
[pg 218]CHAPTER XIXMARCIANUSWhen the deacon Baudillas and his faithful Pedo emerged from the river, and stood on the bank, they were aware how icy was the blast that blew, for it pierced their sodden garments and froze the marrow in their bones.“Master,”said Pedo,“this is the beginning of a storm that will last for a week; you must get under shelter, and I will give you certain garments I have provided and have concealed hard by in a kiln. The gates of the town are shut. I have no need to inform you that we are without the city walls.”Pedo guided the deacon to the place where he had hidden a bundle of garments, and which was not a bowshot distant from the mouth of the sewer. The kiln was small; it had happily been in recent use, for it was still warm, and the radiation was grateful to Baudillas, whose teeth were chattering in his head.“I have put here bread and meat, and a small skin of wine,”said the slave.“I advise you, master, to[pg 219]make a meal; you will relish your food better here than in the black-hole. Whilst we eat we consume time likewise; but the dawn is returning, and with it the gates will be opened and we shall slip in among the market people. But, tell me, whither will you go?”“I would desire, were it advisable, to revisit my own house,”said the deacon doubtfully.“And I would advise you to keep clear of it,”said the slave.“Should the jailer discover that you have escaped, then at once search will be made for you, and, to a certainty it will begin at your habitation.”Then, with a dry laugh, he added,“And if it be found that I have assisted in your evasion, then there will be one more likely to give sport to the people at the forthcoming show. Grant me the wild beasts and not the cross.”“I will not bring thee into danger, faithful friend.”“I cannot run away on my lame legs,”said Pedo.“Ah! as to those shows. They are to wind up with a water-fight—such is the announcement. There will be gladiators from Arelate sent over to contend in boats against a fleet of our Nemausean ruffians. On the previous day there will be sport with wild[pg 220]beasts. I am told that there have been wolves trapped during the winter in the Cebennæ, and sent down here, where they are retained fasting. I have heard their howls at night and they have disturbed my sleep—their howls and the aches in my thigh. I knew the weather would change by the pains in my joint. There is a man named Amphilochius, a manumitted slave, who broke into and robbed the villa of the master who had freed him. He is a Greek of Iconium, and the public are promised that he shall be cast to the beasts; but whether to the panthers, or the wolves, or bear, or given to be gored by a bull, that I know not. Then there is a taverner from somewhere on the way to Ugernum, who for years has murdered such of his guests as he esteemed well furnished with money, and has thrown their carcasses into the river. He will fight the beasts. There is a bear from Larsacus; but they tell me he is dull, has not yet shaken off his winter sleep, and the people fear they will get small entertainment out of him.”“You speak of these scenes with relish.”“Ah! master, before I was regenerate I dearly loved the spectacles. But the contest with bulls! That discovers the agility of a man. Falerius[pg 221]Volupius Servilianus placed rosettes between their horns and gave a prize to any who would pluck them away. That was open to be contested for by all the youths of Nemausus. There was little danger to life or limb, and it taught them to be quick of eye and nimble in movement. But it was because none were gored that the spectators wearied of these innocent sports and clamored for the butchery of criminals and the contests of gladiators. There was a fine Numidian lion brought by a shipmaster to Agatha; a big price was asked, and the citizens of Narbo outbid us, so we lost that fine fellow.”“Ah, Pedo! please God that none of the brethren be exposed to the beasts.”“I think there will not be many. The Quatuor-viri are slow to condemn, and Petronius Atacinus most unwilling of all. There are real criminals in the prison sufficient to satisfy an ordinary appetite for blood. But, see! we are discussing the amphitheater and not considering whither thou wilt betake thyself.”“I have been turning the matter over, and I think that I will go first to Marcianus, my brother-deacon, and report myself to be alive and free, that he may inform the bishop; and I will take his advice[pg 222]as to my future conduct, and where I shall bestow myself.”“He has remained unmolested,”said the slave,“and that is to me passing strange, for I have been told that certain of the brethren, when questioned relative to the mutilation of the statue, have accused him by name. Yet, so far, nothing has been done. Yet I think his house is watched; I have noticed one Burrhus hanging about it; and Tarsius, they say, has turned informer. See, master! the darkness is passing away; already there is a wan light in the east.”“Had the mouth of the kiln been turned to the setting in place of the rising sun, we should not have felt the wind so greatly. Well, Pedo, we will be on the move. Market people from the country will be at the gates. I will consult with Marcianus before I do aught.”An hour later, Baudillas and his attendant were at the gate of Augustus, and passed in unchallenged. Owing to the furious mistral, accompanied by driving rain, the guards muffled themselves in their cloaks and paid little attention to the peasants bringing in their poultry, fish and vegetables for sale. The deacon and his slave entered unnoticed along[pg 223]with a party of these. In the street leading to the forum was a knot of people about an angry potter whose stall had been blown over by the wind. He had set boards on trestles, and laid out basins, pitchers, lamps, urns on the planks; over all he had stretched sail-cloth. The wind had caught the awning and beaten it down, upsetting and crushing his ware. The potter was swearing that he was ruined, and that his disaster was due to the Christians, who had exasperated the gods by their crimes and impieties.Some looking on laughed and asked, shouting, whether the gods did not blow as strong blasts out of their lungs every year about the same time, and whether they did so because annually insulted.“But they don’t break my crocks,”stormed the potter.“Charge double for what remain unfractured,”joked an onlooker.“Come, master,”said Pedo, plucking Baudillas by the sleeve.“If that angry fellow recognize you, you are lost. Hold my cloak and turn down the lane, then we are at theposticum, at the back of the house. I know some of the family, and they will admit us.”[pg 224]Near by was a shop for flowers. Over the shop front was the inscription,“Non vendo nisi amantibus coronas”(“I sell garlands to lovers only”).10The woman in charge of the bunches and crowns of spring flowers looked questioningly at Baudillas. Her wares were such as invited only when the sun shone. The poor flowers had a draggled and desponding appearance. No lovers came to buy in the bitter mistral.“Come, master, we shall be recognized,”said Pedo.In another moment they had passed out of the huffle of the wind and the drift of the rain into the shelter and warmth of a dwelling.Pedo bade a slave go to Marcianus and tell the deacon that someone below desired a word with him. Almost immediately the man returned with orders to conduct the visitor to the presence of the master.Baudillas was led along a narrow passage into a chamber in the inner part of the house, away from the apartments for the reception of guests.The room was warmed. It was small, and had a glazed window; that is to say, the opening was closed[pg 225]by a sheet of stalagmite from one of the caves of Larsacus, cut thin.In this chamber, seated on an easy couch, with a roll in his hand, which he was studying, was Marcianus. His countenance was hard and haughty.“You!”he exclaimed, starting with surprise.“What brings you here? I heard that you had been before the magistrate and had confessed. But, bah! of such as you martyrs are not made. You have betrayed us and got off clear yourself.”“You mistake, brother,”answered Baudillas, modestly.“In one thing are you right—I am not of the stuff out of which martyrs and confessors are fashioned. But I betrayed no one. Not that there is any merit due to me for that. I was in such a dire and paralyzing fright that I could not speak.”“How then come you here?”“As we read that the Lord sent His angel to deliver Peter from prison, so has it been with me.”“You lie!”said Marcianus angrily.“No miracle was wrought for you—for such as you who shiver and quake and lose power of speech! Bah! Come, give me a more rational explanation of your escape.”“My slave was the angel who delivered me.”“So you ran away! Could not endure martyr[pg 226]dom, saw the crown shining, and turned tail and used your legs. I can well believe it. Coward! Unworthy of the name of a Christian, undeserving of the cross marked on thy brow, unbecoming of the ministry.”“I know that surely enough,”said Baudillas;“I am of timorous stuff, and from childhood feared pain. But I have not denied Christ.”“What has brought you here?”asked Marcianus curtly.“I have come to thee for counsel.”“The counsel I give thou wilt not take. What saith the Scripture:‘He that putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back is not fit for the kingdom of God.’Thou wast called to a glorious confession, and looked back and ran away.”“And thy counsel?”“Return and surrender, and win the crown and palm. But it is waste of breath to say such words to thee. I know thee. Wast thou subjected to torture?”“No, brother.”“No; not the rack, nor the torches, nor the hooks, nor the thumbscrews. Oh, none of these!”“No, brother. It is true, I was scarce tried at[pg 227]all. Indeed, it was good luck—God forgive me!—it was through His mercy that I was saved from denying the faith. I was not even asked to sacrifice.”“Well; go thy ways. I cannot advise thee.”“Stay,”said Baudillas.“I saw in the outer prison some of the faithful, but was in too great fear to recognize any. Who have been taken?”“The last secured has been the widow Quincta. The pontiff and theflamenAugustalis and the priestess of Nemausus swear that she shall be put on the rack and tortured till she reveals where her daughter is concealed, and that amiable drone, the acting magistrate, has given consent. Dost thou know where the damsel Perpetua is concealed?”“Indeed, Marcianus, I know not. But tell me: hast thou not been inquired for? I have been told how that some have accused thee.”“Me! Who said that?”Marcianus started, and his face worked.“Bah! they dare not touch me. I belong to the Falerii; we have had magistrates in our family, and one clothed with the pro-consulship. They will not venture to lay hands on me.”“But what if they know, and it is known through[pg 228]the town, that it was thou who didst mutilate the statue of the founder?”“They do not know it.”“Nay, thou deceivest thyself. It is known. Some of those who were at the Agape have spoken.”“It was thou—dog that thou art!”“Nay, it was not I.”Marcianus rose and strode up and down the room, biting his nails. Then, contemptuously, he said:“My family will stand between me and mob or magistrate. I fear not. But get thee gone. Thou compromisest me by thy presence, thou runagate and jail-breaker.”“I came here but to notify my escape and to ask counsel of thee.”“Get thee gone. Fly out of Nemausus, or thy chattering tongue will be set going and reveal everything that ought to be kept secret.”Then taking a turn he added to himself,“I belong to the Falerii.”Baudillas left; and, as he went from the door, Pedo whispered in his ear:“Let us escape to Ad Fines. We can do so in this detestable weather. I have an old friend there, named Blanda. In my youth I loved—ah! welladay! that was long ago—and we were the chattels of different masters, so it[pg 229]came to naught. She is still a slave, but she may be able to assist us. I can be sure of that; for the remembrance of our old affection, she will do what lies in her power to secrete us.”He suddenly checked himself, plucked the deacon back, and drew him against the wall.An ædile, attended by a body of the city police, armed like soldiers, advanced and silently surrounded the house of Marcianus.Then the officer struck the door thrice, and called:“By the authority of Petronius Atacinus and Vibius Fuscianus, Quatuor-viri juridicundo, and in the name of the Imperator Cæsar Augustus, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, I arrest Cneius Falerius Marcianus, on the atrocious charge of sacrilege.”
When the deacon Baudillas and his faithful Pedo emerged from the river, and stood on the bank, they were aware how icy was the blast that blew, for it pierced their sodden garments and froze the marrow in their bones.
“Master,”said Pedo,“this is the beginning of a storm that will last for a week; you must get under shelter, and I will give you certain garments I have provided and have concealed hard by in a kiln. The gates of the town are shut. I have no need to inform you that we are without the city walls.”
Pedo guided the deacon to the place where he had hidden a bundle of garments, and which was not a bowshot distant from the mouth of the sewer. The kiln was small; it had happily been in recent use, for it was still warm, and the radiation was grateful to Baudillas, whose teeth were chattering in his head.
“I have put here bread and meat, and a small skin of wine,”said the slave.“I advise you, master, to[pg 219]make a meal; you will relish your food better here than in the black-hole. Whilst we eat we consume time likewise; but the dawn is returning, and with it the gates will be opened and we shall slip in among the market people. But, tell me, whither will you go?”
“I would desire, were it advisable, to revisit my own house,”said the deacon doubtfully.
“And I would advise you to keep clear of it,”said the slave.“Should the jailer discover that you have escaped, then at once search will be made for you, and, to a certainty it will begin at your habitation.”Then, with a dry laugh, he added,“And if it be found that I have assisted in your evasion, then there will be one more likely to give sport to the people at the forthcoming show. Grant me the wild beasts and not the cross.”
“I will not bring thee into danger, faithful friend.”
“I cannot run away on my lame legs,”said Pedo.“Ah! as to those shows. They are to wind up with a water-fight—such is the announcement. There will be gladiators from Arelate sent over to contend in boats against a fleet of our Nemausean ruffians. On the previous day there will be sport with wild[pg 220]beasts. I am told that there have been wolves trapped during the winter in the Cebennæ, and sent down here, where they are retained fasting. I have heard their howls at night and they have disturbed my sleep—their howls and the aches in my thigh. I knew the weather would change by the pains in my joint. There is a man named Amphilochius, a manumitted slave, who broke into and robbed the villa of the master who had freed him. He is a Greek of Iconium, and the public are promised that he shall be cast to the beasts; but whether to the panthers, or the wolves, or bear, or given to be gored by a bull, that I know not. Then there is a taverner from somewhere on the way to Ugernum, who for years has murdered such of his guests as he esteemed well furnished with money, and has thrown their carcasses into the river. He will fight the beasts. There is a bear from Larsacus; but they tell me he is dull, has not yet shaken off his winter sleep, and the people fear they will get small entertainment out of him.”
“You speak of these scenes with relish.”
“Ah! master, before I was regenerate I dearly loved the spectacles. But the contest with bulls! That discovers the agility of a man. Falerius[pg 221]Volupius Servilianus placed rosettes between their horns and gave a prize to any who would pluck them away. That was open to be contested for by all the youths of Nemausus. There was little danger to life or limb, and it taught them to be quick of eye and nimble in movement. But it was because none were gored that the spectators wearied of these innocent sports and clamored for the butchery of criminals and the contests of gladiators. There was a fine Numidian lion brought by a shipmaster to Agatha; a big price was asked, and the citizens of Narbo outbid us, so we lost that fine fellow.”
“Ah, Pedo! please God that none of the brethren be exposed to the beasts.”
“I think there will not be many. The Quatuor-viri are slow to condemn, and Petronius Atacinus most unwilling of all. There are real criminals in the prison sufficient to satisfy an ordinary appetite for blood. But, see! we are discussing the amphitheater and not considering whither thou wilt betake thyself.”
“I have been turning the matter over, and I think that I will go first to Marcianus, my brother-deacon, and report myself to be alive and free, that he may inform the bishop; and I will take his advice[pg 222]as to my future conduct, and where I shall bestow myself.”
“He has remained unmolested,”said the slave,“and that is to me passing strange, for I have been told that certain of the brethren, when questioned relative to the mutilation of the statue, have accused him by name. Yet, so far, nothing has been done. Yet I think his house is watched; I have noticed one Burrhus hanging about it; and Tarsius, they say, has turned informer. See, master! the darkness is passing away; already there is a wan light in the east.”
“Had the mouth of the kiln been turned to the setting in place of the rising sun, we should not have felt the wind so greatly. Well, Pedo, we will be on the move. Market people from the country will be at the gates. I will consult with Marcianus before I do aught.”
An hour later, Baudillas and his attendant were at the gate of Augustus, and passed in unchallenged. Owing to the furious mistral, accompanied by driving rain, the guards muffled themselves in their cloaks and paid little attention to the peasants bringing in their poultry, fish and vegetables for sale. The deacon and his slave entered unnoticed along[pg 223]with a party of these. In the street leading to the forum was a knot of people about an angry potter whose stall had been blown over by the wind. He had set boards on trestles, and laid out basins, pitchers, lamps, urns on the planks; over all he had stretched sail-cloth. The wind had caught the awning and beaten it down, upsetting and crushing his ware. The potter was swearing that he was ruined, and that his disaster was due to the Christians, who had exasperated the gods by their crimes and impieties.
Some looking on laughed and asked, shouting, whether the gods did not blow as strong blasts out of their lungs every year about the same time, and whether they did so because annually insulted.
“But they don’t break my crocks,”stormed the potter.
“Charge double for what remain unfractured,”joked an onlooker.
“Come, master,”said Pedo, plucking Baudillas by the sleeve.“If that angry fellow recognize you, you are lost. Hold my cloak and turn down the lane, then we are at theposticum, at the back of the house. I know some of the family, and they will admit us.”
Near by was a shop for flowers. Over the shop front was the inscription,“Non vendo nisi amantibus coronas”(“I sell garlands to lovers only”).10The woman in charge of the bunches and crowns of spring flowers looked questioningly at Baudillas. Her wares were such as invited only when the sun shone. The poor flowers had a draggled and desponding appearance. No lovers came to buy in the bitter mistral.
“Come, master, we shall be recognized,”said Pedo.
In another moment they had passed out of the huffle of the wind and the drift of the rain into the shelter and warmth of a dwelling.
Pedo bade a slave go to Marcianus and tell the deacon that someone below desired a word with him. Almost immediately the man returned with orders to conduct the visitor to the presence of the master.
Baudillas was led along a narrow passage into a chamber in the inner part of the house, away from the apartments for the reception of guests.
The room was warmed. It was small, and had a glazed window; that is to say, the opening was closed[pg 225]by a sheet of stalagmite from one of the caves of Larsacus, cut thin.
In this chamber, seated on an easy couch, with a roll in his hand, which he was studying, was Marcianus. His countenance was hard and haughty.
“You!”he exclaimed, starting with surprise.“What brings you here? I heard that you had been before the magistrate and had confessed. But, bah! of such as you martyrs are not made. You have betrayed us and got off clear yourself.”
“You mistake, brother,”answered Baudillas, modestly.“In one thing are you right—I am not of the stuff out of which martyrs and confessors are fashioned. But I betrayed no one. Not that there is any merit due to me for that. I was in such a dire and paralyzing fright that I could not speak.”
“How then come you here?”
“As we read that the Lord sent His angel to deliver Peter from prison, so has it been with me.”
“You lie!”said Marcianus angrily.“No miracle was wrought for you—for such as you who shiver and quake and lose power of speech! Bah! Come, give me a more rational explanation of your escape.”
“My slave was the angel who delivered me.”
“So you ran away! Could not endure martyr[pg 226]dom, saw the crown shining, and turned tail and used your legs. I can well believe it. Coward! Unworthy of the name of a Christian, undeserving of the cross marked on thy brow, unbecoming of the ministry.”
“I know that surely enough,”said Baudillas;“I am of timorous stuff, and from childhood feared pain. But I have not denied Christ.”
“What has brought you here?”asked Marcianus curtly.
“I have come to thee for counsel.”
“The counsel I give thou wilt not take. What saith the Scripture:‘He that putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back is not fit for the kingdom of God.’Thou wast called to a glorious confession, and looked back and ran away.”
“And thy counsel?”
“Return and surrender, and win the crown and palm. But it is waste of breath to say such words to thee. I know thee. Wast thou subjected to torture?”
“No, brother.”
“No; not the rack, nor the torches, nor the hooks, nor the thumbscrews. Oh, none of these!”
“No, brother. It is true, I was scarce tried at[pg 227]all. Indeed, it was good luck—God forgive me!—it was through His mercy that I was saved from denying the faith. I was not even asked to sacrifice.”
“Well; go thy ways. I cannot advise thee.”
“Stay,”said Baudillas.“I saw in the outer prison some of the faithful, but was in too great fear to recognize any. Who have been taken?”
“The last secured has been the widow Quincta. The pontiff and theflamenAugustalis and the priestess of Nemausus swear that she shall be put on the rack and tortured till she reveals where her daughter is concealed, and that amiable drone, the acting magistrate, has given consent. Dost thou know where the damsel Perpetua is concealed?”
“Indeed, Marcianus, I know not. But tell me: hast thou not been inquired for? I have been told how that some have accused thee.”
“Me! Who said that?”
Marcianus started, and his face worked.“Bah! they dare not touch me. I belong to the Falerii; we have had magistrates in our family, and one clothed with the pro-consulship. They will not venture to lay hands on me.”
“But what if they know, and it is known through[pg 228]the town, that it was thou who didst mutilate the statue of the founder?”
“They do not know it.”
“Nay, thou deceivest thyself. It is known. Some of those who were at the Agape have spoken.”
“It was thou—dog that thou art!”
“Nay, it was not I.”
Marcianus rose and strode up and down the room, biting his nails. Then, contemptuously, he said:“My family will stand between me and mob or magistrate. I fear not. But get thee gone. Thou compromisest me by thy presence, thou runagate and jail-breaker.”
“I came here but to notify my escape and to ask counsel of thee.”
“Get thee gone. Fly out of Nemausus, or thy chattering tongue will be set going and reveal everything that ought to be kept secret.”Then taking a turn he added to himself,“I belong to the Falerii.”
Baudillas left; and, as he went from the door, Pedo whispered in his ear:“Let us escape to Ad Fines. We can do so in this detestable weather. I have an old friend there, named Blanda. In my youth I loved—ah! welladay! that was long ago—and we were the chattels of different masters, so it[pg 229]came to naught. She is still a slave, but she may be able to assist us. I can be sure of that; for the remembrance of our old affection, she will do what lies in her power to secrete us.”
He suddenly checked himself, plucked the deacon back, and drew him against the wall.
An ædile, attended by a body of the city police, armed like soldiers, advanced and silently surrounded the house of Marcianus.
Then the officer struck the door thrice, and called:“By the authority of Petronius Atacinus and Vibius Fuscianus, Quatuor-viri juridicundo, and in the name of the Imperator Cæsar Augustus, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, I arrest Cneius Falerius Marcianus, on the atrocious charge of sacrilege.”
[pg 230]CHAPTER XXIN THE BASILICAThe Quatuorvir Petronius Atacinus, who was on duty, occupied his chair in the stately Plotinian Basilica, or court of justice, that had been erected by Hadrian, in honor of the lady to whose ingenious and unscrupulous maneuvers he owed his elevation to the throne of the Cæsars. Of this magnificent structure nothing remains at present save some scraps of the frieze in the museum.When the weather permitted, Petronius or his colleagues liked to hear a case in the open air, from a tribune in the forum. But this was impossible to-day, in the howling wind and lashing rain. The court itself was comparatively deserted. A very few had assembled to hear the trials. None who had a warmed home that day left it uncalled for. Some market women set their baskets in the doorway and stepped inside, but it was rather because they were wet and out of breath than because they were interested in the proceedings. Beside the magistrate sat the chiefpontifexwho was also Augustalflamen.[pg 231]Ofpontificesthere were three in the city, but one of these was a woman, the priestess of Nemausus.Throughout the south of Gaul the worship of Augustus had become predominant, and had displaced most of the ancestral cults. The temples dedicated to Augustus exceeded in richness all others, and were crowded when the rest were deserted.Jupiter was only not forgotten because he had borrowed some of the attributes of the Gallic solar deity, and he flourished the golden wheel in one hand and brandished the lightnings in the other. Juno had lent her name to a whole series of familiar spirits of the mountains and of the household, closely allied to theProxumes, a set of domestic Brownies or Kobolds, who were chiefly adored and propitiated by the women, and who had no other temple than the hearth. At Tarasconum, the Phœnician goddess Britomartis reigned supreme, and her worship was stimulated by a grand annual procession and dramatic representation of her conquest over a dragon. At Nemausus the corresponding god of war was called Mars Britovius. But the Volcæ Arecomici were a peaceably-disposed people, and paid little devotion to the god of battles. The cult[pg 232]of the founder Nemausus did not flag, but that of Augustus was in the ascendant. All the freedmen were united in one great sodality under his invocation, and this guild represented an important political factor in the land. It had its religious officers, itsflaminesandseviri, attended by lictors, and the latter had charge of all the altars at the crossroads, and sat next to the civic functionaries in the courts, at banquets, in the theater. Rich citizens bequeathed large sums to the town and to the sodalities to be expended in public feasts, in largesses, and in gladiatorial shows. The charge of these bequests, as also their distribution, was in the hands of theflaminesandseviri. The priesthood was, therefore, provided with the most powerful of all means for gaining and moving the multitude, which desired nothing better than bread and games.“Have that door shut!”called the magistrate.“It bangs in this evil wind, and I cannot even hear what my excellent friend Lucius Smerius is saying in my ear; how then can I catch what is said in court?”Then, turning to the pontiff, he said:“I detest this weather. Last year, about this time, I was struck with an evil blast, and lost all sense of smell and taste for nine months. I had pains in[pg 233]my loins and an ache in all my bones. I doubt if even the jests of Baubo could have made me laugh; I was in lower dumps than even Ceres. Even now, when seated far too long in this marble chair, I get an ache across my back that assures me I am no longer young. But I could endure that if my sense of taste had been fully restored. I do not relish good wine as of old, and that is piteous, and I really at times think of suicide.”“It was the work of enchantment,”said the pontiff.“These Christians, in their orgies, stick pins into images to produce pains in those the figures represent.”“How do you know this? Have you been initiated into their mysteries?”“I——! The Immortals preserve me therefrom.”“Then, by Pluto, you speak what you have heard of the gossips—old wives’ babble. I will tell you what my opinion is, Smerius. If you were to thrust your nose into the mysteries of the Bona Dea you would find—what? No more than did Clodius—nothing at all. My wife, she attends them, and comes home with her noddle full of all the tittle-tattle of Nemausus. It is so with the Christian[pg 234]orgies. I would not give a snap of the fingers for all the secrets confided to the initiated—neither in Eleusis nor in the Serapium, nor among the Christians.”“These men are not like others; they are unsociable, brutish, arrogant.”“Unsociable I allow. Brutish! The word is inapt; for, on the contrary, I find them very simple, soft-headed, pulp-hearted folk. They abstain from all that is boisterous and cruel. Arrogant they may be. There I am at one with you.‘Live and let live’is my maxim. We have a score of gods, home made and foreign, and they all rub and tumble together without squabbling. Of late we have had Madame Isis over from Egypt, and the White Ladies,11and the Proxumes, Victoria Augusta, Venus, and Minerva, make room for her without even a frown on their divine faces. And imperial Rome sanctions all these devotions. Why, did not the god Augustus build a temple here to Nemausus and pay him divine honors, though he had never heard him named before? Now this Christian sect is exclusive. It will suffer no gods to stand beside Him whom they adore. He must reign alone.[pg 235]That I call illiberal, narrow-minded, against the spirit of the age and the principle of Roman policy. That is the reason why I dislike these Christians.”“Here come the prisoners. My good friend, do not be too easy with them. It will not do. The temper of the people is up. The sodality of Augustus swear that they will not decree you a statue, and will oppose your nomination to the knighthood. They have joined hands with the Cultores Nemausi, and insist that proper retribution be administered to the transgressors, and that the girl be surrendered.”“It shall be done; it shall be so,”said the Quatuorvir. Then, raising his hand to his mouth, and speaking behind it—not that in the roar of the wind such a precaution was necessary—he said to the pontiff:“My dear man, a magistrate has other matters to consider than pleasing the clubs. There is the prince over all, and he is on the way to Narbonese Gaul. It is whispered that he is favorably disposed towards this Nazarene sect.”“The Augustus would not desire to have the laws set at naught, and the sodalities are rich enough to pay to get access to him and make their complaint.”“Well, well, well! I cannot please all. I have to steer my course among shoals and rocks. Keep the[pg 236]question of Christianity in the background and charge on other grounds. That is my line. I will do my best to please all parties. We must have sport for the games. The rabble desire to have some one punished for spoiling their pet image. But, by the Twins, could not the poor god hold his own head on his shoulders? If he had been worth an as, he would have done so. But there, I nettle you. You shall be satisfied along with the rest. Bring up the prisoners: Quincta, widow of Aulus Harpinius Læto, first of all.”The mother of Perpetua was led forward in a condition of terror that rendered her almost unconscious, and unable to sustain herself.“Quincta,”said the magistrate,“have no fear for yourself. I have no desire to deal sharply with you; if you will inform us where is your daughter, you shall be dismissed forthwith.”“I do not know——”The poor woman could say no more.“Give her a seat,”ordered Petronius. Then to the prisoner:“Compose yourself. No doubt that, as a mother, you desire to screen your daughter, supposing that her life is menaced. No such thing, madame. I have spoken with the priestess, and with[pg 237]my good friend here, Lucius Smerius, chief pontiff, Augustalflamen, and public haruspex.”He bowed to the priest at his side.“I am assured that the god, when he spoke, made no demand for a sacrifice. That is commuted. All he desires is that the young virgin should pass into his service, and be numbered among his priestesses.”“She will not consent,”gasped Quincta.“I hardly need to point out the honor and advantage offered her. The priestesses enjoy great favor with the people, have seats of honor at the theater, take a high position in all public ceremonies, and are maintained by rich endowments.”“She will never consent,”repeated the mother.“Of that we shall judge for ourselves. Where is the girl?”“I do not know.”“How so?”“She has been carried away from me; I know not whither.”“When the old ewe baas the lamb will bleat,”said the Quatuorvir.“We shall find the means to make you produce her. Lady Quincta, my duty compels me to send you back to prison. You shall be allowed two days’ respite. Unless, by the end of[pg 238]that time, you are able and willing to give us the requisite information, you will be put to the question, and I doubt not that a turn of the rack will refresh your memory and relax your tongue.”“I cannot tell what I do not know.”“Remove the woman.”The magistrate leaned back, and turning his head to the pontiff, said:“Did not your worthy father, Spurius, die of a surfeit of octopus? I had a supper off the legs last night, and they made me sleep badly; they are no better than marine leather.”Then to thevigiles:“Bring forward Falerius Marcianus.”The deacon was conducted before the magistrate. He was pale, and his lips ashen and compressed. His dark eyes turned in every direction. He was looking for kinsmen and patron.“You are charged, Falerius, with having broken the image of the god whom Nemausus delights to honor, and who is the reputed founder of the city. You conveyed his head to the house of Baudillas, and several witnesses have deposed that you made boast that you had committed the sacrilegious act of defacing the statue. What answer make you to this?”Marcianus replied in a low voice.[pg 239]“Speak up,”said the magistrate;“I cannot hear thee, the wind blusters and bellows so loud.”Aside to the pontiff Smerius he added:“And ever since that evil blast you wot of, I have suffered from a singing in my ears.”“I did it,”said the deacon. Again he looked about him, but saw none to support him.“Then,”said the magistrate,“we shall at once conclude this matter. The outrage is too gross to be condoned or lightly punished. Even thy friends and kinsfolk have not appeared to speak for thee. Thy family has been one of dignity and authority in Nemausus. There have been members who have been clothed with the Quatuorviratede aerarioand have been accorded the use of a horse at public charge. Several have been decurions wearing the white toga and the purple stripe. This aggravates the impiety of your act. I sentence Cneius Falerius Marcianus, son of Marius Audolatius, of the Voltinian tribe, to be thrown to the beasts in the approaching show, and that his goods be confiscated, and that out of his property restitution be made, by which a new statue to the god Nemausus be provided, to be set up in the place of that injured by the same Cneius Falerius Marcianus.”[pg 240]The deacon made an attempt to speak. He seemed overwhelmed with astonishment and dismay at the sentence, so utterly unexpected in its severity. He gesticulated and cried out, but the Quatuorvir was cold and weary. He had pronounced a sentence that would startle all the town, and he thought he had done enough.“Remove him at once,”said he.Then Petronius turned to the pontiff and said:“Now, my Smerius, what say you to this? Will not this content you and all the noisy rag-tag at your back?”Next he commanded the rest of the prisoners to be brought forward together. This was a mixed number of poor persons, some women, some old men, boys, slaves and freedmen; none belonged to the upper class or even to that of the manufacturers and tradesmen.“You are all dismissed,”said the magistrate.“The imprisonment you have undergone will serve as a warning to you not to associate with image-breakers, not to enter into sodalities which have not received the sanction of Cæsar, and which are not compatible with the well-being and quiet of the city and are an element of disturbance in the empire. Let[pg 241]us hear no more of this pestilent nonsense. Go—worship what god ye will—only not Christos.”Then the lictors gathered around the Quatuorvir and the pontiff, who also rose, and extended his hand to assist the magistrate, who made wry faces as rheumatic twinges nipped his back.“Come with me, Smerius,”said the Quatuorvir,“I have done the best for you that lay in my power. I hate unnecessary harshness. But this fellow, Falerius Marcianus, has deserved the worst. If the old woman be put on the rack and squeak out, and Marcianus be devoured by beasts, the people will have their amusement, and none can say that I have acted with excessive rigor—and, my dear man—not a word has been said about Christianity. The cases have been tried on other counts, do you see?”he winked.“Will you breakfast with me? There are mullets from the Satera, stewed in white wine—confound those octopi!—I feel them still.”
The Quatuorvir Petronius Atacinus, who was on duty, occupied his chair in the stately Plotinian Basilica, or court of justice, that had been erected by Hadrian, in honor of the lady to whose ingenious and unscrupulous maneuvers he owed his elevation to the throne of the Cæsars. Of this magnificent structure nothing remains at present save some scraps of the frieze in the museum.
When the weather permitted, Petronius or his colleagues liked to hear a case in the open air, from a tribune in the forum. But this was impossible to-day, in the howling wind and lashing rain. The court itself was comparatively deserted. A very few had assembled to hear the trials. None who had a warmed home that day left it uncalled for. Some market women set their baskets in the doorway and stepped inside, but it was rather because they were wet and out of breath than because they were interested in the proceedings. Beside the magistrate sat the chiefpontifexwho was also Augustalflamen.[pg 231]Ofpontificesthere were three in the city, but one of these was a woman, the priestess of Nemausus.
Throughout the south of Gaul the worship of Augustus had become predominant, and had displaced most of the ancestral cults. The temples dedicated to Augustus exceeded in richness all others, and were crowded when the rest were deserted.
Jupiter was only not forgotten because he had borrowed some of the attributes of the Gallic solar deity, and he flourished the golden wheel in one hand and brandished the lightnings in the other. Juno had lent her name to a whole series of familiar spirits of the mountains and of the household, closely allied to theProxumes, a set of domestic Brownies or Kobolds, who were chiefly adored and propitiated by the women, and who had no other temple than the hearth. At Tarasconum, the Phœnician goddess Britomartis reigned supreme, and her worship was stimulated by a grand annual procession and dramatic representation of her conquest over a dragon. At Nemausus the corresponding god of war was called Mars Britovius. But the Volcæ Arecomici were a peaceably-disposed people, and paid little devotion to the god of battles. The cult[pg 232]of the founder Nemausus did not flag, but that of Augustus was in the ascendant. All the freedmen were united in one great sodality under his invocation, and this guild represented an important political factor in the land. It had its religious officers, itsflaminesandseviri, attended by lictors, and the latter had charge of all the altars at the crossroads, and sat next to the civic functionaries in the courts, at banquets, in the theater. Rich citizens bequeathed large sums to the town and to the sodalities to be expended in public feasts, in largesses, and in gladiatorial shows. The charge of these bequests, as also their distribution, was in the hands of theflaminesandseviri. The priesthood was, therefore, provided with the most powerful of all means for gaining and moving the multitude, which desired nothing better than bread and games.
“Have that door shut!”called the magistrate.“It bangs in this evil wind, and I cannot even hear what my excellent friend Lucius Smerius is saying in my ear; how then can I catch what is said in court?”Then, turning to the pontiff, he said:“I detest this weather. Last year, about this time, I was struck with an evil blast, and lost all sense of smell and taste for nine months. I had pains in[pg 233]my loins and an ache in all my bones. I doubt if even the jests of Baubo could have made me laugh; I was in lower dumps than even Ceres. Even now, when seated far too long in this marble chair, I get an ache across my back that assures me I am no longer young. But I could endure that if my sense of taste had been fully restored. I do not relish good wine as of old, and that is piteous, and I really at times think of suicide.”
“It was the work of enchantment,”said the pontiff.“These Christians, in their orgies, stick pins into images to produce pains in those the figures represent.”
“How do you know this? Have you been initiated into their mysteries?”
“I——! The Immortals preserve me therefrom.”
“Then, by Pluto, you speak what you have heard of the gossips—old wives’ babble. I will tell you what my opinion is, Smerius. If you were to thrust your nose into the mysteries of the Bona Dea you would find—what? No more than did Clodius—nothing at all. My wife, she attends them, and comes home with her noddle full of all the tittle-tattle of Nemausus. It is so with the Christian[pg 234]orgies. I would not give a snap of the fingers for all the secrets confided to the initiated—neither in Eleusis nor in the Serapium, nor among the Christians.”
“These men are not like others; they are unsociable, brutish, arrogant.”
“Unsociable I allow. Brutish! The word is inapt; for, on the contrary, I find them very simple, soft-headed, pulp-hearted folk. They abstain from all that is boisterous and cruel. Arrogant they may be. There I am at one with you.‘Live and let live’is my maxim. We have a score of gods, home made and foreign, and they all rub and tumble together without squabbling. Of late we have had Madame Isis over from Egypt, and the White Ladies,11and the Proxumes, Victoria Augusta, Venus, and Minerva, make room for her without even a frown on their divine faces. And imperial Rome sanctions all these devotions. Why, did not the god Augustus build a temple here to Nemausus and pay him divine honors, though he had never heard him named before? Now this Christian sect is exclusive. It will suffer no gods to stand beside Him whom they adore. He must reign alone.[pg 235]That I call illiberal, narrow-minded, against the spirit of the age and the principle of Roman policy. That is the reason why I dislike these Christians.”
“Here come the prisoners. My good friend, do not be too easy with them. It will not do. The temper of the people is up. The sodality of Augustus swear that they will not decree you a statue, and will oppose your nomination to the knighthood. They have joined hands with the Cultores Nemausi, and insist that proper retribution be administered to the transgressors, and that the girl be surrendered.”
“It shall be done; it shall be so,”said the Quatuorvir. Then, raising his hand to his mouth, and speaking behind it—not that in the roar of the wind such a precaution was necessary—he said to the pontiff:“My dear man, a magistrate has other matters to consider than pleasing the clubs. There is the prince over all, and he is on the way to Narbonese Gaul. It is whispered that he is favorably disposed towards this Nazarene sect.”
“The Augustus would not desire to have the laws set at naught, and the sodalities are rich enough to pay to get access to him and make their complaint.”
“Well, well, well! I cannot please all. I have to steer my course among shoals and rocks. Keep the[pg 236]question of Christianity in the background and charge on other grounds. That is my line. I will do my best to please all parties. We must have sport for the games. The rabble desire to have some one punished for spoiling their pet image. But, by the Twins, could not the poor god hold his own head on his shoulders? If he had been worth an as, he would have done so. But there, I nettle you. You shall be satisfied along with the rest. Bring up the prisoners: Quincta, widow of Aulus Harpinius Læto, first of all.”
The mother of Perpetua was led forward in a condition of terror that rendered her almost unconscious, and unable to sustain herself.
“Quincta,”said the magistrate,“have no fear for yourself. I have no desire to deal sharply with you; if you will inform us where is your daughter, you shall be dismissed forthwith.”
“I do not know——”The poor woman could say no more.
“Give her a seat,”ordered Petronius. Then to the prisoner:“Compose yourself. No doubt that, as a mother, you desire to screen your daughter, supposing that her life is menaced. No such thing, madame. I have spoken with the priestess, and with[pg 237]my good friend here, Lucius Smerius, chief pontiff, Augustalflamen, and public haruspex.”He bowed to the priest at his side.“I am assured that the god, when he spoke, made no demand for a sacrifice. That is commuted. All he desires is that the young virgin should pass into his service, and be numbered among his priestesses.”
“She will not consent,”gasped Quincta.
“I hardly need to point out the honor and advantage offered her. The priestesses enjoy great favor with the people, have seats of honor at the theater, take a high position in all public ceremonies, and are maintained by rich endowments.”
“She will never consent,”repeated the mother.
“Of that we shall judge for ourselves. Where is the girl?”
“I do not know.”
“How so?”
“She has been carried away from me; I know not whither.”
“When the old ewe baas the lamb will bleat,”said the Quatuorvir.“We shall find the means to make you produce her. Lady Quincta, my duty compels me to send you back to prison. You shall be allowed two days’ respite. Unless, by the end of[pg 238]that time, you are able and willing to give us the requisite information, you will be put to the question, and I doubt not that a turn of the rack will refresh your memory and relax your tongue.”
“I cannot tell what I do not know.”
“Remove the woman.”
The magistrate leaned back, and turning his head to the pontiff, said:“Did not your worthy father, Spurius, die of a surfeit of octopus? I had a supper off the legs last night, and they made me sleep badly; they are no better than marine leather.”Then to thevigiles:“Bring forward Falerius Marcianus.”
The deacon was conducted before the magistrate. He was pale, and his lips ashen and compressed. His dark eyes turned in every direction. He was looking for kinsmen and patron.
“You are charged, Falerius, with having broken the image of the god whom Nemausus delights to honor, and who is the reputed founder of the city. You conveyed his head to the house of Baudillas, and several witnesses have deposed that you made boast that you had committed the sacrilegious act of defacing the statue. What answer make you to this?”
Marcianus replied in a low voice.
“Speak up,”said the magistrate;“I cannot hear thee, the wind blusters and bellows so loud.”Aside to the pontiff Smerius he added:“And ever since that evil blast you wot of, I have suffered from a singing in my ears.”
“I did it,”said the deacon. Again he looked about him, but saw none to support him.
“Then,”said the magistrate,“we shall at once conclude this matter. The outrage is too gross to be condoned or lightly punished. Even thy friends and kinsfolk have not appeared to speak for thee. Thy family has been one of dignity and authority in Nemausus. There have been members who have been clothed with the Quatuorviratede aerarioand have been accorded the use of a horse at public charge. Several have been decurions wearing the white toga and the purple stripe. This aggravates the impiety of your act. I sentence Cneius Falerius Marcianus, son of Marius Audolatius, of the Voltinian tribe, to be thrown to the beasts in the approaching show, and that his goods be confiscated, and that out of his property restitution be made, by which a new statue to the god Nemausus be provided, to be set up in the place of that injured by the same Cneius Falerius Marcianus.”
The deacon made an attempt to speak. He seemed overwhelmed with astonishment and dismay at the sentence, so utterly unexpected in its severity. He gesticulated and cried out, but the Quatuorvir was cold and weary. He had pronounced a sentence that would startle all the town, and he thought he had done enough.
“Remove him at once,”said he.
Then Petronius turned to the pontiff and said:“Now, my Smerius, what say you to this? Will not this content you and all the noisy rag-tag at your back?”
Next he commanded the rest of the prisoners to be brought forward together. This was a mixed number of poor persons, some women, some old men, boys, slaves and freedmen; none belonged to the upper class or even to that of the manufacturers and tradesmen.
“You are all dismissed,”said the magistrate.“The imprisonment you have undergone will serve as a warning to you not to associate with image-breakers, not to enter into sodalities which have not received the sanction of Cæsar, and which are not compatible with the well-being and quiet of the city and are an element of disturbance in the empire. Let[pg 241]us hear no more of this pestilent nonsense. Go—worship what god ye will—only not Christos.”
Then the lictors gathered around the Quatuorvir and the pontiff, who also rose, and extended his hand to assist the magistrate, who made wry faces as rheumatic twinges nipped his back.
“Come with me, Smerius,”said the Quatuorvir,“I have done the best for you that lay in my power. I hate unnecessary harshness. But this fellow, Falerius Marcianus, has deserved the worst. If the old woman be put on the rack and squeak out, and Marcianus be devoured by beasts, the people will have their amusement, and none can say that I have acted with excessive rigor—and, my dear man—not a word has been said about Christianity. The cases have been tried on other counts, do you see?”he winked.“Will you breakfast with me? There are mullets from the Satera, stewed in white wine—confound those octopi!—I feel them still.”
[pg 242]CHAPTER XXIA MANUMISSION“Blanda, what shall I do?”Æmilius had withdrawn immediately after the interview in the citron-house, and Perpetua was left a prey to even greater distress of mind than before.Accustomed to lean on her mother, she was now without support. She drew towards the female slave, who had a patient, gentle face, marked with suffering.“Blanda, what shall I do?”“Mistress, how can I advise? If you had been graciously pleased to take counsel of my master, he would have instructed you.”“Alack! what I desire is to find my mother. If, as I suppose, she is in concealment in Nemausus, he will be unable to discover her. No clue will be put into his hand. He will be regarded with suspicion. He will search; I do not doubt his good will, but he will not find. Those who know where my mother is will look on him with suspicion. O[pg 243]Blanda, is there none in this house who believes, whom I could send to some of the Church?”“Lady,”answered the slave,“there be no Christians here. There is a Jew, but he entertains a deadly hate of such as profess to belong to this sect. To the rest one religion is as indifferent as another. Some swear by the White Ladies, some by Serapis, and there is one who talks much of Mithras, but who this god is I know not.”“If I am to obtain information it must be through some one who is to be trusted.”“Lady,”said the woman-slave,“the master has given strict orders that none shall speak of you as having found a shelter here. Yet when slaves get together, by the Juno of the oaks, I believe men chatter and are greater magpies than we women; their tongues run away with them, especially when they taste wine. If one of the family were sent on this commission into the town, tensestercesto anas, he would tell that you are here, and would return as owlish and ignorant as when he went forth. Men’s minds are cudgels, not awls. If thou desirest to find out a thing, trust a woman, not a man.”“I cannot rest till I have news.”“There has been a great search made after[pg 244]Christians, and doubtless she is, as thou sayest, in concealment, surely among friends. Have patience.”“But, Blanda, she is in an agony of mind as to what has become of me.”The slave-woman considered for awhile, and then said:“There is a man who might help; he certainly can be relied on. He is of the strange sect I know, and he would do anything for me, and would betray no secrets.”“Who is that?”“His name is Pedo, and he is the slave to Baudillas Macer, son of Carisius Adgonna, who has a house in the lower town.”“O Blanda!”exclaimed Perpetua,“it was from the house of Baudillas that I was enticed away.”Then, after some hesitation, she added:“That house, I believe, was invaded by the mob; but I think my mother had first escaped.”“Lady, I have heard that Baudillas has been taken before the magistrate, and has been cast into therobur, because that in his house was found the head of the god; and it was supposed that he was guilty of the sacrilege, either directly or indirectly.[pg 245]He that harbors a thief is guilty as the thief. I heard that yesterday. No news has since been received. I mistrust my power of reaching the town, of standing against the gale. Moreover, as the master has been imprisoned, it is not likely that the slave will be in the empty house. Yet, if thou wilt tarry till the gale be somewhat abated and the rain cease to fall in such a rush, I will do my utmost to assist thee. I will go to the town myself, and communicate with Pedo, if I can find him. He will trust me, poor fellow!”“I cannot require thee to go forth in this furious wind,”said Perpetua.“And, lady, thou must answer to my master for me. Say that I went at thine express commands; otherwise I shall be badly beaten.”“Is thy master so harsh?”“Oh, I am a slave. Who thinks of a slave any more than of an ass or a lapdog? It was through a severe scourging with the cat that I was brought to know Pedo.”“Tell me, how was that?”“Does my lady care for matters that affect her slave?”“Nay, good Blanda, we Christians know no differ[pg 246]ence between bond and free. All are the children of one God, who made man. Our master, though Lord of all, made Himself of no reputation, but took on Him the form of a servant; and was made subject for us.”“That is just how Pedo talks. We slaves have our notions of freedom and equality, and there is much tall talk in the servants’ hall on the rights of man. But I never heard of a master or mistress holding such opinions.”“Nevertheless this doctrine is a principle of our religion. Listen to this; the words are those of one of our great teachers:‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’”“Was he a slave who said that?”“No; he was a Roman citizen.”“That I cannot understand. Yet perhaps he spoke it at an election time, or when he was an advocate in the forum. It was a sentiment; very fine, smartly put, but not to be practiced.”“There, Blanda, you are wrong. We Christians do act upon this principle, and it forms a bond of union between us.”[pg 247]“Well, I understand it not. I have heard the slaves declaim among themselves, saying that they were as good as, nay, better than, their masters; but they never whispered such a thought where were their masters’ ears, or they would have been soundly whipped. In the forum, when lawyers harangue, they say fine things of this sort; and when candidates are standing for election, either as a sevir or as a quatuorvir, all sorts of fine words fly about, and magnificent promises are made, but they are intended only to tickle ears and secure votes. None believe in them save the vastly ignorant and the very fools.”“Come, tell me about thyself and Pedo.”“Ah, lady, that was many years ago. I was then in the household of Helvia Secundilla, wife of Calvius Naso. On one occasion, because I had not brought her May-dew wherewith to bathe her face to remove sun-spots, she had me cruelly beaten. There were knucklebones knotted in the cat wherewith I was beaten. Thirty-nine lashes I received. I could not collect May-dew, for the sky was overcast and the herb was dry. But she regarded not my excuse. Tullia, my fellow-slave, was more sly. She filled a flask at a spring and pretended that she[pg 248]had gathered it off the grass, and that her fraud might not be detected, she egged her mistress on against me. I was chastised till my back was raw.”“Poor Blanda!”“Aye, my back was one bleeding wound, and yet I was compelled to put on my garment and go forth again after May-dew. It was then that I encountered Pedo. I was in such pain that I walked sobbing, and my tears fell on the arid grass. He came to me, moved by compassion, and spoke kindly, and my heart opened, and I told him all. Then he gave me a flask filled with a water in which elder flowers had been steeped, and bade me wash my back therewith.”“And it healed thee?”“It soothed the fever of my blood and the anguish of my wounds. They closed, and in a few days were cicatriced. But Pedo had been fellow-slave with a Jewish physician, and from him had learned the use of simples. My mistress found no advantage from the spring-water brought her as May-dew. Then I offered her some of the decoction given me by Pedo, and that had a marvelous effect on her freckles. Afterwards her treatment of me was[pg 249]kinder, and it was Tullia who received the whippings.”“And did you see more of Pedo?”Blanda colored.“Mistress, that was the beginning of our acquaintance. He was with a good master, Baudillas Macer, who, he said, would manumit him at any time. But, alas! what would that avail me? I remained in bondage. Ah, lady, Pedo regarded me with tenderness, and, indeed, I could have been happy with none other but him.”“He is old and lame.”“Ah, lady, I think the way he moves on his lame hip quite beautiful. I do not admire legs when one is of the same length as another—it gives a stiff uniformity not to my taste.”“And he is old?”“Ripe, lady—full ripe as a fig in August. Sour fruit are unpleasant to eat. Young men are prigs and think too much of themselves.”“How long ago was it that this acquaintance began?”“Five and twenty years. I trusted, when my master, Calvius Naso—he was so called because he really had a long nose, and my mistress was wont to[pg 250]tweak it—but there! I wander. I did think that he would have given me my freedom. In his illness I attended to him daily, nightly. I did not sleep, I was ever on the watch for him. As to my mistress, she was at her looking-glass, and using depilatory fluid on some hairs upon her chin, expecting shortly to be a widow. She did not concern herself about the master. He died, but left money only for the erection of a statue in the forum. Me he utterly forgot. Then my mistress sold me to the father of my present master. When he died also he manumitted eight slaves, but they were all men. His monument stands beside the road to Tolosa, with eight Phrygian caps sculptured on it, to represent the manumissions; but me—he forgot.”“Then, for all these five and twenty years you have cared for Pedo and desired to be united to him!”“Yes, I longed for it greatly for twenty years, and so did he, poor fellow; but, after that, hope died. I have now no hope, no joy in life, no expectation of aught. Presently will come death, and death ends all.”“No, Blanda; that is not what we hold. We look for eternal life.”[pg 251]“For masters, not for slaves.”“For slaves as well as masters, and then God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.”“Alack, mistress. The power to hope is gone from me. In a wet season, when there is little sun, then the fruit mildews on the tree and drops off. When we were young we put forth the young fruit of hopes; but there has been no sun. They fall off, and the tree can bear no more.”“Blanda, if ever I have the power——”“Oh, mistress, with my master you can do anything.”“Blanda, I do not know that I can ask him for this—thy freedom. But, if the opportunity offers, I certainly will not forget thee.”A slave appeared at the door and signed to Blanda, who, with an obeisance, asked leave to depart. The leave was given, and she left the room.Presently she returned in great excitement, followed by Baudillas and Pedo, both drenched with rain and battered by the gale.Perpetua uttered an exclamation of delight, and rushed to the deacon with extended arms.“I pray, I pray, give me some news of my mother.”[pg 252]But he drew back likewise surprised, and replied with another question:“The Lady Perpetua! And how come you to be here?”“That I will tell later,”answered the girl.“Now inform me as to my mother.”“Alas!”replied Baudillas, wiping the rain from his face,“the news is sad. She has been taken before Petronius, and has been consigned to prison.”“My mother is in prison!”The deacon desired to say no more, but he was awkward at disguising his unwillingness to speak the whole truth. The eager eyes of the girl read the hesitation in his face.“I beseech you,”she urged,“conceal nothing from me.”“I have told you, she is in jail.”“On what charge? Who has informed against her?”“I was not in the court when she was tried. I know very little. I was near the town, waiting about, and I got scraps of information from some of our people, and from Pedo, who went into the city.”“Then you do know. Answer me truly. Tell me all.”[pg 253]“I—I was in prison myself, but escaped through the aid of Pedo. I tarried in an old kiln. He advised that I should come on here, where he had friends. Dost thou know that Marcianus has been sentenced? He will win that glorious crown which I have lost. I—I, unworthy, I fled, when it might have been mine. Yet, God forgive me! I am not ungrateful to Pedo. Marcianus said I was a coward, and unfit for the Kingdom of God; that I should be excluded because I had turned back. God forgive me!”Suddenly Perpetua laid hold of Baudillas by both arms, and so gripped him that the water oozed between her fingers and dropped on the floor.“I adjure thee, by Him in whom we both believe, answer me truly, speak fully. Is my mother retained in prison till I am found?”The deacon looked down nervously, uncomfortably, and shuffled from foot to foot.“Understand,”said he, after a long silence,“all I learned is by hearsay. I really know nothing for certain.”“I suffer more by your silence than were I to be told the truth, be the truth never so painful.”[pg 254]“Have I not said it? The Lady Quincta is in prison.”“Is that all?”Again he maintained an embarrassed silence.“It matters not,”said Perpetua firmly.“I will my own self find out what has taken place. I shall return to Nemausus on foot, and immediately. I will deliver myself up to the magistrate and demand my mother’s release.”“You must not go—the weather is terrible.”“I shall—nothing can stay me. I shall go, and go alone, and go at once.”“There is no need for such haste. It is not till to-morrow that Quincta will be put on the rack.”“On the rack!”“Fool that I am! I have uttered what I should have kept secret.”“It is said. My resolve is formed. I return to Nemausus.”“Then,”said the deacon,“I will go with thee.”“There is no need. I will take Blanda.”“I will go. A girl, a young girl shames me. I run away from death, and she offers herself to the sword. Marcianus said I was a renegade. I will[pg 255]not be thought to have denied my Master—to have fled from martyrdom.”“Then,”said Perpetua,“I pray thee this—first give freedom unto Pedo.”Baudillas administered a slight stroke on the cheek to his slave, and said:“Go; thou art discharged from bondage.”
“Blanda, what shall I do?”
Æmilius had withdrawn immediately after the interview in the citron-house, and Perpetua was left a prey to even greater distress of mind than before.
Accustomed to lean on her mother, she was now without support. She drew towards the female slave, who had a patient, gentle face, marked with suffering.
“Blanda, what shall I do?”
“Mistress, how can I advise? If you had been graciously pleased to take counsel of my master, he would have instructed you.”
“Alack! what I desire is to find my mother. If, as I suppose, she is in concealment in Nemausus, he will be unable to discover her. No clue will be put into his hand. He will be regarded with suspicion. He will search; I do not doubt his good will, but he will not find. Those who know where my mother is will look on him with suspicion. O[pg 243]Blanda, is there none in this house who believes, whom I could send to some of the Church?”
“Lady,”answered the slave,“there be no Christians here. There is a Jew, but he entertains a deadly hate of such as profess to belong to this sect. To the rest one religion is as indifferent as another. Some swear by the White Ladies, some by Serapis, and there is one who talks much of Mithras, but who this god is I know not.”
“If I am to obtain information it must be through some one who is to be trusted.”
“Lady,”said the woman-slave,“the master has given strict orders that none shall speak of you as having found a shelter here. Yet when slaves get together, by the Juno of the oaks, I believe men chatter and are greater magpies than we women; their tongues run away with them, especially when they taste wine. If one of the family were sent on this commission into the town, tensestercesto anas, he would tell that you are here, and would return as owlish and ignorant as when he went forth. Men’s minds are cudgels, not awls. If thou desirest to find out a thing, trust a woman, not a man.”
“I cannot rest till I have news.”
“There has been a great search made after[pg 244]Christians, and doubtless she is, as thou sayest, in concealment, surely among friends. Have patience.”
“But, Blanda, she is in an agony of mind as to what has become of me.”
The slave-woman considered for awhile, and then said:
“There is a man who might help; he certainly can be relied on. He is of the strange sect I know, and he would do anything for me, and would betray no secrets.”
“Who is that?”
“His name is Pedo, and he is the slave to Baudillas Macer, son of Carisius Adgonna, who has a house in the lower town.”
“O Blanda!”exclaimed Perpetua,“it was from the house of Baudillas that I was enticed away.”Then, after some hesitation, she added:“That house, I believe, was invaded by the mob; but I think my mother had first escaped.”
“Lady, I have heard that Baudillas has been taken before the magistrate, and has been cast into therobur, because that in his house was found the head of the god; and it was supposed that he was guilty of the sacrilege, either directly or indirectly.[pg 245]He that harbors a thief is guilty as the thief. I heard that yesterday. No news has since been received. I mistrust my power of reaching the town, of standing against the gale. Moreover, as the master has been imprisoned, it is not likely that the slave will be in the empty house. Yet, if thou wilt tarry till the gale be somewhat abated and the rain cease to fall in such a rush, I will do my utmost to assist thee. I will go to the town myself, and communicate with Pedo, if I can find him. He will trust me, poor fellow!”
“I cannot require thee to go forth in this furious wind,”said Perpetua.
“And, lady, thou must answer to my master for me. Say that I went at thine express commands; otherwise I shall be badly beaten.”
“Is thy master so harsh?”
“Oh, I am a slave. Who thinks of a slave any more than of an ass or a lapdog? It was through a severe scourging with the cat that I was brought to know Pedo.”
“Tell me, how was that?”
“Does my lady care for matters that affect her slave?”
“Nay, good Blanda, we Christians know no differ[pg 246]ence between bond and free. All are the children of one God, who made man. Our master, though Lord of all, made Himself of no reputation, but took on Him the form of a servant; and was made subject for us.”
“That is just how Pedo talks. We slaves have our notions of freedom and equality, and there is much tall talk in the servants’ hall on the rights of man. But I never heard of a master or mistress holding such opinions.”
“Nevertheless this doctrine is a principle of our religion. Listen to this; the words are those of one of our great teachers:‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’”
“Was he a slave who said that?”
“No; he was a Roman citizen.”
“That I cannot understand. Yet perhaps he spoke it at an election time, or when he was an advocate in the forum. It was a sentiment; very fine, smartly put, but not to be practiced.”
“There, Blanda, you are wrong. We Christians do act upon this principle, and it forms a bond of union between us.”
“Well, I understand it not. I have heard the slaves declaim among themselves, saying that they were as good as, nay, better than, their masters; but they never whispered such a thought where were their masters’ ears, or they would have been soundly whipped. In the forum, when lawyers harangue, they say fine things of this sort; and when candidates are standing for election, either as a sevir or as a quatuorvir, all sorts of fine words fly about, and magnificent promises are made, but they are intended only to tickle ears and secure votes. None believe in them save the vastly ignorant and the very fools.”
“Come, tell me about thyself and Pedo.”
“Ah, lady, that was many years ago. I was then in the household of Helvia Secundilla, wife of Calvius Naso. On one occasion, because I had not brought her May-dew wherewith to bathe her face to remove sun-spots, she had me cruelly beaten. There were knucklebones knotted in the cat wherewith I was beaten. Thirty-nine lashes I received. I could not collect May-dew, for the sky was overcast and the herb was dry. But she regarded not my excuse. Tullia, my fellow-slave, was more sly. She filled a flask at a spring and pretended that she[pg 248]had gathered it off the grass, and that her fraud might not be detected, she egged her mistress on against me. I was chastised till my back was raw.”
“Poor Blanda!”
“Aye, my back was one bleeding wound, and yet I was compelled to put on my garment and go forth again after May-dew. It was then that I encountered Pedo. I was in such pain that I walked sobbing, and my tears fell on the arid grass. He came to me, moved by compassion, and spoke kindly, and my heart opened, and I told him all. Then he gave me a flask filled with a water in which elder flowers had been steeped, and bade me wash my back therewith.”
“And it healed thee?”
“It soothed the fever of my blood and the anguish of my wounds. They closed, and in a few days were cicatriced. But Pedo had been fellow-slave with a Jewish physician, and from him had learned the use of simples. My mistress found no advantage from the spring-water brought her as May-dew. Then I offered her some of the decoction given me by Pedo, and that had a marvelous effect on her freckles. Afterwards her treatment of me was[pg 249]kinder, and it was Tullia who received the whippings.”
“And did you see more of Pedo?”
Blanda colored.
“Mistress, that was the beginning of our acquaintance. He was with a good master, Baudillas Macer, who, he said, would manumit him at any time. But, alas! what would that avail me? I remained in bondage. Ah, lady, Pedo regarded me with tenderness, and, indeed, I could have been happy with none other but him.”
“He is old and lame.”
“Ah, lady, I think the way he moves on his lame hip quite beautiful. I do not admire legs when one is of the same length as another—it gives a stiff uniformity not to my taste.”
“And he is old?”
“Ripe, lady—full ripe as a fig in August. Sour fruit are unpleasant to eat. Young men are prigs and think too much of themselves.”
“How long ago was it that this acquaintance began?”
“Five and twenty years. I trusted, when my master, Calvius Naso—he was so called because he really had a long nose, and my mistress was wont to[pg 250]tweak it—but there! I wander. I did think that he would have given me my freedom. In his illness I attended to him daily, nightly. I did not sleep, I was ever on the watch for him. As to my mistress, she was at her looking-glass, and using depilatory fluid on some hairs upon her chin, expecting shortly to be a widow. She did not concern herself about the master. He died, but left money only for the erection of a statue in the forum. Me he utterly forgot. Then my mistress sold me to the father of my present master. When he died also he manumitted eight slaves, but they were all men. His monument stands beside the road to Tolosa, with eight Phrygian caps sculptured on it, to represent the manumissions; but me—he forgot.”
“Then, for all these five and twenty years you have cared for Pedo and desired to be united to him!”
“Yes, I longed for it greatly for twenty years, and so did he, poor fellow; but, after that, hope died. I have now no hope, no joy in life, no expectation of aught. Presently will come death, and death ends all.”
“No, Blanda; that is not what we hold. We look for eternal life.”
“For masters, not for slaves.”
“For slaves as well as masters, and then God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.”
“Alack, mistress. The power to hope is gone from me. In a wet season, when there is little sun, then the fruit mildews on the tree and drops off. When we were young we put forth the young fruit of hopes; but there has been no sun. They fall off, and the tree can bear no more.”
“Blanda, if ever I have the power——”
“Oh, mistress, with my master you can do anything.”
“Blanda, I do not know that I can ask him for this—thy freedom. But, if the opportunity offers, I certainly will not forget thee.”
A slave appeared at the door and signed to Blanda, who, with an obeisance, asked leave to depart. The leave was given, and she left the room.
Presently she returned in great excitement, followed by Baudillas and Pedo, both drenched with rain and battered by the gale.
Perpetua uttered an exclamation of delight, and rushed to the deacon with extended arms.
“I pray, I pray, give me some news of my mother.”
But he drew back likewise surprised, and replied with another question:
“The Lady Perpetua! And how come you to be here?”
“That I will tell later,”answered the girl.“Now inform me as to my mother.”
“Alas!”replied Baudillas, wiping the rain from his face,“the news is sad. She has been taken before Petronius, and has been consigned to prison.”
“My mother is in prison!”
The deacon desired to say no more, but he was awkward at disguising his unwillingness to speak the whole truth. The eager eyes of the girl read the hesitation in his face.
“I beseech you,”she urged,“conceal nothing from me.”
“I have told you, she is in jail.”
“On what charge? Who has informed against her?”
“I was not in the court when she was tried. I know very little. I was near the town, waiting about, and I got scraps of information from some of our people, and from Pedo, who went into the city.”
“Then you do know. Answer me truly. Tell me all.”
“I—I was in prison myself, but escaped through the aid of Pedo. I tarried in an old kiln. He advised that I should come on here, where he had friends. Dost thou know that Marcianus has been sentenced? He will win that glorious crown which I have lost. I—I, unworthy, I fled, when it might have been mine. Yet, God forgive me! I am not ungrateful to Pedo. Marcianus said I was a coward, and unfit for the Kingdom of God; that I should be excluded because I had turned back. God forgive me!”
Suddenly Perpetua laid hold of Baudillas by both arms, and so gripped him that the water oozed between her fingers and dropped on the floor.
“I adjure thee, by Him in whom we both believe, answer me truly, speak fully. Is my mother retained in prison till I am found?”
The deacon looked down nervously, uncomfortably, and shuffled from foot to foot.
“Understand,”said he, after a long silence,“all I learned is by hearsay. I really know nothing for certain.”
“I suffer more by your silence than were I to be told the truth, be the truth never so painful.”
“Have I not said it? The Lady Quincta is in prison.”
“Is that all?”
Again he maintained an embarrassed silence.
“It matters not,”said Perpetua firmly.“I will my own self find out what has taken place. I shall return to Nemausus on foot, and immediately. I will deliver myself up to the magistrate and demand my mother’s release.”
“You must not go—the weather is terrible.”
“I shall—nothing can stay me. I shall go, and go alone, and go at once.”
“There is no need for such haste. It is not till to-morrow that Quincta will be put on the rack.”
“On the rack!”
“Fool that I am! I have uttered what I should have kept secret.”
“It is said. My resolve is formed. I return to Nemausus.”
“Then,”said the deacon,“I will go with thee.”
“There is no need. I will take Blanda.”
“I will go. A girl, a young girl shames me. I run away from death, and she offers herself to the sword. Marcianus said I was a renegade. I will[pg 255]not be thought to have denied my Master—to have fled from martyrdom.”
“Then,”said Perpetua,“I pray thee this—first give freedom unto Pedo.”
Baudillas administered a slight stroke on the cheek to his slave, and said:
“Go; thou art discharged from bondage.”