CHAPTER XXXIV.
AT MISENUM.
Cornelia, the "Mother of the Gracchi", was at this time not far fromfifty years of age, but retained by favour of nature, often socapricious in what she gives or takes away, much of the beauty ofyouth. Left a widow with a numerous family--she had borne twelvechildren to her husband, but all had not survived--she had found a royalsuitor in Ptolemy, king of Egypt. This suit it had probably not causedher any effort to decline. A daughter of the great Cornelian house wouldhave disdained in any case an alliance with so doubtful a race as thePtolemies, and this particular Ptolemy, whose bloated appearance hadearned him the name of Physcon, was a degenerate scion of it. ButCornelia had had serious troubles. Of her twelve children two only werenow alive, Tiberius, now a lad of seventeen, and Caius, a child of five.Both, indeed, gave the fairest promise; the elder, though he had butlately assumed the manly gown, had exhausted such education as Romanteachers could then supply, and was already an accomplished rhetorician;the younger was a boy of singular beauty and intelligence. But Cornelia,a remarkably clear-sighted woman, had already begun to view with alarmthe rapid development of Tiberius's character. The young man's politicaltendencies were strongly marked, and they seemed likely to bring himinto dangerous collision with the aristocratic traditions of hismother's house. As for Caius, he was self-willed and imperious to anextraordinary degree. Still, no mother could have been prouder of herchildren, as none certainly could have been more devoted to them.
At this particular time, however, when Cleanor paid his first visit tothe villa at Misenum, all was brightness and gaiety. Theoxena and herdaughter had learned by this time to feel themselves thoroughly at homein Cornelia's hospitable house. The elder woman had suffered so much inthe past that the best happiness which could be hoped for her was peace;but Daphne had blossomed out into a most attractive personality. Therewas a peculiar radiance about her beauty, which had all the greatercharm because the girl's own disposition and the gracious example of herhostess, a very pearl among women, tempered it with a certain air ofvirginal reserve. Cleanor she met at first with her old sisterlyfrankness, but there was an ardour in the young man's glance, and athrill in his voice--though he vainly attempted to subdue them into thegreeting of a respectful affection--which seemed to alarm her. As forCleanor, after the first day spent in her company, he could doubt nolonger as to the real nature of his feelings. Daphne would bethenceforward the one woman in the world for him.
The holiday, which was prolonged to the beginning of the newyear, passed only too quickly. The days were spent either inhare-hunting--larger game was not to be found in a region alreadythickly populated--or in excursions on the water, which were favoured byweather that, though it was the depth of winter, was remarkably calm andwarm. Possibly the most delightful expedition of the season was theascent of Vesuvius, then clothed almost to the summit with lovelywoods, and giving no sign of the hidden forces which, two centurieslater, were to spread desolation over the fairest region of Italy.
The evenings were begun by a meal, simply yet elegantly served, at whichthe whole party assembled, even the little Caius being allowed to bepresent for at least a time. The meal over, there was no lack ofentertainment. Tiberius was an accomplished reciter, and could give oneof Terence's comedies with an artistic variety of voice and emphasis.Cleanor charmed the company with a passage from Homer, from Pindar, orfrom one of the great Athenian dramatists. Sometimes, by specialrequest, he would dance the Pyrrhic dance, a pastime which in sternerRoman society would have more than savoured of frivolity. And now andthen Daphne was persuaded to sing to the lute an exquisite little lyricfrom Stesichorus.
The last day of the year, which was also to be the last of the mostdelightful of visits, Cleanor determined to make as long as possible.Rising as soon as the first streaks of dawn began to show themselves inthe sky, he began to explore more thoroughly than he had before anopportunity of doing, the beautifully ordered gardens which surroundedthe villa. Following a path of velvet sward, sheltered on either side byshrubberies of box-wood, he came to a spot which gave him a wideprospect over the lovely bay of Naples. He noticed, but in the mostcasual way, the figure of a gardener, who was busy, as it seemed, intrimming the surrounding shrubs, the whole spot, except on that sidewhich fronted the sea, being protected from the wind by a dense growthof box and laurel, arbutus and bay.
He threw himself down on a rustic bench and gazed on the scene beforehim. He was looking westward, and the sea at his feet lay in shadow, adark purple in colour. In the distance the sun was just touching withgolden light the crags of Prochyta and of the more remote Inarimé. For atime the beauty of the scene wholly occupied him, for nature stirred thehearts of the men of those days even as it stirs ours, though they hadonly begun to give their feelings articulate expression.
Then his thoughts recurred to what was the dominant emotion of the timewith him, his love for Daphne. How, he asked himself, how should he makeit known? How should he approach her? To speak directly, at least in thefirst instance, was not the custom of his race, though doubtless love,there as elsewhere, made exceptions of his own to the severest rule.Through her mother? But Theoxena was, he knew, only too thoroughlydevoted to him. To her his wish would be a command; she would make it amatter of filial obedience with her daughter, and he wanted thevoluntary submission that was wholly free. Through Cornelia? But wouldshe favour such an alliance? She was a noble of the nobles, filled withthe keenest sympathy for the people, but profoundly conscious of thesocial difference between her class and them, and with her own class shewould certainly rank the well-born Cleanor.
Well, he said to himself, after a pause of reflection, which did notseem to make the matter clearer, "these things will settle themselves. Ilove her, and I think she loves me, so that nothing will keep us apart."And he broke into the beautiful choric song of the _Antigone_--for itwas his habit, as it is the habit of all true lovers of poetry, thus tointerrupt his solitary musings--
"O love invincible!"
After this came a stave of Alcæus, and after this again a piece ofmelodious tenderness from Sappho.
As he turned to retrace his steps to the house, for he had risen early,and the keen morning air made him feel that he had fasted long, he wasstartled to hear his name called from behind him, not the name by whichhe was known to the world, but the pet family name, which he had notheard since the home of his childhood had vanished in fire and blood.
"Cle," said the voice, and its tones seemed to be strangely familiar. Heturned; no one was within sight but the gardener. The man had droppedthe shears, and stood with his hands stretched out in a supplicatinggesture.
"What is it?" he cried; "what or whom do you want?" He took two or threesteps forward, and as he approached there seemed to be somethingstrangely familiar in the figure before him.
"Yes, it is--" and the speaker swayed to and fro for a moment, and thenfell unconscious to the ground. The wide-brimmed hat, which had beendrawn down low over the face, to conceal, as it seemed, the features,was displaced by the fall, and revealed the graceful contour of theforehead, and the shapely head covered with short curls of sunny gold.
"Great Zeus!" cried Cleanor, as he lifted the prostrate figure from theground. "Great Zeus! if I am not mad or dreaming, this is Cleoné come tolife again."
Close by a tiny spring trickled down from a rock. Cleanor held his capbeneath it till it was half full, and dashed the water in his sister'sface. She drew two or three deep breaths, and then opened her eyes.Vacant at first, for she could not remember where she was or what hadhappened, they soon became radiant with happy light.
"Dearest brother," she murmured, "have I found you again? But come to mylittle hut--it is close by. There you shall hear my story, and we willconsider what is to be done."
Briefly put, for in the actual telling it was interrupted, as may besupposed, with numberless exclamations and questions, Cleoné's story wasthis:--
"I remember nothing after I was struck down by a blow f
rom a soldier'ssword in the market-place of Chelys, till I found myself in the hold ofa ship at sea."
"Then you were not killed?" cried Cleanor.
"It seems not," said the girl with a merry laugh, "for even were I anEurydice there was no Orpheus to bring me back from the house of Hades."
"Ah!" said the young man, "now I begin to understand what old Judasmeant. He said, you must know, that they bribed the soldiers not to killthe prisoners, but to stun them."
"Well, as I was saying, I found myself in the hold of a ship which wasevidently making very bad weather. I was lying with my head close to thedeck, and I could hear two men talking just over me. There was such aroaring of the wind, and such a creaking of timbers, that I lost a gooddeal of what they said. Still I could make out something. Someone--Isupposed it was the captain--was cursing his ill-luck. 'Here,' he said,'is a bit of cursed spite--as good a speculation as ever I made in mylife all comes to nothing. There are fifty as likely young fellows as Ihave had the handling of since I went into the business five-and-twentyyears ago down there, and what is going to become of them? They areworth two hundred thousand sesterces if they are worth one, and now thewhole lot is going to the bottom.' 'What is the odds?' growled theother, whom I took to be the steersman. 'What is the odds if you aregoing too?' 'I tell you what,' said the other again after a pause, 'youshould give the fellows a chance. Open the hatches, and let them get toland if they can.' 'What is the good?' answered the captain sulkily;'they may drown for all I care.' 'Nay, but you talk like a fool. If theylive, they are still yours, and you may get hold of them, or, at least,of some of them again.' 'True,' said the owner, 'that is so. They shallhave a chance.' A minute or two afterwards the hatches were opened, andthe fellow cried, 'Up with you as quick as you can! The ship hasn't manyminutes to float, and if you don't want to go to the bottom with her,now is your time.' About two score out of the fifty clambered upon deck.Some had never recovered from the blow which had stunned them--it can'tbe an easy thing to give just the right sort of stroke--and some, I takeit, were so far gone with sea-sickness that they did not care to move.As for me, I felt a little dazed; sea-sickness never troubles me, as youknow. We got up on deck only just in time, the ship was already closeupon the rocks. The next minute she struck. What happened to the crewand to my companions is more than I can say; all I know is that I havenever seen one of them since, except, indeed, some dead bodies that Ifound on the shore next morning. I had a desperate struggle to get toland, and, indeed, I never should have done it, though, as you know, Iam no bad swimmer, but that an extra big wave threw me up almost highand dry, and I had just strength enough to crawl away out of reach ofthe sea. The rest of the night--it was about the middle of the thirdwatch, as near as I could guess, when this happened--I passed in athicket in a bed of dry leaves, where I slept as soundly as ever I didin my life. The next day I rigged myself out with clothes that I tookfrom the dead men on the shore--it was no robbery, I thought, poorfellows! I found some money, too, in their pockets. Following a roadwhich led inland, I came to a village where there was a tavern. Here Igot some bread and a draught of sour wine. I thought it safest, I shouldtell you, to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and made them to understand bysigns that I wanted something to eat and drink. I paid for what I had,but was careful to let the people know that I had very little, for Imade up the few coppers that were wanted from one place and another.Then I got them to understand that I wanted to work for my living. FirstI made as if I were digging, then as if I were sawing wood. Theyhappened to want someone, for it was a busy time of the year, and theysaw that they could get the work done very cheaply, for they gave me nopay besides my food and lodging in an outhouse, which, happily, I had tomyself. Here I stopped for about a month. Then I overheard some peopletalking of a great lady who lived in the neighbourhood. She was a widow,they said, and managed everything--house and garden and farm--all byherself. That, I thought to myself, is the place for me. Perhaps someday I shall be able to tell her my story. However, the day has nevercome. I got employment just in the same way as I did at the tavern, andI have the little hut to myself, where I look after some fowls andpigeons. But, somehow, I could never summon up courage to speak.However, I always went on hoping and hoping, and now, dearest Cleanor,that you are come, all will be right."
"Yes," said the young man, "and the first thing, my dear Cleoné, will beto get you some proper clothes."
The girl blushed.
"By Castor!" she said, "I had almost forgotten that I was dressed as aman. But how will you manage it?"
"Easily enough," replied her brother. "The lady Cornelia has anexcellent housekeeper with whom I am in high favour; I don't doubt thatshe will let me have everything I want. But I must go; the sooner wemanage this the better."
Poor Cleoné, woman-like, felt the courage which had never failed beforedesert her when she had to part even for half an hour with her long-lostbrother. She clung to him, and wept piteously. "Don't leave me," shesobbed.
The young man, to whom this sort of thing was quite a new experience,looked at her with astonishment. "What, Cleoné, is the meaning of thisafter all you have gone through?"
"Yes," she said, smiling through her tears, "I am a fool. And besides,"she went on, looking at her dirty and ragged garments, "I do want somedecent clothes."
The good Pollia, who acted as wardrobe-keeper, mother-of-the-maids, andhousekeeper in general to Cornelia, was not a little astonished whenCleanor asked her to supply him with the various articles of a younglady's toilet, not so numerous in those days, it should be mentioned, asthey are now. He was a great favourite, however, and she asked noquestions, probably thinking that some joke was being meditated. Shesearched accordingly among the treasures in her charge, and had nodifficulty in finding all that was wanted.
Fashions did not change in those days as they change under the vagariesof modern taste. Women were careful, indeed perhaps more careful thanthey are now, to suit their dress to their age. But what the mother hadworn at twenty, the daughter, reaching the same years, might wearwithout even the suspicion of oddity, and the garments might be handeddown, if they were of the quality that was suited to so long a life, toyet another generation.
Cleanor was soon making his way with an armful of suitable apparel tothe gardener's hut. Cleoné, who seemed to be bent on making up asquickly as possible for her enforced separation from all femininevanities, received the precious burden with a shriek of delight. Whenshe emerged, half an hour afterwards, from her hut it would have passedall human skill to recognize in the brilliant young beauty who heldCleanor's hand the shabby deaf-mute who for many months past had pliedhis solitary task in Cornelia's gardens.
"HALF AN HOUR AFTERWARDS CLEONÉ EMERGED AS A BRILLIANTYOUNG BEAUTY."]
All these confidences and preparations had taken time, and the houseparty had just assembled for the mid-day meal when the pair walked intothe dining-room. Never since Misenum got its name had the place seen amore startling sight. At first it seemed as if Cleanor had found hisdouble, for brother and sister were curiously alike. But the time thathad passed since they were so tragically parted had changed them not alittle. The young man had grown in height, and his frame, knit by thecontinual activities of an adventurous life, had developed the amplerproportions that became his sex. The girl was his very image, but now ona somewhat smaller scale. A fairer couple had never been seen in Italy.
"Cleanor has turned into Apollo," cried the little Caius, "and he hasbrought Diana with him."
As for the rest of the company, they gazed with an astonishment that wasalmost stupefaction on the scene. Cornelia was the first to recoverherself. She advanced to greet the new-comer. "You are welcome," shesaid, "for your brothers sake--for Cleanor must surely be yourbrother--and, I am sure, for your own." Then Theoxena threw herself atthe girl's feet and clasped her knees. "It is Cleoné," she cried. "Thegods have nothing more to give me." Little Cephalus kissed her hand, andDaphne, somewhat shy at first of the splendid stranger, was not longbehind with
an affectionate greeting.
"Not a word," said Cornelia, "till you have eaten and drunk. For thepresent," she said, smiling at the little Caius, "they will have to becontent without ambrosia and nectar."
The meal ended, Cornelia heard the whole story. Her mind, alwayseminently practical, discerned at once the first thing that had to bedone.
"We must assure without delay," she said, "this young lady's civil_status_. At present it would be very perplexing to say who or what sheis."
A message was immediately despatched to the nearest town with a letterrequiring the immediate presence of the resident notary. He arrivedbefore sunset, and by a formal act of emancipation Cleoné, slave ofCornelia, was made free.
"Pardon me, my daughter," she said, "if I speak of you as my slave. Andindeed my title is a very weak one; no one, however, is likely to makeout a better. Meanwhile, as far as I can secure your freedom, you arefree."
Lords of the World: A story of the fall of Carthage and Corinth Page 36
