CHAPTER XXXVI.
BEYOND THE SUNSET.
The party, which was increased by some manumitted slaves of Greekorigin, sailed for Utica in the early autumn of the year, and reachedthat port after a quick and prosperous voyage. Their first destinationwas the court of King Gulussa. It so happened that their arrivalcoincided with a meeting of the three brothers. One of the wilder tribeson the desert border had invaded the kingdom, and it was necessary tomake arrangements for an expedition of more than usual proportions.Micipsa had brought with him his two sons, and a younger lad, Jugurthaby name, his son by a wife of inferior rank, of whom we have heardbefore, and of whom the world was to hear a great deal more before manyyears had passed.
Gulussa and his brother kings gave a most complimentary welcome to theirguests. But when Cleanor, who was naturally the spokesman of the party,unfolded his scheme, they took no pains to conceal their incredulity.
"It would be a thousand pities," said Gulussa, "if you were to throwaway your lives on a romantic folly of this kind. Why not stop here,where you have something ready to your hands, not quite so splendid asthese dreams of yours, but, believe me, a hundred times more solid andreal. Now, listen to what I have got to say. We--that is, my brothersand I--have been talking matters over since you came, and we have madeup our minds to make you an offer that it may be really worth your whileto accept. Enter our service; you are both skilful soldiers. My father,than whom there never was a better judge of men, thought very highly ofyou, Cleanor; the name of Scipio would be commendation enough, even ifwe did not know how worthily it is borne by your friend. Details we cansettle afterwards, but you may depend upon it, that you will never haveto find fault with our liberality. Don't answer at once," Gulussa wenton, as Cleanor was beginning to reply, "but think the matter overcarefully, and let us know your decision, say, three days hence."
The princes spared no pains to make their guests' sojourn at courtagreeable to them. A great hunting party was arranged for each day, andthe two young men were furnished with magnificent mounts and allottedthe best places. At the banquet which followed they occupied seats ofhonour. Meanwhile the ladies of the party were welcomed in the royalharem, received the most flattering attention from the queens andprincesses, and were loaded with handsome presents.
"We might do worse than stay, Cleanor," said Scipio to his friend, forhis unimaginative temper could not help comparing these presentsplendours with the remote prospects of Cleanor's scheme, not a littleto the disadvantage of the latter.
Cleanor shook his head.
"How long do you think it would last? I don't say anything about thechances that our hosts might not always be as friendly as they are now.They are a fickle race. But let that pass. Yet how long will thisNumidian kingdom stand? I remember what the old king said when I was inattendance on him before he died. He was sure that Rome would swallow itup before long. There is sure to be some quarrel sooner or later, andthen who can doubt which of the two will go to the wall. And there isanother thing. If the kingdom lasts, will it always be in the samehands? Have you noticed that lad Jugurtha? I remember that the old kingwarned me specially against him. 'That viper,' he called him; and asKing Gulussa said the other day, Masinissa was an excellent judge ofcharacter. The brothers are elderly men, and, to judge from their looks,not very strong. Micipsa's two sons, who by rights should come afterhim, are feeble creatures; Jugurtha is his father's favourite, and hewill come to the top of the tree sooner or later. And Jugurtha hates us;you first,--perhaps because you are a Roman, and his hatred for theRomans is a proverb,--and me next. No, it would not be well, I am sure,in any case to stop here; and to stop with a chance of finding ourselvesunder Jugurtha's thumb would be madness."
Scipio could not but acknowledge the force of these arguments, and gaveway. At the appointed time the friends announced their decision to thekings. Gulussa shrugged his shoulders.
"Well," he said, "you must have your own way. If you should comeback--very few do come back, I am told--and I am still alive, you willfind me as ready to be your friend as ever. Meanwhile let us do what wecan for you. The queen tells me that you have brought your wives thatare to be with you. Let us have the honour of providing your marriagefeast, and remain with us afterwards for as long as you like and mayfind convenient. If you are bent on this wild voyage of yours you mustgo prepared."
The friends gladly accepted this hospitable invitation. Preparationswere at once commenced for performing the marriage ceremonies with duesolemnity. While these were going on, Cleanor made his way to the coastto find a captain and crew who would be willing to take part in hisadventure.
His first care was to discover Syphax, the old sailor with whom, as youmay remember, he had made his voyage to Sicily. The old man listenedwith eager interest to his exposition of his plans, but shook his headwhen the question whether he would go was put to him.
"Ah!" he said, "if you had only come to me with this scheme twenty yearsago! But what am I saying? old fool that I am! Twenty years ago youwere little more than a baby in arms. I mean that I am too old. I am notfit for anything more now than pottering about with my fishing-lines.And there is my old wife. She couldn't go, poor thing; she hasn't sether foot outside the hut for the last ten years, and I certainly couldnot go without her. But there's my son Mago. He can't settle down in thenew state of things, for Rome is likely to be a much harder master thanCarthage ever was. Mago is your man; let me send for him."
Mago came, and Cleanor talked his plans over with him, and found him allthat he wanted. The general scheme, and such particulars as the capacityof the vessel required, the stores, the cargo of articles for trade withnative tribes, were settled between them, and Mago was left to carry outthe details, while Cleanor returned to the court of King Gulussa.
Two months later,--for I shall not weary my readers with describing themarriage festivities,--the good ship _Pallas_ lay ready for sea in theharbour of Utica. The piers and quays were filled with a dense crowd ofspectators, for the fame of this adventurous voyage had spread throughthe city, and brought together a multitude of curious sight-seers. Loudand hearty were the cheers that went up as a soft breeze from the eastslowly filled the sails, and the _Pallas_--her prow appropriatelyadorned with the figure of the goddess friend of Ulysses, prince ofadventurous heroes--forged her way round the end of the western pier andshaped a course towards the setting sun.
Sail on, swift ship, to the region that lies beyond the darkness of thewest. You leave behind you a world over which the shadows of civilstrife and desolating war are gathering. Who knows what lies beforeyou--Islands of the Blest, where nature smiles for ever, her fair faceuntouched by frost or storm, and where man still keeps primeval faithand innocence; or, perhaps, to a world that is but a meaner copy of thatfrom which you are fleeing? Yet sail on, happy at least for the hourthat is, in the unfaltering confidence of youth and hope.
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NOTE.
I have departed, for convenience sake in the construction of my story,from historical truth in the date of Masinissa's death. This took placebefore the beginning of the Third Punic War. For the same reason, theMacedonian pretender is postdated. He had certainly disappeared from thescene before the autumn immediately preceding the fall of Carthage (whenmy hero is supposed to visit him).
If my readers fail to form a clear idea of the topography of Carthage,I must beg them not to blame me. This is a problem which no one has yetbeen able to solve.
Chelys is an imaginary place; the young Scipio an imaginary person.
A. C.
THE END.
PRINTED BY BLACKIE AND SON, LIMITED, GLASGOW.
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Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling standardized when a predominant preference wasfound in this book; otherwise unchanged. Simple typographical errorsremedied; most retained.
Decorative designs and publisher's logo not indicated here.
&nbs
p; Page 305, last line, quotation marks: "a treasure" changed to'a treasure'.
Page 310, last line, "he promise" changed to "he promises".
Page 339, last line, "You will tell we" changed to "You will tell me".
Lords of the World: A story of the fall of Carthage and Corinth Page 38
