A Struggle for Rome, v. 3

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER X.

  Most of the quarters of the city of Rome had now fallen into the handsof the enemy.

  Cethegus was in possession of that part of the city which extended onthe right bank of the Tiber from the Mausoleum of Hadrian in the northto the Porta Portuensis in the south, near which were situated the twobolts across the river.

  On the left bank the Prefect held only the small but dominating quarterwest of the Forum Romanum, of which the Capitol formed the centre. Thisquarter was enclosed by walls and high bulwarks which stretched fromthe shore of the Tiber at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, and roundthe hill eastwards, to the Forum of Trajan in the north; while at theback and westwards from the Capitol, they passed between the CircusFlaminius and the Theatre of Marcellus (abandoning the first andenclosing the last), and ended at the Fabrician Bridge and the Islandof the Tiber.

  The King had left the Forum, and the rest of the day was spent by theinhabitants of the city in feasting and rejoicing.

  The King caused eighty wagons, each drawn by four oxen, to be drawn upin all the principal squares and places of those parts of the citywhich had surrendered. And round about these wagons, upon the pavementor upon speedily-erected wooden benches, lay the famishing population,raising their voices in thanks to God, the saints, and the "good King."

  The Prefect had at once closed all the gates which led from those partsof the city occupied by the Goths into _his_ Rome; particularly theapproaches from the Forum Romanum to the Capitol, and the Flumentanian,Carmentalian and Ratumenian Gates. He caused them all to be barricaded,and divided the few soldiers he had at his command among the mostimportant points of defence.

  He held much about the same part of Rome as he had before occupiedunder and against Belisarius.

  "Salvius Julianus must have another hundred Isaurians to protect thebolt of masts on the river," he commanded. "The Abasgian bowmen musthasten to join Piso at the bolt of chains. Marcus Licinius will remainon the bulwark of the Forum."

  But now Lucius Licinius announced that the rest of the legionaries, whohad not been present at the scene on the Forum, because they had beenon duty in the now barricaded portion of the city, were become veryunruly.

  "Ah," cried Cethegus, "the odour of the roast meat for which theircomrades sold their honour, tickles their nostrils! I come."

  And he rode up to the Capitol, where the legionaries, about fivehundred men, were standing in their ranks with a very gloomy andthreatening aspect.

  Looking at them with a searching eye, Cethegus slowly rode along theirfront.

  At last he spoke.

  "For you I had reserved the fame of having defended the Lares andPenates of the Capitol against the barbarians. I hear, indeed, that youprefer the joints of beef below there. But I will not believe it. Youwill not desert the man who, after centuries of helplessness, has againtaught the Romans how to fight and conquer. Whoever will stand byCethegus and the Capitol--let him raise his sword."

  But not a blade was seen.

  "Hunger is a more powerful god than the Capitoline Jupiter," saidCethegus contemptuously.

  A centurion stepped forward.

  "It is not that, Prefect of Rome. But we will not fight against ourfathers and brothers who are on the side of the Goths."

  "I ought to keep you as hostages for your fathers and brothers, andwhen they storm the bulwarks, throw to them your heads! But I fear itwould not stop them in their enthusiasm, which comes from theirstomachs! Go--you are not worthy to save Rome! Open the gate, Licinius.Let them turn their backs upon the Capitol and honour!"

  And the legionaries marched away, all but about a hundred men, whostood still irresolutely, leaning on their spears.

  "Well, what do you want?" cried Cethegus, riding up to them.

  "To die with you, Prefect of Rome!" cried one of them.

  And the others repeated: "To die with you!"

  "I thank you! Do you see, Licinius, a hundred Romans! Are they notenough to found a new Roman Empire?--I will give you the post ofhonour; you shall defend the bulwark to which I have given the name ofJulius Caesar."

  He sprang from his horse, threw the bridle to Syphax, called histribunes together, and spoke:

  "Now listen to my plan."

  "You have a plan already?"

  "Yes. We will attack! If I know these barbarians, we are safe forto-night from any assault. They have won three quarters of the city.Before they think of the last quarter, their victory must be celebratedin a hundred thousand tipsy bouts. At midnight the whole company ofyellow-haired heroes and drinkers will be immersed in feasting, wine,and sleep; and the hungry Quirites will not be behindhand in excess.Look! How they feast and sing below there--crowned with flowers! Andvery few barbarians have yet entered the city. That is our hope ofvictory. At midnight we will sally forth from all our gates--they willnot dream of an attack from such a minority--and slay them in theirrevels."

  "Your plan is bold," said Lucius Licinius. "And if we fall, the Capitolwill be our tombstone!"

  "You learn from me words as well as sword-strokes," said Cethegus,smiling. "My plan is desperate, but it is the only one now possible. Isthe watch set? I will go home and sleep for a couple of hours. No onemust rouse me before that time. In two hours come and wake me."

  "You can sleep at such a moment, general?"

  "Yes; I _must_. And I hope I shall sleep soundly. I must have time tocollect myself--I have just yielded the Forum Romanum to the barbarianKing! It was too much! I need time to recover myself. Syphax, I askedyesterday if no more wine was to be had on the right bank of theTiber?"

  "I have been to seek some. There is yet a little in the temple of yourGod; but the priests say that it is dedicated to the service of thealtar."

  "That will not have spoiled it! Go, Lucius, and take it from thepriests. Divide it amongst the hundred men on the bulwark of Caesar. Itis the only thing that I can give them to show my gratitude."

  Followed by Syphax, Cethegus now rode slowly home.

  He stopped at the principal entrance to his house.

  In answer to the call of Syphax, Thrax, a groom, opened the gate.

  Cethegus dismounted and stroked the neck of his noble charger.

  "Our next ride will be a sharp one, my Pluto--to victory or in flight!Thrax, give him the white bread which was reserved for me."

  The horse was led into the stables near at hand. The stalls were empty.Pluto shared the spacious building only with the brown horse belongingto Syphax. All the Prefect's other horses had been slaughtered anddevoured by the mercenaries.

  The master of the house passed through the splendid vestibule andatrium into the library.

  The old ostiarius and secretary, the slave Fidus, who was past carryinga spear, the only domestic in the house. All the slaves and freedmenwere upon the walls--either living or dead.

  "Reach me the roll of Plutarch's Caesar, and the large goblet set withamethysts--it scarcely needed their decoration--full of spring water."

  The Prefect stayed in the library for some time. The old servant hadlighted the lamp, filled with costly oil of spikenard, as he had beenaccustomed to do in times of peace.

  Cethegus cast a long look at the numerous busts, Hermes, and statues,which cast sharp shadows along the exquisite mosaic pavement.

  There, upon pedestals or brackets, on which were inscribed their names,stood small marble busts of almost all the heroes of Rome, from themythic Kings to the long rows of Consuls and Caesars, ended by Trajan,Hadrian, and Constantine.

  The ancestors of the "Cethegi" formed a numerous group.

  An empty niche already contained the pedestal upon which his bust wouldone day stand--the last on that side of the room, for he was the lastof his house.

  But on another side there was a whole row of arches and empty niches,destined for future scions of the family, not by marriage, but byadoption, should the name of Cethegus be continued into more fortunategenerations.

  As Cethegus walked slowly past
the rows of busts, he chanced to look atthe niche destined to contain his own, and, to his astonishment, sawthat it was not empty.

  "What is that?" he asked. "Lift up the lamp, secretary. Whose is thatbust standing in my place?"

  "Forgive, master! The pedestal of that bust, one of the ancients,needed reparation. I was obliged to remove it, and I placed it in theempty niche to keep it from harm."

  "Show a light. Still higher. Who can it be?"

  And Cethegus read the short inscription upon the bust: "TarquiniusSuperbus, tyrant of Rome, died in exile; banished from the city by theinhabitants on account of his monstrous despotism. A warning to futuregenerations."

  Cethegus, in his youth, had himself composed this inscription.

  He took the bust away, and placed it on one side.

  "Away with the omen!" he cried.

  Lost in thought, he entered his study.

  He leaned his helm, shield, and sword against the couch. The slavekindled the lamp which stood on the tortoise-shell table, brought thegoblet and the roll of papyrus, and left the room.

  Cethegus took up the roll.

  But he soon laid it down again. His forced composure could not last; itwas too unnatural. In the Roman Forum the Quirites drank with thebarbarians to the health of the King of the Goths and the ruin of thePrefect of Rome, the Princeps Senatus! In two hours he was about toattempt to wrest the city from the Goths. He could not fill up theshort pause with the perusal of a biography which he almost knew byheart.

  He drank thirstily of the water in the goblet.

  Then he threw himself upon his couch.

  "Was it an omen?" he asked himself. "But there are no omens forthose who do not believe in them. 'This is the only omen: to fight forthe fatherland,' says Homer. Truly, I fight not alone for my nativeland; I fight still more for myself. But have not to-day's eventsdisgracefully proved that Rome is Cethegus, and Cethegus is Rome? Thesename-forgetting Romans do not make Rome. The Rome of to-day is far moreCethegus than the Rome of old was Caesar. Was not he, too, a tyrant inthe eyes of fools?"

  He rose uneasily, and went up to the colossal statue of his greatancestor.

  "God-like Julius! If I could pray, I would pray now to thee! Help me!Complete the work of thy grandchild. How hard have I striven since theday when the idea of the renewal of thy empire was born within mybrain--born full-armed, like Pallas Athene from the head of Jupiter!How have I fought, mentally and physically, by day and by night! Andthough thrown to the ground seven times by the superior force of twopeoples, seven times have I again struggled to my feet, unconquered andunintimidated! A year ago my goal seemed near--so near; and now, thisvery night, I must fight this fair youth for Rome and for my life! Canit be that I must succumb after such deeds and such exertions? Succumbto the good fortune of a youth! Is it, then, impossible for thydescendant to stand alone for his nation, until he renew both it andhimself? Is it impossible to conquer the barbarians and the Greeks? Cannot I, Cethegus, stop the wheel of Fate and roll it backward? Must Ifail because I stand alone--a general without an army, a king without anation to support him? Must I yield thy and my Rome? I cannot, will notthink so! Did not thy star fade shortly before Pharsalus? and didstthou not swim over the Nile to save thy life, bleeding from a hundredwounds? And yet thou hast succeeded. Again thou hast entered Rome intriumph. It will not go more hardly with thy descendant. No; I will notlose my Rome! I will not lose my house, and this thy God-like image,which has often, like the crucifix of the Christian, filled me withhope and comfort. As a pledge of my success, to thee I will entrust atreasure. Where can anything on earth be safe if not with thee? In anhour of despondency, I was about to give this treasure to Syphax tobury in the earth. But if I lose Rome and this house, this sanctuary, Iwill lose all. Who can decipher these hieroglyphics? As thou hast keptthe letters and the diary, so shalt thou keep this treasure also."

  So saying, he drew from the bosom of his tunic, beneath his shirt ofmail, a rather large leather bag, filled with costly pearls andprecious stones, and touched a spring on the left side of the statue,below the edge of its shield.

  A small opening was revealed, out of which he took an oblong casket ofbeautifully-carved ivory, provided with a golden lock. The casketcontained all sorts of writings and rolls of papyrus. He now added thebag.

  "Here, great ancestor, guard my secrets and my treasure. With whomshould they be safe, if not with thee?"

  He touched the spring again, and the statue looked as perfect asbefore.

  "Beneath thy shield, upon thy heart! As a pledge that I trust in theeand my good fortune as thy descendant! As a pledge that nothing shallforce me away from thee and Rome--at least for any length of time. If I_must_ go--I will return again. And who will seek my secret in themarble Caesar?"

  If the water in the amethyst cup had been the strongest wine, it couldnot have had a more intoxicating effect than this soliloquy or dialoguewith the colossal statue which Cethegus worshipped like a god.

  The unnatural strain upon all his mental and physical powers during thelast few weeks; the unsuccessful attempt to persuade the people on theForum; the conception of a new and desperate plan as soon as he hadbeen defeated in the first, and the consuming anxiety with which heawaited its execution, had excited and exhausted the iron nerves of thePrefect to the utmost.

  He thought, spoke, and acted as if in a high fever.

  Tired out, he threw himself upon his couch at the foot of the statue;and suddenly sleep overcame him.

  But it was not the sound sleep which, until now, he had been able tocommand at will, even after some criminal act or before a dangerousenterprise: the result of a strong constitution which was superior toall excitement.

  For the first time his slumber was uneasy, disturbed by changefuldreams, which, like the fancies of a delirious man, chased each otherthrough his brain.

  At last the visions of the dreamer took a more concrete form.

  He saw the statue at the feet of which he lay, grow and grow. Themajestic head rose higher and higher, and passed through the roof ofthe house. With its crown of laurel it at last penetrated the clouds,and towered into the starry heavens.

  "Take me with thee!" sighed Cethegus.

  But the demigod replied:

  "I can scarcely see thee from this height. Thou art too small! Thoucanst not follow me."

  And it seemed to Cethegus that a thunderbolt fell and shattered theroof of his house. With a crash the beams fell upon him, burying himunder the ruins. The statue of Caesar also broke and fell.

  And crash after crash echoed through the place.

  Cethegus woke, sprang up, and looked around in bewilderment.