_CHAPTER VIII._
Entering the guard-room, we found it crowded with spearmen of Sabinus'sband, some playing at dice, others carousing jovially, many wrapt up intheir mantles, and asleep upon the floor; while a few only were sittingbeneath the porch, with their spears in their hands, and leaning upontheir bucklers. From one of these, the Centurion, having drawn him aside,made inquiry concerning the names and condition of the prisoners, andwhether as yet they had received any intelligence as to the morrow. Thesoldier, who was a grave man, well stricken in years, made answer, "thatthe men were free-born and of decent estate, and that he had not heard ofany thing else being laid to their charge, excepting that which concernedtheir religion. Since they have been here," he continued, "I have beenseveral times set on watch over them, and twice have I lain with one ofthem in his dungeon; yet have I heard no complaints from any of them, forin all things they are patient. One of them only is to sufferto-morrow--but for him I am especially concerned, for he was known to me ofold, having served often with me when I was a horseman in the army ofTitus, all through the war of Palestine, and at the siege of Jerusalem."
"And of what country is he?" said Sabinus. "Is he also a Roman?" "No,sir," answered the spearman, "he is no Roman; but he was of a troop of theallies that was joined often to our legion, and I have seen him bearhimself on the day of battle as well as any Roman. He is by birth a Greekof the Syrian coast; but his mother was of the nation of the Jews." "Andyet, although the son of a Jewess, he was with us, say you, at the siegeof Jerusalem?" "Even so," replied the man; "and not he only, but manyothers; for the Jews were divided against themselves; and of all them thatwere Christians, not one abode in the city, or gave help to defend it. Asthis man himself said, the oracles of the Christians, and their prophets,had of old given warning that the city must fall into the hands of Caesar,by reason of the wickedness of that people; therefore, when we set ourcamp against Jerusalem, these all passed out from the city, with theirwives and children, and dwelt safely in the mountainous country until thefate was fulfilled. But some of their young men fought in our camp, anddid good service, because the place was known to them, and they hadacquaintance with all the secrets of the Rock. Of these, this man was one.He and all his household had departed from the ancient religion of theJews, and were believers in the doctrines of the Christians, for whichcause he is now to suffer; and of that, although I have not spoken to himthis evening, I think he has already received some intelligence, forcertain of his friends passed in to him, and they covered their faces asthey went in, as if weeping." "Are these friends still with him?" saidSabinus. "Yes," answered he, "for I must have seen them had they comeforth again. Without doubt, the two women are still with him in hisdungeon." "Women?" quoth Sabinus; "and of what condition think you theymay be?" "That I know not," replied the soldier; "for, as I have said,they were muffled in their mantles. But one of them, at least, is a Roman,for I heard her speak to him that is by the door of the dungeon." "Howlong is it," said the Centurion, "since they went in to the prisoner?""More than an hour," replied the soldier, looking at the water-clock thatstood beneath the porch; "and if they be Christians, they are not yetabout to depart, for they never separate without singing together, whichis said to be their favourite manner of worship."
He had scarcely uttered these words, when the soldiers that were carousingwithin the guard-room became silent, and we heard the voices of those thatwere in the dungeon singing together in a sweet and lowly manner. "Ah,sir!" said the old soldier, "I thought it would be even so--there is not aspearman in the band that would not willingly watch here a whole night,could he be sure of hearing that melody. Well do I know that softvoice--Hear now, how she sings by herself--and there again, that deep strongnote--that is the voice of the prisoner."
"Hush!" quoth the Centurion, "heard you ever any thing half so divine? Arethese words Greek or Syrian?" "What the words are I know not," said thesoldier; "but I know the tune well.--I have heard it played many a nightwith hautboy, clarion, and dulcimer, on the high walls of Jerusalem, whilethe city was beleaguered." "It is some old Jewish tune then," saidSabinus; "I knew not those barbarians had had half so much art."
"Why, as for that, sir," replied the man, "I have been all over Greece andEgypt--to say nothing of Italy--and I never heard any music like that musicof the Jews. When they came down to join the battle, their trumpetssounded so gloriously, that we wondered how it was possible for them everto be driven back; and then, when their gates were closed, and they sentout to beg their dead, they would play such solemn awful notes oflamentation, that the plunderers stood still to listen, and their warriorswere delivered to them with all their mail as they had fallen." "And theChristians also," said Sabinus, "had the same tunes?" "Oh yes, sir--why,for that matter, these very tunes may have been among them, for aught weknow, since the beginning of their nation. I have stood sentinel with thisvery man, and seen the tears run down his cheeks by the star-light, whenhe heard the music from the city, as the Jewish captains were going theirrounds upon the battlements." "But this, surely," said the Centurion, "isno warlike melody." "I know not," quoth the old soldier, "whether it be ornot--but I am sure it sounds not like any music of sorrow,--and yet whatplaintive tones are in the part of that female voice!" "The bass soundstriumphantly, in good sooth." "Ay, sir, but that is the old man's ownvoice--I am sure he will keep a good heart to the end, even though theyshould be singing their farewell to him. Well, the Emperor loses a goodsoldier, the hour Tisias dies. I wish to Jupiter he had not been aChristian, or had kept his religion to himself. But as for changingnow--you might as well think of persuading the Prince himself to be a Jew."
"That last high strain, however," quoth Sabinus, "has ended their singing.Let us speak to the women as they come out; and if it be so that the manis already aware of what is to be done to-morrow, I see not why we shouldtrouble him with entering his cell. He has but a few hours to live, and Iwould not willingly disturb him." "I hear them coming," said the soldier."Then do you meet them," said Sabinus, "and tell them that the Centurionwishes to speak to them ere they go away--we will retire out of hearing ofthe guard."
With that he and I withdrew to the other side of the way, over against thedoor of the prison; and we stood there waiting for the women under afig-tree, close by the city wall. In a few minutes two persons, arrayed asthe soldier had described, drew near to us; and one of them, withoutuncovering her countenance, said,--"Master, we trust we have done no evilin visiting the prisoners; had it been so, surely we should not have beenpermitted to enter without question."
These words were spoken in a voice tremulous, as if with grief rather thanwith terror; but I could not help starting when I heard them. However, Icommanded myself, and heard in silence what Sabinus replied.--"Be notalarmed," said he; "there is no offence committed, for no orders have beenissued to prevent these men from seeing their friends. I sent for you, notto find fault with what you have done, but only to ask whether thisprisoner has already been told that the Emperor has announced hisresolution concerning him, and that he must die to-morrow, in theAmphitheatre of Vespasian, unless he renounce his superstition."--"He knowsall," answered the same voice; "and is prepared for all."
"By heavens! Valerius," whispered Sabinus; "it is no mean person thatspeaks so--this is the accent and the gesture of a Roman lady." Thenraising his voice, "In that case there is no need for my going into thedungeon; and yet, could I hope to say any thing that might tend to makehim change his purpose, I would most gladly do so. The Emperor is ashumane as he is just, and unless when rebellious obstinacy shuts the gatesof mercy, he is the last that would consent to the shedding of anyblood.--For this Tisias, of whose history I have just been hearingsomething, I am in a particular manner interested, and to save him, I wishonly I had power equal to my inclination. Is there no chance of convincinghim?"--"He is already convinced."--"Could his friends do nothing?"--"Hisfriends have been with him," said the voice.--This last sentence was spokenso distinctly, that
I knew I could no longer be mistaken; and I was on thebrink of speaking out, without thinking of the consequences that mightoccur, when she that had spoken, uttered a faint cry, and dropping on herknees before Sabinus, said,--"Oh, sir! to us also be merciful, and let usgo hence ere any one behold us!"--"Go in peace, lady," answered theCenturion, "and henceforth be prudent as well as kind;" and they went awayfrom us, and were soon lost to our sight in the windings of the street.
We stood there for some moments in silence, looking towards the placewhere they disappeared. "Strange superstition," said Sabinus; "whatheroism dwells with this madness!--you see how little these men regardtheir lives;--nay, even women, and Roman women too--you see how their natureis changed by it."--"It is, indeed, a most strange spectacle," said I; "butwhat is to be the end of it, if this spirit become diffused widely amongthe people?"--"In truth I know not," answered the Centurion; "as yet wehave heard of few who had once embraced this faith, renouncing it out offear for their lives."--"And in the days of Nero and Domitian," said I,"were not many hundreds of them punished even here in the capital?"--"Youare within the mark," said he; "and not a few of those who were sent intoexile, because of their Christianity, were, as you may have heard, of noordinary condition. Among these there were Flavius Clemens, the Consular,and his wife, Domitilla; both of whom I have often seen in my youth--bothrelations to the family of Vespasian--whom, notwithstanding, all thesplendour of the imperial blood could not save from the common fate oftheir sect. But Nerva suffered all of them to live in peace, and recalledsuch as were in exile, excepting only Domitilla, whose fate has beenregretted by all men; but I suppose it was not at first judged safe torecal her, lest any tumult should have been excited in her name, by thosethat regretted (and I am sorry to say these were not a few) the wickedlicense of which they had been deprived by the death of her tyrannicalkinsman, and the transition of the imperial dignity into another line. Shealso with whom we have been speaking, is, I am sure, a Roman lady ofcondition; and you may judge of her zeal, when you see it brings herhither at midnight, to mingle tears and prayers with those of an obscureAsiatic. Did you observe, that the other female both walked and stoodbehind her."
"I observed all this," answered I. But little did Sabinus suspect that Ihad observed so much more than himself had done. Before parting from him,I said I should still be gratified with being permitted to see theprisoner; and although he declined entering himself, he accordingly gavecommand that the door of his dungeon should be opened for me, requestingme, at the same time, to refrain from saying any thing more than wasnecessary for the explaining the apparent purpose of my visit,--thecommunication, namely, of Trajan's decree.
The Centurion withdrew to his camp; and the same old spearman with whom wehad conversed at the Porch, carried a torch in his hand, and shewed me theway into the dungeon.
Between the first door and the second, which appeared to be almostentirely formed of iron, there intervened a few broad steps of mason-work;and upon the lowest of these, I stood waiting till he should open theinner door. Several keys were applied before he discovered the right one;but at last the heavy door swung away from before him so speedily, thatthe air, rushing out of the vault, extinguished the torch; insomuch, thatwe had no light excepting that which streamed from an aperture high up inthe wall of the dungeon itself; a feeble ray of star-light alone--for themoon had, long ere this time, been gone down--which, nevertheless, sufficedto shew us to the prisoner, although we at first could see nothing of him.
"Soldiers," said the old man, in a voice of perfect calmness, "for whatreason are you come?"--"We come," said my companion, "by command of theCenturion, to inform you of things which we would willingly not have totell--To-morrow Trajan opens the Amphitheatre of Vespasian."--"My comrade,"said the prisoner, "is it your voice I hear? I knew all this already; andyou know of old that I fear not the face of death."--"I know well, Tisias,you fear not death; yet why, when there is no need, should you cast awaylife? Think well, I beseech you, and reserve yourself for a betterday."--"The dawn of that better day, Romans, already begins to open upon myeyes. I see the east red with the promise of its brightness. Would youhave me tarry in darkness, when I am invited to walk forth into thelight?"--"Your words rejoice me," answered the spearman; "and I am sure allwill rejoice in hearing that you have at length come to think thus--Trajanhimself will rejoice. You have but to say the word, and you arefree,"--"You mean kindly," said the old man, rising from his pallet, andwalking towards us as far as his fetters permitted; "but you are muchmistaken--I have but to keep silence, and I am free."--"Alas! what mean you?Do you know what you say? You must worship the gods in the morning, elseyou die."--"Evening, and morning, and for ever, I must worship the God thatmade heaven and earth. If I bow down to the idols of Trajan, I buy thelife of a day at the price of death everlasting. Tempt me not in yourkindness: I fell once. Great God, preserve me from falling! I have badefarewell to my friends already. Leave me to spend these few hours bymyself.--Leave me to prepare the flesh for that from which the spiritshrinks not." So saying, he extended his hand to the spearman, and the twoold men embraced each other before me.
"Prisoner," said I, "if there be any thing in which we can serve you,command our aid. We have already done our duty; if we can also do anything that may give ease to your mind now, or comfort to your kindred, youhave but to speak."--"Sir," replied he, "I see by the eagle wings on yourhelmet, that you are one in authority, and I hear by your voice that youare young. There is a certain thing, concerning which I had some purposeto speak to this old brother."--"Speak with confidence," said I; "althoughI am a Roman, and bear all loyalty to Caesar, yet this Praetorian helmet isnot mine, and I have but assumed it for the sake of having access to yourprison. I am no soldier of Trajan: Whatever I can do for you without harmto others, speak, and I will do it. I will swear to you----" "Nay, sir,"said he, "swear not--mock not the God of heaven, by invoking idol ordemon--I believe your word--but, since you will hear, there is no need whyany other should be witness to my request."--"I will retire," said theother, "and keep watch at the door. I am but a poor spearman, and thisyoung patrician can do more than I."--"Be it so," said the prisoner, asecond time embracing him; "I would not willingly expose you to anyneedless danger; and yet I see not what danger there is in all that I haveto ask."
With this the spearman withdrew; and being left alone with Tisias, I tookhis hand, and sitting down beside him on his pallet, shortly explained tohim the circumstances under which I had come thither.
"Young sir," said he, "I know not what is about the sound of your voice,and the frankness of your demeanour, that makes me feel confidence enoughto intrust you with a certain thing, which concerns not myself, nor anyhope of mine, for that were little--but the interests of one that is fardearer to me than I can express, and who, I hope, will live many happydays upon earth, after I shall have sealed my belief in the message ofGod, by blood that has of old been exposed a thousand times to all mortalperils, for the sake of worthless things. But a very short while ago, andI might have executed this thing for myself; but weakness overcame me atthe moment of parting."
"If it be any thing which you would have me convey to any one, say where Imay find the person," said I, "and be assured I shall deliver it insafety."
"Sir," he proceeded, "I have here with me certain writings, which I havecarried for these twenty years continually in my bosom. Among these, isone of the sacred books of the faith for which I am to die, and I wouldfain have it placed in the hands of one to whom I know it will be dearestof all for the sake of that which it contains; but, I hope, dear also forthe sake of him that bequeaths it. Will you seek out a certain Roman lady,and undertake to give into her own hands, in secret, the scroll which Ishall give you?"--"I will do my endeavour," said I; "and if I cannot findmeans to execute your command, I shall destroy the book with my own handsbefore I quit Rome--for my stay here is uncertain."--"If you cannot findmeans to do what I ask safely," he replied, "I do not bid you destroy thebook--_that_ is yours to do with a
s it shall seem good to you--but I conjureyou to read it before you throw it away. Nay, even as it is, I conjure youto read it before you seek to give it to her whose name I shallmention."--"Old man," said I, "almost I believe that I already know hername, and more besides. If it be so that I have conjectured aright, beassured that all you ask shall be fulfilled to the letter; be assuredalso, that I would die with you to-morrow, rather than live to be thecause or instrument of any evil thing to her that but now visited you inyour dungeon."--"Alas!" cried the old man, starting up, "lay not this also,O Lord! upon my head. Let the old bear witness--but let the young bespared, to serve thee in happier years upon the earth!"--"Be not afraid,"said I, "if it was Athanasia, no one suspected it but myself; and I havealready told you that I would die rather than bring evil upon her head."
"Yes," he answered, after a pause--"it was, indeed, Athanasia. Who is itbut she that would have left the halls of nobles, and the couches ofpeace, to breathe at midnight the air of a dungeon, that she might solacethe last moments of a poor man, and, save the bond of Christ, a stranger!But if you have known her before, and spoken with her before, then surelyshe must indeed be safe in your hands. You know where she dwells--that Imyself know not. Here is the scroll, from which that noble maiden hasheard my humble voice essay to expound the words of eternal life. I chargeyou to approach her with reverence, and give into her own hands my dyingbequest; yet, as I have said, deliver it not to her till you have yourselfread what it contains."--"Christian," said I, placing the writing in mybosom, "have no fear--I will read your book, and ere two nights have goneover my head, I shall find means to place it in the hands of Athanasia;and now, farewell."--"Nay, not yet for the last time. Will you not come inthe morning, and behold the death of a Christian?"--"Alas!" said I, "whatwill it avail that I should witness the shedding of your blood? The Princemay have reason to regard you as an offender against the state; but I havespoken with you in your solitude, and know that your heart is noble. Wouldto Heaven, that by going thither I could avert your fate!"--"Methinks,sir," he replied, "it may be weakness--but yet methinks it would give mesome farther comfort in my death, to know that there was at least oneRoman there, who would not see me die without pity; and besides I musthave you constrain yourself, that you may be able to carry the tidings ofmy departure. Her prayers will be with me, but not her eyes. You must tellAthanasia the manner of my death."--"For that cause," said I, "I willconstrain myself, and be present in the Amphitheatre."--"Then, farewell,"said he; "----and yet go not. In whatsoever faith you live,--in whatsoeverfaith you die, the blessing of an old man and a Christian can do you noharm." So saying, the old man stood up, and leaning his hand on my head asI sat, pronounced over me a blessing which I never shall forget. "The Lordbless thee--the Lord enlighten thy darkness--the Lord plant his seed in thykind heart--the Lord give thee also to die the death of a Christian!"
When he had said so, he sat down again; and I departed greatly oppressedin spirit, yet feeling, I know not how or why, as I would rather have lostmany merry days, than that dark and sorrowful hour. The soldiers in theguard-room were so much engaged in their different occupations, that theyheeded me not as, dropping my borrowed habiliments, I stept silently tothe gate; and I was soon out of sight of their flaming watch-fires, andfar from the sounds of their noisy mirth.
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