The sun was sinking fast, staining the marble temples and colonnades ofthe Forum blood-red with its level beams. For the most part the gloriousplace was deserted now, since, the Triumph over at length, the hundredsof thousands of the Roman populace, wearied out with pleasure andexcitement, had gone home to spend the night in feasting. About one ofthe public slave-markets, however, a round of marble enclosed witha rope and set in front of a small building, where the slaves weresheltered until the moment of their sale, a mixed crowd was gathered,some of them bidders, some idlers drawn thither by curiosity. Otherswere in the house behind examining the wares before they came to thehammer. Presently an old woman, meanly clad with her face veiled to theeyes, and bearing on her back a heavy basket such as was used to carryfruit to market, presented herself at the door of the house.
"What do you want?" asked the gatekeeper.
"To inspect the slaves," she answered in Greek.
"Go away," he said roughly, "you are not a buyer."
"I may be if the stuff is good enough," she replied, slipping a goldcoin into his hand.
"Pass in, old lady, pass in," and in another second the door had closedbehind her, and Nehushta found herself among the slaves.
In this building the light was already so low that torches were burningfor the convenience of visitors. By the flare of them Nehushta sawthe unfortunate captives--there were but fifteen--seated upon marblebenches, while slave women moved from the one to the other, washingtheir hands and feet and faces in scented water, brushing and tyingtheir hair and removing the dust of the procession from their robes,so that they might look more comely to the eyes of the purchasers. Alsothere were present a fair number of bidders, twenty or thirty of them,who strolled from girl to girl discussing the points of each and attimes asking them to stand up, or turn round, or show their armsand ankles, that they might judge of them better. At the moment whenNehushta entered one of these, a fat man with greasy curls who lookedlike an Eastern, was endeavouring to persuade a dark and splendid Jewessto let him see her foot. Pretending not to understand she sat still andsullen, till at length he stooped down and lifted her robe. Then inan instant the girl dealt him such a kick in the face that amidst thelaughter of the spectators he rolled backwards on the floor, whence herose with a cut and bloody forehead.
"Very good, my beauty, very good," he muttered in a savage voice,"before twelve hours are over you shall pay for that."
But again the girl sat sullen and motionless, pretending not tounderstand.
Most of the public, however, were gathered about Miriam, who sat upon achair by herself, her hands folded, her head bent down, a very pictureof pitiful, outraged modesty. One by one as their turns came and theattendant suffered them to approach, the men advanced and examined herclosely, though Nehushta noted that none of them were allowed to touchher with their hands. Placing herself at the end of the line she watchedwith all her eyes and listened with all her ears. Soon she had herreward. A tall man, dressed like a merchant of Egypt, went up to Miriamand bent over her.
"Silence!" said the attendant. "I am ordered to suffer none to speak tothe slave who is called Pearl-Maiden. Move on, sir, move on."
The man lifted his head, and although in that gloom she could notsee his face, Nehushta knew its shape. Still she was not sure, tillpresently he moved his right hand so that it came between her and theflame of one of the torches, and she perceived that the top joint of thefirst finger was missing.
"Caleb," she thought to herself, "Caleb, escaped and in Rome! SoDomitian has another rival." Then she went back to the door-keeper andasked him the name of the man.
"A merchant of Alexandria named Demetrius," he said.
Nehushta returned to her place. In front of her two men, agents whobought slaves and other things for wealthy clients, were talking.
"More fit for a sale of dogs," said one, "after sunset when everybody istired out, than for that of one of the fairest women who ever stood uponthe block."
"Pshaw," answered the other, "the whole thing is a farce. Domitian is ina hurry, that's all, so the auction must be held to-night."
"He means to buy her?"
"Of course. I am told that his factor, Saturius, has orders to go upto a thousand sestertia if need be," and he nodded towards a quiet mandressed in a robe of some rich, dark stuff, who stood in a corner of theplace watching the company.
"A thousand sestertia! For one slave girl! Ye gods! a thousandsestertia!"
"The necklace goes with her, that is worth something, and there isproperty at Tyre."
"Property in Tyre," said the other, "property in the moon. Come on, letus look at something a little less expensive. As I wish to keep my headon my shoulders, I am not going to bid against the prince in any case."
"No, nor anyone else either. I expect he will get his fancy pretty cheapafter all."
Then the two men moved away, and a minute afterwards Nehushta found thatit was her turn to approach Miriam.
"Here comes a curious sort of buyer," said one of the attendants.
"Don't judge the taste of the fruit by the look of the rind, young man,"answered Nehushta, and at the sound of that voice for the first timePearl-Maiden lifted her head, then dropped it quickly.
"She is well enough," Nehushta said aloud, "but there used to beprettier women when I was young; in fact, though dark, I was myself," astatement at which those within hearing, noting her gaunt and aged formbent beneath the heavy basket, tittered aloud. "Come, lift up yourhead, my dear," she went on, trying to entice the captive to consent byencouraging waves of her hand.
They were fruitless; still, had any thought of it there was meaning inthem. On Nehushta's finger, as it chanced, shone a ring which Miriamought to know, seeing that for some years she had worn it on her own.
It would seem that she did know it, at any rate her bosom and neck grewred and a spasm passed across her face which even the falling hair didnot suffice to hide.
The ring told Miriam that Marcus lived and that Nehushta was hismessenger. This suspense at least was ended.
Now the door-keeper called a warning and the buyers flocked from thebuilding. Outside, the auctioneer, a smooth-faced, glib-tongued man, wasalready mounting the rostrum. Calling for silence he began his speech.On this evening of festival, he said, he would be brief. The lots he hadto offer to the select body of connoisseurs he saw before him, were theproperty of the Imperator Titus, and the proceeds of the sale, it washis duty to tell them, would not go into Caesar's pocket, but were to beequally divided between the poor of Rome and deserving soldiers whohad been wounded or had lost their health in the war, a fact which mustcause every patriotic citizen to bid more briskly. These lots, he mightsay, were unique, being nothing else than the fifteen most beautifulgirls, believed all of them to be of noble blood, among the manythousands who had been captured at the sack of Jerusalem, the city ofthe Jews, especially selected to adorn the great conqueror's Triumph.No true judge, who desired a charming memento of the victory of hiscountry's arms, would wish to neglect such an opportunity, especiallyas he was informed that the Jewish women were affectionate, docile, wellinstructed in many arts, and very hard-working. He had only one morething to say, or rather two things. He regretted that this importantsale should be held at so unusual an hour. The reason was that therewas really no place where these slaves could be comfortably kept withoutrisk of their maltreatment or escape, so it was held to be best thatthey should be removed at once to the seclusion of their new homes, adecision, he was sure, that would meet the wishes of buyers. The secondpoint was that among them was one lot of surpassing interest; namely,the girl who had come to be generally spoken of as Pearl-Maiden.
This young woman, who could not be more than three or four-and-twentyyears of age, was the last representative of a princely family of theJews. She had been found exposed upon one of the gates of the holy houseof that people, where it would seem she was sentenced to perish for someoffence against their barbarous laws. As the clamours of the populacethat day ha
d testified, she was of the most delicate and distinguishedbeauty, and the collar of great pearls which she wore about her neckgave evidence of her rank. If he knew anything of the tastes of hiscountrymen the price which would be paid for her must prove a recordeven in that ring. He was aware that among the vulgar a great, almosta divine name had been coupled with that of this captive. Well, he knewnothing, except this, that he was certain that if there was any truthin the matter the owner of the name, as became a noble and a generousnature, would wish to obtain his prize fairly and openly. The biddingwas as free to the humblest there--provided, of course, that he couldpay, and he might remark that not an hour's credit would be given exceptto those who were known to him--as to Caesar himself. Now, as the lightwas failing, he would order the torches to be lit and commence the sale.The beauteous Pearl-Maiden, he might add, was Lot No. 7.
So the torches were lit, and presently the first victim was led out andplaced upon a stand of marble in the centre of the flaring ring. She wasa dark-haired child of about sixteen years of age, who stared round herwith a frightened gaze.
The bidding began at five sestertia and ran up to fifteen, or about L120of our money, at which price she was knocked down to a Greek, who ledher back into the receiving house, paid the gold to a clerk who was inattendance, and took her away, sobbing as she went. Then followed fourothers, who were sold at somewhat better prices. No. 6 was the dark andsplendid Jewess who had kicked the greasy-curled Eastern in the face. Assoon as she appeared upon the block, this brute stepped forward and bidtwenty sestertia for her. An old grey-bearded fellow answered with a bidof twenty-five. Then some one bid thirty, which the Eastern capped witha bid of forty. So it went on till the large total of sixty sestertiawas offered, whereon the Eastern advanced two more, at which price,amidst the laughter of the audience, she was knocked down to him.
"You know me and that the money is safe," he said to the auctioneer. "Itshall be paid to you to-morrow; I have enough to carry without ladingmyself up with so much gold. Come on, girl, to your new home, where Ihave a little score to settle with you," and grasping her by the leftwrist he pulled her from the block and led her unresisting through thecrowd and to the shadows beyond.
Already No. 7 had been summoned to the block and the auctioneer wastaking up his tale, when from out of these shadows rose the sound of adreadful yell. Some of the audience snatched torches from their standsand ran to the spot whence it came. There, on the marble pavementlay the Eastern dead or dying, while over him stood the Jewess, a reddagger, his own, which she had snatched from its scabbard, in her hand,and on her stately face a look of vengeful triumph.
"Seize her! Seize the murdering witch! Beat her to death with rods,"they cried, and at the command of the auctioneer slaves ran up to takeher.
She waited till they were near, then, without a word or a sound, liftedher strong, white arm and drove the knife deep into her own heart. Fora moment she stood still, till suddenly she stretched her hands wide andfell face downwards dead upon the body of the brute who had bought her.
The crowd gasped and was silent. Then one of them, a sickly lookingpatrician, called out:
"Oh! I did well to come. What a sight! What a sight! Blessings on you,brave girl, you have given Julius a new pleasure."
After this there was tumult and confusion while the attendants carriedaway the bodies. A few minutes later the auctioneer climbed back intohis rostrum and alluded in moving terms to the "unfortunate accident"which had just happened.
"Who would think," he said, "that one so beautiful could also be soviolent? I weep when I consider that this noble purchaser, whose nameI forget at the moment, but whose estate, by the way, is liable for themoney, should have thus suddenly been transferred from the arms of Venusto that of Pluto, although it must be admitted that he gave the womansome provocation. Well, gentlemen, grief will not bring him to lifeagain, and we who still stand beneath the stars have business to attend.Bear me witness, all of you, that I am blameless in this affair, and,slaves, bring out that priceless gem, the Pearl-Maiden."
Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem Page 36
