Chapter XX
Cleopatra
I
A "clear singing zephyr" out of the west sped the ships on their way.Down they fared along the coast, past the isle of Capreae, then,leaving the Campanian main behind, cut the blue billows of theTyrrhenian Sea; all that day and night, and more sail and oar sweptthem on. They flew past the beaches of Magna Graecia, then, betwixtScylla and Charybdis, and Sicilia and its smoke-beclouded cone of AEtnafaded out of view, and the long, dark swells of the Ionian Sea caughtthem. No feeble merchantman, hugging coasts and headlands, wasDemetrius. He pushed his three barques boldly forward toward thewatery sky-line; the rising and setting sun by day and the slowlycircling stars by night were all-sufficient pilots; and so the shipsflew onward, and, late though the season was, no tempest racked them,no swollen billow tossed them.
Cornelia sat for hours on the poop, beneath a crimson awning, watchingthe foam scudding out from under the swift-moving keel, and feelingthe soft, balmy Notos, the kind wind of the south, now and then puffagainst her face, when the west wind veered away, and so brought up awhiff of the spices and tropic bloom of the great southern continent,over the parching deserts and the treacherous quicksands of the Syrtesand the broad "unharvested sea."
Cornelia had seen the cone of AEtna sinking away in the west, and thenshe looked westward no more. For eastward and ever eastward fared theships, and on beyond them on pinions of mind flew Cornelia. To Africa,to the Orient! And she dreamed of the half-fabulous kingdoms ofAssyria and Babylonia; of the splendours of Memphis and Nineveh andSusa and Ecbatana; of Eastern kings and Eastern gold, and Eastern pompand circumstance of war; of Ninus, and Cyrus the Great, and Alexander;of Cheops and Sesostris and Amasis; of the hanging gardens; of thetreasures of Sardanapalus; of the labyrinth of Lake Moeris; of athousand and one things rare and wonderful. Half was she persuadedthat in the East the heart might not ache nor the soul grow cold withpain. And all life was fair to Cornelia. She was sure of meetingDrusus soon or late now, if so be the gods--she could not help usingthe expression despite her atheism--spared him in war. She could wait;she could be very patient. She was still very young. And when shecounted her remaining years to threescore, they seemed an eternity.The pall which had rested on her life since her uncle and her loverparted after their stormy interview was lifted; she could smile, couldlaugh, could breathe in the fresh air, and cry, "How good it all is!"
Demetrius held his men under control with an iron hand. If ever thepirate ship was filled with sights and sounds unseemly for a lady'seyes and ears, there were none of them now. Cornelia was a princess,abjectly waited on by her subjects. Demetrius's attention outran allher least desires. He wearied her with presents of jewellery andcostly dresses, though, as he quietly remarked to Agias, the giftsmeant no more of sacrifice to him than an obol to a rich spendthrift.He filled her ears with music all day long; he entertained her withinimitable narrations of his own adventurous voyages and battles. Andonly dimly could Cornelia realize that the gems she wore in her hair,her silken dress, nay, almost everything she touched, had come fromearlier owners with scant process of law.
Demetrius was no common rover. He had been a young man of rare culturebefore misfortune struck him. He knew his Homer and his Plato as wellas how to swing a sword. "Yet," as he remarked with half jest, halfsigh, "all his philosophy did not make him one whit more an honestman."
And in his crew of Greeks, Orientals, and Spaniards were many morewhom calamity, not innate wickedness, so Cornelia discovered, haddriven to a life of violence and rapine.
Demetrius, too, gave no little heed to Artemisia. That pretty creaturehad been basking in the sunshine of Agias's presence ever since comingon shipboard. It was tacitly understood that Cornelia would care forthe welfare and education of Pratinas's runaway, until she reached amaturity at which Agias could assert his claims. The young Hellenehimself had been not a little anxious lest his cousin cast obstaclesin the way of an alliance with a masterless slavegirl; for of lateDemetrius had been boasting to his kinsman that their family, beforebusiness misfortunes, had been wealthy and honourable among themerchant princes of Alexandria. But the worthy pirate had not anobjection to make; on the contrary, he would sit for hours staring atArtemisia, and when Agias demanded if he was about to turn rival,shook his head and replied, rather brusquely:--
"I was only thinking that Daphne might be about her age, and lookperhaps like her."
"Then you do not think your little daughter is dead?" asked Agias,sympathetic, yet personally relieved.
"I know nothing, nothing," replied his cousin, a look of ineffablepain passing over his fine features; "she was a mere infant when I wasarrested. When I broke loose, I had to flee for my life. When I couldset searchers after her, she had vanished. Poor motherless thing; Iimagine she is the slave of some gay lady at Antioch or Ephesus orRome now."
"And you do not know who stole her?" asked Agias.
"Don't tear open old wounds," was the retort. "I know nothing. Ithink--but it matters little what I think. There was that sly-eyed,smooth-tongued Greek, like that Phaon who met his deserts, who was nostranger to Domitius's blackmailings. I _feel_ that he did it. Nevermind his name. If ever I get the snake into my power--" andDemetrius's fingers tightened around the thick, hard cable he wasclutching, and crushed the solid hemp into soft, loose strands; thenhe broke out again, "Never mention this another time, Agias, or Ishall go mad, and plunge down, down into the waves, to go to sleep andforget it all!"
Agias was faithful to the injunction; but he observed that Demetriusshowed Artemisia the same attention as Cornelia, albeit mingled with alittle gracious and unoffending familiarity.
II
After a voyage in which one pleasant day succeeded another, Corneliaawoke one morning to hear the creak of blocks and tackle as thesailors were lowering sail. The full banks of oars were plashing inthe waves, and on deck many feet were rushing to and fro, whileofficers shouted their orders. Coming out of her cabin, the young ladysaw that the end of her seafaring was close at hand. Even to one freshfrom the azure atmosphere of the Campanian Bay, the sky wasmarvellously clear. The water was of a soft green tint, that shadedoff here and there into dark cerulean. The wind was blowing in coolpuffs out of the north. A long, slow swell made the stately triremesrock gracefully. Before them, in clear view, rose the tall tower ofthe Pharos,--the lighthouse of Alexandria,--and beyond it, on thelow-lying mainland, rose in splendid relief against the cloudless skythe glittering piles and fanes of the city of the Ptolemies. It was amagnificent picture,--a "picture" because the colours everywhere wereas bright as though laid on freshly by a painter's brush. Thestonework of the buildings, painted to gaudy hues, brought out all thedetails of column, cornice, and pediment. Here Demetrius pointed outthe Royal Palace, here the Theatre; here, farther inland, the Museum,where was the great University; in the distance the whole looked likea painting in miniature. Only there was more movement in this picture:a splendid yacht, with the gold and ivory glittering on its prow andpoop, was shooting out from the royal dockyards in front of thepalace; a ponderous corn-ship was spreading her dirty sails to try tobeat out against the adverse breeze, and venture on a voyage to Rome,at a season when the Italian traffic was usually suspended. Theharbour and quays were one forest of masts. Boats and small craft weregliding everywhere. Behind the pirate's triremes several largemerchantmen were bearing into the harbour under a full press of sail.
"And this, your ladyship," said Demetrius, smiling, "is Egypt. Doesthe first sight please you?"
"Does it not!" exclaimed Cornelia, drinking in the matchlessspectacle. "But you, kind sir, do you not run personal peril byputting into this haven for my sake?"
Demetrius laughed.
"It speaks ill for the law-abiding qualities of my countrymen, lady,"said he, "that I have nothing now to fear. I have too many greatfriends both in the court and in the city to fear arrest or annoyance.Here I may not stay long, for if it were to be noised in Rome that apirate were harboured habitually at Alex
andria, a demand for my arrestwould come to the king quickly enough, and he must needs comply. Butfor a few days, especially while all Rome is in chaos, I am safe; and,come what may, I would be first warned if any one intended to layhands on me."
Indeed, Demetrius's boast as to his own importance in Alexandria wassoon verified. The customs officials were all obsequiousness when theywent through the form of levying on the cargo of the ship. The masterof the port was soon in Demetrius's own cabin over a crater ofexcellent wine, and no sooner had the vessels touched the quay thantheir crews were fraternizing with the hosts of stevedores andflower-girls who swarmed to meet the new arrivals.
* * * * *
A few days later Cornelia and Fabia found themselves received asmembers of the household of no less a person than Cleomenes, a distantkinsman of Demetrius and Agias, and himself one of the great merchantprinces of the Egyptian capital. The Roman ladies found a certainamount of shyness to overcome on their own part and on that of theirhosts. Cleomenes himself was a widower, and his ample house waspresided over by two dark-skinned, dark-eyed daughters, Berenice andMonime--girls who blended with the handsome Greek features of theirfather the soft, sensuous charm of his dead Egyptian wife. Bashfulindeed had been these maidens in contact with the strangers who camebearing with them the haughty pride of all-conquering Rome. But aftera day or two, when Cornelia had cast off the hauteur begotten ofdiffidence, and Fabia had opened the depths of her pure womanlycharacter, the barriers were thrown down rapidly enough; and Corneliaand Fabia gained, not merely an access to a new world of life andideas, but two friends that they could regard almost as sisters.
It was a new thing for these Roman ladies to meet a foreigner on termsapproaching equality. A non-Roman had been for them a servant, anintelligent underling, nothing more; even Agias and Demetrius they hadregarded as friends, very close and agreeable, but whom it was adistinct condescension not to treat with ostentatious superiority. Butto sustain this feeling long with Berenice and Monime was impossible.The young Egyptians were every whit as cultured, as intelligent, asthemselves, every whit as accustomed to deference from others, andimplicitly assumed the right to demand it. The result was thatCornelia found herself thinking less and less about being a Roman, andmore and more regarded her gracious hosts as persons in every wayequal to herself.
And less and less of a Roman, Cornelia, the Hellene-hater, became.Greek was the only tongue now that sounded in her ear, unless shetalked privately with Fabia or was beguiled into trying to learn alittle Egyptian--a language Berenice and Monime spoke fluently. Theclothes she wore were no longer stola and palla, but chiton andhimation. The whole atmosphere about her was foreign, down to thecries on the streets. And Italy was very far away, and the lastmemories thereof none the most pleasant.
It chanced that one morning Cleomenes, Monime, and Cornelia weredriving down the great central street, under the shadow of seeminglyendless colonnades.
"_A!_ dearest one," cried Monime, "why must you think of leaving ourlovely Alexandria, of going back to cold, cheerless Rome? What goodthing does Rome send out but stern men and sharp iron?"
Cornelia shook her head and made answer--
"You Alexandrians are not one nation, but all the world; therefore youthink all who are less cosmopolitan poor. See, I count in the crowdsnot only the dark Egyptians and fair Greeks, but a Persian in hissplendid long kaftan, and a very venerable Jew, and a wiry littleArab, and Syrians, and negroes, and, I think, a Hindoo."
"And yourself, my lady, a Roman," concluded Cleomenes. "Truly all theearth has met in our city."
They whirled down the splendid highway that ran straight as an arrowthe whole length of the city, lined on either side by a forest of theinfinite number of columns of the great stretches of porticos.Handsomely dressed cavalrymen of the palace guard were dashing to andfro over the clean, hard pavement; elegant carriages containing thenoble and wealthy were whirling in every direction. At each glance,the eye lit on some pleasing bit of sculpture, some delicate curve ofarchitecture. Statues were everywhere, everywhere colour, everywherecrowds of gayly dressed citizens and foreigners. Cornelia contrastedthe symmetrical streets, all broad, swept, and at right angles--thetriumph of the wise architectural planning of Dinocrates--with thedirty, unsightly, and crooked lanes of the City of the Seven Hills,and told herself, as she had told herself often in recent days, thatRomans had much yet to learn.
They drove on past the Amphitheatre toward the Egyptian quarter of theRhacotis; and here, at the intersection of the Great Street with theother broad way leading from the "Gate of the Moon" on the harbour tothe "Gate of the Sun" on Lake Mareotis, a moving hedge of outriders,cavalrymen, and foot-guards met them.
"The queen coming from the Serapeum," said Cleomenes, drawing rein.
Cornelia saw half-naked Numidian footmen thrusting back the crowd thatbustled in the Omphalos--the great square where the two highroads met.Behind them pushed a squadron of light cavalry in silvered armour andsplendid purple and scarlet uniforms. Then, in the midst of all, moveda chariot drawn by four horses white as snow, the harness resplendentwith gold and jewels; at either side ran fan-bearers, waving greatmasses of bright ostrich plumes; a gaudy parasol swept over thecarriage itself. There were three occupants, whereof two stood: anEgyptian, gaunt and of great height, clad in plain white linen, whowas driving, and a handsome, gaudily dressed Greek youth, who washolding the parasol. Cornelia could just catch the profile of a youngwoman seated between them. The face was not quite regular, butmarvellously intelligent and sensitive; the skin not pale, yet farfrom dark, and perfectly healthy and clear; the eyes restive andpiercing. The queen was dressed plainly in Greek fashion; her himationwas white, her only ornament a great diamond that was blazing like astar on her breast. Upon the coils of her heavy, dark hair sat agolden circlet faced in front with the likeness of the head of thevenomous uraeus snake--the emblem of Egyptian royalty. This was allCornelia could observe in the brief time the queen was in view. Someof the people--Egyptians mostly--cried out to her in their owntongue:--
"Hail to the ever glorious Daughter of Ra!"
But the queen paid them little heed. Once her restless eyes lit on thecarriage of Cleomenes, and she made a slight inclination of the headin return to that gentleman's salute, for Cleomenes had standing atcourt as one of the "friends of the king."[172]
[172] A high order of Egyptian nobility.
The cortege rolled away toward the palace.
"This Cleopatra is a rather remarkable woman," observed Cornelia, forthe sake of saying something.
"Indeed, that is true," replied Cleomenes, as he turned to drivehomeward. "She is worthy to have lived in the days of the firstPtolemies, of Ptolemaeus Soter and Philadelphus and Euergetes. She isstill very young, only twenty, and yet five years ago she was sofascinating that when Antonius, of whom I have heard you speak, camehere with Gabinius's expeditions he quite lost his heart to her. Shehas a marvellous talent for statecraft and intrigue and diplomacy. Youknow that, nominally at least, she has to share her crown with youngPtolemaeus, her younger brother. He is a worthless rascal, but histutor, the eunuch Pothinus, really wields him. Pothinus, as the customis, was brought up with him as his playmate, and now Pothinus wants todrive out the queen, and rule Egypt through his power over the king.His ambition is notorious, but the queen has not been able to layhands on him for treason."
Cleopatra and her fortunes and perils played a slight part inCornelia's mind, however, that day. To know Alexandria in its sunlightand shadows was indeed to know a miniature world. First of all tonotice, besides the heterogeneous nature of the crowds on the streets,was the fact that every person, high as well as low, was engaged insome trade. Very far was the typical Alexandrian from the quiet"leisure" which the average Greek or Latin believed requisite for arefined life--a life in which slaves did all the necessary work, andamassed an income for the master to expend in polite recreations. InRome, for a free citizen to have been a handicraftsman would hav
e beena disgrace; he could be farmer, banker, soldier,--nothing more. InAlexandria the glass-workers, paper-makers, and linen weavers werethose who were proudest and most jealous of their title of "Men ofMacedonia."[173] Money, Cornelia soon discovered, was even a greatergod here than in Rome. Cleomenes himself was not ashamed to spend alarge part of the day inspecting his factories, and did not hesitateto declare that during a period when he and his family had been ingreat distress, following the failure of the banking house of Agias'sfather, he had toiled with his own hands to win bread for hisdaughters.
[173] The official title of Alexandrian Greek citizens.
The conception that any honest labour, except a certain genteelagriculture, might not make a man the less of a gentleman, or a womanthe less of a lady, was as new to Cornelia as the idea that somenon-Romans could claim equality with herself. Neither proposition didshe accept consciously. The prejudice wore quietly away. But otherthings about the city she gathered quickly enough from the causticexplanations of Cleomenes.
"Here in Alexandria," he asserted on one occasion, "we are always ripefor a riot. Never a chariot race without stone-throwing andthroat-cutting after it. An unpopular official is torn in pieces by amob. If you chance to kill a cat, the Egyptians are after you for yourlife. The Greeks hate the Jews, and are always ready to plunder theirquarter; the Egyptians are on bad terms with both. We talk about beingfree citizens of the capital of the Ptolemies, and pretend to go tothe Gymnasium for discussion, and claim a right to consult with theking; but our precious Senate, and all our tribes and wards, are onlyfictions. We are as much slaves as the poor creatures down in theroyal quarries; only we demand the right to riot and give nicknames.We called the last Ptolemaeus, Auletes "the Piper," because in that waywe have punished him in all history for the way he oppressed us._Euge!_ Have we not a wonderful city!"
It was on the very next day that Cleopatra was recalled to Cornelia'smind in a quite marked fashion. It was rather early, and she was uponthe roof-garden, on the third story of the house, where there was acommanding view of the city. Berenice was busy reading from a papyrusthe Egyptian legend of the "Adventures of Sinuhit," translating intoGreek as she read.
Cleomenes broke in upon the reading. His face wore a mysterious smile.
"I have a rather strange piece of news for you, my lady," he said. "Achamberlain of the court has just been here, and brings a royalcommand."
"I am not accustomed to being commanded," interrupted Cornelia, allher Roman haughtiness rising.
"I do not think you will be found disobedient. The queen, it seems,noticed you in my carriage yesterday, and at once divined, with thatwonderfully quick wit of hers, that you must be a Roman lady of rank.She immediately made inquiries, and now sends her chamberlain to askyou and the Lady Fabia, as well as myself, to dine with her at thepalace to-night. You may be sure nothing will be lacking to do youhonour."
Cornelia meekly acquiesced in this royal mandate. Fabia, however,could not stir from the house. The shock to her finely strung naturewhen she was taken from Rome had, indeed, produced a physicalreaction. She was not seriously ill, but could endure no excitement.So it was with only Cleomenes for an escort that Cornelia mounted intoone of the splendid royal chariots sent from the palace about dusk,and drove away surrounded by a cloud of guardsmen sent to do honour tothe guests of the queen.
Cornelia herself felt highly strung and slightly nervous. She wished,for the first time since she reached Alexandria, that she could godressed in the native costume of a Roman lady, She was going to enjoythe hospitality of a princess who was the successor of thirty odddynasties of Pharaohs; who was worshipped herself as a goddess bymillions of Egyptians; who was hailed as "Daughter of the Sun," andwith fifty other fulsome titles; a princess, furthermore, who wassupposed to dispose of the lives of her subjects as seemed right inher own eyes, without law of man or god to hinder. Cornelia was notafraid, nay rather, anticipatory; only she had never before been sothoroughly conscious that she was Roman down to her finger-tips--Roman,and hence could look upon the faces of princes unabashed.
The people saw the royal chariot, and some shouted salutations to theguests whom the queen delighted to honour. The company swept up underthe magnificent archway leading to the palace; above them rose tallIonic columns of red granite of Syene, building rising above building,labyrinths of pillars, myriads of statues. Torches were blazing fromevery direction. The palace grounds were as bright as day. The lightbreeze was sweeping through rare Indian ferns and tropical palms. Theair was heavy with the breath of innumerable roses. Huge fountainswere tossing up showers of spray, which fell tinkling onto broadbasins wherein the cups of the blue and white lotus were floating. Itwas indeed as if one had been led on to enchanted ground.
Cornelia and her friend dismounted from their chariot, and were ledthrough an endless colonnade, past a second, lower gateway, and theninto a hall, not very high or large, but admirable in its proportions,with a whole gallery of choice mythological paintings on its walls.Small heed did Cornelia give to them. For at the end of the hall rosea low dais, whereon sat, in a gilded chair, the same person who hadbeen pointed out to Cornelia the day before as the mistress of Upperand Lower Egypt.
The light was too dim to discover in the distance anything new in theface of the queen. She wore a loose, long gown of some light bluesilken stuff; and her belt, shoes, neck, breast, and ears were allglittering with gems. At the foot of the dais was a group of half adozen showily dressed chamberlains and courtiers, who made a slightmotion of greeting when the two guests darkened the doorway. One ofthese functionaries advanced to Cornelia.
"Your ladyship," he began, in a smooth, colourless voice, "I have thehonour to be the Royal Introducing Chamberlain. In approaching thequeen, do as I shall direct. First, before advancing to the dais bowslightly; then at the foot of the dais it is proper--"
"Sir," interrupted Cornelia, drawing herself up to her full height, "Iam not accustomed to your prostrations and genuflections, and of themmy countrymen make sorry work; pray excuse me." And without waitingfor reply or expostulation she advanced straight toward the dais. Thehall was small, the steps from the door to the queen's chair few; butnever did Cornelia fare on more tedious journey. She knew that ahalf-horrified titter was passing through the group of courtiers Sheknew that Cleopatra herself had stirred in her seat, as if to rise.But one word sounded in Cornelia's ears, and that word was "Rome."Were not Roman citizens nobles among nobles, and Roman senators peersof kings! And she, daughter of the Cornelii and Claudii, whoseancestors had broken the might of Antiochus the Great andMithridates--should she not look in the face the heiress of theLagidae? Had not one hundred years before Popilius, the Romancommissioner, come unarmed into the presence of Antiochus Epiphanes,while he was advancing to the gates of defenceless Alexandria, drawn acircle in the dust about the king, and bidden him answer, before hestepped over, whether he would court destruction or obey the mandateof the Republic and leave Egypt in peace? And had not the great kingobeyed--humbly? Why, then, should not a Roman patrician maiden lookdown on a mere monarch, who was a pawn in the hands of her kinsfolkand countrymen?
To repeat these things is long. The mind moves faster than thesunlight. Cornelia came to the dais, and there gave the slightestinclination of her head--the greeting of a mistress to slaves--to thegroup of courtiers. She advanced straight toward the royal chair andstretched forth her hand.
"I am your debtor, O queen, for a kindness that I may not soon, Ifear, repay--unless you come to Rome."
She spoke as a superior addressing an inferior who had rendered someslight service. The queen rose from her seat and took the profferedhand without the least hesitation.
"And I will ask for none other reward than that you do honour to myentertainment."
The voice was wonderfully soft, modulated, and ringing; like aninstrument of many strings. Every syllable blended into the next inperfect harmony; to hear a few words was like listening unto music.
Cornelia knew later, when
she was older and had thought more, that thequeen had instantly caught the defiant mood of her guest, andthereupon left nothing unspared to conciliate it. At that moment,however, she attempted no such analysis of motive. She was consciousof only one thing: the luminous personality of Cleopatra. The queenwas all that Cornelia had noticed her to be when they met at the GreatSquare; but she was more than a beautiful woman. In fact, in merebodily perfection Monime or Berenice might well have stood beside her.The glance of the queen went through and through her guests likearrows of softly burning light. It was impossible to withdraw one'seyes from her; impossible to shake off the spell of an enjoyablemagnetism. If she moved her long, shapely fingers, it was speech; ifshe raised her hand, eloquence. As shade after shade of varyingemotion seemed to pass across Cleopatra's face, it was as if one sawthe workings of a masterful spirit as in a mirror; and now could cry,"This is one of the Graces," and now "This is one of the Fates," ashalf-girlish candour and sweetness was followed by a lightning flashfrom the eyes, disclosing the deep, far-recessed subtleties of thesoul within. Cornelia had entered the hall haughty, defiant; a wordand a look--she was the most obedient vassal.
Cornelia had seen many a splendid banquet and dinner party in Rome.Even Oriental kings had not a great deal to teach the "masters of thetoga" in ostentatious luxury. Perhaps the queen had realized this. Thepresent occasion called, indeed for very little formality, for,besides Cornelia, Cleomenes was the only guest; and when thatgentleman inquired politely if his Majesty, the King Ptolemaeus, was tohonour them with his presence, Cleopatra replied, with an eloquentraising of the eyebrows:--
"The king will be to-night, as he always is, with histutor--Pothinus."
There was indescribable scorn in the last word.
The doors of the reception hall had been flung back on noiselesspivots by unseen hands. The banqueting room disclosed within was notso much a room as a garden. Flowers, flowers were everywhere, roses,violets, narcissuses, and a score of others breathing forth a heavyfragrance. Overhead, the goldstudded ceiling was converted into a vastarbour of blending flowery tints. The room was large, very large foronly three banqueters; on the walls, from out between the pottedtropical plants, shone marvellous marble reliefs, one hundred in all;and in betwixt them were matchless paintings. Framing, after afashion, the pictures, were equally perfect embroideries, portrayingin silk and fine linen the stories of Thebes, the kingly house ofArgos, and many another myth of fame. The pillars of the roomrepresented palm trees and Bacchic thyrsi; skins of wild beasts werefastened high up to the walls; and everywhere was the sheen of silverand gold, the splendour of scarlet and purple tapestries.
"The decorations of this room," said the queen, as her two guestsentered, "are nearly all preserved from the great banqueting pavilionof Ptolemaeus Philadelphus, which he erected for the grand festivalthat ushered in his reign."
Cornelia drew back as her foot crossed the threshold. Her sandals trodon the fair white cup of a blooming lily. The queen laughed as merrilyas a little girl at her confusion.
"In Rome, I doubt not," she said, smiling, "there are not flowersenough at this time of year to have them for a carpet. But this isAlexandria. Flowers are never out of bloom."
So Cornelia advanced, but perhaps it grieved her more to tread on theinnocent flowers, than any small thing had since she left Baiae.
And then the banquet, if such it may be termed when there are butthree to enjoy it, began. Cleopatra knew well that she could notoverwhelm her Roman guest with show of plate and gems, nor did shetry. But Cornelia forgot about such things long before they rose. Forthe queen displayed to her a myriad dainty perfections and refinementsthat never had endeared themselves to the grosser Italian gourmands.Cleomenes had whispered to his companion, before they reached thepalace, "Plato tells of four sorts of flattery; but I can promise youa thousand sorts from Cleopatra if she but cares to win yourfriendship." And surely the queen did thus desire. For Cornelia wassurfeited with strange dishes, and rare sherbets, flowers, and music;surfeited with everything save the words that fell from the lips ofCleopatra.
The more the queen spoke, the more complete became the vassalage ofher guest. Cornelia discovered that this woman, who was but littleolder than she, could speak fluently seven languages, and carriedabout with her an exceedingly accurate knowledge, not merely of theadministration of Egypt, but of the politics of Rome, and the detailsof the great contest racking the Republic. When Cleopatra askedquestions concerning Roman affairs, Cornelia was fain to confessignorance and be put to shame. And as the evening advanced, Corneliafound herself talking with more and more confidence to this woman thatshe had never addressed until an hour before. Cleopatra of courseknew, as all Alexandria knew, that Cornelia and Fabia were Romanladies of the highest rank, who had been forced to take refuge abroaduntil the political crisis was over. But now Cornelia told the queenthe true reasons that had led her to be willing to submit toDemetrius's friendly kidnapping; and when, in a burst offrankness,--which in a saner moment Cornelia would have deemedunwise,--she told of her betrothal to Drusus and willingness to waitlong for him, if they might only come together in the end, the queenseemed unable to speak with her usual bright vivacity. Presently shesaid:--
"So you love this young man as none other? You are willing to be allyour life his handmaid, his slave?"
"I love him, assuredly," said Cornelia, with a little heat. "And sofar as being all my life his slave, I've given that never so much as athought. Where love is, there slavery cannot be."
"And where love is not, there slavery must be, doubtless you wish toadd?" broke in the queen.
"I should be very miserable if I had nothing to love, which I mightlove purely, and feel myself the nobler and happier thereby."
"Then pity us poor mortals who cannot climb up to your Olympus! Eh, myvery noble Cleomenes," went on the queen, addressing the Greek, "do Inot deserve compassion, that I have not been able to find someTigranes of Armenia, or Parthian prince, who will be all in all to me,and make me forget everything in worshipping him?"
These were the first words that evening that had grated on Cornelia. Alittle ruffled, she replied:--
"I fear, O queen, that if you are awaiting a Tigranes or an Artavasdesto sue for your hand, you will indeed never find a lord to worship.Quintus Drusus is indeed wealthy at Rome, his family noble, he mayrise to great things; but I would not lay down my life for him becauseof his wealth, his lineage, or his fair prospects. It is not thesethings which make a common woman love a man."
"But I am not a common woman," responded Cleopatra, with emphasis. "Iam ambitious, not to be led, but to lead. I must rule or I must die. Icannot love a master, only fear him. Why, because I was born a woman,must I give up all my royal aspirations to rise to a great place amongprinces, to build up a great empire in the East, to make Alexandria acapital with the power of Rome, the culture of Athens, the splendourof Babylon, all in one? It is because I have these hopes stirring inme that I may love no man, can love no man! Nothing shall stand in myway; nothing shall oppose me. Whoever thwarts my ambitions, the worsefor him; let him die--all things must die, but not I, until I have wonmy power and glory!"
For once, at least, the queen's emotions had run away with her; shespoke hotly, passionately, as though tearing her words from therecesses of her throbbing heart. Her wonderful voice was keyed inhalf-bitter defiance. For the moment Cornelia was mistress, and notthe queen.
"O queen," broke in the young Roman, "would you know how I feel towardyou?"
Cleopatra looked at her with dilated eyes.
"I feel for you a very great sorrow. I know not whether you will orwill not do as you wish--set your empire over the far East, a rival,friendly, I hope, to our Rome; but this I know, that with your glory,and with your renown among men for all time, you will go down to yourgrave with an empty heart. And I know not what may compensate forthat."
Cleomenes was clearly a little disturbed at this turn to theconversation; but Cleopatra bowed her head on her hands. It was
onlyfor an instant. When she looked up once more there were tears in hereyes, which she made no effort to conceal. The look of high defiancehad faded from her face.
"Think kindly of me, Lady Cornelia," she said; "I am but a wilful girlwith many things to learn. Perhaps you yourself know that purple robesdo not make a light heart."
"That I know well and sadly."
"Therefore," went on the queen, "if I forget myself, and half envy acup of happiness that seems dashed from my lips, do not be overblameful."
"Never," responded the young Roman.
"Time advances," said the queen; "let us forget that any barriers shutus out from perfect bliss. Let us call in the Egyptian musicians; andcry out upon me if my looks grow sad!"
Whereat a whole section in the side of the room turned on a pivot, andthere entered three native harpers and eight pretty Egyptian girls, ingauzy dresses, who danced in intricate figures, and juggled withballs; now with two, now with three, catching them with their handscrossed. Boys ran in and out and sprinkled _kyphi_[174] on the headsof the three feasters, and flung huge wreaths of flowers round theirnecks, and thrust lotus flowers in their hair. And all the time thegirls sang sweetly.
[174] A mixture of myrrh, frankincense, and other aromatic materials.
The queen kept her guests very late.
"We of Alexandria," said she, "make little difference between nightand day. Our city is a new Sybaris."
And all through the evening Cleopatra kept close to Cornelia, oftenwith her hand upon her, as though extremely loath to let her go. Atlast the moon crept up into the heavens, and as the queen and herguests roved out of the heated banqueting hall into the cool gardens,the pale yellow light gently bathed the sweep of the city, which layin full view of the palace terrace.
"All sleep," said Cleopatra, "all but ourselves. Let there be one moresong, and then farewell!--but soon to meet again."
The chorus of maidens, which followed them, sang, in Greek, the hymnof Onomacritus:[175]--
[175] Elton, translator.
"Heavenly Selene! goddess queen! that shed'st abroad the light! Bull-horned moon! air-habiting! thou wanderer through the night! Moon bearer of mighty torch! thou star-encircled maid! Woman thou, yet male the same, still fresh and undecayed! Thou that in thy steeds delightest, as they travel through the sky, Clothed in brightness! mighty mother of the rapid years that fly; Fruit dispenser! amber-visaged! melancholy, yet serene! All beholding! sleep-enamour'd! still with trooping planets seen! Quiet loving; who in pleasance and in plenty tak'st delight; Joy diffusing! Fruit maturing! Sparkling ornament of night! Swiftly pacing! ample-vested! star-bright! all divining maid! Come benignant! come spontaneous! with starry sheen arrayed! Sweetly shining! save us virgin, give thy holy suppliants aid!"
"Yes," said Cleopatra, passing her hand over her brow, "give us aid,either thou, O moon, or some other power, for we are full weakourselves."
When the queen parted with her guests she put her arms aroundCornelia's waist and kissed her on the forehead.
"I sent for you," said Cleopatra, "half intending to amuse myself withthe boorishness and clumsy insolence which I conceived a noble Romanlady to possess. I have been punished. Promise to come to see meoften, very often, or I shall call my body-guards and keep youprisoner. For I have very few friends."
While the chariot was bearing the two guests away, Cleomenes askedCornelia what she thought of the queen.
"She is the most wonderful woman I have ever met," was her answer,enthusiastic and characteristically feminine. "I admire her. I amalmost her slave."
The frequency of Cornelia's visits to the palace on following daysseemed to prove that the admiration was not unreciprocated. Indeed,Monime and Berenice grew jealous of the queen for stealing their newfriend from them.
A Friend of Cæsar: A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. Page 21
