Unto Caesar Read online

  CHAPTER VIII

  "The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof isof the Lord."--PROVERBS XVI. 33.

  And even thus did the mighty Empire hurry headlong to its fall; withshouts of joy and cries of exultation, with triumphal processions, withmusic, with games and with flowers.

  The Caesar had returned from Germany and Gaul having played his part ofmountebank upon the arena of the world. Eaten up with senseless andcynical vanity, Caius Julius Caesar Caligula desired to be the Caesar ofhis army as he was princeps and imperator, high pontiff and supremedictator of the Empire. But as there was no war to conduct, no rebellionto subdue, he had invented a war and harassed some barbarians who had nothought save that of peace.

  He stage-managed conspiracies and midnight attacks, drilling his ownsoldiers into acting the parts of malcontents, of escaped prisoners, ofbloodthirsty barbarians, the while he himself--as chief actor in theplay--vanquished the mock foes and took from them mock spoils of war.

  Then he upbraided Rome for her inertia whilst he, the Emperor,confronted dangers and endured hardships for her sake. His letters, fullof glowing accounts of his supposed prowess, of the ferocity of theenemy, of the fruits of victory snatched at the cost of innumerablesacrifices were solemnly read to the assembled senators in the temple ofMars, and to a vast concourse of people gathered in the Forum.

  They listened to these letters with awe and reverence proud of thevalour of their Caesar, rejoicing in the continued glory of the mightiestEmpire of the world--their own Empire which they, the masters of theearth and of the sea, had made under the guidance of rulers such as hewho even now was returning laurel-laden and victory-crowned fromGermany.

  And the triumphal procession was begun. First came the galley in whichCaligula was said to have crossed the ocean for the purpose of subduingsome rebel British princes, but in which he in verity had spent somepleasant days fishing in the bay. It was brought back to Rome in solemnstate by land, right across the country of the Allemanni and carried thewhole of the way by sixteen stalwart barbarians--supposed prisoners ofwar.

  The galley was received with imperial honours as if it had been a humancreature--the very person of the Caesar. In the presence of a huge andenthusiastic crowd it was taken to the temple of Mars, where thepontiffs, attired in their festal robes, dedicated it with solemn ritualto the god of war and finally deposited it in a specially constructedcradle fashioned of citrus wood with elaborate carvings and touches ofgilding thereon; the whole resting upon a pedestal of African marble.

  Upon the next day a procession of Gauls entered the city carryinghelmets which were filled with sea-shells. The men wore their hair longand unkempt, they were naked save for a goatskin tied across the torsowith a hempen rope and their shins were encircled with leather bands.The helmets were said to have belonged to those of Caesar's soldiers whohad lost their lives in the expedition against the Germans, and thesea-shells were a special tribute from the ocean to the gods of theCapitol. By the Caesar's orders the helmets were to be the objects ofsemi-divine honours in memory of the illustrious dead.

  Thus the tragi-comedy went on day after day. The plebs enjoying thepageants because they did not know that they were being fooled, and thepatricians looking on because they did not care.

  And now the imperial mountebank was coming home himself, having orderedhis triumph as he had stage-managed his deeds of valour. Triumphalarches and street decorations, flowers and processions, he had ordainedeverything just as he wished it to be. From the statue of every god inthe temples of the Capitol and of the Forum the bronze head had beenknocked off by his orders, and a likeness of his own head placed insubstitution. His intention was to receive divine homage, and this theplebs--who had been promised a succession of holidays, with races,games, and combats--was over-ready to grant him.

  The vestibule connecting his palace with the temple of Castor had beencompleted in his absence, and he wished to pass surreptitiously from hisown apartments to the very niche of the idol which was in full view ofthe Forum and there to show himself to the people, even whilst asacrifice was offered to him as to a god.

  To all this senseless display of egregious vanity the obsequiousness ofthe senators and the careless frivolity of the plebs easily lent itself;nor did anyone demur at the decree which came from the absent hero, thathe should in future be styled: "The Father of the Armies! the Greatestand best of Caesars."

  All thought of dignity was dead in these descendants of the great peoplewho had made the Empire; they had long ago sold their birthright ofvalour and of honour for the pottage of luxury and the favours of atyrannical madman. What cared they if after they had feasted and shoutedthemselves hoarse in praise of a deified brute, the ruins of Rome camecrashing down over their graves? What cared they if in far-off barbariclands the Goths and Huns were already whetting their steel.

  Only a few among the more dignified senators, a few among the more soberpraetorian tribunes, revolted in their heart at this insane exhibitionof egoism, these perpetual outrages on common sense and dignity; butthey were few and their influence small, and they were really tooindolent, too comfortable in their luxurious homes to do aught butaccept what they deemed inevitable.

  The only men in Rome who cared were the ambitious and the self-seekers,and they cared not because of Rome, not because of the glory of theEmpire, or the welfare of the land, but because they saw in the veryexcess of the tyrant's misrule the best chance for their own supremacyand power.

  Foremost amongst these was Caius Nepos, the praetorian praefect,all-powerful in the absence of the Caesar, well liked by the army, so'twas said. Some influential friends clung around him and also somemalcontents, those who are ever on the spot when destruction is to beaccomplished, ever ready to overthrow any government which does nothappen to further their ambitions.

  Most of these men were assembled this night beneath the gilded roof ofCaius Nepos' house. He had gathered all his friends round him, hadfeasted them with good viands and costly wines, with roasted peacocksfrom Gaul and mullets come straight from the sea; he had amused themwith oriental dancers and Egyptian acrobats, and when they had eaten anddrunk their fill he bade them good night and sent them home, laden withgifts. But his intimates remained behind; pretending to leave with theothers, they lingered on in the atrium, chatting of indifferent topicsamongst themselves, until all had gone whose presence would not bewanted in the conclave that was to take place.

  There were now some forty of them in number, rich patricians all ofthem, their ages ranging from that of young Escanes who was just twentyyears old to that of Marcus Ancyrus, the elder, who had turned sixty.Their combined wealth mayhap would have purchased every inhabited housein the entire civilised world or every slave who was ever put up in themarket. Marcus Ancyrus, they say, could have pulled down every temple inthe Forum and rebuilt it at his own cost, and Philippus Decius who wasthere had recently spent the sum of fifty million sesterces upon thebuilding and equipment of his new villa at Herculaneum.

  Young Hortensius Martius was there, too, he who was said to own moreslaves than anyone else in Rome, and Augustus Philario of the householdof Caesar, who had once declared that he would give one hundred thousandaurei for a secret poison that would defy detection.

  "Why is not Taurus Antinor here this evening?" asked Marcus Ancyrus whenthis little group of privileged guests once more turned back toward thetriclinium.

  "I think that he will be here anon," replied the host. "I have sent himword that I desired speech with him on business of the State and that Icraved the honour of his company."

  They all assembled at the head of the now deserted tables. The fewslaves who had remained at the bidding of their master had re-drapedthe couches and re-set the crystal goblets of wine and the gold disheswith fresh fruit. The long narrow hall looked strangely mournful nowthat the noisy guests had departed, and the sweet-scented oil in thelamps had begun to burn low.

  The table, laden with empty jars, with broken goblets, and remnants
offruits and cakes, looked uninviting and even weird in its aspect ofdeparted cheer. The couches beneath their tumbled draperies of richlydyed silk looked bedraggled and forlorn, whilst the stains of wine uponthe fine white cloths looked like widening streams of blood. Under theshadows of elaborate carvings in the marble of the walls ghost-likeshadows flickered and danced as the smoke from the oil lamp wound itsspiral curves upwards to the gilded ceiling above. And in the greatvases of priceless murra roses and lilies and white tuberoses, thespoils of costly glasshouses, were slowly drooping in the heavyatmosphere. The whole room, despite its rich hangings and gildedpillars, wore a curious air of desolation and of gloom; mayhap CaiusNepos himself was conscious of this, for as he followed his guests fromout the atrium he gave three loud claps with his hands, and a troupe ofyoung girls came in carrying bunches of fresh flowers and some newlyfilled lamps.

  These they placed at the head of the table, there, where the couchessurrounding it were draped with crimson silk, and soft downy cushions,well shaken up, once more called to rest and good cheer.

  "I pray you all take your places," said the host pleasantly, "and let usresume our supper."

  He gave a sign to a swarthy-looking slave, who, clad all in white, waspresiding at a gorgeous buffet carved of solid citrus-woodwhich--despite the fact that supper had just been served to two hundredguests--was once more groaning under the weight of mammoth dishes filledwith the most complicated products of culinary art.

  The slave, at his master's sign, touched a silver gong, and half a dozenhenchmen in linen tunics brought in the steaming dishes fresh from thekitchens. The carver set to and attacked with long sharp knife thegigantic capons which one of the bearers had placed before him. Hecarved with quickness and dexterity, placing well-chosen morsels on theplates of massive gold which young waiting-maids then carried to theguests.

  "Wilt dismiss thy slaves before we talk?" asked Marcus Ancyrus, theveteran in this small crowd. He himself had been silent for the past tenminutes, doing full justice to this second relay of Caius Nepos'hospitality.

  The waiting-maids were going the round now with gilt basins and clothsof fine white linen for the cleansing and drying of fingers between thecourses; others, in the meanwhile, filled the crystal goblets with redor white wine as the guests desired.

  "We can talk now," said the host; "these slaves will not heed us. They,"he added, nodding in the direction of the carver and his half-dozenhenchmen, "are all deaf as well as mute, so we need have no fear ofthem."

  "What treasures," ejaculated young Escanes with wondering eyes fixedupon his lucky host; "where didst get them, Caius Nepos? By the gods, Iwould I could get an army of deaf-mute slaves."

  "They are not easy to get," rejoined the other, "but I was mightilylucky in my find. I was at Cirta in Numidia at a time when the duskychief there--one named Hazim Rhan--had made a haul of six malcontentswho I understood had conspired against his authority. It seems thatthese rebels had a leader who had succeeded in escaping to his desertfastness, and whom Hazim Rhan greatly desired to capture. To gain thisobject he commanded the six prisoners to betray their leader; this theyrefused to do, whereupon the dusky prince ordered their ears to be cutoff and threatened them that unless they spoke on the morrow, theirtongues would be cut off the next day. And if after that they stillremained obdurate, their heads would go the way of their tongues andears."

  Exclamations of horror greeted this gruesome tale, the relevancy ofwhich no one had as yet perceived. But Caius Nepos, having pledged hisfriends in a draught of Sicilian wine, resumed:

  "I, as an idle traveller from Rome had been received by the duskychieftain with marked deference, and I was greatly interested in thefate of the six men who proved so loyal to their leader. So I waitedthree days, and when their tongues and ears had been cut off and theirheads were finally threatened, I offered to buy them for a sumsufficiently large to tempt the cupidity of Hazim Rhan. And thus I hadin my possession six men whose sense of loyalty had been splendidlyproved and whose discretion henceforth would necessarily be absolute."

  This time a chorus of praise greeted the conclusion of the tale. Thecynical calm with which it had been told and the ferocious selfishnesswhich it revealed seemed in no way repellent to Caius Nepos' guests. Afew pairs of indifferent eyes were levelled at the slaves and that wasall. And then Philippus Decius remarked coolly:

  "So much for thy carvers and henchmen, O Caius Nepos, but thywaiting-maids?--are they deaf and dumb too?"

  "No," replied the host, "but they come from foreign lands and do notunderstand our tongue."

  "Then you all think that the next few days will be propitious for ourschemes?" here broke in young Escanes who seemed the most eager amongstthem all.

  "Aye!" said Caius Nepos, "with a little good luck even to-morrow mightprove the best day. The Caesar is half frenzied now, gorged with histriumph, the mockery of which he does not seem to understand. He is morelike a raving madman than ever, much more feeble in mind and body thanbefore this insensate expedition to Germany."

  "I suppose that there is no doubt as to the truth of the tales which arecurrent about the expedition," quoth Marcus Ancyrus, whose yearsrendered him more cautious than the others.

  "No doubt whatever," rejoined the host, "and some of the tales fall farshort of the truth. There never was a real blow struck during the wholetime that madman was away. He travelled from place to place in hislitter borne by eight men, and sent his soldiers ahead of him withsprays and buckets of water that they should lay the dust along the roadon which he would travel. At Trevirorum on the banks of the Rhine, hecaused two hundred of his picked guard to dress up as barbarians and tomake feint to attack the camp at midnight. This they did with necessaryshoutings and clashings of steel against steel. Then did the greatestand best of Caesars sally forth in full battle array followed by a few ofhis most trusted men, and in the darkness there was heard more shoutingand more clashings of steel until Caligula returned in triumph atsunrise to his camp. He had passed hempen ropes round the necks of themock barbarians, and ever after had them dragged in the wake of hislitter, even as if they were prisoners of war. No doubt he had paid themwell for acting such a farce."

  "But was the army blind to all this folly?"

  "The Caesar only kept some five hundred picked men round him in his camp.These he bribed into acquiescence of all his mad pranks. The rest of thelegions were some distance away all the time. They believed all thatthey were told; mayhap they thought it wisest to believe."

  "I know that in Belgica, on the shores of the ocean----" began AugustusPhilario after a while.

  But he was not allowed to proceed. Shouts of derision broke in upon thetale, followed by expressions of rage.

  "What is the good of retailing further follies," said Caius Nepos atlast; "we all know that a madman, a vain, besotted fool wields now thesceptre of Julius Caesar and of great Augustus. The numbers of hismisdeeds are like the grains of sand on the seashore, his orgies haveshamed our generation, his debauches are a disgrace upon the fame ofRome. Patricians awake! The day hath come, the hour is close at hand.To-morrow, mayhap, at the public games ... a tumult amongst the people... it should be easy to rouse that ... then a well-edged dagger ... andthe Empire is rid of the most hideous and loathsome tyrant that everbrutalised a nation and shamed an empire."

  Even as he spoke, and despite the deaf-mute slaves and the foreigngirls, he lowered his voice until it sank to the merest whisper.Reclining upon the couches with elbows buried in silken cushions theothers all stretched forward now, until two score of heads met in onecontinued circle, forehead to forehead and ear to ear, whilst in themidst of them an oil lamp flickered low and lit up at fitful intervalsthe sober, callous faces with the hard mouths and cruel, steely eyes.

  The slaves--those who had lost ears and tongue and those who spoke nolanguage save their own foreign one--had retreated to the far corners ofthe room, up against the columns of Phrygian marble or the hangings ofTyrian tapestries; their great uncomprehending eyes
were fixed on thatcompact group at the head of the table, where round the bowls of rosesand of lilies and the goblets of wine, the future of the Empire of Romewas even now being discussed.

  "The tumult can be easily provoked," said one of the guests presently--ayoung man whose black hair and dark eyes bespoke his Oriental blood."The Caesar is certain to provoke it himself by some insane act oftyrannical folly. Ye must all remember how, two years ago, during theMegalesian games he ordered the women of his retinue to descend into thearena and to engage the gladiators in combat. At this outrage thediscontent among the people nearly broke out into open revolt. It wasthou, Caius Nepos, who checked the tumult then."

  "The hour was not ripe," said the latter, "and we were not allied. Itwill be different to-morrow."

  "How will it be to-morrow?"

  "When the tumult is at its highest, he who has the surest hand shallstrike the Caesar down. I, in the meanwhile----"

  "Then thou, Caius Nepos, art not certain of the sureness of thy hand?"interposed Hortensius Martius who hitherto had taken no active part inthe discussion.

  He lay on a couch at some distance from his host and had declined everymorsel offered to him by the waiting-maids; but he had drunk overfreely, and his good-looking young face looked flushed and dark beneathits wealth of curls. Unlike his usual self he was ill-humoured andalmost morose to-night, and there was a dark, glowering look in his eyesas from time to time he cast furtive glances towards the door.

  "Nay, good Hortensius," said the host loftily, "mine will be the greaterpart. The praetorian guard know and trust me. It will be my duty whenthe Caesar is attacked to keep them from rushing to his aid. The army isapt to forget a tyrant's crime, and to think of him only as a leader tobe obeyed. But when the guard hear my voice, they will understand andwill be true to me."

  "'Tis I will strike," now broke in young Escanes, with all theenthusiasm of his years. The ardour of leadership glowed upon his face,and he seemed to challenge this small assembly to dispute his right tothe foremost place in the great event of the morrow.

  But his challenge was not taken up; no one else seemed eager to disputehis wish. Somewhat sobered, he resumed more calmly:

  "The Caesar hath much affection for me. I oft sat beside him in theCircus or at the games last year. The Augustas too like to have mebeside them, to talk pleasing gossip in their ears. 'Twill be easiestfor me, at a signal given, to strike with my dagger in the Caesar'sthroat."

  "Thine shall be that glory, O Escanes, since thou dost will it so," saidCaius Nepos, not without a touch of irony. "Directly the deed is done,the praetorian guard shall raise the cry: 'The Caesar is dead!'"

  "And it should at once be followed by another," said Marcus Ancyrus, theelder, "by 'Hail to thee, O mighty Caesar!'"

  "'Tis thou shouldst raise that cry, O Caius Nepos," said Hortensius witha sarcastic curl of his lip.

  "Oh! as to that----" began the other with some hesitation.

  "Aye! as to that," said Escanes hotly, "if I slay the tyrant to-morrowwith mine own hand, then must I know at least for whom I do the deed."

  There was silence after that. Everyone seemed absorbed in his ownthoughts. Dreamy eyes gazed abstractedly in crystal goblets, as ifvainly trying to trace in its crimson depths the outline of an imperialsceptre. At last Caius Nepos spoke:

  "Let us be rid of the tyrant first. The army then will soon elect itsnew chief."

  "And is it on the support of the army, O praefect! that thou dost basethine own hopes of supreme power?" asked Hortensius, whose ill-humourseemed to grow on him more and more.

  "Nay!" retorted Caius Nepos, "I did not know that by so doing I wasdashing thine!"

  "Silence," admonished Marcus Ancyrus, the elder. "Are we children orslaves that we should wrangle thus? Have we met here in order to rid theEmpire of an abominable and bloodthirsty tyrant, or are we mere vulgarconspirators pursuing our own ends? There was no thought in our host'smind of supreme power, O Hortensius! nor in thine, I'll vow. As for me,I care nought for the imperium," he added naively, "it is difficult tocontent everyone, and a permanent consulship under our chosen Caesar weremore to my liking. Bring forth thy tablets, O Caius Nepos, and we'll putthe matter to the vote. There are not many of the House of Caesar fit tosucceed the present madman, and our choice there will be limited."

  "There is but Claudius, the brother of Germanicus," interposed the hostcurtly.

  "Germanicus' brother to succeed Germanicus' son," said another with acontemptuous shrug of the shoulders.

  "And he is as crazy as his nephew," added Caius Nepos.

  He had not assembled his friends here to-night, he had not feasted themand loaded them with gifts with a view to passing the imperium merelyfrom one head to another. He was fairly sure of the support of thepraetorian guard, whose praefect he was, and had counted on theadherence of these malcontents, who he hoped would look to him forfuture favours whilst raising him to supreme dignity.

  He liked not this talk of the family of Caesar which took the attentionof his closest adherents away from his own claim.

  "The entire House of Caesar," he said, "is rotten to the core. There isnot one member of it fit to rule."

  "But of a truth," said prudent Ancyrus, "they have the foremost claim."

  "Then if that be the case," broke in young Hortensius Martius suddenly,"let us turn to the one member of the House of Caesar who is noble andpure, exalted above all."

  "There is none such," said Caius Nepos hotly.

  "Aye! there is one," retorted the younger man.

  "His name?" came loudly from every side.

  "I spoke of a woman."

  "A woman!"

  And shouts of derisive laughter broke from every lip. Only MarcusAncyrus remained grave and thoughtful, and now he said:

  "Dost perchance speak of Dea Flavia Augusta?"

  "Even of her," replied Hortensius.

  Involuntarily at the name, the voice of the older man had assumed arespectful tone, and all around the vulgar sneers and bitter mockery haddied away as if by magic contact with something hallowed and pure.

  Even Caius Nepos thought it wise to subdue his tone of contempt, andmerely said curtly:

  "A goddess of a truth, but a woman cannot lead an army or rule anempire."

  "No," rejoined Hortensius Martius, "but a wise and virtuous woman canrule wisely and virtuously over the man whom she will choose for mate."

  There was silence for a moment or two, whilst young Hortensius' glowingeyes swept questioningly over the assembly. Everyone there knew of hispassion for the Augusta, a passion, in truth, shared by many of thosewho had the privilege of knowing her intimately, and strangely enoughthough the proposal had so much daring in it, it met with but littleopposition.

  "Wouldst thou then suggest, O Hortensius Martius," quoth Marcus Ancyrus,the elder, after a slight pause, "that the Augusta's husband be madeEmperor of Rome?"

  "Why not?" retorted the other simply.

  "It is not a bad notion," mused young Escanes, who thought himself highin the favour of Dea Flavia.

  "An admirable one," assented Ancyrus, "for we must remember that DeaFlavia Augusta is of the true blood of the Caesars--the blood of thegreat Augustus--and there is none better. Since she, as a woman, cannotrule men or lead an army, what more fitting than that her lord, whoeverhe might be, should receive the imperium through her hands?"

  "He might prove to be a more miserable creature than the Caligulahimself," suggested Philario, who was too ill-favoured to have hopes ofwinning the proud and imperious beauty for himself.

  "Nay! that were impossible," asserted Hortensius hotly; "the man whomDea Flavia will favour will be a brave man else he would not dare to wooher; he will be honourable and noble else he could never win her."

  "Methinks that thou art right, O Hortensius," added Ancyrus, who hadtaken upon himself the role of a wise and prudent counsellor, "andmoreover he will be rich by virtue of the wealth which the Augusta willhave as her marriage portion; her money, merged with t
he State funds,would be of vast benefit to the land."

  "And on his death his son and hers--a direct descendant of greatAugustus--would be the only fitting heir," concluded another.

  "Meseems," now said Ancyrus decisively, "that we would solve a gravedifficulty by accepting the suggestion made by Hortensius Martius. Theimperium--as is only just--would remain in the family of the greatAugustus. We should have a brave, noble and rich Caesar whose virtuousand beautiful wife would wield beneficial influence over him, and forthe present we should all be working for unselfish ends; not one of ushere present can say for a certainty whom the Augusta will choose formate. Directly the tyrant is swept out of the way, we, who have broughtabout the great end, will ask her to make her choice. Thus our aims willhave been pure and selfless; each one of us here will have risked allfor the sake of an unknown. What say you friends? Shall we pledge ourloyalty to the man whom not one of us here can name this day--a manmayhap still unknown to us: the future lord of Dea Flavia Augusta of theHouse of Caesar?"

  The peroration seemed greatly to the liking of the assembled company:the thought that they would all be working with pure and selflessmotives flattered these men's egregious vanity; vaguely every one ofthem hoped that all the others would believe in his unselfish aims, evenwhilst everyone meant to work solely for his own ends. HortensiusMartius' proposal pleased because it opened out such magnificentpossibilities: the imperium itself, which had seemed infinitely remotefrom so many, now appeared within reach of all.

  Anyone who was young, well-favoured, and of patrician birth might aspireto the hand of the Augusta, and not one of those who possessed at leasttwo of those qualifications doubted his own ability to win.

  Raising himself to a more upright position, Marcus Ancyrus the elder,goblet in hand, looked round for approval on all the guests.

  The murmur of acquiescence was well-nigh general, and many there werewho held their goblets to the waiting-maids in order to have them filledand then drained them to the last dregs. But there were a fewdissentient voices, chiefly among the less-favoured who, like Philario,could hardly dare approach a beautiful woman with thoughts of wooingher.

  Caius Nepos had not taken up the pledge, nor had he taken any part inthe discussion since Dea Flavia's name first passed the lips of youngHortensius. Indeed, as the latter seemed to lose his ill-humour andbecome flushed and excited with the approval of his friends, so did thehost gradually become more and more morose and silent.

  Clearly the proposal to leave the matter of the choice of a Caesar in thehands of a woman was not to his liking. Though good-looking and still inthe prime of life he had never found favour with women, and Dea Flaviahad often shown open contempt for him, and for the selfish ambitionwhich moved his every action, and which he was at no pains to conceal.

  It was easy to see, by the glowering look on his face, that the meetingthis night had not turned out as he had wished.

  "We cannot decide this matter otherwise than by vote," said one of theguests when the murmurs of approval and those of dissent had equallydied down.

  "Thou art right, O friend," assented Ancyrus, "and I pray thee, CaiusNepos, order thy slaves to bring us the tablets, and let each man recordhis vote according to his will."

  Caius Nepos could find no objection to this, even though the question ofvoting was in no way to his liking. He had a vague hope, mayhap, that bygaining time he might succeed in sowing seeds of discord amongst thosewho had been so ready to accede to the new proposal; any moment evennow--a chance word spoken, a trifling incident, an incipient quarrelmight sway these men and bring them back to their allegiance to himself.He had been so sure of their support; the banquet this night had beendestined to set the seal to their fealty and to cement their friendship:it was more than exasperating that the suggestion of a young fool shouldhave caused them to swerve from their promised adherence.

  For the moment however, he could not help but acquiesce outwardly in thewish of the majority. After an imperceptible moment of hesitation, hecalled to one of his deaf-mute slaves and made him understand by signsthat he wanted forty wax tablets prepared and brought hither with fortystylets wherewith to write. Then he cheerily bade his guests once moreto eat and drink and to make merry.

  And it was characteristic of these strange products of a decadent age,that in the midst of grave discussions wherein their own lives and theirfuture aggrandisement were at stake, these men were quite ready torespond to their host's invitation and momentarily to forget their ownambitious schemes in the enjoyment of epicurean delights.

  Wine and fruit were once more handed round; both were excellent, andduring a brief interval mighty issues were set aside and conversationbecame more general and more free. The pageant of games and combatswhich was to last for over thirty days in honour of the deification ofCaligula and his safe return from Germany became the subject of eagertalk. There had been rumours of a remarkable load of African lionsarrived in the Tiber a day or two ago, which were to make a gorgeousspectacle in the arena pitted against some tigers from Numidia. Therewas also talk of a novelty in the shape of crocodiles who were said tofight with great cunning and power against a pack of hyenas from thedesert.

  Then there would be the chariot races and gladiatorial combats; heavybetting on these events had been in progress for some time all over thecity among the wealthy patricians as well as among the impoverishedplebs; the respective merits of the blues, the greens, the reds, and theyellows were the subject of heated discussions, and Caius Nepos was gladto note that more than a suspicion of antagonism was aroused between hisguests in the defence of their respective choice.

  He only took a very cursory part in the discussion, putting in a wordhere and there where contradiction or approval might further inflameoverheated tempers.

  And he ordered his slaves to pour the wine with a free hand, and himselfwas ready to pledge every one of his guests over and over again for aslong as they were ready to drink.

  Inside the room the heat had become excessive, the evening air onlyentered through narrow windows, and the gentle breeze did no more thanfan the flames of the oil lamps or make the petals of dying rosestremble and fall. The noise grew louder and louder as the fumes of headywines obscured the brains of these makers of future empires. Slaves werecalled for loudly to undo the tunics and to help cast off all but thenecessary garments.

  Every face round the table now was flushed and moist; every foreheadstreaming with perspiration. Escanes, goblet in hand, was singing aribald song, the chorus of which was taken up by the group of young mennearest to him. The older ones were making insane bets and drivingpreposterous bargains over horses and slaves.

  By the time that the slaves had returned with the tablets the praetorianpraefect had cause to be satisfied with the temper of his guests. Coarsejests and drunken oaths were heard more often than whispered serioustalk, the names of popular gladiators seemed of more account than thoseof future Caesars. Arguments were loud and violent; every mouthslobbered, every lip trembled and every eye glowed with unnaturalbrightness: curls were dishevelled and laurel crowns awry; the silkendraperies on the couches had become tattered rags and the cushions werescattered all about the floor; debris of crystal vases littered thetable and bunches of dying flowers were tossed about by unsteady hands.

  Given a little more time, a few more draughts of Sicilian wine, and allthoughts of voting for a future Caesar would be beyond the mental powerof these degenerates, and drunken quarrels would turn to violent enmity.This Caius Nepos had in mind when he took the tablets from the slaves,and threw them down with affected carelessness on the table before him.

  "We cannot vote," he said loudly, "whilst Taurus Antinor is not here."

  His words were even more potent than he had hoped; all that he hadwanted was further delay, and most of his guests nodded approval withdrunken solemnity and then called for more wine. But Hortensius Martiuswho, though he had drunk as heavily as the others, had not joined in theribald songs or the senseless orgy of shouts and of lau
ghter, now jumpedup with a violent oath.

  "What hath Taurus Antinor to do with us?" he shouted at the top of hisvoice, "or we with Taurus Antinor? Ye do not intend, I trust, to raise afreedman to the imperium and place the sceptre of Caesar in the hands ofa descendant of slaves!"

  He was trembling with such unbridled fury, his eyes glowed with the lustof such deadly hate that instinctively the ribald songs and immoderatelaughter were hushed, and eyes, veiled with the film of intoxicationwere turned wonderingly upon him.

  But Caius Nepos was smiling blandly: the ire of Hortensius pleased himeven though he did not understand its cause.

  "Nay, as to that," he said, "are we not all descended from slaves?Taurus Antinor hath the ear of the plebs. Doth suggest, O Hortensius,that he also hath the ear of Dea Flavia Augusta?"

  He had shot this arrow into the air, little guessing how hard and trulyit would hit.

  Hortensius was making vigorous efforts to curb his temper, biting hislips until tiny drops of blood slowly trickled down his chin. But hefelt that the mocking eyes of his host were upon him, and had just asufficiency of reason left in him to see through the machinations ofCaius Nepos. He would not hold himself up to ridicule now before thosewho should prove his strong supporters in the future; his proposal hadnot yet been put to the vote, and he did not mean to alienate hisadherents by an insane show of maniacal rage.

  "Of that," he said in response to his host's taunt, and in a voicequivering with the mighty effort of control, "of that there is butlittle fear. The Augusta is too proud to look with favour on a stranger;as for me, I would sooner ask Escanes to plunge his dagger in my throatthan I would serve the Empire under the Caesarship of Taurus Antinor."

  "Thou canst record thy vote as thou thinkest best," said Caius Neposwith calm urbanity. And those who were sufficiently sober noddedapproval with solemn gravity.

  "Nay," here interposed Marcus Ancyrus with stern reproof, "before webegin to vote let us be agreed on one point: let us be prepared to swearby the gods that we will adhere truly and loyally to the choice of themajority--and if, as meseems is likely, we agree that the unknown futurehusband of Dea Flavia Augusta become the ruler of us all, then must weswear to proclaim him the Caesar with one accord, else doth our votingbecome a mere farce. Friends, before ye vote, are you ready to take thisoath?"

  "Aye! aye!" came from almost every mouth round the table. But theynodded like automatons, with heavy heads that rolled on bowed shouldersand blurred eyes half-hidden behind closing lids.

  "I'll not swear allegiance to Taurus Antinor," persisted Hortensiusobstinately.

  "Dost think it likely that the Augusta favours him?" asked the hostironically.

  "No--but----"

  "Then what hast thou to fear?"

  "As for me," interposed young Escanes in a thick voice broken byhiccoughs, "I am ready to swear as Marcus Ancyrus directs. If we are notsatisfied with the new Caesar, whoever he may be, my dagger will not rustin the meanwhile; I can easily whet it again."

  Even as these last cynical words left the young man's lips there camefrom outside the noise of much shouting and shuffling of naked feet, andanon the sound of a voice, loud and harsh, asking for leave to speakwith the praetorian praefect. Caius Nepos paused, tablets in hand.Strangely enough the voice, though well-known, seemed to have a soberingeffect on all these ebullient tempers. Marcus Ancyrus, who was the mostcalm among them all, threw a quick glance of inquiry on his host, one ortwo furtive glances were exchanged, a look that was half-ashamed creptinto some of the faces, and there were hurried, whispered calls to theslaves to bring the bags of ice.

  Quickly the tunics were re-adjusted and an attempt made atre-establishing some semblance of decorum round the table. Caius Neposwas giving hastily whispered directions to the waiting-maids.

  "Pull that coverlet straight, quick!" he ordered, "and those cushions,pick them off the ground ... that broken vase, set it aside.... There!try and hide that wine stain with a fresh cloth."

  And all the while rapid, eager questions flew from mouth to mouth.

  "Wilt tell him at once, O Caius Nepos?"

  "Or wilt ply him with wine first?"

  "'Twere safer."

  "Nay! nay!" said Escanes, whose wrists and ankles were being bathed,"that would take too long. Taurus Antinor hath a strong head, and I, forone, could not keep sober another half-hour."

  "Dost know if he is at one with us?" was the query that came from everyside.

  Hortensius Martius alone had remained silent. He did not call either forwater or for ice. It was his hatred that had sobered him, making thelines of his face set and hard, causing the flush to die from his cheeksand leaving them ashy pale.

  "Dost know if he is at one with us?" reiterated Augustus Philarioimpatiently.

  He had ordered a slave to hold lumps of ice to his forehead, whilstPhilippus Decius--lying next to him--was having perfume rubbed into theback of his neck.

  "We must look stern and deliberate," said Ancyrus. "Dost know, O CaiusNepos, if he is at one with us?"

  "We must enlist him," rejoined the latter hurriedly; "he holds theplebs, and without his help our position might become difficult. A wordfrom him to the crowd and the new Caesar is assured of peace within thecity."

  "Then do thou tell him what has been decided," said one of the otherswho was busy smoothing his tangled hair.

  "No, no!" whispered cautious Ancyrus, the elder, "have a care ... thou,Caius Nepos, must probe him ere thou speakest."

  "Tell him naught of Escanes' dagger," added another hurriedly.

  "Speak of abdication," said the older man, "of anything that comes inthy mind. Some men there are who----"

  But he had no time to explain his meaning further, for the next momentTaurus Antinor stepped into the room.