"Perhaps, Magnus," said Favonius, with half a sneer, "you think your forces inadequate. The two legions at Luceria are just detached from Caesar. Perhaps you question their fidelity."
"Man," retorted the general, fiercely, bringing his foot down upon the soft rug on the floor, "I have but to stamp upon the ground to call up legions out of Italy; it is not that which I fear!"
The members of the conference looked uneasy; there was still a bare chance that Pompeius would go back to his old friendship with Caesar.
"Gentlemen," went on the Magnus, "I have called you here to reach a final decision--peace or war. Let us consult a higher power than human." And he touched a little silver bell that was upon the table close at hand.
Forthwith there was a rustle of curtains, and out of the gloom of the doorway--for the hour was now very late--advanced a tall, gaunt figure, dressed in a plain, sleeveless robe that fell to the feet. The skin was dry, hard, wrinkled by a hundred furrows; the bones of the face were thrust out prominently; on the head was a plain white turban, and a beard quite as white fell down upon the breast. Only from under the turban shone the eyes, which were bright and piercing as coals of fire.
The stranger advanced without a word, till he stood before Pompeius, then knelt and made an elaborate Oriental prostration. The n.o.ble Romans, twelve or more of the magnates of the greatest power on the earth, held their breath in uneasy antic.i.p.ation. Not one of them perhaps really believed in a personal G.o.d; but though atheists, they could not forswear their superst.i.tion. Piso, the censor, who notoriously feared neither divine nor human law in his reckless life, spat thrice to ward off the effects of the evil eye, if the stranger were a magician.
"Ulamhala," said Pompeius, addressing the newcomer, "arise. Since I have been in the East,[89] I have consulted you and your science of the stars, in every intended step, and your warnings have never failed."
[89] "Chaldean" astrologers played an almost incredibly important part among even the highest-cla.s.s Romans of the period.
"My lord doth overcommend the wisdom of his slave," replied Ulamhala (for such was his name) in Syriac Greek, with a second deep obeisance.
"Now, therefore," went on Pompeius--and his voice was unsteady with evident excitement and anxiety,--"I have called you hither to declare the warnings of the stars upon the most important step of my life.
What lies now at stake, you know full well. Three days ago I bade you consult the heavens, that this night you might be able to declare their message, not merely to me, but to these my friends, who will shape their actions by mine. Have you a response from the planets?"
"I have, lord," and again Ulamhala salaamed.
"Then declare, be it good or ill;" commanded Pompeius, and he gripped the arms of his chair to conceal his anxiety.
The scene was in a way weird enough. The visitors exchanged uneasy glances, and Cato, who broke out in some silly remark to Favonius, in a bold attempt to interrupt the oppressive silence, suddenly found his words growing thick and broken, and he abruptly became silent. Each man present tried to tell himself that Pompeius was a victim of superst.i.tion, but every individual felt an inward monition that something portentous was about to be uttered.
The conference had lasted long. The lamps were flickering low. Dark shadows were loitering in every corner of the room. The aroma of flowers from the adjacent gardens floated in at the open windows, and made the hot air drugged and heavy. Ulamhala slowly and noiseless as a cat stepped to the window, and, leaning out over the marble railing, looked up into the violet-black heavens. There was no moon, but a trembling flame on one of the candelabras threw a dull, ruddy glow over his white dress and snowy turban. His face was hid in the gloom, but the others knew, though they could hardly see, that he was pointing upward with his right hand.
"Behold," began the astrologer, "three thousand seven hundred and fifty years since the days of the great Sargon of Agade have we of the race of the Chaldeans studied the stars. One generation of watchers succeeded another, scanning the heavens nightly from our _ziggurats_,[90] and we have learned the laws of the constellations; the laws of Sin the moon, the laws of Samas the sun, the laws of the planets, the laws of the fixed stars. Their motions and their influence on the affairs of men our fathers discovered, and have handed their wisdom down to us."
[90] Babylonian temple towers.
"But the word of the stars to _us_?" broke in Pompeius, in extreme disquietude, and trying to shake off the spell that held him in mastery.
"Know, lord, that thy slave has not been disobedient unto thy commandment. Look, yonder burneth a bright red planet, called by us Nergal, which ye Westerns call by the name of Mars. Who denieth that when Mars shines in the heavens, war will break forth among men? Know that I have carefully compared the settings, risings, and movements of the planets at this season with their settings, risings, and movements at the time when my lord was born; and also at the time of the birth of his great enemy. I have made use of the tables which my wise predecessors among the Chaldees have prepared; and which I myself, thy slave, copied from those at the Temple of Bel, in Babylon."
"And they say?" breathlessly interrupted Lentulus.
"This is the message from the planets," and Ulamhala"s form grew higher, his voice firmer; he raised his long bony arms above his head, and stood in the dull light like a skeleton arisen in all its white grave clothes to convey a warning to the living. "To the Lord Pompeius, this is the warning, and to his enemy,
""_He that is highest shall rise yet higher; He that is second shall utterly fall!_"
I have said."
And before the n.o.ble Romans could command the free play of their senses, the vision at the window had vanished, either out of doors, or behind some doorway or curtain. The company sat gazing uneasily at each other for several minutes. The Magnus was breathing heavily, as though he had pa.s.sed through a terrible mental ordeal. Cato, the Stoic and ascetic, had his eyes riveted on the carpet, and his face was as stony as an Egyptian Colossus.
Then a coa.r.s.e forced laugh from Piso broke the spell.
"Capital, Pompeius! You _are_ a favourite of the G.o.ds!"
"I?" ventured the Magnus, moving his lips slowly.
"Of course," cried several voices at once, catching the cue from Piso.
"You are the first in the world, Caesar the second! You are to rise to new glories, and Caesar is to utterly fall!"
"The stars have said it, gentlemen," said Pompeius, solemnly; "Caesar shall meet his fate. Let there be war."
Lentulus Crus rode away from the conference, his litter side by side with that of Lucius Domitius Ahen.o.barbus, the consular, whom we will know as Domitius to distinguish from his son and namesake. Domitius, a handsome, highly polished, vigorous, but none the less unprincipled man, who was just reaching the turn of years, was in high spirits. No oligarch hated Caesar more violently than he, and the decision of Pompeius was a great personal triumph, the crowning of many years of political intrigue. What Pompeius had said, he had said; and Caesar, the great foe of the Senate party, was a doomed man.
Lentulus had a question to ask his companion.
"Would you care to consider a marriage alliance between the Lentuli and the Domitii?" was his proposition.
"I should be rejoiced and honoured to have the opportunity," was the reply; and then in another tone Domitius added, "Lentulus, do you believe in astrologers?"
"I do not really know," answered the other, uneasily.
"Neither do I," continued Domitius. "But suppose the stars speak truly; and suppose," and here his voice fell, "it is Caesar who is highest in power, in ability, in good fortune;--what then for Pompeius? for us?"
"Be silent, O prophet of evil!" retorted Lentulus, laughing, but not very naturally.
Chapter VII
Agias"s Adventure
I
Pisander"s view of life became a score of shades more rosy when he seized the hand of the handsome slave-boy, then embraced him, and began praising the G.o.ds for preserving his favourite"s life. Then the worthy philosopher recollected that his wisdom taught him there were no G.o.ds, and he plunged into a rambling explanation of his position, which would have lasted forever, unless Agias had cut him short with a merry gibe, and told him that he must positively come to a tavern and enjoy at least one beaker of good Ma.s.sic in memory of old friendship.
And Pisander, whose spareness of living arose more from a lack of means than from a philosophic aversion to food and good cheer, was soon seated on a bench in one of the cheap restaurants[91] that abounded in the city, balancing a very large goblet, and receiving a volley of questions which Agias was discharging about Valeria"s eccentricities, Calatinus"s canva.s.s, Arsinoe, Semiramis, and the rest of the household of which he had been a member.
[91] _Popinae_.
"But you haven"t told me, Agias," finally interrupted the poor philosopher, who had been struggling in turn to satisfy his curiosity, "how you are here, and not--ugh! I hate to think of it--feeding the dogs and the crows."
Agias"s face grew grave while he gave the story of his release by the Vestal, and subsequent transfer of ownership.
"What was the name of the young man who purchased you, eh?"
interpolated Pisander. "I didn"t get it."
"Quintus Livius Drusus," replied Agias.
"Who?" cried the philosopher, starting up.