 | Hannibal |  |
Scene VII.
—The Forum of Rome, crowded with Citizens.Enter a Woman and Child.
Wom.
I heard a distant shout. Oh, tell me, friend,
Have any tidings come?
A Cit.
Nay, nothing yet.
Child.
But why is all this crowd gathered here, mother?
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My child, we wait to know if the great gods
Have deigned to save the city. Know'st thou not
The Consuls are in Umbria with their armies,
Fighting the Carthaginian Hasdrubal?
Child.
Oh, yes, my father told me when he went.
But shall we know to-day which has won, mother?
And shall we see my father?
Wom.
Ah, my child,
I cannot tell thee if we e'er shall see him.
A Cit.
Just such a crowd as this beset the streets
Waiting for news from Cannæ. And who knows
But a like tale may come this day to us?
Wom.
For mercy, hush! Thou mak'st me think I see
Those wild Numidians coming in their fury.
At every sound I quake, and think they're here.
Child.
Who are they, mother?
Wom.
Men more fierce than wolves!
Ere thou wast born, these eyes of mine have seen them
By hundreds, ay, with Hannibal at their head,
Before our very gates.
Another Cit.
And I myself
Was there when Hannibal's own scornful hand
Flung in a spear as he rode slowly by.
It lighted on the ground just where I stood.
Proud man! with what a look he gazed upon us,
As if we all had been his purchased slaves.
Another.
Ay, what a time was that! It seems to me
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Come trooping down with their long hair all loose,
All on their bridleless, unsaddled steeds,
Settling in swarms, here, there, and everywhere,
Filling all heaven with their infernal cries,
And all the land with desolating flames.
And lo, again, another Hannibal
Is ready with another swarm of devils
To snatch away our harvests.
Wom.
Hark! oh, hark!
[Shouts heard from a distance.]
A Cit.
That sounds like something. Here they come! Oh, hark!
Enter fresh Citizens, with great uproar.
Citizens.
Good news! Good news!
Another Cit.
What is it? Speak, what news?
Citizens.
Two horsemen from the field have ridden home
To Narnia, with the tidings of a victory.
They talk of nothing else in all the camp there.
[The crowd shouts.]
A Cit.
Jove, can this be so?
Another.
No, no, 'tis too good.
I dare not to believe it.
Another.
Lies and folly!
How should a battle fought so far in Umbria
Be heard of two days afterwards in Rome?
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What news? What news?
Citizens.
A letter has arrived
From Lucius Manlius himself, at Narnia,
Confirming the first tidings.
Other Cit.
No! no! no!
We'll not believe this till the consuls tell us.
[Fresh shouts are heard.]
Cit.
[shouting]
Make way! make way! Room for three officers
Come from the Consuls straight with a despatch.
All
[shouting]
Thank the great gods!
A Cit.
They will be here, e'en now.
As far as to the Milvian Bridge the way
Is lined with faces. Scarce a mouse could find
Room to creep through them.
Enter fresh Citizens, with uproar.
Cit.
Make way! make way!
Enter Veturius, Lucinius, and Metellus.
Vet.
People of Rome! We bid you thank the gods
For a great victory. Make way, there! We must
On to the Senate.
A Cit.
In the name of heaven,
I pray you tell us more!
Lic.
Make way, good people.
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Hands off, I pray you!
Another.
Are both Consuls safe?
Met.
Both safe. Make way!
Another.
Our legions?
Vet.
Will return
Unbroken. Let me pass!
Another.
One moment! Tell us
If Hasdrubal is taken?
Met.
He is slain!
[Loud and prolonged shouts.]
[Exeunt Veturius, Licinius, and Metellus.
Cit.
Let's in to the Senate after them.
Enter Lictors, and force the crowd back.
A Cit.
Oh, when hath Rome known such a day as this?
Another.
This wipes out Cannæ!
Another.
When will they come forth?
Another.
Make way! Make way! They come!
Re-enter Veturius.
Cit.
[shouting.]
The letter! the letter!
Vet.
[mounts the rostrum and reads.]
“All is well.
We have won a great battle on the Metaurus. Hasdrubal
is slain. His army is cut to pieces. His camp
and all its spoils are taken.”
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But will it please you from my lips to hear
All that fell out, as mine own eyes beheld it?
Cit.
Yes, yes! tell us, noble Veturius.
Vet.
Already have you heard the happy chance,
Whereby the letter writ by Hasdrubal
Came to the hands of Nero, and what use
His noble soul devised to make of it.
Know, then, the morn after his seven days' march
Had brought him safely to the camp of Livius
The Consul led us forth to the attack;
But then, it seemed, for the first time the foe
Guessed at our secret; for he turned again
To his own camp, and, at the fall of night—
As we discovered shortly—stole away,
And back to the Metaurus urged his march,
Seeking, as since we know, a ford to cross by,
But ever baffled by the rocky walls
That close it in, and in the dark of night,
Further bewildered by his faithless guides,
Who easily escaped him at his need.
Long through the woods his windings did we trace,
And high, I promise you, our hearts were beating,
As we marched after. Mile for mile we followed,
And at the day-dawn we came up with him;
'Twas then began a fight that matches Cannæ.
Cit.
Proceed, proceed!
Vet.
We found him camped upon the river's bank,
His men—scarce rested from their weary march,
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To seek the ford they never were to find.
Forth at the first alarm he drew to meet us,
Deepening his lines within the narrow space,
And at their head his ten huge elephants.
Our left was led by Livius; on our right
Nero opposed the Gauls, scarce sobered from
Their night's carousals. Porcius led the centre.
For Hasdrubal, he, with his Spanish foot,
Confronted Livius. Then the contest closed.
Full soon the elephants, sent wild with wounds,
Dashed madly through our ranks, and through the foe's
As madly, and on either side alike
Upset and trampled horse and infantry.
Give me fair fight with men! These frantic beasts
Lend battle a worse horror than man's rage.
Long fought we as men never fought before,
Nor lost, nor gained the while, an inch of ground,
Till Nero, hopeless to prevail in front—
Where, shielded by the river on their left,
Stood, on ground unapproachable, the Gauls—
Dealt at the last the death-blow of the foe;
For, stealing round our rear, all on a sudden,
Down fell he like a thunderbolt of Jove
Upon the right flank of the enemy.
There, with his Spanish foot, as brave a band
Of desperate men as ever stood the brunt
Of an unequal strife, fought Hasdrubal;
But fought in vain. Hemmed in on every side,
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Strong in th'immortal energy of hate
That burns through all Hamilcar's lion brood,
Myself, I saw him give his horse the spur,
And burst in on us at one furious bound,
Frowning from the black shadow of his helm
The last defiance of despair upon us.
Thus he, at head of a devoted few,
Died fighting, as became Hamilcar's son,
And Hannibal's own brother.
[Loud shouts from the crowd. Veturius pauses.]
Cit.
Proceed, proceed! Finish thy tale.
Vet.
Thus perished Hasdrubal. Yet how he fell
I saw not. O'er him rolled the battle-sea,
And buried his tall horse, and dark fixed face,
One moment seen and lost, amongst our spears.
So ceased a mighty battle. On that day
The blood of tens of thousands clogged our swords,
Till we were weary with the toil of slaying.
When all was finished on the battle-field,
We stormed the camp, and ended there the work
Of slaughter, on the brute inebriate Gauls,
Still stretched in that inglorious sleep, from whence
They woke no more. Rich was the spoil that day;
And richly shall it furnish forth the pageant
That's yet to come before you. On the field,
Six giant corpses of their elephants
We found, slain, when they maddened, by their drivers.
The rest, one day, shall here be led in triumph.
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Beneath a heap of slain—a proud revenge
For four of Rome's own Consuls. To the hands
Of Nero, we delivered his remains.
Quirites, I have finished! For the rest,
Your countrymen shall tell you all hereafter,
When back comes Livius triumphing to Rome.
Cit.
Away, away, away! Let's to our homes,
And tell the story to our wives and children!
[The crowd disperses tumultuously.]
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