University of Virginia Library

ACT I.

SCENE I.

—A Tent, near Byzantium. Night.
Michael; afterwards Leo.
Michael.
At last I see
The prize within my grasp. To-morrow's dawn
Finds Rome arrayed against the opposing hosts
To conquer or to fall. If she should conquer
Then were the Emperor's throne fixed on a rock
And I obscure for ever. Should some panic
Force back her arms, 'twere otherwise; the bolt
Which spares the lowly saplings of the wood
Shatters the heaven-topped pine; the angry people
Letting their vengeance fall on Cæsar's head
Would spare his generals,—when he is gone,
And his throne empty, who remains but I,
The darling of the army, the brave Captain
Of twenty fights? Shall it be Aplaces,
That hot-brained fool, without a thought in life
Only to hack and thrust? My comrade Leo?
That cold half-blooded pedant, with his babble
Of duty to the State; half saint, half sage,
And no-wise soldier, he who stole my love—
I hate him—he to step 'twixt me and power?
Nay, that he shall not—I am no mere creature
Of pure philanthropies and cloistered virtues,
But a strong soldier willing to dare all
To compass my desire. See, here he comes,
The hypocrite! I hate him!
Good night, comrade.
Is't well with thee? What think you of the morrow?
Will victory be ours? It should be surely,
We do out-number them.

Leo.
Michael, I know not
What fortune keeps for us; but this I know,
Some boding presage of impending ill
Weighs down my soul, and will not let me rest.
I see before my eyes our Roman hosts
Driven backwards, and the fierce barbarian levies
Press onward, and the Imperial Crown of Rome
Tottering on Cæsar's brow, and a strange voice
Crying of “Treason, Treason!” day and night,
“Beware of traitors!”

Mich.
Comrade, thou art dreaming.
What traitors are there here? not thou and I,
Nor Aplaces; and if not we, what other?
We are the Generals.

Leo.
Nay, not Aplaces.
I see him bathed in blood, his men surrounded
And dying where they stand.

Mich.
Then who was it
Who played the traitor, comrade, thou or I?

Leo.
Speak not thus, Michael; think of the old days
When we were boys together, our young hearts
Filled with high dreams of a regenerate Rome.
Could we from such high thoughts sink down so low,
Now in our golden Mid-summer of life,
As Treason? God forbid. For Aplaces
No truer, loyal heart, or braver soldier
E'er faced the foeman's steel.

Mich.
Ah, that is well.
He leads the van to-morrow. If victory
Smile on him, then he need not play the traitor.
'Tis certain ere to-morrow night has come
The army, which is now your Kingmaker,
Will thrust the dotard Cæsar from his throne
And set this paragon there.

Leo.
Aplaces—Cæsar?
Aplaces, set himself before his country?
Nay, nay, you do not know him. We have fought
Together twenty years, and though no bond
Of close necessitude links us, such as binds
Michael to me, yet are we comrades too,
Welded in one, at the fierce forge of war,
And knit by common perils. I would answer
For Aplaces with life.

Mich.
It may be, comrade,
That thou art right; but hast thou pondered well,
Thou who so hatest the idolatrous crew
Who come 'twixt thee and God, what power it is
Lurks behind Aplaces? The Priest's—none other!
Dost thou not know that in his warlike tent
The sacred ikons meet his waking eyes
The ikons watch his sleep, the crucifix
Through all the storms of battle next his heart
Wards off the foemen's steel? Dost thou not know
How gloomy he has been of late, how full
Of boding dread, of sick remorseful fancies
And superstitious fears? Dost thou not know
'Tis in such rugged penitent souls that priest-craft
Finds its best prey? What hope you for the Empire
If he, his brave soul whistled down the wind
To the idolater's lure, should, at a sign
Of his masters, stoop and tear the bleeding heart
Of the true Faith, and in its stead enthrone
Some base corruption?

Leo.
Michael, dost thou speak
Of vague suspicions or of certain proof?
Such doubts unman me.

Mich.
Leo, I have spoken
Of certain proof, which shortly I will show thee;
But now too great a danger presses us.
We must defeat him and his priestly crew.
Far better the Bulgarian than the Priest!

Leo.
Nay, what
Is it thou would'st? The proofs! the proofs!

Mich.
I have a letter from the Patriarch
To whom he makes confession; this a creature
Of mine has intercepted. In it they plot
That if to-morrow fortune crowns our arms
Some trusty officers among the army
Shall straight acclaim him Cæsar, and the Empire
Be his to make or mar.

Leo.
Michael, I hate
These gross idolatrous knaves, but am a soldier
And know a soldier's duty.

Mich.
What is there
That doth conflict with this in what I would?
Thou knowest that Aplaces commands to-morrow
The Thracian and the Macedonian levies
Filled with young northern soldiers, and the flower
Of all the Imperial host. For thee and me
Soft Asiatics, prone to coward panics,
Peril our name and fame. Were it not well
For the Empire if the brunt of battle fell
On those most fit to bear it? Let them first
Take all the onset, while we hold reserved
The troops, too weak to attack indeed, but able
To end what is begun. If Aplaces
Should force the foemen back, then it were ours
To crown his victory. If he should fail,
We hold our troops unbroken to push back
The weakened enemy. In either fortune
We save the Empire, whether from the Priest
Or the Bulgarian.

Leo.
Michael, I dare not.
There is no rule but duty; serving men,
We serve God best.

Mich.
Good comrade, sleep on it.
Thou mays't serve both. Thou art not thyself to-night.
Take time, the dawn to-morrow sees the onset,
Heaven keep thee safe.

Leo.
Michael, I care no whit
Whether I live or die; but Aplaces,
If he be what thou sayest (and who shall doubt it),
Would ruin Rome. For these Bulgarian robbers
We hold them safe—again, if not to-morrow
It matters not, but an Idolater
Fixed on the throne of Rome, it were too much!
It must not be! But what if he should fall
In the unsupported onset?

Mich.
Nay, he will not;
He is too strong for them!

Leo.
But for his levies!
How doom those brave young lives?

Mich.
As for his levies;
Why, what are soldiers, if they face not peril
Where glory waits them? And if they should perish,
A soldier dies but once!

Leo.
Shall he then fall?
And shall I be a traitor to the State?
Was this my dream—Aplaces bathed in blood;
And voices calling “Treason”?
I cannot bear it!
I will have none o't!

Mich.
Nay, but Aplaces
On Cæsar's throne, the truth of Christ o'erborne
By dark idolatries!

Leo.
Nay, call me Traitor,
Dyed with a thousand treasons to the State,
But faithful to my God!

Mich.
(aside).
I have him safe,
And the Empire in my grasp!

SCENE II.

—The Field of Battle. Alarms and Excursions.
Michael, Leo, Roman Captains and Soldiers.
1st Captain.
The day is lost—the fierce Bulgarian hosts.
Press on us everywhere. Fly, comrades, fly
For safety, ere they take us, and their horsemen
Transfix us as we flee. The Emperor
Has fled the field long since, the Roman power
Is broken in pieces.

2nd Capt.
Comrades, we are betrayed.
Some cursed treachery has done this thing,
Not the Bulgarian strength. Our Generals
Are traitors. Where was Michael, the Amorian,
With all his men, while the brave Aplaces,
Hurled his stout Macedonians on the front
Of the Bulgarian host? He is no coward,
Therefore the more a traitor. Where was Leo,
The Armenian, and his force? I cannot doubt him.
He is too true a soldier, but I fear
Lest Michael has beguiled him.

1st Capt.
Stay not, comrade.
Save thyself! All is lost!

[Exeunt—hurriedly.
Enter Michael and Leo.
Mich.
All has gone well;
Aplaces is disgraced; the Emperor
Fled to Byzantium, and our routed host
Flings down its arms, and all the country side
Is sown with swords and shields.

Leo.
My dream! My dream!
And was it I that did this treachery?
I who have fought by Aplaces' side so oft?
The van driven back, the arms of Rome disgraced?
It must not be. Nay, Michael, I must go.
It is not too late. I will to horse, and rally
The shattered van-guard. Michael, do thou take
Thy men and stay the torrent. Lose no moment.
Follow while there is time.

Mich.
Stay, Leo, stay!
'Tis useless. All is lost. Dost thou forget
Our compact?

Leo.
Nay, I was a fool, a villain,
To listen. 'Tis no compact which can bind
An honest soldier; treason, blood-shed, murder,
Nought else. Nay, I must go, and thou wilt follow.
Is it not so, Michael? Prithee lose no moment.
All may be saved. Think of brave Aplaces!
I will fling myself on those barbarian hosts,
And save the van.

[Exit—hurriedly.
Mich.
Fool, fool! Insensate fool!
Gulled by a tale too weak to cheat a child.
Go thou, then, to thy death. My path is clear,
I have no rival now. The Emperor
Has fled, and I am Emperor of Rome.
Soon I will count with those Bulgarian thieves.
I will not leave one of the curséd crew
To trouble us again. When I am Cæsar,
As now I must be, for the army loves me
Beyond all others, I will straight take measures
With the Priests, with the army, with each power that comes
Betwixt me and my will.

[Exit Michael.
[A noise of shouting heard. Leo re-enters, borne back by soldiers.
1st Capt.
Nay, General,
It is too late, but we have seen thy valour!
If valour could have saved us, then wert thou
Saviour of Rome; but 'twas too late, too late!
Thou could'st not more than man. Comrades, behold
Your General who dared all things for you,
Who, when the fierce Bulgarian charged and broke
Upon you like a flood, and overwhelmed
The struggling van, like some tall sea-beat rock
Stood steadfast with his levies, and beat back
The onward rushing surge, but now, God wot
It is too late to win; not even Leo
Could save us; the dull bigot whom ill Fate
Thrust on the throne of Cæsar, long has fled
The blood-stained field, we have no chief but Leo;
He is our Cæsar!

Leo.
Nay, but Aplaces,
Who has ta'en the glory of the day; I would give
My life to be as he. He is your Cæsar,
No other! What is victory or glory
To loyal duty? I would liefer take
Aplaces—who had dared and lost his all,
But kept his duty, than the laurelled head
Of a too cautious soldier, who has kept
His fame but lost his honour.

1st Capt.
Such as is
Michael the Amorian.

2nd Capt.
Where in truth was he,
Michael the bravest soldier of his time,
First in a score of fights?
I tell you, comrade,
I marked him and his levies.
Not a blade
Of theirs e'er crossed the foemen's. When they saw
Brave Aplaces o'erborne they did not stir,
And when men asked why thus they stood inactive,
They said, with broken voices hoarse with rage,
“Our General has ordered.” When the rout
Bore down on them, they advanced not, nor stood firm,
As Leo, but in orderly array
They got them to the rear, and now have reached
Half way to Adrianople.

1st Capt.
Treason! Treason!
And Michael is the traitor.

Leo.
Ah, my dream!
Nay, nay, you are mistaken. Let me go.
I will save Aplaces!

1st Capt.
Nay, General,
It is too late!

Leo.
It is not too late, I say,
Let me to horse!

Enter Soldier in flight.
Soldier.
Good comrades all, I pray you
Hearken, what dreadful news I have to tell.
The brave John Aplaces and all around him
Are slain; I saw them fall. I saw his body,
When Leo's men pressed the Bulgarians back,
Lie bathed in blood, pierced by a dozen spears,
And savage sword cuts.

Leo.
Oh, my dream! My dream!
Oh Aplaces, my comrade Aplaces,
I would I were as thou!

1st Capt.
Nay, thou art Rome's,
And thou alone canst save her. Comrades all,
I do proclaim our sole remaining leader,
Leo the Armenian, who has kept his faith,
Cæsar of Rome!

Soldiers.
We do acclaim thee Cæsar.

Enter Michael.
Leo.
Nay, nay, you know not all—I will not take it;
I am a simple soldier, vowed to duty,
Or once I was! and would continue in it.
I do refuse your homage, kneel not to me!
But to dead Aplaces.

A Soldier.
We do acclaim thee
Cæsar of Rome. See, there the traitor stands!
Seize him, and kill him, comrades, let him die
A traitor's death.

Mich.
(aside).
Leo, if thou art Cæsar
Thou mayest save me. If thou dost reject
The proffered homage, but a single word
And thou wilt never more see wife nor child;
I will denounce thee.

Leo.
Nay, I care not, Michael,
For death, thou knowest. Soldiers, Citizens,
Be not thus rash! I pray you let not grief
Make you unjust. If Cæsar you will have me,
Who am less worthy than the meanest footman
Who marches in your ranks—thus let it be.
I take the unwelcome gift. For this our comrade,
Michael, I do believe that he is loyal
As he was ever brave. If I accept
The crown your favour offers, I will make
Full inquest of this thing. If any show
Unfaithful to the State, then shall I purge them
With fitting punishment.

Mich.
I do surrender
My sword to you, my liege, and kneel before you,
A suppliant for justice.

Soldiers.
Long live Leo!
Long live our Emperor! We will proclaim him
In Saint Sophia's!