 | Caius Marius, The Plebeian Consul |  |
1
ACT I.
SCENE I.
—A sitting Apartment.Cornelia and Flavia seated, the latter employed in some female occupation.
CORNELIA.
Flavia!—What, still intent? Beshrew me, girl!
Thou almost dost belie thy blood! How rest'st thou
At such a time as this?
FLAVIA.
And why not, madam?
CORNELIA.
Why not!—And yet the old Cornelian blood
Runs in thy veins! Well may it blush. Why, girl,
If thou canst rest at such an hour as this,
Thou hardly art my daughter.
FLAVIA.
Dearest madam,
And what of good should come of my unrest?
2
Good?—Foolish thing! 'Twas sure Barine's step,—
No, no—what, calm, when all is on the cast
And Rome looks hardly Roman! Gods preserve us,
Would Sylla were come back!
Enter Barine.
Barine! now,
What news?
BARINE.
What news? Oh! Madam, every hour
Brings in a worse report. They say the Cimber
Hath join'd the Ambron; and the desert sand,
Stirr'd to fierce action by the whirlwind's breath,
Outnumbers not their host. I heard a slave
Say that he talk'd with one who, some days back,
Pass'd o'er the plain where they had rested them:
'Twas trampled all, as if some mighty powers
Had met in battle to enslave the world,
And struggled foot to foot. Nor tree, nor bush,
Nor turf, nor greenling blade, for league on league,
But told their passage, prostrated and torn
In one wide devastation,—locust-like,
Where'er they sweep is ruin. Nay, 'tis said,
That when they shout, th' o'er winging birds drop down,
Stunn'd with that giant clamour.
3
What of Sylla?
Who is made general?
BARINE.
Nothing heard I, madam,
And nothing could I hear. The Senate sits
In anxious consultation; whilst the crowds
Toss names about, and bandy to and fro
Conjectures, hopes, and fears. Some talk of Sylla,
Some—
CORNELIA.
Peace! he 's here. Flavia, quick! hasten, girl—
Who enters?
FLAVIA
(returning).
It is only Tubero, madam.
Perchance he comes to tell of Sylla's coming.
BARINE
(aside).
Oh! “only Tubero, madam!”—He 's old and rich,
Valerius is poor and handsome, madam;
Bah!—these young fools!
CORNELIA.
What mutt'rest?
BARINE.
Nothing, madam.
[Exit.
4
CORNELIA.
Health, Tubero!—We are anxious, all; what news?
Who 's general?
TUBERO.
The Senate has elected,
After long storm and pause, Marius.
CORNELIA.
What! Marius!
He! the Patrician of the Plebes! Marius;
That bear with gilded collar! Caius Marius!
Could Rome's patricians not afford a leader?
Is the wine drawn, or else the vintage spoil'd,
That we must strain the dregs? Now, by my life,
I'd taken sword and buckler first; aye—woman
E'en as I am—rather than this had been!
TUBERO.
Be patient, madam, pray you. Here is Sylla,
Your noble relative; and he will tell you
He gave his voice for Marius.
Enter Sylla.
SYLLA.
Save you, lady.
5
You are welcome, Sylla. But you had been more so
(For I must speak the truth) if that right hand
Had grasp'd the general's truncheon. Marius! Sylla!
I can't away with 't—Sylla after Marius!—
I cannot syllable 't.
SYLLA.
Take time, good lady;
We shall all learn.
TUBERO.
I fear, Cornelia never!
Patience is out of doors—and Caius dubb'd
“A bear—with gilded collar!”
SYLLA
(agitated).
He 's a soldier,
A tried one; that 's enough. Say he be rude
And rough of speech; say that his discipline
(And that it does I, who have felt it, say—)
Doth smack of times when Roman hardihood
Had felt not Greek refinement; yet, believe me,
With all his harshness, he is like that tree
Whose leaves embrown i' the sun; but, tho' rust-like,
Deep umber'd towards the torrid eye of day,
Are ever green beneath—
Nay! no more words.
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“Where Rome should find another general?”
He answered “Here—in Caius;” and by my soul,
She will. “Nobility!”—When fortune lours,
And kingdoms quake to th' centre, he who doth
His duty best 's your truest noble!
CORNELIA.
Sir;
You are warm.
SYLLA.
No—no.
CORNELIA.
And do you serve with him?
SYLLA.
I do. What then?
CORNELIA.
Only I hope you 'll profit
In such a noble school.
SYLLA.
I shall; no doubt on 't.
Madam, too much of this. Who serves his country
Cannot but profit. Tubero, time presses;
There is no hour to lose. If Marius close not
Ere that pale moon be old—aye, if he spring not
Upon the Cimber like the famish'd lion,
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I shall sup here. Meantime,
See to our preparation. Thou knowest who
And where. Why dost thou pause?
TUBERO.
Only to say
Good even. And to hope that these bright eyes
Shall gaze on us the brighter that we come
All crown'd with garlands, and victorious home.
FLAVIA.
What Rome shall smile on ne'er shall make me frown.
TUBERO.
Fair patriot! I 'll take you at your word.
Perchance—.
SYLLA.
Come, Tubero, these soft enigmas
Suit not the time. Farewell!
[Exit Tubero.
Ladies, your hand.
Nay, madam, you shall smile. Next time, perchance,
I shall be general. Flavia!—nay! no tears!
When Rome shall weep, weep then.
Come, come; no weakness.
[Sylla leads them out.
8
SCENE II.
—An Apartment in the Farm-House of Marius; the Table covered with Wine, Fruits, &c., for a Banquet.Marius, Young Marius, Valerius, and Ctesiphon.
MARIUS.
Speak, then, an if thou must;—I'll hear't; but only
Dress not thy speech in garlands, as thou usest.
Let real wreaths content thee; and for once
Try not to utter holiday.
CTESIPHON.
My good lord,
You are obeyed. It is my gracious office
To offer you this cup; and having drain'd
Mine own to your best health, humbly to beg
Not only as your servitor, but i' the name
Of those more worthy of such fellowship
That you will pledge us. This to Marius' health;
[Drinks.
And may Jove grant him many days like this
Vouchsafing ear to Mars.
VALERIUS, &c.
To Marius' health!
[They drink.
9
(getting up).
Give me the cup—not that befool'd with flowers;
I 'll have a plainer goblet—and this once
I 'll pledge you such a health; and then no more on 't
Henceforth for ever. Health to thee, Valerius;
To all (drinks)
. You pledge me cheerily, young men;
Your sun is rising and your shadows fall
The onward way to fortune—mine points backward,
And rests but on the grave. Oh! never more
Shall day like this be mine: then why commemorate
The dead with festal flow'rs, and mock oblivion
With garlands like a bride?
[Much agitated.
Bring me, for once
Again, that sword, against which this day's sun
Flash'd, till that brightness was bedimm'd and veil'd
In blood of Rome's barbarian enemies;
Aye; which strook down, in face of either host,
That Gaulish sworder who o'er-tower'd them all,
Then spared the crippled giant for our triumph;—
Bring 't me, Valerius; go thou, boy; thy head
Is not bedeck'd with flaunting wreaths, like theirs!
[Valerius goes out.
Curse on this pageantry. It fits me not.
10
(aside).
What should this mean? Till now I never saw
His spirit clouded thus.
[Valerius returns with the sword.
MARIUS.
Right. Give it me.
[Takes the sword from Valerius.
Come to me; let me clutch thee, for the last time.
I will not part from thee as lovers do
With sighs; but as a friend parts from a friend,
Feeling he is not worthy!
Faithful steel!
Too trusty for this hand, which needs thee not,—
Which can but hang thee up to rust in sloth—
I 'll bid thee now adieu! What want I with thee,
Unless to shame thee? Hence! I'd not misuse thee,
Nor make a baby's toy of thee, whose manhood
Shall woo thine aid no more. Yet, ere thou goest,
I'll kiss thee lover-like! and thus I sever thee
From this dishonour'd hand. If thou be fortunate,
Go find some better grasp. If not, go rust
In other halls than mine!
[He throws down the sword.
VALERIUS.
My noble patron,
This is too much!—you are much mov'd.
11
No, no!
'Twill pass away anon. Speak to me not. Leave me.
[They leave Marius gazing on the sword.
Last light of Marius! I do gaze upon thee,
Ev'n as the sailor eyes the sinking sun,
Or ere night drops on him and on the main!
[A trumpet sounds.
Ha!—What should mean that sound, now so unwonted,
At such an hour as this? Thou lookest wonder;
Enter Valerius.
What is the news?
VALERIUS.
Great news, great sir! th' Ambrones,
'Tis said, are up in countless arms, and gloom
Black, like some dark and pestilential cloud,
Upon the northern frontier. Nigh at hand
Are missives from the Senate; and your son
Goes forth to herald them.
MARIUS
(musing).
Missives from the Senate!
To Caius Marius! the plebeian Marius!
The people's scorned Consul! all unhonoured—
Save those his hand hath won!
12
I am not dead;
This heart still beats for glorious deeds; great Jove
Doth need me yet,—and Fate hath work for me.
(Aloud)
Where are the messengers?
(Musing again.)
Ev'n as the mist,
That wraps the mountain summits, is dispers'd
And leaves their rugged cliffs bright i' the air,
Now is a sudden view unveil'd, where hills
Rise over hills, some shadow'd and some light,
Kissing the dark blue sky! I'll climb, or else
Be buried at their feet! (Aloud.)
Valerius!
(Musing again.)
Was it not told me, e'en in early childhood,
Seven eaglets dropp'd into my lap, high token
Of sevenfold exaltation? Marius, yet
Thou shalt be seven times Consul!
(To Valerius.)
What would'st thou say?
VALERIUS.
Methought you spoke, great Sir!
MARIUS.
True, so I did;
Forgive me,—say, where are the messengers?
[Flourish of trumpets.
13
At hand, my lord—
The trumpet speaks as much.
Enter Sulpicius and Saturninus, Young Marius, Lictors, and Attendants.
MARIUS.
Hail! Sirs, your errand?
SATURNINUS.
Let it not, noble Caius,
(For virtue is our true nobility,)
Seem strange that thus we break upon your privacy
With hasty salutation. What we say
We speak i' the Senate's name, who bids us thus,
In Rome's behalf, with tongue for the general weal,
Accost thee, Marius.
MARIUS.
From the Senate, say ye?
Mistake I not? To Marius—from the Senate?
I pray you pardon me, if it seem strange
The Senate thinks of Marius, who, in sooth,
Had nigh forgot the Senate!
SULPICIUS.
Mighty sir,
'Tis easy for a great man to forget—
14
Your patience, sir; our errand is the proof
Even of our doctrine. Great events, oh! Marius,
Are great men's heralds. Is it not so, e'en now?
The sacred soil of Rome again is trodden,
Torn, and polluted by the countless feet
Of rude, unphalanx'd, rash barbarians,
Who come to find a grave;—even as the brand
But leaves the cloud to quench it in the dust
And vainly die in darkness.
'Tis to thee
The Senate looks to front this louring storm;
And thus thy staff of office I deliver,
And, i' the Senate's name and in the people's,
Do hail thee Imperator.
[Gives the truncheon.
Save thee, general!
ALL.
Health to thee, Imperator! all hail, general!
Marius
(much agitated).
I pray your patience friends. And comes this, say'st thou,
This Roman truncheon, from a Roman Senate—
This staff that never yet did point the way
Where Victory fear'd to go;—what! came it thence?
SULPICIUS.
It did, great sir.
15
And to a poor old man—
Whose little fame hath died before his breath,
And from whose name the very calendar
Feels haply shame to date? What, is there none
Of all that tread those lofty porticos,
Where kings must wait without; none there to save
Such gear as that from such a hand as this?
—Fie! this is mockery! and grey hairs, tho' bound
With wreaths, which, wither'd, still were victory's,
Are treated like the rest!—
Nay, take it, sir;
This jest doth smack o' the serious.
SATURNINUS.
Noble sir,
'Tis you that turn the serious to a jest,
And none e'er more mistim'd.
Now hear me, sir.
Hear that shall thrill through the whole heart of Marius.
Your country is in danger, and to you
She looks for help, for rescue.
MARIUS.
Speak 't again,
That I may hear aright. Give me thy hand.
Say'st thou, with honest and unvarnish'd brow,
That Rome doth sue to Marius?
16
Even so.
MARIUS.
Her fiat is obey'd. Rome must command;
Obedience is for Marius. Give me yond blade,
Valerius.
[He takes the sword.
Welcome! aye; now let me clutch thee,
Thou trusty steel! and oh! hear Marius swear
Thou shalt not leave his hand till Rome is safe,
Or we lie buried in one grave together,
And know not of our fortune.
Sir, I do
Obey the Senate's mandate; but I pray you
Tell me, if so much be within your knowledge,
Who doth command in second?
SATURNINUS.
Lucius Sylla,
Most noble Marius.
MARIUS.
Good; the noble Sylla.
I know him well, and know him for a soldier,
A tried and brave one. Pardon me, gentlemen;
It is an anxious hour; I had forgotten
That travel-toil'd and weary, you do need
Nature's refreshment, if the fare of Marius
Balks not patrician stomachs. This way, gentlemen,
17
Plain fare is best grac'd plainly.
[Marius and Embassadors go out.
Valerius, Young Marius, and Ctesiphon remain.
CTESIPHON.
Valerius?—Why, see, if this news from Rome have
not struck him dumb. Why, man, dost thou set out thy
battle already?—
YOUNG MARIUS.
He's general already in imagination methinks! Come,
Valerius, let us hear thee speak. We can see thee fight
afterwards!
VALERIUS.
Thou wilt prate
Before thou fightest; I'll say that for thee—
I cry you mercy, sir, for I believ'd
'Twas Ctesiphon I spoke to.
YOUNG MARIUS.
Take me for aught but a barbarian whilst thou carriest
this humour about with thee! Come, Ctesiphon;
'tis plain he's possessed with something, and whether it
be love or war, neither is a business for us to meddle in.
MARIUS
(entering).
Valerius—get thee forth in readiness;
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I have heard thee say thou knewest him.
YOUNG MARIUS.
Aye; his niece too!
They say she's wond'rous fair. A very star!
Nay some philosophers hold, that the lost Pleiad
Is found again in her! Don't they Valerius?
MARIUS.
Peace, reckless prater. What! is this a time
For fooleries such as these are? Son, do you
Attend upon the embassadors from Rome.
Do you assist him, sir. Your fine-spun sophisms
Will now get holiday;—the wars abide not
These cobwebs of the brain!
[Exeunt Ctesiphon and Young Marius.
Valerius,
Go thou with me. I have business for thine ear
And time is precious. Come.
VALERIUS.
I follow, sir.
[They go out.
END OF FIRST ACT.
| Caius Marius, The Plebeian Consul | |