Orc. E'en as it was e'er I received my mission. Cordenius Maro is on public duty; I have not seen him.-When he knows your offer Shape their first circles in the sunny air. Orc. Methinks I see him now! A face with blushes mantling to the brow, Sul. His face, indeed, as I have heard thee say, Orc. And then his towering form, and vaulting As tenderness gives way to exultation! Sul. Art thou so well convinced- To all my wealth, had I suspected sooner, Orc. Thou scarcely know'st! Say certainly thou dost not. He is, to honest right, as simply true Sul. But is the public duty very urgent, Orc. The punishment of those poor Nazarenes, Who, in defiance of imperial power, To their forbidden faith and rites adhere Sul. A stubborn contumacy unaccountable! But be it what it may, or good or ill, Sul. Cease; here comes Portia, with a careless face: She knows not yet the happiness that waits her. I knew not you were here; but yet I guess Orc. How can it fail, fair Portia, so commended? Por. That tune, my father, Which you so oft have tried to recollect; SONG. The storm is gathering far and wide, Yon mortal hero must abide. Power on earth, and power in air, And so, indeed, thou takest thy stand, Orc. The picture of some very noble hero Sul. So it should seem; one of the days of old. Por. And why of olden days? There liveth now The very man-a man-I mean to say, There may be found amongst our Roman youth, One, who in form and feelings may compare With him whose lofty virtues these few lines So well describe. Orc. Thou mean'st the lofty Gorbus. Por. Out on the noisy braggart! Arms without He hath, indeed, well burnish'd and well plumed, But the poor soul, within, is pluck'd and bare, Like any homely thing. Orc. Sertorius Galba then? For if he hath no lack of courage, certes, He hath much lack of grace. Sertorius Galba! Orc. Perhaps thou mean'st Cordenius Maro, lady. Thy cheeks grow scarlet at the very name, Indignant that I still should err so strangely. Por. No, not indignant, for thou errest not; Nor do I blush, albeit thou think'st I do, To say, there is not of our Romans one, Whose martial form a truer image gives Of firm, heroic courage. Sul. Cease, sweet Portia ; He only laughs at thy simplicity. Orc. Simplicity seen through a harmless wile, Like to the infant urchin, half conceal'd Behind his smiling dam's transparent veil. The song is not a stranger to mine ear, Methinks I've heard it, passing through those wilds, Whose groves and caves, if rumour speak the truth, Are by the Nazarenes or Christians haunted. Sul. Let it no more be sung within my walls: A chant of theirs to bring on pestilence! Sing it no more. What sounds are those I hear? Orc. The dismal death-drum and the crowd without. They are this instant leading past your door Those wretched Christians to their dreadful doom. Sul. We'll go and see them pass. [EXEUNT hastily Sulpicius, Orceres. Por. (Stopping her ears.) I cannot look on them, nor hear the sound. I'll to my chamber. Page. May not I, I pray, Look on them as they pass? Por. No; go not, child: "Twill frighten thee; it is a horrid sight. Page. Yet, and it please you, lady, let me go. Por. I say it is a horrid, piteous sight, Thou wilt be frighten'd at it. Page. Nay, be it e'er so piteous or so horrid, I have a longing, strong desire to see it. Por. Go, then; there is in this no affectation : There's all the harden'd cruelty of man Lodged in that tiny form, child as thou art. [EXEUNT, severally. Officers and Soldiers still remaining; the Officers on the front, and Cordenius apart from them in a thoughtful posture.) First Offi. Brave Varus marches boldly at the head Of that deluded band. Second Offi. Are these the men, who hateful orgies hold In dens and deserts, courting, with enchantments, The intercourse of demons? Third Offi. Ay, with rites Third Offi. I can believe all this or any thing First Offi. What demonry, thinkest thou, possesses Varus ? Second Offi. That is well urged. (To the other.) Alas, that I should see so brave a soldier First Offi. Viewing his keen, enliven'd coun He is a man, who makes a show of valour Ne'er fronted foe, or closed in bloody strife. (Turning away angrily to the back ground.) First Offi. Our chief, methinks, is in a fretful mood, Which is not usual with him. Second Offi. He did not seem to listen to our words. But see he gives the signal to proceed; [EXEUNT in order, whilst a chorus of Martyrs is heard at a distance.) SCENE II.-AN OPEN SQUARE WITH BUILDINGS. Enter CORDENIUS MARO, at the head of his SOLDIERS, who draw up on either side: then enters along procession of public Functionaries, &c. conducting MARTYRS to the place of execution, who, as they pass on, sing together in unison: one more noble than the others, SCENE III.-AN APARTMENT IN A PRIVATE HOUSE. walking first. SONG. A long farewell to sin and sorrow, To beam of day and evening shade! While mortal flesh in flame is bleeding, We leave the hated and the hating, The great, the good, the brave are waiting Earth's fated sounds our ears forsaking, [EXEUNT Martyrs, &c. &c. Cordenius with his Enter two CHRISTIAN WOMEN, by opposite sides. First Wom. Hast thou heard any thing? Second Wom. Naught, save the murmur of the multitude, Sinking at times to deep and awful silence, The town appearing uninhabited. But wherefore art thou here? Thou should'st have stay'd With the unhappy mother of poor Cælus. First Wom. She sent me hither in her agony Of fear and fearful hope. Second Wom. Ha! does she hope deliverance from death? First Wom. O no! thou wrong'st her, friend; is not that: Deliverance is her fear, and death her hope. Or earn'd or lost. May heaven forefend the last! Enter a CHRISTIAN FATHER. What tidings dost thou bring? are they in bliss ? Fath. Yes, daughter, as I trust, they are ere this In high immortal bliss. Cælus alone First Wom. He hath apostatized! O wo is me! O wo is me for his most wretched mother! Fath. Apostatized! No; stripling as he is, His fortitude, where all were braced and brave, Shone paramount. For his soft downy cheek and slender form Made them conceive they might subdue his firm ness, Therefore he was reserved till noble Varus Then did they court and tempt him with fair pro mise Of all that earthly pleasure or ambition But he, who seem'd before so meek and timid, disperse and leave him alone. He walks a few paces slowly, then stops and continues for a short time in a thoughtful posture. Cor. There is some power in this, or good or ill, Syl. (advancing to him.) No, believe it not. I have seen thy face before; but where ?-who art thou? Syl. E'en that centurion of the seventh legion, Who, with Cordenius Maro, at the siege Of Fort Volundum, mounted first the breach; And kept the clustering enemy in check, Till our encouraged Romans follow'd us. Cor. My old companion then, the valiant Sylvius. Thou'st done hard service since I saw thee last: Glow'd with new life; and from his fervid tongue Thy countenance is mark'd with graver lines Words of most firm, indignant constancy First Wom. High heaven be praised for this !— Fath. I saw it not: the friend who witness'd it, Left him yet living midst devouring flame; Therefore I spoke of Cælus doubtfully, If he as yet belong'd to earth or heaven. Than in those greener days: I knew thee not. Where goest thou now? I'll bear thee company. Syl. I thank thee: yet thou may'st not go with me. The way that I am wending suits not thee, Cor. What dost thou mean? Syl. (after looking cautiously round to see that nobody is near.) Did I not hear thee commune with thyself (They cover their faces, and remain silent.) Of that most blessed martyr gone to rest, Enter a CHRISTIAN BROTHER. Broth. Lift up your heads, my sisters! let your voices In grateful thanks be raised! Those ye lament, Varus Dobella? Cor. How blessed? My unsettled thoughts were busy With things mysterious; with those magic powers Syl. Not so, not so! The wisest prince on earth, First Wom. And praised be God, who makes the Ne'er earn'd withal such lofty exaltation weakest strong! I'll to his mother with the blessed tidings. [Exit. Fath. Let us retire and pray. How soon our lives May have like ending, God alone doth know! [EXEUNT. SCENE IV.-AN OPEN SPACE IN FRONT OF A TEMPLE. Enter CORDENIUS, as returning from the execution with his SOLDIERS, who, upon a signal from him, As Varus now enjoys. Cor. Thy words amaze me, friend; what is their meaning? Syl. They cannot be explain'd with hasty speech In such a place. If thou would'st really knowAnd may such light Cor. Why dost thou check thy words, And look so much disturb'd, like one in doubt? Syl. What am I doing! Zeal, perhaps, betrays me. Yet, wherefore hide salvation from a man Who is so worthy of it? (Granting again that such a one might be,) Who hath but seen the element of fire Cor. Why art thou agitated thus? What moves On household earth or woodman's smoky pile, thee? Syl. And would'st thou really know it? I have an earnest, most intense desire. Syl. Sent to thy heart, brave Roman, by a power Which I may not resist. (Bowing his head.) But go not with me now in open day. At fall of eve, I'll meet thee in the suburb, Close to the pleasure garden of Sulpicius; Where in a bushy crevice of the rock There is an entry to the catacombs, Known but to few Syl. A dismal place, I own, but heed not that; For there thou'lt learn what, to thy ardent mind, Will make this world but as a thorny pass To regions of delight; man's natural life With all its varied turmoil of ambition, But as the training of a wayward child To manly excellence; yea, death itself But as a painful birth to life unending. The word eternal has not to thine ears, As yet, its awful, ample sense convey'd. Cor. Something possesses thee. Syl. Yes, noble Maro; But it is something which can ne'er possess A mind that is not virtuous.-Let us part; It is expedient now.-All good be with thee! Cor. And good be with thee, also, valiant soldier! Syl. (returning as he is about to go out.) At close of day, and near the pleasure garden, SCENE I. THE CATACOMBS, SHOWING LONG, LOWROOFED AISLES, IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, SUPPORTED BY THICK PILLARS OF THE ROUGH UNHEWN ROCK, WITH RUDE TOMBS AND HEAPS OF HUMAN BONES, AND THE WALLS IN MANY PLACES LINED WITH HUMAN SKULLS. Enter CORDENIUS MARO, speaking to a CHRISTIAN FATHER, on whose arm he leans, and followed by SYLVIUS. And looks at once, midst 'stounding thunder-peals, From lengthen'd habit, what the mind rejects. Cor. These blessed hours which I have pass'd with you Have to my intellectual being given New feelings and expansion, like to that The wide development of nature's amplitude. Cor. I well remember it; even at this moment Imagination sees it all again. 'Twas on a lofty mountain of Armenia, Fath. Ay, the waned moon through midnight vapours seen, Fit emblem is of that retrenching light, Cor. Fath. From such an eminence, the opening mist Would to the eye reveal most beauteous visions. Cor. First, far beneath us, woody peaks appear'd, Cor. One day and two bless'd nights, spent in In all the varied tints of sylvan verdure, acquiring Your heavenly lore, so powerful and sublime- Descending to the plain; then wide and boundless Cor. I am, methinks, like one, who, with bent Of distant space, it seem'd a loosen'd cestus back And downward gaze-if such a one might be- From virgin's tunic blown; and still beyond, It overwhelms me with a flood of thoughts, Of happy thoughts. Fath. Thanks be to God that thou dost feel it so! Cor. I am most thankful for the words of power Which from thy gifted lips and sacred Scripture I have received. What feelings they have raised! O what a range of thought given to the mind! And to the soul what loftiness of hope! That future dreamy state of faint existence Which poets have described and sages taught, In which the brave and virtuous pined and droop'd In useless indolence, changed for a state Of social love, and joy, and active bliss,A state of brotherhood,—a state of virtue, So grand, so purified ;-0, it is excellent! My soul is roused within me at the sound, Like some poor slave, who from a dungeon issues To range with free-born men his native land. Fath. Thou may'st, indeed, my son, redeem'd from thraldom, Become the high compeer of blessed spirits. Nature's mysterious tears, will have their way. Cor. And yet mysterious. Why do we weep the wicked Will sometimes weep at lofty, generous deeds. Were yet preserved; therefore our great Creator Still loved his work, and thought it worth redemption. And therefore his bless'd Son, our generous master, Whose form he took, lay down his life to save us. Cor. Thou hast thou hast! they're stirring in my heart: Each fibre of my body thrills in answer I struck my hand against my soldier's mail, To one great universal Lord of all, Lord e'en of Jove himself and all the gods; thoughts: O check it not! Love leads to penitence, Its passage hold to heaven, baptismal rites Cor. I am resolved, and feel that in my heart There lives that faith; baptize me ere we part. Fath. So be it then. But yet that holy rite Must be preferr'd; for lo! our brethren come, Bearing the ashes of our honour'd saints, Which must, with hymns of honour be received. Enter Christians, seen advancing slowly along one of the aisles, and bearing a large veiled urn; which they set down near the front. They then lift off the veil and range themselves round it, while one sings and the rest join in the chorus at the end of each short verse. SONG. Departed brothers, generous, brave, Who for the faith have died, Your bodies from devouring flames to save. Chorus. Honour on earth, and bliss in heaven, And we, who, left behind, pursue A pilgrim's weary way To realms of glorious day, Shall rouse our fainting souls with thoughts of you. Your ashes mingled with the dust, Than e'er breathed vital air, When earth again gives up her precious trust. The trump of angels shall proclaim, The generous martyr's never-fading name. Honour on earth, and bliss in heaven, Cor. (to Father.) And ye believe those, who a few hours since Were clothed in flesh and blood, and here, before us, |