CHAPTER VII.
Trembling with horror, Sophronia stood on the threshold of Carinus'apartment.
The spectacle before her seemed to her eyes more terrible than thetorture chambers of the prison and the dens of the wild beasts.
Drunken slaves lay on the floor, singing and touching goblets withdrunken senators; men, rouged and clad in women's garments, weresinging to the accompaniment of harps indecent dithyrambics, whilethey had twined the feminine anadem upon their heads with oak leaves,the simple ornament of civic virtue. The most prominent magistrates,consuls, prefects, tribunes, disguised as fauns and satyrs, weredancing with girls robed in transparent tissues, whose cheeks andeyes were glowing with the unholy fires of sensual passion; and in themidst of this diabolical revel lay Carinus, himself the greatestdisgrace of his own imperial purple. The effect of the wine and theemotions roused by the scenes of this orgy were visible on his face;his hair was dripping with the perfumed salves that had been rubbedinto it.
Sophronia shuddered at this scene, which, wherever she turned hereyes, showed the same figures; and for the first time in her life sheforgot to call upon the name of God, who is always nearest when thedanger is greatest. But who could think of God's presence where thedevil's altars are erected?
In trembling terror the Christian maiden seized her gold _balteus_, asit were from instinct, without remembering her sister's hint. But nosooner did she feel the hilt of the dagger in her hand than sheregained her strength of soul. In an instant she was once more thebrave, resolute Roman, and without waiting to be led, she passedboldly through the circling dancers, and with her tall figure drawn upto its full height, stood proudly before Carinus.
"Is it you whom they call in Rome the Augustus?" she asked withinfinite contempt.
Carinus, smiling, raised himself on his couch, and motioned to thenoisy revellers to be quiet.
"Since when has the word 'Augustus' in the Roman tongue meant shameand loathsomeness?" Sophronia boldly continued, gazing defiantly atCarinus. "What accursed destiny sent you to Rome to gather around youeverything that is abominable, everything that is accursed, and bringto sovereignty the sins transmitted to you from the temples of yourgods? Do you not feel the trembling of the earthquake under yourfeet; do you not hear the muttering of heaven's thunder? Does not theroar of millions of approaching barbarians rouse you from yourslumber, that you may learn that you are not the lord, but only dustupon the earth, which at a single breath of God will pass away andbecome the dust which buries you?"
Carinus turned to Aevius, saying:
"By Paphia, you did not deceive me. This is a wonderful creature.There, there, beautiful maiden, rage on, be wrathful; upbraiding onlyheightens your beauty, and the more you reproach me the more ardent mylove becomes."
"You will repent some day amid eternal flames! Above you is throned aninvisible God, who reads the thoughts of your heart; and as you nowsee laughing faces around you, you will behold on the Day of Judgmentfeatures tortured and distorted by pain, and you yourself will not beotherwise."
"By the Pantheon! This figure is still lacking in the ranks of thegods. Aevius, bring a sculptor. Build a temple, place the statue ofthis goddess in it, and call her _Venus bellatrix_."
An artist belonging to the court instantly pressed forward, seized astylus and waxed paper, and Sophronia, with chaste indignation,perceived that while Aevius was turning her indignant words into rhyme,the sculptor was trying to catch the movements of her superb figure.
The young girl instantly stopped speaking; not another word did sheutter, not a feature of her face moved.
"Hasten your work, Sextus, if you wish to sketch the _Venusbellatrix_," said Carinus. "In an hour this figure will be _Venusvicta_."
As he spoke, he glided nearer to the girl like a hungry serpent, andfixed his eyes greedily upon her face.
Sophronia stood cold and motionless as a statue.
"Well, why do you not continue to rage? Be furious! It increases therapture that fills my heart a hundredfold; rave, curse, blaspheme. Iwill kiss and embrace you, and be frantic with bliss."
The patrician's daughter made no reply; not a feature stirred.
"Ah, do you seek to chill me by the coldness of your face? Youdoubtless perceived that the flush of shame which crimsoned it, theflames of your wrath were joy to me, and now, merely to rob me of mysweetest pleasure, you choose to behave as if shame and anger hadvanished from your cheeks? Slaves, tear the garments from her limbs!"
Sophronia silently drew the dagger from beneath her girdle, and lookedfearlessly around the circle of faces.
Carinus remained fixed in the attitude in which this unexpectedmovement had surprised him. Every one stood still as if spellbound.Aevius alone did not lose his presence of mind. With a smooth smile onhis false lips, he glided nearer to the maiden.
"Fairest virgin, do not forget that you are a Christian. Your Godpunishes sternly those who open the gates of death by force; and yourreligion regards it a sin to kill yourself or any other mortal, whileit requires you to endure whatever God has decreed, whether it bedeath by torture or an hour of bliss in the arms of the Caesar. Do notforget that you are a Christian, and that many Christian women haveborne this form of martyrdom before you."
The drawn dagger trembled in Sophronia's hand.
Aevius moved a step nearer.
"Remember that you are a Christian," he said, casting a swift glanceat the dagger to wrest it by a bold spring from the maiden's hand.
"But I am also a Roman!" cried Sophronia, as she recalled her sister'swords; and with the speed of lightning she buried the steel in herheart.
The blow was dealt with a sure hand, and the blade pierced the strongheart to its hilt. The Roman prized her honour more than hersalvation.
The next instant she sank dying on the floor, composing the folds ofher garments with her last strength, that even in death she might notbetray the grace of her figure to unholy eyes.