Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

CHAPTER I.
THE YOUTHFUL CAPTIYE.
A. D. 165.
THE confused cries and clamors of a thronging multitude
till the slave market of ancient Smyrna. In one part an over-
seer screams himself hoarse upon the superior qualities of his
merchandise, whilst another of his caste beats poor children
most unmercifully, and the sobs and winnings of these unhappy
ones mingle with the imprecations of their castigator.
Each one set up for sale has a placard suspended from his
neck, on which all his qualities are written. On many of these
cun be seen the words " Calligraphos " or "Pedagogos," because
tliu wearer possesses the necessary acquirements for either a Tutor
or a Teacher. The upper end of the market is occupied chiefly
by Africans, from burning Lybia, with dark skin and woolly
hair; deplorable creatures! their ears pierced, and their feet
chalked a sign that they have crossed the sea. Close to these,
cooped up in laths and cords are young Negresses, from the interior
of Ethiopia black as ebony. They seat themselves on a
checkered carpet, crouching closely and anxiously together.
Bread, fruit and wine are placed before them, but few partake
thereof, as they were told that those good things are merely
given them for a time, to make them robust, that they may afford
the gormandizing Romans a dainty meal. At the lower
end the eye falls upon entire herds of white slaves, from every
known country under the sun. Amongst these are the ema-
ciated Isaurians, formerly pirates in the Mediterranean, looking
most piteously. In striking contrast stands the athletic Cappadocian,
proud of his race and stature; frivolous and faithless
'tis true, but as his placard jestingly remarks: as the bearer of
a litter, most useful, and as well beloved as the horses of his
country. In the midst of this multitude of slaves, of Greeks
nchly apparelled, and of Romans eager for purchase, might be
seen passing on, a modestly attired female, of noble bearing, but
whose dress, that of a widow, bespeaks her of the middle class.
Her scrutinizing gaze lingers long upon the youthful forms of
the captive Christians but she finds not whom she seeks, and
wanders on by the nearest way to the public prisons. "Shall I
rejoice, or shall I complain," sighed the afflicted one, " that I
found her not amongst them, or whether, after six months, is
she still in prison, or have they reserved her for the coming fes-
tival?" Merciful God! suffer not my child to be torn to pieces
by wild beasts, amidst the jeers and scoffs of an applauding
multitude!" Agonized with such thoughts, Charitana reached
the gates of the prison, knocked with trembling hand, and
craved admittance. She informed the jailer, that she was in
search of a daughter, named Seraphica, who, immediately after
the execution of Polycarp, had been cast into prison: and that
for several months she had heard nothing of her fate.
" Seraphica! the daughter of a purple-dye merchant?"
growled the jailer, "and one of the Christian Religion, and but
seventeen years old? Yes, you can see her in a fews days: She
will then celebrate her wedding on the feast of Mercury, with
a young and beautiful panther; the most cheerful Ethiopian that
can be found."
Pale as marble and trembling with horror, Charitana stood
before the savage jailer, from whose scornful lips she had just
heard the probable fats of her only child.
"I see you have some fruit," continued he, "I'll place it before
her at the feast already mentioned."
" Unfeeling man, you mock me! Has icy death never torn
from thee a beloved child? Have you never stood by the
death-bed of one dear to you? If not, you can never understand
what I now suffer. Oh! I conjure you to grant me this solitary
consolation! Allow me'to speak to Seraphica before she leaves
the prison for the festival! "
" Where is your purse? " asked the jailer. " If ft be well filled,
matters can be favorably managed."
No, heartless man ! gold and silver have but sparingly fallen to
my lot, but the laws of Rome, which grant to the condemned a
feast before death, are not so severe as to refuse a mother a last
1. YD I A.
interview with her beloved child. Were I to offer you the little
money I possess, you would not be contested But I remember
now, I have a treasure a great treasure one I have inherited
and which can be divided between you and me, without dec -reus-
ing. I can give you as much of it as your heart desires, as soon
as you grant my petition."
"Extraordinary promise," replied he.
" What is the value of
that treasure? "
"Of more value than this terrestrial orb, even were it of
Diamond." The jailer's countenance brightened up. "In any
case a great exaggeration," said he "
to himself. Still it can
reach to a diamond ring." Then turning round, he seized upon
his keys, and gave Charitana a sign to follow.
They passed through long and vaulted corridors, where nothing
broke the silence that reigned around, save the hollow echoes
of their footsteps. At length they stood before a low and narrow
door unlocked the bolts withdrawn and Charitana is in
the presence of her daughter.
O, happy moment! a sweeter in this place of sorrows none
had ever known! But silence! Yonder sits the youthful captive
not suspecting who is near. Her right arm is chained the
left supports her head, and she is in a deep slumber.
" Ah per-
haps," murmured Charitana in a low voice, " thou already
knowest what awaits thee in a few days! Perhaps fearful vi-
sions are even now passing before thy weary eyes! Yet, no,
those features speak not of fear: that countenance is as a mirror
reflecting interior peace and holy resignation." In her fettered
hand, she loosely holds a girdle; upon which she had evidently
been ruminating: and so had sunk to sleep. She drops the hand,
and the girdle falls from her listless fingers. She moves smiles
and holds converse with herself. "Yes yes, never to be for-
gotten Polycarp! Not on parchment, but on far nobler material
have I written all thy words! Polycarp! shall we meet again?
Soon? O it will be some time
"
yet! Until then let us have hope
ever before us, and never lose the pledge of our righteousness."*
Charitana having placed the fruit upon the ground, stood immovable
before her dreaming child. But as soon as she heard
the words "Oh it will be some time yet," she could no longer re-
frain from shedding a flood of tears.
At length in a subdued voice, she pronounced her
name, "Seraphica!
daughter's
do you know who ishere?"
The young girl answered dreamingly and slowly, as though
she felt obliged to reflect on every word. "Here? Here are
peace and solitude."
"Seraphica, thy mother!" "Mother? No she has fled!" and
sighing heavily, she dashes a tear from her pale cheek, and casts
her half closed eyes on the girdle at her feet. Suddenly she
perceives a form before her, she shudders and quick as lightning
raises herself from the ground, and exclaiming: "God of all
goodness!" casts herself into her mother's arms. "Do I dream,
or art thou really she, or art thou an angel who visitest me?
Wondrous! through closed doors in this gloomy dungeon!"
"Yes, dearest child, it is thy mother! Life without thee
seemed more painful than death itself. Six anxious months have
I wandered through the mountains, where I found true and loving
hearts; one alone was wanting and that was thine.
now I will not leave thee until I know thy fate.
But
"Since that dreadful day, thou hast been ever present to my
mind. When I heard that thou wast seen in the Amphitheatre,
Oh, what anguish did I not endure! Hour after hour passed on.
My worst fears were verified I heard that thou wast taken
prisoner." "Yes mother," replied Seraphica, "though most unworthy,
I have been chosen to suffer imprisonment and chains
for the sake of my Redeemer. It was a dreadful day, yet one
replete with blessings.
"O hadst thou seen our venerable and saintly Polycarp! Couldst
thou but have gazed on those features of a hundred years,
glowing with charity, peace and simplicity!
"Many feared that his great age would have rendered him
unable to reach the place of martyrdom, with that heroic fortitude
expected from one who had led a life so holy. But how
These were the words of St. Polycarp to the Philippitns.