A little pleased, but disappointed more,
Simon his message to his mistress brought.
He wreaked his disappointment upon her,
By rendering Nero's proffer of himself
In terms the most offensive to her pride:
"Know, O my lady—empress, by just right
Of high ambition and of mettle high—
Lucius Domitius Nero Cæsar, proud
Young wearer of the crown that Julius wore—
Or would not wear, but three times put it by—
Successor to the great Augustus, who
Earth's jarring fragments welded to a whole,
And settled order government and peace—
Conscious of his own merit, condescends
To ease his aching shoulders of the weight
Of empire by indulging now and then
In certain little pranks of pleasantry,
More lively, as might seem, than dignified.
He dons him his disguise and sallying forth
Goes roystering through the streets incognito,
Attended by a well-becoming rout
Of boon companions in hilarity—
Much to the scandal of good citizens,
Specially such as happen to be out;
These often get quite tumbled up and down
In the wild frolic of imperial sport.
They make the night—these rouses are by night—
Merry with jocund laughter, and with song
That would be ribald save that it is sung
By a divine Augustus in his cups.
I am permitted, as ambassador
From this imperial personage, to bear
Thee courteous salutations, and to say
The emperor deems thee worthy to be queen,
Thinks thou perhaps wast widowed in good time
To make thee to a nobler fortune free;
Begs thou wilt name the night when he may come
In person and pay imperial court to thee."
"This, Simon, is impudence insufferable,
Equal affront to Nero and to me,"
Drusilla in a flame of fury said.
"Thou hast overstepped thy limit jesting so.
Repair thy fault forthwith, or suffer for it!
Tell me in terms, and without flourishes,
What word, if any, the emperor charged thee with."
Maliciously unmoved, the sorcerer said:
"With some loss doubtless—most regrettable,
Granted; yet scarce avoidable, confess—
From the august imperial dignity
Of the first utterance, I have told thee true
The message Cæsar bade me bear to thee."
Drusilla, with rekindled anger, cried:
"Thou hast cruelly misrepresented me,
To bring upon me such indignity.
In what mistaken terms of complaisance,
Tell me—mistaken, or even treacherous—
Didst thou present me to his majesty?"
Simon, exasperating purposely
By his cool air of imperturbable,
Said: "Madam, it seemed wisest policy—
Best suited to avoid that compromise
I knew to be so justly hateful to thee
Of dignity and modesty and shame—
So I observed a careful reticence,
But drew the emperor on from point to point
To be first—as he was—in mentioning thee."
Drusilla's fury now redoubled rose;
With blazing eyes she rather hissed than said:
"He takes Drusilla to be such as that!
Will seek me under cover of the dark!
Hark thee! I to be visited by stealth,
The happy finish of a night's carouse!
Give him my compliments and tell him, Nay!
Bid him by daylight come, in proper state,
And bringing with him his empire cast it down
A proffered bauble at Drusilla's feet—
I will consider of the matter then.
Up, go, speed, tell him what I thus have said.
I am in haste to wash this stain away,
And fling his insult back into his face.
He is mighty, he—but I am haughty, I;
I am as haughty as he mighty is:
I burn in hell until he knows this from me.
Thou hangest—wilt not go?—art false to me?
Aye, thou art false, or thou hadst out of hand
Told him thou knewest Drusilla otherwise
Than to dare take her such a word as that!"
"The emperor should see my lady now,"
Said Simon with provoking flattery,
Provoking, yet it mollified her mind,
And shaped her to receive what he would say—
"Yea, but the emperor should behold thee thus—
If he would have his beauty spiced with spite,
And splendid with a little awfulness.
I have never seen thee so the queen before!
But, madam, in good sooth and soberness,
Behooves that we consider well our way.
The emperor is a dangerous man—or god,
Thou knowest they deify this personage;
It were not wise to tempt him overmuch.
Yet I agree thy woman instinct well
Advises thee to dictate terms to him.
Let these be high—agreed; but not too high:
Not quite impossible, observe; enough,
No more, to give thee value in his eyes.
"I think of one end that thou mightst subserve
By a condition prior to consent—
An end long meditated, and most dear,
Not to thee only, but no less to him,
Thy well-belovéd consort late. Why not
Say to the emperor: 'Give thou me a pledge
Beforehand of thy worthy sentiments
Toward thy poor vassal, in this little thing:
Put Paul to death and all the curséd crew
That hold with him, exempting not a soul—
This do thou first, O emperor august,
A very little thing, and see if then
Thy will find let in my will; so be I
Am honored as befits my quality'—
A guardian clause elastic of import,
Which thou mayst after construe as thou wilt?
Such terms I might obey to bear to him,
And they could only heighten his regard
Of thee, and more thy hold on him assure."
"There was Poppæa sitting by his side
That day!" Drusilla bitterly exclaimed.
"And knowest thou by what arts her place she won?"
Pressed Simon; "she was not afraid to impose
Conditions on her lover; she told him,
'Thou must do thus, and thus,' and he admired
Her for her spirit, and succumbed; do thou
Likewise, and prove thy right to reign—by reigning.
It is not quite so proud to reign, I grant
Thee, as to spurn; but bend thy pride so much:
Spurning is fine, but reigning profits more."
"Thou hast well advised, my Simon," with strong qualms
Subdued of pride, and loathing sprung from pride,
Drusilla made reply; and Simon left
The humbled woman to her wretchedness.
For she no longer now deceived herself,
Or was by Simon deceived, to keep her hope
Of splendid triumph by the emperor's side.
Salt tears and bitter, after he had gone,
She stained the queenly beauty of her face
Withal and quenched the brilliance of her eyes.
Her chalice was of disappointment full;
She had sinned, and she was still to sin, in vain:
She knew it, but she did not change her choice.
Her only comfort in her hour of shame
Was that at least a drop of sweet revenge
And malice gratified might mingle yet—
A dash of soothing—in the draught she drank;
She yet might see her heart's desire on Paul.
What if thou dost, Drusilla! Thou wilt see
The hated dying, not as one who dies,
Rather as one who, borne aloft and crowned,
Rides celebrating triumph over death!
The while thou seest exalted to the place
Thou fain hadst purchased for thyself with crime
Poppæa, empress by the emperor throned,
Spouse in the room of young Octavia slain.
Go, wretched woman, with thy little son
Beside thee, down the valley of the years—
Years few and evil, full of many woes—
Until thou shalt with him be overwhelmed
In that volcano ruin, thy fit doom!
With first obeisance to Poppæa paid
(And blithe report to her of progress good
Toward what she wished—wanting, he cheerly thought,
But one more audience to attain the goal)
Simon betook him to the emperor,
Who greeted him with: "Well, what, pander? Speak!
No parley, no ambages; great affairs
Are now engaging me. Is all arranged?
What is the night appointed? O, I see
Broad written over all thy countenance,
Palter, pretext, delay, to tantalize
Forsooth and tease a lover's eagerness.
But I am in no mood to be played with;
Thou balkest me at thy peril; speak, man, speak!
What message does the fair Drusilla send?"
Simon came hating with a perilous hate,
Hate perilous to himself, the emperor
For all the scorning poured before on him;
Now, at such words of scorn more bitter yet,
His fierce resentment almost overbore
His fear; it threatened to burst out in flame.
But he was prudent and afraid enough
To smother it—as yet; the deeper burned
It in his bosom, forced to smoulder there.
His hatred and his fear together made
His wit clear, swift, and ready to command.
He dared not fence, and so he answered fair—
At some cost to his mistress, more than he
Foreshadowed in obtaining her consent:
"My lady agrees, but does not fix the time."
"Agrees, of course agrees," grossly replied
Nero; "but when, thou paltering rascal, when?—
That is the point thou knowest, and she knows."
"Lady Drusilla begs the emperor
Will," wily Simon said, "do her the grace
To choose his own time; his choice will be hers."
"Beyond just expectation complaisant!"
With a placated grin, the emperor said.
Simon made thrifty haste not to let slip
His favorable chance precarious;
He spoke: "Aye, when thy gracious majesty
Shalt have appointed death deserved for Paul
And for the pestilent crew his company,
And shalt have signified to her thy leave
To see the sentence visited on them—
The very night which follows that bright day
Of vengeance on the emperor's enemies
Shall brighter than that day to her be made
If she may welcome then as visitant
Him who shall so have pledged her his regard."
"Ah, so she makes conditions after all,"
Clouding his brow, but lightly, Nero said.
"A woman is a woman," Simon replied,
"And queen Drusilla is high-spirited
Doubtless beyond the common; humor her,
I pray thee, in this trifle; thou wilt note
How that, in seeming so to save her pride
Somewhat, her dignity, her modesty,
She really seeks to serve a public end
Of justice and of good imperial fame."
"Thou makest her worthy of a throne indeed,"
The emperor with indulgent sarcasm said,
"With her wise forecast and expansive views."
"Faith toward the person of the emperor—
Faith, and perhaps some nearer sentiment—
Inspires her to be large in statesmanship,"
Said Simon—eased a moment in his mind
To be diplomatist in honeyed lies.