Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Quintus Claudius: A Romance of Imperial Rome. Volume 1The Project Gutenberg eBook of Quintus Claudius: A Romance of Imperial Rome. Volume 1 This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Quintus Claudius: A Romance of Imperial Rome. Volume 1 Author: Ernst Eckstein Translator: Clara Bell Release date: October 29, 2014 [eBook #47221] Most recently updated: October 24, 2024 Language: English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47221 Credits: Produced by KD Weeks, Shaun Pinder and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK QUINTUS CLAUDIUS: A ROMANCE OF IMPERIAL ROME. VOLUME 1 *** Transcriber's Note This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the '_' character as _italic_. A bold font is delimited with the '=' character as =bold=. Text printed in mixed case small capitals is printed in all upper case. Errors and inconsistencies in punctuation have been attributed to printer's errors, and corrected without further comment. Please note the publisher's decision to place footnotes at the bottom of each page, as well as the author's note on this topic in the Preface. In keeping with his intent, notes here have been moved to the end of each chapter. Please consult the endnotes at the bottom of this text for more details on the handling of textual issues. WORKS BY ERNST ECKSTEIN. =CYPARISSUS.= From the German by Mary J. Safford. One vol., paper, 50 cts.; cloth, 75 cts. =HERTHA.= From the German by Mrs. Edward Hamilton Bell. One vol., paper, 50 cts.; cloth, 75 cts. =QUINTUS CLAUDIUS.= From the German by Clara Bell. Two vols., paper, $1.00; cloth, $1.75 per set. =PRUSIAS.= From the German by Clara Bell. Two vols., paper, $1.00; cloth, $1.75 per set. =NERO.= From the German by Clara Bell and Mary J. Safford. Two vols., paper, 80 cts.; cloth, $1.50 per set. =THE WILL.= From the German by Clara Bell. Two vols., paper, $1.00; cloth, $1.75 per set. =APHRODITE.= From the German by Mary J. Safford. One vol., paper, 50 cts.; cloth, 90 cts. =THE CHALDEAN MAGICIAN.= From the German by Mary J. Safford. One vol., paper, 25 cts.; cloth, 50 cts. ECKSTEIN'S ROMANCES, 12 volumes, cloth binding, in box, $9.50 QUINTUS CLAUDIUS A ROMANCE OF IMPERIAL ROME BY ERNST ECKSTEIN FROM THE GERMAN BY CLARA BELL IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. I. REVISED AND CORRECTED IN THE UNITED STATES NEW YORK GEO. GOTTSBERGER PECK, PUBLISHER 117 CHAMBERS STREET Copyright, 1882, by WILLIAM S. GOTTSBERGER THIS TRANSLATION WAS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THE PUBLISHER PREFACE TO THE FIRST GERMAN EDITION. It was in Rome itself, in the sublime solemnity of the Colosseum, among the ruins of the palaces of the Caesars and crumbling pillars of the temples of the gods, that the first dreamy outlines rose before my fancy of the figures here offered to the reader's contemplation. Each visit added strength to the mysterious impulse, to conjure up from their tombs these shadows of a mighty past, and afterwards, at home, where the throng of impressions sorted and grouped themselves at leisure, my impulse ripened to fulfilment. I will not pause here to dwell on the fact, that the period of Imperial rule in Rome bears, in its whole aspect, a stronger resemblance to the XIXth century than perhaps any other epoch before the Reformation; for, without reference to this internal affinity, we should be justified in using it for the purpose of Romance simply by the fact, that hardly another period has ever been equally full of the stirring conflict of purely human interest, and of dramatic contrasts in thought, feeling and purpose. I must be permitted to add a word as to the notes.[A] I purposely avoided disturbing the reader of the story by references in the text, and indeed the narrative is perfectly intelligible without any explanation. The notes, in short, are not intended as explanatory, but merely to instruct the reader, and complete the picture; they also supply the sources, and give the evidence on which I have drawn. From this point of view they may have some interest for the general public, unfamiliar with the authorities. LEIPZIG, June 15, 1881. ERNST ECKSTEIN. FOOTNOTES: [A] The publisher of this translation has, for the reader's convenience, placed all the notes at the foot of the pages containing the corresponding text. QUINTUS CLAUDIUS. CHAPTER I. It was the morning of the 12th of September in the Year of Our Lord 95; the first cold gleam of dawn was shining on the steel-grey surface of the Tyrrhenian sea. To the east, over the gently undulating coast of Campania, the sky was tinged with that tender dewy-green which follows on the paling of the stars; to the west the waters still lay in impenetrable darkness. Their almost unruffled face was swiftly parted by a large trireme,[1] just now making its way from the south and opposite to Salernum, between the Posidium[2] promontory and the Island of Capreae.[3] The oars of the crew, who sat in rows on three ranks of benches, rose and fell in rhythm to a melancholy chant; the steersman yawned as he looked into the distance, hoping for the moment of release. A small hatchway--fitted with silver ornaments--now opened on to the deck from the cabin between decks; a fat round head with short hair showed itself in the opening, and a pair of blinking eyes looked curiously round in every direction. Presently the head was followed by a body, of which the squat rotundity matched the odd head. "Well, Chrysostomus, is Puteoli[4] in sight yet?" asked the stout man, stepping on to the deck and looking across to the blue-black rocks of Capreae. "Ask again in three hours time," replied the steersman. "Unless you can succeed in looking round the corner, like the magician of Tyana,[5] you must need wait till we have the island yonder behind us." "What!" exclaimed the other, drawing a little ivory map[6] from his tunic.[7] "Are those rocks only Capreae?" "Thou sayest, O Herodianus! Out there on the heights to the right, hardly visible yet, stands the palace of the glorified Caesar Tiberius.[8] Do you see that steep cliff, straight down to the sea? That was where such useless fellows as you were dropped over into the water by Caesar's slaves." "Chrysostomus, do not be impudent! How dare you, a common ship's-mate, make so bold as to scoff at me, the companion and confidential friend of the illustrious Caius Aurelius? By the gods![9] but it is beneath me to |