GALLU S. SCENE THE FIRST. THE NOCTURNAL RETURN HOME. HE third watch of the night was drawing to a close, and the mighty city lay buried in the deepest silence, unbroken, save by the occasional tramp of the Nocturnal Triumviri', as they passed on their rounds to 1 The nightly superintendence of Rome soon became one of the duties of the triumviri or tresviri, treviri capitales, who had to preserve the peace and security of the city, and especially to provide against fires. Liv. xxix. 14; Trimviris capitalibus mandatum est, ut vigilias disponerent per urbem servarentque, ne qui nocturni cœtus fierent; utque ab incendiis caveretur, adjutores triumviris quinqueviri uti cis Tiberim tunc quique regionis ædificiis præessent. Val. Max. viii. 1, 5. M. Malvius, Cn. Lollius, L. Sextilius, triumviri, quod ad incendium in sacra via ortum extinguendum tardius venerant, a trib. pl. die dicta ad populum damnati sunt. They were also called triumviri nocturni. Liv. ix. 46; Val. Max. viii. 1, 6. P. Villius triumvir nocturnus a P. Aquilio, trib. pl. accusatusquia vigilias negligentius circumieThe timorous Sosias alludes to them, Amphitryo Plauti, i. 1, 3: Quid faciam nunc, si tresviri me in carcerem compegerint? ται. because they arrested those whom they Found in the street late at night; and [GAL.] we find the vigiles discharging the same function. Itaque vigiles, qui custodiebant vicinam regionem, rati ardere Trimalchionis domum effregerunt januam subito et cum aqua securibusque tumultuari suo jure cœperunt. Cf. Seneca, Epist. 64. When Petrandus speaks of water, we must suppose that the watch were provided with fire-buckets; we can scarcely assume that engines (siphones) are alluded to, although Beckmann points out, with much probability, that one of the means of extinguishing fire in the time of Trajan was referred to in Pliny, Ep. x. 42, and Appollodorus in Vett. Mathem. Opp. p. 32. V. also Isidor. xx. 6; Schneider, Eclog. Phys. i. 225, ii. 117; Colum. iii. 10; denique Nat. ii. 16. Buckets (hama, Plin. x. 42. Juv. xiv. 305,) and hatchets (dolabra, Dig. i. 15, 3) were part of the apparatus for extinguishing fires. Petronii Salira, c. 78. Augustus remodelled this nightly watch, forming seven cohorts, headed by a prefect, called Præfectus Vigilum. Suet. Aug. 30; Paul. Dig. i. 15. In spite 1 see that the fire-watchmen were at their posts, or perhaps by the footstep of one lounging homewards from a late debauch2. The last streak of the waning moon faintly illumined the temples of the Capitol and the Quadriga, and shot a feeble gleam over the fanes and palaces of the Alta Semita, whose roofs, clad with verdant shrubs and flowers, diffused their spicy odours through the warm night-air, and, while indicating the abode of luxury and joy, gave no sign of the dismal proximity of the Campus Sceleratus. In the midst of this general stillness, the door of one of the handsomest houses creaked upon its hinges; its vestibule3 ornamented with masterpieces of Grecian sculpture, its walls overlaid with costly foreign marble, and its doors and doorposts richly decorated with tortoise-shell and precious metals, sufficiently proclaimed the wealth of its of these precautions, fires frequently occurred; and although the Romans possessed no fire-insurance offices, yet such munificent contributions were made for the sufferers' relief, that suspicion sometimes arose of the owners of houses having themselves set them on fire. So says Martial, iii. 52: Empta domus fuerat tibi, Tongiliane, ducentis ; Abstulit hanc nimium casus in urbe frequens ; Collatum est decies; rogo, non potes ipse videri Incendisse tuam, Tongiliane, domum? Juvenal describes the zeal of those, who, not content with rendering pecuniary relief to the sufferers, also made them presents of statues, pictures, books, and so forth. Sat. iii. 215: - meliora et plura reponit Persicus orborum lautissimus, et merito jam Suspectus, tanquam ipse suas incenderit ædes. 2 Probably like Propertius, when he had the pleasant vision, described in ii. 29. Morning would frequently surprise the drinkers. Mart. i. 29. Bibere in lucem; vii. 10, 5, canare in lucem. The debauched life of those, who, inverting the order of nature, slept all day and rioted all night, is well sketched by Seneca, Ep. 122. Turpis, qui allo sole semisomnis jacet, et cujus vigilia medio die incipit. Et adhuc multis hoc antelucanum est. Sunt qui officia lucis noctisque pervertunt, nec ante diducunt oculos hesterna graves crapula, quam appetere non capit. He terms them Antipodes, who, according to a saying of Cato, Nec orientem unquam solem nec occidentem viderunt. Cf. Colum. Præf. 16. 3 For a description of the different parts of the house, accompanied by illustrations, see the Excursus on The Roman House. owner. The ostiarius, rattling the chain that served as a safeguard against nocturnal depredators, opened the unbolted door, disclosing as he did so the prospect into the entrance-hall, where a few of the numerous lamps were still burning on two lofty marble candelabra,-a proof that the inmates had not yet retired for the night. At the same time, there stalked through the hall a freedman, whose imperious mien, and disregard of the surly porter, even more than the attending vicarius, at once pointed him out as one possessing much of the confidence of the lord of the mansion. He strode musingly across the threshold and vestibule towards the street, and after looking anxiously on all sides, through the dim light and the shadows of the lofty atria, turned to his attendant and said, It is not his wont, Leonidas; and what possible reason can he have for concealing from us where he tarries at this late hour? He never used to go unattended, whether to the abode of Lycoris, or to enjoy the stolen pleasures of the Subura. Why then did he dismiss the slaves to-day, and hide from us so mysteriously the place of his destination ?' 'Lydus tells me,' answered the vicarius, that Gallus left the palace in evil mood, and when the slave who was putting on his sandals enquired whence he should escort him on his return, he bade him await him at home, and then hastened, clad in his coloured synthesis, in the direction of the Via Sacra. Not long before his departure, Pomponius had left the house; and Lydus, impelled partly by curiosity, and partly by anxiety at the unusual excitement of his master, followed at a distance, and saw the two meet near the Temple of Freedom, after which they disappeared in the Via a Cyprio.' 'Pomponius!' returned the freedman, the friend and confidant of Largus! No company he for an open and frank disposition, and still less at a jolly carousal, where the tongue is unfettered by copious goblets of pure Setinian wine, and of which the Sicilian proverb too often holds good the next morning, Cursed be he who remembers at |