John G. Neihardt

“ Huge nerves to suffer, and a neck to choke—
That woman were Poppaea! I would rear
About the timeless sea, my mother’s bier,
A sky-roofed desolation groined with awe,
Where, nightly drifting in the stream of law,
The vestal stars should tend their fires, and weep
To hear upon the melancholy deep
That shipless wind, her ghost, amid the hush!
Alas! I have but one white throat to crush
With these world-hungry fingers! (From behind Nero, enter Page—a little boy—bearing a goblet of wine on a salver. Nero turns, startled.)
57Ah!—You!—You!
Page
I bring wine, mighty Caesar. ”

“ Tonight she founders, sinks—make sure of that!
Captain
And all to drown one lean imperial cat
With claws and teeth too sharp despite the purr!
Ah, scan the graceful woman lines of her!
Fit for the male Wind’s love is she—alas!
Scuttled and buried in a sea of glass
By her own master! It will cost me pain.
29Better a night of lightning-riven rain
With hell-hounds baying in the driven gloom!
Anicetus
The will of Nero is her wind of doom—
Woe to the seaman who defies that gale!
Go now—make ready that we may not fail
To crown the wish of Caesar with the deed.
Captain
Aye, Master! ”

“ The musicians within strike up a martial strain. After a few moments, within the hall appear Nero and Agrippina, arm in arm, approaching the flight of steps. Nero is robed in a tunic of the color of amethyst, with a winged harp embroidered on the front. He is crowned with a laurel wreath, now askew in his disordered hair. Agrippina wears a robe of maroon without decoration. Nero endeavors to preserve the semblance of supporting his mother, but in fact is supported by her, while he caresses her with considerable extravagance. ”

“ With starry grief, and men unborn shall sing
The mournful measure of the Ancient King!
50I’ll write an ode! (He stands for a moment, glorified with the thought.)
Great heart of Nero, strung
Harplike, endure till this last song be sung,
Then break—then break— (Turns and mounts the steps.)
Oh Fate, to be a bard!
The way is hard, the way is very hard! (A dim outburst of laughter from the revellers in the distance.) ”

“ You who are Law shall be more free than others
By seeming less so, Lucius.
Nero
Best of mothers,
Tomorrow—yes, tomorrow—Mother, stay!
You must not go so far, so far away!
Agrippina
Only to Bauli. (They have reached the extreme right of stage. The guests now begin to come out of banquet hall, scattering a rippling laughter. Nero is aroused by the merry sound, looks back, gathers himself together with a start.)
Nero
Ah! ”

“ Nero (Irritably.)
The wine! (The Page, startled, presents the salver, from which Nero takes the goblet with unsteady hand. Page is in the act of fleeing.)
Stay! 58 (Page stops and turns tremblingly.)
Never dare
Again to look like—anyone! Beware! (Page’s head shakes a timid negative. Nero stares into goblet and muses.)
Blood’s red too. Ah, a woman is the grape
Ripe for the vintage, from whose flesh agape
Glad feet tonight shall stamp the hated ooze! ”

“ The throng laughingly makes way for them. At length the pursued Bacchante flings off in a mad whirl toward the grove in the background, followed by Bacchus and the Bacchantes. Fauns and Satyrs now take up the dance and join in the pursuit. The throng follows eagerly, enjoying the spectacle. All disappear among the trees. Laughter in the distance, growing dimmer. The musicians withdraw into the villa and disappear, their music dying 47out. The lights go out in the banquet hall. ”

“ Agrippina
Why do you flee?
Did I not say my son would come to me?
‘Tis Nero—Nero Caesar, Lord of Rome!
My little boy grown tall is coming home! (She goes to window, peers out, shrinks back, then turns toward the door and sees three armed men standing there—Anicetus, the Captain of a Galley and a Centurion of the Navy. The men stare at her without moving.)
Why come you here? (Silence.)
82To know my health?—Go tell
My son, your master, I am very well—
And happy— (The men make no reply. Agrippina straightens her body haughtily.)
—If like cowards in the night
You come to stab a woman ”

“ The courtyard of the Imperial villa at Baiae. A moonlit night in late March. Occupying the left half of background is seen a portion of the villa. A short, broad flight of steps leads through the arched doorway to a pillared hall beyond, vague, but seeming vast in the uncertain lights that flicker in the draught. To the right of the doorway is a broad open window at the height of a mans head from the courtyard. An urn stands near window in the shadow to the right. ”

“ They pass out toward the sea, Nero caressing his mother. The guests now throng down the steps into the courtyard. They are in various states of intoxication. Many are dressed to represent mythological figures: Fauns and Satyrs; Bacchus crowned with grape leaves, wearing a leopard skin on his shoulders; six Bacchantes; Psyche with wings; Luna in a spangled tunic with silver horns in her hair; Mercury with winged sandals and the caduceus; Neptune in an emerald robe, crowned and bearing the trident; Iris, rainbow-clad; Silenus. Some are dressed in brilliant oriental garments. ”

“ Divine imperial Nero, and their sunk
Lugubrious aspect—pardon!—but you’re drunk,
Drunk as a lackey when the master’s out!
O kingly tears that down that regal snout
Pour salty love upon a mother’s breast!
So shall her timid doubts be lulled to rest! (Bustle within as of many rising to their feet.)
They rise! The prologue’s ended—now the play! 32 (He gets down from urn and goes off toward sea.) ”

“ He’ll find a coward’s courage in his glass—
Enough to dig a hole when he comes back. (She goes to shelf and snuffs the candles. The moon shines brightly through the window and the firelight glows. She takes a knife from a table drawer, feels the edge; goes to the window and peers out; turns about, uneasily scanning the room, then moves toward the side door, muttering.)
Eight hundred shining rubles in a sack! ”

“ II (The same night. Nero’s private chamber in his villa at Baiae. Nero is discovered asleep in his state robes on a couch, where he has evidently thrown himself down, overcome by the stupor incident to the feast of the night. Beside the couch is a writing stand, bearing writing materials. A few lights burn dimly. Nero groans, cries out, and, as though terrified 51by a nightmare, sits up, trembling and staring upon some projected vision of his sleep. He is yet only half awake.)
Nero
Oh—oh—begone, blear thing!—She is not dead! ”

“ The moonlight falls upon her. Now and then she endeavors to shake something from her hands, which she finally wipes on her apron, muttering the while.)
22When folks get rich they find their fingers dirty. (She counts the coins in silence for awhile, then aloud.)
Eight and twenty—nine and twenty—thirty— (Clutching a handful of gold, she suddenly stops counting and stares at the back door. There is the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. The door flies open and the old man enters excitedly.)
Father
Mother! ”

“ No corpse lies here that it should be so dark. 9 (Girl, moving as in a trance, lights candles with a brand from the fireplace. Often she glances expectantly at the window. The place is fully illumined.) ”