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037 - Book 4 Chapter IX · Last Days of Pompeii

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  Speaker 1: Book four, chapter nine of Last Days of POMPEII. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Ben Wilford. The Last Days
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  Speaker 1: upo PEII by Edward G. Bulwer Lytton Book four, Chapter nine,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter nine, in which an adventure happens to Ione, while
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  Speaker 1: some stayed behind to share with the priests the funeral banquet,
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  Speaker 1: Ione and her handmaids took home in their melancholity way.
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  Speaker 1: And now the last dutious to her brother performed. Her
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  Speaker 1: mind awoke from its absorption, and she thought of her
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  Speaker 1: alliance and the dread charged against him, Not as we
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  Speaker 1: have before said, attaching Eve of momentary belief to the
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  Speaker 1: unnatural accusation, but nursing the darkest suspicion against Arbaces, she
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  Speaker 1: felt that justice to her lover and to her murdered relative,
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  Speaker 1: demanded her to seek the proctor and communicate her impression,
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  Speaker 1: unsupported as it might be, questioning her maidens, who had
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  Speaker 1: hitherto kindly anxious, as I have said, to save her
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  Speaker 1: the additional agony, refrained from informing her of the state
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  Speaker 1: of Glaucus. She learned that he had been dangerously ill,
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  Speaker 1: that he was in custoy under the roof of solast,
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  Speaker 1: that the day of his trial was appointed. Averting God,
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  Speaker 1: she exclaimed, and have I been so long forgetful of him?
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  Speaker 1: Have I seemed to shun him? Oh? Let me hasten
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  Speaker 1: to do him justice, to show that I, the nearest
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  Speaker 1: relative of the dead, believe him innocent of the charge. Quick, quick,
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  Speaker 1: let us fly, Let me soothe ten cheer him. And
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  Speaker 1: if they will not believe me, if they will not
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  Speaker 1: lead to my conviction, if they sentenced him to exile
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  Speaker 1: or to death, let me share the sentis with him. Instinctively,
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  Speaker 1: she hastened her pace, confused and bewildered, scarce knowing whither
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  Speaker 1: she went. Now, designing first to seek the proctor, and
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  Speaker 1: now to rush to the chamber of Glaucus, she hurried on.
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  Speaker 1: She passed the gate of the city. She was in
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  Speaker 1: the long street leading up the town. The houses were opened,
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  Speaker 1: but none were yet astir in the streets. The life
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  Speaker 1: of the city was scarce awake. When low she came
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  Speaker 1: suddenly upon a small knot of men standing beside a
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  Speaker 1: covered litter, A tall figure stepped from the midst of them,
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  Speaker 1: and he oone shrieked loud. To behold arbaces veryone, he said, gently,
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  Speaker 1: and appearing not to heed her alarm my ward, my pupil,
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  Speaker 1: forgive me if I disturb thy pious sorrows. But the proctor,
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  Speaker 1: solicitous of thy honor, and anxious that thou mayst not
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  Speaker 1: rashly be implicated in the coming trial, knowing the strange
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  Speaker 1: embarrassment of thy state, seeking justice for thy brother, but
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  Speaker 1: dreading punishment to thy betrothed, sympathizing too with thy unprotected
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  Speaker 1: and friendless condition, and deeming it harsh that thou shouldst
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  Speaker 1: be suffered to act unguided and mourn alone. Has wisely
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  Speaker 1: and paternally confided thee to the care of thy lawful guardian.
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  Speaker 1: Behold the writing which entrust thee to my charge, dark Egyptian, cried, Ione,
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  Speaker 1: drawing herself proudly aside. Begone it ist thou that hast
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  Speaker 1: slain my brother? Is it to thy care thy hands,
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  Speaker 1: yet reeking with his blood that they will give the sister.
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  Speaker 1: Ha Thou turnest pale thy conscience smice thee. Thou tremblest
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  Speaker 1: at the thunderbolt of the avenging God. Pass on and
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  Speaker 1: leave me to my woe. Thy sorrow unstrings thy reason, Eon,
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  Speaker 1: said Arbaces, attempting in vain his usual calmness of tone.
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  Speaker 1: I forgive THEE. Thou wilt find me now as ever
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  Speaker 1: thy surest friend. But the public streets are not the
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  Speaker 1: fitting place for us to confer, for me to console
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  Speaker 1: thee approach slaves, come, my sweet charge. The litter awaits thee.
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  Speaker 1: The amazed and terrified attendants gathered around Eon and clung
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  Speaker 1: to her need. Arbaces said, the eldest of the mazen,
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  Speaker 1: This is surely not the law for nine days after
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  Speaker 1: the funeral? Is it not written that the relatives of
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  Speaker 1: the deceased shall not be molested in their homes or
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  Speaker 1: interrupted in their solitary grief? Woman returned Arbaces, imperilously, waving
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  Speaker 1: his hand to place the ward under the roof of
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  Speaker 1: her guardian. Is not against the funeral laws, I tell THEE,
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  Speaker 1: I have the feat of the proctor. This delay is
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  Speaker 1: in decorous place her in the lad so saying, he
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  Speaker 1: threw his arm firmly around the shrieking form of young
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  Speaker 1: She drew back, gazed earnestly in his face. And then
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  Speaker 1: burst into hysterical laughter, ha ha, this is well well
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  Speaker 1: excellent guarded, perternal law, ha ha, And startled herself at
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  Speaker 1: the dread echo of that shrilled and maddened laughter. She
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  Speaker 1: sunk as it died away, lifeless upon the ground. A
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  Speaker 1: minute more, and Arbaces had lifted her into the litter.
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  Speaker 1: The bearers moved swiftly on, and the unfortunate em was
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  Speaker 1: soon borne from the sight of her weeping handmaids. In
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  Speaker 1: the book four, chapter nine recording by Ben Wilfrid of Jackson, Tennessee,