Bissula. English Read online

  Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive

  Transcriber's Notes:

  1. Page scan source: https://www.archive.org/details/acaptiveromanea00dahngoog2. Footnote is at the end of the book.3. Diphthong oe is represented by [oe].

  A CAPTIVE OF THE ROMAN EAGLES

  A Captive of the Roman Eagles

  _By_ FELIX DAHN

  Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford

  TRANSLATOR OF "Aspasia," "Cleopatra," etc.

  Chicago A. C. McClurg & Co. 1902

  COPYRIGHT A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1902 PUBLISHED Sept. 13, 1902

  TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

  The author of the romance "A Captive of the Roman Eagles"--published inGermany under the title of "Bissula"--is one of the most distinguishednovelists of the present day in his own country, and will doubtless beequally appreciated by Americans.

  Like Dr. Georg Ebers, he has based his historical novels upon the solidfoundation of earnest study. The field he has chosen is principally theperiod of the conflicts between Germany and Rome, and the struggles forsupremacy of the various peoples in the territory now occupied byGermany, Switzerland, and France, and he describes with vivid colorsand dramatic power the life of those far-off days.

  Professor Dahn is a native of Hamburg, but spent his childhood inMunich, always a centre of intellectual life, and, under the stimulusof its circle of writers, his poetic talent developed early. He studiedlaw, philosophy, and history in Munich and Berlin. In 1862 he was madeProfessor in the University of Wurzburg, in 1872 in Koenigsberg, and in1888 he was called to a chair in the University of Breslau, where, inthe intervals of his professional duties, he has devoted himself to hisbrilliant literary work.

  The warm welcome accorded to my translations of the novels of Ebers,whose hold upon the affections of American readers has proved soenduring, inspires the hope that "A Captive of the Roman Eagles" mayalso receive a cordial recognition from our public.

  MARY J. SAFFORD.

  _Washington, D. C., June 10, 1902._

  A CAPTIVE OF THE ROMAN EAGLES

  BOOK ONE

  THE FREE WOMAN

  CHAPTER I.

  Whoever has been at Friedrichshafen on beautiful Lake Constance, on aclear August day, and watched the sun setting in splendor behind thetops of the beeches of Manzell; whoever has seen the waves of the lakeand the snow-capped peaks of the Alps from Sentis to the AllgauMountains glow in the crimson light, while the notes of the Ave Mariafloat softly over forest, meadow, and water, will treasure the memoryof the peaceful scene throughout his whole life. To this region thestory of little Bissula leads us.

  But in that period--the year 378--the whole northern shore of the"Venetus Lacus" (Lake Constance) looked somewhat desolate, and often byno means peaceful. The lowlands were covered with primeval forests andfens--only here and there a few scattered settlements appeared onpatches of parched tilled land.

  At that time the lake covered a much more extensive tract of countrythan now, and a still larger space was occupied by a marshy territorybetween the water and the meadow, which being for the greater portionof the year a mere swamp afforded at the same time refuge and food toflocks of wild swans, herons, and countless smaller water-fowl.

  This region had already been a considerable time in the possession ofthe Alemanni; but on the southern shore of the lake Rome stillmaintained her supremacy. This was with the special object ofcontrolling the important roads leading from Gaul by way of Augst(Augusta Rauracorum) to Basle, Windisch (Vindonissa) to Arbon (ArborFelix), Bregenz (Brigantium), and thence farther eastward, thuspreserving the connection between the Western and Eastern portions ofthe Empire, and facilitating the movements of the troops. The men weresometimes forced to hasten from the Rhine to the Danube to meet theGoths in the East, and anon from the Danube to the Rhine to contendwith the Franks on the lower, or the Alemanni on the upper portion ofthe stream.

  This year also such assistance seemed necessary--this time in theeastern provinces, where the Gothic tribes, especially the Visigoths,fleeing before the Huns, had found refuge on Roman territory, but,driven to desperation by the ill-treatment of the Roman governor, hadrisen in arms.

  True, Valens, the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, hoped to copesuccessfully with them alone; he would have been reluctant to share thefame of victory with his young nephew and fellow-ruler Gratianus, lordof the Western portion. Yet, nevertheless, he had been compelled to askthe latter to hold himself in readiness to come to his uncle'sassistance with his Gallic legions in the territory bordering on theDanube.

  Gratianus, however, thought that he could not leave Gaul and the Rhineuntil he had first punished the Alemanni for their recent incursionsacross the frontier, and--at least for a while--deterred them frommaking new inroads. At the same time he desired, in case the summonsfor help should arrive, to have traversed a portion of the longdistance and thus be able to give his uncle aid more speedily. So,toward the end of July, he left his residence, Trier, with the largerportion of his troops, and marched by way of Zabern and Strassburg tothe left bank of the Rhine near Augst and Basle. Here and at Windischhe formed two camps and kept the main body of his troops near him,busying himself in the reorganization of the province and eagerlyawaiting news from the East.

  The expedition against the Alemanni on the northern shore of the lakewas entrusted to a small band of troops which, being able to move moreswiftly, seemed better suited for the marches through swamp and forestand, moreover, amply sufficient in number; for the attack was directedagainst only the Linzgau, so called from the little river, which at thepresent time is still known as the Linz, or more frequently the Ach.This was the home of the Lentian Alemanni, who lived on the northernand western shores of the lake and, during that very spring, hadharried the Roman frontier. The command of the expedition had beenentrusted to experienced generals who had chosen their own force offoot and horse, while a large baggage train conveyed the provisions andthe remainder of the luggage. In all, there were probably more thanthree thousand men.

  According to the old victorious Roman strategy--whose success wasproved by the conquest of nearly half the world known at thatday--this small force was to assail the foe from several directions atonce, the same as in great campaigns, as if seized by claws, a favoritecomparison in Roman military literature. Part of the troops--thecavalry, several squadrons of cataphractarii (mailed riders, who werecompletely sheathed in armor), cohorts of the Twenty-Second Legion,picked German mercenaries, Batavians (they were considered the best ofall the foreign soldiers), and lastly the flower of the Imperial Guard,foot-soldiers, mainly Illyrians and Thracians, were to march northwardfrom Windisch, cross the Rhine, move along the old road to the north,then, suddenly turning eastward, skirt the western shore of the lake togain its northern side, thus penetrating the whole Linzgau from thewest to the east, halting at an appointed place in the heart of theenemy's country and awaiting the second division. Meanwhile this secondbody was to march along the great highway bordering the southern shorefrom Windisch to Arbon, cross the lake in boats, land on the northernshore, and pass through the Linzgau from east to west till they reachedthe first division.

  Thus the esc
ape of the Barbarians, whose tilled lands would all be laidwaste, would be cut off both eastward and westward. Those who attemptedflight southward in their boats across the lake would be intercepted bythe Roman Bodensee[1] Fleet. Year after year, the last time that veryMarch, the most brilliant reports of its strength and prowess had beensent to Gaul. The remnant of the foe remaining after the assault fromtwo or three directions were to be driven by the united bands as far aspossible into the inhospitable northern forests, or forced into theDanube.

  The place of meeting appointed for both divisions was the lofty hill,half a league north of Friedrichshafen, whence at the present day thechurch of Berg dominates the lowlands. At that time it was known as theIdisenhang,--the hill of the wood-goddesses. The Roman ships, incrossing directly from Arbon, were obliged to run into the bay of whatwe know as Friedrichshafen. For the land forces the leaders hoped tofind a passable route along the remains of an old military road, whichformerly--in Rome's better days--had extended also around the northernshore of the lake. This steep hill, affording an unimpeded view inevery direction and dominating the whole neighborhood, was a model ofthe positions where the Roman eagle was fain to alight for a brief restduring its flights in quest of prey. Here a camp was to be formed,whence the land of the Barbarians would be ravaged by small bodies oftroops in every direction, while the strong fortified camp shouldmaintain the connection with the lake, the fleet, and the southernshore, until the whole enterprise was completed and the Romans couldreturn to the Emperor at Windisch.