The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-09-19
The Last Moments of Nero.
hen Nero learned that he ha

SAE06u " lutuh upOIl WudG Ut SIluult
do next. There, or in his sleepinl
room, he passed a most miserable
night; aud when at daybreak h.
found that the guards had not only
deserted him, tut bad carried off tn,
little gold box of prison, and ever
the very covering Ut his bed, he raj
headiOng down 10 the Tiber, whert
he stopped short on the bank anI
slowly walked back again. 1t Wa.
then. bare footed ard half dressed as
he was, that he was encountered hy
tire faithful Phaon, who flung Il cl"aA
over his shoulders, tied an old hand
kerchief about his head, hOisted the
wretch upon q horse aud rode away
toward a country house four miles
of. In danger of discovery the flu
| gitives partly abandoned their horses,
! Scrambled through thick-ts. brakes,
| bv- paths and brambl+s, and at last
! reached the ei.hborhood of the de-
sired asylum. The tender feet of the
| Emperor were mangled and bloody,
| despite the care which had been
shown BY his friend to spread out his
cloak for the ex-Emneror to tread
upon. Phaon asked him to conceal
himself for a while in a gravel pit,
but Nero declared that it looked too
much like q grave, and he was de-
termined not to be buried alive. lie
sat down under a wall, picking the
burrs and brambles from his dress,
drank from the hollow of bis hand 4
few drops of water, and sighed over
the thought of the draugltS he used
to imbibe of hot water made cold
again in the snow. He was at length
got into the house, where he turned
away in disgust from the piece of
brown bread which was offered him
his last banquet !; drank of luke
warm water, flung himself upon an
old flock bed, and cursed his destiny.
They who surrounded him urged
him to behave like a Roman, to make
an end quickly, ard thereupnn he
Tad q grave mad- for him, to his ex-
act measure. He ordered sundry
preparations to be made for his flu
neral, commanded water for the
washing Of his body, wood for the
pile, expressed a hopr that those who
Survived him would allow his head
to remain on his body, and then he
burst into an agony of tears at the
thought, as he said, of What a clever
fellow the world was about to lose.
Qualis drt!fer pcre0! was his excIa-
ma,ion. 1t was not his only one.
He cited lines from various Greek
and Latin authors as applicable to
his situation !; and when reproached
for dailying 81 long before putting
himself to death, very appos'telv in
quired if any One present was will
ing to show him the way by setting
him the example. He then made a
few more peda" tic quotations, and
finally, with trembling hands, put
the dagger to his throat. He would
have held it there Ing enough bad
it not been for Epaphrodl1is, who
grasped his hands aud forced il into
bis throat. The terror Of the ex-
monarch was fixed on bis features
after death. But even he had friends;
five thousand crowns were expended
on his funeral Pile, on which his
body was laid on a spjendi. SILK COW
eriDg; a couple of old nurses collect
ed his ashes, and an imperial con-
gress accompanied them in the pious
task OF solemnly depositiDg the body
in the tomb Of Domili. For years
after loving hands hung garlands on
his tomb, and surely Nero could not
have Won this tribute of sympathy,
spontaneously made, had he not SEINE
touch of virtue in him. winch saved
him from ranking below humanity.
It was to Nero that Tacitus applied
the expression, incredibViuna cupifor.
What he not only desired, but
achieved, in the way of cruelty and
vice would be declared incredible if
Roman history had not already
shown what revolving atrocities may
be conceived by a diseased magma
ton. and executed by irresponsible
power. After the burning of the
he gratified his taste, in entire
disregard of the p%roprieties, in re-
building it. He at once appropriated
a number of the sites and q large por-
ton of the public grounds for bis
new palace. The porticoes, with
their ranks Of columns, were a mile
long. The vestibul- was large
contain that colo sal stat
ue Of him. in silver and gold, n
hundred and twenty feet high, from !
the Coliseum got its name.
The interior was gilded throughout,
and adorned with ivy and mother-of-
pearl. The ceilings of the dining !,
rooms were formed Of movable ia
b1ets of ivory, which shed flowers
and perfumes on the company, the
principal salon had a dome which,
day and night initiated the
of the terrestrial bodies.
When this palace was finished he
exclaimed: LAT last I am lodged
ike a man." His diadem was val
ned at half a million. His dr. sses.
which he never wore twice, were
tiff with embroidery and gold. He
never travelled with less than a thou
'anI carriages. The mules were
,hod with silver, the muliteers were
with the finest wool, and the
wore bracelets and neck
aces Of gold. Five hundred She
,s.es followed his vile Popp9a in
1er progresses, supPly ing milk for
Ter bath. He was fond of figuring
n the circus as a charioteer, and in
he theatre AS a singer and an actor.
He prided himself on being an artist
md when his possible depositi' n
Vas limited to him he said that artists
:ould never be in want. There Was
Tot a vice to which he was not CIV
n, nor a crime which he did not
Yet the world, exclaims
Suetenis, endured this monster for
years. and he was popular
With the multitude, who were daz.
led by his magnificence, and mis-
ook his sensel-ss profusion for Iiber-
lily. On the anniversary of his
leath, during many years, they
to cover his tomb with flow
QudrterW Reuiew.
Miscellaneous.