The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-05
THE COLOSSEUM REPEOPLED.
Picture of the Amphitheater When
the Caesars Amused Themselves.

+. Marion OraWlOEU.
And one stands there alone in<She still
ness and remembers how on that night,
when all was over, when the corpSeS mad
all been dragged away, and the arena had
been freshly strewn with sand, 1t may nave
been almost as il is now. Only, perhaps.
far on among the arches and on the tiers
of seats there might be still tiny light
moving here and there; the keepers or the
terrible place would go their ROUNDS with
their little earthen lamps; they would
search everywhere in the spectators places
for small things that might have been lost
in the preSs-a shoulder buckle or gold or
silver or bronze. an armlet, a woman's ear
rings, purse perhaps. with something In
1t. And the fitful night breeze would now
with their dark hands. BY the door of the
dead a torch was burning down in its
socket, It's glare falling upon q heap OF
armor, mostly somewhat battered, and all
OF it blood-stained; score Of black
browed smiths pere picking IL over and dis
tributing 1t in heaps, according to Its con-
dition. Now and then, from the deep
vaults below the arena, came the distant
sound OF changing gate or or some piece
of huge stage machinery falling into its
place, and a muffied calling Of men. One
softly some ancient minor strain as ne
searched the tiers. That would be all. and
presently even that would cease. u,
one thinks of such things naturally
enough and then the dream runs back
ward against the sum- as dreams will, and
the moon rays weave a vision of dim day.
up to the last high rank beneath the avn
ins's shade. Meanwhile. under his silken
canopy, sits the Emperor of the world. sod
den-faced. CHASTITY, swine-eyed. robed in
purple; all alone, save for his dwarf. bull
nosed, slit-mouthed. hunch-backed. sly:
Next on the lowest bench, the Vestals, old
and young, the elder looking on with hard
faces and dry eyes. the youngest with wide
and startled looks, and parted lips. and
quick-drawn breath, that sobS and is caught
at sight of each deadly stab and cash of
broadsword and trident, and hands that
twitch and clutch each other as man s
foot slips in pool of blood and the heavy
harness clashes in the red. wet sand. Then
gray-haired Senators; then curled and per-
fumed knights of Rome; and then the peo-
pie, countless, vast, frenZied. bloodthirsty,
stretching out a hundred thousand hands
to the falen-fully $1,000 threats of men and
women roaring, yelling, shrieking over each
ended life theater, indeed: a stage, in
aet ends P IN snSdsn dea OIL
And then the widest, deadliest howl of
all on that day; handful of men and wom-
EN- in white, and one girl in the midst of
them; the clang of an iron gate suddenly
opened; a rushing and leaping of great,
1.-THE bodies of beasts, yellow, and black,
and striped, the sand flying in clouds behind
them; worrying and crushing of flesh and
bone, as OF huge cats worrying little white
mice: three sharp cries. then blood, then
silence, then a great laughter and the sod
den face of mankind's drunken master grows
almost human for a moment with very
slow smile. The wild beasts are driven out
with brands, step by step, dragging back
ward nameess mangled rags of humanity
in their dripping jaws, and the bull-nosed
wine. 1t drips from his mouth while he
drinks, as the blood from the tigers fangs.
What are they?" he asked
Christians" explained the dwarf.
''They were very amusing" answers the
Emperor. "They were like little white mice.
We will have more"