stones. Then the lofty
brazen mass, nine stories high, which contained
and engaged more than three thousand soldiers, began to rock gently
like a ship. In fact, the water, which had penetrated the
terrace, had
broken up the path before it; its wheels stuck in the mire; the head
of Spendius, with distended cheeks blowing an ivory cornet, appeared
between leathern curtains on the first story. The great machine, as
though convulsively upheaved,
advanced perhaps ten paces; but the
ground softened more and more, the mire reached to the axles, and the
helepolis stopped, leaning over
frightfully to one side. The catapult
rolled to the edge of the
platform, and carried away by the weight of
its beam, fell, shattering the lower stories beneath it. The soldiers
who were
standing on the doors slipped into the abyss, or else held on
to the extremities of the long beams, and by their weight increased
the
inclination of the helepolis, which was going to pieces with
creakings in all its joints.
The other Barbarians rushed up to help them, massing themselves into a
compact crowd. The Carthaginians descended from the
rampart, and,
assailing them in the rear, killed them at
leisure. But the chariots
furnished with sickles hastened up, and galloped round the outskirts
of the
multitude. The latter ascended the wall again; night came on;
and the Barbarians gradually retired.
Nothing could now be seen on the plain but a sort of
perfectly black,
swarming mass, which
extended from the bluish gulf to the
purely white
lagoon; and the lake, which had received streams of blood, stretched
further away like a great
purple pool.
The
terrace was now so laden with corpses that it looked as though it
had been constructed of human bodies. In the centre stood the
helepolis covered with
armour; and from time to time huge fragments
broke off from it, like stones from a crumbling pyramid. Broad tracks
made by the streams of lead might be
distinguished on the walls. A
broken-down
wooden tower burned here and there, and the houses showed
dimly like the stages of a ruined ampitheatre. Heavy fumes of smoke
were rising, and rolling with them sparks which were lost in the dark
sky.
The Carthaginians, however, who were consumed by
thirst, had rushed to
the cisterns. They broke open the doors. A miry swamp stretched at the
bottom.
What was to be done now? Moreover, the Barbarians were
countless, and
when their
fatigue was over they would begin again.
The people deliberated all night in groups at the corners of the
streets. Some said that they ought to send away the women, the sick,
and the old men; others proposed to
abandon the town, and found a
colony far away. But vessels were
lacking, and when the sun appeared
no decision had been made.
There was no fighting that day, all being too much exhausted. The
sleepers looked like corpses.
Then the Carthaginians, reflecting upon the cause of their disasters,
remembered that they had not dispatched to Phoenicia the annual
offering due to Tyrian Melkarth, and a great
terror came upon them.
The gods were
indignant with the Republic, and were, no doubt, about
to
prosecute their vengeance.
They were considered as cruel masters, who were appeased with
supplications and allowed themselves to be bribed with presents. All
were
feeble in
comparison with Moloch the Devourer. The
existence, the
very flesh of men, belonged to him; and hence in order to
preserve it,
the Carthaginians used to offer up a
portion of it to him, which
calmed his fury. Children were burned on the
forehead, or on the nape
of the neck, with woollen wicks; and as this mode of satisfying Baal
brought in much money to the
priests, they failed not to
recommend it
as being easier and more pleasant.
This time, however, the Republic itself was at stake. But as every
profit must be purchased by some loss, and as every transaction was
regulated according to the needs of the weaker and the demands of the
stronger, there was no pain great enough for the god, since he
delighted in such as was of the most
horribledescription, and all
were now at his mercy. He must
accordingly be fully gratified.
Precedents showed that in this way the
scourge would be made to
disappear. Moreover, it was believed that an immolation by fire would
purify Carthage. The
ferocity of the people was predisposed towards
it. The choice, too, must fall
exclusively upon the families of the
great.
The Ancients assembled. The sitting was a long one. Hanno had come to
it. As he was now
unable to sit he remained lying down near the door,
half
hidden among the fringes of the lofty
tapestry; and when the
pontiff of Moloch asked them whether they would consent to surrender
their children, his voice suddenly broke forth from the shadow like
the roaring of a
genius in the depths of a
cavern. He regretted, he
said, that he had none of his own blood to give; and he gazed at
Hamilcar, who faced him at the other end of the hall. The Suffet was
so much disconcerted by this look that it made him lower his eyes. All
successively bent their heads in
approval; and in
accordance with the
rites he had to reply to the high
priest: "Yes; be it so." Then the
Ancients
decreed the sacrifice in
traditional circumlocution,--because
there are things more troublesome to say than to perform.
The decision was almost immediately known in Carthage, and
lamentations resounded. The cries of women might everywhere be heard;
their husbands consoled them, or railed at them with remonstrances.
But three hours afterwards
extraordinarytidings were spread abroad:
the Suffet had discovered springs at the foot of the cliff. There was
a rush to the place. Water might be seen in holes dug in the sand, and
some were already lying flat on the ground and drinking.
Hamilcar did not himself know whether it was by the
determination of
the gods or through the vague
recollection of a
revelation which his
father had once made to him; but on leaving the Ancients he had gone
down to the shore and had begun to dig the
gravel with his slaves.
He gave clothing, boots, and wine. He gave all the rest of the corn
that he was keeping by him. He even let the crowd enter his palace,
and he opened kitchens, stores, and all the rooms,--Salammbo's alone
excepted. He announced that six thousand Gaulish Mercenaries were
coming, and that the king of Macedonia was sending soldiers.
But on the second day the springs diminished, and on the evening of
the third they were completely dried up. Then the
decree of the
Ancients passed everywhere from lip to lip, and the
priests of Moloch
began their task.
Men in black robes presented themselves in the houses. In many
instances the owners had deserted them under
pretence of some
business, or of some
dainty that they were going to buy; and the
servants of Moloch came and took the children away. Others themselves
surrendered them stupidly. Then they were brought to the
temple of
Tanith, where the
priestesses were charged with their
amusement and
support until the
solemn day.
They visited Hamilcar suddenly and found him in his gardens.
"Barca! we come for that that you know of--your son!" They added that
some people had met him one evening during the
previous moon in the
centre of the Mappalian district being led by an old man.
He was as though suffocated at first. But
speedily under
standing that
any
denial would be in vain, Hamilcar bowed; and he brought them into
the
commercial house. Some slaves who had run up at a sign kept watch
all round about it.
He entered Salammbo's room in a state of distraction. He seized
Hannibal with one hand, snatched up the cord of a trailing garment
with the other, tied his feet and hands with it,
thrust the end into
his mouth to form a gag, and hid him under the bed of the ox-hides by
letting an ample
drapery fall to the ground.
Afterwards he walked about from right to left, raised his arms,
wheeled round, bit his lips. Then he stood still with staring eyelids,
and panted as though he were about to die.
But he clapped his hands three times. Giddenem appeared.
"Listen!" he said, "go and take from among the slaves a male child
from eight to nine years of age, with black hair and swelling
forehead! Bring him here! make haste!"
Giddenem soon entered again, bringing forward a young boy.
He was a
miserable child, at once lean and bloated; his skin looked