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diff --git a/32330-8.txt b/32330-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0712b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/32330-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15021 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Struggle for Rome, Vol. 2 (of 3), by Felix Dahn + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Struggle for Rome, Vol. 2 (of 3) + +Author: Felix Dahn + +Translator: Lily Wolffsohn + +Release Date: May 11, 2010 [EBook #32330] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STRUGGLE FOR ROME, VOL. 2 (OF 3) *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive + + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: +1. Page scan source: + http://www.archive.org/details/astruggleforrom01dahngoog +2. The diphthong OE and oe are represented by [OE] and [oe]. +3. [=e] represents an "e" with a macron above. +4. Footnote is at the end of the book. + + + + + + A STRUGGLE FOR ROME. + + BY + FELIX DAHN. + + + _T R A N S L A T E D F R O M T H E G E R M A N_ + BY + LILY WOLFFSOHN. + + + "If there be anything more powerful than Fate, + It is the courage which bears it undismayed." + GEIBEL. + + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + VOL. II. + + + + LONDON: + RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON. + 1878. + [_All Rights Reserved._] + + + + + + + A STRUGGLE FOR ROME. + + BOOK III.--_Continued._ + + THEODAHAD. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + +On the evening of the third day after the arrival of the Gothic escort +sent by Totila, Valerius had terminated his arrangements and fixed the +next morning for his departure from the villa. + +He was sitting with Valeria and Julius at the evening meal, and +speaking of the prospect of preserving peace, which was no doubt +undervalued by the young hero, Totila, who was filled with the ardour +of war. The old Roman could not endure the thought of seeing armed +Greeks enter his beloved country. + +"I, too, wish for peace," said Valeria reflectively, "and yet----" + +"Well?" asked Valerius. + +"I am certain," continued the girl, "that if war broke out you would +then learn to love Totila as he deserves. He would defend me and +Italy---- + +"Yes," said Julius, "he has an heroic nature, and something still +greater than that----" + +"I know of nothing greater!" cried Valerius. + +At that moment clattering footsteps were heard in the atrium, and +young Thorismuth, the leader of the Gothic escort, and Totila's +shield-bearer, entered abruptly. + +"Valerius," he said, "let the carriages be harnessed, the litters +brought out; you must go at once." + +They all started from their seats. + +"What has happened? Have they landed?" + +"Speak," said Julius, "what do you fear?" + +"Nothing for myself," answered the Goth, smiling. + +"I did not wish to startle you sooner than was necessary. But now I +dare no longer be silent. Yesterday early, the waves washed a corpse +ashore----" + +"A corpse!" + + +"A Goth, one of our sailors; it was Alb, the steersman of Totila's +ship." + +Valeria grew pale, but did not tremble. + +"It may be an accident--the man was drowned." + +"No," said the Goth, "he was not drowned; hi» breast was pierced by an +arrow." + +"That means a naval combat, nothing more," said Valerius. + +"But to-day----" + +"To-day?" cried Julius. + +"To-day none of the country people who usually pass on their way from +Regium to Colum, made their appearance, and a trooper, whom I sent to +Regium for news, has never returned. + +"That still proves nothing," said Valerius obstinately. His heart +rebelled against the thought of a landing of his hated enemies. "The +waves have often before rendered the way impassable." + +"But just now I have been some distance on the road to Regium, and when +I laid my ear to the ground, I felt it tremble under the tramp of many +horses approaching in mad haste. You must fly!" + +Valerius and Julius now took down their weapons, which hung upon the +pillars of the room. Valeria sighed deeply, and pressed her hand to her +heart. + +"What is to be done?" she asked. + +"Man the Pass of Jugum," cried Valerius, "through which the coast-road +runs. It is very narrow, and can be held for some time." + +"Eight of my men are already there; I will join them as soon as you are +mounted. The other half of my troop shall escort you on your journey. +Haste!" + +But ere they could leave the room, a Gothic soldier, covered with blood +and mire, rushed in. + +"Fly!" he cried, "they are there!" + +"Who is there, Gelaris!" asked Thorismuth. + +"The Greeks! Belisarius! the devil!" + +"Speak," ordered Thorismuth. + +"I got to the pine-wood before Regium without seeing anything +suspicious, but also without meeting with a soul upon the way. As, +looking eagerly forward, I rode past a thick tree, I felt a pull at my +neck as if my head would be torn from my shoulders, and the next minute +I lay on the road under my horse." + +"Badly sat, Gelaris," scolded Thorismuth. + +"Oh yes, of course! A noose of horse-hair round his neck, and an arrow +whistling past his head, and a better rider would fall than Gelaris, +son of Genzo! Two demons--wood-devils or goblins they seemed to +me--rushed out of the bushes and over the ditch, tied me upon my horse, +took me between their little shaggy ponies, and ho!----" + +"Those are Belisarius's Huns!" cried Valerius. + +"Away they went with me. When I came to myself again, I was in Regium +in the midst of the enemy, and there I learned everything. The +Queen-regent is murdered, war is declared, the enemy has taken Sicily +by surprise, the whole island has gone over to the Emperor----" + +"And the fortress, Panormus?" + +"Was taken by the fleet, which made its way into the harbour. The +mast-heads were higher than the walls of the town. From thence they +shot their arrows, and jumped on to the walls." + +"And Syracusæ?" asked Valerius. + +"Fell through the treachery of the Sicilians; the Gothic garrison is +murdered. Belisarius rode into Syracusæ amidst a shower of flowers, +and--for it was the last days of his consulate--threw gold coins about +him, amidst the applause of the population." + +"And where is the commodore: where is Totila?" + +"Two of his ships were sent to the bottom by the pointed prows of the +triremes; his own and one other. He sprang into the sea in full +armour--and is--not yet--fished up again." + +Valeria sank speechless upon a couch. + +"The Greek general," continued the messenger, "landed yesterday, in the +dark and stormy night, near Regium. The town received him with +acclamation. He will only halt until he has re-ordered his army, and +will then march at once to Neapolis. His vanguard--the yellow-skinned +troopers who caught me--were to advance at once and take the Pass of +Jugum. I was to be their guide. But I led them far away--to the +west--into the sea-swamps--and escaped--in the darkness of evening. +But--they shot--arrows after me--and one hit--I can speak--no more----" +and he fell clattering to the ground. + +"He is a dead man," cried Valerius, "they carry poisoned arrows! Up! +Julius and Thorismuth! take my child to Neapolis. I myself will go to +the pass, and cover your retreat." + +In vain were Valeria's prayers; the face and mien of the old man +assumed an expression of iron resolve. + +"Obey!" he cried, "I am the master of this place, and the son of this +soil, and I will ask the Huns of Belisarius what they have to do in my +fatherland! No, Julius! I must know that you are with Valeria. +Farewell!" + +While Valeria and Julius, with their Gothic escort and most of +the slaves, fled at full speed on the road to Neapolis, Valerius +hurried, at the head of half-a-dozen slaves, out of the garden of the +villa, towards the pass, which--not far from the beginning of his +estates--formed an arch over the road to Regium. The rock on the left +hand, to the north, was inaccessible, and on the right, to the south, +it fell abruptly into the sea, whose waves often overflowed the road. +But the mouth of the pass was so narrow, that two men, standing side by +side with their shields, could close it like a door. Thus Valerius +might hope to keep the pass, even against a much superior force, long +enough to afford the swift horses of the fugitives a sufficient start. + +As the old man was hastening through the moonless night along the +narrow path which led between the sea and his vineyards to the pass, he +remarked to the right hand, on the sea, at a considerable distance from +the land, the bright beam of a little light, which unmistakably shone +from the mast-head of some vessel. Valerius started. Were the +Byzantines pushing forward to Neapolis by sea? Were they about to land +soldiers at his back? But if so, would not more lights be visible? + +He turned to question the slaves, who, at his order, but with visible +reluctance, had followed him from the villa. In vain; they had +disappeared into the darkness of the night. They had deserted their +master as soon as they were unobserved. + +So Valerius arrived alone at the pass, the nether or western end of +which was guarded by two Goths, while two more filled the eastern +entrance towards the enemy, and the other four kept the inner space. + +Scarcely had Valerius joined the two in front, when suddenly the tramp +of horses was heard close at hand, and soon, round the next turning of +the road, there appeared two horsemen, advancing at full trot. + +Each carried a torch in his right hand; and these torches alone threw +light upon the midnight scene, for the Goths avoided everything that +could betray their small number. + +"By Belisarius's beard!" cried the foremost rider, checking his horse +to a walk, "this hen-ladder is here so narrow, that an honest horse has +scarcely room in it; and there is a hollow way or---- Halt! What moves +there?" + +He stopped his horse, and bent carefully forward, holding the torch far +out before him. In this position, close before the entrance of the +pass, he presented an easy aim. + +"Who is there!" he again asked. + +For all reply a Gothic spear pierced through the mail of his +breast-plate and into his heart. + +"Enemies!" screamed the dying man, and fell backwards from his saddle. + +"Enemies! enemies!" cried the man behind him, and, hurling his +treacherous torch far from him, turned his animal and galloped back; +while the horse of the fallen man remained quietly standing at his +master's side. + +Nothing was heard in the stillness of the night but the tramp of the +fleeing charger, and the gentle splash of the waves at the foot of the +rocks. + +The hearts of the men in the pass beat with expectation. + +"Now be cool, men," said Valerius; "let none be tempted out of the +pass. You in the first row will press your shields firmly together; we +in the middle will throw; you three in the rear will hand us the +spears, and be attentive to all that takes place." + +"Sir! sir!" cried the Goth who stood in the road behind the pass, "the +light! the ship approaches ever nearer!" + +"Be wary, and challenge it, if----" + +But the enemy was already at hand. It was a troop of fifty mounted +Huns, carrying a few torches. As they turned round the corner of the +road, the scene was illuminated with patches of glaring light, +contrasted with deep gloom. + +"It was here, sir!" said the horseman who had escaped. "Be cautious." + +"Take back the dead man and the horse," commanded a rough voice, and +the leader, lifting his torch, rode slowly towards the entrance of the +pass. + +"Halt!" cried Valerius in Latin; "who are you, and what do you want?" + +"_I_ have to ask that!" returned the leader of the horsemen in the same +language. + +"I am a Roman citizen, and defend my fatherland against all invaders!" +cried Valerius. + +Meanwhile the leader had examined the scene by the light of his torch. +His practised eye recognised the impossibility of avoiding the pass, +either to the right or to the left; and, at the same time, the extreme +straitness of its entrance. + +"Then, friend," he said, retreating a little, "we are allies. We are +Romans too, and will free Italy from its oppressors. Therefore give way +and let us through." + +Valerius, who wished to gain time by all possible means, spoke again. + +"Who are you, and who sent you?" + +"My name is Johannes. The enemies of Justinian call me 'the bloody,' +and I lead Belisarius's light horse. The whole country, from Regium +till here, has received us with rejoicing; this is the first hindrance. +We should have got much farther long ago had not a dog of a Goth led us +into the vilest swamp that ever swallowed up a good horse. Valuable +time was lost. So do not hinder us! Life and property will be spared to +you, and you will receive a rich reward into the bargain, if you will, +guide us. Speed is victory! The enemy is bewildered; they must not have +time to recover themselves before we stand before Neapolis, yea, even +before Rome. 'Johannes,' said Belisarius to me, 'as I cannot order the +storm-wind to sweep the land before me, I order _you_ to do it!' So get +away and let us through!" + +And he spurred his horse. + +"Tell Belisarius--so long as Cnejus Valerius lives, he shall not +advance one step in Italy! Back, you robbers!" + +"Madman! would you stand by the Goths and oppose us?" + +"By hell, if against you!" + +The leader again cast searching glances to the right and left. + +"Listen," he said; "you can really stop us here for a time. But not for +long. If you yield, you shall live. If not, I will first have you +skinned alive, and then impaled!" + +He lifted his torch, looking for a weak point. + +"Back!" cried Valerius; "shoot, friend!" + +"The twang of a bow-string was heard, and an arrow struck the helm of +the horseman. + +"The devil!" he exclaimed, and spurred his horse back. + +"Dismount!" he ordered, "every man of you!" + +But the Huns did not like to part with their horses. + +"What, sir? Dismount?" asked one of the nearest. + +Johannes struck him in the face. The man did not move. + +"Dismount!" thundered Johannes again. "Would you go into that +mouse-hole on horseback!" and he flung himself out of the saddle. "Six +climb the trees and shoot from above. Six lie down and creep forward on +each side of this road, shooting as they lie. Ten shoot standing; +breast high. Ten guard the horses. You others follow me with the spear +as soon as the strings twang. Forwards!" + +He handed his torch to one of the men and took a lance. + +While the Huns were carrying out his orders, Johannes again examined +the pass as well as he could. + +"Yield!" he cried. + +"Come on!" shouted the Goths. + +Johannes gave a sign and twenty arrows whistled at once. + +A cry, and the foremost Goth on the right fell. He had been struck in +the forehead by one of the men on the trees. Valerius, under shelter of +his shield, sprang into his place. He came just at the right moment to +repulse the furious attack of Johannes, who ran at the gap with his +lance in rest. Valerius received the thrust on his shield, and struck +at the Byzantine, who stumbled and fell, close to the entrance. The +Huns behind him fell back. + +The Goth who stood at Valerius's side could not resist the temptation +to render the leader harmless. He sprang a step forward out of the pass +with up-lifted spear. But this was just what Johannes wanted. Up he +started with lightning swiftness, thrust the surprised Goth over the +low wall of the road on the right of the pass, and the next moment he +stood on the exposed side of Valerius--who was defending himself +against the renewed attack of the Huns--and stabbed him with all his +might in the groin with his long Persian knife. + +Valerius fell; but the three Goths who stood behind him succeeded in +pushing Johannes--who had already pressed forward into the middle of +the pass--back and out with the beaks of their shields. + +Johannes retired to his men, in order to command a new salvo of arrows. +Two of the Goths silently placed themselves in the entrance of the +pass; the third held the bleeding Valerius in his arms. + +Just then the guard at the rear of the pass rushed in: "The ship, sir! +the ship! They have landed! they take us in the rear! Fly! we will +carry you--a hiding-place in the rocks----" + +"No," said Valerius, raising himself, "I will die here; rest my sword +against the wall and----" + +But a loud flourish of Gothic horns was heard in the rear. Torches +shone, and a troop of thirty Goths hurried into the pass, Totila at +their head. His first glance fell upon Valerius. + +"Too late! too late!" he cried in deep grief. "Revenge! Follow me! +Forwards!" And he rushed furiously through the pass, followed by his +spear-bearing foot-soldiers. + +Fearful was the shock of meeting upon the narrow road between sea and +rocks. The torches were extinguished in the skirmish; and the dawning +day gave but a faint grey light. + +The Huns, although superior in numbers to their bold adversaries, were +completely taken by surprise. They thought that a whole army of Goths +was on the march. They hastened to join their horses and fly. But the +Goths reached the place where the animals stood at the same moment as +their owners, and, in confused heaps, men and horses were driven off +the road into the sea. In vain Johannes himself struck at his flying +people; their rush threw him to the ground; he sprang up immediately +and attacked the nearest Goth. But he had fallen into bad hands. It was +Totila; he recognised him. + +"Cursed Flax-head!" he cried, "so you are not drowned?" + +"No, as you see!" cried Totila, and struck a blow at the other's helm, +which cleft it through and entered slightly into his skull, so that he +staggered and fell. + +With this all resistance was at an end. The nearest of the horsemen +just managed to lift Johannes into a saddle, and galloped off with him. + +The scene of action was deserted. + +Totila hurried back to the pass. He found Valerius, pale, with closed +eyes, his head resting on his shield. He threw himself on his knees +beside him, and pressed his stiffening hand to his heart. + +"Valerius!" he cried, "father! do not, do not leave me so. Speak to me +once more!" + +The dying man faintly opened his eyes. + +"Where are they?" he asked. + +"Beaten and fled!" + +"Ah! victory!" cried Valerius, breathing anew. "I die happy! And +Valeria--my child--is she saved?" + +"She is. Escaped from the naval combat, and from the sea itself, I +hastened to warn Neapolis and save you. I had landed near the high-road +between your house and Neapolis; there I met Valeria and learned your +danger. One of my boats received her and her companions on board to +take them to Neapolis; with the other I came here to save you--oh! only +to revenge you!" and he laid his head upon the breast of the dying man. + +"Do not weep for me; I die victorious! And to you, my son, I owe it." + +He stroked the long fair locks of the sorrowing youth. + +"And Valeria's safety too! Oh! to you also, I hope, I shall owe the +salvation of Italy. You are hero enough to save this country--in spite +of Belisarius and Narses! You can--and you will--and your reward is the +hand of my beloved child." + +"Valerius! my father!" + +"She is yours! But swear to me"--and Valerius raised himself with an +effort and looked into Totila's eyes--"swear to me by the genius of +Valeria that she shall not become your wife until Italy is free, and +not a sod of her sacred soil is pressed by the foot of a Byzantine." + +"I swear it," cried Totila, enthusiastically pressing Valerius's hand, +"by the genius of Valeria I swear it!" + +"Thanks, thanks, my son. Now I can die in peace--greet Valeria--in your +hand is her fate--and that of Italia!" + +He laid his head back upon his shield, crossed his arms over his +breast, and expired. + +Totila silently laid his hand upon the dead man's heart, and remained +in this position for some time. + +A dazzling light suddenly roused him from his sad reverie; it was the +sun, whose golden disk rose gloriously over the summit of the rocks. + +Totila stood up, and looked at the rising luminary. The sea glittered +in the bright rays, and a golden light spread over the land. + +"By the genius of Valeria!" repeated Totila in a low voice, and +stretched out his hand towards the glorious sun. + +Like the dead man he felt strengthened and comforted by his weighty +oath; the sense of having a noble duty to perform elevated his +feelings. He turned back, and ordered that the corpse should be carried +to his ship, that it might be taken and deposited in the tomb of the +Valerians at Neapolis. + + + + CHAPTER XI. + +During these portentous events the Goths had been by no means idle. But +all measures of vigorous defence were paralysed, and, indeed, +intentionally frustrated, by the cowardly treachery of the King. + +Theodahad had soon recovered from his consternation at the declaration +of war on the part of Petros, for he could not and would not part with +the conviction that it had only been made in order to keep up +appearances and save the honour of the imperial government. + +He had not again spoken with Petros in private, and the latter must +necessarily have some plausible reason for the appearance of Belisarius +in Italy. No doubt the act of Petros had been a long-determined means +for the accomplishment of the secret plans of the Emperor. + +The thought of carrying on a war--of all thoughts the most unbearable +to Theodahad--he very well understood how to keep at a distance, for he +wisely reflected that it takes two to fight. + +"If I do not defend myself," he thought, "the attack will soon be over. +Belisarius may come--I will do all in my power to prevent any +resistance being made, for that would only embitter the Emperor against +me. If, on the contrary, the general reports to Byzantium that I have +furthered his success in all possible ways, Justinian will not refuse +to fulfil the old contract, if not wholly, at least in part." + +In this sense he acted. He called all the active land and sea forces of +the Goths away from South Italy, where he expected the landing of +Belisarius, and sent them eastwards to Liburnia, Dalmatia, Istria, and +westwards to South Gaul, pretending--supported by the fact that +Belisarius had sent a small detachment of troops to Dalmatia against +Salona, and had exchanged ambassadors with the Frankish King--that the +principal attack of the Byzantines was to be expected by land from +Istria, aided by the allied Franks on the Rhodanus and Padus. The +feigned movements of Belisarius gave colour to this pretext, so that +what is almost incredible took place. The troops of the Goths, their +ships, weapons, and war munition, in great quantities, were led away in +all haste just before the invasion; South Italy, as far as Rome, and +even to Ravenna, was exposed; and all measures of defence were +neglected in the very parts where the first blow was to fall. + +The Dravus, Rhodanus, and Padus were crowded with Gothic sails and +arms, while towards Sicily, as we have seen, even the most necessary +guard-ships were wanting. + +And the turbulent urgency of the Gothic patriots did not do much good. + +The King had got rid of Witichis and Hildebad, by sending them with +troops to Istria and Gaul; and old Hildebrand, who would not quite give +up his belief in the last of the Amelungs, opposed a tough resistance +to the suspicions of Teja. + +But the courage of Theodahad was most strengthened by the return of his +Queen. + +Shortly after the declaration of war, Witichis had marched with a +Gothic troop before the Castle of Feretri, where Gothelindis had taken +refuge with her Pannonian mercenaries, and had persuaded her to return +voluntarily to Ravenna, assuring her of safety, until her cause should +be formally examined into and decided before the approaching National +Assembly of the people and the army near Rome. + +These conditions were agreeable to all; for the Gothic patriots wished, +above everything, to avoid being split into parties at the outbreak of +the war. + +And while Earl Witichis, in his great sense of justice, desired that +the right of defence against all accusations should be granted, Teja +also acknowledged that, as the enemy had hurled the terrible accusation +of regicide at the Gothic nation, the national honour could only be +upheld by a strict and formal inquiry, and not by tumultuous popular +justice founded on blind suspicion. + +Gothelindis looked forward with confidence to her trial; though the +voice of moral conviction might be against her, she firmly believed +that no sufficient proof of her guilt could be advanced. Had not her +eye alone seen the end of her enemy? And she knew that she would not be +condemned without a full conviction. So she willingly returned to +Ravenna, encouraged the coward heart of her husband, and hoped, when +the day of trial had passed, to find security from all further +molestation in the camp of Belisarius and the court of Byzantium. + +The confidence of the royal couple as to the result of the trial was +heightened by the circumstance that the arming of the Franks had given +them a pretext for despatching, besides Witichis and Hildebad, the +dangerous Earl Teja with a third detachment to the north-west of the +peninsula. With him went many thousands of the most zealous adherents +of the National Party, so that the assembly near Rome would not be +overcrowded by adversaries. + +And they were ceaselessly employed in gathering together their personal +adherents, as well as the old opponents of Amalaswintha, and the mighty +kindred of the Balthes in all its far-spread branches, in order to +secure friendly voices for the important day. + +In this way they had gained composure and confidence. Theodahad had +been persuaded by Gothelindis to appear himself as the advocate of his +wife, in order that such a show of courage and the respect imposed by +his royal person might perhaps, from the very commencement, intimidate +all opponents. + +Surrounded by their adherents and a small bodyguard, Theodahad and +Gothelindis left Ravenna and hastened to Rome, where they arrived a few +days before the time appointed for the Assembly, and took up their +quarters in the old imperial palace. + +Not immediately before the walls, but in the vicinity of Rome, upon an +open plain called Regeta, between Anaqui and Terracina, was the +Assembly to be held. + +Early on the morning of the day on which Theodahad was about to +set forth alone on his journey thither, and while he was taking +leave of Gothelindis, an unexpected and unwelcome visitor was +announced--Cethegus, who had never before made his appearance during +their stay of some days in Rome. He had been fully occupied by the +completion of the fortifications. + +As he entered, Gothelindis, struck by his gloomy aspect, cried: + +"For God's sake, what evil news do you bring?" + +The Prefect only knit his brows, and answered quietly: + +"Evil news? For him whom it hurts! I come from a meeting of my friends, +where I first learned what all Rome will soon know. Belisarius has +landed!" + +"At last!" exclaimed Theodahad. + +And the Queen also could not conceal an expression of triumph. + +"Do not rejoice too soon; you may repent it. I do not come to call you +and your friend Petros to account; he who treats with traitors must be +prepared for lies. I only come to tell you that you are now most +certainly lost." + +"Lost?" + +"We are saved!" + +"No, Queen. Belisarius, on landing, published a manifesto. He says that +he comes to punish the murderers of Amalaswintha. A high price and his +favour are assured to those who give you up, alive or dead." + +Theodahad grew pale. + +"Impossible!" cried Gothelindis. + +"And the Goths will soon learn to whose treachery they owe the +unresisted entrance of the enemy into the country. Still more. I am +charged by the city of Rome, as its Prefect, to care for its well-being +in this stormy time. I shall arrest you in the name of Rome, and +deliver you into the hands of Belisarius." + +"That you dare not do!" cried Gothelindis, laying her hand upon her +dagger. + +"Peace, Gothelindis! Here there is no helpless woman to be murdered in +a bath. But I will let you free--what to me matters your life or +death?--at a moderate price." + +"I will grant anything!" stammered Theodahad. + +"You will deliver up to me the documents of your contract with +Silverius--be silent! Do not lie! I know that you have treated with him +long and secretly. Once again you have carried on a fine trade with +land and people. I should like to have the bill of sale." + +"The sale is now null; the documents without effect. Take them! They +are deposited in the Basilica of St. Martin, in the sarcophagus on the +left of the crypt." + +Theodahad's terror proved that he spoke the truth. + +"It is well," said Cethegus. "All the exits of the palace are guarded +by my legionaries. I will first get the documents. If I find them in +the stated place, I shall give orders to let you pass. If you then wish +to fly, go to the Porta Marcus Aurelius, and name my name to the +tribune of the guard, Piso; he will let you depart." + +He turned and went out, leaving the pair in a state of helpless alarm. + +"What shall we do?" said Gothelindis, more to herself than to her +husband. "Shall we yield or defy them?" + +"What shall we do?" repeated Theodahad impatiently. "Defy them? that +means stay here? Nonsense! Away as soon as possible. There is no safety +but in flight!" + +"Whither will you fly?" + +"First to Ravenna--it is strong! There I will take the royal treasure. +From thence, if it must be, to the Franks. Oh, what a pity that I must +leave all the moneys hidden here--many millions of solidi!" + +"Here? Here, too?" asked Gothelindis, her attention suddenly aroused. +"You have treasures hidden in Rome? Where? And are they safe?" + +"Ah, far too safe! In the Catacombs! I myself should be hours in +finding them all in those dark labyrinths; and minutes are now death or +life, and life is more than solidis! Follow me, Gothelindis, so that +we may not lose a moment. I hasten to the Porta Marcus Aurelius." + +And he left the chamber. +But Gothelindis remained motionless. A thought, a plan had crossed her +mind at his words. She contemplated the possibility of resistance. Her +pride could not endure to renounce the government. + +"Gold is power," she said to herself, "and power alone is life." + +Her resolution was firmly fixed. She thought of the Cappadocian +mercenaries, whom the avarice of the King had driven from his service; +they still remained in Rome, masterless, waiting to embark. + +She heard Theodahad hastily descend the staircase, and call for his +litter. + +"Fly, fly! thou miserable coward!" she cried, "I will remain here!" + + + + CHAPTER XII. + +Splendidly rose the sun out of the sea the next morning. Its beams +glittered upon the shining weapons of many thousand Gothic warriors, +who crowded the wide levels of Regeta. + +From all the provinces of the kingdom they had hastened by groups, in +families, often with wife and child, to be present at the great muster +which took place every autumn. + +Such an Assembly was at once a splendid feast, and the highest national +solemnity. Originally, in heathen times, its immediate intention had +been the grand feast of sacrifice, which, twice a year, at the winter +and the summer solstice, had united all branches of the nation in +honour of their common gods; to this were added a market and exchange +of goods, exercises of arms, and the review of the army. The Assembly +had the power of the highest jurisdiction, and the final decision as to +peace, war, and political relations with other states. + +And even now, in the Christian time, when the King had acquired many a +right which once belonged to the people, the National Assembly +possessed a high solemnity, although its ancient heathen significance +was forgotten. + +The remains of the old liberties of the people, which even the powerful +Theodoric had not contested, revived under his weak descendants. + +A majority of free Goths had still to pronounce sentence, and to award +punishment, even though the King's Earl conducted the proceedings in +his name, and fulfilled the sentence. + +Often already had Germanic nations themselves accused, judged, and +executed their kings, on account of treachery, murder, or other heavy +crimes, before a Free Assembly of the people. + +In the proud consciousness that he was his own master, and served none, +not even the King, beyond the limit of freedom, the German went in full +armour to the "Ting," where he felt himself safe and strong in union +with his fellows, and saw the liberties, strength, and honour of +himself and his countrymen represented in living pictures before his +eyes. + +To the Assembly of which we now speak, the Goths had been attracted by +peculiarly strong reasons. When the summons to meet at Regeta was +published, the war with Byzantium was expected or already declared; the +nation rejoiced at the coming struggle with their hated enemy, and were +glad to muster their forces beforehand. This time the Assembly was to +be, more than ever, a grand review. + +Besides this, most of the Goths in the adjacent places knew that +judgment was to be passed on the murderers of the daughter of +Theodoric, and the great excitement caused by this treacherous act had +also contributed to draw the people to Regeta. + +While a portion of those assembled had been received by friends and +relatives in the nearest villages, great numbers had--already some days +before the formal opening of the Assembly--encamped in light tents and +huts upon the wide plain, two hundred and eighty stadii distant from +Rome. + +At the earliest dawn of day these groups were already in noisy +movement, and employed the time during which they were yet masters of +the place, in various games and pastimes. + +Some swam and bathed in the clear waters of the rapid river Ufen (or +"Decemnovius," thus named because it flowed into the sea at Terracina, +nineteen miles off), which crossed the plain. Others displayed their +skill in leaping over whole rows of outstretched spears, or, almost +naked, in dancing amid brandished swords, while others again--and these +the fleetest-footed--clinging to the manes of their horses, kept step +with their swiftest gallop, and when arrived at the goal, securely +swung themselves upon their unsaddled backs. + +"What a pity," cried young Gudila, who was the first to arrive at the +goal in one of these races, and now stroked his yellow locks out of his +eyes, "what a pity that Totila is not present! He is the best rider in +the nation, and has always beaten me. But now, with this horse, I would +try again with him." + +"I am glad that he is not here," said Gunthamund, who had arrived +second, "else I had scarcely won the first prize in hurling the lance +yesterday." + +"Yes," said Hilderich, a stately young warrior in a jingling suit of +mail, "Totila is clever at the lance. But black Teja throws still +better; he can tell you beforehand which rib he will hit." + +"Pshaw!" grumbled Hunibad, an elderly man, who had looked critically at +the performance of the youths, "all that is only play. In bloody +earnest the sword is the only weapon that serves a man at the last, +when death so presses on him from all sides that he has no space for +throwing. And for that I praise Earl Witichis, of Fæsulæ! He is _my_ +man! What a breaking of skulls was there in the war with the Gepidæ! +The man cleaved through steel and leather as if it were dry straw! He +is still more valiant than my own duke, Guntharis the Wölfung, in +Florentia. But what do you youngsters know about it?--Look! the first +arrivals are coming down the hill. Up! let us go to meet them!" + +And now people came streaming in on all the roads; on foot, on +horseback, and in wagons. A noisy and turbulent crowd filled all the +plain. + +On the shores of the river, where stood most of the tents, the horses +were unharnessed, and the wagons pushed together to form a barricade. +Through the lanes of the camp the ever-increasing crowd now streamed. +There friends and acquaintances, who had not met for years, sought and +greeted each other. + +It was a gay and chequered scene, for the old Germanic equality had +long since disappeared from the kingdom. + +There stood near the aristocratic noble, who had settled in one of +the rich Italian towns, who lived in the palaces of senatorial +families, and had adopted the more luxuriant and polite customs of the +Italians; near the duke or earl from Mediolanum or Ticinum, who wore a +shoulder-belt of purple silk across his richly-gilt armour; near such a +dainty lord towered some rough, gigantic Gothic peasant, who lived in +the thick oak-forests on the Margus in M[oe]sia, or who had fought the +wolf in the forests by the rushing [OE]nus for the ragged skin which he +carried over his bear-like shoulders, and whose harsh-sounding speech +struck strangely on the ear of his half-Romanised companion. + +There came strong and war-hardened men from the distant Augusta +Vindelicorum on the Licus, who day and night defended the rotten walls +of that outermost northern fortress of the Gothic kingdom against the +wild Su[=e]vi. + +And here were peaceful shepherds from Dacia, who, possessing neither +field nor house, wandered with their flocks from pasture to pasture, +still living in the manner introduced into the West by their ancestors +from Asia a thousand years ago. + +There was a rich Goth, who, in Rome or Ravenna, had married the +daughter of some Italian moneychanger, and had soon learned to do +business like his father-in-law, and reckon his profits by thousands. + +And here stood a poor Alpine shepherd, who drove his meagre goats on to +the meagre pastures near the noisy Isarcus, and who erected his hut of +planks close to the den of the bear. + +So differently had the die been cast for the thousands who were here +met together, since their fathers had followed the call of the great +Theodoric to the West, away from the valleys of the Hæmus. + +But still they felt that they were brothers, the sons of one nation; +they spoke the same proud language, they had the same golden locks, +the same snowy skins, the same light and sparkling eyes, and--above +all--the same feeling in their hearts: "We stand as victors on the +ground that our fathers forced from the Roman Empire, and which we will +defend to the death." + +Like an immense swarm of bees the masses hummed and buzzed, greeting +each other, seeking old acquaintances and concluding new friendships; +and the chaotic tumult seemed as if it would never end. + +But suddenly the peculiar long-drawn tones of the Gothic horn were +heard from the crown of the hill, and at once the storm of the thousand +voices was laid. + +All eyes were eagerly turned in the direction of the hill, from which a +procession of venerable men now approached. + +It was formed of half a hundred men in white and flowing mantles, their +heads crowned with ivy, carrying white staffs and ancient stone axes. +They were the sajones or soldiers of the tribunal, whose office it was +to carry out the ceremonial forms of opening, warding, and closing the +"Ting." + +Arrived on the plain, they greeted with a triple long-drawn flourish +the assembly of free warriors; who, after a solemn silence, answered +with the clash and clang of their arms. + +The ban-officers shortly began their work. + +They divided to the right and left, and enclosed the whole wide field +with red woollen cords, which they wound round hazel staffs fixed into +the earth at every twenty steps; accompanying this action with the +repetition of ancient songs and sayings. + +Exactly opposite the rising and setting of the sun, the woollen cords +were raised over the shafts of tall lances, so that they formed the two +gates of the now completely enclosed "Ting-place;" and these entrances +were guarded by soldiers with drawn swords, in order to keep all +strangers and women at a distance. + +When all was arranged, the two oldest of the men stepped beneath the +spear-gates and called in a loud voice: + + "According to ancient Gothic custom + Is the fence erected. + Now, with God's help, + The judgment may begin." + +After the pause which ensued, there arose a low murmur amongst the +crowd, which gradually grew into a loud, and, at last, almost deafening +uproar of questioning, disputing, and doubting voices. + +It had been already remarked, as the procession advanced, that it was +not, as usual, led by the Earl who was accustomed to hold and conduct +the "Ting" in the name and ban of the King. But it had been expected +that this representative of the King would make his appearance during +the ceremony of enclosing the place. When, therefore, this work was +accomplished, and the sentence of the old men called for the +commencement of the tribunal, and still no earl or officer had +appeared, who alone could pronounce the opening speech, the attention +of all present was directed to this deficiency, so difficult to be +supplied. + +While everywhere the people asked and sought for the Earl, or some +representative of the King, it was remembered that the King himself had +announced that he would appear in person before his people, to defend +himself and his Queen against the heavy accusation brought against +them. + +But when the leaders of the people now sought for the friends and +partisans of the King, to question them concerning him, they discovered +the suspicious fact--which, till now, had been overlooked in the +confusion of general greetings--that not one of the numerous relations, +friends or servants of the royal family, whose duty, privilege, and +interest it was to appear in support of the accused, were present at +the meeting, although they had been seen in numbers, a few days ago, in +the streets and neighbourhood of Rome. + +This circumstance excited surprise and suspicion; and for some time it +seemed as if, in consequence of the tumult caused by this singular fact +and the absence of the Earl, the formal commencement of the whole +proceedings would be rendered impossible. + +Many speakers had already tried in vain to gain a hearing. + +All at once, from the middle of the crowd, a sound was heard, similar +to the battle-cry of some fearful monster, which drowned all other +noises. + +All eyes were turned in the direction whence the sound proceeded, and +in the middle of the place, leaning against a lofty ilex-tree, was seen +the tall form of a man, who shouted the Gothic war-cry into the hollow +of his bronze shield, which he held before his mouth. + +As the shield dropped, it discovered the powerful face of old +Hildebrand, whose eyes seemed to flash fire. + +Enthusiastic applause greeted the appearance of the old and well-known +master-at-arms of the great Theodoric, who, like his master, had, by +means of song and proverb, become a mythic figure amongst the Goths +while still living. + +As the applause died away the old man commenced: + +"Good Goths! my brave brothers! It troubles and surprises you that you +see no Earl, and no representative of the man who wears your crown. Do +not let it disturb you! If the King thinks thereby to interrupt this +meeting, he is mistaken. I still remember old times, and I tell you, +the people can judge what is right without the King, and hold the +tribunal without the King's Earl. You are all grown up amongst new +manners and customs, but there stands old Haduswinth, scarcely a few +winters younger than myself; he will bear me witness that power is with +the people alone; the Gothic nation is free!" + +"Yes! we are free!" cried a thousand voices. + +"If the King does not send his Earl, we will choose our 'Ting-Earl' +ourselves," cried the grey-haired Haduswinth; "right and justice +existed before King and Earl! And who knows the old customs of the +nation better than Hildebrand, son of Hilding? Hildebrand shall be our +Ting-Earl!" + +"Yes!" was echoed on all sides; "Hildebrand shall be our Ting-Earl!" + +"You have chosen me," now said Hildebrand, "and I count myself as well +elected as if King Theodahad had given me a warrant in letter and +parchment. And my ancestors for centuries have often held tribunals for +the Goths. Come, sajones, help me to open the Assembly." + +In front of the oak there still lay the ruins of an ancient fane of the +wood-god Picus; the sajones cleared the place, piled up the broadest +stones, and leaned two square slabs to the right and left against the +trunks of the oak, so that a stately seat of justice was thus formed. +And so before the altar of the old Italic sylvan god, the Gothic Earl +held a tribunal. + +Other sajones threw a wide blue woollen mantle with a broad white +collar over Hildebrand's shoulders, and gave him an ashen staff, curved +at the top. At his left hand, on the branches of the oak, they hung a +shining shield of burnished steel, and then placed themselves in two +groups on his right and on his left. The old man struck the shield with +his staff till it rung loudly. Then he seated himself with his face to +the east and began: + +"I enjoin silence, ban, and peace! I enjoin right and forbid wrong, +quick anger, biting words, ready blows, and everything which can offend +the peace of the Ting. And I ask: is it the year and day, the time and +hour, the place and spot in which to hold a free tribunal of Gothic +men?" + +The Goths who stood the nearest stepped forward and answered in chorus: + +"Here is the right place, under the wide sky, under the rustling oak; +now is the right time, with a climbing sun, to hold a free tribunal of +Gothic men on the sword-won soil of our Gothic inheritance." + +"We are assembled," continued old Hildebrand, "to decide upon two +cases: an accusation of murder against Gothelindis the Queen, and of +cowardice and negligence, in this time of great danger, against +Theodahad our King. I ask----" + +But his speech was interrupted by the loud flourish of horns, which +sounded nearer and nearer from the west. + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + +The Goths turned in astonishment, and saw a troop of horsemen hurrying +down the hill in the direction of the place of justice. + +The sun flashed upon the armed figures with such dazzling brilliancy +that they could not be recognised, although they approached rapidly. + +But old Hildebrand rose up in his elevated seat, shaded his eagle eyes +with his hand, and at once exclaimed: + +"Those are Gothic weapons! The waving banner bears the figure of the +scales: that is the crest of Earl Witichis! and there he is himself at +the head of the troop! and the tall figure on his left is the sturdy +Hildebad! What brings the generals back? Their troops should be far on +their way to Gaul and Dalmatia." + +There ensued an uproar of excited voices. Meanwhile the riders had +reached the place and sprang from their smoking horses. Received with +enthusiasm, the two generals, Witichis and Hildebad, went through the +crowd up to Hildebrand's judgment-seat. + +"What?" cried Hildebad, still out of breath; "you sit here and hold a +tribunal as if in time of peace, and the enemy Belisarius has landed!" + +"We know it," answered Hildebrand quietly, "and would have held counsel +with the King how best to check him." + +"With the King!" laughed Hildebad bitterly. + +"He is not here," said Witichis, looking round; "that confirms our +suspicion. We returned because we had cause for grave mistrust. But of +that later. Continue where you were interrupted. Everything according +to right and order! Peace, friend!" + +And, pushing the impatient Hildebad back, he modestly placed himself on +the left of the judgment-seat amongst the others. + +After all had become still, the old man continued: + +"Gothelindis, our Queen, is accused of the murder of Amalaswintha, the +daughter of Theodoric. I ask: are we a tribunal to judge such a cause?" + +Old Haduswinth, leaning upon his club, advanced a step and said: + +"Red are the cords which enclose this place of execution. The National +Assembly has the right to judge red-handed crime; warm life and cold +death. If it has been ordered otherwise in late times, it has been by +force and not by right. We _are_ a tribunal to judge such a cause." + +"Through all the nation," resumed Hildebrand, "a heavy reproach is made +against Gothelindis; in the depths of our hearts we accuse her. But who +will accuse her here, in open assembly, in audible words, of this +murder?" + +"I," cried a loud voice, and a handsome young Goth in shining armour +stepped forward, on the right of the judge, laying his hand upon his +heart. + +A murmur of approbation ran through the crowd. + +"He loves the beautiful Mataswintha!" + +"He is the brother of Duke Guntharis of Tuscany, who holds Florentia." + +"He is her wooer." + +"He comes forward as the avenger of her mother." + +"I, Earl Arahad of Asta, the son of Aramuth, of the noble race of the +Wölfungs," continued the young Goth with an engaging blush. "It is +true, I am not akin to the murdered Princess; but the men of her +family, Theodahad foremost, her cousin and her King, do not fulfil +their duty as blood-avengers. Is not Theodahad himself abettor and +hider of the murder? I, then, a free and unblemished Goth of noble +blood, a friend of the late unhappy Princess, complain on behalf of her +daughter, Mataswintha. I appeal against murder! I appeal against +blood!" + +And, amidst the loud applause of the Assembly, the stately youth drew +his sword and laid it straight before him upon the seat of justice. + +"And thy proofs? Speak!" + +"Hold, Ting-Earl," cried a grave voice, and Witichis stepped forward +opposite to the complainant. "Art thou so old, and knowest so well what +is just, Master Hildebrand, and allowest thyself to be carried away by +the pressure of the multitude? Must I remind thee, I, the younger man, +of the first law of all justice? I hear the complainant, but not the +accused." + +"No woman may enter the Ting of the Goths," said Hildebrand quietly. + +"I know it; but where is Theodahad, her husband and defender?" + +"He has not appeared." + +"Is he invited?" + +"He is invited, upon my oath and that of these messengers," cried +Arahad. "Step forth, sajones!" + +Two of the officers came forward and touched the judgment-seat with +their staffs. + +"Well," continued Witichis, "it shall never be said that a woman was +judged by the people of the Goths unheard and undefended. However she +may be hated, she has a right to be heard and protected. I will be her +defender and pleader." + +And he went towards the youthful complainant, likewise drawing his +sword. + +A pause of respectful admiration followed. + +"So thou deniest the deed?" + +"I say it is not proven." + +"Prove it!" said the judge, turning to Arahad. + +The latter, unprepared for a formal proceedings and not ready to cope +with an opponent of Witichis's weight and steady composure, was +somewhat embarrassed. + +"Prove?" he cried impatiently. "What need of proof? Thou, I, all the +Goths know that Gothelindis hated the Princess long and bitterly. The +Princess disappears from Ravenna; at the same time her murderess also. +The victim is discovered in a house belonging to Gothelindis--dead; and +the murderess escapes to a fortified castle. What need, then, of +proof?" + +And he looked with impatience at the Goths near him. + +"And on this argument thou wilt accuse the Queen of murder before the +open Ting?" asked Witichis quietly. "Truly may the day be far distant +when a verdict is founded upon such evidence! Justice, my men, is light +and air. Woe, woe to the nation which makes its hatred its justice! I +myself hate this woman and her husband; but where I hate I am doubly +strict." + +He said this in so simple and noble a manner, that the hearts of all +present were touched. + +"Where are the proofs!" now asked Hildebrand. "Hast thou a palpable act? +Hast thou a visible appearance? Hast thou an important word? Hast thou +a true oath? Dost thou claim the oath of innocence from the accused?" + +"Proof!" again repeated Arahad angrily. "I have none but the conviction +within my heart!" + +"Then," said Hildebrand---- + +But at this moment a soldier made his way to him from the gate, and +said: + +"Romans stand at the entrance. They beg for a hearing. They say they +know all about the death of the Princess." + +"I demand that they be heard!" cried Arahad eagerly. "Not as +complainants, but as witnesses of the complainant." + +Hildebrand made a sign, and the soldier hastened to bring up the Romans +through the curious throng. + +Foremost came a man, bent with years, wearing a hair shirt, and a rope +tied round his loins; the cowl of his mantle hid his features. Two men +in the habit of slaves followed. Questioning looks were fixed upon the +old man, whose bearing, in spite of simplicity and even poverty, was +full of dignity and nobility. + +When he reached Hildebrand's seat, Arahad looked closely into his face, +and started back in surprise. + +"Who is it," asked the judge, "whom thou callest as a witness to thy +words? An unknown stranger?" + +"No," cried Arahad, and threw back the old man's mantle. "A man whom +you all know and honour--Marcus Aurelius Cassiodorus." + +A cry of general surprise arose from the Ting-place. + +"Such was my name," said the witness, "during the time of my worldly +existence; now only Brother Marcus." + +An expression of holy resignation beamed from his features. + +"Well, Brother Marcus," responded Hildebrand, "what hast thou to tell +us of Amalaswintha's death? Tell the whole truth, and nothing but the +truth." + +"I will. Know, first, that it is not the striving after human requital +which brings me here. I do not come to avenge the murder. 'Vengeance is +mine; I will repay,' saith the Lord. No; I am here to fulfil the last +wish of the unhappy woman, the daughter of my great King." + +He took a roll of papyrus out of his dress. + +"Shortly before her flight from Ravenna, Amalaswintha directed these +lines to me, which I have to communicate to you as her legacy to the +nation of the Goths. These are her words: + +"'The thanks of a contrite heart for thy friendship. Still more than +the hope of safety, I am comforted by the feeling that I have not lost +thy attachment. Yes, I will hasten to thy villa in the Lake of Bolsena. +Does not the road lead thence to Rome, to Regeta, where I will confess +before my Goths, and atone for my crime? I will die, if it must be; but +not by the hands of my enemies. No; by the verdict of my people, whom +I, blind fool, have ruined! I have deserved death, not only for the +murder of the three dukes--who, let it be known to all, died through +me--but still more for the madness with which I repulsed my people for +the sake of Byzantium. If I reach Regeta alive, I will warn my people +with my last breath, and cry: Fear Byzantium! Justinian is false as +hell, and there can be no peace between him and us! But I will warn +them also of inner enemies. King Theodahad plots treason; he has sold +Italy and the Gothic crown to the ambassador of Byzantium; he has done +I refused to do. Be cautious, strong, and united! Would that' dying, I +could expiate the crimes committed while living.'" + +The people had listened in deep silence to these words, read by +Cassiodorus in a trembling voice, and which seemed to come to them from +the other side of the grave. + +When he ceased, compassion and sorrow prolonged this silence. + +At last old Hildebrand rose and said: + +"She has erred; she has made atonement. Daughter of Theodoric, the +nation of the Goths forgives thy crime, and thanks thee for thy +fidelity." + +"So may God forgive her; amen!" said Cassiodorus. + +He then continued: + +"I never invited her to my villa; I could not do so. Fourteen days +before I had sold all my property to Queen Gothelindis." + +"Therefore her enemy," interrupted Arahad, "misusing his name, decoyed +Amalaswintha into that house. Canst thou deny this. Earl Witichis?" + +"No," answered he. "But," he continued, turning to Cassiodorus, "hast +thou also proof that the Princess did not die an accidental death +there? that Gothelindis caused her death!" + +"Come forth, Syrus, and speak!" said Cassiodorus. "I answer for the +truth of this man." + +The slave advanced, bent his head reverently, and said: + +"For twenty years I have had the superintendence of the sluices of the +lake and the waterworks of the baths in the villa; none beside me knew +the secret. When Queen Gothelindis bought the estate, all the slaves +and personal servants of Cassiodorus were sent away; I alone remained. +Early one morning, the Princess Amalaswintha landed at the island, and +the Queen soon followed. The latter at once sent for me, said she would +take a bath, and ordered me to give her the keys of all the sluices of +the lake and the pipes of the baths, and to explain to her the whole +plan of the works. I obeyed; gave her the keys and the plan drawn upon +parchment, but warned her seriously not to open all the sluices, nor to +let all the pipes play, for it might cost her her life. But she angrily +rebuked me, and I heard that she ordered her slave to fill the kettles, +not with warm, but with hot water. I went away; but, anxious for her +safety, I remained in the vicinity of the baths. After some time, I +heard, by the violent roaring and rushing, that notwithstanding, and in +spite of, my advice, the Queen had let in the whole water of the lake. +At the same time I heard the steaming water rise hissing through all +the pipes in the walls; and, as it seemed to me, I heard, dulled by the +marble walls, fearful cries for help. I hurried to the outer gallery of +the baths to save the Queen. But what was my surprise when, at the +central point of the works, at the Medusa's head, I saw the Queen, whom +I thought in danger of death in the bath, standing quietly outside, +completely clothed. She pressed the springs, and exchanged angry words +with some one who was calling for help within. Horrified, and partly +guessing what was going forward, I crept away, happily unobserved." + +"What, coward?" cried Witichis, "thou couldst guess what was passing +and creep away!" + +"I am only a slave, sir, no hero, and if the Queen had noticed me, I +should certainly not be standing here to bear witness against her. +Shortly afterwards a report was spread that the Princess Amalaswintha +was drowned in the bath." + +Loud murmurs and angry cries rang through the assembled crowd. + +Arahad cried triumphantly: "Now, Earl Witichis, wilt thou still defend +her?" + +"No," answered Witichis, and sheathed his sword, "I defend no +murderess! My office is at an end." + +With this he went over from the left to the right, amongst the +accusers. + +"You, ye free Goths, have now to find the verdict, and administer +justice," said Hildebrand. "I have only to execute what you pronounce; +so I ask you, ye men of judgment, what think ye of this accusation, +which Earl Arahad, son of Aramuth the Wölfung, has brought against +Gothelindis, the Queen? Speak! is she guilty of murder?" + +"Guilty! guilty!" shouted many thousand voices, and not a voice said +"no." + +"She is guilty," said the old man, rising. "Speak, complainant, what +punishment dost thou demand for this crime?" + +Arahad lifted his sword towards heaven. + +"I appealed against murder, I appealed against blood! She shall die the +death!" + +And before Hildebrand could put his question to the people, the crowd +was filled with angry emotion, every man's sword flew from its sheath +and flashed in the sun, and every voice shouted, "She shall die the +death!" + +The words rolled like a terrible thunder, bearing the people's judgment +over the wide plain till the echo died away in the distance. + +"She dies the death," said Hildebrand, "by the axe. Up, soldiers, and +search for her." + + +"Hold," cried Hildebad, coming forward, "our sentence will be hard to +fulfil, so long as this woman is the wife of our King. Therefore I +demand that the Assembly at once examine into the accusation that we +carry in our hearts against Theodahad, who governs a people of heroes +so unheroically. I will give words to this accusation. Mark well, I +accuse him of treachery, not only of incapability to lead and save us. +I will be silent on the fact that, without his knowledge, his Queen +could scarcely have cooled her hate in Amalaswintha's blood; I will not +speak of the warning which the latter sent to us, in her last words, +against Theodahad's treachery; but is it not true that he deprived the +whole southern portion of the realm of men, weapons, horses, and ships? +that he sent all the forces to the Alps, so that the degenerate Greeks +won Sicily, and entered Italy without a blow? My poor brother, Totila, +stands alone against them, with a mere handful of soldiers. Instead of +defending his rear, the King sent Witichis, Teja and me to the north. +We obeyed with heavy hearts, for we guessed where Belisarius would +land. We advanced slowly, expecting to be recalled at every moment. In +vain. Already there ran a report through the places which we passed +that Sicily was lost, and the Italians, who saw us march to the north, +pulled mocking faces. We had accomplished a few days' march along the +coast, when a letter from my brother Totila reached me: 'Has then, like +the King, the whole nation, and my brother also, forsaken and forgotten +me?' it said. 'Belisarius has taken Sicily by surprise. He has landed +in Italy. The population join him. He presses forward to Neapolis. I +have written four letters to King Theodahad for help. All in vain. +Received not a single sail. Neapolis is in great danger. Save, save +Neapolis and the kingdom!'" + +A cry of dismay and anger ran through the listening crowd. + +"I wanted," continued Hildebad, "to return immediately with all our +thousands, but Earl Witichis, my commander, would not suffer it. I +could only persuade him to halt the troops, and hasten here with a few +horsemen to warn, to save, to revenge! For I cry for revenge, revenge +upon King Theodahad. It was not only folly and weakness, it was +knavery, to expose the south to the enemy. This letter proves it. My +brother warned him four times in vain. He delivered him and the realm +into the enemy's hands. Woe to us if Neapolis falls, or has already +fallen! Ha! he who is guilty of this shall reign no longer, no longer +live! Tear the crown of the Goths, which he has dishonoured, from his +head! Down with him! Let him die!" + +"Down with him! Let him die!" thundered the people, in a mighty echo. + +The storm of their fury seemed irresistible, and capable of destroying +whatever opposed it. + +Only one man remained quiet and composed in the midst of the turbulent +crowd. It was Earl Witichis. He sprang upon one of the old stones +beneath the oak, and waited till the tumult was somewhat appeased. + +Then he lifted his voice, and spoke with the clear simplicity which so +well became him. + +"Countrymen! companions! hear me! You are wrong in your sentence. Woe +to us if, in the Gothic nation, by whom, since the days of our +forefathers, right has been ever honoured, hate and force should sit on +the throne of justice! Theodahad is a bad and weak King. He shall no +longer hold the reins of the kingdom alone. Give him a guardian, as if +to a minor! Depose him if you like; but you may not demand his death, +his blood! Where is the proof of his treachery? or that Totila's +message reached him? See, you are silent! Be wary of injustice! It +destroys nations!" + +As he stood on his elevated place in the full blaze of the sun, he +looked great and noble, full of power and dignity. The eyes of the +multitude rested with admiration upon him who seemed so superior to +them all in nobility, temperance, and clear-sighted composure. A solemn +pause followed. + +Before Hildebad and the people could find an answer to the man who +seemed to be Justice personified, the general attention was drawn away +to the thick forest which bounded the view to the south, and which +suddenly seemed to become alive. + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + +For the quick trampling of approaching horses and the jingling of +armour was heard in the wood, and soon a little group of horsemen +appeared issuing from under the trees, and far in front galloped a man +on a coal-black charger, which sped on as if rivalling the rushing of +the wind. + +The long black locks of the rider waved in the air, as well as the +thick black mane which formed the crest of his helmet. Bending +forwards, he urged his foaming horse to greater speed, and as he +reached the southern entrance to the Ting, sprang from his saddle with +a clash. + +All gave way as they met the furious glance of his eye. His handsome +face was ghastly pale. + +He rushed up the incline, sprang upon a stone near Witichis, held on +high a roll of parchment, cried with a last effort, "Treachery! +treachery!" and fell prone, as if struck by lightning. + +Witichis and Hildebad ran to him; they had barely recognised their +friend. + +"Teja! Teja!" they cried, "what has happened? Speak!" + +"Speak," repeated Witichis once more, "it concerns the kingdom!" + +At this word the steel-clad man raised himself with a superhuman +effort, looked about him for a moment, and then said in a hollow voice: + +"We are betrayed, Goths! betrayed by our King! Six days ago I received +orders to go to Istria, not to Neapolis, as I had begged. I felt +suspicious, but I obeyed, and embarked with my thousands. A violent +storm drove numerous small vessels towards us from the west. Amongst +them was the _Mercurius_, the swift-sailing post-boat of Theodahad. I +knew the vessel well; she once belonged to my father. As soon as she +caught sight of our ships, she tried to evade us. I, mistrustful, +chased her and overtook her. Her captain carried a letter to Byzantium, +in the handwriting of the King. 'You will be content with me, great +general,' it said, 'all the Gothic forces are at this moment on the +north-east of Rome; you can land without danger. I have destroyed four +letters from the Count of the Harbour of Neapolis, and thrown his +messengers into a dungeon. In requital, I expect that you will +punctually fulfil our contract, and shortly pay me the price fixed.'" + +Teja let the letter fall; his voice died away. + +The people uttered deep groans of rage. + +"I at once turned and landed, and have galloped here for three days and +nights without pause. I can no more." + +And, staggering, he sank into the arms of Witichis. + +Then old Hildebrand sprang upon the highest stone of his seat, so that +he towered above the crowd. He tore a lance, which bore a small marble +bust of the King upon its cross-stick, out of the hands of the bearer, +and held it aloft in his left hand. In his right he raised his +stone-axe. + +"Sold!" he cried. "He has sold his people for yellow gold! Down with +him! Down, down!" + +And with a stroke of his axe he shattered the bust. + +This action was the first thunder-clap that unchained the brooding +tempest. Only to be compared to the strife of the elements was the wild +storm which now arose amongst the multitude. + +"Down with him! down with Theodahad!" was repeated a thousand times, +accompanied by the deafening clash of arms. + +Amidst this tumult the old master-at-arms again lifted up his metallic +voice, silence once more ensued, and he said solemnly: + +"Hear it, God in heaven, and men on earth: all-seeing sun and blowing +wind, hear it! Whereas King Theodahad, the son of Theodis, has betrayed +people and kingdom to the enemy; the nation of the Goths, free and full +of ancient fame and born to bear arms, depose him from the throne. We +deprive thee, Theodahad, of the golden crown and of the kingdom; of +Gothic right and of life. And we do this not wrongly, but rightly. For +under all our kings we have been ever free, and we would rather want +kings than want freedom. No king stands so high, that he may not be +judged by his people for murder, treachery, and perjury. So I deprive +thee of crown, kingdom, right, and life. Outlawed shalt thou be, +contemned, dishonoured. As far as Christians pray in their churches, +and heathens sacrifice on their altars; as far as fire burns and earth +grows green; as far as the falcon can fly a whole day when the wind +supports his wings; as far as ships sail and shields shine; as far as +heaven spreads its vault and the world extends; house and hall, and the +companionship of good people, and all dwelling shall be denied thee, +except hell alone. Thy inheritance I divide amongst the Gothic people. +Thy flesh and blood I give to the ravens of the air. And whoever +findeth thee, in hall or court, in a house or on the high-road, shall +slay thee unpunished, and shall be thanked for his deed by the good +Goths, and blessed by God. I ask you, men of justice, shall it be +thus?" + +"It shall be thus!" answered the crowd, and struck their swords upon +their shields. + +Hildebrand had scarcely descended from the stone, when old Haduswinth +took his place, threw back his shaggy bear-skin, and spoke: + +"We are rid of the perjured king! He will meet with an avenger. But +now, true men, we must choose another king. For we have never been +without one. As far back as legend and story reach, our forefathers +have lifted a king upon the shield, the living symbol of the power, +glory, and fortune of the good Goths. So long as Goths exist, they will +have kings; and as long as a king can be found, the nation will endure. +And now it is more than ever necessary that we should have a head, a +leader. The race of the Amelungs rose like the sun in glory--Theodoric, +its brightest star, shone for a long time; but this sun has been +shamefully extinguished in Theodahad. Up! people of the Goths, ye are +free! Freely choose a rightful king, who will lead you to victory and +glory! The throne is vacant. Goths, I call upon you to choose a king!" + +"Let us choose a king!" was the answer, in a solemn and mighty chorus. + +Then Witichis mounted the Ting-seat, took off his helmet, and raised +his right hand. + +"Thou, God, who rulest the stars, knowest that we are not moved by +unwise delight in disobedience, or by wantonness. We use the sacred +right of necessity. We honour the right of royalty, the glory which +beams from the crown; but this glory is dimmed. And in the great need +of the nation, we exercise a people's highest right. Heralds shall go +forth to all the peoples of the earth, and announce that, not because +we despise, but because we honour, the crown, have we acted thus. But, +for God's sake, no disputes, no quarrels now; now, when the enemy is in +the land! Therefore let us first solemnly swear, that he who has +the majority, were it only of _one_ voice, we will all honour as our +king--him and no other. I swear it--swear with me." + +"We swear!" cried the Goths, + +But young Arahad did not join in the oath. Ambition and love flamed in +his heart. He remembered that after the fall of the Balthes and the +Amelungs, his house was the oldest in the nation. He hoped to win +Mataswintha's hand, if he could offer her a crown; and scarcely had the +voices of the people died away, than he advanced and cried: + +"Whom shall we choose, Goths? Reflect well! Above all, it is clear, we +need a man with a young and powerful arm to lead us against the enemy. +But that alone is not sufficient. Why did our ancestors elevate the +Amelungs? Because they were the noblest and most ancient race, +descended from the gods. The first star is extinguished; remember the +second, remember the Balthes!" + +"Now there lived only one male descendant of that family, a not yet +adult grandchild of Duke Pitza--for Alaric, the brother of the Dukes +Thulun and Ibba, had not been heard of for years. Arahad was confident +that this boy would not be chosen, and that then the people would think +of the third star of nobility. But he erred. Old Haduswinth came +forward angrily and exclaimed: + +"Nobility and race! Are we serfs or freemen? By the Thunderer! shall we +count ancestors when Belidarius is in the land? I will tell thee, boy, +what a king needs. A brave arm, it is true, but not that alone. The +King shall be a rock of justice, a bulwark of peace, not only a leader +in the battle. The King shall have an ever-quiet and ever-clear mind, +as clear as the blue sky; and, like stars, just thoughts shall rise and +set therein. The King shall have an ever-equal power, but still more an +ever-equal measure; he shall never lose and forget himself in love or +hate, as we may, who stand below in the crowd. He shall not only be +mild to friends, but just to enemies. He, in whose heart serenity is +paired with bold courage, and true moderation with true strength--that +man, Arahad, is kingly, even though the humblest peasant had begotten +him." + +Loud applause followed the words of the old man, and Arahad fell back +abashed. But Haduswinth continued: + +"Good Goths, I think we have such a man! I will not name him: you shall +name him to me. I came here from the distant Alps of our boundary, +towards the Karathans, where the wild Turbidus rushes foaming down the +rocks. There I have lived for more than the usual days of man, free, +proud and lonely. I heard little of the acts of men, even of the great +deeds of my own nation, unless a pack-horse laden with salt happened to +stray my way. And yet the warlike frame of _one_ of our heroes +penetrated even to that desolate height. One who never drew his sword +in an unjust cause, and who never sheathed it without victory. His name +I heard again and again when I asked: Who will protect our kingdom when +Theodoric dies? His name I heard in every victory that we gained, and +in every work of peace that was accomplished. I had never seen him. I +longed to see him. To-day I have both seen and heard him. I have looked +into his eyes, that are clear and mild as the sun. I have heard his +words. I heard how he pleaded for right and justice, even for a hated +enemy. I heard how he alone, when blind passion carried us away, +remained serene and quiet and just. Then I thought in my heart: that +man is kingly; strong in war and just in peace; true as steel and pure +as gold. Goths! that man shall be our king. Name the man!" + +"Earl Witichis! yes, Witichis! Hail, King Witichis!" + +As the unanimous acclamation rang across the plain, a sudden fear fell +upon the modest man, who had eagerly listened to the speech of the old +orator, and only towards the close suspected that he himself was the +man so praised. + +And as he heard his name ring in this thousand-voiced shout, his only +feeling was: "No! this cannot, must not be!" + +He tore himself away from Teja and Hildebad, who were joyfully pressing +his hands, and sprang forward, shaking his head, and, as if to protect +himself, stretching forth his arm. + +"No!" he cried; "no, friends! not that to me! I am a simple soldier, no +king. I am perhaps a good tool, but no master! Choose another, a +worthier!" + +And, as if beseeching them, he held out both hands to the people. But +the thundering cry, "Hail, King Witichis!" was the only answer he +received. + +And now old Hildebrand advanced, seized his hand, and said in a loud +voice: + +"Cease to resist, Witichis! Who was it who first swore to acknowledge, +without hesitation, the man who gained a majority even of one voice? +See, thou hast all voices; and wilt thou refuse!" + + +But Witichis shook his head. + +Then the old man went up to him and whispered: + +"What? Must I urge thee more strongly? Must I remind thee of that +midnight oath and bond; to sacrifice all for the well-being of thy +people? I know--I see through thy transparent soul--that the crown is +more a burthen to thee than an honour. I suspect that this crown will +bring thee great and bitter pain, perhaps more pain than joy; and +therefore I ask of thee, that thou accept it." + +Witichis was still silent and pressed both hands over his eyes. + +This by-play had lasted far too long for the enthusiasm of the people. +They already prepared the broad shield on which to lift him; they +already pressed up the eminence; and, almost impatiently, the cry +sounded anew, "Hail, King Witichis!" + +"Think of thy oath! wilt thou keep it or break it!" whispered +Hildebrand. + +"Keep it!" said Witichis, and resolutely looked up. He now, without +false shame or vanity, came forward a step and said: "You have chosen +me, O Goths! well, then take me; I will be your king." + +At this each man's sword flashed in the light, and a louder cry arose: +"All hail, King Witichis!" + +Old Hildebrand now descended from his place and said: + +"I leave this high seat, for the place now belongs to our king. Only +once again let me perform the office of the Ting-Earl. If I cannot hang +the purple on thy shoulders, O King, which the Amelungs have worn; nor +reach to thee their golden sceptre--take, at least, my judge's mantle +and the staff of justice for a sceptre; as a sign that thou wert chosen +for thy justice' sake. I cannot press Theodoric's golden circlet, the +old Gothic crown, upon thy brow, then take the first leaves of the oak +which thou resemblest in trustiness and strength." + +With these words he broke a tender shoot of the oak and bound it round +Witichis' brow. + +"Up, Gothic warriors! fulfil your office with the shield!" + +Haduswinth, Teja, and Hildebad took the ancient Ting-shield, lifted the +King, who was now crowned with wreath, staff, and mantle, and raised +him on their shoulders in sight of all the people. + +"Behold, O Goths, your King, whom you yourselves have chosen, and swear +allegiance to him!" + +And they swore--standing upright, not kneeling=-to true to him till +death. + +Witichis sprang from the shield, ascended the Ting-seat and cried: + +"As you swear fidelity to me, so do I to you. I will be a mild and just +king; I will do right and prevent wrong. I will remember that you are +free, like me, and not my slaves. And I dedicate my life, my happiness, +all that is mine, to you, to the people of the good Goths! I swear it +by the God of Heaven, and by my throne." + +And taking the Ting-shield from the tree, he cried: + +"The Ting is over. I dissolve the Assembly." + +The sajones at once knocked down the hazel staffs with the cords, and +in disorderly confusion the masses mingled over the wide plain. + +The Romans, who, curiously but shyly, had observed from a distance this +custom of a free people, such as Italy had not witnessed for more than +five hundred years, now also mixed freely with the Gothic soldiers, to +whom they sold wine and meat. + +Witichis prepared to go with his friends and the leaders of the army to +one of the tents which were erected on the bank of the river. + +There a man in Roman costume--as it seemed, a well-to-do +citizen--pressed among his followers, and asked eagerly for Earl Teja, +the son of Tagila. + +"I am he. What would you, Roman?" asked Teja, turning. + +"Nought, sir, except to deliver this vase to you. See, the seal, the +scorpion, is intact." + +"What shall I do with the vase? I buy no such things." + +"The vase is yours, sir. It is full of documents and rolls which belong +to you. My guest desired me to give it to you. I beg you, take it." + +And he pressed the vase into Teja's hand, and disappeared amid the +crowd. + +Teja broke the seal indifferently, and took the documents out. +Indifferently he looked at them. + +But suddenly a vivid flush overspread his pale cheeks, his eyes +flashed, and he convulsively bit his lip. The vase fell to the ground +as he rushed up to Witichis, and said, in an almost toneless voice: + +"My King! King Witichis, a favour!" + +"What is it, Teja? For God's sake, what wilt thou?" + +"Leave of absence! for six--three days! I must go!" + +"Go? Where?" + +"To revenge myself! Read--the devil who accused my parents, who drove +them to desperation, madness, and death--it is he--whom I long since +suspected. Here is his accusation, addressed to the Bishop of +Florentia, in his own handwriting--it is Theodahad!" + +"It is, it is Theodahad," said Witichis, looking up from the letter. +"Go, then! But, doubt it not, thou wilt not find him in Rome. He has +certainly fled long since. He has had a great start. Thou canst not +overtake him!" + +"I will overtake him, even if he rides on the wings of the +storm-eagle!" + +"Thou wilt not find him!" + +"I will find him, if I must pluck him from hell's deepest abyss, or +from out of the midst of the angels!" + +"He will have fled with a strong escort," warned Witichis. + +"I will reach him in the midst of a thousand demons! Hildebad, thy +horse! Farewell, King of the Goths. I go to fulfil the ban!" + + + + + + BOOK IV. + + WITICHIS. + +"And the Goths chose Witichis for their King, a man of humble origin, +but a famous warrior."--_Procopius: Wars of the Goths_, i. 11. + + + + + PART I. + + + + CHAPTER I. + +Slowly sank the sun behind the green hills of Fæsulæ, and gilded the +columns in front of the simple country-house of which Rauthgundis was +the mistress. + +The Gothic servants and Italian slaves were busy concluding the day's +work. + +The stable-man was fetching the young horses from the pasture; two +other servants were bringing a herd of fine cattle home from the fields +to the stable; while the goatherd, with Roman invectives, was driving +forward his _protégés_, which stopped here and there to nibble the +salty saxifrage which grew upon the broken walls of the road. + +Other labourers were housing the agricultural implements in the large +yard, and a Roman freedman, a very learned and superior personage, the +upper gardener himself, left, with a contented look, the place where he +practised his blooming and sweet-scented science. + +Our little friend Athalwin, with his crown of bright golden hair, was +just issuing from the stables. + +"Don't forget, Kakus," he cried, "to throw a rusty nail into the +water-bucket. Wachis spoke of it particularly. Then he need not beat +thee when he comes home." + +And he banged the door to. + +"Nothing but trouble with these Italian servants," said the little +master, with an air of importance. "Since father went away, and Wachis +joined him in the camp, everything lies upon my shoulders; for mother +is enough for the maids, but the men need a master." + +And the little lad marched with great gravity across the yard. + +"And they have no proper respect for me," he continued, pouting his +cherry lips and ruffing his white forehead. "How should they? At the +next equinox I shall be fully nine years old, and they still let me go +about with a thing like a kitchen spoon;" and he pulled contemptuously +at the little wooden sword hanging to his belt. + +"They ought to give me a hunting-knife, a real weapon. With this I can +do nothing, and I look like nothing!" + +Yet he looked very lovely, like an angry Cupid, in his short sleeveless +coat of the finest white linen, which the loving hand of his mother had +spun, sewed, and embroidered with an ornamental red stripe. + +"I should like very much to run into the fields and get the wild +flowers for mother which she loves so much, far more than our finest +garden flowers; but I must look round before they shut the doors, for, +'Athalwin,' said father, as he left us, 'take good care of the place, +and protect thy mother. I rely upon thee;' and I shook hands upon it, +so I must keep my word." + +So saying, he went across the yard, past the front of the +dwelling-house, looked into all the offices on the left, and was just +about to turn to the back of the square court, when he was attracted by +the loud barking of some young dogs at a noise which was heard behind +the wooden fence which enclosed the whole. + +He went towards the corner, and started back in surprise; for on the +fence sat, or rather climbed, a strange figure. + +It was a tall, haggard old man in a coarse doublet of rough cloth, such +as was worn by mountain shepherds; instead of a mantle, an immense +undressed wolfskin hung over his shoulders, and in his right hand he +carried a long staff with a steel point, with which he warded off the +dogs, who angrily sprang at the fence. + +The boy ran up. + +"Stop, thou strange man! What art thou doing at my fence? Wilt get down +at once!" + +The old man started, and looked keenly at the handsome boy. + +"Down, I say!" repeated the lad. + +"Is this the way one greets a tired wanderer at this house!" asked the +intruder. + +"Yes, when the tired wanderer climbs over the back fence. Art thou +honest and meanest honestly--in front stands the great yard-gate wide +open; come in there!" + +"I know that very well." + +And the man prepared to climb down into the courtyard. + +"Stop!" cried the boy angrily; "thou shalt not come down there. At him, +Gruffo! At him, Wulfo! And if thou art not afraid of the two young +ones, I will call the old one! Then take care! Hey! Thursa! Thursa! +stop him!" + +At this cry an immense bristly grey wolf-hound darted round the corner +of the stable with a furious bark, and was about to spring at the +intruder's throat. But she had scarcely reached the fence, when her +rage was suddenly changed into joy; she ceased to bark, and, wagging +her tail, sprang up to the old man, who now climbed leisurely down. + +"Yes, yes, Thursa, faithful bitch, we remember each other," he said. +"Now tell me, little man, what is thy name?" + +"I am called Athalwin," answered the boy, retreating shyly; "but +thou--I believe thou hast bewitched the dog--what art thou called?" + +"Like thee," said the old man, in a more friendly manner; "I am glad +thou hast my name. But be quiet; I am no robber! Lead me to thy mother, +that I may tell her how bravely thou hast defended thy home." + +And so the two adversaries walked peacefully into the house, Thursa +leaping on in front with joyful barks. + +The Gothic housewife had changed, with slight alteration, the +Corinthian atrium of this Roman villa, with its rows of pillars on four +sides, into the hall of the Germanic dwelling. + +In the absence of her husband it was not wanted for gay hospitality, +and Rauthgundis had brought her maids here from the women's room, to +enjoy the larger space and fresher air. + +There sat a long row of Gothic maidens with their noisy spindles; +opposite to them a few Roman women slaves, occupied in finer work. + +In the middle of the hall walked Rauthgundis, and let her own +swiftly-turning spindle dance upon the smooth mosaic pavement, at the +same time turning frequently to look at the maids. + +Her dark-blue dress of home manufacture was gathered up above one knee, +and puffed out over a belt of steel rings, which, her only ornament, +bore a bunch of keys. + +Her auburn hair was combed, back from the brow and temples, and twined +into a simple knot at the back of the head. + +There was much simple dignity in her aspect as she paced the room with +grave and examining looks. She went up to one of the youngest of the +maids, who sat lowest in the row, and bent over her. + +"Well done, Liuta," she said; "thy thread is smooth, and thou hast not +so often looked up at the door to-day. Certainly," she added with a +smile, "there is not much merit in that, as Wachis cannot enter." + +The young girl blushed. + +Rauthgundis laid her hand kindly upon her smooth hair. + +"I know," she said, "that thou art angry with me in secret, because I +made thee, the betrothed, work all this year an hour longer, morning +and evening, than the other maids. It was cruel, was it not? Well, see! +it was for thine own good. All that thou hast spun this year of my best +flax is thine; I give it thee for thy new household. Then thou wilt not +need to spin next year, the first of thy married life." + +The girl took her hand, and looked up gratefully, with tearful eyes. + +"And _you_ they call hard and severe!" was all that she could say. + +"Mild with the good, severe with the bad, Liuta. All that is under my +care is the property of my husband, and the inheritance of my boy. +Therefore I must be strict." + + +Just then the old man and Athalwin appeared at the door. The boy wanted +to call out, but the old man held his hand over his mouth, and, for a +while, observed unremarked the actions of Rauthgundis as she examined +the maids' work, praised, scolded, and arranged new tasks. + +"Yes," at last said the old man to himself, "she looks very stately, +and seems to be mistress in the house--yet, who knows all!" + +And now it was no more possible to hold Athalwin back. + +"Mother!" he cried, "a strange man! who has bewitched Thursa, and +climbed over the fence, and wants to come to thee! I cannot understand +it!" + +The stately woman turned to the door with dignity, holding her hand +over her eyes, to shade them from the dazzling evening sun, which shone +full into the doorway. + +"Why dost thou lead the guest here? Thou knowest that thy father is not +at home. Take him into the men's hall; his place is not here with me." + +"But it is, Rauthgundis! Here, with thee, is my place!" cried the old +man, coming forward. + +"Father!" cried Rauthgundis, and threw herself into the stranger's +arms. + +Puzzled, and not without displeasure, Athalwin looked on at this +meeting. + +"So thou art grandfather, who lives up in the northern mountains? God +be with thee, grandfather! But why didst thou not tell me at once? And +why didst thou not come through the gate, like other honest folk?" + +The old man held his daughter by both hands, and looked inquiringly +into her eyes. + +"She looks happy and blooming," he murmured to himself. + +Rauthgundis composed herself. She cast a quick look round the hall. + +All the spindles had ceased whirling--except Liuta's--all eyes were +curiously fixed upon the old man. + +"Will you spin directly, curious girls!" cried Rauthgundis reprovingly. +"Thou, Marcia, hast let the flax fell with thy staring; thou knowest +the custom--thou wilt spin another spoolful. You others can leave your +work. Come, father! Liuta, prepare a tepid bath, and meat and wine----" + +"No," said the old man; "the old peasant in the mountains has only the +waterfall for bath and drink. And as to eating--outside the fence, near +the boundary-stone, lies my knapsack; fetch it for me. There I have my +wheaten bread and my sheep's-milk cheese.--What cattle hast thou in the +stall, and horses in the pasture?" + +It was his first question. + +An hour after--it was already dark, and little Athalwin had gone to +bed, shaking his head over his grandfather--father and daughter +wandered into the open air in the light of the rising moon. + +"I have not air enough inside," the old man had said. + +They spoke much and earnestly as they walked up and down the court-yard +and garden. Between whiles, the old man put questions about the +household, such as were suggested by the implements or buildings near +him; and in his tone lay no tenderness; only sometimes he secretly +examined the countenance of his child with a loving look. + +"Do cease talking about rye and horses," at last said Rauthgundis, "and +tell me how it has gone with thee these long years? And what has at +last brought thee down from the mountains to thy children?" + +"How has it gone with me? pretty lonely! lonely! and cold winters! Yes, +it is not so pleasant and warm up there as here in the Italian valley." + +He spoke as if in reproach. + +"Why did I come down? Well, last year the breeding-bull fell down from +the _Firn-joch_, and so I wanted to buy another here." + +Rauthgundis could no longer contain herself; she affectionately +embraced the old man and cried: + +"And no bull was to be found nearer than here? Do not lie, father, to +thine own heart and to thine own child. Thou art come because thou +couldst not help it, because thou couldst no more endure thy longing +for thy child!" + +The old man stroked her hair. + +"How dost thou know that? Well, yes, I wanted to see how it went with +thee, and how _he_ keeps thee--the Gothic Earl!" + +"Like the apple of his eye!" cried Rauthgundis joyfully. + +"Indeed? Why, then, is he not at home with wife and child in his house +and farm?" + +"He serves in the King's army." + +"Yes, that is just it! What has he to do with service and a king? But, +tell me, why dost not wear a golden bracelet? A Gothic woman once came +our way from the Italian valleys, five years ago; she had gold a hand +broad. Then I thought, such thy daughter wears. And I was pleased, and +now----" + +Rauthgundis smiled. + +"Shall I wear gold to please my maids? I only put on ornaments when +Witichis sees me." + +"Indeed! May he deserve it! But thou _hast_ golden brooches and rings, +like other Gothic wives down here?" + +"More than others--chests full. Witichis brought a great booty from the +wars." + +"So thou art quite happy?" + +"Quite, father, but not because of the gold bracelets." + +"Hast thou nothing to complain of? Only tell me, child! Whatever it may +be, tell it to thy old father, and he will see thee righted." + +Rauthgundis stopped short in her walk. + +"Father, speak not thus! Thou art wrong to speak so, nor is it right +for me to listen. Cast it off, this unhappy delusion, as if I must +necessarily be unhappy because I came into the valley. I verily believe +this fear alone has brought thee down." + +"That alone!" cried the old man, striking his staff upon the ground. +"And thou callest thy father's deepest conviction a delusion! Last +night I saw thee and Witichis in a dream. He banqueted in a gilded +hall, among proud men and lovely women, richly clothed; but thou wert +standing outside the door in a beggar's dress, and wept bitter tears +and called to him. But he said, 'Who is this woman? I know her not!' +And I could no longer rest upon the mountains. Something drew me down; +I felt obliged to come and see if my child was well cared for in the +valley; and I wished to surprise him, therefore I would not enter thy +house by the gate." + +"Father," said Rauthgundis angrily, "one should not think such things, +even in a dream. Thy mistrust----" + +"Mistrust? I trust no one but myself, and the dream told me distinctly +that a misfortune threatens thee! Avoid it! Take thy boy and go back +with me; only for a short time. Believe me, thon wilt quickly love +again the free air up there, where one can overlook all the land." + +"I leave my husband? Never!" + +"Has he not left thee? The court, and the service of kings, is more to +him than wife and child! Then let him have his will." + +"Father," said Rauthgundis, grasping his hand, "not a word more. Didst +thou, then, not love my mother, that thou canst speak so to a wedded +wife? My Witichis is all in all to me; the air and light of life. And +he loves me with all his faithful heart; we are one. And if he thinks +it right to work and act apart from me, then it _is_ right. He serves +the cause of his people, and between me and him there shall not be a +word, not a shadow, not even a father!" + +The old man was silent, but his doubts were not removed. + +"Why," he re-commenced after a pause, "why does he not take thee with +him, if he has such important affairs at court? Is he ashamed of the +peasant's daughter?" and he struck his staff angrily on the ground. + +"Anger blinds thee! Thou art vexed because he has taken me away from +the mountain into the Italian valley, and art equally vexed because he +does not take me to Rome, amongst the Italians!" + +"And thou shalt not go there! But he ought to wish it; he ought not to +be able to live without thee. But the King's general is no doubt +ashamed of the peasant's child." + +Just then, before Rauthgundis could answer, a horseman galloped up to +the closed gate, before which they happened to be standing. + +"Up! open!" he cried, striking the gate-post with his war-club. + +"Who is there!" asked the old man cautiously. + +"Open! A king's messenger should not be kept waiting so!" + +"It is Wachis!" exclaimed Rauthgundis, pushing back the heavy bolt. +"What brings thee back so unexpectedly!" + + +"It is you who open to me!" cried the faithful man. "Oh, hail! all +hail, Queen of the Goths! Your lord is chosen King. With my own eyes I +saw him lifted upon the shield! He greets you, and calls you and +Athalwin to Rome. In three days you must depart." + +In the midst of all her fright and surprise and joy and questioning, +Rauthgundis could not help casting a joyful and proud look at her +father. Then she threw herself upon his neck and wept. + +"Well, father," she asked, when she had again composed herself, "what +sayest thou now?" + +"What do I say? The misfortune that I foresaw has come! Even to-night +will I return to my mountains!" + + + + CHAPTER II. + +While the Goths were assembling at Regeta, the powerful army of +Belisarius had invested the hard-pressed city of Neapolis in a wide +semicircle. + +Rapid and irresistible as a fire in dry heather, the army of the +Byzantines had advanced from the southernmost point of Italy to the +walls of the Parthenopeian town, meeting with no resistance, for, +thanks to Theodahad's man[oe]uvres, not a thousand Goths were to be +found in all these parts. The short skirmish at the Pass of Jugum was +the only hindrance with which the Greeks had met. + +The Roman inhabitants of Bruttia, with its towns, Regium, Vibo and +Squillacium, Tempsa and Croton, Ruscia and Thurii; of Calabria, with +Gallipolis, Tarentum, and Brundusium; of Lucania, with Velia and +Buxentum; of Apulia, with Acheruntia and Canusium, Salernum, Nuceria, +and Campsæ, and many other towns, had received Belisarius with joy, +when, in the name of the Emperor, he promised them deliverance from the +yoke of the heretics and barbarians. + +To the Aufidus on the east and the Sarnus on the south-west, Italy was +wrested from the Goths; and the walls of Neapolis was the first +obstacle which broke the rush of the inimical flood which was +threatening to overwhelm all Italy. + +The camp of Belisarius was worthy of the name of a splendid spectacle. +In the north, before the Porta Nolana, stood the camp of the "bloody" +Johannes. To his care was entrusted the Via Nolana, and the task of +forcing the way to Rome. There, on the wide levels, in the corn-fields +of the industrious Goths, the Massagetæ and the yellow-skinned Huns +exercised their small rough horses. + +Near them were encamped the light-foot of the Persian mercenaries, +dressed in linen coats, and armed with bows and arrows; heavy Armenian +shield-bearers; Macedonians with lances ten feet long, called sarrissi; +and large troops of Thessalian, Thracian and Saracen horsemen, who, +condemned to a hated inactivity during the siege, did their best to +occupy their leisure time by inroads into the neighbouring country. + +The camp in the centre, exactly on the east of the city, was occupied +by the main army; Belisarius's large tent of blue Sidonian silk, +with its purple standard, towered in the middle. Here strutted the +body-guard which Belisarius himself had armed and paid, and which only +those who had distinguished themselves by valiant deeds were allowed to +join, gay in richly-gilded breast-plates and greaves, bronze shields, +broad-swords, and halberd-like lances. These men were frequently +promoted to the highest rank. + +The kernel of the foot-soldiers was formed by eight thousand Illyrians, +the only worthy troop sent by Greece itself; and here, too, were +encamped, under the command of their native chiefs, the Avari, +Bulgarians, Sarmatians, and even Germans, as well as Herulians and +Gepidæ, whom Belisarius was obliged to enlist at a heavy price, in +order to cover the want of native soldiery. Here, too, were the Italian +emigrants and many deserters. + +Finally, the south-western camp, which stretched along the coast, was +commanded by Martinus, who superintended the service of the implements +of siege. Here stood, stored up, the catapults and balistæ, the rams +and slings; here mingled Isaurian allies and the contingents sent by +newly-recovered Africa; Moorish and Numidian horsemen and Libyan +slingers. And almost all the barbaric races of three-quarters of the +globe had here their representatives; Bajuvars from the Donau, Alemanni +from the Rhine, Franks from the Maas, Burgundians from the Rhone, Antæ +from the Dniester, Lazians from the Phasis, and the Abasgi, Siberians, +Lebanthians and Lycaonians from Asia and Africa, all well skilled in +archery. + +Out of such heterogeneous materials was the army composed, with which +Justinian hoped to drive away the Gothic barbarians and liberate Italy. + +The command of the outposts, always and everywhere, was entrusted to +the body-guard; and the chain of stations extended round the city from +the Porta Capuana almost to the waves of the sea. + +Neapolis was badly fortified and weakly garrisoned. Less than a +thousand Goths were there to defend the extensive ramparts against an +army of forty thousand Byzantines and Italians. + +Earl Uliaris, the commander of the city, was a brave man, and had sworn +by his beard not to deliver up the fortress. But even he would not have +been long able to withstand the far superior force and generalship of +Belisarius, had not a fortunate circumstance come to his assistance. +This was the premature return of the Grecian fleet to Byzantium. When, +namely, Belisarius, after having rested his troops and re-ordered his +army in Regium, had given the command for a general advance of the land +and sea forces to Neapolis, his navarchus Konon had showed him an order +from the Emperor, till then kept secret, according to which the fleet +was to sail, immediately after landing the troops, to Nicopolis on the +Grecian coast, under the pretext of fetching reinforcements, but in +reality to fetch Prince Germanus, the nephew of Justinian, with his +imperial lancers, to Italy, where he was to observe, control, and, in +case of need, check the victorious steps of Belisarius, and, as +commander-in-chief, to protect the interests of the suspicious Emperor. + +With deep vexation Belisarius saw his fleet set sail just at the moment +when he needed it most, and he only succeeded, after much urgency, in +gaining the promise of the navarchus to send him four war-triremes, +which were still cruising off Sicily. So Belisarius, when he prepared +to besiege Neapolis, was, indeed, able to enclose the city to the +north-east, east, and north-west with his land forces--the western road +to Rome, defended by the castellum Tiberii, was successfully kept by +Earl Uliaris--but he was not able to blockade the harbour nor prevent +free communication by sea. + +At first he comforted himself with the fact that the besieged likewise +had no fleet, and could therefore derive little benefit from this +freedom of movement; but now he was, for the first time, baffled by the +talent and temerity of an adversary whom he afterwards learned to fear. + +This was Totila, who had scarcely reached Neapolis after the fight at +the pass, had scarcely aided Julius in showing the last honours to the +remains of Valerius, and in drying Valeria's first tears, than he +began, with restless activity, to create a fleet out of nothing. He was +commodore of the squadron at Neapolis, but King Theodahad, as we know, +had, in spite of his remonstrances, ordered the whole fleet out of the +way of Belisarius to Pisa, where it was appointed to guard the mouth of +the Arnus. So, from the very beginning, Totila had nothing under his +command but three small guard-ships, two of which he had later lost off +Sicily; and he had returned to Neapolis despairing of every possibility +of defending the city towards the sea. But when he heard the incredible +news of the return home of the Byzantine fleet his hopes revived, and +he did not rest until he had--out of fishing-boats, merchant-craft, +harbour-boats, and the hastily-repaired disabled ships on the +wharves--formed a little fleet of about twelve sail, which could +neither defy a storm at sea nor cope with a single man-of-war, but +could still do good service, such as to provide Baiæ, Cumæ and other +towns to the north-west, which would otherwise have been completely cut +off, with victuals; to observe the movements of the enemy on the coast, +and plague them with repeated attacks; in which Totila himself often +landed in the south at the rear of the Grecian camp, surprised--now +here, now there--some troop of the enemy, and spread such insecurity, +that the Byzantines at last only ventured to leave the camp in strong +detachments, and never dared to stray far, while Totila's success gave +fresh courage to the hard-pressed garrison of Neapolis, who were +wearied by incessant watching and frequent combats. + +Notwithstanding this partial success, Totila could not hide from +himself that his position was very grave and that as soon as a few +Grecian ships should appear before the city it would be desperate. + +He therefore used a portion of his boats to convoy a number of the +unarmed inhabitants of Neapolis to Baiæ and Cumæ, angrily repelling the +demand of the rich, that this means of safety should be granted only to +those who paid for it; and taking rich and poor, without distinction, +into his saving vessels. + +In vain had Totila repeatedly and earnestly begged Valeria to fly in +one of these ships, under the protection of Julius; she would not yet +leave the tomb of her father; she would not part from her lover, whose +praise as protector of the city she was only too much delighted to hear +proclaimed by all voices. + +So she continued to reside in her old home in the city, indulging in +her sorrow and in her love. + + + + CHAPTER III. + +It was at this time that Miriam experienced the greatest joy and the +keenest sorrow that she had ever known. + +She could sun herself more frequently than ever in the presence of the +man she loved, for the Porta Capuana was an important point of the +fortifications, and Totila was obliged to visit it often. He daily held +conferences with Earl Uliaris in old Isaac's tower. + +At such times Miriam, when she had greeted the guests, and served the +simple meal of fruit and wine, used to slip into the narrow little +garden which lay close under the walls of the tower. + +This place had been, originally, a small court belonging to an ancient +Temple of Minerva, the "wall-protectress," to whom altars had been +gratefully erected at the principal gates of various towns. + +The altar had disappeared centuries ago, but the gigantic olive-tree, +which had once shaded the statue dedicated to the goddess, still +stretched its boughs aloft, while flowers, cherished by Miriam's loving +hand, and which she had often plucked for the bride of the man whom she +hopelessly loved, filled the air with perfume. + +Exactly opposite the tree, whose knotted roots protruded from the +earth, disclosing a dark opening in the ground-floor of the old temple, +there had been placed a large black cross, and below it a little +praying stool, which was made out of one of the marble steps of the +temple. + +The Christians loved to subject the remains of the ancient worship to +the service of the new, and to drive out the old gods, now become +demons, by the symbols of their victorious faith. + +The beautiful Jewess often sat for hours under this cross with old +Arria, the half-blind widow of the under doorkeeper, who, after the +early death of Isaac's wife, had, with motherly love, watched little +Miriam bloom together with her flowers amid the desolate ruins of the +old walls. + +Twice a day did Uliaris and Totila thus meet; reporting their losses or +successes and examining the probability of saving the city. + +But on the tenth day of the siege, before dawn, Uliaris hastened on +board Totila's "admiral" ship, a rotten fishing-boat, and found the +commander sleeping on deck, covered by a ragged sail. + +"What is it!" cried Totila, starting up and still dreaming; "the enemy? +where?" + +"No, my boy; this time it is again Uliaris, and not Belisarius, who +awakens thee. But, by the Thunderer! this cannot last much longer!" + +"Uliaris, thou bleedest! thy head is bandaged!" + +"Bah! 'twas but a stray arrow! Fortunately no poisoned one. I got it +last night. Thou must know that things are at a bad pass; much worse +than ever before. The bloody Johannes--may God slay him!--digs under +our Castle Tiberius like a badger, and if he gets _that_--then +farewell, Neapolis! Yester even he finished a battery upon the hill +above us, and now he throws burning arrows upon our heads. I tried last +night to drive him out of his works, but it was no use. They were seven +to one against us, and I gained nothing by it but this wound on my grey +head." + + +"The battery must come down," said Totila reflectively. + +"The devil it must! but it will not! I have still more to tell. The +citizens begin to get unruly. Belisarius daily shoots a hundred blunt +arrows into the city, to which is tied the inscription: 'Rebel for +freedom!' They have more effect than a thousand pointed darts. Already, +here and there, stones are cast from the roofs upon my poor fellows. If +this goes on--we cannot, with a thousand men, keep off forty thousand +Greeks outside and thirty thousand Neapolitans inside. Therefore I +think--" and his eyes looked very gloomy. + +"What thinkest thou?" + +"We will burn down a portion of the city--at least the suburbs----" + +"So that the inhabitants may like us all the better? No, Uliaris, they +shall not have cause to call us 'barbarians.' I know of better +means--they are starving; yesterday I brought in four shiploads of oil, +com, and wine; this I will divide amongst them." + +"Oil and corn if thou wilt! But not the wine! That I claim for my +Goths. They have drunk cistern-water long enough, the nasty stuff!" + +"Good, thirsty hero, you shall have the wine for yourselves." + +"Well? and still no news from Ravenna, or from Rome?" + +"None! Yesterday I sent off my fifth messenger." + +"May God destroy our King! Listen, Totila, I don't believe we shall +ever get alive out of these worm-eaten walls." + +"Nor I either," said Totila quietly, and offered his guest a cup of +wine. + +Uliaris looked at him; then he drank and said: + +"Dear fellow! thou art pure as gold, and thy Cæcubian too. And if I +must die here, like an old bear amongst the dogs--I am at least glad +that I have learned to know thee so well; thee and thy Cæcubian." + +With this rough but friendly speech the grey old Goth left the ship. + +Totila sent corn and wine to the garrison in the castle, with which the +soldiers regaled themselves far into the night. + +But the next morning, when Uliaris looked forth from the tower of the +castle, he rubbed his eyes. For on the battery upon the hill waved the +blue flag of the Goths. + +Totila had landed in the night in the rear of the enemy, and had taken +the works by storm. + +But this new act of audacity only increased the anger of Belisarius. He +swore to make an end of the troublesome boats at any price. To his +great joy the four triremes from Sicily just then appeared in the +offing. Belisarius ordered that they should at once force their way +into the harbour of Neapolis, and spoil the handiwork of "those +pirates." On the evening of the same day the four immense ships cast +anchor at the entrance of the harbour. Belisarius himself visited the +coast with his followers, and rejoiced at the sight of the sails, +gilded by the evening sun. + +"The rising sun shall see them inside the harbour, in spite of that +bold youth," he said to Antonina, who accompanied him, and turned his +dappled-greys back to the camp. + +The next morning he had not yet left his camp-bed--Procopius was +standing near him, reading the sketch of a report to Justinian--when +Chanaranzes, the Persian, the leader of the body-guard, entered the +tent, and cried: "The ships, general! the ships are taken!" + +Belisarius sprang from his couch in a rage. + +"He dies who says it!" + +"It would be better," observed Procopius, "that he should die who did +it!" + +"Who was it?" + +"Oh, sir, the young Goth with the sparkling eyes and shining hair!" + +"Totila!" exclaimed Belisarius, "Totila, again!" + +"The crew were lying, partly on shore with my outposts, partly on deck, +sound asleep. Suddenly, at midnight, all around became as lively as if +a hundred ships had risen out of the sea." + +"A hundred ships! Ten nutshells!" + +"In a moment, long before we could come to their help from the shore, +the ships were boarded, the crews taken prisoners, one of the triremes, +whose cable could not be cut quickly enough, set on fire, and the +others towed off to Neapolis!" + +"Your ships have entered the harbour sooner than you expected, O +Belisarius," observed Procopius. + +But Belisarius had recovered his self-control. + +"Now that the bold boy has ships of war, he will become unbearable! +There must be an end to this." + +He pressed his helmet upon his majestic head. + +"I would willingly have spared the city and the Roman inhabitants; but +I can wait no longer. Procopius, go and summon the generals; Magnus, +Demetrius and Constantinus, Bessas and Ennes, and Martinus, the master +of artillery; I will give them enough to do. The barbarians shall not +rejoice in their victory; they shall learn to know Belisarius." + +Shortly there appeared in the tent of the commander a man who, in spite +of the breast-plate which he wore, had more the air of a scholar than +of a warrior. + +Martinus, the great mathematician, was of a gentle, peaceful nature, +which had long found its sole happiness in the quiet study of Euclid. +He could not bear to see blood flow, and was even sorry to pluck a +flower. But his mathematical and mechanical studies had one day +accidentally led him to invent a new projectile of fearful power. He +showed the plan to Belisarius, and he, delighted, would not let him +alone, but dragged him before the Emperor, and obliged him to become +"master of artillery to the _magister militum_, for the East"--namely, +the assistant of Belisarius himself. He received a splendid salary, and +was obliged by contract to invent one new machine of war yearly. + +Then the gentle mathematician, with many sighs, invented those terrible +tools of destruction which overthrew the walls of fortresses, shattered +the gates of castles, hurled inextinguishable fire into the towns of +Justinian's enemies, and destroyed human lives by thousands. + +Every year Martinus delighted in the mathematical problems which he set +himself to do; but as soon as the riddle was solved and the work +completed, he thought with horror of the effects of his inventions. +Therefore he now appeared before Belisarius with a sorrowful +countenance. + +"Martinus! circle-turner!" cried Belisarius as he entered, "now show +your art! How many catapults, balistæ, and sling-machines have we in +all?" + +"Three hundred and fifty, general." + +"'Tis well! Divide them along our whole line of siege. In the north, +before the Porta Capuana and the castle, set the rams against the +walls; down they must come, were they made of diamonds! From the +central camp direct the projectiles in a curve, so that they may fall +into the streets of the city. Make every effort; do not cease a moment +for twenty-four hours; let the troops relieve each other; let all the +machines play!" + +"All, general?" asked Martinus. "The new ones too? The pyrobalistæ, the +hot projectiles?" + +"Those too; those most of all!" + +"General, they are horrible! You do not yet know their effect." + +"Well, I shall now see what it is, and put them to the proof." + +"Upon this splendid city? On the Emperor's city? Will you win for +Justinian a heap of ashes?" + +Belisarius had a great and noble soul. He was angry with himself, with +Martinus, and with the Goths. + +"Can I do otherwise?" he asked impatiently. "These stiff-necked Goths, +this foolhardy Totila, force me to it. Five times have I offered +capitulation. It is madness! Not three thousand men stand behind these +walls! By the head of Justinian! why do not the fifty thousand +Neapolitans rise and disarm the barbarians?" + +"No doubt they fear your Huns more than their Goths," observed +Procopius. + +"They are bad patriots! Forward, Martinus! In an hour Neapolis must +burn!" + +"In a shorter time," sighed the mathematician, "if it must be so. I +have brought with me a man who is well-informed; who can help us much, +and simplify the work. He is a living plan of the city. May I bring him +in?" + +Belisarius nodded, and the sentry called in a little Jewish-looking +man. + +"Ah! Jochem, the architect!" said Belisarius. "I knew you at Byzantium. +You were to rebuild the church of St. Sophia. What became of that +project?" + +"By your leave, general, nothing." + +"Why not?" + +"My plan only amounted to a million centenaria of gold; that was too +little for his Imperial Majesty. For the more a Christian church costs, +the more holy and pleasing to God. A Christian asked double the amount, +and got the order." + + +"But still I saw you building in Byzantium?" + +"Yes, general, my plan pleased the Emperor. I changed it a little, took +out the altar-place, and afterwards built from it a riding-school." + +"You know Neapolis thoroughly--outside and inside?" + +"Outside and inside--as well as my moneybag." + +"'Tis well. You will direct the machines for the strategist against the +walls and into the city. The houses of the friends of the Goths must +come down first. Forward! Mind and do your business well, or else you +will be impaled! Away!" + +"The poor city!" sighed Martinus. "But you will see, Jochem, how exact +are the pyrobalistæ; and they work so easily, a child could manage +them. And they act so splendidly!" + +And now in all the camp began a monstrous and danger-pregnant activity. + +The Gothic sentinels upon the ramparts saw how the heavy machines, +drawn by twenty to thirty horses, camels, asses, or oxen, were brought +before the walls, and divided along the whole line. + +Totila and Uliaris went anxiously to the walls and tried to meet this +new danger with effectual means of defence. + +Sacks filled with earth were let down before the places threatened by +the rams; firebrands were laid ready to set the machines on fire as +they approached; boiling water, arrows, and stones were to be directed +against the teams and drivers; and already the Goths laughed at the +cowardly enemy when they noticed that the machines halted far out of +the usual range of shot, and completely out of the reach of the +besieged. + +But Totila did not laugh. + +He was alarmed to see the Byzantines quietly unharness the teams and +arrange their machines. Not a projectile had yet been hurled. + +"Well," mocked young Agila, who stood near Totila, "do they mean to +shoot at us from _that_ distance? They had better do it at once from +Byzantium, across the sea! That would be still safer!" + +He had not ceased to speak, when a forty-pound stone knocked him, and a +portion of the rampart upon which he stood, to pieces. + +Martinus had increased the range threefold. + +Totila saw that they were completely without defence against these +terrible projectiles. + +The Goths sprang horrified from the walls, and sought shelter in the +streets, houses, and churches. In vain! Thousands and thousands of +arrows, spears, heavy beams, and stones hurtled and hissed in +infallible curves upon their heads; whole blocks of rock came flying +through the air, and fell crashing through the woodwork and slabs of +the strongest roofs; while in the north the rams thundered unceasingly +against the castle with ponderous strokes. + +While the thick hail of projectiles literally darkened the air, the +noise of breaking beams, the rattling fall of stones, the shattering of +the ramparts, and the cries of the wounded deafened the ear. + +The trembling inhabitants fled terrified into the cellars and vaults of +their houses, cursing both Belisarius and the Goths. + +But the horrified city had not yet experienced the worst. + +In the market-place, the Forum of Trajan, near the harbour, stood an +uncovered building, a sort of ship's arsenal, heaped up with old, +well-dried timber, tow, flax, tar, and other combustible materials. +Into this building came, hissing and steaming, a strange projectile, +and immediately a flame shot high into the air, and, fed by the +inflammable materials, spread with the speed of the wind. + +The besiegers outside greeted the pillars of smoke which now arose with +cries of exultation, and directed arrows and darts upon the place, to +prevent the inhabitants from extinguishing the fire. + +Belisarius rode up to Martinus. + +"Capital, man of the circle!" he cried. "Capital! Who aimed the shot?" + +"I," said Jochem. "Oh! you will be satisfied with me, general. Now, pay +attention. Do you see that large house with the statues upon the flat +roof, to the right of the fire? That is the house of the Valerians, the +greatest enemies of the people of Edom. Attention! It shall burn." + +The fiery projectile flew hissing through the air, and immediately a +second flame rose out of the city. + +Just then Procopius galloped up and cried: + +"Belisarius, your general, Johannes, greets you. The Castle of Tiberius +burns, and the first wall is down!" + +And such was the fact; and soon, in all parts of the city, four, six, +ten houses were in flames. + +"Water!" cried Totila, galloping through a burning street near the +harbour. "Come out, you citizens of Neapolis! Extinguish your houses! I +can spare no Goths from the walls. Get barrels of water from the +harbour into all the streets! The women into the houses!--What do you +want, girl? leave me.--Is it you, Miriam? You here--among the flames +and arrows? Away! whom do you seek?" + +"You," said the girl. "Do not be alarmed. Her house burns, but she is +saved." + +"Valeria! For God's sake, where is she?" + +"With me. In our strong tower--there she is safe. I saw the flames. I +hastened to the house. Your friend with the soft voice was carrying her +out of the ruins; he wanted to take her into the church. I called to +him, and persuaded him to bring her to the tower. She bleeds. A stone +wounded her upon the shoulder, but there is no danger. She wishes to +see you, and I came to seek you!" + +"Thanks, child! But come, come away;" and he took hold of her arm, and +swung her up to his saddle. + +Trembling, she wound both arms about his neck. He held his broad shield +over her head with his left hand, and galloped off with her through the +smoking streets to the Porta Capuana. + +"Oh! would that I might die now," murmured Miriam to herself; "now, +upon his breast, if not with him!" + +In the tower Totila found Valeria, stretched upon Miriam's bed, under +the care of Julius and her female slaves. She was pale and weak from +loss of blood, but composed and quiet. + +Totila flew to her side. Miriam stood at the window with a beating +heart, and looked silently at the burning city. + +Totila had scarcely convinced himself that the wound was very slight, +than he again sprang up and cried: + +"You must go! Immediately! This very moment! In another hour Belisarius +may storm the city. I have once more filled my ships with fugitives. +They will take you to Cajeta, and thence to Rome. Afterwards you must +hasten to Taginæ to your estate. Julius will accompany you." + +"Yes," said Julius, "for we go the same way." + +"The same way? Whither art thou bound?" + +"To Gaul, to my home. I cannot bear to see this terrible struggle +any longer. You know well that all Italy has risen against you. My +fellow-countrymen fight under Belisarius. Shall I raise my hand against +them, or against you? I will go." + +Totila turned silently to Valeria. + +"My friend," she said, "it seems to me that our star has set for ever! +Scarcely has my father gone to lay your oath at the throne of God, than +Neapolis, the third city of the realm, falls." + +"So you have no faith in our swords?" + +"I have faith in your swords, but not in your good fortune! With the +falling rafters of my father's house fall all my hopes. Farewell, for a +long, long time! I obey you; I will go to Taginæ." + +Totila and Julius now went out with the slaves to secure places in one +of the triremes. + +Valeria rose from the bed; Miriam hurried to her to fasten the shining +sandals upon her feet. + +"Let it alone, maiden; you must not serve me!" said Valeria. + +"I do it gladly," whispered Miriam; "but permit me a question." Her +sparkling eyes were fixed upon Valeria's composed features. "You are +beautiful and clever and proud--but tell me, do you love him? You are +able to leave him at such a moment. Do you love him with devouring, +irresistible ardour? do you love him with such a love as----" + +"As yours?" Valeria pressed the lovely girl's glowing face to her +bosom, as if in protection. "No, my sweet sister! Do not be startled. I +guessed it long ago from his accounts of you. And I saw it at once in +your first look at him to-day. Do not be anxious; your secret is safe +with me. No one shall learn it. Do not weep, do not tremble, you sweet +child. I love you the better for the sake of your love. I quite +understand it. He is happy who, like you, can indulge his feelings at +such a moment. But an inimical God has bestowed upon me a mind that +ever looks forward, and so I see before us unknown pain and a long dark +path which ends not in light. But I cannot allow you to think your love +the more noble because it is hopeless. My hopes, too, are ashes! +Perhaps it would have been happier for him had he discovered the +scented rose of your love--for Valeria, I fear, will never be his! But +farewell, Miriam. They come. Remember our meeting! Remember me as a +sister, and take my warmest thanks. Thanks for your faithful love!" + +Miriam had trembled like a child found out in a fault, and would have +gladly run out of Valeria's sight, who seemed to see through +everything. But these noble sentiments overcame her timidity, and tears +flowed plentifully over her glowing cheeks. Trembling with shame and +weeping, she leaned her head upon her new friend's breast. They heard +Julius coming to call Valeria. They were obliged to part. + +Miriam cast a rapid glance at the face of the Roman lady; and then she +threw herself on the ground before her, embraced her knees, pressed a +burning kiss upon her cold hand, and disappeared into the next room. + +Valeria rose as if from a dream, and looked about her. In a vase on the +window-sill stood a dark-red rose. Valeria kissed it, and put it into +the bosom of her dress, blessed, with the motion of her hand, the place +which had afforded her an asylum, and then followed Julius, who took +her in a closed litter to the harbour, where she had time to take a +short leave of Totila, before she went on board with Julius. Shortly +afterwards the ship set sail, and moved proudly out of the harbour. + +Totila looked after it. He saw Valeria's white hand signing a farewell. +He looked and looked at the lessening sail, little heeding the +projectiles which now began to fall thicker into the harbour. He leaned +against a pillar, and, for a moment, forgot the burning town and +everything around him. + +Thorismuth roused him from his reverie. + +"Come, commodore!" he cried. "I have been seeking thee everywhere. +Uliaris wishes to speak to thee.--Come, why dost thou stand here, +gazing at the sea among all these whizzing arrows?" + +Totila slowly raised himself. + +"Seest thou," he said, "seest thou yonder ship? There they leave +me----" + +"Who?" asked Thorismuth. + +"My good-fortune and my youth," said Totila, and turned to seek +Uliaris. + +Uliaris told him that, in order to gain time, he had proposed an +armistice of three hours, which Belisarius, who wished for a parley, +had accepted. + +"I will never capitulate! But we must have time to repair and +strengthen our walls. Will reinforcements never come? Hast thou still +no news from the King by sea?" + +"None." + + +"The devil! Above six hundred of my Goths have fallen under these +hellish projectiles. I cannot even fill the most important posts. If I +had but four hundred men more!" + +"Well," said Totila, reflecting, "I think I can procure thee these. In +the Castellum Aurelium, on the road to Rome, lie four hundred and fifty +men. Until now they have declared that they received from King +Theodahad the unreasonable but strict order, on no account to aid in +defending Neapolis. But in this, great necessity--I will go myself, +during the armistice, and do all I can to bring them." + +"Do not go! The truce will have ended before thy return, and then the +road will be no longer safe. Thou canst not get through." + +"I will get through by force or by cunning. Only keep firm until I am +back. Up! Thorismuth, to horse!" + +While Totila, with Thorismuth and a few horsemen, galloped out of the +Porta Capuana, old Isaac, who had remained bravely on the walls without +tiring, took advantage of the armistice to return to his house, see his +daughter, and refresh himself with meat and wine. + +As Miriam was bringing these, and anxiously listening to Isaac's report +of the progress of the siege, a hasty and unsteady foot was heard upon +the steps, and Jochem appeared before the astonished pair. + +"Son of Rachel, whence comest thou in an evil hour, like a raven before +misfortune? How couldst thou enter? By what door?" + +"That is my affair. I come, Father Isaac, once more to demand thy +daughter's hand--for the last time in my life." + +"Is this a time for wooing and wedding?" asked Isaac indignantly. "The +city burns, and the streets are full of corpses." + +"Why does the city burn? Why are the streets full of corpses? Because +the people of Neapolis hold by the people of Edom. Yes, this _is_ the +time to woo. Give me thy child. Father Isaac, and I will save thee and +her. I alone can do so." + +And he attempted to take Miriam's hand. + +"Thou save _me_!" she cried, starting back in disgust. "Rather would I +die!" + +"Ha, proud girl!" cried the angry wooer; "thou wouldst be saved by the +fair-haired Christian? Let us see if he can save thee--the cursed +fellow!--from Belisarius and me. Ha! I will drag him through the +streets by his long yellow hair, and spit in his pale face!" + +"Get thee away, son of Rachel!" said Isaac, rising and taking up his +spear. "I see thou art a friend of those who lie outside--the horn +sounds the recall; I must go down. But this I tell thee: many amongst +you will fall back dead before they can climb over these rotten walls." + +"Perhaps," growled Jochem, "we shall fly over them, like the birds of +the air. For the last time, Miriam, I ask thee: Wilt thou leave this +old man and the cursed Christian? I tell thee the ruins of these walls +will soon cover them. I know that thou hast taken the Goth to thy +heart; but that I will forgive thee if only thou wilt be my wife." + +And again he tried to take her hand. + +"Thou wilt forgive me my love? Forgive what stands as high above thee +as the sun above the creeping worm? Should I be worthy to look upon his +face if I could become thy wife? Away! begone!" + +"Ha!" cried Jochem, "too much! too much! My wife! Never shalt thou be +my wife; but thou shalt struggle in my arms, and I will tear the +Christian out of thy bleeding heart as it withers in despair! Thou +shalt see me again!" + +And he left the room, and soon disappeared from the precincts of the +city. + +Miriam, oppressed by anxious thoughts, hurried into the open air. She +felt that she must pray; but not in the close synagogue. She would pray +for _him_, and she would pray to _his_ God. She shyly ventured into the +neighbouring Basilica of St. Maria, whence, in peaceful times, the +Jewess had often been driven with curses. + +But now the Christians had no time to curse. + +She crouched in a dark corner of the chancel, and soon forgot herself, +the city, and the world, in fervent prayer. + +She was alone with _him_ and with God. + +Meanwhile, the last hour of the armistice was drawing to a close. The +sun already declined to the surface of the sea. + +The Goths repaired and filled up the breaches of the walls with all +diligence, carried away the rubbish and the dead, and extinguished the +fires. + +For the third time the sands of the hour-glass ran out, while +Belisarius, in front of his tent and surrounded by his generals, was +awaiting the signal of capitulation from the Castle of Tiberius. + +"I don't believe in it," whispered Johannes to Procopius. "He who gives +such blows as I have seen given by that old man will never surrender. +And it is better so; then there will be a famous storming, and +afterwards a famous plundering." + +Earl Uliaris now appeared upon the ramparts of the castle, and hurled +his spear defiantly among the waiting sentries. + +Belisarius sprang up. + +"The fools desire their own destruction! Well, they shall be gratified. +Up, generals! to the attack! Whoever is the first to plant our standard +on the walls shall have a tenth part of the booty!" + +The leaders hurried away on all sides, spurred by avarice and ambition. + +Johannes was just turning the ruined arch of an aqueduct, which +Belisarius had destroyed in order to deprive the besieged of water, +when he heard a low voice calling his name. + +It was already so dark that he with difficulty recognised the man who +had spoken. + +"What do you want, Jew!" asked Johannes. "I have no time to lose. There +is hard work to be done. I must be the first into the city." + +"That you shall be, and without hard work, if you will follow me." + +"Follow you? Do you know a way through the air over the walls?" + +"No; but through the earth _under_ the walls. And I will show it you if +you give me a thousand solidi, and promise me a certain girl as booty." + +Johannes stood still. + +"You shall have what you like! Where is this way?" + +"Here!" said Jochem, and struck the masonry with his hand. + +"What? The aqueduct? How do you know?" + +"I built it. A man can creep through it; there is no more water in it. +I have just come this way out of the city. The passage leads into an +old temple at the Porta Capuana. Take thirty men and follow me!" + +Johannes looked sharply at him. + +"And if you deceive me?" + +"I will walk between your drawn swords. If I lie, kill me." + +"Wait," cried Johannes, and hurried away. + + + + CHAPTER IV. + +Shortly afterwards Johannes again appeared, accompanied by his brother +Perseus and about thirty brave Armenian mercenaries, who carried, +besides their swords, short battle-axes. + +"As soon as we are inside, Perseus," said Johannes, "you must break open +the sally-port to the right of the Porta Capuana at the moment when the +others unfold our flag upon the walls. At this signal my Huns, who wait +outside, will rush into the sally-port. But who keeps the tower at the +gate? Him we must have." + +"Isaac, a great friend of the Edomites. He must die!" + +"He dies!" said Johannes, and drew his sword. "Forward!" + +He was the first to enter the passage of the aqueduct. + +"Paukares and Gubazes, take the Jew between you. At the first +suspicion, down with him!" + +And so, now creeping on all fours, now stooping and cautiously feeling +their way, in complete obscurity, the Armenians slid and crept after +Johannes, taking care not to make any noise with their weapons. + +All at once Johannes cried in a low voice: + +"Hold the Jew! down with him! Enemies! Arms! No, no; let him alone!" he +added quickly. "It was only a snake that rustled past me. Forward!" + +"Now to the right," said the Jew; "here the passage leads into the +temple." + +"What lies here?--bones?--a skeleton! I can bear it no longer! The +mouldy smell suffocates me! Help!" sighed one of the men. + +"Let him lie! Forward!" ordered Johannes. "I see a star!" + +"It is the daylight in Neapolis," said Jochem; "only a few steps more." + +Johannes's helmet struck against the roots of a tall olive-tree, which +spread over the mouth of the passage in the atrium of the temple. We +know this tree. As he avoided the roots, Johannes struck his helmet +with a loud jingle against the side wall; he stopped short in alarm. +But he only heard the rapid flutter of the wings of numerous pigeons +which flew startled out of the branches of the olive-tree. + +"What was that?" said a hoarse voice above him. "How the wind howls in +the old ruins!" + +It was the widow Arria. + +"O God!" she cried, kneeling before the cross, "deliver us from evil! +Let not the city fall until my Jucundus returns! Alas! if he does not +find his mother! Oh, let him again come the way he went that unhappy +day, when he descended into the secret labyrinth to seek the hidden +treasure! Show him to me as I saw him last night in my dream, rising up +from below the roots of the tree!" + +And she turned to look at the hole. + +"O dark passage! into which my happiness disappeared, give it up to me +again! God! by this way lead him back to me." + +She stood exactly before the opening with folded hands, her eyes +piously raised to heaven. + +Johannes hesitated as he issued from the hole and perceived her. + +"She prays," he murmured. "Shall I kill her whilst praying!" + + +He waited; he hoped that she would turn away. + +"It lasts too long! God knows I cannot help it!" + +And he got quickly out from among the roots. + +The old woman now raised her half-blind eyes; she saw a glittering form +rise from the earth. A ray of ecstasy flashed across her features. She +spread out her arms. + +"Jucundus!" she cried. + +It was her last breath. + +The sword of the Byzantine had pierced her heart. + +Without a cry, a smile upon her lips, she sank down amid the flowers; +Miriam's flowers. + +Johannes turned and quickly helped up his brother Perseus, and then the +Jew and the first three soldiers. + +"Where is the sally-port?" + +"Here to the left. I will go and open it!" + +Perseus directed the soldiers. + +"Where are the steps to the tower?" + +"Here on the right," answered Jochem--it was the staircase which led to +Miriam's chamber--how often had Totila slipped in there! "Be quiet! I +hear the old man." + +It was really Isaac. + +He had heard the noise from above; he came to the top of the steps with +his torch and spear. + +"Who is it down there? is it thou, Miriam? who comes?" he asked. + +"I, Father Isaac," answered Jochem; "I wished once more to ask----" and +he stealthily went up another step. + +But Isaac heard the rattle of arms. + +"Who is with thee!" he asked, advancing and holding out his torch. He +now saw the armed men crouching behind Jochem. + +"Treachery! treachery!" he screamed; "die, thou blot upon the Hebrews!" +and he furiously struck his broad partisan into Jochem's heart, who +could not retreat. + +Jochem fell dead among the soldiers. + +"Treachery!" again cried Isaac. + +But the next moment Johannes struck him down, sprang over his corpse, +hurried to the ramparts, and unfolded the flag of Byzantium. + +Below the axes were busy; the sally-port fell, beaten down from within, +and with shrill cries--it was already quite dark--the Huns rushed by +thousands into the city. + +All was over. + +A portion filled the streets with carnage; one troop broke open the +nearest gates, letting in their comrades from outside. + +Old Uliaris, with his little troop, hurried from the castle; he hoped +to drive the intruders out; in vain; a spear was hurled which felled +him to the ground. + +And round his corpse fell, fighting bravely, the two hundred faithful +Goths who yet surrounded him. + +Then, when they saw the imperial banner waving on the walls, the +citizens of Neapolis arose. Led by old friends to the Romans, such as +Stephanus and Antiochus the Syrian--Castor, a zealous friend of the +Goths, had lost his life in attempting to hold them back--they disarmed +the single Goths in the streets, and sent an embassy with thanks, +congratulations, and petitions for mercy on the city to Belisarius, +who, surrounded by his brilliant staff, now rode into the Porta +Capuana. + +But he bent his majestic brow gloomily, and, without checking his +charger, answered: + +"Neapolis has checked my progress for fifteen days, else I had already +been before Rome, even before Ravenna. How much do you think this delay +has robbed the Emperor of his right, and me of fame? For fifteen days +your cowardice and ill-will has caused you to be governed by a handful +of barbarians. The punishment for these fifteen days shall be only +fifteen hours of--pillage. Without murder; the inhabitants are the +Emperor's prisoners of war; without fire, for the city is a fortress of +Byzantium. Where is the leader of the Goths? Dead?" + +"Yes," answered Johannes, "here is his sword. Earl Ularis fell." + +"I do not mean him!" said Belisarius; "I mean the young one; Totila. +What has become of him? I must have him." + +"Sir," said one of the Neapolitans, a rich merchant named Asklepiodot, +"if you will exempt my house and magazines from pillage, I will tell +you where he is." + +But Belisarius made a sign, and two Moorish lancers took hold of the +trembling man. + +"Rebel, do you make conditions to me? Speak! or torture shall unloose +your tongue!" + +"Have pity! mercy!" cried the man. "During the armistice, Totila went +out with a few horsemen to fetch reinforcements from the Castle of +Aurelian. They may return at any moment." + +"Johannes," cried Belisarius, "that man is worth all Neapolis. We must +take him! Have you, as I ordered, blocked the way to Rome, and manned +the gate?" + +"In that direction no one can have left the city," said Johannes. + +"Away! At once! We must entice him in! Let the Gothic banner fly from +the Castle of Tiberius and from the Porta Capuana. Send armed +Neapolitans upon the walls; he who warns Totila, even were it only with +a wink of his eye, dies! Arm my bodyguard with Gothic weapons. I will +be there myself. Place three hundred men in the neighbourhood of the +gate. Let Totila quietly in. As soon as he has passed the portcullis, +let it fall. I will have him alive. He shall not be wanting at the +triumph in Byzantium!" + +"Give me the office, general," begged Johannes; "I owe him a return for +an ill stroke." + +And he rushed back to the Porta Capuana, ordered the corpses and all +trace of combat to be removed, and took his further measures. + +As the men were busy obeying his orders, a veiled figure forced its way +among them. + +"For the good God's sake," begged a sweet voice, "let me get to him! I +will only see his body--oh, take care! Oh, my father! my father!" + +It was Miriam, who had hastened home terrified by the noise made by the +plundering Huns. With the strength of despair she pushed back the +spears and took Isaac's grey head into her arms. + +"Get away, girl!" said the soldier next to her, a very tall Bajuvar, a +mercenary of Byzantium; his name was Garizo. "Do not hinder us! we must +make the way clear. Into the grave with the Jew!" + +"No, no!" cried Miriam, and pushed the man back. + +"Woman!" he cried angrily, and lifted his axe. + +But, spreading her arms protectingly over her father's body, and with +sparkling eyes, the girl fearlessly stood her ground. The soldier +suddenly fell back as if paralysed. + +"Thou hast a bold heart, girl!" he cried, dropping his axe, "and thou +art as beautiful as the wood-nymph of the Liusacha! What can I do for +thee? Thou art wonderful to look at." + +"If the God of my fathers has touched thy heart," said Miriam in her +pathetic voice, "help me to hide the body in the garden there--he has +long since dug his own grave near Sarah, my mother--with his face to +the east." + +"It shall be done," said the Bajuvar, and obeyed her. + +She carried the head, he the knees of the corpse. A few steps took them +into the little garden; there, under a weeping-willow, lay a stone; the +man pushed it away, and they laid the corpse in the grave, with its +face to the east. + +Miriam looked into the grave without a word, without a tear; she felt +so forsaken, so lonely. The Bajuvar softly pushed the stone back into +its place, filled with compassion. + +"Come!" he said. + +"Whither?" asked Miriam in a low voice. + +"Well, whither wilt thou go?" + +"I do not know. I thank thee," she said, and took an amulet from her +neck and gave it to him. It was made of gold, a coin from the Jordan, +from the Temple. + +"No!" said the man, and shook his head. + +He took her hand, and pressed it to his eyes. + +"So," he said, "that will do me good all my life long. Now I must go; +we must catch the Earl Totila. Farewell." + +That name went to Miriam's heart. She cast one more look at the quiet +grave, and then slipped quickly out of the garden. + +She wished to go through the gate on to the highroad, but the +portcullis was down, and at the gate stood men with Gothic helmets and +shields. She looked about her in surprise. + +"Is all ready, Chanaranzes?" said a voice. + +"All; he is as good as taken!" + +"Hark! before the walls! horses trampling! It is they! Back, woman!" + +Outside, a few horsemen were seen trotting towards the gate. + +"Open, open the gate!" cried Totila from a distance. + +Thorismuth rode up to him. + +"I don't know how it is, I have no confidence," he cried. "The road +was so quiet, and so was the enemy's camp out there; scarcely a few +watch-fires were burning." + +From the ramparts came a flourish of the Gothic horn. + +"How horribly the fellow blows!" cried Thorismuth angrily. + +"It must be an Italian," said Totila. + +"Give the watch-word," was called from the walls in Latin. + +"Neapolis!" cried Totila. "Dost thou hear? Uliaris has been obliged to +arm the citizens. Open the gate! I bring good news," he called to the +men above. "Four hundred Goths follow at my heels, and Italy has a new +king." + +"Which is he!" asked some one inside, in a low voice. + +"He on the white horse, the first one." + +The gate was flung wide open; Gothic helmets filled the entrance; +torches shone; voices whispered. + +"Up with the portcullis!" cried Totila, riding up. Thorismuth looked +anxiously before him, shading his eyes with his hand. + +"They assembled yesterday at Regeta," Totila began again. "Theodahad is +deposed, and Earl Witichis----" + +The portcullis was slowly raised, and Totila was just about to give his +horse the spur, when a woman rushed from the row of soldiers, and cast +herself before the animal's hoofs. + +"Fly!" she cried. "The enemy is before you! the city is taken!" + +But she could not finish; a lance penetrated her heart. + +"Miriam!" cried Totila, horrified, and checked his horse. + +But Thorismuth, who was close behind, and who had long been suspicious, +now reached his arm past the grating, and separated the rope which held +the portcullis up with his sword, so that the portcullis fell with a +loud crash just in front of Totila. + +A hail of spears and arrows flew through the portcullis. + +"Up with the portcullis!" cried Johannes from within. "Out! Upon them!" + +But Totila did not move. + +"Miriam! Miriam!" he cried in great grief. + +Once more she opened her eyes, with a dying look of love and pain. That +look told everything; it pierced Totila's heart. + +"For thee!" she sighed, and fell back. + +He forgot Neapolis, danger, and death. + +"Miriam!" he cried again, and stretched out both his hands. + +An arrow touched his horse's flank; the noble animal reared. The +portcullis began to rise. Thorismuth caught Totila's bridle, wrenched +his horse round, and gave it such a stroke with the flat of his sword, +that it galloped away like the wind. + +"Up and away, sir!" he cried, rushing after Totila. "They must be +speedy who would overtake us!" + +And the riders flew back on the Via Capuana, the way that they had +come. Not far behind followed Johannes, ignorant of the way, and +confused by the darkness of the night. + +Totila's party presently met with the garrison of the Castle of +Aurelian, which was marching towards Neapolis. + +They all halted together upon a hill, whence they could see the city +and the ramparts, partially illuminated by the Byzantine watch-fires on +the walls. + +Only then did Totila recover from his grief and consternation. + +"Farewell, Miriam!" he sighed. "Farewell, Uliaris! Neapolis, I shall +see thee again!" + +And he gave orders to march forward to Rome. + +But from this hour a shadow fell upon the soul of the young Goth. +Miriam, with the holy right of suffering, had buried herself in his +heart for ever. + +When Johannes returned from his fruitless pursuit, and sprang from his +horse, he cried in a furious voice: "Where is the girl who warned him? +Throw her to the dogs!" And he hurried away to Belisarius, to report +the mishap. + +But no one could tell how the lovely corpse had disappeared. The horses +had trampled it beyond recognition, thought the crowd. + +But _one_ knew better--Garizo, the Bajuvar. + +He had borne her away from the tumult in his strong arms like a +sleeping child; had carried her into the little garden, had lifted the +stone from the scarcely-covered grave, and had laid the daughter +carefully by her father's side. + +Then he stood still and contemplated her features. In the distance +sounded the tumult from the plundered town, in which the Huns of +Belisarius, in spite of his command, burned and murdered, and did not +even spare the churches, until the general himself, rushing amongst +them with his drawn sword, put a stop to the cruel work of destruction. + +Such a noble expression lay upon Miriam's dead face, that Garizo did +not dare to kiss it, as he so much longed to do. So he placed her with +her face to the east, gathered a rose which was blooming near the +grave, and laid it upon her breast. + +He wished to take part in the pillage, but he could not leave the +place; he turned back again. And all the night long, leaning on his +sword, he kept watch over the grave of the beauteous girl. + +He looked up at the stars and repeated an ancient blessing on the dead, +which his mother had taught him in his home on the Liusacha. But that +did not satisfy him; he added a Christian paternoster. + +And when the sun rose, he carefully placed the stone over the grave and +went away. + +Thus Miriam had disappeared without leaving a trace behind. + +But in Neapolis the people, who in secret were faithful to Totila, told +how his guardian angel had descended to save him, and had then +reascended to heaven. + + + + CHAPTER V. + +The fall of Neapolis had occurred a few days after the meeting at +Regeta, and Totila, on his march thither, met at Formiæ with his +brother Hildebad, whom King Witichis had at once sent off with a few +thousands to strengthen the garrison at Neapolis, until he himself +could follow with a larger force. + +As things stood at present, the brothers could do nothing but fall back +upon the main army at Regeta, where Totila reported the sad events of +the last few days in Neapolis. + +The loss of the third city of the realm--one of the main bulwarks of +Italy--changed the whole plan of the Gothic campaign. + +Witichis had reviewed the troops assembled at Regeta; they amounted to +about twenty thousand men. These, with the little troop brought back by +Earl Teja on his own account, were, for the moment, the whole available +force. Before the strong divisions which Theodahad had sent away to +southern Gaul and Noricum, to Istria and Dalmatia--although they had +been summoned in all haste--could return, all Italy might be lost. + +Notwithstanding, the King had resolved to throw himself, with these +twenty thousand, into the fortress of Neapolis, and there oppose the +superior forces of the enemy, until reinforcements should arrive. + +But now that the strong city had fallen into Belisarius's hand, +Witichis gave up this plan. His composed courage was as far from +foolhardiness as from timidity. And the King was obliged to force +himself to a far more painful resolve. + +While, during the days following Totila's arrival in the camp before +Rome, the grief and anger of the Goths sought relief in cursing the +traitor Theodahad, Belisarius, and the Italians; while the bold youth +here and there began to grumble at the King's delay, who would not lead +them against these degenerate Greeks, four of whom it took to stand +against one Goth; while the impatience of the army already began to +rebel against inactivity, the King acknowledged to himself, with a +heavy heart, that it was necessary to retreat still farther, and even +give up Rome. + +Day by day news came of the increase of the army of Belisarius. At +Neapolis alone he had gained ten thousand men--at once hostages and +comrades. From all sides the Italians joined his flag; from Neapolis to +Rome, no place was strong enough to oppose such a force, and the +smaller towns on the coast opened their gates to the enemy with +rejoicing. + +The Gothic families dwelling in those parts fled to the camp of the +King, and told how, the very day after the fall of Neapolis, Cumæ and +Atilla had succumbed; then followed Capua, Cajeta, and even the +fortified Benevento. + +The vanguard of Belisarius--Huns, Saracens, and Moorish horsemen--was +already stationed before Formiæ. + +The Goths expected and desired a battle before the gates of Rome. But +Witichis had long since seen the impossibility, with an army of only +twenty thousand men, of encountering Belisarius, who, by that time, +would be able to muster a hundred thousand in the open field. + +For a time he entertained the idea of being able to hold the mighty +fortifications of Rome--Cethegus's proud work--against the Byzantine +incursion; but he was soon obliged to renounce even this hope. + +The population of Rome now counted--thanks to the Prefect--more armed +and practised men than they had possessed for many a century, and the +King daily convinced himself of the spirit which animated them. + +Even now the Romans could scarcely restrain their hatred of the +barbarians; it was not only evinced by unfriendly and mocking gestures; +already the Goths dared not venture into the streets except in +well-armed numbers, and every day single Gothic sentries were found +dead, stabbed from behind. + +Witichis could not conceal from himself that the different elements of +the popular feeling were organised and guided by cunning and powerful +leaders: the heads of the Roman aristocracy and the Roman clergy. He +was obliged to confess that, so soon as Belisarius should appear before +the walls, the Roman population would rise, and, together with the +besiegers, would overcome the weak Gothic garrison. + +So Witichis had unwillingly resolved to give up Rome and all central +Italy; to throw himself into the strong and faithful city of Ravenna; +there to complete the very incomplete armament of the troops, to unite +all the Gothic forces, and then to seek the enemy with an equally +powerful army. + +This resolution was a great sacrifice. For Witichis had his full share +of the Germanic love of fight, and it was a hard blow to his pride to +retreat and seek for means of defence, instead of striking at once. + +But there was still more. + +It was inglorious for a king who had been raised to the throne of the +cowardly Theodahad because of his known courage, to begin his rule with +a shameful retreat. He had lost Neapolis during the first days of his +reign; should he now voluntarily give up Rome, the city of splendours? +Should he give up more than the half of Italy? And if he thus +controlled his pride for the sake of his people--what would that people +think of him? + +These Goths, with their impetuosity, their contempt of the enemy! Could +he be sure of enforcing their obedience? + +For the office of a Germanic king was more to advise and propose, than +to order and compel. Already many a ruler of this people had been +forced against his will to engage in war and suffer defeat. He feared a +similar thing. + +With a heavy heart, he one night paced to and fro his tent in the camp +at Regeta. + +All at once hasty steps drew near, and the curtain of the tent was +pulled open. + +"Up! King of the Goths!" cried a passionate voice. "It is no time now +to sleep!" + +"I do not sleep, Teja," said Witichis; "since when art thou returned? +What bringest thou?" + +"I have just entered the camp; the dews of night are still upon me. +First know that they are dead!" + +"Who? + +"The traitor and the murderess!" + +"What! hast thou killed them both?" + +"I kill no woman. I followed Theodahad, the traitor-king, for two days +and two nights. He was on the way to Ravenna; he had a fair start. But +my hatred was swifter than his cowardice. I overtook him near Narnia; +twelve slaves accompanied his litter. They had no desire to die for the +miserable man; they threw away their torches and fled. I tore him out +of his litter, and put my own sword into his hand. But he fell upon his +knees, begged for his life, and, at the same moment, aimed a +treacherous stroke at me. Then I slew him like an ox at the altar; with +three strokes--one for the realm, two for my parents. And I hung him up +by his belt to a withered yew-tree on the high-road, a prey to the +birds of the air, and a warning to the kings of the earth." + +"And what became of her?" + +"Her end was terrible," said Teja, shuddering. "When I first passed +through Rome, nothing was known of her but that she had refused to +follow the coward-king. He fled alone. Gothelindis called her +Cappadocian mercenaries together, and promised them heaps of gold, if +they would keep by her, go with her to Dalmatia, and occupy the +fortress of Salona. The men hesitated and wished to see the gold. Then +Gothelindis promised to bring it, and left them. Since then she had +disappeared. When I passed through Rome the second time, she had been +found----" + +"Well?" + +"She had ventured into the Catacombs alone, without a guide, to fetch +the treasure which had been hidden there. She must have lost herself in +the labyrinth; she could not find the way out. Mercenaries who were +sent to seek her, found her still alive; her torch was not burnt down, +but was almost entire; it must have gone out soon after she had entered +the Catacombs. Madness shone from her eyes; fear of death and a long +despair had overcome this bad woman; she died as soon as she was +brought to the light." + +"Horrible!" cried Witichis. + +"A just punishment!" said Teja. "But listen!" + +Before he could continue, Totila, Hildebad, Hildebrand, and several +other Goths rushed into the tent. + +"Does he know!" asked Totila. + +"Not yet," said Teja. + +"Rebellion!" cried Hildebad, "rebellion! Up, King Witichis! Defend thy +crown! Off with the boy's head!" + +"What has happened?" asked Witichis quietly. + +"Earl Arahad of Asta, the vain fool! has rebelled. Immediately after +you had been chosen King, he rode off to Florentia, where his elder +brother, Guntharis, the proud Duke of Tuscany, lives and rules. There +the Wölfungs have found many adherents. Arahad called upon the Goths +everywhere to protect the 'Royal Lily,' as they call her, Mataswintha, +the true heir to the throne! They have proclaimed her Queen. She was in +Florentia at the time, and therefore fell at once into their hands. It +is not known if she be the prisoner of Guntharis or the wife of Arahad. +It is only known that they have enlisted Avarian and Gepidian +mercenaries, and armed all the adherents of the Amelungs and their kith +and kindred, together with the numerous adherents of the Wölfungs. Thee +they call the 'Peasant-King;' they intend to take Ravenna!" + +"Oh, send me to Florentia, with only three thousand," cried Hildebad +angrily; "I will bring you this Queen of the Goths, together with her +aristocratic lover, imprisoned in a bird-cage!" + +But the others looked anxious. + +"Things look bad," said Hildebrand. "Belisarius with his hundred +thousands before us--at our backs the wily Rome--our main forces still +fifty miles off--and now civil war and rebellion in the heart of the +nation!" + +But Witichis was as quiet and composed as ever. + +"It is perhaps better so," he said. "We have now no choice. We _must_ +retreat." + +"Retreat!" asked Hildebad angrily. + +"Yes; we dare not leave an enemy at our backs. To-morrow we break up +the camp and go----" + +"Forward to Neapolis!" asked Hildebad. + +"No. Back to Rome. And farther! To Florentia, to Ravenna! The spark of +rebellion must be trampled out ere it burst into a flame." + +"What? Thou wilt retreat before Belisarius?" + +"Yes, to advance all the more irresistibly, Hildebad. The string of the +bow is also stretched backward to hurl the deadly arrow with the +greater force." + +"Never," cried Hildebad; "thou canst not--thou darest not do that!" + +But Witichis stepped quietly up to him and laid his hand upon his +shoulder. + +"I am thy King. Thou thyself hast chosen me. Loud above all the others +sounded _thy_ cry: 'Hail, King Witichis!' Thou knowest--God knows--that +I did not stretch forth my hand for the crown. You yourselves have +pressed it upon my brow. Take it off, if you can entrust it to me no +longer. But as long as I wear it, trust me and obey. Otherwise you and +I are lost!" + +"Thou art right," said sturdy Hildebad, and bent his head. "Forgive me; +I will make it good in the next fight." + +"Up, my generals," concluded Witichis, putting on his helmet. "Thou, +Totila, wilt hasten to the Frank Kings in Gaul, on an important +embassy. You others hasten to your troops; break up the camp; at +sunrise we march to Rome." + + + + CHAPTER VI. + +A few days later, on the eve of the entry of the Goths into Rome, we +find the young "knights," Lucius and Marcus Licinius, Piso the poet, +Balbus the corpulent, and Julianus the young advocate, assembled in +confidential talk at the Prefect's house. + +"So this is the list of the blind partisans of the future Pope +Silverius--of my envious enemies? Is it complete?" + +"It is. I have made a great sacrifice for you, general," cried Lucius +Licinius, "If, as my heart impelled me, I had at once joined +Belisarius, I should have already shared in the taking of Neapolis, +instead of watching here the stealthy footsteps of the priests, and +teaching the plebeians to march and man[oe]uvre." + +"They will never learn it again," observed Marcus. + +"Be patient," said Cethegus quietly, and without looking up from a roll +of papyrus which he held in his hand. "You will be able, soon enough +and long enough, to wrestle with these Gothic bears. Do not forget that +fighting is only a means, and not an end." + +"I don't know that," said Lucius doubtfully. + +"Freedom is our aim, and freedom demands power," said Cethegus. +"We must first again accustom these Romans to shield and sword, or +else----" + +He was interrupted by the entrance of the ostiarius, who announced a +Gothic warrior. + +The young Romans exchanged indignant looks. + +"Let him in," said Cethegus, putting his writings into a casket. + +There entered hastily a young man, clad in the brown mantle of the +Gothic soldier, a Gothic helmet on his head, who threw himself on the +Prefect's neck. + +"Julius!" exclaimed Cethegus, coldly repulsing him. "Do we meet again +thus? Have you, then, become a complete barbarian? How did you come to +Rome?" + +"My father, I accompanied Valeria, under Gothic protection. I come from +smouldering Neapolis." + +"Aha!" cried Cethegus. "Have you fought with your blond friend against +Italy? That becomes a Roman well! Does it not, Lucius?" + +"I have neither fought nor will fight in this unhappy war. Woe to those +who have kindled it!" + +Cethegus measured him with cold looks. + +"It is beneath my dignity, and beyond my patience, to represent to a +Roman the infamy of such sentiments. Alas! that my Julius should be +such a renegade! Shame upon you, before these your compatriots! Look, +Roman knights, here is a Roman without love of freedom, without anger +against the barbarians!" + +But Julius quietly shook his head. + +"You have not yet seen the Huns and Massagetæ of Belisarius, who are to +bring you freedom. Where, then, are the Romans of whom you speak? Has +Italy risen to throw off her fetters? Can she still rise? Justinian +fights with the Goths, not we. Woe to the people which is liberated by +a tyrant!" + +In secret Cethegus confessed that Julius was right; but he would not +suffer such words to be spoken before his friends. + +"I must dispute with this philosopher in private," he said. "Let me +know if anything occur among the priesthood." + +And the tribunes went, casting contemptuous looks at Julius. + +"I should not like to hear what my friends say of you," said Cethegus, +looking after them. + +"It is quite indifferent to me. I listen to my own thoughts, and not to +those of others," responded Julius. + +"He has become a man!" said Cethegus to himself. + +"My deepest and best feelings have brought me here," continued Julius. +"I feel that this war is accursed. I come to save you, and take you +from this sultry air, from this world of deceit and lies. I beseech +you, my friend, my father, follow me to Gaul!" + +"_I_ leave Italy at the moment of the liberators' approach! You must +know that it was I who called them; _I_ kindled this war, which you +call accursed!" + +"I feared it," said Julius sadly. "But who will deliver us from our +deliverers? Who will end the struggle?" + +"I!" said Cethegus, with quiet majesty. "And you, my son, shall help +me. Yes, Julius, your fatherly friend, whom you think so cold and +indifferent, can also be enthusiastic, though not for girls' eyes and +Gothic friendships. Leave these boys' pastimes; you are now a man. +Give me the last joy of my desolate life, and be the sharer of my +battles and the inheritor of my victories! It is for Rome, freedom, +power! Boy, can my words not move you? Imagine," he continued, more +warmly--"imagine these Goths, these Byzantines--I hate them as heartily +as you do--exhausted by each other and overcome. On the ruins of their +power Italy--Rome--will rise in all its ancient splendour! Again the +ruler of the East and West will sit enthroned upon the Capitoline Hill. +A new Roman Emperor, prouder than ever your Cæsar-forefather dreamed +of, will extend order, blessing, and awe over all the earth----" + +"And the ruler of this Empire will be called--Cethegus Cæsarius!" + +"Yes; and after him, Julius Montanus! Up, Julius! you are no man if +this goal does not tempt you!" + +"I am dizzy," said Julius admiringly. "The goal is high as the stars; +but your ways--are crooked. Ah! if they were straight, by God! I would +share your steps! Yes; call the Roman youth to arms; cry to both the +barbarian forces, 'Out of our holy Latium!' make open war against the +barbarians and against the tyrants, and I will stand or fall at your +side." + +"You know well that this is impossible." + +"And, therefore--it is your aim!" + +"Fool! do you not see that it is common to form a structure from good +material, but that it is divine by one's own strength to create a new +world out of nothing?" + +"Divine? By cunning and lies? No!" + +"Julius!" + +"Let me speak plainly; for that purpose am I come. Oh that I could call +you back from the demoniac path, which will only lead you to +destruction! You know that I ever loved and honoured you. But what I +hear whispered of you by Greeks, Goths, and Romans, is not in tune with +this reverence." + +"What do they whisper?" asked Cethegus proudly. + +"I do not like to think of it. But everything terrible that has +happened lately--the death of Athalaric, Camilla, and Amalaswintha, the +landing of the Byzantines--is named as the work of a demon, who is the +author of all evil; and this demon--is you! Tell me, simply and truly, +that you are free from this dark----" + +"Boy," exclaimed Cethegus, "are you my confessor, and would call me to +account? First learn to understand the aim before you blame the means. +Do you think that history is built of roses and lilies? Who wills what +is great must do great things, whether the small call it good or bad." + +"No, no, I repeat. Cursed be the aim which only leads to crime! Here +our paths divide." + +"Julius, do not go. You despise what was never before offered to mortal +man. Let me have a son, for whom I can strive, to whom I can bequeath +the inheritance of my life." + +"Curses and blood stick to it! And even if I could enter at once +upon this inheritance, I should reject it. I will go, so that I may not +see your image grow still darker. But I beg one thing: when the day +comes--and it will come--when you are weary of all this bloodshed and +crime, and of the aim itself which necessitated such deeds, then call +me. I will come to you, wherever I may be, and I will wrest you from +the demoniac power which enthralls you, were it at the price of my own +life." + +At first a smile of mockery passed across the Prefect's lips, but he +thought, "He still loves me. 'Tis good; I will call him when the work +is finished. Let us see if he can then resist--if he will refuse the +Empire of the world." + +"Well," he said aloud, "I will call you when I need you. Farewell." + +And, with a cold gesture, he dismissed the youth, who was overcome with +emotion. + +But as the door closed behind Julius, the Prefect took a small medal of +embossed bronze from a box, and contemplated it for some time. + +He was about to kiss it. + +But suddenly the sarcastic expression again passed across his lips. + +"Shame on thee, Cethegus!" he exclaimed, "before Cæsar's face!" + +And he put the medal back into the box. + +It was the head of a woman, and very like Julius. + + + + CHAPTER VII. + +Meanwhile it had become quite dark. The slave brought the pretty bronze +lamp of Corinthian workmanship--an eagle, which carried the ball of the +sun in its beak, filled with scented Persian oil. + +"A Gothic warrior waits outside, sir; he wishes to speak with you +alone. He looks very insignificant. Shall he lay down his arms?" + +"No," answered Cethegus. "We do not fear the barbarians. Let him in." + +The slave went, and Cethegus laid his right hand upon the dagger in the +bosom of his tunic. + +A stately Goth entered, the cowl of his brown mantle drawn over his +head. He now threw it back. + +Cethegus started forward in astonishment. + +"What leads the King of the Goths to me?" + +"Softly!" said Witichis. "No one need know what we two transact. You +know that yesterday and to-day my army has entered Rome from Regeta. +You do not know that we leave Rome to-morrow!" + +Cethegus looked amazed. + +"It surprises you?" + +"The city is secure," said Cethegus quietly. + +"Yes; but not the fidelity of the Romans. Benevento has already gone +over to Belisarius. I have no wish to allow myself to be crushed +between Belisarius and you." + +Cethegus was prudently silent; he did not know to what this would lead. +At last he asked: + +"Wherefore are you come. King of the Goths?" + +"Not to ask you how far the Romans may be trusted; and also not to +complain that we can trust you so little--you, whom Theodoric and his +daughter overwhelmed with benefits--but honestly and simply to arrange +a few things with you, for our mutual well-being." + +Cethegus was surprised. In the proud frankness of this man lay +something which he envied. He would gladly have despised it. + +"We shall leave Rome," continued Witichis, "and shortly afterwards the +Romans will admit Belisarius. It is sure to be so; I cannot hinder it. +I have been advised to take the heads of the aristocracy as hostages." + +Cethegus started, and with difficulty hid the movement. + +"You before all, the Princeps Senatus." + +"Me?" said Cethegus, smiling. + +"I shall leave you here. I know well that you are the soul of Rome." + +Cethegus cast down his eyes, "I accept the oracle," he thought. + +"But for that very reason I leave you here," Witichis continued. +"Hundreds who call themselves Romans would like the Byzantines for +masters. You--you would not have it." + +Cethegus looked inquiringly at him. + +"Do not deceive me. Do not try to deceive me. I am no man of craft or +cunning! but my eye penetrates men's natures. You are too proud to +serve Justinian, and I know that you hate us. But neither do you love +these Greeks, and you will suffer them no longer than is necessary. +Therefore I leave you here; I know you love this city." + +There was something about this man which compelled Cethegus to +admiration. + +"King of the Goths," he said, "you speak plainly and nobly, like a +king. I thank you. It shall not be said of Cethegus that he does not +understand magnanimous words. It is as you say. I shall keep my Rome +Roman with all my might." + +"Good!" said Witichis. "See, I have been warned against your wiles; I +know much of your secret plans; I guess still more; and I know that I +have no weapon against deceit. But you are no liar. I knew that a manly +word would touch you; and trust disarms every enemy who is worthy of +being called a man." + +"You honour me. King of the Goths. That I may deserve your trust, let +me warn you. Do you know who are the warmest friends of Belisarius?" + +"I know it: Silverius and the priests." + +"Right! And do you know that, as soon as the old Pope, Agapetus, is +dead, Silverius will ascend the Bishop's Chair?" + +"So I hear. I was advised to take him as a hostage too. I shall not do +so. The Italians hate us enough already. I will not meddle with the +wasps' nest of the priests. I fear martyrs." + +But Cethegus would gladly have been rid of the priest, "He will be +dangerous in the Chair of Peter," he said warningly. + +"Let him alone! The possession of this country will not be decided by +the schemes of the priesthood." + +"Well," said Cethegus, taking the roll of papyrus, "I have here, +accidentally, the names of his warmest friends; there are men of +importance amongst them." + +He would have pressed the list upon Witichis, hoping that then the +Goths would take his most dangerous enemies away with them. + +But Witichis refused the list. + +"'Tis no matter! I shall take no hostages at all. Of what use is it to +take off their heads? _You_, shall answer to me for Rome." + +"What do you mean by that? I cannot keep Belisarius away." + +"You shall not. Belisarius is sure to come, but, rely upon it, he will +go away again. We Goths will overcome this enemy; perhaps only after a +hard fight, but most certainly. And then there will be a second fight +for Rome!" + +"A second?" asked Cethegus quietly. "With whom?" + +Witichis laid his hand upon the Prefect's shoulder, and looked into his +face with eyes as clear as sunshine. + +"With you, Prefect of Rome!" + +"With me?" and Cethegus tried to smile, but could not. + +"Do not deny what is dearest to you, man. It is not worthy of you. I +know for whom you have built the gates and ramparts round this city; +not for us and not for the Greeks! for yourself! Be quiet! I know you +meditate, or I guess it. Not a word! Be it so. Shall Greek and Goth +struggle for Rome, and no Roman? But listen: let not a second wearing +war carry off our people. When we have overcome the Byzantines and +driven them out of our Italy--then, Cethegus, I will expect you before +the walls of Rome. Not for a battle between our people, but for single +combat. Man against man, you and I will lose or win Rome." + +In the King's look and tone lay such dignity, magnanimity, and +sublimity, that the Prefect was confused. + +In secret he would have mocked at the simplicity of the barbarian, but +it seemed to him as if he could never more respect himself, if he were +incapable of esteeming, honouring, and responding to such greatness. + +So he spoke without sarcasm. + +"You dream, Witichis, like a Gothic boy." + +"No, I think and act like a Gothic man. Cethegus, you are the only +Roman whom I would honour thus. I have seen you fight in the wars with +the Gepidæ. You are worthy of my sword. You are older than I; well, I +will give you the advantage of the shield!" + +"You Germans are very singular," said Cethegus involuntarily. "What +fancies!" + +But now Witichis frowned. + +"Fancies! Woe to you, if you are not able to feel what speaks in me. +Woe to you, if Teja be right! He laughed at my plan and said, 'The +Roman will not understand that!' And _he_ advised me to take you with +me a prisoner. I thought more highly of you and Rome. But know: Teja +has surrounded your house; and are you so mean or so cowardly as not to +comprehend me, we shall take you from your Rome in chains. Shame upon +you, that you must be forced to do what is honourable!" + +But now it was Cethegus's turn to get angry. + +He felt abashed. The chivalry of Witichis was strange to him, and it +vexed him that he could not mock at it. It vexed him to be compelled; +that his free choice had been mistrusted. A furious hatred in return +for Teja's contempt, and anger at the King's brutal frankness, flamed +up in his soul. He would gladly have thrust his dagger into the Goth's +broad breast. + +He had been almost on the point of giving his word in good earnest from +a soldierly feeling of honour. + +But now a very different, hateful feeling of malignant joy flashed +across his mind. The barbarians had mistrusted him, they had despised +him; now they should certainly be deceived! + +Coming forward with a keen look, he grasped the King's hand. + +"Be it so!" he said. + +"Be it so!" repeated Witichis, giving his hand a strong pressure. "I am +glad that I was right and not Teja. Farewell! Guard our Rome! From you +I will demand her again in honourable combat." + +And he left the house. + +"Well!" said Teja, who waited outside with the other Goths. "Shall I +storm the house?" + +"No," said Witichis; "he has given his word." + +"If he will only keep it!" + +Witichis started back in indignation. + +"Teja! thy gloomy mind renders thee too unjust! Thou hast no right to +doubt a hero's honour. Cethegus is a hero!" + +"He is a Roman! Good-night!" said Teja, sheathing his sword. And he +turned another way with his Goths. + +But Cethegus tossed all night upon his couch. He was at variance with +himself. + +He was vexed with Julius. + +He was bitterly vexed with Witichis, more bitterly still with Teja. + +But most with himself. + + +The next day Witichis once again assembled people. Senate, and the +clergy of the city, at the Thermæ of Titus. From the highest step of +the marble staircase of the handsome building, which was filled with +the leaders of the army, the King made a simple speech to the Romans. + +He declared that he must leave the city for a short time, but that he +would soon return. He reminded them of the mildness of the Gothic +government, of the benefits of Theodoric and Amalaswintha, and called +upon them courageously to oppose Belisarius, in case of his advance, +until the Goths returned to reinforce them. The newly-drilled +legionaries and the strong fortifications made a long resistance +possible. + +Finally he demanded the oath of allegiance, and asked them once more to +defend their city to the death against Belisarius. The Romans +hesitated; for their thoughts were already in Belisarius's camp, and +they disliked to perjure themselves. + +Just at this crisis a solemn hymn was heard in the direction of the Via +Sacra; and past the Flavian Amphitheatre came a long procession of +priests, swinging censers, and singing psalms. + +In the night Pope Agapetus had died, and, in all haste, Silverius, the +archdeacon, had been appointed as his successor. + +Solemnly and slowly the crowd of priests advanced; the insignia of the +Bishop of Rome were carried in front; choristers with silvery voices +sang sweet and sacred airs. At last the Pope's litter appeared open, +richly gilt, and shaped like a boat. + +The bearers walked slowly, step by step, in time to the music; pressed +upon by crowds of people, who were eager to receive the blessing of +their new Bishop. + +Silverius bent his head to the right and left, and blessed the people +repeatedly. + +A number of priests and a troop of mercenaries, armed with spears, +closed the procession. + +It halted in the middle of the square. The Arian and Gothic warriors, +who stood sentry at all the entrances of the place, silently watched +the solemn and splendid procession, the symbol of a church which was +their enemy; while the Romans greeted the appearance of their Apostolic +Father all the more joyfully, because his voice could calm their +scruples of conscience as to the oath to be given. + +Silverius was just about to begin his address to the people, when the +arm of a gigantic Goth, stretched over the side of his litter, pulled +him by his gold-brocaded mantle. + +Indignant at this very irreverent interruption, Silverius turned his +face with a severe frown; but the Goth, unabashed, repeated the pull, +and said: + +"Come, priest, thou must go up to the King!" + +Silverius thought it would have been more becoming if the King had come +down to him, and Hildebad seemed to read something of this feeling on +his features, for he cried: + +"It cannot be helped! Stoop, priest!" + +And herewith he pressed his hand upon the shoulder of one of the +priests who carried the litter. The bearers now set the litter down; +Silverius left it with a sigh, and followed Hildebad up the steps. + +When the priest reached Witichis, the latter took his hand, advanced +with him to the edge of the steps, and said: + +"Roman citizens, your priest has been chosen for your Bishop; I ratify +the choice; he shall become Pope, as soon as he has sworn the oath of +allegiance, and has taken for me your oaths of fealty. Swear, priest!" + +For one moment Silverius was confounded. + +But immediately recovering himself, he turned with an unctuous smile to +Witichis. + +"You command?" he asked. + +"Swear," said Witichis, "that in our absence you will do all that you +can to keep this city of Rome faithful to the Goths, to whom you owe so +much, to further us in all things, and to hinder the progress of our +enemies. Swear fidelity to the Goths!" + +"I swear," said Silverius, turning to the people. "And thus I, who have +power to bind and to loose, call upon you, Romans, surrounded as you +are by Gothic weapons, to swear in the same spirit in which I myself +have taken the oath." + +The priests and some of the nobility appeared to have understood, and +lifted their hands to swear without delay. + +Then the mass hesitated no longer, and the place echoed with the loud +shout: "We swear fidelity to the Goths!" + +"It is well, Bishop of Rome," said the King, "we count upon your oath. +Farewell, Romans! We shall soon meet again." + +And he descended the broad flight of steps. Teja and Hildebad followed +him. + +"Now I am only curious--" said Earl Teja. + +"Whether they will keep their oath?" interposed Hildebad. + +"No; not at all. But how they will break it. Well, the priest will find +out the way." + +With flying standards the Goths marched out of the Porta Flaminia, +leaving the city to its Pope and the Prefect. Meanwhile Belisarius +approached by forced marches upon the Via Latina. + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + +The city of Florentia was full of eager and warlike activity. The gates +were closed; on the ramparts and bastions paced numerous sentinels; the +streets rang with the clatter of mounted Goths and armed mercenaries; +for Guntharis and Arahad had thrown themselves into this fortress, and, +for the present, had made it the main stronghold of the rebellion +against Witichis. + +The two brothers lived in a handsome villa which Theodoric had built on +the shores of the Arnus, in the suburb but still within the enclosure +of the walls. + +Duke Guntharis of Tuscany, the elder, was a far-famed warrior, and had +been for years the commander of the city of Florentia. Within this +district lay the estates of his powerful family, cultivated by +thousands of farmers and vassals; his power in this city and district +was unlimited, and Duke Guntharis was resolved to use it to the utmost. + +In full armour, his helmet upon his head, Guntharis walked impatiently +to and fro his marble-wainscoted room, while his younger brother, in +festive garments and unarmed, leaned silently and thoughtfully against +a table, which was covered with letters and parchments. + +"Decide; make haste, my boy!" cried Guntharis, "it is my last word. +To-day thou wilt obtain the consent of the obstinate child, or I--dost +thou hear?--I will go myself to fetch it. But then, woe be to her. I +know better than thou how to manage a capricious girl." + +"Brother, thou wilt not do that?" + +"By the Thunderer! but I will. Dost think I will risk my head, and +delay the good-fortune of my house, for the sake of thy sentimental +consideration? Now is the time to procure the first place in the nation +for the Wölfungs; the place which by right belongs to them, and from +which the Amelungs and Balthes have ousted them for centuries. The last +daughter of the Amelungs, once thy wife, no one can dispute thy +possession of the throne; and my sword will protect it against the +Peasant-King, Witichis. But we must not delay too long. I have yet no +news from Ravenna, but I fear the city will only acknowledge +Mataswintha, and not us; that is, not us alone. And whoever has +Ravenna, has Italy, since Neapolis and Rome are lost; therefore that +strong fortress must be ours. To insure this, Mataswintha must become +thy wife before we reach the walls of Ravenna; else it will be reported +that she is more our prisoner than our Queen." + +"Who desires it more ardently than I? But yet I cannot use compulsion!" + +"No? Why not? Seek her and win her, well or ill. I go to strengthen the +guard upon the walls. When I return I must have an answer." + +Duke Guntharis went; and his brother made his way, sighing, into the +garden to seek Mataswintha. + +This garden had been laid out by a skilled freedman from Asia Minor. In +the background he had formed a kind of park, the glades of which, free +from flowerbeds or terraces, were luxuriantly green. Through the +flowery grass and amongst the thick oleanders flowed a clear brook. + +Close to the edge of the brook lay, stretched upon the turf, a youthful +female figure. She had thrown her mantle back from her right arm, and +seemed to be playing, now with the murmuring ripples, now with the +nodding flowers on the brink. She was buried in thought, and at +intervals threw a violet or a crocus dreamily into the water, watching +the blossoms with slightly opened lips, as they were swiftly borne away +by the running stream. + +Close behind her kneeled a young girl in the dress of a Moorish slave, +busily weaving a wreath of flowers, which only wanted the finishing +touches. Every now and then she looked at her meditative mistress, to +see if she noticed her secret occupation. But the lady seemed quite +lost in reverie. + +At last the pretty wreath was finished; with laughing eyes the slave +placed it lightly upon the splendid auburn hair of her mistress, and +bent forward over her shoulder to meet her eyes. But the lady had not +felt the flowers touch her head. Then the little slave became +impatient, and, pouting, said: + +"But, mistress, by the palms of the Auras! of what art thou thinking? +With whom art thou?" + +"With him!" whispered her mistress. + +"By the white goddess! I can bear it no longer," cried the little +slave-girl, springing up; "it is too bad; I shall die of jealousy! +Thou not only forgettest me, thy gay gazelle, but also thine own +beauty--and all for this invisible man! Only look into the water and +see how beautifully thy bright hair contrasts with the dark violets and +white anemones." + +"Thy wreath is pretty!" said Mataswintha, taking it off and throwing it +gently into the water. "What sweet flowers! Greet him from me!" + +"Oh, my poor flowers!" cried the slave, looking after them; but she did +not dare to scold. "Only tell me," she cried, sitting down again beside +her mistress, "how all this is to end? We have been here now for many +days, we do not rightly know if as Queen or prisoner? In any case we +are in the power of strangers. We have never set our feet out of thy +apartments or of this well-walled garden, and know nothing of the +outside world. But thou art ever still and happy, as if it must be so!" + +"And it must be so!" + +"Indeed? and how will it end?" + +"_He_ will come and set me free." + +"Truly, White Lily, thou hast strong faith. If we were at home in +Mauretania, and I saw thee looking at night at the stars, I should say +that thou hadst read everything there. But in this way I do not +understand it," and she shook her black locks, "and I shall never +understand it." + +"But thou shalt and wilt, Aspa!" said Mataswintha, raising herself, and +putting her white arm tenderly round the girl's brown neck; "thy +faithful love has long since deserved this reward, the best that I can +give thee." + +A tear rose in the slave's dark eye. + +"Reward?" she said. "Aspa was stolen by wild men with long red locks. +Aspa is a slave. Every one has scolded and beaten her. Thou boughtest +me as a flower is bought. But thou strokest my cheek and my hair. Thou +art as beautiful as the Goddess of the Sun, and thou speakest of +reward?" + +And she nestled her head upon the bosom of her mistress. + +"Thou art my gazelle!" said Mataswintha; "thou hast a heart of gold. +Thou shalt know all; thou shalt hear what is known to none but myself. +Listen; my childhood was without love, without joy; and yet my young +soul needed both. My poor mother had ardently longed for a boy, for an +heir to the throne--and she treated the girl who was born to her with +dislike, coldness, and severity. When Athalaric was born, she became +less harsh but more cold; all her love and care went to the heir to the +throne. I should not have felt it, had I not seen just the contrary in +my tender father. I felt that he also suffered under the coldness of +his wife, and the sick man often pressed me to his heart with tears and +sighs. And when he was dead and buried, all the love in the world was +dead for me. I saw little of Athalaric; he was educated by other +teachers in another part of the palace. I saw my mother still less; +scarcely ever, unless she had to punish me. And yet I loved her so +much! And I saw how my nurses and teachers loved their own children, +and kissed and petted them; and my heart longed with all its might for +similar warmth and affection. So I grew up like a pale flower without +sunshine! My favourite place in all the world was the grave of my +father Eutharic, in the large palace garden at Ravenna. There, with the +dead, I sought the love which I did not find in the living; and +whenever I could escape my attendants, I hurried there to indulge in my +longing and to weep. The older I grew, the more this longing increased. +In the presence of my mother I was forced to hide all my feelings; she +despised me if I showed them. As I grew up I saw very well that +people's eyes were fixed upon me as if in admiration; but I thought +that they pitied me, and that pained me. + +"And more and more frequently I took refuge by the grave of my father, +until they told my mother that I always wept there and returned quite +disordered. My mother angrily forbade me to go to the grave, and spoke +of contemptible weakness. But I revolted against this prohibition. Then +one day she surprised me there, and struck at me, and yet I was no +longer a child. She took me back to the palace and scolded me +violently, threatening to send me away; and, as she left me, she said +angrily: why had heaven punished her with such a child! That was too +much. Unspeakably miserable, I resolved to run away from this mother, +to whom I was a punishment, and to go where no one knew me, I did not +know whither. I would most gladly have joined my father in his quiet +tomb. When evening came, I stole out of the palace, and hurried once +more to the grave to take a long farewell. The stars were already out. +I slipped out of the garden and the palace, and hastened through the +dark streets to the Faventinian Gate. I managed to slip past the +sentinel, and ran a little way along the high-road, into the night; +straight to misery. But a man in armour came along the road towards me. +As I tried to pass him, he suddenly came up to me, looked into my face, +and gently laid his hand upon my shoulder, saying 'Whither, Lady +Mataswintha, whither goest thon alone, and so late at night?' I +trembled under his hand, tears burst from my eyes, and I cried, +sobbing, 'I am desperate!' Then the man took hold of both my hands and +looked at me; so kindly, so mildly, so sadly! He dried my tears with +his mantle, and said, in a tone of the warmest kindness, 'Wherefore? +what troubles thee so?' I felt both happy and miserable at the sound of +his voice. And as I looked into his kind eyes, I could no longer +control myself. 'Because my mother hates me,' I cried; 'because there +is no love for me on earth!' 'Child, child, thou art sick,' he said, +'and ravest! Come, come back with me. Thou! only wait. Thou wilt yet be +a queen of love.' I did not understand him. But I loved him, oh so +much! for these words, for this kindness. Helplessly, inquiringly, and +with astonishment I looked into his face. My trembling aspect must have +touched him, or he thought it was the cold. He took off his warm +mantle, folded it round me, and led me slowly back through the gate and +little frequented streets to the palace. Helpless, and tottering like a +sick child, I followed him, my head, which he carefully concealed, +resting on his breast. He was silent, and only sometimes dried the +tears from my eyes. Unremarked, as I believed, we reached the door of +the palace staircase. He opened it and gently pushed me in. Then he +pressed my hand. 'Be good,' he said, 'and quiet. Happiness will come to +thee, be sure; and love enough.' And he gently laid his hand upon my +head, pulled the door to behind him, and descended the steps. But I +leaned against the half-closed door, and could not go away. My feet +denied their service; my heart beat. Then I heard a rough voice below +addressing him. 'Whom dost thou smuggle at night into the palace, my +friend?' it asked. But he answered, 'Is it thou, Hildebrand? Thou wilt +not betray her! It was the child Mataswintha; she had strayed into the +city in the dark, and feared the anger of her mother.' 'Mataswintha!' +said the other. 'She daily becomes more beautiful.' And my protector +said----" + +Mataswintha hesitated, and a vivid flush overspread her cheeks. + +"Well!" asked Aspa, looking at her with open eyes, "what did he say?" + +But Mataswintha drew Aspa's small head down upon her bosom. + +"He said," she whispered--"he said, 'She will become the most beautiful +woman on earth.'" + +"He said truly," cried the little slave; "why shouldst thou become red? +It is so. But go on. What didst thou do next?" + +"I crept up to my bed and wept; wept tears of sorrow, delight, and +love, all at once. That night a whole world, a heaven, was opened to +me. He liked me, I felt it; and he called me beautiful. Yes, now I knew +it. I was beautiful, and I was glad; for I wished to be so for _his_ +sake. Oh, how happy was I! Meeting with him had brought light into my +darkness, and a blessing to my life. I knew now that I might be liked +and loved. I took care of my person, which _he_ had praised. The sweet +power in my heart spread a mild warmth over my whole being; I became +softer and more earnest. Even my mother's severity relaxed when I met +her harshness with gentleness; and daily all hearts were turned to me +more kindly, as I became more tender. And for all this I had to thank +him. He had saved me from rushing into shame and misery, and had won +for me a whole world of love. Since then I have lived, and live, only +for him." + +And she ceased, and laid her hand upon her beating heart. + +"But, mistress, when did you see or speak to him again? Does your love +live on such scanty nourishment?" + +"I have never spoken to him again, and have only seen him once. On the +day of Theodoric's death, he commanded the guards of the palace, and +Athalaric told me his name; for I had never dared to inquire about him, +lest my flight, and ah! my secret, should be discovered. He was not at +court; and if he sometimes came there, I was away." + +"So thou knowest nothing further of him? of his life; of his past?" + +"How could I inquire! My blushes would have betrayed me. Love is the +child of silence and of longing. But I know all about his--about _our_ +future." + +"About his future?" laughed Aspa. + +"Yes. At every solstice there used to come to the court an old woman +named Radrun, and she received from King Theodoric strange herbs and +roots, which he sent for from Asia and the Nile purposely for her. She +had asked for this as the sole reward for having foretold his fortune +when a boy, and everything had been fulfilled. She brewed potions and +mixed salves; they called her in public 'the woman of the woods,' but +in private, 'the Wala, the witch.' And we at court knew--all except the +priests, who would have forbidden it--that every summer solstice, when +she came, the King let her prophesy to him the events of the coming +year. And when she left him, I knew that my mother, Theodahad, and +Gothelindis, called her and questioned her, and what she foretold +always came to pass. So the next solstice I took heart, watched for the +old woman, and when I found her alone, enticed her into my room, and +offered her gold and shining stones if she would tell me my fortune. +But she laughed, and drew forth a little flask made of amber. 'Not for +gold, but for blood!' she said, 'the pure blood of a king's child.' And +she opened a vein in my left arm, and received the blood into her amber +flask. Then she looked at both my hands, and said, 'He whom thou +holdest in thy heart will give thee glory and good fortune, will bring +thee paralysing pain, will be thy consort, but not thy husband!' And +with this she went away." + +"That is of little comfort as far as I can make it out." + +"Thou dost not understand the old wife's sayings; they are all so dark. +She adds a threat to every promise, so as to be safe in all cases. But +I hold fast to the bright and not to the dark side. I know that he +will be mine, and give me glory and good fortune; I will bear the +accompanying pain. Pain for his sake is delight." + +"I admire thee and thy faith, mistress. And for the saying of the witch +thou hast refused all the kings and princes. Vandals and Ostrogoths, +from Gaul and Burgondia, who have ever wooed thee? Even Germanus, the +imperial prince of Byzantium? And you wait for him?" + +"And I wait for him! But not only because of this saying. In my heart +lives a little bird, which sings to me every day, 'He will be thine, he +must be thine.' I know it for a certainty," she concluded, raising her +eyes to the sky, and relapsing into her former reverie. + +Steps were heard approaching from the villa. + +"Ah!" cried Aspa, "thy dainty suitor! Poor Arahad! his trouble is in +vain." + +"I will make an end to it," said Mataswintha, rising, and on her brow +and in her young eyes there now lay an angry severity, which told of +the Amelung blood in her veins. There was a strange mixture of burning +passion and melting tenderness in the girl. Aspa had often been +astonished by the repressed fire which her mistress sometimes betrayed. +"Thou art like the divine mountains of my home," she said, "snow on the +summit, roses round the middle, but consuming fire in the interior, +which often streams over snow and roses." + +Meanwhile Earl Arahad turned out of the shady path, and approached the +lovely girl with a blush which became him well. + +"I come, Queen----" he began. + +But she harshly interrupted him. + +"I hope, Earl of Asta, that at last thou comest to put an end to this +despicable game of force and lies. I will bear it no longer. Thy bold +brother surprises me--me, the helpless orphan, lost in sorrow for her +mother--in my apartments, calls me in one breath his Queen and his +prisoner, and keeps me for weeks in unworthy confinement. He gives me +the purple, and deprives me of liberty. Then thou comest and tormentest +me with thy vain pursuit, which will never succeed. I refused thee when +at liberty. Dost thou believe, thou fool, that, a prisoner in thy +power, the child of the Amelungs will listen to thee? Thou swearest +that thou lovest me; well, then, respect me! Honour my will and set me +free, or tremble when my liberator comes." + +And she advanced threateningly towards Arahad, who, confused, could +find no words with which to answer her. + +Just then Duke Guntharis hurried up with a hot and angry face. + +"Up, Arahad!" he cried, "make an end. We must away at once! He +approaches; he presses forward with a strong force." + +"Who?" asked Arahad hastily. + +"He says he comes to set her free. He has gained a victory--the +Peasant-King! He has beaten our outposts at Castrum Sivium." + +"Who?" now asked Mataswintha eagerly. + +"Well," cried Guntharis angrily, "thou mayest as well know it; it can +be no longer concealed--Earl Witichis of Fæsulæ!" + +"Witichis!" cried Mataswintha with beaming eyes and a beating heart. + +"Yes; the rebels at Regeta, forgetting the rights of the nobility, have +chosen him King of the Goths." + +"He! he my King!" said Mataswintha, as if in a dream. + +"I should have told thee when I greeted thee as Queen, but in thy +chamber stood his bust, crowned with laurel. That seemed to me +suspicious. I saw it later more closely; it was an accidental +resemblance; it was a head of Ares." + +Mataswintha was silent, and tried to hide the blushes which rose into +her cheeks. + +"Well," cried Arahad, "what is to be done now?" + +"We must away. We must reach Ravenna before him, Florentia will hinder +him for a time. Meanwhile we shall take Ravenna, and when thou hast +consummated thy marriage with Mataswintha in the palace of Theodoric, +all the people of the Goths will turn to us. Up, Queen! I will order +thy carriage to be prepared; in an hour thou wilt go to Ravenna, +guarded by my troops." + +And the brothers hurried away. + +Mataswintha looked after them with flashing eyes. + +"Yes! lead me away, bound and a prisoner. Like an eagle from the height +my King will swoop upon you, and save me from your cruel clutches. +Come, Aspa, the liberator approaches!" + + + + CHAPTER IX. + +Scarcely had the Goths turned their backs upon the walls of Rome, when +Pope Silverius--the very day after taking the oath--summoned the heads +of the priesthood and nobility, the officials and citizens, to a +council in the _Thermæ_ of Caracalla. + +Cethegus was also invited, and appeared. + +Without the least embarrassment, Silverius moved that, as at last the +hour was come in which to cast off the yoke of the heretics, an embassy +should be sent to Belisarius, the commander-in-chief of the orthodox +Emperor--the only rightful master of Italy--to deliver up the keys of +the Eternal City, and to recommend the Church and the faithful to his +protection against the vengeance of the barbarians. + +The scruples of a very young priest and of an honest smith, on account +of their yesterday's oath, he dismissed with a smile, appealing to his +Apostolic power to bind and to loose, and pointing to the evident force +put upon them while taking the oath, by the presence of Gothic arms. + +Upon this the motion was carried unanimously, and the Pope himself, +Scævola, Albinus, and Cethegus, appointed as ambassadors. + +But Cethegus put in a protest. He had silently listened to the motion +and had not joined in the vote. Now he rose and said: + +"I am against the motion; not on account of the oath. I need not appeal +to the Apostolic power, for I did not swear. But on account of the +city. That is, we must not unnecessarily arouse the just anger of the +Goths, who may very easily return, and who would not then take the +Apostolic dispensation as an excuse for such open perjury. Let +Belisarius either beg us or compel us. Who throws himself away is ever +trampled on." + +Silverius and Scævola exchanged significant glances. + +"Such sentiments," said the jurist, "will doubtless be very pleasing to +the Emperor's general, but can alter nothing in our decision. So you +will not go with us to Belisarius?" + +"I will go to Belisarius, but not with you," said Cethegus, and left +the place. + +As the others were leaving the Thermæ, the Pope said to Scævola: + +"That will finish him! He has declared against the surrender before +witnesses!" + +"And he goes himself into the lion's den!" + +"He shall not leave it again. You have drawn up the act of accusation?" + +"Long ago. I feared that he would take the mastery of the city into his +own hands, and now he goes himself to Belisarius! That proud man is +lost." + +"Amen," said Silverius. "And so may all fall who in their worldly +endeavours oppose the holy Petrus.--The day after to-morrow, at the +fourth hour, we will set forth." + +But the Holy Father erred; the proud man was not yet to fall. + +Cethegus had hastened immediately to his house, where his Gallic +chariot awaited him. + +"We start at once," he called to the slave who sat on the foremost +horse; "I will only fetch my sword." + +In the vestibule he met the two Licinii, who were watching for him +impatiently. + +"To-day is the day," cried Lucius, "with the prospect of which you have +so long comforted us!" + +"Where is the proof of your trust in our courage, our skill, and our +fidelity!" asked Marcus. + +"Patience!" said Cethegus, lifting his forefinger; and he went into his +study. + +He shortly reappeared, his sword and many papers under his left arm, a +sealed roll in his right hand. His eyes flashed. + +"Is the outermost gate of the Moles Hadriani ready?" he asked. + +"Ready," answered Lucius Licinius. + +"Is the grain from Sicily stored in the Capitol?" + +"All stored." + +"Are the weapons distributed, and the ramparts of the Capitol completed +as I ordered?" + +"All complete," answered Marcus. + +"Good. Take this roll. Break the seal as soon as Silverius has left the +city, and punctually execute every word therein. It concerns not only +my life and yours--but Rome! The city of Cæsar will be witness of your +actions. Go. Farewell till we meet again!" + +And the fire in his eyes kindled an answering fire in the hearts of the +young Romans. + +"You shall be content!" + +"You and Cæsar!" they said, and hurried away. + +With a smile that seldom illumined his features with such radiance, +Cethegus sprang into his carriage. + +"Holy Father," he said to himself, "I am still in your debt for that +last meeting in the Catacombs. I will repay it well!" + +"Down the Via Latina!" he cried to the slaves; "and let the horses +gallop as hard as they can!" + +The Prefect had more than a day's start of the embassy. And he used his +advantage well. + +He had, with unchecked energy, thought of a plan by which he would +remain master of Rome in spite of the landing of Belisarius. And he set +about its execution with all his habitual caution. + +He had been scarcely able to control his impatience during the journey. +At last he reached the outposts of the Byzantines at Capua, where +Johannes, the commander, sent his younger brother Perseus and a few +horsemen to lead him to the head-quarters. + +Arrived in the camp, Cethegus did not ask for the commander-in-chief, +but caused himself to be conducted at once to the tent of the +privy-councillor, Procopius of Cæsarea. + +Procopius had been his fellow-student in the Schools of Law at Berytus; +and the two gifted men had attracted each other greatly. + +But not the warmth of friendship led the Prefect first of all to this +man. Procopius knew the whole political past of Belisarius, and was +probably the confidant of his future plans. + +The privy-councillor greeted the friend of his youth with great +pleasure. He was a man of sound commonsense, one of the few men of +science of that time, whose capability of healthy feeling and simple +apprehension had not been suffocated by the artificial ornaments of +Byzantine knowledge in the Schools of Rhetoric. + +Clear sense was expressed on his open brow, and in his still youthfully +bright eyes shone delight in all that was good. + +When Cethegus had washed off the dust and heat of travel in a +carefully-prepared bath, his host, before inviting him to the evening +meal in his tent, led him round the camp, and showed him the quarters +of the principal divisions, pointing out the most famous generals, and, +in a few words, describing their peculiarities, their services, and the +often singular contrasts of their past lives. + +There were the sons of rude Thracia, Constantinus and Bessas, who had +worked their way up from the rank of rough hirelings; brave soldiers, +but without culture, and filled with the presumption of self-made men. +They considered themselves to be the indispensable supports and equally +capable successors of Belisarius. + +There was the aristocratic Iberian Peranius, of the royal family of the +Iberians, the hostile neighbours of Persia, who had given up his +fatherland and hope of the crown out of hatred to the Persian +conqueror, and had taken service in the Emperor's army. + +Then Valentinus, Magnus, and Innocentius, daring, leaders of +the horsemen; Paulus, Demetrius, Ursicinus, the leaders of the +foot-soldiers; Ennes, the Isaurian chief and commander of the Isaurians +of Belisarius; Aigan and Askan, the leaders of the Massagetæ; +Alamundarus and King Abocharabus, the Saracens; Ambazuch and Bleda, the +Huns; Arsakes, Amazaspes, and Artabanes, the Armenians (the Arsakide +Phaza had been left behind in Neapolis with the rest of the Armenians); +Azarethas and Barasmanes, the Persians; and Antallas and Cabaon, the +Moors. + +All these Procopius knew and named, praising sparingly, but expressing +his blame with great enjoyment, in biting but witty phrases. + +They had just turned towards the quarters of Martinus, the peaceful +town-burner, on the right, when Cethegus, standing still, asked: + +"And whose is the silken tent there on the hill, with the golden stars +and purple ensign? The guards carry golden shields!" + +"There," said Procopius, "dwells his Invincible Daintiness, the Upper +Purple-Snail Intendant of the Roman Empire, Prince Areobindos, whom may +God enlighten!" + +"The Emperor's nephew, is he not?" + +"Yes; he married the Emperor's niece, Projecta; his highest and only +merit. He was sent here with the Imperial Guard to vex us, and to take +care that we do not win too easily. He has been made of equal rank with +Belisarius, understands as little of warfare as Belisarius does of +purple-snails, and is to be Governor of Italy." + +"Indeed!" said Cethegus. + +"When we encamped he insisted upon having his tent placed to the right +of Belisarius. But we would not consent. Fortunately God, in His +wisdom, had created that hill centuries ago for the solving of our +dispute as to rank, and now the Prince is indeed placed to the left, +but higher than Belisarius." + +"And whose are the gay tents yonder, behind the quarters of Belisarius? +Who dwells there?" + +"There?" answered Procopius, with a sigh. "A very unhappy woman; +Antonina, the wife of Belisarius." + +"She unhappy? The celebrated Antonina, the second empress? Why?" + +"It is not well to speak of that in the open camp. Come with me to my +tent, the wine will be sufficiently cooled." + + + + CHAPTER X. + +In the tent they found the handsome cushions of the camp-bed placed +round a low bronze table of perforated work, which Cethegus admired. + +"It is a piece of booty from the wars of the Vandals; I took it with me +from Carthage. And these soft cushions once lay upon the bed of the +Persian King; I gained them in the battle of Dara." + +"You are a fine practical scholar!" said Cethegus, smiling. "Are you so +changed since the days of Athens?" + +"I should hope so!" said Procopius, and began carving (for he had +dismissed the attendant slaves) the smoking haunch of venison before +him. "You must know that I wished to make philosophy my calling, to +become a sage. For three years I listened to the Platonists, Stoics, +and Academicians at Athens; and studied till I was sick and stupid. And +I did not stop at philosophy; according to the praiseworthy custom of +our pious century, theology must also be grappled with, and for another +year I had to reflect upon the mysteries of the Holy Trinity. Well, +with studying so hard, my reason, which was not at all contemptible by +nature, threatened to fail me. Fortunately, I became seriously ill, and +the physicians forbade me Athens and all books. They sent me to Asia +Minor. I only saved a 'Thucydides' from my books, and took it with me +in my travelling-bag. And then 'Thucydides' saved me. In the tedium of +the journey I read and re-read his splendid history of the deeds of the +Hellenes in war and peace; and now I found with astonishment that the +acts and manners of men, their passions, their vices and virtues, were +really much more attractive and remarkable than all forms and figures +of heathen logic--not to speak of Christian logic. I arrived at +Ephesus, and was one day strolling through the streets, when my mind +suddenly became wonderfully enlightened. I was walking across a great +place; there stood before me a church of the Holy Spirit; it was built +upon the ruins of the old Temple of Diana. On the left stood a ruined +altar of Isis, and on the right the praying-house of the Jews. Then the +thought flashed across me: Each one of these believed, and believed +firmly, that he alone knew the truth about the highest Being. And yet +that is impossible; the highest Being has, it seems to me, no need of +being known by us--neither should I, in His place--and He has created +mankind, that they may live, act rightly and strive honestly here on +earth. And this living, acting, enjoying and striving is really all +that concerns us. If any one will search and think, he should search +the lives and acts of men. As I stood so thinking, all at once I heard +the flourish of trumpets. A brilliant troop of horsemen came trotting +up; at their head a splendid man on a bay horse, beautiful and strong +as the God of War. Their weapons glittered, the flags waved, and the +horses pranced. And I thought: These know wherefore they live, and do +not need to inquire of a philosopher! And while I was admiring the +horsemen, a citizen of Ephesus clapped me on the shoulder and said: +'You seem not to know who that was, nor whither these men are bent? +That is the hero Belisarius, who is off for the wars in Persia!' 'Good, +friend!' I said, 'then I will go with him!' And so I did, the very same +hour. And Belisarius soon appointed me his privy-councillor and +secretary. Since then I have a double calling; by day I make, or help +to make, history, and by night I write it." + +"And which is your best work?" + +"Alas! friend, the writing! And the writing would be better if the +history were better. For generally I do not at all approve of what we +do, and I only help to do it because it is better than doing nothing, +or putting up with philosophy. Bring the 'Tacitus,' slave," he called +out of the opening of the tent. + +"The 'Tacitus?'" asked Cethegus. + +"Yes, friend, we have drunk enough of the 'Livius.' You must know that +I name my wines according to their historical character. For example, +to return to what I was saying, this piece of history which we are +about just now, this Gothic war, is quite against my taste. Narses is +right, we ought first to repel the Persians before we attack the +Goths." + +"Narses! What is my wise friend doing?" + +"He envies Belisarius, and will not confess it even to himself. Besides +that, he makes plans of wars and battles. I will bet that he had +already conquered Italy before we had even landed." + +"You are not his friend. Yet he is a man of genius. Why do you prefer +Belisarius?" + +"I will tell you," said Procopius, pouring out the "Tacitus," "It is my +misfortune that I was not the historian of Alexander or Scipio. Since I +recovered from philosophy and theology, my whole nature has longed for +men, for real men of flesh and blood. So these spindle-shanked emperors +and bishops and generals, who subtilise everything with their reason, +disgust me. We have become a crippled generation; the hero time lies +far behind us! Only honest Belisarius is a hero like those of the olden +time. He might have encamped with Agamemnon before Troy! He is not +stupid; he has good sense; but only the natural sense of a noble wild +animal for its prey, for his vocation. Belisarius's vocation is +heroism! And I delight in his broad chest and his flashing eyes and +mighty thighs with which he masters the strongest stallion. And I am +glad when, sometimes, his blind delight in blows upsets all his fine +plans. I love to see him rush amongst the enemy and fight like an +infuriated boar. But I dare not tell him so; for then all would be +over; in three days he would be cut to pieces. On the contrary, I keep +him back. I am his 'reason,' as he calls me. And he puts up with my +prudence because he knows that it is not cowardice. More than once I +have been obliged to save him from a difficulty into which the +frowardness of his heroism had brought him! The most amusing of these +stories is that of the horn and tuba." + +"Which of the two do you blow, O my Procopius?" + +"Neither; only the trumpet of fame and the pipe of mockery!" + +"But what about the horn and trumpet?" + +"Oh, we were lying before a rocky nest in Persia, which we were obliged +to take, because it commanded the high-road. But we had already, many +times, damaged our heroic heads against its hard walls; and my master, +becoming angry, swore 'by the slumber of Justinian'--that is his biggest +oath--that he would never blow the signal of retreat before this Castle +of Anglon. Now our outposts were very often surprised by sallies from the +fortress; we, in the highly-situated camp, could see the assaulters as +they issued from the fortress, but our outposts, lying at the foot of +the hill, could not. I now advised that we should give our people the +signal of retreat from the camp whenever we saw the danger approaching. +But I met with a fine reception! The slumber of Justinian was such a +sacred thing that no one dare meddle with an oath sworn by it. And so +our poor fellows were obliged to let themselves be taken unawares by +the Persians, until I hit upon the ingenious expedient of proposing to +my master that we should give the signal of retreat to our men not with +the trumpet but with the horn. The idea pleased my honest Belisarius. +And so when we merrily blew the horn to the attack, our men ran away +like frightened hares. It was enough to make one die with laughing to +see those belligerent sounds produce such a despicable effect! But it +availed. Justinian's slumber and Belisarius's oath remained intact, our +outposts were no more butchered, and at last the rocky fortress fell. +Thus I always scold and laugh at Belisarius for his heroic acts, but in +reality my heart is warmed and gladdened: he is the last hero." + +"Well," observed Cethegus, "amongst the Goths you will find many such +sturdy fellows." + +Procopius nodded reflectively: + +"Can't deny that I have great pleasure in these Goths. But they are too +stupid." + +"How? Why?" + +"They are stupid because, instead of pressing upon us slowly, step by +step, in union with their yellow-haired brethren (they would be +irresistible!) they have planted themselves singly in the midst of +Italy, without right or reason, like a piece of wood in the centre of a +glimmering hearth. They will be ruined by this; they will be burnt, you +will see!" + +"I hope to see it. And what then?" asked Cethegus quietly. + +"Yes," answered Procopius peevishly, "what then? That is the vexation. +Then Belisarius will be Governor of Italy--for it will not last a year +with the purple Prince--and he will wear away his fine strength here in +idleness, when there is work enough to do in Persia. And then, as his +court-historian, I shall only have to write down how many skins of wine +we empty yearly." + +"So you would like, when the Goths are done with, to have Belisarius +out of Italy?" + +"Certainly. In the Persian land bloom his and my laurels. I have +thought already of many a plan to get him away from here." + +Cethegus was silent. He was glad to have found such an important ally +for his plans. At last he said: + +"And so his 'reason' Procopius, rules the lion Belisarius?" + +"No," sighed Procopius; "rather his _un_reason, his wife!" + +"Antonina! Tell me, why did you call her unhappy?" + +"Because she is half-hearted and a contradiction. Nature intended her +for a good and faithful wife; and Belisarius loves her with all his +heroic heart. But she came to the court of the Empress. Theodora, the +beautiful she-devil, is intended by nature as much for vice as is +Antonina for virtue. The circus-girl has certainly never felt the sting +of conscience. But I believe she cannot endure to have an honest woman +near her, because an honest woman would despise her. She did not rest +until she had succeeded in arousing Antonina's coquetry by her hellish +example. Now Antonina suffers tortures of remorse on account of her +dalliance with her adorers; for she loves, she worships her husband." + +"And yet? How is it possible that a hero like Belisarius cannot content +her?" + +"Just because he is a hero. He does not flatter her, with all his love. +She could not bear to see the Empress's lovers exhaust themselves in +verses, flowers, and gifts, and to live herself without such homage. +Vanity was her snare. But she does not feel at all at ease amidst her +trifling." + +"And has Belisarius any suspicion?" + +"Not a shadow. He is the only one in all the Roman Empire who does not +know what most concerns him. I believe it would be his death. For this +reason alone he must not remain here in peace, as Governor of Italy. In +the camp, in the tumult of battle, flatterers are wanting to the +coquettish woman and also the leisure to listen to them. For, as if +in voluntary atonement for the sweet crimes of secret verses and +flowers--she is certainly incapable of greater guilt--Antonina outdoes +all other women in the severe performance of her duty. She is +Belisarius's friend, his co-commander; she shares with him the +difficulties and dangers of sea, desert, and battle. She works with him +day and night, if she does not happen to be reading the verses of +others on her lovely eyes! She has often saved him from the snares of +his enemies at the court of Byzantium. In short, she is only good +during war-time and in the camp, there, where also his greatness can +alone flourish." + +"Well," said Cethegus, "now I know well enough how things stand +here. Let me speak plainly with you. You would like to have Belisarius +out of Italy immediately after his victory: so would I. You for +Belisarius's sake, I for that of Italy's. You know that I was always a +Republican----" + +At this Procopius pushed his cup to one side and looked significantly +at Cethegus. + +"All young people are so between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one," +said he. "But that you are still so--I find--very--very--unhistorical. +Out of these Italian vagabonds, our very amiable allies against the +Goths, you will make citizens of a republic? They are good for nothing +but a tyrant!" + +"I will not dispute about that," answered Cethegus with a smile; "only +I should like to preserve my fatherland from _your_ tyrant." + +"I don't blame you for it," said Procopius, smiling also; "the +blessings of our rule are--stifling." + +"A native governor under the protection of Byzantium will suffice at +first." + +"To be sure. And his name would be--Cethegus!" + +"If it must be so--that too." + +"Listen," said Procopius earnestly, "I would only advise you against +_one_ thing. The air of Rome engenders proud plans. There, as master of +Rome, a man is not willing to be only the second in the world. And +believe the historian--nothing more can come of the universal Empire of +Rome." + +Cethegus felt annoyed. He thought of King Theodoric's warning. + +"Historicus of Byzantium, I know my Roman affairs better than you. +First let me initiate you into our Roman secrets; then, early +to-morrow, before the embassy arrives from Rome, procure me an +interview with Belisarius, and--be sure of a great success." + +And he now began to unfold to the astonished Procopius, in rapid +outlines, the secret history of the latest times and his plans for the +future, wisely veiling his ultimate aim. + +"By the manes of Romulus!" cried Procopius, when he had finished, "you +still make history on the Tiber. Well, here is my hand. You shall have +my assistance. Belisarius shall win, but not rule in Italy. Let us +empty a flask of dry 'Sallustius' upon it!" + +Early the next day Procopius brought about an interview with +Belisarius, from which his friend returned well contented. + +"Have you told him everything?" asked the historian. + +"Not quite everything," said Cethegus with a sly smile; "one must +always keep something to say in reserve." + + + + CHAPTER XI. + +Shortly afterwards the whole camp was full of strange excitement. + +The report of the approach of the Holy Father, which outsped his gilded +litter, aroused thousands of soldiers, attracted by feelings of +reverence, piety, superstition, or curiosity, from sleep, feasting, or +gaming. The captains could scarcely keep the sentries at their posts or +the soldiers at their drill. + +The faithful had hurried to meet the Pope from places miles distant, +and now, mixed with groups of country people from the neighbourhood, +accompanied the procession into the camp. The peasants and soldiers had +already harnessed themselves to the litter instead of the mules which +drew it--in vain had the Pope modestly remonstrated--and shouting in +exultation: "Hail to the Bishop of Rome, hail to the holy Petros!" the +crowd, upon whom Silverius continually bestowed blessings, entered the +camp. No one noticed his two colleagues, Scævola and Albinus. + +Belisarius gravely observed the imposing spectacle from his tent. + +"The Prefect is right!" he cried; "this priest is more dangerous than +the Goths! Procopius, dismiss the Byzantine body-guard at my tent, as +soon as the interview begins. Let the Huns and the heathen Gepidæ take +their place." + +So saying, he re-entered his tent, where, surrounded by his generals, +he shortly afterwards received the Roman embassy. + +Procopius had convinced Prince Areobindos of the necessity of leaving +the camp on an expedition of reconnaissance, an office which could only +be performed by him, and which could not be put off. + +Surrounded by a brilliant train of clergy, the Pope approached the tent +of the commander-in-chief. Great crowds of people pressed after him; +but as soon as he, with Scævola and Albinus, had entered the narrow +passage between the tents which led up to that of Belisarius, the +guards stopped the way with their levelled lances, and would allow +neither priest nor soldier to follow. + +Silverius turned with a smile to the captain of the guard, and preached +him a fine sermon on the text, "Suffer little children to come unto me, +and forbid them not." + +But the German shook his shaggy locks and turned his back. The Gepidian +did not understand a word of Latin beyond the words of command. + +Silverius smiled again, once more blessed the crowd, and then walked +quietly to the tent. Belisarius was seated upon a camp-stool, over +which was spread a lion's skin; on his right hand sat Antonina, +enthroned on a seat covered with the skin of a leopard. Her troubled +soul had hoped to find a physician and comforter in the holy Petrus; +but she shrank when she saw the worldly expression on the features of +Silverius. + +As the Pope entered, Belisarius rose. + +Silverius, without the slightest inclination, went straight up to him, +and laid both hands--he was obliged to stretch his arms uncomfortably +to do so--as if in blessing, on his shoulders. He wished to press +Belisarius gently down upon his knees; but the general stood as stiffly +erect as an oak, and Silverius was obliged to complete his benediction. + +"You come as ambassadors from the Romans?" began Belisarius. + +"I come," interrupted Silverius, "in the name of St. Peter, as Bishop +of Rome, to deliver to you and the Emperor the city of Rome. These good +people," he added, pointing to Scævola and Albinus, "have attached +themselves to me as the members to the head." + +Scævola was about to interfere indignantly--he had not thus understood +his relation to the Church--but Belisarius signed to him to be silent. + +"And," continued Silverius, "I welcome you to Italy and Rome in the +name of the Lord. Enter the walls of the Eternal City for the +protection of the Church and the faithful against the heretics! There +exalt the name of the Lord and the Cross of Christ, and never forget +that your path thither was smoothed by Holy Church. God chose me for +His minister, to lull the Goths into blind security, and lead them out +of the city. It was I who won over the wavering citizens to your cause, +and frustrated the designs of your enemies. It is St. Peter who, by my +hand, delivers up to you the keys of his city, and entrusts it to your +protection. Never forget my words!" + +With this he handed to Belisarius the keys of the Asinarian Gate. + +"I will never forget them," said Belisarius, and signed to Procopius, +who took the keys from the hand of the Pope. "You spoke of the designs +of my enemies. Has the Emperor enemies in Rome?" + +Silverius answered, with a sigh: + +"Cease to question me, general. Their nets are torn; they are now +harmless, and it does not become the Church to inculpate, but to +_ex_culpate." + +"It is your duty, Holy Father, to discover to the orthodox Emperor the +traitors who hide themselves amongst his Roman subjects, and I call +upon you to unmask his enemies." + +Silverius sighed. + +"The Church does not thirst for blood." + +"But she may not prevent justice," said Scævola. And the jurist stepped +forward, and handed a roll of parchment to Belisarius, saying, "I +accuse Cornelius Cethegus Cæsarius, the Prefect of Rome, of treachery +and rebellion against Emperor Justinian. He has called the Emperor's +government a tyranny; he opposed the landing of the imperial army with +all his might; finally, a few days ago he, and he alone, voted that we +should not open to you the gates of Rome." + +"And what punishment do you propose?" asked Belisarius, looking at the +roll. + +"Death, according to the law," said Scævola. + +"And his estates," added Albinus, "are lawfully forfeited, partly to +the fiscus, partly to his accusers." + +"And may his soul be recommended to the mercy of God!" concluded the +Bishop of Rome. + +"Where is the accused?" asked Belisarius. + +"He intended to come to you; but I fear that his bad conscience will +prevent him from fulfilling his intention." + +"You err. Bishop of Rome," said Belisarius; "he is already here." + +At these words a curtain in the background of the tent dropped, and +before his astonished accusers stood Cethegus the Prefect. + +They could not conceal their surprise. With a look of contempt, +Cethegus silently advanced until he stood at Belisarius's right hand. + +"Cethegus sought me earlier than you," said the commander-in-chief, +after a pause, "and he has been beforehand with you also--in +accusations. You stand before me gravely accused, Silverius. Defend +yourself before you attack others." + +"I defend myself!" cried the Pope. "Who can be accuser or judge of the +successor of St. Peter?" + +"The judge am I; in the place of your master, the Emperor." + +"And the accuser?" asked Silverius. + +Cethegus half turned to Belisarius, and said: + +"I am the accuser! I accuse Silverius, the Bishop of Rome, of the crime +of lese-majesty and treachery to the Roman Empire. I will at once prove +my accusation. Silverius intends to wrest the government of the city of +Rome and a great part of Italy from the Emperor Justinian, and, +ridiculous to say, to form a State of the Church in the fatherland of +the Cæsars. And he has already taken the first step in the execution of +this--shall I say madness or crime? Here is a contract with his +signature, which he concluded with Theodahad, the last of the barbarian +princes. Thereby the King sells, for the sum of one thousand pounds' +weight of gold, the government of the city and district of Rome, and of +thirty miles of country round, in case of Silverius becoming Bishop of +Rome, to St. Peter and his successors. All the prerogatives of royalty +are enumerated--jurisdiction, legislation, administration, customs, +taxes, and even military power. According to the date, this document is +three months old. Therefore, at the very moment that the pious +archdeacon, behind Theodahad's back, was summoning the Emperor's army, +he also, behind the Emperor's back, signed a contract which would rob +the latter of all the fruits of his efforts, and insure the Pope under +all circumstances. I leave it to the representative of the Emperor to +decide in what manner such wisdom should be appreciated. By the chosen +of the Lord the morals of the serpent are looked upon as high wisdom; +amongst us laymen such acts are----" + +"The most shameful treachery!" thundered Belisarius, as he sprang from +his seat and took the document from the Prefect. + +"Look here, priest, your name! Can you deny it?" + +The impression made upon all present by this accusation and proof was +overpowering. + +Suspicion and indignation, mixed with eager expectation of the Pope's +defence, was written upon each man's countenance; and Scævola, the +short-sighted republican, was the most taken by surprise at this +revelation of the ambitious plan of his dangerous colleague. He hoped +that Silverius would victoriously refute the calumny. The position of +the Pope was indeed highly dangerous; the accusation appeared to be +undeniable, and the angry countenance of Belisarius would have +intimidated many a bolder heart. + +But Silverius showed that he wag no unworthy adversary of the Prefect +and the hero of Byzantium. + +He had not lost his presence of mind for a moment; only when Cethegus +had taken the document from the folds of his dress, had he closed his +eyes as if in pain. But he met the thundering voice and flashing eyes +of Belisarius with a composed and steady countenance. + +He felt that he must now fight for the ideal of his life, and this +feeling nerved him; not a muscle of his face twitched. + +"How long will you keep me waiting?" asked Belisarius angrily. + +"Until you are capable and worthy of listening to me. You are possessed +by Urchitophel, the demon of anger." + +"Speak! Defend yourself!" cried Belisarius, reseating himself. + +"The accusation of this godless man," began Silverius, "only asserts, +sooner than I had intended, a right of the Holy Church, which I did not +wish to insist upon during these unquiet times. It is true that I +concluded this contract with the barbarian King." + +A movement of indignation escaped the Byzantines present. + +"Not from love of worldly power, not to acquire any new privileges, did +I treat with the King of the Goths, at that time master of this +country. No! the saints be my witness! I did it merely because it was +my duty to prevent the lapse of an ancient right of the Church." + +"An ancient right?" asked Belisarius impatiently. + +"An ancient right!" repeated Silverius, "which the Church has neglected +to assert until now. Her enemies oblige her to declare it at this +moment. Know then, representative of the Emperor! hear it, generals and +soldiers! that which the Church demanded of Theodahad has been her +right for two centuries; the Goth only confirmed it. In the same place +whence the Prefect, with sacrilegious hand, took this document, he +might also have found that which originally established our right. The +pious Emperor Constantinus--who, first of all the predecessors of +Justinian, received the teaching of the Gospel--moved by the prayers of +his blessed mother, Helena, and after having trampled his enemies under +foot by the help of the saints, and particularly by that of St. Peter, +did, in thankful acknowledgment of such help, and to prove to all the +world that crown and sword should bow before the Cross of Christ, +bestow the city of Rome and its district, with all the neighbouring +towns and their boundaries, with jurisdiction and police, taxes and +duties, and all the royal prerogatives of earthly government, upon St. +Peter and his successors for all time, so that his Church might have a +secular foundation for the furtherance of her secular tasks. This +donation is conferred in all form by a legal document; the curse of +Gehenna is laid upon all who dispute it. And I ask the Emperor +Justinian, in the name of the Trinity, whether he will acknowledge this +legal act of his predecessor, the blessed Emperor Constantinus, or if, +in worldly avarice, he will overthrow it, and thereby call down upon +his head the curse of Gehenna and eternal damnation?" + +This speech of the Bishop of Rome, spoken with all the power of +ecclesiastical dignity and all the art of worldly rhetoric, was of +irresistible effect. + +Belisarius, Procopius, and the generals, who, a moment before, would +willingly have passed an angry judgment upon the treacherous priest, +now felt as if they themselves were judged. The heart of Italy seemed +to be irrecoverably lost to the Emperor, and delivered into the power +of the Church. + +An anxious silence overcame the lately so masterful Byzantines, and the +priest stood triumphantly as victor in their midst. + +At last Belisarius, who wished to avoid a dispute and the shame of +defeat, said: + +"Prefect of Rome, what have you to reply?" + +With a scarcely visible quiver of mockery upon his fine lips, Cethegus +bowed and began: + +"The accused refers to a document. I believe I could embarrass him +greatly if I denied its existence, and demanded the immediate +production of the original. However, I will not meet the man who calls +himself the head of Christendom, with the wiles of a spiteful advocate. +I admit that the document exists." + +Belisarius made a movement of helpless vexation. + +"Still more! I have saved the Holy Father the trouble of producing it, +which would have been very difficult for him to do, and have brought +the document itself with my own sacrilegious hands." + +He drew forth a yellow old parchment from his bosom, and looked +smilingly now at the lines thereon, now at the Pope, and now at +Belisarius, evidently enjoying their suspense. + +"Yes, still more! I have examined the document for many days with +hostile eyes, and, with the help of still greater jurists than I can +boast of being--such as my young friend, Salvius Julianus--have tried +to invalidate every letter. In vain. Even the penetration of my learned +and honourable friend, Scævola, could have found no flaw. All legal +forms, all the clauses in the act of donation, are sharply defined with +indisputable accuracy; and indeed I should like to have been acquainted +with the protonotary of Emperor Constantinus, for he must have been a +jurist of the first rank." + +He paused--his eyes rested sarcastically upon the countenance of +Silverius, who wiped the sweat off his brow. + +"Therefore," asked Belisarius, in great excitement, "the document is +formally quite correct, and can be proved?" + +"Yes, certainly," sighed Cethegus, "the act of donation is faultlessly +drawn up. It is only a pity that----" + + + +"Well!" interrupted Belisarius. + +"It is only a pity that it is false." + +A general cry arose. Belisarius and Antonina sprang from their seats; +all present pressed nearer to Cethegus. Silverius alone fell back a +step. + +"False!" cried Belisarius in a tone that sounded like a shout of joy. +"Prefect--friend--can you prove that?" + +"I should otherwise have taken care not to assert it. The parchment +upon which the act of donation is written shows all the signs of great +age: worm-eaten, cracked, spots of every kind--everything that one can +expect from such an ancient document, so that, sometimes, it is +difficult to decipher the letters. Notwithstanding, the document only +_appears_ to be old; with as much art as many women employ to give +themselves the appearance of youth does it ape the sanctity of great +age. It is real parchment from the old and still existing parchment +manufactory at Byzantium, founded by Constantinus." + +"Keep to the matter!" cried Belisarius. + +"But it is not known to every one--and it appears, unfortunately for +him, to have escaped the notice of the Bishop--that these parchments, +on the lower edge to the left, are always marked with the stamp of the +year of their manufacture, by the names of the then consuls, in, +certainly, almost invisible characters. Now pay attention, general. The +document pretends, as it says in the text, to have been prepared in the +sixteenth year of the reign of Constantinus, the same year that he +closed the heathen temples, as the pious document observes, and a year +after the naming of Constantinopolis as the capital city; and it +rightly names the right consuls of that year, Dalmatius and Xenophilos. +Now it can only be explained by a miracle--but in this case it would be +a miracle _against_ the Church--that, in that year, therefore in the +year three hundred and thirty-five after the birth of Christ, it was +already known who would be consul in the year after the death of +Emperor Justinus and King Theodoric; for look, here on the lower edge +the stamp says--the writer had not noticed it--it is really very +difficult to make out, unless one holds the parchment against the +lights so--do you see, Belisarius?--and had blindly painted the cross +upon it; but I, with my--what did he call it?--sacrilegious, but +clever, hand have wiped it off; do you see? there stand stamped the +words, 'VI. Indiction: Justinianus Augustus, sole consul in the first +year of his reign.'" + +Silverius staggered, and was obliged to support himself by the chair +which had been placed for him. + +"The parchment of the document," continued Cethegus, "upon which the +protonotary of Emperor Constantinus had written down the act of +donation two hundred years ago, has therefore been taken from the ribs +of an ass only a year ago at Byzantium! Confess, O general, that the +reign of the conceivable ends here and the supernatural begins; that +here a miracle has happened; and revere the mysterious ways of Heaven." + +He gave the document to Belisarius. + +"This is also a famous piece of history, holy and profane, which we are +now experiencing," said Procopius aside. + +"It is so, by the slumber of Justinian!" cried Belisarius. "Bishop of +Rome, what have you to say?" + +Silverius had with difficulty composed himself. + +He saw the edifice which he had been constructing his whole life, sink +into the ground before him. + +With a voice half choked by despair, he answered: + +"I found the document in the archives of the Church a few months ago. +If it is as you say, I have been deceived as well as you." + +"But we are not deceived," said Cethegus, smiling. + +"I knew nothing of that stamp, I swear it by the wounds of Christ!" + +"I believe it without an oath. Holy Father," interposed Cethegus. + +"You will acknowledge, priest," said Belisarius, "that the strictest +examination into this affair----" + +"I demand it as my right," cried Silverius. + +"You shall have it, doubt it not! But I will not venture to judge in +this case. Only the wisdom of Emperor Justinian himself can here decide +upon what is right. Vulkaris, my faithful Herulian! I herewith deliver +into your keeping the person of the Bishop of Some. You will at once +take him on board a vessel, and conduct him to Byzantium!" + +"I put in a protest!" cried Silverius. "No one on earth can try me but +a council of the orthodox Church. I demand to be taken to Rome." + +"Rome you will never see again. And Emperor Justinian, who is justice +itself, will decide upon your protest with Trebonianus. But I think +your companions, Scævola and Albinus, the false accusers of the Prefect +(who has proved himself to be the best and warmest friend of the +Emperor), highly suspicious. Let Justinian decide how far they are +innocent. Take them too, Vulkaris, take them in chains to Byzantium. By +sea. Now take them out by the back door of the tent, not through the +camp. Vulkaris, this priest is the Emperor's _worst_ enemy. You will +answer for him with your head!" + +"I will answer for him," said the gigantic Herulian, coming forward and +laying his mailed hand upon the Bishop's shoulder.--"Away with you, +priest! On board! He shall die, ere I will let him escape." + +Silverius saw that further resistance would only excite compulsion +dangerous to his dignity. He submitted, and walked beside the German, +who did not withdraw his hand, towards the door in the back of the +tent, which was opened by a sentry. + +The Bishop was obliged to pass close to Cethegus. He lowered his head +and did not look at him, but he heard a voice whisper: + +"Silverius, this moment repays me for your victory in the Catacombs. +Now we are quits!" + + + + CHAPTER XII. + +As soon as the Bishop had left the tent, Belisarius rose eagerly from +his seat, hurried to the Prefect, and embraced him. + +"Accept my thanks, Cethegus Cæsarius! Your reward will not be wanting. +I will tell the Emperor that for him you have to-day saved Rome." + +But Cethegus smiled. + +"My acts reward themselves." + +The intellectual struggle, the rapid alternation of anger, fear, +anxiety, and triumph had exhausted the hero Belisarius more than half a +day of battle. He longed for rest and refreshment, and dismissed his +generals, none of whom left the tent without speaking a word of +acknowledgment to the Prefect. + +The latter saw that his superiority was felt by all, even by +Belisarius. It pleased him that, in one and the same hour, he had +ruined the scheming Bishop and humbled the proud Byzantines. + +But he did not idly revel in the feeling of victory. He knew the danger +of sleeping upon laurels; laurel stupefies. + +He decided to follow up his victory, to use at once the intellectual +superiority over the hero of Byzantium which he undoubtedly possessed +at this moment, and to strike his long-prepared and principal blow. + +As, full of this thought, he was looking after the generals who were +just leaving the tent, he did not notice that two eyes were fixed upon +him with a peculiar expression. + +They were the eyes of Antonina. + +The incidents which she had just witnessed had produced a strangely +mixed impression on her mind. For the first time in her life she had +seen her idol, her husband, entangled in the nets of a priest without +the least power to extricate or help himself, and saved only by the +superior strength of this terrible Roman. + +At first the shock to her pride in her husband had filled her with +dislike of the victor. But this feeling did not last, and +involuntarily, as the great superiority of Cethegus unfolded itself +before her, admiration took the place of vexation. She felt only one +thing: Belisarius had eclipsed the Church, and Cethegus had eclipsed +Belisarius. To this feeling was added the anxious desire that this man +might never become the enemy, but always remain the ally of her +husband. + +In short, Cethegus had made a serious intellectual conquest of the wife +of Belisarius; and not only that, but he was at once made aware of it. + +The beautiful and usually so confident woman came towards him with +downcast eyes. He looked up; she blushed violently and offered him a +trembling hand. + +"Prefect of Rome," she said, "Antonina thanks you. You have rendered +great services to Belisarius and the Emperor. We will be good friends." + +Procopius, who had remained in the tent, beheld this proceeding with +astonishment. + +"My Odysseus out-charms the sorceress Circe," he thought. + +But Cethegus saw in a moment that the soul of Antonina humbled itself +before him, and what power he thus gained over Belisarius. + +"Beautiful _magistra militum_," he said, drawing himself up, "your +friendship is the proudest laurel in my wreath of victory. I will at +once put it to the proof. I beg you and Procopius to be my witnesses, +my allies, in the conversation which I must now hold with Belisarius." + +"Now?" asked Belisarius impatiently. "Come, let us first to table, and +celebrate the fall of the priest in fiery Cæcubian." + +And he walked towards the door. + +But Cethegus remained quietly standing in the middle of the tent, and +Antonina and Procopius were so completely under his influence, that +they did not dare to follow their master. + +Even Belisarius turned and asked: + +"Must it absolutely take place now?" + +"It must," said Cethegus, and he took Antonina's hand and led her back +to her seat. + +Then Belisarius also retraced his steps. + +"Well," he said, "speak; but briefly. As briefly as possible." + +"I have ever found," began Cethegus, "that with great friends or great +enemies, sincerity is the strongest bond and the best weapon. According +to this maxim I will act. When I said my acts reward themselves, I +wished to express thereby that I did not wrest the mastery of Rome from +the false priest exactly for the sake of the Emperor." + +Belisarius grew attentive. + +Procopius, alarmed at the too bold sincerity of his friend, made a sign +of warning. + +Antonina's quick eye remarked it, and she started; the intelligence +between the two men aroused her suspicion. + +This did not escape Cethegus. + +"No, Procopius," he said, to the astonishment of Belisarius; "our +friends here will far too soon acknowledge that Cethegus is not a man +whose ambition can be satisfied by a smile from Justinian. I have not +saved Rome for the Emperor." + +"For whom else!" asked Belisarius gravely. + +"First for Rome herself. I am a Roman. I love my Eternal City. She +shall not become the servant of the priests, but also not the slave of +the Emperor. I am a republican," he said, tossing his head defiantly. + +A smile passed across the countenance of Belisarius; the Prefect seemed +to him of less importance than before. + +Procopius, shrugging his shoulders, said: + +"Incomprehensible!" + +But this candour pleased Antonina. + +"I certainly saw," continued Cethegus, "that we could only beat the +barbarians by the sword of Belisarius. And also, alas! that the time is +not ripe to realise my dreams of republican freedom. The Romans must +first again become Catos; this generation must die out; and I +acknowledge that, meantime, Rome can only find protection against the +barbarians under the shield of Justinian. Therefore we will bow to this +shield--for the present." + + +"Not bad!" thought Procopius; "the Emperor is to protect them until +they are strong enough to run away from him, in proof of gratitude." + +"These are but dreams, my Prefect," said Belisarius compassionately. +"What practical results can they have?" + +"These: that Rome shall not be delivered up to the caprice of the +Emperor with bound hands and without conditions. Belisarius is not the +only servant of Justinian. Only think, if the heartless Narses were to +become your successor!" The hero frowned. "Therefore I will tell you +the conditions under which the city of Cæsar will open her gates to you +and your army." + +But this was too much for Belisarius. + +He sprang up in a rage; his face glowed; his eyes flashed. + +"Prefect of Rome," he cried in his loudest voice, "you forget yourself +and your position! To-morrow I start with my army of seventy thousand +men for Rome. Who will hinder me from entering the city without +conditions?" + +"I," said Cethegus quietly. "No, Belisarius, I do not rave. Look at +this plan of the city and its fortifications. Your experienced eye will +recognise its strength better and more quickly than mine." + +He drew forth a parchment and spread it open upon the table. + +Belisarius cast an indifferent look at it, but immediately cried out: + +"The plan is incorrect! Procopius, give me our plan out of that +casket.--Look here, those moats are now filled up; those towers are +ruined; the wall here is broken down, those gates defenceless.--Your +plan represents them as of terrible strength. It is obsolete, Prefect +of Rome!" + +"No, Belisarius, _yours_ is obsolete. These walls, moats, and gates are +reconstructed." + +"Since when?" + +"A year ago." + +"By whom?" + +"By me." + +Belisarius looked at the plan in perplexity. + +Antonina's eyes rested anxiously on the features of her husband. + +"Prefect," he said at last, "if this be so, you understand warfare +well--the warfare of fortresses. But to wage war there must be an army, +and your empty walls will not arrest my progress." + +"You will not find them empty. You must acknowledge that a force of +more than twenty thousand men is capable of holding Rome--namely, this +my Rome upon the plan--for days and years, even against Belisarius. +Good. Then, know that these fortifications are held by thirty-five +thousand armed men." + +"Have the Goths returned?" asked Belisarius. + +Procopius drew nearer, astonished. + +"No; these thirty-five thousand men are under my command. For some +years I have recalled the long enervated Romans to arms, and have +unceasingly practised them in the use of their weapons. So at present I +have thirty cohorts ready for battle, each consisting of almost a +thousand men." + + +Belisarius struggled to repress his vexation, and shrugged his +shoulders contemptuously. + +"I acknowledge," continued Cethegus, "that these troops could not +oppose the army of Belisarius in the open field. But I assure you that +they will fight famously behind these walls. Besides that, I have, out +of my private means, enrolled seven thousand picked Isaurian and +Abasgian mercenaries, and have brought them, gradually and unobserved, +in small divisions to Ostia, Rome, and the neighbourhood. You doubt it? +Here are the lists of the thirty cohorts, and the contract with the +Isaurians. You now see distinctly how matters stand. Either you +accept my conditions--and then these thirty-five thousands are yours: +yours is Rome, my Rome, this Rome on the plan, of which you say that it +is of fearful strength, and yours is Cethegus--or you refuse my +conditions.--Then your victorious march, whose success depends on the +rapidity of your movements, is arrested. You will be obliged to besiege +Rome for many months. The Goths will have plenty of time to re-collect +their forces. We ourselves will call them back. They will come to +relieve the city in threefold superiority, and nothing can save you +from destruction but a miracle!" + +"Or your death at this moment! thou devil!" thundered Belisarius, and, +no longer master of himself, he drew his sword. + +"Up, Procopius, in the Emperor's name! Take the traitor! He dies in +this hour!" + +Horrified and undecided, Procopius rushed between the two men, while +Antonina caught her husband's arm, and tried to take his right hand. + +"Are you his allies!" cried Belisarius furiously. + +"Guards! guards! here!" + + +From each of the two doors two lancers entered the tent. + +But Belisarius had already torn himself from Antonina's hold, and had +hurled Procopius to one side as if he were a child. Raising his sword, +he rushed at the Prefect. But he suddenly stopped short and lowered his +weapon, the point of which already touched the breast of Cethegus; for, +immovable, like a statue, without the least change of countenance, and +fixing his cold eyes penetratingly upon his furious assailer, Cethegus +had remained standing, a smile of unspeakable contempt upon his lips. + +"What means this look and smile?" asked Belisarius. + +Procopius quietly signed to the guards to leave the tent. + +"Pity for your reputation, which a moment of rage might destroy for +ever. If you had killed me, you would have been lost!" + +"I!" laughed Belisarius; "I should think _you_ would have been lost." + +"And you with me. Do you believe that I put my head into the lion's +mouth like a fool? It was not difficult to foresee that a hero of your +sort would first of all try to put an end to his embarrassment with his +sword. Against this I have protected myself. Know that since this +morning, in consequence of a sealed order which I left behind me, Rome +is in the hands of my blindly-devoted friends. The Mausoleum of +Hadrian, the Capitol, and all the gates and towers of the ramparts, +are garrisoned by Isaurians and legionaries. I left the order with my +war-tribunes, who are youths fearless of death, in case of your +reaching Rome before me." + +He handed a roll of papyrus to Procopius. + +Procopius read: "To Lucius and Marcus, the Licinii, Cethegus the +Prefect. I have fallen a victim to the tyranny of the Byzantines. +Revenge me! Recall the Goths at once. I demand it of you by your oath. +Better the barbarians than the police of Justinian. Hold out to the +last man! Rather give the city to the flames than to the army of the +tyrant!'" + +"So you see," continued Cethegus, "that my death will not open to you +the gates of Rome, but shut them upon you for ever. You must besiege +the city, or agree with me." + +Belisarius cast a look of anger, not unmixed with admiration, at the +bold man who put conditions to him in the midst of his thousands. + +Then he sheathed his sword, threw himself impatiently upon his stool, +and asked: + +"What are your conditions for the surrender?" + +"Only two. First, you will give me the command of a small part of your +army. I must be no stranger to your Byzantines." + +"Granted. You will have under your command two thousand Illyrian +footmen and one thousand Saracen and Moorish horsemen. Is that +sufficient?" + +"Perfectly. Secondly, my independence rests entirely upon my dominion +of Rome. This must not cease during your presence. Therefore, the whole +right shore of the Tiber, with the Mausoleum of Hadrian; and on the +left the Capitol, including the walls on the south as far as the Gate +of St. Peter, must remain, until the end of the war, in the hands of my +Romans and Isaurians. The rest of the city on the left shore of the +Tiber, from the Flavian Amphitheatre in the north to the Appian Gate in +the south, will be occupied by you." + +Belisarius cast a glance at the plan. + +"Not badly arranged! From those points you can at any moment drive me +out of the city or blockade the river. That will not do!" + +"Then prepare for a fight with the Goths and Cethegus together before +the walls of Rome!" + +Belisarius sprang from his seat. + +"Go! leave me alone with Procopius, Cethegus. Wait for my decision." + +"Till to-morrow!" cried Cethegus. "At sunrise I return to Rome, either +with your army or--alone." + +A few days later Belisarius, with his army, entered the Eternal City +through the Asinarian Gate. + +Endless acclamation greeted the liberator; a rain of flowers covered +him and his wife, who rode at his left hand on a beautiful palfrey. + +All the houses were decorated with gay draperies and wreaths. Bat the +object of these rejoicings did not appear happy; he gloomily bent his +head, and cast dark looks at the walls and the Capitol, from which +floated, not the dragon flags of Byzantium, but the banners and ensigns +of the municipal legions, formed after the model of the Roman eagles +and standards. + +At the Asinarian Gate young Lucius Licinius had sent back the vanguard +of the imperial army, and the heavy portcullis did not rise until, at +the side of Belisarius on his bay horse, appeared Cethegus the Prefect, +mounted on his splendid charger. + +Lucius was astonished at the change which had taken place in his +admired friend. + +The Prefect's cold and severe reserve seemed to have disappeared; he +looked taller, younger; the glory of victory illumined his features. He +wore a richly-gilded helmet, from which the crimson mane flowed down to +his mail-coat. This last was a costly work of art from Athens, and +showed upon every one of its round plates a finely-worked relief in +chased silver, each representing a victory of the Romans. The +victorious expression of his beaming face, his proud carriage, and +scintillating armour, outshone Belisarius, the imperial magister +militum himself, and all his glittering staff, which, led by Johannes +and Procopius, followed close behind. + +And this superiority was so striking, that by the time the procession +had passed through several streets, the impression was shared by the +mob, and the cry, "Cethegus!" was soon heard more loudly and frequently +than the name of "Belisarius!" + +Antonina's fine ear soon began to remark this circumstance; she +listened uneasily at every pause of the procession to the cries and +remarks of the by-standers. + +When they had left the Thermæ of Titus behind them, and had reached the +Via Sacra, near the Flavian Amphitheatre, they were obliged to stop on +account of the crowd. A narrow triumphal arch had been erected here, +which could only be passed at a slow pace. "Victory, to the Emperor +Justinian and his general, Belisarius," was inscribed thereon. + +As Antonina was reading this inscription, she heard an old man, who +appeared to be but scantily initiated into the course of events, +questioning his son, one of the legionaries of Cethegus. + +"Then, my Gazus, the gloomy man with the angry-looking face, on the bay +horse----" + +"Yes, that is Belisarius, as I told you." + +"Indeed? Well--then the stately hero on his left hand, with the +triumphant look--he on the charger, must be his master, the Emperor +Justinian." + +"Not at all, father. _He_ sits quietly in his golden palace at +Byzantium and writes laws. No; that is Cethegus, _our_ Cethegus, _my_ +Cethegus, the Prefect, who gave me my sword. Yes, that _is_ a man! +Lucius, my tribune, said lately, 'If he did not allow it, Belisarius +would never see a Roman Gate from the inside.'" + +Antonina gave her grey palfrey a smart stroke with her silver rod, and +galloped quickly through the triumphal arch. + +Cethegus accompanied the commander-in-chief and his wife to the Pincian +Palace, which had been sumptuously prepared for their reception. + +Then he took leave, in order to assist the Byzantine generals in +quartering the troops, partly on the citizens; partly in the public +buildings, and partly before the gates of the city in tents. + +"When you have recovered from the fatigues and honours of the day, +Belisarius, I shall expect you and Antonina, with your staff, at a +banquet in my house," he had said before leaving them. + +After some hours, Marcus Licinius, Piso, and Balbus appeared to fetch +the invited guests. + +They accompanied the litters in which Antonina and Belisarius were +carried. The generals went on foot. + +"Where does the Prefect live?" asked Belisarius, as he entered his +litter. + +"As long as you are here, by day in the Mausoleum of Hadrian, by night +in the Capitol." + +Belisarius started. + +The little procession approached the Capitol. + +The commander-in-chief saw with astonishment all the walls and works, +which had lain in ruins for more than two centuries, restored to +immense strength. + +When they had wound their way through the long, dark, and zigzag +passage which led into the fortress, they arrived at a massive iron +door, which was fast shut, as if in time of war. + +Marcus Licinius called to the sentinel. + +"Give the watch-word!" cried a voice from within. + +"Cæsar and Cethegus!" answered the war-tribune. Then the wings of the +door sprang open; a long lane formed by Roman legionaries and Isaurian +mercenaries became visible, the last clad in iron up to their very +eyes, and armed with double-bladed battle-axes. + +Lucius Licinius stood at the head of the Romans with drawn sword; +Sandil, the Isaurian chief, at the head of his countrymen. + +For one moment the Byzantines hesitated, overpowered by the impression +of this display of granite and iron. + +Suddenly the faintly-illumined space became bright with light, and, +accompanied by torch-bearers and flute-players, without armour, a +wreath upon his brow, such as was generally worn by the giver of a +feast, and dressed in a magnificent indoor garment of purple silk, +appeared Cethegus. + +He came forward smiling, and said: + +"Welcome! Let flutes and trumpets loudly proclaim that the happiest +hour of my life has arrived--Belisarius is _my_ guest in the Capitol!" + +And, amid a tremendous flourish of trumpets, he led his silent guests +into the fortress. + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + +During these occurrences among the Romans and Byzantines, decisive +events were in preparation on the part of the Goths. + +Duke Guntharis and Earl Arahad, leaving a small garrison behind them, +and taking their Queen with them as prisoner, had left Florentia and +gone, by forced marches to Ravenna. + +If they could reach and win this fortress, which was considered +impregnable, before Witichis, who pressed forward after them, they +would be able to make any conditions with the King. + +They had a capital start, and hoped that their enemies would be stopped +for some time before Florentia. But they lost almost all the advantages +of their start; for the towns and castles bordering the nearest road to +Ravenna had declared for Witichis, and this circumstance obliged the +rebels to take a circuitous route northwards to Bononia (Bologna), +whose inhabitants had embraced their cause, and thence march eastwards +to Ravenna. + +Notwithstanding this delay, when they reached the marshy land +surrounding that fortified city, and were only half a day's march from +its gates, nothing could be seen of the King's army. + +Guntharis allowed his greatly-fatigued troops to rest for the remainder +of the day, which was already drawing to a close, and sent a small +troop of horsemen under the command of his brother, to announce their +arrival to the Goths in the fortress. + +But at dawn the next day Earl Arahad came flying back into the camp +with a greatly diminished troop. + +"By the sword of God!" exclaimed Guntharis, "whence comest thou?" + +"We come from Ravenna. We reached the outermost ramparts of the city +and demanded admittance; but were roughly repulsed, although I showed +myself and called for old Grippa the commander. He insolently declared +that to-morrow we should learn the decision of the city; we, as well as +the army of the King, whose vanguard is already approaching the city +from the south-east." + +"Impossible!" cried Guntharis angrily. "I could do nothing but withdraw, +although I could not understand the behaviour of our friend. Besides, I +held the report of the approach of the King to be an empty threat, +until some of my horsemen, who were seeking for a dry place on which to +bivouac, were suddenly attacked by a troop of the enemy under the +command of Earl Teja, with the cry, 'Hail, King Witichis!' After a +sharp combat they were worsted." + +"Thou ravest!" cried Guntharis. "Have they wings? Has Florentia been +blown away out of their path?" + +"No! but I learned from Picentinian peasants that Witichis marched to +Ravenna by the coast-road, past Auximum and Ariminum." + +"And he left Florentia in his rear unconquered? He shall repent of +that!" + +"Florentia has fallen! He sent Hildebad against it, who took it by +storm. He broke in the Gate of Mars with his own hand, the furious +bull!" + +Duke Guntharis listened to these evil tidings with a gloomy face; but +he quickly came to a decision. + +He at once set forth with all his troops, intending to take the city of +Ravenna by surprise. + +His attack failed. + +But the rebels had the consolation of seeing that the fortress, whose +possession would determine the result of the civil war, had at least +refused to open its gates to the enemy. + +The King had encamped to the south-east, before the harbour town of +Classis. + +Duke Guntharis's experienced eye soon perceived that the marshes on the +north-west would also afford a secure position, and there he shortly +afterwards pitched his well-protected camp. + +So the rival parties, like two impetuous lovers of a coy maiden, +pressed from opposite sides upon the royal residence, which seemed +disinclined to lend an ear to either. + +The day following two embassies, consisting of Ravennese and Goths, +issued from the Gates of Honorius and of Theodoric, on the north-west +and south-east, and brought to the camp of the rebels, as well as to +that of the King, the fateful decision of the city. + +This decision must have been a strange one. + +For the two commanders, Guntharis and Witichis, kept it, in singular +conformity, strictly secret, and took great care that not a word should +become known to their troops. + +The ambassadors were immediately conducted from the tents of the +commanders of either camp to the very gates of the fortress, escorted +by generals who forbade any communication with the troops. + +And in other ways the effect of the embassy in both camps was singular +enough. + +In the rebel camp it led to a violent altercation between the two +brothers, and afterwards to a very animated interview between Duke +Guntharis and his fair prisoner, who, it was said, had only been saved +from his rage by the intervention of Earl Arahad. Finally, the rebel +camp sank into the repose of helpless indecision. + +More important consequences ensued in the opposite camp. The first +answer which King Witichis gave the embassy was the order for a general +attack upon the city. + +Hildebrand and Teja and the whole army received this order with +astonishment. They had hoped that the strong fortress would voluntarily +open its gates. + +Contrary to all Gothic custom and his own usually frank manner, King +Witichis imparted to no one, not even to his friends, the object of the +embassy, or the reason of his angry attack. + +Silently, but with doubting shakes of the head and little hope of +success, the army prepared for the assault. + +They were repulsed with great loss. + +In vain the King urged his Goths again and again to storm the +precipitous and rocky walls. + +In vain he himself was the first, three several times, to climb the +scaling-ladders. From early morning to sunset the assaulters stormed +the place without making the least progress; the fortress well +preserved its old reputation of invincibility. + +And when at last the King, stunned by a stone, was carried out of the +turmoil, Teja and Hildebrand ceased their efforts and led the weary +troops back to the camp. + +The temper of the army during the following night was very sad and +depressed. They had to complain of great losses, and had now nothing +but the conviction that the city could not be taken by force. + +The Gothic garrison of Ravenna had fought side by side with the +citizens on the walls. The King of the Goths lay encamped before his +own residence, before the stronghold of his kingdom, in which he had +hoped to find protection and the time to arm against Belisarius! + +But the worst was, that the army laid the whole blame of the unhappy +struggle and the necessity of civil war upon the King. Why had the +negotiations with the city been so abruptly broken off? Why was not the +cause of this breach, if it were a just one, made known to the troops? +Why did the King shun the light? + +The soldiers sat dejected by their watch-fires, or lay in their tents +nursing their wounds and mending their weapons; no ancient heroic songs +sounded, as usual, from the mess-tables of the camp; and when the +leaders walked through the lanes of tents, they heard many a word of +anger and vexation directed against the King. + +Towards morning Hildebad arrived in the camp from Florentia with his +thousands. He heard with indignation of the news of the bloody defeat, +and wished to go at once to the King; but as the latter still lay +unconscious under Hildebrand's care. Earl Teja took Hildebad into his +tent to answer his impatient questions. + +Some time after the old master-at-arms joined them; with such an +expression on his features that Hildebad sprang affrighted from the +bear-skin which served him for a couch, and even Teja asked hastily: + +"How is the King? What of his wound? Is he dying?" + +The old man shook his head sadly. + +"No; but if I guess rightly, judging him by his honest heart, it would +be far better for him to die." + +"What meanest thou? What dost thou suspect?" + +"Peace, peace," said Hildebrand sadly, and seating himself, "poor +Witichis! it will be spoken of soon enough, I fear." + +And he was silent. + +"Well," said Teja, "how didst thou leave him?" + +"The fever has left him, thanks to my herbs. He will be able to mount +his horse to-morrow. But he spoke of strange things in his confused +dreams--I hope that they are but dreams--else, woe to the faithful +man!" + +Nothing more could be got out of the taciturn old man. + +Some hours after, Witichis sent for the three leaders. To their +astonishment, they found him in full armour, although he was obliged, +while standing, to support himself on his sword. On a table near him +lay his crown-shaped helmet and a sceptre of white ivory, surmounted +with a golden ball. + +The friends were startled by the impaired look of his usually so +composed, handsome, and manly features. + +He must have gone through some fearful inward struggle. His sound, +simple nature, which seemed to be all of one piece, could not endure +the strife of doubtful duties and contradictory feelings. + +"I have summoned you," he said with great effort, "to hear and support +my decision in our grave position. How heavy have been our losses in +this attack?" + +"Three thousand dead," said Earl Teja, very gravely. + +"And about six thousand wounded," added Hildebrand. + +Witichis closed his eyes as if in pain. Then he said: + +"It cannot be helped, Teja. Give at once the command for a second +attack!" + +"How! what!" cried the three leaders like one man. + +"It cannot be helped," repeated the King. "How many thousands hast thou +brought us, Hildebad?" + +"Three; but they are dead tired from the march. They cannot fight +to-day." + +"Then we will storm alone again," said Witichis, taking his spear. + +"King," said Teja, "we did not win a single stone of the fortress +yesterday, and to-day we have nine thousand men less----" + +"And those not wounded are faint, their weapons and their courage +broken." + +"We _must_ have Ravenna!" repeated Witichis. + +"We shall never take it by force," said Earl Teja. + +"We will see about that!" retorted Witichis. + +"I besieged the city with the great King," said Hildebrand warningly. +"He stormed it in vain seventy times. We only took it by starving +it--after three years." + +"We must attack!" cried Witichis. "Give the command." + +Teja was about to leave the tent. + +Hildebrand stopped him. + +"Remain," he said; "we dare not hide it from him any longer. King! the +Goths murmur. To-day they would not obey thee; the attack is +impossible." + +"Stand things so?" said Witichis bitterly. "The attack is impossible? +Then only one thing remains: the course which I should have taken +yesterday--then those three thousand would have been still living. Go, +Hildebad, take that crown and sceptre! Go to the rebels' camp; lay them +at the feet of young Arahad; tell him that he may woo Mataswintha; I +and my army will greet him as our King." + +And, so speaking, he threw himself exhausted upon his couch. + +"Thou speakest feverishly again," cried Hildebrand. + +"That is impossible!" cried Teja. + +"Impossible!" repeated Witichis. "Everything is impossible? The fight +impossible? and the renunciation? I tell thee, old man, there is +nothing else to be done, after that message from Ravenna." + +He ceased. + +His three companions looked at each other significantly. + +At last the old man said: + +"What was that message? Perhaps an expedient may be found? Eight eyes +see more than two." + +"No," said Witichis, "not in this case. Here there is nothing to see, +otherwise I would have asked your advice long since. But it could have +led to nothing. There lies the parchment from Ravenna; but be silent +before the army." + +The old man took the roll and read: + +"'The Gothic warriors and the citizens of Ravenna, to Earl Witichis of +Fæsulæ----'" + +"What insolence!" cried Hildebad. + +"'And to Duke Guntharis of Florentia, and Earl Arahad of Asta. The +Goths and the citizens of this city declare to the two armies encamped +before their gates, that they, faithful to the distinguished House of +Amelung, and remembering the benefits of the great King Theodoric, will +firmly cling to his royal line as long as a scion of it lives. +Therefore we acknowledge Mataswintha as sole mistress of the Goths and +Italians; only to her will we open our gates, and we will defend them +against any other to the utmost.'" + +"What madness!" said Earl Teja. + +"Incomprehensible!" cried Hildebad. + +But Hildebrand folded the parchment and said: + +"I understand it very well. As to the Goths, you must know that the +garrison is formed of the followers of Theodoric, and these followers +have sworn to him never to prefer a strange king to one of his line. I, +too, swore this oath, but, in doing so, I ever thought of the spear and +not of the spindle. It was this oath which obliged me to adhere to +Theodahad, and only after his treachery was I free to do homage to +Witichis. But old Earl Grippa, of Ravenna, and his companions, believe +that they are equally bound to the females of the royal line. And, be +sure of it, these grey-headed heroes--the oldest in the nation, and +Theodoric's brothers-at-arms--will let themselves be hewn in pieces, +man for man, rather than break that oath as they understand it. And, by +Theodoric, they are right! But the Ravennese are not only grateful, +they are cunning; they hope that Goths and Byzantines will fight out +their affair before their walls. If Belisarius win--who, as he says, +comes to avenge Amalaswintha--he cannot then be angry with the city +which has remained faithful to her daughter; and if we win, then it was +they who obliged the garrison to close their gates." + +"However that may be," interposed the King, "you will now understand my +silence. If the army knew the contents of that parchment, they might be +discouraged, and go over to the rebels, who hold the Princess in their +power. There remain to me only two courses: either to take the city by +storm--and that we tried yesterday in vain--or, to yield. You say the +first course cannot be repeated, so there only remains the last--to +yield. Arahad may woo the Princess and wear the crown; I will be the +first to do him homage and protect the kingdom, in concert with his +brave brother." + +"Never!" cried Hildebad. "Thou art our King, and shall remain so. Never +will I bow my head to that young coxcomb! Let us march to-morrow +against the rebels; I alone will drive them out of their camp, and +carry the royal child--at the touch of whose hands those fast-shut +gates will fly open as if by magic--into _our_ tents." + +"And when we have her," asked Earl Teja, "what then? She is of no use +to us if we do not make her our Queen. Wilt thou do so? Hast thou not +had enough with Amalaswintha and Gothelindis? Once more the rule of a +woman?" + +"God forbid!" laughed Hildebad. + +"I think so too," said the King, "otherwise I should have taken this +course long since." + +"Well, then, let us remain here and wait until the city is wearied +out." + +"It is impossible." said Witichis, "we cannot wait. In a few days +Belisarius may descend from yonder mountains and conquer us, Duke +Guntharis, and the city; then the kingdom and people of the Goths are +lost for ever! There are only two ways--to storm--" + +"Impossible!' said Hildebrand. + +"Or to yield. Go, Teja, take the crown. I see no other expedient." + +The two young men hesitated. + +Then old Hildebrand, with a sad and earnest and loving look at the +King, said: + +"I know of another course to take; a painful, but the only one. Thou +must take this course, my Witichis, even if thy heart should break." + +Witichis looked at him inquiringly. Even Teja and Hildebad were struck +by the tender manner of the old man. + +"Go out," continued Hildebrand, turning to Hildebad and Teja. "I must +speak to the King alone." + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + +Silently the two Goths left the tent, and walked up and down, awaiting +the result. + +From the tent they now and then heard Hildebrand's voice, who appeared +to warn and argue with the King; and now and then an outcry from the +latter. + +"What can the old man be thinking of?" asked Hildebad, stopping in his +walk. "Dost thou not know?" + +"I guess," sighed Teja; "poor Witichis!" + +"What the devil dost thou mean?" + +"Let me alone," said Teja; "it will all come out soon enough." + +A considerable time elapsed thus. Ever more violent and more full of +pain sounded the voice of the King, who seemed to defend himself +desperately against Hildebrand's arguments. + +"Why does the greybeard so torture the brave hero?" cried Hildebad +angrily. "It is just as if he would murder him! I will go in and help +him!" + +But Teja held him fast by the shoulder. + +"Remain!" he cried, "he cannot be helped." + +As Hildebad was struggling to get loose, the noise of voices was heard +from the other end of the lane of tents; two sentries were trying in +vain to stop a strong Goth, who, covered with all the signs of a long +and hard ride, tried to get to the King's tent. + +"Let me go, good friend," he cried, "or I will strike thee down!" + +And he threateningly lifted a heavy club. + +"It cannot be. Thou must wait. The leaders are with him in his tent." + +"And if all the gods of Walhalla, together with the Lord Christ, were +in his tent, I must go to him!" + +"I know that voice," cried Earl Teja, advancing, "and the man. Wachis! +what seekest thou here?" + +"Oh, master!" cried the faithful servant, "happy am I to find you. Tell +these good folks to let me loose, then I need not knock them down." + +"Let him loose, or he will keep his word. I know him. Well, what +wouldest thou then with the King?" + +"Pray lead me to him at once. I have sad and terrible news to tell him +of his wife and child." + +"Wife and child?" asked Hildebad in astonishment. "What, has he a +wife?" + +"Very few know it," answered Teja. "She has scarcely ever left their +estate, and has never been to court. Scarcely any one knows her, but +all who do, honour her highly. I know no one like her." + +"There you are right, master, if ever any one was!" said Wachis in a +suffocated voice. "The poor, poor mother! and, alas, the poor father! +But let me go. Mistress Rauthgundis follows close behind. I must +prepare him." + +Earl Teja, without more questioning, pushed the man into the tent, and +followed with Hildebad. + +They found old Hildebrand sitting calmly, like inevitable fate itself, +upon the King's couch, his chin resting on his hand, and his hand upon +his stone battle-axe. + +Thus he sat immovable, fixing his eyes upon the King, who, in the +greatest excitement, was pacing to und fro with rapid steps, and so +absorbed in the terrible conflict of his soul, that he did not remark +those who entered. + +"No, no; never!" he cried, "it is cruel! criminal! impossible!" + +"It must be," said Hildebrand, without moving. + +"No, I say!" cried the King; and turned. + +Wachis was standing close before him. + +Witichis looked at him wildly; then the servant threw himself at his +feet, weeping loudly. + +"Wachis!" cried the King, in terror; "what is it? Thou comest from her? +Stand up--what has happened?" + +"Alas! master," cried Wachis, still kneeling, "it breaks my heart to +see you! I could not help it. I have repaid and avenged with all my +might!" + +Witichis pulled him up to his feet by the shoulders. + +"Speak, man! What is there to revenge? My wife----" + +"She lives, she is coming; but your child!" + +"My child!" cried Witichis, turning pale, "Athalwin? What of him?" + +"Dead, master--murdered!" + +A cry as of one wounded to death broke from the tortured father's lips. +He covered his face with both hands; Teja and Hildebad stepped forward +compassionately. Only Hildebrand remained motionless, and looked +fixedly at the group. + +Wachis could not bear the long and painful pause; he tried to take his +master's hands. They fell of their own accord; two great tears rolled +down the hero's brown cheeks; he was not ashamed of them. + +"Murdered!" he cried, "my innocent child! By the Romans?" he asked. + +"The cowardly devils!" cried Hildebad. + +Teja clenched his fist, and his lips worked silently. + +"Calpurnius?" asked Witichis, looking at Wachis. + +"Yes, Calpurnius. The report of your election had reached the estate, +and your wife and child were summoned to the camp. How young Athalwin +rejoiced that he was now a King's son, like Siegfried who killed the +dragon! He said he would soon go to seek adventures, and also kill +dragons and giants. Just then our neighbour returned from Rome. I +noticed that he looked gloomy and more envious than ever, and I watched +well over house and stalls. But to watch the child--who could have +thought that children were no longer safe!" + +Witichis shook his head sadly. + +"The boy could hardly wait until he should see his father in the camp, +and all the thousands of Gothic warriors, and battles close at hand. He +threw away his wooden sword directly, and said a King's son must wear a +steel one, especially in time of war. And I was obliged to find a +hunting-knife, and sharpen it into the bargain. And with this famous +sword he escaped from Mistress Rauthgundis early every morning. And +when she asked, 'Whither?' he laughed, 'To seek adventures!' and sprang +into the woods. Then he came home at noon, tired out and with torn +clothes; wild with merriment and exultation. But he would not tell us +anything, and only hinted that he had played at being Siegfried. But +when I found spots of blood upon his sword, I crept after him into the +woods. It was exactly as I suspected. I had once shown him a hole in +some steep and rugged rocks, which hung over a running brook, and +warned him that there lay poisonous vipers by dozens. At that time he +had questioned me about everything, and when I said that every bite was +deadly, and that a poor berry-gatherer, who had been bitten by a snake +in her naked foot, had died immediately, he drew his wooden sword in a +minute, and wanted to jump into the hole. Much frightened, I with +difficulty kept him back. And now I remembered the vipers, and trembled +because I had given him a steel weapon. I soon found him in the wood in +the middle of the rocks, down among the thorns and brushwood. He was +just taking out a tremendous wooden shield which he had made for +himself and hidden there. A crown was freshly painted upon it. And he +drew his sword and sprang with a joyous cry into the hole. I looked +round. There lay strewn about dozens of the big snakes, with shattered +heads, the victims of his former battles. I followed the boy, and +though I was so anxious, I could not bear to disturb him as he stood +there fighting like a hero! He drove a swelling viper from her hole +with stones; she erected herself with hissing tongue, but just as she +darted at him, he threw his great shield before him and cut her in two +with a mighty stroke. Then I called him, and scolded him well. But he +looked very brave, bold, and disobedient, and cried, 'Do not tell my +mother, for I shall still do it. Until the last dragon is dead!' I said +I would take his sword away. Then I will fight with the wooden one, if +that please thee better,' he cried. 'And what a shame for a King's +son!' For the next few days I took him with me to catch the horses in +the uncultivated pastures. That pleased him very much; and shortly, I +thought, we shall go away. But one morning he escaped me again, and I +went alone to my work. I returned along the brook, sure that I should +find him among the rocks. But I did not find him. I found only the belt +of his sword lying torn on the thorns and his shield broken on the +ground. I looked round alarmed, and sought, but----" + +"Quicker, go on!" cried the King. + +"But?" asked Hildebad. + +"But there was nothing else to be seen on the rocks. Then I noticed the +large footprints of a man in some soft sand. I followed them. They led +to a place where the rock fell steeply to the brook. I looked over, and +below----" + +Witichis staggered. + +"Alas! my poor master! There on the shore of the brook lay the little +figure! How I got down the rocks, I know not. I was below in an +instant. There he lay, cut and torn by the points of the rocks, his +little hand still holding fast his sword, his bright hair covered with +blood---" + +"Cease!" cried Teja, laying his hand upon the man's shoulder, while +Hildebad grasped the poor father's hand, who sank groaning upon his +couch. + +"My child, my sweet child! my wife!" he cried. + +"I felt that the little heart still beat," continued Wachis; "water +from the brook brought him to his senses. He opened his eyes and +recognised me. 'Thou hast fallen down, my poor child?' I asked. 'No,' +he said, 'not fallen. I was thrown down.' I was horrified. +'Calpurnius,' he went on, 'suddenly came round the corner of the rocks, +as I was striking at the vipers. "Come with me," he said, "or I will +bind thee." "Bind me!" I cried, "my father is King of the Goths, and +thine also. Dare to touch me!" Then he got angry and struck at me with +his stick and came nearer; but I knew that near me our servants were +felling trees, and I cried for help and retreated to the edge of the +rock. He looked about him in terror, for the people must have heard me; +the strokes of their axes ceased. But suddenly he sprang forward, +cried, "Die, little viper!" and pushed me over the rock.'" + +Teja bit his lips. + +"Oh, the devil!" cried Hildebad. + +And Witichis, with a cry of pain, tore his hand from Hildebad's grasp. + +"Cut it short," said Teja. + +"He lost his senses again," Wachis continued; "I carried him in my arms +home to his mother. Once again he opened his eyes while lying on her +lap. A greeting to you was his last breath." + +"And my wife? Is she not desperate?" + +"No, master; that she is not. She is of gold, but also of steel. When +the boy had closed his eyes, she silently pointed out of the window to +the right. I understood her. There stood the neighbour's house. And I +armed all your servants and led them there to take revenge. We laid the +murdered boy on your shield and bore him in our midst. And Rauthgundis +went with us, a sword in her hand, following the corpse. We laid the +boy down before the gates of the villa. Calpurnius had fled on his +swiftest horse to Belisarius. But his brother and his son and twenty +slaves stood in the courtyard. They were just about to mount and follow +him. We uplifted the cry of murder three times. Then we attacked them. +We killed them _all_, _all_, and burnt the house down over the +inhabitants. Meantime Rauthgundis looked on without a word, keeping +watch by the little corpse and leaning on her sword; and the next day +she sent me on beforehand to tell you. Shortly after, as soon as she +had burnt the little corpse, she followed me. And as I have lost a day, +being hindered by the rebels from taking the shortest road, she may +arrive at any hour."' + +"My child, my child! my poor wife! This is the first produce of this +unhappy crown! And now," he cried to the old man, with all the +impetuosity of pain, "wilt thou still demand that cruel sacrifice? that +unbearable sacrifice?" + +Hildebrand slowly rose. + +"Nothing is unbearable that is necessary. Winter is bearable, and age, +and death. They come, and we bear it. Because we must. But I hear the +voices of women, and rustling garments. Let us go." + +Witichis turned from him to the door. + +There, under the lifted curtain of the tent, stood Rauthgundis, his +wife, dressed in grey garments and a black veil, and pressing a small +black urn to her bosom. + +A cry of loving pain and painful love; and the husband and wife were +locked in a close embrace. + +Silently the witnesses left the tent. + + + + CHAPTER XV. + +Outside Teja held the old man back by his mantle. + +"Thou torturest the King in vain," he said. "He will never consent. Now +least of all!" + +"How dost thou know?" interrupted the old man. + +"Peace; I guess it. As I guess all misfortune." + +"Then thou wilt also acknowledge that he _must_ consent." + +"He--_he_ will not do it." + +"But--thou meanest her?" + +"Perhaps!" + +"She will!" cried Hildebrand. + +"Yes, she is a wonder of a woman," answered Teja. + +While, during the next few days, the now childless pair lived in quiet +seclusion, and Witichis scarcely ever left his tent, it happened that +the outposts of the royal besiegers and the sentries of the Gothic +garrison of Ravenna--taking advantage of the armistice which, as a +matter of fact, had ensued--entered into frequent communication. + +Scolding and disputing, they reproached each other with being the cause +of the civil war. + +The besiegers complained that the garrison had closed the gates of his +royal fortress upon the King during the greatest distress of the +nation. The Ravennese blamed Witichis for depriving the daughter of the +Amelungs of her rights. + +As old Earl Grippa was making the round of the walls, he listened, +unobserved, to one of these conversations. + +He suddenly came forward, and called to Witichis's soldiers who were +standing below, praising their King. + +"Indeed?" he cried; "is it acting nobly and rightly to attack us like a +madman, instead of giving an answer to our moderate demand? And he +could so easily spare the blood of the Goths! We only want Mataswintha +for our Queen! Well, can he not remain King? Is it so hard to share +throne and couch with the most beautiful woman in the world, with the +Princess Beautiful-hair,' of whose charms the singers sing in the +streets? Must so many thousand brave Goths die, rather than that? Well +then, let him continue to attack. We will see which breaks down first; +his obstinacy or these walls!" + +These words of the old commander made an immense impression on all the +Goths before the walls. They knew of nothing to say in defence of their +King. They also knew as little of his marriage as the rest of the army. +In this the presence of Rauthgundis in the camp had altered little, for +truly she had not come like a queen. + +They hastened back to the camp in great excitement, and told what they +had heard; how that the obstinacy of the King had sacrificed their +brethren. + +"'Twas for this reason he kept the object of the embassy a secret!" +they cried. + +Soon groups were formed in every lane of the camp, all much excited, +speaking of the affair, and blaming the King in tones which grew ever +louder. + +The Germans of those times treated their kings with a freedom of speech +which horrified the Byzantines. + +In this case, vexation at the retreat from Rome; the shame of the +defeat before Ravenna; regret for their sacrificed comrades, and anger +at this secrecy; all worked together to excite the Goths to a storm of +indignation against the King, which was not the less violent, because +it was still restrained. + +This temper of the army did not escape the notice of the leaders. As +they passed through the camp, the words of blame were scarcely +restrained. But they would only have let loose the mischief if they had +angrily rebuked it. + +And often, when Earl Teja or Hildebad would have interposed a word in +mitigation, old Hildebrand kept them back. + +"Let the tide swell a little more," he said; "when it is high enough I +will control it. The only danger would be--" he added, half to himself. + +"If those in the rebel camp opposite were beforehand with us," said +Teja. + +"Right, thou guesser of riddles! But things go well for us there. +Deserters relate that the princess steadfastly refuses. She threatens +to kill herself rather than give her hand to Arahad." + +"Bah!" said Hildebad; "I would risk that!" + +"Because thou knowest not that passionate creature, that child of the +Amelungs! She inherits the fiery blood of Theodoric, and will, after +all, play us, too, a bad trick." + +"Witichis is another kind of wooer than that boy of Asta," whispered +Teja. + +"I trust to that also," answered Hildebrand. "Leave him in peace a few +days longer," added the old man; "his grief must have its way. Till it +is assuaged he can be brought to do nothing. Do not disturb him. Let +him remain quietly in his tent with his wife. I shall be obliged to +disturb him soon enough." + +But the old man was compelled to rouse the King from his grief sooner +and in a different way from what he had intended. + +The Assembly at Regeta had made a law against all Goths who deserted to +the Byzantines, condemning [them] to an ignominious death. + +On the whole, such desertions occurred very rarely, but still, in parts +of the country where a few Goths lived among a crowded Italian +population, and many intermarriages had taken place, they were more +frequent. + +The old master-at-arms was especially wroth with these renegades, who +dishonoured themselves and their nation. It was he who had introduced +this law against deserters from the army and the national flag. + +Its application had not yet been necessary, and its intention was +almost forgotten. + +Suddenly it was brought to mind gravely enough. + +Belisarius had not yet left Rome with his main army. For more than one +reason he wished at present to make that city the principal support of +all his movements in Italy; But he had sent numerous parties of +skirmishers after the retreating Goths, to tease and disquiet them, and +particularly to take possession of the many castles, strongholds and +towns from which the barbarian garrison had been driven out and beaten +by the Italians, or, hindered by no garrison, had simply gone over to +the Emperor of the "Romani," as he called himself in Greek. + +Such occurrences took place--particularly as, since the Gothic King was +in full retreat, and, after the outbreak of the rebellion, the Gothic +cause seemed half lost--almost daily. + +Partly under the influence of the appearance of Belisarius's troops +before the gates, partly without such pressure, many towns and castles +surrendered. + +As, however, most of them preferred to wait until they could plead the +excuse of necessity, in case of an unhoped-for victory of the Goths, +Belisarius had all the more reason to send forth against them small +troops of skirmishers, under the command of the deserters, who were +well acquainted with the country and the condition of things. + +And these troops, encouraged by the continued retreat of the Goths, +ventured far into the land; every newly-taken castle became a point of +departure for further operations. + +Such a party of skirmishers had lately won Castellum Marcianum, which +crowned a rocky height above an extensive pine-wood near Cæsena, close +to the royal camp. + +Old Hildebrand, into whose hands Witichis had given the supreme command +since receiving his wound, observed with indignation this dangerous +success of the enemy and the treachery of the Italians. + +And as he did not wish to occupy his troops against Duke Guntharis or +Ravenna--always hoping for a peaceable solution of the difficulty--he +decided to play these bold skirmishers a famous trick. + +Spies had related that, on the day after Rauthgundis's arrival in the +camp, the new Byzantine garrison of Castellum Marcianum had dared to +threaten Cæsena itself, the important town in the rear of the Gothic +camp. + +The old master-at-arms furiously swore destruction to the insolent +enemy. He put himself at the head of a thousand horsemen, and started +in the stillness of the night, with straw twisted round the hoofs of +the horses, in the direction of Cæsena. + +The surprise succeeded perfectly. Unobserved they entered the wood at +the foot of the rock upon which the castle was situated. + +Hildebrand divided his men into two parties, one of which he ordered to +surround the wood on all sides; the other to dismount and follow him +silently up to the castle. + +The sentinels at the gate were taken by surprise, and the Byzantines, +finding that they were attacked by superior numbers, fled on all sides +into the wood, where the greater part of those on horseback were taken +prisoners. + +The flames from the burning castle illuminated the scene. + +But a small group retreated, fighting, over the little river at the +foot of the rock, which was crossed by a narrow bridge. + +Here Hildebrand's pursuing horsemen were checked by a single man--a +leader, as it seemed from the splendour of his armour. + +This tall, slender, and seemingly young man--his visor was +down--fought as if in desperation, covered the retreat of his men, and +had already overthrown four Goths. + +Then up came the old master-at-arms, and looked on for a while at the +unequal combat. + +"Yield, brave man!" he cried to the lonely combatant. "I will guarantee +thy life." + +At this call the Byzantine started; for an instant he lowered his +sword, and looked at the old man. + +But the next moment he had leaped forward and back again; he had cut +off the arm of his nearest adversary at one powerful stroke. + +The Goths fell back a little. + +Hildebrand became furious. + +"Forward!" he cried. "No more pity! Aim at him with your spears!" + +"He is proof against iron!" cried one of the Goths, a cousin of Teja. +"I hit him three times; he cannot be wounded." + +"Thinkest thou so, Aligern?" laughed the old man grimly. "Let me see if +he be proof against stone." + +And he hurled his stone battle-axe--he was almost the only one who +still carried this ancient heathen weapon--at the Byzantine. + +The heavy axe crashed upon the glittering helmet of the brave defender +of the bridge, who fell as if struck by lightning. + +Two men sprang towards him and raised his visor. + +"Master Hildebrand," cried Aligern in astonishment, "it is no +Byzantine!" + +"And no Italian!" added Gunthamund. + +"Look at his golden locks--it is a Goth!" observed Hunibad. + +Hildebrand came forward--and started violently. + +"Torches!" he cried; "light! Yes," he added gloomily, taking up his +stone axe, "it is a Goth! And I--I have slain him," he concluded, with +icy calmness. + +But his hand trembled on the shaft of his axe. + +"No, master," cried Aligern, "he lives. He was only stunned; he opens +his eyes." + +"He lives?" asked the old man, shuddering. "May the gods forbid!" + +"Yes, he lives!" repeated the Goths, raising their prisoner. + +"Then woe to him, and to me! But no! The gods of the Goths have +delivered him into my power. Bind him upon thy horse, Gunthamund; but +firmly. If he escape, it is at the peril of _thy_ head, not his. +Forward! To horse, and home!" + +When they arrived at the camp, the escort asked the master-at-arms what +they should prepare for their prisoner. + +"A bundle of straw for to-night," he answered, "and for to-morrow +early--a gallows." + +With these words he entered the King's tent, and reported the result of +his excursion. + +"We have a Gothic deserter among our prisoners," he concluded grimly. +"He must hang before sunset to-morrow." + +"That is very sad," said Witichis, sighing. + +"Yes; but necessary. I shall summon the court-martial for to-morrow. +Wilt thou preside?" + +"No," said Witichis, "exempt me from that. I will appoint Hildebad in +my place." + +"No," cried the old man, "that will not do. I am commander-in-chief as +long as thou keepest thy tent. I demand the presidency as my right." + +Witichis looked at him. + +"Thou art so grim and cold! Is it an enemy of thy kindred?" + +"No," said Hildebrand. + +"What is the name of the prisoner?" + +"Hildebrand--like mine." + +"Meseems thou hatest him--this Hildebrand. Thou mayst judge; but beware +of exaggerated severity. Do not forget that I pardon gladly." + +"The well-being of the Goths demands his death," said Hildebrand +quietly; "and he will die!" + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + +Early the next morning the prisoner, with his head covered, was led to +a meadow on the north, the "cold corner" of the camp, where were +assembled the leaders of the army and a great part of the troops. + +"Listen," said the prisoner to one of his escort; "is old Hildebrand on +the Ting-place?" + +"He is the head of the Ting." + +"They are and will ever remain barbarians! Do me a favour, friend--I +will give thee this purple belt for it. Go to the old man; tell him +that I know that I must die, but I beg him to spare me, and still more +my family--dost thou hear? my _family_--the shame of the gallows. Beg +him to send me a weapon secretly." + +The Goth, Gunthamund, went to seek Hildebrand, who had already opened +the court. + +The proceedings were very simple. The old man first caused the law of +Regeta to be read aloud; then witnesses proved the taking of the +prisoner, and afterwards he was led forward. A woolsack still covered +his head and shoulders. + +It was just about to be taken off, when Gunthamund reached Hildebrand +and whispered in his ear. + +"No," cried Hildebrand, frowning; "tell him that the shame of his +family is his _deed_, not his punishment," And he called aloud: "Show +the face of the traitor! It is Hildebrand, son of Hildegis!" + +A cry of astonishment and horror ran through the crowd. + +"His own grandchild!" + +"Old man, thou shalt not preside! Thou art cruel to thy flesh and +blood!" cried Hildebad, starting up. + +"Only just; but to every one alike," answered Hildebrand, striking his +staff upon the ground. + +"Poor Witichis!" whispered Earl Teja. + +But Hildebad hurried away to the camp. + +"What canst thou say for thyself, son of Hildegis?" asked Hildebrand. + +The young man hastily stepped forward; his face was red, but with +anger, not with shame. He showed not a trace of fear. His long yellow +hair waved in the wind. + +The crowd was moved with compassion. + +The mere report of his brave resistance, the discovery of his name, and +now his youth and beauty, spoke powerfully in his favour. + +With flashing eyes, he looked around at the crowd, and then fixed them +with a proud expression on the old man's face. + +"I protest against this court-martial!" he cried, "Your laws do not +concern me. I am a Roman--no Goth! My father died before my birth; my +mother was a Roman, the noble Cloelia. I have never felt as if this +barbarous old man was my kinsman. I despised his severity as I did his +love. He forced his name upon me, the child, and took me away from my +mother. But I ran away from him as soon as I could. I have always +called myself Flavius Cloelius, never Hildebrand. My friends were +Romans; Roman was my every thought; Roman my life! All my friends +joined Belisarius and Cethegus; could I remain behind? Kill me--you can +and you will! But confess that it is a murder, and not an act of +justice! You judge no Goth; you murder a conquered Roman, for Roman is +my soul!" + +The crowd had listened to his defence silently and with mixed feelings. + +But the old man rose furiously from his seat; his eyes flashed fire; +his hands trembled with rage. + +"Miserable boy," he cried, "thou hast confessed that thou art the son +of a Goth! Then art thou a Goth thyself; and if thy heart is Roman, +thou deservest death for that alone. Soldiers, away with him to the +gallows!" + +Once more the prisoner advanced to the foot of the judgment-seat. + +"Then be accursed," he cried, "you rude and savage people! May your +nation be accursed! And, most of all, thou, old man with the wolf's +heart! Do not think that your savagery and cruelty will do you any +service! You shall be wiped away from the surface of this lovely land, +and not a trace of you shall be left behind!" + +At a sign from Hildebrand, the ban-officers again threw the cover over +the prisoner's head, and led him away to a hill upon which stood a +sturdy yew-tree, deprived of its boughs and leaves. + +At this moment the eyes of the crowd were diverted towards the camp, +whence the sound of horses' hoofs were heard. Soon a troop of riders +with the royal banner was seen approaching, Witichis and Hildebad at +their head. + +"Stop!" cried the King from a distance. "Spare the grandchild of +Hildebrand! Pardon, pardon!" + +But the old man pointed to the hill. + +"Too late, King," he cried; "it is all over with the traitor. So may +all perish who forget their nation! The kingdom comes first. King +Witichis, and afterwards wife and child and grandchild!" + +This act of Hildebrand made a great impression upon the army, and a +still greater one upon the King. He felt the weight which was given to +any demand of the old man by his sacrifice. And with the conviction +that resistance had now become much more difficult, he returned to his +tent. + +Hildebrand did not fail to take advantage of the King's humour. + +In the evening he entered the royal tent with Teja. + +The husband and wife were sitting silent, hand in hand, on the camp +bed; upon a table before them stood the black urn; near it lay a small +golden locket, something like an amulet, appended to a blue ribbon; a +bronze lamp shed a faint light. + +As Hildebrand gave his hand to the King, the latter looked into his +face, and saw at one glance that he had entered the tent with the fixed +resolve to carry out his intentions at whatever cost. + +All present seemed silently moved by the impending conflict of feeling. + +"Mistress Rauthgundis," began the old man, "I have to speak of sad +things with the King. It will hurt thee to hear them!" + +Rauthgundis rose, but not to go. Deep pain and earnest love for her +husband gave to her fair and regular features a noble and elevated +expression. + +Without removing her right hand from that of her husband, she laid her +left gently upon his shoulder. + +"Speak freely, Hildebrand. I am his wife, and demand the half of these +sad words!" + +"Mistress," the old man repeated. + +"Let her remain," said the King. "Dost thou fear to tell thy thoughts +before her face?" + +"Fear? no! And though I were forced to tell a god that the people of +the Goths was dearer to me than he, I should do it without fear. Know +then----" + +"What! Thou wilt? Spare her, spare her!" cried Witichis, throwing his +arms around his wife. + +But Rauthgundis looked at him quietly and said: + +"I know all, my Witichis. Yesterday, as I was walking through the camp, +unrecognised, in the twilight, I heard the soldiers by the watch-fires +blaming thee, and praising this old man to the skies. I listened and +heard all. What he demands and what thou refusest!" + +"And thou didst not tell me?" + +"There was no danger. Do I not know that thou wouldst never put away +thy wife? Not for a crown, and not for that wonderfully beautiful +maiden. Who can part us? Let this old man threaten; I know that no star +hangs more safely in heaven than I in thy heart." + +This security made an impression on the old man. He frowned. + +"I have not to argue with thee! Witichis, I ask thee before Teja--thou +knowest how things stand: without Ravenna we are lost: Mataswintha's +hand alone can open its gates--wilt thou take this hand or not?" + +Witichis sprang from his seat. + +"Yes, our enemies are right! We are barbarians! Before this heartless +old man stands a splendid woman, unparalleled for her griefs as for her +fidelity; here stand the ashes of her murdered child; and he would drag +her husband away from this wife and these ashes to form another union! +Never--nevermore!" + +"An hour ago representatives of all the thousands of the army were on +their way to this tent," said the old man. "They would have forced thee +to do that which I only ask. I kept them back with difficulty." + +"Let them come!" cried Witichis. "They can only deprive me of my +crown--not of my wife!" + +"Who wears the crown belongs to his people--not to himself!" + +"Here"--Witichis took the coroneted helmet and laid it upon the table +before Hildebrand--"once more and for the last time I give thee back +the crown. I did not desire it, God knows! It has brought me nothing +but this urn of ashes. Take it back; let who will be King, and woo +Mataswintha." + +But Hildebrand shook his head. + +"Thou knowest that that would lead to certain destruction. We are +already split into three parties. Many thousands would never +acknowledge Arahad. Thou alone canst still uphold the kingdom. Wert +thou gone, we should be dissolved. We shall become a bundle of separate +sticks, which Belisarius will break as if in sport. Wouldst thou have +that?" + +"Mistress Rauthgundis, canst thou make no sacrifice for thy people?" +asked Teja, drawing nearer. + +"Thou too, haughty Teja, against me? Is this thy friendship!" cried +Rauthgundis. + +"Mistress Rauthgundis," replied Teja quietly, "I honour thee more than +any other woman on earth, and therefore I ask of thee the greatest of +sacrifices----" + +But Hildebrand interrupted him. + +"Thou art the Queen of this nation. I know of a Gothic Queen who lived +in the heathen times of our forefathers. Hunger and plague lay heavy on +her people. Their swords were useless. The gods were angry with the +Goths. Then Swanhilde asked counsel of the oaks of the woods, and the +waves of the sea, and they answered: 'If Swanhilde dies, the Goths will +live. If Swanhilde lives, her people die.' And Swanhilde never returned +home. She thanked the gods, and sprang into the flood. But truly, that +was in the hero-time." + +Rauthgundis was not unmoved. + +"I love my people," she said; "and since these golden locks are all +that remain of my Athalwin"--she pointed to the locket--"I believe I +could gladly give my life for my people. I will die--yes!" she cried; +"but to live and know the man of my heart loving another--no!" + +"Loving another!" cried Witichis; "how canst speak thus? Knowest thou +not, that my tortured heart beats ever and only at the sound of thy +name? Hast thou then never felt, never yet, not even at the sight of +this urn, that we are eternally one? What am I without thy love? Tear +my heart out of my bosom, place another in its place; then perhaps I +could forget thee! Yes, truly," he cried, turning to the two men, "you +know not what you do; you little know your own interest. You know not +that my love for this woman and this woman's love for me is the best +that poor Witichis possesses. She is my good genius. You know not that +you have to thank her, and her alone, if in anything I please you. I +think of her in the tumult of battle, and the thought strengthens my +arm. Of her I think when noble decisions must be made in the council; +of her clear and serene soul, of her unblemished fidelity! Oh, this +wife is the soul of my life! Deprive me of her, and your King is a +shadow, without fortune and without strength!" + +And he passionately folded Rauthgundis in his arms. + +She was surprised and startled; overcome with a world of bliss. Never +yet had the calm and reserved man, who habitually controlled his +feelings, spoken so of her or of his love. + +Never even when he had wooed her, had he spoken with such passion as +now, when he was asked to leave her. Overpowered, she sank upon his +breast. + +"Thanks, thanks, O God, for this hour of pain," she whispered. "Yes, +now I know that thy heart and soul are mine for ever!" + +"And will remain thine," said Teja in a low tone, "even if another is +called his Queen. She would only share his crown, never his heart!" + +These words penetrated Rauthgundis's soul. She looked at Teja, moved by +his words, with wide eyes. + +Hildebrand saw it, and now considered how he should strike his final +blow. + +"Who would, who could, tamper with your hearts!" he said. "A shadow +without fortune or strength! That thou wilt only become if thou +refusest to listen to my words, or break thy sacred, solemn oath. For a +_perjurer_ is more hollow than a shadow!" + +"His oath?" asked Rauthgundis hastily. "What hast thou sworn?" + +But Witichis sank down upon his seat and buried his face in his hands. + +"What has he sworn?" repeated Rauthgundis. + +Then Hildebrand, aiming every word at the hearts of the husband and +wife, spoke: + +"A few years ago a man concluded a mighty bond with four friends at the +midnight hour. The sod was raised under a sacred oak, and they swore by +the ancient earth and welling water, by the flickering flame and +ethereal air. They mixed their living blood and swore a solemn oath; to +sacrifice all that they possessed, son and kindred, life, weapons and +wives and glory, to the welfare of the Goths! And if any one of them +should refuse to keep the oath, when reminded by a brother in time of +necessity, his red blood should run unavenged, like the water under the +wood-sod. Upon his head heaven should fall and crush him, and he should +be for ever subject to all the dark powers under the earth. His soul +should be condemned to eternal torture; good men should trample over +his grave, and his memory be dishonoured and covered with curses +wherever Christians ring bells or heathens offer sacrifices; wherever +the wind blows over the wide world, and mothers caress their children. +This oath was sworn by five men: by Hildebrand and Hildebad, by Teja +and Totila. But who was the fifth? Witichis, son of Waltaris." + +And he suddenly drew back Witichis's left-hand sleeve. + +"Look here, Rauthgundis, the scar has not yet vanished. But the oath +has vanished from his soul. Thus he swore before he was made King. And +when the thousands of Goths, on the field of Regeta, lifted him on the +shield, he swore a second oath: 'My life, my happiness, all that I +have, do I dedicate to you, the people of the Goths. I swear it by the +God of heaven and by my faith.' Well, Witichis, son of Waltaris, King +of the Goths, I now remind thee of that double oath. I ask thee whether +thou wilt sacrifice, as thou hast sworn to do, thy wife and thy +happiness to the people of the Goths? See, I too have lost three sons +for this people, and, without shrinking, I have sacrificed and +condemned my grandchild, the last scion of my race. Speak, wilt thou do +the like? Wilt thou keep thine oath? or wilt thou break it and live +accursed? cursed by the living and cursed amongst the dead?" + +Witichis was convulsed with pain at the words of the old man. + +Then Rauthgundis rose. She laid her left hand on her husband's breast, +and stretched forth her right as if to protect him from Hildebrand. + +"Cease," she said, "leave, him alone. It is enough! He will do what +thou desirest. He will not dishonour and perjure himself for the sake +of his wife." + +But Witichis sprang up, and held her fast in both his arms as if they +were about to tear her from him at once. + +"Now go," she said to the two men; "leave me alone with him." + +Teja turned to go; Hildebrand hesitated. + +"Go, go!" she cried, laying her hand upon the marble urn; "I swear to +thee by the ashes of my child, that at sunrise he shall be free!" + +"No," cried Witichis, "I will not put away my wife! never!" + +"Thou shalt not. It is not thou who sendest me away--I turn away from +thee. Rauthgundis goes to save her people and her husband's honour. +Thou canst never tear away thy heart from me; I know that mine it will +remain, now more than ever! Go, Hildebrand and Teja, what we two have +now to go through, will admit of no witness." + +The two men silently left the place; silently they went together down +the lane of tents; at the corner the old man stopped. + +"Good-night, Teja," he said; "it is now done!" + +"Yes; who knows if well done? A noble, noble sacrifice! Many more will +follow, and, meseems there, in the stars, it stands written--in vain! +But for honour then, if not for victory! Farewell." + +He drew his dark mantle closely round his shoulders, and disappeared +like a shadow into the night. + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + +The next morning, before cockcrow, a veiled woman rode out of the camp. +A man in a brown war-mantle walked beside her, holding her horse's +bridle, and ever and again looking into her veiled face. + +At an arrow's length behind them rode a servant, with a bundle at his +back, where hung a heavy club. + +They went on their way for some time in silence. + +At last they reached a woody eminence; behind them lay the broad plain +where stood the Gothic camp and the city of Ravenna; before them, to +the north-west, the road which led to the Via Æmilia. + +The woman checked her horse. + +"The sun is just rising. I have sworn that it shall find thee free. +Farewell, my Witichis!" + +"Hurry not so away from me," he said, pressing her hand. + +"I must keep my word if my heart breaks! It must be!" + +"Thou goest more easily than I remain!" + +She smiled painfully. + +"I leave my life behind me; thou hast yet a life before thee." + +"And what a life!" + +"The life of a King for his people, as thine oath demands." + +"Fatal oath!" + +"It was right to swear it; it is a duty to keep it. And thou wilt think +of me in the gilded halls of Rome, as I of thee in my hut, deep in the +ravine. Thou wilt not forget thy wife, nor the ten years of our faith +and love, nor our sweet boy." + +"Oh, my wife, my wife!" cried the tortured man, pressing his face +against the saddle-bow, and putting both arms around her. + +She bent over him and laid her hand upon his head. + +Meanwhile Wachis had overtaken them; he looked at the group for a short +time, and then he could bear it no longer. + +He pulled his master gently by the mantle. + +"Master, listen; I can give you good advice. Do you not hear me?" + +"What canst thou advise?" + +"Come with us! Up, away! Mount my horse and ride away with Mistress +Rauthgundis. I will follow afterwards. Leave those who torture you till +the bright drops stand in your eyes; leave them, and all the rubbish of +crown and kingdom. It has brought you no happiness. They do not mean +well by you. Who would part man and wife for a dead crown? Up and away, +I say! And I know a rocky nest where no one can find you but an eagle +or a chamois." + +"Shall thy master run away from his kingdom, like a bad slave from the +mill?" + +"Farewell, Witichis. Here, take the locket with the blue ribbon; the +ringlet of our boy is in it, and one," she whispered, kissing him on +the forehead, and hanging the locket round his neck, "one of +Rauthgundis'. Farewell, thou, my heart's life!" + +He raised himself to look into her eyes. + +She suddenly struck her horse--"Forward, Wallada!"--and galloped away. +Wachis followed. + +Witichis stood motionless, and looked after her. + +She stopped before the road turned into the wood--once more she waved +her hand, and the next minute had disappeared. + +Witichis listened to the tramp of the horses as if in a dream. When the +sound ceased he turned. + +But he could not leave the place. + +He stepped out of the road. At the other side of the ditch lay a large +mossy block of stone. There the King of the Goths seated himself, +rested his arms upon his knees, and buried his face in his hands. He +pressed them hard against his eyes, to shut out the whole world from +his grief. + +Tears trickled through his fingers. He did not notice them. + +Horsemen galloped past. He scarcely heard them. + +So he sat motionless for hours; so motionless, that the birds of the +wood hopped close to him. + +The sun stood in the south. + +At last--he heard some one call his name. + +He looked up. Earl Teja stood before him. + +"I knew well," said Teja, "that thou hadst not fled like a coward. Come +back with me, and save thy kingdom. When, this morning, thou wert not +found in thy tent, the report spread through the camp that, despairing +of kingdom and happiness, thou hadst fled. It soon reached the city of +Ravenna and Guntharis. The Ravennese threaten a sally, and that they +will go over to Belisarius. Arahad tempts the army to give him the +crown. Two, three opposing Kings arise. Everything will fall to pieces +if thou comest not to save us!" + +"I come!" cried Witichis. "Let them take care! The best heart in the +world has been broken for the sake of this crown; it is sacred, and +they shall not desecrate it. Come, Teja, back to the camp!" + + + + + BOOK IV.-_Continued._ + + WITICHIS. + +"But the Goths chose Witichis for their king, a man, not indeed of +noble birth, but of great fame as a warrior."--_Procopius: Wars of the +Goths_, i. 11. + + + + PART II. + + + + CHAPTER I. + +When King Witichis readied the camp, he found it almost in a state of +anarchy. + +The pressing need of the moment forcibly roused him from his grief, and +gave him sufficient occupation. + +He found the army split into numerous parties, and on the point of +dissolution. He acknowledged to himself that, if he had abdicated, or +abandoned the camp, the complete ruin of the Gothic cause would have +been the consequence. He found many of the troops already on the point +of departure. Some were about to join Earl Grippa in Ravenna; others to +go over to the rebels; others again to fly across the Alps. Many spoke +of the choice of a new king, and here, too, the different parties +opposed each other with threats of violence. + +Hildebrand and Hildebad still kept together those who did not believe +in the flight of the King. The old master-at-arms had declared that if +Witichis had really deserted them, he would not rest until he had dealt +to him the punishment of Theodoric, while Hildebad rated at those who +could believe Witichis capable of such baseness. + +They had guarded the roads to the city and to the rebel camp, and +threatened to oppose force to every movement in those directions; while +Duke Guntharis, having heard a report of the confusion, was already +advancing against the royal camp. + +Everywhere Witichis found discontented groups of troops on the point of +departure; everywhere he heard words of blame and beheld uplifted +weapons. At any moment the camp might become a scene of bloodshed. + +Quickly resolved, he hurried to his tent, adorned himself with the +coroneted helmet and the golden sceptre, mounted Boreas, his powerful +charger, and galloped through the lines of tents, followed by Teja, who +bore the blue banner of Theodoric. + +In the middle of the camp they met with a crowd of men, women, and +children--for the latter generally accompanied a Gothic army--who, +murmuring and threatening, were moving towards the western gate. + +Hildebad had sent his soldiers to bar this gate with levelled lances. + +"Let us go out," cried the people. "The King has fled, the war is over, +all is lost. We will save our lives." + +"The King is no coward like thee!" cried Hildebad, pushing back the +nearest man. + +"Yes, he is a traitor!" cried the latter. "He has forsaken and betrayed +us for the sake of a woman's tears." + +"Yes," said another, "he has killed three thousand of our brothers and +has fled." + +"Thou liest!" said a quiet voice. Witichis had turned the corner of a +tent. + +"Hail, King Witichis!" cried Hildebad. "Do you see him, you rabble? Did +I not tell you? But it was high time thou camest--things were getting +to a desperate pass." + +Just then Hildebrand came galloping up with a few horsemen. + +"Hail, King Witichis!" he cried, and turning to his +companions--"Hasten, heralds, through the camp," said he, "and tell +what you have seen; and all the people will cry: 'Hail, Witichis, our +faithful King!'" + +But Witichis turned from him with a look of anguish. + +The heralds galloped away in all directions, and shortly there arose +through the whole camp the thundering shout, "Hail, King Witichis!" +Even those who had just been murmuring joined unanimously in the cry. + +Witichis listened to these acclamations with a look full of pride and +pain, and Teja whispered to him: "Now thou seest that thou hast saved +the kingdom." + +"Up! lead us to victory!" cried Hildebad, "for Guntharis and Arahad +approach! They think to surprise us without a chief and in complete +disorder. At them! They shall find themselves mistaken. At them! and +down with the rebels!" + +"Down with the rebels!" thundered the soldiers, glad to find an outlet +for their excited passions. + +But the King made a sign. + +"Peace! No more shall Gothic blood flow from wounds made by Gothic +weapons. Wait patiently here. Thou, Hildebad, open the gate for me. +None shall follow me. I alone go to the rebels. Thou, Earl Teja, +control the troops until I return. But thou, Hildebrand," he cried, +raising his voice, "ride to the gates of Ravenna, and loudly bid them +open. Their desire is fulfilled, and, before evening, we will enter: +King Witichis and Queen Mataswintha." + +He spoke these words with such sorrowful dignity, that the hearers +received them in reverent silence. + +Hildebad opened the gate of the camp. Without could be discerned the +rebels, approaching at a quick march; loudly sounded their war-cry as +the gate opened. + +King Witichis gave his sword to Earl Teja, and rode slowly to meet +them. The gate closed behind him. + +"He seeks death," whispered Hildebad. + +"No," said Teja, "he seeks the salvation of the Goths." + +On recognising the solitary horseman, the rebels were amazed. Near the +brothers--who marched at the head of the troops--rode the chief of the +Avarian archers. He held his hand over his small and twinkling eyes +and cried: + +"By the horse of the war-god, that is the King himself! Now, my boys, +sons of the steppes, aim well, and the war is over!" and he quickly +took his bow from his shoulder. + +"Stop, Chan Warchun," cried Duke Guntharis, laying his mailed hand upon +the other's shoulder. "Thou hast sadly erred twice in the same breath. +Thou hast called Earl Witichis the King: that may be forgiven thee. +Thou wouldst murder him who comes as a messenger of peace. That may be +Avarian, but is not Gothic custom. Away with thee and thy troop out of +my camp!" + +The Chan started and looked at Guntharis in astonishment. + +"Away, at once!" repeated Duke Guntharis. + +The Avarian laughed and signed to his horsemen. + +"'Tis all one to me. Children, we go to Belisarius. Queer people, these +Goths! Giant bodies with children's hearts!" + +Meanwhile Witichis had ridden up. + +Guntharis and Arahad looked at him inquiringly. + +Unusual solemnity was added to the customary simple dignity of his +manner; the majesty of deep grief. + +"I come to speak with you of the welfare of the Goths. Brother shall +slay brother no more. Let us enter Ravenna together, and together +conquer Belisarius. I shall wed Mataswintha, and you two shall stand +nearest to my throne." + +"Never!" cried Arahad passionately. + +"Thou forgettest," said Duke Guntharis proudly, "that thy bride is in +_our_ tents." + +"Duke Guntharis of Tuscany, I might answer that shortly _we_ shall be +in your tents. We are more numerous and not less brave than you, and, +Duke, we have right on our side. I will not speak of that, but only +warn you of the fate of the Goths. Should you conquer _us_, you are too +weak to conquer Belisarius. Even united, we are scarcely strong enough +for that. Give way!" + +"It is for thee to give way," said the Wölfung. "If thou lovest the +Goths, lay down thy crown. Canst thou make no sacrifice for thy +people?" + +"I can. I have done so. Hast thou a wife, O Guntharis?" + +"I have a dear wife." + +"I too! I _had_ a dear wife. I have sacrificed her to my people. I have +sent her away, in order to woo Mataswintha." + +Duke Guntharis was silent. + +But Arahad cried: "Then thou hast never loved her!" + +Witichis started; the force of his grief and his love redoubled. His +cheeks flushed, and casting an annihilating look at the alarmed youth, +he cried: + +"Talk not to me of love! Blaspheme not, thou foolish boy! Because red +lips and white limbs flash before thee in thy dreams, darest thou to +speak of love? What knowest thou of what I have lost in this wife, the +mother of my sweet child? A world of love and faith! Irritate me not. +My heart is sore. I control my pain and despair with difficulty. Do not +exasperate them, or they will break loose!" + +Duke Guntharis had become very thoughtful. + +"I knew thee, Witichis, in the wars with the Gepidæ. Never saw I +ignoble man deal such noble strokes. I know that there is nought false +in thee. I know the love which binds a man to a good wife. And thou +hast sacrificed such a wife to thy people? That is much!" + +"Brother, of what thinkest thou?" cried Arahad. "What dost thou intend +to do?" + +"I intend not to allow the House of the Wölfungs to be outdone in +generosity. Noble blood, Arahad, demands noble acts! Tell me one thing +more, Witichis. Wherefore hast thou not rather sacrificed thy crown, +even thy life, than thy wife?" + +"Because it would have been the certain destruction of the kingdom. +Twice I would have yielded the crown to Earl Arahad; twice the leaders +of my army swore that they would never acknowledge him. Three, four +Gothic kings might have been chosen, but, by my honour, Earl Arahad +would never have been acknowledged. Then I tore my wife from my +bleeding heart; and now, Duke Guntharis, remember thou also the people +of the Goths. The House of the Wölfungs is lost if the Goths are lost. +If Belisarius lay the axe to the roots of the trunk, the noblest +branches will fall too. I have renounced my wife, the crown of my life; +renounce thou the hope of a crown!" + +"It shall not be sung in the halls of the Goths that the freedman +Witichis was more self-sacrificing than the chief of the nobility! The +strife is at an end; I greet thee, my King." + +And the proud Duke bent his knee to Witichis, who raised him and +pressed him to his heart. + +"Brother! brother! what shame thou dost me!" cried Arahad. + +"I look upon it as an honour," said Guntharis quietly. "And as a sign +that my King sees no cowardice, but rather nobleness, in my homage, I +beg a favour. Amelungs and Balthes have ousted my family from the place +which belonged to it among the people of the Goths." + +"At this moment," answered Witichis, "thou hast redeemed that place. +The Goths shall never forget that the generosity of the Wölfungs has +saved them from a civil war." + +"And, as a sign of this, thou wilt give us the right to bear the +standard of the Goths before the troops in every battle?" + +"Be it so," said the King, giving him his right hand; "and none can be +more worthy." + +"Thanks, O King! Let us now go to Mataswintha." + +"Mataswintha!" cried Arahad, who had looked on at this reconciliation, +which buried all his hopes, in dismay. "Ha! you remind me at the right +time. You can take the crown from me--let it go--but not my love, and +not the duty of protecting my beloved. She has refused me, but I shall +love her until death! I have protected her from my brother, who would +have forced her to wed me. No less faithfully will I protect her now if +you two attempt to force her to give her hand to my hated enemy. That +hand, which is dearer to me than all the crowns of the world, shall be +free!" + +And he quickly mounted his horse, and galloped off to the camp. + +Witichis looked after him anxiously. + +"Let him go," said Duke Guntharis; "we two, united, have nothing to +fear. Let us now reconcile the troops, since the leaders are friends." + +While Guntharis first led the King through his lines of troops, and +called upon them at once to do him homage, which they did with joy, and +afterwards Witichis took the Wölfung and his leaders with him into his +camp, where the victory so peacefully gained was looked upon as +miraculous, Arahad collected together a small troop of about a hundred +horsemen, who were faithfully attached to him, and galloped back with +them to his camp. + +He soon reached the tent of Mataswintha, who indignantly rose at his +entrance. + +"Be not angry. Princess. This time thou hast no right to be so. Arahad +comes to fulfil his last duty. Fly! thou must follow me!" And, in the +impetuosity of his excitement, he grasped her small white hand. + +Mataswintha receded a step, and laid her hand upon the broad golden +girdle which confined her white under-garment. + +"Fly?" she asked. "Fly whither?" + +"Over the sea! over the Alps! Anywhere for liberty; for thy liberty is +endangered." + +"Only by thee!" + +"By me no longer; and I can protect thee no more. So long as only my +happiness was at stake, I could be cruel to myself and honour thy will. +But now----" + +"But now?" repeated Mataswintha, turning pale. + +"They intend thee for another. My brother, the army, and our enemies in +Ravenna and the opposite camp, are all agreed. Soon a thousand voices +will call thee, the victim, to the bridal altar. I cannot bear to think +of it! Such a soul, such beauty, a sacrifice to an unloved marriage +bond!" + +"Let them come!" said Mataswintha. "We will see if they can force me!" +And she pressed the dagger which she carried in her girdle to her +heart. "Who is the new despot who threatens me?" + +"Do not ask!" cried Arahad. "Thy enemy, who is not worthy of thee; who +does not love thee; he--but follow me--fly! They already approach!" + +Horses' hoofs were heard outside. + +"I remain! Who can force the will of the grandchild of Theodoric?" + +"No; thou shalt not, must not, fall into the hands of those heartless +men, who value neither thee nor thy beauty, but only thy right to the +crown. Follow me----" + +At this moment the curtain at the entrance of the tent was pushed +aside. Earl Teja entered. Two Gothic boys, dressed in festive garments +of white silk, followed him; they bore a purple cushion, covered with a +veil. + +Teja advanced to the middle of the tent, and kneeled before +Mataswintha. He, like the boys, wore a green spray of rue round his +helmet. But his eyes and brow were gloomy, as he said: + +"I greet thee. Queen of the Goths and Italians!" + +Mataswintha looked at him amazed. + +Teja rose, went up to the boys, took a golden circlet and a green +wreath of rue from the cushion, and said: + +"I give thee the bridal wreath and the crown, Mataswintha, and invite +thee to the wedding and coronation; the litter awaits thee." + +Arahad laid his hand on his sword. + +"Who sends thee?" asked Mataswintha, with a beating heart, but her hand +upon her dagger. + +"Who but Witichis, the King of the Goths?" + +On hearing this a ray of ineffable joy shone from Mataswintha's +beautiful eyes. She raised both hands to heaven and cried: + +"Thanks, O heaven! Thy stars and my true heart are not belied. I knew +it!" + +She took the coronet into her white hands and pressed it firmly upon +her golden hair. + +"I am ready," she said. "Lead me to thy master and mine." + +And she majestically held out her hand to Earl Teja, who reverently led +her out of the tent. + +But Arahad looked after her in speechless wonder as she disappeared, +his hand still upon his sword. + +He was roused by the entrance of Eurich, one of his followers, who came +up to him, and laying his hand upon his shoulder, asked: + +"What now? The horses stand and wait. Whither?" + +"Whither?" exclaimed Arahad, starting; "whither? There is only one way, +and that we will take. To the Byzantines and death!" + + + + CHAPTER II. + +In the peaceful light of late afternoon shone the chapel and convent +which Valerius had built in order to release his daughter from the +service of the Church. It was situated at the foot of the Apennines, to +the northeast of Perusia and Asisum, and to the south of Petra and +Eugubium, upon a rocky precipice above the little town of Taginæ. + +The cloister, built of the dark red stone of the neighbourhood, +enclosed in its quadrangle a quiet garden, green with shrubberies. + +A cool arched passage ran round all its four sides, decorated in the +grave Byzantine style, with statues of the apostles, mosaics, and +frescoes on a golden background. + +This ornamentation consisted in symbolic pictures from the sacred +writings, especially from the Revelations of St. John, the favourite +Gospel of that time. + +Solemn stillness reigned over the place. Life seemed excluded from +within these high and strong walls. + +Cypresses and arbor-vitæ predominated in the groups of trees in the +garden, where the song of a bird was never heard. The strict conventual +order suffered no bird, lest the sweet song of the nightingale might +disturb the pious souls in their devotions. + +It was Cassiodorus who, already inclined to a severe monastic rule when +minister of Theodoric, and full of Biblical learning, had sketched for +his friend Valerius the plan for the outer and inner government of this +convent--similar to the rules of the monastery which he himself had +founded at Squillacium--and had watched over its execution. His pious +but severe mind, so alienated from the flesh and the world, was +expressed in the smallest details. + +The twenty widows and maidens who lived here as nuns passed their days +in prayer and psalm-singing, chastisement and penitence, and also in +works of Christian charity; for they visited the sick and the poor of +the neighbourhood, comforting and nursing body and soul. + +It made a solemn, poetical, but very sad impression upon the beholder +when one of these pious nuns came walking through the dark avenue of +cypresses, clad in a flowing dark-grey garment, which trailed on the +ground, and a white close-fitting kalantika upon her head, a costume +which Christendom had received from the Egyptian priests of Isis. + +Before every cross of the many which were cut in the box-trees the nuns +stood still and folded their hands in adoration. They always walked +alone, and dumb as shadows they glided past each other when they +chanced to meet; for communication was reduced to the absolutely +necessary. + +In the middle of the garden a spring flowed from beneath a +dark-coloured rock, surrounded by cypresses; marble seats were fixed in +the rock. + +It was a retired, lovely spot; wild roses formed a sort of arbour, and +almost entirely concealed a rough bas-relief sculptured in the rock, +representing the martyrdom of St. Stephen. + +Near this spring sat, eagerly reading in a roll of papyrus, a beautiful +maiden, clad in a snow-white garment, held up on the left shoulder by a +golden clasp. A spray of ivy was twined in the dark brown hair, which +flowed back from the brow in soft waves. It was Valeria. + +When the columns of her home at Neapolis had been overthrown, she had +found an asylum within these strong walls. She had become paler and +graver in this lonely dwelling, but her eyes still beamed with all +their former beauty. + +She read with avidity; the contents of the papyrus seemed to entrance +her; her finely-cut lips moved involuntarily, and at last she began to +read aloud in a low voice: + + "His child to Hector of the brazen helm + Was given in marriage; she it was who now + Met him, and by her side the nurse, who bore + Clasped to her breast, his all-unconscious child, + Hector's loved infant, fair as morning star; + Silent he smiled as on his boy he gazed, + But at his side, Andromache in tears, + Hung on his arm, and thus the chief addressed: + 'Dear lord, thy dauntless spirit will work thy doom; + Nor hast thou pity on this thy helpless child, + Or me, forlorn to lie thy widow soon: + For thee will all the Greeks with force combined + Assail and slay: for me, 'twere better far, + Of thee bereft, to lie beneath the sod; + Nor comfort shall be mine, if thou be lost, + But endless grief: to me nor sire is left, + Nor honoured mother; + But, Hector, thou to me art all in one, + Sire, mother, brethren! thou, my wedded love!'" + +She read no further; her large eyes grew moist; her voice died away; +her head sank upon her bosom. + +"Valeria!" said a mild voice, and Cassiodorus bent forward over her +shoulder; "tears upon the book of comfort! But what do I see--the +'Iliad?' Child, I gave you the Evangelists!" + +"Pardon me, Cassiodorus; my heart clings to other gods than yours. You +cannot imagine how, the more the shadow of earnest self-denial presses +upon me since I entered these walls, the more tenaciously my resisting +heart holds fast to the last ties that bind me to the world. And my +mind vacillates between disgust and love." + +At this moment a loud and cheerful sound broke the silence; a strange +tone in these quiet precincts, which usually echoed only the low choral +of the nuns. + +Trumpets sounded the merry signal of the Gothic horsemen. The tones +penetrated Valerians heart with a life-giving feeling. The gatekeeper +came running from the dwelling-house. + +"Master," he cried, "bold horsemen are outside the gate. They make a +noise and demand meat and drink. They will not be refused, and their +leader--there he is!" + +"Totila!" cried Valeria, and flew to meet her lover, who appeared in +his glittering armour and white mantle. "Oh, you bring me air and +life!" + +"And new hope and old love!" said Totila, and held her in a fast +embrace. + +"Whence come you? How long you have been away!" + +"I come straightway from Paris and Aurelianum, from the courts of the +Frank kings. Oh, Cassiodorus, how well off are those on the other side +of the mountains! What an easy life have they! There heaven and earth +and tradition do not fight against their German spirit. The Rhenus and +Danubius are near, and uncounted Germanic races dwell there in old and +unbroken strength; we, on the contrary, are like an advanced outpost, a +forlorn hope, a single block of rock, worn away by the envious +elements. But all the greater fame," he continued, drawing himself up, +"if we can create and uphold a kingdom for the Germans in the centre of +the country of the Romans! And what a magic lies in your fatherland, +Valeria! And we have made it ours. How my heart rejoiced when olives +and laurels and the deep deep blue of heaven again greeted my eyes! I +felt that if my people can victoriously sustain themselves in this +wondrous land, mankind will see its noblest ideal realised." + +Valeria pressed his hand. + +"And what have you accomplished?" asked Cassiodorus. + +"Much! Everything! At the court of the Merovingian, Childebert, I +met with ambassadors from Byzantium, who had already half persuaded +him to invade Italy as their allies. The gods--forgive me, pious +father--Heaven was with me and my words. I succeeded in altering +Childebert's sentiments. In the worst case, his weapons will remain +neutral. But I hope he will send an army to our assistance." + +"Where did you leave Julius?" + +"I accompanied him to his lovely home, Avenio. There I left him among +blooming almond-trees and oleanders; there he wanders, no more with +'Plato.' but almost always with 'Augustinus' in his hand; and dreams +and dreams of eternal peace between the nations, of perfect goodness, +and of the kingdom of God! It is indeed lovely in those green vales; +but I do not envy him his leisure. My ideal is folk and fatherland. And +my only desire is to fight for this people of the Goths. Everywhere in +my backward journey I drove the people to arms. I already met three +strong troops on the way to Ravenna. I myself lead a fourth to our +brave King. At last we shall advance against these Greeks, and then +revenge for Neapolis!" and with flashing eyes he raised his spear. He +was very beautiful to look upon. + +Valeria threw herself into his arms. + +"Oh see, Cassiodorus!" she cried; "this is _my_ world! _my_ joy! my +heaven! Manly courage and the glitter of arms and love of one's people, +and the soul moved with love and hate--does not this satisfy the human +soul?" + +"Yes; while happy and young! It is pain which leads the mind to +heaven." + +"My pious father," said Totila, laying his right hand upon the shoulder +of Cassiodorus, and drawing Valeria close to him with his left, "it ill +becomes me to argue with you, who are older, wiser, and better. But I +feel just the contrary. If I could ever doubt the goodness of God, it +is when I see pain and undeserved suffering. When I saw my noble +Miriam's eyes extinguished in death, my doubting heart asked: 'Does +there then exist no God?' In happiness and the sunshine of life is the +grace of the Supreme Being revealed to me. He certainly wills the +happiness of mankind--pain is His sacred secret; I trust that also this +riddle will be made clear to us. But meanwhile let us joyfully do our +best upon earth, and allow no shadow to darken our minds too long. In +this belief, Valeria, let us part. For I must go to King Witichis with +my troop." + +"You leave me? Already? Ah, when and where shall I see you again?" + +"You shall see me again; take my word in pledge. I know the day will +come when I shall have the right to take you from these gloomy walls +and lead you to life and sunshine. Meanwhile, do not allow yourself to +give way to sad thoughts. The day of victory and happiness will come; +and I rejoice that I draw my sword at once for my people and my love." + +While he was speaking the gatekeeper had brought a letter for +Cassiodorus. + +"I too must leave you, Valeria," said the latter. "Rusticiana, the +widow of Boëthius, calls me to her death-bed. She wishes to ease her +mind of old guilt. I go to Tifernum." + +"My way leads thither also; we will go together, Cassiodorus. Farewell, +my Valeria!" + +After a brief leave-taking, the maiden watched her lover set forth. + +She climbed a small tower on the garden wall, and looked after him. + +She saw him swing himself into the saddle; she saw his horsemen gallop +after him. + +Their helmets glittered in the evening light; the blue flag fluttered +merrily in the wind; it was a picture of life, strength, and youth. + +She looked after the troop for some time with intense longing. + +But as it disappeared more and more into the distance, the joyous +courage with which her lover's visit had imbued her, gradually forsook +her. Sad forebodings arose in her heart, and she unconsciously +expressed her feelings in the words of her beloved Homer: + + "'Achilles, too, thou see'st; how stalwart, tall, and fair! + Yet must he yield to death and stubborn fate, + Whene'er at morn, or noon, or eve, the spear + Or arrow from the bow may reach his life.'" + +Sighing painfully, she left the quickly darkening garden, and entered +the damp walls of the convent. + + + + CHAPTER III. + +Meanwhile King Witichis, in his armed city of Ravenna, displayed all +the arts and activity of an experienced general. + +As, week by week, and day by day, larger or smaller divisions of the +Gothic troops which had been treacherously sent to the frontiers by +Theodahad, returned to the city, the King was unceasingly occupied in +arming, training, and regulating the whole army, which was gradually to +be brought to the number of a hundred and fifty thousand. + +For Theodoric's reign had been extremely peaceful; the garrisons of the +frontier provinces had alone seen active service against the Gepidæ, +Bulgarians, and Avarians; and during a peace of more than thirty years +the regulations of the army had become somewhat rusty. + +Therefore the King, supported by his friends and generals, had work +enough on his hands. + +The arsenals and docks were emptied; immense magazines were built in +the city, and, between the threefold walls, endless rows of workshops +were erected for smiths and armourers of all kinds, who were obliged to +labour day and night, in order to satisfy the demands of the ever +increasing army, and the eager exigence of the King. + +All Ravenna had become a camp. + +Nothing was heard but the hammers of the smiths, the neighing of +horses, the rattle of arms, and the war-cry of man[oe]uvring troops. + +In this turmoil and restless activity Witichis sought to deaden his +grief as well as he could, and looked eagerly forward to the day when +he might lead his brave army to meet the enemy. + +But though his first impulse was to lose himself in the vortex of a +fierce struggle, he did not forget his duty as King, but sent Duke +Guntharis and Hildebad to Belisarius with a proposal of peace on the +most moderate conditions. + +His time thus completely claimed by affairs of state, Witichis had +scarcely a thought or look to spare for his Queen, upon whom, as he +also imagined, he could bestow no greater favour than the undisturbed +enjoyment of liberty. + +But since the fatal marriage feast of Witichis and Mataswintha, at the +end of which she had learned in the bridal chamber, from his lips, that +he did not, could never love her, and had but called her wife to save +the nation, Mataswintha had been possessed by a demon: the demon of +insatiable revenge. + +The most deadly hatred is that of revolted love. + +From her childhood Witichis had been Mataswintha's ideal. Her pride, +her hope, and her love were all centred in him; and she had as little +doubted that the sun would rise on the morrow, as that her longing for +him would be satisfied. And now she was forced to confess to herself +that he had discovered her passion, and did not reciprocate it; and +that, although she was his Queen, her love for him appeared criminal, +with regard to his banished wife, who yet alone reigned in his heart. + +He, whom she had looked upon as her destined liberator from unworthy +bondage, had done her the greatest injury; he had caused her to enter +into a marriage bond without love. He had deprived her of her liberty, +and had refused his heart in exchange. + +And wherefore? What had been the cause of this sin? The Gothic kingdom, +and the Gothic crown; for, to uphold these, he had not hesitated a +moment to blast her whole life. + +"If he had merely failed to reciprocate my love," she said to herself, +"I should have been too proud to hate him. But he draws me to him, +bestows upon me, as if in mockery, the name of wife, leads me to the +very brink of happiness, and then contemptuously thrusts me down into +the night of unspeakable humiliation! And why all this? For the sake of +an empty sound the Gothic kingdom! For a circlet of gold! Woe to him, +and woe to his idol, to which he has sacrificed me! He shall repent it. +Without mercy he has destroyed my idol--his own image. Well, then, idol +for idol! He shall live to see his kingdom destroyed, his crown broken. +I will shatter his ideal, for whose sake he has sacrificed the bloom of +my life; and when he stands despairing and wringing his hands before +the fragments, I will say: See! thus my idol, too, was shattered!" + +So, with the unstable sophistry of passion, Mataswintha accused the +unhappy man, who suffered more than herself; who had sacrificed not +only her happiness, but that of his well-beloved wife, to his +fatherland. + +Fatherland!--Gothic kingdom! The words fell chilly upon the ear of the +woman who, from her childhood upward, had connected all her sufferings +with these names. + +She had lived solely absorbed in the egoism of her _one_ feeling, the +poetry of her passionate love, and her whole soul was now possessed +with the desire of revenge for the loss of her happiness. She wished +that she had the power to destroy the kingdom at one blow. + +But the very madness of her passion endowed her with demoniac cunning. + +She understood how to hide her deadly hatred and her secret thoughts of +revenge from the King--to hide them as deeply as the love which she +still entertained for him. She was also able to show an interest in the +Gothic kingdom, which seemed to form the only tie between herself and +the King; and indeed she really took a deep interest in it, although in +an inimical sense. For she well knew that she could only injure the +kingdom and ruin the King's cause if she were initiated into all its +secrets, and intimately acquainted with its strength and weakness. + +Her high position made it easy for her to learn all that she wished to +know; out of consideration for her powerful party, the knowledge of the +situation of the kingdom and army could not be withheld from the +daughter of the Amelungs. Old Earl Grippa furnished her with all the +information which he himself possessed. In more important cases she was +present at the councils which were held in the King's apartments. + +Thus she was perfectly well acquainted with the position of the +kingdom; the strength, quality, and divisions of the army; the hopes +and fears of the Goths, and the plans of attack formed by the generals. +And she longed with impatience for a speedy opportunity of using her +knowledge as destructively as possible. + +She could not hope to enter into relations with Belisarius himself, +therefore her eyes were naturally directed to the Italians in her +vicinity, with whom she could easily and unsuspectedly communicate; and +who, though neutral in the presence of the Goths, were, without +exception, secretly favourable to the Byzantines. + +But on recalling their names to her memory, she found that there was +not one to whose wisdom and discretion she could entrust the deadly +secret: that the Queen of the Goths desired the destruction of her +kingdom. + +These cowardly and insignificant men--for all the best had long since +joined Cethegus or Belisarius were neither worthy of trust nor capable +of dealing with Witichis and his friends. + +Mataswintha cunningly tried to learn from the King and the Goths +themselves, which of the Romans they held to be their most dangerous +and powerful enemy; but in answer to such questions, she only heard one +name, repeated again and again, and he who owned this name was beyond +her reach in the Capitol of Rome--Cethegus the Prefect. + +It was impossible for her to enter into communication with him. She +could trust none of her Roman slaves with such an important mission as +the bearing of a letter to Rome. + +The clever and courageous Numidian, who fully shared the hatred of her +beloved mistress to the rude barbarians, from whom she had always +experienced contempt, had, in truth, offered, with much zeal, to find +her way to Cethegus; but Mataswintha would not expose the girl to the +perils of a journey through Italy during war-time. Therefore she was +already reconciled to the thought that she must postpone her revenge +until the march to Rome. But not the less zealously did she continue to +inquire into the plans and stratagems of the Goths. + +One day she was returning from the council of war, which had been +held in the camp without the walls, in the King's tent; for, since +the armament had approached its completion, and the Goths had been +daily expecting the order to march, Witichis--partly to avoid +Mataswintha--had left his rooms in the palace and taken up his abode +among his warriors. + +The Queen, accompanied only by Aspa, was walking slowly forward, +pondering upon what she had just heard. She had avoided the press and +noise of the inner camp, and pursued her way between a marshy arm of +the river Padus to the left and the rows of white tents to the right. +While she wandered on, noticing nothing, Aspa's sharp eyes were +watching a group of Goths and Italians which surrounded the platform of +a conjurer, who appeared, from the astonishment and laughter of the +spectators, to be performing new and marvellous tricks. + +Aspa lingered a little to see something of these wonders. The conjurer +was a slender youth, a Celt, to judge by the dazzling white skin of his +face and bare arms, and by his long yellow hair; but this supposition +was belied by his coal-black eyes. And he really performed wonders in +the eyes of his simple audience. Now he sprang up, turned over and over +in the air, and fell, now on his hands, now on his feet. Then he seemed +to devour glowing coals with great appetite, and in their place, to +spit out coins; then he swallowed a dagger a foot long and afterwards +drew it out of the back of his head, throwing it up in the air together +with three or four others, and catching them in turn by the handle, to +the great enjoyment of the spectators, who rewarded him with laughter +and cries of admiration. + +But Aspa had already lingered too long. + +She looked after her mistress, and observed that her path was +intercepted by a troop of Italian carriers and livery-servants, who +evidently had not recognised the Queen, and who passed straight before +her on their way to the river, joking and making a great disturbance. +They appeared to be pointing and throwing stones at some object which +Aspa could not distinguish. + +She was just about to hurry after her mistress, when the conjurer upon +the platform near her suddenly uttered a shrill cry. Aspa turned in +affright, and saw the youth take an immense leap over the heads of the +spectators, and rush at the Italians. + +He was already in their midst, and, bending down, disappeared for a +moment. + +But he quickly rose to his feet, and one and then another of the +Italians fell prone under his blows. + +In a moment Aspa stood at the Queen's side, who had quietly withdrawn +from the turmoil, but, to her surprise, stopped short at a little +distance, pointing at the group with her finger. + +And indeed the sight was a strange one. + +With incredible strength and still greater agility the conjurer held +his assailants off. Springing at his adversaries, turning and bending, +retreating and then suddenly darting forward to pull the nearest down +by his foot, or to overthrow him with a powerful blow, he defended +himself bravely, and that without any weapon, with his right hand +alone; for in the left he held something close to his breast, as if +hiding and protecting it. + +This unequal combat lasted several minutes. + +The conjurer was pushed nearer and nearer to the water by the angry and +noisy crowd. Suddenly a naked blade glittered. One of the livery +servants, enraged at receiving a severe blow, drew his knife and sprang +at the conjurer from behind. With a cry the latter fell; his enemies +rushed upon him. + +"Help! drag them away! help the poor man!" cried Mataswintha to the +soldiers, who now approached from the forsaken platform; "I, your +Queen, command you!" + +The Goths hurried to the knot of struggling men; but before they could +reach them, the conjurer, who had broken from his adversaries, sprang +out of the tumbling group, and, with a last effort, darted straight off +in the direction of the two women--followed by the Italians. + +What a sight! + +The Gallic tunic of the poor conjurer hung in rags from his body; his +false yellow hair was torn off his head, and beneath appeared locks of +glossy black; the white hue of his neck ended in a chest the colour of +bronze. + +With a last exertion of strength he reached the women, and recognised +Mataswintha. + +"Protect me, save me, white goddess!" he cried, and fell at her feet. + +The Italians had already reached him, and the nearest raised his knife. + +But Mataswintha spread her blue mantle over the fallen man. + +"Back!" she cried with majesty. "Leave him. He is under the protection +of the Queen of the Goths!" + +The livery-servants fell back abashed. + +"Indeed!" at last said the one with the dagger, "is this dog and son of +a dog to go unpunished? and five of us lie half dead on the ground, and +I have three teeth too few? Is there to be no punishment?" + +"He is punished enough," said Mataswintha, pointing to the deep gash on +the neck of the conjurer. + +"And all this fuss about a worm!" cried another. "About a snake that +escaped from his knapsack, which we tried to kill with stones." + +"See, he has hidden the viper in his bosom. Take it from him!" + +"Kill him!" screamed the others. + +But now a number of soldiers came up, and procured respect for their +Queen, pushing back the Italians, and forming a circle round the +wounded man. + +Aspa looked at the latter attentively, and suddenly cast herself down +beside him, crossing her arms on her bosom. + +"What is the matter, Aspa? Rise!" said her mistress, much astonished. + +"Oh, mistress!" stammered Aspa, "the man is no Gaul! He is one of my +people. He prays to the Snake-God. Look at his brown skin--as brown as +Aspa's! And here--here is writing; letters are tattooed upon his +breast; the sacred hieroglyphics of my country!" she cried with +delight. + +And, pointing with her finger, she began to read. + +"Why this disguise?" asked Mataswintha. "It is suspicious. He must be +arrested." + +"No, no, mistress," whispered Aspa; "dost thou know what these letters +mean? No other eye than mine can decipher them for thee." + +"Well?" asked Mataswintha. + +"They say," whispered Aspa, "Syphax owes a life to his master, Cethegus +the Prefect.' Yes, yes, I know him; it is Syphax, the son of Hiempsal, +a friend of my family. The gods have sent him to us." + +"Yes, Aspa," said Mataswintha, "the gods have sent him: the gods of +revenge! Goths, lay this wounded man upon a bier, and follow my slave +to the palace. Henceforward he shall be employed in my service." + + + + CHAPTER IV. + +A few days later Mataswintha again repaired to the camp, this time +unaccompanied by Aspa, for the latter never stirred, by day or night, +from the bedside of her wounded countryman, who was rapidly recovering +under her careful nursing. + +King Witichis himself came to fetch the Queen with all his court, for a +most important council of war was to be held in his tent. The arrival +of the last reinforcements had been reported, and Guntharis and +Hildebad were also expected to return with the reply of Belisarius to +the proposal of peace. + +"This will be a fateful day," said Witichis to his consort. "Pray to +Heaven for peace." + +"I pray for war," said Mataswintha, with a fixed stare. + +"Does thy woman's heart so long for revenge?" + +"For revenge alone, and it will be mine!" + +They entered the tent, which was already crowded with Gothic leaders. + +Mataswintha returned their reverent greetings with a haughty bend of +her neck. + +"Are the ambassadors here?" the King asked old Hildebrand, as he seated +himself. "Then bring them in." + +At a sign from the old man, the curtains at the side of the tent were +withdrawn, and Duke Guntharis and Hildebad entered, bowing low. + +"What bring you, peace or war?" Witichis asked eagerly. + +"War! war, King Witichis!" cried both men with one voice. + +"What! Belisarius refuses the sacrifice I offered him? Hast thou +communicated my proposal to him in a friendly and earnest manner?" + +Duke Guntharis stepped forward and answered: + +"I met the commander in the Capitol, as the guest of the Prefect, and I +said to him: 'The Gothic King, Witichis, sends thee greeting. In thirty +days he will march before these walls with a hundred and fifty thousand +valiant Goths, and there will be a strife and struggle for this +venerable city, such as her bloodstained soil has not witnessed for a +thousand years. The King of the Goths loves peace even more than +victory, and he swears to yield the island of Sicilia to the Emperor +Justinian, and stand by him in every war with thirty thousand Goths, if +you will at once evacuate Rome and Italy, which belong to us by right +of conquest, as well as according to the treaty with Emperor Zeno, who +conceded them to Theodoric when he had overthrown Odoacer.' Thus I +spoke, according to thy command. But Belisarius laughed, and cried: +'Witichis is very kind to yield to me the island of Sicilia, which +belongs to me already, and is no more his. I will give him instead the +island of Thule! No. The treaty of Theodoric with Zeno was a forced +one, and as to the right of conquest--well, that speaks now for us. No +peace except upon these conditions: that the whole Gothic army lay down +their arms, and the entire nation march over the Alps, sending their +King and Queen as hostages to Byzantium.'" + +A murmur of indignation ran through the tent. + +"Without making any reply to such a proposition," continued Guntharis, +"we turned our backs angrily and departed. 'We shall meet again in +Ravenna!' Belisarius cried after us." + +"Then I turned," added Hildebad, "and cried: 'We shall meet again +before Rome!' Up, King Witichis! to arms! Thou hast done thine utmost +for peace, and hast only reaped humiliation. Up, then! Long enough hast +thou lingered and prepared; lead us now to battle!" + +Just then a flourish of trumpets was heard in the camp, followed by the +sound of the hoof-beats of approaching horses. + +Presently the curtain of the tent was lifted, and Totila entered in his +shining armour, his white mantle floating round him. + +"Hail, my King and my Queen!" he said, bowing, "My mission is +fulfilled, I bring you the friendly greeting of the Frank King. He had +an army ready for the service of Byzantium, and prepared to attack +thee. I succeeded in changing his intentions. His army will not enter +Italy against the Goths. Duke Markja of Mediolanum, who, until now, has +defended the Cottian Alps against the Franks, is therefore free. He +follows me in haste with all his thousands. On my way hither I gathered +together whatever men I found capable of bearing arms, and also the +garrisons of the fortresses. Further: until now we were short of +cavalry. Be comforted, my King! I bring thee six thousand horsemen, +splendidly mounted. They long to caper upon the plains of Rome. _One_ +wish alone dwells in all our hearts: lead us to battle, to Rome!" + +"Thanks, my friend, to thee and to thy horsemen! Speak, Hildebrand, how +is the army now divided? Tell me, generals, how many men does each one +of you command? Notaries, write the numbers down." + +"I command three thousand foot-soldiers," cried Hildebad. + +"And I forty thousand foot and horse with shield and spear," said Duke +Guntharis. + +"I lead forty thousand foot: archers, slingers, and spear-bearers," +said Earl Grippa of Ravenna. + +"I seven thousand with knives and clubs," counted Hildebrand. + +"Then come Totila's six thousand horse, and fourteen selected thousands +led by Teja, with battle-axes--where is he? I miss him here--and I have +raised the number of my troops, foot and horse, to fifty thousand," +concluded the King. + +"Altogether that makes a hundred and sixty thousand," said the +protonotary, writing down the numbers, and handing the parchment to the +King. + +A ray of warlike joy and exultation spread over the face of Witichis. + +"A hundred and sixty thousand Gothic warriors! Belisarius, shall they +lay down their arms before thee without a struggle?--What repose do you +need before the march?" + +Just then Teja hurried into the tent. As he entered he caught the last +question. His eyes flashed; he trembled with rage. + +"Repose? not an hour longer; up! revenge, King Witichis! a monstrous +crime has been committed, which cries to Heaven for vengeance. Lead us +at once to battle!" + +"What has happened?" + +"One of Belisarius's generals, the Hun Ambazuch, besieged, as thou +knowest, the fortress of Petra with his Huns and Armenians. There was +no relief for the garrison far and near. Only young Earl Arahad--he +surely sought death--attacked the superior force with his small troop; +he fell in brave combat. The little company of armed Goths in the +fortress resisted desperately, for all the helpless people of the +Goths, the Aged, the sick, women and children, coming from the plains +of Tuscany, Valeria, and Picenum, and amounting to some thousands, had +taken refuge in the fortress from the enemy. At last famine compelled +them to open the gates, with the stipulation that they should be +allowed to leave unhurt. The Hun swore that he would not allow a drop +of Gothic blood to be shed. He entered, and ordered the Goths to +assemble in the Great Basilica of St. Zeno. This they did, above five +thousand people and a few hundred warriors. And when they were all +assembled----" + +Teja paused with a shudder. + +"Well?" asked Mataswintha, turning pale. + +"The Hun closed the doors, surrounded the church with his troops--and +burnt all the five thousand, together with the church." + +"And his promise!" cried Witichis. + +"Yes, so cried the desperate people amidst the smoke and flames! 'My +promise?' laughed the Hun, 'it will be fulfilled: not a drop of blood +will be shed. The Goths must be burnt out of Italy, like field-mice and +vermin.' And so the Byzantines looked on, while five thousand Goths, +aged men, women, sick people, and children--King Witichis, dost thou +hear?--_children_! were miserably suffocated and burnt to death! Such +things happen, and thou--thou sendest offers of peace! Up, King +Witichis!" cried the enraged man, drawing his sword. "If thou be a man, +set forth at once to revenge thy people! The spirits of the murdered +will march before us. Lead us to battle! Lead us to revenge!" + +"Lead us to battle! lead us to revenge!" echoed the Goths with a shout. + +Witichis rose with quiet majesty. + +"So be it! the extremity has been reached. And our best armour is our +right. To arms!" + +And he gave the parchment, which he held in his hand, to Mataswintha, +in order to take up the blue banner which hung over his chair. + +"You see this old banner of Theodoric; he has carried it from victory +to victory. It is now, alas, in weaker hands than his; but do not be +discouraged. You know well that a foolish confidence is not in my +nature, but this time I tell you beforehand that a present victory +rustles in the folds of this flag--a great, proud, and avenging +victory! Follow me! The army will march at once. Generals, order your +troops. To Rome!" + +"To Rome!" was echoed through the tent. "To Rome!" + + + + CHAPTER V. + +In the meantime Belisarius prepared to leave the city of Rome with his +main army, and during his absence he entrusted his command to Johannes. + +He had resolved to attack the Goths in Ravenna. + +His unchecked and victorious march, and the successes of his advanced +troops of skirmishers--who, through the revolt of the Italians, had won +all the fortresses, castles, and towns till within a short distance of +Ravenna--had awakened in Belisarius the conviction that the campaign +would soon be ended, and that the only thing left to do was to crush +the helpless barbarians in their last strongholds. + +For after Belisarius himself had won the whole southern part of the +peninsula--Bruttia, Lucania, Calabria, Apulia, and Campania--and had +afterwards occupied Rome and marched through Samnium and the Valeria, +his lieutenant-generals, Bessas and Constantinus, with his own +body-guard, commanded by the Armenian Zanter, the Persian Chanaranges, +and the Massagetian Æschman, had been sent forward to conquer Tuscany. + +Bessas advanced upon the strong fortress of Narnia. For the means of +assault available at that time, this castled town was almost +impregnable. It was situated upon a high mountain, at the foot of which +runs the deep river Nar. The only two approaches to this fortress from +the east and west are a narrow pass and the old lofty and fortified +bridge erected by the Emperor Augustus. + +But the Roman population overpowered the half-Gothic garrison which lay +there, and opened the gates to the Thracians of Bessas. + +In the same manner, Spoletium and Perusia succumbed to Constantinus +without striking a blow. + +Meanwhile another general, the Comes Sacri Stabuli Constantinus, had, +on the east coast of the Ionian Gulf, avenged the death of two +Byzantine leaders--the magister militum for Illyrium, Mundus, and his +son Mauricius, who had fallen at the beginning of the war at Solona, in +Dalmatia--had occupied Solona, and forced the scanty Gothic troops to +retreat to Ravenna. + +So all Dalmatia and Liburnia had fallen into the hands of the +Byzantines. + +From Tuscany, as we have seen, the Huns of Justinian were already +devastating Picenum and the country as far as the Æmilia. + +Therefore Belisarius held the peace proposals of the Gothic King to be +a sign of weakness. It never occurred to him that the barbarians would +advance to the attack. At the same time, he was eager to leave Rome; +for he felt a strong repugnance to being called the guest of the +Prefect. In the open field his superiority would soon be fully +displayed. + +The Prefect left the Capitol to the charge of his faithful tribune, +Lucius Licinius, and followed the march of Belisarius. + +In vain he warned the latter against too great confidence. + +"Remain behind the rock of the Capitol if you fear the barbarians," +Belisarius had answered sarcastically. + +"No," retorted Cethegus; "a defeat of Belisarius is too rare a +spectacle. I must not miss it." + +In truth, Cethegus would have been glad to witness the humiliation of +the great general, whose fame inspired the Italians with too great +admiration. + +Belisarius had led his troops out of the northern gate of the city, and +had pitched a camp at a few miles distant, in order to hold a review +and make a new division of the army, which was the more necessary as +the influx of Italians who hastened to join his flag was very great. + +He had also recalled Bessas, Constantinus, and Ambazuch, with the +greater part of their troops. They had only left a small portion behind +them to garrison the towns which they had conquered. + +Vague rumours of the approach of a Gothic army had spread in the camp. +But Belisarius would not believe them. + +"They dare not come," he replied to Procopius's warnings; "they lie in +Ravenna and tremble before Belisarius." + +Late at night Cethegus lay sleepless upon his coach in his tent. He had +left the lamp burning. + +"I cannot sleep," he said to himself. "There is a sound of clashing +arms in the air, and an odour of blood. The Goths are coming; they are +most surely marching down through the Sabine mountains, on the Via +Casperia and Salara." + +On a sudden the curtain of his tent was pushed back, and Syphax rushed +up to his couch breathless. + +"I know," cried Cethegus, springing up, "what you come to announce--the +Goths are coming!" + +"Yes, master; to-morrow they will be here. They advance upon the +Salarian Gate. I had the Queen's best horse; but this Totila, who leads +the vanguard, rushes like the wind over the desert, and here in the +camp no one has any suspicion." + +"The great general," laughed Cethegus, "has placed no outposts on the +watch." + +"He relied upon the solid tower on the bridge over the Anius,[1] +but----" + +"Well, the tower is safe?" + +"Yes; but the garrison--Roman citizens from Neapolis--at once went over +to the Goths when young Totila appeared. The body-guards of Belisarius, +who tried to stop them, were taken prisoners and delivered up to +Totila; the tower and the bridge are in the hands of the Goths." + +"Things are going on well! Have you any idea of the strength of the +enemy?" + +"Not merely an idea; I know it as exactly as Witichis himself. Here is +the list of their troops; Mataswintha, their Queen, sends it to you." + +Cethegus looked at him inquiringly. + +"Do miracles take place to further the ruin of the Goths?" + +"Yes, master, miracles! This lovely woman desires the ruin of her +people, to revenge herself on one man. And this man is her husband!" + +"You are mistaken," cried Cethegus. "She loved him from childhood, and +even bought his bust." + +"Yes, and she loves him still. But he loves not her; and the bust of +Mars was shattered on the night of her marriage." + +"She cannot have told you all this herself?" + +"No; but Aspa, my countrywoman and her slave, told me all. She loves +me; and she loves her mistress almost as much as I my master. +Mataswintha wishes you to aid in the destruction of the kingdom of the +Goths. She will write, through Aspa, in the secret cypher of my race. +And if I were Cethegus, I would take this sun-like Queen to my wife." + +"I too, if I were Syphax. But your message deserves a crown! A +revengeful and cunning woman is worth more than legions! Now I +defy you, Belisarius, Witichis, and Justinian! Ask a favour, +Syphax--anything except your freedom, for I need you yet." + +"My freedom is--to serve you. _One_ favour--let me fight at your side +to-morrow?" + +"No, my beautiful panther; I do not need your claws--only your stealthy +step. You will keep silence about the vicinity and strength of the +Goths. Help me on with my armour, and give me the plan of the Salarian +road out of that casket. Now call Marcus Licinius, and the leader of my +Isaurians, Sandil." + +Syphax disappeared. + +Cethegus cast a look at the plan. + +"So they come from the north-west, down the hill. Woe to him who shall +try to stop them there. Then comes the deep valley in which we are +encamped. Here the battle will be fought and lost. Behind us, to the +south-east, our position lies along a deep brook; into this we shall be +inevitably thrown--the bridges cannot be defended. Then a stretch of +flat country. What a fine field for the horsemen to pursue us! Finally, +still farther back, a dense wood and a narrow pass with the ruined +Castle of Hadrian. Marcus," he cried, as the latter entered the tent, +"my troops will march at once. We shall go down along the brook into +the wood; and you will tell whoever questions you that we march back to +Rome." + +"March home, without fighting!" asked Marcus, astonished. "You surely +know that a battle is pending?" + +"Just for that very reason!" + +And with these words Cethegus departed to wake Belisarius in his tent. + +But he found him already up. Procopius stood near him. + +"Do you know already. Prefect?" said Belisarius. "Fugitive country +people say that a troop of horsemen approaches. The fools ride to their +destruction; they think the road is open as far as Rome." + +And he continued to don his armour. + +"But the peasants also say that the horsemen are only the vanguard. A +terrible army of barbarians follows," warned Procopius. + +"Vain rumours! These Goths are afraid; Witichis dare not meet me. I +have protected the bridge over the Anio with a tower, fourteen miles +this side Rome; Martinus has built it after my plan. That alone will +hinder the barbarian foot-soldiers for more than a week, even should a +few hacks manage to swim across the water." + +"You err, Belisarius. I know for a fact that the whole Gothic army +approaches!" said Cethegus. + +"Then go home, if you fear it." + +"I will take advantage of this permission. I have had fever these last +few days. And my Isaurians suffer from it also. With your leave, I will +go back to Rome." + +"I know this fever," said Belisarius; "that is, I know it in others. It +passes as soon as ditches and walls are between the patient and the +enemy. Go, if you will; we need you as little as your Isaurians." + +Cethegus bowed, and left the tent. + +"We shall meet again, O Belisarius!" he said. "Give the signal for the +march of my Isaurians," he called loudly to Marcus; "and to my +Byzantines also," he added in a low voice. + +"But Belisarius has----" + +"_I_ am their Belisarius. Syphax, my horse." + +As he mounted, a troop of Roman horsemen galloped up; torches were +carried before the leader. + +"Who goes there? Ah! you, Cethegus! What? you ride away? Your people +march towards the river! You surely will not leave us now, in this time +of imminent danger?" + +Cethegus bent forward. + +"Hoho! it is you, Calpurnius? I did not recognise you; you look so +pale. What news from the front?" + +"Fugitive peasants say," answered Calpurnius anxiously, "that there are +certainly more than a party of skirmishers. The King of the barbarians, +Witichis himself, is on the march through the Sabine mountains. They +have already reached the left bank of the Tiber. Resistance, then, is +madness--destruction. I follow you; I will join your march." + +"No," said Cethegus harshly; "you know that I am superstitious. I do +not like to ride with men who are doomed to the Furies. The punishment +for your cowardly murder of that boy will surely overtake you. I have +no desire to share it with you." + +"Yet voices in Rome whisper that Cethegus, too, does not shun an +opportune murder," answered Calpurnius angrily. + +"Calpurnius is not Cethegus," retorted the Prefect, as he proudly +pranced away. "Meanwhile, greet Hades for me," he added. + + + + CHAPTER VI. + +"Cursed omen!" growled Calpurnius. + +And he hastened to join Belisarius. + +"Command the retreat, quick, magister militum!" + +"Why, excellent Calpurnius?" + +"It is the King of the Goths himself!" + +"And I am Belisarius himself," answered the latter, as he donned his +splendid helmet with its crest of white horse-hair. "How dare you leave +your post in the vanguard?" + +"I wished to bring you the news, general." + +"Could no other messenger do that? Listen, Roman, you are unworthy of +being liberated. You tremble, you coward heart! Return at once to the +front. You will lead our horsemen to the first attack. You, Antallas +and Kuturgur, take him between you. He _must_ be brave; do you hear? If +he shrink--down with him. Thus Romans must be taught courage! The +watchman has just announced the last hour of night. In another hour the +sun will rise. Its first beams must find the whole army on yonder +hills. Up! Ambuzach, Bessas, Constantinus, Demetrius, advance to meet +the enemy!" + +"General, it is as they say," announced Maxentius, the most faithful of +the lifeguards; "innumerable Goths are advancing." + +"There are two armies against us," reported Salomo, the leader of the +hypaspistes of Belisarius. + +"I reckon Belisarius alone to be a whole army." + +"And the plan of attack?" asked Bessas. + +"That I will decide upon when in sight of the enemy, while Calpurnius +arrests their progress with his horsemen. Forward! Give the signal. +Bring Phalion out!" + +He left the tent. His generals, hypaspistes, pretorians, captains and +lifeguards dispersed in all directions, in order to muster their men. + +In a quarter of an hour the whole army was in motion towards the hills. + +No time was lost in breaking up the camp, and the sudden movement +caused endless confusion. + +Foot and horse got mingled together in the dark and moonless night. And +rumours of the superiority of the advancing barbarians had also spread +discouragement among the soldiers. + +Two rather narrow roads alone led to the hills, which circumstance +caused much hindrance, and blocking of the way. + +Far later than the hour appointed by Belisarius, the army arrived in +sight of the hills; and when the first beams of the sun shone upon +them, Calpurnius, the leader of the vanguard, saw Gothic weapons +glittering upon all the heights. The barbarians had been beforehand +with Belisarius. + +Alarmed, Calpurnius halted, and sent word to the commander-in-chief. + +Belisarius plainly saw that Calpurnius and his horsemen could not storm +the hills. He therefore gave orders that Ambazuch and Bessas, with the +best of the Armenian foot-soldiers, should advance upon the broader +road. The right and left wings of the army were led by Constantinus and +Demetrius; he himself led up his body-guard as a reserve for the +centre. + +Calpurnius, rejoiced at the change of plan, placed his horsemen below +the steepest part of a hill, where he thought himself safe from an +attack, and waited for the result of the movements of Ambazuch and +Bessas, in order to pursue the flying Goths or support the retreating +Armenians according to circumstances. + +On the summit of the heights the Goths placed themselves in an extended +line of battle. + +Totila's horsemen had arrived the first; he was soon joined by Teja, +mounted and feverish with thirst for battle. The axe-bearing foot were +far behind, for Teja had begged permission to join in the hand-to-hand +fight when and where he pleased. + +Hildebrand followed later; and lastly the King with the main army. + +Duke Guntharis, with his own and Teja's men, was expected to arrive +shortly. + +Swift as an arrow Teja flew back to the King. + +"King," he cried, "beneath yonder hill stands Belisarius. By the God of +Revenge, he is lost! He has been mad enough to advance. Do not suffer +him to be beforehand with us in the attack." + +"Forward!" cried King Witichis; "the Goths to the front!" + +In a moment he had reached the edge of the hill and overlooked the +valley at his feet. + +"Hildebad--the left wing! Thou, Totila, wilt charge in the centre with +thy horsemen down that road. I shall keep the right, ready to follow or +cover thee." + +"That will be needless," said Totila, drawing his sword. "I warrant +that they will not be able to withstand my charge down that hill." + +"We shall drive the enemy back to the camp, take it, and force them +into that shining brook just behind. Those who still remain, Totila and +Teja, you will drive over the plain to Rome." + +"Yes, when we have won the pass in those wood-crowned hills just beyond +the river," said Teja, pointing with his sword as he spoke. + +"It appears to be unoccupied; you must reach it before the fugitives," +said Witichis. + +Just then the standard-bearer. Earl Wisand of Vulsinii, rode up to the +King. + +"King, thou hast promised to grant me a request." + +"Yes, because at Solona, thou overthrewest the magister militum for +Illyrium, Mundus, and his son." + +"I have a grudge against all magistri militum. I should like to try the +same spear on Belisarius. Relieve me of my banner to-day, and allow me +to seek the magister militum. He has a celebrated charger, Phalion or +Balion, and my horse is getting stiff. And thou knowest the ancient +right of a Gothic horseman. 'Throw the rider and take his horse.'" + +"A good old Gothic right," cried old Hildebrand. + +"I cannot refuse thy request," said Witichis, taking the flag from the +hand of Wisand, who at once galloped away. + +"Guntharis is not here. Totila, thou shalt bear the banner to-day." + +"King," said Totila, "I cannot carry it if I am to show my horsemen the +way to the enemy." + +Witichis signed to Teja. + +"Forgive me," said Teja, "to-day I need both hands." + +"Well then, Hildebad!" + +"Many thanks for the honour; but I do not intend to do worse than the +others." + +"What?" cried Witichis, almost angry; "must I be my own +standard-bearer? Will none of my friends honour my trust?" + +"Give me the flag of Theodoric," said old Hildebrand, grasping the +mighty shaft. "It pleases me that the youths so thirst for fame. Give +me the banner, I will defend it to-day as I did forty summers ago." + +And from that moment he rode at the King's right hand. + +"The enemy's foot are advancing up the hill," said Witichis, raising +himself in the saddle. + +"They are Huns and Armenians," said Teja, looking forward with his +eagle-eyes, "I recognise their long shields!" And spurring his horse, +he cried: "And Ambazuch, the perjured murderer of Petra, leads them." + +"Forward, Totila!" cried the King; "and of _these_ troops--make no +prisoners!" + +Totila rapidly galloped off to his horsemen, who were placed at the top +of the steep road which led down the hill. He carefully examined the +armour of the Armenians, who were slowly advancing up the ascent in +close columns. They carried very long and heavy shields, and short +spears for thrusting and throwing. + +"They must not have time to hurl their spears," cried Totila. + +He then ordered his horsemen, at the moment of encountering the enemy, +to change their lances from their right hand to their left, letting +their bridles hang loosely from the wrist, and passing their lances +across the manes of their horses into the bridle hand. In this way they +would hit the enemy on their unprotected side. + +"As soon as the encounter has taken place--they will not be able to +withstand it--throw your lances back into the arm-strap, draw your +swords, and kill whoever still stands." + +He now placed his men in the shape of a wedge on the road and on each +side of it, outflanking the enemy's column. He himself led the thin +edge of the wedge. He determined to allow the enemy to ascend halfway +up the hill. + +Both parties looked forward to the shock in breathless expectation. + +Ambazuch, an experienced warrior, quietly marched forward. + +"Let them come on," he said to his people, "until you feel their +horses' breath upon your faces. Then, and not before, hurl your lances. +Aim low, at the breasts of the horses, and immediately after draw your +swords. In this way I have always succeeded in overthrowing horsemen." + +But it turned out otherwise. + +For when Totila gave the order to charge, it seemed as if a thundering +avalanche were descending the hill upon the terrified enemy. The +shining, clattering, snorting, threatening mass rushed on like a +hurricane, and before the first row of the Armenians had found time +even to raise their spears, they lay upon the ground, pierced through +by the long lances. They had been swept away as if they had never stood +there. + +All this had taken place in a moment of time; and when Ambazuch was +about to order his second line, in which he himself stood, to kneel and +shorten their spears, he found it already ridden over; the third rank +dispersed; and the fourth, under Bessas, able to offer but a faint +resistance to the terrible horsemen, who now began to draw their +swords. + +He tried to rally his men; he flew back and called to his wavering +lines to stand and fight; but just then Totila's sword reached him; a +mighty stroke crushed in his helmet. + +He fell on his knees, and held the hilt of his sword towards the Goth. + +"Take a ransom!" he cried. "I am yours!" + +Totila was about to stretch forth his hand to take the sword, when Teja +cried: + +"Remember Petra!" + +A weapon flashed, and Ambazuch sank dead on the ground. + +At this the last lines of the Armenians, carrying Bessas away with +them, fled in terror. Belisarius's vanguard was annihilated. + +With loud cries of joy King Witichis and his followers had witnessed +Totila's victory. + +"Look! now the Hunnish horsemen, who stand just below us, advance +against Totila," said the King to the old standard-bearer. "Totila +turns to meet them. They are much more numerous. Up, Hildebad! Hasten +down the road to his aid." + +"Ha!" cried old Hildebrand, bending forward in his saddle, and looking +over the edge of the rocks, "who is that tribune between the two +body-guards of Belisarius?" + +Witichis bent forward also. + +"Calpurnius!" he exclaimed with a sharp cry. + +And suddenly, seeking no path, just from where he stood, the King +galloped down the hill towards his deadly enemy. The fear that +Calpurnius might escape him overpowered every other thought. + +As if on wings, as if the God of Revenge were guiding him over bush and +crevice and ditch and pointed rock, the King galloped madly on. + +For an instant the old master-at-arms was horrified; such a ride he had +never beheld. But the next moment he waved his blue flag and cried: + +"Forward! follow your King!" + +And, the horsemen first, the foot after, the centre o£ the Gothic army, +leaping, jumping, and sliding down upon their shields, suddenly +descended the steep side of the hill upon the Hunnish cavalry. + +Calpurnius had looked up. It had seemed to him as if he heard his name, +and the cry sounded like the last trump of judgment. + +He turned, and would have fled. + +But the grim soldiers on his right and left caught his bridle. + +"Halt, tribune!" said Antallas, pointing to Totila's horsemen--"_there_ +is the enemy!" + +A cry of pain to the left caused him and Calpurnius to turn. The Hun +Kuturgur, the second of the body-guards, sank with a crash from his +saddle, felled by the sword-stroke of a Goth who appeared to have +dropped from the sky. And behind this Goth, the rocky steep, which yet +seemed inaccessible, was filled with climbing and leaping men, and the +Huns were suddenly taken in the flank by this enemy from above, while +at the same time they were attacked in front by Totila. + +Calpurnius recognised the Goth. + +"Witichis!" he cried in terror, and his arm fell powerless at his side. + +But his horse saved him. Wounded and startled by the fall of Kuturgur, +it galloped wildly away. Antallas threw himself furiously upon the King +of the Goths, who was far in advance of his men. + +"Down, madman!" he cried. + +But the next moment he was slain by Witichis, who irresistibly, +trampled down all those who stood in his path. + +Through the crowd of Hunnish cavalry, who, terrified at his look, +yielded to right and left, Witichis pursued Calpurnius. + +The latter had recovered the mastery of his horse, and now sought +protection in the thickest press of his soldiers. + +In vain. + +Witichis did not lose sight of him for a moment, but followed him +closely. + +However he might hide himself among his men, however rapidly he rode, +Calpurnius could not escape the King, who beat down all who stood +between him and the murderer of his son. + +Group after group, knot after knot, dissolved before the terrible sword +of the revengeful father. The lines of the Huns were broken through by +the fugitive and his pursuer. They were not able to close again, for, +even before Totila could come up, the old standard-bearer, with horse +and foot, had broken their right flank, dividing it into two parts. + +When Totila galloped up, he found only flying foes. The portion to the +right was soon taken between Totila and Hildebrand, and destroyed. The +greater part on the left fled back to Belisarius. + +Meantime Calpurnius galloped over the field as if pursued by the +Furies. + +He had a good start, for Witichis had been seven times obliged to hew +his way through the enemy. + +But Boreas galloped bravely on, and carried Witichis ever nearer to his +victim. + +The fugitive heard the call to stand and fight. He only spurred his +horse the faster. + +All at once it fell beneath him, and before he could rise, Witichis +stood over him. + +Springing from his saddle, Witichis now silently pushed the sword of +the fallen man, which had dropped from the latter's hand, towards him. + +Then Calpurnius took courage--the courage of despair. + +He rose to his feet, took up his sword, and sprang at the Goth with a +leap like that of a tiger. + +But in the middle of his leap he fell prone to the ground; the sword of +Witichis had split his forehead open. + +The King set his foot upon the breast of the corpse, and looked into +the distorted face. He sighed deeply. + +"Revenge is sweet, but it will not bring back my child!" + +With deep ire Belisarius had witnessed this unhappy commencement of the +battle. But his confidence and composure did not abandon him, even when +he saw the Armenians swept away, and the horsemen of Calpurnius +overthrown and scattered. + +He was now convinced of the strength and superiority of the enemy. But +he determined to advance upon his whole line, leaving a gap in which to +receive his fugitive horsemen. + +But this the Goths were quick to perceive; and, Witichis foremost, they +followed Totila and Hildebrand--who had annihilated the surrounded +Huns--and pressed forward so furiously that they threatened to reach +and break through the lines of Belisarius at the same moment with the +fugitives. + +This could not be permitted. + +Belisarius himself filled the gap with his bodyguard on foot, and +shouted to the fugitive horsemen to halt and turn. + +But it seemed as if the terror which had possessed their cowardly and +fallen leader had entered their hearts. They dreaded the sword of the +Gothic King behind them even more than their thundering chief before +them, and without pause or stay they rushed on at a gallop, as if they +intended to ride down their own comrades. + +For one moment a fearful shock--a thousand-voiced cry of fear and +rage--a confused turmoil of mingled horse and foot--among them +slaughtering Goths--and suddenly a dispersal to all sides, amid shrill +cries of victory from the enemy. + +The body-guard of Belisarius was ridden down; his main line of battle +broken. + +He ordered the retreat to the camp. + +But it was no longer a retreat, it was a rout. The footmen of Hildebad, +Guntharis, and Teja had now arrived upon the field of battle. The +Byzantines saw their order of attack broken, they despaired of further +resistance and fled in great confusion to the camp. + +Notwithstanding, they would still have been able to reach it a long +time before their pursuers, had not an unforeseen occurrence stopped +the way. + +Belisarius had set forth with such certainty of victory, that he had +ordered all the carriages and baggage of the army, and even the herds +of cattle--which, according to the custom of the time, were driven +after--to follow the troops upon the high-roads. + +The retreating masses now encountered this slowly advancing body, +difficult to move and difficult to disperse, and indescribable +confusion ensued. + +Soldiers and drivers came to blows; the order of march was broken +against the wagons, carriages, and chests. The lust of booty was +awakened, and many of the soldiers began to plunder the wagons, before +they should fall into the hands of the enemy. + +On all sides arose altercations, curses, laments, and throats, +accompanied by the crash of broken wagons, and the bleating and +bellowing of the terrified herds. + +"Sacrifice the baggage! Fire the wagons! Gallop through the herds!" +cried Belisarius, who, sword in hand, now broke a path through the +turmoil with the remnant of his body-guard. + +But it was all in vain. + +Ever thicker, ever more entangled became the coil; it seemed impossible +to unravel it. + +Despair at length tore it asunder. + +The cry, "The barbarians are upon us!" sounded from the rear. + +And it was no idle rumour. + +Hildebad, with his foot-soldiers, had descended to the plain, and his +foremost ranks now attacked the defenceless mass. There ensued a +fearful press to the front; cries of terror--of rage from the +body-guard, who, mindful of their former valour, attempted to fight, +but could not--of anguish from those trampled and crushed; and suddenly +the greater part of the wagons, with their teams and the thousands who +were crowded upon them or jammed between them, fell with a thundering +crash into the ditches on the right and left of the high-road. + +So at last the way was open--and impetuously, all discipline at an end, +the stream of fugitives rushed on to the camp. + +With loud cries of victory the Gothic foot-soldiers followed, slaying +their easy prey with arrows, slings, and spears; while Belisarius, in +the rear, resisted with difficulty the unceasing attacks of Totila and +the King. + +"Help, Belisarius!" cried Aigan, the leader of the Massagetian +mercenaries, as he rode up from among the scattered groups, wiping the +blood from his face. "My countrymen swear they see the devil amidst the +enemy. They will not stand. Help me! Usually they fear you much more +than the devil!" + +Grinding his teeth, Belisarius looked across at his right wing, which +was flying in disorder over the fallows, pursued by the Goths. + +"O Justinian, my imperial master," he exclaimed, "how badly I keep my +word!" + +And, entrusting the further defence of the retreat to the camp to +Demetrius--for the uneven ground upon which they had now entered +embarrassed the pursuit of the enemy's horse---he galloped across +country with Aigan and his mounted guard to join the mercenaries. + +"Halt!" he thundered; "halt, you cowardly dogs! Who flies, when +Belisarius stands? I am with you; turn and win!" And he raised his +visor, and showed them his majestic countenance. + +And such was the power of his personality, so great the belief in his +invincibility, that all who recognised the tall form of the commander +on his roan, hesitated, halted, and with a cry of encouragement, turned +once more to face the pursuing Goths. + +Here, at least, the flight was at an end. + +Up came a tremendous Goth, easily forcing his way. + +"Ha, ha! I am glad you are tired of running, you swift-footed Greeks! I +could no longer pant after you! Your legs are superior to ours; let us +see if your arms be so too. Ha! why do you fall back, my lads? Because +of him on the roan? What of him?" + +"Sir, that must be a King among the southerners; one can hardly bear +the glance of his angry eye." + +"That would indeed be curious. Ah! that must be Belisarius! I am glad +to meet thee, thou bold hero!" he cried across to Belisarius. +"Dismount, and let us measure the strength of our arms. Look, I too am +on foot. Thou wilt not?" he cried angrily. "Must I fetch thee down from +thy hack?" + +And he swung his immense spear in his right hand. + +"Turn, sir, avoid him!" cried Aigan: "that giant hurls small masts!" + +"Turn, general," repeated the hypaspistes anxiously. + +But Belisarius, raising his short sword, rode quietly a horse's length +nearer to the Goth. Whizzing came the mighty spear, straight at his +breast. + +But just before it touched, a swift stroke of his short Roman sword, +and the spear fell harmless on one side. + +"Hail to Belisarius, hail!" cried the Byzantines, and they pressed +forward anew. + +"A famous stroke!" laughed Hildebad angrily. "Let us see if thy fence +can parry _this_!" + +And, bending forward, he lifted from the ploughed field an old jagged +boundary-stone, swung it in both hands backward and forward, lifted it +above his head, and hurled it with all his might at the advancing hero. + +A cry from the Byzantines--Belisarius fell backwards from his horse. + +All was over. + +"Belisarius down! Woe, woe! All is lost!" cried the Byzantines, as the +tall form disappeared, and fled madly towards the camp. + +A few ran on without pause until they reached the gates of Rome. + +It was in vain that the lance and spear-bearers threw themselves +desperately against the Goths; they could only save their chief, but +not the battle. + +The first sword-stroke of Hildebad, who now rushed up to Belisarius, +was received on the faithful breast of Maxentius. But also a Gothic +horseman, who was the next to reach the place, and who had killed seven +men before he could make his way to the magister militum, fell from his +horse. His followers found him pierced by thirteen wounds. But he was +still alive, and he was one of the few who fought through and outlived +the whole war--Wisand, the bandelarius. + +Belisarius, who, lifted on to his horse by Aigan and Valentinus, his +groom, had quickly recovered his senses, raised his general's staff in +vain, and cried to the fugitives to stand. They could not and would not +hear. In vain he struck at them right and left; he was irresistibly +carried away by the press to the very camp. + +There, behind the solid gates, he at last succeeded in arresting the +pursuit of the Goths. + +"All honour is lost," he said indignantly; "let us at least save our +lives." + +With these words he closed the gates, without any regard to the large +masses of people still outside. + +An attempt of Hildebad to enter the camp without more ado was +frustrated by the strong oaken palisades, which defied the spears and +stones hurled at them. + +Leaning on his sword, Hildebad cooled himself for a moment. Just then +Teja, who, like the King and Totila, had long since dismounted, turned +the corner of the wall, which he had been examining and measuring. + +"This confounded wooden fortress!" cried Hildebad, as Teja came up. +"Neither stone nor iron can do any good here." + +"No," said Teja; "but fire can!" + +He stirred with his foot a heap of ashes which lay near. + +"These are from last night's watch-fires. Here are still some sparks, +and brushwood lies near. Come, my men, put up your swords and kindle +the brushwood. Set the camp on fire!" + +"Splendid fellow!" cried Hildebad rejoicingly. "Quick, lads! burn them +out as you would a fox in his hole! The brisk north wind will help us!" + +The dying watch-fires were speedily fanned into flame; hundreds of +fire-brands flew into the dry planks of the palisading. + +Very soon bright flames rose to the sky. + +The thick smoke, driven into the camp by the wind, blinded the +Byzantines, and rendered the defence of the walls impossible. They +retreated to the centre of the camp. + +"Oh that I were dead!" sighed Belisarius. "Evacuate the camp! Out by +the Porta Decumana! Retreat in good order to the bridges behind us!" + +But the command to leave the camp broke the last ties of discipline and +order. + +While the charred beams of the gate fell under the thundering strokes +of Teja's axe, and the Black Earl was the first to spring into the camp +through the flames and smoke, the fugitives tore open all the gates +which led to Rome, and hastened in confused masses to the river. + +The first comers reached the two bridges unhindered and unfollowed. +They had some time to spare before Hildebad and Teja could compel +Belisarius to leave the burning camp. + +But suddenly--oh, horror!--the Gothic horns sounded close at hand. + +Witichis and Totila, as soon as they knew that the camp was taken, had +mounted at once, and now led their horsemen from the right and left, to +attack the fugitives in the flank. + +Belisarius had just galloped out of the camp by the Decumanian Gate, +and was hurrying to one of the bridges, when he saw the threatening +troops of horsemen rushing up on both sides. + +The great general still preserved his composure. + +"Forwards at a gallop to the bridges!" he commanded his Saracens; +"defend them!" + +It was too late. A dull crash; then a second--the two narrow +bridges had broken beneath the weight of the crowding fugitives, +and by hundreds the Hunnish horsemen and the Illyrian +lance-bearers--Justinian's pride--fell into the marshy waters. + +Without reflecting, Belisarius, who had just reached the steep bank, +spurred his horse into the foaming blood-flecked river, and swam to the +other side. + +"Salomo," he said to one of his pretorians, as soon as he had landed, +"take a handful of my guards and gallop as hard as you can to the pass. +Ride over the fugitives; you must reach it before the Goths! Do you +hear? You _must_! It is our last plank of salvation!" + +Salomo and Dagisthæos obeyed, and galloped away as swift as the wind. + +Belisarius collected together all whom he could reach. The Goths, as +well as the Byzantines, were detained for a time by the river. + +But suddenly Aigan cried: + +"Salomo is returning!" + +"General," cried Salomo, as he galloped up, "all is lost! Weapons +glitter in the pass! It is already occupied by the Goths!" + +For the first time on this unhappy day Belisarius started. + +"The pass lost? Then not a man of my Emperor's army will escape. Then +farewell fame, Antonina, and life! Come, Aigan, draw your sword; let me +not fall living into the hands of the barbarians." + +"General," said Aigan, "I have never heard you speak thus!" + +"I have never before felt thus. Let us dismount and die!" + +He was taking his left foot out of the stirrup, in order to spring from +his horse, when Dagisthæos galloped up. + +"Be comforted, my general! The pass is ours--it is Roman weapons that +we saw there. It is Cethegus, the Prefect; he occupied the pass in +secret!" + +"Cethegus?" cried Belisarius. "Is it possible? Is it certain?" + +"Yes, my general. Look! It was high time!" + +It was indeed. For a troop of Gothic horsemen, sent by King Witichis, +had arrived at the pass, crossing the river by a ford, before the +fugitives. But just as they were about to enter it, Cethegus, at the +head of his Illyrians, broke out of his ambush, and, after a short +combat, drove back the surprised Goths. + +"The first gleam of victory on this black day!" cried Belisarius. "Up! +to the pass!" + +And, in better order than before, the commander led his newly-rallied +troops to the woody hill. + +"Welcome to safety, Belisarius," cried Cethegus, as he cleansed the +blade of his sword. "I have waited for you here since daybreak. I was +sure that you would come." + +"Prefect of Rome," said Belisarius, reaching out his hand, as he sat on +his horse, "you have saved the Emperor's army, which I had lost. I +thank you!" + +The Prefect's fresh troops stood in the pass like an impenetrable wall, +allowing the scattered Byzantines to pass, and repelling without +difficulty the attacks of the first fatigued pursuers, who pressed +forward over the river. + +At the close of day. King Witichis withdrew his troops to pass the +night on the conquered field, while Belisarius and his generals, at the +back of the pass, mustered, as well as they could, the scattered +remnants of the army as they arrived, singly or in groups. + +As soon as Belisarius had once more a few thousand men together, he +rode up to Cethegus, and said: + +"What think you, Prefect of Rome? Your men are still fresh, and mine +have yet to blunt their weapons. Let us sally forth once more, and turn +the fortune of this day. The sun will not set yet awhile." + +Cethegus looked at him with astonishment, and quoted Homer's words: + +"'Truly thou hast spoken a terrible word, thou mighty one!' You +never-to-be-satisfied man! Is it so hard for you to leave a +battle-field without victory? No, Belisarius. There beckon the ramparts +of Rome. Thither lead your harassed men. I will keep the pass until you +have reached the city; and I shall be glad if I can succeed in doing +so." + +And so it was arranged. Under such circumstances Belisarius was less +than ever able to oppose the will of the Prefect. So he yielded, and +led his army back to Rome, where he arrived at nightfall. + +For a long time he was refused admittance; for, covered with dust and +blood, it was difficult to recognise him, and many fugitives had +brought word from the field of battle that the commander had fallen, +and that all was lost. + +At last Antonina, who waited anxiously upon the walls, recognised her +husband. + +He was admitted at the Pincian Gate, which was afterwards named Porta +Belisaria. + +Beacons on the walls, between the Flaminian and Pincian Grates, +announced his entrance to Cethegus, who then, under cover of night, +accomplished his retreat in good order, scarcely followed by the +wearied victors. + +Teja alone, with a few of his horsemen, pressed forward to the hilly +country, where the Villa Borghese is now situated, and as far as the +Aqua Acetosa. + + + + CHAPTER VII. + +The following day the immense army of the Goths appeared before the +walls of the Eternal City, which it surrounded in seven camps. + +And now began that memorable siege, which was to develop the military +talent and inventive genius of Belisarius no less than the courage of +the besiegers. + +The citizens of Rome had with consternation beheld from the walls the +interminable march of the Goths. + +"Look, Prefect, they outflank all your walls." + +"Yes, in breadth! but in height? They cannot get over them without +wings." + +Witichis had left only two thousand men behind in Ravenna; eight +thousand he had sent, under Earl Uligis of Urbssalvia, and Earl Ansa of +Asculum, to Dalmatia, to wrest that province and Liburnia from the +Byzantines, and to reconquer the strong fortress of Salona. These +troops were to be reinforced by mercenaries recruited in Savia. + +The Gothic fleet--against Teja's advice--was also to repair thither, +and not to Portus, the harbour of Rome. + +But the King now surrounded, with a hundred and fifty thousand +warriors, the city of Rome and its far-stretching ramparts, the walls +of Aurelian and the Prefect. + +Rome had at that time fifteen principal gates and a few smaller ones. + +The weaker part of the ramparts--the space between the Flaminian Gate +in the north (on the east of the present Porta del Popolo) to the +Prænestinian Gate--was completely surrounded by six camps, thus: the +walls from the Flaminian Gate eastwards as far as the Pincian and +Salarian Gates; then to the Nomentanian Gate (south-east of Porta Pia); +farther towards the "closed gate," or Porta Clausa; and finally +southwards, the Tiburtinian (now Porta San Lorenzo), the Asinarian, +Metronian, and Latin Gates (on the Via Latina), the Appian Gate (on the +Via Appia), and the St. Paul's Gate, which lay close to the Tiber. + +These six camps were erected on the left bank of the river. + +But in order to prevent the besieged from destroying the Milvian +Bridge, and thus cutting off the way across the river and the whole +district from the right bank as far as the sea, the Goths erected a +seventh camp upon the right bank of the Tiber, on the "field of Nero," +which reached from the Vatican Hill nearly to the Milvian Bridge (under +Monte Mario). + +So this bridge was dominated, and that of Hadrian threatened, by a +Gothic camp, as well as the road to the city through the "Porta Sancti +Petri," as the inner Aurelian Gate, according to Procopius, was already +called at that time. + +It was the entrance nearest to the Mausoleum of Hadrian. + +But also the gate of St. Pancratius, on the right bank of the river, +was especially watched by the Goths. + +This camp upon the field of Nero, between the Pancratian and Peter's +Gates, had been assigned to Earl Markja of Mediolanum, who had been +recalled from the Cottian Alps. But the King himself often repaired +thither in order to examine the Mausoleum. He had undertaken the +command of no particular camp, reserving to himself the general +supervision; and he had divided the other six camps between Hildebrand, +Totila, Hildebad, Teja, Guntharis, and Grippa. + +He caused each of the seven camps to be surrounded with a deep moat, +throwing up the excavated earth in high banks between the moat and +camp, and strengthening them with stout palisades, as a protection +against sallies from the city. + +Belisarius and Cethegus also divided their generals and their men +according to the sections and gates of Rome. + +Belisarius confided the defence of the Prænestinian Gate in the eastern +quarter (now Porta Maggiore) to Bessas, and the important Flaminian +Gate, close to which lay the camp of Totila, to Constantinus, who +caused it to be almost closed with blocks of marble, taken from ancient +temples and palaces. + +The Prefect jealously kept the western and southern quarters of +the city under his own strict surveillance, but in the north +Belisarius settled down between the Flaminian and Pincian--or now +"Belisarian"--Gates (the weakest part of the ramparts), and formed +plans of sallies against the barbarians. + +The remaining gates were entrusted to the leaders of the foot-soldiers: +Piranius, Magnus, Ennes, Artabanes, Azarethas, and Chilbudius. + +The Prefect had undertaken the defence of all the gates on the right +bank of the Tiber; the new Porta Aurelia on the Ælisian Bridge near the +Mausoleum, the Porta Septimiana, the old Aurelian Gate, which was now +named the Pancratian; and on the left bank, that of St. Paul. + +The next gate to the east, the Ardeatinian, was again under the +protection of a Byzantine garrison, commanded by Chilbudius. + +The besiegers and the besieged proved themselves equally indefatigable +and equally inventive in plans of attack and defence. + +For a long time the only thing the Goths could attempt was to harass +the Romans before storming the walls. On their side, the Romans +prepared to defend them when attacked. The Goths--lords and masters in +the Campagna--sought to distress the besieged by cutting off all the +fourteen splendid aqueducts which supplied the city with water. + +As soon as Belisarius learned this fact, he hastened to block the +mouths of the aqueducts within the city. + +"For," Procopius had said to him, "since you, O great hero, Belisarius, +have crept into Neapolis through such a water-runnel, the same idea +might occur to the barbarians, and they would scarcely think it a shame +to crawl into Rome by a similar hero-path." + +The besieged were now obliged to deny themselves the luxury of their +baths; the wells in the quarters of the city at a distance from the +river scarcely sufficed for drinking water. + +But by cutting off the supply of water, the barbarians had also +deprived the Romans of bread. + +At least it seemed so, for all the water-mills of Rome were stopped. + +The garnered grain bought in Sicily by Cethegus, and that which +Belisarius had, by force, caused to be brought into Rome from all the +neighbouring country, in spite of the outcry of farmers and husbandmen, +could no longer be ground. + +"Let the mills be turned by asses and oxen!" cried Belisarius. + +"Most of the asses and oxen were too wise to allow themselves to be +shut up with us here, O Belisarius," said Procopius; "we have only as +many as we shall want for the shambles, and it is impossible that they +should first drive the mills and then be still fat enough to afford +meat to eat with the bread thus gained." + +"Then call Martinus. Yesterday, as I stood by the Tiber counting the +Gothic tents, I had an idea----" + +"Which Martinus must translate from the Belisarian into the possible! +Poor man! But I will go and fetch him." + +But when, on the evening of the same day, Belisarius and Martinus +caused the first boat-mills that the world had ever known to be erected +in the Tiber, by means of boats ranged one near the other, Procopius +said admiringly: + +"The bread of these boat-mills will rejoice men longer than your +greatest deeds. Flour, ground in this wise, savours of immortality." + +And indeed these boat-mills, imagined by Belisarius and practically +carried out by Martinus, fully compensated to the besieged, during the +whole siege, for the loss of the powerless water-mills. + +Behind the bridge which is now called Ponte San Sisto, on the flat of +the Janiculum, Belisarius caused two boats to be fastened with ropes, +and laid mills over their flat decks, so that the wheels were driven by +the river, which streamed from between the arches of the bridge with +increased force. + +The besiegers, who were informed of these arrangements by deserters +from the city, soon attempted to destroy them. + +They threw beams, rafts, and trees into the river above the bridge, and +in a single night all the mills were destroyed. + +But Belisarius caused them to be reconstructed, and ordered strong +chains to be drawn across the river above the bridge, which caught and +arrested everything that floated down. + +These iron river-bolts were not only intended to protect the mills, but +also to prevent the Goths from reaching the city on boats or rafts. + +For now Witichis began to make preparations for storming the city. + +He caused wooden towers, higher than the ramparts, to be built, which, +placed upon four wheels, could be drawn by oxen. Then he caused +storming-ladders to be prepared in great numbers, and four tremendous +rams or wall-breakers, which were each pushed and served by fifty men. + +The deep moats were to be filled up with countless bundles of brushwood +and reeds. + +To defeat these plans, Belisarius and Cethegus, the first defending the +city in the north and east, the latter in the west and south, planted +catapults and other projectile machines on the walls, which were able +to cast immense spears to a great distance, with such force that they +could pierce the strongest coat of mail. + +They protected the gates by means of "wolves," that is, cross-beams set +with iron spikes, which were let crashing down upon the assaulters as +soon as the latter approached the gate. + +And, lastly, they strewed innumerable caltrops and steel-traps upon the +space between the town-moats and the camp of the besiegers. + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + +In spite of all this, it was said by the Romans that the Goths would +long since have climbed the walls, had it not been for the Prefect's +"Egeria." + +For, strange to say, each time the barbarians prepared an assault, +Cethegus went to Belisarius and warned him of the day and hour. + +Whenever Teja or Hildebad attempted to carry a gate by storm or sweep +away a redoubt--Cethegus foretold their coming, and the assaulters met +with double the usual number of defenders at that particular point. + +Whenever the chains across the Tiber were to be broken in a night +surprise--Cethegus seemed to have guessed it, and sent fire-brands and +fire-ships against the boats of the enemy. + +So passed many months. + +The Goths could not hide from themselves the fact that, in spite of +continual assaults, they had made no progress since the commencement of +the siege. + +For a long time they bore with patience the betrayal and frustration of +their plans. + +But by degrees discontent not only began to spread in the army, +especially as now the scarcity of provisions made itself felt, but also +the King's mind was darkened with deep melancholy when he found all his +strength, perseverance, and military science rendered vain. And when he +returned to his royal tent from some thwarted undertaking, some +abortive assault, the haughty eyes of his Queen rested on him with a +mysterious and terrible expression, from which he turned away with a +shudder. + +"All has happened as I foretold," Witichis said gloomily to Teja; "with +Rauthgundis my good-fortune has forsaken me, as joy has forsaken my +heart. It is if a curse rested upon my crown. And this daughter of the +Amelungs, silent and gloomy, follows me like misfortune personified." + +"Thou mayst be right," answered Teja; "perhaps I can break the spell. +Grant me leave of absence to-night." + +On the same day, almost at the same hour, Johannes, in Rome, asked +Belisarius for leave of absence for that night. Belisarius refused to +grant it. + +"It is no time for midnight pleasures," said he. + +"It will be small pleasure to spy amongst damp old walls and Gothic +lances for a fox who is ten times slyer than either of us." + +"What do you think of doing?" asked Belisarius, becoming attentive. + +"What do I intend to do? To make an end of the cursed position in which +we are all placed, and you, O General, not the least. All goes well. +For months the barbarians have been encamped before these walls, and +have accomplished nothing. We shoot them as easily as boys shoot crows +from behind a hedge, and can laugh at them and all their efforts. But +who has accomplished all this? Not, as would be right, you, the +Emperor's commander-in-chief, not the Emperor's army, but this icy +Roman, who can only laugh when he scoffs. He sits up there in the +Capitol and mocks at the Emperor, the Goths and us, and most of all, +give me leave to say, at you. How does this Ulysses and Ajax in one +person know so exactly all the plans of the Goths? By means of his +demons, say some. Through his Egeria, say others. And some maintain +that he has a raven which can speak and understand like a human being, +and that he sends it every night into the Gothic camp. Old women and +Romans may believe such things, but not the son of my mother! I think I +know both the raven and the demons. It is certain that the Prefect can +only learn what he knows in the Gothic camp; let us see if we cannot +use that source as well as he." + +"I thought of this long since, but I saw no possibility of carrying out +my idea." + +"My Huns have watched all the Prefect's movements. It is cursedly +difficult, for his brown Moor follows him like his shadow. But +sometimes Syphax is absent for days together, and then it is easier: so +I have found out that Cethegus often leaves the city at night, +sometimes by the Gate of Portuensis, sometimes by the Gate of St. Paul. +He commands the guard of both these gates. Farther my spies dared not +follow him. But to-night--for to-night the time has come again--I have +a mind to stick to his heels. But I must wait for him _outside_ the +gate, for his Isaurians would never let me pass. I shall make a round +of the walls, and remain behind in one of the trenches." + +"'Tis well. But, as you say, there are two gates to be watched." + +"Yes; and so I have engaged Perseus, my brother, to be my fellow-spy. +He will watch the Gate of St. Paul, I the Portuensian Gate. You may +depend upon it, that before sunrise to-morrow one or other of us will +know who is the Prefect's Egeria." + +Exactly opposite the Gate of St. Paul, at about three arrow-shots, +distance from the outermost trench of the city, lay a large and ancient +building, the Basilica Sancti Pauli extra muros, or St. Paul's outside +the walls, which only completely disappeared at the time of the siege +of Rome by the Connétable of Bourbon. + +Originally a temple dedicated to Jupiter Stator, it had been +consecrated to the Apostle two centuries before the time of which we +speak, but the bronze colossal statue of the bearded god still stood +erect; only the flaming thunderbolts had been taken from its right +hand, and a crucifix put in their place; otherwise the sturdy and +bearded figure was well suited to its new name. + +It was the sixth hour of the night. + +The moon shone brightly above the Eternal City, and shed her silver +light upon the battlements and the plain between the Roman ramparts and +the Basilica, the black shadow of which fell towards the Gothic camp. + +The guard at the Gate of St. Paul had just been relieved. But seven men +had gone out, and only six re-entered. + +The seventh turned his back to the gate and walked out into the open +field. + +Cautiously he chose his path: cautiously he avoided the numerous +steel-traps, covered pits and self-shooting poisoned arrows which were +strewn everywhere about, and which had already brought destruction to +many a Goth while assaulting the city. + +This man appeared to know them all, and easily avoided them. He also +carefully shunned the moonlight, seeking the shade of the jutting +bastions, and springing from one tree to another. + +After crossing the outermost trench, he remained standing in the shadow +of a cypress, the boughs of which, had been shattered by a catapult, +and looked about him. + +He could see nothing far and near, and at once hurried with rapid steps +towards the church. + +Had he looked round once more, he surely would not have done so. + +For, as soon as he left the tree, a second figure rose from the trench, +and reached the shade of the cypress in three leaps. + +"I have won, Johannes! This time fortune favours the younger brother!" +said this personage. + +And he cautiously followed the man, who was rapidly walking on. + +But suddenly he lost sight of him; it seemed as if the earth had +swallowed him up. + +And when he had reached the outer wall of the church, where the man had +disappeared, the Armenian (for it was Perseus) could discover neither +door nor any other opening. + +"No doubt about it," he said to himself, "the appointment has been made +within the temple. I must follow." + +But at that place the wall could not be climbed. + +The spy turned a corner, feeling the stones. + +In vain. The wall was of the same height everywhere. + +He lost about a quarter of an hour in this search. + +At last he found a gap; with difficulty he squeezed himself through. + +And now he found himself in the outer court of the old temple, across +which the thick Doric columns threw broad shadows, under cover of which +he succeeded in reaching the centre and principal building. + +He peeped through a chink in the wall, which a current of air had +betrayed to him. Within all was dark. + +But suddenly he was blinded by a dazzling light. + +When he again opened his eyes, he saw a bright stripe amid the +darkness; it issued from a dark lantern, the light of which had been +suddenly uncovered. + +He could distinctly see whatever stood in the line of light; but not +the bearer of the lantern. + +He saw Cethegus the Prefect, who stood close to the statue of the +Apostle, and appeared to be leaning against it. In front of him stood a +second form, that of a slender woman, upon whose auburn hair fell the +glittering light of the lantern. + +"The lovely Queen of the Goths, by Eros and Anteros!" said the spy to +himself. "No disagreeable meeting, be it for love or politics! Hark! +she speaks. What a pity that I came too late to hear the beginning of +the conversation!" + +"Therefore, mark well," he heard the Queen say, "the day after +to-morrow some great danger is planned to take place on the road before +the Tiburtinian Gate." + +"Good; but what!" asked the voice of the Prefect. + +"I could learn nothing more exactly. And I can communicate nothing more +to you, even if I should hear anything. I dare not meet you here again, +for----" + +She now spoke in a lower tone. + +Perseus pressed his ear hard against the chink; his sword rattled +against the stone, and immediately a ray of the lantern fell upon him. + +"Hark!" cried a third voice--it was a female voice, that of the bearer +of the lantern, who now showed herself in its rays as she quickly +turned in the direction of the wall where stood the spy. + +Perseus recognised a slave in Moorish costume. + +For one moment all in the temple were silent. + +Perseus held his breath. He felt that his life was at stake. For +Cethegus grasped his sword. + +"All is quiet," said the slave; "it must have been a stone falling on +the iron-work outside." + +"I can also go no more into the grave outside the Portuensian Gate. I +fear that we have been followed." + +"By whom?" + +"By one who, as it seems, never sleeps--Earl Teja." + +The Prefect's lips twitched. + +"And he is also one of a secret company who have sworn an oath against +the life of Belisarius; the attack on the Gate of St. Paul will be only +a feint." + +"'Tis well," said Cethegus reflectively. + +"Belisarius could never escape, if he were not warned," continued the +Queen. "They lie somewhere, I fear--but I do not know where--in ambush. +They have a superior force, Earl Totila commands them." + +"I will take care to warn him!" said Cethegus slowly. + +"If the plan should succeed!" + +"Be not anxious. Queen. Rome is not less dear to me than to you. And if +the next assault fail--they must renounce the siege, be they never so +tough. And this Queen, is your doing. Let me this night--perhaps the +last on which we meet--reveal to you my wonder and admiration. Cethegus +does not easily admire, and where he must, he does not easily confess +it. But--I admire you, Queen! With what death-despising temerity, with +what demoniac cunning you have frustrated all the plots of the +barbarians! Truly, Belisarius has done much--Cethegus more--but +Mataswintha most." + +"Would that you spoke truth!" said Mataswintha with sparkling eyes. +"And if the crown falls from the head of this culprit----" + +"It is _your_ hand which has decided the fate of Rome. But, Queen, you +cannot be satisfied with this alone. I have learned to know you these +last few months--you must not be taken, a conquered Gothic Queen, to +Byzantium. Such beauty, such a mind, such force of will must rule, and +not serve, in Byzantium. Therefore reflect--when your tyrant is +overthrown--will you not then follow the course which I have pointed +out to you?" + +"I have never yet thought of what will follow," she answered gloomily. + +"But I have thought for you. Truly, Mataswintha"--and his eyes rested +upon her with fervent admiration--"you are marvellously beautiful. I +consider it as my greatest merit that even your beauty is not able to +kindle my passions and seduce me from my plans. But you are too +beautiful, too charming, to live alone for hatred and revenge. When +our aim is reached, then to Byzantium! You will then be more than +Empress--you will be the vanquisher of the Empress!" + +"When my aim is reached, my life is completed. Do you think I could +bear the thought of having destroyed my people for mere ambition, for +prudent ends? No--I did it only because I could no other. Revenge is +now all to me, and----" + +Just then there sounded loud and shrill from the front of the building, +but yet within the walls, the cry of the screech-owl; once--twice--in +rapid succession. + +How amazed was Perseus to see the Prefect hurriedly press his finger +upon the throat of the statue against which he was leaning, and to see +it immediately and noiselessly divide into two parts. + +Cethegus slipped, into the opening, which slowly closed again. + +Mataswintha and Aspa sank upon the steps of the altar, as if in prayer. + +"So it was a signal! Danger is near," thought the spy. "But where is +the danger? and where the warner?" + +And he turned and stepped from beneath the wall, looking to the left, +on which side the Gothic camp was situated. + +But in doing so he stepped into the moonlight, and in sight of Syphax, +the Moor, who stood in an empty niche before the entrance of the +building, and who, until now, had also been looking sharply in the +direction of the camp. + +From thence a man walked slowly forward. + +His battle-axe glittered in the moonlight. + +But Perseus saw a second weapon flash; it was the sword of the Moor, as +he softly drew it from its sheath. + +"Ha!" laughed Perseus; "before those two have done with each other, I +shall be in Rome with my secret." + +And he ran towards the gap in the wall of the court by which he had +entered. + +For a moment Syphax looked doubtfully to right and left. To the right +he saw a man escaping, whom he had only now discovered; to the left a +Gothic warrior, who was just entering the court of the temple. It was +impossible to reach and kill both. + +He suddenly called aloud: + +"Teja, Earl Teja! Help, help! A Roman! Save the Queen! There, near the +wall on the right--a Roman!" + +In a moment Teja stood at Syphax's side. + +"There!" cried Syphax. "I will protect the women in the church!" and he +rushed into the temple. + +"Stand, Roman!" cried Teja, and rushed after Perseus. + +But Perseus would not stand. He ran along the wall; he reached the +gap, but in his hurry he could not force himself through. With the +strength of despair he swung himself up upon the wall, and was already +drawing up his feet to jump down on the other side, when Teja cast his +battle-axe, and struck him on the head. + +Perseus, together with his secret, fell back dead. + +Teja bent over him; he could distinctly see the features of the dead +man. + +"The Archon Perseus," he said, "the brother of Johannes." + +He left the corpse, and at once ascended the steps which led into the +church. + +On the threshold he was met by Mataswintha. Behind her came Syphax, and +Aspa with the lantern. + +For a moment Teja and Mataswintha measured each other with distrustful +looks. + +"I must thank thee, Earl Teja of Tarentum," at last the Princess said. +"I was in danger while pursuing my lonely devotions." + +"A strange place and time for thee to choose for thy prayers. Let us +see if this Roman was the only enemy." + +He took the light from Aspa's hand, and went into the chapel. + +Presently he returned, a leathern shoe, inlaid with gold, in his hand. + +"I found nothing--but this sandal by the altar, close to the statue of +the Apostle. It is a man's shoe." + +"A votive offering of mine," said Syphax quickly. "The Apostle healed +my foot, which a thorn had wounded." + +"I thought the Snake-god was thine only god?" + +"I worship whatever can help me." + +"In which foot did the thorn wound thee?" + +For a moment Syphax hesitated. + +"In the right foot," he then answered. + +"It is a pity," said Teja, "the sandal is for the left foot." And he +put it into his belt. "I warn thee, Queen, against such midnight +devotions." + +"I shall do my duty," answered Mataswintha harshly. + +"And I mine!" + +With these words Teja turned, and led the way to the camp. Silently the +Queen and her slaves followed. + + +At sunrise Teja stood before the King and told him everything. + +"What thou sayest is no proof," said Witichis. + +"But a strong cause of suspicion. And thou thyself hast told me that +the conduct of the Queen was mysterious." + +"Just for that reason I must guard myself against acting on mere +suspicion. I often fear that we have acted wrongly by her, almost as +much so as by Rauthgundis." + +"Possibly. But these midnight walks?" + +"I shall put an end to them, were it only for her own sake." + +"And the Moor? I mistrust him. I know that he is often absent for days +together; afterwards appearing again in the camp. He is a spy." + +"Yes, friend," said Witichis, with a smile; "but he is my spy. He goes +in and out of Rome with my knowledge. It is he who betrays all their +plans to me." + +"And yet it has done no good? And the false sandal?" + +"It is really a votive offering. Before thou camest, Syphax confessed +all to me. Once, as he was waiting for the Queen, he got weary, and +began to rummage in a vault of the church; and there he found, amongst +all sorts of things, some priestly garments and hidden treasures, which +he stole. Later, fearing the wrath of the saint, he wished to atone, +and offered up in his heathen manner this golden sandal from his booty. +He described it to me exactly. With golden side-stripes, and an agate +button engraved with the letter C. Thou seest that it is so. Therefore +he knew it well, and it cannot have been dropped by a fugitive. He has +promised to bring the fellow-shoe as a proof. But, more than all, he +has discovered to me a new plan, which will put an end to all our +trouble, and deliver Belisarius himself into our hands." + + + + CHAPTER IX. + +While the King of the Goths communicated this plan to his friends, +Cethegus, in the early morning, was summoned to speak with Belisarius +and Johannes. + +"Prefect of Rome," cried the general in a severe tone, as Cethegus +entered his quarters, "where were you last night?" + +"At my post, as was my duty. At the Gate of St. Paul." + +"Do you know that, last night, one of my best leaders, Perseus the +archon and the brother of Johannes here, left the city and has not been +seen since?" + +"I am sorry for it. But you know that it is forbidden to leave the +walls without permission." + +"But I have reason to believe," interposed Johannes, "that you very +well know what has become of my brother; that his blood is on your +hands." + +"And by the slumber of Justinian," cried Belisarius angrily, "you shall +answer for it! You shall no longer tyrannise over the Emperor's army +and the Emperor's generals. The hour of reckoning has come. The +barbarians are almost defeated, and we shall see if, when _your_ head +falls, the Capitol will still stand!" + +"Do matters stand thus?" thought Cethegus. "Then take care, +Belisarius!" But he remained silent. + +"Speak!" cried Johannes; "where did you kill my brother?" + +But before Cethegus could reply, Artasines, one of Belisarius's +body-guards, entered the room. + +"Sir," he said, "outside are six Gothic warriors. They have brought the +corpse of Perseus the archon. King Witichis sends you word that Perseus +fell last night without the walls, struck by Earl Teja's axe. He sends +the body, that you may inter it with all honour." + +"Heaven itself," said Cethegus, as he left the room with haughty steps, +"gives the lie to your malice!" + +But slowly and reflectively he passed the Quirinal and went across the +Forum of Trajan to his dwelling. + +"You threaten, Belisarius? Thanks for the hint! Let us see if we cannot +do without you!" + + +Arrived at his house, he found Syphax, who had been waiting for him +impatiently. + +Syphax quickly made his report, and concluded: + +"But first of all, sir, let the slaves who tie your sandals be whipped! +You see how badly you are served when Syphax is absent. And be so kind +as to give me your right shoe." + +"Properly I should refuse to do so, and let you remain in suspense, to +punish you for your impudent lies," laughed the Prefect. "This piece of +leather is worth your life, my panther! How will you ransom it?" + +"With important news. I now know all the particulars of the plan +against the life of Belisarius; the place and time, and the names of +the confederates. They are--Teja, Totila, and Hildebad." + +"Each one of whom is a match for the magister militum," remarked +Cethegus, with evident pleasure. + +"I think, sir, that you have prepared another nice trap for the +barbarians! According to your order, I have told them that Belisarius +himself will sally out from the Tiburtinian Gate to-morrow, in order to +forage for supplies." + +"Yes; he goes himself because the Huns, who have so often been beaten, +will not again venture out alone. He will take only four hundred men." + +"And the three confederates will place an ambush of a thousand men in +order to surprise Belisarius." + +"This news is really worth the shoe!" said Cethegus, and threw it to +Syphax. + +"Meanwhile King Witichis will make a feigned assault upon the Gate of +St. Paul, in order to divert attention from Belisarius. So I will now +hasten to the latter, as you ordered, and tell him to take three +thousand men with him, and destroy the confederates and their band." + +"Stop," said Cethegus quietly; "do not be in such a hurry. You will +tell him nothing." + +"What?" asked Syphax in surprise. "If he be not warned, he will be +lost!" + +"One must not always interfere with the commander's guardian angel. +To-morrow Belisarius may prove his good fortune." + +"Aye, aye," said Syphax, with a cunning smile, "is such your pleasure? +Then I would rather be Syphax the slave than Belisarius the magister +militum. Poor widowed Antonina!" + +Cethegus was just about to stretch himself upon his couch for a short +rest, when Fidus, the ostiarius, announced: + +"Kallistratos, of Corinth!" + +"Always welcome!" + +The young Greek with the gentle countenance entered. A flush of shame +or pleasure coloured his cheeks; it was evident that some special cause +had led him to the Prefect. + +"What of beauty do you bring besides yourself?" asked Cethegus in the +Grecian tongue. + +The Greek looked up with sparkling eyes. + +"A heart full of admiration for you, and the wish to prove it to you. I +beg for permission to fight for you and Rome, like the two Licinii and +Piso." + +"My Kallistratos! What have you, our peaceful guest, the most amiable +of Greeks, to do with our bloody business with the Goths? Leave such +hard work alone, and cherish your bright inheritance--beauty!" + +"I know well that the days of Salamis have become a myth, and that you +iron Romans have never believed in our strength. That is hard; but yet +it is easier to bear, because it is you who defend our world of art and +noble customs against the dull barbarians; you--that is, Rome, and to +me Cethegus is Rome. As such, I understand this struggle, and, +understanding it thus, you see that it also concerns the Hellenes." + +The Prefect smiled with pleasure. + +"Well, if to you Cethegus is Rome, then Rome gladly accepts the help of +the Hellenes. Henceforward you are a tribune of the Milites Romani, +like Licinius." + +"My deeds shall thank you. But I must confess one thing more; for I +know that you do not love to be surprised. I have often seen how dear +to you is the Mausoleum of Hadrian, with its treasure of statues. +Lately I counted these marble gods, and found that there were two +hundred and ninety-eight. I have made the third hundred complete by +placing amongst them my two Letoides, Apollo and Artemis, which you +praised so highly. They are a votive offering to you and Rome." + +"Dear, extravagant youth!" said Cethegus. "What have you done?" + +"That which is right and beautiful," answered Kallistratos simply. + +"But reflect; the Mausoleum is now a fortress. If the Goths storm----" + +"The Letoides stand upon the second and inner wall; and how can I fear +that the barbarians will ever again conquer the favourite place of +Cethegus? Where can the beauteous gods be more secure than in your +citadel? Your fortress is their best, because safest, temple. My +offering shall be at the same time a happy omen." + +"It shall!" cried Cethegus with animation. "And I myself believe that +your gift is well protected. But allow me, in return----" + +"In return you have allowed me to fight for you. Chaire!" laughed the +Greek, and was gone. + +"The boy loves me dearly," said Cethegus. "And I am like other human +fools--it does me good; and that not merely because I can thereby rule +him." + +Heavy footsteps were now heard upon the marble of the vestibule, and a +tribune of the army entered. + +It was a young Roman with noble features, but of a graver expression +than his years warranted. His cheek-bones made a right angle with his +straight and severe brow, in true Roman outline; in the deep-sunk eyes +lay Roman strength and--at this moment--resolute earnestness, and a +self-will regardless of all but itself. + +"Aha! Severinus, son of Boëthius! Welcome, my young hero and +philosopher! I have not seen you for many months. Whence come you?" + +"From the grave of my mother!" answered Severinus, with a fixed look at +the questioner. + +Cethegus sprang from his seat. + +"What! Rusticiana? The friend of my youth? The wife of my Boëthius?" + +"She is dead," said the son shortly. + +The Prefect would have taken his hand, but Severinus withdrew it. + +"My son! my poor Severinus! And did she die--without a word for me?" + +"I bring you her last words--they concern you!" + +"How did she die? Of what illness?" + +"Of grief and remorse." + +"Grief!" sighed Cethegus; "that I understand. But why should she feel +remorse? And her last word was for me? Tell me, what did she say?" + +Severinus approached the Prefect so closely that he touched his knee, +and looking piercingly into his eyes, he answered: + +"She said, 'A curse, a curse upon Cethegus, who poisoned my child!" + +Cethegus looked at him quietly. + +"Did she die delirious?" he coldly asked. + +"No, murderer! Her delirium was to trust in you! In the hour of her +death she confessed to Cassiodorus and to me that it was her hand which +administered the poison--with which you had furnished her--to the young +tyrant. She told us all the circumstances. She was supported as she +spoke by old Corbulo and his daughter, Daphnidion. 'Too late I +learned,' she concluded, 'that my child had drunk of the deadly cup. +And there was no one to hold Camilla's hand as she took it; for I was +still in the boat upon the sea, and Cethegus was in the plantain-alley.' +Then old Corbulo called out, turning pale, 'What! did the Prefect know +that the cup contained poison?' 'Certainly,' answered my mother; 'for, +as I left the garden, I had told him that the deed was done.' Corbulo +was dumb with horror; but Daphnidion cried out in violent grief, 'Alas! +my poor mistress! Then Cethegus murdered your child; for he stood near, +close to me, and watched her drink.' 'He watched her drink?' asked my +mother, in a voice which will ring in my ears for ever. 'He watched her +as she drank,' repeated the freedman and his daughter. 'Oh! then may +his cursed soul be delivered to the devils in hell!' cried my mother. +'Revenge, O God! revenge hereafter! Revenge upon earth, my sons, for +Camilla! A curse upon Cethegus!' And she fell back and expired." + +The Prefect preserved his composure. But he secretly grasped the dagger +which was hidden in the breast-folds of his tunic. + +"But you," he asked after a pause, "what did you do?" + +"I knelt down by the corpse of my mother and kissed her cold hand. And +I swore to fulfil her dying behest. Woe to you, Prefect of Rome, +poisoner and murderer of my sister! You shall not live!" + +"Son of Boëthius, will you become a murderer for the mad words of a +stupid slave and his daughter? It would be worthy of a hero and a +philosopher." + +"I do not think of murder. If I were a German, I should, according to +their barbaric custom--and just now I think it excellent--challenge you +to mortal combat. But I am a Roman, and will lawfully seek my revenge. +Take care. Prefect, there are still just judges in Italy. For many +months the enemy has prevented me from reaching the city. I only +arrived here to-day by sea, and to-morrow I shall accuse you before the +Senate, who will be your judges. Then we shall meet again." + +Cethegus suddenly placed himself between the youth and the door. + +But Severinus cried: + +"Softly! I am prudent where a murderer is concerned. Three of my +friends accompanied me to your house. If I do not return immediately, +they will come with the lictors to search for me." + +"I only wish," said Cethegus, again fully composed, "to warn you against +a shameful course. If you like to prosecute the oldest friend of your +family, in consequence of the feverish words of a dying woman, then do +so; I cannot prevent you. But first a commission. You will become my +accuser, but you still remain a soldier and my tribune. You will obey +when your general commands." + +"I shall obey." + +"To-morrow Belisarius will make a sally, and the barbarians intend to +attack one of the gates. I must protect the city. But I fear danger for +the lion-hearted Belisarius. I must be sure that he is faithfully +guarded. Therefore I order you to accompany the general to-morrow, and +to defend his life with your own." + +"With mine own." + +"'Tis good, tribune, I depend upon your word." + +"Depend upon my first word too! Farewell, till we meet again, after the +fight, before the Senate. With what ardour do I long for both contests! +Farewell--until we meet in the Senate!" + +"We shall never meet again!" said Cethegus, as the steps of his visitor +died away. "Syphax!" he called aloud, "bring wine and dinner. We must +strengthen ourselves for to-morrow's work!" + + + + CHAPTER X. + +Early next morning Rome and the Gothic encampment were equally full of +life and movement. + +Mataswintha and Syphax had learned somewhat, and had imparted it to +Cethegus; but they had not known all. + +They had heard of the plot of the three Goths against the life of +Belisarius, and of the earlier plan of a sham assault upon the Gate of +St. Paul. + +But they had not heard that the King, changing his plan, had determined +to take advantage of the absence of the great general, in order to try +if Gothic heroism were not yet able to conquer the fortifications and +the genius of Belisarius. + +In the council of war, no one had deceived himself as to the importance +and risk of the undertaking upon which they had determined; for if, +like all former ones--and Procopius had already counted sixty battles, +sallies, assaults and skirmishes--this last attempt failed, no further +exertion could be demanded from the harassed and greatly diminished +army. + +For this reason they had, at Teja's advice, taken an oath to keep their +plan a profound secret, and thus Mataswintha had learned nothing from +the King. + +Even the keen senses of the Moor had been unable to scent out that +anything of importance was in preparation for that day--the Gothic +troops themselves knew not what. + +Totila, Hildebad, and Teja had started with their horsemen during the +night, and had placed themselves in ambush on the south of the Valerian +Way, in a hollow near the tomb of the Fulvias, through which Belisarius +would necessarily pass. They hoped to have finished their task soon +enough to be able to take an important part in the events which were +impending against the city. + +While the King, with Hildebrand, Guntharis, and Markja, was mustering +the troops within the camp, Belisarius marched at daybreak out of the +Tiburtinian Gate, surrounded by part of his body-guard. + +Procopius and Severinus rode on his right and left; Aigan, the +Massagetian, bore his banner, which accompanied the magister militum on +all occasions. + +Constantinus, to whom he had entrusted the care of the "Belisarian" +part of Rome during his absence, doubled all the posts along the walls, +and placed his troops under arms close to the ramparts. He sent word to +the Prefect to do the same with the Byzantines under his command. + +His messenger met Cethegus upon the walls between the Appian Gate and +the Gate of St. Paul. + +"So Belisarius thinks," said Cethegus sarcastically, as he obeyed the +order, "that Rome cannot be safe unless he guard it! But I think that +Belisarius would be in evil plight, had I not protected my Rome. Come, +Lucius Licinius," he whispered to the latter, "we must decide upon what +we must do should Belisarius fail to return from his ride. In that +case, a firm hand must be laid upon the Byzantine army." + +"I know whose hand will do it." + +"It may perhaps lead to a short struggle with those of the body-guard +still in Rome; either in the Baths of Diocletian or at the Tiburtinian +Gate. They must be crushed before they have time to reflect. Take three +thousand of my Isaurians, and divide them, without attracting +attention, round about the Baths, and, above all things, occupy the +Tiburtinian Gate." + +"But whence shall I withdraw the men?" + +"From the Mausoleum of Hadrian," said Cethegus after a moment's +reflection. + +"And the Goths?" + +"Bah! the Mausoleum is strong; it will protect itself, for the +assaulters must first get over the river to the south, and then climb +those smooth walls of Parian marble, in which the Greek and I take such +pride. And besides," he added with a smile, "look up! There stands a +host of marble gods and heroes; they may themselves protect their +temple against the barbarians. Do you see? I told you it would be so. +The Goths only think of attacking the Gate of St. Paul," he concluded, +pointing towards the Gothic camp, whence, just at that moment, a strong +division marched out in the direction he mentioned. + +Licinius obeyed his orders, and soon led three thousand +Isaurians--perhaps the half of the garrison of the Mausoleum--over the +river and the Viminalian Hill in the direction of the Baths of +Diocletian. He then replaced Belisarius's Armenians at the Tiburtinian +Gate by three hundred Isaurians and legionaries. + +But Cethegus turned to the Salarian Gate, where Constantinus now +remained as the representative of Belisarius. + +"I must have him out of the way," said Cethegus to himself, "when the +news arrives.--When you have repulsed the barbarians," he said aloud to +Constantinus, "no doubt you will make a sally. What an opportunity to +gather laurels while your commander is yet at a distance!" + +"Yes," said Constantinus, "they shall see that we can fight, even +without Belisarius." + +"But you must aim with more composure," said Cethegus, turning to a +Persian archer and taking his bow. "Do you see that Goth, the leader on +horseback? He shall fall." + +Cethegus drew the bow. The Goth fell from his horse, pierced through +the neck by the arrow. + +"And you use my shooting-machines clumsily too! Do you see that oak-tree? +A leader of one of the Gothic thousands is standing beneath it, clad in +a coat of mail. Pay attention!" + +He directed the machine; aimed and shot. The mailed Goth was pierced +through and through, and nailed to the tree. + +Just then a Saracen horseman rode quickly up below the wall. + +"Archon," he cried to Constantinus, "Bessas begs for reinforcements for +the Prænestinian Gate! The Goths are advancing." + +Constantinus looked doubtfully at Cethegus. + +"Pshaw!" said the latter; "the only attack to be feared will be made +upon the Gate of St. Paul, and that is well defended, I am certain. +Tell Bessas that he is scared too soon. Besides, I have six lions, ten +tigers and twelve bears in the Vivarium waiting for the next feast at +the Circus. Let them loose upon the barbarians for the present. It will +afford a spectacle for the Romans." + +But now one of the body-guard hurried up from Mons Pincius. + +"Help, sir. Help, Constantinus! your own gate, the Flaminian, is in +danger! Countless barbarians! Ursicinus begs for assistance!" + +"There too?" asked Cethegus incredulously. + +"Reinforcements for the broken walls between the Flaminian and the +Pincian Gates!" cried a second messenger, also sent by Ursicinus. + +"You need not defend that part. You know that it stands under the +special protection of St. Peter; that will suffice," said Constantinus +encouragingly. + +Cethegus smiled. + +"Yes, to-day most surely; for it will not be attacked at all." + +"Prefect!" cried Marcus Licinius, who just then hurried up, out of +breath; "quick to the Capitol! I have just come thence. All the seven +camps of the enemy are vomiting Goths from every exit. A general storm +is intended upon all the gates of Rome." + +"That can hardly be," said Cethegus with a smile. "But I will go up. +You, Marcus Licinius, will answer to me for the Tiburtinian Gate. It +_must_ be mine. Away with you! Take your two hundred legionaries." + +With these words he mounted his horse and rode towards the Capitol +round the foot of the Viminalian Hill. There he met with Lucius +Licinius and his Isaurians. + +"General," said Lucius, "things look grave, very grave! What about the +Isaurians? Do you persist in your order?" + +"Have I retracted it?" said Cethegus severely. "Lucius, you and the +other tribunes must follow me. Isaurians, you, under your chief, +Asgares, will march between the Baths and the Tiburtinian Gate." + +He did not believe there was danger for Rome. He thought he knew what +the barbarians really intended at this moment. + +"The feint of a general attack," he argued, "is only meant to prevent +the Byzantines from thinking of the danger of their commander outside +the walls." + +He soon reached and ascended a tower of the Capitol, whence he could +overlook the whole plain. + +It was filled with Gothic weapons. + +It was a splendid spectacle. + +From all the gates of the encampment poured the Gothic troops, +encircling the whole circumference of the city. + +It was evident that the assault was intended to be carried on +simultaneously against all the gates of Rome. + +Foremost came the archers and slingers, in light groups of skirmishers, +whose business it was to rid the ramparts of their defenders. + +Then followed battering-rams and wall-breakers, taken from Roman +arsenals or constructed on Roman models, though often clumsily enough; +harnessed with horses and oxen and served by soldiers without weapons +of attack, whose sole business it was to protect themselves and their +teams against the projectiles of the enemy by means of their shields. + +Close behind, in thick ranks and fully armed, furnished with +battle-axes and strong knives for the hand-to-hand struggle, and +dragging heavy ladders, came the warriors who were to undertake the +assault. + +These three separate lines of attack advanced steadily, in good order, +and with an even step. The sun glittered upon their helmets; at +intervals of equal lengths sounded the long-drawn summons of the Gothic +horns. + +"They have learned something of us," cried Cethegus, with a soldier's +pride in the fine array. "The man who has ordered these ranks +understands war." + +"Who is it?" asked Kallistratos, who, in splendid armour, stood near +Lucius Licinius. + +"King Witichis, without doubt," answered Cethegus. + +"I should not have thought that simple man, with his modest expression, +capable of such generalship." + +"These barbarians are often unfathomable," remarked Cethegus. + +And now he rode away from the Capitol, over the river to the ramparts +at the Pancratian Gate, where the first attack seemed to threaten. + +There he ascended the corner tower with his followers. + +"Who is the old man with the flowing beard, marching before his troop +and carrying a stone axe? He looks as if the lightning of Zeus had +missed him in the battle with the Titans." + +"It is Theodoric's old master-at-arms; he marches against this gate," +answered the Prefect. + +"And who is the richly-accoutred man upon the brown charger, with the +wolfs head upon his helmet? He is marching towards the Porta +Portuensis." + +"That is Duke Guntharis, the Wölfung," said Lucius Licinius. + +"And see there, too, on the eastern side of the city, away over the +river, as far as the eye can reach, the ranks of the enemy advance +against all the gates," cried Piso. + +"But where is the King himself!" asked Kallistratos. + +"Look! there in the middle you see the Gothic standard. There he is, +opposite the Pancratian Gate," answered the Prefect. + +"He alone, with his strong division, stands motionless far behind the +lines," said Salvius Julianus, the young jurist. + +"Will he not join in the fight!" asked Massurius. + +"It would be against his habit not to do so. But let us go down upon +the ramparts; the fight begins," said Cethegus. + +"Hildebrand has reached the trench." + +"There stand my Byzantines, under Gregorius. The Gothic archers aim +well. The ramparts become thinned. Massurius, bring up my Abasgian +archers, and the best archers of the legions. They must aim at the oxen +and horses of the battering-rams." + +Very soon the battle was kindled upon all sides, and Cethegus remarked +with rage that the Goths progressed everywhere. + +The Byzantines seemed to miss their leader; they shot at random and +fell back from the walls, against which the Goths pressed with unusual +daring. + +They had already crossed the trenches at many points, and Duke +Guntharis had even erected ladders against the walls near the +Portuensian Gate; while the old master-at-arms had dragged a strong +battering-ram to the Pancratian Gate, and had caused it to be protected +by a penthouse against the fiery darts from above. + +Already the first strokes of the ram thundered through the uproar of +the battle against the beams of the gate. + +This well-known sound gave the Prefect a shock. + +"It is evident," he said to himself, "that they are in good earnest." + +Again a thundering stroke, + +Gregorius, the Byzantine, looked at him inquiringly. + +"This must not continue any longer," cried Cethegus angrily; and he +tore a bow and quiver from an archer who stood near him, and hurried to +the battlements over the gate. + +"Here, archers and slingers! Follow me!" he cried. "Bring heavy stones. +Where is the next balista? Where the scorpions? That penthouse must +come down!" + +But under it stood Gothic archers, who eagerly looked through the +apertures at the pinnacles of the battlements. + +"It is useless, Haduswinth," grumbled young Gunthamund; "for the third +time I have aimed in vain. Not one of them will venture even his nose +above the battlements." + +"Patience!" answered the old man; "only keep thy bow ready bent. Some +curious body will be sure to show himself. Lay a bow ready for me too, +and have patience." + +"Patience! That is easier for thee with thy seventy years, than for me +with my twenty," grumbled Gunthamund. + +Meanwhile Cethegus reached the wall over the gate, and cast a look +across the plain. + +There he saw the King standing motionless in the distance with his +centre, upon the right bank of the Tiber. + +This sight disturbed him. + +"What does he intend? Has he learned that the commander-in-chief ought +not to fight? Come, Gajus," he cried to a young archer, who had boldly +followed him, "your young eyes are sharp. Look over the battlements. +What is the King doing there?" + +And he bent over the bulwarks. Gajus followed his example, and both +looked out eagerly. + +"Now, Gunthamund!" cried Haduswinth below. + +Two strings twanged, and the two Romans started back. + +Gajus fell, shot in the forehead; and an arrow fell rattling from the +Prefect's helmet. + +Cethegus passed his hand across his brow. + +"You live, my general!" cried Piso, springing towards him. + +"Yes, friend. It was well aimed, but the gods need me yet. Only the +skin is scratched," said Cethegus, and set his helmet straight. + + + + CHAPTER XI. + +Just then Syphax appeared upon the wall. + +His master had strictly forbidden him to take part in the fight. He +could not spare him. + +"Woe--woe!" cried Syphax, so loudly, that it struck Cethegus--who knew +the Moor's usual self-control--strangely. + +"What has happened?" + +"A great misfortune! Constantinus is severely wounded. He led a sortie +from the Salarian Gate, and at once stumbled upon the Gothic ranks. A +stone from a sling hit him on the brow. With difficulty his people +saved him, and bore him back within the walls. There I received the +fainting man--he named you, the Prefect, as his successor. Here is his +general's staff." + +"That is not possible!" shouted Bessas, who had followed at Syphax's +heels. He had come in person to demand reinforcements from the Prefect, +and arrived just in time to hear this news. "That is not possible," he +repeated, "or Constantinus was raving when he said it." + +"If he had appointed you he might have been so," said Cethegus quietly, +taking the staff, and thanking the cunning slave with a rapid motion of +his hand. + +With a furious look Bessas left the ramparts and hurried away. + +"Follow him, and watch him carefully, Syphax," whispered the Prefect. + +An Isaurian mercenary hastily approached. + +"Reinforcements, Prefect, for the Porta Portuensis! Duke Guntharis has +stormed the wall!" + +He was followed by Cabao, the leader of the Moorish mounted archers, +who cried: + +"Constantinus is dead! You must represent him." + +"I represent Belisarius," said Cethegus proudly. "Take five hundred +Armenians from the Appian Gate, and send them to the Porta Portuensis." + +"Help--help for the Appian Gate! All the men on the ramparts are shot +dead!" cried a Persian horseman, galloping up. "The farthest outwork is +nearly lost; it may yet be saved, but with difficulty. It would be +impossible to retake it!" + +Cethegus called his young jurisconsult, Salvius Julianus, now his +war-tribune. + +"Up, my jurist! '_Beati possidentes!_' Take a hundred legionaries and +keep the outwork at all costs until further assistance arrive." And +again he looked over the breastwork. + +Under his feet the fight raged; the battering-rams thundered. But he +was more troubled by the mysterious inaction which the King preserved +in the background than by the turmoil close at hand. + +"Of what can he be thinking?" + +Just then a fearful crash and a loud shout of joy from the barbarians +sounded from below. Cethegus had no need to ask what it was; in a +moment he had reached the gate. + +"The gate is broken!" cried his people. + +"I know it. _We_ now must be the bolts of Rome!" + +And pressing his shield more firmly to his side, he went up to the +right wing of the gate, in which yawned a broad fissure. And again the +battering-ram struck the shattered planks near the crevice. + +"Another such stroke and the gate will fall!" said Gregorius, the +Byzantine. + +"Quite right; therefore we must not let it be repeated. Here--to +me--Gregorius and Lucius! Form, milites! Spears lowered! Torches and +firebrands! Make ready to sally. When I raise my sword, open the gate, +and cast ram and penthouse and all into the trench." + +"You are very daring, my general!" cried Lucius Licinius, taking his +stand close to Cethegus with delight. + +"Yes, now there is cause to be daring, my friend." + +The column was formed; the Prefect was just about to give the sign, +when, from behind, there arose a noise still greater than that made by +the storming Goths; screams of pain and the tramp of horses. Bessas +came up in great agitation; he caught the Prefect's arm--his voice +failed him. + +"Why do you hinder me at this moment?" asked. Cethegus, pushing him +aside. + +"Belisarius's troops," at last panted the Thracian, "stand sorely +wounded outside the Tiburtinian Gate they beg for admittance--furious +Goths are at their heels--Belisarius has fallen into an ambush--he is +dead." + +"Belisarius is taken!" cried a gate-keeper, who hurried up breathless. + +"The Goths--the Goths are upon us! at the Nomentanian and Tiburtinian +Gates!" was shouted from the streets. + +"Belisarius's flag is taken! Procopius is defending the corpse of +Belisarius!" + +"Give orders for the Tiburtinian Gate to be opened," persisted Bessas. +"Your Isaurians are there. Who sent them?" + +"I," answered Cethegus reflectively. + +"They will not open without your orders. Save at least the corpse of +our noble commander!" + +Cethegus lingered--he held his hand half raised--he hesitated. + +"I would gladly save his _corpse_!" he thought. + +Just then Syphax rushed up to him, and whispered: + +"No, he still lives! I saw him from the ramparts. He moves; but he will +be taken prisoner directly. The Gothic horsemen are close upon him. +Totila and Teja will be up with him immediately!" + +"Give the order; let the Tiburtinian Gate be opened," insisted Bessas. + +But the Prefect's eyes flashed; over his countenance spread an +expression of proud and bold decision, and illumined it with demoniac +beauty. He struck his sword against the shattered wing of the gate +before him and cried: + +"Sally! First Rome; then Belisarius! Rome and triumph!" + +The gate flew open. The storming Goths, already sure of victory, had +expected anything rather than such a bold attack from the Byzantines, +whom they believed to be completely cowed. They were crowded about the +gate without order. They were completely taken by surprise, and were +soon pushed into the yawning ditch behind them by the sudden and +irresistible attack. + +Old Hildebrand would not leave his battering-ram. Raising himself to +his full height, he shattered Gregorius's tall helmet with his +stone-axe. But almost at the same moment Lucius Licinius pushed him +into the trench with the spike of his shield. Cethegus cut the ropes +which held the battering-ram, and it fell crashing down over the old +man. + +"Now fire all the wooden machines!" cried Cethegus. + +Quickly the flames caught the beams. + +The victorious Romans immediately retired within the walls. + +But then Syphax, meeting the Prefect, cried: + +"Mutiny, master! Mutiny and rebellion! The Byzantines will no longer +obey you! Bessas calls upon them to open the Tiburtinian Gate by force. +His body-guard threaten to attack Marcus Licinius, and the Huns to +slaughter your legionaries and Isaurians!" + +"They shall repent it!" cried Cethegus furiously. "Woe to Bessas! I +will remember this! Up, Lucius Licinius! take half the remaining +Isaurians. No take them all--_all_! You know where they stand. Attack +the body-guard of the Thracian from behind, and if they will not yield, +strike them down without mercy. Help your brother! I will follow +immediately." + +Lucius Licinius lingered. + +"And the Tiburtinian Gate?" + +"Must remain closed." + +"And Belisarius?" + +"Must remain outside." + +"Teja and Totila have almost reached him!" + +"So much the less dare we open! First Rome; then the rest! Obey, +tribune!" + +Cethegus remained behind to order the reparation of the damaged gate. +It took a considerable time. + +"How was it, Syphax!" he asked his slave. "Was he really alive?" + +"He still lives." + +"How stupid these Goths are!" + +A messenger arrived from Lucius. + +"Your tribune sends word that Bessas will not yield. The blood of your +legionaries has already been shed at the Tiburtinian Gate. And Asgares +and the Isaurians hesitate to strike; they doubt that you are in +earnest." + +"I will show them that I am in earnest!" cried Cethegus, as he mounted +his horse and galloped away like the wind. + +He had to go a long way. Over the bridge of the Janiculum, past the +Capitol, across the Forum Romanum, through the Via Sacra and the Arch +of Titus, leaving the Baths of Titus to the right; out over the +Esquiline Hill, and, lastly, through the Esquiline Gate to the outer +Tiburtinian Gate--a distance which extended from the extreme western to +the extreme eastern limit of the immense city. + +When he reached the gate, he found the bodyguard of Bessas and +Belisarius showing a double front. + +One line prepared to overpower the legionaries and Isaurians under +Marcus Licinius at the gate, and to open the latter by force; while the +second line stood opposed to the rest of the Isaurians, to whom Lucius +gave the order to advance in vain. + +"Mercenaries!" cried Cethegus, checking his foaming horse close before +them; "to whom have you sworn obedience--to me or to Belisarius?" + +"To you, general," said Asgares, the leader, stepping forward; "but I +thought----" + +The sword of the Prefect flashed; and, struck to the heart, the man +fell. + +"Your duty is to obey, stupid rascal, and not to think!" + +The Isaurians were horrified. + +But Cethegus quickly gave the word of command. + +"Lower your spears! Follow me! Charge!" + +And the Isaurians now obeyed him. Another moment, and a fight would +have commenced in the city itself. + +But just then, from the west, in the direction of the Aurelian Gate, +was heard a terrible, all-overpowering cry. + +"Woe! woe! all is lost! The Goths are upon us! The city is taken!" + +Cethegus turned pale, and looked behind him. + +Kallistratos galloped up, blood flowing from his face and neck. + +"Cethegus," he cried, "all is over! The barbarians are in Rome! The +wall is forced!" + +"Where?" asked the Prefect, in a hollow voice. + +"At the Mausoleum!" + +"Oh, my general!" cried Lucius, "I warned you!" + +"That is Witichis!" said Cethegus, closing his eyes as if in pain. + +"How do you know it?" asked Kallistratos, astonished. + +"Enough! I do know it." + +It was a fearful moment for the Prefect. He was obliged to confess to +himself that, recklessly following his plan for the ruin of Belisarius, +he had for a short period neglected Rome. + +He ground his teeth. + +"Cethegus has exposed the Mausoleum! Cethegus has ruined Rome!" cried +Bessas, at the head of the body-guard. + +"And Cethegus will save Rome!" cried the Prefect, raising himself in +his saddle. "Follow me, Isaurians and legionaries!" + +"And Belisarius?" whispered Syphax. + +"He may enter. First Rome; then the rest! Follow me!" + +And Cethegus galloped off the same way that he had come. + +Only a few mounted men could keep up with him; his foot-soldiers and +Isaurians followed at a run. + + + + CHAPTER XII. + +At the same time a pause ensued before the Tiburtinian Gate. + +A messenger had recalled the Gothic horsemen from the useless fight. + +They were to send all the men they could dispose of as fast as possible +round the city to the Aurelian Gate, through which their comrades had +just entered the city; there the greatest available force was +necessary. + +The horsemen, turning to the left, galloped towards the gate which had +now become the centre of the struggle; but their own foot-soldiers, +storming the five gates which lay between--the Porta Clausa, the +Nomentanian, Salarian, Pincian, and Flaminian Gates--blocked their +progress so long, that they arrived too late for the result of the +attack upon the Mausoleum. + +We recollect the position of this favourite resort of the Prefect. +Opposite the Vatican Hill, at about a stone's throw from the Aurelian +Gate, with which it was connected by side walls, and protected +everywhere, except on the south, where ran the river, by new +fortifications, towered the "Moles Hadriani," an immense round tower of +the firmest masonry. + +A sort of court surrounded the principal building. On the south, before +the first and outer wall of defence, flowed the Tiber. The ramparts of +this outer wall, and the court and battlements of the inner wall, were +usually occupied by the Isaurians, whom, in an evil hour, the Prefect +had withdrawn in order to carry out his plot against Belisarius. + +On the parapet of the inner wall stood the numerous statues of marble +and bronze, which had been raised to the number of three hundred by the +gift of Kallistratos. + +The King of the Goths had chosen for himself a position far back in the +middle of the wide semicircle which his army had drawn around the city +to the west. He had stationed himself upon the "field of Nero," on the +right bank of the Tiber, between the Pancratian (old Aurelian) and the +(new) Aurelian Gates, a post usually occupied by Earl Markja, of +Mediolanum. + +Witichis founded his plan upon the fact that the general storming of +all the gates would necessarily disperse the forces of the besieged; +and as soon as some part of the ramparts should be more than usually +exposed by the withdrawal of its defenders, he intended to make use of +the circumstance, and attack at that point. + +With this view, he had quietly remained immovable far behind the +storming columns. + +He had given orders to his leaders to call him at once should a gap in +the line of defence be observed. + +He had waited long--very long. + +He had had to bear many a word of impatience from his troops, who were +forced to remain idle while their comrades were advancing on all sides. +Long, long they waited for a messenger to call them into action. + +At last the King himself was the first to notice that the well-known +flags and the thickly-crowded spears of the Isaurians had disappeared +from the outer wall of the Mausoleum. + +He observed the place attentively. The Isaurians could not have been +relieved, for the gaps were not filled up. + +Then he sprang from his saddle, gave his horse a stroke with the flat +of his hand, and cried, "Home, Boreas!" + +The clever animal galloped straight back to the camp. + +"Now forward, my Goths! forward, Earl Markja!" cried the King. "Over +the river there! Leave the wall-breakers behind: take only shields and +storming-ladders, and the axes. Forward!" + +And at a run he reached the steep bank at the southern bend of the +river, and descended the hill. + +"No bridge. King, and no ford!" asked a Goth behind him. + +"No, friend Iffamer; we must swim!" + +And the King sprang into the dirty yellow water, which splashed, +hissing, high above his helmet. + +In a few moments he had reached the opposite bank, the foremost of his +people with him. + +Soon they stood close before the lofty outer wall of the Mausoleum, and +the warriors looked up inquiringly and anxiously. + +"Bring the ladders!" cried Witichis. "Do you not see? There are no +defenders! Are you afraid of mere stones?" + +The ladders were quickly raised, and the outer wall scaled. The few +soldiers who had remained to defend this wall were overcome, the +ladders drawn up and let down on the inner side. + +The King was the first in the court. + +There, it is true, the progress of the Goths was for a time arrested. + +For Quintus Piso and Kallistratos stood on the ramparts of the inner +wall, with a hundred legionaries and a few Isaurians. They had hastened +thither from the Pancratian Gate. They hurled a thick hail of spears +and arrows at the Goths as they descended singly into the court. Their +catapults were also not without effect. + +"Send for assistance to Cethegus!" cried Piso, on the wall; and +Kallistratos immediately rushed away. + +Below in the court the Goths fell right and left at the side of +Witichis. + +"What shall we do?" asked Markja. + +"Wait until they have exhausted their projectiles. It cannot last much +longer. They shoot and hurl too hastily in their fright. Do you see? +Already more stones are flying than arrows, and there are no more +spears." + +"But their balistas?" + +"They will presently be able to hurt us no longer. Prepare to storm! +See, the hail is much thinner; now be ready with the ladders and axes. +Follow me quickly!" + +And the Goths ran at a quick step across the court. Very few fell. The +greater part reached the second and inner wall in safety, and a hundred +ladders were raised. + +And now all Procopius's balistas and machines were useless; for being +directed for a wide range, they could not be placed in a perpendicular +direction without great trouble and loss of time. + +Piso observed this, and turned pale. + +"Spears! spears! or all is lost!" + +"They are all cast away," panted fat Balbus, who stood near him, with a +look of despair. + +"Then all is lost!" sighed Piso, letting fall his wearied arms. + +"Come, Massurius, let us save ourselves," cried Balbus. + +"No, let us stand and die," cried Piso. + +Over the edge of the wall appeared the first Gothic helmet. + +All at once a cry was heard upon the steps leading on to the wall +citywards. + +"Cethegus! Cethegus the Prefect!" + +And he it was. He sprang upon the ramparts, and attacking the Goth, who +had just laid his hand upon the breastwork before swinging himself +over, he cut off hand and arm. The man screamed and fell. + +"Oh, Cethegus!" cried Piso; "you come in the very nick of time!" + +"I hope so," said Cethegus, and overturned the ladder which was raised +against the wall just in front of him. + +Witichis had mounted it--he sprang down with agility. + +"But I must have projectiles; spears, lances! else we can do nothing!" +cried Cethegus. + +"There is nothing left," answered Balbus; "we hoped that you would come +with your Isaurians." + +"They are still far, far behind me!" cried Kallistratos, who was the +first to arrive after Cethegus. + +And the number of ladders and the rising helmets increased. Ruin was +imminent. Cethegus looked wildly round. + +"Projectiles," he cried, stamping his foot; "we must have them!" + +At that moment his eye fell upon a gigantic marble statue of Jupiter, +which stood upon the ramparts to his left hand. A thought flashed +across him. He sprang up, and with his axe struck off the right arm of +the statue, together with the thunderbolt it held. + +"Jupiter!" he cried, "lend me thy lightnings! Why dost thou hold them +so idly? Up, my men! shatter the statues and hurl them at the enemy!" + +Before he could finish his sentence, his example was followed. + +The hard-pressed defenders fell upon the gods and heroes with hammers +and axes, and in a moment the lovely forms were shattered. + +It was a frightful sight. There lay a grand Hadrian, an equestrian +statue, man and horse split in two; there a laughing Aphrodite fell +upon its knees; there the beautiful head of an Antinous fell from the +trunk, and hurled by two hands, fell crashing upon a Gothic shield of +buffalo-hide. And far and wide upon the ramparts fell fragments and +pieces of marble and bronze, of iron and gold. + +Down from the ramparts, thundering and crashing, fell the mighty weight +of metal and stone, and shattered the helms and shields, the armour and +limbs of the attacking Goths, and the ladders which bore them. + +Cethegus looked with horror at the work of destruction which his words +had called into action. + +But it had saved them. + +Twelve, fifteen, twenty ladders stood empty, although a moment before +they had swarmed with men like ants; just as many lay broken at the +foot of the wall. + +Surprised by this unexpected hail of bronze and marble, the Goths fell +back for a space. + +But presently Markja's horn called them to the attack. And again the +tons of marble thundered through the air. + +"Unhappy man, what have you done?" cried Kallistratos, full of grief, +and staring at the ruin. + +"What was necessary!" cried Cethegus, and hurled the trunk of the +Jupiter-statue over the wall. "Did you see it strike? two barbarians at +one blow." And he looked down with great content. + +At that moment he heard the Corinthian cry: + +"No, no; not this one. Not the Apollo!" + +Cethegus turned and saw a gigantic Isaurian raising his axe over the +head of the statue. + +"Fool, shall the Goths come up?" asked the mercenary, and raised his +arm again. + +"Not my Apollo!" repeated the Greek, and embraced the statue with both +arms, protecting it with his body. + +Earl Markja saw this movement from his stand upon the nearest ladder, +and believing that Kallistratos was about to hurl the statue at him, he +cast his spear and hit the Greek in the breast. + +"Ah--Cethegus!" gasped Kallistratos--and fell dead. + +The Prefect saw him fall, and contracted his brows. + +"Save the corpse, and spare his two gods!" he said briefly, and +overthrew the ladder upon which Markja was standing; more he could +neither say nor do, for already a new and more imminent danger +attracted his attention. + +Witichis, half thrown, half springing from his ladder, had remained +standing close under the wall, amidst a hail of stone and metal, +seeking for new means of attack. + +For, since the first trial with the storming-ladders had been rendered +futile by the unexpected and novel projectiles, he had scarcely any +hope left of winning the wall. + +While he was thus looking and waiting, the heavy marble pedestal of a +"Mars Gradivus" fell close to his feet, rebounded and struck one of the +slabs of the wall. And this slab, which seemed to be made of the +hardest stone, broke into little pieces of lime and mortar. + +In its place was revealed a small wooden door, which, loosely covered +and concealed by the mortar, was used by the masons and workpeople as a +means of exit and entrance when obliged to repair the immense edifice. + +Witichis had scarcely caught sight of this wooden door, than he cried +out exultingly: + +"Here, Goths, here! Bring axes!" and he himself dealt a blow at the +thin boards, which seemed anything but strong. + +The new and singular sound struck the ear of the Prefect; he paused in +his bloody work and listened. + +"That is iron against wood, by Cæsar!" he said to himself, and sprang +down the narrow stairway, which led on the inner side of the wall into +the faintly illuminated interior of the Mausoleum. + +There he heard a louder stroke than all which had preceded it; a dull +crash; a sharp sound of splintered wood; and then an exultant cry from +the Goths. + +As he reached the last step of the stair, the door fell crashing +inwards, and King Witichis was visible upon the threshold. + +"Rome is mine!" cried Witichis, letting his axe fall and drawing his +sword. + +"You lie, Witichis! for the first time in your life!" cried Cethegus +furiously, and, springing forward, he pressed the strong spike of his +shield so firmly against the breastplate of the Goth, that the latter, +surprised, fell back a step. + +The Prefect took advantage of the movement and placed himself upon the +threshold, completely blocking up the doorway. + +"Where are my Isaurians!" he shouted. But the next moment Witichis had +recognised him. "So we meet at last in single combat for Rome!" cried +the King. + +And now it was his turn to attack. Cethegus, who wished to close the +passage, covered his left side with his shield; his right hand, armed +only with a short sword, was insufficient for the protection of his +right side. + +The thrust of Witichis's long sword, weakly parried by Cethegus, cut +through the latter's coat of mail and entered deeply into his right +breast. + +Cethegus staggered; he bent forward; but he did not fall. + +"Rome! Rome!" he cried faintly; and convulsively kept himself upright. + +Witichis had fallen back to gain space for a final thrust. + +But at that moment he was recognised by Piso on the wall, who hurled a +splendid sleeping Faun which lay near him down upon the King. It struck +the King's shoulder, and he fell. + +Earl Markja, Iffamer and Aligern bore him out of the fight. + +Cethegus saw him fall, and then himself sank down upon the threshold of +the door; the protecting arms of a friend received him--but he could +recognise nothing; his senses failed him. + +He was presently recalled to consciousness by a well-known sound, which +rejoiced his soul; it was the tones of the tubas of his legionaries and +the battle-cry of his Isaurians, who had at last arrived, and, led by +the Licinii, fell upon the Goths, who were disheartened by the fall of +their King. + +The Isaurians, after a bloody fight, had issued through a breach in the +outer wall (which had been broken outwards by the Goths who were +inside). + +The Prefect saw the last of the barbarians fly; then his eyes closed +once more. + +"Cethegus!" cried the friend who held him in his arms, "Belisarius is +dying; and you, you too are lost!" + +Cethegus recognised the voice of Procopius. + +"I do not know," he said with a last effort, "but Rome--Rome is saved!" + +And his senses completely forsook him. + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + +After the terrible exertion of strength in the general attack and its +repulse, which had begun with the dawn of day, and had only ended at +its close, a long pause of exhaustion ensued on the part of both Goths +and Romans. The three commanders, Belisarius, Cethegus, and Witichis, +lay for weeks recovering from their wounds. + +But the actual armistice was more the effect of the deep discouragement +and oppression which had come over the Gothic army when, after striving +for victory to the uttermost, it had been wrested from them at the +moment of seeming success. + +All day they had done their best; their heroes had outvied each other +in deeds of valour; and yet both their plans, that against Belisarius +and that against the city, were wrecked in the consummation. + +And although King Witichis, with his constant mind, did not share in +the depression of his troops, he all the more clearly discerned that, +after that bloody day, he would be obliged to change the whole plan of +the siege. + +The loss of the Goths was enormous; Procopius valued it at thirty +thousand dead and more than as many wounded. On every side of the city +they had exposed themselves, with utter contempt of death, to the +projectiles of the besieged, and had fallen by thousands at the +Pancratian Gate and before the Mausoleum of Hadrian. + +And as, on the sixty-eight earlier attacks, the besiegers had always +suffered much more than the besieged, sheltered as were these last +behind walls and towers, the great army which, a few months before, +Witichis had led against the Eternal City had been fearfully reduced. + +Besides all this, hunger and pestilence had raged in their tents for a +considerable period. + +In consequence of this discouragement and the decimation of his troops, +Witichis was obliged to renounce the idea of taking the city by storm, +and his last hope--he did not conceal from himself its weakness--lay in +the possibility that famine would force the enemy to capitulate. + +The country round Rome was completely exhausted, and all seemed now to +depend upon which party would be longest able to bear privation, or +which could first procure provisions from a distance. + +The Goths felt severely the loss of their fleet, which had been damaged +on the coast of Dalmatia. + +The first to recover from his wounds was the Prefect. + +When carried away insensible from the door which he had closed with his +body, he had lain for a day and a half in a state which was half sleep, +half swoon. + +When, on the evening of the second day, he again opened his eyes, his +first glance fell upon the faithful Moor, who was crouched at the foot +of the bed, and who had never ceased to watch him. The snake was twined +round his arm. + +"The wooden door!" was the first scarcely audible word of the Prefect. +"The wooden door must be replaced by--marble blocks----" + +"Thanks, thanks, O Snake-god!" cried the slave; "now he is saved and +thou too! And I, my master, have saved you." And he threw himself upon +the ground and kissed his master's bedstead; his feet he did not dare +to kiss. + +"You have saved me? how?" + +"When I laid you, as pale as death, upon this bed, I fetched my +Snake-god and showed you to him; and I said, 'Thou seest, O Snake-god, +that my master's eyes are closed. Make them open. Until thou dost so, +thou shalt not receive one drop of milk or crumb of bread. And if he +never open his eyes again--then, on the day when they burn his corpse, +Syphax will burn by his side, and thou, O great Snake-god, also. Thou +hast the power to heal him, then do so--or burn!' Thus I spoke, and he +has healed you." + +"The city is safe--I feel it. Else I had never slept! Is Belisarius +alive? Where is Procopius?" + +"In the library with your tribunes. According to the physician's +sentence, they expected to-day either your recovery, or your----" + +"Death? This time your god has saved me, Syphax.--Let the tribunes +enter." + +Very soon Piso, the Licinii, Salvius Julianus, and some others stood +before the Prefect; they would have hurried up to his couch with +emotion, but he signed to them to compose themselves. + +"Rome, through me, thanks you! You have fought like--like Romans! I can +say nothing more, or more flattering." + +He looked at the row of men before him reflectively, and then said: + +"One is missing--ah, my Corinthian! His corpse is saved, for I +recommended it, and the two statues, to Piso. Let a slab of black +Corinthian marble be placed upon the spot where he fell; set the statue +of Apollo above the urn, and inscribe on the latter, 'Here died, for +Rome, Kallistratos of Corinth; he saved the god, and not the god him.' +Now go. We shall soon meet again upon the walls.--Syphax, send +Procopius to me. And bring a large cup of Falernian.--Friend," he cried +to Procopius as the latter entered, "it seems to me as if, before I +fell into this feverish sleep, I had heard some one whisper, 'Procopius +has saved the great Belisarius!' A deed which will give you +immortality. Posterity will thank you--therefore I need not. Sit by my +side and tell me all. But wait--first arrange my cushions, so that I +may see my Cæsar. The sight of that statue strengthens me more than +medicine. Now speak." + +Procopius looked sharply at the sick man. + +"Cethegus," he then said, in a grave voice, "Belisarius knows +everything." + +"Everything?" said the Prefect with a smile. "That is much." + +"Cease your mockery, and do not refuse admiration to nobleness of mind, +you, who yourself are noble!" + +"I? I know nothing of it." + +"As soon as Belisarius recovered his senses," continued Procopius, +"Bessas naturally informed him of all that had passed. He described to +him minutely how you had ordered the Tiburtinian Gate to be kept +closed, when Belisarius lay outside in his blood, with Teja raging at +his heels. He told him that you commanded that his body-guard should be +beaten down if they attempted to open the gate by force. He repeated +your every word, also your cry: 'Rome first, then Belisarius!' And he +demanded your head in the Council. I trembled; but Belisarius said: 'He +did right! Here, Procopius, take him my sword, and the armour which I +wore that day, as a sign that I thank him.' And in the report to the +Emperor he dictated these words to me: 'Cethegus saved Rome, and +Cethegus alone! Send him the patricianship of Byzantium.'" + +"Many thanks! I did not save Rome for Byzantium!" observed Cethegus. + +"You need not tell Belisarius that, you un-Attic Roman!" + +"I am in no Attic humour, you life-preserver! What was your reward?" + +"Peace. He knows nothing of it, and shall never learn it." + +"Syphax, wine! I cannot bear so much magnanimity. It makes me weak. +Well, what was the joke with the ambush?" + +"Friend, it was no joke, but as terrible earnest as I have ever seen. +Belisarius was saved by a hair's-breadth." + +"Yes; it was one of those hairs which are always in the way of these +Goths! They are clumsy fools, one and all!" + +"You speak as if you were sorry that Belisarius was not killed!" + +"It would have served him right. I had warned him thrice. He ought by +this time to know what becomes an old general and what a young +brawler." + +"Listen," said Procopius, looking at him earnestly. "You have won the +right to speak thus at the Mausoleum. Formerly, when you depreciated +this man's heroism----" + +"You thought I spoke in envy of the brave Belisarius? Hear it, ye +immortal gods!" + +"Yes; certainly your Gepidian laurels----" + +"Leave those boyish deeds alone! Friend, if necessary, a man must +despise death, but else he must cherish his life carefully. For only +the living laugh and rule, not the dumb dead. This is my wisdom, call +it cowardice if you will. Therefore--there was an ambush. Tell me +briefly, how went the fight!" + +"Briskly enough! After we had scoured the neighbourhood--it seemed free +from enemies and safe for foraging--we gradually turned our horses' +heads in the direction of the city, taking with us a few goats and +half-starved sheep which we had found. Belisarius went foremost with +young Severinus, Johannes, and myself. Suddenly, as we issued from the +village _ad aras Bacchi_, there came galloping out of the trees on +either side the Valerian Way a number of Gothic horsemen. I saw at once +that they far outnumbered us, and advised that we should try to rush +between them straight on the road to Rome. But Belisarius thought that +though they were many, they were not too many, so he turned to the left +to meet and break through one of their lines. But we were ill received. +The Goths fought and rode better than our Mauretanian horsemen, and +their leaders, Totila and Hildebad--I recognised the first by his +flowing yellow locks, and the last by his enormous height--made +straight at Belisarius. 'Where is Belisarius and his courage?' shouted +tall Hildebad, audible through all the clash of arms. 'Here!' at once +replied Belisarius, and before we could prevent him, he faced the +giant. The latter lost no time, but struck the general's helmet so +furiously with his heavy battle-axe, that the golden crest, with its +plume of white horse-hair, fell to the earth, and the head of +Belisarius was bowed to the saddle-bow. The giant immediately aimed a +second and fatal blow, but young Severinus came up and received the +stroke upon his round shield. The barbarian's axe pierced the shield, +and entered deeply into the noble youth's neck. He fell----" + +Procopius paused, lost in painful thought. + +"Dead?" asked Cethegus quietly. + +"An old freedman of his father, who accompanied him, bore him out of +the fight, but I hear that he died before they could reach the +village." + +"A noble death!" said Cethegus. "Syphax, a cup of wine." + +"Meanwhile," continued Procopius, "Belisarius had recovered himself, +and now, thoroughly enraged, struck his spear full at Hildebad's +breast-plate, hurling him from his horse. We shouted with joy, but +young Totila----" + +"Well?" + +"Had scarcely seen his brother fall, than he broke furiously through +the lances of the body-guard, and attacked Belisarius. Aigan, the +standard-bearer, would have protected Belisarius, but the Goth's sword +pierced his left arm. Totila caught the banner from his powerless hand, +and threw it to the nearest Goth. Belisarius uttered a cry of rage and +turned to meet his enemy; but young Totila is quick as lightning, and +before Belisarius knew what he was about, two swift strokes fell on the +latter's shoulders. He wavered in his saddle, and then sank slowly from +his horse, which fell dead the next moment, pierced by a spear. 'Yield, +Belisarius!' cried Totila. The general had just strength enough to +shake his head, and then sank insensible. I had quickly dismounted, and +now lifted him upon my own horse, and placed him under the care of +Johannes, who rallied his body-guard about him, and carried him quickly +out of the fight to the city." + +"And you?" + +"I fought on foot, and I succeeded, with the aid of our rear-guard, who +now came up--we had been obliged to sacrifice our forage--in resisting +Totila. But not for long. For now the second troop of Gothic horsemen +had arrived. Like a storm of wind, up rushed the black Teja, broke +through our right wing--which stood nearest to him--then through the +front rank, which faced Totila, and dispersed our whole array. I +counted the battle lost, caught a riderless horse, and galloped after +the general. But Teja also had observed the direction of his flight, +and galloped after us. He overtook the escort at the Fulvian Bridge. +Johannes and I had placed more than half of the rest of the body-guard +on the bridge, to defend the crossing, under Principius, the brave +Pisidian, and Tarmuth, the gigantic Isaurian. There, as I heard, all +the thirty men, and, lastly, their two faithful leaders, fell by Teja's +hand alone. There fell the flower of Belisarius's body-guard; amongst +them many of my best friends: Alamundarus, the Saracen; Artasines, the +Persian; Zanter, the Arminian, and many more. But their death bought +our safety. At the other side of the bridge we overtook the foot-soldiers +we had left behind, who now checked the enemy's horse until, late enough, +the Tiburtinian Gate was opened to the wounded general. Then, as soon as +we had sent him upon a litter to Antonina, I hastened to the Mausoleum +of Hadrian--where, I had heard, the Goths had entered the city--and found +you in danger of death." + +"And what has Belisarius now decided?" + +"His wounds are not so dangerous as yours, and yet they heal more +slowly. He has granted to the Goths the armistice which they desired, +in order to bury their numerous dead." + +Cethegus started up from his cushions. + +"He should have refused it; he should have suffered no useless delay of +the final result. I know these Gothic bulls; they have blunted their +horns; they are tired and done for. Now is the time to strike the blow +which I have long contemplated. Their giant bodies can ill bear the +heat outside in the glowing plains; less can they support hunger; still +less thirst--for the German must be drinking if he be not snoring or +fighting. It is now only necessary to intimidate yet more their prudent +King. Greet Belisarius from me, and my thanks for the sword is this +advice: Send Johannes, with eight thousand men, through Picenum towards +Ravenna; the Flaminian road is open, and will be but slightly defended, +for Witichis has collected here the garrisons of all the forts, and we +can now more easily win Ravenna than the barbarians can win Rome. And +as soon as the King hears that Ravenna, his last refuge, is in danger, +he will hurry thither to save it at any cost; he will take away his +army from these impregnable walls, and will become the persecuted +instead of the persecutor." + +"Cethegus," said Procopius, springing up, "you are a great general!" + +"Only by the way, Procopius! Now go, and take my homage to the great +victor, Belisarius." + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + +On the last day of the armistice, Cethegus was again able to appear +upon the walls of the Mausoleum, where his legionaries and Isaurians +greeted him with loud cheers. + +His first walk was to the monument of Kallistratos. He laid a wreath of +laurels and roses upon the black marble slab. + +While he was superintending the strengthening of the fortifications +from this point, Syphax brought him a letter from Mataswintha. + +The contents were laconic enough: + + +"Put an end to it. I cannot bear to see this misery any longer. The +sight of the interment of forty thousand of my countrymen has broken my +heart. The death-choruses all seem to accuse me. I shall succumb if +this continue. Famine rages fearfully in the camp. The army's last hope +is a large convoy of corn and cattle, which is on the way from South +Gaul. In the next calends it is expected off Portus. Act accordingly; +but make an end." + +"Triumph!" said the Prefect. "The siege is over. Hitherto our little +fleet lay idle at Populonium; but now it shall have work enough. This +Queen is the Erinnys of the barbarians." + +And he himself went to Belisarius, who received him with noble +generosity. + +The same night--the last of the armistice--Johannes marched out of the +Pincian Gate, and wheeled to the left, towards the Flaminian high-road. +Ravenna was his goal. + +And swift messengers sped by sea to Populonium, where a small Roman +squadron lay at anchor. + +The fight for the city, in spite of the expiration of the armistice, +was scarcely renewed. + +About a week after this the King, who was only now able to leave his +bed of pain, took his first walk through the lines of tents, +accompanied by his friends. + +Three of the seven camps, formerly crowded with soldiers, were +completely desolated and abandoned; and the other four were but +sparsely populated. + +Tired to death, without complaint, but also without hope, the famished +soldiers lay before their tents. + +No cheer, no greeting, rejoiced the ears of their brave King upon his +painful way; the warriors scarcely raised their tired eyes at the sound +of his approaching footsteps. + +From the interior of the tents sounded the loud groaning of the sick +and dying, who succumbed to wounds, hunger, and pestilence. Scarcely +could healthy men enough be found to occupy the most necessary posts. + +The sentries dragged their spears behind them, too weak to carry them +upright or to lay them across their shoulders. + +The leaders arrived at the outwork before the Aurelian Gate; in the +trench lay a young archer, chewing the bitter grass. + +Hildebad called to him: + +"By the hammer, Gunthamund! what is this? Thy bow-string has sprung; +why dost thou not bend another?" + +"I cannot, sir. The string broke yesterday as I shot my last shot; and +I and my three comrades have not strength enough to bend another." + +Hildebad gave him a drink from his gourd-bottle. + +"Didst thou shoot at a Roman?" + +"Oh no, sir!" said the man. "A rat was gnawing at that corpse down +there. I happily hit it, and we divided it between us." + +"Iffaswinth, where is thine uncle Iffamer?" asked the King. + +"Dead, sire. He fell behind you, as he was carrying you away from that +cursed marble tomb." + +"And thy father Iffamuth?" + +"Dead too. He could no longer bear the poisonous water from the +ditches. Thirst, King! burns more fiercely than hunger; and it will +never, never rain from these leaden skies." + +"Are you all from the Athesis valley?" + +"Yes, sire; from the Iffinger mountains. Oh! what delicious spring +water there is at home!" + +Teja observed another warrior at some distance drinking from his +helmet. His features grew darker and darker. + +"Hey, thou, Arulf!" he cried to the warrior; "thou seem'st to suffer +no thirst." + +"No; I often drink," said the man. + +"What dost thou drink?" + +"Blood from the wounds of the newly-fallen. At first it disgusts one +terribly; but in despair one gets used to it." + +Witichis passed on with a shudder. + +"Send all my wine into the camp, Hildebad; the sentries shall share +it." + +"All thy wine? O King! my office of cup-bearer has become very light. +There are but one and a half skins left; and Hildebrand, thy physician, +says that thou must strengthen thyself." + +"And who will strengthen _these_, Hildebad? They are reduced to the +state of wild animals!" + +"Come back to thy tent," said Totila; "it is not good to be here." And +he put his hand on the King's shoulder. + +Arrived at the tent, the friends seated themselves silently round the +beautiful marble table, upon which, in golden dishes, lay mouldy bread, +as hard as stone, and a few pieces of meat. + +"It was the last horse in the royal stables," said Hildebad, "except +Boreas." + +"Boreas must not be slaughtered. My wife, my child, have sat upon his +back." And Witichis rested his weary head upon both his hands. A sad +pause ensued. "Friends," the King at last began, "this cannot go on. +Our people perish before these walls. After a hard struggle, I have +come to a painful decision--" + +"Do not pronounce it yet, O King!" cried Hildebad. "In a few days Earl +Odoswinth, of Cremona, will arrive with the ships, and we shall +luxuriate in good things." + +"He is not yet here," said Teja. + +"And will not our heavy loss of men be replaced by fresh troops when +Earl Ulithis arrives from Urbinum with the garrisons which the King has +summoned from all the forts of Ravenna, in order to fill our empty +tents?" + +"Ulithis also is not yet here," said Teja. "He is said to be still in +Picenum; and if he happily arrive, then the greater will be the want." + +"But the Roman city hungers too," said Hildebad, breaking the hard +bread upon the table with his fist. "Let us see who can bear it the +longest!" + +"I have often wondered, during these heavy days and sleepless nights," +the King slowly said, "why--why all this must be. I have ever +conscientiously weighed right and wrong between our enemies and us, and +I can come to no other conclusion but that we have right on our side. +And, truly, we have never failed in strength and courage." + +"Thou least of all," said Totila. + +"And we have grudged no sacrifice," sighed the King. "And yet if, as we +all say, there is a God in heaven, just and good and almighty, why does +He permit this enormous and undeserved misery? Why must we succumb to +Byzantium?" + +"But we must not succumb!" cried Hildebad. "I have never speculated +much, about our Almighty God; but if He permits _that_ to happen, we +ought to storm heaven and overthrow His throne!" + +"Do not blaspheme, my brother," said Totila. "And thou, my noble King, +take courage and trust. Yes, a good God reigns above the stars; +therefore the just cause must win at last. Courage, my Witichis; hope +till the end." + +But the heart-broken man shook his head. + +"I confess that I have been able to find but _one_ way out of this +error; one way to get rid of this terrible doubt of God's justice. It +cannot be that we suffer guiltless. And as our nation's cause is, +without doubt, a just one, there must be hidden guilt in me, your King. +Repeatedly, so say our heathen songs, has a King sacrificed himself for +his people when defeat, pestilence, or scarcity had persecuted the +nation for years. Then the King took upon himself the hidden sin which +seemed to weigh upon his people, and atoned by his death, or by going +sceptreless into exile, an outlawed fugitive. Let me put off the crown +from my unfortunate head. Choose another King, with whom God is not +angry; choose Totila, or----" + +"Thou ravest still in the fever of thy wounds," interrupted the old +master-at-arms. "_Thou_ weighed down with guilt--thou, the most +faithful of all? No! I tell you, you children of too young days, who +have lost the old strength of your fathers with your fathers' old +belief, and now know of no comfort for your hearts--I tell you, your +distrustful speeches grieve me!" and his eyes flashed with a strange +radiance as he continued, "All that rejoices or pains us here upon +earth is scarcely worth our notice. Here below there is but one thing +necessary, and that is, to have been a true man, and no perjurer, and +to die on the battle-field, and not upon a straw bed. Then the Walkyri +bear the faithful hero from the bloody field, and carry him on rosy +clouds to Odin's halls, where the Einheriar greet him with full cups. +There he daily rides forth at dawn to the hunting-field or the +fencing-court, and at eve he returns to the banquet and the song in the +golden halls. And lovely virgins caress the youths, and the elders chat +about wise primeval times with the old primeval heroes. And there I +shall meet again all the valiant companions of my youth; bold Winithar +and Waltharis of Aquitania, and Guntharis of Burgundy. There I shall +again behold him for whom I have so longed. Sir Beowulf; and I shall +see the Cheruskians of ancient days, the first who ever beat the +Romans, and of whom the singer of the Saxons still sings. And again I +shall carry the shield and spear of my master, the King with the eagle +eyes. And thus we shall live for all eternity in light and joy, the +earth below and all its woes forgotten." + +"A fine poem, old heathen!" said Totila, with a smile. "But if all this +can no longer console us for actual and heart-rending suffering? Speak +thou also, Teja, thou gloomy guest. What is thy opinion of our sorrows? +Thy sword never fails us; why dost thou withhold thy words? What makes +thy comforting harp dumb, thou singer of singers?" + +"My words?" answered Teja, rising; "my words and my thoughts would be +perhaps harder to bear than all our suffering. Let me yet be silent, my +sun-bright Totila. Perhaps a day will come when I may answer thee. +Perhaps, also, I may once more play on my harp, if but a string will +vibrate." + +And he left the tent; for outside in the camp a confused and +inexplicable noise of calling and questioning voices arose. The friends +looked silently after Teja. + +"I guess his thoughts," at last said old Hildebrand, "for I have known +him from his boyhood. He is not as other men. And in the Northland +there are many who think like him, who do not believe in Thor and Odin, +but only in necessity and in their own strength. It is almost too heavy +a burden for a human heart to bear, and it makes no one happy to think +as he does. I wonder that he can sing and play the harp +notwithstanding." + +Just then Teja, returning, tore open the curtain of the tent; his face +was still paler than before; his dark eyes flashed; but his voice was +as quiet as ever as he said: + +"Break up the camp. King Witichis. Our ships have fallen into the +enemy's hands at Ostia. They have sent the head of Earl Odoswinth into +the camp. And upon the walls of Rome, before the very eyes of our +sentinels, they slaughter the cattle taken from the Goths. Large +reinforcements from Byzantium, under Valerian and Euthalius--Huns, +Slaves and Antians--have been brought into the Tiber by many ships. For +Johannes has marched through Picenum." + +"And Earl Ulithis?" + +"Has been killed and his troops beaten. Ancona and Ariminum are taken, +and----" + +"Is that not yet all?" cried the King. + +"No, Witichis. Johannes threatens Ravenna, He is only a few miles +distant from that city. And urgent haste is necessary." + + + + CHAPTER XV. + +The day after the arrival of this news, so fateful for the Goths, King +Witichis abandoned the siege of Rome and led his thoroughly +disheartened troops out of the four remaining camps. + +The siege had lasted a whole year and nine days. All courage and +strength, exertion and sacrifice, had been unavailing. + +Silently the Goths marched past the proud walls, against which their +power and good-fortune had been wrecked. Silently they suffered the +taunting words cast at them from the battlements by Romans and +Byzantines. + +They were too much absorbed by their grief and rage to feel hurt by +such mockery. But when the horsemen of Belisarius, issuing from the +Pincian Gate, would have pursued them, they were fiercely repulsed, for +Earl Teja led the Gothic rearguard. + +So the Gothic army, avoiding the strongholds occupied by the +enemy--Narnia, Spoletium and Perusia--marched with expedition from Rome +through Picenum to Ravenna, where they arrived in time to crush the +dangerous symptoms of rebellion among the population, some of whom, +upon hearing of the misfortunes of the barbarians, had already entered +into secret negotiations with Johannes. + +As the Goths approached the latter withdrew into the fortress of +Ariminum, his last important conquest. + +In Ancona lay Konon, the navarchus of Belisarius, with the Thracian +spearmen and many ships of war. + +The King, however, had not taken to Ravenna the whole of the army which +had besieged Rome, but had, during the march, left several regiments to +garrison the fortresses which he passed. + +One thousand men he had left under Gibimer in Clusium; another thousand +in Urbs Vetus, under Albila; five hundred men in Tudertum under +Wulfgis; in Auximum four thousand men under Earl Wisand, the brave +bandalarius; in Urbinum two thousand under Morra; and in Cæsena and +Monsferetrus five hundred. + +He sent Hildebrand to Verona, Totila to Tarvisium, and Teja to Ticinum, +for the north-eastern part of the peninsula was also endangered by +Byzantine troops, coming from Istria. + +In acting thus he had been also influenced by other reasons. He wished +first of all to check Belisarius on his march to Ravenna. Secondly, he +was afraid, in case of a siege, that if all his troops were with him, +they would speedily be exposed to the evils of starvation, and, lastly, +he wished to attack the besiegers in their rear from various sides. + +His plan was to occupy his stronghold of Ravenna, limiting himself to +defensive proceedings until the foreign troops which he expected, +Longobardians and Franks, should place him in a position to take the +open field. + +But his hope of checking Belisarius on his way to Ravenna was +disappointed, for the Byzantine contented himself with investing all +the Gothic fortresses with a portion of his army, marching on with the +main army to the capital city and last important refuge of the Goths. + +"If I have mortally wounded the heart," he said, "the clenched fists +will open of themselves." + +And so, very soon, the tents of the Byzantines were seen stretching in +a wide semicircle round the royal residence of Theodoric, from the +harbour-town of Classis to the canals and branches of the Padus, which, +particularly to the west, formed a natural line of defence. + +The old aristocratic city had indeed, even at that time, lost much of +the glory in which it had rejoiced for nearly two centuries as the +residence of the Roman emperors; and the last rays which the splendid +reign of Theodoric had shed over it, were extinguished since the +breaking out of the war. + +But even thus, what a different impression must the still +thickly-populated city--similar to the present Venice--have made at +that period, in comparison with its aspect at present; when the +interior of the city, with its silent streets, its deserted squares and +its lonely basilicas, appears to the beholder no less melancholy than +the plain outside the walls, where the desolate and marshy levels of +the Padus stretch far away, until they are lost in the mud of the +receding sea. + +Where once the harbour-town of Classis was filled with active life on +land and sea; where the proud triremes of the royal fleet of Ravenna +rocked on the blue waters, now lie swampy meadows, in whose tall reeds +and grass the wild buffalo feeds; the streets foul with stagnant water; +the harbour choked with sand; the once joyous population vanished; only +one gigantic tower of the time of the Goths still stands near the sole +remaining Basilica, of Saint Apollonaris in _Classe fuori_, which, +commenced by Witichis and completed by Justinian, now rises sadly out +of the marshy plain, far from any human abode. + +In the time of which our story speaks the strong fortress was +considered impregnable, and for that reason the emperors, when their +power began to decay, had chosen it for their residence. + +The south-eastern side was at that time protected by the sea, which +rolled its waves to the very foot of the walls, and on the other three +sides nature and art had spun a labyrinthine network of canals, +ditches, and swamps, begotten by the many-armed Padus, among which all +besiegers were hopelessly entangled. + +And the walls! Even yet their mighty ruins fill the traveller with +amazement. Their colossal width, and less their height than the number +of strong round towers, which even now (1863) rise above the +battlements, defied, before the invention of gunpowder, every means of +attack. + +It was only by starving the city that, after a resistance of nearly +four years, the great Theodoric won this, Odoacer's last place of +refuge. + +In vain had Belisarius attempted to take the city by storm, as soon as +he had reached the walls. + +His attack was bravely repulsed, and he was obliged to content himself +with closely investing the fortress, in order by cutting off all +supplies, as had formerly been done by Theodoric, to force that city to +capitulate. + +But Witichis was able to look upon this proceeding with composure, for, +with the prudence which was peculiar to him, he had, before marching to +Rome, heaped up provisions of all kinds, principally corn, in +extraordinary quantities. He had stored them in granaries built of wood +and erected within the walls of the immense marble Circus of +Theodosius. These extensive wooden edifices, situated exactly opposite +to the palace and the Basilica of Saint Apollonaris, were the pride, +joy, and comfort of the King. + +It had been impossible to convey much of the provisions to the army +before Rome, and with reasonable economy these magazines would without +doubt suffice for the wants of the population and the no longer +formidable army for another two or three months. + +By that time the Goths expected the arrival of an allied army, in +consequence of the newly-opened negotiations with the Franks. On its +arrival the siege would necessarily be raised. + +But Belisarius and Cethegus knew or guessed this as well as Witichis, +and they indefatigably sought on all sides for some means of hastening +the fall of the city. + +The Prefect, of course, tried to make use of his secret relations with +the Queen for the furtherance of this end. But, on the one hand, +communication with Mataswintha had become very difficult, for the Goths +carefully guarded all the entrances to the city; and, on the other +hand, Mataswintha herself seemed greatly changed, and no longer so +ready and willing as before to allow herself to be used as a tool. + +She had expected the speedy destruction or humiliation of the King. The +long delay wearied her, and, at the same time, the immense suffering of +her people had begun to shake her resolution. Lastly, the sad change in +the manner of the usually strong and healthy King, the resigned but +profound grief which he evidently felt, touched her heart. + +Although she accused him, with all the injustice of pain and the bitter +pride of insulted love, of having rejected her heart and yet forced her +to give him her hand; although she believed that she hated him with all +the passion of her nature, and did indeed in some sort hate him, yet +this hatred was only love reversed. + +And now, when she saw him humbled by the terrible misfortunes of the +Gothic army and the failure of all his plans--to which failure she had +so greatly contributed by her own treason--so humbled, that his mind +had begun to be affected by sickly melancholy, and he tormented himself +with reproaches; the sight powerfully affected her impulsive nature, +strangely compounded as it was of the contradictory elements of +tenderness and harshness. + +In the first moment of angry grief, she would have seen his blood flow +with delight. But to see him slowly devoured by self-reproach and +gnawing pain that she could not endure. + +This softer feeling on her part had, besides, been greatly brought +about by her having noticed, since their arrival in Ravenna, a change +in the King's behaviour towards herself. + +She thought that she observed in him traces of remorse for having so +forcibly encroached upon her life, and she involuntarily softened her +harsh and blunt manner to him during their rare interviews, which +always took place in the presence of witnesses. + +Witichis considered the change as a sign that a step had been taken +towards reconciliation, and silently acknowledged and rewarded it, on +his part, by a more friendly manner. + +All this was sufficient to induce Mataswintha, with her emotional +nature, to repulse the overtures of the Prefect, even when they +sometimes reached her by means of the clever Moor. + +Now the Prefect had already learned from Syphax during the march to +Ravenna, that which was known later by other means, namely, that the +Goths expected assistance from the Franks. + +He had therefore forthwith renewed his old and intimate relations +with the aristocrats and great men who ruled in the name of the +mock Kings of the Merovingians in the courts of Mettis (Metz), +Aurelianum (Orleans) and Suessianum (Soissons), in order to induce the +Franks--whose perfidy, even then become a proverb, gave good hope that +his efforts would be successful--to renounce the Gothic alliance. + +And when the affair had been properly introduced by these friends, he +himself wrote to King Theudebald, who held his court in Mettis, +impressively warning him of the risk he would run if he supported such +a ruined cause as that of the Goths had undeniably become since their +ill-success in the siege of Rome. + +This letter had been accompanied by rich gifts to his old friend, the +Major Domus of the weak-minded King, and the Prefect impatiently +waited, day by day, for the reply; the more impatiently because the +altered demeanour of Mataswintha had cut off all the hopes he had +entertained of effecting a more speedy conquest of the Goths. + +The answer came--at the same time with an imperial letter from +Byzantium--on a day which was equally pregnant with the fate of the +heroes both in and out of Ravenna. + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + +Hildebad, impatient at the long pause of idleness, had, one day at +dawn, made a sudden sally upon the Byzantines from the Porta Faventina, +which was under his special command. He had at first won great +advantages, had burnt a portion of the enemies' implements of siege, +and had spread terror all around. + +He would, without doubt, have done still more mischief had not +Belisarius, hurrying up, displayed at once all his heroism and +generalship. + +Without helmet or armour, just as he had hurried from his tent, he had +first checked his own flying outposts, and had then thrown himself upon +the Gothic pursuers, and by the utmost personal exertion had brought +the fight to a standstill. + +Afterwards he had man[oe]uvred his two flanks so cleverly, that +Hildebad's retreat was greatly endangered, and the Goths were obliged +to retreat speedily into the city. + +Cethegus, who lay encamped before the Porta Honorius with his +Isaurians, had found, on hastening to the assistance of Belisarius, +that the fight was already over. He could not, therefore, avoid paying +a visit to the commander-in-chief in his tent, in order to express his +admiration of the heroes conduct, both as a general and a soldier; +praise which was greedily listened to by Antonina. + +"Really, Belisarius," concluded the Prefect, "Emperor Justinian can +never requite your valour sufficiently." + +"There you speak truly," answered Belisarius haughtily; "he can only +requite me by his friendship. The mere honour of bearing his marshal's +staff would never have induced me to do that which I have already +done, and shall yet accomplish. I do it only because I really love him. +With all his failings, he is a great man. If he could but learn one +thing--to trust me! But patience--he will learn it in time." + +Just then Procopius entered, bringing a letter for Belisarius, which +had been delivered by an imperial messenger. + +With a countenance beaming with delight, Belisarius, forgetting his +fatigue, sprang from his cushions, kissed the letter, and with his +dagger cut the purple cord which tied it. He unfolded the paper with +the words: + +"From my Emperor himself! Ah, now he will send me the gold and the rest +of the body-guard!" + +And he began to read. + +Antonina, Procopius, and Cethegus observed him attentively. His +features grew darker and darker; his broad chest began to heave; both +the hands with which he held the letter trembled. + +Antonina anxiously approached him, but before she could question him, +Belisarius uttered a low cry of rage, cast the letter on the ground, +and rushed madly out of the tent. His wife followed him. + +"Antonina alone dare now approach him," said Procopius, as he picked up +the letter. "Let us see; no doubt it is another piece of imperial +gratitude." And he glanced over the letter. "The commencement is, as +usual, mere phrases. Ah, now comes something better: 'Notwithstanding, +we cannot deny that we expected, according to your own former boasts, +a more speedy termination to the war against these barbarians; +and we believe that, with greater exertion, this would not have +been impossible. For this reason we cannot comply with your +repeatedly-expressed wish to have the remaining five thousand +body-guards sent from Persia, and the four thousand centenari of gold +which lie in your palace at Byzantium. Certainly, both, as you rather +superfluously remark in your letter, are your own property; and your +offer to carry this war to a conclusion, paying the expenses out of +your own purse, because of the existing exhaustion of the imperial +exchequer, is worthy of all praise. As, however, all your property, as +you more justly add in the aforesaid letter, is at the service of your +Emperor, and as your Emperor considers the desired employment of your +treasure and body-guard in Italy superfluous, we have decided to +appropriate it otherwise, and have already sent troops and treasure to +your colleague, Narses, to be used in the Persian wars.' Ha! this is +unheard of!" cried Procopius, interrupting himself. + +Cethegus smiled. "It is a tyrant's thanks for the services of a slave!" + +"And the end seems to be just as pleasant," continued Procopius. "'An +increase of your power in Italy seems to us the less desirable, because +we are daily warned against your boundless ambition. You are reported +to have said lately, while sitting at wine, that the sceptre originated +in the general's staff, and the general's staff in the stick. Dangerous +thoughts and unseemly words! You see that we are faithfully informed of +your ambitious dreams. This time we will warn without punishing; but we +have no desire to furnish you with more wood for your general's staff; +and we would remind you that the tree, which most proudly tosses its +summit, is nearest to the imperial lightning.' It is shameful!" cried +Procopius. + +"No, it is worse; it is silly!" said Cethegus. "It is whipping fidelity +into rebellion." + +"You are right!" cried Belisarius, who had caught these words as he +again rushed into the tent. "Oh, he deserves that I should desert him, +the base, ungrateful, wicked tyrant!" + +"Be silent, for God's sake! You will ruin yourself!" cried Antonina, +who had entered with her husband, and now tried to take his hand. + +"No, I will not be silent!" cried the angry man, as he paced to and fro +close to the open door of the tent, before which Bessas, Acacius, +Demetrius, and many other leaders stood listening in astonishment. "All +the world shall hear me! He is an ungrateful, malicious tyrant! He +deserves that I should overthrow him! that I should confirm the +suspicions of his false soul!" + +Cethegus cast a look at those who stood outside; they had evidently +heard all. Glancing at Antonina, he now went to the door and closed it +carefully. Antonina thanked him by a look. She again drew near her +husband, but he had thrown himself upon the ground before his couch, +striking his clenched fist upon his brow and stammering: + +"O Justinian! have I deserved this from you? It is too much, too much!" + +And the strong man burst into tears. + +At this Cethegus contemptuously turned away. + +"Farewell," he said in a low voice to Procopius, "It disgusts me to see +men blubber!" + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + +Lost in thought, the Prefect left the tent, and went round the camp to +the rather distant outwork, where he had entrenched himself and his +Isaurians before the Gate of Honorius. + +It was situated on the south side of the city, near the harbour wall of +Classis, and the way led partly along the sea-shore. + +Although the lonely wanderer was at this moment preoccupied by the +great thought which had become the pulse of his life, although he was +oppressed by anxiety as to how Belisarius--that man of impulse--would +act, and worried with impatience for the arrival of the answer from the +Franks, his attention was yet involuntarily attracted by the singular +appearance of the landscape, the sky, and the sea. + +It was October; but the season had seemed for weeks to have altered its +laws. For almost two months it had never rained. Not a cloud, not a +stripe of mist had been seen in this usually so humid part of the +country. But now, quite suddenly--it was towards sunset--Cethegus +remarked in the east, above the sea horizon, a single, dense, and +coal-black cloud. + +The setting sun, although free from mist, shed no rays. + +Not a breath of air rippled the leaden surface of the sea; not the +smallest wavelet played upon the strand. + +Not an olive-leaf moved in all the wide plain; not even the +easily-shaken reeds in the marshy ditches trembled. + +No cry of an animal, no flight of a bird could be heard or perceived; +and a strange choking smell, as if of sulphur, seemed to lie +oppressively over land and sea, and to check respiration. The mules and +horses in the camp kicked uneasily against the posts to which they were +tied. A few camels and dromedaries, which Belisarius had brought with +him from Africa, buried their heads in the sand. + +The wanderer heaved a deep breath, and looked about him in surprise. + +"How sultry! Just as it is before the 'wind of death' arises in the +deserts of Egypt," he said to himself. "Sultry everywhere--outside and +inside. Upon whose head will the long-withheld fury of Nature and +Passion be let loose?" + +He entered his tent. + +Syphax accosted him. + +"Sir, if I were at home, I should think that the poisonous breath of +the God of the Desert was coming over us." And he handed a letter to +the Prefect. + +It was the answer of the King of the Franks. Hastily Cethegus tore open +the great shining seal. + +"Who brought it?" + +"An ambassador, who, as he did not find you, immediately asked to be +conducted to Belisarius. He desired to go the shortest way--through the +camp." + +So thus Cethegus had missed him. + +He read eagerly: + + +"'Theudebald, King of the Franks, to Cethegus, the Prefect of Rome. + +"'You have addressed to us wise words, and still wiser words you have +not trusted to the letter, but have sent to us through our Major Domus. +We are not disinclined to act accordingly. We accept your advice, and +the gifts which accompany it. Their misfortunes have dissolved our +treaty with the Goths. They may blame their evil fate and not our +withdrawal. Whom Heaven forsakes, men, if they be pious and wise, +should forsake also. It is true that the Goths have paid beforehand the +price for the army of alliance. But, in our eyes, that is no hindrance. +We will keep the treasure as a pledge, until such time as they shall +cede to us the towns in South Gaul, which lie within the frontier +formed by God and nature for the kingdom of the Franks. But, as we have +prepared for a campaign, and our brave soldiers, who already scent the +battle, would but impatiently bear the tedium of peace and might become +dangerous, we are inclined, notwithstanding, to send our valiant troops +over the Alps. Only, instead of fighting _for_ the Goths, they will +fight against them. However, we do not wish to serve the Emperor +Justinian, who continually denies us the title of King, and inscribes +himself on his coins, 'Master of Gaul;' who will not allow us to +impress our own image on our own coins; and has offered other +unbearable affronts to our dignity. We rather think of extending our +own power in Italy. Now, as we well know that the whole strength of the +Emperor in that country is embodied in his commander-in-chief, +Belisarius, and that the latter has a great number of old and new +injuries to complain of, inflicted by his ungrateful master, we shall +propose to the hero, Belisarius, to set himself up as Emperor of the +West, to which end we will send him an army of a hundred thousand +Frankish heroes. In return, we desire the cession of only a small part +of Italy, extending from our frontier to Genoa. We hold it to be +impossible that any mortal can refuse such an offer. In case you will +co-operate with us, we promise you a sum of twelve centenari of gold; +and, upon a return payment of two centenari, we shall place your name +on the list of our messmates. The ambassador who brings you this +letter--Duke Lintharis--has our order to communicate with Belisarius.'" + + +Cethegus had read to the end with difficulty. He now broke out: + +"Such an offer at such a moment! In such a humour! He will accept it! +Emperor of the West, with a hundred thousand Prankish warriors! He must +not live!" + +And he hurried to the door of his tent; but he suddenly checked +himself. + +"Fool that I am!" he laughed, "Still so hot-blooded? He is Belisarius, +and not Cethegus! He will not accept. He can rebel as little as the +moon can rebel against the earth, or a tame house-dog suddenly become a +raging wolf. He will not accept! But now let us see to what purpose we +can put the cupidity and falsity of this Merovingian. No, King of the +Franks!" and he looked bitterly at the crumpled letter. "As long as +Cethegus lives, not a foot of Italian soil shall you have!" + +He paced rapidly through his tent. + +Another turn--with a slower step. + +And a third--then he stood still, and over his mighty brow came a flash +of light. + +"I have it!" he joyously cried. "Syphax," he called, "go and fetch +Procopius." + +As he again paced the tent, his eyes fell upon the fallen letter of the +Merovingian. + +"No," he laughed triumphantly, as he took it up from the ground. "No, +King of the Franks, you shall not win as much of Italy's holy soil as +is covered by this letter." + +Procopius soon appeared. The two men sat talking earnestly through the +whole night. + +Procopius was startled at the bold and daring plans of the Prefect, and +for some time refused to enter into them. But the genius of the man +held him fast, overcame every objection before it was expressed, and at +last he was so entangled in an inextricable network of argument, that +he lost all power of resistance. + +The stars were pale, and the dawn illumined the east with a grey stripe +of light, when Procopius took leave of his friend. + +"Cethegus," he said, rising, "I admire you. If I were not the historian +of Belisarius, I should like to be yours." + +"It would be more interesting," said the Prefect quietly, "but more +difficult." + +"But," continued Procopius, "I cannot help shuddering at the biting +acrimony of your spirit. It is a sign of the times in which we live. It +is like a poisonous but brilliant flower in a swamp. When I recollect +how you have ruined the Gothic King by means of his own wife----" + +"I have something to tell you about that. Lately I have heard very +little from my fair ally----" + +"Your ally? Your ways are----" + +"Always practical." + +"But not always---- But never mind. I am with you--for yet a little +while, for I wish to get my hero out of Italy as soon as possible. He +shall gather laurels in Persia instead of thorns here. But I will only +go with you as far----" + +"As it suits you, of course." + +"Enough! I will at once speak with Antonina. I do not doubt of success. +She is tired to death here. She burns with desire, not only to see many +an old friend in Byzantium, but also to ruin the enemies of her +husband." + +"A good bad wife!" + +"But Witichis? Do you think he will believe a rebellion on the part of +Belisarius possible?" + +"King Witichis is a good soldier, but a poor psychologist. I know a +much cleverer man, who yet, for a moment, believed it possible. +Besides, you will bring proofs in writings and just now, forsaken as he +is by the Franks--the water is up to his neck--he will snatch at any +straw. Therefore I, also, do not doubt of success. Only make sure of +Antonina----" + +"That shall be my care. At mid-day I hope to enter Ravenna as an +ambassador." + +"Good--and do not forget to speak to the lovely Queen." + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + +At mid-day Procopius rode into Ravenna. + +He carried with him four letters: the letter of Justinian to +Belisarius, the letters of the King of the Franks to Cethegus and +Belisarius, and a letter from Belisarius to Witichis. + +This last had been written by Procopius and dictated by Cethegus. + +The ambassador had no suspicion of the mood in which he should find the +King of the Goths and his beautiful Queen. + +The healthy but simple mind of the King had begun to darken, if not to +despair, under the pressure of continual misfortune. The murder of his +only child, the terrible wrench of parting from his beloved wife, had +shaken him to the very soul; but he had borne it all in the hope of +securing victory to the Goths. + +And now this victory obstinately tarried. + +In spite of all efforts, the state of his people became more hopeless +every month. With the single exception of the battle fought and won on +the march to Rome, fortune had never smiled upon the Goths. + +The siege of Rome, undertaken with such proud hopes, had ended in a +woeful retreat and the loss of three-fourths of the army. New strokes +of fortune, bad news that followed each other like rapid blows, +increased the King's depression, until it degenerated into a state of +dull despair. + +Almost all Italy, except Ravenna, was lost. Belisarius, while yet in +Rome, had sent a fleet to Genoa, under the command of Mundila the +Herulian, and Ennes the Isaurian. The troops had landed without +resistance, had conquered the sea-ruling harbour of Genoa, and, from +that point, almost all Liguria. + +Datius, the Bishop of Mediolanum, himself invited the Byzantines to +that important city. Thence they easily won Bergomum, Comum, and +Novaria. + +On the other side, the discouraged Goths in Clusium and the half-ruined +Dertona surrendered to the besiegers and were led prisoners out of +Italy. + +Urbinum, after a brave resistance, was taken by the Byzantines; also +Forum Cornelii and the whole district of Æmilia by Johannes. The Goths +failed to retake Ancona, Ariminum, and Mediolanum. + +Still worse news presently arrived to increase the despondency of the +King. For meanwhile famine was making ravages in the wide districts of +Æmilia, Picenum and Tuscany. + +There were neither men, cattle, nor horses to serve the plough. The +people fled into the woods and mountains, made bread of acorns, and +devoured grass and weeds. + +Devastating maladies were the consequence of insufficient or +unwholesome nourishment. + +In Picenum alone perished fifty thousand souls; a still greater number +succumbed to hunger and pestilence on the other side of the Ionian +Gulf, in Dalmatia, Pale and thin, those still living tottered to the +grave; their skins became black and like leather; their glassy eyes +started from the sockets; their intestines burned as if with fire. + +The vultures despised the corpses of the victims of pestilence; +but human flesh was devoured by men. Mothers killed and ate their +newly-born children. + +In a farm near Ariminum only two Roman women had remained alive. These +women murdered and devoured, one after another, seventeen men, who, +singly, had sought a shelter in their house. The eighteenth awoke as +they were about to strangle him in his sleep. He killed the fiendish +women, and discovered the fate of their earlier victims. + +Lastly, the hopes placed in the Franks and Longobardians were utterly +destroyed. + +The Franks, who had already received large sums for the promised army +of alliance, were silent. The messengers of the King, who were sent to +urge the fulfilment of their promise, were detained at Mettis, +Aurelianum, and Paris; no answer came from these courts. + +The King of the Longobardians sent word that he could decide nothing +without the consent of his warlike son Alboin. That the latter was +absent in search of adventures. Perhaps he would at some time reach +Italy; he was an intimate friend of Narses. Then he could observe the +country for himself, and advise his father and his countrymen as to the +course to be taken. + +It is true that the important fortress of Auximum withstood, for +months, all the efforts of the powerful army which besieged it under +Belisarius, accompanied by Procopius. But it wrung the King's heart +when a messenger (who had, with much difficulty, stolen his way through +the two investing armies to Ravenna) brought him the following message +from the heroic Earl Wisand: + +"When Auximum was entrusted to my care, thou saidst that therewith I +should hold the keys of Ravenna; yea, of the kingdom. Thou badest me +resist manfully until thou camest thyself with thy whole army to my +assistance. We have manfully resisted not only Belisarius, but famine. +Where is thy relief? Woe to us if thy words are true, and with this +fortress the keys of our kingdom fall into the enemy's hands! Come +therefore, and help us; more for the kingdom's sake than for our own!" + +This messenger was soon followed by a second: Burcentius, a soldier +belonging to the besieging army, who had been bribed with much gold. +His message ran--the short letter was written in blood: + +"We have now only the weeds that grow between the stones to eat. We +cannot hold out longer than four days more." + + +As this last messenger was returning with the King's reply, he fell +into the hands of the besiegers, who burnt him alive in sight of the +Goths before the walls of Auximum. + +And the King could give no help. + +The small party of Goths in Auximum still resisted, although Belisarius +cut off the supply of water by destroying the aqueducts and poisoning +the remaining wells with the corpses of men and animals, thrown in with +lime. + +Wisand still fiercely repelled every attack. On one of these occasions +Belisarius only escaped death at the sacrifice of one of his +body-guard. + +Finally, Cæsena, the last of the Gothic towns on the Æmilia, was the +first to fall; and then Fæsulæ, which was besieged by Cyprianus and +Justinus. + +"My poor Fæsulæ!" exclaimed the King, when he learned this last +disaster, for he had been the Count of that town, and close to it lay +the house where he had lived so happily with Rauthgundis;--"My poor +Fæsulæ! the Huns will run riot in my deserted home!" + +When, later, the garrison taken prisoner at Fæsulæ were led in chains +before the eyes of the defenders of Auximum, and reported to the latter +the hopelessness of any relief from Ravenna, the famished troops of +Wisand compelled him to surrender. + +He stipulated for himself a free escort to Ravenna. His men were led +prisoners out of Italy. + +And, so deeply sunk was the courage and patriotism of the conquered +troops, that, led by Earl Sisifrid of Sarsina, they accepted service +against their own countrymen under the flag of Belisarius. + +The victor had strongly garrisoned Auximum and then led the army back +to the camp before Ravenna, where he now again took the command, which +had been entrusted to Cethegus during his absence. + +It was as if a curse rested upon the head of the Gothic King, who so +sorely felt the weight of his crown. + +As he could not ascribe the cause of his failure to any weakness or +oversight on his own part; as he did not doubt in the justice of the +Gothic cause, and as his simple piety could see nothing but the hand of +Heaven in all his misfortunes, he conceived the torturing thought that +God was punishing the Goths for some unforgiven sin committed by +himself, a conviction imparted to his conscience by the then dominating +doctrine of the Old Testament no less than by many features of the old +Germanic legends. + +Day and night the King was tortured by this idea, which undermined his +strength and resolution. Now he tried to discover his secret guilt; now +he reflected how he could at least turn aside the curse from his +people. + +He would long since have abdicated, but that such an act at such a +moment would have been considered cowardly both by himself and others. +So this escape from his misery--the quickest and best--was closed to +him. + +His soul was bowed to the very earth. He often sat motionless for +hours, silent and staring at vacancy; at times shaking his head or +sighing deeply. + +The daily recurring sight of this resigned suffering, this dumb and +hopeless bearing of an oppressive fate, was not, as we have said, +without effect on Mataswintha. She thought that lately the eyes of +Witichis rested upon her with an expression of sorrow and even of +beneficence. + +And vague hope--which is so difficult to destroy in a living +heart--remorse and compassion, attracted her more powerfully than ever +to the suffering King. + +They were now often thrown together by some common errand of mercy. + +For some weeks the inhabitants of Ravenna had begun to suffer want, +while the besiegers ruled the sea from Ancona, and received plentiful +provisions from Calabria and Sicily. + +None but rich citizens could afford to pay the high price asked for +corn. + +The King's kind heart did not hesitate, when he had provided his +troops, to share the wealth of his magazines--which, as we have seen, +contained sufficient for the wants of all for more than double the time +required for the arrival of the Franks--amongst the poor of the city. +He also hoped for the arrival of many ships laden with corn, which the +Goths had collected in the northern districts of the Padus, and which +lay in that river, waiting for an opportunity to reach Ravenna. + +In order to avoid any misuse of his bounty, or extravagance in the +granting of rations, the King himself superintended the distribution; +and Mataswintha, who one day met him among the groups of grateful +people, placed herself near him upon the marble steps of the Basilica +of Saint Apollonaris, and helped him to fill the baskets with bread. + +It was a touching sight to see this royal pair standing before the +church doors, distributing their gift to the people. + +As they were standing thus, Mataswintha remarked among the crowd--for +many country-people had fled to the city from all sides--sitting upon +the lowest step of the Basilica, a woman in a simple brown mantle, +which was half drawn over her head. + +This woman did not press forward with the others to demand bread, but +leaned against a high sarcophagus, with her head resting upon her hand, +and, half concealed by the corner pillar of the Basilica, looked +sharply and fixedly at the Queen. + +Mataswintha thought that the woman was restrained by fear, pride, or +shame, from mixing with the more importunate beggars who pushed and +crowded each other upon the steps, and she gave Aspa a basket of bread, +telling her to go down and give it to the woman. With care she heaped +up the sweet-scented bread with both her hands. + +As she looked up, she met the eye of the King, which rested upon her +with a more soft and friendly expression than she had ever seen before. + +She started slightly, and the blood rushed into her cheeks as she cast +down her beautiful eyes. + +When she again looked up and glanced towards the woman in the brown +mantle, she perceived that the place by the sarcophagus was empty. The +woman had disappeared. + +She had not observed, while filling the basket, that a man, clad in a +buffalo-skin and a steel cap, who had been standing behind the woman, +had caught her arm and drawn her away with gentle violence. + +"Come," he had said; "this is no place for thee." + +And, as if in a dream, the woman had answered: + +"By God, she is wonderfully lovely!" + +"I thank thee, Mataswintha," said the King, in a friendly manner, when +the rations for the day had been distributed. + +The look, the tone, the words, penetrated her heart. + +Never before had he called her by her name; he had ever met and spoken +to her only as the "Queen." + +How happy those few words from his mouth had made her; and yet how +heavily his kindness weighed upon her guilty soul! + +Evidently she had earned his more affectionate feeling by her active +compassion for the poor. + +"Oh, he is good!" she cried to herself, half weeping with emotion. "I +also will be good!" + +As, occupied by this thought, she entered the court of the left wing of +the palace, which was assigned to her--the King inhabited the right +wing--Aspa hurried to meet her. + +"A messenger from the camp," she eagerly whispered. "He brings a secret +message from the Prefect--a letter, in Syphax's handwriting--in our +language. He waits for a reply." + +"Leave me!" cried Mataswintha, frowning. "I will hear and read +nothing.--But who are these?" And she pointed to the steps leading from +the court to her apartments. + +There, upon the cold stones, crouched women, children, and sick people, +clothed in rags--a group of misery. + +"Beggars," said Aspa; "poor people. They have lain there the whole +morning. They will not be driven away." + + +"They shall not be driven away," said Mataswintha, drawing near. + +"Bread, Queen! Bread, daughter of the Amelungs!" cried many voices. + +"Give them gold, Aspa. All that thou hast with thee; and fetch----" + +"Bread, bread. Queen--not gold! No more bread is to be had for money in +all the city." + +"It is dispensed freely outside the King's magazines. I have just come +thence. Why were you not there?" + +"Queen! we could not get through the crowd," said a haggard woman. "I +am aged, and my daughter here is sick, and that old man is blind. The +strong and young push us away. For three days we tried to go in vain. +We could not get through." + +"Yes, and we starve," grumbled the old man. "O Theodoric! my lord and +King, where art thou? Under thy rule we had enough and to spare! +Then the poor and sick were not deprived of bread. But this unhappy +King----" + +"Be silent," said Mataswintha. "The King, my husband"--and a lovely +flush rose into her cheeks--"does more than you deserve. Wait here. I +will bring you bread. Follow me, Aspa." And she hastened away. + +"Whither goest thou?" asked the slave, astonished. + +Mataswintha drew her veil closely over her face as she answered: + +"To the King!" + +When she reached the antechamber of the King's apartments, the +door-keeper, who recognised her with amazement, begged her to wait a +moment. + +"An ambassador from Belisarius has been admitted to a private audience. +He has been in the room already for some time, and no doubt will soon +leave it." + +Just then the door of the King's apartment was opened, and Procopius +stood hesitating upon the threshold. + +"King of the Goths," he said, as he once again turned round, "is that +your last word?" + +"My last; as it was my first," answered the King, with dignity. + +"I will give you time--I will remain in Ravenna till to-morrow----" + +"From this moment you are welcome as a guest, but not as an +ambassador." + +"I repeat: if the city be taken by storm, all the Goths who are taller +than the sword of Belisarius--he has sworn it--will be killed! The +women and children will be sold into slavery. You understand that +Belisarius will suffer no barbarians in _his_ Italy. The death of a +hero may be tempting to you, but think of the helpless people--their +blood will accuse you before the throne of God----" + +"Ambassador, you, as well as we, are in God's hand. Farewell." + +And these words were uttered with such majesty, that the Byzantine was +obliged to go, however reluctantly. + +The simple dignity of the King had had a strong effect upon him; but +still more upon the listening Queen. + +As Procopius slowly shut the door, he saw Mataswintha standing before +him, and started back, dazzled by her great beauty. He greeted her +reverently. + +"You are the Queen of the Goths!" he said. "You must be she." + +"I am," said Mataswintha. "Would that I had never forgotten it!" + +And she passed him with a haughty step. + +"These Germans, both men and women," said Procopius, as he went out, +"have eyes such as I have never seen before!" + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + +Meanwhile, Mataswintha had entered her husband's presence unannounced. + +Witichis had left untouched all the rooms which had been occupied by +the Amelungs--Theodoric, Athalaric, and Amalaswintha--and had +appropriated to his own use the apartments which he had formerly been +accustomed to inhabit when on duty at court. + +He had never assumed the gold and purple trappings of the Amelungs, and +had banished from his chamber all the pomp of royalty. + +A low camp-bed, upon which lay his helmet, sword, and various +documents, a long wooden table, and a few wooden chairs and utensils, +formed the simple furniture of the room. + +When Procopius had taken leave, the King had thrown himself into a +chair, and, supporting his weary head on his hands, leaned his elbows +upon the table. Thus he had not noticed Mataswintha's light step. + +She remained standing near the door, reluctant to advance. She had +never before sought an interview with her husband. Her heart beat fast, +and she could not muster courage to address him. + +At last Witichis rose with a sigh, and, turning, saw the motionless +figure at the door. + +"Thou here, Queen!" he asked with surprise, as he approached her. "What +can have led thee to me?" + +"Duty--compassion--" Mataswintha answered quickly; "otherwise I had +not---- I have a favour to ask of thee." + +"It is the first," said Witichis. + +"It does not concern me," she added hastily. "I beg for food for some +poor people, who----" + +The King silently stretched out his right hand. + +It was the first time he had ever offered it. She did not dare to clasp +it, and yet how gladly she would have done so. + +Then the King took her hand himself, and pressed it gently. + +"I thank thee, Mataswintha, and regret my injustice. I never believed +that thou hadst a heart for thy people. I have thought unkindly of +thee." + +"If thy thoughts had been more just from the beginning, perhaps many +things might be better now." + +"Scarcely! Misfortune dogs my heels. Just now--thou hast a right to +know it--my last hopes have been destroyed. The Franks, upon whose aid +I depended, have betrayed us. Relief is impossible; the superiority of +the enemy has become too great, by reason of the rebellion of the +Italians. Only one thing remains to me--death!" + +"Let me share it with thee," cried Mataswintha, her eyes sparkling. + +"Thou? No. The granddaughter of Theodoric will be honourably received +at the Court of Byzantium. It is known that she became my wife against +her will. Thou canst appeal to that fact." + +"Never!" exclaimed Mataswintha with enthusiasm. + +Witichis, without noticing her, went on: + +"But the others! The thousands, the tens of thousands of women and +children! Belisarius will keep his word. There is only one hope for +them, one single hope! For--all the powers of nature are in league +against me. The Padus has suddenly become so shallow, that two hundred +ships with grain, which I had expected, could not be brought down the +river, and fell into the hands of the enemy. I have now written for +assistance to the King of the Ostrogoths; I have asked him to send a +fleet; for ours is lost. If the ships can force their way into the +harbour, then all who cannot fight may take refuge in them. And, if +thou wilt, thou canst fly to Spain." + +"I will die with thee--with the others!" + +"In a few weeks the Ostrogothic sails may appear off the city. Until +then my magazines will not be exhausted. That is my only comfort. But +that reminds me of thy wish. Here is the key to the great door of the +granaries. I carry it with me day and night. Keep it carefully--it +guards my last hope. Upon its safety depend the lives of many +thousands. These granaries are the only thing that has not failed. I +wonder," he added sadly, "that the earth has not opened, or fire fallen +from Heaven, to destroy this my work!" + +He took the heavy key from the bosom of his doublet. + +"Guard it well, it is my last treasure, Mataswintha." + +"I thank thee, Witichis--King Witichis," said she, and would have taken +the key, but her hand trembled so much that it fell to the ground. + +"What is the matter?" asked the King as he picked up the key and put it +into her hand. "Thou tremblest? Art thou sick!" he added anxiously. + +"No--it is nothing. But do not look at me so--do not look at me as thou +didst this morning----" + +"Forgive me, Queen," said Witichis, turning away, "my looks shall no +more offend thee. I have had much, too much, to grieve me lately. And +when I tried to find out for what hidden guilt I could have deserved +all my misfortune--" his voice grew very tender. + +"Then? Oh, speak!" cried Mataswintha; for she could not doubt the +meaning of his unspoken thought. + +"I often thought amid all my doubt, that it might be a punishment for +the cruel, cruel wrong I did to a noble creature; a woman whom I have +sacrificed to my people----" + +And in the ardour of his speech he involuntarily looked at his +listener. + +Mataswintha's cheeks glowed. She was obliged, in order to keep herself +upright, to grasp the arm of the chair near her. + +"At last," she thought, "at last his heart awakes, and I--how have I +acted towards him! And he regrets----" + +"A woman," continued Witichis, "who has suffered unspeakably on my +account, more than words can express----" + +"Cease," whispered Mataswintha so softly that he did not hear it. + +"And when I lately saw thee so gentle, so mild, more womanly than ever +before--it touched my heart, and tears came into my eyes!" + +"O Witichis!" breathed Mataswintha. + +"Every tone of thy voice penetrated deeply into my heart, for the sweet +sound reminded me so vividly, so sadly----" + +"Of whom?" asked Mataswintha, and she turned pale as death. + +"Of her whom I have sacrificed! Who gave up all for me; of my wife +Rauthgundis, the soul of my soul!" + +For how long a time had he never uttered aloud that beloved name! At +the sound of his own voice, grief and longing overcame him, and sinking +into a chair, he buried his face in his hands. + +It was well that he did so, for it spared him the sight of the Queen's +sudden start, and the Medusa-like expression which convulsed her +features. + +But the sound of a fall made him spring from his seat. + +Mataswintha lay upon the ground. Her left hand grasped the broken arm +of the chair near which she had fallen, while her right was pressed +convulsively upon the mosaic floor. Her pale face was bent down; her +splendid golden hair, loosed from its bonds, flowed over her shoulders; +her mobile nostrils quivered. + +"Queen!" cried Witichis, bending to lift her up, "what ails thee?" + +But before he could touch her, she started up, swift as a serpent, and +stood erect. + +"It was only a weakness--which is already over," she panted. +"Farewell!" + +She tottered to the door, and, closing it behind her, fell senseless +into Aspa's arms. + + +During all this time, the mysteriously threatening appearance of the +atmosphere had increased. + +The little cloud which Cethegus had remarked the day before, had been +the forerunner of an immense black wall of vapour which had arisen in +the east during the night, and which, since morning, had hovered +gloomily, as if brooding destruction, over the city and the greater +part of the horizon. + +In the south, however, the sun shone with an intolerable heat from a +cloudless sky. + +The Gothic sentries had doffed their helmets and armour; they preferred +to expose themselves to the arrows of the enemy rather than suffer the +unbearable heat. + +There was not a breath of air. The east wind, which had brought up the +wall of cloud, had dropped again. + +The sea was grey and motionless; not a leaf of the poplars in the +palace garden moved. + +The animal world, silent the day before, was uneasy and terrified. Over +the hot sands on the shore swallows, seagulls, and marsh-birds +fluttered hither and thither, without cause or aim, flying low above +the ground, and often uttering shrill cries. + +In the city the dogs ran whining out of the houses; the horses tore +themselves loose from their halters and, snorting impatiently, kicked +and pranced; cats, asses, and mules uttered lamentable cries; and three +of the dromedaries belonging to Belisarius killed themselves in their +frantic efforts to get loose. + +Evening was approaching. The sun was about to sink below the horizon. + +In the Forum of Hercules a citizen was sitting upon the marble steps of +his house. He was a vine-dresser, and, as the dry branch hung at his +door indicated, himself sold the produce of his vines. He glanced at +the threatening thundercloud. + +"I wish it would rain," he sighed. "If it does not rain, it will hail, +and then all the fruit that has not been trampled by the enemy's horses +will be completely destroyed." + +"Do you call the troops of our Emperor enemies?" whispered his son, a +Roman patriot. But he said it very softly, for just then a Gothic +patrol turned the corner of the Forum. "I wish Orcus would devour them +all, Greeks and barbarians! The Goths at least are always thirsty. See, +there comes that long Hildebadus; he is one of the thirstiest. I shall +be surprised if he has no desire to drink to-day, when the very stones +are cracking with heat!" + +Hildebad had just set the nearest watch. He held his helmet in his left +hand; his lance was carelessly laid across his shoulder. + +He passed the wine-house--to the great astonishment of its +owner--turned into the next street, and soon stood before a lofty +massive round tower--it was called the Tower of Ætius. + +A handsome young Goth was walking up and down upon the wall in the +shadow of the tower. Long light locks curled upon his shoulders, and +the delicate white and red of his complexion, as well as his mild blue +eyes, gave him almost a girlish aspect. + +"Hey! Fridugern," Hildebad called up to him. "Hey! How canst thou bear to +stay up there on that gridiron? With shield and breastplate too! +_Ouff_!" + +"I have the watch, Hildebad," answered the youth gently. + +"Bother the watch! Dost thou think that Belisarius will attack us in +this blazing heat? I tell you he is glad if he can get air; to-day he +will not thirst for blood. Come with me; I came to fetch thee. The +fat Ravennese in the Forum of Hercules has old wine and young +daughters--let us put both to our lips." + +The young Goth shook his long ringlets and frowned. + +"I have the watch, and no desire for girls. But thirsty I am, +truly--send me a cup of wine up here." + +"Aha! 'tis true, by Freia, Venus, and Maria! Thou hast a bride across +the mountains! And thou thinkest that she will find it out and break +her promise if thou lookest too closely into a pair of black Roman +eyes! Oh, dear friend, how young thou art! No, no; no malice! It is all +right. Thou art nevertheless a very good fellow and wilt get older +by-and-by. I will send thee some old Massikian--then thou canst drink +to Allgunthis all alone." + +Hildebad turned back, and soon disappeared into the wine-house. + +Presently a slave brought a cup of wine to the young Goth, who +whispered, "Here's to thee, Allgunthis!" and he emptied it at one +draught. Then he took up his lance, and slowly paced to and fro on the +wall. + +"I can at least think of her," he said; "no duty can prevent that. When +shall I see her again?" + +He walked on, but presently stopped and stood, lost in thought, in the +shadow of the great dark tower, which looked down upon him +threateningly. + +In a short time another troop of Goths passed the tower. In their midst +they led a man blindfolded, and let him out at the Porta Honorii. + +It was Procopius who had in vain waited for three hours, hoping that +the King would change his mind. It was useless. No messenger came, and +the ambassador left the city ill at ease. + +Another hour passed. It had become darker, but not cooler. + +Suddenly a strong blast of wind rose from the sea. It drove the black +cloud toward the north with great rapidity. It now hung dense and heavy +over the city. But the sea and the south-eastern horizon were not +thereby rendered clear, for a second and similar wall of cloud closely +followed the first. + +The whole sky had now become one black vault. + +Hildebad, drowsy with wine, went towards his night-watch at the Porta +Honorii. + +"Still at thy post, Fridugern?" he called to the young Goth in passing. +"And still no rain. The poor earth, how thirsty it will be! I pity it! +Goodnight!" + +It was insufferably sultry in the houses, for the wind blew from the +scorching deserts of Africa. + +The people, alarmed by the threatening appearance of the heavens, came +out of doors, walking in companies through the streets, or sitting in +groups in the courtyards and under the colonnades of the churches. + +A crowd of people sat upon the steps of Saint Apollonaris. + +And, though the sun had scarcely set, it was already as black as night. + +Upon her couch in her bed-chamber lay Mataswintha, the Queen, in a kind +of heavy stupor, her cheeks pale as death. Her wide open eyes stared +into the darkness. She refused to answer Aspa's anxious questions, and +presently dismissed the weeping slave with a motion of her hand. + +As she lay thinking, these names passed continuously and monotonously +through her mind: Witichis--Rauthgundis--Mataswintha! +Mataswintha--Rauthgundis--Witichis! + +Thus she lay for a long, long time; and it seemed as if nothing could +ever interrupt the unceasing circle of these words. + +Suddenly a red light flashed into the room, and at the same moment a +peal of thunder, louder than she had ever before heard, clattered over +the trembling city. + +A scream from her women caught her ear, and she started upright on her +couch. + +Aspa had divested her of her upper garment; she wore only her +under-dress of white silk. Throwing the falling tresses of her splendid +hair back over her shoulder, she leaned on her elbow and listened. + +There was an awful stillness. + +Then another flash and another peal. + +A rush of wind tore open the window of feldspath which looked into the +court. + +Mataswintha stared out at the darkness, which was illuminated at every +moment by a vivid flash of lightning. The thunder rolled incessantly, +overpowering even the fearful howling of the wind. + +Mataswintha felt relieved by this strife of the elements. She looked +out eagerly. + +Just then Aspa hurried in with a light. It was a torch, the flame of +which was protected from the wind by a glass globe. + +"Queen, thou--but, by all the gods! how dost thou look? Like a +Lemure--like the Goddess of Revenge!" + +"Would that I were!" said Mataswintha, without taking her eyes from the +window. + +They were the first words that she had spoken for hours. + +Flash after flash, and peal after peal. + +Aspa closed the window. + +"O Queen! the Christian maids say that the end of the world has come, +and that the Son of God will come down upon fiery clouds to judge the +living and the dead. Oh! what a flash! And yet there is not a drop of +rain. I have never seen such a storm. The gods are very angry." + +"Woe to those with whom they are angry! Oh, I envy the gods! They can +love and hate as they like. They can annihilate those who do not adore +them." + +"O mistress! I was in the streets; I have just returned. All the people +stream into the churches, praying and singing. I pray to Kairu and +Astarte. Mistress, dost thou not pray?" + +"I curse. That, too, is a kind of prayer." + +"Oh, what a peal!" screamed the slave, and fell trembling on her knees. +The dark blue mantle which she wore slid from her shoulders. + +The thunder and lightning had now become so violent, that Mataswintha +sprang from her couch and ran to the window. + +"Mercy, mercy!" prayed the slave. "Have pity upon us, ye great gods!" + +"No, no mercy--a curse upon us miserable mortals! Ha! that was +splendid! Dost thou hear how they scream with fear in the streets? +Another, and yet another! Ha! ye gods--if there be a God or gods--I +envy ye but one thing: the power of your hate and your deadly +lightning. Ye hurl it with all the rage and lust of your hearts, and +your enemies vanish. Then you laugh; the thunder is your laughter. Ha! +what was that!" + +A flash and a peal of thunder which outdid all that had gone before. + +Aspa started from her knees. + +"What is that great building, Aspa? That dark mass opposite? The +lightning must have struck it. Is it on fire?" + +"No, thanks to the gods! The lightning only lit it up. It is the +granaries of the King." + +"Ha! has your lightning failed?" cried the Queen. "But mortals, too, +can use the lightning of revenge." And she left the window. The room +became suddenly dark. + +"Queen--mistress--where art thou? Whither hast thou gone?" cried Aspa. +And she felt along the walls. + +But the room was empty, and Aspa called her mistress in vain. + +Below in the streets a procession wound its way to the Basilica of +Saint Apollonaris. + +Romans and Goths; children and old people; very many women. Boys with +torches walked first; behind came priests with crucifix and banners. + +Through the growling of the thunder and the roaring of the wind sounded +the ancient and solemn chorus: + + "Dulce mihi cruciari, + Parva vis doloris est; + Malo mori quam f[oe]dari; + Major vis amoris est." + +And the choir answered: + + "Parce, judex, contristatis + Parce pecatoribus, + Qui descendis perflammatis + Ultor jam in nubibus." + +And the procession disappeared into the church. + +The overseers of the corn-magazines had also joined the crowd of +worshippers. + +Upon the steps of the Basilica, exactly opposite the door of the +magazines, sat the woman in the brown mantle, calm and fearless amid +the uproar of the elements; her hands not folded, but resting quietly +on her lap. + +The man in the steel cap stood near her. + +A Gothic woman, who was just hurrying into the church, recognised her +by the light of a flash of lightning. + +"Thou here again, countrywoman? Without shelter? I have offered thee my +house, often enough. Thou appearest strange here in Ravenna?" + +"I am so; but still I have a lodging." + +"Come into the church and pray with us." + +"I pray here." + +"But thou neither singest nor speakest." + +"Yet still God hears me." + +"Pray for the city. They fear that the end of the world is at hand." + +"I am not afraid." + +"Pray for our good King, who daily gives us bread." + +"I do pray for him." + +Just then two Gothic patrols came clattering round the corner, and met +opposite the Basilica. + +"Aye, thunder till the skies crack!" scolded the leader of one of the +bands; "but do not hinder me in my duty. Halt! Wisand, is it thou? +Where is the King? In the church also?" + +"No, Hildebad; upon the walls." + +"That is right; that is his place. Forwards! Long live the King!" + +Their steps died away. + +A Roman tutor, with some of his pupils, passed by. + +"But, magister," said the youngest boy, "I thought you were going to +the church? Why do you take us out in this storm?" + +"I only spoke of church to get you out of the house. Church! I tell +you, the fewer roofs and walls about one the better. I am going to take +you out into the great meadow in the suburbs. I wish it would rain. If +Vesuvius were near, as it is in my native place, I should think that +Ravenna was about to become a second Herculaneum. I know such an +atmosphere as we have to-day--it is dangerous." + +And they went on. + +"Wilt thou not come with me, mistress?" the man in the steel cap asked +the Gothic woman. "I must try to find Dromon, else we shall get no +lodging tonight. I cannot leave thee alone in the dark. Thou hast no +light with thee." + +"Dost thou not see that the lightning never ceases? Go; I will come +afterwards. I have still something to think of--and to pray for." + +And the woman remained alone. + +She pressed both hands against her bosom and looked up at the black +sky; her lips moved slightly. + +Just then it seemed to her as if, in the high outer galleries, +passages, and upper rooms of the mighty wooden edifice which towered in +a dark mass opposite, a light came and went, wandering up and down. She +thought it must have been a deception caused by the lightning, for any +open light would have been extinguished by the wind. But no; it really +was a light, for its appearance and disappearance alternated at regular +intervals, as if the person carrying it were hurrying along the +galleries and passing behind the pillars and supports. + +The woman attentively watched the changing light and shadow---- But +suddenly--oh, horror!--she started up. + +It seemed to her as if the marble step upon which she was sitting had +been some sleeping animal, which, suddenly awaking, moved slightly, +then rose--and turned itself--violently--from left to right. + +Thunder, lightning, and wind ceased all at once. + +There! from the granaries sounded a shrill scream. The light flamed up +brightly, and then disappeared. + +But the woman in the street also uttered a low cry of fear, for now she +could no longer doubt--the earth quaked under her. + +A slight movement; then two, three strong shocks, as if the ground had +heaved from left to right like a wave. + +Screams of fear rose from the city. + +The people rushed out of the doors of the Basilica. + +Another shock! + +The woman kept her feet with difficulty. + +And, from the farther side of the city, sounded a dull and distant +crash, as if of heavy falling masses. + +A fearful earthquake had shaken all Ravenna. + + + + CHAPTER XX. + +As the woman turned in the direction of the sound, she stood for a +moment with her back to the granaries. But she suddenly looked round, +for she thought she heard the bang of a heavy door. She looked +attentively in that direction, but it was too dark to see anything. She +heard, however, something rustling along close to the outer wall of the +building, and she thought she caught the sound of a low sigh. + +"Stop!" she cried, "who moans there?" + +"Peace, peace!" whispered a strange voice. "The earth--disgusted--shook +and trembled! The last day has come--it will reveal all. He will soon +know.--Oh!" + +A groan of pain--a rustle of garments--then complete silence. + +"Where art thou? Art thou wounded?" asked the woman, seeking on the +ground. + +A flash of lightning--the first since the earthquake--showed her a +shrouded form lying at her feet. A woman dressed in white and blue. + +The Gothic woman stretched out her hand, but the prostrate form sprang +up at her touch, and, with a scream, disappeared into the darkness. + +All this had passed rapidly, and seemed like some frightful dream, but +a broad gold bracelet, ornamented with a green serpent in emeralds, +remained in the Gothic woman's hand, a proof of the reality of the +mysterious vision. + +And again the iron steps of the Gothic patrol approached. + +"Hildebad, Hildebad, help!" cried Wisand. + +"I am here! What is the matter? Where shall I go?" asked Hildebad, +advancing with his men. + +"To the Gate of Honorius! The wall has fallen, and the tower of Ætius +lies in ruins. Help! Into the breach!" + +"I come! Poor, poor Fridugern!" + +Outside, in the camp of the Byzantines, Cethegus the Prefect rushed +into Belisarius's tent. + +He was in full armour, his plume of crimson horsehair tossed upon his +helm. His bearing was proud. His eyes flashed. + +"Up! Why do you linger, Belisarius? The walls of your enemy's citadel +fall of themselves! The last refuge of the last King of the Goths lies +open before you! Why do you remain in your tent?" + +"I adore the Almighty," said Belisarius with composure. Antonina stood +near him, her arm about his neck. + +A praying-stool and a tall crucifix showed in what occupation the +stormy entrance of the Prefect had disturbed them. + +"Do that to-morrow, after the victory. But now, storm the city!" + +"Storm the city now?" cried Antonina. "What sacrilege! The earth is +shaken to its foundations, for God the Lord speaks in this elemental +strife!" + +"Let Him speak! We will act. Belisarius, the tower of Ætius and a +portion of the walls have fallen. I ask you, will you not storm the +city?" + +"He is not wrong," said Belisarius, in whom the lust of battle was +awakening. "But it is a dark night----" + +"To victory and the heart of Ravenna I will find my way even in the +dark. And it lightens besides." + +"You are all at once very eager for the fight," said Belisarius +hesitatingly. + +"Yes, for there is good reason. The barbarians are startled. They fear +God and forget their enemies." + +At this moment Procopius and Marcus Licinius hurried into the tent +together. + +"Belisarius," cried the first, "the earthquake has thrown down the +barracks by the northern trench, and has buried half a cohort of your +Illyrians!" + +"My poor people!" cried Belisarius, and at once left the tent. + +"Cethegus," said Marcus, "one of your cohorts also lies buried under +their barracks." + +But, impatiently shaking his head, the Prefect asked: "How is the water +in the Gothic moat before the tower of Ætius? Has not the earthquake +lessened it?" + +"Yes, the water has disappeared--the moat is quite dry. Hark, what a +cry! It is your Illyrians! They cry for help!" + +"Let them cry!" said Cethegus. "Is the moat really dry? Then give the +signal to storm. Follow me with all the Isaurians that are still +alive." + +And in the midst of thunder and lightning, which now again raged +unceasingly, the Prefect hurried to the trenches where his Roman +legions and the rest of the Isaurians stood under arms. He quickly +counted them. There were far too few to take the city alone, but he +knew that a moderate success would immediately cause Belisarius to join +him. + +"Lights! torches!" he cried, and stepped to the front of his Roman +legions with a torch in his left hand. "Forward!" he cried. "Draw your +swords!" + +But not a hand was raised. + +Dumb with astonishment and terror, the whole troop--even the leaders, +even Licinius--looked at the demonic man, who, in the midst of all +Nature's rebellion, thought only of his goal, and of using the strife +of the elements and the terrors of the Almighty as means to prosecute +his own ends. + +"Well? which is your duty? To listen to the thunder, or to me!" he +cried. + +"General," said a centurion, stepping forward, "the men pray; for the +earth quaked." + +"Do you think that Italy will devour her own children? No, Romans; see! +The very earth quakes at the tread of the barbarians. It rises, breaks +its bonds, and their walls fall. Roma, Roma æterna!" + +His words took effect. + +It was one of those Cæsarian speeches which move men to great deeds. + +"Roma, Roma æterna!" cried, first Licinius, and after him thousands of +Roman youths; and through night and storm, through thunder and +lightning, they followed the Prefect, whose grand enthusiasm +irresistibly carried them away. + +Excitement lent wings to their feet. They were soon across the wide +moat which usually they scarcely dared to approach. + +Cethegus was the first to reach the opposite side. + +The wind had extinguished the torches. + +But he found his way in the dark. + +"Here, Licinius!" he cried, "follow me! Here must be the breach." + +He sprang forward, but ran against some hard body and staggered back. + +"What is that!" asked Lucius Licinius behind him. "A second wall?" + +"No," said a quiet voice, "but a Gothic shield!" + +"That is King Witichis!" said the Prefect furiously, and with bitter +hatred he looked at the dark figure before him. + +He had counted upon a surprise. His hope was frustrated. + +"If I but had him," he said to himself, "he should never hinder me +again!" + +Looking behind, he now saw many torch-lights and heard the flourish of +trumpets. Belisarius was leading his troops to storm the walls. + +Procopius reached the Prefect. + +"Well, why do you stop? Do new walls keep you back?" + +"Yes, living walls. There they stand," and the Prefect pointed forward +with his sword. + +"Under the still tottering ruins, these Goths! Truly," cried +Procopius-- + + "'Si fractus illabatur orbis, + Impavidos ferient ruinæ!' + +They are courageous men!" + +But now Belisarius was at hand with his compact lines, ready for the +assault. + +One moment more--the leaders were still hurrying to and fro, giving +orders--and a terrible slaughter would begin. + +But suddenly all the sky above the city was flooded with a red light. + +A column of flame shot up into the air, and countless sparks descended. +It seemed to rain fire from heaven. All Ravenna glowed in the crimson +light. It was a fearful but beautiful spectacle. + +Both armies, ready to mingle in a hand-to-hand combat, halted and +hesitated. + +"Fire! fire! Witichis, King Witichis!" shouted a horseman, who came +galloping from the city; "it burns!" + +"We see it. Let it burn, Markja! First fight and then extinguish." + +"No, no, sire; all the granaries burn! The grain flies in myriads of +sparks through the air." + +"The granaries are burning!" cried Goths and Byzantines. + +Witichis had no heart to ask questions. + +"The lightning must have kindled the interior long ago. It is quite +burnt out. Look! look!" + +A stronger gust of wind fanned the fire, which flamed up higher than +ever. The flames caught the nearest roofs, and, at the same time, the +wooden ridge of the lofty building seemed to fall, for, after a heavy +crash, the sparks shot up thicker than ever. + +It was a sea of fire. + +Witichis tried to lift his hand to give an order--but his arm fell, +faint and powerless. Cethegus saw it. + +"Now!" he cried; "now let us assault!" + +"No; halt!" thundered Belisarius. "He who lifts his sword is the +Emperor's enemy and dies! Back to the camp--all. Now Ravenna is mine! +To-morrow it will fall without a struggle." + +His troops obeyed him and drew back. + +Cethegus was in a fury. He alone was too weak to oppose the order. He +was obliged to yield. + +His plans were ruined. He had wished to take the city by storm in +order--as he had done in Rome--to take possession of its principal +defences. And he foresaw that it would be now delivered completely into +the hand of Belisarius. He led his troops away in disgust. + +But the events which actually occurred afterwards, were very different +to what either the Prefect or Belisarius had expected. + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + +The King had left the breach in the wall and the Tower of Ætius to the +care of Hildebad, and hurried at once to the place of the +conflagration. + +When he arrived he found the fire dying out--but merely for want of +more combustibles. + +The whole contents of the magazines, together with the wooden walls and +roofs, and everything that could burn, had been destroyed; not a +remnant of corn nor a splinter of wood was left. The naked smoke and +soot-blackened stone walls of the marble Circus alone still rose into +the sky. Not a sign of its having been struck by lightning could be +seen. The fire must have glimmered for some time after the lightning +had kindled the woodwork, and spread slowly and unseen through the +interior of the building; and when smoke and flame had burst through +the apertures in the roof, it was too late to save the structure. The +inhabitants had enough to do to save the neighbouring houses, of which +many had already caught fire in various places. + +The rain, which began to fall shortly before daybreak, came to their +assistance. The wind, thunder and lightning had ceased; but when the +sun broke through the clouds it only illumined, instead of the +granaries, a miserable heap of rubbish and ashes in the middle of the +marble Circus. + +The King leaned against one of the pillars of the Basilica, sadly and +silently looking at the ruins. + +For a long time he stood motionless, only sometimes he drew his mantle +more closely over his heaving chest. + +A painful resolution was ripening in his soul, which seemed to have +become as still as the grave. + +But round about him the place was full of the misery of the poor people +of Ravenna, who prayed, scolded, wept and cursed. + +"Oh! what will now become of us?"--"Oh, how sweet and good and white +was the bread which we received but yesterday!"--"What shall we eat +now?"--"Bah, the King must help us."--"Yes, the King must give us +bread."--"The King? Ah, the poor man! where will he get it?"--"He has +no more."--"That's another thing!"--"He alone has brought us to this +pass!"--"It is his fault!"--"Why did he not surrender the city to the +Emperor long ago?"--"Yes, to its rightful master!"--"Curses on the +barbarians! It is all their fault!"--"No, no, it is only the +King's fault!"--"Do you not understand? It is a punishment from +God!"--"Punishment? Why? What wrong has he done? Has he not given bread +to the people?"--"Then you do not know? How can a bigamist deserve the +grace of God? The wicked man has two wives. He lusted for the beauty of +Mataswintha, and did not rest until she became his. He put away his +lawful wife." + +Witichis indignantly descended the steps. + +He was disgusted with the people. + +But they recognised him. + +"There is the King! How gloomy he looks!" they called to each other, +avoiding him. + +"Oh, I don't fear him! I fear hunger more than his anger. Give us +bread. King Witichis! Do you hear? We are starving!" cried a ragged old +man, catching at the King's mantle. + +"Bread, King!" + +"Good King, bread!" + +"We are in despair!" + +"Help us!" + +And the crowd gathered round him with wild gestures. + +Quietly but decisively the King freed himself. + +"Have patience," he said gravely; "before the sun sets you shall have +bread." + +And he hurried to his room. + +There a Roman physician and some of Mataswintha's attendants awaited +him. + +"Sire," said the physician, "the Queen, your wife, is very sick. The +terrors of last night have disturbed her mind. She speaks as if in +delirium. Will you not see her?" + +"Not now. Have a care of her." + +"With an air of great distress and anxiety she gave me this key," added +the physician. "It appeared to be the principal subject of her +wandering speeches. She took it from under her pillow, and she made me +swear to give it into your own hands, as it was of great importance." + +With a bitter smile the King took the key and threw it on one side. + +"It is no longer of importance. Go; leave me: and send my secretary." + +An hour later, Procopius admitted Cethegus into the tent of the +commander-in-chief. + +As he entered, Belisarius, who was pacing to and fro with hasty steps, +cried out: + +"This comes of your plans, Prefect--of your arts and lies! I always +said that lies are the source of ruin. I do not understand such ways! +Oh, why did I follow your advice? Now I am in great straits!" + +"What mean these virtuous speeches?" Cethegus asked Procopius. + +The latter handed him a letter. + +"Bead. These barbarians are unfathomable in their grand simplicity. +They conquer the devil by virtue of their childlike minds. Read." + +And Cethegus read with amazement: + + +"'Yesterday thou didst acquaint me with three things: that the Franks +had betrayed me; that thou, allied with them, wilt wrest the West from +the ungrateful Emperor; and that thou offerest the Goths a free +departure, unarmed, over the Alps. Yesterday I answered that the Goths +would never give up their arms, nor Italy, the conquest and inheritance +of their great King, and that I would rather fall here with my whole +army than do so. This I answered yesterday. I say so still, although +earth, air, fire, and water are allied against me. But last night, as I +watched the flames which were devouring my stores, I felt sure of what +I have long dimly suspected. That a curse lies upon me. For my sake the +Goths perish. This shall go on no longer. The crown upon my head has +hitherto prevented me from taking an honourable course; it shall +prevent me no longer. Thou art right to rebel against the false and +ungrateful Justinian! He is our enemy and thine. Well then--instead of +placing thy confidence in an army of faithless Franks, place it in the +whole Gothic nation, whose strength and fidelity are known to thee! +With the first thou wouldst share Italy; with us thou canst keep it +all. Let me be the first to greet thee as Emperor of the West and King +of the Goths. All the rights of my people remain untouched; thou simply +takest my place. I myself will set my crown upon thy head, and verily, +no Justinian shall then tear it from thee! If thou rejectest this +offer, prepare for such a battle as thou hast never yet fought. I will +break into thy camp with fifty thousand Goths. We shall fall, but with +us thy whole army. The one and the other. I have sworn it. Choose. + + "'WITICHIS.'" + +For one moment the Prefect was terribly alarmed. He cast a swift and +searching look at Belisarius. + +But a single glance sufficed to set him at ease. + +"It is Belisarius," he said to himself, "but it is always dangerous to +play with the devil. What A temptation!" + +He returned the letter, and said with a smile: "What an idea! To what +strange things can desperation lead!" + +"The idea would not be bad," observed Procopius, "if----" + +"If Belisarius were not Belisarius," said Cethegus, smiling. + +"Spare your smiles," said Belisarius. "I admire the man, and I cannot +take it amiss that he thinks I am capable of revolt. Have I not +pretended to be so?" and he stamped his foot. "Now advise and help me! +You have led me to this miserable alternative. I cannot say yes; and if +I say no--I may look upon the Emperor's army as annihilated, and, into +the bargain, must confess that I pretended to revolt!" + +Cethegus reflected in silence, slowly stroking his chin with his left +hand. Suddenly a thought seemed to flash across his mind. A ray of joy +beautified his face. + +"In this way I can ruin them both," he said to himself. + +At this moment he was exceedingly contented with himself. + +But first he wished to make sure of Belisarius. + +"Reasonably, you can only do one of two things," he said hesitatingly. + +"Speak: I see neither the one nor the other." + +"Either really accept----" + +"Prefect!" cried Belisarius in a rage, and put his hand on his sword. +Procopius caught his arm in alarm. "Not another such word, Cethegus, if +you value your life!" + +"Or," continued Cethegus quietly, "seem to accept. Enter Ravenna +without a stroke of the sword, and send the Gothic crown, together with +the Gothic King, to Byzantium." + +"That is splendid!" cried Procopius. + +"It is treason!" cried Belisarius. + +"It is both," said Cethegus calmly. + +"I could never look a Goth in the face again!" + +"It will not be necessary. You will take the King a prisoner to +Byzantium. The disarmed nation will cease to be a nation." + +"No, no, I will not do it." + +"Good. Then let your whole army make its will. Farewell, Belisarius. I +go to Rome. I have not the least desire to see fifty thousand Goths +fighting in despair. And how Emperor Justinian will praise the +destroyer of his best army!" + +"It is a terrible alternative!" cried Belisarius. + +Cethegus slowly approached him. + +"Belisarius," he said, with a voice which seemed to come from his very +heart, "you have often held me to be your enemy. And I am, in some +sort, your adversary. But who can be near Belisarius in the field of +battle and not admire him!" His manner had a suavity and solemnity +seldom seen in the sarcastic Prefect. Belisarius was touched, and even +Procopius wondered. "I am your friend whenever possible. In this case I +will prove my friendship by giving you good advice. Do you believe me, +Belisarius?" + +And he laid his left hand upon the heroes shoulder, and offered him his +right, looking frankly into his eyes. + +"Yes," said Belisarius. "Who can mistrust such a look!" + +"See, Belisarius! Never has a noble man had such a distrustful master +as yours. The Emperor's last letter is the greatest offence to your +fidelity." + +"Heaven knows it!" + +"And never has a man"--here he took both the hands of Belisarius--"had +a more splendid opportunity to put ignoble mistrust to shame, to +revenge himself gloriously, and to prove his fidelity. You are accused +of aspiring to the Empire of the West! By God, you have it in your +power! Enter Ravenna--let Goths and Italians do you homage and place a +double crown upon your head. Ravenna yours, with your blindly devoted +army, the Goths and Italians--truly you are unassailable. Justinian +will tremble before Belisarius, and his haughty Narses will be but a +straw against your strength. But you--who have all this in your +hand--you will lay all the glory and the power at your master's feet +and say: 'Behold, Justinian, Belisarius would rather be your servant, +than ruler of the Western Empire.' So gloriously, Belisarius, has +fidelity never yet been proved upon earth." + +Cethegus had hit the mark. The general's eyes flashed. + +"You are right, Cethegus. Come to my heart. I thank you. It is nobly +thought. O Justinian, you shall blush with shame!" + +Cethegus withdrew from the embrace, and went to the door. + +"Poor Witichis," whispered Procopius, as he passed; "he is sacrificed +to this masterpiece of truth! Now he is indeed lost." + +"Yes," said Cethegus, "he is lost most surely." + +Outside the tent he added, as he threw his mantle over his shoulder: + +"But you, Belisarius, more surely still!" + + +Arrived at his quarters, he found Lucius Licinius in full armour. + +"Well, general!" asked Lucius. "The city has not yet surrendered. When +shall we fight?" + +"The war is over, my Lucius. Doff your arms and gird yourself for a +journey. This very day you must carry some private letters for me." + +"To whom?" + +"To the Emperor and Empress." + +"In Byzantium?" + +"No. Fortunately they are quite near, at the Baths of Epidaurus. +Hasten! In fifteen days you must be back again. Not half a day later. +The fate of Italy awaits your return." + +As soon as Procopius brought the answer of Belisarius to the Gothic +King, the latter summoned to his palace the leaders of the army, the +principal Goths, and a number of trustworthy freemen, and communicated +to them what had happened, demanding their acquiescence. + +At first they were exceedingly surprised, and complete silence followed +his words. + +At last Duke Guntharis, looking at the King with emotion, said: + +"The last of thy royal deeds, Witichis, is as noble, yea, nobler than +all thy former acts. I shall ever regret having once opposed thee. +Long since I swore in my heart to atone by blindly obeying thee. And +truly--in this case thou alone canst decide; for thy sacrifice is the +greatest--a crown! But if another than thou shalt be King--the +Wölfung's can better endure to serve a stranger, a Belisarius, than +some other Goth. So I agree to what thou sayest, and tell thee that +thou hast acted well and nobly." + +"And I say no! a thousand times no!" cried Hildebad. "Think what you +do. A stranger at the head of the Goths!" + +"Have not other Germans done the same before us--Quadians; Herulians, +and Markomannians?" said Witichis calmly. "Even our most glorious +Kings--even Theodoric? They served the Emperor and received land in +exchange. So runs the treaty with Emperor Zeno, by which Theodoric took +possession of Italy. I do not count Belisarius less than Zeno, and +myself, truly, not better than Theodoric!" + +"Yes, if it were Justinian," interposed Guntharis. + +"Never would I submit to the false and cowardly tyrant!" cried +Hildebad. + +"But Belisarius is a hero--canst thou deny it? Hast thou forgotten how +he thrust thee off thy horse?" + +"May the thunder strike me if I forget it! It is the only thing in him +which has ever pleased me." + +"And fortune is with him, as misfortune is with me. We shall be as free +as before, and only fight his battles against Byzantium. We shall be +revenged on our common enemy." + +Almost all those present now agreed with the King. + +"Well, I cannot contradict you in words," said Hildebad; "my tongue has +ever been more clumsy than my sword. But I feel sure that you are +wrong. Had we but the Black Earl here, he would say what I can only +feel. May you never regret this step! But permit me to quit this +monstrous kingdom. I will never live under Belisarius. I will go in +search of adventures. With a shield and spear and a strong hand, a man +can go a great way." + +Witichis hoped to change the intention of his trusty comrade in private +conversation. At present he continued to carry forward that which he +had at heart. + +"You must know," he said, "that first of all Belisarius has made it a +condition that nothing should be published until he has occupied +Ravenna. It is to be feared that some of his leaders, with their +troops, will hear nothing of a rebellion against Belisarius. These, as +well as the suspicious quarters of Ravenna, must be surrounded by the +Goths and the trustworthy adherents of Belisarius before all is made +known." + +"Take care," said Hildebad, "that you yourselves do not fall into a +trap! We Goths should not try to spin such spiders' toils. It is as if +a bear should try to dance on a rope--he would fall, sooner or later. +Farewell--and may this business turn out better than I expect. I go to +take leave of my brother. He, if I know him, will soon reconcile +himself to this Roman-Gothic State. But Black Teja, I think, will go +away with me." + +In the evening a report ran through the city that terms of capitulation +had been made and accepted. The conditions were unknown. But it was +certain that Belisarius, at the desire of the King, had sent large +stores of bread, meat, and wine into Ravenna, which were distributed +amongst the poor. + +"He has kept his word!" cried the people; and blessed the name of the +King. + +Witichis now asked after the health of the Queen, and learned that she +was gradually recovering. + +"Patience," he said, taking a deep breath; "she also will soon be at +liberty, and rid of me!" + +It was already growing dark, when a strong company of mounted Goths +made their way through the city to the breach at the Tower of Ætius. + +A tall horseman went first. Then came a group, carrying a heavy burden, +hidden by cloths and mantles, upon their crossed lances. Then the rest +of the men in full armour. + +"Unbolt the gate!" cried the leader; "we want to go out." + +"Is it thou, Hildebad?" asked Earl Wisand, who commanded the watch, and +he gave the order to open the gate. "Dost thou know that to-morrow the +city will surrender? Whither wilt thou go?" + +"To freedom!" cried Hildebad; and spurred his horse forward. + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + +Many days passed before Mataswintha fully recovered from the delirium +of fever and the uneasy slumbers, haunted by terrible dreams, which +followed. + +She had become dull and impassive to all that passed around her, taking +no interest in the great changes which were in preparation. She +appeared to have no other feeling than that of the enormity of her +crime. The triumphal exultation which she had felt while rushing +through the night with her torch, had given place to devouring remorse, +horror, and dread. + +At the moment of committing the wicked deed, the earthquake had thrown +her upon her knees, and in her excitement, in the pang of awakening +conscience, she thought that the very earth was rising up against her, +and that the judgment of Heaven was about to fall upon her guilty head. + +And when, on reaching her chamber, she presently saw the flames, which +her own hand had kindled, reddening all the sky; when she heard the +cries and lamentations of Ravennese and Goths; the flames seemed to +scorch her heart and every cry to call down curses upon her. + +She lost her senses; she was overwhelmed by the consequences of her +deed. + +When she came to herself and gradually recollected all that had passed, +her hatred of the King was completely spent. Her soul was bowed down; +she was filled with deep remorse; and a terrible fear of ever having to +appear before him again came upon her, for she well knew, and now heard +from all sides, that the destruction of the magazines would oblige the +King to surrender to his enemies. + +Himself she did not see. Even when he found a moment in which to ask +personally after her health, she had conjured the astonished Aspa on no +account to let him approach her, although she had left her couch many +days ago, and had frequently admitted the poor of the city; had, +indeed, invited the sufferers to apply to her for help. + +At such times she had given the provisions intended for herself and her +attendants to the poor with her own hands, and divided amongst them her +jewels and gold with unlimited generosity. + +It was one of these visits that she was expecting, after having been +petitioned by a man in a brown mantle and steel cap to grant a private +audience to a poor woman of her nation. "She has a message which +concerns the King. She has to warn you of some treachery which +threatens his crown and perhaps his life," the man had said. + +Mataswintha at once granted his request. + +Even if it were a mistake, an excuse, she could now never more refuse +to admit any one who came with a message concerning the King's safety. +She ordered the woman to come at sunset. + +The sun had gone down. + +In the south there is almost no twilight, and it was nearly dark when a +slave beckoned to the woman, who had been waiting in the court for some +time, to come forward. + +The Queen, sick and sleepless during the night, had only fallen asleep +at the eighth hour. She had just awoke, and was very weak. +Notwithstanding, she would receive the woman, because she said her +message concerned the King. + +"But is that really true?" inquired the slave----it was Aspa. "I should +not like to disturb my mistress without cause. If you only want gold, +say so freely; you shall have as much as you wish--only spare my +mistress. Does it really concern the King?" + +"It does." + +With a sigh, Aspa led the woman into the Queen's chamber. + +The form of Mataswintha, clad in light white garments, her head and +hair covered by a folded kerchief, was relieved against the dark +background of the spacious chamber, lying upon a couch, near which +stood a round table in mosaic. The golden lamp, which was fixed to the +wall above the table, shed a faint light. + +Mataswintha rose and seated herself, with an air of fatigue, upon the +edge of her couch. + +"Draw near," she said to the woman. "Thy message concerns the King? Why +dost thou hesitate? Speak!" + +The woman pointed at Aspa. + +"She is silent and faithful." + +"She is a woman." + +At a sign from the Queen, the slave reluctantly left the room. + +"Daughter of the Amelungs, I know that nothing but the strait in which +the kingdom stood, and not love, led thee to Witichis.--(How lovely she +is, although pale as death!)--Yet thou art the Queen of the Goths--his +Queen--and even if thou dost not love him, his kingdom, his triumph, +must be all in all to thee." + +Mataswintha grasped the gilded arm of her couch. + +"So thinks every beggar in the nation!" she sighed. + +"To the King I cannot speak, for special reasons," continued the woman. +"Therefore I speak to thee whose province it is to succour and warn him +against treason. Listen to me." And she drew nearer, looking keenly at +the Queen.--"How strange," she said to herself; "what similarity of +form!" + +"Treason! still more treason?" + +"So thou too suspectest treason?" + +"It is no matter. From whom? From Byzantium? From without? From the +Prefect?" + +"No," the woman answered, shaking her head. "Not from without; from +within. Not from a man; from a woman." + +"What dost thou say?" asked Mataswintha, turning still paler. "How can +a woman----" + +"Injure the hero? In the devilish wickedness of her heart. Not openly, +but by cunning and treachery; perhaps with secret poison, as has +already happened; perhaps with secret fire." + +"Hold!" + +Mataswintha, who had just risen, staggered back to the table and leaned +upon it. But the woman followed her and whispered softly: + +"I must tell thee of an incredible, shameful act! The King and the +people believe that the lightning set the magazines on fire, but I know +better. And _he_ shall know it. He shall be warned by _thee_, so that +he may discover the rank offender. That night I saw a torch-light +passing through the galleries of the magazines, and it was carried by a +woman. _Her_ hand cast it amongst the stores! Thou shudderest? Yes, a +_woman_. Wherefore wilt thou go? Hear one other word, and I will leave +thee. The name? I do not know it. But the woman fell just at my feet, +and, recovering, escaped; but as she went, she lost a sign and means of +recognition--this snake of emeralds." + +And the woman held up a bracelet in the light of the lamp. + +Mataswintha, tortured to death, started upright. She held both arms +over her face. The hasty movement disturbed her kerchief. Her red-gold +hair fell over her shoulders, and through the hair gleamed a golden +bracelet with an emerald snake, which encircled her left arm. + +The woman saw it and screamed: + +"Ha! by the God of the faithful! It was thou--thou thyself! _His_ +Queen--his _wife_ has betrayed him! He shall know it! Curses upon +thee!" + +With a piercing cry, Mataswintha fell back upon her couch and buried +her face in the cushions. + +The scream brought Aspa from the adjoining room. But when she entered, +the Queen was alone. + +The curtain of the door still rustled. The beggar had disappeared. + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + +The next morning Procopius, Johannes, Demetrius, Bessas, Acacius, +Vitalius, and many other Byzantine leaders arrived in the city, and, to +the great astonishment of the Ravennese, entered the King's palace. + +They assembled there to take counsel as to particular stipulations, and +to decide upon the form of surrender. + +Meanwhile the Goths heard only that peace was concluded. The two +principal considerations, for the sake of which they had endured all +the grievous war, were obtained. They would be free, and remain in +undisturbed possession of the lovely Southland, which had become so +dear to them. That was far more than could have been expected, +considering the desperate state at which the Gothic cause had arrived +since the retreat from Rome and the inevitable loss of Ravenna; and the +heads of the great families, and other influential men in the army, who +were now made acquainted with the intentions of Belisarius, were +completely satisfied with the conditions agreed upon. + +The few who refused acquiescence were freely allowed to depart from +Ravenna and Italy. + +But, apart from this, the Gothic army in Ravenna had already been +dispersed in all directions. + +Witichis saw that it was impossible to feed the Gothic army and the +population, as well as the hosts of Belisarius, from the produce of the +exhausted land; he therefore agreed to the proposal of Belisarius, that +the Goths, in companies of a hundred or a thousand, should be led out +of the gates of the city and dismissed in all directions to their +native places. + +Belisarius feared the outbreak of despair when the terrible treachery +practised should become known, and he therefore wished for the speedy +dispersal of the disbanded army. Once in Ravenna, he hoped to be able +to quell any possible rebellion in the open country without difficulty. + +Tarvisium, Verona, and Ticinum, the last strongholds of the Goths in +Italy, could not then, for any length of time, resist the forces which +would be sent against them. + +The execution of these measures was the work of many days. Only when +very few Goths were left in Ravenna did Belisarius decide upon entering +the city. And even of the few who remained, half were transferred to +the Byzantine camp, the other half being divided amongst the different +quarters of the city, under the pretext of being ready to crush any +possible resistance on the part of Justinian's adherents. + +But what surprised the Ravennese and the uninitiated Goths the most +was, that the blue Gothic flag still waved upon the roof of the palace. +Certainly it was guarded by a Byzantine instead of by a Gothic +sentinel. For the palace was already full of Byzantines. + +Belisarius had taken particular measures against any attempt of the +Prefect to make himself master of the city, as he had done of Rome. + +Cethegus saw through this and smiled. He did nothing to prevent it. + +On the morning of the day appointed for the entrance, Cethegus entered +the tent of Belisarius, clad in a magnificent suit of armour. He found +only Procopius. + +"Are you ready!" he asked. + +"Perfectly." + +"At what time shall it take place?" + +"At the moment when the King mounts his horse in the courtyard of the +palace in order to ride to meet Belisarius. We have thought of +everything." + +"Once more of everything!" said Cethegus, with a laugh. "Yet one thing +you have left to me. It is certain that as soon as our plan has +succeeded and become known, that the barbarians all over the country +will fly into a rage. Revenge and compassion for their King may cause +them to commit furious deeds. But all their enthusiasm for Witichis and +anger against us would be nipped in the bud; they would consider +themselves betrayed by their King, and not by us, if we could get him +to sign a document to the purport that he did not surrender the city to +Belisarius as the King of the Goths and a rebel against the Emperor, +but simply to Justinian's commander-in-chief. Then the revolt of +Belisarius, which will actually not take place, would seem to the Goths +to have been a mere lie invented by their King in order to hide from +them the shame of the surrender." + +"That would be excellent; but Witichis will not do it." + +"_Knowingly_, scarcely; but perhaps unknowingly. He has only signed the +treaty in the original yet?" + +"He has signed only once." + +"And the document is in his possession? Good. I will make him sign the +duplicate which I have drawn up, so that Belisarius also may possess +the valuable document." + +Procopius looked at it. + +"If he sign this, then, indeed, not a Goth will raise his sword in his +defence. But----" + +"Let me manage the 'buts.' Either he will voluntarily sign it to-day, +unread, under pressure of the moment----" + +"Or?" + +"Or," concluded Cethegus gloomily, "he will sign it later, against his +will. I will now go before you. Excuse me if I do not assist at your +triumphal procession. Many congratulations to Belisarius." + +But as he turned to go, Belisarius himself entered the tent, unarmed, +and looking very sullen. He was followed by Antonina. + +"Hasten, general," cried Procopius, "Ravenna waits for her conqueror. +The entrance----" + +"Speak not of it!" cried Belisarius angrily. "I regret the whole +affair! Recall the soldiers!" + +Cethegus remained standing at the entrance of the tent. + +"Belisarius!" cried Procopius, horrified, "what demon has put you into +this temper?" + +"I!" said Antonina proudly. "What do you say now?" + +"I say that great statesmen have no business with wives," cried +Procopius angrily. + +"Belisarius told me your intentions only last night," said Antonina, +"and with tears----" + +"Of course!" grumbled Procopius. "Tears always come when wanted." + +"With tears I prayed him to refrain. I cannot bear to see my hero so +spotted with black treachery." + +"And I will not be so," said Belisarius. "Rather would I ride into +Orcus a prisoner, than as _such_ a conqueror into Ravenna! My letters +to the Emperor have not yet been sent away--so there is still time----" + +"No!" cried Cethegus imperiously, coming forward from the doorway, +"fortunately for you there is _not_ still time. I wrote to the Emperor +eight days ago, told him all, and congratulated him on his general's +having won Ravenna and put an end to the war without the slightest +loss." + +"Indeed, Prefect!" cried Belisarius. "You are very ready! Wherefore +this zeal?" + +"Because I know Belisarius and his wavering mind. Because you must be +_forced_ into taking advantage of your good fortune, and because I wish +to make an end to this war which so cruelly devastates my Italy!" + +And he approached Antonina threateningly, who again could not avoid the +demonic fascination of his glance. + +"Dare it! try it now! Dare to retreat, to undeceive Witichis, and +sacrifice Ravenna, Italy, and your whole army to a whim of your wife! +Then see if Justinian would ever forgive you! On Antonina's soul the +guilt! Hark! the trumpets sound! Arm yourself! There is no choice!" + +And he hurried out. + +Antonina looked after him in dismay. + +"Procopius," she asked, "does the Emperor really know it already?" + +"Even if he did not, too many are initiated into our secret. In all +cases he would learn afterwards that Ravenna and Italy were his, +and--that Belisarius strove for the Gothic and the imperial crown. +Nothing can justify Belisarius in the Emperor's eyes, except the fact +of gaining Ravenna, and delivering it to Justinian." + +"Yes," said Belisarius, sighing, "he is right. I have no choice left." + +"Then go!" said Antonina, intimidated. "But excuse me from accompanying +you. It is no triumph, but a laying of a trap." + + +The population of Ravenna, although in the dark as to the particular +conditions, were still certain that peace was concluded, and the long +and terrible suffering they had endured at an end. In their joy at this +deliverance, the citizens had cleared away the ruins caused by the +earthquake in many of the streets, and had festively decorated the +city. + +Wreaths, flags, and carpets were hung out; the people crowded the +forums, the canals of the lagoons, and the baths and basilicas, curious +to see the hero, Belisarius, and the army which had so long threatened +their walls, and had, at last, overcome the barbarians. + +Already some divisions of the Byzantine army marched proudly through +the gates, while the scattered and scanty Gothic patrols beheld, in +silence and indignation, the entrance of their hated enemies into the +residence of Theodoric. + +The Gothic nobles assembled in a hall in the gaily-decorated palace, +near the apartment of the King. + +The latter, as the hour for the entrance of Belisarius approached, +prepared to don his royal garments--with great contentment, for it was +the last time that he would ever wear the signs of a dignity which had +brought him nothing but pain and wretchedness. + +"Go, Duke Guntharis," he said to the Wölfung, "Hildebad, my faithless +chamberlain, has left me; thou, therefore, must take his place. The +attendant will show thee the golden chest which contains the crown, +helm, and purple mantle, the sword and shield of Theodoric. To-day, for +the first and last time, I will array myself in them, in order to +deliver them to a hero who will wear them not unworthily. What noise is +that?" + +"Sire," answered Earl Wisand, "it is a Gothic woman. She has tried to +force her way in thrice already. Send her away!" + +"No; tell her I will listen to her later. She shall ask for me this +evening at the palace." + +As Guntharis left the room, Bessas entered with Cethegus. + +The Prefect had given Bessas--without initiating him into the +secret--the duplicate of the capitulation, which the King had yet to +sign. He thought that Witichis would take the document more +unsuspiciously from an innocent hand. + +Witichis greeted them as they entered; but at the sight of the Prefect +there passed a shadow across his countenance, which had before been +brighter than for many months. But he forced himself to say: + +"You here, Prefect of Rome? The war has ended very differently to what +we expected! However, you may be satisfied. At least no Grecian +Emperor, no Justinian, will rule over your Rome." + +"And shall not, as long as I live." + +"I come, King of the Goths," interrupted Bessas, "to lay before you the +treaty with Belisarius, in order that you may sign it." + +"I have already done so." + +"It is the duplicate intended for my master." + +"Then give it me," said Witichis, and stretched out his hand to take +it. + +But before he could do so, Duke Guntharis hurried into the room with +the attendant. + +"Witichis," he cried, "the royal insignia have disappeared!" + +"What sayest thou?" asked Witichis. "Hildebad alone kept the key!" + +"The golden chest and other chests are gone. Within the empty niche, +where they usually stood, lay this strip of parchment. The characters +are those of Hildebad's secretary." + +The King took it and read: + +"'Crown, helm and sword, purple and shield of Theodoric are in my care. +If Belisarius will have them, he may fetch them.' The Runic character +H-- for Hildebad!" + +"He must be followed until he yield them up," cried Cethegus. + +At this moment Demetrius and Johannes hurried in. + +"Make haste. King Witichis," they cried. "Do you hear the trumpets? +Belisarius has already reached the Gate of Stilicho." + +"Then let us go," said Witichis, allowing his attendant to place the +purple mantle, which they had brought instead of the missing one, upon +his shoulders, and pressing a golden coronet upon his head. Instead of +the sword, a sceptre was handed to him; and thus adorned, he turned to +the door. + +"You have not yet signed, King," said Bessas. + +"Give it to me," and now Witichis took the parchment from the hand of +the Byzantine. "The document is very long," he said, glancing over it; +and then began to read. + +"Haste, King," said Johannes. + +"There is no time to read it," said Cethegus, with an indifferent +voice, and took a reed-pen from the table. + +"Then there is no time to sign it," said the King. "You know I am the +'_Peasant_-King,' as the people call me. And a peasant never signs a +letter before he has read to what he commits himself. Let us go," and, +smiling, he gave the document to the Prefect and left the room. + +Bessas and all present followed, except Cethegus. Cethegus crushed the +document in his hand. + +"Wait!" he whispered furiously. "You shall yet sign!" And he slowly +followed the others. + +The hall leading to the King's apartment was already empty. The Prefect +went into the vaulted gallery which ran round the quadrangle of the +first story of the palace. The Byzantine-Roman arches afforded a free +outlook into the large courtyard. It was filled with armed men. At all +the four doors were placed the Persian lance-bearers of Belisarius. + +Cethegus leaned against an archway and, watching the course of events, +spoke to himself. + +"Well, there are Byzantines enough to take a small army prisoner! +Friend Procopius is prudent. There! Witichis appears at the door. His +Goths are still far behind upon the staircase. The King's horse is led +forward. Bessas holds the stirrups. Witichis is close to it; he lifts +his foot. Now comes a blast of trumpets. The door of the staircase is +closed and the Goths shut into the palace! Procopius tears down the +Gothic flag on the roof. Johannes takes the King's right arm--bravo, +Johannes! The King defends himself valiantly--but his long mantle +hinders him--he staggers! He falls to the ground! There lies the +kingdom of the Goths!" + + +"There lies the kingdom of the Goths!" with these words Procopius also +concluded the sentences which he wrote down in his diary that night. + +"To-day I have assisted in making an important piece of history," he +wrote, "and will take note of it to-night. When I saw the imperial army +enter the gates and the King's palace of Ravenna, I thought that indeed +it is not always merit, virtue, or number that ensures success. There +is a higher power, inevitable necessity. In number and heroism the +Goths were superior to us, and they did not fail in every possible +exertion. The Gothic women in Ravenna scolded their husbands to their +faces when they saw the slight forms, the small number of our troops as +they marched in. Summa: in the most righteous cause, with the most +heroic efforts, a man or a nation may succumb, if superior powers, +which have not always the better right on their side, oppose him. My +heart beat with a sense of wrong as I tore down the Gothic flag and set +the golden Dragon of Justinian in its place, as I raised the flag of +evil above the flag of righteousness. Not justice, but a necessity +which is inscrutable, rules the fate of men and nations. But that does +not confuse a true man. For not _what_ we do, live, or suffer--_how_ we +do or bear it, makes a man a hero. The Goths' defeat is more honourable +than our victory. And the hand which tore down their banner will +chronicle the fame of this people for future generations. +Notwithstanding, however that may be--there lies the kingdom of the +Goths!" + +FOOTNOTE: +[Footnote 1: Procopius, in his "Wars of the Goths," vol. i., pp. 7, 18, +places here, in mistake, the Tiber instead of the Anio.] + + + + + END OF VOL. II. + + + + BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, SURREY. + + _H. L. & Co._ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Struggle for Rome, Vol. 2 (of 3), by Felix Dahn + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A STRUGGLE FOR ROME, VOL. 2 (OF 3) *** + +***** This file should be named 32330-8.txt or 32330-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/3/3/32330/ + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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