A Struggle For Rome Volume Ii Part 64

"You have saved me? how?"

"When I laid you, as pale as death, upon this bed, I fetched my Snake-G.o.d and showed you to him; and I said, 'Thou seest, O Snake-G.o.d, 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-G.o.d, 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 G.o.d has saved me, Syphax.--Let the tribunes enter."

Very soon Piso, the Licinii, Salvius Julia.n.u.s, 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 G.o.d, and not the G.o.d 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 cus.h.i.+ons, so that I may see my Caesar. 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 n.o.bleness of mind, you, who yourself are n.o.ble!"

"I? I know nothing of it."

"As soon as Belisarius recovered his senses," continued Procopius, "Bessas naturally informed him of all that had pa.s.sed. 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 patricians.h.i.+p 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 G.o.ds!"

"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 hors.e.m.e.n. 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 hors.e.m.e.n, 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 s.h.i.+eld. The barbarian's axe pierced the s.h.i.+eld, and entered deeply into the n.o.ble 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 n.o.ble 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 hors.e.m.e.n 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 cus.h.i.+ons.

"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.