A Struggle for Rome, v. 2

  CHAPTER XVI.

  Hildebad, impatient at the long pause of idleness, had, one day atdawn, made a sudden sally upon the Byzantines from the Porta Faventina,which was under his special command. He had at first won greatadvantages, 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 notBelisarius, hurrying up, displayed at once all his heroism andgeneralship.

  Without helmet or armour, just as he had hurried from his tent, he hadfirst checked his own flying outposts, and had then thrown himself uponthe Gothic pursuers, and by the utmost personal exertion had broughtthe fight to a standstill.

  Afterwards he had man[oe]uvred his two flanks so cleverly, thatHildebad's retreat was greatly endangered, and the Goths were obligedto retreat speedily into the city.

  Cethegus, who lay encamped before the Porta Honorius with hisIsaurians, had found, on hastening to the assistance of Belisarius,that the fight was already over. He could not, therefore, avoid payinga visit to the commander-in-chief in his tent, in order to express hisadmiration 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 cannever requite your valour sufficiently."

  "There you speak truly," answered Belisarius haughtily; "he can onlyrequite me by his friendship. The mere honour of bearing his marshal'sstaff would never have induced me to do that which I have alreadydone, 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 onething--to trust me! But patience--he will learn it in time."

  Just then Procopius entered, bringing a letter for Belisarius, whichhad been delivered by an imperial messenger.

  With a countenance beaming with delight, Belisarius, forgetting hisfatigue, sprang from his cushions, kissed the letter, and with hisdagger cut the purple cord which tied it. He unfolded the paper withthe words:

  "From my Emperor himself! Ah, now he will send me the gold and the restof the body-guard!"

  And he began to read.

  Antonina, Procopius, and Cethegus observed him attentively. Hisfeatures grew darker and darker; his broad chest began to heave; boththe 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 upthe letter. "Let us see; no doubt it is another piece of imperialgratitude." And he glanced over the letter. "The commencement is, asusual, 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 havebeen impossible. For this reason we cannot comply with yourrepeatedly-expressed wish to have the remaining five thousandbody-guards sent from Persia, and the four thousand centenari of goldwhich lie in your palace at Byzantium. Certainly, both, as you rathersuperfluously remark in your letter, are your own property; and youroffer to carry this war to a conclusion, paying the expenses out ofyour own purse, because of the existing exhaustion of the imperialexchequer, is worthy of all praise. As, however, all your property, asyou more justly add in the aforesaid letter, is at the service of yourEmperor, and as your Emperor considers the desired employment of yourtreasure and body-guard in Italy superfluous, we have decided toappropriate it otherwise, and have already sent troops and treasure toyour colleague, Narses, to be used in the Persian wars.' Ha! this isunheard 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. "'Anincrease of your power in Italy seems to us the less desirable, becausewe are daily warned against your boundless ambition. You are reportedto have said lately, while sitting at wine, that the sceptre originatedin the general's staff, and the general's staff in the stick. Dangerousthoughts and unseemly words! You see that we are faithfully informed ofyour ambitious dreams. This time we will warn without punishing; but wehave 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 itssummit, is nearest to the imperial lightning.' It is shameful!" criedProcopius.

  "No, it is worse; it is silly!" said Cethegus. "It is whipping fidelityinto rebellion."

  "You are right!" cried Belisarius, who had caught these words as heagain 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 froclose to the open door of the tent, before which Bessas, Acacius,Demetrius, and many other leaders stood listening in astonishment. "Allthe world shall hear me! He is an ungrateful, malicious tyrant! Hedeserves that I should overthrow him! that I should confirm thesuspicions of his false soul!"

  Cethegus cast a look at those who stood outside; they had evidentlyheard all. Glancing at Antonina, he now went to the door and closed itcarefully. Antonina thanked him by a look. She again drew near herhusband, 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 seemen blubber!"