A Struggle for Rome, v. 2

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER V.

  In the meantime Belisarius prepared to leave the city of Rome with hismain 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 advancedtroops of skirmishers--who, through the revolt of the Italians, had wonall the fortresses, castles, and towns till within a short distance ofRavenna--had awakened in Belisarius the conviction that the campaignwould soon be ended, and that the only thing left to do was to crushthe helpless barbarians in their last strongholds.

  For after Belisarius himself had won the whole southern part of thepeninsula--Bruttia, Lucania, Calabria, Apulia, and Campania--and hadafterwards occupied Rome and marched through Samnium and the Valeria,his lieutenant-generals, Bessas and Constantinus, with his ownbody-guard, commanded by the Armenian Zanter, the Persian Chanaranges,and the Massagetian AEschman, had been sent forward to conquer Tuscany.

  Bessas advanced upon the strong fortress of Narnia. For the means ofassault available at that time, this castled town was almostimpregnable. It was situated upon a high mountain, at the foot of whichruns the deep river Nar. The only two approaches to this fortress fromthe east and west are a narrow pass and the old lofty and fortifiedbridge erected by the Emperor Augustus.

  But the Roman population overpowered the half-Gothic garrison which laythere, and opened the gates to the Thracians of Bessas.

  In the same manner, Spoletium and Perusia succumbed to Constantinuswithout striking a blow.

  Meanwhile another general, the Comes Sacri Stabuli Constantinus, had,on the east coast of the Ionian Gulf, avenged the death of twoByzantine leaders--the magister militum for Illyrium, Mundus, and hisson Mauricius, who had fallen at the beginning of the war at Solona, inDalmatia--had occupied Solona, and forced the scanty Gothic troops toretreat to Ravenna.

  So all Dalmatia and Liburnia had fallen into the hands of theByzantines.

  From Tuscany, as we have seen, the Huns of Justinian were alreadydevastating Picenum and the country as far as the AEmilia.

  Therefore Belisarius held the peace proposals of the Gothic King to bea sign of weakness. It never occurred to him that the barbarians wouldadvance 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 thePrefect. In the open field his superiority would soon be fullydisplayed.

  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 aspectacle. I must not miss it."

  In truth, Cethegus would have been glad to witness the humiliation ofthe great general, whose fame inspired the Italians with too greatadmiration.

  Belisarius had led his troops out of the northern gate of the city, andhad pitched a camp at a few miles distant, in order to hold a reviewand make a new division of the army, which was the more necessary asthe influx of Italians who hastened to join his flag was very great.

  He had also recalled Bessas, Constantinus, and Ambazuch, with thegreater part of their troops. They had only left a small portion behindthem 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 inRavenna and tremble before Belisarius."

  Late at night Cethegus lay sleepless upon his coach in his tent. He hadleft the lamp burning.

  "I cannot sleep," he said to himself. "There is a sound of clashingarms in the air, and an odour of blood. The Goths are coming; they aremost surely marching down through the Sabine mountains, on the ViaCasperia and Salara."

  On a sudden the curtain of his tent was pushed back, and Syphax rushedup to his couch breathless.

  "I know," cried Cethegus, springing up, "what you come to announce--theGoths are coming!"

  "Yes, master; to-morrow they will be here. They advance upon theSalarian Gate. I had the Queen's best horse; but this Totila, who leadsthe vanguard, rushes like the wind over the desert, and here in thecamp no one has any suspicion."

  "The great general," laughed Cethegus, "has placed no outposts on thewatch."

  "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 overto the Goths when young Totila appeared. The body-guards of Belisarius,who tried to stop them, were taken prisoners and delivered up toTotila; 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 theenemy?"

  "Not merely an idea; I know it as exactly as Witichis himself. Here isthe 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 herpeople, to revenge herself on one man. And this man is her husband!"

  "You are mistaken," cried Cethegus. "She loved him from childhood, andeven bought his bust."

  "Yes, and she loves him still. But he loves not her; and the bust ofMars 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 lovesme; and she loves her mistress almost as much as I my master.Mataswintha wishes you to aid in the destruction of the kingdom of theGoths. 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! Arevengeful and cunning woman is worth more than legions! Now Idefy 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 sideto-morrow?"

  "No, my beautiful panther; I do not need your claws--only your stealthystep. You will keep silence about the vicinity and strength of theGoths. Help me on with my armour, and give me the plan of the Salarianroad out of that casket. Now call Marcus Licinius, and the leader of myIsaurians, Sandil."

  Syphax disappeared.

  Cethegus cast a look at the plan.

  "So they come from the north-west, down the hill. Woe to him who shalltry to stop them there. Then comes the deep valley in which we areencamped. Here the battle will be fought and lost. Behind us, to thesouth-east, our position lies along a deep brook; into this we shall beinevitably thrown--the bridges cannot be defended. Then a stretch offlat country. What a fine field for the horsemen to pursue us! Finally,still farther back, a dense wood and a narrow pass with the ruinedCastle of Hadrian. Marcus," he cried, as the latter entered the tent,"my troops will march at once. We shall go down along the brook intothe wood; and you will tell whoever questions you that we march back toRome."

  "March home, without fighting!" asked Marcus, astonished. "You surelyknow 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 countrypeople say that a troop of horsemen approaches. The fools ride to theirdestruction; 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. Aterrible army of barbarians follows," warned Procopius.

  "Vain rumours! These Goths are afrai
d; Witichis dare not meet me. Ihave protected the bridge over the Anio with a tower, fourteen milesthis side Rome; Martinus has built it after my plan. That alone willhinder the barbarian foot-soldiers for more than a week, even should afew hacks manage to swim across the water."

  "You err, Belisarius. I know for a fact that the whole Gothic armyapproaches!" said Cethegus.

  "Then go home, if you fear it."

  "I will take advantage of this permission. I have had fever these lastfew days. And my Isaurians suffer from it also. With your leave, I willgo back to Rome."

  "I know this fever," said Belisarius; "that is, I know it in others. Itpasses as soon as ditches and walls are between the patient and theenemy. 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 themarch of my Isaurians," he called loudly to Marcus; "and to myByzantines 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 werecarried before the leader.

  "Who goes there? Ah! you, Cethegus! What? you ride away? Your peoplemarch towards the river! You surely will not leave us now, in this timeof imminent danger?"

  Cethegus bent forward.

  "Hoho! it is you, Calpurnius? I did not recognise you; you look sopale. What news from the front?"

  "Fugitive peasants say," answered Calpurnius anxiously, "that there arecertainly more than a party of skirmishers. The King of the barbarians,Witichis himself, is on the march through the Sabine mountains. Theyhave already reached the left bank of the Tiber. Resistance, then, ismadness--destruction. I follow you; I will join your march."

  "No," said Cethegus harshly; "you know that I am superstitious. I donot like to ride with men who are doomed to the Furies. The punishmentfor your cowardly murder of that boy will surely overtake you. I haveno desire to share it with you."

  "Yet voices in Rome whisper that Cethegus, too, does not shun anopportune murder," answered Calpurnius angrily.

  "Calpurnius is not Cethegus," retorted the Prefect, as he proudlypranced away. "Meanwhile, greet Hades for me," he added.