A Struggle for Rome, v. 2

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER XII.

  As soon as the Bishop had left the tent, Belisarius rose eagerly fromhis seat, hurried to the Prefect, and embraced him.

  "Accept my thanks, Cethegus Caesarius! 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 aday of battle. He longed for rest and refreshment, and dismissed hisgenerals, none of whom left the tent without speaking a word ofacknowledgment to the Prefect.

  The latter saw that his superiority was felt by all, even byBelisarius. It pleased him that, in one and the same hour, he hadruined the scheming Bishop and humbled the proud Byzantines.

  But he did not idly revel in the feeling of victory. He knew the dangerof sleeping upon laurels; laurel stupefies.

  He decided to follow up his victory, to use at once the intellectualsuperiority over the hero of Byzantium which he undoubtedly possessedat this moment, and to strike his long-prepared and principal blow.

  As, full of this thought, he was looking after the generals who werejust leaving the tent, he did not notice that two eyes were fixed uponhim with a peculiar expression.

  They were the eyes of Antonina.

  The incidents which she had just witnessed had produced a strangelymixed impression on her mind. For the first time in her life she hadseen her idol, her husband, entangled in the nets of a priest withoutthe least power to extricate or help himself, and saved only by thesuperior strength of this terrible Roman.

  At first the shock to her pride in her husband had filled her withdislike of the victor. But this feeling did not last, andinvoluntarily, as the great superiority of Cethegus unfolded itselfbefore her, admiration took the place of vexation. She felt only onething: Belisarius had eclipsed the Church, and Cethegus had eclipsedBelisarius. To this feeling was added the anxious desire that this manmight never become the enemy, but always remain the ally of herhusband.

  In short, Cethegus had made a serious intellectual conquest of the wifeof Belisarius; and not only that, but he was at once made aware of it.

  The beautiful and usually so confident woman came towards him withdowncast eyes. He looked up; she blushed violently and offered him atrembling hand.

  "Prefect of Rome," she said, "Antonina thanks you. You have renderedgreat services to Belisarius and the Emperor. We will be good friends."

  Procopius, who had remained in the tent, beheld this proceeding withastonishment.

  "My Odysseus out-charms the sorceress Circe," he thought.

  But Cethegus saw in a moment that the soul of Antonina humbled itselfbefore him, and what power he thus gained over Belisarius.

  "Beautiful _magistra militum_," he said, drawing himself up, "yourfriendship is the proudest laurel in my wreath of victory. I will atonce 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, andcelebrate the fall of the priest in fiery Caecubian."

  And he walked towards the door.

  But Cethegus remained quietly standing in the middle of the tent, andAntonina and Procopius were so completely under his influence, thatthey 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 backto 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 greatenemies, sincerity is the strongest bond and the best weapon. Accordingto this maxim I will act. When I said my acts reward themselves, Iwished to express thereby that I did not wrest the mastery of Rome fromthe false priest exactly for the sake of the Emperor."

  Belisarius grew attentive.

  Procopius, alarmed at the too bold sincerity of his friend, made a signof warning.

  Antonina's quick eye remarked it, and she started; the intelligencebetween the two men aroused her suspicion.

  This did not escape Cethegus.

  "No, Procopius," he said, to the astonishment of Belisarius; "ourfriends here will far too soon acknowledge that Cethegus is not a manwhose ambition can be satisfied by a smile from Justinian. I have notsaved Rome for the Emperor."

  "For whom else!" asked Belisarius gravely.

  "First for Rome herself. I am a Roman. I love my Eternal City. Sheshall not become the servant of the priests, but also not the slave ofthe Emperor. I am a republican," he said, tossing his head defiantly.

  A smile passed across the countenance of Belisarius; the Prefect seemedto 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 thebarbarians by the sword of Belisarius. And also, alas! that the time isnot ripe to realise my dreams of republican freedom. The Romans mustfirst again become Catos; this generation must die out; and Iacknowledge that, meantime, Rome can only find protection against thebarbarians under the shield of Justinian. Therefore we will bow to thisshield--for the present."

  "Not bad!" thought Procopius; "the Emperor is to protect them untilthey 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 theEmperor with bound hands and without conditions. Belisarius is not theonly servant of Justinian. Only think, if the heartless Narses were tobecome your successor!" The hero frowned. "Therefore I will tell youthe conditions under which the city of Caesar will open her gates to youand 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 yourselfand your position! To-morrow I start with my army of seventy thousandmen for Rome. Who will hinder me from entering the city withoutconditions?"

  "I," said Cethegus quietly. "No, Belisarius, I do not rave. Look atthis plan of the city and its fortifications. Your experienced eye willrecognise 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 thatcasket.--Look here, those moats are now filled up; those towers areruined; the wall here is broken down, those gates defenceless.--Yourplan represents them as of terrible strength. It is obsolete, Prefectof Rome!"

  "No, Belisarius, _yours_ is obsolete. These walls, moats, and gates arereconstructed."

  "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 warfarewell--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 ofmore than twenty thousand men is capable of holding Rome--namely, thismy Rome upon the plan--for days and years, even against Belisarius.Good. Then, know that these fortifications are held by thirty-fivethousand armed men."

  "Have the Goths returned?" asked Belisarius.

  Procopius drew nearer, astonished.

  "No; these thirty-five thousand men are under my command. For someyea
rs I have recalled the long enervated Romans to arms, and haveunceasingly practised them in the use of their weapons. So at present Ihave thirty cohorts ready for battle, each consisting of almost athousand men."

  Belisarius struggled to repress his vexation, and shrugged hisshoulders contemptuously.

  "I acknowledge," continued Cethegus, "that these troops could notoppose the army of Belisarius in the open field. But I assure you thatthey will fight famously behind these walls. Besides that, I have, outof my private means, enrolled seven thousand picked Isaurian andAbasgian 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 theIsaurians. You now see distinctly how matters stand. Either youaccept 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 itis of fearful strength, and yours is Cethegus--or you refuse myconditions.--Then your victorious march, whose success depends on therapidity of your movements, is arrested. You will be obliged to besiegeRome for many months. The Goths will have plenty of time to re-collecttheir forces. We ourselves will call them back. They will come torelieve the city in threefold superiority, and nothing can save youfrom 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 inthis hour!"

  Horrified and undecided, Procopius rushed between the two men, whileAntonina 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 hadhurled 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 hisweapon, the point of which already touched the breast of Cethegus; for,immovable, like a statue, without the least change of countenance, andfixing his cold eyes penetratingly upon his furious assailer, Cethegushad 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 forever. 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'smouth like a fool? It was not difficult to foresee that a hero of yoursort would first of all try to put an end to his embarrassment with hissword. Against this I have protected myself. Know that since thismorning, in consequence of a sealed order which I left behind me, Romeis in the hands of my blindly-devoted friends. The Mausoleum ofHadrian, the Capitol, and all the gates and towers of the ramparts,are garrisoned by Isaurians and legionaries. I left the order with mywar-tribunes, who are youths fearless of death, in case of yourreaching Rome before me."

  He handed a roll of papyrus to Procopius.

  Procopius read: "To Lucius and Marcus, the Licinii, Cethegus thePrefect. 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 thelast man! Rather give the city to the flames than to the army of thetyrant!'"

  "So you see," continued Cethegus, "that my death will not open to youthe gates of Rome, but shut them upon you for ever. You must besiegethe city, or agree with me."

  Belisarius cast a look of anger, not unmixed with admiration, at thebold 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 yourarmy. I must be no stranger to your Byzantines."

  "Granted. You will have under your command two thousand Illyrianfootmen and one thousand Saracen and Moorish horsemen. Is thatsufficient?"

  "Perfectly. Secondly, my independence rests entirely upon my dominionof Rome. This must not cease during your presence. Therefore, the wholeright shore of the Tiber, with the Mausoleum of Hadrian; and on theleft the Capitol, including the walls on the south as far as the Gateof St. Peter, must remain, until the end of the war, in the hands of myRomans and Isaurians. The rest of the city on the left shore of theTiber, from the Flavian Amphitheatre in the north to the Appian Gate inthe 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 meout of the city or blockade the river. That will not do!"

  "Then prepare for a fight with the Goths and Cethegus together beforethe 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, eitherwith your army or--alone."

  A few days later Belisarius, with his army, entered the Eternal Citythrough the Asinarian Gate.

  Endless acclamation greeted the liberator; a rain of flowers coveredhim and his wife, who rode at his left hand on a beautiful palfrey.

  All the houses were decorated with gay draperies and wreaths. Bat theobject of these rejoicings did not appear happy; he gloomily bent hishead, and cast dark looks at the walls and the Capitol, from whichfloated, not the dragon flags of Byzantium, but the banners and ensignsof the municipal legions, formed after the model of the Roman eaglesand standards.

  At the Asinarian Gate young Lucius Licinius had sent back the vanguardof the imperial army, and the heavy portcullis did not rise until, atthe 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 hisadmired friend.

  The Prefect's cold and severe reserve seemed to have disappeared; helooked taller, younger; the glory of victory illumined his features. Hewore a richly-gilded helmet, from which the crimson mane flowed down tohis mail-coat. This last was a costly work of art from Athens, andshowed upon every one of its round plates a finely-worked relief inchased silver, each representing a victory of the Romans. Thevictorious expression of his beaming face, his proud carriage, andscintillating armour, outshone Belisarius, the imperial magistermilitum himself, and all his glittering staff, which, led by Johannesand Procopius, followed close behind.

  And this superiority was so striking, that by the time the processionhad passed through several streets, the impression was shared by themob, and the cry, "Cethegus!" was soon heard more loudly and frequentlythan the name of "Belisarius!"

  Antonina's fine ear soon began to remark this circumstance; shelistened uneasily at every pause of the procession to the cries andremarks of the by-standers.

  When they had left the Thermae of Titus behind them, and had reached theVia Sacra, near the Flavian Amphitheatre, they were obliged to stop onaccount of the crowd. A narrow triumphal arch had been erected here,which could only be passed at a slow pace. "Victory, to the EmperorJustinian and his general, Belisarius," was inscribed thereon.

  As Antonina was reading this inscription, she heard an old man, whoappeared 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 bayhorse----"

  "Yes, that is Belisarius, as I told you."

  "Indeed? Well--then the stately hero on his left hand, with thetriumphant look--he on the charger, must be his master, the EmperorJustinian."

  "Not at all, father. _He_ sits quietly in his golden palace atByzantium and writes la
ws. 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, Belisariuswould never see a Roman Gate from the inside.'"

  Antonina gave her grey palfrey a smart stroke with her silver rod, andgalloped quickly through the triumphal arch.

  Cethegus accompanied the commander-in-chief and his wife to the PincianPalace, which had been sumptuously prepared for their reception.

  Then he took leave, in order to assist the Byzantine generals inquartering the troops, partly on the citizens; partly in the publicbuildings, 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 abanquet in my house," he had said before leaving them.

  After some hours, Marcus Licinius, Piso, and Balbus appeared to fetchthe invited guests.

  They accompanied the litters in which Antonina and Belisarius werecarried. The generals went on foot.

  "Where does the Prefect live?" asked Belisarius, as he entered hislitter.

  "As long as you are here, by day in the Mausoleum of Hadrian, by nightin 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 toimmense strength.

  When they had wound their way through the long, dark, and zigzagpassage which led into the fortress, they arrived at a massive irondoor, 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.

  "Caesar and Cethegus!" answered the war-tribune. Then the wings of thedoor sprang open; a long lane formed by Roman legionaries and Isaurianmercenaries became visible, the last clad in iron up to their veryeyes, 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 impressionof 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, awreath upon his brow, such as was generally worn by the giver of afeast, 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 happiesthour of my life has arrived--Belisarius is _my_ guest in the Capitol!"

  And, amid a tremendous flourish of trumpets, he led his silent guestsinto the fortress.