A Struggle for Rome, v. 3

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER III.

  One evening, the same on which Adalgoth had arrived with the King atTaginal, Gotho, the shepherdess, stood in the sunset light upon thesouthern declivity of the Iffinger, leaning upon her staff.

  Round her gambolled and grazed her flock of sheep and lambs, andgradually gathered close round their mistress, eagerly expecting to beled to the sheepfold.

  But they waited and bleated in vain, for the pretty maiden bent overthe mossy stones on the edge of the clear mountain brook. Heaped up inher leather apron lay the lovely scented flowers of the mountain:thyme, wild-rose, mint--which grew on the moist edges of the brook--andthe dark blue enzian.

  Gotho murmured and spoke to herself, to the flowers, and to the runningstream, throwing the flowers into the water, sometimes singly,sometimes in little sprays or unfinished wreaths.

  "How many," said the girl, as she tossed her thick yellow braids overher shoulder, "how many of you have I sent away to greet him! For hehas gone to the south, and the water runs there too. But I know not ifyou give my greeting, for he has never yet come home. But you, as yourise and sink in the dance of the ripples, you beckon me to follow you.Ah! if I could! or follow the little fish which dart down the streamlike dark arrows! Or the swift mountain swallows that skim through theair as free as thought! Or the rosy-winged evening clouds, when themountain wind drives them southwards! But most surely of all would theheart of the seeker herself find him, could she but leave the mountain,and follow him to the distant and sunny land. But what should I do downthere? A shepherdess amongst the warriors or the wise court-ladies! AndI shall certainly see him again, as surely as I shall again see thesun, although it sinks behind yonder mountains. It is sure to comeagain, and yet! all the time between its parting ray and its morninggreeting is filled with longing!"

  From the house there suddenly sounded a far-reaching tone, a blast uponthe twisted ram's horn. Gotho looked up; it had become darker; shecould see the red fire upon the hearth glimmer through the open door.The sheep answered the well-known sound with louder bleatings,stretching their necks in the direction of the house and the stalls.The brown and shaggy sheep-dog sprang upon Gotho, as if to remind herthat it was time to go home.

  "I will go directly," she said, smiling, and stroking the dog's head."Ah! the sheep are sooner tired of their pasture than the shepherdessof her thoughts! Now, forwards, White Elf, thou art already become agreat fat sheep!"

  She went down the hill towards the little hollow between two mountainsummits, where the house and stalls found protection from the wind andthe avalanches. There the last rays of the sun dazzled her no more. Thestars were already visible. Gotho looked up at the sky.

  "They are so beautiful, because _he_ has looked at them so often!"

  A shooting-star fell to the south.

  "He calls me! Thither!" cried Gotho, slightly trembling.

  She now drove the sheep more quickly forward, and presently shutthem into their cot, and entered the large and only chamber of theground-floor of the dwelling-house.

  There she found her grandfather stretched upon the raised stone placedclose to the hearth; his feet covered with two large sheep-skins.

  He looked paler and older than usual.

  "Seat thyself beside me, Gotho," he said, "and drink; here is milkmixed with honey. Listen to me. The time is come of which I have oftenspoken. We must part. I am going home. Thy dear face is indistinct; mytired old eyes can no longer distinguish thy features. And yesterdaywhen I tried to go down to the spring, my knees failed me. Then I feltthat the end was near, and I sent the goat-herd over to Teriolis with amessage. But thou shalt not be present when his soul flies out of oldIffa's mouth. The death of a man is not lovely to behold--especiallydeath upon the straw-bed. And thou hast never yet seen anythingsorrowful. This shadow shall not fall upon thy young life. To-morrow,before cockcrow, brave Hunibad will come over from Teriolis to fetchthee--he has promised me to do so. His wounds are not yet healed; he isyet weak; but he says that he cannot remain idle when, as they say, thewar will be sure to break out again. He wishes to go to King Totila inRome. And there too thou must go with an important message. He shall bethy guide and protector. Bind thick soles of beech-rind under thy feet,for the way is long. Brun, the dog, may accompany thee. Take that bagof goat's leather; in it are six gold pieces which belonged to--toAdalgoth's--to your father; they are Adalgoth's--but thou mayst usethem--they will last till thou reachest Rome. And take a bundle ofscented mountain hay from the meadows of the Iffinger, and lay thy headupon it at night; then thou wilt sleep more soundly. And when thoureachest Rome and the golden palace of the King, and enterest the hall,observe which of the men wears a golden circlet upon his brow, and fromwhose countenance shines a light like that of the morning--that will beKing Totila. Then bow thy head before him--but not too much--and do notbend thy knee; for thou art a free Goth's free child. Thou must givethe King this roll, which I have carefully kept for many summers. Itcomes from Uncle Wargs, who was buried by the mountain."

  The old man lifted a brick from the masonry which separated the hearthfrom the floor of stamped clay, and took from a hole a roll of papyrus,which, tied and sealed, was folded in a piece of parchment covered withwriting and fastened with strange seals.

  "Here," he said, "take the greatest care of this writing. That upon theparchment cover I myself dictated to Hermegisel over in Majae. He sworeto keep it secret, and he has kept his oath. And now he can speak nomore from out of his grave in the church. And thou and Hunibad--youcannot read. That is a good thing, for it might be dangerous for theeand--and another--if any one knew what that roll contains beforeTotila, the mild and just King, has read it. Above all, hide itcarefully from the Italians. And in every town to which thou comest,ask if there dwells Cornelius Cethegus Caesarius, the Prefect of Rome.And if the door-keepers say aye, then turn upon thy heel, however tiredthou mayst be, and however late the night, or hot the day, and wanderon until thou hast put three several waters between thee and the manCethegus. And no less carefully than the writing--thou seest that Ihave put rosin, such as drops from the fir-trees, upon it instead ofwax, and I have scratched our house-mark upon the seal, the mark thatour cattle and wagons bear--not less carefully keep this old and costlygold."

  And he took from the hole the half of a broad gold bracelet, such asthe Gothic heroes wore upon their naked arms. He kissed the braceletand the imperfect Runic inscription upon it reverently.

  "This came from Theodoric, the great King, and from him--my dear--sonWargs. Mark--it belongs to Adalgoth. It is his most valuableinheritance. The other half of the bracelet--and the half of theinscription--I gave to the boy when I sent him away. When King Totilahas read the writing, and if Adalgoth is present--as he must be if heobeys my orders--then call Adalgoth and put half-ring to half-ring, andask the King to pronounce a judgment. He is said to be mild and wiseand clear as the light of day. He will judge righteously. If not he,then no one. Now kiss my darkening eyes, and go and sleep. May the Lordof heaven and all his clear eyes, sun, moon, and stars, shine upon allthy ways. When thou hast found Adalgoth, and when thou dwellest withhim in the little rooms of the close houses in the narrow streets ofthe city, and when it feels too small and close and narrow downthere--then both of you think of your childish days up here upon thehigh Iffinger, and once again the fresh mountain air will seem to blowacross your heated brows."

  Silently, without objection, without fear, without a question, theshepherd-girl listened and obeyed.

  "Farewell, grandfather!" she said, kissing him upon his eyes; "I thankthee for much love and faithfulness."

  But she did not weep.

  She knew not what death was.

  She went away from him to the threshold of the door, and looked out atthe mountain landscape, which now appeared dark and melancholy. The skywas clear, the summits of the mountains shone in the moonlight.

  "Farewell!" said Gotho; "farewell, thou Iffinger! and thou,Wolf's-head! and thou, old Giant! and thou, running below,bright-shi
ning Passara! Do you know it already? To-morrow I leave youall. But I go willingly, for I go to _him_!"