by Felix Dahn
CHAPTER XIV.
When King Teja saw the whole of Narses' forces advancing towards themouth of the pass, he said to his heroes:
"It seems that instead of the stars, the mid-day sun is to shine uponthe last battle of the Goths! That is the only change in our plan."
He then placed a number of warriors in front of the hollow in the lava,showed them the royal treasure and the corpse of Theodoric, raised upona purple throne, and ordered them to pay attention while the fight forthe pass was raging, and, on receiving a sign from Adalgoth--to whomand Wachis he had confided the last defence of the pass--at once tothrow the throne and the coffers into the crater. The unarmed peoplepressed together round the lava cave--not a tear was seen, not a sighwas heard.
Teja arranged his men into hundreds, and these hundreds into families,so that father and sons, brothers and cousins, fought at each other'sside; an order of battle the terrible obstinacy of which the Romans hadoften experienced since the days of the Cimbrians and Teutons, ofAriovist and Armin. The natural construction of the last battlefield ofthe Goths necessitated of itself the old order of battle inherited fromOdin--the wedge.
The deep and close columns of the Byzantines now stood in orderly ranksfrom the shore of the sea to within a spear's throw from the mouth ofthe pass: a magnificent but fearful spectacle. The sun shone brightlyupon their weapons, while the Goths still stood in the deep shadow ofthe rocks. Far away over the spears and standards of the enemy, theGoths beheld the lovely blue sea, the surface of which flashed with asilvery light.
King Teja stood near Adalgoth, who carried the banner of Theodoric, atthe mouth of the pass. All the poet was roused in the Hero-King.
"Look!" he said to his favourite, "what more lovely place could a manhave to die in? It cannot be more beautiful in the heaven of theChristian, nor in Master Hildebrand's Asgard or Breidablick. Up,Adalgoth! Let us die here, worthy of our nation and of this beauteousdeath-place."
He threw back the purple mantle which he wore over his black steelarmour, took the little harp upon his left arm, and sang in a low,restrained voice:
"From farthest North till Rome--Byzant-- The Goths to battle call! In glory rose the Goths' bright star-- In glory shall it fall! Our swords raised high, we fight for fame; Heroes with heroes vie; Farewell, thou noble hero-race-- Up, Goths, and let us die!"
And he shattered the still vibrating harp upon the rocks at his feet.
"And now, Adalgoth, farewell! Would that I could have saved the rest ofmy people! Not here; but by an unobstructed retreat to the north. Itwas not to be. Narses would never grant it, and the last of the Gothscannot _beg_. Now let us go--to death!"
And raising his dreaded weapon, the mighty battleaxe with itslance-like shaft, he stepped to the head of the "wedge," Behindhim Aligern, his cousin, and old Hildebrand. Behind them Duke Guntharisof Tuscany, the Woelfung, Earl Grippa of Ravenna, and Earl Wisandof Volsinii, the standard-bearer. Behind them again, Wisand'sbrother, Ragnaris of Tarentum, and four earls, his kinsmen. Then, inever-broadening front, first six, then ten Goths. The rear was formedof close ranks, arranged by tens.
Wachis, halting in the pass near Adalgoth, blew, at a sign from theKing, a signal on the Gothic war-horn, and the assaulting force marchedout of the ravine.
The heroes in league with Johannes stood upon the first level placeclose before the pass; only Alboin, Gisulf, and Cethegus were stillmissing. Next behind the ten leaders stood Longobardians and Herulians,who at once greeted the advancing Goths with a hail of spears.
The first to rush upon the King, who was easily recognisable by thecrown upon his helmet, was Althias the Armenian. He fell dead at once,his skull split to the ears.
The second was the Herulian, Rodulf. Holding his spear at his left sidewith both hands, he rushed at Teja. Teja stood firm, and, receiving thestroke upon his narrow shield, pierced his adversary through the bodywith the lance-like point of his battle-axe. Rodulf staggered back atthe shock, then fell dead.
Before Teja could disengage his weapon from the scales of his enemy'smail-coat, Suartua, the nephew of the fallen Herulian, the PersianKabades, and the Bajuvar Garizo, all attacked him at once.
Teja thrust back the last--the nearest and boldest--with such vigour,that he fell in the narrow and slippery lava path, and over a declivityon the right.
"Now help, O holy virgin of Neapolis!" cried the tall man as he flewdownwards. "Help me, as you have done during all these years of war!"And, but little damaged, Miriam's admirer came to a stop, slightlystunned by his fall.
The Herulian Suartua was brandishing his sword over Teja's head, whenAligern, springing forward, struck his arm clean off his shoulder.Suartua screamed and fell.
Kabades, who tried to rip up the King's body with his long and crookedscimetar, had his brains dashed out by old Hildebrand's stone axe.
Teja, again become master of his battle-axe, and rid of his nearestfoes, now sprang forward to attack in his turn. He hurled his axe at aman in a boar-helmet--that is, a helmet decorated with the head andtusks of a wild boar. It was Epurulf, the Alamannian, who fellbackwards to the ground.
Above Teja bent Vadomar, Epurulf's kinsman, and tried to possesshimself of the Gothic King's terrible weapon; but Teja was upon him ina moment, his short sword in his right hand. It flashed, and Vadomarfell dead upon the corpse of his friend.
The two Franks, Chlotachar and Bertchramn, hurried up at the samemoment, swinging the franciska, a weapon similar to Teja's battle-axe.Both axes whizzed through the air at once. Teja caught one upon hisshield; the second, which came hurtling at his head, he parried withhis own axe, and in another moment he stood between his twoadversaries, whirled his axe round him in a circle, and at one blow thetwo Franks fell right and left, both their helmets beaten in.
At that moment a spear struck the King's shield; it pierced the steelrim, and slightly grazed his arm. As he turned to meet this enemy--itwas the Burgundian Gundobad--Ardarich, the Gepide, ran at him frombehind with his drawn sword, and struck him a heavy blow on the top ofhis helmet. But the next moment Ardarich fell, pierced through by thespear of Duke Guntharis; and the King pressed Gundobad, who defendedhimself valiantly, down upon his knees. Gundobad lost his helmet in thestruggle, and Teja thrust the spike of his shield into his throat.
But already Taulantius the Illyrian and Autharis the Longobardian stoodbefore Teja. The Illyrian struck at the King's shield with a heavy clubmade of the root of the ilex, and broke off a piece of the lower rim.At the same time, just above the crack thus made, a lance, hurled bythe Longobardian, struck the shield and tore off the fastening of thespike, sticking with its hook into the hole, and dragging the shielddown by its weight.
Already Taulantius raised his club over the King's head. But Teja didnot loiter; sacrificing his half-shattered shield, he dashed it intothe Illyrian's visorless face, letting it go; and almost at the samemoment he thrust the point of his battle-axe through the breast-plateof Autharis, who was rushing upon him. But now the King stood without ashield, and his distant enemies redoubled their hail of spears andarrows. With axe and sword, Teja parried the thickly falling darts.
An alarum from the pass caused him to look round. He saw that thegreater part of the warriors whom he had led out of the ravine hadfallen. The innumerable projectiles hurled from a distance had donetheir deadly work, and already, advancing from the left, a powerfuldivision of Longobardians, Persians, and Armenians, had attacked themin the flank, and now mingled in a hand-to-hand fight.
On the right the King saw a column of Thracians, Macedonians, andFranks press forward against the guardians of the pass with spearscouched; while a third division--Gepidians, Alamannians, Isaurians, andIllyrians, tried to cut off himself and the small troop which stillstood at his back from the retreat into the pass.
Teja looked sharply towards the pass. For a moment the banner ofTheodoric disappeared--it seemed
to have fallen. This circumstancedecided the King.
"Back into the pass! Save Theodoric's banner!" he cried to those behindhim, and tried to break through the troop of enemies which surroundedhim.
But they were in terrible earnest, for they were led by Johannes.
"Upon the King," lie cried. "Do not let him through. Do not let him goback! Spears! Throw!"
Aligern had come up.
"Take my shield!" he cried.
Teja caught the proffered shield just in time to receive the lancehurled by Johannes, which would otherwise have pierced his visor.
"Back to the pass!" again Teja cried, and rushed with such impetuosityupon Johannes, that the latter fell to the ground. The two nearestIsaurians succumbed to Teja's sword.
And now Teja, Aligern, Guntharis, Hildebrand, Grippa, Wisand andRagnaris hurried back to the pass. But here the battle was alreadyraging. Alboin and Gisulf had stormed the pass, and a heavy, pointedblock of lava, hurled by Alboin, had struck Adalgoth on the thigh, andcaused him to sink upon his knees. But Wachis had caught the fallingbanner, and Adalgoth, quickly rising, had pushed the Longobardian, whowas pressing forward, out of the pass with the spike of his shield.
The sudden return of the King with his little troop of heroes relievedthe almost overpowered guardians of the pass. The Longobardians fell inheaps before the unexpected assault in their rear. With loud cries thetwo guardians of the pass rushed forth, and the Longobardians, carryingtheir leaders along irresistibly, ran and leaped over the jagged lavain their downward retreat. But they did not run far. They were absorbedby the ranks of Isaurians, and Illyrians, Gepidians and Alamannians,who advanced in force, led by Johannes. Gnashing his teeth, he hadrisen from his fall, had set his helmet straight, and at once led hismen against the pass, into which Teja had now entered.
"Forward!" cried Johannes; "up and at him, Alboin, Gisulf, Vitalianus,Zenon! Let us see if this King be really spear-proof!"
Teja had now taken up his old position at the mouth of the pass, andleaning upon the shaft of his battle-axe, he rested awhile to coolhimself.
"Now, barbarian King! the end is at hand! Have you crept again intoyour snail-shell? Come out, or I will make a hole in your house. Comeout, if you be a man!"
Thus cried Johannes, twirling his spear over his head in defiance.
"Give me three spears!" cried Teja, and gave his shield and battle-axeto Adalgoth, who stood near him still, though wounded. "There! Now, assoon as he falls, follow me out."
And he took one step forward out of the pass, without his shield, andholding his three spears in his hands.
"Welcome to the open! and to death!" cried Johannes, as he hurled hisspear.
The spear was accurately aimed at the King's visor. But Teja bent toone side, and the strong ashen lance was shattered against the oppositerock.
As soon as Teja hurled his first spear in return, Johannes cast himselfupon his face; the spear flew over him and killed Zenon, who stoodclose behind.
Johannes quickly recovered his feet, and rushed at the King likelightning, catching the King's second spear, which immediately followedthe first, upon his shield. But Teja, immediately after hurling thissecond lance with his right hand, had followed it up by a third withhis left, and this spear, unnoticed by Johannes, passed completelythrough the latter's body, the point coming out at his back. The braveman fell.
At this his Isaurians and Illyrians were seized with terror; for, afterBelisarius, Johannes was looked upon as the first hero of Byzantium.They cried aloud, turned, and fled in wild disorder down the mountain,followed by Teja and his heroes. For one moment the Longobardians, whohad again collected together, still held firm.
"Come, Gisulf--clench your teeth--let us stand against thisdeath-dealing King," cried Alboin.
But Teja was already upon them. His fearful battle-axe glittered above,between them. Pierced through his armour deep into the left shoulder,Alboin fell, and immediately afterwards Gisulf lay on the ground withhis helmet shattered. Then there was no more stopping the rest:Longobardians, Gepidians, Alamannians, Herulians, Isaurians andIllyrians, scattered in headlong flight, rushed down the mountain.
With shouts of exultation, Teja's companions followed. Teja himselfkept to the pass. He called to Wachis for spear after spear, and aiminghigh over the Gothic pursuers, hurled them at the flying enemy, killingwhomsoever he touched.
They were the Emperor's best troops. In their flight they carried awaywith them the Macedonians, Thracians, Persians, Armenians, and Franks,who were slowly climbing the ascent, and fled until they reachedNarses, who had anxiously raised himself upright in his litter.
"Johannes has fallen!"
"Alboin is severely wounded!" they cried as they ran past. "Fly! Backinto the camp!"
"A new column of attack must be--Ha! look!" said Narses, "there comesCethegus, at the very nick of time!"
And Cethegus it was. He had completed his long ride through all thetroops to which Narses had sent Romans and Italians; he had formedthese into five companies of three hundred men each, and when they weredrawn up in battle array, he took his place quietly at their head.
Anicius followed at a distance. Syphax, carrying two spears, kept closebehind his master. Letting the defeated fugitives pass through thevacant spaces between their ranks, the Italians marched on. Most ofthem were old legionaries of Rome and Ravenna, and faithfully attachedto Cethegus.
The Gothic pursuers hesitated as they met with these fresh,well-ordered troops, and slowly receded to the pass. But Cethegusfollowed. Past the bloody place, covered with corpses, where Teja hadfirst destroyed the league of the twelve; past the spot farther up,where Johannes had fallen, he marched on with a quiet and steady step,his shield and spear in his left hand, his sword in his right. Behindhim, with lances couched, came the legionaries.
They marched up the mountain in silence, without the word of command,or the flourish of trumpets. The Gothic heroes would not retreat intothe pass behind their King. They halted before the entrance.
Guntharis was the first with whom Cethegus came into contact. TheDuke's spear was shattered on the shield of Cethegus, and at onceCethegus thrust his spear into his adversary's body; the deadly shaftbroke in the wound.
Earl Grippa of Ravenna set to work to avenge the Woelfung; he swung hislong sword over his head; but Cethegus ran under the thrust, and struckthe old follower of Theodoric below the right shoulder with his broadRoman sword. Grippa fell and died.
Wisand, the standard-bearer, advanced furiously against Cethegus; theirblades crossed; sparks flew from shield and helmet; but Cetheguscleverly parried a too hasty stroke, and before the Goth could recoverhimself, the broad blade of the Roman had entered his thigh. Wisandtottered. Two of his cousins bore him out of the fight.
His brother, Ragnaris of Tarentum, now attacked Cethegus, but Syphax,running up, caught the well-thrust spear in his hand, and beforeRagnaris could let fall the shaft, and draw his axe from his belt,Cethegus stabbed him in the forehead.
Struck with horror, the Goths retreated before the terrible Roman, andpressed past their King into the ravine. Aligern alone, Teja's cousin,would not yield. He hurled his spear with such force at the shield ofCethegus, that it pierced it; but Cethegus lowered it quickly, andreceived Aligern, as he rushed forward, on the point of his sword.Severely wounded, Aligern fell into old Hildebrand's arms, who, lettingfall his heavy stone axe, tried to carry the fainting man into theravine.
But Aligern's spear had also been well-aimed. The shield-arm ofCethegus bled profusely. But he did not heed it; he pressed on to makean end of both the Goths, Hildebrand and Aligern, and at that momentAdalgoth caught sight of his father's hated enemy.
"Alaric! Alaric!" he shouted, and, springing forward, he caught up theheavy stone axe from the ground. "Alaric!" he cried.
Cethegus caught the name and looked up. The axe, accurately aimed, camewhizzing through the air upon his tall helmet. Stunned, Cethegus fell.Syphax sprang to him, took him in both his arms, and carrie
d him aside.But the legionaries would not retreat; they could not. Behind them,sent by Narses, two thousand Persians and Thracians pressed up theascent.
"Bring hurling spears!" commanded their leader, Aniabedes. "Nohand-to-hand fight! Cast spears at the King until he fall. By order ofNarses!"
The soldiers willingly obeyed this order, which promised to spare theirblood. Presently such a fearful hail of darts rattled against thenarrow opening of the pass, that not a Goth was able to issue forth andstand before the King.
And now Teja, filling the entrance with his body and his shield,defended his people for some time--for a very considerable time--quitealone. Procopius, following the report of eye-witnesses, has describedwith admiration this, the last fight of King Teja:
"I have now to describe a very remarkable fight, and the heroism of aman who is inferior to none of those we call heroes--of Teja. He stood,visible to all, covered by his shield, and brandishing his spear, infront of his own ranks. All the bravest Romans, whose number was great,attacked him alone; for with his death, they thought, the battle wouldbe at an end. All hurled and thrust their lances at him alone; but hereceived the darts upon his shield, and, repeatedly sallying forth,killed numbers of his adversaries, one after the other. And when hisshield was stuck so full of darts that it was too heavy for him tohold, he signed to his shield-bearer to bring him a fresh one. Thus hestood; not turning, nor throwing his shield on his back and retreating,but firm as a rock, dealing death to his foes with his right hand,warding it off with his left, and ever calling to his weapon-bearersfor new shields and new spears."
It was Wachis and Adalgoth--heaps of shields and spears had beenbrought to the spot from the royal treasure--who continually handed toTeja fresh weapons.
At last the courage of the Romans, Persians, and Thracians sank as theysaw all their efforts wrecked against this living shield of the Goths,and all their bravest men slain by the spears of the King. Theywavered--the Italians called anxiously upon Cethegus--they turned andfled. Then Cethegus started up from his long stupor.
"Syphax, a fresh spear! Halt! Stand, Romans! Roma, Roma eterna!" Andraising himself with an effort, he advanced against Teja.
The Romans recognised his voice. "Roma, Roma eterna!" they shouted, asthey ceased their flight and halted. But Teja had also recognised thevoice. His shield bristled with twelve lances--he could hold it nolonger; but when he recognised the adversary who was advancing, hethought no more of changing it.
"No shield! My battle-axe! Quick!" he cried.
And Wachis handed to him his favourite weapon.
Then King Teja dropped his shield, and, swinging his axe, rushed out ofthe pass at Cethegus.
"Die, Roman!" he cried.
Once again the two great enemies looked each other in the face. Thenspear and axe whizzed through the air. Neither thought of parrying thestroke, and both fell. Teja's axe had pierced Cethegus's left breastthrough shield and armour.
"Roma, Roma eterna!" once more cried Cethegus, and fell back dead.
His spear had struck the King's right breast. Not dead, but mortallywounded, he was carried into the pass by Hildebrand and Adalgoth. Andthey had need to make haste. For when, at last, they saw the King ofthe Goths fall--he had fought without a pause for eight hours, andevening was coming on--all the Italians, Persians, and Thracians, andfresh columns of attack which had now come up, rushed towards the pass,which was now again defended by Adalgoth with his shield; Hildebrandand Wachis supporting him.
Syphax took the body of Cethegus in his arms and carried it to oneside. Weeping aloud he held the noble head of his master upon hisknees, the features of which appeared almost superhuman in the majestyof death. Before him raged the battle. Just then the Moor remarked thatAnicius, followed by a troop of Byzantines--Scaevola and Albinus amongthem--was approaching him, and pointing to the body of Cethegus with anair of command.
"Halt!" cried Syphax, springing up as they drew near; "what do youwant?"
"The head of the Prefect, to take to the Emperor," answered Anicius;"obey, slave!"
But Syphax uttered a yell--his spear rushed through the air, andAnicius fell. And before the others, who at once busied themselves withthe dying man, could come near him, Syphax had taken his beloved burdenupon his back, and began to climb up a steep precipice of lava near thepass, which Goths and Byzantines had, till then, held to be impassable.More and more rapidly the slave advanced. His goal was a little columnof smoke which rose just at the other side of the cliff. For thereyawned one of the small crater chasms of Vesuvius. For one momentSyphax stopped upon the edge of the black rocks; once again he raisedthe corpse of Cethegus erect in his strong arms, as if to show thenoble form to the setting sun. And suddenly master and slave haddisappeared.
The fiery mountain had received the faithful Syphax and the deadCethegus, his greatness and his guilt, onto its glowing bosom. The herowas snatched away from the small spite of his enemies.
Scaevola and Albinus, who had witnessed the occurrence, hastened toNarses, and demanded that the corpse should be sought for on the sidesof the crater. But Narses said:
"I do not grudge the mighty hero his mighty grave. He has deserved it.I fight with the living, and not with the dead."
But almost at the same moment, the tumultuous battle round the pass,which Adalgoth, not unworthy of his royal master, heroically defendedagainst the attacks of the enemy, ceased. For while, standing behindAdalgoth, Hildebrand and Wachis suddenly cried, "Look! look at the sea!The dragon ships! The northern heroes! Harald! Harald!"--the solemntones of the tuba were heard from below, sounding the signal for acessation of hostilities--for a truce. Very gladly the fatigued andharassed warriors lowered their weapons.
But King Teja, who lay upon his shield--Hildebrand had forbidden everyone to draw out the spear of Cethegus from the wound--"for his lifewould flow out with his blood"--asked in a faint voice:
"What do I hear them cry? The northern heroes? The ships? Is Haraldthere?"
"Yes, Harald! He comes to our rescue! He brings safety for the rest ofthe nation! For us, and for the women and children!" cried Adalgothjoyously, as he knelt at Teja's side. "So thy incomparable heroism, myever-beloved hero; thy superhuman and untiring efforts, were not invain! Basiliskos has just come, sent by Narses. Harald has destroyedthe Ionian fleet in the harbour of Brundusium; he threatens to land andattack the already exhausted Byzantines; he demands to be allowed tocarry away all the remaining Goths, with weapons and goods, toThuleland and liberty! Narses has agreed; he will honour, he says, KingTeja's noble heroism, in the remnant of his people. May we accept? Oh,may we accept, my King?"
"Yes," said Teja, as his eyes grew dim. "You may and shall. The rest ofmy people free! The women, the children, delivered from a terribledeath! Oh, happy that I am! Yes, take all who live to Thuleland; andtake with you--two of the dead: King Theodoric--and----"
"And King Teja!" said Adalgoth: and kissed the dead man's mouth.
CHAPTER XV.
And so it happened, and this was the manner of it.
Immediately after Narses had left his tent, a fisherman was led beforehim, who had just sailed round the promontory of Surrentum in a smalland swift vessel, and who announced that an immense fleet of the Gothswas in full sail for the coast. Narses laughed; for he knew that not aGothic sail was to be found on all the seas.
More narrowly questioned, the man was obliged to confess that he hadnot seen the fleet himself; but merchants had told him of it, and hadrelated that a great naval combat had taken place, in which the Gothshad destroyed the Emperor's fleet, at Brundusium.
That was impossible, as Narses well knew. And when the fishermandescribed the appearance of the pretended Gothic ships, according towhat his informers had told him, the commander-in-chief cried out:
"At last they are coming! Triremes and galleys! They are our shipswhich are approaching, not Gothic vessels."
No one thought of the Viking's fleet, which had not been heard of forfour moon
s, and which, it was believed, had sailed to the north.
A few hours later, as the battle was raging round the pass, engrossingthe attention of all, the coastguards announced to Narses the fact ofthe approach of a very large imperial fleet. The ship of the admiral,the Sophia, had been distinctly recognised. But the number of sails wasfar greater than had been expected. The ships which Narses had sent tourge the coming of the fleet were also among them, sailing first. Thestrong south-eastern breeze would shortly bring them within sight ofthe camp.
And presently Narses himself could enjoy from the hill the magnificentspectacle of the approach of the fleet, propelled not only by theirspreading sails, but also by their long oars.
Much relieved, he again turned his attention to the combat uponVesuvius--when, suddenly, messengers reached him from the camp,affirming the first reports in an alarming manner, or rather, theybrought much worse news. They had hurried on in advance of an embassywhich reached the litter of Narses just as Cethegus was advancing forthe last time against Teja.
This embassy consisted of the admiral and captains of the Ionian fleet,who came forward with their hands in chains, and guarded by fourNorthmen, whose message they had been brought to interpret. Theybriefly related that they had been attacked by the fleet of the Vikingone stormy night, and had lost almost all their ships; that not onecould escape to warn Narses, for the enemy had blockaded the harbour.
When Jarl Harald had heard of the threatened destruction of the Gothsupon Vesuvius, he had sworn to prevent or to share their evil fate. Andsending the captured Grecian ships in advance, prudently hiding behindthem his dragon-ships, he had hurried to the coast of Neapolis on thewings of the east wind. "And thus," concluded the interpreters, "thussays Harald the Viking: 'Either you will allow all yet living Goths,with all their weapons and goods, to leave the Southland upon our shipsand return with us to their fatherland; in return for which we willgive up all our thousands of prisoners, and all our prize-ships, exceptthose we need for the transport of the Goths; or we will immediatelykill our prisoners, land, and attack you, your camp and army, in therear. Then see to it, how many of you, when attacked in front by theGoths, in the rear by us, will remain alive! For we Northmen fight tothe last man! I have sworn it by Odin.'"
Without a moment's hesitation Narses agreed to the departure of theGoths.
"I have only sworn to drive them out of the Empire," he said, "not outof the world. It would bring me small renown if I overpowered andslaughtered the poor remains of such a noble nation. I reverence theheroism of this Teja; in forty years of warfare I have never seen hislike. And I have no desire to try how my harassed army, which has had aday of the hardest fighting, and has lost almost all its leaders andnumbers of its bravest soldiers, would resist these northern giants,who come with untired strength and unconquered courage."
And so Narses had immediately sent heralds to Harald and to the pass.The battle ceased; the retreat of the Goths began.
In double ranks, reaching from the summit of the mountain down to thesea, the army of heroes formed a lane. The Viking had landed fourhundred men, who received the Goths on the sea-shore. But before themarch began, Karses signed to Basiliskos and said:
"The Gothic war is over--the stag is killed--now away with the wolveswhich hunted him to the death. How are the wounded leaders of theLongobardians?"
"Before I answer," said Basiliskos respectfully, "accept thislaurel-wreath, which your army sends to you. It is laurel fromVesuvius; from the pass above; there is heroes' blood upon the leaves."
The first impulse of Narses was to push the wreath aside; but after apause, he said:
"'Tis well; give it to me." But he laid it beside him in the litter.
"Autharis, Warnfrid, Grimoald, Aripert, Agilulf and Rotharis are dead,"Basiliskos now reported. "Altogether the Longobardians have lost seventhousand men; Alboin and Gisulf, severely wounded, lie motionless intheir tents."
"Good, very good! As soon as the Goths have embarked, let theLongobardians be led away. They are dismissed my service. And say toAlboin, as my parting words: 'After the death of Narses--_perhaps_; butcertainly not before.' I will remain here in my litter; support me withthe cushions--I cannot stand--but I must witness this wonderfulspectacle."
And in truth it was a grand and moving sight to behold the last of theGoths, as they turned their backs upon Vesuvius and Italy, and embarkedin the high-prowed ships which were to bear them away to the safe andsheltering north.
From the ravine, into which not a single enemy had succeeded inpenetrating, was heard at intervals the solemn tones of the Gothicwar-horns, accompanied by monotonous, grave, and touching strains fromthe men, women, and children--the ancient death-song of the Gothicnation.
Hildebrand and Adalgoth--the last chiefs, the hoary Past and the goldenFuture--had arranged the order of march.
Foremost went, full-armed, five hundred men, led by Wisand, thestandard-bearer, who, in spite of his wounds, bravely opened theprocession, leaning on his spear. Then followed, stretched upon hislast shield, the spear of Cethegus still sticking in his breast,without helmet, his noble and pallid face framed by his long blacklocks--King Teja, covered with a purple mantle, and carried by fourwarriors. Behind him came Adalgoth and Gotho, and Adalgoth, softlystriking his harp, sang in a low voice:
"Give place, ye peoples, to our march: The doom of the Goths is sped! No crown, no sceptre carry we, We bear the noble dead.
"With shield to shield, and spear to spear, We march to the Northland cool; Until in grey and distant seas We find the Island Thule.
"That is the Isle of the brave and true, Where none dishonour fears; There we will lay our bravest King In his bed of oaken spears.
"From off our feet--give place! give place!-- We shake Rome's traitor dust; We only bear our King away-- For the Gothic crown is lost!"
When the bier was carried past the litter, Narses called a halt, andsaid in a low voice in the Latin language:
"Mine was the victory, but his the fame! There, take the laurel wreath!Other generations may see greater things, but now. King Teja, I greetyou as the greatest hero of all ages!"
And he laid the laurel wreath upon the dead man's pallid brow. Thebearers again took up the bier, and slowly and solemnly, to the sadsound of Adalgoth's silver harp, the death-song of the people, and thelong-drawn tones of the war-horns, the procession marched on towardsthe sea, which now glowed magnificently in the evening red.
Close behind Teja's body was carried a lofty crimson throne. Upon itrested the silent august form of Dietrich of Bern; upon the head thecrowned helm; on the left arm the tall shield; a spear leaning againstthe right shoulder. On the left of the throne marched old Hildebrand,his eyes fixed upon the face of his beloved master, which shone in themagic light of the setting sun. He held aloft the banner with thedevice of the lion, high above the head of the great Dead. The eveningbreeze from the Ausonian Sea rustled in the folds of the immense flag,which, in ghost-like speech, seemed to be taking leave of Italian soil.
As the corpse was carried past, Narses said:
"I know by the shudder which passes across me that this is the wiseKing of Ravenna! First came a stronger, now a greater man. Let us dothis dead man homage."
And, with great exertion, he rose upright in his litter, and bent hishead reverently before the corpse.
Then followed the wounded, supported by or carried in the arms of theirfollowers. This part of the procession was opened by Aligern, who wascarried on a broad shield by Wachis and Liuta, assisted by twowarriors. Then came the chests and coffers, the baskets and vessels,containing the royal treasure and the goods of the different families,which, until then, had been hidden in the wagons.
Afterwards came the great mass of the unarmed people--women, girls,children, and old people--for the boys, from ten years of age upward
s,would not part with the weapons which had been entrusted to them, andmarched in a separate corps.
Narses smiled as the little fair-haired heroes passed, looking up athim with anger and defiance.
"Well," he said, "the Goths have taken care that the Emperor'ssuccessors and their generals shall not want work!"
The procession was closed by the rest of the Gothic army.
Innumerable boats lent their assistance in the embarkation of thepeople and their scanty possessions. Presently all were on board thehigh-decked vessels of the Northmen.
The corpses of Teja and Theodoric, the royal banner, and the royaltreasure, were taken into Harald's ship. The great Dietrich of Bernwas placed upon his throne at the foot of the mainmast, and hislion-standard hoisted to the mast-head. Old Hildebrand installedhimself at the foot of the throne.
In the stern of the ship, Adalgoth and Wisand had laid down the body ofTeja. The mighty Harald and his beautiful sister approached itsorrowfully. The Viking laid his mailed hand gently upon the dead man'sbreast, and said:
"I could not save thee, bold and daring King! I could not save thee andthy people. Nothing remains but to take thee and the rest of thy folkto the land of the strong and the true, from which you should neverhave departed. Thus, after all, I bring back to King Frode the Gothicnation."
But Haralda said:
"I will preserve the body of the noble dead by secret arts, so that itshall endure until we land in our home. There we will vault for him andKing Thidrekr a hill-grave near the sea, so that they may together hearthe roar of the breakers and hold converse with each other; for theywere worthy of each other. Look, my brother! the enemy's army stands inranks upon the strand; they lower their flags and weapons in reverence,and the sun sinks glowing behind Misenum and yonder islands; a crimsonglow covers the sea as with a royal mantle; our white sails arecoloured red, and red gold shines upon our weapons! Look how the southwind spreads out the banner of King Thidrekr! The wind, which obeys thewill of the gods, points to the north! Up, brother Harald! weighanchor! direct the rudder! turn the dragon's prow! Up, Freya's wisebird! Fly, my falcon!"--and she tossed her falcon into the air--"pointout the way! to the north! to Thuleland! Home! home we take the last ofthe Goths!"
FOOTNOTE:[Footnote 1: Theodoric.]
THE END.
BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, SURREY. _H. L. & Co._
