Hildebad, impatient at the long pause of idleness, had, one day at
dawn, made a sudden sally upon the Byzantines from the Porta Faventina,
which was under his special command. He had at first won great
advantages, 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 not
Belisarius, hurrying up, displayed at once all his heroism and
generalship.
Without helmet or armour, just as he had hurried from his tent, he had
first checked his own flying outposts, and had then thrown himself upon
the Gothic pursuers, and by the utmost personal exertion had brought
the fight to a standstill.
Afterwards he had man[oe]uvred his two flanks so cleverly, that
Hildebad's retreat was greatly endangered, and the Goths were obliged
to retreat speedily into the city.
Cethegus, who lay encamped before the Porta Honorius with his
Isaurians, had found, on hastening to the assistance of Belisarius,
that the fight was already over. He could not, therefore, avoid paying
a visit to the commander-in-chief in his tent, in order to express his
admiration 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 can
never requite your valour sufficiently."
"There you speak truly," answered Belisarius haughtily; "he can only
requite me by his friendship. The mere honour of bearing his marshal's
staff would never have induced me to do that which I have already
done, 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 one
thing--to trust me! But patience--he will learn it in time."
Just then Procopius entered, bringing a letter for Belisarius, which
had been delivered by an imperial messenger.
With a countenance beaming with delight, Belisarius, forgetting his
fatigue, sprang from his cushions, kissed the letter, and with his
dagger cut the purple cord which tied it. He unfolded the paper with
the words:
"From my Emperor himself! Ah, now he will send me the gold and the rest
of the body-guard!"
And he began to read.
Antonina, Procopius, and Cethegus observed him attentively. His
features grew darker and darker; his broad chest began to heave; both
the 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 up
the letter. "Let us see; no doubt it is another piece of imperial
gratitude." And he glanced over the letter. "The commencement is, as
usual, 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 have
been impossible. For this reason we cannot comply with your
repeatedly-expressed wish to have the remaining five thousand
body-guards sent from Persia, and the four thousand centenari of gold
which lie in your palace at Byzantium. Certainly, both, as you rather
superfluously remark in your letter, are your own property; and your
offer to carry this war to a conclusion, paying the expenses out of
your own purse, because of the existing exhaustion of the imperial
exchequer, is worthy of all praise. As, however, all your property, as
you more justly add in the aforesaid letter, is at the service of your
Emperor, and as your Emperor considers the desired employment of your
treasure and body-guard in Italy superfluous, we have decided to
appropriate it otherwise, and have already sent troops and treasure to
your colleague, Narses, to be used in the Persian wars.' Ha! this is
unheard 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. "'An
increase of your power in Italy seems to us the less desirable, because
we are daily warned against your boundless ambition. You are reported
to have said lately, while sitting at wine, that the sceptre originated
in the general's staff, and the general's staff in the stick. Dangerous
thoughts and unseemly words! You see that we are faithfully informed of
your ambitious dreams. This time we will warn without punishing; but we
have 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 its
summit, is nearest to the imperial lightning.' It is shameful!" cried
Procopius.
"No, it is worse; it is silly!" said Cethegus. "It is whipping fidelity
into rebellion."
"You are right!" cried Belisarius, who had caught these words as he
again 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 fro
close to the open door of the tent, before which Bessas, Acacius,
Demetrius, and many other leaders stood listening in astonishment. "All
the world shall hear me! He is an ungrateful, malicious tyrant! He
deserves that I should overthrow him! that I should confirm the
suspicions of his false soul!"
Cethegus cast a look at those who stood outside; they had evidently
heard all. Glancing at Antonina, he now went to the door and closed it
carefully. Antonina thanked him by a look. She again drew near her
husband, 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 see
men blubber!"