CHAPTER II.
The very same day Theodahad and Gothelindis were crowned with theancient crown of the Goths.
A splendid banquet, at which all the Roman and Gothic dignitaries ofthe court and city were present, enlivened the old palace and theusually quiet gardens, with which we have become acquainted as thescene of Athalaric's and Camilla's loves.
The revel lasted until deep into the night.
The new King, no friend of the cup, or of barbaric revelry, had retiredearly.
Gothelindis, on the contrary, sunned herself in the glory of her newrank. Proudly she sat upon her high seat, the golden circlet on herdark hair. She seemed all ear for the loud hurrahs with which, againand again, her own and her husband's names were greeted. But most ofall she enjoyed the thought that these shouts would penetrate into theroyal vault, where Amalaswintha, her hated and conquered rival, satmourning by the sarcophagus of her son.
Among the crowd of such guests as need only a full cup to make themmerry, many a grave face was to be seen; many a Roman who would ratherhave seen the Emperor Justinian upon the throne at the head of thetable; many a Goth who, in the present precarious condition of affairs,could not do homage to such a King as Theodahad without anxiety.
To these last belonged Witichis, whose thoughts seemed far absent fromthe splendid scene around him. The golden cup before him stooduntouched, and he scarcely noticed the loud exclamations of Hildebad,who sat opposite him.
At last--the lamps were long since lit, and the stars stood in thesky--he rose and went into the greeny darkness of the garden. He slowlywandered through the taxus-walks, his eyes fixed upon the sparklingluminaries. His heart was with his wife, with his child, whom he hadnot seen for months.
He wandered on unconsciously, until at last he came to the littleTemple of Venus by the quay, with which we are already acquainted.
He looked out over the gleaming sea. All at once something shining athis feet attracted his attention. It was the glittering of themoonlight upon a small Gothic harp, and upon a suit of mail. A man laybefore him upon the soft grass, and a pale face was uplifted towardshim.
"Thou here, Teja? Thou wert not at the banquet?"
"No; I was with the dead."
"My thoughts, too, were absent; at home with wife and child," saidWitichis.
"With wife and child," repeated Teja, sighing.
"Many asked after thee, Teja."
"After me? Should I sit by Cethegus, who has robbed me of my honour, orby Theodahad, who took inheritance?"
"Thine inheritance?"
"At least he possesses it. And over the place where once stood mycradle he now drives his ploughshare."
His head sank upon his breast, and both were silent.
"And thy harp," at last said Witichis, "will it never be heard again?They praise thee as our nation's best minstrel!"
"Like Gelimer, the last King of the Vandals, who was also the bestsinger of his nation.--But they shall never lead _me_ in triumph toByzantium!"
"Thou singest but seldom now?"
"Seldom or never. But it seems to me time is coming when I shall singagain."
"A time of joy?"
"A time of deep and final sorrow."
Again a long pause ensued.
"My Teja," resumed Witichis, "I have ever found thee, in all trouble ofpeace or war, as true as steel. And although thou art so much youngerthan I--and an elder man does not lightly bind himself to a youth--Imay call thee my best and bosom-friend. I know that thy heart cleavesto me more than to thy youthful companions."
Teja took the speaker's hand and pressed it. "Yes, even when my waysperplex thee, thou withholdest not thy respect and sympathy. Theothers---- And yet, _one_ of them I love much!"
"Whom?"
"He whom all love."
"Totila?"
"Yes. I love him as the night loves the morning star. But he is sofrank, that he cannot understand when others are, and must be,reserved."
"Must be! Why? Thou knowest that curiosity is not my failing. And if,at this earnest moment, I beg thee to lift the veil from thy grief, Iask it only because I would gladly help and comfort thee, and because afriend's eye often sees more clearly than one's own."
"Help? Help me? Canst thou awaken the dead? My pain is irrevocable asthe past! Whoever has, like me, seen the unmerciful wheel of Fate roll,crushing everything before it, blind and dumb to all tenderness andnobleness; yea, even crushing what is noble more easily and readily,because it _is_ tender; whoever has acknowledged that a dull necessity,which fools call the wise providence of God, rules the universe and thelife of mankind, is past all help and comfort! If once he has caughtthe sound, he hears for ever, with the sharp ear of despair, themonotonous rumble of the cruel, insensible wheel in the centre of theuniverse, which, at every revolution, indifferently produces ordestroys life. Whoever has felt this, and lived through it, renouncesall and for ever. For evermore, nothing can make him afraid. Butcertainly--he has also for ever forgotten the sweetness of a smile."
"Thou makest me shudder! God forbid that I should ever entertain such adelusion! How hast thou acquired, so young, such terrible wisdom?"
"Friend, by thought alone the truth cannot be reached; only theexperience of life can teach it. And in order to understand what andhow a man thinks, it is necessary to know his life. Therefore, that Imay not appear to be an erring dreamer, or an effeminate weakling, whodelights in nursing his sorrow--and in honour of thy trust andfriendship--thou shalt hear a small portion of the cause of my grief.The larger part, by far the larger, I will keep to myself," he added,in evident pain, and pressing his hand to his heart. "The time for thatwill come too. But now thou shalt only hear how the Star of Misfortune,even at my birth, shone over my head. And amidst all the million starsabove, this one alone remains faithful. Thou wert present--thou wiltremember--when the false Prefect taunted me before the whole assemblywith being a bastard, and refused to fight with me. I was obliged toendure the insult. I am even worse than a bastard. My father, Tagila,was a famous hero, but no noble. Poor, and of low birth. He had loved,ever since his beard sprouted, the daughter of his father's brother,Gisa. She lived far away on the outermost eastern frontier of therealm; on the cold Ister, where continued battles raged with the Gepidaeand the wild Sarmatian hordes, and where a man has little time to thinkof the Church, or of the changing laws promulgated by her Conclaves.For a long time my father was not able to lead Gisa to his home; ha hadnought but his helm and spear, and could not pay the tax, nor prepare ahome for his wife. At last fortune smiled upon him. In the war againstthe Sarmatians, he conquered the king's stronghold on the Alutha, andthe rich treasures which the Sarmatians had gained by years of plunder,and had there amassed, became his booty. In reward of his valour,Theodoric gave him the rank of earl, and called him to Italy. My fathertook with him Gisa, now become his wife, and all his treasure, andbought a large and beautiful estate in Tuscany, between Florentia andLuca. But his good fortune did not last long. Shortly after my birth,some miserable fellow, some cowardly rascal, accused my parents ofincest before the Bishop of Florentia. They were Catholics, and notArians--and brothers' children; their marriage was null in the eyes ofthe Church--and the Church ordered them to part. My father pressed hiswife to his heart, and laughed at the order. But the secret accuser didnot rest----"
"Who was he?"
"Oh, would that I knew it! I would reach him, even if he lived amid allthe horrors of Vesuvius! The priests tormented my mother withoutcessation, and tried to alarm her conscience. In vain; she stood fastby her God and her husband, and defied the bishop and his messengers.And whenever my father met one of the priests upon his estate, he gavehim such a welcome that he took care never to come again. But who canstrive with those who speak in God's name! A last term was appointed;if, by that time, the disobedient couple had not separated, they wereto be excommunicated, and their property forfeited to the Church. Myfather now hurried in despair to the King, to beg for the abolition of
the terrible sentence. But the verdict of the Conclave was too clear,and Theodoric did not dare to offend the rights of the Orthodox Church.When my father returned from Ravenna, he stared in horror at the placewhere once his house had stood: the time had elapsed, and the threathad been fulfilled. His home was destroyed, his wife and child haddisappeared. He madly sought for us all over Italy, and at last,disguised as a peasant, he discovered Gisa in a convent at Ticinum.They had torn her boy from her arms, and taken him to Rome. My fatherarranged everything for her flight from the convent; at midnight theyescaped over the wall of the cloister garden. But the next morning thesisters missed their prisoner at the _hora_--her cell was empty. Theconvent servants followed the track of the horses--they were overtaken.Fighting desperately, my father fell; my mother was taken back to theconvent. The pain of her loss and the severe discipline of the orderhad such a terrible effect upon her brain, that she went mad and died.Such was the fate of my parents."
"And thou?"
"I was discovered in Rome by old Hildebrand, who had been abrother-at-arms of my grandfather and father. With the King'sassistance, he took me from the care of the priests, and brought me upwith his own grandchildren in Regium."
"And thy estate, thine inheritance?"
"Was forfeited to the Church, which sold it, almost as a gift, toTheodahad. He was my father's neighbour; he is now my King!"
"My poor friend! But what happened to you later? I have heard onlyrumours--thou hast been in Greece----"
Teja rose.
"Let me keep silence on that subject; perhaps another time. I was oncefool enough to believe in happiness and the beneficence of a lovingGod. I have repented it bitterly. I shall never believe again.Farewell, Witichis, and do not blame Teja, if he be different fromother men." He pressed the hand of his friend warmly; and quicklydisappeared into the dark avenues of the garden.
Witichis sat for a long time in silent thought. Then he looked up atthe sky, seeking in the bright stars a contradiction of the gloomythoughts which his friend's words had aroused in his mind. He longedfor their peaceful and clear light. But during the conversation, cloudshad risen rapidly from the lagoons, and covered the sky. All around wasdark and dismal. With a sigh, Witichis arose, and filled with sadthoughts, sought his lonely couch.