CHAPTER XI.
The usual good luck of the Prefect did not desert him. The weatherchanged again. On the morning of the day after his last conversationwith Narses, the sun rose splendidly over the blue and sparkling bay,and hundreds of small fishing-boats set out to take advantage of thefavourable weather.
Syphax, yielding his place at the threshold of his master's tent to thefour Isaurians, who alone had remained behind their comrades, haddisappeared at the first approach of dawn.
When Cethegus had taken his morning bath in an adjoining tent, and wasreturning to his breakfast, he heard Syphax making a great noise as heapproached through the lines of tents.
"No!" he was shouting; "this fish is for the Prefect. I have paid forit in hard cash. The great Narses will not wish to eat other people'sfish!"
And with these words he tore himself loose from Alboin, and fromseveral Longobardians, as well as from a slave belonging to Narses, whowere trying to detain him.
Cethegus stopped. He recognised the slave. It was the cook of thegenerally sick and always temperate general, whose art was scarcelypractised except for his master's guests.
"Sir," the well-educated Greek said to the Prefect, in his nativelanguage, "do not blame me for this unseemly turmoil. What does asea-mullet matter to me! But these long-bearded barbarians forced me totake possession, at any cost, of this fish-basket, which your slave wasbringing from the boats."
A glance which Cethegus exchanged with Syphax sufficed. TheLongobardian had not understood what had been said. Cethegus gaveSyphax a blow on the cheek, and cried in Latin:
"Good-for-nothing, insolent slave! will you never learn manners? Shallnot the sick general have the best there is?"
And he roughly snatched the basket from the Moor and gave it to theslave.
"Here is the basket. I hope Narses will enjoy the fish."
The slave, who thought he had refused the gift distinctly enough, tookthe basket with a shake of his head.
"What can it all mean?" he asked in Latin as he went away.
"It means," answered Alboin, who followed him, "that the best fish is_not_ hidden in the basket, but somewhere else."
As soon as Syphax entered the tent, he eagerly felt in his waterproofbelt of crocodile-skin for a roll of papyrus, which he handed to thePrefect.
"You bleed, Syphax!"
"Only slightly. The Longobardians pretended, when they saw me swimmingin the water, to take me for a dolphin, and shot their arrows at me."
"Nurse yourself--a solidus for every drop of your blood!--the letter isworth blood and gold, as it seems. Nurse yourself! and bid theIsaurians let no one enter."
And now, alone in his tent, the Prefect began to read.
His features grew darker and darker. Ever deeper became the wrinkle inthe centre of his mighty forehead; ever more harshly and firmlycompressed his lips.
"To Cornelius Cethegus Caesarius, the Ex-prefect and ex-friend,Procopius of Caesarea, for the last time. This is the most sorrowfulbusiness for which I have ever used either my former or my presentpen-hand. And I would gladly give this my left hand, as I gave my rightfor Belisarius, if I need not write this letter. The revocation andrenunciation of our friendship of thirty years! In this unheroic time Ibelieved in two heroes; the hero of the sword, Belisarius; and the heroof the intellect, Cethegus. In future I must hate, and almost despise,the latter."
The reader threw the letter on the couch upon which he lay. Then hetook it up again with a frown and read on:
"Nothing more was wanting but that Belisarius should prove to be thetraitor that you would have represented him to be. But his innocence isas clearly proved as your black falsehood. I had often felt uneasy atthe crookedness of your ways, into which you had partly led me also;but I believed in the grandeur and unselfishness of your design: theliberation of Italy! Now, however, I see that the mainspring of youractions was measureless, unlimited, merciless ambition! A design whichnecessitates such means as you have used is desecrated in my eyes forever. You tried to ruin Belisarius, that brave and simple-minded man,by means of his own repentant wife, and to sacrifice him to Theodoraand to your own ambition. That was devilish; and I turn away from youfor ever."
Cethegus closed his eyes.
"I ought not to wonder at it," he said to himself. "He too has hisidol: Belisarius! Whoever touches that idol is as hateful to the wiseProcopius as he who sees in the Cross merely a piece of wood is to theChristian. Therefore I ought not to wonder at it--but it pains me! Suchis the power of a thirty years' habit. During all those years a warmerfeeling came over my heart at the sound of the name, Procopius! Howweak does custom make us! The Goth deprived me of Julius--Belisariusdeprives me of Procopius! Who will deprive me of Cethegus, my oldestand last friend? No one. Neither Narses nor Fate. Away with you,Procopius, out of the circle of my life! Almost too lachrymose,certainly too long, is the funeral speech which I have held over you.What else does the dead man say?"
And he continued to read:
"But I write this letter, because I wish to close our longfriendship--to which you have put an end by your treacherous attackupon my hero, Belisarius--with a last sign of affection. I wish to warnand to save you, if it yet be possible. Seven letters which I sent youhave evidently never reached you, otherwise you would not still bedwelling in the camp of Narses, as his army-reports affirm. So I willentrust this eighth letter to my slave, Agnellus, a fisherman's sonfrom Stabiae, where you are now encamped. I will give him his freedom,and recommend this letter to him as my last commission. For, although Iought to hate you, I still love you, Cethegus! It is hard to abandonyou, and I would gladly save you. When, shortly after your departure, Ireturned to Byzantium--already on the way the news of the arrestof Belisarius (on account of treachery!) came upon me like athunderbolt--I believed at first that you, like the Emperor, had beendeceived. In vain I tried to gain a hearing from Justinian; he ragedagainst all who had ever been united in ties of friendship toBelisarius. In vain I strove to see Antonina by every means in mypower. She was strictly guarded (thanks to your hints) in the RedHouse. In vain I proved to Tribonianus the impossibility of treacheryon the part of Belisarius. He shrugged his shoulders and said: 'Icannot comprehend it! But the proof is striking; this senseless denialof the visits of Anicius. He is lost!' And he was lost. The sentencewas pronounced; Belisarius was condemned to death; Antonina tobanishment. The Emperor mercifully _mitigated_ the sentence ofBelisarius into banishment--far from Antonina's exile--the loss ofsight, and confiscation of his property. This terrible judgment layheavy upon all Byzantium. No one believed in the guilt of Belisariusexcept the Emperor and the judges. But no one was able to prove hisinnocence, or change his fate. I was resolved to go with him intobanishment; the one-armed with the blind. Then--and may he be blessedfor it for ever!--his great enemy, Narses, saved him! He whom I oncenamed to you as the greatest man of the age."
"To be sure," said Cethegus to himself, "and now he will also be themost magnanimous."
"As soon as the news reached him in the Baths of Nikomedia--whither thesick man had repaired--he hurried back to Byzantium. He sent for me andsaid: 'You know well that it would have been my greatest pleasure tobeat Belisarius thoroughly in the open field; but he who has been mygreat and noble rival shall not perish miserably because of these lies.Come with me. We two--his greatest friend and his greatest enemy--willtogether save that impetuous man.' And he demanded an audience of theEmperor, which was at once granted to the enemy of Belisarius. Then hesaid to Justinian: 'It is impossible that Belisarius is a traitor. Hisonly failing is his blind fidelity to your ingratitude.' But Justinianwas deaf. Then Narses laid his marshal's staff at the Emperor's feetand said: 'Well, either you will annul the sentence of the judges, andpermit a new inquiry, or you will lose both your generals on one day.For, on the same day that Belisarius goes into exile, I go too. Thensee to it, who will guard your doors from the Goths, Persians, andSaracens.' And the Emperor hesitated, and demanded three days' time for
consideration, and meanwhile Narses was to be allowed to look throughthe papers in company with me, and to speak to Anicius and allconcerned. I soon perceived from the papers that the worst proofagainst Belisarius--for I hoped to be able to explain away the consentwhich he had written upon the tablet found in the house of Photius--wasthe secret and midnight visits of Anicius, which Belisarius, Antonina,and Anicius himself, obstinately and unreasonably denied. I then spoketo Antonina in private. I told her that these visits and their denialwould be the ruin of Belisarius. Then she cried with sparkling eyes:'Then I alone will be ruined, and Belisarius shall be saved! He reallyknew nothing of these visits, for Anicius did not come to him--he cameto me. All the world shall know it--even Belisarius! He may kill me,but he shall be saved!' And she gave me a little bundle of letters fromAnicius, which, certainly, when laid before the Emperor, would explaineverything, but would also accuse the _Empress_ in a terrible manner.And how firmly stood Theodora at that time in the esteem of Justinian!I hastened with these letters to Narses. He read them through and said,'In this case, either Belisarius and all of us are ruined--or thebeautiful she-devil will fall! It is for life or death! First come withme to Antonina once more.' And, accompanied by guards, and takingAntonina with us, we hastened to Anicius, who was slowly recoveringfrom his wound in prison."
Cethegus stamped his foot; but he read on:
"And then we all four went to Justinian. The magnanimous sinner,Antonina, confessed upon her knees the nightly meetings with Anicius,which, however, she had only encouraged in order to deliver the youthfrom the toils of the Empress. She gave the Emperor the letters ofAnicius, which spoke of the seductress, of her manifold arts, of thesecret passage to her chamber, and of the turning statue. The poorEmperor broke out into a fearful rage; he would have arrested us allupon the spot for leze majesty, for unlimited calumny. But Belisariussaid, 'Do that--to-morrow! But this evening, when the Empress sleeps,let Anicius and me lead you through the turning statue into the chamberof your wife, seize her letters, confront her with Antonina andAnicius, subject the old witch Galatea to the torture, and then see ifyou do not learn much more than you will like to hear. And if we havedeceived ourselves, punish us to-morrow as you like!' The turning,statue! that was so palpable! The assurance of Anicius, that he hadoften passed this secret door, was so provoking! Such things couldscarcely be invented. Justinian accepted our proposition. That verynight Anicius led the Emperor and us three into the garden adjoiningthe Empress's apartments. A hollow plantain-tree concealed the mouth ofthe subterranean passage which ended under the mosaic of Theodora'sante-room. Until then, Justinian had still preserved his belief in theEmpress. But when Anicius pushed a marble slab to one side, and openeda secret lock with a secret key that he had fetched from his house, andthe statue became visible, the Emperor, half fainting, sank back intomy arms. At last he roused himself, and pressed forward alone past thestatue into the chamber. Twilight filled the room. The dimly burninglamp shone over the couch of Theodora. The poor befooled man went up toher with a stealthy and unsteady step. There lay Theodora, fullydressed in imperial garments. A shrill cry from the Emperor called usto his side, and also Galatea from an adjoining chamber, whom Iimmediately seized. Justinian, stiff with horror, pointed to thecouch--we stepped forward--the Empress was dead! Galatea, not lessstartled than we, fell into convulsions. Meanwhile, we searched theroom, and found, upon a golden tripod, the ashes of numerous rolls ofparchment. Anicius called for slaves and lights. By this time Galateahad recovered, and, wringing her hands, told how the Empress had lefther rooms towards evening--about the time of our audience--withoutattendants, in order to visit the Emperor, as she frequently did atthat hour. She had returned almost immediately, very quiet, butstrikingly pale. She had ordered the tripod to be filled with glowingcoals, and had then locked herself up in her room. When Galatea knockedsome time later, she had answered that she had gone to rest, andrequired nothing more. On hearing this, the Emperor threw himself againupon the beloved corpse; and now, by the light of the lamps which hadbeen brought, he saw that the little ruby capsule, containing poison,in the ring which had once belonged to Cleopatra, and which Theodorawore upon her little finger, had been opened--the Empress had killedherself! Upon the lemonwood table lay a strip of parchment, upon whichwas written her favourite motto: 'To live is to rule by means ofbeauty.' We were still in doubt whether it was the tortures of hermalady or the discovery of her threatened fall which had driven her tothis desperate deed. But our doubts were soon solved. When the news ofTheodora's death spread through the palace, Theophilos, the Emperor'sdoor-keeper, hurried, half desperate, into the chamber of death, threwhimself at the Emperor's feet, and confessed that he guessed theconnection. He had been for years in the secret service of the Empress,and every time that the Emperor held an audience to which he had givenorders that the Empress was not to be admitted, he (the doorkeeper) hadapprised the latter of it. She had then almost always heard the mostsecret councils of the Emperor from a hiding-place in the doorway of anadjacent chamber. Thus yesterday he had, as usual, informed the Empressthat we were to have an audience, to which he had been particularlyordered not to admit her. Presently she had entered her hiding-place,but she had scarcely heard a few words spoken by Antonina and Anicius,when, with a smothered cry, she had sank half fainting behind thecurtains; but, quickly rising, she had made a sign to him to keepsilence, and then disappeared.--Narses pressed the Emperor to questionGalatea upon the rack, but Justinian said, 'I will inquire no further.'
"Day and night he remained alone near the corpse of the still belovedwoman, after which he caused her to be interred, with the highestimperial honours, in the church of St. Sophia. It was officiallypublished that the Empress had been suffocated by charcoal fumes whilesleeping. The tripod, with the ashes, was publicly exposed. But thatnight had made Justinian an old man. The complete agreement of theevidence of Antonina, Anicius, Belisarius, Photius, the slaves ofAntonina, the litter-bearers who had taken you to Belisarius's housebefore his arrest--all fully proved that you, in conjunction with theEmpress, had persuaded Belisarius, through Antonina, to place himselfseemingly at the head of the conspirators; and I swore to the fact thata few weeks ago he had expressed to me his just anger at the project ofPhotius.
"Justinian hastened to the cell where Belisarius was confined, embracedhim with tears, begged his forgiveness for himself and for Antonina,who remorsefully confessed all her innocent love-makings, and obtainedfull pardon. The Emperor, in atonement, begged Belisarius to accept thechief command in Italy. But Belisarius said, 'No, Justinian; my work onearth is finished. I shall retire with Antonina to my most distantvilla in Mesopotamia, and there bury myself and my past. I am cured ofthe wish to serve you. If you will grant me a last favour, then givethe command of the army in Italy to my friend and preserver, Narses. Heshall revenge me upon the Goths, and upon that Satan called Cethegus!'And the two great enemies embraced before our sympathetic eyes. Allthis was buried in the deepest secrecy, in order to spare the memory ofthe Empress; for Justinian still loves her. It was announced that theinnocence of Belisarius had been fully proved by Narses, Tribonianus,and me, by means of lately-discovered letters of the conspirators.Justinian pardoned all who had been sentenced; also Scaevola andAlbinus, who were formerly undone by you. But I tell you the wholetruth, in order to warn and save you. For, although I do not know inwhat way, I am quite convinced that Justinian has sworn your ruin, andentrusted your destruction to the hands of Narses. Your design to founda free and recognised Rome, ruled only by yourself, was madness. To ityou have sacrificed everything--even our fair friendship. I shallaccompany Belisarius and Antonina, and I will try, in the contemplationof their complete reconciliation and happiness, to forget the disgust,doubt, and vexation with which all human affairs have filled me."