ad impatiently. "Defy them? that
means stay here? Nonsense! Away as soon as possible. There is no safety
but in flight!"

"Whither will you fly?"

"First to Ravenna--it is strong! There I will take the royal treasure.
From thence, if it must be, to the Franks. Oh, what a pity that I must
leave all the moneys hidden here--many millions of solidi!"

"Here? Here, too?" asked Gothelindis, her attention suddenly aroused.
"You have treasures hidden in Rome? Where? And are they safe?"

"Ah, far too safe! In the Catacombs! I myself should be hours in
finding them all in those dark labyrinths; and minutes are now death or
life, and life is more than solidis! Follow me, Gothelindis, so that
we may not lose a moment. I hasten to the Porta Marcus Aurelius."

And he left the chamber.
But Gothelindis remained motionless. A thought, a plan had crossed her
mind at his words. She contemplated the possibility of resistance. Her
pride could not endure to renounce the government.

"Gold is power," she said to herself, "and power alone is life."

Her resolution was firmly fixed. She thought of the Cappadocian
mercenaries, whom the avarice of the King had driven from his service;
they still remained in Rome, masterless, waiting to embark.

She heard Theodahad hastily descend the staircase, and call for his
litter.

"Fly, fly! thou miserable coward!" she cried, "I will remain here!"

CHAPTER XII.

Splendidly rose the sun out of the sea the next morning. Its beams
glittered upon the shining weapons of many thousand Gothic warriors,
who crowded the wide levels of Regeta.

From all the provinces of the kingdom they had hastened by groups, in
families, often with wife and child, to be present at the great muster
which took place every autumn.

Such an Assembly was at once a splendid feast, and the highest national
solemnity. Originally, in heathen times, its immediate intention had
been the grand feast of sacrifice, which, twice a year, at the winter
and the summer solstice, had united all branches of the nation in
honour of their common gods; to this were added a market and exchange
of goods, exercises of arms, and the review of the army. The Assembly
had the power of the highest jurisdiction, and the final decision as to
peace, war, and political relations with other states.

And even now, in the Christian time, when the King had acquired many a
right which once belonged to the people, the Nati