nted with the position of the
kingdom; the strength, quality, and divisions of the army; the hopes
and fears of the Goths, and the plans of attack formed by the generals.
And she longed with impatience for a speedy opportunity of using her
knowledge as destructively as possible.

She could not hope to enter into relations with Belisarius himself,
therefore her eyes were naturally directed to the Italians in her
vicinity, with whom she could easily and unsuspectedly communicate; and
who, though neutral in the presence of the Goths, were, without
exception, secretly favourable to the Byzantines.

But on recalling their names to her memory, she found that there was
not one to whose wisdom and discretion she could entrust the deadly
secret: that the Queen of the Goths desired the destruction of her
kingdom.

These cowardly and insignificant men--for all the best had long since
joined Cethegus or Belisarius were neither worthy of trust nor capable
of dealing with Witichis and his friends.

Mataswintha cunningly tried to learn from the King and the Goths
themselves, which of the Romans they held to be their most dangerous
and powerful enemy; but in answer to such questions, she only heard one
name, repeated again and again, and he who owned this name was beyond
her reach in the Capitol of Rome--Cethegus the Prefect.

It was impossible for her to enter into communication with him. She
could trust none of her Roman slaves with such an important mission as
the bearing of a letter to Rome.

The clever and courageous Numidian, who fully shared the hatred of her
beloved mistress to the rude barbarians, from whom she had always
experienced contempt, had, in truth, offered, with much zeal, to find
her way to Cethegus; but Mataswintha would not expose the girl to the
perils of a journey through Italy during war-time. Therefore she was
already reconciled to the thought that she must postpone her revenge
until the march to Rome. But not the less zealously did she continue to
inquire into the plans and stratagems of the Goths.

One day she was returning from the council of war, which had been
held in the camp without the walls, in the King's tent; for, since
the armament had approached its completion, and the Goths had been
daily expecting the order to march, Witichis--partly to avoid
Mataswintha--had left his rooms in the palace and taken up his abode
among his warriors.

The Queen, accompanied only by Aspa, was walking slowly