rius and the Quaestor, and
plundered all the merchants--Carthaginians as well as strangers--who
had their homes and storehouses on the harbor. He took all their money,
many of their goods, and even the beautiful candlesticks and lanterns
which they had brought out in honor of our arrival.

We had hoped--Belisarius gave orders for a diligent search--to liberate
the captive King Hilderic and his nephew. But this, it appears, was not
accomplished. In the royal citadel, high up on the hill crowned by the
capitol, is the gloomy dungeon where the usurper held the Asdings
prisoners, as he barred all his foes here. The executioner supplied the
place of a jailer to his predecessors. He also held captive many
merchants of our empire, fearing (and my Hegelochus showed with what
good reason; the General sent him to-day with rich gifts to Syracuse)
that, if allowed to sail thither, they might bring us all sorts of
valuable information. When the jailer, a Roman, heard of our victory at
Decimum, and saw our galleys rounding the promontory, he released all
these captives. He wanted to set the King and Euages free also, but
their dungeon was empty. No one knows what has become of them.

At noon Belisarius ordered the ships' crews to land, all the troops to
clean their weapons and armor, to present the best appearance, and now
the whole army marched in full battle-array--for we still feared an
ambush of the Vandals--through the "Grove of the Empress Theodora" (so
I hear the grateful Carthaginians have rebaptized it); then through the
southern Byzacenian gate, and finally through the lower city.
Belisarius and the principal leaders, with some picked troops, went up
to the capitol, and our General formally took his seat upon Genseric's
gold and purple throne. Belisarius ordered the noonday meal to be
served in the dining-hall where Gelimer entertained the Vandal nobles.
It is called "Delphica," because its principal ornament is a beautiful
tripod. Here the General feasted the leaders of his army. A banquet had
been prepared in it the day before for Gelimer, but we now ate the
dishes made to celebrate his victory; spiced by this thought, their
flavor was excellent. And Gelimer's servants brought in the platters,
filled the drinking vessels with fragrant wine, waited upon us in every
way. This is another instance of the goddess Tyche's pleasure in
playing with the changing destinies of mortals. You, O Cethegus, I am
well aware, have a diffe