ber, besides the house-mark of the Asdings,--an A
transfixed by an arrow,--many another rune, even many a short motto,
was inscribed in Gothic characters. Costly crimson silk hangings waved
at the open arched windows; the walls were set with slabs of polished
marble in the most varied contrast of often vivid colors, for the
Barbarian taste loved bright hues. The floor was composed of polished
mosaic, but it was rough and not well fitted. Genseric had simply
brought whole shiploads of the brightest hues he could drag from the
palaces of plundered Rome, with statues and bas-reliefs, which were put
together here with little choice.

Opposite to the side facing the sea, rose, at the summit of five steps,
a stately structure, the throne of Genseric. The steps were very broad;
they were intended to accommodate the King's enormous train, the
Palatines and Gardings, the leaders of the thousands and hundreds,
stationed according to their rank and the ruler's favor. In their rich
fantastic costumes and armor, a combination of German and Roman taste,
they often gathered closely around the sovereign and stood crowding
together; the scarlet silk Vandal banners fluttered above them, and a
golden dragon swung by a rope from the tent-like canopy of the lofty
purple throne. When from this throne, at whose feet, as a symbolical
tribute from conquered Moorish princes, lion and tiger skins lay piled
a foot high, the mighty sea-king arose, swinging around his head with
angry, threatening words the seven-lashed scourge (a gift from his
friend Attila), many an envoy of the Emperor forgot the arrogant speech
he had prepared.

The wonderful splendor of this hall fairly bewildered the eye; but its
richest ornament was the countless number of weapons of every variety,
and of every nation, principally German, Roman, and Moorish; but also
from all the other coasts and islands which the sea-king's corsair
ships could visit. They covered all the pillars and walls; nay, the
shields and breastplates were even spread over the entire ceiling.

A strange, dazzling light now poured over all this bronze, silver, and
gold, as the slanting rays of the setting sun streamed from the
northwest into the hall. A broad white marble table was completely
covered with parchment and papyrus rolls, containing lists of the
bodies of troops, by thousands and hundreds, drawings of ships, maps of
the Vandal kingdom, charts of the Bay of Gades and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

"Y