ufficient quantities to nourish his people
until the light of the last day should dawn upon his nation.

It has ever been a vain task for learned investigation to attempt to
find on Mons Lactarius or Vesuvius the exact spots which correspond to
the description of Procopius. It is impossible to fix upon any one of
the innumerable ravines and valleys. And yet the description of the
Byzantine historian, grounded as it was upon the verbal reports of the
leaders and generals of the army of Narses, cannot be doubted.

Rather may the contradictions be simply explained by the sudden,
forcible and gigantic changes, and by the still more numerous, gradual
and slighter alterations made in the face of the country by streams of
lava, landslips, the crumbling of the rocks, and floods which have
taken place upon that never quiet mountain, during the course of more
than thirteen centuries. Even credible accounts of much later Italian
authors, concerning places and positions on Mount Vesuvius, cannot
always be reconciled with the reality.

The ground which sucked up Teja's life-blood has no doubt been covered,
ages ago, by deep layers of silent and impenetrable lava.

Even Narses was compelled to admire the circumspection with which his
barbarian adversary had chosen his last place of defence.

"He intends to die like the bear in his den," he exclaimed as he
observed the whole of the Gothic defences from his litter at Nuceria.
"And many of you, my dear wolves," he added, turning with a smile to
Alboin, "will fall under the blows of this bear's paws when you try to
trot through those narrow entrances."

"Oho! It is only necessary to let so many run in at once that the bear
gets both paws full and is not able to strike again."

"Softly, softly! I know of a pass on Vesuvius--long ago, when I still
nursed my miserable body hoping to restore its strength, I spent weeks
together upon Mons Lactarius, in order to enjoy the pure air, and at
that time I firmly impressed upon my memory the pass I speak of; from
that pass--if the Goths get into it--only famine can drive them out."

"That will be tiresome!"

"There is nothing else for it. I have no desire once more to sacrifice
a myriad of imperial troops in order to stamp out these last sparks."

And so it happened. Very gradually, gaining each forward step only at a
great and bloody loss, did Narses draw his net tighter and more tightly
together. He surrounded in a semicircle every point