ur, showed themselves worthy of their own and, their
general's fame. They closed up by his side, so well as to leave him only
a single enemy. It is ridiculous to attempt describing a personal
encounter thirteen centuries after the event. The duties of Procopius
did not place him at the elbow of Belisarius at such an hour, and even
if he had been there he could have seen but little of what others were
about.

The result of the encounter is matter of history. A thousand Goths fell
in the skirmish, and the bravest of the veteran guards of Belisarius
perished by his side. The barbarians were driven back to their camp; but
when Belisarius imprudently followed them, he was repulsed by the Gothic
infantry forming before the lines, and the Romans were compelled to make
a precipitate retreat. They galloped back to the gates of Rome closely
pursued by fresh squadrons of Gothic cavalry. But as they reached the
walls in disorder, the garrison refused to open the gates, fearing lest
the Goths might force their way into the city with the fugitives, and
believing that Belisarius had perished in the battle. There was now
nothing left for the commander-in-chief but to form a small squadron of
his faithful guards, and make a desperate and sudden charge on the
advancing Goths. The manoeuvre was executed with consummate skill, and
the leading ranks of the enemy were broken, thrown into confusion, and
forced back on the succeeding squadrons by the impetuous charge. The cry
spread that the garrison had made a sally; the obscurity of evening was
commencing, the Goths commenced their retreat; and Belisarius and his
wearied troops were at last allowed to enter Rome. In this desperate
encounter, their respective enemies allowed that Belisarius was the
bravest of the Romans, and Wisand of the Goths. The Roman general
escaped without a wound, but the valiant Goth, borne down in the combat
around the person of Belisarius, was left for dead on the field, where
he remained all the next day, and it was only on the third morning, in
taking up his body for interment, that he was discovered to be still
alive. He recovered from his wounds and lived long afterwards.[14]

Belisarius, unlike the noble barons of more modern days, who were all
pride and presumption in their iron shells, mounted on their dray
horses, but useless when dismounted, did not disdain to add to his
knightly accomplishments that of a most skilful archer. This skill saved
Rome in a dan