Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/309

 the catastrophe was complete he fled through the darkness with a few followers, when he received a lance-thrust from the hand of a barbarian, who was unaware that he had struck the King. Whatever may have been the immediate cause of the fatality, it seems certain that on that night he arrived at Caprae, about ten miles from the scene of the battle, in a dying state. There he shortly expired and was buried by his companions, who at once left the neighbourhood. Soon afterwards a Gothic woman, resident on the spot, who had seen the occurrence, told some Roman soldiers that the King was dead, and indicated to them his grave. Disbelieving her story, they disinterred the body and found that she had spoken the truth. Before they restored the corpse to the earth they stripped it of its regal apparel, which they brought to Narses. He, in his turn, forwarded the spoils to Justinian. Such was the inglorious end of the reign of Totila, whose martial talents and civil magnanimity deserved a better fate; and we would fain believe that version of his death which elucidates by an inevitable mischance the infelicitous result of this ill-conducted battle so unworthy of his previous reputation.

Narses now marched on Rome, receiving on his way the submission of several towns which had been taken and re-*taken during the present war. At the same time the remnant of the Goths mustered at Ticinum, which Totila had fortified as the repository of his treasure in North Italy, and there they immediately elected Teïas as King. When the eunuch arrived before the capital, he found the Gothic garrison prepared to offer a vigorous resistance; but their dis-*