ed their visit; the place was twice
examined; the conspiracy was known and disregarded; and no sooner had
Totila consented to the attempt, than they unbarred the Asinarian gate,
and gave admittance to the Goths. Till the dawn of day, they halted in
order of battle, apprehensive of treachery or ambush; but the troops of
Bessas, with their leader, had already escaped; and when the king was
pressed to disturb their retreat, he prudently replied, that no sight
could be more grateful than that of a flying enemy. The patricians, who
were still possessed of horses, Decius, Basilius, &c. accompanied the
governor; their brethren, among whom Olybrius, Orestes, and Maximus, are
named by the historian, took refuge in the church of St. Peter: but
the assertion, that only five hundred persons remained in the capital,
inspires some doubt of the fidelity either of his narrative or of his
text. As soon as daylight had displayed the entire victory of the Goths,
their monarch devoutly visited the tomb of the prince of the apostles;
but while he prayed at the altar, twenty-five soldiers, and sixty
citizens, were put to the sword in the vestibule of the temple. The
archdeacon Pelagius [13] stood before him, with the Gospels in his hand.
"O Lord, be merciful to your servant." "Pelagius," said Totila, with an
insulting smile, "your pride now condescends to become a suppliant." "I
am a suppliant," replied the prudent archdeacon; "God has now made us
your subjects, and as your subjects, we are entitled to your clemency."
At his humble prayer, the lives of the Romans were spared; and the
chastity of the maids and matrons was preserved inviolate from the
passions of the hungry soldiers.

But they were rewarded by the freedom of pillage, after the most
precious spoils had been reserved for the royal treasury. The houses
of the senators were plentifully stored with gold and silver; and the
avarice of Bessas had labored with so much guilt and shame for the
benefit of the conqueror. In this revolution, the sons and daughters
of Roman consuls lasted the misery which they had spurned or relieved,
wandered in tattered garments through the streets of the city and
begged their bread, perhaps without success, before the gates of their
hereditary mansions. The riches of Rusticiana, the daughter of Symmachus
and widow of Boethius, had been generously devoted to alleviate the
calamities of famine. But the Barbarians were exasperated by the report,
that she ha