es:--

'You wrong me by your words! When I saw you among the Alps, did I
refuse you protection? When the child was wounded, did I leave him to
suffer unaided? When he died, did I forsake him to rot upon the earth,
or abandon to his mother the digging of his grave? When we approached
Aquileia, and marched past Ravenna, did I forget that the sword hung at
my shoulder? Was it at my will that it remained sheathed, or that I
entered not the gates of the Roman towns, but passed by them in haste?
Was it not the command of the king that withheld me? and could I, his
warrior, disobey? I swear it to you, the vengeance that I promised, I
yearn to perform,--but is it for me to alter the counsels of Alaric?
Can I alone assault the city which it is his command that we should
blockade? What would you have of me?'

'I would have you remember,' retorted Goisvintha, indignantly, 'that
Romans slew your brother, and made me childless! I would have you
remember that a public warfare of years on years, is powerless to stay
one hour's craving of private vengeance! I would have you less
submitted to your general's wisdom, and more devoted to your own
wrongs! I would have you--like me--thirst for the blood of the first
inhabitant of yonder den of traitors, who--whether for peace or for
war--passes the precincts of its sheltering walls!'

She paused abruptly for an answer, but Hermanric uttered not a word.
The courageous heart of the young chieftain recoiled at the deliberate
act of assassination, pressed upon him in Goisvintha's veiled yet
expressive speech. To act with his comrades in taking the city by
assault, to outdo in the heat of battle the worst horrors of the
massacre of Aquileia, would have been achievements in harmony with his
wild disposition and warlike education; but, to submit himself to
Goisvintha's projects, was a sacrifice, that the very peculiarities of
his martial character made repugnant to his thoughts. Emotions such as
these he would have communicated to his companion, as they passed
through his mind; but there was something in the fearful and ominous
change that had occurred in her disposition since he had met her among
the Alps,--in her frantic, unnatural craving for bloodshed and revenge,
that gave her a mysterious and powerful influence over his thoughts,
his words, and even his actions. He hesitated and was silent.

'Have I not been patient?' continued Goisvintha, lowering her voice to
tones of earnest, a