bout five feet beneath the sea-level, on
some tumuli, evidently sepulchral in their character, made of bricks
laid edgeways. Near one of these tumuli, but lying apart by itself, was
a golden cuirass adorned with precious stones. The rascally labourers,
when they caught sight of their treasure, feigned to see nothing,
promptly covered it up again, and returned at nightfall to divide the
spoil. A little piece of gold which was found lying on the ground caused
enquiries to be set on foot; the labourers were arrested, but
unfortunately the greater part of the booty had already been cast into
the melting-pot. A few pieces were, however, recovered, and are now in
the museum at Ravenna, where they figure in the catalogue as part of the
armour of Odovacar. This is, however, a mere conjecture, and another, at
least equally probable conjecture, is that the cuirass of gold once
covered the breast of Theodoric. The spot where it was found is about
one hundred and fifty yards from the Rotonda, and if the monks had for
any reason decided to pillage the sepulchre of its precious deposit,
this was a not improbable place where they might hide it for a time.
Certainly the self-denial which they showed in not stripping the body of
its costly covering is somewhat surprising, but possibly the
conspirators were few in number and the chances of war may have removed
them, before they had an opportunity to disinter the body a second time
and strip it of its cuirass, which moreover could not have been easily
disposed of without exciting suspicion.

One little circumstance which seems somewhat to confirm this theory, is
the fact that there is an enrichment[140] running round the border of
the cuirass very similar in character to a decoration of the cornice in
Theodoric's tomb.

[Footnote 140: A "meandro", as it is called by Ricci.]

Whether this theory be correct or not, the indignity which was certainly
at some time offered to the mortal remains of the great Ostrogothic king
reminds us of the similar insults offered to the body of the great
Puritan Protector, Cromwell, like Theodoric, was carried to his grave
with all the conventional demonstrations of national mourning. He was
dragged from it again and cast out "like an abominable branch" when the
legitimate monarchy was restored, when "Church and King" were again in
the ascendant, and when the stout soldiers, who had made him in all but
the name king _de facto_, were obliged to bow their hea