"Unfortunately not I alone, but my friends, the conspirators of the Catacombs. Petros showed them, the letter, and they call down curses upon you." "Then my Goths, at least, remain to me!" "No longer. Not alone do the adherents of the Balthes seek your life; but the conspirators of Rome have sworn, as soon as war breaks out, to announce to all the world that your name stands at the head of their conspiracy against the Goths--against your own nation! The document, with your signature, is in my hands no longer; it lies in the archives of the conspirators." "Faithless man!" "How could I know that you treated with Byzantium behind my back, and thus made enemies of my friends? You see that Byzantium, the Goths, and Italy are all against you. If the war break out under your direction, division will run rife in Italy. No one will obey you, and the kingdom will fall helpless into the hands of Belisarius. Amalaswintha, there must be a sacrifice! I demand it of you in the name of Italy, in the name of your people and of mine." "What sacrifice? I consent to any." "The greatest sacrifice--your crown. Give it to a man who is capable of uniting the Goths and Italians against Byzantium, and save both nations." Amalaswintha looked at him searchingly. A terrible struggle took place in her soul. "My crown? It is very dear to me," she said. "I always held Amalaswintha capable of any sacrifice." "Dare I place confidence in your advice?" "If it were sweet, you might doubt it; if I flattered your pride you might mistrust me. But I offer you the bitter cup of renunciation. I appeal to your generosity and courage. Make me not ashamed." "Your last advice was a crime," cried Amalaswintha, shuddering. "I preserved your throne by every possible means as long as it could be upheld, as long as it was necessary for Italy; and I now demand that you should love your people more than your sceptre." "By God! there you do not err. For my people I have not hesitated to sacrifice the lives of others"--she gladly dwelt on this thought, which appeased her conscience--"and I shall not refuse now to sacrifice my personal ambition. But who will be my successor?" "Your heir, to whom the crown belongs--Theodahad, the last of the Amelungs." "What! that feeble creature?" "He is no hero, it is true; but heroes will obey the nephew of Theodoric if you place him on the throne. And, consider, his Roman education has won the Italians for him; they will stand by him. They would both fear and hate a king after Hildebrand's heart." "And rightly," answered the Queen reflectively. "But Gothelindis, Queen!" Cethegus came nearer, and looked keenly into her eyes. "Amalaswintha is not so mean as to nourish a pitiful feminine enmity when there is need of a noble resolve. You have ever appeared to me nobler than your sex. Now prove it, and decide."