'Wherever I meet with your
accursed idols I will melt them down into armour for my warriors and
shoes for my horses; I will turn your temples into granaries and cut
your images of wood into billets for the watchfires of my hosts!'
'Slay me and be silent!' groaned the man, staggering back against the
side of the tent, and shrinking under the merciless words of the Goth
like a slave under the lash.
'I leave the shedding of such blood as yours to your fellow Romans,'
answered the king; 'they alone are worthy of the deed.'
No syllable of reply now escaped the stranger's lips, and after an
interval of silence Alaric resumed, in tones divested of their former
fiery irritation, and marked by a solemn earnestness that conferred
irresistible dignity and force on every word that he uttered.
'Behold the characters engraven there!' said he, pointing to the shield;
'they trace the curse denounced by Odin against the great oppressor,
Rome! Once these words made part of the worship of our fathers; the
worship has long since vanished, but the words remain; they seal the
eternal hatred of the people of the North to the people of the South;
they contain the spirit of the great destiny that has brought me to the
walls of Rome.
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