a pretext for a war which was unprovoked, and reduced me to this state of misfortune, bringing Belisarius against me from I know not where.  And yet it is not at all unlikely that he also, since he is but a man, though he be emperor too, may have something befall him which he would not choose.  But as for me, I am not able to write further.  For my present misfortune has robbed me of my thoughts.  Farewell, then, dear Pharas, and send me a lyre and one loaf of bread and a sponge, I pray you.”  When this reply was read by Pharas, he was at a loss for some time, being unable to understand the final words of the letter, until he who had brought the letter explained that Gelimer desired one loaf because he was eager to enjoy the sight of it and to eat it, since from the time when he went up upon Papua he had not seen a single baked loaf.  A sponge also was necessary for him; for one of his eyes, becoming irritated by lack of washing, was greatly swollen.  And being a skilful harpist he had composed an ode relating to his present misfortune, which he was eager to chant to the accompaniment of a lyre while he wept out his soul.  When Pharas heard this, he was deeply moved, and lamenting the fortune of men, he did as was written and sent all the things which Gelimer desired of him.  However he relaxed the siege not a whit, but kept watch more closely than before.

VII

And already a space of three months had been spent in this siege and the winter was coming to an end.  And Gelimer was afraid, suspecting that his besiegers would come up against him after no great time; and the bodies of most of the children who were related to him[21] were discharging worms in this time of misery.  And though in everything he was deeply distressed, and looked upon everything,—­except, indeed, death,—­with dissatisfaction, he nevertheless endured the suffering beyond all expectation, until it happened that he beheld a sight such as the following.  A certain Moorish woman had managed somehow to crush a little corn, and making of it a very tiny cake, threw it into the hot ashes on the hearth.  For thus it is the custom among the Moors to bake their loaves.  And beside this hearth two children were sitting, in exceedingly great distress by reason of their hunger, the one being the son of the very woman who had thrown in the cake, and the other a nephew of Gelimer; and they were eager to seize the cake as soon as it should seem to them to be cooked.  And of the two children the Vandal got ahead of the other and snatched the cake first, and, though it was still exceedingly hot and covered with ashes, hunger overpowered him, and he threw it into his mouth and was eating it, when the other seized him by the hair of the head and struck him over the temple and beat him again and thus compelled him with great violence to cast out the cake which was already in his throat.  This sad experience Gelimer could not endure (for he had followed all from the beginning),