and gesticulat

and the first rays of returning sunlight stream through
the parting clouds. Some days have elapsed, and in those days the
temples have yielded all their wealth; the conquered Romans
have bribed the triumphant barbarians to mercy; the ransom
of the fallen city has been paid. The Gothic army is still encamped
round the walls, but the gates are opened, markets for food are
established in the suburbs, boats appear on the
river and waggons on the highroads, laden with provisions, and
proceeding towards Rome.
All the hidden treasure kept back by the citizens is
now bartered for food; the merchants who
hold the market reap a rich harvest of spoil, but the hungry are
filled,
the weak are revived, every one is content. It is the end of the second
day since the free sale of provisions
and the liberty of egress from the city have
been permitted by the Goths. The gates are closed
for the night, and the people are quietly returning, laden with their
supplies of food, to their homes. Their eyes no longer encounter the
terrible traces

of the march of pestilence and famine through every street; the corpse