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And less from greediness than from ostentation, and the desire to
prove to himself that he was in good health, he cut into the
forcemeats of cheese and marjoram, the boned fish, gourds, oysters
with eggs, horse-radishes, truffles, and brochettes of small birds. As
he looked at the prisoners he revelled in the imagination of their
tortures. Nevertheless he remembered Sicca, and the rage caused by all
his woes found vent in the abuse of these three men.
"Ah! traitors! ah! wretches! infamous, accursed creatures! And you
outraged me!--me! the Suffet! Their services, the price of their
blood, say they! Ah! yes! their blood! their blood!" Then speaking to
himself:--"All shall perish! not one shall be sold! It would be better
to bring them to Carthage! I should be seen--but doubtless, I have not
brought chains enough? Write: Send me--How many of them are there? go
and ask Muthumbal! Go! no pity! and let all their hands be cut off and
brought to me in baskets!"
But strange cries at once hoarse and shrill penetrated into the hall
above Hanno's voice and the rattling of the dishes that were being
placed around him. They increased, and suddenly the furioustrumpeting
of the elephants burst forth as if the battle were beginning again. A
great tumult was going on around the town.
The Carthaginians had not attempted to pursue the Barbarians. They had
taken up their quarters at the foot of the walls with their baggage,
mules, serving men, and all their train of satraps; and they made
merry in their beautiful pearl-bordered tents, while the camp of the
Mercenaries was now nothing but a heap of ruins in the plain. Spendius
had recovered his courage. He dispatched Zarxas to Matho, scoured the
woods, rallied his men (the losses had been inconsiderable),--and they
were re-forming their lines enraged at having been conquered without a
fight, when they discovered a vat of petroleum which had no doubt been
abandoned by the Carthaginians. Then Spendius had some pigs carried
off from the farms, smeared them with bitumen, set them on fire, and
drove them towards Utica.
The elephants were terrified by the flames and fled. The ground sloped
upwards, javelins were thrown at them, and they turned back;--and with
great blows of ivory and trampling feet they ripped up the
Carthaginians, stifled them, flattened them. The Barbarians descended
the hill behind them; the Punic camp, which was without entrenchments
was sacked at the first rush, and the Carthaginians were crushed
against the gates, which were not opened through fear of the
Mercenaries.
Day broke, and Matho's foot-soldiers were seen coming up from the
west. At the same time horsemen appeared; they were Narr' Havas with
his Numidians. Leaping ravines and bushes they ran down the fugitives
like greyhounds pursuing hares. This change of fortune interrupted the
Suffet. He called out to be assisted to leave the vapour bath.
The three captives were still before him. Then a Negro (the same who
had carried his parasol in the battle) leaned over to his ear.
"Well?" replied the Suffet slowly. "Ah! kill them!" he added in an
abrupt tone.
The Ethiopian drew a long dagger from his girdle and the three heads
fell. One of them rebounded among the remains of the feast, and leaped
into the basin, where it floated for some time with open mouth and
staring eyes. The morning light entered through the chinks in the
wall; the three bodies streamed with great bubbles like three
fountains, and a sheet of blood flowed over the mosaics with their
powdering of blue dust. The Suffet dipped his hand into this hot mire
and rubbed his knees with it: it was a cure.
When evening had come he stole away from the town with his escort, and
made his way into the mountain to rejoin his army.
He succeeded in finding the remains of it.
Four days afterward he was on the top of a defile at Gorza, when the
troops under Spendius appeared below. Twenty stout lances might easily
have checked them by attacking the head of their column, but the
Carthaginians watched them pass by in a state of stupefaction. Hanno
recognised the king of the Numidians in the rearguard; Narr' Havas
bowed to him, at the same time making a sign which he did not
understand.
The return to Carthage took place amid all kinds of terrors. They
marched only at night, hiding in the olive woods during the day. There
were deaths at every halting-place; several times they believed
themselves lost. At last they reached Cape Hermaeum, where vessels
came to receive them.
Hanno was so fatigued, so desperate--the loss of the elephants in
particular overwhelmed him--that he demanded poison from Demonades in
order to put an end to it all. Moreover he could already feel himself
stretched upon the cross.
Carthage had not strength enough to be indignant with him. Its losses
prove to himself that he was in good health, he cut into the
forcemeats of cheese and marjoram, the boned fish, gourds, oysters
with eggs, horse-radishes, truffles, and brochettes of small birds. As
he looked at the prisoners he revelled in the imagination of their
tortures. Nevertheless he remembered Sicca, and the rage caused by all
his woes found vent in the abuse of these three men.
"Ah! traitors! ah! wretches! infamous, accursed creatures! And you
outraged me!--me! the Suffet! Their services, the price of their
blood, say they! Ah! yes! their blood! their blood!" Then speaking to
himself:--"All shall perish! not one shall be sold! It would be better
to bring them to Carthage! I should be seen--but doubtless, I have not
brought chains enough? Write: Send me--How many of them are there? go
and ask Muthumbal! Go! no pity! and let all their hands be cut off and
brought to me in baskets!"
But strange cries at once hoarse and shrill penetrated into the hall
above Hanno's voice and the rattling of the dishes that were being
placed around him. They increased, and suddenly the furioustrumpeting
of the elephants burst forth as if the battle were beginning again. A
great tumult was going on around the town.
The Carthaginians had not attempted to pursue the Barbarians. They had
taken up their quarters at the foot of the walls with their baggage,
mules, serving men, and all their train of satraps; and they made
merry in their beautiful pearl-bordered tents, while the camp of the
Mercenaries was now nothing but a heap of ruins in the plain. Spendius
had recovered his courage. He dispatched Zarxas to Matho, scoured the
woods, rallied his men (the losses had been inconsiderable),--and they
were re-forming their lines enraged at having been conquered without a
fight, when they discovered a vat of petroleum which had no doubt been
abandoned by the Carthaginians. Then Spendius had some pigs carried
off from the farms, smeared them with bitumen, set them on fire, and
drove them towards Utica.
The elephants were terrified by the flames and fled. The ground sloped
upwards, javelins were thrown at them, and they turned back;--and with
great blows of ivory and trampling feet they ripped up the
Carthaginians, stifled them, flattened them. The Barbarians descended
the hill behind them; the Punic camp, which was without entrenchments
was sacked at the first rush, and the Carthaginians were crushed
against the gates, which were not opened through fear of the
Mercenaries.
Day broke, and Matho's foot-soldiers were seen coming up from the
west. At the same time horsemen appeared; they were Narr' Havas with
his Numidians. Leaping ravines and bushes they ran down the fugitives
like greyhounds pursuing hares. This change of fortune interrupted the
Suffet. He called out to be assisted to leave the vapour bath.
The three captives were still before him. Then a Negro (the same who
had carried his parasol in the battle) leaned over to his ear.
"Well?" replied the Suffet slowly. "Ah! kill them!" he added in an
abrupt tone.
The Ethiopian drew a long dagger from his girdle and the three heads
fell. One of them rebounded among the remains of the feast, and leaped
into the basin, where it floated for some time with open mouth and
staring eyes. The morning light entered through the chinks in the
wall; the three bodies streamed with great bubbles like three
fountains, and a sheet of blood flowed over the mosaics with their
powdering of blue dust. The Suffet dipped his hand into this hot mire
and rubbed his knees with it: it was a cure.
When evening had come he stole away from the town with his escort, and
made his way into the mountain to rejoin his army.
He succeeded in finding the remains of it.
Four days afterward he was on the top of a defile at Gorza, when the
troops under Spendius appeared below. Twenty stout lances might easily
have checked them by attacking the head of their column, but the
Carthaginians watched them pass by in a state of stupefaction. Hanno
recognised the king of the Numidians in the rearguard; Narr' Havas
bowed to him, at the same time making a sign which he did not
understand.
The return to Carthage took place amid all kinds of terrors. They
marched only at night, hiding in the olive woods during the day. There
were deaths at every halting-place; several times they believed
themselves lost. At last they reached Cape Hermaeum, where vessels
came to receive them.
Hanno was so fatigued, so desperate--the loss of the elephants in
particular overwhelmed him--that he demanded poison from Demonades in
order to put an end to it all. Moreover he could already feel himself
stretched upon the cross.
Carthage had not strength enough to be indignant with him. Its losses
- shield [ʃi:ld]
n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词) - freely [´fri:li] ad.自由地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
- crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- elephant [´elifənt] n.象 (初中英语单词)
- scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)
- barely [´beəli] ad.公开地；仅仅 (初中英语单词)
- frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- furious [´fjuəriəs] a.狂怒的；猛烈的 (初中英语单词)
- principal [´prinsəpəl] a.主要的 n.负责人 (初中英语单词)
- physician [fi´ziʃən] n.(内科)医生 (初中英语单词)
- writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)
- thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)
- sulphur [´sʌlfə] n.硫，硫磺 (初中英语单词)
- thirst [θə:st] n.渴，口渴；渴望 (初中英语单词)
- reflection [ri´flekʃən] n.反射；映象；想法 (初中英语单词)
- moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)
- priest [pri:st] n.教士；牧师；神父 (初中英语单词)
- breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- cheese [tʃi:z] n.干酪，乳酪 (初中英语单词)
- imagination [i,mædʒi´neiʃən] n.想象(力) (初中英语单词)
- nevertheless [,nevəðə´les] conj.&ad.然而；不过 (初中英语单词)
- doubtless [´dautlis] ad.无疑地；大概，多半 (初中英语单词)
- pursue [pə´sju:] v.追赶；追踪；从事 (初中英语单词)
- column [´kɔləm] n.柱；柱状物；纵队 (初中英语单词)
- poison [´pɔizən] n.毒物 v.毒害 a.有毒的 (初中英语单词)
- litter [´litə] n.杂乱 v.乱丢 (高中英语单词)
- bronze [brɔnz] n.青铜(器) (高中英语单词)
- random [´rændəm] n.偶然的行动 (高中英语单词)
- victorious [vik´tɔ:riəs] a.得胜的，胜利的 (高中英语单词)
- trumpet [´trʌmpit] n.喇叭；小号 (高中英语单词)
- summit [´sʌmit] n.顶(点)；绝顶 (高中英语单词)
- motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)
- commonwealth [´kɔmənwelθ] n.国家；共和国；联邦 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- ragged [´rægid] a.衣服破烂的 (高中英语单词)
- pavement [´peivmənt] n.路面；铺筑材料 (高中英语单词)
- incense [´insens, in´sens] n.香(气) vt.激怒 (高中英语单词)
- inclination [,inkli´neiʃən] n.倾斜；爱好；天资 (高中英语单词)
- repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)
- shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)
- tumult [´tju:mʌlt, ´tu:-] n.喧哗；激昂；烦乱 (高中英语单词)
- girdle [´gə:dl] n.腰带 vt.用带束(缠) (高中英语单词)
- escort [´eskɔ:t] n.伴随者；警卫(队) (高中英语单词)
- finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
- desirous [di´zaiərəs] a.渴望的；想往的 (英语四级单词)
- indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)
- corpse [kɔ:ps] n.尸体 (英语四级单词)
- unnatural [,ʌn´nætʃərəl] a.不自然的 (英语四级单词)
- accursed [ə´kə:sid] a.被诅咒的；可憎的 (英语四级单词)
- hoarse [hɔ:s] a.嘶哑的；嗓门粗哑的 (英语四级单词)
- petroleum [pi´trəuliəm] n.石油 (英语四级单词)
- dagger [´dægə] n.短剑，匕首 (英语四级单词)
- rejoin [ri:´dʒɔin] v.再参加；重聚；回答 (英语四级单词)
- compressed [kəm´prest] a.压缩的 (英语六级单词)
- backwards [´bækwədz] ad.向后 a.向后的 (英语六级单词)
- incessant [in´sesənt] a.不断的，不停的 (英语六级单词)
- marrow [´mærəu] n.(骨)髓；精华；活力 (英语六级单词)
- malady [´mælədi] n.疾病；不正之风 (英语六级单词)
- robust [rəu´bʌst] a.强建的；茁壮的 (英语六级单词)
- infamous [´infəməs] a.声名狼藉的 (英语六级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- defile [di´fail] vt.弄脏，玷污 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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