The Goths, from the earliest times to the end of the Gothic dominion in Spain . r of Justinian it must be for valuable con-sideration, and to be dethroned by the Goths wouldbe ruin to all her prospects. In her desperate extremity she hit upon a strangeplan, which no doubt she thought wonderfully cun-ning, though it turned out to be the height of invited Theodahad to Ravenna, and exhaustedall her eloquence in protestations of the utmost friend-ship and respect for the man whom above all othersshe detested, and whom she knew to be her bitterestenemy. She assured her dear cousin that it
The Goths, from the earliest times to the end of the Gothic dominion in Spain . r of Justinian it must be for valuable con-sideration, and to be dethroned by the Goths wouldbe ruin to all her prospects. In her desperate extremity she hit upon a strangeplan, which no doubt she thought wonderfully cun-ning, though it turned out to be the height of invited Theodahad to Ravenna, and exhaustedall her eloquence in protestations of the utmost friend-ship and respect for the man whom above all othersshe detested, and whom she knew to be her bitterestenemy. She assured her dear cousin that it had causedher great pain to have to treat him with apparentunkindness, but it had all been done for his own that her poor boy had not many years tolive, she had been anxious that Theodahad should behis successor, but she had seen that his course of con-duct was prejudicing his future subjects against him,and endangering his prospect of being acknowledgedas king. She had, therefore, felt it her duty to inter--pose, and she congratulated him that by his obedience. PLOTS AND Counterplots. 203 to her commands he had saved his imperilled popu-larity, so that she could now venture to associate himwith herself in the kingdom. Not that she proposedto make him her equal in power: she would availherself of his valuable advice, he should have the titleof king, and share equally in the outward honoursand the revenues of royalty, but he must take an oathto leave the actual government of the kingdom en-tirely in her hands. Of course Theodahad could not for a moment bedeceived by Amalaswinthas absurdly transparentpretences of friendship, but it is hardly necessary tosay that he professed to be deeply touched by thediscovery that his dear sister, whom he had alwaysprofoundly esteemed, even when he imagined her tobe his enemy, had after all only been dissemblingher love, and with the best possible motives. Hegratefully accepted her offer of the kingly title, andbound himself by th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectgoths, bookyear1887
