As many a courageous and bloodthirsty man has been before, he was utterly cowed by the righteous anger of a woman.
In such sad wise was, after many years, the meeting again of Maharbal and Elissa. He, bold warrior as he was, slunk off to give some orders to his men, feeling, he knew not why, that whereas a minute ago it had been Elissa who was most terribly, irretrievably in the wrong, now he had himself done something that he feared she might never forgive throughout his lifetime.
Thus can a fearless and clever woman ever turn the tables upon a man, in the most tragic as in the most trivial moments of existence.
CHAPTER IV.
ELISSA’S MISERY.
It was not to a bed of roses that Elissa returned when she first rejoined her father in his camp upon the Lacinian Promontory. The world had not been using him well, and his formerly jovial temper was considerably embittered in consequence. He hated the Romans more than ever, and was most contented that his daughter had been prevented from carrying out her intended union with Scipio. But he was above everything just, and saw in her intention her wish to act for her country’s welfare; but while at heart approving her motive, he objected to the actual intention itself, and would have been furious had it been successfully carried out.
With regard to Philip of Macedon he felt differently. He was proud of his daughter, and openly praised her for her self-sacrifice in that matter. It was not her fault if her country had not reaped all the advantages that it might have done from her nobility of soul and self-abnegation. Hannibal recognised them all the same.
Thus after a time, when father and daughter had, so to speak, renewed each other’s acquaintance, confidence was restored. Hannibal ceased to blame her even in the matter of Scipio, when he learned at the beginning of the spring that Scipio had actually at length passed over into Numidia and was laying siege to the city of Utica, while Caius Lælius was devastating the coasts with his ships. And Hannibal well knew there was now no general capable enough on Carthaginian soil to combat the invader with any hopes of success. All this might have been prevented if Elissa had only got safe through to Sicily.
While Hannibal still maintained his own upon Italian soil, almost capturing the town of Rhegium at the extreme south, and being successful in other directions whenever he chose to issue from his entrenchments, there ever continued to come bad news from Numidia.
While Scipio was over-running Numidia from end to end, avoiding any walled towns, save only Utica, and capturing all the unwalled cities, Utica held out nobly; and eventually, so gallant was her resistance, that the siege was raised by Scipio after a naval battle in which the Romans were defeated.
After the raising of the siege of Utica, the party of Hanno sent envoys to Rome to try to make a peace, and this with Scipio’s approval, for he had himself dictated the terms. He had been everywhere successful except before Utica, nearly all the army of Carthage had been destroyed, and having won quite sufficient military glory, he was thinking how Elissa might even yet be his, if only a peace could be quickly brought about. Great warrior as he was, he was absolutely sated with blood, and would willingly have given to humanity, had it been possible, a cessation from warfare.