an eunuch, who emerged from obscurity, and rivalled Belisarius in heroism, under the reign of the Emperor Justinian. From the domestic service of the palace, and the administration of the private revenue, he was suddenly advanced to the head of an army; and he is ranked amongst the few eunuchs who have rescued what Lord Byron contemptuously calls "the third sex" from the contempt and hatred of mankind. A feeble diminutive body concealed the soul of a statesman and a warrior. His youth had been employed in the management of the loom and the distaff, in the cares of the household, and in the service of female luxury; but, whilst his hands were busy, he secretly exercised the faculties of a vigorous and a discerning mind. A stranger to the schools and the camp, he Narsingah made it his study in the palace to dissemble, to flatter, and to persuade; and as soon as he approached the person of the emperor, Justinian listened with surprise and pleasure to the manly counsels of his chamberlain and private treasurer. The talents of Narses were tried and improved in frequent embassies. He also led an army into Italy, acquired a practical knowledge of the war and the country, and presumed to rival the genius of Belisarius. Twelve years after his return, the eunuch was selected to achieve the conquest which had been left imperfect by the first of the Roman generals. Instead of being dazzled by vanity or ambition, he seriously declared, that unless he were provided with an adequate force, he would never consent to risk his own glory and that of his sovereign. Justinian granted to the favourite what he might have denied to the hero; the Gothic war was rekindled from its ashes; and the preparations were not unworthy of the ancient majesty of the empire. Narses defeated the Goths, the Franks, and the Alamanni; the Italian cities opened their gates to the conqueror, who entered the capital in triumph; and, having established the seat of his government at Ravenna, he continued to govern Italy under the title of exarch during fifteen years. His virtues, we are informed, were stained with avarice; and in this provincial reign he accumulated a treasure of gold and silver which surpassed the modesty of a private fortune. His government was oppressive and unpopular; and the general discontent was expressed with freedom by the deputies of Rome. Before the throne of Justinian they boldly declared that their Gothic servitude had been more tolerable than the despotism of a Greek eunuch; and that unless their tyrant were instantly removed, they would consult their own happiness in the choice of a new master. His disgrace was thus the effect of popular disaffection; and his death, though in an extreme old age, was unseasonable and premature, since his genius alone could have repaired the last and fatal error of his life. He died about the year 567, and, as some say, though it does not appear very probable, at the advanced age of ninety-five.