Now, therefore, when submission had been resolved upon, it
had been thought both expedient and easy to recall them peremptorily to
their duties. In addition to this motive for seeking the interior of
the palace, the servants of the Senate had another errand to perform
there. The widely rumoured determination of Vetranio and his associates
to destroy themselves by fire, in the frenzy of a last debauch--
disbelieved or disregarded while the more imminent perils of the city
were under consideration--became a source of some apprehension and
anxiety to the acting members of the Roman council, now that their minds
were freed from part of the responsibility which had weighed on them, by
their resolution to treat for peace.
Accordingly, the persons now sent into the palace were charged with the
duty of frustrating its destruction, if such an act had been really
contemplated, as well as the duty of recalling its inmates to their
appointed places in the Senate-house. How far they were enabled, at the
time of their entrance into the banqueting-hall, to accomplish their
double mission, the reader is well able to calculate.
Pages:
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672