Something unusual seemed to
have happened among them just now: groups stood about in eager talk,
and a little further on, in front of a church, a noisy crowd was
assembled, with soldiers among them. Having made inquiry, Felix
explained the disturbance to his master. It was due to the rapacity
of the Greek commander, who, scorning no gain, however small, was
seizing upon the funds of the trade guilds; this morning the common
chest of the potters had been pillaged, not without resistance,
which resulted in the death of a soldier; the slayer had fled to St.
Cecilia's church, and taken sanctuary. Basil's feeling, as he
listened, was one of renewed bitterness against the Greeks; but to
the potters themselves he gave little thought, such folk and their
wrongs appearing of small moment to one of his birth.
Pursuing the road towards the Portuensian Gate, he was soon in sight
of the palace where for generations had dwelt the heads of the
Anician family. It lay on a gentle slope above the river, at the
foot of the Janiculan Hill; around it spread public porticoes, much
decayed, and what had once been ornamental gardens, now the pasture
of goats.
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