He
took this for a persecution of the fiend, and strove against it by
all methods known to him. About his body he wore things that
tortured; he fasted to the point of exhaustion; he slept--if sleep
came to him--on a bare stone floor; some hours of each day he
spent in visiting churches, where he prayed ardently.
Basil, when he had rushed forth from the Anicianum, rode straightway
to the Via Lata, and presented himself at Marcian's door. The porter
said that his master had been absent since dawn, but Basil none the
less entered, and, in the room where he and his friend were wont to
talk, threw himself upon a couch to wait. He lay sunk in the most
sombre thoughts, until at the door appeared Sagaris, who with the
wonted suave servility, begged permission to speak to him.
'Speak on,' said Basil gloomily, fixing his eyes upon the oriental
visage, so little reassuring to one harassed by suspicions.
'It is regarding my dear lord, Illustrious, that I would say a
humble word, if your nobility will bear with me.'
'What can that be?'
'I am guilty, I know, of much presumption, but I entreat your
nobility's patience, for in truth it is only my love and my fears
that embolden me to speak.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239