Trouble was
caused him by a dispute with one of the legatees, a poor kinsman who
put an unexpected interpretation upon the item of the will which
concerned him. Another poor kinsman, to whom Maximus had bequeathed
a share in certain property in Rome, wished to raise money on this
security. Basil himself could not lend the desired sum, for, though
lord of great estates, he found himself after Chorsoman's pillage of
the strong room at Surrentum, scarcely able to meet immediate claims
upon him under the will; but he consented to accompany his relative
to a certain moneychanger, of whom perchance a loan might be
obtained. This man of business, an Alexandrian, had his office on
the Capitoline Hill, in that open space between the Capitol and the
Arx, where merchants were still found; he sat in a shadowed corner
of a portico, before him a little table on which coins were
displayed, and at his back a small dark shop, whence came a confused
odour of stuffs and spices. Long and difficult were the
negotiations. To Basil's surprise, the Alexandrian, though treating
him with the utmost respect, evidently gave little weight to his
guarantee in money matters; as to property in Rome, he seemed to
regard it as the most insubstantial of securities.
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