What was again unfortunate for
Basil, Pelagius had heard, before leaving Byzantium, of the
Emperor's wish to discover Veranilda, and had already made inquiries
on this subject in Rome. He was glad, then, to speak with this young
noble, whose mind he found it very easy to read, and whom, without
the least harshness, he resolved to deter from his pursuit of a
Gothic bride.
The colloquy was not long. Buoyed by his ardour, Basil interpreted
the first words of courteous preamble in the most hopeful sense.
What followed gave him pause; he saw a shadow of obstacle arise.
Another moment, and the obstacle had become very real; it grew to
vastness, to insuperability He stood, as it were, looking into the
very eyes of the Serene Majesty of Byzantium. Not that the speaker
used a tone of peremptory discouragement. Granting the indispensable
condition that Veranilda became a Catholic, it was not an impossible
thing, said Pelagius, that Basil should obtain her as a wife; _but_
it could only be by the grace of the Emperor. Veranilda had been
summoned to Byzantium. If Basil chose to follow her thither, and sue
for her before the throne, why, this was open to him, as to any
other Roman of noble birth.
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