Beric the Briton : a Story of the Roman Invasion eBook

The scene in Camalodunum was a familiar one to Beric.  The streets were thronged with people.  Traders from Gaul and Italy, Roman artisans and workmen, haughty legionaries with shield and helmet, civil officials, Greek players, artists and decorators, native tribesmen, with the products of their fields or the spoils of the chase, walking with humble mien; and shopkeepers sitting at the open fronts of their houses, while their slaves called the attention of passersby to the merits of the goods.  Here were the rich products of Eastern looms, there the cloths and linen of Rome, further on a smith’s shop in full work, beyond that a silversmith’s, next door to which was a thriving trader who sold unguents and perfumes, dyes for the ladies’ cheeks and pigments for their eyebrows, dainty requisites for the toilette, and perfumed soap.  Bakers and butchers, vendors of fish and game, of fruit, of Eastern spices and flavourings abounded.

Druggists and dealers in dyes for clothing and in the pigments used in wall decorations and paintings were also to be found; and, in fact, this Roman capital of a scarcely subjugated country contained all the appliances for luxury and comfort that could be found in the cities of the civilized provinces.

The only shops at which Beric paused were those of the armourers and of the scribes, at some of which were exhibited vellums with the writings of the Greek and Roman poets and historians; and Beric muttered to himself, “If I am ever present at the sack of Camalodunum these shall be my share of the spoil, and I fancy that no one is likely to dispute their possession with me.”

But he did not linger long.  Boduoc would be waiting for him, and he could not hurry over his visit, the first he had paid since his absence; therefore he pushed on, with scarce a glance at the stately temple of Claudius, the magnificent baths or other public buildings, until he arrived at the villa of Caius Muro, which stood somewhat beyond the more crowded part of the town.

CHAPTER II:  CITY AND FOREST

The house of Caius Muro had been built six years before on the model of one owned by him in the Tuscan hills.  Passing through the hall or vestibule, with its mosaic pavement, on which was the word of welcome, “Salve!” Beric entered the atrium, the principal apartment in the house.  From each side, at a height of some twenty feet from the ground, extended a roof, the fall being slightly to the centre, where there was an aperture of about eight feet square.  Through this light and air made their way down to the apartment, the rainfall from the roofs and opening falling into a marble tank, called the impluvium, below the level of the floor, which was paved with squares of coloured marble.  On either side of the atrium were the small sleeping chambers, the bed places being raised and covered with thick mats and rugs.