with a close cap, but his feet were naked; and the
only weapon he bore was a two-handed sword, stuck in his girdle.

Ere he passed the gate it might be supposed that his business and
credentials would have been rigidly scrutinised by the guards; but he
merely showed a large signet-ring to the superior officer, and was
immediately allowed to pass. He soon came to the wooden bridge over
the river, now kept by a body of the Praetorian guards. Here, on
attempting to pass, he was immediately seized. With an air of stupid
or affected concern, the prisoner drew the same signet from his hand,
the sight of which again procured him immediate access. The bridge was
crossed, and after passing along the narrow winding streets he came to
a small triumphal arch leading into the Forum. This was an area of but
mean extent, surrounded by a colonnade, serving as a market for all
sorts of wares, and the trades carried on under its several porticoes.
The outer walls behind the columns were painted in compartments, black
and red, and here a number of citizens were assembled. There was
hurrying to and fro. Soldiers and messengers, even so early, were
bustling about with ominous activity. The stranger looked on for a
while with a vacant sort of curiosity, then, turning to the left hand,
went forward towards the gate of the palace. On a corner of the
building he saw another edict to the same purport as before. Near it
was the announcement of a spectacle at the theatre, the gift of a
wealthy patrician for the amusement and gratification of the people.
Still the stranger passed on, apparently uninterested by all, until he
came to the outer gate, where he merely paused a few moments, as
though to observe the movements of the soldiers and the changing of
the guard. The sound of the trumpet seemed to attract especial notice
from this barbarian, whose uncouth air and rude manners drew upon him
the gaze of many as they passed by. He now turned into a narrower
street behind the palace, and here he sought out a common tavern,
where the chequers newly painted on the door-posts betokened good
entertainment for travellers. Having entered, the hostess, whose
tucked-up dress and general appearance Martial, in his epigrams, so
cunningly describes, brought him a vase or flagon of wine. It was not
of the true Falernian flavour, as may be readily surmised, but a
mixture of stuff which can hardly be described, of nauseous taste,
smelling abominably of resin or pi