Orpheus in Mayfair and Other Stories and Sketches by Maurice Baring
page 70 of 190 (36%)
page 70 of 190 (36%)
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were referred from the lower Courts, through the channel of the
_Referendarius_, to the Emperor. The three clerks and their two scribes occupied a high marble room in the spacious office. It was as yet early in April, but, nevertheless, the sun out of doors was almost fierce. The high marble rooms of the office were cool and stuffy at the same time, and the spring sunshine without, the soft breeze from the sea, the call of the flower-sellers in the street, and the lazy murmur of the town had, in these shaded, musty, and parchment-smelling halls, diffused an atmosphere of laziness which inspired the clerks in question with an overwhelming desire to do nothing. There was, indeed, no pressing work on hand. Only from time to time the _Referendarius_, who occupied a room to himself next door to theirs, would communicate with them through a hole in the wall, demanding information on some point or asking to be supplied with certain documents. Then the clerks would make a momentary pretence of being busy, and ultimately the scribes would find either the documents or the information which were required. As it was, the clerks were all of them engaged in occupations which were remote from official work. The eldest of them, Cephalus by name--a man who was distinguished from the others by a certain refined sobriety both in his dark dress and in his quiet demeanour--was reading a treatise on algebra; the second, Theophilus, a musician, whose tunic was as bright as his flaming hair, was mending a small organ; and the third, Rufinus, a rather pale, short-sighted, and untidy youth, was scribbling on a tablet. The scribes were busy sorting old records and putting them away in their permanent places. |
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