— 7 — THE VENGEANCE
OF MICHAEL II.From every church and convent in Rome the bells rang out; it was the Feast of the Assumption and holiday in the city. Strange, heavy clouds still obscured the sky, and intermittent thunder echoed in the distance. The Basilica of St. Peter was crowded from end to end.
The vast congregation all knelt upon the marble floor, save the Emperor and his wife, who sat under a violet canopy placed opposite the pulpit.
Between them, on a lower step of the daïs, stood their little son, gleaming in white satin and overawed by the glitter and the silence. Surrounding the throne were ladies, courtiers, Frankish knights, members of the Council, German Margraves, Italian nobles, envoys from France, Spain, and resplendent Greeks from the Court of Basil. Theirry, kneeling
