to the surrounding
districts. Then marched the soldiers under the leadership of the
Centurion Apulius and finally, in the Imperial war chariot drawn by pure
white stallions came the Emperor himself, with Antinous by his side.
Later at the Royal Palace the Emperor discussed affairs of State with the
Pharaoh."
"Antinous though was not involved . . . "
And the boy slips out, evading both the Palace attendants and his
own personal bodyguard. He knows that Fortunatus will be worried and
that, on his return, he will be reprimanded but he is certain he will be
back before the Emperor has finished his boring talks with the funny
Egyptian king in the strange head-dress and anyway Uncle can never stay
cross with him for long. The lure and excitement of this strange new city
with its different sights and smellsis too much for his curiosity.
He wanders through the streets with their many fine buildings some
of which are not all that different from ones he has seen before because
Alexandria is a Greek city founded and named after the most renowned
Greek of all, Alexander the Great, but there is a certain 'foreign'
quality to even the most traditional of Greek style porticos - perhaps it
is the bright colours in which they have been painted, or the bas-relief
carvings which cover many of the walls.
Soon, though, he reaches the market place and his nose is assailed
by an amalgam of spicy perfumes, cinnamon and frankincense, sandalwood
and myrrh, smells of the East which reek of the exotic and unfamiliar. He
breathes them in deeply and they excite his senses so that he feels alert
and stimulated,