{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_25673/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_25673","id":"gutenberg_25673","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25673","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Rome -- History"],"text":"Produced by David Kline, Greg Bergquist and The Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: CASTLE S. ANGELO.]\n\n\n\n\n  Edition d'Elite\n\n  Historical Tales\n\n  The Romance of Reality\n\n  By\n\n  CHARLES MORRIS\n\n  _Author of \"Half-Hours with the Best American Authors,\" \"Tales from the\n  Dramatists,\" etc._\n\n  IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES\n\n  Volume XI\n\n  Roman\n\n\n  J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n  PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON\n\n\n\n\n  Copyright, 1896, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n  Copyright, 1904, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n  Copyright, 1908, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                              PAGE\n  HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED                           7\n\n  THE SABINE VIRGINS                            14\n\n  THE HORATII AND CURIATII                      22\n\n  THE DYNASTY OF THE TARQUINS                   26\n\n  THE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL                        32\n\n  THE STORY OF LUCRETIA                         36\n\n  HOW BRAVE HORATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE            43\n\n  THE BATTLE OF LAKE REGILLUS                   50\n\n  THE REVOLT OF THE PEOPLE                      54\n\n  THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS                     60\n\n  CINCINNATUS AND THE AEQUIANS                   68\n\n  THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA                     75\n\n  CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OF VEII                 87\n\n  THE GAULS AT ROME                             94\n\n  THE CURTIAN GULF                             105\n\n  ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS      108\n\n  THE CAUDINE FORKS                            116\n\n  THE FATE OF REGULUS                          126\n\n  HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS                    135\n\n  HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED                 145\n\n  ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE          152\n\n  THE FATE OF CARTHAGE                         158\n\n  THE GRACCHI AND THEIR FALL                   165\n\n  JUGURTHA, THE PURCHASER OF ROME              173\n\n  THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIUS              180\n\n  THE PROSCRIPTION OF SULLA                    191\n\n  THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS                 198\n\n  CAESAR AND THE PIRATES                        204\n\n  CAESAR AND POMPEY                             208\n\n  THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR                   218\n\n  ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA                         227\n\n  AN IMPERIAL MONSTER                          236\n\n  THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS                     243\n\n  BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF BRITAIN             250\n\n  ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES                         255\n\n  THE DOOM OF NERO                             262\n\n  THE SPORTS OF THE AMPHITHEATRE               272\n\n  THE REIGN OF A GLUTTON                       280\n\n  THE FAITHFUL EPONINA                         289\n\n  THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM                       293\n\n  THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII                   301\n\n  AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE                           309\n\n  THE DEEDS OF CONSTANTINE                     319\n\n  THE GOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE                   325\n\n  THE DOWNFALL OF ROME                         331\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\nROMAN.\n\n                                              PAGE\n  THE CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO           _Frontispiece_.\n\n  ROME FROM THE DOME OF ST. PETER'S             18\n\n  THE FORUM OF ROME                             26\n\n  BRUTUS ORDERING THE EXECUTION OF HIS SONS     40\n\n  HORATIUS KEEPING THE BRIDGE                   46\n\n  THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA                     75\n\n  RUINS OF THE ROMAN AQUEDUCTS                 106\n\n  HANNIBAL CROSSING THE ALPS                   139\n\n  THE BATHS OF CARACALLA                       150\n\n  THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR                   218\n\n  ANTONY'S ORATION OVER CAESAR                  224\n\n  THE GALLEY OF CLEOPATRA                      230\n\n  THE TOMB OF HADRIAN                          260\n\n  A ROMAN CHARIOT RACE                         275\n\n  THE COLISEUM AT ROME                         282\n\n  THE JEWS' WAILING PLACE, JERUSALEM           294\n\n  THE RUINS OF POMPEII                         306\n\n  EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS         309\n\n  ARCH OF TITUS, ROME                          320\n\n  THE LAST COMBAT OF THE GLADIATORS            333\n\n\n\n\n_HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED._\n\n\nVery far back in time, more than twenty-six hundred years ago, on the\nbanks of a small Italian river, known as the Tiber, were laid the\nfoundations of a city which was in time to become the conqueror of the\ncivilized world. Of the early days of this renowned city of Rome we know\nvery little. What is called its history is really only legend,--stories\ninvented by poets, or ancient facts which became gradually changed into\nromances. The Romans believed them, but that is no reason why we should.\nThey believed many things which we doubt. And yet these romantic stories\nare the only existing foundation-stones of actual Roman history, and we\ncan do no better than give them for what little kernel of fact they may\ncontain.\n\nIn our tales from Greek history it has been told how the city of Troy\nwas destroyed, and how AEneas, one of its warrior chiefs, escaped. After\nmany adventures this fugitive Trojan prince reached Italy and founded\nthere a new kingdom. His son Ascanius afterwards built the city of Alba\nLonga (the long white city) not far from the site of the later city of\nRome. Three hundred years passed away, many kings came and went, and\nthen Numitor, a descendant of AEneas, came to the throne. But Numitor\nhad an ambitious brother, Amulius, who robbed him of his crown, and,\nwhile letting him live, killed his only son and shut up his daughter\nSilvia in the temple of the goddess Vesta, to guard the ever-burning\nfire of that deity.\n\nHere Silvia had twin sons, whose father was said, in the old\nsuperstitious fashion, to be Mars, the God of War. The usurper, fearing\nthat these sons of Mars might grow up and deprive him of his throne,\nordered that they and their mother should be flung into the Tiber, then\nswollen with recent rains. The mother was drowned, but destiny, or Mars,\npreserved the sons. Borne onward in their basket cradle, they were at\nlength swept ashore where the river had overflown its banks at the foot\nof the afterwards famous Palatine Hill. Here the cradle was over-turned\nnear the roots of a wild fig-tree, and the infants left at the edge of\nthe shallow waters.\n\nWhat follows sounds still more like fable. A she-wolf that came to the\nwater to drink chanced to see the helpless children, and carried them to\nher cave, where she fed them with her milk. As they grew older a\nwoodpecker brought them food, flying in and out of the cave. At length\nFaustulus, a herdsman of the king, found these lusty infants in the\nwolf's den, took them home, and gave them to his wife Laurentia to bring\nup with her own children. He gave them the names of Romulus and Remus.\n\nYears went by, and the river waifs grew to be strong, handsome, and\nbrave young men. They became leaders among the shepherds and herdsmen,\nand helped them to fight the wild animals that troubled their flocks.\nTheir home was on the Palatine Hill, and the cattle and sheep for which\nthey cared were those of the wicked king Amulius. Near by was another\nhill, called the Aventine, and on this the deposed king Numitor fed his\nflocks. In course of time a quarrel arose between the herdsmen on the\ntwo hills, and Numitor's men, having laid an ambush, took Remus prisoner\nand carried him to Alba, where their master dwelt. This no sooner became\nknown to Romulus than he gathered the young men of the Palatine Hill,\nand set out in all haste to the rescue of his brother.\n\nMeanwhile, Remus had been taken before Numitor, who gazed on him with\nsurprise. His face and bearing were rather those of a prince than of a\nshepherd, and there was something in his aspect familiar to the old\nking. Numitor questioned him closely, and Remus told him the story of\nthe river, the wolf, and the herdsman. Numitor listened intently. The\nstory took him back to the day, many years before, when his daughter\nSilvia and her twin sons had been thrown into the swollen stream. Could\nthe children have escaped? Could this handsome youth be his grandson? It\nmust be so, for his age and his story agreed.\n\nBut while they talked, Romulus and his followers reached the city, and,\nbeing forbidden entrance, made an assault on the gates. In the conflict\nthat ensued Amulius took part and was killed, and thus Numitor and his\ndaughter were at last revenged. Seeking Remus, the victorious shepherd\nprince found him with Numitor, who now fully recognized in the twin\nyouths his long-lost grandsons. Romulus, who was now master of the city,\nrestored his royal grandfather to the throne.\n\nAs for Romulus and Remus, their life as shepherds was at an end. It was\nnot for youths of royal blood and warlike aspirations to spend their\nlives in keeping sheep. But Numitor had been restored to the throne of\nAlba, and they decided to build a city of their own on those hills where\nall their lives had been passed and on which they preferred to dwell.\nThe land belonged to Numitor, but he willingly granted it to them, and\nthey led their followers to the spot.\n\nHere a dispute arose between the brothers. The story goes that Romulus\nwished to have the city built on the Palatine Hill, Remus on the\nAventine Hill; and that, as they could not agree, they referred the\nmatter to their grandfather, who advised them to settle it by\naugury,--or by watching and forming conclusions from the flight of\nbirds. This long continued the favorite Roman mode of settling difficult\nquestions. It was easier than the Greek plan of going to Delphi to\nconsult the oracle.\n\nThe two brothers now stationed themselves on the opposite hills, each\nwith a portion of their followers, and waited patiently for what the\nheavens might send. The day slowly waned, and they waited in vain. Night\ncame and deepened, and still their vigil lasted. At length, just as the\nsun of a new day rose in the east, Remus saw a flight of vultures, six\nin all. He exulted at the sight, for the vulture, as a bird which was\nseldom seen and did no harm to cattle or crops, was looked upon as an\nexcellent augury. Word of his success was sent to Romulus, but he capped\nthe story with a better one, saying that twelve vultures had just passed\nover his hill.\n\nThe dispute was still open. Remus had seen the birds first; Romulus had\nseen the most. Which had won? The question was offered to the decision\nof their followers, the majority of whom raised their voices in favor of\nRomulus. The Palatine Hill was therefore chosen as the city's site. This\nevent took place, so Roman chronology tells us, in the year 753 B.C.\n\nThe day fixed for the beginning of the work on the new city--the 21st of\nApril--was a day of religious ceremony and festival among the shepherds.\nOn this day they offered sacrifices of cakes and milk to their god\nPales, asked for blessings on the flocks and herds, and implored pardon\nfor all offences against the dryads of the woods, the nymphs of the\nstreams, and other deities. They purified themselves by flame and their\nflocks by smoke, and afterwards indulged in rustic feasts and games.\nThis day of religious consecration was deemed by Romulus the fittest one\nfor the important ceremony of founding his projected city.\n\nFar back in time as it was when this took place, Italy seems to have\nalready possessed numerous cities, many of which were to become enemies\nof Rome in later days. The most civilized of the Italian peoples were\nthe Etruscans, a nation dwelling north of the Tiber, and whose many\ncities displayed a higher degree of civilization than those around\nthem. From these the Romans in later days borrowed many of their\nreligious customs, and to them Romulus sent to learn what were the\nproper ceremonies to use in founding a city.\n\nThe ceremonies he used were the following. At the centre of the chosen\narea he dug a circular pit through the soil to the hard clay beneath,\nand cast into this, with solemn observances, some of the first fruits of\nthe season. Each of his men also threw in a handful of earth brought\nfrom his native land. Then the pit was filled up, an altar erected upon\nit, and a fire kindled on the altar. In this way was the city\nconsecrated to the gods.\n\nThen, having harnessed a cow and a bull of snow-white color to a plough\nwhose share was made of brass, Romulus ploughed a furrow along the line\nof the future walls. He took care that the earth of the furrow should\nfall inward towards the city, and also to lift the plough and carry it\nover the places where gates were to be made. As he ploughed he uttered a\nprayer to Jupiter, Mars, Vesta, and other deities, invoking their favor,\nand praying that the new city should long endure and become an\nall-ruling power upon the earth.\n\nThe Romans tell us that his prayer was answered by Jupiter, who sent\nthunder from one side of the heavens and lightning from the other. These\nomens encouraged the people, who went cheerfully to the work of building\nthe walls. But the consecration of the city was not yet completed. Its\nwalls were to be cemented by noble blood. There is reason to believe\nthat in those days the line of a city's walls was held as sacred, and\nthat it was desecration to enter the enclosure at any place except those\nleft for the gates. This may be the reason that Romulus gave orders to a\nman named Celer, who had charge of the building of the walls, not to let\nany one pass over the furrow made by the plough. However this be, the\nstory goes that Remus, who was still angry about his brother's victory,\nleaped scornfully over the furrow, exclaiming, \"Shall such defences as\nthese keep your city?\"\n\nCeler, who stood by, stirred to sudden fury by this disdain, raised the\nspade with which he had been working, and struck Remus a blow that laid\nhim dead upon the ground. Then, fearing vengeance for his hasty act, he\nrushed away with such speed that his name has since been a synonyme for\nquickness. Our word \"celerity\" is derived from it. But Romulus seems to\nhave borne the infliction with much of that spirit of fortitude which\ndistinguished the Romans in after-times. At least, the only effect the\ndeath of his brother had upon him, so far as we know, was in the remark,\n\"So let it happen to all who pass over my walls!\" Thus were consecrated\nin the blood of a brother the walls of that city which in later years\nwas to be bathed in the blood of the brotherhood of mankind, and from\nwhich was destined to outflow a torrent of desolation over the earth.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SABINE VIRGINS._\n\n\nA tract of ground surrounded by walls does not make a city. Men are\nwanted, and of these the new city of Rome had but few. The band of\nshepherds who were sufficient to build a wall, or perhaps only a wooden\npalisade, were not enough to inhabit a city and defend it from its foes.\nThe neighboring people had cities of their own, except bandits and\nfugitives, men who had shed blood, exiles driven from their homes by\ntheir enemies, or slaves who had fled from their lords and masters.\nThese were the only people to be had, and Romulus invited them in by\nproclaiming that his city should be an asylum for all who were\noppressed, a place of refuge to which any man might flee and be safe\nfrom his pursuers. He erected a temple to a god named Asylaeus,--from\nwhom comes the word asylum,--and in this he \"received and protected all,\ndelivering none back, neither the servant to his master, the debtor to\nhis creditor, nor the murderer into the hands of the magistrate, saying\nthat it was a privileged place, and they could so maintain it by an\norder of the holy oracle, insomuch that the city grew presently very\npopulous.\"\n\nIt was a quick and easy way of peopling a city. Doubtless the country\nheld many such fugitives,--men lurking in woods or caves, hiding in\nmountain clefts, abiding wherever a place of safety offered,--hundreds\nof whom, no doubt, were glad to find a shelter among men and behind\nwalls of defence. But it was probably a sorry population, made up of the\nwaifs of mankind, many of whom had been slaves or murderers. There were\ncertainly no women among this desperate horde, and Romulus appealed in\nvain to the neighboring cities to let his people obtain wives from among\ntheir maidens. It was not safe for the citizens of Rome to go abroad to\nseek wives for themselves; the surrounding peoples rejected the appeal\nof Romulus with scorn and disdain; unless something was done Rome bade\nfair to remain a city of bachelors.\n\nIn this dilemma Romulus conceived a plan to win wives for his people. He\nsent word abroad that he had discovered the altar of the god Consus, who\npresided over secret counsels, and he invited the citizens of the\nneighboring towns to come to Rome and take part in a feast with which he\nproposed to celebrate the festal day of the deity. This was the 21st of\nAugust, just four months after the founding of the city,--that is, if it\nwas the same year.\n\nThere were to be sacrifices to Consus, where libations would be poured\ninto the flames that consumed the victims. These would be followed by\nhorse-and chariot-races, banquets, and other festivities. The promise of\nmerry-making brought numerous spectators from the nearer cities, some\ndoubtless drawn by curiosity to see what sort of a commonwealth this\nwas that had grown up so suddenly on the sheep pastures of the Palatine\nHill; and they found their wives and daughters as curious and eager for\nenjoyment as themselves, and brought them along, ignoring the scorn with\nwhich they had lately rejected the Roman proposals for wives. It was a\nreligious festival, and therefore safe; so visitors came from the cities\nof Coenina, Crustumerium, and Antemna, and a multitude from the\nneighboring country of the Sabines.\n\nThe sacrifices over, the games began. The visitors, excited by the\nraces, became scattered about among the Romans. But as the chariots,\ndrawn by flying horses, sped swiftly over the ground, and the eyes of\nthe visitors followed them in their flight, Romulus gave a preconcerted\nsignal, and immediately each Roman seized a maiden whom he had managed\nto get near and carried her struggling and screaming from the ground. As\nthey did so, each called out \"Talasia,\" a word which means spinning, and\nwhich afterwards became the refrain of a Roman marriage song.\n\nThe games at once broke up in rage and confusion. But the visitors were\nunarmed and helpless. Their anger could be displayed only in words, and\nRomulus told them boldly that they owed their misfortune to their pride.\nBut all would go well with their daughters, he said, since their new\nhusbands would take the place with them of home and family.\n\nThis reasoning failed to satisfy the fathers who had been robbed so\nviolently of their daughters, and they had no sooner reached home than\nmany of them seized their arms and marched against their faithless\nhosts. First came the people of Coenina; but the Romans defeated them,\nand Romulus killed their king. Then came the people of Crustumerium and\nAntemna, but they too were defeated. The prisoners were taken into Rome\nand made citizens of the new commonwealth.\n\nBut it was the Sabines who had most to deplore, for they had come in\nmuch the greatest number, and it was principally the Sabine virgins whom\nthe Romans had borne off from the games. Titus Tatius, the king of the\nSabines, therefore resolved upon a signal revenge, and took time to\ngather a large army, with which he marched against Rome.\n\nThe war that followed was marked by two romantic incidents. Near the\nTiber is a hill,--afterwards known as the Capitoline Hill,--which was\ndivided from the Palatine Hill by a low and swampy valley. On this hill\nRomulus had built a fortress, as a sort of outwork of his new city. It\nhappened that Tarpeius, the chief who held this fortress, had a daughter\nnamed Tarpeia, who was deeply affected by that love of finery which has\ncaused abundant mischief since her day. When she saw the golden collars\nand bracelets which many of the Sabines wore, her soul was filled with\nlonging, and she managed to let them know that she would betray the\nfortress into their hands if they would give her the bright things which\nthey wore upon their arms.\n\nThey consented, and she secretly opened to them a gate of the fortress.\nBut as they marched through the gate, and the traitress waited to\nreceive her reward, the Sabine soldiers threw on her the bright shields\nwhich they wore on their arms, and she was crushed to death beneath\ntheir weight. The steep rock of the Capitoline Hill from which traitors\nwere afterwards thrown was called, after her, the Tarpeian Rock.\n\n[Illustration: ROME FROM THE DOME OF ST. PETER'S.]\n\nThe fortress thus captured, the valley between the hill and the city\nbecame the scene of battle. Here the Sabines repulsed the Romans,\ndriving them back to one of their gates, through which the fugitives\nrushed in confusion, shutting it hastily behind them. But--if we may\ntrust the legend--the gate refused to stay shut. It opened again of its\nown accord. They closed it twice more, and twice more it swung open. The\nvictorious Sabines, who had now reached it, began to rush in; but just\nthen, from the Temple of Janus, near by, there burst forth a mighty\nstream of water, which swept the Sabines away and saved Rome from\ncapture. Therefore, in after-days, the gates of the Temple of Janus\nstood always wide open in time of war, that the god might go out, if he\nwould, to fight for the Romans.\n\nAnother battle took place in the valley, and the Romans again began to\nflee. Romulus now prayed to Jupiter, and vowed to erect to him a temple\nas Jupiter Stator,--that is, the \"stayer,\"--if he would stay the Romans\nin their flight. Jupiter did so, or, at any rate, the Romans turned\nagain to the fight, which now waxed furious. What would have been its\nresult we cannot tell, for it was brought to an end by the other\nromantic incident of which we have spoken.\n\nIn fact, while the fathers of the Sabine virgins retained their anger\nagainst the Romans, the virgins themselves, who had now long been\nbrides, had become comforted, most of them being as attached to their\nhusbands as they had been to their parents before; and in the midst of\nthe furious battle between their nearest relatives the lately abducted\ndamsels were seen rushing down the Palatine Hill, and forcing their way,\nwith appealing eyes and dishevelled hair, in between the combatants.\n\n\"Make us not twice captives!\" they earnestly exclaimed, saying\npathetically that if the war went on they would be widowed or\nfatherless, both of which sad alternatives they deplored.\n\nThe result of this appeal was a happy one. Both sides let fall their\narms, and peace was declared upon the spot, it being recognized that\nthere could be no closer bond of unity than that made by the daughters\nof the Sabines and wives of the Romans. The two people agreed to become\none, the Sabines making their new home on the Capitoline and Quirinal\nHills, and the Romans continuing to occupy the Palatine. As for the\nwomen, there was established in their honor the feast called Matronalia,\nin which husbands gave presents to their wives and lovers to their\nbetrothed. Romulus and Tatius were to rule jointly, and afterwards the\nking of Rome should be alternately of Roman and Sabine birth.\n\nAfter five years Tatius was killed in a quarrel, and Romulus became sole\nking. Under him Rome grew rapidly. He was successful in his wars, and\nenriched his people with the spoils of his enemies In rule he was just\nand gentle, and punished those guilty of crime not by death, but by\nfines of sheep or oxen. It is said, though, that he grew somewhat\narrogant, and was accustomed to receive his people dressed in scarlet\nand lying on a couch of state, where he was surrounded by a body of\nyoung men called _Celeres_, from the speed with which they flew to\nexecute his orders.\n\nFor nearly forty years his reign continued, and then his end came\nstrangely. One day he called the people together in the Field of Mars.\nBut suddenly there arose a frightful storm, with such terrible thunder\nand lightning and such midnight darkness that the people fled homeward\nin affright through the drenching rain. That was the last of Romulus. He\nwas never seen in life again. He may have been slain by enemies, but the\npopular belief was that Mars, his father, had carried him up to heaven\nin his chariot. All that the people knew was that one night, when\nProculus Julius, a friend of the king, was on his way from Alba to Rome,\nhe met Romulus by the way, his stature beyond that of man, and his face\nshowing the beauty of the gods.\n\nProculus asked him why he had left the people to sorrow and wicked\nsurmises, for some said that the senators had made away with him.\nRomulus replied that it was the wish of the gods that, after building a\ncity that was destined to the greatest empire and glory, he should go to\nheaven and dwell with the gods.\n\n\"Go and tell my people that they must not weep for me any more,\" he\nsaid; \"but bid them to be brave and warlike, and so shall they make my\ncity the greatest on the earth.\"\n\nThis story satisfied the people that their king had been made a god; so\nthey built a temple to him, and always afterwards worshipped him under\nthe name of the god Quirinus. A festival called the Quirinalia was\ncelebrated each year on the 17th of February, the day on which he had\nvanished from the eyes of men.\n\n\n\n\n_THE HORATII AND CURIATII._\n\n\nRomulus was succeeded by a king named Numa Pompilius, of Sabine origin,\nwho so loved peace that during his reign Rome had no wars and no\nenemies, so that the doors of the Temple of Janus were never once opened\nwhile he was on the throne. He built a temple to Faith, that men might\nlearn to avoid falsehood and to act honestly. He taught the people to\nsacrifice nothing but the fruits of the earth, cakes of flour, and\nroasted corn, and to shed no blood upon the altars. And so Home was\npeaceful and prosperous throughout his long reign, and grew rapidly in\nwealth and population. He died at length when eighty years of age, and\nwas succeeded by Tullus Hostilius, a king of Roman birth.\n\nThe new king loved war as much as the gentle Numa had loved peace. Under\nhis rule the gates of the Temple of Janus were soon thrown open again,\nlong to remain so. His first war was with the city of Alba Longa, the\nfoster-parent of Rome. Some border troubles brought on hostilities, war\nbroke out, and an Alban army marched until within fifteen miles of Rome.\nAnd here took place a celebrated incident. The two armies were drawn out\non the field, and were about to plunge into the dreadful work of\nbattle, when the Alban king, to whom the war seemed a foolish and\nuseless one, stood out between the two armies and spoke in the hearing\nof both.\n\nHe reminded them that the Romans and Albans were of the same origin, and\nthat they were surrounded by nations who would like to see both of them\nweakened. He proposed, therefore, that the dispute between them should\nbe decided not by battle, but by a duel between a few soldiers, and that\nthe side which won should rule the other. This proposal seemed to Tullus\na sensible one, and he accepted it, offering as the combatants on his\nside three brothers known as the Horatii.\n\nThe Alban army had also three brave brothers, of about the same age as\nthe Roman champions, known as the Curiatii, and these were chosen to\nuphold the honor and dominion of Alba against Rome. So, with the two\narmies as spectators, and a broad space between for the deadly duel, the\nsix champions, fully armed, faced each other in the field.\n\nThe onset was fierce, and set every heart in the two armies throbbing in\nhope or dread. But after a short time a shout of triumph went up from\nthe Alban host. Two of the Horatii lay stretched in death on the field.\nThe Curiatii were all wounded, but they were now three to one, so the\nremaining Horatius turned and fled, though he was still unhurt. Dismay\nfell on the Romans as they saw their single champion in full flight,\npursued by his opponents. The glad shouts of the Albans redoubled.\n\nSuddenly a change came. The fugitive, whose flight had been a feint, to\nseparate his foes, now turned and saw that the wounded men were lagging\nin pursuit and were widely separated. Running quickly back, he met the\nnearest, and killed him with a blow. The other two were met and slain in\nsuccession before they could aid each other. Then, holding up his bloody\nsword in triumph, the victor invited the plaudits of his friends, while\nshedding dismay on Alban hearts.\n\nThe Romans, now lords of the Albans, returned to Rome in triumph, their\nadvent to the city being marked by the first of those pompous\nprocessions which in after-years became known as Roman Triumphs, and\nwere celebrated with the utmost splendor and costliness of display.\n\nBut the affair of the Horatii and Curiatii was not yet at an end. It was\nto be finished in blood and crime. A sister of the Horatii was the\naffianced bride of one of the Curiatii, and as she saw her victorious\nbrother enter the city, bearing on his shoulders the military cloak\nwhich she had wrought for her lover with her own hands, she broke into\nwild invectives, tearing her hair, and upbraiding her brother with\nbitter words. Roused to fury by this accusation, the victor, in a\nparoxysm of rage, struck his sister to the heart with the sword which\nhad slain her lover, crying out, \"So perish the Roman maiden who shall\nweep for her country's enemy.\"\n\nThis dreadful deed filled with horror the hearts of all who beheld it.\nMen cried that it was a crime against the law and the gods, too great to\nbe atoned for by the victor's services. He was seized and dragged to the\ntribunal of the two judges who dealt with crimes of bloodshed. These\nheard the evidence of the crime, and condemned him to death, in despite\nof what he had done for Rome.\n\nBut the Roman law permitted an appeal from the judges to the people.\nThis appeal Horatius made, and it was tried before the assembly of\nRomans. Here his father spoke in his favor, saying that in his opinion\nthe maiden deserved her fate. Remembrance of the great service performed\nby Horatius was also strong with the people, and the voice of the\nassembly freed him from the sentence of death. But blood had been shed,\nand blood required atonement, so a sum of money was set aside to pay for\nsacrifices to atone for this dreadful deed. Ever afterwards these\nsacrifices were performed by members of the Horatian clan.\n\nIn a later war the Albans failed to aid the Romans, as they were\nrequired to do by the terms of alliance. As a result the city of Alba\nwas destroyed, and the Albans forced to come and live in Rome, the\nCaelial Hill being given them for a dwelling-place.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DYNASTY OF THE TARQUINS._\n\n\nThe tale we have now to tell forces us to pass rapidly over years of\nhistory. After several kings of Roman and Sabine birth had reigned, a\nforeigner, of Greek descent, came to the throne of Rome. This was one\nLucomo, the son of a native of Corinth, who had settled at Tarquinii in\nItaly. Growing weary of Tarquinii, Lucomo left that city, with his\nfamily and wealth, and made his way to Rome. As he came near the gates\nof the city an eagle swooped down, lifted the cap from his head, and,\nbearing it high into the air, descended and placed it on his head again.\nHis wife Tanaquil, who was skilled in augury, told him this was a happy\nomen, and that he was destined to become great.\n\n[Illustration: THE FORUM OF ROME.]\n\nAnd so he did. His riches, courage, and wisdom brought him great favor\nin Rome, and on the death of their king Ancus the people chose Lucius\nTarquinius--as they called him, from his native city--to reign over them\nin his stead. He proved a valiant and successful warrior, and in times\nof peace did noble work. He built great sewers to drain the city,\nconstructed a large circus or race-course, and a forum or market-place,\nand built a wall of stone around the city in place of the old wooden\nwall. He also began to build a great temple on the Capitoline Hill,\nwhich was designed to be the temple of the gods of Rome. In the end\nLucius was murdered by the sons of King Ancus, who declared that he had\nrobbed them of the throne.\n\nThere is a story of the deed of an augur in his reign which is worth\nrepeating, whether we believe it or not. Lucius had little trust in the\naugur, and said to him, \"Come, tell me by your auguries whether the\nthing I have in my mind may be done or not.\" \"It may,\" said Attus, the\naugur. \"It is this,\" said the king, laughing: \"it was in my mind that\nyou should cut this whetstone in two with this razor. Take them and see\nif you can do it.\"\n\nAttus took the razor and whetstone, and with a bold stroke cut the\nlatter in two. From that time on Lucius did nothing without first\nconsulting the augurs, and testing the purposes of the gods by the\nflight of birds, and--so say the legends--he prospered accordingly.\n\nThe cause of the death of Lucius was this. One day a boy who dwelt in\nthe palace fell asleep in its portico, and as he lay there some\nattendants who passed by saw a flame playing lambently around his head.\nAlarmed at the sight, they were about to throw water upon him to\nextinguish the flame, when Tanaquil, the queen, who had also seen it,\nforbade them. She told the king of what had happened, and said that the\nboy whom they were bringing up so meanly was destined to become great\nand noble. She bade him, therefore, to rear the child in a way befitting\nhis destiny.\n\nThe boy, whose name was Servius Tullius, was thereupon brought up as a\nprince, and when old enough married the king's daughter. Lucius reigned\nforty years, and then the sons of Ancus, fearing to be robbed of their\nclaim to the throne by young Servius, who had become very popular,\nmanaged to get an audience with and kill the king.\n\nThe murderers gained nothing by their deed of blood. Queen Tanaquil\nshrewdly told the people that Lucius was only stunned by the blow, and\nthat he wished them to obey the orders of Servius. To the young man she\nsaid, \"The kingdom is yours; if you have no plans of your own, then\nfollow mine.\" For several days Servius acted as king, and then, the\npeople and senate having grown used to seeing him on the throne, the\ndeath of Lucius was declared and Servius proclaimed king. He had the\nconsent of the senate, but had not asked that of the people, being the\nfirst king of Rome who reigned without the votes of the assembly of the\nRoman people.\n\nServius Tullius reigned long and won victories, but his greatest\ntriumphs were those of peace. He formed a league with the thirty cities\nof Latium, and is said to have taken a census of the people of the city,\nwhich was found to have eighty-three thousand inhabitants. To strengthen\nhis power he married his two daughters to two sons of Lucius Tarquinius,\na well-intended act which led to a tragic and dreadful deed.\n\nThe daughters of Servius were very unlike in nature, and the same may be\nsaid of their husbands, and they became unequally mated. Lucius\nTarquinius was proud and full of evil, while his wife, the elder Tullia,\nwas good and gentle. Aruns Tarquinius was of a mild and kindly nature,\nwhile his wife, the younger Tullia, was cruel and ambitious. They were\nthus sadly mismated. But the evil pair saw in each other kindred\nspirits, and in the end Lucius secretly killed his wife, and the younger\nTullia her husband. The wicked pair then married, and proceeded to carry\nout the purposes of their base hearts.\n\nServius, being himself of humble birth, had favored the people at the\nexpense of the nobles. He even made a law that no king should rule after\nhim, but that two men chosen by the people should govern them year by\nyear. Thus it was that the commons came to love him and the nobles to\nhate him, and when he asked for a vote of the people on his king-ship\nthere was not a voice raised against him.\n\nLucius, whom his wicked wife steadily goaded to ambitious aims,\nconspired with the nobles against the king. There were brotherhoods of\nthe young nobles, pledged to support each other in deeds of oppression.\nThese he joined, and gained their aid. Then he waited till the harvest\nseason, when the commons were in the fields, gathering the ripened corn.\n\nThis absence of the king's friends gave him the opportunity he wished.\nGathering a band of armed men, he suddenly entered the Forum, and took\nhis seat on the king's throne, before the door of the senate-chamber,\nfrom which Servius was accustomed to judge the people. Word of this act\nof treason was borne to the old king, who at once hastened to the Forum\nand sternly asked the usurper why he had dared to take that seat.\n\nLucius insolently answered that it was his father's throne, and that he\nhad the best right to it. Then, as the aged and unguarded king mounted\nthe steps of the senate-house, his ambitious son-in-law sprang up,\ncaught him by the middle, and flung him headlong down the steps to the\nground. Then he went into the senate-chamber and called the senators\ntogether, as though he were already king.\n\nThe old monarch, sadly shaken by his fall, rose to his feet and made his\nway slowly towards his home on the Esquiline Hill. But when he came near\nit he was overtaken by some bravos whom Lucius had sent in pursuit.\nThese killed the unprotected old man, and left him lying in his blood in\nthe middle of the street.\n\nAnd now was done a deed which has aroused the execrations of mankind in\nall later ages. Tullia, who had instigated her husband to the murder of\nher father, waited with impatience until it was performed. Then,\nmounting her chariot, she bade the coachman to drive to the Forum,\nwhere, heedless of the crowd of men who had assembled, she called Lucius\nfrom the senate-house, and cried to him, in accents of triumph, \"Hail to\nthee, King Tarquinius!\"\n\nWicked as Lucius was, he was not as shameless as his wife, and sternly\nbade her to go home. She obeyed, taking the same street as her father\nhad followed. Soon reaching the spot where the bleeding body of the old\nking lay stretched across the way, the coachman drew up his horses and\npointed out to Tullia the dreadful spectacle.\n\n\"Drive on,\" she harshly commanded. \"I cannot,\" he replied. \"The street\nis too narrow to pass without crushing the king's body.\" \"Drive on,\" she\nagain fiercely ordered, and the coachman did so. Tullia went to her home\nwith her father's blood upon the wheels of her chariot, and with the\nexecration of all good men upon her head. And thus it was that Lucius\nTarquinius and his wicked wife succeeded the good king Servius upon the\nthrone.\n\nWe may tell here briefly the end of this evil pair. Tarquin the Proud,\nas he is known in history, reigned as a tyrant and oppressor, while his\nwife was viewed with horror by all virtuous matrons. At length the\npeople rose against a base deed of the tyrant's son, and the wicked\nTullia fled in terror from her house. No one sought to stop her in her\nflight; but all, men and women alike, cursed her as she passed, and\nprayed that the furies of her father's blood might take revenge for her\ndreadful deed.\n\nShe never saw Rome again. Tarquin sought long to regain his crown, but\nin vain, and the wicked usurpers died in exile. No king ever again ruled\nover the Romans. Tarquin's tyranny had given the people enough of kings,\nand the law of good Servius Tullius was at last carried out.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL._\n\n\nWhile Tarquin the Proud was king a strange thing happened at Rome. One\nday an unknown woman came to the king, bearing in her arms nine books,\nwhich she offered to sell to him at a certain price. She told him that\nthey contained the prophecies of the Sibyl of Cumae, and that from them\nmight be learned the destiny of Rome and the way to carry out this\ndestiny.\n\nBut the price she asked for her books seemed to the king exorbitant, and\nhe refused to buy them, whereupon the woman went away from the palace\nand burned three of the volumes. She then returned with six only and\noffered them to the king, but demanded the same price for the six as she\nhad before done for the nine. King Tarquin heard this demand with\nlaughter and mockery, and again refused to buy. The woman once more left\nthe palace, and burned three more of the books.\n\nTo the king's astonishment his strange visitor soon returned, bearing\nthe three books that remained. On being asked their price, she named the\nsame sum as she had demanded for the six and the nine. This was ceasing\nto be matter for mockery. There might be some important mystery\nconcealed behind this strange demand. The king sent for the augurs of\nthe court, told them what had happened, and asked what he should do.\nThey told him that he had done very wrong. In refusing the books he had\nrefused a gift of the gods. By all means he must buy the books that were\nleft. He bought them, therefore, at the Sibyl's price. As for the woman,\nshe was never seen again.\n\nThe books were placed in a chest of stone, and kept underground in the\ngreat temple which his father had begun on the Capitoline Hill, and\nwhich he had completed. Two men were appointed to guard them, who were\ncalled the two men of the sacred books; and no treasure could have been\nkept with more care and devotion than these mysterious rolls.\n\nThe temple in which these books were kept was the grandest edifice Rome\nhad yet known. When Tarquin proposed to build it he found the chosen\nsite already occupied by many holy places, sacred to the gods of the\nSabines, the first dwellers on the Capitoline Hill. The augurs consulted\nthe gods to see if these holy places could safely be removed, to make\nroom for the new temple. The answer came that they might take away all\nexcept the holy places of the god of Youth and of Terminus, the god of\nboundaries. This was accounted a happy augury, for it seemed to mean\nthat the city should always retain its youth and that no enemy should\nremove its boundaries. And when the foundations of the temple were dug a\nhuman head was found, which was held to be a sign that the Capitoline\nHill should be the head of all the earth. So a great temple was built,\nand consecrated to Jupiter and to Juno and to Minerva, the greatest of\nthe Etruscan gods. This edifice, afterwards known as the Capitol, was\nthe most sacred and revered edifice of later Rome.\n\nIn the vaults of this temple the sacred books of the Sibyl were\nsedulously kept, and here they were consulted from time to time, as\noccasions arose in the history of the city when divine guidance seemed\nnecessary. None of the people were permitted to gaze within the sacred\ncell in which they lay. Only the augurs consulted them, and the word of\nthe augurs had to be taken for what they revealed. It may be that the\naugurs themselves invented all that they told, for the books at length\nperished in the flames, and no man knows what secret lore they really\ncontained.\n\nIt was during the wars of Sulla and Marius (83 B.C.) that this disaster\noccurred. The Capitol was burned, and with it those famous oracles,\nwhich had so long directed the counsels of the nation. Their loss threw\nRome into the deepest consternation, the loss of the Capitol itself\nseeming small beside that of these famous scrolls.\n\nTo replace them as far as possible, the senate sent ambassadors to the\nvarious temples of Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor, within which were\nSibyls, or oracle-speaking priestesses. These collected such oracles\nreferring to Rome as they could find, about one thousand lines in all,\nand brought them to Rome, where they were placed in the same locality in\nthe new Capitol that they had occupied in the old.\n\nThese oracles do not appear to have predicted future events, but were\nconsulted to discover the religious observances necessary to avert great\ncalamities and to expiate prodigies. During the reign of Augustus they\nwere removed to the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill, and all the\nfalse Sibylline leaves which were extant were collected and burned. They\nremained here until shortly after the year 400 A.D., when they were\npublicly burned by Stilicho, a famous general of Christian Rome, as\nimpious documents of heathen times.\n\n\n\n\n_THE STORY OF LUCRETIA._\n\n\nWe have next to tell how Tarquin the Proud lost his throne, through his\nown tyranny and the criminal action of his son. Once upon a time, when\nthis king was at the height of his power, he, as was usual, offered\nsacrifices to the gods on the altar in the palace court-yard. But from\nthe altar there crawled out a snake, which devoured the offerings before\nthe flames could reach them.\n\nThis was an alarming omen. The augurs were consulted, but none of them\ncould explain it. So Tarquin sent two of his sons to the Temple of\nDelphi, in Greece, whose oracle was famous in all lands, to ask counsel\nof Apollo concerning this prodigy. With these two princes, Titus and\nAruns by name, went their cousin, Lucius Junius, a youth who seemed so\nlacking in wit that men called him Brutus,--that is, the \"Dullard.\" One\nevidence of his lack of wit was that he would eat wild figs with honey.\nJust in what way this was an evidence of want of good sense we do not\nknow, though doubtless the Romans did.\n\nBut Brutus was by no means the fool that men fancied him. He was shrewd\ninstead of stupid. His father had left him abundant wealth, to which\nhis uncle, King Tarquin, might at any time take a fancy, and sweep him\naway to enjoy it. The king had killed his brother for his wealth, and\nwould be likely to serve him in the same way if he deemed him wise\nenough to fight for his inheritance. So, preferring life to money,\nBrutus feigned to be wanting in sense.\n\nWhen he went to Delphi he took with him a hollow staff of horn, which he\nhad filled with gold, and offered this staff to the oracle as a likeness\nof himself,--perhaps as one empty of wit and whose whole merit lay in\nhis gold. When the three young men had performed the bidding of the\nking, and asked the oracle the meaning of the prodigy, they were told\nthat it portended the fall of Tarquin. Then they said, \"O Lord Apollo,\ntell us which of us shall be king of Rome.\" From the depth of the\nsanctuary there came a voice in reply, \"The one among you who shall\nfirst kiss his mother.\"\n\nThis was one of those enigmas in which the Delphian oracle usually\nspoke, saying things with a double meaning, and which men were apt to\ntake amiss. It was so now. The two princes drew lots which of them\nshould first kiss their mother on his return; and they agreed to keep\nthe oracle secret from their brother Sextus, lest he should be king\nrather than they. But Brutus was wiser than them both. As they left the\ntemple together, he pretended to stumble and fell with his face to the\nground. He then kissed the earth, saying, \"The earth is the true mother\nof us all.\"\n\nOn their return to Rome the princes found that their father was at war.\nHe was besieging the city of Ardea, which lay south of Rome; and as this\ncity was strong and well defended the king and his army were kept a long\nwhile before it, waiting until famine, their ally, should force the\ninhabitants to surrender. While the army was thus waiting in idleness\nits officers had leisure for feasts and diversions, and one of the\nking's sons found time to indulge in fatal mischief. This arose from a\nsupper in the tent of Prince Sextus, at which his brothers Titus and\nAruns, and his cousin Tarquin of Collatia, were present.\n\nWhile they feasted a dispute arose between them, as to which had the\nworthiest wife. It ended in a proposition of Tarquin, \"Let us go and see\nwith our own eyes what our wives are doing, and we can then best decide\nwhich is the worthiest.\" This proposition hit with their humor, and,\nmounting their horses, they rode to Rome. Here they found the wives of\nthe three princes merrily engaged at a banquet. They then rode on to\nCollatia. It was now late at night, but they found Lucretia, the wife of\ntheir cousin, neither sleeping nor feasting, but working at the loom,\nwith her handmaids busily engaged around her.\n\nOn seeing this, they all cried, \"Lucretia is the worthiest lady.\" She\nceased her work to entertain them, after which they took to their horses\nagain, and rode back to the camp before Ardea.\n\nBut Sextus was seized with a vile passion for his cousin's wife, and a\nfew days afterwards went alone to Collatia, where Lucretia received him\nwith much hospitality, as her husband's kinsman. He treated her\nshamefully in return, forcing her, with wicked threats, to accept him as\nher lover and husband, in defiance of the laws of God and man.\n\nAs soon as Sextus had left her and returned to the camp, Lucretia sent\nto Rome for her father and to Ardea for her husband. Tarquin brought\nwith him his cousin Lucius Junius, or Brutus the Dullard. When they\narrived the lady, with bitter tears, told them of the wickedness of\nSextus, and said, \"If you are men, avenge it!\" They heard her tale in\nhorror, and swore to deeply revenge her wrong.\n\n\"I am not guilty,\" she now said; \"yet I too must share in the punishment\nof this deed, lest any should think that they may be false to their\nhusbands and live.\" As she spoke she drew a knife from her bosom and\nstabbed herself to the heart.\n\nAs they saw her fall, a cry of horror arose from her husband and father.\nBut Brutus, who saw that the time had come for him to throw off his\npretence of stupidity and act the man, drew the knife from the bleeding\nwound and held it up, saying, in solemn accents, \"By this blood, I swear\nthat I will visit this deed upon King Tarquin and all his accursed race!\nAnd no man hereafter shall reign as king in Rome, lest he may do the\nlike wickedness.\"\n\nHe then handed the knife to the others, and bade them to take the same\noath. This they did, wondering at the sudden transformation in Brutus.\nThey then took up the body of the slain woman and carried it into the\nforum of the town, crying to the gathering people, \"Behold the deeds of\nthe wicked family of Tarquin, the tyrant of Rome!\"\n\nThe people, maddened by the sight, hastily sought their arms, and while\nsome guarded the gates, that none might carry the news to the king, the\nothers followed Brutus to Rome. Here the story of the wickedness of\nSextus and the self-sacrifice of Lucretia ran through the city like\nwildfire, and a multitude gathered in the Forum, where Brutus addressed\nthem in fervent words. He recalled to them all the tyranny of Tarquin\nand the vices of his sons, reminding them of the murder of Servius, the\nimpious act of Tullia, and ending with an earnest recital of the wrongs\nof the virtuous Lucretia, whose bleeding corpse still lay in evidence in\nthe forum of Collatia.\n\n[Illustration: BRUTUS ORDERING THE EXECUTION OF HIS SONS.]\n\nHis words went to the souls of his hearers. An assembly of the people\nbeing quickly called, it was voted that the Tarquins should be banished,\nand the office of king should be forever abolished in Rome. Tullia,\nlearning of the cause of the tumult, hastily left the palace, and fled\nfrom Rome in her chariot through throngs that followed her with threats\nand curses. Brutus, perhaps with the crimsoned knife still in his hand,\nbade the young men to follow him, and set off in haste to Ardea, to\nspread through the army the story of the deed of crime and blood.\n\nMeanwhile, Tarquin had been told of the revolt, and was hurrying to Rome\nto put it down. Brutus turned aside from the road that he might not meet\nhim, and hastened on to the camp, where the story of the revolt and its\ncause was told the soldiers. On hearing the story the whole army broke\ninto a tumult of indignation, drove the king's sons from the camp, and\ndemanded to be led to Rome. The siege of Ardea was at once abandoned and\nthe backward march began.\n\nMeanwhile, Tarquin had reached the city, but only to find the gates\nclosed against him and stern men on the walls. \"You cannot enter here,\"\nthey cried. \"You are banished from Rome, you and all of yours, and shall\nnever set foot within its walls again. And you are the last of our\nkings. No man after you shall ever call himself king of Rome.\"\n\nJust in what threats, promises, and persuasions Tarquin indulged we do\nnot know. But the men on the walls were not to be moved by threats or\npromises, and he was obliged to take himself away, a crownless wanderer.\nAs for Sextus, to whom all the trouble was due, some say that he was\nkilled in a town whose people he had betrayed, while others say that he\nwas slain in battle while his father was fighting to regain his throne.\n\nBut this is certain, no king ever reigned in Rome again. The people,\ntalking among each other, said, \"Let us follow the wise laws of good\nKing Servius. He bade us to meet in our centuries (or hundreds) and to\nchoose two men year by year to govern us, instead of a king. This let us\ndo, as Servius would have done himself had he not been basely murdered.\"\n\nSo the centuries of the people met in the Campus Martius (Field of\nMars), and there chose two men,--Brutus, the leader in the revolution,\nand Lucius Tarquin, the husband of the fated Lucretia. These officials\nwere afterwards called Consuls, and were given ruling power in Rome.\nBut they had to lay down their office at the end of the year and be\nsucceeded by two others elected in their stead. The people, however,\nwere afraid of the very name of Tarquin, and in electing Lucius to the\nconsulate it seemed as if they had put a new Tarquin on the throne. So\nthey prayed him to leave the city; and, taking all his goods, he went\naway and settled at Lavinium, a new consul being elected in his place. A\nlaw was now passed that all the house of the Tarquins should be\nbanished, whether they were of the king's family or not.\n\nThus ended the kingly period in Rome, after six kings had followed\nRomulus. With the consuls many of the laws of King Servius, which\nTarquin had set aside, were restored, and a much greater degree of\nfreedom came to the people of Rome. But that there might not now seem to\nbe two kings instead of one, it was decreed that only one of the consuls\nshould rule at a time, each of them acting as ruler for a month, and\nthen giving over the power to his associate.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW BRAVE HORATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE._\n\n\nThe banished King Tarquin did not lightly yield his realm. He roused the\nneighboring cities against Rome and fought fiercely for his throne. Soon\nafter he was exiled from Rome he sent messengers there for his goods.\nThese the senate decreed should be given him. But his messengers had\nmore secret work to do. They formed a plot with many of the young nobles\nto bring back the king, and among these traitors were Titus and\nTiberius, the sons of Brutus.\n\nA slave overheard the conspirators and betrayed them to the consuls, and\nthey were seized and brought to the judgment-seat in the Forum. Here\nBrutus, sitting in judgment, beheld his two sons among the culprits. He\nloved them, but he loved justice more, and though he grieved deeply\ninwardly, his face was grave and stern as he gave judgment that the law\nmust take its course. So the sons of this stern old Roman were scourged\nwith rods before his eyes, and then, with the other conspirators, were\nbeheaded by the lictors, while he looked steadily on, never turning his\neyes from the dreadful sight. But men could see that his heart bled for\nhis sons.\n\nSoon afterwards Tarquin led an army of Etruscans against Rome, and the\ntwo consuls marched against them at the head of the Roman army. In the\nbattle that followed Brutus met Aruns, the king's son, in advance of the\nlines of battle. Aruns, seeing Brutus dressed in royal robes and\nattended by the lictors of a king, was filled with anger, and levelled\nhis spear and spurred his horse against him. Brutus met him in\nmid-career with levelled spear. Both were run through, and together fell\ndead upon the field.\n\nThe day ended with neither party victors. But during the night a\nwoodland deity was heard speaking from a forest near by. \"One man more\nhas fallen of the Etruscans than of the Romans,\" it said; \"the Romans\nare to conquer.\" This strange oracle ended the war. It was a reason,\nsurely, for which war was never ended before or since. The Etruscans,\naffrighted, marched hastily home; while the Romans carried home their\nslain patriot, for whom their women mourned a whole year, in honor of\nhis noble service in avenging Lucretia.\n\nThe banished king still craved his lost kingdom, and made other efforts\nto regain it. Having failed in his first attempt, he went to another\ncity, named Clusium, in the distant part of Etruria, and here besought\nLars Porsenna, the king of that city, to aid him recover his throne.\nLars Porsenna, with a fellow-feeling for his dethroned brother king,\nraised a large army and marched with Tarquin and his fellow-exiles\nagainst defiant Rome.\n\nThe Romans now awaited him at home, and the two armies met on the hill\ncalled Janiculum, beyond the river from the city. Here came the crash of\nbattle, but the men of Clusium proved the stronger, and after a sharp\nstruggle the Romans gave way and were driven pell-mell down the hill and\nacross the bridge which spanned the Tiber at this point. This was a\nwooden bridge on which the Romans set great store, as it was their only\nmeans of crossing the stream. But it now was likely to serve as a means\nof the loss of their city. Their flying army was pouring in panic across\nit, with the Etruscans in hot pursuit, seeking strenuously to win the\nbridge.\n\nThe bridge must be speedily destroyed or the city would be lost, but it\nseemed too late for this; unless the enemy could in some way be kept\nback till the bridge was cut down, Tarquin and his allies would be in\nthe streets of Rome.\n\nAt this juncture a brave and stalwart son of Rome, Horatius Cocles by\nname, stepped forward and offered his life in his city's defence. \"Cut\naway with all haste,\" he said; \"I will keep the bridge until it falls.\"\nTwo others, Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius, sprang to his side, and\nthe three, fully armed and stout of heart, ranged themselves across the\nnarrow causeway, while behind them the axes of the Romans played\nringingly upon the supports of the bridge.\n\nOn came the Etruscans in force. But the bridge was so narrow that only a\nfew could advance at once, and these found in the way the sharp spears\nand keen-edged blades of the patriot three. Down went the leading\nEtruscans, and others pressed on, only to fall, till the defenders of\nthe bridge had a bulwark of the slain in their front.\n\n[Illustration: HORATIUS KEEPING THE BRIDGE.]\n\nAnd now the bridge creaked and groaned as the axes kept up their lively\nplay, the ring of steel finding its chorus in the cheering shouts of the\nRomans on the bank.\n\n\"Back! back!\" cried the axemen. \"It will be down in a minute more; back\nfor your lives!\"\n\n\"Back!\" cried Horatius to his comrades, and they hastily retreated; but\nhe stood unmoving, still boldly facing the foe.\n\n\"Fly! It is about to fall!\" was the shout.\n\n\"Let it,\" cried Horatius, without yielding a step.\n\nAnd there he stood alone, defying the whole army of the Etruscans. From\na distance they showered their javelins on him, but he caught them on\nhis shield and stood unhurt. Furious that they should be kept from their\nprey by a single man, they gathered to rush upon him and drive him from\nhis post by main force; but just then the creaking beams gave way, and\nthe half of the bridge behind him fell with a mighty crash into the\nstream below.\n\nThe Etruscans paused in their course at this crashing fall, and gazed,\nnot without admiration, at the stalwart champion who had stayed an army\nin its victorious career. He was theirs now; he could not escape; his\nlife should pay the penalty for their failure.\n\nBut Horatius had no such thought. He looked down on the stream, and\nprayed to the god of the river, \"O Father Tiber, I pray thee to receive\nthese arms and me who bear them, and to let thy waters befriend and\nsave me.\"\n\nThen, with a quick spring, he plunged, heavy with armor, into the\nswift-flowing stream, and struck out boldly for the shore. The foemen\nrushed upon the bridge and poured their darts thick about him; yet none\nstruck him, and he swam safely to the shore, where his waiting friends\ndrew him in triumph from the stream.\n\nFor this grand deed of heroism the Romans set up a statue to Horatius in\nthe comitium, and gave him in reward as much land as he could drive his\nplough round in the space of a whole day. Such deeds cannot be fitly\ntold in halting prose, and Lord Macaulay, in his \"Lays of Ancient Rome,\"\nhas most ably and picturesquely told\n\n  \"How well Horatius kept the bridge\n    In the brave days of old.\"\n\nBut though Rome was saved from capture by assault, the war was not\nended, and other deeds of Roman heroism were to be done. Porsenna\npressed the siege of the city so closely that hunger became his ally,\nand the Romans suffered greatly. Then another patriot devoted his life\nto his city's good. This man, a young noble named Caius Mucius, went to\nthe senate and offered to go to the Etruscan camp and slay Lars Porsenna\nin the midst of his men.\n\nHis proposal acceded to, he crossed the stream by stealth and slipped\ncovertly into the camp, through which he made his way, seeking the king.\nAt length he saw a man dressed in a scarlet robe and seated on a lofty\nseat, while many were about him, coming and going. \"This must be King\nPorsenna,\" he said to himself, and he glided stealthily through the\ncrowd until he came near by, when, drawing a concealed dagger from\nbeneath his cloak, he sprang upon the man and stabbed him to the heart.\n\nBut the bold assassin had made a sad mistake. The man he had slain was\nnot the king, but his scribe, the king's chief officer. Being instantly\nseized, he was brought before Porsenna, where the guards threatened him\nwith sharp torments unless he would truly answer all their questions.\n\n\"Torments!\" he said. \"You shall see how little I care for them.\"\n\nAnd he thrust his right hand into the fire that was burning on the\naltar, and held it there till it was completely consumed.\n\nKing Porsenna looked at him with an admiration that subdued all anger.\nNever had he seen a man of such fortitude.\n\n\"Go your way,\" he cried, \"for you have harmed yourself more than me. You\nare a brave man, and I send you back to Rome free and unhurt.\"\n\n\"And you are a generous king,\" said Caius, \"and shall learn more from me\nfor your kindness than tortures could have wrung from my lips. Know,\nthen, that three hundred noble youths of Rome have bound themselves by\noath to take your life. I am but the first; the others will in turn lie\nin wait for you. I warn you to look well to yourself.\"\n\nHe was then set free, and went back to the city, where he was\nafterwards known as Scaevola, the left-handed.\n\nThe warning of Caius moved King Porsenna to offer the Romans terms of\npeace, which they gladly accepted. They were forced to give up all the\nland they had conquered on the west bank of the Tiber, and to agree not\nto use iron except to cultivate the earth. They were also to give as\nhostages ten noble youths and as many maidens. These were sent; but one\nof the maidens, Cloelia by name, escaped from the Etruscan camp, and,\nbidding the other maidens to follow, fled to the river, into which they\nall plunged and swam safely across to Rome.\n\nThey were sent back by the Romans, whose way it was to keep their\npledges; but King Porsenna, admiring the courage of Cloelia, set her\nfree, and bade her choose such of the youths as she wished to go with\nher. She chose those of tenderest age, and the king set them free.\n\nThe Romans rewarded Caius by a gift of land, and had a statue made of\nCloelia, which was set up in the highest part of the Sacred Way. And\nKing Porsenna led his army home, with Tarquin still dethroned.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BATTLE OF LAKE REGILLUS._\n\n\nA third time Tarquin the Proud marched against Rome, this time in\nalliance with the Latins, whose thirty cities had joined together and\ndeclared war against the Romans. But as many of the Romans had married\nLatin wives, and many of the Latins had got their wives from Rome, it\nwas resolved that the women on both sides, who preferred their native\nland to their husbands, might leave their new homes and take with them\ntheir virgin daughters. And, as the legend tells, all the Latin women\nbut two remained in Rome, while all the Roman women returned with their\ndaughters to their fathers' homes.\n\nThe two armies met by the side of Lake Regillus, and there was fought a\nbattle the story of which reads like a tale from the Iliad of Homer; for\nwe are told not of how the armies fought, but of how their champions met\nand fought in single combats upon the field. King Tarquin was there, now\nhoary with years, yet sitting his horse and bearing his lance with the\ngrace and strength of a young man. And there was Titus his son, leading\ninto battle all the banished band of the Tarquins. And with them was\nOctavius Mamilius, the leader of the Latins, who swore to seat Tarquin\nagain on his throne and to make the Romans subjects of the Latins.\n\nOn the Roman side were many true and tried warriors, among them Titus\nHerminius, one of those who fought on the bridge by the side of Horatius\nCocles, when that champion fought so well for Rome.\n\nIt is too long to tell how warrior rode against warrior with levelled\nlances, and how this one was struck through the breast and that one\nthrough the arm, and so on in true Homeric style. The battle was a\nseries of duels, like those fought on the plain of Troy. But at length\nthe Tarquin band, under the lead of Titus, charged so fiercely that the\nRomans began to give way, many of their bravest having been slain.\n\nAt this juncture Aulus, the leader of the Romans, rode up with his own\nchosen band, and bade them level their lances and slay all, friend or\nfoe, whose faces were turned towards them. There was to be no mercy for\na Roman whose face was turned from the field. This onset stopped the\nflight, and Aulus charged fiercely upon the Tarquins, praying, as he did\nso, to the divine warriors Castor and Pollux, to whom he vowed to\ndedicate a temple if they would aid him in the fight. And he promised\nthe soldiers that the two who should first break into the camp of the\nenemy should receive a rich reward.\n\nThen suddenly, at the head of the chosen band, appeared two unknown\nhorsemen, in the first bloom of youth and taller and fairer than mortal\nmen, while the horses they rode were white as the driven snow. On went\nthe charge, led by these two noble strangers, before whom the enemy fled\nin mortal terror, while Titus, the last of the sons of King Tarquin,\nfell dead from his steed. The camp of the Latins being reached, these\ntwo horsemen were the first to break into it, and soon the whole army of\nthe enemy was in disorderly flight and the battle won.\n\nAulus now sought the two strange horsemen, to give them the reward he\nhad promised; but he sought in vain; they were not to be found, among\neither the living or the dead, and no man had set eyes upon them since\nthe camp was won. They had vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.\nBut on the hard black rock which surrounds the lake was visible the mark\nof a horse's hoof, such as no earthly steed could ever have made. For\nages afterwards this mark remained.\n\nBut the strangers appeared once again. It was known in Rome that the\narmies were joined in battle, and the longing for tidings from the field\ngrew intense. Suddenly, as the sun went down behind the city walls,\nthere were seen in the Forum two horsemen on milk-white steeds, taller\nand fairer than the tallest and fairest of men. Their horses were bathed\nin foam, and they looked like men fresh from battle.\n\nAlighting near the Temple of Vesta, where a spring of water bubbles from\nthe ground, these men, whom no Romans had ever seen before, washed from\ntheir persons the battle-stains. As they did so men crowded round and\neagerly questioned them. In reply, they told them how the battle had\nbeen fought and won,--though in truth the battle ended only as the sun\nwent down over Lake Regillus. They then mounted their horses and rode\nfrom the Forum, and were seen no more. Men sought them far and wide, but\nno one set eyes on them again.\n\nThen Aulus told the Romans how he had prayed to Castor and Pollux, the\ndivine twins, and said that it could be none but they who had broken so\nfiercely into the enemy's camp, and had borne the news of victory with\nmore than mortal speed to Rome. So he built the temple he had vowed to\nthe hero gods, and gave there rich offerings as the rewards he had\npromised to the two who should first enter the camp of the foe.\n\nThus ended the hopes of King Tarquin, against whom the gods had taken\narms. His sons and all his family slain, he was left ruined and\nhopeless, and retired to the city of Cumae, whence formerly the Sibyl had\ncome to his court. Here he died, and thus passed away the last of the\nRoman kings.\n\n\n\n\n_THE REVOLT OF THE PEOPLE._\n\n\nThe overthrow of the kings of Rome did not relieve the people from all\ntheir oppression. The inhabitants of that city had long been divided\ninto two great classes, the Patricians, or nobles, and the Plebeians, or\ncommon people, and the former held in their hand nearly all the wealth\nand power of the state. The senate, the law-making body, were all\nPatricians; the consuls, the executors of the law, were chosen from\ntheir ranks; and the Plebeians were left with few rights and little\nprotection.\n\nIt was through the avarice of money-lending nobles that the people were\nchiefly oppressed. There were no laws limiting the rate of interest, and\nthe rich lent to the poor at extravagant rates of usury. The interest,\nwhen not paid, was added to the debt, so that in time it became\nimpossible for many debtors to pay.\n\nAnd the laws against debtors had become terribly severe. They might,\nwith all their families, be held as slaves. Or if the debtor refused to\nsell himself to his creditor, and still could not pay his debt, he might\nbe imprisoned in fetters for sixty days. At the end of that time, if no\nfriend had paid his debt, he could be put to death, or sold as a slave\ninto a foreign state. If there were several creditors, they could\nactually cut his body to pieces, each taking a piece proportional in\nsize to his claim.\n\nThis cruel severity was more than any people could long endure. It led\nto a revolution in Rome. In the year 495 B.C., fifteen years after the\nTarquins had been expelled, a poor debtor, who had fought valiantly in\nthe wars, broke from his prison, and--with his clothes in tatters and\nchains clanking upon his limbs--appealed eloquently to the people in the\nForum, and showed them on his emaciated body the scars of the many\nbattles in which he had fought.\n\nHis tale was a sad one. While he served in the Sabine war, the enemy had\npillaged and burned his house; and when he returned home, it was to find\nhis cattle stolen and his farm heavily taxed. Forced to borrow money,\nthe interest had brought him deeply into debt. Finally he had been\nattacked by pestilence, and being unable to work for his creditor, he\nhad been thrown into prison and cruelly scourged, the marks of the lash\nbeing still evident upon his bleeding back.\n\nThis piteous story roused its hearers to fury. The whole city broke into\ntumult, as the woful tale passed from lip to lip. Many debtors escaped\nfrom their prisons and begged protection from the incensed multitude.\nThe consuls found themselves powerless to restore order; and in the\nmidst of the uproar horsemen came riding hotly through the gates, crying\nout that a hostile army was near at hand, marching to besiege the city.\n\nHere was a splendid opportunity for the Plebeians. When called upon to\nenroll their names and take arms for the city's defence, they refused.\nThe Patricians, they said, might fight their own battles. As for them,\nthey had rather die together at home than perish separate upon the\nbattle-field.\n\nThis refusal left the Patricians in a quandary. With riot in the streets\nand war beyond the walls they were at the mercy of the commons. They\nwere forced to promise a mitigation of the laws, declaring that no one\nshould henceforth seize the goods of a soldier while he was in camp, or\nhinder a citizen from enlisting by keeping him in prison. This promise\nsatisfied the people. The debtors' prisons were emptied, and their late\ntenants crowded with enthusiasm into the ranks. Through the gates the\narmy marched, met the foe, and drove him in defeat from the soil of the\nRoman state.\n\nVictory gained, the Plebeians looked for laws to sustain the promises\nunder which they had fought. They looked in vain; the senate took no\naction for their redress. But they had learned their power, and were not\nagain to be enslaved. Their action was deliberate but decided. Taking\nmeasures to protect their homes on the Aventine Hill, they left the city\nthe next year in a body, and sought a hill beyond the Anio, about three\nmiles beyond the walls of Rome. Here they encamped, built\nfortifications, and sent word to their lordly rulers that they were done\nwith empty promises, and would fight no more for the state until the\nstate kept its faith. All the good of their fighting came to the\nPatricians, they said, and these might now defend themselves and their\nwealth.\n\nThe senate was thrown into a panic by this decided action. When the\nhostile cities without should learn of it, they might send armies in\nhaste to undefended Rome. The people left in the city feared the\nPatricians, and the Patricians feared them. All was doubt and anxiety.\nAt length the senate, driven to desperation, sent an embassy to the\nrebels to treat for peace, being in deadly fear that some enemy might\nassail and capture the city in the absence of the bulk of its\ninhabitants.\n\nThe messenger sent, Menenius Agrippa Lanatus, was a man famed for\neloquence, and a popular favorite. In his address to the people in their\ncamp he repeated to them the following significant fable:\n\n\"At a time when all the parts of the body did not agree together, as\nthey do now, but each had its own method and language, the other parts\nrebelled against the belly. They said that it lay quietly enjoying\nitself in the centre, while they, by care, labor, and service, kept it\nin luxury. They therefore conspired that the hands should not convey\nfood to the mouth, the mouth receive it, nor the teeth chew it. They\nthus hoped to subdue the belly by famine; but they found that they and\nall the other parts of the body suffered as much. Then they saw that the\nbelly by no means rested in sloth; that it supplied instead of receiving\nnourishment, sending to all parts of the body the blood that gave life\nand strength to the whole system.\"\n\nIt was the same, he said, with the body of the state. All must work in\nunity, if all would prosper. This homely argument hit the popular fancy.\nThe people consented to treat for their return if their liberties could\nbe properly secured. But they must now have deeds instead of words. It\nwas not political power they sought, but protection, and protection they\nwould have.\n\nTheir demands were as follows: All debts should be cancelled, and all\ndebtors held by their creditors should be released. And hereafter the\nPlebeians should have as their protectors two officials, who should have\npower to veto all oppressive laws, while their persons should be held as\nsacred and inviolable as those of the messengers of the gods. These\nofficials were to be called Tribunes, and to be the chief officers of\nthe commons as the consuls were of the nobles.\n\nThis proposition was accepted by the senate, and a treaty signed between\nthe contesting parties, as solemnly as if they had been two separate\nnations. It was an occasion as important to the liberties of Romans as\nthe treaty signed many centuries afterwards on the field of Runnymede,\nbetween King John and his barons, was to the liberties of Englishmen,\nand was held by the Romans in like high regard. The hill on which the\ntreaty had been made was ever after known as the Sacred Mount. Its top\nwas consecrated and an altar built upon it, on which sacrifices were\nmade to Jupiter, the god who strikes men with terror and then delivers\nthem from fear; for the people had fled thither in dread, and were now\nto return home in safety.\n\nThus ended the great revolt of the people, who had gained in the\nTribunes defenders of more power and importance than they or the senate\nknew. They were never again to suffer from the bitter oppression to\nwhich they had been subjected in preceding years. As for Lanatus, to\nwhose pleadings they had yielded, he died before the year ended, and was\nfound to have not left enough to pay for his funeral. Therefore the\nPlebeians collected funds to give him a splendid burial; but the senate\nhaving decreed that the state should bear this expense, the money raised\nby the grateful people was formed into a fund for the benefit of his\nchildren.\n\n\n\n\n_THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS._\n\n\nCaius Marcius, a noble Roman youth, descended from the worthy king Ancus\nMarcius, fought valiantly when but seventeen years of age in the battle\nof Lake Regillus, and was there crowned with an oaken wreath, the Roman\nreward for saving the life of a fellow-soldier. This he showed with the\ngreatest joy to his mother, Volumnia, whom he loved exceedingly, it\nbeing his greatest pleasure to receive praise from her lips for his\nexploits. He afterwards won many more crowns in battle, and became one\nof the most famous of Roman soldiers.\n\nOne of his memorable exploits took place during a war with the\nVolscians, in which the Romans attacked the city of Corioli. The\ncitizens made a sally, and drove the Romans back to their camp. But\nCaius, with a few followers, stopped them and turned the tide of battle,\ndriving the Volscians back. As they fled into the city through the open\ngates, he cried, \"Those gates are set open for us rather than for the\nVolscians. Why are we afraid to rush in?\" And suiting his act to his\nwords, the daring soldier pursued the enemy into the town.\n\nHere he found himself almost alone, for very few had followed him. The\nenemy turned on the bold invaders, but Caius proved so strong of hand\nand stout of heart that he drove them all before him, keeping a way\nclear for the Romans, who soon thronged in through the open gate and\ntook the city. The army gave Caius the sole credit for the victory,\nsaying that he alone had taken Corioli; and the general said, \"Let him\nbe called after the name of the city.\" He was, therefore, afterwards\nknown by the name of Caius Marcius Coriolanus.\n\nCourage was not the only marked quality of Coriolanus. His pride was\nequally great. He was a noble of the nobles, so haughty in demeanor and\nso disdainful of the commons that they grew to hate him bitterly. At\nlength came a time of great scarcity of food. The people were on the\nverge of famine, to relieve which shiploads of corn were sent from\nSicily to Rome. The senate resolved to distribute this corn among the\nsuffering people, but Coriolanus opposed this, saying, \"If they want\ncorn let them show their obedience to the Patricians, as their fathers\ndid, and give up their tribunes. If they do this we will let them have\ncorn, and take care of them.\"\n\nWhen the people heard of what the proud noble had said they broke into\nsuch fury that a mob gathered around the doors of the senate house,\nprepared to seize and tear him to pieces when he came out. They were\nchecked in this by the tribunes, who said, \"Let us not have violence. We\nwill accuse him of treason before the assembly, and you shall be his\njudges.\"\n\nThe tribunes, therefore, as the law gave them the right, summoned\nCoriolanus to appear before the popular tribunal and answer to the\ncharges against him. But he, knowing how deeply he had offended them,\nand that they would show him no mercy, stayed not for the trial, but\nfled from Rome, exiled from his native land by his pride and disdain of\nthe people.\n\nThe exile made his way to the land of the Volscians, and seating himself\nby the hearth-fire of Attius Tullius, their chief, waited there with\ncovered head till his late bitter foe should come in. How Attius would\nreceive him he knew not; but he was homeless, and had now only his\nenemies to trust. But when the chieftain entered, and learned that the\nman who sat crouched beside his hearth, subject to his will, was the\ngreat warrior who by his own hands had taken a Volscian city, but was\nnow banished and a fugitive, he was filled with compassion. He greeted\nhim kindly and offered him a home, saying to himself, \"Caius, our worst\nfoe, is now our friend and a foe to Rome; we will make war against that\nproud city, and by his aid will conquer it.\"\n\nBut the Volscians were not eager for war. They were afraid of the\nRomans, who had so often defeated them, and Attius sought in vain to\nstir them to hostility. Failing to rouse them by eloquence, he practised\ncraft. There was a great festival at Rome, to which had come the people\nof various cities, among them many of the Volscians. Attius now went\nprivately to the Roman consuls and bade them beware of the Volscians,\nlest they should stir up a riot and make trouble in the city, hinting\nthat mischief was intended. In consequence of this warning proclamation\nwas made that every Volscian should leave Rome before the setting of the\nsun.\n\nThis produced the effect which Attius had hoped. He met the Volscians on\ntheir way home, and found them fired with indignation against Rome. He\npretended similar indignation. \"You have been made a show of before all\nthe nations,\" he cried. \"You and your wives and children have been\nbasely insulted. They have made war on us while their guests; if you are\nmen you will make them rue this deed.\"\n\nHis words inflamed his countrymen. The story of the insult spread widely\nthrough the country, all the tribes of the Volscians took up the\nquarrel, and a great army was raised and set in march towards Rome, with\nAttius and Coriolanus at its head.\n\nThe Volscian force was greater than the Romans were prepared to meet,\nand the army marched victoriously onward, taking city after city, and\nfinally encamping within five miles of Rome. When the Volscians entered\nRoman territory they laid waste, by order of Coriolanus, the lands of\nthe commons, but spared those of the nobles, the exiled patrician\ndeeming the former his foes and the latter his friends. The approach of\nthis powerful army threw the Romans into dismay. They had been assailed\nso suddenly that they had made no preparations for defence, and the city\nseemed to lie at the mercy of its foes. The women ran to the temples to\npray for the favor of the gods. The people demanded that the senate\nshould send deputies to the invading army to treat for peace. The\nsenate, apparently no less frightened than the people, obeyed, sending\nfive leading Patricians to the Volscian camp.\n\nThese deputies were haughtily received by Coriolanus, who offered them\nthe following severe terms: \"We will give you no peace till you restore\nto the Volscians all the land and cities which Rome has ever taken from\nthem, and till you make them citizens of Rome, and give them all the\nrights in your city which you have yourselves.\"\n\nThese conditions the deputies had no power to accept, and they threw the\nsenate into dismay. The deputies were sent again, instructed to ask for\ngentler terms, but now, Coriolanus refused even to let them enter his\ncamp.\n\nThis harsh repulse plunged Rome into mortal terror. The senate, helpless\nto resist, now sent the priests of the gods and the augurs, all clothed\nin their sacred garments, and bearing the sacred emblems from the\ntemples. But even this solemn delegation Coriolanus refused to receive,\nand sent them back to Rome unheard.\n\nWhere all this time was the Roman army, which always before and after\nmade itself heard and felt? This we are not told. We are in the land of\nlegend, and cannot look for too much consistency. For once in its\nhistory Rome seems to have forgotten that its mission was not to plead,\nbut to fight. Perhaps its armies had been beaten and demoralized in\nprevious battles. At any rate we can but tell the story as it is told to\nus.\n\nThe help of delegates, priests, and augurs having proved unavailing,\nthat of women was next sought. A noble lady, Valeria by name, who with\nother suppliants had sought the Temple of Jupiter, was inspired by a\nsudden thought, which seemed sent by the god himself. Rising, and\nbidding the other noble ladies to accompany her, she proceeded to the\nhouse of Volumnia, the mother of Coriolanus, whom she found with\nVirgilia, his wife, and his little children.\n\n\"We have come to ask you to join us,\" she said, \"in order that we women,\nwithout aid from man, may deliver our country, and win for ourselves a\nname more glorious even than that of the Sabine wives of old, who\nstopped the battle between their husbands and fathers. Come with us to\nthe camp of Caius, and let us pray him to show us mercy.\"\n\n\"It is well thought of; we shall go with you,\" said Volumnia, and, with\nVirgilia and her children, the noble matron prepared to seek the camp\nand tent of her exiled son.\n\nIt was a sad and solemn spectacle, as this train of noble ladies, clad\nin their habiliments of woe, and with bent heads and sorrowful faces,\nwound through the hostile camp, from which they were not excluded, like\nthe men. Even the Volscian soldiers watched them with pitying eyes, and\nspoke no word as they moved slowly past. On reaching the midst of the\ncamp, they saw Coriolanus on the general's seat, with the Volscian\nchiefs gathered around him.\n\nAt first he wondered who these women could be. But when they came near,\nand he saw his mother at the head of the train, his deep love for her\nwelled up so strongly in his heart that he could not restrain himself,\nbut sprang up and ran to meet and kiss her. The Roman matron stopped him\nwith a dignified gesture, saying,--\n\n\"Ere you kiss me, let me know whether I am speaking to an enemy or to my\nson; whether I stand here as your prisoner or your mother.\"\n\nHe stood before her in silence, with bent head, and unable to speak.\n\n\"Must it then be that if I had never borne a son, Rome would have never\nseen the camp of an enemy?\" said Volumnia, in sorrowful tones. \"But I am\ntoo old to bear much longer your shame and my misery. Think not of me,\nbut of your wife and children, whom you would doom to death or to life\nin bondage.\"\n\nThen Virgilia and the children came up and kissed him, and all the noble\nladies in the train burst into tears and bemoaned the peril of their\ncountry. Coriolanus still stood silent, his face working with contending\nthoughts. At length he cried out, in heart-rending accents, \"O mother,\nwhat have you done to me?\"\n\nClasping her hand, he wrung it vehemently, saying, \"Mother, the victory\nis yours! A happy victory for you and Rome, but shame and ruin to your\nson.\"\n\nThen he embraced her with yearning heart, and afterwards clasped his\nwife and children to his breast, bidding them return with their tale of\nconquest to Rome. As for himself, he said, only exile and shame\nremained.\n\nBefore the women reached home the army of the Volscians was on its\nhomeward march. Coriolanus never led them against Rome again. He lived\nand died in exile, far from his wife and children. When very old, he\nsadly remarked, \"That now in his old age he knew the full bitterness of\nbanishment.\"\n\nThe Romans, to honor Volumnia and those who had gone with her to the\nVolscian camp, built a temple to \"Woman's Fortune\" on the spot where\nCoriolanus had yielded to his mother's entreaties; and the first\npriestess of this temple was Valeria, who had been inspired in the\ntemple of Jupiter with the thought that saved Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_CINCINNATUS AND THE AEQUIANS._\n\n\nIn the old days of Rome, not far from the time when Coriolanus yielded\nup his revenge at his mother's entreaty, the Roman state possessed a\ncitizen as patriotic as Coriolanus was proud, and who did as much good\nas the other did evil to his native land. This citizen, Lucius Quinctius\nby name, was usually called Cincinnatus, or the \"crisp-haired,\" from the\nfact that he let his hair grow long, and curled and crisped it so\ncarefully as to gain as much fame for his hair as for his wisdom and\nvalor.\n\nCincinnatus was the simplest and least ambitious of men. He cared\nnothing for wealth, and had no craving for city life, but dwelt on his\nsmall farm beyond the Tiber, which he worked with his own hands,\ncontent, so his crops grew well, to let the lovers of power and wealth\npursue their own devices within the city walls. But he was soon to be\ndrawn from the plough to the sword.\n\nWhile Cincinnatus was busy ploughing his land, Rome kept at its old work\nof ploughing the nations. War at this time broke out with the AEquians, a\nneighboring people; but for this war the AEquians were to blame. They had\nplundered the lands of some of the allies of Rome, and when deputies\nwere sent to complain of this wrong, Gracchus, their chief, received\nthem with insulting mockery.\n\nHe was sitting in his tent, which was pitched in the shade of a great\nevergreen oak, when the deputies arrived.\n\n\"I am busy with other matters,\" he answered them; \"I cannot hear you;\nyou had better tell your message to the oak yonder.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said one of the deputies, \"let this sacred oak hear, and let all\nthe gods hear also, how treacherously you have broken the peace. They\nshall hear it now, and shall soon avenge it; for you have scorned alike\nthe laws of the gods and of men.\"\n\nThe deputies returned to Rome, and reported how they had been insulted.\nThe senate at once declared war, and an army was sent towards Algidus,\nwhere the enemy lay. But Gracchus, who was a skilled soldier, cunningly\npretended to be afraid of the Romans, and retreated before them, drawing\nthem gradually into a narrow valley, on each side of which rose high,\nsteep, and barren hills.\n\nWhen he had lured them fairly into this trap, he sent a force to close\nup the entrance of the valley. The Romans suddenly found that they had\nbeen entrapped into a _cul-de-sac_, with impassable hills in front and\non each side, and a strong body of AEquians guarding the entrance to the\nravine. There was neither grass for the horses nor food for the men.\nGracchus held not only the entrance, but the hill-tops all round, so\nthat escape in any direction was impossible. But before the road in the\nrear was quite closed up five horsemen had managed to break out; and\nthese rode with all speed to Rome, where they told the senate of the\nimminent danger of the consul and his army.\n\nThese tidings threw the senate into dismay. What was to be done? The\nother consul was with his army in the country of the Sabines. He was at\nonce sent for, and hastened with all speed to Rome. Here a consultation\ntook place, which ended in the leading senators saying, \"There is only\none man who can deliver us. We must make Lucius Quinctius Master of the\nPeople.\" Master of the People meant in Rome what we now mean by\nDictator,--that is, a man above the law, an autocrat supreme. What\nservice this unambitious tiller of the ground had previously done for\nRome to make him worthy of this distinction we are not told, but it is\nevident that he was looked upon as the man of highest wisdom and\nsoldiership in Rome.\n\nCaius Nautius, the consul, appointed Cincinnatus to this high office, as\nhe alone was privileged to do, and then hastened back to his army. Early\nthe next morning deputies from the senate sought the farm of the new\ndictator, to apprise him of the honor conferred on him. Early as it was,\nCincinnatus was already at work in his fields. He was without his toga,\nor cloak, and vigorously digging in the ground with his spade, never\ndreaming that he, a simple husbandman, had been chosen to save a state.\n\n\"We bring you a message from the senate,\" said the deputies. \"You must\nput on your cloak to receive it with the fitting respect.\"\n\n\"Has evil befallen the state?\" asked the farmer, as he bade his wife to\nbring him his cloak. When he had put it on he returned to the deputies.\n\n\"Hail to you, Lucius Quinctius!\" they now said. \"The senate has declared\nyou Master of the People, and have sent us to call you to the city; for\nthe consul and the army in the country of the AEquians are in imminent\ndanger.\"\n\nWithout further words, Cincinnatus accompanied them to the boat in which\nthey had crossed the Tiber, and was rowed in it to the city. As he left\nthe boat he was met by a deputation consisting of his three sons, his\nkinsmen and friends, and many of the senators of Rome. They received him\nwith the highest honor, and led him in great state to his city\nresidence, the twenty-four lictors walking before him, with their rods\nand axes, while a great multitude of the people crowded round with\nshouts of welcome. The presence of the lictors signified that this plain\nfarmer had been invested with all the power of the former kings.\n\nThe new dictator quickly proved himself worthy of the trust that had\nbeen placed in him. He chose at once as his Master of the Horse Lucius\nTarquinius, a brave man, of noble descent, but so poor that he had been\nforced to serve among the foot-soldiers instead of the horse. Then the\ntwo entered the Forum, where orders were given that all booths should be\nclosed and all lawsuits stopped. All men were forbidden to look after\ntheir own affairs while a Roman army lay in peril of destruction.\n\nOrders were next given that every man old enough to go to battle should\nappear before sunset with his arms and with five days' food in the\nField of Mars, and should bring with him twelve stakes. These they were\nto cut where they chose, without hinderance from any person. While the\nsoldiers occupied themselves in cutting these stakes, the women and\nolder men dressed their food. Such haste was made, under the energetic\norders of the dictator, that an army was ready, equipped as commanded,\nin the Field of Mars before the sun had set. The march was at once\nbegun, and was continued with such rapidity that by midnight the\nvicinity of Algidus was reached. On the enemy being perceived, a halt\nwas called.\n\nCincinnatus now rode forward and inspected the camp of the enemy, so far\nas it could be seen by night. He then ordered the soldiers to throw down\ntheir baggage, and to keep only their arms and stakes. Marching\nstealthily forward, they now extended their lines until they had\ncompletely surrounded the hostile camp. Then, upon a given signal, a\nsimultaneous shout was raised, and each soldier began to dig a ditch\nwhere he stood and to plant his stakes in the ground.\n\nThe shout rang like a thunder-clap through the camp of the AEquians,\nwaking them suddenly and filling them with dismay. It also reached the\nears of the Romans who lay in the valley, and inspired them with hope,\nfor they recognized the Roman war-cry. They raised their own\nbattle-shout in response, and, seizing their arms, sallied out and made\na fierce attack upon the foe, fighting so desperately that the AEquians\nwere prevented from interrupting the work of the outer army. All the\nremainder of the night the battle went on, and when day broke the\nAEquians found that a ditch and a palisade of stakes had been made around\ntheir entire camp.\n\nThis work accomplished, Cincinnatus ordered his men to attack the foe,\nand thus aid their entrapped countrymen. The AEquians, finding themselves\nbetween two armies, and as closely walled in as the Romans in the valley\nhad before been, fell into a panic of hopelessness, threw down their\narms, and begged their foes for mercy. Cincinnatus now signalled for the\nfighting to cease, and, meeting those who came to ask on what terms he\nwould spare their lives, said,--\n\n\"Give me Gracchus and your other chiefs bound. As for you, you can have\nyour lives on one condition. I will set two spears upright in the\nground, and put a third spear across, and every man of you, giving up\nyour arms and your cloaks, shall pass under this yoke, and may then go\naway free.\"\n\nTo go under the yoke was accounted the greatest dishonor to a soldier.\nBut the AEquians had no alternative and were obliged to submit. They\ndelivered up to the Romans their king and their chiefs, left their camp\nwith all its spoil to the foe, and passed without cloaks or arms under\nthe crossed spears, their heads bowed with shame. They then went home,\nleaving their chiefs as Roman prisoners. Thus was Gracchus punished for\nhis pride.\n\nIn less than a day's time Cincinnatus had saved a Roman army and\nhumiliated the AEquian foe. As for the battle-spoils, he distributed them\namong his own men, giving none to the consul's army, and degraded the\nconsul, making him his under-officer. He then marched the two armies\nback to Rome, which he reached that same evening, and where he was\nreceived with as much astonishment as joy. The rescued army were too\nfull of thankfulness at their escape to feel chagrin at their loss of\nspoil, and voted to give Cincinnatus a golden crown, calling him their\nprotector and father.\n\nThe senate decreed that Cincinnatus should enter the city in triumph. He\nrode in his chariot through the gates, Gracchus and the chiefs of the\nAEquians being led in fetters before him. In front of all the standards\nwere borne, while in the rear marched the soldiers, laden with their\nspoil. At the door of every house tables were set, with meat and drink\nfor the soldiers, while the people, singing and rejoicing, danced with\njoy as they followed the conqueror's chariot, and all Rome was given up\nto feasting and merry-making.\n\nAs for Cincinnatus, he laid down his power and returned to his farm,\nglad to have rescued a Roman army, but caring nothing for the pomp and\nauthority he might have gained. And for all we know, he lived and died\nthereafter a simple tiller of the ground.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA._\n\n\nIn the year 504 B.C. a citizen of Regillum, of much wealth and\nimportance, finding himself at odds with his fellow-citizens, left that\ncity and proceeded to Rome, with a long train of followers, much as the\nelder Tarquin had come from Tarquinii. His name was Atta Clausus, but in\nRome he became known as Appius Claudius. He was received as a patrician,\nwas given ample lands, and he and his descendants in later years became\namong the chief of those who hated and oppressed the plebeians.\n\n[Illustration: THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA.]\n\nAbout half a century after this date, one of these descendants, also\nnamed Appius Claudius, was a principal actor in one of the most dramatic\nevents of ancient Rome. The trouble which had long existed between the\npatricians and the plebeians now grew so pronounced, and the demand for\na reform in the laws so great, that in the year 451 B.C. a commission\nwas sent to the city of Athens, to report on the system of government\nthey found there and elsewhere in Greece. After this commission had\nreturned and given its report, a body of ten patricians was appointed,\nunder the title of Decemvirs (or ten men), to prepare a new code of laws\nfor Rome. They were chosen for one year, and took the place of the\nconsuls, tribunes, and all the chief officials of Rome.\n\nAt the head of this body was Appius Claudius. The laws of Rome had\npreviously been only partly written, the remainder being held in memory\nor transmitted as traditions. A complete code of written laws was\ndesired, and to this work the decemvirs set themselves diligently. After\na few months they prepared a code of laws, which was accepted by nobles\nand people alike as fair and satisfactory, and it was ordered that these\nlaws should be engraved upon ten tables of brass and hung up in the\ncomitium, or place of assembly of the people, where all might read them\nand learn under what laws they lived. It is probable that the plebeian\ndemand for reform was so great that the decemvirs did not dare to\ndisregard it.\n\nAt the end of the year of office of these officials it was felt that\nthey had done so well that it was thought wise to continue them in power\nfor another year. But when the time for election came round, Appius\nClaudius managed to have his nine associates defeated, he alone being\nre-elected. The other nine chosen were men whom he felt sure he could\ncontrol. And now, having a year's rule assured him, he threw off the\ncloak of moderation he had worn, and began a career of oppression of the\nplebeians, aided by his subservient associates. The first step taken was\nto add two new laws to the code, which became known, therefore, as the\n\"Twelve Tables.\" These new laws proved so distasteful to the people that\nthey almost broke into open rebellion. It was evident that the haughty\ndecemvirs were seeking to increase the power of their class.\n\nThe decemvirs did not confine themselves to passing oppressive laws.\nThey began a career of outrage and oppression that filled Rome with woe.\nThe youthful patricians followed their lead, and insult and murder\nbecame common incidents in Rome. When the second year of the decemvirate\nexpired, Appius and his colleagues, knowing that they could not be\nelected again, showed no intention of yielding up their authority. They\nwere supported by the senate and the patricians, and had gained such\npower that they defied the plebeians. Those of the people who were\nactive in opposition were quietly disposed of, and so intolerable became\nthe tyranny that numbers of the plebeian party fled from Rome.\n\nWhile this was going on war broke out with the Sabines and the AEquians.\nOf the armies sent against these nations, one was commanded by Lucius\nSicinius Dentatus, among the bravest of the Romans, and who had fought\nin one hundred and twenty battles and was covered with the scars of old\nwounds. On his way to his post this veteran was murdered by bravos sent\nby Appius Claudius. Decemvirs were now appointed to command the armies,\nAppius and one of his colleagues remaining in Rome to look after the\nsafety of the city.\n\nThe story goes that both armies were beaten by their foes, and forced to\nretreat within Roman territory. While they lay encamped, not many miles\nfrom Rome, an event occurred in the city which gave them new work to do,\nand proved that the worst enemies of Rome were not without, but within,\nher walls.\n\nIn the army sent against the AEquians was a centurion named Lucius\nVirginius, who had a beautiful daughter named Virginia, whom he had\nbetrothed to Lucius Icilius, recently one of the tribunes of Rome. But\nthe tyranny of the decemvirs was directed against the wives and\ndaughters as well as the men of the plebeians, as was now to be\nstrikingly shown.\n\nOne day, as the beautiful maiden was on her way, attended by her nurse,\nto school in the Forum (around which the schools were placed), she was\nseen by Appius Claudius, who was so struck by her beauty that he\ndetermined to gain possession of her, and sought to win her by insidious\nwords. The innocent girl repelled his advances, but this only increased\nhis desire to possess her, and he determined, as she was not to be had\nby fair means, to have her by foul. He therefore laid a wicked plot for\nher capture.\n\nMarcus Claudius, one of his clients, instigated by him, seized the girl\nas she entered the Forum, claiming that she was his slave. The nurse\nscreamed for help, and a crowd quickly gathered. Many of these well knew\nthe maiden, her father, and her betrothed, and vowed to protect her from\nwrong. But the villain declared that he meant no harm, and that he only\nclaimed his own, and was quite willing to submit his claim to the\ndecision of the law.\n\nFollowed by the crowd, he led the weeping maiden to where Appius\nClaudius occupied the judgment-seat, and demanded justice at his hands.\nHe declared that the wife of Virginius, being childless, had got this\nchild from its mother and presented it to Virginius as her own, and said\nthat the real mother had been his slave, and that, therefore, the\ndaughter was his slave also. This he would prove to Virginius on his\nreturn to Rome. Meanwhile it was but just that the master should keep\npossession of his slave.\n\nThis specious appeal was earnestly combated by the friends of the\nmaiden, many of whom were present in the throng. Virginius, they said,\nwas absent from Rome in the service of the commonwealth. To take such\naction in his absence was unjust. They would send him word at once, and\nin two days he would be in the city.\n\n\"Let the case stand until he can appear,\" they demanded. \"The law\nexpressly declares that in cases like this every one shall be considered\nfree till proved a slave. The maiden, therefore, should legally be left\nwith her friends till the day of trial. Put not her fair fame in peril\nby giving up a free-born maiden into the hands of a man whom she knows\nnot.\"\n\nTo this reasonable appeal Appius, with a show of judicial moderation,\nreplied,--\n\n\"Truly, I know the law you speak of, and hold it just and good, for it\nwas enacted by myself. But this maiden cannot in any case be free; she\nbelongs either to her father or to her master. And as her father is not\nhere, who but her master can have any claim to her? I decide, therefore,\nthat M. Claudius shall keep her till Virginius comes, and shall require\nhim to give sureties to bring her before my judgment-seat when the day\ncomes for hearing the case between them.\"\n\nThis illegal decision was far from satisfying the multitude. The\ndecemvirs and their adherents had gained an unholy reputation for\ndishonorable treatment of the wives and daughters of the people, and it\nwas not safe to trust a maiden in their hands. Word had been hastily\nsent to Numitorius, the uncle of Virginia, and Icilius, her betrothed,\nand they now came up in great haste, and protested so vigorously against\nthe sentence, that the surrounding people became roused to fury. Appius,\nseeing the temper of the throng, and fearing a riotous demonstration,\nfelt forced to change his decision. He said, therefore, that, in view of\nthe rights of fathers over their children, he would let the case rest\ntill the next day.\n\n\"If, then,\" he said, with a show of stern dignity, \"Virginius does not\nappear, I plainly tell Icilius and his fellows that I will support the\nlaws which I have made. Violence shall not prevail over justice at this\ntribunal.\"\n\nObliged to be content with this, the friends of Virginia conducted her\nhome, and Icilius sent messengers in all haste to the camp, to bid\nVirginius come without an hour's delay to Rome. Surety was given that\nthe maiden should appear before Appius the next day.\n\nIt was fortunate that the army in which Virginius was a centurion had\nbeen obliged to retreat, and then lay not many miles from Rome. The\nmessengers sent reached the camp that same evening, and told Virginius\nof the peril of his daughter. Appius had also sent messengers to his\ncolleagues in command of the army, secretly instructing them not to let\nVirginius leave the camp on any pretence. But the messengers of right\noutstripped those of wrong, and when word came from the decemvirs in\ncommand to restrain Virginius he had already been given leave of\nabsence, and was speeding on the road to Rome, spurred by love and\nindignation.\n\nMorning came, and Appius resumed his judgment-seat, under the delusion\nthat his vile scheme was safe. To his surprise and dismay, he saw\nVirginius, whom he supposed detained in camp, dressed in mean attire,\nlike a suppliant, and leading his daughter into the Forum. With him came\na body of Roman matrons and a great troop of friends, for the affair had\nroused the people almost to the point of revolt.\n\n\"This is not my cause only, but the cause of all,\" said Virginius, in\nmoving accents, to the people. \"If my daughter shall be robbed from me,\nwhat father and mother among you all is safe?\"\n\nIcilius earnestly seconded this appeal, and the mothers who stood by\nwept with pity, their tears moving the people even more than the words\nof the father and lover.\n\nBut Appius was not to be moved by tears or appeals. Bent on gaining his\nunholy ends, he did not even give Virginius time to address the\ntribunal, but before Claudius had done speaking he hastened to give\nsentence. The maiden, he said, should be considered a slave until proved\nto be free-born. In the mean time she should remain in the custody of\nher master Claudius.\n\nThis monstrous decision, a perversion of all law, natural and civil,\nfilled the people with astonishment. Could the maker of the laws of Rome\nthus himself set them at defiance? They stood as if stunned, until\nClaudius approached to lay hands on the maiden, when the women and her\nfriends gathered around her and kept him off, while Virginius broke out\nin passionate threats that he would not tamely submit to so great a\nwrong.\n\nAppius had prepared for this. He had brought with him a body of armed\npatricians, and, supported by them, he bade his lictors to drive back\nthe crowd. Before their threatening axes the unarmed people fell back,\nand the weeping maiden was left standing alone. Virginius looked on in\ndespair. Was he to be robbed of his daughter in the face of Rome, and in\ndefiance of all justice and honor? There was one way still to save her,\nand only one.\n\nWith an aspect of humility he asked Appius to let him speak one word to\nthe nurse in the maiden's hearing, that he might learn whether she were\nreally his child or not. \"If I am not indeed her father, I shall bear\nher loss the lighter,\" he said.\n\nAppius, with a show of moderation, consented, and the distracted father\ndrew the nurse and his daughter aside to a spot where stood some\nbutchers' booths, for the Forum of Rome was then a place of trade as\nwell as of justice. Here he snatched a knife from a butcher, and,\nholding the poor girl in his arm, he cried, \"This is the only way, my\nchild, to keep thee free,\" and plunged the weapon to her heart.\n\nThen, turning to Appius, he cried, in threatening accents, \"On you and\non your head be the curse of this blood!\"\n\n\"Seize the madman!\" yelled Appius.\n\nBut, brandishing the bloody knife, Virginius broke through the\nmultitude, which readily made way for his passage, and flew to the city\ngates, where, seizing a horse, he rode with wild haste to the camp of\nTusculum.\n\nMeanwhile Icilius and Numitorius held up the maiden's body, and bade the\npeople see the bloody result of the decemvir's unholy purpose. A tumult\ninstantly arose, the people rushing in such fury upon the tribunal that\nthe lictors and armed patricians were driven back, and Appius, stricken\nwith fear, covered his face with his robe and fled into a neighboring\nhouse.\n\nNever had Rome been so stirred to fury. The colleague of Appius rushed\nwith his followers to the Forum, but the people were too strong for all\nthe force he could gather. The senate met, but could do nothing in the\nexcited state of public feeling. An attempt to support the decemvirs now\nmight cause the commons once more to secede to the Sacred Hill.\n\nWhile this was going on in the city, Virginius, followed by many\ncitizens, had reached the camp. Here the encrimsoned knife he held, the\nblood on his face and body, and the many unarmed citizens who followed\nhim, brought the soldiers crowding round to learn what all this meant.\n\nThe tale was told in moving accents. On hearing it the whole army burst\ninto a storm of indignation. Heedless of the orders of their generals,\nthey rushed excitedly to arms, pulled up their standards, and put\nthemselves in hasty march for Rome. The only leader they recognized was\nVirginius, who, knife in hand, led the way in the van.\n\nReaching the city, the soldiers called on the commons to assert their\nliberties and elect new tribunes, the decemvirs having deprived them of\nthese officials. They then marched to the Aventine Hill, where they\nselected ten military tribunes. The senate sent to them to know what\nthey wanted, but they replied that they had no answer to give except to\ntheir own friends.\n\nThe other army had also heard of the outrage, and soon appeared at the\nAventine, led by Icilius and Numitorius, who had hastened with the\ndreadful story to its camp. It, too, elected ten tribunes, and waited to\nhear what the senate had to propose. They waited in vain. No word came\nto them. The senate, distracted by the sudden occurrence, sought to\ntemporize, but the people were in too deadly earnest to be thus dealt\nwith. In the end the armies left the Aventine, marched through the city,\nand made their way to the Sacred Hill, where the seceding commoners had\nestablished themselves on a famous occasion long before. Men, women, and\nchildren followed them in multitudes. Once more the city was deserted by\nthe plebeians, and the patricians were left to keep Rome together as\nthey could.\n\nThis brought the senate to terms. The decemvirs agreed to resign.\nDeputies were sent to ask what the people demanded. They replied that\nthey wanted their tribunes and the right of appeal restored, full\nindemnity for all the leaders in the secession, and the punishment of\ntheir oppressors.\n\n\"These decemvirs,\" said Icilius, \"are public enemies, and we will have\nthem die the death of such. Give them up to us, that they may be burnt\nwith fire, as they have richly deserved.\"\n\nThis blood-thirsty desire, however, was not insisted on. All their other\nrequests were granted, and the people returned to Rome. The decemvirs\nhad resigned. Ten tribunes were chosen, among them Virginius and\nIcilius. The people of Rome had regained the liberty of which they had\nbeen robbed by their late oppressors.\n\nBut though the decemvirs had been spared from death by fire, they were\nnot forgiven. Virginius, as a tribune, impeached Appius for having given\na decision in defiance of the law. The proud patrician appeared in the\nForum surrounded by a body of young nobles, but he gained nothing by\nthis bravado. He refused to go before the judge, appealed to the people,\nand demanded to be released on bail. This Virginius refused. He could\nnot be trusted at liberty. He was therefore thrown into prison, to await\nthe judgment of the people.\n\nThis judgment he did not live to hear. Whether he killed himself in\nprison, or was killed by order of his accusers, we do not know. We only\nknow that he died. His colleague, who had come to his aid on that fatal\nday, was also thrown into prison, on the charge of having wantonly\nscourged an old and distinguished soldier. He also died there. The other\ndecemvirs, with M. Claudius, who had claimed Virginia as his slave, were\nallowed to give bail, and all fled from Rome. The property of all of\nthem was confiscated and sold.\n\nRome had experienced enough of decemvirate rule. The tribunes of the\npeople were restored, and thereafter they were both freely chosen by the\npeople, which had not been the case before.\n\nAnd thus it was that Virginia was revenged and justice once more reigned\nin Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OF VEII._\n\n\nWe have now to tell the story of another dictator of Rome. Like\nCincinnatus, Camillus is largely a creature of legend, but he plays an\nactive part in old Roman annals, and the tale of his doings is well\nworth repeating.\n\nRome was at war with the city of Veii, a large and strong city beyond\nthe Tiber, and not many miles away. In the year of Rome 350 (or 403\nB.C.) the siege of Veii began, and was continued for seven years. We are\ntold that the Romans surrounded the city, five miles in circumference,\nwith a double wall, but it could not have been complete, or the\nVeientians could not have held out against starvation so long. For the\nend of the siege and the taking of the city we must revert to the\nlegendary tale.\n\nFor seven years and more, so the legend says, the Romans had been\nbesieging Veii. During the last year of the siege, in late summer, the\nsprings and rivers all ran low; but of a sudden the waters of the Lake\nof Alba began to rise, and the flood continued until the banks were\noverflowed and the fields and houses by its side were drowned. Still\nhigher and higher the waters swelled till they reached the tops of the\nhills which rose like a wall around the lake. In the end they\noverflowed these hills at their lowest points, and poured in a mighty\ntorrent into the plain beyond.\n\nThe prayers and sacrifices of the Romans had failed to check the flood,\nwhich threatened their city and fields, and despairing of any redress\nfrom their own gods they sent to Delphi, in Greece, and applied there to\nthe famous oracle of Apollo. While the messengers were on their way, it\nchanced that a Roman centurion talked with an old Veientian on the walls\nwhom he had known in times of peace, and knew to be skilled in the\nsecrets of Fate. The Roman condoled with his friend, and hoped that no\nharm would come to him in the fall of Veii, sure to happen soon. The old\nman laughed in reply, and said,--\n\n\"You think, then, to take Veii. You shall not take it till the waters of\nthe Lake of Alba are all spent, and flow out into the sea no more.\"\n\nThis remark troubled the Roman, who knew the prophetic foresight of his\nfriend. The next day he talked with him again, and finally enticed him\nto leave the city, saying that he wished to meet him at a certain secret\nplace and consult with him on a matter of his own. But on getting him in\nthis way out of the city, he seized and carried him off to the camp,\nwhere he brought him before the generals. These, learning what the old\nman had said, sent him to the senate at Rome.\n\nThe prisoner here spoke freely. \"If the lake overflow,\" he said, \"and\nits waters run out into the sea, woe unto Rome; but if it be drawn off,\nand the waters reach the sea no longer, then it is woe unto Veii.\"\n\nThis he gave as the decree of the Fates; but the senate would not accept\nhis words, and preferred to wait until the messengers should return from\nDelphi with the reply of the oracle.\n\nWhen they did come, they confirmed what the old prophet had said. \"See\nthat the waters be not confined within the basin of the lake,\" was the\nmessage of Apollo's priestess: \"see that they take not their own course\nand run into the sea. Thou shalt take the water out of the lake, and\nthou shalt turn it to the watering of the fields, and thou shalt make\ncourses for it till it be spent and come to nothing.\"\n\nWhat all this could possibly have to do with the siege of Veii the\noracle did not say. But the people of the past were not given to ask\nsuch inconvenient questions. The oracle was supposed to know better than\nthey, so workmen were sent with orders to bore through the sides of the\nhills and make a passage for the water. This tunnel was made, and the\nwaters of the lake were drawn off, and divided into many courses, being\ngiven the duty of watering the fields of the Romans. In this way the\nwater of the lake was all used up, and no drop of it flowed to the sea.\nThen the Romans knew that it was the will of the gods that Veii should\nbe theirs.\n\nDespite all this, the army of Rome must have met with serious\ndifficulties and dangers at Veii, for the senate chose a dictator to\nconduct the war. This was their ablest and most famous man, Marcus\nFurius Camillus, a leader among the aristocrats, and a statesman of\ndistinguished ability.\n\nUnder the command of Camillus the army hotly pressed the siege. So\nstraitened became the Veientians that they sent envoys to Rome to beg\nfor peace. The senate refused. In reply, one of the chief men of the\nembassy, who was a skilled prophet, rebuked the Romans for their\narrogance, and predicted coming retribution.\n\n\"You heed neither the wrath of the gods nor the vengeance of men,\" he\nsaid. \"Yet the gods shall requite you for your pride; as you destroy our\ncountry, so shall you shortly after lose your own.\"\n\nThis prediction was verified before many years in the invasion of the\nGauls and the destruction of Rome,--a tale which we have next to tell.\n\nCamillus, finding that Veii was not to be taken by assault over its\nwalls, began to approach it from below. Men were set to dig an\nunderground tunnel, which should pass beneath the walls, and come to the\nsurface again in the Temple of Juno, which stood in the citadel of Veii.\nNight and day they worked, and the tunnel was in course of time\ncompleted, though the ground was not opened at its inner extremity.\n\nThen many Romans came to the camp through desire to have a share in the\nspoil of Veii. A tenth part of this spoil was vowed by Camillus to\nApollo, in reward for his oracle; and the dictator also prayed to Juno,\nthe goddess of Veii, begging her to desert this city and follow the\nRomans home, where a temple worthy of her dignity should be built.\n\nAll being ready, a fierce assault was made on the city from every side.\nThe defenders ran to the walls to repel their foes, and the fight went\nvigorously on. While it continued the king of Veii repaired to the\nTemple of Juno, where he offered a sacrifice for the deliverance of the\ncity. The prophet who stood by, on seeing the sacrifice, said, \"This is\nan accepted offering. There is victory for him who offers the entrails\nof this victim upon the altar.\"\n\nThe Romans who were in the secret passage below heard these words.\nInstantly the earth was heaved up above them, and they sprang, arms in\nhand, from the tunnel. The entrails were snatched from the hands of\nthose who were sacrificing, and Camillus, the Roman dictator, not the\nVeientian king, offered them upon the altar. While he did so his\nfollowers rushed from the citadel into the streets, flung open the city\ngates, and let in their comrades. Thus both from within and without the\narmy broke into the town, and Veii was taken and sacked.\n\nFrom the height of the citadel Camillus looked down upon the havoc in\nthe city streets, and said in pride of heart, \"What man's fortune was\never so great as mine?\" But instantly the thought came to him how little\na thing can bring the highest fortune down to the lowest, and he prayed\nthat if some evil should befall him or his country it might be light.\n\nAs he prayed he veiled his head, according to the Roman custom, and\nturned toward the right. In doing so his foot slipped, and he fell upon\nhis back on the ground. \"The gods have heard my prayer,\" he said. \"For\nthe great fortune of my victory over Veii they have sent me only this\nlittle evil.\"\n\nHe then bade some young men, chosen from the whole army, to wash\nthemselves in pure water, and clothe themselves in white, so that there\nwould be about them no stain or sign of blood. This done, they entered\nthe Temple of Juno, bowing low, and taking care not to touch the statue\nof the goddess, which only the priest could touch. They asked the\ngoddess whether it was her pleasure to go with them to Rome.\n\nThen a wonder happened; from the mouth of the image came the words \"I\nwill go.\" And when they now touched it, it moved of its own accord. It\nwas carried to Rome, where a temple was built and consecrated to Juno on\nthe Aventine Hill.\n\nOn his return to Rome Camillus entered the city in triumph, and rode to\nthe Capitol in a chariot drawn by four white horses, like the horses of\nJupiter or those of the sun. Such was his ostentation that wise men\nshook their heads. \"Marcus Camillus makes himself equal to the blessed\ngods,\" they said. \"See if vengeance come not on him, and he be not made\nlower than other men.\"\n\nThere is one further legend about Camillus. After the fall of Veii he\nbesieged Falerii. During this siege a school-master, who had charge of\nthe sons of the principal citizens, while walking with his boys outside\nthe walls, played the traitor and led them into the Roman camp.\n\nBut the villain received an unexpected reward. Camillus, justly\nindignant at the act, put thongs in the boys' hands and bade them flog\ntheir master back into the town, saying that the Romans did not war on\nchildren. On this the people of Falerii, overcome by his magnanimity,\nsurrendered themselves, their city, and their country into the hands of\nthis generous foe, assured of just treatment from so noble a man.\n\nBut trouble came upon Camillus, as the wise men had predicted. He was an\nenemy of the commons and was to feel their power. It was claimed that he\nhad kept for himself part of the plunder of Veii, and on this charge he\nwas banished from Rome. But the time was near at hand when his foes\nwould have to pray for his return. The next year the Gauls were to come,\nand Camillus was to be revenged upon his ungrateful country. This story\nwe have next to tell.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GAULS AT ROME._\n\n\nWe have related in the preceding tale how a Veientian prophet predicted\nthe ruin of Rome, in retribution for the cruelty of the Romans to the\npeople of Veii. It is the story of this disaster which we have now to\ntell. While the Romans were assailing Veii and making other conquests\namong the neighboring cities, a new people had come into Central Italy,\na fair-faced, light-haired, great-bodied tribe of barbarians, fierce in\naspect, warlike in character, the first contingent of that great\ninvasion from the north which, centuries afterwards, was to overthrow\nthe empire of Rome.\n\nThese were the Gauls, barbarian tribes from the region now known as\nFrance, who had long before crossed the Alps and made themselves lords\nof much of Northern Italy. Just when this took place we do not know, but\nabout the time with which we are now concerned they pushed farther\nsouth, overthrew the Etruscans, and in the year 389 B.C. crossed the\nApennines and penetrated into Central Italy.\n\nAnd now the proud city of Rome was to come face to face with an enemy\nmore powerful and courageous than any it had hitherto known. In the year\nnamed the Gauls besieged the city of Clusium, in Etruria, the city of\nLars Porsenna, who in former years had aided Tarquin against Rome. The\nRoman senate, alarmed at their approach, sent three deputies to observe\nthese barbarian bands. What follows is the story as told in Roman\nannals. It cannot be accepted as the exact truth, though no one\nquestions the destruction of Rome by the Gauls.\n\nThe story goes, then, that the deputies sent to the barbarians, and\nasked by what right they sought to take a part of the territory of\nClusium, a city in alliance with Rome. Brennus, the leader of the Gauls,\nwho knew little and cared less about Rome, replied, with insolent pride,\nthat all things belonged to the brave, and that their right lay in their\nswords.\n\nSoon after, in a sortie that was made from the city, one of the Roman\ndeputies joined the soldiers, and killed a Gaulish champion of great\nsize and stature. On this being reported to Brennus he sent messengers\nto Rome, demanding that the man who had slain one of his chiefs, when no\nwar existed between the Gauls and Romans, should be delivered into his\nhands for punishment. The senate voted to do so, as the demand seemed\nreasonable; but an appeal was made to the people, and they declared that\nthe culprit should not be given up. On this answer being taken to\nBrennus, he at once ordered that the siege of Clusium should be\nabandoned, and marched with his whole army upon Rome.\n\nA Roman army, forty thousand strong, was hastily raised, and crossed the\nTiber, marching towards Veii, where they expected to meet the advancing\nenemy. But they reckoned wrongly: the Gauls came down the left bank of\nthe river, plundering and burning as they marched. This threw the Romans\ninto the greatest alarm. For many miles above Rome the Tiber could not\nbe forded, there were no bridges, and boats could not be had to convey\nso large an army. The Romans were forced to march back with all speed to\nthe city, cross the river there, and hasten to meet their foes before\nthey got too near at hand. But when they came within sight of the Gauls\nthe latter were already within twelve miles of Rome.\n\nThe Roman army was drawn up behind the Alia, a little stream whose deep\nbed formed a line of defence. But the Gauls made their attack upon the\nweakest section of the Roman army, hewing them down with their great\nbroadswords, and assailing their ears with frightful yells. The Roman\nright wing, formed of new recruits, gave way before this vigorous\ncharge, and in its flight threw the regular legions of the left wing\ninto disorder. The Gauls pursued so fiercely that in a short time the\nwhole army was in total rout, and flying as Roman army had never fled\nbefore.\n\nMany plunged into the river, in hope of escaping by swimming across it.\nBut of these the Gauls slew multitudes on the banks, and killed most of\nthose in the stream with their javelins. Others took refuge in a dense\nwood near the road, where they lay hidden till nightfall. The remainder\nfled back to the city, where they brought the frightful tidings of the\nutter ruin of the Roman army.\n\nThe news threw Rome into a panic. Of those who escaped from the battle,\nthe majority had crossed the river and made their way to Veii. No other\narmy could be raised. Most of the other inhabitants left the city, as\nthe people of Athens had done when the army of Xerxes approached. It was\nresolved to abandon the city to the barbarians, but to maintain the\ncitadel, the home of the gods of Rome. The holy articles in the temples\nwere buried or removed, the Vestal Virgins sent away, and the flower of\nthe patricians took refuge in the Capitol, determined to defend to the\nlast that abiding-place of the guardian gods of Rome.\n\nBut there were aged members of the senate, old patricians who had filled\nthe highest offices in the state, and venerable ministers of the gods,\nwho felt that they had a different duty to perform. They could not serve\ntheir country by their deeds; they might by their death. They devoted\nthemselves and the army of the Gauls, in solemn invocations, to the\nspirits of the dead and to the earth, the common grave of man. Then,\nattiring themselves in their richest robes of office, each took his seat\non his ivory chair of magistracy in the gate-way of his house.\n\nMeanwhile the Gauls had delayed for a day their attack on the city,\nfearing that the silence portended some snare. When they did enter, the\npeople had escaped with such valuables as they could carry. The Capitol\nwas provisioned and garrisoned, and the aged senators awaited death in\nsolemn calm.\n\nOn seeing these venerable men, sitting in motionless silence amid the\nconfusion of the sack of the city, the Gauls viewed them with awe,\nregarding them at first as more than human. One of the soldiers\napproached M. Papirius, and began reverently to stroke his long white\nbeard. Papirius was a minister of the gods, and looked on this touch of\na barbarian hand as profanation. With an impulse of anger he struck the\nGaul on the head with his ivory sceptre. Instantly the barbarian,\nbreaking into rage, cut him down with his sword. This put an end to the\nfeeling of awe. All the old men were attacked and slain, their vow being\nthus fulfilled.\n\nRome, except its Capitol, was now in the hands of the Gauls. The sack\nand ruin of the city went mercilessly on. But the Capitol defied their\nefforts. It stood on a hill which, except at a single point, presented\nprecipitous sides. The Gauls tried to storm it by this single approach,\nbut were driven back with loss. They then blockaded the hill, and spent\ntheir time in devastating the city and neighboring country.\n\nWhile this was going on the fugitives from Rome had gathered at Veii,\nwhere they daily became more reorganized. And now they turned in their\ndistress to a man whom they had injured in their prosperity. Camillus,\nthe conqueror of Veii, had been exiled from Rome on a charge of having\nbeen dishonest in distributing the spoils of the conquered city. He was\nnow living at Ardea, whither messengers were sent, begging him to come\nto the aid of Rome. He sent word back that he had been condemned for an\noffence of which he was not guilty, and would not return unless\nrequested to do so by the senate.\n\nBut the senate was shut up in the Capitol. How could it be reached? In\nthis dilemma a young man, Pontius Cominius, volunteered for the\nadventure. He swam the Tiber at night, climbed the hill by the aid of\nshrubs and projecting stones, obtained for Camillus the appointment as\ndictator, and returned by the same route.\n\nThe feat of Cominius, whatever its real purpose, came near being a fatal\none to Rome. He had left his marks on the cliff. Here the soil had been\ntrodden away and stones loosened; there bushes had been broken or torn\nfrom the soil. The sharp eyes of the Gauls saw, in the morning light,\nthese proofs that some one had climbed or descended the hill. The cliff,\nthen, could be climbed. Some Roman had climbed it; why not they? The\nspot, supposed to be inaccessible, was not guarded. There was no wall at\nits top. Here was an open route to that stubborn citadel. They resolved\nto attempt it as soon as night should fall.\n\nIt was midnight when the Gauls began to make their way slowly and with\ndifficulty up the steep cliff. The moon may have aided them with its\nrays, but, if so, it revealed them to no sentinel above. The very\nwatch-dogs failed to scent and signal their approach. They reached the\nsummit, and, to their gratification, no alarm had been given. The Romans\nslept on.\n\nThe fate of Rome in that hour hung in the balance. Had the citadel been\ntaken and its defenders slain, Rome might never have recovered from the\nblow. The whole course of history might have been changed. It was the\nmerest chance that saved the city from this impending disaster.\n\nIt chanced that on this part of the hill stood the temple of the\nguardian gods of Rome,--Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva,--and in this temple\nwere kept a number of geese, sacred to Juno. Though food was not\nabundant, the garrison had spared these sacred geese. They were now to\nbe amply repaid, for the geese alone heard the noise of the ascending\nGauls, and in alarm began a loud screaming and flapping of wings.\n\nThe noise aroused Marcus Manlius, who slept near. Hastily seizing his\nsword and shield, he called to his comrades and ran to the edge of the\ncliff. He reached there just in time to see the head and shoulders of a\nburly Gaul, who had nearly attained the summit. Dashing the rim of his\nshield into the face of the barbarian, Manlius tumbled him down the\nrock, and with him those who followed in his track. The others,\ndismayed, dropped their arms to cling more closely to the rocks. Unable\nto ascend or descend, they were easily slaughtered by the guards who\nfollowed Manlius. The Capitol was saved. As for the captain of the\nwatch, from whose neglect of duty this peril had come, he was punished\nthe next morning by being hurled down the cliff upon the slaughtered\nGauls.\n\nManlius was rewarded, says the story, by each man giving him from his\nscanty store a day's allowance of food,--namely, half a pound of corn\nand five ounces in weight of wine. As for the real defenders of Rome,\nthe geese of the Capitol, they were ever after held in the highest honor\nand veneration.\n\nAs the Capitol could not be taken by assault or surprise, there\nremained only the slow process of siege. For six or eight months the\nGauls blockaded the hill. So says the story, but it was probably not so\nlong. However, in the end the Romans were brought to the point of\nfamine, and offered to ransom their city by paying a large sum of gold.\nBrennus, the Gaulish king, was ready to accept the offer. His men were\nsuffering from the Roman fever; food had grown scarce; he agreed, if\npaid a thousand pounds' weight of gold, to withdraw his army from Rome.\n\nMuch gold had been brought by the fugitive patricians into the Capitol.\nFrom this the delegates brought down and placed in the scales a\nsufficient quantity. But while they found the gold, the Gauls found the\nweights, and it was soon discovered that the wily barbarians were\ncheating. Their weights were too heavy. Complaint of this fraud was made\nby the Roman tribune of the soldiers. In reply Brennus drew his heavy\nbroadsword and threw it into the scale with the weights.\n\n\"What does this mean?\" asked the tribune.\n\n\"It means,\" answered the barbarian, haughtily, \"woe to the vanquished!\"\n\"_Vae victis esse!_\"\n\nWhile this was going on, says the legend, Camillus, the dictator, was\nmarching to Rome with the legions he had organized at Veii. He appeared\nat the right minute for the dramatic interest of the story, entered the\nForum while the gold was being weighed, bade the Romans take back their\ngold, threw the weights to the Gauls, and told Brennus proudly that it\nwas the Roman custom to pay their debts in iron, not in gold.\n\nA fight ensued, as might be expected. The Gauls were driven from the\ncity. The next day Camillus attacked them in their camp, eight miles\nfrom Rome, and defeated them so utterly that not a man was left alive to\ncarry home the tale of the slaughter.\n\nThis story of the coming of Camillus is too much like the last act of a\nstage-play, or the denouement of a novel, to be true. Most likely the\nGauls marched off with their gold, though they may have been attacked on\ntheir retreat, and most or all of the gold regained.\n\nCamillus, however, is said to have saved Rome in still another way. The\nold city was in ashes. Most of the citizens were at Veii, where they had\nfound or built new homes. They were loath to come back to rebuild a\nruined city. This Camillus induced them to do. Every appeal was made to\nthe local pride and the religious sentiments of the people. A centurion,\nmarching with his company, and being obliged to halt in front of the\nsenate-house, called to the standard-bearer, \"Pitch your standard here,\nfor this is the best place to stop at.\" This casual remark was looked\nupon as an omen from heaven, and by this and the like means the people\nwere induced to return.\n\nThen the rebuilding of Rome began. The sites of the temples were\nretraced as far as could be done in the ruins. The laws of the twelve\ntables and some other records were recovered, but the mass of the\nhistorical annals of Rome had been destroyed. Some relics were said to\nhave been miraculously preserved, among them the shepherd's crook of\nRomulus.\n\nBut the bulk of the possessions of the Romans had vanished in the\nflames; the streets were mere heaps of ashes; the very walls had been in\npart pulled down; rubbish and ruin lay everywhere. Rome, like the\nphoenix, had to be born again from its ashes. Men built wherever they\ncould find a clear spot. Stones and roofing-material were brought from\nVeii, and one city was dismantled that another might be restored. Stones\nand timber were supplied to any man from the public lands. The city\nrapidly rose again. But it was an irregular city; the streets ran\nanywhere; no effort was made at rule or system in the making of the new\nRome.\n\nAs for Camillus, he came to be honored as the second founder of Rome.\nWhile the Romans were at work on their new homes they were harassed by\ntheir foes, and he was kept busy with the army in the field. He lived\nfor twenty-five years longer, and in the year 367 B.C., when some eighty\nyears of age, he marched again to meet the Gauls in a new assault upon\nRome, and defeated them with such slaughter that they left Rome alone\nfor many years afterwards.\n\nMarcus Manlius, the preserver of the Capitol, was not so fortunate. He\ncame forward as the patron of the poor, who began to suffer again from\nthe severe laws against debtors. Finally he began to use his large\nfortune to relieve suffering debtors, and is said to have paid the debts\nof four hundred debtors, thus saving them from bondage. This generosity\nwon him the unbounded affection of the people, who called him the\n\"Father of the Commons.\" But it aroused the suspicion of the patricians,\nand some of these, against whom he had used violent language, had him\narrested on a charge of treason, perhaps with good reason. Though he\nshowed the many honors he had received for services to his country, he\nwas condemned to death and his house razed to the ground. Thus the\npatricians dealt with the benefactors of the poor.\n\n\n\n\n_THE CURTIAN GULF._\n\n\nDuring three years--363 to 361 B.C.--Rome was ravaged by the plague,\nwhich was so violent and fatal as to carry off the citizens by hundreds.\nIn its first year it found a noble victim in Camillus, the conqueror of\nVeii and the second founder of Rome, who four years before had a second\ntime defeated the Gauls. He was the last of the old heroes of Rome,\nthose whose glory belongs to romance rather than history. The Gauls had\ndestroyed the records of old Rome, and left only legend and romance.\nWith the new Rome history fairly began.\n\nBut we have another romantic tale to tell before we bid adieu to the\nstory of early Rome. In the second year of the pestilence a strange and\nportentous event occurred. The Tiber rose to an unusual height,\noverflowed with its waters the great circus (_Circus Maximus_), and put\na stop to the games then going on, which were intended to propitiate the\nwrath of heaven, and induce the gods to relieve man from the evil of the\nplague.\n\nAnd now, in the midst of the Forum, there yawned open a fearful gulf, so\nwide and deep that the superstitious Romans viewed it with awe and\naffright. Whether it was due to an earthquake or the wrath of the gods\nis not for us to say. The Romans believed the latter; those who prefer\nmay believe the former. But, so we are told, it seemed bottomless.\nThrow what they would in it, it stood unfilled, and the feeling grew\nthat no power of man could ever fill its yawning depths.\n\nMan being powerless, the oracles of the gods were consulted. Must this\ngaping wound always stand open in the soil of Rome? or could it in any\nway be filled and the offended deities who had caused it be propitiated?\nFrom the oracle came the reply that it must stand open till that which\nconstituted the best and true strength of the Roman commonwealth was\ncast as an offering into the gulf. Then only would it close, and\nthereafter forever would the state live and flourish.\n\n[Illustration: RUINS OF THE ROMAN AQUEDUCTS.]\n\nThe true strength of Rome! In what did this consist? This question men\nasked each other anxiously and none seemed able to answer. But there was\none man in Rome who interpreted rightly the meaning of the oracle. This\nwas a noble youth, M. Curtius by name, who had played his part valiantly\nin war, and gained great fame by brave and manly deeds. The true\nstrength of Rome? he said to the people. In what else could it lie but\nin the arms and valor of her children? This was the sacrifice the gods\ndemanded.\n\nGoing home, he put on his armor and mounted his horse. Riding to the\nbrink of the gulf, he, before the eyes of the trembling and awe-struck\nmultitude, devoted himself to death for the safety and glory of Rome,\nand plunged, with his horse, headlong into the gaping void. The people\nrushed after him to the brink, flung in their offerings, and with a\nsurge the lips of the gap came together, and the gulf was forever\nclosed. The place was afterwards known by the name of the Curtian Lake,\nin honor of this sacrifice.\n\nThere are two other stories of this date worth repeating, as giving rise\nto two great names in Rome. T. Manlius, the future conqueror of the\nLatins, fought with a gigantic Gaul on the bridge over the Anio on the\nSalarian road. Slaying his enemy, he took from his neck a chain of gold\n(_torques_), which he afterwards wore upon his own. From this the\nsoldiers called him Torquatus, which name his descendants ever\nafterwards bore.\n\nIn a later battle Marcus Valerius fought with a second gigantic Gaul.\nDuring the combat a wonderful thing happened. A crow perched on the\nhelmet of the Roman, and continued there as the combatants fought.\nOccasionally it flew up into the air, and darted down upon the Gaul,\nstriking at his eyes with its beak and claws. The Gaul, confounded by\nthis attack, soon fell by the sword of his foe, and then the crow flew\nup again, and vanished towards the east. The name of Corvus (crow) was\nadded to that of Valerius, and was long afterwards borne by his\ndescendants.\n\nThese stories are rather to be enjoyed than believed. They probably\ncontain more poetry than history, particularly that of Curtius and the\ngulf. Yet they were accepted as history by the Romans, and are given in\nall their detail in the fine old work of Livy, the rarest and raciest of\nthe story-tellers of Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS._\n\n\nThe conquest of Italy by Rome was attended by many interesting events,\nof which we propose to relate here some of the more striking. The\ncapture and burning of Rome by the Gauls, and the dispersal of her army\nand people, ruinous as it seemed, was but an event in her career of\nconquest. The city was no sooner rebuilt than the old regime of war was\nresumed, and it was no longer a struggle between neighboring cities, but\nof Rome against powerful confederacies and peoples, such as the\nVolscians, the Etruscans, the Latins, the Campanians, and the Samnites,\nthe final conquest of which gave her the dominion of Italy.\n\nThe war with the Latins was attended with some circumstances showing\nstrongly the stern and indomitable spirit of the Romans. This war was\ncarried into Campania, in Southern Italy; and here, on a celebrated\noccasion, when the two armies lay encamped in close vicinity on the\nplain of Capua, the Roman consuls issued a strict order against\nskirmishing or engaging in single encounters with the enemy. The two\npeoples were alike in arms and in language, and it was feared that such\nchance combats might lead to confusion and disaster.\n\nThe only man to disobey this order was T. Manlius, the son of one of\nthe consuls. A Latin warrior, Geminus Metius, of Tusculum, challenged\nyoung Manlius to meet him in single combat; and the youthful warrior,\nfired by ambition and warlike zeal, and eager to sustain the honor of\nRome, accepted the challenge, despite his father's order. If killed, his\nfault would be atoned; if successful, victory over a noted warrior must\nwin him pardon and praise.\n\nThe duel that ensued was a fierce and gallant one. It ended in the\ntriumph of the young Roman, who laid his antagonist dead at his feet.\nShouts of triumph from the Roman soldiers hailed his victory; and when\nhe had despoiled his slain foe of his arms, and borne them triumphantly\nfrom the field, the exultation of the Romans was as unbounded as the\nchagrin of the Latins was deep. Towards his father's tent the young\nvictor proudly went, through exulting lines of troops, and laid his\nspoils in triumph at the feet of the stern old man.\n\nThe poor youth, the rejoicing soldiers, knew not the man with whom they\nhad to deal. A military order had been disobeyed. To old Manlius the\nfact that the culprit was his son, and that he had added honor to the\nRoman arms, weighed nothing. Discipline stood above affection or\nvictory. Turning coldly away, the iron-hearted old Roman ordered that\nthe soldiers should be immediately summoned to the praetorium, or\ngeneral's tent, and that his son should be beheaded before them.\n\nThis cruel and inhuman order filled the whole army with horror. Yet none\ndared interfere, and the unnatural mandate was obeyed, in full view of\nan army whose late exultation was turned to deepest woe and indignation.\nThe youngest soldiers never forgave the consul for his inhuman act, but\nregarded him with abhorrence to the end of his life. But their hatred\nwas mingled with fear and respect, and the stern lesson taught was\ndoubtless felt for years in the discipline of the armies of Rome.\n\nThe next event worthy of record took place in the vicinity of Mount\nVesuvius, under whose very shadow a fierce battle was fought between the\nLatin and Roman armies, with the then silent volcano as witness. Two\ncenturies more were to pass before Rome would learn what fearful power\nlay sleeping in this long voiceless mountain.\n\nBefore the battle joined, the gods, as usual, were appealed to. During\nthe night both consuls had dreamed the same dream. A figure of more than\nhuman stature and majesty had appeared to them, and told them that the\nearth and the gods of the dead claimed as their victims the general of\none party and the army of the other. When the sacrifices were made, the\nsigns given by the entrails of the victims signified the same thing. It\nwas resolved, therefore, that if the army of Rome anywhere gave way, the\ngeneral commanding on that side should devote himself, and the army of\nthe enemy with him, to the gods of death and the grave. \"Fate,\" said the\naugurs, \"requires the sacrifice of a general from one party and an army\nfrom the other. Let it be our general and the Latin army that shall\nperish.\"\n\nIt was the left wing of the Romans, commanded by the consul Publius\nDecius, that first gave way. The consul at once accepted his fate. By\nthe direction of the chief priest, he wrapped his consular toga around\nhis head, holding it to his face with his hand, and then set his feet\nupon a javelin, and repeated after the priest the words devoting him to\nthe gods of death. Then, arming himself at all points, and wrapping his\ntoga around his body in the manner usual in sacrifices, he sprang upon\nhis horse, and spurred headlong into the ranks of the enemy, where he\nsoon fell dead.\n\nThis sacrifice filled the Romans with hope, and the Latins, who\nunderstood its meaning, with dismay. Yet the latter, after being driven\nback, soon recovered, and, despite the self-devotion of Decius, would\nprobably have won the victory had not the remaining consul brought up\nhis reserve troops just in time. In the end the Latins were utterly\ndefeated, and Vesuvius looked down on the massacre of one army by the\nswords of another, scarcely a fourth of the Latins escaping. Thus the\ngods seemed to keep their word, though probably the Roman reserve force\nhad more to do with the victory than all the gods of Rome.\n\nThe next event which we have to relate took place during the second\nSamnite war. Its hero was L. Papirius Cursor, one of the favorite heroes\nof Roman tradition, and the avenger of the disgrace of the Caudine\nForks, the story of which we have next to tell. This famous soldier is\nsaid to have possessed marvellous swiftness of foot and gigantic\nstrength, with extraordinary capacity for food, while his iron\nstrictness of discipline was at times relieved by a rough humor. All\nthis made his memory popular with the Romans, who boasted that Alexander\nthe Great would have found in him a worthy champion, had that conqueror\ninvaded Italy.\n\nThe event we have now to narrate occurred early in the war. One of the\nconsuls, being taken ill, was ordered to name a dictator to replace him,\nand chose Papirius Cursor. This champion appointed Q. Fabius Rullianus,\nanother famous soldier, his master of the horse, and marched out to\nattack the Samnites.\n\nAs it happened, the auspices taken by the dictator at Rome before\nmarching to the seat of war were of no particular significance. Not\nsatisfied with them, he decided to take them again, and returned to Rome\nfor this purpose, the auspices being of a kind which could only be taken\nwithin the city walls. He ordered the master of the horse to remain\nstrictly on the defensive during his absence.\n\nFabius did not obey this order. He attacked the enemy and gained some\nadvantage. The annals say that he won a great victory, defeating the\nSamnites with a loss of twenty thousand men; but the annals have a habit\nof magnifying small affairs into large ones where they have any object\nto gain.\n\nOn hearing that his orders had been disobeyed, Papirius hurried back to\nthe camp in a violent rage, and with the intention of making such an\nexample of discipline as Manlius had made in the execution of his son.\nOn reaching camp he ordered that Fabius should be immediately executed.\nHis authority as dictator gave him power for this violent act; but he\nfailed to reckon on the spirit of the soldiers, who supported Fabius to\na man, and broke into a violent demonstration that was almost mutiny. So\nstrong was their feeling that the furious dictator found himself obliged\nto halt in his purpose.\n\nBut Fabius knew too well the iron nature of his antagonist to trust his\nlife in his hands. That night he fled from the camp to Rome, and\nimmediately appealed to the senate for protection. Papirius followed in\nhot haste, and while the senators were still assembling arrived in Rome,\nwhere, under his authority as dictator, he gave order for the arrest of\nthe culprit. In this critical situation the prisoner's father, M.\nFabius, appealed to the tribunes for the protection of his son, saying\nthat he proposed to carry the case before the assembly of the people.\n\nThe tribunes found themselves in a dilemma. Papirius warned them not to\nsanction so flagrant a breach of military discipline, nor to lessen the\nmajesty of the office of dictator, and they found themselves hesitating\nbetween their duty to support the absolute power of the dictator and\ntheir abhorrence of an exercise of this power that must shock the\nfeelings of the whole Roman people. The people themselves relieved their\ntribunes from this difficulty. They hastily met in assembly, and by a\nunanimous vote implored the dictator to be merciful, and for their sakes\nto forgive Fabius. His authority thus acknowledged, Papirius yielded,\nand declared that he pardoned the master of the horse. \"And the\nauthority of the Roman generals,\" says Livy, \"was established no less\nfirmly by the peril of Q. Fabius than by the actual death of the young\nT. Manlius.\"\n\nIt was well for Rome that Fabius was spared, for he afterwards proved\none of their ablest generals. The time came, also, when he was able to\nconfer a benefit upon Papirius Cursor. This was during a subsequent war\nwith the Etruscans, in which he commanded as consul and gained great\nvictories. Meanwhile a Roman army was defeated by the Samnites, and on\nthe news of this defeat reaching Rome the senate at once resolved to\nappoint Papirius once more as dictator.\n\nBut this appointment must be made by a consul. One consul was with the\ndefeated army, perhaps dead. It was necessary to apply to Fabius, the\nother consul, and the declared enemy of the proposed dictator. To\novercome his personal feelings, a deputation of the highest senators was\nsent him, who read him the senate's decree and strongly urged him to\nsupport it. Fabius listened in dead silence, not answering by word or\nlook. When they had ended, he abruptly withdrew from the room. But at\ndead of night he pronounced, in the usual form, the nomination of\nPapirius as dictator. When the deputies thanked him for his noble\nconquest over his feelings, he listened still in dead silence, and\ndismissed them without a word in answer.\n\nWe must now pass over years of war, in which both Fabius and Papirius\ngained honor and fame, and come to an occasion in which the son of\nFabius led a Roman army as consul, and met with a severe defeat by a\nSamnite army. He had been tricked by the Samnites, and great indignation\nwas aroused against him in Rome. It was proposed to remove him from his\noffice, a disgrace which no consul ever experienced in Roman history. It\nwas also proposed that old Fabius should be appointed dictator. But the\naged soldier, to preserve the honor of his son, offered to go with him\nas his lieutenant, and the offer was accepted by the senate.\n\nA second battle ensued, in the heat of which the consul became\nsurrounded by the enemy, and his aged father led the charge to his\nrescue. His example animated the Romans, they followed him in a vigorous\nassault, and a complete victory was won. Twenty thousand Samnites were\nslain, four thousand taken prisoners, and with them their general, C.\nPontius. After other victories the younger Fabius returned to Rome and\nwas given a triumph, while behind him rode his old father on horseback,\nas one of his lieutenants, delighting in the honor conferred on his son.\nThe Samnite general was made to walk in the procession, and at its end\nwas taken to the prison under the Capitoline Hill and there beheaded. It\nwas thus that Rome dealt with its captured foes.\n\n\n\n\n_THE CAUDINE FORKS._\n\n\nWestward from Rome rise the Apennine Mountains, the backbone of Italy;\nand amid their highest peaks, where the snow lies all the year long, and\nwhence streams flow into the two seas, dwelt the Sabines, an important\npeople, from whom came the mothers of the Roman state. There is a legend\nconcerning this people which we have now to tell. For many years they\nhad been at war with their neighbors, the Umbrians; and at length,\nfailing to conquer their enemies by their own strength, they sought to\nobtain the help of the divinities. They made a vow that if victory was\ngiven to them, all the living creatures born that year in their land\nshould be held as sacred to the gods.\n\nThe victory came, and they sacrificed all the lambs, calves, kids, and\npigs of that year's birth, while they redeemed from the gods such\nanimals as were not suitable for sacrifice. But, as it appeared, the\ndeities were not satisfied. The land refused to yield its fruits, and\nthe Sabines were not long in deciding why their crops had failed. They\nhad neither sacrificed nor redeemed the children born that year, and had\nthus failed in their duty to the gods.\n\nTo atone for this fault, all their children of that year's birth were\ndevoted to the god Mamers, and when they had grown up they were sent\naway to make themselves a home in a new land. As the young men started\non their pilgrimage a bull went before them, and, as they fancied that\nMamers had sent this animal for their guide, they piously followed him.\nHe first lay down to rest when he had come to the land of the Opicans.\nThis the Sabines took for a sign, and they fell on the Opicans, who\ndwelt in villages without walls, and drove them out from their country,\nof which the new-comers took possession. They then sacrificed the bull\nto Mamers; and in after-ages they bore the bull for their device. They\nalso took a new name, and were afterwards known as Samnites.\n\nWhile the Romans were extending their dominion in Central Italy, the\nSamnites were conquering the peoples farther south. Their dominion\nbecame great, and at one time included the famous cities of Herculaneum\nand Pompeii and many others of the cities of the southern plains. In the\ncentre of the Samnite country stood a remarkable mountain mass, an\noffshoot from the Apennines. This mountain, now called the Matese, is\nnearly eight miles in circumference, and rises abruptly in huge\nwall-like cliffs of limestone to the height of three thousand feet. Its\nsurface is greatly varied in character, now sloping into deep valleys,\nnow rising into elevated cliffs, of which the loftiest is six thousand\nfeet high. It is rich in springs, which gush out in full flow, and\ndisappear again in the caverns with which limestone rocks abound. Its\nvalleys yield abundant pasture and magnificent beech forests, while on\nits highest summits the snow tarries till late summer, and in the\nhottest months of summer the upland pastures continue cool.\n\nThis mountain fastness formed the citadel from which the Samnites issued\nin conquering excursions over the surrounding country, and enabled them\nin time to extend their dominion far and wide, and to rival Rome in the\nwidth and importance of their state. Thus Rome and Samnium approached\neach other step by step, and the time inevitably came when they were to\njoin issue in war.\n\nThree wars took place between the Romans and the Samnites. In the first\nof these Valerius Corvus (the origin of whose name of Corvus we have\nalready told) led the Roman army to victory. In honor of this victory\nRome received from Carthage (with which city it was to engage in a\ndesperate contest in later years) a golden crown, for the shrine of\nJupiter in the Capitol.\n\nIn 329 B.C. Rome finally overcame the Volscians, with whom they had been\nmany years at war, and three years afterwards war with the Samnites was\nagain declared. The latter were invading Campania, in which country lay\nthe volcano of Vesuvius and the city of Naples. Rome came to the aid of\nthe Campanians, and a war began which lasted for more than twenty years.\n\nOf this war we have but one event to tell, that in which Rome suffered\nthe greatest humiliation it had met with in its entire career, the\nfamous affair of the Caudine Forks. It was in the fifth campaign of the\nwar that this event took place. Two Roman armies had marched into\nCampania and threatened the southern border of Samnium, which the\nSamnite general Pontius was prepared to defend. His force occupied the\npasses which led from the plain of Naples into the higher mountain\nvalleys; but he deceived the Romans by spreading the report that the\nwhole Samnite army had gone to Apulia, where they were besieging the\ncity of Luceria. His purpose was to lure the Romans into these difficult\ndefiles under the impression that the Samnites were trusting to the\nnatural strength of their country for its defence.\n\nThe trick succeeded. The Roman consuls believed the story, and, in their\nhaste to go to the aid of their allies in Apulia, chose the shortest\nroute, that which led through the Samnian hills. The absence of the\nSamnite army would enable them, they thought, to force their way through\nSamnium without difficulty; and, blinded by their false confidence, the\nconsuls recklessly led their men into the fatal pass of Caudium.\n\nThis pass was a narrow opening in the outer wall of the Apennines, which\nled from the plain of Campania to Maleventum. To-day it is traversed by\nthe road from Naples to Benevento, and is called the valley of Arpaia.\nIn the past it was famous as Caudium.\n\nInto this defile the Romans marched between the rugged mountain\nacclivities that bounded its sides, and through the deep silence that\nreigned around. The pass seemed utterly deserted, and they expected\nsoon to emerge into a more open valley in the interior of the hills.\n\nBut as they advanced the pass contracted, until it became but a narrow\ngorge, and this they found to be blocked up with great stones and felled\ntrees. Brought to a halt, the troops stood gazing in dismay and dread on\nthese obstacles, when suddenly the silence was broken, loud war-cries\nfilled the air, and armed Samnites appeared as if by magic, covering the\nhills on both flanks, and crowding into the pass in the rear.\n\nThe Romans were caught in such a trap as that from which Cincinnatus had\nrescued a Roman army many years before. But there was here no\nCincinnatus with his stakes, and they were far from Rome. The entrapped\narmy made a desperate effort to escape, attacking the Samnites in the\nrear, and seeking to force their way up the rugged surrounding hills.\nThey fought in vain. Many of them fell. The Samnite foe pressed them\nstill more closely into the rocky pass. Only the coming of night saved\nthem from total destruction.\n\nBut escape was impossible. The gorge in front was completely blocked up.\nThe pass in the rear was held by the enemy in force. The flanking hills\ncould hardly have been climbed by an army, even if they had not been\noccupied. No resource remained to the Romans but to encamp in the\nbroader part of the narrow valley, and there wait in hopeless despair\nthe outcome of their folly.\n\nThe Samnites could well afford to let them wait. The rear was held by\nthe bulk of their army. The obstacles in front were strongly guarded.\nEvery possible track by which the Romans might try to scale the hills\nwas held. Some desperate attempts to break out were made, but they were\neasily repulsed. Nothing remained but surrender, or death by famine.\n\nOne or other of these alternatives had soon to be chosen. A large army,\nsurprised on its march, and confined within a barren pass, could not\nhave subsistence for any long period. Nothing was to be gained by delay,\nand they might as well yield themselves prisoners of war at once.\n\nSo the Romans evidently thought, and without delay they put themselves\nat the mercy of their conquerors. \"We yield ourselves your captives,\"\nthey said, \"to do with as you will. Put us all to the sword, if such be\nyour decision; sell us into slavery; or hold us as prisoners until we\nare ransomed: one thing only we ask, save our bodies, whether living or\ndead, from all unworthy insults.\"\n\nIn this request they forgot the record that Rome had made; forgot how\noften noble captives had been forced to walk in Roman triumphs and been\nafterwards slain in cold blood in the common prison; forgot how they had\nrecently refused the rites of burial to the body of a noble Samnite. But\nPontius, the Samnite general, was much less of a barbarian than the\nRomans of that age. He was acquainted with Greek philosophy, had even\nheld conversation, it is said, with Plato, and was not the man to\nindulge in cruel or insulting acts.\n\n\"Restore to us,\" he said to the consuls, \"the towns and territory you\nhave taken from us, and withdraw the colonists whom you have unjustly\nplaced on our soil. Conclude with us a treaty of peace, in which each\nnation shall be acknowledged to be independent of the other. Swear to do\nthis, and I will grant you your lives and release you without ransom.\nEach man of you shall give up his arms, but may keep his clothes\nuntouched; and you shall pass before our army as prisoners who have been\nin our power and whom we have set free of our own will, when we might\nhave killed or sold them, or held them for ransom.\"\n\nThese terms the consuls were glad enough to accept. They were far better\nthan they would have granted the Samnites under similar circumstances.\nPontius now called for the Roman fecialis, whose duty it was to conclude\nall treaties and take all oaths for the Roman people. But there was no\nfecialis with the army. The senate had sent none, having resolved to\nmake no terms with the Samnites, and to accept only their absolute\nsubmission. They had never dreamed of such a turn of the tide as this.\n\nIn the absence of the proper officer, the consuls and all the surviving\nofficers took the oath, while it was agreed that six hundred knights\nshould be held as hostages until the Roman people had ratified the\ntreaty. Why Pontius did not insist on treating with the senate and\npeople of Rome at once, instead of trusting to them to ratify a treaty\nmade with prisoners of war, we are not told. He was soon to learn how\nweak a reed to lean upon was the Roman faith.\n\nThe treaty made, the humiliating part of the affair came. The Roman\narmy was obliged to march under the yoke, which consisted of two spears\nset upright and a third fastened across their tops. Under this the\nsoldiers of the legions without their arms, and wearing but a single\narticle of clothing,--the campestre or kilt, which reached from the\nwaist to the knees,--passed in gloomy succession. Even the consuls were\nobliged to appear in this humble plight, the six hundred hostage knights\nalone being spared.\n\nThis was no peculiar insult, but a common usage on such occasions. The\nRomans had imposed it more than once on defeated enemies. They were now\nto endure it themselves, and the affair, under the name of the Caudine\nForks, has become famous in history.\n\nPontius proved, indeed, generous to his foes. He supplied carriages for\nthe sick and wounded, and furnished provisions to last the army until it\nshould arrive at Home. When that city was reached the senate and people\ncame out and welcomed the soldiers with the greatest kindness. But the\nwounded pride of the legionaries could not be soothed. Those who had\nhomes in the country stole from the ranks and sought their several\ndwellings. Those who lived in Rome lingered without the walls until\nafter the sun had fallen, and then made their way home through the\ndarkness. The consuls were obliged to enter in open day, but as soon as\npossible they sought their homes, and shut themselves up in privacy.\n\nAs for the city, it went into mourning. All business was suspended; the\npatricians laid aside their gold rings and took off the red border of\ntheir dresses which marked their rank; the plebeians appeared in\nmourning garbs; there was as much weeping for those who had returned in\ndishonor as for those left dead on the field; all rejoicings, festivals,\nand marriages were set aside for a year of happier omen.\n\nThe final result was such as might have been expected from the earlier\nrecord of Rome. The senate refused to recognize the treaty. The defeated\nconsuls themselves sustained this bad faith, saying that they and all\nthe officers should be given up to the Samnites, as having promised what\nthey were unable to perform.\n\nThis was done. Half stripped, as when they passed under the yoke, and\ntheir hands bound behind their backs, the officers were conducted by the\nfecialis to the Samnian frontier, and delivered to the Samnites as men\nwho had forfeited their liberty by their breach of faith. The surrender\ncompleted, Postumius, one of the consuls, struck a fecialis violently\nwith his knee,--his hands and feet being bound,--and cried out,--\n\n\"I now belong to the Samnites, and I have done violence to the sacred\nperson of a Roman fecialis and ambassador. You will rightfully wage war\nwith us, Romans, to avenge this outrage.\"\n\nThis transparent trick was wasted on Pontius. He refused the victims\noffered him. They were not the guilty ones, he said. The legions must be\nplaced again in the Caudium Valley, or Rome keep the treaty. Anything\nelse would be base and faithless.\n\nThe treaty was not kept. The war went on. And nearly thirty years\nafterwards, as we have told in the preceding story, Pontius, who had\nbehaved so generously to the Romans, was led as a prisoner in a Roman\ntriumph, and then basely beheaded while the triumphal car of the victor\nascended the Capitoline Hill. His death is one of the darkest blots on\nthe Roman name. \"Such a murder,\" we are told, \"committed or sanctioned\nby such a man as Q. Fabius, is peculiarly a national crime, and proves\nbut too clearly that in their dealings with foreigners the Romans had\nneither magnanimity, nor humanity, nor justice.\"\n\n\n\n\n_THE FATE OF REGULUS._\n\n\nWe have followed the growth of Rome from its seed in the cradle of\nRomulus and Remus to its early maturity in the conquest of Italy. Its\ntriumph over the Latins, Samnites, and Etruscans had made it virtually\nmaster of that peninsula. In the year 280 B.C. it was first called upon\nto meet a great foreign soldier in the celebrated Pyrrhus of Epirus, who\nhad invaded Italy. How this great soldier scared the Romans with his\nelephants and defeated them in the field, but was finally baffled and\nleft the country in disgust, we have told in \"Historical Tales of\nGreece.\" It was not many years after this that Rome herself went abroad\nin search of new foes, and her long and bitter struggle with Carthage\nbegan.\n\nThe great city of Carthage lay on the African side of the Mediterranean,\nwhere it had won for itself a great empire, and had added to its\ndominion by important conquests in Spain and Sicily. Settled many\ncenturies before by emigrants from the Phoenician city of Tyre, it\nhad, like its mother city, grown rich through commerce, and was now lord\nof the Mediterranean and one of the great cities of the earth. With this\ncity Rome was now to begin a mighty struggle, which would last for many\nyears and end in the utter destruction of the great African city and\nstate.\n\nPyrrhus of Epirus, on leaving Sicily, had said, \"What a grand arena this\nwould be for Rome and Carthage to contend upon!\" And it was in the\nisland of Sicily that the struggle between these two mighty powers\nbegan. In the year 264 B.C., nearly five centuries after the founding of\nRome, that city first sent its armies beyond the borders of Italy, and\nthe long contest between Rome and Carthage was inaugurated.\n\nSome soldiers of fortune, who had invaded Sicily and found themselves in\ntrouble, called upon Rome for help. Carthage, which held much of the\nisland, was also appealed to, and both sent armies. The result was a\ncollision between these armies. In two years' time most of Sicily\nbelonged to Rome, and Carthage retained hardly a foothold upon that\nisland.\n\nThis rapid success of the Romans in foreign conquest encouraged them\ngreatly. But they were soon to find themselves at a disadvantage. Being\nan inland power, they knew nothing of ocean warfare, and possessed none\nbut small ships. Carthage, on the contrary, had a large and powerful\nfleet, and now began to use it with great effect. By its aid the\nCarthaginians took from Rome many towns on the coast of Sicily. They\nalso landed on and ravaged the coasts of Italy. It was made evident to\nthe Roman senate that if they looked for success they must meet the\nenemy on their own element, and dispute with Carthage the dominion of\nthe sea.\n\nHow was this to be done? The largest ships they knew of had only three\nbanks of oars. Carthage possessed war vessels with five banks of oars,\nand built on a plan different from that of the smaller vessels. Rome had\nno model for these ships, and was at a loss what to do. Fortunately a\nCarthaginian quinquereme (a ship with five banks of oars) ran ashore on\nthe coast of Italy, and was captured and sent to Rome. This served as a\nmodel for the shipwrights of that city, and so energetically did they\nset to work that in two months after the first cutting of the timber\nthey had built and launched more than a hundred ships of this class.\n\nAnd while the ships were building the crews selected for the\nquinqueremes were practising. Most of them had never even seen an oar,\nand they were now placed on benches ashore, ranged like those in the\nships, and carefully taught the movements of rowing, so that when the\nships were launched they were quite ready to drive them through the\nwaves. The Romans, who could fight best hand to hand, added a new and\nimportant device, providing their ships with wooden bridges attached to\nthe masts, and ready to fall on an enemy's vessel whenever one came\nnear. A great spike at the end was driven into the deck of the enemy's\nship by the weight of the falling bridge, and held her while the Romans\ncharged across the bridge.\n\nThe new fleet was soon tried. It met a Carthaginian fleet on the north\ncoast of Sicily. The Romans proved poor sailors, but the bridges gave\nthem the victory. These could be wheeled round the mast and dropped in\nany direction, and, however the Carthaginians approached, they found\nthemselves grappled and boarded by the Romans, whose formidable swords\nsoon did the rest. In the end Carthage lost fifty ships and ten thousand\nmen, and with them the dominion of the seas.\n\nThis success was a great event in the history of Rome. The victory was\ncelebrated by a great naval triumph, and a column was set up in the\nForum, which was adorned with the ornamental prows of ships.\n\nThree years afterwards Rome resolved to carry the war into Africa, and\nfor this purpose built a great fleet of three hundred and thirty ships,\nand manned by one hundred and forty thousand seamen, in addition to its\nsoldiers or fighting men. These were largely made up of prisoners from\nSardinia and Corsica, Carthaginian islands which had been attacked by\nthe Roman fleets. The two consuls in command were L. Manlius Vulso and\nM. Atilius Regulus.\n\nThe great fleet of Rome met a still greater Carthaginian one at Ecnomus,\non the southern coast of Sicily, and here one of the greatest sea-fights\nof history took place. In the end the Romans lost twenty-four ships,\nwhile of those of the enemy thirty were sunk and sixty-four captured.\nThe remainder of the enemy's fleet fled in all haste to Carthage.\n\nThe Romans now prepared to take one of the greatest steps in their\nhistory,--to cross the sea to the unknown African world. The soldiers\nmurmured loudly at this. They were to be taken to a new and strange\nland, burnt by scorching heats and infested with noisome beasts and\nmonstrous serpents; and they were to be led into the very stronghold of\nthe enemy, where they would be at their mercy. Even one of their\ntribunes supported the soldiers in this complaint. But Regulus was equal\nto the occasion: he threatened the tribune with death, forced the\nsoldiers on board, and sailed for the African coast.\n\nThe event proved very different from what the soldiers had feared. The\narmy of Carthage was so miserably commanded that the Romans landed\nwithout trouble and ravaged the country at their will; and instead of\nthe scorching heats and deadly animals they had feared, they found\nthemselves in a fertile and thickly-settled country, where grew rich\nharvests of corn, and where were broad vineyards and fruitful orchards\nof figs and olives. Towns were numerous, and villas of wealthy citizens\ncovered the hills.\n\nOn this rich and undefended country the hungry Roman army was let loose.\nVillas were plundered and burnt, horses and cattle driven off in vast\nnumbers, and twenty thousand persons, many of them doubtless of wealth\nand rank, were carried away to be sold as slaves. Meanwhile the army of\nCarthage lurked on the hills, and was defeated wherever encountered.\nRegulus, who had been left in sole command of the Roman army, overran\nthe country without opposition, and boasted that he had taken and\nplundered more than three hundred walled towns or villages.\n\nThe Carthaginians, who were also attacked by roving desert tribes, who\nproved even worse than the Romans, were in distress, and begged for\npeace. But the terms offered by Regulus were so intolerable that it was\nimpossible to accept them. \"Men who are good for anything should either\nconquer or submit to their betters,\" said Regulus, haughtily. He had not\nyet learned how unwise it is to drive a strong foe to desperation, and\nwas to pay dearly for his arrogance and pride.\n\nThe tide of war turned when Carthage obtained a general fit to command\nan army. An officer who had been sent to Greece for soldiers of fortune\nbrought with him on his return a Spartan named Xanthippus, a man who had\nbeen trained in the rigid Spartan discipline and had played his part\nwell in the wars of Greece. He openly and strongly condemned the conduct\nof the generals of Carthage; and, on his words being reported to the\ngovernment, he was sent for, and so clearly pointed out the causes of\nthe late disasters that the direction of all the forces of Carthage was\nplaced in his hands.\n\nAnd now a new spirit awakened in Carthage. Xanthippus reviewed the\ntroops, taught them how they should meet the Roman charge, and filled\nthem with such enthusiasm and hope that loud shouts broke from the\nranks, and they eagerly demanded to be led at once to battle.\n\nThe army numbered only twelve thousand foot, but had four thousand\ncavalry and a hundred elephants, in which much confidence was placed.\nThe demand of the soldiers was complied with; they boldly marched out,\nand now no longer to the hills, but to the lower ground, where the\ndevastation of the enemy was at once checked.\n\nRegulus was forced to risk a battle, for his supply of food was in\nperil. He marched out and encamped within a mile of the foe. The\nCarthaginian generals, on seeing these hardy Roman legions, so long\nvictorious, were stricken with something like panic. But the soldiers\nwere eager to fight, and Xanthippus bade the wavering generals not to\nlose so precious an opportunity. They yielded, and bade him to draw up\nthe army on his own plan.\n\nIn the battle that ensued the victory was due to the cavalry and\nelephants. The cavalry drove that of Italy from the field, and attacked\nthe Roman rear. The elephants broke through the Roman lines in front,\nfuriously trampling the bravest underfoot. Those who penetrated the line\nof the elephants were cut to pieces by the Carthaginian infantry. Of the\nwhole Roman army, two thousand of the left wing alone escaped; Regulus,\nwith five hundred others, fled, but was pursued and taken prisoner; the\nremainder of the army was destroyed to a man. The defeat was total. Rome\nretained but a single African port, which was soon given up. Xanthippus,\ncrowned with glory and richly rewarded, returned to Greece to enjoy the\nfame he had won.\n\nFor five years Regulus remained a prisoner in Carthage, while the war\nwent on in Sicily. Here, in the year 250 B.C., the Romans gained an\nimportant victory at Panormus (now Palermo), and Carthage, weary of the\nstruggle, sent to Rome to ask for terms of peace. With the ambassadors\ncame Regulus, who had promised to return to Carthage if the negotiations\nshould fail, and whom the Carthaginians naturally expected to use his\nutmost influence in favor of peace.\n\nThey did not know their man. Regulus proved himself one of those\nindomitable patriots of whom there are few examples in the ages. On\nreaching the walls of Rome he refused at first to enter, saying that he\nwas no longer a citizen, and had lost his rights in that city. When the\nambassadors of Carthage had offered their proposal to the senate,\nRegulus, who had remained silent, was ordered by the senate to give his\nopinion of the proposed treaty. Thus commanded, he astonished all who\nheard by strongly advising the senate not to make the treaty. He might\ndie for his words, he might perish in torture, but the good of his\ncountry was dearer to him than his own life, and he would not counsel a\ntreaty that might prove of advantage to the enemy. He even spoke against\nan exchange of prisoners, saying that he had not long to live, having,\nhe believed, been given a secret poison by his captors, and would not\nmake a fair exchange for a hale and hearty Carthaginian general.\n\nSuch an instance of self-abnegation has rarely been heard of in history.\nIt has made Regulus famous for all time. His advice was taken, the\ntreaty was refused; he, refusing to break his parole, or even to see his\nfamily, returned to Carthage with the ambassadors, knowing that he was\ngoing to his death. The rulers of that city, so it is said, furious\nthat the treaty had been rejected through his advice, resolved to\nrevenge themselves on him by horrible tortures. His eyelids were cut\noff, and he was exposed to the full glare of the African sun. He was\nthen placed in a cask driven full of nails, and left there to die.\n\nIt is fortunate to be able to say that there is no historical warrant\nfor this story of torture, or for the companion story that the wife and\nson of Regulus treated two Carthaginian prisoners in the same manner. We\nhave reason to believe that it is untrue, and that Regulus suffered no\nworse tortures than those of shame, exile, and imprisonment.\n\n\n\n\n_HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS._\n\n\nIn the year 235 B.C. the gates of the Temple of Janus were closed, for\nthe first time since the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of\nRome, nearly five centuries before. During all that long period war had\nhardly ever ceased in Rome. And these gates were soon to be thrown open\nagain, in consequence of the greatest war that the Roman state had ever\nknown, a war which was to bring it to the very brink of destruction.\n\nThe end of the first Punic War--as the war with Carthage was\ncalled--left Rome master of the large island of Sicily, the first\nprovince gained by that ambitious city outside of Italy. Advantage was\nalso taken of some home troubles in Carthage to rob that city of the\nislands of Sardinia and Corsica,--a piece of open piracy which redoubled\nthe hatred of the Carthaginians.\n\nYet Rome just now was not anxious for war with her southern rival. There\nwas enough to do in the north, for another great invasion of Gauls was\nthreatened. And about this time the Capitol was struck by lightning, a\nprodigy which plunged all Rome into terror. The books of the Sibyl were\nhastily consulted, and were reported to say, \"When the lightning shall\nstrike the Capitol and the Temple of Apollo, then must thou, O Roman,\nbeware of the Gauls.\" Another prophecy said that the time would come\n\"when the race of the Greeks and the race of the Gauls should occupy the\nForum of Rome.\"\n\nBut Rome had its own way of dealing with prophecies and discounting the\ndecrees of destiny. A man and woman alike of the Gaulish and of the\nGreek race were buried alive in the Forum Boarium, and in this cruel way\nthe public fear was allayed. As for the invasion of the Gauls, Rome met\nand dealt with them in its usual fashion, defeating them in two battles,\nin the last of which the Gaulish army was annihilated. This ended this\nperil, and the dominion of Rome was extended northward to the Alps.\n\nIt was fortunate for the Romans that they had just at this time rid\nthemselves of the Gauls, for they were soon to have a greater enemy to\nmeet. In the first Punic War, Carthage had been destitute of a\ncommander, and had only saved herself by borrowing one from Greece. In\nthe second war she had a general of her own, one who has hardly had his\nequal before or since, the far-famed Hannibal, one of the few soldiers\nof supreme ability which the world has produced.\n\nDuring the peace which followed the first Punic War Carthage sent an\nexpedition to Spain, with the purpose of extending her dominions in that\nland. This was under the leadership of Hamilcar, a soldier of much\nability. As he was about to set sail he offered a solemn sacrifice for\nthe success of the enterprise. Having poured the libation on the\nvictim, which was then duly offered on the altar, he requested all those\npresent to step aside, and called up his son Hannibal, at that time a\nboy of but nine years of age. Hamilcar asked him if he would like to go\nto the war. With a child's eagerness the boy implored his father to take\nhim. Then Hamilcar, taking the boy by the hand, led him up to the altar,\nand bade him lay his hand on the sacrifice, and swear \"that he would\nnever be the friend of the Romans.\" Hannibal took the oath, and he never\nforgot it. His whole mature life was spent in warfare with Rome.\n\nFrom the city of New Carthage (or Carthagena), founded by Carthage in\nSpain, Hamilcar gradually won a wide dominion in that land. He was\nkilled in battle after nine years of success, and was succeeded by\nHasdrubal, another soldier of fine powers. On the death of Hasdrubal,\nHannibal, then twenty-six years of age, was made commander-in-chief of\nthe Carthaginian armies in Spain. Shortly afterwards his long struggle\nwith Rome began.\n\nHannibal had laid siege to and captured the city of Saguntum. The people\nof Saguntum were allies of Rome. That city, being once more ready for\nwar with its rival, sent ambassadors to Carthage to demand that Hannibal\nand his officers should be surrendered as Roman prisoners, for a breach\nof the treaty of peace. After a long debate, Fabius, the Roman envoy,\ngathered up his toga as if something was wrapped in it, and said, \"Look;\nhere are peace and war; take which you choose.\" \"Give whichever you\nplease,\" was the haughty Carthaginian reply. \"Then we give you war,\"\nsaid Fabius, shaking out the folds of the toga. \"With all our hearts we\nwelcome it,\" cried the Carthaginians. The Romans left at once for Rome.\nHad they dreamed what a war it was they were inviting it is doubtful if\nthey would have been so hasty in seeking it.\n\nWar with Rome was what Hannibal most desired. He was pledged to\nhostility with that faithless city, and had assailed Saguntum for the\npurpose of bringing it about. On learning that war was declared, he\nimmediately prepared to invade Italy itself, leading his army across the\ngreat mountain barrier of the Alps. He had already sent messengers to\nthe Gauls, to invite their aid. They were found to be friendly, and\neager for his coming. They had little reason to love Rome.\n\nA significant dream strengthened Hannibal's purpose. In his vision he\nseemed to see the supreme god of his fathers, who called him into the\npresence of all the gods of Carthage, seated in council on their\nthrones. They solemnly bade him to invade Italy, and one of the council\nwent with him into that land as guide. As they passed onward the divine\nguide warned, \"See that you look not behind you.\" But at length,\nheedless of the command, the dreamer turned and looked back. He saw\nbehind him a monstrous form, covered thickly with serpents, while as it\nmoved houses, orchards, and woods fell crashing to the earth. \"What\nmighty thing is this?\" he asked in wonder. \"You see the desolation of\nItaly,\" replied the heavenly guide; \"go on your way, straight forward,\nand cast no look behind.\" And thus, at the age of twenty-seven,\nHannibal, at the command of his country's gods, went forward to the\naccomplishment of his early vow.\n\nHis route lay through northern Spain, where he conquered all before him.\nThen he marched through Gaul to the Rhone. This he crossed in the face\nof an army of hostile Gauls, who had gathered to oppose him. He had more\ndifficulty with his elephants, of which he had thirty-seven. Rafts were\nbuilt to convey these great beasts across the stream, but some of them,\nfrightened, leaped overboard and drowned their drivers. They then swam\nacross themselves, and all were safely landed.\n\n[Illustration: HANNIBAL CROSSING THE ALPS.]\n\nOther difficulties arose, but all were overcome, and at length the\nmountains were reached. Here Hannibal was to perform the most famous of\nhis exploits, the crossing of the great chain of the Alps with an army,\nan exploit more remarkable than that which brought similar fame to\nNapoleon in our own days, for with Hannibal it was pioneer work, while\nNapoleon profited by his example.\n\nThe mountaineers proved to be hostile, and gathered at all points that\ncommanded the narrow pass. But they left their posts at night, and\nHannibal, when nightfall came, set out with a body of light troops and\noccupied all these posts. When morning dawned the natives, to their\ndismay, found that they had been outgeneralled.\n\nSoon after the day began the head of the army entered a dangerous\ndefile, and made its way in a long slender line along the terrace-like\npath which overhung the valley far below. The route proved\ncomparatively easy for the foot-soldiers, but the cavalry and the\nbaggage-animals only made their way with great difficulty, finding\nobstacles at almost every step.\n\nThe sight of the struggling cavalcade was too much for the caution of\nthe natives. Here was abundant plunder at their hands. From many points\nof the mountain above the road they rushed down upon the Carthaginians,\narms in hand. A frightful disorder followed. So narrow was the path that\nthe least confusion was likely to throw the heavily-laden\nbaggage-animals down the precipitous steep. The cavalry horses, wounded\nby the arrows and javelins of the mountaineers, plunged wildly about and\ndoubled the confusion.\n\nIt was fortunate for Hannibal that he had taken the precaution of the\nnight before. From the post he had taken with his light troops the whole\nscene of peril and disorder was visible to his eyes. Charging down the\nhill, he attacked the mountaineers and drove them from their prey. But\nit was a dearly bought victory, for the fight on the narrow road\nincreased the confusion, and in seeking the relief of his army he caused\nthe destruction of many of his own men.\n\nAt length the perilous defile was safely passed, and the army reached a\nwide and rich valley beyond. Here was the town of Montmelian, the\nprincipal stronghold of the mountaineers. This Hannibal took by storm,\nand recovered there many of his own men, horses, and cattle which the\nnatives had taken, while he found an abundant store of food for the use\nof his weary soldiers.\n\nAfter a day's rest here the march was resumed. During the next three\ndays the army moved up the valley of the river Isere without difficulty.\nThe natives met them with wreaths on their heads and branches in their\nhands, promising peace, offering hostages, and supplying cattle.\nHannibal mistrusted the sudden friendliness of his late foes, but they\nseemed so honest that he accepted some of them as guides through a\ndifficult region which he was now approaching.\n\nHe had reason for his mistrust, for they treacherously led him into a\nnarrow and dangerous defile, which might have easily been avoided; and\nwhile the army was involved in this straitened pass an attack was\nsuddenly made by the whole force of the mountaineers. Climbing along the\nmountain-sides above the defile, they hurled down stones on the\nentangled foe, and loosened and rolled great rocks down upon their\ndefenceless heads.\n\nFortunately Hannibal, moved by his doubts, had sent his cavalry and\nbaggage on first. The attack fell on the infantry, and with a body of\nthese he forced his way to the summit of one of the cliffs above the\ndefile, drove away the foe, and held it while the army made its way\nslowly on. As for the elephants, they were safe from attack. The very\nsight of these huge beasts filled the barbarians with such terror that\nthey dared not even approach them. There was no further peril, and on\nthe ninth day of its march the army reached the summit of the Alps.\n\nIt was now the end of October. The grass and flowers which carpet that\nelevated spot in summer had become replaced by snow. In truth, the\nclimate of the Alps was colder at that period than now, and snow lay on\nthe higher passes all through the year. The soldiers were disheartened\nby cold and fatigue. The scene around them was desolate and dreary. New\nperils awaited their onward course. But no such feeling entered\nHannibal's courageous soul. Fired by hope and ambition, he sought to\nplant new courage in the hearts of his men.\n\n\"The valley you see yonder is Italy,\" he said, pointing to the sunny\nslope which, from their elevated position, appeared not far away. \"It\nleads to the country of our friends, the Gauls; and yonder is our way to\nRome.\" Their eyes followed the direction of his pointing hand, and their\nhearts grew hopeful again with the cheerfulness and enthusiasm of his\nwords.\n\nTwo days the army remained there, resting, and waiting for the\nstragglers to come up. Then the route was resumed.\n\nThe mountaineers, severely punished, made no further attacks; but the\nroad proved more difficult than that by which the ascent had been made.\nSnow thickly covered the passes. Men and horses often lost their way,\nand plunged to their death down the precipitous steep. Onward struggled\nthe distressed host, through appalling dangers and endless difficulties,\nlosing men and animals at every step. But these troubles were trifling\ncompared with those which they were now to endure. They suddenly found\nthat the track before them had entirely disappeared. An avalanche had\ncarried it bodily away for about three hundred yards, leaving only a\nsteep and impassable slope covered with loose rocks and snow.\n\nA man of less resolution than Hannibal might well have succumbed before\nthis supreme difficulty. The way forward had vanished. To go back was\ndeath. It was impossible to climb round the lost path, for the heights\nabove were buried deep in snow. Nothing remained but to perish where\nthey were, or to make a new road across the mountain's flank.\n\nThe energetic commander lost not an hour in deciding. Moving back to a\nspace of somewhat greater breadth, the snow was removed and the army\nencamped. Then the difficult engineering work began. Hands were\nabundant, for every man was working for his life. Tools were improvised.\nSo energetically did the soldiers work that the road rapidly grew before\nthem. As it was cut into the rock it was supported by solid foundations\nbelow. Many ancient authors say that Hannibal used vinegar to soften the\nrocks, but this we have no sufficient reason to believe.\n\nSo vigorously did the work go on, so many were the hands engaged, that\nin a single day a track was made over which the horses and\nbaggage-animals could pass. These were sent over and reached the lower\nvalley in safety, where pasture was found.\n\nThe passage of the elephants was a more difficult task. The road for\nthem must be solid and wide. It took three days of hard labor to make\nit. Meanwhile the great beasts suffered severely from hunger, for\nforage there was none, nor trees on whose leaves they might browse.\n\nAt length the road was strong enough to bear them. They safely passed\nthe perilous reach. After them came Hannibal with the rear of the army,\nsoon reaching the cavalry and baggage. Three days more the wearied host\nstruggled on, down the southward slopes of the Alps, until finally they\nreached the wide plain of Northern Italy, having safely accomplished the\ngreatest military feat of ancient times.\n\nBut Hannibal found himself here with a frightfully reduced army. The\nAlps had taken toll of their invader. He had reached Gaul from Spain\nwith fifty thousand foot and nine thousand horse. He reached Italy with\nonly twenty thousand foot and six thousand horse. No fewer than\nthirty-three thousand men had perished by the way. It was a puny force\nwith which to invade a country that could oppose it with hundreds of\nthousands of men. But it had Hannibal at its head.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED._\n\n\nThe career of Hannibal was a remarkable one. For fifteen years he\nremained in Italy, frequently fighting, never losing a battle, keeping\nRome in a state of terror, and dwelling with his army in comfort and\nplenty on the rich Italian plains. Yet he represented a commercial city\nagainst a warlike state. He was poorly supported by Carthage; Rome was\nindomitable; great generals rose to command her armies; in the end the\nmighty effort of Hannibal failed, and he was forced to leave Rome\nunconquered and Italy unsubdued.\n\nThe story of his deeds is a long one, a record of war and bloodshed\nwhich our readers would be little the wiser and none the better for\nhearing. We shall therefore only give it in the barest outline.\n\nHannibal defeated the Romans on first meeting them, and the Gauls\nflocked to his army. But of the elephants, which he had brought with\nsuch difficulty over the Rhone and the Alps, the cold of December killed\nall but one. But without them he met a large Roman army at Lake\nTrasimenus, and defeated it so utterly that but six thousand escaped.\n\nRome, in alarm, chose a dictator, Fabius Maximus by name. This leader\nadopted a new method of warfare, which has ever since been famous as\nthe \"Fabian policy.\" This was the policy of avoiding battle and seeking\nto wear the enemy out, while harassing him at every opportunity. Fabius\nkept to the hills, followed and annoyed his great antagonist, yet\nsteadily avoided being drawn into battle.\n\nFor more than a year this continued, during all which time Fabius grew\nmore and more unpopular at Rome. The waiting policy was not that which\nthe Romans had hitherto employed, and they became more impatient as days\nand months passed without an effort to drive this eating ulcer from\ntheir plains. In time the discontent grew too strong to be ignored. A\n_man of business_, who was said to have begun life as a butcher's son,\nVarro by name, became the favorite leader of the populace, and was in\ntime raised to the consulship. He enlisted a powerful army, ninety\nthousand strong, and marched away to the field of Cannae, where Hannibal\nwas encamped, with the purpose of driving this Carthaginian wasp from\nthe Italian fields.\n\nIt was a dwarf contending with a giant. The vainglorious Varro gave\nHannibal the opportunity for which he had long waited. The Roman army\nmet with such a crushing defeat that its equal is scarcely known in\nhistory. Baffled, beaten, and surrounded by Hannibal's army, the Romans\nwere cut down in thousands, no quarter being asked or given, till when\nthe sun set scarce three thousand men were left alive and unhurt of\nVarro's hopeful host. Of Hannibal's army less than six thousand had\nfallen. Of the Roman forces more than eighty thousand paid the penalty\nof their leader's incompetence.\n\nHannibal did not advance to Rome, which seemed to lie helpless before\nhim. He doubtless had good reasons for not attempting to capture it.\nMaharbal, his cavalry general, said, \"Let me advance with the horse, and\ndo you follow; in four days from this time you shall sup in the\nCapitol.\" Hannibal, on the contrary, sent terms of peace to Rome. These\nthe Romans, unconquerable in spirit despite their disaster, refused. He\nthen marched to southern Italy and established his head-quarters in the\nrich city of Capua, which opened its gates to him, and which he promised\nto make the capital of all Italy.\n\nHannibal won no more great victories in Italy, though he was victor in\nmany small conflicts. The Romans had paid dearly for their impatience.\nFabius was again called to the head of the army, and his old policy was\nrestored. And thus years went on, Hannibal's army gradually decreasing\nand receiving few reinforcements from home, while Rome in time regained\nCapua and other cities.\n\nAt length, in the year 208 B.C., Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, who\ncommanded the Carthaginian armies in Spain, resolved to go to his\nbrother's aid. He crossed the Alps, as Hannibal had done, following the\nsame pass, and making use of the bridges, rock cuttings, and mountain\nroads which his brother had made eleven years before.\n\nHad this movement been successful, it might have been the ruin of Rome.\nBut the despatches of Hasdrubal were intercepted by the Romans.\nPerceiving their great danger, they raised an army in haste, marched\nagainst the invader, and met him before he could effect a junction with\nhis brother. The Carthaginians were defeated with great slaughter.\nHasdrubal fell on the field, and his head was cruelly sent to Hannibal,\nwho, as he looked with bitter anguish on the gruesome spectacle, sadly\nremarked, \"I recognize in this the doom of Carthage.\"\n\nYet for four years more Hannibal remained in the mountains of Southern\nItaly, holding his own against Rome, though he had lost all hopes of\nconquering that city. But Rome had now a new general, with a new policy.\nThis was the famous Scipio, and the policy was to carry the war into\nCarthage. Fabius had done his work, and new measures came with new men.\nScipio led an army into Spain, which he conquered from Carthage. Then he\ninvaded Africa, and Hannibal was recalled home, after his long and\nvictorious career in Italy.\n\nHannibal had never yet suffered a defeat. He was now to experience a\ncrushing one. With a new army, largely made up of raw levies, he met the\nveteran troops of Scipio on the plains of Zama. Hannibal displayed here\nhis usual ability, but fortune was against him, his army was routed, the\nveterans he had brought from Italy were cut down where they stood, and\nhe escaped with difficulty from the field on which twenty thousand of\nhis men had fallen. It was an earlier Waterloo.\n\nHis flight was necessary, if Carthage was to be preserved. He was the\nonly man capable of saving that great city from ruin. Terms of peace\nwere offered by Scipio, severe ones, but Hannibal accepted them,\nknowing that nothing else could be done. Then he devoted himself to the\nrestoration of his country's power, and for seven years worked\ndiligently to this end.\n\nHis efforts were successful. Carthage again became prosperous. Rome\ntrembled for fear of her old foe. Commissioners were sent to Carthage to\ndemand the surrender of Hannibal, on the plea that he was secretly\nfomenting a new war. His reforms had made enemies in Carthage, his\nliberty was in danger, and nothing remained for him but to flee.\n\nEscaping secretly from the city, the fugitive made his way to Tyre, the\nmother-city of Carthage, where he was received as one who had shed\nuntold glory on the Phoenician name. Thence he proceeded to Antioch,\nthe capital of Antiochus, king of Syria, and one of the successors of\nAlexander the Great.\n\nDuring the period over which we have so rapidly passed the empire of\nRome had been steadily extending. In addition to her conquests in Spain\nand Africa, Macedonia, the home-realm of Alexander the Great, had been\nsuccessfully invaded, and the first great step taken by Rome towards the\nconquest of the East.\n\nThe loss of Macedonia stirred up Antiochus, who resolved on war with\nRome, and marched with his army towards Europe. Hannibal, who had failed\nto find him at Antioch, overtook him at Ephesus, and found him glad\nenough to secure the services of a warrior of such world-wide fame.\n\nAntiochus, unfortunately, was the reverse of a great warrior, and by no\nmeans the man to cope with Rome. Hannibal saw at a glance that his army\nwas not fit to fight with a Roman force, and strongly advised him to\nequip a fleet and invade Southern Italy, saying that he himself would\ntake the command. But nothing was to be done with Antiochus. He was\nfilled with conceit of his own greatness, was ignorant of the power of\nRome, and was jealous of the glory which Hannibal might attain. His\nguest then advised that an alliance should be made with Philip, king of\nMacedonia. This, too, was neglected, and the Romans hastened to ally\nthemselves with Philip. Antiochus, puffed up with pride, pointed to his\ngreat army, and asked Hannibal if he did not think that these were\nenough for the Romans.\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied, sarcastically, \"enough for the Romans, however greedy\nthey may be.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE BATHS OF CARACALLA.]\n\nIt proved as he feared. The Romans triumphed. Hannibal was employed only\nin a subordinate naval command, in which field of warfare he had no\nexperience. Peace was made, and Antiochus agreed to deliver him up to\nRome. The greatest of Rome's enemies was again forced to fly for his\nlife.\n\nHannibal now took refuge with Prusias, king of Bithynia. Here he\nremained for five years. But even here the implacable enmity of Rome\nfollowed him. Envoys were sent to the court of Prusias to demand his\nsurrender. Prusias, who was a king on a small scale, could not, or would\nnot, defend his guest, and promised to deliver him into the hands of his\nunrelenting foes.\n\nOnly one course remained. Death was tenfold preferable to figuring in a\nRoman triumph. Finding the avenues to his house secured by the king's\nguards, the great Carthaginian took poison, which he is said to have\nlong carried with him in a ring, in readiness for such an emergency. He\ndied at Libyssa, on the eastern shore of the sea of Marmora, in his\nsixty-fourth year, as closely as we know. In the same year, 183 B.C.,\ndied his great and successful antagonist, Scipio Africanus.\n\nThus perished, in exile, one of the greatest warriors of any age, who,\nalmost without aid from home, supported himself for fifteen years in\nItaly against all the power of Rome and the greatest generals she could\nsupply. Had Carthage shown the military spirit of Rome, Hannibal might\nhave stopped effectually the conquering career of that warlike city.\n\n\n\n\n_ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE._\n\n\nThe city of Syracuse, the capital of Sicily, rose to prominence in\nancient history through its three famous sieges. The first of these was\nthat long siege which ruined Athens and left Syracuse uncaptured. The\nsecond was the siege by Timoleon, who took the city almost without a\nblow. The third was the siege by the Romans, in which the genius of one\nman, the celebrated mathematician and engineer Archimedes, long set at\nnaught all the efforts of the besieging army and fleet.\n\nThis remarkable defence took place during the wars with Hannibal. Such\nwas the warlike energy of the Romans, that, while their city itself was\nthreatened by this great general, they sent armies abroad, one into\nSpain and another into Sicily. The latter, under a consul named Appius,\nbesieged Syracuse by sea and land. Hoping to take the city by sudden\nassault, before it could be properly got ready for defence, Appius\npushed forward his land force, fully provided with blinds and ladders,\nagainst the walls. At the same time a fleet of sixty quinqueremes under\nthe consul Marcellus advanced to the assault from the side of the\nharbor. Among these vessels were eight which had been joined together\ntwo and two, and which carried machines called sackbuts. These consisted\nof immensely long ladders, projecting far beyond the bows, and so\narranged that they could be raised by ropes and pulleys, and the end let\nfall upon the top of the wall. Four men, well protected by wooden\nblinds, occupied the top of each ladder, ready to attack the defenders\nof the walls while their comrades hastened up the ladder to their aid.\n\nThere was only one thing on which the consuls had not counted, and that\nwas that Syracuse possessed the greatest artificer of ancient times.\nThey had to fight not Syracuse alone but Syracuse and Archimedes; and\nthey found the latter their most formidable foe. In short, the skill of\nthis one man did more to baffle the Romans than the strength and courage\nof all the garrison.\n\nThe historian Polybius has so well told the story of this famous\ndefence, that we cannot do better than quote from his work. He remarks,\nafter describing at length the Roman preparations,--\n\n\"In this manner, then, when all things were ready, the Romans designed\nto attack the towers. But Archimedes had prepared machines that were\nfitted to every distance. While the vessels were yet far removed from\nthe walls, he, employing catapults and balistae that were of the largest\nsize and worked by the strongest springs, wounded the enemy with his\ndarts and stones, and threw them into great disorder. When the darts\npassed beyond them he then used other machines, of a smaller size, and\nproportioned to the distance. By these means the Romans were so\neffectually repulsed that it was not possible for them to approach.\n\n\"Marcellus, therefore, perplexed with this resistance, was forced to\nadvance silently with his vessels in the night. But when they came so\nnear to the land as to be within the reach of darts, they were exposed\nto a new danger, which Archimedes had contrived. He had caused openings\nto be made in many parts of the wall, equal in height to the stature of\na man, and to the palm of the hand in breadth. Then, having planted on\nthe inside archers and little scorpions, he discharged a multitude of\narrows through the openings, and disabled the soldiers that were on\nboard. In this manner, whether the Romans were at a great distance or\nwhether they were near, he not only rendered useless all their efforts,\nbut destroyed also many of their men.\n\n\"When they attempted also to raise the sackbuts, certain machines which\nhe had erected along the whole wall inside, and which were before\nconcealed from view, suddenly appeared above the wall and stretched\ntheir long beaks far beyond the battlements. Some of these machines\ncarried masses of lead and stone not less than ten talents [about eight\nhundred pounds] in weight. Accordingly, when the vessels with the\nsackbuts came near, the beaks, being first turned by ropes and pulleys\nto the proper point, let fall their stones, which broke not only the\nsackbuts but the vessels likewise, and threw all those who were on board\ninto the greatest danger.\n\n\"In the same manner also the rest of the machines, as often as the enemy\napproached under cover of their blinds, and had secured themselves by\nthat protection against the darts that were discharged through the\nopenings in the wall, let fall upon them stones of so large a size that\nall the combatants on the prow were forced to retire from their station.\n\n\"He invented, likewise, a hand of iron, hanging by a chain from the beak\nof a machine, which was used in the following manner. The person who,\nlike a pilot, guided the beak, having let fall the hand and caught hold\nof the prow of any vessel, drew down the opposite end of the machine,\nthat was inside of the walls. When the vessel was thus raised erect upon\nits stern, the machine itself was held immovable; but the chain being\nsuddenly loosened from the beak by means of pulleys, some of the vessels\nwere thrown upon their sides, others turned with their bottoms upward,\nand the greatest part, as the prows were plunged from a considerable\nheight into the sea, were filled with water, and all that were on board\nthrown into tumult and disorder.\n\n\"Marcellus was in no small degree embarrassed when he found himself\nencountered in every attempt by such resistance. He perceived that all\nhis efforts were defeated with loss, and were even derided by the enemy.\nBut, amidst all the anxiety that he suffered, he could not help jesting\nupon the inventions of Archimedes.\n\n\"'This man,' said he, 'employs our ships as buckets to draw water, and,\nboxing about our sackbuts, as if they were unworthy to be associated\nwith him, drives them from his company with disgrace.' Such was the\nsuccess of the siege on the side of the sea.\n\n\"Appius also, on his part, having met with the same obstacles in his\napproaches, was in like manner forced to abandon his design. For while\nhe was yet at a considerable distance, great number of his men were\ndestroyed by the balistae and the catapults, so wonderful was the\nquantity of stones and darts, and so astonishing the force with which\nthey were thrown. The means, indeed, were worthy of Hiero, who had\nfurnished the expense, and of Archimedes, who designed them, and by\nwhose directions they were made.\n\n\"If the troops advanced nearer to the city, they either were stopped in\ntheir advance by the arrows that were discharged through the openings in\nthe walls, or, if they attempted to force their way under cover of their\nbucklers, they were destroyed by stones and beams that were let fall\nupon their heads. Great mischief also was occasioned by these hands of\niron that have been mentioned; for they lifted men with their armor into\nthe air and dashed them upon the ground. Appius, therefore, was at last\nconstrained to return back again into his camp.\"\n\nThis ended the assault. For eight months the Romans remained, but never\nagain had the courage to make a regular attack, depending rather on the\nhope of reducing the crowded city by famine. \"So wonderful, and of such\nimportance on some occasions, is the power of a single man, and the\nforce of science properly employed. With so great armies both by sea and\nland the Romans could scarcely have failed to take the city, if one old\nman had been removed. But while he was present they did not even dare\nto make the attempt; in the manner, at least, which Archimedes was able\nto oppose.\" The story was told in past times that the great scientist\nset the Roman ships on fire by means of powerful burning glasses, but\nthis is not believed.\n\nThe end of this story may be briefly told. The Romans finally took the\ncity by surprise. Tradition tells that, as the assailants were rushing\nthrough the streets, with death in their hands, they found Archimedes\nsitting in the public square, with a number of geometrical figures drawn\nbefore him in the sand, which he was studying in oblivion of the tumult\nof war around. As a Roman soldier rushed upon him sword in hand, he\ncalled out to the rude warrior not to spoil the circle. But the soldier\ncut him down. Another story says that this took place in his room.\n\nWhen Cicero, years afterwards, came to Syracuse, he found the tomb of\nArchimedes overgrown with briers, and on it the figure of a sphere\ninscribed in a cylinder, to commemorate one of his most important\nmathematical discoveries.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FATE OF CARTHAGE._\n\n\nIn all the history of Rome there is no act of more flagrant treachery\nand cruelty than that of her dealings with the great rival city of\nCarthage. In the whole history of the world there is nothing more base\nand frightful than the utter destruction of that mighty mart of\ncommerce. The jealousy of Rome would not permit a rival to exist. It was\nnot enough to drive Hannibal into exile; Carthage was recovering her\ntrade and regaining her strength; new Hannibals might be born; the\nterror of the great invasion, the remembrance of the defeat at Cannae,\nstill remained in Roman memories.\n\nCato the Censor, a famous old Roman, now eighty-four years of age, and\nwho had served in the wars against Hannibal, hated Carthage with the\nhatred of a fanatic, and declared that Rome would never be safe while\nthis rival was permitted to exist.\n\nRising from his seat in the senate, the stern old man glowingly\ndescribed the power and wealth of Carthage. He held up some great figs,\nand said, \"These figs grow but three days' sail from Rome.\" There could\nbe no safety for Rome, he declared, while Carthage survived.\n\n\"Every speech which I shall make in this house,\" he sternly declared,\n\"shall finish with these words: 'My opinion is that _Carthage must be\ndestroyed_ (_delenda est Carthago_.)'\"\n\nThese words sealed the fate of Carthage. Men of moderate views spoke\nmore mercifully, but Cato swayed the senate, and from that day the doom\nof Carthage was fixed.\n\nThe Carthaginian territory was being assailed and ravaged by Masinissa,\nthe king of Numidia. Rome was appealed to for aid, but delayed and\ntemporized. Carthage raised an army, which was defeated by Masinissa,\nthen over ninety years of age. The war went on, and Carthage was reduced\nto such straits that resistance became impossible, and in the end the\ncity and all its possessions were placed at the absolute disposal of the\nsenate of Rome, which, absolutely without provocation, had declared war.\n\nAn army of eighty thousand foot and four thousand horse was sent to\nAfrica. Before the consuls commanding it there appeared deputies from\nCarthage, stating what acts of submission had already been made, and\nhumbly asking what more Rome could demand.\n\n\"Carthage is now under the protection of Rome,\" answered Censorinus, the\nconsul, \"and can no longer have occasion to engage in war; she must\ntherefore deliver without reserve to Rome all her arms and engines of\nwar.\"\n\nHard as was this condition, the humiliated city accepted it. We may have\nsome conception of the strength of the city when it is stated that the\nmilitary stores given up included two hundred thousand stand of arms and\ntwo thousand catapults. It was a condition to which only despair could\nhave yielded, seemingly the last act of humiliation to which any city\ncould consent.\n\nBut if Carthage thought that the end had been reached, she was destined\nto be rudely awakened from her dream. The consuls, thinking the city now\nto be wholly helpless, dropped the mask they had worn, and made known\nthe senate's treacherous decree.\n\n\"The decision of the senate is this,\" said Censorinus, coldly, to the\nunhappy envoys of Carthage: \"so long as you possess a fortified city\nnear the sea, Rome can never feel sure of your submission. The senate\ntherefore decrees that you must remove to some point ten miles distant\nfrom the coast. _Carthage must be destroyed._\"\n\nThe trembling Carthaginians heard these fatal words in stupefied\namazement. On recovering their senses they broke out into passionate\nexclamations against the treachery of Rome, and declared that the\nfreedom of Carthage had been guaranteed.\n\n\"The guarantee refers to the people of Carthage, not to her houses,\"\nanswered the consul. \"You have heard the will of the senate; it must be\nobeyed, and quickly.\"\n\nCarthage, meanwhile, waited in gloomy dread the return of the\ncommissioners. When they gave in the council-chamber the ultimatum of\nRome, a cry of horror broke from the councillors. The crowd in the\nstreet, on hearing this ominous sound, broke open the doors and demanded\nwhat fatal news had been received.\n\nOn being told, they burst into a paroxysm of fury. The members of the\ngovernment who had submitted to Rome were obliged to fly for their\nlives. Every Italian found in the city was killed. The party of the\npeople seized the government, and resolved to defend themselves to the\nuttermost. An armistice of thirty days was asked from the consuls, that\na deputation might be sent to Rome. This was refused. Despair gave\ncourage and strength. The making of new arms was energetically begun.\nTemples and public buildings were converted into workshops; men and\nwomen by thousands worked night and day; every day there were produced\none hundred shields, three hundred swords, five hundred pikes and\njavelins, and one thousand bolts for catapults. The women even cut off\ntheir hair to be twisted into strings for the catapults. Corn was\ngathered in all haste from every quarter.\n\nThe consuls were astonished and disappointed. They had not counted on\nsuch energy as this. They did not know what it meant to drive a foe to\ndesperation. They laid siege to Carthage, but found it too strong for\nall their efforts. They proceeded against the Carthaginian army in the\nfield, but gained no success. Summer and winter passed, and Carthage\nstill held out. Another year (148 B.C.) went by, and Rome still lost\nground. Old Cato, the bitter foe of Carthage, had died, at the age of\neighty-five. Masinissa, the warlike Numidian, had died at ninety-five.\nThe hopes of the Carthaginians grew. Those of Rome began to fall. The\nrich booty that was looked for from the sack of Carthage was not to be\nhandled so easily as had been expected.\n\nWhat Rome lacked was an able general. One was found in Scipio, the\nadopted son of Publius Scipio, son of the great Scipio Africanus. This\nyoung man had proved himself the only able soldier in the war. The army\nadored him. Though too young for the consulship, he was elected to that\nhigh office, and in 147 B.C. sailed for Carthage.\n\nThe new commander found the army disorganized, and immediately restored\nstrict discipline to its ranks. The suburb of Megara, from which the\npeople of the city obtained their chief supply of fresh provisions, was\nquickly taken. Want of food began to be felt. The isthmus which\nconnected the city with the mainland was strongly occupied, and\nland-supplies were thus cut off. The fleet blockaded the harbor, but, as\nvessels still made their way in, Scipio determined to build an\nembankment across the harbor's mouth.\n\nThis was a work of great labor, and slowly proceeded. By the time it was\ndone the Carthaginians had cut a new channel from their harbor to the\nsea, and Scipio had the mortification to see a newly-built fleet of\nfifty ships sail out through this fresh passage. On the third day a\nnaval battle took place, in which the greater part of the new fleet was\ndestroyed.\n\nAnother winter came and went. It was not until the spring of 146 B.C.\nthat the Romans succeeded in forcing their way into the city, and their\nlegions bivouacked in the Forum of Carthage.\n\nBut Carthage was not yet taken. Its death-struggle was to be a\ndesperate one. The streets leading from the Forum towards the Citadel\nwere all strongly barricaded, and the houses, six stories in height,\noccupied by armed men. For three days a war of desperation was waged in\nthe streets. The Romans had to take the first houses of each street by\nassault, and then force their way forward by breaking from house to\nhouse. The cross streets were passed on bridges of planks.\n\nThus they slowly advanced till the wall of Bosra--the high ground of the\nCitadel--was reached. Behind them the city was in flames. For six days\nand nights it burned, destroying the wealth and works of years. When the\nfire declined passages were cleared through the ruins for the army to\nadvance.\n\nScipio, who had scarcely slept night or day during the assault, now lay\ndown for a short repose, on an eminence from which could be seen the\nTemple of Esculapius, whose gilded roof glittered on the highest point\nof the hill of Bosra. He was aroused to receive an offer from the\ngarrison to surrender if their lives were spared. Scipio consented to\nspare all but Roman deserters, and from the gates of the Citadel marched\nout fifty thousand men as prisoners of war.\n\nHasdrubal, the Carthaginian commander, who had made so brave a defence\nagainst Rome, retired with his family and nine hundred deserters and\nothers into the Temple of Esculapius, as if to make a final desperate\ndefence. But his heart failed him at the last moment, and, slipping out\nalone, he cast himself at Scipio's feet, and begged his pardon and\nmercy. His wife, who saw his dastardly act, reproached him bitterly for\ncowardice, and threw herself and her children into the flames which\nenveloped the Citadel. Most of the deserters perished in the same\nflames.\n\n\"Assyria has fallen,\" said Scipio, as he looked with eyes of prevision\non the devouring flames. \"Persia and Macedonia have likewise fallen.\nCarthage is burning. The day of Rome's fall may come next.\"\n\nFor five days the soldiers plundered the city, yet enough of statues and\nother valuables remained to yield the consul a magnificent triumph on\nhis return to Rome. Before doing so he celebrated the fall of Carthage\nwith grand games, in which the spoil of that great city was shown the\narmy. To Rome he sent the brief despatch, \"Carthage is taken. The army\nwaits for further orders.\"\n\nThe orders sent were that the walls should be destroyed and every house\nlevelled to the ground. A curse was pronounced by Scipio on any one who\nshould seek to build a town on the site. The curse did not prove\neffective. Julius Caesar afterwards projected a new Carthage, and\nAugustus built it. It grew to be a noble city, and in the third century\nA.D. became one of the principal cities of the Roman empire and an\nimportant seat of Western Christianity. It was finally destroyed by the\nArabs.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GRACCHI AND THEIR FALL._\n\n\nIn the assault by the Roman forces on Megara, the suburb of Carthage,\nthe first to mount the wall was a young man named Tiberius Gracchus,\nbrother-in-law of Scipio, the commander, and grandson of the famous\nScipio Africanus. This young man and his brother were to play prominent\nparts in Rome.\n\nOne day when the great Scipio was feasting in the Capitol, with other\nsenators of Rome, he was asked by some friends to give his daughter\nCornelia in marriage to Tiberius Gracchus, a young plebeian. Proud\npatrician as he was, he consented, for Gracchus was highly esteemed for\nprobity, and had done him a personal service.\n\nOn his return home he told his wife that he had promised his daughter to\na plebeian. The good woman, who had higher aims, blamed him severely for\nhis folly, as she deemed it. But when she was told the name of her\nproposed son-in-law she changed her mind, saying that Gracchus was the\nonly man worthy of the gift.\n\nOf Cornelia's children three became notable, a daughter, who became the\nwife of the younger Scipio, and two sons, Tiberius and Caius Gracchus,\nwho are known in history as \"The Gracchi.\" Their father became famous\nin war and peace, taking important steps in the needed movement of\nreform. He died, and after his death many sought the hand of the noble\nCornelia in marriage, among them King Ptolemy of Egypt. But she refused\nthem all, devoting her life to the education of her children, for which\nshe was admirably fitted by her lofty spirit and high attainments.\n\nConcerning this lady, one of the greatest and noblest which Rome\nproduced, there is an anecdote, often repeated, yet well worth repeating\nagain. A Campanian lady who called upon her, and boastfully spoke of her\nwealth in gold and precious stones, asked Cornelia for the pleasure of\nseeing her jewels. Leading her visitor to another room, the noble matron\npointed to her sleeping children, and said, \"There are my jewels; the\nonly ones of which I am proud.\"\n\nThese children were born to troublous times. Rome had grown in\ncorruption and ostentation as she had grown in wealth and dominion. When\nthe first Punic War broke out Rome ruled only over Central and Southern\nItaly. When the third Punic War ended Rome was lord of all Italy, Spain,\nand Greece, and had wide possessions in Asia Minor and Northern Africa.\nWealth had flowed abundantly into the imperial city, and with it pride,\ncorruption, and oppression. The great grew greater, the poor poorer, and\nthe old simplicity and frugality of Rome were replaced by overweening\nluxury and greed of wealth.\n\nThe younger Tiberius Gracchus, who was nine years older than his\nbrother, after taking part in the siege of Carthage, went to Spain,\nwhere also was work for a soldier. On his way thither he passed through\nEtruria, and saw that in the fields the old freeman farmers had\ndisappeared, and been replaced by foreign slaves, who worked with chains\nupon their limbs. No Cincinnatus now ploughed his own small fields, but\nthe land was divided up into great estates, cultivated by the captives\ntaken in war; while the poor Romans, by whose courage these lands had\nbeen won, had not a foot of soil to call their own.\n\nThis spectacle was a sore one to Tiberius, in whose mind the wise\nteachings of his mother had sunk deep. Here were great spaces of fertile\nland lying untilled, broad parks for the ostentation of their proud\npossessors, while thousands of Romans languished in poverty, and Rome\nhad begun to depend for food largely upon distant realms.\n\nThere was a law, more than two hundred years old, which forbade any man\nfrom holding such large tracts of land. Tiberius thought that this law\nshould be enforced. On his return to Rome his indignant eloquence soon\nroused trouble in that city of rich and poor.\n\n\"The wild beasts of the waste have their caves and dens,\" he said; \"but\nyou, the people of Rome, who have fought and bled for its growth and\nglory, have nothing left you but the air and the sunlight. There are far\ntoo many Romans,\" he continued, \"who have no family altar nor ancestral\ntomb. They have fought well for Rome, and are falsely called the masters\nof the world; but the results of their fighting can only be seen in the\nluxury of the great, while not one of them has a clod of dirt to call\nhis own.\"\n\nCornelia urged her son to do some work to ennoble his name and benefit\nRome.\n\n\"I am called the 'daughter of Scipio,'\" she said. \"I wish to be known as\n'the mother of the Gracchi.'\"\n\nIt was not personal glory, but the good of Rome, that the young reformer\nsought. He presented himself for the office of tribune, and was elected\nby the people, who looked upon him as their friend and advocate. And at\nhis appeal they crowded from all quarters into the city to vote for the\nre-establishment of the Licinian laws,--those forbidding the rich to\nhold great estates.\n\nThese laws were re-enacted, and those lands which the aristocrats had\noccupied by fraud or force were taken from them by a commission and\nreturned to the state.\n\nAll this stirred the proud land-holders to fury. They hated Gracchus\nwith a bitter hatred, and began to plot secretly for his overthrow.\nAbout this time Attalus, king of Pergamus, moved by some erratic whim,\nleft his estates by will to the city of Rome. Those who had been\ndeprived of their lands claimed these estates, to repay them for their\noutlays in improvement. Gracchus opposed this, and proposed to divide\nthis property among the plebeians, that they might buy cattle and tools\nfor their new estates.\n\nHis opponents were still more infuriated by this action. He had offered\nhimself for re-election to the office of tribune, promising the people\nnew and important reforms. His patrician foes took advantage of the\nopportunity. As he stood in the Forum, surrounded by his partisans, an\nuproar arose, in the midst of which Gracchus happened to raise his hand\nto his head. His enemies at once cried out that he wanted to make\nhimself king, and that this was a sign that he sought a crown.\n\nA fierce fight ensued. The opposing senators attacked the crowd so\nfuriously that those around Gracchus fled, leaving him unsupported. He\nhastened for refuge towards the Temple of Jupiter, but the priests had\nclosed the doors, and in his haste he stumbled over a bench. Before he\ncould rise one of his enemies struck him over the head with a stool. A\nsecond repeated the blow. Before the statues of the old kings, which\ngraced the portals of the temple, the tribune fell dead.\n\nMany of his supporters were slain before the tumult ceased. Many were\nforced over the wall at the edge of the Tarpeian Rock, and were killed\nby their fall. Three hundred in all were slain in the fray.\n\nThus was shed the first blood that flowed in civil strife at Rome. It\nwas a crimson prelude to the streams of blood that were to follow, in\nthe long series of butcheries which were afterwards to disgrace the\nRoman name.\n\nTiberius Gracchus may well be called the Great, for the effect of his\nlife upon the history of Rome was stupendous. He held office for not\nmore than seven months, yet in that short time the power of the senate\nwas so shaken by him that it never fully recovered its strength. Had he\nbeen less gentle, or more resolute, in disposition his work might have\nbeen much greater still. Fiery indignation led him on, but soldierly\nenergy failed him at the end.\n\nCaius Gracchus was in Spain at the time of his brother's murder. On his\nreturn to Rome he lived in quiet retirement for some years. The senate\nthought he disapproved of his brother's laws. They did not know him. At\nlength he offered himself as a candidate for the tribuneship, and so\nconvincing was his eloquence that the people supported him in numbers,\nand he was elected to the office.\n\nHe at once made himself an ardent advocate of his brother's reforms, and\nwith such impassioned oratory that he gained adherents on every side. He\nmade himself active in all measures of public progress, advocating the\nbuilding of roads and bridges, the erection of mile-stones, the giving\nthe right to vote to Italians in general, and the selling of grain at\nlow rates to the deserving poor. The laws passed for these purposes are\nknown as the Sempronian laws, from the name of the family to which the\nGracchi belonged.\n\nBy this time the rich senators had grown highly alarmed. Here was a new\nGracchus in the field, as eloquent and as eager for reform as his\nbrother, and who was daily growing more and more in favor with the\npeople. Something must be done at once, or this new demagogue--as they\ncalled him--would do them more harm than that for which they had slain\nhis brother.\n\nThey adopted the policy of fraud in place of that of violence. The\npeople were gullible; they might be made to believe that the senators of\nRome were their best friends. A rich and eloquent politician, Drusus by\nname, proposed measures more democratic even than those which Gracchus\nhad advocated. This effort had the effect that was intended. The\ninfluence of Gracchus over the popular mind was lessened. The people had\nproved fully as gullible as the shrewd senators had expected.\n\nAmong other measures proposed by Gracchus was one for planting a colony\nand building a new city on the site of Carthage. The senate appeared to\napprove this, and appointed him one of the commissioners for laying out\nthe settlement. He was forced to leave Rome, and during his absence his\nenemies worked more diligently than ever. Gracchus was defeated in the\nelection for tribune that followed.\n\nAnd now the plans of his enemies matured. It was said that the new\ncolony at Carthage had been planted on the ground cursed by Scipio.\nWolves had torn down the boundary-posts, which signified the wrath of\nthe gods. The tribes were called to meet at the Capitol, and repeal the\nlaw for colonizing Carthage.\n\nA tumult arose. A man who insulted Gracchus was slain by an unknown\nhand. The senate proclaimed Gracchus and his friends public enemies, and\nroused many of the people against him by parading the body of the slain\nman. Gracchus and his friends took up a position on the Aventine Hill.\nHere they were assailed by a strong armed force.\n\nThere was no resistance. Gracchus sought refuge at first in the Temple\nof Diana, and afterwards made his way to the Grove of the Furies,\nseveral of his friends dying in defence of his flight. A single slave\naccompanied him. When the grove was reached by his pursuers both were\nfound dead. The faithful slave had pierced his master's heart, and then\nslain himself by the same sword.\n\nSlaughter ruled in Rome. The Tiber flowed thick with the corpses of the\nfriends of Gracchus, who were slain by the fierce patricians. The houses\nof the murdered reformers were plundered by the mob, for whose good they\nhad lost their lives. For the time none dared speak the name of Gracchus\nexcept in reprobation. Yet he and his brother had done yeoman service\nfor the ungrateful people of Rome.\n\nCornelia retired to Misenum, where she lived for many years. But she\nlived not in grief for her sons, but in pride and triumph. They had died\nthe deaths of heroes and patriots, and she gloried in their fame,\ndeclaring that they had found worthy graves in the temples of the gods.\n\nSo came the people to think, in after-years, and they set up in the\nForum a bronze statue to the great Roman matron, on which were inscribed\nonly these words: TO CORNELIA, THE MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI.\n\n\n\n\n_JUGURTHA, THE PURCHASER OF ROME._\n\n\nMasinissa, the valiant old king of Numidia, who had ravaged Carthage in\nits declining days, left his kingdom to his three sons. On the death of\nMicipsa, the last remaining of these, in 118 B.C., he, in turn, left the\nkingdom to his two sons. They were still young, and Jugurtha, their\ncousin, was appointed their guardian and the regent of the kingdom.\n\nShrewd, bold, ambitious, and unscrupulous, Jugurtha was the most\ndangerous man in Numidia to whose care the young princes could have been\nconfided. Scipio read his character rightly, and said to him, \"Trust to\nyour own good qualities, and power will come of itself. Seek it by base\narts, and you will lose all.\"\n\nSome of the young nobles in Scipio's camp gave baser advice. \"At Rome,\"\nthey told him, \"all things could be had for money.\" They advised him to\nbuy the support of Rome, and seize the crown of Numidia.\n\nJugurtha took this base advice, instead of the wise counsel of Scipio.\nHe was destined to pay dearly for his ambition and lack of faith and\nhonor. One of the young princes showed a high spirit, and Jugurtha had\nhim assassinated. The other fled to Rome and sought the support of the\nsenate. Jugurtha now, following the suggestions of his false friends,\nsent gold and promises to Rome, purchased the support of venal senators,\nand had voted to him the strongest half of the kingdom; Adherbal, the\nyoung prince, being given the weaker half.\n\nBut the young man was not left in peace, even in this reduced\ninheritance. Jugurtha sent more presents to Rome, and, confident of his\nstrength there, boldly invaded the dominions of Adherbal. A Roman\ncommission threatened him with Rome's displeasure if he did not keep\nwithin his own dominions. He affected to submit, but as soon as the\ncommissioners turned their backs the daring adventurer renewed his\nefforts, got possession of his cousin through treachery, and at once\nordered him to be put to death with torture.\n\nSince Rome had become great and powerful no one had dared so openly to\ncontemn its decrees. But Jugurtha knew the Romans of that day, and\ntrusted to his gold. He bought a majority in the senate, defied the\nminority, and would have gained his aim but for one honest man. This was\nthe tribune Memmius, who, seeing that the senate was hopelessly corrupt,\ncalled the people together in the Forum, told them of the crimes of\nJugurtha, and demanded justice and redress at their hands.\n\nAnd now a struggle arose like that between the Gracchi and the rich\nsenators. Jugurtha sent more gold to Rome. An army was despatched\nagainst him, but he purchased it also. He gave up his elephants in\npledge of good faith, and then bought them back at a high price. The\nofficers divided the money, and the army failed to advance.\n\nJugurtha would have triumphed but for Memmius, who resolutely kept up\nhis attacks. In the end the usurper was ordered to come to Rome,--under\na safe-conduct. He came, and here by his gold purchased one of the\ntribunes, who protected him against the wrath of Memmius and the people.\nBut Memmius was resolute and determined. Another Numidian prince was\nfound and asked to demand the crown from the senate. Jugurtha learned\nwhat was afoot, and sent an agent, Bomilcar by name, to assassinate the\nnew prince. An indictment was laid against Bomilcar, but Jugurtha,\nfearing to have his own share in the murder exposed, sent him off\nsecretly to Africa.\n\nThis was too much, even for the purchased members of the senate. Such\nopen disdain of the majesty of Rome no man, however avaricious, dared\nsupport. Jugurtha had a safe-conduct, and could not be seized, but he\nwas ordered to quit Rome immediately. He did so, and as he passed out of\nthe gates he looked back and said, \"A city for sale if she can find a\npurchaser.\"\n\nThe remainder of Jugurtha's history is one of war. The time for winning\npower by bribery was past. The people were so thoroughly aroused and\nincensed that none dared yield to cupidity. The indignation grew. The\nfirst army sent against Jugurtha was baffled by the wily African, caught\nin a defile, and only escaped by passing under the yoke, and agreeing\nto evacuate Numidia.\n\nThis disgrace stirred Rome more deeply still. A new consul was elected\nand a new army raised. A commission was appointed to inquire into the\nconduct of the senate, and several of the leading members were found\nguilty of high treason and put to death without mercy. Rome had begun to\npurge itself.\n\nThe new general, Metellus, was not one to be sent under the yoke. He\ndefeated Jugurtha in the field and pursued him so unrelentingly that\nsoon the African usurper was a fugitive, without an army, and with only\nsome fortresses under his control.\n\nMetellus had with him as his principal officer a man who was to become\nfamous in Roman history. This man, Caius Marius, was then fifty years of\nage. Yet he had years enough before him to play a mighty part. He was a\nman of the people, rough and uneducated; scorned learning, but had a\nvigorous ambition and a striking military genius. He claimed to be a\n_New Man_, knew no Greek, and boasted that he had no images but \"prizes\nwon by valor and scars upon his breast.\"\n\nThis man made himself the favorite of the populace, was elected consul,\nand by undisguised trickery took the conduct of the war out of the hands\nof Metellus just as the latter was about to succeed. With him to Africa\nwent another man who was to become equally famous, L. Cornelius Sulla,\nthe future chief of Rome. Sulla was not a _New Man_. He was an\naristocrat, knew Greek better than Marius knew Latin, was educated and\ndissipated, and showed the marks of a dissolute life in his face. When\nhe rode into the camp of Marius at the head of the cavalry he had seen\nno service, and the rugged soldier looked with contempt on this\neffeminate pleasure-seeker who had been sent as his lieutenant. He soon\nlearned his mistake, and before the campaign ended Sulla was his most\ntrusted officer and chief adviser.\n\nIn the subsequent conduct of the war there is an interesting story to\ntell. There were two hill-forts in Numidia which still remained in\nJugurtha's control. One of these was taken easily. The other--which\ncontained all that was left of the usurper's treasures--was a formidable\nplace, which long defied the Roman engineers. It stood on a precipitous\nrock, with only a single narrow ascent; was well garrisoned and supplied\nwith arms, food, and water; and so long defied all the efforts of Marius\nthat he almost despaired of its capture.\n\nIn this dilemma a happy chance came to his aid. A Ligurian soldier, a\npractised mountaineer, being in search of water, saw a number of snails\ncrawling up the rock in the rear of the castle. These were a favorite\nfood with him, and he gathered what he saw, and climbed the cliff in\nsearch of more. Higher and higher he went, till he had nearly reached\nthe summit of the rock. Here he found himself near a large oak, which\nhad rooted itself in the rock crevices, and grew upward so as to overtop\nthe castle hill.\n\nThe Ligurian, led by curiosity, climbed the tree, and gained a point\nfrom which he could see the castle, undefended on this side, and\nwithout sentinels. Having taken a close observation, he descended,\ncarefully examining every point as he went. He now hastened to the tent\nof Marius, recounted to him his exploit, and offered to guide a party up\nthe perilous ascent.\n\nMarius was quick to seize this hopeful chance. Five trumpeters and four\ncenturions were selected, who were placed under the leadership of the\nmountaineer. Laying aside all clothing and arms that would obstruct\nthem, they followed the Ligurian up the rock. He, an alert and skilful\nclimber, here and there tied ropes to projecting points, here lent them\nthe aid of his hand, here sent them up ahead and carried their arms\nafter them. At length, with great toil and risk, they reached the\nsummit, and found the castle at this point undefended and unwatched, the\nNumidians being all on the opposite side.\n\nMarius, being apprised of their success, ordered a vigorous assault in\nfront. The garrison rushed to the defence of their outer works. In the\nheat of the action a sudden clangor of trumpets was heard in their rear.\nThis unexpected sound spread instant alarm. The women and children who\nhad come out to watch the contest fled in terror. The soldiers nearest\nthe walls followed. At length the whole body, stricken suddenly with\npanic, took to flight, followed in hot pursuit by their foes.\n\nOver the deserted works the Romans clambered, into the castle they\nburst, all who opposed them were cut down, and in a short time the place\nwhich had so long defied them was theirs, while the four trumpets to\nwhich their victory was due sounded loudly the war-peal of triumph.\n\nJugurtha was still at large. He was supported by Bocchus, king of\nMauritania, whose daughter he had married. Sulla was sent to demand his\nsurrender. Bocchus refused at first, but at length, through fear of\nRome, consented, and the bold usurper was betrayed into Sulla's hands.\n\nThe end of Jugurtha was one in accordance with the brutal cruelty of\nRome, yet it was one which he richly deserved. It was in the month of\nJanuary, 104 B.C., three years after his capture, that Marius entered\nRome in triumphal procession, displaying to the people the spoils of his\nvictories, while before his car walked his captive in chains.\n\nThe African seemed sunk in stupor as he walked. He was roused by the\nbrutal mob, who tore off his clothes and plucked the gold rings from his\nears. Then he was thrust into the dungeon at the foot of the Capitoline\nHill. \"Hercules, what a cold bath this is!\" he exclaimed. There he who\nhad defied Rome and lorded it over Africa starved to death. A prince of\nthe line of Masinissa succeeded him on the throne.\n\n\n\n\n_THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIUS._\n\n\nMarius and Sulla, the heroes of the Jugurthine War, in later years led\nin greater wars, in which they gained much fame. They ended their\ncareers in frightful massacres, in which they gained great infamy. Rome,\nwhich had made the world its slaughter-house, was itself turned into a\nslaughter-house by these cruel and revengeful rivals.\n\nThere was rarely any lack of work for the swords of Rome. While Marius\nwas absent in Africa a frightful peril threatened the Roman state. A\nvast horde of barbarians was sweeping downward from the north. The\nGermans of Central Europe had ravaged Switzerland and invaded Gaul.\nEvery army sent against them had been defeated with great slaughter.\nItaly was in immediate danger of invasion, Rome in imminent peril.\nMarius was sadly needed, and on his return from Africa was hailed as the\nonly man who could save the state.\n\nInstantly he gathered an army and set out for Gaul, Sulla going with him\nas a subordinate officer. Two years were spent in marches and\ncounter-marches, and then (B.C. 102) he met the enemy and defeated them\nwith immense slaughter. Reserving the richest of the spoils, he devoted\nthe remainder to the gods, and, as he stood in a purple robe, torch in\nhand, about to apply the flame to the costly funeral pile, horsemen\ndashed at full speed through the open lines of the troops, and announced\nthat for a fifth time he had been elected consul of Rome.\n\nIn this war Sulla also showed valor and won fame. But he had grown\njealous of the glory of Marius, and left his army to join that of the\nconsul Catulus, who was being driven backward by another great horde of\nbarbarians. Marius, having beaten his own foes, hastened to the relief\nof his associate; the flight was stopped, and a battle ensued in which\nthe invading army was swept from the face of the earth, and Rome freed\nfor centuries from danger of barbarian invasion.\n\nSulla and Catulus had their share in this victory, but the people gave\nMarius the whole honor, called him the third founder of their city (as\nCamillus had been the second), and gathered in rejoicing multitudes to\nwitness his triumph.\n\nWhile this war was going on there was dreadful work at home. The slaves\nhad, for the second time, broken into insurrection. This servile war was\nmainly in Sicily, where thousands of slaves were slain. Of the captives,\nmany were taken to Rome to fight with wild beasts in the arena, but they\ndisappointed the eager spectators by killing each other. This outbreak\nonly made slavery at Rome harder and harsher than before.\n\nYears passed on, and then another war broke out. The Italian allies, who\nhad helped to make Rome great, claimed rights of citizenship and\nsuffrage. These were denied, and what is known as the Social War began.\nSulla and Marius took part in this conflict, which ended in favor of\nRome, though the franchise fought for was in large measure gained. It\nwas of little value, however, since all who held it were obliged to go\nto the city of Rome to vote.\n\nDuring these various conflicts the rivalry between Marius and Sulla grew\nsteadily more declared. The old plebeian, now seventy years of age, was\njealous of the honors which his aristocratic rival had gained in the\nSocial War, and a spirit of bitter hatred, which was to bear dire\nresults, arose in his heart.\n\nEvents to come were to blow this spark of hatred into a glowing flame. A\nnew war threatened Rome. Mithridates the Great, king of Pontus, in Asia\nMinor, was pursuing a career of conquest, and the Roman provinces in\nAsia were in danger. War was determined on, and Sulla, who had already\nheld successful command in the East, claimed the command of the new\narmy. Marius, old as he was, wanted it, too, and by his influence with\nthe new citizens of Rome succeeded in defeating Sulla and gaining the\nappointment of general in the war against Pontus.\n\nThis vote of the tribes precipitated a contest. The Social War was not\nyet fully ended, and Sulla hastened to the camp where his soldiers were\nbesieging a Samnite town. It was his purpose to set sail for the East\nbefore he could be superseded. He was too late. Officials from Rome\nreached the camp almost as soon as he, bearing a commission from Marius\nto assume the command. It was a critical moment. Sulla must either yield\nor inaugurate a civil war.\n\nHe chose the latter. Calling the soldiers together, he told them that\nhe had been insulted and injured, and that, unless they supported him,\nthey would be left at home, and a new army raised by Marius would obtain\nthe spoils of the Mithridatic war. Stirred by this appeal to their\navarice, the legions stoned to death the officers sent by Marius, and\nloudly demanded to be led to Rome.\n\nTheir coming took Marius by surprise, and threw the city into\nconsternation. No one had dreamed of such daring and audacity. To lead a\nRoman army against Rome was unprecedented. The senate sent an embassy\nasking Sulla to halt till the Fathers could come to some decision. He\npromised to do so, but as soon as the envoys had gone he sent a force\nthat seized the Colline Gate and entered the city streets. Here their\nprogress was stopped by the people, who hurled tiles and stones upon\ntheir heads from the house-tops.\n\nThe whole army soon followed, and Sulla entered the city with two\nlegions at his back. The people again opposed their march, but Sulla\nseized a torch and threatened to burn the city if any hostility were\nshown. This ended all opposition, except that made by Marius, who\nretreated to the Capitol, where he proclaimed liberty to all slaves who\nwould join his banner. This did him much more harm than good; his\nadherents dispersed; he and his chief supporters were forced to seek\nsafety in flight.\n\nAnd now we have a story of striking interest to tell. It would need the\npowers of invention of a romancer to devise a series of adventures as\nremarkable as those which befell old Marius in his flight. It is one of\nthe strangest stories in all the annals of history, a marked\nillustration of the saying that fact is often stranger than fiction.\n\nMarius fled to Ostia, at the mouth of the Tiber, in company with\nGranius, his son-in-law, and five slaves. He proposed to take ship there\nfor Africa, where his influence was great. His son followed him by a\ndifferent route, and arrived at Ostia to find that his father had put to\nsea. There was another vessel about to sail, which the son took, and in\nwhich he succeeded in reaching Africa.\n\nThe older fugitive had no such good fortune. The elements pronounced\nagainst him, and a storm drove the vessel ashore near Circeii. Here the\nparty wandered in distress along the desolate coast, in imminent danger\nof capture, for emissaries of Sulla were scouring the shores of Italy in\nhis pursuit. Fortunately for the old general, he was recognized by some\nherdsmen, who warned him that a troop of cavalry was approaching. Not\nknowing who they were, and fearing their purpose, the fugitives hastily\nleft the road and sought shelter in the forest that there came down near\nto the coast.\n\nHere the night was miserably passed, the fugitives suffering for want of\nfood and shelter. When the dawn of the next day broke, their forlorn\nwalk was resumed, there being no enemy in sight. By this time the whole\nparty, with the exception of Marius, was greatly depressed. He alone\nkept up his spirits, telling his followers that he had been six times\nconsul of Rome, and that a seventh consulship would yet be his.\n\nThere seemed little hope of such a turn of fortune as the hungry\nfugitives dragged wearily onward. For two days they kept on, making\nabout forty miles of distance. At the end of that time peril of capture\ncame frightfully near. A body of horsemen was visible at a distance,\ncoming rapidly on. No friendly forest here offered shelter. The only\nhope of escape lay in two merchant vessels, which were moving slowly\nclose in shore.\n\nCalling loudly for aid, Marius and those with him plunged into the water\nand swam for these vessels. Granius reached one of them. Marius was so\nexhausted that he could not swim, and was supported with difficulty\nabove the water by two slaves till the seamen of the other vessel drew\nhim on board.\n\nHe had barely reached the deck when the troop of horsemen rode to the\nwater's edge, and their leader called to the captain of the vessel,\ntelling him that it was the proscribed Marius he had rescued, and\nbidding him at once to deliver him up.\n\nWhat to do the captain did not know. The officer on shore threatened him\nwith the vengeance of Sulla if he failed to yield the fugitive. Marius,\nwith tears in his eyes, earnestly begged for protection from the captain\nand crew. The captain wavered in purpose, but finally yielded to Marius\nand sailed on. But he did so in doubt and fear, and on reaching the\nmouth of the river Liris he persuaded Marius to go ashore, saying that\nthe vessel must lie to till the land-wind rose. The instant the boat\nreturned the faithless captain sailed away, leaving the aged fugitive\nabsolutely alone on the beach.\n\nWalking wearily to the sorry hut of an old peasant, which stood near,\nMarius told him who he was, and begged for shelter. The old man hid him\nin a hole near the river, and covered him with reeds. While he lay there\nthe horsemen, who had followed the vessel along the shore, came up, and\nasked the tenant of the hut where Marius was.\n\nThe shivering fugitive, in fear of being betrayed, rose hastily from his\nhiding-place and dashed into the stream. Some of the horsemen saw him,\nhe was pursued, and, covered with mud and nearly naked, the old\nconqueror was dragged from the river, placed on a horse, and carried as\na captive to the neighboring town of Miturnae. Here he was confined in\nthe house of a woman named Fannia till his fate could be determined.\n\nA circular letter had been received by the magistrates from the consuls\nat Rome, ordering them to put Marius to death if he should fall into\ntheir hands. This was more than they cared to do on their own\nresponsibility, and they called a meeting of the town council to decide\nthe momentous question. The council decided that Marius should die, and\nsent a Gaulish slave to put him to death.\n\nIt was dark when the executioner entered the house of Fannia. The slave,\nlittle relishing the task committed to his hands, entered the room where\nMarius lay. All the trembling wretch could see in the darkness were the\nglaring eyes of the old man fixed fiercely on him, while a deep voice\ncame from the couch, \"Fellow, darest thou slay Caius Marius?\"\n\nThrowing down his sword, the Gaul fled in terror from those accusing\neyes, crying out, loudly, \"I cannot slay Caius Marius!\"\n\nThe magistrates made no further effort to put their prisoner to death.\nThey managed that he should escape, and he made his way to the island of\nIschia, which Granius had already reached. Here a friendly ship took\nthem on board, and they sailed for Africa.\n\nBut the perils of the fugitive were not yet at an end. The ship was\nforced to stop at Erycina, in Sicily, for water. Here a Roman official\nrecognized Marius, fell upon the party with a company of soldiers, and\nslew sixteen of them. Marius was nearly taken, but managed to escape,\nthe vessel hastily setting sail. He now reached Africa without further\nadventure.\n\nHis son and other friends had arrived earlier, and, encouraging news\nbeing told him, he landed near the site of ancient Carthage. The praetor,\nlearning of his presence, and advised of the revolution at Rome, sent\nhim word to quit the province without delay. As the messenger spoke\nMarius looked at him with silent indignation.\n\n\"What answer shall I take back to the praetor?\" asked the man.\n\n\"Tell him,\" said the old general, with impressive dignity, \"that you\nhave seen Caius Marius sitting among the ruins of Carthage.\"\n\nMeanwhile his son had reached Numidia, where he was outwardly well\nreceived by the king, yet held in captivity. He was at length enabled\nto escape by the aid of the king's daughter, and joined his father.\nMarius was not further molested.\n\nYet it would have been well for the fame of Caius Marius had his life\nended here. He would nave escaped the infamy of his later years, and the\nflood of blood and vengeance in which his career reached its end. He had\nfriends still in Rome. Sulla had made many foes by his capture of the\ncity. Among the new consuls elected was Cornelius Cinna, who quickly\nmade trouble for the ruler of Rome. Sulla, finding his power abating,\nand fearing assassination by friends of Marius, concluded to let the\nsenate fight its own battles, and shipped his troops for Greece, leaving\nRome to its own devices, while he occupied himself with fighting its\nenemy in the East.\n\nNo sooner had he gone than civil war began. Fighting took place in the\nstreets of Rome. Cinna moved in the senate that Marius should be\nrestored to his rights. Failing in this, he gathered an army and\nthreatened his enemies in Rome.\n\nNews of all this soon reached old Marius in Africa. At the head of a\nthousand desperate men he took ship and landed in Etruria. Here he\nproclaimed liberty to all slaves who would join him, and soon had a\nlarge force. He also gained a small fleet. He and Cinna now joined\nforces and marched on Rome.\n\nThe senate, which stood for Sulla, had meanwhile been gathering an army\nfor the defence of the city. But few of those ordered from afar reached\nthe gates, and of the principal force the greater part deserted to\nMarius. The city was soon invested on all sides. The ships of Marius\ncaptured the corn-vessels from Sicily and Africa. A plague broke out in\nthe city, which decimated the army of the senate. In the end beleaguered\nRome was forced to open its gates to a new conqueror.\n\nAll the senate asked for was that Cinna would not permit a general\nmassacre. This he promised. But behind his chair, in which he sat in\nstate as consul, stood old Marius, whose face threatened disaster. He\nwas dressed in mean attire; his hair and beard hung down rough and long,\nfor neither had been cut since the day he fled from Rome; on his brow\nwas a sullen frown that boded only evil to his foes.\n\nEvil it was, evil without stint. Rome was treated as a conquered city.\nThe slaves and desperadoes who followed Marius were let loose to plunder\nat their will. Octavius, the consul who had supported the senate, was\nslain in his consular chair. A series of horrible butcheries followed.\nMarius was bent on dire vengeance, and his enemies fell in multitudes.\nFollowed by a band of ruffians known as the Bardiaei, the remorseless old\nman roamed in search of victims through the city streets, and any man of\nrank whom he passed without a salute was at once struck dead.\n\nThe senators who had opposed his recall from exile fell first. Others\nfollowed in multitudes. Those who had private wrongs to revenge followed\nthe example of their chief. The slaves of the army killed at will all\nwhom they wished to plunder. So great became the licentious outrages of\nthese slaves that in the end Cinna, who had taken no part in the\nmassacres, fell upon them with a body of troops and slew several\nthousands. This reprisal in some measure restored order in Rome.\n\nSulla, meanwhile, was winning victories in the East, and the news of\nthem somewhat disturbed the ruthless conquerors. But for the present\nthey were absolute, and the saturnalia of blood went on. It ended at\nlength in the death of Marius.\n\nSince his return he had given himself to wine and riotous living. This,\nafter the privations and hardships he had recently suffered, sapped his\niron constitution. He was elected to the seventh consulship, which he\nhad predicted while wandering as a fugitive on the south Italian shores.\nBut he fell now into an inflammatory fever, and in two weeks after his\nelection he ceased to breathe. Great and successful soldier as he had\nbeen, his late conduct had won him wide-spread detestation, and he died\nhated by his enemies and feared even by his friends.\n\n\n\n\n_THE PROSCRIPTION OF SULLA._\n\n\nWhile Marius and his friends were ruling and murdering in Rome, Sulla,\ntheir bitter enemy, was commanding and conquering in the East, biding\nhis time for revenge. He drove the Asiatic foe out of Greece, taking and\npillaging Athens as an episode. He carried the war into Asia, forced\nMithridates to sue for peace, and exacted enormous sums (more than one\nhundred million dollars in our money) from the rich cities of the East.\nThen, after giving his soldiers a winter's rest in Asia, he turned his\nface towards Rome, writing to the senate that he was coming, and that he\nintended to take revenge on his enemies.\n\nIt was now the year 83 B.C. Three years had passed since the death of\nMarius. During the interval the party of the plebeians had been at the\nhead of affairs. Now Sulla, the aristocrat, was coming to call them to a\nstern account, and they trembled in anticipation. They remembered\nvividly the Marian carnival of blood. What retribution would his\nmerciless rival exact?\n\nCinna, who had most to fear, proposed to meet the conqueror in the\nfield. But his soldiers were not in the mood to fight, and settled the\nquestion by murdering their commander. When spring was well advanced,\nSulla left Asia, and in sixteen hundred ships transported his men to\nItaly, landing at the port of Brundusium.\n\nOn the 6th of July, shortly after his landing, an event occurred that\nthrew all Rome into consternation. The venerable buildings of the\nCapitol took fire and were burned to the ground, the cherished Sibylline\nbooks perishing in the flames. Such a disaster seemed to many Romans a\nfatal prognostic. The gods were surely against them, and all things were\nat risk.\n\nOnward marched Sulla, opposed by a much greater army collected by his\nopponents. But he led the veterans of the Mithridatic War, and in the\nranks of his opponents no man of equal ability appeared. Battle after\nbattle was fought, Sulla steadily advancing. At length an army of\nSamnites, raised to defend the Marian cause, marched on Rome. Caius\nPontius, their commander, was bent on terribly avenging the sufferings\nof his people on that great city.\n\n\"Rome's last day,\" he said to his soldiers, \"is come. The city must be\nannihilated. The wolves that have so long preyed upon Italy will never\ncease from troubling till their lair is utterly destroyed.\"\n\nRome was in despair, for all seemed at an end. The Samnites had not\nforgotten a former Pontius, who had sent a Roman army under the Caudine\nForks, and had been cruelly murdered in the Capitol They thundered on\nthe Colline Gate. But at that critical moment a large body of cavalry\nappeared and charged the foe. It was the vanguard of Sulla's army,\nmarching in haste to the relief of Rome.\n\nA fierce battle ensued. Sulla fought gallantly. He rode a white horse,\nand was the mark of every javelin. But despite his efforts his men were\nforced back against the wall, and when night came to their relief it\nlooked as if nothing remained for them but to sell their lives as dearly\nas possible the next morning.\n\nBut during the night Sulla received favorable news. Crassus, who\ncommanded his right wing, had completely defeated a detachment of the\nMarian army. With quick decision, Sulla marched during the night round\nthe enemy's camp, joined Crassus, and at day-break attacked the foe.\n\nThe battle that ensued was a terrible one. Fifty thousand men fell on\neach side. Pontius and other Marian leaders were slain. In the end Sulla\ntriumphed, taking eight thousand prisoners, of whom six thousand were\nSamnites. The latter were, by order of the victor, ruthlessly butchered\nin cold blood.\n\nThis was but the prelude to an equally ruthless but more protracted\nbutchery. Sulla was at last lord of Rome, as absolute in power as any\nemperor of later days. In fact, he had himself appointed dictator, an\noffice which had vanished more than a century before, and which raised\nhim above the law. He announced that he would give a better government\nto Rome, but to do so he must first rid that city of its enemies.\n\nMarius, whom Sulla hated with intense bitterness, had escaped him by\ndeath. By his orders the bones of the old general were torn from their\ntomb near the Anio and flung into that stream. The son of Marius had\nslain himself to prevent being taken. His head was brought to Sulla at\nRome, who gazed on the youthful face with grim satisfaction, saying,\n\"Those who take the helm must first serve at the oar.\" As for himself,\nhis fortune was now accomplished, he said, and henceforth he should be\nknown as Felix.\n\nThe cruel work which Sulla had promised immediately began. Adherents of\nthe popular party were slaughtered daily and hourly at Rome. Some who\nhad taken no part in the late war were slain. No man knew if he was\nsafe. Some of the senators asked that the names of the guilty should be\nmade known, that the innocent might be relieved from uncertainty. The\nproposition hit with Sulla's humor. He ordered that a list of those\ndoomed to death should be made out and published. This was called a\nProscription.\n\nBut the uncertainty continued as great as ever. The list contained but\neighty names. It was quickly followed by another containing one hundred\nand twenty. Day after day new lists of the doomed were issued. To make\ndeath sure, a reward of two talents was promised any one who should kill\na proscribed man,--even if the killer were his son or his slave. Those\nwho in any way aided the proscribed became themselves doomed to death.\n\nMen who envied others their property managed to have their names put on\nthe list. A partisan of Sulla was exulting over the doomed, when his\neye fell on his own name in the list. He hastily fled, and the\nbystanders, judging the cause, followed and cut him down. Catiline, who\nafterwards became notorious in Roman history, murdered his own brother,\nand to legalize the murder had the name of his victim placed on the\nlist.\n\nHow many were murdered we do not know. Probably little less than three\nthousand in Rome. The stream of murder flowed to other cities. Several\nof these defied the conqueror, but were taken one by one and their\ndefenders slain. To all cities which had taken part with the Marians the\nproscription made its way. Of the total number slain during this reign\nof terror no record exists, but the deliberate butchery of Sulla went\nfar beyond the ferocious but temporary slaughter of Marius.\n\nMurder was followed by confiscation. Sulla ordered that the property of\nthe slain should be sold at auction and the proceeds put in the\ntreasury. But the favorites of the dictator were the chief bidders, the\nproperty was sold at a tithe of its value, and the unworthy and\ndissolute obtained the lion's share of the spoil.\n\nDuring this period of murder and confiscation we first hear the names of\na number of afterwards famous Romans. Catiline we have named. Pompey\ntook part in the war on Sulla's side, was victorious in Sicily and\nAfrica, and on his return was hailed by his chief with the title of\nPompey the Great. Another still more famous personage was Julius Caesar.\nSulla had ordered that all persons connected by marriage with the\nMarian party should divorce their wives. Pompey obeyed. Caesar, who was a\nnephew of Marius and had married the daughter of Cinna, boldly refused.\nHe was then a youth of nineteen. His boldness would have brought him\ndeath had not powerful friends asked for his life.\n\n\"You know not what you ask,\" said Sulla; \"that profligate boy will be\nmore dangerous than many Mariuses.\"\n\nCaesar, not trusting Sulla's doubtful humor, escaped from Rome, and hid\nin the depths of the Sabine mountains, awaiting a time when the streets\nof the capital city would be safer for those who dared speak their\nminds.\n\nAnother young man of rising fame showed little less boldness. This was\nCicero, who had just returned to Rome from his studies in Greece. He\nventured to defend Roscius of Ameria against an accusation of murder\nmade by Chrysogonus, a prime favorite of Sulla. Cicero lashed the\nfavorite vigorously, and won a verdict for his client. But he found it\nadvisable to leave Rome immediately and resume his studies at Rhodes.\n\nSulla ended his work by organizing a new senate and making a new code of\nlaws. Three hundred new members were added to the senate, and the laws\nof Rome were brought largely back to the state in which they had been\nbefore the Gracchi.\n\nThis done, to the utter surprise of the people he laid down his power\nand retired from Rome, within whose streets he never again set foot. He\nhad no occasion for fear. He had scattered his veterans throughout\nItaly on confiscated estates, and knew that he could trust to their\nsupport. Before his departure he gave a feast of costly meats and rich\nwines to the Roman commons, in such profusion that vast quantities that\ncould not be eaten were cast into the Tiber. Then he dismissed his armed\nattendants, and walked on foot to his house, through a multitude of whom\nmany had ample reason to strike him down.\n\nHe now retired to his villa near Puteoli, on the Bay of Naples, with the\npurpose of enjoying that life of voluptuous ease which he craved more\nthan power and distinction. Here he spent the brief remainder of his\nlife in nocturnal orgies and literary converse, completing his\n\"Memoirs,\" in which he told, in exaggerated phrase, the story of his\nlife and exploits.\n\nHe lived but about a year. His excesses brought on a complication of\ndisorders, which ended, we are told, in a loathsome disease. The senate\nvoted him a gorgeous funeral, after which his body was burned on the\nCampus Martius, that no future tyrant could treat his remains as he had\ndone those of his great rival Marius.\n\n\n\n\n_THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS._\n\n\nAt the beginning of the first Punic War, or war with Carthage, a new\nform of entertainment was introduced into Rome. This was the\ngladiatorial show, the fights of armed men in the arena, the first of\nwhich was given in the year 264 B.C., at the funeral of D. Junius\nBrutus. These exhibitions were long confined to funeral occasions, money\nbeing frequently left for this purpose in wills, but they gradually\nextended to other occasions, and finally became the choice amusement of\nthe brutal Roman mob. The gladiators were divided into several classes,\nin accordance with their particular weapons and modes of fighting, and\ngreat pains were taken to instruct them in the use of their special\narms. But in the period that followed the death of Sulla Rome was to\nhave a gladiatorial exhibition of a different sort.\n\nIn the city of Capua was a school of gladiators, kept by a man named\nLentulus. It was his practice to hire out his trained pupils to nobles\nfor battles in the arena during public festivals. His school was a large\none, and included in its numbers a Thracian named Spartacus, who had\nbeen taken prisoner while leading his countrymen against the Romans, and\nwas to be punished for his presumption by making sport for his\nconquerors.\n\nBut Spartacus had other and nobler aims. He formed a plot of flight to\nfreedom in which two hundred of his fellows joined, though only\nseventy-eight succeeded in making their escape. These men, armed merely\nwith the knives and spits which they had seized as they fled, made their\nway to the neighboring mountains, and sought a refuge in the crater of\nMount Vesuvius. It must be borne in mind that this mountain, in that\nyear of 73 B.C., was silent and seemingly extinct, though before another\ncentury passed it was to awake to vital activity. It was only biding its\ntime in slumber.\n\nIt was better to die on the open field than in the amphitheatre, argued\nSpartacus, and his followers agreed with him. Their position in the\ncrater was a strong one, and the news of their revolt soon brought them\na multitude of allies,--slaves and outlaws of every kind. These\nSpartacus organized and drilled, supplying them with officers from the\ngladiators, mostly old soldiers, and placing them under rigid\ndiscipline. It was liberty he wanted, not rapine, and he did his utmost\nto restrain his lawless followers from acts of violence.\n\nPompey, the chief Roman general of that day, was then absent in Spain,\nfighting with a remnant of the Marian forces. Two Roman praetors led\ntheir forces against the gladiators, but were driven back with loss, and\nthe army of Spartacus swelled day by day. The wild herdsmen of Apulia\njoined him in large numbers. They were slaves to their lords, whom they\nhated bitterly, and here was an opening for freedom and revenge.\n\nIt was soon evident that Rome had on its hands the greatest and most\ndangerous of its servile wars. Spartacus was brave and prudent, and\npossessed the qualities of an able leader. Unfortunately for him, he led\nan unmanageable host. In the next year both the consuls took the field\nagainst him. By this time his army had swelled to more than one hundred\nthousand men, and with these he pushed his way northward through the\npasses of the Apennines. But now insubordination appeared. Crixus, one\nof his lieutenants, ambitious of independent command, led off a large\ndivision of the army, chiefly Germans. He was quickly punished for his\ntemerity, being surprised and slain with the whole of his force.\n\nSpartacus, wise enough to know that he could not long hold out against\nthe whole power of Rome, kept on northward, hoping to pass the Alps and\nfind a place of refuge remote from the stronghold of his foes. Both the\nconsuls attacked him in his march, and both were defeated, while he\nretaliated on Rome by forcing his prisoners to fight as gladiators in\nmemory of the slain Crixus.\n\nReaching the provinces of the north, his diminished force was repulsed\nby Crassus, one of the richest men of Rome, who had taken the field as\npraetor. Spartacus would still have fought his way towards the Alps but\nfor his followers, whose impatient thirst for rapine forced him to march\nsouthward again.\n\nEvery Roman force that assailed him on this march was hurled back in\ndefeat. He even meditated an attack on Rome itself, but relinquished\nthis plan as too desperate, and instead employed his men in collecting\narms and treasure from the cities of central and southern Italy.\nDiscipline was almost at an end. The wild horde of slaves and outlaws\nwere beyond any strict military control. So great and general were their\nravages that in a later day the poet Horace promised his friend a jar of\nwine made in the Social War, \"if he could find one that had escaped the\nravages of roaming Spartacus.\"\n\nIn the year 71 B.C. the most vigorous efforts were made to put down this\ndangerous revolt. Pompey was still in Spain. The only man at home of any\nmilitary reputation was the praetor Crassus, who had amassed an enormous\nfortune by buying up property at famine prices during the Proscription\nof Sulla, and in speculative measures since.\n\nHe was given full command, took the field with a large army, restored\ndiscipline to the beaten bands of the consuls by cruel and rigorous\nmeasures, and assailed Spartacus in Calabria, where he was seeking to\nrekindle the Servile War, or slave outbreak, in Sicily. He had even\nengaged with pirate captains to transport a part of his force to Sicily,\nbut the freebooters took the money and sailed away without the men.\n\nAnd now began a struggle for life and death. Spartacus was in the\nnarrowest part of the foot of Southern Italy. Crassus determined to keep\nhim there by building strong lines of intrenchment across the neck of\nland. Spartacus attacked his works twice in one day, but each time was\nrepulsed with great slaughter. But he defended himself vigorously.\n\nPompey was now returning from Spain. Crassus, not caring to be robbed of\nthe results of his labors, determined to assault Spartacus in his camp.\nBut before he could do so the daring gladiator attacked his lines again,\nforced his way through, and marched for Brundusium, where he hoped to\nfind ships that would convey him and his men from Italy.\n\nAs it happened, a large body of Roman veterans, returning from\nMacedonia, had just reached Brundusium, and undertook its defence.\nFoiled in his purpose, Spartacus turned upon the pursuing army of\nCrassus, like a wolf at bay, and attacked it with the energy of\ndesperation. The battle that ensued was contested with the fiercest\ncourage. Spartacus and his men were fighting for their lives, and the\nresult continued doubtful till the brave gladiator was wounded in the\nthigh by a javelin. Falling on his knee, he fought with the courage of a\nhero until, overpowered by numbers, he fell dead.\n\nHis death decided the conflict. Most of his followers were slain on the\nfield. A strong body escaped to the mountains, but these were pursued,\nand many fell. Five thousand of them made their way to the north of\nItaly, where they were met by Pompey, on his return from Spain, and\nslaughtered to a man.\n\nCrassus took six thousand prisoners, and these he disposed of in the\ncruel Roman way of dealing with revolted slaves, hanging or crucifying\nthe whole of them along the road between Rome and Capua.\n\nThus ended far the most important outbreak of Roman gladiators and\nslaves. The south of Italy suffered horribly from its ravages, but not\nthrough any act of Spartacus, who throughout showed a moderation equal\nto his courage and military ability. Had it not been for the lawless\ncharacter of his followers his career might have had a very different\nending, for he had shown himself a commander of rare ability and\nunconquerable courage.\n\n\n\n\n_CAESAR AND THE PIRATES._\n\n\nWe have spoken of the pirates who agreed to convey the forces of\nSpartacus from Italy to Sicily, but faithlessly sailed away with his\nmoney and without his men. From times immemorial the Mediterranean had\nbeen ravaged by pirate fleets, which made the inlets of Asia Minor and\nthe isles of the Archipelago their places of shelter, whence they dashed\nout on rapid raids, and within which they vanished when attacked.\n\nThis piracy reached its highest power during and after the Social and\nCivil Wars of Rome, the outlaws taking prompt advantage of the\ndistractions of the times, and gaining a strength and audacity unknown\nbefore. Their chief places of refuge were in the coast districts of\nCilicia and Pisidia, in Asia Minor, while in the mountain valleys which\nled down from Taurus to that coast they had strongholds difficult of\naccess, and enabling them to defy attack by land.\n\nThey were now aided by Mithridates, who supplied them with money and\nencouraged their raids. So great became their audacity that they carried\noff important personages from the coast of Italy, among them two\npraetors, whom they held to ransom. They ravaged all unguarded shores,\nand are said to have captured in all four hundred important towns. The\nriches gained in these raids were displayed with the ostentation of\nconquerors. The sails of their ships were dyed with that costly Tyrian\npurple which at a later date was reserved for the robes of emperors;\ntheir oars were inlaid with silver, and their pennants glittered with\ngold. As for the merchant fleets of Rome, they made their journeys under\nconstant risk, and there was danger, if the pirates were not suppressed,\nthat they would cut off the entire grain-supply from Africa and Sicily.\n\nThe most interesting story told in connection with these marauders is\nconnected with the youthful days of Julius Caesar, afterwards so great a\nman in Rome.\n\nIn the year 76 B.C. Caesar, then a young man of twenty-four, and\nseemingly given over to mere enjoyment of life, with no indications of\npolitical aspiration, was on his way to the island of Rhodes, where he\nwished to perfect himself in oratory in the famous school of Apollonius\nMelo, in which Cicero, a few years before, had gained instruction in the\nart. Cicero had taught Rome the full power of oratory, and Caesar, who\nwas no mean orator by nature, and recognized the usefulness of the art,\nnaturally sought instruction from Cicero's teacher.\n\nHe was travelling as a gentleman of rank, but on his way was taken\nprisoner by pirates, who, deeming him a person of great distinction,\nheld him at a high ransom. For six weeks Caesar remained in their hands,\nwaiting until his ransom should be paid. He was in no respect downcast\nby his misfortune, but took part freely in the games and pastimes of\nthe pirates, and, according to Plutarch, treated them with such disdain\nthat whenever their noise disturbed his sleep he sent orders to them to\nkeep silence. In his familiar conversations with the chiefs he plainly\ntold them that he would one day crucify them all. Doubtless they laughed\nheartily at this pleasantry, as they deemed it, but they were to find it\na grim sort of jest.\n\nCaesar was released at last, the ransom paid amounting to about fifty\nthousand dollars. He lost not a moment in carrying out his threat.\nObtaining a fleet of Milesian vessels, he sailed immediately to the\nisland in which he had been held captive, and descended upon the pirates\nso suddenly that he took them prisoners while they were engaged in\ndividing their plunder. Carrying them to Pergamus, he handed them over\nto the civil authorities, by whom his promise of crucifying them all was\nduly carried out. Then he went to Rhodes, and spent two years in the\nstudy of elocution. He had proved himself an awkward kind of prey for\npirates.\n\nThese worthies continued their depredations, and became at length so\nannoying that extraordinary measures were taken for their suppression.\nPompey, then the most powerful man in Rome, was given absolute control\nover the Mediterranean. This was not done without opposition, for it was\nfeared that he aspired to kingly rule. \"You aspire to be Romulus; beware\nof the fate of Romulus,\" said some of the opposing senators.\n\nDespite opposition the power was given him, and he used it with\nremarkable results. A large fleet was at once got ready and put to sea,\nconfining its operations at first to the west of the Mediterranean, and\ndriving the piratical fleets towards their lurking-places in the east.\nLand troops meanwhile guarded the coasts. In the brief space of forty\ndays he reported to the senate that the whole sea west of Greece was\ncleared of pirates.\n\nThen he sailed for the Archipelago, swept its inlets, spread his ships\neverywhere, and drove the foe towards Cilicia. Here they gathered their\nfleet and gave him battle, but suffered a total defeat. A surrender\nfollowed, to which he won them over by lenient terms. In three months\nfrom the day he began his work the war was ended, and the pirates who\nhad so long troubled the republic of Rome had retired from business.\n\n\n\n\n_CAESAR AND POMPEY._\n\n\nThere were three leaders in Rome, Pompey, whom Sulla had named the\nGreat, Crassus, the rich, and Caesar, the shrewd and wise. Two of these\nhad reached their utmost height. For Pompey there was to be no more\ngreatness, for Crassus no more riches. But Caesar was the coming man of\nRome. After a youth given to profligate pleasures, in which he spent\nmoney as fast as Crassus collected it, and accumulated debt more rapidly\nthan Pompey accumulated fame, the innate powers of the man began to\ndeclare themselves. He studied oratory and made his mark in the Roman\nForum; he studied the political situation, and step by step made himself\na power among men. He was shrewd enough to cultivate Pompey, then the\nRoman favorite, and brought himself into closer relations with him by\nmarrying his relative. Steadily he grew into public favor and respect,\nand laid his hands on the reins of control.\n\nThere was a fourth man of prominence, Cicero, the great scholar,\nphilosopher, and orator. He prosecuted Verres, who, as governor of\nSicily, had committed frightful excesses, and drove him from Rome. He\nprosecuted Catiline, who had made a conspiracy to seize the government,\nand even to burn Rome. The conspirators were foiled and Catiline killed.\nBut Cicero, earnest and eloquent as he was, lacked manliness and\ncourage, and was driven into exile by his enemies.\n\nThere remained the three leaders, Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, and these\nthree made a secret compact to control the government, forming what\nbecame known as a _triumvirate_, or three man power. Pompey married\nJulia, the young and beautiful daughter of Caesar, and the two seemed\nvery closely united.\n\nCaesar was elected consul, and in this position won public favor by\nproposing some highly popular laws. After his year as consul he was made\ngovernor of Gaul, and now began an extraordinary career. The man who had\nby turns shown himself a dissolute spendthrift, an orator, and a\npolitical leader, suddenly developed a new power, and proved himself one\nof the greatest soldiers the world has ever known.\n\nGaul, as then known, had two divisions,--Cisalpine Gaul, or the Gaulish\nsettlements in Northern Italy; and Transalpine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the\nAlps, including the present countries of France and Switzerland. In the\nlatter country Rome possessed only a narrow strip of land, then known as\nthe Province, since then known as the country of Provence.\n\nFrom this centre Caesar, with the small army under his command,\nconsisting of three legions, entered upon a career of conquest which\nastonished Rome and drew upon him the eyes of the civilized world. He\nhad hardly been appointed when he received word that the Helvetian\ntribes of Switzerland were advancing on Geneva, the northern outpost of\nthe Province, with a view of invading the West. He hastened thither, met\nand defeated them, killed a vast multitude, and drove the remnant back\nto their own country. Then, invited by some northern tribes, he attacked\na great German band which had invaded Northern Gaul, and defeated them\nso utterly that few escaped across the Rhine. From that point he made\nhis way into and conquered Belgium. In a year's time he had vastly\nextended the Roman dominion in the West.\n\nFor nine years this career of conquest continued. The barbarian Gauls\nproved fierce and valiant soldiers, but at the end of that time they had\nbeen completely subdued and made passive subjects of Rome. Caesar even\ncrossed the sea into Britain, and look the first step towards the\nconquest of that island, of which Rome had barely heard before.\n\nDuring this career of conquest many hundreds of thousands of men were\nslain. But, then, Caesar was victorious and Rome triumphant, and what\nmattered it if a million or two of barbarians were sacrificed to the\ndemon of conquest? It mattered little to Rome, in which great city\nbarbarian life was scarcely worth a second thought. It mattered little\nto Caesar, who, like all great conquerors, was quite willing to mount to\npower on a ladder of human lives.\n\nMeanwhile what were Caesar's partners in the Triumvirate doing? When\nCaesar was given the province of Gaul, Pompey was made governor of\nSpain, and Crassus of Syria. Crassus, who had gained some military fame\nby overcoming Spartacus the gladiator, wished to gain more, and sailed\nfor Asia, where he stirred up a war with distant Parthia. That was the\nend of Crassus. He marched into the desert of Mesopotamia, and left his\nbody on the sands. His head was sent to Orodes, the Parthian king, who\nordered molten gold to be poured into his mouth,--a ghastly commentary\non his thirst for wealth.\n\nPompey left Spain to take care of itself, and remained in Rome, where he\nsought to add to his popularity by building a great stone theatre, large\nenough to hold forty thousand people, where for many days he amused the\npeople with plays and games. Here, for the first time, a rhinoceros was\nshown. Eighteen elephants were killed by Libyan hunters, and five\nhundred lions were slain, while hosts of gladiators fought for life and\nhonor.\n\nWhile thus seeking popular favor, Pompey was secretly working against\nthe interests of Caesar, of whose fame he had grown jealous. His wife\nJulia died, and he joined his strength with that of the aristocrats;\nwhile Caesar, a nephew of old Marius, was looked upon as a leader of the\nparty of the people.\n\nPompey's power and influence over the senate increased until he was\nvirtually dictator in Rome. Caesar's ten years' governorship in Gaul\nwould expire on the 1st of January, 49 B.C., and it was resolved by\nPompey and the senate to deprive him of the command of the army. But\nCaesar was not the man to be dealt with in this summary manner. His\ncareer of conquest ended, he entered his province of Cisalpine Gaul, or\nNorthern Italy, where he was received as a great hero and conqueror.\nFrom here he sent secret agents to Rome, bribed with large sums a number\nof important persons, and took other steps to guard his interests.\n\nMeanwhile the senate tried to disarm Caesar by unfair means. They had the\npower to shorten or lengthen the year as they pleased, and announced\nthat that year would end on November 12, and that Caesar must resign his\nauthority on the 13th. Curio, a tribune of Rome and Caesar's agent, said\nthat it was only fair that Pompey also should give up the command of the\narmy which he had near Rome. This he refused to do, and Curio publicly\ndeclared that he was trying to make himself a tyrant.\n\nFinally the senate decreed that each general should give up one legion,\nto be used in a war with the Parthians. There was no such war, but it\nwas pretended that there soon would be. Pompey agreed, but he called\nupon Caesar to send him back a legion which he had lent him three years\nbefore. Caesar did not hesitate to do so: he sent Pompey's legion and his\nown; but he took care to win the soldiers by giving each a valuable\npresent as he went away. These legions were not sent to Asia, but to\nCapua. The senate wanted them for use nearer than Parthia.\n\nCaesar was then at Ravenna, a sea-side city on the southern limit of his\nprovince. South of it flowed a little stream called the Rubicon, which\nformed his border-line. Here he took a bold step. He sent a letter to\nthe senate, offering to give up his command if Pompey would do the same.\nA violent debate followed in the senate, and a decree was passed that\nunless Caesar laid down his command by a certain day he should be\ndeclared an outlaw and enemy of Rome. At the same time the two consuls\nwere made dictators, and the two tribunes who favored Caesar--one of them\nthe afterwards famous Marc Antony--fled for safety from Rome.\n\nThe decree of the senate was equivalent to a declaration of war. On the\none side was Pompey, proud, over-confident, and unprepared. On the other\nwas Caesar, knowing his strength, satisfied in the power of the money he\nhad so freely distributed, and sure of his men. He called his soldiers\ntogether and asked if they would support him. They answered that they\nwould follow wherever he led. At once he marched for the Rubicon, the\nlimit of his province, to cross which stream meant an invasion of Italy\nand civil war.\n\nPlutarch tells us that he halted here and deeply meditated, troubled by\nthe thought that to cross that stream meant the death of thousands of\nhis countrymen. After a period of such meditation, he cried aloud, \"The\ndie is cast; let us go where the gods and the injustice of our foes\ndirect!\" and, spurring his horse forward, he plunged into the stream.\n\nThis story, which has been effectively used by a great epic poet of\nRome, probably relates what never happened. From all we know of Caesar,\nthe question of bloodshed in attaining the aims of his ambition did not\ngreatly trouble his mind. Yet the story has taken hold, and \"to cross\nthe Rubicon\" has become a proverb, signifying the taking of a step of\nmomentous importance.\n\nCaesar, after the legions sent the senate, had but a single legion left\nwith him. He sent orders to others to join him with all haste, but they\nwere distant. As for Pompey, knowing and despising the weakness of his\nrival, he had made no preparations. He had Caesar's two legions at Capua\nand one of his own at Rome, while thousands of Sulla's veterans were\nsettled in the country round. \"I have but to stamp my foot,\" he said,\n\"and armed men will start from the soil of Italy.\"\n\nHe did not stamp, or, if he did, the armed men did not start. Caesar\nmarched southward with his accustomed rapidity. Town after town opened\nits gates to him. Labienus, one of his principal officers, deserted to\nPompey. Caesar showed his contempt by sending his baggage after him. Two\nlegions from Gaul having reached him, he pushed more boldly still to the\nsouth. The cities taken were treated as friends; there was no pillage,\nno violence. Everywhere Caesar won golden opinions by his humanity.\n\nMeanwhile Pompey's armed men came not; his rival was rapidly\napproaching; he and his party of the senate fled from Rome. They reached\nBrundusium, where Caesar with six legions quickly appeared. The town was\nstrong, and Pompey took his time to embark his men and sail from Italy.\nDisappointed of his prey, Caesar turned back, and entered Rome on April\n1, now full lord and master of Italy and its capital city. In the\ntreasury of that city was a sacred hoard of money, which had been set\naside since the invasion of the Gauls, centuries before. The people\nvoted this money for his use. There was no more danger from the Gauls,\nit was said, for they had all become subjects of Rome. Yet the keeper of\nthe treasury refused to produce the keys, and when Caesar ordered the\ndoors to be broken open, tried to bar his passage into the sacred\nchamber.\n\n\"Stand aside, young man,\" said Caesar, with stern dignity; \"it is easier\nfor me to do than to say.\"\n\nCaesar was not the man to rest while an enemy was at large. Pompey had\ngone to the East. There was no fleet with which to follow him; and in\nSpain Pompey had an army of veterans, who might enter Italy as soon as\nhe left it. These must first be dealt with.\n\nThis did not delay him long. Before the year closed all Spain was his.\nMost of the soldiers of Pompey joined his army. Those who did not were\ndismissed unharmed. Everywhere he showed the greatest leniency, and\neverywhere won friends. On his return to Rome he gained new friends by\npassing laws relieving debtors and restoring their civil rights to the\nchildren of Sulla's victims.\n\nHe remained in Rome only eleven days, and then sailed for Greece, where\nPompey had gathered a large army. It was January 4, 48 B.C., when he\nsailed. On June 6 of the same year was fought, at Pharsalia, in\nThessaly, a great battle which decided the fate of the Roman world.\n\nPompey's army consisted of about forty-four thousand men. Caesar had but\nhalf as many. But his men were all veterans; many of those of Pompey\nwere new levies, collected in Asia and Macedonia. The battle was fierce\nand desperate. During its course the cavalry of Pompey attacked Caesar's\nweak troops and drove them back. The infantry advanced to their support,\nand struck straight at the faces of the foe. Plutarch tells us that this\ncavalry was made up of young Romans, of the aristocratic class and proud\nof their beauty, and that the order was given to Caesar's soldiers to\nspoil their beauty for them. But this story, like many told by Plutarch,\nlacks proof.\n\nWhatever was the cause, the cavalry were broken and fled in disorder.\nCaesar's reserve force now attacked Pompey's worn troops, who gave way\neverywhere. Caesar ordered that all Romans should be spared, and only the\nAsiatics pursued. The legions, hearing of this, ceased to resist. The\nforeign soldiers fled, after great slaughter. Pompey rode hastily from\nthe field.\n\nThe camp was taken. The booty captured was immense. But Caesar would not\nlet his soldiers rest or plunder till they had completed their work.\nThis proved easy; all the Romans submitted; the Asiatics fled. Pompey\nput to sea, where he had still a powerful fleet. Africa was his, and he\ndetermined to take refuge in Egypt. It proved that he had enemies there.\nA small boat was sent off to bring him ashore. Among those on board was\nan officer named Septimius, who had served under Pompey in the war with\nthe pirates.\n\nPompey recognized his old officer, and entered the boat alone, his wife\nand friends watching from the vessel as he was rowed ashore. On the\nbeach a number of persons were collected, as if to receive him with\nhonor. The boat stopped. Pompey took the hand of the person next him to\nassist him to rise. As he did so Septimius, who stood behind, struck him\nwith his sword. Pompey, finding that he was among enemies, made no\nresistance, and the next blow laid him low in death. His assassins cut\noff his head and left his body on the beach. Here one of his freedmen\nand an old soldier of his army broke up a fishing-boat and made him a\nrude funeral pile. Such were the obsequies of the one-time master of the\nworld.\n\nThe battle of Pharsalia practically ended the struggle that made Caesar\nlord of Rome. Some more fighting was necessary. Africa was still in\narms. But a few short campaigns sufficed to bring it to terms, while a\ncampaign against a son of Mithridates ended in five days, Caesar's\nvictory being announced to the senate in three short words, \"Veni, vidi,\nvici\" (I came, I saw, I conquered). Then he returned to Rome, where he\nshed not a drop of the blood of his enemies, though that of gladiators\nand wild animals was freely spilled in the gorgeous games and festivals\nwith which he amused the sovereign people.\n\n\n\n\n_THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR._\n\n\nThe republic of Rome was at an end. The army had become the power, and\nthe will of the head of the army was the law, of the state. Caesar\ncelebrated his victories with grand triumphs; but he celebrated them\nmore notably still by a clemency that signified his innate nobility of\ncharacter. Instead of dyeing the streets of Rome with blood, as Marius\nand Sulla had done before him, he proclaimed a general amnesty, and his\nrise to power was not signalized by the slaughter of one of his foes.\n\n[Illustration: THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR.]\n\nHe signalized it, on the contrary, by an activity in civil reform as\nmarked as had been his energy in war. The title and privilege of Roman\ncitizenship had so far been confined to Italians. He extended it to many\nparts of Gaul and Spain. He formed plans to drain the Pontine marshes,\nto make a survey and map of the empire, to form a code of laws, and\nother great works, which he did not live to fulfil. Of all his reforms,\nthe best known is the revision of the Calendar. Before his time the\nRoman year was three hundred and fifty-five days long, an extra month\nbeing occasionally added, so as to regain the lost days. But this was\nvery irregularly done, and the civil year had got to be far away from\nthe solar year. To correct this Caesar was obliged to add ninety days to\nthe year 46 B.C., which was therefore given the unprecedented length of\nfour hundred and forty-five days. He ordered that the year in future\nshould be three hundred and sixty-five and one-fourth days in length, a\nchange which brought it very nearly, but not quite, to the true length.\nA new reform was made in 1582, by Pope Gregory XIII., which made the\ncivil and solar years almost exactly agree.\n\nCaesar did not live to see his reforms consummated. He was murdered,\nperhaps because he had refused to murder. In a few months after he had\nbrought the civil war to an end he fell the victim of assassins. The\nstory of his death is famous in Roman history, and must here be told.\n\nAfter his triumphs Caesar, who had been dictator twice before, was named\ndictator for the term of ten years. He was also made censor for three\nyears. These offices gave him such unlimited power that he was declared\nabsolute master of the lives and fortunes of the citizens and subjects\nof Rome. Imperator men called him, a term we translate emperor, and\nafter his return from Spain, where he overthrew the last army of his\nfoes, the senate named him dictator and imperator for life.\n\nThese high honors were not sufficient for Caesar's ambition. He wished to\nbe made king. He had no son of his own, but desired to make his power\nhereditary, and chose his grandnephew Octavius as his heir. But he was\nto find the people resolutely bent on having no king over Rome.\n\nTo try their temper some of his friends placed a crown on his statue in\nthe Forum. Two of the tribunes tore it off, and the crowd loudly\napplauded. Later, at the festival of the Alban Mount, some voices in the\ncrowd hailed him as king. But the mutterings of the multitude grew so\nloud, that he quickly cried, \"I am no king, but Caesar.\"\n\nAt the feast of the Lupercalia, on February 15, he was approached by\nMarc Antony, as he sat in his golden chair, and offered an embroidered\nband, such as the sovereigns of Asia wore on their heads. The crowd\nfailed to applaud, and Caesar pushed it aside. Then the multitude broke\nout in a roar of applause. Again and again he rejected the glittering\nbauble, and again the people broke into loud cries of approval. It was\nevident that they would have no king. At a later date it was moved in\nthe senate that Caesar should be king in the provinces; but he died\nbefore this decree could be put in effect.\n\nThere was discontent at Rome. Even the clemency of Caesar had made him\nenemies, for there were many who hoped to profit by proscription. His\njustice made foes among those who wished to grow rich through extortion\nand oppression. He secluded himself while engaged on his reforms, and\nthis lost him popularity. A conspiracy was organized against him by a\nsoldier named Caius Cassius and others of the discontented. For leader\nthey selected Marcus Junius Brutus, who believed himself a descendant of\nthe Brutus of old, and was won to their plot by being told that, while\nhis great ancestor had expelled the last king of Rome, he was resting\ncontent under the rule of a new king.\n\nBrutus, at length convinced that Caesar was seeking to overthrow the\nRoman republic, and that patriotism required him to emulate the famous\nBrutus of old, joined the conspiracy, which now included more than sixty\npersons, most of whom had received benefits and honors from the man they\nwished to kill. But no considerations of gratitude prevailed; they\ndetermined on Caesar's death; and the meeting of the senate called for\nthe Ides of March (March 15) was fixed for the time and place of the\nprojected murder.\n\nThe morning of that day seemed full of omens and warnings. The secret\nwas oozing out. Caesar received more than one intimation of impending\ndanger. A soothsayer had even bidden him to \"beware of the Ides of\nMarch.\" During the preceding night his wife was so disturbed by dreams\nthat in the morning she begged him not to go that day to the senate, as\nshe was sure some peril was at hand. Her words failed to trouble Caesar's\nresolute mind, but to quiet her apprehensions he agreed not to go, and\ndirected Marc Antony to preside over the senate in his stead.\n\nWhen this word was brought to the assembled senate the conspirators were\nin despair. Their secret was known to too many to remain a secret long.\nEven a day's delay might be fatal. An hour might put Caesar on his guard.\nWhat was to be done? Unless their victim could be brought to the senate\nchamber all would be lost.\n\nDecimus Brutus, one of the conspirators who had been favored by Caesar's\nbounty, went hastily to his house, and, telling him that the senate\nproposed that day to make him king of the provinces, bade him not to\nyield to such idle matters as auguries and dreams, but show himself\nabove any such superstitious weakness. These cunning arguments induced\nCaesar to change his mind, and he called for his litter and was carried\nforth.\n\nOn his way to the senate new intimations of danger came to him. A slave\nhad in some way discovered the conspiracy, and tried to force himself\nthrough the crowd to the dictator's litter, but was driven back by the\nthrong. Another informant was more fortunate. A Greek philosopher,\nArtemidorus by name, had also discovered the conspiracy, and succeeded\nin reaching Caesar's side. He thrust into his hand a roll of paper\ncontaining a full account of the impending peril. But the star of Caesar\nthat day was against him. Thinking the roll to contain a petition of\nsome sort, he laid it in the litter by his side, to examine at a more\nconvenient time. And thus he went on to his death, despite all the\nwarnings sent him by the fates.\n\nThe conspirators meanwhile were far from easy in mind. There were signs\namong them that their plot had leaked out. Casca, one of their number,\nwas accosted by a friend, \"Ah, Casca, Brutus has told me your secret.\"\nThe conspirator started in alarm, but was relieved by the next words,\n\"Where will you find money for the expenses of the aedileship?\" The man\nevidently referred to an expected office.\n\nAnother senator, Popillius Laenas, hit the mark closer. \"You have my\ngood wishes; but what you do, do quickly,\" he said to Brutus and\nCassius.\n\nThe alarm caused by his words was doubled when he stepped up to Caesar,\non his entrance to the chamber, and began to whisper in his ear. Cassius\nwas so terrified that he grasped his dagger with the thought of killing\nhimself. He was stopped by Brutus, who quietly said that Popillius\nseemed rather to be asking a favor than telling a secret. Whatever his\npurpose, Caesar was not checked, but moved quietly on and took his seat.\n\nImmediately Cimber, one of the conspirators, approached with a petition,\nin which he begged for the recall of his brother from banishment. The\nothers pressed round, praying Caesar to grant his request. Displeased by\ntheir importunity, Caesar attempted to rise, but was pulled down into his\nseat by Cimber, while Casca stabbed him in the side, but inflicted only\na slight wound. Then they all assailed him with drawn daggers.\n\nCaesar kept them off for a brief time by winding his gown as a shield\nround his left arm, and using his sharp writing style for a weapon. But\nwhen he saw Brutus approach prepared to strike he exclaimed in deep\nsorrow and reproach, \"_Et tu, Brute!_\" (Thou too, Brutus!) and covering\nhis face with his gown, he ceased to resist. Their daggers pierced his\nbody till he had received twenty-three wounds, when he fell dead at the\nbase of the statue of Pompey, which looked silently down on the\nslaughter of his great and successful rival.\n\nWhat followed this base and fruitless deed may be briefly told. The\nsenators not in the plot rose in alarm and fled from the house. When\nBrutus turned to seek to justify his deed only empty benches remained.\nThen the assassins hurried to the Forum, to tell the people that they\nhad freed Rome from a despot. But the people were hostile, and the words\nof Brutus fell on unfriendly ears.\n\nMarc Antony followed, and delivered a telling oration, which Shakespeare\nhas magnificently paraphrased. He showed the mob a waxen image of\nCaesar's body, pierced with wounds, and the garment rent by murderous\nblades. His words wrought his hearers to fury. They tore up benches,\ntables, and everything on which they could lay their hands, for a\nfuneral pile, placed on it the corpse, and set it on fire. Then, seizing\nblazing embers from the pile, they rushed in quest of vengeance to the\nhouses of the conspirators. They were too late; all had fled. The will\nof the dictator, in which he had made a large donation to every citizen\nof Rome, added to the popular fury, and a frenzy of vengeance took\npossession of the people of Rome.\n\n[Illustration: ANTONY'S ORATION OVER CAESAR.]\n\nWe must give the sequel of this murderous deed in a few words. Marc\nAntony was now master of Rome. He increased his power by pretending\nmoderation, and having a law passed to abolish the dictatorship forever.\nBut there were other actors on the scene. Octavius, whom Caesar's will\nhad named as his heir, took quick steps to gain his heritage. Antony had\ntaken possession of Caesar's wealth, but Octavius managed to raise money\nenough to pay his uncle's legacy to the citizens of Rome. A third man\nof power was Lepidus, who commanded an army near Rome, and was prepared\nto take part in the course of events.\n\nOctavius was still only a boy, not yet twenty years of age. But he was\nshrewd and ambitious, and soon succeeded in having himself elected\nconsul and put at the head of a large army. Cicero aided him with a\nseries of orations directed against Antony, which were so keen and\nbitter, and had such an effect upon the people, that Antony was declared\na public enemy. Octavius marched to meet him and Lepidus, who were\nmarching southward with another large army.\n\nInstead of fighting, however, the three leaders met in secret conclave,\nand agreed to divide the power in Rome between them. This compact is\nknown as the Second Triumvirate. Its members followed the example of\nMarius and Sulla, not that of Caesar, and resolved to extirpate their\nenemies. Each of them gave up personal friends to the vengeance of the\nothers. Of their victims the most famous was Cicero, who had delivered\nhis orations against Antony in aid of Octavius. The ambitious boy was\nbase enough to yield his friend to the vengeance of the incensed Antony.\nNo less than three hundred senators and two thousand knights fell\nvictims to this new proscription, which while it lasted made a reign of\nterror in Rome.\n\nBrutus and Cassius had meanwhile made themselves masters of Greece and\nthe eastern provinces of Rome, and were ready to meet the forces of the\nTriumvirate in the field. The decisive battle was fought on the field\nof Philippi in Northern Greece. The division of Cassius was defeated,\nand he killed himself in despair. Twenty days afterwards another battle\nwas fought on the same field, in which Brutus was defeated, and likewise\nput an end to his life. The triumvirs were undisputed lords of Rome. The\nimperial rule of Caesar had lasted but a few months, and ended with his\nlife. But with Octavius began an imperial era which lasted till the end\nof the dominion of Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA._\n\n\nThe battles of Philippi and the death of Brutus and Cassius put an end\nto the republican party to whom Caesar owed his death. The whole realm\nwas handed over to the imperial Triumvirate, who now made a new division\nof the vast Roman world. Antony took as his share all the mighty realm\nof the East; Octavius all the West. To Lepidus, whom his powerful\nconfederates did not take the trouble to consult, only Africa was left.\n\nThe after-career of Antony was a curious and impressive one. He loved a\nbewitching Egyptian queen, and for a false love lost the vast dominion\nhe had won. The story is one of the most romantic and popular of all\nthat have come to us from the past. It has been told in detail by\nPlutarch and richly dramatized by Shakespeare. We give it here in brief\nepitome.\n\nFourteen years previously Antony had visited Alexandria, and had there\nseen the youthful Cleopatra, then a girl of fifteen, but already so\nbeautiful and attractive that the susceptible Roman was deeply smitten\nwith her charms. Later she had charmed Caesar, and now when the lord of\nthe East set out on a tour of his new dominions, the love queen of Egypt\nleft her capital for Cilicia with the purpose of making him her captive.\n\nIt was midsummer of the year 41 B.C. when Antony arrived at Tarsus, on\nthe river Cydnus. Up this stream to visit him came, in more than\nOriental pomp, the beautiful Egyptian queen. The galley that bore her\nwas gorgeous beyond comparison. Its sails were of Tyrian purple; silver\noars fretted the yielding wave, while music timed their rise and fall;\nthe poop glittered with burnished gold; rich perfumes filled the air\nwith fragrance. Here, on a splendid couch, under a spangled canopy,\nreclined Cleopatra, attired as Venus, and surrounded by attendants\ndressed as Graces and Cupids. Beautiful slaves moved oars and ropes, and\nthe whole array was one of wondrous charm. We cannot do better than\nquote Shakespeare's vivid description of this unequalled spectacle:\n\n  \"The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,\n  Burned on the water; the poop was beaten gold;\n  Purple the sails, and so perfumed that\n  The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,\n  Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made\n  The water that they beat to follow faster,\n  As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,\n  It beggared all description; she did lie\n  In her pavilion--cloth-of-gold of tissue--\n  Outpicturing that Venus where we see\n  The fancy outwork nature; on each side her\n  Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,\n  With divers-colored fans, whose wind did seem\n  To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool.\"\n\nThe people of Tarsus ran in crowds to gaze on this wondrous spectacle,\nleaving Antony alone in the Forum. At the request of Cleopatra he came\nalso, and was so captivated at sight that he became her slave. He forgot\nRome, forgot his wife Fulvia, forgot honor and dignity, through his wild\npassion for this Egyptian sorceress. Following her to Alexandria, he\nlaid aside his Roman garb for the Oriental costume of the Egyptian\ncourt, gave way to all Cleopatra's pleasure-loving caprices, and lived\nin a perpetual round of orgies and festivities, heedless of honor and\nduty, and caring for naught but love and sensual enjoyment.\n\nIntoxicated with pleasure, Antony did not know what risk he ran. Shortly\nbefore Octavius had been spoken of as a boy, whom it would be easy to\nmanage and control. He was feeble and sickly,--so much so, indeed, that\njust at this time his death was reported in Rome. But the \"boy\" was\nambitious, astute, and far-seeing, and Marc Antony was descending to\nruin with every step he took in his career of folly and profligacy.\n\nThe history of the succeeding years is long, but must here be made\nshort. The two lords of Rome were changed from friends to enemies by the\nact of Fulvia, the wife of Antony. Octavius had married her daughter\nClaudia, and now divorced her. Anger at this, and a hope of winning\nAntony from the seductions of the Egyptian queen, caused her to organize\na formidable revolt against Octavius. She succeeded in raising a large\narmy, but Antony was still too absorbed in Cleopatra to come to her aid,\nand Agrippa, the able general of Octavius, soon put down the revolt.\n\nThen, when it was too late to help her, Antony awoke from his lethargy,\nand sailed to battle with Octavius. He besieged Brundusium. But Fulvia\nhad died, the soldiers had no heart for civil war, and the great rivals\nagain made peace. Antony married Octavia, the sister of Octavius, they\ndivided the Roman world between them as before, and Rome was made happy\nby a grand round of games and festivities.\n\n[Illustration: THE GALLEY OF CLEOPATRA.]\n\nFor three years Antony remained true to his new wife, and aided Octavius\nin putting down the foes of Rome. Then, during a campaign in Syria, his\nold passion for the fascinating Egyptian returned, he called Cleopatra\nto him, dallied with her instead of prosecuting his march, and in the\nend was forced to retreat in haste from the barbarian foe.\n\nFor three years now Antony was the willing slave of the enchanting\nqueen. The courage and stoical endurance of the soldier vanished, and\nwere replaced by the soft indulgence of the voluptuary. The rigid\ndiscipline of the camp was exchanged for the idle and often childish\namusements of the Oriental court. Cleopatra enchained him with an\nendless round of pleasures and profligacies. Now, while in a\nfishing-boat on the Nile, the queen amused him by having salted fish\nfixed by divers on his hook, which he drew up amid the laughter of the\nparty. Again she wagered that she would consume ten million sesterces at\na meal, and won her wager by drinking vinegar in which she had dissolved\na priceless pearl. All the enjoyments that the fancy of the cunning\nenchantress could devise were spread around him, and he let the world\nroll unheeded by while he yielded to their alluring charm.\n\nAntony posed at festive tables in the character of the god Osiris, while\nCleopatra played the role of Isis. He issued coins which bore her head\nand his. He gave away kingdoms and principalities in the East to please\nher fancy. It was her hope and aim to lead her yielding lover to the\nconquest of Rome, and to rule as empress of that imperial city.\n\nBut the madness of Antony led to destruction, not empire. The story of\nhis doings was repeated at Rome, where the voluptuary lost credit as\nOctavius gained it. Antony's friends urged him to dismiss Cleopatra and\nfight for the empire. Instead of this the infatuated madman divorced\nOctavia and clung to the Egyptian queen.\n\nThis act led to an open rupture. Octavius, by authority of the senate,\ndeclared war, not against Antony, but against Cleopatra. Antony was at\nlength roused. He gathered an army in haste, passed to Ephesus and\nAthens, and everywhere levied men and collected ships. A last and great\nstruggle for the supreme headship of the Roman world was at hand.\n\nOctavius was not skilled in war, but he had in Agrippa one of the ablest\nof ancient generals, and was wise enough to trust all warlike operations\nto him. Antony had strongly fortified himself at Actium, on the west\ncoast of Greece, while the strong fleet he had gathered lay in its\nspacious bay. Here took place one of the decisive battles of the world's\nhistory.\n\nAntony had made the fatal mistake of bringing Cleopatra with him. Under\nher advice he played the part of a poltroon instead of a soldier. His\nchief officers, disgusted by his fascination, deserted him in numbers,\nand, yielding to her urgent fears, he resolved to fly with the fleet and\nabandon the army.\n\nIn this act of folly he failed. A strong gale from the south kept the\nfleet for four days in the harbor. Then the ships of Octavius came up,\nand the two fleets joined battle off the headland of Actium.\n\nThe ships of Antony were much larger and more powerful than those of\nOctavius. Little impression was made on them by the light Italian\nvessels, and had Antony been a soldier still, or Cleopatra possessed as\nmuch courage as guile, the victory might well have been theirs. But\nbattle was no place for the pleasure-loving queen. Filled with terror,\nshe took advantage of the first wind that came, and sailed hastily away,\nfollowed by sixty Egyptian ships.\n\nThe moment Antony discovered her flight he gave up the world for love.\nSpringing from his ship-of-war into a light galley, he hastened in wild\npursuit after his flying mistress. Overtaking her vessel, he went on\nboard, but seated himself in morose misery at a distance, and would have\nnothing to do with her. Ruin and despair were now his mistresses.\n\nTheir commander fled, the ships fought on, and yielded not till the\ngreater part of them were in flames. Before night they were all\ndestroyed, and with them perished most of those on board, while all the\ntreasure was lost. When the army heard of Antony's desertion the legions\nwent over to the conqueror. That brief sea-fight had ended the war.\n\nFor a year Octavius did not trouble his rival. He spent the time in\ncementing his power in Greece and Asia Minor. Cleopatra tried her\nfascinations on him, as she had on Caesar and Antony, but in vain. She\nsought to fly to some place beyond the reach of Rome, but Arabs\ndestroyed her ships. At length Octavius came. Antony made some show of\nhostility, but Cleopatra betrayed the fleet to his rival and all\nresistance ended. Octavius entered the open gates of Alexandria as a\nconqueror.\n\nThe queen shut herself up in a building which she had erected as a\nmausoleum. It had no door, being built to receive her body after death,\nand word was sent out that she was already dead.\n\nWhen these false tidings were brought to Antony all his anger against\nthe fair traitress was replaced by a flood of his old tenderness. In\ndespair he stabbed himself, bidding his attendants to lay his body\nbeside that of Cleopatra.\n\nStill living, he was borne to the queen's retreat, where, moved by pity,\nshe had him drawn up by cords into an upper window. Here she threw\nherself in agony on his body, bathed his face with her tears, and\ncontinued to bemoan his fate until he was dead.\n\nShe afterwards consented to receive Octavius. He spoke her fairly, but\nshe was wise enough to see that all her charms were lost on him, and\nthat he proposed to degrade her by making her walk as a captive in his\ntriumph.\n\nWith a cunning greater than his own, Cleopatra promised to submit. She\nhad no apparent means of taking her life in the cell, every dangerous\nweapon was removed by his orders, and he left her, as he supposed, a\nsafe victim of his wiles.\n\nHe did not know Cleopatra. When his messengers returned, at the hour\nfixed, to conduct her away, they found only the dead body of Cleopatra\nstretched upon her couch, and by her side her two faithful attendants,\nIris and Charmion. It is said that she died from the bite of an asp, a\nvenomous Egyptian serpent, which had been secretly conveyed to her\nconcealed in a basket of fruit; but this story remains unconfirmed.\n\nPlutarch tells the story thus: \"But when they opened the doors they\nfound Cleopatra stark dead, laid upon a bed of gold, attired and arrayed\nin her royal robes, and one of her two women, who was called Iris, dead\nat her feet, and the other woman (called Charmion) half dead, and\ntrembling, trimming the diadem which Cleopatra wore upon her head.\n\n\"One of the soldiers, seeing her, angrily said to her, 'Is that well\ndone, Charmion?' 'Very well,' said she again, 'and meet for a princess\ndescended from the race of so many noble kings.' She said no more, but\nfell down dead, hard by the bed.\n\n\"Now Caesar, though he was marvellous sorry for the death of Cleopatra,\nyet he wondered at her noble mind and courage, and therefore commanded\nthat she should be nobly buried and laid by Antony.\"\n\nThus ends the story of these two famous lovers of old. Octavius,\nafterwards known as Caesar Augustus, reigned sole emperor of Rome, and\nthe republic was at an end. He was not formally proclaimed emperor, but\nliberty and independence were thereafter forgotten words in Rome. He\nended the old era of Roman history by closing the Temple of Janus, for\nthe third time since it was built, and by freely forgiving all the\nfriends of Antony. He had nothing to fear and had no thirst for blood\nand misery. Base as he had shown himself in his youth, his reign was a\nnoble one, and during it Rome reached its highest level of literary and\nmilitary glory.\n\n\n\n\n_AN IMPERIAL MONSTER._\n\n\nA being, half monster, half madman, had come to empire in Rome. This was\nCaius Caesar, great-grandson of Augustus, who in his short career as\nemperor displayed a malignant cruelty unsurpassed by the worst of Roman\nemperors, and a mad folly unequalled by any. The only conceivable excuse\nfor him is mental disease; but insanity which takes the form of thirst\nfor blood, and is combined with unlimited power, is a spectacle to make\nthe very gods weep. We describe his career as the most exaggerated\ninstance on record of mingled folly and malignity.\n\nBrought up in the camp, he was christened by the soldiers Caligula, from\nthe soldier's boots (_caligae_) which he wore. By shrewd dissimulation he\npreserved his life through the reign of Tiberius, and was left heir to\nthe throne along with the emperor's grandson. But, deceiving the senate\nby his pretended moderation, he was appointed by that body sole emperor.\n\nThey little knew what they did. Tiberius, who appears to have read him\ntruly, spoke of educating him \"for the destruction of the Roman people,\"\nand Caligula seemed eager to make these words good. At first, indeed,\nhe seemed generous and merciful, mingling this affectation with a savage\nprofligacy and voluptuousness. Illness, however, apparently affected his\nbrain or destroyed what little moral nature he possessed, and he quickly\nembarked on a career of frightful excess and barbarity.\n\nThe great wealth left by Tiberius--over twenty-five million dollars--was\nexpended by him in a single year, and to gain new funds he taxed and\nrobbed his subjects to an incredible extent. One of his methods of\nfinance was to force wealthy citizens to gamble with him for enormous\nsums, and when they lost their all (they dared not win), he would make\ntheir lives the stake and bid their friends redeem them. In addition to\nthis open robbery of the rich, taxes of all sorts were laid and\nunlimited oppressions enforced. The new edicts of the emperor were\nwritten so small and posted so high as to be unreadable, yet no excuse\nof ignorance of the law was admitted in extenuation of a fault.\n\nThe funds obtained by such oppressive means were lavished on the most\nextravagant follies. We are told of loaves of solid gold set before his\nguests, and the prows of galleys adorned with diamonds. His favorite\nhorse was kept in an ivory stable and fed from a golden manger, and when\ninvited to a banquet at his own table was regaled with gilded oats,\nserved in a golden basin of exquisite workmanship.\n\nIn addition to these domestic follies, he built villas and laid out\ngardens without regard to cost; and, that he might vie with Xerxes, he\nconstructed a bridge of ships three miles long, from Baiae to Puteoli,\non which he built houses and planted trees. This madness was concluded\nby throwing a great many of his guests from the bridge into the sea, and\nby driving recklessly with his war-galley through the throng of boats\nthat had gathered to witness the spectacle.\n\nThese cruelties were mild compared with his more deliberate ones. Rome\nwas filled with executions, the estates of his victims being\nconfiscated; and it was his choice delight to have these victims\ntortured and slain in his presence while at dinner, the officers being\nbidden to protract their sufferings, that they might \"feel themselves\ndie.\" On one occasion he expressed the mad wish that all the Roman\npeople had but one neck, that he might strike it off at a blow.\n\nPriding himself on the indifference with which he could gaze on human\ntorture, it was one of his enjoyments to witness criminals torn to\npieces by wild beasts, and if criminals proved scarce he did not\nhesitate to order some of the spectators to be thrown into the arena. In\nthe same manner, if a full supply of gladiators was wanting, he would\ncommand Roman knights to battle in the arena, taking delight in the fact\nthat this was viewed as an infamous pursuit. He kept two lists\ncontaining names of knights and senators whom he intended to put to\ndeath, and these contained the majority of both those bodies of Roman\npatricians. He is said to have put one man to death for being better\ndressed than himself, and another for being better looking.\n\nHe married more wives than he had years of empire; but when one of\nthese wives, Drusilla by name, died, he affected the bitterest grief,\nexiling himself to Sicily, and letting his beard and hair grow into wild\ndisorder. On his return to Rome his subjects found themselves in a\ndangerous quandary. Those who made a show of sadness were declared\nguilty of disrespect to the memory of the queen, who had been translated\nto the joys of heaven. Those who seemed glad were adjudged equally\nguilty for not mourning her loss. And those who showed neither joy nor\nsorrow were accused of criminal indifference to his feelings. One man,\nwho sold warm water in the streets, was sentenced to death for daring to\npursue his occupation on so solemn an occasion.\n\nAt a loss, as it would appear, in what madness next to indulge, Caligula\nfinally not only declared himself a god, but erected a temple to his own\ndivinity, and created a college of priests to serve at his altar. Among\nthese were some of the first senators of Rome, who vied with each other\nin adulation to this impious wretch. Not content with these, he made his\nwife a priest, then his horse, and at length became a priest to himself.\nHe played with the dignities of the realm in the same manner as with its\nreligion, raised the ministers of his lusts to the highest offices, and\nfinally went so far as to make his horse a consul of Rome.\n\nIn his position as a deity he pretended to be equal to and on friendly\nterms with Jupiter, and would whisper in the ears of his statue as if\nthey were in familiar intercourse. He had a machine constructed to vie\nwith Jupiter's thunder, and during the lightning of a storm would\nchallenge the god to mortal combat by hurling stones into the air.\n\nThis succession of mad frolics and ruthless cruelties should, it would\nseem, have satisfied even a Caligula, but he managed to overtop them all\nby a supreme piece of folly, which stands alone among human freaks.\nHitherto his doings had been those of peace; he now resolved to gain\nglory in war, and show the Romans what a man of soldierly mettle they\nhad in their emperor. There were no particular wars then afoot, but he\nwould make one, and resolved on an invasion of Germany, whose people\nwere at that time quiet subjects or allies of Rome.\n\nTo decide with him was to act. The army was ordered to prepare with the\nutmost haste, and was driven so fiercely that all was in confusion, the\nroads everywhere being blocked up with hurrying troops and great convoys\nof provisions, all converging rapidly on the line of march. Not waiting\ntheir arrival, he put himself at the head of the first legions gathered,\nand set out on the march with such furious speed that the legionaries\nwere utterly exhausted with fatigue. Then, suddenly changing his mood,\nhe affected the slow progress and military pomp of an Oriental king.\n\nOn reaching the borders of Germany the emperor found no foes and showed\nno fancy for fighting. Concealing some boys in a wood, he got up a mock\nbattle with them, and at its end congratulated the troops on their valor\nand felicitated himself on his success. Next, the British island being\nstill under process of conquest, he marched his army, two hundred\nthousand strong, to the sea-shore of Gaul, and drew them up in line of\nbattle. The legionaries stolidly obeyed, wondering in their stern souls\nwhat new madness the emperor had in mind.\n\nThey were soon to know. He bade them to fill their helmets with\nsea-shells, \"the spoils of the ocean due to the Capitol and the palace.\"\nThen he distributed large sums of money among the troops, giving a\nreward for valor to each, and bidding them \"henceforth to be happy and\nrich.\"\n\nThis was all well for the army, but the people of Rome must be impressed\nwith the glory and victorious success of their emperor. Such a career\nwas worthy a triumph; and to the German hostages and criminals, destined\nto figure in the procession to the Capitol, he added a number of tall\nand martial Gauls, chosen without regard to rank or condition, whom he\nordered to learn German, that they might pass for German captives.\n\nAnd now, his military expedition having ended without shedding the blood\nof a foe, Caligula's insane thirst for blood arose, and he determined to\nglut it out of the ranks of his own army. There were in it some\nregiments which had mutinied against his father on the death of\nAugustus. He ordered these to be slaughtered for their crime. Some of\nhis higher officers representing to him the danger of such a proceeding,\nhe changed his mind, and gave orders that these legions should be\ndecimated. But the whole army showed such symptoms of discontent with\nthis cruel order that Caligula was seized with consternation, and fled\nin a panic to Rome.\n\nOn reaching the city the senate proved bold enough to vote him an\novation instead of the triumph on which he had set his mind. Incensed at\nthis, he met the advances of the patricians with stinging insults, and\nperhaps determined in his mind to be deeply revenged for this\npremeditated slight.\n\nWhatever he had in view, he did not live much longer to afflict mankind.\nFour months more brought him to the end of his flagitious career. There\nwas a brave soldier of the palace guard, Cassius Chaerea by name, who\nhappened to have a weak voice, and whom Caligula frequently insulted in\npublic for this fault of nature. These insults in time grew heavier and\nviler than the veteran could bear, and he organized a conspiracy with a\nfew others against the emperor's life. Meeting him without guards, the\nconspirators assailed him with their daggers and put an end to his base\nlife.\n\nThus died, after twenty-nine years of life and four years of power, one\nof the vilest, cruellest, and maddest of the imperial demons who so long\nmade Rome a slaughter-house and an abomination among the nations.\n\n\n\n\n_THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS._\n\n\nNero was lord of Rome. Chance had placed a weak and immoral boy in\nunlimited control of the greatest of nations. Utterly destitute of\nprinciple, he gradually descended into the deepest vice and profligacy,\nwhich was soon succeeded by the basest cruelty and treachery. And one of\nthe first victims of his treachery was his own mother, who had murdered\nher husband, the Emperor Claudius, to place him on the throne, and had\nnow committed the deeper fault of attempting to control her worthless\nand faithless son.\n\nShe had threatened to replace him on the throne with his half-brother\nBritannicus, and Nero had escaped this difficulty by poisoning\nBritannicus. She then opposed his vicious passions, and made a bitter\nfoe of his mistress Poppaea, who by every artifice incensed the\nweak-minded emperor against his mother, representing her as the only\nobstacle to his full enjoyment of power and pleasure.\n\nAt length the detestable son was wrought up to the resolution of\nmurdering her to whom he owed his life. But how? He was too cowardly and\nirresolute to take open means. Should he remove her by poison or the\npoignard? The first was doubtful. Agrippina was too practised in guilt,\ntoo accustomed to vile deeds, to be easily deceived, and had, moreover,\nby taking poisons, hardened her frame against their effect. Nor could\nshe be killed by the knife and the murder concealed. The murder-seeking\nwretch, who had no plan, and no stronger person than himself in whom he\ncould confide, was at a loss how to carry out his wicked purpose.\n\nAt this juncture his tutor Anicetus came to his aid. This villain, who\nbitterly hated Agrippina, was now in command of the fleet that lay at\nMisenum. He proposed to Nero to have a vessel built in such a manner\nthat it might give way in the open sea, and plunge to the bottom with\nall not prepared to escape. If Agrippina could be lured on board such a\nvessel, her drowning would seem one of the natural disasters of the open\nsea.\n\nThis suggestion filled with joy the mind of the unnatural son. The court\nwas then at Baiae, celebrating the festival called the Quinquatria.\nAgrippina was invited to attend, and Nero, pretending a desire for\nreconciliation, went to the sea-shore to meet her on her arrival,\nembraced her tenderly, and conducted her to a villa in a pleasant\nsituation, looking out on a charming bay of the Mediterranean.\n\nOn the waters of the bay floated a number of vessels, among which was\none superbly decorated, being prepared, as she was told, in her honor as\nthe emperor's mother. This was intended to convey her to Baiae, where a\nbanquet was to be given to her that evening.\n\nAgrippina was fond of sailing. She had frequently joined coasting\nparties and made pleasure trips of her own. But for some reason, perhaps\nthrough suspicion of Nero's dark project, she now took a carriage in\npreference, and arrived safely at Baiae, much to the discomfiture of her\nworthless son.\n\nNero, however, was cunning enough to conceal his disappointment. He gave\nher the most gracious reception, placed her at table above himself, and\nby his affectionate attentions and his easy flow of talk succeeded in\ndispelling any suspicions his mother may have entertained.\n\nThe banquet was continued till a late hour, and when Agrippina rose to\ngo Nero attended her to the shore, where lay the sumptuously decorated\nvessel ready to convey her back to her villa. Here he lavished upon her\nmarks of fond affection, clasped her warmly to his bosom, and bade her\nadieu in words of tender regret, disguising his fell purpose under the\nutmost show of tenderness.\n\nAgrippina went on board, attended by only two of her train, one of whom,\na maid named Acerronia, lay at the foot of her mistress's couch, and\ngladly expressed her joy at the loving reconciliation which she had just\nperceived.\n\nThe night was calm and serene. The stars shone with their brightest\nlustre. The sea extended with an unruffled surface. The vessel moved\nswiftly, at no great distance from the shore, under the regular sweep of\nthe rowers' oars. Yet little way had been made when there came a\ndisastrous change. A signal was given, and suddenly the deck over\nAgrippina's cabin sank in, borne down by a great weight of lead.\n\nOne of the attendants of the empress was crushed to death, but the posts\nof Agrippina's couch proved strong enough to bear the weight, and she\nand Acerronia escaped and made their way hastily to the deck. Here\nconfusion and consternation reigned. The plot had failed. The vessel had\nnot fallen to pieces at once, as intended. Those who were not in the\nplot rushed wildly to and fro, hampering, by their distracted movements,\nthe operations of the guilty. These sought to sink the vessel at once,\nbut in spite of their efforts the ship sank but slowly, giving the\nintended victims an opportunity to escape.\n\nAcerronia, with instinctive devotion to her mistress, or a desire to\nsave her own life, cried out that she was Agrippina, and pathetically\nimplored the mariners to save her life. She won death instead. The\nassassins attacked her with oars and other weapons, and beat her down to\nthe sinking deck. Agrippina, on the contrary, kept silent, and, with the\nexception of a wound on her shoulder, remained unhurt. Dashing into the\ndark waters of the bay, she swam towards the shore, and managed to keep\nherself afloat till taken up by a boat, in which some persons who had\nwitnessed the accident from the shore had hastily put out. Telling her\nrescuers who she was, they conveyed her up the bay to her villa.\n\nAgrippina had been concerned in too many crimes of her own devising to\nbe deceived. The treachery of her son was too evident. Without touching\na rock, and in complete calm, the vessel had suddenly broken down, as\nif constructed for the purpose. Her own wound and the murder of her maid\nwere further proofs of a preconcerted plot. Yet she was too shrewd to\nmake her suspicions public. The plot had failed, and she was still\nalive. She at once despatched a messenger to her son, saying that by the\nfavor of the gods and his good auspices she had escaped shipwreck, and\nthat she thus hastened to quiet his affectionate fears. She then retired\nto her couch.\n\nMeanwhile Nero waited impatiently for the news of his mother's death.\nWhen word was at length brought him that she had escaped, his craven\nsoul was filled with terror. If this should get abroad; if she should\ncall on her slaves, on the army, on the senate; if the people should\nlearn of the plot of murder, and rise in riot; if any of a dozen\ncontingencies should happen, all might be lost.\n\nThe terrified emperor was in a frightful quandary. He sent in all haste\nfor his advisers, but none of them cared to offer any suggestions. At\nlength the villanous Anicetus came to his aid. While they talked the\nmessenger of Agrippina had arrived, and was admitted to give his message\nto the prince. As he was speaking Anicetus foxily let fall a dagger\nbetween his legs. He instantly seized him, snatched up the dagger and\nshowed it to the company, and declared that the wretch had been sent by\nAgrippina to assassinate her son. The guards were called in, the man was\nordered to be dragged away and put in fetters, and the story of the\ndiscovered plot of Agrippina was made public.\n\n\"Death to the murderess!\" cried Anicetus. \"Let me hasten at once to\nher punishment.\"\n\nNero gladly assented, and Anicetus hurried from the room, empowered to\ncarry out his murderous intent.\n\nMeanwhile the news of the peril and escape of the empress had spread far\nand wide. A dreadful accident had occurred, it was said. The people\nrushed in numbers to the shore, crowded the piers, filled the boats, and\ngave voice to a medley of cries of alarm. The uproar was at length\nallayed by some men with lighted torches, who assured the excited\nmultitude that Agrippina had escaped and was now safe in her villa.\n\nWhile they were speaking a body of soldiers, led by Anicetus, arrived,\nand with threats of violence dispersed the peasant throng. Then,\nplanting a guard round the mansion, Anicetus burst open its doors,\nseized the slaves who appeared, and forced his way to the apartment of\nthe empress.\n\nHere Agrippina waited in fear and agitation the return of her messenger.\nWhy came he not? Was new murder in contemplation? She heard the tumult\nand confusion on the shore, and learned from her attendants what it\nmeant. But the noise was suddenly hushed; a dismal silence prevailed;\nthen came new noises, then loud tones of command, and violent blows on\nthe outer doors. In dread of what was coming, the unhappy woman waited\nstill, till loud steps sounded in the passage, the attendants at her\ndoor were thrust aside, and armed men entered her chamber.\n\nThe room was in deep shadow, only the pale glimmer of a feeble light\nbreaking the gloom. A single maid remained with the empress, and she,\ntoo, hastened to the door on hearing the tramp of warlike feet.\n\n\"Do you, too, desert me?\" cried Agrippina, in deep reproach.\n\nAt that moment Anicetus entered the room, followed by two other\nruffians. They approached her bed. She rose to receive them.\n\n\"If you come from the prince,\" she said, \"tell him I am well. If your\nintents are murderous, you are not sent by my son. The guilt of\nparricide is foreign to his heart.\"\n\nHer words were checked by a blow on the head with a club. A sword-thrust\nfollowed, and she expired under a number of mortal wounds. Thus died the\nniece, the wife, and the mother of an emperor, the daughter of the\ncelebrated soldier Germanicus, herself so stained with vice that none\ncan pity her fate, particularly as she had committed the further\nunconscious crime of giving birth to the monster named Nero.\n\n\n\n\n_BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF BRITAIN._\n\n\nPrasutagus, the king of the Icenians, a tribe of the ancient Britons,\nhad amassed much wealth in the course of a long reign. On his death, in\norder to secure the favor of the Romans, now masters of the island, he\nleft half his wealth by will to the emperor and half to his two\ndaughters. This well-judged action of the barbarian king did not have\nthe intended effect. No sooner was he dead than the Romans in the\nvicinity claimed the whole estate as theirs, ruthlessly pillaged his\nhouse, and seized all his effects.\n\nThis base brigandage roused Boadicea, the widowed queen, to a vigorous\nprotest, but with the sole result of bringing a worse calamity upon her\nhead. She was seized and cruelly scourged by the ruthless Romans, her\ntwo daughters were vilely maltreated, and the noblest of the Icenians\nwere robbed of their possessions by the plunderers, who went so far as\nto reduce to slavery the near relatives of the deceased king.\n\nRoused to madness by this inhuman treatment, the Icenians broke into\nopen revolt. They were joined by a neighboring state, while the\nsurrounding Britons, not yet inured to bondage, secretly resolved to\njoin the cause of liberty. There had lately been planted a colony of\nRoman veterans at Camalodunum (Colchester), who had treated the Britons\ncruelly, driven them from their houses, and insulted them with the names\nof slaves and captives; while the common soldiers, a licentious and\ngreedy crew, still further degraded and robbed the owners of the land.\n\nThe invaders went too far for British endurance, and brought a terrible\nretribution upon themselves. Paulinus Suetonius, an able officer, who\nthen commanded in Britain, was absent on an expedition to conquer the\nisland of Mona. Of this expedition the historian Tacitus gives a vivid\naccount. As the boats of the Romans approached the island they beheld on\nthe shore the Britons prepared to receive them, while through their\nranks rushed their women in funereal attire, their hair flying loose in\nthe wind, flaming torches in their hands, and their whole appearance\nrecalling the frantic rage of the fabled Furies. Near by, ranged in\norder, stood the venerable Druids, or Celtic priests, with uplifted\nhands, at once invoking the gods and pouring forth imprecations upon the\nfoe.\n\nThe novelty and impressiveness of this spectacle filled the Romans with\nawe and wonder. They stood in stupid amazement, riveted to the spot, and\na mark for the foe had they been then attacked. From this brief\nparalysis the voice of their general recalled them, and, ashamed of\nbeing held in awe by a troop of women and a band of fanatic priests,\nthey rushed to the assault, cut down all before them, and set fire to\nthe edifices and the sacred groves of the island with the torches which\nthe Britons themselves had kindled.\n\nBut Suetonius had chosen a perilous time for this enterprise. During his\nabsence the wrongs of the Icenians and the exhortations of Boadicea had\nroused a formidable revolt, and the undefended colonies of the Romans\nwere in danger.\n\nIn addition to the actual peril the Romans were frightened with dire\nomens. The statue of victory at Camalodunum fell without any visible\ncause, and lay prostrate on the ground. Clamors in a foreign accent were\nheard in the Roman council chamber, the theatres were filled with the\nsound of savage howlings, the sea ran purple as with blood, the figures\nof human bodies were traced on the sands, and the image of a colony in\nruins was reflected from the waters of the Thames.\n\nThese omens threw the Romans into despair and filled the minds of the\nBritons with joy. No effort was made by the soldiers for defence, no\nditch was dug, no palisade erected, and the assault of the Britons found\nthe colonists utterly unprepared. Taken by surprise, the Romans were\noverpowered, and the colony was laid waste with fire and sword. The\nfortified temple alone held out, but after a two days' siege it also was\ntaken, and the legion which marched to its relief was cut to pieces.\n\nBoadicea was now the leading spirit among the Britons. Her wrongs had\nstirred them to revolt, and her warlike energy led them to victory and\nrevenge. But she was soon to have a master-spirit to meet. Suetonius,\nrecalled from the island of Mona by tidings of rebellion and disaster,\nmarched hastily as far as London, which was even then the chief\nresidence of the merchants and the centre of trade and commerce of the\nisland.\n\nHis army was small, not more than ten thousand men in all. That of the\nBritons was large. The interests of the empire were greater than those\nof any city, and Suetonius found himself obliged to abandon London to\nthe barbarians, despite the supplications of its imperilled citizens.\nAll he would agree to was to take under his protection those who chose\nto follow his banner. Many followed him, but many remained, and no\nsooner had he marched out than the Britons fell in rage on the\nsettlement, and killed all they found. In like manner they ravaged\nVerulamium (St. Albans). Seventy thousand Romans are said to have been\nput to the sword.\n\nMeanwhile Suetonius marched through the land, and at length the two\narmies met. The skilled Roman general drew up his force in a place where\na thick forest sheltered the rear and flanks, leaving only a narrow\nfront open to attack. Here the Britons, twenty times his number, and\nconfident of victory, approached. The warlike Boadicea, tall, stern of\ncountenance, her hair hanging to her waist, a spear in her hand, drove\nalong their front in a warlike car, with her two daughters by her side,\nand eloquently sought to rouse her countrymen to thirst for revenge.\n\nTelling them of the base cruelty with which she and her daughters had\nbeen treated, and painting in vivid words the arrogance and insults of\nthe Romans, she besought them to fight for their country and their\nhomes. \"On this spot we must either conquer or die with glory,\" she\nsaid. \"There is no alternative. Though I am a woman, my resolution is\nfixed. The men, if they prefer, may survive with infamy and live in\nbondage. For me there is only victory or death.\"\n\nStirred to fury by her words, the British host poured like a deluge on\ntheir foes. But the Roman arms and discipline proved far too much for\nbarbarian courage and ferocity. The British were repulsed, and, rushing\nforward in a wedge shape, the legions cut their way with frightful\ncarnage through the disordered ranks. The cavalry seconded their\nefforts. Thousands fell. The rest took to flight. But the wagons of the\nBritish, which had been massed in the rear, impeded their flight, and a\ndreadful slaughter, in which neither sex nor age was spared, ensued.\nTacitus tells us that eighty thousand Britons fell, while the Roman\nslain numbered no more than four hundred men.\n\nBoadicea, who had done her utmost to rally her flying hosts, kept to her\nresolution. When all was lost, she took poison, and perished upon the\nfield where she had vowed to seek victory or death. With her decease the\nsuccess of the Britons vanished. Though they still kept the field, they\ngradually yielded to the Roman arms, and Britain became in time a quiet\nand peaceful part of the great empire of Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES._\n\n\nNero, the cruel coward under whom Rome for its sins was made to suffer,\ncould scarcely devise follies and atrocities enough to please his\nprofligate fancy. He offended the pride and sense of decorum of Rome by\nforcing senators and women of the highest rank to appear as gladiators\nin the arena. He exposed himself to ridicule by appearing as an actor in\nthe theatre at Naples, which theatre, as soon as the audience dispersed,\ntumbled to pieces,--a little late so far as Nero himself was concerned.\nReturning to Rome, he indulged in every species of vice and folly,\nlavishing the wealth of the state with the utmost prodigality. On the\nlake of Agrippa he had a pavilion erected on a great floating platform,\nwhich was moved from point to point by the aid of boats superbly\ndecorated with gold and ivory, while to furnish the banquet here given,\nanimals of the chase were sought in the whole country round, and fish\nwere brought from every sea and even from the distant ocean. When night\ndescended a sudden illumination burst forth from all sides, and music\nresounded from every grove. These are the mentionable parts of the\nfestival. Vile scenes were exhibited of which nothing can be said.\n\nFinally, at a loss in what deeper excess of vice and ostentation to\nindulge, the crowned reprobate set fire to Rome that he might enjoy the\nspectacle of an unlimited conflagration. This wickedness, it is true, is\ndoubted by some historians, but we are told that during the prevalence\nof the flames a crew of incendiaries threatened anyone with death who\nshould seek to extinguish them, and flung flaming torches into the\ndwellings, crying that they acted under orders.\n\nIn all the history of Rome this fire was far the most violent and\ndestructive. Breaking out in a number of shops stored with combustible\ngoods, and driven by the winds, it raged with the utmost fury, neither\nthe thick walls of the houses nor the enclosures of the temples\nsufficing to stay its frightful progress. The form of the streets, long,\nnarrow, and winding, added to the mischief, and the flames swiftly sped\nalike through the humblest and the stateliest quarters of the mighty\ncapital.\n\n\"The shrieks and lamentations of women, the infirmities of age, and the\nweakness of the young and tender,\" says Tacitus, \"added misery to the\ndreadful scene. Some endeavored to provide for themselves, others to\nsave their friends, in one part dragging along the lame and impotent, in\nanother waiting to receive the tardy, or expecting relief themselves;\nthey hurried, they lingered, they obstructed one another; they looked\nbehind, and the fire broke out in front; they escaped from the flames,\nand in their place of refuge found no safety; the fire raged in every\nquarter; all were involved in one general conflagration.\n\n\"The unhappy wretches fled to places remote, and thought themselves\nsecure, but soon perceived the flames raging round them. Which way to\nturn, what to avoid, or what to seek, no one could tell. They crowded\nthe streets; they fell prostrate on the ground; they lay stretched in\nthe fields, in consternation and dismay resigned to their fate. Numbers\nlost their whole substance, even the tools and implements by which they\ngained their livelihood, and, in that distress, did not wish to survive.\nOthers, wild with affliction for their friends and relations whom they\ncould not save, embraced voluntary death, and perished in the flames.\"\n\nThe story goes that, while the city was in its intensest blaze, Nero\nwatched it with high enjoyment from a tower in the house of Maecenas, and\nfinally went to his own theatre, where in his scenic dress he mounted\nthe stage, tuned his harp, and sang the destruction of Troy.\n\nHow far Nero was guilty and to what extent the stories told of him were\ntrue will never be known, but he was destined to feel the calamity\nhimself, for in time the devouring flames reached the imperial palace,\nand laid it with all its treasures and surrounding buildings in ruins.\nFor six days the fire raged uncontrolled, and then, when it seemed\nsubdued, a new conflagration broke out and burned with all the old fury,\nspreading still more widely the area of ruin and devastation.\n\nThe number of buildings destroyed cannot be ascertained. Not only\ndwellings and shops, but temples, porticos, and other public buildings,\nwere destroyed, among them the most venerable monuments of antiquity,\nwhich the worship of ages had rendered sacred; and with these the\ntrophies of uncounted victories, the inimitable works of the great\nartists of Greece, and precious monuments of literature and ancient\ngenius, were irrecoverably lost.\n\nWhether or not this fire took place through Nero's orders, and was\nplayed to by him on the harp, he showed more feeling for the people and\nmore good sense in the rebuilding of the city than could have been\nexpected from one of his weak and vicious character. By his orders the\nField of Mars, the magnificent buildings erected by Agrippa, and even\nthe imperial gardens were thrown open to the houseless people, and sheds\nfor their shelter were erected with all possible haste. Household\nutensils and all kinds of useful implements were brought from Ostia and\nother neighboring cities, and the price of grain was reduced. But all\nthis failed to gain the good-will of the people, who were exasperated by\nthe story that Nero had exulted in the grandeur of the flames, and\nharped over burning Rome.\n\nWhen the fire was at length subdued, of the fourteen quarters of Rome\nonly four were left entire; the remainder presented more or less utter\nruin. The conflagration in the time of the Gauls had been little more\ncomplete, while the wealth now consumed was incomparably greater. The\nwhole world had been robbed of its treasures to feed the flames of Rome.\nBut the haste and ill-judged confusion with which the city was rebuilt\nafter the irruption of the Gauls was not now repeated. A regular plan\nwas formed; the new streets were made wide and straight; the elevation\nof the houses was defined, and each was given an open area before the\ndoor, and was adorned with porticos. The expense of these porticos Nero\ntook upon himself. He ordered also that the new houses should not be\ncontiguous, but that each should be surrounded by its own enclosure;\nand, in order to hurry the work, he offered rewards to those who should\nfinish their buildings in a fixed period. As for the refuse of the fire,\nit was removed at Nero's expense to the marshes of Ostia in the ships\nthat brought corn up the Tiber.\n\nThese regulations, while they must have made much confusion among the\nrival claimants of building sites, added greatly to the beauty and\ncomfort of the new city, and the Rome which rose from the ruins was far\nmore stately and handsome than the Rome which had vanished in ashes and\nsmoke. But Nero, while showing some passing feeling for the people and\nsome wisdom in the rebuilding of the city, did not hesitate to use a\ngenerous portion of the devastated space for his own advantage. His\npalace had been destroyed, and he built a new and most magnificent one\non the Palatine Hill, the famous \"golden house,\" which after-ages beheld\nwith unstinted admiration.\n\nBut he did not confine his ostentation to the palace itself. A great\nspace around it was converted into pleasure-grounds for his amusement,\nin which, as Tacitus says, \"expansive lakes and fields of vast extent\nwere intermixed with pleasing variety; woods and forests stretched to\nan immeasurable length, presenting gloom and solitude amid scenes of\nopen space, where the eye wandered with surprise over an unbounded\nprospect.\"\n\nBut nothing that Nero could do sufficed to remove from men's minds the\nbelief that on him rested the infamy of the fire. This public sentiment\ntroubled and frightened him, and to remove it he sought to lay the\nburden of guilt on others. It was now the year 64 A.D., and for at least\nthirty years the new sect of the Christians had been spreading in Rome,\nwhere it had gained many adherents among the humbler and more moral\nsection of the population. The Christians were far from popular. They\nwere accused of secret and evil practices and debasing superstitions,\nand on this despised sect Nero determined to turn the fury of the\npopulace.\n\n[Illustration: THE TOMB OF HADRIAN.]\n\nWith his usual artifice he induced a number of abandoned wretches to\nconfess themselves guilty, and on their purchased evidence numbers of\nthe Christians were seized and convicted, mainly on the plea of their\nsullen hatred of the whole human race. A frightful persecution followed,\nNero perhaps hoping, by an exhibition of human suffering, so dear to the\nrabble of Rome, to turn the thoughts of the people from their own\nlosses.\n\nThe captives were put to death with every cruelty the emperor could\ndevise, and to their sufferings he added mockery and derision. Many were\nnailed to the cross; others were covered with the skins of wild beasts,\nand left to be devoured by dogs; numbers were burned alive, many of\nthese, covered with inflammable matter, being set on fire to serve as\ntorches during the night.\n\nThat the public might see this tragic spectacle with the more\nsatisfaction, it was given in the imperial gardens. The sports of the\ncircus were added to the tortures of the victims, Nero himself driving\nhis chariot in the races, or mingling with the rabble in his coachman's\ndress. These cruel proceedings continued until even the hardened Roman\nheart became softened with compassion, spectators failed to come, and\nNero felt obliged to yield to a general demand that the persecutions\nshould cease.\n\nWhile all this went on at Rome, the people of the whole empire suffered\nwith those of the capital city. Italy was ravaged and the provinces\nplundered to supply the demand for the rebuilding of the city and palace\nand the unbounded prodigality of the emperor. The very gods were taxed,\ntheir temples being robbed of golden treasures which had been gathering\nfor ages through the gifts of pious devotees; while in Greece and Asia\nnot alone the treasures of the temples but the statues of the deities\nwere seized. Nero was preparing for himself a load of infamy worthy of\nthe most frightful retribution, and which would not fail soon to reap\nits fitting reward.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DOOM OF NERO._\n\n\nWe have perhaps paid too much attention to the enormities of Caligula\nand Nero. Yet the mad freakishness of the one and the cowardly\ndissimulation of the other give to their stories a dramatic interest\nwhich seems to render them worth repeating. Nero, one of the basest and\ncruelest of the Roman emperors, is one of the best known to readers, and\nthe interest felt in him is not alone due to the story of his life, but\nas well to that of his death, which we therefore here give.\n\nA conspiracy against him among some of the noblest citizens of Rome was\ndiscovered and punished with revengeful fury. It was followed, a few\nyears afterwards, by a revolt of the armies in Gaul and Spain. This was\nin its turn quelled, and Nero triumphed in imagination over all his\nenemies. But he had lost favor alike with the army and the people, and\nan event now happened that threw the whole city into a ferment of anger\nagainst him.\n\nFood was scarce, and the arrival of a ship from Alexandria, supposed to\nbe loaded with corn, filled the people with joy. It proved instead to be\nloaded with sand for the arena. In their disappointment the people broke\nat first into scurrilous jests against Nero, and then into rage and\nfury. A wild clamor filled the streets. On all sides rose the demand to\nbe delivered from a monster. Even the Praetorian guards, who had hitherto\nsupported the emperor, began to show signs of disaffection, and were\nwrought to a spirit of revolt by two of the choice companions of Nero's\niniquities, who now deserted him as rats desert a sinking ship. The\nsenate was approached and told that Nero was no longer supported by his\nfriends, and that they might now regain the power of which they had been\ndeprived.\n\nSome whisper of what was afloat reached Nero's ears. Filled with craven\nfury, he resolved to massacre the senate, to set fire again to the city,\nand to let loose his whole collection of wild beasts. He proposed to fly\nto Egypt during the consternation that would prevail. A trusted servant,\nto whom he told this design, revealed it to the senate. It filled them\nwith fear and rage. Yet even in so dire a contingency they could not be\nprevailed upon to act with vigor, and all might have been lost by their\nprocrastination and timidity but for the two men who had organized the\nrevolt.\n\nThese men, Nymphidius and Tigellinus by name, went to the palace, and\nwith a show of deep affliction informed Nero of his danger. \"All is\nlost,\" they said: \"the people call aloud for vengeance; the Praetorian\nguards have abandoned your cause; the senate is ready to pronounce a\ndreadful judgment. Only one hope remains to you, to fly for your life,\nand seek a retreat in Egypt.\"\n\nIt was as they said; revolt was everywhere in the air, and affected the\narmies near and far. Nero sought assistance, but sought it in vain. The\npalace, lately swarming with life, was now deserted. Nero wandered\nthrough its empty chambers, and found only solitude and gloom.\nConscience awoke in his seared heart, and he was filled with horror and\nremorse. Of all his late crowd of courtiers only three friends now\nremained with him,--Sporus, a servant; Phaon, a freedman; and\nEpaphroditus, his secretary.\n\n\"'My wife, my father, and my mother doom me dead!'\" he bitterly cried,\nquoting a line from a Greek tragedy.\n\nWith a last hope he bade the soldiers on duty to hasten to Ostia and\nprepare a ship, on which he might embark for Egypt. The men refused.\n\n\"'Is it, then, so wretched a thing to die?'\" said one of them, quoting\nfrom Virgil.\n\nThis refusal threw Nero into despair. He hurried to the Servilian\ngardens, with a vial of deadly poison, which, on getting there, he had\nnot the courage to take. He returned to the palace and threw himself on\nhis bed. Then, too agitated to lie, he sprang up and called for some\nfriendly hand to end his wretched life. No one consented, and in his\nwild despair he called out, in doleful accents, \"My friends desert me,\nand I cannot find an enemy.\"\n\nThe world had suddenly fallen away from the despicable Nero. A week\nbefore he had ordered it at his will, now \"none so poor to do him\nreverence.\" His craven terror would have been pitiable in any one to\nwhom the word pity could apply. In frantic dread he rushed from the\npalace, as if with intent to fling himself into the Tiber. Then as\nhastily he returned, saying that he would fly to Spain, and yield\nhimself to the mercy of Galba, who commanded the revolted army. But no\nship was to be had for either Spain or Egypt, and this plan was\nabandoned as quickly as formed.\n\nThese and other projects passed in succession through his distracted\nbrain. One of the most absurd of them was to go in a mourning garb to\nthe Forum, and by his powers of eloquence seek to win back the favor of\nthe people. If they would not have him as emperor, he might by\npersuasive oratory obtain from them the government of Egypt.\n\nFull of hope in this new project, he was about to put it into effect,\nwhen a fresh reflection filled his soul with horror. What if the\npopulace should, without waiting to hear his harmonious accents and\nunequalled oratory, break out in sudden rage and rend him limb from\nlimb? Might they not assail him in the palace? Might not a seditious mob\nbe already on its way thither, bent on bloody work? Whither should he\nfly? Where find refuge?\n\nTurning in despair to his companions, he asked them, wildly, \"Is there\nno hiding-place, no safe retreat, where I may have leisure to consider\nwhat is to be done?\"\n\nPhaon, his freedman, told him that he owned an obscure villa, at a\ndistance of about four miles from Rome, where he might remain for a time\nin concealment.\n\nThis suggestion, in Nero's state of distraction, was eagerly\nembraced,--in such haste, indeed, that he left the palace without an\ninstant's preparation, his feet destitute of shoes, and no garment but\nhis close tunic, his outer garments and imperial robe having been\ndiscarded in his distraction. The utmost he did was to snatch up an old\nrusty robe as a disguise, covering his head with it, and holding a\nhandkerchief before his face. Thus attired, he mounted his horse and\nfled in frantic fear, attended only by the three men we have mentioned,\nand a fourth named Neophytus.\n\nMeanwhile, the revolt in the city was growing more and more decided.\nWhen the coming day showed its first faint rays, the Praetorian guards,\nwho had been on duty in the palace, left their post and marched to the\ncamp. Here, under the influence of Nymphidius, Galba was nominated\nemperor. This was an important innovation in the government of Rome.\nHitherto the imperial dignity had remained in the family of Caesar,\ndescending by hereditary transmission. Nero was the last of that family\nto wear the crown. Henceforth the army and its generals controlled the\ndestinies of the empire. The nomination of Galba by the Praetorian guard\nsignalized the new state of things, in which the emperors would largely\nbe chosen by that guard or by some army in the field.\n\nThe action of the Praetorian guard was supported by the senate. That\nbody, awaking from its late timidity, determined to mark the day with a\ndecree worthy of its past history. With unanimous decision they\npronounced Nero a tyrant who had trampled on all laws, human and divine,\nand condemned him to suffer death with all the rigor of the ancient\nlaws.\n\nWhile this revolution was taking place in the city the terror-stricken\nNero was still in frantic flight. He passed the Praetorian camp near\nenough to hear loud acclamations, among which the name of Galba reached\nhis ear. As the small cavalcade hastened by a man early at work in the\nfields, he looked up and said, \"These people must be hot in pursuit of\nNero.\" A short distance farther another hailed them, asking, \"What do\nthey say of Nero in the city?\"\n\nA more alarming event occurred soon. As they drew near Phaon's house the\nhorse of Nero started at a dead carcass beside the road, shaking down\nthe handkerchief by which he had concealed his face. The movement\nrevealed him to a veteran soldier, then on his way to Rome, and ignorant\nof what was taking place in the city. He recognized and saluted the\nemperor by name.\n\nThis incident increased Nero's fear. His route of flight would now be\nknown. He pressed his horse to the utmost speed until Phaon's house was\nclose at hand. They now halted and Nero dismounted, it being thought\nunsafe for him to enter the house publicly. He crossed a field overgrown\nwith reeds, and, being tortured with thirst, scooped up some water from\na muddy ditch and drank it, saying, dolefully, \"Is this the beverage\nwhich Nero has been used to drink?\"\n\nPhaon advised him to conceal himself in a neighboring sand-pit, from\nwhich could be opened for him a subterraneous passage to the house, but\nNero refused, saying that he did not care to be buried alive. His\ncompanions then made an opening in the wall on one side of the house,\nthrough which Nero crept on his hands and knees. Entering a wretched\nchamber, he threw himself on a mean bed, which was covered with a\ntattered coverlet, and asked for some refreshment.\n\nAll they could offer him was a little coarse bread, so black that the\nsight of it sickened his dainty taste, and some warm and foul water,\nwhich thirst forced him to drink. His friends meanwhile were in little\nless desperation than himself. They saw that no hope was left and that\nhis place of concealment would soon be known, and entreated him to avoid\na disgraceful death by taking his own life.\n\nNero promised to do so, but still sought reasons for delay. His funeral\nmust be prepared for, he said, and bade them to dig a grave, to prepare\nwood for a funeral pile, and bring marble to cover his remains.\nMeanwhile he piteously bewailed his unhappy lot; sighed and shed tears\ncopiously; and said, with a last impulse of vanity, \"What a musician the\nworld will lose!\"\n\nWhile he thus in cowardly procrastination delayed the inevitable end, a\nmessenger, whom Phaon had ordered to bring news from Rome, arrived with\npapers. These Nero eagerly seized and read. He found himself dethroned,\ndeclared a public enemy, and condemned to suffer death with the rigor of\nancient usage. Such was the decree of the senate, which hitherto had\nbeen his subservient slave.\n\n\"Ancient usage?\" he asked. \"What do they mean? What kind of death is\nthat?\"\n\n\"It is this,\" they told him. \"Every traitor, by the law of the old\nrepublic, with his head fastened between two stakes, and his body\nstripped naked, was slowly flogged to death by the lictors' rods.\"\n\nDread of this terrible and ignominious punishment roused the trembling\nwretch to some semblance of courage. He produced two daggers, which he\nhad brought with him, and tried their points. Then he replaced them in\ntheir scabbards, saying, \"The fatal moment is not yet come.\"\n\nTurning to Sporus, he said, \"Sing the melancholy dirge, and offer the\nlast obsequies to your friend.\" Then, rolling his eyes wildly around, he\nexclaimed, \"Why will not some one of you kill himself, and teach me how\nto die?\"\n\nHe paused a moment. No one seemed inclined to adopt his suggestion. A\nflood of tears burst from his eyes. Starting up, he cried, in a tone of\nwild despair, \"Nero, this is infamy; you linger in disgrace; this is no\ntime for dejected passions; this moment calls for manly fortitude.\"\n\nThese words were hardly spoken when the sound of horses was heard\nadvancing rapidly towards the house. Theatrical to the end, he repeated\na line from Homer which the noise of hoofs recalled to his mind. At\nlength, driven to desperation, he seized his dagger and stabbed himself\nin the throat,--but cowardice made the stroke too feeble. Epaphroditus\nnow lent his aid, and the next thrust was a mortal one.\n\nIt was time. The horses were those of pursuers. The senate, informed of\nhis probable place of refuge, had sent soldiers in haste to bring him\nback to Rome, there to suffer the punishment decreed. In a minute\nafterwards a centurion entered the room, and, seeing Nero prostrate and\nbleeding, ran to his aid, saying that he would bind the wound and save\nhis life.\n\nNero looked up languidly, and said, in faint tones, \"You come too late.\nIs this your fidelity?\" In a moment more he expired.\n\nIn the words of Tacitus, \"The ferocity of his nature was still visible\nin his countenance. His eyes fixed and glaring, and every feature\nswelled with warring passions, he looked more stern, more grim, more\nterrible than ever.\"\n\nNero was in his thirty-second year. He had reigned nearly fourteen\nyears. Tacitus says of him, \"The race of Caesars ended with Nero; he was\nthe last, and perhaps the worst, of that illustrious house.\"\n\nThe tidings of his death filled Rome with joy. Men ran wildly about the\nstreets, their heads covered with liberty caps. Acclamations of gladness\nresounded in the Forum. Icelus, Galba's freedman and agent in Rome, whom\nNero had thrown into prison, was released and took control of affairs.\nHe ordered that Nero's body should be burned where he had died, and this\nwas done so quickly and secretly that many would not believe that he was\ndead. The report got abroad that he had escaped to Asia or Egypt, and\nfrom time to time impostors appeared claiming to be Nero. The Parthians\nwere deluded by one of these impostors and offered to defend his cause.\nAnother made trouble in the Greek islands. Nero's profligate companions\nin Rome, who alone mourned his death, while affecting to believe him\nstill alive raised a tomb to his memory, which for several years they\nannually dressed with the flowers of spring and summer. But the world at\nlarge rejoiced in its delivery from the rule of a monster of iniquity.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SPORTS OF THE AMPHITHEATRE._\n\n\nIn no other nation upon the earth and no other period of history has\nenjoyment taken so cruel and brutal a shape as in the Roman empire. The\nfierce people of the imperial city seemed to have a native thirst for\nblood and misery, which no amount of slaughter in the arena, of the\nsufferings of captives and slaves, or of the torments of persecuted\nChristians sufficed to assuage. The love of theatrical representations,\nwhich has proved so potent and unceasing with other nations, had but a\nbrief period of prevalence in Rome, its milder enjoyment vanishing\nbefore the wild excitement of the gladiatorial struggle and the\nspectacle of rending beasts and slaughtered martyrs.\n\nIt was not in the theatre, but in the amphitheatre, that the Romans\nsought their chief enjoyment, and few who wished the favor of the Roman\npeople failed to seek it by the easy though costly means of gladiatorial\nshows. The amphitheatre differed from the theatre in forming a complete\ncircle or oval instead of a semicircle, with an arena in the centre\ninstead of a stage at the side. It also greatly surpassed the theatre in\nsize, the purpose being to see, not to hear.\n\nThese buildings were at first temporary edifices of wood, but of\nenormous size, since one which collapsed at Fidenae, during the reign of\nTiberius, is said to have caused the death of fifty thousand spectators.\nThe first of stone was built by the command of Augustus. But the great\namphitheatre of Rome, the Flavian, whose mighty ruins we possess in the\nColosseum, was that begun by Vespasian, and finished by Titus ten years\nafter the destruction of Jerusalem.\n\nThis vast building is elliptical in shape and covers about five acres of\nground, being six hundred and twelve feet in its greatest length and\nfive hundred and fifteen in greatest breadth. It is based on rows of\narches, eighty in number, and rises in four different orders of\narchitecture to a height of about one hundred and sixty feet. The\noutside of this great edifice was encrusted with marble and decorated\nwith statues. Interiorly its vast slopes presented sixty or eighty rows\nof marble seats, covered with cushions, and capable of seating more than\neighty thousand spectators. There were sixty-four doors of entrance and\nexit, and the entrances, passages, and stairs were so skilfully\nconstructed that every person could with ease and safety reach and leave\nhis place.\n\nNothing was omitted that could add to the pleasure and convenience of\nthe spectators. An ample canopy, drawn over their heads, protected them\nfrom the sun and the rain. Fountains refreshed the air with cooling\nmoisture, and aromatics profusely perfumed the air. In the centre was\nthe arena or stage, strewn with fine sand, and capable of being changed\nto suit varied spectacles. Now it appeared to rise out of the earth,\nlike the gardens of the Hesperides; now it was made to represent the\nrocks and caverns of Thrace. Water was abundantly supplied by concealed\npipes, and the sand-strewn plain might at will be converted into a wide\nlake, sustaining armed vessels, and displaying the swimming monsters of\nthe deep.\n\nIn these spectacles the Roman emperors loved to display their wealth. On\nvarious occasions the whole furniture of the amphitheatre was of amber,\nsilver, or gold, and in one display the nets provided for defence\nagainst wild beasts were of gold wire, the porticos were gilded, and the\nbelt or circle that divided the several ranks of spectators was studded\nwith a precious mosaic of beautiful stones. In the dedication of this\nmighty edifice five thousand wild beasts were slain in the arena, the\ngames lasting one hundred days.\n\nThe first show of gladiators in Rome was one given by Marcus and Decius\nBrutus, on the occasion of the death of their father, 264 B.C. Three\npairs of gladiators fought in this first contest. This gladiatorial\nspectacle was continued on funeral occasions, but afterwards lost its\nreligious character and became a popular amusement, there being schools\nfor the training of gladiators, whose pupils were recruited from the\ncaptives of Rome, from condemned criminals, and from vigorous men\ndesirous of fame.\n\nAs time went on the magnificence of these spectacles increased. Julius\nCaesar gave one in which three hundred and twenty combatants fought.\nTrajan far surpassed this with a show that lasted for one hundred and\ntwenty-three days, and in which ten thousand men fought with each other\nor with wild beasts for the pleasure of the Roman populace.\n\nThe gladiators were variously armed, some with sword, shield, and body\narmor; some with net and trident; some with noose or lasso. The disarmed\nor overthrown gladiator was killed or spared in response to signals made\nby the thumbs of the spectators; while the successful combatant was\nrewarded at first with a palm branch, afterwards with money and rich and\nvaluable presents.\n\n[Illustration: ROMAN CHARIOT RACE.]\n\nThe gladiators were not always passive instruments of Roman cruelty. We\nhave elsewhere described the revolt of Spartacus and his brave struggle\nfor liberty. Other outbreaks took place. During the reign of Probus a\nrevolt of about eighty gladiators out of a school of some six hundred\nfilled Rome with death and alarm. Killing their keepers, they broke into\nthe streets, which they set afloat with blood, and only after an\nobstinate resistance and ample revenge were they at length overpowered\nand cut to pieces by the soldiers of the city. But such outbreaks were\nbut few, and the Roman multitude usually enjoyed its cruel sports in\nsafety.\n\nWe cannot here describe the many remarkable displays made by successive\nemperors, and which grew more lavish as time went on. Probus, about 280\nA.D., gave a show in which the arena was transformed into a forest,\nlarge trees, dug up by the roots, being transported and planted\nthroughout its space. In this miniature forest were set free a thousand\nostriches, and an equal number each of stags, fallow deer, and wild\nboars. These were given to the multitude to assail and slay at their\nwill. On the following day, the populace being now safely screened from\ndanger, there were slain in the arena a hundred lions, as many\nlionesses, two hundred leopards, and three hundred bears.\n\nThe younger Gordian, in his triumphal games, astonished the Romans by\nthe strangeness of the animals displayed, in search of which the whole\nknown world was ransacked. The curious mob now beheld the graceful forms\nof twenty zebras, and the remarkable stature of ten giraffes, brought\nfrom remote African plains. There were shown, in addition, ten elks, as\nmany tigers from India, and thirty African hyenas. To these were added a\ntroop of thirty-two elephants, and the uncouth forms of the hippopotamus\nof the Nile and the rhinoceros of the African wilds. These animals,\nfamiliar to us, were new to their observers, and filled the minds of\ntheir spectators with wonder and awe.\n\nGladiators, as we have said, were not confined to slaves, captives, and\ncriminals. Roman citizens, emulous of the fame and rewards of the\nsuccessful combatant, entered their ranks, and men of birth and fortune,\nthirsting for the excitement of the arenal strife, were often seen in\nthe lists. In the reign of Nero, senators, and even women of high birth,\nappeared as combatants; and Domitian arranged a battle between dwarfs\nand women. As late as 200 A.D. an edict forbidding women to fight became\nnecessary.\n\nThe emperors, as a rule, were content with sending their subjects to\ndeath in those frightful shows; but one of them, Commodus, proud of his\nstrength and skill, himself entered the lists as a combatant. He was at\nfirst content with displaying his remarkable skill as an archer against\nwild animals. With arrows whose head was shaped like a crescent, he cut\nasunder the long neck of the ostrich, and with the strength of his bow\npierced alike the thick skin of the elephant and the scaly hide of the\nrhinoceros. A panther was let loose and a slave forced to act as its\nprey. But at the instant when the beast leaped upon the man the shaft of\nCommodus flew, and the animal fell dead, leaving its prey unhurt. No\nless than a hundred lions were let loose at once in the arena, and the\ndeath-dealing darts of the emperor hurtled among them until they all\nwere slain.\n\nDuring this exhibition of skill the emperor was securely protected\nagainst any chance danger from his victims. But later, to the shame and\nindignation of the people, he entered the arena as a gladiator, and\nfought there no less than seven hundred and thirty-five times. He was\nwell protected, wearing the helmet, shield, and sword of the _Secutor_,\nwhile his antagonists were armed with the net and trident of the\n_Retiarius_. It was the aim of the latter to entangle his opponent in\nthe net and then despatch him with the trident, and if he missed he was\nforced to fly till he had prepared his net for a second throw.\n\nAs may be imagined, in these contests Commodus was uniformly successful.\nHis opponents were schooled not to put forth their full skill, and were\nusually given their lives in reward. But the emperor claimed the prize\nof the successful gladiator, and himself fixed this reward at so high a\nprice that to pay it became a new tax on the Roman people. Commodus, we\nmay say here, met with the usual fate of the base and cruel emperors of\nRome, falling by the hands of assassins.\n\nThe gladiatorial shows were not without their opponents in Rome. Under\nthe republic efforts were made to limit the number of combatants and the\nfrequency of the displays, and the Emperor Augustus forbade more than\ntwo shows in a year. They were prohibited by Constantine, the first\nChristian emperor, in 325 A.D., but continued at intervals till 404. In\nthat year Telemachus, an Asiatic monk, filled with horror at the cruelty\nof the practice, made his way to Rome, and during a contest rushed into\nthe arena and tried to part two gladiators.\n\nThe spectators, furious at this interruption of their sport, stoned the\nmonk to death. But the Emperor Honorius proclaimed him a martyr, and\nissued an edict which finally brought such exhibitions to an end.\n\nThere was another form of spectacle at Rome, in its way as significant\nof cruelty and ruthlessness, the Triumph, each occasion of which\nsignified some nation conquered or army defeated, and thousands slain or\nplunged into misery and destitution. The victorious general to whom the\nsenate granted the honor of a triumph was not allowed to enter the city\nin advance, and Lucullus, on his return from victory in Asia, waited\noutside Rome for three years, until the desired honor was granted him.\n\nStarting from the Field of Mars, outside the city walls, the procession\npassed through the gayly garlanded streets to the Capitol. It was headed\nby the magistrates and senate of Rome, who were followed by trumpeters,\nand then by the spoils of war, consisting not only of treasures and\nstandards, but of representations of battles, towns, fortresses, rivers,\netc.\n\nNext came the victims intended for sacrifice, largely composed of white\noxen with gilded horns. They were followed by prisoners kept to grace\nthe triumph, and who were put to death when the Capitol was reached.\nAfterwards came the gorgeous chariot of the conqueror, crowned with\nlaurel and drawn by four horses. He wore robes of purple and gold taken\nfrom the temple of Jupiter, carried a laurel branch in his right hand,\nand in his left a sceptre of ivory with an eagle at its tip. After him\ncame the soldiers, singing _Io triumphe_ and other songs of victory.\n\nOn reaching the Capitol the victor placed the laurel branch on the cap\nof the seated Jupiter, and offered the thank-offerings. A feast of the\ndignitaries, and sometimes of the soldiers and people, followed. The\nceremony at first occupied one day only, but in later times was extended\nthrough several days, and was frequently attended with gladiatorial\nshows and other spectacles for the greater enjoyment of the Roman\nmultitude.\n\n\n\n\n_THE REIGN OF A GLUTTON._\n\n\nThe death of Nero cut all the reins of order in Rome. Until now, as\nstated in a preceding tale, some form of hereditary succession had been\nfollowed, the emperors being of the family of Caesar, though not his\ndirect descendants. Now confusion reigned supreme. The army took upon\nitself the task of nominating the emperor, and within less than two\nyears four emperors came in succession to the royal seat, each the\ngeneral of one of the armies of Rome.\n\nGalba, who headed the revolt against Nero, and succeeded him on the\nthrone, reigned but seven months, being overthrown by Otho, who\nconspired against him with the Praetorian guards. The new emperor reigned\nonly three months. The army of Germany proclaimed their\ngeneral--Vitellius--emperor, marched against Otho, and defeated him. He\nended the contest by committing suicide. Vitellius reigned less than a\nyear. The army of the East rebelled against him, proclaimed their\ngeneral--Vespasian--emperor, and a new civil war broke out, which was\nclosed by the speedy downfall of Vitellius. It is the story of this man,\nemperor for less than a year, which we have here to describe.\n\nThe three men named were alike unfit to reign over Rome. Galba was very\nold and very incompetent, Otho was a declared profligate, and Vitellius\nwas a glutton of such extraordinary powers that his name has become a\nsynonyme for voracity. He had by his arts and his skill as a courtier\nmade himself a favorite with four emperors of widely differing\ncharacter,--Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The suicide of Otho\nhad now made him emperor himself, and he gave way without stint to the\npeculiar vice which has made his name despicable, that of inordinate\nlove of the pleasures of the table.\n\nAfter the death of Otho, says Tacitus, \"Vitellius, sunk in sloth, and\ngrowing every day more contemptible, advanced by slow marches towards\nthe city of Rome. In all the villas and municipal towns through which he\npassed, carousing festivals were sufficient to retard a man abandoned to\nhis pleasures. He was followed by an unwieldy multitude, not less than\nsixty thousand men in arms, all corrupted by a life of debauchery. The\nnumber of retainers and followers of the army was still greater, all\ndisposed to riot and insolence, even beyond the natural bent of the\nvilest slaves.\n\n\"The crowd was still increased by a conflux of senators and Roman\nknights, who came from Rome to greet the prince on his way; some\nimpelled by fear, others to pay their court, and numbers, not to be\nthought sullen or disaffected. All went with the current. The populace\nrushed forth in crowds, accompanied by an infamous band of pimps,\nplayers, buffoons, and charioteers, by their utility in vicious\npleasures all well known and dear to Vitellius.\n\n\"To supply so vast a body with provisions the colonies and municipal\ncities were exhausted; the fruits of the earth, then ripe and fit for\nuse, were carried off; the husbandman was plundered; and his land, as if\nit were an enemy's country, was laid waste and ruined.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE COLISEUM AT ROME.]\n\nThe followers of Vitellius were many of them Germans and Gauls, so\nsavage of aspect as to create consternation in Rome. \"Covered with the\nskins of savage beasts, and wielding large and massive spears, the\nspectacle which they exhibited to the Roman citizens was fierce and\nhideous.\" They were as savage as they looked, and many conflicts took\nplace both outside and inside of Rome, in which numbers of citizens were\nslaughtered. In fact, the march of Vitellius to Rome was almost like\nthat of a conqueror through a captive province.\n\nThe conduct of Vitellius and his army in Rome was an abhorrent spectacle\nof sloth and licentiousness. All discipline vanished. The Germans and\nGauls entered into the vilest habits of the city, and by their\ndisorderly lives brought on an epidemic disease which swept thousands of\nthem away. Vitellius, lost in sluggishness and gluttony, wasted the\nfunds of the state on his pleasures, and laid severe taxes to raise new\nfunds. \"To squander with wild profusion,\" says Tacitus, \"was the only\nuse of money known to Vitellius. He built a set of stables for the\ncharioteers, and kept in the circus a constant spectacle of gladiators\nand wild beasts; in this manner dissipating with prodigality, as if his\ntreasury overflowed with riches.\"\n\nWhile the Vitellian army was indulging in riot, bloodshed, and vice,\nand the populace was kept amused by the frightful gladiatorial shows,\nthe emperor spent his days in a sloth and gluttony that stand unrivalled\nin imperial records. We may quote from Whyte-Melville's romance of \"The\nGladiators\" a sketch of a Vitellian banquet whose characteristic\nfeatures are taken from exact history:\n\n\"A banquet with Vitellius was no light and simple repast. Leagues of sea\nand miles of forest had been swept to furnish the mere groundwork of the\nentertainment. Hardy fishermen had spent their nights on the heaving\nwave, that the giant turbot might flap its snowy flakes on the emperor's\ntable broader than its broad dish of gold. Many a swelling hill, clad in\nthe dark oak coppice, had echoed to ringing shout of hunter and\ndeep-mouthed bay of hound, ere the wild boar yielded his grim life by\nthe morass, and the dark, grisly carcass was drawn off to provide a\nstanding dish that was only meant to gratify the eye. Even the peacock\nroasted in its feathers was too gross a dainty for epicures who studied\nthe art of gastronomy under Caesar; and that taste would have been\nconsidered rustic in the extreme which could partake of more than the\nmere fumes and savor of so substantial a dish. A thousand nightingales\nhad been trapped and killed, indeed, for this one supper, but brains and\ntongues were all they contributed to the banquet; while even the wing of\na roasted hare would have been considered far too coarse and common food\nfor the imperial board.\n\n\"It would be useless to go into the details of such a banquet as that\nwhich was placed before the guests of Caesar. Wild boar, pasties, goats,\nevery kind of shell-fish, thrushes, beccaficoes, vegetables of all\ndescriptions, and poultry, were removed to make way for the pheasant,\nthe guinea-hen, the capon, venison, ducks, woodcocks, and turtle-doves.\nEverything that could creep, fly, or swim, and could boast a delicate\nflavor when cooked, was pressed into the service of the emperor; and\nwhen appetite was appeased and could do no more, the strongest\ncondiments and other remedies were used to stimulate fresh hunger and\nconsume a fresh supply of superfluous dainties.\"\n\nDeep drinking followed, merely to stimulate fresh hunger. The disgusting\nstory is even told that the imperial glutton was in the habit of taking\nan emetic to empty his stomach, that he might begin a fresh course of\ngluttony.\n\nCertain artists in the preparation of original dishes employed\nthemselves in devising new and appetizing compounds of food for the\ntable of Vitellius. They were sure of an ample reward if they should\nsucceed in pleasing the imperial palate. Failure, however, was attended\nby a severe penance. The artist was not permitted to eat any food but\nhis own unsuccessful dish until he had atoned for his failure by a\nsuccess.\n\nWhile Vitellius was thus sunk in sloth and gluttony his destiny was on\nits march. A terrible and disgraceful retribution awaited him. He had\nnever been emperor of all the Roman empire. The army of Syria had\ndeclared for Vespasian, its general; and while Vitellius had been\nwasting his means and ruining his army by permitting it to indulge in\nevery vice and excess, his rival in the East was carefully laying his\nplans to insure success. He finally seized Alexandria, thus being able\nat will to starve Rome, by cutting off its food-supply; and sent\nAntonius Primus, his principal general, with a strong force to Italy.\n\nThe progress of Antonius in Italy was rapid. City after city fell into\nhis hands. The fleet at Ravenna declared for Vespasian. The general of\nVitellius sought to carry his whole army over to Antonius, but found his\nmen more faithful than himself. The Vitellians were defeated in two\nbattles; Cremona was taken and destroyed; all was at risk; and yet\nVitellius remained absorbed in luxury. \"Hid in the recess of his garden,\nhe indulged his appetite, forgetting the past, the present, and all\nsolicitude about future events; like those nauseous animals that know no\ncare, and, while they are supplied with food, remain in one spot, torpid\nand insensible.\"\n\nAt length awakened from his stupor, Vitellius took some steps for\ndefence. He was too late. His men deserted their ranks; the army of\nAntonius steadily advanced. Filled with terror, the emperor called an\nassembly of the people and offered to resign. The people in violent\nuproar refused to accept his resignation. He then proposed to seek a\nretreat in his brother's house. This the populace also opposed and\nforced him to return to the palace.\n\nThis attempted abdication brought civil war into the city. Sabinus, the\nbrother of Vespasian, raised a force and took possession of the\nCapitol. He was besieged here, and in the conflict that ensued the\nCapitol was set on fire and burned to the ground. It was the second time\nthis venerable edifice had been consumed by the flames. Sabinus was\ntaken prisoner, and was murdered by the mob.\n\nNews of this revolt and its disastrous end hastened the march of\nAntonius. Once more, as in the far-off days of the Gaulish invasion,\nRome was to be attacked and taken by a hostile army. It was assailed at\nthree points, each of which was obstinately defended. Finally an\nentrance was made at the Collinian gate, and the battle was transferred\nto the open streets, in which the Vitellians defended themselves as\nobstinately as before.\n\nAnd now was seen an extraordinary spectacle. While two armies--one from\nthe East, one from the North--contended fiercely for the possession of\nRome, the populace of that city flocked to behold the fight, as if it\nwas a gladiatorial struggle got up for their diversion, and nothing in\nwhich they had any personal interest. Tacitus says,--\n\n\"Whenever they saw the advantage inclining to either side, they favored\nthe contestants with shouts and theatrical applause. If the men fled\nfrom their ranks, to take shelter in shops or houses, they roared to\nhave them dragged forth and put to death like gladiators for their\ndiversion. While the soldiers were intent on slaughter, these miscreants\nwere employed in plundering. The greatest part of the booty fell to\ntheir share. Rome presented a scene truly shocking, a medley of savage\nslaughter and monstrous vice; in one place war and desolation; in\nanother bathing, riot, and debauchery. The whole city seemed to be\ninflamed with frantic rage, and at the same time intoxicated with\nbacchanalian pleasures. In the midst of rage and massacre, pleasure knew\nno intermission. A dreadful carnage seemed to be a spectacle added to\nthe public games.\"\n\nIt was a spectacle certainly without its like in the history of nations.\n\nThe battle ended in the complete overthrow of the army of Vitellius. The\ncamp was taken, and all that defended it were slain. And now took place\na scene which recalls that of the last days of Nero. Vitellius, seeing\nthat all was lost, was in an agony of apprehension. He left the palace\nby a private way to seek shelter in his wife's house on the Aventine.\nThen irresolution brought him back to the palace, which he found\ndeserted. The slaves had fled. The dead silence that reigned filled him\nwith terror. All was solitude and desolation. He wandered pitiably from\nroom to room, and finally, weary and utterly wretched, sought a humble\nhiding-place. Here he was discovered and dragged forth.\n\nAnd now the populace, who had lately refused his deposition, turned upon\nhim with the bitterest insults and contumely. With his hands bound\nbehind him and his garment torn, the obese old glutton was dragged\nthrough crowds who treated him with scoffs and words of contempt, not a\nvoice of pity or sympathy being heard. A German soldier struck at him\nwith his sword, and, missing his aim, cut off the ear of a tribune. He\nwas killed on the spot.\n\nAs Vitellius was thus dragged onward, his captors, with swords pointed\nat his throat, forced him to raise his head and expose his bloated face\nto scorn and derision. They made him look at his statues, which were\nbeing tumbled to the ground. They pointed out to him the place where\nGalba had perished. They pricked his body with their weapons. With\nendless contumely they brought him to the public charnel, where the body\nof Sabinus had been thrown among those of the vilest malefactors.\n\nA single expression is recorded as coming from his lips. \"And yet,\" he\nsaid, to a tribune who insulted his misery, \"I have been your\nsovereign.\"\n\nHis torment soon ended. The rabble fell on him with swords and clubs and\nhe died under a multitude of wounds. Even after his death those who had\nworshipped him in the height of his power continued to shower marks of\nrage and contempt upon his remains. Thus perished one of the most\ndespicable of all the emperors who disgraced Rome, to make room for one\nwhose wisdom and virtue would make still more contemptible the excesses\nof his gluttonous predecessor.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FAITHFUL EPONINA._\n\n\nThough Rome had extended its conquests over numerous tribes and nations\nof barbarians, and reduced them to subjection, much of the old love of\nliberty remained, and many of the later Roman wars were devoted to the\nsuppression of outbreaks among these unwilling subjects. In the reign of\nVespasian occurred such a rebellion, followed by so remarkable an\ninstance of womanly devotion that it has since enlisted the sympathy of\nthe world.\n\nJulius Sabinus, a leading chief among the Ligones, a tribe of the Gauls,\nled by ambition and daring, and stirred by hatred of the Roman dominion,\nresolved to shake off the yoke of conquest, and by his arts and\neloquence kindled the flame of rebellion among his countrymen. Gathering\nan army, he drove the Romans from the territory of his own people, and\nthen marched into the country of the Sequani, whom he hoped to bring\ninto the revolt.\n\nBut the discomfiture of the Romans lasted only until they could bring\ntheir forces together. A battle ensued between the hastily-levied\nfollowers of Sabinus and a disciplined Roman army, with the inevitable\nresult. The barbarians were defeated with great slaughter, the death of\nmost, the flight of the others, bringing the rebellion to a disastrous\nend.\n\nSabinus was among those who escaped the general carnage. He sought\nshelter from his pursuers in an obscure cottage, and, being hotly and\nclosely tracked, he set fire to his lurking-place and caused a report to\nbe spread that he had perished in the flames. He had been attended in\nhis flight by two faithful freedmen, and one of these, Martialis by\nname, sought Eponina, the loving wife of the chief, and told her that\nher husband was no more, that he had perished in the flames of the\nburning hut.\n\nGiving full credit to the story, Eponina was thrown into a transport of\ngrief which went far to convince the spies of Rome that she must have\nreceived sure tidings of her husband's death, and that Sabinus had\nescaped the vengeance of Rome. For several days her grief continued\nunabated, and then the same messenger returned and told her that her\nhusband still lived, having spread the report of his death to throw his\npursuers off his track.\n\nThis information brought Eponina as lively joy as the former news had\nbrought her sorrow; but knowing that she was watched, she affected as\ndeep grief as before, going about her daily duties with all the outward\nmanifestations of woe. When night came she visited Sabinus secretly in\nhis new hiding-place, and was received in his arms with all the joy of\nwhich loving souls are capable. Before the dawn of day she returned to\nher home, from which her absence had not been known.\n\nDuring seven months the devoted wife continued these clandestine visits,\nsoftening by caresses and brave words her husband's anxious care, and\nsupplying his wants as far as she was capable. At the end of that time\nshe grew hopeful of obtaining a pardon for the fugitive chief. For this\npurpose she induced him to disguise himself in a way that made detection\nimpossible and accompany her on a long and painful journey to Rome.\n\nHere the earnest and faithful woman made every possible effort to gain\nthe ear and favor of the emperor and to obtain influence in high places.\nShe unhappily found that Roman officials had no time or thought to waste\non fugitive rebels, and that compassion for those who dared oppose the\nsupremacy of Rome was a sentiment that could find no place in the\nimperial heart. Repelled, disappointed, hopeless, the unhappy woman and\nher disguised husband retraced their long and weary journey, and Sabinus\nagain sought shelter in the dens and caves which formed his only secure\nplaces of refuge.\n\nAnd now the faithful wife, abandoning her home, joined him in his\nlurking-place, and for nine long years the devoted couple lived as\nhomeless fugitives, mutual love their only comfort, obtaining the\nnecessaries of life by means of which we are not aware. By the tenderest\naffection Eponina softened the anxieties of her husband, the birth of\ntwo sons served still more to alleviate the misery of their distressful\nsituation, and all the happiness that could possibly come to two so\ncircumstanced attended the pair in their straitened place of refuge.\n\nAt the end of nine years the hiding-place of the fugitives was\ndiscovered by their enemies, and they were seized and sent in chains to\nRome. Here Vespasian, who had gained a reputation for kindness and\nclemency, acted with a cruelty worthy of the worst emperors of Rome. The\npitiable tale of the captives had no effect upon him; the devotion of\nthe wife roused no sympathy in his heart; Sabinus had dared rebel\nagainst Rome, no time nor circumstance could soften that flagitious\ncrime; without hesitation the chief was condemned to death, and instant\nexecution ordered.\n\nThis cruel sentence changed the tone of Eponina. She had hitherto humbly\nand warmly supplicated her husband's pardon. Now that he was dead she\nresolved not to survive him. With the spirit and pride of a free-born\nprincess she said to Vespasian, \"Death has no terror for me. I have\nlived happier underground than you upon your throne. You have robbed me\nof all I loved, and I have no further use for life. Bid your assassins\nstrike their blow; with joy I leave a world which is peopled by such\ntyrants as you.\"\n\nShe was taken at her word and ordered by the emperor for execution. It\nwas the darkest deed of Vespasian's life, a blot upon his character\nwhich all his record for clemency cannot remove, and which has ever\nsince lain as a dark stain upon his memory.\n\nPlutarch, who has alone told this story of love unto death, concludes\nhis tale by saying that there was nothing during Vespasian's reign to\nmatch the horror of this atrocious deed, and that, in retribution for\nit, the vengeance of the gods fell upon Vespasian, and in a short time\nafter wrought the extirpation of his entire family.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM._\n\n\nChrist had not long passed away from the earth when the reign of peace\nand brotherly love which He had so warmly inculcated ceased to exist on\nthe soil of Judaea. Forty years after He foretold the destruction of the\nTemple of Jerusalem that noble edifice had ceased to exist, Jerusalem\nitself was burned to the ground, and a million of people perished by\nsword and flames. It is this lamentable tale which we have now to tell.\n\nCaligula, the mad emperor, first roused the indignation of the Jews, by\ndemanding that his statue should be placed in that holy shrine in which\nno image of man had ever been permitted. War would have followed, for\nthe Jews were resolute against such an impious desecration of their\nTemple, had not the sword of the assassin removed the tyrant.\n\nBut the discontent of the Jews was not ended. They were resolved that no\nimage of the Caesars should be brought into their land, and carried this\nso far that when the governor of Syria wished to march through a part of\ntheir territory to attack the Arabs, they objected that the standards of\nthe legions were crowded with profane images, which their sacred laws\ndid not permit to be seen in their country. The governor yielded to\ntheir remonstrance, and marched around the land of Judaea.\n\nThis concession did not allay the discontent. Felix, a governor under\nClaudius, by oppression and cruelty aroused a general spirit of revolt.\nGessius Florus, appointed by Nero governor of Judaea, found his province\nin a state of irritation and tumult. His avarice and robbery of the\npeople ripened this to war. The province broke into open rebellion. It\nwas quickly invaded by Gallus, the governor of Syria, who marched\nthrough the country to the walls of Jerusalem. But he was not a soldier,\nand was quickly forced to abandon the siege and retreat in haste, losing\nsix thousand men in his flight.\n\n[Illustration: THE JEWS' WAILING PLACE, JERUSALEM.]\n\nNero now, finding that Rome had an obstinate struggle on its hands,\nchose Vespasian, a soldier of renown, to conduct the war. This he did\nwith the true Roman energy and thoroughness, subduing the whole country,\nand capturing every stronghold except Jerusalem, within two years. He\nwas called from this work to the struggle for the empire of Rome,\nleaving his able son Titus to complete the task.\n\nThe taking of Jerusalem was not to be easily performed. The city was of\nimmense strength. It stood upon two hills, Mount Sion to the south,\nMount Acra to the north. The former, being the loftiest, was called the\nupper, and Acra the lower, city. Each of these hills was surrounded by a\nwall of great strength and elevation, their bases washed by a rapid\nstream that ran through the valleys of Hinnom and Cedron, to the foot of\nthe Mount of Olives. A third hill, Mount Moriah, was the seat of the\nfamous Temple, an immense group of courts and edifices which looked more\nlike a citadel than a sanctuary of religious faith. The true temple\nstood separate, in the midst of these buildings, its interior being\ndivided by a curtain into two parts, of which the inmost was the Holy of\nHolies. The total group of edifices was nearly a mile in circumference.\n\nJerusalem, unfortunately for its defence, had, during the conquest of\nthe country, become filled with fugitives. To these the celebration of\nthe Passover, now at hand, added other great numbers, so that when the\narmy of Titus invested it, it was crowded with a vast multitude of human\nbeings. Filled with religious enthusiasm, accustomed to war, and\nbelieving that the Lord of Hosts would come to their aid, the garrison\ndisplayed a desperate resolution that the Romans were to find very\ndifficult to overcome.\n\nYet it was as much due to themselves as to the Roman arms that the city\nat length fell. Resolute as the Jews were in defence against the foreign\nfoe, they were divided among themselves, the city being held by three\nfactions bitterly hostile to each other. One of these, known as the\nZealots, under Eleazer, held the Temple. Another, under John of Gisela,\nan artful orator but a man of infamous character, occupied another\nportion of the city. A third, whose leader was named Simon, a man known\nfor crime and courage, held still another section. These three parties\nkept Jerusalem in tumult. There were ferocious battles in the streets;\nhouses were plundered, families slain, and when Titus encamped before\nthe walls, he had before him a city distracted by civil war and its\nstreets filled with blood and carnage.\n\nThe story of the siege of Jerusalem is far too long a one to be told in\ndetail. Several times during the siege Titus offered terms of pardon and\namnesty to the besieged, but all in vain. Divided as they were among\nthemselves, they were united in hostility to Rome. The siege began and\nproceeded with the usual energy shown by a Roman army. Mounds were\nerected, forts built, warlike engines constructed. Darts and other\nweapons were rained into the city, great stones were flung from engines,\nevery resource known to ancient war was practised. A breach was at\nlength made in the walls, the soldiers rushed in, sword in hand, and the\nsection of the city known as Salem was captured. Five days afterwards\nBezetha, a hill to the north of the Temple, was taken by Titus, but he\nwas here so furiously assailed by the garrison that he was forced to\nretreat to his camp.\n\nSome days of quiet now followed, while the Romans prepared for a second\nattack. The factions in the city, fancying that their foes had withdrawn\nin despair, at once resumed their feuds, and the streets again ran with\nblood. John invaded the Temple precincts, overcame the party of Eleazer,\nand a general massacre followed which desecrated With slaughter every\npart of the holy place.\n\nSoon the Romans advanced again, and the two remaining factions united in\ndefence. Now the Romans penetrated the city, now they were driven out\nin a fierce charge, and their camp nearly taken. And now famine came to\nadd to the horrors of the siege, and made frightful havoc in the dense\nmultitude with which every part of the city was thronged. The dead and\ndying filled the streets, the wounded soldiers perished of starvation,\ngroans and lamentations resounded in every quarter; to rid themselves of\nthe hosts of dead John and Simon had them thrown from the walls, to\nfester in heaps before the Roman works. Among the scenes of horror\nrelated, a woman was seen to kill and devour her own infant child.\n\nAt length the Romans made such progress that all the city was theirs\nexcept the Temple enclosure, into which the remainder of the garrison\nhad gathered. Titus wished to save this famous structure, and made a\nlast effort to end the siege by peaceful measures. Josephus, the Jewish\nhistorian, who had been taken prisoner during the war, and was now in\nhis camp, was sent into the city, with an offer of amnesty if they would\neven now yield. The offer was refused, and Titus saw that but one thing\nremained.\n\nOn the next day the assault on Mount Moriah began. The Jews fought with\nfierce courage, but the close lines and steady discipline of the legions\nprevailed. The defenders, after a bitter resistance, were forced back;\nthe assailants furiously pursued; the inner court of the Temple was\nentered; in the uproar of the furious strife the orders of Titus and his\nofficers to save the Temple were unheard; all was tumult, the roar of\nbattle, the shedding of blood. The Jews fought with frantic obstinacy,\nbut their undisciplined valor failed to affect the steady discipline or\nbreak the close array of the legions. Many fled in despair to the\nsanctuary. Here were gathered priests and prophets, who still declared\nthe Lord of Hosts was on their side, and that He would protect His holy\nseat.\n\nEven while these assurances were being given the assailants forced the\ngates. The eyes of the avaricious Romans rested on the golden and\nglittering ornaments of the Temple, and they sought more fiercely than\never to hew their way through flesh and blood to these alluring\ntreasures. One soldier, frantic with the fury of the fight, snatched a\nflaming ember from some burning materials, and, lifted by a comrade, set\nfire to a gilded window of the Temple. Almost in an instant the flames\nflared upward, and the despairing Jews saw that their holy house was\ndoomed. A great groan of agony burst from their lips. Many occupied\nthemselves in vain efforts to quench the flames; others flung themselves\nin despairing rage on the Romans, heedless of life now that all they\nlived for was perishing.\n\nTitus, on learning what had been done, ran in all haste to the scene,\nand loudly ordered the soldiers to extinguish the flames, signalling to\nthe same effect with his hand. But his voice was drowned in the uproar\nand his signals were not understood, while the thirst for plunder\ncarried the soldiers beyond all restraint. The holy place of the Temple\nwas still intact. This Titus entered, and was so impressed with its\nbeauty and splendor that he made a strenuous effort to save it from\ndestruction. In vain he begged and threatened. While some of the\nsoldiery tore with wolfish fury at its gold, others fired its gates, and\nsoon the Holy of Holies itself was in a blaze, and the whole Temple\nwrapped in devouring flames.\n\nThe rapacious soldiers raged through the buildings, rending from them\neverything of value which the fire had left untouched. The defenders\nfell by thousands. Great numbers perished in the flames. A multitude of\nfugitives, including women and children, sought refuge in the outer\ncloisters. These were set on fire by the furious soldiers, and thousands\nwere swept away by the pitiless hand of death. Word was brought to Titus\nthat a number of priests stood on the outside wall, begging for their\nlives. \"It is too late,\" he replied; \"the priests ought not to survive\ntheir temple.\" Retiring to an outer fort, he gazed with deep regret on\nthe devouring conflagration, saying, \"The God of the Jews has fought\nagainst them: to him we owe our victory.\"\n\nThus perished the Temple of Jerusalem, a magnificent structure, for ages\nthe pride and glory of the Jews. First erected by Solomon, eleven\ncenturies before, it was burnt by the Babylonians five hundred years\nafterwards. It was rebuilt by Haggai, in the reign of King Cyrus of\nPersia, and had now stood more than six hundred years, enlarged and\nadorned from time to time. But Christ had said, \"There shall not be left\none stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.\" This prophetic\nutterance was now fulfilled. Thenceforward there was no Temple of the\nJews.\n\nBut more fighting remained. The defenders made their way into the upper\ncity on Mount Sion, and here held out bitterly still, rejecting the\nterms offered them by Titus of unconditional surrender. The place was\nstrong, and defended by towers that were almost impregnable. Better\nterms might have been extorted from Titus had John and Simon, the\nleaders of the party of defence, been as brave as they were blatant. But\nafter refusing surrender they lost heart, and hid themselves in\nsubterranean vaults, leaving their deluded followers to their own\ndevices. The end came soon. A breach was made in the walls. The legions\nentered, sword in hand, and with the rage of slaughter in heart. A\ndreadful carnage followed. Neither sex nor age was spared. According to\nJosephus, not less than one million one hundred thousand persons\nperished during this terrible siege. Of those that remained alive the\nmost flagrant were put to death, some were reserved to grace the\nvictor's triumph, and the others were sent to Egypt to be sold as\nslaves. As for the city, it had been in great part consumed by flames.\nThus ended the rebellion of the Jews. To rule or ruin was the terrible\nmotto of Rome.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII._\n\n\nOn the eastern margin of the Bay of Naples, where it serves as a\nstriking background to the city of that name, stands the renowned\nVesuvius, the most celebrated volcano in the world. During many\ncenturies before the Christian era it had been a dead and silent\nmountain. Throughout the earlier period of Roman history the people of\nCampania treated it with the contempt of ignorance, planting their\nvineyards on its fertile slopes and building their towns and villages\naround its base. Under the shadow of the silent mountain armies met and\nfought, and its crater was made the fort and lurking-place of Spartacus\nand his party of gladiators. But the time was at hand in which a more\nterrible enemy than a band of vengeful rebels was to emerge from that\nthreatening cavity.\n\nThe sleeping giant first showed signs of waking from his long slumber in\n63 A.D., when earthquake convulsions shook the surrounding lands. These\ntremblings of the earth continued at intervals for sixteen years, doing\nmuch damage. At length, on the 24th of August of the year 79, came the\nculminating event. With a tremendous and terrible explosion the whole\ntop of the mountain was torn out, and vast clouds of steam and volcanic\nashes were hurled high into the air, lit into lurid light by the crimson\ngleams of the boiling lava below.\n\nThe scene was a frightful one. The vast, tree-like cloud, kindled\nthroughout its length by almost incessant flashes of lightning; the\nfiery glare that gleamed upward from the glowing lava; the total\ndarkness that overspread the surrounding country as the dense mass of\nvolcanic dust floated outward, a darkness only relieved by the glare\nthat attended each new explosion, formed a spectacle of terror to make\nthe stoutest heart quail, and to fill the weak and ignorant with dread\nof a final overthrow of the earth and its inhabitants.\n\nThe elder Pliny, the famous naturalist, was then in command of a fleet\nat Misenum, in the vicinity. Led by his scientific interest, he\napproached the volcano to examine the eruption more closely, and fell a\nvictim to the falling ashes or the choking fumes of sulphur that filled\nthe air. His nephew, Pliny the younger, then only a boy of eighteen, has\ngiven a lucid account of what took place, in letters to the historian\nTacitus. After describing the journey and death of his uncle, he goes on\nto speak of the violent earthquakes that shook the ground during the\nnight. He continues with the story of the next day:\n\n\"Though it was now morning, the light was exceedingly faint and languid;\nthe buildings all around us tottered, and though we stood upon open\nground, yet, as the place was narrow and confined, there was no\nremaining there without certain and great danger; we therefore resolved\nto leave the town. The people followed us in the utmost consternation,\nand, as to a mind distracted with terror every suggestion seems more\nprudent than its own, pressed in great crowds about us in our way out.\n\n\"Being got at a convenient distance from the houses, we stood still, in\nthe midst of a most dangerous and dreadful scene. The chariots which we\nhad ordered to be drawn out were so agitated backward and forward,\nthough upon the most level ground, that we could not keep them steady,\neven by supporting them with large stones. The sea seemed to roll back\nupon itself, and to be driven from its banks by the convulsive motion of\nthe earth; it is certain, at least, that the shore was considerably\nenlarged, and several sea-animals were left upon it. At the other side a\nblack and dreadful cloud, bursting with an igneous serpentine vapor,\ndarted out a long train of fire, resembling flashes of lightning, but\nmuch larger....\n\n\"Soon afterwards the cloud seemed to descend and cover the whole ocean,\nas indeed it entirely hid the island of Capreae and the promontory of\nMisenum. My mother strongly conjured me to make my escape at any rate,\nwhich, as I was young, I might easily do; as for herself, she said, her\nage and corpulence rendered all attempts of that sort impossible.\nHowever, she would willingly meet death if she could have the\nsatisfaction of seeing that she was not the occasion of mine. But I\nabsolutely refused to leave her, and, taking her by the hand, I led her\non; she complied with great reluctance, and not without many reproaches\nto herself for retarding my flight.\n\n\"The ashes now began to fall on us, though in no great quantity. I\nturned my head, and observed behind us a thick smoke, which came rolling\nafter us like a torrent. I proposed, while we yet had any light, to turn\nout of the high-road, lest she should be pressed to death in the dark by\nthe crowd that followed us. We had scarce stepped out of the path when\ndarkness overspread us, not like that of a cloudy night or when there is\nno moon, but of a room when it is shut up and all the lights extinct.\nNothing then was to be heard but the shrieks of women, the screams of\nchildren, and the cries of men; some calling for their children, others\nfor their parents, others for their husbands, and only distinguishing\neach other by their voices; one lamenting his own fate, another that of\nhis family; some wishing to die from the very fear of dying; some\nlifting their hands to the gods; but the greater part imagining that the\nlast and eternal night was come, which was to destroy the gods and the\nworld together.\n\n\"Among these were some who augmented the real terrors by imaginary ones,\nand made the frightened multitude falsely believe that Misenum was in\nflames. At length a glimmering light appeared, which we imagined to be\nrather the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames, as in truth it\nwas, than the return of day. However, the fire fell at a distance from\nus; then again we were immersed in thick darkness, and a heavy shower of\nashes rained upon us, which we were obliged every now and then to shake\noff, otherwise we should have been crushed and buried in the heap. I\nmight boast that during all this scene of horror not a sigh or\nexpression of fear escaped from me, had not my support been found in\nthat miserable, though strong, consolation, that all mankind were\ninvolved in the same calamity, and that I imagined I was perishing with\nthe world itself.\n\n\"At last this dreadful darkness was dissipated by degrees, like a cloud\nof smoke; the real day returned, and even the sun appeared, though very\nfaintly, and as when an eclipse is coming on. Every object that\npresented itself to our eyes seemed changed, being covered over with\nwhite ashes, as with a deep snow.\"\n\nThis graphic story repeats the experience of thousands on that fatal\noccasion, in which great numbers perished, while many lost their all.\nVillas of wealthy Romans were numerous in the vicinity of the volcano,\nwhile among the several towns which surrounded it three were utterly\ndestroyed,--Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. Of these much the most\nfamous is Pompeii, which, being buried in ashes, has proved far easier\nof exploration than Herculaneum, which was overwhelmed with torrents of\nmud, caused by heavy rains on the volcanic ash.\n\nPompeii was an old town, built more than six hundred years before, and\noccupied at the time of its destruction by the aristocracy of Rome.\nTriumphal arches were erected there in honor of Caligula and Nero, who\nprobably honored it by visits. It possessed costly temples, handsome\ntheatres and other public buildings, luxurious residences, and all the\nostentatious magnificence arising from the wealth of the proud\npatricians of Rome.\n\n[Illustration: THE RUINS OF POMPEII.]\n\nWhat Pompeii was in its best days we are not now able to estimate. It\nwas essentially, in its architecture, a Greek city, rich and artistic,\ngay and luxurious. But on February 5, 63 A.D., came the first of the\nlong series of earthquakes, and when it ended nearly all of old Pompeii\nwas levelled with the ground. It was not yet a lost city, but was a\nthoroughly ruined one. In the years that followed it was rapidly\nrebuilt, Roman architecture and decoration, of often tawdry and inferior\ncharacter, replacing the chaste and artistic Greek. Once more the city\nbecame a centre of gayety, ostentation, and licentiousness, when, in 79\nA.D., the eruption of Vesuvius came, and the overwhelming storm of ashes\ncame down like a thick-descending fall of snow on the doomed city.\n\nThe description given by Pliny relates to a less endangered point. Upon\nPompeii the ashes settled down in seemingly unending volumes, continuing\nfor three days, during which all was enveloped in darkness and gloom.\nThe citizens fled in terror, such as were able to, though many perished\nand were buried deep in their ruined homes. On the fourth day the sun\nbegan to reappear, as if shining through a fog, and the bolder fugitives\nreturned in search of their lost property.\n\nWhat they saw must have been frightfully disheartening. Where the busy\ncity had stood was now a level plain of white ashes, so deep that not a\nhouse-top could be seen, and only the upper walls of the great theatre\nand the amphitheatre were visible. Digging into the fleecy ashes, many\nof them recovered articles of value, while thieves also may have reaped\na rich harvest. The emperor Titus even undertook to clear and rebuild\nthe city, but soon abandoned the task as too costly a one, and for many\ncenturies afterwards Pompeii remained buried in mud and ashes, lost to\nthe world, its site forgotten, and the forms of many of its old\ninhabitants preserved intact in the bed of ashes in which they had\nperished.\n\nIt was only in 1748 that its site was recognized, and only since 1860\nhas there been a systematic effort to dig the old city out of its grave.\nAt present nearly one-half--the most important half--of Pompeii has been\nlaid bare, and we are able to see for ourselves how the Romans lived.\nThe narrow streets, fourteen to twenty-four feet wide, are well paved\nwith blocks of lava, which are cut into deep ruts by the wheels of\nchariots that rolled over them two thousand years ago. On each side rise\nthe walls of houses, two, and sometimes three, stories in height, and\nsome of them richly painted and adorned, while walls and columns are\nbrightly painted in red, blue, and yellow, which must have given the old\ncity a gay and festive hue.\n\nThe ornaments, articles of furniture, and domestic utensils found in\nthese houses go far to teach us the modes of life in Roman times, and\nreveal to us that the Romans possessed many comforts and conveniences\nfor which we had not given them credit. Even the forms of the\ninhabitants have in many cases been recovered. Though these forms have\nlong vanished, the hollows made by their bodies in the hardened ashes in\nwhich they lay and slowly decayed have remained unchanged, and by\npouring liquid plaster of Paris into these cavities perfect casts have\nbeen obtained, showing the exact shape of face and body, and even every\nfold of the clothes of these victims of Vesuvius eighteen hundred years\nago. They are not altogether pleasant to see, for they express the agony\nof those caught in the swift descending death of the falling volcanic\nshroud, but as tenants of an archaeological museum they stand unrivalled\nin lifelike fidelity.\n\nHerculaneum, which was buried to a depth of from forty to one hundred\nfeet, and with wet material which has grown much harder than the ashes\nof Pompeii, has been but little explored. It was the larger and more\nimportant city of the two, while none of its treasures could have been\nrecovered by their owners. The art relics found there far exceed in\ninterest and value those of Pompeii, but the work is so difficult that\nas yet very little has been done in the task of restoring this \"dead\ncity of Campania\" to the light of the modern day.\n\n\n\n\n_AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE._\n\n\nWe have now reached the period in which began the decline and fall of\nthe Roman empire. Its story is crowded with events, but lacks those\ndramatic and romantic incidents which give such interest to the history\nof early Rome. Now good emperors ruled, now bad ones followed, now peace\nprevailed, now war raged; the story grows monotonous as we advance. The\nreigns of virtuous emperors yield much to commend but little to\ndescribe; those of wicked emperors repel us by their enormities and\ndisgust us by their follies. We must end our tales with a few selections\nfrom the long and somewhat dreary list.\n\n[Illustration: EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS.]\n\nAfter Vespasian came to the throne, a period of nearly two centuries\nelapsed during most of which Rome was governed by men of virtue and\nability, though cursed for a time by the reigns of the cruel Domitian,\nthe dissolute Commodus, the base Caracalla, and the foolish Elagabalus.\nFortunately, none of the monsters who disgraced the empire reigned long.\nAssassination purified the throne. The total length of reign of the\ncruel monarchs of Rome covered no long space of time, though they occupy\na great space in history.\n\nWe have now to tell how the patrician families of Rome lost their hold\nupon the throne, and a barbarian peasant became lord and master of this\nvast empire, of which his ancestors of a few generations before had\nperhaps scarcely heard. The story is an interesting one, and well worth\nrepeating.\n\nJust after the year 200 A.D. the emperor Septimius Severus, father of\nthe notorious Caracalla, while returning from an expedition to the East,\nhalted in Thrace to celebrate, with military games, the birthday of\nGeta, his youngest son. The spectacle was an enticing one, and the\ncountry-people for many miles round gathered in crowds to gaze upon\ntheir sovereign and behold the promised sports.\n\nAmong those who came was a young barbarian of such gigantic stature and\ngreat muscular development as to excite the attention of all who saw\nhim. In a rude dialect, which those who heard could barely understand,\nhe asked if he might take part in the wrestling exercises and contend\nfor the prize. This the officers would not permit. For a Roman soldier\nto be overthrown by a Thracian peasant, as seemed likely to be the\nresult, would be a disgrace not to be risked. But he might try, if he\nwould, with the camp followers, some of the stoutest of whom were chosen\nto contend with him. Of these he laid no less than sixteen, in\nsuccession, on the ground.\n\nHere was a man worth having in the ranks. Some gifts were given him, and\nhe was told that he might enlist, if he chose; a privilege he was quick\nto accept. The next day the peasant, happy in the thought of being a\nsoldier, was seen among a crowd of recruits, dancing and exulting in\nrustic fashion, while his head towered above them all.\n\nThe emperor, who was passing in the march, looked at him with interest\nand approval, and as he rode onward the new recruit ran up to his horse,\nand followed him on foot during a long and rapid journey without the\nleast appearance of fatigue.\n\nThis remarkable endurance astonished Severus. \"Thracian,\" he said, \"are\nyou prepared to wrestle after your race?\"\n\n\"Ready and willing,\" answered the youth, with alacrity.\n\nSome of the strongest soldiers of the army were now selected and pitted\nagainst him, and he overthrew seven of them in rapid succession. The\nemperor, delighted with this matchless display of vigor and agility,\npresented him with a golden collar in reward, and ordered that he should\nbe placed in the horse-guards that formed his personal escort.\n\nThe new recruit, Maximin by name, was a true barbarian, though born in\nthe empire. His father was a Goth, his mother of the nation of the\nAlani. But he had judgment and shrewdness, and a valor equal to his\nstrength, and soon advanced in the favor of the emperor, who was a good\njudge of merit. Fierce and impetuous by nature, experience of the world\ntaught him to restrain these qualities, and he advanced in position\nuntil he attained the rank of centurion.\n\nAfter the death of Severus the Thracian served with equal fidelity under\nhis son Caracalla, whose favor and esteem he won. During the short\nreign of the profligate and effeminate Elagabalus, Maximin withdrew\nfrom the court, but he returned when Alexander Severus, one of the\nnoblest of Roman emperors, came to the throne. The new monarch was\nfamiliar with his ability and the incidents of his unusual career, and\nraised him to the responsible post of tribune of the fourth legion,\nwhich, under his rigid care, soon became the best disciplined in the\nwhole army. He was the favorite of the soldiers under his command, who\nbestowed on their gigantic leader the names of Ajax and Hercules, and\nrejoiced as he steadily rose in rank under the discriminating judgment\nof the emperor. Step by step he was advanced until he reached the\nhighest rank in the army, and, but for the evident marks of his savage\norigin, the emperor might have given his own sister in marriage to the\nson of his favorite general.\n\nThe incautious emperor was nursing a serpent. The favors poured upon the\nThracian peasant failed to secure his fidelity, and only nourished his\nambition. He began to aspire to the highest place in the empire, which\nhad been won by many soldiers before him. Licentiousness and profligacy\nhad sapped the strength of the army during the weak preceding reigns,\nand Alexander sought earnestly to overcome this corruption and restore\nthe rigid ancient discipline. It was too great a task for one of his\nlenient disposition. The soldiers were furious at his restrictions, many\nmutinies broke out, his officers were murdered, his authority was widely\ninsulted, he could scarcely repress the disorders that broke out in his\nimmediate presence.\n\nThis sentiment in the army offered the opportunity desired by Maximin.\nHe sent his emissaries among the soldiers to enhance their discontent.\nFor thirteen years, said these men, Rome had been governed by a weak\nSyrian, the slave of his mother and the senate. It was time the empire\nhad a man at its head, a real soldier, who could add to its glory and\nwin new treasures for his followers.\n\nAlexander had been engaged in a war with Persia. He had no sooner\nreturned than an outbreak in Germany forced him to hasten to the Rhine.\nHere a large army was assembled, made up in part of new levies, whose\ntraining in the art of war was given to the care of Maximin. The\ndiscipline exacted by Alexander was no more acceptable to the soldiers\nhere than elsewhere, and the secret agents of the ambitious Thracian\nfound fertile ground for their insinuations.\n\nAt length all was ripe for the outbreak. One day--March 19, 239 A.D.--as\nMaximin entered the field of exercise, the troops suddenly saluted him\nas emperor, and silenced by violent exclamations his obstinate show of\nrefusal. The rebels rushed to the tent of Alexander and consummated\ntheir conspiracy by striking him dead. His most faithful friends\nperished with him; others were dismissed from court and army; and some\nsuffered the cruelest treatment from the unfeeling usurper. Thus it was\nthat the imperial dignity descended from the noblest citizens of Rome to\na peasant of a distant province of barbarian origin. It was one of the\nmost striking steps in the decline of the empire.\n\nThe new emperor was a man of extraordinary physical powers. He is said\nto have been more than eight feet in height, while his strength and\nappetite were in accordance with his gigantic stature. It is stated that\nhe could drink seven gallons of wine and eat thirty or forty pounds of\nmeat in a day, and could move a loaded wagon with his arms, break a\nhorse's leg with his fist, crumble stones in his hands, and tear up\nsmall trees by the roots. His mental powers did not accord with his\nphysical ones. He was savage of aspect, ignorant of civilized arts,\ndestitute of accomplishments, and ruthless in disposition.\n\nHe had the virtues of the camp, and these had endeared him to the\nsoldiers, but his barbarian origin, his savage appearance, and his\nrudeness and ignorance were the contempt of cultivated people, and had\ngained him many rebuffs in his humbler days. He was now in a position to\nrevenge himself, not only on the haughty nobles who had treated him with\ncontempt, but even on former friends who were aware of his mean\norigin,--of which he was heartily ashamed. For both these crimes many\nwere put to death, and the slaughter of several of his former\nbenefactors has stained the memory of Maximin with the basest\ningratitude.\n\nRome, in the strange progress of its history, had raised a savage to the\nimperial seat, and it suffered accordingly. A scion of the despised\nbarbarians of the northern forests was now its emperor, and he visited\non the proud citizens of Rome the wrongs of his ancestors. The suspicion\nand cruelty of Maximin were unbounded and unrelenting. A consular\nsenator named Magnus was accused of a conspiracy against his life.\nWithout trial or opportunity for defence Magnus was put to death, with\nno less than four thousand supposed accomplices.\n\nThis was but an incident in a frightful reign of terror. The emperor\nkept aloof from his capital, but he filled Rome, and the whole empire,\nin fact, with spies and informers. The slightest accusation or suspicion\nwas sufficient for the blood-thirsty tyrant. On a mere unproved charge\nRoman nobles of the highest descent--men who had served as consuls,\ngoverned provinces, commanded armies, enjoyed triumphs--were seized,\nchained on the public carriages, and borne away to the distant camp of\nthe low-born tyrant.\n\nHere they found neither justice nor compassion. Exile, confiscation, and\nordinary execution were mild measures with Maximin. Some of the\nunfortunates were clubbed to death, some exposed to wild beasts, some\nsewed in the hides of slaughtered animals and left to perish. The worst\nenormities of Caligula and Nero were rivalled by this rude soldier, who,\nduring the three years of his reign, disdained to visit either Rome or\nItaly, and permitted no men of high birth, elegant accomplishments, or\nknowledge of public business to approach his person. His imperial seat\nshifted from a camp on the Rhine to one on the Danube, and his sole idea\nof government seems to have been the execution of the suspected.\n\nIt was the great that suffered, and to this the people were indifferent.\nBut they all felt his avarice. The soldiers demanded rewards, and the\nempire was drained to supply them. By a single edict all the stored-up\nrevenue of the cities was taken to supply Maximin's treasury. The\ntemples were robbed of their treasures, and the statues of gods, heroes,\nand emperors were melted down and converted into coin. A general cry of\nindignation against this impiety rose throughout the Roman world, and it\nwas evident that the end of this frightful tyranny was approaching.\n\nAn insurrection broke out in Africa. It was supported in Rome. But it\nended in failure, the Gordians, father and son, who headed it, were\nslain, and the senate and nobles of Rome fell into mortal terror. They\nlooked for a frightful retribution from the imperial monster. With the\ncourage of despair they took the only step that remained: two new\nemperors, Maximus and Balbinus, were appointed, and active steps taken\nto defend Italy and Rome.\n\nThere was no time to be lost. News of these revolutionary movements had\nroused in Maximin the rage of a wild beast. All who approached his\nperson were in danger, even his son and nearest friends. Under his\ncommand was a large, well-disciplined, and experienced army. He was a\nsoldier of acknowledged valor and military ability. The rebels, with\ntheir hasty levies and untried commanders, had everything to fear.\n\nThey took judicious steps. When the troops of Maximin, crossing the\nJulian Alps, reached the borders of Italy, they were terrified by the\nsilence and desolation that prevailed. The villages and open towns had\nbeen abandoned, the bridges destroyed, the cattle driven away, the\nprovisions removed, the country made a desert. The people had gathered\ninto the walled cities, which were plentifully provisioned and\ngarrisoned. The purpose of the senate was to weaken Maximin by famine\nand retard him by siege.\n\nThe first city assailed was Aquileia, It was fully provisioned and\nvigorously defended, the inhabitants preferring death on their walls to\ndeath by the tyrant's order. Yet Rome was in imminent danger. Maximin\nmight at any moment abandon the siege of a frontier city and march upon\nthe capital. There was no army capable of opposing him. The fate of Rome\nhung upon a thread.\n\nThe hand of an assassin cut that thread. The severity of the weather,\nthe growth of disease, the lack of food, had spread disaffection through\nMaximin's army. Ignorant of the true state of affairs, many of the\nsoldiers feared that the whole empire was in arms against them. The\ntyrant, vexed at the obstinate defence of Aquileia, visited his anger on\nhis men, and roused a stern desire for revenge. The end came soon. A\nparty of Praetorian guards, in dread for their wives and children, who\nwere in the camp of Alba, near Rome, broke into sudden revolt, entered\nMaximin's tent, and killed him, his son, and the principal ministers of\nhis tyranny.\n\nThe whole army sympathized with this impulsive act. The heads of the\ndead, borne on the points of spears, were shown the garrison, and at\nonce the gates were thrown open, the hungry troops supplied with food,\nand a general fraternization took place. Joy in the fall of the tyrant\nwas universal throughout the empire, the two new emperors entered Rome\nin a triumphal procession, people and nobles alike went wild with\nenthusiasm, and the belief was entertained that a golden age was to\nsucceed the age of iron that had come to an end. Yet within three months\nafterwards both the new emperors were massacred in the streets of Rome,\nand the hoped-for era of happiness and prosperity vanished before the\nswelling tide of oppression, demoralization, and decline.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DEEDS OF CONSTANTINE._\n\n\nIn the century that followed the reign of Maximin great changes came\nupon the empire of Rome. The process of decline went steadily on. The\ncity of Rome sank in importance as the centre of the empire. The armies\nwere recruited from former barbarian tribes; many of the emperors\nreigned in the field; the savage inmates of the northern forests,\nhitherto sternly restrained, now began to gain a footing within the\nborders; the Goths plundered Greece; the Persians took Armenia; the day\nof the downfall of the great empire was coming, slowly but surely. One\nimportant event during this period, the rebellion of Zenobia and the\nruin of Palmyra, we have told in \"Tales of Greece.\" There are two other\nevents to be told: the rise of Christianity, and the founding of a new\ncapital of the empire.\n\nFrom the date of the death of Christ, the Christian religion made\ncontinual progress in the city and empire of Rome. Despite the contempt\nwith which its believers were viewed, despite the persecution to which\nthey were subjected, despite frequent massacres and martyrdoms, their\nnumbers rapidly increased, and the many superstitions of the empire\ngradually gave way before the doctrines of human brotherhood, infinite\nlove and mercy, and the eternal existence and happiness of those who\nbelieved in Christ and practised virtue. By the time of the accession of\nthe great emperor Constantine, 306 A.D., the Christians were so numerous\nin the army and populace of the empire that they had to be dealt with\nmore mercifully than of old, and their teachings were no longer confined\nto the lowly, but ascended to the level of the throne itself.\n\nThe traditional story handed down to us is that Constantine, in his\nstruggle with Maxentius for the empire of the West, saw in the sky,\nabove the mid-day sun, a great luminous cross, marked with the words,\n\"_In hoc signo vinces_\" (\"In this sign conquer\"). The whole army beheld\nthis amazing object; and during the following night Christ appeared to\nthe emperor in a vision, and directed him to march against his enemies\nunder the standard of the cross. Another writer claims that a whole army\nof divine warriors were seen descending from the sky, and flying to the\naid of Constantine.\n\n[Illustration: ARCH OF TITUS, ROME.]\n\nIt may be said that both these stories, though told by devout authors,\ngreatly lack probability. But, whatever the cause, Constantine became a\nprofessed Christian, and as such availed himself of the enthusiastic\nsupport of the Christians of his army. By an edict issued at Milan, 313\nA.D., he gave civil rights and toleration to the Christians throughout\nthe empire, and not long afterwards proclaimed Christianity the religion\nof the state, though the pagan worship was still tolerated.\n\nThis highly important act of Constantine was followed by another of\ngreat importance, the establishment of a new capital of the Roman\nempire, one which was destined to keep alive some shadow of that empire\nfor many centuries after Rome itself had become the capital of a kingdom\nof barbarians. On the European bank of the Bosphorus, the channel which\nconnects the Sea of Marmora with the Black Sea, had for ages stood the\ncity of Byzantium, which played an important part in Grecian history.\n\nOn the basis of this old city Constantine resolved to build a new one,\nworthy his greatness. The situation was much more central than that of\nRome, and was admirably chosen for the government of an empire that\nextended as far to the east in Asia as to the west in Europe, while it\nwas at once defended by nature against hostile attack and open to the\nbenefits of commercial intercourse. This, then, was the site chosen for\nthe new capital, and here the city of Constantinople arose.\n\nWe have, in our first chapter, described how Romulus laid out the walls\nof Rome. With equally impressive ceremonies Constantine traced those of\nthe new capital of the empire. Lance in hand, and followed by a solemn\nprocession, the emperor walked over a route of such extent that his\nassistants cried out in astonishment that he had already exceeded the\ndimensions of a great city.\n\n\"I shall still advance,\" said Constantine, \"till He, the invisible guide\nwho marches before me, thinks proper to stop.\"\n\nFrom the eastern promontory to that part of the Bosphorus known as the\n\"Golden Gate,\" the city extended along the strait about three Roman\nmiles. Its circumference measured between ten and eleven, the space\nembraced equalling about two thousand acres. Upon the five hills\nenclosed within this space, which, to those who approach Constantinople,\nrise above each other in beautiful order, was built the new city, the\nchoicest marble and the most costly and showy materials being abundantly\nemployed to add grandeur and splendor to the natural beauty of the site.\n\nA great multitude of builders and architects were employed in raising\nthe walls and building the edifices of the imperial city, while the\ntreasures of the empire were spent without stint in the effort to make\nit an unequalled monument. In that day the art of architecture had\ngreatly declined, but for the adornment of the city there were to be had\nthe noblest productions the world had ever known, the works of the most\ncelebrated artists of the age of Pericles.\n\nThese were amply employed. To adorn the new city, the cities of Greece\nand Asia were despoiled of their choicest treasures of art. In the Forum\nwas placed a lofty column of porphyry, one hundred and twenty feet in\nheight, on whose summit stood a colossal statue of Apollo, supposed to\nbe the work of Phidias. In the stately circus or hippodrome, the space\nbetween the goals, round which the chariots turned in their swift\nflight, was filled with ancient statues and obelisks. Here was also a\ntrophy of striking historical value, the bodies of three serpents\ntwisted into a pillar of brass, which once supported the golden tripod\nthat was consecrated by the Greeks in the temple of Delphi after the\ndefeat of Xerxes. It still exists, as the choicest antiquarian relic of\nthe city.\n\nThe palace was a magnificent edifice, hardly surpassed by that of Rome\nitself. The baths were enriched with lofty columns, handsome marbles,\nand more than threescore statues of brass. The city contained numbers of\nother magnificent public buildings, and over four thousand noble\nresidences, which towered above the multitude of plebeian dwellings. As\nfor its wealth and population, these, in less than a century, vied with\nthose of Rome itself.\n\nWith such energy did Constantine push the work on his city that its\nprincipal edifices were finished in a few years,--or in a few months, as\none authority states, though this statement seems to lack probability.\nThis done, the founder dedicated his new capital with the most\nimpressive ceremonies, and with games and largesses to the people of the\ngreatest pomp and cost. An edict, engraved on a marble column, gave to\nthe new city the title of Second or New Rome. But this official title\ndied, as the accepted name of the city, almost as soon as it was born.\nConstantinople, the \"city of Constantine,\" became the popular name, and\nso it continues till this day in Christian acceptation. In reality,\nhowever, the city has suffered another change of name, for its present\npossessors, the Turks, know it by the name of Stambol.\n\nAn interesting ceremony succeeded. With every return of the birthday of\nthe city, a statue of Constantine, made of gilt wood and bearing in its\nright hand a small image of the genius of the city, was placed on a\ntriumphal car, and drawn in solemn procession through the Hippodrome,\nattended by the guards, who carried white tapers and were dressed in\ntheir richest robes. When it came opposite the throne of the reigning\nemperor, he rose from his seat, and, with grateful reverence, paid\nhomage to the statue of the founder. Thus it was that Byzantium was\nreplaced by Constantinople, and thus was the founder of the new capital\nheld in honor.\n\n\n\n\n_THE GOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE._\n\n\nThe doom of Rome was at hand. Its empire had extended almost inimitably\nto the east and west, had crossed the sea and deeply penetrated the\ndesert to the south, but had failed in its advances to the north. The\nRhine and the Danube here formed its boundaries. The great forest region\nwhich lay beyond these, with its hosts of blue-eyed and fair-skinned\nbarbarians, defied the armies of Rome. Here and there the forest was\npenetrated, hundreds of thousands of its tenants were slain, yet Rome\nfailed to subdue its swarming tribes, and simply taught them the\nprinciple of combination and the art of war. Early in the history of\nRome it was taken and burnt by the Gauls. Raids of barbarians across the\nborder were frequent in its later history. As Rome grew weaker, the\ntribes of the north grew bolder and stronger. The armies of the empire\nwere kept busy in holding the lines of the Rhine and the Danube. At\nlength Roman weakness and incompetency permitted this barrier to be\nbroken, and the beginning of the end was at hand. This is the important\nevent which we have now to describe.\n\nIn the year 375 A.D. there existed a great Gothic kingdom in the north,\nextending from the Baltic to the Black Sea, under the rule of an able\nmonarch named Hermanric, who had conquered and combined numerous tribes\ninto a single nation. On this nation, just as assassination removed the\nGothic conqueror, descended a vast and frightful horde from northern\nAsia, the mighty invasion of the Huns, which was to shake to its heart\nthe empire of Rome.\n\nThe Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) were conquered by this savage horde. The\nVisigoths (Western Goths), stricken with mortal fear, hurried to the\nDanube and implored the Romans to save them from annihilation. For many\nmiles along the banks of the river extended the panic-stricken\nmultitude, with outstretched arms and pathetic lamentations, praying for\npermission to cross. If settled on the waste lands of Thrace they would\npledge themselves to be faithful subjects of Rome, to obey its laws and\nguard its limits.\n\nSympathy and pity counselled the emperor to grant the request. Political\nconsiderations bade him refuse. To admit such a host of warlike\nbarbarians to the empire was full of danger. Finally they were permitted\nto cross, under two stringent conditions: they must deliver up their\narms, and they must yield their children, who were to be taken to Asia,\neducated, and held as hostages. Such was the first fatal step in the\noverthrow of Rome.\n\nThe task of crossing was a difficult one. The Danube there was more than\na mile wide, and had been swollen with rains. A large fleet of boats and\nvessels was provided, but it took many days and nights to transport the\nmighty host, and numbers of them were swept away and drowned by the\nrapid current. Probably the whole multitude numbered nearly a million,\nof whom two hundred thousand were warriors.\n\nOf the conditions made only one was carried out. The children of the\nGoths were removed, and taken to the distant lands chosen for their\nresidence. But the arms were not given up. The Roman officers were\nbribed to let the warriors retain their weapons, and in a short time a\ngreat army of armed barbarians was encamped on the southern bank of the\nDanube.\n\nThese new subjects of Rome were treated in a way well calculated to\nconvert them into enemies. The officials of Thrace disobeyed the orders\nof the emperor, sold the Goths the meanest food at extravagant prices,\nand by their rapacious avarice bitterly irritated them. While this was\ngoing on, the Ostrogoths also appeared on the Danube, and solicited\npermission to cross. Valens, the emperor, refused. He was beginning to\nfear that he had already too many subjects of that race. But the\ndiscontent of the Visigoths had drawn the soldiers from the stream and\nleft it unguarded. The Ostrogoths seized vessels and built rafts. They\ncrossed without opposition. Soon a new and hostile army was encamped\nupon the territory of the Roman empire.\n\nThe discontent of the Visigoths was not long in breaking into open war.\nThey had marched to Marcianopolis, seventy miles from the Danube. Here\nLupicinus, one of the governors of Thrace, invited the Gothic chiefs to\na splendid entertainment. Their guards remained under arms at the\nentrance to the palace. But the gates of the city were closely guarded,\nand the Goths outside were refused the use of a plentiful market, to\nwhich they claimed admission as subjects of Rome.\n\nThe citizens treated them with insult and derision. The Goths grew\nangry. Words led to blows. A sword was drawn, and the first blood shed\nin a long and ruinous war. Lupicinus was told that many of his soldiers\nhad been slain. Heated with wine, he gave orders that they should be\nrevenged by the death of the Gothic guards at the palace gates.\n\nThe shouts and groans in the street warned Fritigern, the Gothic king,\nof his danger. At a word from him his comrades at the banquet drew their\nswords, forced their way from the palace and through the streets, and,\nmounting their horses, rode with all speed to their camp, and told their\nfollowers what had occurred. Instantly cries of vengeance and warlike\nshouts arose, war was resolved upon by the chiefs, the banners of the\nhost were displayed, and the sound of the trumpets carried afar the\nhostile warning.\n\nLupicinus hastily collected such troops as he could command and advanced\nagainst the barbarians; but the Roman ranks were broken and the legions\nslaughtered, while their guilty leader was forced to fly for his life.\n\"That successful day put an end to the distress of the barbarians and\nthe security of the Romans,\" says a Gothic historian.\n\nThe imprudence of Valens had introduced a nation of warriors into the\nheart of the empire; the venality of the officials had converted them\ninto enemies; Valens, instead of seeking to remove their causes of\nhostility, marched with an army against them. We cannot here describe\nthe various conflicts that took place. It will suffice to say that other\nbarbarians crossed the Danube, and that even some of the Huns joined the\narmy of Fritigern. The borders of the empire were effectually broken,\nand the forest myriads swarmed unchecked into the empire.\n\nOn August 9, 378, the Emperor Valens, inspired by ambition and moved by\nthe demands of the ignorant multitude, left the strong walls of\nAdrianople and marched to attack the Goths, who were encamped twelve\nmiles away. The result was fatal. The Romans, exhausted with their\nmarch, suffering from heat and thirst, confused and ill-organized, met\nwith a complete defeat. The emperor was slain on the field or burnt to\ndeath in a hut to which he had been carried wounded, hundreds of\ndistinguished officers perished, more than two-thirds of the army were\ndestroyed, and the darkness of the night only saved the rest. Valens had\nbeen badly punished for his imprudence and the Romans for their\nvenality.\n\nThis signal victory of the Goths was followed by a siege of Adrianople.\nBut the barbarians knew nothing of the art of attacking stone walls, and\nquickly gave up the impossible task. From Adrianople they marched to\nConstantinople, but were forced to content themselves with ravaging the\nsuburbs and gazing, with impotent desire, on the city's distant\nsplendor. Then, laden with the rich spoils of the suburbs, they marched\nsouthward through Thrace, and spread over the face of a fertile and\ncultivated country extending as far as the confines of Italy, their\ncourse being everywhere marked with massacre, conflagration, and rapine,\nuntil some of the fairest regions of the empire were turned almost into\na desert. It may be that the numbers of Romans who perished from this\ninvasion equalled those of the Goths whom imprudent compassion had\ndelivered from the Huns.\n\nAs regards the children of the Goths, who had been distributed in the\nprovinces of Asia Minor, there remains a cruel story to tell. Though\ngiven the education and taught the arts of the Romans, they did not\nforget their origin, and the suspicion arose that they were plotting to\nrepeat in Asia the deeds of their fathers in Europe. Julius, who\ncommanded the troops after the death of Valens, took bloody measures to\nprevent any such calamity. The youthful Goths were bidden to assemble,\non a stated day, in the capital cities of their provinces, the hint\nbeing given that they were to receive gifts of land and money. On the\nappointed day they were collected unarmed in the Forum of each city, the\nsurrounding streets being occupied by Roman troops, and the roofs of the\nhouses covered with archers and slingers. At a fixed hour, in all the\ncities, the signal for slaughter was given, and in an hour more not one\nof these helpless wards of Rome remained alive. The cruel treachery of\nthis blood-thirsty act remains almost unparalleled in history.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DOWNFALL OF ROME._\n\n\nTheodosius, the great and noble emperor who succeeded Valens, pacified\nand made quiet subjects of the Goths. He died in 395, and before the\nyear ended the Gothic nation was again in arms. At the first sound of\nthe trumpet the warriors, who had been forced to a life of labor,\ndeserted their fields and flocked to the standards of war. The barriers\nof the empire were down. Across the frozen surface of the Danube flocked\nsavage tribesmen from the northern forests, and joined the Gothic hosts.\nUnder the leadership of an able commander, the famous Alaric, the\nbarbarians swept from their fields and poured downward upon Greece, in\nsearch of an easier road to fortune than the toilsome one of industry.\n\nMany centuries had passed since the Persians invaded Greece, and the men\nof Marathon and Thermopylae were no more. Men had been posted to defend\nthe world-famous pass, but, instead of fighting to the death, like\nLeonidas and his Spartans of old, they retired without a blow, and left\nGreece to the mercy of the Goth.\n\nInstantly a deluge of barbarians spread right and left, and the whole\ncountry was ravaged. Thebes alone resisted. Athens admitted Alaric\nwithin its gates, and saved itself by giving the barbarian chief a bath\nand a banquet. The other famous cities had lost their walls, and\nCorinth, Argos, and Sparta yielded without defence to the Goths. The\nwealth of the cities and the produce of the country were ravaged without\nstint, villages and towns were committed to the flames, thousands of the\ninhabitants were borne off to slavery, and for years afterwards the\ntrack of the Goths could be traced in ruin throughout the land.\n\nBy a fortunate chance Rome possessed at that epoch a great general, the\nfamous Stilicho, whose military genius has rarely been surpassed. He had\nbefore him a mighty task, the forcing back of the high tide of barbarian\noverflow, but he did it well while he lived. His death brought ruin on\nRome. Stilicho hastened to Greece and quickly drove the Goths from the\nPeloponnesus. But jealousy between Constantinople and Rome tied his\nhands, he was recalled to Italy, and the weak emperor of the East\nrewarded the Gothic general for his destructive raid by making him\nmaster-general of Illyricum.\n\nAlaric, fired by ambition, used his new power in forcing the cities of\nhis dominion to supply the Goths with the weapons of war. Then, Greece\nand the country to the north having been devastated, he turned his arms\nagainst Italy, and about 400 A.D. appeared at the foot of the Julian\nAlps, the first invader who had threatened Italy since the days of\nHannibal, six hundred years before.\n\nThere were at that time two rulers of the Roman empire,--Arcadius,\nemperor of the East, and Honorius, emperor of the West. The latter, a\ncoward himself, had a brave man to command his armies,--Stilicho, who\nhad driven the Goths from Greece. But Italy, though it had a general,\nwas destitute of an army. To meet the invading foe, Stilicho was forced\nto empty the forts on the Rhine, and even to send to England for the\nlegion that guarded the Caledonian wall. With the army thus raised he\nmet the Gothic host at Pollentia, and defeated them with frightful\nslaughter, recovering from their camp many of the spoils of Greece.\nAnother battle was fought at Verona, and the Goths were again defeated.\nThey were now forced to retire from Italy, Stilicho and the emperor\nentered Rome, and that capital saw its last great triumph, and gloried\nin a revival of its magnificent ancient games.\n\n[Illustration: THE LAST COMBAT OF THE GLADIATORS.]\n\nIn these games the cruel combat of gladiators was shown for the last\ntime to the blood-thirsty populace of Rome. The edict of Constantine had\nfailed to stop these frightful sports. The appeal of a Christian poet\nwas equally without effect. A more decisive action was necessary, and it\ncame. In the midst of these bloody contests an Asiatic monk, named\nTelemachus, rushed into the arena and attempted to separate the\ngladiators. He paid for his rashness with his life, being stoned to\ndeath by the furious spectators, with whose pleasure he had dared to\ninterfere. But his death had its effect. The fury of the people was\nfollowed by shame. Telemachus was looked upon as a martyr, and the\ngladiatorial shows came to an end, the emperor abolishing forever the\nspectacle of human slaughter and human cruelty in the amphitheatre of\nRome.\n\nRome triumphed too soon. Its ovation to victory was the expiring gleam\nin its long career of glory and dominion. Its downfall was at hand.\nFight as it might in Italy, the gate-ways of the empire lay open in the\nnorth, and through them still poured barbarian hordes. The myriads of\nthe Huns, rushing in a devouring wave from the borders of China, made a\nmighty stir in the forest region of the Baltic and the Danube. In the\nyear 406 a vast host of Germans, known by the names of Vandals,\nBurgundians, and Suevi, under a leader named Rhodogast, or Radagaisus,\ncrossed the Danube and made its way unopposed to Italy. Multitudes of\nGoths joined them, till the army numbered not less than two hundred\nthousand fighting men.\n\nAs the flood of barbarians rushed southward through Italy, many cities\nwere pillaged or destroyed, and the city of Florence sustained its first\nrecorded siege. Alaric and his Goths were Christians. Radagaisus and his\nGermans were half-savage pagans. Florence, which had dared oppose them,\nwas threatened with utter ruin. It was to be reduced to stones and\nashes, and its noblest senators were to be sacrificed on the altars of\nthe German gods. The Florentines, thus threatened, fought bravely, but\nthey were reduced to the last extremity before deliverance came.\n\nStilicho had not been idle during this destructive raid. By calling\ntroops from the frontiers, by arming slaves, and by enlisting barbarian\nallies, he was at length able to take the field. He led the _last_ army\nof Rome, and dared not expose it to the wild valor of the savage foe. On\nthe contrary, he surrounded their camp with strong lines which defied\ntheir efforts to break through, and waited till starvation should force\nthem to surrender.\n\nFlorence was relieved. The besiegers were in their turn besieged. Their\nbravest warriors were slain in efforts to break the Roman lines.\nRadagaisus surrendered to Stilicho, and was instantly executed. Such of\nhis followers as had not been swept away by famine and disease were sold\nas slaves. The great host disappeared, and Stilicho a second time won\nthe proud title of Deliverer of Italy.\n\nBut the whole army of Radagaisus was not destroyed. Half of it had\nremained in the north. These were forced by Stilicho to retreat from\nItaly. But Gaul lay open to their fury. That great and rich section of\nthe empire was invaded and frightfully ravaged, and its conquerors never\nafterwards left its fertile fields. The empire of Rome ceased to exist\nin the countries beyond the Alps, those great regions which had been won\nby the arms of Marius and Caesar.\n\nAnd now the time had come for Rome to destroy itself. The mind of the\nemperor was poisoned against Stilicho, the sole remaining bulwark of his\npower. He had sought to tie the hands of Alaric with gifts of power and\ngold, and was accused of treason by his enemies. The weak Honorius gave\nway, and Stilicho was slain. His friends shared his fate, and the\ncowardly imbecile who ruled Rome cut down the only safeguard of his\nthrone.\n\nThe result was what might have been foreseen. In a few months after the\ndeath of Stilicho, Alaric was again in Italy, exasperated by the bad\nfaith of the court, which had promised and not performed. There was no\narmy and no general to meet him. City after city was pillaged. Avoiding\nthe strong walls of Ravenna, behind which the emperor lay secure, he\nmarched on Rome, led his army under the stately arches, adorned with the\nspoils of countless victories, and pitched his tents beneath the walls\nof the imperial city.\n\nSix hundred and nineteen years had passed since a foreign foe had gazed\nupon those proud walls, within which lay the richest and most splendid\ncity of the world, peopled by a population of more than a million souls.\nBut Rome was no longer the city which had defied the hosts of Hannibal,\nand had sold at auction, for a fair price, the very ground on which the\ngreat Carthaginian had pitched his tent. Alaric was not a Hannibal, but\nmuch less were the Romans of his day the Romans of the past.\n\nInstead of striking for the honor of Rome, they lay and starved within\ntheir walls until thousands had died in houses and streets. No army came\nto their relief, and in despair the senate sent delegates to treat with\nthe king of the Goths.\n\n\"We are resolved to maintain the dignity of Rome, either in peace or\nwar,\" said the envoys, with a show of pride and valor. \"If you will not\nyield us honorable terms, you may sound your trumpets and prepare to\nfight with myriads of men used to arms and with the courage of despair.\"\n\n\"The thicker the hay, the easier it is mowed,\" answered Alaric, with a\nloud and insulting laugh.\n\nHe then named the terms on which he would retreat,--_all_ the gold and\nsilver in the city; _all_ the rich and precious movables; _all_ the\nslaves who were of barbarian origin.\n\n\"If such are your demands,\" asked the envoys, now reduced to suppliant\ntones, \"what do you intend to leave us?\"\n\n\"Your _lives_,\" said Alaric, in haughty tones.\n\nThe envoys retired, trembling with fear.\n\nBut Alaric moderated his demands, and was bought off by the payment of\nfive thousand pounds of gold, thirty thousand pounds of silver, four\nthousand robes of silk, three thousand pieces of scarlet cloth, and\nthree thousand pounds of pepper, then a costly and favorite spice. The\ngates were opened, the hungry multitude was fed, and the Gothic army\nmarched away, but it left Rome poor.\n\nWhat followed is too long to tell. Alaric treated for peace with the\nministers of the emperor. But he met with such bad faith and so many\ninsults that exasperation overcame all his desire for peace, and once\nmore the army of the Goths marched upon Rome.\n\nThe crime and folly of the court of Honorius at Ravenna had at last\nbrought about the ruin of the imperial city. The senate resolved on\ndefence; but there were traitors within the walls. At midnight the\nSalarian Gate was silently opened, and a chosen band of barbarians\nentered the streets. The tremendous sound of the Gothic trumpet aroused\nthe sleeping citizens to the fact that all was lost. Eleven hundred and\nsixty-three years after the foundation of Rome, and eight hundred years\nafter its capture by the Gauls, it had again become the prey of\nbarbarians, and the imperial mistress of the world was delivered to the\nfury of the German and Gothic hordes.\n\nAlaric, while permitting his followers to plunder at discretion, bade\nthem to spare the lives of the unresisting; but thousands of Romans were\nslain, and the forty thousand slaves who had joined his ranks revenged\nthemselves on their former masters with pitiless rage. Conflagration\nadded to the horrors, and fire spread far over the captured city. The\nGoths held Rome only for six days, but in that time depleted it\nfrightfully of its wealth. The costly furniture, the massive plate, the\nrobes of silk and purple, were piled without stint into their wagons,\nand numerous works of art were wantonly destroyed.\n\nBut Alaric and many of his followers were Christians, and the treasures\nof the Church escaped. A Christian Goth broke into the dwelling of an\naged woman, and demanded all the gold and silver she possessed. To his\nastonishment, she showed him a hoard of massive plate, of the most\ncurious workmanship. As he looked at it with wonder and delight, she\nsolemnly said,--\n\n\"These are the consecrated vessels belonging to St. Peter. If you\npresume to touch them, your conscience must answer for the sacrilege.\nFor me, I dare not keep what I am not able to defend.\"\n\nThe Goth, struck with awe by her words, sent word to Alaric of what he\nhad found, and received an order that all this consecrated treasure\nshould be transported without damage to St. Peter's Church. A remarkable\nspectacle, never before seen in a captured city, followed. From the\nQuirinal Hill to the distant Vatican marched a long train of devout\nGoths, bearing on their heads the sacred vessels of gold and silver, and\nguarded on each side by a detachment of their armed companions, while\nthe martial shouts of the barbarians mingled with the hymns of devotees.\nA crowd of Christians flocked from the houses to join the procession,\nand through its sheltering aid a multitude of fugitives escaped to the\nsecure retreat of the Vatican.\n\nNot satisfied with plundering the city, the conquerors ended by selling\nits citizens, save those who could ransom themselves, for slaves. Many\nof these were redeemed by the benevolent, but as a result of the taking\nof Rome hosts of indigent fugitives were scattered through the empire,\nfrom Italy to Syria.\n\nFrom this time forward the Western Empire of Rome was the prey of\nbarbarians. In 451 the Huns under Attila invaded Gaul, besieged Orleans,\nand were defeated at Chalons in the last great victory of Rome. In the\nfollowing year Attila invaded Italy, and Rome was only saved from the\nworst of horrors by a large ransom. Three years afterwards, in 455, an\narmy of Vandals, who had invaded Africa, sailed to Italy, and Rome was\nagain taken and sacked. For fourteen days and nights the pillage\ncontinued, and when it ended Rome was stripped bare of treasure; the\nChristian churches, which had been spared by the Goths, being\nmercilessly plundered by these heathen conquerors.\n\nA few years more and the Western Empire of Rome came to an end. In the\nyear 476 or 479, Augustulus, the last emperor, was forced to resign, and\nOdoacer, a barbarian chief, assumed the title of King of Italy. As for\nthe Eastern Empire, it maintained a half-life for nearly a thousand\nyears after, Constantinople being finally taken by the Turks, and made\nthe capital of Turkey, in 1453.\n\n  THE END.","title":"Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 11 (of 15), Roman","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":83633}