MAURINE L. SCOTT 
 2208 N. Ross Street 
 Santa Ana, Calif.
 
 THE CASTLE OF S. ANGELO.
 
 Historical Tales 
 
 The Romance of Reality 
 
 Boman 
 
 By 
 
 CHARLES MORRIS 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 ** HALF-HOUR* WITH THE BEST 
 AMERICAN AUTHORS," " TALI8 
 FROM THE DRAMATISTS," ZTC. 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON
 
 Copyright, I&A by J. B. LlPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
 Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LlPPINCOTT COMPANY.
 
 SRLI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 How ROME WAS FOUNDED 7 
 
 THE SABINE VIRGINS 14 
 
 THE HORATII AND CTTRIATII 22 
 
 THE DYNASTY OF THE TARQUINS 26 
 
 THE BOOKS or THE SIBYL 82 
 
 THE STORY OF LTTCRETIA 36 
 
 How BRAVE HORATITTS KEPT THE BRIDGE 43 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE BEGILLTTS 50 
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE PEOPLE 54 
 
 THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS 60 
 
 ClNCINNATUS AND THE ^EQUIANS 68 
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA 75 
 
 CAMILLTTS AT THE SIEGE OF VEII 87 
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME 94 
 
 THE CURTIAN GULF 105 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS . . . 108 
 
 THE CAUDINE FORKS 116 
 
 THE FATE OF REGULUS 126 
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS 135 
 
 How HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED 145 
 
 ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE 152 
 
 THE FATE OF CARTHAGE 158 
 
 THE GRACCHI AND THEIR FALL 165 
 
 JUGURTHA, THE PURCHASER OF ROME 173 
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIUS 180 
 
 THE PROSCRIPTION OF SULLA 191 
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS 198 
 
 CJSSAR AND THE PIRATES 204 
 
 8
 
 4 CONTENTS. 
 
 TABU 
 
 CJCSAR AND POMPEY 208 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR 218 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 227 
 
 AN IMPERIAL MONSTER 236 
 
 THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS 243 
 
 BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF BRITAIN 250 
 
 ROME SWKPT BY FLAMES 255 
 
 THE DOOM OF NERO 262 
 
 THE SPORTS OF THE AMPHITHEATRE 272 
 
 THE REIGN OF A GLUTTON 280 
 
 THE FAITHFUL EPONINA 289 
 
 THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM 293 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 301 
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE 309 
 
 THE DEEDS OF CONSTANTINE , 319 
 
 THE GOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE .... 825 
 
 THE DOWNFALL OF ROME 331
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ROMAN. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE CASTLE OF S. ANQELO Frontispiece. 
 
 THE FORUM OF HOME 26 
 
 BRUTUS ORDERING THE EXECUTION OF HIS SONS . . 40 
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA 75 
 
 RUINS OF THE KOMAN AQUEDUCTS 106 
 
 THE BATHS OF CARACALLA 150 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF CAESAR 218 
 
 THE GALLEY OF CLEOPATRA 230 
 
 THE TOMB OF HADRIAN 260 
 
 A ROMAN CHARIOT RACE 275 
 
 THE RUINS OF POMPEII 306 
 
 EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS 309 
 
 THE LAST COMBAT OF THE GLADIATORS , .... 333
 
 HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED. 
 
 VERY far back in time, more than twenty-six hun 
 dred years ago, on the banks of a small Italian river, 
 known as the Tiber, were laid the foundations of a 
 city which was in time to become the conqueror of 
 the civilized world. Of the early days of this re- 
 nowned city of Rome we know very little. What is 
 called its history is really only legend, stories in- 
 vented by poets, or ancient facts which became grad- 
 ually changed into romances. The Romans believed 
 them, but that is no reason why we should. They 
 believed many things which we doubt. And yet 
 these romantic stories are the only existing founda- 
 tion-stones of actual Roman history, and we can do 
 no better than give them for what little kernel of fact 
 they may contain. 
 
 In our tales from Greek history it has been told 
 how the city of Troy was destroyed, and how JSneas, 
 one of its warrior chiefs, escaped. After many ad- 
 ventures this fugitive Trojan prince reached Italy 
 and founded there a new kingdom. His son Ascanius 
 afterwards built the city of Alba Longa (the long 
 white city) not far from the site of the later city of 
 Rome. Three hundred years passed away, many 
 kings came and went, and then Numitor, a descend- 
 
 7
 
 8 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ant of ^Eneas, came to the throne. But Numitor 
 had an ambitious brother, Amulius, who robbed him 
 of his crown, and, while letting him live, killed 
 his only son and shut up his daughter Silvia in the 
 temple of the goddess Vesta, to guard the ever- 
 burning fire of that deity. 
 
 Here Silvia had twin sons, whose father was said, 
 in the old superstitious fashion, to be Mars, the God 
 of War. The usurper, fearing that these sons of 
 Mars might grow up and deprive him of his throne, 
 ordered that they and their mother should be flung 
 into the Tiber, then swollen with recent rains. The 
 mother was drowned, but destiny, or Mars, preserved 
 the sons. Borne onward in their basket cradle, they 
 were at length swept ashore where the river had 
 overflown its banks at the foot of the afterwards 
 famous Palatine Hill. Here the cradle was over- 
 turned near the roots of a wild fig-tree, and the 
 infants left at the edge of the shallow waters. 
 
 What follows sounds still more like fable. A she- 
 wolf that came to the water to drink chanced to see 
 the helpless children, and carried them to her cave, 
 where she fed them with her milk. As they grew 
 older a woodpecker brought them food, flying in and 
 out of the cave. At length Faustulus, a herdsman 
 of the king, found these lusty infants in the wolf's 
 den, took them home, and gave them to his wife 
 Laurentia to bring up with her own children. He 
 gave them the names of Romulus and Remus. 
 
 Tears went by, and the river waifs grew to be 
 strong, handsome, and brave young men. They be- 
 came leaders among the shepherds and herdsmen,
 
 HOW ROME WAS POUNDED. 9 
 
 and helped them to fight the wild animals that 
 troubled their flocks. Their home was on the Pala- 
 tine Hill, and the cattle and sheep for which they 
 cared were those of the wicked king Amulius. 
 Near by was another hill, called the Aventine, and 
 on this the deposed king Numitor fed his flocks. In 
 course of time a quarrel arose between the herdsmen 
 on the two hills, and Numitor' s men, having laid an 
 ambush, took Eemus prisoner and carried him to Alba, 
 where their master dwelt. This no sooner became 
 known to Romulus than he gathered the young men 
 of the Palatine Hill, and set out in all haste to the 
 rescue of his brother. 
 
 Meanwhile, Remus had been taken before Numitor, 
 who gazed on him with surprise. His face and bear- 
 ing were rather those of a prince than of a shepherd, 
 and there was something in his aspect familiar to the 
 old king. Numitor questioned him closely, and Re- 
 mus told him the story of the river, the wolf, and 
 the herdsman. Numitor listened intently. The story 
 took him back to the day, many years before, when 
 his daughter Silvia and her twin sons had been 
 thrown into the swollen stream. Could the children 
 have escaped? Could this handsome youth be his 
 grandson ? It must be so, for his age and his story 
 agreed. 
 
 But while they talked, Romulus and his followers 
 reached the city, and, being forbidden entrance, made 
 an assault on the gates. In the conflict that ensued 
 Amulius took part and was killed, and thus Numitor 
 and his daughter were at last revenged. Seeking 
 Remus, the victorious shepherd prince found him
 
 10 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 with Numitor, who now fully recognized in the twin 
 youths his long-lost grandsons. Romulus, who was 
 now master of the city, restored his royal grand- 
 father to the throne. 
 
 As for Romulus and Remus, their life as shep- 
 herds was at an end. It was not for youths of royal 
 blood and warlike aspirations to spend their lives in 
 keeping sheep. But Numitor had been restored to 
 the throne of Alba, and they decided to build a city 
 of their own on those hills where all their lives had 
 been passed and on which they preferred to dwell. 
 The land belonged to Numitor, but he willingly 
 granted it to them, and they led their followers to 
 the spot. 
 
 Here a dispute arose between the brothers. The 
 story goes that Romulus wished to have the city 
 built on the Palatine Hill, Remus on the Aventine 
 Hill ; and that, as they could not agree, they referred 
 the matter to their grandfather, who advised them to 
 settle it by augury, or by watching and forming 
 conclusions from the flight of birds. This long con- 
 tinued the favorite Roman mode of settling difficult 
 questions. It was easier than the Greek plan of 
 going to Delphi to consult the oracle. 
 
 The two brothers now stationed themselves on the 
 opposite hills, each with a portion of their followers, 
 and waited patiently for what the heavens might 
 send. The day slowly waned, and they waited in 
 vain. Night came and deepened, and still their vigil 
 lasted. At length, just as the sun of a new day rose 
 in the east, Remus saw a flight of vultures, six in 
 all. He exulted at the sight, for the vulture, as a
 
 HOW ROME WAS FOUNDED. 11 
 
 bird which was seldom seen and did no harm to 
 cattle or crops, was looked upon as an excellent 
 augury. Word of his success was sent to Eomulus, 
 but he capped the story with a better one, saying 
 that twelve vultures had just passed over his hill. 
 
 The dispute was still open. Eemus had seen the 
 birds first ; Eomulus had seen the most. Which had 
 won ? The question was offered to the decision of 
 their followers, the majority of whom raised their 
 voices in favor of Eomulus. The Palatine Hill was 
 therefore chosen as the city's site. This event took 
 place, so Eoman chronology tells us, in the year 
 753 B.C. 
 
 The day fixed for the beginning of the work on 
 the new city the 21st of April was a day of re- 
 ligious ceremony and festival among the shepherds. 
 On this day they offered sacrifices of cakes and milk 
 to their god Pales, asked for blessings on the flocks 
 and herds, and implored pardon for all offences 
 against the dryads of the woods, the nymphs of the 
 streams, and other deities. They purified themselves 
 by flame and their flocks by smoke, and afterwards 
 indulged in rustic feasts and games. This day of 
 religious consecration was deemed by Eomulus the 
 fittest one for the important ceremony of founding 
 his projected city. 
 
 Far back in time as it was when this took place, 
 Italy seems to have already possessed numerous 
 cities, many of which were to become enemies of 
 Eome in later days. The most civilized of the 
 Italian peoples were the Etruscans, a nation dwell- 
 ing north of the Tiber, and whose many cities dis-
 
 12 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 played a higher degree of civilization than those 
 around them. From these the Eomans in later days 
 borrowed many of their religious customs, and to 
 them Komulus sent to learn what were the proper 
 ceremonies to use in founding a city. 
 
 The ceremonies he used were the following. At 
 the centre of the chosen area he dug a circular pit 
 through the soil to the hard clay beneath, and cast 
 into this, with solemn observances, some of the first 
 fruits of the season. Each of his men also threw 
 in a handful of earth brought from his native land. 
 Then the pit was filled up, an altar erected upon it, 
 and a fire kindled on the altar. In this way was 
 the city consecrated to the gods. 
 
 Then, having harnessed a cow and a bull of snow- 
 white color to a plough whose share was made of 
 brass, Romulus ploughed a furrow along the line of 
 the future walls. He took care that the earth of the 
 furrow should fall inward towards the city, and also 
 to lift the plough and carry it over the places where 
 gates were to be made. As he ploughed he uttered 
 a prayer to Jupiter, Mars, Vesta, and other deities, 
 invoking their favor, and praying that the new city 
 should long endure and become an all-ruling power 
 upon the earth. 
 
 The Eomans tell us that his prayer was answered 
 by Jupiter, who sent thunder from one side of the 
 heavens and lightning from the other. These omens 
 encouraged the people, who went cheerfully to the 
 work of building the walls. But the consecration 
 of the city was not yet completed. Its walls were 
 to be cemented by noble blood. There is reason to
 
 HOW ROME WAS POUNDED. 13 
 
 believe that in those days the line of a city's walls 
 was held as sacred, and that it was desecration to 
 enter the enclosure at any place except those left 
 for the gates. This may be the reason that Romulus 
 gave orders to a man named Celer, who had charge 
 of the building of the walls, not to let any one pass 
 over the furrow made by the plough. However this 
 be, the story goes that Remus, who was still angry 
 about his brother's victory, leaped scornfully over 
 the furrow, exclaiming, " Shall such defences as these 
 keep your city ?" 
 
 Celer, who stood by, stirred to sudden fury by this 
 disdain, raised the spade with which he had been 
 working, and struck Remus a blow that laid him 
 dead upon the ground. Then, fearing vengeance for 
 his hasty act, he rushed away with such speed that 
 his name has since been a synonyme for quickness. 
 Our word " celerity" is derived from it. But Romu- 
 lus seems to have borne the infliction with much of 
 that spirit of fortitude which distinguished the Ro- 
 mans in after-times. At least, the only effect the 
 death of his brother had upon him, so far as we 
 know, was in the remark, " So let it happen to all 
 who pass over my walls !" Thus were consecrated 
 iu the blood of a brother the walls of that city which 
 in later years was to be bathed in the blood of the 
 brotherhood of mankind, and from which was des- 
 tined to outflow a torrent of desolation over the 
 earth.
 
 THE SABINE VIRGINS. 
 
 A TRACT of ground surrounded by walls does not 
 make a city. Men are wanted, and of these the new 
 city of Borne had but few. The band of shepherds 
 who were sufficient to build a wall, or perhaps only 
 a wooden palisade, were not enough to inhabit a city 
 and defend it from its foes. The neighboring people 
 had cities of their own, except bandits and fugitives, 
 men who had shed blood, exiles driven from their 
 homes by their enemies, or slaves who had fled from 
 their lords and masters. These were the only people 
 to be had, and Eomulus invited them in by pro- 
 claiming that his city should be an asylum for all 
 who were oppressed, a place of refuge to which any 
 man might flee and be safe from his pursuers. He 
 erected a temple to a god named Asylseus, from 
 whom comes the word asylum, and in this he " re- 
 ceived and protected all, delivering none back, 
 neither the servant to his master, the debtor to his 
 creditor, nor the murderer into the hands of the 
 magistrate, saying that it was a privileged place, 
 and they could so maintain it by an order of the 
 holy oracle, insomuch that the city grew presently 
 very populous." 
 
 It was a quick and easy way of peopling a city. 
 14
 
 THE SABINE VIRGINS. 15 
 
 Doubtless the country held many such fugitives,-^ 
 men lurking in woods or caves, hiding in mountain 
 clefts, abiding wherever a place of safety offered, 
 hundreds of whom, no doubt, were glad to find a 
 shelter among men and behind walls of defence. 
 But it was probably a sorry population, made up of 
 the waifs of mankind, many of whom had been 
 slaves or murderers. There were certainly no 
 women among this desperate horde, and Bomulus 
 appealed in vain to the neighboring cities to let his 
 people obtain wives from among their maidens. It 
 was not safe for the citizens of Rome to go abroad 
 to seek wives for themselves ; the surrounding 
 peoples rejected the appeal of Romulus with scorn 
 and disdain; unless something was done Rome bade 
 fair to remain a city of bachelors. 
 
 In this dilemma Romulus conceived a plan to win 
 wives for his people. He sent word abroad that he 
 had discovered the altar of the god Consus, who 
 presided over secret counsels, and he invited the 
 citizens of the neighboring towns to come to Rome 
 and take part in a feast with which he proposed to 
 celebrate the festal day of the deity. This was the 
 21st of August, just four months after the founding 
 of the city, that is, if it was the same year. 
 
 There were to be sacrifices to Consus, where liba- 
 tions would be poured into the flames that consumed 
 the victims. These would be followed by horse- and 
 chariot-races, banquets, and other festivities. The 
 promise of merry-making brought numerous spec- 
 tators from the nearer cities, some doubtless drawn 
 by curiosity to see what sort of a commonwealth
 
 16 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 this was that had grown up so suddenly on the sheep 
 pastures of the Palatine Hill ; and they found their 
 wives and daughters as curious and eager for enjoy- 
 ment as themselves, and brought them along, ig- 
 noring the scorn with which they had lately rejected 
 the Roman proposals for wives. It was a religious 
 festival, and therefore safe; so visitors came from 
 the cities of Coenina, Crustumerium, and Antemna, 
 and a multitude from the neighboring country of 
 the Sabines. 
 
 The sacrifices over, the games began. The visit- 
 ors, excited by the races, became scattered about 
 among the Romans. But as the chariots, drawn by 
 flying horses, sped swiftly over the ground, and the 
 eyes of the visitors followed them in their flight, 
 Romulus gave a preconcerted signal, and immedi- 
 ately each Roman seized a maiden whom he had 
 managed to get near and carried her struggling and 
 screaming from the ground. As they did so, each 
 called out " Talasia," a word which means spinning, 
 and which afterwards became the refrain of a Roman 
 marriage song. 
 
 The games at once broke up in rage and confusion. 
 But the visitors were unarmed and helpless. Their 
 anger could be displayed only in words, and Romu- 
 lus told them boldly that they owed their misfortune 
 to their pride. But all would go well with their 
 daughters, he said, since their new husbands would 
 take the place with them of home and family. 
 
 This reasoning failed to satisfy the fathers who 
 had been robbed so violently of their daughters, and 
 they had no sooner reached home than many of
 
 THE SABINE VfRGUNS. 17 
 
 them seized their armg and marched against their 
 faithless hosts. First came the people of Coenina ; 
 but the Romans defeated them, and Romulus killed 
 their king. Then came the people of Crustumerium 
 and Antemna, but they too were defeated. The pris- 
 oners were taken into Rome and made citizens of 
 the new commonwealth. 
 
 But it was the Sabines who had most to deplore, 
 for they had come in much the greatest number, and 
 it was principally the Sabine virgins whom the Ro- 
 mans had borne off from the games. Titus Tatius, 
 the king of the Sabines, therefore resolved upon a 
 signal revenge, and took time to gather a large army, 
 with which he marched against Rome. 
 
 The war that followed was marked by two ro- 
 mantic incidents. Near the Tiber is a hill, after- 
 wards known as the Capitoline Hill, which was 
 divided from the Palatine Hill by a low and swampy 
 valley. On this hill Romulus had built a fortress, 
 as it sort of outwork of his new city. It happened 
 that Tarpeius, the chief who held this fortress, had 
 a daughter named Tarpeia, who was deeply affected 
 by that love of finery which has caused abundant 
 mischief since her day. When she saw the golden 
 collars and bracelets which many of the Sabines 
 wore, her soul was filled with longing, and she man- 
 aged to let them know that she would betray the 
 fortress into their hands if they would give her the 
 bright things which they wore upon their arms. 
 
 They consented, and she secretly opened to them 
 a gate of the fortress. But as they marched through 
 the gate, and the traitress waited to receive her re- 
 ii b 2*
 
 18 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ward, the Sabine soldiers threw on her the bright 
 shields which they wore on their arms, and she was 
 crushed to death beneath their weight. The steep 
 rock of the Capitoline Hill from which traitors were 
 afterwards thrown was called, after her, the Tar- 
 peian Eock. 
 
 The fortress thus captured, the valley between the 
 hill and the city became the scene of battle. Here 
 the Sabines repulsed the Eomans, driving them back 
 to one of their gates, through which the fugitives 
 rushed in confusion, shutting it hastily behind them. 
 But if we may trust the legend the gate refused 
 to stay shut. It opened again of its own accord. 
 They closed it twice more, and twice more it swung 
 open. The victorious Sabines, who had now reached 
 it, began to rush in ; but just then, from the Temple 
 of Janus, near by, there burst forth a might}' stream 
 of water, which swept the Sabines away and saved 
 Rome from capture. Therefore, in after-days, the 
 gates of the Temple of Janus stood always wide 
 open in time of war, that the god might go out, if 
 he would, to fight for the Romans. 
 
 Another battle took place in the valley, and the 
 Romans again began to flee. Romulus now prayed 
 to Jupiter, and vowed to erect to him a temple as 
 Jupiter Stator, that is, the " stayer," if he would 
 stay the Romans in their flight. Jupiter did so, or, 
 at any rate, the Romans turned again to the fight, 
 which now waxed furious. What would have been 
 its result we cannot tell, for it was brought to an 
 end by the other romantic incident of which we have 
 spoken.
 
 THE SABINB VIRGINS. 19 
 
 In fact, while the fathers of the Sabine virgins re- 
 tained their anger against the Eomans, the virgins 
 themselves, who had now long been brides, had be- 
 come comforted, most of them being as attached to 
 their husbands as they had been to their parents 
 before; and in the midst of the furious battle be- 
 tween their nearest relatives the lately abducted 
 damsels were seen rushing down the Palatine Hill, 
 and forcing their way, with appealing eyes and dis- 
 hevelled hair, in between the combatants. 
 
 " Make us not twice captives I" they earnestly ex- 
 claimed, saying pathetically that if the war went on 
 they would be widowed or fatherless, both of which 
 sad alternatives they deplored. 
 
 The result of this appeal was a happy one. Both 
 sides let fall their arms, and peace was declared 
 upon the spot, it being recognized that there could 
 be no closer bond of unity than that made by the 
 daughters of the Sabines and wives of the Eomans. 
 The two people agreed to become one, the Sabines 
 making their new home on the Capitoline and Quiri- 
 nal Hills, and the Romans continuing to occupy the 
 Palatine. As for the women, there was established 
 in their honor the feast called Matronalia, in which 
 husbands gave presents to their wives and lovers to 
 their betrothed. Romulus and Tatius were to rule 
 jointly, and afterwards the king of Rome should be 
 alternately of Roman and Sabine birth. 
 
 After five years Tatius was killed in a quarrel, 
 and Romulus became sole king. Under him Rome 
 grew rapidly. He was successful in his wars, and 
 enriched his people with the spoils of his enemies.
 
 20 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 In rule he was just and gentle, and punished those 
 guilty of crime not by death, but by fines of sheep 
 or oxen. It is said, though, that he grew somewhat 
 arrogant, and was accustomed to receive his people 
 dressed in scarlet and lying on a couch of state, 
 where he was surrounded by a body of young men 
 called Celeres, from the speed with which they flew 
 to execute his orders. 
 
 For nearly forty years his reign continued, and 
 then his end came strangely. One day he called 
 the people together in the Field of Mars. But sud- 
 denly there arose a frightful storm, with such ter- 
 rible thunder and lightning and such midnight dark- 
 ness that the people fled homeward in affright 
 through the drenching rain. That was the last of 
 Romulus. He was never seen in life again. He 
 may have been slain by enemies, but the popular 
 belief was that Mars, his father, had carried him up 
 to heaven in his chariot. All that the people knew 
 was that one night, when Proculus Julius, a friend 
 of the king, was on his way from Alba to Rome, he 
 met Romulus by the way, his stature beyond that 
 of man, and his face showing the beauty of the gods. 
 
 Proculus asked him why he had left the people to 
 sorrow and wicked surmises, for some said that the 
 senators had made away with him. Romulus replied 
 that it was the wish of the gods that, after building 
 a city that was destined to the greatest empire and 
 glory, he should go to heaven and dwell with the 
 gods. 
 
 " Go and tell my people that they must not weep 
 for me any more," he said ; " but bid them to be
 
 THE SABINE VIRGINS. 21 
 
 brave and warlike, and so shall they make my city 
 the greatest on the earth." 
 
 This story satisfied the people that their king had 
 been made a god ; so they built a temple to him, and 
 always afterwards worshipped him under the name 
 of the god Quirinus. A festival called the Quirinalia 
 was celebrated each year on the 17th of February, 
 the day on which he had vanished from the eyes of 
 men.
 
 THE HO RATH AND CURIATII. 
 
 ROMULUS was succeeded by a king named Numa 
 Pompilius, of Sabine origin, who so loved peace that 
 during his reign Rome had no wars and no enemies, 
 so that the doors of the Temple of Janus were never 
 once opened while he was on the throne. He built a 
 temple to Faith, that men might learn to avoid false- 
 hood and to act honestly. He taught the people to 
 sacrifice nothing but the fruits of the earth, cakes of 
 flour, and roasted corn, and to shed no blood upon 
 the altars. And so Rome was peaceful and prosper- 
 ous throughout his long reign, and grew rapidly in 
 wealth and population. He died at length when 
 eighty years of age, and was succeeded by Tullus 
 Hostilius, a king of Roman birth. 
 
 The new king loved war as much as the gentle 
 Numa had loved peace. Under his rule the gates of 
 the Temple of Janus were soon thrown open again, 
 long to remain so. His first war was with the city 
 of Alba Longa, the foster-parent of Rome. Some 
 border troubles brought on hostilities, war broke out, 
 and an Alban army marched until within fifteen 
 miles of Rome. And here took place a celebrated 
 incident. The two armies were drawn out on the 
 , and were about to plunge into the dreadful work 
 22
 
 THE HOEATII AND CURIATII. 28 
 
 of battle, when the Alban king, to whom the war 
 seemed a foolish and useless one, stood out between 
 the two armies and spoke in the hearing of both. 
 
 He reminded them that the Eomans and Albans 
 were of the same origin, and that they were sur- 
 rounded by nations who would like to see both of 
 them weakened. He proposed, therefore, that the 
 dispute between them should be decided not by 
 battle, but by a duel between a few soldiers, and 
 that the side which won should rule the other. This 
 proposal seemed to Tullus a sensible one, and he ac- 
 cepted it, offering as the combatants on his side three 
 twin brothers known as the Horatii. 
 
 The Alban army had also three twin brothers, of 
 about the same age as the Roman champions, known 
 as the Curiatii, and these were chosen to uphold the 
 honor and dominion of Alba against Rome. So, with 
 the two armies as spectators, and a broad space 
 between for the deadly duel, the six champions, fully 
 armed, faced each other in the field. 
 
 The onset was fierce, and set every heart in the 
 two armies throbbing in hope or dread. But after a 
 short time a shout of triumph went up from the 
 Alban host. Two of the Horatii lay stretched in 
 death on the field. The Curiatii were all wounded, 
 but they were now three to one, so the remaining 
 Horatius turned and fled, though he was still unhurt. 
 Dismay fell on the Romans as they saw their single 
 champion in full flight, pursued by his opponents. 
 The glad shouts of the Albans redoubled. 
 
 Suddenly a change came. The fugitive, whosa 
 flight had been a feint, to separate his foes, now
 
 24 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 turned and saw that the wounded men were lagging 
 in pursuit and were widely separated. Running 
 quickly back, he met the nearest, and killed him 
 with a blow. The other two were met and slain in 
 succession before they could aid each other. Then, 
 holding up his bloody sword in triumph, the victor 
 invited the plaudits of his friends, while shedding 
 dismay on Alban hearts. 
 
 The Romans, now lords of the Albans, returned to 
 Rome in triumph, their advent to the city being 
 marked by the first of those pompous processions 
 which in after-years became known as Roman 
 Triumphs, and were celebrated with the utmost 
 splendor and costliness of display. 
 
 But the affair of the Horatii and Curiatii was not 
 yet at an end. It was to be finished in blood and 
 crime. A sister of the Horatii was the affianced 
 bride of one of the Curiatii, and as she saw her 
 victorious brother enter the city, bearing on his 
 shoulders the military cloak which she had, wrought 
 for her lover with her own hands, she broke into 
 wild invectives, tearing her hair, and upbraiding her 
 brother with bitter words. Roused to fury by this 
 accusation, the victor, in a paroxysm of rage, struck 
 his sister to the heart with the sword which had 
 slain her lover, crying out, " So perish the Roman 
 maiden who shall weep for her country's enemy." 
 
 This dreadful deed filled with horror the hearts of 
 all who beheld it. Men cried that it was a crime 
 against the law and the gods, too great to be atoned 
 for by the victor's services. He was seized and 
 dragged to the tribunal of the two judges who dealt
 
 THE HORATII AND CURIATII. 25 
 
 with crimes of bloodshed. These heard the evidence 
 of the crime, and condemned him to death, in despite 
 of what he had done for Eome. 
 
 But the Eoman law permitted an appeal from the 
 judges to the people. This appeal Horatius made, 
 and it was tried before the assembly of Eomans. 
 Here his father spoke in his favor, saying that in his 
 opinion the maiden deserved her fate. Eemembrance 
 of the great service performed by Horatius was 
 also strong with the people, and the voice of the as- 
 sembly freed him from the sentence of death. But 
 blood had been shed, and blood required atonement, 
 so a sum of money was set aside to pay for sacrifices 
 to atone for this dreadful deed. Ever afterwards 
 these sacrifices were performed by members of the 
 Horatian clan. 
 
 In a later war the Albans failed to aid the Eomans, 
 as they were required to do by the terms of alliance. 
 As a result the city of Alba was destroyed, and tht 
 Albans forced to come and live in Eome, the Cseliai, 
 Hill being given them for a dwelling-place.
 
 THE DYNASTY OF THE TAR- 
 QUINS. 
 
 THE tale we have now to tell forces us to pass 
 rapidly over years of history. After several kings 
 of Roman and Sabine birth had reigned, a foreigner, 
 of Greek descent, came to the throne of Rome. This 
 was one Lucomo, the son of a native of Corinth, who 
 had settled at Tarquinii in Italy. Growing weary 
 of Tarquinii, Lucomo left that city, with his family 
 and wealth, and made his way to Rome. As he 
 came near the gates of the city an eagle swooped 
 down, lifted the cap from his head, and, bearing it 
 high into the air, descended and placed it on his 
 head again. His wife Tanaquil, who was skilled in 
 augury, told him this was a happy omen, and that 
 he was destined to become great. 
 
 And so he did. His riches, courage, and wisdom 
 brought him great favor in Rome, and on the death 
 of their king Ancus the people chose Lucius Tar- 
 quinius as they called him, from his native city to 
 reign over them in his stead. He proved a valiant 
 and successful warrior, and in times of peace did 
 noble work. He built great sewers to drain the city, 
 constructed a large circus or race-course, and a 
 forum or market-place, and built a wall of stone 
 around the city in place of the old wooden wall.
 
 THE DYNASTY OF THE TARQUINS. 27 
 
 He also began to build a great temple on the Capi- 
 toline Hill, which was designed to be the temple 
 of the gods of Rome. In the end Lucius was mur- 
 dered by the sons of King Ancus, who declared that 
 he had robbed them of the throne. 
 
 There is a story of the deed of an augur in his 
 reign which is worth repeating, whether we believe 
 it or not. Lucius had little trust in the augur, and 
 said to him, " Come, tell me by your auguries whether 
 the thing I have in my mind may be done or not." 
 " It may," said Attus, the augur. " It is this," said 
 the king, laughing: "it was in my mind that you 
 should cut this whetstone in two with this razor. 
 Take them and see if you can do it." 
 
 Attus took the razor and whetstone, and with a 
 bold stroke cut the latter in two. From that time 
 on Lucius did nothing without first consulting the 
 augurs, and testing the purposes of the gods by the 
 flight of birds, and so say the legends he pros- 
 pered accordingly. 
 
 The cause of the death of Lucius was this. One 
 day a boy who dwelt in the palace fell asleep in its 
 portico, and as he lay there some attendants who 
 passed by saw a flame playing lambently around his 
 head. Alarmed at the sight, they were about to 
 throw water upon him to extinguish the flame, 
 when Tanaquil, the queen, who had also seen it, for- 
 bade them. She told the king of what had hap- 
 pened, and said that the boy whom they were bring- 
 ing up so meanly was destined to become great and 
 noble. She bade him, therefore, to rear the child ia 
 a way befitting his destiny.
 
 28 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The boy, whose name was Servius Tullius, was 
 thereupon brought up as a prince, and when old 
 enough married the king's daughter. Lucius reigned 
 forty years, and then the sons of Ancus, fearing to 
 be robbed of their claim to the throne by young 
 Servius, who had become very popular, managed to 
 get an audience with and kill the king. 
 
 The murderers gained nothing by their deed of 
 blood. Queen Tanaquil shrewdly told the people 
 that Lucius was only stunned by the blow, and that 
 he wished them to obey the orders of Servius. To 
 the young man she said, " The kingdom is yours ; if 
 you have no plans of your own, then follow mine." 
 For several days Servius acted as king, and then, 
 the people and senate having grown used to seeing 
 him on the throne, the death of Lucius was declared 
 and Servius proclaimed king. He had the consent 
 of the senate, but had not asked that of the people, 
 being the first king of Rome who reigned without 
 the votes of the assembly of the Roman people. 
 
 Servius Tullius reigned long and won victories, 
 but his greatest triumphs were those of peace. He 
 formed a league with the thirty cities of Latium, 
 and is said to have taken a census of the people of 
 the city, which was found to have eighty -three thou- 
 sand inhabitants. To strengthen his power he mar- 
 ried his two daughters to two sons of Lucius Tar- 
 quinius, a well-intended act which led to a tragic 
 and dreadful deed. 
 
 The daughters of Servius were very unlike in 
 nature, and the same may be said of their hus- 
 bands, and they became unequally mated. Lucius
 
 THE DYNASTY OF THE TARQUIN8. 29 
 
 Tarquinius was proud and full of evil, while his 
 wife, the elder Tullia, was good and gentle. Aruns 
 Tarquinius was of a mild and kindly nature, while 
 his wife, the younger Tullia, was cruel and am- 
 bitious. They were thus sadly mismated. But the 
 evil pair saw in each other kindred spirits, and in 
 the end Lucius secretly killed his wife, and the 
 younger Tullia her husband. The wicked pair then 
 married, and proceeded to carry out the purposes of 
 their base hearts. 
 
 Servius, being himself of humble birth, had favored 
 the people at the expense of the nobles. He even 
 made a law that no king should rule after him, but 
 that two men chosen by the people should govern 
 them year by year. Thus it was that the commons 
 came to love him and the nobles to hate him, and 
 when he asked for a vote of the people on his king- 
 ship there was not a voice raised against him. 
 
 Lucius, whom his wicked wife steadily goaded to 
 ambitious aims, conspired with the nobles against 
 the king. There were brotherhoods of the young 
 nobles, pledged to support each other in deeds of 
 oppression. These he joined, and gained their aid. 
 Then he waited till the harvest season, when the 
 commons were in the fields, gathering the ripened 
 corn. 
 
 This absence of the king's friends gave him the 
 opportunity he wished. Gathering a band of armed 
 men, he suddenly entered the Forum, and took his 
 seat on the king's throne, before the door of tbf 
 senate-chamber, from which Servius was accustomed 
 to judge the people. Word of this act of treasof 
 3*
 
 30 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 was borne to the old king, who at once hastened to 
 the Forum and sternly asked the usurper why he 
 had dared to take that seat. 
 
 Lucius insolently answered that it was his father's 
 throne, and that he had the best right to it. Then, 
 as the aged and unguarded king mounted the steps 
 of the senate-house, his ambitious son-in-law sprang 
 up, caught him by the middle, and flung him head- 
 long down the steps to the ground. Then he went 
 into the senate-chamber and called the senators to- 
 gether, as though he were already king. 
 
 The old monarch, sadly shaken by his fall, rose to 
 his feet and made his way slowly towards his home 
 on the Esquiline Hill. But when he came near it 
 he was overtaken by some bravos whom Lucius had 
 sent in pursuit. These killed the unprotected old 
 man, and left him lying in his blood in the middle 
 of the street. 
 
 And now was done a deed which has aroused the 
 execrations of mankind in all later ages. Tullia, who 
 had instigated her husband to the murder of her 
 father, waited with impatience until it was per- 
 formed. Then, mounting her chariot, she bade the 
 coachman to drive to the Forum, where, heedless of 
 the crowd of men who had assembled, she called 
 Lucius from the senate-house, and cried to him, in 
 accents of triumph, " Hail to thee, King Tarquinius!" 
 
 Wicked as Lucius was, he was not as shameless 
 as his wife, and sternly bade her to go home. She 
 obeyed, taking the same street as her father had 
 followed. Soon reaching the spot where the bleed- 
 ing body of the old king lay stretched across the
 
 THE DYNASTY OP THE TABQUINS. 31 
 
 way, the coachman drew up his horses and pointed 
 out to Tullia the dreadful spectacle. 
 
 " Drive on," she harshly commanded. " I cannot." 
 he replied. " The street is too narrow to pass with- 
 out crushing the king's body." " Drive on," she 
 again fiercely ordered, and the coachman did so. 
 Tullia went to her home with her father's blood 
 upon the wheels of her chariot, and with the exe- 
 cration of all good men upon her head. And thus 
 it was that Lucius Tarquinius and his wicked wife 
 succeeded the good king Servius upon the throne. 
 
 We may tell here briefly the end of this evil pair. 
 Tarquin the Proud, as he is known in history, 
 reigned as a tyrant and oppressor, while his wife 
 was viewed with horror by all virtuous matrons. 
 At length the people rose against a base deed of the 
 tyrant's son, and the wicked Tullia fled in terror 
 from her house. No one sought to stop her in her 
 flight ; but all. men and women alike, cursed her as 
 she passed, and prayed that the furies of her father's 
 blood might take revenge for her dreadful deed. 
 
 She never saw Eome again. Tarquin sought long 
 to regain his crown, but in vain, and the wicked 
 usurpers died in exile. No king ever again ruled 
 over the Eomans. Tarquin's tyranny had given the 
 people enough of kings, and the law of good Servius 
 Tullius was at last carried out.
 
 THE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL. 
 
 WHILE Tarquin the Proud was king a strange 
 thing happened at Eome. One day an unknown 
 woman came to the king, bearing in her arms nine 
 books, which she offered to sell to him at a certain 
 price. She told him that they contained the prophe- 
 cies of the Sibyl of Cumae, and that from them 
 might be learned the destiny of Kome and the way 
 to carry out this destiny. 
 
 But the price she asked for her books seemed to 
 the king exorbitant, and he refused to buy them, 
 whereupon the woman went away from the palace 
 and burned three of the volumes. She then returned 
 with six only and offered them to the king, but 
 demanded the same price for the six as she had 
 before done for the nine. King Tarquin heard this 
 demand with laughter and mockery, and again 
 refused to buy. The woman once more left the 
 palace, and burned three more of the books. 
 
 To the king's astonishment his strange visitor 
 soon returned, bearing the three books that remained. 
 On being asked their price, she named the same sum 
 as she had demanded for the six and the nine. This 
 was ceasing to be matter for mockery. There might 
 be some important mystery concealed behind this 
 strange demand. The king sent for the augurs of 
 32
 
 THE BOOKS OF THE SIBYL. 33 
 
 the court, told them what had happened, and asked 
 what he should do. They told him that he had done 
 very wrong. In refusing the books he had refused 
 a gift ot the gods. By all means he must buy the 
 books that were left. He bought them, therefore, 
 at the Sibyl's price. As for the woman, she was 
 never seen again. 
 
 The books were placed in a chest of stone, and 
 kept underground in the great temple which his 
 father had begun on the Capitoline Hill, and which 
 he had completed. Two men were appointed to 
 guard them, who were called the two men of the 
 sacred books ; and no treasure could have been kept 
 with more care and devotion than these mysterious 
 rolls. 
 
 The temple in which these books were kept was 
 the grandest edifice Kome had yet known. When 
 Tarquin proposed to build it he found the chosen 
 site already occupied by many holy places, sacred to 
 the gods of the Sabines, the first dwellers on the 
 Capitoline Hill. The augurs consulted the gods to 
 see if these holy places could safely be removed, to 
 make room for the new temple. The answer came 
 that they might take away all except the holy places 
 of the god of Youth and of Terminus, the god of 
 boundaries. This was accounted a happy augury, 
 for it seemed to mean that the city should always 
 retain its youth and that no enemy should remove 
 its boundaries. And when the foundations of the 
 temple were dug a human head was found, which 
 was held to be a sign that the Capitoline Hill should 
 be the head of all the earth. So a great temple was 
 
 II. C
 
 34 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 built, and consecrated to Jupiter and to Juno and to 
 Minerva, the greatest of the Etruscan gods. This 
 edifice, afterwards known as the Capitol, was the 
 most sacred and revered edifice of later Eome. 
 
 In the vaults of this temple the sacred books of 
 the Sibyl were sedulously kept, and here they were 
 consulted from time to time, as occasions arose in the 
 history of the city when divine guidance seemed 
 necessary. None of the people were permitted to 
 gaze within the sacred cell in which they lay. Only 
 the augurs consulted them, and the word of the 
 augurs had to be taken for what they revealed. It 
 may be that the augurs themselves invented all that 
 they told, for the books at length perished in the 
 flames, and no man knows what secret lore they 
 really contained. 
 
 It was during the wars of Sulla and Marius (83 B.C.) 
 that this disaster occurred. The Capitol was burned, 
 and with it those famous oracles, which had so long 
 directed the counsels of the nation. Their loss 
 threw Eome into the deepest consternation, the loss 
 of the Capitol itself seeming small beside that of 
 these famous scrolls. 
 
 To replace them as far as possible, the senate sent 
 embassadors to the various temples of Italy, Greece, 
 and Asia Minor, within which were Sibyls, or oracle- 
 speaking priestesses. These collected such oracles 
 referring to Rome as they could find, about one 
 thousand lines in all, and brought them to Rome, 
 where they were placed in the same locality in the 
 new Capitol that they had occupied in the old. 
 
 These oracles do not appear to have predicted
 
 THE BOOKS OP THE SIBYL. 35 
 
 future events, but were consulted to discover the 
 religious observances necessary to avert great calam- 
 ities and to expiate prodigies. During the reign of 
 Augustus they were removed to the Temple of Apollo 
 on the Palatine Hill, and all the false Sibylline leaves 
 which were extant were collected and burned. They 
 remained here until shortly after the year 400 A.D., 
 when they were publicly burned by Stilicho, a 
 famous general of Christian Borne, as impious docu- 
 ments of heathen times.
 
 THE STORY OF LUCRETIA. 
 
 WE have next to tell how Tarquin the Proud lost 
 his throne, through his own tyranny and the crimi- 
 nal action of his son. Once upon a time, when this 
 king was at the height of his power, he, as was 
 usual, offered sacrifices to the gods on the altar in 
 the palace court-yard. But from the altar there 
 crawled out a snake, which devoured the offerings 
 before the flames could reach them. 
 
 This was an alarming omen. The augurs were 
 consulted, but none of them could explain it. So 
 Tarquin sent two of his sons to the Temple of 
 Delphi, in Greece, whose oracle was famous in all 
 lands, to ask counsel of Apollo concerning this 
 prodigy. With these two princes, Titus and Aruns 
 by name, went their cousin, Lucius Juuius, a youth 
 who seemed so lacking in wit that men called him 
 Brutus, that is, the " Dullard." One evidence of 
 his lack of wit was that he would eat wild figs with 
 honey. Just in what way this was an evidence of 
 want of good sense we do not know, though doubt- 
 less the Romans did. 
 
 But Brutus was by no means the fool that men 
 fancied him. He was shrewd instead of stupid. 
 His father had left him abundant wealth, to which 
 36
 
 THE STORY OP LUCRETIA. 37 
 
 his uncle, King Tarquin, might at any time take a 
 fancy, and sweep him away to enjoy it. The king 
 had killed his brother for his wealth, and would bo 
 likely to serve him in the same way if he deemed 
 him wise enough to fight for his inheritance. So, 
 preferring life to money, Brutus feigned to be want- 
 ing in sense. 
 
 When he went to Delphi he took with him a 
 hollow staff of horn, which he had filled with gold, 
 and offered this staff to the oracle as a likeness of 
 himself, perhaps as one empty of wit and whose 
 whole merit lay in his gold. When the three young 
 men had performed the bidding of the king, and 
 asked the oracle the meaning of the prodigy, they 
 were told that it portended the fall of Tarquin. 
 Then they said, " O Lord Apollo, tell us which of 
 us shall be king of Rome." From the depth of the 
 sanctuary there came a voice in reply, "The one 
 among you who shall first kiss his mother." 
 
 This was one of those enigmas in which the 
 Delphian oracle usually spoke, saying things with 
 a double meaning, and which men were apt to take 
 amiss. It was so now. The two princes drew lots 
 which of them should first kiss their mother on his 
 return ; and they agreed to keep the oracle secret 
 from their brother Sextus, lest he should be king 
 rather than they. But Brutus was wiser than them 
 both. As they left the temple together, he pretended 
 to stumble and fell with his face to the ground. He 
 then kissed the earth, saying, " The earth is the true 
 mother of us all." 
 
 On their return to Rome the princes found that 
 4
 
 38 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 their father was at war. He was besieging the city 
 of Ardea, which lay south of Rome ; and as this city 
 was strong and well defended the king and his army 
 were kept a long while before it, waiting until famine, 
 their ally, should force the inhabitants to surrender. 
 While the army was thus waiting in idleness its offi- 
 cers had leisure for feasts and diversions, and one of 
 the king's sons found time to indulge in fatal mischief. 
 This arose from a supper in the tent of Prince Sex- 
 tus, at which his brothers Titus and Aruns, and his 
 cousin Tarquin of Collatia, were present. 
 
 While they feasted a dispute arose between them, 
 as to which had the worthiest wife. It ended in a 
 proposition of Tarquin, " Let us go and see with our 
 own eyes what our wives are doing, and we can then 
 best decide which is the worthiest." This propo- 
 sition hit with their humor, and, mounting their 
 horses, they rode to Rome. Here they found the 
 wives of the three princes merrily engaged at a ban- 
 quet. They then rode on to Collatia. It was now 
 late at night, but they found Lucretia, the wife of 
 their cousin, neither sleeping nor feasting, but work- 
 ing at the loom, with her handmaids busily engaged 
 around her. 
 
 On seeing this, they all cried, " Lucretia is the 
 worthiest lady." She ceased her work to entertain 
 them, after which they took to their horses again, 
 and rode back to the camp before Ardea. 
 
 But Sextus was seized with a vile passion for his 
 cousin's wife, and a few days afterwards went alone 
 to Collatia, where Lucretia received him with much 
 hospitality, as her husband's kinsman. He treated
 
 THE STORY OF LUCRETIA. 39 
 
 her shamefully in return, forcing her, with wicked 
 threats, to accept him as her lover and husband, in 
 defiance of the laws of God and man. 
 
 As soon as Sextus had left her and returned to the 
 camp, Lucretia sent to Rome for her father and to 
 Ardea for her husband. Tarquin brought with him 
 his cousin Lucius Junius l or Brutus the Dullard. 
 When they arrived the lady, with bitter tears, told 
 them of the wickedness of Sextus, and said, "If 
 you are men, avenge it!" They heard her tale in 
 horror, and swore to deeply revenge her wrong. 
 
 " I am not guilty," she now said ; " yet I too must 
 share in the punishment of this deed, lest any should 
 think that they may be false to their husbands and 
 live." As "she spoke she drew a knife from her 
 bosom and stabbed herself to the heart. 
 
 As they saw her fall, a cry of horror arose from 
 her husband and father. But Brutus, who saw that 
 the time had come for him to throw off his pretence 
 of stupidity and act the man, drew the knife from 
 the bleeding wound and held it up, saying, in solemn 
 accents, " By this blood, I swear that I will visit this 
 deed upon King Tarquin and all his accursed race! 
 And no man hereafter shall reign as king in Eome, 
 lest he may do the like wickedness." 
 
 He then handed the knife to the others, and bade 
 them to take the same oath. This they did, wonder- 
 ing at the sudden transformation in Brutus. They 
 then took up the body of the slain woman and car- 
 ried it into the forum of the town, crying to the 
 gathering people, " Behold the deeds of the wicked 
 family of Tarquin, the tyrant of Rome!"
 
 40 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The people, maddened by the sight, hastily sought 
 their arms, and while some guarded the gates, that 
 none might carry the news to the king, the others 
 followed Brutus to Rome. Here the story of the 
 wickedness of Sextus and the self-sacrifice of Lu- 
 crotia ran through the city like wildfire, and a mul- 
 titude gathered in the Forum, where Brutus ad- 
 dressed them in fervent words. He recalled to 
 them all the tyranny of Tarquin and the vices of 
 his sons, reminding them of the murder of Servius, 
 the impious act of Tullia, and ending with an 
 earnest recital of the wrongs of the virtuous Lucre- 
 tia, whose bleeding corpse still lay in evidence in the 
 forum of Collatia. 
 
 His words went to the souls of his hearers. An 
 assembly of the people being quickly called, it was 
 voted that the Tarquins should be banished, and the 
 office of king should be forever abolished in Rome. 
 Tullia, learning of the cause of the tumult, hastily 
 left the palace, and fled from Rome in her chariot 
 through throngs that followed her with threats and 
 curses. Brutus, perhaps with the crimsoned knife 
 still in his hand, bade the young men to follow him, 
 and set off in haste to Ardea, to spread through the 
 army the story of the deed of crime and blood. 
 
 Meanwhile, Tarquin had been told of the revolt, 
 and was hurrying to Rome to put it down. Brutus 
 turned aside from the road that he might not meet 
 him, and hastened on to the camp, where the story 
 of the revolt and its cause was told the soldiers. 
 On hearing the story the whole army broke into a 
 tumult of indignation, drove the king's sons from
 
 THE STORY OP LUCRETIA. 41 
 
 the camp, and demanded to be led to Eome. The 
 siege of Ardea was at once abandoned and the back- 
 ward march began. 
 
 Meanwhile, Tarquin had reached the city, but only 
 to find the gates closed against him and stern men 
 on the walls. " You cannot enter here," they cried. 
 " You are banished from Eome, you and all of yours, 
 and shall never set foot within its walls again. And 
 you are the last of our kings. No man after you 
 shall ever call himself king of Eome." 
 
 Just in what threats, promises, and persuasions 
 Tarquin indulged we do not know. But the men on 
 the walls were not to be moved by threats or prom- 
 ises, and he was obliged to take himself away, a 
 crownless wanderer. As for Sextus, to whom all 
 the trouble was due, some say that he was killed in 
 a town whose people he had betrayed, while others 
 say that he was slain in battle while his father was 
 fighting to regain his throne. 
 
 But this is certain, no king ever reigned in Eome 
 again. The people, talking among each other, said, 
 " Let us follow the wise laws of good King Servius. 
 He bade us to meet in our centuries (or hundreds) 
 and to choose two men year by year to govern us, 
 instead of a king. This let us do, as Servius would 
 have done himself had he not been basely mur- 
 dered." 
 
 So the centuries of the people met in the Campus 
 Martius (Field of Mars), and there chose two men, 
 Brutus, the leader in the revolution, and Lucius Tar- 
 quin, the husband of the fated Lucretia. These offi- 
 cials were afterwards called Consuls, and were given 
 4*
 
 42 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ruling power in Eome. But they had to lay down 
 their office at the end of the year and be succeeded by 
 two others elected in their stead. The people, how- 
 ever, were afraid of the very name of Tarquin, and 
 in electing Lucius to the consulate it seemed as if 
 they had put a new Tarquin on the throne. So they 
 prayed him to leave the city; and, taking all his 
 goods, he went away and settled at Lavinium, a new 
 consul being elected in his place. A law was now 
 passed that all the house of the Tarquins should be 
 banished, whether they were of the king's family or 
 not. 
 
 Thus ended the kingly period in Eome, after six 
 kings had followed Eomulus. With the consuls 
 many of the laws of King Servius, which Tarquin 
 had set aside, were restored, and a much greater 
 degree of freedom came to the people of Eome. 
 But that there might not now seem to be two kings 
 instead of one, it was decreed that only one of the 
 consuls should rule at a time, each of them acting 
 as ruler for a month, and then giving over the power 
 to his associate.
 
 HOW BRAVE HORATIUS KEPT 
 THE BRIDGE. 
 
 THE banished King Tarquin did not lightly yield 
 his realm. He roused the neighboring cities against 
 Kome and fought fiercely for his throne. Soon after 
 he was exiled from Rome he sent messengers there 
 for his goods. These the senate decreed should be 
 given him. But his messengers had more secret 
 work to do. They formed a plot with many of the 
 young nobles to bring back the king, and among 
 these traitors were Titus and Tiberius, the sons of 
 Brutus. 
 
 A slave overheard the conspirators and betrayed 
 them to the consuls, and they were seized and 
 brought to the judgment-seat in the Forum. Here 
 Brutus, sitting in judgment, beheld his two sons 
 among the culprits. He loved them, but he loved 
 justice more, and though he grieved deeply in- 
 wardly, his face was grave and stern as he gave 
 judgment that the law must take its course. So the 
 eons of this stern old Roman were scourged with 
 rods before his eyes, and then, with the other con- 
 spirators, were beheaded by the lictors, while he 
 looked steadily on, never turning his eyes from the 
 dreadful sight. But men could see that his heart 
 bled for his sons. 
 
 43
 
 44 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Soon afterwards Tarquin led an army of Etrus- 
 cans against .Rome, and the two consuls marched 
 against them at the head of the Koman army. In 
 the battle that followed Brutus met Aruns, the king's 
 son, in advance of the lines of battle. Aruns, seeing 
 Brutus dressed in royal robes and attended by the 
 lictors of a king, was filled with anger, and levelled 
 his spear and spurred his horse against him. Brutus 
 met him in mid-career with levelled spear. Both 
 were run through, and together fell dead upon the 
 field. 
 
 The day ended with neither party victors. But 
 during the night a woodland deity was heard speak- 
 ing from a forest near by. "One man more has 
 fallen of the Etruscans than of the Romans," it said ; 
 " the Romans are to conquer." This strange oracle 
 ended the war. It was a reason, surely, for which 
 war was never ended before or since. The Etrus- 
 cans, affrighted, marched hastily home ; while the 
 Romans carried home their slain patriot, for whom 
 their women mourned a whole year, in honor of his 
 noble service in avenging Lucretia. 
 
 The banished king still craved his lost kingdom, 
 and made other efforts to regain it. Having failed 
 in his first attempt, he went to another city, named 
 Clusium, in the distant part of Etruria, and here be- 
 sought Lars Porsenna, the king of that city, to aid 
 him recover his throne. Lars Porsenna, -with a 
 fellow-feeling for his dethroned brother king, raised 
 a large army and marched with Tarquin and his 
 fellow-exiles against defiant Rome. 
 
 The Romans now awaited him at home, and the
 
 HOW BRAVE HORATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE. 45 
 
 two armies met on the hill called Janiculum, beyond 
 the river from the city. Here came the crash of 
 battle, but the men of Clusium proved the stronger, 
 and after a sharp struggle the Romans gave way and 
 were driven pell-mell down the hill and across the 
 bridge which spanned the Tiber at this point. This 
 was a wooden bridge on which the Romans set great 
 store, as it was their only means of crossing the 
 stream. But it now was likely to serve as a means 
 of the loss of their city. Their flying army was 
 pouring in panic across it, with the Etruscans in hot 
 pursuit, seeking strenuously to win the bridge. 
 
 The bridge must be speedily destroyed or the 
 city would be lost, but it seemed too late for this ; 
 unless the enemy could in some way be kept back 
 till the bridge was cut down, Tarquin and his allies 
 would be in the streets of Rome. 
 
 At this juncture a brave and stalwart son of 
 Rome, Horatius Codes by name, stepped forward 
 and offered his life in his city's defence. " Cut away 
 with all haste," he said ; " I will keep the bridge 
 until it falls." Two others, Spurius Lartius and 
 Titus Herminius, sprang to his side, and the three, 
 fully armed and stout of heart, ranged themselves 
 across the narrow causeway, while behind them the 
 axes of the Romans played ringingly upon the sup- 
 ports of the bridge. 
 
 On came the Etruscans in force. But the bridge 
 was so narrow that only a few could advance at 
 once, and these found in the way the sharp spears 
 and keen-edged blades of the patriot three. Down 
 went the leading Etruscans, and others pressed on,
 
 46 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 only to fall, till the defenders of the bridge had a 
 bulwark of the slain in their front. 
 
 And now the bridge creaked and groaned as the 
 axes kept up their lively play, the ring of steel find- 
 ing its chorus in the cheering shouts of the Romans 
 on the bank. 
 
 " Back ! back !" cried the axemen. " It will be 
 down in a minute more ; back for j T our lives !" 
 
 " Back!" cried Horatius to his comrades, and they 
 hastily retreated ; but he stood unmoving, still boldly 
 facing the foe. 
 
 " Fly ! It is about to fall !" was the shout. 
 
 " Let it," cried Horatius, without yielding a step. 
 
 And there he stood alone, defying the whole army 
 of the Etruscans. From a distance they showered 
 their javelins on him, but he caught them on his 
 shield and stood unhurt. Furious that they should 
 be kept from their prey by a single man, they 
 gathered to rush upon him and drive him from his 
 post by main force; but just then the creaking 
 beams gave way, and the half of the bridge be- 
 hind him fell with a mighty crash into the stream 
 below. 
 
 The Etruscans paused in their course at this 
 crashing fall, and gazed, not without admiration, at 
 the stalwart champion who had stayed an army in 
 its victorious career. He was theirs now ; he could 
 not escape; his life should pay the penalty for their 
 failure. 
 
 But Horatius had no such thought. He looked 
 down on the stream, and prayed to the god of the 
 river, " O Father Tiber, I pray thee to receive these
 
 HOW BRAVE HORATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE. 47 
 
 arms and me who bear them, and to let thy waters 
 befriend and save me." 
 
 Then, with a quick spring, he plunged, heavy with 
 armor, into the swift-flowing stream, and struck out 
 boldly for the shore. The foemen rushed upon the 
 bridge and poured their darts thick about him ; yet 
 none struck him, and he swam safely to the shore, 
 where his waiting friends drew him in triumph from 
 the stream. 
 
 For this "grand deed of heroism the Komanjs set 
 up a statue to Horatius in the comitium, and gave 
 him in reward as much land as he could drive his 
 plough round in the space of a whole day. Such 
 deeds cannot be fitly told in halting prose, and Lord 
 Macaulay, in his " Lays of Ancient Eome," has most 
 ably and picturesquely told 
 
 " How well Horatius kept the bridge 
 In the brave days of old. ' ' 
 
 But though Home was saved from capture by 
 assault, the war was not ended, and other deeds of 
 Roman heroism were to be done. Porsenna pressed 
 the siege of the city so closely that hunger became 
 his ally, and the Komans suffered greatly. Then 
 another patriot devoted his life to his city's good. 
 This man, a young noble named Caius Mucius, went 
 to the senate and offered to go to the Etruscan camp 
 and slay Lars Porsenna in the midst of his men. 
 
 His proposal acceded to, he crossed the stream by 
 stealth and slipped covertly into the camp, through 
 which he made his way, seeking the king. At length
 
 48 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ho saw a man dressed in a scarlet robe and seated 
 on a lofty seat, while many were about him, coming 
 and going. " This must be King Porsenna," he said 
 to himself, and he glided stealthily through the crowd 
 until he came near by, when, drawing a concealed 
 dagger from beneath his cloak, he sprang upon the 
 man and stabbed him to the heart. 
 
 But the bold assassin had made a sad mistake. 
 The man he had slain was not the king, but his 
 scribe, the king's chief officer. Being instantly 
 seized, he was brought before Porsenna, where the 
 guards threatened him with sharp torments unless 
 he would truly answer all their questions. 
 
 "Torments!" he said. "You shall see how little 
 I care for them." 
 
 And he thrust his right hand into the fire that 
 was burning on the altar, and held it there till it 
 was completely consumed. 
 
 King Porsenna looked at him with an admiration 
 that subdued all anger. Never had he seen a man of 
 such fortitude. 
 
 " Go your way," he cried, " for you have harmed 
 youi'self more than me. You are a brave man, and 
 I send you back to Rome free and unhurt." 
 
 " And you are a generous king," said Caius, " and 
 shall learn more from me for your kindness than 
 tortures could have wrung from my lips. Know, 
 then, that three hundred noble youths of Rome have 
 bound themselves by oath to take your life. I am 
 but the first ; the others will in turn lie in wait for 
 you. I warn you to look well to yourself." 
 
 He was then set free, and went back to the city,
 
 HOW BRAVE HOBATIUS KEPT THE BRIDGE. 4f 
 
 where he was afterwards known as Scaevola, the left- 
 handed. 
 
 The warning of Caius moved King Porsenna to 
 offer the Eomans terms of peace, which they gladly 
 accepted. They were forced to give up all the land 
 they had conquered on the west bank of the Tiber, 
 and to agree not to use iron except to cultivate the 
 earth. They were also to give as hostages ten noble 
 youths and as many maidens. These were sent; 
 but one of the maidens, Cloelia by name, escaped 
 from the Etruscan camp, and, bidding the other 
 maidens to follow, fled to the river, into which they 
 all plunged and swam safely across to Eome. 
 
 They were sent back by the Romans, whose way 
 it was to keep their pledges ; but King Porsenna, 
 admiring the courage of Ckelia, set her free, and 
 bade her choose such ot the youths as she wished to 
 go with her. She chose those of tenderest age, and 
 the king set them free. 
 
 The Romans rewarded Caius by a gift of land, and 
 had a statue made of Cloelia, which was set up in 
 the highest part of the Sacred "Way. And King 
 Porsenna led his army home, with Tarquin still 
 dethroned. 
 
 ii. c d
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE 
 REGILLUS. 
 
 A third time Tarquin the Proud marched against 
 Eome, this time in alliance with the Latins, whose 
 thirty cities had joined together and declared war 
 against the Romans. But as many of the Romans 
 had married Latin wives, and many of the Latins 
 had got their wives from Rome, it was resolved that 
 the women on both sides, who preferred their native 
 land to their husbands, might leave their new homes 
 and take with them their virgin daughters. And, 
 as the legend tells, all the Latin women but two 
 remained in Rome, while all the Roman women 
 returned with their daughters to their fathers' 
 homes. 
 
 The two armies met by the side of Lake Regillus, 
 and there was fought a battle the story of which 
 reads like a tale from the Iliad of Homer ; for we 
 are told not of how the armies fought, but of how 
 their champions met and fought in single combats 
 upon the field. King Tarquin was there, now hoary 
 with years, yet sitting his horse and bearing his 
 lance with the grace and strength of a young man. 
 And there was Titus his son, leading into battle all 
 the banished band of the Tarquins. And with them 
 was Octavius Mamilius, the leader of the Latins, 
 60
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE REGILLTJS. 51 
 
 who swore to seat Tarquin again on his throne and 
 to make the Komans subjects of the Latins. 
 
 On the Eoman side were many true and tried 
 warriors, among them Titus Herminius, one of those 
 who fought on the bridge by the side of Horatius 
 Codes, when that champion fought so well for 
 Rome. 
 
 It is too long to tell how warrior rode against 
 warrior with levelled lances, and how this one was 
 struck through the breast and that one through the 
 arm, and so on in true Homeric style. The battle 
 was a series of duels, like those fought on the plain 
 of Troy. But at length the Tarqain band, under 
 the lead of Titus, charged so fiercely that the 
 Komans began to give way, many of their bravest 
 having been slain. 
 
 At this juncture Aulus, the leader of the Romans, 
 rode up with his own chosen band, and bade them 
 level their lances and slay all, friend or foe, whose 
 faces were turned towards them. There was to be 
 no mercy for a Roman whose i?,ce was turned from 
 the field. This onset stopped the flight, and Aulus 
 charged fiercely upon the Tarquins, praying, as he 
 did so, to the divine warriors Castor and Pollux, to 
 whom he vowed to dedicate a temple if they would 
 aid him in the fight. And he promised the soldiers 
 that the two who should first break into the camp of 
 the enemy should receive a rich reward. 
 
 Then suddenly, at the head of the chosen band, 
 appeared two unknown horsemen, in the first bloom 
 of youth and taller and fairer than mortal men, 
 while the horses they rode were white as the driven
 
 52 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 snow. On went the charge, led by these two noble 
 strangers, before whom the enemy fled in mortal 
 terror, while Titus, the last of the sons of King Tar- 
 quin, fell dead from his steed. The camp of the 
 Latins being reached, these two horsemen were the 
 first to break into it, and soon the whole army of the 
 enemy was in disorderly flight and the battle won. 
 
 Aulus now sought the two strange horsemen, to 
 give them the reward he had promised; but ke 
 sought in vain ; they were not to be found, among 
 either the living or the dead, and no man had set 
 eyes upon them since the camp was won. They had 
 vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. But on 
 the hard black rock which surrounds the lake was 
 visible the mark of a horse's hoof, such as no earthly 
 steed could ever have made. For ages afterwards 
 this mark remained. 
 
 But the strangers appeared once again. It was 
 known in Rome that the armies were joined in battle, 
 and the longing for tidings from the field grew in- 
 tense. Suddenly, as the sun went down behind the 
 city walls, there were seen in the Forum two horse- 
 men on milk-white steeds, taller and fairer than the 
 tallest and fairest of men. Their horses were bathed 
 in foam, and they looked like men fresh from battle. 
 
 Alighting near the Temple of Vesta, where a 
 spring of water bubbles from the ground, these men, 
 -vhom no Romans had ever seen before, washed from 
 their persons the battle-stains. As they did so men 
 crowded round and eagerly questioned them. In 
 reply, they told them how the battle had been fought 
 and won, though in truth the battle ended only as
 
 THE BATTLE OP LAKE REGILLUS. 53 
 
 the sun went down over Lake Regillus. They then 
 mounted their horses and rode from the Forum, and 
 were seen no more. Men sought them far and wide, 
 but no one set eyes on them again. 
 
 Then Aulus told the Romans how he had prayed 
 to Castor and Pollux, the divine twins, and said thai 
 it could be none but they who had broken so fiercely 
 into the enemy's camp, and had borne the news of 
 Victory with more than mortal speed to Rome. So 
 he built the temple he had vowed to the hero gods, 
 and gave there rich offerings as the rewards he had 
 promised to the two who should first enter the camp 
 of the foe. 
 
 /Thus ended the hopes of King Tarquin, against 
 whom the gods had taken arms. His sons and all 
 his family slain, he was left ruined and hopeless, and 
 retired to the city of Cumse, whence formerly the 
 Sibyl had come to his court. Here he died, and thus 
 passed away the last of the Roman kings.
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 THE overthrow of the kings of Rome did not 
 relieve the people from all their oppression. The in- 
 habitants of that city had long been divided into 
 two great classes, the Patricians, or nobles, and the 
 Plebeians, or common people, and the former held in 
 their hand nearly all the wealth and power of the 
 state. The senate, the law-making body, were all 
 Patricians; the consuls, the executors of the law, 
 were chosen from their ranks; and the Plebeians 
 were left with few rights and little protection. 
 
 It was through the avarice of money-lending 
 nobles that the people were chiefly oppressed. There 
 were no laws limiting the rate of interest, and the 
 rich lent to the poor at extravagant rates of usury. 
 The interest, when not paid, was added to the debt, 
 so that in time it became impossible for many 
 debtors to pay. 
 
 And the laws against debtors had become terribly 
 severe. They might, with all their families, be held 
 as slaves. Or if the debtor refused to sell himself 
 to his creditor, and still could not pay his debt, he 
 might be imprisoned in fetters for sixty days. At 
 tne end of that time, if no friend had paid his debt, 
 he could be put to death, or sold as a slave into a 
 foreign state. If there were several creditors, they 
 64
 
 THE REVOLT OP THE PEOPLE. 55 
 
 could actually cut his body to pieces, each taking a 
 piece proportional in size to his claim. 
 
 This cruel severity was more than any people 
 could long endure. It led to a revolution in Kome. 
 In the year 495 B.C., fifteen years after the Tarquins 
 had been expelled, a poor debtor, who had fought 
 valiantly in the wars, broke from his prison, and 
 with his clothes in tatters and chains clanking upon 
 his limbs appealed eloquently to the people in the 
 Forum, and showed them on his emaciated body the 
 scars of the many battles in which he had fought. 
 
 His tale was a sad one. While he served in the 
 Sabine war, the enemy had pillaged and burned his 
 house ; and when he returned home, it was to find 
 his cattle stolen and his farm heavily taxed. Forced 
 to borrow money, the interest had brought him 
 deeply into debt. Finally he had been attacked by 
 pestilence, and being unable to work for his creditor, 
 he had been thrown into prison and cruelly scourged, 
 the marks of the lash being still evident upon his 
 bleeding back. 
 
 This piteous story roused its hearers to fury. The 
 whole city broke into tumult, as the woful tale 
 passed from lip to lip. Many debtors escaped from 
 their prisons and begged protection from the in- 
 censed multitude. The consuls found themselves 
 powerless to restore order; and in the midst of the 
 uproar horsemen came riding hotly through the 
 gates, crying out that a hostile army was near at 
 hand, marching to besiege the city. 
 
 Here was a splendid opportunity for the Plebeians. 
 When called upon to enroll their names and take
 
 56 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 arms for the city's defence, they refused. The 
 Patricians, they said, might fight their own battles. 
 As for them, they had rather die together at home 
 than perish separate upon the battle-field. 
 
 This refusal left the Patricians in a quandary. 
 With riot in the streets and war beyond the walls 
 they were at the mercy of the commons. They 
 were forced to promise a mitigation of the laws, 
 declaring that no one should henceforth seize the 
 goods of a soldier while he was in camp, or hinder 
 a citizen from enlisting by keeping him in prison. 
 This promise satisfied the people. The debtors' 
 prisons were emptied, and their late tenants crowded 
 with enthusiasm into the ranks. Through the gates 
 the army marched, met the foe, and drove him in 
 defeat from the soil of the Eoman state. 
 
 Victory gained, the Plebeians looked for laws to 
 sustain the promises under which they had fought. 
 They looked in vain ; the senate took no action for 
 their redress. But they had learned their power, 
 and were not again to be enslaved. Their action 
 was deliberate but decided. Taking measures to 
 protect their homes on the Aventine Hill, they left 
 the city the next year in a body, and sought a hill 
 beyond the Anio, about three miles beyond the walls 
 of Rome. Here they encamped, built fortifications, 
 and sent word to their lordly rulers that they were 
 done with empty promises, and would fight no more 
 for the state until the state kept its faith. All the 
 good of their fighting came to the Patricians, they 
 said, and these might now defend themselves and 
 their wealth.
 
 THE REVOLT OP THE PEOPLE. 57 
 
 The senate was thrown into a panic by this 
 decided action. When the hostile cities without 
 should learn of it, they might send armies in haste 
 to undefended Eome. The people left in the city 
 feared the Patricians, and the Patricians feared them. 
 All was doubt and anxiety. At length the senate, 
 driven to desperation, sent an embassy to the rebels 
 to treat for peace, being in deadly fear that some 
 enemy might assail and capture the city in the 
 absence of the bulk of its inhabitants. 
 
 The messenger sent, Menenius Agrippa Lanatus, 
 was a man famed for eloquence, and a popular 
 favorite. In his address to the people in their camp 
 he repeated to them the following significant fable ; 
 
 " At a time when all the parts ot the body did not 
 agree together, as they do now, but each had its own 
 method and language, the other parts rebelled against 
 the belly. They said that it lay quietly enjoying 
 itself in the centre, while they, by care, labor, and 
 service, kept it in luxury. They therefore conspired 
 that the hands should not convey food to the mouth, 
 the mouth receive it, nor the teeth chew it. They 
 thus hoped to subdue the belly by famine ; but they 
 found that they and all the other parts of the body 
 suffered as much. Then they saw that the belly by 
 no means rested in sloth ; that it supplied instead of 
 receiving nourishment, sending to all parts of the 
 body the blood that gave life and strength to the 
 whole system." 
 
 It was the same, he said, with the body of the 
 state. All must work in unity, if all would prosper. 
 This homely argument hit the popular fancy. The
 
 58 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 people consented to treat for their return if their 
 liberties could be properly secured. But they must 
 now have deeds instead of words. It was not politi- 
 cal power they sought, but protection, and protection 
 they would have. 
 
 Their demands were as follows : All debts should 
 be cancelled, and all debtors held by their creditors 
 should be released. And hereafter the Plebeians 
 should have as their protectors two officials, who 
 should have power to veto all oppressive laws, while 
 their persons should be held as sacred and inviolable 
 as those of the messengers of the gods. These offi- 
 cials were to be called Tribunes, and to be the chief 
 officers of the commons as the consuls were of the 
 nobles. 
 
 This proposition was accepted by the senate, and 
 a treaty signed between the contesting parties, as 
 solemnly as if they had been two separate nations. 
 It was an occasion as important to the liberties of 
 Romans as the treaty signed many centuries after- 
 wards on the field of Runnymede, between King John 
 and his barons, was to the liberties of Englishmen, 
 and was held by the Romans in like high regard. 
 The hill on which the treaty had been made was ever 
 after known as the Sacred Mount. Its top was con- 
 secrated and an altar built upon it, on which sacri- 
 fices were made to Jupiter, the god who strikes men 
 with terror and then delivers them from fear ; for 
 the people had fled thither in dread, and were now to 
 return home in safety. 
 
 Thus ended the great revolt of the people, who 
 had gained in the Tribunes defenders of more power
 
 THE REVOLT OP THE PEOPLE. 59 
 
 and importance than they or the senate knew. They 
 were never again to suffer from the bitter oppression 
 to which they had been subjected in preceding years. 
 As for Lanatus, to whose pleadings they had yielded, 
 he died before the year ended, and was found to have 
 not left enough to pay for his funeral. Therefore 
 the Plebeians collected funds to give him a splendid 
 burial; but the senate having decreed that the state 
 should bear this expense, the money raised by the 
 grateful people was formed into a fund for the bene- 
 fit of his children.
 
 THE REVENGE OF CORIO- 
 
 LANUS. 
 
 CAIUS MABCIUS, a noble Eoman youth, descended 
 from the worthy king Ancus Marcius, fought val- 
 iantly when but seventeen years of age in the battle 
 of Lake Eegillus, and was there crowned with an 
 oaken wreath, the .Roman reward for saving the life 
 of a fellow-soldier. This he showed with the great- 
 est joy to his mother, Volumnia, whom he loved ex- 
 ceedingly, it being his greatest pleasure to receive 
 praise from her lips for his exploits. He afterwards 
 won many more crowns in battle, and became one of 
 the most famous of Eoman soldiers. 
 
 One of his memorable exploits took place during 
 a war with the Volscians, in which the Eomans 
 attacked the city of Corioli. The citizens made a 
 sally, and drove the Eomans back to their camp. 
 But Caius, with a few followers, stopped them and 
 turned the tide of battle, driving the Volscians back. 
 As they fled into the city through the open gates, he 
 cried, " Those gates are set open for us rather than 
 for the Volscians. Why are we afraid to rush in ?" 
 And suiting his act to his words, the daring soldier 
 pursued the enemy into the town. 
 
 Here he found himself almost alone, for very few 
 had followed him. The enemy turned on the bold 
 60
 
 THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS. 61 
 
 invaders, but Caius proved so strong of hand and 
 stout of he?rt that he drove them all before him, 
 keeping a way clear for the Romans, who soon 
 thronged in through the open gate and took the 
 city. The army gave Caius the sole credit for the 
 victory, saying that he alone had taken Corioli ; and 
 the general said, " Let him be called after the name 
 of the city." He was, therefore, afterwards known 
 by the name of Caius Marcius Coriolanus. 
 
 Courage was not the only marked quality of 
 Coriolanus. His pride was equally great. He was 
 a noble of the nobles, so haughty in demeanor and 
 so disdainful of the commons that they grew to 
 hate him bitterly. At length came a time of great 
 scarcity of food. The people were on the verge of 
 famine, to relieve which shiploads of corn were sent 
 from Sicily to Rome. The senate resolved to dis- 
 tribute this corn among the suffering people, but 
 Coriolanus opposed this, saying, "If they want corn 
 let them show their obedience to the Patricians, as 
 their fathers did, and give up their tribunes. If 
 they do this we will let them have corn, and take 
 care of them." 
 
 When the people heard of what the proud roble 
 had said they broke into such fury that a mob gath- 
 ered around the doors of the senate house, prepared 
 to seize and tear him to pieces when he came out. 
 They were checked in this by the tribunes, who 
 said, " Let us not have violence. We will accuse 
 him of treason before the assembly, and you shall be 
 his judges." 
 
 The tribunes, therefore, as the law gave them 
 6
 
 62 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the right, summoned Coriolanus to appear before 
 the popular tribunal and answer to the charges 
 against him. But he, knowing how deeply he had 
 offended them, and that they would show him no 
 mercy, stayed not for the trial, but fled from Eome, 
 exiled from his native land by his pride and disdain 
 of the people. 
 
 The exile made his way to the land of the Vol- 
 scians, and seating himself by the hearth-fire of At- 
 tius Tullius, their chief, waited there with covered 
 head till his late bitter foe should come in. How 
 Attius would receive him he knew not ; but he was 
 homeless, and had now only his enemies to trust. 
 But when the chieftain entered, and learned that the 
 man who sat crouched beside his hearth, subject to 
 his will, was the great warrior who by his own 
 hands had taken a Yolscian city, but was now ban- 
 ished and a fugitive, he was filled with compassion. 
 He greeted him kindly and offered him a home, say- 
 ing to himself, " Caius, our worst foe, is now our friend 
 and a foe to Eome ; we will make war against that 
 proud city, and by his aid will conquer it." 
 
 But the Volscians were not eager for war. They 
 were afraid of the Romans, who had so often de- 
 feated them, and Attius sought in vain to stir them 
 to hostility. Failing to rouse the*z by eloquence, 
 he practised craft. There was a great festival at 
 Rome, to which had come the people of various 
 cities, among them many of the Volscians. Attius 
 now went privately to the Xoman consuls and bade 
 <Jvatu beware of the Volscians, lest they should stir 
 op a not and make /rouble in the city, hinting that
 
 THE REVENGE OP CORIOLANUS. 63 
 
 mischief was intended. In consequence of this 
 warning proclamation was made that every Vol- 
 scian should leave Rome before the setting of the 
 sun. 
 
 This produced the effect which Attius had hoped. 
 He met the Volscians on their way home, and found 
 them fired with indignation against Rome. He pre- 
 tended similar indignation. " You have been made 
 a show of before all the nations," he cried. " You 
 and your wives and children have been basely in- 
 sulted. They have made war on us while their 
 guests ; if you are men you will make them rue this 
 deed." 
 
 His words inflamed his countrymen. The story 
 of the insult spread widely through the country, all 
 the tribes of the Volscians took up the quarrel, and 
 a great army was raised and set in march towards 
 Rome, with Attius and Coriolanus at its head. 
 
 The Volscian force was greater than the Romans 
 were prepared to meet, and the army marched victo- 
 riously onward, taking city after city, and finally 
 encamping within five miles of Rome. When the 
 Volscians entered Roman territory they laid waste, 
 by order of Coriolanus, the lands of the commons, 
 but spared those of the nobles, the exiled patrician 
 deeming the former his foes and the latter his 
 friends. The approach of this powerful army 
 threw the Romans into dismay. They had been 
 assailed so suddenly that they had made no prepara- 
 tions for defence, and the city seemed to lie at the 
 mercy of its foes. The women ran to the temples 
 to pray for the favor of the gods. The people de-
 
 64 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 manded that the senate should send deputies to the 
 invading army to treat for peace. The senate, ap- 
 parently no less frightened than the people, obeyed, 
 sending five leading Patricians to the Volscian camp. 
 
 These deputies were haughtily received by Corio- 
 lanus, who offered them the following severe terms : 
 " We will give you no peace till you restore to the 
 Volscians all the land and cities which Borne has 
 ever taken from them, and till you make them citi- 
 zens of Rome, and give them all the rights in your 
 city which you have yourselves." 
 
 These conditions the deputies had no power to 
 accept, and they threw the senate into dismay. The 
 deputies were sent again, instructed to ask for gen- 
 tler terms, but now, Coriolanus refused even to let 
 them enter his camp. 
 
 This harsh repulse plunged Rome into mortal 
 terror. The senate, helpless to resist, now sent the 
 priests of the gods and the augurs, all clothed in 
 their sacred garments, and bearing the sacred em- 
 blems from the temples. But even this solemn dele- 
 gation Coriolanus refused to receive, and sent them 
 back to Rome unheard. 
 
 Where all this time was the Roman army, which 
 always before and after made itself heard and felt ? 
 This we are not told. We are in the land of legend, 
 and cannot look for too much consistency. For once 
 in its history Rome seems to have forgotten that its 
 mission was not to plead, but to fight. Perhaps its 
 armies had been beaten and demoralized in previous 
 battles. At any rate we can but tell the story as it 
 is told to us.
 
 THE REVENGE OF CORIOLANUS. 65 
 
 The help of delegates, priests, and augurs having 
 proved unavailing, that of women was next sought. 
 A noble lady, Valeria by name, who with other sup- 
 pliants had sought the Temple of Jupiter, was in- 
 spired by a sudden thought, which seemed sent by 
 the god himself. Rising, and bidding the other 
 noble ladies to accompany her, she proceeded to the 
 house of Volumnia, the mother of Coriolanus, whom 
 she found with Virgilia, his wife, and his little chil- 
 dren. 
 
 " We have come to ask you to join us," she said, 
 "in order that we women, without aid from man, 
 may deliver our country, and win for ourselves a 
 name more glorious even than that of the Sabine 
 wives of old, who stopped the battle between their 
 husbands and fathers. Come with us to the camp 
 of Caius, and let us pray him to show us mercy." 
 
 " It is well thought of; we shall go with you," 
 said Volumnia, and, with Virgilia and her children, 
 the noble matron prepared to seek the camp and tent 
 of her exiled son. 
 
 It was a sad and solemn spectacle, as this train of 
 noble ladies, clad in their habiliments of woe, and 
 with bent heads and sorrowful faces, wound through 
 the hostile camp, from which they were not ex- 
 cluded, like the men. Even the Volscian soldiers 
 watched them with pitying eyes, and spoke no word 
 as they moved slowly past. On reaching the midst 
 of the camp, they saw Coriolanus on the- general's 
 seat, with the Volscian chiefs gathered around him. 
 
 At first he wondered who these women could be. 
 But when they came near, and he saw his mother at 
 ii. 6*
 
 66 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the head of the train, his deep love for her welled up 
 so strongly in his heart that he could not restrain 
 himself, but sprang up and ran to meet and kiss her. 
 The Roman matron stopped him with a dignified 
 gesture, saying, 
 
 "Ere you kiss me, let me know whether I am 
 speaking to an enemy or to my son; whether I 
 stand here as your prisoner or your mother." 
 
 He stood before her in silence, with bent head, and 
 unable to speak. 
 
 " Must it then be that if I had never borne a son, 
 Home would have never seen the camp of an enemy?" 
 said Volumnia, in sorrowful tones. " But I am too 
 old to bear much longer your shame and my misery. 
 Think not of me, but of your wife and children, 
 whom you would doom to death or to life in bond- 
 age." 
 
 Then Virgilia and the children came up and kissed 
 him, and all the noble ladies in the train burst into 
 tears and bemoaned the peril of their country. 
 Coriolanus still stood silent, his face working with 
 contending thoughts. At length he cried out, in 
 heart-rending accents, " O mother, what have you 
 done to me?" 
 
 Clasping her hand, he wrung it vehemently, say- 
 ing, " Mother, the victory is yours ! A happy victory 
 for you and Rome, but shame and ruin to your son." 
 
 Then he embraced her with yearning heart, and 
 afterwards clasped his wife and children to his 
 breast, bidding them return with their tale of con- 
 quest to Rome. As for himself, he said, only exile 
 and shame remained.
 
 THE KEVENGE OF CORIOLANUS. 67 
 
 Before the women reached home the army of the 
 Volscians was on its homeward march. Ccriolanus 
 never led them against Eome again. He lived and 
 died in exile, far from his wife and children. When 
 very old, he sadly remarked, " That now in his old 
 age he knew the full bitterness of banishment." 
 
 The Romans, to honor Yolumnia and those who 
 had gone with her to the Yolscian camp, built a 
 temple to " Woman's Fortune" on the spot where 
 Coriolanus bad yielded to his mother's entreaties; 
 and the first priestess of this temple was Yaleria, 
 into whose heart Jupiter had put the thought that 
 saved Home.
 
 CINCINNATUS AND THE 
 &QUIANS. 
 
 IN the old days of Rome, not far from the time 
 when Coriolanus yielded up his revenge at his 
 mother's entreaty, the Roman state possessed a 
 citizen as patriotic as Coriolanus was proud, and 
 who did as much good as the other did evil to his 
 native land. This citizen, Lucius Quinctius by name, 
 was usually called Cincinnatus, or the " crisp-haired," 
 from the fact that he let his hair grow long, and 
 curled and crisped it so carefully as to gain as much 
 fame for his hair as for his wisdom and valor. 
 
 Cincinnatus was the simplest and least ambitious 
 of men. He cared nothing for wealth, and had no 
 craving for city life, but dwelt on his small farm 
 beyond the Tiber, which he worked with his own 
 hands, content, so his crops grew well, to let the 
 lovers of power and wealth pursue their own devices 
 within the city walls. But he was soon to be drawn 
 from the plough to the sword. 
 
 While Cincinnatus was busy ploughing his land, 
 Rome kept at its old work of ploughing the nations. 
 War at this time broke out with the ^Equians, a neigh- 
 boring people ; but for this war the ^Equians were 
 to blame. They had plundered the lands of some of 
 the allies of Rome, and when deputies were sent to 
 68
 
 CINCINNATUS AND THE .EQUIANS. 69 
 
 complain of this wrong, Gracchus, their chief, re- 
 ceived them with insulting mockery. 
 
 He was sitting in his tent, which was pitched in 
 the shade of a great evergreen oak, when the depu- 
 ties arrived. 
 
 "I am busy with other matters," he answered 
 them ; " I cannot hear you ; you had better tell your 
 message to the oak yonder." 
 
 "Yes," said one of the deputies, "let this sacred 
 oak hear, and let all the gods hear also, how treach- 
 erously you have broken the peace. They shall 
 hear it now, and shall soon avenge it ; for you have 
 scorned alike the laws of the gods and of men." 
 
 The deputies returned to Eome, and reported how 
 they had been insulted. The senate at once declared 
 war, and an army was sent towards Algidus, where 
 the enemy lay. But Gracchus, who was a skilled 
 soldier, cunningly pretended to be afraid of the 
 Komans, and retreated before them, drawing them 
 gradually into a narrow valley, on each side of which 
 rose high, steep, and barren hills. 
 
 When he had lured them fairly into this trap, he 
 sent a force to close up the en1 ranee of the valley. 
 The Eomans suddenly found that they had been en- 
 trapped into a cul-de-sac, with impassable hills in 
 front and on each side, and a strong body of vEquians 
 guarding the entrance to the ravine. There was 
 neither grass for the horses nor food for the men. 
 Gracchus held not only the entrance, but the hill- 
 tops all round, so that escape in any direction was 
 impossible. But before the road in the rear was 
 quite closed up five horsemen had managed to break
 
 70 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 out ; and these rode with all speed to Eome, where 
 they told the senate of the imminent danger of the 
 consul and his army. 
 
 These tidings threw the senate into dismay. What 
 was to be done? The other consul was with his 
 army in the country of the Sabines. He was at 
 once sent for, and hastened with all speed to Rome. 
 Here a consultation took place, which ended in the 
 leading senators saying, '"There is only one man 
 who can deliver us. We must make Lucius Quinc- 
 tius Master of the People." Master of the People 
 meant in Rome what we now mean by Dictatoi', 
 that is, a man above the law, an autocrat supreme. 
 What service this unambitious tiller of the ground 
 had previously done for Rome to make him worthy 
 this distinction we are not told, but it is evident that 
 he was looked upon as the man of highest wisdom 
 and soldiership in Rome. 
 
 Caius Nautius, the consul, appointed Cincinnatus 
 to this high office, as he alone was privileged to do, 
 and then hastened back to his army. Early the next 
 morning deputies from the senate sought the farm 
 of the new dictator, to apprise him of the honor 
 conferred on him. Early as it was, Cincinnatus was 
 already at work in his fields. He was without his 
 toga, or cloak, and vigorously digging in the ground 
 with his spade, never dreaming that he, a simple 
 husbandman, had been chosen to save a state. 
 
 " We bring you a message from the senate," said 
 the deputies. "You must put on your cloak to 
 receive it with the fitting respect.'' 
 
 " Has evil befallen the state ?" asked the farmer,
 
 CINCINNATTJS AND THE ^EQUIANS. 71 
 
 as he bade his wife to bring him his cloak. When he 
 had put it on he returned to the deputies. 
 
 " Hail to you, Lucius Quinctius !" they now said. 
 " The senate has declared you Master of the People, 
 and have sent us to call you to the city; for the 
 consul and the array in the country of the ^Equians 
 are in imminent danger." 
 
 Without further words, Cincinnatus accompanied 
 them to the boat in which they had crossed the 
 Tiber, and was rowed in it to the city. As he left 
 the boat he was met by a deputation consisting of 
 his three sons, his kinsmen and friends, and many 
 of the senators of Rome. They received him with 
 the highest honor, and led him in great state to his 
 city residence, the twenty-four lictors walking before 
 him, with their rods and axes, while a great multi- 
 tude of the people crowded round with shouts of 
 welcome. The presence of the lictors signified that 
 this plain farmer had been invested with all the 
 power of the former kings. 
 
 The new dictator quickly proved himself worthy 
 of the trust that had been placed in him. He chose 
 at once as his Master of the Horse Lucius Tarqui- 
 tius, a brave man, of noble descent, but so poor that 
 he had been forced to serve among the foot-soldiers 
 instead of the horse. Then the two entered the 
 Forum, where orders were given that all booths 
 should be closed and all lawsuits stopped. All men 
 were forbidden to look after their own affairs while 
 a Roman army lay in peril of destruction. 
 
 Orders were next given that every man old enough 
 to go to battle should appear before sunset with hii
 
 72 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 arms and with five days' food in the Field of Mars, 
 and should bring with him twelve stakes. These 
 they were to cut where they chose, without hinder- 
 arice from any person. While the soldiers occupied 
 themselves in cutting these stakes, the women and 
 older men dressed their food. Such haste was made, 
 under the energetic orders of the dictator, that an 
 army was ready, equipped as commanded, in the 
 Field of Mars before the sun had set. The march 
 was at once begun, and was continued with such 
 rapidity that by midnight the vicinity of Algidus 
 was reached. On the enemy being perceived, a halt 
 was called. 
 
 Cincinnatus now rode forward and inspected the 
 camp of the enemy, so far as it could be seen by 
 night. He then ordered the soldiers to throw down 
 their baggage, and to keep only their arms and stakes. 
 Marching stealthily forward, they now extended 
 their lines until they had completely surrounded the 
 hostile camp. Then, upon a given signal, a simulta- 
 neous shout was raised, and each soldier began to dig 
 a ditch where he stood and to plant his stakes in the 
 ground. 
 
 The shout rang like a thunder-clap through the 
 camp of the jEquians, waking them suddenly and 
 filling them with dismay. It also reached the ears 
 of the Romans who lay in the valley, and inspired 
 them with hope, for they recognized the Roman 
 war-cry. They raised their own battle-shout in re- 
 sponse, and, seizing their arms, sallied out and made 
 a fierce attack upon the foe, fighting so desperately 
 that the vEquians were prevented from interrupting
 
 CINCINNATUS AND THE ^EQUIANS. 73 
 
 the work of the outer army. All the remainder of 
 the night the battle went on, and when day broke 
 the ^Equians found that a ditch and a palisade of 
 stakes had been made around their entire camp. 
 
 This work accomplished, Cincinnatus ordered his 
 men to attack the foe, and thus aid their entrapped 
 countrymen. The JEquians, finding themselves be- 
 tween two armies, and as closely walled in as the 
 Eomans in the valley had before been, fell into a 
 panic of hopelessness, threw down their arms, and 
 begged their foes for mercy. Cincinnatus now sig- 
 nalled for the fighting to cease, and, meeting those 
 who came to ask on what terms he would spare 
 their lives, said, 
 
 " Give me Gracchus and your other chiefs bound. 
 As for you, you can have your lives on one condi- 
 tion. I will set two spears upright in the ground, 
 and put a third spear across, and every man of you, 
 giving up your arms and your cloaks, shall pass 
 under this yoke, and may then go away free." 
 
 To go under the yoke was accounted the greatest 
 dishonor to a soldier. But the jEquians had no 
 alternative and were obliged to submit. They de- 
 livered up to the Eomans their king and their chiefs, 
 left their camp with all its spoil to the foe, and 
 passed without cloaks or arms under the crossed 
 spears, their heads bowed with shame. They then 
 went home, leaving their chiefs as Eoman prisoners. 
 Thus was Gracchus punished for his pride. 
 
 In less than a day's time Cincinnatus had saved a 
 Roman army and humiliated the jEquian foe. As for 
 the battle spoils, he distributed them among his own 
 7
 
 74 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 men, giving none to the consul's army, and degraded 
 the consul, making him his under-officer. He then 
 marched the two armies back to Eome, which he 
 reached that same evening, and where he was re- 
 ceived with as much astonishment as joy. The res- 
 cued army were too full of thankfulness at their 
 escape to feel chagrin at their loss of spoil, and 
 voted to give Cincinnatus a golden crown, calling 
 him their protector and father. 
 
 The senate decreed that Cincinnatus should enter 
 the city in triumph. He rode in his chariot through 
 the gates, Gracchus and the chiefs of the ^Equians 
 being led in fetters before him. In front of all the 
 standards were borne, while in the rear marched the 
 soldiers, laden with their spoil. At the door of every 
 house tables were set, with meat and drink for the 
 soldiers, while the people, singing and rejoicing, 
 danced with joy as they followed the conqueror's 
 chariot, and all Rome was given up to feasting and 
 merry-making. 
 
 As for Cincinnatus, he laid down his power and 
 returned to his farm, glad to have rescued a Roman 
 army, but caring nothing for the pomp and authority 
 he might have gained. And for all we know, he 
 lived and died thereafter a simple tiller of the ground.
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 IN the year 504 B.C. a citizen of Eegillum, of much 
 wealth and importance, finding himself at odds with 
 his fellow-citizens, left that city and proceeded to 
 Rome, with a long train of followers, much as the 
 elder Tarquin had come from Tarquinii. His name 
 was Atta Clausus, but in Rome he became known as 
 Appius Claudius. He was received as a patrician, 
 was given ample lands, and he and his descendants 
 in later years became among the chief of those who 
 hated and oppressed the plebeians. 
 
 About half a century after this date, one of these 
 descendants, also named Appius Claudius, was a 
 principal actor in one of the most dramatic events 
 of ancient Rome. The trouble which had long ex- 
 isted between the patricians and the plebeians now 
 grew so pronounced, and the demand for a reform in 
 the laws so great, that in the year 451 B.C. a com- 
 mission was sent to the city of Athens, to report on 
 the system of government they found there and 
 elsewhere in Greece. After this commission had re- 
 turned and given its report, a body of ten patricians 
 was appointed, under the title of Decemvirs (or ten 
 men), to prepare a new code of laws for Rome. 
 They were chosen for one year, and took the place 
 of the consuls, tribunes, and all the chief officials of 
 Rome. 
 
 76
 
 76 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 At the head of this body was Appius Claudius. 
 The laws of Rome had previously been only partly 
 written, the remainder being held in memory or 
 transmitted as traditions. A complete code of 
 written laws was desired, and to this work the 
 decemvirs set themselves diligently. After a few 
 months they prepared a code of laws, which was 
 accepted by nobles and people alike as fair and satis- 
 factory, and it was ordered that these laws should 
 be engraved upon ten tables of brass and hung up 
 in the comitium, or place of assembly of the people, 
 where all might read them and learn under what 
 laws they lived. It is probable that the plebeian 
 demand for reform was so great that the decemvirs 
 did not dare to disregard it. 
 
 At the end of the year of office of these officials 
 it was felt that they had done so well that it was 
 thought wise to continue them in power for another 
 year. But when the time for election came round, 
 Appius Claudius managed to have his nine associates 
 defeated, he alone being re-elected. The other nine 
 chosen were men whom he felt sure he could control. 
 And now, having a year's rule assured him, he threw 
 off the cloak of moderation he had worn, and began 
 a career of oppression of the plebeians, aided by his 
 subservient associates. The first step taken was to 
 add two new laws to the code, which became known, 
 therefore, as the " Twelve Tables." These new laws 
 proved so distasteful to the people that they almost 
 broke into open rebellion. It was evident that the 
 haughty decemvirs were seeking to increase the 
 power of their class.
 
 THE SACRIFICE OP VIRGINIA. 77 
 
 The decemvirs did not confine themselves to pass- 
 ing oppressive laws. They began a career of out- 
 rage and oppression that filled Rome with woe. The 
 youthful patricians followed their lead, and insult 
 and murder became common incidents in Rome. 
 When the second year of the decemvirate expired, 
 Appius and his colleagues, knowing that they could 
 not be elected again, showed no intention of yielding 
 up their authority. They were supported by the 
 senate and the patricians, and had gained such 
 power that they defied the plebeians. Those of the 
 people who were active in opposition were quietly 
 disposed of, and so intolerable became the tyranny 
 that numbers of the plebeian party fled from Rome. 
 
 While this was going on war broke out with the 
 Sabines and the JSquians. Of the armies sent against 
 these nations, one was commanded by Lucius Sicinius 
 Dentatus, among the bravest of the Romans, and 
 who had fought in one hundred and twenty battles 
 and was covered with the scars of old wounds. On 
 his way to his post this veteran was murdered by 
 bravos sent by Appius Claudius. Decemvirs were 
 now appointed to command the armies, Appius and 
 one of his colleagues remaining in Rome to look 
 after the safety of the city. 
 
 The story goes that both armies were beaten by 
 their foes, and forced to retreat within Roman terri- 
 tory. While they lay encamped, not many miles 
 from Rome, an event occurred in the city which 
 gave them new work to do, and proved that the worst 
 enemies of Rome were not without, but within, her 
 walls. 
 
 7" 77
 
 78 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 In the army sent against the ^Equians was a cen- 
 turion named Lucius Virginius, who had a beautiful 
 daughter named Virginia, whom he had betrothed 
 to Lucius Icilius, recently one of the tribunes of 
 Rome. But the tyranny of the decemvirs was 
 directed against the wives and daughters as well as 
 the men of the plebeians, as was now to be strikingly 
 shown. 
 
 One day, as the beautiful maiden was on her way, 
 attended by her nurse, to school in the Forum 
 (around which the schools were placed), she was 
 seen by Appius Claudius, who was so struck by her 
 beauty that he determined to gain possession of her, 
 and sought to win her by insidious words. The 
 innocent girl repelled his advances, but this only in- 
 creased his desire to possess her, and he determined, 
 as she was not to be had by fair means, to have her 
 by foul. He therefore laid a wicked plot for her 
 capture. 
 
 Marcus Claudius, one of his clients, instigated by 
 him, seized the girl as she entered the Forum, claim- 
 ing that she was his slave. The nurse screamed for 
 help, and a crowd quickly gathered. Many of these 
 well knew the maiden, her father, and her betrothed, 
 and vowed to protect her from wrong. But the 
 villain declared that he meant no harm, and that he 
 only claimed his own, and was quite willing to submit 
 his claim to the decision of the law. 
 
 Followed by the crowd, he led the weeping maiden 
 to where Appius Claudius occupied the judgment- 
 seat, and demanded justice at his hands. He de- 
 clared that the wife of Virginius, being childless,
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA. 79 
 
 had got this child from its mother and presented 
 it to Virginius as her own, and said that the reai 
 mother had been his slave, and that, therefore, the 
 daughter was his slave also. This he would prove 
 to Virginius on his return to Korne. Meanwhile it 
 was but just that the master should keep possession 
 of his slave. 
 
 This specious appeal was earnestly combated by 
 the friends of the maiden, many of whom were 
 present in the throng. Virginius, they said, was 
 absent from Eome in the service of the common- 
 wealth. To take such action in his absence was un- 
 just. They would send him word at once, and in 
 two days he would be in the city. 
 
 "Let the case stand until he can appear," they 
 demanded. "The law expressly declares that in 
 cases like this every one shall be considered free till 
 proved a slave. The maiden, therefore, should legally 
 be left with her friends till the day of trial. Put not 
 her fair fame in peril by giving up a free-born 
 maiden into the hands of a man whom she knows 
 not." 
 
 To this reasonable appeal Appius, with a show of 
 judicial moderation, replied, 
 
 " Truly, I know the law you speak of, and hold it 
 just and good, for it was enacted by myself. But 
 this maiden cannot in any case be free ; she belongs 
 either to her father or to her master. And as her 
 father is not here, who but her master can have any 
 claim to her ? I decide, therefore, that M. Claudius 
 shall keep her till Virginius comes, and shall require 
 him to give sureties to bring her before my judgment-
 
 80 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 seat when the day comes for hearing the case be- 
 tween them." 
 
 This illegal decision was far from satisfying the 
 multitude. The decemvirs and their adherents had 
 gained an unholy reputation for dishonorable treat- 
 ment of the wives and daughters of the people, and 
 it was not safe to trust a maiden in their hands. 
 Word had been hastily sent to Numitorius, the uncle 
 of Virginia, and Icilius, her betrothed, and they now 
 came up in great haste, and protested so vigorously 
 against the sentence, that the surrounding people 
 became roused to fury. Appius, seeing the temper 
 of the throng, and fearing a riotous demonstration, 
 felt forced to change his decision. He said, there- 
 fore, that, in view of the rights of fathers over their 
 children, he would let the case rest till the next 
 day. 
 
 " If, then," he said, with a show of stern dignity, 
 " Virginius does not appear, I plainly tell Icilius and 
 his fellows that I will support the laws which I have 
 made. Violence shall not prevail over justice at this 
 tribunal." 
 
 Obliged to be content with this, the friends of 
 Virginia conducted her home, and Icilius sent mes- 
 sengers in all haste to the camp, to bid Virginius 
 come without an hour's delay to Home. Surety 
 was given that the maiden should appear before 
 Appius the next day. 
 
 It was fortunate that the army in which Virginius 
 was a centurion had been obliged to retreat, and 
 then lay not many miles from Borne. The messen- 
 gers sent reached the camp that same evening, and
 
 THE SACRIFICE OP VIRGINIA. 81 
 
 told Virginius of the peril of his daughter. Appius 
 had also sent messengers to his colleagues in com- 
 mand of the army, secretly instructing them not to 
 let Virginius leave the camp on any pretence. But 
 the messengers of right outstripped those of wrong, 
 and when word came from the decemvirs in com- 
 mand to restrain Virginius he had already been 
 given leave of absence, and was speeding on the road 
 to Eome, spurred by love and indignation. 
 
 Morning came, and Appius resumed his judgment- 
 seat, under the delusion that his vile scheme was 
 safe. To his surprise and dismay, he saw Virginius, 
 whom he supposed detained in camp, dressed in 
 mean attire, like a suppliant, and leading his daugh- 
 ter into the Forum. With him came a body of 
 Roman matrons and a great troop of friends, for 
 the affair had roused the people almost to the point 
 of revolt. 
 
 " This is not my cause only, but the cause of all," 
 said Virginius, in moving accents, to the people. " If 
 my daughter shall be robbed from me, what father 
 and mother among you all is safe ?" 
 
 Icilius earnestly seconded this appeal, and the 
 mothers who stood by wept with pity, their tears 
 moving the people even more than the words of the 
 father and lover. 
 
 But Appius was not to be moved by tears or ap- 
 peals. Bent on gaining his unholy ends, he did not 
 even give Virginius time to address the tribunal, but 
 before Claudius had done speaking be hastened to 
 give sentence. The maiden, he said, should be con- 
 sidered a slave until proved to be free-born. In the 
 n /
 
 82 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 mean time she should remain in the custody of her 
 master Claudius. 
 
 This monstrous decision, a perversion of all law, 
 natural and civil, filled the people with astonish- 
 ment. Could the maker of the laws of Rome thus 
 himself set them at defiance? They stood as if 
 stunned, until Claudius approached to lay hands on 
 the maiden, when the women and her friends gath- 
 ered around her and kept him off, while Virginius 
 broke out in passionate threats that he would not 
 tamely submit to so great a wrong. 
 
 Appius had prepared for this. He had brought 
 with him a body of armed patricians, and, supported 
 by them, he bade his lictors to drive back the crowd. 
 Before their threatening axes the unarmed people 
 fell back, and the weeping maiden was left standing 
 alone. Virginius looked on in despair. Was he to 
 be robbed of his daughter in the face of Rome, and 
 in defiance of all justice and honor? There was one 
 way still to save her, and only one. 
 
 With an aspect of humility he asked Appius to 
 let him speak one word to the nurse in the maiden's 
 hearing, that he might learn whether she were really 
 his child or not. " If I am not indeed her father, I 
 shall bear her loss the lighter," he said. 
 
 Appius, with a show of moderation, consented, and 
 the distracted father drew the nurse and his daugh- 
 ter aside to a spot where stood some butchers' 
 booths, for the Forum of Rome was then a place of 
 trade as well as of justice. Here he snatched a knife 
 from a butcher, and, holding the poor girl in his 
 arm, he cried, " This is the only way, my child, to
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA. 83 
 
 keep thee free," and plunged the weapon to her 
 heart. 
 
 Then, turning to Appius, he cried, in threatening 
 accents, " On you and on your head be the curse of 
 this blood !" 
 
 " Seize the madman !" yelled Appius. 
 
 But, brandishing the bloody knife, Virginius broke 
 through the multitude, which readily made way for 
 his passage, and flew to the city gates, where, seizing 
 a horse, he rode with wild haste to the camp of Tus- 
 culum. 
 
 Meanwhile Icilius and Numitorius held up the 
 maiden's body, and bade the people see the bloody 
 result of the decemvir's unholy purpose. A tumult 
 instantly arose, the people rushing in such fury upon 
 the tribunal that the lictors and armed patricians 
 were driven back, and Appius, stricken with fear, 
 covered his face with his robe and fled into a neigh- 
 boring house. 
 
 Never had Kome been so stirred to fury. The 
 colleague of Appius rushed with his followers to the 
 Forum, but the people were too strong for all the 
 force he could gather. The senate met, but could do 
 nothing in the excited state of public feeling. An at- 
 tempt to support the decemvirs now might cause the 
 commons once more to secede to the Sacred Hill. 
 
 While this was going on in the city, Virginius, 
 followed by many citizens, had reached the camp. 
 Here the encrimsoned knife he held, the blood on his 
 face and body, and the many unarmed citizens who 
 followed him, brought the soldiers crowding round 
 to learn what all this meant.
 
 84 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The tale was told in moving accents. On hearing 
 it the whole army burst into a storm of indignation. 
 Heedless of the orders of their generals, they rushed 
 excitedly to arms, pulled up their standards, and put 
 themselves in hasty march for Eome. The only 
 leader they recognized was Virginius, who, knife in 
 hand, led the way in the van. 
 
 Reaching the city, the soldiers called on the com- 
 mons to assert their liberties and elect new tribunes, 
 the decemvirs having deprived them of these offi- 
 cials. They then marched to the Aventine Hill, 
 where they selected ten military tribunes. The 
 senate sent to them to know what they wanted, 
 but they replied that they had no answer to give 
 except to their own friends. 
 
 The other army had also heard of the outrage, and 
 soon appeared at the Aventine, led by Icilius and 
 Numitorius, who had hastened with the dreadful 
 story to its camp. It, too, elected ten tribunes, and 
 waited to hear what the senate had to propose. 
 They waited in vain. No word came to them. The 
 senate, distracted by the sudden occurrence, sought 
 to temporize, but the people were in too deadly 
 earnest to be thus dealt with. In the end the ar- 
 mies left the Aventine, marched through the city, 
 and made their way to the Sacred Hill, where the 
 seceding commoners had established themselves on 
 a famous occasion long before. Men, women, and 
 children followed them in multitudes. Once more 
 the city was deserted by the plebeians, and the patri- 
 cians were left to keep Rome together as they could. 
 
 This brought the senate to terms. The decemvirs
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF VIRGINIA. 85 
 
 agreed to resign. Deputies were sent to ask what 
 the people demanded. They replied that they 
 wanted their tribunes and the right of appeal re- 
 stored, full indemnity for all the leaders in the 
 secession, and the punishment of their oppressors. 
 
 "These decemvirs," said Icilius, "are public ene- 
 mies, and we will have them die the death of such. 
 Give them up to us, that they may be burnt with 
 fire, as they have richly deserved." 
 
 This bloodthirsty desire, however, was not insisted 
 on. All their other requests were granted, and the 
 people returned to Eome. The decemvirs had re- 
 signed. Ten tribunes were chosen, among them Vir- 
 ginius and Icilius. The people of Eome had regained 
 the liberty of which they had been robbed by their 
 late oppressors. 
 
 But though the decemvirs had been spared from 
 death by fire, they were not forgiven. Vir^inius, 
 as a tribune, impeached Appius for having given a 
 decision in defiance of the law. The proud patrician 
 appeared in the Forum surrounded by a body of 
 young nobles, but he gained nothing by this bravado. 
 He refused to go before the judge, appealed to the 
 people, and demanded to be released on bail. This 
 Virginius refused. He could not be trusted at 
 liberty. He was therefore thrown into prison, to 
 await the judgment of the people. 
 
 This judgment he did not live to hear. Whether 
 he killed himself in prison, or was killed by order of 
 his accusers, we do not know. We only know that 
 he died. His colleague, who had come to his aid on 
 that fatal day, was also thrown into prison, on the
 
 86 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 charge of having wantonly scourged an old and dis- 
 tinguished soldier. He also died there. The other 
 decemvirs, with M. Claudius, who had claimed Vir- 
 ginia as his slave, were allowed to give bail, and all 
 fled from Eome. The property of all of them was 
 confiscated and sold. 
 
 Eome had experienced enough of decemvirate rule. 
 The tribunes of the people were restored, and there- 
 after they were both freely chosen by the people, 
 which had not been the case before. 
 
 And thus it was that Virginia was revenged and 
 justice once more reigned in Rome.
 
 CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OF 
 VEIL 
 
 WE have now to tell the story of another dictator 
 of Rome. Like Cincinnatus, Camillus is largely a 
 creature of legend, but he plays an active part in old 
 Roman annals, and the tale of his doings is well 
 worth repeating. 
 
 Rome was at war with the city of Veii, a large 
 and strong city beyond the Tiber, and not many 
 miles away. In the year of Rome 350 (or 403 B.C.) 
 the siege of Veii began, and was continued for seven 
 years. We are told that the Romans surrounded the 
 city, five miles in circumference, with a double wall, 
 but it could not have been complete, or the Veien- 
 tians could not have held out against starvation so 
 long. For the end of the siege and the taking of 
 the city we must revert to the legendary tale. 
 
 For seven years and more, so the legend says, the 
 Romans had been besieging Veii. During the last 
 year of the siege, in late summer, the springs and 
 rivers all ran low; but of a sudden the waters of the 
 Lake of Alba began to rise, and the flood continued 
 until the banks were overflowed and the fields and 
 houses by its side were drowned. Still higher and 
 higher the waters swelled till they reached the tops 
 of the hills which rose like a wall around the Jake. 
 
 87
 
 88 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 In the end they overflowed these hills at their lowest 
 points, and poured in a mighty torrent into the plain 
 beyond. 
 
 The prayers and sacrifices of the Komans haO 
 failed to check the flood, which threatened their city 
 and fields, and despairing of any redress from their 
 own gods they sent to Delphi, in Greece, and applied 
 there to the famous oracle of Apollo. While the 
 messengers were on their way, it chanced that a 
 Eoman centurion talked with an old Veientian on 
 the walls whom he had known in times of peace, 
 and knew to be skilled in the secrets of Fate. The 
 Roman condoled with his friend, and hoped that no 
 harm would come to him in the fall of Veii, sure to 
 happen soon. The old man laughed in reply, and 
 said, 
 
 " You think, then, to take Veii. You shall not 
 take it till the waters of the Lake of Alba are all 
 spent, and flow out into the sea no more." 
 
 This remark troubled the Roman, who knew the 
 prophetic foresight of his friend. The next day he 
 talked with him again, and finally enticed him to 
 leave the city, saying that he wished to meet him at 
 a certain secret place and consult with him on a 
 matter of his own. But on getting him in this way 
 out of the city, he seized and carried him oif to the 
 camp, where he brought him before the generals. 
 These, learning what the old man had said, sent him 
 to the senate at Rome. 
 
 The prisoner here spoke freely. "If the lake 
 overflow," he said, " and its waters run out into the 
 sea, woe unto Rome; but if it be drawn off, and the
 
 CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OF VEIL 89 
 
 waters reach the sea no longer, then it is woe unto 
 Yeii." 
 
 This he gave as the decree of the Fates; but the 
 senate would not accept his words, and preferred to 
 wait until the messengers should return from Delphi 
 with the reply of the oracle. 
 
 When they did come, they confirmed what the old 
 prophet had said. " See that the waters be not con- 
 fined within the basin of the lake," was the message 
 of Apollo's priestess : " see that they take not their 
 own course and run into the sea. Thou shalt take 
 the water out of the lake, and thou shalt turn it to 
 the watering of the fields, and thou shalt make 
 courses for it till it be spent and come to noth- 
 ing." 
 
 What all this could possibly have to do with the 
 siege of Veii the oracle did not say. But the people 
 of the past were not given to ask such inconvenient 
 questions. The oracle was supposed to know better 
 than they, so workmen were sent with orders to 
 bore through the sides of the hills and make a pass- 
 age for the water. This tunnel was made, and the 
 waters of the lake were drawn off, and divided into 
 many courses, being given the duty of watering the 
 fields of the Eomans. In this way the water of the 
 lake was all used up, and no drop of it flowed to the 
 sea. Then the Eomans knew that it was the will 
 of the gods that Veii should be theirs. 
 
 Despite all this, the army of Rome must have met 
 
 with serious difficulties and dangers at Veii, for the 
 
 senate chose a dictator to conduct the war. This 
 
 was their ablest and most famous man, Marcus 
 
 8*
 
 90 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Furius Camillas, a leader among the aristocrats, and 
 a statesman of distinguished ability. 
 
 Under the command of Camillus the army hotly 
 pressed the siege. So straitened became the Veien- 
 tians that they sent envoys to Eome to beg for 
 peace. The senate refused. In reply, one of the 
 chief men of the embassy, -who was a skilled prophet, 
 rebuked the "Romans for their arrogance, and pre- 
 dicted coming retribution. 
 
 " You heed neither the wrath of the gods nor the 
 vengeance of men," he said. " Yet the gods shall re- 
 quite you for j'our pride ; as you destroy our country, 
 so shall you shortly after lose your own." 
 
 This prediction was verified before many years in 
 the invasion of the Gauls and the destruction of 
 Rome, a tale which we have next to tell. 
 
 Camillus, finding that Veii was not to be taken 
 by assault over its walls, began to approach it from 
 below. Men were set to dig an underground tunnel, 
 which should pass beneath the walls, and come to 
 the surface again in the Temple of Juno, which 
 stood in the citadel of Yeii. Night and day they 
 worked, and the tunnel was in course of time com- 
 pleted, though the ground was not opened at its inner 
 extremity. 
 
 Then many Romans came to the camp through 
 desire to have a share in the spoil of Veii. A tenth 
 part of this spoil was vowed by Camillus to Apollo, 
 in reward for his oracle ; and the dictator also 
 prayed to Juno, the goddess of Veii, begging her to 
 desert this city and follow the Romans home, where 
 a temple worthy of her dignity should be built.
 
 CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OP VEIL 91 
 
 All being ready, a fierce assault was made on the 
 city from every side. The defenders ran to the walls 
 to repel their foes, and the fight went vigorously on. 
 While it continued the king of Veii repaired to the 
 Temple of Juno, where he offered a sacrifice for the 
 deliverance of the city. The prophet who stood 
 by, on seeing the sacrifice, said, " This is an accepted 
 offering. There is victory for him who offers the en- 
 trails of this victim upon the altar." 
 
 The Romans who were in the secret passage below 
 heard these words. Instantly the earth was heaved 
 up above them, and they sprang, arms in hand, from 
 the tunnel. The entrails were snatched from the 
 hands of those who were sacrificing, and Camillus, 
 the Roman dictator, not the Veientian king, offered 
 them upon the altar. While he did so his followers 
 rushed from the citadel into the streets, flung open 
 the city gates, and let in their comrades. Thus both 
 from within and without the army broke into the 
 town, and Veii was taken and sacked. 
 
 From the height of the citadel Camillus looked 
 down upon the havoc in the city streets, and said in 
 pride of heart, " What man's fortune was ever so 
 great as mine?" But instantly the thought came to 
 him how little a thing can bring the highest fort- 
 une down to the lowest, and he prayed that if some 
 evil should befall him or his country it might be 
 light. 
 
 As he prayed he veiled his head, according to the 
 Roman custom, and turned toward the right. In 
 doing so his foot slipped, and he fell upon his back 
 on the ground. " The gods have heard my prayer,"
 
 92 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 he said. " For the great fortune of my victory over 
 Veii they have sent me only this little evil." 
 
 He then bade some young men, chosen from the 
 whole army, to wash themselves in pure water, and 
 clothe themselves in white, so that there would be 
 about them no stain or sign of blood. This done, 
 they entered the Temple of Juno, bowing low, and 
 taking care not to touch the statue of the goddess, 
 which only the priest could touch. They asked the 
 goddess whether it was her pleasure to go with them 
 to Rome. 
 
 Then a wonder happened ; from the mouth of the 
 image came the words " I will go." And when they 
 now touched it, it moved of its own accord. It was 
 carried to Rome, where a temple was built and con- 
 secrated to Juno on the Aventine Hill. 
 
 On his return to Rome Camillas entered the city 
 in triumph, and rode to the Capitol in a chariot 
 drawn by four white horses, like the horses of Jupiter 
 or those of the sun. Such was his ostentation that 
 wise men shook their heads. " Marcus Camillus 
 makes himself equal to the blessed gods," they said. 
 " See if vengeance come not on him, and he be not 
 made lower than other men." 
 
 There is one further legend about Camillus. After 
 the fall of Veii he besieged Falerii. During this 
 siege a school-master, who had charge of the sons of 
 the principal citizens, while walking with his boys 
 outside the walls, played the traitor and led them 
 into the Roman camp. 
 
 But the villain received an unexpected reward. 
 Camillus, justly indignant at the act, put thongs iu
 
 CAMILLUS AT THE SIEGE OF VEIL 93 
 
 the boys' hands and bade them flog their master back 
 into the town, saying that the Eomans did not war 
 on children. On this the people of Falerii, overcome 
 by his magnanimity, surrendered themselves, their 
 city, and their country into the hands of this gener- 
 ous foe, assured of just treatment from so noble a 
 man. 
 
 But trouble came upon Camillus, as the wise men 
 had predicted. He was an enemy of the commons 
 and was to feel their power. It was claimed that 
 he had kept for himself part of the plunder of Yeii, 
 and on this charge he was banished from Rome. 
 But the time was near at hand when his foes would 
 have to pray for his return. The next year the 
 Gauls were to come, and Camillus was to be re- 
 venged upon his ungrateful country. This story 
 we have next to tell.
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME. 
 
 WE have related in the preceding tale how a 
 Veientian prophet predicted the ruin of Rome, in 
 retribution for the cruelty of the Romans to the 
 people of Veii. It is the story of this disaster 
 which we have now to tell. While the Romans 
 were assailing Veii and making other conquests 
 among the neighboring cities, a new people had 
 come into Central Italy, a fair-faced, light-haired, 
 great- bodied tribe of barbarians, fierce in aspect, 
 warlike in character, the first contingent of that 
 great invasion from the north which, centuries after- 
 wards, was to overthrow the empire of Rome. 
 
 These were the Gauls, barbarian tribes from the 
 region now known as France, who had long before 
 crossed the Alps and made themselves lords of 
 much of Northern Italy. Just when this took place 
 we do not know, but about the time with which we 
 are now concerned they pushed farther south, over- 
 threw the Etruscans, and in .the year 389 B.C. crossed 
 the Apennines and penetrated into Central Italy. 
 
 And now the proud city of Rome was to come 
 face to face with an enemy more powerful and cour- 
 ageous than any it had hitherto known. In the 
 year named the Gauls besieged the city of Clusium, 
 94
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME. 95 
 
 in Eiruria, the city of Lars Porsenna, who in former 
 years had aided Tarquin against Rome. The Roman 
 senate, alarmed at their approach, sent three depu- 
 ties to observe these barbarian bands. What follows 
 is the story as told in Roman annals. It cannot be 
 accepted as the exact truth, though no one questions 
 the destruction of Rome by the Gauls. 
 
 The story goes, then, that the deputies sent to 
 the barbarians, and asked by what right they sought 
 to take a part of the territory of Clusium, a city in 
 alliance with Rome. Brennus, the leader of the 
 Gauls, who knew little and cared less about Rome, 
 replied, with insolent pride, that all things be- 
 longed to the brave, and that their right lay in 
 their swords. 
 
 Soon after, in a sortie that was made from the 
 city, one of the Roman deputies joined the soldiers, 
 and killed a Gaulish champion of great size and 
 stature. On this being reported to Brennus he sent 
 messengers to Rome, demanding that the man who 
 had slain one of his chiefs, when no war existed be- 
 tween the Gauls and Romans, should be delivered 
 into his hands for punishment. The senate voted 
 to do so, as the demand seemed reasonable ; but an 
 appeal was made to the people, and they declared 
 that the culprit should not be given up. On this 
 answer being taken to Brennus, he at once ordered 
 that the siege of Clusium should be abandoned, and 
 marched with his whole army upon Rome. 
 
 A Roman army, forty thousand strong, was hastily 
 raised, and crossed the Tiber, marching towards Yeii, 
 where they expected to meet the advancing enemy.
 
 96 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 But they reckoned wrongly: the Gauls came down 
 the left bank of the river, plundering and burning 
 as they marched. This threw the Romans into the 
 greatest alarm. For many miles above Rome the 
 Tiber could not be forded, there were no bridges, 
 and boats could not be had to convey so large an 
 army. The Romans were forced to march back 
 with all speed to the city, cross the river there, and 
 hasten to meet their foes before they got too near 
 at hand. But when they came within sight of the 
 Gauls the latter were already within twelve miles 
 of Rome. 
 
 The Roman army was drawn up behind the Alia, 
 a little stream whose deep bed formed a line of 
 defence. But the Gauls made their attack upon the 
 weakest section of the Roman army, hewing them 
 down with their great broadswords, and assailing 
 their ears with frightful yells. The Roman right 
 wing, formed of new recruits, gave way before this 
 vigorous charge, and in its flight threw the regular 
 legions of the left wing into disorder. The Gauls 
 pursued so fiercely that in a short time the whole 
 army was in total rout, and flying as Roman army 
 had never fled before. 
 
 Many plunged into the river, in hope of escaping 
 by swimming across it. But of these the Gauls 
 slew multitudes on the banks, and killed most of 
 those in the stream with their javelins. Others took 
 refuge in a dense wood near the road, where they 
 lay hidden till nightfall. The remainder fled back 
 to the city, where they brought the frightful tidings 
 of the utter ruin of the Roman army.
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME. 97 
 
 The news threw Rome into a panic. Of those 
 who escaped from the battle, the majority had 
 crossed the river and made their way to Veii. No 
 other army could be raised. Most of the other in- 
 habitants left the city, as the people of Athens had 
 done when the army of Xerxes approached. It was 
 resolved to abandon the city to the barbarians, but 
 to maintain the citadel, the home of the gods of 
 Rome. The holy articles in the temples were buried 
 or removed, the Vestal Virgins sent away, and the 
 flower of the patricians took refuge in the Capitol, 
 determined to defend to the last that abiding-place 
 of the guardian gods of Rome. 
 
 But there were aged members of the senate, old 
 patricians who had filled the highest offices in the 
 state, and venerable ministers of the gods, who felt 
 that they had a different duty to perform. They 
 could not serve their country by their deeds ; they 
 might by their death. They devoted themselves and 
 the army of the Gauls, in solemn invocations, to the 
 spirits of the dead and to the earth, the common 
 grave of man. Then, attiring themselves in their 
 richest robes of office, each took his seat on his ivory 
 <jhair of magistracy in the gate-way of his house. 
 
 Meanwhile the Gauls had delayed for a day their 
 attack on the city, fearing that the silence portended 
 some snare. When they did enter, the people had 
 escaped with such valuables as they could carry. The 
 Capitol was provisioned and garrisoned, and the aged 
 senators awaited death in solemn calm. 
 
 On seeing these venerable men, sitting in motion- 
 less silence amid the confusion of the sack of the 
 ii. E g 9
 
 98 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 city, the Gauls viewed them with awe, regarding 
 them at first as more than human. One of the 
 soldiers approached M. Papirius, and began rever- 
 ently to stroke his long white beard. Papirius was 
 a minister of the gods, and looked on this touch 
 of a barbarian hand as profanation. With an im- 
 pulse of anger he struck the Gaul on the head with 
 his ivory sceptre. Instantly the barbarian, breaking 
 into rage, cut him down with his sword. This put 
 an end to the feeling of awe. All the old men were 
 attacked and slain, their vow being thus fulfilled. 
 
 Rome, except its Capitol, was now in the hands 
 of the Gauls. The sack and ruin of the city went 
 mercilessly on. But the Capitol defied their efforts. 
 It stood on a hill which, except at a single point, 
 presented precipitous sides. The Gauls tried to 
 storm it by this single approach, but were driven 
 back with loss. They then blockaded the hill, and 
 spent their time in devastating the city and neigh- 
 boring country. 
 
 While this was going on the fugitives from Rome 
 had gathered at Veii, where they daily became more 
 reorganized. And now they turned in their distress 
 to a man whom they had injured in their prosperity. 
 Camillus, the conqueror of Veii, had been exiled 
 from Rome on a charge of having been dishonest in 
 distributing the spoils of the conquered city. He 
 was now living at Ardea, whither messengers were 
 sent, begging him to come to the aid of Rome. He 
 sent word back that he had been condemned for an 
 offence of which he was not guilty, and would not 
 return unless requested to do so by the senate.
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME. 99 
 
 But the senate was shut up in the Capitol. How 
 could it be reached ? In this dilemma a young man, 
 Pontius Cominius, volunteered for the adventure. 
 He swam the Tiber at night, climbed the hill by the 
 aid of shrubs and projecting stones, obtained for 
 Camillus the appointment as dictator, and returned 
 by the same route. 
 
 The feat of Cominius, whatever its real purpose, 
 came near being a fatal one to Rome. He had left 
 his marks on the cliff. Here the soil had been 
 trodden away and stones loosened ; there bushes had 
 been broken or torn from the soil. The sharp eyes 
 of the Gauls saw, in the morning light, these proofs 
 that some one had climbed or descended the hill. 
 The cliff, then, could be climbed. Some Eoman had 
 climbed it ; why not they ? The spot, supposed to 
 be inaccessible, was not guarded. There was no 
 wall at its top. Here was an open route to that 
 stubborn citadel. They resolved to attempt it as 
 soon as night should fall. 
 
 It was midnight when the Gauls began to make 
 their way slowly and with difficulty up the steep 
 cliff. The moon may have aided them with its rays, 
 but, if so, it revealed them to no sentinel above. The 
 very watch-dogs failed to scent and signal their ap- 
 proach. They reached the summit, and, to their 
 gratification, no alarm had been given. The Romans 
 slept on. 
 
 The fate of Rome in that hour hung in the bal- 
 ance. Had the citadel been taken and its defenders 
 slain, Rome might never have recovered from the 
 blow. The whole course of history might have been
 
 100 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 changed. It was the merest chance that saved the 
 city from this impending disaster. 
 
 It chanced that on this part of the hill stood the 
 temple of the guardian gods of Rome, Jupiter, Juno, 
 and Minerva, and in this temple were kept a number 
 of geese, sacred to Juno. Though food was not abun- 
 dant, the garrison had spared these sacred geese. 
 They were now to be amply repaid, for the geese 
 alone heard the noise of the ascending Gauls, and in 
 alarm began a loud screaming and flapping of wings. 
 
 The noise aroused Marcus Manlius, who slept near. 
 Hastily seizing his sword and shield, he called to his 
 comrades and ran to the edge of the cliff. He reached 
 there just in time to see the head and shoulders of a 
 burly Gaul, who had nearly attained the summit. 
 Dashing the rim of his shield into the face of the 
 barbarian, Manlius tumbled him down the rock, and 
 with him those who followed in his track. The 
 others, dismayed, dropped their arms to cling more 
 closely to the rocks. Unable to ascend or descend, 
 they were easily slaughtered by the guards who fol- 
 lowed Manlius. The Capitol was saved. As for the 
 captain of the watch, from whose neglect of duty 
 this peril had come, he was punished the next morn- 
 ing by being hurled down the cliff upon the slaugh- 
 tered Gauls. 
 
 Manlius was rewarded, says the story, by each 
 man giving him from his scanty store a day's allow- 
 ance of food, namely, half a pound of corn and five 
 ounces in weight of wine. As for the real defenders 
 of Rome, the geese of the .Capitol, they were ever 
 after held in the highest honor and veneration.
 
 THE GAULS AT ROME. 101 
 
 As the Capitol could not be taken by assault or 
 surprise, there remained only the slow process of 
 siege. For six or eight months the Gauls blockaded 
 the hill. So says the story, but it was probably not 
 so long. However, in the end the Romans were 
 brought to the point of famine, and offered to ran- 
 som their city by paying a large sum of gold. Bren- 
 nus, the Gaulish king, was ready to accept the offer. 
 His men were suffering from the Roman fever ; food 
 had grown scarce ; he agreed, if paid a thousand 
 pounds' weight of gold, to withdraw his army from 
 Rome. 
 
 Much gold had been brought by the fugitive 
 patricians into the Capitol. From this the dele- 
 gates brought down and placed in the scales a suf- 
 ficient quantity. But while they found the gold, the 
 Gauls found the weights^ and it was soon discovered 
 that the wily barbarians were cheating. Their 
 weights were too heavy. Complaint of this fraud 
 was made by the Roman tribune of the soldiers. In 
 reply Brennus drew his heavy broadsword and threw 
 it into the scale with the weights. 
 
 " What does this mean ?" asked the tribune. 
 
 "It means," answered the barbarian, haughtily, 
 " woe to the vanquished !" " Vce victis esse!" 
 
 While this was going on, says the legend, Camil- 
 lus, the dictator, was marching to Rome with the 
 legions he had organized at Veii. He appeared at 
 the right minute for the dramatic interest of the 
 story, entered the Forum while the gold was being 
 weighed, bade the Romans take back their gold, 
 threw the weights to the Gauls, and told Brennus 
 9*
 
 102 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 proudly that it was the Roman custom to pay their 
 debts in iron, not in gold. 
 
 A fight ensued, as might be expected. The Gauls 
 were driven from the city. The next day Camillus 
 attacked them in their camp, eight miles from Rome, 
 and defeated them so utterly that not a man was 
 left alive to carry home the tale of the slaughter. 
 
 This story of the coming of Camillus is too much 
 like the last act of a stage-play, or the denouement 
 of a novel, to be true. Most likely the Gauls 
 marched off with their gold, though they may have 
 been attacked on their retreat, and most or all of 
 the gold regained. 
 
 Camillus, however, is said to have saved Rome in 
 still another way. The old city was in ashes. Most 
 of the citizens were at Veii, where they had found 
 or built new homes. They were loath to come back 
 to rebuild a ruined city. This Camillus induced 
 them to do. Every appeal was made to the local 
 pride and the religious sentiments of the people. A 
 centurion, marching with his company, and being 
 obliged to halt in front of the senate-house, called to 
 the standard-bearer, " Pitch your standard here, for 
 this is the best place to stop at." This casual re- 
 mark was looked upon as an omen from heaven, and 
 by this and the like means the people were induced 
 to return. 
 
 Then the rebuilding of Rome began. The sites of 
 the temples were retraced as far as could be done in 
 the ruins. The laws of the twelve tables and some 
 other records were recovered, but the mass of the 
 historical annals of Rome had been destroyed. Some
 
 THE QAUL8 AT ROME. 103 
 
 relics were said to have been miraculously pre- 
 served, among them the shepherd's crook of Rom- 
 ulus. 
 
 But the bulk of the possessions of the Romans had 
 vanished in the flames ; the streets were mere heaps 
 of ashes ; the very walls had been in part pulled 
 down ; rubbish and ruin lay everywhere. Eome, like 
 the phoenix, had to be born again from its ashes. 
 Men built wherever they could find a clear spot. 
 Stones and roofing-material were brought from Veii, 
 and one city was dismantled that another might be 
 restored. Stones and timber were supplied to any 
 man from the public lands. The city rapidly rose 
 again. But it was an irregular city; the streets ran 
 anywhere ; no effort was made at rule or system in 
 the making of the new Rome. 
 
 As for Camillus, he came to be honored as the 
 second founder of Rome. "While the Romans were 
 at work on their new homes they were harassed by 
 their foes, and he was kept busy with the army in 
 the field. He lived for twenty-five years longer, 
 and in the year 367 B.C., when some eighty years of 
 age, he marched again to meet the Gauls in a new 
 assault upon Rome, and defeated them with such 
 slaughter that they left Rome alone for many years 
 afterwards. 
 
 Marcus Manlius, the preserver of the Capitol, was 
 not so fortunate. He came forward as the patron 
 of the poor, who began to suffer again from the 
 severe laws against debtors. Finally he began to use 
 his large fortune to relieve suffering debtors, and is 
 said to have paid the debts of four hundred debtors,
 
 104 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 thus saving them from bondage. This generosity 
 won him the unbounded affection of the people, who 
 called him the " Father of the Commons." But it 
 aroused the suspicion of the patricians, and some of 
 these, against whom he had used violent language, 
 had him arrested on a charge of treason, perhaps 
 with good reason. Though he showed the many 
 honors he had received for services to his country, 
 he was condemned to death and his house razed to 
 the ground. Thus the patricians dealt with the 
 benefactors of the poor.
 
 THE CURTIAN GULF. 
 
 DURING three years 363 to 361 B.C. Eome was 
 ravaged by the plague, which was so violent and 
 fatal as to carry off the citizens by hundreds. In 
 its first year it found a noble victim in Camillus, 
 the conqueror of Veil and the second founder of 
 Rome, who four years before had a second time de- 
 feated the Gauls. He was the last of the old heroes 
 of Eome, those whose glory belongs to romance 
 rather than history. The Gauls had destroyed the 
 records of old Eome, and left only legend and ro- 
 mance. With the new Rome history fairly began. 
 
 But we have another romantic tale to tell before 
 we bid adieu to the story of early Rome. In the 
 second year of the pestilence a strange and porten- 
 tous event occurred. The Tiber rose to an unusual 
 height, overflowed with its waters the great circus 
 (Circus Maximus), and put a stop to the games then 
 going on, which were intended to propitiate the 
 wrath of heaven, and induce the gods to relieve man 
 from the evil of the plague. 
 
 And now, in the midst of the Forum, there yawned 
 open a fearful gulf, so wide and deep that the super- 
 stitious Romans viewed it with awe and affright. 
 Whether it was due to an earthquake or the wrath 
 of the gods is not for us to say. The Romans be- 
 lieved the latter ; those who prefer may believe the 
 
 106
 
 106 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 former. But, so we are told, it seemed bottomless. 
 Throw what they would in it, it stood unfilled, and 
 the feeling grew that no power of man could ever 
 fill its yawning depths. 
 
 Man being powerless, the oracles of the gods were 
 consulted. Must this gaping wound always stand 
 open in the soil of Rome ? or could it in any way be 
 filled and the offended deities who had caused it be 
 propitiated ? From the oracle came the reply that 
 it must stand open till that which constituted the 
 best and true strength of the Roman commonwealth 
 was cast as an offering into the gulf. Then only 
 would it close, and thereafter forever would the state 
 live and flourish. 
 
 The true strength of Rome! In what did this 
 consist ? This question men asked each other anx- 
 iously and none seemed able to answer. But there 
 was one man in Rome who interpreted rightly the 
 meaning of the oracle. This was a noble youth, 
 M. Curtius by name, who had played his part val- 
 iantly in war, and gained great fame by brave and 
 manly deeds. The true strength of Rome ? he said 
 to the people. In what else could it lie but in the 
 arms and valor of her children? This was the 
 sacrifice the gods demanded. 
 
 Going home, he put on his armor and mounted 
 his horse. Riding to the brink of the gulf, he, be- 
 fore the eyes of the trembling and awe-struck mul- 
 titude, devoted himself to death for the safety and 
 glory of Rome, and plunged, with his horse, head- 
 long into the gaping void. The people rushed after 
 him to the brink, flung in their offerings, and with a
 
 THE CURTIAN GULF. 107 
 
 surge the lips of the gap came together, and the 
 gulf was forever closed. The place was afterwards 
 known by the name of the Curtian Lake, in honor 
 of this sacrifice. 
 
 There are two other stories of this date worth re- 
 peating, as giving rise to two great names in Home. 
 T. Manlius, the future conqueror of the Latins, fought 
 with a gigantic Gaul on the bridge over the Anio on 
 the Salarian road. Slaying his enemy, he took from 
 his neck a chain of gold (torques), which he after- 
 wards wore upon his own. From this the soldiers 
 called him Torquatus, which name his descendants 
 ever afterwards bore. 
 
 In a later battle Marcus Valerius fought with a 
 second gigantic Gaul. During the combat a won- 
 derful thing happened. A crow perched on the 
 helmet of the Roman, and continued there as the 
 combatants fought. Occasionally it flew up into the 
 air, and darted down upon the Gaul, striking at his 
 eyes with its beak and claws. The Gaul, confounded 
 by this attack, soon fell by the sword of his foe, and 
 then the crow flew up again, and vanished towards 
 the east. The name of Corvus (crow) was added to 
 that of Valerius, and was long afterwards borne by 
 his descendants. 
 
 These stories are rather to be enjoyed than be- 
 lieved. They probably contain more poetry than 
 history, particularly that of Curtius and the gulf. 
 Yet they were accepted as history by the Romans, 
 and are given in all their detail in the fine old work 
 of Livy, the rarest and raciest of the story-tellers of 
 Rome.
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN 
 AND SAMNITE WARS. 
 
 THE conquest of Italy by Eome was attended by 
 many interesting events, of which we propose to 
 relate here some of the more striking. The capture 
 and burning of Home by the Gauls, and the dispersal 
 of her army and people, ruinous as it seemed, was 
 but an event in her career of conquest. The city 
 was no sooner rebuilt than the old regime of war 
 was resumed, and it was no longer a struggle be- 
 tween neighboring cities, but of Rome against pow- 
 erful confederacies and peoples, such as the Volscians, 
 the Etruscans, the Latins, the Campanians, and the 
 Samnites, the final conquest of which gave her the 
 dominion of Italy. 
 
 The war with the Latins was attended with some 
 circumstances showing strongly the stern and in- 
 domitable spirit of the Romans. This war was car- 
 ried into Campania, in Southern Italy ; and here, on 
 a celebrated occasion, when the two armies lay en- 
 camped in close vicinity on the plain of Capua, the 
 Roman consuls issued a strict order against skir- 
 mishing or engaging in single encounters with the 
 enemy. The two peoples were alike in arms and in 
 language, and it was feared that such chance com- 
 bats might lead to confusion and disaster. 
 108
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS. 109 
 
 The only man to disobey this order was T. Man- 
 lius, the son of one of the consuls. A Latin warrior, 
 Geminus Metius, of Tuseulum, challenged young Man- 
 lius to meet him in single combat; and the youthful 
 warrior, fired by ambition and warlike zeal, and 
 eager to sustain the honor of Eome, accepted the 
 challenge, despite his father's order. If killed, his 
 fault would be atoned ; if successful, victory over a 
 noted warrior must win him pardon and praise. 
 
 The duel that ensued was a fierce and gallant one. 
 It ended in the triumph of the young Roman, who 
 laid his antagonist dead at his feet. Shouts of 
 triumph from the Roman soldiers hailed his vic- 
 tory; and when he had despoiled his slain foe of 
 his arms, and borne them triumphantly from the 
 field, the exultation of the Romans was as unbounded 
 as the chagrin of the Latins was deep. Towards his 
 father's tent the young victor proudly went, through 
 exulting lines of troops, and laid his spoils in triumph 
 at the feet of the stern old man. 
 
 The poor youth, the rejoicing soldiers, knew not 
 the man with whom they had to deal. A military 
 order had been disobeyed. To old Manlius the fact 
 that the culprit was his son, and that he had added 
 honor to the Roman arms, weighed nothing. Dis- 
 cipline stood above affection or victory. Turning 
 coldly away, the iron-hearted old Roman ordered 
 that the soldiers should be immediately summoned 
 to the prsetorium, or general's tent, and that his son 
 should be beheaded before them. 
 
 This cruel and inhuman order filled the whole 
 army with horror. Yet none dared interfere, and 
 10
 
 110 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the unnatural mandate was obeyed, in full view of 
 an army whose late exultation was turned to deepest 
 woe and indignation. The youngest soldiers never 
 forgave the consul for his inhuman act, but regarded 
 him with abhorrence to the end of his life. But 
 their hatred was mingled with fear and respect, and 
 the stern lesson taught was doubtless felt for years 
 in the discipline of the armies of Rome. 
 
 The next event worthy of record took place in 
 the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, under whose very 
 shadow a fierce battle was fought between the Latin 
 and Roman armies, with the then silent volcano as 
 witness. Two centuries more were to pass before 
 Rome would learn what fearful power lay sleeping 
 in this long voiceless mountain. 
 
 Before the battle joined, the gods, as usual, were 
 appealed to. During the night both consuls had 
 dreamed the same dream. A figure of more than 
 human stature and majesty had appeared to them, 
 and told them that the earth and the gods of the 
 dead claimed as their victims the general of one 
 party and the army of the other. When the sacri- 
 fices were made, the signs given by the entrails of 
 the victims signified the same thing. It was re- 
 solved, therefore, that if the army of Rome any- 
 where gave way, the general commanding on that 
 side should devote himself, and the army of the 
 enemy with him, to the gods of death and the grave. 
 " Fate," said the augurs, " requires the sacrifice of a 
 general from one party and an army from the other. 
 Let it be our general and the Latin army that shall 
 perish."
 
 ANECDOTES OP THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS. Ill 
 
 It was the left wing of the Romans, commanded by 
 the consul Publius Decius, that first gave way. The 
 consul at once accepted his fate. By the direction 
 of the chief priest, he wrapped his consular toga 
 around his head, holding it to his face with his hand, 
 and then set his feet upon a javelin, and repeated 
 after the priest the words devoting him to the gods 
 of death. Then, arming himself at all points, and 
 wrapping his toga around his body in the manner 
 usual in sacrifices, he sprang upon his horse, and 
 spurred headlong into the ranks of the enemy, where 
 he soon fell dead. 
 
 This sacrifice filled the Romans with hope, and the 
 Latins, who understood its meaning, with dismay. 
 Yet the latter, after being driven back, soon recov- 
 ered, and, despite the self-devotion of Decius, would 
 probably have won the victory had not the remain- 
 ing consul brought up his reserve troops just in time. 
 In the end the Latins were utterly defeated, and 
 Vesuvius looked down on the massacre of one army 
 by the swords of another, scarcely a fourth of the 
 Latins escaping. Thus the gods seemed to keep 
 their word, though probably the Roman reserve 
 force had more to do with the victory than all the 
 gods of Rome. 
 
 The next event which we have to relate took place 
 during the second Samnite war. Its hero was L. 
 Papirius Cursor, one of the favorite heroes of Ro- 
 man tradition, and the avenger of the disgrace of 
 the Caudine Forks, the story of which we have next 
 to tell. This famous soldier is said to have possessed 
 marvellous swiftness of foot and gigantic strength,
 
 112 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 with extraordinary capacity for food, while his iron 
 strictness of discipline was at times relieved by a 
 rough humor. All this made his memory popular 
 with the Romans, who boasted that Alexander the 
 Great would have found in him a worthy champion, 
 had that conqueror invaded Italy. 
 
 The event we have now to narrate occurred early 
 ui the war. One of the consuls, being taken ill, was 
 ordered to name a dictator to replace him, and chose 
 Papirius Cursor. This champion appointed Q. Fabius 
 Rullianus, another famous soldier, his master of the 
 horse, and marched out to attack the Samnites. 
 
 As it happened, the auspices taken by the dictator 
 at Borne before marching to the seat of war were 
 of no particular significance. Not satisfied with 
 them, he decided to take them again, and returned 
 to Rome for this purpose, the auspices being of a 
 kind which could only be taken within the city 
 walls. He ordered the master of the horse to re- 
 main strictly on the defensive during his absence. 
 
 Fabius did not obey this order. He attacked the 
 enemy and gained some advantage. The annals 
 say that he won a great victory, defeating the 
 Samnites with a loss of twenty thousand men ; but 
 the annals have a habit of magnifying small affairs 
 into large ones where they have any object to gain. 
 
 On hearing that his orders had been disobeyed, 
 Papirius hurried back to the camp in a violent rage, 
 and with the intention of making such an example 
 of discipline as Manlius had made in the execution 
 of his son. On reaching camp he ordered that 
 Fabius should be immediately executed. His au-
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITB WARS. 113 
 
 thority as dictator gave him power for this violent 
 act ; but he failed to reckon on the spirit of the sol- 
 diers, who supported Fabius to a man, and broke 
 into a violent demonstration that was almost mutiny. 
 So strong was their feeling that the furious dictator 
 found himself obliged to halt in his purpose. 
 
 But Fabius knew too well the iron nature of his 
 antagonist to trust his life in his hands. That night 
 he fled from the camp to Eome, and immediately 
 appealed to the senate for protection. Papirius 
 followed in hot haste, and while the senators were 
 still assembling arrived in Eome, where, under his 
 authority as dictator, he gave order for the arrest 
 of the culprit. In this critical situation the pris- 
 oner's father, M. Fabius, appealed to the tribunes 
 for the protection of his son, saying that he pro- 
 posed to carry the case before the assembly of the 
 people. 
 
 The tribunes found themselves in a dilemma. 
 Papirius warned them not to sanction so flagrant 
 a breach of military discipline, nor to lessen the 
 majesty of the office of dictator, and they found 
 themselves hesitating between their duty to support 
 the absolute power of the dictator and their abhor- 
 rence of an exercise of this power that must shock 
 the feelings of the whole Eoman people. The 
 people themselves relieved their tribunes from this 
 difficulty. They hastily met in assembly, and by a 
 unanimous vote implored the dictator to be merci- 
 ful, and for their sakes to forgive Fabius. His 
 authority thus acknowledged, Papirius yielded, and 
 declared that he pardoned the master of the horse. 
 ii. A 10*
 
 114 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 "And the authority of the Roman generals," says 
 Livy, "was established no less firmly by the peril of 
 Q. Fabius than by the actual death of the young T. 
 Manlius." 
 
 It was well for Kome that Fabius was spared, for 
 he afterwards proved one of their ablest generals. 
 The time came, also, when he was able to confer a 
 benefit upon Papirius Cursor. This was during a 
 subsequent war with the Etruscans, in which he 
 commanded as consul and gained great victories. 
 Meanwhile a Roman army was defeated by the 
 Samnites, and on the news of this defeat reaching 
 Rome the senate at once resolved to appoint Papi- 
 rius once more as dictator. 
 
 But this appointment must be made by a consul. 
 One consul was with the defeated army, perhaps 
 dead. It was necessary to apply to Fabius, the other 
 consul, and the declared enemy of the proposed dicta- 
 tor. To overcome his personal feelings, a deputation 
 of the highest senators was sent him, who read him 
 the senate's decree and strongly urged him to sup- 
 port it. Fabius listened in dead silence, not answer- 
 ing by word or look. When they had ended, he ab- 
 ruptly withdrew from the room. But at dead of 
 night he pronounced, in the usual form, the nomi- 
 nation of Papirius as dictator. When the deputies 
 thanked him for his noble conquest over his feelings, 
 he listened still in dead silence, and dismissed them 
 without a word in answer. 
 
 We must now pass over years of war, in which 
 both Fabius and Papirius gained honor and fame, 
 and come to an occasion in which the son of Fabius
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE LATIN AND SAMNITE WARS. 115 
 
 led a Roman army as consul, and met with a severe 
 defeat by a Samnite army. He had been tricked 
 by the Samnites, and great indignation was aroused 
 against him in Rome. It was proposed to remove 
 him from his office, a disgrace which no consul ever 
 experienced in Roman history. It was also proposed 
 that old Fabius should be appointed dictator. But 
 the aged soldier, to preserve the honor of his son, 
 offered to go with him as his lieutenant, and the offer 
 was accepted by the senate. 
 
 A second battle ensued, in the heat of which the 
 consul became surrounded by the enemy, and his 
 aged father led the charge to his rescue. His ex- 
 ample animated the Romans, they followed him in a 
 vigorous assault, and a complete victory was won. 
 Twenty thousand Samnites were slain, four thou- 
 sand taken prisoners, and with them their general, 
 C. Pontius. After other victories the younger Fabius 
 returned to Rome and was given a triumph, while 
 behind him rode his old father on horseback, as one 
 of his lieutenants, delighting in the honor conferred 
 on his son. The Samnite general was made to walk 
 in the procession, and at its end was taken to the 
 prison under the Capitoline Hill and there beheaded. 
 It was thus that Rome dealt with its captured foes.
 
 THE CAUDINE FORKS. 
 
 WESTWARD from Rome rise the Apennine Moun- 
 tains, the backbone of Italy ; and amid their highest 
 peaks, where the snow lies all the year long, and 
 whence streams flow into the two seas, dwelt the 
 Sabines, an important people, from whom came the 
 mothers of the Roman state. There is a legend 
 concerning this people which we have now to tell. 
 For many years they had been at war with their 
 neighbors, the Umbrians ; and at length, failing to 
 conquer their enemies by their own strength, they 
 sought to obtain the help of the divinities. They 
 made a vow that if victory was given to them, all 
 the living creatures born that year in their land 
 should be held as sacred to the gods. 
 
 The victory came, and they sacrificed all the lambs, 
 calves, kids, and pigs of that year's birth, while they 
 redeemed from the gods such animals as were not 
 suitable for sacrifice. But, as it appeared, the deities 
 were not satisfied. The land refused to yield its 
 fruits, and the Sabines were not long in deciding 
 why their crops had failed. They had neither sacri- 
 ficed nor redeemed the children born that year, and 
 had thus failed in their duty to the gods. 
 
 To atone for this fault, all their children of that 
 116
 
 THE CATJDINE FORKS. 117 
 
 year's birth were devoted to the god Mamers, and 
 when they had grown up they were sent away to 
 make themselves a home in a new land. As the 
 young men started on their pilgrimage a bull went 
 before them, and, as they fancied that Mamers had 
 sent this animal for their guide, they piously followed 
 him. He first lay down to rest when he had come 
 to the land of the Opicans. This the Sabines took 
 for a sign, and they fell on the Opicans, who dwelt 
 in villages without walls, and drove them out from 
 their country, of which the new-comers took posses- 
 sion. They then sacrificed the bull to Mamers ; and 
 in after-ages they bore the bull for their device. 
 They also took a new name, and were afterwards 
 known as Samm'tes. 
 
 While the Eomans were extending their dominion 
 in Central Italy, the Samnites were conquering the 
 peoples farther south. Their dominion became 
 great, and at one time included the famous cities 
 of Herculaneum and Pompeii and many others of 
 the cities of the southern plains. In the centre of 
 the Samnite country stood a remarkable mountain 
 mass, an offshoot from the Apennines. This moun- 
 tain, now called the Matese, is nearly eight miles in 
 circumference, and rises abruptly in huge wall-like 
 cliffs of limestone to the height of three thousand 
 feet. Its surface is greatly varied in character, now 
 sloping into deep valleys, now rising into elevated 
 cliffs, of which the loftiest is six thousand feet high. 
 It is rich in springs, which gush out in full flow, and 
 disappear again in the caverns with which limestone 
 rocks abound. Its valleys yield abundant pasture
 
 118 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 and magnificent beech forests, while on its highest 
 summits the snow tarries till late summer, and in the 
 Hottest months of summer the upland pastures con- 
 tinue cool. 
 
 This mountain fastness formed the citadel from 
 which the Samnites issued in conquering excursions 
 over the surrounding country, and enabled them in 
 time to extend their dominion far and wide, and to 
 rival Rome in the width and importance of their 
 state. Thus Rome and Samnium approached each 
 other step by step, and the time inevitably came 
 when they were to join issue in war. 
 
 Three wars took place between the Romans and 
 the Samnites. In the first of these Valerius Cor- 
 vus (the origin of whose name of Corvus we have 
 already told) led the Roman army to victory. In 
 honor of this victory Rome received from Carthage 
 (with which city it was to engage in a desperate 
 contest in later years) a golden crown, for the shrine 
 of Jupiter in the Capitol. 
 
 In 329 B.C. Rome finally overcame the Volscians, 
 with whom they had been many years at war, and 
 three years afterwards war with the Samnites was 
 again declared. The latter were invading Cam- 
 pania, in which country lay the volcano of Vesuvius 
 and the city of Naples. Rome came to the aid of 
 the Campanians, and a war began which lasted for 
 more than twenty years. 
 
 Of this war we have but one event to tell, that in 
 which Rome suffered the greatest humiliation it had 
 met with in its entire career, the famous affair of the 
 Caudine Forks. It was in the fifth campaign of the
 
 THE CAUDINE PORKS. 119 
 
 war that this event took place. Two Roman armies 
 had marched into Campania and threatened the 
 southern border of Samnium, which the Samnite 
 general Pontius was prepared to defend. His force 
 occupied the passes which led from the plain of 
 Naples into the higher mountain valleys; but he 
 deceived the Romans by spreading the report that 
 the whole Samnite army had gone to Apulia, where 
 they were besieging the city of Luceria. His pur- 
 pose was to lure the Romans into these difficult 
 defiles under the impression that the Samnites wert. 
 trusting to the natural strength of their country for 
 its defence. 
 
 The trick succeeded. The Roman consuls believed 
 the story, and, in their haste to go to the aid of their 
 allies in Apulia, chose the shortest route, that which 
 led through the Samnian hills. The absence of the 
 Samnite army would enable them, they thought, to 
 force their way through Samnium without difficulty ; 
 and, blinded by their false confidence, the consuls 
 recklessly led their men into the fatal pass of 
 Caudium. 
 
 This pass was a narrow opening in the outer wall 
 of the Apennines, which led from the plain of Cam- 
 pania to Maleventum. To-day it is traversed by the 
 road from Naples to Benevento, and is called the 
 valley of Arpaia. In the past it was famous as 
 Caudium. 
 
 Into this defile the Romans marched between the 
 rugged mountain acclivities that bounded its sides, 
 and through the deep silence that reigned around. 
 The pass seemed utterly deserted, and they expected
 
 120 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 soon to emerge into a more open valley in the interior 
 of the hills. 
 
 But as they advanced the pass contracted, until it 
 became but a narrow gorge, and this they found to 
 be blocked up with great stones and felled trees. 
 Brought to a halt, the troops stood gazing in dismay 
 and dread on these obstacles, when suddenly the 
 silence was broken, loud war-cries filled the air, and 
 armed Samnites appeared as if by magic, covering 
 the hills on both flanks, and crowding into the pass 
 in the rear. 
 
 The Eomans were caught in such a trap as that 
 from which Cincinnatus had rescued a Roman army 
 many years before. But there was here no Cincin- 
 natus with his stakes, and they were far from Rome. 
 The entrapped army made a desperate effort to es- 
 cape, attacking the Samnites in the rear, and seeking 
 to force their way up the rugged surrounding hills. 
 They fought in vain. Many of them fell. The 
 Samnite foe pressed them still more closely into the 
 rocky pass. Only the coming of night saved them 
 from total destruction. 
 
 But escape was impossible. The gorge in front 
 was completely blocked up. The pass in the rear 
 was held by the enemy in force. The flanking hills 
 could hardly have been climbed by an army, even if 
 they had not been occupied. No resource remained 
 to the Romans but to encamp in the broader part of 
 the narrow valley, and there wait in hopeless despair 
 the outcome of their folly. 
 
 The Samnites could well afford to let them wait. 
 The rear was held by the bulk of their army. The
 
 THE CAUDINE PORKS. 121 
 
 obstacles in front were strongly guarded. Every 
 possible track by which the Eomans might try to 
 scale the hills was held. Some desperate attempts 
 to break out were made, but they were easily re- 
 pulsed. Nothing remained but surrender, or death 
 by famine. 
 
 One or other of these alternatives had soon to be 
 chosen. A large army, surprised on its march, and 
 confined within a barren pass, could not have subsist- 
 ence for any long period. Nothing was to be gained 
 by delay, and they might as well yield themselves 
 prisoners of war at once. 
 
 So the Eomans evidently thought, and without 
 delay they put themselves at the mercy of their con- 
 querors. " We yield ourselves your captives," they 
 said, "to do with as you will. Put us all to the 
 sword, if such be your decision ; sell us into slavery ; 
 or hold us as prisoners until we are ransomed : one 
 thing only we ask, save our bodies, whether living or 
 dead, from all unworthy insults.'' 
 
 In this request they forgot the record that Rome 
 had made ; forgot how often noble captives had been 
 forced to walk in Roman triumphs and been after- 
 wards slain in cold blood in the common prison ; for- 
 got how they had recently refused the rites of burial 
 to the body of a noble Samnite. But Pontius, the 
 Samnite general, was much less of a barbarian than 
 the Romans of that age. He was acquainted with 
 Greek philosophy, had even held conversation, it is 
 said, with Plato, and was not the man to indulge in 
 cruel or insulting acts. 
 
 " Restore to us," he said to the consuls, " the towns 
 11
 
 122 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 and territory you have taken from us, and withdraw 
 the colonists whom you have unjustly placed on our 
 Boil. Conclude with us a treaty of peace, in which 
 each nation shall be acknowledged to be independent 
 of the other. Swear to do this, and I will grant you 
 your lives and release you without ransom. Each 
 man of you shall give up his arms, but may keep 
 his clothes untouched ; and you shall pass before 
 our army as prisoners who have been in our power 
 and whom we have set free of our own will, when 
 we might have killed or sold them, or held them for 
 ransom." 
 
 These terms the consuls were glad enough to 
 accept. They were far better than they would have 
 granted the Samnites under similar circumstances. 
 Pontius now called for the Roman fecialis, whose 
 duty it was to conclude all treaties and take all oaths 
 for the Roman people. But there was no fecialis 
 with the army. The senate had sent none, having 
 resolved to make no terms with the Samnites, and to 
 accept only their absolute submission. They had 
 never dreamed of such a turn of the tide as this. 
 
 In the absence of the proper officer, the consuls 
 and all the surviving officers took the oath, while it 
 was agreed that six hundred knights should be held 
 as hostages until the Roman people had ratified the 
 treaty. Why Pontius did not insist on treating with 
 the senate and people of Rome at once, instead of 
 trusting to them to ratify a treaty made with 
 prisoners of war, we are not told. He was soon to 
 learn how weak a reed to lean upon was the Roman 
 faith.
 
 THE CAUDINE FORKS. 123 
 
 The treaty made, the humiliating part of the affair 
 came. The Eoman army was obliged to march 
 under the yoke, which consisted of two spears set 
 upright and a third fastened across their tops. 
 Under this the soldiers of the legions without their 
 arms, and wearing but a single article of clothing, 
 the campestre or kilt, which reached from the waist 
 to the knees, passed in gloomy succession. Even 
 the consuls were obliged to appear in this humble 
 plight, the six hundred hostage knights alone being 
 spared. 
 
 This was no peculiar insult, but a common usage 
 on such occasions. The Eomans had imposed it 
 more than once on defeated enemies. They were 
 now to endure it themselves, and the affair, under 
 the name of the Caudine Forks, has become famous 
 in history. 
 
 Pontius proved, indeed, generous to his foes. He 
 supplied carriages for the sick and wounded, and 
 furnished provisions to last the army until it should 
 arrive at Eome. When that city was reached the 
 senate and people came out and welcomed the sol- 
 diers with the greatest kindness. But the wounded 
 pride of the legionaries could not be soothed. Those 
 who had homes in the country stole from the ranks 
 and sought their several dwellings. Those who lived 
 in Eome lingered without the walls until after the 
 sun had fallen, and then made their way home 
 through the darkness. The consuls were obliged to 
 enter in open day, but as soon as possible they sought 
 their homes, and shut themselves up in privacy. 
 
 As for the city, it went into mourning. All busi-
 
 124 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ness was suspended ; the patricians laid aside their 
 gold rings and took off the red border of their 
 dresses which marked their rank; the plebeians 
 appeared in mourning garbs; there was as much 
 weeping for those who had returned in dishonor as 
 for those left dead on the field ; all rejoicings, festi- 
 vals, and marriages were set aside for a year of 
 happier omen. 
 
 The final result was such as might have been ex- 
 pected from the earlier record of Rome. The senate 
 refused to recognize the treaty. The defeated con- 
 suls themselves sustained this bad faith, saying that 
 they and all the officers should be given up to the 
 Samnites, as having promised what they were unable 
 to perform. 
 
 This was done. Half stripped, as when they 
 passed under the yoke, and their hands bound behind 
 their backs, the officers were conducted by the fecia- 
 les to the Samnian frontier, and delivered to the 
 Samnites as men who had forfeited their liberty by 
 their breach of faith. The surrender completed, 
 Postumius, one of the consuls, struck a fecialis 
 violently with his knee, his hands and feet being 
 bound, and cried out, 
 
 " I now belong to the Samnites, and I have done 
 violence to the sacred person of a Roman fecialis and 
 ambassador. You will rightfully wage war with us, 
 Romans, to avenge this outrage." 
 
 This transparent trick was wasted on Pontius. 
 He refused the victims offered him. They were not 
 the guilty ones, he said. The legions must be placed 
 again in the Caudium Valley, or Rome keep the
 
 THE CAUDINE FORKS. 125 
 
 treaty. Anything else would be base and faith- 
 less. 
 
 The treaty was not kept. The war went on. And 
 nearly thirty years afterwards, as we have told in the 
 preceding story, Pontius, who had behaved so gen- 
 erously to the Eomans, was led as a prisoner in a 
 Eoman triumph, and then basely beheaded while 
 the triumphal car of the victor ascended the Capitol- 
 me Hill. His death is one of the darkest blots on 
 the Eoman name. "Such a murder," we are told, 
 "committed or sanctioned by such a man as Q. 
 Fabius, is peculiarly a national crime, and proves 
 but too clearly that in their dealings with foreigners 
 the Eomans had neither magnanimity, nor humanity, 
 nor justice."
 
 THE FATE OF REGULUS. 
 
 WE have followed the growth of Eorae from itt 
 seed in the cradle of Romulus and Remus to its 
 early maturity in the conquest of Italy. Its triumph 
 over the Latins, Samnites, and Etruscans had made 
 it virtually master of that peninsula. In the year 
 280 B.C. it was first called upon to meet a great 
 foreign soldier in the celebrated Pyrrhus of Epirus, 
 who had invaded Italy. How this great soldier 
 scared the Romans with his elephants and defeated 
 them in the field, but was finally baffled and left the 
 country in disgust, we have told in " Historical Tales 
 of Greece." It was not many years after this that 
 Rome herself went abroad in search of new foes, 
 and her long and bitter struggle with Carthage 
 began. 
 
 The great city of Carthage lay on the African side 
 of the Mediterranean, where it had won for itself a 
 great empire, and had added to its dominion by im- 
 portant conquests in Spain and Sicily. Settled many 
 centuries before by emigrants from the Phoenician 
 city of Tyre, it had, like its mother city, grown rich 
 through commerce, and was now lord of the Medi- 
 terranean and one of the great cities of the earth. 
 With this city Rome was now to begin a mighty 
 struggle, which would last for many years and end 
 126
 
 THE PATE OF REQULUS. 127 
 
 in the utter destruction of the great African city 
 and state. 
 
 Pyrrhus of Epirus, on leaving Sicily, had said, 
 " What a grand arena this would be for Home and 
 Carthage to contend upon!" And it was in the 
 island of Sicily that the struggle between these two 
 mighty powers began. In the year 264 B.C., nearly 
 five centuries after the founding of Rome, that city 
 first sent its armies beyond the borders of Italy, and 
 the long contest between Rome and Carthage was 
 inaugurated. 
 
 Some soldiers of fortune, who had invaded Sicily 
 and found themselves in trouble, called upon Rome 
 for help. Carthage, which held much of the island, 
 was also appealed to, and both sent armies. The re- 
 sult was a collision between these armies. In two 
 years' time most of Sicily belonged to Rome, and 
 Carthage retained hardly a foothold upon that 
 island. 
 
 This rapid success of the Romans in foreign con- 
 quest encouraged them greatly. But they were 
 soon to find themselves at a disadvantage. Being 
 an inland power, they knew nothing of ocean war- 
 fare, and possessed none but small ships. Carthage, 
 on the contrary, had a large and powerful fleet, and 
 now began to use it with great effect. By its aid 
 the Carthaginians took from Rome many towns on 
 the coast of Sicily. They also landed on and ravaged 
 the coasts of Italy. It was made evident to the 
 Roman senate that if they looked for success they 
 must meet the enemy on their own element, and 
 dispute with Carthage the dominion of the sea.
 
 128 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 How was this to be done? The largest ships they 
 knew of had only three banks of oars. Carthage 
 possessed war vessels with five banks of oars, and 
 built on a plan different from, that of the smaller 
 vessels. Rome had no model for these ships, and was 
 at a loss what to do. Fortunately a Carthaginian 
 quinquereme (a ship with five banks of oars) ran 
 ashore on the coast of Italy, and was captured and 
 sent to Eome. This served as a model for the ship- 
 wrights of that city, and so energetically did they 
 set to work that in two months after the first cutting 
 of the timber they had built and launched more than 
 a hundred ships of this class. 
 
 And while the ships were building the crews se- 
 lected for the quinqueremes were practising. Most 
 of them had never even seen an oar, and they were 
 now placed on benches ashore, ranged like those in 
 the ships, and carefully taught the movements of 
 rowing, so that when the ships were launched they 
 were quite ready to drive them through the waves. 
 The Romans, who could fight best hand to hand, 
 added a new and important device, providing their 
 ships with wooden bridges attached to the masts, 
 and ready to fall on an enemy's vessel whenever one 
 came near. A great spike at the end was driven 
 into the deck of the enemy's ship by the weight of 
 the falling bridge, and held her while the Romans 
 charged acrosa the bridge. 
 
 The new fleet was soon tried. It met a Cartha- 
 ginian fleet on the north coast of Sicily. The Ro- 
 mans proved poor sailors, but the bridges gave them 
 the victory. These could be wheeled round the mast
 
 THE FATE OF REGULTT8. 129 
 
 and dropped in any direction, and, however the Car- 
 thaginians approached, they found themselves grap- 
 pled and boarded by the Eomans, whose formidable 
 swords soon did the rest. In the end Carthage lost 
 fifty ships and ten thousand men, and with them the 
 dominion of the seas. 
 
 This success was a great event in the history of 
 Eome. The victory was celebrated by a great naval 
 triumph, and a column was set up in the Forum, 
 which was adorned with the ornamental prows of 
 ships. 
 
 Three years afterwards Eome resolved to carry 
 the war into Africa, and for this purpose built a 
 great fleet of three hundred and thirty ships, and 
 manned by nearly three hundred thousand seamen, 
 in addition to its soldiers or fighting men. These 
 were largely made up of prisoners from Sardinia and 
 Corsica, Carthaginian islands which had been at- 
 tacked by the Eoman fleets. The two consuls in 
 command were L. Manlius Vulso and M. Atilius 
 Eegulus. 
 
 The great fleet of Eome met a still greater Car- 
 thaginian one at Ecnomus, on the southern coast of 
 Sicily, and here one of the greatest sea-fights of his- 
 tory took place. In the end the Eomans lost twenty- 
 four ships, while of those of the enemy thirty were 
 sunk and sixty-four captured. The remainder of the 
 enemy's fleet fled in all haste to Carthage. 
 
 The Eomans now prepared to take one of the 
 greatest steps in their history, to cross the sea to 
 the unknown African world. The soldiers mur- 
 mured loudly at this. They were to be taken to a
 
 130 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 new and strange land, burnt by scorching heats and 
 infested with noisome beasts and monstrous ser- 
 pents ; and they were to be led into the very strong- 
 hold of the enemy, where they would be at their 
 mercy. Even one of their tribunes supported the 
 soldiers in this complaint. But Eegulus was equal 
 to the occasion: he threatened the tribune with 
 death, forced the soldiers on board, and sailed for 
 the African coast. 
 
 The event proved very different from what the 
 soldiers had feared. The army of Carthage was so 
 miserably commanded that the Eomans landed with- 
 out trouble and ravaged the country at their will ; 
 and instead of the scorching heats and deadly ani- 
 mals they had feared, they found themselves in a 
 fertile and thickly-settled country, where grew rich 
 harvests of corn, and where were broad vineyards 
 and fruitful orchards of figs and olives. Towns were 
 numerous, and villas of wealthy citizens covered the 
 bills. 
 
 On this rich and undefended country the hungry 
 Roman army was let loose. Villas were plundered 
 and burnt, horses and cattle driven off in vast num. 
 bers, and twenty thousand persons, many of them 
 doubtless of wealth and rank, were carried away to 
 be sold as slaves. Meanwhile the army of Carthage 
 lurked on the hills, and was defeated wherever en- 
 countered. Regulus, who had been left in sole com- 
 mand of the Roman army, overran the country 
 without opposition, and boasted that he had taken 
 and plundered more than three hundred walled 
 towns or villages.
 
 THE FATE OP REQULUS. 131 
 
 The Carthaginians, who were also attacked by 
 roving desert tribes, who proved even worse than 
 the Eomans, were in distress, and begged for peace. 
 But the terms offered by Regulus were so intoler- 
 able that it was impossible to accept them. " Men 
 who are good for anything should either conquer or 
 submit to their betters," said Eegulus, haughtily. 
 He had not yet learned how unwise it is to drive a 
 strong foe to desperation, and was to pay dearly for 
 his arrogance and pride. 
 
 The tide of war turned when Carthage obtained a 
 general fit to command an army. An officer who had 
 been sent to Greece for soldiers of fortune brought 
 with him on his return a Spartan named Xan- 
 thippus, a man who had been trained in the rigid 
 Spartan discipline and had played his part well in 
 the wars of Greece. He openly and strongly con- 
 demned the conduct of the generals of Carthage; 
 and, on his words being reported to the govern- 
 ment, he was sent for, and so clearly pointed out the 
 causes of the late disasters that the direction of all 
 the forces of Carthage was placed in his hands. 
 
 And now a new spirit awakened in Carthage. 
 Xanthippus reviewed the troops, taught them how 
 they should meet the Roman charge, and filled them 
 with such enthusiasm and hope that loud shouts 
 broke from the ranks, and they eagerly demanded 
 to be led at once to battle. 
 
 The army numbered only twelve thousand foot, 
 but had four thousand cavalry and a hundred ele- 
 phants, in which much confidence was placed. The 
 demand of the soldiers was complied with ; they
 
 132 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 boldly marched out, and now no longer to the hills, 
 but to the lower ground, where the devastation of 
 the enemy was at once checked. 
 
 Regulus was forced to risk a battle, for his supply 
 of food was in peril. He marched out and encamped 
 within a mile of the foe. The Carthaginian gen- 
 erals, on seeing these hardy Eoman legions, so long 
 victorious, were stricken with something like panic. 
 But the soldiers were eager to fight, and Xanthippus 
 bade the wavering generals not to lose so precious 
 an opportunity. They yielded, and bade him to 
 draw up the army on his own plan. 
 
 In the battle that ensued the victory was due to 
 the cavalry and elephants. The cavalry drove that 
 of Italy from the field, and attacked the Roman 
 rear. The elephants broke through the Roman 
 lines in front, furiously trampling the bravest under- 
 foot. Those who penetrated the line of the ele- 
 phants were cut to pieces by the Carthaginian in- 
 fantry. Of the whole Roman army, two thousand 
 of the left wing alone escaped ; Regulus, with five 
 hundred others, fled, but was pursued and taken 
 prisoner ; the remainder of the army was destroyed 
 to a man. The defeat was total. Rome retained 
 but a single African port, which was soon given up. 
 Xanthippus, crowned with glory and richly re- 
 warded, returned to Greece to enjoy the fame be 
 had won. 
 
 For five years Regulus remained a prisoner in 
 Carthage, while the war went on in Sicily. Here, 
 in the year 250 B.C., the Romans gained an impor- 
 tant victory at Panormus (now Palermo), and Car-
 
 THE PATE OF REGULUS. 133 
 
 thage, weary of the struggle, sent to Rome to ask 
 for terras of peace. With the ambassadors came 
 Regulus, who had promised to return to Carthage 
 if the negotiations should fail, and whom the Car- 
 thaginians naturally expected to use his utmost in- 
 fluence in favor of peace. 
 
 They did not know their man. Regulus proved 
 himself one of those indomitable patriots of whom 
 there are few examples in the ages. On reaching 
 the walls of Rome he refused at first to enter, saying 
 that he was no longer a citizen, and had lost his 
 rights in that city. When the ambassadors of Car- 
 thage had offered their proposal to the senate, 
 Regulus, who had remained silent, was ordered by 
 the senate to give his opinion of the proposed 
 treaty. Thus commanded, he astonished all who 
 heard by strongly advising the senate not to make 
 the treaty. He might die for his words, he might 
 perish in torture, but the good of his country was 
 dearer to him than his own life, and he would not 
 counsel a treaty that might prove of advantage to 
 the enemy. He even spoke against an exchange of 
 prisoners, saying that he had not long to live, having, 
 he believed, been given a secret poison by his cap- 
 tors, and would not make a fair exchange for a hale 
 and hearty Carthaginian general. 
 
 Such an instance of self-abnegation has rarely 
 been heard of in history. It has made Regulus 
 famous for all time. His advice was taken, the 
 treaty was refused ; he, refusing to break his parole, 
 or even to see his family, returned to Carthage with 
 the ambassadors, knowing that he was going to his 
 12
 
 134 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 death. The rulers of that city, so it is said, furioui 
 *,hat the treaty had been rejected through his ad 
 vice, resolved to revenge themselves on him \>y hor- 
 rible tortures. His e3'elids were cut off, and he was 
 exposed to the full glare of the African sun. He 
 was then placed in a cask driven full of nails, and 
 left there to die. 
 
 It is fortunate to be able to say that there is no 
 historical warrant for this story of torture, or for 
 the companion story that the wife and son of Kegu- 
 lus treated two Carthaginian prisoners in the same 
 manner. We have reason to believe that it is un- 
 true, and that Regulus suffered no worse tortures 
 than those of shame, exile, and imprisonment.
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS. 
 
 IN the year 235 B.C. the gates of the Temple of 
 Janus were closed, for the first time since the reign 
 of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, nearly 
 five centuries before. During all that long period 
 war had hardly ever ceased in Rome. And these 
 gates were soon to be thrown open again, in con- 
 sequence of the greatest war that the Roman state 
 had ever known, a war which was to bring it to the 
 very brink of destruction. 
 
 The end of the first Punic War as the war with 
 Carthage was called left Rome master of the large 
 island of Sicily, the first province gained by that 
 ambitious city outside of Italy. Advantage was also 
 taken of some home troubles in Carthage to rob that 
 city of the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, a piece 
 of open piracy which redoubled the hatred of the 
 Carthaginians. 
 
 Yet Rome just now was not anxious for war 
 with her southern rival. There was enough to do 
 in the north, for another great invasion of Gauls 
 was threatened. And about this time the Capitol 
 was struck by lightning, a prodigy which plunged 
 all Rome into terror. The books of the Sibyl were 
 hastily consulted, and were reported to say, " When 
 
 135
 
 136 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the lightning shall strike the Capitol and the Temple 
 of Apollo, then must thou, O Koman, beware of the 
 Gauls." Another prophecy said that the time would 
 come " when the race of the Greeks and the race of 
 the Gauls should occupy the Forum of Eome." 
 
 But Rome had its own way of dealing with 
 prophecies and discounting the decrees of destiny. 
 A man and woman alike of the Gaulish and of the 
 Greek race were buried alive in the Forum Boarium, 
 and in this cruel way the public fear was allayed. 
 As for the invasion of the Gauls, Eome met and 
 dealt with them in its usual fashion, defeating them 
 in two battles, in the last of which the Gaulish 
 army was annihilated. This ended this peril, and 
 the dominion of Rome was extended northward to 
 the Alps. 
 
 It was fortunate for the Romans that they had 
 just at this time rid themselves of the Gauls, for they 
 were soon to have a greater enemy to meet. In the 
 first Punic War, Carthage had been destitute of a 
 commander, and had only saved herself by borrow- 
 ing one from Greece. In the second war she had a 
 general of her own, one who has hardly had his equal 
 before or since, the far-famed Hannibal, one of the 
 few soldiers of supreme ability which the world has 
 produced. 
 
 During the peace which followed the first Punic 
 "War Carthage sent an expedition to Spain, with the 
 purpose of extending her dominions in that land. 
 This was under the leadership of Hamilcar, a soldier 
 of much ability. As he was about to set sail he 
 offered a solemn sacrifice for the success of the enter-
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS. 137 
 
 prise. Having poured the libation on the victim, 
 which was then duly offered on the altar, he requested 
 all those present to step aside, and called up his son 
 Hannibal, at that time a boy of but nine years of 
 age. Hamilcar asked him if he would like to go to 
 the war. With a child's eagerness the boy implored 
 his father to take him. Then Hamilcar, taking the 
 boy by the hand, led him up to the altar, and bade 
 him lay his hand on the sacrifice, and swear " that 
 he would never be the friend of the Romans." Han- 
 nibal took the oath, and he never forgot it. His 
 whole mature life was spent in warfare with Rome. 
 
 From the city of New Carthage (or Carthagena), 
 founded by Carthage in Spain, Hamilcar gradually 
 won a wide dominion in that land. He was killed in 
 battle after nine years of success, and was succeeded 
 by Hasdrubal, another soldier of fine powers. On 
 the death of Hasdrubal, Hannibal, then twenty-six 
 years of age, was made commander-in chief of the 
 Carthaginian armies in Spain. Shortly afterwards 
 his long struggle with Rome began. 
 
 Hannibal had laid siege to and captured the city 
 of Saguntum. The people of Saguntum were allies 
 of Rome. That city, being once more ready for war 
 with its rival, sent ambassadors to Carthage to 
 demand that Hannibal and his officers should be sur- 
 rendered as Roman prisoners, for a breach of the 
 treaty of peace. After a long debate, Fabius, the 
 Roman envoy, gathered up his toga as if something 
 was wrapped in it, and said, " Look ; here are peace 
 and war ; take which you choose." " Give which- 
 ever you please," was the haughty Carthaginian 
 12*
 
 138 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 reply. " Then we give you war," said Fabius, shak- 
 ing out the folds of the toga. " With all our hearts 
 we welcome it," cried the Carthaginians. The Ro- 
 mans left at once for Rome. Had they dreamed 
 what a war it was they were inviting it is doubtful 
 if they would have been so hasty in seeking it. 
 
 War with Rome was what Hannibal most desired. 
 He was pledged to hostility with that faithless city, 
 and had assailed Saguntum for the purpose of bring- 
 ing it about. On learning that war was declared, he 
 immediately prepared to invade Italy itself, leading 
 his army across the great mountain barrier of the 
 Alps. He had already sent messengers to the Gauls, 
 to invite their aid. They were found to be friendly, 
 and eager for his coming. They had little reason to 
 love Rome. 
 
 A significant dream strengthened Hannibal's pur- 
 pose. In his vision he seemed to see the supreme 
 god of his fathers, who called him into the presence 
 of all the gods of Carthage, seated in council on 
 their thrones. They solemnly bade him to invade 
 Italy, and one of the council went with him into 
 that land as guide. As they passed onward the 
 divine guide warned, " See that you look not behind 
 you." But at length, heedless of the command, 
 the dreamer turned and looked back. He saw 
 behind him a monstrous form, covered thickly with 
 serpents, while as it moved houses, orchards, and 
 woods fell crashing to the earth. " What mighty 
 thing is this?" he asked in wonder. "You see the 
 desolation of Italy," replied the heavenly guide ; "go 
 on your way, straight forward, and cast no look
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS. 139 
 
 behind." And thus, at the age of twenty-seven, 
 Hannibal, at the command of his country's gods, 
 went forward to the accomplishment of his early 
 vow. 
 
 His route lay through northern Spain, where he 
 conquered all before him. Then he marched through 
 Gaul to the Ehone. This he crossed in the face of 
 an army of hostile Gauls, who had gathered to op- 
 pose him. He had more difficulty with his elephants, 
 of which he had thirty-seven. Rafts were built to 
 convey these great beasts across the stream, but 
 some of them, frightened, leaped overboard and 
 drowned their drivers. They then swam across 
 themselves, and all were safely landed. 
 
 Other difficulties arose, but all were overcome, and 
 at length the mountains were reached. Here Han- 
 nibal was to perform the most famous of his exploits, 
 the crossing of the great chain of the Alps with an 
 army, an exploit more remarkable than that which 
 brought similar fame to Napoleon in our own days, 
 for with Hannibal it was pioneer work, while Napo- 
 leon profited by his example. 
 
 The mountaineers proved to be hostile, and 
 gathered at all points that commanded the narrow 
 pass. But they left their posts at night, and Hanni- 
 bal, when nightfall came, set out with a body of light 
 troops and occupied all these posts. When morning 
 dawned the natives, to their dismay, found that they 
 had been outgeneralled. 
 
 Soon after the day began the head of the army 
 entered a dangerous defile, and made its way in a 
 long slender line along the terrace-like path which
 
 140 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 overhung the valley far below. The route proved 
 comparatively easy for the foot-soldiers, but the 
 cavalry and the baggage-animals only made their 
 way with great difficulty, finding obstacles at almost 
 every step. 
 
 The sight of the struggling cavalcade was too 
 much for the caution of the natives. Here was 
 abundant plunder at their hands. From many 
 points of the mountain above the road they rushed 
 down upon the Carthaginians, arms in hand. A 
 frightful disorder followed. So narrow was the path 
 that the least confusion was likely to throw the 
 heavily-laden baggage-animals down the precipitous 
 steep. The cavalry horses, wounded by the arrows 
 and javelins of the mountaineers, plunged wildly 
 about and doubled the confusion. 
 
 It was fortunate for Hannibal that he had taken 
 the precaution of the night before. From the post 
 he had taken with his light troops the whole scene 
 of peril and disorder was visible to his eyes. Charg- 
 ing down the hill, he attacked the mountaineers and 
 drove them from their prey. But it was a dearly 
 bought victory, for the fight on the narrow road in- 
 creased the confusion, and in seeking the relief of 
 his army he caused the destruction of many of his 
 own men. 
 
 At length the perilous defile was safely passed, 
 and the army reached a wide and rich valley beyond. 
 Here was the town of Montmelian, the principal 
 stronghold of the mountaineers. This Hannibal 
 took by storm, and recovered there many of his own 
 men, horses, and cattle which the natives had taken,
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS. 141 
 
 while he found an abundant store of food for the use 
 of his weary soldiers. 
 
 After a day's rest here the march was resumed. 
 During the next three days the army moved up the 
 valley of the river Isere without difficulty. The 
 natives met them with wreaths on their heads and 
 branches in their hands, promising peace, offering 
 hostages, and supplying cattle. Hannibal mistrusted 
 the sudden friendliness of his late foes, but they 
 seemed so honest that he accepted some of them as 
 guides through a difficult region which he was now 
 approaching. 
 
 He had reason for his mistrust, for they treacher- 
 ously led him into a narrow and dangerous defile, 
 which might have easily been avoided ; and while 
 the army was involved in this straitened pass an 
 attack was suddenly made by the whole force of the 
 mountaineers. Climbing along the mountain-sides 
 above the defile, they hurled down stones on the en- 
 tangled foe, and loosened and rolled great rocks 
 down upon their defenceless heads. 
 
 Fortunately Hannibal, moved by his doubts, had 
 sent his cavalry and baggage on first. The attack 
 fell on the infantry, and with a body of these he 
 forced his way to the summit of one of the cliffs 
 above the defile, drove away the foe, and held it 
 while the army made its way slowly on. As for the 
 elephants, they were safe from attack. The very 
 Bight of these huge beasts filled the barbarians with 
 such terror that they dared not even approach them. 
 There was no further peril, and on the ninth day of 
 its march the army reached the summit of the Alps.
 
 142 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 It was now the end of October. The grass and 
 flowers which carpet that elevated spot in summer 
 had become replaced by snow. In truth, the climate 
 of the Alps was colder at that period than now, and 
 snow lay on the higher passes all through the year. 
 The soldiers were disheartened by cold and fatigue. 
 The scene around them was desolate and dreary. 
 New perils awaited their onward course. But no 
 such feeling entered Hannibal's courageous soul. 
 Fired by hope and ambition, he sought to plant new 
 courage in the hearts of his men. 
 
 "The valley you see yonder is Italy," he said, 
 pointing to the sunny slope which, from their 
 elevated position, appeared not far away. " It leads 
 to the country of our friends, the Gauls ; and yonder 
 is our way to Home." Their eyes followed the 
 direction of his pointing hand, and their hearts grew 
 hopeful again with the cheerfulness and enthusiasm 
 of his words. 
 
 Two days the army remained there, resting, and 
 waiting for the stragglers to come up. Then the 
 route was resumed. 
 
 The mountaineers, severely punished, made no 
 further attacks; but the road proved more difficult 
 than that by which the ascent had been made. 
 Snow thickly covered the passes. Men and horses 
 often lost their way, and plunged to their death 
 down the precipitous steep. Onward struggled the 
 distressed host, through appalling dangers and end- 
 less difficulties, losing men and animals at every step. 
 But these troubles were trifling compared with those 
 which they were now to endure. They suddenly
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSES THE ALPS. 143 
 
 found that the track before them had entirely dis- 
 appeared. An avalanche had carried it bodily away 
 for about three hundred yards, leaving only a steep 
 and impassable slope covered with loose rocks and 
 snow. 
 
 A man of less resolution than Hannibal might 
 well have succumbed before this supreme difficulty. 
 The way forward had vanished. To go back was 
 death. It was impossible to climb round the lost 
 path, for the heights above were buried deep in snow. 
 Nothing remained but to perish where they were, or 
 to make a new road across the mountain's flank. 
 
 The energetic commander lost not an hour in 
 deciding. Moving back to a space of somewhat 
 greater breadth, the snow was removed and the 
 army encamped. Then the difficult engineering 
 work began. Hands were abundant, for every man 
 was working for his life. Tools were improvised. 
 So energetically did the soldiers work that the road 
 rapidly grew before them. As it was cut into the 
 rock it was supported by solid foundations below. 
 Many ancient authors say that Hannibal used vine- 
 gar to soften the rocks, but this we have no suffi- 
 cient reason to believe. 
 
 So vigorously did the work go on, so many were 
 the hands engaged, that in a single day a track was 
 made over which the horses and baggage-animals 
 could pass. These were sent over and reached the 
 lower valley in safety, where pasture was found. 
 
 The passage of the elephants was a more difficult 
 task. The road for them must be solid and wide. It 
 took three days of hard labor to make it. Mean-
 
 144 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 while the great beasts suffered severely from hunger, 
 for forage there was none, nor trees on whose leaves 
 they might browse. 
 
 At length the road was strong enough to bear 
 them. They safely passed the perilous reach. After 
 them came Hannibal with the rear of the army, soon 
 reaching the cavalry and baggage. Three days more 
 the wearied host struggled on, down the southward 
 slopes of the Alps, until finally they reached the 
 wide plain of Northern Italy, having safely accom- 
 plished the greatest military feat of ancient times. 
 
 But Hannibal found himself here with a frightfully 
 reduced army. The Alps had taken toll of their 
 invader. He had reached Gaul from Spain with fifty 
 thousand foot and nine thousand horse. He reached 
 Italy with only twenty thousand foot and six thou- 
 sand horse. No fewer than thirty-three thousand 
 men had perished by the way. It was a puny force 
 with which to invade a country that could oppose 
 it with hundreds of thousands of men. But it had 
 Hannibal at its head.
 
 HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND 
 DIED. 
 
 THE career of Hannibal was a remarkable one. 
 For fifteen years he remained in Italy, frequently 
 fighting, never losing a battle, keeping Eome in a 
 state of terror, and dwelling with his army in com- 
 fort and plenty on the rich Italian plains. Yet he 
 represented a commercial city against a warlike 
 state. He was poorly supported by Carthage ; 
 Eome was indomitable ; great generals rose to com- 
 mand her armies ; in the end the mighty effort of 
 Hannibal failed, and he was forced to leave Rome 
 un conquered and Italy unsubdued. 
 
 The story of his deeds is a long one, a record of 
 war and bloodshed which our readers would be little 
 the wiser and none the better for hearing. We shall 
 therefore only give it in the barest outline. 
 
 Hannibal defeated the Romans on first meeting 
 them, and the Gauls flocked to his army. But of 
 the elephants, which he had brought with such dif- 
 ficulty over the Rhone and the Alps, the cold of 
 December killed all but one. But without them he 
 met a large Roman army at Lake Trasi menus, and 
 defeated it so utterly that but six thousand escaped. 
 
 Rome, in alarm, chose a dictator, Fabius Maximus 
 by name. This leader adopted a new method of 
 ii. Q k 13 145
 
 146 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 warfare, which has ever since been famous as the 
 " Fabian policy." This was the policy of avoiding 
 battle and seeking to wear the enemy out, while 
 harassing him at every opportunity. Fabius kept 
 to the hills, followed and annoyed his great antag- 
 onist, yet steadily avoided being drawn into battle. 
 
 For more than a year this continued, during all 
 which time Fabius grew more and more unpopular 
 at Rome. The waiting policy was not that which 
 the Romans had hitherto employed, and they be- 
 came more impatient as days and months passed 
 without an effort to drive this eating ulcer from 
 their plains. In time the discontent grew too strong 
 to be ignored. A man of business, who was said to 
 have begun life as a butcher's son, Varro by name, 
 became the favorite leader of the populace, and was 
 in time raised to the consulship. He enlisted a pow- 
 erful army, ninety thousand strong, and marched 
 away to the field of Cannae, where Hannibal was en- 
 camped, with the purpose of driving this Cartha- 
 ginian wasp from the Italian fields. 
 
 It was a dwarf contending with a giant. The 
 vainglorious Varro gave Hannibal the opportunity 
 for which he had long waited. The Roman army 
 met with such a crushing defeat that its equal is 
 scarcely known in history. Baffled, beaten, and sur- 
 rounded by Hannibal's army, the Romans were cut 
 down in thousands, no quarter being asked or given, 
 till when the sun set scarce three thousand men 
 were left alive and unhurt of Varro's hopeful host. 
 Of Hannibal's army less than six thousand had 
 fallen. Of the Roman forces more than eighty thou-
 
 HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED. 147 
 
 eand paid the penalty of their leader's incompe- 
 tence. 
 
 Hannibal did not advance to Rome, which seemed 
 to lie helpless before him. He doubtless had good 
 reasons for not attempting to capture it. Maharbal, 
 his cavalry general, said, " Let me advance with the 
 horse, and do you follow; in four days from this 
 time you shall sup in the Capitol." Hannibal, on 
 the contrary, sent terms of peace to Rome. These 
 the Romans, unconquerable in spirit despite their 
 disaster, refused. He then marched to southern 
 Italy and established his head-quarters in the rich 
 city of Capua, which opened its gates to him, and 
 which he promised to make the capital of all Italy. 
 
 Hannibal won no more great victories in Italy, 
 though he was victor in many small conflicts. The 
 Romans had paid dearly for their impatience. 
 Fabius was again called to the head of the army, 
 and his old policy was restored. And thus years 
 went on, Hannibal's army gradually decreasing and 
 receiving few reinforcements from home, while 
 Rome in time regained Capua and other cities. 
 
 At length, in the year 208 B.C., Hasdrubal, the 
 brother of Hannibal, who commanded the Cartha- 
 ginian armies in Spain, resolved to go to his brother's 
 aid. He crossed the Alps, as Hannibal had done, 
 following the same pass, and making use of the 
 bridges, rock cuttings, and mountain roads which 
 his brother had made eleven years before. 
 
 Had this movement been successful, it might have 
 been the ruin of Rome. But the despatches of Has- 
 drubal were intercepted by the Romans. Perceiving
 
 148 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 their great danger, they raised an army in haste, 
 marched against the invader, and met him before 
 he could effect a junction with his brother. The 
 Carthaginians were defeated with great slaughter. 
 Hasdrubal fell on the field, and his head was cruelly 
 sent to Hannibal, who, as he looked with bitter an- 
 guish on the gruesome spectacle, sadly remarked, 
 " I recognize in this the doom of Carthage." 
 
 Yet for four years more Hannibal remained in 
 the mountains of Southern Italy, holding his own 
 against Rome, though he had lost all hopes of con- 
 quering that city. But Rome had now a new gen- 
 eral, with a new policy. This was the famous Scipio, 
 and the policy was to carry the war into Carthage. 
 Fabius had done his work, and new measures came 
 with new men. Scipio led an army into Spain, 
 which he conquered from Carthage. Then he in- 
 vaded Africa, and Hannibal was recalled home, after 
 his long and victorious career in Italy. 
 
 Hannibal had never yet suffered a defeat. He 
 was now to experience a crushing one. With a new 
 army, largely made up of raw levies, he met the 
 veteran troops of Scipio on the plains of Zama. 
 Hannibal displayed here his usual ability, but for- 
 tune was against him, his army was routed, the vet- 
 erans he had brought from Italy were cut down 
 where they stood, and he escaped with difficulty 
 from the field on which twenty thousand of his men 
 had fallen. It was an earlier Waterloo. 
 
 His flight was necessary, if Carthage was to be 
 preserved. He was the only man capable of saving 
 that great city from ruin. Terms of peace were
 
 HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED. 149 
 
 offered by Scipio, severe ones, but Hannibal accepted 
 them, knowing that nothing else could be done. 
 Then he devoted himself to the restoration of his 
 country's power, and for seven years worked dili- 
 gently to this end. 
 
 His efforts were successful. Carthage again be- 
 came prosperous. Rome trembled for fear of her 
 old foe. Commissioners were sent to Carthage to 
 demand the surrender of Hannibal, on the plea that 
 he was secretly fomenting a new war. His reforms 
 had made enemies in Carthage, his liberty was in 
 danger, and nothing remained for him but to flee. 
 
 Escaping secretly from the city, the fugitive made 
 his way to Tyre, the mother-city of Carthage, where 
 he was received as one who had shed untold glory 
 on the Phoenician name. Thence he proceeded to 
 Antioch, the capital of Antiochus, king of Syria, and 
 one of the successors of Alexander the Great. 
 
 During the period over which we have so rapidly 
 passed the empire of Rome had been steadily ex- 
 tending. In addition to her conquests in Spain and 
 Africa, Macedonia, the home-realm of Alexander the 
 Great, had been successfully invaded, and the first 
 great step taken by Rome towards the conquest of 
 the East. 
 
 The loss of Macedonia stirred up Antiochus, who 
 resolved on war with Rome, and marched with his 
 army towards Europe. Hannibal, who had failed to 
 find him at Antioch. overtook him at Ephesus, and 
 found him glad enough to secure the services of a 
 warrior of such world-wide fame. 
 
 Antiochus, unfortunately, was the reverse of a 
 13*
 
 150 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 great warrior, and by no means the man to cope 
 with Rome. Hannibal saw at a glance that his 
 army was not fit to fight with a Eoman force, and 
 strongly advised him to equip a fleet and invade 
 Southern Italy, saying that he himself would take 
 the command. But nothing was to be done with 
 Antiochus. He was filled with conceit of his own 
 greatness, was ignorant of the power of Rome, and 
 was jealous of the glory which Hannibal might at- 
 tain. His guest then advised that an alliance should 
 be made with Philip, king of Macedonia. This, too, 
 was neglected, and the Romans hastened to ally 
 themselves with Philip. Antiochus, puffed up with 
 pride, pointed to his great army, and asked Hanni- 
 bal if he did not think that these were enough for 
 the Romans. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, sarcastically, " enough for the 
 Romans, however greedy they may be." 
 
 It proved as he feared. The Romans triumphed. 
 Hannibal was employed only in a subordinate naval 
 command, in which field of warfare he had no ex- 
 perience. Peace was made, and Antiochus agreed 
 to deliver him up to Rome. The greatest of Rome's 
 enemies was again forced to fly for his life. 
 
 Hannibal now took refuge with Prusias, king of Bi- 
 thynia. Here he remained for five years. But even 
 here the implacable enmity of Rome followed him. 
 Envoys were sent to the court of Prusias to demand 
 his surrender. Prusias, who was a king on a small 
 scale, could not, or would not, defend his guest, and 
 promised to deliver him into the hands of his unre- 
 lenting foes.
 
 o'
 
 HOW HANNIBAL FOUGHT AND DIED. 151 
 
 Only one course remained. Death was tenfold 
 preferable to figuring in a Roman triumph. Find- 
 ing the avenues to his house secured by the king's 
 guards, the great Carthaginian took poison, which 
 he is said to have long carried with him in a ring, 
 in readiness for such an emergency. He died at 
 Libyssa, on the eastern shore of the sea of Mar- 
 mora, in his sixty -fourth year, as closely as we know. 
 In the same year, 183 B.C., died his great and suc- 
 cessful antagonist, Scipio Africanus. 
 
 Thus perished, in exile, one of the greatest warriors 
 of any age, who, almost without aid from home, sup- 
 ported himself for fifteen years in Italy against all 
 the power of Rome and the greatest generals she 
 could supply. Had Carthage shown the military 
 spirit of Rome, Hannibal might have stopped effect- 
 ually the conquering career of that warlike city.
 
 ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE 
 OF SYRACUSE. 
 
 THE city of Syracuse, the capital of Sicily, rose to 
 prominence in ancient history through its three 
 famous sieges. The first of these was that long 
 siege which ruined Athens and left Syracuse un- 
 captured. The second was the siege by Timoleon, 
 who took the city almost without a blow. The third 
 was the siege by the Romans, in which the genius of 
 one man, the celebrated mathematician and engineer 
 Archimedes, long set at naught all the efforts of the 
 besieging army and fleet. 
 
 This remarkable defence took place during the 
 wars with Hannibal. Such was the warlike energy 
 of the Romans, that, while their city itself was 
 threatened by this great general, they sent armies 
 abroad, one into Spain and another into Sicily. 
 The latter, under a consul named Appius, besieged 
 Syracuse by sea and land. Hoping to take the city 
 by sudden assault, before it could be properly got 
 ready for defence, Appius pushed forward his land 
 force, fully provided with blinds and ladders, against 
 the walls. At the same time a fleet of sixty quin- 
 queremes under the consul Marcellus advanced to 
 the assault from the side of the harbor. Among the?e 
 vessels were eight which had been joined together 
 152
 
 ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE. 153 
 
 two and two, and which carried machines called 
 sackbuts. These consisted of immensely long lad- 
 ders, projecting far beyond the bows, and so arranged 
 that they could be raised by ropes and pulleys, and 
 the end let fall upon the top of the wall. Four 
 men, well protected by wooden blinds, occupied the 
 top of each ladder, ready to attack the defenders 
 of the walls while their comrades hastened up the 
 ladder to their aid. 
 
 There was only one thing on which the consuls 
 had not counted, and that was that Syracuse pos- 
 sessed the greatest artificer of ancient times. The}' 
 had to fight not Syracuse alone but Syracuse and 
 Archimedes; and they found the latter their most 
 formidable foe. In short, the skill of this one man 
 did more to baffle the Eomans than the strength and 
 courage of all the garrison. 
 
 The historian Polybius has so well told the story 
 of this famous defence, that we cannot do better 
 than quote from his work. He remarks, after de- 
 scribing at length the Roman preparations, 
 
 " In this manner, then, when all things were ready, 
 the Romans designed to attack the towers. But 
 Archimedes had prepared machines that were fitted 
 to every distance. While the vessels were yet far 
 removed from the walls, he, employing catapults and 
 balistse that were of the largest size and worked by 
 the strongest springs, wounded the enemy with his 
 darts and stones, and threw them into great disorder. 
 When the darts passed beyond them he then used 
 other machines, of a smaller size, and proportioned 
 to the distance. By these means the Romans were
 
 154 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 BO effectually repulsed that it was not possible for 
 them to approach. 
 
 " Marcellus, therefore, perplexed with this resist- 
 ance, was forced to advance silently with his vessels 
 in the night. But when they came so near to the 
 land as to be within the reach of darts, they were 
 exposed to a new danger, which Archimedes had 
 contrived. He had caused openings to be made in 
 many parts of the wall, equal in height to the stature 
 of a man, and to the palm of the hand in breadth. 
 Then, having planted on the inside archers and little 
 scorpions, he discharged a multitude of arrows 
 through the openings, and disabled the soldiers that 
 were on board. In this manner, whether the 
 Romans were at a great distance or whether they 
 were near, he not only rendered useless all their 
 efforts, but destroyed also many of their men. 
 
 " When they attempted also to raise the sackbuts, 
 certain machines which he had erected along the 
 whole wall inside, and which were before concealed 
 from view, suddenly appeared above the wall and 
 stretched their long beaks far beyond the battle- 
 ments. Some of these machines carried masses of 
 lead and stone not less than ten talents [about eight 
 hundred pounds] in weight. Accordingly, when the 
 vessels with the sackbuts came near, the beaks, being 
 first turned by ropes and pulleys to the proper point, 
 let fall their stones, which broke not only the sack- 
 buts but the vessels likewise, and threw all those 
 who were on board into the greatest danger. 
 
 " In the same manner also the rest of the machines, 
 as often as the enemy approached under cover of
 
 ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OP SYRACUSE. 155 
 
 their blinds, and had secured themselves by that 
 protection against the darts that were discharged 
 through the openings in the wall, let fall upon them 
 stones of so large a size that all the combatants on 
 the prow were forced to retire from their station. 
 
 " He invented, likewise, a hand of iron, hanging 
 by a chain from the beak of a machine, which was 
 used in the following manner. The person who, like 
 a pilot, guided the beak, having let fall the hand and 
 caught hold of the prow of any vessel, drew down 
 the opposite end of the machine, that was inside of 
 the walls. When the vessel was thus raised erect 
 upon its stern, the machine itself was held immov- 
 able ; but the chain being suddenly loosened from the 
 beak by means of pulleys, some of the vessels were 
 thrown upon their sides, others turned with their 
 bottoms upward, and the greatest part, as the prows 
 were plunged from a considerable height into the sea, 
 were filled with water, and all that were on board 
 thrown into tumult and disorder. 
 
 "Marcellus was in no small degree embarrassed 
 when he found himself encountered in every attempt 
 by such resistance. He perceived that all his efforts 
 were defeated with loss, and were even derided by 
 the enemy. But, amidst all the anxiety that he 
 suffered, he could not help jesting upon the inven- 
 tions of Archimedes. 
 
 " ' This man,' said he, ' employs our ships as buckets 
 to draw water, and, boxing about our sackbuts, as if 
 they were unworthy to be associated with him, 
 drives them from his company with disgrace.' Such 
 was the success of the siege on the side of the sea.
 
 156 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 " Appius also, on his part, having met with the 
 same obstacles in his approaches, was in like manner 
 forced to abandon his design. For while he was yet 
 at a considerable distance, great number of his men 
 were destroyed by the balistae and the catapults, so 
 wonderful was the quantity of stones and darts, and 
 so astonishing the force with which they were 
 thrown. The means, indeed, were worthy of Hiero, 
 who had furnished the expense, and of Archimedes, 
 who designed them, and by whose directions they 
 were made. 
 
 " If the troops advanced nearer to the city, they 
 either were stopped in their advance by the arrows 
 that were discharged through the openings in the 
 walls, or, if they attempted to force their way under 
 cover of their bucklers, they were destroyed by 
 stones and beams that were let fall upon their heads. 
 Great mischief also was occasioned by these hands 
 of iron that have been mentioned; for they lifted 
 men with their armor into the air and dashed them 
 upon the ground. Appius, therefore, was at last 
 constrained to return back again into his camp." 
 
 This ended the assault. For eight months the 
 Romans remained, but never again had the courage 
 to make a regular attack, depending rather on the 
 hope of reducing the crowded city by famine. " So 
 wonderful, and of such importance on some occasions, 
 is the power of a single man, and the force of science 
 properly employed. With so great armies both by 
 sea and land the Romans could scarcely have failed 
 to take the city, if one old man had been removed. 
 But while he was present they did not even dare to
 
 ARCHIMEDES AT THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE. 157 
 
 make the attempt; in the manner, at least, which 
 Archimedes was able to oppose." The story was 
 told in past times that the great scientist set the 
 Eoman ships on fire by means of powerful burning 
 glasses, but this is not believed. 
 
 The end of this story may be briefly told. The 
 Romans finally took the city by surprise. Tradition 
 tells that, as the assailants were rushing through the 
 streets, with death in their hands, they found Archi- 
 medes sitting in the public square, with a number 
 of geometrical figures drawn before him in the sand, 
 which he was studying in oblivion of the tumult of 
 war around. As a Eoman soldier rushed upon him 
 sword in hand, he called out to the rude warrior not 
 to spoil the circle. But the soldier cut him down. 
 Another story says that this took place in his room. 
 
 When Cicero, years afterwards, came to Syracuse, 
 he found the tomb of Archimedes overgrown with 
 briers, and on it the figure of a sphere inscribed in 
 a cylinder, to commemorate one of his most impor- 
 tant mathematical discoveries.
 
 THE FATE OF CARTHAGE. 
 
 IN all the history of Rome there is no act of more 
 flagrant treachery and cruelty than in her final 
 dealings with the great rival city of Carthage. In 
 the whole history of the world there is nothing 
 more base and frightful than the utter destruction 
 of that mighty mart of commerce. The jealousy of 
 Rome would not permit a rival to exist. It was 
 not enough to drive Hannibal into exile ; Carthage 
 was recovering her trade and regaining her strength ; 
 new Hannibals might be born ; the terror of the 
 great invasion, the remembrance of the defeat at 
 Cannae, still remained in Roman memories. 
 
 Cato the Censor, a famous old Roman, now eighty- 
 four years of age, and who had served in the wars 
 against Hannibal, hated Carthage with the hatred 
 of a fanatic, and declared that Rome would never 
 be safe while this rival was permitted to exist. 
 
 Rising from his seat in the senate, the stern old 
 man glowingly described the power and wealth of 
 Carthage. He held up some great figs, and said, 
 " These figs grow but three days' sail from Rome." 
 There could be no safety for Rome, he declared, 
 while Carthage survived. 
 
 "Every speech which I shall make in this house," 
 he sternly declared, "shall finish with these words: 
 158
 
 THE FATE OF CARTHAGE. 159 
 
 ' My opinion is that Carthage must be destroyed (de- 
 lenda est Carthago.y " 
 
 These words sealed the fate of Carthage. Men 
 of moderate views spoke more mercifully, but Cato 
 swayed the senate, and from that day the doom of 
 Carthage was fixed. 
 
 The Carthaginian territory was being assailed and 
 ravaged by Masinissa, the king of Numidia. Eome 
 was appealed to for aid, but delayed and temporized. 
 Carthage raised an army, which was defeated by 
 Masinissa, then over ninety years of age. The war 
 went on, and Carthage was reduced to such straits 
 that resistance became impossible, and in the end 
 the city and all its possessions were placed at the 
 absolute disposal of the senate of Eome, which, ab- 
 solutely without provocation, had declared war. 
 
 An army of eighty thousand foot and four thou- 
 sand horse was sent to Africa. Before the consuls 
 commanding it there appeared deputies from Car- 
 thage, stating what acts of submission had already 
 been made, and humbly asking what more Rome 
 could demand. 
 
 " Carthage is now under the protection of Rome," 
 answered Censorinus, the consul, " and can no longer 
 have occasion to engage in war ; she must therefore 
 deliver without reserve to Rome all her arms and 
 engines of war." 
 
 Hard as was this condition, the humiliated city 
 accepted it. We may have some conception of the 
 strength of the city when it is stated that the mili- 
 tary stores given up included two hundred thousand 
 stand of arms and two thousand catapults. It was
 
 160 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 a condition to which only despair could have yielded, 
 seemingly the last act of humiliation to which any 
 city could consent. 
 
 But if Carthage thought that the end had been 
 reached, she was destined to be rudely awakened 
 from her dream. The consuls, thinking the city 
 now to be wholly helpless, dropped the mask they 
 had worn, and made known the senate's treacherous 
 decree. 
 
 " The decision of the senate is this," said Censo- 
 rinus, coldly, to the unhappy envoys of Carthage: 
 " so long as you possess a fortified city near the sea, 
 Rome can never feel sure of your submission. The 
 senate therefore decrees that you must remove to 
 some point ten miles distant from the coast. Car- 
 thage must be destroyed." 
 
 The trembling Carthaginians heard these fatal 
 words in stupefied amazement. On recovering their 
 senses they broke out into passionate exclamations 
 against the treachery of Rome, and declared that 
 the freedom of Carthago had been guaranteed. 
 
 " The guarantee refers to the people of Carthage, 
 not to her houses," answered the consul. " You 
 have heard the will of the senate; it must bo 
 obeyed, and quickly." 
 
 Carthage, meanwhile, waited in gloomy dread the 
 return of the commissioners. When they gave in 
 the council-chamber the ultimatum of Rome, a cry 
 of horror broke from the councillors. The crowd in 
 the street, on hearing this ominous sound, broke 
 open the doors and demanded what fatal news had 
 been received.
 
 THE FATE OF CARTHAGE. 161 
 
 On being told, they burst into a paroxysm of 
 fury. The members of the government who had 
 submitted to Rome were obliged to fly for their 
 lives. Every Italian found in the city was killed. 
 The party of the people seized the government, and 
 resolved to defend themselves to the uttermost. AD. 
 armistice of thirty days was asked from the consuls, 
 that a deputation might be sent to Rome. This was 
 refused. Despair gave courage and strength. The 
 making of new arms was energetically begun. Tem- 
 ples and public buildings were converted into work- 
 shops ; men and women by thousands worked night 
 and day ; every day there were produced one hun- 
 dred shields, three hundred swords, five hundred 
 pikes and javelins, and one thousand bolts for cata- 
 pults. The women even cut off their hair to be 
 twisted into strings for the catapults. Corn was 
 gathered in all haste from every quarter. 
 
 The consuls were astonished and disappointed. 
 They had not counted on such energy as this. They 
 did not know what it meant to drive a foe to des- 
 peration. They laid siege to Carthage, but found 
 it too strong for all their efforts. They proceeded 
 against the Carthaginian army in the field, but 
 gained no success. Summer and winter passed, and 
 Carthage still held out. Another year (148 B.C.) 
 went by, and Rome still lost ground. Old Cato, 
 the bitter foe of Carthage, had died, at the age 
 of eighty-five. Masinissa, the warlike Numidian, 
 had died at ninety-five. The hopes of the Cartha- 
 ginians grew. Those of Rome began to fall. The 
 rich booty that was looked for from the sack of 
 I 14*
 
 162 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Carthage was not to be handled so easily as had 
 been expected. 
 
 What Eome lacked was an able general. One was 
 found in Scipio, the adopted son of Publius Scipio, 
 son of the great Scipio Africanus. This young man 
 had proved himself the only able soldier in the war. 
 The army adored him. Though too young for the 
 consulship, he was elected to that high office, and in 
 147 B.C. sailed for Carthage. 
 
 The new commander found the army disorgan- 
 ized, and immediately restored strict discipline to its 
 ranks. The suburb of Megara, from which the 
 people of the city obtained their chief supply of 
 fresh provisions, was quickly taken. Want of food 
 began to be felt. The isthmus which connected the 
 city with the mainland was strongly occupied, and 
 land-supplies were thus cut off. The fleet blockaded 
 the harbor, but, as vessels still made their way in, 
 Scipio determined to build an embankment across 
 the harbor's mouth. 
 
 This was a work of great labor, and slowly pro- 
 ceeded. By the time it was done the Carthaginians 
 had cut a new channel from their harbor to the sea, 
 and Scipio had the mortification to see a newly- 
 built fleet of fifty ships sail out through this fresh 
 passage. On the third day a naval battle took place, 
 in which the greater part of the new fleet was 
 destroyed. 
 
 Another winter came and went. It was not until 
 the spring of 146 B.C. that the Romans succeeded in 
 forcing their way into the city, and their legions 
 bivouacked in the Forum of Carthage.
 
 THE FATE OF CARTHAGE. 163 
 
 But Carthage was not yet taken. Its death- 
 struggle was to be a desperate one. The streets 
 leading from the Forum towards the Citadel were 
 all strongly barricaded, and the houses, six stories 
 in height, occupied by armed men. For three days 
 a war of desperation was waged in the streets. The 
 Romans had to take the first houses of each street 
 by assault, and then force their way forward by 
 breaking from house to house. The cross streets 
 were passed on bridges of planks. 
 
 Thus they slowly advanced till the wall of Bosra 
 the high ground of the Citadel was reached. 
 Behind them the city was in flames. For six days 
 and nights it burned, destroying the wealth and 
 works of years. When the fire declined passages 
 were cleared through the ruins for the army to 
 advance. 
 
 Scipio, who had scarcely slept night or day during 
 the assault, now lay down for a short repose, on an 
 eminence from which could be seen the Temple of 
 Esculapius, whose gilded roof glittered on the highest 
 point of the hill of Bosra. He was aroused to re- 
 ceive an offer from the garrison to surrender if their 
 lives were spared. Scipio consented to spare all but 
 Roman deserters, and from the gates of the Citadel 
 marched out fifty thousand men as prisoners of war. 
 
 Hasdrubal, the Carthaginian commander, who had 
 made so brave a defence against Rome, retired with 
 his family and nine hundred deserters and others 
 into the Temple of Esculapius, as if to make a final 
 desperate defence. But his heart failed him at the 
 last moment, and, slipping -out alone, he cast him-
 
 164 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 self at Scipio's feet, and begged his pardon and mercy. 
 His wife, who saw his dastardly act, reproached him 
 bitterly for cowardice, and threw herself and her 
 children into the flames which enveloped the Cit- 
 adel. Most of the deserters perished in the same 
 flames. 
 
 " Assyria has fallen," said Scipio, as he looked with 
 eyes of prevision on the devouring flames. " Persia 
 and Macedonia have likewise fallen. Carthage is 
 burning. The day of Rome's fall may come next." 
 
 For five days the soldiers plundered the city, yet 
 enough of statues and other valuables remained to 
 yield the consul a magnificent triumph on his return 
 to Rome. Before doing so be celebrated the fall of 
 Carthage with grand games, in which the spoil of 
 that great city was shown the army. To Rome he 
 sent the brief despatch, " Carthage is taken. The 
 army waits for further orders." 
 
 The orders sent were that the walls should be 
 destroyed and every house levelled to the ground. 
 A curse was pronounced by Scipio on any one who 
 should seek to build a town on the site. The curse 
 did not prove effective. Julius Caesar afterwards 
 projected a new Carthage, and Augustus built it. 
 It grew to be a noble city, and in the third century 
 A.D. became one of the principal cities of the Roman 
 empire and the chief seat of Western Christianity 
 It was finally destroyed by the Arabs.
 
 THE GRACCHI AND THEIR 
 FALL. 
 
 IN the assault by the Roman forces on Megara, 
 the suburb of Carthage, the first to mount the wall 
 was a young man named Tiberius Gracchus, brother- 
 in-law of Scipio, the commander, and grandson of 
 the famous Scipio Africanus. This young man and 
 his brother were to play prominent parts in Rome. 
 
 One day when the great Scipio was feasting in the 
 Capitol, with other senators of Rome, be was asked 
 by some friends to give his daughter Cornelia in 
 marriage to Tiberius Gracchus, a young plebeian. 
 Proud patrician as he was, he consented, for Grac- 
 chus was highly esteemed for probity, and had done 
 him a personal service. 
 
 On his return home he told his wife that he had 
 promised his daughter to a plebeian. The good 
 woman, who had higher aims, blamed him severely 
 for his folly, as she deemed it. But when she was 
 told the name of her proposed son-in-law she changed 
 her mind, saying that Gracchus was the only man 
 worthy of the gift. 
 
 There were three children from this marriage, a 
 daughter, who became the wife of the younger 
 Scipio, and two sons, Tiberius and Cains Gracchus, 
 who are known in history as "The Gracchi." Their 
 
 165
 
 166 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 father became famous in war and peace, taking im 
 portant steps in the needed movement of reform. 
 He died, and after his death many sought the hand 
 of the noble Cornelia in marriage, among them King 
 Ptolemy of Egypt. But she refused them all, de- 
 voting her life to the education of her children, for 
 which she was admirably fitted by her lofty spirit 
 and high attainments. 
 
 Concerning this lady, one of the greatest and 
 noblest which Rome produced, there is an anecdote, 
 ofien repeated, yet well worth repeating again. A 
 Campanian lady who called upon her, and boastfully 
 spoke of her wealth in gold and precious stones, 
 asked Cornelia for the pleasure of seeing her jewels. 
 Leading her visitor to another room, the noble 
 matron pointed to her sleeping children, and said, 
 " There are my jewels ; the only ones of which I am 
 proud." 
 
 These children were born to troublous times. 
 Rome had grown in corruption and ostentation as 
 she had grown in wealth and dominion. When the 
 first Punic War broke out Rome ruled only over 
 Central and Southern Italy. When the third Punic 
 War ended Rome was lord of all Italy, Spain, and 
 Greece, and had wide possessions in Asia Minor and 
 Northern Africa. Wealth had flowed abundantly 
 into the imperial city, and with it pride, corruption, 
 and oppression. The great grew greater, the poor 
 poorer, and the old simplicity and frugality of Rome 
 were replaced by overweening luxury and greed of 
 wealth. 
 
 The younger Tiberius Gracchus, who was nine
 
 THE GRACCHI AND THEIR PALL. 167 
 
 years older than his brother, after taking part in the 
 siege of Carthage, went to Spain, where also was 
 work for a soldier. On his way thither he passed 
 through Etruria, and saw that in the fields the old 
 freeman farmers had disappeared, and been replaced 
 by foreign slaves, who worked with chains upon their 
 limbs. No Cincinnatus now ploughed his own small 
 fields, but the land was divided up into great estates, 
 cultivated by the captives taken in war ; while the 
 poor Eomans, by whose courage these lands had 
 been won, had not a foot of soil to call their own. 
 
 This spectacle was a sore one to Tiberius, in whose 
 mind the wise teachings of his mother had sunk 
 deep. Here were great spaces of fertile land lying 
 untilled, broad parks for the ostentation of their 
 proud possessors, while thousands of Eomans lan- 
 guished in poverty, and Eome had begun to depend 
 for food largely upon distant realms. 
 
 There was a law, more than two hundred years 
 old, which forbade any man from holding such large 
 tracts of land. Tiberius thought that this law should 
 be enforced. On his return to Eome his indignant 
 eloquence soon roused trouble in that city of rich and 
 poor. 
 
 "The wild beasts of the waste have their caves 
 and dens," he said ; " but you, the people of Eome, 
 who have fought and bled for its growth and glory, 
 have nothing left you but the air and the sunlight. 
 There are far too many Eomans," he continued, 
 " who have no family altar nor ancestral tomb. 
 They have fought well for Eome, and are falsely 
 called the masters of the world ; but the results of
 
 168 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 their fighting can only be seen in the luxury of the 
 great, while not one of them has a clod of dirt to 
 call his own." 
 
 Cornelia urged her son to do some work to ennoble 
 his name and benefit Home. 
 
 " I am called the ' daughter of Scipio,' " she said. 
 " I wish to be known as ' the mother of the Gracchi.' " 
 
 It was not personal glory, but the good of Eome, 
 th&t the young reformer sought. He presented him- 
 self for the office of tribune, and was elected by the 
 people, who looked upon him as their friend and ad- 
 vocate. And at his appeal they crowded from all 
 quarters into the city to vote for the re-establishment 
 of the Licinian laws, those forbidding the rich to 
 hold great estates. 
 
 These laws were re-enacted, and those lands which 
 the aristocrats had occupied by fraud or force were 
 taken from them by a commission and returned to 
 the state. 
 
 All this stirred the proud land-holders to fury. 
 They hated Gracchus with a bitter hatred, and began 
 to plot secretly for his overthrow. About this time 
 Attalus, king of Pergamus, moved by some erratic 
 whim, left his estates by will to the city of Rome. 
 Those who had been deprived of their lands claimed 
 these estates, to repay them for their outlays in im- 
 provement. Gracchus opposed this, and proposed to 
 divide this property among the plebeians, that they 
 might buy cattle and tools for their new estates. 
 
 His opponents were still more infuriated by this 
 action. He had offered himself for re-election to the 
 office of tribune, promising the people new and im-
 
 THE GRACCHI AND THEIR FALL. 169 
 
 portant reforms. His patrician foes took advantage 
 of the opportunity. As he stood in the Forum, sur- 
 rounded by his partisans, an uproar arose, in the 
 midst of which Gracchus happened to raise his hand 
 to his head. His enemies at once cried out that he 
 wanted to make himself king, and that this was a 
 sign that he sought a crown. 
 
 A fierce fight ensued. The opposing senators 
 attacked the crowd so furiously that those around 
 Gracchus fled, leaving him unsupported. He has- 
 tened for refuge towards the Temple of Jupiter, but 
 the priests had closed the doors, and in his haste he 
 stumbled over a bench. Before he could rise one of 
 his enemies struck him over the head with a stool. 
 A second repeated the blow. Before the statues of 
 the old kings, which graced the portals of the temple, 
 the tribune fell dead. 
 
 Many of his supporters were slain before the 
 tumult ceased. Many were forced over the wall at 
 the edge of the Tarpeian Rock, and were killed by 
 their fall. Three hundred in all were slain in the 
 fray. 
 
 Thus was shed the first blood that flowed in civil 
 strife at Home. It was a crimson prelude to the 
 streams of blood that were to follow, in the long 
 series of butcheries which were afterwards to disgrace 
 the Roman name. 
 
 Tiberius Gracchus may well be called the Great, 
 for the effect of his life upon the history of Rome 
 was stupendous. He held office for not more than 
 seven months, yet in that short time the power of 
 the senate was so shaken by him that it never fully 
 
 H 16
 
 170 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 recovered its strength. Had he been less gentle, or 
 more resolute, in disposition his work might have 
 been much greater still. Fiery indignation led him 
 on, but soldierly energy failed him at the end. 
 
 Caius Gracchus was in Spain at the time of his 
 brother's murder. On his return to Rome he lived 
 in quiet retirement for some years. The senate 
 thought he disapproved of his brother's laws. They 
 did not know him. At length he offered himself as 
 a candidate for the tribuneship, and so convincing 
 was his eloquence that the people supported him in 
 numbers, and he was elected to the office. 
 
 He at once made himself an ardent advocate of 
 his brother's reforms, and with such impassioned 
 oratory that he gained adherents on every side. He 
 made himself active in all measures of public prog- 
 ress, advocating the building of roads and bridges, 
 the erection of mile-stones, the giving the right to 
 vote to Italians in general, and the selling of grain 
 at low rates to the deserving poor. The laws passed 
 for these purposes are known as the Sempronian 
 laws, from the name of the family to which the 
 Gracchi belonged. 
 
 By this time the rich senators had grown highly 
 alarmed. Here was a new Gracchus in the field, as 
 eloquent and as eager for reform as his brother, and 
 who was daily growing more and more in favor with 
 the people. Something must be done at once, or this 
 new demagogue as they called him would do them 
 more harm than that for which they had slain his 
 brother. 
 
 They adopted the policy of fraud in place of that
 
 THE GRACCHI AND THEIR FALL. 171 
 
 of violence. The people were gullible ; they might 
 be made to believe that the senators of Rome were 
 their best friends. A rich and eloquent politician, 
 Drusus by name, proposed measures more democratic 
 even than those which Gracchus had advocated. This 
 effort had the effect that was intended. The influ- 
 ence of Gracchus over the popular mind was lessened. 
 The people had proved fully as gullible as the shrewd 
 senators had expected. 
 
 Among other measures proposed by Gracchus was 
 one for planting a colony and building a new city 
 on the site of Carthage. The senate appeared to 
 approve this, and appointed him one of the commis- 
 sioners for laying out the settlement. He was forced 
 to leave Rome, and during his absence his enemies 
 worked more diligently than ever. Gracchus was 
 defeated in the election for tribune that followed. 
 
 And now the plans of his enemies matured. It 
 was said that the new colony at Carthage had been 
 planted on the ground cursed by Scipio. Wolves 
 had torn down the boundary-posts, which signified 
 the wrath of the gods. The tribes were called to 
 meet at the Capitol, and repeal the law for colonizing 
 Carthage. 
 
 A tumult arose. A man who insulted Gracchus 
 was slain by an unknown hand. The senate pro- 
 claimed Gracchus and his friends public enemies, and 
 roused many of the people against him by parading 
 the body of the slain man. Gracchus and his friends 
 took up a position on the Aventine Hill. Here they 
 were assailed by a strong armed force. 
 
 There was no resistance. Gracchus sought refuge
 
 172 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 at first in the Temple of Diana, and afterwards made 
 his way to the Grove of the Furies, several of his 
 friends dying in defence of his flight. A single slave 
 accompanied him. When the grove was reached by 
 his pursuers both were found dead. The faithful 
 slave had pierced his master's heart, and then slain 
 himself by the same sword. 
 
 Slaughter ruled in Rome. The Tiber flowed thick 
 with the corpses of the friends of Gracchus, who 
 were slain by the fierce patricians. The houses of 
 the murdered reformers were plundered by the mob, 
 for whose good they had lost their lives. For the 
 time none dared speak the name of Gracchus except 
 in reprobation. Yet he and his brother had done 
 yeoman service for the ungrateful people of Rome. 
 
 Cornelia retired to Misenum, where she lived for 
 many years. But she lived not in grief for her sons, 
 but in pride and triumph. They had died the deaths 
 of heroes and patriots, and she gloried in their fame, 
 declaring that they had found worthy graves in the 
 temples of the gods. 
 
 So came the people to think, in after-years, and 
 they set up in the Forum a bronze statue to the great 
 Roman matron, on which were inscribed only these 
 words : To CORNELIA, THE MOTHER OP THE GRACCHI.
 
 JUGURTHA, THE PURCHASER OF 
 ROME. 
 
 MASINISSA, the valiant old king of Numidia, who 
 had ravaged Carthage in its declining days, left 
 his kingdom to his three sons. On the death of 
 Micipsa, the last remaining of these, in 118 B.C., he, 
 in turn, left the kingdom to his two sons. They 
 were still young, and Jugurtha, their cousin, was 
 appointed their guardian and the regent of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Shrewd, bold, ambitious, and unscrupulous, Jugur- 
 tha was the most dangerous man in Numidia to 
 whose care the young princes could have been con- 
 fided. Scipio read his character rightly, and said to 
 him, " Trust to your own good qualities, and power 
 will come of itself. Seek it by base arts, and you 
 will lose all." 
 
 Some of the young nobles in Scipio's camp gave 
 baser advice. " At Rome," they told him, " all 
 things could be had for money." They advised him 
 to buy the support of Eome, and seize the crown of 
 Numidia. 
 
 Jugurtha took this base advice, instead of the wise 
 counsel of Scipio. He was destined to pay dearly 
 for his ambition and lack of faith and honor. One 
 16* 173
 
 174 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 of the young princes showed a high spirit, and 
 Jugurtha had him assassinated. The other fled to 
 Rome and sought the support of the senate. Ju- 
 gurtha now, following the suggestions of his false 
 friends, sent gold and promises to Rome, purchased 
 the support of venal senators, and had voted to him 
 the strongest half of the kingdom ; Adherbal, the 
 young prince, being given the weaker half. 
 
 But the young man was not left in peace, even in 
 this reduced inheritance. Jugurtha sent more pres- 
 ents to Rome, and, confident of his strength there, 
 boldly invaded the dominions of Adherbal. A Ro- 
 man commission threatened him with Rome's dis- 
 pleasure if he did not keep within his own domin- 
 ions. He affected to submit, but as soon as the 
 commissioners turned their backs the daring adven- 
 turer renewed his efforts, got possession of his cousin 
 through treachery, and at once ordered him to be put 
 to death with torture. 
 
 Since Rome had become great and powerful no 
 one had dared so openly to contemn its decrees. 
 But Jugurtha knew the Romans of that day, and 
 trusted to his gold. He bought a majority in the 
 senate, defied the minority, and would have gained 
 his aim but for one honest man. This was the tribune 
 Memmius, who, seeing that the senate was hopelessly 
 corrupt, called the people together in the Forum, told 
 them of the crimes of Jugurtha, and demanded jus- 
 tice and redress at their hands. 
 
 And now a struggle arose like that between the 
 Gracchi and the rich senators. Jugurtha sent more 
 gold to Rome. An army was despatched against
 
 JUQURTHA, THE PURCHASER OP ROME. 175 
 
 him, but he purchased it also. He gave up his ele- 
 phants in pledge of good faith, and then bought 
 them back at a high price. The officers divided the 
 money, and the army failed to advance. 
 
 Jugurtha would have triumphed but for Memmius, 
 who resolutely kept up his attacks. In the end the 
 usurper was ordered to come to Kome, under a safe- 
 conduct. He came, and here by his gold purchased 
 one of the tribunes, who protected him against the 
 wrath of Memmius and the people. But Memmius 
 was resolute and determined. Another Numidian 
 prince was found and asked to demand the crown 
 from the senate. Jugurtha learned what was afoot, 
 and sent an agent, Bomilcar by name, to assassinate 
 the new prince. An indictment was laid against 
 Bomilcar, but Jugurtha, fearing to have his own 
 share in the murder exposed, sent him off secretly 
 to Africa. 
 
 This was too much, even for the purchased mem- 
 bers of the senate. Such open disdain of the majesty 
 of Rome no man, however avaricious, dared support. 
 Jugurtha had a safe-conduct, and could not be seized, 
 but he was ordered to quit Eome immediately. He 
 did so, and as he passed out of the gates he looked 
 back and said, "A city for sale if she can find a pur- 
 chaser." 
 
 The remainder of Jugurtha's history is one of 
 war. The time for winning power by bribery was 
 past. The people were so thoroughly aroused and 
 incensed that none dared yield to cupidity. The in- 
 dignation grew. The first army sent against Jugur- 
 tha was baffled by the wily African, caught in a
 
 176 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 defile, and only escaped by passing under the yoke, 
 and agreeing to evacuate Numidia. 
 
 This disgrace stirred Eome more deeply still. A 
 new consul was elected and a new army raised. A 
 commission was appointed to inquire into the conduct 
 of the senate, and several of the leading members 
 were found guilty of high treason and put to death 
 without mercy. Eome had begun to purge itself. 
 
 The new general, Metellus, was not one to be sent 
 under the yoke. He defeated Jugurtha in the field 
 and pursued him so unrelentingly that soon the 
 African usurper was a fugitive, without an army, and 
 with only some fortresses under his control. 
 
 Metellus had with him as his principal officer a 
 man who was to become famous in Roman history. 
 This man, Caius Marius, was then fifty years of age. 
 Yet he had years enough before him to play a 
 mighty part. He was a man of the people, rough 
 and uneducated ; scorned learning, but had a vigor- 
 ous ambition and a striking military genius. He 
 claimed to be a New Man, knew no Greek, and 
 boasted that he had no images but " prizes won by 
 valor and scars upon his breast." 
 
 This man made himself the favorite of the popu- 
 lace, was elected consul, and by undisguised trickery 
 took the conduct of the war out of the hands of 
 Metellus just as the latter was about to succeed. 
 With him to Africa went another man who was to 
 become equally famous, L. Cornelius Sulla, the 
 future chief of Rome. Sulla was not a New Man. 
 He was an aristocrat, knew Greek better than 
 Marius knew Latin, was educated and dissipated,
 
 JUGURTHA, THE PURCHASER OF ROME. 177 
 
 and showed the marks of a dissolute life in his face. 
 When he rode into the camp of Marius at the head 
 of the cavalry he had seen no service, and the 
 rugged soldier looked with contempt on this effemi- 
 nate pleasure-seeker who had been sent as his lieu- 
 tenant. He soon learned his mistake, and before 
 the campaign ended Sulla was his most trusted 
 officer and chief adviser. 
 
 In the subsequent conduct of the war there is an 
 interesting story to tell. There were two hill- forts 
 in Numidia which still remained in Jugurtha's con- 
 trol. One of these was taken easily. The other 
 which contained all that was left of the usurper's 
 treasures was a formidable place, which long defied 
 the Eoman engineers. It stood on a precipitous 
 rock, with only a single narrow ascent; was well 
 garrisoned and supplied with arms, food, and water ; 
 and so long defied all the efforts of Marius that he 
 almost despaired of its capture. 
 
 In this dilemma a happy chance came to his aid. 
 A Ligurian soldier, a practised mountaineer, being 
 in search of water, saw a number of snails crawling 
 up the rock in the rear of the castle. These were a 
 favorite food with him, and he gathered what he 
 saw, and climbed the cliff in search of more. 
 Higher and higher he went, till he had nearly 
 reached the summit of the rock. Here he found 
 himself near a large oak, which had rooted itself in 
 the rock crevices, and grew upward so as to overtop 
 the castle hill. 
 
 The Ligurian, led by curiosity, climbed the tree, 
 and gained a point from which he could see the 
 II. m
 
 178 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 castle, undefended on this side, and without sen- 
 tinels. Having taken a close observation, he de- 
 scended, carefully examining every point as he went. 
 He now hastened to the tent of Marius, recounted 
 to him his exploit, and offered to guide a party up 
 the perilous ascent. 
 
 Marius was quick to seize this hopeful chance. 
 Five trumpeters and four centurions were selected, 
 who were placed under the leadership of the moun- 
 taineer. Laying aside all clothing and arms that 
 would obstruct them, they followed the Ligurian up 
 the rock. He, an alert and skilful climber, here and 
 there tied ropes to projecting points, here lent them 
 the aid of his hand, here sent them up ahead and 
 carried their arms after them. At length, with 
 great toil and risk, they reached the summit, and 
 found the castle at this point undefended and un- 
 watched, the Numidians being all on the opposite 
 side. 
 
 Marius, being apprised of their success, ordered a 
 vigorous assault in front. The garrison rushed to 
 the defence of their outer works. In the heat of 
 the action a sudden clangor of trumpets was heard 
 in their rear. This unexpected sound spread instant 
 alarm. The women and children who had come out 
 to watch the contest fled in terror. The soldiers 
 nearest the walls followed. At length the whole 
 body, stricken suddenly with panic, took to flight, 
 followed in hot pursuit by their foes. 
 
 Over the deserted works the Romans clambered, 
 into the castle they burst, all who opposed them 
 were cut down, and in a short time the place which
 
 JUGTJRTHA, THE PURCHASER OF ROME. 179 
 
 had so long defied them was theirs, while the four 
 trumpets to which their victory was due sounded 
 loudly the war-peal of triumph. 
 
 Jugurtha was still at large. He was supported by 
 Bocchus, king of Mauritania, whose daughter he had 
 married. Sulla was sent to demand his surrender. 
 Bocchus refused at first, but at length, through fear 
 of Eome, consented, and the bold usurper was be- 
 trayed into Sulla's hands. 
 
 The end of Jugurtha was one in accordance with 
 the brutal cruelty of Eome, yet it was one which 
 he richly deserved. It was in the month of Janu- 
 ary, 104 B.C., three years after his capture, that 
 Marius entered Eome in triumphal procession, dis- 
 playing to the people the spoils of his victories, 
 while before his car walked his captive in chains. 
 
 The African seemed sunk in stupor as he walked. 
 He was roused by the brutal mob, who tore off his 
 clothes and plucked the gold rings from his ears. 
 Then he was thrust into the dungeon at the foot of 
 the Capitoline Hill. " Hercules, what a cold bath 
 this is!" he exclaimed. There he who had defied 
 Eome and lorded it over Africa starved to death. 
 A prince of the line of Masinissa succeeded him on 
 the throne.
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF 
 MARIUS. 
 
 MARITJS and Sulla, the heroes of the Jugurthine 
 War, in later years led in greater wars, in which 
 they gained much fame. They ended their careers 
 in frightful massacres, in which they gained great 
 infamy. Rome, which had made the world its 
 slaughter-house, was itself turned into a slaughter- 
 house by these cruel and revengeful rivals. 
 
 There was rarel}" any lack of work for the swords 
 of Rome. While Marius was absent in Africa a 
 frightful peril threatened the Roman* state. A vast 
 horde of barbarians was sweeping downward from 
 the north. The Germans of Central Europe had 
 ravaged Switzerland and invaded Gaul. Every 
 army sent against them had been defeated with 
 great slaughter. Italy was in immediate danger 
 of invasion, Rome in imminent peril. Marius was 
 sadly needed, and on his return from Africa was 
 hailed as the only man who could save the state. 
 
 Instantly he gathered an army and set out for 
 Gaul, Sulla going with him as a subordinate officer. 
 Two years were spent in marches and counter- 
 marches, and then (B.C. 102) he met the enemy and 
 defeated them with immense slaughter. Reserving 
 the richest of the spoils, he devoted the remainder 
 180
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIU8. 181 
 
 to the gods, and, as he stood in a purple robe, torch 
 in hand, about to apply the flame to the costly 
 funeral pile, horsemen dashed at full speed through 
 the open lines of the troops, and announced that for 
 a fifth time he had been elected consul of Eome. 
 
 In this war Sulla also showed valor and won fame. 
 But he had grown jealous of the glory of Marius, 
 and left his army to join that of the consul Catulus, 
 who was being driven backward by another great 
 horde of barbarians. Marius, having beaten his own 
 foes, hastened to the relief of his associate ; the flight 
 was stopped, and a battle ensued in which the in- 
 vading army was swept from the face of the earth, 
 and Home freed for centuries from danger of bar- 
 barian invasion. 
 
 Sulla and Catulus had their share in this victory, 
 but the people gave Marius the whole honor, called 
 him the third founder of their city (as Camillus had 
 been the second), and gathered in rejoicing multi- 
 tudes to witness his triumph. 
 
 While this war was going on there was dreadful 
 work at home. Tie slaves had, for the second time, 
 broken into insurrection. This servile war was 
 mainly in Sicily, where thousands of slaves were 
 slain. Of the captives, many were taken to Eome 
 to fight with wild beasts in the arena, but they dis- 
 appointed the eager spectators by killing each other. 
 This outbreak only made slavery at Eome harder 
 and harsher than before. 
 
 Years passed on, and then another war broke out. 
 The Italian allies, who had helped to make Eome 
 great, claimed rights of citizenship and suffrage. 
 
 16
 
 182 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 These were denied, and what is known as the Social 
 War began. Sulla and Marius took part in this con- 
 flict, which ended in favor of Eome, though the 
 franchise fought for was in large measure gained. 
 It was of little value, however, since all who held it 
 were obliged to go to the city of Eome to vote. 
 
 During these various conflicts the rivalry between 
 Marius and Sulla grew steadily more declared. The 
 old plebeian, now seventy years of age, was jealous 
 of the honors which his aristocratic rival had gained 
 in the Social War, and a spirit of bitter hatred, 
 which was to bear dire results, arose in his heart. 
 
 Events to come were to blow this spark of hatred 
 into a glowing flame. A new war threatened Kome. 
 Mithridates the Great, king of Pontus, in Asia 
 Minor, was pursuing a career of conquest, and the 
 Roman provinces in Asia were in danger. War was 
 determined on, and Sulla, who had already held suc- 
 cessful command in the East, claimed the command 
 of the new army. Marius, old as he was, wanted it, 
 too, and by his influence with the new citizens of 
 Rome succeeded in defeating Sulla and gaining the 
 appointment of general in the war against Pontus. 
 
 This vote of the tribes precipitated a contest. The 
 Social War was not yet fully ended, and Sulla has- 
 tened to the camp where his soldiers were besieging 
 a Samnite town. It was his purpose to set sail for 
 the East before he could be superseded. He was too 
 late. Officials from Rome reached the camp almost 
 as soon as he, bearing a commission from Marius to 
 assume the command. It was a critical moment. 
 Sulla must either yield or inaugurate a civil war.
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OP MARIUS. 183 
 
 He chose the latter. Calling the soldiers together, 
 he told them that he had been insulted and injured, 
 and that, unless they supported him, they would be 
 left at home, and a new army raised by Marius 
 would obtain the spoils of the Mithridatic war. 
 Stirred by this appeal to their avarice, the legions 
 stoned to death the officers sent by Marius, and 
 loudly demanded to be led to Borne. 
 
 Their coming took Marius by surprise, and threw 
 the city into consternation. No one had dreamed 
 of such daring and audacity. To lead a Roman 
 army against Eome was unprecedented. The sen- 
 ate sent an embassy asking Sulla to halt till the 
 Fathers could come to some decision. He promised 
 to do so, but as soon as the envoys had gone he sent 
 a force that seized the Colline Gate and entered the 
 city streets. Here their progress was stopped by 
 the people, who hurled tiles and stones upon their 
 heads from the house-tops. 
 
 The whole army soon followed, and Sulla entered 
 the city with two legions at his back. The people 
 again opposed their march, but Sulla seized a 
 torch and threatened to burn the city if any hos- 
 tility were shown. This ended all opposition, except 
 that made by Marius, who retreated to the Capi- 
 tol, where he proclaimed liberty to all slaves who 
 would join his banner. This did him much more 
 harm than good ; his adherents dispersed ; he and 
 his chief supporters were forced to seek safety in 
 flight. 
 
 And now we] have a story of striking interest to 
 tell It would need the powers of invention of a
 
 184 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 romancer to devise a series of adventures as remark- 
 able as those which befell old Marius in his flight. 
 It is one of the strangest stories in all the annals of 
 history, a marked illustration of the saying that fact 
 is often stranger than fiction. 
 
 Marius fled to Ostia, at the mouth of the Tiber, 
 in company with Granius, his son-in-law, and five 
 slaves. He proposed to take ship there for Africa, 
 where his influence was great. His son followed 
 him by a different route, and arrived at Ostia to 
 find that his father had put to sea. There was an- 
 other vessel about to sail, which the son took, and 
 in which he succeeded in reaching Africa. 
 
 The older fugitive had no such good fortune. The 
 elements pronounced against him, and a storm drove 
 the vessel ashore near Circeii. Here the party wan- 
 dered in distress along the desolate coast, in immi- 
 nent danger of capture, for emissaries of Sulla were 
 scouring the shores of Italy in his pursuit. For- 
 tunately for the old general, he was recognized by 
 some herdsmen, who warned him that a troop of 
 cavalry was approaching. Not knowing who they 
 were, and fearing their purpose, the fugitives hastily 
 left the road and sought shelter in the forest that 
 there came down near to the coast. 
 
 Here the night was miserably passed, the fugitives 
 suffering for want of food and shelter. When the 
 dawn of the next day broke, their forlorn walk was 
 resumed, there being no enemy in sight. By this 
 time the whole party, with the exception of Marius, 
 was greatly depressed. He alone kept up his spirits, 
 telling his followers that he had been six times
 
 THE EXILE AJ*D REVENGE OF MARIUS. 185 
 
 consul of Rome, and that a seventh consulship 
 would yet be his. 
 
 There seemed little hope of such a turn of fortune 
 as the hungry fugitives dragged wearily onward. 
 For two days they kept on, making about forty 
 miles of distance. At the end of that time peril of 
 capture came frightfully near. A body of horse- 
 men was visible at a distance, coming rapidly on. 
 No friendly forest here offered shelter. The only 
 hope of escape lay in two merchant vessels, which 
 were moving slowly close in shore. 
 
 Calling loudly for aid, Marius and those with him 
 plunged into the water and swam for these vessels. 
 Granius reached one of them. Harms was so ex- 
 hausted that he could not swim, and was supported 
 with difficulty above the water by two slaves till 
 the seamen of the other vessel drew him on board. 
 
 He had barely reached the deck when the troop 
 of horsemen rode to the water's edge, and their 
 leader called to the captain of the vessel, telling him 
 that it was the proscribed Marius he had rescued, 
 and bidding him at once to deliver him up. 
 
 What to do the captain did not know. The officer 
 on shore threatened him with the vengeance of 
 Sulla if he failed to yield the fugitive. Marius, with 
 tears in his eyes, earnestly begged for protection 
 from the captain and crew. The captain wavered 
 in purpose, but finally yielded to Marius and sailed 
 on. But he did so in doubt and fear, and on reach- 
 ing the mouth of the river Liris he persuaded Marius 
 to go ashore, saying that the vessel must lie to till 
 the land-wind rose. The instant the boat returned 
 16*
 
 186 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the faithless captain sailed away, leaving the aged 
 fugitive absolutely alone on the beach. 
 
 Walking wearily to the sorry hut of an old 
 peasant, which stood near, Marius told him who he 
 was, and begged for shelter. The old man hid him 
 in a hole near the river, and covered him with reeds. 
 While he lay there the horsemen, who had followed 
 the vessel along the shore, came up, and asked the 
 tenant of the hut where Marius was. 
 
 The shivering fugitive, in fear of being betrayed, 
 rose hastily from his hiding-place and dashed into 
 the stream. Some of the horsemen saw him, he was 
 pursued, and, covered with mud and nearly naked, 
 the old conqueror was dragged from the river, 
 placed on a horse, and carried as a captive to the 
 neighboring town of Miturnae. Here he was con- 
 fined in the house of a man named Famia till his 
 fate could be determined. 
 
 A circular letter had been received by the magis- 
 trates from the consuls at Eome, ordering them to 
 put Marius to death if he should fall into their 
 hands. This was more than they cared to do on 
 their own responsibility, and they called a meeting 
 of the town council to decide the momentous ques- 
 tion. The council decided that Marius should die, 
 and sent a Gaulish slave to put him to death. 
 
 It was dark when the executioner entered the 
 house of Famia. The slave, little relishing the task 
 committed to his hands, entered the room where 
 Marius lay. All the trembling wretch could see in 
 the darkness were the glaring eyes of the old man 
 fixed fiercely on him, while a deep voice came from
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIUS. 187 
 
 the couch, " Fellow, darest thou slay Caius Ma- 
 rius?" 
 
 Throwing down his sword, the Gaul fled in terror 
 from those accusing eyes, crying out, loudly, " I can- 
 not slay Caius Marius !" 
 
 The magistrates made no further effort to put their 
 prisoner to death. They managed that he should 
 escape, and he made his way to the island of Ischia, 
 which Granius had already reached. Here a friendly 
 ship took them on board, and they sailed for Africa. 
 
 But the perils of the fugitive were not yet at an 
 end. The ship was forced to stop at Erycina, in 
 Sicily, for water. Here a Roman official recognized 
 Marius, fell upon the party with a company of sol- 
 diers, and slew sixteen of them. Marius was nearly 
 taken, but managed to escape, the vessel hastily 
 setting sail. He now reached Africa without fur- 
 ther adventure. 
 
 His son and other friends had arrived earlier, and, 
 encouraging news being told him, he landed near 
 the site of ancient Carthage. The praetor, learning 
 of his presence, and advised of the revolution at 
 Rome, sent him word to quit the province without 
 delay. As the messenger spoke Marius looked at 
 him with silent indignation. 
 
 " What answer shall I take back to the prater ?" 
 asked the man. 
 
 " Tell him," said the old general, with impressive 
 dignity, "that you have seen Caius Marius sitting 
 among the ruins of Carthage." 
 
 Meanwhile his son had reached Numidia, where 
 he was outwardly well received by the king, yet
 
 188 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 held in captivity. He was at length enabled to es- 
 cape by the aid of the king's daughter, and joined 
 his father. Marius was not further molested. 
 
 Yet it would have been well for the fame of Caius 
 Marius had his life ended here. He would have es- 
 caped the infamy of his later years, and the flood 
 of blood and vengeance in which his career reached 
 its end. He had friends still in Rome. Sulla had 
 made many foes by his capture of the city. Among 
 the new consuls elected was Cornelius Cinna, who 
 quickly made trouble for the ruler of Eome. Sulla, 
 finding his power abating, and fearing assassination 
 by friends of Marius, concluded to let the senate fight 
 its own battles, and shipped his troops for Greece, 
 leaving Rome to its own devices, while he occupied 
 himself with fighting its enemy in the East. 
 
 No sooner had he gone than civil war began. 
 Fighting took place in the streets of Rome. Cinna 
 moved in the senate that Marius should be restored 
 to his rights. Failing in this, he gathered an army 
 and threatened his enemies in Rome. 
 
 News of all this soon reached old Marius in Africa. 
 At the head of a thousand desperate men he took 
 ship and landed in Etruria. Here he proclaimed 
 liberty to all slaves who would join him, and soon 
 had a large force. He also gained a small fleet. He 
 and Cinna now joined forces and marched on Rome. 
 
 The senate, which stood for Sulla, had meanwhile 
 been gathering an army for the defence of the city. 
 But few of those ordered from afar reached the 
 gates, and of the principal force the greater part 
 deserted to Marius. The city was soon invested o
 
 THE EXILE AND REVENGE OF MARIU8. 189 
 
 all sides. The ships of Marius captured the corn- 
 vessels from Sicily and Africa. A plague broke out 
 in the city, which decimated the army of the senate, 
 In the end beleaguered Kome was forced to open its 
 gates to a new conqueror. 
 
 All the senate asked for was that Cinna would not 
 permit a general massacre. This he promised. But 
 behind his chair, in which he sat in state as consul, 
 stood old Marius, whose face threatened disaster. 
 He was dressed in mean attire ; his hair and beard 
 hung down rough and long, for neither had been cut 
 since the day he fled from Eome ; on his brow was 
 a sullen frown that boded only evil to his foes. 
 
 Evil it was, evil without stint. Rome was treated 
 as a conquered city. The slaves and desperadoes 
 who followed Marius were let loose to plunder at 
 their will. Octavius, the consul who had supported 
 the senate, was slain in his consular chair. A series 
 of horrible butcheries followed. Marius was bent 
 on dire vengeance, and his enemies fell in multi- 
 tudes. Followed by a band of ruffians known as 
 the Bardiaei, the remorseless old man roamed in 
 search of victims through the city streets, and any 
 man of rank whom he passed without a salute was 
 at once struck dead. 
 
 The senators who had opposed his recall from 
 exile fell first. Others followed in multitudes. 
 Those who had private wrongs to revenge followed 
 the example of their chief. The slaves of the army 
 killed at will all whom they wished to plunder. So 
 great became the licentious outrages of these slaves 
 that in the end Cinna, who had taken no part in the
 
 190 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 massacres, fell upon them with a body of troops and 
 slew several thousands. This reprisal in some meas- 
 ure restored order in Rome. 
 
 Sulla, meanwhile, was winning victories in the 
 East, and the news of them somewhat disturbed the 
 ruthless conquerors. But for the present they were 
 absolute, and the saturnalia of blood went on. It 
 ended at length in the death of Marius. 
 
 Since his return he had given himself to wine and 
 riotous living. This, after the privations and hard- 
 ships he had recently suffered, sapped his iron conr 
 stitution. He was elected to the seventh consulship, 
 which he had predicted while wandering as a fugi- 
 tive on the south Italian shores. But he fell now 
 into an inflammatory fever, and in two weeks after 
 his election he ceased to breathe. Great and suc- 
 cessful soldier as he had been, his late conduct had 
 won him wide-spread detestation, and he died hated 
 by his enemies and feared even by his friends.
 
 THE PROSCRIPTION OF SULLA. 
 
 WHILE Marius and his friends were ruling and 
 murdering in Rome, Sulla, their bitter enemy, was 
 commanding and conquering in the East, biding his 
 time for revenge. He drove the Asiatic foe out of 
 Greece, taking and pillaging Athens as an episode. 
 He carried the war into Asia, forced Mithridates to 
 eue for peace, and exacted enormous sums (more 
 than one hundred million dollars in our money) from 
 the rich cities of the East. Then, after giving his 
 soldiers a winter's rest in Asia, he turned his face 
 towards Rome, writing to the senate that he was 
 coming, and that he intended to take revenge on his 
 enemies. 
 
 It was now the year 83 B.C. Three years had 
 passed since the death of Marius. During the inter- 
 val the party of the plebeians had been at the head 
 of affairs. Now Sulla, the aristocrat, was coming to 
 call them to a stern account, and they trembled in 
 anticipation. They remembered vividly the Marian 
 carnival of blood. What retribution would his 
 merciless rival exact ? 
 
 Cinna, who had most to fear, proposed to meet the 
 conqueror in the field. But his soldiers were not in 
 the mood to fight, and settled the question by murder- 
 
 191
 
 192 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ing their commander. When spring was well ad- 
 vanced, Sulla left Asia, and in sixteen hundred ships 
 transported his men to Italy, landing at the port of 
 Brundusium. 
 
 On the 6th of July, shortly after his landing, an 
 event occurred that threw all Rome into consterna- 
 tion. The venerable buildings of the Capitol took 
 fire and were burned to the ground, the cherished 
 Sibylline books perishing in the flames. Such a dis- 
 aster seemed to many Romans a fatal prognostic. The 
 gods were surely against them, and all things were 
 at risk. 
 
 Onward marched Sulla, opposed by a much greater 
 army collected by his opponents. But he led the 
 veterans of the Mithridatic War, and in the ranks 
 of his opponents no man of equal ability appeared. 
 Battle after battle was fought, Sulla steadily advan- 
 cing. At length an army of Samnites, raised to 
 defend the Marian cause, marched on Rome. Caius 
 Pontius, their commander, was bent on terribly 
 avenging the sufferings of his people on that great 
 city. 
 
 " Rome's last day," he said to his soldiers, " is come. 
 The city must be annihilated. The wolves that have 
 so long preyed upon Italy will never cease from 
 troubling till their lair is utterly destroyed." 
 
 Rome was in despair, for all seemed at an end. 
 The Samnites had not forgotten a former Pontius, 
 who had sent a Roman army under the Caudine 
 Forks, and had been cruelly murdered in the Capitol. 
 They thundered on the Colline Gate. But at that 
 critical moment a large body of cavalry appeared
 
 THE PROSCRIPTION OP SULLA. 193 
 
 and charged the foe. It was the vanguard of Sulla's 
 army, marching in haste to the relief of Eome. 
 
 A fierce battle ensued. Sulla fought gallantly. 
 He rode a white horse, and was the mark of every 
 javelin. But despite his efforts his men were forced 
 back against the wall, and when night came to their 
 relief it looked as if nothing remained for them but 
 to sell their lives as dearly as possible the next 
 morning. 
 
 But during the night Sulla received favorable news. 
 Crassus, who commanded his right wing, had com- 
 pletely defeated a detachment of the Marian army. 
 With quick decision, Sulla marched during the night 
 round the enemy's camp, joined Crassus, and at day- 
 break attacked the foe. 
 
 The battle that ensued was a terrible one. Fifty 
 thousand men fell on each side. Pontius and other 
 Marian leaders were slain. In the end Sulla tri- 
 umphed, taking eight thousand prisoners, of whom 
 six thousand were Samnites. The latter were, by 
 order of the victor, ruthlessly butchered in cold 
 blood. 
 
 This was but the prelude to an equally ruthless but 
 more protracted butchery. Sulla was at last lord of 
 Rome, as absolute in power as any emperor of later 
 days. In fact, he had himself appointed dictator, an 
 office which had vanished more than a century 
 before, and which raised him above the law. He 
 announced that he would give a better government 
 to Home, but to do so he must first rid that city of 
 its enemies. 
 
 Marius, whom Sulla hated with intense bitterness, 
 II. I n 17
 
 194 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 had escaped him by death. By his orders the bones 
 of the old general were torn from their tomb near 
 the Anio and flung into that stream. The son of 
 Marius had slain himself to prevent being taken. 
 His head was brought to Sulla at Rome, who gazed 
 on the youthful face with grim satisfaction, saying, 
 "Those who take the helm must first serve at the 
 oar." As for himself, his fortune was now accom- 
 plished, he said, and henceforth he should be known 
 as Felix. 
 
 The cruel work which Sulla had promised im- 
 mediately began. Adherents of the popular party 
 were slaughtered daily and hourly at Eome. Some 
 who had taken no part in the late war were slain. 
 No man knew if he was safe. Some of the sena- 
 tors asked that the names of the guilty should be 
 made known, that the innocent might be relieved 
 from uncertainty. The proposition hit with Sulla's 
 humor. He ordered that a list of those doomed to 
 death should be made out and published. This was 
 called a Proscription. 
 
 But the uncertainty continued as great as ever. 
 The list contained but eighty names. It was quickly 
 followed by another containing one hundred and 
 twenty. Day after day new lists of the doomed were 
 issued. To make death sure, a reward of two talents 
 was promised any one who should kill a proscribed 
 man, even if the killer were his son or his slave. 
 Those who in any way aided the proscribed became 
 themselves doomed to death. 
 
 Men who envied others their property managed 
 to have their names put on the list. A partisan of
 
 THE PROSCRIPTION OP SULLA. 195 
 
 Sulla was exulting over the doomed, when his eye fell 
 on his own name in the list. He hastily fled, and 
 the bystanders, judging the cause, followed and cut 
 him down. Catiline, who afterwards became notori- 
 ous in Roman history, murdered his own brother, 
 and to legalize the murder had the name of his 
 victim placed on the list. 
 
 How many were murdered we do not know. 
 Probably little less than three thousand in Rome. 
 The stream of murder flowed to other cities. Several 
 of these defied the conqueror, but were taken one by 
 one and their defenders slain. To all cities which 
 had taken part with the Marians the proscription 
 made its way. Of the total number slain during this 
 reign of terror no record exists, but the deliberate 
 butchery of Sulla went far beyond the ferocious but 
 temporary slaughter of Marius. 
 
 Murder was followed by confiscation. Sulla 
 ordered that the property of the slain should be 
 sold at auction and the proceeds put in the treasury. 
 But the favorites of the dictator were the chief bid- 
 ders, the property was sold at a tithe of its value, 
 and the unworthy and dissolute obtained the lion's 
 share of the spoil. 
 
 During this period of murder and confiscation we 
 first hear the names of a number of afterwards 
 famous Romans. Catiline we have named. Pompey 
 took part in the war on Sulla's side, was victorious 
 in Sicily and Africa, and on his return was hailed 
 by his chief with the title of Pompey the Great. 
 Another stjll more famous personage was Julius 
 Caesar. Sulla had ordered that all persons connected
 
 196 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 by marriage with the Marian party should divorce 
 their wives. Pompey obeyed. Csesar, who was a 
 nephew of Marius and had married the daughter of 
 Cinna, boldly refused. He was then a youth of nine- 
 teen. His boldness would have brought him death 
 had not powerful friends asked for his life. 
 
 " You know not what you ask," said Sulla ; " that 
 profligate boy will be more dangerous than many 
 Mariuses." 
 
 Caesar, not trusting Sulla's doubtful humor, es- 
 caped from Rome, and hid in the depths of the 
 Sabine mountains, awaiting a time when the streets 
 of the capital city would be safer for those who 
 dared speak their minds. 
 
 Another young man of rising fame showed little 
 less boldness. This was Cicero, who had just re- 
 turned to Rome from his studies in Greece. He 
 ventured to defend Roscius of Ameria against an 
 accusation of murder made by Chrysogonus, a prime 
 favorite of Sulla. Cicero lashed the favorite vigor- 
 ously, and won a verdict for his client. But he found 
 it advisable to leave Rome immediately and resume 
 his studies at Rhodes. 
 
 Sulla ended his work by organizing a new senate 
 and making a new code of laws. Three hundred 
 new members were added to the senate, and the laws 
 of Rome were brought largely back to the state in 
 which they had been before the Gracchi. 
 
 This done, to the utter surprise of the people he 
 laid down his power and retired from Rome, within 
 whose streets he never again set foot. He had no 
 occasion for fear. He had scattered his veterans
 
 THE PROSCRIPTION OF SULLA. 197 
 
 throughout Italy on confiscated estates, and knew 
 that he could trust to their support. Before his de- 
 parture he gave a feast of costly meats and rich 
 wines to the Roman commons, in such profusion that 
 vast quantities that could not be eaten were cast 
 into the Tiber. Then he dismissed his armed at- 
 tendants, and walked on foot to his house, through 
 a multitude of whom many had ample reason to 
 strike him down. 
 
 He now retired to his villa near Puteoli, on the 
 Bay of Naples, with the purpose of enjoying that 
 life of voluptuous ease which he craved more than 
 power and distinction. Here he spent the brief 
 remainder of his life in nocturnal orgies and literary 
 converse, completing his "Memoirs," in which he 
 told, in exaggerated phrase, the story of his life and 
 exploits. 
 
 He lived but about a year. His excesses brought 
 on a complication of disorders, which ended, we are 
 told, in a loathsome disease. The senate voted him 
 a gorgeous funeral, after which his body was burned 
 on the Campus Martius, that no future tyrant could 
 treat his remains as he had done those of his great 
 rival Marius. 
 
 17*
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE GLAD I A- 
 TORS. 
 
 AT the beginning of the first Punic War, or war 
 with Carthage, a new form of entertainment was 
 introduced into Eome. This was the gladiatorial 
 show, the fights of armed men in the arena, the 
 first of which was given in the year 264 B.C., at the 
 funeral of D. Junius Brutus. These exhibitions 
 were long confined to funeral occasions, money 
 being frequently left for this purpose in wills, but 
 they gradually extended to other occasions, and 
 finally became the choice amusement of the brutal 
 Roman mob. The gladiators were divided into sev- 
 eral classes, in accordance with their particular 
 weapons and modes of fighting, and great pains 
 were taken to instruct them in the use of their 
 special arms. But in the period that followed the 
 death of Sulla Rome was to have a gladiatorial ex- 
 hibition of a different sort. 
 
 In the city of Capua was a school of gladiators, 
 kept by a man named Lentulus. It was his practice 
 to hire out his trained pupils to nobles for battles in 
 the arena during public festivals. His school was a 
 large one, and included in its numbers a Thracian 
 named Spartacus, who had been taken prisoner while 
 leading his countrymen against the Romans, and was 
 198
 
 THE REVOLT OP THE GLADIATORS. 199 
 
 to be punished for his presumption by making sport 
 for his conquerors. 
 
 But Spartacus had other and nobler aims. He 
 formed a plot of flight to freedom in which two 
 hundred of his fellows joined, though only seventy- 
 eight succeeded in making their escape. These men, 
 armed merely with the knives and spits which they 
 had seized as they fled, made their way to the neigh- 
 boring mountains, and sought a refuge in the crater 
 of Mount Vesuvius. It must be borne in mind that 
 this mountain, in that year of 73 B.C., was silent and 
 seemingly extinct, though before another century 
 passed it was to awake to vital activity. It was only 
 hiding its time in slumber. 
 
 It was better to die on the open field than in the 
 amphitheatre, argued Spartacus, and his followers 
 agreed with him. Their position in the crater was 
 a strong one, and the news of their revolt soon 
 brought them a multitude of allies, slaves and out- 
 laws of every kind. These Spartacus organized and 
 drilled, supplying them with officers from the gladia- 
 tors, mostly old soldiers, and placing them under 
 rigid discipline. It was liberty he wanted, not 
 rapine, and he did his utmost to restrain his lawless 
 followers from acts of violence. 
 
 Pompey, the chief Roman general of that day, 
 was then absent in Spain, fighting with a remnant 
 of the Marian forces. Two Roman prsetors led their 
 forces against the gladiators, but were driven back 
 with loss, and the army of Spartacus swelled day by 
 day. The wild herdsmen of Apulia joined him in 
 large numbers. They wore slaves to their lords,
 
 200 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 whom they hated bitterly, and here was an opening 
 for freedom and revenge. 
 
 It was soon evident that Rome had on its hands 
 the greatest and most dangerous of its servile wars. 
 Spartacus was brave and prudent, and possessed the 
 qualities of an able leader. Unfortunately for him, 
 he led an unmanageable host. In the next year both 
 the consuls took the field against him. By this time 
 his army had swelled to more than one hundred thou- 
 sand men, and with these he pushed his way north- 
 ward through the passes of the Apennines. But now 
 insubordination appeared. Crixus, one of his lieuten- 
 ants, ambitious of independent command, led off a 
 large division of the army, chiefly Germans. He was 
 quickly punished for his temerity, being surprised 
 and slain with the whole of his force. 
 
 Spartacus, wise enough to know that he could not 
 long hold out against the whole power of Rome, 
 kept on northward, hoping to pass the Alps and find 
 a place of refuge remote from the stronghold of his 
 foes. Both the consuls attacked him in his march, 
 and both were defeated, while he retaliated on Rome 
 by forcing his prisoners to fight as gladiators in 
 memory of the slain Crixus. 
 
 Reaching the provinces of the north, his dimin- 
 ished force was repulsed by Crassus, one of the 
 richest men of Rome, who had taken the field as 
 praetor. Spartacus would still have fought his way 
 towards the Alps but for his followers, whose impa- 
 tient thirst for rapine forced him to march south- 
 ward again. 
 
 Every Roman force that assailed him on this
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS. 201 
 
 march was hurled back in defeat. He even medi- 
 tated an attack on Eome itself, but relinquished this 
 plan as too desperate, and instead employed his men 
 in collecting arms and treasure from the cities of 
 central and southern Italy. Discipline was almost 
 at an end. The wild horde of slaves and outlaws 
 were beyond any strict military control. So great 
 and general were their ravages that in a later day 
 the poet Horace promised his friend a jar of wine 
 made in the Social War, " if he could find one that 
 had escaped the ravages of roaming Spartacus." 
 
 In the year 71 B.C. the most vigorous efforts were 
 made to put down this dangerous revolt. Pompey 
 was still in Spain. The only man at home of any 
 military reputation was the praetor Crassus, who had 
 amassed an enormous fortune by buying up property 
 at famine prices during the Proscription of Sulla, and 
 in speculative measures since. 
 
 He was given full command, took the field with a 
 large army, restored discipline to the beaten bands 
 of the consuls by cruel and rigorous measures, and 
 assailed Spartacus in Calabria, where he was seeking 
 to rekindle the Servile War, or slave outbreak, in 
 Sicily. He had even engaged with pirate captains 
 to transport a part of his force to Sicily, but the 
 freebooters took the money and sailed away without 
 the men. 
 
 And now began a struggle for life and death. 
 Spartacus was in the narrowest part of the foot of 
 Southern Italy. Crassus determined to keep him 
 there by building strong lines of intrenchment 
 across the neck of land. Spartacus attacked hia
 
 202 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 works twice in one day, but each time was repulsed 
 with great slaughter. But he defended himself vig- 
 orously. 
 
 Pompey was now returning from Spain. Crassus, 
 not caring to be robbed of the results of his labors, 
 determined to assault Spartacus in his camp. But 
 before he could do so the daring gladiator attacked 
 his lines again, forced his way through, and marched 
 for Brundusium, where he hoped to find ships that 
 would convey him and his men from Italy. 
 
 As it happened, a large body of Eoman veterans, 
 returning from Macedonia, had just reached Brun- 
 dusium, and undertook its defence. Foiled in his 
 purpose, Spartacus turned upon the pursuing army 
 of Crassus, like a wolf at bay, and attacked it with 
 the energy of desperation. The battle that ensued 
 was contested with the fiercest courage. Spartacus 
 and his men were fighting for their lives, and the 
 result continued doubtful till the brave gladiator was 
 wounded in the thigh by a javelin. Falling on his 
 knee, he fought with the courage of a hero until, 
 overpowered by numbers, he fell dead. 
 
 His death decided the conflict. Most of his fol 
 lowers were slain on the field. A strong body 
 escaped to the mountains, but these were pursued, 
 and many fell. Five thousand of them made their 
 way to the north of Italy, where they were met by 
 Pompey, on his return from Spain, and slaughtered 
 to a man. 
 
 Crassus took six thousand prisoners, and these 
 ne disposed of in the cruel Roman way of dealing 
 with revolted slaves, hanging or crucifying the
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE GLADIATORS. 203 
 
 whole of them along the road between Rome and 
 Capua. 
 
 Thus ended far the most important outbreak of 
 Roman gladiators and slaves. The south of Italy 
 suffered horribly from its ravages, but not through 
 any act of Spartacus, who throughout showed a 
 moderation equal to his courage and military ability. 
 Had it not been for the lawless character of his fol- 
 lowers his career might have had a very different 
 ending, for he had shown himself a commander of 
 rare ability and unconquerable courage.
 
 CAESAR AND THE PIRATES. 
 
 WE have spoken of the pirates who agreed to 
 convey the forces of Spartacus from Italy to Sicily, 
 but faithlessly sailed away with his money and with- 
 out his men. From times immemorial the Mediter- 
 ranean had been ravaged by pirate fleets, which 
 made the inlets of Asia Minor and the isles of the 
 Archipelago their places of shelter, whence they 
 dashed out on rapid raids, and within which they 
 vanished when attacked. 
 
 This piracy reached its highest power during and 
 after the Social and Civil Wars of Eome, the outlaws 
 taking prompt advantage of the distractions of the 
 times, and gaining a strength and audacity unknown 
 before. Their chief places of refuge were in the 
 coast districts of Cilicia and Pisidia, in Asia Minor, 
 while in the mountain valleys which led down from 
 Taurus to that coast they had strongholds difficult 
 of access, and enabling them to defy attack by land. 
 
 They were now aided by Mithridates, who sup- 
 plied them with money and encouraged their raids. 
 So great became their audacity that they carried off 
 important personages from the coast of Italy, among 
 them two praetors, whom they held to ransom. They 
 ravaged all unguarded shores, and are said to have 
 204
 
 (LESAR AND THE PIRATES. 205 
 
 captured in all four hundred important towns. The 
 riches gained in these raids were displayed with the 
 ostentation of conquerors. The sails of their ships 
 were dyed with that costly Tyrian purple which at 
 a later date was reserved for the robes of emperors; 
 their oars were inlaid with silver, and their pennants 
 glittered with gold. As for the merchant fleets of 
 Home, they made their journeys under constant risk, 
 and there was danger, if the pirates were not sup- 
 pressed, that they would cut off the entire grain- 
 supply from Africa and Sicily. 
 
 The most interesting story told in connection with 
 these marauders is connected with the youthful days 
 of Julius Caesar, afterwards so great a man in Rome. 
 
 In the year 76 B.C. Ca3sar, then a young man of 
 twenty-four, and seemingly given over to mere en- 
 joyment of life, with no indications of political aspi- 
 ration, was on his way to the island of Rhodes, where 
 he wished to perfect himself in oratory in the famous 
 school of Apollonius Melo, in which Cicero, a few 
 years before, had gained instruction in the art. 
 Cicero had taught Rome the full power of oratory, 
 and Caesar, who was no mean orator by nature, and 
 recognized the usefulness of the art, naturally sought 
 instruction from Cicero's teacher. 
 
 He was travelling as a gentleman of rank, but on 
 his way was taken prisoner by pirates, who, deeming 
 him a person of great distinction, held him at a high 
 ransom. For six weeks Ca3sar remained in their 
 hands, waiting until his ransom should be paid. He 
 was in no respect downcast by his misfortune, but 
 took part freely in the games and pastimes of the 
 18
 
 206 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 pirates, and, according to Plutarch, treated them 
 with such disdain that whenever their noise dis- 
 turbed his sleep he sent orders to them to keep 
 silence. In his familiar conversations with the 
 chiefs he plainly told them that he would one day 
 crucify them all. Doubtless they laughed heartily 
 at this pleasantry, as they deemed it, but they were 
 to find it a grim sort of jest. 
 
 Caesar was released at last, the ransom paid 
 amounting to about fifty thousand dollars. He lost 
 not a moment in carrying out his threat. Obtaining 
 a fleet of Milesian vessels, he sailed immediately to 
 the island in which he had been held captive, and 
 descended upon the pirates so suddenly that he took 
 them prisoners while they were engaged in dividing 
 their plunder. Carrying them to Pergamus, he 
 handed them over to the civil authorities, by whom 
 his promise of crucifying them all was duly carried 
 out. Then he went to Khodes, and spent two years 
 in the study of elocution. He had proved himself 
 an awkward kind of prey for pirates. 
 
 These worthies continued their depredations, and 
 became at length so annoying that extraordinary 
 measures were taken for their suppression. Pompey, 
 then the most powerful man in Home, was given ab- 
 solute control over the Mediterranean. This was 
 not done without opposition, for it was feared that 
 he aspired to kingly rule. " You aspire to be Rom- 
 ulus ; beware of the fate of Romulus," said some of 
 the opposing senators. 
 
 Despite opposition the power was given him, and 
 he used it with remarkable results. A large fleet
 
 OSJSAR AND THE PIRATES. 207 
 
 was at once got ready and put to sea, confining 
 its operations at first to the west of the Mediterra- 
 nean, and driving the piratical fleets towards their 
 lurking-places in the east. Land troops meanwhile 
 guarded the coasts. In the brief space of forty days 
 he reported to the senate that the whole sea west of 
 Greece was cleared of pirates. 
 
 Then he sailed for the Archipelago, swept its in- 
 lets, spread his ships everywhere, and drove the foe 
 towards Cilicia. Here they gathered their fleet and 
 gave him battle, but suffered a total defeat. A sur- 
 render followed, to which he won them over by leni- 
 ent terms. In three months from the day he began 
 his work the war was ended, and the pirates who had 
 so long troubled the republic of Eome had retired 
 from business.
 
 CAESAR AND POMPEY. 
 
 THERE were three leaders in Rome, Pompey, 
 whom Sulla had named the Great, Crassus, the rich, 
 and Caesar, the shrewd and wise. Two of these had 
 reached their utmost height. For Pompey there was 
 to be no more greatness, for Crassus no more riches. 
 But Caesar was the coming man of Rome. After 
 a youth given to profligate pleasures, in which he 
 spent money as fast as Crassus collected it, and ac- 
 cumulated debt more rapidly than Pompey accumu- 
 lated fame, the innate powers of the man began to 
 declare themselves. He studied oratory and made 
 his mark in the Roman Forum ; he studied the 
 political situation, and step by step made himself a 
 power among men. He was shrewd enough to 
 cultivate Pompey, then the Roman favorite, and 
 brought himself into closer relations with him by 
 marrying his relative. Steadily he grew into public 
 favor and respect, and laid his hands on the reins of 
 control. 
 
 There was a fourth man of prominence, Cicero, 
 the great scholar, philosopher, and orator. He pros- 
 ecuted Verres, who, as governor of Sicily, had com- 
 mitted frightful excesses, and drove him from Rome. 
 He prosecuted Catiline, who had made a conspiracy 
 208
 
 CJESAR AND POMPET. 209 
 
 to seize the government, and even to burn Borne, 
 The conspirators were foiled and Catiline killed. 
 But Cicero, earnest and eloquent as he was, lacked 
 manliness and courage, and was driven into exile by 
 his enemies. 
 
 There remained the three leaders, Pompey, Caesar, 
 and Crassus, and these three made a secret compact 
 to control the government, forming what became 
 known as a triumvirate, or three man power. Pom- 
 pey married Julia, the young and beautiful daughter 
 of Caesar, and the two seemed very closely united. 
 
 Caesar was elected consul, and in this position won 
 public favor by proposing some highly popular laws. 
 After his year as consul he was made governor of 
 Gaul, and now began an extraordinary career. The 
 man who had by turns shown himself a dissolute 
 spendthrift, an orator, and a political leader, sud- 
 denly developed a new power, and proved himself 
 one of the greatest soldiers the world has ever 
 known. 
 
 Gaul, as tlien known, had two divisions, Cis- 
 alpine Gaul, or the Gaulish settlements in Northern 
 Italy; and Transalpine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the 
 Alps, including the present countries of France and 
 Switzerland. In the latter country Borne possessed 
 only a narrow strip of land, then known as the 
 Province, since then known as the country of 
 Provence. 
 
 From this centre Caesar, with the small army 
 under his command, consisting of three legions, en- 
 tered upon a career of conquest which astonished 
 Eome and drew upon him the eyes of the civilized 
 n. o 18*
 
 210 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 world. He had hardly been appointed when he re- 
 ceived word that the Helvetian tribes of Switzerland 
 were advancing on Geneva, the northern outpost of 
 the Province, with a view of invading the West. 
 He hastened thither, met and defeated them, killed 
 a vast multitude, and drove the remnant back to 
 their own country. Then, invited by some northern 
 tribes, he attacked a great German band which had 
 invaded Northern Gaul, and defeated them so utterly 
 that few escaped across the Rhine. From that point 
 he made his way into and conquered Belgium. In 
 a year's time he had vastly extended the Roman 
 dominion in the West. 
 
 For nine years this career of conquest continued. 
 The barbarian Gauls proved fierce and valiant sol- 
 diers, but at the end of that time they had been 
 completely subdued and made passive subjects of 
 Rome. Caesar even crossed the sea into Britain, and 
 took the first step towards the conquest of that 
 island, of which Rome had barely heard before. 
 
 During this career of conquest many hundreds of 
 thousands of men were slain. But, then, Caesar was 
 victorious and Rome triumphant, and what mattered 
 it if a million or two of barbarians were sacrificed 
 to the demon of conquest? It mattered little to 
 Rome, in which great city barbarian life was scarcely 
 worth a second thought. It mattered little to Caesar, 
 who, like all great conquerors, was quite willing to 
 mount to power on a ladder of human lives. 
 
 Meanwhile what were Caesar's partners in the 
 Triumvirate doing? When Ceasar was given the 
 province of Gaul, Pompey was made governor of
 
 OSSAR AND POMPEY. 211 
 
 Spain, and Crassus of Syria. Crassus, who had 
 gained some military fame by overcoming Spar- 
 tacus the gladiatoi*, wished to gain more, and sailed 
 for Asia, where he stirred up a war with distant 
 Parthia. That was the end of Crassus. He marched 
 into the desert of Mesopotamia, and left his body on 
 the sands. His head was sent to Orodes, the Par- 
 thian king, who ordered molten gold to be poured 
 into his mouth, a ghastly commentary on his thirst 
 for wealth. 
 
 Pompey left Spain to take care of itself, and re- 
 mained in Rome, where he sought to add to his 
 popularity by building a great stone theatre, large 
 enough to hold forty thousand people, where for 
 many days he amused the people with plays and 
 games. Here, for the first time, a rhinoceros was 
 shown. Eighteen elephants were killed by Libyan 
 hunters, and five hundred lions were slain, while 
 hosts of gladiators fought for life and honor. 
 
 While thus seeking popular favor, Pompey was 
 secretly working against the interests of Caesar, of 
 whose fame he had grown jealous. His wife Julia 
 died, and he joined his strength with that of the 
 aristocrats ; while Caesar, a nephew of old Marius, 
 was looked upon as a leader of the party of the 
 people. 
 
 Pompey's power and influence over the senate in- 
 creased until he was virtually dictator in Rome. 
 Caesar's ten years' governorship in Gaul would ex- 
 pire on the 1st of January, 49 B.C., and it was re- 
 solved by Pompey and the senate to deprive him of 
 the command of the army. But Caesar was not the
 
 212 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 man to be dealt with in this summary manner. His 
 career of conquest ended, he entered his province of 
 Cisalpine Gaul, or Northern Italy, where he was re- 
 ceived as a great hero and conqueror. From here 
 he sent secret agents to Rome, bribed with large 
 sums a number of important persons, and took other 
 steps to guard his interests. 
 
 Meanwhile the senate tried to disarm Csesar by 
 unfair means. They had the power to shorten or 
 lengthen the year as they pleased, and announced 
 that that year would end on November 12, and that 
 Csesar must resign his authority on the 13th. Curio, 
 a tribune of Rome and Caesar's agent, said that it 
 was only fair that Pompey also should give up the 
 command of the army which he had near Rome. 
 This he refused to do, and Curio publicly declared 
 that he was trying to make himself a tyrant. 
 
 Finally the senate decreed that each general 
 should give up one legion, to be used in a war with 
 the Parthians. There was no such war, but it was 
 pretended that there soon would be. Pompey agreed, 
 but he called upon Csesar to send him back a legion 
 which he had lent him three years before. Csesar 
 did not hesitate to do so : he sent Pompey's legion 
 and his own ; but he took care to win the soldiers by 
 giving each a valuable present as he went away. 
 These legions were not sent to Asia, but to Capua. 
 The senate wanted them for use nearer than Parthia. 
 
 Ccesar was then at Ravenna, a sea-side city on the 
 southern limit of his province. South of it flowed 
 a little stream called the Rubicon, which formed his 
 border-line. Here he took a bold step. He sent a
 
 CAESAR AND POMPEY. 213 
 
 letter to the senate, offering to give up his command 
 if Pompey would do the same. A violent debate 
 followed in the senate, and a decree was passed that 
 unless Caesar laid down his command by a certain 
 day he should be declared an outlaw and enemy of 
 Rome. At the same time the two consuls were 
 made dictators, and the two tribunes who favored 
 Csesar one of them the afterwards famous Marc 
 Antony fled for safety from Rome. 
 
 The decree of the senate was equivalent to a dec- 
 laration of war. On the one side was Pompey, 
 proud, over-confident, and unprepared. On the other 
 was Csesar, knowing his strength, satisfied in the 
 power of the money he had so freely distributed, 
 and sure of his men. He called his soldiers to- 
 gether and asked if they would support him. They 
 answered that they would follow wherever he led. 
 At once he marched for the Rubicon, the limit of 
 his province, to cross which stream meant an inva- 
 sion of Italy and civil war. 
 
 Plutarch tells us that he halted here and deeply 
 meditated, troubled by the thought that to cross 
 that stream meant the death of thousands of his 
 countrymen. After a period of such meditation, he 
 cried aloud, "The die is cast; let us go where the 
 gods and the injustice of our foes direct!" and, spur- 
 ring his horse forward, he plunged into the stream. 
 
 This story, which has been effectively used by 
 a great epic poet of Rome, probably relates what 
 never happened. From all we know of Caesar, the 
 question of bloodshed in attaining the aims of his 
 ambition did not greatly trouble his mind. Yet the
 
 214 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 story has taken hold, and "to cross the Rubicon" 
 has become a proverb, signifying the taking of a 
 step of momentous importance. 
 
 Caesar, after the legions sent the senate, had but 
 a single legion left with him. He sent orders to 
 others to join him with all haste, but they were dis- 
 tant. As for Pompey, knowing and despising the 
 weakness of his rival, he had made no preparations. 
 He had Caesar's two legions at Capua and one of 
 his own at Rome, while thousands of Sulla's vet- 
 erans were settled in the country round. " I have 
 but to stamp my foot," he said, " and armed men 
 will start from the soil of Italy." 
 
 He did not stamp, or, if he did, the armed men 
 did not start. Caesar marched southward with his 
 accustomed rapidity. Town after town opened its 
 gates to him. Labienus, one of his principal officers, 
 deserted to Pompey. Caesar showed his contempt 
 by sending his baggage after him. Two legions 
 from Gaul having reached him, he pushed more 
 boldly' still to the south. The cities taken were 
 treated as friends ; there was no pillage, no violence. 
 Everywhere Caesar won golden opinions by his 
 humanity. 
 
 Meanwhile Pompey's armed men came not; his 
 rival was rapidly approaching ; he and his party of 
 the senate fled from Rome. They reached Brundu- 
 sium, where Caesar with six legions quickly ap- 
 peared. The town was strong, and Pompey took 
 his time to embark his men and sail from Italy. Dis- 
 appointed of his prey, Caesar turned back, and en- 
 tered Rome on April 1, now full lord and master of
 
 CAESAR AND POMPEY. 215 
 
 Italy and its capital city. In the treasury of that 
 city was a sacred hoai-d of money, which had been 
 set aside since the invasion of the Gauls, centuries 
 before. The people voted this money for his use. 
 There was no more danger from the Gauls, it was 
 said, for they had all become subjects of Eome. 
 Yet the keeper of the treasury refused to produce 
 the keys, and when Csesar ordered the doors to be 
 broken open, tried to bar his passage into the sacred 
 chamber. 
 
 " Stand aside, young man," said Caesar, with stern 
 dignity ; " it is easier for me to do than to say." 
 
 Cffisar was not the man to rest while an enemy 
 was at large. Pompey had gone to the East. There 
 was no fleet with which to follow him ; and in Spain 
 Pompey had an army of veterans, who might enter 
 Italy as soon as he left it. These must first be dealt 
 with. 
 
 This did not delay him long. Before the year 
 closed all Spain was his. Most of the soldiers of 
 Pompey joined his army. Those who did not were 
 dismissed unharmed. Everywhere he showed the 
 greatest leniency, and everywhere won friends. On 
 his return to Eome he gained new friends by pass- 
 ing laws relieving debtors and restoring their civil 
 rights to the children of Sulla's victims. 
 
 He remained in Eome only eleven days, and then 
 sailed for Greece, where Pompey had gathered a 
 large army. It was January 4, 48 B.C , when he 
 sailed. On June 6 of the same year was fought, at 
 Pbarsalia, in Thessaly, a great battle which decided 
 the fate of the Eoman world.
 
 216 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Pompey's army consisted of about forty-four thou- 
 sand men. Ceesar had but half as many. But his 
 men were all veterans ; many of those of Pompey 
 were new levies, collected in Asia and Macedonia. 
 The battle was fierce and desperate. During its 
 course the cavalry of Pompey attacked Caesar's weak 
 troops and drove them back. The infantry advanced 
 to their support, and struck straight at the faces of 
 the foe. Plutarch tells us that this cavalry was made 
 up of young Eomans, of the aristocratic class and 
 proud of their beauty, and that the order was given to 
 Cffisar's soldiers to spoil their beauty for them. But 
 this story, like many told by Plutarch, lacks proof. 
 
 Whatever was the cause, the cavalry were broken 
 and fled in disorder. Csesar's reserve force now at- 
 tacked Pompey's worn troops, who gave way every- 
 where. Caesar ordered that all Eomans should be 
 spared, and only the Asiatics pursued. The legions, 
 hearing of this, ceased to resist. The foreign soldiers 
 fled, after great slaughter. Pompey rode hastily 
 from the field. 
 
 The camp was taken. The booty captured was 
 immense. But Csesar would not let his soldiers rest 
 or plunder till they had completed their work. This 
 proved easy ; all the Eomans submitted ; the Asiatics 
 fled. Pompey put to sea, where he had still a power- 
 ful fleet. Africa was his, and he determined to take 
 refuge in Egypt. It proved that he had enemies 
 there. A small boat was sent off to bring him 
 ashore. Among those on board was an officer named 
 Septimius, who had served under Pompey in the war 
 with the pirates.
 
 CAESAR AND POMPEY. 217 
 
 Pompey recognized his old officer, and entered the 
 boat alone, his wife and friends watching from the 
 vessel as he was rowed ashore. On the beach a 
 number of persons were collected, as if to receive 
 him with honor. The boat stopped. Pompey took 
 the hand of the person next him to assist him to rise. 
 As he did so Septimius, who stood behind, struck 
 him with his sword. Pompey, finding that he was 
 among enemies, made no resistance, and the next 
 blow laid him low in death. His assassins cut off 
 his head and left his body on the beach. Here one 
 of his freedmen and an old soldier of his army broke 
 up a fishing-boat and made him a rude funeral pile. 
 Such were the obsequies of the one-time master of 
 the world. 
 
 The battle of Pharsalia practically ended the 
 struggle that made Caesar lord of Eome. Some 
 more fighting was necessary. Africa was still in 
 arms. But a few short campaigns sufficed to bring 
 it to terms, while a campaign against a son of Mith- 
 ridates ended in five days, Casar's victory being an 
 nounced to the senate in three short words, " Veni, 
 vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered). Then he 
 returned to Rome, where he shed not a drop of the 
 blood of his enemies, though that of gladiators and 
 wild animals was freely spilled in the gorgeous 
 games and festivals with which he amused the sov- 
 ereign people. 
 
 19
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF 
 CAESAR. 
 
 THE republic of Rome was at an end. The army 
 had become the power, and the will of the head of 
 the army was the law, of the state. Caesar celebrated 
 his victories with grand triumphs ; but he celebrated 
 them more notably still by a clemency that signified 
 his innate nobility of character. Instead of dyeing 
 the streets of Rome with blood, as Marius and Sulla 
 had done before him, he proclaimed a general am- 
 nesty, and his rise to power was not signalized by 
 the slaughter of one of his foes. 
 
 He signalized it, on the contrary, by an activity 
 in civil reform as marked as had been his energy in 
 war. The title and privilege of Roman citizenship 
 had so far been confined to Italians. He extended 
 it to many parts of Gaul and Spain. He formed 
 plans to drain the Pontine marshes, to make a survey 
 and map of the empire, to form a code of laws, and 
 other great works, which he did not live to fulfil. 
 Of all his reforms, the best known is the revision 
 of the Calendar. Before his time the Roman year 
 was three hundred and fifty-five days long, an extra 
 month being occasionally added, so as to regain the 
 lost days. But this was very irregularly done, and 
 the civil year had got to be far away from the solar 
 218
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OP C-ffiSAR. 219 
 
 year. To correct this Caesar was obliged to add 
 ninety days to the year 46 B.C., which was therefore 
 given the unprecedented length of four hundred and 
 forty-five days. He ordered that the year in future 
 should be three hundred and sixty-five and one- 
 fourth days in length, a change which brought it very 
 nearly, but not quite, to the true length. A new re- 
 form was made in 1582, by Pope Gregory XIII., which 
 made the civil and solar years almost exactly agree. 
 
 Caesar did not live to see his reforms consummated. 
 He was murdered, perhaps because he had refused 
 to murder. In a few months after he had brought 
 the civil war to an end he fell the victim of assassins. 
 The story of his death is famous in Roman history, 
 and must here be told. 
 
 After his triumphs Caesar, who had been dictator 
 twice before, was named dictator for the term often 
 years. He was also made censor for three years. 
 These offices gave him such unlimited power that he 
 was declared absolute master of the lives and for- 
 tunes of the citizens and subjects of Eome. Impera- 
 tor men called him, a term we translate emperor, and 
 after his return from Spain, where he overthrew the 
 last army of his foes, the senate named him dictator 
 and imperator for life. 
 
 These high honors were not sufficient for Csesar's 
 ambition. He wished to be made king. He had no 
 son of his own, but desired to make his power 
 hereditary, and chose his grandnephew Octavius as 
 his heir. But he was to find the people resolutely 
 bent on having no king over Eome. 
 
 To try their temper some of his friends placed a
 
 220 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 crown on his statue in the Forum. Two of the trib- 
 unes tore it off, and the crowd loudly applauded. 
 Later, at the festival of the Alban Mount, some 
 voices in the crowd hailed him as king. But the 
 mutterings of the multitude grew so loud, that he 
 quickly cried, " I am no king, but Csesar." 
 
 At the feast of the Lupercalia, on February 15, he 
 was approached by Marc Antony, as he sat in his 
 golden chair, and offered an embroidered band, such 
 as the sovereigns of Asia wore on their heads. The 
 crowd failed to applaud, and Csesar pushed it aside. 
 Then the multitude broke out in a roar of applause. 
 Again and again he rejected the glittering bauble, 
 and again the people broke into loud cries of ap- 
 proval. It was evident that they would have no 
 king. At a later date it was moved in the senate 
 that Csesar should be king in the provinces; but he 
 died before this decree could be put in effect. 
 
 There was discontent at Rome. Even the clem- 
 ency of Csesar had made him enemies, for there were 
 many who hoped to profit by proscription. His jus- 
 tice made foes among those who wished to grow rich 
 through extortion and oppression. He secluded him- 
 self while engaged on his reforms, and this lost him 
 popularity. A conspiracy was organized against 
 him by a soldier named Caius Cassius and others of 
 the discontented. For leader they selected Marcus 
 Junius Brutus, who believed himself a descendant of 
 the Brutus of old, and was won to their plot by being 
 told that, while his great ancestor had expelled the 
 last king of Rome, he was resting content under the 
 rule of a new king.
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OP (LESAR. 221 
 
 Brutus, at length convinced that Caesar was seek- 
 ing to overthrow the .Roman republic, and that 
 patriotism required him to emulate the famous 
 Brutus of old, joined the conspiracy, which now in- 
 cluded more than sixty persons, most of whom had 
 received benefits and honors from the man they 
 wished to kill. But no considerations of gratitude 
 prevailed ; they determined on Caesar's death ; and 
 the meeting of the senate called for the Ides of 
 March (March 15) was fixed for the time and place 
 of the projected murder. 
 
 The morning of that day seemed full of omens 
 and warnings. The secret was oozing out. Caesar 
 received more than one intimation of impending 
 danger. A soothsayer had even bidden him to 
 " beware of the Ides of March." During the pre- 
 ceding night his wife was so disturbed by dreams 
 that in the morning she begged him not to go that 
 day to the senate, as she was sure some peril was at 
 hand. Her words failed to trouble Caesar's resolute 
 mind, but to quiet her apprehensions he agreed not 
 to go, and directed Marc Antony to preside over the 
 senate in his stead. 
 
 When this word was brought to the assembled 
 senate the conspirators were in despair. Their secret 
 was known to too many to remain a secret long. 
 Even a day's delay might be fatal. An hour might 
 put Caesar on his guard. What was to be done? 
 Unless their victim could he brought to the senate 
 chamber all would be lost. 
 
 Decimus Brutus, one of the conspirators who had 
 been favored by Caesar's bounty, went hastily to his 
 19*
 
 222 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 house, and, telling him that the senate proposed that 
 day to make him king of the provinces, bade him 
 not to yield to such idle matters as auguries and 
 dreams, but show himself above any such supersti- 
 tious weakness. These cunning arguments induced 
 Caesar to change his mind, and he called for his litter 
 and was carried forth. 
 
 On his way to the senate new intimations of dan- 
 ger came to him. A slave had in some way dis- 
 covered the conspiracy, and tried to force himself 
 through the crowd to the dictator's litter, but was 
 driven back by the throng. Another informant was 
 more fortunate. A Greek philosopher, Artemidorus 
 by name, had also discovered the conspiracy, and 
 succeeded in reaching Caesar's side. He thrust into 
 his hand a roll of paper containing a full account of 
 the impending peril. But the star of Caesar that 
 day was against him. Thinking the roll to contain 
 a petition of some sort, he laid it in the litter by his 
 side, to examine at a more convenient time. And 
 thus he went on to his death, despite all the warnings 
 sent him by the fates. 
 
 The conspirators meanwhile were far from easy 
 in mind. There were signs among them that their 
 plot had leaked out. Casca, one of their number, 
 was accosted by a friend, "Ah, Casca, Brutus has 
 told me your secret." The conspirator started in 
 alarm, but was relieved by the next words, " Where 
 will you find money for the expenses of the aedile- 
 ship?" The man evidently referred to an expected 
 office. 
 
 Another senator, Popillius Lsenas, hit the mark
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF C^SAR. 223 
 
 closer. " You have my good wishes ; but what you 
 do, do quickly," he said to Brutus and Cassius. 
 
 The alarm caused by his words was doubled when 
 he stepped up to Caesar, on his entrance to the 
 chamber, and began to whisper in his ear. Cassius 
 was so terrified that he grasped his dagger with the 
 thought of killing himself. He was stopped by 
 Brutus, who quietly said that Popillius seemed rather 
 to be asking a favor than telling a secret. Whatever 
 his purpose, Caesar was not checked, but moved 
 quietly on and took his seat. 
 
 Immediately Cimber, one of the conspirators, ap- 
 proached with a petition, in which he begged for 
 the recall of his brother from banishment. The 
 others pressed round, praying Caesar to grant his 
 request. Displeased by their importunity, Caesar 
 attempted to rise, but was pulled down into his seat 
 by Cimber, while Casca stabbed him in the side, but 
 inflicted only a slight wound. Then they all assailed 
 him with drawn daggers. 
 
 Caesar kept them off for a brief time by winding 
 his gown as a shield round his left arm, and using 
 his sharp writing style for a weapon. But when he 
 saw Brutus approach prepared to strike he ex- 
 claimed in deep sorrow and reproach, " Et tu, Brute /" 
 (Thou too, Brutus !) and covering his face with his 
 gown, he ceased to resist. Their daggers pierced his 
 body till he had received twenty-three wounds, when 
 he fell dead at the base of the statue of Pompey, 
 which looked silently down on the slaughter of his 
 great and successful rival. 
 
 What followed this base and fruitless deed may b
 
 224 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 briefly told. The senators not in the plot rose in 
 alarm and fled from the house. When Brutus turned 
 to seek to justify his deed only empty benches re- 
 mained. Then the assassins hurried to the Forum, 
 to tell the people that they had freed Eome from a 
 despot. But the people were hostile, and the words 
 of Brutus fell on unfriendly ears. 
 
 Marc Antony followed, and delivered a telling 
 oration, which Shakespeare has magnificently para- 
 phrased. He showed the mob a waxen image of 
 Caesar's body, pierced with wounds, and the garment 
 rent by murderous blades. His words wrought his 
 hearers to fury. They tore up benches, tables, and 
 everything on which they could lay their hands, for 
 a funeral pile, placed on it the corpse, and set it on 
 fire. Then, seizing blazing embers from the pile, 
 they rushed in quest of vengeance to the houses of 
 the conspirators. They were too late ; all had fled. 
 The will of the dictator, in which he had made a 
 large donation to every citizen of Eome, added to 
 the popular fury, and a frenzy of vengeance took 
 possession of the people of Rome. 
 
 We must give the sequel of this murderous deed 
 in a few words. Marc Antony was now master of 
 Rome. He increased his power by pretending 
 moderation, and having a law passed to abolish the 
 dictatorship forever. But there were other actors 
 on the scene. Octavius, whom Caesar's will had named 
 as his heir, took quick steps to gain his heritage. 
 Antony had taken possession of Caesar's wealth, but 
 Octavius managed to raise money enough to pay 
 his uncle's legacy to the citizens of Rome. A third
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OP C^SAR. 225 
 
 man of power was Lepidus, who commanded an 
 army near Borne, and was prepared to take part in 
 the course of events. 
 
 Octavius was still only a boy, not yet twenty 
 years of age. But he was shrewd and ambitious, 
 and soon succeeded in having himself elected consul 
 and put at the head of a large army. Cicero aided 
 him with a series of orations directed against 
 Antony, which were so keen and bitter, and had 
 such an effect upon the people, that Antony was de- 
 clared a public enemy. Octavius marched to meet 
 him and Lepidus, who were marching southward 
 with another large army. 
 
 Instead of fighting, however, the three leaders 
 met in secret conclave, and agreed to divide the 
 power in Rome between them. This compact is 
 known as the Second Triumvirate. Its members 
 followed the example of Marius and Sulla, not that 
 of Caesar, and resolved to extirpate their enemies. 
 Each of them gave up personal friends to the ven- 
 geance of the others. Of their victims the most 
 famous was Cicero, who had delivered his orations 
 against Antony in aid of Octavius. The ambitious 
 
 tt 
 
 boy was base enough to yield his friend to the ven- 
 geance of the incensed Antony. No less than three 
 hundred senators and two thousand knights fell 
 victims to this new proscription, which while it 
 lasted made a reign of terror in Eome. 
 
 Brutus and Cassius had meanwhile made them- 
 selves masters of Greece and the eastern provinces 
 of Rome, and were ready to meet the forces of the 
 Triumvirate in the field. The decisive battle was 
 u. p
 
 226 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 fought on the field of Philippi in Northern Greece. 
 The division of Cassius was defeated, and he killed 
 himself in despair. Twenty days afterwards another 
 battle was fought on the same field, in which Brutus 
 was defeated, and likewise put an end to his life. 
 The triumvirs were undisputed lords of Rome. The 
 imperial rule of Caesar had lasted but a few months, 
 and ended with his life. But with Octavius began an 
 imperial era which lasted till the end of the dominion 
 of Rome.
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 
 
 THE battles of Philippi and the death of Brutus 
 and Cassius put an end to the republican party to 
 whom Caesar owed his death. The whole realm was 
 handed over to the imperial Triumvirate, who now 
 made a new division of the vast Eoman world. 
 Antony took as his share all the mighty realm of 
 the East ; Octavius all the West. To Lepidus, whom 
 his powerful confederates did not take the trouble to 
 consult, only Africa was left. 
 
 The after-career of Antony was a curious and im- 
 pressive one. He loved a bewitching Egyptian queen, 
 and for a false love lost the vast dominion he had won. 
 The story is one of the most romantic and popular 
 of all that have come to us from the past. It has 
 been told in detail by Plutarch and richly dramatized 
 by Shakespeare. We give it here in brief epitome. 
 
 Fourteen years previously Antony had visited 
 Alexandria, and had there seen the youthful Cleo- 
 patra, then a girl of fifteen, but already so beautiful 
 and attractive that the susceptible Roman was deeply 
 smitten with her charms. Later she had charmed 
 Caesar, and now when the lord of the East set out 
 on a tour of his new dominions, the love queen of 
 Egypt left her capital for Cilicia with the purpose 
 of making him her captive. 
 
 227
 
 228 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 It was midsummer of the year 41 B.C. when 
 Antony arrived at Tarsus, on the river Cydnus. 
 Up this stream to visit him came, in more than 
 Oriental pomp, the beautiful Egyptian queen. The 
 galley that bore her was gorgeous beyond compari- 
 son. Its sails were of Tyrian purple ; silver oars 
 fretted the yielding wave, while music timed their 
 rise and fall; the poop glittered with burnished 
 gold ; rich perfumes filled the air with fragrance. 
 Here, on a splendid couch, under a spangled canopy, 
 reclined Cleopatra, attired as Venus, and surrounded 
 by attendants dressed as Graces and Cupids. Beau- 
 tiful slaves moved oars and ropes, and the whole 
 array was one of wondrous charm. We cannot do 
 better than quote Shakespeare's vivid description of 
 this unequalled spectacle : 
 
 " The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne, 
 Burned on the water ; the poop was beaten gold ; 
 Purple the sails, and so perfumed that 
 The winds were love-sick with them ; the oars were silver, 
 Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made 
 The water that they beat to follow faster, 
 As amorous of their strokes. For her own person, 
 It beggared all description ; she did lie 
 In her pavilion cloth-of-gold of tissue 
 Outpicturing that Venus where we see 
 The fancy outwork nature ; on each side her 
 Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids, 
 With divers-colored fans, whose wind did seem 
 To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool." 
 
 The people of Tarsus ran in crowds to gaze on 
 this wondrous spectacle, leaving Antony alone in the
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 229 
 
 Forum. At the request of Cleopatra he came also, 
 and was so captivated at sight that he became her 
 slave. He forgot Rome, forgot his wife Fulvia, for- 
 got honor and dignity, through his wild passion for 
 this Egyptian sorceress. Following her to Alexan- 
 dria, he laid aside his Eoman garb for the Oriental 
 costume of the Egyptian court, gave way to all 
 Cleopatra's pleasure-loving caprices, and lived in a 
 perpetual round of orgies and festivities, heedless of 
 honor and duty, and caring for naught but love and 
 sensual enjoyment. 
 
 Intoxicated with pleasure, Antony did not know 
 what risk he ran. Shortly before Octavius had been 
 spoken of as a boy, whom it would be easy to manage 
 and control. He was feeble and sickly, so much 
 so, indeed, that just at this time his death was re- 
 ported in Rome. But the "boy" was ambitious, 
 astute, and far-seeing, and Mare Antony was de- 
 scending to ruin with every step he took in his 
 career of folly and profligacy. 
 
 The history of the succeeding years is long, but 
 must here be made short. The two lords of Rome 
 were changed from friends to enemies by the act 
 of Fulvia, the wife of Antony. Octavius had mar- 
 ried her daughter Claudia, and now divorced her. 
 Anger at this, and a hope of winning Antony from 
 the seductions of the Egyptian queen, caused her 
 to organize a formidable revolt against Octavius. 
 She succeeded in raising a large army, but Antony 
 was still too absorbed in Cleopatra to come to her 
 aid, and Agrippa, the able general of Octavius, soon 
 put down the revolt. 
 
 -20
 
 230 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Then, when it was too late to help her, Antony 
 awoke from his lethargy, and sailed to battle with 
 Octavius. He besieged Brundusium. But Fulvia 
 had died, the soldiers had no heart for civil war, and 
 the great rivals again made peace. Antony married 
 Octavia, the sister of Octavius, they divided the 
 Roman world between them as before, and Rome 
 was made happy by a grand round of games and 
 festivities. 
 
 For three years Antony remained true to his new 
 wife, and aided Octavius in putting down the foes 
 of Rome. Then, during a campaign in Syria, his 
 old passion for the fascinating Egyptian returned, 
 he called Cleopatra to him, dallied with her instead 
 of prosecuting his march, and in the end was forced 
 to retreat in haste from the barbarian foe. 
 
 For three years now Antony was the willing slave 
 of the enchanting queen. The courage and stoical 
 endurance of the soldier vanished, and were replaced 
 by the soft indulgence of the voluptuary. The rigid 
 discipline of the camp was exchanged for the idle 
 and often childish amusements of the Oriental court. 
 Cleopatra enchained him with an endless round of 
 pleasures and profligacies. Now, while in a fishing- 
 boat on the Nile, the queen amused him by having 
 salted fish fixed by divers on his hook, which he 
 drew up amid the laughter of the party. Again she 
 wagered that she would consume ten million ses- 
 terces at a meal, and won her wager by drinking 
 vinegar in which she had dissolved a priceless pearl. 
 All the enjoyments that the fancy of the cunning 
 enchantress could devise were spread around him,
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 231 
 
 and he let the world roll unheeded by while he 
 yielded to their alluring charm. 
 
 Antony posed at festive tables in the character of 
 the god Osiris, while Cleopatra played the rSle of 
 Isis. He issued coins which bore her head and his. 
 He gave away kingdoms and principalities in the 
 East to please her fancy. It was her hope and aim 
 to lead her yielding lover to the conquest of Eome, 
 and to rule as empress of that imperial city. 
 
 But the madness of Antony led to destruction, not 
 empire. The story of his doings was repeated at 
 Rome, where the voluptuary lost credit as Octavius 
 gained it. Antony's friends urged him to dismiss 
 Cleopatra and fight for the empire. Instead of this 
 the infatuated madman divorced Octavia and clung 
 to the Egyptian queen. 
 
 This act led to an open rupture. Octavius, by 
 authority of the senate, declared war, not against 
 Antony, but against Cleopatra. Antony was at 
 length roused. He gathered an army in haste, 
 passed to Ephesus and Athens, and everywhere 
 levied men and collected ships. A last and great 
 struggle for the supreme headship of the Roman 
 world was at hand. 
 
 Octavius was not skilled in war, but he had in 
 Agrippa one of the ablest of ancient generals, and 
 was wise enough to trust all warlike operations to 
 him. Antony had strongly fortified himself at Ac- 
 tium, on the west coast of Greece, while the strong 
 fleet he had gathered lay in its spacious bay. Here 
 took place one of the decisive battles of the world's 
 history.
 
 232 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Antony had made the fatal mistake of bringing 
 Cleopatra with him. Under her advice he played 
 the part of a poltroon instead of a soldier. His 
 chief officers, disgusted by his fascination, deserted 
 him in numbers, and, yielding to her urgent fears, 
 he resolved to fly with the fleet and abandon the 
 army. 
 
 In this act of folly he failed. A strong gale from 
 the south kept the fleet for four days in the harbor. 
 Then the ships of Octavius came up, and the two 
 fleets joined battle off the headland of Actium. 
 
 The ships of Antony were much larger and more 
 powerful than those of Octavius. Little impression 
 was made on them by the light Italian vessels, and 
 had Antony been a soldier still, or Cleopatra pos- 
 sessed as much courage as guile, the victory might 
 well have been theirs. But battle was no place for 
 the pleasure-loving queen. Filled with terror, she 
 took advantage of the first wind that came, and 
 sailed hastily away, followed by sixty Egyptian 
 ships. 
 
 The moment Antony discovered her flight he 
 gave up the world for love. Springing from his 
 ship-of-war into a light galley, he hastened in wild 
 pursuit after his flying mistress. Overtaking her 
 vessel, he went on board, but seated himself in mo- 
 rose misery at a distance, and would have nothing 
 to do with her. Ruin and despair were now his 
 mistresses. 
 
 Their commander fled, the ships fought on, and 
 yielded not till the greater part of them were in 
 flames. Before night they were all destroyed, and
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 233 
 
 with them perished most of those on board, while 
 all the treasure was lost. When the army heard of 
 Antony's desertion the legions went over to the 
 conqueror. That brief sea-fight had ended the war. 
 
 For a year Octavius did not trouble his rival. 
 He spent the time in cementing his power in Greece 
 and Asia Minor. Cleopatra tried her fascinations 
 on him, as she had on Caesar and Antony, but in 
 vain. She sought to fly to some place beyond the 
 reach of Home, but Arabs destroyed her ships. At 
 length Octavius came. Antony made some show of 
 hostility, but Cleopatra betrayed the fleet to his rival 
 and all resistance ended. Octavius entered the open 
 gates of Alexandria as a conqueror. 
 
 The queen shut herself up in a building which she 
 had erected as a mausoleum. It had no door, being 
 built to receive her body after death, and word was 
 sent out that she was already dead. 
 
 When these false tidings were brought to Antony 
 all his anger against the fair traitress was replaced 
 by a flood of his old tenderness. In despair he 
 stabbed himself, bidding his attendants to lay his 
 body beside that of Cleopatra. 
 
 Still living, he was borne to the queen's retreat, 
 where, moved by pity, she had him drawn up by 
 cords into an upper window. Here she threw her- 
 self in agony on his body, bathed his face with her 
 tears, and continued to bemoan his fate until he was 
 dead. 
 
 She afterwards consented to receive Octavius. 
 He spoke her fairly, but she was wise enough to see 
 that all her charms were lost on him, and that he 
 20*
 
 234 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 proposed to degrade her by making her walk as a 
 captive in his triumph. 
 
 With a cunning greater than his own, Cleopatra 
 promised to submit. She had no apparent means of 
 taking her life in the cell, every dangerous weapon 
 was removed by his orders, and he left her, as he 
 supposed, a safe victim of his wiles. 
 
 He did not know Cleopatra. When his messen- 
 gers returned, at the hour fixed, to conduct her 
 away, they found only the dead body of Cleopatra 
 stretched upon her couch, and by her side her two 
 faithful attendants, Iris and Charmion. It is said 
 that she died from the bite of an asp, a venomous 
 Egyptian serpent, which had been secretly conveyed 
 to her concealed in a basket of fruit ; but this story 
 remains unconfirmed. 
 
 Plutarch tells the story thus : " But when they 
 opened the doors they found Cleopatra stark dead, 
 laid upon a bed of gold, attired and arrayed in her 
 royal robes, and one of her two women, who was 
 called Iris, dead at her feet, and the other woman 
 (called Charmion) half dead, and trembling, trimming 
 the diadem which Cleopatra wore upon her head. 
 
 " One of the soldiers, seeing her, angrily said to 
 her, ' Is that well done, Charmion ?' ' Very well,' 
 said she again, ' and meet for a princess descended 
 from the race of so many noble kings.' She said no 
 more, but fell down dead, hard by the bed. 
 
 " Now Caesar, though he was marvellous sorry for 
 the death of Cleopatra, yet he wondered at her noble 
 mind and courage, and therefore commanded that 
 she should be nobly buried and laid by Antony."
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. 235 
 
 Thus ends the story of these two famous lovers 
 of old. Octavius, afterwards known as Csesar Augus- 
 tus, reigned sole emperor of Eome, and the republic 
 was at an end. He was not formally proclaimed em- 
 peror, but liberty and independence were thereafter 
 forgotten words in Rome. He ended the old era of 
 Eoman history by closing the Temple of Janus, for 
 the third time since it was built, and by freely for- 
 giving all the friends of Antony. He had nothing 
 to fear and had no thirst for blood and misery. 
 Base as he had shown himself in his youth, his reign 
 was a noble one, and during it Eome reached its 
 highest level of literary and military glory.
 
 AN IMPERIAL MONSTER. 
 
 A BEING, half monster, half madman, had come 
 to empire in Eome. This was Caius Csesar, great- 
 grandson of Augustus, who in his short career aa 
 emperor displayed a malignant cruelty unsurpassed 
 by the worst of Roman emperors, and a mad folly 
 unequalled by any. The only conceivable excuse for 
 him is mental disease; but insanity which takes the 
 form of thirst for blood, and is combined with un- 
 limited power, is a spectacle to make the very gods 
 weep. "We describe his career as the most exagger- 
 ated instance on record of mingled folly and malig- 
 nity. 
 
 Brought up in the camp, he was christened by the 
 soldiers Caligula, from the soldier's boots (caligce) 
 which he wore. By shrewd dissimulation he pre- 
 served his life through the reign of Tiberius, and 
 was left heir to the throne along with the emperor's 
 grandson. But, deceiving the senate by his pre- 
 tended moderation, he was appointed by that body 
 sole emperor. 
 
 They little knew what they did. Tiberius, who 
 
 appears to have read him truly, spoke of educating 
 
 him "for the destruction of the Roman people," and 
 
 Caligula seemed eager to make these words good. 
 
 236
 
 AN IMPERIAL MONSTER. 237 
 
 At first, indeed, he seemed generous and merciful, 
 mingling this affectation with a savage profligacy 
 and voluptuousness. Illness, however, apparently 
 affected his brain or destroyed what little moral 
 nature he possessed, and he quickly embarked on a 
 career of frightful excess and barbarity. 
 
 The great wealth left by Tiberius over twenty- 
 five million dollars was expended by him in a 
 single year, and to gain new funds he taxed and 
 robbed his subjects to an incredible extent. One of 
 his methods of finance was to force wealthy citizens 
 to gamble with him for enormous sums, and when 
 they lost their all (they dared not win), he would 
 make their lives the stake and bid their friends re- 
 deem them. In addition to this open robbery of 
 the rich, taxes of all sorts were laid and unlimited 
 oppressions enforced. The new edicts of the em- 
 peror were written so small and posted so high as 
 to be unreadable, yet no excuse of ignorance of the 
 law was admitted in extenuation of a fault. 
 
 The funds obtained by such oppressive means were 
 lavished on the most extravagant follies. We are 
 told of loaves of solid gold set before his guests, and 
 the prows of galleys adorned with diamonds. His 
 favorite horse was kept in an ivory stable and fed 
 from a golden manger, and when invited to a ban- 
 quet at his own table was regaled with gilded oats, 
 served in a golden basin of exquisite workmanship. 
 
 In addition to these domestic follies, he built villas 
 and laid out gardens without regard to cost; and, 
 that be might vie with Xerxes, he constructed a 
 bridge of ships three miles long, from Baise to
 
 238 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Puteoli, on which he built houses and planted trees. 
 This madness was concluded by throwing a great 
 many of his guests from the bridge into the sea, and 
 by driving recklessly with his war-galley through 
 the throng of boats that had gathered to witness the 
 spectacle. 
 
 These cruelties were mild compared with his more 
 deliberate ones. Eome was filled with executions, 
 the estates of his victims being confiscated; and it 
 was his choice delight to have these victims tortured 
 and slain in his presence while at dinner, the officers 
 being bidden to protract their sufferings, that they 
 might "feel themselves die." On one occasion he 
 expressed the mad wish that all the Eoman people 
 had but one neck, that he might strike it off" at a 
 blow. 
 
 Priding himself on the indifference with which he 
 could gaze on human torture, it was one of his en- 
 joyments to witness criminals torn to pieces by wild 
 beasts, and if criminals proved scarce he did not 
 hesitate to order some of the spectators to be thrown 
 into the arena. In the same manner, if a full supply 
 of gladiators was wanting, he would command Ro- 
 man knights to battle in the arena, taking delight 
 in the fact that this was viewed as an infamous pur- 
 suit. He kept two lists containing names of knights 
 and senators whom he intended to put to death, and 
 these contained the majority of both those bodies of 
 Eoman patricians. He is said to have put one man 
 to death for being better dressed than himself, and 
 another for being better looking. 
 
 He married more wives than he had years of em-
 
 AN IMPERIAL MONSTER. 239 
 
 pire; but when one of these wives, Drusilla by name., 
 died, he affected the bitterest grief, exiling himgeli 
 to Sicily, and letting his beard and hair grow ink 
 wild disorder. On his return to Eome his sub 
 jects found themselves in a dangerous quandary. 
 Those who made a show of sadness were declared 
 guilty of disrespect to the memory of the queen, 
 who had been translated to the joys of heaven. 
 Those who seemed glad were adjudged equally 
 guilty for not mourning her loss. And those who 
 showed neither joy nor sorrow were accused of 
 criminal indifference to his feelings. One man, who 
 sold warm water in the streets, was sentenced to 
 death for daring to pursue his occupation on so 
 solemn an occasion. 
 
 At a loss, as it would appear, in what madness 
 next to indulge, Caligula finally not only declared 
 himself a god, but erected a temple to his own 
 divinity, and created a college of priests to serve at 
 his altar. Among these were some of the first sen- 
 ators of Eome, who vied with each other in adula- 
 tion to this impious wretch. Not content with these, 
 he made his wife a priest, then his horse, and at 
 length became a priest to himself. He played with 
 the dignities of the realm in the same manner as 
 with its religion, raised the ministers of his lusts to 
 the highest offices, and finally went so far as to make 
 his horse a consul of Eome. 
 
 In his position as a deity he pretended to be equal 
 to and on friendly terms with Jupiter, and would 
 whisper in the ears of his statue as if they were in 
 familiar intercourse. He had a machine constructed
 
 2-fO HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 to vie with Jupiter's thunder, and during the light- 
 ning of a storm would challenge the god to mortal 
 combat by hurling stones into the air. 
 
 This succession of mad frolics and ruthless cruel- 
 ties should, it would seem, have satisfied even a Calig- 
 ula, but he managed to overtop them all by a supreme 
 piece of folly, which stands alone among human 
 freaks. Hitherto his doings had been those of 
 peace; he now resolved to gain glory in war, and 
 show the Romans what a man of soldierly mettle 
 they had in their emperor. There were no particu- 
 lar wars then afoot, but he would make one, and 
 resolved on an invasion of Germany, whose people 
 were at that time quiet subjects or allies of Borne. 
 
 To decide with him was to act. The army was 
 ordered to prepare with the utmost haste, and was 
 driven so fiercely that all was in confusion, the roads 
 everywhere being blocked up with hurrying troops 
 and great convoys of provisions, all converging 
 rapidly on the line of march. Not waiting their 
 arrival, he put himself at the head of the first legions 
 gathered, and set out on the march with such furi- 
 ous speed that the legionaries were utterly exhausted 
 with fatigue. Then, suddenly changing his mood, 
 he affected the slow progress and military pomp of 
 an Oriental king. 
 
 On reaching the borders of Germany the emperor 
 found no foes and showed no fancy for fighting. 
 Concealing some boys in a wood, he got up a mock 
 battle with them, and at its end congratulated the 
 troops on their valor and felicitated himself on his 
 success. Next, the British island being still under
 
 AN IMPERIAL MONSTER. 241 
 
 process of conquest, he marched his army, two hun- 
 dred thousand strong, to the sea-shore of Gaul, and 
 drew them up in line of battle. The legionaries 
 stolidly obeyed, wondering in their stern souls what 
 new madness the emperor had in mind. 
 
 They were soon to know. He bade them to fill 
 their helmets with sea-shells, "the spoils of the ocean 
 due to the Capitol and the palace." Then he dis- 
 tributed large sums of money among the troops, 
 giving a reward for valor to each, and bidding them 
 " henceforth to be happy and rich." 
 
 This was all well for the army, but the people of 
 Rome must be impressed with the glory and victori- 
 ous success of their emperor. Such a career was 
 worthy a triumph ; and to the German hostages and 
 criminals, destined to figure in the procession to the 
 Capitol, he added a number of tall and martial 
 Gauls, chosen without regard to rank or condition, 
 whom he ordered to learn German, that they might 
 pass for German captives. 
 
 And now, his military expedition having ended 
 without shedding the blood of a foe, Caligula's in- 
 sane thirst for blood arose, and he determined to 
 glut it out of the ranks of his own army. There 
 were in it some regiments which had mutinied 
 against his father on the death of Augustus. He 
 ordered these to be slaughtered for their crime. 
 Some of his higher officers representing to him the 
 danger of such a proceeding, he changed his mind, 
 and gave orders that these legions should be deci- 
 mated. But the whole army showed such symp- 
 toms of discontent with this cruel order that Calig- 
 II. L q 21
 
 242 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ula was seized with consternation, and fled in a 
 panic to Kome. 
 
 On reaching the city the senate proved bold 
 enough to vote him an ovation instead of the 
 triumph on which he had set his mind. Incensed at 
 this, he met the advances of the patricians with 
 stinging insults, and perhaps determined in his mind 
 to be deeply revenged for this premeditated slight. 
 
 Whatever he had in view, he did not live much 
 longer to afflict mankind. Four months more brought 
 him to the end of his flagitious career. There was a 
 brave soldier of the palace guard, Cassius Chserea 
 by name, who happened to have a weak voice, and 
 whom Caligula frequently insulted in public for this 
 fault of nature. These insults in time grew heavier 
 and viler than the veteran could bear, and he or- 
 ganized a conspiracy with a few others against the 
 emperor's life. Meeting him without guards, the 
 conspirators assailed him with their daggers and 
 put an end to his base life. 
 
 Thus died, after twenty-nine years of life and four 
 years of power, one of the vilest, cruellest, and mad- 
 dest of the imperial demons who so long made Eome 
 a slaughter-house and an abomination among the 
 nations.
 
 THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS. 
 
 NERO was lord of Eome. Chance had placed a 
 weak and immoral boy in unlimited control of the 
 greatest of nations. Utterly destitute of principle, 
 he gradually descended into the deepest vice and 
 profligacy, which was soon succeeded by the basest 
 cruelty and treachery. And one of the first victims 
 of his treachery was bis own mother, who had mur- 
 dered her husband, the Emperor Claudius, to place 
 him on the throne, and had now committed the 
 deeper fault of attempting to control her worthless 
 and faithless son. 
 
 She had threatened to replace him on the throne 
 with his half-brother Britannicus, and Nero had es- 
 caped this difficulty by poisoning Britannicus. She 
 then opposed his vicious passions, and made a bitter 
 foe of his mistress Poppsea, who by every artifice in- 
 censed the weak-minded emperor against his mother, 
 representing her as the only obstacle to his full en- 
 joyment of power and pleasure. 
 
 At length the detestable son was wrought up to 
 the resolution of murdering her to whom he owed 
 his life. But how ? He was too cowardly and irreso- 
 lute to take open means. Should he remove her by 
 poison or the poignard? The first was doubtful. 
 
 243
 
 244 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Agrippina was too practised in guilt, too accustomed 
 to vile deeds, to be easily deceived, and had, more- 
 over, by taking poisons, hardened her frame against 
 their effect. Nor could she be killed by the knife 
 and the murder concealed. The murder-seeking 
 wretch, who had no plan, and no stronger person 
 than himself in whom he could confide, was at a 
 loss how to carry out his wicked purpose. 
 
 At this juncture his tutor Anicetus came to his 
 aid. This villain, who bitterly hated Agrippina, was 
 now in command of the fleet that lay at Misenum. 
 He proposed to Nero to have a vessel built in such a 
 manner that it might give way in the open sea, and 
 plunge to the bottom with all not prepared to escape. 
 If Agrippina could be lured on board such a vessel, 
 her drowning would seem one of the natural disas- 
 ters of the open sea. 
 
 This suggestion filled with joy the mind of the 
 unnatural son. The court was then at Baise, cele- 
 brating the festival called the Quinquatria. Agrip- 
 pina was invited to attend, and Nero, pretending a 
 desire for reconciliation, went to the sea-shore to 
 meet her on her arrival, embraced her tenderly, and 
 conducted her to a villa in a pleasant situation, 
 looking out on a charming bay of the Mediter- 
 ranean. 
 
 On the waters of the bay floated a number of ves- 
 sels, among which was one superbly decorated, being 
 prepared, as she was told, in her honor as the em- 
 peror's mother. This was intended to convey her to 
 Baise, where a banquef was to be given to her that 
 evening.
 
 THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS. 245 
 
 Agrippina was fond of sailing. She had fre- 
 quently joined coasting parties and made pleasure 
 trips of her own. But for some reason, perhaps 
 through suspicion of Nero's dark project, she now 
 took a carriage in preference, and arrived safely at 
 Baise, much to the discomfiture of her worthless son. 
 
 Nero, however, was cunning enough to conceal his 
 disappointment. He gave her the most gracious re- 
 ception, placed her at table above himself, and by 
 his affectionate attentions and his easy flow of talk 
 succeeded in dispelling any suspicions his mother 
 may have entertained. 
 
 The banquet was continued till a late hour, and 
 when Agrippina rose to go Nero attended her to the 
 shore, where lay the sumptuously decorated vessel 
 ready to convey her back to her villa. Here he 
 lavished upon her marks of fond affection, clasped 
 her warmly to his bosom, and bade her adieu in 
 words of tender regret, disguising his fell purpose 
 under the utmost show of tenderness. 
 
 Agrippina went on board, attended by only two 
 of her train, one of whom, a maid named Acerronia, 
 lay at the foot of her mistress's couch, and gladly 
 expressed her joy at the loving reconciliation which 
 she had just perceived. 
 
 The night was calm and serene. The stars shone 
 with their brightest lustre. The sea extended with 
 an unruffled surface. The vessel moved swiftly, at 
 no great distance from the shore, under the regular 
 sweep of the rowers' oars. Yet little way had been 
 made when there came a disastrous change. A 
 signal was given, and suddenly the deck over Agrip- 
 21*
 
 246 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 piua's cabin sank in, borne down by a great weight 
 of lead. 
 
 One of the attendants of the empress was crushed 
 to death, but the posts of Agrippina's couch proved 
 strong enough to bear the weight, and she and 
 Acerronia escaped and made their way hastily to 
 the deck. Here confusion and consternation reigned. 
 The plot had failed. The vessel had not fallen to 
 pieces at once, as intended. Those who were not in 
 the plot rushed wildly to and fro, hampering, by 
 their distracted movements, the operations of the 
 guilty. These sought to sink the vessel at once, but 
 in spite of their efforts the ship sank but slowly, 
 giving the intended victims an opportunity to escape. 
 
 Acerronia, with instinctive devotion to her mis- 
 tress, or a desire to save her own life, cried out that 
 she was Agrippina, and pathetically implored the 
 mariners to save her life. She won death instead. 
 The assassins attacked her with oars and other 
 weapons, and beat her down to the sinking deck. 
 Agrippina, on the contrary, kept silent, and, with 
 the exception of a wound on her shoulder, remained 
 unhurt. Dashing into the dark waters of the bay, 
 she swam towards the shore, and managed to keep 
 herself afloat till taken up by a boat, in which some 
 persons who had witnessed the accident from the 
 shore had hastily put out. Telling her rescuers who 
 she was, they conveyed her up the bay to her villa. 
 
 Agrippina had been concerned in too many crimes 
 of her own devising to be deceived. The treach- 
 ery of her son was too evident. Without touching 
 a rock, and in complete calm, the vessel had suddenly
 
 THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS. 247 
 
 broken down, as if constructed for the purpose. Her 
 own wound and the murder of her maid were fur- 
 ther proofs of a preconcerted plot. Yet she was too 
 shrewd to make her suspicions public. The plot had 
 failed, and she was still alive. She at once de- 
 spatched a messenger to her son, saying that by the 
 favor of the gods and his good auspices she had 
 escaped shipwreck, and that she thus hastened to 
 quiet his affectionate fears. She then retired to her 
 couch. 
 
 Meanwhile Nero waited impatiently for the news 
 of his mother's death. When word was at length 
 brought him that she had escaped, his craven soul 
 was filled with terror. If this should get abroad ; 
 if she should call on her slaves, on the army, on the 
 senate; if the people should learn of the plot of 
 murder, and rise in riot ; if any of a dozen contin- 
 gencies should happen, all might be lost. 
 
 The terrified emperor was in a frightful quandary. 
 He sent in all haste for his advisers, but none of 
 them cared to offer any suggestions. At length the 
 villanous Anicetus came to his aid. While they 
 talked the messenger of Agrippina had arrived, and 
 was admitted to give his message to the prince. As 
 he was speaking Anicetus foxily let fall a dagger 
 between his legs. He instantly seized him, snatched 
 up the dagger and showed it to the company, and 
 declared that the wretch had been sent by Agrip- 
 pina to assassinate her son. The guards were called 
 in, the man was ordered to be dragged away and 
 put in fetters, and the story of the discovered plot 
 of Agrippina was made public.
 
 248 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 " Death to the murderess !" cried Anicetus. " Let 
 me hasten at once to her punishment." 
 
 Nero gladly assented, and Anicetus hurried from 
 the room, empowered to carry out his murderous 
 intent. 
 
 Meanwhile the news of the peril and escape of 
 the empress had spread far and wide. A dreadful 
 accident had occurred, it was said. The people 
 rushed in numbers to the shore, crowded the piers, 
 filled the boats, and gave voice to a medley of cries 
 of alarm. The uproar was at length allayed by 
 some men with lighted torches, who assured the 
 excited multitude that Agrippina had escaped and 
 was now safe in her villa. 
 
 While they were speaking a body of soldiers, led 
 by Anicetus, arrived, and with threats of violence 
 dispersed the peasant throng. Then, planting a 
 guard round the mansion, Anicetus burst open its 
 doors, seized the slaves who appeared, and forced his 
 way to the apartment of the empress. 
 
 Here Agrippina waited in fear and agitation the 
 return of her messenger. Why came he not ? Was 
 new murder in contemplation? She heard the 
 tumult and confusion on the shore, and learned 
 from her attendants what it meant. But the noise 
 was suddenly hushed; a dismal silence prevailed; 
 then came new noises, then loud tones of command, 
 and violent blows on the outer doors. In dread of 
 what was coming, the unhappy woman waited still, 
 till loud steps sounded in the passage, the attendants 
 at her door were thrust aside, and armed men entered 
 her chamber.
 
 THE MURDER OF AN EMPRESS. 249 
 
 The room was in deep shadow, only the pale 
 glimmer of a feeble light breaking the gloom. A 
 single maid remained with the empress, and she, too, 
 hastened to the door on hearing the tramp of war- 
 like feet. 
 
 " Do you, too, desert me ?" cried Agrippina, in deep 
 reproach. 
 
 At that moment Anicetus entered the room, fol- 
 lowed by two other ruffians. They approached her 
 bed. She rose to receive them. 
 
 "If you come from the prince," she said, "tell him 
 I am well. If your intents are murderous, you are 
 not sent by my son. The guilt of parricide is foreign 
 to his heart." 
 
 Her words were checked by a blow on the head 
 with a club. A sword-thrust followed, and she ex- 
 pired under a number of mortal wounds. Thus died 
 the niece, the wife, and the mother of an emperor, 
 the daughter of the celebrated soldier Germanicus, 
 herself so stained with vice that none can pity her 
 fate, particularly as she had committed the further 
 unconscious crime of giving birth to the monster 
 "aamed Nero.
 
 BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF 
 BRITAIN. 
 
 PRASUTAGUS, the king of the Icenians, a tribe of 
 the ancient Britons, had amassed much wealth in the 
 course of a long reign. On his death, in order to 
 secure the favor of the Romans, now masters of the 
 island, he left half his wealth by will to the emperor 
 and half to his two daughters. This well-judged 
 action of the barbarian king did not have the in- 
 tended effect. No sooner was he dead than the 
 Romans in the vicinity claimed the whole estate as 
 theirs, ruthlessly pillaged his house, and seized all 
 his effects. 
 
 This base brigandage roused Boadicea, the widowed 
 queen, to a vigorous protest, but with the sole result 
 of bringing a worse calamity upon her head. She 
 was seized and cruelly scourged by the ruthless 
 Romans, her two daughters were vilely maltreated, 
 and the noblest of the Icenians were robbed of their 
 possessions by the plunderers, who went so far as to 
 reduce to slavery the near relatives of the deceased 
 king. 
 
 Roused to madness by this inhuman treatment, 
 
 the Icenians broke into open revolt. They were 
 
 joined by a neighboring -state, while the surrounding 
 
 Britons, not yet inured to bondage, secretly resolved 
 
 250
 
 BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF BRITAIN. 251 
 
 to join the cause of liberty. There had lately been 
 planted a colony of Koman veterans at Camalodunum 
 (Colchester), who had treated the Britons cruelly, 
 driven them from their houses, and insulted them 
 with the names of slaves and captives ; while the 
 common soldiers, a licentious and greedy crew, still 
 further degraded and robbed the owners of the land. 
 
 The invaders went too far for British endurance, 
 and brought a terrible retribution upon themselves. 
 Paulinus Suetonius, an able officer, who then com- 
 manded in Britain, was absent on an expedition to 
 conquer the island of Mona. Of this expedition the 
 historian Tacitus gives a vivid account. As the 
 boats of the Romans approached the island they 
 beheld on the shore the Britons prepared to receive 
 them, while through their ranks rushed their women 
 in funereal attire, their hair flying loose in the wind, 
 flaming torches in their hands, and their whole ap- 
 pearance recalling the frantic rage of the fabled 
 Furies. Near by, ranged in order, stood the vener- 
 able Druids, or Celtic priests, with uplifted hands, at 
 once invoking the gods and pouring forth impreca- 
 tions upon the foe. 
 
 The novelty and impressiveness of this spectacle 
 filled the Romans with awe and wonder. They stood 
 in stupid amazement, riveted to the spot, and a mark 
 for the foe had they been then attacked. From this 
 brief paralysis the voice of their general recalled 
 them, and, ashamed of being held in awe by a troop 
 of women and a band of fanatic priests, they rushed 
 to the assault, cut down all before them, and set fire 
 to the edifices and the sacred groves of the island
 
 252 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 with the torches which the Britons themselves had 
 kindled. 
 
 But Suetonius had chosen a perilous time for this 
 enterprise. During his absence the wrongs of the 
 Icenians and the exhortations of Boadicea had roused 
 a formidable revolt, and the undefended colonies of 
 the Romans were in danger. 
 
 In addition to the actual peril the Romans were 
 frightened with dire omens. The statue of victory 
 at Camalodunum fell without any visible cause, and 
 lay prostrate on the ground. Clamors in a foreign 
 accent were heard in the Roman council chamber, 
 the theatres were filled with the sound of savage 
 bowlings, the sea ran purple as with blood, the fig- 
 ures of human bodies were traced on the sands, and 
 the image of a colony in ruins was reflected from the 
 waters of the Thames. 
 
 These omens threw the Romans into despair and 
 filled the minds of the Britons with joy. No effort 
 was made by the soldiers for defence, no ditch was 
 dug, no palisade erected, and the assault of the 
 Britons found the colonists utterly unprepared. 
 Taken by surprise, the Romans were overpowered, 
 and the colony was laid waste with fire and sword. 
 The fortified temple alone held out, but after a two 
 days' siege it also was taken, and the legion which 
 marched to its relief was cut to pieces. 
 
 Boadicea was now the leading spirit among the 
 Britons. Her wrongs had stirred them to revolt, 
 and her warlike energy led them to victory and 
 revenge. But she was soon to have a master-spirit 
 to meet. Suetonius, recalled from the island of Mona
 
 BOADICEA, THE HEROINE OF BRITAIN. 253 
 
 by tidings of rebellion and disaster, marched hastily 
 as far as London, which was even then the chief 
 residence of the merchants and the centre of trade 
 and commerce of the island. 
 
 His army was small, not more than ten thousand 
 men in all. That of the Britons was large. The 
 interests of the empire were greater than those of 
 any city, and Suetonius found himself obliged to 
 abandon London to the barbarians, despite the sup- 
 plications of its imperilled citizens. All he would 
 agree to was to take under his protection those who 
 chose to follow his banner. Many followed him, but 
 many remained, and no sooner had he marched out 
 than the Britons fell in rage on the settlement, and 
 killed all they found. In like manner they ravaged 
 Verulamium (St. Albans). Seventy thousand Eomans 
 are said to have been put to the sword. 
 
 Meanwhile Suetonius marched through the land, 
 and at length the two armies met. The skilled 
 Roman general drew up his force in a place where a 
 thick forest sheltered the rear and flanks, leaving 
 only a narrow front open to attack. Here the 
 Britons, twenty times his number, and confident of 
 victory, approached. The warlike Boadicea, tall, 
 stern of countenance, her hair hanging to her waist, 
 a spear in her hand, drove along their front in a war- 
 like car, with her two daughters by her side, and 
 eloquently sought to rouse her countrymen to thirst 
 for revenge. 
 
 Telling them of the base cruelty with which she 
 and her daughters had been treated, and painting in 
 vivid words the arrogance and insults of the Romans,
 
 254 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 she besought them to fight for their country and 
 their homes. " On this spot we must either conquer 
 or die with glory," she said. " There is no alterna- 
 tive. Though I am a woman, my resolution is fixed. 
 The men, if they prefer, may survive with infamy 
 and live in bondage. For me there is only victory 
 or death." 
 
 Stirred to fury by her words, the British host 
 poured like a deluge on their foes. But the Eoman 
 arms and discipline proved far too much for bar- 
 barian courage and ferocity. The British were re- 
 pulsed, and, rushing forward in a wedge shape, the 
 legions cut their way with frightful carnage through 
 the disordered ranks. The cavalry seconded their 
 efforts. Thousands fell. The rest took to flight. 
 But the wagons of the British, which had been 
 massed in the rear, impeded their flight, and a dread- 
 ful slaughter, in which neither sex nor age was 
 spared, ensued. Tacitus tells us that eighty thou- 
 sand Britons fell, while the Eoman slain numbered 
 no more than four hundred men. 
 
 Boadicea, who had done her utmost to rally her 
 flying hosts, kept to her resolution. When all was 
 lost, she took poison, and perished upon the field 
 where she had vowed to seek victory or death. 
 With her decease the success of the Britons vanished. 
 Though they still kept the field, they gradually 
 yielded to the Eoman arms, and Britain became in 
 time a quiet and peaceful part of the great empire 
 of Eome.
 
 ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES. 
 
 NERO, the cruel coward under whom Rome for its 
 gins was made to suffer, could scarcely devise follies 
 and atrocities enough to please his profligate fancy. 
 He offended the pride and sense of decorum of Rome 
 by forcing senators and women of the highest rank 
 to appear as gladiators in the arena. He exposed 
 himself to ridicule by appearing as an actor in the 
 theatre at Naples, which theatre, as soon as the 
 audience dispersed, tumbled to pieces, a little late 
 so far as Nero himself was concerned. Returning 
 to Rome, he indulged in every species of vice and 
 folly, lavishing the wealth of the state with the ut- 
 most prodigality. On the lake of Agrippa he had a 
 pavilion erected on a great floating platform, which 
 was moved from point to point by the aid of boats 
 superbly decorated with gold and ivory, while to 
 furnish the banquet here given, animals of the chase 
 were sought in the whole country round, and fish 
 were brought from every sea and even from the 
 distant ocean. When night descended a sudden illu- 
 mination burst forth from all sides, and music re- 
 sounded from every grove. These are the mention- 
 able parts of the festival. Vile scenes were exhibited 
 of which nothing can be said. 
 
 255
 
 256 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Finally, at a loss in what deeper excess of vice and 
 ostentation to indulge, the crowned reprobate set fire 
 to Rome that he might enjoy the spectacle of an un- 
 limited conflagration. This wickedness, it is true, is 
 doubted by some historians, but we are told that 
 during the prevalence of the flames a crew of incen- 
 diaries threatened anyone with death who should seek 
 to extinguish them, and flung flaming torches into the 
 dwellings, crying that they acted under orders. 
 
 In all the history of Eome this fire was far the 
 most violent and destructive. Breaking out in a 
 number of shops stored with combustible goods, 
 and driven by the winds, it raged with the utmost 
 fury, neither the thick walls of the houses nor the 
 enclosures of the temples sufficing to stay its fright- 
 ful progress. The form of the streets, long, narrow, 
 and winding, added to the mischief, and the flames 
 swiftly sped alike through the humblest and the 
 stateliest quarters of the mighty capital. 
 
 " The shrieks and lamentations of women, the in- 
 firmities of age, and the weakness of the young and 
 tender," says Tacitus, " added misery to the dreadful 
 scene. Some endeavored to provide for themselves, 
 others to save their friends, in one part dragging 
 along the lame and impotent, in another waiting to 
 receive the tardy, or expecting relief themselves; 
 they hurried, they lingered, they obstructed one 
 another ; they looked behind, and the fire broke out 
 in front ; they escaped from the flames, and in their 
 place of refuge found no safety ; the fire raged in 
 every quarter; all were involved in one general 
 conflagration.
 
 ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES. 257 
 
 "The unhappy wretches fled to places remote, 
 and thought themselves secure, but soon perceived 
 the flames raging round them. Which way to turn, 
 what to avoid, or what to seek, no one could tell. 
 They crowded the streets ; they fell prostrate on the 
 ground ; they lay stretched in the fields, in conster- 
 nation and dismay resigned to their fate. Numbers 
 lost their whole substance, even the tools and imple- 
 ments by which they gained their livelihood, and, in 
 that distress, did not wish to survive. Others, wild 
 with affliction for their friends and relations whom 
 they could not save, embraced voluntary death, and 
 perished in the flames." 
 
 The story goes that, while the city was in its in- 
 tensest blaze, Nero watched it with high enjoyment 
 from a tower in the house of Maecenas, and finally 
 went to his own theatre, where in his scenic dress he 
 mounted the stage, tuned his harp, and sang the 
 destruction of Troy. 
 
 How far Nero was guilty and to what extent the 
 stories told of him were true will never be known, 
 but he was destined to feel the calamity himself, for 
 in time the devouring flames reached the imperial 
 palace, and laid it with all its treasures and surround- 
 ing buildings in ruins. For six days the fire raged 
 uncontrolled, and then, when it seemed subdued, a 
 new conflagration broke out and burned with all the 
 old fury, spreading still more widely the area of ruin 
 and devastation. 
 
 The number of buildings destroyed cannot be 
 ascertained. Not only dwellings and shops, but 
 temples, porticos, and other public buildings, were 
 ii. r 22*
 
 258 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 destroyed, among them the most venerable monu- 
 ments of antiquity, which the worship of ages had 
 rendered sacred ; and with these the trophies of 
 uncounted victories, the inimitable works of the 
 great artists of Greece, and precious monuments of 
 literature and ancient genius, were irrecoverably 
 lost. 
 
 Whether or not this fire took place through Nero's 
 orders, and was played to by him on the harp, he 
 showed more feeling for the people and more good 
 sense in the rebuilding of the city than could have 
 been expected from one of his weak and vicious 
 character. By his orders the Field of Mars, the 
 magnificent buildings erected by Agrippa, and even 
 the imperial gardens were thrown open to the house- 
 less people, and sheds for their shelter were erected 
 with all possible haste. Household utensils and 
 all kinds of useful implements were brought from 
 Ostia and other neighboring cities, and the price of 
 grain was reduced. But all this failed to gain the 
 good-will of the people, who were exasperated by 
 the story that Nero had exulted in the grandeur of 
 the flames, and harped over burning Eome. 
 
 When the fire was at length subdued, of the four- 
 teen quarters of Eome only four were left entire ; 
 the remainder presented more or less utter ruin. 
 The conflagration in the time of the Gauls had been 
 little more complete, while the wealth now consumed 
 was incomparably greater. The whole world had 
 been robbed of its treasures to feed the flames of 
 Rome. But the haste and ill-judged confusion with 
 which the city was rebuilt after the irruption of the
 
 ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES. 259 
 
 Gauls was not now repeated. A regular plan was 
 formed ; the new streets were made wide and 
 straight ; the elevation of the houses was defined, and 
 each was given an open area before the door, and 
 was adorned with porticos. The expense of these 
 porticos Nero took upon himself. He ordered also 
 that the new houses should not be contiguous, but 
 that each should be surrounded by its own enclosure ; 
 and, in order to huriy the work, he offered rewards 
 to those who should finish their buildings in a fixed 
 period. As for the refuse of the fire, it was removed 
 at Nero's expense to the marshes of Ostia in the 
 ships that brought corn up the Tiber. 
 
 These regulations, while they must have made 
 much confusion among the rival claimants of build- 
 ing sites, added greatly to the beauty and comfort 
 of the new city, and the Rome which rose from the 
 ruins was far more stately and handsome than the 
 Eome which had vanished in ashes and smoke. But 
 Nero, while showing some passing feeling for the 
 people and some wisdom in the rebuilding of the 
 city, did not hesitate to use a generous portion of 
 the devastated space for his own advantage. His 
 palace had been destroyed, and he built a new and 
 most magnificent one on the Palatine Hill, the famous 
 "golden house," which after-ages beheld with un- 
 stinted admiration. 
 
 But he did not confine his ostentation to the palace 
 itself. A great space around it was converted into 
 pleasure-grounds for his amusement, in which, as 
 Tacitus says, "expansive lakes and fields of vast 
 extent were intermixed with pleasing variety ; woods
 
 260 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 and forests stretched to an immeasurable length, pre- 
 senting gloom and solitude amid scenes of open space, 
 where the eye wandered with surprise over an un- 
 bounded prospect." 
 
 But nothing that Nero could do sufficed to remove 
 from men's minds the belief that on him rested the 
 infamy of the fire. This public sentiment troubled 
 and frightened him, and to remove it he sought to 
 lay the burden of guilt on others. It was now the 
 year 64 A.D., and for at least thirty years the new 
 sect of the Christians had been spreading in Rome, 
 where it had gained many adherents among the 
 humbler and more moral section of the population. 
 The Christians were far from popular. They were 
 accused of secret and evil practices and debasing 
 superstitions, and on this despised sect Nero deter- 
 mined to turn the fury of the populace. 
 
 With his usual artifice he induced a number of 
 abandoned wretches to confess themselves guilty, 
 and on their purchased evidence numbers of the 
 Christians were seized and convicted, mainly on the 
 plea of their sullen hatred of the whole human race. 
 A frightful persecution followed, Nero perhaps 
 hoping, by an exhibition of human suffering, so dear 
 to the rabble of Rome, to turn the thoughts of the 
 people from their own-losses. 
 
 The captives were put to death with every cruelty 
 the emperor could devise, and to their sufferings he 
 added mockery and derision. Many were nailed to 
 the cross; others were covered with the skins of 
 wild beasts, and left to be devoured by dogs ; num- 
 bers were burned alive, many of these, covered with
 
 ROME SWEPT BY FLAMES. 261 
 
 inflammable matter, being set on fire to serve as 
 torches during the night. 
 
 That the public might see this tragic spectacle 
 with the more satisfaction, it was given in the im- 
 perial gardens. The sports of the circus were added 
 to the tortures of the victims, Nero himself driving 
 his chariot in the races, or mingling with the rabble 
 in his coachman's dress. These cruel proceedings 
 continued until even the hardened Eoman heart 
 became softened with compassion, spectators failed 
 to come, and Nero felt obliged to yield to a general 
 demand that the persecutions should cease. 
 
 While all this went on at Eome, the people of the 
 whole empire suffered with those of the capital city. 
 Italy was ravaged and the provinces plundered to 
 supply the demand for the rebuilding of the city and 
 palace and the unbounded prodigality of the emperor. 
 The very gods were taxed, their temples being 
 robbed of golden treasures which had been gather- 
 ing for ages through the gifts of pious devotees ; 
 while in Greece and Asia not alone the treasures of 
 the temples but the statues of the deities were seized. 
 Nero was preparing for himself a load of infamy 
 worthy of the most frightful retribution, and which 
 would not fail soon to reap its fitting reward.
 
 THE DOOM OF NERO. 
 
 WE have perhaps paid too much attention to 
 the enormities of Caligula and Nero. Yet the mad 
 freakishness of the one and the cowardly dissimula- 
 tion of the other give to their stories a dramatic in- 
 terest which seems to render them worth repeating. 
 Nero, one of the basest and crudest of the Koman 
 emperors, is one of the best known to readers, and 
 the interest felt in him is not alone due to the story 
 of his life, but as well to that of his death, which we 
 therefore here give. 
 
 A conspiracy against him among some of the 
 noblest citizens of Rome was discovered and pun- 
 ished with revengeful fury. It was followed, a few 
 years afterwards, by a revolt of the armies in Gaul 
 and Spain. This was in its turn quelled, and Nero 
 triumphed in imagination over all his enemies. But 
 he had lost favor alike with the army and the people, 
 and an event now happened that threw the whole 
 city into a ferment of anger against him. 
 
 Food was scarce, and the arrival of a ship from 
 Alexandria, supposed to be loaded with corn, filled 
 the people with joy. It proved instead to be loaded 
 with sand for the arena'. In their disappointment 
 the people broke at first into scurrilous jests against 
 262
 
 THE DOOM OP NERO. 263 
 
 Nero, and then into rage and fury. A wild clamor 
 filled the streets. On all sides rose the demand to 
 be delivered from a monster. Even the Praetorian 
 guards, who had hitherto supported the emperor, 
 began to show signs of disaffection, and were 
 wrought to a spirit of revolt by two of the choice 
 companions of Nero's iniquities, who now deserted 
 him as rats desert a sinking ship. The senate was 
 approached and told that Nero was no longer sup- 
 ported by his friends, and that they might now re- 
 gain the power of which they had been deprived. 
 
 Some whisper of what was afloat reached Nero's 
 ears. Filled with craven fury, he resolved to mas- 
 sacre the senate, to set fire again to the city, and 
 to let loose his whole collection of wild beasts. He 
 proposed to fly to Egypt during the consternation 
 that would prevail. A trusted servant, to whom he 
 told this design, revealed it to the senate. It filled 
 them with fear and rage. Yet even in so dire a con- 
 tingency they could not be prevailed upon to act 
 with vigor, and all might have been lost by their pro- 
 crastination and timidity but for the two men who 
 had organized the revolt. 
 
 These men, Nymphidius and Tigellinus by name, 
 went to the palace, and with a show of deep afflic- 
 tion informed Nero of his danger. "All is lost," 
 they said : " the people call aloud for vengeance ; 
 the Praetorian guards have abandoned your cause; 
 the senate is ready to pronounce a dreadful judg- 
 ment. Only one hope remains to you, to fly for 
 your life, and seek a retreat in Egypt." 
 
 It was as they said ; revolt was everywhere in the
 
 264 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 air, and affected the armies near and far. Nero 
 sought assistance, but sought it in vain. The palace, 
 lately swarming with life, was now deserted. Nero 
 wandered through its empty chambers, and found 
 only solitude and gloom. Conscience awoke in his 
 seared heart, and he was filled with horror and re- 
 morse. Of all his late crowd of courtiers only three 
 friends now remained with him, Sporus, a servant ; 
 Phaon, a freedman ; and Epaphroditus, his secretary. 
 
 " ' My wife, my father, and my mother doom me 
 dead !' " he bitterly cried, quoting a line from a 
 Greek tragedy. 
 
 With a last hope he bade the soldiers on duty to 
 hasten to Ostia and prepare a ship, on which he 
 might embark for Egypt. The men refused. 
 
 " ' Is it, then, so wretched a thing to die ?' " said 
 one of them, quoting from Virgil. 
 
 This refusal threw Nero into despair. He hurried 
 to the Servilian gardens, with a vial of deadly poison, 
 which, on getting there, he had not the courage to 
 take. He returned to the palace and threw himself 
 on his bed. Then, too agitated to lie, he sprang up 
 and called for some friendly hand to end his wretched 
 life. No one consented, and in his wild despair he 
 called out, in doleful accents, " My friends desert me, 
 and I cannot find an enemy." 
 
 The world had suddenly fallen away from the des- 
 picable Nero. A week before he had ordered it at his 
 will, now " none so poor to do him reverence." His 
 craven terror would have been pitiable in any one to 
 whom the word pity could apply. In frantic dread 
 he rushed from the palace, as if with intent to fling
 
 THE DOOM OP NERO. 265 
 
 himself into the Tiber. Then as hastily he returned, 
 saying that he would fly to Spain, and yield himself 
 to the mercy of Galba, who commanded the revolted 
 army. But no ship was to be had for either Spain 
 or Egypt, and this plan was abandoned as quickly as 
 formed. 
 
 These and other projects passed in succession 
 through his distracted brain. One of the most 
 absurd of them was to go in a mourning garb to the 
 Forum, and by his powers of eloquence seek to win 
 back the favor of the people. If they would not 
 have him as emperor, he might by persuasive oratory 
 obtain from them the government of Egypt. 
 
 Full of hope in this new project, he was about to 
 put it into effect, when a fresh reflection filled his 
 soul with horror. What if the populace should, 
 without waiting to hear his harmonious accents and 
 unequalled oratory, break out in sudden rage and 
 rend him limb from limb? Might they not assail 
 him in the palace ? Might not a seditious mob be 
 already on its way thither, bent on bloody work? 
 "Whither should he fly ? Where find refuge ? 
 
 Turning in despair to his companions, he asked 
 them, wildly, " Is there no hiding-place, no safe re- 
 treat, where I may have leisure to consider what is 
 to be done ?" 
 
 Phaon, his freedman, told him that he owned an 
 obscure villa, at a distance of about four miles from 
 Rome, where he might remain for a time in conceal- 
 ment. 
 
 This suggestion, in Nero's state of distraction, was 
 eagerly embraced, in such haste, indeed, that he left 
 M 23
 
 266 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the palace without an instant's preparation, his feet 
 destitute of shoes, and no garment but his close 
 tunic, his outer garments and imperial robe having 
 been discarded in his distraction. The utmost he 
 did was to snatch up an old rusty robe as a disguise, 
 covering his head with it, and holding a handker- 
 chief before his face. Thus attired, he mounted his 
 horse and fled in frantic fear, attended only by the 
 three men we have mentioned, and a fourth named 
 Neophytus. 
 
 Meanwhile, the revolt in the city was growing 
 more and more decided. When the coming day 
 showed its first faint rays, the Praetorian guards, 
 who had been on duty in the palace, left their post 
 and marched to the camp. Here, under the influ- 
 ence of Nymphidius, Galba was nominated emperor. 
 This was an important innovation in the govern- 
 ment of Rome. Hitherto the imperial dignity had 
 remained in the family of Caesar, descending by 
 hereditary transmission. Nero was the last of that 
 family to wear the crown. Henceforth the army 
 and its generals controlled the destinies of the em- 
 pire. The nomination of Galba by the Praetorian 
 guard signalized the new state of things, in which 
 the emperors would largely be chosen by that guard 
 or by some army in the field. 
 
 The action of the Praetorian guard was supported 
 by the senate. That body, awaking from its late 
 timidity, determined to mark the day with a decree 
 worthy of its past history. With unanimous de- 
 cision they pronounced Nero a tyrant who had 
 trampled on all laws, human and divine, and con-
 
 THE DOOM OF NERO. 267 
 
 demned him to suffer death with all the rigor of the 
 ancient laws. 
 
 "While this revolution was taking place in the city 
 the terror-stricken Nero was still in frantic flight. 
 He passed the Praetorian camp near enough to hear 
 loud acclamations, among which the name of Galba 
 reached his ear. As the small cavalcade hastened 
 by a man early at work in the fields, he looked up 
 and said, " These people must be hot in pursuit of 
 Nero." A short distance farther another hailed 
 them, asking, "What do they say of Nero in the 
 city?" 
 
 A more alarming event occurred soon. As they 
 drew near Phaon's house the horse of Nero started 
 at a dead carcass beside the road, shaking down the 
 handkerchief by which he had concealed his face. 
 The movement revealed him to a veteran soldier, 
 then on his way to Rome, and ignorant of what was 
 taking place in the city. He recognized and saluted 
 the emperor by name. 
 
 This incident increased Nero's fear. His route of 
 flight would now be known. He pressed his horse 
 to the utmost speed until Phaon's house was close at 
 hand. They now halted and Nero dismounted, it 
 being thought unsafe for him to enter the house 
 publicly. He crossed a field overgrown with reeds, 
 and, being tortured with thirst, scooped up some 
 water from a muddy ditch and drank it, saying, 
 dolefully, " Is this the beverage which Nero has been 
 used to drink ?" 
 
 Phaon advised him to conceal himself in a neigh- 
 boring sand-pit, from which could be opened for him
 
 268 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 a subterraneous passage to the house, but Nero re- 
 fused, saying that he did not care to be buried alive. 
 His companions then made an opening in the wall 
 on one side of the house, through which Nero crept 
 on his hands and knees. Entering a wretched 
 chamber, he threw himself on a mean bed, which was 
 covered with a tattered coverlet, and asked for some 
 refreshment. 
 
 All they could offer him was a little coarse bread, 
 so black that the sight of it sickened his dainty 
 taste, and some warm and foul water, which thirst 
 forced him to drink. His friends meanwhile were 
 in little less desperation than himself. They saw 
 that no hope was left and that his place of conceal- 
 ment-would soon be known, and entreated him to 
 avoid a disgraceful death by taking his own life. 
 
 Nero promised to do so, but still sought reasons 
 for delay. His funeral must be prepared for, he 
 said, and bade them to dig a grave, to prepare wood 
 for a funeral pile, and bring marble to cover his 
 remains. Meanwhile he piteously bewailed his un- 
 happy lot; sighed and shed tears copiously; and 
 said, with a last impulse of vanity, " What a musi- 
 cian the world will lose !" 
 
 While he thus in cowardly procrastination delayed 
 the inevitable end, a messenger, whom Phaon had 
 ordered to bring news from Eome, arrived with 
 papers. These Nero eagerly seized and read. He 
 found himself dethroned, declared a public enemy, 
 and condemned to suffer death with the rigor of 
 ancient usage. Such was the decree of the senate, 
 which hitherto had been his subservient slave.
 
 THE DOOM OF NERO. 269 
 
 "Ancient usage?" he asked. "What do they 
 mean ? What kind of death is that ?" 
 
 " It is this," they told him. " Every traitor, by 
 the law of the old republic, with his head fastened 
 between two stakes, and his body stripped naked, 
 was slowly flogged to death by the lictors' rods." 
 
 Dread of this terrible and ignominious punish- 
 ment roused the trembling wretch to some sem- 
 blance of courage. He produced two daggers, which 
 he had brought with him, and tried their points. 
 Then he replaced them in their scabbards, saying, 
 " The fatal moment is not yet come." 
 
 Turning to Sporus, he said, "Sing the melancholy 
 dirge, and offer the last obsequies to your friend." 
 Then, rolling his eyes wildly around, he exclaimed, 
 " Why will not some one of you kill himself, and 
 teach me how to die ?" 
 
 He paused a moment. No one seemed inclined to 
 adopt his suggestion. A flood of tears burst from 
 his eyes. Starting up, he cried, in a tone of wild 
 despair, "Nero, this is infamy; you linger in dis- 
 grace; this is no time for dejected passions; this 
 moment calls for manly fortitude." 
 
 These words were hardly spoken when the sound 
 of horses was heard advancing rapidly towards the 
 house. Theatrical to the end, he repeated a line 
 from Homer which the noise of hoofs recalled to his 
 mind. At length, driven to desperation, he seized 
 his dagger and stabbed himself in the throat, but 
 cowardice made the stroke too feeble. Epaphroditus 
 now lent his aid, and the next thrust was a mortal 
 one. 
 
 23*
 
 270 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 It was time. The horses were those of pursuers. 
 The senate, informed of his probable place of refuge, 
 had sent soldiers in haste to bring him back to Eome. 
 there to suffer the punishment decreed. In a minute 
 afterwards a centurion entered the room, and, seeing 
 Nero prostrate and bleeding, ran to his aid, saying 
 that he would bind the wound and save his life. 
 
 Nero looked up languidly, and said, in faint tones, 
 " You come too late. Is this your fidelity ?" In a 
 moment more he expired. 
 
 In the words of Tacitus, "The ferocity of his 
 nature was still visible in his countenance. His eyes 
 fixed and glaring, and every feature swelled with 
 warring passions, he looked more stern, more grim, 
 more terrible than ever." 
 
 Nero was in his thirty-second year. He had 
 reigned nearly fourteen years. Tacitus says of 
 him, " The race of Csesars ended with Nero ; he was 
 the last, and perhaps the worst, of that illustrious 
 house." 
 
 The tidings of his death filled Rome with joy. 
 Men ran wildly about the streets, their heads cov- 
 ered with liberty caps. Acclamations of gladness 
 resounded in the Forum. Icelus, Galba's freedman 
 and agent in Eome, whom Nero had thrown into 
 prison, was released and took control of affairs. He 
 ordered that Nero's body should be burned where he 
 had died, and this was done so quickly and secretly 
 that many would not believe that he was dead. The 
 report got abroad that he had escaped to Asia or 
 Egypt, and from time to time impostors appeared 
 claiming to be Nero. The Parthians were deluded
 
 THE DOOM OF NERO. 271 
 
 by one of these impostors and offered to defend his 
 cause. Another made trouble in the Greek islands. 
 Nero's profligate companions in Eome, who alone 
 mourned his death, while affecting to believe him 
 still alive raised a tomb to his memory, which for 
 several years they annually dressed with the flowers 
 of spring and summer. But the world at large 
 rejoiced in its delivery from the rule of a monster 
 of iniquity.
 
 THE SPORTS OF THE AM PHI. 
 THEATRE. 
 
 IN no other nation upon the earth and no other 
 period of history has enjoyment taken so cruel and 
 brutal a shape as in the Roman empire. The fierce 
 people of the imperial city seemed to have a native 
 thirst for blood and misery, which no amount of 
 slaughter in the arena, of the sufferings of captives 
 and slaves, or of the torments of persecuted Chris- 
 tians sufficed to assuage. The love of theatrical 
 representations, which has proved so potent and un- 
 ceasing with other nations, had but a brief period 
 of prevalence in Rome, its milder enjoyment vanish- 
 ing before the wild excitement of the gladiatorial 
 struggle and the spectacle of rending beasts and 
 slaughtered martyrs. 
 
 It was not in the theatre, but in the amphitheatre, 
 that the Romans sought their chief enjoyment, and 
 few who wished the favor of the Roman people 
 failed to seek it by the easy though costly means of 
 gladiatorial shows. The amphitheatre differed from 
 the theatre in forming a complete circle or oval in- 
 stead of a semicircle, with an arena in the centre 
 instead of a stage at the side. It also greatly sur- 
 passed the theatre in BiZe, the purpose being to see, 
 not to hear. 
 272
 
 THE SPORTS OP THE AMPHITHEATRE. 273 
 
 These buildings were at first temporary edifices 
 of wood, but of enormous size, since one which col- 
 lapsed at Fidense, during the reign of Tiberius, is 
 said to have caused the death of fifty thousand 
 spectators. The first of stone was built by the com- 
 mand of Augustus. But the great amphitheatre of 
 Eome, the Flavian, whose mighty ruins we possess 
 in the Colosseum, was that begun by Yespasian, and 
 finished by Titus ten years after the destruction of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 This vast building is elliptical in shape and covers 
 about five acres of ground, being six hundred and 
 twelve feet in its greatest length and five hundred 
 and fifteen in greatest breadth. It is based on rows 
 of arches, eighty in number, and rises in four differ- 
 ent orders of architecture to a height of about one 
 hundred and sixty feet. The outside of this great 
 edifice was encrusted with marble and decorated with 
 statues. Interiorly its vast slopes presented sixty 
 or eighty rows of marble seats, covered with cushions, 
 and capable of seating more than eighty thousand 
 spectators. There were sixty-four doors of en- 
 trance and exit, and the entrances, passages, and 
 stairs were so skilfully constructed that every person 
 could with ease and safety reach and leave his place. 
 
 Nothing was omitted that could add to the pleas- 
 ure and convenience of the spectators. An ample 
 canopy, drawn over their heads, protected them 
 from the sun and the rain. Fountains refreshed 
 the air with cooling moisture, and aromatics pro- 
 fusely perfumed the air. In the centre was the 
 arena or stage, strewn with fine sand, and capable 
 ii. *
 
 274 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 of being changed to suit varied spectacles. Now it 
 appeared to rise out of the earth, like the gardens 
 of the Hesperides ; now it was made to represent 
 the rocks and caverns of Thrace. Water was abun- 
 dantly supplied by concealed pipes, and the sand- 
 strewn plain might at will be converted into a wide 
 lake, sustaining armed vessels, and displaying the 
 swimming monsters of the deep. 
 
 In these spectacles the Koman emperors loved 
 to display their wealth. On various occasions the 
 whole furniture of the amphitheatre was of amber, 
 silver, or gold, and in one display the nets provided 
 for defence against wild beasts were of gold wire, 
 the porticos were gilded, and the belt or circle that 
 divided the several ranks of spectators was studded 
 with a precious mosaic of beautiful stones. In the 
 dedication of this mighty edifice five thousand wild 
 beasts were slain in the arena, the games lasting one 
 hundred days. 
 
 The first show of gladiators in Rome was one 
 given by Marcus and Decius Brutus, on the occa- 
 sion of thr death of their father, 264 B.C. Three 
 pairs of gladiators fought in this first contest. This 
 gladiatorial spectacle was continued on funeral occa- 
 sions, but afterwards lost its religious character an.d 
 became a popular amusement, there being schools 
 for the training of gladiators, whose pupils were re- 
 cruited from the captives of Eome, from condemned 
 criminals, and from vigorous men desirous of fame. 
 
 As time went on the magnificence of these spec- 
 tacles increased. Julius Caesar gave one in which 
 three hundred and twenty combatants fought. Tra-
 
 THE SPORTS OF THE AMPHITHEATRE. 275 
 
 jan far surpassed this with a show that lasted for 
 one hundred and twenty -three days, and in which 
 ten thousand men fought with each other or with 
 wild beasts for the pleasure of the Roman populace. 
 
 The gladiators were variously armed, some with 
 sword, shield, and body armor; some with net and 
 trident; some with noose or lasso. The disarmed 
 or overthrown gladiator was killed or spared in re- 
 sponse to signals made by the thumbs of the spec- 
 tators ; while the successful combatant was rewarded 
 at first with a palm branch, afterwards with money 
 and rich and valuable presents. 
 
 The gladiators were not always passive instru- 
 ments of Eoman cruelty. We have elsewhere de- 
 scribed the revolt of Spartacus and his brave 
 struggle for liberty. Other outbreaks took place. 
 During the reign of Probus a revolt of about eighty 
 gladiators out of a school of some six hundred filled 
 Rome with death and alarm. Killing their keepers, 
 they broke into the streets, which they set afloat 
 with blood, and only after an obstinate resistance 
 and ample revenge were they at length overpowered 
 and cut to pieces by the soldiers of the city. But 
 such outbreaks were but few, and the Roman mul- 
 titude usually enjoyed its cruel sports in safety. 
 
 We cannot here describe the many remarkable 
 displays made by successive emperors, and which 
 grew more lavish as time went on. Probus, about 
 280 A.D., gave a show in which the arena was trans- 
 formed into a forest, large trees, dug up by the roots, 
 being transported and planted throughout its space. 
 In this miniature forest were set free a thousand
 
 276 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ostriches, and an equal number each of stags, fallow 
 deer, and wild boars. These were given to the mul- 
 titude to assail and slay at their will. On the fol- 
 lowing day, the populace being now safely screened 
 from danger, there were slain in the arena a hundred 
 lions, as many lionesses, two hundred leopards, and 
 three hundred bears. 
 
 The younger Gordian, in his triumphal games, 
 astonished the Romans by the strangeness of the 
 animals displayed, in search of which the whole 
 known world was ransacked. The curious mob now 
 beheld the graceful forms of twenty zebras, and the 
 remarkable stature of ten giraffes, brought from re- 
 mote African plains. There were shown, in addition, 
 ten elks, as many tigers from India, and thirty 
 African hyenas. To these were added a troop of 
 thirty-two elephants, and the uncouth forms of the 
 hippopotamus of the Nile and the rhinoceros of the 
 African wilds. These animals, familiar to us, were 
 new to their observers, and filled the minds of their 
 spectators with wonder and awe. 
 
 Gladiators, as we have said, were not confined 
 to slaves, captives, and criminals. Roman citizens, 
 emulous of the fame and rewards of the successful 
 combatant, entered their ranks, and men of birth 
 and fortune, thirsting for the excitement of the 
 arenal strife, were often seen in the lists. In the 
 reign of Nero, senators, and even women of high 
 birth, appeared as combatants; and Domitian ar- 
 ranged a battle between dwarfs and women. As 
 late as 200 A.D. an edict forbidding women to fight 
 became necessary.
 
 THE SPORTS OP THE AMPHITHEATRE. 277 
 
 The emperors, as a rule, were content with send- 
 ing their subjects to death in those frightful shows j 
 but one of them, Commodus, proud of his strength 
 and skill, himself entered the lists as a combatant. 
 He was at first content with displaying his remark- 
 able skill as an archer against wild animals. With 
 arrows whose head was shaped like a crescent, he 
 cut asunder the long neck of the ostrich, and with 
 the strength of his bow pierced alike the thick skin 
 of the elephant and the scaly hide of the rhinoceros. 
 A panther was let loose and a slave forced to act as 
 its prey. But at the instant when the beast leaped 
 upon the man the shaft of Commodus flew, and the 
 animal fell dead, leaving its prey unhurt. No less 
 than a hundred lions were let loose at once in the 
 arena, and the death-dealing darts of the emperor 
 hurtled among them until they all were slain. 
 
 During this exhibition of skill the emperor was 
 securely protected against any chance danger from 
 his victims. But later, to the shame and indigna- 
 tion of the people, he entered the arena as a gladi- 
 ator, and fought there no less than seven hundred 
 and thirty-five times. He was well protected, wear- 
 ing the helmet, shield, and sword of the Secutor, 
 while his antagonists were armed with the net and 
 trident of the Retiarius. It was the aim of the 
 latter to entangle his opponent in the net and then 
 despatch him with the trident, and if he missed he 
 was forced to fly till he had prepared his net for a 
 second throw. 
 
 As may be imagined, in these contests Commo- 
 dus was uniformly successful. His opponents were 
 24
 
 278 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 schooled not to put forth their full skill, and were 
 usually given their lives in reward. But the em- 
 peror claimed the prize of the successful gladiator, 
 and himself fixed this reward at so high a price that 
 to pay it became a new tax on the Roman people. 
 Commodus, we may say here, met with the usual 
 fate of the base and cruel emperors of Borne, falling 
 by the hands of assassins. 
 
 The gladiatorial shows were not without their 
 opponents in Rome. Under the republic efforts 
 were made to limit the number of combatants and 
 the frequency of the displays, and the Emperor 
 Augustus forbade more than two shows in a year. 
 They were prohibited by Constantino, the first 
 Christian emperor, in 325 A.D., but continued at in- 
 tervals till 404. In that year Telemachus, an Asiatic 
 monk, filled with horror at the cruelty of the prac- 
 tice, made his way to Rome, and during a contest 
 rushed into the arena and tried to part two gladia- 
 tors. 
 
 The spectators, furious at this interruption of 
 their sport, stoned the monk to death. But the 
 Emperor Honorius proclaimed him a martyr, and 
 issued an edict which finally brought such exhi- 
 bitions to an end. 
 
 There was another form of spectacle at Rome, in 
 its way as significant of cruelty and ruthlessness, 
 the Triumph, each occasion of which signified some 
 nation conquered or army defeated, and thousands 
 slain or plunged into misery and destitution. The 
 victorious general to whom the senate granted the 
 honor of a triumph was not allowed to enter the
 
 THE SPORTS OP THE AMPHITHEATRE. 279 
 
 city in advance, and Lucullus, on his return from 
 victory in Asia, waited outside Eorae for three years, 
 until the desired honor was granted him. 
 
 Starting from the Field of Mars, outside the city 
 walls, the procession passed through the gayly gar- 
 landed streets to the Capitol. It was headed by the 
 magistrates and senate of Eome, who were followed 
 by trumpeters, and then by the spoils of war, con- 
 sisting not only of treasures and standards, but of 
 representations of battles, towns, fortresses, rivers, 
 etc. 
 
 Next came the victims intended for sacrifice, 
 largely composed of white oxen with gilded horns. 
 They were followed by prisoners kept to grace the 
 triumph, and who were put to death when the 
 Capitol was reached. Afterwards came the gor- 
 geous chariot of the conqueror, crowned with laurel 
 and drawn by four horses. He wore robes of purple 
 and gold taken from the temple of Jupiter, carried 
 a laurel branch in his right hand, and in his left a 
 sceptre of ivory with an eagle at its tip. After him 
 came the soldiers, singing lo triumphe and other 
 songs of victory. 
 
 On reaching the Capitol the victor placed the 
 laurel branch on the cap of the seated Jupiter, 
 and offered the thank-offerings. A feast of the dig- 
 nitaries, and sometimes of the soldiers and people, 
 followed. The ceremony at first occupied one day 
 only, but in later times was extended through 
 several days, and was frequently attended with 
 gladiatorial shows and other spectacles for the 
 greater enjoyment of the Eoman multitude.
 
 THE REIGN OF A GLUTTON. 
 
 THE death of Nero cut all the reins of order in 
 Rome. Until now, as stated in a preceding tale, some 
 form of hereditary succession had been followed, the 
 emperors being of the family of Cffisar, though not 
 his direct descendants. Now confusion reigned su- 
 preme. The army took upon itself the task of nomi- 
 nating the emperor, and within less than two years 
 four emperors came in succession to the royal seat, 
 each the general of one of the armies of Rome. 
 
 Galba, who headed the revolt against Nero, and 
 succeeded him on the throne, reigned but seven 
 months, being overthrown by Otho, who conspired 
 against him with the Praetorian guards. The new 
 emperor reigned only three months. The army of 
 Germany proclaimed their general Vitellius em- 
 peror, marched against Otho, and defeated him. He 
 ended the contest by committing suicide. Vitellius 
 reigned less than a year. The army of the East 
 rebelled against him, proclaimed their general Ves- 
 pasian emperor, and a new civil war broke out, 
 which was closed by the speedy downfall of Vitellius. 
 It is the story of this man, emperor for less than a 
 year, which we have here to describe. 
 
 The three men named were alike unfit to reign 
 280
 
 THE REIGN OP A GLUTTON. 281 
 
 over Home. Galba was very old and very incompe- 
 tent, Otho was a declared profligate, and Vitellius 
 was a glutton of such extraordinary powers that 
 his name has become a synonyme for voracity. He 
 had by his arts and his skill as a courtier made him- 
 self a favorite with four emperors of widely differing 
 character, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. 
 The suicide of Otho had now made him emperor 
 himself, and he gave way without stint to the pecu- 
 liar vice which has made his name despicable, that 
 of inordinate love of the pleasures of the table. 
 
 After the death of Otho, says Tacitus, " Vitellius, 
 sunk in sloth, and growing every day more contempt- 
 ible, advanced by slow marches towards the city of 
 Home. In all the villas and municipal towns through 
 which he passed, carousing festivals were sufficient 
 to retard a man abandoned to his pleasures. He was 
 followed by an unwieldy multitude, not less than 
 sixty thousand men in arms, all corrupted by a life 
 of debauchery. The number of retainers and fol- 
 lowers of the army was still greater, all disposed to 
 riot and insolence, even beyond the natural bent of 
 the vilest slaves. 
 
 "The crowd was still increased by a conflux of 
 senators and Roman knights, who came from Rome 
 to greet the prince on his way ; some impelled by 
 fear, others to pay their court, and numbers, not to 
 be thought sullen or disaffected. All went with the 
 current. The populace rushed forth in crowds, ac- 
 companied by an infamous band of pimps, players, 
 buffoons, and charioteers, by their utility in vicious 
 pleasures all well known and dear to Vitellius. 
 24*
 
 282 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 "To supply so vast a body with provisions the 
 colonies and municipal cities were exhausted ; the 
 fruits of the earth, then ripe and fit for use, were 
 carried off; the husbandman was plundered; and 
 his land, as if it were an enemy's country, was laid 
 waste and ruined." 
 
 The followers of Vitellius were many of them 
 Germans and Gauls, so savage of aspect as to create 
 consternation in Rome. " Covered with the skins 
 of savage beasts, and wielding large and massive 
 spears, the spectacle which they exhibited to the 
 Roman citizens was fierce and hideous." They were 
 as savage as they looked, and many conflicts took 
 place both outside and inside of Rome, in which 
 numbers of citizens were slaughtered. In fact, the 
 march of Vitellius to Rome was almost like that of 
 a conqueror through a captive province. 
 
 The conduct of Yitellius and his army in Rome 
 was an abhorrent spectacle of sloth and licentious- 
 ness. All discipline vanished. The Germans and 
 Gauls entered into the vilest habits of the city, and 
 by their disorderly lives brought on an epidemic dis- 
 ease which swept thousands of them away. Vitel- 
 lius, lost in sluggishness and gluttony, wasted the 
 funds of the state on his pleasures, and laid severe 
 taxes to raise new funds. " To squander with wild 
 profusion," says Tacitus, " was the only use of money 
 known to Vitellius. He built a set of stables for the 
 charioteers, and kept in the circus a constant spec- 
 tacle of gladiators and wild beasts ; in this manner 
 dissipating with prodigality, as if his treasury over- 
 flowed with riches."
 
 THE REIQN OF A GLUTTON. 283 
 
 While the Vitellian army was indulging in riot, 
 bloodshed, and vice, and the populace was kept 
 amused by the frightful gladiatorial shows, the 
 emperor spent his days in a sloth and gluttony that 
 stand unrivalled in imperial records. We may quote 
 from Whyte-Melville's romance of " The Gladiators" 
 a sketch of a Vitellian banquet whose characteristic 
 features are taken from exact history : 
 
 " A banquet with Vitellius was no light and simple 
 repast. Leagues of sea and miles of forest had been 
 swept to furnish the mere groundwork of the enter- 
 tainment. Hardy fishermen had spent their nights 
 on the heaving wave, that the giant turbot might 
 flap its snowy flakes on the emperor's table broader 
 than its broad dish of gold. Many a swelling hill, 
 clad in the dark oak coppice, had echoed to ringing 
 shout of hunter and deep-mouthed bay of hound, ere 
 the wild boar yielded his grim life by the morass, 
 and the dark, grisly carcass was drawn off to pro- 
 vide a standing dish that was only meant to gratify 
 the eye. Even the peacock roasted in its feathers 
 was too gross a dainty for epicures who studied the 
 art ot gastronomy under Caesar; and that tasie 
 would have been considered rustic in the extreme 
 which could partake of more than the mere fumes 
 and savor of so substantial a dish. A thousand 
 nightingales had been trapped and killed, indeed, 
 for this one supper, but brains and tongues were all 
 they contributed to the banquet; whilo even the 
 wing of a roasted hare would have been considered 
 far too coarse and common food for the imperial 
 board.
 
 284 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 " It would be useless to go into the details of such 
 a banquet as that which was placed before the guests 
 of Caesar. Wild boar, pasties, goats, every kind of 
 shell-fish, thrushes, beccaficoes, vegetables of all de- 
 scriptions, and poultry, were removed to make way 
 for the pheasant, the guinea-hen, the capon, venison, 
 ducks, woodcocks, and turtle-doves. Everything that 
 could creep, fly, or swim, and could boast a delicate 
 flavor when cooked, was pressed into the service of 
 the emperor ; and when appetite was appeased and 
 could do no more, the strongest condiments and other 
 remedies were used to stimulate fresh hunger and 
 consume a fresh supply of superfluous dainties." 
 
 Deep drinking followed, merely to stimulate fresh 
 hunger. The disgusting story is even told that the 
 imperial glutton was in the habit of taking an emetic 
 to empty his stomach, that he might begin a fresh 
 course of gluttony. 
 
 Certain artists in the preparation of original dishes 
 employed themselves in devising new and appetizing 
 compounds of food for the table of Vitellius. They 
 were sure of an ample reward if they should suc- 
 ceed in pleasing the imperial palate. Failure, how- 
 ever, was attended by a severe penance. The artist 
 was not permitted to eat any food but his own un- 
 successful dish until he had atoned for his failure by 
 a success. 
 
 While Vitellius was thus sunk in sloth and glut- 
 tony his destiny was on its march. A terrible and 
 disgraceful retribution awaited him. He had never 
 been emperor of all the Eoman empire. The army 
 of Syria had declared for Vespasian, its general ; and
 
 THE REIGN OP A GLUTTON. 285 
 
 while Vitellius had been wasting his means and ruin- 
 ing his army by permitting it to indulge in every vice 
 and excess, his rival in the East was carefully lay- 
 ing his plans to insure success. He finally seized 
 Alexandria, thus being able at will to starve Eome, 
 by cutting off its food-supply; and sent Antonius 
 Primus, his principal general, with a strong force to 
 Italy. 
 
 The progress of Antonius in Italy was rapid. City 
 after city fell into his hands. The fleet at Ravenna 
 declared for Vespasian. The general of Vitellius 
 Bought to carry his whole army over to Antonius, 
 but found his men more faithful than himself. The 
 Vitellians were defeated in two battles; Cremona 
 was taken and destroyed ; all was at risk ; and yet 
 Vitellius remained absorbed in luxury. " Hid in the 
 recess of his garden, he indulged his appetite, for- 
 getting the past, the present, and all solicitude about 
 future events; like those nauseous animals that 
 know no care, and, while they are supplied with 
 food, remain in one spot, torpid and insensible." 
 
 At length awakened from his stupor, Vitellius took 
 eome steps for defence. He was too late. His men 
 deserted their ranks ; the army of Antonius steadily 
 advanced. Filled with terror, the emperor called an 
 assembly of the people and offered to resign. The 
 people in violent uproar refused to accept his resig- 
 nation. He then proposed to seek a retreat in his 
 brother's house. This the populace also opposed 
 and forced him to return to the palace. 
 
 This attempted abdication brought civil war into 
 the city. Sabinus, the brother of Vespasian, raised
 
 286 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 a force and took possession of the Capitol. He 
 besieged here, and in the conflict that ensued the 
 Capitol was set on fire and burned to the ground. 
 It was the second time this venerable edifice had 
 oeen consumed by the flames. Sabinus was taken 
 prisoner, and was murdered by the mob. 
 
 News of this revolt and its disastrous end hastened 
 the march of Antonius. Once more, as in the far-off 
 days of the Gaulish invasion, Rome was to be at- 
 tacked and taken by a hostile army. It was assailed 
 at three points, each of which was obstinately de- 
 fen dg^d- Finally an entrance was made at the Col- 
 linian gate, and the battle was transferred to the 
 open streets, in which the Vitellians defended them- 
 selves as obstinately as before. 
 
 And now was seen an extraordinary spectacle. 
 While two armies one from the East, one from the 
 North contended fiercely for the possession of 
 Borne, the populace of that city flocked to behold 
 the fight, as if it was a gladiatorial struggle got up 
 for their diversion, and nothing in which they had 
 any personal interest. Tacitus says, 
 
 " Whenever they saw the advantage inclining to 
 either side, they favored the contestants with shouts 
 and theatrical applause. If the men fled from their 
 ranks, to take shelter in shops or houses, they roared 
 to have them dragged forth and put to death like 
 gladiators for their diversion. While the soldiers 
 were intent on slaughter, these miscreants were em- 
 ployed in plundering. The greatest part of the 
 booty fell to their share. Borne presented a scene 
 truly shocking, a medley of savage slaughter and
 
 THE EEIGN OP A GLUTTON. 287 
 
 monstrous vice ; in one place war and desolation ; in 
 another bathing, riot, and debauchery. The whole 
 city seemed to be inflamed with frantic rage, and at 
 the same time intoxicated with bacchanalian pleas- 
 ures. In the midst of rage and massacre, pleasure 
 knew no intermission. A dreadful carnage seemed 
 to be a spectacle added to the public games." 
 
 It was a spectacle certainly without its like in the 
 history of nations. 
 
 The battle ended in the complete overthrow of 
 the army of Vitellius. The camp was taken, and 
 all that defended it were slain. And now took place 
 a scene which recalls that of the last days of Nero. 
 Yitellius, seeing that all was lost, was in an agony 
 of apprehension. He left the palace by a private 
 way to seek shelter in his wife's house on the Aven- 
 tine. Then irresolution brought him back to the 
 palace, which he found deserted. The slaves had 
 fled. The dead silence that reigned filled him with 
 terror. All was solitude and desolation. He wan- 
 dered pitiably from room to room, and finally, weary 
 and utterly wretched, sought a humble hiding-place. 
 Here he was discovered and dragged forth. 
 
 And now the populace, who had lately refused his 
 deposition, turned upon him with the bitterest in- 
 sults and contumely. With his hands bound behind 
 him and his garment torn, the obese old glutton was 
 dragged through crowds who treated him with scoffs 
 and words of contempt, not a voice of pity or sym- 
 pathy being heard. A German soldier struck at 
 him with his sword, and, missing his aim, cut off the 
 ear of a tribune. He was killed on the spot.
 
 288 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 As Vitellius was thus dragged onward, his captors, 
 with swords pointed at his throat, forced him to raise 
 his head and expose his bloated face to scorn and 
 derision. They made him look at his statues, which 
 were being tumbled to the ground. They pointed out 
 to him the place where Galba had perished. They 
 pricked his body with their weapons. With endless 
 contumely they brought him to the public charnel, 
 where the body of Sabinus had been thrown among 
 those of the vilest malefactors. 
 
 A single expression is recorded as coming from his 
 tips. " And yet," he said, to a tribune who insulted 
 his misery, " I have been your sovereign." 
 
 His torment soon ended. The rabble fell on him 
 with swords and clubs and he died under a multitude 
 of wounds. Even after his death those who had 
 worshipped him in the height of his power continued 
 to shower marks of rage and contempt upon his re- 
 mains. Thus perished one of the most despicable of 
 all the emperors who disgraced Eome, to make room 
 for one whose wisdom and virtue would make still 
 more contemptible the excesses of his gluttonous 
 predecessor.
 
 THE FAITHFUL EPONINA. 
 
 THOUGH Borne had extended its conquests over 
 numerous tribes and nations of barbarians, and 
 reduced them to subjection, much of the old love 
 of liberty remained, and many of the later Eoman 
 wars were devoted to the suppression of outbreaks 
 among these unwilling subjects. In the reign of 
 Vespasian occurred such a rebellion, followed by so 
 remarkable an instance of womanly devotion that it 
 has since enlisted the sympathy of the world. 
 
 Julius Sabinus, a leading chief among the Ligones, 
 a tribe of the Gauls, led by ambition and daring, 
 and stirred by hatred of the Eoman dominion, re- 
 solved to shake oif the yoke of conquest, and by his 
 arts and eloquence kindled the flame of rebellion 
 among his countrymen. Gathering an army, he 
 drove the Komans from the territory of his own 
 people, and then marched into the country of the 
 Sequani, whom he hoped to bring into the revolt. 
 
 But the discomfiture of the Eomans lasted only 
 until they could bring their forces together. A battle 
 ensued between the hastily-levied followers of Sa- 
 binus and a disciplined Eoman army, with the in- 
 evitable result. The barbarians were defeated with 
 great slaughter, the death of most, the flight of the 
 others, bringing the rebellion to a disastrous end. 
 ii. t 25 289
 
 290 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Sabinus was among those who escaped the general 
 carnage. He sought shelter from his pursuers in an 
 obscure cottage, and, being hotly and closely tracked, 
 he set fire to his lurking-place and caused a report 
 to be spread that he had perished in the flames. He 
 had been attended in his flight by two faithful freed- 
 men, and one of these, Martialis by name, sought 
 Eponina, the loving wife of the chief, and told her 
 that her husband was no more, that he had perished 
 in the flames of the burning hut. 
 
 Giving full credit to the story, Eponina was thrown 
 into a transport of grief which went far to convince 
 the spies of Rome that she must have received sure 
 tidings of her husband's death, and that Sabinus had 
 escaped the vengeance of Rome. For several days 
 her grief continued unabated, and then the same 
 messenger returned and told her that her husband 
 still lived, having spread the report of his death to 
 throw his pursuers off his track. 
 
 This information brought Eponina as lively joy as 
 the former news had brought her sorrow ; but know- 
 ing that she was watched, she affected as deep grief 
 as before, going about her daily duties with all the 
 outward manifestations of woe. When night came 
 she visited Sabinus secretly in his new hiding-place, 
 and was received in his arms with all the joy of 
 which loving souls are capable. Before the dawn 
 of day she returned to her home, from which her 
 absence had not been known. 
 
 During seven months the devoted wife continued 
 these clandestine visits, softening by caresses and 
 brave words her husband's anxious care, and supply-
 
 THE FAITHFUL EPONINA. 291 
 
 ing his wants as far as she was capable. At the end 
 of that time she grew hopeful of obtaining a pardon 
 for the fugitive chief. For this purpose she induced 
 him to disguise himself in a way that made detection 
 impossible and accompany her on a long and painful 
 journey to Eome. 
 
 Here the earnest and faithful woman made every 
 possible effort to gain the ear and favor of the em- 
 peror and to obtain influence in high places. She 
 unhappily found that Eoman officials had no time or 
 thought to waste on fugitive rebels, and that com- 
 passion for those who dared oppose the supremacy 
 of Rome was a sentiment that could find no place in 
 the imperial heart. Repelled, disappointed, hopeless, 
 the unhappy woman and her disguised husband re- 
 traced their long and weary journey, and Sabinus 
 again sought shelter in the dens and caves which 
 formed his only secure places of refuge. 
 
 And now the faithful wife, abandoning her home, 
 joined him in his lurking-place, and for nine long 
 years the devoted couple lived as homeless fugitives, 
 mutual love their only comfort, obtaining the neces- 
 saries of life by means of which we are not aware. 
 By the tendered affection Eponina softened the 
 anxieties of her husband, the birth of two sons 
 served still more to alleviate the misery of their dis- 
 tressful situation, and all the happiness that could 
 possibly come to two so circumstanced attended the 
 pair in their straitened place of refuge. 
 
 At the end of nine years the hiding-place of the 
 fugitives was discovered by their enemies, and they 
 were seized and sent in chains to Rome. Here Ves-
 
 292 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 pasian, who had gained a reputation for kindness 
 and clemency, acted with a cruelty worthy of the 
 worst emperors of Rome. The pitiable tale of the 
 captives had no effect upon him ; the devotion of the 
 wife roused no sympathy in his heart ; Sabinus had 
 dared rebel against Rome, no time nor circumstance 
 could soften that flagitious crime ; without hesita- 
 tion the chief was condemned to death, and instant 
 execution ordered. 
 
 This cruel sentence changed the tone of Eponina. 
 She had hitherto humbly and warmly supplicated 
 her husband's pardon. Now that he was dead she 
 resolved not to survive him. With the spirit and 
 pride of a free-born princess she said to Vespasian, 
 " Death has no terror for me. I have lived happier 
 underground than you upon your throne. You have 
 robbed me of all I loved, and I have no further use for 
 life. Bid your assassins strike their blow ; with joy 
 I leave a world which is peopled by such tyrants as 
 you." 
 
 She was taken at her word and ordered by the 
 emperor for execution. It was the darkest deed of 
 Vespasian's life, a blot upon his character which all 
 his record for clemency cannot remove, and which 
 has ever since lain as a dark stain upon his memory. 
 
 Plutarch, who has alone told this story of love 
 unto death, concludes his tale by saying that there 
 was nothing during Vespasian's reign to match the 
 horror of this atrocious deed, and that, in retribu- 
 tion for it, the vengeance of the gods fell upon Ves- 
 pasian, and in a short time after wrought the extir- 
 pation of his entire family.
 
 THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 CHRIST had not long passed away from the earth 
 when the reign of peace and brotherly love which 
 He had so warmly inculcated ceased to exist on the 
 soil of Judaea. Forty years after He foretold the de- 
 struction of the Temple of Jerusalem that noble edi- 
 fice had ceased to exist, Jerusalem itself was burned 
 to the ground, and a million of people perished by 
 sword and flames. It is this lamentable tale which 
 we have now to tell. 
 
 Caligula, the mad emperor, first roused the indig- 
 nation of the Jews, by demanding that his statue 
 should be placed in that holy shrine in which no 
 image of man had ever been permitted. War would 
 have followed, for the Jews were resolute against 
 such an impious desecration of their Temple, had not 
 the sword of the assassin removed the tyrant. 
 
 But the discontent of the Jews was not ended. 
 They were resolved that no image of the Caesars 
 should be brought into their land, and carried this so 
 far that when the governor of Syria wished to march 
 through a part of their territory to attack the Arabs, 
 they objected that the standards of the legions were 
 crowded with profane images, which their sacred 
 laws did not permit to be seen in their country. The 
 25* 293
 
 294 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 governor yielded to their remonstrance, and marched 
 around the land of Judsea. 
 
 This concession did not allay the discontent. Felix, 
 a governor under Claudius, by oppression and cruelty 
 aroused a general spirit of revolt. Gessius Florus, 
 appointed by Nero governor of Judsea, found his 
 province in a state of irritation and tumult. His 
 avarice and robbery of the people ripened this to 
 war. The province broke into open rebellion. It 
 was quickly invaded by Gallus, the governor of 
 Syria, who marched through the country to the walls 
 of Jerusalem. But he was not a soldier, and was 
 quickly forced to abandon the siege and retreat in 
 haste, losing six thousand men in his flight. 
 
 Nero now, finding that Eome had an obstinate 
 struggle on its hands, chose Vespasian, a soldier of 
 renown, to conduct the war. This he did with the 
 true Roman energy and thoroughness, subduing the 
 whole country, and capturing every stronghold ex- 
 cept Jerusalem, within two years. He was called 
 from this work to the struggle for the empire of 
 Borne, leaving his able son Titus to complete the 
 task. 
 
 The taking of Jerusalem was not to be easily per- 
 formed. The city was of immense strength. It 
 stood upon two hills, Mount Sion to the south, Mount 
 Acra to the north. The former, being the loftiest, 
 was called the upper, and Acra the lower, city. Each 
 of these hills was surrounded by a wall of great 
 strength and elevation, their bases washed by a rapid 
 stream that ran through the valleys of Hinnom and 
 Cedron, to the foot of the Mount of Olives. A third
 
 THE SIEQE OF JERUSALEM. 295 
 
 hill, Mount Moriah, was the seat of the famous Tem- 
 ple, an immense group of courts and edifices which 
 looked more like a citadel than a sanctuary of re- 
 ligious faith. The true temple stood separate, in the 
 midst of these buildings, its interior being divided by 
 a curtain into two parts, of -which the inmost was 
 the Holy of Holies. The total group of edifices was 
 nearly a mile in circumference. 
 
 Jerusalem, unfortunately for its defence, had, 
 during the conquest of the country, become filled 
 with fugitives. To these the celebration of the Pass- 
 over, now at hand, added other great numbers, so 
 that when the army of Titus invested it, it was 
 crowded with a vast multitude of human beings. 
 Filled with religious enthusiasm, accustomed to war, 
 and believing that the Lord of Hosts would come to 
 their aid, the garrison displayed a desperate resolu- 
 tion that the Eomans were to find very difficult to 
 overcome. 
 
 Yet it was as much due to themselves as to the 
 Eoman arms that the city at length fell. Resolute 
 as the Jews were in defence against the foreign foe, 
 they were divided among themselves, the city being 
 held by three factions bitterly hostile to each other. 
 One of these, known as the Zealots, under Eleazer, 
 held the Temple. Another, under John of Grisela, an 
 artful orator but a man of infamous character, occu- 
 pied another portion of the city. A third, whose 
 leader was named Simon, a man known for crime and 
 courage, held still another section. These three 
 parties kept Jerusalem in tumult. There were fero- 
 cious battles in the streets ; houses were plundered,
 
 296 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 families slain, and when Titus encamped before the 
 walls, he had before him a city distracted by civil 
 war and its streets filled with blood and carnage. 
 
 The story of the siege of Jerusalem is far too long 
 a one to be told in detail. Several times during the 
 siege Titus offered terms of pardon and amnesty to 
 the besieged, but all in vain. Divided as they were 
 among themselves, they were united in hostility to 
 Borne. The siege began and proceeded with the 
 usual energy shown by a Eoman army. Mounds 
 were erected, forts built, warlike engines constructed. 
 Darts and other weapons were rained into the city, 
 great stones were flung from engines, every resource 
 known to ancient war was practised. A breach 
 was at length made in the walls, the soldiers rushed 
 in, sword in hand, and the section of the city 
 known as Salem was captured. Five days after- 
 wards Bezetha, a hill to the north of the Temple, was 
 taken by Titus, but he was here so furiously assailed 
 by the garrison that he was forced to retreat to his 
 camp. 
 
 Some days of quiet now followed, while the Ro- 
 mans prepared for a second attack. The factions 
 in the city, fancying that their foes had withdrawn 
 in despair, at once resumed their feuds, and the 
 streets again ran with blood. John invaded the 
 Temple precincts, overcame the party of Eleazer, 
 and a general massacre followed which desecrated 
 with slaughter every part of the holy place. 
 
 Soon the Romans advanced again, and the two 
 remaining factions united in defence. Now the 
 Romans penetrated the city, now they were driven
 
 THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 297 
 
 out in a fierce charge, and their camp nearly taken. 
 And now famine came to add to the horrors of the 
 siege, and made frightful havoc in the dense multi- 
 tude with which every part of the city was thronged. 
 The dead and dying filled the streets, the wounded 
 soldiers perished of starvation, groans and lamenta- 
 tions resounded in every quarter ; to rid themselves 
 of the hosts of dead John and Simon had them 
 thrown from the walls, to fester in heaps before the 
 Roman works. Among the scenes of horror related, 
 a woman was seen to kill and devour her own infant 
 child. 
 
 At length the Romans made such progress that all 
 the city was theirs except the Temple enclosure, into 
 which the remainder of the garrison had gathered. 
 Titus wished to save this famous structure, and made 
 a last effort to end the siege by peaceful measures. 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, who had been taken 
 prisoner during the war, and was now in his camp, 
 was sent into the city, with an offer of amnesty if 
 they would even now yield. The offer was refused, 
 and Titus saw that but one thing remained. 
 
 On the next day the assault on Mount Moriah 
 began. The Jews fought with fierce courage, but 
 the close lines and steady discipline of the legions 
 prevailed. The defenders, after a bitter resistance, 
 were forced back ; the assailants furiously pursued ; 
 the inner court of the Temple was entered ; in the 
 uproar of the furious strife the orders of Titus and 
 his officers to save the Temple were unheard ; all was 
 tumult, the roar of battle, the shedding of blood. 
 The Jews fought with frantic obstinacy, but their
 
 298 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 undisciplined valor failed to affect the steady disci- 
 pline or break the close array of the legions. Many 
 fled in despair to the sanctuary. Here were gathered 
 priests and prophets, who still declared the Lord of 
 Hosts was on their side, and that He would protect 
 His holy seat. 
 
 Even while these assurances were being given the 
 assailants forced the gates. The eyes of the ava- 
 ricious Komans rested on the golden and glittering 
 ornaments of the Temple, and they sought more 
 fiercely than ever to hew their way through flesh and 
 blood to these alluring treasures. One soldier, fran- 
 tic with the fury of the fight, snatched a flaming 
 ember from some burning materials, and, lifted by a 
 comrade, set fire to a gilded window of the Temple. 
 Almost in an instant the flames flared upward, and 
 the despairing Jews saw that their holy house was 
 doomed. A great groan of agony burst from their 
 lips. Many occupied themselves in vain efforts to 
 quench the flames; others flung themselves in de- 
 spairing rage on the Komans, heedless of life now 
 that all they lived for was perishing. 
 
 Titus, on learning what had been done, ran in all 
 haste to the scene, and loudly ordered the soldiers to 
 extinguish the flames, signalling to the same effect 
 with his hand. But his voice was drowned in the 
 uproar and his signals were not understood, while 
 the thirst for plunder carried the soldiers beyond all 
 restraint. The holy place of the Temple was still in- 
 tact. This Titus entered, and was so impressed with 
 its beauty and splendor that he made a strenuous 
 effort to save it from destruction. In vain he begged
 
 THE SIEGE OP JERUSALEM. 
 
 and threatened. While some of the soldiery tore 
 with wolfish fury at its gold, others fired its gates, 
 and soon the Holy of Holies itself was in a blaze, 
 and the whole Temple wrapped in devouring flames. 
 
 The rapacious soldiers raged through the build- 
 ings, rending from them everything of value which 
 the fire had left untouched. The defenders fell by 
 thousands. Great numbers perished in the flames. 
 A multitude of fugitives, including women and chil- 
 dren, sought refuge in the outer cloisters. These 
 were set on fire by the furious soldiers, and thou- 
 sands were swept away by the pitiless hand of death. 
 Word was brought to Titus that a number of priests 
 stood on the outside wall, begging for their lives. 
 " It is too late," he replied ; " the priests ought not 
 to survive their temple." Eetiring to an outer fort, 
 he gazed with deep regret on the devouring confla- 
 gration, saying, " The God of the Jews has fought 
 against them : to him we owe our victory." 
 
 Thus perished the Temple of Jerusalem, a magnifi- 
 cent structure, for ages the pride and glory of the 
 Jews. First erected by Solomon, eleven centuries 
 before, it was burnt by the Babylonians five hundred 
 years afterwards. It was rebuilt by Haggai, in the 
 reign of King Cyrus of Persia, and had now stood 
 more than six hundred years, enlarged and adorned 
 from time to time. But Christ had said, " There shall 
 not be left one* stone upon another that shall not be 
 thrown down." This prophetic utterance was now 
 fulfilled. Thenceforward there was no Temple of 
 the Jews. 
 
 But more fighting remained. The defenders made
 
 300 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 their way into the upper city on Mount Sion, and 
 here held out bitterly still, rejecting the terms 
 offered them by Titus of unconditional surrender. 
 The place was strong, and defended by towers that 
 were almost impregnable. Better terms might have 
 been extorted from Titus had John and Simon, the 
 leaders of the party of defence, been as brave as 
 they were blatant. But after refusing surrender 
 they lost heart, and hid themselves in subterranean 
 vaults, leaving their deluded followers to their own 
 devices. The end came soon. A breach was made 
 in the walls. The legions entered, sword in hand, 
 and with the rage of slaughter in heart. A dread- 
 ful carnage followed. Neither sex nor age was 
 spared. According to Josephus, not less than one 
 million one hundred thousand persons perished dur- 
 ing this terrible siege. Of those that remained alive 
 the most flagrant were put to death, some were re- 
 served to grace the victor's triumph, and the others 
 were sent to Egypt to be sold as slaves. As for the 
 city, it had been in great part consumed by flames. 
 Thus ended the rebellion of the Jews. To rule or 
 ruin was the terrible motto of Borne.
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII. 
 
 ON the eastern margin of the Bay of Naples, 
 where it serves as a striking background to the city 
 of that name, stands the renowned Vesuvius, the 
 most celebrated volcano in the world. During many 
 centuries before the Christian era it had been a dead 
 and silent mountain. Throughout the earlier period 
 of Eoman history the people of Campania treated it 
 with the contempt of ignorance, planting their vine- 
 yards on its fertile slopes and building their towns 
 and villages around its base. Under the shadow of 
 the silent mountain armies met and fought, and its 
 crater was made the fort and lurking-place of Spar- 
 tacus and his party of gladiators. But the time was 
 at hand in which a more terrible enemy than a band 
 of vengeful rebels was to emerge from that threat- 
 ening cavity. 
 
 The sleeping giant first showed signs of waking 
 from his long slumber in 63 A.D., when earthquake 
 convulsions shook the surrounding lands. These 
 tremblings of the earth continued at intervals for 
 sixteen years, doing much damage. At length, on 
 the 24th of August of the year 79, came the culmi- 
 nating event. With a tremendous and terrible ex. 
 plosion the whole top of the mountain was torn out, 
 
 26 301
 
 302 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 and vast clouds of steam and volcanic ashes were 
 hurled high into the air, lit into lurid light by the 
 crimson gleams of the boiling lava below. 
 
 The scene was a frightful one. The vast, tree- 
 like cloud, kindled throughout its length by almost 
 incessant flashes of lightning ; the fiery glare that 
 gleamed upward from the glowing lava; the total 
 darkness that overspread the surrounding country 
 as the dense mass of volcanic dust floated outward, 
 a darkness only relieved by the glare that attended 
 each new explosion, formed a spectacle of terror to 
 make the stoutest heart quail, and to fill the weak 
 and ignorant with dread of a final overthrow of the 
 earth and its inhabitants. 
 
 The elder Pliny, the famous naturalist, was then 
 in command of a fleet at Misenum, in the vicinity. 
 Led by his scientific interest, he approached the vol- 
 cano to examine the eruption more closely, and fell 
 a victim to the falling ashes or the choking fumes 
 of sulphur that filled the air. His nephew, Pliny 
 the younger, then only a boy of eighteen, has given 
 a lucid account of what took place, in letters to the 
 historian Tacitus. After describing the journey and 
 death of his uncle, he goes on to speak of the vio- 
 lent earthquakes that shook the ground during the 
 night. He continues with the story of the next 
 day: 
 
 " Though it was now morning, the light was ex- 
 ceedingly faint and languid ; the buildings all around 
 us tottered, and though we stood upon open ground, 
 yet, as the place was narrow and confined, there was 
 no remaining there without certain and great dan-
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OP POMPEII. 303 
 
 ger ; we therefore resolved to leave the town. The 
 people followed us in the utmost consternation, and, 
 as to a mind distracted with terror every suggestion 
 seems more prudent than its own, pressed in great 
 crowds about us in our way out. 
 
 "Being got at a convenient distance from the 
 houses, we stood still, in the midst of a most dan- 
 gerous and dreadful scene. The chariots which we 
 had ordered to be drawn out were so agitated back- 
 ward and forward, though upon the most level 
 ground, that we could not keep them steady, even 
 by supporting them with large stones. The sea 
 seemed to 'roll back upon itself, and to be driven 
 from its banks by the convulsive motion of the 
 earth ; it is certain, at least, that the shore was con- 
 siderably enlarged, and several sea-animals were left 
 upon it. At the other side a black and dreadful 
 cloud, bursting with an igneous serpentine vapor, 
 darted out a long train of fire, resembling flashes of 
 lightning, but much larger. . . . 
 
 " Soon afterwards the cloud seemed to descend 
 and cover the whole ocean, as indeed it entirely hid 
 the island of Capreae and the promontory of Mise- 
 num. My mother strongly conjured me to make my 
 escape at any rate, which, as 1 was young, I might 
 easily do ; as for herself, she said, her age and corpu- 
 lence rendered all attempts of that sort impossible. 
 However, she would willingly meet death if she 
 could have the satisfaction of seeing that she was 
 not the occasion of mine. But I absolutely refused 
 to leave herj and, taking her by the hand, I led her 
 on; she complied with great reluctance, and not
 
 304 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 without many reproaches to herself for retarding 
 my flight. 
 
 " The ashes now began to fall on us, though in no 
 great quantity. I turned my head, and observed 
 behind us a thick smoke, which came rolling after 
 us like a torrent. I proposed, while we yet had any 
 light, to turn out of the high-road, lest she should 
 be pressed to death in the dark by the crowd that 
 followed us. We had scarce stepped out of the 
 path when darkness overspread us, not like that of 
 a cloudy night or when there is no moon, but of a 
 room when it is shut up and all the lights extinct. 
 Nothing then was to be heard but the shrieks of 
 women, the screams of children, and the cries of 
 men ; some calling for their children, others for their 
 parents, others for their husbands, and only distin- 
 guishing each other by their voices ; one lamenting 
 his own fate, another that of his family; some wish- 
 ing to die from the very fear of dying ; some lifting 
 their hands to the gods; but the greater part im- 
 agining that the last and eternal night was come, 
 which was to destroy the gods and the world to- 
 gether. 
 
 " Among these were some who augmented the real 
 terrors by imaginary ones, and made the frightened 
 multitude falsely believe that Misenum was in flames. 
 At length a glimmering light appeared, which we 
 imagined to be rather the forerunner of an approach- 
 ing burst of flames, as in truth it was, than the re- 
 turn of day. However, the fire fell at a distance 
 from us; then again we were immersed in thick 
 darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes rained upon
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII. 305 
 
 us, which we were obliged every now and then to 
 shake off, otherwise we should have been crushed 
 and buried in the heap. I might boast that during 
 all this scene of horror not a sigh or expression of 
 fear escaped from me, had not my support been 
 found in that miserable, though strong, consolation, 
 that all mankind were involved in the same calamity, 
 and that I imagined I was perishing with the world 
 itself. 
 
 " At last this dreadful darkness was dissipated by 
 degrees, like a cloud of smoke; the real day re- 
 turned, and even the sun appeared, though very 
 faintly, and as when an eclipse is coming on. Every 
 object that presented itself to our eyes seemed 
 changed, being covered over with white ashes, as 
 with a deep snow." 
 
 This graphic story repeats the experience of thou- 
 sands on that fatal occasion, in which great numbers 
 perished, while many lost their all. Villas of wealthy 
 Eomans were numerous in the vicinity of the vol- 
 cano, while among the several towns which sur- 
 rounded it three were utterly destroyed, Pompeii, 
 Herculaneum, and Stabiee. Of these much the most 
 famous is Pompeii, which, being buried in ashes, has 
 proved far easier of exploration than Herculaneum, 
 which was overwhelmed with torrents of mud, 
 caused by heavy rains on the volcanic ash. 
 
 Pompeii was an old town, built more than six 
 hundred years before, and occupied at the time of 
 its destruction by the aristocracy of Rome. Tri- 
 umphal arches were erected there in honor of Ca- 
 ligula and Nero, who probably honored it by visits. 
 ii. u 26*
 
 306 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 It possessed costly temples, handsome theatres and 
 other public buildings, luxurious residences, and all 
 the ostentatious magnificence arising from the 
 wealth of the proud patricians of Eome. 
 
 What Pompeii was in its best days we are not 
 now able to estimate. It was essentially, in its ar- 
 chitecture, a Greek city, rich and artistic, gay and 
 luxurious. But on February 5, 63 A.D., came the 
 first of the long series of earthquakes, and when it 
 ended nearly all of old Pompeii was levelled with 
 the ground. It was not yet a lost city, but was a 
 thoroughly ruined one. In the years that followed 
 it was rapidly rebuilt, Eoman architecture and dec- 
 oration, of often tawdry and inferior character, re- 
 placing the chaste and artistic Greek. Once more 
 the city became a centre of gayety, ostentation, and 
 licentiousness, when, in 79 A.D., the eruption of Vesu- 
 vius came, and the overwhelming storm of ashes 
 came down like a thick-descending fall of snow on 
 the doomed city. 
 
 The description given by Pliny relates to a less 
 endangered point. Upon Pompeii the ashes settled 
 down in seemingly unending volumes, continuing 
 for three days, during which all was enveloped in 
 darkness and gloom. The citizens fled in terror, 
 such as were able to, though many perished and 
 were buried deep in their ruined homes. On the 
 fourth day the sun began to reappear, as if shining 
 through a fog, and the bolder fugitives returned in 
 search of their lost property. 
 
 What they saw must have been frightfully dis- 
 heartening. Where the busy city had stood was
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OP POMPEII. 307 
 
 now a level plain of white ashes, so deep that not a 
 house-top could be seen, and only the upper walls 
 of the great theatre and the amphitheatre were 
 visible. Digging into the fleecy ashes, many of 
 them recovered articles of value, while thieves also 
 may have reaped a rich harvest. The emperor 
 Titus even undertook to clear and rebuild the city, 
 but soon abandoned the task as too costly a one, and 
 for many centuries afterwards Pompeii remained 
 buried in mud and ashes, lost to the world, its site 
 forgotten, and the forms of many of its old inhabi- 
 tants preserved intact in the bed of ashes in which 
 they had perished. 
 
 It was only in 1748 that its site was recognized, 
 and only since 1860 has there been a systematic 
 effort to dig the old city out of its grave. At pres- 
 ent nearly one-half the most important half of 
 Pompeii has been laid bare, and we are able to see 
 for ourselves how the Eomans lived. The narrow 
 streets, fourteen to twenty-four feet wide, are well 
 paved with blocks of lava, which are cut into deep 
 ruts by the wheels of chariots that rolled over 
 them two thousand years ago. On each side rise the 
 walls of houses, two, and sometimes three, stories 
 in height, and some of them richly painted and 
 adorned, while walls and columns are brightly 
 painted in red, blue, and yellow, which must have 
 given the old city a gay and festive hue. 
 
 The ornaments, articles of furniture, and domestic 
 utensils found in these houses go far to teach us the 
 modes of life in Eoman times, and reveal to us that 
 the Romans possessed many comforts and conven-
 
 308 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ionces for which we had not given them credit. 
 Even the forms of the inhabitants have in many 
 cases been recovered. Though these forms have 
 long vanished, the hollows made by their bodies in 
 the hardened ashes in which they lay and slowly 
 decayed have remained unchanged, and by pouring 
 liquid plaster of Paris into these cavities perfect 
 casts have been obtained, showing the exact shape 
 of face and body, and even every fold of the clothes 
 of these victims of Vesuvius eighteen hundred years 
 ago. They are not altogether pleasant to see, for 
 the} 7 express the agony of those caught in the swift 
 descending death of the falling volcanic shroud, but 
 as tenants of an archaeological museum they stand 
 unrivalled in lifelike fidelity. 
 
 Herculaneum, which was buried to a depth of 
 from forty to one hundred feet, and with wet ma- 
 terial which has grown much harder than the ashes 
 of Pompeii, has been but little explored. It was the 
 larger and more important city of the two, while 
 none of its treasures could have been recovered by 
 their owners. The art relics found there far exceed 
 in interest and value those of Pompeii, but the work 
 is so difficult that as yet very little has been done in 
 the task of restoring this " dead city of Campania" 
 to the light of the modern day.
 
 EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS.
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE. 
 
 WE have now reached the period in which began 
 the decline and fall of the Roman empire. Its story 
 is crowded with events, but lacks those dramatic and 
 romantic incidents which give such interest to the 
 history of early Rome. Now good emperors ruled, 
 now bad ones followed, now peace prevailed, now 
 war raged ; the story grows monotonous as we ad- 
 vance. The reigns of virtuous emperors yield much 
 to commend but little to describe ; those of wicked 
 emperors repel us by their enormities and disgust us 
 by their follies. We must end our tales with a few 
 selections from the long and somewhat dreary list. 
 
 After Vespasian came to the throne, a period of 
 nearly two centuries elapsed during most of which 
 Rome was governed by men of virtue and ability, 
 though cursed for a time by the reigns of the cruel 
 Domitian, the dissolute Commodus, the base Cara- 
 calla, and the foolish Blagabalus. Fortunately, none 
 of the monsters who disgraced the empire reigned 
 long. Assassination purified the throne. The total 
 length of reign of the cruel monarchs of Rome 
 covered no long space of time, though they occupy a 
 great space in history. 
 
 We have now to tell how the patrician families of 
 
 309
 
 310 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Eome lost their hold upon the throne, and a barbarian 
 peasant became lord and master of this vast empire, 
 of which his ancestors of a few generations before 
 had perhaps scarcely heard. The story is an inter- 
 esting one, and well worth repeating. 
 
 Just after the year 200 A.D. the emperor Septimius 
 Severus, father of the notorious Caracalla, while 
 returning from an expedition to the East, halted in 
 Thrace to celebrate, with military games, the birth- 
 day of Greta, his youngest son. The spectacle was 
 an enticing one, and the country-people for many 
 miles round gathered in crowds to gaze upon their 
 sovereign and behold the promised sports. 
 
 Among those who came was a young barbarian of 
 such gigantic stature and great muscular develop- 
 ment as to excite the attention of all who saw him. 
 In a rude dialect, which those who heard could 
 barely understand, he asked if he might take part 
 in the wrestling exercises and contend for the prize. 
 This the officers would not permit. For a Eoman 
 soldier to be overthrown by a Thracian peasant, as 
 seemed likely to be the result, would be a disgrace 
 not to be risked. But he might try, if he would, 
 with the camp followers, some of the stoutest of 
 whom were chosen to contend with him. Of these 
 he laid no less than sixteen, in succession, on the 
 ground. 
 
 Here was a man worth having in the ranks. Some 
 gifts were given him, and he was told that he might 
 enlist, if he chose ; a privilege he was quick to accept. 
 The next day the peasant, happy in the thought of 
 being a soldier, was seen among a crowd of recruits,
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE. 311 
 
 dancing and exulting in rustic fashion, while his head 
 towered above them all. 
 
 The emperor, who was passing in the march, looked 
 at him with interest and approval, and as he rode on- 
 ward the new recruit ran up to his horse, and followed 
 him on foot during a long and rapid journey without 
 the least appearance of fatigue. 
 
 This remarkable endurance astonished Severus. 
 "Thracian," he said, "are you prepared to wrestle 
 after your race ?". 
 
 " Eeady and willing," answered the youth, with 
 alacrity. 
 
 Some of the strongest soldiers of the army were 
 now selected and pitted against him, and he over- 
 threw seven of them in rapid succession. The em- 
 peror, delighted with this matchless display of vigor 
 and agility, presented him with a golden collar in 
 reward, and ordered that he should be placed in the 
 horse-guards that formed his personal escort. 
 
 The new recruit, Maximin by name, was a true 
 barbarian, though born in the empire. His father 
 was a Goth, his mother of the nation of the Alani. 
 But he had judgment and shrewdness, and a valor 
 equal to his strength, and soon advanced in the favor 
 of the emperor, who was a good judge of merit. 
 Fierce and impetuous by nature, experience of the 
 world taught him to restrain these qualities, and he 
 advanced in position until he attained the rank of 
 centurion. 
 
 After the death of Severus the Thracian served 
 with equal fidelity under his son Caracalla, whose 
 favor and esteem he won. During the short reign
 
 312 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 of the profligate and effeminate Elagabalus, Maximin 
 withdrew from the ceurt, but he returned when 
 Alexander Severus, one of the noblest of Roman 
 emperors, came to the throne. The new monarch 
 was familiar with his ability and the incidents of 
 his unusual career, and raised him to the responsible 
 post of tribune of the fourth legion, which, under 
 his rigid care, soon became the best disciplined in the 
 whole army. He was the favorite of the soldiers 
 under his command, who bestowed pn their gigantic 
 leader the names of Ajax and Hercules, and rejoiced 
 as he steadily rose in rank under the discriminating 
 judgment of the emperor. Step by step he was 
 advanced until he reached the highest rank in the 
 army, and, but for the evident marks of his savage 
 origin, the emperor might have given his own sister 
 in marriage to the son of his favorite general. 
 
 The incautious emperor was nursing a serpent. 
 The favors poured upon the Thracian peasant failed 
 to secure his fidelity, and only nourished his ambition. 
 He began to aspire to the highest place in the em- 
 pire, which had been won by many soldiers before 
 him. Licentiousness and profligacy had sapped the 
 strength of the army during the weak preceding 
 reigns, and Alexander sought earnestly to overcome 
 this corruption and restore the rigid ancient disci- 
 pline. It was too great a task for one of his- lenient 
 disposition. The soldiers were furious at his restric- 
 tions, many mutinies broke out, his officers were mur- 
 dered, his authority was widely insulted, he could 
 scarcely repress the disorders that broke out in his 
 immediate presence.
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE. 313 
 
 This sentiment in the army offered the opportunity 
 desired by Maximin. He sent his emissaries among 
 the soldiers to enhance their discontent. For thir- 
 teen years, said these men, Eome had been governed 
 by a weak Syrian, the slave of his mother and the 
 senate. It was time the empire had a man at its 
 head, a real soldier, who could add to its glory and 
 win new treasures for his followers. 
 
 Alexander had been engaged in a war with Persia. 
 He had no sooner returned than an outbreak in Ger- 
 many forced him to hasten to the Rhine. Here a 
 large army was assembled, made up in part of new 
 levies, whose training in the art of war was given to 
 the care of Maximin. The discipline exacted by 
 Alexander was no more acceptable to the soldiers 
 here than elsewhere, and the secret agents of the 
 ambitious Thracian found fertile ground for their 
 insinuations. 
 
 At length all was ripe for the outbreak. One day 
 March 19, 239 A.D. as Maximin entered the field 
 of exercise, the troops suddenly saluted him as em- 
 peror, and silenced by violent exclamations his obsti- 
 nate show of refusal. The rebels rushed to the tent 
 of Alexander and consummated their conspiracy by 
 striking him dead. His most faithful friends per- 
 ished with him; others were dismissed from court 
 and army ; and some suffered the crudest treatment 
 from the unfeeling usurper. Thus it was that the 
 imperial dignity descended from the noblest citizens 
 of Eome to a peasant of a distant province of bar- 
 barian origin. It was one of the most striking steps 
 in the decline of the empire. 
 o 27
 
 314 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The new emperor was a man of extraordinary 
 physical powers. He is said to have been more than 
 eight feet in height, while his strength and appetite 
 were in accordance with his gigantic stature. It is 
 stated that he could drink seven gallons of wine and 
 eat thirty or forty pounds of meat in a day, and 
 could move a loaded wagon with his arms, break a 
 horse's leg with his fist, crumble stones in his hands, 
 and tear up small trees by the roots. His mental 
 powers did not accord with his physical ones. He 
 was savage of aspect, ignorant of civilized arts, 
 destitute of accomplishments, and ruthless in dispo- 
 sition. 
 
 He had the virtues of the camp, and these had 
 endeared him to the soldiers, but his barbarian 
 origin, his savage appearance, and his rudeness and 
 ignorance were the contempt of cultivated people, 
 and had gained him many rebuffs in his humbler 
 days. He was now in a position to revenge himself, 
 not only on the haughty nobles who had treated him 
 with contempt, but even on former friends who were 
 aware of his mean origin, of which he was heartily 
 ashamed. For both these crimes many were put to 
 death, and the slaughter of several of his former 
 benefactors has stained the memory of Maximin 
 with the basest ingratitude. 
 
 Eome, in the strange progress of its history, had 
 raised a savage to the imperial seat, and it suffered 
 accordingly. A scion of the despised barbarians of 
 the northern forests was now its emperor, and he 
 visited on the proud citizens of Eome the wrongs of 
 his ancestors. The suspicion and cruelty of Maximin
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE. 315 
 
 were unbounded and unrelenting. A consular sen- 
 ator named Magnus was accused of a conspiracy 
 against his life. Without trial or opportunity for 
 defence Magnus was put to death, with no less than 
 four thousand supposed accomplices. 
 
 This was but an incident in a frightful reign of 
 terror. The emperor kept aloof from his capital, 
 but he filled Eome, and the whole empire, in fact, 
 with spies and informers. The slightest accusation 
 or suspicion was sufficient for the blood-thirsty 
 tyrant. On a mere unproved charge Eoman nobles 
 of the highest descent men who had served as con- 
 suls, governed provinces, commanded armies, enjoyed 
 triumphs were seized, chained on the public car- 
 riages, and borne away to the distant camp of the 
 low-born tyrant. 
 
 Here they found neither justice nor compassion. 
 Exile, confiscation, and ordinary execution were mild 
 measures with Maximin. Some of the unfortunates 
 were clubbed to death, some exposed to wild beasts, 
 some sewed in the hides of slaughtered animals and 
 left to perish. The worst enormities of Caligula 
 and Nero were rivalled by this rude soldier, who, 
 during the three years of his reign, disdained to 
 visit either Rome or Italy, and permitted no men 
 of high birth, elegant accomplishments, or knowl- 
 edge of public business to approach his person. His 
 imperial seat shifted from a camp on the Rhine to 
 one on the Danube, and his sole idea of government 
 seems to have been the execution of the suspected. 
 
 It was the great that suffered, and to this the 
 people were indifferent. But they all felt his avarice.
 
 S16 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The soldiers demanded rewards, and the empire was 
 drained to supply them. By a single edict all the 
 stored-up revenue of the cities was taken to supply 
 Maximin's treasury. The temples were robbed of 
 their treasures, and the statues of gods, heroes, and 
 emperors were melted down and converted into coin. 
 A general cry of indignation against this impiety 
 rose throughout the Roman world, and it was evi- 
 dent that the end of this frightful tyranny was 
 approaching. 
 
 An insurrection broke out in Africa. It was sup- 
 ported in Rome. But it ended in failure, the Gor- 
 dians, father and son, who headed it, were slain, and 
 the senate and nobles of Rome fell into mortal terror. 
 They looked for a frightful retribution from the im- 
 perial monster. With the courage of despair they 
 took the only step that remained: two new emperors, 
 Maximus and Balbinus, were appointed, and active 
 steps taken to defend Italy and Rome. 
 
 There was no time to be lost. News of these rev- 
 olutionary movements had roused in Maximin the 
 rage of a wild beast. All who approached his person 
 were in danger, even his son and nearest friends. 
 Under his command was a large, well-disciplined, 
 and experienced army. He was a soldier of acknowl- 
 edged valor and military ability. The rebels, with 
 their hasty levies and untried commanders, had 
 everything to fear. 
 
 They took judicious steps. When the troops of 
 Maximin, crossing the Julian Alps, reached the bor- 
 ders of Italy, they were terrified by the silence and 
 desolation that prevailed. The villages and open
 
 AN IMPERIAL SAVAGE. 317 
 
 towns had been abandoned, the bridges destroyed, 
 the cattle driven away, the provisions removed, the 
 country made a desert. The people had gathered 
 into the walled cities, which were plentifully pro- 
 visioned and garrisoned. The purpose of the senate 
 was to weaken Maximin by famine and retard him 
 by siege. 
 
 The first city assailed was Aquileia. It was fully 
 provisioned and vigorously defended, the inhabitants 
 preferring death on their walls to death by the 
 tyrant's order. Yet Kome was in imminent danger. 
 Maximin might at any moment abandon the siege of 
 a frontier city and march upon the capital. There 
 was no army capable of opposing him. The fate of 
 Eome hung upon a thread. 
 
 The hand of an assassin cut that thread. The 
 severity of the weather, the growth of disease, the 
 lack of food, had spread disaffection through Maxi- 
 min's army. Ignorant of the true state of affairs, 
 many of the soldiers feared that the whole empire 
 was in arms against them. The tyrant, vexed at the 
 obstinate defence of Aquileia, visited his anger on his 
 men, and roused a stern desire for revenge. The end 
 came soon. A party of Praetorian guards, in dreact 
 for their wives and children, who were in the camp 
 of Alba, near Eome, broke into sudden revolt, entered 
 Maximin' s tent, and killed him, his son, and the prin- 
 cipal ministers of his tyranny. 
 
 The whole army sympathized with this impulsive 
 
 act. The heads of the dead, borne on the points of 
 
 spears, were shown the garrison, and at once the gates 
 
 were thrown open, the hungry troops supplied with 
 
 27*
 
 318 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 food, and a general fraternization took place. Joy 
 in the fall of the tyrant was universal throughout 
 the empire, the two new emperors entered Eome in 
 a triumphal procession, people and nobles alike went 
 wild with enthusiasm, and the belief was entertained 
 that a golden age was to succeed the age of iron that 
 had come to an end. Yet within three months after- 
 wards both the new emperors were massacred in the 
 streets of Rome, and the hoped-for era of happiness 
 and prosperity vanished before the swelling tide of 
 oppression, demoralization, and decline.
 
 THE DEEDS OF CONSTANTINE. 
 
 IN the century that followed the reign of Maximin 
 great changes came upon the empire of Rome. The 
 process of decline went steadily on. The city of 
 Eome sank in importance as the centre of the 
 empire. The armies were recruited from former 
 barbarian tribes ; many of the emperors reigned in 
 the field ; the savage inmates of the northern forests, 
 hitherto sternly restrained, now began to gain a foot- 
 ing within the borders ; the Goths plundered Greece ; 
 the Persians took Armenia ; the day of the downfall 
 of the great empire was coming, slowly but surely. 
 One important event during this period, the rebellion 
 of Zenobia and the ruin of Palmyra, we have told it, 
 " Tales of Greece." There are two other events to 
 be told : the rise of Christianity, and the founding 
 of a new capital of the empire. 
 
 From the date of the death of Christ, the Christ- 
 ian religion made continual progress in the city and 
 empire of Rome. Despite the contempt with which 
 its believers were viewed, despite the persecution to 
 which they were subjected, despite frequent mas- 
 sacres and martyrdoms, their numbers rapidly in- 
 creased, and the many superstitions of the empire 
 gradually gave way before the doctrines of human 
 
 819
 
 320 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 brotherhood, infinite love and mercy, and the eternal 
 existence and happiness of those who believed in 
 Christ and practised virtue. By the time of the 
 accession of the great emperor Constantino, 306 A.D., 
 the Christians were so numerous in the army and 
 populace of the empire that they had to be dealt 
 with more mercifully than of old, and their teachings 
 were no longer confined to the lowly, but ascended 
 to the level of the throne itself. 
 
 The traditional story handed down to us is that 
 Constantine, in his struggle with Maxentius for the 
 empire of the West, saw in the sky, above the mid- 
 day sun, a great luminous cross, marked with the 
 words, " In hoc signo vinces" (" In this sign conquer"). 
 The whole army beheld this amazing object; and 
 during the following night Christ appeared to the 
 emperor in a vision, and directed him to march 
 against his enemies under the standard of the cross. 
 Another writer claims that a whole army of divine 
 warriors were seen descending from the sky, and fly- 
 ing to the aid of Constantine. 
 
 It may be said that both these stories, though 
 told by devout authors, are destitute of proof, and 
 that all we know is that Constantine became a pro- 
 fessed Christian, and as such availed himself of the 
 enthusiastic support of the Christians of his army. 
 By an edict issued at Milan, 313 A.D., he gave civil 
 rights and toleration to the Christians throughout 
 the empire, and not long afterwards proclaimed 
 Christianity the religion of the state, though the 
 pagan worship was still tolerated. 
 
 This highly important act of Constantine was fob
 
 THE DEEDS OF CONSTANTINE. 321 
 
 lowed by another of great importance, the establish- 
 ment of a new capital of the Eoman empire, one 
 which was destined to keep alive some shadow of 
 that empire for many centuries after Eome itself had 
 become the capital of a kingdom of barbarians. On 
 the European bank of the Bosphorus, the channel 
 which connects the Sea of Marmora with the Black 
 Sea, had for ages stood the city of Byzantium, 
 which played an important part in Grecian history. 
 
 On the basis of this old city Constantino resolved 
 to build a new one, worthy his greatness. The 
 situation was much more central than that of Eome, 
 and was admirably chosen for the government of an 
 empire that extended as far to the east in Asia as to 
 the west in Europe, while it was at once defended by 
 nature against hostile attack and open to the benefits 
 of commercial intercourse. This, then, was the site 
 chosen for the new capital, and here the city of Con- 
 stantinople arose. 
 
 We have, in our first chapter, described how Bomu- 
 lus laid out the walls of Eome. "With equally im- 
 pressive ceremonies Constantino traced those of the 
 new capital of the empire. Lance in hand, and fol- 
 lowed by a solemn procession, the emperor walked 
 over a route of such extent that his assistants cried 
 out in astonishment that he had already exceeded 
 the dimensions of a great city. 
 
 " I shall still advance," said Constantino, " till He, 
 the invisible guide who marches before me, thinks 
 proper to stop." 
 
 From the eastern promontory to that part of the 
 Bosphorus known as the "Golden Gate," the city 
 
 II. V
 
 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 extended along the strait about three Roman miles. 
 Its circumference measured between ten and eleven, 
 the space embraced equalling about two thousand 
 acres. Upon the five hills enclosed within this space, 
 which, to those who approach Constantinople, rise 
 above each other in beautiful order, was built the 
 new city, the choicest marble and the most costly 
 and showy materials being abundantly employed to 
 add grandeur and splendor to the natural beauty 
 of the site. 
 
 A great multitude of builders and architects were 
 employed in raising the walls and building the edi- 
 fices of the imperial city, while the treasures of the 
 empire were spent without stint in the effort to 
 make it an unequalled monument. In that day the 
 art of architecture had greatly declined, but for the 
 adornment of the city there were to be had the 
 noblest productions the world had ever known, the 
 works of the most celebrated artists of the age of 
 Pericles. 
 
 These were amply employed. To adorn the new 
 city, the cities of Greece and Asia were despoiled of 
 their choicest treasures of art. In the Forum was 
 placed a lofty column of porphyry, one hundred and 
 twenty feet in height, on whose summit stood a 
 colossal statue of Apollo, supposed to be the work of 
 Phidias. In the stately circus or hippodrome, the 
 space between the goals, round which the chariots 
 turned in their swift flight, was filled with ancient 
 statues and obelisks. Here was also a trophy of 
 striking historical value, the bodies of three serpents 
 twisted into a pillar of brass, which once supported
 
 THE DEEDS OP CONSTANTINE. 323 
 
 the golden tripod that was consecrated by the Greeks 
 in the temple of Delphi after the defeat of Xerxes. 
 It still exists, as the choicest antiquarian relic of the 
 city. 
 
 The palace was a magnificent edifice, hardly sur- 
 passed by that of Kome itself. The baths were en- 
 riched with lofty columns, handsome marbles, and 
 more than threescore statues of brass. The city 
 contained numbers of other magnificent public build- 
 ings, and over four thousand noble residences, which 
 towered above the multitude of plebeian dwellings. 
 As for its wealth and population, these, in less than 
 a century, vied with those of Eome itself. 
 
 With such energy did Constantine push the work 
 on his city that its principal edifices were finished in 
 a few years, or in a few months, as one authority 
 states, though this statement seems to lack prob- 
 ability. This done, the founder dedicated his new 
 capital with the most impressive ceremonies, and 
 with games and largesses to the people of the great- 
 est pomp and cost. An edict, engraved on a marble 
 column, gave to the new city the title of Second or 
 New Eome. But this official title died, as the ac- 
 cepted name of the city, almost as soon as it was 
 born. Constantinople, the "city of Constantine," 
 became the popular name, and so it continues till 
 this day in Christian acceptation. In reality, how- 
 ever, the city has suffered another change of name, 
 for its present possessors, the Turks, know it by the 
 name of Stamboul. 
 
 An interesting ceremony succeeded. With every 
 return of the birthday of the city, a statue of Con-
 
 324 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 stantine, made of gilt wood and bearing in its right 
 hand a small image of the genius of the city, was 
 placed on a triumphal car, and drawn in solemn pro- 
 cession through the Hippodrome, attended by the 
 guards, who carried white tapers and were dressed 
 in their richest robes. "When it came opposite the 
 throne of the reigning emperor, he rose from his 
 seat, and, with grateful reverence, adored the mem- 
 ory of the founder. Thus it was that Byzantium 
 was replaced by Constantinople, and thus was the 
 founder of the new capital held in honor.
 
 THE GOTHS CROSS THE 
 DANUBE. 
 
 THE doom of Home was at hand. Its empire had 
 extended almost inimitably to the east and west, 
 had crossed the sea and deeply penetrated the desert 
 to the south, but had failed in its advances to the 
 north. The Ehine and the Danube here formed its 
 boundaries. The great forest region which lay be- 
 yond these, with its hosts of blue-eyed and fair- 
 skinned barbarians, defied the armies of Borne. 
 Here and there the forest was penetrated, hundreds 
 of thousands of its tenants were slain, yet Eome 
 failed to subdue its swarming tribes, and simply 
 taught them the principle of combination and the 
 art of war. Early in the history of Eome it was 
 taken and burnt by the Gauls. Eaids of barbarians 
 across the border were frequent in its later history. 
 As Eome grew weaker, the tribes of the north grew 
 bolder and stronger. The armies of the empire were 
 kept busy in holding the lines of the Ehine and the 
 Danube. At length Eoman weakness and incom- 
 petency permitted this barrier to be broken, and the 
 beginning of the end was at hand. This is the im- 
 portant event which we have now to describe. 
 
 In the year 375 A.D. there existed a great Gothic 
 kingdom in the north, extending from the Baltic tt 
 28 325
 
 326 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 the Black Sea, under the rule of an able monarch 
 named Hermanric, who had conquered and com- 
 bined numerous tribes into a single nation. On this 
 nation, just as assassination removed the Gothic con- 
 queror, descended a vast and frightful horde from 
 northern Asia, the mighty invasion of the Huns, 
 which was to shake to its heart the empire of Eome. 
 
 The Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) were conquered 
 by this savage horde. The Visigoths (Western 
 Goths), stricken with mortal fear, hurried to the 
 Danube and implored the Romans to save them 
 from annihilation. For many miles along the banks 
 of the river extended the panic-stricken multitude, 
 with outstretched arms and pathetic lamentations, 
 praying for permission to cross. If settled on the 
 waste lands of Thrace they would pledge themselves 
 to be faithful subjects of Eome, to obey its laws and 
 guard its limits. 
 
 Sympathy and pity counselled the emperor to 
 grant the request. Political considerations bade 
 him refuse. To admit such a host of warlike bar- 
 barians to the empire was full of danger. Finally 
 they were permitted to cross, under two stringent 
 conditions: they must deliver up their arms, and 
 they must yield their children, who were to be 
 taken to Asia, educated, and held as hostages. Such 
 was the first fatal step in the overthrow of Eome. 
 
 The task of crossing was a difficult one. The 
 Danube there was more than a mile wide, and had 
 been swollen with rains. A large fleet of boats and 
 ressels was provided, but it took many days and 
 nights to transport the mighty host, and numbers
 
 THE GOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE. 327 
 
 of them were swept away and drowned by the rapid 
 current. Probably the whole multitude numbered 
 nearly a million, of whom two hundred thousand 
 were warriors. 
 
 Of the conditions made only one was carried out. 
 The children of the Goths were removed, and taken 
 to the distant lands chosen for their residence. But 
 the arms were not given up. The Roman officers 
 were bribed to let the warriors retain their weapons, 
 and in a short time a great army of armed barba 
 rians was encamped on the southern bank of the 
 Danube. 
 
 These new subjects of Rome were treated in a 
 way well calculated to convert them into enemies. 
 The officials of Thrace disobeyed the orders of the 
 emperor, sold the Goths the meanest food at extrav- 
 agant prices, and by their rapacious avarice bitterly 
 irritated them. While this was going on, the Ostro- 
 goths also appeared on the Danube, and solicited 
 permission to cross. Valens, the emperor, refused. 
 He was beginning to fear that he had already too 
 many subjects of that race. But the discontent of 
 the Visigoths had drawn the soldiers from the 
 stream and left it unguarded. The Ostrogoths 
 seized vessels and built rafts. They crossed with- 
 out opposition. Soon a new and hostile army was 
 encamped upon the territory of the Roman empire. 
 
 The discontent of the Visigoths was not long in 
 breaking into open war. They had marched to 
 Marcianopolis, seventy miles from the Danube. 
 Here Lupicinus, one of the governors of Thrace, in- 
 vited the Gothic chiefs to a splendid entertainment.
 
 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Their guards remained under arms at the entrance 
 to the palace. But the gates of the city were closely 
 guarded, and the Goths outside were refused the use 
 of a plentiful market, to which they claimed admis- 
 sion as subjects of Eome. 
 
 The citizens treated them with insult and derision. 
 The Goths grew angry. Words led to blows. A 
 sword was drawn, and the first blood shed in a long 
 and ruinous war. Lupicinus was told that many of 
 his soldiers had been slain. Heated with wine, he 
 gave orders that they should be revenged by the 
 death of the Gothic guards at the palace gates. 
 
 The shouts and groans in the street warned Friti- 
 gern, the Gothic king, of his danger. At a word 
 from him his comrades at the banquet drew their 
 swords, forced their way from the palace and through 
 the streets, and, mounting their horses, rode with all 
 speed to their camp, and told their followers what 
 had occurred. Instantly cries of vengeance and 
 warlike shouts arose, war was resolved upon by the 
 chiefs, the banners of the host were displayed, and 
 the sound of the trumpets carried afar the hostile 
 warning. 
 
 Lupicinus hastily collected such troops as he could 
 command and advanced against the barbarians ; but 
 the Roman ranks were broken and the legions 
 slaughtered, while their guilty leader was forced to 
 fly for his life. " That successful day put an end to 
 the distress of the barbarians and the security of 
 the Romans," says a Gothic historian. 
 
 The imprudence of Valens had introduced a nation 
 of warriors into the heart of the empire ; the venality
 
 THE GOTHS CROSS THE DANUBE. 329 
 
 of the officials had converted them into enemies; 
 Valens, instead of seeking to remove their causes of 
 hostility, marched with an army against them. We 
 cannot here describe the various conflicts that took 
 place. It will suffice to say that other barbarians 
 crossed the Danube, and that even some of the Huns 
 joined the army of Fritigern. The borders of the 
 empire were effectually broken, and the forest myri- 
 ads swarmed unchecked into the empire. 
 
 On August 9, 378, the Emperor Yalens, inspired 
 by ambition and moved by the demands of the ig- 
 norant multitude, left the strong walls of Adrian- 
 ople and marched to attack the Goths, who were en, 
 camped twelve miles away. The result was fatal. 
 The Eomans, exhausted with their march, suffering 
 from heat and thirst, confused and ill-organized, met 
 with a complete defeat. The emperor was slain on 
 the field or burnt to death in a hut to which he had 
 been carried wounded, hundreds of distinguished 
 officers perished, more than two-thirds of the army 
 were destroyed, and the darkness of the night only 
 saved the rest. Valens had been badly punished for 
 his imprudence and the Romans for their venality. 
 
 This signal victory of the Goths was followed by 
 a siege of Adrianople. But the barbarians knew 
 nothing of the art of attacking stone walls, and 
 quickly gave up the impossible task. From Adri- 
 anople they marched to Constantinople, but were 
 forced to content themselves with ravaging the sub- 
 urbs and gazing, with impotent desire, on the city's 
 distant splendor. Then, laden with the rich spoils 
 of the suburbs, they marched southward through 
 28*
 
 330 .HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 Thrace, and spread over the face of a fertile and 
 cultivated country extending as far as the confines 
 of Italy, their course being everywhere marked with 
 massacre, conflagration, and rapine, until some of 
 the fairest regions of the empire were turned almost 
 into a desert. It may be that the numbers of Eo- 
 mans who perished from this invasion equalled those 
 of the Goths whom imprudent compassion had de- 
 livered from the Huns. 
 
 As regards the children of the Goths, who had 
 been distributed in the provinces of Asia Minor, 
 there remains a cruel story to tell. Though given 
 the education and taught the arts of the Eomans, 
 they did not forget their origin, and the suspicion 
 arose that they were plotting to repeat in Asia the 
 deeds of their fathers in Europe. Julius, who com- 
 manded the troops after the death of Valens, took 
 bloody measures to prevent any such calamity. The 
 youthful Goths were bidden to assemble, on a stated 
 day, in the capital cities of their provinces, the hint 
 being given that they were to receive gifts of land 
 and money. On the appointed day they were col- 
 lected unarmed in the Forum of each city, the sur- 
 rounding streets being occupied by Eoman troops, 
 and the roofs of the houses covered with archers 
 and slingers. At a fixed hour, in all the cities, the 
 signal for slaughter was given, and in an hour more 
 not one of these helpless wards of Eome remained 
 alive. The cruel treachery of this blood-thirsty act 
 remains almost unparalleled in history.
 
 THE DOWNFALL OF ROME. 
 
 THEODOSIUS, the great and noble emperor who 
 succeeded Valens, pacified and made quiet subjects 
 of the Goths. He died in 395, and before the year 
 ended the Gothic nation was again in arms. At the 
 first sound of the trumpet the warriors, who had 
 been forced to a life of labor, deserted their fields 
 and flocked to the standards of war. The barriers 
 of the empire were down. Across the frozen sur- 
 face of the Danube flocked savage tribesmen from 
 the northern forests, and joined the Gothic hosts. 
 Under the leadership of an able commander, the 
 famous Alaric, the barbarians swept from their fields 
 and poured downward upon Greece, in search of an 
 easier road to fortune than the toilsome one of 
 industry. 
 
 Many centuries had passed since the Persians in- 
 vaded Greece, and the men of Marathon and Ther- 
 mopylae were no more. Men had been posted to 
 defend the world-famous pass, but, instead of fight- 
 ing to the death, like Leonidas and his Spartans of 
 old, they retired without a blow, and left Greece to 
 the mercy of the Goth. 
 
 Instantly a deluge of barbarians spread right and 
 left, and the whole country was ravaged. Thebea 
 
 381
 
 332 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 alone resisted. Athens admitted Alaric within its 
 gates, and saved itself by giving the barbarian chief 
 a bath and a banquet. The other famous cities had 
 lost their walls, and Corinth, Argos, and Sparta 
 yielded without defence to the Goths. The wealth 
 of the cities and the produce of the country were 
 ravaged without stint, villages and towns were com- 
 mitted to the flames, thousands of the inhabitants 
 were borne off to slavery, and for years afterwards 
 the track of the Goths could be traced in ruin 
 throughout the land. 
 
 By a fortunate chance Rome possessed at that 
 epoch a great general, the famous Stilicho, whose 
 military genius has rarely been surpassed. He had 
 before him a mighty task, the forcing back of the high 
 tide of barbarian overflow, but he did it well while 
 he lived. His death brought ruin on Rome. Stilicho 
 hastened to Greece and quickly drove the Goths 
 from the Peloponnesus. But jealousy between Con- 
 stantinople and Rome tied his hands, he was recalled 
 to Italy, and the weak emperor of the East rewarded 
 the Gothic general for his destructive raid by making 
 him master-general of Illyricum. 
 
 Alaric, fired by ambition, used his new power in 
 forcing the cities of his dominion to supply the 
 Goths with the weapons of war. Then, Greece and 
 the country to the north having been devastated, he 
 turned his arms against Italy, and about 400 A.D. 
 appeared at the foot of the Julian Alps, the first in- 
 vader who had threatened Italy since the days of 
 Hannibal, six hundred years before. 
 
 There were at that time two rulers of the Roman
 
 THE LAST COMBAT OF THE GLADIATORS.

 
 THE DOWNFALL OP ROME. 333 
 
 empire, Arcadius, emperor of the East, and Hono- 
 rius, emperor of the West. The latter, a coward 
 himself, had a brave man to command his armies, 
 Stilicho, who had driven the Goths from Greece. 
 But Italy, though it had a general, was destitute of 
 an army. To meet the invading foe, Stilicho was 
 forced to empty the forts on the Ehine, and even to 
 send to England for the legion that guarded the 
 Caledonian wall. With the array thus raised he 
 met the Gothic host at Pollentia, and defeated them 
 with frightful slaughter, recovering from their camp 
 many of the spoils of Greece. Another battle was 
 fought at Yerona, and the Goths were again de- 
 feated. They were now forced to retire from Italy, 
 Stilicho and the emperor entered Rome, and that 
 capital saw its last great triumph, and gloried in a 
 revival of its magnificent ancient games. 
 
 In these games the cruel combat of gladiators was 
 shown for the last time to the blood-thirsty populace 
 of Rome. The edict of Constantino had failed to 
 stop these frightful sports. The appeal of a Chris- 
 tian poet was equally without effect. A more de- 
 cisive action was necessary, and it came. In the 
 midst of these bloody contests an Asiatic monk, 
 named Telemachus, rushed into the arena and at- 
 tempted to separate the gladiators. He paid for his 
 rashness with his life, being stoned to death by the 
 furious spectators, with whose pleasure he had dared 
 to interfere. But his death had its effect. The fury 
 of the people was followed by shame. Telemachus 
 was looked upon as a martyr, and the gladiatorial 
 shows came to an end, the emperor abolishing for-
 
 334 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 ever the spectacle of human slaughter and human 
 cruelty in the amphitheatre of Rome. 
 
 Rome triumphed too soon. Its ovation to victory 
 was the expiring gleam in its long career of glory 
 and dominion. Its downfall was at hand. Fight as 
 it might in Italy, the gate-ways of the empire lay 
 open in the north, and through them still poured 
 barbarian hordes. The myriads of the Huns, rush- 
 ing in a devouring wave from the borders of China, 
 made a mighty stir in the forest region of the Baltic 
 and the Danube. In the year 406 a vast host of 
 Germans, known by the names of Vandals, Burgun- 
 dians, and Suevi, under a leader named Rhodogast, 
 or Radagaisus, crossed the Danube and made its way 
 unopposed to Italy. Multitudes of Goths joined 
 them, till the army numbered not less than two 
 hundred thousand fighting men. 
 
 As the flood of barbarians rushed southward 
 through Italy, many cities were pillaged or de- 
 stroyed, and the city of Florence sustained its first 
 recorded siege. Alaric and his Goths were Chris- 
 tians. Radagaisus and his Germans were half- savage 
 pagans. Florence, which had dared oppose them, 
 was threatened with utter ruin. It was to be re- 
 duced to stones and ashes, and its noblest senators 
 were to be sacrificed on the altars of the German 
 gods. The Florentines, thus threatened, fought 
 bravely, but they were reduced to the last ex- 
 tremity before deliverance came. 
 
 Stilicho had not been idle during this destructive 
 raid. By calling troops from the frontiers, by arm- 
 ing slaves, and by enlisting barbarian allies, he was
 
 THE DOWNFALL OF ROME. 335 
 
 at length able to take the field. He led the last 
 army of Eome, and dared not expose it to the wild 
 valor of the savage foe. On the contrary, he sur- 
 rounded their camp with strong lines which defied 
 their efforts to break through, and waited till star- 
 vation should force them to surrender. 
 
 Florence was relieved. The besiegers were in 
 their turn besieged. Their bravest warriors were 
 slain in efforts to break the Eoman lines. Rada- 
 gaisus surrendered to Stilicho, and was instantly ex- 
 ecuted. Such of his followers as had not been swept 
 away by famine and disease were sold as slaves. 
 The great host disappeared, and Stilicho a second 
 time won the proud title of Deliverer of Italy. 
 
 But the whole army of Radagaisus was not de 
 stroyed. Half of it had remained in the north. 
 These were forced by Stilicho to retreat from Italy. 
 But Gaul lay open to their fury. That great and rich 
 section of the empire was invaded and frightfully 
 ravaged, and its conquerors never afterwards left its 
 fertile fields. The empire of Rome ceased to exist in 
 the countries beyond the Alps, those great regions 
 which had been won by the arms of Marius and Csesar. 
 
 And now the time had come for Rome to destroy 
 itself. The mind of the emperor was poisoned 
 against Stilicho, the sole remaining bulwark of his 
 power. He had sought to tie the hands of Alaric 
 with gifts of power and gold, and was accused of 
 treason by his enemies. The weak Honorius gave 
 way, and Stilicho was slain. His friends shared his 
 fate, and the cowardly imbecile who ruled Rome cut 
 down the only safeguard of his throne.
 
 336 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 The result was what might have been foreseen. 
 In a few months after the death of Stilicho, Alaric 
 was again in Italy, exasperated by the bad faith of 
 the court, which had promised and not performed. 
 There was no army and no general to meet him. 
 City after city was pillaged. Avoiding the strong 
 walls of Ravenna, behind which the emperor lay 
 secure, he marched on Eome, led his army under the 
 stately arches, adorned with the spoils of countless 
 victories, and pitched his tents beneath the walls of 
 the imperial city. 
 
 Six hundred and nineteen years had passed since 
 a foreign foe had gazed upon those proud walls, 
 within which lay the richest and most splendid city 
 of the world, peopled by a population of more than 
 a million souls. But Borne was no longer the city 
 which had defied the hosts of Hannibal, and had sold 
 at auction, for a fair price, the very ground on which 
 the great Carthaginian had pitched his tent. Alaric 
 was not a Hannibal, but much less were the Romans 
 of his day the Romans of the past. 
 
 Instead of striking for the honor of Rome, they 
 lay and starved within their walls until thousands 
 had died in houses and streets. No army came to 
 their relief, and in despair the senate sent delegates 
 to treat with the king of the Goths. 
 
 " We are resolved to maintain the dignity of 
 Roine, either in peace or war," said the envoys, 
 with a show of pride and valor. " If you will not 
 yield us honorable terms, you may sound your 
 trumpets and prepare to fight with myriads of men 
 used to arms and with the courage of despair."
 
 THE DOWNFALL OP ROME. 337 
 
 "The thicker the hay, tho easier it is mowed," 
 answered Alaric, with a loud and insulting laugh. 
 
 He then named the terms on which he would re> 
 treat, all the gold and silver in the city; all the 
 rich and precious movables ; all the slaves who were 
 of barbarian origin. 
 
 " If such are your demands," asked the envoys, 
 now reduced to suppliant tones, " what do you intend 
 to leave us ?" 
 
 "Your lives" said Alaric, in haughty tones. 
 
 The envoys retired, trembling with fear. 
 
 But Alaric moderated his demands, and was 
 bought off by the payment of five thousand pounds 
 of gold, thirty thousand pounds of silver, four thou- 
 sand robes of silk, three thousand pieces of scarlet 
 cloth, and three thousand pounds of pepper, then a 
 costly and favorite spice. The gates were opened, 
 the hungry multitude was fed, and the Gothic army 
 marched away, but it left Eome poor. 
 
 What followed is too long to tell. Alario treated 
 for peace with the ministers of the emperor. But 
 he met with such bad faith and so many insults that 
 exasperation overcame all his desire for peace, and 
 once more the army of the Goths marched upon 
 Rome. 
 
 The crime and folly of the court of Honorius at 
 Ravenna had at last brought about the ruin of the 
 imperial city. The senate resolved on defence ; but 
 there were traitors within the walls. At midnight 
 the Salarian Gate was silently opened, and a chosen 
 band of barbarians entered the streets. The tre- 
 mendous sound of the Gothic trumpet aroused the 
 II. f w 29
 
 338 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 sleeping citizens to the fact that all was lost. Eleven 
 hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation 
 of Borne, and eight hundred years after its capture 
 by the Gauls, it had again become the prey of bar- 
 barians, and the imperial mistress of the world was 
 delivered to the fury of the German and Gothic 
 hordes. 
 
 Alaric, while permitting his followers to plunder 
 at discretion, bade them to spare the lives of the un- 
 resisting ; but thousands of .Romans were slain, and 
 the forty thousand slaves who had joined his ranks 
 revenged themselves on their former masters with 
 pitiless rage. Conflagration added to the horrors, 
 and fire spread far over the captured city. The 
 Goths held Eome only for six days, but in that time 
 depleted it frightfully of its wealth. The costly 
 furniture, the massive plate, the robes of silk and 
 purple, were piled without stint into their wagons, 
 and numerous works of art were wantonly de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 But Alaric and many of his followers were Chris- 
 tians, and the treasures of the Church escaped. A 
 Christian Goth broke into the dwelling of an aged 
 woman, and demanded all the gold and silver she 
 possessed. To his astonishment, she showed him a 
 hoard of massive plate, of the most curious work- 
 manship. As he looked at it with wonder and de- 
 light, she solemnly said, 
 
 "These are the consecrated vessels belonging to 
 St. Peter. If you presume to touch them, your con- 
 science must answer for the sacrilege. For me, I 
 dare not keep what I am riot able to defend."
 
 THE DOWNFALL OF ROME. 339 
 
 The Goth, struck with awe by her words, sent 
 word to Alaric of what he had found, and received 
 an order that all this consecrated treasure should be 
 transported without damage to St. Peter's Church. 
 A remarkable spectacle, never before seen in a cap- 
 tured city, followed. From the Quirinal Hill to the 
 distant Yatican marched a long train of devout Goths, 
 bearing on their heads the sacred vessels of gold 
 and silver, and guarded on each side by a detach- 
 ment of their armed companions, while the martial 
 shouts of the barbarians mingled with the hymns of 
 devotees. A crowd of Christians flocked from the 
 houses to join the procession, and through its shel- 
 tering aid a multitude of fugitives escaped to the 
 secure retreat of the Vatican. 
 
 Not satisfied with plundering the city, the con- 
 querors ended by selling its citizens, save those who 
 could ransom themselves, for slaves. Many of these 
 were redeemed by the benevolent, but as a result of 
 the taking of Rome hosts of indigent fugitives were 
 scattered through the empire, from Italy to Syria. 
 
 From this time forward the Western Empire of 
 Rome was the prey of barbarians. In 451 the Huns 
 under Attila invaded Gaul, besieged Orleans, and 
 were defeated at Chalons in the last great victory of 
 Rome. In the following year Attila invaded Italy, 
 and Rome was only saved from the worst of horrors 
 by a large ransom. Three years afterwards, in 455, 
 an army of Vandals, who had invaded Africa, sailed 
 to Italy, and Rome was again taken and sacked. 
 For fourteen days and nights the pillage continued, 
 and when it ended Rome was stripped bare of
 
 340 HISTORICAL TALES. 
 
 treasure ; the Christian churches, which had been 
 spared by the Goths, being mercilessly plundered by 
 these heathen conquerors. 
 
 A few 3'ears more and the Western Empire of 
 Borne came to an end. In the year 476 or 479, 
 Augustulus, the last emperor, was forced to resign, 
 and Odoacer, a barbarian chief, assumed the title of 
 King of Italy. As for the Eastern Empire, it main- 
 tained a half-life for nearly a thousand years after, 
 Constantinople being finally taken by the Turks, and 
 made the capital of Turkey, in 1453. 
 
 THE END.
 
 l P " "''"' o QV1 4