Domestic Pleasures, or, the Happy Fire-side Part 15

_Ferdinand_. Oh, Louisa! I can tell you that. A predacious animal is one that preys upon others.

_Louisa_. Thank you, Ferdinand. _Conical_? Does not that mean, in the form of a sugar-loaf?

"It does, my dear," replied her father: "do you understand the meaning of _pectoral fins_?"

"No, I do not," answered Louisa.

_Mr. B._ They are fins growing by the b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and serve them to clasp their young, as well as for the purposes of feet.

"I am not certain that I understand the meaning of the word _cartilaginous_, but believe it signifies, that the teeth of the whale are sometimes formed of gristle, instead of bone," said Ferdinand.

_Mr. B._ You are quite right, my love; and now, if you fully comprehend the meaning of all the words, we will attend to our Roman history a little. Let me hear what more you have read respecting Tarquin and his infamous son.

_Edward_. We have finished the account of the regal government.

Tarquin and his son behaved so basely, that the people could no longer bear their tyranny and oppression, but boldly threw off the yoke. We must, however, first tell you, papa, what became of the poor inhabitants of Gabii, who had fallen victims to their credulity, and to the confidence they placed in the perfidious s.e.xtus. When they saw themselves thus totally at the mercy of the tyrant, they fell into the deepest despair, expecting to suffer the most cruel treatment. Their misfortunes were not, however, so great as their fears. Tarquin thought it most for his own interest, to act with some degree of humanity towards this betrayed people, and none of the citizens were put to death by his order. He granted them their lives and liberties, making s.e.xtus their king. Tarquin, after this, continued for some time to enjoy profound peace at home. The Romans became accustomed to the yoke of their imperious master, and groaned in silence under his oppressions.

"Let me give the account of that curious woman, who came with her great books, if you please, Edward," said Ferdinand.

"With all my heart," returned Edward.

_Ferdinand_. Just at this time, when Tarquin was enjoying profound peace, an unknown woman came to court, loaded with nine large volumes, which she offered to sell for a great sum of money. On Tarquin's refusing to give it, she went away and burnt three of the books. Some time after this she returned to court, and offered the remaining six for the same sum. The people then thought her a mad woman, and drove her away with contempt. She again withdrew, and burnt four more, still returning with the remainder, and demanding the same price as she had done for the whole nine volumes. Tarquin now grew quite curious to know the cause of this strange proceeding, and put the books into the hands of his augurs, to have them examined. They found them to be the oracles of the Sybil of c.u.mae, and declared them an invaluable treasure.

Tarquin, therefore, ordered the woman to be paid the sum she demanded.

She exhorted the Romans to preserve her books with great care, and afterwards disappeared.

_Mrs. B._ What became of these mysterious books? Can you tell us, Louisa?

_Louisa_. They soon became very much respected at Rome, and were consulted on all cases of emergency, as they were supposed to foretel future events. Two persons of high rank were appointed by Tarquin, to be guardians of these invaluable treasures. They were locked up in a vault of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and when, some time after, this temple was burnt, they also were destroyed with it.

_Emily_. The tranquillity of Tarquin's reign was disturbed by a dreadful plague, which suddenly broke out in Rome, and raged with great violence. It made such an impression upon his mind, that he resolved to send his sons, t.i.tus and Arun, to consult the oracle of Delphi upon the cause of this contagion, and how they might effect its cure. The princes prepared magnificent presents for Apollo. Junius Brutus, the pretended idiot, was to accompany them for their amus.e.m.e.nt. He was the youngest son of the venerable Marcus Junius, whom I mentioned last night, as being a.s.sa.s.sinated by order of Tarquin; and Brutus would also have fallen a sacrifice to his cruel policy, had he not counterfeited idiotism. When the princes were preparing their presents, he resolved to carry his offering also. The whole court was diverted at the choice he made, of a suitable present for the occasion, which was an elder stick. He knew that the G.o.ds of those times, or their ministers, were much delighted with valuable offerings; he therefore contrived to conceal a rod of gold in this stick, without the knowledge of any one.

_Mr. B._ This was a true emblem of his own mind, which, under a contemptible outside, concealed the richest gifts of nature. Did they gain any intelligence from the oracle.

_Louisa_. I believe it told them, there would soon be a new reign at Rome. Upon this, the young princes enquired which of them should succeed Tarquin. The answer returned was: "He who shall first give a kiss to his mother." The two brothers then declared that they would both kiss her at the same moment, that they might reign jointly. Brutus, however, thought the oracle had another meaning, and, pretending to fall down, he kissed the earth, the common mother of all living.

_Emily_. The regal power lasted but a very little time longer in Rome.

A brutal insult, offered by s.e.xtus to Lucretia, the virtuous wife of Collatinus, roused the dormant spirit of the people. Brutus threw off the mark of idiotism, by which he had been hitherto concealed, and seizing the dagger, which Lucretia, unable to survive the insult she had received, had plunged into her breast, he held it up to the a.s.sembly, stained as it was with the blood of that unhappy woman, and, in a very animated speech, called upon his fellow-citizens to avenge her cause.

They were all astonished at the sudden change in Brutus, who then told them his former folly had been affected, as the only means of securing him from the murderous designs of Tarquin. The n.o.bility all submitted to the will of Brutus. He caused the still bleeding body of Lucretia to be carried to the place where the senators usually a.s.sembled, and, placing the corpse where it might be seen by every body, ordered the people to be called together, and addressed them in a very spirited speech, which was often interrupted by the acclamations of the people.

Some wept at the remembrance of past sufferings, other rejoiced in the idea that their sorrows were about to end, and all called for arms. The senate pa.s.sed a decree, depriving Tarquin of every right belonging to the regal authority, and condemning him and all his posterity to perpetual banishment.

"Can you tell me, Edward, how Tarquin acted upon this change of fortune," said Mr. Bernard.

_Edward_. He was not in Rome at the time it occurred, but, upon hearing that Brutus was endeavouring to excite a tumult against him, he hastened to the city, attended by his friends and his three sons; but finding the gates shut, and the people in arms upon the walls, he returned with all speed, to the camp. During his absence, however, short as it was, he found that the conspirators had gained over the army to their party.

Thus, driven from his capitol and rejected by his troops, he was forced, at the age of seventy-six, to fly for refuge, with his wife and sons, to Gabii, in hopes the Latines would come forward and espouse his cause; but being disappointed in this expectation, he retired into Etruria, the country of his mother's family, where he hoped to find more friends, and still entertained expectations of recovering his throne. Having wandered from city to city, he at length fixed his residence in Tarquinia, and so far raised the compa.s.sion of the inhabitants, as to induce them to send an emba.s.sy to Rome, with a modest, submissive letter from himself, directed to the Roman people.

_ Mr. B_. Pray Emily, what was pa.s.sing in Rome all this time.

_Emily_. Brutus a.s.sembled the people in the field of Mars, and in long speeches exhorted them to concord; and the consuls, standing before the altars, took an oath, in the name of themselves, their children, and posterity, that they would never recall king Tarquin nor his family from banishment, nor create any other king of Rome; and they made the people take the same oath. Under these circ.u.mstances, you may suppose that the amba.s.sadors from the banished king did not meet with a very favourable reception. From their earnest supplications to the senate, however, that they would hear their monarch before he was condemned, the consuls at first inclined to bring them before the people, and to leave the decision of the affair to them; but Valerius, a man of great weight in the council, strongly opposed this measure, and, by his influence in the senate, defeated this first attempt of the artful Tarquin. His next step seemed likely to be more successful. A second emba.s.sy was dispatched to Rome, under pretence of demanding the estates of the exiles, but with private instructions to stir up a faction, if possible, against the consuls. The amba.s.sadors were admitted, and urged the most modest demands in behalf of the banished king. They requested only his paternal estate, and on that condition promised never to attempt the recovery of his kingdom by force of arms.

_Mr. B_. Well, Louisa, what reception did this proposition meet?

_Louisa_. The consul Collatinus would have complied with the request, but Brutus opposed it. It was then left to the decision of the people, who generously determined that the Tarquins should be put in possession of the estates of their family.

"It was a generosity which those wicked Tarquins did not deserve, I am sure," said Ferdinand; "for whilst the people were employed in loading carriages with their effects, and in selling what could not be carried off, the amba.s.sadors were trying to draw some of the nearest relations of the consuls into a plot against them. Among the conspirators were t.i.tus and Tiberius, the two sons of Brutus. Notwithstanding the secrecy with which they carried on their designs, their plot was discovered by one of their slaves, who disclosed the affair to Valerius. Upon this information, the conspirators were taken prisoners, and their papers, with several letters which they had written to the banished king, seized."

"The trial of these unhappy men was very affecting," said Emily: "early on the following morning, the people being summoned to the hall of justice, the prisoners were brought forth.

"Brutus began with the examination of his two sons. The slave who had discovered their designs, appeared against them, and the letters they had written to the Tarquins were read. The proofs being clear, the prisoners stood quite silent, and pleaded only by their tears. Three times their father called upon them to plead their cause, but tears were still their only answer. Many of the senators were touched with compa.s.sion, and implored for their banishment rather than their deaths.

All the people stood trembling, in expectation of the sentence. Their stern father at length arose, and with a steady voice, uninterrupted by a single sigh, said: "Lictors, I deliver them over to you; the rest is your part." At these words, the whole a.s.sembly groaned aloud; distress showed itself in every face, and the mournful looks of the people pleaded for pity: but neither their intercessions, nor the bitter lamentations of the young men, who called upon their father by the most endearing names, could soften the inflexible judge. The heads of the young men were struck off by the lictors, Brutus all the while gazing on the cruel spectacle, with a steady look and composed countenance."

"Oh! my dear father," exclaimed Ferdinand, "surely Brutus must have been a cruel, hard-hearted man."

"In his feelings as a patriot," returned Mr. Bernard, "those of the father appear to have been absorbed. What became of the other prisoners, Edward?"

_Edward_. Excepting the amba.s.sadors, they all shared the fate of the sons of Brutus. His severity towards his children, greatly increased his authority in Rome; and when he was, some time after, slain in battle by Aruns, the son of Tarquin, the citizens were inconsolable for his loss.

They considered him as a hero, who had restored liberty to his country, who had cemented that liberty by the blood of his own children, and who had died in defending it against the tyrant. The first funeral honours were paid him in the camp; but, the next day, the corpse was brought into the Forum, in a magnificent litter. On this occasion, Valerius gave Rome the first example of those funeral orations, which were ever after made in praise of great men. The ladies distinguished themselves on this occasion: they mourned for him a whole year, as if they had lost a common father.

"The death of such a man was, indeed, a serious misfortune to the state," said Mr. Bernard: "can you tell me what became of the banished Tarquin?"

_Emily_. After an exile of fourteen years, during which time he made many ineffectual struggles to recover the throne, he died at the advanced age of ninety.

"This, papa, is all we have read at present," said Edward; "I hope my brother and sisters will not go on with the history till my return, for this is a very good place to leave off."

_Louisa_ I am sure, Edward, we should have no pleasure in going on without you, and am certain mamma would not wish it.

It was unanimously agreed, that the Roman history should be laid aside till Edward's return.

"You have now seen," said Mr. Bernard, "the freedeom which the Romans recovered by the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud, secured to them by his death; a freedom that was undoubtedly the source of all their future grandeur. I must again repeat, my dear children, that I have been much pleased with the manner in which you have given this little sketch of the regal government of Rome. One very important point you have, however, overlooked."

"Pray, papa, what is that?" enquired the children, with one voice.

"The dates of the different events which you have mentioned," replied their father. "Geography and chronology, are desevedly called _the two eyes of history_. Without geography, which is a knowledge of the situation and extent of the different countries of the earth, no reader of history can have clear and distinct ideas of what he reads, as being transacted in them; and without chronology, which is a knowledge of the time when the various events took place, the historical facts he acquires by reading, will only be an inc.u.mbrance upon his memory. He will have a number of confused ideas, but no regular or useful information. Now, which of you can tell me in what year Rome was built?"

"Oh, we all know that," said Louisa; "it was seven hundred and fifty- three years before the birth of our Saviour."

"And the regal power was abolished four hundred and sixty-seven years before that event," continued Edward; "so that _that_ administration lasted two hundred and eighty-six years."

"But I do think, papa," said Ferdinand, "that it is very difficult to remember dates. I wish you could tell us some easy way, by which we might impress them upon our memories."

"The system of Mnemonics, lately introduced by Fineagle and Coglan, you will find a great a.s.sistance. The subst.i.tution of letters for figures, is an excellent plan, as it enables you to form the date into words, which you may a.s.sociate with the event itself, and, by this means, impress it much more indelibly upon your memory."

"I do not quite understand you, papa," said Louisa.

"I will purchase one of Mr. Coglans's books, the next time I go to town," said her father, "that will explain the plan to you very clearly, and I think you will find it extremely useful. Come, my dear Edward,"

added he, turning to his son, "as you have so long a journey in prospect to-morrow, it is quite time for you to retire."

The rest of the children soon followed his example, and taking an affectionate leave of their parents, withdrew for the night.