Fifty Famous Stories Retold
"I have given my word," said Regulus. "The rest will be taken care
of."
Then he bade them good-by, and went bravely back to the prison and the
cruel death which he ex-pect-ed.
This was the kind of courage that made Rome the greatest city in the
world.
CORNELIA'S JEWELS.
It was a bright morning in the old city of Rome many hundred years
ago. In a vine-covered summer-house in a beautiful garden, two boys
were standing. They were looking at their mother and her friend, who
were walking among the flowers and trees.
"Did you ever see so handsome a lady as our mother's friend?" asked
the younger boy, holding his tall brother's hand. "She looks like a
queen."
"Yet she is not so beautiful as our mother," said the elder boy. "She
has a fine dress, it is true; but her face is not noble and kind. It
is our mother who is like a queen."
"That is true," said the other. "There is no woman in Rome so much
like a queen as our own dear mother."
Soon Cor-ne'li-a, their mother, came down the walk to speak with them.
She was simply dressed in a plain white robe. Her arms and feet were
bare, as was the custom in those days; and no rings nor chains
glit-tered about her hands and neck. For her only crown, long braids
of soft brown hair were coiled about her head; and a tender smile lit
up her noble face as she looked into her sons' proud eyes.
"Boys," she said, "I have something to tell you."
They bowed before her, as Roman lads were taught to do, and said,
"What is it, mother?"
"You are to dine with us to-day, here in the garden; and then our
friend is going to show us that wonderful casket of jewels of which
you have heard so much."
The brothers looked shyly at their mother's friend. Was it possible
that she had still other rings besides those on her fingers? Could she
have other gems besides those which sparkled in the chains about her
neck?
When the simple out-door meal was over, a servant brought the casket
from the house. The lady opened it. Ah, how those jewels dazzled the
eyes of the wondering boys! There were ropes of pearls, white as milk,
and smooth as satin; heaps of shining rubies, red as the glowing
coals; sap-phires as blue as the sky that summer day; and di-a-monds
that flashed and sparkled like the sunlight.
The brothers looked long at the gems.
"Ah!" whis-pered the younger; "if our mother could only have such
beautiful things!"
At last, how-ever, the casket was closed and carried care-ful-ly away.
"Is it true, Cor-ne-li-a, that you have no jewels?" asked her friend.
"Is it true, as I have heard it whis-pered, that you are poor?"
"No, I am not poor," answered Cornelia, and as she spoke she drew her
two boys to her side; "for here are my jewels. They are worth more
than all your gems."
I am sure that the boys never forgot their mother's pride and love and
care; and in after years, when they had become great men in Rome, they
often thought of this scene in the garden. And the world still likes
to hear the story of Cornelia's jewels.
ANDROCLUS AND THE LION.
In Rome there was once a poor slave whose name was An'dro-clus. His
master was a cruel man, and so unkind to him that at last An-dro-clus
ran away.
He hid himself in a wild wood for many days; but there was no food to
be found, and he grew so weak and sick that he thought he should die.
So one day he crept into a cave and lay down, and soon he was fast
asleep.
After a while a great noise woke him up. A lion had come into the
cave, and was roaring loudly. Androclus was very much afraid, for he
felt sure that the beast would kill him. Soon, however, he saw that
the lion was not angry, but that he limped as though his foot hurt
him.
Then Androclus grew so bold that he took hold of the lion's lame paw
to see what was the matter. The lion stood quite still, and rubbed his
head against the man's shoulder. He seemed to say,--
"I know that you will help me."
Androclus lifted the paw from the ground, and saw that it was a long,
sharp thorn which hurt the lion so much. He took the end of the thorn
in his fingers; then he gave a strong, quick pull, and out it came.
The lion was full of joy. He jumped about like a dog, and licked the
hands and feet of his new friend.
Androclus was not at all afraid after this; and when night came, he
and the lion lay down and slept side by side.
For a long time, the lion brought food to Androclus every day; and the
two became such good friends, that Androclus found his new life a very
happy one.
One day some soldiers who were passing through the wood found
Androclus in the cave. They knew who he was, and so took him back to
Rome.
It was the law at that time that every slave who ran away from his
master should be made to fight a hungry lion. So a fierce lion was
shut up for a while without food, and a time was set for the fight.
When the day came, thousands of people crowded to see the sport. They
went to such places at that time very much as people now-a-days go to
see a circus show or a game of base-ball.
The door opened, and poor Androclus was brought in. He was almost dead
with fear, for the roars of the lion could al-read-y be heard. He
looked up, and saw that there was no pity in the thou-sands of faces
around him.
Then the hungry lion rushed in. With a single bound he reached the
poor slave. Androclus gave a great cry, not of fear, but of gladness.
It was his old friend, the lion of the cave.
The people, who had ex-pect-ed to see the man killed by the lion, were
filled with wonder. They saw Androclus put his arms around the lion's
neck; they saw the lion lie down at his feet, and lick them
lov-ing-ly; they saw the great beast rub his head against the slave's
face as though he wanted to be petted. They could not un-der-stand
what it all meant.
After a while they asked Androclus to tell them about it. So he
stood up before them, and, with his arm around the lion's neck, told
how he and the beast had lived together in the cave.
"I am a man," he said; "but no man has ever befriended me. This poor
lion alone has been kind to me; and we love each other as brothers."
The people were not so bad that they could be cruel to the poor slave
now. "Live and be free!" they cried. "Live and be free!"
Others cried, "Let the lion go free too! Give both of them their
liberty!"
And so Androclus was set free, and the lion was given to him for his
own. And they lived together in Rome for many years.
HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE.
Once there was a war between the Roman people and the E-trus'cans who
lived in the towns on the other side of the Ti-ber River. Por'se-na,
the King of the E-trus-cans, raised a great army, and marched toward
Rome. The city had never been in so great danger.
The Romans did not have very many fighting men at that time, and they
knew that they were not strong enough to meet the Etruscans in open
battle. So they kept themselves inside of their walls, and set guards
to watch the roads.
One morning the army of Por-se-na was seen coming over the hills from
the north. There were thousands of horsemen and footmen, and they were
marching straight toward the wooden bridge which spanned the river at
Rome.
"What shall we do?" said the white-haired Fathers who made the laws
for the Roman people. "If they once gain the bridge, we cannot hinder
them from crossing; and then what hope will there be for the town?"
Now, among the guards at the bridge, there was a brave man named
Ho-ra'ti-us. He was on the farther side of the river, and when he saw
that the Etruscans were so near, he called out to the Romans who were
behind him.
"Hew down the bridge with all the speed that you can!" he cried. "I,
with the two men who stand by me, will keep the foe at bay."
Then, with their shields before them, and their long spears in their
hands, the three brave men stood in the road, and kept back the
horsemen whom Porsena had sent to take the bridge.
On the bridge the Romans hewed away at the beams and posts. Their axes
rang, the chips flew fast; and soon it trembled, and was ready to
fall.
"Come back! come back, and save your lives!" they cried to Ho-ra-ti-us
and the two who were with him.
But just then Porsena's horsemen dashed toward them again.
"Run for your lives!" said Horatius to his friends. "I will keep the
road."
They turned, and ran back across the bridge. They had hardly reached
the other side when there was a crashing of beams and timbers. The
bridge toppled over to one side, and then fell with a great splash
into the water.
When Horatius heard the sound, he knew that the city was safe. With
his face still toward Porsena's men, he moved slowly back-ward till he
stood on the river's bank. A dart thrown by one of Porsena's soldiers
put out his left eye; but he did not falter. He cast his spear at the
fore-most horseman, and then he turned quickly around. He saw the
white porch of his own home among the trees on the other side of the
stream;
"And he spake to the noble river
That rolls by the walls of Rome:
'O Tiber! father Tiber!
To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,
Take thou in charge to-day.'"
He leaped into the deep, swift stream. He still had his heavy armor
on; and when he sank out of sight, no one thought that he would ever
be seen again. But he was a strong man, and the best swimmer in Rome.
The next minute he rose. He was half-way across the river, and safe
from the spears and darts which Porsena's soldiers hurled after him.
Soon he reached the farther side, where his friends stood ready to
help him. Shout after shout greeted him as he climbed upon the bank.
Then Porsena's men shouted also, for they had never seen a man so
brave and strong as Horatius. He had kept them out of Rome, but he had
done a deed which they could not help but praise.
As for the Romans, they were very grateful to Horatius for having
saved their city. They called him Horatius Co'cles, which meant the
"one-eyed Horatius," because he had lost an eye in defending the
bridge; they caused a fine statue of brass to be made in his honor;
and they gave him as much land as he could plow around in a day. And
for hundreds of years afterwards--
"With weeping and with laugh-ter,
Still was the story told,
How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old."
JULIUS CAESAR.
Nearly two thousand years ago there lived in Rome a man whose name was
Julius Cae'sar. He was the greatest of all the Romans.
Why was he so great?
He was a brave warrior, and had con-quered many countries for Rome. He
was wise in planning and in doing. He knew how to make men both love
and fear him.
At last he made himself the ruler of Rome. Some said that he wished to
become its king. But the Romans at that time did not believe in kings.
Once when Cae-sar was passing through a little country village, all the
men, women, and children of the place came out to see him. There were
not more than fifty of them, all together, and they were led by their
may-or, who told each one what to do.
These simple people stood by the roadside and watched Caesar pass. The
may-or looked very proud and happy; for was he not the ruler of this
village? He felt that he was almost as great a man as Caesar himself.
Some of the fine of-fi-cers who were with Caesar laughed. They said,
"See how that fellow struts at the head of his little flock!"
"Laugh as you will," said Caesar, "he has reason to be proud. I would
rather be the head man of a village than the second man in Rome!"
At an-oth-er time, Caesar was crossing a narrow sea in a boat. Before
he was halfway to the farther shore, a storm overtook him. The wind