14. The water was conveyed to reservoirs, and thence distributed through pipes over the town in great abundance. Only three aqueducts now remain for modern Rome; yet so pure are the sources from which they draw their supplies, that few cities can boast of such clear and healthful water.

15. Great attention was paid to ornament in the erection of the aqueducts. One built by A-grip'-pa, when æ'-dile under Augustus, contained one hundred and thirty reservoirs, and five hundred fountains, adorned with statues and columns. Remains of many of these great works, at this day, bear witness to their beauty and convenience.

CHAPTER LXXXVIII.-EUROPE-CONTINUED. Military Affairs of the Romans.

Division of the Army. The Imperial Eagle. Music. Arms. Dress. Military Rewards. Crowns. The Triumph.

1. You know that the Romans were almost continually engaged in wars. Their military affairs, therefore, occupied the attention of the most distinguished citizens. According to the Roman laws, every freeborn citizen was a soldier, and bound to serve in the army when called upon, from the age of seventeen to that of forty-six.

2. The Roman forces were divided into legions, each of which consisted of three thousand foot soldiers, and three hundred horsemen. The standard of the legion was the imperial eagle.

3. This was made of gilt metal, was borne on a spear by an officer of rank, and was regarded by the soldiers with a reverence which approached to devotion. The cavalry carried pennons, on which the initials of the emperor, or of the legion, were embroidered in letters of gold.

4. The only instrument of martial music among the Romans was the brazen trumpet. Some of the soldiers were armed with light jave'-lins, and others with a heavy weapon of a similar description. All, however, carried shields and short swords, which they wore on the right side.

5. They were dressed in a metal cuirass, with an under covering of cloth, which was generally red, and hung loose to the knee.

15. Aqueduct built by Agrippa.

On

CHAP. LXXXVIII.-1. What is said of the military affairs of the Romans? 2. Divisions of the army? 3. Standard? Pennons? 4. Instruments of martial music? Weapons? 5. Dress of the soldiers? Generals?

MILITARY AFFAIRS.

171

the head they wore brazen helmets ornamented with flowing tufts of horsehair. The uniform of the generals was an open scarlet mantle.

6. The cavalry wore a coat of mail, of brazen or steel scales, or of chain-work, sometimes plated with gold. Under this they wore a close garment which reached to their buskins. They rode without stirrups, and their saddles were merely cloths folded to suit the convenience of the rider. The discipline of the army was maintained with great strictness and severity.

7. Rewards of various kinds were held out to those who distinguished themselves by an extraordinary exploit. A particular kind of crown was presented to him who in the assault first scaled the ramparts of a town.

8. A soldier who saved his comrade's life in battle was entitled to the civic crown, which was thought a distinction of the highest honor. The general who conquered in a battle was decorated with the laurel leaf.

9. But the highest ambition of every Roman commander was to obtain a triumph. This was the gift of the senate, and was only granted on occasions of splendid victory. When decreed, the general returned to Rome, and was appointed to the supreme command of the city on the day of his entry.

10. A sculptured arch was erected, under which the procession was to pass, and scaffoldings were raised for spectators in all the public squares and streets. The procession moved at daylight from beyond the walls of the city.

11. A band of cavalry, with military music, took the lead. They were followed by a train of priests in their sacred robes, with attendants leading to sacrifice a hec'-a-tomb, that is, a hundred of the whitest oxen. Next came chariots laden with spoils, the arms and standard of the conquered, followed by long trains of the captives conducted by lictors.

12. Loud notes on the trumpet then announced the approach of the victor, dressed in a robe of purple, crowned with laurels, and bearing a scepter of ivory. He rode in a splendid car drawn by four horses, preceded by the Roman eagle, guarded by a troop of cavalry.

13. The most distinguished officers of the army, in their richest dress and trappings, surrounded him; a band of children clothed in white followed, flinging clouds of perfumes and flowers on the air, and singing hymns of praise to the conqueror.

6. Dress of the cavalry? 7. Rewards of the army? Crowns? 9. Describe the triumph of a victorious general.

their weapons

14. Last of all came the victorious army, wreathed with laurel, and their burnished armor gleaming in the sunshine. Countless multitudes of the citizens lined the streets, and every window and every scaffolding shone with beauty. The procession was greeted on all sides by loud acclamations; joy and revelry reigned in the city, and a scene of magnificence was displayed hardly to be paralleled in modern times.

CHAPTER LXXXIX.-EUROPE-CONTINUED. About Naval Affairs. The War Galley. Commerce. Shows of Wild Beasts. Exhibitions of Gladiators.

1. THE first vessel of the Roman navy is said to have been built after the model of a Carthaginian galley taken in war. Their ships were roughly and slightly constructed, and, though very large, unfit to contend with boisterous and tempestuous weather.

2. They were clumsy and ill-fashioned, with a high stern and sides, and rowed with two or three tiers of oars on different decks. The prows of the ship were armed with iron, usually wrought into the shape of some animal's head; the upper deck was surmounted with a movable turret, from which the soldiers could throw their weapons with advantage.

3. The merchant-ships of the Romans were of a size corresponding with the purposes for which they were intended. Before the discovery of the magnet, by which the mariner can now direct his course in safety over the pathless waves, navigation was necessarily confined to the coast. These coasting-vessels were considered large if they reached the burden of fifty tons.

4. Rome was long supplied with the products of the East by the merchants of the maritime states of the Mediterranean. It was not till the conquest of Egypt by Augustus, that the trade became exclusively her own. Of this commerce Alexandria was the

center.

5. The principal exports into Italy from India, consisted of drugs and spices; of cotton cloths and muslins, from the coasts of Cor-oman'-del and Mal-a-bar'; of silk from China, and of large quantities of diamonds and pearls from Ben-gal' and the pearl-fisheries near

CHAP. LXXXIX.-1. First vessel of the Roman navy? 2. Describe the war-galley. 3. What is said of the Roman merchant-ships? Navigation? Coasting-vessels? 4. How was Rome supplied with the products of the East? 5. What were the principal imports into Italy?

Cape Com'-o-rin.

ROMAN SHIPS.

From Persia and Arabia they procured the richest carpets, silks, and embroidered stuffs, together with rice and

sugar.

6. The first am-phi-the'-a-ter erected in Rome, for the show of wild beasts and glad'-i-a-tors, was a mere temporary building of wood, probably erected by Julius Cæsar. The Flavian amphitheater, better known by the name of Col-i-se'-um, was commenced in the reign of Vespasian, and is supposed to have been large enough to contain upward of eighty thousand persons. Its ruins are among the present wonders of Rome.

7. The wild beasts were secured in dens round the arena in the center, which was strongly fenced, and surrounded by a canal, to guard the spectators against their attacks. A vast number of wild beasts were made to destroy each other in these very cruel exhibitions.

8. Eleven thousand are said to have been slain during four months of triumph in honor of a conquest over the Da'-ci-ans; and five hundred lions were killed in a few days on another similar occasion.

9. The first public combats of gladiators took place at Rome in

6. What is said of the first amphitheater? 7. Destruction of wild beasts? 9. Gladiatorial combats?

the close of the fifth century from the foundation of the city. They were exhibited at a funeral. From that period they became frequent on such occasions, and afterward, on days of public festival, were considered a material part of the ceremonies.

10. Five hundred pairs of these wretched beings have frequently been led to the public games to sacrifice each other for the amusement of barbarous spectators. They were at first taken from captives in war, or malefactors; afterward from slaves trained to the profession.

11. They fought with various weapons, some in complete armor, others with only a trident and a net, in which they endeavored to entangle their adversary and thus slay him.

12. It is needless to give a minute account of these inhuman customs. They were conducted with the most bloody and savage spirit, and are sufficient proofs of the degraded and brutalized condition of the period in which they were tolerated.

Sports.

CHAPTER XC.-EUROPE-CONTINUED.

Chariot Racing. The Circus.

Private Entertainments. Supper Rooms.
Parties. Luxuries.

Carriages.
Convivial

1. I WILL now change the picture, and give you an account of some of the less barbarous amusements of the Romans. Among these were several games of ball, played, as among us, both with the hand and foot. The young men chiefly engaged in sports in the open air that would make them more active and vigorous. Boxing, wrestling, and throwing the quoit, formed a prominent part of these amusements; but chariot driving took the lead of all others.

2. For the better enjoyment of horse and chariot races, there was an inclosed course immediately adjoining the city, called the circus. It was rather more than a mile in circumference, and was surrounded with seats and three tiers of galleries.

3. In the center was a barrier of twelve feet in breadth, and four feet high, around which the race was performed; and at one end was a triumphal arch, through which the successful charioteer drove, followed by the shouts and applause of the assembly.

11. Weapons of the gladiators? What is said of these exhibitions? CHAP. XC.-1. What is said of the games of the Roman youths? 2. The circus?