es ramify incredibly and endure
from generation to generation. I remember with gratitude many Umbrians who
were kind to me; I would not, however, indirectly cause any trouble to
them in their old age, or to their descendants.

The Imperial estate was large and I learned its history. It was made up of
three adjacent properties confiscated at different periods by different
Emperors. One had fallen to the _fiscus_ under Nero, a second under
Domitian, and a third under Trajan, each as the result of its owner being
implicated in a conspiracy against the Emperor. The administration of the
resultant large estate was a perfect sample of the excellent management in
detail and stupid misjudgment in general so common under the _fiscus_. The
estate was hilly, some of it mountainous, and quite unfitted for horse-
breeding, which is best engaged in, as everybody knows, on estates
composed chiefly of wide-spreading plains or gently rolling country with
broad, flat meadows. Good judgment would have put this estate chiefly in
forest, with a few cattle, some sheep and more goats, but no horses. As I
found it, it had, to be sure, many goats, but almost as many sheep and
cattle, and horses almost as numerous as the cattle and far more
important, for to their breeding most of the efforts of the overseer were
directed.

The overseer's house was the best of the three original villas. About it
were ample, commodious and scrupulously clean quarters for slaves like me.
Also it had yards for fowls, ducks, geese, guinea-fowls, and peacocks,
arranged before the confiscation and allowed since to run down, but still
productive and fairly well-filled with birds, as were the big dovecotes.
Besides, there were fish ponds and a rabbit-warren, left from the former
villa. There were extensive stables, cattle-sheds and pens, sheep-folds,
goat-runs and pig-sties adjoining the house. In the quarters I found a
goodly company of hearty, healthy, contented slaves, sty-wards, goatherds,
shepherds, cowmen and horse-wranglers. These were friendly from my first
arrival among them, seemed to look me over deliberately and appraise me,
and appeared to like me.

I was first sent out as one of two assistants to an experienced herder in
charge of a rather large herd of beef-steers. We drove them up the
mountains to a grassy glade and, when they had eaten down the grass there,
to another. Our duties were light, as the steers were not very wild or
fierce and were easy to