ing 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 Rome, after six kings had followed
Romulus. 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 Rome. 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 Rome 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
inwardly, his face was grave and stern as he gave judgment that the law
must take its course. So the sons of this stern old Roman were scourged
with rods before his eyes, and then, with the other conspirators, 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.

Soon afterwards Tarquin led an army of Etruscans against Rome, and the
two consuls marched against them at the head of the Roman 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 speaking from a forest