maciated body the scars of the many
battles in which he had fought.

His tale was a sad one. While he served in the Sabine war, the enemy had
pillaged and burned his house; and when he returned home, it was to find
his cattle stolen and his farm heavily taxed. Forced to borrow money,
the interest had brought him deeply into debt. Finally he had been
attacked by pestilence, and being unable to work for his creditor, he
had been thrown into prison and cruelly scourged, the marks of the lash
being still evident upon his bleeding back.

This piteous story roused its hearers to fury. The whole city broke into
tumult, as the woful tale passed from lip to lip. Many debtors escaped
from their prisons and begged protection from the incensed multitude.
The consuls found themselves powerless to restore order; and in the
midst of the uproar horsemen came riding hotly through the gates, crying
out that a hostile army was near at hand, marching to besiege the city.

Here was a splendid opportunity for the Plebeians. When called upon to
enroll their names and take arms for the city's defence, they refused.
The Patricians, they said, might fight their own battles. As for them,
they had rather die together at home than perish separate upon the
battle-field.

This refusal left the Patricians in a quandary. With riot in the streets
and war beyond the walls they were at the mercy of the commons. They
were forced to promise a mitigation of the laws, declaring that no one
should henceforth seize the goods of a soldier while he was in camp, or
hinder a citizen from enlisting by keeping him in prison. This promise
satisfied the people. The debtors' prisons were emptied, and their late
tenants crowded with enthusiasm into the ranks. Through the gates the
army marched, met the foe, and drove him in defeat from the soil of the
Roman state.

Victory gained, the Plebeians looked for laws to sustain the promises
under which they had fought. They looked in vain; the senate took no
action for their redress. But they had learned their power, and were not
again to be enslaved. Their action was deliberate but decided. Taking
measures to protect their homes on the Aventine Hill, they left the city
the next year in a body, and sought a hill beyond the Anio, about three
miles beyond the walls of Rome. Here they encamped, built
fortifications, and sent word to their lordly rulers that they were done
with empty promises, and would fight no more for the s