a mark
again by the successful severity by which he cleared the province of
banditti. He was a man neither given himself to talking, nor much
talked about in the world; but he was sought for wherever work was to
be done, and he had made himself respected and valued in high circles,
for after his return from the Peninsula he had married into one of the
most distinguished of the patrician families.

[Footnote 3: B.C. 109.]

[Footnote 4: King of Numidia. He successfully withstood the
Romans during several years.]

Marius by this marriage became a person of social consideration. His
father had been a client of the Metelli; and Caecilius Metellus, who
must have known Marius by reputation and probably in person, invited
him to go as second in command in the African campaign. He was
moderately successful. Towns were taken, battles were won: Metellus
was incorruptible, and the Numidians sued for peace. But Jugurtha
wanted terms, and the consul demanded unconditional surrender.
Jugurtha withdrew into the desert; the war dragged on; and Marius,
perhaps ambitious, perhaps impatient at the general's want of vigor,
began to think that he could make quicker work of it. The popular
party were stirring again in Rome, the Senate having so notoriously
disgraced itself. There was just irritation that a petty African
prince could defy the whole power of Rome for so many years; and
though a democratic consul had been unheard of for a century, the name
of Marius began to be spoken of as a possible candidate. Marius
consented to stand. The law required that he must be present in person
at the election, and he applied to his commander for leave of absence.
Metellus laughed at his pretensions, and bade him wait another twenty
years. Marius, however, persisted, and was allowed to go. The
patricians strained their resources to defeat him, but he was chosen
with enthusiasm. Metellus was recalled, and the conduct of the
Numidian war was assigned to the new hero of the "Populares."

A shudder of alarm ran, no doubt, through the Senate house, when the
determination of the people was known. A successful general could not
be disposed of so easily as oratorical tribunes. Fortunately, Marius
was not a politician. He had no belief in democracy. He was a soldier,
and had a soldier's way of thinking on government and the methods of
it. His first step was a reformation in the army. Hitherto the Roman
legions had been no more t