ng in
Rome. Thereupon a patrician youth named Marcus Curtius decked himself in
his choicest robes, put on his armor, took his shield, sword, and spear,
mounted his horse, and leapt headlong into the gulf, thus giving it the
most precious of all things, courage and self-devotion. After this one
story says it closed of itself, another that it became easy to fill it
up with earth.

The Romans thought that such a sacrifice must please the gods and bring
them success in their battles; but in the war with the Hernici that was
now being waged the plebeian consul was killed, and no doubt there was
much difficulty in getting the patricians to obey a plebeian properly,
for in the course of the next twenty years it was necessary fourteen
times to appoint a Dictator for the defence of the state, so that it is
plain there must have been many alarms and much difficulty in enforcing
discipline; but, on the whole, success was with Rome, and the
neighboring tribes grew weaker.

[Illustration: CURTIUS LEAPING INTO THE GULF. (_From a Bas-Relief_.)]

CHAPTER XIV.

THE DEVOTION OF DECIUS.

B.C. 357

Other tribes of the Gauls did not fail to come again and make fresh
inroads on the valleys of the Tiber and Anio. Whenever they came,
instead of choosing men from the tribes to form an army, as in a war
with their neighbors, all the fighting men of the nation turned out to
oppose them, generally under a Dictator.

In one of these wars the Gauls came within three miles of Rome, and the
two hosts were encamped on the banks of the Anio, with a bridge between
them. Along this bridge strutted an enormous Gallic chief, much taller
than any of the Romans, boasting himself, and calling on any one of them
to come out and fight with him. Again it was a Manlius who
distinguished himself. Titus, a young man of that family, begged the
Dictator's permission to accept the challenge, and, having gained it, he
changed his round knight's shield for the square one of the foot
soldiers, and with his short sword came forward on the bridge. The Gaul
made a sweep at him with his broadsword, but, slipping within the guard,
Manlius stabbed the giant in two places, and as he fell cut off his
head, and took the torc, or broad twisted gold collar that was the mark
of all Gallic chieftains. Thence the brave youth was called Titus
Manlius Torquatus--a surname to make up for that of Capitolinus, which
had never been used again.

[Illustration: THE APENNINES