e, and to despise death and wounds; but the truth was that it only
made them hard-hearted, and taught them to despise other people's
pain--a very different thing from despising their own.

Another thing that did great harm was the making it lawful for a man to
put away a wife who had no children. This ended by making the Romans
much less careful to have one good wife, and the Roman ladies became
much less noble and excellent than they had been in the good old days.

[Illustration: HANNIBAL'S VOW.]

In the meantime, the Carthaginians, having lost the three islands,
began to spread their settlements further in Spain, where their chief
colony was New Carthage, or, as we call it, Carthagena. The mountains
were full of gold mines, and the Iberians, the nation who held them,
were brave and warlike, so that there was much fighting to train up
fresh armies. Hamilcar, the chief general in command there, had four
sons, whom he said were lion whelps being bred up against Rome. He took
them with him to Spain, and at a great sacrifice for the success of his
arms the youngest and most promising, Hannibal, a boy of nine years old,
was made to lay his hand on the altar of Baal and take an oath that he
would always be the enemy of the Romans. Hamilcar was killed in battle,
but Hannibal grew up to be all that he had hoped, and at twenty-six was
in command of the army. He threatened the Iberians of Saguntum, who sent
to ask help from Rome. A message was sent to him to forbid him to
disturb the ally of Rome; but he had made up his mind for war, and never
even asked the Senate of Carthage what was to be done, but went on with
the siege of Saguntum. Rome was busy with a war in Illyria, and could
send no help, and the Saguntines held out with the greatest bravery and
constancy, month after month, till they were all on the point of
starvation, then kindled a great fire, slew all their wives and
children, and let Hannibal win nothing but a pile of smoking ruins.

[Illustration: IN THE PYRENEES.]

Again the Romans sent to Carthage to complain, but the Senate there had
made up their minds that war there must be, and that it was a good time
when Rome had a war in Illyria on her hands, and Cisalpine Gaul hardly
subdued; and they had such a general as Hannibal, though they did not
know what a wonderful scheme he had in his mind, namely, to make his
way by land from Spain to Italy, gaining the help of the Gauls, and
stirring up all those nations