y. The distances of all the principal towns,
measured from the city gates, were recorded on the golden stone.
Although it is no longer there, its place is marked."

Edith was disappointed. "I thought I was going to see it," she said,
twisting a leaf to show its gray under-side.

"There are so many other ruins from the days, of ancient Rome, that
you will never miss the milestone," Rafael assured her.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"My mother has told me about them," he answered. "It was only by word
of mouth that much of the earliest history of the world was made
known, and I have learned it in the same way."

"It may not be the most 'up-to-date' fashion," said the girl, "but it
is certainly more interesting. I wish you would try it now, and tell
me something about the Eternal City."

The young Italian boy, who was making his first journey into the heart
of his native land, felt his own heart expand with joy as he looked
across the beautiful valleys to the distant blue mountains for
inspiration.

"It was many hundred years before the birth of Christ that people
first came into Italy," he said. "My mother told me that they wandered
over here from Central Asia in search of good pastures for their
flocks, but it was so many centuries ago that very little is known
about them."

Edith pointed to a roughly thatched hut in a distant field, and asked,
"Do you suppose they lived in huts like that?"

"Not at first," the boy answered. "It was a long time before they
built even such good huts as that one. It was only little by little
that they learned to clear the ground and cultivate it with rude
tools; to make dishes out of clay and cook their food; to spin and
weave the wool from their sheep, and to live under shelter.

"At first each family lived by itself, but after a time they began to
form tribes and choose the strongest and bravest of their number for a
chief. This chief governed them in times of peace and led them in
their wars with other tribes, becoming their leader or king.

"There were many such tribes in Italy, and for centuries they lived
here, waging constant warfare with each other and with other tribes
and nations."

"Were there no civilized people in those days?" asked Edith.

"Yes," replied Rafael, "there were the people of Egypt and Greece; and
some of the Grecians had already wandered over into Italy before the
time of Romulus.

"When he ploughed a trench for the strong wall which was to be