r Tiber, fifteen miles from the sea, one king
built a seaport at the mouth of the river, and a long straight road
leading down to it, which was laid so solidly that it is still in use
to-day.

"The valleys between the hills of Rome were wet and marshy. A king
named Tarquin drained those marshes by building immense stone sewers.
One of them was so large that several yoke of oxen could pass through
it side by side, and the work was so well done that it is in good
condition now, although it is more than twenty-four hundred years old.

"One marsh which the sewer drained was used as a market-place.
Shop-keepers set their stalls up there; temples and public buildings
were erected, and it became known as the Roman Forum."

"The very Forum where we are going?" asked Edith eagerly.

"Yes," replied Rafael, "the very Forum where Augustus, several hundred
years later, set up the Golden Milestone."

"What else did those old Romans do?" asked Edith.

"They were fond of amusements," said Rafael. "One of the valleys
between two of the hills was a good place for races and other games.
On the sloping hillsides on each side of the valley, seats were built
for thousands of spectators, and the place was called the Circus
Maximus.

"The same king who built the sewers built also a strong fortress on
the top of one of the hills. This fortress was called the Capitol, and
the hill was called the Capitoline Hill. He also ordered that a wall
should be built all around the seven hills to enclose the city, but it
was not finished during his lifetime."

"Let us get out the map and look at it," suggested the girl, who had
finished plaiting the olive wreath.

So the wreath was put away in the hamper, and the two heads were soon
bending over a great map of Rome; and Rafael traced the lines of the
old wall which Romulus built.

Just then Mrs. Sprague looked up at the sun. "It is time for lunch,"
she said, and began unpacking the lunch-basket, while the car rolled
steadily nearer and nearer to the Roman Forum.

CHAPTER XII

"THE GOLDEN MILESTONE"

"If we are to reach Rome at sunset, some one must lend a hand at the
wheel," said the chauffeur, as the children finished eating their
lunch. "There is not a moment to lose, and I, also, am hungry."

Rafael sprang at once to his side. He had longed to drive the
automobile from the very moment they began the journey from Florence,
and had often sat on the seat beside the chauffeur, watch