ast."

"I thought you said that Appius Claudius built the aqueduct," said
Mrs. Sprague.

[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CLAUDIAN AQUEDUCT.
The arches were built to support the Aqueduct which is at the top.]

"So he did," replied the professor. "The road is called 'Appian'
after one of his names, and the aqueduct 'Claudian' after the other."

"Was he one of the kings of early Rome?" asked Edith, taking out her
note-book.

"No," he answered, "the kingdom came to an end more than two hundred
years before this road was begun. This is one of the great works of
the republic."

"What a glorious sight it must have been to see the Roman army come
marching home in triumph from some of its great victories," said
Rafael. "Think how thousands of soldiers, with spears and helmets
flashing in the sun, marched over this road, leading their prisoners
of war."

"Yes," said Edith, "and think how the Roman women came hurrying
through that old gate to meet them, shouting with joy at their
return."

The professor smiled at the children. He liked the way they had begun
to see pictures in their minds of the earlier days of Rome. He called
their attention to the ruins of tombs which are scattered along the
road on either side, and then pointed to three peasant children who
had been playing in the field, but had stopped to watch the strangers.
"There is ancient Rome and young Italy. You will find one quite as
interesting as the other," he said.

"Most of what you see is historic," he told them as they rode back
into the city. "There is a story about every ruin along the Appian
Way. I have told you the legends of the kings, but there are also
tales to tell of the days of the republic and of the glorious empire."

"Rafael likes those old kings," said Edith. "How did the kingdom
happen to come to an end?"

"One of the Kings was such a cruel tyrant that the people rose in
rebellion, under the leadership of a man named Brutus, and drove the
king and his followers from the city," replied the professor. "Brutus
then persuaded the Romans never again to be ruled by a king, so two
men were elected each year to govern the people, and the kingdom
became a republic. That was about five hundred years before the birth
of Christ.

"During the time of the republic, which lasted nearly five hundred
years, the Romans were waging constant warfare with other tribes and
nations, to gain wealth and power. One war followed another in rapid
succession, an