and indicate the four quarters of the heaven, pointing out in a solemn
manner the directions of east, west, north and south. The augur would
then take his stand with his back to the west and his face of course
to the east. The north would then be on his left hand and the south at
his right. He would then, in this position watch for the signs. If it
was from the thunder that the auspices were to be taken, the augur
would listen to hear from what quarter of the heavens it came. If the
lightning appeared in the east and the sound of the thunder seemed to
come from the northward, the presage was favorable. So it was if the
chain of lightning seen in the sky appeared to pass from cloud to
cloud above, instead of descending to the ground. On the other hand,
thunder sounding as if it came from the southward, and lightning
striking down to the earth, were both unpropitious omens. As to birds,
some were of good omen, as vultures, eagles and woodpeckers. Others
were evil, as ravens and owls. Various inferences were drawn too from
the manner in which the birds that appeared in the air, were seen to
fly, and from the sound of their note at the time when the observation
was made.

By these and many similar means the government of Romulus vainly
endeavored to ascertain the will of heaven in respect to the plans and
enterprises in which they were called upon from time to time to
engage. There was perhaps in these observances much imposture, and
much folly; still they could only have been sustained, in their
influence and ascendency over the minds of the people, by a sincere
veneration on their part for some unseen and spiritual power, and a
reverent desire to conform the public measures of their government to
what they supposed to be the divine will.

By such measures as we have thus described Romulus soon produced order
out of confusion within his little commonwealth. The enterprise which
he had undertaken and the great success which had thus far followed
it, attracted great attention, and he soon found that great numbers
began to come in from all the surrounding country to join him. Many of
these were persons of still worse character than those who had adhered
to him at first, and he soon found that to admit them indiscriminately
into the city would be to endanger the process of organization which
was now so well begun. He accordingly set apart a hill near to his
city called the Capitoline hill, as an asylum for them, where they