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ons.--Titus Tatius.--Preparations of the Romans.--Final negotiations.--The Roman herdsmen.--Flocks and herds called in.--The citadel.--Tarpeia.--The Campus Martius.--Parley with Tarpeia.--Agreement made with Tarpeia.--The Sabines admitted.--Tarpeia killed.--The two armies meet on the plain.--A truce to bury the dead.--Fresh combats.--Romulus in great personal danger.--The story of Curtius.--The lake.--Distress of the Sabine women.--Their perplexity.--The plan of Hersilia.--The women admitted to the senate house.--Arrangements for the intercession of the women.--The address of Hersilia.--Effect of it.--Conditions and terms of peace. While the negotiations with the Sabines were still pending, Romulus became involved in another difficulty, which for a time assumed a very threatening aspect. This difficulty was a war which broke out, somewhat suddenly, in consequence of the invasion of the Roman territories by a neighboring chieftain named Acron. Acron was the sovereign of a small state, whose capital was a town called Caenina.[F] This Caenina is supposed to have been only four or five miles distant from Romulus's city,--a fact which shows very clearly on how small a scale the deeds and exploits connected with the first foundation of the great empire, which afterward became so extended and so renowned, were originally performed, and how intrinsically insignificant they were, in themselves, though momentous in the extreme in respect to the consequences that flowed from them. [Footnote F: See Map of Latium, page 134.] Acron was a bold, energetic, and determined man, who had already acquired great fame by his warlike exploits, and who had long been watching the progress of the new colony with an evil eye. He thought that if it were allowed to take root, and to grow, it might, at some future day, become a formidable enemy, both to him, and also to the other states in that part of Italy. He had been very desirous, therefore, of finding some pretext for attacking the new city, and when he heard of the seizure of the Sabine women, he thought that the time had arrived. He, therefore, urged the Sabines to make war at once upon the Romans, and promised, if they would do so, to assist them with all the forces that he could command. The Sabines, however, were so unwilling to proceed to extremities, and spent so much time in negotiations and embassies, that Acron's patience was at length wholly exhausted by the delays, and he re
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