d of course that he would be drowned there,
and so turned away and went to find some other enemy. Curtius,
however, succeeded in crawling out of the pond into which he had
fallen; and in commemoration of the incident the pond was named Lake
Curtius, which name it retained for centuries afterward, when, not
only had all the water disappeared, but the place itself had been
filled up, and had been covered with streets and houses.

The combats between the Romans and the Sabines were continued for
several days, during all which time the Sabine women, on whose account
it was that this dreadful quarrel had arisen, were suffering the
greatest anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers and brothers,
but then they loved their husbands too; and they were overwhelmed
with anguish at the thought that day after day those who were equally
dear to them were engaged in fighting and destroying one another, and
that they could do nothing to arrest so unnatural a hostility.

At length, however, after suffering extreme distress for many days, a
crisis arrived when they found that they could interpose. Both parties
had become somewhat weary of the contest. Neither could prevail over
the other, and yet neither was willing to yield. The Sabines could not
bring themselves to submit to so humiliating an alternative as to
withdraw from Rome and leave their daughters and sisters in the
captors' hands, after all the grand preparations which they had made
for retaking them. And on the other hand the Romans could not take
those, who, whatever had been their previous history, were now living
happily as wives and mothers, each in her own house in the city, and
give them up to an army of invaders, demanding them with threats and
violence, without deep dishonor. Thus, though there was a pause in the
conflict, and both parties were weary of it, neither was willing to
yield, and both were preparing to return to the struggle with new
determination and vigor.

The Sabine women thought that they might now interpose. A lady named
Hersilia, who is often mentioned as one of the most prominent among
the number, proposed this measure and made the arrangements for
carrying it into effect. She assembled her countrywomen and explained
to them her plan, which was that they should go in a body to the Roman
Senate, and ask permission to intercede between the contending
nations, and plead for peace.

The company of women, taking their children with them, all of w