Or, The Adventures of a Roman Boy. By Professor A. J. CHURCH, Author of
"Stories from the Classics." With 12 full-page Illustrations by ADRIEN
MARIE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges,
6_s._
Prof. Church has in this story sought to revivify that most
interesting period, the last days of the Roman Republic. Scarcely
recovered from the effects of her long struggle for supremacy in
Italy, and from the evils of the terrible strife of the nobles
against the people, Rome was engaged in suppressing the revolt of
Spartacus and the slaves and the insurrection of Sertorius, while at
the same time she was waging war with Mithradates, king of Pontus.
Meanwhile the pirates held almost undisputed possession of the
Mediterranean Sea, till Pompey eventually put them down in B.C. 67.
The hero of the story, Lucius Marius, is a young Roman who, through
the influence of Cicero, obtains an official appointment in Sicily.
He has a very chequered career, being now a captive in the hands of
Spartacus, again an officer on board a vessel detailed for the
suppression of the pirates, and anon a captive once more, on a pirate
ship. He escapes to Tarsus, gets a position under Deiotarus, tetrarch
of Galatia, is taken prisoner in the war with Mithradates, and
detained by the latter in Pontus for a number of years. There is thus
plenty of scope for the narration of stirring adventure and exciting
episode.
While boys will follow with the deepest interest the career of
Lucius, they will gain a clear insight into the history and life of
the ancient Roman world.