THE TWINS
"TESSA and Beppo are two of the best models I ever had," said Mr. Gray.
"They were perfectly quiet and did just what I wished. My picture is
finished and you must all come up and look at it."
It was a sunny afternoon nearly a week after the christening of Tessa's
baby brother. Lucy and Arthur were in the drawing-room with their mother
when Mr. Gray opened the door with these words.
There was a great scampering over the stairs as the two children tried
to see who could reach the studio first.
"Oh, how lovely, how lovely!" cried Lucy, who was the winner of the
race. She was standing in front of the canvas.
And what do you think she saw? A little flower-girl out on the Campagna.
She sat on the back of a donkey that certainly looked much like Pietro.
The girl's bare feet were almost hidden by two great bags of fruit
hanging from the donkey's sides.
In her lap was a basket of flowers that she would sell in the city
to-day. A boy who was the very image of Beppo held the donkey's bridle.
"How beautiful you have made Tessa's curls," said Lucy. "But they are
not a bit lovelier than hers really are. Look at the feather in Beppo's
pointed hat, Arthur, and the gaiters buttoned up to the knees. And see
the brown cloak thrown over his shoulders. It's the very way he wears
it."
"But you haven't noticed the herd of oxen in the distance," said the
modest little Tessa. She was quite abashed by the attention given to the
figures of her brother and herself. "They are going back to the
hillside for the night. What a lovely soft gray they are painted. I love
these dear gentle creatures. They could do great harm with their large,
spreading horns, but they are too kind for that."
"Yes, and see the shepherds standing in that field of daisies," said
Beppo. "More than once my father and I have stayed all night in just
such a place when the storm overtook us and we could not get home."
"How I love the mountains, far away in the soft light," said Mrs. Gray.
"They make a beautiful background for the rest of the picture."
"When you have admired it as much as you like, I think we had better
take a half-holiday and see some of the sights," proposed Mr. Gray. "It
is only two o'clock now; how soon can you all be ready?"
"In five minutes, can't we, mother?" said Lucy, who was always
delighted to have her father's company. He was usually so busy he could
not often go anywhere with them.
"Yes," said Mrs. Gray. "We will not delay. Get your hats, children; we
can come here to-morrow to enjoy the picture again."
This time they decided to walk, that the children might stop wherever
they wished.
"What is this show? Oh, do look!" cried Tessa, as they came to a big box
set up on the side of the street. A man could be seen partly hidden
behind the curtain. He was making some puppets act out a little play. He
changed his voice so as to represent first one, then another.
"That is a Punch and Judy show," said Arthur. "You may watch it while I
go over to that little flower-girl's stand. I am going to buy a bunch of
pansies for mother. I think that is the girl's grandfather standing by
her side. He must be lame, for he has a crutch. I suppose they are very
poor. Perhaps that child supports them both."
After Arthur had bought his flowers, they walked on till they came to a
shrine set up against the wall. It was a picture of Saint Mary and the
infant Jesus in a rough wooden frame.
Tessa and Beppo knelt before it and were very quiet for a minute or two.
"They are repeating some prayers," whispered Lucy to her brother, as
they passed slowly on. "When we rode back from Tessa's home the other
night, I noticed she suddenly stopped talking and shut her eyes when we
passed one of those shrines out on the Campagna."
"She is a good little Catholic."
"Arthur, look at that poor donkey. You can't see anything but his legs
and his nose. He is carrying such a big load of hay that the rest of his
body is out of sight."
Their father came up to them at this moment, and said: "How would you
like to take a carriage now and visit the Coliseum? We still have plenty
of time, and I have never been there with you."
"Good! good!" cried the children.
While they were waiting for the carriage they bought some of the big
Italian chestnuts at a stand where a boy stood roasting them for the
passers-by.
They had not ridden far before they came upon a crowd of people around a
fire.
"What are they doing?" asked Lucy.
"I think I know," Tessa answered. "They are heating pine-cones so as to
get the seeds. Did you ever eat them, Lucy? I am very fond of them."
"What a queer idea! But then, your pine-trees are different from any I
have seen growing at home. I don't doubt they are very nice."
When they drove up in front of the Coliseum, they saw before them one of
the grandest ruins in the world. It was built when Rome was still a
great city, and was made to hold eighty thousand people.
"Why do you speak of it as a 'sacred ruin,' father?" asked Arthur.
"Whenever we look at it we think of the Christians who suffered terrible
deaths there because of what they believed," Mr. Gray answered. "The
Coliseum was finished about seventy years after the birth of Jesus. It
was the place where the public games went on and where the wild beast
shows and fights were held.
"You can see that one side of the great wall of the building is still
standing in pretty good condition. It was made in the shape of an oval,
as you also see. Now, imagine an open space, or arena, in the middle,
and all around it rows on rows of seats, built one above the other.
"Listen! Can't you imagine you hear the roars of wild beasts that were
once kept in vaults beneath the building? When they were needed they
were drawn up in their cages into the arena.
"After the spectators had taken their seats, a signal was given and the
doors of the cages were flung open. The furious beasts would rush out
and frightful scenes would follow. The creatures were either set against
each other or against men who had been sentenced to death."
"And would people go to see such terrible things for their own
pleasure?" asked Tessa. Her face was full of pain at the idea.
"Yes, my dear. It showed that the city was in a bad state when the
Romans could take delight in seeing other creatures suffer, whether they
were men or beasts," was the answer.
"But I told you that we of to-day hold the place sacred to the
Christians. That is because in those sad times they were cruelly put to
death here. One good bishop, I remember, was killed by lions in this
very spot. But he went to his death cheerfully,--he was glad to be a
martyr to his faith."
"It looks bright and pleasant now," said Mrs. Gray. "It is hard to
believe that such dreadful things ever took place here. See the pretty
vines growing out between the stones in the wall; and listen to the
shouts of those boys as they run and jump among the ruins."
As the children seemed ready for a change, Mr. Gray proposed that they
should visit the Capitol, where they could see many beautiful statues;
after which, they must go home, for the afternoon was nearly gone.
That evening Lucy took her place on one arm of her father's chair and
told Tessa to take the other.
"Now, boys," said she, "stop talking and be quiet, and perhaps father
won't be too tired to tell us about the building of Rome. Will you,
father dear?"
Mr. Gray could never refuse his little daughter when she spoke like
that. And if this had not been enough, there were Tessa's great soft
eyes looking at him. They seemed to say, "Oh, do, please, tell us,"
although Tessa herself was too shy to ask him with her voice.
"About Rome, you say. All right.
"Once upon a time there were two little boys--"
"But when was this 'once upon a time?'" interrupted Arthur. "You began
the story of Æneas with the very same words."
"It was quite a while after Æneas settled in Italy. The two boys were
his great-great-great-grandchildren; thirteen times great, I believe.
Their mother was a vestal virgin,--that is, she was a maiden who tended
the sacred fire in the temple of the goddess Vesta. Such maidens were
treated with great honour, but they were not allowed to marry.
"So the people were very angry when the young girl claimed that the god
Mars was her husband, and that the two baby boys were his and her
children. So the poor girl was buried alive, while the helpless babies
were put in a trough and set afloat on the river Tiber."
"Poor little things! Were they drowned?" asked Beppo.
"No, for if they had been, there would be no more story to tell," said
Mr. Gray.
"It happened that the river was very high at that time and had
overflowed its banks, just as it sometimes does nowadays. The water
settled down soon afterward and the two boys were left high and dry on
the bank.
"And now what do you suppose came along and saw the children?"
"Some bad men," answered Arthur.
"The boys' mother, who had escaped from her grave," guessed Beppo.
"No. It was a mother wolf, who carried them home to her lair and fondled
and nursed them," was the answer.
"After a while a shepherd discovered the babies with their adopted
mother. He was a good man, with a kind heart, and took them home to his
wife. She gave them the names Romulus and Remus, and brought them up to
be shepherds like her husband."
"Oh, father, do you suppose all this was really true?" asked Lucy.
"No more than the story of Æneas. I think it is a legend handed down by
the people for thousands of years. But listen, for I have not finished,
and it spoils the story to be all the time wondering whether it is true
or not.
"When the twin brothers grew up, they fought in a battle that took place
between the shepherds of the boys' grandfather, who ought to have been
king, and those of the wrongful ruler of the country.
"Romulus and Remus did such brave deeds that they were noticed and taken
before their grandfather. After many questions, he discovered who they
really were. They gathered an army together, and marching out to battle,
seized the country in their grandfather's name.
"They must build a city now for themselves, they thought. They looked
over the seven hills on which Rome now stands. They said the city must
be on one of these hills, but which hill should it be? Romulus chose
one, and Remus another. They could not agree. Their grandfather said,
'Watch for a sign from the gods.' So Romulus took his place on the hill
he had chosen, and Remus on his.
"Remus was the first to see any sign from heaven. It was six vultures
flying. But Romulus soon saw twelve of these birds, and so the right
was given him to found the city on the Palatine Hill. The people chose
him king.
"But Remus was angry. He thought he should have been given the right to
found the city, as he had been the first to see birds.
"As the mud walls were being built around the place where the city was
to stand, he leaped over them in scorn. His brother looked upon this as
an insult, and killed him on the spot, saying, 'Every one who leaps over
the walls of my city shall perish even as you do.'
"After this sad deed the work went on. Romulus marked out his city in
the shape of a square. It is said that he did this with a plough. He
said, 'I will call my city Rome.'
"He lived here in a hut made of mud, with a thatched roof.
"That was the beginning of this wonderful city, so the people will tell
you."
Tessa nodded her head; she and Beppo had heard the story before, and
fully believed it to be true.
"How long ago do they say all this happened, father?" asked Lucy.
"They claim that Rome was built 753 years before the birth of Christ. If
it is now 1,903 years since his birth, how many years old is Rome?"
"Let me see: 753 and 1,903 are 2,656. It was 2,656 years ago. Whew! what
a long time," said Arthur. "Many things have happened since then."