GAIUS MUCIUS BURNS HIS RIGHT HAND
Lars Porsenna had been repulsed, but he had not been defeated. He now
besieged Rome so closely, that the people were soon suffering all the
horrors of famine.
Then a youth, named Gaius Mucius, determined to save Rome by killing
Lars Porsenna.
Gaining the consent of the Senate to his scheme, he disguised himself
as a countryman, and found his way into the camp of the enemy. Beneath
the folds of his simple dress, Mucius had concealed a dagger.
It had been easy to enter the camp, but now the lad was in a difficult
position, for he did not know the king, nor did he dare to ask any one
to point him out.
But seeing a courtier wearing a purple robe and distributing money to
the soldiers, he believed he had found him. Drawing near, he stealthily
drew his dagger and stabbed--not Lars Porsenna, but his treasurer.
Before he had time to escape, Mucius was seized and taken before the
king.
The king threatened the young noble with torture, even with death,
in order to make him reveal the condition of the Roman army. But
Mucius thrust his right hand into a flame that was alight on an altar
beside him, and held it there until it was burned to ashes. This he
did without flinching, that Lars Porsenna might see that he feared no
torture. As for death, when it came, he would bear it as a Roman should.
But the king, amazed at the courage of the youth, forgot his anger, and
bade him return unharmed to Rome.
Then Mucius, touched by the kindness of the king, told him that three
hundred Roman youths had sworn to take his life, and would not rest
until one of them had succeeded in doing so.
Lars Porsenna was a wise king. He listened to the warning given to him
by Mucius, and offered terms to the starving city, promising if they
were accepted to withdraw with his army. But the terms were hard, for
the king demanded that Tarquin’s possessions should be sent to him,
that the Romans should give up all their dominions on the right bank of
the Tiber, that they should not use iron save to cultivate the ground,
and that ten noble youths and maidens should be sent to him as hostages.
With starvation staring them in the face, the Romans were forced to
agree to these terms, and the hostages that he had demanded were sent
to the king as a pledge of good faith.
Among the hostages was a noble maiden named Clœlia. In the Etruscan
camp she pined for the freedom of her own home, for the joy of seeing
her own friends, and at length she determined to escape.
So one night, when it grew dark, she slipped out of the camp unnoticed,
and found her way to the edge of the river.
Without hesitation she plunged into the water and swam across to the
other side--to home, to freedom.
But a sad disappointment was in store for the maiden. The Romans
refused to allow her to stay in Rome, for although they admired her
courage, their treaty with Lars Porsenna must be kept.
So poor Clœlia was sent back to the king. But he, pleased that the
Romans had behaved so honourably, set Clœlia free, and allowed her to
take many of the other hostages back with her to Rome.
Soon after this, Lars Porsenna refused to help Tarquin the Proud any
longer, and breaking up his camp on the Janiculum he went back to his
own country. His tents, which were full of corn and provisions, he
gave to the starving city.
So grateful were the Romans for the food that they rewarded Lars
Porsenna with royal gifts--a throne and sceptre of ivory, a golden
crown, and a purple robe.
And these gifts the king well deserved, for he had proved a generous
foe.