gracious. She would willingly do what she could, and would talk to the
praetor about it. The deputation must come again the next day and hear
how she had succeeded. They came again, but found that nothing could be
done. Verres felt sure that a large sum of money was to be got out of
the proceeding, and resolutely refused any compromise.

They next made an offer of about two thousand pounds. This again was
rejected. Verres resolved that he would put up the contract to auction,
and did his best that the guardians should have no notice of it. Here,
however, he failed. They attended the auction and made a bid. Of course
the lowest bidder ought to have been accepted, so long as he gave
security for doing the work well. But Verres refused to accept it. He
knocked down the contract to himself at a price of more than five
thousand pounds, and this though there were persons willing to do it for
less than a sixth of that sum. As a matter of fact very little was
done. Four of the columns were pulled down and built up again with the
same stones. Others were whitewashed; some had the old cement taken out
and fresh put in.[1] The highest estimate for all that could possibly be
wanted was less than eight hundred pounds.

[Footnote 1: "Pointed," I suppose.]

His year of office ended, Verres was sent as governor to Sicily. By
rights he should have remained there twelve months only, but his
successor was detained by the Servile war in Italy, and his stay was
thus extended to nearly three years, three years into which he crowded
an incredible number of cruelties and robberies. Sicily was perhaps the
wealthiest of all the provinces. Its fertile wheat-fields yielded
harvests which, now that agriculture had begun to decay in Italy,
provided no small part of the daily bread of Rome. In its cities,