nearly two years Roman wives, came rushing out, with their little
children in their arms and their hair flying, begging their fathers and
husbands not to kill one another. This led to the making of a peace, and
it was agreed that the Sabines and Romans should make but one nation,
and that Romulus and Tatius should reign together at Rome. Romulus lived
on the Palatine Hill, Tatius on the Tarpeian, and the valley between was
called the Forum, and was the market-place, and also the spot where all
public assemblies were held. All the chief arrangements for war and
government were believed by the Romans to have been laws of Romulus.
However, after five years, Tatius was murdered at a place called
Lavinium, in the middle of a sacrifice, and Romulus reigned alone till
in the middle of a great assembly of his soldiers outside the city, a
storm of thunder and lightning came on, and every one hurried home, but
the king was nowhere to be found; for, as some say, his father Mars had
come down in the tempest and carried him away to reign with the gods,
while others declared that he was murdered by persons, each of whom
carried home a fragment of his body that it might never be found. It
matters less which way we tell it, since the story of Romulus was quite
as much a fable as that of Æneas; only it must be remembered as the
Romans themselves believed it. They worshipped Romulus under the name of
Quirinus, and called their chief families Quirites, both words coming
from _ger_ (a spear); and the she-wolf and twins were the favorite
badge of the empire. The Capitoline Hill, the Palatine, and the Forum all
still bear the same names.

[Illustration]