which, in after years, Rome reaped the bitter fruits.

The Adriatic Sea was at that time infested with pirates from Illyria,
the country north of Epirus, just over the sea to the east of Italy,
and as Roman towns suffered from their inroads, an embassy was sent to
make complaint. One of these peaceful messengers was murdered by
direction of the queen of the country, Teuta, by name, and of course
war was declared, which ended in the overthrow of the treacherous
queen. Her successor, however, when he thought that the Romans were too
much occupied with other matters to oppose him successfully, renewed
the piratical incursions (B.C. 219), and in spite of the other wars
this brought out a sufficient force from Rome. The Illyrian sovereign
was forced to fly, and all his domain came under the Roman power.

Meantime the Romans had begun to think of the extensive tracts to the
north acquired from the Gauls, and in 232 B.C., a law was passed
dividing them among the poorer people and the veterans, in the
expectation of attracting inhabitants to that part of Italy. The
barbarians were alarmed by the prospect of the approach of Roman
civilization, and in 225, united to make a new attack upon their old
enemies. When it was rumored at Rome that the Gauls were preparing to
make a stand and probably intended to invade the territory of their
southern neighbors, the terrible days of the Allia were vividly brought
to mind and the greatest consternation reigned. The Sibylline or other
sacred books were carefully searched for counsel in the emergency, and
in obedience to instructions therein found, two Gauls and two Greeks (a
man and a woman of each nation) were buried alive in the Forum Boarium,
[Footnote: The Forum Boarium, though one of the largest and most
celebrated public places in the city, was not a regular market
surrounded with walls, but an irregular space bounded by the Tiber on