was more frequented or more famous.  Verres was indifferent to such considerations.  He stripped the temple of its finest statues, and loaded a merchant ship which he had hired with the booty.  But this time he was not lucky enough to secure it.  The islanders, though they had discovered the theft, did not, indeed, venture to complain.  They thought it was the doing of the governor, and a governor, though his proceedings might be impeached after his term of office, was not a person with whom it was safe to remonstrate.  But a terrible storm suddenly burst upon the island.  The governor’s departure was delayed.  To set sail in such weather was out of the question.  The sea was indeed so high that the town became scarcely habitable.  Then Verres’ ship was wrecked, and the statues were found cast upon the shore.  The governor ordered them to be replaced in the temple, and the storm subsided as suddenly as it had arisen.

On his return to Rome Dolabella was impeached for extortion.  With characteristic baseness Verres gave evidence against him, evidence so convincing as to cause a verdict of guilty.  But he thus secured his own gains, and these he used so profusely in the purchase of votes that two or three years afterwards he was elected praetor.  The praetors performed various functions which were assigned to them by lot.  Chance, or it may possibly have been contrivance, gave to Verres the most considerable of them all.  He was made “Praetor of the City;” that is, a judge before whom a certain class of very important causes were tried.  Of course he showed himself scandalously unjust.  One instance of his proceedings may suffice.

A certain Junius had made a contract for keeping the temple of Castor in repair.  When Verres came into office he had died, leaving a son under age.  There had been some neglect, due probably to the troubles of the times, in seeing that the contracts had been duly executed, and the Senate passed a resolution that Verres and one of his fellow-praetors should see to the matter.  The temple of Castor came under review like the others, and Verres, knowing that the original contractor was dead, inquired who was the responsible person.  When he heard of the son under age he recognized at once a golden opportunity.  It was one of the maxims which he had laid down for his own guidance, and which he had even been wont to give out for the benefit of his friends, that much profit might be made out of the property of wards.  It had been arranged that the guardian of the young Junius should take the contract into his own hands, and, as the temple was in excellent repair, there was no difficulty in the way.  Verres summoned the guardian to appear before him.  “Is there any thing,” he asked, “that your ward has not made good, and which we ought to require of him?” “No,” said he, “every thing is quite right; all the statues and offerings are there, and the fabric is in excellent repair.”  From the praetor’s point of view this was not satisfactory;