On the twentieth of January Milo left Rome to pay a visit to Lanuvium, a Latin town on the Appian road, and about fifteen miles south of Rome.  It was a small town, much decayed from the old days when its revolt against Rome was thought to be a thing worth recording; but it contained one of the most famous temples of Italy, the dwelling of Juno the Preserver, whose image, in its goat-skin robe, its quaint, turned-up shoes, with spear in one hand and small shield in the other, had a peculiar sacredness.  Milo was a native of the place, and its dictator; and it was his duty on this occasion to nominate the chief priest of the temple.  He had been at a meeting of the Senate in the morning, and had remained till the close of the sitting.  Returning home he had changed his dress and shoes, waited a while, as men have to wait, says Cicero, while his wife was getting ready, and then started.  He traveled in a carriage his wife and a friend.  Several maid-servants and a troop of singing boys belonging to his wife followed.  Much was made of this great retinue of women and boys, as proving that Milo had no intention when he started of coming to blows with his great enemy.  But he had also with him a number of armed slaves and several gladiators, among whom were two famous masters of their art.  He had traveled about ten miles when he met Clodius, who had been delivering an address to the town council of Aricia, another Latin town, nearer to the capital than Lanuvium, and was now returning to Rome.  He was on horseback, contrary to his usual custom, which was to use a carriage, and he had with him thirty slaves armed with swords.  No person of distinction thought of traveling without such attendants.

The two men passed each other, but Milo’s gladiators fell out with the slaves of Clodius.  Clodius rode back and accosted the aggressors in a threatening manner.  One of the gladiators replied by wounding him in the shoulder with his sword.  A number of Milo’s slaves hastened back to assist their comrades.  The party of Clodius was overpowered, and Clodius himself, exhausted by his wound, took refuge in a roadside tavern, which probably marked the first stage out of Rome.  Milo, thinking that now he had gone so far he might go a little further and rid himself of his enemy forever, ordered his slaves to drag Clodius from his refuge and finish him.  This was promptly done.  Cicero indeed declared that the slaves did it without orders, and in the belief that their master had been killed.  But Rome believed the other story.  The corpse of the dead man lay for some time upon the road uncared for, for all his attendants had either fallen in the struggle or had crept into hiding-places.  Then a Roman gentleman on his way to the city ordered it to be put into his litter and taken to Rome, where it arrived just before nightfall.  It was laid out in state in the hall of his mansion, and his widow stood by showing the wounds to the sympathizing crowd which thronged to see his remains.  Next day the