His law about the treasury was also much approved.  It being necessary that the citizens should contribute taxes to carry on the war, as he did not wish to touch the revenue himself or to allow his friends to do so, and was even unwilling that the public money should be brought into a private man’s house, he appointed the Temple of Saturn to be used as a treasury, which it is to this day, and he appointed also two of the younger citizens as quaestors, to manage the accounts.  The first quaestors were Publius Venturius and Marcus Minucius, and a large sum of money was collected, for a hundred and thirty thousand persons were taxed, although orphans and widows were exempted.

When he had settled all these matters, he nominated Lucretius, the father of Lucretia, as his colleague, and gave up the fasces to him as a mark of respect, because he was the elder man.  This custom, that the elder of the two consuls has the fasces carried before him, remains to this day.  As Lucretius died shortly afterwards, a new election took place, and Marcus Horatius was elected, and acted as Poplicola’s colleague for the remainder of his year of office.

XIII.  As Tarquin was stirring up the Etruscans to a second war with Rome, a great portent is said to have taken place.  While he was yet king, and had all but finished the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, he, either in accordance with some prophecy or otherwise, ordered certain Etruscan workmen at Veii to make an earthenware four-horse chariot to be placed on the top of the temple.  Shortly afterwards he was driven from the throne, and the chariot, which had been modelled in clay, was placed in the furnace.  Here it did not, as clay generally does, shrink and become smaller in the fire, as the wet dries out of it, but swelled to so great a size, and became so hard and strong that it could only be got out of the furnace by taking off the roof and sides.  As this was decided by the prophets to be a sign from Heaven that those who possessed the chariot would be prosperous and fortunate, the Veientines determined not to give it up to the Romans, arguing that it belonged to Tarquin, not to those who had cast him out.

A few days afterwards there were horse-races there; everything proceeded as usual, but as the driver of the winning chariot, after receiving his crown as victor, was driving slowly out of the circus, the horses suddenly became excited for no apparent cause, and, either guided by Heaven or by chance, rushed towards Rome, their driver with them, for he finding it impossible to stop them was forced to let them whirl him along until they reached the Capitol, where they threw him down near what is called the Ratumenan Gate.  The Veientines, struck with fear and wonder at this event, permitted the workmen to deliver up the earthenware chariot to the Romans.