King Porsenna was greatly moved by the danger he had escaped, and perceiving the obstinate determination of the Romans, he offered to make peace.  The Romans gladly gave ear to his words, for they were hard pressed, and they consented to give back all the land which they had won from the Etruscans beyond the Tiber.  And they gave hostages to the king in pledge that they would obey him as they had promised, ten youths and ten maidens.  But one of the maidens, named Cloelia, had a man’s heart, and she persuaded all her fellows to escape from the king’s camp and swim across the Tiber.  At first King Porsenna was wroth; but then he was much amazed, even more than at the deeds of Horatius and Mucius.  So when the Romans sent back Cloelia and her fellow-maidens—­for they would not break faith with the king—­he bade her return home again, and told her she might take whom she pleased of the youths who were hostages; and she chose those who were yet boys, and restored them to their parents.

So the Roman people gave certain lands to young Mucius, and they set up an equestrian statue to the bold Cloelia at the top of the Sacred Way.  And King Porsenna returned home; and thus the third and most formidable attempt to bring back Tarquin failed.

When Tarquin now found that he had no hopes of further assistance from Porsenna and his Etruscan friends, he went and dwelt at Tusculum, where Mamilius Octavius, his son-in-law, was still chief.  Then the thirty Latin cities combined together and made this Octavius their dictator, and bound themselves to restore their old friend and ally, King Tarquin, to the sovereignty of Rome.

P. Valerius, who was called “Poplicola,” was now dead, and the Romans looked about for some chief worthy to lead them against the army of the Latins.  Poplicola had been made consul four times, and his compeers acknowledged him as their chief, and all men submitted to him as to a king.  But now the two consuls were jealous of each other; nor had they power of life and death within the city, for Valerius (as we saw) had taken away the axes from the fasces.  Now this was one of the reasons why Brutus and the rest made two consuls instead of one king:  for they said that neither one would allow the other to become tyrant; and since they only held office for one year at a time, they might be called on to give account of their government when their year was at an end.

Yet though this was a safeguard of liberty in times of peace, it was hurtful in time of war, for the consuls chosen by the people in their great assemblies were not always skilful generals; or if they were so, they were obliged to lay down their command at the year’s end.