It was no novel sight in Rome for Carthaginian prisoners to march through the streets, for in the previous campaigns large numbers of Carthaginians had been captured; but since Hannibal crossed the Alps and carried his victorious army through Italy, scarce a prisoner had been brought to Rome, while tens of thousands of Romans had fallen into the hands of Hannibal.  The lower class of the population of Rome were at all times rough and brutal, and the captives were assailed with shouts of exultation, with groans and menaces, and with bitter curses by those whose friends and relatives had fallen in the wars.

The better classes at the windows and from the housetops abstained from any demonstration, but watched the captives as they passed with a critical eye, and with expressions of admiration at their fearless bearing and haughty mien.

“Truly, that youth who marches at their head might pose for a Carthaginian Apollo, Sempronius,” a Roman matron said as she sat at the balcony of a large mansion at the entrance to the Forum.  “I have seldom seen a finer face.  See what strength his limbs show, although he walks as lightly as a girl.  I have a fancy to have him as a slave; he would look well to walk behind me and carry my mantle when I go abroad.  See to it, Sempronius; as your father is the military praetor, you can manage this for me without trouble.”

“I will do my best, Lady Flavia,” the young Roman said; “but there may be difficulties.”

“What difficulties?” Flavia demanded imperiously.  “I suppose the Carthaginians will as usual be handed over as slaves; and who should have a better right to choose one among them than I, whose husband, Tiberius Gracchus, is Consul of Rome?”

“None assuredly,” Sempronius replied.  “It was only because, as I hear, that youth is a cousin of Hannibal himself, and, young as he is, the captain of his bodyguard, and I thought that my father might intend to confine him in the prison for better security.”

Flavia waved her hand imperiously.

“When did you ever hear of a slave escaping from Rome, Sempronius?  Are not the walls high and strong, and the sentries numerous?  And even did they pass these, would not the badge of slavery betray them at once to the first who met them without, and they would be captured and brought back?  No, I have set my mind upon having him as a slave.  He will go well with that Gaulish maiden whom Postumius sent me from the banks of the Po last autumn.  I like my slaves to be as handsome as my other surroundings, and I see no reason why I should be baulked of my fancy.”

“I will do my best to carry out your wishes, Lady Flavia,” Sempronius replied deferentially, for the wife of the consul was an important personage in Rome.  Her family was one of the most noble and powerful in the city, and she herself —­ wealthy, luxurious, and strong willed —­ was regarded as a leader of society at Rome.