of a refusal. He concluded that the former danger was
on the whole the least to be apprehended, and he accordingly
divorced his wife, and gave himself up wholly to Messalina's will.

This arrangement being made, all things for a time went on smoothly
and well. Claudius himself lived a very secluded life, and paid very
little attention to his wife's pursuits or pleasures. He lived
sometimes in retirement in his palace, devoting his time to his
studies, or to the plans and measures of government. He seems to
have honestly desired to promote the welfare and prosperity of the
republic, and he made many useful regulations and laws which
promised to be conducive to this end. Sometimes he was absent for a
season from the city,--visiting fortresses and encampments, or
inspecting the public works, such as aqueducts and canals, which
were in progress of construction. He was particularly interested in
certain operations which he planned and conducted at the mouths of
the Tiber for forming a harbor there. The place was called Ostia,
that word in the Latin tongue denoting _mouths_. To form a port
there he built two long piers, extending them in a curvilinear form
into the sea, so as to inclose a large area of water between them,
where ships could lie at anchor in safety. Light-houses were built
at the extremities of these piers. It is a curious circumstance that
in forming the foundation of one of these piers, the engineers whom
Claudius employed sunk an immense ship which Caligula had formerly
caused to be built for the purpose of transporting an obelisk from
Egypt to Rome,--the obelisk which now stands in front of St. Peter's
Church, and is the admiration and wonder of all visitors to Rome. As
the obelisk was formed of a single stone, a vessel of a very large
size and of an unusual construction was necessary for the
conveyance of it; and when this ship had once delivered its
monstrous burden, it had no longer any useful function to perform on
the surface of the sea, and the engineers accordingly filled it with
stones and gravel, and sunk it at the mouth of the Tiber, to form
part of the foundation of one of Claudius's piers. As it is found
that there is no perceptible decay, even for centuries, in timber
that is kept constantly submerged in the water of the sea, it is not
impossible that the vast hulk, unless marine insects have devoured
it and carried it away, lies imbedded where Claudius placed it,
still.

While the emperor