re told that he had fallen in an
ambush of the enemy, discovered the foul treachery that had been
practiced when they saw him surrounded by Roman soldiers who had
evidently been slain by him. The Decemvirs prevented an immediate
outbreak only by burying Dentatus with great pomp, but the troops were
ready to rise in open mutiny upon the first provocation.

In the other army sent against the AEquians there was a well-known
centurion named Virginius. He had a beautiful daughter, betrothed to L.
Icilius, an eminent leader of the Plebeian order. The maiden had
attracted the notice of the Decemvir Appius Claudius. He at first tried
bribes and allurements, but when these failed he had recourse to an
outrageous act of tyranny. One morning, as Virginia, attended by her
nurse, was on the way to her school, which was in one of the booths
surrounding the forum, M. Claudius, a client of Appius, laid hold of the
damsel and claimed her as his slave. The cry of the nurse for help
brought a crowd around them, and all parties went before the Decemvir.
In his presence Marcus repeated the tale he had learnt, asserting that
Virginia was the child of one of his female slaves, and had been imposed
upon Virginius by his wife, who was childless. He farther stated that he
would prove this to Virginius as soon as he returned to Rome, and he
demanded that the girl should meantime be handed over to his custody.
Appius, fearing a riot, said that he would let the cause stand over till
the next day, but that then, whether her father appeared or not, he
should know how to maintain the laws. Straightway two friends of the
family made all haste to the camp, which they reached the same evening.
Virginius immediately obtained leave of absence, and was already on his
way to Rome, when the messenger of Appius arrived, instructing his
colleagues to detain him. Early next morning Virginius and his daughter
came into the forum with their garments rent. The father appealed to the
people for aid, and the women in their company sobbed aloud. But, intent
upon the gratification of his passions, Appius cared not for the misery
of the father and the girl, and hastened to give sentence, by which he
consigned the maiden to his client. Appius, who had brought with him a
large body of patricians and their clients, ordered his lictors to
disperse the mob. The people drew back, leaving Virginius and his
daughter alone before the judgment-seat. All help was gone. The unhappy