ot for a
commercial centre. Almost too ideal. It grew too fast and became too
rich. When in the sixth century before our era, Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon destroyed Tyre, Carthage broke off all further relations with
the Mother Country and became an independent state--the great western
advance-post of the Semitic races.

Unfortunately the city had inherited many of the traits which for a
thousand years had been characteristic of the Phoenicians. It was a vast
business-house, protected by a strong navy, indifferent to most of the
finer aspects of life. The city and the surrounding country and the
distant colonies were all ruled by a small but exceedingly powerful
group of rich men, The Greek word for rich is "ploutos" and the Greeks
called such a government by "rich men" a "Plutocracy." Carthage was a
plutocracy and the real power of the state lay in the hands of a dozen
big ship-owners and mine-owners and merchants who met in the back
room of an office and regarded their common Fatherland as a business
enterprise which ought to yield them a decent profit. They were however
wide awake and full of energy and worked very hard.

As the years went by the influence of Carthage upon her neighbours
increased until the greater part of the African coast, Spain and certain
regions of France were Carthaginian possessions, and paid tribute, taxes
and dividends to the mighty city on the African Sea.

Of course, such a "plutocracy" was forever at the mercy of the crowd.
As long as there was plenty of work and wages were high, the majority of
the citizens were quite contented, allowed their "betters" to rule them
and asked no embarrassing questions. But when no ships left the harbor,
when no ore was brought to the smelting-ovens, when dockworkers and
stevedores were thrown out of employment, then there were grumblings and
there was a demand that the popular assembly be called together as in
the olden days when Carthage had been a self-governing republic.

To prevent such an occurrence the plutocracy was obliged to keep the
business of the town going at full speed. They had managed to do this
very successfully for almost five hun-dred years when they were greatly
disturbed by certain rumors which reached them from the western coast of
Italy. It was said that a little village on the banks of the Tiber had
suddenly risen to great power and was making itself the acknowledged
leader of all the Latin tribes who inhabited central Italy. It wa