of the triumphal procession by which their victories were to be honored
on their return. It was with this view that Caesar brought Arsinoe from
Egypt; and he had retained her as his captive at Rome until his
conquests were completed and the time for his triumph arrived. She, of
course, formed a part of the triumphal train on the _Egyptian_ day. She
walked immediately before the chariot in which Caesar rode. She was in
chains, like any other captive, though her chains in honor of her lofty
rank, were made of gold.

The effect, however, upon the Roman population of seeing the unhappy
princess, overwhelmed as she was with sorrow and chagrin, as she moved
slowly along in the train, among the other emblems and trophies of
violence and plunder, proved to be by no means favorable to Caesar. The
population were inclined to pity her, and to sympathize with her in her
sufferings. The sight of her distress recalled too, to their minds, the
dereliction from duty which Caesar had been guilty of in his yielding to
the enticements of Cleopatra, and remaining so long in Egypt to the
neglect of his proper duties as a Roman minister of state. In a word,
the tide of admiration for Caesar's military exploits which had been
setting so strongly in his favor, seemed inclined to turn, and the city
was filled with murmurs against him even in the midst of his triumphs.

In fact, the pride and vainglory which led Caesar to make his triumphs
more splendid and imposing than any former conqueror had ever enjoyed,
caused him to overact his part so as to produce effects the reverse of
his intentions. The case of Arsinoe was one example of this. Instead of
impressing the people with a sense of the greatness of his exploits in
Egypt, in deposing one queen and bringing her captive to Rome, in order
that he might place another upon the throne in her stead, it only
reproduced anew the censures and criminations which he had deserved by
his actions there, but which, had it not been for the pitiable spectacle
of Arsinoe in the train, might have been forgotten.

There were other examples of a similar character. There were the feasts,
for instance. From the plunder which Caesar had obtained in his various
campaigns, he expended the most enormous sums in making feasts and
spectacles for the populace at the time of his triumph. A large portion
of the populace was pleased, it is true, with the boundless indulgences
thus offered to them; but the better part of t