with supreme power; his name was Fabius. His courage was well known, and his prudence was equal to it. He was careful in forming his plans, and firm in keeping to what he considered the right. Thinking that it would be more to his interest to tire and wear out Hannibal's troops, than to fight them, he would not let any thing tempt him to come to a battle. In vain Hannibal tried every means of making him fight; he even suffered himself to be thought cowardly, ignorant, and faithless, he would not fight when he felt he was acting wisely in refusing to do so. At last, he was obliged to leave his army for a time, and, in his absence, his master of the horse, Minutius, disobeyed his orders of not giving the enemy battle, gained some trifling advantages over the Carthaginians, and by general consent was made equal in power to the dictator, Fabius, and entrusted with the command of half the army. Minutius resolved now not to follow the prudent advice of Fabius; he allowed Hannibal to lead him into a battle, in which he must have been totally defeated, had not Fabius fortunately arrived. That general had been to Rome to procure money to ransom the Roman prisoners, and being refused it, had sold his own estate to raise it.

He was both surprised and grieved at finding what had happened, but immediately went to the assistance of his imprudent officer, who, feeling his folly, confessed it to Fabius, whom he called by the name of father, and giving up his power, placed himself under his direction. Fabius soon after laid down his office, and Æmilius and Varro were appointed. These new

commanders differed in character like Fabius and Minutius; Æmilius was wise and cautious, Varro vain and presuming; but I have now come to the battle of Cannae, so pray tell me, Anne, if you have liked my hero?"

"Indeed, brother, I admire and like both your heroes, for it is so difficult to confess ourselves in the wrong, that I think Minutius shewed as much real bravery as Fabius. What do you

say, mamma, am I right?"

"I think you are, Anne; those persons are indeed brave who acknowledge their faults, and misfortunes cannot be considered such to those whose lives are made better by them."

"Fabius was a true hero too, mamma, for he suffered in order to do right."

"He did, my love. When, shortly after, Fabius had resigned his office, Æmilius and Varro were appointed consuls; like the commanders

of whom Philip has just been speaking, their characters were very different; the first experienced and cautious, while Varro was vain and rash. They commanded by turns, and you may guess the consequences. Varro engaged in battle, when he had the power of leading, and the Romans were totally defeated. After doing all that a brave man could do for his country, Æmilius was found by Lentulus, half dead, sitting upon a stone, unable to fly from his enemies, who he expected would come upon him every moment. The generous Lentulus imme

diately urged him to mount his own horse and let him defend him from his pursuers, but Æmilius was not to be persuaded to save his life at the expense of that of another: he thanked his friend, but desired him to save himself, and tell the senate to fortify Rome against Hannibal. Before Lentulus was out of sight, the enemy came up, and he saw Æmilius expire covered with wounds. So complete had been Hannibal's victory, that it was expected he would march directly to Rome, and very great was the terror of the inhabitants; but from some reasons which are not known, the Carthaginian general led his troops to Capua, to pass the winter in that city, where the luxury they gave

themselves up to, did what neither their long march, their hardships, nor the Roman arms had been able to effect,-it destroyed the army. Drunkenness and riot ruined their health, and robbed them of their courage and their character."

"Sad indeed, mamma; but what became of the unhappy Varro? did he die, or did he return to Rome to be punished?"

Neither, my dear Anne, he escaped death with a very few of his troops, and the Romans shewed their generosity, by thanking him for the courage he had shown, instead of blaming him for want of that prudence and humility which he ought to have had."

"That was generous of them indeed, mamma." "The good fortune of Hannibal," resumed her mother, "is now going to leave him; from this time his ill success was as remarkable as his former prosperity had been. At Carthage, his enemies prevented the necessary supplies of men and money from being sent to him; while the Romans, whose courage seemed to rise as they were defeated, not only defended themselves at home, but sent troops into Spain and Sardinia, made war against Philip, king of Macedon, with success, and took the city of

Syracuse, which was defended by the celebrated mathematician, Archimedes. Marcellus, the

Roman general, it is said, had given orders that his life should be spared, but he was put to death by a Roman soldier, being too much engaged in working a problem, to think of the confusion around him."

"Do you think that possible, mamma?"

"It seems improbable, Anne; but you must remember that he was engaged in studies which enabled him to defend both himself and his fellow citizens. By means of burning glasses, he had set fire to the enemy's ships, some hundred yards distant, and his machines had raised their vessels in the air, and then allowing them to fall, had dashed them to pieces. We may conclude, therefore, that his attention, when engaged in study, would be very intense, which, joined to the confusion which must have existed for a long time, might render him insensible to what was immediately passing, until too late. At the time we are speaking of, the younger Scipio came into notice; this young man, as famous for his virtues as for his abilities, had, at the battle of Ticinum, saved his father's life, at the hazard of his own. After the unfortunate battle of Cannae, he had shown his bold