swam off to two merchant vessels, which received them on board. The horsemen bade the crew bring the ship to land or throw Marius overboard; but, moved by his tears and entreaties, they refused to surrender him. The sailors soon changed their minds; and, fearing to keep Marius, they cast anchor at the mouth of the Liris, where they persuaded him to disembark, and rest himself from his fatigues till a wind should rise; but they had no sooner landed him than they immediately sailed away. Marius was now quite alone amid the swamps and marshes through which the Liris flows. With difficulty he reached the hut of an old man, who concealed him in a hole near the river, and covered him with reeds; but hearing shortly afterward the noise of his pursuers, he crept out of his hiding-place and threw himself into the marsh. He was discovered, and dragged out of the water; and, covered with mud, and with a rope round his neck, was delivered up to the authorities of Minturnae. The magistrates then deliberated whether they should comply with the instruction that had been sent from Rome to all the municipal towns to put Marius to death as soon as they found him. After some consultation they resolved to obey it, and sent a Cimbrian slave to carry out their orders. The room in which the old general was confined was dark; and, to the frightened barbarian, the eyes of Marius seemed to dart forth fire, and from the darkness a terrible voice shouted out, "Man! durst thou slay C. Marius?" The barbarian immediately threw down his sword, and rushed out of the house, exclaiming, "I can not kill C. Marius!" Straightway there was a revulsion of feeling among the inhabitants of Minturnae. They repented of their ungrateful conduct toward a man who had saved Rome and Italy. They got ready a ship for his departure, provided him with every thing necessary for the voyage, and, with prayers and wishes for his safety, placed him on board. The wind carried him to the island of AEnaria (now Ischia), where he found the rest of his friends; and from thence he set sail for Africa, which he reached in safety. He landed near the site of Carthage, but he had scarcely put his foot on shore before the Praetor Sextilius sent an officer to bid him leave the country, or else he would carry into execution the decree of the Senate. This last blow almost unmanned Marius: grief and indignation for a time deprived him of speech, and his only reply was, "Tell the Praetor that you have seen C. Marius a fugitive sitting on the ruins of Carthage." Shortly afterward Marius was joined by his son, and they crossed over to the island of Cercina, where they remained unmolested.