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Show MPS" WHO MADE HISTORY I JAMES C. YOUNG. g 1(c) by McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) THE WORST WOMAN OF ROME. TT IS difficult to read Roman history Without a shudder at the cruelty of its emperors, but we may well add another an-other shudder for that at its empresses. empress-es. The woi-st woman Rome ever knew was Messalina Valeria, the wife of Claudius. This Claudius lacked character, lacked Intelligence, lacked everything. When he came to the throne in the early days of the Christian Chris-tian era It was a woman who really ruled, and that woman was Messalina. She seems to have had little consideration consider-ation for Claudius, and did as she pleased, boldly. Her excesses shocked even Roman society, which had fallen away from the stern days when the Roman lived austerely, and had entered en-tered upon all the soft ways of the East. Women were afraid to attend a banquet where Messalina was present pres-ent unless their husbands be snatched away from them, If they caught her fancy. And it was whispered that many men whom she favored in the evening were murdered In the morning, morn-ing, like the wives of the famous Harouu-al-Raschid in the Arabian Nights; Messallna's taste varied from the first men in the state to the lowest. A slave, a gladiator, a trainer of animals ani-mals for the arena, night catch her eye and be raised to sudden greatness, loaded with gold, handsomely housed and plied with rare wines. Then, in a few days, they disappeared, none knew where. At last Messallna's heart turned to C. Silius, whom Juvenal tells us was "a young noble of great beauty." But ihe heart of Silius chanced to belong to another woman, his wife, and the wife opposed Messalina by all the wiles at her command. In first one way, then another, she frustrated her. When Silius was sent for he had gone away, and when he returned she forgot for-got the message. The rage of Messalina may be Imagined, Im-agined, and this opposition also put a higher price upon Silius. Claudius determined upon a trip to Ostia, leaving leav-ing Messalina in Jtome. Here was her opportunity. She took it, compelling com-pelling Silius . to divorce his wife, which merely required the writing of a letter in Rome, saying that the husband hus-band dimissed the woman. Then Messalina Mes-salina publicly went through the ceremony cere-mony of marriage with Silius, although she already was married to the emperor. em-peror. When Claudius heard of these events he exclaimed, "Am I still emperor?" fearing that Messalina had overthrown him. But her thoughts had been of things other than power, and Claudius was assured that he still wore the purple. pur-ple. Messalina started for Ostia to persuade him, and might have succeeded, succeed-ed, had not one of Claudius1 freedmen ordered her execution, which took place in A. D. 4G. |