The Wilmingtonian., 1824-02-05
THE JEWELS OF CoRNELIA.
BY DR. BRENNAN.


"sEE!" said the mother of the Gracchi to a
Roman lady-she happened to be lady Of high
distinction, of a patrican famy SO indeed was
ICornelia, but she married plebeian. The lady
had called on Cornelia for the single purpose of
dazzling her eyes with the display of dia
mond nccklace she had that morning received
from her husband. She was the childless wife of
the Edile Lucretus yespillo. Cornelia at the
time had two boys, 1iberius and Caius. The neck
lace had been disclosed. Cornelia requested her
Ito stop for little. The boys were sent for they
entered without bowing their heads they ran to
their mother.---Tiberus took her by the hand,
and Caius clasped his arms around her neck. She
prcs.ed him to her happy heart, and" See" said
1.-The mother of the Grach, " these are ny Jewels
lilo this is ma necklace" The lady put up hers
lin the caskei, aud, with sort of smile, hastily
took her leave. Cornela remained at home.
;. Happy, or hapless mother ! which shall call
thee Daughter ofScipio, the first Atricanus, mo-
ther inaw of Scpio the second AfricaDus, and
better than both, as the wish of thy heart is to be
called, /" Mother of the Gracchi = but Of thy
twelve children, nine have died in infancy or car
lily youth-and of those remaining, Tiberius shall
be the buckler of the people, and thy Caius. now
caressing thee, shall be the sword of the people
lin rain for the people will in the last extrem-
ty, desert them. They shall be murdered by
Romans. Their mangled bodies shall float upon
1.-THE Tibcr. lIapless mother was about to say;
i. but thy awful mlgnaninity, thy matron majesty,
,lhaye represscd me. still see thee happy, and
when thou nearest of the sanctuaries in which thy
darling sons were slain, see thee elevatlng thy
arms, and exclaming, "THEY WE'RE roMBs woR'
4 IrHY OF rHR GRACcHi."
| For what were those men slain They were
slain, for attempting to preserve the genuine
spirit Of the constitution, and for wishing to make
1.-The happiness of the mass ofthe people, the foun-
ation for the safety of the state. Rome was split
into two parties parties which divide the world
at this moment-the rich and the poor' all 9TH
: er distinctions are nominal-this alone is real.
strange as it ought to sound, the people were o
obliged to act as party, and the commonwealth
was monopoly The rich, by various means,
''lgot possession of the lands destined by the con-
istitution and the law for the subsistence OF the
poor, and purchased by the sweat OF blood They
were not only dispossessed of their property, but
were not suffered even to cultivate as iaoorers,
the ground they had held as proprietors; slaves
were preferred to citizens-allens to natives.
: Tiberius, one of the jewels Of Cornelia, had
y|then attained manhood; and man he was, most
: pure in private life, ripe in the powers OF his
ylmind fixed in the purpose of his heart adorn-
ed with every virtue which nature in her bounty,
and education in her care, could pour down on
Humanity. "Anistia !" srid the president OF the
-Isenate, on entering his house." have just now
r|promised our daughter Claudia in marriage.
I.Why in such haste |" said the as,enished MO h.
: er shave you promised her to Tiberius Grac,
chus 7" This young man had just returned from
the seige of Numantia, where the great Sc,plo
(accursed he such greatness !! had, with the help
3 Of sixty Thousand men, cooped up and starved
-four thousand brave men, for only refusing TO bel
slaves for fighting in defence of their wves, their
'chillren, and their liberty; which, in despair Of
maintaining, they set fire to their own houses
and every living creature dying by famine, fir
r or the sword, left the victor of Numants no'hnEI
: to triumph over, but name. "joyless triumph
said he to himself, " wo to that glory which Can,
'boast only of its battles scpo has acquired a
r name for destroying men who would die rathef
ethan be slaves; let my better am''toh be the