atholguy

a quarry, and dragged ourselves through briar bushes in faithfully following the boundary, "as shown on the map," that we were perpetuating a custom which was initiated 700 years before the birth of Christ! But it was so.

The Ancient Romans had amongst them people who were a little blind as to what belonged to them and what belonged to their neighbours. Terminus, from his hill fortress on the Tarpeian Rock, was looked upon as the Divinity to preside over bounds and limits, and to punish all unlawful usurpation of land. He was not like some politicians of to-day, who have an idea that the landowner is a man to be robbed of his possessions. But that was probably because he was a "Divinity," and not of the same composition as these extravagant would-be law makers.

Numa Pompilius is responsible for placing Terminus on his pedestal. Possibly as a result of being born on the same day that Romulus laid the foundation of Rome, Numa grew up to be a great philosopher. At any rate he blossomed with the second King of Rome, and ruled over the people for forty-three years quite a long time.

Now Numa was undoubtedly a man possessed of considerable perspicuity. In 2oth century parlance he "took on" Terminus, and persuaded his subjects to worship him, telling them that the limits of their lands and estates were under the immediate inspection of heaven, of course, through the agency of his Divinity. Whether this was strictly correct or not, the people of the country assembled once a year with their families, crowned with garlands and flowers the stones which separated their different possessions, and made offerings to the God who presided over their boundaries.