“He was a great orator.”
“Did he go to Congress?”
“There was no Congress in Rome. However, he was a consul—that is, one of the two rulers or presidents of Rome.”
“I’ll bet he couldn’t talk as well as Joseph L. Higgins, of Omaha. Why, that man can get up in a meeting and talk you deaf, dumb, and blind. The words will flow like a cataract.”
“I don’t think Cicero could talk like that,” said Bernard, smiling, “but I have read some of his orations, and they were very eloquent.”
“I’d like to match Joseph L. Higgins against him. I’d like to hear a specimen of Cicero’s speeches and judge for myself.”
“Here is a specimen,” said Bernard—“the beginning of his speech against Catiline: ‘Quousque tandem abutere Catilina patientia nostra.’”
“Why, that’s nothing but gibberish,” said Amos, in great disgust. “If Joseph L. Higgins should talk like that the people would fire bad eggs at him.”
“I hope you don’t object to visiting Cicero’s villa, Mr. Sanderson?”
“Oh, no, I’m ready to go wherever you and Bernard do. I suppose I must do the same as other people.”