When he reached the camp, he quickly roused the soldiers by the tale of Lucretia’s wrongs.
They swore never again to own Tarquin or any of his race as king, and at once prepared to march to Rome.
Meanwhile, the king had reached the city only to find the gates closed, and the citizens, stern and resolute, manning the walls. No threats, no promises would make them open to the king whom they had determined to dethrone.
Tarquin, knowing that if he lingered he would have to face the army led by Brutus, turned away from the city and hastened to seek refuge in Etruria.
The Romans, having thus expelled their king, appointed a day to be celebrated as the Feast of Flight, or the Feast of the Expulsion of the Kings. This feast was held each year on the 24th February.
CHAPTER XXII
THE SONS OF BRUTUS
After Tarquin the Proud had been driven away from Rome, the people determined that they would never again be ruled by kings.
They resolved to follow the wise laws of Servius, who had bidden them choose each year two men to rule, giving them equal power, the right to make laws, and to see that justice was done in the land.
The two men, chosen by the Senate and the people, were called Consuls.