Tudor Jenks

“ But, after all, most bores cure themselves. When the novelty was dimmed the invitations to banquets began to dwindle. The flute and torch accompaniment came to be a standing joke in Rome, and the street boys had a fashion of falling in behind, forming a rag-tag and bobtail procession behind the unhappy Admiral, imitating the nervous flute-player's notes and throwing things at the torch. So the better class of Romans gradually dropped Duillius from their lists. ”

“ The other consul, one of the Scipios, was wild to build a Roman fleet; and as soon as it was part done, Scipio sailed out amid a lot of cheering to chase the Carthaginians from the bosom of the deep.
Duillius, being a sound and level-headed business man, was perfectly willing to let Scipio have the job, since Duillius had seen other brash young Romans undertake the thing before. Duillius said: "Good for you, Scip, old man! Give it to him—good' and hard. Sic 'em, boy! Meanwhile I'll run the primaries here at home and look after our fences. Good luck, old man!" ”

“ So they voted for Duillius something out of the ordinary. They made a law that whenever Duillius should go out to a banquet, he should be attended by a torch-bearer and a flute-player—all at the public expense. The vote was unanimous. If you don't believe it, you can look it up for yourself in any of the histories. It is a cold fact. ”