CATKIN 



123(1 



CATO 



soon came into prominence politically, serving 

 as quaestor in 77 B.C., praetor in 68 B.C. and 

 governor of Africa the following year. 



On his return to Rome in 66 B. c. he planned 

 to gain the consulship, but was impeached for 

 misgoverning his province and was thus dis- 

 qualified. Disappointed in his hopes and bur- 

 dened with debts, he plotted with several other 

 dissolute young nobles to murder the chief 

 men of the state and to seize the power for 

 themselves. At this time Cicero, the great 

 orator, was consul. Having learned of the 

 conspiracy, he placed the city in a state of 

 defense, and in the senate chamber, with 

 Catiline himself present, exposed the whole 

 affair in his famous First Oration Against 

 Catiline. The guilty leader, stunned by the 

 eloquence of the consul, attempted a feeble 

 reply, and then fled from the chamber, with 

 cries of "traitor" and "parricide" ringing in his 

 ears. 



He escaped from Rome during the night and 

 hurried to his camp in Etruria. Many of his 

 followers deserted when they heard the news 

 of the suppression of the conspiracy and of 

 the execution of the leaders who had remained 

 in Rome. In 62 B. c., Catiline's force was de- 

 feated near Pistoria in Etruria, by a Roman 

 army under Antonius, and he himself was 

 slain while fighting with desperate courage. 



Related Subjects. The story of Catiline will 

 be considerably extended by reference to the fol- 

 lowing titles : 

 Cicero 

 Consul 



Quaestor 

 Sulla 



Praetor 



(a) Willow 



(b) Seaside alder 



CATKINS 



(c) Quaking asp 

 (d) 



American white birch 



CAT 'KIN, a tail-like form of blossoms con- 

 sisting of flowers of one sex, without petals, 



covered with modified leaves which shield them 

 until pollination. The pussy willow catkins, 

 demure little heralds of spring, are small and 

 oval, grayish-white and silky. Those of the 

 shade-tree willow are usually yellow and appear 

 before or with the leaves. The drooping cat- 

 kins of the poplar, the bright yellow early 

 spring catkins of the birch, the sweet, heavy 

 fragrance from those of the chestnut in June 

 and July, are familiar to the lover of trees. 



CAT 'NIP, or CATMINT, a weed of the mint 

 family found near barns and homes, and widely 

 scattered throughout North America and 

 Europe. It has much the same fascination 

 for cats as has valerian root; because they eat 





CATNIP 

 Leaves and flowers. 



it so greedily it received its name. This plant 

 grows erect, to a height of two or three feet, 

 with rose-tinged, whitish flowers, and downy, 

 heart-shaped leaves, green above and whitish 

 below. The catnip tea brewed from the leaves 

 is still a popular home spring "tonic" in many 

 rural districts. 



CATO, ka'toh, in ancient history, the name 

 of an honored Roman family, two members 

 of which rose to fame. One of these was a 

 type of the primitive Roman of the early 

 republic; the other died for his principles in 

 the declining days of the republic. 



Marcus Porcius (234-149 B. c.), surnamed THE 

 ELDER, THE WISE and THE CENSOR, was the 

 son of a peasant farmer of Latium. His life 

 on the small estate which he inherited from 

 his father and diligently cultivated with his 

 own hands taught him to revere the simple 

 manners and customs of his Roman fore- 

 fathers, and this was the keynote of his char- 

 acter. At the age of seventeen he fought 



