said they , ` last night in a vision we beheld twelve casks of gold lying under the foundation stone of the Capitol , on which stands the statue of the Preservation of Rome . Now , seeing that by your goodness we have been greatly enriched by our former dreams , we wish , in gratitude , to bestow this third treasure on you for your own profit ; so give us workers , and we will begin to dig without delay . ' And receiving permission they began to dig , and when the messengers had almost undermined the Capitol they stole away as secretly as they had come . And next morning the stone gave way , and the sacred statue fell on its face and was broken . And the senators knew that their greed had been their ruin . From that day things went from bad to worse , and every morning crowds presented themselves before the emperor , complaining of the robberies , murders , and other crimes that were committed nightly in the streets . The emperor , desiring nothing so much as the safety of his subjects , took counsel with Virgilius how this violence could be put down . Virgilius thought hard for a long time , and then he spoke : ` Great prince , ' said he , 'cause a copper horse and rider to be made , and stationed in front of the Capitol . Then make a proclamation that at ten o'clock a bell will toll , and every man is to enter his house , and not leave it again . ' The emperor did as Virgilius advised , but thieves and murderers laughed at the horse , and went about their misdeeds as usual . But at the last stroke of the bell the horse set off at full gallop through the streets of Rome , and by daylight men counted over two hundred corpses that it had trodden down . The rest of the thieves -- and there were still many remaining -- instead of being frightened into honesty , as Virgilius had hoped , prepared rope ladders with hooks to them , and when they heard the sound of the horse 's hoofs they stuck their ladders into the walls , and climbed up above the reach of the horse and its rider . Then the emperor commanded two copper dogs to be made that would run after the horse , and when the thieves , hanging from the walls , mocked and jeered at Virgilius and the emperor , the dogs leaped high after them and pulled them to the ground , and bit them to death . Thus did Virgilius restore peace and order to the city . Now about this time there came to be noised abroad the fame of the daughter of the sultan who ruled over the province of Babylon , and indeed she was said to be the most beautiful princess in the world . Virgilius , like the rest , listened to the stories that were told of her , and fell so violently in love with all he heard that he built a bridge in the air , which stretched all the way between Rome and Babylon . He then passed over it to visit the princess , who , though somewhat surprised to see him , gave him welcome , and after some conversation became in her turn anxious to see the distant country where this stranger lived , and he promised that he would carry her there himself , without wetting the soles of his feet . The princess spent some days in the palace of Virgilius , looking at wonders of which she had never dreamed , though she declined to accept the presents he longed to heap on her . The hours passed as if they were minutes , till the princess said that she could be no longer absent from her father . Then Virgilius conducted her himself over the airy bridge , and laid her gently down on her own bed , where she was found next morning by her father .
She told him all that had happened XXXXX her , and he pretended to be very much interested , and begged that the next time Virgilius came he might be introduced to him .
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