at
the vigilance of the enemy, in breaking the ice of the river, left
them no hopes of escape, the Franks consented, for the first time, to
dispense with the ancient law which commanded them to conquer or to die.
The Caesar immediately sent his captives to the court of Constantius,
who, accepting them as a valuable present, rejoiced in the opportunity
of adding so many heroes to the choicest troops of his domestic guards.
The obstinate resistance of this handful of Franks apprised Julian of
the difficulties of the expedition which he meditated for the ensuing
spring, against the whole body of the nation. His rapid diligence
surprised and astonished the active Barbarians. Ordering his soldiers to
provide themselves with biscuit for twenty days, he suddenly pitched
his camp near Tongres, while the enemy still supposed him in his winter
quarters of Paris, expecting the slow arrival of his convoys from
Aquitain. Without allowing the Franks to unite or deliberate, he
skilfully spread his legions from Cologne to the ocean; and by the
terror, as well as by the success, of his arms, soon reduced the
suppliant tribes to implore the clemency, and to obey the commands, of
their conqueror. The Chamavians submissively retired to their former
habitations beyond the Rhine; but the Salians were permitted to possess
their new establishment of Toxandria, as the subjects and auxiliaries of
the Roman empire. The treaty was ratified by solemn oaths; and perpetual
inspectors were appointed to reside among the Franks, with the authority
of enforcing the strict observance of the conditions. An incident is
related, interesting enough in itself, and by no means repugnant to the
character of Julian, who ingeniously contrived both the plot and the
catastrophe of the tragedy. When the Chamavians sued for peace, he
required the son of their king, as the only hostage on whom he could
rely. A mournful silence, interrupted by tears and groans, declared
the sad perplexity of the Barbarians; and their aged chief lamented in
pathetic language, that his private loss was now imbittered by a sense
of public calamity. While the Chamavians lay prostrate at the foot of
his throne, the royal captive, whom they believed to have been slain,
unexpectedly appeared before their eyes; and as soon as the tumult of
joy was hushed into attention, the Caesar addressed the assembly in the
following terms: "Behold the son, the prince, whom you wept. You had
lost him by your