fault. God and the Romans have restored him to you. I
shall still preserve and educate the youth, rather as a monument of my
own virtue, than as a pledge of your sincerity. Should you presume to
violate the faith which you have sworn, the arms of the republic
will avenge the perfidy, not on the innocent, but on the guilty."
The Barbarians withdrew from his presence, impressed with the warmest
sentiments of gratitude and admiration.

It was not enough for Julian to have delivered the provinces of Gaul
from the Barbarians of Germany. He aspired to emulate the glory of the
first and most illustrious of the emperors; after whose example, he
composed his own commentaries of the Gallic war. Caesar has related, with
conscious pride, the manner in which he twice passed the Rhine. Julian
could boast, that before he assumed the title of Augustus, he had
carried the Roman eagles beyond that great river in three successful
expeditions. The consternation of the Germans, after the battle of
Strasburgh, encouraged him to the first attempt; and the reluctance of
the troops soon yielded to the persuasive eloquence of a leader, who
shared the fatigues and dangers which he imposed on the meanest of
the soldiers. The villages on either side of the Meyn, which were
plentifully stored with corn and cattle, felt the ravages of an invading
army. The principal houses, constructed with some imitation of Roman
elegance, were consumed by the flames; and the Caesar boldly advanced
about ten miles, till his progress was stopped by a dark and
impenetrable forest, undermined by subterraneous passages, which
threatened with secret snares and ambush every step of the assailants.
The ground was already covered with snow; and Julian, after repairing an
ancient castle which had been erected by Trajan, granted a truce of ten
months to the submissive Barbarians. At the expiration of the truce,
Julian undertook a second expedition beyond the Rhine, to humble the
pride of Surmar and Hortaire, two of the kings of the Alemanni, who had
been present at the battle of Strasburgh. They promised to restore all
the Roman captives who yet remained alive; and as the Caesar had
procured an exact account from the cities and villages of Gaul, of the
inhabitants whom they had lost, he detected every attempt to deceive
him, with a degree of readiness and accuracy, which almost established
the belief of his supernatural knowledge. His third expedition was
still more splendid