was despatched away in
post-wagons, to secure, if it were yet possible, the pass of Succi;
the recruits, the horses, the arms, and the magazines, which had been
prepared against Sapor, were appropriated to the service of the civil
war; and the domestic victories of Constantius inspired his partisans
with the most sanguine assurances of success. The notary Gaudentius had
occupied in his name the provinces of Africa; the subsistence of
Rome was intercepted; and the distress of Julian was increased by
an unexpected event, which might have been productive of fatal
consequences. Julian had received the submission of two legions and a
cohort of archers, who were stationed at Sirmium; but he suspected, with
reason, the fidelity of those troops which had been distinguished by the
emperor; and it was thought expedient, under the pretence of the exposed
state of the Gallic frontier, to dismiss them from the most important
scene of action. They advanced, with reluctance, as far as the confines
of Italy; but as they dreaded the length of the way, and the savage
fierceness of the Germans, they resolved, by the instigation of one
of their tribunes, to halt at Aquileia, and to erect the banners of
Constantius on the walls of that impregnable city. The vigilance of
Julian perceived at once the extent of the mischief, and the necessity
of applying an immediate remedy. By his order, Jovinus led back a
part of the army into Italy; and the siege of Aquileia was formed with
diligence, and prosecuted with vigor. But the legionaries, who seemed to
have rejected the yoke of discipline, conducted the defence of the place
with skill and perseverance; invited the rest of Italy to imitate the
example of their courage and loyalty; and threatened the retreat of
Julian, if he should be forced to yield to the superior numbers of the
armies of the East.

But the humanity of Julian was preserved from the cruel alternative
which he pathetically laments, of destroying or of being himself
destroyed: and the seasonable death of Constantius delivered the Roman
empire from the calamities of civil war. The approach of winter could
not detain the monarch at Antioch; and his favorites durst not oppose
his impatient desire of revenge. A slight fever, which was perhaps
occasioned by the agitation of his spirits, was increased by the
fatigues of the journey; and Constantius was obliged to halt at the
little town of Mopsucrene, twelve miles beyond Tarsus, where he