of the
weather had tempted him to lay aside his cuirass; but he snatched a
shield from one of his attendants, and hastened, with a sufficient
reenforcement, to the relief of the rear-guard. A similar danger
recalled the intrepid prince to the defence of the front; and, as he
galloped through the columns, the centre of the left was attacked, and
almost overpowered by the furious charge of the Persian cavalry and
elephants. This huge body was soon defeated, by the well-timed evolution
of the light infantry, who aimed their weapons, with dexterity
and effect, against the backs of the horsemen, and the legs of the
elephants. The Barbarians fled; and Julian, who was foremost in every
danger, animated the pursuit with his voice and gestures. His trembling
guards, scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng of friends and
enemies, reminded their fearless sovereign that he was without armor;
and conjured him to decline the fall of the impending ruin. As they
exclaimed, a cloud of darts and arrows was discharged from the flying
squadrons; and a javelin, after razing the skin of his arm, transpierced
the ribs, and fixed in the inferior part of the liver. Julian attempted
to draw the deadly weapon from his side; but his fingers were cut by the
sharpness of the steel, and he fell senseless from his horse. His guards
flew to his relief; and the wounded emperor was gently raised from the
ground, and conveyed out of the tumult of the battle into an adjacent
tent. The report of the melancholy event passed from rank to rank; but
the grief of the Romans inspired them with invincible valor, and the
desire of revenge. The bloody and obstinate conflict was maintained by
the two armies, till they were separated by the total darkness of the
night. The Persians derived some honor from the advantage which they
obtained against the left wing, where Anatolius, master of the offices,
was slain, and the praefect Sallust very narrowly escaped. But the event
of the day was adverse to the Barbarians. They abandoned the field;
their two generals, Meranes and Nohordates, fifty nobles or satraps, and
a multitude of their bravest soldiers; and the success of the Romans, if
Julian had survived, might have been improved into a decisive and useful
victory.

The first words that Julian uttered, after his recovery from the
fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss of blood, were
expressive of his martial spirit. He called for his horse and arms,