d by the swelling genius of the Garonne. The fortune of nations
has often depended on accidents; and France may ascribe her greatness
to the premature death of the Gothic king, at a time when his son Alaric
was a helpless infant, and his adversary Clovis an ambitious and valiant
youth.

While Childeric, the father of Clovis, lived an exile in Germany, he
was hospitably entertained by the queen, as well as by the king, of the
Thuringians. After his restoration, Basina escaped from her husband's
bed to the arms of her lover; freely declaring, that if she had known a
man wiser, stronger, or more beautiful, than Childeric, that man should
have been the object of her preference. Clovis was the offspring of this
voluntary union; and, when he was no more than fifteen years of age, he
succeeded, by his father's death, to the command of the Salian tribe.
The narrow limits of his kingdom were confined to the island of the
Batavians, with the ancient dioceses of Tournay and Arras; and at the
baptism of Clovis the number of his warriors could not exceed five
thousand. The kindred tribes of the Franks, who had seated themselves
along the Belgic rivers, the Scheld, the Meuse, the Moselle, and the
Rhine, were governed by their independent kings, of the Merovingian
race; the equals, the allies, and sometimes the enemies of the
Salic prince. But the Germans, who obeyed, in peace, the hereditary
jurisdiction of their chiefs, were free to follow the standard of
a popular and victorious general; and the superior merit of Clovis
attracted the respect and allegiance of the national confederacy. When
he first took the field, he had neither gold and silver in his coffers,
nor wine and corn in his magazine; but he imitated the example of
Caesar, who, in the same country, had acquired wealth by the sword, and
purchased soldiers with the fruits of conquest. After each successful
battle or expedition, the spoils were accumulated in one common
mass; every warrior received his proportionable share; and the royal
prerogative submitted to the equal regulations of military law.
The untamed spirit of the Barbarians was taught to acknowledge the
advantages of regular discipline. At the annual review of the month of
March, their arms were diligently inspected; and when they traversed a
peaceful territory, they were prohibited from touching a blade of grass.
The justice of Clovis was inexorable; and his careless or disobedient
soldiers were punished with i