eet him. The two armies came in
sight of each other quite on the eastern side of Italy, very near the
shores of the Adriatic Sea.

The policy which Fabius resolved to adopt was, not to give Hannibal
battle, but to watch him, and wear his army out by fatigue and delays.
He kept, therefore, near him, but always posted his army on
advantageous ground, which all the defiance and provocations of
Hannibal could not induce him to leave. When Hannibal moved, which he
was soon compelled to do to procure provisions, Fabius would move too,
but only to post and intrench himself in some place of security as
before. Hannibal did every thing in his power to bring Fabius to
battle, but all his efforts were unavailing.

In fact, he himself was at one time in imminent danger. He had got
drawn, by Fabius's good management, into a place where he was
surrounded by mountains, upon which Fabius had posted his troops, and
there was only one defile which offered any egress, and this, too,
Fabius had strongly guarded. Hannibal resorted to his usual resource,
cunning and stratagem, for means of escape. He collected a herd of
oxen. He tied fagots across their horns, filling the fagots with
pitch, so as to make them highly combustible. In the night on which he
was going to attempt to pass the defile, he ordered his army to be
ready to march through, and then had the oxen driven up the hills
around on the further side of the Roman detachment which was guarding
the pass. The fagots were then lighted on the horns of the oxen. They
ran about, frightened and infuriated by the fire, which burned their
horns to the quick, and blinded them with the sparks which fell from
it. The leaves and branches of the forests were set on fire. A great
commotion was thus made, and the guards, seeing the moving lights and
hearing the tumult, supposed that the Carthaginian army were upon the
heights, and were coming down to attack them. They turned out in great
hurry and confusion to meet the imaginary foe, leaving the pass
unguarded, and, while they were pursuing the bonfires on the oxens'
heads into all sorts of dangerous and impracticable places, Hannibal
quietly marched his army through the defile and reached a place of
safety.

Although Fabius kept Hannibal employed and prevented his approaching
the city, still there soon began to be felt a considerable degree of
dissatisfaction that he did not act more decidedly. Minucius was
continually urging him to give Hanni