he whole country. He possessed himself of it, and of all the
neighbouring villages, in which he found a large quantity of corn, and
cattle sufficient to subsist his army three days.

After a pretty quiet march, the Carthaginians were to encounter a new
danger. The Gauls, feigning to take advantage of the misfortunes of their
neighbours, who had suffered for opposing the passage of Hannibal's
troops, came to pay their respects to that general, brought him
provisions, offered to be his guides; and left him hostages, as pledges of
their fidelity. However, Hannibal placed no great confidence in them. The
elephants and horses marched in the front, whilst himself followed with
the main body of his foot, keeping a vigilant eye over all. They came at
length to a very narrow and rugged pass, which was commanded by an
eminence where the Gauls had placed an ambuscade. These rushing out on a
sudden, assailed the Carthaginians on every side, rolling down stones upon
them of a prodigious size. The army would have been entirely routed, had
not Hannibal exerted himself in an extraordinary manner to extricate them
out of this difficulty.

At last, on the ninth day, they reached the summit of the Alps. Here the
army halted two days, to rest and refresh themselves after their fatigue,
after which they continued their march. As it was now autumn, a great
quantity of snow had lately fallen, and covered all the roads, which
caused a consternation among the troops, and disheartened them very much.
Hannibal perceived it, and halting on a hill from whence there was a
prospect of all Italy, he showed them the fruitful plains(744) watered by
the river Po, to which they were almost come; adding, that they had but
one effort more to make, before they arrived at them. He represented to
them, that a battle or two would put a glorious period to their toils, and
enrich them for ever, by giving them possession of the capital of the
Roman empire. This speech, filled with such pleasing hopes, and enforced
by the sight of Italy, inspired the dejected soldiers with fresh vigour
and alacrity. They therefore pursued their march. But still the road was
more craggy and troublesome than ever; and as they were now on a descent,
the difficulty and danger increased. For the ways were narrow, steep, and
slippery, in most places; so that the soldiers could neither keep upon
their feet as they marched, nor recover themselves when they made a false
step, but stumbled,