rivals,
assigned the post of honorable danger to the Goths, and cherished a
secret wish, that the bloody conflict might diminish the pride and
numbers of the conquerors. Ten thousand of those auxiliaries, and
Bacurius, general of the Iberians, died bravely on the field of battle.
But the victory was not purchased by their blood; the Gauls maintained
their advantage; and the approach of night protected the disorderly
flight, or retreat, of the troops of Theodosius. The emperor retired to
the adjacent hills; where he passed a disconsolate night, without sleep,
without provisions, and without hopes; except that strong assurance,
which, under the most desperate circumstances, the independent mind may
derive from the contempt of fortune and of life. The triumph of Eugenius
was celebrated by the insolent and dissolute joy of his camp; whilst the
active and vigilant Arbogastes secretly detached a considerable body of
troops to occupy the passes of the mountains, and to encompass the
rear of the Eastern army. The dawn of day discovered to the eyes
of Theodosius the extent and the extremity of his danger; but his
apprehensions were soon dispelled, by a friendly message from the
leaders of those troops who expressed their inclination to desert the
standard of the tyrant. The honorable and lucrative rewards, which
they stipulated as the price of their perfidy, were granted without
hesitation; and as ink and paper could not easily be procured, the
emperor subscribed, on his own tablets, the ratification of the treaty.
The spirit of his soldiers was revived by this seasonable reenforcement;
and they again marched, with confidence, to surprise the camp of a
tyrant, whose principal officers appeared to distrust, either the
justice or the success of his arms. In the heat of the battle, a violent
tempest, such as is often felt among the Alps, suddenly arose from the
East. The army of Theodosius was sheltered by their position from the
impetuosity of the wind, which blew a cloud of dust in the faces of the
enemy, disordered their ranks, wrested their weapons from their hands,
and diverted, or repelled, their ineffectual javelins. This accidental
advantage was skilfully improved, the violence of the storm was
magnified by the superstitious terrors of the Gauls; and they yielded
without shame to the invisible powers of heaven, who seemed to militate
on the side of the pious emperor. His victory was decisive; and the
deaths of his two rivals