Athanasius had come back to
Alexandria, but the Arians got up an accusation against him that he had
been guilty of a murder, and brought forward a hand in a box to prove
the crime; and though Athanasius showed the man said to have been
murdered alive, and with both his hands in their places, he was still
hunted out of Alexandria, and had to hide among the hermits of the
Thebaid again. When any search was threatened of the spot where he was,
the horn was sounded which called the hermits together to church, and he
was taken to another hiding-place. Sometimes he visited his flock at
Alexandria in secret, and once, when he was returning down the Nile, he
learned that a boat-load of soldiers was pursuing him. Turning back, his
boat met them. They called out to know if Athanasius had been seen. "He
was going down the Nile a little while ago," the Bishop answered. His
enemies hurried on, and he was safe.

Julian was angered by finding it impossible to waken paganism. At one
grand temple in Asia, whither hundreds of oxen used to be brought to
sacrifice, all his encouragement only caused one goose to be offered,
which the priest of the temple received as a grand gift. Julian
expected, too, that pagans would worship their old gods and yet live the
virtuous lives of Christians; and he was disappointed and grieved to
find that no works of goodness or mercy sprang from those who followed
his belief. He was a kind man by nature, but he began to grow bitter
with disappointment, and to threaten when he found it was of no use to
persuade; and the Christians expected that there would be a great
persecution when he should return from an expedition into the East
against the king of Persia.

[Illustration: ARCH OF CONSTANTINE.]

He went with a fine army in ships down the Euphrates, and thence marched
into Persia, where King Sapor was wise enough to avoid a battle, and
only retreat before him. The Romans were half starved, and obliged to
turn back. Then Sapor attacked their rear, and cut off their stragglers.
Julian shared all the sufferings of his troops, and was always
wherever there was danger. At last a javelin pierced him under the arm.
It is said that he caught some of his blood in his other hand, cast it
up towards heaven, and cried, "Galilean, Thou hast conquered." He died
in a few hours, in 363, and the Romans could only choose the best leader
they knew to get them out of the sad plight they were in--almost that of
the ten thousa