tle. 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; [119] 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, [120] 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 were distinguished only by the difference
of their characters. The rhetorician Eugenius, who had almost acquired
the dominion of the world, was reduced to implore the mercy of the
conqueror; and the unrelenting soldiers separated his head from his body
as he lay p