hird thrust killed him at once. Leaping from his horse and
seizing the armour of the dead man, he said, looking up to heaven,
"Jupiter Feretrius, thou that seest the great deeds of generals and
captains in war, I call thee to witness that I am the third Roman
general that has slain the enemy's general and king, by killing this
man here with my own hand: and having killed him I consecrate to thee
the first and fairest of the spoils. But do thou grant us like good
fortune in the rest of this war."

Hereupon the Roman cavalry charged, not against cavalry by itself, but
they fought against infantry and cavalry mixed together, and won a
victory of an unparalleled and wonderful kind; for never before or
since that day did such a body of horsemen rout such numbers of horse
and foot.

Having slain the greater part of them, and collected their arms and
stores, he returned to his colleague, who was with difficulty holding
his own against the Celts before the walls of the largest and most
populous of Gaulish cities. It is called Mediolanum, and is regarded
by the Cisalpine Gauls as their metropolis: consequently they fought
vigorously in its defence, and more besieged Cornelius than were
besieged by him. But when Marcellus arrived, the Gaesatae, as soon as
they heard of the defeat and death of their king, went home.
Mediolanum fell, and the Celts of their own accord surrendered the
other cities, and threw themselves upon the mercy of the Romans. They
received moderate terms of peace.

VIII. By a decree of the Senate Marcellus alone triumphed. His
procession was glorious, as few others have been, with the splendour
and value of the booty exhibited, and the great stature of the
captives; but the strangest and most interesting sight of all was the
general himself, as he appeared carrying the suit of armour of the
Gaul to offer it to the god. He had cut and trimmed the trunk of a
tall young oak tree, and had tied and hung the spoils upon it, each
put in its proper place. When the procession began, he himself mounted
his chariot and four, and carried in state through the city, this the
most glorious of all his trophies of victory. The army marched after
him with their finest armour, singing as they went songs and paeans of
victory in honour of the gods and their leader. Thus he proceeded till
he reached the temple of Jupiter Feretrius. Here he dismounted, and
dedicated his spoils, being the third, and, up to our day, the last
who e