central river that flows to the eastward, and after
various meanderings, finds its way into the Aegean Sea through a
romantic gap between two mountains, called the Vale of Tempe--a vale
which has been famed in all ages for the extreme picturesqueness of its
scenery, and in which, in those days, all the charms both of the most
alluring beauty and of the sublimest grandeur seemed to be combined.
Pompey followed the roads leading along the banks of this stream, weary
in body, and harassed and disconsolate in mind. The news which came to
him from time to time, by the flying parties which were moving through
the country in all directions, of the entire and overwhelming
completeness of Caesar's victory, extinguished all remains of hope, and
narrowed down at last the grounds of his solicitude to the single point
of his own personal safety. He was well aware that he should be pursued,
and, to baffle the efforts which he knew that his enemies would make to
follow his track, he avoided large towns, and pressed forward in by-ways
and solitudes, bearing as patiently as he was able his increasing
destitution and distress. He reached, at length, the Vale of Tempe, and
there, exhausted with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, he sat down upon the
bank of the stream to recover by a little rest strength enough for the
remainder of his weary way. He wished for a drink, but he had nothing to
drink from. And so the mighty potentate, whose tent was full of
delicious beverages, and cups and goblets of silver and gold, extended
himself down upon the sand at the margin of the river, and drank the
warm water directly from the stream.

[Sidenote: Caesar in Pompey's camp.]

While Pompey was thus anxiously and toilsomely endeavoring to gain the
sea-shore, Caesar was completing his victory over the army which he had
left behind him. When Caesar had carried the intrenchments of the camp,
and the army found that there was no longer any safety for them there,
they continued their retreat under the guidance of such generals as
remained. Caesar thus gained undisputed possession of the camp. He found
every where the marks of wealth and luxury, and indications of the
confident expectation of victory which the discomfited army had
entertained. The tents of the generals were crowned with myrtle, the
beds were strewed with flowers, and tables every where were spread for
feasts, with cups and bowls of wine all ready for the expected revelers.
Caesar took possessio