vua ad i den sound hunset never to know the shelter of a roof, EL MEU BÀI THL VIE I GÅ 2 be had twice ridden

Thus astarei 101 lemmel ze uties of Gal rode forth in three STRES 7 de 2 Ivy were to as the Romans in flank, art vs 3 cre de mang cum in front. Cæsar also in is 117 11 time Csucs to meet the enemy. But ČAST 18 PEge is ents N as both to protect the baggage, si aria steber beint ther inrads whither any squadron of is Dr, DE VI TT Hissel mim retreat, and reorganize itself Tempera would but trust his Gaulish infantry so Der the fe as a Sinir support to his borsemen. But his BLES BEgel desventar a each of the three points against which be mai marstalet them ; and the earthat was king and desperate. At irst the Chus mi the airings. Cesar was ofed to rally his squairies, and had then in a person: be himself was, at one time, messir raptored mi is sri vu vrested in him during the close hanssituni in a me he was engaged. At last the obstinate valer of the German birkom, died by the skiful manœuvres of the supporting jeg tok prevailed, and the remains of the Gaulish cavalry fled È velsite : where their inity vs posted. This also caught the paning and the whie Guile my was driven by the conquering Romans and Germans in ruimtes fight to the walls of Alesia, where Verengtas siis surveeded in rallying his dispirited and disorganized host.

He met easy have made his own escape; for, some time elapsed before the Romans were shie to cry all the approaches to the city, and be actually, in this interval, sent away all his cavalry. But he was resolved to maintain the struggle for his country as long as a spark of hope survived. His infantry, then suited for maneuvres or battles, was exellent in the defence of firited posts; and, at the head of the eighty thousand foot soldiers, whom he had rallied at Alesia, he resolved to defend the city, and the fortified camp which he formed beneath its walls, against Cæsar, while a fresh army of his ecuntrymen could be assembled, and brought to his assistance. The victorious defence of Gergovia was remembered, and a similar success was justly hoped for now.

Cæsar, however, instead of wasting the lives of his legionaries in assaults upon the Gaulish camp or city, formed the astonishing project of carrying fortified lines all round Alesia, and the hill on which it stood, and of reducing his enemy by blockade. As the speedy approach of a new army of Gauls to the relief of Vereingetorix was certain, the Roman general required also an outer line of contravallation to be formed. The patient discipline and the indomitable industry of his veterans accomplished this miracle of military engineering in five weeks. During these weeks the messengers of Vercingetorix were stirring up all Gaul to the rescue of her chosen chief; and at length Vercingetorix and his comrades saw from their ramparts an apparently innumerable and irresistible host of their fellow-countrymen marching down from the neighbouring mountains, and preparing to besiege the Roman besiegers.

A series of battles followed, in which Vercingetorix and the garrison of Alesia sallied desperately against the inner line of the Roman works, while the external line was assailed by the myriads of the outer Gaulish army. But nothing could drive the steady legionaries from their posts; and at the close of each day's engagement the Gauls recoiled with

diminished numbers and downcast hopes from either ambit of the bloodstained redoubts. At last Cæsar, by a skilful manœuvre, launched his German cavalry against the outer army of the Gauls, and the intended deliverers of Alesia fled in irretrievable disorder, never to rally again.

The doom of Alesia and its garrison was now inevitable. Their stores of provisions were almost utterly exhausted, and their own numbers increased the horror of their position. Vercingetorix alone was calm and undismayed. He thought that the lives of his countrymen might yet be saved by the sacrifice of his own. He reminded them that the war had not been undertaken for his private aggrandisement, but for the common interests of all; yet, inasmuch as the Romans represented it as a war made through his schemes only, and for his purposes only, he was willing to be given up to them either alive or dead, as an expiatory offering to their wrath. The other Gaulish commanders then sent to Cæsar to treat for the terms of capitulation. The answer was, that they must instantly give up their chief, and their arms, and surrender at discretion. Cæsar forthwith caused his tribunal to be set up in the space between his lines and the Gaulish camp, and took his seat there to receive the submission of the conquered, and to pronounce their fate.

Vercingetorix waited not for the Roman lictors to drag him to the proconsul's feet. The high-minded Celt arrayed himself for the last time in his choicest armour, mounted for the last time his favourite war-horse, and then galloped down to where sat the Roman general, surrounded by his vengeful troops. Vercingetorix did not halt at the instant; but, obeying the warrior-impulse that led him to taste once more the excitement of feeling his own good steed bound freely beneath him on his native soil, he wheeled at full speed round the tribunal, and then, suddenly curbing his horse right before Cæsar, he sprang on the ground, laid his helm, his spear, and his sword at the victor's feet, and, bending his knee, awaited in mute majesty his doom.

Even Cæsar was startled at the sudden apparition; and a thrill of admiration and pity ran through the ranks of the stern, bloody-handed soldiers of Rome, when they gazed on the stately person, and martial demeanour of their foe, and thought from what dignity he had fallen. But Cæsar's emotion was only transient. After some harsh and ungenerous invectives against his brave enemy, he bade the lictors fetter him, and hale him away. For six years, while Cæsar completed the conquest of Gaul, and fought the campaigns of his civil wars, Vercingetorix languished in a Roman dungeon: and he was only taken thence to be led in triumph behind the Dictator's chariot-wheels, and to be then slaughtered in cold blood, while Cæsar, in the pride of his heart, was feasting high in the Capitol.

There is, however, a tribunal before which the decrees of Fortune are often reversed; and no one, who studies history in the right spirit, can fail in awarding the superior palm of true greatness to the victim over the oppressor, to the captive Vercingetorix over the triumphant Julius.

* Dio Cassius, xl. p. 140.

THE PAMPAS FIRED BY THE INDIANS.

THE sun had yet scarce tinged the horizon with the first dawn of light when, with a body hot and unrefreshed from the myriads of vermin that had been preying on it, I issued from the door of the hacienda of San Jacinto, to enjoy the cool air of morning, and soothe my itching limbs with the clear pure water of a rivulet that coursed past the rear of my last night's resting-place.

All was yet still around,-none seemed to be stirring, and as I glanced over the extensive plains that extended on one side as far as the eye could reach, I could only discern by the misty light a herd of wild horses, as they swept along through the tall wiry grass that arose above their shoulders. Buckling my pistol belt around me, I threw my short rifle carelessly across my back, where it hung by its own strap, and rapidly proceeded to descend the steep gully, at the bottom of which the stream, one of the many that descend from the Andes, ran bubbling and boiling, as it glanced over its rocky bed. Uneven and stony, with the footing concealed beneath thick matted grass and small stunted brushwood, I found my task anything but an easy one, and almost regretted that I had not gone round by the path used by the people of the hacienda. Yet, as I swung from rock to rock by aid of the rank herbage, I felt that the course I had chosen was most in consonance with that wild, reckless spirit that had conducted me over so many lands.

As I reached the bed of the gully, the sun showed itself above the horizon, and the misty haze that filled the deep valley was riven and dispersed in eddying vapour before the warm breath of day. The curtain risen, there lay before me a wide level space of the finest alluvial soil, over which, it would appear, the stream at times extended, when swollen with the melting snows of the Andes; but it was now confined to narrow limits in the centre, now and then extending into large water-holes, where the softer soil had been washed away, or a diverging bend of the stream had given more power to its waters.

The scene was calm happy nature illuminated by the glow of a tropical sunrise, for it was December, and the sun had almost attained the tropic of Capricorn. But my uncomfortable limbs twitching with the effects of numberless bites, would not permit me to enjoy, for any lengthened time, the beauties of nature; so, divesting myself of my apparel, I took my position on a flat rock in the stream, and plied my person with frequent showers of water that I cast over myself, by the aid of a large vessel I had brought from the hacienda.

At the spot where I stood, the stream nearly approached the opposite side of the gully to that on which the buildings were erected, and during a pause in my occupation, my attention was drawn to a rustling noise among the low brushwood that lined the face of the precipitous descent. They were times of danger and peril; vast numbers of Indians were known to be scattered over the pampas, and so daring had they become, by a large accession of numbers from the tribes of the lower Sanquel river, that they had even taken and plundered several villages along the foot of the mountains, in the direction of the route to Paraguay. Accus

tomed to caution, therefore, the rustling sound was not passed unnoticed, but with a keen glance I scanned the direction whence the sound had proceeded; but nought told of the existence of any living thing, much less danger.

Again, therefore, I sought the comforts afforded by the cool water being thrown over my limbs, for I was afraid to trust myself into deep water, on account of the many venomous reptiles, that usually infest the South American streams. Suddenly a cry of alarm startled me; I slipped from the stone on which I stood, and fell at full length into deep water beside me. As I fell, I felt a sharp twinge on my left thigh, and by the colour of the water became aware that I was wounded. It was all the work of a moment, quick as thought; and when I turned my eyes to the spot whence I had first heard the rustling noise, there stood, in the very act of having discharged an arrow, and with bow yet elevated, an Indian warrior, with his war-lock ornamented with a few bright feathers, and his dark body entirely divested of clothing, with the exception of a deep fringed leathern belt, fastened round the loins, and descending mid thigh. Before he had time to draw another arrow from his quiver, and fit it to the bow, I sprang from the stream on the bank, seized my rifle, poised it, and fell on one knee close under a rock, which protected me from the aim of my enemy, and at the same time afforded full opportunity to try the effect of my rifle on his warlike form. But rapidly as he had appeared and attempted my life, he disappeared yet more quickly; he seemed to have sunk into the very rocks on which he had been standing; but my knowledge of the Indians made me well aware he had only concealed himself under the thick brushwood, which, although it would afford him shelter when in a crouching posture, yet would be no screen to him, if attempting to leave the spot. So, reserving my fire, I merely covered the spot with my rifle, where I knew him to be, calmly awaiting the first good opportunity to try my aim.

Not

At the furthest I could not be sixty yards from my enemy; the cry I had heard, and which had saved my life, proceeded from one of the rancheros, who had arisen, disturbed by my leaving the building, and followed to the edge of the gully to demand some orders of me. wishing to risk his neck in the descent, and considering the path too far round, he had composedly stretched himself on the edge of the precipice to await my return, amusing himself in the meanwhile by observing my motions.

The

Whilst so doing, his eye had chanced to alight upon the Indian, who had been concealed previously, in the act of discharging the arrow. alarm had disturbed his aim and saved my life, the wound being only a slight flesh one.

The shout of the ranchero had aroused all within the buildings of the hacienda, and the face of the precipice was now crowded with numbers hurrying down to my assistance as they best could; among the foremost were my own companions of travel.

Each moment rendered the position of the Indian more critical; for on the arrival in the flat of the many that were now rushing down its sides, he would be exposed to a fire from which he would have but little chance of escape.

With the instinct of his race, the warrior of the pampas seemed fully aware of his danger for, before any had reached half-way to where I lay, his dark body sprang from the cover that protected him, aud with

rapid bounds he sought to reach the summit of the gully. A fierce and prolonged yell told of his attempt, and several shots were fired, but ineffectually, on account of distance. I alone was within good shot; covered with the rifle, whose aim had been so often proved, I felt his life was in my hands; for a moment I hesitated, but the nature of my position overpowered all thoughts of mercy,—the mouth of my piece poured forth its small sheet of flame, and before the sharp report had ceased to reverberate, the body of my enemy was tumbling, a lifeless mass, from rock to rock, forcing its way through the tangled matted grass and brushwood.

Congratulating friends, and startled tenants of the hacienda soon surrounded me, and the body of the Indian being dragged to the bank of the stream, two friendly Indians of the party pronounced it to be that of a powerful chief of one of the southern tribes, who were said to be committing the depredations in the villages under the Andes.

What brought the chief away from his tribe, and in the neighbourhood of the hacienda, remained unexplained, until some of the guides who had been dispatched at the first alarm, to bring in the few horses that remained unturned out the previous night, joined the party, and informed us that they had seen three other Indians issue from the gully, some short distance down, and, mounting horses that had been in charge of two companions, dash across the plain with a led horse, in the direction of the mountains.

This news caused no inconsiderable stir amongst the motley assemblage, and we returned to the hacienda to decide what course we were to adopt.

Ten days previous, with three companions, all Englishmen, three guides, and four rancheros as attendants, we left St. Jago with the intention of proceeding by land to Buenos Ayres. The reason of our employing the rancheros was, that they had a short time previous aca Valparaiso merchant from St. Fé to St. Jago, and had been companied most useful to him on the route. Absent from their own country they were glad of an opportunity to return, and we secured them for a comparatively small recompense.

The guides were the usual adjuncts to all travellers, and indispensable in order to pilot us on our way, and catch horses for us, when those we rode were knocked up. The previous evening we had arrived at the hacienda of San Jacinto, after having two days before descended from the Andes, whence it was distant some ninety miles.

A kind of station-house was here for the guides, where they changed: those who had conducted us across the precipices and defiles of those eternal snow-clad mountains, giving place to others who were to conduct us to the settled districts of the Buenos Ayrean plains, where their services would be no longer required. It was also used as a place of refreshment where the usual Pampa fare was to be obtained, with some most execrable peach brandy, and a little bad wine.

Several other houses stood in the neighbourhood of the hacienda, inhabited by cross-bred herdsmen, almost as wild as the stock they were in charge of, and a few women their companions in the wilderness, and an odd child was also visible.

Several other travellers had arrived the same evening as ourselves, but none travelling in our direction, and no European. Having consulted and the majority being of opinion that the Indians who had alarmed us were