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244 But it is past! — where heroes press And cowards bend the knee, Arminius is not brotherless, His brethren are the free. They come around :— one hour, and light Will fade from turf and tide, Then onward, onward to the fight With darkness for our guide. To-night, to-night, when we shall meet In combat face to face, Then only would Arminius greet The renegade's embrace. The canker of Rome's guilt shall be Upon his dying name; And as he lived in slavery, So shall he fall in shame.

On the day after the Romans had reached the Weser, Germanicus led his army across that river and a partial encounter took place, in which Arminius was successful. But on the succeeding day, a general action was fought, in which Arminius was severely wounded, and the German infantry routed with heavy loss. The horsemen of the two armies encountered, without either party gaining the advantage. But the Roman army remained master of the ground, and claim a complete victory. Germanicus erected a trophy in the field, with a vaunting inscription, that the nations between the Rhine and the Elbe had been thoroughly conquered by his army. But the