Page:Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus.djvu/630

 inscribed with Greek characters, indicating that some ancient noble of the name of Mimas was buried there.

XV
1. After this disastrous battle, when night had veiled the earth in darkness, those who survived fled, some to the right, some to the left, or wherever fear guided them, each man seeking refuge among his relations, as no one could think of anything but himself, while all fancied the lances of the enemy sticking in their backs. And far off were heard the miserable wailings of those who were left behind—the sobs of the dying, and the agonizing groans of the wounded.

2. But when daylight returned, the conquerors, like wild beasts rendered still more savage by the blood they had tasted, and allured by the temptations of groundless hope, marched in a dense column upon Hadrianople, resolved to run any risk in order to take it, having been informed by traitors and deserters that the principal officers of State, the insignia of the imperial authority, and the treasures of Valens had all been placed there for safety, as in an impregnable fortress.

3. And to prevent the ardour of the soldiers from being cooled by delay, the whole city was blockaded by the fourth hour; and the siege from that time was carried on with great vigour, the besiegers, from their innate ferocity, pressing in to complete its destruction, while, on the other hand, the garrison was stimulated to great exertions by their natural courage.

4. And while the vast number of soldiers and grooms, who were prohibited from entering the city with their beasts, kept close to the walls and to the houses which joined them, and fought gallantly, considering the disadvantages under which they laboured from the lowness of the ground which they occupied, and baffled the rage of their assailants till the ninth hour of the day, on a sudden three hundred of our infantry, of those who were nearest the battlements, formed themselves into a solid body, and deserted to the barbarians, who seized upon them with avidity, and (it is not known on what account) at once slaughtered them all. And from that time forth it was remarked