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Rh a small garrison of men against large armies." In neglecting to obtain a passport, Germanicus was indiscreet; yet, surely, by refusing the empire, when proffered by his soldiers, he had given a sufficient pledge of loyalty. Even a governor-general, accompanied by a few tribunes and centurions, on a journey of pleasure, need not have reasonably alarmed the lord of thirty legions.

All cause for fear or jealousy was soon at an end. Within a few weeks after his return from Egypt the hope and pride of the empire was stretched on a sick-bed, and passed away from friends and lovers, from foes and spies, in the capital of Syria, Antioch. Often as one of their beloved princes died unexpectedly, the Roman people, with a credulity not uncommon in modern Europe, believed that he had met with foul play. The most absurd stories of magical arts and poisoning sprang up, and were accepted by the populace, and doubtless by many dressed in senatorial attire. At the trial of Piso for the imputed murder of his commander, and contempt of his orders, the disobedience of the coadjutor was proved, but the charge of poisoning quite broke down, and, if we consider the circumstances, very justly. Even for a Piso it was not easy to drug the food of a man at his own table, in the presence of numerous guests and attendants. The illness of which Germanicus died appears to have been some species of fever. He had been suddenly transplanted from a cold and moist to a hot and dry climate—from the banks of the Rhine to those of the Orontes. His vexations were many; the acts and demeanour of Piso, and perhaps of Plancina also, can hardly have failed to have ex-