Uxellodunum--
so the place was named--stood on an inaccessible rock, and was amply
provisioned. It could be taken only as Edinburgh Castle was once taken, by
cutting off its water; and the ingenious tunnel may still be seen by which
the Roman engineers tapped the spring supplied the garrison. They, too,
had then to yield, and the war in Gaul was over.
[Sidenote B.C. 50.]
The following winter Caesar spent at Arras. He wished to hand over his
conquests to his successor not only subdued, but reconciled, to
subjection. He invited the chiefs of all the tribes to come to him. He
spoke to them of the future which lay open to them as members of a
splendid Imperial State. He gave them magnificent presents. He laid no
impositions either on the leaders or their people, and they went to their
homes personally devoted to their conqueror, contented with their
condition, and resolved to maintain the peace which was now established--a
unique experience in political history. The Norman Conquest of England
alone in the least resembles it. In the spring of 50 Caesar went to Italy.
Strange things had happened meanwhile in Rome. So long as there was a hope
that Caesar would be destroyed by the insurrection, the ill-minded Senate
had waited to let the Gauls do the work for him. The chance was gone. He
had risen above his perils more brilliant than ever, and nothing now was
left to them but to defy and trample on him.
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