He cherished them like portions of his own person,
of his hatred,--and he felt his spirit higher, and his arms stronger;
everything that he was to accomplish appeared clearly before him. If
sighs sometimes escaped him, it was because he was thinking of Spendius.
He drew up the Barbarians in six equal ranks. He posted the Etruscans
in the centre, all being fastened to a bronze chain; the archers were
behind, and on the wings he distributed the Naffurs, who were mounted on
short-haired camels, covered with ostrich feathers.
The Suffet arranged the Carthaginians in similar order. He placed the
Clinabarians outside the infantry next to the velites, and the Numidians
beyond; when day appeared, both sides were thus in line face to face.
All gazed at each other from a distance, with round fierce eyes. There
was at first some hesitation; at last both armies moved.
The Barbarians advanced slowly so as not to become out of breath,
beating the ground with their feet; the centre of the Punic army formed
a convex curve. Then came the burst of a terrible shock, like the crash
of two fleets in collision. The first rank of the Barbarians had quickly
opened up, and the marksmen, hidden behind the others, discharged their
bullets, arrows, and javelins. The curve of the Carthaginians, however,
flattened by degrees, became quite straight, and then bent inwards; upon
this, the two sections of the velites drew together in parallel lines,
like the legs of a compass that is being closed.
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