When some of the senators and the Optimates tried to hinder these measures from becoming law, Pompey took an armed force to the Campus, to keep order it was said. But every one knew that the real reason was to make the voters afraid to oppose the Triumvirate. A year passed and Cæsar’s Consulship came to an end. He then demanded that the Senate should give him Gaul as his province. As a rule a province was allotted to an officer for a year, but Cæsar insisted that he should have Gaul for five years. The Senate, again thinking it would be well that he should be absent from Rome, granted his request. And so in 58 B.C. Cæsar left Rome to begin his new duties in Gaul. But before he left the city he arranged that the chief offices of the State should be held by friends of his own, so that his enemies might not grow too powerful during his absence. Cicero had shown himself no friend to Cæsar, and he was now forced either to leave Rome or be brought to trial for executing the four Catilinarian conspirators. Rather than be brought to trial Cicero went into exile. But in sixteen months he was again in Rome, trying to win Pompey from his secret agreement with Cæsar. CHAPTER CVII CÆSAR PRAISES HIS TENTH LEGION The years which Cæsar spent in Gaul were so full of hard-fought battles and well-earned victories, that even his love of adventure and glory must surely have been satisfied. Gaul at this time was divided into two parts, Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul. Cisalpine Gaul was the name given to the Gallic settlements in northern Italy, and here Cæsar spent only a short time. It was in Transalpine Gaul, or Gaul beyond the Alps, that Cæsar’s great work lay, and the countries that we now call France and Switzerland were included in this part of Gaul. When the Roman army reached Transalpine Gaul it found that two tribes, the Helvetians and the Ligurini, had burnt their villages and towns because the land around their dwellings was covered with marsh and forest. They were now going to journey in search of a better country, even thinking that they might invade Italy and settle there. The tribes were fierce and brave, but Cæsar determined to meet them and keep them from setting foot in Italy. So he sent his chief officer against the Ligurini and they were defeated. But the Helvetians succeeded in surprising Cæsar as he was marching, and fell upon him before he had time to arrange his men in a good position. As the Romans prepared to repulse the Gauls, Cæsar’s horse was brought to him, but he refused to mount, saying, ‘When I have won the battle I will use my horse for the chase.’ He then led the charge on foot. The struggle was fierce, for the Helvetians were fighting for all that they counted most dear. But at length the Romans drove them from the field and pursued them to their wagons.