Faithful to his early vow

the young general of 26 years soon manifested his determination to seize whatever opportunity might offer itself of commencing hostilities with Rome. This object was effected in 219 B. c. by laying siege to Saguntum, a town which had concluded an alliance with that a” In eight months Saguntum fell. The Romans alarmed by the fate of this city, sent amba adors to Carthage to demand that Hannibal should be delivered up. The demand being refused, they declared war. Hannibal raised a powerful force and conceived the bold design of attacking the Romans in Italy. After having provided for the security ot Africa, and having left his brother Hasdrubal with an army in Spain he began his march with 90,000 foot soldiers, 40 elephants, and 12,000 horsemen, traversed Gaul in the depth of winter with incredible rapidity and reached the foot of the Alps. In nine a he cro ed these mountains, probably by the pa leading over the Little St. Bernard. Of the troops with which he had set out, however, he had now only 20,000 foot soldiers and 6,000 horse remaining, and these were little more than skeletons.