Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/23

 after imposing an annual tribute upon Britain, and exacting hostages from the inhabitants, took his departure for the continent.

Cæsar cannot be said to have conquered the island. It is true that, wherever he encountered the natives in battle his armies were victorious; but he made no permanent settlement: and when the state of Britain is considered, the desperate courage of the people, the absence of roads and means of communication, the reasons will appear plain.

In Rome the progress of the invasion was watched with intense anxiety, and more than one classic writer has borne witness to the bravery of the ancient Britons. Cicero, in his letter to his friend Trebatius, then serving in the army, warns him against being surprised by the chariots of the Britons; and, in another portion of his correspondence, the illustrious orator says:—

"I learn there is neither gold nor silver in Britain; try, therefore, to take some chariot of war, and return quickly amongst us."

To Atticus he writes:—

"We are expecting the termination of the war in Britain. We know that there is neither gold nor silver in the island, nor any hope of bringing back plunder, unless it be slaves."

Rome, in fact, gained nothing by the enterprise, Cæsar everything; it enhanced his military reputation, increased his popularity with the people, and earned him the love of his soldiers.

For nearly a century after the invasion of Cæsar, Britain remained in a state of independence. Some of its princes, there is every reason to believe, paid tribute to Rome, but the number must have been few. Augustus several times declared his intention of reducing the island to obedience, but never made any attempt to do so; the empire, he said, was already too large, and he found it convenient to forget Britain.

Caligula afforded the world a pitiful spectacle of madness of power. He assembled an army on the coast of Gaul, and embarked on board the imperial galley, from whence he issued orders to commence the attack against an imaginary enemy. Afterwards he informed his astonished legions that they had conquered the sea, and commanded them to gather up the shells upon the shore, the spoils of their bloodless victory, for which he afterwards decreed himself the honours of a triumph in Rome.

Claudius, his successor, resolved on a regular invasion of the island, and in the forty-third year of the Christian era he dispatched four legions, with their auxiliaries, under the command of Aulus Plautius, an excellent general, who surprised the Britons by the rapidity of his movements. They rallied, however, under their leaders, Togodumnus and Caractacus, two brothers: the latter, by his heroic resistance and dignity in misfortune, acquired a fame imperishable.

The Britons, having drawn the invaders into a marshy part of the country, fell upon them with great fury, and many were destroyed. This news induced Plautius to retreat as far as the right bank of the Thames, and to write to Claudius, inviting him to pass over to the island and conclude the war himself. The emperor accepted the invitation, and took the command of his legions in Britain. He crossed the Thames, and seized upon the fortress of Camalodunum—Colchester or Malden, authorities are divided as to which—receiving in his progress the submission of a number of petty kings and chiefs.

Having reduced a part of the country to the condition of a Roman province, Claudius returned to enjoy the honours of a triumph in Rome. It was celebrated with a degree of unusual magnificence, splendid games, and rejoicings. The emperor mounted the steps of the Capitol on his knees, and decorated his palace with a naval crown, in token of his victory over the sea.

The provinces voted him wreaths; the senate, annual games, a triumphal arch, and the glorious surname of Britannicus. This last honour was accorded to his infant son, whom he was in the habit of bearing in his arms in view of the people, and who was predestined to so tragical a death.

Vespasian, while yet the lieutenant of Aulus Plautius, acquired great glory against the Belges. He conquered the Isle of Wight and the southern portion of the island.

After passing four years on the island, Plautius was recalled to Rome, where the jealousy of the emperor limited the honours decreed to the victorious general to a simple ovation. He was succeeded by Ostorius Scapula, who found, on his arrival, the affairs of his countrymen in the greatest disorder.

The Britons, trusting that a general newly arrived in the island would not enter on a campaign in the beginning of winter, had divided their forces, to plunder and lay waste the territories of such persons as were in alliance with Rome. Ostorius, however, contrary to their expectations, pursued the war with vigour, gave the dispersed bands no time to unite or rally, and commanded the people whom he suspected of disaffection to give up their arms.

As a further precaution, he erected forts on the banks of the Avon and the Severn. The Iceni and the Brigantes finally submitted to the yoke.

The moment appeared favourable to the victorious general to subdue the Silures, a fierce and warlike nation, who, under the guidance of their king, Caractacus, still held out against the Roman arms. Hitherto clemency and force had alike proved unavailing to reduce them to submission, and Ostorius prepared his expedition with a prudence and foresight worthy of the struggle on which the establishment of the supremacy of Rome on the island, in a great measure, depended. He first settled a strong colony of his veteran soldiers at Camalodunum, on the conquered lands, to keep in check the neighbouring tribes, and spread by their example a knowledge of the useful arts. He then set forth at the head of his bravest legions in search of Caractacus, who had retreated from his own states, and transported the war into the country of the Ordovices.

The warlike Briton had assembled under his command all who had vowed an eternal resistance to the invaders, and fortified his position by entrenchments of earth, in imitation of the Roman military works.

In Shropshire, where the great struggle is supposed to have taken place, there is a hill which the inhabitants still call Caer Caradoc. It corresponds exactly with the description which Tacitus has given of the fortifications erected by Caractacus, and answers to the Latin words Castra Caractaci.

This warrior, whose devotion to the liberties of his country merited a better fate, did all that a patriot and a soldier could do to excite the spirit of his countrymen. He