Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 1).djvu/378

 prospered under his brief rule, and for the first time was able to claim the proud title of mistress of the northern seas, a title, however, she soon lost, and only regained after tremendous struggles, twelve centuries afterwards. Britain, during the seven years' reign of Carausius, seems to have possessed more wealth and prosperity than during any similar period of Roman rule, while the flourishing state of the arts at that period of her history is shown by the number and elegance of his coins, three hundred varieties of which, in gold, silver, or copper, are now preserved in different numismatic collections.

But though Britain may have flourished in material prosperity under Carausius, no Roman emperor could have allowed his rebellious acts to remain unchastised, and hence, after a long preparation, Constantius was sent to England with a powerful force, and in a short space of time restored the imperial sway; not the less easily, perhaps, that Carausius had in the meanwhile been murdered by his lieutenant Allectus. No mention is made of the number of ships or troops constituting the expedition of Constantius, but it must have been on an extensive scale, as it captured in its first attempt the port of Boulogne, with part of the British fleet.

Nor do historians afford much information with regard to the affairs of Britain from the death of Constantius, father of Constantine the Great, until more than fifty years afterwards, when its Roman subjects were seriously harassed by the Welsh on the west,