Beric, the Briton : a story of the Roman invasion

BERIC

THE

BRITON

#

A STORY
OF THE

•ROMAN*

INVASION

BY
G A HENTY

UNIV. OF CALIF. UBRARY, LOS ANGELES

Digitized by the Internet Arcliive

in 2007 witli funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

littp://www.arcliive.org/details/bericbritonstoryOOIientiala

BEEIC THE BEITON

MR. HENTY'S HISTORICAL TALES.

The Cat of Bubastks : A Story of Ancient Egypt. 5s.
The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. 6s.
For the Temple : A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem, ds.
Berio the Briton : A Story of the Roman Invasion. 6s.
The Braqon and the raven : or, The Days of King Alfred. 5s.
WCLF THE Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest. 6s.
A Knight of the White Cross : The Siege of Rhodes. 6s.
In Freedom's Cause : A Story of Wallace and Bruce. 6s.
The Lion of St. Mark: A Story of Venice in the 14th Century. 6s.
St. George for England : A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 5s.
A March on London : A Story of Wat Tyler. 6s.
Both Sides the Border : A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. 6s.
At Aginoourt : A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. 6s.
Br Right of Conquest : or, With Cortez in Mexico. 6s.
St. Bartholomew's Eve : A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. 6s.
By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. 6s.
By England's Aid : or. The Freeing of the Netherlands. 6s.
Under Drake's Flag : A Tale of the Spanish Main. 6s.
The Lion of the North : A Tale of Gustavu^ Adolphus. 6s.
Won by the Sword : A Tale of the Tliirty Years' War. 6s.
When London Burned : A story of the Great Fire. 68.
Orange and Green : A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. 5s.
A Jacobite Exile : In the Service of Charles XII. 5s.
In the Irish Brigade : A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain. 6s.
The Bravest of the Brave: or, With Peterborough in Spain. 5s.
Bonnie Prince Charlie : A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 6s.
With Clive in India : or. The Beginnings of an Empire. 6s.
With Frederick the Great : The Seven Years' War. 6s.
With Wolfe in Canada : or. The Winning of a Continent. 6s.
True to the Old Flag : The American War of Independence. 6s.
Held Fast for England : A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 5s.
In the Reign of Terror : The French Revolution. 5$.
No Surrender ! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendue. 5s.
A Roving Commission : A Story of the Haytl Insurrection. 6s.
The Tiger of Mysore : The War with Tippoo Saib. 6s.
At Aboukir and Acre: Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt. 5s.
With Moore at Corunna : A Tale of the Peninsular War. 6s.
Under Wellington's Command : The Peninsular War. 6s.
With Cochrane the Dauntless : A Tale of his Exploits. 6s.
Through the Fray : A Story of the Luddlte Riots. 68.
Through Russian Snows : The Retreat from Moscow. 5s.
One or the 28th : A Story of Waterloo. 5s.
In Greek Waters : A Story of the Grecian War (1821). 6s.
On the Irrawaddy : A Story of the First Burmese War. 5s.
Through the Sikh War : A Tale of the Punjaub. 6s.
Maori and Settler : A Story of the New Zealand War. 5s.
With Lee in Virginia : A Story of the American Civil War. 6s.
By Sheer Pluck : A Tale of the Ashanti War. 5s.
Out with Garibaldi : A story of the Liberation of Italy. 5s.
For Name and Fame : or, To Cabul with Roberts. 5s.
The Dash for Khartoum : A Tale of the Nile Expedition. 6s.
Condemned as a Nihilist : A Story of Escape from Siberia. 5s.
With Buller in Natal : or, A Bom Leader. 68.

I ^'i,^^^i2_''*°'^

SSSSSSmi^S^M

UERIC FACES THE LION IN THE ARENA.

BEEIO THE BRITON

A STORY OF
THE EOMAN INVASION

BY

G. A. HENTY,

Author of " The Dash for Khartoum;" " In Freedom's Cause;" " With Clive in India;'
" St. George for England; " " Facing Death; " &c.

WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY W. PARKINSON

LONDON
BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.O.

GLASGOW AND DUBLIN

UNfV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELE^

stack
Ann«X

HISS'
PREFACE.

My series of stories dealing with the wars of England
would be altogether incomplete did it not include the period
when the Eomans were masters of the country. The valour
with which the natives of this island defended themselves was
acknowledged by the Roman historians, and it was only the
superior discipline of the invaders that enabled them finally to
triumph over the bravery and the superior physical strength
of the Britons. The Roman conquest for the time was un-
doubtedly of immense advantage to the people — who had pre-
viously wasted their energies in perpetual tribal wars — as it
introduced among them the civilization of Rome. In the end,
however, it proved disastrous to the islanders, who lost all their
military virtues. Having been defended from the savages of
the north by the soldiers of Rome, the Britons were, when the
legions were recalled, unable to offer any eflFectual resistance to
the Saxons, who, coming under the guise of friendship, speedily
became their masters, imposing a yoke infinitely more burden-
some than that of Rome, and erasing almost every sign of the
civilization that had been engrafted upon them. How far the
British population disappeared under the subsequent invasion
and the still more oppressive yoke of the Danes is uncertain;
but as the invaders would naturally desire to retain the people

6

2049758

Vi PREFACE.

to cultivate the land for them, it is probable that the great
mass of the Britons were not exterminated. It is at any rate
pleasant to believe that with the Saxon, Danish, and Norman
blood in our veins, there is still a large admixture of tliat of
the valiant warriors who fought so bravely against Caesar, and
who rose under Boadicea in a desperate effort to shake off the
oppressive rule of Rome.

G. A. HENTY.

CONTENTS.

Chap. Page

I. A Hostage, 11

II. City and Forest, 28

III. A Wolf Hunt, 46

IV. An Infuriated People, 64

V. The Sack of Camalodundm 82

VI. First Successes, 100

VII. Defeat op the Britons, 118

VIII. The Great Swamps, 135

IX. The Strdggle in the Swamp, 154

X. Betrayed, 171

XI. A Prisoner, 189

XII. A School for Gladiators, 209

XIII. A Christian, 231

XIV. Rome in Flames, 248

XV. "The Christians to the Lions," 263

XVI. In Nero's Palace, 281

XVII. Betrothal, 296

XVIII. The Outbreak, 312

XIX. Outlaws, 328

XX. Mountain Warfare, 344

XXI. Old Friends, 359

7

ILLUSTRATIONS.

rage
Beric faces the Lion in the Arena, Frontis. 268

Beric keeps the Wolves at Bay 43

Parta and Beric entertain the Chiefs, 54

Boadicea shows the marks of the Roman rods, .... 72

Beric fires the Roman Temple, 103

They discover an ancient Monster, 148

The Britons before the Propr^tor, 186

A Roman Lady and her Attendant, I97

Rome in Flames, 243

"This is the library," said Phaon, 289

Beric confronts Nero at the Banquet, 315

"I CAN see an amphitheatre," THE GiRL SAID, 360

9

BEBIC THE BEITON.

CHAPTER I.

A HOSTAGE.

T is a fair sight."

"It may be a fair sight in a Roman's eyes, Beric,

but nought could be fouler to those of a Briton.

To me every one of those blocks of brick and stone
weighs down and helps to hold in bondage this land of ours;
while that temple they have dared to rear to their gods, in
celebration of their having conquered Britain, is an insult and
a lie. We are not conquered yet, as they will some day know
to their cost. We are silent, we wait, but we do not admit that
we are conquered."

" I agree with you there. We have never fairly tried our
strength against them. These wretched divisions have always
prevented our making an effort to gather; Cassivelaunus and
some of the Kentish tribes alone opposed them at their first
landing, and he was betrayed and abandoned by the tribes on
the north of the Thames. It has been the same thing ever
since. We fight piecemeal; and while the Romans hurl their
whole strength against one tribe the others look on with folded
hands. Who aided the Trinobantes when the Romans defeated
them and established themselves on that hill t No one. They
will eat Britain up bit by bit."

12 BERIC THE BRITON.

"Then you like them no better for having lived among
them, Berici"

" I like them more, but I fear them more. One cannot be
four years among them, as I was, without seeing that in many
respects we might copy them with advantage. They are a
great people. Compare their splendid mansions and their
regular orderly life, their manners and their ways, with our
rough huts, and our feasts, ending as often as not with quarrels
and brawls. Look at their arts, their power of turning stone
into lifelike figures, and above all, the way in which they can
transfer their thoughts to white leaves, so that others, many
many years hence, can read them and know all that was
passing, and what men thought and did in the long bygone.
Truly it is marvellous."

"You are half Romanized, Beric," his companion said
roughly.

"I think not," the other said quietly; "I should be worse
than a fool had I lived, as I have done, a hostage among them
for four years without seeing that there is much to admire,
much that we could imitate with advantage, in their life and
ways; but there is no reason because they are wiser and far
more polished, and in many respects a greater people than we,
that they should come here to be our masters. These things
are desirable, but they are as nothing to freedom, I have said
that I like them more for being among them. I like them
more for many reasons. They are grave and courteous in their
manner to each other ; they obey their own laws ; every man
has his rights; and while all yield obedience to their superiors,
the superiors respect the rights of those below them. The
highest among them cannot touch the property or the life of
the lowest in rank. All this seems to me excellent; but then,
on the other hand, my blood boils in my veins at the contempt
in which they hold us; at their greed, their rapacity, their
brutality, their denial to us of all rights. In their eyes we are
but savages, but wild men, who may be useful for tilling the
ground for them, but who, if troublesome, should be hunted

A HOSTAGE. 13

down and slain like wild beasts. I admire them for what they
can doj I respect them for their power and learning; but I hate
them as our oppressors."

"That is better, Beric, much better. I had begun to fear
that the grand houses and the splendour of these Romans
might have sapped your patriotism. I hate them all; I hate
changes; I would live as we have always lived."

" But you forget, Boduoc, that we ourselves have not been
standing still. Though our long -past forefathers, when they
crossed from Gaul wave after wave, were rude warriors, we
have been learning ever since from Gaul as the Gauls have
learned from the Romans, and the Romans themselves admit
that we have advanced greatly since the days when, under
their Caesar, they first landed here. Look at the town on the
hill there. Though 'tis Roman now 'tis not changed so much
from what it was under that great king Cunobeline, while
his people had knowledge of many things of which we and the
other tribes of the Iceni knew nothing."

"What good did it do them?" the other asked scornfully;
"they lie prostrate under the Roman yoke. It was easy to
destroy their towns while we, who have few towns to destroy,
live comparatively free. Look across at Caraalodunum, Cuno-
beline's capital. Where are the men who built the houses,
who dressed in soft garments, who aped the Romans, and who
regarded us as well-nigh savage men? Gone every one of
them; hewn down on their own hearthstones, or thrust out
with their wives and families to wander homeless — is there
one left of them in yonder town ? Their houses they were so
proud of, their cultivated fields, their wealth of all kinds has
been seized by the Romans. Did they fight any better for
their Roman fashions? Not they; the kingdom of Cunobeline,
from the Thames to the western sea, fell to pieces at a touch,
and it was only among the wild Silures that Caractacus was
able to make any great resistance."

"But we did no better, Boduoc; Ostorius crushed us as
easily as Claudius crushed the Trinobantes. It is no use our

14 BERIO THE BRITON.

setting ourselves against change. All that you urge against
the Trinobantes and the tribes of Kent the Silures might urge
with equal force against us. You must remember that we were
like them not so many ages back. The intercourse of the
Gauls with us on this eastern sea-coast, and with the Kentish
tribes, has changed us greatly. We are no longer, like the
western tribes, mere hunters living in shelters of boughs and
roaming the forests. Our dress, with our long mantles, our
loose vests and trousers, differs as widely from that of these
western tribes as it does from the Eomans. We live in towns,
and if our houses are rude they are solid. We no longer
depend solely on the chase, but till the ground and have our
herds of cattle. I daresay there were many of our ancestors
who set themselves as much against the Gaulish customs as you
do against those of the Romans; but we adopted them, and
benefited by them, and though I would exult in seeing the last
Koman driven from our land, I should like after their departure
to see us adopt what is good and orderly and decent in their
customs and laws."

Beric's companion growled a malediction upon everything
Eoman.

" There is one thing certain," he said after a pause, " either
they must go altogether, not only here but everywhere — they
must learn, as our ancestors taught them at their two first in-
vasions, that it is hopeless to conquer Britain — or they will end
by being absolute masters of the island, and we shall be their
servants and slaves."

"That is true enough," Beric agreed; "but to conquer we
must be united, and not only united but steadfast. Of course
I have learned much of them while I have been with them. I
have come to speak their language, and have listened to their
talk. It is not only the Eomans who are here whom we have
to defeat, it is those who will come after them. The power of
Eome is great; how great we cannot tell, but it is wonderful
and almost inconceivable. They have spread over vast coun-
tries, reducing peoples everywhere under their dominion. I

A HOSTAGE. 15

have seen what they call maps showing the world as far as they
know it, and well-nigh all has been conquered by them; but
the farther away from Kome the more difficulty have they in
holding what they have conquered.

"That is our hope here; we are very far from Eome. They
may send army after army against us, but in time they will get
weary of the loss and expense when there is so little to gain,
and as after their first invasions a long time elapsed before they
again troubled us, so in the end they may abandon a useless
enterprise. Even now the Romans grumble at what they call
their exile, but they are obstinate and tenacious, and to rid our
land of them for good it would be necessary for us not only to
be united among ourselves when we rise against them, but to
remain so, and to oppose with our whole force the fresh armies
they will bring against us.

"You know how great the difficulties will be, Boduoc; we
want one great leader whom all the tribes will follow, just as
all the Roman legions obey one general; and what chance is
there of such a man arising — a man so great, so wise, so brave,
that all the tribes of Britain will lay aside their enmities and
jealousies, and submit themselves to his absolute guidance."

" If we wait for that, Beric, we may wait for ever," Boduoc
said in a sombre tone, "at anyrate it is not while we are tran-
quil under the Roman heel that such a man could show him-
self. If he is to come to the front it must be in the day of
battle. Then, possibly, one chief may rise so high above his
fellows that all may recognize his merits and agree to follow
him."

"That is so," Beric agreed; "but is it possible that even the
greatest hero should find support from all? Cassivelaunus
was betrayed by the Trinobantes. Who could have united the
tribes more than the sons of Cunobeline, who reigned over
well-nigh all Britain, and who was a great king ruling wisely
and well, and doing all in his power to raise and advance the
people; and yet, when the hour came, the kingdom broke up
into pieces. Veric, the chief of the Cantii, went to Rome and

16 BERIC THE BRITON.

invited the invader to aid him against his rivals at home, and
not a man of the Iceni or the Brigantes marched to the aid of
Caractacus and Togodamnus. What wonder, then, that these
were defeated. Worse than all, when Caractacus was driven
a fugitive to hide among the Brigantes, did not their queen,
Cartismandua, hand him over to the Romans'? Where can we
hope to find a leader more fitted to unite us than was Carac-
tacus, the son of the king whom we all, at least, recognized and
paid tribute to; a prince who had learned wisdom from a wise
father, a warrior enterprising, bold, and indomitable — a true
patriot?

"If Caractacus could not unite us, what hope is there of
finding another who would do sol Moreover, our position is
far worse now than it was ten years ago. The Belgse and
Dumnonii in the south-west have been crushed after thirty
battles; the Dobuni in the centre have been defeated and gar-
risoned; the Silures have set an example to us all, inflicting
many defeats on the Romans; but their power has at last been
broken. The Brigantes and ourselves have both been heavily
struck, as we deserved, Boduoc, for standing aloof from Carac-
tacus at first. Thus the task of shaking off the Roman bonds
is far more difficult now than it was when Plautius landed
here twenty years ago. Well, it is time for me to be going on.
Won't you come with me, Boduoc?"

"Not I, Beric; I never want to enter their town again save
with a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. It
enrages me to see the airs of superiority they give themselves.
They scarce seem even to see us as we walk in their streets;
and as to the soldiers as they stride along with helmet and
shield, my fingers itch to meet them in the forest. No; I
promised to walk so far with you, but I go no farther. How
long will you be there?"

" Two hours at most, I should say."

"The sun is half-way down, Beric; I will wait for you till it
touches that hill over there. Till then you will find me sitting
by the first tree at the spot where we left the forest."

(726)

A HOSTAGE. 17

Beric nodded and walked on towards the town. The lad,
for he was not yet sixteen, was the son of Parta, the chief-
tainess of one of the divisions of the great tribe of the Iceni,
who occupied the tract of country now kno\vn as Suffolk, Nor-
folk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon. This tribe had yielded but
a nominal allegiance to Cunobeline, and had held aloof during
the struggle between Caractacus and the Komans, but when the
latter had attempted to establish forts in their country they
had taken up arms. Ostorius Scapula, the Eoman propraetor,
had marched against them and defeated them with great
slaughter, and they had submitted to the Roman authority.
The Sarci, the division of the tribe to which Beric belonged,
had taken a leading part in the rising, and his father had fallen
in the defence of their intrenchments.

Among the British tribes the women ranked with the men,
and even when married the wife was often the acknowledged
chief of the tribe. Parta had held an equal authority with
her husband, and at his death remained sole head of the sub-
tribe, and in order to ensure its obedience in the future, Osto-
rius had insisted that her only son Beric, at that time a boy
of eleven, should be handed over to them as a hostage.

Had Parta consulted her own wishes she would have retired
with a few followers to the swamps and fens of the country to
the north rather than surrender her son, but the Brigantes,
who inhabited Lincolnshire, and who ranged over the whole
of the north of Britain as far as Northumberland, had also
received a defeat at the hands of the Romans, and might not
improbably hand her over upon their demand. She therefore
resigned herself to let Beric go.

"My son," she said, "I need not tell you not to let them
Romanize you. You have been brought up to hate them.
Your father has fallen before their weapons, half your tribe
have been slain, your country lies under their feet I will not
wrong you then by fearing for a moment that they can make
a Roman of you.

" You have been brought up to lie upon the bare ground, to

r725> B

H

18 BERIC THE BRITON.

suffer fatigue and hardship, hunger and thirst, and the rich
food and splendid houses and soft raiment of the Romans
should have no attraction for you. I know not how long your
imprisonment among them may last. For the present I have
little hope of another rising; but should I see a prospect of
anything like unity among our people, I will send Boduoc with
a message to you to hold yourself in readiness to escape when
you receive the signal that the time has come. Till then
employ your mind in gaining what good you may by your
residence among them; there must be some advantage in
their methods of warfare which has enabled the people of one
city to conquer the world.

" It is not their strength, for they are but pigmies to us.
We stand a full head above them, and even we women are
stronger than Roman soldiers, and yet they defeat us. Learn
then their language, throw your whole mind into that at first,
then study their military discipline and their laws. It must
be the last as much as their discipline that has made them
rulers over so vast an empire. Find out if you can the secret of
their rule, and study the training by which their soldiers move
and fight as if bound together by a cord, forming massive walls
against which we break ourselves in vain. Heed not their arts,
pay no attention to their luxuries, these did Cunobeline no
good, and did not for a day delay the destruction that fell
upon his kingdom. What we need is first a knowledge of their
military tactics, so that we may drive them from the land;
secondly, a knowledge of their laws, that we may rule ourselves
wisely after they have gone. What there is good in the rest
may come in time.

" However kind they may be to you, bear always in mind
that you are but a prisoner among the oppressors of your
country, and that though, for reasons of policy, they may treat
you well, yet that they mercilessly despoil and ill-treat your
countrymen. Remember too, Beric, that the Britons, now that
Caractacus has been sent a prisoner to Rome, need a leader,
one who is not only brave and valiant in the fight, but who

i

A HOSTAGE. 19

can teach the people how to march to victory, and can order
and rule them well afterwards. We are part of one of our
greatest tribes, and from among us, if anywhere, such a leader
should come.

" I have great hopes of you, Beric. I know that you are
brave, for single-handed you slew with an arrow a great
wolf the other day; but bravery is common to all, I do not
think that there is a coward in the tribe. I believe you are
intelligent I consulted the old Druid in the forest last week,
and he prophesied a high destiny for you; and when the mes-
senger brought the Roman summons for me to deliver you
up as a hostage, it seemed to me that this was of all things
the one that would fit you best for future rule. I am not
ambitious for you, Beric. It would be nought to me if you were
king of all the Britons. It is of our country that I think.
We need a great leader, and my prayer to the gods is that one
may be found. If you should be the man so much the better;
but if not, let it be another. Comport yourself among them
independently, as one who will some day be chief of a British
tribe, but be not sullen or obstinate. Mix freely with them,
learn their language, gather what are the laws under which
they live, see how they build those wonderful houses of theirs,
watch the soldiers at their exercises, so that when you return
among us you can train the Sarci to fight in a similar manner.
Keep the one purpose always in your mind. Exercise your
muscles daily, for among us no man can lead who is not as
strong and as brave as ohe best who follow him. Bear your-
self so that you shall be in good favour with all men."

Beric had, to the best of his power, carried out the instruc-
tions of his mother. It was the object of the Romans always
to win over their adversaries if possible, and the boy had no
reason to complain of his treatment. He was placed in charge
of Caius Muro, commander of a legion, and a slave was at once
appointed to teach him Latin. He took his meals with the
scribe and the steward of the household, for Caius was of noble
family, of considerable wealth, and his house was one of the

20 BERIC THE BRITON.

finest in Camalodunum. He was a kindly and just man, and
much beloved by his troops. As soon as Beric had learned the
language, Caius ordered the scribe to teach him the elements of
Roman law, and a decurion was ordered to take him in hand
and instruct him in arms.

As Beric was alike eager to study and to exercise in arms,
he gained the approval of both his teachers. Julia, the wife
of Caius, a kindly lady, took a great fancy to the boy. " He
will make a fine man, Caius," she said one day when the boy
was fourteen years old. "See how handsome and strong
he is; why, Scipio, the son of the centurion Metellus, is
older by two years, and yet he is less strong than this young
Briton."

" They are a fine race, Julia, though in disposition as fierce
as wild cats, and not to be trusted. But the lad is, as you say,
strong and nimble. I marked him practising with the sword
the other day against Lucinus, who is a stout soldier, and the
man had as much as he could do to hold his own against him.
I was surprised myself to see how well he wielded a sword of
full weight, and how active he was. The contest reminded
me of a dog and a wild cat, so nimble were the boy's springs,
and so fierce his attacks. Lucinus fairly lost his temper at
last, and I stopped the fight, for although they fought with
blunted weapons, he might well have injured the lad badly
with a downright cut, and that would have meant trouble with
the Iceni again."

"He is intelligent, too," Julia replied. '• Sometimes I have
him in while I am working with the two slave girls, and he
will stand for hours asking questions about Rome, and about
our manners and customs."

"One is never sure of these tamed wolves," Caius said;
"sometimes they turn out valuable allies and assistants, at
other times they grow into formidable foes, all the more
dangerous for what they have learned of us. However, do with
him as you like, Julia; a woman has a lighter hand than a
man, and you are more likely to tame him than we are.

A HOSTAGE. 21

Cneius says that he is very eager to learn, and has ever a book
in his hand when not practising in arms."

"What I like most in him," Julia said, "is that he is very
fond of our little Berenice. The child has taken to him won-
derfully, and of an afternoon, when he has finished with Cneius,
she often goes out with him. Of course old Lucia goes with
them. It is funny to hear them on a wet day, when they
cannot go out, talking together — she telling him stories of
Rome and of our kings and consuls, and he telling her tales
of hunting the wolf and wild boar, and legends of his people,
who seem to have been always at war with someone."

After Beric had resided for three years and a half at Cama-
lodunum a great grief fell on the family of Caius Muro, for
the damp airs from the valley had long affected Julia and she
gradually faded and died. Beric felt the loss very keenly, for
she had been uniformly kind to him. A year later Suetonius
and the governor of the colony decided that as the Sarci had
now been quiet for nearly five years, and as Caius reported that
their young chief seemed to have become thoroughly Roman-
ized, he was permitted to return to his tribe.

The present was his first visit to the colony since he had
left it four months before. His companion, Boduoc, was one
of the tribesmen, a young man six years his senior. He was
related to his mother, and had been his companion in his
childish days, teaching him woodcraft, and to throw the javelin
and use the sword. Together, before Beric went as hostage,
they had wandered through the forest and hunted the wolf
and wild boar, and at that time Boduoc had stood in the rela-
tion of an elder brother to Beric. That relation had now much
changed. Although Boduoc was a powerful young man and
Beric but a sturdy stripling, the former was little better than
an untutored savage, and he looked with great respect upon
Beric both as his chief and as possessing knowledge that seemed
to him to be amazing.

Hating the Romans blindly he had trembled lest he should
^ find Beric on his return completely Romanized. He had many

22 BERIC THE BRITON.

times, during the lad's stay at Camalodunum, carried messages
to him there from his mother, and had sorrowfully shaken his
head on his way back through the forest as he thought of
his young chief's surroundings. Beric had partially adopted
the Roman costume, and to hear him talking and jesting in
their own language to the occupants of the mansion, whose
grandeur and appointments filled Boduoc with an almost
superstitious fear, was terrible to him. However, his loyalty
to Beric prevented him from breathing a word in the tribe as
to his fears, and he was delighted to find the young chief
return home in British garb, and to discover that although his
views of the Romans differed widely from his own, he was still
British at heart, and held firmly the opinion that the only
hope for the freedom of Britain was the entire expulsion of
the invaders.

He was gratified to find that Beric had become by no means
what he considered effeminate. He was built strongly and
massively, as might be expected from such parents, and was
of the true British type, that had so surprised the Romans at
their first coming among them, possessing great height and
muscular power, together with an activity promoted by con-
stant exercise.

Beric had fallen back upon the customs of his people as
thoroughly as if he had never dwelt in the stately Roman
town. He was as ready as before to undertake the longest
himting expeditions, to sleep in the forest, to go from sunrise
to sunset without breaking his fast When not engaged in
hunting he practised incessantly hurling the javelin and other
warlike exercises, while of an evening he frequently related
stories of Roman history to any chiefs or other guests of his
mother, on which occasions the humbler followers would gather
thickly in the background, evincing an interest even greater than
that which they felt in the songs and legends of the bards.

Beric generally chose stories relating to periods when Rome
was hardly pressed by her foes, showing how the intense feel-
ing of patriotism, and the obstinate determination to resist, in

A HOSTAGE. 23

spite of all dangers, upon the part of the population, and the
discipline and dogged valour of the soldiers, saved her from
destruction. He was cautious to draw no parallel openly to
the case of Britain. He knew that the Eomans were made
acquainted, by traitors in their pay, with much that passed
among the native tribes, and that at first they were sure to
interest themselves in his proceedings. At present there could
be no thought of a rising, and the slightest sign of disaffection
might bring disaster and ruin upon his tribe. Only when
some unexpected event, some invasion of the rights of the
Britons even more flagrant than those that had hitherto taken
place, should stir the smouldering fire of discontent, and fan it
into a fierce flame of revolt from end to end of Britain, could
success be hoped for.

No Eoman could have found fault with Beric's relation of
their prowess or their valour; for he held them up to the
admiration of his hearers. " No wonder Rome is great and
powerful," he said, " when its people evince so deep a love of
country, so resolute a determination in the face of their enemies,
so unconquerable a spirit when misfortune weighs upon
them."

To the men he addressed all this was new. It was true that
a few princes and chiefs had visited Rome, occasionally as
travellers desiring to see the centre of her greatness, more
often as exiles driven from Britain by defeat in civil strife,
but these had only brought back great tales of Rome's magni-
ficence, and the Britons knew nothing of the history of the
invaders, and eagerly listened to the stories that Beric had
learned from their books in the course of his studies. The
report of his stories spread so far that visits were paid to the
village of Parta by chiefs and leading men from other sections
of the Iceni to listen to them.

Oratory was among the Britons, as among most primitive
tribes, highly prized and much cultivated. Oral tradition
among such peoples takes the place of books among civilized
nations. Story and legend are handed down from father to

24 BERIC THE BRITON.

son, and the wandering bard is a most welcome guest. Next
only to valour oratory sways and influences the minds of the
people, and a Ulysses has greater influence than an Ajax,
From his earliest childhood Beric had listened to the stories
and legends told by bards in the rough palace of his father,
and his sole schooling before he went to Camalodunum had
been to learn these by heart, and to repeat them with due
emphasis and appropriate gesture. His father had been one
of the most eloquent and influential of the chiefs of the Iceni,
and had early impressed upon him the importance of cultivating
the power of speech.

His studies in Eoman history, too, had taught him the
power exercised by men with the gift of moving multitudes
by their words; he had learned from books how clearly and
distinctly events could be described by a careful choice of
words, and attention to form and expression, so that almost
unconsciously to himself he had practised the art in his
relations of the tales and legends of British history to Berenice
and her mother. Thus, then, the manner no less than the
matter of his recitals of Roman story, gained him a high esti-
mation among his hearers, and he was already looked upon
as a young chief likely to rise to a very high position among
the Iceni. Among the common herd his glowing laudations
of Roman patriotism, devotion, and sacrifice, caused him to be
regarded with disfavour, and the epithet "the Roman" was
frequently applied to him. But the wiser spirits saw the hidden
meaning of his stories, and that, while holding up the Romans
as an example, he was endeavouring to teach how much can
be done by patriotism, by a spirit of self-sacrifice, and by
unity against a common foe. Parta was also proud of the con-
gratulations that distinguished chiefs, famed for their wisdom
throughout the tribe, offered to her on the occasion of their
visits.

" Beric will be a great chief," one of the wisest of these said
to her; *' truly his sojourn among the Romans has done great
things for him. It would be well, indeed, if every noble youth

A HOSTAGK 25

throughout the island were to have such schooling, if he had
your son's wit in taking advantage of it. He will be a great
orator; never among our bards have I heard narrations so
clear and so well delivered; although the deeds he praises are
those of our oppressors, one cannot but feel a thrill of enthu-
siasm as he tells them. Yea, for the moment I myself felt half
a Roman when he told us of the brave youth who thrust his
hand into the flames, and suffered it to be consumed in order
to impress the invader with a knowledge of the spirit that
animated the Romans, and of the three men who held against
a host the bridge that their friends were breaking down behind
them.

" If he could stir me thus by his tales of the deeds of our
enemies, what will it be when some day he makes the heroes
of Britain his theme, and calls upon his countrymen to imitate
their deeds! I have heard him called 'the Roman,' Parta.
Now that I have listened to him I know that he will, when the
time comes, be one of Rome's most formidable foes. I will tell
you now that Prasutagus, our king, and his queen Boadicea, spoke
to mo about Beric, and begged me to come hither to see for
myself this youth of whom they had heard reports from others,
some saying that he had returned a Roman heart and soul,
while others affirmed that, while he had learned much from
them, he had forgotten nothing of the injuries he had received
at their hands in the death of his father, and the disaster of
the tribe. I shall know now what to tell them. To Prasu-
tagus, whose fear of the Romans is even greater than his
hatred for them, I shall say that the lad is full of the glories of
Roman story, and that there is no fear of his doing or saying
aught that will excite the anger or suspicion of the Romans.
To Boadicea, who hates the Romans far more than she fears
them, I shall tell the truth, and shall inform her that when the
time comes, as assuredly it some day will, that the Iceni are
called upon to defend their liberties against Rome, in Beric
she will find a champion of whom I predict that he will be
worthy to take his place in our history by the side of Carac-

98 BERIC THE BRITON.

tacus and Cassivelaunus. May our gods avert that, like them,
he fall a victim to British treachery ! "

After leaving Boduoc, Beric crossed the bridge built by the
Komans over the Stour, and entered the city. Camalodunum
was the chief seat of the Roman power in England. Although
but so short a time had elapsed since Claudius had occupied
it, it was already a large city. A comparatively small propor-
tion, however, was Eoman work, but all bore the impress of
Roman art and civilization, for Cunobeline, whose capital it
had been, was a highly enlightened king, and had introduced
Roman ways and methods among his people. Men instructed
in their arts and architecture had been largely employed in
the building of the town, and its edifices would have borne
comparison with those in minor towns in the Roman provinces.

The conquerors, therefore, found much of their work done
for them. The original possessors of the houses and of the
highly cultivated lands lying round the town were ejected
wholesale, and the Romans, establishing themselves in their
abodes and farms, then proceeded to add to, embellish, and
fortify the town. The 2d, 9th, and 14th Legions were selected
by Claudius to found what was called the colony, and to take
possession of the surrounding country. Plautius was appointed
propraetor, or governor, and establishing himself in the royal
palace of Cunobeline, his first step was to protect the city from
renewed attacks by the Britons. He accordingly erected vast
works to the westward of the town, extending from the sea to
the river, by which means he not only protected the city from
attack, but gained, in case of an assault by overpowering num-
bers, the means of retiring safely to Mersea Island, lying a
short distance from the shore.

A council-house and a tribunal were erected for the Roman
magistrates; temples, a theatre, and baths raised. The civilian
population increased rapidly. Architects, artists, and musi-
cians, decorators, skilled artisans, and traders were attracted
from the mainland to the rising city, which rapidly increased
in wealth and importance. Conspicuous on the most elevated

A HOSTAGE. 27

position etood a temple erected to the honour of Claudius, who
was raised by the grateful legionaries to divine rank So
strong and populous was the city that the Trinobantes, during
the years that; had elapsed since the Romans took possession
of it, remained passive under the yoke of their oppressors, and
watched, without attempting to take part in them, the rising
of the Iceni and Brigantes, the long and desperate war of the
Silures and Ordovices under Caractacus, and the reduction of
the Belgae and Dumnonii from Hampshire to Cornwall by
Vespasian. Yet, had their spirit remained unbroken, there
was an opportunity for revenge, for a large part of the veteran
legionaries had been withdrawn to take part in the struggle
against the western tribes. The tribe had, however, been dis-
armed, and with Camalodunum on the north, and the rising
towns of London and Verulamium on the south, they were cut
off from other tribes, and could not hope for final success,
unless the powerful Iceni, who were still semi -independent,
rose in the national cause. Whether their easy defeat of this
tribe soon after the occupation of Camalodunum had rendered
the Romans contemptuous of their fighting powers, or that they
deemed it wiser to subdue the south-west and west of England,
and to strike a heavy blow at the Brigantes to the north
before interfering with a powerful tribe so close to their doors,
is uncertain; but doubtless they felt that so long as Prasutagus
reigned there was little fear of trouble in that quarter, as that
king protested himself the friend and ally of Rome, and occu-
pied himself wholly in acquiring wealth and adding to his per-
sonal possessions.

The scene in Camalodunum was a familiar one to Beric.
The streets were thronged with people. Traders from Gaul
and Italy, Roman artisans and workmen, haughty legionaries
with shield and helmet, civil officials, Greek players, artists
and decorators, native tribesmen, with the products of their
fields or the spoils of the chase, walking with humble mien;
and shopkeepers sitting at the open fronts of their houses,
while their slaves called the attention of passers-by to the

28 BERIC THE BRITON.

merits of the goods. Here were the rich products of Eastern
looms, there the cloths and linen of Rome, further on a smith's
shop in full work, heyond that a silversmith's, next door to
which was a thriving trader who sold unguents and perfumes,
dyes for the ladies' cheeks and pigments for their eyebrows,
dainty requisites for the toilette, and perfumed soap. Bakers
and butchers, vendors of fish and game, of fruit, of Eastern
spices and flavourings abounded.

Druggists and dealers in dyes for clothing and in the pig-
ments used in wall decorations and paintings were also to be
found; and, in fact, this Roman capital of a scarcely subjugated
country contained all the appliances for luxury and comfort
that could be found in the cities of the civilized provinces.

The only shops at which Beric paused were those of the
armourers and of the scribes, at some of which were exhibited
vellums with the writings of the Greek and Roman poets and
historians ; and Beric muttered to himself, " If I am ever present
at the sack of Camalodunum these shall be my share of the
spoil, and I fancy that no one is likely to dispute their posses-
sion with me."

But he did not linger long. Boduoc would be waiting for
him, and he could not hurry over his visit, the first he had
paid since his absence; therefore he pushed on, with scarce a
glance at the stately temple of Claudius, the magnificent baths
or other public buildings, until he arrived at the villa of Caius
Muro, which stood somewhat beyond the more crowded part
of the town.

CHAPTER IL

CITY AND FOREST.

THE house of Caius Muro had been built but six years
before on the model of one owned by him in the Tuscan
hills. Passing through the hall or vestibule, with its mosaic

CITY AND FOREST. 29

pavement, on which was the word of welcome, '* Salve!" Bene
entered the atrium, the principal apartment in the house.
From each side, at a height of some twenty feet from the
ground, extended a roof, the fall being slightly to the centre,
where there was an aperture of about eight feet square.
Through this light and air made their way down to the apart-
ment, the rainfall from the roofs and opening falling into a
marble tank, called the impluvium, below the level of the floor,
which was paved with squares of coloured marble. On either
side of the atrium were the small sleeping chambers, the bed-
places being raised and covered with thick mats and rugs.

The walls of the bed-chambers as well as of the atrium were
painted in black, with figures and landscapes in colour. On
the centre of the side facing the vestibule was the tablinum,
the apartment of Caius Muro himself. This formed his sitting-
room and study. The floor was raised about a foot above that
of the atrium, and it was partly open both on that side and
on the other, looking into the peristylium, so that, while at
work, he commanded a view of all that was going on in the
atrium and in the court-yard. In the centre of this was a
fountain surrounded by plants. From the court-yard opened
the triclinium, or dining-room, and also rooms used as store-
rooms, kitchen, and the sleeping places of the slaves.

At the back of the peristylium was the oecus, or state apart-
ment, where Caius received distinguished guests, and where, in
the lifetime of Julia, entertainments were given to the ladies
of the colony. Like the triclinium, this room was also partially
open at both ends, affording the guests a view of the graceful
fountain on the one side and of the garden on the other. In
winter wooden frames, with heavy hangings, were erected across
these openings and that of the tablinum, for the Eomans soon
found the necessity for modifying arrangements which, although
well suited for an Italian climate, were wholly unfit for that
of Britain, The opening in the centre of the atrium was then
closed with an awning of oiled canvas, which admitted a certain
amount of light to pass, but prevented the passage of rain and

80 BERIC THE BRITON.

snow, and kept out much of the cold. There was a narrow
passage between the atrium and the peristylium; this was
called the fauces. Above the chambers round the atrium was
a second story, approached by a staircase from the peristylium;
here were the apartments of the ladies and of the female slaves.

As Beric entered the atrium, a man, who was reading a roll
of parchment, rose to his feet.

"Welcome, Beric!" he said warmly.

"All hail, preceptor!" the lad replied. "Are all well here?"

"All well, Beric. We had looked to see you before, and
Berenice has been constantly asking me when you were coming."

" I had been absent over four years, you see," Beric replied,
" and it was not easy to get away from home again. Now I
must speak to Caius." He crossed the apartment, and stood at
the entrance to the tablinum. Caius looked up from a military
treatise he was perusing.

" Ah, Beric ! it is you ! I am glad to see you again, though
I am sorry to observe that you have abandoned our fashions
and taken to the native garb again."

" It was necessary, Caius," Beric said. " I should have lost
all influence with the tribe had I not laid aside my Eoman
dress. As it is, they regard me with some doubt, as one too
enamoured of Roman customs."

" We have heard of you, Beric, and, indeed, report says that
you speak well of us, and are already famous for your relations
of our history."

" I thought it well that my countrymen should know your
great deeds," Beric said, " and should see by what means you
have come to rule the world. I received nought but kindness
at your hands, and no prisoner's lot was ever made more easy
than mine. To you and yours I am deeply grateful. If your
people all behaved as kindly towards the natives of this
country as you did to me, Britain would be conquered without
need of drawing sword from scabbard."

"I know not that, Beric; to rule, one should be strong as
well as kind. Still, as you know, I think that things might

CITY AND FOREST. 31

have been arranged far less harshly than they have been. It
was needful that we should show ourselves to be masters ; but
I regret the harshness that has been too often used, and I would
that not one of us here, from the governor down to the poorest
soldier, was influenced by a desire for gain, but that each was
animated, as he assuredly should be, only by a desire to uphold
the glory and power of Eome. But that would be expecting
too much from human nature, and even among you there are
plenty ready to side against their countrymen for the sake of
Roman gold. In that they have less excuse than we. Custom
and habit have made our wants many, and all aim at attaining
the luxuries of the rich. On the other hand, your wants are
few, and I see not that the piling up of wealth adds in any
way to your happiness."

" That is true, Caius. I quite agree with you that it is far
more excusable for a Roman to covet wealth than for a Briton;
and while I blame many officials and soldiers for the harshness
with which they strive to wring all their possessions from my
countrymen, I deem their conduct as worthy and honourable
when compared with that of Britons who sell their country for
your gold."

"We must take the world as we find it, Beric. We may
regret that greed and the love of luxury should influence
men, as we may grieve that they are victims of other base pas-
sions; but it is of no use quarrelling with human nature.
Certain it is that all vices bring their own punishment, and
that the Romans were a far nobler race when they were poor
and simple, in the days of the early consuls, than they are now,
with all their power, their riches, and their luxuries. Such is
the history of all peoples — of Egypt, of Persia, of Greece, and
Carthage; and methinks that Rome, too, will run the course of
other nations, and that some day, far distant maybe, she will
sink beneath the weight of her power and her luxury, and
that some younger and more vigorous people will, bit by bit,
wrest her dominions from her and rule in her place.

" As yet, happily, I see no signs of failing in her powers.

32 BERIC THE BRITON,

She is still vigorous, and even in the distant outskirts of
the empire the wave of conquest flows onward. Happily for
us, I think, it can flow no farther this way; there is but one
island beyond this to conquer, and then, as in Western Gaul
and Iberia, the ocean says to Rome, 'Thou shalt go no farther,'
Would that to the south, the east, and north a similar barrier
checked our progress, then we could rest and be content, and
need no longer waste our strength in fresh conquests, or in oppos-
ing the incursions of hordes of barbarians from regions unknown
to us even by report, I could wish myself, Beric, that nature
had placed your island five days' sail from the coasts of Gaul,
instead of placing it within sight. Then I might have been
enjoying life in my villa among the Tuscan hills with my
daughter, instead of being exposed at any moment to march
with the Legion against the savage mountaineers of the west.
Ah! here comes Berenice," he broke off, as his daughter,
attended by her old nurse, entered the atrium from the vesti-
bule. She hastened her steps as she saw Beric standing before
her father in the tablinum,

" I knew you would come back, Beric, because you promised
me; but you have been a long time in keeping your word,"

" I am not my own master at home, any more than I was
here, Berenice," he said, "and my mother would not hear
before of my leaving her, I have only come now for an hour's
visit, to see that all goes well in this house, and to tell you
that I had not forgotten my promise; the next time I hope to
pay a longer visit At daybreak to-morrow we have a party
to hunt the wolves, which have so multiplied as to become a
danger in the forests of late."

" I should like to go out to see a wolf hunt, Beric,"

"I fear that would not be possible," he said; "the woods are
thick and tangled, and we have to force our way through to
get to their lair,"

" But last winter they came close to the town, and I heard
that some came even into the streets."

"Yes, they will do so when driven by hunger; but they were

CITY AND FOREST. 33

hunting then and not being hunted. No, Berenice, I fear that
your wish to see a wolf hunt cannot be gratified; they are savage
beasts, and are great trouble and loss to us. In winter they
carry off many children, and sometimes devour grown-up people,
and in times of long snow have been known to attack large
parties, and, in spite of a stout resistance by the men, to devour
them. In summer they are only met singly, but in winter they
go in packs and kill numbers of our cattle."

" I should like to go into the woods," the girl said earnestly,
" I am tired of this town. My father says he will take me with
him some day when he goes west, but so far I have seen no-
thing except this town and Verulamium, and the country was
all just as it is here, fields and cultivation. We could see the
forests in the distance, but that was all. My father says, that
if we went west, we should travel for miles through the forest
and should sleep in tents, but that we cannot do it till every-
thing is quiet and peaceful. Oh, Beric! I do wish the Britons
would not be always fighting."

Beric smiled. "The British girls, Berenice, say they wish
the Romans would not be always fighting."

" It is very troublesome," she said pettishly. " I should like
everyone to be friends, and then there would be no need to
have so many soldiers in Britain, and perhaps the emperor
would order our legion home. Father says that we ought to
look upon this as home now, for that the legion may remain
here for years and years; but he said the other day that he
thought that if everything was quiet here he should, when I
am sixteen years old, obtain leave from the governor, and go
back to Eome for two or three years, and I think, though he
has not said so outright, that he will perhaps retire and settle
there."

" It would be much the best for you," Beric said earnestly.
" I should be sorry, because you have been very kind to me,
and I should grieve were you to leave me altogether; but there
may be trouble here again some day, and I think it would be
far better for you to be back in Rome, where you would have

(725) c

34 BERIC THE BRITON.

all the pleasures and delights of the great capital, and live in
ease and comfort, without the risk of your father having to
march away to the wars, I know that if I were your father I
would take you back. He says that his villa there is exactly
like this, and you have many relations there, and there must
be all sorts of pleasures and grand spectacles far beyond any-
thing there is here. I am sure it would be better for you, and
happier."

" I thought that you would be quite sorry," she said gravely.

"So, I shall be very sorry for myself," Beric said; "as, next
to my own mother, there is no one I care for so much as you and
your father. I shall miss you terribly; but yet I am so sure
that it would be best for you to be at home with your own
people, that I should be glad to hear that your father was
going to take you back to Rome."

But Berenice did not altogether accept the explanation. She
felt really hurt that Beric should view even the possibility of
her going away with equanimity, and she very shortly went off
to her own apartment; while a few minutes later, Beric, after
bidding good-bye to Caius, started to rejoin Boduoc, whom he
found waiting at the edge of the forest.

That evening Berenice said to her father, " I was angry with
Beric to-day, father."

" Were you, child 1 what about?"

"I told him that perhaps in another three years, when I
was sixteen, you would take me to Rome, and that I thought,
perhaps, if we went there you would not come back again; and
instead of being very much grieved, as I thought he would, he
seemed quite pleased at the idea. Of course he said he was
sorry, but he did not really seem to be, and he says he thought
it would be very much better for me. I thought he was grate-
ful, father, and liked us very much, and now I am quite dis-
appointed in him."

Caius was silent for a minute or two.

" I do not think Beric is ungrateful," he said, "and I am sure
that he likes us, Berenice."

CITY AND FOREST. 35

"He said he did, father, that he cared for us more than any-
one except his mother; but if he cared for us, surely he would
be very, very sorry for us to go away."

" Beric is a Briton, my dear, and we are Romans. By this
time he must have thoroughly learned his people's feelings to-
wards us. I have never believed, as some do, that Britain is as
yet completely conquered, and that when we have finished with
the Silures in the west our work will be completely done.

" Beric, who knows his countrymen, may feel this even more
strongly than I do, and may know that, sooner or later, there
will be another great effort on the part of the Britons to drive
us out. It may be a year, and it may be twenty, but I believe
myself that some day we shall have a fierce struggle to main-
tain our hold here, and Beric, who may see this also, and who
knows the feeling of his countrymen, may wish that we should
be away before the storm comes.

"There is but little doubt, Berenice, that we despise these
people too much, still less that we treat them harshly and cruelly.
Were I propraetor of Britain I would rule them very differently.
I am but the commander of a legion, and my duty is but to rule
my men. I would punish, and punish sternly, all attempts at
rising; but I would give them no causes for discontent. We treat
them as if their spirit were altogether broken, as if they and their
possessions were but our chattels, as if they possessed no rights,
not even the right to live. Some day we shall find our mistake,
and when the time comes the awakening will be a rude ona
It is partly because I see dimly the storm gathering in the dis-
tance that I long to be home again. As long as your mother
lived this seemed a home to me, now I desire rest and quiet.
I have done my share of fighting, I have won honour enough,
and I may look before long to be a general; but I have had
enough of it, and long for my quiet villa in the Alban hills,
with an occasional visit to Eome, where you can take part in
its gaietiep, and I can have the use of the libraries stored with
the learning of the world. So do not think harshly of Beric,
my child; he may see the distant storm more plainly than I do

36 BERIC THE BRITON.

I am sure that he cares for us, and if he is glad at the news that
we are going, it is because he wishes us away and in safety
before the trouble comes.

" Nero has come to the imperial throne, and the men he is
sending hither are of a widely different stamp from the lieu-
tenants of Claudius. The latter knew that the Britons can
fight, and that, wild and untutored as they are, it needed all
the skill and courage of Ostorius and Vespasian to reduce them
to order. The new-comers regard them as slaves to be trampled
upon, robbed, and ill-used as they choose. I am sure they will
find their mistake. As long as they deal only with the tribes
thoroughly subdued, the Trinobantes, the Cantii, the Belgse,
and the Dumnonii, all may be quiet; they dare not move. But
the Iceni and Brigantes, although they both have felt the weight
of our swords, are still partly independent, and if pressed
too severely will assuredly revolt, and if they give the signal
all Britain may be up in arras again. I am scoffed at if I
venture to hint to these new-comers that there is life yet in
Britain. Dwelling here in a Eoman city, it seems to them
absurd that there can be danger from the savages who roam
in the forests that stretch away from beyond the river at our
very feet to the far distant north, to regions of which we are
absolutely ignorant. I regard what Beric has said as another
warning."

"But I thought that Beric was our friend, father, and you
told me you had heard that he was teaching his countrymen
how great is our history."

" Beric is a Briton in the midst of Britons, child. He is a
partially tamed wolf-cub, and had he been sent to Rome and
remained there he would have done credit to our teaching.
He is fond of study, and at the same time fond of arms; he
might have turned out a wise citizen or a valiant soldier. But
this was not done. He has gone back again among the wolves,
and whatever his feelings towards us personally may be, he
must side with his own people. Did they suspect him of being
Roman at heart they would tear him in pieces. I believe that

CITY AND FOREST. 37

as he knows our strength, and that in the end we must conquer,
his influence will always be on the side of peace; but if arms
are taken up he will have no choice but to side with his country-
men, and should it be another ten years before the cloud bursts,
he may be one of our most formidable opponents. Don't blame
him, child ; he only shows his regard for you, by wishing you
back safely in Rome before trouble arises."

"You are just in time, Beric," Boduoc said as the young
chief joined him. "The sun is but a hand's-breadth above
that hill. Here are your spear and sword where you hid them,
though why you should have done it I know not, seeing that
they have not yet ventured to order us to disarm."

"And if they did we should not obey them, Boduoc; but
as the Trinobantes have long been forbidden to carry arms, it
might have caused trouble had I gone armed into the town,
and we don't want trouble at present. I went on a peaceful
visit, and there was no occasion for me to carry my weapons.
But give me a piece of that deer flesh and an oaten cake; we
have a long march before us."

" Why, did you not eat with them?"

" No. I was, of course, invited, but I had but a short time
to stop, and did not wish it to seem as if I had come for a taste
of Roman dainties again."

As soon as the meal was eaten they set out. It was but
a track through the forest, for although the trees had been
cleared away for a width of twenty feet there was but little
traffic, for the road wais seldom traversed, save by an occasional
messenger from Prasutagus. It had been used by the legions
at the time that Ostorius had built a line of forts stretching
from the Nen to the Severn, and by it they had advanced
when the Iceni had risen ; but from that time it had been un-
used by them, as the Iceni had paid their tribute regularly,
and held aloof from all hostile movements against them.
Prasutagus was always profuse in his assurances of friendship
towards Rome, and save that the Roman officers visited his
capital once a year to receive their tribute, they troubled but

38 BERIC THE BRITON.

little about the Iceni, having their hands occupied by their wars
in the south and west, while their main road to the north ran
far to the west of Camalodunum.

" We shall arrive about midnight," Beric said as they strode
along.

*' We may or we may not," Boduoc said curtly.

"What is to prevent us, Boduoc]"

"Well, the wolves may prevent us, Beric; we heard them
howling several times as we came along this morning. The
rapacious brutes have not been so bold for years, and it is high
time that we hunted them down, or at any rate made our part
of the country too hot to hold them. I told Borgon before
I started that if we did not return by an hour after midnight
it would be because we had been obliged to take to a tree, and
that he had better bring out a party at the first break of day
to rescue us."

" But we have never had any trouble of that kind while we
have been hunting, Boduoc."

"No; but I think there must have been some great hunts
up in Norfolk, and that the brutes have come south. Certain
it is that there have in the last week been great complaints of
them, and, as you know, it was for that reason that your mother
ordered all the men of the tribe to assemble by to-morrow
morning to make war against them. The people in the farms
and villages are afraid to stay out after nightfall. No man
with arms in his hands fears a wolf, or even two or three of
them, in the daytime; but when they are in packs they are for-
midable assailants, even to a strong party. Things are getting
as bad now as they were twenty years ago. My father has
told me that during one hard winter they destroyed full half
our herds, and that hundreds of people were devoured by them.
They had to erect stockades round the villages and drive in
all the cattle, and half the men kept guard by turns, keeping
great fires alight to frighten them away. When we have
cleared the land of those two-legged wolves the Eomans, we
shall have to make a general war upon them, for truly they are

CITY AND FOREST. 39

becoming a perfect scourge to the land. It is not like the wild
boar, of which there might with advantage be more, for they
do but little harm, getting their food for the most part in the
woods, and furnishing us with good eating as well as good
sport. But the wolves give us nothing in return, and save for
the sport no one would trouble to hunt them; and it is only
by a general order for their destruction, or by the offer of a
reward for their heads, that we shall get rid of them."

" Well, let us press on, Boduoc. I would not that anything
should occur to prevent us starting with the rest in the mor-
ning."

" We are walking a good pace now," Boduoc said, " and
shall gain but little by going faster. One cannot run for six
hours; and besides it is as much as we can do to walk fast in
the dark. Did we try to run we should like enough fall over
a stump or root, and maybe not arrive there even though the
wolves stopped us not."

For two hours more they strode along. Boduoc's eyes had
been trained by many a long night spent among the woods,
and dark as it was beneath the overarching trees, he was able
to discern objects around him, and kept along in his regular
stride as surely and almost as noiselessly as a wild beast; but
the four years spent in the Roman town had impaired Beric's
nocturnal vision; and though he had done much hunting since
his return home, he was far from being able to use his eyes as
his companion did, and he more than once stumbled over the
roots that crossed the path.

•' You will be on your head presently," Boduoc growled.

" It is all very well for you, Boduoc, who have the eyes of
a cat; but you must remember we are travelling in the dark,
and although I can make out the trunks on either hand the
ground is all black to me, and I am walking quite at hazard."

" It is not what I should call a light night," Boduoc admitted.

" Well, no, considering that there is no moon, and that the
clouds that were rising when the sun went down have over-
, spread all the sky. I don't see that it could well be darker."

40 BERIC THE BRITON.

" Well we will stop at that hut in the little clearing, some-
where about half a mile on, and get a couple of torches. If you
were to fall and twist your foot you would not be able to hunt
to-morrow."

"What is that?" Baric exclaimed as a distant cry came to
their ears.

"I think it is the voice of a woman," Boduoc said. "Or
maybe it is one of the spirits of evil."

Beric during his stay among the Romans had lost faith in most
of his superstitions. "Nonsense, Boduoc! it was the cry of a
woman; it came from ahead. Maybe some woman returning
late has been attacked by wolves. Come along," he shouted,
and he started to run, followed reluctantly by his companion.

"Stop, Beric, stop!" he said in a short time, "I hear other
sounds."

"So do I," Beric agreed, but without checking his pace.
"My eyes may be dull, Boduoc, but they are not so dull as
your ears. Why, don't you know the snarling of wolves when
you hear them?"

Again the loud cry of distress came on the night air. " They
have not seized her yet," Beric said. " Her first cry would
have been her last had they done so. She must be in that
hut, Boduoc, and they are trying to get at her. Maybe her
husband is away."

" It is wolves," Boduoc agreed in a tone of relief. " Since that
is all I am ready for them; but sword and spear are of no avail
against the spirits of the air. We must be careful though, or
instead of us attacking we may be attacked."

Beric paid no attention. They had as they passed the hut
that morning stopped for a drink of water there, and he saw
now before his eyes the tall comely young woman with a baby
in her arms and two children hanging to her skirts. In a short
time they stood at the edge of the little clearing by the side of
the path. It was lighter here, and he could make out the
outline of the rude hut, and, as he thought, that of many
dark figures moving round it. A fierce growling and snarling

CITY AND FOREST. 41

rose from around the hut, with once or twice a sharp yell of
pain.

" There are half a dozen of them on the roof," Boduoc said,
" and a score or more round the hut. At present they haven't
winded us, for the air is in our faces."

"I think we had best make a rush at them, Boduoc, shout-
ing at the top of our voices as we go, and bidding the woman
stand in readiness to unbar her door. They will be scared for
a moment, not knowing how many of us there may be, and
once inside we shall be safe from them."

"Let us get as near as we can before we begin to shout,
Beric. They may run back a few paces at our voice, but will
speedily rally."

Holding their spears in readiness for action they ran forward.
When within thirty yards of the hut Boduoc raised his voice
in a wild yell, Beric adding his cry and then shouting, " Unbar
your door and stand to close it as we enter."

There was, however, no occasion for haste. Boduoc's sudden
yell completely scared the wolves, and with whimpers of dis-
may they scattered in all directions. The door opened as Beric
and his companion came up, and they rushed in and closed it
after them. A fire burned on the hearth. A dead wolf lay
on the ground, the children crouched in terror on a pile of
rushes, and a woman stood with a spear in her hand.

'* Thanks to our country's gods that you have come !" she said.
"A few minutes later and all would have been over with me
and my children. See, one has already made his way through
the roof, and in half a dozen places they have scratched holes
well-nigh large enough to pass through."

"We heard your cry," Beric said, "and hastened forward at
the top of our speed."

" It was for you that I called," the woman said. " By what
you said this morning I judged you would be returning about
this hour, and it was in hopes you might hear me that I cried
out, for I knew well that no one else would be likely to be
within ear-shot.

42 BERIG THE BRITON.

"Where is your husband?" Beric asked.

" He started this afternoon for Cardun. He and all the
able-bodied men were ordered to assemble there to-night in
readiness to begin the Avar against the wolves at daybreak.
There is no other house within a mile, and even had they heard
me there they could have given me no assistance, seeing there
are but women and children remaining behind."

"They are coming again," Boduoc broke in; "I can hear
their feet pattering on the dead leaves. Which shall we do,
Beric, pile more wood on the fire, or let it go out altogether?
I think that we shall do better without it; it is from the roof
that they vdll attack, and if we have a light here we cannot
see them till they are ready to leap down; whereas, if we are
in darkness we may be able to make them out when they
approach the holes, or as they pass over any of the crevices."

" I don't know, Boduoc ; I think we shall do better if we
have light. We may not make them out so well, but at least
we can use our spears better than we could in the dark, when
we might strike them against the rafters or thick branches."

The woman at once gathered some of the pieces of wood that
had fallen through as the wolves made the holes and put them
on the hearth, where they soon blazed up brightly.

"I will take this big hole," Boduoc said, "it is the only one
by which they can come down at present. Do you try and
prevent them from enlarging any of the others."

There was a sudden thump overhead, followed almost
immediately by several others.

" They get up by the wood-pile," the woman said. " It is
against that side of the hut, and reaches nearly up to the
eaves."

There was a sharp yell as Boduoc thrust his spear up through
the hole when he saw a pair of eyes, shining in the firelight,
appear at the edge. At the same moment there was a sound of
scraping and scratching at some of the other holes. The roof
was constructed of rough poles laid at short distances apart, and
above these were small branches, on which was a sort of thatch

CITY AND rr.REST. 43

of reeds and rushes. Standing close under one of the holes
Beric could see nothing, but from the sound of the scratching
he could tell from which side the wolf was at work enlarging
it. He carefully thrust the point of his spear through the
branches and gave a sudden lunge upwards. A fierce yell
was heard, followed by the sound of a body rolling down the
roof, and then a struggle accompanied by angry snarling and
growling outside.

"That is one less, Beric," Boduoc said. "I fancy I only
scratched mine. Ah!" he exclaimed suddenly, as without the
least warning a wolf sprang down through the hole. Before
it could gather its legs under it for a fresh spring Beric and
the woman both thrust their spears deeply into it, Boduoc
keeping his eyes fixed on the hole, and making a lunge as
another wolf peered down in readiness to spring after the one
that had entered.

For hours the fight went on. Gradually the holes, in spite
of the efforts of the defenders, were enlarged, and the position
became more and more critical. At least twenty of the wolves
were slain; but as the attack was kept up as vigorously as at
first, it was evident that fresh reinforcements had arrived to
the assailants.

"We cannot keep them out much longer, Beric," Boduoc
said at last. " It seems to me that our only plan is to fire the
hut, and then, each taking a child, to make a rush across to
the trees and climb them. The sudden burst of fire will drive
them back for a little, and we may make good our retreat to
the trees.

" What time is it, think you, Boduoc ?"

" It must be two or three hours past midnight, and if Borgon
carried out my instructions help ought to be near at hand. I
would that we could let them know of our peril."

"There is a cow-horn," the woman said, pointing to the
corner of the hut. "My husband uses it for calling in the
cattle."

Boduoc seized the horn and blew a deep hollow blast upon

44 BERIC THE BRITON.

it. There was a sudden pattering of feet overhead and then
silence.

" That has scared them," Beric said. " Blow again, Boduoc;
if we can but gain half an hour our friends may be up."

Again and again the hoarse roar of the cow-horn rose, but the
wolves speedily recovered from their scare and crowded on the
roof.

"We can't hold out much longer," Beric said, as two wolves
that leapt down together had just been despatched. "Get
a brand from the fire." At this moment there was a sudden
scuffle overhead, and the three defenders stood, spear in hand,
ready to repel a fresh attack; but all was quiet; then a loud
shout rose on the air.

" Thank the gods, here they are !" Boduoc said. He listened
a moment, but all was still round the hut; then he threw the
door open as a score of men with lighted torches came running
towards it, and raised a shout of satisfaction as the light fell
upon Beric.

" Thanks for your aid, my friends!" he said as they crowded
round him; "never was a shout more welcome than yours.
You were just in time, as you may see by looking at the
roof. We were about to fire it and make for the trees, though
I doubt if one of us would have reached them."

As the men entered the hut and looked at the ragged holes in
the roof and the bodies of nine wolves stretched on the ground,
they saw that they had, indeed, arrived only just in time.
Among the rescuing party was the man to whom the hut
belonged, whose joy at finding his wife and children unhurt
was great indeed; and he poured forth his thanks to Beric and
Boduoc when he learned from his wife that they had voluntarily
abandoned the wood, where they could have been secure in
the shelter of a tree, in order to assist her in defending the
hut against the wolves.

"You must all come with us," Beric said; "the wolves may
return after we have gone. When our hunt is over I will send
some men to help you to repair your roof. Where are the cattle? "

CITY AND FOREST. 45

' They are safe in a stockade at the next village," the man
said. "We finished it only yesterday, and drove in all the
cattle from the forests, and collected great quantities of wood
so that the women might keep up great bonfires if the wolves
tried to break in."

A few minutes later the party started on their return. As
they walked they could sometimes hear the pattering of foot-
steps on the falling leiives, but the torches deterred the animals
from making an attack, and after three hours' walking they
arrived at Cardun. The village stood on a knoll rising from
swamps, through which a branch of the Stour wound its way
sluggishly. Round the crest of the knoll ran two steep earthen
banks, one rising behind the other, and in the inclosed space,
some eight acres in extent, stood the village. The contrast
between it and the Roman city but two-and-twenty miles away
was striking. No great advance had been made upon the homes
that the people had occupied in Gaul before their emigration.
In the centre stood Parta's abode, distinguished from the rest
only by its superior size. The walls were of mud and stone,
the roof high, so as to let the water run more easily off the
rough thatching. It contained but one central hall surrounded
by half a dozen small apartments.

The huts of the people consisted but of a single room, with
a hole in the roof by which the smoke of the fire in the centre
made its way out The doorway was generally closed by
a wattle secured by a bar. When this was closed light only
found its way into the room through the chinks of the wattle
and the hole in the roof. In winter, for extra warmth, a
skin was hung before the door. Beyond piles of hides, which
served as seats by day and beds at night, there was no furniture
whatever in the rooms, save a few earthen cooking pots,

Parta's abode, however, was more sumptuously furnished.
Across one end ran a sort of dais of beaten earth, raised a foot
above the rest of the floor. This was thickly strewn with fresh
rushes, and there was a rough table and benches. The walls of
the apartment were hidden by skins, principally those of wolves.

46 BERIC THE BRITON.

The fireplace was in the centre of the lower part of the hall,
and arranged on a shelf against the wall were cooking pots of
iron and hrass; while on a similar shelf on the wall above the
dais were jugs and drinking-vessels of gold. Hams of wild boar
and swine hung from the rafters, where too were suspended wild
duck and fish, and other articles of food. Parta's own apartment
led from the back of the dais. That of Beric was next to it,
its separate use having been granted to him on his return from
Camalodunum, not without some scoffing remarks upon his
effeminacy in requiring a separate apartment, instead of sleep-
ing as usual on the dais; while the followers and attendants
stretched themselves on the floor of the hall.

CHAPTER III.

A WOLF HUNT.

SHOUTS of welcome saluted Beric as with his party he
crossed the rough bridge over the stream and descended
the slope to the village. Some fifteen hundred men were
gathered here, all armed for the chase with spears, javelins, and
long knives. Their hair fell over their necks, their faces were,
according to the universal custom, shaved with the exception
of the moustache. Many of them were tattooed — a custom that
at one time had been universal, but was now dying out among
the more civilized. Most of them were, save for the mantle,
naked from the waist up, the body being stained a deep blue
with woad — a plant largely cultivated for its dye. This plant,
known as Isatis tindoria, is still grown in France and Flan-
ders. It requires rich ground and grows to a height of three
or four feet, bearing yellow flowers. The dye is obtained
from the leaves, which are stripped two or three times in the
season. They are partially dried, and are then pounded or

A WOLF HUNT. 47

ground, pressed into a mass with the hands or feet, and piled
in a heap, when fermentation takes place. When this process
is completed the paste is cut up, and when placed in water
yields a blue dye. It can also be prepared by laying it in the
water in the first place and allowing it to ferment there. The
water, which becomes a deep blue, is drawn off and allowed to
settle, the dye remaining at the bottom. Fresh water is then
added to the leaves, which are again stirred up and the opera-
tion repeated.

Passing through the crowd of tribesmen, Beric entered his
mother's abode, walked up to the dais, and saluted her by a
deep bow. Parta was a woman of tall stature and of robust
form. Her garment was fastened at each shoulder by a gold
brooch. A belt studded and clasped by the same metal girded
it in at the waist, and it then fell in loose folds almost to her
feet. She had heavy gold bracelets on her arms.

"You are late, Beric," she said sternly. "Our tribesmen have
been waiting nigh an hour for you. I only heard at daybreak
that Borgon had gone out to search for you with a party."

" It was well that he did, mother, for Boduoc and I were
besieged in a hut by a pack of wolves, who would shortly have
made an end of us had not rescue arrived."

"What were you doing in the hut?" she asked. "You told
me you should leave the Romans' town before sunset and
make your way straight back here."

Beric shortly related the circumstances of the fight.

"It is well that it is no worse," she said; "but Boduoc
ought to have known better than to have allowed you to leave
the trees, where you would at least have been safe from the
wolves. What mattered the life of a woman in comparison to
yours, when you know my hopes and plans for youl But
stay not talking. Magartha has some roasted kid in readiness
for you. Eat it quickly, and take a horn of mead, and be
gone. An hour has been wasted already."

A few minutes sufficed for Beric to satisfy his hunger. Then
I he went out and joined two or three minor chiefs of expe-

48 I'.EKIC THE BRITON.

rience who had charge of the hunt. The greater portion of
the tribesmen had already started. Almost every man had
brought with him one or more large dogs trained in hunting
the wolf and boar, and the woods beyond the swamp rang
with their deep barking. Instructions had already been given
to the men. These proceeded in parties of four, each group
taking its post some fifty yards from the next. Those who
had the farthest to go had started before daybreak, and it was
another two hours before the whole were in position, farming
a long line through the forest upwards of ten miles in length.
A horn was sounded in the centre where the leaders had posted
themselves, and the signal was repeated at points along the
line, and then, with shouts on the part of the men and fierce
barkings on that of the dogs, the whole moved forward. The
right of the line rested on the Stour, the left upon the Orwell;
and as they passed along through the forest the line contracted.
At times wild boars made a dash to break through it. Many
of these were slain, till the chiefs considered that there was a
sufiicient supply of food, and the rest were then allowed to
pass through.

No wolves were seen until they neared the point where the
two rivers unite, by which time the groups were within a few
paces of each other. Then among th« trees in front of them a
fierce snarling and yelping was heard. The dogs, which had
hitherto been kept in hand, were now loosed, and with a shout
the men rushed forward both on the bluffs in the centre and
along the low land skirting the rivers on either side. Soon the
wolves came pouring down from the wooded bluff, and engaged
in a furious conflict with the dogs. As the men ran up, a few of
the wolves in their desperation charged them and endeavoured
to break through, but the great majority, cowed by the clamour
and fierce assault, crouched to the earth and received their
death-blow unresistingly. Some took to the water, but coracles
had been sent down to the point the evening before, and they
were speedily slain. Altogether some four or five hundred
wolves were killed.

A WOLF HUNT. 49

It was now late in the afternoon. Wood was collected and
great fires made, and the boars' flesh was soon roasting over
them. At daybreak they started again, and retracing their
steps formed a fresh line at the point where the last beat had
begun, this time beating in a great semicircle and driving the
wolves down on to the Stour. So for a fortnight the war
went on. Only such deer and boar as were required for food
were killed; but the wolves were slain without mercy, and at
the end of the operations that portion of the country was com-
pletely cleared of these savage beasts, for those who had
escaped the beating parties had fled far away through the
forest to more quiet quarters.

The work had been laborious; for each day some forty miles
had been traversed in the march from the last place of slaughter
to the next beat, and in the subsequent proceedings. It had,
however, been full of interest and excitement, especially during
the second week, when, having cleared all the country in the
neighbourhood of the rivers, the men were ranged in wide
circles some ten miles in diameter, advancing gradually towards
a centre. Occasionally many of the wolves escaped before
the lines had narrowed sufficiently for the men to be near
enough to each other to oppose a successful resistance, but in
each case the majority continued to slink from the approaching
noises until the cordon was too close for them to break through.

Altogether over four thousand wolves were slain. All
those whose coats were in good condition were skinned, the
skins being valuable for linings to the huts, for beds, and
winter mantles. Many men had been bitten more or less
severely by them, but none had been killed; and there was
much rejoicing at the complete clearance from the district of a
foe that had, since the arrival of the large packs from the
north, made terrible inroads among the herds of cattle and
swine, and had killed a considerable number of men, women,
and children. The previous winter had been a very severe
one, and had driven great numbers of wolves down from North
Britain. The fighting that had been going on for years in the

(726) D

50 BERIC THE BRITON.

south and west, and at times in the midlands, had put a stop
to the usual chases of wolves in those districts, and they had
consequently multiplied exceedingly and had become a serious
Bcourge even before the arrival of the fresh bands from the
north. However, after so great a slaughter it was hoped that
for a time at least they would not again make their appearance
in that neighbourhood.

Returning home at the end of their expedition Beric was
surprised as he entered the hall to see a Druid standing upon
the dais conversing with his mother, who was pacing up and
down with angry gestures. That their conference was an im-
portant one he did not doubt; for the Druids dwelt in the
recesses of the forests or near their temples, and those who
wished to consult them must journey to them to ask their
counsel beneath a sacred oak or in the circle of the magic
stones. When great events were impending, or when tribes took
up arms against each other, the Druids would leave their forest
abodes, and, interposing between the combatants, authori-
tatively bid them desist. They acted as mediators between
great chiefs, and were judges upon all matters in dispute. He
was sure, therefore, that the Druid was the bearer of news of
importance. He stood waiting in the centre of the hall until
his mother's eye fell upon him.

"Come hither, Beric," she said, "and hear the news that
the holy Druid has brought. Think you not that the Romans
have carried their oppression far enough when they have
seized half the land of our island, enslaved the people, and
exacted tribute from the free Britons ? What think you, now ?
The Roman governor Severus, knowing that it is our religion
as well as love of our country that arms us against them, and
that the Druids ever raise their voices to bid us defend our
altars and our homes, have resolved upon an expedition against
the Sacred Island, and have determined to exterminate our
priests, to break down our altars, and to destroy our religion.
Ten days since the legion marched from Camalodunum to join
the anuy he is assembling in the west. From all other parts

A WOLF HUNT. 51

he has dra%vn soldiers, and he has declared his intention of
rooting out and destroying our religion at its centre."

" The news is terrible," the Druid said, " but our gods will
fight for us, and doubtless a terrible destruction will fall upon
the impious men who thus dream of profaning the Sacred
Island; but it may be otherwise, or perchance the gods may
see that thus, and thus only, can the people of Britain be
stirred to take up arms and to annihilate the worshippers of
the false gods of Rome. Assuredly we are on the eve of great
events, and every Briton must prepare to take up arms, either
to fall upon the legions whom our gods have stricken or to
avenge the insult offered to our faith."

"It is terrible news, indeed," Beric said; "and though I am
but a lad, father, I am ready when the call comes to fight in
the front ranks of the Iceni with our people. My father fell
fighting for his country by the sword of the Romans, and I
am ready to follow his example when my mother shall say,
'Go out to war.'"

"For the present, Beric, we must remain quiet; we must
await news of the result of this expedition; but the word has
gone round, and I and my brethren are to visit every chief of
the Iceni, while the Druids of the north stir up the Brigantes;
the news, too, that the time of their deliverance is at hand, and
that they must hold themselves in readiness to rise against the
oppressors, is passing through the Trinobantes and the tribes
of the south and south-west This time it must be no partial
rising, and we must avoid the ruinous error of matching a
single tribe against the whole strength of the Romans. It must
be Britain against Rome — a whole people struggling for their
homes and altars against those who would destroy their religion
and reduce them to slavery."

"I would that it could have been postponed for a time,
father," Beric said. "During the four years I passed as a host-
age at Camalodunum I have been learning the tactics that
have enabled the Romans to conquer us. I have learned their
.. words of command, and how the movements were executed,

52 BERIC THE BRITON.

and I hope when I become a man to train the Sarci to
fight in solid order, to wheel and turn as do the Romans, so
that we might form a band which might in the day of battle
oppose itself to the Roman onset, check pursuit, and perhaps
convert a reverse into a victory."

" Heed not that," the Druid said enthusiastically. " It would
be useful indeed, but there is but scant time for it now. Our
gods will fight for us. We have numbers and valour. Our
warriors will sweep their soldiers aside as a wave dashes over
a rock."

The conversation between the Druid and Parta had been
heard by others in the hall, and the news spread rapidly among
the tribesmen as they returned from the chase. Shouts of fury
and indignation rose outside, and several of the minor chiefs,
followed by a crowd of excited men, poured into the hall,
demanding with loud shouts that war should be declared
against the Romans. The Druid advanced to the edge of the
dais.

" Children," he said, " the time has not yet come, nor can
the Sarci do aught until the word is given by Prasutagus, and
the whole of the Iceni rise in arms, and not the Iceni alone,
but Britons from sea to sea. Till then hold yourselves in
readiness. Sharpen your arms and prepare for the contest.
But you need a chief. In the ordinary course of things years
would have elapsed before Beric, the son of your last brave
prince, would have been associated with his mother in the
rule of the tribe; but on the eve of such a struggle ordinary
customs and usages must be set at nought. I therefore, in
virtue of my sacred authority, now appoint Beric as chief next
to his mother in the tribe, and I bid you obey him in all things
relating to war. He has learned much of Roman ways and
methods, and is thus better fitted than many far older than he
to instruct you how best to stand their onset, and I prophesy
that under him no small honour and glory will fall to the tribe,
and that they will bear a signal share in avenging our gods
and winning our freedom. Come hither, Beric;" and the

A WOLF HUNT. 53

Druid, laying a hand upon the lad's head, raised the other to
heaven and implored the gods to bestow wisdom and strength
upon him, and to raise in him a mighty champion of his
country and faith. Then he uttered a terrible malediction
upon any who should disobey Beric's orders, or question his
authority, who should show faint heart in the day of battle,
or hold his life of any account in the cause of his country.

"Now," he concluded, "retire to your homes. We must
give no cause or pretext for Eoman aggression until the signal
is given. You will not be idle. Your young chief will teach
you somewhat of the discipline that has rendered the Roman
soldiers so formidable, so that you may know how to set your-
selves in the day of battle, how to oppose rank to rank, to
draw off in good order, or to press forward to victory. The
issue is ever in the hands of the gods, but we should do all
we can to deserve it. It is good to learn even from our enemies.
They have studied war for ages, and if they have conquered
brave peoples, it has not been by superior valour, but because
they have studied war, while others have trusted solely to their
native valour. Therefore deem not instruction useless, or de-
spise methods simply because you do not understand them.
None could be braver than those who fought under Caractacus,
yet they were conquered, not by the valour, but by the disci-
pline of the Romans. It was the will of the gods that your
young chief should dwell for four years a hostage among
the Romans, and doubtless they willed it should be so in
order that he might be fitted to be a worthy champion of his
country, and so to effect what even the valour of Caractacus
failed to do. The gods have spoken by me. See that you obey
them, and woe to the wretch who murmurs even in his own
heart against their decrees!"

As he concluded a loud shout was raised throughout the
crowded hall, and swelled into a mighty roar outside, for those
at the open door had passed his words to the throng of tribes-
men outside. When the shout subsided, Beric added a few
words, saying, that although he regretted he had not yet

54 BERIC THE BRITON.

come to his full strength, and that thus earl}' he should he
called upon to lead men, he accepted the decree of the gods,
and would strive not to be wanting in the day of trial. In
matters connected with war he had learned much from the
Romans, who, oppressors as they were and despisers of the
gods of Britain, were skilled beyond all others in such matters.
In all other respects he had happily his mother's counsel and
guidance to depend upon, and before assuming any civil autho-
rity he should wait until years had taught him wisdom, and
should then go through all the usual ceremonies appointed by
their religion, and receive his instalment solemnly in the temple
at the hands of the Druids.

That night there was high feasting at Cardun. A bullock
and three swine were slain by order of Parta, and a number of
great earthen jars of mead broached, and while the principal
men of the tribe feasted in the hall, the rest made merry out-
side. The bard attached to Parta's household sang tales of
the glories of the tribe, even the women from the villages and
detached huts for a large circle round came in, happy that,
now the wolves had been cleared away, they could stir out
after nightfall without fear. After entertaining their guests in
the hall, Parta and her son went round among the tribesmen
outside and saw that they had all they needed, and spoke
pleasantly even to the poorest among them.

It was long before Beric closed his eyes that night. The
events of the day had been a complete surprise to him. He
had thought that in the distant future he should share with
his mother in the ruling of the tribe, but had never once
dreamed of its coming for years. Had it not been for the news
they had heard of the intended invasion of the Holy Isle he
should not have regretted his elevation, for it would have given
him the means and opportunity to train the tribesmen to fight
in close order as did the Romans. But now he could not hope
that there would be time to carry this out eflfectually. He knew
that throughout Britain the feeling of rage and indignation at
this outrage upon the gods of their country would raise the

A WOLF HUNT. 55

passions of men to boiling point, and that the slightest inci-
dent would suffice to bring on a general explosion, and he
greatly feared that the result of such a rising would in the end
be disastrous.

His reading had shown him how great was the power of Eome,
and how obstinately she clung to her conquests. His country-
men seemed to think that were they, with a mighty effort, to
free Britain of its invaders, their freedom would be achieved;
but he knew that such a disaster would arouse the Roman
pride, and that however great the effort required, fresh armies
would be despatched to avenge the disaster and to regain the
territory lost.

" The Britons know nothing of Roman power," he said to
himself. " They see but twenty or thirty thousand men here,
and they forget that that number have alone been sent because
they were sufficient for the work, and that Rome could, if need
be, despatch five times as many men. With time to teach the
people, not of the Sarci tribe only, but all the Iceni, to fight
in solid masses, and to bear the brunt of the battle, while the
rest of the tribes attacked furiously on all sides, we might hope
for victory; but fighting without order or regularity, each man
for himself, cannot hope to prevail against their solid mass.

"If I could have gained a name before the time came, so
that my voice might have had weight and power in the
councils of the chiefs, I might have done something. As it is,
I fear that a rising now will bring ruin and slavery upon all
Britain."

Beric thought but little of himself, or of the personal danger
he should encounter. The Britons were careless of their lives.
They believed implicitly in a future life, and that those who
fell fighting bravely for their country would meet with reward
hereafter; hence, as among the Gauls, cowardice was an almost
unknown vice.

Beric had faith in the gods of his country, while he had
none whatever in those of Rome, and wondered how a mighty
people could believe in such deities; but, unlike the Britons in

56 BERIC THE BRITON.

general, he did not believe that the gods interfered to decide
the fate of battles.

He saw that the Romans, with their false gods, had con-
quered all other nations, and that so far they had uniformly
triumphed over his own. Therefore, mighty as he believed
the gods to be, he thought that they concerned themselves but
little in the affairs of the world, and that battles were to be
won solely by valour, discipline, and numbers. Numbers and
valour the British had, but of discipline they were absolutely
ignorant, and it was this that gave so tremendous an advantage
to the Romans. Hence Beric felt none of the exultation and
excitement that most British lads of his age would have done
on attaining to rank and command in the tribe to which they
belonged.

The Britons despised the Romans as much for their belief
in many gods as for their luxury, and what they considered
their effeminacy. The religion of the Britons was a pure one,
though disfigured by the offering of human sacrifices. They
believed in one great Supreme Spirit, whose power pervaded
everything. They thought of him less as an absolute being than
as a pervading influence. They worshipped him everywhere, in
the forests and in the streams, in the sky and heavenly bodies.
Through the Druids they consulted him in all their under-
takings. If the answer was favourable, they followed it; if
unfavourable, they endeavoured to change it by sacrifices and
offerings to the priests. They believed firmly in a life after
death, when they held that the souls of all brave and good men
and women would be transported at once to an island far out
in the Atlantic, which they called the Happy Island. The
highest places would be theirs who had fought valiantly and
died in battle; but there was room for all, and all would be
happy. Holding this idea firmly, the Britons sought rather
than avoided death. Their lives in their separate tribes were
quiet and simple, except when engaged in the chase or war.
They were averse to labour. They were domestic, virtuous,
frank, and straightforward. The personal property of a stranger

A WOLF HUNT. 57

was sacred among them, and the most lavish hospitality was
exercised. It was not strange that a simple hardy people,
believing firmly in the one supreme god, should have regarded
with contempt alike the luxury of the Eomans and their worship
of many gods in the likenesses of men and women, and that
the more Beric had seen of the learning and wisdom of the
Komans in other directions, the more he should wonder that
such a people should be slaves to what seemed to him childish
superstitions.

The next morning, after a consultation with some of the
minor chiefs, a hundred men were summoned to attend on the
following day. They were picked out from families where
there were two or more males of working age, so that there
should be as little disturbance of labour as possible. It was
principally in companies of a hundred that Beric had seen the
Romans exercised, and he had learned every order by heart
from first to last. The manoeuvres to be taught were not of a
complicated nature. To form in fighting order six deep, and to
move in column, were the principal points; but when the next
day the band assembled, Beric was surprised and vexed to find
that the operations were vastly more difficult than he expected.
To begin with, every man was to have his place in the line,
and the tribesmen, though eager to learn, and anxious to please
their young chief, could not see that it mattered in what order
they stood. When, however, having arranged them at first
in a line two deep, Beric proceeded to explain how the spears
were to be held, and in what order the movements were to be
performed, — the exercise answering to the manual and platoon
of modem days, — the tribesmen were unable to restrain their
laughter. What difi'erence could it make whether the hands
were two feet apart or three, whether the spears were held
upright or sloped, whether they came down to the charge
one after another or all together 1 To men absolutely unac-
customed to order of any kind, but used only to fight each in
the way that suited him best, these details appeared absolutely
ludicrous.

58 BERIC THE BRITON.

Beric was obliged to stop and harangue them, pointing out
to them that it was just these little things that gave the
Romans their fighting power; that it was because the whole
company moved as one man, and fought as one man, each
knowing his place and falling into it, however great the
confusion, however sudden the alarm, that made them what
they were.

"Why do they conquer you?" he said, "Chiefly because
you can never throw them into confusion. Charge down upon
them and break them, and they at once reunite and a solid
wall opposes your scattered efforts. You know how cattle,
when wolves attack them, gather in a circle with their horns
outwards, and so keep at bay those who could pull them down
and rend them separately. At present it seems ridiculous to
you that every position of the hand, every movement of the
arm, should be done by rule; but when you have practised them
these will become a second nature; so with your other move-
ments. It seems folly to you to do with measured steps
what it seems you could do far more quickly by running
together hastily; but it is not so. The slowest movement
is really the quickest, and it has the advantage that no one
is hurried, that everything is done steadily and regularly, and
that even in the greatest heat and confusion of a battle every
man takes his place, as calm and ready to fight as if no foe were
in sight. Now let us try this again. At the end of the day
I shall pick out some of those who are quickest and most atten-
tive, and make of them ofiicers under me. They will have
more work to do, for they will have to understand and teach
my orders, but also they will gain more honour and credit"

For hours the drill went on; then they broke off for dinner
and again worked until evening, and by that time had made
sufficient progress in their simple movements to begin to feel
that there was after all something more in it than they had
fancied. For the first hour it had seemed to them a sort of
joke — a mere freak on the part of their young chief; but
they were themselves surprised to find by the end of the day

A WOLF HUNT. 59

how rapidly they were able to change from their rank two
deep into the solid formation, and how their spears rose and
fell together at the order. Beric bade them by the next mor-
ning provide themselves with spears six feet longer. Britons
were more accustomed to fight with javelin than with spear,
and the latter weapons were shorter and lighter than those of
the Eomans. Beric felt that the advantage should be the
other way, for the small shields carried by the Britons were
inferior as defensive weapons to those of the Romans, and to
preserve the balance it was necessary therefore to have longer
spears; the more so since the Britons were taller, and far more
powerful men than their foes, and should therefore be able, with
practice, to use longer weapons.

The next day Beric chose Boduoc as his second in com-
mand, and appointed ten men sub-officers or sergeants. After
a week of almost incessant work that would have exhausted
men less hardy and vigorous, Beric was satisfied. The com-
pany had now come to take great interest in their work, and
were able to go through their exercises with a fair show of
regularity. Even the older chiefs, who had at first shaken
their heads as they looked on, acknowledged that there was a
great deal to be gained from the exercises. Parta was delighted.
It was she who had foreseen the advantages that might be
derived from Beric's stay among the Romans, and she entered
heartily into his plans, ordering the men engaged to be fed
from the produce of her flocks and herds.

When the week was over two hundred more men were
summoned, a sufficient number of the brightest and most
intelligent of the first company being chosen as their sub-
officers. Before the drill commenced, however, the first com-
pany were put through their exercises in order that the new-
comers might see what was expected of them, and how much
could be done. This time several of the chiefs joined the com-
panies in order that they might learn the words of command
and be fitted to lead. This greatly encouraged Beric, who
had foreseen that while he himself could command a company,

60 BERIC THE BRITON.

he could do nothing towards controlling ten or fifteen companies
unless these had each officers of rank and influence enough to
control them.

The exercises after the first company had been drilled were
carried on in the forest some miles away from the village, the
men assembling there and camping beneath the trees, so that
no rumour of gatherings or preparations for war should reach
the Eomans, although at present these were not in a position to
make any eruption from Camalodunum, as the greater portion
of the legionaries had marched with Suetonius.

Returning one day to Cardun with Boduoc, Beric was surprised
to hear loud cries of lamentation. The women were running
about with dishevelled hair and disordered garments. Fearful
that something might have happened to his mother, he hurried
on to the hall. Parta was sitting on the ground rocking her-
self to and fro in her grief, while the women were assembled
round her uttering cries of anguish.

"What is the matter?" Beric asked as he hurried forward.
The bard stepped forward to answer the question.

"My son," he said, "misfortune has fallen on the land.
The gods have hidden their faces and refused to fight for their
children. Woe and desolation have come upon us. The altars
are thrown down and the priests slaughtered."

" Mona is taken ! " Beric exclaimed.

"Yes, my son, Mona is taken. The Druid Boroc but an
hour ago brought the news. The Romans having reached the
strait, constructed flat-bottomed boats, and in these approached
the island, the horsemen towing their horses behind them.
There were assembled the women of the Silures and the Druids
from all parts of Britain, with many fugitives who had fled for
shelter to the island. The Druids remained by their altars
offering up human sacrifices, the men and women assembled on
the beach waving torches, hurling imprecations upon the in-
vaders, and imploring the gods to aid them and to crush the
impious foe. For a time the Romans paused in mid channel,
terrified at the spectacle, and the hopes of all that the gods had

A WOLF HUNT. 61

paralysed their arms rose high; but, alas! the halt was but
temporary. Encouraging each other with shouts, they again
advanced, and, leaping from their boats, waded through the
vfater and set foot on the sacred soil.

"What was there to dol The men were few, and though
the women in their despair rushed wildly at the enemy, it was
all in vain; men and women were alike slaughtered; and then,
moving forward, they advanced against the holy circle and slew
the Druids upon the altars of the gods they served, and yet the
gods were silent. They saw, they heard, but answered not;
neither the clouds rained fire upon the invaders nor the earth
shook. Ah ! my son, evil days have fallen upon the land. What
will be the end of them'?"

Throughout the length and breadth of Britain a thrill of
horror was felt at the news of the massacre of Druids at Mona,
and everywhere it was followed by a stern determination to
prepare for battle to clear the land of the Komans. The Druids
went from tribe to tribe and from village to village stirring up
men's hearts; the women, even more deeply excited than the
men at the news of the calamity, behaved as if possessed, many
going about the country calling upon the men to take up arms,
and foretelling victory to the Britons and destruction to the
Komans; even in the streets of Caraalodunum at night their
voices were heard crying out curses upon the Romans and
predicting the destruction of the city.

A week after the news came. Bene, in fulfilment of the
promise he had given to Berenice, paid another visit to Cama-
lodunum. There were no signs in its busy streets of uneasiness
or fear. The new propraetor Catus Decianus, who commanded
in the absence of Suetonius, was holding a sort of court there,
and the bearing of the Romans seemed even more arrogant and
insolent than usual. The news of the destruction of the Druids
at Mona had by them been hailed as a final and most crushing
blow to the resistance of the Britons. Since their gods could
not protect their own altars what hope could there be for them
in the future 1 Decianus, a haughty tjnrant who had been sent

62 BERIO THE BRITON.

to Britain by Nero as a mark of signal favour, in order that
he might enrich himself by the spoils of the Britons, was levy
ing exactions at a rate hitherto unknown, treating the people
as if they were but dirt under his feet. His lieutenants, all
creatures of Nero, followed his example, and the exasperation
of the unfortunate Trinobantes, who were the chief victims, had
reached such a point that they were ready for revolt whensoever
the signal might come.

On arrival at the house of Caius Muro, Beric found Berenice
at home; she received him with joy. "I am glad that you
have come, Beric; it is so dull now that father has gone away
to the war. I have been expecting you here for the last fort-
night. I suppose you have been amusing yourself too much
even to give a thought to me."

" I have been very busy, Berenice. I am a chief now, and
have had much to do in the tribe. Among other things we
have been having great war with the wolves."

" Yes, you told me when you were last here that you were
going to set out next day on an expedition against them."

" They began first, as it turned out," he said smiling, " and
very nearly made a meal of me that night on my way homeward."

" Sit down and tell me all about it," she said. " You know
I love stories."

Beric recited to her the story of the fight at the hut

" And there was a woman there ! How terrible it must have
been for her to be alone with her children before you arrived,
and to think of her killing the wolves with the spear. How
diflferent your women must be from us, Beric, for we are only
taught to embroider, to dress ourselves, and to care for pretty
things. Why, I should be frightened out of my life at the sight
of a wolf if I were all alone and had no one to protect me."

"Our women are brought up differently, Berenice. We
regard them as altogether our equals, and many of our tribes
are ruled by women. My own, you know, for example. They
do not go into battle with the men; but when a camp is
attacked they are ready to fight in its defence, and being

A WOLF HUNT. 68

brought up to lead a vigorous life, they are well-nigh as strong
as we are. Among all the Gaulish nations the women are held
in high respect. Of course with you this is so sometimes.
Your father was wont to listen to the opinions of your mother;
but you know that is not often so, and that with many Romans
women are looked upon as inferior creatures, good only for
dress and pleasure, useful in ordering a house and in managing
the slaves, but unfit to take part in public life, and knowing
nothing of aught save domestic affairs. And what has been
going on here, Berenice?"

"Nothing," the girl said; "at least I have been doing no-
thing. I went to the foot-races the other day, and saw the
propraetor, but I don't like him. I think that he is a bad
man, and I hear stories among the ladies of his being cruel
and greedy; and there have been mad women going about at
night shrieking and crying; I have heard them several times
myself. Some of the ladies said they wish that my father was
back here with his legion, for that there are but few soldiers, and
if Decianus continues to treat the people so badly there may
be trouble. What do you think, Berici"

"I cannot say," he replied. "It seems to me that the
Eomans are bent upon crushing us down altogether. They have
just captured our Holy Island, slaying the priests and priest-
esses, and overthrowing the altars, while Nero's officers wring
from the people the last coin and the last animal they possess.
I fear that there will be trouble, Berenice. No men worthy of
the name could see their gods insulted and themselves despoiled
of all they possess without striking a blow in defence."

" But they will only bring more trouble upon themselves,"
the girl said gravely. " I have heard my father lament that
they forced us to fight against them, though you know he
held that it was our fault more than theirs, and that if they
were ruled kindly and wisely, as were the people in Southern
Gaul, where the legion was stationed before it came over here,
they would settle down and live peaceably, and be greatly
benefited by our rule»"

64 BERIC THE BRITON.

" If you treat a man as you would a dog you must not be
surprised if he bites you," Beric said. " Some of your people
not only think that we are dogs, but that we are toothless ones.
Mayhap they will find their mistake some day."

"But you will never fight against us, Beric," the girl said
anxiously, "after living so long among us?"

"I would not fight against your father or against those who
have treated me well," he replied; " but against those who ill-
treat and abuse us I would fight when my countrymen fought.
Yet if I could ever do you a service, Berenice, I would lay
down my life to do it."

The event seemed so improbable to the girl that she passed
over the promise without comment.

"So you are a chief, Beric! But I thought chiefs wore
golden bracelets and ornaments, and you are just as you were
when you came here last."

"Because I come here only as a visitor. If I came on a
mission from the queen, or as one of a deputation of chiefs, I
should wear my ornaments. I wear them at home now, those
that my father had."

Beric stayed for some hours chatting with Berenice, and his
old instructor, who had been left by Caius in charge of the
household. As he walked home he wondered over the careless
security of the Eomans, and vowed that should opportunity
occur he would save Berenice from the fate that was likely to
fall upon all in Camalodunum should the Britons rise.

CHAPTER IV.

AN INFURIATED PEOPLK

AFRESH misfortune has occurred," was the greeting with
which Beric's mother met him on his return home.
"Prasutagus is dead; and this is not the worst, he has left
half his estates to the Roman Emperor."

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 65

"To the Roman Emperor!" Beric repeated; "is it possible,
mother r'

" It is true, Beric. You know he has always tried to curry
favour with the Romans, and has kept the Iceni from joining
when other tribes rose against Rome. He has thought of
nothing but amassing wealth, and in all Britain there is no
man who could compare with him in riches. Doubtless he
felt that the Romans only bided their time to seize what he
had gathered, and so, in order that Boadicea and his daughters
should enjoy in peace a portion of his stores, he has left half
to Nero. The man was a fool as well as a traitor. The
peasant who throws a child out of the door to the wolves
knows that it does but whet their appetite for blood, and so
it will be in this case. I hear Prasutagus died a week since,
though the news has come but slowly, and already a horde
of Roman officials have arrived in Norfolk, and are proceeding
to make inventories of the king's possessions, and to bear them-
selves as insolently as if they were masters of all. Trouble
must come, and that soon. Boadicea is of different stuff to
her husband; she will not bear the insolence of the Romans.
It would have been well for the Iceni had Prasutagus died
twenty years ago and she had ruled our country."

" The gods have clearly willed, mother, that we should rise
as one people against the Romans. It may be that it was for
this that they did not defend their shrines from the impious
hands of the invaders. Nought else stirred the Britons to lay
aside their jealousies and act as one people. Now from end to
end of the island all are burning for vengeance. Just at
this moment, comes the death of the Romans' friend Prasu-
tagus, and the passing of the rule of the Iceni into the hands
of Boadicea. With the Romans in her capital the occasion
will assuredly not long be wanting, and then there will be
such a rising as the Romans have never yet seen; and then,
their purpose effected, the gods may well fight on our side. I
would that there had been five more years in which to prepare
for the struggle, but if it must come it must. This Catus

(725) s

66 BERIC THE BRITON.

Decianus is just the man to bring it on. Haughty, arrogant,
and greedy, he knows nothing of us, and has never faced the
Britons in arms. Had Suetonius been here he would not have
acted thus with regard to the affairs of Prasutagus. Had Caius
Muro not been absent his voice might have been raised in
warning to the tyrant; but everything seems to conspire
together, mother, to bring on the crisis."

"The sooner the better," Parta exclaimed vehemently. "It
is true that in time you might teach the whole Iceni to fight
in Roman methods, but what is good for the Romans may not
be good for us. Moreover, every year that passes strengthens
their hold on the land. Their forts spring up everywhere,
their cities grow apace; every month numbers flock over here.
Another five years, my son, and their hold might be too strong
to shake off."

" That is so, mother. Thinking of ourselves I thought not
of them; it may be that it were better to fight now than to
wait Well, whenever the signal is given, and from where-
soever it comes, we are ready."

Since the news of the capture of Mona had arrived, the
tribesmen had drilled with increased alacrity and eagerness.
Every man saw that the struggle with Rome must ere long
take place, and was eager to take a leading share in the con-
flict. It was upon them that the blow had fallen most heavily
in the former partial rising, and they knew that the other tribes
of the Iceni held that their defence of their camp should not
have been overborne by the Romans as it was; hence they had
something of a private wrong as well as a national one to
avenge. Another fortnight was spent in constant work, until
one day the news came that Boadicea's daughters had been
most grossly insulted by the Roman officers, and that the
queen herself had started for Caraalodunum to demand from
Decianus a redress of their wrongs and the punishment of the
offenders. The excitement was intense. Every man felt the
outrage upon the daughters of their queen as a personal injury,
and when Beric took his place before the men of the tribe,

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 67

who were drawn up in military order, a shout arose : " Lead us
to Camalodunum ! Let us take vengeance ! "

"Not yet," Beric cried. "The queen has gone there; we
must wait the issue. Not until she gives the orders must we
move. A rising now would endanger her safety. We must
wait, my friends, until all are as ready as we are; when the
time comes you will not find me backward in leading you."

Three days later came news that seemed at first incredible,
but which was speedily confirmed. Decianus had received the
queen, had scoffed at her complaints, and when, fired with
indignation, she had used threats, he had ordered his soldiers
to strip and scourge her, and the sentence had actually been
carried into effect. Then the rage of the tribesmen knew no
bounds, and it needed the utmost persuasions of Parta herself
to induce them to wait until news came from the north.

"Fear not," she said, "that your just vengeance will be
baulked. Boadicea will not submit to this double indignity,
of that you may be sure. Wait until you hear from her.
When measures are determined upon in this matter the Iceni
must act as one man. We are all equally outraged in the
persons of our queen and her daughters; all have a right to
a share in avenging her insults. We might spoil all by moving
before the others are ready. When we move it must be as a
mighty torrent to overwhelm the invaders. Not Camalodunum
only, but every Roman town must be laid in ruins. It must
be a life-and-death struggle between us and Rome; we must
conquer now or be enslaved for ever."

It was not long before messengers arrived from Boadicea,
bidding the Sarci prepare for war, and summoning Parta and
her son to a council of the chiefs of the tribe, to be held under a
well-known sacred oak in the heart of the forest, near Norwich.
Parta's chariot was at once prepared, together with a second,
which was to carry Boduoc and a female attendant of Parta,
and as soon as the horses were harnessed they started. Two
long days' journey brought them to the place of meeting. The
scene was a busy one. Already fully twoscore of the chiefs had

68 BERIC THE BRITON,

ari'ived. Parta was received with great marks of respect. The
Sarci were the tribe lying nearest to the Romans, and upon
them the brunt of the Roman anger would fall, as it had done
before; but her appearance in answer to the summons showed,
it was thought, their willingness to join in the general action
of the tribe.

Beric was looked at curiously. His four years' residence
among the Romans caused him to be regarded with a certain
amount of suspicion, which had been added to by rumours
that he had been impressing upon the tribe the greatness and
power of Rom& Of late there had been reports brought by
wandering bards that the Sarci were being practised in the
same exercises as those of the Roman soldiers, and there were
many who thought that Beric, like Cogidinus, a chief of the
Regi of Sussex, had joined himself heart and soul to Rome,
and was preparing his tribe to fight side by side with the
legions. On the other hand many, knowing that Parta had
lost her husband at the hands of the Romans, and hated them
with all her heart, held that she would never have divided her
power with Beric, or suffered him to take military command
of the tribe, had she not been assured of his fidelity to the
cause of Britain.

Beric was dressed in the full panoply of a chief. He wore a
short skirt or kilt reaching to his knees. Above it a loose vest
or shirt, girt in by a gold belt, while over his shoulders he wore
the British mantle, white in colour and worked with gold.
Around his neck was the torque, the emblem of chieftainship.
On his left arm he carried a small shield of beaten brass, and
from a baldric covered with gold plates hung the straight
pointless British sword that had been carried by his father in
battle. Even those most suspicious of him could not deny that
he was a stalwart and well-built youth, with a full share of
pith and muscle, and that his residence among the Romans had
not given him any airs of effeminacy. The only subject of
criticism was that his hair was shorter than that of his coun-
trymen, for although he had permitted it to grow since he left

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 69

Camalodunum, where he had worn it short, in Roman fashion,
it had not yet attained its full length.

Beric felt a stranger among the others. Since his return
home there had been no great tribal gathering, for Prasutagus
had for some time been ill, and had always discouraged such
assemblages both because they were viewed with jealousy by
the Romans and because he begrudged the expenses of enter-
taining. Parta, who was personally known to almost all pre-
sent, introduced Beric to them.

"My son is none the less one of the Iceni for his Roman
training," she said; '* he has learned much, but has forgotten no-
thing. He is young, but you will find him a worthy companion
in arms when the day of battle comes."

"I am glad to hear what you say, Parta," Aska, one of the
older chiefs, said. "It would be unfair to impute blame to
him for what assuredly was not his fault, but I feared that
they might liave taught him to despise his countrymen."

*' It is not so, sir," Beric said firmly. " Happily I fell into
good hands. Caius Muro, the commander of the 12th Legion,
in whose charge I was, is a just as well as a valiant man, and
had me instructed as if I had been his own son, and I trust that
I am none the less a true Briton because I except him and his
from the hatred I bear the Romans. He never said a word to
me against my countrymen, and indeed often bewailed that we
were not treated more wisely and gently, and were not taught
to regard the Romans as friends and teachers rather than
oppressors."

"Well spoken, young chief!" the other said; "ingratitude is,
of all sins, the most odious, and you do well to speak up boldly
for those who were kind to you. Among all men there are
good and evil, and we may well believe, even among the
Romans, there are some who are just and honourable. But I
hear that you admire them greatly, and that you have been
telling to your tribe tales of their greatness in war and of their
virtues."

" I have done so," Beric replied. " A race could not conquer

70 BERIC THE BRITON,

the world as the Romans have done unless they had many vir-
tues; but those that I chiefly told of are the virtues that
every Briton should lay to heart. I spoke of their patriotism,
of the love of country that never failed, of the stern determi-
nation that enabled them to pass through the gravest dangers
without flinching, and to show a dauntless face to the foe even
when dangers were thickest and the country was menaced with
destruction. Above all, how in Rome, though there might be
parties and divisions, there were none in the face of a common
enemy. Then all acted as one man; there was no rivalry save
in great deeds. Each was ready to give life and all he possessed
in defence of his country. These were lessons which I thought
it well that every Briton should learn and take to heart. Rome
has conquered us so far because she has been one while we are
rent into tribes having no common union; content to sit with
our arms folded while our neighbours are crushed, not seeing
that our turn will come next. It was so when they first came
in the time of our forefathers, it has been so in these latter
times; tribe after tribe has been subdued; while, had we been
all united, the Romans would never have obtained a footing on
our shore. No wonder the gods have turned away their faces
from a people so blind and so divided when all was at stake.
Yes, I have learned much from the Romans. I have not learned
to love them, but I have learned to admire them and to regret
that in many respects my own countrymen did not resemble
them."

There was a murmur of surprise among the chiefs who
had by this time gathered round, while angry exclamations
broke from some of the younger men; but Aska waved his
hand.

"Beric speaks wisely and truly," he said; "our dissensions
have been our ruin. Still more, perhaps, the conduct of those
who should have led us, but who have made terms with Rome
in order to secure their own possessions. Among these Prasu-
tagus was conspicuous, and we ourselves were as much to blame
as he was that we suflfered it. If he knows what is passing here

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 71

he himself will see how great are the misfortunes that he has
brought upon his queen, his daughters, and the tribe. Had we
joined our whole forces with those of Caractacus the Brigantes
too might have risen. It took all the strength of the Romans
to conquer Caractacus alone. What could they have done had
the Brigantes and we from the north, and the whole of the
southern tribes, then unbroken, closed down upon them 1 It is
but yesterday since Prasutagus was buried. The grass has
not yet begun to shoot upon his funeral mound and yet his
estates have been seized by the Romans, while his wife and
daughters liave been insulted beyond measure.

" The young chief of the Sarci has profited by his sojourn
among the Romans. The Druids have told me that the priest
who has visited the Sarci prophesies great things of him, and
for that reason decided that, young as he was, he should share
his mother's power and take his place as leader of the tribe in
battle, and that he foresaw that, should time be given him to
ripen his wisdom and establish his authority, he might some
day become a British cliampion as powerful as Cunobeline, as
valiant as Caractacus. These were the words of one of the
wisest of the Druids. They have been passed round among
the Druids, and even now throughout Britain there are many
who never so much as heard of the name of the Sarci, who yet
believe that, in this young chief of that tribe, will some day
be found a mighty champion of his country. Prasutagus knew
this also, for as soon as Beric returned from Camalodunum he
begged the Druids to find out whether good or evil was to be
looked for from this youth, who had been brought up among
the Romans, and their report to him tallied with that which I
myself heard from them. It was for that reason that Boadicea
sent for him with his mother, although so much younger than
any here, and belonging to a tribe that is but a small one among
the Iceni. I asked these questions of him, knowing that among
some of you there were doubts whether his stay with the
Romans had not rendered him less a Briton. He answered as
I expected from him, boldly and fearlessly, and, as you have

72 BERIO THE BRITON.

heard, wisely, and I for one believe in the predictions of the
Druids. But here comes the queen."

As he spoke a number of chariots issued from the path
through the forest into the circular clearing, in the centre of
which stood the majestic oak, and at the same moment, from
the opposite side, appeared a procession of white-robed Druids
singing a loud chant. As the chariots drew up, the queen and
her two daughters alighted from them, with a number of
chiefs of importance from the branches of the tribe near her
capital. Beric had never seen her before, and was struck with
her aspect. She was a tall and stately woman, large in her
proportions, with her yellow hair falling below her waist. She
wore no ornaments or insignia of her high rank; her dress and
those of her daughters were careless and disordered, indicative
of mourning and grief, but the expression of her face was that
of indignation and passion rather than of humiliation.

Upon alighting she acknowledged the greeting of the assem-
bled chiefs with a slight gesture, and then remained standing
with her eyes fixed upon the advancing Druids. When these
reached the sacred tree they encircled it seven times, still con-
tinuing their chanting, and then ranged themselves up under
its branches with the chief Druid standing in front. They had
already been consulted privately by the queen and had declared
for war; but it was necessary that the decision should be pro-
nounced solemnly beneath the shade of the sacred oak.

"Why come you here, woman?" the chief priest asked, ad-
dressing the queen.

"I come as a supplicant to the gods," she said; "as an out-
raged queen, a dishonoured woman, and a broken-hearted
mother, and in each of these capacities I call upon my country's
gods for vengeance." Then in passionate words she poured out
the story of the indignities that she and her daughters had
sufiered, and suddenly loosening her garment, and suffering
it to drop to her waist, she turned and showed the marks
of the Roman rods across her back, the sight eliciting a shout
of fury from the chiefs around her.

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 73

"Let all retire to the woods," the Druids said, "and see
that no eye profanes our mysteries'? When the gods have
answered we will summon you." The queen, followed by all
the chiefs, retired at once to the forest, while the Druids
proceeded to carry out the sacred mysteries. Although all
knew well what the decision would be, they waited with sup-
pressed excitement the summons to return and hear the
decision that was to embark them in a desperate, struggle
with Rome. Some threw themselves down under the trees,
some walked up and down together discussing in low tones
the prospects of a struggle, and the question what tribes would
join it. The queen and her daughters sat apart, none venturing
to approach them. Parta and three other female chiefs sat a
short distance away talking together, while two or three of the
younger chiefs, their attitude towards Beric entirely altered by
the report of the Druids' predictions concerning him, gathered
round him and asked questions concerning the Romans' methods
of fighting, their arms and power. An hour after they had
retired a deep sound of a conch rose in the air. The queen
and her daughters at once moved forward, followed by the four
female chiefs, behind whom came the rest in a body. Issuing
from the forest they advanced to the sacred oak and stood in
an attitude of deep respect, while the chief Druid announced
the decision of the gods.

"The gods have spoken," he said. "Too long have the
Iceni stood aloof from their countrymen, therefore have the
gods withdrawn their faces from them ; therefore has punish-
ment and woe fallen upon them. Prasutagus is dead; his
queen and his daughters have suffered the direst indignities;
a Roman has seized the wealth heaped up by inglorious cow-
ardice. But the moment has come; the gods have suffered
their own altars to be desecrated in order that over the whole
length and breadth of the land the cry for vengeance shall
arise simultaneously. The cup is full; vengeance is at hand
upon the oppressors and tyrants, the land reeks with British
blood. Not content with grasping our possessions, our lives

74 BERIC THE BRITON.

and the honour of our women are held as nought by them,
our altars are cold, our priests slaughtered. The hour of
vengeance is at hand. I see the smoke of burning cities
ascending in the air. I hear the groans of countless victims to
British vengeance. I see broken legions and flying men.

"To arms! the gods have spoken. Strike for vengeance.
Strike for the gods. Strike for your country and outraged
queen. Chiefs of the Iceni, to arms ! May the curse of the
gods fall upon an enemy who draws back in the day of battle !
May the gods give strength to your arms and render you
invincible in battle! The gods have spoken."

A mighty shout was raised by his hearers; swords were
brandished, and spears shaken, and the cry "To arms! the
gods have spoken," was repeated unanimously. As the Druids
closed round their chief, who had been seized with strong
convulsions as soon as he had uttered the message of the gods,
Boadicea turned to the chiefs and raised her arm for silence.

"I am a queen again; I reign once more over a race of men.
No longer do I feel the smart of my stripes, for each shall ere
long be washed out in Roman blood; but before action, counsel,
and before counsel, food, for you have, many of you, come from
afar. I have ordered a feast to be prepared in the forest."

She led the way across to the opposite side of the glade,
where, a few hundred yards in the forest, a number of the
queen's slaves had prepared a feast of roasted sheep, pig, and
ox, with bread and jars of drink formed of fermented honey,
and a sort of beer. As soon as the meal was concluded the
queen called the chiefs round her, and the assembly was joined
by the Druids.

"War is declared," she said; "the question is shall we
commence at once, or shall we waiti"

There was a general response "At once!" but the chief
Druid stepped forward and said : " My sons, we must not risk
the ruin of all by undue haste ; this must be a national move-
ment if it is to succeed. For a fortnight we must keep quiet,
preparing everything for war, so that we may take the field

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 76

with every man capable of bearing arms in the tribe. In the
meantime we, with the aid of the bards, will spread the news
of the outrages that the Romans have committed upon the
queen and her daughters far and wide over the land. Already
the tribes are burning with indignation at the insults to our
gods and the slaughter of our priests at Mona, and this news
will arouse them to madness, for what is done here to-day may
be done elsewhere to-morrow, and all men will see that only
in the total destruction of the Romans is there a hope of
freedom. All will be bidden to prepare for war, and, when
the news comes that the Iceni have taken up arms, to assemble
and march to join us. On this day fortnight, then, let every
chief with his following meet at Cardun, which is but a short
march from Camalodunum. Then we will rush upon the
Roman city, the scene of the outrage to your queen, and its
smoke shall tell Britain that she is avenged, and Rome that
her day of oppression is over."

The decision was received with satisfaction. A fortnight
was none too long for making preparations, assembling the
tribesmen, and marching to the appointed spot.

" One thing I claim," Boadicea said, " and that is the right
to fall upon and destroy instantly the Romans who installed
themselves in my capital, and who are the authors of the
outrages upon my daughters. So long as they live and lord it
there I cannot return."

" That is right and just," the Druid said. " Slay all but ten,
and hand them over bound to us to be sacrificed on the altars
of the gods they have insulted."

"I will undertake that task, as my tribe lies nearest the
capital," one of the chiefs said. " I will assemble them to-
night and fall upon the Romans at daybreak."

" See that none escape," the Druid said. " Kill them and
all their slaves and followers. Let not one live to carry the
news to Camalodunum."

" I shall be at the meeting-place and march at your head,"
the queen said to the chiefs; "that victory will be ours I do

76 BERIC THE BRITON.

not doubt ; but if the gods will it otherwise I swear that I shall
not survive defeat. Ye gods, hear my vow."

The council was now over, and the queen mingled with the
chiefs, saying a few words to each. Beric was presented to
her by his mother, and Boadicea was particularly gracious to
him. "I have heard great things predicted of you, Beric.
The gods have marked you out for favour, and their priests
tell me that you will be one day a great champion of the
Britons. So may it be. I shall watch you on the day of
battle, and am assured that none among the Iceni will bear
themselves more worthily."

An hour later the meeting broke up, and Parta and Beric
returned to Cardun, where they at once began to make pre-
parations for the approaching conflict. Every man in the tribe
was summoned to attend, and the exercises went on from day-
break till dusk, while the women cooked and waited upon the
men. Councils were held nightly in the hall, and to each of
the chiefs was assigned a special duty, the whole tribe being
treated as a legion, and every chief and fighting man having
his place and duty assigned to him.

In Camalodunum, although nothing was known of the pre-
parations that were being made, a feeling of great uneasiness
prevailed. The treatment of Boadicea had excited grave dis-
approval upon the part of the great majority of the inhabitants,
although new arrivals from Gaul or Rome and the officials in
the suite of Decianus lauded his action as an act of excellent
policy.

" These British slaves must be taught to feel the weight of
our arm," they said, " and a lesson such as this will be most
useful. Is it for dogs like these to complain because they are
whipped 1 They must be taught to know that they live but at
our pleasure; that this island and all it contains is ours. They
have no rights save those we choose to give them."

But the older settlers viewed, the matter very differently.
They knew well enough that it was only after hard fighting
that Vespasian had subdued the south, and Ostorius crushed

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 77

Caractacus. They knew, too, that the Iceni gave but a nominal
submission to Eome, and that the Trinobantes, crushed as they
were, had been driven to the verge of madness by extortion.
Moreover the legions were far away; Camalodunum was well-
nigh undefended, and lay almost at the mercy of the Britons
should they attack. They, therefore, denounced the treatment
of Boadicea as not only brutal but as impolitic in the extreme.

The sudden cessation of news from the officials who had
gone to take possession of the estate of Prasutagus caused
considerable uneasiness among this section of the inhabitants
of Camalodunum. Messengers were sent off every day to
inquire as to what had taken place after the return of Boadicea,
but none came back. The feeling of uneasiness was heightened
by the attitude of the natives. Reports came in from all parts
of the district that they had changed their attitude, that they
no longer crouched at the sight of a Roman but bore themselves
defiantly, that there were meetings at night in the forest, and
that the women sang chants and performed dances which had
evidently some hidden meaning.

Decianus, conscious perhaps that his action was strongly
disapproved by all the principal inhabitants of the town, and
that, perhaps, Suetonius would also view it in the same light
when it was reported to him, had left the city a few days after
the occurrence and had gone to Verulamium. His absence
permitted the general feeling of apprehension and discontent-
ment more open expression than it would otherwise have had.
Brave as the Romans were, they were deeply superstitious, and
a thrill of horror and apprehension ran through the city when
it was reported one morning that the statue of Victory in the
temple had fallen to the ground, and had turned round as if
it fled towards the sea. This presage of evil created a profound
impression.

"What do you think of it, Cneius?" Berenice asked; "it is
terrible, is it not? Nothing else is spoken of among all the
ladies I have seen to-day, and all agree it forbodes some terrible
evil."

78 BERIC THE BRITON.

"It may, or it may not," the old scribe said cautiously; "if
the statue has fallen by the action of the gods the omen is
surely a most evil one."

"But how else could it have fallen, Cneiusf

"Well, my dear, there are many Britons in the town, and
you know they are in a very excited state; their women, in-
deed, seem to have gone well-nigh mad with their midnight
singiag and wailing. . It is possible — mind, I do not for a
moment say that it is so, for were the suggestion to occur to
the citizens it would lead to fresh oppressions and cruelties
against the Britons — but it is just possible that some of them
may have entered the temple at night and overthrown Victory's
image as an act of defiance. You know how the women nightly
shriek out their prophecies of the destruction of this town."

"But could they destroy it, Cneius? Surely they would
never dare to attack a great Roman city like this!"

"I don't know whether they dare or not, Berenice, but
assuredly Decianus is doing all in his power to excite them to
such a pitch of despair that they might dare do anything; and
if they dare, I see nothing whatever to prevent them from
taking the city. The works erected after Claudius first founded
the colony are so vast that they would require an army to
defend them, while there are but a few hundred soldiers here.
What could they do against a horde of barbarians ? I would
that your father were back, and also the two legions who
marched away to join Suetonius. Before they went they ought
to have erected a central fort here, to which all could retire in
case of danger, and hold out until Suetonius came back to our
assistance; but you see, when they went away none could
have foreseen what has since taken place. No one could have
dreamt that Decianus would have wantonly stirred up the Iceni
to revolt."

"But you don't think they have revolted?"

" I know nothing of it, Berenice, but I can put two and two
together. We have heard nothing for a week from the officials
who went to seize the possessions of Prasutagus. How is it

^

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 79

that none of our messengers have returned 1 It seems to me
almost certain that these men have paid for their conduct to
the daughters of Boadicea with their lives."

" But Beric is with the Iceni. Surely we should hear from
him if danger threatened."

"He is with them," Cneius said, "hut he is a chief, and if
the tribe are in arms he is in arms also, and cannot, without
risking the forfeit of his life for treachery, send hither a
message that would put us on our guard. I believe in the lad.
Four years I taught him, and I think I know his nature. He
is honest and true. He is one of the Iceni and must go with
his countrymen ; but I am sure he is grateful for the kindness he
received here, and has a real affection for you, therefore I
believe, that should my worst fears be verified, and the Iceni
attack Camalodunum, he will do his utmost to save you."

" But they will not kill women and girls surely, even if they
did take the city]"

"I fear that they will show slight mercy to any, Berenice;
why should they 1 We have shown no mercy to them; we have
slaughtered their priests and priestesses, and at the storm of
their towns have put all to death without distinction of age or
sex. If we, a civilized people, thus make war, what can you
expect from the men upon whom we have inflicted such count-
less injuries]"

The fall of the statue of Victory was succeeded by other occur-
rences in which the awe-struck inhabitants read augury of eviL
It was reported that strange noises had been heard in the
council-house and theatre, while men out in boats brought back
the tale that there was the appearance of a sunken town below
the water. It was currently believed that the sea had assumed
the colour of blood, and that there were, when the tide went
out, marks upon the sand as if dead bodies had been lying
there. Even the boldest veterans were dismayed at this accu-
mulation of hostile auguries, A council of the principal citizens
was held, and an urgent message despatched to Decianus, pray-
ing that he would take instant measures for the protection of

80 BERIC THE BRITON.

the city. In reply to this he despatched two hundred soldiers
from Verulamium, and these with the small body of troops
already in the city took possession of the Temple of Claudius,
and began to make preparations for putting it into a state of
defence.

Still no message had come from Norwich, but night after night
the British women declared that the people of Camalodunum
would suffer the same fate that had already overwhelmed
those who had ventured to insult the daughters of the queen
of the Iceni. A strange terror had now seized the inhabitants
of the town. The apprehension of danger weighed upon all,
and the peril seemed all the more terrible inasmuch as it was
so vague. Nothing was known for certain. No message had
come from the Iceni since the queen quitted the town, and yet
it was felt that among the dark woods stretching north a host
of foes was gathering, and might at any moment pour down
upon the city. Orders were issued that at the approach of danger
all who could do so were to betake themselves at once to the
temple, which was to act as a citadel, yet no really effective
measures were taken. There was, indeed, a vague talk of
sending the women and children and valuables away to the
legion, commanded by Cerealis, stationed in a fortified camp to
the south, but nothing came of it; all waited for something defi-
nite, some notification that the Britons had really revolted, and
while waiting for this nothing was done.

One evening a slave brought in a small roll of vellum to
Cneius. It had been given him at the door, he said, by a
Briton, who had at once left after placing it in his hands. The
scribe opened it and read as follows : —

"Jo Cneius Nepo, greeting, — Obtain British garb for yourself
and Berenice. Let her apparel be that of a boy. Should anything
unusual occur by night or day, do you and she disguise yourselves
quickly, and stir not beyond the house. It will be best for you to
wait in the tablinum; lose no time in carrying out this instruction."

There was no signature, nor was any needed.

" So the storm is about to burst," Cneius said thoughtfully

AN INFURIATED PEOPLE. 81

when he had read it. " I thought so. I was sure that if the
Britons had a spark of manhood left in them they would
avenge the cruel wrongs of their queen. I am rejoiced to read
Beric's words, and to see that he has, as I felt sure he had, a
grateful heart. He would save us from the fate that he clearly
thinks is about to overwhelm this place. The omens have not
lied then — not that I believe in them; they are for the most
part the offspring of men's fancy, but at any rate they will come
true this time. I care little for myself, but I must do as he
bids me for the sake of the girl. I doubt, though, whether Beric
can save her. These people have terrible wrongs to avenge,
and at their first outburst will spare none. Well, I must do
my best, and late as it is I will go out and purchase these gar-
ments. It is not likely that the danger will come to-night, for
he would have given us longer notice. Still he may have had
no opportunity, and may not have known until the last moment
when the attack was to take place. He says * lose no time.' "

Cneius at once went to one of the traders who dealt with the
natives who came into the town, and procured the garments
for himself and Berenice. The trader, who knew him by sight,
remarked, "Have you been purchasing more slaves?"

" No, but I have need for dresses for two persons who have
done me some service."

"I should have thought," the trader said, "they would have
preferred lighter colours. These cloths are sombre, and the
natives, although their own cloths are for the most part dark,
prefer, when they buy of me, brighter colours."

" These will do very well," Cneius said. " Just at present
Roman colours and cloths are not likely to be in demand
among them."

"No, the times are bad," the trader said; "there has been
scarce a native in my shop for the last ten days, and even
among the townspeople there has been little buying or sell-
ing."

Cneius returned to the house, a slave carrying his purchases
behind him. On reaching home he took the parcel from him,

(725) ¥

82 BERIG THE BRITON.

and carried it to his own cubicule, and then ordered a slave to
beg Berenice to come down from her apartment as he desired
to speak with her.

CHAPTER V.

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM.

UPON the morning of the day fixed for the gathering of the
Iceni preparations were begun early at Cardun. Oxen
and swine were slaughtered, great fires made, and the women
in the village were all employed in making and baking oaten
cakes upon the hearth. For some days many of them had
been employed in making a great store of fermented honey
and water. Men began to flock in from an early hour, and by
mid-day every male of the Sarci capable of bearing arms had
come in. Each brought with him a supply of cooked meat
and cakes sufficient to last for three or four days. In the
afternoon the tribes began to pour in, each tribe under its chiefs.
There was no attempt at order or regularity; they came
trooping in in masses, the chiefs sometimes in chariots some-
times on horseback, riding at their head. Parta welcomed
them, and food was served out to the men while the chiefs
.were entertained in the hall. Beric, looking at the wild figures,
rough and uncouth but powerful and massive in frame, was
filled with regret that these men knew nothing of discipline,
and that circumstances had forced on the war so suddenly.

The contrast between these wild figures and the disciplined
veterans of Eome, whom he had so often watched as they per-
formed their exercises, was striking indeed. Far inferior in
height and muscular power to the tribesmen, the legionaries
bore themselves with a proud consciousness in their fighting
power that alone went a long way towards giving them victory.
£ach man trusted not only in himself, but on his fellows, and

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 83

believed that the legion to which he belonged was invincible.
Their regular arms, their broad shields and helmets, all added
to their appearance, while their massive formation, as they
stood shoulder to shoulder, shield touching shield, seemed as
if it could defy the utmost efiforts of undisciplined valour.
However, Beric thought with pride that his own tribe, the
sixteen hundred men he had for six weeks been training inces-
santly, would be a match even for the Eoman veterans. Their
inferiority in the discipline that was carried to such perfection
among the Romans would be atoned for by their superior
strength and activity. His only fear was, that in the excite-
ment of battle they would forget their teaching, and, breaking
their ranks, fight every man for himself. He had, however,
spared no pains in impressing upon them that to do this would
be to throw away all that they had learned.

"I have not taught you to fight in Roman fashion," he said,
" merely that you might march in regular order and astonish
the other tribesmen, but that you should be cool and collected,
should be able patiently to stand the shock of the Roman
legion, and to fight, not as scattered units, but as a solid whole.
You will do well to bear this in mind, for to those who disobey
orders and break the line when engaged with the foe I will
show no mercy. My orders will be given to each sergeant of
ten men to run a spear through any man who stirs from his
post, whether in advance or in retreat, whether to slay or to
plunder. The time may come when the safety of the whole
army depends upon your standing like a wall between them
and the Romans, and the man who advances from his place in
the ranks will, as much as the man who retreats, endanger the
safety of all."

Over and over again had he impressed this lesson upon them.
Sometimes he had divided them in two parts, and engaged
in mimic fight. The larger half, representing the tribesmen,
advanced in their ordinary fashion *pith loud shouts and cries,
while the smaller section maintained their solid formation,
and with levelled spears, five deep, waited the attack. Even

84 BERIC THE BRITON.

those who were least impressed with the advantages of the
exercises through which they had been going, could not but
feel how immensely superior was the solid order, and how im-
possible would it have been for the assailants to burst through
the hedge of pointed weapons.

By sunset well-nigh thirty thousand men had arrived, each
sub-tribe passing through the village and taking up its post on
the slopes around it, where they were at once supplied with
food by the women.

With the fighting men were large numbers of women, for
these generally accompanied the Britons on their warlike expe-
ditions. Just at sunset a shout arose from the tribesmen on
the north side of the village, and Boadicea, with her daughters
and chief councillors, drove into the village. Her mien was
proud and lofty. She carried a spear in her hand and a sword
in her girdle. She had resumed her royal ornaments, and a
fillet of gold surrounded her head. Her garments were belted
in with a broad girdle of the same metal, and she wore heavy
gold armlets and bracelets. She looked with pride upon the
tribesmen who thronged shouting to greet her, and exclaimed
as she leapt from her chariot, "The day of vengeance is at
hand."

The fires blazed high all that night round Cardun. Num-
bers of bards had accompanied the tribes, as not only had
those who lived in the households of the principal chiefs come
in, but many had been attracted from the country lying near
their borders. At every fire, therefore, songs were sung and
tales told of the valour and glory of the heroes of old. Mingled
with these were laments over the evil days that had befallen
Britain, and exhortations to their hearers to avenge the past
and prove themselves worthy of their ancestors.

In similar manner the night was passed in Parta's halL Here
the chief bards were assembled, with all the tribal leaders, and
vied with each other in their stirring chants. Beric moved
about among the guests, seeing that their wants were supplied,
while Parta herself looked after those who were gathered on

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 85

the dais. Beric learned from the old chief Aska, who had first
spoken to him on the day of their arrival at the sacred oak,
that all Britain was ripe for the rising, and that messengers
had been received not only from the Brigantes, but from many
of the southern and western tribes, with assurances that they
would rise as soon as they heard that the Iceni had struck the
first blow.

•' The Trinobantes will join us at Camalodunum. All goes
well. Suetonius, with the legions, is still in the far west. We
shall make an end of them here before he can return. By that
time we shall have been joined by most of the tribes, and shall
have a force that will be sufficient to destroy utterly the army
he is leading. That done, there will be but the isolated forts
to capture and destroy, and then Britain will be free from the
invader. You think this will be so, Beric 1"

" I hope and trust so," Beric replied. " I think that success
in our first undertakings is a certainty, and I trust we may
defeat Suetonius. With such numbers as we shall put in the
field we ought surely to be able to do so. It is not of the
present I think so much as of the future. Rome never submits
to defeat, and will send an army here to which that of Sue-
tonius would be but a handful. But if we remain united, and
utilize the months that must elapse before the Romans can
arrive in preparing for the conflict, we ought to be victorious."

"You feel sure that the Romans will try to reconquer
Britain?"

' Quite sure. In all their history there is not an instance
where they have submitted to defeat. That is one of the main
reasons of their success. I am certain that, at whatever sacri-
fices, they will equip and send out an army that they will believe
powerful enough for the purpose."

*' But they were many years after their first invasion before
they came again."

*' That is true ; but in those first two invasions they did not
conquer. In the first they were forced to retire, and therefore
came again; in the second they had success enough to be able

86 BERIC THE BRITON.

to claim a victory and so to retire with honour. Besides, Eome
is vastly stronger and more powerful now than she was then.
Believe me, Aska, the struggle will be but begun when we have
driven the last Eoman from the island."

" We must talk of this again," Aska said, " as it is upon us
that the brunt of this struggle will fall. We shall have the
chief voice and influence after it is over, and Boadicea will
stand in the place that Cunobeline held, of chief king of the
island. Then, as you say, much will depend on the steps we
take to prepare to resist the next invasion; and young as you
are, your knowledge of Roman ways will render your counsels
valuable, and give great weight to your advice."

" I do not wish to put myself in any way in the foreground,"
Beric said. *' I am still but a boy, and have no wish to raise
my voice in the council of chiefs ; but what I have learned of
Roman history and Roman laws I would gladly explain to
those who, like yourself, speak with the voice of authority, and
whose wisdom all recognize."

In the morning Boadicea said that reports had been brought
to her of the manner in which Beric had been teaching the
Sarci to fight in Roman fashion, and that she should be glad
to see the result.

Accordingly the tribesmen proceeded to the open fields a
mile away, where they had been accustomed to drill, and they
were followed by the whole of those gathered round the village.
The queen and Parta drove out in their chariots. When they
reached the spot the chiefs of the other tribes, at Beric's request,
called upon their men to draw off and leave a space sufficient
for the exercises. This left the Sarci standing in scattered
groups over the open space, at one end of which Boadicea and
all the chiefs were gathered.

" They are now in the position, queen," Beric said, " of men
unsuspecting danger. I shall now warn them that they are
about to be attacked, and that they are to gather instantly to
repel the enemy."

Taking the conch slung over his shoulder Beric applied it to

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 87

his lips and blew three short notes. The tribesmen ran to-
gether; there was, as it seemed to the lookers-on, a scene of
wild confusion for a minute, and then they were drawn up in
companies, each a hundred strong, in regular order, A short
blast and a long one, and they moved up together into a mass
five deep; a single note, and the spears fell, and an array of
glistening points shone in front of them.

A shout of surprise and approval rose from the tribesmen
looking on. To them this perfect order and regularity seemed
well-nigh miraculous.

Beric now advanced to the line. At his order the two rear
ranks stepped backwards a few feet, stuck their spears in the
ground, and then discharged their javelins — of which each man
carried six — over the heads of the ranks in front, against the
enemy supposed to be advancing to attack them. Then seizing
their spears they fell into line again, and at another order the
whole advanced at a quick pace with levelled spears to the
charge, and keeping on till within a few paces of where the
queen was standing, halted suddenly and raised their spears.
Again a roar of applause came from the tribesmen.

" It is wonderful," the queen said. " I had not thought that
men could be taught so to move together; and that is how
the Romans fight, Beric 1"

"It is, queen," Beric said. "The exercises are exactly
similar to those of the Romans. I learnt them by heart when
I was among them, and the orders are exactly the same as
those given in the legions — only, of course, they are performed
by trained soldiers more perfectly than we can as yet do them.
It is but two months since we began, and the Romans have
practised them for years. Had I had time you would have
seen them much more perfect than at present."

" You have performed marvels," ihe said. " I wish that you
had had more time, and that all the Iceni, and not the Sarci
only could have thus learned to meet the enemy. Do you
not think so, chiefs?"

"It is wonderful," one of the chiefs said; "but I think that

88 BERIC THE BRITON.

it is not so terrifying to a foe as the rush of our own men. It
is better for resistance, but not so good for attack. Still it has
great merits; but I think it more suited for men who fight
deliberately, like the Romans, than for our own tribesmen,
who are wont to rely for victory each upon his own strength
and valour,"

"What say you, Beric?" the queen asked.

"It would be presumptuous for me to give my opinion
against that of a great chief," Beric said quietly; "but, so far,
strength and valour have not in themselves succeeded. The
men of Caractacus had both, but they were unavailing against
the solid Roman line. We have never yet won a great victory
over the Romans, and yet we have fought against them
valiantly. None can say that a Briton is not as brave and as
strong as a Roman. In our battles we have always outnum-
bered them. If we have been beaten, therefore, it has been
surely because the Roman method of fighting is superior to
our own."

There was a murmur of assent from several of the chiefs.

" Beric's argument is a strong one," the queen said to the one
who had spoken; "and I would that all the Iceni had learnt to
fight in this fashion. However, we shall have opportunities of
seeing which is right before we have finished with the Romans.
March your men back again, Beric."

Beric sounded his horn, and the line, facing half round, be-
came a column, and marched in regular order back to the vil-
lage. The morning meal was now taken, and at mid-day the
march began. Boadicea with her daughters, Parta and other
women of rank, went first in their chariots; and the Sarci,
who, as lying next to the enemy's country, were allowed the
post of honour, followed in column behind her, while the rest
of the tribesmen made their way in a miscellaneous crowd
through the forest. They halted among the trees at a distance
of four miles from Camalodunum, and then rested, for the
attack was not to take place until daybreak on the next
morniu^r.

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 89

Late that evening two or three women of the Trinobantes
came out, in accordance with a preconcerted arrangement, to
tell them that there was no suspicion at Camalodunum of the
impending danger; and that, although there was great uneasi-
ness among the inhabitants, no measures for defence had been
taken, and that even the precaution of sending away the women
and children had not been adopted.

No fires had been lighted; the men slept in the open air,
simply wrapping themselves in their mantles and lying down
under the trees. Beric had a long talk with Boduoc and ten
of the tribesmen of the latter's company.

" You understand," Beric said at last, "that if, as I expect, the
surprise will be complete and no regular resistance be offered,
I shall sound my horn and give the signal for the tribe to break
ranks and scatter. You ten men will, however, keep together,
and at once follow Boduoc and myself. As soon as we enter
the house to which I shall lead you, you will surround the two
persons I shall place in your charge, and will conduct them to
the spot where the chariot will be waiting. You will defend
them, if necessary, with your lives, should any disobey my
order to let you pass through with them. As soon as they are
placed in the chariot you will be free to join in the sack, and if
you should be losers by the delay, I will myself make up your
share to that of your comrades. You are sure, Boduoc, that all
the other arrangements are perfect?"

'* Everything is arranged," Boduoc said. "My brother, who
drives the chariot that brought your mother's attendants, quite
understands that he is to follow as soon as we move off, and
keeping a short way behind us is to stop in front of the last
house outside the gate until we come. As soon as he has taken
them up he will drive off and give them into the charge of our
mother, who has promised you to have everything in readiness
for them; the skins for beds, drinking vessels, food, and every-
thing else necessary was taken there two days ago. My sisters
■will see to the comfort of the young lady, and you can rely upon
my mother to carry out all the orders you have given her.

90 BERIC THE BRITON.

Our hut lies so deeply in the forest that there is little chance of
anyone going near it, especially as the whole of the men of the
tribe are away."

Two hours before daylight the Iceni moved forward. They
were to attack at a number of different points, and each chief
had had his position allotted to him. The Sarci were to move
directly against the northern gate and would form the centre
of the attack. Each man, by Beric's order, carried a faggot so
that these could be piled against the wall by the gate and enable
them to effect an entrance without the delay that would be
incurred in breaking down the massive gates. They passed
quietly through the cultivated fields, and past the houses scat-
tered about outside the walls, whose inhabitants had with-
drawn into the city since the alarm spread. They halted at a
short distance from the gate, for sentries would be on guard
there, and remained for nearly an hour, as many of the other
tribesmen had a considerably longer distance to go to reach
their appointed stations. A faint light was beginning to steal
over the sky when, far away on their right, a horn sounded. It
was repeated again and again, each time nearer, and ran along
far to the left; then, raising their war-cry, the Sarci dashed
forward to the gate.

The shouts of the sentinels on the walls had arisen as soon as
the first horn sounded, and had scarcely died away when the
Sarci reached the gate. Each man as he arrived threw down
his faggot, and the pile soon reached the top of the wall. Then
Beric led the way up and stood on the Roman work. The
sentries, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, had already fled,
and the Sarci poured in. A confused clamour of shouts and
cries rose from the town, above which sounded the yells of
the exulting Iceni. Beric gave the signal for the Sarci to
scatter, and the tribesmen at once began to attack the houses.
Placing himself at the head of Boduoc's chosen party, Beric
ran forward. Already from some of the houses armed men
were pouring out, but disregarding these Beric pressed on until
he reached the house of Gains Muro. His reason for haste

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 91

was that, standing rather on the other side of the town, it was
nearer the point assailed by one of the other divisions of the
tribe than to the north gate, and he feared that others might
arrive there before him. Eeachiug the door he beat upon it
with the handle of his sword.

"Open, Cneius," he shouted, "it is I, Beric."

The door was opened at once, and he ran forward into the
atrium, which was filled with frightened slaves, who burst into
cries of terror as, followed by his men, he entered. "Where
are you, Cneius?" Beric shouted.

"I am here," the scribe replied from his cubicule, "I will be
with you in a moment; it is but a minute since we were awoke
by the uproar."

"Be quick!" Beric said, "there is not a moment to be lost.
Run up to the women's apartments," he said to a slave, "and
tell your mistress to hurry down, for that every minute is
precious."

Almost immediately Berenice came down the stairs in her dis-
guise as a British boy, and at the same moment Cneius issued
from his room.

"Come, Berenice," Beric said, "there is not a moment to be
lost; the town is in our hands, and if others of the tribe arrive
I might not be able to save you."

Hurrying them from the house he ordered the men to close
round them, and then started on his way back. A terrible din
was going on all round ; yells, shouts, and screams arising from
every house. Flames were bursting up at a dozen points. To
his great satisfaction Beric reached the point where the Sarci
were at work, breaking into the houses, before he encountered
any of the other Iceni. The men were too busy to pay any
attention to the little group of their own tribesmen; passing
through these they were soon at the gate. It already stood
open, the bolts having been drawn by those who first entered.
Fifty yards from the wall stood the chariot.

"Now you can leave us," Beric said to his followers, "I will
rejoin you soon."

92 BERIC THE BRITON.

Berenice was crying bitterly, horror-stricken at the sounds
she had heard, though happily she had seen nothing, being
closely shut in by the tall forms of her guard.

"Thanks be to the gods that I have saved you, Berenice," Beric
said, "and you also, Cneius! Now I must commit you to the
care of the driver of the chariot, who is one of my tribesmen.
He will take you to a retreat where you will, I trust, be in per-
fect safety until the troubles are over. His mother has pro-
mised to do all in her power for your comfort. You will find
one of our huts but a rough abode, but it will at least be a
shelter."

" Cannot you come with us, Beric?" the girl sobbed.

" That I cannot do, Berenice. I am a Briton and a chief, and
I must be with my tribe. And now I must away. Farewell,
Berenice! may your gods and mine watch over you! Fare-
well, my kind teacher!"

He took off the torque, the collar formed of a number of
small metal cords interlaced with each other, the emblem of rank
and command, and handed it to the driver. "You will show this,
Runoc, to any you meet, for it may be that you will find parties
of late comers on the road. This will be a proof that you are
journeying on my business and under my orders. Do not stop
and let them question you, but drive quickly along, and if they
shout and bid you stop, hold up the torque and shout, 'I travel
at speed by my chiefs orders.' Do you both sit down in the
chariot," he said to the others. "Then as you journey rapidly
along it will be supposed that you are either wounded or mes-
sengers of importance. Farewell ! "

Cneius and the girl had already mounted the chariot, and
the driver now gave the horses rein and started at full speed,
Beric turned and re-entered the town slowly. In those days
pity for the vanquished was a sentiment but little comprehended,
and he had certainly not learned it among the Romans, who fre-
quently massacred their prisoners wholesale. Woe to the van-
quished ! was almost a maxim with them. But Beric shrank from
witnessing the scene, now that the tables were turned upon the

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 93

oppressors. Nationally he hated the Romans, but individually
he had no feeling against them, and had he had the power he
would at once have arrested the effusion of blood. He wished
to drive them from the kingdom, not to massacre them ; but he
knew well that he had no power whatever in such a matter.
Even his own tribesmen would not have stayed their hand at
his command. To slay a Roman was to them a far more meri-
torious action than to slay a wolf, and any one who urged mercy
would have been regarded not only as a weakling but as a
traitor.

Already the work was well-nigh done. Pouring in on all sides
into the city the Iceni had burst into the houses and slain their
occupants whether they resisted or not. A few men here and
there sold their lives dearly, but the great majority had been too
panic-stricken with the sudden danger to attempt the slightest
resistance. Some of the inhabitants whose houses were near the
temple had fled thither for refuge before the assailants reached
them, but in half an hour from the striking of the first blow these
and the troops there were the sole survivors of the population
of Camalodunum. For the present the temple was disregarded.
It was known that the garrison did not exceed four hundred
men, and there was no fear of so small a body assuming the
offensive.

The work of destruction had commenced. There was but
little plundering, for the Britons despised the Roman luxuries,
of the greater part of which they did not even comprehend the
use. They were Roman, and therefore to be hated as well as
despised. Save, therefore, weapons, which were highly prized,
and gold ornaments, which were taken as trinkets for the
women at home, nothing was saved. As the defenders of
each house were slain, fire was applied to hangings and curtains,
and then the assailants hurried away in search of fresh victims.
Thus the work of destruction proceeded concurrently with that
of massacre, and as the sun rose vast columns of smoke mount-
ing upwards conveyed the news to the women of the Iceni and
' Trinobantes for a circle of many miles round, that the attack

94 BERIC THE BRITON.

had been successful, and that Camalodunum, the seat of their
oppressors, was in flames. Beric, as he made his way towards
the centre of the town, sighed as he passed the shop where two
months before he had stopped a moment to look at the rolls of
vellum.

The destruction of the monuments of Roman luxuiy; the
houses with their costly contents; and even the Palace of Cu-
nobeline, which had been converted into the residence of the
Roman governor, had not affected him; but he mourned over
the loss of the precious manuscripts which had contained such
a wealth of stored-up learning. Already the house was wrapped
in flames, which were rushing from the windows, and the prize
which he had looked upon as his own special share of the
plunder had escaped him.

At the edge of the broad open space that surrounded the
Temple of Claudius the Britons were gathering thickly. Beric
applied his horn to his lips, and in a few minutes the Sarci
gathered round him. Bidding them stand in order he moved
away to see what disposition was being made for the attack on
the temple, but at present all were too excited with their
success for any to assume the lead or give orders. At the first
rush parties of the Britons had made for the temple, but had
been received with showers of darts and stones, and had been
met on the steps by the Roman soldiers and roughly re-
pulsed. Walking round he came upon the chariot of Boadicea.
The queen was flushed with excitement and gratified vengeance,
and was shaking her spear menacingly towards the temple;
her eye presently fell upon Beric.

"The work has begun well, my young chief, but we have
still to crush the wolves in their den. It is a strong place,
with its massive walls unpierced save by the doorway at each
end; but we will have them out if to do so we are forced to
tear it down stone by stone."

"I trust that we shall not be as long as that would take,
queen," Beric said, "for we have other work to do."

Just at this moment one of the chiefs of the Trinobantes

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 95

came up. " Queen Boadicea," he said, " we crave that we may
be allowed to storm the temple. It is built on our ground as
a sign of our subjection, and we would fain ourselves capture
it."

" Be it so," the queen replied. " Do you undertake the task
at once."

The Trinobantes, who had joined the Iceni in the attack on
the town, presently gathered with loud shouts, and under their
chiefs rushed at the temple. From the roof darts and stones
were showered down upon them; but though many were killed
they swarmed up the broad steps that surrounded it on all
sides and attacked the doors. Beric shook his head, and
returning to his men led them off down one of the broad streets
to an open space a short distance away.

"This will be our gathering place," he said. "Do not
wander far away, and return quickly at the sound of my horn.
We may be wanted presently. I do not think that the Trino-
bantes will take the temple in that fashion."

They had indeed advanced entirely unprovided with proper
means of assault The massive gates against which the Romans
had piled stones, casks of provisions, and other heavy articles
were not to be broken down by such force as the Britons
could bring against them. In vain these chopped with their
swords upon the woodwork. The gates were constructed of
oak, and the weapons scarce marked them. In vain they threw
themselves twenty abreast against them. The doors hardly
quivered at the shock, and in the meantime the assailants were
suffering heavily, for from openings in the roof, extending from
the building itself to the pillars that surrounded it, the Romans
dropped missiles upon them.

For some time the Trinobantes persevered, and then their
chiefs, seeing that the attempt was hopeless, called off their
followers. No fresh attempt was made for a time, and Boadicea
established herself in one of the few houses that had escaped
the flames, and there presently the chiefs assembled- Various
suggestions were made, but at last it was decided to batter in the

96 BERIC THE BRITON.

doors with a heavy tree, and a strong party of men were at once
despatched to fell and prepare two of suitable size. The oper-
ation was a long one, as the trees when found had to be brought
down by lighting fires against the trunks, and it was nightfall
before they fell and the branches were cut off. It was decided,
therefore, to postpone the attack until the next day.

Beric had not been present at the council, to which only a
few of the leading chiefs had been summoned; but he doubted,
when he heard what had been decided upon, whether the attack
would be successful. It was settled that the Trinobantes were
to attack the door at one end of the temple, and the Iceni that
at the other. Late in the evening the chariot returned, and Beric
was greatly relieved to hear that the fugitives had been placed
in safety and that the journey had been made without inter-
ference. He was glad to recover his torque, for its absence would
have excited surprise when men's minds were less occupied
and excited. Not until he had recovered it could he go to see
Parta, who was lodged with the queen, but as soon as he
recovered it he went in. Every sign of Roman habitation and
luxury had been, as far as possible, obliterated by the order of
Boadicea before she entered the house. Hangings had been
pulled down, statues overthrown, and the paintings on the
plaster chipped from the walls.

"What have you been doing all day, Beric?" his mother
asked. " I looked to see you long before this, and should have
thought that some accident had befallen you had I not known
that the news would have been speedily brought me had it
been so."

" I have been looking after the tribesmen, mother. I should
have come in to see you, but did not wish to intrude among the
chiefs in council with the queen. You represented the Sarci
here, and had we been wanted you would have sent for me.
Who are to attack the temple to-morrow]"

"Not the Sarci, my son. Unser begged that he and his
tribe might have the honour, and the queen and council granted
it to him."

THE SACK OF CAMALODUNUM. 97

"I am glad of it, mother. The duty is an honourable
one, but the loss will be heavy, and others can do the work as
well as we could, and I want to keep our men for the shock of
battle with the legions. Moreover, 1 doubt whether the doors
will be battered down in the way they propose."

"You do, Beric! and why is that?" The speaker was
Aska, who had just left the group of chiefs gathered round the
queen at the other end of the apartment, and had come close
without Beric hearing him.

The lad coloured. " I spoke only for my mother's hearing,
sir," he said. "To no one else should I have ventured to
express an opinion on a course agreed upon by those who are
older and wiser than myself."

"That is right, Beric; the young should be silent in the
presence of their elders; nevertheless I should like to know
why you think the assault is likely to fail."

" It was really not my own opinion I was giving, sir, I was
thinking of the manner in which the Komans, who are accus-
tomed to besiege places with high walls and strong gates,
proceed. They have made these matters a study, while to us
an attack upon such a place is altogether new, seeing that none
such exist in Britain save those the Romans have erected."

"How would they proceed, Beric?"

" They would treat an attack upon such a place as a serious
matter, not to be undertaken rashly and hastily, but only after
great preparation. In order to batter down a gate or a wall
they use heavy beams, such as those that have been prepared
for to-morrow, but they affix to the head a shoe of iron or brass.
They do not swing it upon men's arms, seeing that it would
be most difficult to get so many men to exercise their strength
together, and indeed could not give it the momentum re-
quired."

" But we propose to have the beam carried by fifty men, and
for all to rush forward together and drive it against the door."

" If the door were weak and would yield to the first blow that
might avail," Beric said; " but unless it does so the shock will

(725) o

98 BERIC THE BRITON.

throw down the tree and the men bearing it. Many will be
grievously hurt. Moreover, if, as will surely be the case, many
of the bearers fall under the darts of the Romans as they
approach, others will stumble over their bodies, and the speed
of the whole be greatly checked."

" Then can you tell me how the Romans act in such a case,
Berici"

" Yes, sir. I have frequently heard relations of sieges from
soldiers who have taken part in them. They build, in the first
place, movable towers or sheds running on wheels. These
toAvers are made strong enough to resist the stones and missiles
the besieged may hurl against them. Under cover of the shelter
men push up the towers to the door or wall to be battered;
the beam is then slung on ropes hanging from the inside of
the tower. Other ropes are attached; numbers of men take
hold of these, and working together swing the beam backwards
and forwards, so that each time it strikes the wall or door a
heavy blow. As the beam is of great weight, and many men
work it, the blows are well-nigh irresistible, and the strongest
walls crumble and the most massive gates splinter under the
shock of its iron head."

" The Romans truly are skilled warriors," Aska said. " We
are but children in the art of war beside them, and methinks it
would be difficult indeed for us to construct such a machine,
though mayhap it could be done had we with us many men
skilled in the making of chariots. But sometimes, Beric, they
must have occasion to attack places where such machines could
not well be used."

"In that case, sir, they sometimes make what they call a
tortoise. The soldiers link their broad shields together, so as
to form a complete covering, resembling the back of a tortoise,
and under shelter of this they advance to the attack. When
they reach the foot of the wall all remain immovable save
those in the front line, who labour with iron bars to loosen the
stones at the foot of the wall, protected from missiles from
above by the shields of their comrades. From time to time

THE SACK OF OAMALODUNUM. 99

they are relieved by fresh workers until the foundations of the
wall are deeply undermined. As they proceed they erect
massive props to keep up the wall, and finally fill up the hole
with combustibles. After lighting these they retire. When the
props are consumed the wall of course falls, and they then
rush forward and climb the breach."

" Truly, Beric, you have profited by your lessons," Aska said,
laying his hand kindly on the lad's shoulder. "The Druids
spoke wisely when they prophesied a great future for you. Be-
fore we have done we may have many Roman strongholds to
capture, and when we do I will see that the council order that
your advice be taken as to how they shall be attacked; but in
this matter to-morrow things must remain as they are. Unser
is a proud chief, and headstrong, and would not brook any
interference. Should he be repulsed in the assault, I will
advise the queen to call up the Sarci, and allow you to proceed
in your own manner."

"I will do my best, sir; but time is needed for proceeding
according to the first Roman method, and our shields are too
small for the second. The place should be taken by to-morrow
night, for Cerealis will assuredly move with his legion to relieve
it as soon as he hears the news of our attack."

" That is what has been in our minds," Aska said. " Well,
what do you say, Beric? After what I saw the other day of
the movements you have taught your tribe I should be sorry
to have their ranks thinned in a hopeless attack upon the
temple. I would rather that we should leave it for the present
and march out to meet Cerealis, leaving a guard here to keep
the Romans hemmed in until we have time to deal with them."

Beric stood for a minute or two without answering, and then
said, "I will undertake it, sir, with the Sarci should Unser's
attack fail"

100 BERIC THE BRITON.

CHAPTER VI.

FIRST SUCCESSES.

UPON leaving his mother, Beric returned to the spot where
the Sarci were lying. Some of the chiefs were sitting
round a fire made of beams and woodwork dragged from the
ruins of the Roman houses.

"We must be up an hour before daybreak; I think that
there will be work for us to-morrow. If Unser and his tribe
fail in capturing the temple we are to try; and there will
be preparations to make." And he explained the plan upon
which he had determined.

Daylight was just breaking when the Sarci entered the
forest four miles from Camalodunum. Here they scattered in
search of dry wood. In two hours sufficient had been gathered
for their purpose, and it was made up into two hundred great
faggots nearly four feet across and ten in length, in weight as
much as a strong man could carry on his head. With these
they returned to the city. It needed no questions as to the
result of the attack, which had just terminated with the same
fortune that had befallen that on the day previous. Unser had
been killed, and large numbers of his men had fallen in their
vain attempts to hew down the gates. The battering-rams had
proved a complete failure. Many of the fifty men who carried
the beam had fallen as they advanced. The others had rushed
at the gate-door, but the recoil had thrown them down, and
many had had their limbs broken from the tree falling on
them. Attempts had been made to repeat the assault; but
the Romans having pierced the under part of the roof in many
places, let fall javelins and poured down boiling oil; and at
last, having done all that was possible, but in vain, the tribes-
men had fallen back.

Beric proceeded at once to the queen's. A council was being

FIRST SUCCESSES. 101

held, and it had just been determined to march away to meet
Cerealis when Eerie entered. Aska left his place in the circle
of chiefs as soon as he saw him enter the door.

"Are you ready to undertake it, Berici Do not do so unless
you have strong hopes of success. The repulses of yesterday
and to-day have lowered the spirits of our men, and another
failure would still further harm us."

"I will undertake it, Aska, and I think I can answer for
success; but I shall need three hours before I begin."

" That could be spared," the chief said. " Cerealis will not
have learned the news until last night at the earliest — he may
not know it yet. There is no fear of his arriving here until
to-morrow." Then he returned to his place.

"Before we finally decide, queen," he said, "I would tell
you that the young chief Beric is ready to attack the place
with the Sard He has learned much of Roman methods, and
may be more fortunate than the others have been. I would
suggest that he be allowed to try, for it will have a very ill
effect upon the tribes if we fail in taking the temple, which is
regarded as the symbol of Eoman dominion. I will even go
so far as to say that a retreat now would go very far to mar
our hopes of success in the war, for the news would spread
through the country and dispirit others now preparing to
join us."

"Why should Beric succeed when Unser has failed?" one
of the chiefs said. " Can a lad achieve a success where one of
our best and bravest chiefs has been repulsed?"

" I think that he might," Aska replied. " At any rate, as he
is ready to risk his life and his tribe in doing so, I pray the
queen to give her consent. He demands three hours to make
his preparations for the attack."

"He shall try," Boadicea said decidedly. "You saw the
other day, chiefs, how well he has learned the Roman methods
of war. He shall have an opportunity now of turning his
knowledge to account. Parta, you are willing that your son
should try?"

102 BERIC THE BRITON.

"Certainly I am willing," Parta said, "He can but die
once; he cannot die in a nobler effort for his country,"

"Then it is settled," the queen said, "The Sarci will attack
in three hours."

As soon as Beric heard the decision he hurried away and at
once ordered the tribesmen to scatter through the country and
to kill two hundred of the cattle roaming at present masterless,
to strip off their hides, and bring them in. They returned
before the three hours were expired, bringing the hides. In
the meantime Beric had procured from a half-consumed ware-
house a quantity of oil, pitch, and other combustibles, and had
smeared the faggots with them. On the arrival of the men
with the hides, these were bound with the raw side upwards
over the faggots.

Two hundred of the strongest men of the tribe Avere then
chosen and divided into two parties, and the rest being
similarly divided, took their station at the ends of the square
facing the gates. When Beric sounded his horn the faggot-
bearers raised their burdens on to their heads and formed in
a close square, ten abreast, with the faggots touching each
other, Beric himself commanded the party facing the principal
entrance, and holding a blazing torch in each hand, took his
place in the centre of the square, there being ample room for
him between the lines of men. The rest of the tribe were
ordered to stand firmly in order until he gave the signal for
the advance. Then he again sounded his horn, and the two
parties advanced from the opposite ends of the square.

As soon as they came within reach the Romans showered
down darts and javelins; but these either slipped altogether
from the surface of the wet hides, or, penetrating them, went
but a short distance into the faggots; and the British tribesmen
raised shouts of exultation as the two solid bodies advanced
unshaken to the steps of the temple. Mounting these they
advanced to the gates. In vain the Romans dropped their
javelins perpendicularly through the holes in the ceiling of the
colonnade, in vain poured down streams of boiling oil, which

BERIC FIRES THE ROMAN TEMPLE.

FIRST SUCCESSES. 103

had proved so fatal to the last attack. The javelins failed to
penetrate, the oil streamed harmless off the hides. The men
had, before advancing, received minute instructions. The ten
men in the front line piled their faggots against the door, and
then keeping close to the wall of the temple itself, slipped
round to the side colonnade.

The operation was repeated by the next line, and so on
until but two lines remained. Then the two men at each end
of these lines mounted the pile of faggots and placed their bur-
dens there, leaving but six standing. In their centre Beric
had his place, and now, kneeling down under their shelter,
applied his torches to the pile. He waited till he saw the
flames beginning to mount up. Then he gave the word; the
six men dropped their faggots to the ground, and with him
ran swiftly to the side colonnade, where they were in shelter,
as the Romans, knowing they could not be attacked here, had
made no openings in the ceiling above. The Britons were
frantic with delight when they saw columns of smoke followed
by tongues of flames mounting from either end of the temple.
Higher and higher the flames mounted till they licked the
ceiling above them.

For half an hour the fire continued, and by the end of
that time there was but a glowing mass of embers through
which those without could soon see right into the temple.
The doors and the obstacles behind them had been destroyed.
As soon as he was aware by the shouts of his countrymen
that the faggots were well in a blaze, Beric had sounded his
horn, and he and the tribesmen from both colonnades had run
across the open unmolested by the darts of the Eomans, who
were too panic-stricken at the danger that threatened them to
pay any heed to their movements. Beric was received with
loud acclamations by the Iceni, and was escorted by a shout-
ing multitude to the queen, who had taken her place at a
point where she could watch the operations. She held out
her hand to him. "You have succeeded, Beric," she said;
"and my thanks and those of all here — nay, of all Britain

104 BERIC THE BRITON,

— are due to you. In half an hour the temple will be open
to attack."

"Hardly in that time, queen," he replied. "The faggots
will doubtless have done their work by then, but it will be
hours before the embers and stonework will be sufficiently
cool to enable men to pass over them to the assault."

"We can wait," the queen said. "A messenger, who left
the camp of Cerealis at daybreak, has just arrived, and at that
hour nothing was known to the Romans of our attack here.
They will not now arrive until to-morrow."

Not until the afternoon was it considered that the entrances
would be cool enough to pass through. Then the Sarci pre-
pared for the attack, binding pieces of raw hide under their
feet to protect them from the heated stonework. They were
formed ten abreast. Beric took his place before the front line
of one of the columns, and with levelled spears they advanced
at a run towards the doors. A shower of missiles saluted them
from the roof. Some fell, but the rest, pressing on in close
order, dashed through the gateway and flung themselves upon
the Roman soldiers drawn up to oppose their passage. The
resistance was feeble. The Romans had entirely lost heart,
and could not for a moment sustain the weight of the charge.
They were swept away from the entrance, and the Britons
poured in.

Standing in groups the Romans defended themselves in des-
peration; but their efforts were vain, and in five minutes the
last defender of the place was slain. As soon as the fight was
over the whole of the Iceni rushed tumultuously forward with
exultant shouts and filled the temple; then a horn sounded
and a lane was made, as Boadicea, followed by her chiefs and
chief tainesses, entered the temple. The queen's face was radiant
with triumph, and she would have spoken but the shouting
was so loud that those near her could not obtain silence. They
understood, however, when advancing to the statues of the
gods that stood behind the altars, she waved her spear. In
an instant the tribesmen swarmed round the statues, ropes were

FIRST SUCCESSES. 105

attached to the massive figures, and Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva
fell to the ground with a crash, as did the statue of the
Emperor Claudius.

A mighty shout hailed its downfall. The gods of the Britons,
insulted and outraged, were avenged upon those of Eome; the
altars of Mona had streamed with the blood of the Druids,
those of Camalodunum were wet with the gore of Roman
legionaries. The statues were broken to pieces, the altars
torn down, and then the chiefs ordered the tribesmen to
fetch in faggots. Thousands went to the forest, while others
pulled down detached houses and sheds that had escaped the
flames, and dragged the beams and woodwork to the temple.
By nightfall an enormous pile of faggots was raised round each
of the eight interior columns that in two lines supported the
roof. Torches were applied by Boadicea, her two daugliters
and some of the principal Druids, and in a short time the
interior of the temple was a glowing furnace. The beams of
the ceiling and roof soon ignited and the flames shot up high
into the air.

All day the Trinobantes had been pouring in, and a perfect
frenzy of delight reigned among the great crowd looking on at
the destruction of the temple that had been raised to signify
and celebrate the subjugation of Britain. Women with flowing
hair performed wild dances of triumph; some rushed about as
if possessed with madness, uttering prophecies of the total
destruction of the Romans; others foamed at the mouth and fell
in convulsions, while the men were scarcely less excited over
their success. Messengers had already brought in news that
at mid-day Cerealis had learned that Camalodunum had been
attacked, and that the legion was to start on the following
morning to relieve the town.

The news had been taken to him by one of the Trinobantes,

who had received his instructions from Aska. He was to say

that the town had suddenly been attacked and that many had

fallen; but the greater portion of the population had escaped

I to the temple, which had been vainly attacked by the Iceni.

106 BERIC THE BRITON.

The object of this news was to induce Cerealis to move out from
his fortified camp. The chiefs felt the difficulty of assaulting
such a position, and though they had dreaded the arrival of
Cerealis before the temple was taken, they were anxious that he
should set out as soon as they saw that Beric's plan of attack
had succeeded, and that the temple was now open to their
assault.

At midnight the roof of the temple fell in, and nothing
remained but the bare walls and the columns surrounding them.
The chiefs ordered their followers to make their way through
the still burning town and to gather by tribes outside the
defensive works, and there lie down until morning, when they
would march to meet the legion of Cerealis. At daybreak they
were again afoot and on the march southward, swollen by the
accession of the Trinobantes and by the arrival during the last
two days of tribes who had been too late to join the rest at
Cardun. The British force now numbered at least fifty
thousand.

"It is a great army, Beric," Boduoc said exultingly as they
moved forward.

"It is a great host," Beric replied. "I would that it were
an army. Had they all even as much training as our men I
should feel confident in the future."

"But surely you are confident now, Beric; we have begun
well"

"We have scarcely begun at all," Beric said. "What have
we done? Destroyed a sleeping town and captured by means
of fire a temple defended by four hundred men. We shall win
to-day, that I do not doubt. The men are wrought up by their
success, and the Eomans are little prepared to meet such a
force. I doubt not that we shall beat them, but to crush a
legion is not to defeat Rome. I hope, Boduoc, but I do not
feel confident. Look back at the Sarci and then look round
at this disordered host. Well, the Eomans in discipline and
order exceed the Sarci as much as we exceed the rest of the
Iceni. They will be led by generals trained in war; we are led

FIRST SUCCESSES. 107

by chiefs whose only idea of war is to place themselves at the
head of their tribe and rush against the enemy. Whether
courage and great numbers can compensate for want of disci-
pline remains to be seen. The history of Rome tells me that
it has never done so yet."

After five hours' marching some fleet-footed scouts sent on
ahead brought in the news that the Romans were approaching.
A halt was called, and the chiefs assembled round the queen's
chariot in council. Beric was summoned by a messenger from
the queen.

" You must always attend our councils," she said when he
came up. "You have proved that, young as you are, you
possess a knowledge of war that more than compensates for
your lack of years. You have the right, after capturing the
temple for us, to take for the Sarci the post of honour in
to-day's battle. Choose it for yourself. You know the Romans;
where do you think we had better fight themi"

" I think we could not do better than await them here," he
said. " We stand on rising ground, and one of the Trinobantes
to whom I have just spoken says that there is a swamp away
on the left of our front, so that the Roman horsemen cannot
advance in that direction. I should attack them in face and
on their left flank, closing in thickly so as to prevent their
horsemen from breaking out on to the plain at our right and
then falling upon us in our rear. Since you are good enough
to say that I may choose my post for the Sarci, I will hold
them where they stand ; then, should the others fail to break
the Roman front, we will move down upon them and check
their advance while the rest attack their flanks."

This answer pleased some of the chiefs, who felt jealous of
the honour the small tribe had gained on the previous day.
They were afraid that Beric would have chosen to head the
attack.

"Does that plan please youl" Boadicea asked.

" It is as well as another," one of the chiefs said. " Let the
Sarci look on this time wliile we destroy the enemy. I should

108 BERIC THE BRITON.

have thought Beric would have chosen for his tribe the post
of honour in the attack."

"The Romans always keep their best troops in reserve,"
Beric said quietly; " in a hard fight it is the reserve that decides
the fate of battle."

" Then let it be so," Boadicea said. " Is the swamp that you
speak of deep?"

"It is not too deep for our men to cross," one of the chiefs
of the Trinobantes said; "but assuredly a horseman could not
pass through it."

" Very well, then, let the Trinobantes attack by falling upon
the Romans on our right; the Iceni will attack them in front;
and the Sarci will remain where they stand until Beric sees
need for them to advance."

In a few minutes the Roman legion was seen advancing,
with a portion of the cavalry in front and the rest in the rear.
The queen, whose chariot was placed in front of the line, raised
her spear, A tremendous shout was raised by the Britons, and
with wild cries the tribes poured down to the attack, while the
women, clustered on the slopes they had left, added their shrill
cries of encouragement to the din. The Romans, who, believing
that the Britons were still engaged in the attack on Camalodu-
num, had no expectation of meeting them on the march, halted
and stood uncertain as the masses of Britons poured down to
the attack. Then their trumpets sounded and they again
advanced, the cavalry in the rear moving forward to join those
in the advance, but before they accomplished this the Britons
were upon them. Showers of darts were poured in, and the
horsemen, unable to stand the onslaught, rode into the spaces
between the companies of the infantry, who, moving outwards
and forming a solid column on either flank, protected them
from the assaults of their foes.

The Britons, after pouring in showers of javelins, flung them-
selves, sword in hand, upon the Roman infantry; but these with
levelled spears showed so solid a front that they were unable
to break through, while from behind the spearmen, the light-

FIRST SUCCESSES. 109

armed Roman troops poured volleys of missiles among them.
Boadicea called Beric to her side.

"It is as you said, Bericj the order in which the Romans
fight is wonderful. See how steadily they hold together, it is
like a wild boar attacked by dogs ; but they will be overwhelmed,
see how the darts fly and how bravely the Iceni are fighting."
The tribesmen, indeed, were attacking with desperate bravery.
Seizing the heads of the spears they attempted to wrest them
from their holders, or to thrust them aside and push forward
within striking distance. Sometimes they partially succeeded,
and though the first might fall others rushing in behind
reached the Romans and pressed them backwards, but reserves
were brought up and the line restored. Then slowly but
steadily the Romans moved forward, and although partial suc-
cess had at some points attended those who attacked them in
flank, the front of the column with serried spears held its way
on in spite of the efforts of the Britons to arrest the movement.
Presently the supply of javelins of their assailants began to fail,
and the assaults upon the head of the column to grow more
feeble, while the shouts of the Roman soldiers rose above the
cries of their assailants.

"Now it is time for us to move down," Beric said; "if we
can arrest the advance their flanks will be broken in before
long. Now, men," he shouted as he returned to his place at
the head of the Sarci, "now is the time to show that you can
meet the Romans in their own fashion. Move slowly down to
the attack, let no man hasten his pace, but let each keep his
place in the ranks. Four companies will attack the Romans
in front, the others in column five deep will march down till
they face the Roman flank, then they will march at it, spears
down, and break it in."

Beric sounded his bugle, and ten deep the four hundred men
moved steadily down to the attack of the Romans. The five
front ranks marched with levelled spears, those behind pre-
pared to hurl their darts over their heads. When within fifty
yards of the enemy the Sarci raised their battle-cry, and the

110 BERIC THE BRITON.

Iceni engaged with the Komans in front, seeing the hedge of
spears advancing behind them, hurriedly ran off at both flanks
and the Sarci advanced to the attack.

The Romans halted involuntarily, astonished at the spectacle.
Never before had they encountered barbarians advancing in
formation similar to their own, and the sight of the tall figures
advancing almost naked to the assault — for the Britons always
threw off their garments before fighting — filled them with
something like consternation. At the shouts of their officers,
however, they again got into motion and met the Britons
firmly. The additional length Beric had given to the spears
of the Sarci now proved of vital advantage, and bearing
steadily onward they brought the Romans to a standstill, while
the javelins from the British rear ranks fell thick and fast among
them. Gradually the Romans were pressed backwards, quickly
as the gaps were filled up by those behind, until the charg-
ing shout of the Sarci on their flank was heard. Beric blew
his horn, and his men with an answering shout pressed for-
ward faster, their cries of victory rising as the Romans gave
way.

Still the latter fought stubbornly, until triumphant yells and
confused shouts told them that the flank had given way under
the attack of the Britons. Then Beric's horn sounded again,
the slow advance was converted into a charge, the ranks behind
closed up, and before the weight and impetus of the rush the
Roman line was broken. Then the impetuosity of the Sarci
could be no longer restrained, in vain Beric blew his horn.
Flinging down their spears and drawing their swords the
Britons flung themselves on the broken mass, the other
tribesmen pouring in tumultuously behind them.

For a few minutes a desperate conflict raged, each man
fighting for himself; but numbers prevailed, the Roman shouts
became feebler, the war-cries of the Britons louder and more
triumphant. In ten minutes the fight was over, more than two
thousand Roman soldiers lay dead, while Cerealis and the
cavalry, bursting their way through their assailants, alone

FIRST SUC!CESSES. Ill

escaped, galloping off at full speed towards the refuge of their
fortified camp. The exultation of the Britons knew no bounds.
They had for the first time since the Romans set foot on their
shore beaten them in a fair fight in the open. There was
a rush to collect the arms, shields, and helmets of the fallen
Romans, and two of the Sarci presently brought the standards
of the legion to Beric.

"Follow me with them," he said, and, extricating himself
from the throng, ascended the slope to where Boadicea, sur-
rounded with women who were dancing and joining in a trium-
phant chant of victory, was still standing in her chariot.

" Here are the Roman standards, the emblems of victory,"
Beric said as he approached the chariot.

Boadicea sprang down, and advancing to him, embraced him
warmly. "The victory is yours, Beric," she said. "Keep
these two eagles, and fix them in your hall, so that your chil-
dren's children may point to them with pride and say, ' It was
Beric, chief of the Sarci, who fii^t overthrew the Romans in
the field.' But there is no time to be lost;" and she turned
to her charioteer, who carried a horn. " Sound the summons
for the chiefs to assemble."

There were several missing, for the Britons had suffered
heavily in their first attack.

" Chiefs," she said, " let us not lose an instant, but press on
after the Romans. Let us strike before they recover from their
confusion and surprise. Caius Decianus may be in their camp,
and while I seek no other spoil, him I must have to wreak my
vengeance on. See that a party remain to look to the wounded,
and that such as need it are taken to their homes in waggons."
The horns were at once sounded, the tribesmen flocked back to
the positions from which they had charged, and resumed their
garments. Then the march was continued.

They presented a strange appearance now. Almost every

man had taken possession of some portion or other of the

Romans' arms. Some had helmets, others shields, others

I breastplates, swords, or spears. The helmets, however, were

112 BERIO THE BRITON,

speedily taken off and slung behind them, the heads of the
Iceni being vastly larger than those of the Romans, the tallest
of whom they overtopped by fully six inches. The arms of
the officer who commanded under Cerealis were offered to
Beric, but he refused them.

"I fight to drive the Romans from our land," he said, "and
not for spoil. Nothing of theirs will I touch, but will return
to the forest when all is over just as I left it."

By evening they approached the Roman camp. A portion
of the legion had been left there when Cerealis set out, and in
the light of the setting sun the helmets and spear-heads could
be seen above the massive palisades that rose on the top of the
outworks. The Britons halted half a mile away, fires were
lighted, and the men sat down to feast upon the meat that
had been brought in waggons from Camalodunum. Then a
council was held. As a rule, the British councils were
attended by all able-bodied men. The power of the chiefs,
except in actual war, was very small, for the Britons, like their
Gaulish ancestors, considered every man to be equal, and each
had a voice in the management of affairs. Thus every chief
had, before taking up arms, held a council of his tribesmen,
and it was only after they had given their vote for war that he
possessed any distinct power and control.

When the council began, one of the chiefs of the Trinobantes
was asked first to give a minute description of the Roman
camp. The works were formidable. Surrounding it was a
broad and deep fosse, into which a stream was turned.
Beyond this there was a double vallum or wall of earth so
steep as to be climbed with great difficulty. In the hollow
between the two walls sharp stakes were set thickly together.
The second wall was higher than the first, and completely
commanded it. Along its top ran a solid palisade of massive
beams, behind which the earth was banked up to within some
three and a half feet from the top, affording a stand for the
archers, slingers, and spearmen.

The council was animated, but the great majority of chiefs

FIRST SUCCESSES. 113

were in favour of leaving this formidable position untouched,
and falling upon places that offered a chance of an easier cap-
ture. The British in their tribal wars fought largely for the
sake of plunder. In their first burst of fury at Camalodunum
they had, contrary to their custom, sought only to destroy ; but
their thirst for blood was now appeased, they longed for the
rich spoils of the Roman cities, both as trophies of victory and
to adorn their women. The chiefs represented that already
many of their bravest tribesmen had fallen, and it would be
folly to risk a heavy loss in the attack upon such a position.

What matter, they argued, if two or three hundred
Romans were left there for the present? They could do
no harm, and could be either captured by force or obliged to
surrender by hunger after Suetonius and the Roman army had
been destroyed. Not a day should be lost, they contended,
in marching upon Verulamium, after which London could be
sacked, for, although far inferior in size and importance to
Camalodunum and Verulamium, it was a rising town, inhabited
by large numbers of merchants and traders, who imported
goods from Gaul and distributed them over the country.

Beric's opinion was in favour of an instant assault, and in
this he was supported by Aska and two or three of the older
chiefs; but the majority were the other way, and the policy of
leaving altogether the fortified posts garrisoned by the Romans
to be dealt with after the Roman army had been met and
destroyed was decided upon. One of the arguments employed
was that while the capture of these places would be attended
with considerable loss, it would add little to the effect that the
news of the destruction of the chief Roman towns would have
upon the tribes throughout the whole country, and would take
so long that Suetonius might return in time to succour the
most important places before the work was done. Aska walked
away from the council with Beric.

" They have decided wrongly," he said.

" I do not think it much matters," Beric replied. " Every-
thing hangs at present upon the result of our battle with Sue-

(725) H

114 BERIC THE BRITON.

tonius. If "we win, all the detached forts must surrender; if
we lose, what matters if?"

"You think we shall lose, Beric?"

"I do not say that," Beric said; "but see how it was to-day.
The Iceni made no more impression upon the Eoman column
than if they had been attacking a wall. They hindered them-
selves by their very numbers, and by the time we meet the
Romans our numbers will be multiplied by five, perhaps by ten.
But shall we be any stronger thereby? Will not rather the
confusion be greater? To-day the Roman horse fled; but had
they charged among us, small as was their number, what con-
fusion would they have made in our ranks ! A single Briton
is a match for a single Roman, and more. Ten Romans fighting
in order might repel the assault of a hundred, and as the
numbers multiply so does the advantage of discipline increase.
I hope for victory, Aska, but I cannot say that I feel confident
of it."

Marching next morning against Verulamium, they arrived
there in the afternoon and at once attacked it. The resistance
was feeble, and bursting through in several places the Iceni and
Trinobantes spread over the town, slaughtering all they found.
Not only the Romans, but the Gauls settled in the city, and
such Britons as had adopted Roman customs were put to the
sword. The city was then sacked and set on fire. It was now
decided that instead of turning towards London they should
march west in order that they might be joined by other tribes
on their way and meet Suetonius returning from Wales.

There was no haste in their movements. They advanced
by easy stages, their numbers swelling every day, tribe after
tribe joining them, as the news spread of the capture and
destruction of the two chief Roman towns, and the defeat and
annihilation of one of the legions. So they marched until, a
fortnight after the capture of Verulamium, the news arrived
that Suetonius, marching with all speed towards the east, had
already passed them, gathering up on his way the garrisons of
all the fortified posts. Then the great host turned and marched

FIRST SUCCESSES. 115

east again. Beric regretted deeply the course that had been
taken. Had the garrisons all been attacked and destroyed sepa-
rately, the army they would have to encounter would have been
a little more than half the strength of that which Suetonius
would be able to put into the field when he collected all the
garrisons.

But the Britons troubled themselves in no way. They
regarded victory as certain, and expressed exultation that they
should crush all the Romans at one blow in the open field,
instead of being forced to undertake a number of separate
sieges. Still marching easily, they came down upon the valley
of the Thames and followed it until they arrived at London-
They had expected that Suetonius would give battle before
they arrived there. He had indeed passed through the town
a few days previously, but had disregarded the prayers of the
inhabitants to remain for their protection. He allowed all
males who chose to do so to enlist in the ranks and permitted
others to accompany the army, but he wished before fighting
to be joined by Cerealis and the survivors of his legion, and by
the garrisons of other fortified posts.

The Britons therefore fell upon London, slaughtered all the
inhabitants, and sacked and burned the town. It was cal-
culated that here and in the two Roman cities no less than
80,000 persons had been slain. This accomplished, the great
host again set out in search of Suetonius. They were accom-
panied now by a vast train of waggons and chariots carrying
the women and spoil.

Beric was not present at the sack of London. As they
approached the town and it became known that Suetonius had
marched away, and that there would be no resistance, he struck
off north. Since they had left Verulamium the tribesmen had
given up marching in military order. They were very proud
of the credit they had gained in the battle with the Romans,
but said that they did not see any use in marching tediously
abreast when there was no enemy near. Beric having no
' power whatever to compel them, told them that of course they

116 BERIC THE BRITON.

could do as they liked, but that they would speedily forget all
they had learned. But the impatience of restraint of any kind,
or of doing anything unless perfectly disposed to do it, which
was a British characteristic, was too strong, and many were
influenced by the scoffs of the new-comers, who, not having
seen them in the day of battle, asked them scornfully if the
Sarci were slaves that they should obey orders like Roman
soldiers.

Boduoc, although he had objected to the drill at first, and
had scoffed at the idea of men fighting any better because
they all kept an even distance from each other, and marched with
the same foot forward, had now become an enthusiast in its
favour and raged at this falling away. But Beric said, "It is no
use being angry, Boduoc. I was surprised that they consented
at first, and I am not surprised that they have grown tired of it.
It is the fault of our people to be fickle and inconstant, soon
wearying of anything they undertake; but I do not think that
it matters much now. We alone were able to decide the fight
when there were but two thousand Roman spearmen; but
when we meet Suetonius, he will have ten thousand soldiers
under him, and our multitude is so great that the Sarci would
be lost in the crowd. If the Britons cannot beat them without
us, we should not suffice to change the fortunes of the day."

It was partly to escape the sight of the sack of London,
partly because he was anxious to know how Berenice and
Cneius Nepo were faring that Beric left the army, and drove
north in a chariot. After two days' journey he arrived at the
cottage of Boduoc's mother. The door stood open as was the
universal custom in Britain, for nowhere was hospitality so
lavishly practised, and it was thought that a closed door might
deter a passer-by from entering. His footsteps had been heard,
for two dogs had growled angrily at his approach. The old
woman was sitting at the fire, and at first he saw no one else
in the hut

" Good will to all here ! " he said.

"It is the young chief!" the old woman exclaimed, and at

FIRST SUCCESSES. 117

once two figures rose from a pile of straw in a dark comer of
the room.

"Baric?"

"Yes, it is I," he said. "How fares it with you, Berenice?
You are well, Cneius, I hope ? You have run no risks, I trust,
since you have been here?"

"We are well, Beric," the girl said; "but oh the time has
seemed so long ! It is not yet a month since you sent us here,
but it seems a year. She has been very kind to us, and done
all that she could, and the girls, her daughters, have gone with
me sometimes for rambles in the wood ; but they cannot speak
our language. Not another person has been here since we
came."

"What is the news, Beric?" Cneius asked. "No word has
reached us. The old woman and her daughters have learned
something, for the eldest girl goes away sometimes for hours,
and I can see that she tells her mother news when she returns."

Beric briefly told them what had happened, at which
Berenice exclaimed passionately that the Britons were a wicked
people.

"Then there will be a great battle when you meet Suetonius,
Beric," Cneius said. "How think you will it go?"

"It is hard to say," Beric replied; "we are more than one
hundred and fifty thousand men against ten thousand, but the
ten thousand are soldiers, while the hundred and fifty thousand
are a mob. Brave and devoted, and fearless of death I admit,
but still a mob. I cannot say how it will go."

"How long shall we stay here, Berio?" Berenice asked.
"When will you take me to my father?"

"If we are beaten, Berenice, you will rejoin him speedily;
if we win — "

" He will not be alive," she broke in.

Beric did not contradict her, but went on, " I will see that

you are placed on board a ship and sent to Gaul; it is for this

I come here to-day. Cneius, in two or three days we shall

1 meet Suetonius; if we win, I will return to you myself, or if

118 BERIC THE BRITON.

I am killed, Boduoc or his brother, both of whom I shall
charge with the mission, will come in my place and will escort
you to the coast and see that you are placed on board ship.
If we lose, it is likely that none of us will return. I shall give
the old woman instructions that in that case her daughter is
to guide you through the forest and take you on until you
meet some Roman soldiers, or are within sight of their camp,
then you will only have to advance and declare yourself."

Then he turned and spoke for some time to Boduoc's mother
in her own language, thanking her for the shelter that she had
given the fugitives, and giving instructions as to the future.
He took a hasty meal, and started at once on his return journey
in order to rejoin the Sarci as the army advanced from London.
Berenice wept bitterly when he said good-bye, and Cneius
himself was much affected.

"I view you almost as a son," he said; "and it is terrible to
know that if you win in the battle, my patron Caius and my
countrymen will be destroyed, while if they win, you may fall."

"It is the fortune of war, Cneius. You know that we
Britons look forward to death with joy; that, unlike you, we
mourn at a birth and feast at a burial, knowing that after
death we go to the Happy Island where there is no more
trouble or sorrow, but where all is peace and happiness and
content; so do not grieve for me. You will know that if I
fall I shall be happy, and shall be free from all the troubles
that await this unfortunate land."

CHAPTER VIL

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS.

LONDON was but a heap of ashes when Bene arrived there.
It had been a trading place rather than a town. Here
were no Roman houses or temples with their massive stone

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 119

work; it consisted only of a large collection of wooden struc-
tures, inhabited by merchants and traders. It lay upon a knoll
rising above the low swampy ground covered by the sea at
high -water, for not till long afterwards did the Romans erect
the banks that dammed back the waters and confined them
within their regular channel. The opposite shore was similarly
covered with water at high-tide, and forests extended as far
as the eye could reach. London, in fact, occupied what was at
high-water a peninsula, connected with the mainland only by
a shoulder extending back to the hills behind it, and separated
by a deep channel on the west from a similar promontory.

It was a position that, properly fortified by strong walls
across the isthmus, could have been held against a host, but
the Romans had not as yet taken it in hand; later, however,
they recognized the importance of the position, and made it
one of the chief seats of their power. Even in the three days
that he had been absent Beric found that the host had con-
siderably increased. The tribes of Sussex and Kent, as they
heard of the approach of the army, had flocked in to join it,
and to ^hare in the plunder of London.

Another day was spent in feasting and rejoicing, and then
the army moved northward. It consisted now of well-nigh two
hundred thousand fighting men, and a vast crowd of women,
with a huge train of waggons. Two days later, news reached
them of the spot where Suetonius had taken up his position
and was awaiting their attack, and the army at once pressed
forward in that direction. At nightfall they bivouacked two
miles away from it, and Beric, taking Boduoc with him, went
forward to examine it. It was at a point where a valley opened
into the plain; the sides of the valley were steep and thickly
wooded, and it was only in front that an attack could well be
delivered.

" What think you of it, Beric?" Boduoc asked.

"Suetonius relies upon our folly," Beric said; "he is sure
that we shall advance upon him as a tumultous mob, and as
but a small portion can act at once our numbers will count but

120 BERIC THE BRITON.

little. The position would be a bad one had we any skill or
forethought. Were I commander to-morrow I should, before
advancing to the attack, send a great number round on
either side to make their way through the woods, and so to
attack on both flanks, and to pour down the valley in their rear,
at the same time that the main body attacked in the front.
Then the position would be a fatal one; attacked in front and
rear and overwhelmed by darts from the woods on the flanks,
their position would be well-nigh desperate, and not a man
should escape."

" But we must overwhelm them," Boduoc said. '* What can
ten thousand men do against a host like oursf

" It may be so, Boduoc. Yet I feel by no means sure of it.
At any rate we must prepare for defeat as well as victory. If
we are beaten the cause of Britain will be lost. As we advance
without order we shall fly without order, and the tribes will
disperse to their homes even more quickly than they have
gathered. Of one thing you may be sure, the Roman vengeance
will be terrible. We have brought disgrace and defeat upon
them. We have destroyed their chief cities. We have massacred
tens of thousands. No mercy will be shown us, and chiefly will
their vengeance fall upon the Iceni. When we return to the
camp, go among the men and ask them whether they mean to
fight to-morrow as they fought Cerealis, or whether they will
fight in the fashion of the rest. I fear that, wild as all are with
enthusiasm and the assurance of victory, they will not consent
to be kept in reserve, but will be eager to be in the front of
the attack. I will go with you, and will do my best to per-
suade them; but if they insist on fighting in their own way,
then we will go to them one by one, and will form if we can a
body, if only a hundred strong, to keep, and if needs be, retreat
together. In speed we can outrun the heavy-armed Eoman
soldiers with ease, but their cavalry will scour the plain. Keep-
ing together, however, we can repel these with our lances, and
make good our escape. We will first make for home, load our-
selves with grain, and driving cattle before us, and taking our

DEFEAT OF THE BR[TONS. 121

women and children, make for the swamps that lie to the
north-west of our limits. There Ave can defend ourselves
against the Romans for any length of time."

" You speak as if defeat were certain," Boduoc said reproach-
fully.

"Not at all, Boduoc; a prudent man prepares for either
fortune, it is only the fool that looks upon one side only. I
hope for victory, but I prepare for defeat; those who like to
return to their homes and remain there to be slaughtered by
the Romans, can do so. I intend to fight to the last."

Upon rejoining the Sarci, Beric called them together, and
asked them whether they wished on the following day to rush
into the battle, or to remain in solid order in reserve. The
reply was, that they wished for their share of glory, and that
did they hold aloof until the battle was done and the enemy
annihilated they would be pointed out as men who had feared
to take their share in the combat. When the meeting had dis-
persed Beric and Boduoc went among them; they said nothing
about the advantage that holding together would be in case of
defeat, but pointed out the honour they had gained by deciding
the issue of the last battle, and begged them to remain in a
solid body, so that possibly they might again decide the battle.
As to disgrace, they had already shown how well they could fight,
and that none could say that fear had influenced their decision.
Altogether two hundred agreed to retain their ranks, and with
this Beric was satisfied. He then went off to find his mother,
who was as usual with the queen. She would not hear of any
possibility of defeat.

"What!" she said. "Are Britons so poor and unmanly a
race, that even when twenty to one they cannot conquer a foe 1
I would not believe it of them."

*' I don't expect it, mother, but it is best to be prepared for
whatever may happen." He then told her of the arrangements
he had made.

" You may be right, Beric, in preparing for the worst, but I
will take no part in it. The queen has sworn she will not

122 BERIC THE BRITON.

survive defeat, nor shall I, I will not live to see my country
bound in Roman chains. A free woman I have lived, and a
free woman I will die, and shall gladly quit this troubled life
for the shores of the Happy Island."

Beric was silent for a minute. " I do not seek to alter your
determination, mother, but as for myself, so long as I can lift
a sword I shall continue to struggle against the Romans.
We shall not meet to-morrow ; when the battle once begins all
will be confusion, and there would be no finding each other
in this vast crowd. If victory is ours, we shall meet after-
wards; if defeat, I shall make for Cardun, where, if you
change your mind, I shall hope to meet you, and then shall
march with those who will for the swamps of Ely, where doubt-
less large numbers of fugitives will gather, for unless the
Romans drive their causeways into its very heart they can
scarce penetrate in any other way."

So sure were the Britons of victory that no council was held
that night There were the enemy, they had only to rush upon
and destroy them. Returning to his men, Beric met Aska.

"I have just been over to your camp to see you, Beric. I
have talked with Boduoc, who told me frankly that you did
not shar« the general assurance of an easy victory. Nor do
I, after what I saw the other day — how we dashed vainly
against the Roman line. He tells me that your men, save a
small party, have determined to fight to-morrow in the front
line with the rest, and I lament over it"

"It would make no difference in the result," Beric said; "in
so great a mass as this we should be lost, and even if we could
make our way to the front, and fall upon the Romans in a solid
body, our numbers are too small to decide the issue; but at
least we might, had the day gone against us, have drawn off
in good order."

"I will take my station with you," Aska said; "I have, as
all the Iceni know, been a great fighter in my time; but I will
leave it to the younger men to-morrow to win this battle. My
authority may aid yours, and methinks that if we win to

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 123

morrow, none can say that you were wrong to stand aloof from
the first charge, if Aska stood beside you."

Thanking the chief warmly for the promise, Beric returned
to the Sarci. Feasting was kept up all night, and at daybreak
the Britons were on foot, and forming in their tribes ad-
vanced within half a mile of the Roman position. Then they
halted, and Boadicea with her daughters and the chiefs moved
along their front exhorting them to great deeds, recalling
to them the oppression and tyranny of the Romans, and the
indignity that they had inflicted upon her and her daughters;
and her addresses were answered by loud shouts from the
tribesmen. In the meantime the waggons had moved out and
drew up in a vast semicircle behind the troops, so as to enable
the women who crowded them to get a view of the victory. So
great was the following that the waggons were ranged four or
five deep. Beric had drawn up the men who had agreed to fight
in order, in a solid mass in front of the tribe. He was nearly
on the extreme left of the British position. Aska had taken
his place by his side. His mother, as in her chariot she passed
along behind Boadicea, waved her hand to him, and then
pointed towards the Romans.

"Look, Aska," he said presently; "do you see that deep line
of waggons forming all round us? In case of disaster they
will block up the retreat. A madness has seized our people.
One would think that this was a strife of gladiators at Rome
rather than a battle between two nations. There will be no
retreat that way for us if disaster comes. We must make oflF
between the horn of the crescent and the Romans. It is there
only we can draw off in a body."

"That is so, Beric," the chief said; "but see! the queen has
reached the end of the lines, and waves her spear as a signal."

A thundering shout arose, mingled with the shrill cries of
encouragement from the women, and then like a torrent the
Britons rushed to the attack in confused masses, each tribe striv-
ing to be first to attack the Romans. The Sarci from behind
the company joined in the rush, and there was confusion in the

124 BERIC THE BRITON.

ranks, many of the men being carried away by the enthusiasm ;
but the shouts and exhortations of Eerie, Aska, and Boduoc
steadied them again, and in regular order they marched after
the host. In five minutes the uproar of battle swelled high
in front. Beric marched up the valley until he arrived at the
rear of the great mass of men who were swarming in front of
the Roman line, each man striving to get to the front to hurl
his dart and join in the struggle. The Romans had drawn
up twelve deep across the valley, the heavy -armed spearmen
in front, the lighter troops behind, the latter replying with
their missiles to the storm of darts that the Britons poured
upon them. With desperate efforts the assailants strove to
break through the hedge of spears; their bravest flung them-
selves upon the Roman weapons and died there, striving in
vain to break the line.

For hours the fight continued, but the Roman wall remained
unbroken and immovable. Fresh combatants had taken the
place of those in front until all had exhausted their store of
javelins. In vain the chiefs attempted to induce their fol-
lowers to gather thickly together and to make a rush; the din
was too great for their voices to be heard, and the tribesmen
were half mad with fury at the failure of their own efforts to
break the Roman line. Beric strove many times to bring up
his company in a mass through the crowd to the front. The
pressure was too great, none would give way where all sought
to get near their foes, and rather than break them up he
remained in the rear in spite of the eager cries of the men to
be allowed to break up and push their way singly forward.

" What can you do alone," he shouted to them, " more than
the others are doing? Together and in order we might succeed,
broken we should be useless. If this huge army cannot break
their line, what could two hundred men do?" At last, as the
storm of javelins began to dwindle, a mighty shout rose from
the Romans, and shoulder to shoulder with levelled spears they
advanced, while the flanks giving way, the cavalry burst out
on both sides and fell upon the Britons. For those in front,

DEFEAT OF THE BEITONS. 125

pressed by the mass behind them, there was no falling back,
they fell as they stood under the Roman spears. Stubbornly
for a time the tribesmen fought with sword and target; but
as the line pressed forward, and the horsemen cut their way
through the struggling mass, a panic began to seize them.

The tribes longest conquered by the Romans first gave way,
and the movement rapidly spread. Many for some time des-
perately opposed the advance of the Romans, whose trium-
phant shouts rose loudly; but gradually these melted away, and
the vast crowd of warriors became a mob of fugitives, the
Romans pressing hotly with cries of victory and vengeance
upon their rear. Beric's little band was swept away like foam
before the wave of fugitives. For a time it attempted to stem
the current; but when Beric saw that this was in vain he
shouted to his tribesmen to keep in a close body and to press
towards the left, which was comparatively free. Fortunately
the Roman horse had plunged in more towards the centre, and
the ground was open for their retreat.

Thousands of flying men were making towards the rear, but
with a great effort they succeeded in crossing the tide of fugi-
tives, and in passing through outside the semicircle of waggons.
Here they halted for a moment while Beric, climbing on the
end waggon, surveyed the scene. There was no longer any
resistance among the Britons. The great semicircle within
the line of waggons was crowded by a throng of fugitives,
behind Avhom, at a run now, the Roman legions were ad-
vancing, maintaining their order even at that rapid pace.
Outside the sweep of waggons women with cries of terror were
flying in all directions, and the horses, alarmed by the din, were
plunging and struggling, while their drivers vainly endeavoured
to extricate them from the close line of vehicles.

" All is lost for the present," he said to Aska, " let us make
for the north; it is useless to delay, men; to try to fight would
be to throw away our lives uselessly, we shall do more good
by preserving them to fight upon another day. Keep closely
together, we shall have the Roman cavalry upon us before

126 BERIC THE BRITON.

long, and only by holding to our ranks can we hope to repel
them."

Many of the women from the nearest waggons rushed in
among the men, and, placing them in their centre, the band
went off at a steady trot, which they could maintain for hours.
The din behind was terrible, the shouts of the Romans mingled
with the cries of the Britons and the loud shrieks of women.
The plain was already thick with fugitives, consisting either of
women from the outside waggons or men who had made their
way through the mass of struggling animals. Here and there
chariots were dashing across the plain at full gallop. Looking
back from a rise of the ground a mile from the battle-field,
they saw a few parties of the Roman horse scouring the plain ;
but the main body were scattered round the confused mass by
the waggons.

" There will be but few escape," Aska said, throwing up his
arms in despair; "the waggons have proved a death-trap; had
it not been for them the army would have scattered all over
the country, and though the Roman horse might have cut down
many, the greater number would have gained the woods and
escaped; but the waggons held them just as a thin line of men
will hold the wolves till the hunters arrive and hem them in."

The carts crowded with women, the i>lunging horses in lines
three or four deep had indeed checked the first fugitives; then
came the others crowding in upon them, and then before a gap
wide enough to let them through could be forced, the Roman
horse were round and upon them.

The pause that Eerie made had been momentary, and
the band kept on at their rapid pace until the woods were
reached, and they were safe from pursuit; then, as they halted,
they gave way to their sorrow and anguish. Some threw them-
selves down and lay motionless; others walked up and down
with wild gestures; some broke into imprecations against the
gods who had deserted them. Some called despairingly the names
of wives and daughters who had been among the spectators in
that fatal line of waggons. The women sat in a group weeping-

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 127

none of them belonged to the Iceni, and their kinsfolk and
friends had, as they believed, all perished in the fight.

"Think you that the queen has fallen?" Aska asked Baric.

"She may have made her way out," Beric said; "we saw
chariots driving across the plain. She would be carried back
by the first fugitives, and it may be that they managed to
clear a way through the waggons for her and those with her.
If she is alive, doubtless my mother is by her side."

" If the queen has escaped," Aska said, " it will be but to
die by her own hand instead of by that of the Romans. I am
sure that she will not survive this day. There is nothing else
left for her, her tribe is destroyed, her country lost, herself
insulted and humiliated. Boadicea would never demand her
life from the Romans."

" My mother will certainly die with her," Beric said, " and
I should say that all her party will willingly share her fate.
For the chiefs and leaders there will be no mercy, and for
a time doubtless all will be slaughtered who fall into the
Roman hands; but after a time the sword will be stayed, for
the land will be useless to them without men to cultivate it,
and when the Roman hands are tired of slaying, policy will
prevail. It were best to speak to the men, Aska, for us to be
moving on; will you address them?"

The old chief moved towards the men, and raising his hand,
called them to him. At first but few obeyed the summons, but
as he proceeded they roused themselves and gathered round
him, for his reputation in the tribe was great, and the assured
tone in which he spoke revived their spirits.

"Men of the Sarci," he said, "this is no time for wailing or
lamentation ; the gods of Britain have deserted us, but of this
terrible day's defeat none of the disgrace rests upon you. The
honour of the victories we won was yours, and though but a small
sub-tribe, the name of the Sarci rang through Britain as that
of the bravest in the land. Had all of your tribe obeyed their
young chief and fought together to-day as they have fought be-
fore, it may be that the defeat would have been averted; but you

128 BERIC THE BRITON.

stood firmly by him when the others fell away, and you stand
here without the loss of a man, safe in the forest and ready to
meet the Koman again. You are fortunate in having such a
leader. I may tell you that had his counsel prevailed you would
not now be mourning a defeat. I, an old chief with long years
of experience, believed what he said, young though he is, and
saw that to fight in a confused multitude on such a field was
to court almost certain defeat.

" Thus then I placed myself by his side, relying upon his
skill in arms and your bravery, and throwing my fortune in
with yours. I was not mistaken. Had you not firmly kept toge-
ther and followed his instructions you too would have been
inclosed in that vast throng of fugitives hemmed in among the
waggons, slaughtered by the Roman footmen in their rear and
cut down hy their horse if they broke through the line of
waggons. You may ask what is there to live for; you may say
that the cause of Britain is lost, that your tribe is well-nigh
destroyed, that many of you have lost your wives and families
as well. All this is true, but yet, men, all is not lost. Great as
may have been the slaughter, large numbers must have escaped,
and many of you have still wives and families at home. Before
aught else is thought of these must be taken to a place of
safety until the first outburst of Roman vengeance has passed.

"Had Beric been the sole leader of the Britons from the
first there would be no need of fearing their vengeance, for in
that case none of their women and children would have been
slain, and they would be now in our hands as hostages; but
that is past. I say it only to show you how wise and far-
seeing as well as how brave a leader in battle is this young
chief of yours. While all others were dreaming only of an easy
victory over the Romans he and I have been preparing for
what had best be done in case of defeat. To return to your
homes would be but to court death, and if we are to die at the
hands of the Romans it is best that we should die fighting them
to the end. We have therefore arranged that we will seek
a refuge in the Fen country that forms the western boundary

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 129

of the land of the Iceni; there we can find strongholds into
which the Romans can never force thnr way; thence we can
sally out, and in turn take vengeance. There will rally round
you hundreds of other brave men till we grow to a force that
may again make head against the Romans. There at least we
shall live as free men and die as free men."

A shout of approval broke from the men.

" You need not starve," Aska went on. " The rivers abound
with fish and the swamps with water-fowl. There are islands
among the swamps where the land is dry, and we can construct
huts. Three days since, when he foresaw that it might be that
a refuge would be needed, Beric despatched a messenger home
with orders that a herd of three hundred cattle and another of
as many swine should be driven to the spot near the swamps
for which we propose to make, and they will there be found
awaiting you."

There was again a chorus of approval, and one of the men
stepping forward said, " Beric is young, but he is a great chief.
We will follow him wherever he will take us, and will swear to
be faithful and obedient to him." Every man raised his right
arm towards the sky, and with a loud shout swore to be faith-
ful to Beric.

" You are right," Aska said. " It is of no use to obey a
chief only when ranged in battle; it is that which has ruined
our country. There is nothing slavish in recognizing that one
man must rule, and in obeying when obedience is necessary for
the sake of all. As one body led by one mind you may do
much ; as two hundred men swayed by two hundred minds you
will do nothing. I shall be with Beric, and my experience
may be of aid to him. And if I, a chief of high standing among
the Iceni, am well content to recognize in him the leader
of our party, you may well do the same. Now, Beric, step
forward and say what is next to be done."

** I thank you," Beric said when the shout of acclamation
that greeted him when he stepped forward had subsided, " for
the oath you have sworn to be faithful to me. I pretend not

(725) I

130 BERIC THE BRITON.

to more wisdom than others, and feel that in the presence of
one so full of years and experience as Aska it is a presumption
for one of my age to give an opinion; but in one respect I
know that I am more fitted than others to lead you. I have
studied the records of the Romans, of their wars with the Gauls
and other peoples, and I know that their greatest trouble was
not in defeating armies in the field but of overcoming the
resistance of those who took refuge in fastnesses and harassed
them continually by sorties and attacks. I know where the
Romans are strong and where they are weak; and it is by the
aid of such knowledge that I hope that we may long retain our
freedom, and may even in time become so formidable that we
may be able to win terms not only for ourselves but for oui
countrymen.

"The first step is to gather at our place of refuge those
belonging to us. Therefore do you choose among yourselves
twenty swift runners and send them to our villages, bidding
the wives and families of all here to leave their homes at once,
taking only such gear as they can carry lightly, and to make
with all speed for Soto, a village in the district of the Baci, and
but a mile or two from the edge of the great swamp country.
It is there that the herds have been driven, and there they
will find a party ready to escort them. Let all the other
women and children be advised to quit their homes also, and
to travel north together with the old men and boys. Bid the
latter drive the herds before them. It may be months before
they can return to their homes. It were best that they should
pass altogether beyond the district of our people, for it is upon
the Iceni that the vengeance of the Romans will chiefly fall.
By presents of cattle they can purchase an asylum among the
Brigantes, and had best remain there till they hear that Roman
vengeance is satisfied.

" Let them as they journey north advise all the people in our
villages to follow their example. Let those who will not do
this take shelter in the hearts of the forests. To our own
people my orders are distinct : no herd, either of cattle or swine,

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 131

is to be left behind. Let the Eomans find a desert where they
can gather no food; let the houses be burnt, together with all
crops that have been gathered. "Warn all that there must
be no delay. Let the boys and old men start within five
minutes from the time that you deliver my message, to gather
the herds and drive them north. Let the women call their
children round them, take up their babes, make a bundle of
their garments, and pile upon a waggon cooking-pots and such
things as are most needed, and then set fire to their houses and
stacks and granaries and go. Warn them that even the delay
of an hour may be fatal, for that the Roman cavalry will be
spreading like a river in flood over the country. Beg them to
leave the beaten tracks and journey through the woods, both
those who go north and those who will meet us at Soto. Quick !
choose the messengers; and such of you as choose had best
hand to the one who is bound for his village a ring or a bracelet,
or some token that your wives will recognize, so that they may
know that the order comes from you."

Twenty young men were at once chosen, and Boduoc and
two of the older men divided the district of the Sarci among
them, allotting to each the hamlets they should visit As soon
as this was decided the rest of the band gave the messengers
their tokens to their families, and then the runners started at
a trot which they could maintain for many hours. The rest
of the band then struck off in the direction in which they were
bound. With only an occasional half-hour for food and a few
hours at night for sleep they pressed northward. Fast as
they went the news of the disaster had preceded them, carried
by fugitives from the battle.

At each hamlet through which they passed, Aska repeated
the advice that had been sent to the Iceni. "Abandon your
homes, drive the swine and the cattle before you, take to the
forests, journey far north, and seek refuge among the Brigantes.
A rallying place for fighting men will be found at Soto, on the
edge of the great swamps; let all who can bear arms and love
freedom better than servitude or death gather there."

132 BERIC THE BRITON.

Upon the march SAvine were taken and killed for food with-
out hesitation. Many were found straying in the woods untended,
the herdsmen having fled in dismay when the news of the defeat
reached them. As yet the full extent of the disaster was un-
known. Some of the fugitives had reported that scarce a man
had escaped; but the very number of fugitives who had pre-
ceded the band showed that this was an exaggeration. But it
was not until long afterwards that the truth was known. Of
the great multitude, estimated at two hundred and thirty thou-
sand, fully a third had fallen, among whom were almost all the
women and children whose presence on the battlefield had proved
so fatal, and of whom scarce one had been able to escape; for
the Romans, infuriated by the massacres at Camalodunum,
Verulamium, and London had spared neither age nor sex.

On their arrival at Soto they obtained for the first time
news of the queen. A chief of one of the northern sub-tribes
of the Iceni had driven through on his chariot and had told the
headman of the hamlet that he had been one of the few who
had accompanied Boadicea in her flight.

At the call of the queen, he said, the men threw thenselves
on the line of waggons in such number and force that a breach
was made through them, horses and waggons being over-
thrown and dragged bodily aside. The chariot with the queen
and her two daughters passed through, with four others contain-
ing the ladies who accompanied her. Three or four chiefs also
passed through in their chariots, and then the breach was filled
by the struggling multitude, that poured out like a torrent.
The chariots were well away before the Roman horse swept
round the waggons, and travelled without pursuit to a forest
twenty miles away. As soon as they reached this the queen
ordered the charioteers to dig graves, and then calling upon the
god of her country to avenge her, she and her daughters and
the ladies with them had all drunk poison, brewed from berries
that they gathered in the wood. The chiefs would have done
so also, but the queen forbade them.

" It is for you," she said, " to look after your people, and to

DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS. 133

wage war with Rome to the last. We need but two men to lay
us in our graves and spread the sods over us; so that after death
at least we shall be safe from further dishonour at the hands
of the Romans."

When they had urunk the poison the men were ordered to
leave them for an hour and then to return. When they did
so the ladies were all dead, lying in a circle round Boadicea.
They were buried in the shallow holes that had been dug, the
turf replaced, and dead leaves scattered over the spot, so that
no Roman should ever know where the queen of the Iceni and
her daughters slept.

Although Beric had given up all hope of again seeing his
mother alive, the news of her death was a terrible blow to him,
and he wept unrestrainedly until Aska placed a hand on his
shoulder. "You must not give way to sorrow, Beric. You
have her people to look to. She has gone to the Green Island,
where she will dwell in happiness, and where your father has
been long expecting her. It is not at a death that we Britons
weep, knowing as we do that those that have gone are to be
envied. Arouse yourself! there is much to be done. The
cattle will probably be here in the morning. We have to
question the people here as to the great swamps, and get them
to send to the Fen people for guides who will lead us across
the marshes to some spot where we can dwell above the level
of the highest waters."

Beric put aside his private grief for the time, and several of
the natives of the village who were accustomed to penetrate
the swamps in search of game were collected and questioned as
to the country. None, however, could give much useful infor-
mation. There was a large river that ran through it, with
innumerable smaller streams that wandered here and there.
None had penetrated far beyond the margin, partly because
they were afraid of losing their way, partly because of the
enmity of the Fen people.

These were of a diflferent race to themselves, and were a
remnant of those whom the Iceni had driven out of their

134 BERIC THE BRITON.

country, and who, instead of going west, had taken refuge
in the swamps, whither the invaders had neither the power
nor inclination to follow them.

" It is strange," Aska said, " that just as they fled before us
centuries ago, so we have now to fly before the Romans. Still,
as they have maintained themselves there, so may we. But
it will be necessary that we should try and secure the good- will
of these people and assure them that we do not come among
them as foes."

" There is no quarrel between us now," the headman of the
hamlet said. "There has not been for many generations. They
know that we do not seek to molest them, while they are not
strong enough to molest us. There is trade between all the
hamlets near the swamps and their people; they bring fish and
wild-fowl, and baskets which they weave out of rushes, and
sell to us in exchange for woven cloth, for garments, and some-
times for swine which they keep upon some of their islands.

"It is always they who come to us, we go not to them. They
are jealous of our entering their country, and men who go too
far in search of game have often been shot at by invisible foes.
They take care that their arrows don't strike, but shoot only as
a warning that we must go no farther. Sometimes some fool-
hardy men have declared that they will go where they like in
spite of the Fenmen, and they have gone, but they have never
returned. When we have asked the men who come in to trade
what has become of them they say 'they do not know, most
likely they had lost their way and died miserably, or fallen
into a swamp and perished there;' and as the men have certainly
lost their lives through their own obstinacy nothing can be
done."

"Then some of these men speak our tongue, I suppose?"
Aska said.

" Yes, the men who come are generally the same, and these
mostly speak a little of our language. From time to time some
of our maidens have taken a fancy to these Fenmen, and in
spite of all their friends could do have gone off. None of these

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 135

have ever returned, though messages have been brought saying
they were well. We think that the men who do the trading
are the children of women who went to live among them
years ago."

" Then it is through one of these men that we must open
communications with them," Aska said.

"Some of them are here almost daily. No one has been
to-day, and therefore we may expect one to-morrow morning.
This is one of the chief places of trade with them. The women
of the hamlets round bring here the cloth they have woven to
exchange it for their goods, others from beyond them do the
same, so that from all this part of the district goods are brought
in here, while the fish and baskets of the Fenmen go far and
wide."

CHAPTER VIII.

THE GREAT SWAMPS.

SOON after daybreak next morning the headman came into
the hut he had placed at the disposal of Aska and Beric
with news that two of the Fenmen had arrived. They at once
went out and found that the two men had just laid down
their loads, which were so heavy that Beric wondered they
could possibly have been carried by them. One had brought
fish, the other wild -fowl, slung on poles over their shoulders.
These men were much shorter than the Iceni, they were swarthier
in complexion, and their hair was long and matted. Their only
clothing was short kilts made of the materials for which they
bartered their game.

"They both speak the language well," the headman said, "I
will tell them what you want."

The men listened to the statement that the chiefs before them
desired to find with their followers a refuge in the Fens, and

136 BERIC THE BRITON.

that they were willing to make presents to the Fenmen of
cattle and other things, so that there should be friendship
between them, and that they should be allowed to occupy some
island in the swamps where they might live secure from pur-
suit. The men looked at each other as the headman began to
speak, shaking their heads as if they thought the proposal
impossible.

"We will tell our people," they said, "but we do not think
that they will agree; we have dwelt alone for long years with-
out trouble with others. The coming of strangers will bring
trouble. Why do they seek to leave their land ? "

" Our people have been beaten in battle by the Romans,"
Aska said, taking up the conversation, " and we need a refuge
till the troubles are over."

"The Romans have won!" one of the men exclaimed in a
tone that showed he was no stranger to what was going on
beyond the circle of the Fens.

" They have won," Aska repeated, " and there will be many
fugitives who will seek for shelter in the Fens. We would
fain be friends with your people, but shelter we must have.
Our cause after all is the same, for when the Romans have de-
stroyed the Iceni, and conquered all the countries round, they
will hunt you down also, for they let none remain free in the
lands where they are masters. The Fen country is wide, there
must be room for great numbers to shelter, and surely there
must be places where we could live without disturbance to
your people."

"There is room," the man said briefly. "We will take your
message to our people, our chiefs will decide."

Aska and Beric wore few other ornaments than those de-
noting their position and authority. Many of their followers,
however, had jewels and bracelets, the spoil of the Roman
towns. Beric left the group and spoke to Boduoc, who in two
or three minutes returned with several rings and bracelets.
"You could have a score for every one of these," he said; "they
are of no value to the men now, and indeed their possession

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 137

would bring certain death upon any one wearing them did he
fall into the hands of Eomans."

Eerie returned to the Fenmen. " Here," he said, " are some
presents for your chiefs, tell them that we have many more like
them."

The men took them with an air of indifference.

"They are of no use," they said, "though they may please
women. If you want to please men you should give them
hatchets and arms."

" We will do that," Aska said, " we have more than we re-
quire;" for indeed after the battle with Cerealis and the sack of
the towns all the men had taken Roman swords and carried
them in addition to their own weapons, regarding them not only
as trophies but as infinitely superior to their own more clumsy
implements for cutting wood and other purposes. At a word
from Beric four of these were brought and handed to the men,
who took them with lively satisfaction.

" Could you take us with you to see your chiefs V Beric asked.

They shook their heads. "No strangers can enter the
swamps; but the chiefs will come to see you."

"It is very urgent that no time shall be lost," Beric said,
"the Romans maybe here very shortly."

"By the time the sun is at its highest the chiefs will be here
or we will bring you an answer," they said. " Come with us
now, we will show you where to expect them, for they will not
leave the edge of our land."

After half an hour's walking through a swampy soil they
arrived at the edge of a sluggish stream of water. Here tied
to a bush was a boat constructed of basket-work covered with
hide. In it lay two long poles. The men took their places in
the coracle, pushed out into the stream, and using their poles
vigorously were soon lost to sight among the thick grove of
rush and bushes. Aska and Beric returned to the hamlet.

"Have you any idea of the number of these people?" they
asked the headman.

" No," he said, "no one has any idea; the swamps are of a

138 BERIO THE BRITON.

vast extent from here away to the north. We know that long
ago when the Iceni endeavoured to penetrate there they were
fiercely attacked by great numbers, and most of those who en-
tered perished miserably, but for ages now there has been no
trouble. The land was large enough for us, why should we
fight to conquer swamps which would be useless to us? We
believe that there are large numbers, although they have, from
the nature of the country, little dealings with each other; but
live scattered in twos and threes over their country, since,
living by fishing and fowling, they would not care to dwell in
large communities. They never talk much about themselves,
but I have heard that they say that parts of the swamps
are inhabited by strange monsters, huge serpents and other
creatures, and that into these none dare penetrate."

'* All the better," Eerie said; " we are not afraid of monsters
of any kind, and they might therefore let us settle in one of
these neighbourhoods where we could clear out these enemies
of theirs for them. It strikes me that our greatest difficulty will
be to get our cattle across the morasses to firm ground. We
shall have to contrive some plan for doing so. It will be no
easy matter to feed so large a number as we shall be on fish
and wild-fowl."

At noon the two chiefs returned to the spot where the men
had left them, taking with them Boduoc and another of their
followers. A few minutes after they arrived there they heard
sounds approaching, and in a short time four boats similar to
those they had seen, and each carrying two men in addition
to those poling, made their way one after another through the
bushes that nearly met across the stream. Most of the men
were dressed like the two who had visited the village, but
three of them were in attire somewhat similar to that of the
Iceni. These were evidently the chiefs. Several of the men were
much shorter and darker than those they had first seen, while the
chiefs were about the same stature. All carried short bows and
quivers of light arrows, and spears with the points hardened in
the fire, for the Iceni living near the swamps had been strictly

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 139

forbidden to trade in arms or metal implements with the Fen-
men. The chiefs, however, all carried swords of Iceni make.
Before the chiefs stepped ashore their followers landed, and at
once, to the surprise of Beric, scattered among the bushes. In
two or three minutes they returned and said something in their
own language to their chiefs, who then stepped ashore.

"They were afraid of an ambush," Aska muttered, "and
have satisfied themselves that no one is hidden near."

The chiefs were all able to speak the language of the Iceni,
and a long conversation ensued between them and Beric.
They protested at first that it was impossible for them to
grant the request made; that for long ages no stranger had
penetrated the swamps, and that although the intention of
those who addressed them might be friendly, such might not
always be the case, and that when the secrets of the paths and
ways were once known they would never be free from danger
of attack by their neighbours.

"There is more room to the north," they said; "the Fen
country is far wider there, there is room for you all, while here
the dry lands are occupied by us, and there is no room for so
many strangers. We wish you well; we have no quarrel with
you. Ages have passed now since you drove our forefathers
from the land; that is all forgotten. But as we have lived so
long, so will we continue. We have no wants; we have fish
and fowl in abundance, and what more we require we obtain
in barter from you."

"Swords like those we sent you are useful," Aska said.
" They are made by the Romans, and are vastly better than
any we have. With one of those you might chop down as
many saplings in a day as would build a hut, and could
destroy any wild beasts that may lurk in your swamps. The
people who are coming now are not like us. We were content
with the land we had taken, and you dwelt among us undis-
turbed for ages; but the Eomans are not like us, they want
to possess the whole earth, and when they have overrun our
country they will never rest content till they have hunted you

140 BERIC THE BRITON.

out also. There are thousands of us who will seek refuge
in your swamps. You may oppose us, you may kill numbers
of us, but in the end, step by step, we shall find our way in
till we reach an island of firm land where we can establish
ourselves. It is not that Ave have any ill-will towards you, or
that we covet your land, but with the Romans behind us, slay-
ing all they encounter, we shall have no choice but to go for-
ward.

" It will be for your benefit as well as ours. Alone what
could you do against men who fight with metal over their
heads and bodies that your arrows could not penetrate, and
with swords and darts that would cut and pierce you through
and through? But with us — who have met and fought them
in fair battle, and have once even defeated them with great
slaughter — to help you to guard your swamps, it would be dif-
ferent, and even the Eomans, brave as they are, would hesi-
tate before they tried to penetrate your land of mud and
water. Surely there must be some spots in your morasses
that are still uninhabited. I have heard that there are places
that are avoided because great serpents and other creatures live
there, but so long as the land is dry enough for our cattle to
live and for us to dwell we are ready to meet any living thing
that may inhabit it."

The chiefs looked awe-struck at this offer on the part of the
strangers, and then entered into an animated conversation
together.

*' The matter is settled," Aska said in a low voice to Beric.
" There are places they are afraid to penetrate, and I expect
that, much as they object to our entering their country, they
would rather have us as neighbours than these creatures that
they are so much afraid of."

When the chiefs' consultation was finished, the one who had
before spoken turned to them and said : " What will you give
if we take you to such a place?"

" How far distant is it?" Aska asked.

" It is two days' journey from here," the chief said. " The

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 141

distance is not great, but the channels are winding and difficult.
There is land many feet above the water, but how large I
cannot say. Three miles to the west from here is the great
river you call the Ouse, it is on the other side of that where
we dwell. None of us live on this side of that river. Three
hours' walk north from here is a smaller river that runs into
the great one. At the point where the two rivers join you
will cross the Ouse, and then journey west in boats for a day;
that will take you near the land we speak of."

"But how are we to get the boats? We have no time to
make them."

*' We will take you in our boats. This man," and he pointed
to one of those who had been with them in the morning, " will
go with you as a guide through the swamps to the river to the
north. There we will meet you with twenty boats, and will
take a party to the spot we speak of. Then we will sell you
the boats — we can build more — and you can take the rest of
yoiu" party over as you like. What will you give us?"

"We will give you twenty swords like those I sent you,
and twenty spear-heads, and a hundred copper arrow-heads,
and twenty cattle."

The chiefs consulted together. "We want grain and we
want skins," their spokesman said. " We have need of much
grain, for if the Romans take your land and kill your people,
where shall we buy grain? And we want skins, for it takes
two skins to make a boat, and we shall have to build twenty
to take the place of those we give you."

"We can give the skins," Aska said, after a consultation
with Eerie; " and I doubt not we can give grain. How much
do you require?"

"Five boat-loads filled to the brim."

"To all your other terms we agree," Aska said; "and you
shall have as much grain as we can obtain. If we fall short
of that quantity we will give for each boat-load that is wanting
three swords, six spear-heads, and ten arrow-heads."

The bargain was closed. The Fenmen had come resolved

142 BERIO THE BRITON.

not to allow the strangers to enter their land, but their offer
to occupy any spot, even if tenanted by savage beasts, entirely
changed the position. In the recesses of the swamps to the
east of the Ouse lay a tract of country which they avoided
with a superstitious fear. In the memory of man none had
dared to approach that region, for there was a tradition among
them that, when they had first fled from the Iceni, a large
party had penetrated there, and of these but a few returned,
with tales of the destruction of their companions by huge
serpents, and monsters of strange shapes, some of which were
clothed in armour impenetrable to their heaviest weapons.
From that time the spot had been avoided. Legends had
multiplied concerning the creatures that dwelt there, and it
now seemed to the chiefs that they must be gainers in any case
by the bargain.

If the monsters conquered and devoured the Iceni, as no
doubt they would do, they would be well rid of them. If the
Iceni destroyed the monsters a large tract of country now
closed would be open for fishing and fowling. They therefore
accepted, without further difficulty, the terms the strangers
offered. It was, moreover, agreed that any further parties of
Iceni should be free to join the first comers without hindrance,
and that guides should be furnished to all who might come to
the borders of the swamps to join their countrymen. They
were to act in concert in case of any attack by the Romans,
binding themselves to assist each other to the utmost of their
powers.

"But how are we to convey our cattle over?" Beric asked.

The native shook his head. **It is too far for them to
swim, and the ground in most places is a swamp, in which they
would sink."

*' That must be an after matter, Beric," Aska said. " We
will talk that over after we have arrived. Evidently we can do
nothing now. The great thing is to get to this place they speak
of, and to prepare it to receive the women and other fugitives.
When will you have the boats at the place you name?"

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 143

"Three hours after daylight to-morrow."

" We will be there. You shall receive half the payments
we have agreed upon before we start, the rest shall be paid
you when you return with the boats and hand them over for
the second detachment to go,"

The native nodded, and at once he and his companions took
their places in their coracles, leaving the native who was to
act as guide behind them.

" They are undersized little wretches," Boduoc said, as they
started for the village; "no wonder that our forefathers swept
them out of the land without any difficulty. But they are
active and sturdy, and, knowing their swamps as they do,
could harass an invader terribly. I don't think that at present
they like our going into their country, but they will be glad
enough of our aid if the Romans come."

When they reached the village they found that the herds
had just arrived. The headman was surprised when they told
him that the Fenmen had agreed to allow them a shelter in
the swamps, and he and eight or ten men who had straggled
in since Beric's party arrived, expressed their desire to accom-
pany the party with their families. Other women in the vil-
lage would likewise have gone, but Aska pointed out to them
that they had better go north and take shelter among the
Brigantes, as all the women of his tribe had done, except those
whose men were Avith them.

" You will be better oiF there than among the swamps, and
we cannot feed unnecessary mouths; nor have we means of
transporting you there. We, too, would shelter in the woods,
were it not that we mean to harass the Romans, so we need
a place where they cannot find us. But as you go spread the
news that Aska has sought refuge in the swamps with two
hundred fighting Sarci, and that all capable of bearing arms
who choose to join them can do so. They must come to the
junction of the two rivers, and there they will hear of us."

As the villagers were imable to take away with them their
stores of grain, they disposed of them readily to Beric in

144 BERIC THE BRITON.

exchange for gold ornaments, with which they could purchase
cattle or such things as they required from the Brigantes;
they also resigned all property in their swine and cattle, which
were to be left in the woods, to be fetched as required. Aska
and Beric having made these arrangements, sat down to discuss
what had best be done, as the twenty boats would only carry
sixty, and would be away for two days before they returned
for the second party. Boduoc was called into the council, and
after some discussion it was agreed that the best plan would
be for the whole party to go down together to the junction of
the rivers, each taking as large a burden of grain as he could
carry, and driving their cattle before them.

They heard from the headman that the whole country near
the river was densely covered with bushes, and that the
ground was swampy and very difficult to cross. They agreed,
therefore, that they would form a strong intrenchment at
the spot where they were to embark. It was unlikely in the
extreme that the Eomans would seek to penetrate such a
country, but if they did they were to be opposed as soon as
they entered the swamps, and a desperate stand was to be made
at the intrenchment, which would be approachable at one or
two points only. Six men were to be left at the village to re-
ceive the women and children when they arrived. The guide
was to return as soon as he had led the main party to the point
where the boats were to meet them, and to lead the second
party to the same point.

That evening, indeed, the women began to arrive, and said
that they believed all would be in on the following day.
Among them was Boduoc's mother, who told Beric that her
eldest daughter had started with Berenice and Cneius to meet
the Romans as soon as the news of the defeat reached them.
When day broke, Beric's command, with the women who had
arrived, set off laden with as much grain in baskets or cloths as
they could carry, and driving the cattle and pigs before them.
The country soon became swampy, but their guide knew the
ground well, and by a winding path led them dry-footed through

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 146

the bushes, though they could see water among the roots and
grass on either side of them. They had, however, great difficulty
with the cattle and pigs, but after several attempts to break
away, and being nearly lost in the swamps, from which many
of them had to be dragged out by sheer force, the whole reached
the river. The men of the rear-guard in charge of the main
body of the swine and cattle did not arrive there until mid-day.

The spot to which the guide led them was on the river flowing
east and west, a mile from its junction with the main stream, as
he told them that the swamps were too deep near the junction
of the river for them to penetrate there.

Some of the boats were already at the spot. When they
reached it Aska and Beric at once began to mark out a semi-
circle, with a radius of some fifty yards, on the river bank.
Ten of the cattle were killed and skinned, and as others of the
party came up they were set to work to cut down the trees
and undergrowth within the semicircle, and drag them to its
edge, casting them down with their heads outwards so as to
form a formidable abbatis. Within half an hour of the ap-
pointed time the twenty boats had arrived together with as
many more, in which the grain, hides, and other articles agreed
to be paid were to be carried off. Three of the cattle were cut
up, and their flesh divided among the twenty boats, in which
a quantity of grain was also placed. The seven remaining
carcasses were for the use of the camp, the ten hides, half
the grain, swords, spears, and arrow-heads agreed upon, were
handed over to the natives, and Beric, as an extra gift, pre-
sented each of the three chiefs who had come with the boats
with one of the Eoman shields, picked up on the field of
battle.

The chiefs were greatly pleased with the present, and showed
more good-will than they had exhibited at their first inter-
view. Aska had arranged with Beric to remain behind
in charge of the encampment. As soon, therefore, as the
presents had been handed over, Beric with Boduoc and three
men to each boat took their places and pushed off from shore.

(726) K

146 BERIC THE BRITON.

The boats of the Fenmen put oflf at the same time, and the
natives, of whom there was one in each of Beric's boats, poled
their way down the sluggish stream until they reached a wide
river. The chiefs here shouted an adieu and directed their
course up the river, while Beric's party crossed, proceeded
down it for two miles, and then turned up a narrow stream
running into it. All day they made their way along its wind-
ings; other streams came in on either side or quitted it; and,
indeed, for some hours they appeared to be traversing a net-
work of water from which rose trees and bushes. The native
in Beric's boat, which led, could speak the language of the
Iceni, and he explained to Beric that the waters were now
high, but that when they subsided the land appeared above
them, except in the course of the streams.

"It is always wet and swampy," he said; "and men cannot
traverse this part on foot except by means of flat boards
fastened to the feet by loops of leather; this prevents them
from sinking deeply in."

Late in the afternoon the country became drier, and the
land showed itself above the level of the water. The native
now showed signs of much perturbation, stopping frequently
and listening. " I have come much farther now," he said, "than
I have ever been before, and I dare not have ventured so far
were it not that these floods would have driven everything
back; but I know from an old man who once ventured to
push farther, that this is the beginning of rising-ground, and
that in a short time you will find it dry enough to land. I
advise you to call the other boats up so that in case of danger
you can support each other."

The stream they were following was now very narrow, the
branches of the trees meeting overhead.

"Can any of the other Fenmen in the boats speak our
language]" Beric asked.

The man replied in the negative.

"That is good," he said; "I don't want my men to be
frightened with stories about monsters. I don't believe in

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 147

them myself, though I do not say that in the old time mon-
sters may not have dwelt here. If anything comes we shall
know how to fight it; but it is gloomy and dark enough here
to make men uncomfortable without anything else to shake
their courage."

At last they reached a spot where the bank was two feet
above the water, and they could see that it rose further inland
Several of the other Fenmen had been shouting for some time
to Beric's boatmen, and their craft had been lagging behind.
Beric therefore thought it well to land at once. The boats
were accordingly called up, the meat and grain landed, and
the men leapt ashore, the boatmen instantly poling their crafts
down stream at their utmost speed.

"We will go no farther to-night," Beric said; "but choose
a comfortable spot and make a fire. It will be time enough
in the morning to explore this place and fix on a spot for a
permanent encampment."

A place was soon chosen and cleared of bushes. The men
in several of the boats had at starting brought brands with
them from the fires. These were carried across each other so as
to keep the fire in, and eight or ten of these brands being laid
together in the heart of the brushwood and fanned vigorously
a bright flame soon shot up. The men's spirits had sunk as
they passed through the wild expanse of swamp and water, but
they rose now as the fire burned up. Meat was sjieedily frying
in the flames, and this was eaten as soon as it was cooked,
nothing being done with the grain, which they had no means
of pounding. They had also brought with them several jars of
beer from the village, and these were passed round after they
had eaten their fill of meat

" We will place four sentries," Beric said, " there may well
be wolves or other wild beasts in these swamps."

After supper was over Boduoc questioned Beric privately as
to the monsters of which their boatman had spoken.

'* It is folly," Beric said. " You know that we have legends
among ourselves, which we learned from the natives who were

148 BERIC THE BRITON.

here before we came, that at one time strange creatures wan-
dered over the country; but if there were such creatures they
died long ago. These Fenmen have a story among themselves
that such beasts lived in the heart of the swamp here when
they first fled before us. It is quite possible that this is true,
for although they died ages ago on the land they may have
existed long afterwards among the swamps where there were
none to disturb them. I have read in some of the Roman
writers that there are creatures protected by a coat of scales in
a country named Egypt, and that they live hundreds of years.
Possibly these creatures, which the legends say were a sort of
Dragon, may have lingered here, but as they do not seem to
have shown themselves to the Fenmen since their first arrival
here, it is not at all likely that there are any of them left; if
there are we shall have to do battle with them."

"Do you think they will be very formidable, Beric?"

"I do not suppose so. They might be formidable to one
man, but not to sixty well-armed as we are; but I have not
any belief that we shall meet with them."

The night passed quite quietly, and in the morning the band
set out to explore the country. It rose gradually until they
were, as Beric judged, from forty to fifty feet above the level
of the swamp. Large trees grew here, and the soil was per-
fectly dry. The ground on the summit was level for about
a quarter of a mile, and then gradually sank again. A mile
farther they were again at the edge of a swamp.

" Nothing could have suited us better," Beric said. " At the
top we can form an encampment which will hold ten thousand
men, and there is dry ground a mile all round for the cattle
and swine."

Presently there was a shout from some men who had
wandered away, and Beric, bidding the others follow, ran to
the spot. They found men standing looking in wonder at
a great number of bones lying in what seemed a confused
mass.

" Here is your monster," Beric said; " they are snake bones."

THEY DISCOVER AN ANCIENT MONSTER.

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 149

This was evident to all, and exclamations of wonder broke from
them at their enormous size. One man got hold of a pair of
ribs, and placing them upright they came up to his chin. The
men looked apprehensively round.

" You need not be afraid," Beric said. " The creature has
probably been dead hundreds of years. You see his skin is all
decayed away, and it must have been thick and tough indeed.
By the way the bones are piled together, he must have curled
up here to die. He was probably the last of his race. How-
ever, we will search the island thoroughly, keeping together
in readiness to encounter anything that we may alight upon."

Great numbers of snakes were found, but none of any extra-
ordinaiy size.

" No doubt they fled here in the rains," Beric said, ** when
the water rose and covered the swamps; we shall not be
troubled with them when the morasses dry. Anyhow they are
quite harmless, and save that they may kill a chicken or two
when we get some, they will give us no trouble. The swine
will soon clear them off."

It was late in the day before the search was completed, and
they then returned to the camping-ground of the night before,
quite assured that there was no creature of any size upon the
island. Just as evening was falling on the following day they
heard shouts.

"Are you alive?" a voice, which Beric recognized as that of
his boatman, shouted.

" Yes," he exclaimed, " alive and well. There is nothing to
be afraid of here."

A few minutes later the twenty boats again came up. The
Fenmen this time ventured to land, but Beric's boatman ques-
tioned him anxiously about the monsters. Beric, who thought
it as well to maintain the evil reputation of the place, told him
that they had searched the island and had found no living
monsters, but had come across a dead serpent, who must have
been seventy or eighty feet long.

" There are no more of them here," he said, " but of course

150 BERIC THE BRITON,

there may be others that have been alarmed at the noises we
made and have taken to the swamps. This creature has been
dead for a long time, and may have been the last of his race.
However, if one were to come we should not be afraid of it
with a hundred and twenty fighting men here."

The Fenmen, after a consultation among themselves, agreed
that it would be safer to pass the night with the Iceni than to
start in the darkness among the swamps. When they left in
the morning Beric sent a message to Aska describing the place,
and begging him to send up some of the women with the next
party with means of grinding the grain. As soon as the boats
were started Beric led the party up to the top of the rise, and
then work was begun in earnest, and in a couple of days a large
number of huts were constructed of saplings and brushwood
cleared off from the centre of the encampment. Some women
arrived with the next boat-loads, and at once took the prepara-
tion of food into their hands. Aska sent a message saying that
the numbers at his camp were undiminished, as most of the
fighting men belonging to the villages round who had survived
the battle had joined him at once with their wives, and that
fresh men were pouring in every hour. He urged Beric to
leave Boduoc in charge of the island, and to return with the
empty boats in order that they might have a consultation. This
Beric did, and upon his arrival he found that there were over
four hundred men in camp, with a proportionate number of
women and children. There were several sub-chiefs among
them, and Aska invited them to join in the council.

"It is evident," he said, "that so large a number as this
cannot find food in one place in the swamps, at any rate until
we have learned to catch fish and snare wild-fowl as the Fen-
men do. The swine we can take there, but these light boats
would not carry cattle in any numbers, though some might
be thrown and carried there, with their legs tied together.
At present this place is safe from attack. There is only one
path, our guide says, by which it can be approached. I pro-
pose that we cut wide gaps through this, and throw beams and

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 151

planks over them. These we can remove in case of attack.
When we hear of the Romans' approach we can throw up a high
defence of trees and bushes behind each gap,"

" That will be excellent," Beric agreed, "and you would doubt-
less be able to make a long defence against them on the cause-
way. But you must not depend upon their keeping upon that.
They will wade through the swamp waist-deep, and, if it be deeper
still, will cut down bushes and make faggots and move for-
ward on these. So, though you may check them on the cause-
way, they will certainly, by one means or other, make their way
up to your intrenchment, and you must therefore strengthen
this in every way. I should build up a great bank behind it,
so that if they break through or fire the defences you can
defend the bank. There is one thing that must be done
without delay; we must build more boats. There must be here
many men from the eastern coast, where they have much larger
and stronger craft than these coracles. I should put a strong
party to work upon them. Then, in case of an attack, you
could, when you see that longer resistance would be vain, take
to the boats and join me; or, when the Romans approach, send
them oS to fetch my party from the island. Besides, we shall
want to move bodies of men rapidly so as to attack and harass
the enemy when they are not expecting us.

" I should say that we ought to have at least twenty great
flat boats able to carry fifty men each. Speed would not be of
much consequence, as the Romans mil have no boats to follow
us; besides, except on the Ouse and one or two of the larger
streams, there is no room for rowing, and they must be poled
along. Let us keep none but fighting men here. As all the
villagers fled north there must be numbers of cattle and swine
wandering untended in all the woods, and in many of the ham-
lets much grain must have been left behind, therefore I should
send out parties from time to time to bring them in. When
the large boats are built we can transport some of the cattle
alive to the island; till then they must be slaughtered here;
but with each party a few swine might be sent to the island,

152 BERIC THE BRITON.

where they can range about as they choose. What is the last
news you have of the Romans]"

" They are pressing steadily north, burning and slaying. I
hear that they spare none, and that the whole land of the Trino-
bantes, from the Thames to the Stour, has been turned into a
waste."

"It was only what we had to expect, Aska. Have any
more of my people come in since I left]"

" Only a young girl. She arrived last night. It is she that
brought the news that I am giving you. She is a sister of your
friend Boduoc, and her mother, who had given her up for lost,
almost lost her senses with delight when she returned. The
family are fortunate, for another son also came in two or three
days ago."

Beric at once went in search of Boduoc's mother, whom he
found established with her girls in a little bower.

" I am glad indeed that your daughter has returned safe," he
said, as the old woman came out on hearing his voice.

"Yes, I began to think that I should never see her face
again, Beric; but I am fortunate indeed, when so many are
left friendless, that all my four children should be spared. Tell
the chief how you fulfilled your mission," she said to the girl.

" It was easy enough," she replied. " Had I been by myself
I should have returned here three days since, but the little lady
could not make long journeys, and it was three days after we
left before we saw any of the Romans. At last we came upon
a column of horse. When we saw them the little lady gave me
this bracelet, and she put this gold chain into my hand and
said, 'Beric' So I knew that it was for you. Then I ran
back and hid myself in the trees while they went forward.
When they got near the soldiers on horseback the man lifted
up his arms and cried something in a loud voice. Then they
rode up to them, and for some time I could see nothing. Then
the horsemen rode on again, all but two of them, who went on
south. The man rode behind one of them, and the little lady
before another. Then I turned and made hither, travelling

THE GREAT SWAMPS. 153

without stopping, except once for a few hours' sleep. There
are many fugitives in the woods, and from them I heard that
the land of the Trinobantes was lit up by burning villages,
and that the Romans were slaughtering all. Some of those I
met in the wood had hid themselves, and had made their way
at night, and they saw numbers of dead bodies, women and
children as well as men, in the burned hamlets."

" You have done your mission well," Beric said. " Boduoc
will be glad when I tell him how you have carried out my
wish. We must find a good husband for you some day, and
I will take care that you go to him Avith a good store of cattle
and swine. Where is your brother?"

" He is there," she said, " leaning against that tree waiting
for you."

" I am glad to see you safe among us," Beric said to the
young man. "How did you escape the battle?"

" I was driving the chariot with Parta's attendants, as I had
from the day we started. I kept close behind her chariot, and
escaped with her when the line of waggons was broken to let
the queen pass. When we got far away from the battle your
mother stopped her chariot and bade me go north. ' I have no
more need of attendants,' she said; 'let them save themselves.
Do you find my son if he has escaped the battle, and tell him
that I shall share the fate of Boadicea. I have lived a free
woman, and will die one. Tell him to fight to the end against
the Romans, and that I shall expect him to join me before long
in the Happy Island. Bid him not lament for me, but rejoice,
as he should, that I have gone to the Land where there are no
sorrows.' Then I turned my chariot and drove to your home
to await your coming there if you should have escaped. It was
but a few hours after that the messengers brought the news
that you were safe, and that the survivors of your band were
to join you at Soto with such men as might have escaped. As
Parta's orders were to take the women with me to the north, I
drove them two days farther, taking with me a lad, the brother
of one of them. Then I handed over the chariot to him, to

154 BBRIC THE BRITON,

convey them to the land of the Brigantes, and started hither
on foot to join you."

" You shall go on with me to-morrow, you and your mother
and sisters, Boduoc will be rejoiced to see you all. We have
found a place where even the Romans will hardly reach us,"

CHAPTER IX.

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP.

THAT evening Beric had a long talk with Aska and four
or five men from the coast accustomed to the building
of large boats. The matter would be easy enough, they said,
as the boats would not be required to withstand the strain of
the sea, and needed only to be put together with flat bottoms
and sides. With so large a number of men they could hew
down trees of suitable size, and thin them down until they
obtained a plank from each. They would then be fastened
together by strong pegs and dried moss driven in between the
crevices. Pitch, however, would be required to stop up the
seams, and of this they had none,

" Then," Beric said, "we must make some pitch. There is no
great diflBculty about that There are plenty of fir-trees grow-
ing near the edges of the swamps, and from the roots of these
we can get tar,"

The men were all acquainted with the process, which was a
simple one, A deep hole was dug in the ground. The bottom
of this was lined with clay, hollowed out into a sort of bowl.
The hole was then filled with the roots of fir closely packed
together. When it was full a fire was lit above it. As soon
as this had made its way down earth was piled over it and
beaten down hard, a small orifice being left in the centre. In
this way the wood was slowly converted into charcoal, and the

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 155

resin and tar, as they oosed out under the heat, trickled down
into the bowl of clay at the bottom. As little or no smoke
escaped after the fire was first lighted, the work could be
carried on without fear of attracting the attention of any
bodies of the enemy who might be searching the country.

Two months passed. By the end of that time the intrench-
ment on the river-bank had been made so strong that it could
resist any attack save by a very large l3ody of men. That on
the island had also been completed, and strong banks thrown
up at the only three points where a landing could be effected
from boats.

The swamps had been thoroughly explored in the neighbour
hood, and another island discovered, and on this three hundred
men had been established, while four hundred remained on the
great island, and as many in the camp on the river. There
were over a thousand women and children distributed among
the three stations. Three hundred men had laboured inces-
santly at the boats, and these were now finished. While all
this work had been going on considerable numbers of fish and
wild-fowl had been obtained by barter from the Fenmen, with
whom they had before had dealings, and from other communities
living among the swamps to the nortL Many of the Iceni,
who came from the marshy districts of the eastern rivers, were
also accustomed to fishing and fowling, and, as soon as the
work on the defences was finished and the tortuous channels
through the swamps became known to them, they began to lay
nets, woven by the women, across the streams, and to make
decoys and snares of all sorts for the wild-fowl.

The framework for many coracles had been woven of withies
by the women, and the skins of all the cattle killed were util-
ized as coverings, so that by the end of the two months they
had quite a fleet of little craft of this kind. As fast as the
larger boats were finished they were used for carrying cattle
to the islands, and a large quantity of swine were also taken
over.

During this time the Bomans had traversed the whole country

156 BERIC THE BRITON.

of the Iceni. The hamlets were fired, and all persons who fell
into their hands put to death; but the number of these was
comparatively small, as the greater part of the population had
either moved north or taken to the woods, which were so exten-
sive that comparatively few of the fugitives were killed by the
search-parties of the Romans. From the few prisoners that the
Romans took they heard reports that many of the Iceni had
taken refuge in the swamps, and several strong bodies had
moved along the edge of the marsh country without attempt-
ing to penetrate it.

Aska and Beric had agreed that so long as they were undis-
turbed they would remain quiet, confining themselves to their
borders, except when they sent parties to search for cattle in
the woods or to gather up grain that might have escaped de-
struction in the hamlets, and that they would avoid any col-
lision with the Romans until their present vigilance abated or
they attempted to plant settlers in their neighbourhood.

Circumstances, however, defeated this intention. They
learned from the Fenmen that numerous fugitives had taken
refuge in the southern swamps, and that these sallying out
had fallen upon parties of Romans near Huntingdon, and had
cut them to pieces. The Romans had in consequence sent a
considerable force to avenge this attack. These had penetrated
some distance into the swamps, but had there been attacked
and driven back with much slaughter. But a fortnight later
a legion had marched to Huntingdon, and crossing the river
there had established a camp opposite, which they called God-
mancastra, and, having collected a number of natives from the
west, were engaged in building boats in which they intended
to penetrate the swamp country and root out the fugitives.

*' It was sure to come sooner or later," Aska said to Beric.
" Nor should we wish it otherwise. We came here not to pass
our lives as lurking fugitives, but to gather a force and avenge
ourselves on the Romans. If you like I will go up the river and
see our friends there, and ascertain their strength and means
of resistance. Would it be well, think you, to tell them of our

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 157

strong place here and oflfer to send our boats to bring them
down, so that we may make a great stand here?"

"No, I think not," Beric said. "Nothing would suit the
Eomans better than to catch us all together, so as to destroy us
at one blow. We know that in the west they stormed the in-
trenchments of Cassivellaunus, and that no native fort has ever
withstood their assault. I should say that it ought to be a war of
small fights. We should attack them constantly, enticing them
into the deepest parts of the morass, and falling upon them at
spots where our activity will avail against their heavily-weighted
men. We should pour volleys of arrows into their boats as they
pass along through the narrow creeks, show ourselves at points
where the ground is firm enough for them to land, and then
falling back to deep morasses tempt them to pursue us there,
and then turn upon them. We should give them no rest night
or day, and wear them out with constant fighting and watch-
ing. The fens are broad and long, stretching from Huntingdon
to the sea; and if they are contested foot by foot, we may tire
out even the power of Rome."

"You are right, Beric; but at any rate it will be well to see
how our brethren are prepared. They may have no boats, and
may urgently need help."

" I quite agree with you, and I think it would be as well
for you to go. You could ofiFer to bring all their women and
children to our islands here, and then we would send down a
strong force to help them. We should begin to contest strongly
the Roman advance from the very first."

Accordingly Aska started up the Ouse in one of the large
boats with twelve men to pole it along, and three days after-
wards returned with the news that there were some two thou-
sand men with twice as many women and children scattered
among the upper swamps.

"They have only a few small boats," he said, "and are in
sore straits for provisions. They drove at first a good many
cattle in with them, but most of these were lost in the morasses,
and as there have been bodies of horse moving about near

158 BERIC THE BRITON.

Huntingdon, they have not been able to venture out as we have
done to drive in more."

"Have they any chief with them?" Beric asked.

" None of any importance. All the men are fugitives from
the battle, who were joined on their way north by the women
of the villages. They are broken up into groups, and have no
leader to form any general plan. I spoke to the principal men
among them, and told them that we had strongly fortified
several places here, had built a fleet of boats, and were pre-
pared for warfare; they will all gladly accept you as their
leader. They urgently prayed that we would send our boats
down for the women and children, and I promised them that
you would do so, and would also send down some provisions
for the fighting men."

The next morning the twenty large boats, each carrying
thirty men and a supply of meat and grain, started up the
river, Beric himself going with them, and taking Boduoc as
his lieutenant. Aska remained in command at the river fort,
where the force was maintained at its full strength, the boat
party being drawn entirely from the two islands. Four miles
below Huntingdon they landed at a spot where the greater
part of the Iceni there were gathered. Fires were at once
lighted, and a portion of the meat cooked, for the fugitives
were weak with hunger. As soon as this was satisfied, orders
were issued for half the women and children to be brought in.

These were crowded into the boats, which, in charge of four
men in each, then dropped down the stream, Beric having
given orders that the boats were to return as soon as the
women were landed on the island. He spent the next two
days in traversing the swamps in a coracle, ascertaining where
there was firm ground, and where the morasses were impassable.
He learned all the particulars he could gather about the exact
position of the Roman camp, and the spot where the boats
were being constructed — the Iceni were already familiar with
several paths leading out of the morasses in that neighbour-
hood— and then drew out a plan for an attack upon the Romans.

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 159

He had brought with him half the Sarci who had retired
with him from the battle. These he would himself command.
A force of four hundred men, led by Boduoc, were to travel
by different paths through the swamp ; they were then to unite
and to march round the Roman camp, and attack it suddenly
on three sides at once.

The camp was in the form of a horse-shoe, with its ends
resting on the river, and it was here that the boats were being
built. Beric himself with his own hundred men and fifty others
were to embark in four boats. As soon as they were fairly
beyond the swamp, they were to land on the Huntingdon side,
and to tow their boats along until within two or three hundred
yards of the Roman camp, when they were to await the sound
of Boduoc's horn. Boduoc's instructions were that he was to
attack the camp fiercely on all sides. The Roman sentries
were known to be so vigilant that there was but slight prospect
of his entering the camp by surprise, or of his being able to scale
the palisades at the top of the bank of earth. The attack,
however, was to be made as if in earnest, and was to be main-
tained until Beric's horn gave the signal for them to draw off,
when they were to break up into parties as before, and to retire
into the heart of the swamp by the paths by which they had
left it.

The most absolute silence was to be observed until the
challenge of the Roman sentries showed that they were dis-
covered, when they were to raise their war-shouts to the ut-
most so as to alarm and confuse the enemy.

The night was a dark one and a strong wind was blowing, so
that Beric's party reached their station unheard by the sentries
on the walls of the camp. It was an hour before they heard
a distant shout, followed instantly by the winding of a horn,
and the loud war-cry of the Iceni. At the same moment the
trumpets in the Roman intrenchments sounded, and immedi-
ately a tumult of confused shouting arose around and within
the camp, Beric remained quiet for five minutes till the roar
of battle was at its highest, and he knew that the attention

160 BERIC THE BRITON.

Df the Eomans would be entirely occupied with the attack
Then the boats were again towed along until opposite the centre
of the horse-shoe; the men took their places in them again and
poled them across the river.

The fifty men who accompanied the Sarci carried bundles of
rushes dipped in pitch, and in each boat were burning brands
which had been covered with raw hides to prevent the light
being seen. They were nearly across the river when some sen-
tries there, whose attention had hitherto been directed entirely
to the walls, suddenly shouted an alarm. As soon as the boats
touched the shore, Beric and his men leapt out, passed through
the half-built boats and the piles of timber collected beside
them, and formed up to repel an attack. At the same moment
the others lighted their bundles of rushes at the brands, and
jumping ashore set fire to the boats and wood piles. Astonished
at this outburst of flame within their camp, while engaged in
defending the walls from the desperate attacks of the Iceni,
the Eomans hesitated, and then some of them came running
down to meet the unexpected attack.

But the Sarci had already pressed quickly on, followed by
some of the torch-bearers, and were in the midst of the Roman
tents before the legionaries gathered in sufiicient force to meet
them. The torches were applied to the tents, and fanned by
the breeze, the flames spread rapidly from one to another.
Beric blew the signal for retreat, and his men in a solid body,
with their spears outward, fell back. The Eomans, as they
arrived at the spot, rushed furiously upon them; but discipline
was this time on the side of the Sarci, who beat off" all attacks
till they reached the river bank. Then in good order they took
their places in the boats, Beric with a small body covering the
movement till the last; then they made a rush to the boats; the
men, standing with their poles ready, instantly pushed the
craft into the stream, and in two minutes they were safe on
the other side.

The boats and piles of timber were already blazing fiercely,
while the Eoman camp, in the centre of the intrenchment, was

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 161

in a mass ot flames, lighting up the helmets and armour of the
soldiers ranged along the wall, and engaged in repelling the
attacks of the Iceni. As soon as the Sarci were across, they leapt
ashore and towed the boat along by the bank A few arrows
fell among them, but as soon as they had pushed off from the
shore most of the Romans had run back to aid in the defence of
the walls. Beric's horn now gave the signal that the work was
done, and in a short time the shouts of the Iceni began to
subside, the din of the battle grew fainter, and in a few minutes
all was quiet round the Roman camp.

There was great rejoicing when the parties of the Iceni met
again in the swamp. They had struck a blow that would
greatly inconvenience the Romans for some time, would retard
their attack, and show them that the spirit of the Britons
was still high. The loss of the Iceni had been very small, only
some five or six of Beric's party had fallen, and twenty or
thirty of the assailants of the wall; they believed that the
Romans had suffered much more, for they could be seen above
their defences by the light of the flames behind them, while
the Iceni were in darkness. Thus the darts and javelins of
the defenders had been cast almost at random, while they
themselves had been conspicuous marks for the missiles of the
assailants.

In Beric's eyes the most important point of the encounter
was that it had given confidence to the fugitives, had taught
them the advantage of fighting with a plan, and of acting
methodically and in order. There was a consultation next mor-
ning. Beric pointed out to the leaders that although it was neces-
sary sometimes with an important object in view to take the
offensive, they must as a rule stand on the defensive, and depend
upon the depth of their morasses and their knowledge of the
paths across them to baffle the attempts of the Romans to
penetrate.

" I should recommend," he said, " that you break up into
parties of fifteens and twenties, and scatter widely over the
Fen country, and yet be near enough to each other to hear the

(725) L

162 BBRIC THE BRITON.

sound of a horn. Each party must learn every foot of the
ground and water in the neighbourhood round them. In that
way you will be able to assemble when you hear the signal an-
nouncing the coming of the Romans, you will know the paths
by which you can attack or retreat, and the spots where you
can make your way across, but where the Romans cannot
follow you. Each party must earn its sustenance by fishing
and fowling; and in making up your parties, there should be
two or three men in each accustomed to this work. Each
party must provide itself with coracles; I will send up a boat-
load of hides. Beyond that you must search for cattle and
swine in the woods, when by sending spies on shore you find
there are no parties of Romans about.

"The parties nearest to Huntingdon should be always vigi-
lant, and day and night keep men at the edge of the swamp to
watch the doings of the Romans, and should send notice to me
every day or two as to what the enemy are doing, and when they
are likely to advance. Should they come suddenly, remember
that it is of no use to try to oppose their passage down the
river. Their boats will be far stronger than ours, and we should
but throw away our lives by fighting them there. They may go
right down to the sea if they please, but directly they land
or attempt to thrust their boats up the channels through the
swamp, then every foot must be contested. They must be
shot down from the bushes, enticed into swamps, and over-
whelmed with missiles. Let each man make himself a powerful
bow and a great sheath of arrows pointed with flints or flakes
of stone, which must be fetched from the dry land, although
even without these they will fly straight enough if shot from
the bushes at a few yards' distance.

" Let the men practise with these, and remember that they
must aim at the legs of the Romans. It is useless to shoot at
either shields or armour. Besides, let each man make himself a
spear, strong, heavy, and fully eighteen feet long, with the point
hardened in the fire, and rely upon these rather than upon
your swords to check their progress. Whenever you find broad

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 163

paths of firm ground across the swamps, cut down trees and
bushes to form stout barriers.

" Make friends with the Fenmen. Be liberal to them with
gifts, and do not attempt to plant parties near them, for this
would disturb their wild-fowl and lead to jealousy and quarrels.
However well you may learn the swamps, they know them
better, and were they hostile might lead the Romans into our
midst. In some parts you may not find dry land on which to
build huts; in that case choose spots where the trees are stout,
lash saplings between these and build your huts upon them so
as to be three or four feet above the wet soil. Some of my
people who know the swamps by the eastern rivers tell me that
this is the best way to avoid the fen-fevers."

Having seen that everything was arranged, Beric and his
party returned to their camp. For some time the reports from
the upper river stated that the Romans were doing little beyond
sending out strong parties to cut timber. Then came the news
that a whole legion had arrived, and that small forts containing
some two hundred men each were being erected, three or four
miles apart, on both sides of the Fen.

" That shows that all resistance must have ceased elsewhere,"
Aska said, "or they would never be able to spare so great a
force as a legion and a half against us. I suppose that these
forts are being built to prevent our obtaining cattle, and that
they hope to starve us out. They will hardly succeed in that,
for the rivers and channels swarm with fish, and now that
winter is coming on they will abound with wild-fowl."

" I am afraid of the winter," Beric said, " for then they will
be able to traverse the swamps, where now they would sink over
their heads."

"Unless the frosts are very severe, Beric, the ground will
not harden much, for every foot is covered with trees and
bushes. As to grain we can do without it, but we shall be able
to fetch some at least down from the north. Indeed, it would
need ten legions to form a line along both sides of the Fen
country right down to the sea and to pen us in completely."

164 BERIG THE BRITON.

By this time the Iceni had become familiar with the channels
through the swamps for long distances from their fastness, and
had even established a trade with the people lying to the north-
west of the Fen country. They learnt that the Romans boasted
they had well-nigh annihilated the Trinobantes and Iceni; but
that towards the other tribes that had taken part in the great
rising they had shown more leniency, though some of their
principal towns had been destroyed and the inhabitants put to
the sword.

A month later a fleet of boats laden with Eoman soldiers
started from Huntingdon and proceeded down the Ouse. Dead
silence reigned round them, and although they proceeded
nearly to the sea they saw no signs of a foe, and so turning they
rowed back to Huntingdon, But in their absence the Iceni had
not been idle. The spies from the swamps had discovered when
the expedition was preparing to start, and had found too that
a strong body of troops was to march along the edges of the
swamps in order to cut off the Iceni should they endeavour to
make their escape.

The alarm had been sounded from post to post, and in accord-
ance with the orders of Beric the whole of the fighting men at
once began to move south, some in boats, some in their little
coracles, which were able to thread their way through the net-
work of channels. The night after the Romans started, the
whole of the fighting force of the Britons was gathered in the
southern swamps, and two hours before daybreak issued out.
Some five hundred, led by Aska, followed the western bank
of the river towards Huntingdon, which had for the time been
converted into a Roman city, inhabited by the artisans who
had constructed the boats and the settlers who supplied the
army; it had been garrisoned by five hundred legionaries, of
whom three hundred had gone away in the boats.

The main body advanced against the Roman camp on the
opposite bank, in which, as their spies had learnt, three
hundred men had been left as a garrison. By Beric's orders a
great number of ladders had been constructed. As upon the

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 166

previous occasion the camp was surrounded before they advanced
against it, and when the first shout of a sentry showed that they
were discovered Beric's horn gave the signal, and with a mighty
shout the Britons rushed on from all sides. Dashing down the
ditch, and climbing the steep bank behind it the Iceni planted
their ladders against the palisade, and swarming over it poured
into the camp before the Eomans had time to gather to oppose
them, Beric had led his own band of two hundred trained
men against the point where the wall of the camp touched
the river, and as soon as they were over formed them up and
led them in a compact body against the Eomans.

In spite of the suddenness of the attack, the discipline of the
legionaries was unshaken, and as soon as their officers found
that the walls were already lost they formed their men in a
solid body to resist the attack. Before Beric with his band
reached the spot the Romans were already engaged in a fierce
struggle with the Britons, who poured volleys of darts and
arrows among them, and desperately strove, sword in hand, to
break their solid formation. This they were unable to do, until
Beric's band six deep with their hedge of spears before them
came up, and with a loud shout threw themselves upon the
Romans. The weight and impetus of the charge was irresistible.
The Roman cohort was broken, and a deadly hand-to-hand
struggle commenced. But here the numbers and the greatly
superior height and strength of the Britons were decisive, and
before many minutes had passed the last Roman had been cut
down, the scene of the battle being lighted up by the flames of
Huntingdon.

A shout of triumph from the Britons announced that all
resistance had ceased. Beric at once blew his horn, and, as had
been previously arranged, four hundred of the island men
immediately started under Boduoc to oppose the garrison at the
nearest fort, should they meet these hastening to the assistance
of their comrades. Then a systematic search for plunder
commenced. One of the storehouses was emptied of its con-
tents and fired, and by its light the arms and armour of the

166 BERIO THE BRITON.

Eoman soldiers were collected, the huts and tents rifled of
everything of value, the storehouses emptied of their stores of
grain and provisions, and of the tools that had been used for
the building of boats. Everything that could be of use to the
defenders was taken, and fire was then applied to the buildings
and tents. Morning broke before this was accomplished, and
laden down with spoil the Iceni returned to their swamps,
Boduoc's and Aska's parties rejoining them there.

The former had met the Romans hurrying from the nearest
fort to aid the garrison of the camp. Beric's orders had been
that Boduoc was if possible to avoid a fight, as in the open the
discipline of the Romans would probably prevail over British
valour. The Iceni, therefore, set up a great shouting in front
and in the rear of the Romans, shooting their missiles among
them, and being unable in the dark to perceive the number of
their assailants, and fearful that they had fallen into an ambush,
the Romans fell back to their fort. Aska's party had also re-
turned laden with plunder, and as soon as the whole were united
a division of this was made. The provisions, clothing, and
arms were divided equally among the men, while the stores of
rope, metal, canvas, and other articles that would be useful to
the community were set aside to be taken to the island.
Thither also the shields, armour, and helmets of the Roman
soldiers were to be conveyed, to be broken up and melted into
spear and arrow heads.

As the Roman boats returned two days later from their use-
less passage down the river, they were astonished and enraged
by outbursts of mocking laughter from the tangle of bushes
fringing the river. Not a foe was to be seen, but for miles these
sounds of derisive laughter assailed them from both sides of the
stream. The veterans ground their teeth with rage, and would
have rowed towards the banks had not their officers, believing
that it was the intention of the Britons to induce them to land,
and then to lead them into an ambush, ordered them to keep
on their way. On passing beyond the region of the swamp a
cry of dismay burst from the crowded boats, as it was perceived

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 167

that the town of Huntingdon had entirely disappeared. As
they neared the camp, however, the sight of numerous sentries
on the walls relieved them of part of their anxiety ; but upon
landing they learnt the whole truth, that the five hundred
Roman soldiers in the camp and at Huntingdon had fallen to
a man, and that the whole of the stores collected had been
carried away or destroyed.

The news had been sent rapidly along the chain of forts on
either side of the swamp, and fifty men from each had been
despatched to repair and reoccupy the camp, which was now
held by a thousand men, who had already begun to repair the
palisades that had been fired by the Britons.

This disaster at once depressed and infuriated the Roman
soldiers, while it showed to the general commanding them that
the task he had been appointed to perform was vastly more
serious than he had expected. Already, as he had traversed
mile after mile of the silent river, he had been impressed with
the enormous diflBculty there would be in penetrating the
pathless morasses, extending as he knew in some places thirty
or forty miles in width. The proof now aflforded of the
numbers, determination, and courage of the men lurking there
still further impressed him with the gravity of the undertaking.
Messengers were at once sent off to Suetonius, who was at
Camalodunum, which he was occupied in rebuilding, to inform
him of the reverse, and to ask for orders, and the general with
five hundred men immediately set out for the camp of Godman.

Suetonius at once proceeded to examine for himself the extent
of the Fen country, riding with a body of horsemen along the
eastern boundary as far as the sea, and then, returning to the
camp, followed up the western margin until he again reached
the sea. He saw at once that the whole of the Roman army in
Britain would be insufficient to guard so extensive a line, and
that it would be hopeless to endeavour to starve out men who
could at all times make raids over the country around them.
The first step to be taken must be to endeavour to circumscribe
their limits. Orders were at once sent to the British tribes in

168 BERIC THE BRITON,

the south and midlands to send all their available men, and
as these arrived they weie set to vv^ork to clear away by axe
and fire the trees and bush on the eastern side of the river
Ouse.

As soon as the intentions of the Romans were understood,
the British camp at the junction of the rivers was abandoned, as
with so large a force of workmen the Romans could have made
wide roads up to it, and although it might have resisted for
some time, it must eventually fall, while the Romans, by send-
ing their flotilla of boats down, could cut off the retreat of the
garrison. For two months thirty thousand workmen laboured
under the eyes of strong parties of Roman soldiers, and the
work of denuding the swamps east of the Ouse was accom-
plished.

Winter had now set in, but the season was a wet one, and
although the Romans made repeated attempts to fire the brush-
wood from the south and west, they failed to do so. Severe
frost accompanied by heavy snow set in late, and as soon as
the ground was hard enough the Romans entered the swamps
near Huntingdon, and began their advance northwards. The
Britons were expecting them, and the whole of their fighting
force had gathered to oppose them. Beric and Aska set them
to work as soon as the Roman army crossed the river and
marched north, and as the Romans advanced slowly and care-
fully through the tangled bushes, they heard a strange confused
noise far ahead of them, and after marching for two miles came
upon a channel, where the ice had been broken into fragments.

They at once set to work to cut down bushes and form them
into faggots to fill up the gaps, but as they approached the
channel with these they were assailed by volleys of arrows from
the bushes on the opposite side. The light-armed troops were
brought up, and the work of damming the channel at a dozen
points, was covered by a shower of javelins and arrows. The
Britons, however, had during the past month made shields of
strong wicker-work of the Roman pattern, but long enough to
cover them from the eyes down to the ankles, and the wicker

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP. 169

work was protected by a double coating of ox- hide. Boys
collected the javelins as fast as they were thrown, and handed
them to the men. As soon as the road across the channel was
completed the Romans poured over, believing that now they
should scatter their invisible foes; but they were mistaken, for
the Britons with levelled spears, their bodies covered with
their bucklers, burst down upon them as they crossed, while a
storm of darts and javelins poured in from behind the fighting
line.

Again and again they were driven back, until after suflFering
great loss they made good their footing at several points, when,
at the sound of a horn, resistance at once ceased, and the Britons
disappeared as if by magic. Advancing cautiously the Romans
found that the ice in all the channels had been broken up,
and they were soon involved in a perfect network of sluggish
streams. Across these the Britons had felled trees to form
bridges for their retreat, and these they dragged after them
as soon as they crossed. Every one of these streams was despe-
rately defended, and as the line of swamp grew wider the
Roman front became more and more scattered.

Late in the afternoon a sudden and furious attack was made
upon them from the rear, Beric having taken a strong force
round their flank. Numbers of the Romans were killed before
they could assemble to make head against the attack, and as
soon as they did so their assailants as usual drew oflF. After a
long day's fighting the Romans had gained scarce a mile from
the point where resistance had commenced, and this at a cost
of over three hundred men. Suetonius himself had commanded
the attack, and when the troops halted for the night at the
edge of an unusually wide channel, he felt that the task he
had undertaken was beyond his powers. He summoned the
commanders of the two legions to the hut that had been
hastily raised for him.

"What think you?" he asked. "This is a warfare even more
terrible than that we waged with the Goths in their forests.
This Beric, who is their leader, has indeed profited by the

170 BERIC THE BRITON.

lessons he learned at Camalodunum. No Roman general could
have handled his men better. He is full of resources, and we
did not reckon upon his breaking up the ice upon all these chan-
nels. If we have had so much trouble in forcing our way
where the swamps are but two miles across, and that with a
frost to help us, the task will be a terrible one when we get
into the heart of the morasses, where they are twenty miles
wide. Yet we cannot leave them untouched. There would
never be peace and quiet as long as these bands, under so
enterprising a leader, remain unsubdued. Can you think of
any other plan by which we may advance with less loss?"

The two officers were silent. "The resistance may weaken,"
one said after a long pause. " We have learnt from the natives
that they have not in all much above three thousand fighting
men, and they must have lost as heavily as we have."

Suetonius shook his head. " I marked as we advanced," he
said, " that there was not one British corpse to four Romans.
We shoot at random, while they from their bushes can see us, and
even when they charge us our archers can aid but little, seeing
that the fighting takes place among the bushes. However,
we will press on for a time. The natives behind us must clear
the ground as fast as we advance, and every foot gained is
gained for good."

Three times during the night the British attacked the Romans,
once by passing up the river in their coracles and landing
behind them, once by marching out into the country round
their left flank, and once by pouring out through cross channels
in their boats and landing in front. All night, too, their shouts
kept the Romans awake in expectation of attack.

For four days the fighting continued, and the Romans, at the
cost of over a thousand men, won their way eight miles farther.
By the end of that time they were utterly exhausted with toil
and want of sleep; the swamps each day became wider, and the
channels larger and deeper. Then the Roman leaders agreed
that no more could be done. Twelve miles had been won
and cleared, but this was the mere tongue of the Fenland, and

BETRAYED. 171

to add to their difficulties that day the weather had suddenl)'
changed, and in the evening rain set in. It was therefore de-
termined to retreat while the ground was yet hard, and having
lighted their fires, and left a party to keep these burning and
to deceive the British, the Romans drew off and marched away,
bearing to the left so as to get out on to the plain, and to leave
the ground, encumbered with the sharp stumps of the bushes
and its network of channels, behind them as soon as possible.

CHAPTER X.

BETRAYED.

THE Britons soon discovered that the Romans had retreated,
but made no movement in pursuit. They knew that the
legionaries once in open ground were more than their match,
and they were well content with the success they had gained.
They had lost in all but four hundred men, while they were
certain that the Romans had suffered much more heavily, and
that there was but little chance of the attack being renewed in
the same manner, for if their progress was so slow when they
had frost to aid them, what chance would they have when there
was scarce a foot of land that could bear their weight? The
winter passed, indeed, without any further movement. The
Britons suffered to some extent from the damps; but as the
whole country was undrained, and for the most part covered
with forest, they were accustomed to a damp-laden atmosphere,
and so supported the fogs of the Fens far better than they
would otherwise have done.

In the spring, grain, which had been carefully preserved for
the purpose, was sown in many places where the land was above
the level of the swamps. A number of large boats had been
built during the winter, as Beric and Aska were convinced that

172 BERIC THE BRITON.

the next attack would be made by water, liaving learned from
the country people to the west that a vast number of flat-
bottomed boats had been built by the Eomans.

Early in the spring fighting again began. A great flotilla
of boats descended from Huntingdon, and turning ofi" the side
channels entered the swamp. But the Britons were prepared.
They were now well provided with tools, and numbers of trees
had been felled across the channels, completely blocking the
passage. As soon as the boats left the main rivei", they were
assailed with a storm of javelins from the bushes, and the
Romans, when they attempted to land, found their movements
impeded by the deep swamp in which they often sank up to the
waist, while their foes in their swamp-pattens traversed them
easily, and inflicted heavy losses upon them, driving them back
into their boats again. At the points where the channels were
obstructed desperate struggles took place. The Romans, from
their boats, in vain endeavoured, under the storm of missiles
from their invisible foes, to remove the obstacles, and as soon
as they landed to attempt to do so they were attacked with
such fury that they were forced to fall back.

Several times they found their way of retreat blocked by
boats that had come down through side channels, and had to
fight their way back with great loss and difficulty. After
maintaining the struggle for four days, and suffering a loss even
greater than that they had incurred in their first attack, the
Romans again drew off" and ascended the river. The Fenmen
had joined the Iceni in repelling the attack. The portion of
the swamp they inhabited was not far away, and they felt that
they too were threatened by the Roman advance. They had
therefore rejoined the Iceni, although for some time they had
kept themselves aloof from them, owing to quarrels that had
arisen because, as they asserted, some of the Iceni had entered
their district and carried off" the birds from their traps. Beric
had done all in his power to allay this feeling, recompensing
them for the losses they declared they had suffered, and bestow-
ing many presents upon them. He and Aska often talked the

BETRAYED. 173

matter over, and agreed that their greatest danger was from
the Fenmen.

"They view us as intruders in their country," Aska said,
"and doubtless consider that in time we shall become their
masters. Should they turn against us they could lead the
Romans direct to our islands, and if these were lost all would
be lost."

"If you fear that, Aska," Boduoc, who was present, said,
" we had better kill the little wretches at once."

"No, no, Boduoc," Beric said. "We have nothing against
them at present, and we should be undeserving of the protection
of the gods were we to act towards them as the Romans act
towards us. Moreover, such an attempt would only bring
about what we fear. Some of them, knowing their way as
they do through the marshes, would be sure to make their
escape, and these would bring the Romans down upon us. Even
did we slay all this tribe here, the Fenmen in the north
would seek to avenge their kinsmen, and would invite the
Romans to their aid. No, we must speak the Fenmen fair,
avoid all cause of quarrel, do all we can to win their good-
will, and show them that they have nothing to fear from us.
Still, we must always be on guard against treachery. Night
and day a watch must be set at the mouths of all the channels
by which they might penetrate in this direction."

Another month passed. The Romans still remained in their
forts round the Fens. The natives had now been brought
round to the western side, and under the protection of strong
bodies of soldiers were occupied in clearing the swamp on that
side. They made but little progress, however, for the Britons
made frequent eruptions among them, and the depth of the
morasses in this direction rendered it well-nigh impossible for
them to advance, and progress could only be made by binding
the bush into bundles and forming roads as they went on.
From their kinsmen in the north-west, Beric learned that a new
propraetor had arrived to replace Suetonius, for it was reported
that the wholesale severity of the latter was greatly disapproved

174 BERIO THE BRITON.

of in Rome, so that his successor had come out with orders to
pursue a milder policy, and to desist from the work of extir-
pation that Suetonius was carrying on. It was known that
at any rate the new-comer had issued a proclamation, saying
that Rome wished neither to destroy nor enslave the people of
Britain, and that all fugitives were invited to return to their
homes, adding a promise that no molestation should be offered
to them, and that an amnesty was granted to all for their share
in the late troubles.

"What do you think, Askaf Beric asked when they heard
the news.

" It may be true or it may not," Aska said. " For myself,
after the treatment of Boadicea, and the seizure of all her
husband's property, I have no faith in Roman promises. How-
ever, all this is but a rumour. It will be time enough to
consider it when they send in a flag of truce and offer us terms
of surrender. Besides, supposing the proclamation has been
rightly reported, the amnesty is promised only for the past
troubles. The new general must have heard of the heavy losses
we inflicted on the Romans as soon as he landed, and had he
meant his proclamation to apply to us he would have said so.
However, I sincerely trust that it is true, even if we are not
included, and are to be hunted down like wild beasts. Rome
cannot wish to conquer a desert, and you have told me she
generally treats the natives of conquered provinces well after
all resistance has ceased. It may well be that the Romans dis-
approve of the harshness of Suetonius, although the rising was
not due to him so much as to the villain Decianus. Still he
was harsh in the extreme, and his massacre of the Druids
enlisted every Briton against him. Other measures may now
be tried ; the ground must be cultivated, or it is useless to Rome.
There are at present many tribes still unsubdued, and were men
like Suetonius and Decianus to continue to scourge the land by
their cruelties, they might provoke another rising as formid-
able as ours, and bring fresh disaster upon Rome. But whether
the amnesty applies to us or not, I shall be glad to hear that

BETRAYED. 17&

Suetonius has left. We know that three days ago at any rate
he was at their camp opposite Huntingdon, and he may well
wish to strike a blow before he leaves, in order that he may
return with the credit of having crushed out the last resistance."

Two nights later, an hour before daybreak, a man covered
with wounds, breathless and exhausted, made his way up to
the intrenchment on the principal island.

" To arms !" he shouted. " The Romans are upon us !" One
of the sentries ran with the news to Beric's hut. Springing
from his couch Beric sounded his horn, and the band, who were
at all times kept to the strength of four hundred, rushed to the
line of defences.

"What is iti What is your news'?" Beric asked the mes-
senger.

"It is treachery, Beric. With two comrades I was on
watch at the point where the principal channel hence runs into
the river. Suddenly we thought we heard the sound of oars
on the river above us. We could not be sure. It was a faint
confused sound, and we stood at the edge of the bank listening,
when suddenly from behind us sprang out a dozen men, and
before we had time to draw a sword we were cut down. They
hewed at us till they thought us dead, and for a time I knew
nothing more. When I came to myself I saw a procession of
Roman boats turning in at the channel. For a time I was too
faint to move; but at last I crawled down a yard or two to the
water and had a drink. Then my strength gradually returned
and I struggled to my feet.

"To proceed by land through the marshes at night was
impossible, but I found my coracle, which we had hidden under
the bushes, and poled up the channel after the Romans, who
were now some distance ahead. The danger gave me strength,
and I gained upon them. When I could hear their oars ahead
I turned off by a cross channel so as to strike another leading
direct hither. What was my horror when I reached it to see
another flotilla of Roman boats passing along. Then I guessed
that not only we but the watchers at all the other channels

176 BERIC THE BRITON.

must have been surprised and killed by the treacherous Fen-
men. I followed the boats till I reached a spot where I knew
there was a track through the marshes to the island.

"For hours I struggled on, often losing the path in the
darkness and falling into swamps, where I was nearly over-
whelmed; but at last I approached the island. The Eomans
were already near. I tried each avenue by which our boats
approached, but all were held by them. But at last I made
my way through by one of the deepest marshes, where at any
other time I would not have set foot, even in broad daylight,
and so have arrived in time to warn you."

" You have done well. Your warning comes not, I fear, in
time to save us, but it will enable us at least to die like men,
with arms in our hands."

Parties of men were at once sent down to hold the intrench-
ments erected to cover the approaches. Some of those who
knew the swamps best were sent out singly, but they found the
Romans everywhere. They had formed a complete circle round
the island, all the channels being occupied by the boats, while
parties had been landed upon planks thrown across the soft
ground between the channels to prevent any from passing
on foot.

"They will not attack until broad daylight," Aska said,
when all the men who had been sent out had returned with
a similar tale. "They must fight under the disadvantage of
not knowing the ground, and would fear that in the darkness
some of us would slip away."

Contrary to expectation the next day passed without any
movement by the Romans, and Beric and Aska agreed that
most likely the greater portion of the boats had gone back to
bring up more troops.

"They will not risk another defeat," Aska said, "and they
must be sure that, hemmed in as we are, we shall fight to the
last."

The practicability of throwing the whole force against the
Romans at one point, and of so forcing their way through

BETRAYED. 177

was discussed; but in that case the women and children, over
a thousand in number, must be left behind, and the idea was
therefore abandoned. Another day of suspense passed. During
the evening loud shouts were heard in the swamp, and the
Britons had no doubt that the boats had returned with rein-
forcements.

There were three points where boats could come up to the
shore of the island. Aska, Boduoc, and another chief, each with
a hundred men, took their posts in the intrenchments there,
while Beric, with a hundred of the Sarci, remained in the great
intrenchment on the summit, in readiness to bear down upon
any point where aid was required. Soon after daybreak next
morning the battle began, the Romans advancing in their flat-
bottomed boats and springing on shore. In spite of a hail of
missiles they advanced against the intrenchments; but these
were strongly built in imitation of the Roman works, having a
steep bank of earth surmounted by a solid palisade breast-high,
and constructed of massive timber.

For some hours the conflict raged, fifty of the defenders at
each intrenchment thrusting down with their long spears the
assailants as they strove to scale the bank, while the other fifty
rained arrows and javelins upon them; and whenever they
succeeded in getting up to the palisade through the circle of
the spears, threw down their bows and opposed them sword
in hand. Again and again the Romans were repulsed with
great slaughter, and the cries of exultation from the women who
lined the upper intrenchment rose loud and shrill.

Beric divided his force into three bodies. The first was to
move down instantly if they saw the defenders of the lower
intrenchment hard pressed; the others were to hold their
position until summoned by Beric to move down and join in
the fray. He himself paced round and round the intrenchment,
occupied less with the three desperate fights going on below
than with the edge of the bushes between those points. He
knew that the morasses were so deep that even an active and
unarmed man could scarce make his way through them and

(726) M

178 BERIC THE BRITON

that only by springing from bush to bush. But he feared that
the Eomans might form paths by throwing down faggots, and
so gain the island at some undefended point.

Until noon he saw nothing to justify his anxiety; every-
thing seemed still in the swamp. But he knew that this silence
was deceptive, and the canopy of marsh-loving trees completely
hid the bushes and undergrowth from his sight. It was just
noon when a Roman trumpet sounded, and at once at six
dijQferent points a line of Roman soldiers issued from the
bushes. Beric raised his horn to his lips and blew the signal
for retreat. At its sound the defenders of the three lower
intrenchments instantly left their posts and dashed at full
speed up the hill, gaining it long before the Romans, who, as
they issued out, formed up in order to repel any attack that
might be made upon them.

"So they have made paths across the swamp," Aska said
bitterly, as he joined Beric. " They would never have made
their way in by fair fighting."

" Well," Beric said, " there is one more struggle, and a stout
one, and then we go to join our friends who have gone before
us in the Happy Island in the far west We need not be
ashamed to meet them. They will welcome us as men who
have struggled to the last for liberty against the oppressor,
and who have nobly upheld the honour of the Iceni. We shall
meet with a great welcome."

Not until the Romans had landed the whole of the force
they had brought up, which Beric estimated as exceeding two
thousand men, did they advance to the attack, pressing for-
ward against all points of the intrenchment. The Iceni
were too few for the proper defence of so long a circuit of
intrenchments, but the women and boys took their places
beside them armed with hatchets, clubs, and knives. The
struggle was for a long time uncertain, so desperately did the
defenders fight; and it was not until suffering the loss of a
third of their number, from the missiles and weapons of the
British, that the Romans at last broke through the intrench-

BETRAYED. 179

ment. Even then the British fought to the last. None thought
of asking for quarter, hut each died contented if he could kill
but one Eoman. The women flung themselves on the spears
of the assailants, preferring death infinitely to falling into the
hands of the Romans; and soon the only survivors of the
Britons were a group of some thirty men gathered on a little
knoll in the centre of the camp.

Bene had successfully defended the chief entrance to the
camp until the Romans burst in at other places, and then,
blowing his horn, he had tried to rally his men in the centre for
a final stand. Aska had already fallen, pierced by a Eoman
javelin; but Boduoc and a small body of the Sarci had rallied
round Beric, and had for a time beaten off the assaults of the
Romans. But soon they were reduced to half their number,
and were on the point of being overwhelmed by the crowds
surrounding them, when a Roman trumpet sounded and their
assailants fell back. An officer made his way towards them
and addressed Beric.

" Suetonius bids me say that he honours bravery, and that
your lives will be spared if you lay down your arms."

" Tell Suetonius that we scorn his mercy," Beric said, " and
will die as we have lived, free men."

The Roman bade his men stand to their weapons, and not
move until his return. It was a few minutes before he came
back again. Behind him were a number of soldiers, who had
laid aside their arms and provided themselves with billets of
wood and long poles. Before Beric could understand what
was intended, he and his companions were struck to the ground
by the discharge of the wooden missiles or knocked down by
the poles. Then the Romans threw themselves upon them
and bound them hand and foot, the camp was plundered, fire
applied to the huts, and the palisades beaten down. Then the
captives were carried down to the boats, and the Romans
rowed away through the marshes. They had little to congra-
tulate themselves upon. They had captured the leader of the
Iceni, had destroyed his stronghold and slain four hundred of

180 BERIC THE BRITON.

his followers, but it had cost them double that number of men,
and a large proportion of the remainder bore wounds more or
less severe.

Boduoc and the other prisoners were furious at their capture.
The Britons had no fear whatever of death, but capture was
regarded as a disgrace; and that they alone should have been
preserved when their comrades had all been killed and the
women and children massacred, was to them a terrible misfor-
tune. They considered that they had been captured by an
unworthy ruse, for had they known what was intended they
would have slain each other, or stabbed themselves, rather
than become captives.

Beric's feelings were more mixed. Although he would have
preferred death to captivity, his ideas had been much modified
by his residence among the Romans, and he saw nothing dis-
graceful in what he could not avoid. He would never have
surrendered; would never have voluntarily accepted life; but
as he had been taken captive against his will and in fair fight,
he saw no disgrace in it. He wondered why he and his com-
panions had been spared. It might be that they were to be
put to death publicly, as a warning to their countrymen; but
he thought it more likely that Suetonius had preserved them
to carry them back to Rome as a proof that he had, before
giving up the command, crushed out the last resistance of the
Britons to Roman rule. As the captives had been distributed
among the boats, he had no opportunity of speaking to his
companions until, about midnight, the flotilla arrived at God-
mancastra. Then they were laid on the ground together, a
guard of six men taking post beside them. Boduoc at once
broke out in a torrent of execrations against the Romans.

" They had a right to kill us," he said, " but they had no
right to dishonour us. We had a right to die with the others.
We fought them fairly, and refused to surrender. It is a
shameful tyranny thus to disgrace us by making us captives.
I would not have refused death to my most hated foe; but
they shall not exult over us long. If they will not give me a

BETRAYED. 181

weapon with which to put an end to my life, I will starve
myself."

There was an exclamation of fierce assent from the other
captives.

" They have not meant to dishonour us, Boduoc, but to do
us honour," Beric said. "The Romans do not view these
things in the same light that we do. It is because, in their
opinion, we are brave men, whom it was an honour to them to
subdue, that they have thus taken us. You see they slew all
others, even the women and children. We were captured not
from pity, not because they wished to inflict disgrace upon us,
but simply as trophies of their own valour; just as they would
take a standard. We may deem ourselves aggrieved because
we have not, like the rest, died fighting to the last, and so
departed for the Happy Island; but it is the will of the gods
that we should not make the journey for a time. It is really
an honour to us that they have deemed us worthy of the
trouble of capture, instead of slaying us. Like you, I would
rather a thousand times have died; but since the gods have
decreed it otherwise, it is for us to show that not even cap-
tivity can break our spirit, but that we are able to bear our-
selves as brave men who, having done all that men could do
against vastly superior force, still preserve their own esteem,
and give way neither to unmanly repinings nor to a sullen
struggle against fate.

" Nothing would please the Eomans better than for us to act
like wild beasts caught in a snare, gnashing our teeth vainly
when we can no longer strike, and either sulkily protesting
against our lot, or seeking to escape the pains of death or servi-
tude by flying from life. Let us preserve a front haughty and
unabashed. We have inflicted heavy defeats upon Eome, and
are proud of it. Let them see that the chains on our bodies
have not bound our spirit, and that, though captives, we still
hold ourselves as free men, fearless of what they can do to us.
In such a way we shall win at least their respect, and they will
say these are men whom we are proud of having overcome."

182 BERIC THE BRITON.

"By the sacred oak, Bene, you speak rightly," Boduoc
exclaimed. " Such was the bearing of Caractacus, as I have
heard, when he fell into their hands, and no one can say that
Caractacus was dishonoured. No man can control his fate; but,
as you say, we may show that we are above fate. What say
you, my friends, has Beric spoken well?"

A murmur of hearty assent came from the other captives,
and then the Roman sergeant of the guard, uneasy at this ani-
mated colloquy among the captives, gruffly ordered silence.

Beric translated the order. "Best sleep, if we can," he
added. " We shall be stronger to-morrow."

Few, however, slept, for all were suffering from wounds more
or less severe. The following morning their bonds were un-
loosed, and their wounds carefully attended to by a leech.
Then water and food were offered to them, and of these, fol-
lowing Beric's example, they partook heartily. An hour later
they were placed in the centre of a strong guard, and then fell
in with the troops who were formed up to escort Suetonius to
Camalodunum.

"What are they going to do to us, think you?" Boduoc
asked Beria

"They are either going to put us to death publicly at
Camalodunum, as a warning against resistance, or they are
going to take us to Rome. I think the latter. Had Suetonius
been going to remain here, he might be taking us to public
execution; but as he has, as we have heard, been ordered home,
he would not, I think, have troubled himself to have made us
prisoners simply that his successor might benefit by the example
of our execution. It is far more likely, I think, that he will
carry us to Rome in order to show us as proofs that he has,
before leaving Britain, succeeded in crushing out all resistance
here."

"And what will they do with us at Rome?"

"That I know not, Boduoc; possibly they will put us to
death there, but that is not their usual custom. Suetonius has
gained no triumph. A terrible disaster has fallen upon the

BETRAYED. 183

Eomans during his command here; and though he may have
avenged their defeat, he certainly does not return home in
triumph. After a triumph the chief of the captives is always
put to death, sacrificed to their gods. But as this will be
no triumph, we shall, I should say, be treated as ordinary pri-
soners of war. Some of these are sold as slaves ; some are em-
ployed on public works. Of some they make gladiators — men
who fight and kill each other in the arena for the amusement
of the people of Rome, who gather to see these struggles just
as we do when two warriors who have quarrelled decide their
differences by combat."

" The choice does not appear a pleasing one," Boduoc said,
" to be a private or public slave, or to be killed for the amuse-
ment of the Romans."

" Well, the latter is the shortest way out of it, anyhow, and
the one I should choose ; but it must be terrible to have to fight
with a man with whom one has had no quarrel," Beric said.

" Well, I don't know, Beric. If he is a captive like yourself,
he must be just as tired of life as you are. So, if he kills you
he is doing you a service; if you kill him, you have greatly
obliged him. So, looking at it in that way, it does not much
matter which way it goes; for if you do him this service one
day, someone else may do you a like good turn the next"

" I had not looked at it in that way, Boduoc," Beric said,
laughing. "Well, there is one thing, I do not suppose the
choice will be given us. At any rate I shall be glad to see
Rome. I have always wished to do so, though I never thought
that it would be as a captive. Still, it will be something even
in this evil that has befallen us to see so great a city with all
its wonders. Camalodunum was but as a little hamlet beside it."

On the evening of the second day after leaving Godman-
castra they arrived at Camalodunum, which, in the year that
had passed since its destruction, had already been partially
rebuilt and settled by Gaulish traders from the mainland,
Roman officials with their families and attendants, officers
engaged in the civil service and the army, friends and associates

184 BERIC THE BRITON.

of the procurator, who had been sent out to succeed Catus
Decianus, priests and servants of the temples. Suetonius had
already sent to inform the new propraetor, Petronius Turpil-
lianus, of the success which he had gained, and a crowd
assembled as the procession was seen approaching, while all
eyes were directed upon the little party of British captives who
followed the chariot of Suetonius.

Many of the new-comers had as yet scarcely seen a native,
so complete had been the destruction of the Trinobantes, and
they looked with surprise and admiration at these men, tower-
ing a full head above their guards, and carrying themselves, in
spite of their bonds, with an air of fearless dignity. Most of
all were they surprised when they learned that the youth — for
Beric was as yet but eighteen — who walked at their head was
the noted chief, who had during the past year inflicted such
heavy losses upon the troops of Rome, and who had now
only been captured by treachery. As yet he lacked some
inches of the height of his companions, but he bade fair in
another two or three years to rival the tallest among them in
strength and vigour. The procession halted before the build-
ing which had been erected from the ruins of the old city as
a residence for the propraetor. Petronius, surrounded by a
number of officials, came out to meet Suetonius.

"I congratulate you on your success, Suetonius," he said.
" It will make my task all the easier in carrying out my orders
to deal mildly with the people."

" And it will make my return to Rome all the more pleasant,
Petronius, and I thank you again for having permitted me to
continue in command of the troops until I had revenged the
losses we have suffered at the hands of these barbarians. It
is, of course, for you to decide upon the fate of Beric and his
companions; assuredly they deserve death, but I should like
to take them with me as captives to Rome."

*' I should prefer your doing so, Suetonius. I could hardly
pardon men who have so withstood us, but, upon the other hand,
I should grieve to commence my rule by an act of severity;

BETRAYED. 185

besides, I hope through them to persuade the others — for, as
you told me 'n your letter, it is but a fraction of these outlaws
that you have subdued — to lay down their arms. It is well,
indeed, that you have taken their chief, and that he, as I hear,
has partly been brought up among us and speaks our language."

" Yes, he lived here for some five years as a hostage for his
tribe. He was under the charge of Caius Muro, who returned
to Rome after our defeat of the Britons. I made inquiries
about him, when I learned that he was chief of the insurgents,
and heard that he was tractable and studious when among us,
and that Caius thought very highly of his intelligence."

•'They are noble-looking men," Petronius said, surveying
the group of captives; "it is an honour to conquer such men.
I will speak with their chief presently."

"I shall make no longer delay," Suetonius said. "Ships
have been lying at the port in readiness for my departure for
the last two weeks, and I would fain sail to-morrow or next
day. Glad I shall be to leave this island, where I have had
nothing but fighting and hardships since I landed."

" And you have done well," Petronius said courteously. " It
was but half conquered when you landed, it is wholly subdued
now. It is for me only to gather the fruit of your victories."

" Never was there such an obstinate race," Suetonius replied
angrily, " Look at those men, they bear themselves as if they
were conquerors instead of conquered."

"They are good for something better than to be killed,
Suetonius ; if we could mate all our Roman women with these
fair giants, what a race we should raise !"

"You would admire them less if you saw them pouring
down on you shouting like demons," Suetonius said sullenly.

"Perhaps so, Suetonius; but I will endeavour to utilize their
strength in our service, and not to call it into the field against
us. Now, let us enter the house. Varo," he said to one of
his officers, " take charge of the captives until Suetonius sails.
Guard them strongly, but treat them well. Place them in the
house, where they will not be stared at by the crowd. If their

186 BERIO THE BRITON.

chief will give you his word that they will not attempt to
escape, their bonds can be removed; if not, they must remain
bound."

Varo at once called a centurion of the legion in garrison at
Camalodunum, and bade him bring up his company. These
on their arrival surrounded the captives and marched with
them to a guard-house near. When they entered Varo said
to Beric:

" The orders of the propraetor are, that j^ou shall all be released
from your bonds if you will give your oath that you will not
try to escape."

Beric turned to the others and asked if they were willing
to give the promise. " In no case could we escape," he said,
"you may be sure we shall be guarded too strictly for that.
It were better that we should remain bound by our own
promise than by fetters." As they all consented, Beric, in their
name, took an oath that they would not attempt to escape, so
that the ropes that bound their arms were at once taken ofiF,
and in a short time a meal was sent to them from the house of
Petronius.

Soon after they had finished an officer came in and requested
Beric to accompany him to the propraetor.

"I will bring two of my followers with me," Beric said.
" I would not say aught to the Roman governor that my tribes-
men should not hear."

The officer assented, and Beric with Boduoc and another
sub-chief followed him to the house of the propraetor. Petro-
nius was seated with Suetonius at his side, while a number of
officers and officials stood behind him.

** How is it, Beric," he asked, "that, as I hear, you, who speak
our language and have lived for years amongst us, come to be
a leader of those who have warred against us?"

" It is, perhaps, because I studied Eoman books, and learned
how you value freedom and independence," Beric replied, " and
how you revolt against tyranny. Had Eome been conquered
by a more powerful nation, every Roman would have risen in

BETRAYED. 187

arms had one-tenth of the tyranny been practised against
them which Catus Decianus exercised against us. We have been
treated worse than the beasts of the field; our lives, our pro-
perties, and the honour of our women were sacrificed at his
will Death was a thousand times better than such treatment.
I read that Rome has elsewhere been a worthy conqueror,
respecting the religion of the tribes it subdued, and treating
them leniently and well. Had we been so treated we should
have been, if not contented, patient under our lot, but being
men we rose against the infamous treatment to which we were
subject; and although we have been conquered and well-nigh
exterminated, there are Britons still remaining, and if such be
the treatment to which they are subjected it is not till the last
Briton is exterminated that you will rule this island."

A murmur of surprise at the boldness with which the young
captive spoke ran round the circle.

" Have you inquired since you arrived," Beric went on, " of
the infamous deeds of Decianus? How he seized, without the
shadow of excuse, the property of Boadicea? and how, when
she came here for justice for herself and her insulted daughters,
he ordered her to be scourged 1 Should we, a free-bom people,
submit to such an indignity to our queen? I knew from the
first that our enterprise was hopeless, and that without order
or discipline we must in the end be conquered; but it was
better a thousand times to die than to live subject to treatment
worse than that which you give to your slaves."

"I believe that there is justice in your complaints, Beric,"
Petronius said calmly, "and it is to lessen these grievances
that Rome has sent me hither. Vengeance has been fully
taken for your rebellion, it is time that the sword was laid
aside. I have already issued a proclamation granting an
amnesty to all who then rose against us. Your case was
different, you have still continued in arms and have resisted
our power, but I trust that with your capture this will end.
You and your companions will go to Rome with Suetonius;
but there are many of your followers still in arms, with these

188 BERIC THE BRITON.

I would treat, not as a conqueror with the conquered, but as a
soldiers with brave foes. If they will lay down their arms they
shall share the amnesty, and be free to return every man to
his own land, to dwell there and cultivate it free from all
penalty or interruption. Their surrender would benefit not
only themselves but all the Britons. So long as they stand in
arms and defy our power we must rule the land with the sword,
but when they surrender there will be peace throughout the
island, and I trust that the Britons in time will come to look
upon us as friends."

"If Rome had so acted before," Beric said, "no troubles
would have arisen, and she might now be ruling over a con-
tented people instead of over a desert."

"There are still many of your tribesmen in the Fensi"

"There is an army," Beric replied. "You have taken one
stronghold, and that by surprise, but the lesson will not be lost
upon them. There will be no traitors to guide your next
expedition; by this time the last Fenman in the southern
swamps will have been killed. There will be a heavy ven-
geance taken by my countrymen."

" I would fain put a stop to it all," Petronius said. " Upon
what terms, think you, would your countrymen surrender?"

"They will not surrender at all," Beric said; "there is not
a man there but will die rather than yield. But if you will
solemnly take oath that those who leave the Fens and return
to their villages shall live unmolested, save that they shall —
when their homes are rebuilt and their herds again grazing
around them — pay a tribute such as they are able to bear, they
will, I believe, gladly leave the Fens and return to their villages,
and the fugitives who have fled north will also come back
again."

" I am ready to take such an oath at the altar," Petronius
said. " I have come to bring peace to the land. I am ready
to do all in my power to bring it about; but how are they to
know what I have done?"

"I would say, Petronius, let us, your captives, be present

A PRISONER. 189

when you take the oath. Eelease four of my band ; choose those
most sorely wounded, and who are the least able to support
the journey to Rome. I will send them with my bracelet to
the Fens. I will tell them what you have said, and they will
testify to having seen you swear before your gods ; and I will
send my last injunctions to them to return again to their land,
to send for the fugitives to return from the north, and to say
from me that they will return as free men, not as slaves, and
that there is no dishonour in accepting such terms as you
offer."

"I will do as you say," the Roman agreed. "Suetonius,
you can spare four of your captives, especially as there are
assuredly some among them who could ill support the fatigues
of the journey. Return now to your friends, Beric; to-morrow
morning you shall meet me at the temple, and there I will
take an oath of peace with Britain."

CHAPTER XL

A PRISONER.

ON leaving the propraetor Beric further informed his com-
rades of the offer that Petronius had made.

"And you think he will keep his oath?" Boduoc asked.

"I am sure of it," Beric said; "he has been sent out by
Rome to undo the mischief Suetonius and Decianus have
caused. His face is an honest one, and a Roman would not
lie to his gods any more than we would."

"But you ought to have made terms with them, Beric,"
Boduoc said. " You ought to have made a condition that you
should be allowed to stay. It matters not for us, but you are
the chief of all the Iceni who are left."

" In the first place, Boduoc, I was not in a position to make

190 BERIO THE BRrrON.

terms, seeing that I am a captive and at their mercy; and in
the next place, I would not if I could. Think you that the
tribesmen would then accept my counsels to leave the Fens
and return to their homes? They would say that I had pur-
chased my life and freedom from the Eomans, and had agreed
to betray them into their hands."

" No one would venture to say that of you, Beric."

" You may think not, Boduoc; but if not now, in the future
it would be said that, as before I was brought up among the
Eomans, so now I had gone back to them. No, even if they
offered to all of us our liberty, I would say, let those go who
will, but I remain a captive. Had the message come to us
when I was free in the Fens I would have accepted it, for I knew
that, although we might struggle long, we should be finally over-
powered. Moreover, the marsh fevers were as deadly as Roman
swords, and though for a year we have supported them, we
should in time, perhaps this year when the summer heats
come, have lost our strength and have melted away. Thus,
had I believed that the Romans were sincere in their wish for
peace, and that they desired to see the land tilled, I would have
accepted their terms, because we were in arms and free, and
could still have resisted; but as a captive, and conquered, I
scorn to accept mercy from Rome."

By this time they had arrived at the house where the other
captives were guarded, and Beric repeated the terms that
Petronius had offered.

" They will not benefit us," he said. " We are the captives
of Suetonius, and being taken with arms in our hands warring
against Rome, we must pay the penalty; but, for the sake of
our brethren, I rejoice. Our land may yet be peopled again
by the Iceni, and we shall have the consolation that, whatever
may befall us, it is partly our valour that has won such terms
from Rome. There are still fifteen hundred fighting men in
the swamps, and twice as many women and children. There
may be many more lurking in the Fens to the north, for great
numbers, especially from our northern districts, must have

A PRISONER. 191

taken refuge with the Brigantes. Thus, then, there will, when
all have returned, be a goodly number, and it is our defence
of the Fen-lands that has won their freedom for them. We
may be captives and slaves, but we are not dishonoured. For
months we have held Suetonius at bay, and two Eomans have
fallen for every Briton; and even at last it was by treachery
we were captured.

" None of us have begged our lives of Rome. We fought to
the last, and showed front when we were but twenty against
two thousand. It was not our fault that we did not die on the
field, and we can hold our heads as high now when we are cap-
tives as we did when we were free men. We know not what
may be our fate at Rome, but whatever it be, it will be a
consolation to us to know that our people again wander in the
old woods; that our women are spinning by their hearth-stones;
that the Iceni are again a tribe; and that it is we who have
won this for them."

An enthusiastic assent greeted Beric's words.

" Now," he said, " we must choose the four who shall carry
the message. I said those most sorely wounded, but since
four are to go they can care little who are chosen. Most of
us have lost those we love, but there are some whose wives
may have been elsewhere when the attack was made. Let
these stay, and let those who have no ties save that of country
go to Rome."

Only two men were found whose families had not been
on the island when it was attacked. These and the two most
seriously wounded were at once chosen as the messengers.
The next morning the whole of the captives were escorted to
the temple, which was but a small building in comparison with
the great edifice that had been destroyed at the capture of
Camalodunum. Here Petronius and all the principal officers
and officials were assembled. Sacrifice was offered, and then
Petronius, laying his hand on the altar, declared a solemn
peace with the Britons, and swore that, so long as they
remained peaceable subjects of Rome, no man should inter-

192 BERIC THE BRITON.

fere with them, but all should be free to settle in their
villages, to till their land, and to tend their herds free from
any molestation whatever. Beric translated the words of the
oath to the Britons. Petronius then bade the four men who
had been chosen stand forward, and told them to carry his
message to their countrymen.

" Enough blood has been shed on both sides," he said. " It
is time for peace. You have proved yourselves worthy and
valiant enemies; let us now lay aside the sword and live
together in friendship. I sent orders last night for the
legions to leave their forts by the Fen-land and to return
hither, so that the way is now open to your own land. We can
settle the terms of the tribute hereafter, but it shall not be
onerous."

After leaving the temple Beric gave his messages to the
men, and they at once started under an escort for the camp,
the oflScer in charge of them being ordered to provide them
with a boat, in which they were to proceed alone to their
countrymen.

That evening Petronius sent for Beric, and received him alone.
"I am sorry," he said, "that I cannot restore you and your
companions to your tribe, but in this I am powerless, as
Suetonius has captured you, and to him you belong, I have
begged him, as a personal favour, to hand you over to me, but
he has refused, and placed as we are I can do no more. I
have, however, written to friends in Eome concerning you,
and have said that you have done all in your power to bring
about a pacification of the land, and have begged them to
represent to Nero and the senate that if a report reach this
island that you have been put to death, it will undo the work
of pacification, and perhaps light up a fresh flame of war,"

There had, indeed, been an angry dispute between Suetonius
and his successor. The former, although well pleased to return
to Eome, was jealous of Petronius, and was angry at seeing
that he was determined to govern Britain upon principles the
very reverse of those he himself had adopted. Moreover, he

A PRISONER. 193

regarded the possession of the captives as important, and
deemed that their appearance in his train, as proofs that before
leaving he had completely stamped out the insurrection, would
create a favourable impression, and would go far to restore
him to popular opinion. This was, as he had heard from
friends in Rome, strongly adverse to him, in consequence of the
serious disasters and heavy losses which had befallen the Roman
arms during his proprsetorship, and he had therefore refused
with some heat to grant the request of Petronius.

The next morning the captives were mustered, and were
marched down to the river and placed on board a ship. There
were six vessels lying in readiness, as Suetonius was accom-
panied not only by his own household, but by several officers
and officials attached to him personally, and by two hundred
soldiers whose time of service had expired, and who were to
form his escort to Rome. To Beric, from his residence in
Camalodunum, large ships were no novelty, but the Britons
with him were struck with astonishment at craft so vastly
exceeding anything that they had before seen.

"Could we sail in these ships to Rome?" Boduoc asked.

" You could do so, but it would be a very long and stormy
voyage passing through the straits between two mountains
which the Romans call the Pillars of Hercides. Our voyage
will be but a short one. If the wind is favourable we shall
reach the coast of Gaul in two days, and thence we shall travel
on foot."

Fortunately the weather was fine, and on the third day after
setting sail they reached one of the northern ports of Gaul.
When it was known that Suetonius was on board, he was
received with much pomp, and was lodged in the house of the
Roman magistrate. As he had no desire to impress the in-
habitants of the place, the captives were left unbound and
marched through the streets under a guard of the Roman
spearmen. Gaul had long been completely subdued, but the
inhabitants looked at the captives with pitying eyes. When
these reached the house in which they were to be confined, the

(726) N

104 BERIC THE BRITON.

natives brought them presents of food, bribing the Roman
guards to allow them to deliver them.

As the language of the two peoples was almost identical,
the Gauls had no difficulty in making themselves understood by
the captives, and asked many questions relating to the state of
affairs in Britain. They had heard of the chief, Beric, who
had for a year successfully opposed the forces of Rome, and
great was their surprise when they found that the youngest
of the party was the noted leader. Two days later they started
on their long march.

Inured as the Britons were to fatigue, the daily journeys were
nothing to them. They found the country flourishing. Villages
occurred at frequent intervals, and they passed through several
large towns with temples, handsome villas, and other Roman
erections similar to ^hose that they had sacked at the capture
of Camalodunum.

"The people here do not seem to suffer under the Roman rule
at any rate," Boduoc remarked; "they appear to have adopted
the Roman dress and tongue, but for all that they are slaves."

" Not slaves, Boduoc, though they cannot be said to be free;
however, they have become so accustomed to the Roman domin-
ion that doubtless they have ceased to fret under it; they are,
indeed, to all intents and purposes Roman. They furnish large
bodies of troops to the Roman armies, and rise to positions of
command and importance among them. In time, no doubt,
unless misfortunes fall upon Rome, they will become as one
people, and such no doubt in the far distance will be the case
with Britain. We shall adopt many of the Roman customs,
and retain many of our own. There is one advantage, you see,
in Roman dominion — there are no more tribal wars, no more
massacres and slaughters, each man possesses his land in peace
and quiet."

"But what do they do with themselves?" Boduoc asked,
puzzled. " In such a country as this there can be few wild
beasts. If men can neither fight nor hunt, how are they to
employ their time? They must become a nation of women."

A PRISONER. 195

" It would seem so to us, Boduoc, for we have had nothing
else to employ our thoughts; but when we look at what the
Romans have done, how great an empire they have formed,
how wonderful are their arts, how good their laws, and what
learning and wisdom they have stored up, one sees that there
are other things to live for; and you see, though the Romans
have learned all these things, they can still fight. If they
once turn so much to the arts of peace as to forget the virtues
of war, their empire will fall to pieces more rapidly than it has
been built up."

Boduoc shook his head, " These things are well enough for
you, Beric, who have lived among the Romans and learned
many of their ways. Give me a life in which a man is a man ;
when we can live in the open air, hunt the wolf and the bear,
meet our enemies face to face, die as men should, and go to
the Happy Island without bothering our brains about such
things as the arts and luxuries that the Romans put such value
on. A bed on the fallen leaves under an oak-tree, with the
stars .shining through the leaves, is better than the finest
chamber in Rome covered with paintings."

" Well, Boduoc," Beric said good-temperedly, "we are much
more likely to sleep under the stars in Rome than in a grand
apartment covered with paintings; but though the one may be
very nice, as you say, in summer, I could very weH put up with the
other when the snow lies deep and the north wind is howling."

They did not, as Beric had hoped, cross the tremendous
mountains, over which, as he had read in Polybius, Hannibal
had led his troops against Rome. Hannibal had been his hero.
His dauntless bravery, his wonderful resources, his cheerfulness
under hardships, and the manner in which, cut off for years
from all assistance from home, he had yet supported the
struggle and held Rome at bay, had filled him with the greatest
admiration, and unconsciously he had made the great Cartha-
ginian his model. He was therefore much disappointed when
he heard from the conversation of his guards that they were to
traverse Gaul to Massilia, and thence take ship to Rome.

196 BERIC THE BRITON.

The Roman guards were fond of talking to their young cap-
tive. Their thoughts were all of Rome, from which they had
been so long absent, and Beric was eager to learn every detail
about the imperial city; the days' marches therefore passed
pleasantly. At night they were still guarded, but they were
otherwise allowed much liberty, and when they stopped for two
or three days at a place they were free to wander about as
they chose, their great stature, fair hair, and blue eyes exciting
more and more surprise as they went farther south, where the
natives were much shorter and swarthier than those of northern
GauL

One of the young officers with Suetonius had taken a great
fancy to Beric, and frequently invited him to spend the evening
with him at their halting-places. When they approached Massilia
he said, " I have some relations in the city, and I will obtain
leave for you to stay with me at their house while we remain
in the town, which may be for some little time, as we must
wait for shipping. My uncle is a magistrate, and a very learned
man. He is engaged in writing a book upon the religions of
the world, and he seldom remains long at any post. He has
very powerful friends in Rome, and so is able to get transferred
from one post to another. He has been in almost every pro-
vince of the empire in order to learn from the people them-
selves their religions and beliefs. I stayed with him for a month
here two years since on my way to Britain, and he was talk-
ing of getting himself transferred there, after he had been among
the Gauls for a year or two; but his wife was averse to the idea,
protesting that she had been dragged nearly all over the world
by him, and was determined not to go to its furthest boundaries.
But I should think that after the events of the last year he has
given up that idea. I know it will give him the greatest pos-
sible pleasure to converse with one who can tell him all about
the religions and customs of the Britons in his own lan-
guage."

Massilia was by far the largest city that the Britons had
entered, and they were greatly surprised at its magnitude, and

A ROMAN LADY AND HER ATTENDANT.

A PRISONER. 197

at the varieties of people who crowded its streets. Even
Boduoc, who professed a profound indifference for everything
Roman, was stupefied when he saw a negro walking in the
train of a Roman lady of rank.

" Is it a human being, think you," he murmured in Beric's
ear, " or a wild creature they have tamed 1 He has not hair,
but his head is covered with wool like a black sheep."

"He is a man," Beric replied. "Across the sea to the south
there are brown men many shades darker than the people here,
and beyond these lie lands inhabited by black men. Look at
him showing his teeth and the whites of his eyes. He is as
much surprised at our appearance, Boduoc, as we are at his.
We shall see many like him in Rome, for Pollio tells me that they
are held in high estimation as slaves, being good-tempered and
obedient."

"He is hideous, Beric; look at his thick lips. But the crea-
ture looks good-tempered. I wonder that any woman could
have such an one about the house. Can they talk?"

" Oh, yes, they talk. They are men just the same as we are,
except for their colour."

"But what makes them so black, Beric?"

"That is unknown; but it is supposed that the heat of the
sun, for the country they inhabit is terribly hot, has in time
dai'kened them. You see, as we have gone south, the people
have got darker and darker."

"But are they born that colour, Beric 1"

" Certainly they are."

" If a wife of mine bore me a child of that colour," Boduoc
said, " I would strangle it. And think you that it is the heat
of the sun that has curled up their hair so tightly?"

"That I cannot say — they are all like that."

" Well, they are horrible," Boduoc said positively. " I did
not think that the earth contained such monsters."

Soon after the captives were lodged in a prison, Pollio came
to see Beric, and told him that he had obtained permission for
him to lodge at his uncle's house, he himself being guarantee

198 BERIC THE BRITON.

for his safe custody there; accordingly they at once started
together.

The house was a large one; for, as PoUio had told Beric by
the way, his uncle was a man of great wealth, and it was a
matter of constant complaint on the part of his wife that he
did not settle down in Rome. Passing straight through the
atrium, where he was respectfully greeted by the servants and
slaves, PoUio passed into the tablinum, where his uncle was
sitting writing.

" This is the guest I told you I should bring, uncle," he said.
" He is a great chief, young as he looks, and has given us a
world of trouble. He speaks Latin perfectly, and you will be
able to learn from him all about the Britons without troubling
yourself and my aunt to make a journey to his country."

Norbanus was an elderly man, short in figure, with a keen
but kindly face. He greeted Beric cordially.

" Welcome, young chief," he said. " I will try to make your
stay here comfortable, and I shall be glad indeed to learn from
you about your people, of whom, unfortunately, I have had no
opportunity hitherto of learning anything, save that when I
journeyed up last year to the north-west of Gaul, I found a
people calling themselves by the same name as you. They
told me that they were a kindred race, and that your religion
was similar to theirs."

" That may well be," Beric said. " We are Gauls, though it
is long since we left that country and settled in Britain. It
may well be that in some of the wars in the south of the island
a tribe, finding themselves overpowered, may have crossed to
Gaul, with which country we were always in communication
until it was conquered by you. We certainly did not come
thence, for all our traditions say that the Iceni came by
ship from a land lying due east from us, and that we were an
offshoot of the Belgse, whose country lay to the north-west
of GauL"

" The people I speak of," the magistrate said, " have vast
temples constructed of huge stones placed in circles, which

A PRISONER^ 199

appear to me to have, like the great pyramids of Egypt, an
astronomical signification, for I found that the stones round
the sacrificial altars were so placed that the sun at its rising
threw its rays upon the stone only upon the longest day of
summer."

"It is so with our great temples," Beric said; "and upon
that day sacrifices are ofiered. What the signification of the
stones and their arrangements is I cannot say. These mysteries
are known only to the Druids, and they are strictly preserved
from the knowledge of those outside the priestly rank."

" Spare him for to-day, uncle," PoUio said laughing, " We
are like, I hear, to be a fortnight here before we sail; so you
will have abundant time to learn everything that Beric can tell
you. I will take him up now, with your permission, and in-
troduce him to my aunt and cousins."

" You will find them in the garden, PoUio. Supper will be
served in half an hour. To-morrow, Beric, we will, after
breakfast, renew this conversation that my feather-brained
young nephew has cut so short."

"My Aunt Lesbia will be greatly surprised when she sees
you," Pollio laughed as they issued out into the garden. *' I did
not see her until after I had spoken to my uncle, and I horrified
her by telling her that the noted British chief Beric, who had
defeated our best troops several times with terrible slaughter,
was coming here to remain under my charge until we sail for
Rome. She was shocked, considering that you must be a
monster of ferocity; and even my pretty cousins were terrified
at the prospect I had half a mind to get you to attire yourself
in Roman fashion, but I thought that you would not consent
However, we shall surprise them sufiiciently as it is."

Lesbia was seated with her two daughters on couches placed
under the shade of some trees. Two or three slave girls stood
behind them with fans. A Dalmatian boar-hound lay on the
ground in front of them. Another slave girl was singing,
accompanying herself on an instrument resembling a small harp,
while a negro stood near in readiness to start upon errands, or

200 BERIO THE BRITON.

to fetch anything that his mistress might for the moment fancy.
Lesbia half rose from her reclining position when she saw PoUio
approaching, accompanied by a tall figure with hair of a golden
colour clustering closely round his head. The Britons gene-
rally wore their hair flowing over their shoulders; but the
Iceni had found such inconvenience from this in making their
way through the close thickets of the swamps, that many of
them — Beric among the number — had cut their hair close to
the head. With him this was but a recurrence to a former
usage, as while living among the Romans his hair had been cut
short in their fashion. The two girls, who were fifteen and
sixteen years old, uttered an exclamation of surprise as Beric
came near, and Lesbia exclaimed angrily :

" You have been jesting with us, Pollio. You told me that
you were going to bring Beric the fierce British chief here, and
this young giant is but a beardless lad."

Pollio burst into a fit of laughter, which was increased at the
expression of astonishment in Lesbia's face when Beric said, in
excellent Latin, —

"Pollio has not deceived you, lady. My name is Beric, I
was the chief of the Britons, and my followers gave some
trouble even to Suetonius."

"But you are not the Beric whom we have heard of as
leading the insurgent Britons'?"

" There is no other chief of my name," Beric said. " There-
fore, if you heard aught of good or evil concerning Beric the
Briton, it must relate to me."

" This is Beric, aunt," Pollio said, " and you must not judge
him by his looks. I was with Suetonius in his battles against
him, and I can tell you that we held him in high respect, as we
had good cause for doing, considering that in all it cost the
lives of some twelve hundred legionaries before we could over-
come him, and we took him by treachery rather than force."

"But how is it that he speaks our language?" Lesbia asked.

" I was a hostage for five years among the Romans," Beric
said, " and any knowledge I may have of the art of war was

A PRISONER. 201

learned from the pages of Caesar, Polybius, and other Roman
writers. The Romans taught me how to fight them."

" And now," PolHo broke in, " I must introduce you in proper
form. This is my Aunt Lesbia, as you see; these are my
cousins .Emilia and Ennia. Do you know, girls, that these
Britons, big and strong as they are, are ruled by their women.
These take part in their councils, and are queens and chieftain-
esses, and when it is necessary they will fight as bravely as the
men. They are held by them in far higher respect than with
us, and I cannot say that they do not deserve it, for they think
of other things than attiring themselves and spending their
time in visits and pleasure."

'* You are not complimentary, Pollio," Emilia said ; " and as
to attire, the young Romans think as much of it as we do, and
that without the same excuse, for we are cut off from public
life, and have none save home pursuits. If you treat us as you
say the Britons treat their women, I doubt not that we should
show ourselves as worthy of it."

"Now I ask you fairly, Emilia, can you fancy yourself
encouraging the legionaries in the heat of battle, and seizing
spear and shield and rushing down into the thick of the fight
as I have seen the British women do?"

"No, I cannot imagine that," .Emilia said laughing. "I
could not bear the weight of a shield and spear, much less use
them in battle. But if the British women are as much bigger
and stronger than I am, as Beric is bigger and stronger than you
are, I can imagine their fighting. I wondered how the Britons
could withstand our troops, but now that I see one of them
there is no difficulty in comprehending it, and yet you do not
look fierce, Beric."

"I do not think that I am fierce," Beric said smiling; "but
even the most peaceful animal will try and defend itself when
it is attacked."

"Have you seen Norbanusi" Lesbia asked.

"He has seen him," Pollio replied; "and if it had not been
for me he would be with him still, for my uncle wished to

202 BERIO THE BRITON.

engage him at once in a discourse upon the religion and customs
of his people; I carried Beric away almost forcibly."

Lesbia sighed impatiently. The interest of her husband
in these matters was to her a perpetual source of annoyauca
It was owing to this that she so frequently travelled from one
province to another, instead of enjoying herself at the court in
Rome. But although in all other matters Norbanus gave way
to her wishes, in this he was immovable, and she was forced to
pass her hfe in what she considered exile. She ceased to take
any further interest in the conversation, but reclined languidly
on her couch, while Pollio gave his cousins a description of
his life in Britain, and Beric answered their numerous questions
as to his people. Their conversation was interrupted by a slave
announcing that supper was ready, and Lesbia was relieved at
finding that Beric thoroughly understood Roman fashions, and
comported himself at table as any other guest would have done.
The girls sat down at the meal, although this was contrary to
usual custom; but Norbanus insisted that his family should
take their meals with him, save upon occasions of a set banquet.

" It seems wonderful," Ennia said to her sister later on, " that
we should have been dining with the fierce chief of whom we
have heard so much, and that he should be as courteous and
pleasant and well-mannered as any young Roman."

" A good deal more pleasant than most of them," Emilia
said, '* for he puts on no airs, and is just like a merry, good-
tempered lad, while if a young Roman had done but a tithe
of the deeds he has he would be insufferable. We must get
Pollio to take us to-morrow to see the other Britons. They
must be giants indeed, when Beric, who says he is but little
more than eighteen years, could take Pollio under his arm and
walk away with him."

In the morning, accordingly, Pollio started with his two
cousins to the prison, while Beric sat down for a long talk with
Norbanus in his study. Beric soon saw that the Roman viewed
all the matters on which he spoke from the stand-point of a
philosopher without prejudices.

A PRISONER. 203

After listening to all that Beric could tell him about the
religion of the Britons, he said, "It is remarkable that all
people appear to think that they have private deities of their
own, who interest themselves specially on their behalf, and aid
them to fight their battles. I have found no exception to
this rule, and the more primitive the people the more obstinate
is this belief. In Kome at present the learned no longer believe
in Jupiter and Mars and the rest of the deities, though they
still attend the state ceremonies at the temples, holding that
a state religion is necessary. The lower class still believe, but
then they cannot be said to reason. In Greece scepticism is
universal among the upper class, and the same may now be
said of Egypt. Our Roman belief is the more unaccountable
since we have simply borrowed the religion of the Greeks, the
gods and their attributes being the same, with only a change
of name; and yet we fancy that these Greek gods are the
special patrons of Rome.

" Your religion seems to me the most reasonable of any I have
studied, and approaches more nearly than any other to the
highest speculations of the Greek philosophers. You believe
in one God, who is invisible and impersonal, who pervades all
nature; but having formed so lofty an idea of him, you be-
little him by making him a special god of your own country,
while if he pervades all nature he must surely be universal.
The Jews, too, believe in a single God, and in this respect they
resemble you in their religion, which is far more reasonable than
that of nations who worship a multiplicity of deities; but they
too consider that their God confines his attention simply to
them, and rules over only the little tract they call their own
— a province about a hundred miles long, by thirty or forty
wide. From them another religion has sprung. This has
made many converts, even in Rome, but has made no way
whatever among the learned, seeing that it is more strange and
extravagant than any other. It has, however, the advantage
that the new God is, they believe, universal, and has an equal
interest in all people. I have naturally studied the tenets of

204 BERIC THE BRITON.

this new sect, and they are singularly lofty and pure. They
teach among other things that all men are equal in the sight of
God — a doctrine which naturally gains for them the approval
of slaves and the lower people, but, upon the other hand,
brings them into disfavour with those in power.

"They are a peaceful sect, and would harm no one; but as
they preach that fighting is wrong, I fear that they will before
long come into collision with the state, for, were their doc-
trines to spread, there would soon be a lack of soldiers. To me
it appears that their views are impracticable on this subject
In other respects they would make good citizens, since their
religion prescribes respect to the authorities and fair dealing in
all respects with other men. They are, too, distinguished by
charity and kindness towards each other. One peculiarity of
this new religion is, that although springing up in Judaea, it has
made less progress among the Jews than elsewhere, for these
people, who are of all others the most obstinate and intolerant,
accused the founder of the religion, one Christus, before the
Roman courts, and he was put to death, in my opinion most
unjustly, seeing that there was no crime whatever alleged against
him, save that he perverted the religion of the Jews, which
was in no way a concern of ours, as we are tolerant of the
religions of all people."

"But Suetonius attacked our sacred island and slew the
priests on the altars," Beric objected.

" That is quite true," Norbanus said, " but this had nothing
whatever to do with the religion, but was simply because the
priests stirred up insurrection against us. We have temples in
Rome to the deities of almost every nation we have subdued,
and have suffered without objection the preachers of this new
doctrine to make converts. The persecutions that have already
begun against the sect are not because they believe in this
Christus, but because they refuse to perform the duties incum-
bent upon all Roman citizens. Two of my slaves belong to
the sect. They know well that I care not to what religion they
belong, and indeed, for my part, I should be glad to see all

A PRISONER. 205

my slaves join them, for the moral teaching is high, and these
slaves would not steal from me, however good the opportunity.
That is more than I can say of the others. Doubtless, had
I been fixed in Rome, the fact that they belonged to these
people would have been kept a secret, but in the provinces no
one troubles his head about such matters. These are, to my
mind, matters of private opinion, and they have leave from me
to go on their meeting days to the place where they assemble,
for even here there are enough of them to form a gathering.

" So long as this is done quietly it is an offence to no one.
The matter was discussed the other day among us, for orders
against Christians came from Eome; but when the thing was
spoken of I said that, as I believed members of the sect were
chiefly slaves, who were not called upon to perform military
duties, I could not deem that the order applied to them, and
that as these were harmless people, and their religion taught
them to discharge their duty in all matters save that of carry-
ing arms, I could not see why they should be interfered with.
Moreover, did we move in the matter, and did these people
remain obstinate in their faith, we might all of us lose some
valuable slaves. After that no more was said of the matter.
Now tell me about your institution of the bards, of which I
have heard. These men seem not only to be the depositors of
your traditions and the reciters of the deeds of your fore-
fathers, but to hold something of a sacred position intermediate
between the Druids and the people."

For some hours Beric and his host conversed on these sub-
jects, Beric learning more than he taught, and wondering much
at the wide knowledge possessed by Norbanus. It was not
imtil dinner was announced that the Roman rose.

" I thank you much, Beric, for what you have told me, and
I marvel at the interest that you, who have for the last two
years been leading men to battle, evince in these matters.
After five minutes of such talk my nephew Pollio would begin
to weary."

"I was fond of learning when I was in the household of

306 BEBIO THE BRITON.

Caius Muro, but my time was chiefly occupied by the study
of military works and in military exercises; still I found time
to read all the manuscripts in Muro's library. But I think I
learned more from the talk of Cneius Nepo, his secretary,
who was my instructor, than from the books, for he had tra-
velled much with Muro, and had studied Greek literature."

Pollio had returned some time before with his cousins.

" I would have come in before to carry you away," he whis-
pered to Beric as they proceeded to the dinner-table, " but it
would have put out my uncle terribly, and as I knew you
would have to go through it all I thought it as well that you
should finish with it at once."

"I am glad you did not," Beric replied. "It has been
a great pleasure to me to listen to your uncle's conversation,
from which I have learned a good deal."

Pollio glanced up to see if Beric was joking. Seeing that
he spoke in perfect good faith, he said :

"Truly, Beric, you Britons are strange fellows. I would
rather go through another day's fighting in your swamps than
have to listen to uncle for a whole morning.'

As they sat down he went on :

"The girls are delighted with your Britons, Beria They
declare they are not only the biggest but the handsomest men
they ever saw, and I believe that if your lieutenant Boduoc
had asked either of them to return with him and share his hut
in the swamps they would have jumped at the offer."

The girls both laughed.

" But they are wonderful, Beric," Emilia said. " When you
told us that you were not yet full grown I thought you were
jesting, but I see now that truly these men are bigger even
than you are. I wish I had such golden hair as most of them
have, and such a white skin. Golden hair is fashionable in Eome,
you know, but it is scarce, except in a few whose mothers
were Gauls who have married with Romans."

'* It is the nature of man to admire the opposite to himself,"
Norbanus said. "You admire the Britons because they are

A PRISONER. 207

fair, while to them, doubtless, Roman women would appear
beautiful because their hair and their eyes are dark."

" But Beric has not said so, father," Emilia said laughing.

'* I am not accustomed to pay compliments," Beric said with
a smile, ''but assuredly your father is right. I have been
accustomed for the last two years to see British maidens only.
These are fair and tall, some of them well-nigh as tall as I,
and as they live a life of active exercise, they are healthy and
strong."

" That they are," PoUio broke in. " I would as soon meet a
soldier of the Goths as one of these maidens Beric speaks of,
when her blood is up. I have seen our soldiers shrink from
their attack, when, with flashing eyes and hair streaming
behind them, they rushed down upon us, armed with only stones
and billets of wood that they had snatched up. What they
may be in their gentler moments I know not, and I should
hesitate to pay my court to one, for, if she liked it not, she
would make small difficulty in throwing me outside the door
of her hut."

"You are too quick, PoUio," Emilia said. "Beric was
about to compare us with them."

"The comparison is difficult," Beric said; "but you must
not imagine our women as being always in the mood in which
PoUio has seen them. They were fighting, not for their lives,
but in order to be killed rather than fall into the hands of your
soldiers. Ordinarily they are gentle and kind. They seemed
to Pollio to be giantesses, but they bear the same proportion to
our height as you do to the height of the Roman men."

" I meant not to say aught against them," Pollio broke in
hastily. " I meant but to show my cousins how impossible it
was for you to make any comparison between our women and
yours. All who know them speak well of the British women,
and admire their devotion to their husbands and children, their
virtue, and bravery. You might as well compare a Libyan
lioness with a Persian cat as the British women with these little
cousins of mine."

208 BERIC THE BRITON.

"But the Persian cat has, doubtless, its lovable qualities,"
Beric said smiling. "It is softer and gentler and better-
mannered than the lioness, though, perhaps, the lion might
not think so. But truly your Roman ladies are beyond com-
parison with ours. Ours live a life of usefulness, discharging
their duties as mistress of the household, intent upon domestic
cares, and yet interested as ourselves in all public affairs, and
taking a share in their decision. Your ladies live a life of
luxury. They are shielded from all trouble. They are like
delicate plants by the side of strong saplings. No rough air
has blown upon them. They are dainty with adornments
gathered from the whole world, and nature and art have com-
bined alike to make them beautiful."

"All of which means, Emilia," PoUio laughed, "that, in
Beric's opinion, you are pretty to look at, but good for nothing
else."

" I meant not that," Beric said eagerly, " only that the things
you are good for are not the things which British women are
good for. You have no occasion to be good housewives,
because you have slaves who order everything for you. But
you excel in many things of which a British woman never so
much as heard. There is the same difference that there is
between a cultured Roman and one of my tribesmen."

"Human nature is the same everywhere," Norbanus said,
" fair or dark, great or small It is modified by climate, by
education, by custom, and by civilization, but at bottom it is
identical. And now, Pollio, I think you had better take Beric
down to the port, the sight of the trade and shipping will be
new to him."

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 209

CHAPTER Xn.

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS.

AS the vessels carrying Suetonius, his suite, and captives
sailed up the Tiber it was met by a galley bearing the
orders of the senate that Suetonius was not to traverse the
streets with an armed suite and captives in his train, but was
to land as a private person ; that the soldiers were to march to
the barracks on the Capitoline, where they would receive
their arrears of pay and be disbanded; and that the captives
were to be handed over to a centurion, who with his company
would be at the landing-place to receive them. Pollio took the
news to Beric, who was on board the same ship, the rest of the
captives being with the soldiers in the vessel which followed.

"I am rejoiced, indeed," he said; "for although I knew that
the general would not receive a triumph, I feared that if he
made a public entry it was possible there might be a public out-
cry for your life, which would, by our custom, have been for-
feited had there been a triumph. I doubt not that the hand
of Petronius is in this ; his messengers would have arrived here
weeks ago, and it may be that letters despatched as much as
a month after we left have preceded us. Doubtless he would
have stated that his clemency had had the desired effect, and
that all trouble was at an end; he may probably have added
that this was partly due to your influence, and warned them
that were you put to death it would have a deplorable effect
among your people and might cause a renewal of trouble.
Suetonius is furious, for he has hoped much from the effect
his entry with captives in his train would have produced. He
has powerful enemies here ; scarce a noble family but has lost
a connection during the troubles in Britain, and Suetonius is of
course blamed for it. You and I know that, although he has
borne himself harshly towards the Britons, the rising was due

(725) O

210 BERIC THE BRITON.

to Catus rather than to him, but as Catus is a creature of Nero
the blame falls upon Suetonius."

" It was the deeds of Catus that caused the explosion," Bene
said; "but it would have come sooner or later. It was the
long grinding tyranny that had well-nigh maddened us, that
drove Caractacus first to take up arms, that raised the western
tribes, and made all feel that the Roman yoke was intolerable.
The news of the massacre of the Druids and the overthrow of
our altars converted the sullen discontent into a burning desire
for revenge, and the insult to Boadicea was the signal rather
than the cause of the rising. It is to the rule of Suetonius
that it is due that hundreds of thousands of Britons, Eomans,
and their allies have perished."

" The fault of Suetonius," Pollio said, " was that he was too
much of a soldier. He thought of military glory, and left all
other matters, save the leading of his troops, in the hands of
his civilians. Petronius is a general, but he has distinguished
himself more in civil matters. Two generals have been sent
out with him, to lead the troops if necessary, but he has been
chosen as an administrator."

" They should have sent him out ten years ago," Beric said,
"and there then would have been no occasion for generals."

They were now approaching Rome, and Beric's attention was
entirely occupied by the magnificent scene before him, and
with the sight of the temples and palaces rising thickly upon
the seven hills. Massilia had surprised him by its size and
splendour, but beside Rome it was only a village. " Rome would
do well," he said to Pollio, " to bring the chiefs of every con-
quered country hither; the sight would do more than twenty
legions to convince them of the madness of any efforts to
shake off the Roman yoke."

" I will see you to-morrow," Pollio said as they neared the
landing-place. " I shall see many of my friends to-day, and get
them to interest themselves in your behalf. I will find out for
you where Caius Muro is at present; doubtless he too will do
what he can for you, seeing that you lived so long in his charge;''

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 211

for Beric had not mentioned to his friend aught of the manner
in which he had saved Muro's daughter at the sack of Cama-
lodunum.

As soon as the centurion came on board Pollio recommended
Beric to his care, saying that he was the chief of the party of
British captives, and that during the journey he had formed a
close friendship with him.

" I shall not be in charge of him long," the centurion said.
" I have but to hand him over to the governor of the prison, but
I will tell him what you have said to me. He must now go on
board the other ship and join his companions, for my orders
are that they are not to be landed until after dark." Pollio
nodded to Beric; this was another proof that it was determined
the populace should not be excited in favour of Suetonius by
the passage of the captives through the streets.

Beric rejoined his companions. " Well, Boduoc, what think
you of Rome?"

" I have been thinking how mad our enterprise was, Beric,
You told me about the greatness of Rome and from the first
predicted failure, but I thought this was because you had been
infected by your Roman training; I see now that you were
right. Well, and what do you think is going to be done with
usi"

" It is evident there is going to be no public display of us,
Boduoc. Suetonius is at present in disgrace, and we shall be
either sent into the school for gladiators, or set to work at some
of the palaces Nero is building."

" They may do what they like," Boduoc said, " but I will not
fight for their amusement. They may train me if they like
and send me into the arena, but if they do I will not lift sword,
but will bid my opponent slay me at once."

There was a murmur of assent from some of the others; but
another who said, " Well, I would rather die fighting anyway
than work as a slave at Roman palaces," found a response from
several.

The next day they were marched up to Nero's palace.

212 BERIC THE BRITON.

Surprised as they might be by the splendour of the streets
they traversed, and by the grandeur and magnificence of the
palace, they betrayed no sign whatever of their feelings, but
marched through the vast halls with their wealth of marble
and adornments with calm and unmoved faces. At last they
reached the audience hall, where the emperor was seated with
a throng of courtiers behind him.

Nero was five-and-twenty, but looked older, for his dissolute
habits had already left their marks upon his features. He had
an air of good temper, and a rough frankness of manner that
rendered him popular among the mass of the people, whom
he courted by every means in his power, distributing with
lavish hand the wealth he gained by confiscation and spoliation
of the rich. The Britons bowed deeply before him and then
stood upright and fearless.

" By Hercules," the emperor said to the councillor standing
next to him, "but these are grand men! No wonder Suetonius
has had such trouble in subduing them. And this young man
is their chief ? Truly, as Petronius said in his letter, he is but
a lad. You speak our language tool" he went on, addressing
Beric.

"I was brought up as a hostage among the Eomans," he
replied, "and was instructed in their language and literature."

" Then you should have known better than to rise against
us, young chief."

"Two years ago I was but a boy, Caesar," Beric replied,
"scarce deemed old enough to fight, much less to give an opinion
in the presence of my elders. I was well aware that the
struggle must end in our defeat; but when the chiefs of my
nation decided for war, I had nought to do but to go with
them."

" But how is it, then, that you came to command so many,
and became in time the leader of so large a band]"

"It was because I had studied your military books, and
knew that only by an irregular warfare could we hope to
prolong our existence. It was no longer an insurrection; we

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 213

were simply fugitives trying to sell our lives dearly. If
Suetonius had offered us terms we would gladly have laid
down our arms, but as he simply strove to destroy us we had,
like animals brought to bay, to fight for our own lives. The
moment Petronius offered to allow my people to return to their
homes and pay tribute to Rome I advised them to submit."

" So Petronius tells me, and he has said much to excuse your
conduct. I would I could enlist this band as my body-guard,"
Nero said in a low voice, turning to his councillor, " but the
praetorian guards are jealous of their privileges, and none save
a Roman can be enrolled in their ranks."

"It would be dangerous, Caesar; the praetorians are well
affected to your majesty, and in these days when there are so
many ambitious generals at the head of armies it would be
unwise to anger them."

"Then we will send them to the schools to be trained.
Send this lad with the four best of the others to Scopus, and
divide the rest among three other schoola The Romans have
never seen such men as these in the arena. We must not spoil
it by matching them at present with men whose skill more
than makes up for their want of strength. Two years in the
schools will make marvels of them. The lad will want more
than that before he gains his full bulk and strength, but he
will some day turn out such a gladiator as Rome has never seen;
and if after a time we can find no champion to withstand him,
we can match him against the lions. I will myself give Scopus
orders concerning him." So saying he waved his hand. The
guards closed round the captives and they were led away.

"What is it all about, Beric?" Boduoc asked.

"We are to go to the school for gladiators," Beric said;
" but as the emperor considers that you will all need two years'
training at the exercises before you will be fit to appear in the
ring, we shall have time to think matters over. Much may
happen before that. Nero may be liked by the mass of the
people, but he is hated and feared, as I hear, by the upper
classes. He may be assassinated or overthrown before that"

214 BERIC THE BRITON.

" I don't see that it will make much difference to us," Boduoc
grumbled.

"I don't know that it would. At any rate we have time
before us. We shall be well taken care of, well fed, and have
plenty of exercise. Before now the gladiators have shaken
Eome to its centre. What has happened once may happen
again."

As they passed along the streets of Rome the news that a
party of fair-haired giants were being escorted under a guard
spread rapidly, and a crowd soon filled the streets. Windows
opened and ladies looked curiously down at the procession.
Bene marched at the head of his party, who followed four
abreast, and their air of calmness and self-possession, their
proud bearing, and the massive strength of their figures roused
the admiration of the multitude, who, on learning from the
guards that the captives were Britons, greeted them with
shouts of approval. So thick became the crowd before they
reached their destination, that the Roman soldiers had difficulty
in forcing their way through. As they turned into the street
in which stood the great school of Scopus the crowd at once
guessed the destination of the captives.

" By all the gods!" one of the lookers-on said, " these fellows
will furnish us with grand sport in the arena."

" It is a shame to turn such grand-looking men into gladia-
tors," a woman said.

" What, would you like to pick a husband out among them,
damel" the first speaker laughed.

"I would not mind. At any rate, I would prefer any of them
to such an ill-looking scarecrow as you," she retorted. " It is
bad enough when they kill off some of those Gauls, who are far
too good for such work; but the best of them I have seen in
the arena lacks six inches, both in height and breadth of shoul-
der, of these Britons."

"Ah!" the man grumbled, "that is always the way with
women; they think of nothing but strength."

" Why shouldn't we 1 Men think of nothing but beauty,"

A. SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 215

And so, amid a chorus of romarks, for the most part compli-
mentary, the Britons strode along, surrounded by their escort,
until they reached the entrance to the school of Scopus. The
master, attracted by the noise in the street, was standing at the
entrance. He was a broad-built man, but without an ounce of
superfluous flesh, with muscles and sinews standing up in knots
and ridges, and evidently possessed of extreme activity as well
as strength.

"Nero has sent you five fresh scholars, Scopus."

" By Hercules," Scopus said, " they are splendid barbarians !
Whence come they 1 "

" They are Britons."

" Ah ! Yes, Claudius brought back a few with him, but that
was before I was here. I would they were all a few years
younger. They are in their prime now; and to make a man
first-class, one should begin with him young. This youngster
here is just the age. I warrant me there will not be many who
can hold their own against him when I have trained him."

"He is their chief," the centurion said, "and speaks our
language as well as you do."

" That is good. I can speak a little Gaulish; but there is
always trouble with new-comers from out-of-the-way countries
when we have no one who speaks their language."

" Well, I will leave them with you; they are in your charge.
I have the other fifteen to divide among threft other schools."

"I will take care of them," Scopus said. "There is good
feeding and good drinking here, and no one runs away. There
is nowhere to run to, that is one thing. Still, what could a
man want more than to be well housed, well fed, and have the
companionship of plenty of good fellows'? Don't you think sol"
and he turned to Beric.

" It is of no use asking for more if one is not likely to get it;
certainly we might do worse,"

" Well, follow me," Scopus said. . " I will introduce you to
your comrades."

Beric and his companions took a hearty farewell of the

216 BERIC THE BRITON.

others, Beric telling them that doubtless they would have fre-
quent occasions of meeting; he then followed Scopus into a
large hall. Here some forty or fifty men were assembled.
Some were swinging weights round their heads, others were
engaged at gymnastic exercises. Two men, under the direction
of an instructor, were fighting with blunted swords ; one great
fellow, armed with sword and shield, was hotly pursuing an
active man of little over half his weight, carrying a trident in
one hand and a net in the other, amid the laughter of a group
watching them.

At the entrance of Scopus and his companions the proceed-
ings were arrested.

"Here are some fresh hands," Scopus said, "who have come
to fill up the vacancies made in the games ten days since.
They are Britons, and I should imagine will require a lot of
training before they are fit for the arena. One of them talks
Latin. The rest, I fancy, will have, for the present, to content
themselves with the companionship of you Gauls, who are, as I
believe, of kindred race, though it seems to me that either you
must have fallen off in size, or they have increased since you
separated."

Some seven or eight Gauls stepped forward and addressed
the Britons, and the latter, glad to find men who could speak
their language, responded heartily. The gladiators were of
many races. Besides the Gauls there were four or five Goths;
some Iberians, lean swarthy men; Numidians, fleet of foot,
lithe and active — these were used more often for contests
with wild beasts than in the gladiatorial conflicts, for which
they lacked strength and weight — Parthians and Scythians,
together with a score of natives of Italy, Romans and others,
who had taken to the profession of gladiator as they might
have done to any other calling.

"Now," Scopus said to Beric, "you are free of the place;
there are no prisoners here. There are regular hours and exer-
cises; but beyond that your time is your own, to walk in the
city, to see the shows, or to remain here. As you see, all here

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 217

dress somewhat after Roman fashion, so that as they go abroad
they may not be stared at. There is no obligation that way,
but it is more comfortable. There are upwards of a hundred
schools in Rome. Some are larger than mine, and some
smaller, but there is not one that stands higher. When one of
my men enters the ring the audience know that they are going
to see good sport."

"Do we have to fight against each other, or against
strangers?"

" Against strangers," Scopus said. " When there is going to
be a show-day, so many schools are warned to send three or
four men, as the case may be, and the master of ceremonies
matches them against each other. Sometimes there may be ten
couples, sometimes forty or fifty, it depends whether it is a
great occasion or not; and of course each school hopes to see
its champions win. That fellow you saw running with a net,
he is a Scythian, and so quick and nimble that he always
gets away, and is ready for a throw again before his opponent
can overtake him. He is a great favourite of the public, for he
has been in the arena twelve times and has always conquered."

" What do you consider to be the best weapon — the trident
or the sword?"

" If a man is active without being strong, I should make a
retiarius of him," Scopus said. " If he is strong without being
active, he would naturally fight with sword and buckler. Then
there is the csestus, but the Romans do not care for that,
though, to my mind, it is the finest of all the exercises;
for that both strength and activity are required, but it is
not bloody enough for the Romans. Perhaps the thing that
demands the greatest skill and nerve and strength at the
same time is to fight wild beasts. However, we settle none
of these things at first. After a few months' training we see
what a man's capabilities are, and what he himself has a fancy
for. I always let a man choose, if he has any very strong wish
in the matter, for he is sure to succeed best in that There
are many who, even with all my care, never turn out first-class.

218 BERIC THE BRITON.

These are reserved to fight in what may be called general con-
tests, which have become popular lately, ten against ten, or fifty
against fifty. On two or three grand occasions there have been
as many as a thousand engaged. For these no particular skill is
required; it is one side against the other. Lastly, there are a few
who turn out so useless that it would be a waste of pains to
try to make anything of them. These are sent to the galleys,
or to the public works."

"You never find any unwilling to learn?" Beric said

*' Not one," the man said carelessly. " A man has to defend
himself, and even with blunt swords he will get awkward
cracks if he cannot protect his head. Besides, in the arena a
man's life depends upon his skill, and the conquered is sure to
have no mercy shown him unless he has borne himself well.
Therefore, each man is anxious to learn. I have had a few
obstinate fellows, for the most part Goths, who would do
nothing. I simply send them down to the galleys, and I war-
rant me that they are not long in finding out what fools they
have been, and would give a good deal to exchange their beds
of hard boards and their coarse food for a life of pleasure and
freedom here."

" As long as it lasts," Beric said.

" Yes, as long as it lasts. But with all its dangers it is likely
to last as long as that of a galley slave. What with bad food
and hardship and toil and the taskmaster's whip and the burn-
ing sun, a galley slave's life is a short one; while a skilful
gladiator may live for many years, and in time save money
enough to set up a school as I have done."

"Were you a gladiator once'?" Beric asked.

" Certainly I was; and so were all the masters of the schools,
except, perhaps, a few Greeks, whose methods differ from ours.

" I was ten years in the arena, and fought thirty-five battles.
In thirty I was victorious, in the other five I was defeated; but
as I was a favourite, and always made a good fight, the thumbs
were turned up, which, as you may know, is the signal for
mercy."

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 219

" Are you a Roman ? "

" No, I am a Thessalian. I took to it young, having got into
trouble at home. We have blood feuds there, and having killed
the chief of a house with which my people had a quarrel I had
to fly, and so made to Pola. Thence I crossed to Brundusium.
I worked there in the dockyard for a year or two; but I was
never fond of hard work of that sort, so I came on here and
entered a school. Now, as you see, I am master of one. A
gladiator who distinguishes himself gets many presents, and I
did well. The life is not a bad one after all."

" It must be hateful having to fight with men with whom
you have no quarrel," Beric said.

" You don't feel that after the first minute or two," Scopus
laughed. " There is a man standing opposite to you with a sword
or a trident, and you know very well that if you do not kill
him, he is going to kill you. It makes very little diff"erence,
after you once face each other, whether there was any quarrel
between him and you beforehand or not; the moment the
fighting begins, there is an end of all nonsense of that sort.

" What is an enemy ? A man who wants to do you harm.
This man facing you is going to kill you, unless you kill him.
There cannot be a worse enemy than that. After all, it is just
the same with soldiers in a battle. They have no particular
quarrel with the men facing them; but directly the arrows
begin to fly, and a storm of javelins come singing through the
air, you think of nothing but of trying to kill the men who are
trying to kill you. I thought as you do before I entered the
arena the first time, but I never felt so afterwards. All these
things are matters of usage, and the gladiator, after his first
combat, enters the ring with just the same feeling as a soldier
marches to meet an enemy."

Beric was silent He had no doubt that there was some
truth in what Scopus said; his own experience in battle had
shown him this. But he was still determined in his mind
that, come what would, he would not fight for the amusement
of the Eomans. But it was of no use to say this nowj it might

220 BERIC THE BRITON.

be a long time before he was required to enter the arena, and
until then he miglit as well apply himself to gaining strength
and science in arms. It did not seem to him that there was
any possibility of escape, but he might at least take to the
woods, and stand at bay there, and be killed in a fair open fight.

The next morning the exercises began. They were at first
of a moderate character, and were only intended to strengthen
the muscles and add to the endurance. For the first six months
they were told that their work would consist only of gym-
nastic exercises — lifting weights, wielding heavy clubs, climb-
ing ropes, wrestling, and running on foot. Their food was
simple but plentiful. All adopted the Roman costume, in
order to avoid observation when they went abroad. Being a
strong body, and individually formidable, they were free from
the rough jokes generally played upon new-comers, and when,
after six hours of exercise, they sat down to a hearty dinner,
the general feeling among them was that things were better
than they expected, and the life of a gladiator, with the excep-
tion of his appearances in the arena, was by no means a bad
one. Pollio called in the afternoon, as he had promised, and
had a long talk with Beric.

"In the first place, I have some bad news for you, Beric.
Caius Muro remained here but a month after his return from
Britain, and was then sent to command the legion in the north
of Syria."

" That is bad news indeed, Pollio. I had looked forward to
seeing him. I had made sure that I should find one friend at
least in Rome."

"It is unfortunate indeed, Beric, for he would have spoken
for you, and might have obtained a better lot for you. I
hate seeing you here," he said passionately, " but it is better
than being executed at once, which is the lot that generally
befalls the chief of captives taken in war. Scopus is not
a bad fellow when things go well, but they say that he is a
fiend when his blood is up. He is one of the finest fighters
we ever had in the arena, though he left it before I was old

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 221

enough to go there. I know him well, however, for I used to
come here with my elder brother, who was killed four years ago
in Africa. It is quite the fashion among the young Romans
to go the round of the schools and see the gladiators prac-
tising, and then when the sports come on they bet on the men
they consider the most skilful."

"A fine sport," Beric said sarcastically.

" Well, you see, Beric, we have been bred up to it, and we
wager upon it just as you Britons do on your fights between
cocks. I never felt any hesitation about it before, because I
had no particular personal interest in any of the combatants.
After all, you know, life is dull in Rome for those who take
no part in politics, who have no ambition to rise at the court,
and who do not care overmuch for luxury. We have none of
the hunting with which you harden your muscles and pass
your time in Britain. Therefore it is that the sports of the
arena are so popular with our class as well as with that below
it. You must remember, too, that the greater portion of the
gladiators are captives taken in war, and would have been put
to death at once had they not been kept for this."

"I do not say they have anything to complain of, PoUio,
but I am sure that most of them would much rather perish
in battle than be killed in the arena,"

"Yes, but it is not a question of being killed in battle,
Beric; it is a question of being captured in battle and put to
death afterwards. It may be the fashion some day or other
to treat captives taken in war with generosity and honour, but
it certainly is not so at present, either with us or with any
other nation that I know of. I don't think that your people
difier from the rest, for every soul who fell into their hands
was slain."

"I quite admit that," Beric said; "and should have had no
cause for complaint had I been slain as soon as I was captured.
But there is something nobler in being killed as a victim of
hate by a victorious enemy than to have to fight to the death
as a holiday amusement."

222 BERIC THE BRITON.

"I admit that," Pollio said; "and though, since Nero came
to the throne, there has heen an increase in these gladiatorial
displays, methinks there are fewer now than in the days before
the Empire, when Spartacus led twenty thousand gladiators
against Rome. There is one thing, if the creed of those Jews
of whom Norbanus was speaking to you ever comes to be the
dominant religion, there will be an end to the arena, for so
averse are these people to fighting, that when placed in the
arena they will not make even an effort to defend themselves.
They do not, as do the Goths sometimes, lower their swords
and fall on the points. Suicide they consider wrong, and sim-
ply wait calmly like sheep to be killed. I have been talking
with some friends over the persecutions of two years ago, just
after I left for Britain, and they say it was wonderful to see
the calmness with which the Christians meet death. They say
the persecution was given up simply because the people became
sick of spectacles in which there was no interest or excitement.
Well, Beric, are you ready to go out with me?"

" You will not be ashamed to walk through the streets with
a gladiator, Pollio 1"

" Ashamed ! on the contrary, you must know that gladiators
are in fashion at present, Beric. The emperor prides himself
on his skill, and consorts greatly with gladiators, and has even
himself fought in the arena, and therefore it is the thing with
all who are about the court to affect the society of gladiators.
But as yet you are not one of them, although you may have
commenced your training for the arena. But fashion or not,
it would have made no difference to me, you are my friend
whatever evil fortune may have done for you. The only dif-
ference is that whereas, had you not been in fashion, I should
have taken you with me only to the houses of intimate friends,
as I did at Massilia, now you will be welcome everywhere.
Besides, Beric, even in Rome a chief who has kept Suetonius
at bay for a year, and who is, moreover, a Latin scholar acois-
tomed to Roman society, is recognized as being an object of
great interest, especially when he is young and good-looking.

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 223

I am glad to see that you have adopted clothes of our fashion;
they set you off to much better advantage than does the British
garb, besides attracting less attention."

" I hope that you are not going to take me to-day to meet any
people, PoUio; I want to see the temples and public buildings."

"It shall be just as you wish, Beric."

For hours Beric wandered about Rome with PoUio, so
interested in all he saw that he was scarce conscious of the
attention he himself attracted. From time to time they met
acquaintances of Pollio, who introduced them to Beric as
" my friend the chief of the Iceni, who cost us a year's hard
work and some twelve hundred men before we captured him.
Petronius has written so strongly to Nero in his favour that his
life has been spared, and he has been placed in the school of
Scopus;" and the languid young Romans, looking at Beric's
height and proportions, no longer wondered at the trouble that
the Roman legions had had in overcoming the resistance of a
mere handful of barbarians. Beric on his part was by no means
surprised at the appearance of these young courtiers. He had
seen many of the same type at Camalodunum, and had heard
Caius lament the eflfeminacy of the rising generation; but he
knew that these scented young nobles could, if necessary,
buckle on armour and fight as valiantly as the roughest sol-
dier; though why they should choose to waste their lives at
present in idleness, when there was so much work to be done
in every comer of the vast empire, was altogether beyond his
comprehension.

'* Why is there a crowd gathered round that large building?"
he asked Pollio.

" That is one of the public granaries. Corn is brought here
in vast quantities from Sardinia and Sicily, from Spain and
Africa, and since Nero came to the throne it is distributed
gratis to all who choose to apply for it. No wonder Nero is
popular among the people; he feeds them and gives them shows
— they want nothing more. It is nothing to them, the cruelties
he exercises upon the rich."

224 BERIC THE BRITON.

"But it must encourage the people in lazy habits," Beric
said.

Pollio shrugged his shoulders. "They think because they
are citizens of the capital of the world they have a right to
live in idleness, and that others should work for them. At
any rate it keeps them in a good temper. There have been
great tumults in Eome in past times, but by drawing the
tribute in corn and distributing it freely here Nero keeps them
in a high state of contentment."

"You don't like Nero, Pollio?"

" I hate him," Pollio said. " He is a tyrant — greedy, cruel,
and licentious. He had his own mother murdered because
she opposed his plans, and some of our best and noblest citizens
have been put to death, either because Nero was jealous of
their popularity, or because he desired to grasp their posses-
sions. It is horrible that Rome, which has conquered the
world, should lie prostrate at the feet of a creature like this.
It was because my father feared that some spy among the
slaves might report what I said about Nero that caused him
to send me out to Suetonius, who is a connection of our
family, and he will ere long obtain for me some other employ-
ment away from the capital. I shall be glad to be gone, the
atmosphere here seems to stifle one. Nero's spies are every-
where, and a man is afraid of speaking his thoughts even in
his own house. I like to take life easily, but I would rather
be battling with your people in the swamps than living in
idleness in Rome."

"I thought you were glad to return, Pollio?"

"I thought I should be, Beric, but I suppose the active life
in Britain has spoilt me. I used to scent my hair and lounge
in the baths, and frequent the shows, and lead just such a life
as the young men we have spoken to this afternoon, and I was
contented with it. I wonder at myself now, but I cannot take
up the old life where I left it. I have been back for twenty-
four hours, and I am restless already and am longing to be
doing something."

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 225

"I should think," Beric said with a smile, "that you might
well put up with Rome for a few weeks. It seems to me that
it will take years to know all its wonders. There are the great
libraries, too, filled with the manuscripts, and as you understand
Greek you could study the writings of the sages and philoso-
phers."

" I would rather row in the galleys," PoUio said. " I don't
mind an hour or two now and then with the historians, but the
philosophers are too deep for my shallow brain. Would you
like to look into a library now?"

Beric assented eagerly, and they entered one of these build-
ings. It consisted of a great hall with innumerable couches
and benches for readers. Round the walls were pigeon-holes,
in which the manuscripts were deposited, and numerous atten-
dants moved to and fro among the readers, supplying them
with such manuscripts as they desired, and taking away those
they had done with. Leaving the hall they passed through a
series of large apartments, in which hundreds of men were at
work copying manuscripts.

" These are scribes," PoUio said. "Very many of them are
slaves whom the owners allow to work here, sharing with them
their earnings; others are freedmen who have either pur-
chased their liberty from their savings, or have been manu-
mitted by their owners. You see many of the most popular
writings, such as those of Caesar, Tacitus, Livy, or the poets
Horace, Virgil, and Ovid, are constantly in demand, and scores
of copies must be kept on hand. Then again many of the
Greek authors are greatly in request. The manuscripts wear
out and must be replaced, so that at the various libraries there
are some thousands of scribes always kept employed. You
see among the scribes men of many nationalities. Those men,
for instance, are Egyptians. You see the rolls they are copying,
they are made of papyrus, which is got, as I have heard my uncle
say, from the leaf of a sort of water plant Some of them are
copying these writings on to vellum for the use of those who
understand the Egyptian language, others are translating them

(726) . p

226 BERIO THE BRITON.

into Latin, Those men are Persians, and those at the tables
near them are Jews. They are making translations of their
sacred books, which are much read at present, partly owing to
the fact that the people are troublesome, and probably an army
will have to be sent against them, partly because of the Christian
sect, whose doctrines are founded upon the Jewish sacred books,
and are supported, as they claim, by various prognostications
of their augurs, or, as they call them, prophets. The books,
therefore, are of interest to the learned, and it may be that
some who come here to read them are secretly disciples of the
sect."

"Can I come here and read?" Beric asked eagerly.

"Certainly you can, these libraries are open to all. So are
the baths, at least the greater portion of them; everything is
free here. But it is nearly time for us now to be going home."

Beric availed himself at once of the advantages offered by
the public libraries. It was only thus that men of moderate
means could in those days obtain access to books, for the cost
of manuscripts was considerable, and libraries were only to be
found in the houses of the Avealthy. His taste for reading was
a matter of astonishment among the gladiators, and was the
subject of a good deal of jesting. This, however, was for the
most part of a good-natured kind, but upon the part of one
named Lupus it was sneering and offensive.

This man, who was a professional gladiator, that is one of
those who had taken to it as a trade, was a Roman of unusual
stature and strength. He had been a worker in iron, and from
making arms took to their use. He had won many victories
in the arena, and was considered the champion of the school
of Scopus, the only man who approached him in the number of
victories being Porus, the Scythian, whose strong point, how-
ever, lay in his activity and his dexterity in throwing the net
rather than in strength. Lupus had, from the first day of the
Britons' arrival at the Indus, viewed them with aversion, his
hostility to Beric being especially marked, and he particularly
objected to the slight deference shown to him by his com-

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 227

panions, in spite of the protests of Beric himself, who in vain
pointed out to them that he was now no longer their chief, and
that they were in all respects comrades and equals.

Lupus had carefully abstained from any remarks that would
bring him into collision with the other Britons. Mortified as
he was that his strength and stature, of which he was very
proud, had been thrown into the shade by that of the new-
comers, he felt that in a quarrel their rough strength might
render them more than his match. Beric, however, he con-
sidered as but a youth, and though doubtless powerful, deemed
that his muscles would be no match for his own seasoned
strength. As yet he had not seen Beric tried with any arms,
and thought that the young barbarian could know nothing of
the management of weapons. At first his annoyance only took
the form of addressing him with an affected deference as "my
lord Beric;" but the discovery that, while he himself was unable
to read or write, the young Briton was fond of study, and spent
his spare time in the public libraries, afforded him opportunities
for constant sneers.

These Beric took in good part, but Boduoc, who had now
picked up enough Latin to understand the gist of his remarks,
one day intervened, and seizing Lupus by the shoulder dashed
him to the ground. The Roman sprang to his feet, caught up
a knife from the table, and rushed at Boduoc. Scopus, how-
ever, who was present, with an angry growl sprang upon him,
seizing him by the throat with so vigorous a grasp that his
face became purple, his eyes stared, and he in vain gasped for
breath. Then he flung him down into a comer of the room
with such force that he lay half-stunned.

"You dog," he exclaimed, "how dare you take a knife? I
will have no quarrels here, as you know; and if you again ven-
ture on a disturbance I will bid your comrades tie you up, and
will flay the skin off your back with the lasli. The Briton was
perfectly right. Why can't you leave his friend alone 1 I have
marked your ill-natured jests before, and am glad that he
punished you."

228 BERIC THE BRITON.

Lupus rose slowly to his feet with an angry glare in his eyes.
He knew, however, that Scopus had in his time been unrivalled
in the arena, and that, moreover, the rest, who had been
offended by his airs of superiority, Avould side with the lanista
against him.

"I said nothing to the Briton," he said; "it was the boy I
addressed. If it was an offence, why did he not take it up?
Is he a coward that others have to fight his battles ? If he is
offended, why does he not challenge me to fight, as is customary
in all the ludi?"

" Because he is as yet but a pupil, and will not be fit to enter
the arena for three or four years," Scopus said. "A fight can
only be between trained gladiators. You don't suppose that a
fresh-joined youth is going to fight with one who has won a
score of times in the arena 1"

" Excuse me, Scopus," Beric said quietly, " I am perfectly
ready to fight with this braggadocio, and challenge him to a
contest; a few hard knocks will do neither of us any harm, there-
fore let us go into the school and have it out. It is much better
so than to have perpetual quarrelling," Scopus would have
objected, but the gladiators broke into shouts of "A fight! a
fight!" and, as it was according to the rules of all the ludi that
quarrels should be fought out with wooden swords without
interference by the lanistse, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
" Well, as he has challenged you, Lupus, I have nothing to say
to it;" and the whole of those present at once adjourned to the
school.

The combatants were armed with bucklers and with swords
of the same weight to those ordinarily used, but with square
edges with the corners rounded off, so that though they would
give a heavy blow they would not cut.

Lupus, confident in his skill, and furious at the humiliation
he had just suffered, at once sprang upon Beric, but the latter
as nimbly leaped back, catching the blow on his buckler, and
at the same time bringing his own with such force and weight
upon the Roman's left shoulder that it brought him for a

A SCHOOL FOR GLADIATORS. 229

moment on to his knee. A shout of astonishment and applause
burst from the lookers-on. Lupus would have instantly re-
newed the fight, but Beric stepped back and lowered his sword.

" Your left arm is disabled," he said. " You had best wait
till you can use your buckler again; it would not be a fair match
now."

Furious as he was, Lupus felt the truth of what his opponent
said, and though the burst of applause at Beric's magnanimity
angered him even more than before, he drew back a step or two.
At the order of Scopus two of the others came forward with
some oil, with which for some minutes they kneaded his
shoulder.

" I am ready again," he said at last, and the gladiators drew
back, and the opponents faced each other. Lupus had learned
that Beric was not, as he had supposed, entirely untaught; but
although he attributed the blow he had received solely to his
own rashness, he renewed the conflict with the same care and
prudence he would have shown had he been fighting with
edged weapons in the arena. He soon found, however, that he
had met with an opponent differing widely from those he had
hitherto fought Beric had had excellent teachers among the
veteran legionaries at Camalodunum, and to skill in the sword
he added a prodigious activity. Instead of fighting in the
ordinary Roman method, standing firm, with the body bent
forward and the buckler stretched out at the level of the
shoulder in front of him, he stood lightly poised on his feet,
ready to spring forward or back, and with his shield across his
body.

In vain Lupus tried to get to close quarters. His cramped
attitude prevented rapid movement, and he could not get even
within striking distance of his opponent save when the latter
sprang in to deliver a blow. These, however, fell vainly, for
' Lupus was fighting now calmly and warily, and with sword
or shield guarded every blow aimed at him. Beric soon felt
that he should but exhaust himself did he continue to attack
in this fashion, and oresently desisted, and standing his ground

280 BERIC THE BRITON

awaited the attack of Lupus. The blows fell fast and heavy
now. Then Beric purposely lowered his buckler a moment;
Lupus instantly struck, springing a pace forward. Beric sharply
threw up his left arm, striking up the hand of Lupus as it fell,
and at the same moment brought his weapon with tremendous
force down upon the head of his antagonist, who fell as if killed.

"Habet, habetf" shouted the gladiators, alike exultant and
astonished at the defeat of the bully of the school.

"By the gods, Beric," Scopus said, "you have given him a
lesson. I talked about four years' training, but even now I
would send you into the arena without fear. Why, there are
but one or two gladiators who are considered the superior of
Lupus with the sword, and he had from the first no chance
with you."

" It was simply because he did not understand my way of
fighting," Beric said quietly. "No, Scopus, I will have the
four years' training before I fight. I have chanced to over-
come Lupus this time, but I am not going to match myself
against men until I have my full strength."

Scopus laughed. "That looks as if there was strength
enough in your arm, Beric," he said pointing to the prostrate
figure. " However, I know from what you have said that you
wish to put off your entry into the arena as long as possible,
and doubtless practice and teaching will render you a far
better swordsman than you are now. Take him away," he
said to the others, pointing to Lupus. "Dash cold water
over him till he comes round, and then bandage his head. I
doubt if his skull be not broken. One of you had better go
for a leech to examine him; and mind, let not a word be
breathed outside the school as to this contest. We will keep
it silent until it is time for Beric to enter the arena, and then
we shall be dull indeed if we do not lay bets enough on him
to keep us in wine for a year. There is no fear of Lupus him-
self saying a word about it. You may be sure that, roughly
shaken as his conceit may be, he will hold his tongue as to the
fact that he has found his master in what he was pleased to

A CHRISTIAN. 231

call a boy. Mind, if I ever hear a word spoken outside the
school on the subject, I will make it my business to find out
who spread the report, and it will be very bad for the man
who did it when I bring it home to him."

It was upwards of a week before Lupus was able to enter
the gymnasium again. Bene had particularly requested the
others to make no allusion to his discomfiture, but from that
time the superiority of Lupus was gone, and Beric's position
in the school was fully established.

CHAPTER XIIL

A CHRISTIAN.

WHILE Bene thus spent his time between his exercises and
the schools and one or other of the libraries, varied
occasionally by paying a visit with PoUio, Boduoc and his
companions were not ill contented with their life. Most of
them had, during the long journey through Gaul, picked up a
few words of Latin from their guards, and as it was the lan-
guage of the gymnasium, and was the only medium by which
the men of the various nationalities could communicate with
each other, they now rapidly increased their knowledge of it,
Beric strongly urging them to become acquainted with it as
soon as possible, as it might be most useful and important
to them. None of the others besides Boduoc were, Scopus
thought, ever likely to be a credit to him in the more serious
contests in the ring, but all showed an aptitude for wrestling
and boxing, and the lanista was well content with this, as the
games in the arena frequently commenced with these compara-
tively harmless sports, and in many of the provincial cities
wrestlers and boxers were in great request.

Beric was much pleased when he heard from the master that

232 BERIC THE BRITON.

he intended to confine his teaching to these two exercises only
with regard to his companions; for although men were some-
times seriously hurt by blows given by the masses of leather
and lead, which, wound round the fist, were used to give
weight to the blows, a fatal termination to the contests was
rare. In the exercises the men practised with many wrappings
of wadding and cotton wound round the csestus, answering
the purpose of the modern boxing-glove. Beric himself was
very partial to this exercise, and as it strengthened the
muscles, and gave quickness and activity to the limbs, Scopus
encouraged him in it.

" I do not see the use of the caestus," Beric said one day.
" One could hit and guard much more quickly without it. It
is good, no doubt, for exercise, as it strengthens the muscles,
but surely for fighting it would be better to lay it aside. What
is the advantage of it? With the bare fist one can knock an
opponent down, and with a very few blows strike him sense-
less. What more can you want than that?"

"Yes, for men like you Britons that would do, for a straight
blow from any one of you would well-nigh break in the bones
of the face of an ordinary man, and, as you say, you could strike
much more quickly without the weight on your hands, but
with smaller men a contest might last for hours without the
csestus, and the spectators would get tired of it; but I will try
the experiment some day, and put up one of the Britons
against Asthor the Gaul, hands against the csestus, and see
what comes of it. At present he is more skilful than any of
your people, but they are getting on fast, and when one of
them is fairly his match in point of skill I will try it. If the
Briton wins, I will, when they first go into the arena, match
them against the champions of the other schools with bare
hands against armed ones, and they will get great credit if
they win under those conditions. Both at that and at wrest-
ling you Britons are likely to carry all before you. I should
like to train you all only for that."

" I wish you would," Beric said earnestly.

A CHRISTIAN. 233

"There is less honour in winning at wrestling and boxing
than in the other contests," Scopus said,

"For that I care nothing whatever, Scopus; besides, you
would get more credit from my winning in those games than
from my being killed in the others. Strength and height count
for much in them, while against an active retiarius strength
goes for very little."

"But you are active as well as strong, Beric, and so is
Boduoc. Moreover, when Caesar sent you to me to be pre-
pared for the ring, he meant that you should take part in the
principal contests, and he would be furious if, on some great
occasion, when he expected to see you stand up against a
famous champion, it turned out that you were only a wrestler."

" I am ready and willing to learn all the exercises, Scopus —
I should like to excel in them all — but you might put me up as
a wrestler and boxer; then if Nero insisted on my betaking
myself to other weapons, I could do so without discredit to
you. But my opinion is that every man should do what he
can do best. Were we to fight with clubs, I think that we
need have no fear of any antagonists; but our strength is for
the most part thrown away at sword-play, at which any active
man with but half our strength is our match. You have told me
that Nero often looks in at your school, and doubtless he will
do so when he comes back from Greece. You could then tell
him that you had found that all the Britons were likely to
excel rather in wrestling and boxing, where their strength and
height came into play, than in the other exercises, and that you
therefore were instructing them chiefly in them."

"I will see what I can do," Scopus said. "I like you
Britons, you are good-tempered, and give me no trouble. I
will tell you what I will do, I will send to Greece for the best
instructor in wrestling I can get hold of; they are better at
that than we are, and wrestling has always ranked very high
in their sports. Most of you already are nearly a match for
Decius; but you are all worth taking pains about, for there are
rich prizes to be won in the provincial arenas, as well as at

234 BERIC THE BRITON

Rome; and in Greece, where they do not care for the serious
contests, there is high honour paid to the winners in the wrest-
ling games,"

As time went on Beric had little leisure to spend in lihraries,
for the exercises increased in severity, and as, instead of con-
fining himself, as most of the others did, to one particular
branch, he worked at them all, the day was almost entirely
given up to exercises of one kind or another. His muscles,
and those of his companions, had increased vastly under the
training they received. All had been accustomed to active
exercise, but under their steady training every ounce of super-
fluous flesh disappeared, their limbs became more firmly
knit, and the muscles showed out through the clear skin in
massive ridges.

"We should astonish them at home, Beric," Boduoc said one
day. "It is strange that people like the Romans, who com-
pared to us are weakly by nature, should have so studied the
art of training men in exercises requiring strength. I used
to wonder that the Roman soldiers could wield such heavy
spears and swords. Now I quite understand it. We were
just as nature made us, they are men built up by art. Why,
when we began, my arms used to ache in a short time with
those heavy clubs, now I feel them no more than if they were
willow wands."

Pollio had remained but two months in Rome, and had
then gone out with a newly- appointed general to Sycia.
Beric had missed his light-hearted friend much, but he was
not sorry to give up the visits with him to the houses of his
friends. He felt that in these houses he was regarded as a
sort of show, and that the captured British chief, who was
acquainted with the Latin tongue and with Roman manners,
was regarded with something of the same curiosity and interest
as a tamed tiger might be. Besides, however much gladiators
might be the fashion in Rome, he felt a degradation in the
calling, although he quite appreciated the advantage that the
training would be to him should he ever return to Britain.
He was pleased to learn from Pollio, on the day before he
started, that he had heard that his uncle would ere long return
to Rome.

"I believe," he said, "that it is entirely my aimt's doing.

A CHRISTIAN. 235

You know how she hates what she calls her exfle, and I hear
that she has been quietly using all her family influence to
obtain his recall and his appointment as a magistrate here.
I learn she is likely to succeed, and that my uncle will be one
of these fine days astounded at receiving the news that he is
appointed a magistrate here. I don't suppose he will ever learn
my aunt's share in the matter, and will regard what others
would take as a piece of supreme good-luck as a cruel blow of
fortune. However, if he did discover it, my aunt would main-
tain stoutly that she did it for the sake of the girls, whom she
did not wish to see married to some provincial officer, and con-
demned, as she had been, to perpetual exile ; and as she would
have the support of all her relations, and even of my father,
who is also convinced that it is the greatest of all earthly
happiness for a Roman to reside at Rome, my uncle for once
will have to give in. Emilia, too, will be glad to return to
Rome, though I know that Ennia is of a diflerent opinion. I
believe, from what she let drop one day, that she has a leaning
towards the new sect, of which she has heard from the old
slave who was her nurse. It will be a great misfortune if she
has, for it would cause terrible trouble at home, and if any
fresh persecution breaks out, she might be involved. I am
sure my aunt has no suspicion of it, for if she had the slave
would be flogged to death or thrown to the fishes, and Ennia's
life would be made a burden to her till she consented to
abandon the absurd ideas she had taken up."

But if Norbanus had returned with his family to Rome,
Beric had heard nothing of it. Had Pollio been at Rome he
would at once have taken him to see them on their return, but
now that he had gone there was no one from whom he would
hear of their movements, and Norbanus himself would be so
much occupied with his new duties, and with the society with
which Lesbia would fill the house, that he would have no time
to inquire about the British captive he had received as his
guest at Massilia.

One evening, when the rest of the gladiators were engaged
in a hot discussion as to the merits of some of those who were
to appear at the games given in celebration of the funeral
obsequies of a wealthy senator, Beric asked Boduoc to accom-
pany him for a walk.

236 BERIC THE BRITON.

" One gets sick of all that talk about fighting," he said as
they went out. " How men can sit indoors in a hot room heavy
with the smoke of the lamps, when they can go out on such a
lovely night as this, I cannot understand. We do not have
such nights as this at home, Boduoc."

" No," Boduoc assented reluctantly, for it was seldom that
he would allow anything Roman to be superior to what he
was accustomed to in Britain; "the nights are certainly fine
here, and so they need be when it is so hot all day that one
can scarcely breathe outside the house. It seems to me that
the heat takes all the strength out of my limbs."

Beric laughed. "It did not seem so, Boduoc, when to-day
you threw Borthon, who is as heavy and well-nigh as strong as
yourself, full five yards through the air. Let us turn out from
these busy streets and get among the hills — not those on which
the palaces stand, but away from houses and people."

"What a night it would be for wolf-hunting!" Boduoc said
suddenly, when they had walked along for some distance in
silence.

" Yes, that was fine sport, Boduoc ; and when we slew we
knew we were ridding the land of fierce beasts."

" Well, many of the gladiators are not much better, Beric.
There is Porus, who may be likened to a panther; there is
Chresimus, who is like a savage bull; Gripus, who, when not
at work, is for ever trying to stir up strife. Truly, I used to
think, Beric, that I could not slay a man unless he was an
enemy, but I scarce feel that now. The captives in war are
like ourselves, and I would not, if I could help it, lift sword
against them. But many of the men are malefactors, who have
been sentenced to death as gladiators rather than to death by
the executioner, and who, by the terms of the sentence, must
be killed within the course of a year. Well, there is no ob-
jection to killing these; if you do not do it, someone else will.
Then there are the Romans, these are the roughest and most
brutal of all; they are men who have been the bulhes of their
quarters, who fight for money only, and boast that it is a dis-
appointment to them when, by the vote of the spectators, they
have to spare an antagonist they have conquered. It is at least
as good a work to kill one of these men as to slay a wolf at
home. Then there are the patricians, who fight to gain popular

A CHRISTIAN 237

applause, and kill as a matter of fashion; for them I have
assuredly no pity.

" No, I hope I shall never have to stand up against a captive
like myself; but against all others I can draw my sword with-
out any of the scruples I used to feel. I hear that if one of us
can but hold his own for three years, in most cases he is given
his liberty. I do not mean that he would be allowed to go
home, but he is free from the arena."

They were now near the summit of one of the hills, where a
clear sweep had been made of all the houses standing there in
order that a stately temple should be erected on the site. Sud-
denly they heard a scream in a female voice.

"There is some villainy going on, Boduoc, let us break in upon
the game." They ran at the top of their speed in the direction
from which they had heard the cry, and came upon a group of
seven or eight men, belonging, as they could see by the light of
the moon, to the dregs of the city. A female was lying on the
ground, another was clinging to her, and two men with coarse
jeers and laughter were dragging her from her hold when the
two Britons ran up.

Beric struck one of the men to the ground with a terrible
blow, while Boduoc seizing the other hurled him through the
air, and he fell head-foremost among a heap of the masonry of
a demolished building. The other men drew their knives, but
as Beric and his companion turned upon them there was a cry,
"They are gladiators," and the whole of them without a
moment's hesitation took to their heels.

Beric then turned towards the females, and as the light of
the moon fell full on his face the one with whom the men had
been struggling exclaimed, "Why, it is surely Beric!"

Beric looked at her in surprise. "It is the lady Ennia!" he
exclaimed. " Why, what are you doing at this time of night
in so lonely a place, and without other attendants than this
woman?"

"It is my nurse," Ennia said; "I was on my way with her,
Beric, to a secret meeting of Christians held in an underground
room of one of the villas that stood here. I have been there
several times before and we have not been molested, but, as I
gathered from what the men said, they noticed the light fall
upon my necklace and bracelet as I passed by a lamp, and so

238 BERIC THE BRITON.

followed us. Happily they overtook us before we reached the
place of meeting. Had they followed us farther they might
have come upon us there, and then much more harm would
have been done. They came up and roughly demanded who
we were, and bade me hand over my jewels. Lycoris answered
them, and they struck her down. I threw myself down on
her and clung to her, but they would soon have plundered and
perhaps killed me had not you arrived."

"Do not you think, Ennia, that it is foolish and wrong of
you thus to go out unprotected at night to such a place as this,
and, as I suppose, without the knowledge of your father and
mother?"

" They do not know," she said, " but it is my duty to go.
It is the only opportunity I have for hearing the word preached."

"I cannot think, Ennia, that it is your duty," Beric said
gravely. "The first duty of a young woman is to obey her
parents, and I think that you, being as yet scarce a woman, are
not able to judge between one religion and another. I know
nothing of the doctrines of this sect save what your father told
me; but he said that they were good and pure, and, being
so, I am sure that they cannot countenance disobedience to
parents."

"The words are 'Forsake all, and follow Me,'" Ennia said
firmly.

" That could not have been said to one of your age, Ennia.
I was reading the Jewish sacred book the other day, and one
of the chief commandments is to honour your father and mother.
Well, I think, at any rate, that it were best not to go there to-
night. These men may return, and at any rate I will not allow
you thus to wander about at night unprotected. Boduoc and
I will escort you to your house. When you get there I trust
that you will think this over, and that you will see that such
midnight excursions are altogether wrong, whatever the motive
may be; but at any rate, if you must go, I must obtain your
promise that you will write to me at the school of Scopus the
gladiator, to tell me at what hour you start. I shall not intrude
my presence upon you, nor accompany you, for this would be
to make myself an accomplice in what I consider your folly;
but I shall always be near you, and if you are again disturbed
on your way Boduoc and I will be at hand to punish those

A CHRISTIAN. 239

who meddle with you." The old nurse by this time had

regained her feet.

" You are the nurse of this young lady," Beric said to her
sternly, "and should know better than to bring her into danger.
If Norbanus knew what you have done he would have you cut
in pieces."

" It is not the fault of Lycoris. She begged and entreated me
not to come, but I would not listen to her. You are angry
with me, Beric, but you would not be angry if you knew what
it was to me. Younger than I have died for the faith, and I
would die too if it were necessary."

Beric made no reply, he was indeed deeply vexed at what
he considered an act of mad folly. The daughters of Norbanus
had been very friendly and kind to him at Massilia, and he
felt a debt of gratitude to their father; and this escapade on
the part of Ennia, who was as yet scarce sixteen, vexed him
exceedingly. He was not sure, indeed, but that he ought to
go straight to Norbanus and tell him what had happened, yet
he feared that in such a case the anger of the magistrate
would be so great that Ennia would be forced by him into
becoming one of the vestal virgins, or be shut up in strict
imprisonment. Scarce a word was spoken as they passed down
the hill and into the streets, now almost deserted. At last
Ennia stopped at the entrance used by the slaves to her
father's house.

" Will you give me your promise," he asked, " about going
out at night again? I implore you, I beseech you do not again
leave the house of your father at night unknown to him. You
cannot tell the dangei"s you run by so doing, or the misery you
may bring, not only on yourself, but on your parents."

" I promise you," Ennia said. " I owe you so great a debt
of gratitude that even your harsh words do not anger me. I
will think over what you have said, and try to do what may
seem to me my duty."

"That is all I ask," Beric said more gently; and then turning
walked away with Boduoc, who had but faintly understood
what was being said, but was surprised at the recognition
between Beric and this girl, whom he had not particularly
noticed when at Massilia.

" That is Pollio's cousin, the younger daughter of the magis-

240 BERIC THE BRITON.

trate I stayed with at Massilia. It was well for her that it was
not Pollio who came to her rescue instead of us."

"I should say so," Boduoc said dryly. "Pollio would
scarcely be a match for eight cut-throats."

" I did not mean that, Boduoc. I meant that he would have
rated her soundly."

"It seemed to me that you were rating her somewhat soundly,
Beric. I scarce ever heard you speak so harshly before, and
I wondered the more as you are neither kith nor kin to her,
while by the heartiness with which you scolded her you might'
have been her own brother."

" I did not think whether I had a right to scold her or not,
Boduoc. I liked both the maiden and her sister, and their
father was very kind to me. Moreover, after all Pollio has
done for us, the least I could do was to look after his cousin.
But even if I had known nothing whatever of her or her friends,
I should have spoken just as I did. The idea of a young girl
like that wandering about at night with no one but an old
slave to protect her in an unfrequented quarter of Rome ! It
is unheard of."

"But what were they doing there, Beric 1"

" They were going to a meeting-place of a new religion there
is in Rome. The people who belong to it are persecuted and
obliged to meet in secret. The old woman belongs to it, and
has, I suppose, taught Ennia. I have heard that the sect is
spreading, and that although most of those who adhere to it
are slaves, or belong to the poorer class, there are many of
good family who have also joined it."

"Well, I should have thought," Boduoc said, "that the
Romans had no cause to be dissatisfied with their gods. They
have given them victory, and dominion, and power, and wealth.
What more could they want of them ? I could understand that
we, whose god did nothing to assist us in our fight against the
Romans, should seek other gods who might do more for us.
But that a Roman should have been discontented with his gods
is more than I can understand. But what is that sudden flash
of light 1 "

"It is a fire, and in these narrow streets, with a brisk wind
blowing, it may well spread. There, do you hear the watch-
men's trumpets giving the alarm? Let us get back quickly,

A CHRISTIAN. 241

Boduoc. It may be that we shall be all turned out to fight the
fire if it spreads."

They were not far from the school now, and a few minutes'
run took them there. The house was quiet, but a few oil
lamps burning here and there enabled them to make their way
to the broad planks, arranged like a modem guard-bed, on
which they slept with their three comrades.

"Is that you, Beric]" Scopus, who slept in a cubicule leading
off the great room, asked.

"Yes it is; Boduoc and I."

" You are very late," he growled. " Late hours are bad for
the health. Are you sober]'

Beric laughed.

" No, I need not ask you," Scopus went on. " If it had been
some of the others who had been out so late, I should have
been sure they would have come home as drunk as hogsj but
that is not your way."

"There is a fire not very far oflF, Scopus, and the wind is
blowing strongly."

Scopus was at once on his feet and came out into the room.
" I don't like fires," he said uneasily. " Let us go up on the
roof and see what it is like."

Short as the time had been since Beric first saw the flash of
light the fire had already spread, and a broad sheet of flame
was shooting up into the air. " It is down there in the most
crowded quarter, and the wind is blowing strongly. It is
likely to be a big fire. Listen to the din."

A chorus of shouts, the shrieks of women, and the tramp of
many feet running, mingled with the sounding of the watch-
men's horns.

" The soldiers will soon be there to keep order," Scopus said.
" As every household is obliged to keep a bucket in readiness,
and there is an abundance of water; they will cope with it.
At any rate the wind is not blowing in this direction. It is
half a mile away fully."

"Can we go down and see if we can be of any assistance 1"
Beric asked. "We might help in removing goods from the
houses, and in carrying off the aged and sick."

" You can if you like, Beric. I would not say as much for
those who are training hard, for the loss of a night's rest is

(726) Q

242 BERIO THE BRITON.

serious; but as it will be some months before you Britons are
ready for the arena, it will do you no harm."

Beric went below, aroused his countrymen, and went with
them and Boduoc. The streets were alive. Men were running
in the direction of the fire carrying buckets; women were
standing at the doors inquiring of the passers-by if they knew
what street was on fire, and whether it was likely to spread.
The sound of military trumpets calling the soldiers to arms rose
in various parts of the city, and mingled with the hoarse sound
of the watchmen's horns. As they approached the fire the
crowd became thicker,

Beric admired the coolness shown and the order that already
reigned. The prsefect of the 7th Cohort of the Night Guard,
always on duty to guard the streets from thieves or fire, was
already on the spot, and under his directions, and those of
several inferior officials, the men, as fast as they arrived, were
set to pass buckets along from the fountains and conduits.

" Who are you?" the magistrate asked, as the five tall figures
came up the street in the light of the fire.

"We belong to the school of Scopus," Beric said. "We
have come down to see if we can be of assistance. We are
strong, and can move goods from houses threatened, or carry
off the sick should there be any; or we can throw water on the
flames."

"The soldiers will do that," the magistrate said, "that is
their business; but, as you say, you may be of use in helping
clear the houses outside their lines. The flames are spreading.
Come with me, I will take you to the centurion commanding
a company of the Night Guard here, for if he saw you coming
out of the house with goods he might take you for plunderers."

The centurion, who was hard at work with his men, nodded
an assent,

" It were well to get some more stout fellows like these,"
he said to the magistrate, " In spite of our efforts the fire is
making headway, and the sooner the houses in its path are
stripped the better."

A strong body of volunteers for the work was soon organized,
and an official placed in charge of it. All night they worked
without intermission, Beric and his comrades keeping together
and astonishing those who were working with them by the

ROME IN FLAMES.

A CHRISTIAN. 343

strength and activity they displayed. But fast as they worked
the flames advanced faster. They were half suff"ocated by
smoke, and the sparks fell thickly round them. The workers
carried the goods out of the houses into the street, where other
parties conveyed them to open spaces. Lines of men down all
the streets leading to the scene of the fire passed along buckets
of water. These the soldiers carried up on to the roofs, which
they deluged, while others wetted the hangings and furniture
that had not been removed.

Parties of troops strove to pull down the houses in the path
of the flames, while others again marched up and down pre-
serving order. The Night Guard entered the houses, com-
pelled all to leave, and saw that none were left behind; while
sentries kept guard over the goods piled high in the open spaces.
When morning broke, Beric gave up the work to a fresh party
and returned with his companions to the school. They found
it deserted, save by the slaves, the others having, as they
learned, gone to the fire an hour before with Scopus.

" We will have a bath to get rid of the dust and sweat,"
Beric said. "But first we will go up to the roof and have
a look at the fire. We had no time when we were working to
think much of it; but as we were always being driven back
by it, it must have spread a good deal."

An exclamation of surprise broke from them when they
gained the roof. Smoke and flames were rising over a large
area. A dense canopy overhung the town, a confused din filled
the air, while momentarily deep heavy sounds told of falling
roofs and walls.

" This is terrible, Boduoc."

"Why terrible, Beric? For my part I should like to see
Rome utterly destroyed, as she has destroyed so many other
towns."

" The Romans would build it up again more magnificent than
before, Boduoc. No, it would be a misfortune to the world if
Rome were destroyed; but there is little chance of that They
have had many fires before now; this is a large one certainly,
but by this time all the troops in the city must be there, and if
the wind drops they will soon arrest the progress of the flames."

The other Britons quite agreed with Boduoc, and though
ready to -work their hardest to aid in saving ihe property of

I

244 BERIC THE BRITON.

individuals, they looked on with undisguised satisfaction at the
great conflagration. On such a point as this Beric knew that
it would be useless to argue with them.

" You had better come down from the roof, Boduoc. There
are others watching the fire besides ourselves; and if it were
reported that some of the gladiators from the school were seen
making exulting gestures, there would be a popular tumult,
and it is as likely as not we should be charged with being
the authors of the fire. Let us go down, get some food, and
then have a bath and sleep for a while. There is little chance
of the fire being checked at present. At any rate, we have
done our share of work."

After a few hours' sleep Beric again went up to the roof.
The fire had made great progress, and, as he could see, was not
only travelling with the wind, but working up against it. It
was already much nearer to the school than it had been. As
to the width of the area of the conflagration the smoke pre-
vented him from forming any opinion; but he judged that the
length was fully a mile. It was evident that the progress of the
fire was causing great dismay. Groups were gathered on the
house-tops everywhere, while the streets were crowded with
fugitives laden with household goods, making their way towards
the thinly populated portions of the hills. After eating some
bread and fruit, Beric again sallied out with his four companions.
On their way down they met Scopus with several of the gladi-
ators returning.

"What is being done, Scopus?"

"As far as stopping the fire nothing is being done. It has
been given up. What can be done when the fire is sweeping
along a mile broad, and the heat is so great that there is no
standing within a hundred yards of it? All the soldiers are
there, and the magistrates and the guards, and all the rest of
them, but all that can be done is to prevent the scum of the
city from sacking and plundering. Scores of men have been
scourged and some beheaded, but it is no easy matter to keep
down the mob. There are parties of guards in every street.
The whole of the Praetorians are under arms, but the terror and
confusion is so great and spread over so wide a space that it is
well-nigh impossible to preserve order. Proclamations have just
been issued by the senate calling upon all citizens to gather at

A CHRISTIAN. 245

their places of assemblj' in arms, enjoining them to preserve
order, and authorizing the slaying of all robbers caught in the
act of plundering. All persons within a certain distance of the
fire are recommended to send their wives and families, with
their jewels and all portable wealth, to the public gardens,
where strong guards of the Prsetorians will be posted."

" It seems to me that the fire is advancing in this direction
also, Scopus."

" It is spreading everywhere, " Scopus said gloomily. " The
heat seems to draw the air in from all directions, and the
flames surge sometimes one way and sometimes another. You
had better not go far away, Beric ; if the flames crawl up much
nearer we shall have to prepare for a move. We have no
jewels to lose, nor is the furniture of much value, but the
arms and armour, our apparatus, clothes, and other things must
be carried off"."

The scene as Eerie went forward was pitiful in the extreme.
Weeping women carrying heavy burdens and with their chil-
dren clinging to their dress came along. Some searched up
and down frantically for members of the family who had been
lost in the crowd. Old men and women were being helped
along by their relations. The sick were being borne past upon
doors or the tops of tables.

Among the fugitives were groups of men from the poorest
districts by the river, who were only restrained from snatching
at the ornaments and caskets of the women by the presence of
the soldiers, standing at short intervals along the street and at
the doors of the principal houses. In spite of the vigilance of
the guard, however, such thefts occasionally took place, and the
screams that from time to time rose in the side streets told of
the work of plunder going on there.

" I should like to turn down here and give a lesson to some
of these villains," Boduoc said.

" I should like nothing better, Boduoc, but it would not do
to get into a fray at present. It would only bring up the
guard, and they would not be likely to ask many questions as
to who was in fault, but would probably assume at once that
we, being gladiators, were there for the purpose of robbery, and
that the row had arisen over the division of spoil. Look, there
is a centurion taking a party of men down the street where we

246 BERIC THE BRITON.

heard those screams. Let us move back a few paces and see
what is going to happen. Yes, there is another party of
soldiers coming in at the other end. The women are running
out of the houses to tell their grievances."

Small parties of soldiers entered the houses. Shouts and
yells could be heard even above the surrounding din. Men
jumped from windows or ran out into the street only to be cut
down by the troops there, and so each body of soldiers con-
tinued to advance until they met in the centre of the street,
and then, after a few words between the officers, each party
returned by the way it had come. They had done their work,
and the street had been completely cleared of the plunderers.

" You see, Boduoc, had we run down there when we heard
the cries it would have gone hard with us. The troops cer-
tainly spent no time in questioning; the women might have
told them, perhaps, that we had come to their assistance; still
it is just as well that we kept clear of the matter."

Beric's party skirted along the fire for some distance. At
some points to windward of the flames efforts were still being
made to prevent their spread, large numbers of men being
employed in pulling down houses under the supervision of the
fire guard. Bodies of troops guarded the entrances to all the
streets, and kept back the crowd of sight-seers, who had
assembled from all parts of the city. Fearing that they might
be impressed for the work of demolition, the Britons returned
to the school. The familia, as the members of any school of
this kind were called, were all assembled. Scopus was walking
moodily up and down the gymnasium, but it was evident by
the countenances of most of the men that they felt a deep
satisfaction at the misfortune that had befallen Rome. From
time to time Scopus ascended to the roof, or sent one of the
men out to gather news, but it was always to the same effect,
the fire was still spreading, and assuming every hour more
serious proportions. Towards evening the flames had ap-
proached so closely, that Scopus gave orders for the men to
take up the bundles that had already been made up, containing
everything of any value in the school.

"You had better not wait any longer," he said; "at any
moment there may be orders for all the schools to go down to
help the troops, and then we should lose everything."

A CHRISTIAN. 247

Accordingly the heavy packets were lifted by the men on to
their heads or shoulders, and they started for the Palatine,
which was the nearest hill. Here were many of the houses of
the wealthy, and the owners of most of these had already
thrown open their gardens for the use of the fugitives. In one
of these the gladiators deposited their goods. Two of the
party having been left to guard them the rest went out to
view the fire.

There was little sleep in Eome that night It was now
evident to all that this was no local conflagration, but that, if
the wind continued to blow, it threatened the entire destruc-
tion of a considerable portion of the town. Every space and
vantage-ground from which a view of the fire could be obtained
was crowded with spectators.

" There were great fires when we destroyed Camalodunum,
Verulamium, and London," Boduoc said, "but this is already
larger than any of those, and it is ever spreading; even at this
distance we can hear the roar of the flames, the crash of the
falling houses, and the shouts of the workers."

"It is a terrible sight, indeed, Boduoc. It looks like a
sea of fire. So far the part involved is one of the oldest and
poorest in the city, but if it goes on like this the better quarters
will soon be threatened. If we get no special orders to-morrow,
we will go down to the house of Norbanus and give what help
we can in the removal of his goods. His library is a very
valuable one, and its loss would be a terrible blow to him. I
remember that at Camalodunum there was nothing I regretted
so much as the destruction of the books."

'* It is all a matter of taste," Boduoc said. " I would rather
have a good suit of armour and arms than all the books in
Eome. Why some people should worry their brains to make
those little black marks on paper, and others should trouble
to make out what they mean, is more than I can understand.
However, we shall be glad to help you to carry ofl" the goods
of Norbanus."

248 BERIC THE BRITON

CHAPTER XIV.

ROME IN FLAMES.

ALL night the gladiators watched the ever-widening area of
fire. In the morning proclamations were found posted in
every street, ordering all citizens to be under arms, as if expect-
ing the attack of an enemy; each district was to be patrolled
regularly, and all evil-doers found attempting to plunder were
to be instantly put to death, the laws being suspended in the
face of the common danger. All persons not enrolled in the
lists of the city guards were exhorted to lend their aid in
transporting goods from the neighbourhood of the fire to a
place of safety in the public gardens, and the masters of the
schools of gladiators were enjoined to see that their scholars
gave their aid in this work.

" Well, we may as well set to work," Scopus said. " There
are some of my patrons to whom we may do a good service."

"Will you let me go with my comrades first to aid Norbanus,
a magistrate who has done me service?" Beric said. "After I
have helped to move his things I will join you wherever you
may appoint."

Scopus nodded, " Very well, Beric. I shall go first to the
house of Gallus the praetor, he is one of my best friends. After
we are done there we will go to the aid of Lysiraachus the
senator; so, if you don't find us at the house of Gallus, you will
find us there."

Beric at once started with the four Britons to the house
where he had left Ennia. It was distant but half a mile from
the point the fire had now reached, and from many of the houses
round the slaves were already bearing goods. Here, however,
all was quiet The door-keeper, knowing Beric, permitted him
and his companions to enter without question. Norbanus
was already in his study. He looked up as Beric approached
him. " Why, it is Beric!" he said in surprise. " I heard that
you were in one of the ludi and was coming to see you, but I
have been full of business since I came here. I am glad that
you have come to visit me."

ROME IN FLAMES. 249

" It is not a visit of ceremony," Beric said; " it is the fire
that has brought me here."

"Lesbia tells me that it is still blazing," Norbanus said
indifferently. " She has been worrying about it all night. I
tell her I am not praetor of the fire-guard, and that it does not
come within my scope of duty. I went down yesterday after-
noon, but the soldiers and citizens are all doing their work
under their officers, and doubtless it will soon be extinguished."

" It is ever growing, Norbanus. It is within half a mile of
your house now, and travelling fast."

*' Why, it was treble that distance last night," Norbanus said
in surprise. " Think you that there is really danger of its
coming this way t "

" Unless a change takes place," Beric said, " it will assuredly
be here by noon; even now sparks and burning flakes are falling
in the street. The neighbours are already moving, and I would
urge you to lose not a moment's time, but summon your slaves,
choose all your most valuable goods, and have them carried up
to a place of safety. If you come up to the roof you will see
for yourself how pressing is the danger."

Norbanus, still incredulous, ascended the stairs, but directly
he looked round he saw that Beric had not exaggerated the
state of things.

" I have brought four of my tribesmen with me," Beric said,
" and we are all capable of carrying good loads. There ought
to be time to make three journeys at least up to the gardens
on the hill, where they will be safe. I should say, let half your
slaves aid us in carrying up your library and the valuables
that come at once to hand, and then you can direct the others
to pack up the goods you prize most so that they shall be ready
by our return."

" That shall be done," Norbanus said, *' and I am thankful
to you, Beric, for your aid."

Descending, Norbanus at once gave the orders, and then
going up to the women's apartments told Lesbia to bid the
female slaves pack at once all the dresses, ornaments, and
valuables. The cases containing the books were then brought
out into the atrium, and there stacked in five piles. They
were then bound together with sacking and cords.

"But what are you going to do with these great piles'?"

250 BERIO THE BRITON.

Norbanus said as he came down from above, where Lcsbia was
raging at tlio news that much of thoir belongings would have
to bo abandoned. " Why, each of them is a waggon load."

*' They are large to look at, but not heavy. At any rate we
can carry them. Is there anyone to whom we shall specially
take them, or shall wo place a guard over themi"

'* My cousin Lucius, the senator, will, I am sure, take them
for me. His house is surrounded by gardens, and quite beyond
reach of fire. His wife is Lesbia's sister, and Emilia shall go
up with you."

The Britons helped each other up with the huge packets,
four slaves with difficulty raising the last and placing it on
Beric's head.

" The weight is nothing now it is up," he said, " though I
wish it were a solid packet instead of being composed of so
many of these book boxes."

The cases in which the Romans usually kept their books
were about the size and shape of hat boxes, but of far stronger
make, and each holding from six to ten rolls of vellum. A
dozen slaves under the superintendence of the steward, and
carrying valuable articles of furniture, followed the Britons,
and behind them came .^^milia, with four or iive female slaves
carrying on their heads great packages of the ladies' clothing.
The house of Lucius was but half a mile away from that of
Norbanus. Even among the crowd of frightened men and
women hurrying up the hill the sight of the five Britons,
with their prodigious burdens created lively astonishment and
admiration.

** Twenty such men as those," one said, " would carry off a
senator's villa bodily, if there was room for it in the road."

•'They are the Titans come to life again," another remarked.
" It would take six Romans to carry the weight that one of
them bears."

When they neared the villa of Lucius, .Emilia hurried on
ahead with the female slaves, and she was standing at the door
with the senator when the Britons approached. The senator
uttered an exclamation of astonishment.

"Whence have you got these wonderful porters, iEmilial"

" I know not," the girl said. '* We were dressing, when our
father called out that we were to hurry and to put our best

ROME IN FLAMES. 251

garments together, for that we were to depart instantly, as the
fire was approaching. For a few minutes there was terrible
confusion. The slaves were packing up our things, all talking
together, and in an extreme terror. Our mother was terribly
upset, and I think she made things worse by giving fresh
orders every minute. In the middle of it my father shouted
to me to come down at once, and the slaves were to bring down
such things as were ready. When I got down I was astonished
at seeing these great men quite hidden under the burdens they
carried, but I had no time to ask questions. My father said,
' Go with them to my cousin Lucius, and ask him to take in our
goods,' and I came."

By this time the party had reached the house.

" Follow me," Lucius said, leading the way along the front of
the house, and round to the storehouses in its rear, .Emilia
accompanied him. The slaves deposited their burdens on the
ground, and then aided the Britons to lower theirs. .Emilia
gave an exclamation of astonishment as Beric turned round

"Why, it is Beric the Briton!" she exclaimed.

*' You did not recognize me, then 1 " Beric said smiling.

" I should have done so had I looked at you closely," she
said, "in spite of your Roman garb; but what with the crowd,
and the smoke, and the fright, I did not think anything about
it after my first wonder at seeing you so loaded. Where did
you come from so suddenly to our aidi Are these your
countrymen? Ennia and I have asked our father almost
every day since we came to Rome to go and find you, and
bring you to us. He always said he would, but what with his
business and his books he was never able to. How good of
you to come to our aid ! I am sure the books would never have
been saved if it had not been for you, and father would never
have got over their loss."

" I knew where your house was," Beric said, " and was glad
to be able to do something in gratitude for your father's kind-
ness at Massilia. But I must not lose a moment talking; I hope
to make two or three more trips before the fire reaches your
house. Your slaves have orders to retiim with us. Will you
tell your steward to guide us back by a less-frequented road
than that we came by, and then we can keep together and shall
not lose time forcing our way through the crowd."

252 BERIC THE BRITON.

By the time they reached the house of Norbanus the slaves
left behind had packed up everything of value.

"I will go up," Norbanus said, "with all the slaves, male
and female, if you will remain here to guard the rest of the
things till we return. Several parties of ill-favoured-looking
men have entered by the door, evidently in the hopes of
plunder, but left when they saw we were still here. The ladies'
apartments have been completely stripped, and their belong-
ings will go up this time, so that there will be no occasion for
them to return. If the flames approach too closely before we
come back, do not stay, Beric, nor trouble about the goods that
remain. I have saved my library and my own manuscripts,
which is all I care for. My wife and daughters have saved all
their dresses and jewels. All the most valuable of my goods
will now be carried up by my slaves, and if the rest is lost it
will be no great matter."

Beric and his companions seated themselves on the carved
benches of the atrium and waited quietly. Parties of marauders
once or twice entered, for the area of the fire was now so vast
that even the troops and armed citizens were unable properly
to guard the whole neighbourhood beyond its limits ; but upon
seeing these five formidable figures they hastily retired, to look
for booty where it could be obtained at less risk.

The fire was but a few hundred yards away, and clouds of
sparks and blazing fragments were falling round the house
when Norbanus and his slaves returned. These were suflScient
to carry up the remaining parcels of goods without assistance
from the Britons, who, however, acted as an escort to them on
their way back. Their throats were dry and parched by the
hot air, and they were glad of a long draught of the good wine
that Lucius had in readiness for their arrival. Beric at first
refused other refreshment, being anxious to hasten away to
join Scopus, but the senator insisted upon their sitting down to
a meal.

" You do not know when you may eat another," he said ;
"there will be little food cooked in this part of Rome to-day."

As Beric saw it was indeed improbable that they would
obtain other food if they neglected this opportunity, he and
the others sat down and ate a good, though hasty, meal.

" You will come and see us directly the fire is over," Nor-

ROME IN FLAMES 253

banus said as they rose to leave. "Remember, I shall not
know where to find you, and I have had no time to thank you
worthily for the service that you have rendered me. Many of
the volumes you have saved were unique, and although my
own manuscripts may be of little value to the world, they re-
present the labour of many years."

Hurrying down to the rendezvous Scopus had given him,
Beric found that both villas had already been swept away by
the fire. He then went up to the spot where their goods were
deposited, but the two gladiators in charge said that they had
seen nothing whatever of Scopus,

" Then we will go down and do what we can," Beric said.
" Should Scopus return, tell him that we will be here at night-
fall."

For another two days the conflagration raged, spreading
wider and wider, and when at last the wind dropped and the fury
of the flames abated, more than the half of Rome lay in ashes.
Of the fourteen districts of the city three were absolutely
destroyed, and in seven others scarce a house had escaped.
Nero, who had been absent, reached Rome on the third day of
the fire. The accusation that he had caused it to be lighted,
brought against him by his enemies years afterwards, was
absurd. There had been occasional fires in Rome for centuries,
just as there had been in London before the one that destroyed
it, and the strong wind that was blowing was responsible for
the magnitude of the fire.

There can, however, be little doubt that the misfortune which
appeared so terrible to the citizens was regarded by Nero in a
different light. Nero was prouder of being an artist than of
being an emperor. Up to this time Rome, although embellished
with innumerable temples and palaces, was yet the Rome of the
Tarquins. The streets were narrow, and the houses huddled
together. Mean cottages stood next to palaces. There was an
absence of anything like a general plan. Rome had spread as
its population had increased, but it was a collection of houses
rather than a capital city.

Nero saw at once how vast was the opportunity. In place
of the rambling tortuous streets and crowded rookeries, a city
should rise stately, regular, and well ordered, with broad streets
and noble thoroughfares, while in its midst should be a palace

254 BERIC THE BRITON.

unequalled in the world, surrounded by gardens, lakes, and
parks. There was ample room on the seven hills, and across
the Tiber, for all the population, with breathing space for
everyone. What glory would there not be to him who thus
transformed Rome, and made it a worthy capital of the world !
First, however, the people must be attended to and kept in
good-humour, and accordingly orders were at once issued that
the gardens of the emperor's palaces should be thrown open,
and the fugitives allowed to encamp there. Such magazines as
had escaped the fire were thrown open, and food distributed to
all, while ships were sent at once to Sicily and Sardinia for
large supplies of grain for the multitude.

While the ruins were still smoking the emperor was engaged
with the best architects in Kome in drawing out plans for lay-
ing out the new city on a superb scale, and in making prepara-
tions for the commencement of work. The claims of owners of
ground were at once wiped out by an edict saying, that for the
public advantage it was necessary that the whole of the ground
should be treated as public property, but that on claims being
sent in other sites would be given elsewhere.

Summonses were sent to every town and district of the
countries under the Roman sway calling for contributions
towards the rebuilding of the capital. So heavy was the drain,
and so continuous the exactions to raise the enormous sums
required to pay for the rebuilding of the city and the superb
palaces for the emperor, that the wealth of the known world
scarce sufficed for it, and the Roman Empire was for many
years impoverished by the tremendous drain upon its resources.

The great mass of the Roman population benefited by the
fire. There was work for everyone, from the roughest labourer
to the most skilled artisan and artist. Crowds of workmen
were brought from all parts. Greece sent her most skilful
architects and decorators, her sculptors and painters. Money
was abundant, and Rome rose again from her ruins with a
rapidity which was astonishing.

The people were housed far better than they had ever
been before; the rich had now space and convenience for
the construction of their houses, and although most of them
had lost the greater portion of their valuables in the fire, they
were yet gainers by it. All shared in the pride excited by the

ROME IN FLAMES 255

new city, with its broad streets and magnificent buildings, and
the groans of the provincials, at whose cost it was raised,
troubled them not at all. It was true that Nero, in his need
for money, seized many of the wealthier citizens, and, upon
one pretext or other, put them to death and confiscated their
property; but this mattered httle to the crowd, and disturbed
none save those whose wealth exposed them to the risk of the
same fate.

Beric saw nothing of these things, for upon the very day
after the fire died out Scopus started with his scholars to a villa
on the Alban Hills that had been placed at his disposal by
one of his patrons. There were several other schools in the
neighbourhood, as the air of the hills was considered to be far
healthier and more strengthening than that of Eome. In
spite of the public calamity Nero continued to give games for
the amusement of the populace, other rich men followed his
example, and the sports of the amphitheatre were carried on
on an even more extensive scale than before.

Scopus took six of his best pupils to the first games that
were given after the fire. Four of them returned victorious,
two were sorely wounded and defeated. Their lives had, how-
ever, been spared, partly on account of their skill and bravery,
partly because the emperor was in an excellent humour, and
the mass of the spectators, on whom the decision of hfe or death
rested, saw that the signal for mercy would be acceptable to
him.

The Britons greatly preferred their life on the Alban Hills
to that in Rome; for, their exercises done, they could wander
about without being stared at and commented upon.

The pure air of the hills was invigorating after that of the
great city; and here, too, they met ten of their comrades whose
ludi had been all along established on the hills. Plans of
escape were sometimes talked over, but though they could not
resist the pleasure of discussing them, they all knew that it
was hopeless. Though altogether unwatched and free to do as
they liked after the work of the day was over, they were as
much prisoners as if immured in the strongest dungeons.
The arm of Rome stretched everywhere; they would be at
once followed and hunted down wherever they went Their
height and complexion rendered disguise impossible, and even

256 BERIC THE BRITON.

if they reached the mountains of Calabria, or traversed the
length of Italy successfully and reached the Alps — an almost
hopeless prospect — they would find none to give them shelter,
and would ere long be hunted down. At times they talked
of making their way to a seaport, seizing a small craft, and
setting sail in her; but none of them knew aught of navigation,
and the task of traversing the Mediterranean, passing through
the Pillars of Hercules, and navigating the stormy seas be-
yond until they reached Britain, would have been impossible
for them.

News came daily from the city, and they heard that Nero
had accused the new sect of being the authors of the conflagra-
tion, that the most rigid edicts had been issued against them,
and that all who refused to abjure their religion were to be
sent to the wild beasts in the arena.

Beric had not seen Norbanus since the day when he had
saved his library from the fire; but a few days after they had
established themselves in the hills he received a letter from
him saying that he had, after much inquiry, learned where
Scopus had established his ludus; he greatly regretted Beric
had left Rome without his seeing him, and hoped he would
call as soon as he returned. His family was already estab-
lished in a house near that of Lucius. After that Beric occa-
sionally received letters from -Emilia, who wrote sometimes in
her father's name and sometimes in her own. She gave him
the gossip of Rome, described the wonderful work that was
being done, and sent him letters from Pollio to read.

One day a letter, instead of coming by the ordinary post,
was brought by one of the household slaves.

" We are all in terrible distress, Beric," she said. " I have
told you about the severe persecution that has set in of the
Christians. A terrible thing has happened. You know that
our old nurse belonged to that sect. She often talked to me
about it, but it did not seem to me that what she said could be
true; I knew that Ennia, who is graver in her disposition than
I am, thought much of it, but I did not think for a moment
that she had joined the sect. Two nights ago some spies
reported to one of the praetors that some persons, believed to
be Christians, were in the habit of assembling one or two
nights a week at a lonely house belonging to a freedman. A

ROME IN FLAMES. 257

guard was set and the house surrounded, and fifty people were
found there. Some of them were slaves, some freedmen, some
of them belonged to noble families, and among them was
Ennia.

" She had gone accompanied by that wretched old woman.
All who had been questioned boldly avowed themselves to be
Christians, and they were taken down and thrown into prison.
Imagine our alarm in the morning when we found that Ennia
was missing from the house, and our terrible grief when, an
hour later, a messenger came from the governor of the prison
to say that Ennia was in his charge. My father is quite
broken down by the blow. He does not seem to care about
Ennia having joined the new sect — you know it is his
opinion that everyone should choose their own religion — but he
is chiefly grieved at the thought that she should have gone out
at night attended only by her nurse, and that she should have
done this secretly and without his knowledge. My mother, on
the other hand, is most of all shocked that Ennia should have
given up the gods of Rome for a religion of slaves, and that,
bemg the daughter of a noble house, she should have consorted
with people beneath her.

"I don't think much of any of these things. Ennia may
have done wrong, but that is nothing to me. I only think of
her as in terrible danger of her life, for they say that Nero will
spare none of the Christians, whether of high or low degree.
My father has gone out this morning to see the heads of our
family and of those allied to us by kinship, to try to get them
to use all their influence to obtain Ennia's pardon. My mother
does nothing but bemoan herself on the disgrace that has fallen
upon us. I am beside myself with grief, and so, as I can do
nothing else, I write to tell you of the trouble that has befallen
us. I will write often and tell you the news."

Beric's first emotion was that of anger that Ennia should,
after the promise she had given him, have again gone alone to
the Christian gathering. Then he reflected that as he was
away from Rome, she was, of course, unable to keep that pro-
mise. He had not seen her since that night, for she had passed
straight through the atrium with her mother while he was
assisting the slaves to take up their burdens.

He could not help feeling an admiration for her steadfast

(725) a

258 BERIO THE BRITON.

ness in this new faith that she had taken up. By the side of
her livelier sister he had regarded her as a quiet and retiring
girl, and was sure that to her these midnight outings by stealth
must have been very terrible, and that only from the very
strongest sense of duty would she have undertaken them.
Now her open avowal of Christianity, when she must have
known what were the penalties that the confession entailed,
seemed to him heroic.

" It must be a strange religion that could thus influence a
timid girl," he said to himself. "My mother killed herself
because she would not survive the disaster that had fallen upon
her people and her gods; but her death was deemed by all
Britons to be honourable. Besides, my mother was a Briton,
strong and firm, and capable of heroic actions. This child is
courting a death that all who belong to her will deem most
dishonourable. There is nothing of the heroine in her disjjosi-
tion; it can only be her faith in her religion that sustains her.
As soon as I return to Eome I will inquire more into it."

It was now ten months since Beric had entered the school of
Scopus. He was nearly twenty years old, and his constant and
severe exercises had broadened him and brought him to well-
nigh his full strength. Scopus regarded him with pride, for in
all the various exercises of the arena he was already ahead of
the other gladiators. His activity was as remarkable as his
strength, and he was equally formidable with the trident and
net as with sword and buckler; while in wrestling and with
the csestus none of the others could stand up against him. He
had been carefully instructed in the most terrible contest of
all, that against wild beasts, for Scopus deemed that, being a
captive of rank and importance, he might be selected for such a
display.

A Libyan, who had often hunted the lion in its native wilds,
had described to him over and over again the nature of the
animal's attack, and the spring with which it hurls itself upon
its opponent; and Scopus having obtained a skin of one of the
animals killed in the arena, the Libyan had stuffed it with out-
stretched paws; and Scopus obtained a balista, by which it
was hurled through the air as if in the act of springing.
Against this Beric frequently practised.

"You must remember," the Libyan said, "that the lion is

ROME IN FLAMES. 259

like a great cat, and as it springs it strikes, so that you must
avoid not only its direct spring, but its paws stretched to
their full extent as it passes you in the air. You must be as
quick as the animal itself, and must not swerve till it is in the
air. Then you must leap aside like lightning, and, turning as
you leap, be ready to drive your spear through it as it touches
the ground. This inert mass, although it may pass through
the air as rapidly as the wild beast, but poorly represents the
force and fierceness of the lion's spring. We Libyans meet
the charge standing closely together, with our spears in ad-
vance for it to spring on, and even then it is rarely we kill it
without one or two being struck down before it dies. Bulls
are thought by some to be more formidable than lions; but
as you are quick, you can easily evade their rush. The bears
are ugly customers. They seem slow and clumsy, but they
are not so, and they are very hard to kill. One blow from
their fore-paws will strip off the flesh as readily as the blow
of a tiger. They will snap a spear-shaft as easily as if it were a
reed. They are all ugly beasts to fight, and more than a fair
match for a single man. Better by far fight the most skilled
gladiator in the ring than have anything to do with these crea-
tures. Yet it is well to know how to meet them, so that if
ill-fortune places you in front of them, you may know how to
do your best."

Accounts came almost daily to the hills of the scenes in the
arena, and the Romans, accustomed though they were to the
fortitude with which the gladiators met the death-stroke, were
yet astonished at the undaunted bearing of the Christians — old
men and girls, slaves and men of noble family, calmly facing
death, and even seeming to rejoice in it.

One evening a slave brought a note from Emilia to Beric.
It contained but a few words :

"Our efi'orts are vain; Ennia is condemned, and will be
handed to the lions to-morrow in the arena. We have received
orders to be present, as a punisliment for not having kept a
closer watch over her. I think I shall die."

Beric went to Scopus at once.

" You advised me several times to go to the arena, Scopus,
in order to learn something from the conflicts. I want to be
present to-morrow. For us and Lupus are both to fight."

260 BERIC THE BRITON.

" I am going myself, Bciic, and will take you with me. I shall
start two hours before daybreak, so as to be there in good
time. As their lanista I shall enter the arena with them. I
cannot take you there, but I know all the attendants, and can
arrange for you to be down at the level of the arena. It may
not be long before you have to play your part there, and I
should like you to get accustomed to the scene, the wall of
faces and the roar of applause, for these things are apt to shake
the nerves of one unaccustomed to them."

Beric smiled. " After meeting the Romans twenty times in
battle, Scopus, the noise of a crowd would no more affect me
than the roar of the wind over the tree-tops. Still I want to
see it; and more, I want to see how the people of this new
sect face death. British women do not fear to die, and often slay
themselves rather than fall into the hands of the Romans,
knowing well that they will go straight to the Happy Island
and have no more trouble. Are these Christians as brave?"

Scopus shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, they die bravely
enough. But who fears death ? Among all the peoples Rome
has conquered where has she met with cowards? Everywhere
the women are found ready to fall by their husbands' swords
rather than become captives; to leap from precipices, or cast
themselves into blazing pyres. Is man anywhere lower than
the wild beast, who will face his assailants till the last ? I have
seen men of every tribe and people fight in the arena. If con-
quered, they raise their hand in order to live to conquer another
day; but not once, when the thumbs have been turned down,
have I seen one flinch from the fatal stroke."

"That is true enough," Beric said; "but methinks it is one
thing to court death in the hour of defeat, when all your friends
have fallen round you, and all hope is lost, and quite another
to stand alone and friendless with the eyes of a multitude fixed
on you. Still I would see it."

The next day Beric stood beside Scopus among a group of
guards and attendants of the arena at one of the doors leading
from it. Above, every seat of the vast circle was crowded
with spectators. In the centre of the lower tier sat the
emperor; near him were the members of his council and court.
The lower tiers round the arena were filled by the senators
and equites, with their wives and daughters. Above these were

ROME IN FLAMES. 261

the seats of oflBcials and others having a right to special seats,
and then came, tier above tier to the uppermost seats, the vast
concourse of people. When the great door of the arena opened
a procession entered, headed by Cneius Spado, the senator at
whose expense the games were given. Then, two and two,
marched the gladiators who were to take part in it, accompanied
by their lanistse or teachers. Scopus, after seeing Beric well
placed, had left him to accompany Porus and Lupus.

The gladiators were variously armed. There were the hop-
lomachi, who fought in complete suits of armour; the laquea-
tores, who used a noose to catch their adversaries; the retiarii,
with their net and trident, and wearing neither armour nor
helmet; the mirmillones, armed like the Gauls; the Samni,
with oblong shields ; and the Thracians, with round ones. With
the exception of the retiarii all wore helmets, and their right
arms were covered with armour, the left being protected by
the shield. The gladiators saluted the emperor and people,
and the procession then left the arena, the first two matched
against each other again , entering, each accompanied by his
lanista. Both the gladiators were novices, the men who had
frequently fought and conquered being reserved for the later
contests, as the excitement of the audience became roused. One
of the combatants was armed as a Gaul, the other as a Thracian.

The combat was not a long one. The men fought for a short
time cautiously, and then closing exchanged fierce and rapid
blows until one fell mortally wounded. A murmur of discon-
tent rose from the spectators, there had not been a sufficient
exhibition of skill to satisfy them. Eight or ten pairs of gladi-
ators fought one after the other, the excitement of the audience
rising with each conflict, as men of noted skill now contended.
The victors were hailed with shouts of applause, and the van-
quished were spared, a proof that the spectators were in a good
temper and satisfied with the entertainment. Beric looked on
with interest. In the age in which he lived feelings of com-
passion scarcely existed. War was the normal state of exis-
tence. Tribal wars were of constant occurrence, and the van-
quished were either slain or enslaved. Men fought out their
private quarrels to the death ; and Beric, being by birth Briton
and by education Roman, felt no more compunction at the
sight of blood than did either Briton or Eoman.

262 BERIC THE BRITON.

To him the only unnatural feature in the contest was that
there existed neither personal nor tribal hostility between the
combatants, and that they fought solely for the amusement of
the spectators. Otherwise he was no more moved by the scenes
that passed before his eyes than is a Briton of the present day
by a friendly boxing match. He was more interested when Porus
entered the arena, accompanied by Scopus. He liked Porus,
who, although quick and fiery in temper, was good-natured and
not given to brawling. He had often practised against him,
and knew exactly his strength and skill. He was clever in the
management of his net, but failed sometimes from his eagerness
to use his trident. He was received with loud applause when
he entered, and justified the good opinion of the spectators by
defeating his antagonist, who was armed as a Samnite, the
spectators expressing their dissatisfaction at the clumsiness of
the latter by giving the hostile signal, when the Gaul — for the
vanquished man belonged to that nationality — instead of wait-
ing for the approach of Porus, at once stabbed himself with his
own sword.

The last pair to fight were Lupus and one of the Britons.
He had not been trained in the school of Scopus, but in one of
the other ludi, and as he was the first of those brought over
by Suetonius to appear in the arena, he was greeted with accla-
mation as loud as those with which Lupus was received. Tall
as Lupus was, the Briton far exceeded him in stature, and the
interest of the spectators was aroused by the question whether
the strength of the new-comer would render him a fair match
for the well-known skill of Lupus. A buzz went round the
amphitheatre as bets were made on the result. Beric felt a
thrill of excitement, for the Briton was one of the youngest
and most active of his followers, and had often fought side by
side with him against the Romans.

How well he had been trained Beric knew not, but as he
knew that he himself was superior in swordmanship to Lupus,
he felt that his countryman's chances of success were good. It
was not long, however, before he saw that the teaching the
Briton had received had been very inferior to that given at
the school of Scopus, and although he twice nearly beat Lupus
to the ground by the sheer weight of his blows, the latter thrice
wounded him without himself receiving a scratch. Warned,

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 263

however, of the superior strength of the Briton Lupus still
fought cautiously, avoiding his blows, and trying to tire him
out. For a long time the conflict continued, then, thinking
that his opponent was now weakened by his exertions and by
loss of blood, Lupus took the off"ensive and hotly pressed his
antagonist, and presently inflicted a fourth and more severe
wound than those previously given.

A shout rose from the spectators, "Lupus wins!" when the
Briton, with a sudden spring, threw himself upon his opponent.
Their shields clashed together as they stood breast to breast.
Lupus shortened his sword to thrust it in below the Briton's
buckler, when the latter smote with the hilt of his sword with
all his ptrength full upon his assailant's helmet, and so tremen-
dous was the blow that Lupus fell an inert mass upon the
ground, while a tremendous shout rose from the audience at
this unexpected termination of the contest. Scopus leaned
over the fallen man. He was insensible but breathed, being
simply stunned by the weight of the blow. Scopus held up his
own hand, and the unanimous upturning of the thumbs showed
that the spectators were well satisfied with the skill and cour-
age with which Lupus had fought.

CHAPTER XV.

'THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS."

AFTER the contest in which Lupus had been defeated there
was a pause. The gladiatorial part of the show was
now over, but there was greater excitement still awaiting the
audience, for they knew Nero had ordered that some of the
Christians were to be given to the lions. There was a hush of
expectation as the door was opened, and a procession, consist-
ing of a priest of Jupiter and several attendants of the temple,
followed by four guards conducting an elderly man with his
two sons, lads of seventeen or eighteen, entered. They made
their way across the arena and stopped before the emperor.

264 BERIC THE BRITON.

The priest approached the prisoners, holding out a small image
of the god, and offered them their lives if they would pay the
customary honours to it.

All refused. They were then conducted back to the centre
of the arena, and the rest, leaving them there, filed out through
the door. The old man laid his hands on the shoulders of his
sons and began singing a hymn, in which they both joined.
Their voices rose loud and clear in the silence of the amphi-
theatre, and there was neither pause nor waver in the tone as
the entrance to one of the cages at the other end of the arena
was opened, and a lion and a lioness appeared. The animals
stood hesitating as they looked round at the sea of faces, then,
encouraged by the silence, they stepped out, and side by side
made the circuit of the arena, stopping and uttering a loud roar
as they came upon the track along which the bleeding bodies
of those who had fallen had been dragged. When they had
completed the circle they again paused, and now for the first
time turned their attention to the three figures standing in its
centre. For a minute they stood irresolute, and then couching
low crawled towards them.

Beric turned his head. He could view without emotion a
contest of armed men, but he could not, like the population of
Rome, see unarmed and unresisting men pulled down by wild
beasts. There was a dead stillness in the crowded amphi-
theatre, then there was a low sound as of a gasping breath.
One voice alone continued the hymn, and soon that too ceased
suddenly. The tragedy was over, and the buzz of conversation
and comment again broke out among the spectators. Certainly
these Christians knew how to die. They were bad citizens,
they had doubtless assisted to burn Rome, but they knew how
to die.

A strong body of guards provided with torches now entered.
The lions were driven back to their dens, the bodies being
left lying where they had fallen. Four batches of prisoners
who were brought out one after another met with a similar
fate. Then there was another pause. It was known that a
girl of noble family was to be the last victim, and all eyes were
turned to Norbanus, who, with his wife and >5^milia, sat in the
front row near Nero, with two Praetorian guards standing
beside them. Norbanus was deadly pale, but the pride of

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 265

noble blood, the stoicism of the philosopher, and the knowledge
of his own utter helplessness combined to prevent his showing
any other sign of emotion. Lesbia sat upright and immovable
beside him, pale but haughty, as she would have met death
herself. She was not one to show her emotion before the gaze
of the common people.

Emilia, half insensible, would have fallen had not the guard
beside her supported her. She had seen nothing of what had
passed in the arena, but had sat frozen with horror beside her
mother. Again the doors opened, a priest of Diana, followed
by a procession of white-robed attendants, and six virgins from
the temple of Diana, entered, followed by Ennia between the
attendants of the temple, while a band of lictors brought up the
rear. Even the hardened hearts of the spectators were moved
by the youth and beauty of the young girl, who, dressed in
white, advanced calmly between her guards, with a gentle
modest expression on her features. When the procession formed
up before the emperor, she saluted him. The priest and the
virgins surrounded her, and urged her to pay reverence to the
statue of Diana.

Pointing to her parents, they implored her for their sake to
recant. Pale as death, and with tears streaming down her
cheeks, she shook her head quietly. " I cannot deny the Lord
who died for me," she said. Nero himself rose from his seat.
" Maiden," he said, " if not for your own sake, for the sake of
those who love you, I pray you to cease from your obstinacy.
How can a child like you know more than the wisest heads
of Rome 1 How can you deny the gods who have protected
and given victory to your country? I would fain spare you."

*' I am but a child, as you say, Csesar," Ennia replied. " I
have no strength of my own, but I am strong in the strength
of Him I worship. He gave His life for me — it is not much
that I should give mine for Him."

Nero sank back on his seat with an angry wave of his hand.
He saw that the sympathy of the audience was with the
prisoner, and would willingly have gained their approval by
extending his clemency towards her. The procession now
returned to the centre of the arena, where the girls, weeping,
took leave of Ennia, who soon stood alone a slight helpless
figure in the sight of the great silent multitude. Nero had

266 BERIC THE BRITON.

spoken in a low tone to one of his attendants. The door of
another cage was opened, and a lion, larger in bulk than any
that had previously appeared, entered the arena, saluting the
audience with a deep roar. As it did so a tall figure, naked
to the waist, sprang forward from the group of attendants
behind a strong barrier at the other end of the arena. He was
armed only with a sword which he had snatched from a soldier
standing next to him. Deep murmurs of surprise rose from
the spectators. The master of the ceremonies exchanged a
few words with the emperor, and a body of men with torches
and trumpets ran forward and drove the lion back into its den.
Then Beric, who had been standing in front of Ennia, advanced
towards the emperor.

"Who are you?" Nero asked,

" I am Beric, once chief of the Iceni, now a British captive,
I received great kindness on my way hither from Norbanus,
the father of this. maid. As we Britons are not ungrateful
I am ready to defend her to the death, and I crave as a boon,
Caesar, that you will permit me to battle against the lion with
such arms as you may decide."

"Are you a Christian?" the emperor asked coldly.

" I am not. I am of the religion of my nation, and Rome
has always permitted the people that have been subdued to
worship in their own fashion. I know nought of the Christian
doctrines, but I know that this damsel at least can have had
nought to do with the burning of Rome, and that though she
may have forsaken the gods of Rome, in this only can she
have offended. I pray you, and I pray this assembly, to let
me stand as her champion against the beasts."

A burst of applause rose from the spectators. This was a
novelty, and an excitement beyond what they had bargained
for. They had been moved by the youth of the victim, and
now the prospects of something even more exciting than the
rending to pieces of a defenceless girl enlisted them in favour
of the applicant. Moreover the Romans intensely admired
feats of bravery, and that this captive should offer to face
single-handed an animal that was known to be one of the
most powerful of those in the amphitheatre filled them with
admiration. Accustomed as they were to gaze at athletes, they
were struck with the physique and strength of this young

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 267

Briton, with the muscles standing up massive and knotted
through the white skin.

"Granted, granted!" they shouted; "let him fight."

Nero waited till the acclamation ceased, and then said: "The
people have spoken, let their will be done. But we must not
be unfair to the lion; as the maiden was unarmed so shall you
stand unarmed before the lion."

The decision was received in silence by the spectators. It
was a sentence of death to the young Briton, and the silence
was succeeded by a low murmur of disapproval. Beric turned
a little pale, but he showed no other sign of emotion.

" Thanks, Ca}sar, for so much of a boon," he said in a loud,
steady voice; "I accept the conditions, it being understood that
should the gods of my country, and of this maiden, defend me
against the lion, the damsel shall be free from all pain and
penalty, and shall be restored to her parents."

" That is understood," Nero replied.

With an inclination of his head to the emperor and a wave of
his hand to the audience in general, Beric turned and walked
across the arena to the barrier. Scopus was standing there.

"You are mad, Beric. I grieve for you. You were my
favourite pupil, and I looked for great things from you, and
now it has come to this, and all is over."

" All is not quite over yet, Scopus. I will try to do credit
to your training; give me my cloak. He wrapped himself in
its ample folds, and then walked quietly back to the centre of
the arena. A murmur of surprise rose from the spectators.
Why should the Briton cumber his limbs with this garment?

On reaching his position Beric again threw off the cloak, and
stood in the short skirt reaching scarce to the knees. " I am
unarmed," he cried in a loud voice. " You see I have not as
much as a dagger." Then he tore off two broad strips from the
edge of the garment and twisted them into ropes, forming a
running noose in each, threw the cloak, which was composed of
the stout cloth used by the common people, over his arm, and
signed to the attendants at the cage to open the door.

" Oh, Beric, why have you thrown away your life in a useless
attempt to save mine?" Ennia said as he stood before her.

" It may not be useless, Ennia. My god has protected me
through many dangers, and your God will surely assist me now.

268 BERIC THE BRITON.

Do you pray to him for aid." Then as the door of the den
opened he stepped a few paces towards it. A roar of applause
rose from the vast audience. They had appreciated his action
in making the ropes, and guessed that he meant to use his cloak
as a retiarius used his net; there would then be a contest and
not a massacre. Enraged at its former treatment the lion
dashed out of its den with a sudden spring, made three or four
leaps forward, and then paused with its eyes fixed on the man
standing in front of it, still and immovable, in an easy pose,
ready for instant action. Then it sank till its belly nearly
touched the ground, and began to crawl with a stealthy glid-
ing motion towards him. More and more slowly it went, till
it paused at a distance of some ten yards.

For a few seconds it crouched motionless, save for a slow
waving motion of its tail; then with a sharp roar it sprang
through the air. With a motion as quick Beric leaped aside,
and as it touched the ground he sprang across its loins, at the
same moment wrapping his cloak in many folds round its
head, and knotting the ends tightly. Then as the lion, recover-
ing from its first surprise, sprang to its feet with a roar of
anger and disgust, Beric was on his feet beside it.

For a moment it strove to tear away the strange substance
which enveloped its head, but Beric dropped the end of a noose
over one of its fore-paws, drew it tight, and with a sudden
pull jerked the animal over on to its back. As it sprang up
again the other fore-paw was noosed, and it was again thrown
over. This time, as it sprang to its feet, Beric struck it a
tremendous blow on the nose. The unexpected assault for a
moment brought it down, but mad with rage it sprang up and
struck out in all directions at its invisible foe, leaping and
bounding hither and thither. Beric easily avoided the onslaught,
and taking every opportunity struck it three or four times with
all his force on the ear, each time rolling it over and over. The
last of these blows seemed almost to stun it, and it lay for a
moment immovable.

Again Beric leaped upon it, coming down astride of its loins
with all his weight, and seizing at once the two ropes. The lion
uttered a roar of dismay and pain, and struck at him first with
one paw and then with the other. By his coolness and quick-
ness, however, he escaped all the blows, and then, when the

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 269

lion seemed exhausted, he jerked tightly the cords, twisting
them behind the lion's back and with rapid turns fastening them
together. The lion was helpless now. Had Bene attempted to
pull the cords in any other position it would have snapped them
like pack-thread, but in this position it had no strength, the
pads of the feet being fastened together and the limbs almost
dislocated. As the animal rolled over and over uttering roars
of vain fury, Beric snatched the cloth from its head, tore off
another strip, twisted it, and without difficulty bound its hind-
legs together. Then he again wrapped it round the lion's head,
and standing up bowed to the spectators.

A mighty shout shook the building. Never had such a feat
been seen in the arena before, and men and women alike stand-
ing up waved their hands with frantic enthusiasm. Beric had
not escaped altogether unhurt, for as the lion struck out at
him it had torn away a piece of flesh from his side, and the
blood was streaming down over his white skirt. Then he went
up to Ennia, who was standing with closed eyes and hands
clasped in prayer. She had seen nothing of the conflict, and
had believed that Beric's death and her own were inevitable.

"Ennia," he said, "our gods have saved me; the lion is help-
less." Then she sank down insensible. He raised her on his
shoulder, walked across the arena, passed the barrier, and,
ascending the steps, walked along before the first row of spec-
tators and handed her over to her mother. Then he descended
again, and bowed deeply, first to the emperor and then to the
still shouting people.

The giver of the games advanced and placed on his head a
crown of bay leaves, and handed to him a heavy purse of gold,
which Beric placed in his girdle, and, again saluting the audience,
rejoined Scopus, who was in a state of enthusiastic delight at
the prowess of his pupil.

" You have proved yourself the first gladiator in Rome," he
said. "Henceforth the school of Scopus is ahead of all its
rivals. Now we must get your side dressed. Another inch or
two, Beric, and the conflict would not have ended as it did."

" Yes, if the lion had not been in such a hurry to strike, and
had stretched its paw to the fullest, it would have fared badly
with me," Beric said ; " but it was out of breath and spiteful, and
had not recovered from the blow and from the shock of my

270 BERIO THE BRITON.

jumping on it, which must have pretty nearly broken its back.
I knew it was a risk, but it was my only chance of getting its
paws in that position, and in no other would my ropes have
been strong enough to hold them."

"But how came you to think of fighting in that way?"
Scopus asked, after the leech, who was always in attendance to
dress the wounds of the gladiators, had bandaged up his side.

"I never expected to have to fight the beasts unarmed,"
Beric said, " but I had sometimes thought what should be done
in such a case, and I thought that if one could but wrap one's
cloak round a lion's head the beast would be at one's mercy.
Had I had but a csestus I could have beaten its skull in, but
without that I saw that the only plan was to noose its limbs.
Surely a man ought to be able to overcome a blinded beast."

" I would not try it for all the gold in Eome, Beric, even
now that I have seen you do it. Did you mark Caesar 1 There
is no one appreciates valiant deeds more than he does. At
first his countenance was cold — I marked him narrowly — but
he half rose to his feet and his countenance changed when you
first threw yourself on the lion, and none applauded more
warmly than he did when your victory was gained. Listen to
them; they are shouting for you again. You must go. Never
before did I know them to linger after a show was over. They
will give you presents."

" I care not for them," Beric said.

" You must take them," Scopus said, " or you will undo the
favourable impression you have made, which will be useful to
you should you ever enter the arena again and be conquered.
Go, go!"

Beric again entered the arena, and the attendants led him up
to the emperor, who presented him with a gold bracelet, saying:

"I will speak to you again, Beric. I had wondered that
you and your people should have resisted Suetonius so long,
but I wonder no longer."

Then Beric was led round the arena. Ladies threw down
rings and bracelets to him. These were gathered up by the
attendants and handed to him as he bowed to the givers.
Norbanus, his wife, and daughter had already left their seats,
surrounded by friends congratulating them, and bearing with
them the still insensible girL Having made the tour of the

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 271

arena Eerie again saluted the audience and retired. One of the
imperial attendants met them as they left the building.

" The emperor bids me say, Scopus, that when Beric is re-
covered from his wound he is to attend at the palace."

" I thought the emperor meant well towards you," Scopus
said. " You will in any case fight no more in the arena."

"How is that]" Beric asked in surprise.

' Did you not hear the shouts of the people the last time
you entered, Beric?"

" I heard a great confused roar, but in truth I was feeling
somewhat faint from loss of blood, and did not catch any par-
ticular sounds."

"They shouted that you were free from the arena hence-
forth. It is their custom when a gladiator greatly distin-
guishes himself to declare him free, though I have never
known one before freed on his first appearance. The rule is
that a gladiator remains for two years in the ring, but that period
is shortened should the people deem that he has earned his life
by his courage and skill. For a moment I was sorry when I
heard it, but perhaps it is better as it is. Did you remain for
two years, and fight and conquer at every show, you could
gain no more honour than you have done. Now I will get a
lectica and have you carried out to the hills. You are not fit
to walk."

They were joined outside by Porus and Lupus. The former
was warm in his congratulation.

"By the gods, Beric, though I knew well that you would
gain a great triumph in the arena when your time came, I nevei
thought to see you thus fighting with the beasts unarmed.
Why, Milo himself was not stronger, and he won thirteen
times at the Olympian and Pythian games. He would have
won more, but no one would venture to enter against him.
Why, were you to go on practising for another five years, you
would be as strong as he was, and as you are as skilful as you
are strong it would go hard with any that met you. I con-
gratulated myself, I can tell you, when I heard the people shout
that you were free of the arena, for if by any chance we had
been drawn against each other, I might as well have laid down
my net and asked you to finish me at once without trouble."

"It was but a happy thought, Porus: if a man could be

272 BERIC THE BRITON.

caught in a net, why not a lion blinded in a cloak? That
once done the rest was easy."

" Well, I don't want any easy jobs of that sort," Porus said.
"But let us go into a wine-shop; a glass will bring the colour
again to your cheeks."

" No, no, Porus," Scopus said. " Do you and Lupus drink,
and I will drink with you, but no wine for Beric. I will get
him a cup of hot ass's milk; that will give him strength with-
out fevering his blood. Here is a place where they sell it. I
will go in with him first, and then join you there; but take not
too much. You have a long walk back, and I guess. Lupus,
that your head already hums from the blow that Briton gave it.
By Bacchus, these Britons are fine men! I thought you had
got an easy thing of it, when boom ! and there you were stretched
out like a dead man."

"It was a trick," Lupus said angrily, "a base trick."

"Not at all," Scopus replied. "You fought as if in war;
and in war if you had an opponent at close quarters, and could
not use your sword's point, you would strike him down with
the hilt if you could. As I have told you over and over again,
you are a good swordsman, but you don't know everything yet
by a long way, and you are so conceited that you never will. I
hoped that drubbing Beric gave you a few days after he joined
us would have done you good, but I don't see that it has.
There are some men who never seem to learn. If it had not
been for you our ludus would have triumphed all round to-day;
but when one sees a man we put forward as one of our best
swordsmen defeated by a raw Briton, people may well say,
'Scopus has got one or two good men; there is Beric, he is
a marvel; and Porus is good with the net; but as for the rest,
I don't value them a straw.'"

The enraged gladiator sprang upon Scopus, but the latter
seized him by the waist and hurled him down with such force
that he was unable to rise until Porus assisted him to his feet.
As to Scopus, he paid him no farther attention, but putting his
hand on Beric's shoulder led him into the shop. A long draught
of hot milk did wonders for Beric, and he proposed walking,
but Scopus would not hear of it.

" Sit down here for five minutes," he said, " till I have a cup
of wine with the others. I should think Lupus must need it

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 273

pretty badly, what with the knock on the head and the tumble
I have just given him. I am not sorry that he was beaten by
your countryman, for since he has had the luck to win two or
three times in the arena, his head has been quite turned. He
would never have dared to lay his hand on me had he not been
half mad, for he knows well enough that I could strangle him
with one hand. The worst of him is, that the fellow bears
malice. He has never forgiven you the thrashing you adminis-
tered to him. Now I suppose he will be sulky for weeks; but
if he does it will be worse for him, for I will cut off his wine,
and that will soon bring him to his senses."

Scopus had gone but a few minutes when he returned with
a lectica, which was a sort of palanquin, carried by four stout
countrymen.

"Really, Scopus, it is ridiculous that I should be carried
along the streets like a woman."

"Men are carried as well as women, Beric, and as you are
a wounded man you have a double right to be carried. Here
is a bag with all those ornaments you got. It is quite heavy to
Uft."

The bearers protested loudly at the weight of their burden
when they lifted the lectica, but the promise of a little extra
pay silenced their complaints. They were scarcely beyond the
city when Beric, who was weaker from loss of blood than he
imagined, dozed off to sleep, and did not wake till the lectica was
set down in the atrium of the house on the Alban Hills.

Next morning he was extremely stiff, and found himself
obliged to continue on his couch.

" It is of no use your trying to get up," Scopus said; "the
muscles of your flank are badly torn, and you must remain
quiet."

An hour later a rheda or four-wheeled carriage drove up to
the door, and in another minute Norbanus entered Beric's
cubicle. There were tears in his eyes as he held out both hands
to him. " Ah, my friend," he said, " how happy you must be
in the happiness you caused to us ! Who could have thought,
when I entertained, as a passing guest, the friend of Pollio,
that he would be the saviour of my family 1 You must have
thought poorly of us yesterday that I was not at the exit from
the amphitheatre to meet and thank you. But I hurried home

f725) p

274 BERIG THE BRITON.

with Ennia, and having left her in charge of her mother and
sister came back to find you, but you had left, and I could
learn no news of you. I searched for some time, and then
guessing that you had been brought home by Scopus, I went
back to the child, who is sorely ill. I fear that the strain has
been too much for her, and that we sliall lose her. But how
different from what it would have been ! To die is the lot of
us all, and though I shall mourn my child, it will be a different
thing indeed from seeing her torn to pieces before my eyes by
the lion. She has recovered from her faint, but she lies still
and quiet, and scarce seems to hear what is said to her. Her
eyes are open, she has a happy smile on her lips, and I be-
lieve that she is well content now that she has done what she
deems her duty to her God. She smiled when I told her this
morning that I was coming over to see you, and said in a
whisper, 'I shall see him again, father.'"

"Would she like to see me now?" Eerie said, making an
effort to rise.

"No, not now, Beric. I don't think somehow that she
meant that. The leech said that she must be kept perfectly
quiet; but I will send a slave with a letter to you daily. Oh,
what a day was yesterday! The woes of a lifetime seemed
centred in an hour. I know not how I lived as I sat there and
waited for the fatal moment. All the blood in my veins seemed
to freeze up as she was left alone in the arena. A mist came
over my eyes. I tried to close them, but could not. I saw
nothing of the amphitheatre, nothing of the spectators, nothing
but her, till, at the sudden shout from the crowd, I roused
myself with a start. When I saw you beside her I thought at
first that I dreamed; but Emilia suddenly clasped my arm
and said, 'It is Beric!' Then I hoped something, I know not
what, until Nero said that you must meet the lion unarmed.

"Then I thought all was over — that two victims were to die
instead of one. I tried to rise to cry to you to go, for that
I would die by Ennia, but my limbs refused to support me;
and though I tried to shout I did but whisper. What followed
was too quick for me to mark. I saw the beast spring at you ;
I saw a confused struggle; but not until I saw you rise and
bow, while the lion rolled over and over, bound and helpless,
did I realize that what seemed impossible had indeed come to

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 275

pass, and that you, unarmed and alone, had truly vanquished
the terrible beast.

" I hear that all Kome is talking of nothing else. My friends,
who poured in all the evening to congratulate us, told me so,
and that no such feat had ever been seen in the arena."

" It does not seem much to me, Norbanus," Beric said. " It
needed only some coolness and strength, though truly I myself
doubted, when Nero gave the order to fight without weapons, if
it could be done. I cannot but think that Ennia's God and
mine aided me."

" It is strange," Norbanus said, " that one so young and weak
as Ennia should have shown no fear, and that the other
Christians should all have met their fate ^vith so wonderful a
calm. As you know, I have thought that all religions were
alike, each tribe and nation having its own. But methinks
there must be something more in this when its votaries are ready
so to die for it."

" Do not linger with me," Beric said. " You must be long-
ing to be with your child. Pray, go at once. She must be
glad to have you by her, even if she says little. I thank you
for your promise to send news to me daily. If she should
express any desire to see me, I will get Scopus to provide a
vehicle to carry me to Rome; but in a few days I hope to be
about."

" Your first visit must be to Caesar, when you are well enough
to walk," Norbanus said. *' They tell me he bade you come
to see him, and he would be jealous did he know that he was
not the first in your thoughts."

Norbanus returned to Kome, and each day a letter came to
Beric. The news was always the same; there was no change
in Ennia's condition.

Beric's wound healed rapidly. Hard work and simple living
had so toughened his frame that a wound that might have been
serious affected him only locally, and mended with surprising
rapidity. In a week he was up and about, and three days later
he felt well enough to go to Rome.

"You would have been better for a few days more rest,"
Scopus said, " but Nero is not fond of being kept waiting; and
if he really wishes to see you it would be well that you present
yourself as soon as possible."

276 BERIC THE BRITON.

"I care nothing for Nero," Beric said; "hut I should he
glad, for the sake of Norbanus, to see his daughter. It may be
that my presence might rouse her and do her good. I want none
of Nero's favours; they are dangerous at the best. His liking
is fatal. He has now murdered Britannicus, his wife Octavia,
and his mother Agrippina. He has banished Seneca, and every
other adviser he had he has either executed or driven into
exile."

"That is all true enough, Beric, though it is better not
said. Still, you must remember you have no choice. There
is no thwarting Nero; if he designs to bestow favours upon
you, you must accept them. I agree with you that they are
dangerous; but you know how to guard yourself. A man who
has fought a lion with naked hands may well manage to escape
even the clutches of Nero. He has struck down the greatest
and richest; but it is easier for one who is neither great nor rich
to escape. At any rate, Beric, I have a faith in your fortune.
You have gone through so much, that I think surely some god
protects you. By the way, what are you going to do with
that basketful of women's ornaments that I have locked up in
my coffer?"

" I thought no more about them, Scopus.''

" I should advise you to sell them. In themselves they are
useless to you. But once turned into money they may some
day stand you in good stead. They are worth a large sum, I
can tell you, and I don't care about keeping them here. None
of my school are condemned malefactors. I would never take
such men, even to please the wealthiest patron. But there
is no use in placing temptation before any, and Porus and
Lupus will have told how the Roman ladies flung their
bracelets to you. I will take them down to a goldsmith who
works for some of my patrons, and get him to value them, if
you will."

" Thank you, Scopus, I shall be glad to get rid of them.
How would you dress for waiting on Caesar?"

" I have been thinking it over," Scopus said. " I should say
well, and yet not too well. You are a free man, for although
Nero disposed of you as if you had been slaves, you were not
enslaved nor did you bear the mark of slavery, therefore you
have always dressed like a free man. Again, you are a chief

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 277

among your own people; therefore, as I say, I should dress
well but quietly. Nero has many freedmen about him, and
though some of these provoke derision by vying with the
wealthiest, this I know would never be done by you, even did
you bask in the favour of Nero. A white tunic and a psenula
of fine white cloth or a lacerna, both being long and ample so
as to fall in becoming folds, would be the best. As I shall ride
into Rome with you, you can there get one before going to see
Nero."

On arriving at Rome Beric was soon fitted with a cloak of
fine white stuff, the folds of which showed off his figure to ad-
vantage. Scopus accompanied him to Nero's palace.

" I know several of his attendants," he said, " and can get
you passed in to the emperor, which will save you waiting hours,
perhaps, before you can obtain an audience."

Taking him through numerous courts and along many
passages they reached a chamber where several officials of the
palace were walking and talking, waiting in readiness should
they be required by Nero. Scopus went up to one with whom
he was well acquainted. After the usual greetings he explained
to him that he had, in accordance with Nero's order, brought
the young Briton, Beric, who had conquered the lion in the
arena, and begged him to ask the emperor whether he would
choose to give him audience at present.

" I will acquaint his chief chamberlain at once, Scopus, and
will ask him, for your sake, to choose his moment for telling
Nero. It may make a great difference in the fortunes of the
young man whether Caesar is in a good temper or not when
he receives him. It is not often at present that he is in bad
humour. Since the fire his mind has been filled with great
ideas, and he thinks of little but making the city in all respects
magnificent, and as he loves art in every way this is a high
delight to him; therefore, unless aught has gone wrong with
him, he will be found accessible. I will go to the chamberlain
at once, my Scopus."

It was half an hour before he returned. " The chamberlain
said that there could not be a better time for your gladiator to
see Caesar, and therefore he has spoken to him at once, and
Nero has ordered the Briton to be brought to him. These
two ofiicials will conduct him at once to his presence."

278 BERIC THE BRITON,

Beric was taken in charge by the two ushers, and was led
along several passages, in each of which a guard was on duty,
until they reached a massive door. Here two soldiers were
stationed. The ushers knocked. Another official presented
himself at the door, and, beckoning to Beric to follow him,
pushed aside some rich hangings heavy with gold embroidery.
They were now in a small apartment, the walls of which were
of the purest white marble, and the furniture completely covered
with gold. Crossing this he drew another set of hangings
aside, entered with Beric, bowed deeply, and saying, " This is
the Briton, Csesar," retired, leaving Beric standing before the
emperor.

The apartment was of moderate size, exquisitely decorated
in Greek fashion. One end was open to a garden, where plants
and shrubs of the most graceful foliage, brought from many
parts of the world, threw a delicious shade. Statues of white
marble gleamed among them, and fountains of perfumed waters
filled the air with sweet odours. Nero sat in a simple white
tunic upon a couch, while a black slave, of stature rivalling that
of Beric, kneeled in front of him holding out a great sheet of
parchment with designs of some of the decorations of his new
palace. Nero waved his hand, and the slave, rolling up the
parchment, took his stand behind the emperor's couch. The
latter looked long and steadily at him before speaking, as if
to read his disposition.

"Beric," he said, "I have seen you risk your life for one
who was but little to you, for I have spoken to Norbanus, and
have learned from him the nature of your acquaintance with
him, and found that you have seen but little of this young
maiden for whom you were ready to risk what seemed certain
death. Moreover, she was but a young girl, and her life can
have had no special value in your eyes; therefore, it seems to
me that you are one who would be a true and faithful friend
indeed to a man who on his part was a friend to you. You
have the other qualities of bravery and skill and strength.
Moreover, you belong to no party in Rome. I have inquired
concerning you, and find that although Pollio, the nephew of
Norbanus, introduced you to many of his friends, you have
gone but little among them, but have spent your time much,
when not in the ludus, in the public libraries. Being myself

"THE CHRISTIANS TO THE LIONS." 279

a lover of books, the report inclines me the more toward you.
I feel that I could rely upon you, and you would find in me not
a master but a friend. Of those around me I can trust but few.
They serve from interest, and if their interest lay the other way
they would desert me. I have many enemies, and though the
people love me, the great families, whose connections and rela-
tions are everywhere, think only of their private aims and ends,
and many deem themselves to have reasons for hatred against
me. I need one like you, brave, single-minded, resolute, and
faithful to me, who would be as simple and as true when raised
to wealth and honour as you have shown yourself when but
a simple gladiator. Wilt thou be such a one to mel"

"I am but ill fitted for such a post, Csesar," Beric said
gravely. " I have been a chief and leader of my own people,
and my tongue would never bring itself to utter the flattering
words used by those who surround an imperial throne. Mon-
archs love not the truth, and my blunt speech would speedily
offend you. A faithful guard to your majesty I might be,
more than that I fear I never could be, for even to please you,
Nero, I could not say aught except what I thought"

" I should expect and wish for no more," Nero said. " It is
good to hear the truth sometimes. I heard it from Seneca;
but, alas ! I did not value it then as I should have done. I am
older and wiser now. Besides, Seneca was a Roman, and neces-
sarily mixed up in the intrigues that are ever on foot, and
connected with half the great families in Rome. You stand
alone, and I should know that whatever you said the words
would be your own, and would not have been put in your
mouth by others, and even when your opinions ran counter to
mine I should respect them. Well, what do you say?"

" It is not for me to bargain with the master of Rome," Beric
said. "I am ready to be your man, Caesar, to lay down my
life in your defence, to be your guard as a faithful hound might
be; only, I pray you, take me not in any way into your con-
fidence as to state affairs, for of these I am wholly ignorant.
My ideas are those of a simple British chief. Rome and its
ways are too complicated for me to understand, and were you
to speak to me on such matters I should soon forfeit your
favour. For we in Britain are, as it were, people of another
world — simple and straightforward in our thoughts and ways,

280 BERIC THE BRITON.

and with no ideas of state expediency. Therefore, I pray you,
let me stand aloof from all such matters, and regard me simply
as one ready to strike and die in your defence, and as having
no more interest or knowledge of state affairs and state intrigues
than those statues in the garden there."

" So be it," Nero said. " You are modest, Beric, and modesty
is a virtue rare in Eome; but I appreciate your honesty, and
feel sure that I can rely upon you for faithful service. Let me
see, to what office shall I appoint you] I cannot call you my
body-guard, for this would excite the jealousy of the Prsetorians."
He sat in thought for a minute. " Ah!" he exclaimed, "you
are fond of books, I will appoint you my private librarian.
My libraries are vast, but I will have a chamber close to mine
own fitted up with the choicest books, so that I can have ready
at hand any that I may require. This will be an excuse for
having you always about my person."

"I do not speak Greek, Caesar."

" You shall have under you a Greek freedman, one Chiton,
who is now in my library. He will take charge of the rolls,
for I do not intend that you should remain shut up there. It
is but a pretext for your presence here."

He touched a bell and a servant entered. " Tell Phaon to
come to me." A minute later Phaon, a freedman who stood
very high in the confidence of Nero, entered. " Phaon," the
emperor said, "this is Beric the Briton, he has entered my
service, and will have all my trust and confidence even as you
have. Prepare for him apartments close to mine, and appoint
slaves for his service. See that he has everything in accordance
with his position as a high official of the palace. Let one of
the rooms be furnished with sets of books, of which I will give
you a list, from my library. Chiton is to be in charge of it
under him. Beric is to be called my private librarian. I wish
him to be at all times within call of me. You will be friends
with Beric, Phaon, for he is as honest as you are, and will be,
like you, a friend of mine, and, as you may perceive, is one
capable of taking the part of a friend in case of need."

Phaon bowed deeply and signed to Beric to follow him; the
latter bowed to Nero, who nodded to him pleasantly, and left
the room with Phaon. The freedman took him to his private
apartment.

IN NEROS PALACE. 281

" Nero has chosen well this time, methinks," he said after a
close scrutiny of the new-comer. " It is no easy post on which
you have entered, Beric. Nero is changeable in his moods, but
you carry your heart in your face, and even he can have no
suspicions of you. Take my advice, make friends with no man,
for one who stands high in court favour to-day may be an exile
or condemned to-morrow, and then all connected with him in
any way are apt to share his fate; therefore, it is best to
stand quite alone. By to-morrow morning you will find every-
thing in readiness for you here."

CHAPTER XVI.

IN NERO'S PALACE.

UPON leaving Phaon, Beric was conducted to the room where
he had left Scopus. The latter at once joined him, and
without asking any questions left the palace with him.

" I would ask nothing until you were outside," Scopus said.
" They were wondering there at the long audience you have
had with Nero. Judging by the gravity of your face, things
have not gone well with you."

" They have gone well in one sense," Beric said, " though I
would vastly rather that they had gone otherwise. I feel very
much more fear now than when I stood awaiting the attack of
the lion."

And he then related to Scopus the conversation he had
had with Nero. The lanista inclined himself humbly to the
ground.

" You are a great man now, Beric, though, as you say, the
place is not without its dangers. I guessed when Caesar sent
for you that he purposed to use your strength and courage in
his service. Your face is one that invites trust, and Nero was
wise enough to see that if he were to trust you he must trust
you altogether. He has acted wisely. He deemed that, having
no friends and connections in Rome, he could rely upon you

282 BERIC THE BRITON.

as he could rely upon no one who is a native here. You will
be a great man, for a time at any rate."

"I would rather have remained at your ludus, Scopus. I
shall feel like a little dog I saw the other day in a cage of one
of the lions. The beast seemed fond of it, but the little creature
knew well that at any moment the lion might stretch out its
paw and crush it."

Scopus nodded.

" That is true enough, Beric, though there are tens of thou-
sands in Rome who would gladly run the risk for the sake of
the honour and profit. Still, as I said to you before we started,
I have faith in your good-fortune and quickness, and believe
that you may escape from the bars where another would lose
his skin. Tell to none but myself what Csesar has said to you.
The world will soon guess that your post as private librarian is
but a pretext for Caesar to have you near him. It is not by
such a post that the victor of the arena would be rewarded."

They now went together to a goldsmith.

"Ah! Scopus, I have been expecting you. I saw you in the
arena with your two gladiators. Afterwards I saw this tall
young Briton fight the lion, and when I heard that he was at
your ludus I said to myself, * Scopus will be bringing him to
me to dispose of some of the jewelry of which the ladies were
so prodigal.' "

" That is our errand, Rufus. Here is the bag.'

The goldsmith opened it.

" You don't expect me to name a price for all these articles,
Scopus? It will take me a day to examine and appraise them;
and, indeed, I shall have to go to a friend or two for money,
for there is enough here to stock a shop. Never did I know
our ladies so liberal of their gifts."

"Ah!" Scopus said, "and you don't often see gifts so well
deserved; but, mind you, if it had been I who had fought the lion
— I, who have nothing to recommend ine in the way of either
stature or looks — it would have been a very diff'erent thing.
Youth and stature and good looks go for a great deal even in
the arena, I can tell you. Well, Beric will call in a day or two.
Here is the inventory of the jewels; I have got a copy at
home. Do you put the price you will give against each, and
then he can sell or not as he pleases. He is not going to sacri-

IN NERO's PALACE. 283

fice them, Ruf us, for he has no need of money ; Caesar has just
appointed him to his household."

The manner of the jeweller changed at once.

" The list shall be ready for you in two days," he said to
Beric respectfully. " If you have need of money on account
now I can let you have as much as you will."

Beric shook his head.

" I have all that I require," he said. " I will return it may
be in two days, it may be in more — I know not precisely how
much my duties may occupy me."

" You will get full value for your goods," Scopus said when
they left the shop — " that was why I mentioned that you had
entered Nero's household, for it is a great thing to have a friend
at court."

" And how about yourself, Scopus 1 You have kept me and
trained me for months. Now you are going to lose my ser-
vices just when you might begin to get a return. Moreover, I
may tell you that I shall as soon as possible get Boduoc with
me. So you must name a sum which will amply recompense
you for the trouble and expense that you have had with ua."

" I shall be no loser, Beric. When captives in war are sent
to be trained in a ludus the lanista is paid for a year's keep and
tuition for them. After that he makes what he can from those
who give entertainments. Therefore I received from the impe-
rial treasury the regular amount for you and your comrades.
Moreover, the senator who gave the performances sent me a
very handsome sum — more than he had agreed to give me
for Porus and Lupus together — saying that, although he had
not engaged you, your deeds in the arena had delighted the
people beyond measure, and that as his show would be talked
about for years, it was but fair he should pay your lanista
a sum worthy of the performance. And now farewell! You
know that I and your comrades at the ludus will always be
glad to see you. We shall be back in Rome as soon as my
place is rebuilt."

"You may be sure that I will come, Scopus. You have
shown me much kindness, and if in any way I can repay you
I will do so. Tell Boduoc I hope very shortly to have him with
me, and that maybe I shall be able to find means of withdrawing
the others from the arena."

284 BERIC THE BRITON.

As soon as they separated Beric walked rapidly to the house
where Norbanus had taken up his abode. As he reached the
door he paused, for he heard within the sounds of wailing,
and felt that he had come too late.

"Tell Norbanus," he said to the slave at the door, "that
Beric is here, but that unless he wishes to see me I will leave
him undisturbed, as I fear by the cries that the Lady Ennia is
dead."

"She died early this morning," the slave said. "I will tell
my master that you are here."

He returned almost directly.

" Norbanus prays you to enter," he said, and led the way to
the magistrate's study.

"Ah, my friend," the Roman said, "it is over! Ennia died
this morning. She passed away as if in sleep. It is a terrible
grief to me. Thanks to the gods I can bear that as becomes a
Roman; but how would it have been had I seen her torn to
pieces under my eyes? Ah, Beric, you know not from what
you have saved us! We could never have lifted up our heads
again had she died so. Now we shall grieve for her as all
men grieve for those they love; but it will be a grief without
pain, for assuredly she died happy. She spoke of you once
or twice, and each time she said, 'I shall see him again.' I
think she was speaking her belief, that she should meet you
after death. The Christian belief in a future state is like
yours, you know, Beric, rather than like ours."

" She was a gentle creature," Beric said, " and as she dared
even death by the lions for her God, assuredly she will go to
the Happy Island, though it may not be the same that the
Druids tell us Britons of. And how are the Ladies Lesbia and
Emilia?"

" My wife is well," the magistrate said. " She has not the
consolations of philosophy as I have, but I think that she
feels it is better for the child herself that she should have so
died. Ennia would always have remained a Christian, and
fresh troubles and persecutions would have come. Besides,
her religion would have put her apart from her mother and
her family. To me, of course, it would have made no diflFerence,
holding the views that I do as to the religions of the world;
but my wife sees things in a different light. -Emilia is worn

IN NERO's PALACE. 285

out with watching and grief, but I know that she will see you
presently, that is, if you are not compelled to return at once
to the hills."

" I return there no more. I have seen Nero to-day, and he
has appointed me an official in his household. It will seem
ridiculous to you when I say that I am to be his private libra-
rian. That, of course, is but a pretext to keep me near his
person, deeming that I am strong enough to be a useful guard
to him, and being a stranger am not likely to be engaged in
any intrigue that may be going on. I would rather have re-
mained at the ludus for a time; but there is no refusing the
offers of an emperor, and he spoke to me fairly, and I answered
him as one man should do another, frankly and openly."

" Nero has done wisely," Norbanus said warmly, " though for
you the promotion is perilous. To be Nero's friend is to be
condemned beforehand to death, though for a time he may
shower favours upon you. He is fickle and inconstant, and you
have not learned to cringe and flatter, and are as likely as not
to anger him by your outspoken utterances."

"I shall assuredly say what I think if he questions me,"
Beric said quietly; "but if he values me as a guard, he will
scarce question me when he knows that I should express an
opinion contrary to his own."

" When do you enter his service, Bericf

"I am to present myself to-morrow morning."

" Then you will stay with us to-night, Beric. This is a house
of mourning, but you are as one of ourselves. You must excuse
ceremony, for I have many arrangements to make, as Ennia
will be buried to-morrow."

" I will go out into the garden," Beric said.

" Do so. I will send up word to Emilia that you are there.
Doubtless she would rather meet you there than before the
slaves."

Beric had been sitting in the shade for half an hour when
he saw Emilia coming towards him. Her face was swollen
with crying, and the tears were still streaming down her
cheeks. Beric took her hand, and would have bent over it,
when she grasped his with both of hers and pressed it to her
lips.

" Oh, Beric," she cried, " what have you not done for us, and

286 BERIO THE BRITON.

how much do we not owe you! Had it not been for you, I
should be mourning now, not for Ennia who lies with a smile
on her face in her chamber, but for Ennia torn to pieces and
devoured by the lion. It seemed to me that I too should die,
when suddenly you stood between her and the fierce beast,
seeming to my eyes as if a god had come down to save her; and
when all the people gave you up as lost, standing there unarmed
and calmly waiting the lion's attack, I felt that you would con-
quer. Truly Ennia's God and yours must have stood beside
you, though I saw them not. How else could you have been so
strong and fearless? Ennia thought so too. She told me so
one night when the house was asleep, and I only watching
beside her. ' My God was with him,' she said. ' None other
could have given him the strength to battle with the lion. He
will bring him to Himself in good time, and I shall meet him
again.' She said something about your knowing that she was
a Christian. But, of course, you could not have known
that."

"I did know it, Emilia;" and Beric then told her of his
meeting with Ennia and the old slave when they were attacked
by the plunderers on the way home from their place of meeting.
" She promised me not to go again," he said, " without letting
me know, in which case I should have escorted her and pro-
tected her from harm. But just after that there was the fire,
and I had to go away with Scopus to the Alban Hills; and so,
as she knew that I could not escort her, I never heard from her.
I would that I had been with her that night she was arrested,
then ishe might not have fallen into the hands of the guard.
Indeed, had I been here I would have gone gladly, for it
seemed to me there must be something strange in the religion
that would induce a quiet gentle girl like her to go out at
night unknown to her parents. Now I desire even more to
learn about it. Her God must surely have given her the
strength and courage that she showed when she chose death
by the lions rather than deny Him."

*' I, too, should like to know something about it," ^Emilia
said. "By the way Ennia spoke, when she said you knew
that she was a Christian, it seemed to me that, if you did know,
which I thought was impossible, she thought you were angry
with her for becoming a Christian."

[N NERO'S PALACE, 287

"I was angry with her not for being a Christian, but for
going out without your father's knowledge, and I told her so
frankly. If it had been you I should not have been so much
surprised, because you have high spirits and are fearless in dis-
position; but for her to do so seemed so strange and unnatural,
that I deemed this religion of hers must be bad in that it
taught a girl to deceive her parents."

"What did she say, Beric?"

"I could see that she considered it her duty beyond all
other duties, and so said no more, knowing nothing of her
religion beyond what your father told me."

" I wish Pollio had been here," the girl said; " he would have
thought as I do about the loss of Ennia. My father has his
philosophy, and considers it rather a good thing to be out of
the world. My mother was so horrified when she heard that
Ennia was a Christian, that I am sure she is relieved at her
death. I am not a philosopher, and it was nothing to me
whether Ennia took up with this new sect or not. So you see I
have no one who can sympathize with me. You can't think
how dreadful the thought is that I shall be alone in future."

" We grow accustomed to all things," Beric said. " I have lost
all my relations, my country, and everything, and I am here a
stranger and little better than a slave, and yet life seems not so
unpleasant to me. In time this grief will be healed, and you
will be happy again,"

"I am sure I should never have been happy, Beric, if she
had died in the arena. I should always have had it before my
eyes — I should have dreamt of it. But why do you say that
until to-day you have been almost a slave] Why is it different
to-day 1"

Beric told her of his new position.

" If I could take your position, and have your strength but
for one night," Emilia said passionately, " I would slay the
tyrant. He is a monster. It is to him that Ennia's death is
due. He has committed unheard-of crimes; and he will kill
you, too, Beric. He kills all those whom he once favours."

"I shall be on my guard, Emilia; besides, my danger will
not be great, for he will have nothing to gain by my death, I
shall keep aloof from all intrigues, and he will have no reason
to suspect me. The danger, if danger there be, will come from

288 BERIC THE BRITON.

my refusing to carry out any of his cruel orders, I am ready to
be a guard, but not an executioner."

" I know how it wiW end," the girl sighed; "but I shall hope
always. You conquered the lion, maybe you will conquer
Nero."

" Who is a very much less imposing creature," Beric smiled.

A slave girl at this moment summoned Emilia into the house.
She waited a moment.

" Remember, Beric," she said, " that if trouble and dangei
come upon you, any such poor aid as I can give will be yours.
I am a Roman girl. I have not the strength to fight as you
have, but have the courage to die; and as, at the risk of your
life, you saved Ennia for us, so would I risk my life to save
yours. Remember that a woman can plot and scheme, and
that in dealing with Nero cunning goes for as much as strength.
We have many relatives and friends here, too, and Ennia's
death in the arena would have been viewed as a disgrace upon
the whole family; so that I can rely upon help from them if
need be. Remember that, should the occasion arise, I shall feel
your refusal of my help much more bitterly than any misfor-
tune your acceptance of it could bring upon me." Then turn-
ing, the girl went up to the house.

On arriving at Nero's palace the next morning, and asking
for Phaon, Beric was at once conducted to his chamber.

" That is well," the freedman said as he entered. " Nero is
in council with his architects at present. I will show you to
your chamber at once, so that you will be in readiness."

The apartment to which Phaon led Beric was a charming one.
It had no windows in the walls, which were covered with ex-
quisitely painted designs, but light was given by an opening in
the ceiling, under which, in the centre of the room, was the
shallow basin into which the rain that penetrated through the
opening fell. There were several elegantly -carved couches
round the room. Some bronze statues stood on plinths, and
some pots of tall aquatic plants stood in the basin; heavy
hangings covered the entrance.

" Here," Phaon said, drawing one of them aside, " is your
cubicle, and here, next to it, is another. It is meant for a friend
of the occupant of the room ; but I should not advise you to
have anyone to sleep here. Nero would not sleep well did he

, "this is the library," said phaon.

IN NERO'S PALACE. 2 39

know that any stranger was so close to his apartment. This,
and the entrance at the other end of the room, lead into pas-
sages, while this," and he drew back another curtain, "is the
library."

This room was about the same size as that allotted to Beric,
being some twenty-five feet square. Short as the notice had
been, a wooden framework of cedar wood, divided into parti-
tions fifteen inches each way, had been erected round, and in
each of these stood a wooden case containing rolls of manu-
scripts, the name of the work being indicated by a label aflBxed
to the box. Seated at a table in one of the angles was the
Greek Chiton, who saluted Beric.

" We shall be good friends, I hope," Beric said, " for I shall
have to rely upon you entirely for the Greek books, and it is
you who will be the real librarian."

Chiton was a man of some thirty years of age, with a pale
Greek face; and looking at him earnestly Beric thought that
it looked an honest one. He had anticipated that the man Nero
had chosen would be placed as a spy over him; but he now con-
cluded this was not so, and that Nero at present trusted him
entirely.

"This passage," Phaon said, "leads direct to Caesar's private
apartment, a few steps only separate them. The passage on
this side of your room also leads there, so that either from here
or from it you can be summoned at once. Now let us return
to your room. It is from there you will generally go to Nero
when he summons you. That door at the end of that short
passage will not be kept locked, while this one from the library
cannot be opened from your side. Three strokes of Nero's
bell will be the signal that he requires you. If after the three
have sounded there is another struck smartly, you will snatch
up your sword and rush in instantly by night or day."

"What are my duties to heV Beric asked when they had
returned to his room, "for Chiton can discharge those of
librarian infinitely better than I can do."

" You will sit and read here, or pass the time as you like,
until nine o'clock, at which hour Nero goes to the baths. At
eleven he goes out to inspect the works, or to take part in
public ceremonies. At three he sups, and the meal lasts some-
times till seven or eight, sometimes until midnight. Your

(725) T

290 BERIC THE BRITON.

duties in the library will end when he goes to the baths, and
after that you will be free, unless he summons you to attend
him abroad, until supper is concluded. At night you will draw
back the curtains between the passage and your room and that
of your cubicle, so that you may hear his summons, or even
his voice if loudly raised. You will lie down with your sword
ready at hand. I should say your duties will begin at six in
the morning, and it is only between that hour and nine that
you will be a prisoner in the library."

"I shall not find it an imprisonment," Beric said. '^ Three
hours is little enough to study, with all that wealth of books
ready at hand. How about Chiton?"

" He will be on duty whenever the emperor is in the palace;
beyond that he is free to go where he likes, so that he be
ready at all times to produce any book that Nero may call for.
Your meals will be brought up to you by your attendant from
the imperial kitchen. There are, you know, baths in the
palace for the use of the officials. You will find in this chest
a supply of garments of all kinds suitable for different occa-
sions, and here, in the cubicle, ready to hand, are a sword and
dagger, with a helmet, breastplate, and shield, to be worn only
when Csesar desires you to accompany him armed. If there
is anything else that you require, you have but to give the
order to your attendant, who will obtain it from the steward of
the palace."

At this moment a slave drew aside the hanging: "Csesar
expects you, Beric."

Nero was standing at the top of the steps into the garden
when Beric entered.

" Walk with me, Beric," he said. ^' For three hours I have
been going into the affairs of the city, and hearing letters read
from the governors of the provinces. It will be a change to
talk of other things. Tell me about this Britain of yours. I
know about your wars, tell me of your life at home."

Beric at once complied. He saw that it was not informa-
tion about religion and customs that the emperor desired to
hear, but talk about simple matters that would distract his
thoughts from the cares of state. He talked, then, of his
native village, of his mother with her maids at work around
her, of hunting expeditions as a boy with Boduoc, and how

IN NERO'S PALACE. 291

both had had a narrow escape of being devoured by wolves.
Nero listened in silence as they strolled under the deep shade
of the trees. At times he hardly seemed to be listening, but
occasionally he asked a question that showed he was following
what Beric said.

*' Your talk is like a breath from the snow-clad mountains,"
he said at last, " or a cup of cold water to a thirsty traveller.
The word Romans never occurred in it, and yet it was in our
tongue. You were brought up among us, as I heard. Tell
me of that."

Briefly Beric described his life at Camalodunum.

" It is a strange mixture," Nero said; " the cultivated Roman
and the wild Briton. I understand now better than I did be
fore, your risking your life for that Christian girl in the arena.
You did not love her]"

"No, Caesar; we Britons do not think of marriage until we
are at least five-and-twenty. We hold that yoimg marriages
deteriorate a race. Ennia was little more than a child, accor-
ding to our notions. She was scarce sixteen, and when I saw
her before, for a few days only, she was a year younger; but
I think that I should have done the same had I never seen
her before. We Britons, like the Gauls, hold women in high
respect, and I think that few of my people would hesitate to
risk their lives to save a helpless woman."

" I think we are all for self here," Nero said; " but w6 can
admire what we should not think of imitating. I like you,
Beric, because you are so diflFerent from myself and from all
around me. We are products of Rome, you of the forest; every
man here sighs for power or wealth, or lives for pleasure — I
as much as any. We suffer none to stand in our way, but
trample down remorselessly all who hinder us. As to risking
our lives for the sake of a woman, and that woman almost a
stranger, such an idea would never so much as occur to us.
This is not the only girl you have saved. I received a letter
from Caius Muro some months ago, saying that the news had
come to him in Syria that Beric, the young chief of the Iceni,
who had so long withstood Suetonius, had been brought a
prisoner to Rome, and he besought me, should Beric still be
alive, to show favour to him, as he had saved his little
daughter, when all others had been slain, at the sack of

292 BERIC THE BRITON.

Camalodunum, and that he had hidden ner away until after
the defeat of Boadicea, and had then sent her safe and un-
harmed back to the Romans. The matter escaped my
mind till now, though, in truth, I bade my secretary write to
him to say that I would befriend you. But it is strange that,
having so much life and spirit in that great body of yours, you
should yet hold life so cheaply. It was the way with our
forefathers, but it is not so now, perhaps because our life is
more pleasant than theirs was. Tell me, has Phaon done all
to make you comfortable 1 Is there aught else that you would
wish? if so, speak freely."

"There is one thing I should like, Caesar; I should like to
have with me my follower Boduoc, he who was the companion
of my boyhood, who fought with me in that hut against the
wolves, and was ever by my side in the struggle among our
fens. I ask this partly for my own sake, and partly that I
may the better do the duty you have set me of acting as your
guard. The air of palaces is heavy, and men wake not from
sleep as when they lie down in the forest and carry their
lives in their hands. I might not hear your call ; but with him
with me we could keep alternate watch through the night, and
the slightest sounds Avould reach our ears. We could even
take post close to the hangings of your chamber, just as the
Praetorians guard all the avenues on the other side. I might
even go further. There were twenty of my countrymen
brought hither with me. All are picked men, not one but in
strength and courage is my equal. I would say, place them in
offices in the palace; make them door-keepers, or place some of
them here as labourers under your gardeners, then at all times
you would have under your orders a body of twenty devoted
men, who would escort you in safety though half Rome were
in tumult. They would sleep together among the slaves,
where I could instantly summon them. I can answer for
their fidelity, they would follow me to the death against any
foe I bade them attack."

"It is an excellent idea, Beric, and shall be carried out.
They were all sent to the ludi, if I mistake not, and will have
skill as well as strength and courage. I will bid my secretary
send an order for their discharge, and that they present them-
selves to Phaon to-morrow. He will find occupations for

IN NERO'S PALACE. 293

them, and I will myself bid him so dispose of them that they
shall be well satisfied with their appointments. Truly, as you
say, a guard of twenty gladiators of your strength and courage
might well defend me against a host. Now it is time that I
went to my bath."

Upon the following day the British captives were all dis-
posed as door-keepers in the palace. Beric was present when
they presented themselves before Phaon, and had afterwards
a private interview with them. They were delighted at find-
ing that they were again under his leadership. All hated as
much as ever the occupation of gladiator, although only the
man who had defeated Lupus had as yet appeared in the
arena.

" Your duties will be simple and easy," Beric said. " You
will only have to see that no strangers pass you without autho-
rity. Each of you will have one or more attendants with you,
who will take the names of those who present themselves to
those whom they wish to see, and will, on bringing an author-
ization for them to pass, escort them to the person with whom
they have business. Of course the orders will be different at
different posts, but these you will receive from the officials
of the chamberlain. You will be on duty, as I learn, for six
hours each day, and will for the rest of the time be free to go
where you please. I suppose by this time all of you have
learned sufficient Latin to converse freely. Eemember that at
nine o'clock in the evening you must all be in the palace. Phaon
has arranged for an apartment that you will occupy together.
There you will keep your arms, and be always ready, when you
receive a message from me, to attend prepared for fighting.
There is one thing more : do not mingle with the Romans more
than you can help; listen to no tales relating to the emperor,
and let no man discuss with you any question of state. Every-
thing that is done in the palace is known, and were you seen
talking with any man who afterwards fell under the suspicion
of Nero it might cost you your lives. Remember that, what-
ever may be the duties assigned to you here, we are really
assembled as a sort of special body-guard to him; he is our
general It is no business of ours what his private acts may
be. It may be that he is cruel to the powerful and wealthy,
but on the other hand he spends his money lavishly on the

294 BERIC THE BRITON,

people of Eome, and is beloved by them. If they as Romans
do not resent his acts towards senators and patricians it is no
business of ours, strangers and foreigners here, to meddle in
the matter. It may be that in time, if we do our duty well,
Nero may permit us to return to Britain."

There was a murmur of approval.

" Nero may cut off the head of every man in Eome for what
I care," Boduoc said. " I owe nothing to the Romans. They
are all our enemies, from the highest to the lowest; and if Nero
is disposed to be our friend he can do what he likes with them.
But I do wish he had given us sometliing more to do than to
hang about his palace."

Six months passed. Beric stood high in favour with Nero.
Two or three times, in order to test the vigilance of his guard,
he had sounded his bell. On each occasion an armed figure
had instantly entered his room, only to retire when he waved
his hand; so that the slave who slept at the other door found
Nero alone when he entered, and brought him a cooling drink,
or performed some other little office that served as an excuse
for his summons, the emperor being well aware how great
would be the jealousy of the Praetorian guard, were report to
reach them that Caesar had other guards save themselves.

Beric often followed in the train of the emperor when he
went abroad; and as it speedily became known that he was a
favourite of Nero, his friendship was eagerly sought by those
who frequented the court, and his good offices solicited by
those who had requests to make of the emperor. Large sums
of money had been sometimes offered him for his good offices,
but he steadily refused to accept any presents whatever, or to
mingle in the affairs of others, except in very occasional cases,
where it seemed to him that those who sought his aid had been
cruelly and unfairly dealt with by officials or venal magistrates.

The sale of his jewels had brought him in a large sum of
money, which he had placed in the hands of Norbanus; and
the handsome appointments Nero had assigned to his office
were very much more than sufficient for his wants. He was
always a welcome guest at the house of Norbanus, and now
that he was an official high in favour with Nero, even Lesbia
received him with marked courtesy. The conversation always
turned, when the ladies were present, upon general topics — the

IS NERO'S PALACK 295

gossip of society in Eome, news from the provinces, and other
similar matters, for Beric begged them not to speak of the
serious events of the day. " I am one of Nero's guards, and I
do not want to have to hate my work, or to wish well to those
from whom I am bound to protect him. To me he is kind and
friendly. At times when I am with him in the garden or
alone in his room he talks to me as an equal, of books and art,
the condition of the people, and other topics.

" It seems to me that there are two Neros : the one a man
such as he was when he ascended the throne — gentle; inclined
to clemency; desirous of the good of his people, and of popu-
larity; a lover of beautiful things; passionately devoted to art
in all its branches; taking far greater pleasure in the society
of a few intimate friends than in state pageants and ceremonies.
There is another Nero; of him I will not talk. I desire, above
all things, not to know of him. I believe that he has been
driven to this war upon many of the best and worthiest in
Eome, by timidity. He is suspicious. Possibly he has reason
for his suspicions; possibly they are unfounded. I do not wish
to defend him. All this is a matter for you Eomans, and not
for me. I wish to know nothing about it; to leave all public
matters to those they may concern; to shut my eyes and my
ears as much as I can to all that goes on around me. It is
for that reason that I go so little to other houses save this. I
meet those about the court at the baths, the gymnasium, and
in the streets. But at these places men speak not of public
affairs, they know not who may be listening; and certainly
they would not speak before me. Happily, as I am known to
stand high in Caesar's favour, I am the last person to whom
they would say aught in his blame. Thus it is that, though
sometimes I come, from chance words let fall, to know that
proscriptions, accusations, confiscations, and executions take
place; that the Christians are still exposed to horrible persecu-
tions and tortures; that a gloom hangs over society, and that
no man of wealth and high station can regard himself as safe,
it is only a vague rumour of these things that I hear; and by
keeping my ears sealed and refusing to learn particulars, to
listen to private griefs and individual suffering, I am still able
to feel that I can do my duty to Caesar."

Norbanus and Lesbia alike agreed with Beric's reasoning;

296 BERIC THE BRITON.

the former, indeed, himself took but comparatively little interest
in what passed around him. The latter was, on the other
hand, absorbed in the politics of the hour. She was connected
with many noble families, and knew that a member of these
might fall at any moment under Nero's displeasure. To have
a friend, then, high in the favour of Nero was a matter of great
importance ; and she therefore impressed upon all her intimates
that when they found Beric at her house they should scrupu-
lously avoid all discussion of public affairs.

CHAPTER XVII.

BETROTHAL.

FEO had, within a short time of Beric's establishment in
the palace, spoken to him of his apprehension of the
increasing power of the party who, having reverted to the
opinions of the Stoic philosophers, were ever denouncing the
luxury and extravagance of modern ways, and endeavouring,
both by example and precept, to reintroduce the simplicity and
severity of former times. "All this," Nero said angrily, "is of
course but a cloak under which to attack me. Piso and
Plautus, Seneca and Lucan, do but assume this severity of
manners. They have plotted and intrigued against me. I
shall never be safe while they live."

" Caesar," Beric said gravely, " I am but a soldier, but born
a free Briton and a chief. I cannot sell my service, but must
give it loyally and heartily. You honour me with your favour
and confidence; I believe that I am worthy of it. I do not
serve you for money. Already I have begged you not to heap
presents upon me. Wealth would be useless to me did I desire
it. Not only have you offered to bestow estates upon me, but
I have learned already that there are many others who, seeing
that I am favoured by you, would purchase my friendship or
my advocacy by large sums. I should despise myself if I cared

BETROTHAL. 297

for money. You would, I know, honour me not only with
your trust that I can be relied upon to do my duty as your
guard, but by treating me as one in your confidence in other
matters. At the risk, then, of exciting your displeasure and
forfeiting your favour, I must again pray you not to burden
me with state matters. Of these I know nothing, and wish to
know nothing. Save that of Seneca, I scarce know the names
of the others of whom you have spoken. I am wholly ignorant
of the intrigues of court life, and I seek to know nothing of them,
and am therefore in no position to give any opinion on these
matters ; and did I speak from only partial knowledge I should
do these men great wrong. In the next place, Caesar, I am
not one who has a double face, and if you ask my opinion of
a matter in which I thought that others had ill-advised you,
I should frankly say that I thought you were wrong; and the
truth is never palatable to the great. I try, therefore, to shut
my ears to everything that is going on around me, for did I
take note of rumours my loyalty to you might be shaken."

"Perhaps you are right," Nero said, after a long pause.
" But tell me, once and for all, what you do think on general
matters. It is good to have the opinion of one whom I know
to be honest."

" On one subject only are my convictions strong, Caesar. I
think that the terrible persecution of the Christians is in itself
horrible, and contrary to all the traditions of Rome. These
are harmless people. They make no disturbances; they do
injury to no one; they are guilty of no act that would justify
in any way the tortures inflicted upon them. I am not a
Christian, I know nothing of their doctrines; but I am unable
to understand how one naturally clement and kind-hearted as
you are can give way to the clamour of the populace against
these people. As to those of whom you speak, and others, I
have no opinions; but were I Caesar, strong in the support of the
Praetorian guards, and in the affection of the people at large, I
would simply despise plotters. The people may vaguely admire
the doctrines of the Stoics, but they themselves love pleasure
and amusements and spectacles, and live upon your bounty
and generosity. There can then be nothing to fear from open
force. Should there be conspirators who would attempt to
compass their ends by assassination, you have your guards to

298 BERIC THE BRITON.

protect you. You have myself and my little band of country-
men ready to watch over you unceasingly."

"No care and caution will avail against the knife of the
assassin," Nero said gloomily. " It is only by striking down
conspirators and assassins that one can guard one's self against
their weapons. Julius Csesar was killed when surrounded by
men whom he deemed his friends."

Beric could not deny the truth of Nero's words. " That is
true, Caesar, and therefore I do not presume to criticise or even
to have an opinion upon acts of state policy. These are matters
utterly beyond me. I know nothing of the history of the
families of Rome. I know not who may, with or without
reason, deem that they have cause of complaint against you, or
who may be hostile to you either from private grievances or
personal ambitions, and knowing nothing I wish to know
nothing. I desire, as I said when you first spoke to me, to be
regarded as a watch-dog, to be attached to you by personal
kindness, and to guard you night and day against conspirators
and assassins. I beseech you not to expect more from me, or
to deem it possible that a Briton can be qualified to give any
opinion whatever as to a matter so alien to him as the intrigues
and conspiracies of an imperial city. Did I agree with you,
you would soon doubt my honesty; did I differ from you, I
should incur your displeasure."

Nero looked up at the frank countenance of the young
Briton,

" Enough," he said smiling, " you shall be my watch-dog and
nothing more."

As time went on Nero's confidence in his British guard steadily
increased. He had his spies, and knew how entirely Beric kept
himself aloof from intimate acquaintanceship with any save the
family of Norbanus, and learned, too, that he had refused
many large bribes from suitors. For a time, although he knew
it not, Beric was constantly watched. His footsteps were
followed when he went abroad, his conversations with others
in the baths, which formed the great centres of meeting, and
stood to the Romans in the place of modem clubs, were list*
ened to and noted. It was observed that he seldom went
to convivial gatherings, and that at any place when the con-
versation turned on public affairs he speedily withdrew; that

BETROTHAL. I 295^

he avoided all display of wealth, dressed as quietly as it was
possible for one in the court circle to do, and bore himself as
simply as when he had been training in the ludus of Scopus.
There he still went very frequently, practising constantly in
arms with his former companions, preferring this to the more
formal exercises of the gymnasium. Thus, after a time, Nero
became confirmed in his opinion of Beric's straightforward
honesty, and felt that there was no fear of his being tampered
with by his enemies.

One result of this increased confidence was that Beric's hours
of leisure became much restricted, for Nero came to require
his attendance whenever he appeared in public. With Bene
and Boduoc among the group of courtiers that followed him,
the emperor felt assured there was no occasion to fear the
knife of the assassin; and it was only when he was at the baths,
where only his most chosen friends were admitted, or during
the long carousals that followed the suppers, that Beric was
at liberty, and in the latter case Boduoc was always near at
hand in case of need.

Nero's precautions were redoubled after the detection of the
conspiracy of Piso. That this plot was a real one, and not a
mere invention of Nero to justify his designs upon those he
hated and feared, is undoubted. The hour for the attempt at
assassination had been fixed, the chief actor was prepared and
the knife sharpened. But the executions that followed embraced
many who had no knowledge whatever of the plot. Seneca
was among the victims against whom there was no shadow of
proof.

After the discovery of this plot Beric found his position more
and more irksome in spite of the favour Nero showed him.
Do what he would he could not close his ears to what was
public talk in Eome. The fabulous extravagances of Nero, the
public and unbounded profligacy of himself and his court, the
open defiance of decency, the stupendous waste of public money
on the new and most sumptuous palace into which he had now
removed, were matters that scandalized even the population
of Rome. Senators, patricians, grave councillors, noble matrons
were alike willingly or unwillingly obliged to join in the satur-
nalia that prevailed. The provinces were ruined to minister to
the luxury of Rome. The wealth of the noblest families was

300 BERIC THE BRITON.

sequestrated to the state. All law, order, and decency were
set at defiance.

To the Britons, simple in their tastes and habits, this pro-
fusion of luxury, this universal profligacy seemed absolutely
monstrous. When they met together and talked of their former
life in their rude huts, it seemed that the vengeance of the gods
must surely fall upon a people who seemed to have lost all
sense of virtue, all respect for things human and divine. To
Beric the only bearable portions of his existence were the
mornings he spent in reading, and in the study of Greek with
Chiton, and in the house of Norbanus. Of Lesbia he saw little.
She spent her life in a whirl of dissipation and gaiety, accom-
panying members of her family to all the fetes in defiance of
the wishes of Norbanus, whose authority in this matter she
absolutely set at naught. " The emperor's invitations override
the authority of one who makes himself absurd by his presump-
tion of philosophy. I live as do other Roman ladies of good
family. Divorce me if you like; I have the fortune I brought
you, and should prefer vastly to go my own way."

This step Norbanus would have taken but for the sake of
Emilia. By his orders the latter never went abroad with her
mother or attended any of the public entertainments, but lived
in the quiet society of the personal friends of Norbanus. Lesbia
had yielded the point, for she did not care to be accompanied
by a daughter of marriageable age, as by dint of cosmetics
and paint she posed as still a young woman. -Emilia had long
since recovered her spirits, and was again the merry girl Beric
had known at Massilia.

One day when Beric called he saw that Norbanus, who was
seldom put out by any passing circumstance, was disturbed in
mind.

** I am troubled indeed," he said, in answer to Beric's inquiry.
"Lesbia has been proposing to me the marriage of Rufinus
Sulla, a connection of hers, and, as you know, one of Nero's
intimates, with Emilia."

Beric uttered an exclamation of anger.

" He is one of the worst of profligates," he exclaimed. " I
would slay him with my own hand rather than that Emilia
should be sacrificed to him."

" And I would slay her first," Norbanus said calmly; " but,

BETROTHAL. 301

as Lesbia threatened when I indignantly refused the proposal,
Rufinus has but to ask Nero's approval, and before his orders
my authority as a father goes for nothing. I see but one way.
It has seemed to me for a long time. Bene, that you yourself
felt more warmly towards Emilia than a mere friend. Putting
aside our obligations to you for having risked your life in de-
fence of Ennia, there is no one to whom I would more willingly
give her. Have I been mistaken in your thoughts of her?"

" By no means," Beric said. " I love your daughter -Emilia,
but I have never spoken of it to you for two reasons. In the
first place I shall not be for some years of the age at which we
Britons marry, and in the second I am but a captive. At
present I stand high in the favour of Nero, but that favour
may fail me at any day, and my life at the palace is becoming
unbearable; but besides, it is impossible that this orgy of crime
and debauchery can continue. The vengeance of heaven can-
not be much longer delayed. The legions in the provinces are
utterly discontented and well-nigh mutinous, and even if Rome
continues to support Nero the time cannot be far oflF when the
legions proclaim either Galba, or Vespasian, or some other
general, as emperor, and then the downfall of Nero must come.
How then could I ask you for the hand of Emilia, a maiden
of noble family, when the future is all so dark and troubled
and my own lot so uncertain?

" I cannot raise my sword against Caesar, for, however foul
his crimes, he has treated me well Had it not been for that
I would have made for Prseneste, when the gladiators rose there
the other day, and for the same reason I can do nothing to
prepare the way for a rising here. I know the Indus of Scopus
would join to a man. There is great discontent among the
other schools, for the people have become so accustomed to blood-
shed that they seem steeled to all pity, and invariably give
the signal for the despatch of the conquered. As to your offer,
Norbanus, I thank you with all my heart; but were it not for
this danger that threatens from Rufinus, I would say that at the
present time I dare not link her lot to mine. The danger is
too great, the future too dark. It seems to me that the city
and all in it are seized with madness, and above all, at the
present time, I would not for worlds take her to the palace of
Nero. But if .Emilia will consent to a betrothal to me, putting

$02 BERIC THE BRITON.

off the period of marriage until the times are changed, I will,
with dehght, accept the offer of her hand, if she too is willing,
for in Briton, as in Gaul, our maidens have a voice in their
own disposal."

Norbanus smiled. " Methinks, Beric, you need not fear on
that score. Since the day when you fought the lion in the
arena you have been her hero and the lord of her heart. Even
I, although but short-sighted as to matters unconnected with my
work, could mark that, and I believe it is because her mother
sees and fears it that she has determined to marry her to Rufinus.
I will call her down to find out whether she is ready to obey
my wishes."

In a minute or two ^Emilia came down from the women's
apartments above.

'* My child," Norbanus said, " I have offered you in marriage
to Beric. He has accepted, saving only that you must come
to him not in obedience to my orders but of your own free-will,
since it is the custom of his country that both parties should
be equally free of choice. What do you say, my child?"

Emilia had flushed with a sudden glow of colour as her
father began, and stood with downcast eyes until he had
finished.

**One moment before you decide, Emilia," Beric said,
"You know how I am situated, and that at any moment I
may be involved in peril or death; that life with me can
scarcely be one of ease or luxury, and that even at the best
you may be an exile for ever from Rome."

She looked up now. "I love you, Beric," she said. "I
would rather live in a cottage with you for my lord and master
than in a palace with any other. I would die with you were
there need. Your wishes shall always be my law."

" That is not the way in Britain," Beric said, as he drew her
to him and kissed her. " The husband is not the lord of his
wife, they are friends and equals, and such will we be. There
is honour and respect on both sides."

" It will be but your betrothal at present," Norbanus said.
"Neither Beric nor I would like to see you in the palace of
Caesar; but the sponsalia shall take place to-day, and then he
can claim you when he will. Come again thts evening, Beric.
I will have the conditions drawn up, and some friends shall be

BETROTHAL. 303

here to witness the form of betrothal. This haste, child, is in
order to give Beric power to protect you. Were you free,
Rufinus might obtain an order from Nero for me to give you
to him, but once the conditions are signed they cannot be broken
save by your mutual consent; and moreover, Beric can use his
influence with the emperor on behalf of his betrothed wife, while
so long as you remain under my authority he could scarcely
interfere did Nero give his promise to Rufinus?'

"Will my mother be here?"

" She will not, nor do I desire her presence," Norbanus said
decidedly. " She has defied my authority and has gone her
own path, and it is only for your sake that I have not divorced
her. She comes and she goes as she chooses, but her home is
with her family, not here. She has no right by law to a voice
in your marriage. You are under my authority and mine
alone. It is but right that a good mother should have an influ-
ence and a voice as to her daughter's marriage; but a woman
who frequents the saturnalia of Nero has forfeited her mother's
rights. It will be time enough for her to hear of it when it
is too late for her to cause trouble. Now do you two go into
the garden together, for I have arrangements to make."

At six o'clock Beric returned to the house. In the atrium
were gathered a number of guests; some were members of the
family of Norbanus, others were his colleagues in ofiice — all
were men of standing and family. Beric was already known to
most of them, having met them at suppers at the house. When
all were assembled Norbanus left the room, and presently
returned leading Emilia by the hand. "My friends," he said,
" you already know why you are assembled here, namely to be
witnesses to the betrothal of my daughter to Beric the Briton.
Vitrio, the notary, will read the conditions under which they
are betrothed."

The document was a formal one, and stated that Norbanus
gave up his potestas or authority over his daughter Emilia to
Beric, and that he bound himself to complete the further cere-
mony of marriage either by the religious or civil form as Beric
might select whenever the latter should demand it, and that
further he agreed to give her on her marriage the sum of three
thousand denarii, and to leave the whole of his property to her
at his death; while Beric on his pa^t bound himself to complete

304 BERIC THE BRITON.

the ceremonies of marriage whenever called upon by Norbanus
to do so, and to pay him at the present time one thousand
denarii on consideration of his signing the present agree-
ment, and on his delivering up to him his authority over his
daughter.

" You have heard this document read, Norbanus," the notary
said, when he had concluded the reading. " Do you assent to
it? And are you ready to affix your signature to the contract]"

" I am ready," Norbanus said.

"And you, Beric?"

" I am also ready," Beric replied.

" Then do you both write your signatures here."

Both signed, and four of the guests affixed their signatures
as witnesses. Norbanus then placed -Emilia's hand in Beric's.
" You are now betrothed man and wife," he said. " I transfer
to you, Beric, my authority over my daughter; henceforth she
is your property to claim when you will."

A minute later there was a sudden movement at the door,
and Lesbia entered in haste. "News has just been brought
to me of your intention, Norbanus, and I am here to say that
I will not permit this betrothal."

" You have no voice or authority in the matter," Norbanus
said calmly. " Legal right to interfere you never had. Your
moral right you have forfeited. The conditions have been
signed. Emilia is betrothed to Beric."

Lesbia broke out into passionate reproaches and threats,
but Norbanus advanced a step or two towards her, and said
with quiet dignity, "I have borne with you for her sake,
Lesbia. Now that she belongs to Beric and not to me, I need
not restrain my just indignation longer. I return your pro-
perty to your hands."

Lesbia stepped back as if struck. The words were the well-
known formula by which a Roman divorced his wife. She had
not dreamed that Norbanus would summon up resolution to
put this disgrace upon her, and to bring upon himself the
hostility of her family. Her pride quickly came to her aid.

"Thanks for the release," she said sarcastically; "far too
much of my life has already been wasted on a dotard, and my
family will see that the restitution of my property is full and
complete : but beware, Norbanus, I am not to be outraged with

BETROTHAL. ( 305

impunity, and you will learn to your cost that a woman of my
family knows how to revenge herself."

Then turning she passed out of the door, entered her lectica
and was carried away.

*' I must apologize to you, my friends," Norbanus said calmly,
" for having brought you to be present at an unpleasant family
scene, but I had not expected it, and know not through whom
Lesbia obtained the news of what was doing here. I suppose
one of the slaves carried it to her. But these things trouble
not a philosoplier; for myself I marvel at my long patience, and
feel rejoiced that at last I shall be free to live my own life."

" You have done well, Norbanus," one of his colleagues said,
" though I know not what Nero will say when he hears of it,
for severity among husbands is not popular at present in
Rome."

" I can open my veins as Seneca did," Norbanus said calmly;
" neither death nor exile have any terrors for me. Rome has
gone mad, and life for a reasoning being is worthless here."

" I shall represent the matter to Nero," Beric said, " and as
it is seldom that I ask aught of him, I doubt not he will listen
to me. When he is not personally concerned, Nero desires to
act justly, and moreover, I think that he can weigh the advan-
tages of the friendship of a faithful guard against that of his
boon companions. I will speak to him the first thing in the
morning. He frequently comes into the library and reads for
an hour. At any rate there is no chance of Lesbia being
beforehand with me. It is too late for her to see Rufinus and
get him to approach Nero to-night."

"Let us talk of other matters," Norbanus said, "all these
things are but transitory." He then began to talk on his
favourite topic — the religions of the world, while Beric drew
^Emilia, who had been weeping since the scene between her
parents, into the tablinum.

"It is unlucky to weep on the day of your betrothal,
Emilia."

" Who could help it, Beric 1 Besides, as it is not for my own
troubles the omen will have no avail. But it is all so strange
and so rapid. This morning I was in trouble, alarmed at what
my mother told me of her intentions, fearful that my father,
who has so long yielded to her, would permit her to have her

(726) u

306 BERIC THE BRITON.

own way in this also. Then came the great joy when he told
me that he would give me to you — that you, who of all men
I thought most of, was henceforth to be my lord. Then, just
when my happiness was complete, and I was formally bound
to you, came my mother. Ennia and I always loved our father
most, he was ever thoughtful and kind to us, while even as
children our mother did not care for us. As we grew up she
cared still less, thinking only of her own pleasures and friends,
and leaving us almost wholly in charge of the slaves; but it
was not until Ennia was seized as a Christian that I knew how
little she loved us. Then she raved and stormed, lamented
and wept, not because of the fate of Ennia, not because of the
terrible death that awaited her, but because of the disgrace it
brought upon herself. Even after she was brought here she
scarce came in to see her, and loudly said that it would be best
for her to die. Lately, as you know, I have seen little of herj
she spends all her time abroad, has defied my father's authority,
and brought grief and trouble upon him. Still, to a daughter
it is terrible that her mother should be divorced."

"Let us not think of it now, Emilia. Your father has acted,
as he always does, rightly and well. I know much more of what
is going on than you do, and I can tell you that Lesbia, who
was so jealous of the honour of her name when Ennia was con-
cerned, is bringing far greater dishonour upon her name by her
own actions. And now let us talk of ourselves. The act you
have just done, dear, may bring all sorts of sacrifices upon you.
At any moment I may be a fugitive, and, as you know, the
families of those who incur Nero's wrath share in their dis-
grace; and if I am forced to fly, you too may be obliged to
become a fugitive."

She looked up brightly. "I shall not mind any hardships I
suffer for your sake, Beric. Rome is hateful to me since Ennia
stood in the arena. I would rather share a hut with you
among the savage mountains of the north than a palace here."

"I trust that trouble is still far distant, but I shall, as soon
as I can, find a retreat where, in case I fall under Nero's displea-
sure, you can lie hid until I can send for you."

•* I have such a retreat, Beric. Since Ennia's death I have
seen a good deal of the Christians. Lycoris, you know, was
captured at the same time as Ennia, and was put to death by

BETROTHAL.

? 307

fire; but her daughter, married to a freedman who had pur-
chased her liberty from my father, managed to escape with hei
husband when the place was surrounded. I have met hei
several times since. She and her husband are living hidden
in the catacombs, where she tells me many of their sect have
taken refuge from the persecutions.

" The last time I saw her she said to me, * No one's life is
safe in this terrible city, and none, however high in station, can
say that they may not require refuge. Should you need an
asylum, Emilia, go to the house of a freedman, one Mincius,
living in the third house on the right of a street known as the
Narrow one, close behind the amphitheatre at the foot of the
Palatine Hill, and knock thrice at the door. When they open,
say, ' In the name of Christ,' then they will take you in. Tell
them that you desire to see me, and that you are the sister of
Ennia, the daughter of Norbanus, and they will lead you to
us. There is an entrance to the catacombs under the house.
As the sister of Ennia you will be warmly received by all
there, even although you yourself may not belong to us. The
galleries and passages are of a vast extent and known only to
us. There is no fear of pursuit there.' "

"That is good news, ^Emilia; it is sad that, but an hour
betrothed, we are forced to think of refuges, but it will be
happiness to me to know that if danger threatens, you have
a place of retreat. You see this ring; Nero himself gave it me;
mark it well, so that you may know it again. It is a figure of
Mercury carved on an amethyst. When you receive it, by night
or day, tarry not a moment, but wrap yourself in a sombre
mantle like that of a slave, and hie you to this refuge you speak
of; but first see your father, tell him where you aie going and
why, so that he may fly too, if he choose."

"He will not do that," Emilia said, "and how can I leave
him]"

"You must leave him because you belong to me, -Emilia,
and because you are acting on my orders. The danger to you
is far greater than to him. You are my wife, he only my
father-in-law, and they would strike at me first through you.
Besides, there are other reasons. Your father is a Koman of
the old type, and like Seneca and Plautus, and others of the
same school, will deem it no loss when the time comes to quit

308 BERIO THE BRITON.

life. However, you will tell him of the danger, and he must
make his own choice. I shall beg him to hand to you at once
the money which I placed in his care now a year ago. Do you
hand it over to the woman you speak of, and ask her to hide
it away in the caves till you ask for it again; these Christians
are to be trusted. I have much money besides, for Nero is
lavishly generous, and it would anger him to refuse his bounty.
This money I have placed in several hands, some in Eome,
some elsewhere, so that if forced to fly I can at any rate obtain
some of my store without having to run into danger."

"One more question. Eerie. Should I ever have to take
refuge among the Christians, and like Ennia come to love their
doctrines, would you be angered if I joined the sect ? If you
would I will not listen to them, but will tell them that I cannot
talk or think of these things without m}' husband's consent."

" You are free to do as you like, Emilia. Since Ennia died
I have resolved upon the first opportunity to study the doctrines
of these people, for truly it must be a wonderful religion that
enables those who profess it to meet a cruel death not only
without fear but with joy. You know Ennia said we should
meet again, and I think she meant that I, too, should become
a Christian. Ask the woman if I also, as a last resource, may
take refuge among them."

"I will ask her, Beric; but I am sure they will gladly re-
ceive you. Have you not already risked your life to save a
Christian f

The other guests having now left, Norbanus joined them,
and Beric told him of the arrangements they had made in case
of danger. He warmly approved of them.

"It will be a relief to me as to you, Beric, to know that
Emilia's safety is provided for. As for myself, fate has no terrors
for me; but for you and her it is different. She is yours now,
for although but betrothed she is virtuallj'^ your wife. You have
but to take her by the hand and to declare her your wife in the
presence of witnesses, and all is done. There is, it is true, a
religious ceremony in use only among the wealthier classes,
but this is rather an occasion for pomp and feasting, and is
by no means needful, especially as you have no faith in the
Roman gods. What are the rites among your own people,
Beric?"

BETROTHAL. 309

" We simply take a woman by the hand and declare her our
wife. Then there is feasting, and the bride is carried home,
and there is the semblance of a fight, the members of her
family making a show of preventing us; but this is no part of
the actual rite, which is merely public assent on both sides.
And now I must be going. Nero will be feasting for a long
time yet; but Boduoc has been on guard for many hours and
I must relieve him. Farewell, Norbanus; we have been pre-
paring for the worst, but I trust we shall escape misfortuna
Farewell, my Emilia!" and kissing her tenderly Beric strode
away to the palace of Nero.

He had not seen Boduoc since early morning, and the latter,
standing on guard outside the private entrance to Nero's
apartments, greeted his arrival, " Why, Beric, I began to fear
that some harm had befallen yoa I came in this morning
after the bath and found you had gone out. I returned again
at six and found your chamber again empty, but saw that you
had returned during my absence; I went on guard, and here
have I been for four hours listening to all that foolish singing
and laughter inside. How Caesar, who has the world at his
command, can spend his time with actors and buffoons, is more
than I can understand. But what has kept youl"

As there was no fear of his voice being heard through the
heavy hangings, Beric, to Boduoc's intense surprise, related the
events of the day.

" So you have married a Eoman girl, Beric ! Well, I sus-
pected what would come of it when you spent half your time
at the house of Norbanus. I would rather that you had
married one of our own maidens; but as I see no chance of our
return to Britain for years, if ever, one could hardly expect you
to wait for that. At any rate she is the best of the Roman
maidens I have seen. She neither dyes her hair nor paints
her face, and although she lacks stature, she is comely, and is
always bright and pleasant wl\en I have accompanied you there.
I am inclined to feel half jealous that you have another to love
you besides myself, but I will try and not grudge her a share of
your affection."

"Well, hand me your sword, Boduoc, and betake yourself
to your bed. I will remain on guard for the next four hours,
or until the feasting is over. Nero often opens the hangings

310 BERIC THE BRITON.

the last thing to see if we are watchful, and he likes to see me
at my post I wish to find him in a good temper in the
morning."

The next morning, to Beric's satisfaction, Nero came into
the library early. Chiton, as was his custom, retired at once.

•' I was inspired last night, Beric," the emperor said. " Lis-
ten to these verses I composed at the table;" and he recited
some stanzas in praise of wine.

"I am no great judge of these matters, Caesar," Beric said;
" but they seem to me to be admirable indeed. How could it
be otherwise, when even the Greeks awarded you the crown
for your recitations at their contests? Yesterday was a for-
tunate day for me, also, Caesar, for Norbanus betrothed his
daughter to me."

The emperor's face clouded, and Beric hastened to say:

" There is no talk of marriage at present, Caesar, for mar-
riage would interfere with my duties to you. Therefore it
is only when you have no longer an occasion for my ser-
vices that the betrothal will be converted into marriage. My
first duty is to you, and I shall allow nothing to interfere with
that."

Nero's face cleared. "That is right," he said graciously.
" You might have married better, seeing that you enjoy my
favour; but perhaps it is as well as it is. Norbanus is a worthy
man and a good official, although his ideas are old-fashioned;
but it is reported of him that he thinks of nothing but his
work, and mixes himself up in no way in politics, living the life
almost of a recluse. It was one of his daughters you championed
in the arena. She died soon afterwards, I heard. Has he
other children?"

"Only the maiden I am betrothed to, Cajsar. He is now
alone, for his wife has long been altogether separated from him,
being devoted to gaiety and belonging to a family richer and
more powerful than his, and looking down upon her husband
as a mere book-worm. He has borne with her neglect and
disobedience to his wishes for a long time, and has shown, as it
seemed to me, far too great a weakness in exerting his authority;
but his patience has at last failed, and when yesterday, in de-
fiance of him, she would have interfered to prevent my betrothal
to his daughter, he divorced her."

BETROTHAL. 311

"Divorce is the fashion," Nero said carelessly. "I know
his wife Lesbia, she has frequently been present with members
of her family at my entertainments. She is a fine woman, and
I wonder not that she and the recluse her husband did not get
on well together. She will soon be consoled."

" I have mentioned it to you, Caesar, because she is a revenge-
ful woman, and might cause rumours unfavourable to her
husband to be reported to you. He is the most simple and
single-minded of men, and his thoughts are entirely occupied,
as you say, with the duties of his office and with the learned
book upon which he has long been engaged; but although a
philosopher in his habits he holds aloof from all parties,
and even in his own family never discusses public afiairs.
Had it been otherwise, you may be sure that I, your majesty's
attendant and guard, should have abstained from visiting his
house."

"I know this to be the case, Beric. Naturally, when I
first placed you near my person, I was interested in knowing
who were your intimates, and caused strict inquiries to be made
as to the household of Norbanus and his associates; all that I
heard was favourable to him, and convinced me that he was in
no way a dangerous person." Nero left the room, and returned
shortly bearing a casket. "Give these jewels to your betrothed,
Beric, as a present from Caesar to the wife of his faithful
guard."

Beric thanked the emperor in becoming terms, and in the
afternoon carried the jewels, which were of great value, to
Emilia.

"They are a fortune in themselves," he said; "in case of
danger, take them from the casket and conceal them in your
garments. No one could have been more cordial than Nero
was this morning; but he is fickle as the wind, and when
Rufinus and others of his boon companions obtain his ear his
mood may change altogether."

312 BERIC THE BRITON.

CHAPTEE XVIII

THE OUTBREAK.

IT was not long, indeed, before Beric found that hostile in-
fluenoes were at work. Nero was not less friendly in his
manner, but he more than once spoke to him about Emilia.

"I hear," he said one day, "that your betrothed is very
beautiful, Beric."

" She is very fair, Caesar," Beric replied coldly.

"I know not how it is that I have not seen her at court,"
Nero continued.

" Her tastes are like those of her father," Beric said. " She
goes but seldom abroad, and has long had the principal care of
her father's household."

"But you should bring her now," Nero persisted. "The
wife of one of the officials of the palace should have a place at
our entertainments."

"She is not at present my wife, Caesar, she is but my be-
trothed; and as you have yourself excused me from attend-
ance at all entertainments, it would be unseemly for her, a
Roman maiden, though betrothed to me, to appear there."

"There are plenty of other Roman maidens who appear there,"
Nero said pettishly. Beric made no reply, and the subject
was not again alluded to at that time ; but the emperor returned
to it on other occasions, and Beric at last was driven to refuse
point-blank.

"I am your majesty's guard," he said. "I watch you at
night as well as by day, and, as I have told your majesty, I
cannot perform my duties properly if I have to be present at
your entertainments. I should not permit my wife or my
betrothed to be present in public unless I were by her side.
Your majesty took me for what I was, a simple Briton, who
could be relied upon as a guard, because I had neither friends
nor family in Rome, and was content to live a simple and quiet
life. I am willing to abstain from marriage in order that I
may still do my service as heretofore ; but if I have to attend
entertainments, you cannot rely upon my constant vigilance.

THE OUTBREAK. 313

It is for you to choose, Caesar, whether you most require vigi-
lant guards, who could be trusted as standing aloof from all, or
the addition of two persons to the crowds you entertain. I
am sure, Caesar," he went on as the emperor made no reply, " it
is not yourself who is now speaking to me; it is Rufinus, for-
merly a suitor for the hand of the daughter of Norbanus, who
has been whispering into your ear and abusing the favour you
show him. He dare not show his animosity to me openly, for one
who has conquered a lion would make but short work of him.
Your majesty, I pray you, let not the word of men like this
come between yourself and one you know to be faithful to you."

"You are right, Beric," Nero said. "I will press you no
farther; it was but a passing thought. I had heard of the
beauty of your betrothed, and thought I would see if she were
as fair as report makes her; but since you do not wish it to be
so, it shall not be spoken of again."

But Beric knew enough of Nero to be aware that, like most
weak men, he was obstinate, and that Rufinus and his friends
would not allow the matter to drop. Every preparation was
therefore made for sudden flight. -^lEmilia was warned on no
account to trust any message she might receive purporting to
be from him, and the Britons in the palace, who were heartily
sick of their monotonous duty, were told to hold themselves in
readiness for action. Beric knew that he could depend on the
slave who had been assigned to him as an attendant. He was
not the man who had at first served him, and who, as Beric
doubted not, had acted as a spy upon him. When it was found
that there was nothing to discover this man had been removed
for other work, and a slave boy of some seventeen years old had
taken his place. To him Beric had behaved with great kind-
ness, and the lad was deeply attached to him. He Ija^ several
times taken notes and messages to the house of Norbanus, and
Beric told Emilia that when it became necessary to send her
the ring, he should probably intrust it to him.

A week later Boduoc was on guard at ten in the evening.
In the distant banqueting hall he could hear sounds of laughter
and revelry, and knowing the nature of these feasts he muttered
angrily to himself that he, a Briton, should be standing there
while such things were being done within. Suddenly he heard
a step approaching the hangings. They were drawn back, and

314 BERtC THE BRITON.

one of the court attendants said, " Caesar requires the attendance
of Beric the Briton in the banqueting hall."

" I will tell him," Boduoc said. " He will come directly."
Beric was sitting reading when Boduoc entered and gave the
message.

"This means mischief, Boduoc," he said. "I have never
been sent for before to one of these foul carousals. Philo, come
hither!"

The lad, who was lying on a mat by the door, rose. " Philo,
take this ring. Follow me to the door of the banqueting room,
and stand behind the hangings. If I say ' Run, Philo ! ' carry
out the orders that I have before given you. Speed first to the
room where the Britons sleep, and tell them to arm and come
up by the private stairs to my room instantly. They know the
way. They are then to pass on through the passage and the
next room and wait behind the hangings, when Boduoc will
give them orders. Directly you have given my message speed
to the house of Norbanus, and demand in my name to see the
lady -Emilia. If she has retired to her room she must be
roused. If the slaves make any difficulty, appeal to Norbanus
himself. He will fetch her down to you. Give her this ring,
and say the time has come."

" I will do it, my lord. Where am I to join you af terwardsl "

" I shall take the road to the Alban Hills first; I think that
if you are speedy, you may be on the Alban road before me.
Now follow me. Boduoc, do you come as far as the hangings
of the banqueting room, and stand there with Philo. You will
be able to hear what passes within. Do not enter unless I
call you. Bring my sword with you."

Beric passed through two or three large apartments and then
entered the banqueting room. It was ablaze with lights. A
dozen men and as many women, in the scantiest costumes, lay
on couches along each side of the table. All were crowned
with chaplets of flowers, and were half-covered with roses, of
which showers had fallen from above upon them. Nero lay on
a couch at the end of the table; his features were flushed with
wine. Beric repressed the exclamation of indignant disgust
that rose to his lips, and walking calmly up to Nero said coldly,
" I am told that you want me, Caesar."

" I do, my fighter of lions," Nero said unsteadily. " I would

BERIC CONFRONTS NERO AT liih isANi^Lh-T.

THE OUTBREAK. 315

see this paragon of whom Eufinus tells me, whom you guard
so jealously from my eyes. Send and fetch her hither. She
will be a worthy queen of our revels."

"It is an honour to me to obey your majesty's commands in
all matters that regard myself," Beric said; "but in regard to
my promised wife, no! This is no place for a Eoman lady;
and even at the risk of your displeasure, Caesar, I refuse to
dishonour her by bringing her into such an assembly."

" I told you he would refuse, Caesar," Rufinus, who was lying
on the couch next to Nero, laughed.

Nero was speechless with surprise and anger at Beric's calm
refusal to obey his orders. " Do I understand," he said at last,
" that you refuse to obey me V

" I do, Caesar. It is not a lawful command, and I distinctly
refuse to obey it"

"Then, by the gods, your life is forfeit!" Nero said, rising
to his feet.

" You may thank your gods, Csesar, that I have more sense
of honour than you. Were it otherwise, I would strike you
dead at my feet. But a British chief disdains to fight an
unarmed foe, and I who have eaten your bread and taken your
wages am doubly bound not to lift my hand against you."
Then he lifted his voice and cried, "Run, Philo!"

The revellers by this time had all started to their feet. Nero,
shrinking backwards behind them, called loudly for help. Ru-
finus, who had shown bravery in the wars, drew a dagger from
beneath his toga and sprang at Beric, The latter caught his -^
uplifted wrist, and with a sharp wrench forced him to drop the /
weapon; then he seized him in his grasp. " You shall do no
more mischief, Rufinus," he said, and raising him in his arms
hurled him with tremendous force against a marble pillar, where
he fell inert and lifeless, his ^ull being completely beaten in
by the blow.

The hall rang with the shrieks of women and the shouts of
men. There was a sound of heavy footsteps, and eight of the
Praetorian guards, with drawn swords, ran in on the other side
of the chamber, "Boduoc!" Beric shouted; and in a moment
his follower stood beside him and handed him his sword and
buckler.

"Kill him!" Nero shouted frantically. "The traitor would

316 BERIO THE BRITON.

have slain me." Beric and Boduoc stepped back to the door by
which they had entered, and awaited the onset of the Prae-
torians. For a moment these hesitated, for Beric's figure was
well known in the palace, and not one of them but had
heard of his encounter with the lion. The emperor's shouts,
however, overcame their reluctance, and shoulder to shoulder
they rushed forward to the attack. Two fell instantly, helmet
and head cloven by the swords of the Britons, who at once
took the offensive and drove the others before them, slaying
three more and putting the others to flight. But the success
was temporary, for now a great body of the guard poured into
the room.

"Step back through the doorway, Boduoc," Beric said;
" their numbers will not avail them then." The doors were
ten feet in width. This gave room to but three men to enter
at once and use their arms to advantage, and for two or three
minutes the Britons kept the Praetorians at bay, eight of them
having fallen beneath their blows; then there was a shout, and
the Roman soldiers came running in at a door at the end of the
chamber. "Fall back to the next door," Beric said; but as he
spoke there was a rush behind, and nineteen Britons ran into
the room, and uttering the war-cry of the Iceni flung them-
selves upon the Roman soldiers. These, taken by surprise at
the sudden appearance of these tall warriors, and ignorant of
what further reinforcements might be coming up, gave ground,
and were speedily beaten back, a score of them falling beneath
the Britons' swords.

"Now retreat!" Beric cried as the room was cleared; "re-
treat at full speed. Show them the way, Boduoc, by the stair-
case down into the garden. Quick ! there is not a moment to
lose. I will guard the rear."

They ran down the passage, through Beric's room, down
a long corridor, and then by stairs leading thence into the gar-
den, which was indeed a park of considerable size, with lakes,
shrubberies, and winding walks. The uproar in the palace
was no longer heard by the time they were half-way across
the park; but they ran at full .speed until they reached a
door in the wall. Of this Beric had some time before ob-
tained a key from the head gardener, and always carried
this about with him. As they stopped they looked back

THE OUTBREAK. 317

towards the palace. Distant shouts could be heard, and the
lights of numbers of torches could be seen spreading out in all
directions.

Beric opened the door and locked it behind him when all had
passed out. "Now," he said to his companions, "make your
way down to the road leading out to the Alban Hills. Break
up and go singly, so that you may not be noticed. It will be
a good half-hour before the news of what has occurred is known
beyond the palace. Do not pass through the frequented streets,
but move along the dark lanes as much as possible. When half
a mile beyond the city we will reunite."

An hour later the whole party were gathered beyond the
city. All were delighted to escape from what they considered
slavery, and the fact that they had again bucklers on their arms
and swords by their sides made them feel as if their freedom
were already attained.

" This puts one in mind of old times," Boduoc said joyously;
" one might think we were about to start on an expedition in
the fens. Well, they have taught us all somewhat more than
we knew before, and we will show them that the air of Eome
has robbed us of none of our strength. Where go we now,
Beric?"

"First to the ludus of Scopus; I learned a week since that
he had taken his band out again to the Alban Hills for the
hot season. I believe that most of his men will join us, if not
all. As soon as the news is spread that we are in arms we
could, if we wished it, be joined by scores of gladiators from
the other schools. There are hundreds who would, if the
standard of revolt were raised, prefer dying fighting in^he
open to being slain to gratify a Roman mob."

" Ay, that there are," put in another of the band. " I have
never ceased to lament that I did not fall that day on our
island in the fens." 4

"Think you there will be pursuit, Beric?" another asked.

"No; the first thought of Nero will be to assemble all the
Prsetorians for his protection; they will search the palace and
the park, expecting attack rather than thinking of pursuit
In the morning, when they find that all is quiet, and that it is
indeed only us with whom there is trouble, they will doubtless
send parties of searchers over the country ; but long before that

318 BERIC THE BRITON.

we shall be a day's march ahead. My wish is to gain the
mountains. I do not want to head a great rebellion against
Rome — disaster would surely come of it at last, and I should
have only led men to their deatL A hundred men is the out-
side number I will take. With that number we may live as
outlaws among the mountains to the south; we could move so
rapidly that large forces could not follow us, and be strong
enough to repulse small ones. There is plenty of game among
the hills, and we should live as we did at home, chiefly by
hunting."

Just as they were approaching the hills a quick step was
heard behind them, and the lad Philo ran up.

"Ah, you have overtaken us, Philo! 'tis well, lad, for your
life would have been forfeited had you stayed in Rome. Well,"
he asked, drawing him aside, "you saw the lady Emilia.
What said she r'

" She said, * Tell my lord that I obey, but that I pray him to
let me join him and share his dangers if it be possible ; but be
it to-morrow or five years hence, he will find me waiting for him
at the place he knows of.' Norbanus was present when she
spoke. I told him what I had heard in the banqueting-room,
and he said 'Beric has done rightly. Tell him that he has
acted as a Roman should do, but as Romans no longer act,
caring less for their honour than do the meanest slaves, and
that I thank him for having thus defended my daughter
against indignity.' He was glad, he said, that his life would
end now, for it was a burden to him under such conditions.
He gave me this bag of gold to bring to you, saying that he
should have no farther need for it, and that, leaving in such
haste, you would not have time to furnish yourself with money.
It is heavy," the boy said. " I should have caught you some
time earlier, but twenty or more pounds' weight makes a deal of
difference in a long run."

On arriving at the house of Scopus Beric bade the others
wait without, and stepping over the slaves lying at the entrance,
he went quietly to the sleeping chamber of the lanista.

"Who is thisi" Scopus asked as he entered.

"It is I, Beric; throw your mantle on and come outside with
me, Scopus. I would speak with you alone, and do not wish
that all should know that I have been hera"

THE OUTBREAK. 319

"In trouble?" Scopus asked as they left the house. "Ay,
lad, I expected it, and knew that sooner or later it would come.
What is it?"

" Nero ordered me to fetch Emilia to his foul carousal. I
refused. Rufinus, at whose instigation he acted, attacked me.
I hurled him against a pillar, and methinks he was killed, and
then Nero, in alarm for his life, called in the Praetorians.
Boduoc and my countrymen joined me, and we slew some
thirty of them, and then made our escape, and are taking to
the mountains."

"And you have come to ask my gladiators to join?" Scopus
said shortly.

"No," Beric replied; "when I started I thought of so doing,
but as I walked hither I decided otherwise. It would not be
fair to you. Did I ask them some would join, I know, others
might not. The loss of their services I could make up to you;
but if it were known that we had been here, and that some
of your band had joined me, Nero's vengeance would fall on
you all."

" I thank you, Beric ; if some went I must go myself, for I
dare not remain, and though I wish you well, and hate the
tyrant, I am well off and comfortable, and have no desire to
throw away my life."

"There is one I should like to take with me — Porus; we
were good friends when I was here, and I know that he hates
this life and longs to be free from it. He would have run
away and joined the gladiators when they rose at Praeneste had
I not dissuaded him. He could leave without th6>^thers
knowing it, and in the morning you might affect a belief that
he has run away, and give notice to the magistrate here and
have him sought for. In that way there would be no suspicion
of his having joined us. I know that he is valuable to you,
being, I think, the best of youV troop, but I will pay you what-
ever price you place his services at."

" No, no," Scopus said, " I will give him to you, Beric, for
the sake of our friendship, and for your consideration for me
in not taking the rest with you. I have done well by you and
him. Stay here and 1 will fetch him out to you ; it may be
that many will desert both from me and the other lanistae
when they hear that you have taken to the mountains, but for

320 BERIC THE BRITON.

that I cannot be blamed. You have come far out of your way
to come hither."

" Yes, 'tis a long detour, but it will matter little. "We shall
skirt round the foot of the hills, cross the Lyris below Praeneste,
and then make straight to the mountains. They will not
search for us in that direction, and we will take shelter in a
wood when day breaks, and gain the mountains to-morrow
night. Once there we shall be safe, and shall move farther
south to the wild hills between Apulia and Campania, or if it
is too hot for us there, down into Bruttium, whence we can, if
it be needed, cross into Sicily. I am not thinking of making
war with Rome. We intend to live and die as free men,
and methinks that in the mountains we may laugh at the whole
strength of Rome."

" You will find plenty of others in the same condition there,
Beric; escaped slaves and gladiators constantly make for the
hills, and there have been many expeditions against the bands
there, who are often strong enough to be a danger to the towns
near the foot of the mountains."

"We are not going to turn brigands," Beric said; "there is
game on the hills, and we are all hunters, and I have money
enough to pay for all else we require did we live there for
years. But fetch me Porus. We must be far from here by
daylight."

Porus soon came out, much surprised at being suddenly
roused from sleep, and silently brought out of the house by
Scopus. As soon as Beric explained to him what had hap-
pened, he joyfully agreed to join him, and stole in and fetched
his arms. Then with a hearty adieu to Scopus Beric placed
himself at the head of his band and struck off by the road to
Praeneste. Walking fast they arrived at the bank of the Lyris
before daybreak, crossed the river in a fisherman's boat they
found on the bank, and just as daylight showed in the sky
entered an extensive grove, having walked over forty miles
since leaving Rome. They slept during the day, taking it by
turns to watch at the edge of the wood, and when it was again
dark started afresh, and were, when morning broke, high up
on the slopes of the Apennines.

"I feel a free man again now," Boduoc said. "It does not
seem to me that I have drawn a breath of fresh air since I

THE OUTBREAK, 321

entered Rome; but fresh air, good as it is, Beric, is not alto-
gether satisfying, and I begin to feel that I have eaten nothing
since I supped the day before yesterday."

" We will push on for another hour," Beric said, " and then
we shall be fairly beyond the range of cultivation. At the
last house we come to we will go in and purchase food. Flour
is the principal thing we need; we shall have no difficulty in
getting goats from the herdsmen who pasture their animals
among the hills."

An hour later Beric, with Boduoc and two of his followers,
went up to a farm-house. The farmer and his servants ran
into the house, raising cries of alarm at the sight of the four
tall armed figures.

" Do not fear," Beric said when he reached the door, " we
are not brigands, but honest men, who desire to pay for what
we need."

Somewhat reassured, the farmer came out. *' What does my
lord require 1 " he asked, impressed by a nearer view of Beric's
dress and arms.

"How much flour have you in the house?" Beric asked,
"and what is the price of it?"

The farmer had three sacks of flour. " I will take them all,"
Beric said, " and three skins of wine if you have them. I would
also buy two sheep if you name me a fair price for the whole."

The farmer named a price not much above that which he
would have obtained in the market, and Beric also bought of
him a number of small bags capable of containing some fifteen
or twenty pounds of flour each. Then one of the men%tched
up the rest of the band; the flour was divided and packed in the
small bags; the sheep were killed and cut up; three of the men
lifted the wine-skins on to their shoulders; the rest took the
flour and meat, and they marched away, leaving the farmer and
his family astounded at the appearance of these strange men
with fair hair and blue eyes, and of stature that appeared to
them gigantic.

Still ascending the mountain the band halted in a forest.
Wood was soon collected and a fire lighted. The contents of
one of the bags was made into dough at a stream hard by,
divided into cakes and placed on red-hot ashes, while the meat
was cut up and hung over the fire.

f 725 ) X

322 BERIC THE BRITON.

" We have forgotten drinking-horns," Beric said, " but your
steel cap, Porus, will serve us for a drinking- cup for to-
day."

After a hearty meal they lay down for some hours to sleep,
and then resumed their march. They were getting well into the
heart of the mountains when a figure suddenly appeared on a
crag above them.

"Who are yoni" he shouted, "and what do you here in the
mountains 1 "

" We are fugitives from the tyranny of Kome," Beric replied.
" We mean harm to no man, but those who would meddle with
us are likely to regret it."

" You swear that you are fugitives," the man called back.

" I swear," Beric said, holding up his hand.

The man turned round and spoke to someone behind him,
and a moment later a party of fifteen men appeared on the
crag and began to descend into the ravine up which Beric's
band were making their way.

" It is the Britons," the leader exclaimed as he neared them.
"Why, Beric, is it you, tired already of the dignities of Kome?
How fares it with you, Boduoc?"

Beric recognized at once a Gaul, one of the gladiators of
Scopus, who had some months before fled from the ludus. In
a minute the two bands met. Most of the new-comers were
Gauls, and, like their leader, escaped gladiators, and as Beric's
name was well known to all they saluted him with acclamations.
Both parties were pleased at the meeting, for, akin by race and
speaking dialects of the same language, they regarded each
other as natural allies.

" The life of an outlaw will be a change to you after Nero's
palace, Beric," Gatho, their leader, said.

" A pleasant change," Beric replied. " I have no taste for
gilded chains. How do you fare here, Gatho?"

"There are plenty of wild boars among the mountains^ and
we can always get a goat when they are lacking. There are
plenty of them wild all over the hills, escaped captives like
ourselves. As for wine and flour, we have occasionally to make
a raid on the villages."

"I do not propose to do that," Beric said; "I have money
to buy what we require; and if we set the villagers against us,

THE OUTBREAK. 323

sooner or later they will lead the troops after us up the moun-
tains."

"I would gladly do that too, but the means are lacking.
We owe the peasants no ill-will, but one must live, you know."

" Have you any place you make your head-quarters?"

"Ay, an hour's march from hence; I will lead you to it."
The united bands continued to climb the hills, and on emerging
from the ravine Gatho led them for some distance along the
upper edge of a forest, and then turned up a narrow gorge in
the hillside with a little rivulet running down it. The ravine
widened out as they went up it, till they reached a spot where
it formed a circular area of some hundred and fifty feet in
diameter, surrounded on all sides by perpendicular rocks, with
a tiny cascade a hundred feet in height falling into it at the
farther end. Some rough huts of boughs of trees were erected
near the centre.

" A good hiding-place," Beric said, " but I see no mode of
retreat, and if a peasant were to lead a party of Romans to the
entrance you would be caught in a trap."

"We have only been here ten days," Gatho said, "and never
stop long in one place; but it has the disadvantage you speak
of. However, we have always one or two men posted lower
down, at points where they can see any bodies of men ascending
the hills. They brought us notice of your coming when you
were far below, so you see we are not likely to be taken by
surprise, and the Roman soldiers are not fond of night marches
among the mountains." <^^

As it was some hours since the Britons had partaken of their
meal they were quite ready to join the Gauls in another, and
the carcass of a wild boar hanging up near the huts was soon
cut up and roasting over a fire, the Britons contributing wine
and flour to the meal. After i* was over there was a long talk,
and after consulting together Gatho and his band unanimously
agreed in asking Beric to take the command of the whole party.

" We all know you, Beric," Gatho said. " None could like
you have fought a lion bare-handed, and I know that there was
no one in the Indus who was your match with the sword, while
Boduoc and the other five were infinitely superior to any of us
in strength. Besides, you are well versed in Roman ways, and
have led an army against them, therefore we all are ready to

324 BERIC THE BRITON.

accept you as our leader and to obey your orders if you will
take us."

" I will do so willingly, Gatho. I do not wish to have more
than fifty men with me, for it would be difficult to find subsis-
tence for a larger number. A hundred is the outside number,
and doubtless we shall be able to gather other recruits should
we choose to raise the band to that number; but all who follow
me must obey me as implicitly as did my own tribesmen in our
struggle with the Romans, and must swear to do no harm to
innocent people, and to abstain from all violence and robbery.
I am ready to be a leader of outlaws but not of brigands. I
desire only to live a free life among the mountains. If the
Romans come against us we will fight against them, and the
spoil we may take from them is lawful booty, to be used in
exchange for such things as we may require. But with the
peasants we will make friends, and if we treat them well they
will bring us news of any expeditions that may be on foot for
our capture. As I said I have money enough to buy everything
we want at present, and can obtain more if necessary, so that
there is no reason for us to rob these poor people of their goods.
Here we are too near Rome for them to be disaffected, but
further south we shall find them not unwilling to aid us, for
the provinces are ground into the dust by the exactions neces-
sary to pay for the cost of the rebuilding of Rome and to sup-
port the extravagance of Nero."

The Gauls cheerfully took the required oath.

"You, Gatho, will continue to act as my lieutenant with
your Gauls, Boduoc commands the Britons under me. It may
be necessary at times for the band to divide, as when game is
scarce we may find a difficulty in keeping together, especially
if we recruit our band up to a hundred. I am determined to
have no malefactors who have fled from justice nor riotous men
among us. I should prefer that they should be chiefiy your
countrymen, but we will not refuse gladiators of other nations
who have been captured as prisoners of war. We want no
escaped slaves among us. A man who has once been a slave
might try to buy his pardon and freedom by betraying us. We
will be free men all, asking only to live in freedom among the
mountains, injuring none, but determined to fight and die in
defence of that freedom."

THE OUTBREAK. 325

These sentiments were warmly welcomed by the Gauls. The
next day the number of men on the look-out was increased,
and the band, breaking up into small parties, scattered among
the mountains in pursuit of wild boars and goats. Some were
to return, successful or not, at night to the encampment, and
on the following day to take the place of those on watch, and
relays were provided so that during the week each would take
a turn at that duty.

Never did men enjoy a week's hunting with greater zest than
the Britons. To them life seemed to begin anew, and although
the skies were bluer and the mountains higher and rougher
than those of Britain, it seemed to them that they were once
again enjoying their native air, and of an evening rude chants
of Gaul and Britain echoed among the rocks.

Porus, the Syrian, stood somewhat apart from the rest, not
understanding the tongue of the others, and he therefore became
naturally the special companion of Beric; for having been six
years in Rome he spoke Latin fluently.

" It is I who must go down to get you news, Beric," he said
one day. " You Britons could not disguise yourselves, for even
if you stained your cheeks and dyed your hair your blue eyes
and your height would betray you at once. The Gauls, too,
though shorter than you, are still much taller and broader men
than the Romans, and there are none of them who speak the
language well enough to ask a question without their foreign
tongue being detected. I am about the height of the Romans,
and am swarthier than the Gauls, and could, if I borroTred the
dress of one of the goat-herds, pass among them without notice.
It would certainly be well, as you were saying, to know what
is being done below, and whether there is any idea of sending
troops up into the mountains to search for us.

'• You may be sure that after the scare you gave Nero, and
the defeat of his guards, the matter will not be allowed to
drop, and that they will search all Italy for you. I should
think that, at first, they will seek for you in the north, think-
ing that you would be likely, after taking to the hills — which
you would be sure to do, for such a party could never hope to
traverse the plains unnoticed — to keep along the chain to the
north, cross the Cisalpine plains, and try to make the passage
of the great mountains.'

326 BERIC THE BRITON.

" At anyrate it will be well, Porus, to know what they are
doiLg. If they are at present confining their search to the
northern range we can stay where we are with confidence. I
should be sorry to move, for we are well placed here; there
is good water and game is abundant. We certainly shall soon
lack wine, but for everything else we can manage. We have
meat in abundance, and have still flour to last for some time,
for both we and the Gauls eat but little bread; besides, if
pushed, we can do as the peasants do, pound up acorns and
beech-nuts and make a sort of bread of them."

"Very well, Beric, I will go down to-morrow."

Early in the morning, however, two of the men on sentry
came in and said that they observed the glitter of the sun on
spear-head and armour far down the hillside.

"If they are after us," Beric said, "as I expect they are,
they have doubtless learned that we are somewhere in this part
of the mountains from the man of whom we bought the wine
and flour. I don't suppose he intended to do us harm, but
when he went down to purchase fresh supplies he may well
have mentioned that a party of strong men of unusual height,
and with fair hair, had bought up his stock, paying for it
honestly, which would perhaps surprise him more than any-
thing. If the news had come to the ears of any of the officials,
they, knowing the hue and cry which was being made for us,
would have sent word at once to Pra^neste or Rome. We must
at once recall those who are away. Philo, take a couple of
brands and go and light the signal fire."

A pile of dry wood had been placed in readiness upon a
projecting rock a mile away and standing in a position where
it was visible from a considerable extent of the hillside. It
had been settled that the parties of hunters who dii not return
at nightfall should occasionally send one of their number to a
point whence he could get a view of the beacon,

"Directly the pile is well alight, Philo, pluck up green bushes
and tufts of grass and throw upon it, so as to make as much
smoke as possible."

There were eighteen men in the encampment, and four out
on guard. Boduoc and Gatho were both away, and as soon as
Philo had started with the brands Beric and Porus set out with
the two scouts.

THE OUTBREAK. 327

" That was where we saw them," one of them said, pointing
far down the hillside, " but by this time they will no doubt
have entered tlie wooded belt."

"We must find out something about their numbers," Beric
said. "Not that I wish to fight; for were we to inflict losses
upon them they would more than ever make efforts to overtake
us. Still, it will be as well to know what force they may
think sufficient to capture us."

" I will go down through the forest," Porus said, " doubt-
less they will have some light-armed troops with the spearmen;
but they must be fleet indeed if they overtake me after all my
training."

"Do not let them see you if you can help it, Porus, or they
will follow close behind you, although they might not over-
take you, and that might bring on a fight."

"I will be careful;" and leaving his buckler behind him,
Porus started on his way down the mountain.

In an hour and a half he returned. "I have had a good
view of them," he said; "they have halted at the place where
we got the flour. There are a hundred heavy-armed troops
and a hundred archers and slingers."

"They have come in strength," Beric said; "it shows that
they do not hold the Britons cheaply. We will return at once
to the camp. By this time the hunters should be back."

Sending one of the men to call in the other sentries, they
returned to the huts. Boduoc, with a party of ten onen, had
already come in, and said that they had seen Gatho s party
making their way down from a point high up in the mountains.

" We will pause no longer," Beric said, " we shall meet them
as they descend; take the flour and what little wine remains,
and let us be going. Scatter the fire and extinguish the brands;
unless they have found some goat-herd who has marked us
coming and going, they may not find this place. I hope they
will not do so, as it would encourage them by the thought that
they had nearly captured us."

The party had ascended the mountain half a mile when they
met Gatho returning. " I like not to retreat without fighting,"
he said, when he had heard from Beric of the coming of the
Romans and their force; "but I agree with you that it is
better not to anger them farther."

328 BERIC THE BRITON.

" I want three of the fleetest-footed of your men, Gatho, to
stay behind with Porus and watch them, themselves unseen.
We will cross over the crest of the hills to the eastern side,
Porus. Do you mark that tall craig near the summit; you will
find one of us there, and he will lead you to our camping-place.
I want to know whether the Romans, after spending the day
searching the hills, go back through the forest, or whether they
encamp here. In the one case we can return, in the other it
will be better to move south at once. We could laugh at their
heavy armed spearmen, but their archers and slingers carry no
more weight than we do, and would harass us sorely with their
missiles, which we have no means of returning."

As soon as the men to remain with Porus were chosen, the
rest of the band proceeded on their way.

CHAPTER XIX.

OUTLAWS,

IT was late at night before Porus with the three Gauls joined
the rest of the band in their new encampment on the
eastern slope of the hills. "As soon as the moon rises, Beric, we
must be up and moving. The Romans are in earnest. When
they came through the forest they ascended for some little dis-
tance, and then the spearmen halted and the light-armed
troops scattered in parties of four searching the country like
dogs after game. They were not very long before they dis-
covered signs of us, whether foot-marks or broken twigs I
know not, but following them they soon came upon the entrance
of the ravine. No doubt our marks were plain enough there,
for the spearmen were brought down. What happened then
I know not; no doubt they entered and found that we had
gone. At anyrate, in a short time they set out briskly up the
mountain, the spearmen as before keeping together, and the
light-armed men scattering.

"All day they searched, and it was well that you crossed the

OUTLAWS. 329

crest. They halted for the night half-way between the forest
and the summit, and I determined to learn something of their
intentions. So after it was dark I laid aside my arms and
crawled into the camp. The ground was broken and rough,
and there was no great difficulty in getting close to their fires.
I learned that the whole of the legion at Prseneste had been sent
into the mountains, and that there were twenty parties of equal
force; they were but a mile and a half apart, and considered
that they could search every foot of the ground for thirty
miles along, and would assuredly discover us if we were still in
this part. More than that, troops from Corfinium and Mar-
rubium had started to search the eastern slopes, and between
them they made sure that they should catch you, now that
they had found, by the heat of the earth where our fire had been,
that we must have been there but an hour or so before their
arrival."

"If that is the case we must make our way to the south at
once," Beric said. •' It is well indeed that we decided to retreat
without fighting, for had we retired, closely pursued by their
archers, their shouts would certainly have been heard by some
of the other parties. It is fortunate we did not light a fire;
had we done so it might have brought some of the troops from
Marrubium, which cannot be far distant from here, upon us.
The moon will not be up for three hours yet, and it is useless
to try to make our way among these mountains until we have
her light, therefore let all lie down to sleep ; I will ke«p guard
and will rouse you when it is time to move."

Beric sat listening intently for any sound that would tell
of the approach of foemen. He had, however, but small fear
that the Eomans were moving at present. It would be even
more difficult for them than for his men to make their way about
in the darkness ; besides, the day must have been an extremely
fatiguing one for them. They had, doubtless, started long before
dawn, had had to climb the mountains, and had been all day
on their feet. They would scarcely recommence the search
before morning. Easy on this score, his thoughts turned to
Rome. That Emilia had gained the shelter of the Catacombs
he had no doubt, and he wondered how she fared there among
the Christian fugitives. As to Norbanus he had but slight
hopes of ever seeing him aUve. Nero's vengeance always ex-

330 BERIC THE BRITON.

tended to the families of those who offended him, and Norbanus
would certainly be held responsible for the Hight of Emilia.
He thought it indeed probable that as soon as -i^lmilia left,
Norbanus would have called his friends together, and, having
opened his veins, would die as Piso had done discussing philo-
sophy with them.

As soon as the moon was fairly up he aroused his companions
and they started along the hillside. It was difficult work making
their way on, now descending into a deep ravine, now climbing
a rugged slope, now passing along a bare shoulder. There was
no pause until day broke, when they descended into a gorge
and lay down among some clumps of bushes, one man being
sent half a mile down while two others were posted on each side
of the ravine. They had good reason for hope, however, that
they had got beyond the point to which the searching parties
would extend on the eastern side of the hill. The day passed
without alarms, although the sentries above more than once
heard the sounds of distant trumpets. As soon as the sun set
they continued their way, halting again until the moon rose,
and then keeping south until daybreak.

They were sure now that they were far beyond the parties
of Romans, but after a few hours' sleep they again pressed on,
and at night lighted their fires and prepared for a longer stay.
But the orders of Nero were so imperative that the troops, bar-
ing thoroughly searched the mountains at the point where they
had ascended them, united, and also moved south in a long line
extending from the summit of the hills to the lower edge of the
forest; and after two days' halt the fugitives again moved south,
and continued their journey until they found themselves among
the wild and lofty hills of Bruttium.

But their numbers had swollen as they went, for the other
fugitive bands among the hills were also driven south by the
advance of the Romans, and it was a miscellaneous body of
gladiators, escaped slaves, and malefactors, in all over five hundi-ed
strong, that crossed the mountains into Bruttium. There was
a general wish among them that Beric should take the command
of the whole. This, however, he absolutely declined to do,
upon the ground that it was impossible for so large a body
of men to keep together, as there would be no means of feeding
them. Scattered about they would find an ample supply of

OUTLAWS. 331

meat from the wild goats, boars and semi- wild swine, but to-
gether, they would soon scare away the game. From among the
gladiators, however, he picked out sufficient men to raise his own
force to a hundred strong, and separating from the rest he led
them, guided by a charcoal-burner, to one of the wildest and
most inaccessible points in the promontory.

Here they were safe from pursuit, Bruttium, now called
Calabria, is a chain of rugged hUls, at that time thickly covered
with wood, and although it was possible fairly to search the
Apennines in the centre of Italy with six or seven thousand men,
a large army would fail to find a band of fugitives in the
recesses of the mountains of the south. On the evening of their
arrival at the spot they determined to make their head-quarters,
Beric held a sort of council of war, the whole of the band, as
was the custom both in Gaul and Britain, joining in the
deliberations,

"So far," Beric began, "we have retreated without fighting;
Rome cannot complain that we have been in insurrection
against her, we have simply acted as fugitives; but as there is
nowhere else whither we can retire, we must turn upon them
if they again pursue us. We must then regard this as our
abode for a long time, and make ourselves as comfortable as
we can. Huts we can erect of the branches of trees, the skins
of the goats we kill will provide us with bedding, and if needs
be with clothing. Meat will not fail us, for should g^nm be-
come scarce we can buy goats and sheep from the shepherds
who come up with their flocks and herds from the villages by
the sea. But besides this we need many things for comfort.
We must have utensils for cooking, and drinking cups, and
shall need flour and wine; we must therefore open communica-
tions with one of the towns by the sea. This is the great
difficulty, because of all things I fear treachery; for nigh a year
we fought the Eomans at home, and could have fought them
for twenty more had we not been betrayed and surrounded,

" Of that there will always be a danger. I have gold, and
shall always pay for what we require; but the other bands
among these hills will not be so scrupulous, and as, indeed,
they will be forced to take food, they will set the inhabitants
against us, and the Eomans will have no difficulty in finding
guides among them. So long as we keep ourselves far apart

332 BERIC THE BRITON.

from the rest we are comparatively safe ; but none of the natives
must know of our hiding-place. Can anyone propose a good
plan for obtaining supplies'?"

There was silence for some time. These men were all good
for fighting, but few of them had heads to plan. At last Porus
said:

" We are, as our guide tells me, but two hours' journey from
the hills whence we may look down upon the gulf dividing
Bruttium from Sicily. The lower slopes of these hills are, he
says, closely cultivated. There are many small villages some
distance up on their sides, and solitary farms well-nigh up to
the crest. It seems to me that we should use one of these
farmers as our agent. He must be a man with a wife and
family, and these would be hostages. If we told him that if he
did our bidding he would be well rewarded, while if unfaith-
ful we would destroy his farmhouse and slay his wife and
children, I think we might trust him. Two or three of us
could go down with him to the town on the sea-shore, dressed
as men working under him, and help bring up the goods he
purchases. The quantity might excite suspicion did he always
go to the same place for them, but he need not always do this.
If we found it impossible to get enough by means of one man,
we might carry out this plan with three or four of them. None
of these men need know the direction of our camp; it would
suffice that the wine and flour were brought to their houses.
We could always send a strong party to fetch them thence
as we required them."

" I do not think we can hit on any better plan, Porus;" and
as there was a murmur of assent he continued: "I propose, my
friends, that we appoint Porus the head of our victualling
department, and leave the arrangements to him entirely."

This point was settled. The next morning Porus, taking three
of the gladiators who most resembled the natives in appear-
ance, started on his mission. He was completely successful.
The farmers on the upper slopes of the hills lived in terror of
the banditti among the mountains, and one was readily induced,
by the offer of a reward for his services, and of freedom from
all molestation, to undertake the business of getting up corn
and wine. Henceforth supplies of these articles were obtained
regularly. Huts were soon erected; the men were divided

OUTLAWS 333

into hunting parties, and the life of the fugitives passed
quietly, and for a time without incident.

The persons with whom Beric had deposited his money had
all been chosen for him by Norbanus. He himself had been too
long away from Italy to be acquainted with any outside the
walls of Rome; but among his friends there were several who
were able to recommend men of property and character to
whom the money could be committed with the certainty that it
would be forthcoming whenever demanded. At present Beric
was amply supplied with funds, for the money that Norbanus
had sent to him would last for at least a year; but, four months
after reaching Bruttium, he thought it would be as well to
warn those in whose charge his own stores had been placed,
to hold it in readiness by them in case it should be suddenly
asked for. Philo seemed to him the only person he could send
on such a mission, and upon the more important one of going
to Rome and communicating with Emilia. He was certain of
the fidelity of the lad, and, properly disguised, he was less
likely to be recognized in Rome than Porus would be. Clothes
such as would be worn by the son of a well-to-do cultivator
were obtained for him, and he was directed to take the road
along the coast to Rome, putting up at inns in the towns, and
giving out that he was on his way to the capital to arrange for
the purchase of a farm adjoining that of his father.

Letters were given him to the persons holding Beric's money;
and one for the goldsmith in Rome, with whom a portion of the
money he had given for the jewellery that Beric had received
at the games was still deposited. This letter was not to be
delivered until he had been to the catacombs and seen Emilia;
as, although Scopus had spoken very highly of the man, it was
possible that he might, to gain favour with Nero, hand over
Beric's messenger to him. Beric fully impressed upon Philo
the risks he would run, and told him to make all his calls after
nightfall, and to be prepared for instant flight if he mistrusted
the manner of any of the men he visited.

"Do not be afraid, Beric," Philo said; "I will not be taken
alive. I know that they would torture me to force me to lead
them to your hiding-place, and I would rather die a thousand
times first. I was but a slave when I was allotted to you in
the palace of Nero. You have been kind to me, and trusted

334 BERIC THE BRITON

me. You have allowed me to go with you, and have behaved
to me as if I had been free and one of your own people. I
have my dagger, and if I see that evil is intended me I will
not wait until they lay hands on me, for then my blow might
fail, but will make sure. But before I start give me full
instructions what I am to say to the Lady Emilia; for how-
ever fully you may write, she will be sure to want to know
more, and, above all, instruct me what to do if she demands to
join you, and commands me to bring her here. This, methinks,
she is sure to do, and I must have your instructions in the
matter."

" I shall tell her in my letter, Philo, that this is no place for
her, and that I cannot possibly have her here, among rough
men, where, at any moment, we may be called upon to make
distant and toilsome journeys, and even to fight for our lives."

"That is all very well, my lord; but suppose she says to me
it is only because Beric thinks that I cannot support fatigue
and hardship that he does not send for me; but I am willing
and ready to do so, and I charge you, therefore, to take me to
him."

This was a point that Beric had many times thought over
deeply. He, too, felt sure that -Emilia would choose to be
with him; and accustomed as the Britons were for their wives
to share their perils, and to journey with them when they went
on warlike expeditions, it seemed to him that she had almost a
right to be with him. Then, too, her life must be dreary in the
extreme, shut up in caverns where the light of day never pene-
trated, in ignorance of his fate, and cut off from all kinsfolk
and friends. The question so puzzled him that he finally took
Porus into his confidence, having a high idea of his good
sense.

"She cannot come here," Porus agreed; "but I do not
see why you should not bring her from that dismal place
where you say she is, and establish her near at hand, either
at one of the upper farmhouses, or in a town by the sea.
Let me think it over. In an hour I will tell you what
seems to me the best plan. My counsel is this," he said, after
he had been absent for an hour from the hut, " I myself will
go with the lad to fetch her. A Roman lady, even though a
fugitive, should not be travelling about the country under the

OUTLAWS. 335

protection of a lad. I dare not go into Rome. I am known
to too many of the gladiators, and, disguise myself as I might,
I should be recognized before I had been there an hour. I will
obtain a dress such as would suit a respectable merchant; will
go down to one of the ports below and take passage in a trading
craft bound for Ostia. There I will take lodgings, and giving
out that my daughter, who has been staying with friends for
her education in Rome, is about to return to Messina with me,
will purchase two or three female slaves. When she arrives
with Philo, who can pass as her brother and my son, we will
take ship and come down hither. I can then bring her up and
place her in the house of one of the farmers; or can, if you like,
take a house in the town, or lodge her there with people to
whom one of the farmers might recommend her. But, at any-
rate, she could come up to one of the farmhouses first, to see
you, and then you could arrange matters between yoiL She
would really run no danger. You say she went out but little
in Rome, and it would be ill-luck indeed were there anyone
on this coast who met her there. If it were not for your pre-
posterous height, your yellow hair and blue eyes, there would
be no difficulty about the matter at all, for you would have but
to cross the straits into Sicily, to buy a small property there,
and to settle down quietly; but it is impossible with your
appearance to pass as one of the Latin race."

" Besides," Beric said, ** I could not desert my comrades.
Whatever their lot may be, mine must be also. If we are ever
to escape, we must escape together; but for the rest, 1 think
your plan is a good one, Porus, and thank you heartily. When
you get to Ostia you will learn all that is going on in Rome,
what has befallen Norbanus, and fether matters. If Norbanus
is alive, Emilia will certainly be in communication with him by
means of the Christians, and will, of course, be guided by his
advice."

The next day Porus and Philo set out together. Three weeks
passed, and then one morning Philo entered the camp.

" All has gone well, my lord, the Lady Emilia is at the
house of the farmer Cornelius, with whom Porus arranged to
receive her on the morning we left you. She has sent no
letter, for there were no writing materials in the house, but she
awaits your coming."

336 BERIC THE BRITON.

Beric hastened away at once, accompanied by the lad, who
by the way gave an account of his journey,

" It was as I thouglit," he said. " When I came to the house
you told me of, I knocked as you instructed me, gave the
ring to the man within and begged him to take it to the Lady
Emilia. He at first pretended that he knew nothing of such
a person; but at last, on my showing him the letter addressed
to her, he said that some friends of his might know where she
was, and that if I called again, two hours before midnight, he
might have news of her. When I came back the Lady Emilia
was there. She asked many questions about your health before
she opened your letter, the one that you first wrote to her.
When she had read it she said, ' My lord bids me stay here,
Philo, and I am, above all things, bound to obey him; but he
says that he bids me remain, because the hardships would be too
great for me. But I know that I could support any hardships;
and kind as they are to me here, I would rather go through any-
thing with my husband than remain here ; the darkness and the
silence are more trying than any hardships. So you see that
my lord's orders were given under a misapprehension, and as I
am sure he would not have given them had he known that I
was not afraid of hardships, and desired above all things to be
with him, I shall disobey them, and he, when I join him, must
decide whether I have done wrong, and, if he thinks so, send
me away from him.'

" Then, my lord, seeing that it was so, I gave her your second
letter, in which you said that if she wished to join you you had
made arrangements for her doing so. Then she kissed the letter
and cried over it, and said that she was ready to depart when I
came to fetch her. Then she told me that Norbanus had opened
his veins that night after she had left, and that the soldiers of
Nero arrived just too late to trouble him ; that all his property
had been confiscated, and that she had no friends in the world
but you.

" It took a week for Porus to obtain two suitable slaves — the
one an elderly woman and the other a young servant.

"The goldsmith handed over your money to me at once,
saying, ' I am glad to hear that Beric is alive. Tell him that
he did badly in not slaying the tyrant when he had him at his
mercy. Tell him, too, there are rumours of deep discontent

OUTLAWS. ^ 337

among the legions in the provinces, and a general hope among
the better class of Eomans that they will ere long proclaim a
new emperor and overthow Nero. Tell him also to be on his
guard. There is a talk of an expedition on a large scale to root
out those who are gathered in the mountains of Bruttium. It
is said that it is to be commanded by Caius Muro, who but a
week ago returned from Syria.' "

"Is it sol" Beric exclaimed. "I know him well, having
lived in his house for years. I should be sorry indeed that we
should meet as enemies. Heard you aught of his daughter?"

" Not from the goldsmith, but afterwards. She is married,
I hear, to PoUio, who is of the family of Norbanus."

" I am indeed glad to hear it, Philo. He also was a great
friend of mine, and as he knew Muro in Britain, would doubt-
less have sought him out in Syria, where he, too, held an
office. 'Tis strange indeed that he should have married Bere-
nice, whom I last saw as a girl, now fully four years back.
And all went well on the voyage?"

" Well indeed, my lord. I took the Lady .Emilia down to
Ostia in a carriage with closed curtains. She stayed two days
in the place Porus had hired, and none suspected on the voy-
age that she was other than his daughter."

"And how is she looking, Philo?"

" At first, my lord, she was looking strangely white, and I
feared that her health had suffered; but she said that it was
dwelling in the darkness that had so whitened her, and indeed
the sun during the voyage has brought the colour back to her
cheeks, and she is now looking as she used to do when I carried
letters to the house from Nero's palace."

Once arrived at the brow of the hill, looking down upon
the Straits of Messina, Beric's impatience could be no longer
restrained, and he descended the slope with leaps and bounds
that left Philo far behind. Porus was at the door of the
farm ; Beric grasped his hand.

" She is in there," he said, pointing to a door, and a moment
later .Emilia fell into his arms.

In half an hour the door opened.

"Come in, Porus and Philo," Beric called. "I must first
thank you, both in my own name and that of my betrothed,
for the great service you have rendered us, and the care and

f 79R > Y

338 BERIC THE BRITON.

kindness with which you have watched over -her. We have
settled nothing yet about the future, except that to-morrow I
shall complete the betrothal, and she will become my wife. It
should be done to-day, but my faithful Boduoc must be here as
a witness. It would be a disappointment indeed to him were
he not to be present at my marriage. For the present, at any-
rate, my wife will remain here.

" She would fain go up into the mountains, but that cannot
well be. Not only is our life too rough for her, but her pre-
sence there would greatly add to my anxieties. Here she will
be safe, and you, Philo, will remain with her. I am convinced
that I can trust Cornelius. You have told me, Porus, that you
are assured of his honesty, and as I can pay him well, and he
can have no idea that the Romans would be glad to pay a far
higher sum for my capture, he has no temptation to be un-
faithful to us; besides, his face is a frank and open one. I
shall charge him that, while JEmilia remains here, none of his
men are to accompany him when he goes down to the port, for,
without meaning harm, they might talk to people there of what
is going on, and the matter might come to the ears of the
authorities."

"I think," Porus said, "it would be well, Beric, that I
and the three men who go down with me to bring up
goods should take up our residence here. There is an out-
house which is unused, and which we can occupy. In this
way we can keep an eye upon the two men on the farm,
and one can be always on the watch to see that no party of
armed men is coming up from the port. I believe in the
good faith of the farmer, but it is always better to take pre-
cautions."

"Far better, Porus. The plan you suggest is an excellent
one. We must try and make this chamber a little more fitting
for Emilia's abode."

"That will soon be done," Porus said. "Knowing what
your wishes would be in such a matter, I purchased at Ostia
sufficient stuff to cover these bare walls, with rugs and such
furniture as was requisite. These I brought up in a cart as
far as the road extends, and I will now go down with Philo
and the two men and bring them up here and help the slaves
get the room in order."

OUTLAWS. 339

Before sunset Beric returned alone to the camp, and the next
morning came back to the farm with Boduoc.

" There is one thing I must tell you, Beric," Emilia said when
he went in alone to see her, " I have become a Christian."

*' I thought it was likely you would do so, .Emilia," he said;
" living among these people, and knowing how Ennia had em-
braced their religion, it could hardly be otherwise. You shall
tell me about it afterwards. I know but little of its tenets, but
I know how those who held them faced death, and there must
be much indeed in a religion which teaches men so to die."

" You told me that you would not object, Beric, or I would
have abstained from attending their assemblies. Still, it was
right I should tell you before I became your wife."

Porus and his companion had spent the morning in
gathering flowers. These the slaves had made into wreaths
and had decorated the room, which was completely changed in
appearance since Beric left it on the afternoon before. The
roughly-built walls were hidden by rich hangings. The flooi
was covered with matting, on which were placed thick ruga
woven in the East Two or three carved couches were placed
against the walls, and as many small tables on tripod legs stood
beside them. The farmer and his wife were called in, and in
their presence and that of his three followers Beric performed
the simple ceremony of a Roman marriage, consisting only of
taking Emilia's hand in his and declaring that, in conformity
with the conditions of the pact before made and signed, and
with the full consent and authorization of her father, he took
her to be his wife.

Beric remained three days down at the cottage, and then
rejoined his band. A few days later a messenger came in from
one of the bands at the other side of the promontory of Brut-
tium, saying they had obtained news that preparations were
being made at Sybaris for the landing of a very large body of
troops, and that it was said to be the intention of the Romans
to make a great expedition through the mountains and entirely
exterminate the outlaws.

"They would have left us alone," Beric said bitterly, "if
it had not been that you made yourselves scourges to the
country, pillaging and ravaging the villages among the hills
and slaying iimocent people."

340 BERIC THE BRITON.

"We were obliged to live," the man said. "Rome has
driven us into the mountains, and we must feed at the
expense of Rome."

Bene was silent He felt that had he himself not had means
his own bands would have also taken to pillage. The men who
took to the hills regarded themselves as at war with Rome.
Rome sent her soldiers against them, and slew every man cap-
tured. She hunted them like wild beasts, and as wild beasts
they had to live at her expense. Beric was not in advance of
the spirit of his time. It was the custom in war to burn,
destroy, and slay.

That as Rome warred with them they should war with Rome
seemed natural to every fugitive in the hills, and they regarded
their leader's action in purchasing what he could have taken by
force simply as an act of policy. Their own people had been
slain by the Romans, they themselves doomed to risk their
lives for the amusement of the Roman mob. If recaptured
they would, like the followers of Spartacus, be doubtless put
to death by crucifixion. That, under these circumstances, they
should be in the slightest degree influenced by any feeling of
pity or humanity towards Romans would, if suggested to them,
have appeared supremely ridiculous.

Beric felt, then, that for him to say any further word of
blame would only have the effect of causing him to be regarded
with suspicion and dislike, and would lessen his own influence
among the mountain bands.

He therefore said, " That you should take what is necessary
is not blamable, against it I have nothing to say; but it was
to the interest of all of us that nothing more should be taken.
Rome would not have been stirred to send an army against us
merely by the complaints of peasants that some of their goats
and sheep had been driven off or their granaries emptied; but
when it comes to burning villages and slaughtering their in-
habitants, and carrying fire and sword down to the sea-shore,
Rome was roused. She felt her majesty insulted, and now we
are going to have a veritable army invade the mountains. It
is no longer viewed as an affair of brigands, but as an insurrec-
tion. However, there is no more to be said, the mischief is
done, and we have now only to do our best to repel the in-
vasion. Tell your leaders that to-morrow morning I will set

OUTLAWS. 341

out and join them, and will with them examine the country,
mark the lines by which the enemy are likely to advance,
decide where obstacles had best be erected, and where the
first stand should be made. It may be weeks yet before they
come. Roman armies are not moved as quickly as a tribe of
mountaineers."

The following day Beric, taking with him the greater portion
of his band, marched across the hills under the guidance of the
charcoal-burner, who had now enrolled himself regularly in its
ranks, and had taken the oath of obedience. Their course lay
to the north-east, as it was in the Bay of Tarentum that rumour
reported that the Romans would land. As, after two days'
marching, they neared the spot fixed upon for the rendezvous,
they came upon other bands journeying in the same direction;
and when these united on a shoulder of the hill commanding
a view of the great bay, some eight hundred men were as-
sembled. Fires had been already lighted, and a number of
sheep killed and roasted. The leaders withdrew from the rest
as soon as they had finished their meal, and seating themselves
at a point whence they could see the plains stretching away
from the foot of the hills to the gulf, began their consulta-
tion.

"I wonder why they are coming round here?" one of the
chiefs said; " they might have landed at Rhegium in the straits,
and thence marched straight up into the hills. From where
your camp is, Beric, you should know what is going on there,
for the town stands almost below yoiL Is nought said there
about military preparations?"

" Nothing whatever," Beric replied; " nor do I think it likely
that they will attack from that point, for if they advanced
thence, we should simply retire through the mountains to the
north just as we retired south when they before attacked us.
It is clear what their object is : they will sail up that river and
will disembark at Cosenza; the hills narrow there, and it is but
a short distance across them to the Western Sea Ascending them
they will at once cut us off from any retreat north. They will
have their magazines close at hand. A thousand men stationed
in a chain across the mountains will suffice to bar our way,
while the rest will move south, penning us up as they go, until
they drive us down to the very edge of the promontory, where.

342 BERIC THE BRITON.

joined perhaps by a force coming up from Rhegium, they will
have us altogether in their grip."

An expression of dismay spread round the circle. They had
thought that the Romans would but march straight through the
mountains, in which case it would be easy to evade them, but
they saw at once that by the erection of a chain of permanent
posts across the hill from Cosenza they would be completely
hemmed in, and must sooner or later be hunted down.

"Then you think that our only chance is to move to the
mountains north of Cosenza before they land, Beric?"

" I do not say that," Beric replied. " To begin with, we are
not going to remain passive and allow ourselves to be driven
like a flock of sheep into the hurdles. Did they bring against
us only heavy-armed troops we could laugh at them, for we
can march two miles to their one, and move easily among
the rocks where they could find no footing. It is only their
light -armed soldiers we have to fear, but even these must
move at the same rate as the hoplites, for if they ventured far
away from the protection of the spearmen we should make
short work of them. We have over a thousand fighting men in
these mountains, and each one of us in close conflict is a match
for at least three of their light-armed men. In the plains, of
course, we should suffer greatly from their missiles before we
came to a close conflict; but among these woods and precipices
we could fall on them suddenly, and be in their midst before
they have time to lay arrow to bow. Therefore, you see, the
Romans can move but slowly among the hills, and we will soon
teach them that they dare not scatter, and even twelve thou-
sand men do not go for much among these mountains, extending
some seventy miles from Cosenza to Rhegium, and from ten to
twenty miles across."

"How about food?" one of the others asked.

" In that respect we shall be far better off than they would.
We shall really have no diflftculty about food. It would need
twenty legions to form a cordon along the slopes of these hills
on both sides, and we can, while opposing the Romans, always
detach parties to make forays down into the plain and drive off
sheep, goats, and cattle. Besides, among the lower forests
there are herds of swine pasturing, which will be available for
our use. The question of food will be of no trouble to us, but

OUTLAWS. 343

on the other hand, it will be a vast trouble to the Romans.
Every foot that they advance from their magazines at Cosenza
their difficulties will increase. They must make roads as they
go, and their convoys will always be exposed to our attacks.
Very large bodies of men must otherwise be employed in
escorting them. They may form depots at the foot of the hills
as they advance, but even then their difficulties will be pro-
digious.

" I should propose to fight them as we fought them in the
swamps of my native land — to harass them night and day, to
wear them out with false alarms, to oppose them in the defiles,
to hurl down the rocks on them from precipices, to cut olF their
convoys, and fall upon their camps at night, until they lose all
confidence in themselves, and dare only move hither and thither
in a solid body. Not until they have destroyed the whole of
the forests between Cosenza and Rhegium, and made roads
everywhere across the mountains, ought they to be able to
overcome us. It will be time enough to think of retiring
then. By descending the western slopes a long night march
would take us north of Cosenza, and we could then take to the
hills again; or we could descend upon the coast near Rhegium
at night, seize a fishing village, embark in its boats and cross
the strait, and before morning be among the mountains of
Sicily, which are so vast and far-stretching that operations
which, though possible, are difficult here, could not probably be
carried on against us."

Beric's words were received with enthusiastic approval.
Before all had felt dispirited, and though ready to fight to the
last, had deemed that the resistance could be but short and their
fate certain. Now they saw before them a veritable war, in
which they could hope to defend themselves successfully, and
if beaten here escape to renew it elsewhere, and which pro-
mised them an abundant opportunity for encountering the
Romans. This was what they most longed for. Not one
there but hated Rome with a bitter hatred, as the author of
unnumbered woes to their tribes, their families and themselves.
Death had no terrors whatever to these men, so that they could
die fighting with Romans. Rising to their feet they returned
with exulting shouts to their comrades.

(«

344 BERIC THE BRITON.

CHAPTER XX.

MOUNTAIN WARFARE.

THE gladiators sprang to their feet as their leaders returned
to them, and eagerly questioned them as to the news
that had so reanimated them. But they only replied, "Beric
will tell you," and Beric was obliged to mount a rock near the
spot where they had been feasting, and to repeat to the whole
of the assembly his plan for the campaign against the Romans.
Loud shouts greeted his speech, the Gauls and Britons clashing
their swords against their shields as was their custom, and
the others signified their approval each after the manner of
his country.

"Beric is our leader! Beric is our leader!" they shouted.
" We will follow him to the death." When the tumult had
subsided, Beric raised his hand for silence.

"I am willing to accept the leadership," he said; ** but if I
lead I must be obeyed. In a warfare like this everything
depends upon the orders of him who commands being carried
out promptly and without question. I only accept the com-
mand because, although younger than most of you, I have
already fought the Romans often and successfully. Each of
you will remain under your respective chiefs, who will act as
my lieutenants, and all miist be ready to sacrifice their own
wishes and their own opinions to the general welfare. Those
whom I order to fight will fight, I know; those whom I
tell off to fell trees, to raise obstacles, or to pile stones on the
edge of precipices, must labour with equal zeal; while those
who are despatched to drive up cattle, or to guard them until
needed in the forest, will know that their turn for active fight-
ing will come in good time. The man who disobeys me dies.
It is only by acting as one man and under one leader that we
can hope to resist successfully. You are free men, and may
consider it humiliating thus to obey the orders of another;
but the Romans are free men too, and yet they submit to the
severest discipline, and without the slightest question obey
the orders of their general. So it must be here. If all are dis-

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 345

posed thus to follow me I accept the command. Let those
who cannot so submit themselves withdraw and fight in their
own fashion. They shall be free to depart, none harming
them."

A great shout followed the conclusion of Beric's speech, and
the whole of those present lifted up their hands and swore
implicit obedience to him. The next few days were spent in
making a careful examination of the mountains above Cosenza,
and fixing upon the points where an active resistance could be
best made.

"We must have missiles," Beric said one day when his
lieutenants were gathered round him. "We will not begin
the Avar until the Romans do so, but we must have weapons.
Boduoc, you will to-morrow take the whole of my band and
descend to the plain, fall upon the town of Castanium at day-
break; the bands of Victor and Marsus will accompany you
and will be also under your orders. My orders are strict, that
no one is to be injured unless he resists. Tell the inhabitants
that we wish them no harm. Ransack the armourers' shops for
arrow and javelin heads, and search all the private houses for
weapons; also bring off all the brass, copper, and iron you can
find, with every axe-head and chopper in the town. We can
erect charcoal furnaces here similar to those we used at home,
and so provide ourselves with an ample store of missiles.
Bring off from the carpenters' shops any seasoned wood you
can find suitable for the making of bows. Touch no gold or
silver ornaments of the women — ^the metals are useless to us here
— neither take garments nor spo'il of any other kind. I would
show them that, until driven to it, we are not the foes of the
people at large. Above all frighten no woman; let them see
that we, though gladiators and outlaws, are as well disciplined
and as humane as their own soldiery."

Accordingly at sunset Boduoc marched away at the head of
two hundred men, and returned to the mountains late on the
following afternoon with a large store of arms and metal,
Beric's orders having been scrupulously carried out.

" You should have seen the wonder of the people," Boduoc
said to him, "when they saw that we meant them no harm, and
that we touched neither person nor goods save in the matter
of arms. They gave us their best to eat, and many even

346 BERIC THE BRITON.

accompanied us some distance on our return, overjoyed with
the clemency we had shown the town."

There was no lack of charcoal, and in many places the stacks
had been left by the charcoal-burners untouched when the
bands first appeared among the mountains. Those who had
been accustomed to the smelting of metals at home were ap-
pointed to cast heads for arrows and javelins, others cut down
and split up tough wood and fashioned the shafts, others made
bows; strong parties were set to work to fell trees and form
obstacles in defiles where the rocks rose steeply, while others
piled great heaps of stones and heavy rocks along the edges
of the precipices. As yet there were no signs of the ex-
pected fleet, and when the preparations were complete the
bands again scattered, as it was easier so to maintain them-
selves in provisions; and, a party being left to watch for the
arrival of the Eoman legions, Beric returned with his band
to his former station.

" There will be plenty of time to gather again before they
move forward," he said to their lieutenants. "They will have
to collect the carts from all the country round, to land their
stores and to make their arrangements for victualling. They
will know that it is no easy task that they are undertaking,
and that they have desperate men to meet. It will be a week
after they land at the very earliest before they leave Cosenza."

For a fortnight Beric remained quietly passing the greater
portion of his time at the farmhouse with ^Emilia.

"It is terrible to me that you are going to fight the Eomans,
Beric," she said.

" I have no desire to fight the Romans, it is they who want
to fight with me," he replied; "and as I have no desire for
crucifixion, or any of the other forms of death which they
bestow upon their captives, I have no choice but to resist. As
you do not think any the worse of me, Emilia, for having
fought your countrymen before, I don't see that you can take
it to heart that I am going to do it again, especially as you
have very small reason to be grateful to them for the treat-
ment that you and yours have received at their hands. You
must remember, dear, that as my wife, you are a Briton now,
and must no longer speak of the Romans as your people. Still,
were it not for my countrymen, I would gladly bury myself

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 347

with you in some cottage far up among the hills of Sicily, and
there pass my life in quiet and seclusion. But without a leader
the others would speedily fall victims to the Romans, and as
long as the Romans press us, I must remain with them."

At the end of the fortnight a messenger arrived saying,
that a great fleet had arrived at the mouth of the Crathis
River.

" I will from time to time send a messenger to you, Emilia,"
Beric said as he took a tender farewell of his wife, " to tell
you how matters go with us; but do not alarm yourself about
me, for some time there is little chance of close fighting."

The bands gathered in their full force above Cosenza, and
during the week that elapsed before the Romans advanced
renewed their labour at various passes through which it was
probable that the enemy would move. Some of the men were
already skilled archers, and the rest had spent their time for
the last fortnight in incessant practice, and could manage their
weapons sufficiently well to be able to send an arrow into a
crowded mass of men.

It was with a feeling of satisfaction that the Roman column
was seen one morning issuing from Cosenza and moving up
the road that there crossed the mountains. Once on the crest
they proceeded to cut down trees and form a camp. While
they were so occupied the gladiators remained on the defensive.
Light-armed troops had been pushed by the Romans into the
woods, but after being permitted to advance some distance the
sound of a horn was heard, foll(\wed instantly by a flight of
arrows, and then by a rush of the gladiators, who drove these
light-armed troops before them, killing many, till they reached
the protection of the spearmen.

Again and again during the ensuing week the Romans
endeavoured to penetrate the woods, heavy -armed troops
accompanying the archers. Before they had penetrated far
into the forest they found their way arrested by obstacles —
lines of felled trees with the branches pointing towards them,
and these were only taken after severe loss, the defenders
shooting through the green hedge, which was only broken
through when working parties with heavy axes came up covered
by the spearmen. One party, pushing on incautiously, was
suddenly attacked on all sides, and after pouring in their mis-

348 BERIC THE BRITON.

siles the gladiators charged them, broke the ranks of the spear-
men, and destroyed the whole party, three hundred in number.

After this the advance was delayed until the fortified camp
was complete and stored with provisions. Then the Roman
army moved forward, and was soon engaged in a succession of
combats. Every valley and ravine was defended, invisible foes
rolled down masses of rock among them and a hail of arrows,
and it was only when very strong bodies of archers, supported
by spearmen, climbed the heights on both sides that the resist-
ance ceased. The Romans halted for the night where they
stood, but there was little sleep for them, for the woods rang
with war-cries in many languages. The sentries were shot or
stabbed by men who crawled up close to them. At times the
shouts became so threatening and near that the whole force
was called to its feet to repel attack, but in the morning all
was quiet. As before, they were attacked as soon as they
moved forward. No serious opposition was offered to the
columns of spearmen, but the light-armed troops who covered
the advance and formed a connection between the columns
were exposed to incessant attack.

The third day the Romans, after another disturbed night,
again advanced. This time they met with no opposition, and
as they moved cautiously forward, wondered uneasily what was
the meaning of this silence. Late in the afternoon they learned.
They had advanced, each man carrying three days' provisions
with him. Beric, being aware that this was their custom, had
during the night led his men some distance down the hillside,
and making a detour occupied before morning the ground the
Romans had passed over. At mid-day a great convoy of bag-
gage animals, laden with provisions, came along. It extended
over a great length, and came in straggling order, the men
leading their animals, and making their way with difficulty
through the thick trees. Five hundred Roman soldiers were
scattered along the line. Suddenly the sound of a horn rose
in the woods, and in an instant, at points all along the line of
the convoy, strong bodies of men burst down upon them.

In vain the Roman soldiers tried to gather in groups. The
animals, frightened by the shouting and din, broke loose from
their leaders and rushed wildly hither and thither, adding to
the confusion. Greatly outnumbered, and attacked by foes

MOUNTAIN WARFARK 349

individually their superiors both in strength and skill of arms,
and animated by a burning hatred, the Romans could do little,
and the combat terminated in a few minutes in their annihilation.
The men with the convoy were all killed, a line of gladiators
having been posted through the woods, both ahead and behind
it, before the attack began, so that no fugitives might escape
either way to carry the news.

The animals were then collected, and their burdens taken off
and examined. The flour was divided up into parcels that a
man could easily carry on his shoulder, and a large number of
skins of wine set aside. All that could not be taken was
scattered and destroyed, and the animals then slaughtered. As
soon as it became dark the band descended the mountain side,
marched for many miles along its foot, and then again ascended
the hills, ready to oppose the Roman advance; but there was no
movement in the morning. Surprised and alarmed at the non-
arrival of the train by nightfall, the general sent a strong body
of troops back to meet them with torches. These in time came
upon the bodies of the men and animals, and at once returned
with the news of the disaster to the camp.

" This is a terrible blow, Pollio," the general said to his son-
in-law. "We had reckoned on an obstinate resistance, but did
not dream that the gladiators would thus oppose us."

"It puts me in mind, Muro, of the work in the fens of
Britain ; and indeed more than once I have thought I recognized
the war-cries with which the Iceni attacked us. The strategy
is similar to that we then encountered. Can it be possible that
Beric is again opposing us ? I heard during the short time we
were at Rome that the Britons in the palace of Nero had risen
and escaped. I was too heart-broken at the fate of my uncle
and his family to ask many questions, and was fully occupied
in our preparations. My first thought would have been to find
Beric out had I not been met on landing with the news of
the disgrace and death of Norbanus, and I shunned the palace
of Nero as if the pestilence had been there. No doubt Beric
would have left with the other Britons, and in that case he
may well be at the head of those opposing us."

"The tactics they are adopting certainly look like it, Pollio;
and if they continue to fight as they have done so far, we are
likely to have no better fortune than Suetonius had in his

350 BERIC THE BRITON.

campaign against them. It is ten days since we left Cosenza,
we have made but some ten miles advance among the hills,
and we have lost already eight hundred hoplites, and I know
not how many light-armed troops. At this rate our force will
melt away to nothing before we have half cleared this wilder-
ness of rock and forest Hitherto in their revolts the gladiators
have mot our troops in pitched battle, but their strength and
skill have not availed against Roman discipline. But in such
fighting as this discipline goes for little. They are fighting on
ground they know, can choose their moment for attack, and
hurl all their strength on one point while we are groping
blindly."

" But how can they have got through our lines in the night,
MuroT' Pollio asked. "Our men were posted down to the
edge of the forest on either side of the hills. There were two
tliousand under arms all night."

"But there was nothing to prevent them, Pollio, from de-
scending far below the forest line and coming up again in our
rear. This is what they must have done. Nor have we any
means of preventing their doing so, for nothing short of a force
strong enough to reach down to the sea on either hand would
prevent their passing us. At anyrate we must halt here for a
time. The whole of our baggage animals are destroyed, and
nothing can be done until another train is collected."

The war proceeded but slowly. The Romans indeed made
some slight advance, but they were worn out and harassed by
incessant alarms. To prevent the recurrence of the disaster to
the baggage train the supplies were now carried along the plain
at the foot of the hill, and then taken up under very strong
escorts directly to the point at which the army had arrived. The
soldiers, worn out and dispirited by constant alarms, became
reluctant to advance unless in solid order; and in this way five
thousand men, taking nine days' provisions with them, made
their way through the heart of the hills until they reached
the southern slopes, and the sea lay before them. But they
occupied only the ground on which they stood, and their pas-
sage brought them no nearer to the end they desired. The
fact that the army had made a passage right through the
mountains was regarded as a triumph in Rome, and believing
that the end was near fresh reinforcements were sent to Muro

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 351

to enable him to finish the campaign rapidly. His reports,
however, to the senate left no doubt in the minds of those who
read them as to the situation.

" We are fighting," he said, " an enemy who will not allow
us to strike him. Three months have passed since I entered
the mountains, and yet I cannot say that I am nearer the end
than I was when I began. I have lost three thousand men, of
whom half are spearmen. The gladiators have suffered but
slightly, for they always burst down in overwhelming numbers,
slay, and retire. At least twenty times my camps have been
attacked; and although I have lost but one convoy, the diffi-
culty and labour of victualling the troops is enormous. If the
gladiators would but take to the plain we should annihilate
them in the first battle. As it is, it is they who select the
ground for action, and not we. The troops are utterly worn
out and well-nigh mutinous at what they consider a hopeless
task. You ask me what had best be done. My own opinion
is, that we should retire from the mountains and establish the
troops in camps near their foot, so as to restrain the gladiators
from making excursions, and to fall upon them when hunger
drives them to leave the mountains. Treachery may then do
what force has failed in.

" Among such a body there must be traitors, and when the
war is apparently ended we may, through shepherds or goat-
herds, open communication with them. My great fear is, and
always has been, that as we gradually press them south they
may pour down on to one of the villages on the straits,
seize the boats, cross to Sicily, anS take refuge in the mountains
there, where they could laugh at our efforts to pursue them.
I should advise that it should be announced publicly that our
army, having traversed the whole mountains of Bruttium with-
out meeting with a foe, the objects of the expedition have
been attained, and the enemy may now be considered as a mere
mass of fugitives, whom it would be impossible to root out as
long as they take refuge among their fastnesses ; but that for
the present the army will be placed in a cordon of camps round
the foot of the mountains, by which means the fugitives will
be starved into surrender. If this course is not approved I
have but one other to suggest, namely, that the whole of the
population of southern Italy should be ordered to take part in

352 BERIC THE BRITON.

the total destruction of the forests of Bruttium. Every tree
must be cut down to the level of the soil; every trunk and
branch be burnt by fire. The task would be a tremendous one.
The loss to the country around by the destruction of the forests,
wherein their flocks of sheep and goats and their herds of
swine find sustenance and shelter in winter, would be enor-
mous, but thus, and thus alone, I am assured, can these bands
of gladiators be rooted out."

Muro's advice was taken, and the exulting gladiators beheld
the troops descending from the mountains to the plains below.
Their own loss had not exceeded three hundred men, and their
shouts of triumph rose high in the woods, and reached the ears
of the Romans retiring sullenly down the slopes. In a few
days the plan of the Romans became apparent. The camp in
the pass above Cosenza was still strongly held, four well-fortified
camps were established in the plains on either side of the hills,
and Muro himself took up his post at Rhegium, where two
thousand legionaries were posted. The gladiators again broke
up into bands, Beric returning to his former encampment, to
the delight of Emilia.

" You must not suppose that our troubles are over, Emilia,"
he said. " We have indeed beaten them on our own ground,
but we shall now have to fight against famine. The wild
animals have already become scarce. You may be sure that
the villagers will be allowed to send no more flocks or herds
up the hills to pasture, and before long it will be necessary to
make raids for food. You will see that, emboldened by their
successes, the men will become rash, and may be cut off' and
defeated. As for us there is no fear; as long as we can pay
for provisions we shall be able to obtain them, for although
there may be a difficulty in obtaining regular supplies, now that
the troops are at Rhegium, all these upland farmers and vil-
lagers will continue to deal with us, knowing that if they do
not we shall take what we need without payment and perhaps
burn their houses over their heads."

It was not long, indeed, before Beric's predictions were
verified. As soon as the provisions became scarce the bands
on the other side of the mountains recommenced their forays
on the villagers, but from the Roman camps parties of soldiers
were sent off after nightfall to the upper villages, and the

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 353

marauders were several times surprised and almost exter-
minated,

" We must be more and more careful," Beric said to Emilia
when he heard, of one of these disasters. " The prisoners the
Romans take will under torture tell all they know, and it will
not be long before the Romans ascertain the general position
of our encampment. The force will dwindle rapidly. In the
last two months they have lost well-nigh as many men as in
the campaign in the mountains. More than that, I have seen
several of the leaders, who told me they had determined, see-
ing that starvation was approaching them here, to endeavour
to pass between the Roman camps with their bands, and regain
the mountains beyond Cosenza, so as to establish themselves
far north; and indeed I cannot blame them. But their retreat
adds to our danger. So long as they roamed the eastern hills
there was no danger of a Roman force surprising us, but when
they have gone some of the captives may be forced to lead
the Romans across the hills to our neighbourhood. Boduoc is
vigilant and his scouts are scattered far round the camp, and
at the worst we may have to carry out my plan of crossing to
Sicily. At any rate he has my orders what to do in case of
a sudden surprise. If I am absent, knowing every foot of the
wood now, he will at once make his way north, leaving it to
me to rejoin him as I best can."

But upon one thing Beric had not reckoned. So long as the
gladiators were in force among the mountains the country
people on the slopes above the ^traits were glad enough to
purchase their safety by silence. But as they heard of one
band after another being crushed by the Romans, and learned
that parties from the various camps had penetrated far into the
hills without meeting with a single opponent, their fear of the
gladiators decreased. There were two thousand legionaries at
Rhegium. These could crush the band that remained somewhere
about the crest of the hills with ease, and they need no longer
fear their vengeance. The Roman general would surely pay
a great reward for information that would lead to his being
able to deal a final blow to the gladiators. The farmer with
whom Emilia lodged had no such thought. He had earned in
the last eight months as much as his farm had brought him in
in the three best years since he inherited it. He found these

(725) z

354 BERIO THE BRITON.

terrible outlaws gentle and pleasant, ready to lend a hand on
the farm if needful, and delighted to play with his children.
As to their chief, he was a source of never-ending wonder to him.
Gladiators were, according to his idea, fierce and savage men,
barbarians who were good for nothing but to kill each other,
while this tall man bore himself like a Roman of high rank,
conversed in pure Latin, and could even read and write.
Emilia, too, had become a great favourite in the house. The
farmer's wife wondered at seeing one, with two slaves to wait
upon her, active and busy, interested in all that went on, and
eager to learn every detail of the housework.

" I could manage a Roman household, Beric," she said. " I
did so indeed all the time we were in Rome; but we may have
to live in a hut, and I must know how to manage and cook for
you there."

In Rhegium life was more cheerful than usual. Many of the
upper class of Rome, who shrank from the festivities of the
court of Nero and yet dared not withdraw altogether from
Rome, had their country estates and villas along the coasts,
where they could for a time enjoy freedom and live according
to their tastes. Berenice had joined Pollio three weeks before,
when she found that he was likely to remain stationed at
Rhegium for some time. They lived with Muro in a villa a
short distance from the town, and looking over the straits.

" I should feel perfectly happy here, Pollio," Berenice said
one evening as she walked to and fro on the terrace with him,
looking at the water in which the moonlight was reflected,
bringing up into view the boats rowing here and there with
pleasure parties with music and lanterns, "if it were not for
the thought of Beric. It is curious that he should be mixed
up with both our lives. He was my playmate as a boy; he
saved me at the massacre of Camalodunum, and restored me
to my father. When we left Britain he was fighting against
Suetonius, and we expected when we left that the news of his
defeat and death would reach Rome before us. At Rome we
heard but vagixe rumours that Suetonius had not yet overcome
the final resistance of the Britons, and glad we were when
Petronius was sent out to take his place, and we heard that
gentler measures were to be used towards the Britons.

" Then, after a time, when we were in Syria, came the news

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 35S

that Suetonius had returned, bringing with him Beric, the
British chief, with twenty of his followers, and my father at
once wrote to the emperor praying him that clemency might
be extended to him for his kind action in saving my life.
Then when you came out to Syria Beric's name again came up.
You had journeyed with him from Britain to Rome, and he had
become your friend. Then a few months afterwards a new-comer
from Rome brought us the story of how your cousin Ennia,
having turned Christian, had been condemned to the lions ; how
a British gladiator named Beric had sprung into the arena and
craved to fight the lion; how Nero had cruelly ordered him to
do so unarmed; and how he had, as it seemed by a miracle, over-
come the lion and bound him by strips torn from his mantle.
Then again we learned from one who came from Nero's court
that Beric stood high in favour with Caesar, that he was always
about his person, and that rumours said he kept guard over
him at night.

" Then again, when we returned to Rome, my father was at
once ordered to take command of an expedition against some
revolted gladiators, among whom were, it was said, the British
captives who had created a disturbance in Nero's palace, well-
nigh killed the emperor, and after slaying many of the Prae-
torians, escaped. After you and my father had left me at the
house of my uncle Lucius I made many inquiries, and found
that Beric had doubtless escaped with the other Britons, as he
had never been seen in the palace that night. I heard too that
it had been whispered by some of those who were present at
the supper, that the fault had aot been his. He had been
betrothed to your cousin JEmilia, and Nero, urged thereto by
Rufinus, a disappointed suitor, ordered Beric to bring her to
the orgy. Upon his refusal Rufinus attacked him, and Beric
slew him by dashing his head against a marble pillar. Then
Nero called upon the Praetorians, and the Britons ran in to the
aid of their chief, and, defeating the Praetorians, escaped. It
was the same night that your uncle died and Emilia was mis-
sing. It may be that she fled with Beric, knowing that she
would be sacrificed to the fury of Nero. Is it not strange,
PoUio, that this Briton should be so mixed up in both our
lives 1"

" It is indeed, Berenice. There is no one to whom I owe so

356 BERIC THE BRITON.

much. First I owe your life to him, then I owe that of Ennia,
my cousin; for although she died afterwards, it was in her
father's house, and not a terrible and disgraceful death in the
arena. And now we have been fighting against him for months,
and though of course we made the best of matters, there is no
doubt that we had all the worst of it. We had twelve thousand
men against a thousand, and yet Beric kept us at bay and
inflicted some terrible blows upon us, for we lost a third of our
number. After the first battle there was no longer any doubt
that Beric was the leader of our opponents. Even had we not
heard them shout his name as they attacked us, we who had
fought against him in Britain would have recognized that he was
again our opponent, for he used the same tactics among the
mountains that he had done in the swamps. We know from
prisoners we have taken since that he was unharmed in the
struggle with us, and certainly neither he nor any of his Britons
have been among the raiding bands whom we have surprised
and destroyed. Indeed the Britons never joined in any of the
attacks upon the country people before we came hither. I have
questioned many of the sufferers by their depredations, and
none of them had seen among the plunderers any tall men with
light hair. The only time that they have been seen on the
plains was a fortnight before we landed, when they entered
Castanium and carried off all the arms. The Britons were
among that party, and a Briton commanded it; but from the
description it was not Beric, but was, I think, his principal
follower, a man with a British name which I forget."

"Was it Boduoc?" Berenice asked. "I have often heard
him speak of a friend of his with such a name, and indeed he
came once or twice to see him when he was with us."

" That was the name — Boduoc," PoUio said. " They behaved
with the greatest gentleness, injuring no one and taking noth-
ing, neither jewels, nor ornaments, nor garments, but departing
quietly after taking possession of all the weapons in the town.

" Your father reported the fact to Rome, bringing into promi-
nence the fact that this was the first time the Britons had ever
descended from the mountains, and that the inhabitants of
Castanium were filled with gratitude and admiration for the
treatment they received. Last week he wrote to Rome saying
that so far as he could learn all the bands that had not been

MOUNTAIN WARFARE. 357

destroyed had gone north, save one composed of Britons and
Gauls, about fourscore in number, commanded by the Briton
Bene, and suggested that as months might pass before they
could be captured, he should be authorized to treat with them,
and to offer them full pardon if they would lay down their arms,
especially as they had taken no part whatever in the misdeeds
of the other gladiators, and had injured no one either in person
or property. I know that it was a great disappointment to him,
as well as to us, when the letter came yesterday saying that
they were to be hunted down and destroyed, and that all not
killed in fighting were to be crucified. But we had better go
in, Berenice, the dew is beginning to fall." They entered the
villa. The general was alone in the atrium.

"Is anything the matter, father?" Berenice asked, as she saw
that he looked disturbed.

"Yes, Berenice, I have received news that as a Roman
general ought to delight me, but which, as Gains Muro, your
father and the father-in-law of Pollio, vexes me greatly."

"What is it, father]"

" A man arrived half an hour since saying that he had news
of importance to communicate. He was brought in here. He
told me he was a cultivator whose farm lay far up on the hill-
side. For upwards of a year he had, in fear of his life, as he
said, been compelled to sell food to the bandits in the moun-
tains. He acknowledged that he had been well paid, and that
he had no cause of complaint against them; but he now pro-
fessed a desire to do service to Rome, for which he evidently
expected a handsome reward. I^^told him I could not bargain
with him. He had aided the enemies of Rome, and by his own
account his life was forfeited, seeing that for a year he had been
trafficking with them, instead of doing his duty and reporting
their first visit to the authorities here.

" He said that he was not alone, and that most of the far-
mers high up on the hills had been compelled to do the same,
and had kept silence, knowing that the brigands would have
burned their houses and slain their wives and families had they
reported aught against them to the authorities, and that,
indeed, they were altogether ignorant of the position of the
camp of the outlaws beyond the fact that it was somewhere
among the mountains. ' What, then, have you to report?' I said

358 BERIC THE BRITON.

angrily, for I hate to have to do with traitors. * It is this,' he
said : ' for some months there has been living a lady, supposed
to be the wife of the chief of the outlaws, at a farm next to
mine, belonging to one Cornelius. The chief often visits her
and stays there; five of his followers live in an outhouse ad-
joining the farm, and one of these is always on guard night
and day.

" ' The chief himself is a very tall young man, and is called
Beric by his followers. Four of them are also of his race, tall
and very fair like him. There is also a youth who lives in the
house. He belongs to the band, but appears to be a native of
Rome. He sometimes comes down and makes purchases in
Rhegium. The house cannot be approached from below without
an alarm being given, owing to the strictness of the watch; but
I could lead a body of troops high up above it, so as to come
down upon the rear of the house and cut oflf all escape when
another band comes up from below.' I told him that his in-
formation was valuable, and that he was to come here to-morrow
evening at eight o'clock to lead a party of light-armed troops
up into the hills."

"And will you send them, father'?" Berenice broke in;
"surely you will not take advantage of this treachery."

" I have no choice but to do so," the general said gravely.
"As a father I would give my right hand to save the man who
preserved your life; as a Roman soldier my duty is to capture
the outlaw, Beric, by any means possible. PoUio will tell you
the same."

Berenice looked at her husband, who stood in consternation
and grief at the news. "Do you say this too, Pollio?"

Pollio did not answer, but the general spoke for him. " He
can say nothing else, Berenice. To a Roman soldier duty is
everything, and were he ordered to arrest his own father and
lead him to execution he could not hesitate."

"But I am not a soldier — " Berenice began passionately.

The general held up his hand suddenly. " Hush, Berenice,
not a word farther 1 I am a Roman general. If you say one
word that would clash with my duty I should order you to
your chamber and place a soldier there on guard over you. Now
I will leave you with your husband;" and the general left the
room.

OLD FRIENDS. 359

"\Miat do you say, PoUiol Will you suffer this man, who
saved your wife, who risked his life for your cousin, and is, as
it seems, your cousin by marriage, to be foully captured and
crucified?"

"I am a soldier, Berenice; do not tempt me to break my
duty. You heard what your father said."

Berenice stamped her foot. "Does your duty go so far,
Pollio, that like my father you would place a guard at my door
if I said aught that would seem to run counter to your duty?"

" Not at all, Berenice," he said with a smile; *' say aught you
like. I hear as a husband but not as a soldier."

"Well, that is something," Berenice said, mollified. "Well,
Pollio, if you will not warn Beric of his danger I will do so.
Have I your permission to act as I choose?"

"My full permission, dear. Do as you like; act as you
choose; you have beforehand my approval. If you fail and
harm comes of it I will stand by you and share your punish-
ment; but tell me nothing of what you would do beforehand.
I trust you wholly, but for my sake, if not for your own, be
not rash. Remember, if by any means it becomes known that
you aided Beric to escape, both our lives are surely forfeited."

"Thank you, Pollio," Berenice said, throwing her arms
round his neck, "that is spoken like my husband. You shall
know nothing, and I will save Beric.*

CHAPTER XXI '

OLD FRIENDS.

BERIC and Emilia were sitting on the following day in the
shade in front of the house, where Porus had erected a
verandah of boughs to keep off the sun, when they observed a
female peasant and an elderly man ascending the hill. They
were stUl some distance down, and the man spoke to one of the
farm men who was on his way down the hilL " They are com-
ing this way," Emilia said; "they have passed the point

3G0 BERIC THE BRITON.

where the paths fork. She seems to find that basket she is
carrying heavy, and no wonder, for it is a steep climb under the
mid-day sun."

Stopping once or twice to get breath the two peasants
approached.

" She is a good-looking girl, Beric," Emilia said.

" Our host has two or three nieces down in the town," Beric
replied; "I expect it is one of them. Yes, she is certainly
pretty, and not so browned and sunburnt as most of these
peasant girls are."

As they came close the girl stopped and looked at the house,
and then, instead of going to the entrance, left her companion
and walked across to the verandah. A smile came across her
face.

*' Shall I tell you your fortune?" she said abruptly to JEmilia.

"It is told," Emilia said; "to be a farmer's wife. But
what do you know of fortunes'?"

" I can tell you the past if not the future," the young woman
said, setting down her basket. "May I do so?"

"You are a strange girl," Emilia said, "but tell me what
you can."

"I can see an amphitheatre," the girl went on, "a great
one, greater than that across at Messina, and it is crowded
with people. In the front row there sits a man past middle
age and a lady and a girl. In the centre of the arena is a
young girl in white."

"Hush, hush!" j3i^milia cried, leaping to her feet, "say no
more. You know me, though how I cannot guess."

" I see another scene," the girl went on without heeding her;
"it is a hut. It must belong to some savage people. It is
quite unlike our cottages. There is an old woman there and
a man and a young girl. The old woman does not speak to
them; she does not seem of the same race; the other two are
Romans. The mat at the door is pushed aside and there enters
a tall youth. Not so tall as this man, not so strong; and yet
like him, just as a boy might be to a man.

"The girl jumps up and exclaims 'Beric.'"

Beric had risen to his feet also now. " Is it possible," he
cried, "that as the boy has grown into the man, so has the
girl grown into — " and he stopped.

"I CAN SEK AN AMPHITHEATRE," THE GIRL SAID.

OLD FRIENDS. 361

"Into a young woman, Beric, Yes, don't you remember
me now'?"

"It is Berenice!" he exclaimed.

" It is indeed, Beric, the child you saved from death. And
this is your wife ^Emilia, the daughter of Norbanus, who is the
uncle of my husband Pollio. And do you not know who that
is standing there?"

"Why, surely it is my tutor and friend Nepo;" and running
towards him he embraced him with heartiness and then led
him to the verandah, where Berenice was talking with Emilia.
" But why are you thus disguised, and how did you know that
^Emilia and I were here?"

"We have come to warn you, Beric. You have been
betrayed, and to-night there will be troops ranged along above
the house to cut off your retreat, and a company of soldiers
will advance from below straight upon the house. My father
told me, I think, in order that I might save you, though as a
Roman general he could do nought save his duty. Pollio, too,
though he said he would willingly give his sanction, knows
not that I have come hither. He pretended that his duty as
a soldier prevented him from warning you, though I believe
that had not I been with him his friendship and gratitude
would have been too much for his duty. However, I was
with him, and he gave me permission to come; though, mind
you, I should have come whether he gave me permission or
not. You did not ask permission of anyone when you saved
me, and even if Pollio had threatened to divorce me if I
disobeyed him I would have come; but as I needed a disguise,
and did not like to trust any of the slaves, I took Nepo into
my confidence, and he managed everything."

" We are, indeed, grateful to you," Emilia cried, embrac-
mg Berenice warmly. "It was brave of you indeed to
come."

" It requires less bravery to come up here with a message,
Emilia, than to run away from Rome with an outlaw who had
just bearded Caesar in his palace."

" I did not do that, Berenice. It was not because I was
unwilling, but because Beric would not take me with him. I
stayed for months in Rome, hidden in the Catacombs with the
'Christians, until Beric sent for me to join him here; but come

362 BERIC THE BRITON.

inside and take some refreshment, for you must be weary in-
deed with your long walk up the hill."

" No one else must see me," Berenice said. " There may be
inquiries when they come to-night and find that you are gone,
and I would not that any should see me."

"No one will see yoiL The room is situated at the back of
the house, and though I shall take the slaves with us in our
flight, they shall not catch even a glimpse of your face. I will
set them some needle- work to do."

They were soon seated in Emilia's room, and Beric brought
in fruit and wine, goat's milk, cheese, and bread.

" There is no hurry for me to return," Berenice said. " The
slaves believe that I have gone out to pay some visits, and I
do not wish to get back until after sunset. There is so much
for Beric to tell us.

" You do not know, Beric, how often Nepo and I have talked
about it, and how we have longed to see you, and I believe that
what drew me first to Pollio was his praises of you. But before
you begin there is one thing I must tell you. My father has
received private news from Rome; there is a report there
that the legions have proclaimed Galba emperor, and that ere
long he will be in Rome. At present it is but a rumour, and
of course at court all profess to disbelieve it, and Nero openly
scoffs at the pretensions of Galba; but the friend who wrote to
my father says that he believes it true. Now my father is a
great friend of Galba's. They were much together as young
men, and served together both in Gaul and Syria; and he feels
sure that if Galba comes to the throne he will be able to obtain
a pardon for you and those with you, since you have done no
one harm save when attacked. He attempted to procure it
from Nero, but altogether without success; with Galba it will
be different, especially as a new emperor generally begins his
reign by acts of clemency. Now, as I have given you my news,
Beric, do you tell us, while we are eating the fruit, everything
that has happened to you since I last saw you at that hut."

" So much has happened that it will be impossible to tell
you all, Berenice; but I will give you the outline of it The
principal thing of all is, that I have taken a wife."

Berenice pouted. " It is lucky for you, -Emilia, that I was
not at Rome when Beric arrived, for I had as a girl always

OLD FRIENDS. 363

determined that I should some day marry him and become a
British chieftainess. He had not seen you then except at
Massilia, and I should have had him all to myself at Rome,
for you did not get there, PoUio tells me, until months later."

Emilia laughed. "I should not have entered the lists
against you, Berenice. It was not until after he saved Ennia
from the lion in the arena that I came to love him."

" Well, I must put up with Pollio," Berenice said. " He is
vour cousin, and I have nothing to say against him as a hus-
band; he is kind and indulgent, and a brave soldier, and all
one could want; but he is not a hero like Beria"

Beric laughed. "You should have said agiant, Berenice, which
would have been much nearer the truth. And now I will tell
you my story;" and during the next two hours he gave her a
sketch of all that had passed since they had last parted in
Britain.

" There, Cneius Nepo," Berenice said when he had finished.
" You never thought for a moment that your pupil, who used
to pore with you over those parchments, till I often wished I
could throw them in the fire when I wanted him to play with
me, was to go through such adventures — to match himself first
against Suetonius, and then against my father, both times with
honour; to be Nero's body-guard; to say nothing of fighting in
the arena, and getting up a revolt in the palace of Caesar."

"I expected great things of him," Nepo said; "but not like
these. I fancied he would become a great chief among the
British, and that he might perhaps induce them to adopt some-
thing of our civilization. I had fancied him as a wise ruler ; and,
seeing how fond he was of the exercise of arms, I had thought
long before the insurrection broke out that some day he might
lead his countrymen to battle against us, and that, benefiting by
his study of Caesar and other military writers, he would give far
more trouble to the Romans than even Caractacus had done.
But assuredly I never dreamt of him as fighting a lion bare-
handed in a Roman arena in defence of a Roman girL As to
marriages, I own that the thought crossed my mind that the
union of a great British chief with the daughter of a Roman of
rank like your father would be an augury of peace, and might
lead to better relations between the two countries."

"That dream must be given up," Berenice said seriously,

364 BERIC THE BRITON.

" there are two obstacles. But I have no doubt -i:Emilia would
make quite as good a chieftainess as I should have done.
Some day, -Emilia, if you return to Britain with Beric, as I hope
you will do, and Pollio becomes the commander of a legion,
I will get him to apply for service there. It is cold and foggy ;
but wood is a good deal more plentiful and cheaper than it is
at Rome, and with good fires one can exist anywhere. And now
it is time for us to be going. We will take another path in re-
turning down the hill, so that any one who noticed us coming
up will not see us as we descend. Nepo's toga and my stola are
hidden in a grove just outside the town, and it will be dusk by
the time we arrive there. Kiss me, -Emilia; I am glad that I
know you, for I have heard much of you from Pollio. I am
glad that Beric has chosen so well Good-bye, Beric; 1 hope
we may meet again before long, and that without danger to
any of us. You may salute me if Emilia does not object — I
told Pollio I should permit it;" and she laughingly lifted up
her face to him. " He never used to kiss me when I was a child,"
she said to u^milia. " I always thought it very unkind, and
was greatly discontented at it. Now, Nepo, let us be going."

Beric and his wife stood watching them until they were
far down the hill, "She makes light of it," Beric said; "but
it is no common risk she has run, Nero can punish women as
well as men, and were it to come to his ears that she has enabled
me to escape his vengeance, even the influence of her father
might not avail to save her."

" I shall remember her always in my prayers," Emilia said
earnestly, " and pray that she too may some day come to know
the truth."

Beric did not answer. Emilia had explained to him all that
she knew of her religion, but while admitting the beauty of its
teaching, and the loftiness of its morals, he had not yet been
able to bring himself to believe the great facts upon which it
was based,

" We must be moving," he said, and summoned Philo, who
had been much surprised at Beric's being so long in conversation
with strangers,

" Send Porus to me," he said, " and bid Cornelius also come
here."

The two men came round to the verandah together, " We

OLD FRIENDS. 365

are betrayed, Porus," he said, " and the Romans will be here
this evening."

Porus grasped the handle of his dagger and looked menacingly
at the farmer, " Our good friend has nought to do with it,
Porus; it is some one from one of the other farms who has
taken down the news to Ehegium. Do you order the others
to be in readiness to start for the camp. But first strip down
the hangings of our room, roll them and the mats and all else
in seven bundles, with all my wife's clothing and belongings."

"We need leave little behind. We can take everything,"
Porus said. " The six of us can carry well-nigh as much as
the same number of horses, and Philo can take something.
I will see about it immediately."

"Now, Cornelius," Beric went on when Porus had left, "you
must prepare your story, and see that your men and the rest
of the household stick to it. You will be sharply questioned.
You have only the truth to say, namely, that some of my band
came down here and threatened to burn your house and slay
all in it unless you agreed to sell us what things we required;
that, seeing no other way of preserving your lives, you agreed
to do so. After a time a young woman — do not say lady —
came with two attendants, and you were forced to provide her
with a room; and as five men were placed here constantly, you
still dared give no information to the authorities, because a
watch was also set on you, and your family would have been
slain long before any troops could arrive here. What you will
be the most closely questioned about is as to why we all left
you to-day. They will ask you if any one has been here. You
saw no one, did you?"

" No, my lord. I heard voices in your room, but it was no
business of mine who was with you."

" That is good," Beric said. " That is what you must say.
You know someone did come because you heard voices ; but you
saw nobody either coming or going, and know not how many
of them there were, nor what was their age. You only know
that I summoned you suddenly, and told you I had been be-
trayed, and that the Romans would soon be coming in search
of me, and therefore I was obliged to take to the mountains.
But go first and inquire among the household, and see if any
of them noticed persons coming here."

366 BERIO THE BRITON.

" One of the men says that he saw an old peasant with a girl
who asked which was my farm."

"Then that man must go with us to the mountains. He
shall return safe and unharmed in a few days. The Romans
must not know of this. This is the one point on which you
must be silent; on all others speak freely. It is important to
me that it should not be known whether it was man or woman,
old or young, who warned me.

**I do not threaten yoa I know that you are true and
honest; but, to ensure silence among your household, tell them
that I shall certainly find out if the Roman soldiers learn here
that it was an old man and a girl who visited me, and that I
will take dire vengeance on whomsoever tells this to the Ro-
mans. Discharge your man before we leave with him, so that
you may say truly that those the Romans find here are your
whole household, and maintain that not one of them saw who
it was who came to me to-day."

•' I can promise that, my lord. You and the Lady Emilia
have been kind and good to us, and my wife, the female slave,
and the hired men would do anything for you. As for the
children, they were not present when Balbus said that he had
been questioned by the old man, and can tell nought, however
closely they may be questioned, save that Balbus was here and
has gone."

" I had not thought of that," Beric said. *' Better, then, tell
the soldiers the truth : you had two serving-men, but we have
carried one away with us."

In half an hour all was ready for a start. The two female
slaves, although attached to their mistress, were terrified at the
thoughts of going away among the mountains, although Emilia
assured them that no harm could happen to them there. Then,
with a hearty adieu to the farmer and his wife, Beric and his
companions shouldered the loads, and with Balbus, Philo,
Emilia, and the two female slaves made their way up the
mountain. As soon as they started, Beric gave orders to Philo
to go on with all speed to the camp, and to tell Boduoc of the
coming of Emilia, and bid him order the men at once to pre-
pare a bower at some short distance from their camp. Accor-
dingly when the party arrived great fires were blazing, and the
outlaws received -Emilia with shouts of welcome

OLD FRIENDS. 367

" I thank you all," Beric said, " for my wife and myself. She
knows that in no place could she be so safe as here, guarded by
the brave men who have so faithfully followed her husband."

So heartily had the men laboured that in the hour and a half
that had elapsed since Philo had arrived a large hut had been
erected a hundred yards from the camp, with a small bower
beside it for the use of the female slaves. A great bonfire burnt
in front, and the interior was lighted by torches of resinous
wood.

" Thanks, my friends," Beric said. *' You have indeed built
us a leafy palace. I need not exhort the guards to be watchful
to-night, for it may be that the traitor who will guide the
Romans to the house where we have been stopping may know
something of the mountains, and guessing the direction of our
camp may attempt to lead them to it. Therefore, Boduoc, let
the outposts be thrown out farther than usual, and let some be
placed fully three miles from here, in all the ravines by which
it is likely the enemy might make their way hither."

Three da/s later Philo went down to learn what had passed.
He was ordered not to approach the house, as some soldiers
might have been left there to seize upon any one who came down,
but to remain at a distance until he saw the farmer or one of
his household at work in the fields. He brought back news
that the Romans had arrived on the night they had left, had
searched the house and country round, had closely questioned
all there, even to the children, and had carried off the farmer
and his man. These had returned the next evening. They
had been questioned by the general, who had admonished the
farmer severely on his failure to report the presence of the
outlaws at whatever risk to his family and property; but on
their taking an oath that they were unable to give any infor-
mation whatever, either as to the outlaws' retreat or the persons
who had brought up the news of the intended attack by the
Romans, they were released.

Balbus was then sent back to the farm with presents for all
there, and it was agreed that the camp should be broken up.
The general would, in compliance with the orders of Nero,
make fresh efforts to hunt down the band; and as he knew now
the neighbourhood in which they were, and treachery might
again betray the spot, it was better to choose some other locaUty ;

368 BERIC THE BRITON.

there was, too, no longer any occasion for them to keep together.
They had the mountains to themselves now, and although the
wild animals had been considerably diminished, there were still
goats in the upper ranges, and swine and wild boar in the
thickest parts of the forests. It was also advisable to know
what was passing elsewhere, and to have warning of the ap-
proach of any body of troops from the camps round it. Accord-
ingly, while the Britons remained with Beric, who took up his
quarters in the forest at the foot of one of the loftiest crags,
whence a view could be obtained of the hills from Rhegium
to Cosenza, the rest were broken up into parties of five. Signals
were arranged by which by smoke during day or fire at night
warning could be given of the approach of an enemy, and also
whether it was a mere scouting party or a strong column.

For another three months they lived among the hills. Their
life was router than it had been, for they had now to subsist
entirely upon the spoils of the chase, and bread made of ground
acorns and beech-nuts, mixed with a very small proportion of
flour. The latter was obtained from lonely cottages, for Beric
insisted that no villages should be entered. "There may be
soldiers in every hamlet on the hills, and I would have no risk
run of death or capture. Did a few of us fall into their hands
it would encourage them to continue their blockade, but as time
goes on, and it is found that their presence is entirely fruitless,
they may be recalled."

For the first few weeks, indeed, after the failure of the
attempt to entrap Beric, parties were sent up into the hills from
all the camps, for as the remaining band of gladiators was
known to number under a hundred men, it would be no longer
necessary for the assailants to move as an army; but after
marching hither and thither through the forests without find-
ing any signs of the fugitives the troops returned to their
camps, and a fortnight later the greater portion of them were
either transported to Sicily or sent north, a few hundred men
only remaining to watch for the reappearance of the band.
From time to time Philo went down to Rhegium to gathei
news of what was passing. As the farmer had not been troubled
since the visit of the troops, they renewed their relations with
him, except that they abstained from purchasing food of him
lest he should be again questioned. Nevertheless he occasion-

OLD FRIENDS. 369

ally sent up by Philo a skin of wine as a present to Beric. " So
that I can swear that I have sold them nothing, and that they
have taken nothing, there is little chance of my ever being
asked if I made them a present," he said.

He was surprised one day by a visit from a Eoman, who
informed him that he was secretary to the general, and whom,
indeed, he had seen when brought before him. " Do you still
hear aught of the brigands, Cornelius?" he asked. The farmer
was taken aback by this question.

" No harm is intended you," Nepo said. " The general may
have reason for desiring to communicate with the band, whose
leader at one time stayed in your house, and which is now the
last remnant of the gladiators among the hills. The search for
them has been given up as vain, and probably he will receive
orders from Rome to withdraw the troops altogether and to
offer terms to the gladiators. At present he cannot communi-
cate with them, and he Avould be glad for you to renew your
connection with them, not to assist them by selling them food
or receiving them here, but that you should arrange some means
of communication with them."

" I might manage that," the farmer said. " It is true that
once or twice some of them have come down here. They have
taken nothing, and have come, I think, more to learn what is
passing without than for any other purpose; but it may be
some time before they come again."

"At any rate," Nepo said, "when they do come, do you ar-
range for a signal, such, for instance, as lighting two fires on
the crest above there, with plenty of green wood, that would
make a smoke which would be seen for many miles away.
This smoke will tell them that there is a message for them
from the general. I give you my word as a Roman that no
treachery is intended, and I myself, accompanied perhaps by
one officer, but no more, will bring it up here and be in wait-
ing to see their chief; so you see I should place myself much
more in his hands than he in mine."

It was but a few days before Beric received this message.
It filled him with hope, for remembering what Berenice had
said about the proclamation of Galba as emperor, it seemed to
him that this life as a fugitive might be approaching its end.
For himself he was perfectly happy. He and his Britons lived

f725) « A

370 BERIG THE BRITON.

much as they had done at home. It required hard work to
keep the larder suppHed, but this only gave a greater zest to the
chase. They sighed sometimes for the cool skies of Britain,
hnt in other respects they were perfectly contented.

Since the soldiers had been withdrawn they had had no
difficulty in obtaining the two things they most required, flour
and wine, and, indeed, sometimes brought up sacks of grain
and jars of honey, from which they manufactured a sweet beer
such as they had drunk at home, and was to them far better
than wine. Beric, perhaps, was more anxious for a change
than any of his followers. Emilia seemed perfectly happy, her
spirits were as high now as when he had first known her as a
girl at Massilia. She was the life and soul of the little band,
and the Britons adored her; but Beric remembered that she had
been brought up in comfoi't and luxury, and longed to give her
similar surroundings. Although for luxuries he himself cared
nothing, he did sometimes feel an ardent desire again to associate
with men such as he had met with at the house of Norbanus,
to enjoy long talks on literary and other subjects, and to discuss
history and philosophy.

" It is good," he said one day to Emilia, " for a man who
lives among his fellows to have learned to enjoy study and to
find in enlightened conversation his chief pleasure, but if his
lot is thrown far from towns it were far better that he had
known nothing of these pleasures."

One morning Boduoc, who had gone up early to the summit
of the crag, brought down the news that he could make out
two columns of smoke rising from the hill over Rhegium.

" I hope to bring you back good news to-morrow, Emilia,"
Beric said as he at once prepared to start. " I may find Nepo
at the farm when I get there and may possibly be back to-night,
but it is full six hours' journey, and as there is no moon I can
hardly travel after sundown."

"I shall not expect you till to-morrow, Beric. It were
best to arrange that, and then I shall not be looking for you.
Even if Nepo is there when you arrive, you will want a long
talk with him, and it is likely that Pollio will be with him, so
do not think of starting back till the morning."

It was just noon when Beric reached the farm.

" You are just to the time," Cornelius said. " I received an

OLD FRIENDS. 371

order at daybreak this morning to light the fires and to tell
you if you came that the general's secretary would be here at
noon. See, there are two figures coming up the hill now."
The moment he saw that they had passed the fork of the paths
and were really coming to the house Beric rushed down to
meet them, and as he approached saw that they were indeed
Pollio and Nepo. He and PoUio embraced each other affec-
tionately.

" I am well pleased indeed," Pollio said, " that we meet here
for the first time, and that I did not encounter you in the
forests. By the gods, but you have grown into a veritable
giant Why, you must overtop the tallest of your band."

"By an inch or two, Pollio. And you have altered some-
what too."

" The cares of matrimony age a man rapidly," Pollio said
laughing, "though doubtless they sit lightly on your huge
shoulders. Why, you could let my little cousin sit on your
hand and hold her out at arm's-length. I always told her that
she would need a masterful husband to keep her in order, and
truly she is well suited. And now for my news, Beric. Nero
is dead. The news arrived last night."

Beric uttered an exclamation of surprise. "How died hel"
he asked.

" By his own hand. When the news came that other legions
had followed the example of those of Galba, all fell away from
Nero, and the Praetorians themselves, whom he had petted and
spoilt, having no inclination for a fight with Galba's legionaries,
proclaimed the latter emperor. Then Nero showed himself a
craven, flying in disguise to the house of Phaon. There he
remained in hiding, weeping and terrified, knowing that he
must die, but afraid to kill himself. He may well have thought
then of how many he had compelled to die, and how calmly
and fearlessly they had opened their veins. It was not until
he heard the trampling of the horsemen sent to seize him that
he nerved himself, and even then could not strike, but placing
the point of a dagger against his breast, bade a slave drive it
home.

" The senate proclaimed Galba emperor two days before the
death of Nero; but as yet all is uncertain. There are other
generals whose legions may dispute this point Syria and

372 BERIC THE BRITON.

Egypt may choose Vespasian; the Transalpine legions, who
favoured Vindex, may pronounce for some other. The Prae-
torians themselves, with the sailors of the fleet, knowing that
Galba has the reputation of being close-fisted, may choose
someone who may flatter and feast them as Nero did. As yet
there is no saying what will be done, but at any rate your chief
enemy is dead. Muro bids me say that some months may yet
elapse before Galba comes to Rome; but that, as he has at
present no imperial master, and the senate will he far too busy
wrangling and persecuting the adherents of the man whom but
a short time since they declared to be a god, to trouble them-
selves about a handful of gladiators in Bruttium, he will at
once collect his troops at Rhegium, and you will be entirely
unmolested if you will promise that your band will in no way
ill-treat the people. I know that they have not hitherto done
so, and that they will not do so, but the fact that he has a
formal engagement with you to that effect will justify him in
withdrawing his troops. Indeed, he said that it would be
better, perhaps, that a document should be drawn up and signed,
in which you pledge yourself to peaceful courses, urging that
it was but the tyranny of Nero that forced you to become
fugitives, and craving that, as your band has never done any
harm to the people, an amnesty may be granted you. This
document will aid him when he meets Galba. He will not wait
until the latter comes to Rome, but will shortly ask permission
from the senate to quit his post for a time, all being quiet here,
and will at once take ship to Massilia and see Galba. The
new emperor is not, he says, a man bent on having his own
way, but always leans on friends for advice, and he feels sure
that his representations will suffice to obtain a free pardon for
your band, and permission for them to leave the mountains
and go wheresoever they will, so that in that case there will be
nought to prevent you and your followers returning to Britain."

"This is joyous news indeed, Pollio, and I cannot too
warmly thank the general for his kindness to me. As to
Berenice — "

"There, there," Pollio said laughing, "let us hear nothing
about Berenice. She is a self-willed woman, and I am not
responsible for her doings, and want to hear nothing more of
them than she chooses to tell me."

OLD FRIENDS. 373

By this time they had reached the farmhouse, where a meal
was speedily prepared, and they sat talking together until
evening, when Pollio and his companion returned to Rhegium.

Another three months passed. There was now no lack of food
among the outlaws. They still hunted, but it was for amuse-
ment, buying sheep and other animals from the villagers,
together with all else they required, the natives rejoicing in
finding good customers instead of dangerous neighbours among
the hills.

At last the signal smokes again ascended, and Beric, taking
.Emilia with him, made his Avay to the farmhouse, where he
learned that Nepo had been there with a message that he
desired to see Beric in Rhegium. This was sufficient to show
that Muro's mission had been to some extent successful, and
after resting for an hour or two at the farmhouse they descended
the hill. Beric had purchased suitable garments to replace the
goat-skins which had for a long time previously been worn by
the outlaws, their rough work in the woods having speedily
reduced their garments to rags, and save that men looked up
and marvelled his size, he passed almost unnoticed through
the streets of Rhegium to the house of the general. Orders
had been given that he was to be admitted, for the sentries
passed him without question. As the slave at the door con-
ducted them into the atrium Muro advanced with outstretched
hands.

" Welcome ! thrice welcome, Beric ! Had I not heard from
Pollio how you had changed, I should not have recognized in
you the British lad I parted with six years ago in Britain.
And this is your wife ? Pollio, spare your cousin to me
for a moment. I am glad to know you, JEmilia. I never
met your father, though I have often heard of him as a
noble Roman, and I know that his daughter is worthy of
being the wife of Beric, not only from what I have heard
of you from my son-in-law, but from your readiness to share
the exile and perils of your husband. I see that Berenice
has greeted you as if she knew you. A month since I
should have said that that was impossible," and a smile passed
over his face, "but now I may admit that it may have
been. And now for my news. I have seen Galba, and have
strongly represented to him the whole facts of the case, and I

374 BERIC THE BRITON,

have, under his hand, a free pardon for yourself and all your
followers, who are permitted to go wheresoever they please,
without molestation from any. But more than that, I have
represented to him how useful it would be that the Britons
of the east, where the great rising against Rome took place,
should be governed by one of their own chiefs, who, having a
knowledge of the might and power of Rome, would, more than
any other, be able to influence them in remaining peaceful and
adopting somewhat of our civilization. He has, therefore, filled
up an appointment creating you provincial governor of that
part of Britain lying north of the Thames as far as the northern
estuary, and bounded on the east by the region of swamps —
the land of the Trinobantes, the Iceni, and a portion of the
Brigantes — with full power over that country, and answerable
only to the propraetor himself. Moreover, he has written to
him on the subject, begging him to give you a free hand, and
to support you warmly against the minor Roman officials of the
district. I need not say that I answered for you fully, and
pledged myself that you would in all things be faithful to
Rome, and would use your influence to the utmost to reconcile
the people to our rule."

Beric was for a time too overcome to be able to thank Muro
for his kindness.

" I have repaid in a small way the debt that I and Pollio owe
you," he said. "The senate has not at present ratified the
appointment, but that is a mere form, and it will not be pre-
sented to them until Galba arrives. They are eagerly looking for
his coming to free them from the excesses and tyranny of the
Praetorian guard, led by Nymphidius the prefect, who has him-
self been scheming to succeed Nero, and they will ratify without
question all that Galba may request. In the meantime there
need be no delay. We can charter a ship to convey you and
your British and Gaulish followers to Massilia. Galba is
already supreme there, and thence you can travel as a Roman
oflficial of high rank. I will, of course, furnish you with means
to do so."

"In that respect I am still well provided," Beric said.
" Nero, with all his faults, was generous, and was, in addition
to my appointments, continually loading me with presents,
which I could not refuse. Even after paying for all that was

OLD FRIENDS. 375

necessary for my band during the past year, I am a wealthy
man, and have ample to support Emilia in luxury to the end
of our lives."

"You will, of course, draw no pay until your arrival in
Britain ; but after that your appointment will be ample. How-
ever, I shall insist upon chartering the ship to convey you to
Massilia."

The beacon fires were lighted again next morning, and an hour
later Beric met Boduoc, whom he had, on leaving, directed to
follow with the Britons, and to post himself near the crest of
the hills. He returned with him to the band, who were trans-
ported with delight at hearing the news. Messengers were at
once sent off to the party under Gatho, and on the following
day the whole band reassembled, the joy of the Gauls being
no less than that of the Britons.

"You will have to take me with you, Beric," Porus said.
" I am fit for nothing here save the arena. I have been away
from Scy tliia since I was a boy, and should find myself a stranger
there."

"I will gladly take you, Porus, and will find you a wife
among my countrywomen. You have shared in my perils, and
should share in my good fortunes. You must all remain here
among the hills till I send you up word that the ship is in readi-
ness. Boduoc will come down with me, and will send up to
the farm garments to replace your sheep-skins, for truly Ehegium
would be in an uproar did you descend in your present garb.
Boduoc will bring you instructions as to your coming down.
It were best that you came after nightfall, and in small parties,
and went direct on board the ship which he will point out to
you. We do not wish to attract attention or to cause a talk in the
town, as the news would be carried to Rome, and the senate
might question the right of Muro to act upon a document
which they have not yet ratified. Therefore we wish it kept
quiet until the arrival of Galba at Rome."

A week later the whole party stood on the deck of a ship in
the port of Rhegium, Beric had bidden farewell to Muro at
his house; Pollio and Berenice accompanied him and ..Emilia
on board.

" I do not mean this as a farewell for ever, Beric," Pollio
said. " I foresee that we are going to have troubled times in

376 BERTC THE BRITON.

Rome. Nero was the last of his race, and no one now has
greater right than his fellows to be emperor. Now that they have
once begun these military insurrections, for the proclamation of
Galba was nothing else, I fear we shall have many more. The
throne is open now to any ambitious man who is strong enough
to grasp it. Generals will no longer think of defeating the
enemies of their country and of ruling provinces. As pro-
praetors they will seek to gain the love and vote of their sol-
diei's; discipline will become relaxed, and the basest instead of
the noblest passions of the troops be appealed to. We may
have civil wars again, like those of Marius and Scylla, and
Anthony and Brutus. I hate the intrigues of Rome, and loathe
the arts of the demagogue, and to this our generals will descend.
Therefore I shall soon apply for service in Britain again. Muro
approves, and when I obtain an office there he will come out and
build another villa, and settle and end his days there.

"There is little chance of the troops in Britain dealing in
intrigues. They are too far away to make their voice heard,
too few to impose their will upon Rome. Therefore he agrees
with me that there is more chance of peace and contentment
there than anywhere. The Britons have given no trouble since
the Iceni surrendered, and I look to the time when we shall
raise our towns there and live surrounded by a contented people.
You may visit Muro at his house in Camalodunum once again.
Beric."

" It will be a happy day for us when you come, PoUio,
you and Berenice ; and glad indeed shall I be to have her noble
father dwelling among us. Whatever troubles there may be in
other parts of Britain I cannot say, but I think I can answer
that in Eastern Britain there will never again be a rising."

" They are throwing ofif the ropes," PoUio said; *' we must go
ashore. May the gods keep and bless you both!"

"And may my God, who has almost become Beric's God,
also bless you and Berenice and Muro ! " -Emilia said.

Ten minutes later the ship had left port, and was making
her way up the Straits of Messina. The weather was fair with
a southerly wind, running before which the ship coasted along
inside the mountainous isle of Sardinia, passed through the
straits between that and Corsica, then shaped its course for Mas-
silia, where it arrived without adventure. There was some

OLD FRIENDS. 377

surprise in the town at the appearance of Beric and his foJ-
lowers, and they were escorted by the guard at the port to the
house of the chief magistrate. On Beric's presenting to him his
appointment, signed by Galba, and the safe-conduct for himself
and his conirades, the magistrate invited him and Emilia to
stay at his house. There were many officials to whom Emilia
was known when she dwelt there with her father, and for ten
days they stayed in the city. The Gauls of Beric's party pro
ceeded to their various destinations on the day after they
landed, Beric making a present to each to enable them to defray
the expenses of their travel to their respective homes, and
obtaining a separate safe-conduct for each from the chief magis
trate. Bidding adieu to their friends at Massilia the Britons
started north.

While in the town Beric obtained for his twenty followers a
dress which was a mixture of that of the Britons and Eomans,
having the trousers or leggings of the British and the short
Roman tunic. All were armed with sword, shield, and spear.
Emilia travelled in a carriage; the two female slaves had been
given their freedom and left behind at Rhegium. Beric was
handsomely attired in a dress suitable to his rank, but, like his
followers, wore the British leggings. A horse was taken with
them for him to ride when they passed through towns, but
generally it was led by Philo, and Beric marched with his men.
They took long journeys, for the men were all eager to be
home, and, inured as they were to fatigue, thought nothing
of doing each day double the distance that was regarded as an
ordinary day's journey.

At the towns through which they passed the people gazed
with surprise at Beric and his body-guard, and warm sympathy
was shown by the Gauls for the Britons returning after their
captivity in Rome. On arriving at the north-westerly port of
Gaul, Beric learned that London, Verulamium, and Camalodunum
had been rebuilt, and that the propraetor had established him-
self in London as his chief place of residence. Beric therefore
hired a ship, which sailed across the straits to the mouth of the
Thames, ascended the river, and four days after putting out
anchored at London. Beric and his followers were surprised
at the change which had been effected in the six years which
had passed since they saw it a heap of ruins. A temple of

378 BERIC THE BRITON.

Diana had been erected on the highest point of ground. Near
this was the palace of the proprsetor, and numerous villas of
the Roman officials were scattered on the slopes. A strong wall
surrounded the Roman quarter, beyond which clustered the
houses of the traders, already forming a place of considerable
size.

Upon landing Eerie proceeded, accompanied by Boduoc, to
the palace of the propraetor, to whom he presented Galba's
letter especially recommending him, and his own oflScial appoint-
ment. Celsius, who had succeeded Petronius as propraetor, had
received Beric sitting; but upon reading the document rose
and greeted him cordially.

"I have heard much of you, Beric, since I came here," he
said, " and many have been the entreaties of your people to me
that I would write to Rome to pray Caesar to restore you to
them. I did so write to Nero, but received no reply; but my
friends keep me acquainted with what is passing there, and
the story of your combat with the lion in the arena, and of your
heading a revolt in Nero's palace reached me. As it was about
the time of the latter event that I wrote to CfBsar, I wondered
not that I received no answer to my letter. After that I heard
that you had been giving terrible trouble in Bruttiuni to Caius
Muro, and little dreamed that my next news of you would be
that Galba had appointed you Governor of the Eastern Pro-
vince."

" It was upon the recommendation and by the good offices of
Muro," Beric said. " I had been brought up at his house at
Camalodunum, and had the good fortune to save his daughter's
life at the sack of that city. He knew that I had been driven
by the conduct of Nero into revolt, and that, even though in
arms against Rome, I and my band had injured and robbed no
Roman man or woman. He represented to Galba that, holding
in high respect the power of Rome, and being well regarded by
my people here, I should, more than any stranger, be able to
persuade them of the madness of any farther rising against the
imperial power, and to induce them to apply themselves to the
arts of agriculture, and to become, like the Gauls, a settled
people contented and prosperous.

"These arguments had weight with the emperor, who, as you
see, has been pleased to appoint me governor of the province

OLD FRIENDS. 379

that ray people occupied, together with that adjoining on the
south, formerly belonging to the Trinobantes, and on the north
occupied by a portion of the Brigantes."

"I think the emperor has done well, and I look for great
results from your appointment, Beric. I am convinced that it
is the best policy to content a conquered people by placing over
them men of their own race and tongue, instead of filling every
post by strangers who are ignorant of their ways and customs,
and whose presence and dress constantly remind them that they
are governed by their conquerors. Where do you think of
establishing yourself — at CamalodunumV

"No. Caraalodunum is a Roman town; the people would
not so freely come to me there to arbitrate in their disputes.
I shall fix it at Norwich, which lies midway between Cama-
lodunum and the northern boundary of the province, and
through which, as I hear, one of your roads has now been
made."

After staying three days in London as the guest of Celsius,
Beric started for the seat of his government, attended by his
own body-guard and a centurion with a company of Roman
soldiers. The news that a British governor had been appointed
to the province spread rapidly, and at Verulamium, where he
stopped for two days, crowds of the country people assembled
and greeted him with shouts of welcome. Beric assured them
that he had been sent by the emperor Galba, who desired to see
peace and contentment reign in Britain, and had therefore ap-
pointed a countryman of their own as governor of their province,
and that, though he should make Norwich the place of his
government, he should journey about throughout the country,
listen to all complaints and grievances, and administer justice
against offenders, whatever their rank and statioa

Above all he exhorted them to tranquillity and obedience.
" Rome wishes you well," he said, " and would fain see you as
contented beneath her sway as is Gaul, and as are the other
countries she has conquered and occupied. We form part
of the Roman Empire now, that is as fixed and irrevocable as
the rising and setting of the sun. To struggle against Rome
is as great a folly as for an infant to wrestle with a giant
But once forming a part of the empire we shall share in its
greatness. Towns wUl rise over the land and wealth increase,

380 BERIC THE BRITON.

and all will benefit by the civilization that Eome will bring to
us." He addressed similar speeches to the people at each
halting-place, and was everywhere applauded, for the Trino-
bantes had felt most heavily the power of Rome, and all thought
of resistance had faded out since the terrible slaughter that
followed the defeat of Boadicea.

Beric did not turn aside to enter Camalodunum, but kept his
course north. The news of his coming had preceded him, and
the Iceni flocked to meet him, and gave him an enthusiastic
welcome. They were proud of him as a national hero; he
alone of their chiefs had maintained resistance against the
Eomans, and his successes had obliterated the humiliation of
their great defeat. Great numbers of those who came to meet
him owed their lives to the refuge he had provided for them in
the swamps, and they considered that it was to his influence
they owed it, that after his capture they were allowed to return
to their native villages, and to take up their life there un-
molested by the Romans.

The members of his band, too, found relations and friends
among the crowd, and it added to their enthusiasm that Beric
had brought back with him every one of his companions in
captivity. Emilia was much affected at the evidence of her
husband's popularity, and at the shouting crowd of great fair-
haired men and women who surged round the escort, and who,
when Beric took her by the hand and bidding her stand up in
the chariot presented her to the Iceni as his wife, shouted for
her almost as enthusiastically as they had done for him.

" What a little insignificant thing these tall British matrons
and maids must think me, Beric ! " she said.

"We all admire our opposites, Emilia, that is how it was
that you came to fall in love with me; these people can have
seen but few Roman ladies, and doubtless there is not one
among them who does not think as I do, that with your dark
hair and eyes, and the rich colour of your cheek, you are the
loveliest woman that they ever saw."

" If they knew what you were saying they would lose all
respect for you, Beric," she said laughing and colouring. "We
have been married nearly a year, sir — a great deal too long for
you to pay me compliments."

" You must remember that you are in Britain now, Emilia,

OLD FRIENDS. , 381

and though in Eome men regard themselves as the lords and
masters of their wives it is not so here, where women are looked
upon as in every way equal to men. I expect that you will
quite change under the influence of British air, and that though
I am nominally governor it is you who will rule. You will see
that in a short time the people will come to you with their
petitions as readily as to me."

As soon as Beric established himself at Norwich he set about
the erection of a suitable abode; the funds were provided as was
usual from the treasury of the province — a certain sum from
the taxes raised being set aside to pay the share of the national
tribute to Rome, while the rest was devoted to the payment of
officials, the construction of roads, public works, and buildings.
Long before the house was finished a child was born to Beric,
the event being celebrated with great festivity by the Iceni,
contrary to their own customs, for among themselves a birth
was regarded rather as an occasion of mourning than of
rejoicing.

Beric set vigorously to work to put the affairs of the province
in order; he appointed Boduoc to an important office under
him, and to act for him during his absences, which were at
first frequent, as he constantly travelled about the country
holding courts, redressing grievances, punishing and degrading
officials who had abused their position or ill-treated the people,
and appointing in many cases natives in their places. Bitter
complaints were made by the dispossessed Roman officials to
Celsius, who, however, declined in any way to interfere, saying
that Beric had received the fullest powers from Galba, and
that, moreover, did he interfere with him it was clear that
there would be another revolt of the Iceni.

Galba fell, and was succeeded by Otho, who was very shortly
afterwards followed by Vespasian, a just, though severe em-
peror. Complaints were laid before him by powerful families,
whose relations had been dismissed by Beric, and the latter
was ordered to furnish a full explanation of his conduct. Beric
replied by a long and full report of his government. Vespasian
was greatly struck alike by the firmness with which Beric de-
fended himself, and by the intelligence and activity with which,
as the report showed, he had conducted the affairs of his pro-
vince; he therefore issued an order for the disaffected officials

382 BERIC THE BRITON.

to return at once to Rome, confirmed Beric in the powers
granted him by Galba, and gave him full authority to dismiss
even the highest Roman ofiicials in the district should he see
occasion to do so,

Roman towns and stations had sprung up all over the island,
roads and bridges opened the way for trade. Now that the
tribal wars had ceased, and the whole people had become welded
into one, they turned their attention more and more to agri-
culture. The forest diminished rapidly in extent; the Roman
plough took the place of the rough hoe of the Briton, houses
of brick and stone that of rough huts ; intermarriages became
frequent. The Roman legionaries became established as military
colonists and took British wives. The foreign traders and arti-
sans, who formed the bulk of the populations of the towns, did
the same; and although this in the end had the effect of dim-
inishing the physical proportions of the British, and lowering
the lofty stature and size that had struck the Romans on their
landing with astonishment, it introduced many characteristics
hitherto wanting in the race, and aided in their conversion
from tribes of fierce warriors into a settled and semi-civilized
people.

Among the many who came to Britain, were some Christians
who sought homes in the distant island to escape the persecu-
tions at Rome. There was soon a colony of these settled at
Norwich under the protection of Emilia. They brought with
them an eloquent priest, and in a short time Beric, already
strongly inclined to the Christian religion, openly accepted that
faith, which spread rapidly throughout his government. Porus
was not long in finding a British wife, and never regretted the
day when he left the Indus of Scopus and joined his fortunes
to those of Beric. Philo embraced Christianity, and became
a priest of that church.

A year after Beric came to Britain he and -Emilia were
delighted by the arrival of Pollio and Berenice with Caius
Muro. The former had at the accession of Otho, with whom
his family were connected, obtained a civil appointment in
Britain, and at Beric's request Celsius appointed him to the
control of the collection of taxes in his district, there being
constant complaints among the people of the rapacity and un-
fairness of the Roman official occupying this position. Pollio

OLD FRIENDS. 383

therefore established himself also at Norwich, Muro, with whom
came Cneius Nepo, taking up his residence there with him,
and as many other Roman families were there, neither Emilia
nor Berenice ever regretted the loss of the society of Rome.
PoUio proved an excellent oflBcial, and ably seconded Beric in
his eflforts to render the people contented.

Had Beric foreseen the time when the Romans would abandon
Britain, and leave it to the mercy of the savages of the north
and of the pirates of North Germany and Scandinavia, he would
have seen that the extinction of the martial qualities of the
British would lead to their ruin; but that Rome would decay
and fall to pieces and become the prey of barbarians, was a con-
tingency beyond human ken, and he and those who worked with
him thought that the greatest blessing they could bestow upon
their country was to render it a contented and prosperous pro-
vince of the Roman Empire. This he succeeded in doing in his
own government, and when, full of years and rich in the affec-
tion of his countrymen, he died, his son succeeded him in the
government, and for many generations the eastern division of
the island was governed by descendants of Beric the Briton.

THE END.

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" Mr. Henty's skill has never been more convincingly displayed than in this
admirable and ingenious story." — Saturday Review.

" Cleverly written and wonderfully interesting." — Birmingham Gazette-

"A volume full of interest and excitement, which cannot fail to charm its readers."
I — Journal of Education.

(5)

From NO SURRENDER!
By G. A. Henty. 5^.

"FOLLOW me!" he shouted. "MAKE FOR THE GUN!"

STORIES BY G. A. HENTY

G. A. HENTY

A Knight of the White Cross:

A Tale of
the Siege
of Rhodes. With 12 page Illustrations by Ralph Peacock, bs.

Gervaise Tresham, the hero, who is determined to follow a military
career, is enabled to join the famous Order of the Knights of St. John.
Leaving England he proceeds to Rhodes. Subsequently, Gervaise is made
a Knight of the White Cross, and takes part in the splendid defence of
Rhodes, when it is besieged by the Turks.

"Most boys, and a good many girls, will read this story with delight." — Academy.
" It is a fine spirited story of old-fashioned chivalry." — Freeman's Journal.
"The story is one of continuous movement and unremitting Interest." — Glasgow
Herald.

Beric the " Briton : ^ .f ^''y t"^^ Roman invasion of

Britain. With 12 page Illustrations
by W. Parkinson. 6s.

Beric is a boy-chief of a British tribe which takes a prominent part in the
insurrection under Boadicea : and after the defeat of that heroic queen he
continues the struggle in the fen-country. Ultimately Beric is defeated and
carried captive to Rome, where he succeeds in saving a Christian maid by
slaying a lion in the arena, and is rewarded by being made the personal
protector of Nero. Finally, he escapes and returns to Britain, where he
becomes a wise ruler of his own people.

" He is a hero of the most attractive kind. . . . One of the most spirited and well-
imagined stories Mr. Henty has written." — Saturday Review.

"His conflict with a lion in the arena is a thrilling chapter." — School Board
Chronicle.

" Full of every form of heroism and pluck." — Christian IVorld.

- The Dash for Khartoum : ^ ^f, °^ '\^.^^'

Expedition. With 10
page Illustrations by John Schonberg and J. Nash. 6s.

In the record of recent British history there is no more captivating page
for boys than the story of the Nile campaign, and the attempt to rescue
General Gordon. For, in the difficulties which the expedition encountered,
and in the perils which it overpassed, are found all the excitement of
romance, as well as the fascination which belongs to real events.

" The Dash/or Khartoutn is your ideal boys' book." — Tablet.
" It is literally true that the narrative never flags a moment." — Academy.
" The Dash for Khartoum will be appreciated even by those who don't ordinarily
care a dash for anything." — Punch.

(7)

BLACKIES STORY BOOKS FOR BOYS

G. A. HENTY

Bonnie Prince Charlie: ^ ^^!,' °^ wT^'^ ^""^

Culloden. With 12 page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 6j.

The hero, brought up by a Glasgow bailie, is arrested for aiding a
Jacobite agent, escapes, but is wrecked on the French coast, reaches Paris,
and serves with the French army at Dettingen. He succeeds in obtaining,
through Marshal Saxe, the release from confinement of both his parents.
He kills his father's foe in a duel, and, escaping to the coast, shares the
adventures of Prince Charlie.

" Mr. Henty can tell a capital story; but here, for freshness of treatment and
variety of incident, he has surpassed himself. " — Spectator.

" The adventures and incidents throughout are of the most exciting kind, and the
interest is never for one moment allowed to flag." — Literary World.

" Is most intensely thrilling. "—Pa// Mati Gazette.

In the Heart of the Rockies: ^, ^f^ ^^

Adventure in
Colorado. With 8 page Illustrations by G. C. Hindley. $s.

The hero, Tom Wade, goes out to his uncle in Colorado, who is a hunter
and gold-digger. Going in quest of a gold mine, the little band is over-
whelmed by a snow-storm in the mountains, and compelled to winter there.
They build two canoes and paddle down the terrible gorges of the Rocky
Mountains, and after many perils they reach Fort Mojarve in safety.

" No book will please more than In the Heart of the Rockies." — Spectator.
" It is a book to read and to recommend to boys and girls." — The Observer.
"It is all life and go and vigour from beginning to end." — The School Board
Chronicle.

Af Arrinrnnrf' ^ '^^^ of the White Hoods of Paris.
tW. /^ginCOUlL. ^j^j^ j2 page Illustrations by Wal
Paget. 6j.

Sir Eustace de Villeroy, in journeying from Hampshire to his castle in
France, made young Guy Aylmer one of his escort. Soon thereafter the
castle was attacked, and the English youth displayed such valour that his
liege-lord made him com.mander of a special mission to Paris. This he
accomplished, returning in time to take part in the campaign against the
French which ended in the glorious victory for England at Agincourt.

" Is one of Mr. Henty's \i&zt."— Standard.

"There is not a better book for boys in Mr. Henty's extensive repertory."

— Scotsman.

" Cannot fail to commend itself to boys of all ages." — Manchester Courier.
(8i

"Young readers have no better friends than Blackie & Son." — Westminster Gazette

Blackie & Son's
Story Books for Boys

G. MANVILLE FENN

r)pvnn T^OVs • ^ ^<^^^ of the North Shore. With 12 page
y * Illustrations by GORDON Browne. 6s.

The scene is laid on the picturesque rocky coast of North Devon, where
the three lads pass through many perils both afloat and ashore. Fishermen,
smugglers, naval officers, and a stern old country surgeon play their parts
in the story, which is one of honest adventure with the mastering of diffi-
culties in a wholesome manly way, mingled with sufficient excitement to
satisfy the most exacting reader.

"An admirable story, as remarkable for the individuality of its heroes as for the
excellent descriptions of coast scenery and life in North Devon. One of the best
books we have seen this season." — AtAerueum.

- Nat the Naturalist: a Bo/sAdveiitures in the Eastern

Seas. With 8 page Pictures by
Gordon Browne. 5^.

The boy Nat and his uncle go on a voyage to the islands of the Eastern
seas to seek specimens in natural history, and their adventures there are full
of interest and excitement. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their black
comrade, and of the scenes of savage life sparkle with genuine humour.

"This book encourages independence of character, develops resource, and teaches
a boy to keep his eyes open."— Saturday Review.

~ YuSSuf the Guide: T'^.. ^ P^^" "lustrations by J.

SCHONBERG. y.

A lad who has been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly
recovers hea'th and strength in a journey through Asia Minor with his
guardians and Yussuf as their guide. Their adventures culminate in their
being snowed up for the winter in the mountains, from which they escape
while their captors are waiting for the ransom that does not come.

" This story is told with such real freshness and vigour that the reader feels he is
actually one of the party, sharing in the fun and facing the dangers w.th them."

—Pall Mall Gazette.

[46] (fl)

From ALL HANDS ON DUCK
By W. Charles Metcalfe, y. 6d.

'WITHOUT HESITATION I SPRANG FROM THE RIGGING,

BLACKIES STORY BOOKS FOR BOYS

GORDON STABLES

For Life and Liberty, ^'f \^^^^ "lustrations

J and a Map. z,s.

When war was declared in America between the North and South,
Osmond Lloyd ran away from school in England with his chum, Kenneth
Reid, and the two made their way to America. Osmond joined the
Southern army, while Kenneth entered the navy.

" The story is lively and spirited, with abundance of blockade-running, hard fight-
ing, narrow escapes, and introductions to some of the most distinguished generals on
both sides." — The Times.

- Kidnapped by Cannibals: t^f'^withe^Tge'iT

lustrations by J. Finnemore. y. 6d.

Thinking his father harsh and himself aggrieved, Willie runs away to
sea with his friend Harry Blessington. There is a terrible mutiny on
board, stirred up by foreign sailors, and in a group of hitherto unknown
cannibal islands in the southern seas the boys are cast away. Their
strange, wild life and adventures for years among these cannibals are told
in most graphic style.

" Exciting and interesting from beginning to end." — Punch.

" Full of exciting adventure, and told with spirit." — Globe.

G. NORWAY

Hussein the Hostag-e: Z' "" ^l^.T'^'^'n, '"

D Persia. With o page Illus-

trations by John Schonberg. y.

The narrative of the adventures of Prince Hussein and his follower Askar
in their endeavour to free their oppressed tribe from the Persian yoke.
Hussein is held captive, and Askar, in his attempt to rescue him, is himself
kidnapped and sold to a showman. They at length unite their followers,
and succeed in holding their post until the dispersal of the Persian forces.

"The lad who gets Hussein the Hostage will have a real prize, for it is one of the
best and most original boys' books of recent seasons." — Graphic.

SHEILA E. BRAINE

The Turkish Automaton. '^^^:^:^

Rainey, R.I. y. 6d.

One of the most extraordinary mechanical marvels of the eighteenth
century was the "automaton" chess-player, invented by the Hungarian
mechanician de Kempelen. It is believed that the figure was constructed
to enable a disabled Polish officer to escape from Russia. On this sub-
stratum of historical fact the author has constructed a highly ingenious
romance.

" The Turkish Automaton creates from the first a desire to look at the end. . . .
It certainly deserves to be the boys' book of the y^as."— Court Circular.

BLACKIES STORY BOOKS FOR BOYS

ROBERT LEIGHTON

Olaf the Glorious: \ ^'"'t^t T'^ °^,|^' ^'^'"^

Age. With 8 page Illustrations
by Ralph Peacock. 5j.

Olaf, rescued from slavery, spends a romantic youth in the court of King
Valdemar of Russia, has many adventures as a viking, and is converted
to Christianity. He returns to pagan Norway, is accepted as king, and
converts his people to the Christian faith. The story closes with the great
battle of Svold, when Olaf, defeated, jumps overboard, and is last seen with
the sunlight shining on the glittering cross upon his shield.

" Is as good as anything of the kind we have met with. Mr. Leighton more than
holds his own with Rider Haggard and Baring-Gould." — Times.

- The Thirsty Sword: ^,^rr^.'^;'^T/"'w°;;

/ of Scotland (1262-63). With

6 page Illustrations by A. Pearse. New Edition, y.

The story tells how Roderic MacAlpin, the sea-rover, came to the Isle of
Bute ; how he slew both his brother. Earl Hamish, and the earl's eldest son,
Alpin : how young Kenric became King of Bute, met the sea - rover on
Garroch Head, and ended their feud.

" One of the most fascinating stories for boys that it has ever been our pleasure to
read. From first to last the interest never flags." — Schoolmaster.

KIRK MUNROE

At War with Pontiac: w',?'/°''"' °n '^' !.'^''-

With 8 page Illustrations

by J. FiNNEMORE. 5J.

Donald Hester, a young English officer, goes in search of his sister Edith,
who had been captured by the redskins. Strange and terrible are his
experiences; he is wounded and taken prisoner, but contrives to escape.
In all his adventures he finds a magic talisman in the Totem of the Bear,
which was tattooed on his arm in childhood by a friendly Indian. In the
end there is peace, and Donald marries the great chiefs daughter.

" Is in the best manner of Cooper. There is a character who is the parallel of
Hawkeye, as the Chingachgooks have likewise their counterparts." — The Times.

Col. J. PERCY-GROVES

The War of the Axe: ^/'°7 °^ ^"fl ^^^j,^^"

Adventure. Fully Illus-
trated. 2j. dd.

Tom Flinders, late of Rugby, sails to rejoin his parents in Cape Colony,
goes up country, meets with many experiences, gets mauled by a Cape lion,
and filially joins the Cape Mounted Rifles. He falls into the hands of the
Caflres, but after a strange escape succeeds in rejoining his friends.

"The story is well and brilliantly told, and the illustrations are especially good and
effective." — Literary World.

(")

BLACKIE dv SON'S BOOKS FOR BOYS

FRED. HARRISON

Wynport College; ^ ^*°^,„°f school Life wuh

J r & 8 page Illustrations by Harold

Copping. 5^.

The hero and his chums differ as widely in character as in personal appear-
ance. We have Patrick O'Fflahertie, the good-natured Irish boy; Jack
Brookes, the irrepressible humorist ; Davie Jackson, the true-hearted little
lad, on whose haps and mishaps the plot to a great extent turns ; and the
hero himself, whose experiences at Wynport Collie the story relates.
"Crammed with happy incident." — Truth.
" Full of life and adventure." — Standard.

W. C. METCALFE
All Hands on Deck! ^^* ^ luustrations by w.

Rainey, R.I. 3J. td.
The story begins with the experiences of eight of the crew and a young
lady passenger in an open boat. After many privations they are picked
up by the ship Ariadne. By a rare combination of circumstances the hero
is compelled to assume the command of the Ariadne, and navigates the ship
safely to Hong Kong, where many happy surprises await him.

" Is such a graphic sea story that the reader almost sniffs the salt breeze of mid-
ocean." — Literary World.

J. CHALMERS

Fighting the Matabele: |^ Rhodel^ wuH

page Illustrations by Stanley L. Wood. ^s. 6d.

A story of the great Matabele rising of 1896. The hero and his friends
are surprised by the revolted natives in the heart of the Matopo mountains,
and after many stirring adventures they succeed in making their way back
to Buluwayo. The hero subsequently joins the Afrikander Corps, and dis-
tinguishes himself in the operations by which the insurrection is crushed.

" The stormy times of the recent insurrection in Matabeleland are described with
a piquantness which will ensure the book becoming a favourite." — Liverpool Courier.

CAPTAIN BRERETON

War. With 6 Illus-

With Shield and Assegai: ^ '^^^ '^ '^' ^"'"

trations by Stanley L. Wood. 3^. 6d.

The hero runs away from school, enlists in the British army, and is sent
to Africa. There he learns that his sister and a friend are in the hands of
Cetewayo. Disguised as a Zulu he rescues the two girls, having many
thrilling adventures.

" Boys will enjoy this book, it is so delightfully real, and overflows with movement
and excitement, —/"wi/ic Opinion.

(13)

BLACKIE &- SON'S BOOKS FOR BOYS

W. O'BYRNE
A Land of Heroes: wTrfn^^'^^-^^'V^f '^-

With 6 Illustrations by John
H. Bacon, -zs. 6d.

Many a pleasant hour is in store for the happy recipients of this book.
The autlior taltes us back to the golden age in Irish history, when Kings of
Erin ruled at Tara some two thousand years ago. The stories are written
in a style calculated to interest young people, and Mr. Bacon's illustrations
add not a little to the attractiveness of the volume.

" There is not a page in the book that does not sketch some vivid picture or paint
some thrilling scene." — Pall Mall Gazette.

S. BARING-GOULD
Grettir the Outlaw: \^T^^i^''^^^''ilV^^ ^^^'

of the Vikings. With 6 page
Illustrations by M. Zeno Diemer. 4^.

A narrative of adventure of the most romantic kind. No boy will be
able to withstand the magic of such scenes as the fight of Grettir with the
twelve bearserks, the wrestle with Karr the Old in the chamber of the dead,
the combat with the spirit of Glam the thrall, and the defence of the dying
Grettir by his younger brother.

" Is the boys' book of its year. That is, of course, as much as to say that it will do
for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in simple, straightforward English, as all
stories should be, and it has a freshness, a freedom, a sense of sun and wind and the
open air, which make it irresistible. " — National Observer.

C. J. CUTCLIFFE HYNE

The Captured Cruiser: Z}^^^^^^'"^^^^^''^'

r With 0 page Illustrations

by F. Brangwyn. New Edition, y. 6d.

The central incidents deal with the capture, during the war between Chili
and Peru, of an armed cruiser. The heroes and their companions break
from prison in Valparaiso, board this warship in the night, overpower the
watch, escape to sea under the fire of the forts, and finally, after marvellous
adventures, lose the cruiser among the icebergs near Cape Horn.

" The two lads and the two skippers are admirably drawn. Mr. Hyne has now
secured a position in the first rank of writers of fiction for boys." — Spectator.

- Stimson's Reef: Y''^ ^ p^^J illustrations by w. s.

Stagey. New Edition. 2s. 6d.
This is the extended log of a cutter which sailed from the Clyde to the
Amazon in search of a gold reef. It relates how they discovered the
bucaneer's treasure in the Spanish Main, fought the Indians, turned aside
the river Jamary by blasting, and so laid bare the gold of Stimson's Reef.

" Few stories come within hailing distance of Stimson's Ree/'vn startling incidents
and hairbreadth 'scapes. It may almost vie with Mr. R. L. Stevenson's Treasure
Island. " — Guardian.

{14)

From WITH SHIELD AND ASSEGAI

By Captain Brereton. v- 6^-

DROPPING THE KlilNS UPON HIS HORSE'S NECK, HE GRASPED
A REVOLVER IN EACH HAND.

BLACKIES STORY BOOKS FOR BOYS

ASCOTT R. HOPE

Stories of Old Renown: Tales of Knights and

Heroes. With loo
Illustrations by GORDON Browne. 3^. 6d.

A series of the best of the Stories of Noble Knighthood and Old Romance,
told in refined and simple language, and adapted to Young Readers. A
book possessing remarkable attractions for boys.

" One of the choicest vohimes the seekers after a present could desire. There are
nine famous stories so told as to give real delight to boys of every age." — yohn Bull.

HARRY COLLINGWOOD

The Lop; of a Privateersman. ^''^\ 'f. p^

O Illustrations by

W. Rainey, R.I. 6s.

After various bold exploits in home waters, the Dolphin leaves for the
West Indies, where the hero becomes a castaway; is captured by pirates;
outwits his captors and seizes their ship; cuts out a Spanish gold-ship from
under the walls of Cartagena; and finally, as a reward for his services,
receives a lieutenant's commission in His Majesty's Navy.

"The narrative is breezy, vivid, and full of incidents, faithful in nautical colouring,
and altogether delightful." — Pall Mall Gazette.

FLORENCE COOMBE

Boys of the Priory School. ^haroldSphng

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 2s. 6d.

The interest centres in the relations of Raymond and Hal Wentworth, and

the process by which Raymond, the hero of the school, learns that in the

person of his ridiculed cousin there beats a heart more heroic than his own.

"We congratulate Miss Coombe upon a brightly-written story." — Lancet.

" It is an excellent work of its class, cleverly illustrated with ' real boys ' by Mr.

Harold Copping." — Literature.

JANE H. SPETTIGUE

A Pair of Them, with 4 illustrations by Paul hardy.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, is. bd.
The chief actors are two brothers, who are left free to choose their
own amusements, and this absence of control leads them into numer-
ous adventures, some of which are merely comical and ludicrous, while
others have a somewhat serious issue. Both Will and Miles are sturdy,
self-reliant, and thoroughly likeable youngsters, and are certain to be highly
popular alike with boy and girl readers.

" Should be a favourite book for boys and girls — as I have no doubt it will be."

— Whitehall Review.
"The 'pair' are a couple of youngsters whose escapades are described in a bright
and attractive fashion by an able story-teller." — Observer.,
(16)

Blackie & Son's
Story Books for Girls

KATHARINE TYNAN
The Handsome
Brandons: Yf^'^ '' ^T

Illustrations by
G. Demain Hammond, r.i. 6s.

A delightful story of an ancient Irish
family. Every one of the nine young
Brandons was handsome, and every
one was spirited and lovable. The
story ends happily for "The Hand-
some Brandons" with the re-establish-
ment of the family fortunes.

"A really excellent piece of work . . .

the literary quality of Miss Tynan's work

is its chief distinction." — Spectator.

ELIZA POLLARD

The King's Signet:

The Story of a Huguenot Family.
With 6 Illustrations by G. Demain
Hammond, r.i. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, y. 6d.

This story relates the adventures of a noble Huguenot family, driven
out of their chateau by the dragoons after the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes.

" The story is splendidly told, and never drags." — Pall Mall Gazette.

CAROLINE AUSTIN

Cousin Geoffrey and I. '^l'^Z'ST'7

The only daughter of a country gentleman finds herself unprovided for at
her father's death, and for some time lives as a dependant upon her kins-
man. Life is kept from being unbearable to her by her young cousin
Geoffrey, who at length meets with a serious accident for which she is held
responsible. She makes a brave attempt to earn her own livelihood, until
a startling event brings her cousin Geoffrey and herself together again.

" Miss Austin's story is bright, clever, and well developed."— i'a^ar<&y Review.
[46] (17)

Miss Katharine Tynan

BLACKIE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS

ELLINOR DAVENPORT ADAMS

A Queen among Girls. ,^^1,^"^;^

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, y. 6d.

Augusta Pembroke is the head of her school, the favourite of her teachers
and fellow-pupils, who are attracted by her fearless and independent nature,
and her queenly bearing. She dreams of a distinguished professional
career; but the course of her life is changed suddenly by pity for her
timid little brother Adrian, the victim of his guardian-uncle's harshness.
The story describes the daring means adopted by Augusta for Adrian's relief

"An interesting and well-written narr.itive, in which humour and a keen eye for
character unite to produce a book happily adapted for modern maidens." — Globe.

- A Girl of To-Day . J''}\ t"^^^^ illustrations by

J G. D. Hammond, r.i. 3^. 6d.

" What are Altruists?" humbly asks a small boy. " They are only people
who try to help others," replies the Girl of To-Day. To help their poorer
neighbours, the boys and girls of Woodend band themselves together into
the Society of Altruists. That they have plenty of fun is seen in the
shopping expedition and in the successful Christmas entertainment.

" It is a spirited story. The characters are true to nature and carefully developed.
Such a book as this is exactly what is needed to give a school-girl an interest in the
development of character." — Educational Times,

FRANCES ARMSTRONG

A Fair Claimant. ?' ^'^,7 f !• ^'' k r ^n ^^'^

6 page Illustrations by G. Demain
Hammond, r.i. New Edition, y.

The heroine, when a child, is found deserted in an attic. She is adopted
by a wealthy lady, and resides abroad until the death of her benefactress.
Thereafter, Olive Bethune comes to England as a governess, and then
begins to learn her own strange history. It is a tale of surprising vicissi-
tude, but in the end all the wrongs are pleasantly righted.

"There is a fascination about this story. The splendid character of the heroine,
together with the happy manner in which the interest is sustained to the end, combine
to make this one of the most acceptable gift-books of the season." — Church Review.

G. NORWAY

A True Cornish Maid. T'}l?^^l2llT'^'T,

by J. FiNNEMORE. y. od.

The heroine of the tale is sister to a young fellow who gets into trouble
in landing a contraband cargo on the Cornish coast. In his extremity the
girl stands by her brother bravely, and by means of her daring scheme he
manages to escape.

"The success of the year has fallen, we think, to Mrs. Norway, whose True
Cornish Maid is really au admirable piece of work." — Review of Reviews.
(i8)

From A QUEEN AMONG GIRLS
By Ellinor Davenport Adams. 3^, dd.

"try to tell the story in a sensible fashion!'

BLACKIES BOOKS FOR GIRLS

ROSA MULHOLLAND (lady gilbert)
Banshee Castle, ^''l '^ p^^! illustrations by john

H. Bacon. 6s.

This story deals with the adventures of three girls who, with an old
governess, migrate from Kensington to the West of Ireland. They are made
heartily welcome in the cabins of the peasantry, where they learn many
weird and curious tales from the folk-lore of the district.

" Is told with grace, and brightened by a knowledge of Irish folk-lore, making it
a perfect present for a girl in her teens." — Truth.

- Hetty Gray, with illustrations. 2s. 6d.

The story of a girl who was adopted by a rich widow. On the death
of her adoptive mother, Hetty is taken by the relatives to be educated as
a governess, an event which is prevented by a rather remarkable discovery.

"A charming story. Hetty is a delightful creature— piquant, tender, and true —
and her varying fortunes are perfectly realistic." — World.

ANNIE E. ARMSTRONG
Violet Vereker's Vanity. J'"^ l page iiiustra-

J tions by G. Demain
Hammond, r.i. y. 6d.

The heroine was an excellent girl in most respects. But she had one
small weakness, which expressed itself in a snobbish dislike of her neigh-
bours the Sugdens, whose social position she deemed beneath her own. In
the end, however, the girl acknowledged her folly, with results which are
sure to delight the reader.

" A book for girls that we can heartily recommend, for it is bright, sensible, and
with a right tone of thought and feeling." — Slieffield Independent.

ALICE CORKRAN

Margery Merton's Girlhood. ]^;* Jjty

Gordon Browne, y. 6d.

The experiences of an orphan girl who in infancy is left by her father — an
officer in India — to the care of an elderly aunt residing near Paris. The
accounts of the various persons who have an after influence on the story are
singularly vivid.

"Margery Merton's Girlhood is a piece of true literature, as dainty as it is deli-
cate, and as sweet as it is simple." — Woman's World.

(90)

BLA OKIE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS

MRS. R. H. READ

T^nra • °'^' ^ ^'^^ without a Home. With 6 page Illustrations
^^^^' by Paul Hardy. zs.6d.

The story of an orphan girl, who is placed as pupil-teacher at the school
in which she was educated, but is suddenly removed by hard and selfish
relatives, who employ her as a menial as well as a governess. Through a
series of exciting adventures she makes discoveries respecting a large i)ro-
perty which is restored to its rightful owners, and at the same time she
secures her own escape.

" Dora is one of the most pleasing stories for young people that we have met with
of late years. There is in it a freshness, simplicity, and naturalness very engaging."

— Harper's Magazine.

MRS. E. J. LYSAGHT

Brother and Sister: ^?liP"fJ""'''■"''°"j ^^

Gordon Browne, y. bd.

A story showing, by the narrative of the vicissitudes and struggles of a
family which has " come down in the world ", and of the brave endeavours
of its two younger members, how the pressure of adversity is mitigated by
domestic affection, mutual confidence, and hopeful honest effort.

"A pretty story, and well told. The plot is cleverly constructed, and the moral is
excellent." — A thenceum.

BESSIE MARCHANT

The Girl Captives: w^b"*^ °^ '^' \f ? f '""^'r

1 With 4 page Illustrations by

William Rainey, R.i. Crown 8vo, doth elegant, zs. 6d.

The ladies and children of an Indian frontier town are carried off by
border tribesmen, but through a tribesman to whom the heroine, the
daughter of an English officer, had formerly done an act of kindness, they
make their escape after many stirring adventures.

" Altogether a capital little book." — Saturday Review.

SARAH TYTLER

A T nvJil T it-fle MaiH With 4 page illustrations by

This pretty story is founded on a romantic episode of Mar's rebellion.
A little girl has information which concerns the safety of her father in hid-
ing, and this she firmly refuses to divulge to a king's officer. She is lodged
in the tolhooth, where she finds a boy champion, whom in future years she
rescues in Paris, from the lettre de cachet which would bury him in the Bastille.

" Has evidently been a pleasure to write, and makes very enjoyable reading."

— Literature^

{«)

From THE FOUR MISS WHI TTINGTONS
By Geraldine Mockler. sj-..

NANCE RELINQUISHED THE TOASTING-FORK WITHOUT ANY DEMUR.'

BLACKIE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS

GERALDINE MOCKLER

The Four Miss Whittingtons: ^.^''^J^l

D Girls. With

8 Illustrations by Charles M. Sheldon. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, 5^.

This story tells how four sisters, left alone in the world, went to London
to seek their fortunes. They had between them ;^400, and this they
resolved to spend on training themselves for the different careers for which
they were severally most fitted. On the limited means at their disposal
this was hard work, but, as the result showed, their courageous experiment
was on the whole very successful.

"A story of endeavour, industry, and independence of spirit. ' — World.

ANNE BEALE
The Heiress of Courtleroy . J'f ^ ^^% J!'"^'

J trations by T. C. H.
Castle. 5^.

Mimica, the heroine, comes to England as an orphan, and is coldly
received by her uncle. The girl has a brave nature, however, and succeeds
in saving the estate from ruin and in reclaiming her uncle from the misan-
thropical disregard of his duties as a landlord.

" We can speak highly of the grace with which Miss Beale relates how the young
' Heiress of Courtleroy ' had such good influence over her uncle as to win him from
his intensely selfish ways." — Guardian.

A. HUTCHISON STIRLING, m.a.
The Reign of Princess Naska. "^^^^^

by Paul Hardy. 2s. td.

The story tells in beautiful language how the child- ruler of Tsarkovia
suddenly discovers that injustice is being committed in her name, and deter-
mines that at all costs right shall be done. This noble resolve brings her
into conflict with all the great officers of state, and although the little Princess
yielded her life in the struggle against wrong, her short reign was not in vain.
"We can thoroughly recommend this little book." — Athenautn.

VIOLET G. FINNEY

A Daughter of Erin, with illustrations. 2$. ed.

The heroine of this story is a true-hearted Irish girl who finds it hard
to accept a dependent position in the castle, brought about by the sudden
death of her father. She rebels against the new heir, but in the end
Love, the reconciler, steps in, and a strange new way of escape from the
trouble is found.

" A book we can thoroughly recommend, not only to girls, but to all who like a
well-written, healthy-toned story. "—.S"/. James's Gazette-
(23)

BLACKIE'S BOOKS FOR GIRLS

J. K. H. DENNY
The Clever Miss Follett. with 12 page iiiustra-

tions by G. Demain
Hammond, r.i. 6j-.

The Folletts are a middle-class family who suddenly find themselves in the
possession of immense wealth, and the interest of the story is obtained by
showing what effect this change has upon their various characters. With
fine subtlety the author depicts the disappointments which follow the
Folletts in their efforts to get into society and make aristocratic marriages.

" One of the most entertaining stories of the season, full of vigorous action and
strong in character-painting." — The Teachers Aid.

SARAH DOUDNEY

Under False Colours: ^■^'"''^^^.TJ^'' n!'^''

Lives. With o page Illus-
trations by G. G. KiLBURNE. 4$-.

A story which will attract readers of all ages and of either sex. The
incidents of the plot, arising from the thoughtless indulgence of a deceptive
freak, are exceedingly natural, and the keen interest of the narrative is sus-
tained from beginning to end. Under False Colours is a book which will
rivet the attention, amuse the fancy, and touch the heart.

" This is a charming story, abounding in delicate touches of sentiment and pathos.
Its plot is skilfully contrived. It will be read with a wai-m interest by every girl who
takes it up."— Scoisman.

E. EVERETT-GREEN

Miriam's Ambition, with illustrations. 2s. 6d

Miriam's ambition is to make someone happy, and her endeavour carries
with it a train of incident, solving a mystery which had thrown a shadow
over several lives. A charming foil to her grave elder sister is to be found
in Miss Babs, a small coquette of five, whose humorous child-talk is so
attractive.

" Miss Everett-Green's children are real British boys and girls, not small men and
women. Babs is a charming little one." — Liverpool Mercury.

EMMA LESLIE

Gytha's Message: ^,™:;?L!^T,. S.*'"'; *"-

We get a glimpse of the stirring events taking place at that period; and
both boys and girls will delight to read of the home life of Hilda and
Gytha, and of the brave deeds of the impulsive Gurth and the faithful
Leofric.

" This is a charmingly told story. It is the sort of book that all girls and some
boys like, and can only get good from." — youmcU of Education.
(=»4)

Blackie & Son's

Finely Illustrated Books for

Children

SHEILA E. BRAINE

The Princess of Hearts. ^;*^ Frontispiece in

colour and 70 Illustra-
tions by Alice B. Woodward. F'cap 4to, cloth elegant, gilt
edges, 6s.

Take a Princess, a mysterious Duchess, frog and fairy combined, an
Ogre— Mugwump by name, malevolent by nature.^a Palace inhabited by
the Royal Family of Hearts, and a marsh gay with "Winking Marybuds",
and alive with Queer Folk. Add a Contradicter and a peppery Scullery-
maid, and we have the essential ingredients of this delightful fairy tale.

" A valuable addition to fairy-tale lore, worthily illustrated by Alice B. Woodward."

— Queen.

CARTON MOORE PARK

A Book of Birds. ^''^ 26 full-page Plates, Decora-

tions, and Cover Design by Carton
Moore Park. Demy 4to (13 inches by 10 inches), price 5^.

This season Mr. Carton Moore Park follows up his remarkable Alphabet
of Animals with an equally notable series of bird studies. Generous as
was the welcome accorded to his animal pictures, it may safely be prophesied
that A Book of Birds will meet with even warmer appreciation. It is char-
acterized by the same extraordinary vigour of treatment and originality of
design as marked its predecessor as the artistic gift-book of last season.

" His collection is one that will appeal as much to the artistic eye as to the child. "

— St. James's Budget.

MRS. PERCY DEARMER

Roundabout Rhymes, with 20 fuii-page iiiustra-

J tions m colour by Mrs.

Percy Dearmer. Imperial 8vo, cloth extra, is. 6d.

A charming volume of verses and colour pictures for little folk — rhymes
and pictures about most of the everyday events of nursery life.

" The best verses written for children since Stevenson's ChiLts Garden. Alto-
gether we commend this book as a very charming piece of design, and morfi
especially as verse, touched with a great deal of insight and humoitf, yet perfectly
simple and amusing." — The Guardian.

[46] (25)

BLACKIE'S BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

MABEL E. WOTTON

The Little Browns, with Frontispiece in colour and

more than 80 Illustrations by
H. M. Brock. F'cap 4to, cloth elegant, gilt edges, ds.

The little Browns are a delightful set of youngsters whom the upbringing
of an inert mother and faddist father has rendered more than usually
individual and self-reliant. During their parents' absence they extend
hospitality to a stranger under the belief that he is their unknown and long-
expected uncle from Australia. Two of the little girls make the discovery
that the supposed uncle is really a burglar who is in league with the new
man-servant, and by their courage and childish resource outwit him.

"Young readers will find The Little Browns irresistibly attractive." — Observer.

BEATRICE HARRADEN

Things Will Take a Turn, ^ith 44

C3 tions by J

Illustra-
OHN H.

Bacon, zs. 6d.

A happy creation this by the author of Ships that Pass in the Night.
One cannot help loving the sunny-hearted child who assists her grand-
dad in his dusty second-hand book-shop, she is so gay, so engaging, so
natural. And to love Rosebud is to love all her friends, and enter
sympathetically into the good fortune she brought them. The charm of
this tale, as of all Miss Harraden's work, is a delicate, wistful sympathy.

"One of the most pathetic and touching stories for children that we have ever
met with. The. whole moral tone of this book is so good that we would advise all
parents to read it to their children." — Court Circular.

HAMISH HENDRY

Red Apple and Silver Bells:

A Book of Verse
for Children of all

Ages. With over 150 charming Illustrations by Alice B. Wood-
ward. New Edition. Square 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges,
■}yS. 6d.

These are verses for children, not merely about them ; for their subjects
are the facts of child-life, the thoughts are children's thoughts, and the
language largely children's language. Miss Woodward's beautiful decora-
tions and pictures will delight children by their actuality and real human
interest.

" Mr. Hendry sees the world as children see it, and he writes charmingly about it
Miss Woodward's designs are just what the verses require." — Athtturum.
(26)

From THE LITTLE BROWNS
By Mabel E. Wotton. ds.

J^ aut^T' Lcttte ^-ou-p

BLACKIE'S BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

A. B. ROMNEY

Little Village Folk, with 37 illustrations by Robert
O Hope. Crown 8vo, cloth ele-

gant, 2s. 6d.

A series of delightful stories of Irish village children. Miss Romney
opens up a new field in these beautiful little tales, which have the twofold
charm of humour and poetic feeling.

"A story book that will be welcomed wherever it makes its way." — Literary World-

ALICE TALWIN MORRIS

The Elephant's Apology. ^ °;j'' ^^lIce'' b"

Woodward. Square 8vo, decorated cloth, is. 6d.

Why it was very necessary and how his Worship the Mayor was graciously
pleased to accept the apology is set forth in pleasant words and pictures.
Other animal stories follow, but it would take more than a page to tell
of half the delights to be found lA these pretty tales both by children
and by their elders.

"We have not seen a more charming or dainty book for children." — Pall Mall
Gazette.

ALICE CORKRAN

Down the Snow Stairs: ^'■' ^^«"^ ^°°^";f'r

Good-morning. With 60
Illustrations by Gordon Browne, y. 6d.

A story full of vivid fancy and quaint originality. It carries with it a
strong sense of reality, and derives a singular attraction from that combina-
tion of simplicity, originality, and subtle humour which is so much appre-
ciated by lively and thoughtful children.

"This book stands owl /acile princeps a gem of the first water, bearing upon every
page the signet-mark of genius." — Christian Leader.

JENNIE CHAPPELL

Mignonne: or, Miss Patricia's Pet.

With a Frontispiece and 20 Illustrations in the Text by Paul
Hardy, Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, is.

Miss Patricia has long desired in vain to adopt the child, who is left
in her charge. A severe illness deprives the little girl of all recollection
of the past, and causes a report of her death to be sent to her father, who is
abroad. Mignonne's eventual restoration, with recovered memory, to her
family, brings the story to a happy end.

"There can be no more desirable book for schoolroom or fireside." — Whitehall
Review.

(»8)

BLACKIES BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

STORIES BY GEORGE MAC DONALD

(NEW AND UNIFORM EDITION)

A Rough Shaking. J''"^ '^ P^^^ illustrations by W.
o D Parkinson. Crown 8vo, cloth

elegant, 3i-. 6d.

'Clare, the hero of the story, is a boy whose mother is killed at his side by
the fall of a church during an earthquake. The kindly clergyman and his
wife, who adopt him, die while he is still very young, and he is thrown upon
the world a second time. The narrative of his wanderings is full of interest
and novelty, the boy's unswerving honesty and his passion for children and
animals leading him into all sorts of adventures. He works on a farm, sup-
ports a baby in an old deserted house, finds employment in a menagerie,
becomes a bank clerk, is kidnapped, and ultimately discovers his father on
board the ship to which he has been conveyed.

At the Back of the North Wind. ™75

Illustra-
tions by Arthur Hughes, and a Frontispiece by Laurence Hous-
MAN. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3^. dd.

"In Ai the Back of the North Witid we stand with one foot in fairyland and one on
common earth. The story is thoroughly original, full of fancy and pathos." — The Times.

Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood. with36iiius-

/ trations by

Arthur Hughes. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3^-. 6d.

" Dr. Mac Donald has a real understanding of boy nature, and he has in consequence
written a capital story, judged from their stand-point, with a true ring all through which
ensures its success." — The S^c tutor.

The Princess and the GobHn. ^'^^^^i^^lTfJ

tions by Arthur
Hughes, and a Frontispiece by Laurence Housman. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, 3^^. 6d.

In the sphere of fantasy George Mac Donald has very few equals, and his
rare touch of many aspects of life invariably gives to his stories a deeper mean-
ing of the highest value. His Princess and Goblin exemplifies both gifts. A
fine thread of allegory runs through the narrative of the adventures of the
young miner, who, amongst other marvellous experiences, finds his way into
the caverns of the gnomes, and achieves a final victory over them.

The Princess and Curdie. with Frontispiece and

30 Illustrations by
Helen Stratton. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, y. 6d.

A sequel to The Princess and the Goblin, tracing the history of the young
miner and the princess after the return of the latter to he>- father's court, where
more terrible foes have to be encountered than the grotesquw -rth-dwellers.

(>9]

From LITTLE VILLAGE FOLK
3y A. B. ROMNEY. T.S. 6d,

"POLLY STOOD IN A DREAM OF DELIGHT."

BLACKIES BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

NEW "GRADUATED" SERIES
FOR YOUNGER READERS

SPECIAL attention has been devoted to the production of a new
series of illustrated story-books in which both language and
ideas are well within the understanding of little folk.

No child of six or seven should have any difficulty in reading and
understanding unaided the pretty stories in the dd. series. In the ()d.
series the language used is slightly more advanced, but is well within
the capacity of children of seven and upwards, while the \s. series is
designed for little folk of somewhat greater attainments. If the stories
are read to and not by children, it will be found that the (yd. ()d. and is.
series are equally suitable for little folk of all ages.

Each book has a pretty frontispiece in colours, and several black-
and-white illustrations in the text. The type has been carefully selected
to accord with the general scheme of the three series, and in the 6d.
series is particularly large and bold.

"GRADUATED" STORIES AT A SHILLING

Crown 8vo, cloth extra. Witk coloured frontispiece and black-and-white illustrations.

THE CHOIR SCHOOL. By Frederick Harrison.

THE SKIPPER. By E. Cuthell.

WHAT MOTHER SAID. By L. E. Tiddeman.

LITTLE MISS VANITY. By Mrs. Henry Clarke.

TWO GIRLS AND A DOG. By Jennie Chappell.

MISS MARY'S LITTLE MAID. By Ellinor Davenport Adams.

"GRADUATED" STORIES AT NINEPENCE

F'cap 8vo, cloth extra. With coloured frontispiece and black-and-white illustrations.

PUT TO THE PROOF. By Mrs. Henry Clarke.

TEDDY'S SHIP. By A. B. Romney.

IRMA'S ZITHER. By Edith King Hall.

THE ISLAND OF REFUGE. By Mabel Mackness.

"GRADUATED" STORIES AT SIXPENCE

F'cap 8vo, cloth extra. With coloured frontispiece and black-and-white illustrations.

SAHIB'S BIRTHDAY. By L. E. Tiddeman.
THE SECRET IN THE LOFT. By Mabel Mackness.
TWO LITTLE FRIENDS. By Jennie Chappell.
TONY'S PETS. By A. B. Romney.
ANDY'S TRUST. By Edith King Hall.

(31)

BLACKIES BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

NEW CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS

IN DOORS AND OUT

Pictures and Stories for Little Folk. With 38 colour pages, over
40 full-page black-and-white Illustrations, and a large number of
Vignettes. Quarto, \oy% inches by 7% inches, cloth elegant, 2s. 6d.

A MOST attractive book of stories, rhymes, and pictures for little readers.
There is no double page without a picture, and the many colour pages in
bright tints will prove specially acceptable to young folk. Santa Claus could
bring no more welcome gift than this pretty volume.

ONE SHILLING SERIES

Quarto, 10^ inches by 7^ inches.

My Very Best Book. I My Very Own Picture Book.

Arm-chair Stories. I G>sy Cotn&t Stories.

t> RIGHT and amusing picture books for the little folk. Each volume
contains over twenty full-page drawings by eminent artists, and a large
number of smaller illustrations. The cover, and no fewer than twenty
pages, are printed in colour.

SIXPENNY SERIES

Quarto, 10 5^ inches by 1% inches.

Smiles and Dimples.

Little Bright-Eyes.

For Kittie and Me.

As Nice as Nice Can Be.

Round the Mulberry Bush.

Little Rosebud.

For My Little Darling.
For Dolly and Me.
My Own Story Book.
Play-time Pictures.
Bed-time Stories.
For Little Chicks.

TT may confidently be said that these are the most attractive picture books
ever published at the price. Each book contains an average of six full-page
illustrations, a large number of vignettes, and seven pages in colour. The
cover designs, also in colour, are extremely attractive, the text is printed in
bold type, and the stories and rhymes that form the letterpress are bright and
humorous.

(3a)

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