AT THE CONQUEST. 93 



did, and their conquerors would have spoken of 

 them in very different terms to what they have 

 done. 



While Vespasian was fighting in the west, 

 Plautius made war upon the inland Britons, and 

 was, as usual, successful : for which he obtained 

 on his return to Rome, in the year 47, an ovation 

 of twenty days. We find, however, that three 

 years afterwards, it was necessary to send 

 Ostorius Scapula against Caractacus, (said to 

 have been previously conquered by Plautius.) 

 In describing the battle, which ended in the 

 defeat of that celebrated British commander, the 

 historian, (Tacitus) says, Book 12th, speaking 

 of the Roman troops, * In approaching the bul- 

 wark, while the encounter was yet managed by 

 flights of darts, there were more of our men 

 wounded, and many began to fall ; but after 

 they had formed themselves into the military 

 shell, demolished the rude and shapeless struc- 

 ture of stones, and encountered hand to hand, 

 on ground equal to both, the barbarians took 

 themselves to the iidges of the mountains, and 

 thither also mounted our soldiers after them, 

 both the light, and the heavy armed. Here, also, 

 was begun an unequal fight, by ours in close 

 order, against the Britons, who only fought by 

 a discharge of arrows, and as they cover them- 



