110 ANCIENT INHABITANTS 



was secured by the conquerors, after a protracted 

 but ineffectual resistance. Their forts and colonies 

 long overawed without breaking the Briton's spirit ; 

 and Caractacus, by his revolt, and a war of nine 

 years, taught the invaders not to practise too far 

 on their endurance. Thirty years of submission, 

 however, made these forget the lesson ; the indigni- 

 ties offered Boadicea, " the British warrior queen," 

 caused another revolt, in which perished more than 

 three score thousand Romans ; it continued until a 

 victory won, with immense slaughter, by the empe- 

 ror's general, Paulinus, tei-minated the struggles and 

 with them the liberties of Britain. The Roman laws 

 and customs, habits and arms, language and man- 

 ners, baths and feasts, studies and learning, were 

 introduced, and, in some provinces, became general ; 

 in short, the Britons seem, with the exception of 

 ravages on their northern frontier, to have passed in 

 security, the long and turbulent period which an- 

 nounced the decline, and subsequent fall of the 

 empire. 



The final departure of the Romans, A. D. 448, 

 left them '?pen to a renewal of these ravages, by their 

 enemies tlie Pihts and Scots, whose first assaults 

 indeed might be disregarded under the more sweep- 

 ing horrors of famine. This affliction proved tran- 

 sient, but it added to their previous weakness, already 

 too much impaired by a general laxity of morals ; 

 and as the only resource left, Vortigern,* their 



* Tlie loves of this British prince, and Ronix or Rowena, the 

 daughter of Hengist, are immortalized in the well-known origin 

 of the wassail cup : Leiver king, wacth heil, said the damsel ; 

 drinke — heil, replied Vortigern, and saluted the fair Saxon, who 

 — according at least to the metrical version of the tale — was not 

 slow to return the thrilling compliment : — 



Clfte fting saitr as tfte Itnigl&t gan ftm 

 ©rinlte4eil fitnilantr l^otoen 

 ICoben trranit ae ^itt list 

 aintr gabe tje Iting egne f^im liwt 



