42 Mr. Victor Horsley [Feb. 3, 



third century, viz. 286 a.d. It will be remembered that tbe then 

 Emperor Diocletian (who like Hadrian was a great administrator) 

 found that the size of the Empire, and the very personal system of 

 government of the Romans, rendered it necessary to subdivide the 

 imperial power, aud he therefore constituted a government of himself 

 and Maximianus. The latter, having command of Gaul and Britain, 

 appointed over tbe British fleet a Belgian named Carausius, who was 

 already in the Roman Navy as a pilot or Gubernator, a position which 

 was analogous to the Master in a man-of-war in our own navy in the 

 beginning of this century — an officer on whom great responsibility in 

 navigation devolved. 



This man Caurausius seems to have been a person of great indi- 

 vidual energy and ability ; his headquarters were at Boulogne, the 

 ancient Gessoriacum, but which we must now call Bononia. Finding 

 that his reputation and influence were greatly increasing, he began to 

 pave the way for seizing power over the fleet and Britain. 



For this purpose, lie evidently sent over agents into Britain to 

 work public feeling in his favour, and, to support it further, had 

 coins struck with a portrait of himself on one side, and an inscription 

 which said, " Come, oh expected one." Having thus cleared the ground, 

 he duly came, and apparently made his headquarters for a time at 

 Rutupia, and then at Clausentum. Having done this, he next inti- 

 mated to Diocletian and Maximinius that he had assumed the imperial 

 status, and the title of Augustus. Maximinius, upon whom the re- 

 sponsibility of dealing with this insurrection devolved, found his 

 hands were too full in Gaul and North Africa, and consequently with 

 Diocletian, made a virtue of necessity and recognised him, upon which 

 Caurausius, with a certain sense of humour, struck coins in which he 

 represented himself with a diadem and his colleagues without, and 

 put an inscription, "Caurausius and his two brothers." When, how- 

 ever, his hands were less hampered, his nearest brother Maximinius 

 despatched a very able general named Constantine Chlorus, who 

 forthwith opened the campaign against Caurausius by laying siege to 

 Bononia, and ultimately capturing it. Caurausius had withdrawn 

 into Britain, and there was murdered, at one of these camps we are 

 now discussing, by his chief subordinate in command, Alectus, who 

 also set up a claim for imperial rank, and commenced a coinage, of 

 which numerous examples are to be found in the south-eastern camps. 

 Constantius sent against Alectus a general named Ascupuladorius, 

 who secured the province to Rome by taking his attacking fleet over 

 in two divisions, crossing under shelter of a fog, and defeating Alectus 

 who was waiting to receive him. 



At this time the Saxons and North Germanic tribes increased 

 their piratical incursions on both sides of the Channel, and the re- 

 moval of Caurausius no doubt rendered their attacks much safer to 

 them and more profitable. From this time, at any rate to the begin- 

 ning of the fifth century, there can be little doubt that the Saxons 

 steadily increased in force, and thePictsand Scots combined to render 



