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THE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF COLCHESTER. 
mo tecord or chronicle of those early 
‘events will justify. 
' Colchester certainly occupies the site 
ofa grand Roman station; and that it 
was named Camulodunum,is admitted 
by the best informed antiquaries, though 
some few contend that this station was 
at Maldon. One argument seems suf- 
ficient to decide this point. Various 
urns, pavements, coins, and other Ro- 
man relics are continually found at the 
former town, but neither pavement nor 
urn has been discovered at the latter. 
« Colchester,” observes this writer, “* is 
placed upon an eminence, boldly rising from 
the north and ezst, its inhabitants enjoyed 
tie variety of an extended view, witha dry 
soil; and to an elevation above the mists and 
_ vapours of the.half surrounding valley, they 
a had the additional advantages that no enemy 
, could ‘make an unperceived approach on 
those sides, nor advance without the hazard 
of an easy repulsion. ‘Lo render the ap- 
proaches on the south and west equally dif- 
ficult. to invaders, vast works and intrench- 
ments were formed, effectually to prevent 
any attempts” (no fortification can prevent 
allempts, though it may secure a garrison) 
*‘ either openly to conquer, or assault by 
surprise, the inhabitants of the small district 
they had enclosed; and of which Colchester 
was, as it were, the capital. ‘these works, 
whether formed by the labours of the Bri- 
tans (why not Britons?) or Romans, convey 
the most ample satisfaction of the import- 
ance of the place secured, and poilit out the 
Consequence of its possession to have been 
considerable. Such great and visible evi- 
dences, as these may be called, are no where 
else so abundant: and one who has serious] 
mused over the whole scene, and formed his 
mind to a right understanding of the sub- 
ject, cannot but receive a forcible impulse 
towards believing that the ancient state of 
Colchester has not been fabled. It is these ex- 
ternal evidences of its antiquity, joined with 
the testimony gathered from antient authors, 
that has induced the learned to give it the 
appellation of Camulodunum : a city, in its 
uume one of the largest in Britain, and the 
¢apital of the Trinobanties. The coins of 
Munobeline, of which more have been dis- 
covered here, than in all the other parts of 
Britain together, point out this to have 
heen his residence; and after him, it may 
be presumed, at least occasionally, of suc- 
eceding Trinobantian kings.” 
The coinage of Cunobeline has fur- 
mshed a theme for much dissertation and 
controversy by different antiquaries. Mr. 
$31 
Pegge has written expressly on the sub- 
ject, and Mr. Whitaker, in his profound 
History of Manchester, decidedly states, 
that Cunobeline “ was the first monarc} 
in the island that mizted money*.” 
The author of the work before us en- 
ters pretty largely into the Roman trans- 
actions as connected with Colchester, and 
pursues them in a chronological series 
from the first invasion of the Romans 
to the time that they-were superseded 
by the Saxons; Colchester then assum- 
ed a new character, and a new name; 
its form of government was also new- 
modelled, and partook of the customs 
and legal institutions of the Saxons. 
During the Danish incursions this town . 
suffered repeatedly, and from its 
situation, strong fortifications, and 
vicinity to the sea, it became often the 
scene of siege and bloodshed. Indeed 
the history of this, and of most fortified 
towns, abounds with a horrid repetition 
of offensive and defensive operations. 
From the first landing of Julius Cesar 
in Britain, to the time of Oliver Crom- 
well, our general and local histories 
record scarcely any events but those of 
a military and murdering nature, to 
which the principal contents of the first 
volume of this work bear ample testi. 
mony. 
The siege of Colchester by Ireton, and 
the lamented fate cf Sir Charles Lucas 
and Sir George Lisle are the most inte- 
resting of the military transactions. 
After the town had surrendered, these 
knights “‘ were brought forth, and with. 
out accusation, defence, or other preliminary 
form, were ordered to be shot? Sir 
Charles was a man of extraordinary cou- 
rage and fortitude; to-all the insulting 
taunts of Ireton and his colleagues, he 
looked and acted with that intrepid free- 
dom and magnanimity which can only 
be known to the man of great and good. 
mind. Instant death was denounced 
and put in execution, though request was 
made to suspend the tragedy till the 
following day ; “ that they might have 
leisure for the performance of their re- 
ligious duties, and to arrange their tem- 
poral affairs. his reasonable request 
was harshly denied, and Sir Charles 
Lucas sharply replied to Treton, that he 
would not have him think the petition 
was made from any desire he had to 
* The tenor of the history in Dio, p. 957—959, plainly shews Cunobeline to have 
been king of the Cassii, as well a3 of the ‘Trinobantis ; 
tal of that monarch. 
and Camulodunuin was the capj- 
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