180 ID Em* in ??l>c 



with its dells and dingles, its clear prattling streams, and 

 ceaseless murmur of wind among the branches. We 

 know not that men dwelt within its precincts, or that the 

 natives of the country, our remotest ancestors, built their 

 wattled dwellings, or fed their flocks in the open spaces ; 

 most probably not, for the wild animals that ranged here 

 were dangerous to contend with. Years went on, and men 

 clad in skins, and dyed blue with woad, came from the 

 shores of Gaul. They established themselves in the plain 

 country which is bounded by the British Channel, and 

 formed at length a considerable settlement beside the river 

 that waters this part of Britain. They also threw up bul- 

 warks, and added to the natural strength of the place by 

 forming ramparts and sinking fosses. The settlement 

 was called Llyn-din, or the town on the lake, Llyn being 

 the British term for a broad expanse of water or lake. It 

 was appropriately given, for the low grounds on the Surrey 

 side of the river were often overflowed, as also those that 

 extend from Wapping marsh to the Isle of Dogs, and still 

 further, for many miles along the Essex coast. At length, 

 strangers from another country settled there. They 

 saw that the land was good, and that the trees which 

 crowded around the settlement, and shadowed on either 

 side the current of the river, might be cleared away. 

 They were men who soon carried into execution the 

 schemes which they devised, and having enlarged the 

 place, and raised within it noble buildings, for beauty 

 and security, they gave it the name of Londinium. 



