THE CALEDONIAN WALL. z^$ 



ferrecB were not like the modern shoes, then it might 

 be surmised that with people professing Druidism — a re- 

 ligion represented by a caste who had a monopoly of 

 working in iron, the requisite knowledge being only 

 acquired after initiation, and which it was worse than 

 sacrilege to divulge — would not be likely to yield their 

 most sacred secrets to their conquerors, and put them on 

 an equality with themselves. We know that the Romans 

 were, for centuries, in contact with the Gauls, and yet had 

 only weapons of bronze ; and that while their plough was 

 of the most primitive description, even in the time of 

 Virgil, the Gauls had an implement approaching per- 

 fection ; and so with other objects in metallurgy. 



The Romans were, in several respects, slow to adopt or 

 improve ; and prejudice, especially towards the arts of a 

 conquered and a barbarous people, may have operated 

 strongly with regard to shoeing. After a time they appear 

 to have practised it, but to a limited extent ; and only (to 

 judge from the evidence at present before us) in those 

 countries where it was already in use on their arrival did 

 they attempt it. But why was it not mentioned by their 

 historians or hippiatrists ? When we find these writers 

 anxiously describing the evils resulting to the hoofs from 

 travelling, it might be expected that so simple, and yet so 

 bold, a means of preventing them would have obtained 

 notice. This omission, however, need not cause us so 

 much surprise when we learn that sometimes great under- 

 takings were overlooked, forgotten, or left unrecorded by 

 the Roman historians. The Caledonian Wall, for ex- 

 ample, was a most important work, entailing a vast amount 

 of labour, and built by the Romans themselves, yet only 



