EFFECTS OF CONSTANT WAR. 71 



the time of Hadrian, of earth, and extending from the 

 Sol way to the Tyne ; thus virtually giving up the whole 

 of Scotland and Northumbria as well. Again the Picts 

 and Scots broke through, and at last marched up to the 

 gates of York, the capital of Roman Britain. Then in 

 the year 207 the Emperor Severus himself came, 

 defeated the Caledonians, and overran their country ; 

 but nothing more. He returned to York, strengthened 

 and built with stone Hadrian's rampart, and, dying 

 there, bequeathed on his death-bed to his sons Caracalla 

 and Greta as relentless a hatred against the Scots as 

 Edward I. did to his son, the second Edward. But it 

 was not fated that Scotland was to submit to the Roman 

 yoke. A sort of armed truce for some years succeeded, 

 till at last the Romans, in the year 409, were obliged to 

 withdraw their troops from Britain, and the northern 

 foe overran the whole island. 



We know well what followed. For seven hundred 

 years afterwards such continuous and destructive wars 

 as the world has seldom seen within so small a space, 

 raged everywhere. Picts and Scots fought with Romano- 

 Britons, Saxons, Danes, and often between themselves. 

 The Anglo-Saxons landed, and throughout eastern, 

 southern, and central England (the name our country 

 then assumed) utterly exterminated the Romano- Celtic 

 race. Then the new seven kingdoms turned their arms 

 against each other. Their differences were scarcely 

 healed when they in their turn were invaded by another 

 northern tribe, the savage and heathen Danes. For 

 more than a hundred years the conflict was carried on 

 with varying success, and the land was desolated ; and 

 while these wounds were scarcely closed, over came 

 the Norman Conqueror to ravage and to desolate, at 



