196 OUR WOODLAND TREES. 
been given. Meanwhile, a war-chariot has been 
brought into the centre of the clearing. Then 
for a moment ensues the most profound silence, 
broken only by the quivering of the leaves, which 
make a husky sound as the wind plays through 
them. Encircling the host of armed men are tall 
Trees, which rise proudly against the clear sky. 
And now a woman is seen to emerge from 
the Trees, and advance towards the chariot. Her 
long hair flows over her shoulders and covers the 
upper portion of a loose cloak which envelopes the 
greater part of her person. In her right hand 
she holds a spear. The crowd gives way as she 
advances, whilst a deafening shout rises into the 
still night air, floats away over the wild wood, 
and comes back again in echoes. The woman 
is of queenly form, and there is a rude majesty in 
her step. She mounts the chariot, throws back 
over her shoulders her loose cloak, and with 
waving hand and flashing eye she pours forth 
an eloquent address to the assembled warriors. 
We are speaking of a time which succeeds 
by half-a-century the Christian era. The woman 
whom we have described is Boadicea, the Warrior 
