E N G 
the Britons were compelled to abandon the bank, and 
Caffibelan, being' unwilling to venture an engagement, 
ditbanded the major part of his forces, retaining only four 
thoufand chariots, with which he ha raffed the foraging 
parties of the enemy, and prevented them front making 
excurtions. 
Meanwhile the Trinobantes fent an embalfy to Caefar, 
tendering their fubmiffions, and requeuing him to appoint 
Mandubratius their king and governor, in-head of Caffibe- 
lan, who liad forfeited their efteem by fome acts of op- 
prellion. Thefe requeds were readily complied with ; 
and' the example of the Trinobantes was foon followed 
by feveral other hates, which voluntarily fubmitted to 
the Romans. Caefar alfo marched with his legions againft 
Verulamiunt, now St. Alban’s, Caflibelan’s chief city, 
which he foon reduced, notwithdanding the natural 
ftrength of the fortifications, and the brave reft fiance of 
the inhabitants. To repair this heavy lofs, and divert 
the enemy from purfuing his conquefls, Caffibelan per- 
fttaded four petty princes of Kent, viz. Cingetorix, Car- 
villus, Segonax, and Taximagulus, to raife a body of 
forces, and attack the camp where the ffiips were laid up; 
but this defign was rendered abortive by the vigilance of 
the Romans, and Caffibelan was eventually compelled to 
fue for peace. Caefar, having now received a number of- 
hodages from the Britons for the performance of their 
treaty, caufed his fleet to be launched with all convenient 
expedition, left the winter fhould prevent his voyage ; and, 
weighing anchor about the fecoud watch of the night, 
reached the continent by break of day, after making him- 
felf rather the nominal than the real po(TefTbr of Britain 
—to which he never after returned. 
In his Commentaries, Caefar gives the following ac¬ 
count of the evolutions of the Britons in battle. “This 
is their method of fighting from chariots: they firft ride 
to all parts and throw their darts, and frequently break 
our ranks by the prancing of their deeds, and rattling 
of the wheels; and, when they have got amongfl the 
troops of horfe, they alight from their chariots, and fight 
on foot; the charioteers in the mean while draw off a 
little from the engagement, and place themfclves in fitch 
a manner, that, if thefe fhould be overborne by the 
numbers of the enemy, they may have an eafy retreat to 
them. Thus they perform in battle the nimblenefs of 
the horfe, and the firmnefs of the foot ; and fo expert 
are they by conflant ufe and exercife, that they can flop 
their horfes on full gallop down hill, and can check and 
turn them in a fmall compafs, run upon the pole, rife 
upon the harnefs, and quickly from thence recover the 
chariot.” Upon the whole, the character given by Caefar 
himfelf of his enemies, the Britons, confidering their then 
a favage date, is much more flattering, than degrading, of 
their native courage and magnanimous difpodtion. He 
makes no other didindlion between the colonies planted 
on its coafls, and thefe interior tribes, than by Amply 
calling them Aborigines .—The Rev. Geo. Richards, of 
Oriel College, Oxford, in his defeription of this people, 
lias drawn the following portrait of the aboriginal Briton : 
Rude as the wilds around his fylvan home 
In favage grandeur fee the Briton roam: 
Bare were his limbs, and drung with toil and cold, 
By untam’d nature cad in giant mould. 
O’er his broad brawny fbotilders, loofely flung, 
Shaggy and long, his yellow ringlets hung. 
His waifl an iron-belted falchion bore, 
M-afiy, and purpled deep with human gore; 
His fcarr’d and rudely painted limbs around 
Fantadic horror-driking dgures frown’d, 
Which, monder-like, ev’n to the confines ran 
Of Nature’s work, and left him hardly man. 
Upon the acceffion of Augudus to the imperial purple 
of Rome, that emperor had formed a defign of vifiting 
Britain; but was diverted from it by an unexpedted re¬ 
volt of the Pannonians. Some years after he refumed 
his defign; but being met in his way by the Britiffi ent- 
L A N D. 539 
baffadors, who promised the nceudomed tribute, and made 
the ufual fubmiffions, he defided from his intention. 
The year following, finding them remifs in their fupplies, 
and untrue to theii*former profeffions, he once mjjre pre¬ 
pared for the invalion of the country ; bat a well-timed 
embalfy again averted his indignation, and the fubmiffions 
he received feemed to fatisfy liis re fent meat: upon his 
death-bed he appeared fenlibl.e of the-overgrown extent 
of the Roman empire., and he recommended it to his fuc- 
cedors never to enlarge their territories. Tiberius fol¬ 
lowed the maxims^of Augudus; and wifely judging the 
empire already too extendve, made no attempt on Bri¬ 
tain. Some Roman foldiers having been wrecked on the 
Britiffi coad, the inhabitants not only a (lifted them with 
the greated humanity, but fent them in fafety back to 
theii general. In confeqtience of thefe friendly difpod- 
tions, a condant intercourfe of good offices ftiblided be¬ 
tween the two nations; the principal Britiffi nobility re- 
forted to Rome, and many received their education there. 
From this time the Britons began to improve in many 
of the arts which contribute to the advancement of hu¬ 
man nature. The fird art which a favage people is gene¬ 
rally taught by their politer neighbours, is that of war. 
The Britons, thenceforward, though not wholly addidted 
to the Roman method of fighting, neverthelefs adopted 
feveral of their improvements, as well in their arms as in 
their arrangement in the field. Their ferocity to Arangers, 
for which they had been always remarkable, was miti¬ 
gated ; and they began to permit an intercourfe of com¬ 
merce in the internal parts of the country. They dill, 
however, continued to live as herdfmen and hunters; 
whild the wild extravagances of Caligula, by which he 
threatened Britain with an invadon, ferved rather to ex- 
pofe him to ridicule, than the i(1 and to danger. The 
Britons, therefore, for almod a century, enjoyed their li¬ 
berty unmoleded, till at length the Romans, in the reign 
of Claudius, began.to think ferioudy of reducing them 
completely under their dominion. The expedition for 
this purpofe was at drd conducted by Plautius, with that 
f’uccefs which ufually attended the Roman arms. Clau¬ 
dius himfelf, in the year of Chrift 43, finding aftairs fuf- 
dciently prepared for his reception, entered the ifland, 
and received the fubmidion of fuch dates as, living by 
commerce, were willing to purchafe tranquillity at the 
expence of freedom. It is true that many of the inland 
provinces preferred their native dmplicity to imported 
elegance, and, rather than bow their necks to the Roman 
yoke, opened their bofomsto the fw.ord. But the fouth- 
ern coad, with all the adjacent inland country, was feized 
by the conquerors, who fecured the poffefiion by forti¬ 
fying.camps, building fortreffes, and planting colonies. 
The other parts of the country either thought themfelves 
in no danger, or continued patient fpedtators of the ap¬ 
proaching devadation. 
Caradlacus, king of the Silures, was the drd who 
feemed willing, by a vigorous edort, to refeue his coun¬ 
try, and repel its infulting and overbearing conquerors. 
The venality and corruption of the Roman praetors and 
officers, who were appointed to levy the contributions in 
Britain, ferved to excite the indignation of the natives, 
and give fpirit to his attempts. This rude foldier, 
though with inferior forces, continued, for about the 
fpace of nine years, to oppofe and harafs the half-dejedted 
Romans ; till at length Odorius Scapula was fent over to 
command their armies. He was more fuccefsfiil than his 
predecelfors. He advanced the Roman conquelts over 
Britain, pierced the country of the Silures on the banks 
of the Severn, and at length, A.D. 50, came up with 
Caradtacus, who had taken poffefiion of a very advanta¬ 
geous pod upon an inaccedible mountain, fuppofed to be 
Caer-Caradoc in Shropdiire, wafhed by a deep and rapid 
dream, formed, by the conflux of the Colun and Teme. 
The heroic Britiffi chief, when he haw, the enemy ap¬ 
proaching, drew up his army, compofedof different tribes, 
and, going from rank to rank, exhorted them to llrike 
the 
