The Druids taught the people to believe that God loved the oak more than all other trees of the wood, and that whatever was found growing upon it came from heaven. Especially, they looked upon as sacred the mistletoe plant, whenever its white berries were found clustering upon the gnarled branches of this monarch of the wood. The great festival for seeking the mistletoe of the oak was on the sixth day of the moon nearest to the 10th of March;-the Druidical New Year's day. When they were so fortunate as to find it, a procession with great pomp and ceremony advanced to the sacred tree. ་ A white-robed Druid climbed the oak, and cut with a gold knife the mistletoe bough, which was caught as it fell in the white garment of another Druid. Then followed festive rites and rejoicings. In the sacrifices of the Druids, human victims frequently suffered. Instances are recorded of men and animals thrown together into a huge wicker-work cage, and burned in offerings to the false gods of this cruel religion. Besides the festival above mentioned, there were three other important holydays observed by the Druids :-May-Day, Midsummer Eve, and the last day of October. In their worship of the Sun and Moon was included the adoration of fire. On May-Day Eve, fires were lighted and sacrifices offered to obtain a blessing on the newly-sown fields. And when, at Midsummer, the fruits of the earth were becoming ready for the gathering, and on All Hallow's Eve, when the harvest was ended, night-fires blazing on moor and mountain, marked the celebration of each Druid festival. The religion of these Pagans has long since passed away, and yet, says an English writer, many traces of their old superstition still linger in the popular sports and pastimes of the people. "The ceremonies of All Hallowmas, the bonfires of May-Day and Midsummer Eve, the virtues attributed to the mistletoe, and various other customs of the village and country-side, still speak to us of the days of Druidism, and evince that the impression of its grim ritual has not been wholly obliterated from the popular imagination by the lapse of nearly twenty centuries." The Druids were the teachers of the British youth, who resorted to them in the depths of the dark forests, and in some instances remained under a course of instruction for twenty years. One part of their education, was the learning of a great number of verses by heart, for they were not allowed to commit their knowledge to writing. They were taught astronomy, and must have been well skilled in mechanics, to have reared those ponderous stones and huge cromlechs, the mere ruins and remains of which, as seen at Stonehenge and other places, fill us with astonishment. They were taught the arts of eloquence and poetry, and the British bards remained a favored and venerated class long after the rest of their countrymen had been subdued or driven from the land. QUESTIONS.-To what ancient maritime people do we owe our earliest knowledge of Britain ?-For what purpose did they visit the island?-Relate what is told of the dwellings and mode of life of the early inhabitants.-Describe the war-chariots of the Britons. Name their religion and the objects of its worship.-What offices did the Druids hold besides that of priests?-Describe some of the Druidical remains still found in Great Britain.-What tree was held in veneration?-Under what circumstances was the mistletoe regarded as sacred?-Describe the ceremony of gathering it.—What is told of the sacrifices of this religion?-Give some account of the education of British youth.-What arts and sciences were probably familiar to the early Britons? B. C. 55. CHAPTER II. THE ROMAN CONQUEST. SUCH was the island of Britain and its people, about half a century before the birth of our Saviour. Then the Romans were a powerful nation, and had spread the terror of their arms into the countries lying to the north of Italy. Julius Cæsar, one of their most famous generals, had subdued the Gauls (a people occupying the country now called France), and in the year 55 B. C., stood upon the southern shore of the English Channel. Looking across the narrow straits on the white cliffs of Dover, he coveted the island of Britain for conquest. Cæsar accused the Britons of having helped the Gauls to fight against him, but the real motive of his intended expedition was probably a desire to carry his arms into a new country; and in the summer, or early autumn of the abovementioned year, Julius Cæsar, with a fleet of eighty vessels, and an army of twelve thousand men, crossed the channel. On approaching the cliffs of Dover, the Romans saw them covered with fierce armed Britons. Cæsar, finding it impossible to land in the face of the bold rocks and bolder enemy, gave orders to sail further along the coast, to a place where the shore was less abrupt. The Britons, with their warchariots and horses, flew to the spot, determined if possible to prevent his landing anywhere. The Roman fleet proceeded. to Deal, and there Cæsar prepared to disembark his troops. The water was very deep, and the fierce enemy was on the shore. The soldiers began to falter, when a standard bearer, holding aloft the Roman eagle, and praying solemnly to the gods of his country, to make what he was about to do prove fortunate for Rome, plunged into the sea, exclaiming, "Follow me, my fellow-soldiers, unless you will give up your eagle to the enemy! I at least will do my duty to Cæsar and to the Republic!" This deed of daring emboldened the hesitating legions. Leaping into the sea, they effected a landing, and after a sharp conflict drove the Britons from the beach. latter promised submission, but a severe storm having destroyed the Roman ships, the Britons soon broke into rebellion. They were again defeated, and sued for peace, which was granted to them on very easy terms; for the Romans, having repaired a few vessels of their disabled fleet, were anxious, as winter approached, to return to Gaul. B. C. 54. The The next year Cæsar came again to Britain. The islanders united under a brave chief, Caswallon, and did their utmost to defend their country. Several battles were fought, but the Romans did not penetrate far, and before the end of the year 54 B. C. Cæsar again made peace with the islanders and returned to Gaul, having discovered rather than conquered Britain. A. D. 43. After the departure of Julius Caesar, Britain was left in peace; that is, there was no enemy from abroad, but the savage tribes were at war very often among themselves. At length, when nearly one hundred years had gone by, in the year of our Lord 43, Roman legions, under Aulus Plautius, again entered Britain. Many battles were fought, and the Roman emperor himself came to the island to make sure of its conquest; yet but a small strip of country was subdued, and even this was overrun by hostile_Britons as soon as the Roman general had withdrawn his troops. The Britons, united under their chief Caradoc or Caractacus, for nine years strove to drive the invaders from the A.D. 43 island. Many fierce conflicts occurred. On a hill in Shropshire, still linger the ruins of Caer-Caradoc, the scene, it is said, of Caractacus' last battle. It was bravely contested, but the numbers and discipline of the Romans won the day. Caractacus was treacherously delivered into the hands of his enemies, and carried in chains to the imperial city. There, standing before Cæsar's judgment seat, his noble spirit shone forth. His wife and children, awed by the presence of the emperor, pleaded for mercy. Caractacus rebuked with calm dignity the proud and wicked ambition of his conquerors. "Why," said he, looking at the splendor which surrounded him, "why should you, possessed of so much magnificence at home, envy me an humble cottage in Britain !" to A. D. 52. So noble a spirit on the part of a captive touched the heart of the Roman emperor. He caused his chains, as well as those of his wife and children, to be struck off. Whether his captors ever had the generosity to restore Caractacus to his native land, historians have not told us. It is said that the "Claudia" whom St. Paul mentions in his Second Epistle to Timothy, was a daughter of Caractacus, and was converted to Christianity through the influence of the wife of the Roman general, Aulus Plautius. 59 to 61. : A.D. 61. The contest was still kept up in Britain, and many brave Roman armies were sent thither. Between the years 59 and 61 A. D. Suetonius Paulinus invaded the island of Anglesey (then called Mona), which was the chief resort of the Druids, and a place of refuge for the British warriors. The Britons did their utmost to defend this sacred island armed men crowded the beach; women with streaming hair and flaming torches and piercing cries ran in among them, whilst Druids with lifted hands and frantic gestures uttered curses on the daring invaders. It was all in vain. The Romans, in flat-bottomed boats crossed the Menai Straits, burned the Druids in the very fires they had kindled for their enemies, and cut down the sacred groves. While Suetonius was engaged in this expedition, the eastern Britons had risen against the Romans. Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni, one of these tribes, roused by cruel wrongs which had been done to herself and her daughters, flew to arms. Her countrymen flocked to her standard. Soon a Roman colony was laid in ashes, and London (city of ships), then a small but prosperous trading town, was plundered and its inhabitants put to death. Other colonies were attacked, and seventy thousand victims fell a sacrifice to British vengeance. Suetonius, at the first intelligence of this rising, hurried from the west, and soon Queen Boadicea met her foes in battle. Mounted in her war-chariot, her long yellow hair streaming in the wind, she exhorted her followers to avenge her wrongs and those of their country. But her efforts and her heroism were of no avail. The Britons were defeated, and their unhappy queen put an end to her life by swallowing poison. 78 & 79. From A.D. 78 to A. D. 84 the Roman general Agricola commanded in Britain. He taught the people many of the arts of civilization; induced them to forsake their rude huts and build comfortable houses, and taught their youth the language of Rome. He carried the Roman |