The Comic History of England ... With ... coloured etchings, and ... woodcuts, by John Leech

Preface

. In commencing this work, the object of the Author was, as he stated in the Prospectus, to blend amusement with instruction, by serving up, in as palatable a shape as he could, the facts of English History. He pledged himself not to sacrifice tbe substance to the seasoning ; and though he has certainly been a bttle free in the use of his sauce, he hopes that he has not produced a mere hash on the present occasion. His object has been to furnish something which may be allowed to take its place as a standing dish at the library table, and which, though light, may not be found devoid of nutriment. That food is certainly not the most wholesome which is the heaviest and the least digestible. Though the original design of this History was only to place facts in an amusing light, without a sacrifice of fidelity, it is humbly presumed that truth has rather gained than lost by the mode of treatment that has been adopted.

Persons and things, events and characters, have been deprived of their false colouring, by the plain and matter-of-fact spirit in which they have been approached by the writer of the " Comic History of England." He has never scrupled to take the liberty of tearing off the masks and fancy dresses of all who have hitherto been presented in disguise to the

PREFACE.

. VI notice of posterity. Motives are treated in these pages as unceremoniously as men; and as the human disposition was much the same in former times as it is in the present day, it has been judged by the rules of common sense, which are alike at every period. Some, who have been accustomed to look at History as a pageant, may think it a desecration to present it in a homely shape, divested of its gorgeous accessaries. Such persons as these will doubtless feel offended at finding the romance of history irreverently demolished, for the sake of mere reality. They will — perhaps honestly though errone ously — accuse the author of a contempt for what is great and good; but the truth is, he has so much real respect for the great and good, that he is desirous of preventing the little and bad from continuing to claim admiration upon false pretences. CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

Book I. Page

Chap. I. The Britons — the Romans — Invasion by Julius Cæsar ... 1 II. Invasion by the Romans under Claudius — Caractaeus — Boadicea- — Agricola — Galgaous — Severus— Vortigeru calls in the Saxons . . 7 HI. The Saxons— The Heptarchy IS IV. The Union of the Heptarchy under Egbert If* V. The Danes— Alfred 20 VI. From King Edward the Elder to the Gorman Conquest . . . 28 VII. Edmond Ironsides — Canute — Harold Harefoot — Hardicanute — Edmond the Confessor — Harold — The Battle of Hastings . . 42

Book II. The Period From The Norman Conquest To The Death Op

KINO JOHN. Chap. 1. William the Conqueror 55 II. William Rufus 67 III. Henry the First, surnamed Beauclerc 76 IV. Stephen 80 V. Henry the Second, surnamed Plantagenet 84 VI. Richard the First, surnamed Cœur de Lion 93 VII. John, surnamed Sansterre, or Lackland CONTENTS.

Book III. The Period Prom The Accession Of Henrv The Third To

THE END OF THE REIGN OF RICHARD THE SECOND, A.D. 1216 — 1399. PAGE Chap. 1. Henry the Third, surnamed of Winchester 115 II. Edward the First, surnamed Longsiianks 129 III. Edward the Second, surnamed of Caernarvon 145 IV. Edward the Third 154 V. Richard the Second, surnamed of Bordeaux 184 VI. On the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the People . . .201

Book IV. The Period From The Accession Of Henry IV

TO THE END OF THE REItiN OF R1CHARD III., A.D. 1399 — 1485. Chap 1. Henry the Fourth, surnamed Bolingbroke . . . . . . 207 II. Henry the Fifth, surnamed of Monmouth 223 III. Henry the Sixth, surnamed of Windsor 244 IV. Henry the Sixth, surnamed of Windsor — continued .... 257 V. Edward the Fourth 280 VI. Edward the Fifth 289 VII. Richard the Third 297 VIII. National Industry 314 IX. Of the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the People . . .317 STEEL. 1. The Landing of Julius Cesar. ". William the Conqueror inspecting the Volunteers previous to the Invasion of England. 3. Terrific Combat between Richard Cœur de Lion and Saladin. 4. King John signing Magna Charta. .5. Edward's Arm in the Hands of his Medical Advisers. 6. Queen Philippa interceding with Edward III. for the Six Burgesses of Calais. ',.

Coronation of Henry IV. (from the best authorities.) 8. Embarkation of Henry V. at Southampton, a.d. 1415. si. Marriage of Henry VI. with Margaret of Anjou. 10. The Battle of Bosworth Field : a Scene from the great Drama of History. b WOOD. PAGE PAGE Unpleasant Position of King Harold 52 Druidical Remains . . . 1 The Landing of William the Conqueror . . . . . . 53 Time Bowling out the Druids . . 2 Cæsar looking for the Pearls for which Britain was formerly celebrated 4 William refusing his Daughter to Edwin ..... 58 Cæsar receiving Intelligence of the Destruction of his Fleet . . 5 The Bishop of Durham . . . 63 William departing for France . 65 Ancient Armed Briton ... 7 Initial W 67 Portrait of Julius Agricola . . 9 Odo dismissed from Rochester Castle 68 The Emperor Severus leads his Army against the Northern Barbarians 10 Robert Curt-hose trying to get a Bill discounted . . . .71 Reading the Dream . .' . . 73 Rowena and Vortigern . . . 13 Flight of Sir Walter Tyrrel.

Horse of the Period . . . .74 Ida quitting his Kingdom . . 15 Initial I 16 The Great Seal of Henry I. . . 75 " Non Angli sed Angeli forent si fuissent Christiani " . . .17 The Effects of Extravagance . .77 King Stephen in Prison . . . 81 Battle between the Mercians and Egbert.— Cotton MS. . . . 19 A Clerical Weathercock . . 82 Initial H 84 An Illuminated Letter . . .20 Henry II. dismissing the Foreign Barons 85 Guthrum pays an Evening Visit to Alfred 23 Gilbert a Becket. Thomas it Becket 87 Initial O 28 Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamond 90 Edmund and Leof . . . . 29 Initial R 93 Coronation of Ethelred the Unready 33 Blondel, the Minstrel, under the walls of Richard's Prison . . 97 Settling the Bill .... 36 A Dane securing his Booty . . 37 BertranddeGourdonbefore Richard 100 Soldier of the Period . . .38 Arrival of Richard's Legacy at Rouen . . . .• . . 101 Thurkill's little Account . . . 39 Ethelred despatching a Letter by his Son . . . . .41 Initial J 102 Prince Arthur requires his Grandmother to surrender . . . 104 " Flee, English ! dead is Edmond !

" 43 Canute performing on his favourite Instrument 45 King John threatening to cut off the Noses of the Bishops . . . 1 06 Canute reproving his Courtiers . 47 The Bishop of Beauvais capturiug Salisbury . , , . . 109 A frightful Example. Death of Hardicanute . . . .49 John in a Passion . . .110 \1 ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. PAGE Tail Pice 114 Initial H 115 The Earl of Chester interposing between Henry III. and Hubert de Burgh 118 Marriage of his most Gracious Majesty Henry III. and Eleanor of Provence .... 123 Initial E 129 Edward and the Count of Chalons . 131 Earl de Warenne producing his Title to the Commissioners . . 1 33 King Edward introducing his Son as Prince of Wales, to his newly acquired Subjects . .135 Portrait of William Wallace, from an old wood block . . . . 1 38 Tax Collecting in the reign of Edward the First . . . .141 Initial E 145 Edward II. and his Favourite, Piers Gaveston 146 Parley between Piers Gaveston and the Earl of Pembroke . . . 148 Edward II. resigning his Crown . 153 Thomas of Rokeby receiving the honour of Knighthood . . 156 !

Edward pawning the Crown with the Archbishop of Treves . . 161 Edward's Arrival at the Tower . 1 64 Fancy Portrait of Inspector Baliol 165 Madame de Montfort astonishing the French Fieet . . .167 Assassination of Arta veldt the Brewer 169 Edward III. on the morning of the Battle of Cressy . . .170 Edward III at the Battle of Cressy 172 Origin of the Order of the Garter . 177 Edward the Black Prince conducting his Prisoner . . . 1 80 Initial I 184 Fancy Portrait of the Champion of England 185 Richard thinks it high time he managed his own aflairs . .190 Henry of Bolingbroke and the Duke of York transacting business . 1!'4 PAGE Richard II. conducted a Prisoner to Chester 196 A Practical Joke.

Deposition of Richard II 198 Initial B . . .' . . . 201 Anglo-Saxon Husbandman . 203 Fox-hunting Bishop of the Period 205 Initial T 207 Entrance of Dymock the Champion, at the Coronation Banquet . .210 Mr. Owen Glendower armed by his trusty elerk 214 Unseemly conduct of Henry, Prince of Wales 221 Lord Mayor of the Period arresting a suspicious Twelfth-night Character 22.") Henry V. sends a friend to the Dauphin 229 Henry inspecting his Troops before the Battle of Agincourt . . 232 English Soldier securing a Prisoner at the Battle of Agincourt . . 235 The Duke of Burgundy introducing Queen Isabella and her daughter to Henry V 238 Initial H 244 Initial B 257 Joan at the walls of Paris . 258 Joan trying it on . . . . 262 The King of Sicily and his Household 266 Banislunent of Suffolk . . . 269 Quarrel between Somerset and York L-7 4 Margaret of Anjou and her Child meeting the benevolent Robber . 277 Initial E 280 Edward IV. meeting Elizabeth Woodvillo 282 Field of Battle (in a fog) near Barnet 284 Duke of Gloucester, disguised as a Policeman, discovering Lady •Anne 285 Cannon and Cannon-ball of the Period 288 Initial H 2H!i The Bishop us Ely presenting a ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.

PAGE PAGE Pottle of Strawberries to the Duke of Gloucester . . .291 Richard III. and his celebrated charger, White Surrey . . . 307 Arrest of Lord Hastings and Lord Stanley 292 Coronation of Henry VII. on the Field of Battle . . . .310 The Citizens offering the Crown to Richard 295 " Would Yorke like to go with his uncle Dick?" . . . . 312 Initial R 297 " Ya-ah ! Macker— el !" William of Trumpington, the Abbot of St. Alban's 315 The Duke of Gloucester goes into mourning for his little Nephews 299 Henry Tudor, Esq. . . .301 Initial N THE eontic i^tstorg of fEitglanfc,

Book I. Chapter The First

THE BRITONS TIIE ROMAN? INVASION BY JLLILS CÆSAM. t has always been the good fortune of the antiquarian who has busied himself upon the subject of our ancestors, thai the total darkness by which they are overshadowed, renders it impossible to detect the blunderings of the antiquarian himself, who has thus been allowed to grope about the dim twilight of the past, and entangle himself among its cobwebs, without I any light being thrown upon his errors. But while the antiquarians have experienced no obstruc tion from others, they have managed to come into collision among themselves, and have knocked their heads together with considerable violence in the process of what they call exploring the dark ages of our early history. We are not unwilling to take a walk amid the monuments of antiquity, which we should be sorry to ran against or tumble over for want of proper light ; and we shall therefore only venture so far as we can have the assistance of the bull's-eye of truth, rejecting altogether the allurements of the Will o' the Wisp of mere probability.

It is not because former historians have gone head L: [book I. COMIC HISTORV OF ENGLAND. 2 over heels into the gulf of conjecture, that we are to turn a desperate somersault after them.* The best materials for getting at the early history of a country are its coins, its architecture, and its manners. The Britons, however had not yet converted the Britannia metal— for which their valour always made them conspicuous— into coins, while their architecture, to judge from the Draidical remains, was of the wicket style, consisting of two or three stones stuck upright in the earth, with another stone laid at the top of them ; after the fashion with which all lovers of the game of cricket are of course familiar. As this is the only architectural assistance we are likely to obtain, we decline entering upon the subject through such a gate ; or, to use an expression analogous to the pastime to which we have referred, we refuse to take our innings at such a wicket.

We Time Bowling out tbe Druids. need hardly add, that in looking to the manners of our ancestors for enlightenment, we look utterly in vain, for there is no Draidical Chester field to afford us any information upon the etiquette of that distant period. There is every reason to believe that our forefathers lived in an exceedingly rude state ; and it is therefore perhaps as well that tht ir manners — or rather their want of manners — should be buried in oblivion. It was formerly very generally believed that the first population of this country descended from Æneas, the performer of the most filial * Some historians tell us that tbe most conclusive evidence of things that have happened ib to be found in the reports of the Times. This source of information is, however, closed against us, for the Times, unfortunately, had no reporters when these isles were first inhabited.

CHAP. I. j 3 ORIGIN OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. act of pick-a-back that ever was known ; and that the earliest Britons were sprung from his grandson — one Brutus, who, preserving the family peculiarity, came into this island on the shoulders of the people.* Hollinshed, that greatest of antiquarian gobcmouches, has not only taken in the story we have just told, but has added a few of his own ingenious embellishments. He tells us that Brutus fell in with the posterity of the giant Albion, who was put to death by Hercules, whose buildings at Lambeth are the only existing proofs of his having ever resided in this country. Considering it unprofitable to dwell any longer on those points, about which all writers are at loggerheads, we come at once to that upon which they are all agreed, whieh is, that the first inhabitants were a tribe of Celtæ from the Continent : that, in fact, the earliest Englishmen were all Frenchmen ; and that, however bitter and galling the fact may be, it is to Gaul that we owe our origin.

We ought perhaps to mention that Cæsar thinks our sea-ports were peopled by Belgic invaders, from Brussels, thus causing a sprinkling of Brussels sprouts among the native productions of England. The name of our country — Britannia — has also been the subject of ingenious speculation among the antiquarians. To sum up all their conjectures into one of our own, we think they have succeeded in dissolving the word Britannia into Brit, or Brick, and tan, which would seem to imply that the natives always behaved like bocks in tanning their enemies. The suggestion that the syllable tan, means tin, and that Britannia is synonymous with tin land, appears to be rather a modern notion, for it is only in later ages that Britannia has become emphatically the land of tin, or the country for making money.

The first inhabitants of the island lived by pasture, and not by trade. They as yet knew nothing of the till, but supported themselves by tillage. Their dress was picturesque rather than elegant. A book of truly British fashions would be a great curiosity in the present day, and we regret that we have no Petit Courier des Druides, or Celtic Belle Assemblee, to furnish figurines of the costume of the period. Skins, however, were much worn, for morning as well as for evening dress ; and it is probable that even at that early age ingenuity may have been exercised to suggest new patterns for cow cloaks and other varieties of the then prevailing articles of the wardrobe. The Druids, who were the priests, exercised great ascendancy over the people, and often claimed the spoils of war, together with other property, under the plea of offering up the proceeds as a sacrifice to the divinities.

These treasures, however, were never accounted for; * The storv of Brutus and the Trojans has been told in such a variety of ways, that it is difficult to make either head or tail us it. Geoffrey of Monmouth sayB that Brutus found Britain deserted, except by a few giants — from which it is to be presumed that Brutus landed at Greenwich about the time of the fair. Perhaps the introduction of troy-weight into our arithmetic may be traced to the immigration of the Trojans, who were very likely to adopt the measures, and why not the weights— with whirh tli" ha. been familiar. b2 COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [

BOOK I.

4 and it is now too late for the historian to file, as it were, a bill in equity to inquire what has become of them. Cæsar, who might have been so called from his readiness to seize upon everything, now turned his eyes and directed his arms upon Britain. According to some he was tempted by the expectation of finding pearls, which he hoped to get out of the oysters, and he therefore broke in upon Cæsar looking for the Pearls for which Britain was formerly celebrated. the natives with considerable energy. Whatever may have been Cæsar's motives the fact is pretty well ascertained, that at about ten o'clock one fine morning in August — some say a quarter past — he reached tho British coast with 12,000 infantry, packed in eighty vessels. He had left behind him the whole of his cavalry — the Roman horse-marines — who were detained by contrary winds on the other side of the sea, and though anxious to be in communication with thenleader, they never could get into the right channel.

At about three in the afternoon, Cæsar having taken an early dinner, began to disembark his forces at a spot called to this day the Sandwich Flats, from the people having been such flats as to allow the enemy to effect a landing. While the Roman soldiers were standing shilly-shallying at the side of thenvessels, a standard bearer of the tenth legion, or, as we should call him, an ensign in the tenth, jumped into the water, which was nearly up to his knees, and addressing a claptrap to his comrades as he stood in the sea, completely turned the tide in Cæsar's favour. After a severe shindy on the shingles, CHAP. 1. I INVASION BY JULIUS CÆSAR. 5 the Britons withdrew, leaving the Romans masters of the beach, where Cæsar erected a marquee for the accommodation of liis cohorts. The natives sought and obtained peace, which had no sooner been concluded, than the Roman horse-marines were seen riding across the Channel.

A tempest, however, arising, the horse? were terrified, and the waves begin ning to mount, added so much to the confusion, that the Roman cavalry were compelled to back to the point they stalled from. The ?ame storm gave a severe blow to the camp of Cæsar, on the beach, dashing his gal leys and transports against the rocks which they were sure to split upon. Daunted by these disasters, the invaders, after a few breezes with the Britons, took advantage of a favourable gale to return to Gaul, and thus for a time the dispute appeared to have blown over. Cæsars thoughts, however, still continued to run in one, namely, the British, Channel. In the spring of the ensuing year, he rigged out 800 ships, into which he contrived to cram 32,000 men, and with this force he was permitted to land a second time by those horrid flats at Sandwich.

The Britons for some time made an obstinate resistance in their chariots, but they ultimately took a fly across the country, and retreated with great rapidity. Cæsar had scarcely sat down to breakfast the next morning when he heard that a tempest had wrecked all his vessels. At this intelligence he burst into tears, and GpHU receiving Intelligence of the Destruction of hia Fleet. [book I. 6 COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND. scampered off to the sea coast, with all bis legions in full cry, hurrying after him. The news of the disaster turned out to be no exaggeration, for there were no penny-a-liners in those days ; and, having carried his ships a good way inland, where they remained like fish out of water, he set out once more in pursuit of the enemy. The Britons had, however, made the most of their time, and had found a leader in the person of Cassivelaunus, alias Caswallon, a quarrelsome old Celt, who had so frequently thrashed his neighbours, that he was thought the most likely person to succeed in thrashing the Romans.

This gallant individual was successful in a few rough off-handed engagements; but when it came to the fancy work, where tactics were required, the disciplined Roman troops were more than a match for liim. His soldiers having been driven back to their woods, he drove himself back in his chariot to the neighbourhood of Chertsey, where he had a few acres of ground, whieh he called a Kingdom. He then stuck some wooden posts in the middle of the Thames, as an impediment to Cæsar, who, in the plenitude of his vaulting ambition, laid his hands on the posts and vaulted over them. The army of Cassivelaunus being now disbanded, his establishment was reduced to 4000 chariots, which he kept up for the purpose of harassing the Romans. As each chariot required at least, a pair of horses, his 4000 vehicles, and the enormous stud they entailed, must have been rather more harassing to Cassivelaunus himself than to the enemy.

This extremely extravagant Celt, who had long been the object of the jealousy of his neighbours, was now threatened by their treachery. The chief of the Trinobantes, who lived in Middlesex, and were per haps the earliest Middlesex magistrates, sent ambassadors to Cæsar, promising submission. They also showed him the way to the con temptible cluster of houses which Cassivelaunus dignified with the name of his capital. It was surrounded with a ditch, and a rampart made chiefly of mud, the article in which military engineering seemed to have stuck at that early period. Cassivelaunus was driven by Cæsar from his abode, constructed of clay and felled trees, and so precipitate, was the flight of the Briton, that he had only time to pack up a few necessary articles, leaving everything else to fall into the hands of the enemy.

The Roman General, being tired of his British campaign, was glad to listen to the overtures of Cassivelaunus ; but these overtures con sisted of promissory notes, which were never realised. The Celt undertook to transmit an annual tribute to Cæsar, who never got a penny of the money ; and the hostages he had carried with liim to Gaul became a positive burden to liim, for they were never taken out of pawn by their countrymen. It is believed that they were ultimately got rid of at a sale of unredeemed pledges, where they were put up in lots of half a dozen, and knocked down as slaves to the highest bidder. CHAP. II. INVASION BY THE EMPEROR CLAUDIUS 7 Before quitting the subject of Cæsar's invasion, it may be interesting to the reader to know something of the weapons with which the early Britons attempted to defend them selves.

Their swords were made of copper, and generally bent with the first blow, which must have greatly straitened their aggressive resources. for the swords thus followed their own beat, instead of carrying out the in tentions of the persons using them. This provoking pliancy of the material must often have made the soldier as ill-tempered as his own weapon. The Britons carried also a dirk, aud a spear, the latter of which they threw at the foe, as an effectual means of pitching into him. A sort of reaping-hook was Ancient Armed Briton. attached to their chariot wheels, and was often very useful in reaping the laurels of victory. !• ur nearly one hundred years after Cæsar's invasion, Britain was uu disturbed by the Romans, though Caligula, that ueck-or-nothing tyrant, as his celebrated wish entitles him to be called, once or twice had his eye upon it The island, however, if it attracted the Imperial eye, escaped the lash, during the period specified.

CHAPTER THE SECOND. INVASION BY THE ROMANS UNDER CLAUDIUS CAHACTACUS BOADICEA AGRICOLA GALGAODS SEVERUS VORTIGERN CALLS IN THE SAXONS. iTwas not until ninety-seven years after Cæsar had seized upontheisland that it was unceremoniously clawed by the Emperor Claudius. Kent and Middlesex fell an easy prey to the Roman power ; nor did the brawny sons of Canterbury — since so famous for its brawn — succeed in repelling the euemy. Aulus Plautius, the Roman general, pursued the Britons under that illustrious character, Caractacus. He retreated towards Lambeth Marsh, and the swampy nature of the ground gave the invaders reason to feel that it was somewhat too " Far into the bowels of the land TLcy had inarch' d on without impediment.''* Vespasian, the second in command, made a tour in the Isle of Wight, then called Veetis, where he boldly took the Bull by the horns, and seizedupou Coves with considerable energy.

Still, little was done till [BOOK T. COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 8 Ostorius Scapula— whose name implies that he was a sharp bladeput his shoulder to the wheel, and erected a line of defences— a line in which he was so successful that it may have been called his peculiar forte — to protect the territory that had been acquired. After a series of successes, Ostorius having suffocated every breath of liberty in Suffolk, and hauled the inhabitants of Newcastle over the coals, drove the people of Wales before him like so many Welsh rabbits; and even the brave Caractacus was obliged to fly as well as he could, with the remains of one of the wings of the British army. He was taken to Rome with his wife and children, in fetters, but his dignified conduct procured his chains to be struck off, and from this moment we lose the chain of his history.

Ostorius, who remained in Britain, was so harassed by the natives, that he was literally worried to death ; but in the reign of Nero, (a.d. 59.) Suetonius fell upon Mona, now the Isle of Anglesey, where the howlings, cries, and execrations of the people were so awful, that the name of Mona was singularly appropriate. Notwithstanding, however, the terrific oaths of the natives, they could not succeed in swearing away the lives of their aggressors. Suetonius, having made them pay the penalty of so much bad language, was called up to London, then a Roman colony ; but he had no sooner arrived in town, than he was obliged to include himself among the departures, in consequence of the fury of Boadicea, that greatest of viragoes and first of British heroines. She reduced London to ashes, which Suetonius did not stay to sift ; but he waited the attack of Boadicea a little way out of town, and pitched his tent within a modern omnibus ride of the great metropolis.

His fair antagonist drove after him in her chariot, with her two daughters. the Misses Boadicea, at her side, and addressed to her army some of those appeals on behalf of " a British female in distress," which have since been adopted by British dramatists. The valorous old vixen was, however, defeated ; and rather than swallow the bitter pill which would have poisoned the remainder of her days, she took a single dose and terminated her own existence. Suetonius soon returned with his suite to the Continent, without having finished the war; for it was always a characteristic of the Britons, that they never would acknowledge they had had enough at the hands of an enemy. Some little time afterwards, we find Cerealis engaged in one of those attacks upon Britain which might be called serials, from their frequent repetition; and subsequently, about the year 75 or 78, Julius .Frontinus succeeded to the business from which so many before him had retired with very little profit.

The general, however, who cemented the power of Rome — or, to speak figuratively, introduced the Roman cement among the Bricks or Britons --was Julius Agricola, the father-in-law of Taeitus, the historian, who has lost no opportunity of puffing most outrageously his undoubtedly meritorious relative. Agricola certainly did considerable havoc in Britain. He sent the CHAP. II. J JULIUS AGRICOLA HADRIAN — SEVERUS. 9 Scotch reeling over the Grampian Hills, and led the Caledonians a pretty dance. He ran up a kind of rampart between the Friths of Clyde aud Forth, from which he could come forth at his leisure and complete the conquest of Caledonia. In the sixth year of his campaign, a.d. 83, he crossed the Frith of Forth, and came opposite to Fife, which was played upon by the whole of his band with considerable energy.

Having wintered in Fife, upon which he levied contributions to a pretty tune, he moved forward in the summer of the next year, a.d. 84, from Glen Devon to the foot of the Grampians. He here encountered Galgactts and his host, who made a gallant resistance ; but the Scottish chief was soon left to reckon without his host, for all his followers fled like lightning, and it has been said that then' bolting came upon him like a thunderbolt. Portrait of Julius Agricola. Agricola having thoroughly beaten the Britons^-on the principle, perhaps, that there is nothing so impressible as wax — began to think of instructing them. He had given them a few lessons in war which they were not likely to forget, and he now thought of introducing among their chiefs a tincture of polite letters, commencing of course with the alphabet.