A history of England from the landing of Julius Caesar to the present day

Front matter

AHISTORY 0

— eS.

H. 0. ARNOLD-FORSTER ~

Part Three, England Under English Kings, 1272—1485

XXIII. Edward I, and The Breaking of Wales.” 1272—1307 ; peeESS XXIV. Scotland . : 3 : : a LOW XXV. Edward Il. — The Making of Scotland.” 1307—1327 . ; ip 2OL XXVI. Edward II!.—‘‘ The Ruin of France.” 1327—1377 : 5 . 208 XXVII. Richard II]. 1377—1399. : : : F : : : «| B18 XXVIII. Henry lV. 1399—1413 . F : : ; : : yees XXIX. Henry V. 1413—1422 . 5 < : ; b gn XXX. Henry VI.—‘‘ The Freeing of France.” E422--1445' . 3 7, XXXI. York and Lancaster. 1445—1455 . ‘ Airgas ; : eS XXXII. Edward IV. 1455—1483 : : ; , ; : ; e250 XXXIII. The Invention of Printing ; Aieee Ts : ; : ; 254)

OxXAIV. “Edwatd V, and Richatd (Ml, 1485-1485. 92-289 x CONTENTS. ‘

Part Four

PAGE CHAE Note ; ; : , ; : s : , 267 XXXV. Henry VIL. 1485—1509 : : ; : : : 5 208 XXXVI. Henry VIII. and England at War. 1509-1547. : Teh fe 28S. XXXVII. The Great Cardinal and the King’s Divorce . > : : . 299 XXXVIII. The Protestant Reformation . : : : : : > 309 XXXIX. Henry as Head of the Church : 2 : : ; 2 315 XL. Edward VI. 1547—1553 : . : ‘ : ; i 5 G20 XLI. What the Reformation Mean: . : ; ‘ ; ; ; kaos XLII Mary. 4r553—1558. F : : ‘ : i 280) XLII. Elizabeth—Ihe Protestant Queen. "1558—1603 A 5 ; gly velete' XLIV. The Sorrowful History of Mary, Queen of Scots. Bote «. 369 XLV. Protestants and Roman Catholics Abroad and at Home. : oii: XLVI. The Story of the Great Armada ; : : : : i ee gOe XLVII. The Last Years of the Great Queen. ; : f : ; = (304 XLVII[. A New World and a New Age 5 F : ; ; : > 398 XLIX. Literature and Art in the Tudor Period . c : = 407. L, Parliament—Dress — Dwellings—Schools _The. Calendar, : PALS PART FIVE,

Note ; 429

LI. James Stuart, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 1603 - - 1625 439 LIL. Charles I—How the King angered the Parliament. 1625—1630 . 453

LIII. The King defies Parliament. 1630—1642 “ : : ; , 468 LIV. How Parliament punished the King. 1642—1649 . : , . 480 LV. The Commonwealth of England. AS : : . 494 LVI. Charles I]. 1660—1685 . 510

LVII. James IJ. and the End of Absoliite Monarchy in Bieeland: 1685—1688 530 LVI. William III. and Mary—The Revolution and Lm ted Monarchy.

1689 —1702 : ; 5 4 : . 542

LIX. Anne—The Last of the Stuarts. 1702—1714 . : : : - 557

LX. Constitutional History of the Stuart Period . . d : 872}

LXI. Literature in the Stuart Period. : é P ; ; ; 579

LXII. Writers of the Later Stuart Period . ; : ; . 589

LXIII. Science, Art, and Daily Life under the Stuarts. : d : » 594 PART SIX,

FROM THE ACCESSION OF THE HOUSE OF HANOVER TO THE FRESENT TIME. 1714—1897.

Note : ; : G : : : ’ : : , 5=60L LXIV. George I. 1714--1727 . : ; : , ‘ : 2 . 60x LXV. George Il. 1727—1760 . : : ; : ; joen LXVI. Clive, Wolfe, and Washington ‘ : : , . , 642 LXVII. George III. 1760-1820. ‘ ; : : , OSG. LXVIII. The Act of Union with Ireland. F : 3 ; 3 5. 2672: LXLX. ‘The French Revolution . : ‘ ; : : 3 7 07S LXX. The Great War with France, Part I. . : Ribose : mnoes: LXXI, The Great War with France, Part IT. . : : : 2-708 L_LXXII, George 1V. and William I1V.—The Great Peace, oe 5719 LXXIII, The Days of Queen Victoria. 1837-1852 . 727 LXXIV, The End of the Great Peace and the Story of our own Ti imes. 1852—1897 : : : ; é ; : : aes pes) LXXV. The Conquests of Peace . : : ; ; ; : 759 LXXVI. Steps on the Path of Freedom. 3 j : : ; OS {.XXVII, Literature and Art since 1734 . ; , : : : : 2787

EIST “OF ILLUSTRATIONS:

The ‘‘ Union Jack ”

Julius Czesar Saat : ; : :

Dover Cliffs: ‘‘The White Walls of England”

A ‘‘ Crown,” or Five-shilling Piece ;

Roman Soldiers (from Trajan’s Column)

A Briton and his Boat .

Stonehenge as it is

Stonehenge as it was

The Mistletoe Bough

Caractacus before the Emperor Claudine

The Roman Gateway at Lincoln .

A Roman Pavement

The Shortest Distance between ae Bone isa Str bight Line ‘The Old Roman Road across Salisbury Plain

Rochester Castle aud the Medway

Gregory ‘“‘ the Great”

Holy Island . : : The Interior of Durham Cathedral sLowing the Nor man Pillars ; A ‘‘ Northman ” ;

The ““Keels of the ae -

A Harp of the Ninth Century

The ‘‘ White Horse,” near Uffington

An Anglo-Saxon Ship .

Romsey Abbey 5

One of our English Wild Beasts — [ he Badger

St. Dunstan’s Church, Fleet Street, London.

One of our English Wild Beasts—The Weasel

The Murder of King Edward

The Death of Alphege .

‘“ Rose’ Window in yeoman Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Harold taken Prisoner on the Nor man Ce 1st

Norman and Saxon Arms

Norman Soldiers

A Vassal doing Homage to fe Loxd

Stone marking the Spot where William Rufus was ; Killed

Ancient Buttresses of Westminster Hall, now covered up. : a

Westminster Hall .

Planta Gentsta, a Sprig of ‘ Eriém: vy Harlech Casile

Canterbury Cathedral

The Cathedral of Sens .

PAGE Frontispiece xii List oF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Bishop and Barons in the, Time of the Normans .

A Bishop’s Court in Norman Times

King Henry’s Penance .

King Richard landing in Palestine

Runnymede .

The Judges entering an Dee Town

Bailifts breaking ‘‘Magna Charta”’

Queen Elizabeth in her ‘‘ Ruff”

The Barons asking Henry JII. to keep nis Pr omises Carnarvon Castle .

The Coronation Chair and ‘‘ ‘The Stone of Destiny” Stirling Castle at the Present Day

Bannockburn ; Bruce reviewing his Troops bees the Battle English Archer armed with the ‘‘ Long Bow”

Cannon of the Fifteenth Century .

Gunpowder puts the Weak and the Shou (o on Equal Sernis Richard II. (from the Portrait in Westminster Abbey) . Henry IV.

Joan of Arc (from the Statue din Paris)

Trial of Joan of Arc 5

A Rose from the Decorations of the Houces of Baden The Quarrel in the Temple Gardens

Caxton presenting his Book to Edward 1!V. Grom the MS. in | the ‘Libaty of

Lambeth Palace) ; Lines from a Book printed by Caxten ‘ : ‘Lower Case,” or Small Letters—‘‘ Upper Casa or Capitals The Crown in the Hawthirn Bush: a Tudor Emblem. Richard III. at the Battle of Bosworth .

A York and Lancaster Rose, Red and White on the same St alk .

Henry VII. ; : 6 : : The Tower of London . ‘ = Sword presented by Henry VII, to wae Loy Al City ot iueter

Henry’s Departure from the Earl of Oxford’s Castle at Hedingham

A ‘Rose Noble” of Henry VII. .

A Yeoman of the Guard Henry VII.’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey

Henry VIII. (from the Painting by Holbein, in the Boceen of the Earl oe

Warwick) Catharine of Aragon Twisel Bridge Cardinal Wolsey (from the Baines ey Holban): The Quadrangle of Christ Church College, Oxford Clement VII. (from the Painting by Titian) . History on a Penny Thomas Cromwell (from the ehagns a Holbein) Martin Luther (from the Picture by L. Cranach) , The Tune of ‘‘ Luther's Hymn” . . : Sir Thomas More (after the Picture by Heber) ; Anne of Cleves (from the Poitrait by Holbein)

List OF ILLUSTRATIONS, Xili

Sea Fight between Lord Howard and Sir Andrew Barton naae Edward VI, (from the Portrait by Holbein) . 328 The Block, the Headsman’s Axe and Mask . 330

Lady Jane Grey ‘i ; : ° ; : gos.

Lady Jane Grey on her Way, to the Scaffold . ; 3 ‘ 341

Queen Mary (from a Painting by Lucas D’Heere, in the accretion of the Sonia of Antiquaries)

A Shilling of Philip and Mary a Philip IT. : 4 : ° ; : : : 4 S40 The Martyrs’ Memorial, Oxford A 5 A : 5 : : ; : 15340 Archbishop Cranmer . : 4 5 3 5 : é j é : 2 Be The Market Place, Calais . , ( 5 4 ‘ ‘ 5 : ; » 355 Queen Elizabeth's Signature , f 2 : : 5 : . 360 Lord Burleigh (from a Painting by Mark Gaad : : : : : e302, Queen Elizabeth and her Couttiers : E 5 ; 2 3 5 : + .367 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots : ; : ; : , 6 : j 57 2U/e) John Knox , : ees : ; i 5 x . ; 5 eYAS Edinburgh at the Present Day 3 ; ; ; . e373 Henry IV. of France and Navarre (from a Paingne or Rubens) : ; 378 Queen Elizabeth (from Portrait by Zucchero, in possession of Marquis of Sane) 385 On the Watch: Lighting the Beacon . BaD eer cat Are 23880 The Armada coming up the Channel (from.an 1 Old Print) : ; ‘ : . 389 ‘©On the Rocks of Galway” : : : 5 : ‘ ‘ 20393 The Known. World before the Tudor Period : 5 : ' : ¢ = o97, The-Known World at the Close.of the Tudor Period . ! : : : . 399 Statue of Drake on Plymouth Hoe : a , : : 5 ; ; - 403 Some ‘‘ Things New and Old” . ; : , ‘ ‘ ; ; : . 405 Some.Famous Books of Tudor Times . ' - : : : ; ; . 408 Anne Hathaway's Cottage . 2 F ; : : : : . 4II Portrait of Raphael, by Pisacclt a ; 417 Portion of the Tomb of Lorenzo, Duke of oraieo! by Michael Angelo, in the Medicis Chapel, Florence. : : : ; i 2 ’ 2 418 A ‘Pointed’ Window. é : 5; 5 : , ; : ; : a AOR A ‘‘ Perpendicular’? Window E : : : : : 5 ; : ee! King’s College, Cambridge . é . q } Paes.

James I. (from the Mezzotint by J. Smith, after ee snare ; 0 : > 434 Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury (from the Portrait by Zucchero) . : - 437 The Arrest of Guy Fawkes . . ; j Bree] Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam (from the Pont ise Med concur F F e445 Sir Walter Raleigh (from the Portrait by Zucchero) . ; 4 ; ; - 447 Arms of the University of Oxford . 4 é é : : j 5 2 oes) Henrietta Maria . : : : 455 Charles I. (from the Mezontint by if Smith, after Van Dyck) : ; 456 George Villiers, Duke of sae oe the Portrait by Van Dyck ; AS) Archbishop Laud . 0 ; , . 463 The ‘‘Speaker ’’ held down in the eieie ; : F : : ; ; . 467 Puritans and Cavaliers . , : . 469 Thomas Wentworth. Earl of Strafford Gan the Boral by Wan. Dy ct : » 475

King Charles and Speaker Lenthall_. : ‘ j - 479

XIV Tist oF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Prince Rupert (from the Portrait ’ Van io Cavalier Soldiers . 3 .

John Hampden :

Statue of Falkland in the Hauses of Parliament

Roundhead Soldiers :

Siege-piece (Value ros, ) issued donne the Save a Golcnestee Siege-piece issued during the Siege of Newark

The Banqueting Hall, Whitehall . ;

Great Seal of the Commonwealth of England (Oprerse) Great Seal of the Commonwealth of England (Reverse) General Monk

“*General-at-Sea’”’ Blake (on the Paintiog) in Giese Hospi) Y Naval Flag of the Commonwealth ee from the Original at Chatham

Dockyard) Oliver Cromwell General Monk entering London

Charles IL. (from the Mezzotint by G. R. Willeamns, after Sir riGodheey Knee

The Landing of Charles II. at Dover

Ships of the Time of Charles IT.

Half-crown of Charles IT.

The Duke of Monmouth

James II. (after the Painting by Sir Godirey Knelien Monmouth before King James : ; The Seven Bishops entering the Tower .

William III,

The English Ships breaking the Boom at Derry

John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee (from the Pailting by Sir Pe ter

Lely) Queen Mary .

Queen Anne (from the Mezzotint by J. Smith, after Sir ‘Godfrey Kneller) : John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (from the Mezzotint by J. Smith, after Sir

Godfrey Kneller) Charge of Marlborough’s Horse at the Battle of Blenheini The Rock of Gibraltar from Algeciras .

Great Seal of Queen Anne (Obverse) Great Seal of Queen Anne (Reverse) John Milton (from the Miniature by Samuel Cooper) John Bunyan. ‘ A Page from an Early Newspaper Sir Isaac Newton St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by ‘Sir Christopher Wren -George I. : 5 : 5 Louis XIV. of Brace James Edward Stuart, ‘‘ The Old Pretender?

Buying and selling South Sea Shares (from the Panes nse Ee M. Ward, R, A, in the National alee George II, ; : Sir Robert Walpole

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

The House of Commons in 1742 2

Charles Edward Stuart, ‘‘ The Young Pretender ' :

Prince Charlie’s Vanguard at Manchester

Robert, Lord Clive (after the Portrait by Gainsborough) Major Washington planting the Union Jack on Fort Duquesne Major-General Wolfe (from a Painting by F. Turin)

William Pitt, Lord Chatham (from a eta! by R. Br rompton) ;

George III. in his Youth

Quebec, from the St, Lawrence

Edmund Burke : Throwing the Tea everboard in Boon Pato : Lord North .

William Pitt (after the Poetrait & Hoppner) Henry Grattan (after the Painting by J. Ramsay). The Bastille, Paris

Louis XVI. (after a Painting by Bor 1785).

Napoleon Buonaparte, First Consul (from a Drawing By L. David)

Mutineers threatening their Officers Three-deckers going into Action .

Admiral Lord Nelson (from the Painting by Sir villian Becchey) R, A. )

Nelson coming on Deck before the Battle of Trafalgar,

The Death of Nelson in the Cockpit of the Victory (from ‘the ieture by

A. W. Devis) Charles James Fox (after ihe Portrait oy Sir ie Reynotds) The Treaty of Tilsit : : t ; : 2 Cape Town .

Sir John Moore

The Retreat from Moscow (eons the Pure by Adclphe Wvon) :

Monument at Oxford to Commemorate the Peace of 1814

The Duke of Wellington (from the Portrait by Sir William Beechey, R. A. y Field-Marshal Blucher (from the Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence).

George IV.

William IV.

Lord Palmerston :

Queen Victoria (from the Painting by W. (Se Ross, A, R, A, ).

Albert, Prince Consort (from the Painting by W. C. Ross, A.R.A.) The Queen’s First Council (efter the Picture by Sir David Wilkie)

Sir Robert Peel (from the Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence) The Wellington Memorial in St, Paul’s Cathedral In the Trenches before Sebastopol

The Meeting of Sir Colin Campbell and Sir Plane, Haveloct at Tucktow. oom the Picture by Thomas J. Barker) .

Reading the Queen’s Proclamation, 1858 Some of the first Volunteers in 1860

Statue of William Edward Forster in Front of ‘ie eonden Echool Board General Gordon (from a Photograph of the Statue by Hamo Thorneycroft, RK. \., in Trafalgar Square)

Captain Cook (from the Original Bostvatt by nce in ‘the Gallery of CORES

Hospital)

PAGE

636 646

XV1 List OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE The Comet . F : : j é ; : i : : : 4 TTT: The ‘‘ Rocket”. : : : : 3 : : : : ; ; seth A Great Northern Engine. ‘ : : : : : : s ; PAS George Stephenson 5 : . ~ 780 Dr. Samuel Johnson (after the Portrait Dy. Sir Joshua Reynolds), : ; : . 788 William Hogarth (from the Print by Himself) . ; F : 4 : ~-790 Statue of Goldsmith, Dublin . 5 J : : ; 5 ° A =~ 1792 Burke’s Statue, Dublin ; : 5 : 752 Lord Byron, 1814 (from the Portrait by: T. Phillips, R, A. xe 796 Robert Burns (from the Portrait by Alexander Nasmyth in the National Gallery, Edinburgh) . ‘ : : . 798 Sir Walter Scott (after the Portrait by Sir Henity Bacharayi : ; ¥ - 799 MAPS :— The Empire of the Romans . 3

Map of England showing the Bee between the Satoeo and the Batons a 83

The English Kingdoms i : 5 i : : A : ony: The Principal Provinces of France : : 5 ; ° ; : eared Map showing the British Districts in Beciand : 3 3 Sens = O2 The English Dominions in France in the Time of Henry Vv. : : . 234 Map showing Brittany and the Northern and Western Coasts of France. = 205 Ireland, showing the Province of Ulster - . : : : - 452 Map of Central Europe at the Close of the Seven rose rs’ War 5 : : . 639 India . - 9 , 3 , 2645 Map of Eastern Canatie and the Gulf of St. iagrencss z : . : . 652 The United States in 1783. 3 : : : : : f : : . 668 North America. a ' ; : 5 ; * : : : . 669 GENEALOGICAL TABLES :— From William I. to Henry VII. . 2 < ‘ f : 5 é } . 266 Family of Henry VII, . Ree Eel Te Lore Rlg ay Descent of the Crown from Feary) VIL. #6 Tames L ; : ‘ ‘ : 2 4g2 Descent of the Crown from James I. to Victoria . : 449

Descent of the Crown fromHenry VIL. to Queen Victoria Cae ee A 266) 803

SCROLL, divided into Centuries, showing Leading Events in each Hundred Years from 55 B.C, to A.D. 1897. : ; 4 ; : ‘ . Facing p. 104

LIST OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF ENGLAND :— The Chief Kings of the Heptarchy ; and the Sovereigns from Egbert to Victoria. 804

A mot ORN Or ENGLAND.

Part One. From The Roman To The Norman. 55 B.c.-a.d. 1066

NOTE,

The first part of this book contains a short account of the early history of our country. As will be seen from the dates given above, it covers a great period of time—

_more than eleven centuries. It is very important to bear this fact in mind. In this book, and indeed in every flistory of England great or small, the space which is given up to describing the events which took place between the landing of the Normans in 1066 and our own time is much larger than that which is given up to a description of the eleven centuries which went before. Lt is natural that this should be so, because the later we come down in history the more numerous are the records from which we learn what took place. We have much greater knowledge of what occurred in the reign of Queen Elizabeth than we have of what took place in the time of Egbert or Alfred. But it must not be supposed that because we have comparatively little knowledge of what took place in England a thousand or fifleen hundred years ago, the events of those days are without importance, or fail to have their effect in forming the character of the English people as they now are. If we look at the chart which appears at page 104 we shall see at a glance what is the true proportion in the two periods of English history of which we have been speaking, and we shall learn to remember that eleven centuries passed between the day when Fulius Cesar landed at Deal, and

B

2 : HsTory¥ oF ENGLAND.

that on which William the Conqueror landed at Hastings ; while, from the time of the Norman landing to the days of Queen Victoria is less than nine centuries.

The great points on which we should fix our attention in reading the history of this period may be shortly put thus :— :

Ture RoMAN CONQUEST, which throws the first light upon our island, and which gives us some knowledge of the Britons who then inhabited i.

Tue. GREAT ANGLO-SAXON, OR ENGLISH INVASION, which laid the foundation of our people and of our language.

THE CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY.

Tue STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES, which helped to unite the English people under one head.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST, which gave the nation discipline, strength, and law.

CHAPTER TI.

THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 55 B.C.-A.D. 436. ’

FAMOUS PERSONS WHO LIVED DURING THE TIME OF THE ROMAN (OCCUPATION (OF> BRIG AIN.

Julius Cesar, b. 100 B.c., assassinated 448.c. | Constantine the Great, b. 274, d. 337. Pompey the Great, b. 106 B.c., d. 48 B.C. Cassivelaunus. Mark Antony, b. 83 B.c., d. 30 B.c. Caractacus taken prisoner, 51. Augustus daa first Roman Emperor, re ete Queen of the Iceni, d. 62. WOZIB.G1d. ALD: Ay uetonius, a Roman general.

JESUS CHRIST. Virgil, the great Roman poet, b. 70 B.C, Tiberius Cesar, Emperor, b. 42 B.c., d. | : d. 19 B.C.

j A.D 37. | Caius Cornelius Tacitus, the Roman Titus, Emperor, b, A.D. 4o, d. Sr. | writer, b. 55, d. about 130. Hadrian, Emperor, b. a.p. 76, d. 138. St. Alban, Martyr, d. 304. Severus, Emperor, b. 146, d. 211. Alaric, King of the Goths,

PRINCIPAL EVENTS DURING THE ROMAN OCCUPATION OF

BRITAIN.

55 B.C. Invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar, 70 Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. BA BAG? Second Invasion of Britain by 12t Hadrian’s wall built, ~

Cesar, } 211 Wall of Severus built. . t ANNUS bomint. The Birth of Curis, 304 Death of St. Alban. A.D. 43 . Claudius sends an army to Britain. 316 Constantine, first Christian Emperot. 47 Vespasian conquers Britain. 402 to 436 Withdrawal of the Romans from 5x Caractacus taken prisoner, Britain. 62 Death of Boadicea, 410 Alaric besieges and takes the City of

Rome,

0& OL W)

ap wanyeg: MUNVIFULS

NY Tass fo}

A History or Eweranp.

** Britannia.”

“BRITAIN, the best of islands, is situated in the Western Ocean, between France and Ireland . . . it produces everything that is useful to man. with a plenty that never fails.” —Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Chronicle (1140).

Firty-FIvE years before the birth of Christ, Julius Cesar, at the head of a Roman army, landed on the shores of England. It is on that day that the history | of England begins.

Long before the coming of Cesar, menand women had lived and died, and worked and fought, in the land which we now call England. But of their sayings and doings we have no record; no _shistorian has told us of their fortunes, and for all that we know of them, they

JULIUS CESAR. might never have existed.

Suddenly a great ray of light was thrown upon what betore was darkness. Not only did Julius Cesar land upon the shores of our country, but he wrote down in words which may be read at this day the story of the strange new people he had found, and a description of the far-off country in which they lived. And thus it is true to say that the History of England begins with the landing of Julius Cesar, fifty-five years before the birth of Christ.

‘ “ BRITANNIA,” Be 5

It is now! one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five years since the landing took place. At that time there was but one great Empire in the world, and one great people who ruled half Europe and vast possessions in Africa. This was the great Roman people, whose chief city was Rome, in Italy, and whose language was the Latin tongue in which Julius Cesar wrote.

News had already come to the Romans that there existed, far away in the Northern seas, an island, or a number of islands, which had never been conquered by the Roman arms. Traders from the Mediterranean sailing up the coast of Spain, and of that country. which we now know as France, but which was then called Gallia, or Gaul, had found land far out in the Atlantic, and landing, had discovered rich deposits of tin which they had worked and brought back to Italy. But the stories of adventurous sailors and merchants were soon to be replaced by a much closer acquaintance. Towards the middle of the last century before Christ, a great man, the greatest of all the Romans, had been appointed to the command of the armies in the Roman province of Gaul.?

This great man was Julius Cesar. Not content with defending the Roman provinces, he carried war into the whole country of the Gauls. Step by step he came nearer to the northern coast, until at length the Roman camps looked down upon the narrow waters which divide France from England. It is only twenty-two miles from Calais to Dover, and from the coast the Roman soldiers must have seen as clearly as we can at the present day the great white cliffs of an ‘‘unvisited land,” standing high out of the water to the north.

Already they had given a name to this country, and they knew it to be anisland. A great Roman writer who lived in Cesar’s day, speaks of Britain separated by almost the entire world.’ And the name which the Romans gave to our land we know and are proud to own at the present. day. “Britannia rules the waves.” Our Queen is Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and the coins with which we do the business of our daily lives still bear upon them the Latin inscription and the name by which Cesar called our country.*

2 Gallia, or Gaul, was divided into two parts: Gallia Cis-Alpina, or “Gaul this side of the Alps,” and which included that part of North Italy which is now known as Piedmont ; and Gallia Trans-Alpina, or ‘‘ Gaul beyond the Alps,”’ which is now the French district of Provence.

4 The words ‘‘ Britt: Regina” on the five-shilling piece (see p. 7) are short for “ Britanniarum Regina” or, Queen of Britain. The words written round the five-shilling piece in the picture, stand for “Victoria Dei gratia Britanniarum Regina Fidei Defensor Indiarum Imperatrix.” The meaning of which is ‘‘ Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India.”

6 ’ HisToryY oF ENGLAND.

The Landing of the Romans.

“But Rome! ’Tis thine alone with awful sway To rule mankind, and make the world obey, Disposing peace and war thy own majestic way ; To tame the proud, the fettered slave to free ;— These are imperial arts, and worthy thee.”

From Virgil’s ZEneid, Book VI., translated by Dryden.

Cesar was not the man to leave this new country unexplored and unconquered. In the year 55 B.c. he collected eighty ships and 12,000

OMAN OSX) SN N SS

Y/Y Yjildi/ utd ARE = = = MGA Q A A AEE a =

DOVER CLIFFS; ‘‘THE WHITE WALLS OF ENGLAND,”

men upon the other side of the Channel, close to the place where the town of Calais now stands.

A few hours’ sailing and rowing brought the fleet to the foot of the “ White Cliffs,” but on the shore were to be seen a large number of

THE LANDING oF THE Romans, 7 the Britons who had come down to oppose the landing. The Romans were disappointed, for they hoped they would have taken the Britons by surprise. and they took their ships farther along the coast, until they came to the place where the town of Deal now stands.

have to sail away once more, but at this moment a brave Roman soldier came forward. This soldier was the standard-bearer of the Romans. Each regiment in our own army has a flag, which is carried with the regiment, and of which all the soldiers are proud. The Roman regiments were called /egions, and each legion, instead of a flag had a standard, on the top of which was the figure of an eagle, made in gold or brass.

The standard-bearer, when he saw that the soldiers who were with him in the ship were afraid to land, seized the ‘‘eagle”’ of the legion in his hand, and jumped into the water. ‘‘ Follow me, my comrades,” cried he, ‘if you would not see your eagle taken by the enemy. If I die, I shall have done my duty to Rome and to my General.” When the Roman soldiers saw this brave act, they, too, threw themselves into it seemed as if they would

They feared to land,

There they made up their minds that they would land; but they found that the water was not deep enough to allow their ships to get to the shore Here, too, were large numbers of Britons, who were ready to : fight them as soon A “CROWN,’ OR FIVE-SHILLING as they got to land.

eer. At first i , oA CERRY

"ROMAN SOLDIERS. (Front Trajan’s column.)

the water, and though it was deep they waded to the land. The Britons fought courageously against the newcomers, but the discipline and military training of the Roman soldiers prevailed, and the Roman troops disembarked with safety.

In less than three weeks, however, they were compelled to return to Gaul, and it was not till the summer of the next year (54 B.c.) that Cesar returned with a large army to complete his conquest. This time the resistance he met with was serious. The Britons had haditime to collect a large army, and under a chief of the name of Cassivelaunus were able for some time to hold the Romans at bay. The Britons fought in a way to which the Romans were not accustomed. They went into battle driving at full speed in chariots. To the wooden wheels of the chariots, scythes or sharp blades were fastened ; and as long as the chariot was moving fast the sharp blades on the wheels cut down those who came near it.