Charles Dickens: A Child's History of England

Introduction

Dickens first mentions his intention of ‘writing a little history of England for my boy’—his eldest son Charles, then aged six —in a letter to Douglas Jerrold of 3 May 1843, in which he congratulates Jerrold on an historical article in the Illuminated Magazine, and adds : ‘I don’t know what I should do tf he were to get hold of any Conservative or High Church notions.’ He refers to the project again when writing to Miss Coutts in August 1843, and emphasizes his desire that Charley ‘may have tenderhearted notions of War and Murder, and may not fix his affections on wrong heroes, or see the bright side of Glory’s sword and know nothing of the rusty one...’.

The idea did not take active shape until 1850, when Dickens began to edit a new weekly journal, Household Words. The spirit of the age was didactic; the Great Exhibition, with its strong educational pre-occupation, influenced patriotic minds long before its opening in May 1851. When A Child’s History of England began to appear in Household Words in January of that year, few can have doubted that this was a sound journalistic decision.

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There was every reason, moreover, for Bradbury and Evans, his new publishers, to be interested in publishing Dickens’s history in book form. The demand for informative children’s books increased yearly. Peter Parley, Felix Summerly, and ’ J. O. Halliwell were to be found in every nursery and schoolroom; while two highly successful histories ‘for the use of young people’ adorned Mr. Murray’s list—Mrs. Markham’s famous History of England, and Little Arthur’s History of. England by Lady Callcott, which was overtaking it in popularity. ‘Lady Callcott’s style is of the right kind’, the Examiner had said, ‘earnest and simple’. Dickens did not disdain such qualities, but by preference he was masculine and radical ; he prepared to try conclusions with the mild gentility of-these ladies.

The history appeared regularly in Household Words throughout 1851, 1852, and 1853, being forwarded by instalments to W. H. Wills, Dickens’s sub-editor, as and when Dickens found time to produce them. ‘I send the “History of England’ —with a very preity bit im it, describing the drowning of the son of Henry the First’, he wrote from Broadstairs during the summer of 1851. ‘I don’t think I can finish the “Child’s History” in one morning’, was a comment in December 1852, ‘for I have got my favourite ruffian Henry the Eighth to deal with’. And when the sheets of the last volume in book form were coming from the printer in October 1853—for the three original volumes were published at yearly intervals—Dickens asked Wills to insert a reference to James I’s treatise on witches, ‘in whom he was (as such a wrong-headed Dolt ought to have been) a strong believer’. This failing of King James had already been noticed by Dickens in ‘Mr. Pickwick’s Tale’ in Master Humphrey’s Clock. F

Dickens’s attitude to his history was not flippant, as these remarks to Wills might suggest, though its composition was only a side-line for him during a period which saw the conclusion of David Copperfield and the writing of Bleak House, while the general pressure of his editorship continued. The greater part of the Child’s History was dictated to his sisterin-law, Georgina Hogarth, but he wrote long passages in his own hand. There is autograph manuscript, heavily corrected,

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INTRODUCTION in the Victoria and Albert Museum for Chapters II and III, for Chapter IX, and for Chapter X down to the death of Robert of Normandy. It is satisfying to find Dickens giving his full personal attention to that great Victorian hero, King Alfred, whose thousandth birthday celebrations in 1849 had been organized so zealously by Martin Tupper at Wantage, where an ox had been roasted ‘by the aid of Mr. Charles Hart’s Steam Engine’ and ‘the polka and waltz were kept up till a late hour’. Nowhere in this book does Dickens better reflect an enlightened Victorian view of history than in what he writes of Alfred:

I pause to think with admiration, of the noble king who, in his single person, possessed all the Saxon virtues. Whom misfortune could not subdue, whom prosperity could not spoil, whose perseverance nothing could shake. Who was hopeful in defeat, and generous in success. Who loved justice, freedom, truth, and knowledge. Who, in his care to instruct his people, probably did more to preserve the beautiful old Saxon language, than I can imagine. Without whom, the English tongue, in which I tell this story might have wanted half its meaning. As it is said that his spirit still inspires some of our best English laws, so, let you and I pray that it may animate our English hearts, at least to this—to resolve, when we see any of our fellow-creatures left in ignorance, that we will do our best, while life is in us, to have them taught... .

Elsewhere there is much that is deplorable to modern eyes in A Child’s History of England. Unlike Scott or Thackeray, Dickens had no patience with history as such, and deeply mistrusted ‘the good old days’. He made no claims to be a dispassionate historian ; there was little allowance for changed circumstances ; Dickens saw everything in black and white (mostly in black). Chivalrously concerned for Joan of Arc or Lady Jane Grey, he regarded Henry VIII as ‘a blot of blood and grease upon the History of England’ and said that ‘Bloody Queen Mary would ‘ever be justly remembered with horror and detestation’ ; James I (‘His Sowship’ ) was ‘like the Plague, and everybody receives infection from him’. Much of this ‘cockney History of England’ (as William Allingham called it) is as crude in its humour as in its violence, and at times recalls the anti-clericalism of Victorian Punch. For Swinburne its ‘cheapjack radicalism’ made it the ‘only one book which I

IX cannot but regret that Dickens should have written’. It is not the history that Lewis Carroll would have chosen for Alice. When all this has been said, there is something to be added. It would be a mistake to regard A Child’s History as typical of the Victorian approach to schoolroom history—Mrs. Markham, Lady Callcott, or Charles Knight (whose illustrated history began publication in 1856) are much more typical. As a Dickens manifesto, however, it is highly significant. Frankly, wt ts a boy’s book, founded on a strong sense of social justice. with nothing of Little Lord Fauntleroy about it and with no cosy diologues beginning ‘Pray, mamma, do tell us’. There are, certainly, a number of passages, especially in the first half of the book, where Dickens is ready to reassure his young audience —as when, after describing some disagreeable habits of the Druids, he thoughtfully adds : ‘It 1s pleasant to think that there are no Druids, now ... and of course there is nothing of the kind, anywhere.’ Nevertheless, as the book went on, the children at Dickens’s knee were given an unsparing picture of prolonged wickedness in high places, exposed with lurid detail and much rough sarcasm. The justification for the book, if it can be justified, must be that, speaking generally, Dickens’s moral values were true and lasting. G.K. Chesterton believed that the ‘mere common-sense of Dickens’ gave ‘a plainer and therefore truer picture of the mass of history than the mystical perversity of a man of genius writing only out of his own temperament, like Carlyle or Taine.... This black-and-white history of heroes and villains ; this history full of pugnacious ethics and of nothing else, is the right kind of history for children.’ A debatable verdict ; for some of the children may be put off the study of history altogether, and if ever a history book was written out of an author's own temperament, surely this one was? Dickens says of Cromwell, ‘The whole country lamented his death’ ; he does not quote Evelyn’s remark that at Cromwell’s funeral ‘there were none that cried but dogs’. Yet, despite his ignorance and his prejudices, on the whole Dickens’s emphasis was sound. His heart was in the right place. He revived his horrors only to condemn them. His narrative was vigorous and purposeful. He made English history, in parts, read rather like x

INTRODUCTION one of Fitzball’s melodramas at Astley’s, but there was still genius in his limelight.

Dickens undertook no original research. John Lingard may have been one of his sources, but he seems to have relied largely for his facts on Thomas Keightley’s three-volume History of England (1839). In his own copy of Keightley many passages are marked, comparisons between the two books sometimes suggesting a cautious paraphrase, though where Keightley gave him promising romantic material Dickens would often briskly elaborate it with dramatic gusto. Neither his own enthusiasm nor the sales of Household Words encouraged him to take the account beyond 1688, however. In the autumn of 1853 he rapidly rounded it off, saluted Queen Victoria, and departed for a holiday in Italy with Wilkie Collins and Augustus Egg.

The Child’s History was dedicated by Dickens ‘To My Own Dear Children whom I hope it may help, by and by, to read with interest larger and better books on the same subject.’ Better books? Well, yes. But this, whether we like it or not,is Dickens’s book.

TABLE OF THE REIGNS

BEGINNING WITH Kine ALFRED THE GREAT

THE SAXONS

The Reign of Alfred the Great . . beganin 871 . endedin 901 The Reign of Edward the Elder + beganin 901 . endedin 925 eres

The Reign of Athelstan . began in 925 ended in 941 The Reigns of the Six Boy-Kings began in 941 ended in 1016 and lasted 30 years. and lasted 24 years. and lasted 16 years. and lasted 75 years.

THE DANES, AND THE RESTORED SAXONS

The Reign of Can’ . beganin1016 . ended in 1035 The Reign of Harold Harefoot . e . beganin1035 . endedin 1040 . The Reign of Hardicanute . .« beganin1040 . endedin1042 .

The Reign of Edward the Confessor . beganin 1042 . endedin 1066 .

and lasted 19 years. and lasted 5 years. and lasted 2 years, and lasted 24 years.

The Reign of Harold the een =o the Norman Conquest, were also within e year 1066.

THE NORMANS

The Reign of William the First, ‘. :

called the Conqueror. began in 1066 . endedin1087 . Te tates a, Wile See Seconds} began in 1087 . endedin 1100 . foo Soar eto Henry the First, called} hogan in 1100 . ended in 1135.

holar The Reig Reigns of Matilda and Stephen . begar.in 1135 . ended in 1154

THE PLANTAGENETS

The Reign of Henry the Second . beganin1154 , endedin1189 . The Reign of Richard the so ‘

called the Lion-Heart began in 1189 . endedin1199 . The Reign of John, called “Lackland - beganin 1199 . endedin1216 ,. The Reign of Henry the Third . . beganin1216 . endedin1272 . The Reign of Edward the First, ‘

called Longshanks : } began in 1272 . endedin1307 .

The Reign of Edward the ‘Second began in 1307 , endedin1327 . The Reign of Edward the Third . beganin1327 , endedin1377 . The Reign of Richard the Second . beganin1377 . endedin 1399 . The of Henry the a *t began in 1399 . endedini4i3 .

called Bolingbroke .

and lasted 35 years.

and lasted 20 years. and lasted 60 years. and lasted 22 years.

and lasted 14 years,

TABLE OF THE REIGNS

THE PLANTAGENETS—(Continued)

The Reign of Henry the Fifth . . beganin 1413 . ended in 1422 The Reign of Henry the Sixth . - beganin 1422 , ended in 1461 The Reign of Edward the Fourth . beganin 1461 . ended in 1483

The Reign of Edward the Fifth . began in 1483 . ended in 1483

The Reign of Richard the Third . beganin1483 . ended in 1485 THE TUDORS

The Reign of Henry the Seventh . began in 1485 ended in 1509

The Reign of Henry the Eighth The Reign of Edward the Sixth The Reign of Mary . ° ° The Reign of Elizabeth . S began in 1509 . ended in 1547 began in 1547. ended in 1553 began in 1553 . ended in 1558 began in 1558 . ended in 1603

THE STUARTS

The Reign of James the First . + beganin 1603 . ended in 1625 The Reign of Charles the First . - beganin1625 . ended in 1649

THE COMMONWEALTH |

The Council of State and Government by Parliament .

} began in 1649 . ended in 1653 Te © iareeapole a of Oliver Crom-

} began in 1653 . ended in 1658

The. Tipehcisrate ‘of Richard Crom- began in 1658 . ended in 1659 well.

Te Counel of Stat ‘and Govern} resumed in 1659 ended in 1660

THE STUARTS RESTORED

The Reign of Charles the Second . began in 1660 . ended in 1685 The Reign of James the Second » began in 1685 . ended in 1688 and lasted 9 years. and lasted 39 years. and lasted 22 years.

: ee lasted a few weeks. and lasted 2 years.

and lasted 24 years. and lasted 38 years. and lasted 6 years. and lasted 5 years. and lasted 45 years.

and lasted 4 years. and lasted 5 years. and lasted 7 months.

“3 te lasted thirteen months.

THE REVOLUTION.—1688 (Comprised in the concluding chapter.)

ar Ree Sg og aa tenis: began in 1689 . ended in 1695 The olen of William I. % ended in 1702 began in 1702 began in 1714

The Reign of Anne . . ° ; e ended in 1714 The Reign of George the First . . « ended in 1727 The Reign of George the Second . beganin1727 . ended in 1760 The Reign of George the Third « beganin1760 . ended in 1820 The Reign of George the Fourth « beganin 1820 . ended in 1830 The Reign of William the Fourth . beganin 1830 . ended in 1837 The Reign of Victoria. . - began in 1837.

oe v0 .« and lasted 6 years.

and lasted 13 years, and lasted 12 years. and lasted 13 years. and lasted 33 years. and lasted 60 years. and lasted 10 years, and lasted 7 years.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, AND TABLE OF

CHAPTER I ANCIENT ENGLAND AND THE ROMANS. From 50 years before Christ, to the year of our Lord 450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER II ANCIENT ENGLAND UNDER THE EARLY SAXONS. From the year 450, to the year 871 . “ . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER II ENGLAND UNDER THE GOOD SAXON ALFRED, AND EDWARD THE ELDER. From the year 871, tothe year901 . . . . . . ° ° ° ; CHAPTER IV

ENGLAND UNDER ATHELSTAN AND THE SIX BOY-KINGS. From the year 925, to the year 1016 ‘ ° . . . s . . é . .

CHAPTER V ENGLAND UNDER CANUTE THE DANE. From the year 1016, to the year 1035 .

CHAPTER VI

ENGLAND UNDER HAROLD HAREFOOT, HARDICANUTE, AND EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. From the year 1035, to the year 1066 . ° . . °

CHAPTER VII ENGLAND UNDER HAROLD THE SECOND, AND CONQUERED BY THE “NORMANS. Allin the same year, 1066 . ° « . . . ° . . CHAPTER VIII

ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE FIRST, THE NORMAN CONQUEROR. From the year 1066, to the year 1087 . . . ry . . . . . . °

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, AND CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX

ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE SECOND, CALLED RUFUS. From the a 1087, to the year 1100 . . . . . . . . °

CHAPTER X ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE FIRST, CALLED FINE-SCHOLAR. From the year 1100, to the year 1135 . . . ° . . . ° ° ° ° CHAPTER XI

ENGLAND UNDER MATILDA AND STEPHEN. From the year 1135, to the year A2Ga ee cael vec ns 5 é a ‘ rs ; 2

CHAPTER XII Parts First and Second.

ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE SECOND. From the year 1154, tothe year1189 .

CHAPTER XIII

ENGLAND UNDER RICHARD THE FIRST, CALLED THE LION-HEART. From the year 1189, to the year 1199 . ° ° ° . . . . . e

CHAPTER XIV

ENGLAND UNDER JOHN, CALLED LACKLAND. From the year 1199, to the year TAG ges hee AS se ese es beast Ue be rh Ness

CHAPTER XV ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE THIRD, From the year 1216, to the year 1272.

CHAPTER XVI

ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE FIRST, CALLED LONGSHANKS. From the year 1272, to the year 1307 . . 2 . . . ° . . . .

CHAPTER XVII ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE SECOND. From the year 1307, to the year 1327 .

CHAPTER XVIII ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE THIRD. From the year 1327, to the year 1377.

CHAPTER XIX ENGLAND UNDER RICHARD THE SECOND. From the year 1377, to the year 1399 .

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, AND CONTENTS

, CHAPTER XX

ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE FOURTH, CALLED BOLINGBROKE, From the ie SAGE es Si web SAE ee ene et i en eh se

CHAPTER XXI Parts First and Second.

ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE FIFTH. From the year 1413, to the year 1422 . 214

CHAPTER XXII

Parts First, Second (The Story of Joan of Arc), and Third. ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE SIXTH. From the year 1422, to the year 1461 » 226

CHAPTER XXIII ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE FOURTH. From the year 1461, to the year 1483. 248

CHAPTER XXIV ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE FIFTH. Fora few weeks in the year 1483 . « <o67

CHAPTER XXV ENGLAND UNDER RICHARD THE THIRD. From the year 1483. to the year 1485 . 263

CHAPTER XXYVI ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE SEVENTH. From the year 1485, to the year 1509. 269

CHAPTER XXVII ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE EIGHTH, CALLED BLUFF KING HAL AND

BURLY KING HARRY. From the year 1509, to the year 1533 4 < » 281 CHAPTER XXVIII

ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE EIGHTH, CALLED BLUFF KING HAL AND BURLY KING HARRY. From the year 1533, to the year 1547 , ° . - 295

CHAPTER XXIX ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE SIXTH. From the year 1547, to the year 1553 . 307

CHAPTER XXX ENGLAND UNDER MARY. From the year 1553, to the year 1558. ° . ~ $816

CHAPTER XXXI Parts First, Second, and Third.

ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH. From the year 1558, to the year 1603. "Sg OOL

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, AND CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXXII Parts First and Second.

ENGLAND UNDER JAMES THE FIRST. From the year 1603, to the year 1625. “. 359

CHAPTER XXXIII Parts First, Second, Third,and Fourth. ENGLAND UNDER CHARLES THE FIRST. From the year 1625, to the year 1649 . 373

CHAPTER XXXIV Parts First and Second.

ENGLAND UNDER OLIVER CROMWELL. From the year 1649, to the year 1660 . 411

CHAPTER XXXV é Parts First and Second.

ENGLAND UNDER CHARLES THE SECOND, CALLED THE MERRY MONARCH. From the year 1660, to the year 1685 . ° e 5 ° ° ° ° ‘ « 430

CHAPTER XXXVI ENGLAND UNDER JAMES THE SECOND. From the year 1685, to the year 1688 . 455

CHAPTER XXXVII CONCLUSION. From the year 1688, to the year 1837. ° ° A ° . . 471

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Dcxz Rosert or NoRMANDY .. ; : a Se A <7 100 Joan oF ARc P - s . ‘ ~ y ; z= - 228 CaTHERINE Wa4S OLD, sO HE FELL IN LOVE wiTH ANNE BoLEyn 290

Mary Queen or Scors READING THE DEATH WARRANT . - 350 chara Ba: R

More ae ae Fe tae

Chapter I Ancient England And The Romans

Ir you look at a Map of the World, you will see, in the lefthand upper corner of the Eastern Hemisphere, two Islands lying in the sea. They are England and Scotland, and Ireland. England and Scotland form the greater part of these Islands. Ireland is the next in size. The little neighbouring islands, which are so small upon the Map as to be mere dots, are chiefly little bits of Scotland,—broken off, I dare say, in the course of a great length of time, by the power of tlie restless water.

In the old days, a long, long while ago, before Our Saviour was born on earth and lay asleep in a manger, these Islands were in the same place, and the stormy sea roared round them, just as it roars now. But the sea was not alive, then, with great ships and brave sailors, sailing to and from all parts of the world. It was very lonely. The Islands lay solitary, in the great expanse of water. The foaming waves dashed against their cliffs, and the bleak winds blew over their forests ; but the winds and waves brought no adventurers to land upon the Islands, and the savage Islanders knew nothing of the rest of the world, and the rest of the world knew nothing of them.

It is supposed that the Phenicians, who were an ancient people, famous for carrying on trade, came in ships to these Islands, and found that they produced tin and lead; both very useful things, as you know, and both produced to this very hour upon the sea-coast. The most celebrated tin mines in Cornwall are, still, close to the sea. One of them, which I have seen, is so close to it that it is hollowed out underneath the ocean; and the miners say, that in stormy weather, when they are at work down in that deep place, they can hear the noise of the waves thundering above their heads. So, the Pheenicians, coasting about the Islands, would come, without much difficulty, to where the tin and lead were.

The Phcenicians traded with the Islanders for these metals, and gave the Islanders some other useful things in exchange. The Islanders were, at first, poor savages, going almost naked, or only dressed in the rough skins of beasts, and staining their bodies, as other savages do, with coloured earths and the juices of plants. But the Pheenicians, sailing over to the opposite coasts of France and Belgium, and saying to the people there, ‘We have been to those white cliffs across the water, which you can see in fine weather, and from that country, which is called Brrrar, we bring this tin and lead,” tempted some of the French and Belgians to come over also. These people settled themselves on the south coast of England, which is now called Kent; and, although they were a rough people too, they taught the savage Britons some useful arts, and improved that part of the Islands. It is probable that other people came over from Spain to Ireland, and settled there. :

Thus, by little and little, strangers became mixed with th Islanders, and the savage Britons grew into a wild, bold people; almost savage, still, especially in the interior of the country away from the sea where the foreign settlers seldom went; but hardy, brave, and strong.

The whole country was covered with forests, and swamps. The greater part of it was very misty and cold. ‘There were no roads, no bridges, no streets, no houses that you would think: deserving of the name. A town was nothing but a collection of straw-covered huts, hidden in a thick wood, with a ditch all round, and a low wall, made of mud, or the trunks of trees placed one upon another. The people planted little or no corn, but lived upon the flesh of their flocks and cattle. They made no coins, but used metal rings for money. They were clever in basket-work, as savage people often are; and they could make a coarse kind of cloth, and some very bad earthenware. But in building fortresses they were much more clever.

They made boats of basket-work, covered with the skins of animals, but seldom, if ever, ventured far from the shore. They made swords, of copper mixed with tin; but, these swords were of an awkward shape, and so soft that a heavy blow would bend one. They made light shields, short pointed daggers, and spears—which they jerked back after they had thrown them at an enemy, by a long strip of leather fastened to the stem. The butt-end was a rattle, to frighten an enemy’s horse. The ancient Britons, being divided into as many as thirty or forty tribes, each commanded by its own little king, were constantly fighting with one another, as savage people usually do; and they always fought with these weapons.

They were very fond of horses. The standard of Kent was the picture of a white horse. They could break them in and manage them wonderfully well. Indeed, the horses (of which they had an abundance, though they were rather small) were so well taught in those days, that they can scarcely be said to have improved since; though the men are so much wiser. They understood, and obeyed, every word of command ; and would stand still by themselves, in all the din and noise of battle, while their masters went to fight on foot. The Britons could not have succeeded in their most remarkable art, without the aid of these sensible and trusty animals. The art I mean, is the construction and management of warchariots or cars, for which they have ever been celebrated in history. Each of the best sort of these chariots, not quite breast high in front, and open at the back, contained one man to drive, and two or three others to fight—all standing up. The horses who drew them were so well trained, that they would tear, at full gallop, over the most stony ways, and even through the woods; dashing down their masters’ enemies beneath their hoofs, and cutting them to pieces with the blades of swords, or scythes, which were fastened to the wheels, and stretched out beyond the car on each side, for that cruel purpose. In a moment, while at full speed, the horses would stop, at the driver’s command. ‘The men within would leap out, deal blows about them with their swords like hail, leap on the horses, on the pole, spring back into the chariots anyhow ; and, as soon as they were safe, the horses tore away again.

The Britons had a strange and terrible Rlicon, called the Religion of the Druids. It seems to have been brought over, in very early times indeed, from the opposite country of France, anciently called Gaul, and to have mixed up the worship of the Serpent, and of the Sun and Moon, with the worship of some of the Heathen Gods and Goddesses. Most of its ceremonies were kept secret by the priests, the Druids, who pretended to be enchanters, and who carried magicians’ wands, and wore, each of them, about his neck, what he told the ignorant people was a Serpent’s egg in a golden case. But it is certain that the Druidical ceremonies included the sacrifice of human victims, the torture of some suspected criminals, and, on particular occasions, even the burning alive, in immense wicker cages, of a number of men and animals together. The Druid Priests had some kind of veneration for the Oak, and for the mistletoe—the same plant that we hang up in houses at Christmas Time now— when its white berries grew upon the Oak. They met together in dark woods, which they called Sacred Groves; and there they instructed, in their mysterious arts, young men who came to them as pupils, and who sometimes stayed with ‘them as long as twenty years.

These Druids built great Temples and altars, open to the sky, fragments of some of which are yet remaining. Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, is the most extraordinary of these. Three curious stones, called Kits Coty House, on Bluebell Hill, near Maidstone, in Kent, form another. We know, from examination of the great blocks of which such buildings are made, that they could not have been raised without the aid of some ingenious machines, which are common now, but which the ancient Britons certainly did not use in making their own uncomfortable houses. I should not wonder if the Druids, and their pupils who stayed with them twenty years, knowing more than the rest of the Britons, kept the people out of sight while they made these buildings, and then pretended that they built them by magic. Perhaps they had a hand in the fortresses too; at all events, as they were very powerful, and very much believed in, and as they made and executed the laws, and paid no taxes, I don’t wonder that they liked their trade. And, as they persuaded the people the more Druids there were, the better off the people would be, I don’t wonder that there were a good many of them. But it is pleasant to think that there are no Druids, now, who go on in that way, and pretend to carry Enchanters’ Wands and Serpents’ Eggs—and of course there is nothing of the kind, anywhere.

Such was the improved condition of the ancient Britons, fifty-five years before the birth of Our Saviour, when the Romans, under their great General, Julius Cesar, were masters of all the rest of the known world. Julius Czsar had then just conquered Gaul; and hearing, in Gaul, a good deal about the opposite Island with the white cliffs, and about the bravery of the Britons who inhabited it—some of whom had been fetched over to help the Gauls in the war against him—he resolved, as he was so near, to come and conquer Britain next.

So, Julius Cesar came sailing over to this Island of ours, with eighty vessels and twelve thousand men. And he came from the French coast between Calais and Boulogne, ‘ because thence was the shortest passage into Britain ;” just for the same reason as our steam-boats now take the same track, every day. He expected to conquer Britain easily: but it was not such easy work as he supposed—for the bold Britons fought most bravely; and, what with not having his horse-soldiers with him (for they had been driven back by a storm), and what with having some of his vessels dashed to pieces by a high tide after they were drawn ashore, he ran great risk of being totally defeated. However, for once that the bold Britons beat him, he beat them twice; though not so soundly but that he was very glad to accept their proposals of peace, and go away.