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ON THE CONDITION OF THE BRITONS UNDER THE ROMAN DOMINATION.

PART II.

In a former paper we attempted to state briefly what appear to have been the general features of the people who, for the most part, inhabited Britain about the time that Cæsar first became acquainted with it. But let us endeavour to consider the subject a little more in detail.

For this purpose we shall begin with the industrial arts, the degree of progress in which will attest, in some measure, the extent to which the ancient Britons were capable of making surrounding circumstances minister to their personal comfort and advantage, or to their progress in at least material civilization. Progress in the industrial arts is the sure foundation of the moral aud intellectual development of a nation. The latter, however, is not the necessary result of the former. A nation may be distinguished for its toy-makers and its potters, its chemists and its architects, and yet be a total stranger to the exercise and enjoyment of those inalienable rights of humanity, deprived of which MAN, in an individual as well as in a national point of view, is robbed of half his real worth and greatness. But it is evident that the application of the term industrial arts to the rude productions of the Britons, is allowable only by a very liberal extension of its meaning.

The remarkable difference between the inhabitants of what may be called maritime Britain and those of the interior and northern parts, which has been already noticed, must be always borne in mind. The people of Britain generally, except parts of the south, present us with one of the most primitive forms of social union-the Nomadic: the arts of tillage unknown or unpractised, no fixed habitations, the means of subsistence derived either from the chance produce of the chase, or from herds; clothing of skins, scarcely any social tie except that of clanship; a number of families combining and preying upon their neighbours when this could be done with impunity; these again defending themselves in turn from similar

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attacks, or seeking refuge as best they might among the vast forests of their country, from the assaults of still more powerful plunderers. The ancient Bríton, as here represented, is rather a melancholy object of contemplation to the highly-favoured Englishman of modern times. The germ of romance exists more or less in all minds. Mankind has, in all ages and countries, exhibited a strong tendency to undervalue the present and to magnify the worth of the past; to become dissatisfied with existing things because they are existing things, and to sigh for a return to what is always loosely, and sometimes most erroneously, denominated the "good old times." It has, indeed, been gravely alleged, that mankind has lost and not gained by what is called advancement in the arts and sciences; that civilization is a misnomer. romantic and fantastic notions of Nomadic and every other form of uncivilized life are speedily dissipated before the light of facts. It is, no doubt, a very pleasant pastime to indulge in speculations on the beautiful simplicity of character, the freedom from the cares of civilized life, which are considered to belong pre-eminently to the wandering haphazard mode of existence pursued by Nomades; but on closer inspection, all this is found to be mere fancy. The untrammelled wanderers of the wilds are not exempt from their full share of the inconveniences, calamities, and miseries incident to humanity. They are in one of the worst schools for training and developing the nobler parts of man's nature. There is peculiar to this condition of life a total want of that looking to the future, which, when formed into a habit, becomes one of the chief springs of progress and civilization. Force is the law everywhere; and, in most instances, this basest and most degrading of all modes of government is exercised under the influence of fierce passion or unrestrained selfishness. "One by one," writes Mr. Stephens, the modern American traveller, concerning the Bedouin Arabs, one by one I had

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seen the many illusions of my waking dreams fade away; the gorgeous pictures of Oriental scenes melt into nothing; but I had still clung to the primitive simplicity and purity of the children of the desert; their temperance and abstinence, their contented poverty and contempt for luxuries, as approaching the true nobility of man's nature, and sustaining the poetry of the land of the East.' But my last dream was broken; and I never saw among the wanderers of the desert any traits of character, or any habits of life, which did not make me prize and value more the privileges of civilization."

Wretched indeed then, all things considered, must have been the state of the northern Britons twenty centuries ago. But in the maritine districts of southern Britain a very different form of civilization presents itself to view. Vicinity to the sea, which gave rise to easy and frequent intercourse with different nations, was the means of civilizing in no ordinary degree, the inhabitants of these parts. Here we perceive the humble origin of that extraordinary modern phenomenon, British commerce, which now exerts its powerful influence in improving and elevating mankind in every part of the world. In the history of this people, we see the first faint glimmering of that which afterwards increased gradually and steadily till at length it spread over the whole earth; just as a puny streamlet, trickling down the hill-side, destined in time to become a mighty river, mingles its waters with the vast ocean, and at last washes the s hores of every region of the globe.

The settled, peaceful, and industrious mode of life of these maritime Britons, together with the natural fertility of the soil and the congeniality of the climate, enabled them to attain to a respectable proficiency in agriculture and other useful arts. It has been stated, on the authority of Pliny, that they were not only acquainted with the modes of manuring the soil in use in other countries, but that they also practised one peculiar to themselves and the Gauls. For this purpose they made use of marl, a substance which is still used very extensively in England for the improvement of land. In Norfolk, for instance, a marl is met with in many places containing a large proportion of clay, and this is frequently spread over the surface of the soil at the

rate of two or three hundred cart loads per acre. The Britons, we are told, made use of one white chalky sort, the effects of which had been found to continue eighty years. No man, it is said, had ever occasion to manure the same field twice in his lifetime. Of the British instruments, and methods of ploughing, sowing, and reaping, we have no information that can be at all relied on; but it is very probable that they were similar to those used in Belgium and Gaul.

We have spoken in another place of the habitations of the Britons. It may be here mentioned, on the authority of Strabo, that the cottages of the Gauls (to which Cæsar likens those of the Britons) were of a circular form, and had lofty roofs of a conical shape. It is not a little remarkable that some of the Welsh pigsties fully correspond, as regards form, to this description.

What may be called the forest-towns of the Britons were military posts; and it is to be noted that the position and fortification of some of them displayed, in a very conspicuous manner, that mechanical skill and acuteness for which the Celtic race is remarkable. The judgment and art manifested by the British king Cassivelaunus, in the fortification of his capital, elicited expressions of admiration from Cæsar; and when we consider the high attainments of the latter in military science, we may reasonably conclude that the abilities of Cassivelaunus were of no ordinary kind. On the whole, these towns of theirs were of a very rude description, in many respects worthy only of the better order of savages; but the fortresses, castles, huge stone circles, and other mysterious monuments of the ancient British which remain scattered over the island, abundantly testify to the fact, that the condition of the hardy and brave, but deeply superstitious race, who constructed these huge fabrics, was very far indeed removed from that of savage tribes.

Nothing whatever is certainly known regarding the furniture and decorations of their houses. But it may be reasonably inferred that those of them who had intercourse with the Phoenicians, Gauls, and other nations, were possessed of many of the comforts and a few of what one might suppose were considered in those days the elegancies of life. A great deal might be said about their carriages for war, their mining opera

tions, and various other matters which the industry and zeal of British Archæologists have brought to light; but we have neither space, time, nor ability to expatiate on such curious topics. The foregoing observations on the industrial arts and kindred subjects will, we hope, be sufficient to indicate, generally, the state of advancement to which the maritime Britons had attained in these respects. We shall next say a few words on the manners and customs of the Britons, and, for the sake of brevity, shall notice only those of a remarkable kind. Passing over their domestic life generally, concerning which a good deal has been written, but very little clearly brought to light, we shall make a few observations on their clothing.

Dress, considered either as an article of comfort or of luxury, is, generally speaking, a pretty accurate index of the civilization of a people. The almost naked savage, whose feeble intellect cannot, in the article of dress, so far adapt means to ends as to make some kind of general covering to protect himself from the disagreeable changes of climate to which every country is more or less liable, is a specimen of a human being of the most degraded kind. Every advance from such a state as this, will, as a general rule, indicate a corresponding advance in civilization. The case of the people we are considering affords a very fair illustration of this statement.

possession of the implements necessary for this purpose. But this is a subject with the details of which we have not the slightest acquaintance.

A very disgusting practice prevailed among the Britons, namely, staining the body with a plant called woad (Isatis Tinctoria). It would appear from some accounts that two methods of staining the body were in use. In some parts of South Britain the people merely painted the body; but the inhabitants of the interior and northern parts of the island had recourse to the savage practice of tatooing. Cæsar says, omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt." Concerning this statement, Dr. Lingard makes the following remark: "As, however, he had not seen any of the remote tribes, it is uncertain whether his observation should be applied to them."

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But of all their strange customs, that which had reference to the matrimonial relationship, if indeed that can be called a relationship which, if we believe some historians, was, strictly speaking, no relationship whatever. "Those rights of exclusive property in a wife," we quote from a modern historical work, "which even among the rudest tribes are prized so highly, and guarded with such jealous care, are asserted to have been strangely disregarded by the early inhabitants of this island. According to Cæsar, ten or twelve families used to live under the Of same roof, the husbands having their wives in common. The ties of previous consanguinity also, so far from being a check, seem rather to have been considered as a recommendation in these strange associations, in which, we are told, for the most part brothers joined with brothers, and parents with their sons."

the inhabitants of the interior and northern parts of Britain, whom we described as being almost savages in comparison with those of the southern parts, some are represented as entirely naked, which most probably is not correct; others, as wretchedly clad in the skins of animals while those who lived in the maritime districts, we are told, wore tunics of dyed cloth, close trowsers, and over the tunic a short cloak called a sagum. There is an evident correspondence between the dress and civilization of these two classes of the ancient Britons.

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Dr. Lingard states, apparently on the authority of Pliny, that the dress of these maritime Britons was of their own manufacture. This is important if true, because it follows that the art of weaving must have been known to them, and that consequently they must have been able to make instruments for weaving, in fact looms, and must have been in

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Some have been disposed to look upon this description of matrimonial union as one of those wild fables which are so frequently to be met with in early history. The evidence brought forward to prove that such a state of things actually existed, is by no means satisfactory. It is quite possible that Cæsar may have been led to form this hasty conclusion on observing that these wretched people slept promiscuously in their miserable dwellings, and like many other Latin writers, he does not hesitate to go a little beyond the truth in order to produce an antithesis. We know that even to this day among the lowest class of the Irish and Scotch, whole fami

lies are frequently found dwelling in one small apartment, and it is well known that in these trying circumstances the poor people often exhibit an amount of delicacy of feeling, and of virtuous sentiment, which entitles them to our admiration and respect. Let us then run the risk of erring on "virtue's side," and say that the Roman has wronged the Briton.

We shall now consider the ancient Briton in a most interesting point of view, namely, at the grave of a beloved friend. It is here that we see at once the noblest and the weakest phase of the Celtic, and we may add, of human nature. Here we see human affections, strong and deep, called into play in connexion with a lively and unwavering faith, both of which glorious portions of our nature frequently find their expression in actions the most childish and degrading. Nor is this strange feature of the religious nature of man peculiar to any age or race; but it is most probably more characteristic of the Celt than of any other race in Europe. Practises, on the occasion of death, quite as degrading, considering the period of the world in which we live, as any peculiar to the Britons, are, or were a very short time ago, to be met with at many of our Irish wakes and funerals. Of the particular ceremonies used by the Britons when performing the last solemn offices, we know nothing except from inference and conjecture. The contents of their graves have been carefully examined. It would in all probability lead to highly interesting results, if the various skulls and skeletons which are to be met with from time to time in these ancient graves, were subjected to an accurate ethnological examination. The ideas of the Britons as to the requirements of the departed person, bear a striking resemblance to those of the North American Indians. When a Briton died, he was prepared for his journey into that mysterious and utterly unknown region to which the grave is the sombre entrance, in a manner suited to the rank which he filled, and the estimation in which he was held while he dwelt here on earth. His instruments

of war were quietly laid by his side; such simple fare as he was accustomed to through life were provided in what might be deemed sufficient quantity, and human affection added whatever it could procure in the way of amusement, in order to shorten the slow hours which were supposed to intervene before the departed arrived at the end of his journey. The difference in the size and shape of those wonderful structures, the old British barrows, have afforded grounds for probable conjecture as to the period of their formation, and the rank of the individuals for whom they were constructed. Their formation indicates a vast amount of labour and skill, a circumstance which may be regarded as a proof of the existence of those powerful religious feelings to which we have just alluded. It has been found that the Britons sometimes burned the body, and collected the ashes in an urn; but as this method of disposing of the dead body was confined to certain parts of South Britain, it is more than probable this practice was derived from the Romans.

Strange feelings arise in the mind when we attempt to compare the religious feelings of the Heathen Briton with those of the Christian Englishman. The state of human consciousness in the matter of religion is essentially the same now as it was in ages gone by. The mystery of the Present, and the unknown Future, the fears and hopes inspired by the contemplation of such solemn topics, these fill the thoughtful mind of the nineteenth century as they did that of the first, with images of awe. The poor Briton had not even the twilight of Christianity-we have the noon-day; but we cannot enter upon this subject.

In order to complete our brief sketch of the ancient Britons, there remain three important matters which require to be noticed, namely—their literature and science, their form of government, and their religion. But from the peculiar circumstances of the case, these may all be very conveniently treated of under the one head-Druidism, This we shall attempt in our next.

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COMPLIMENTS.

Ir is a remarkable circumstance that climate should have any influence upon the nature of compliments. As we advance towards the East, language assumes a more adulatory strain, until at length all common sense appears to be lost in hyperbole; towards the North it grows cold with the climate, and I suppose in Spitzbergen, or amongst Esquimaux, that a compliment is rarely dealt out, and reserved for the most important occasions.

The compliments common to the United Kingdom are, like our climate, of the temperate kind; and as we are said to be approaching the Pole, so our compliments are certainly growing cold

er.

I know not whether there be an improvement in the sincerity of the present age, but undoubtedly the language of adulation is totally out of fashion. Literary men now dedicate their volumes, even to royalty, like men of independent feeling, and poets no longer seek the temple of fame through sycophancy.

Indirect compliments, on the whole, may be considered the most flattering kind. Demosthenes confessed he was pleased by even a fishwoman of Athens pointing him out.

When Petrarch was passing by his native town, he was received with the honours due to his fame; but when the heads of the town conducted him to the house where he was born, and informed him that the proprietor had often wished to make alterations, but that the townspeople had risen to insist that the house, which was consecrated by the birth of Petrarch, should be preserved unchanged, this was a triumph more affecting to him than his coronation in the capitol at Rome.

"The greatest honour," observed Sir Walter Scott to Captain Basil Hall, "which has yet been paid to my celebrity, was by a fishmonger in London, who was applied to by the servant of the house in which I was living, for some cod-I believe for dinner; but it being rather late in the day, there was none left. On the servant's mentioning who it was wanted for, the fishmonger said that altered the matter, and that if a bit was to be had in Lon

don, for love or money, it should be at my disposal. Accordingly the man himself walked up with the fish, all the way from Billingsgate to Sussex Place, in the Regent's Park. Now, if that be not substantial literary reputation, I know not what is."

Cowper, after the publication of the Task, notes with much satisfaction a compliment in many respects of a similar nature. "He had occasion to send a man to the George Inn, at Woburn. Mr. Marten, the master of the inn, having learned whose servant he was, told him that he had never seen Mr. Cowper, but he had heard him frequently spoken of by the companies at his house, and then when Sam would have paid for his breakfast, he took nothing from him." "Who says," observes the poet, "that fame is a breath? on the contrary, it is good ale and cold beef into the bargain."

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Paying family compliments is also an indirect, as well as being a delicate, method of pleasing. There are few families who cannot with truth be complimented on some particular point. “A fine family,” a clever family," an ancient family," "a punctual family," "a wealthy fammily." The last-mentioned epithet, I lately heard coaxingly applied to a friend of mine, by a lady who was collecting subscriptions. "You and all your family are so wealthy." The appeal was irresistible. To be supposed not to have a single poor relation-it was at least worth £50.

Personal compliments, generally rank with empty compliments, excepting on particular occasions, when they proceed from an ebullition of natural feeling. I remember an anecdote (I forget who the parties were) of a child who gained an estate by one day saying to his aunt, with perfect simplicity," What a pretty nose you have!" and it is a well-known fact, that the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire never felt so flattered by the compliment of a courtier, as she did when a London dustman one day asked her to allow him to light his pipe by a spark from her eye!

Of splendid compliments, D'Israeli relates some good illustrations. He mentions that Fontenelle, in his éloge on

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