Beric the Briton : a Story of the Roman Invasion Page 4

  CHAPTER IV: AN INFURIATED PEOPLE

  "A fresh misfortune has occurred," was the greeting with whichBeric's mother met him on his return home. "Prasutagus is dead; andthis is not the worst, he has left half his estates to the RomanEmperor."

  "To the Roman Emperor!" Beric repeated; "is it possible, mother?"

  "It is true, Beric. You know he has always tried to curry favourwith the Romans, and has kept the Iceni from joining when othertribes rose against Rome. He has thought of nothing but amassingwealth, and in all Britain there is no man who could compare withhim in riches. Doubtless he felt that the Romans only bided theirtime to seize what he had gathered, and so, in order that Boadiceaand his daughters should enjoy in peace a portion of his stores,he has left half to Nero. The man was a fool as well as a traitor.The peasant who throws a child out of the door to the wolves knowsthat it does but whet their appetite for blood, and so it will bein this case. I hear Prasutagus died a week since, though the newshas come but slowly, and already a horde of Roman officials havearrived in Norfolk, and are proceeding to make inventories of theking's possessions, and to bear themselves as insolently as if theywere masters of all. Trouble must come, and that soon. Boadicea isof different stuff to her husband; she will not bear the insolenceof the Romans. It would have been well for the Iceni had Prasutagusdied twenty years ago and she had ruled our country."

  "The gods have clearly willed, mother, that we should rise as onepeople against the Romans. It may be that it was for this that theydid not defend their shrines from the impious hands of the invaders.Nought else stirred the Britons to lay aside their jealousies andact as one people. Now from end to end of the island all are burningfor vengeance. Just at this moment, comes the death of the Romans'friend Prasutagus, and the passing of the rule of the Iceni intothe hands of Boadicea. With the Romans in her capital the occasionwill assuredly not long be wanting, and then there will be such arising as the Romans have never yet seen; and then, their purposeeffected, the gods may well fight on our side. I would that therehad been five more years in which to prepare for the struggle, butif it must come it must. This Catus Decianus is just the man tobring it on. Haughty, arrogant, and greedy, he knows nothing ofus, and has never faced the Britons in arms. Had Suetonius beenhere he would not have acted thus with regard to the affairs ofPrasutagus. Had Caius Muro not been absent his voice might have beenraised in warning to the tyrant; but everything seems to conspiretogether, mother, to bring on the crisis."

  "The sooner the better," Parta exclaimed vehemently. "It is truethat in time you might teach the whole Iceni to fight in Romanmethods, but what is good for the Romans may not be good for us.Moreover, every year that passes strengthens their hold on theland. Their forts spring up everywhere, their cities grow apace;every month numbers flock over here. Another five years, my son,and their hold might be too strong to shake off."

  "That is so, mother. Thinking of ourselves I thought not of them;it may be that it were better to fight now than to wait. Well,whenever the signal is given, and from wheresoever it comes, weare ready."

  Since the news of the capture of Mona had arrived, the tribesmenhad drilled with increased alacrity and eagerness. Every man sawthat the struggle with Rome must ere long take place, and was eagerto take a leading share in the conflict. It was upon them that theblow had fallen most heavily in the former partial rising, and theyknew that the other tribes of the Iceni held that their defence oftheir camp should not have been overborne by the Romans as it was;hence they had something of a private wrong as well as a nationalone to avenge. Another fortnight was spent in constant work, untilone day the news came that Boadicea's daughters had been mostgrossly insulted by the Roman officers, and that the queen herselfhad started for Camalodunum to demand from Decianus a redress oftheir wrongs and the punishment of the offenders. The excitementwas intense. Every man felt the outrage upon the daughters of theirqueen as a personal injury, and when Beric took his place beforethe men of the tribe, who were drawn up in military order, a shoutarose: "Lead us to Camalodunum! Let us take vengeance!"

  "Not yet," Beric cried. "The queen has gone there; we must waitthe issue. Not until she gives the orders must we move. A risingnow would endanger her safety. We must wait, my friends, until allare as ready as we are; when the time comes you will not find mebackward in leading you."

  Three days later came news that seemed at first incredible, butwhich was speedily confirmed. Decianus had received the queen, hadscoffed at her complaints, and when, fired with indignation, shehad used threats, he had ordered his soldiers to strip and scourgeher, and the sentence had actually been carried into effect. Thenthe rage of the tribesmen knew no bounds, and it needed the utmostpersuasions of Parta herself to induce them to wait until news camefrom the north.

  "Fear not," she said, "that your vengeance will be baulked. Boadiceawill not submit to this double indignity, of that you maybe sure.Wait until you hear from her. When measures are determined uponin this matter the Iceni must act as one man. We are all equallyoutraged in the persons of our queen and her daughters; all havea right to a share in avenging her insults. We might spoil allby moving before the others are ready. When we move it must be asa mighty torrent to overwhelm the invaders. Not Camalodunum only,but every Roman town must be laid in ruins. It must be a lifeand death struggle between us and Rome; we must conquer now or beenslaved for ever."

  It was not long before messengers arrived from Boadicea, biddingthe Sarci prepare for war, and summoning Parta and her son to acouncil of the chiefs of the tribe, to be held under a well knownsacred oak in the heart of the forest, near Norwich. Parta's chariotwas at once prepared, together with a second, which was to carryBoduoc and a female attendant of Parta, and as soon as the horseswere harnessed they started. Two long days' journey brought themto the place of meeting. The scene was a busy one. Already fullytwo score of the chiefs had arrived. Parta was received with greatmarks of respect. The Sarci were the tribe lying nearest to theRomans, and upon them the brunt of the Roman anger would fall, asit had done before; but her appearance in answer to the summonsshowed, it was thought, their willingness to join in the generalaction of the tribe.

  Beric was looked at curiously. His four years' residence among theRomans caused him to be regarded with a certain amount of suspicion,which had been added to by rumours that he had been impressingupon the tribe the greatness and power of Rome. Of late there hadbeen reports brought by wandering bards that the Sarci were beingpractised in the same exercises as those of the Roman soldiers,and there were many who thought that Beric, like Cogidinus, a chiefof the Regi of Sussex, had joined himself heart and soul to Rome,and was preparing his tribe to fight side by side with the legions.On the other hand many, knowing that Parta had lost her husband atthe hands of the Romans, and hated them with all her heart, heldthat she would never have divided her power with Beric, or sufferedhim to take military command of the tribe, had she not been assuredof his fidelity to the cause of Britain.

  Beric was dressed in the full panoply of a chief. He wore a shortskirt or kilt reaching to his knees. Above it a loose vest orshirt, girt in by a gold belt, while over his shoulders he worethe British mantle, white in colour and worked with gold. Aroundhis neck was the torque, the emblem of chieftainship. On his leftarm he carried a small shield of beaten brass, and from a baldriccovered with gold plates hung the straight pointless British swordthat had been carried by his father in battle. Even those mostsuspicious of him could not deny that he was a stalwart and wellbuilt youth, with a full share of pith and muscle, and that hisresidence among the Romans had not given him any airs of effeminacy.The only subject of criticism was that his hair was shorter thanthat of his countrymen, for although he had permitted it to growsince he left Camalodunum, where he had worn it short, in Romanfashion, it had not yet attained its full length.

  Beric felt a stranger among the others. Since his return home therehad been no great tribal gathering, for Prasutagus had for sometime been ill, and had always discouraged such assemb
lages bothbecause they were viewed with jealousy by the Romans and because hebegrudged the expenses of entertaining. Parta, who was personallyknown to almost all present, introduced Beric to them.

  "My son is none the less one of the Iceni for his Roman training,"she said; "he has learned much, but has forgotten nothing. He isyoung, but you will find him a worthy companion in arms when theday of battle comes."

  "I am glad to hear what you say, Parta," Aska, one of the olderchiefs, said. "It would be unfair to impute blame to him for whatassuredly was not his fault, but I feared that they might havetaught him to despise his countrymen."

  "It is not so, sir," Beric said firmly. "Happily I fell into goodhands. Caius Muro, the commander of the 12th Legion, in whose chargeI was, is a just as well as a valiant man, and had me instructedas if I had been his own son, and I trust that I am none the lessa true Briton because I except him and his from the hatred I bearthe Romans. He never said a word to me against my countrymen, andindeed often bewailed that we were not treated more wisely andgently, and were not taught to regard the Romans as friends andteachers rather than oppressors."

  "Well spoken, young chief!" the other said; "ingratitude is, ofall sins, the most odious, and you do well to speak up boldly forthose who were kind to you. Among all men there are good and evil,and we may well believe, even among the Romans, there are some whoare just and honourable. But I hear that you admire them greatly,and that you have been telling to your tribe tales of their greatnessin war and of their virtues."

  "I have done so," Beric replied. "A race could not conquer theworld as the Romans have done unless they had many virtues; butthose that I chiefly told of are the virtues that every Britonshould lay to heart. I spoke of their patriotism, of the love ofcountry that never failed, of the stern determination that enabledthem to pass through the gravest dangers without flinching, and toshow a dauntless face to the foe even when dangers were thickestand the country was menaced with destruction. Above all, how inRome, though there might be parties and divisions, there were nonein the face of a common enemy. Then all acted as one man; therewas no rivalry save in great deeds. Each was ready to give lifeand all he possessed in defence of his country. These were lessonswhich I thought it well that every Briton should learn and take toheart. Rome has conquered us so far because she has been one whilewe are rent into tribes having no common union; content to sit withour arms folded while our neighbours are crushed, not seeing thatour turn will come next. It was so when they first came in the timeof our forefathers, it has been so in these latter times; tribeafter tribe has been subdued; while, had we been all united, theRomans would never have obtained a footing on our shore. No wonderthe gods have turned away their faces from a people so blind andso divided when all was at stake. Yes, I have learned much fromthe Romans. I have not learned to love them, but I have learned toadmire them and to regret that in many respects my own countrymendid not resemble them."

  There was a murmur of surprise among the chiefs who had by thistime gathered round, while angry exclamations broke from some ofthe younger men; but Aska waved his hand.

  "Beric speaks wisely and truly," he said; "our dissensions havebeen our ruin. Still more, perhaps, the conduct of those who shouldhave led us, but who have made terms with Rome in order to securetheir own possessions. Among these Prasutagus was conspicuous, andwe ourselves were as much to blame as he was that we suffered it.If he knows what is passing here he himself will see how great arethe misfortunes that he has brought upon his queen, his daughters,and the tribe. Had we joined our whole forces with those of Caractacusthe Brigantes too might have risen. It took all the strength ofthe Romans to conquer Caractacus alone. What could they have donehad the Brigantes and we from the north, and the whole of thesouthern tribes, then unbroken, closed down upon them? It is butyesterday since Prasutagus was buried. The grass has not yet begunto shoot upon his funeral mound and yet his estates have been seizedby the Romans, while his wife and daughters have been insultedbeyond measure.

  "The young chief of the Sarci has profited by his sojourn amongthe Romans. The Druids have told me that the priest who has visitedthe Sarci prophesies great things of him, and for that reasondecided that, young as he was, he should share his mother's powerand take his place as leader of the tribe in battle, and thathe foresaw that, should time be given him to ripen his wisdom andestablish his authority, he might some day become a British championas powerful as Cunobeline, as valiant as Caractacus. These werethe words of one of the wisest of the Druids. They have been passedround among the Druids, and even now throughout Britain there aremany who never so much as heard of the name of the Sarci, who yetbelieve that, in this young chief of that tribe, will some day befound a mighty champion of his country. Prasutagus knew this also,for as soon as Beric returned from Camalodunum he begged the Druidsto find out whether good or evil was to be looked for from thisyouth, who had been brought up among the Romans, and their reportto him tallied with that which I myself heard from them. It was forthat reason that Boadicea sent for him with his mother, althoughso much younger than any here, and belonging to a tribe that isbut a small one among the Iceni. I asked these questions of him,knowing that among some of you there were doubts whether his staywith the Romans had not rendered him less a Briton. He answered asI expected from him, boldly and fearlessly, and, as you have heardwisely, and I for one believe in the predictions of the Druids.But here comes the queen."

  As he spoke a number of chariots issued from the path through theforest into the circular clearing, in the centre of which stoodthe majestic oak, and at the same moment, from the opposite side,appeared a procession of white robed Druids singing a loud chant.As the chariots drew up, the queen and her two daughters alightedfrom them, with a number of chiefs of importance from the branchesof the tribe near her capital. Beric had never seen her before,and was struck with her aspect. She was a tall and stately woman,large in her proportions, with her yellow hair falling below herwaist. She wore no ornaments or insignia of her high rank; her dressand those of her daughters were careless and disordered, indicativeof mourning and grief, but the expression of her face was that ofindignation and passion rather than of humiliation.

  Upon alighting she acknowledged the greeting of the assembled chiefswith a slight gesture, and then remained standing with her eyesfixed upon the advancing Druids. When these reached the sacred treethey encircled it seven times, still continuing their chanting, andthen ranged themselves up under its branches with the chief Druidstanding in front. They had already been consulted privately bythe queen and had declared for war; but it was necessary that thedecision should be pronounced solemnly beneath the shade of thesacred oak.

  "Why come you here, woman?" the chief priest asked, addressing thequeen.

  "I come as a supplicant to the gods," she said; "as an outragedqueen, a dishonoured woman, and a broken hearted mother, and in eachof these capacities I call upon my country's gods for vengeance."Then in passionate words she poured out the story of the indignitiesthat she and her daughters had suffered, and suddenly looseningher garment, and suffering it to drop to her waist, she turnedand showed the marks of the Roman rods across her back, the sighteliciting a shout of fury from the chiefs around her.

  "Let all retire to the woods," the Druids said, "and see that noeye profanes our mysteries. When the gods have answered we willsummon you."

  The queen, followed by all the chiefs, retired at once to theforest, while the Druids proceeded to carry out the sacred mysteries.Although all knew well what the decision would be, they waited withsuppressed excitement the summons to return and hear the decisionthat was to embark them in a desperate struggle with Rome. Some threwthemselves down under the trees, some walked up and down togetherdiscussing in low tones the prospects of a struggle, and the questionwhat tribes would join it. The queen and her daughters sat apart,none venturing to approach them. Parta and three other female chiefssat a short distance away talking together, while two or three ofthe younger chiefs, their attitude towards Beric e
ntirely alteredby the report of the Druids' predictions concerning him, gatheredround him and asked questions concerning the Romans' methods offighting, their arms and power. An hour after they had retired adeep sound of a conch rose in the air. The queen and her daughtersat once moved forward, followed by the four female chiefs, behindwhom came the rest in a body. Issuing from the forest they advancedto the sacred oak and stood in an attitude of deep respect, whilethe chief Druid announced the decision of the gods.

  "The gods have spoken," he said. "Too long have the Iceni stoodaloof from their countrymen, therefore have the gods withdrawntheir faces from them; therefore has punishment and woe fallen uponthem. Prasutagus is dead; his queen and his daughters have sufferedthe direst indignities; a Roman has seized the wealth heaped upby inglorious cowardice. But the moment has come; the gods havesuffered their own altars to be desecrated in order that over thewhole length and breadth of the land the cry for vengeance shallarise simultaneously. The cup is full; vengeance is at hand uponthe oppressors and tyrants, the land reeks with British blood. Notcontent with grasping our possessions, our lives and the honourof our women are held as nought by them, our altars are cold, ourpriests slaughtered. The hour of vengeance is at hand. I see thesmoke of burning cities ascending in the air. I hear the groans ofcountless victims to British vengeance. I see broken legions andflying men.

  "To arms! the gods have spoken. Strike for vengeance. Strike forthe gods. Strike for your country and outraged queen. Chiefs ofthe Iceni, to arms! May the curse of the gods fall upon an enemywho draws back in the day of battle! May the gods give strength toyour arms and render you invincible in battle! The gods have spoken."

  A mighty shout was raised by his hearers; swords were brandished,and spears shaken, and the cry "To arms! the gods have spoken,"was repeated unanimously. As the Druids closed round their chief,who had been seized with strong convulsions as soon as he had utteredthe message of the gods, Boadicea turned to the chiefs and raisedher arm for silence.

  "I am a queen again; I reign once more over a race of men. Nolonger do I feel the smart of my stripes, for each shall ere longbe washed out in Roman blood; but before action, counsel, and beforecounsel, food, for you have, many of you, come from afar. I haveordered a feast to be prepared in the forest."

  She led the way across the opposite side of the glade, where,a few hundred yards in the forest, a number of the queen's slaveshad prepared a feast of roasted sheep, pig, and ox, with bread andjars of drink formed of fermented honey, and a sort of beer. Assoon as the meal was concluded the queen called the chiefs roundher, and the assembly was joined by the Druids.

  "War is declared," she said; "the question is shall we commence atonce, or shall we wait?"

  There was a general response "At once!" but the chief Druid steppedforward and said: "My sons, we must not risk the ruin of all byundue haste; this must be a national movement if it is to succeed.For a fortnight we must keep quiet, preparing everything for war,so that we may take the field with every man capable of bearingarms in the tribe. In the meantime we, with the aid of the bards,will spread the news of the outrages that the Romans have committedupon the queen and her daughters far and wide over the land. Alreadythe tribes are burning with indignation at the insults to our godsand the slaughter of our priests at Mona, and this news will arousethem to madness, for what is done here today may be done elsewheretomorrow, and all men will see that only in the total destructionof the Romans is there a hope of freedom. All will be bidden toprepare for war, and, when the news comes that the Iceni have takenup arms, to assemble and march to join us. On this day fortnight,then, let every chief with his following meet at Cardun, whichis but a short march from Camalodunum. Then we will rush upon theRoman city, the scene of the outrage to your queen, and its smokeshall tell Britain that she is avenged, and Rome that her day ofoppression is over."

  The decision was received with satisfaction. A fortnight was nonetoo long for making preparations, assembling the tribesmen, andmarching to the appointed spot.

  "One thing I claim," Boadicea said, "and that is the right to fallupon and destroy instantly the Romans who installed themselves inmy capital, and who are the authors of the outrages upon my daughters.So long as they live and lord it there I cannot return."

  "That is right and just," the Druid said. "Slay all but ten, andhand them over bound to us to be sacrificed on the altars of thegods they have insulted."

  "I will undertake that task, as my tribe lies nearest the capital,"one of the chiefs said. "I will assemble them tonight and fall uponthe Romans at daybreak."

  "See that none escape," the Druid said. "Kill them and all their slavesand followers. Let not one live to carry the news to Camalodunum."

  "I shall be at the meeting place and march at your head," the queensaid to the chiefs; "that victory will be ours I do not doubt;but if the gods will it otherwise I swear that I shall not survivedefeat. Ye gods, hear my vow."

  The council was now over, and the queen mingled with the chiefs,saying a few words to each. Beric was presented to her by his mother,and Boadicea was particularly gracious to him. "I have heard greatthings predicted of you, Beric. The gods have marked you out forfavour, and their priests tell me that you will be one day a greatchampion of the Britons. So may it be. I shall watch you on theday of battle, and am assured that none among the Iceni will bearthemselves more worthily."

  An hour later the meeting broke up, and Parta and Beric returnedto Cardun, where they at once began to make preparations for theapproaching conflict. Every man in the tribe was summoned to attend,and the exercises went on from daybreak till dusk, while the womencooked and waited upon the men. Councils were held nightly in thehall, and to each of the chiefs was assigned a special duty, thewhole tribe being treated as a legion, and every chief and fightingman having his place and duty assigned to him.

  In Camalodunum, although nothing was known of the preparationsthat were being made, a feeling of great uneasiness prevailed. Thetreatment of Boadicea had excited grave disapproval upon the partof the great majority of the inhabitants, although new arrivalsfrom Gaul or Rome and the officials in the suite of Decianus laudedhis action as an act of excellent policy.

  "These British slaves must be taught to feel the weight of our arm,"they said, "and a lesson such as this will be most useful. Is itfor dogs like these to complain because they are whipped? They mustbe taught to know that they live but at our pleasure; that thisisland and all it contains is ours. They have no rights save thosewe choose to give them."

  But the older settlers viewed the matter very differently. Theyknew well enough that it was only after hard fighting that Vespasianhad subdued the south, and Ostorius crushed Caractacus. They knew,too, that the Iceni gave but a nominal submission to Rome, andthat the Trinobantes, crushed as they were, had been driven to theverge of madness by extortion. Moreover the legions were far away;Camalodunum was well nigh undefended, and lay almost at the mercyof the Britons should they attack. They, therefore, denounced thetreatment of Boadicea as not only brutal but as impolitic in theextreme.

  The sudden cessation of news from the officials who had gone totake possession of the estate of Prasutagus caused considerableuneasiness among this section of the inhabitants of Camalodunum.Messengers were sent off every day to inquire as to what had takenplace after the return of Boadicea, but none came back. The feelingof uneasiness was heightened by the attitude of the natives. Reportscame in from all parts of the district that they had changed theirattitude, that they no longer crouched at the sight of a Roman butbore themselves defiantly, that there were meetings at night in theforest, and that the women sang chants and performed dances whichhad evidently some hidden meaning.

  Decianus, conscious perhaps that his action was strongly disapprovedby all the principal inhabitants of the town, and that, perhaps,Suetonius would also view it in the same light when it was reportedto him, had left the city a few days after the occurrence and hadgone to Verulamium. His absence permitted the general feeling ofapprehen
sion and discontentment more open expression than it wouldotherwise have had. Brave as the Romans were, they were deeplysuperstitious, and a thrill of horror and apprehension ran throughthe city when it was reported one morning that the statute of Victoryin the temple had fallen to the ground, and had turned round as ifit fled towards the sea. This presage of evil created a profoundimpression.

  "What do you think of it, Cneius?" Berenice asked; "it is terrible,is it not? Nothing else is spoken of among all the ladies I haveseen today, and all agree it forbodes some terrible evil."

  "It may, or it may not," the old scribe said cautiously; "if thestatue has fallen by the action of the gods the omen is surely amost evil one."

  "But how else could it have fallen, Cneius?"

  "Well, my dear, there are many Britons in the town, and you knowthey are in a very excited state; their women, indeed, seem tohave gone well nigh mad with their midnight singing and wailing.It is possible--mind, I do not for a moment say that it is so,for were the suggestion to occur to the citizens it would lead tofresh oppressions and cruelties against the Britons--but it isjust possible that some of them may have entered the temple at nightand overthrown Victory's image as an act of defiance. You know howthe women nightly shriek out their prophecies of the destructionof this town."

  "But could they destroy it, Cneius? Surely they would never dareto attack a great Roman city like this!"

  "I don't know whether they dare or not, Berenice, but assuredlyDecianus is doing all in his power to excite them to such a pitchof despair that they might dare do anything; and if they dare,I see nothing whatever to prevent them from taking the city. Theworks erected after Claudius first founded the colony are so vastthat they would require an army to defend them, while there are buta few hundred soldiers here. What could they do against a horde ofbarbarians? I would that your father were back, and also the twolegions who marched away to join Suetonius. Before they went theyought to have erected a central fort here, to which all could retirein case of danger, and hold out until Suetonius came back to ourassistance; but you see, when they went away none could have foreseenwhat has since taken place. No one could have dreamt that Decianuswould have wantonly stirred up the Iceni to revolt."

  "But you don't think they have revolted?"

  "I know nothing of it, Berenice, but I can put two and two together.We have heard nothing for a week from the officials who went toseize the possessions of Prasutagus. How is it that none of ourmessengers have returned? It seems to me almost certain that thesemen have paid for their conduct to the daughters of Boadicea withtheir lives."

  "But Beric is with the Iceni. Surely we should hear from him ifdanger threatened."

  "He is with them," Cneius said, "but he is a chief, and if thetribe are in arms he is in arms also, and cannot, without riskingthe forfeit of his life for treachery, send hither a message thatwould put us on our guard. I believe in the lad. Four years Itaught him, and I think I know his nature. He is honest and true.He is one of the Iceni and must go with his countrymen; but I amsure he is grateful for the kindness he received here, and has areal affection for you, therefore I believe, that should my worstfears be verified, and the Iceni attack Camalodunum, he will dohis utmost to save you."

  "But they will not kill women and girls surely, even if they didtake the city?"

  "I fear that they will show slight mercy to any, Berenice; whyshould they? We have shown no mercy to them; we have slaughteredtheir priests and priestesses, and at the storm of their townshave put all to death without distinction of age or sex. If we, acivilized people, thus make war, what can you expect from the menupon whom we have inflicted such countless injuries?"

  The fall of the statue of Victory was succeeded by other occurrencesin which the awestruck inhabitants read augury of evil. It wasreported that strange noises had been heard in the council houseand theatre, while men out in boats brought back the tale thatthere was the appearance of a sunken town below the water. It wascurrently believed that the sea had assumed the colour of blood,and that there were, when the tide went out, marks upon the sandas if dead bodies had been lying there. Even the boldest veteranswere dismayed at this accumulation of hostile auguries. A councilof the principal citizens was held, and an urgent message despatchedto Decianus, praying that he would take instance measures for theprotection of the city. In reply to this he despatched two hundredsoldiers from Verulamium, and these with the small body of troopsalready in the city took possession of the Temple of Claudius, andbegan to make preparations for putting it into a state of defence.

  Still no message had come from Norwich, but night after night theBritish women declared that the people of Camalodunum would sufferthe same fate that had already overwhelmed those who had venturedto insult the daughters of the queen of the Iceni. A strange terrorhad now seized the inhabitants of the town. The apprehension ofdanger weighted upon all, and the peril seemed all the more terribleinasmuch as it was so vague. Nothing was known for certain. Nomessage had come from the Iceni since the queen quitted the town,and yet it was felt that among the dark woods stretching north ahost of foes was gathering, and might at any moment pour down uponthe city. Orders were issued that at the approach of danger allwho could do so were to betake themselves at once to the temple,which was to act as a citadel, yet no really effective measureswere taken. There was, indeed, a vague talk of sending the women andchildren and valuables away to the legion, commanded by Cerealis,stationed in a fortified camp to the south, but nothing came ofit; all waited for something definite, some notification that theBritons had really revolted, and while waiting for this nothingwas done.

  One evening a slave brought in a small roll of vellum to Cneius.It had been given him at the door, he said, by a Briton, who hadat once left after placing it in his hands. The scribe opened itand read as follows:--

  "To Cneius Nepo, greeting--Obtain British garb for yourself andBerenice. Let her apparel be that of a boy. Should anything unusualoccur by night or day, do you and she disguise yourselves quickly,and stir not beyond the house. It will be best for you to wait inthe tablinum; lose no time in carrying out this instruction."

  There was no signature, nor was any needed.

  "So the storm is about to burst," Cneius said thoughtfully whenhe had read it. "I thought so. I was sure that if the Britons hada spark of manhood left in them they would avenge the cruel wrongsof their queen. I am rejoiced to read Beric's words, and to seethat he has, as I felt sure he had, a grateful heart. He wouldsave us from the fate that he clearly thinks is about to overwhelmthis place. The omens have not lied then--not that I believe inthem; they are for the most part the offspring of men's fancy, butat any rate they will come true this time. I care little for myself,but I must do as he bids me for the sake of the girl. I doubt, thoughwhether Beric can save her. These people have terrible wrongs toavenge, and at their first outburst will spare none. Well, I mustdo my best, and late as it is I will go out and purchase thesegarments. It is not likely that the danger will come tonight, forhe would have given us longer notice. Still he may have had noopportunity, and may not have known until the last moment when theattack was to take place. He says 'lose no time.'"

  Cneius at once went to one of the traders who dealt with the nativeswho came into the town, and procured the garments for himself andBerenice. The trader, who knew him by sight, remarked, "Have youbeen purchasing more slaves?"

  "No, but I have need for dresses for two persons who have done mesome service."

  "I should have thought," the trader said, "they would have preferredlighter colours. These cloths are sombre, and the natives, althoughtheir own cloths are for the most part dark, prefer, when they buyof me, brighter colours."

  "These will do very well," Cneius said, "just at present Romancolours and cloths are not likely to be in demand among them."

  "No, the times are bad," the trader said; "there has been scarcea native in my shop for the last ten days, and even among thetownspeople there has been little buying or selling."

 
; Cneius returned to the house, a slave carrying his purchases behindhim. On reaching home he took the parcel from him, and carried itto his own cubicule, and then ordered a slave to beg Berenice tocome down from her apartment as he desired to speak with her.