Shouts of welcome saluted Beric as with his party he crossed the
rough bridge over the stream and descended the slope to the village.
Some fifteen hundred men were gathered here, all armed for the
chase with spears, javelins, and long knives. Their hair fell over
their necks, their faces were, according to the universal custom,
shaved with the exception of the moustache. Many of them were
tattooed--a custom that at one time had been universal, but was
now dying out among the more civilized. Most of them were, save for
the mantle, naked from the waist up, the body being stained a deep
blue with woad--a plant largely cultivated for its dye. This plant,
known as Isatis tinctoria, is still grown in France and Flanders.
It requires rich ground and grows to a height of three or four
feet, bearing yellow flowers. The dye is obtained from the leaves,
which are stripped two or three times in the season. They are
partially dried, and are then pounded or ground, pressed into a
mass with the hands or feet, and piled in a heap, when fermentation
takes place. When this process is completed the paste is cut up,
and when placed in water yields a blue dye. It can also be prepared
by laying it in the water in the first place and allowing it
to ferment there. The water, which becomes a deep blue, is drawn
off and allowed to settle, the dye remaining at the bottom. Fresh
water is then added to the leaves, which are again stirred up and
the operation is repeated.
Passing through the crowd of tribesmen, Beric entered his mother's
abode, walked up to the dais, and saluted her by a deep bow. Parta
was a woman of tall stature and of robust form. Her garment was
fastened at each shoulder by a gold brooch. A belt studded and
clasped by the same metal girded it in at the waist, and it then
fell in loose folds almost to her feet. She had heavy gold bracelets
on her arms.
"You are late, Beric," she said sternly. "Our tribesmen have been
waiting nigh an hour for you. I only heard at daybreak that Borgon
had gone out to search for you with a party."
"It was well that he did, mother, for Boduoc and I were besieged
in a hut by a pack of wolves, who would shortly have made an end
of us had not rescue arrived."
"What were you doing in the hut?" she asked. "You told me you should
leave the Romans' town before sunset and make your way straight
back here."
Beric shortly related the circumstances of the fight.
"It is well that it is no worse," she said; "but Boduoc ought
to have known better than to have allowed you to leave the trees,
where you would at least have been safe from the wolves. What
mattered the life of a woman in comparison to yours, when you know
my hopes and plans for you? But stay not talking. Magartha has some
roasted kid in readiness for you. Eat it quickly, and take a horn
of mead, and be gone. An hour has been wasted already."
A few minutes sufficed for Beric to satisfy his hunger. Then he
went out and joined two or three minor chiefs of experience who
had charge of the hunt. The greater portion of the tribesmen had
already started. Almost every man had brought with him one or more
large dogs trained in hunting the wolf and boar, and the woods
beyond the swamp rang with their deep barking. Instructions had
already been given to the men. These proceeded in parties of four,
each group taking its post some fifty yards from the next. Those
who had the farthest to go had started before daybreak, and it was
another two hours before the whole were in position, forming a long
line through the forest upwards of ten miles in length. A horn was
sounded in the centre where the leaders had posted themselves, and
the signal was repeated at points along the line, and then, with
shouts on the part of the men and fierce barkings on that of the
dogs, the whole moved forward. The right of the line rested on the
Stour, the left upon the Orwell; and as they passed along through
the forest the line contracted. At times wild boars made a dash
to break through it. Many of these were slain, till the chiefs
considered that there was a sufficient supply of food, and the rest
were then allowed to pass through.
No wolves were seen until they neared the point where the two
rivers unite, by which time the groups were within a few paces of
each other. Then among the trees in front of them a fierce snarling
and yelping was heard. The dogs, which had hitherto been kept
in hand, were now loosed, and with a shout the men rushed forward
both on the bluffs in the centre and along the low land skirting
the rivers on either side. Soon the wolves came pouring down from
the wooded bluff, and engaged in a furious conflict with the dogs.
As the men ran up, a few of the wolves in their desperation charged
them and endeavoured to break through, but the great majority,
cowed by the clamour and fierce assault, crouched to the earth and
received their death blow unresistingly. Some took to the water,
but coracles had been sent down to the point the evening before,
and they were speedily slain. Altogether some four or five hundred
wolves were killed.
It was now late in the afternoon. Wood was collected and great
fires made, and the boars' flesh was soon roasting over them. At
daybreak they started again, and retracing their steps formed a
fresh line at the point where the last beat had begun, this time
beating in a great semicircle and driving the wolves down on to
the Stour. So for a fortnight the war went on. Only such deer and
boar as were required for food were killed; but the wolves were
slain without mercy, and at the end of the operations that portion
of the country was completely cleared of these savage beasts, for
those who had escaped the beating parties had fled far away through
the forest to more quiet quarters.
The work had been laborious; for each day some forty miles had been
traversed in the march from the last place of slaughter to the next
beat, and in the subsequent proceedings. It had, however, been full
of interest and excitement, especially during the second week, when,
having cleared all the country in the neighbourhood of the rivers,
the men were ranged in wide circles some ten miles in diameter,
advancing gradually towards a centre. Occasionally many of the wolves
escaped before the lines had narrowed sufficiently for the men to
be near enough to each other to oppose a successful resistance, but
in each case the majority continued to slink from the approaching
noises until the cordon was too close for them to break through.
Altogether over four thousand wolves were slain. All those whose
coats were in good condition were skinned, the skins being valuable
for linings to the huts, for beds, and winter mantles. Many men
had been bitten more or less severely by them, but none had been
killed; and there was much rejoicing at the complete clearance from
the district of a foe that had, since the arrival of the large packs
from the north, made terrible inroads among the herds of cattle
and swine, and had killed a considerable number of men, women, and
children. The previous winter had been a very severe one, and had
driven great numbers of wolves down from North Britain. The fighting
that had been going on for years in the south and west, and at times
in the midlands, had put a stop to the usual chases of wolves in
those districts, and they had consequently multiplied exceedingly
and had become a serious scourge even before the arrival of the
fresh bands from the north. However, after so great a slaughter it
was hoped that for a time at least they would not again make their
appearance in that neighbourhood.
Returning home at the end of their expedition Beric was surprised
as he entered the hall to see a Druid standing upon the dais
conversing with his mother, who was pacing up and down with angry
gestures. That their conference was an important one he did not
doubt; for the Druids dwelt in the recesses of the forests or near
their temples, and those who wished to consult them must journey
to them to ask their counsel beneath a sacred oak or in the circle
of the magic stones. When great events were impending, or when
tribes took up arms against each other, the Druids would leave
their forest abodes, and, interposing between the combatants,
authoritatively bid them desist. They acted as mediators between
great chiefs, and were judges upon all matters in dispute. He was
sure, therefore, that the Druid was the bearer of news of importance.
He stood waiting in the centre of the hall until his mother's eye
fell upon him.
"Come hither, Beric," she said, "and hear the news that the holy
Druid has brought. Think you not that the Romans have carried their
oppression far enough when they have seized half the land of our
island, enslaved the people, and exacted tribute from the free
Britons? What think you, now? The Roman governor Severus, knowing
that it is our religion as well as love of our country that arms
us against them, and that the Druids ever raise their voices to bid
us defend our altars and our homes, have resolved upon an expedition
against the Sacred Island, and have determined to exterminate our
priests, to break down our altars, and to destroy our religion.
Ten days since the legion marched from Camalodunum to join the army
he is assembling in the west. From all other parts he has drawn
soldiers, and he has declared his intention of rooting out and
destroying our religion at its centre."
"The news is terrible," the Druid said, "but our gods will fight
for us, and doubtless a terrible destruction will fall upon the
impious men who thus dream of profaning the Sacred Island; but it
may be otherwise, or perchance the gods may see that thus, and thus
only, can the people of Britain be stirred to take up arms and to
annihilate the worshippers of the false gods of Rome. Assuredly we
are on the eve of great events, and every Briton must prepare to
take up arms, either to fall upon the legions whom our gods have
stricken or to avenge the insult offered to our faith."
"It is terrible news, indeed," Beric said; "and though I am but a
lad, father, I am ready when the call comes to fight in the front
ranks of the Iceni with our people. My father fell fighting for
his country by the sword of the Romans, and I am ready to follow
his example when my mother shall say, 'Go out to war.'"
"For the present, Beric, we must remain quiet; we must await news
of the result of this expedition; but the word has gone round,
and I and my brethren are to visit every chief of the Iceni, while
the Druids of the north stir up the Brigantes; the news, too, that
the time of their deliverance is at hand, and that they must hold
themselves in readiness to rise against the oppressors, is passing
through the Trinobantes and the tribes of the south and southwest.
This time it must be no partial rising, and we must avoid the ruinous
error of matching a single tribe against the whole strength of the
Romans. It must be Britain against Rome--a whole people struggling
for their homes and altars against those who would destroy their
religion and reduce them to slavery."
"I would that it could have been postponed for a time, father," Beric
said. "During the four years I passed as a hostage at Camalodunum
I have been learning the tactics that have enabled the Romans
to conquer us. I have learned their words of command, and how the
movements were executed, and I hope when I become a man to train
the Sarci to fight in solid order, to wheel and turn as do the
Romans, so that we might form a band which might in the day of
battle oppose itself to the Roman onset, check pursuit, and perhaps
convert a reverse into a victory."
"Heed not that," the Druid said enthusiastically. "It would be
useful indeed, but there is but scant time for it now. Our gods
will fight for us. We have numbers and valour. Our warriors will
sweep their soldiers aside as a wave dashes over a rock."
The conversation between the Druid and Parta had been heard by
others in the hall, and the news spread rapidly among the tribesmen
as they returned from the chase. Shouts of fury and indignation
rose outside, and several of the minor chiefs, followed by a crowd
of excited men, poured into the hall, demanding with loud shouts
that war should be declared against the Romans. The Druid advanced
to the edge of the dais.
"Children," he said, "the time has not yet come, nor can the Sarci
do aught until the word is given by Prasutagus, and the whole of
the Iceni rise in arms, and not the Iceni alone, but Britons from
sea to sea. Till then hold yourselves in readiness. Sharpen your
arms and prepare for the contest. But you need a chief. In the
ordinary course of things years would have elapsed before Beric, the
son of your last brave prince, would have been associated with his
mother in the rule of the tribe; but on the eve of such a struggle
ordinary customs and usages must be set at nought. I therefore,
in virtue of my sacred authority, now appoint Beric as chief next
to his mother in the tribe, and I bid you obey him in all things
relating to war. He has learned much of Roman ways and methods,
and is thus better fitted than many far older than he to instruct
you how best to stand their onset, and I prophesy that under him no
small honour and glory will fall to the tribe, and that they will
bear a signal share in avenging our gods and winning our freedom.
Come hither, Beric;" and the Druid, laying a hand upon the lad's
head, raised the other to heaven and implored the gods to bestow
wisdom and strength upon him, and to raise in him a mighty champion
of his country and faith. Then he uttered a terrible malediction upon
any who should disobey Beric's orders, or question his authority,
who should show faint heart in the day of battle, or hold his life
of any account in the cause of his country.
"Now," he concluded, "retire to your homes. We must give no cause
or pretext for Roman aggression until the signal is given. You
will not be idle. Your young chief will teach you somewhat of the
discipline that has rendered the Roman soldiers so formidable, so
that you may know how to set yourselves in the day of battle, how
to oppose rank to rank, to draw off in good order, or to press
forward to victory. The issue is ever in the hands of the gods,
but we should do all we can to deserve it. It is good to learn even
from our enemies. They have studied war for ages, and if they have
conquered brave peoples, it has not been by superior valour, but
because they have studied war, while others have trusted solely to
their native valour. Therefore deem not instruction useless, or
despise methods simply because you do not understand them. None
could be braver than those who fought under Caractacus, yet they
were conquered, not by the valour, but by the discipline of the
Romans. It was the will of the gods that your young chief should
dwell for four years a hostage among the Romans, and doubtless
they willed it should be so in order that he might be fitted to be
a worthy champion of his country, and so to effect what even the
valour of Caractacus failed to do. The gods have spoken by me. See
that you obey them, and woe to the wretch who murmurs even in his
own heart against their decrees!"
As he concluded a loud shout was raised throughout the crowded hall,
and swelled into a mighty roar outside, for those at the open door
had passed his words to the throng of tribesmen outside. When the
shout subsided, Beric added a few words, saying, that although he
regretted he had not yet come to his full strength, and that thus
early he should be called upon to lead men, he accepted the decree of
the gods, and would strive not to be wanting in the day of trial.
In matters connected with war he had learned much from the Romans,
who, oppressors as they were and despisers of the gods of Britain,
were skilled beyond all others in such matters. In all other respects
he had happily his mother's counsel and guidance to depend upon,
and before assuming any civil authority he should wait until years
had taught him wisdom, and should then go through all the usual
ceremonies appointed by their religion, and receive his instalment
solemnly in the temple at the hands of the Druids.
That night there was high feasting at Cardun. A bullock and three
swine were slain by order of Parta, and a number of great earthen
jars of mead broached, and while the principal men of the tribe
feasted in the hall, the rest made merry outside. The bard attached
to Parta's household sang tales of the glories of the tribe, even
the women from the villages and detached huts for a large circle
round came in, happy that, now the wolves had been cleared away,
they could stir out after nightfall without fear. After entertaining
their guests in the hall, Parta and her son went round among the
tribesmen outside and saw that they had all they needed, and spoke
pleasantly even to the poorest among them.
It was long before Beric closed his eyes that night. The events of
the day had been a complete surprise to him. He had thought that
in the distant future he should share with his mother in the ruling
of the tribe, but had never once dreamed of its coming for years.
Had it not been for the news that they had heard of the intended
invasion of the Holy Isle he should not have regretted his elevation,
for it would have given him the means and opportunity to train the
tribesmen to fight in close order as did the Romans. But now he could
not hope that there would be time to carry this out effectually.
He knew that throughout Britain the feeling of rage and indignation
at this outrage upon the gods of their country would raise the
passions of men to boiling point, and that the slightest incident
would suffice to bring on a general explosion, and he greatly feared
that the result of such a rising would in the end be disastrous.
His reading had shown him how great was the power of Rome, and how
obstinately she clung to her conquests. His countrymen seemed to
think that were they, with a mighty effort, to free Britain of its
invaders, their freedom would be achieved; but he knew that such a
disaster would arouse the Roman pride, and that however great the
effort required, fresh armies would be despatched to avenge the
disaster and to regain the territory lost.
"The Britons know nothing of Roman power," he said to himself.
"They see but twenty or thirty thousand men here, and they forget
that that number have alone been sent because they were sufficient
for the work, and that Rome could, if need be, despatch five times
as many men. With time to teach the people, not of the Sarci tribe
only, but all the Iceni, to fight in solid masses, and to bear the
brunt of the battle, while the rest of the tribes attacked furiously
on all sides, we might hope for victory; but fighting without
order or regularity, each man for himself, cannot hope to prevail
against their solid mass.
"If I could have gained a name before the time came, so that my
voice might have had weight and power in the councils of the chiefs,
I might have done something. As it is, I fear that a rising now
will bring ruin and slavery upon all Britain."
Beric thought but little of himself, or of the personal danger he
should encounter. The Britons were careless of their lives. They
believed implicitly in a future life, and that those who fell fighting
bravely for their country would meet with reward hereafter; hence,
as among the Gauls, cowardice was an almost unknown vice.
Beric had faith in the gods of his country, while he had none
whatever in those of Rome, and wondered how a mighty people could
believe in such deities; but, unlike the Britons in general, he did
not believe that the gods interfered to decide the fate of battles.
He saw that the Romans, with their false gods, had conquered all
other nations, and that so far they had uniformly triumphed over
his own. Therefore, mighty as he believed the gods to be, he thought
that they concerned themselves but little in the affairs of the
world, and that battles were to be won solely by valour, discipline,
and numbers. Numbers and valour the British had, but of discipline
they were absolutely ignorant, and it was this that gave so tremendous
an advantage to the Romans. Hence Beric felt none of the exultation
and excitement that most British lads of his age would have done
on attaining to rank and command in the tribe to which they belonged.
The Britons despised the Romans as much for their belief in many
gods as for their luxury, and what they considered their effeminacy.
The religion of the Britons was a pure one, though disfigured by
the offering of human sacrifices. They believed in one great Supreme
Spirit, whose power pervaded everything. They thought of him less
as an absolute being than as a pervading influence. They worshipped
him everywhere, in the forests and in the streams, in the sky
and heavenly bodies. Through the Druids they consulted him in all
their undertakings. If the answer was favourable, they followed
it; if unfavourable, they endeavoured to change it by sacrifices
and offerings to the priests. They believed firmly in a life after
death, when they held that the souls of all brave and good men
and women would be transported at once to an island far out in the
Atlantic, which they called the Happy Island. The highest places
would be theirs who had fought valiantly and died in battle; but
there was room for all, and all would be happy. Holding this idea
firmly, the Britons sought rather than avoided death. Their lives
in their separate tribes were quiet and simple, except when engaged
in the chase or war. They were averse to labour. They were domestic,
virtuous, frank, and straightforward. The personal property of
a stranger was sacred among them, and the most lavish hospitality
was exercised. It was not strange that a simple hardy people,
believing firmly in the one supreme god, should have regarded with
contempt alike the luxury of the Romans and their worship of many
gods in the likenesses of men and women, and that the more Beric had
seen of the learning and wisdom of the Romans in other directions,
the more he should wonder that such a people should be slaves to
what seemed to him childish superstitions.
The next morning, after a consultation with some of the minor chiefs,
a hundred men were summoned to attend on the following day. They
were picked out from families where there were two or more males
of working age, so that there would be as little disturbance of
labour as possible. It was principally in companies of a hundred
that Beric had seen the Romans exercised, and he had learned every
order by heart from first to last. The manoeuvres to be taught were
not of a complicated nature. To form in fighting order six deep,
and to move in column, were the principal points; but when the next
day the band assembled, Beric was surprised and vexed to find that
the operations were vastly more difficult than he expected. To
begin with, every man was to have his place in the line, and the
tribesmen, though eager to learn, and anxious to please their young
chief, could not see that it mattered in what order they stood.
When, however, having arranged them at first in a line two deep,
Beric proceeded to explain how the spears were to be held, and
in what order the movements were to be performed,--the exercise
answering to the manual and platoon of modern days,--the
tribesmen were unable to restrain their laughter. What difference
could it make whether the hands were two feet apart or three, whether
the spears were held upright or sloped, whether they came down to
the charge one after another or all together? To men absolutely
unaccustomed to order of any kind, but used only to fight each in
the way that suited him best, these details appeared absolutely
ludicrous.
Beric was obliged to stop and harangue them, pointing out to them
that it was just these little things that gave the Romans their
fighting power; that it was because the whole company moved as one
man, and fought as one man, each knowing his place and falling into
it, however great the confusion, however sudden the alarm, that
made them what they were.
"Why do they conquer you?" he said. "Chiefly because you can never
throw them into confusion. Charge down upon them and break them,
and they at once reunite and a solid wall opposes your scattered
efforts. You know how cattle, when wolves attack them, gather in
a circle with their horns outwards, and so keep at bay those who
could pull them down and rend them separately. At present it seems
ridiculous to you that every position of the hand, every movement
of the arm, should be done by rule; but when you have practised them
these will become a second nature; so with your other movements.
It seems folly to you to do with measured steps what it seems you
could do far more quickly by running together hastily; but it is
not so. The slowest movement is really the quickest, and it has the
advantage that no one is hurried, that everything is done steadily
and regularly, and that even in the greatest heat and confusion of
a battle every man takes his place, as calm and ready to fight as
if no foe were in sight. Now let us try this again. At the end of
the day I shall pick out some of those who are quickest and most
attentive, and make of them officers under me. They will have more
work to do, for they will have to understand and teach my orders,
but also they will gain more honour and credit."
For hours the drill went on; then they broke off for dinner and
again worked until evening, and by that time had made sufficient
progress in their simple movements to begin to feel that there
was after all something more in it than they had fancied. For the
first hour it had seemed to them a sort of joke--a mere freak on
the part of their young chief; but they were themselves surprised
to find by the end of the day how rapidly they were able to change
from their rank two deep into the solid formation, and how their
spears rose and fell together at the order. Beric bade them by
the next morning provide themselves with spears six feet longer.
Britons were more accustomed to fight with javelin than with spear,
and the latter weapons were shorter and lighter than those of the
Romans. Beric felt that the advantage should be the other way, for
the small shields carried by the Britons were inferior as defensive
weapons to those of the Romans, and to preserve the balance it was
necessary therefore to have longer spears; the more so since the
Britons were taller, and far more powerful men than their foes,
and should therefore be able, with practice, to use longer weapons.
The next day Beric chose Boduoc as his second in command, and appointed
ten men sub-officers or sergeants. After a week of almost incessant
work that would have exhausted men less hardy and vigorous, Beric
was satisfied. The company had now come to take great interest in
their work, and were able to go through their exercises with a fair
show of regularity. Even the older chiefs, who had at first shaken
their heads as they looked on, acknowledged that there was a great
deal to be gained from the exercises. Parta was delighted. It was
she who had foreseen the advantages that might be derived from
Beric's stay among the Romans, and she entered heartily into his
plans, ordering the men engaged to be fed from the produce of her
flocks and herds.
When the week was over two hundred more men were summoned, a sufficient
number of the brightest and most intelligent of the first company
being chosen as their sub-officers. Before the drill commenced,
however, the first company were put through their exercises in
order that the newcomers might see what was expected of them, and
how much could be done. This time several of the chiefs joined the
companies in order that they might learn the words of command and
be fitted to lead. This greatly encouraged Beric, who had foreseen
that while he himself could command a company, he could do nothing
towards controlling ten or fifteen companies unless these had each
officers of rank and influence enough to control them.
The exercises after the first company had been drilled were carried on
in the forest some miles away from the village, the men assembling
there and camping beneath the trees, so that no rumour of gatherings
or preparations for war should reach the Romans, although at present
these were not in a position to make any eruption from Camalodunum,
as the greater portion of the legionaries had marched with Suetonius.
Returning one day to Cardun with Boduoc, Beric was surprised to
hear loud cries of lamentation. The women were running about with
dishevelled hair and disordered garments. Fearful that something
might have happened to his mother, he hurried on to the hall. Parta
was sitting on the ground rocking herself to and fro in her grief,
while the women were assembled round her uttering cries of anguish.
"What is the matter?" Beric asked as he hurried forward. The bard
stepped forward to answer the question.
"My son," he said, "misfortune has fallen on the land. The gods
have hidden their faces and refused to fight for their children.
Woe and desolation have come upon us. The altars are thrown down
and the priests slaughtered."
"Mona is taken!" Beric exclaimed.
"Yes, my son, Mona is taken. The Druid Boroc but an hour ago brought
the news. The Romans having reached the strait, constructed flat
bottomed boats, and in these approached the island, the horsemen
towing their horses behind them. There were assembled the women
of the Silures and the Druids from all parts of Britain, with
many fugitives who had fled for shelter to the island. The Druids
remained by their altars offering up human sacrifices, the men and
women assembled on the beach waving torches, hurling imprecations
upon the invaders, and imploring the gods to aid them and to crush
the impious foe. For a time the Romans paused in mid channel,
terrified at the spectacle, and the hopes of all that the gods
had paralysed their arms rose high; but, alas! the halt was but
temporary. Encouraging each other with shouts, they again advanced,
and, leaping from their boats, waded through the water and set foot
on the sacred soil.
"What was there to do? The men were few, and though the women in
their despair rushed wildly at the enemy, it was all in vain; men
and women were alike slaughtered; and then, moving forward, they
advanced against the holy circle and slew the Druids upon the altars
of the gods they served, and yet the gods were silent. They saw,
they heard, but answered not; neither the clouds rained fire upon
the invaders nor the earth shook. Ah! my son, evil days have fallen
upon the land. What will be the end of them?"
Throughout the length and breadth of Britain a thrill of horror was
felt at the news of the massacre of Druids at Mona, and everywhere
it was followed by a stern determination to prepare for battle to
clear the land of the Romans. The Druids went from tribe to tribe
and from village to village stirring up men's hearts; the women,
even more deeply excited than the men at the news of the calamity,
behaved as if possessed, many going about the country calling upon
the men to take up arms, and foretelling victory to the Britons
and destruction to the Romans; even in the streets of Camalodunum
at night their voices were heard crying out curses upon the Romans
and predicting the destruction of the city.
A week after the news came, Beric, in fulfilment of the promise
he had given to Berenice, paid another visit to Camalodunum. There
were no signs in its busy streets of uneasiness or fear. The new
propraetor Catus Decianus, who commanded in the absence of Suetonius,
was holding a sort of court there, and the bearing of the Romans
seemed even more arrogant and insolent than usual. The news of
the destruction of the Druids at Mona had by them been hailed as
a final and most crushing blow to the resistance of the Britons.
Since their gods could not protect their own altars what hope
could there be for them in the future? Decianus, a haughty tyrant
who had been sent to Britain by Nero as a mark of signal favour,
in order that he might enrich himself by the spoils of the Britons,
was levying exactions at a rate hitherto unknown, treating the
people as if they were but dirt under his feet. His lieutenants,
all creatures of Nero, followed his example, and the exasperation
of the unfortunate Trinobantes, who were the chief victims, had
reached such a point that they were ready for revolt whensoever
the signal might come.
On arrival at the house of Caius Muro, Beric found Berenice at home;
she received him with joy. "I am glad that you have come, Beric;
it is so dull now that father has gone away to the war. I have been
expecting you here for the last fortnight. I suppose you have been
amusing yourself too much to give a thought to me."
"I have been very busy, Berenice. I am a chief now, and have had
much to do in the tribe. Among other things we have been having
great war with the wolves."
"Yes, you told me when you were last here that you were going to
set out next day on an expedition against them."
"They began first, as it turned out," he said smiling, "and very
nearly made a meal of me that night on my way homeward."
"Sit down and tell me all about it," she said. "You know I love
stories."
Beric recited to her the story of the fight at the hut.
"And there was a woman there! How terrible it must have been for
her to be alone with her children before you arrived, and to think
of her killing wolves with the spear. How different your women must
be from us, Beric, for we are only taught to embroider, to dress
ourselves, and to care for pretty things. Why, I should be frightened
out of my life at the sight of a wolf if I were all alone and had
no one to protect me."
"Our women are brought up differently, Berenice. We regard them as
altogether our equals, and many of our tribes are ruled by women.
My own, you know, for example. They do not go into battle with the
men; but when a camp is attacked they are ready to fight in its
defence, and being brought up to lead a vigorous life, they are well
nigh as strong as we are. Among all the Gaulish nations the women
are held in high respect. Of course with you this is so sometimes.
Your father was wont to listen to the opinions of your mother; but
you know that is not often so, and that with many Romans women are
looked upon as inferior creatures, good only for dress and pleasure,
useful in ordering a house and in managing the slaves, but unfit
to take part in public life, and knowing nothing of aught save
domestic affairs. And what has been going on here, Berenice?"
"Nothing," the girl said; "at least I have been doing nothing. I
went to the footraces the other day, and saw the propraetor, but
I don't like him. I think that he is a bad man, and I hear stories
among the ladies of his being cruel and greedy; and there have been
mad women going about at night shrieking and crying; I have heard
them several times myself. Some of the ladies said they wish that
my father was back here with his legion, for that there are but few
soldiers, and if Decianus continues to treat the people so badly
there may be trouble. What do you think, Beric?"
"I cannot say," he replied. "It seems to me that the Romans are
bent upon crushing us down altogether. They have just captured our
Holy Island, slaying the priests and priestesses, and overthrowing
the altars, while Nero's officers wring from the people the last
coin and the last animal they possess. I fear that there will be
trouble, Berenice. No men worthy of the name could see their gods
insulted and themselves despoiled of all they possess without
striking a blow in defence."
"But they will only bring more trouble upon themselves," the girl
said gravely. "I have heard my father lament that they forced us to
fight against them, though you know he held that it was our fault
more than theirs, and that if they were ruled kindly and wisely,
as were the people in Southern Gaul, where the legion was stationed
before it came over here, they would settle down and live peaceably,
and be greatly benefited by our rule."
"If you treat a man as you would a dog you must not be surprised
if he bites you," Beric said. "Some of your people not only think
that we are dogs, but that we are toothless ones. Mayhap they will
find their mistake some day."
"But you will never fight against us, Beric," the girl said anxiously,
"after living so long among us?"
"I would not fight against your father or against those who have
treated me well," he replied; "but against those who ill treat and
abuse us I would fight when my countrymen fought. Yet if I could
ever do you a service, Berenice, I would lay down my life to do
it."
The event seemed so improbable to the girl that she passed over
the promise without comment.
"So you are a chief, Beric! But I thought chiefs wore golden
bracelets and ornaments, and you are just as you were when you came
here last."
"Because I come here only as a visitor. If I came on a mission from
the queen, or as one of a deputation of chiefs, I should wear my
ornaments. I wear them at home now, those that my father had."
Beric stayed for some hours chatting with Berenice, and his old
instructor, who had been left by Caius in charge of the household.
As he walked home he wondered over the careless security of
the Romans, and vowed that should opportunity occur he would save
Berenice from the fate that was likely to fall upon all in Camalodunum
should the Britons rise.