"A fresh misfortune has occurred," was the greeting with which
Beric's mother met him on his return home. "Prasutagus is dead; and
this is not the worst, he has left half his estates to the Roman
Emperor."
"To the Roman Emperor!" Beric repeated; "is it possible, mother?"
"It is true, Beric. You know he has always tried to curry favour
with the Romans, and has kept the Iceni from joining when other
tribes rose against Rome. He has thought of nothing but amassing
wealth, and in all Britain there is no man who could compare with
him in riches. Doubtless he felt that the Romans only bided their
time to seize what he had gathered, and so, in order that Boadicea
and 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 knows
that it does but whet their appetite for blood, and so it will be
in this case. I hear Prasutagus died a week since, though the news
has come but slowly, and already a horde of Roman officials have
arrived in Norfolk, and are proceeding to make inventories of the
king's possessions, and to bear themselves as insolently as if they
were masters of all. Trouble must come, and that soon. Boadicea is
of different stuff to her husband; she will not bear the insolence
of the Romans. It would have been well for the Iceni had Prasutagus
died twenty years ago and she had ruled our country."
"The gods have clearly willed, mother, that we should rise as one
people against the Romans. It may be that it was for this that they
did not defend their shrines from the impious hands of the invaders.
Nought else stirred the Britons to lay aside their jealousies and
act as one people. Now from end to end of the island all are burning
for vengeance. Just at this moment, comes the death of the Romans'
friend Prasutagus, and the passing of the rule of the Iceni into
the hands of Boadicea. With the Romans in her capital the occasion
will assuredly not long be wanting, and then there will be such a
rising as the Romans have never yet seen; and then, their purpose
effected, the gods may well fight on our side. I would that there
had been five more years in which to prepare for the struggle, but
if it must come it must. This Catus Decianus is just the man to
bring it on. Haughty, arrogant, and greedy, he knows nothing of
us, and has never faced the Britons in arms. Had Suetonius been
here he would not have acted thus with regard to the affairs of
Prasutagus. Had Caius Muro not been absent his voice might have been
raised in warning to the tyrant; but everything seems to conspire
together, mother, to bring on the crisis."
"The sooner the better," Parta exclaimed vehemently. "It is true
that in time you might teach the whole Iceni to fight in Roman
methods, but what is good for the Romans may not be good for us.
Moreover, every year that passes strengthens their hold on the
land. 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, we
are ready."
Since the news of the capture of Mona had arrived, the tribesmen
had drilled with increased alacrity and eagerness. Every man saw
that the struggle with Rome must ere long take place, and was eager
to take a leading share in the conflict. It was upon them that the
blow had fallen most heavily in the former partial rising, and they
knew that the other tribes of the Iceni held that their defence of
their camp should not have been overborne by the Romans as it was;
hence they had something of a private wrong as well as a national
one to avenge. Another fortnight was spent in constant work, until
one day the news came that Boadicea's daughters had been most
grossly insulted by the Roman officers, and that the queen herself
had started for Camalodunum to demand from Decianus a redress of
their wrongs and the punishment of the offenders. The excitement
was intense. Every man felt the outrage upon the daughters of their
queen as a personal injury, and when Beric took his place before
the men of the tribe, who were drawn up in military order, a shout
arose: "Lead us to Camalodunum! Let us take vengeance!"
"Not yet," Beric cried. "The queen has gone there; we must wait
the issue. Not until she gives the orders must we move. A rising
now would endanger her safety. We must wait, my friends, until all
are as ready as we are; when the time comes you will not find me
backward in leading you."
Three days later came news that seemed at first incredible, but
which was speedily confirmed. Decianus had received the queen, had
scoffed at her complaints, and when, fired with indignation, she
had used threats, he had ordered his soldiers to strip and scourge
her, and the sentence had actually been carried into effect. Then
the rage of the tribesmen knew no bounds, and it needed the utmost
persuasions of Parta herself to induce them to wait until news came
from the north.
"Fear not," she said, "that your vengeance will be baulked. Boadicea
will not submit to this double indignity, of that you maybe sure.
Wait until you hear from her. When measures are determined upon
in this matter the Iceni must act as one man. We are all equally
outraged in the persons of our queen and her daughters; all have
a right to a share in avenging her insults. We might spoil all
by moving before the others are ready. When we move it must be as
a mighty torrent to overwhelm the invaders. Not Camalodunum only,
but every Roman town must be laid in ruins. It must be a life
and death struggle between us and Rome; we must conquer now or be
enslaved for ever."
It was not long before messengers arrived from Boadicea, bidding
the Sarci prepare for war, and summoning Parta and her son to a
council of the chiefs of the tribe, to be held under a well known
sacred oak in the heart of the forest, near Norwich. Parta's chariot
was at once prepared, together with a second, which was to carry
Boduoc and a female attendant of Parta, and as soon as the horses
were harnessed they started. Two long days' journey brought them
to the place of meeting. The scene was a busy one. Already fully
two score of the chiefs had arrived. Parta was received with great
marks of respect. The Sarci were the tribe lying nearest to the
Romans, and upon them the brunt of the Roman anger would fall, as
it had done before; but her appearance in answer to the summons
showed, it was thought, their willingness to join in the general
action of the tribe.
Beric was looked at curiously. His four years' residence among the
Romans caused him to be regarded with a certain amount of suspicion,
which had been added to by rumours that he had been impressing
upon the tribe the greatness and power of Rome. Of late there had
been reports brought by wandering bards that the Sarci were being
practised in the same exercises as those of the Roman soldiers,
and there were many who thought that Beric, like Cogidinus, a chief
of 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 at
the hands of the Romans, and hated them with all her heart, held
that she would never have divided her power with Beric, or suffered
him to take military command of the tribe, had she not been assured
of his fidelity to the cause of Britain.
Beric was dressed in the full panoply of a chief. He wore a short
skirt or kilt reaching to his knees. Above it a loose vest or
shirt, girt in by a gold belt, while over his shoulders he wore
the British mantle, white in colour and worked with gold. Around
his neck was the torque, the emblem of chieftainship. On his left
arm he carried a small shield of beaten brass, and from a baldric
covered with gold plates hung the straight pointless British sword
that had been carried by his father in battle. Even those most
suspicious of him could not deny that he was a stalwart and well
built youth, with a full share of pith and muscle, and that his
residence among the Romans had not given him any airs of effeminacy.
The only subject of criticism was that his hair was shorter than
that of his countrymen, for although he had permitted it to grow
since he left Camalodunum, where he had worn it short, in Roman
fashion, it had not yet attained its full length.
Beric felt a stranger among the others. Since his return home there
had been no great tribal gathering, for Prasutagus had for some
time been ill, and had always discouraged such assemblages both
because they were viewed with jealousy by the Romans and because he
begrudged the expenses of entertaining. Parta, who was personally
known 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 is
young, but you will find him a worthy companion in arms when the
day of battle comes."
"I am glad to hear what you say, Parta," Aska, one of the older
chiefs, said. "It would be unfair to impute blame to him for what
assuredly was not his fault, but I feared that they might have
taught him to despise his countrymen."
"It is not so, sir," Beric said firmly. "Happily I fell into good
hands. Caius Muro, the commander of the 12th Legion, in whose charge
I was, is a just as well as a valiant man, and had me instructed
as if I had been his own son, and I trust that I am none the less
a true Briton because I except him and his from the hatred I bear
the Romans. He never said a word to me against my countrymen, and
indeed often bewailed that we were not treated more wisely and
gently, and were not taught to regard the Romans as friends and
teachers rather than oppressors."
"Well spoken, young chief!" the other said; "ingratitude is, of
all sins, the most odious, and you do well to speak up boldly for
those 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 who
are just and honourable. But I hear that you admire them greatly,
and that you have been telling to your tribe tales of their greatness
in war and of their virtues."
"I have done so," Beric replied. "A race could not conquer the
world as the Romans have done unless they had many virtues; but
those that I chiefly told of are the virtues that every Briton
should lay to heart. I spoke of their patriotism, of the love of
country that never failed, of the stern determination that enabled
them to pass through the gravest dangers without flinching, and to
show a dauntless face to the foe even when dangers were thickest
and the country was menaced with destruction. Above all, how in
Rome, though there might be parties and divisions, there were none
in the face of a common enemy. Then all acted as one man; there
was no rivalry save in great deeds. Each was ready to give life
and all he possessed in defence of his country. These were lessons
which I thought it well that every Briton should learn and take to
heart. Rome has conquered us so far because she has been one while
we are rent into tribes having no common union; content to sit with
our arms folded while our neighbours are crushed, not seeing that
our turn will come next. It was so when they first came in the time
of our forefathers, it has been so in these latter times; tribe
after tribe has been subdued; while, had we been all united, the
Romans would never have obtained a footing on our shore. No wonder
the gods have turned away their faces from a people so blind and
so divided when all was at stake. Yes, I have learned much from
the Romans. I have not learned to love them, but I have learned to
admire them and to regret that in many respects my own countrymen
did not resemble them."
There was a murmur of surprise among the chiefs who had by this
time gathered round, while angry exclamations broke from some of
the younger men; but Aska waved his hand.
"Beric speaks wisely and truly," he said; "our dissensions have
been our ruin. Still more, perhaps, the conduct of those who should
have led us, but who have made terms with Rome in order to secure
their own possessions. Among these Prasutagus was conspicuous, and
we 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 are
the misfortunes that he has brought upon his queen, his daughters,
and the tribe. Had we joined our whole forces with those of Caractacus
the Brigantes too might have risen. It took all the strength of
the Romans to conquer Caractacus alone. What could they have done
had the Brigantes and we from the north, and the whole of the
southern tribes, then unbroken, closed down upon them? It is but
yesterday since Prasutagus was buried. The grass has not yet begun
to shoot upon his funeral mound and yet his estates have been seized
by the Romans, while his wife and daughters have been insulted
beyond measure.
"The young chief of the Sarci has profited by his sojourn among
the Romans. The Druids have told me that the priest who has visited
the Sarci prophesies great things of him, and for that reason
decided that, young as he was, he should share his mother's power
and take his place as leader of the tribe in battle, and that
he foresaw that, should time be given him to ripen his wisdom and
establish his authority, he might some day become a British champion
as powerful as Cunobeline, as valiant as Caractacus. These were
the words of one of the wisest of the Druids. They have been passed
round among the Druids, and even now throughout Britain there are
many who never so much as heard of the name of the Sarci, who yet
believe that, in this young chief of that tribe, will some day be
found a mighty champion of his country. Prasutagus knew this also,
for as soon as Beric returned from Camalodunum he begged the Druids
to find out whether good or evil was to be looked for from this
youth, who had been brought up among the Romans, and their report
to him tallied with that which I myself heard from them. It was for
that reason that Boadicea sent for him with his mother, although
so much younger than any here, and belonging to a tribe that is
but a small one among the Iceni. I asked these questions of him,
knowing that among some of you there were doubts whether his stay
with the Romans had not rendered him less a Briton. He answered as
I expected from him, boldly and fearlessly, and, as you have heard
wisely, 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 the
forest into the circular clearing, in the centre of which stood
the 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 alighted
from them, with a number of chiefs of importance from the branches
of 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 her
waist. She wore no ornaments or insignia of her high rank; her dress
and those of her daughters were careless and disordered, indicative
of mourning and grief, but the expression of her face was that of
indignation and passion rather than of humiliation.
Upon alighting she acknowledged the greeting of the assembled chiefs
with a slight gesture, and then remained standing with her eyes
fixed upon the advancing Druids. When these reached the sacred tree
they encircled it seven times, still continuing their chanting, and
then ranged themselves up under its branches with the chief Druid
standing in front. They had already been consulted privately by
the queen and had declared for war; but it was necessary that the
decision should be pronounced solemnly beneath the shade of the
sacred oak.
"Why come you here, woman?" the chief priest asked, addressing the
queen.
"I come as a supplicant to the gods," she said; "as an outraged
queen, a dishonoured woman, and a broken hearted mother, and in each
of these capacities I call upon my country's gods for vengeance."
Then in passionate words she poured out the story of the indignities
that she and her daughters had suffered, and suddenly loosening
her garment, and suffering it to drop to her waist, she turned
and showed the marks of the Roman rods across her back, the sight
eliciting a shout of fury from the chiefs around her.
"Let all retire to the woods," the Druids said, "and see that no
eye profanes our mysteries. When the gods have answered we will
summon you."
The queen, followed by all the chiefs, retired at once to the
forest, while the Druids proceeded to carry out the sacred mysteries.
Although all knew well what the decision would be, they waited with
suppressed excitement the summons to return and hear the decision
that was to embark them in a desperate struggle with Rome. Some threw
themselves down under the trees, some walked up and down together
discussing in low tones the prospects of a struggle, and the question
what tribes would join it. The queen and her daughters sat apart,
none venturing to approach them. Parta and three other female chiefs
sat a short distance away talking together, while two or three of
the younger chiefs, their attitude towards Beric entirely altered
by the report of the Druids' predictions concerning him, gathered
round him and asked questions concerning the Romans' methods of
fighting, their arms and power. An hour after they had retired a
deep sound of a conch rose in the air. The queen and her daughters
at once moved forward, followed by the four female chiefs, behind
whom came the rest in a body. Issuing from the forest they advanced
to the sacred oak and stood in an attitude of deep respect, while
the chief Druid announced the decision of the gods.
"The gods have spoken," he said. "Too long have the Iceni stood
aloof from their countrymen, therefore have the gods withdrawn
their faces from them; therefore has punishment and woe fallen upon
them. Prasutagus is dead; his queen and his daughters have suffered
the direst indignities; a Roman has seized the wealth heaped up
by inglorious cowardice. But the moment has come; the gods have
suffered their own altars to be desecrated in order that over the
whole length and breadth of the land the cry for vengeance shall
arise simultaneously. The cup is full; vengeance is at hand upon
the oppressors and tyrants, the land reeks with British blood. Not
content with grasping our possessions, our lives and the honour
of our women are held as nought by them, our altars are cold, our
priests slaughtered. The hour of vengeance is at hand. I see the
smoke of burning cities ascending in the air. I hear the groans of
countless victims to British vengeance. I see broken legions and
flying men.
"To arms! the gods have spoken. Strike for vengeance. Strike for
the gods. Strike for your country and outraged queen. Chiefs of
the Iceni, to arms! May the curse of the gods fall upon an enemy
who draws back in the day of battle! May the gods give strength to
your 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 uttered
the message of the gods, Boadicea turned to the chiefs and raised
her arm for silence.
"I am a queen again; I reign once more over a race of men. No
longer do I feel the smart of my stripes, for each shall ere long
be washed out in Roman blood; but before action, counsel, and before
counsel, food, for you have, many of you, come from afar. I have
ordered 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 slaves
had prepared a feast of roasted sheep, pig, and ox, with bread and
jars of drink formed of fermented honey, and a sort of beer. As
soon as the meal was concluded the queen called the chiefs round
her, and the assembly was joined by the Druids.
"War is declared," she said; "the question is shall we commence at
once, or shall we wait?"
There was a general response "At once!" but the chief Druid stepped
forward and said: "My sons, we must not risk the ruin of all by
undue 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 bearing
arms in the tribe. In the meantime we, with the aid of the bards,
will spread the news of the outrages that the Romans have committed
upon the queen and her daughters far and wide over the land. Already
the tribes are burning with indignation at the insults to our gods
and the slaughter of our priests at Mona, and this news will arouse
them to madness, for what is done here today may be done elsewhere
tomorrow, and all men will see that only in the total destruction
of the Romans is there a hope of freedom. All will be bidden to
prepare for war, and, when the news comes that the Iceni have taken
up arms, to assemble and march to join us. On this day fortnight,
then, let every chief with his following meet at Cardun, which
is but a short march from Camalodunum. Then we will rush upon the
Roman city, the scene of the outrage to your queen, and its smoke
shall tell Britain that she is avenged, and Rome that her day of
oppression is over."
The decision was received with satisfaction. A fortnight was none
too long for making preparations, assembling the tribesmen, and
marching to the appointed spot.
"One thing I claim," Boadicea said, "and that is the right to fall
upon and destroy instantly the Romans who installed themselves in
my 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, and
hand them over bound to us to be sacrificed on the altars of the
gods 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 upon
the Romans at daybreak."
"See that none escape," the Druid said. "Kill them and all their slaves
and followers. Let not one live to carry the news to Camalodunum."
"I shall be at the meeting place and march at your head," the queen
said 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 survive
defeat. 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 great
things predicted of you, Beric. The gods have marked you out for
favour, and their priests tell me that you will be one day a great
champion of the Britons. So may it be. I shall watch you on the
day of battle, and am assured that none among the Iceni will bear
themselves more worthily."
An hour later the meeting broke up, and Parta and Beric returned
to Cardun, where they at once began to make preparations for the
approaching conflict. Every man in the tribe was summoned to attend,
and the exercises went on from daybreak till dusk, while the women
cooked and waited upon the men. Councils were held nightly in the
hall, and to each of the chiefs was assigned a special duty, the
whole tribe being treated as a legion, and every chief and fighting
man having his place and duty assigned to him.
In Camalodunum, although nothing was known of the preparations
that were being made, a feeling of great uneasiness prevailed. The
treatment of Boadicea had excited grave disapproval upon the part
of the great majority of the inhabitants, although new arrivals
from Gaul or Rome and the officials in the suite of Decianus lauded
his 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 it
for dogs like these to complain because they are whipped? They must
be taught to know that they live but at our pleasure; that this
island and all it contains is ours. They have no rights save those
we choose to give them."
But the older settlers viewed the matter very differently. They
knew well enough that it was only after hard fighting that Vespasian
had subdued the south, and Ostorius crushed Caractacus. They knew,
too, that the Iceni gave but a nominal submission to Rome, and
that the Trinobantes, crushed as they were, had been driven to the
verge of madness by extortion. Moreover the legions were far away;
Camalodunum was well nigh undefended, and lay almost at the mercy
of the Britons should they attack. They, therefore, denounced the
treatment of Boadicea as not only brutal but as impolitic in the
extreme.
The sudden cessation of news from the officials who had gone to
take possession of the estate of Prasutagus caused considerable
uneasiness among this section of the inhabitants of Camalodunum.
Messengers were sent off every day to inquire as to what had taken
place after the return of Boadicea, but none came back. The feeling
of uneasiness was heightened by the attitude of the natives. Reports
came in from all parts of the district that they had changed their
attitude, that they no longer crouched at the sight of a Roman but
bore themselves defiantly, that there were meetings at night in the
forest, and that the women sang chants and performed dances which
had evidently some hidden meaning.
Decianus, conscious perhaps that his action was strongly disapproved
by all the principal inhabitants of the town, and that, perhaps,
Suetonius would also view it in the same light when it was reported
to him, had left the city a few days after the occurrence and had
gone to Verulamium. His absence permitted the general feeling of
apprehension and discontentment more open expression than it would
otherwise have had. Brave as the Romans were, they were deeply
superstitious, and a thrill of horror and apprehension ran through
the city when it was reported one morning that the statute of Victory
in the temple had fallen to the ground, and had turned round as if
it fled towards the sea. This presage of evil created a profound
impression.
"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 have
seen today, and all agree it forbodes some terrible evil."
"It may, or it may not," the old scribe said cautiously; "if the
statue has fallen by the action of the gods the omen is surely a
most evil one."
"But how else could it have fallen, Cneius?"
"Well, my dear, there are many Britons in the town, and you know
they are in a very excited state; their women, indeed, seem to
have 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 to
fresh oppressions and cruelties against the Britons--but it is
just possible that some of them may have entered the temple at night
and overthrown Victory's image as an act of defiance. You know how
the women nightly shriek out their prophecies of the destruction
of this town."
"But could they destroy it, Cneius? Surely they would never dare
to attack a great Roman city like this!"
"I don't know whether they dare or not, Berenice, but assuredly
Decianus is doing all in his power to excite them to such a pitch
of despair that they might dare do anything; and if they dare,
I see nothing whatever to prevent them from taking the city. The
works erected after Claudius first founded the colony are so vast
that they would require an army to defend them, while there are but
a few hundred soldiers here. What could they do against a horde of
barbarians? I would that your father were back, and also the two
legions who marched away to join Suetonius. Before they went they
ought to have erected a central fort here, to which all could retire
in case of danger, and hold out until Suetonius came back to our
assistance; but you see, when they went away none could have foreseen
what has since taken place. No one could have dreamt that Decianus
would 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 to
seize the possessions of Prasutagus. How is it that none of our
messengers have returned? It seems to me almost certain that these
men have paid for their conduct to the daughters of Boadicea with
their lives."
"But Beric is with the Iceni. Surely we should hear from him if
danger threatened."
"He is with them," Cneius said, "but he is a chief, and if the
tribe are in arms he is in arms also, and cannot, without risking
the forfeit of his life for treachery, send hither a message that
would put us on our guard. I believe in the lad. Four years I
taught 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 am
sure he is grateful for the kindness he received here, and has a
real affection for you, therefore I believe, that should my worst
fears be verified, and the Iceni attack Camalodunum, he will do
his utmost to save you."
"But they will not kill women and girls surely, even if they did
take the city?"
"I fear that they will show slight mercy to any, Berenice; why
should they? We have shown no mercy to them; we have slaughtered
their priests and priestesses, and at the storm of their towns
have put all to death without distinction of age or sex. If we, a
civilized people, thus make war, what can you expect from the men
upon whom we have inflicted such countless injuries?"
The fall of the statue of Victory was succeeded by other occurrences
in which the awestruck inhabitants read augury of evil. It was
reported that strange noises had been heard in the council house
and theatre, while men out in boats brought back the tale that
there was the appearance of a sunken town below the water. It was
currently believed that the sea had assumed the colour of blood,
and that there were, when the tide went out, marks upon the sand
as if dead bodies had been lying there. Even the boldest veterans
were dismayed at this accumulation of hostile auguries. A council
of the principal citizens was held, and an urgent message despatched
to Decianus, praying that he would take instance measures for the
protection of the city. In reply to this he despatched two hundred
soldiers from Verulamium, and these with the small body of troops
already in the city took possession of the Temple of Claudius, and
began to make preparations for putting it into a state of defence.
Still no message had come from Norwich, but night after night the
British women declared that the people of Camalodunum would suffer
the same fate that had already overwhelmed those who had ventured
to insult the daughters of the queen of the Iceni. A strange terror
had now seized the inhabitants of the town. The apprehension of
danger weighted upon all, and the peril seemed all the more terrible
inasmuch as it was so vague. Nothing was known for certain. No
message had come from the Iceni since the queen quitted the town,
and yet it was felt that among the dark woods stretching north a
host of foes was gathering, and might at any moment pour down upon
the city. Orders were issued that at the approach of danger all
who could do so were to betake themselves at once to the temple,
which was to act as a citadel, yet no really effective measures
were taken. There was, indeed, a vague talk of sending the women and
children and valuables away to the legion, commanded by Cerealis,
stationed in a fortified camp to the south, but nothing came of
it; all waited for something definite, some notification that the
Britons had really revolted, and while waiting for this nothing
was 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 had
at once left after placing it in his hands. The scribe opened it
and read as follows:--
"To Cneius Nepo, greeting--Obtain British garb for yourself and
Berenice. Let her apparel be that of a boy. Should anything unusual
occur 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 in
the 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 when
he had read it. "I thought so. I was sure that if the Britons had
a spark of manhood left in them they would avenge the cruel wrongs
of their queen. I am rejoiced to read Beric's words, and to see
that he has, as I felt sure he had, a grateful heart. He would
save us from the fate that he clearly thinks is about to overwhelm
this place. The omens have not lied then--not that I believe in
them; they are for the most part the offspring of men's fancy, but
at 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, though
whether Beric can save her. These people have terrible wrongs to
avenge, and at their first outburst will spare none. Well, I must
do my best, and late as it is I will go out and purchase these
garments. It is not likely that the danger will come tonight, for
he would have given us longer notice. Still he may have had no
opportunity, and may not have known until the last moment when the
attack was to take place. He says 'lose no time.'"
Cneius at once went to one of the traders who dealt with the natives
who came into the town, and procured the garments for himself and
Berenice. The trader, who knew him by sight, remarked, "Have you
been purchasing more slaves?"
"No, but I have need for dresses for two persons who have done me
some service."
"I should have thought," the trader said, "they would have preferred
lighter colours. These cloths are sombre, and the natives, although
their own cloths are for the most part dark, prefer, when they buy
of me, brighter colours."
"These will do very well," Cneius said, "just at present Roman
colours and cloths are not likely to be in demand among them."
"No, the times are bad," the trader said; "there has been scarce
a native in my shop for the last ten days, and even among the
townspeople there has been little buying or selling."
Cneius returned to the house, a slave carrying his purchases behind
him. On reaching home he took the parcel from him, and carried it
to his own cubicule, and then ordered a slave to beg Berenice to
come down from her apartment as he desired to speak with her.