On leaving the propraetor Beric further informed his comrades of
the offer that Petronius had made.
"And you think he will keep his oath?" Boduoc asked.
"I am sure of it," Beric said; "he has been sent out by Rome to
undo the mischief Suetonius and Decianus have caused. His face is
an honest one, and a Roman would not lie to his gods any more than
we would."
"But you ought to have made terms with them, Beric," Boduoc said.
"You ought to have made a condition that you should be allowed to
stay. It matters not for us, but you are the chief of all the Iceni
who are left."
"In the first place, Boduoc, I was not in a position to make terms,
seeing that I am a captive and at their mercy; and in the next
place, I would not if I could. Think you that the tribesmen would
then accept my counsels to leave the Fens and return to their homes?
They would say that I had purchased my life and freedom from the
Romans, and had agreed to betray them into their hands."
"No one would venture to say that of you, Beric."
"You may think not, Boduoc; but if not now, in the future it would
be said that, as before I was brought up among the Romans, so now
I had gone back to them. No, even if they offered to all of us our
liberty, I would say, let those go who will, but I remain a captive.
Had the message come to us when I was free in the Fens I would have
accepted it, for I knew that, although we might struggle long, we
should be finally overpowered. Moreover, the marsh fevers were as
deadly as Roman swords, and though for a year we have supported
them, we should in time, perhaps this year when the summer heats
come, have lost our strength and have melted away. Thus, had I
believed that the Romans were sincere in their wish for peace, and
that they desired to see the land tilled, I would have accepted
their terms, because we were in arms and free, and could still
have resisted; but as a captive, and conquered, I scorn to accept
mercy from Rome."
By this time they had arrived at the house where the other captives
were guarded, and Beric repeated the terms that Petronius had
offered.
"They will not benefit us," he said. "We are the captives of
Suetonius, and being taken with arms in our hands warring against
Rome, we must pay the penalty; but, for the sake of our brethren,
I rejoice. Our land may yet be peopled again by the Iceni, and
we shall have the consolation that, whatever may befall us, it
is partly our valour that has won such terms from Rome. There are
still fifteen hundred fighting men in the swamps, and twice as many
women and children. There may be many more lurking in the Fens to
the north, for great numbers, especially from our northern districts,
must have taken refuge with the Brigantes. Thus, then, there will,
when all have returned, be a goodly number, and it is our defence
of the Fenlands that has won their freedom for them. We may
be captives and slaves, but we are not dishonoured. For months we
have held Suetonius at bay, and two Romans have fallen for every
Briton; and even at last it was by treachery we were captured.
"None of us have begged our lives of Rome. We fought to the last,
and showed front when we were but twenty against two thousand. It
was not our fault that we did not die on the field, and we can hold
our heads as high now when we are captives as we did when we were
free men. We know not what may be our fate at Rome, but whatever it
be, it will be a consolation to us to know that our people again
wander in the old woods; that our women are spinning by their
hearthstones; that the Iceni are again a tribe; and that it is we
who have won this for them."
An enthusiastic assent greeted Beric's words.
"Now," he said, "we must choose the four who shall carry the
message. I said those most sorely wounded, but since four are to
go they can care little who are chosen. Most of us have lost those
we love, but there are some whose wives may have been elsewhere
when the attack was made. Let these stay, and let those who have
no ties save that of country go to Rome."
Only two men were found whose families had not been on the island
when it was attacked. These and the two most seriously wounded
were at once chosen as the messengers. The next morning the whole
of the captives were escorted to the temple, which was but a
small building in comparison with the great edifice that had been
destroyed at the capture of Camalodunum. Here Petronius and all
the principal officers and officials were assembled. Sacrifice was
offered, and then Petronius, laying his hand on the altar, declared
a solemn peace with the Britons, and swore that, so long as they
remained peaceable subjects of Rome, no man should interfere with
them, but all should be free to settle in their villages, to till
their land, and to tend their herds free from any molestation
whatever. Beric translated the words of the oath to the Britons.
Petronius then bade the four men who had been chosen stand forward,
and told them to carry his message to their countrymen.
"Enough blood has been shed on both sides," he said. "It is time
for peace. You have proved yourselves worthy and valiant enemies;
let us now lay aside the sword and live together in friendship. I
sent orders last night for the legions to leave their forts by the
Fenland and to return hither, so that the way is now open to your
own land. We can settle the terms of the tribute hereafter, but it
shall not be onerous."
After leaving the temple Beric gave his messages to the men, and
they at once started under an escort for the camp, the officer in
charge of them being ordered to provide them with a boat, in which
they were to proceed alone to their countrymen.
That evening Petronius sent for Beric, and received him alone. "I
am sorry," he said, "that I cannot restore you and your companions
to your tribe, but in this I am powerless, as Suetonius has captured
you, and to him you belong. I have begged him, as a personal
favour, to hand you over to me, but he has refused, and placed as
we are I can do no more. I have, however, written to friends in
Rome concerning you, and have said that you have done all in your
power to bring about a pacification of the land, and have begged
them to represent to Nero and the senate that if a report reach
this island that you have been put to death, it will undo the work
of pacification, and perhaps light up a fresh flame of war."
There had, indeed, been an angry dispute between Suetonius and his
successor. The former, although well pleased to return to Rome, was
jealous of Petronius, and was angry at seeing that he was determined
to govern Britain upon principles the very reverse of those he
himself had adopted. Moreover, he regarded the possession of the
captives as important, and deemed that their appearance in his
train, as proofs that before leaving he had completely stamped out
the insurrection, would create a favourable impression, and would
go far to restore him to popular opinion. This was, as he had heard
from friends in Rome, strongly adverse to him, in consequence of
the serious disasters and heavy losses which had befallen the Roman
arms during his propraetorship, and he had therefore refused with
some heat to grant the request of Petronius.
The next morning the captives were mustered, and were marched down
to the river and placed on board a ship. There were six vessels
lying in readiness, as Suetonius was accompanied not only by his
own household, but by several officers and officials attached to
him personally, and by two hundred soldiers whose time of service
had expired, and who were to form his escort to Rome. To Beric,
from his residence in Camalodunum, large ships were no novelty,
but the Britons with him were struck with astonishment at craft so
vastly exceeding anything that they had before seen.
"Could we sail in these ships to Rome?" Boduoc asked.
"You could do so, but it would be a very long and stormy voyage
passing through the straits between two mountains which the Romans
call the Pillars of Hercules. Our voyage will be but a short one.
If the wind is favourable we shall reach the coast of Gaul in two
days, and thence we shall travel on foot."
Fortunately the weather was fine, and on the third day after setting
sail they reached one of the northern ports of Gaul. When it was
known that Suetonius was on board, he was received with much pomp,
and was lodged in the house of the Roman magistrate. As he had no
desire to impress the inhabitants of the place, the captives were
left unbound and marched through the streets under a guard of the
Roman spearmen. Gaul had long been completely subdued, but the
inhabitants looked at the captives with pitying eyes. When these
reached the house in which they were to be confined, the natives
brought them presents of food, bribing the Roman guards to allow
them to deliver them.
As the language of the two peoples was almost identical, the Gauls
had no difficulty in making themselves understood by the captives,
and asked many questions relating to the state of affairs in Britain.
They had heard of the chief, Beric, who had for a year successfully
opposed the forces of Rome, and great was their surprise when they
found that the youngest of the party was the noted leader. Two days
later they started on their long march.
Inured as the Britons were to fatigue, the daily journeys were nothing
to them. They found the country flourishing. Villages occurred at
frequent intervals, and they passed through several large towns
with temples, handsome villas, and other Roman erections similar
to those that they had sacked at the capture of Camalodunum.
"The people here do not seem to suffer under the Roman rule at
any rate," Boduoc remarked; "they appear to have adopted the Roman
dress and tongue, but for all that they are slaves."
"Not slaves, Boduoc, though they cannot be said to be free; however,
they have become so accustomed to the Roman dominion that doubtless
they have ceased to fret under it; they are, indeed, to all intents
and purposes Roman. They furnish large bodies of troops to the
Roman armies, and rise to positions of command and importance among
them. In time, no doubt, unless misfortunes fall upon Rome, they
will become as one people, and such no doubt in the far distance
will be the case with Britain. We shall adopt many of the Roman
customs, and retain many of our own. There is one advantage, you
see, in Roman dominion--there are no more tribal wars, no more
massacres and slaughters, each man possesses his land in peace and
quiet."
"But what do they do with themselves?" Boduoc asked, puzzled. "In
such a country as this there can be few wild beasts. If men can
neither fight nor hunt, how are they to employ their time? They
must become a nation of women."
"It would seem so to us, Boduoc, for we have had nothing else to
employ our thoughts; but when we look at what the Romans have done,
how great an empire they have formed, how wonderful are their arts,
how good their laws, and what learning and wisdom they have stored
up, one sees that there are other things to live for; and you see,
though the Romans have learned all these things, they can still
fight. If they once turn so much to the arts of peace as to forget
the virtues of war, their empire will fall to pieces more rapidly
than it has been built up."
Boduoc shook his head, "These things are well enough for you,
Beric, who have lived among the Romans and learned many of their
ways. Give me a life in which a man is a man; when we can live in
the open air, hunt the wolf and the bear, meet our enemies face
to face, die as men should, and go to the Happy Island without
bothering our brains about such things as the arts and luxuries that
the Romans put such value on. A bed on the fallen leaves under an
oak tree, with the stars shining through the leaves, is better than
the finest chamber in Rome covered with paintings."
"Well, Boduoc," Beric said good temperedly, "we are much more
likely to sleep under the stars in Rome than in a grand apartment
covered with paintings; but though the one may be very nice, as
you say, in summer, I could very well put up with the other when
the snow lies deep and the north wind is howling."
They did not, as Beric had hoped, cross the tremendous mountains,
over which, as he had read in Polybius, Hannibal had led his troops
against Rome. Hannibal had been his hero. His dauntless bravery,
his wonderful resources, his cheerfulness under hardships, and the
manner in which, cut off for years from all assistance from home,
he had yet supported the struggle and held Rome at bay, had filled
him with the greatest admiration, and unconsciously he had made the
great Carthaginian his model. He was therefore much disappointed
when he heard from the conversation of his guards that they were
to traverse Gaul to Massilia, and thence take ship to Rome.
The Roman guards were fond of talking to their young captive.
Their thoughts were all of Rome, from which they had been so long
absent, and Beric was eager to learn every detail about the imperial
city; the days' marches therefore passed pleasantly. At night they
were still guarded, but they were otherwise allowed much liberty,
and when they stopped for two or three days at a place they were
free to wander about as they chose, their great stature, fair hair,
and blue eyes exciting more and more surprise as they went farther
south, where the natives were much shorter and swarthier than those
of northern Gaul.
One of the young officers with Suetonius had taken a great fancy
to Beric, and frequently invited him to spend the evening with him
at their halting places. When they approached Massilia he said, "I
have some relations in the city, and I will obtain leave for you
to stay with me at their house while we remain in the town, which
may be for some little time, as we must wait for shipping. My uncle
is a magistrate, and a very learned man. He is engaged in writing
a book upon the religions of the world, and he seldom remains long
at any post. He has very powerful friends in Rome, and so is able
to get transferred from one post to another. He has been in almost
every province of the empire in order to learn from the people
themselves their religions and beliefs. I stayed with him for a
month here two years since on my way to Britain, and he was talking
of getting himself transferred there, after he had been among
the Gauls for a year or two; but his wife was averse to the idea,
protesting that she had been dragged nearly all over the world by
him, and was determined not to go to its furthest boundaries. But
I should think that after the events of the last year he has given
up that idea. I know it will give him the greatest possible pleasure
to converse with one who can tell him all about the religions and
customs of the Britons in his own language."
Massilia was by far the largest city that the Britons had entered,
and they were greatly surprised at its magnitude, and at the varieties
of people who crowded its streets. Even Boduoc, who professed a
profound indifference for everything Roman, was stupefied when he
saw a negro walking in the train of a Roman lady of rank.
"Is it a human being, think you," he murmured in Beric's ear, "or
a wild creature they have tamed? He has not hair, but his head is
covered with wool like a black sheep."
"He is a man," Beric replied. "Across the sea to the south there
are brown men many shades darker than the people here, and beyond
these like lands inhabited by black men. Look at him showing his
teeth and the whites of his eyes. He is as much surprised at our
appearance, Boduoc, as we are at his. We shall see many like him
in Rome, for Pollio tells me that they are held in high estimation
as slaves, being good tempered and obedient."
"He is hideous, Beric; look at his thick lips. But the creature
looks good tempered. I wonder that any woman could have such an
one about the house. Can they talk?"
"Oh, yes, they talk. They are men just the same as we are, except
for their colour."
"But what makes them so black, Beric?"
"That is unknown; but it is supposed that the heat of the sun,
for the country they inhabit is terribly hot, has in time darkened
them. You see, as we have gone south, the people have got darker
and darker."
"But are they born that colour, Beric?"
"Certainly they are."
"If a wife of mine bore me a child of that colour," Boduoc said,
"I would strangle it. And think you that it is the heat of the sun
that has curled up their hair so tightly?"
"That I cannot say--they are all like that."
"Well, they are horrible," Boduoc said positively. "I did not think
that the earth contained such monsters."
Soon after the captives were lodged in a prison, Pollio came to
see Beric, and told him that he had obtained permission for him
to lodge at his uncle's house, he himself being guarantee for his
safe custody there; accordingly they at once started together.
The house was a large one; for, as Pollio had told Beric by the
way, his uncle was a man of great wealth, and it was a matter of
constant complaint on the part of his wife that he did not settle
down in Rome. Passing straight through the atrium, where he was
respectfully greeted by the servants and slaves, Pollio passed into
the tablinum, where his uncle was sitting writing.
"This is the guest I told you I should bring, uncle," he said. "He
is a great chief, young as he looks, and has given us a world of
trouble. He speaks Latin perfectly, and you will be able to learn
from him all about the Britons without troubling yourself and my
aunt to make a journey to his country."
Norbanus was an elderly man, short in figure, with a keen but kindly
face. He greeted Beric cordially.
"Welcome, young chief," he said. "I will try to make your stay here
comfortable, and I shall be glad indeed to learn from you about your
people, of whom, unfortunately, I have had no opportunity hitherto
of learning anything, save that when I journeyed up last year to
the northwest of Gaul, I found a people calling themselves by the
same name as you. They told me that they were a kindred race, and
that your religion was similar to theirs."
"That may well be," Beric said. "We are Gauls, though it is long
since we left that country and settled in Britain. It may well be
that in some of the wars in the south of the island a tribe, finding
themselves overpowered, may have crossed to Gaul, with which country
we were always in communication until it was conquered by you. We
certainly did not come thence, for all our traditions say that the
Iceni came by ship from a land lying due east from us, and that we
were an offshoot of the Belgae, whose country lay to the northwest
of Gaul."
"The people I speak of," the magistrate said, "have vast temples
constructed of huge stones placed in circles, which appear to me to
have, like the great pyramids of Egypt, an astronomical signification,
for I found that the stones round the sacrificial altars were so
placed that the sun at its rising threw its rays upon the stone
only upon the longest day of summer."
"It is so with our great temples," Beric said; "and upon that day
sacrifices are offered. What the signification of the stones and
their arrangements is I cannot say. These mysteries are known only
to the Druids, and they are strictly preserved from the knowledge
of those outside the priestly rank."
"Spare him for today, uncle," Pollio said laughing. "We are like,
I hear, to be a fortnight here before we sail; so you will have
abundant time to learn everything that Beric can tell you. I will
take him up now, with your permission, and introduce him to my aunt
and cousins."
"You will find them in the garden, Pollio. Supper will be served
in half an hour. Tomorrow, Beric, we will, after breakfast, renew
this conversation that my feather brained young nephew has cut so
short."
"My Aunt Lesbia will be greatly surprised when she sees you,"
Pollio laughed as they issued out into the garden. "I did not see
her until after I had spoken to my uncle, and I horrified her by
telling her that the noted British chief Beric, who had defeated
our best troops several times with terrible slaughter, was coming
here to remain under my charge until we sail for Rome. She was
shocked, considering that you must be a monster of ferocity; and
even my pretty cousins were terrified at the prospect. I had half a
mind to get you to attire yourself in Roman fashion, but I thought
that you would not consent. However, we shall surprise them
sufficiently as it is."
Lesbia was seated with her two daughters on couches placed under
the shade of some trees. Two or three slave girls stood behind
them with fans. A dalmatian bore hound lay on the ground in front
of them. Another slave girl was singing, accompanying herself on
an instrument resembling a small harp, while a negro stood near
in readiness to start upon errands, or to fetch anything that his
mistress might for the moment fancy. Lesbia half rose from her
reclining position when she saw Pollio approaching, accompanied
by a tall figure with hair of a golden colour clustering closely
round his head. The Britons generally wore their hair flowing over
their shoulders; but the Iceni had found such inconvenience from
this in making their way through the close thickets of the swamps,
that many of them--Beric among the number--had cut their hair
close to the head. With him it was but a recurrence to a former
usage, as while living among the Romans his hair had been cut
short in their fashion. The two girls, who were fifteen and sixteen
years old, uttered an exclamation of surprise as Beric came near,
and Lesbia exclaimed angrily:
"You have been jesting with us, Pollio. You told me that you were
going to bring Beric the fierce British chief here, and this young
giant is but a beardless lad."
Pollio burst into a fit of laughter, which was increased at the
expression of astonishment in Lesbia's face when Beric said, in
excellent Latin,--"Pollio has not deceived you, lady. My name is
Beric, I was the chief of the Britons, and my followers gave some
trouble even to Suetonius."
"But you are not the Beric whom we have heard of as leading the
insurgent Britons?"
"There is no other chief of my name," Beric said. "Therefore, if
you heard aught of good or evil concerning Beric the Briton, it
must relate to me."
"This is Beric, aunt," Pollio said, "and you must not judge him by
his looks. I was with Suetonius in his battles against him, and I
can tell you that we held him in high respect, as we had good cause
for doing, considering that in all it cost the lives of some twelve
hundred legionaries before we could overcome him, and we took him
by treachery rather than force."
"But how is it that he speaks our language?" Lesbia asked.
"I was a hostage for five years among the Romans," Beric said,
"and any knowledge I may have of the art of war was learned from
the pages of Caesar, Polybius, and other Roman writers. The Romans
taught me how to fight them."
"And now," Pollio broke in, "I must introduce you in proper form.
This is my Aunt Lesbia, as you see; these are my cousins Aemilia and
Ennia. Do you know, girls, that these Britons, big and strong as they
are, are ruled by their women. These take part in their councils,
and are queens and chieftainesses, and when it is necessary they
will fight as bravely as the men. They are held by them in far
higher respect than with us, and I cannot say that they do not
deserve it, for they think of other things than attiring themselves
and spending their time in visits and pleasure."
"You are not complimentary, Pollio," Aemilia said; "and as to
attire, the young Romans think as much of it as we do, and that
without the same excuse, for we are cut off from public life, and
have none save home pursuits. If you treat us as you say the Britons
treat their women, I doubt not that we should show ourselves as
worthy of it."
"Now I ask you fairly, Aemilia, can you fancy yourself encouraging
the legionaries in the heat of battle, and seizing spear and shield
and rushing down into the thick of the fight as I have seen the
British women do?"
"No, I cannot imagine that," Aemilia said laughing. "I could not
bear the weight of a shield and spear, much less use them in battle.
But if the British women are as much bigger and stronger than I am,
as Beric is bigger and stronger than you are, I can imagine their
fighting. I wondered how the Britons could withstand our troops, but
now that I see one of them there is no difficulty in comprehending
it, and yet you do not look fierce, Beric."
"I do not think that I am fierce," Beric said smiling; "but even the
most peaceful animal will try and defend itself when it is attacked."
"Have you seen Norbanus?" Lesbia asked.
"He has seen him," Pollio replied; "and if it had not been for me
he would be with him still, for my uncle wished to engage him at
once in a discourse upon the religion and customs of his people;
I carried Beric away almost forcibly."
Lesbia sighed impatiently. The interest of her husband in these
matters was to her a perpetual source of annoyance. It was owing to
this that she so frequently travelled from one province to another,
instead of enjoying herself at the court in Rome. But although in
all other matters Norbanus gave way to her wishes, in this he was
immovable, and she was forced to pass her life in what she considered
exile. She ceased to take any further interest in the conversation,
but reclined languidly on her couch, while Pollio gave his cousins
a description of his life in Britain, and Beric answered their numerous
questions as to his people. Their conversation was interrupted by
a slave announcing that supper was ready, and Lesbia was relieved
at finding that Beric thoroughly understood Roman fashions, and
comported himself at table as any other guest would have done. The
girls sat down at the meal, although this was contrary to usual
custom; but Norbanus insisted that his family should take their
meals with him, save upon occasions of a set banquet.
"It seems wonderful," Ennia said to her sister later on, "that we
should have been dining with the fierce chief of whom we have heard
so much, and that he should be as courteous and pleasant and well
mannered as any young Roman."
"A good deal more pleasant than most of them," Aemilia said, "for
he puts on no airs, and is just like a merry, good tempered lad,
while if a young Roman had done but a tithe of the deeds he has he
would be insufferable. We must get Pollio to take us tomorrow to
see the other Britons. They must be giants indeed, when Beric, who
says he is but little more than eighteen years, could take Pollio
under his arm and walk away with him."
In the morning, accordingly, Pollio started with his two cousins
to the prison, while Beric sat down for a long talk with Norbanus
in his study. Beric soon saw that the Roman viewed all the matters
on which he spoke from the standpoint of a philosopher without
prejudices.
After listening to all that Beric could tell him about the religion
of the Britons, he said, "It is remarkable that all people appear
to think that they have private deities of their own, who interest
themselves specially on their behalf, and aid them to fight their
battles. I have found no exception to this rule, and the more
primitive the people the more obstinate is this belief. In Rome at
present the learned no longer believe in Jupiter and Mars and the
rest of the deities, though they still attend the state ceremonies
at the temples, holding that a state religion is necessary. The
lower class still believe, but then they cannot be said to reason. In
Greece scepticism is universal among the upper class, and the same
may now be said of Egypt. Our Roman belief is the more unaccountable
since we have simply borrowed the religion of the Greeks, the gods
and their attributes being the same, with only a change of name;
and yet we fancy that these Greek gods are the special patrons of
Rome.
"Your religion seems to me the most reasonable of any I have
studied, and approaches more nearly than any other to the highest
speculations of the Greek philosophers. You believe in one God, who
is invisible and impersonal, who pervades all nature; but having
formed so lofty an idea of him, you belittle him by making him a
special god of your own country, while if he pervades all nature he
must surely be universal. The Jews, too, believe in a single God,
and in this respect they resemble you in their religion, which is
far more reasonable than that of nations who worship a multiplicity
of deities; but they too consider that their God confines His
attention simply to them, and rules over only the little tract they
call their own--a province about a hundred miles long, by thirty
or forty wide. From them another religion has sprung. This has made
many converts, even in Rome, but has made no way whatever among
the learned, seeing that it is more strange and extravagant than
any other. It has, however, the advantage that the new God is,
they believe, universal, and has an equal interest in all people.
I have naturally studied the tenets of this new sect, and they are
singularly lofty and pure. They teach among other things that all
men are equal in the sight of God--a doctrine which naturally
gains for them the approval of slaves and the lower people, but,
upon the other hand, brings them into disfavour with those in power.
"They are a peaceful sect, and would harm no one; but as they
preach that fighting is wrong, I fear that they will before long
come into collision with the state, for, were their doctrines to
spread, there would soon be a lack of soldiers. To me it appears
that their views are impracticable on this subject. In other respects
they would make good citizens, since their religion prescribes
respect to the authorities and fair dealing in all respects with
other men. They are, too, distinguished by charity and kindness
towards each other. One peculiarity of this new religion is, that
although springing up in Judaea, it has made less progress among
the Jews than elsewhere, for these people, who are of all others
the most obstinate and intolerant, accused the Founder of the
religion, one Christus, before the Roman courts, and He was put to
death, in my opinion most unjustly, seeing that there was no crime
whatever alleged against Him, save that He perverted the religion
of the Jews, which was in no way a concern of ours, as we are
tolerant of the religions of all people."
"But Suetonius attacked our sacred island and slew the priests on
the altars," Beric objected.
"That is quite true," Norbanus said, "but this had nothing whatever
to do with the religion, but was simply because the priests stirred
up insurrection against us. We have temples in Rome to the deities
of almost every nation we have subdued, and have suffered without
objection the preachers of this new doctrine to make converts.
The persecutions that have already begun against the sect are not
because they believe in this Christus, but because they refuse to
perform the duties incumbent upon all Roman citizens. Two of my
slaves belong to the sect. They know well that I care not to what
religion they belong, and indeed, for my part, I should be glad to
see all my slaves join them, for the moral teaching is high, and
these slaves would not steal from me, however good the opportunity.
That is more than I can say of the others. Doubtless, had I been
fixed in Rome, the fact that they belonged to these people would
have been kept a secret, but in the provinces no one troubles his
head about such matters. These are, to my mind, matters of private
opinion, and they have leave from me to go on their meeting days
to the place where they assemble, for even here there are enough
of them to form a gathering.
"So long as this is done quietly it is an offence to no one. The
matter was discussed the other day among us, for orders against
Christians came from Rome; but when the thing was spoken of I said
that, as I believed members of the sect were chiefly slaves, who
were not called upon to perform military duties, I could not deem
that the order applied to them, and that as these were harmless
people, and their religion taught them to discharge their duty in
all matters save that of carrying arms, I could not see why they
should be interfered with. Moreover, did we move in the matter, and
did these people remain obstinate in their Faith, we might all of
us lose some valuable slaves. After that no more was said of the
matter. Now tell me about your institution of the bards, of which
I have heard. These men seem not only to be the depositors of your
traditions and the reciters of the deeds of your forefathers, but
to hold something of a sacred position intermediate between the
Druids and the people."
For some hours Beric and his host conversed on these subjects,
Beric learning more than he taught, and wondering much at the
wide knowledge possessed by Norbanus. It was not until dinner was
announced that the Roman rose.
"I thank you much, Beric, for what you have told me, and I marvel
at the interest that you, who have for the last two years been
leading men to battle, evince in these matters. After five minutes
of such talk my nephew Pollio would begin to weary."
"I was fond of learning when I was in the household of Caius Muro,
but my time was chiefly occupied by the study of military works
and in military exercises; still I found time to read all the
manuscripts in Muro's library. But I think I learned more from the
talk of Cneius Nepo, his secretary, who was my instructor, than
from the books, for he had travelled much with Muro, and had studied
Greek literature."
Pollio had returned some time before with his cousins.
"I would have come in before to carry you away," he whispered to
Beric as they proceeded to the dinner table, "but it would have put
out my uncle terribly, and as I knew you would have to go through
it all I thought it as well that you should finish with it at once."
"I am glad you did not," Beric replied. "It has been a great
pleasure to me to listen to your uncle's conversation, from which
I have learned a good deal."
Pollio glanced up to see if Beric was joking. Seeing that he spoke
in perfect good faith, he said:
"Truly, Beric, you Britons are strange fellows. I would rather go
through another day's fighting in your swamps than have to listen
to uncle for a whole morning."
As they sat down he went on:
"The girls are delighted with your Britons, Beric. They declare
they are not only the biggest but the handsomest men they ever saw,
and I believe that if your lieutenant Boduoc had asked either of
them to return with him and share his hut in the swamps they would
have jumped at the offer."
The girls both laughed.
"But they are wonderful, Beric," Aemilia said. "When you told us
that you were not yet full grown I thought you were jesting, but I
see now that truly these men are bigger even than you are. I wish
I had such golden hair as most of them have, and such a white skin.
Golden hair is fashionable in Rome, you know, but it is scarce,
except in a few whose mothers were Gauls who have married with
Romans."
"It is the nature of man to admire the opposite to himself," Norbanus
said. "You admire the Britons because they are fair, while to them,
doubtless, Roman women would appear beautiful because their hair
and their eyes are dark."
"But Beric has not said so, father," Aemilia said laughing.
"I am not accustomed to pay compliments," Beric said with a smile,
"but assuredly your father is right. I have been accustomed for
the last two years to see British maidens only. These are fair and
tall, some of them well nigh as tall as I, and as they live a life
of active exercise, they are healthy and strong."
"That they are," Pollio broke in. "I would as soon meet a soldier
of the Goths as one of these maidens Beric speaks of, when her
blood is up. I have seen our soldiers shrink from their attack,
when, with flashing eyes and hair streaming behind them, they rush
down upon us, armed with only stones and billets of wood that they
had snatched up. What they may be in their gentler moments I know
not, and I should hesitate to pay my court to one, for, if she liked
it not, she would make small difficulty in throwing me outside the
door of her hut."
"You are too quick, Pollio," Aemilia said. "Beric was about to
compare us with them."
"The comparison is difficult," Beric said; "but you must not
imagine our women as being always in the mood in which Pollio has
seen them. They were fighting, not for their lives, but in order
to be killed rather than fall into the hands of your soldiers.
Ordinarily they are gentle and kind. They seemed to Pollio to be
giantesses, but they bear the same proportion to our height as you
do to the height of the Roman men."
"I meant not to say aught against them," Pollio broke in hastily.
"I meant but to show my cousins how impossible it was for you
to make any comparison between our women and yours. All who know
them speak well of the British women, and admire their devotion to
their husbands and children, their virtue, and bravery. You might
as well compare a Libyan lioness with a Persian cat as the British
women with these little cousins of mine."
"But the Persian cat has, doubtless, its lovable qualities," Beric
said smiling. "It is softer and gentler and better mannered than
the lioness, though, perhaps, the lion might not think so. But
truly your Roman ladies are beyond comparison with ours. Ours live
a life of usefulness, discharging their duties as mistress of the
household, intent upon domestic cares, and yet interested as ourselves
in all public affairs, and taking a share in their decision. Your
ladies live a life of luxury. They are shielded from all trouble.
They are like delicate plants by the side of strong saplings.
No rough air has blown upon them. They are dainty with adornments
gathered from the whole world, and nature and art have combined
alike to make them beautiful."
"All of which means, Aemilia," Pollio laughed, "that, in Beric's
opinion, you are pretty to look at, but good for nothing else."
"I meant not that," Beric said eagerly, "only that the things you
are good for are not the things which British women are good for.
You have no occasion to be good housewives, because you have slaves
who order everything for you. But you excel in many things of which
a British woman never so much as heard. There is the same difference
that there is between a cultured Roman and one of my tribesmen."
"Human nature is the same everywhere," Norbanus said, "fair or
dark, great or small. It is modified by climate, by education, by
custom, and by civilization, but at bottom it is identical. And
now, Pollio, I think you had better take Beric down to the port,
the sight of the trade and shipping will be new to him."