(5 
ROMAN BRITAIN, 
4, The earliest known inhabitants of Britain were Celts. "These 
were a people who, in the remote past, had emigrated 
Celtic race. . er * . 
from Asia into Kurope, and at the dawn of history were 
found oceupying the western part of the Jatter continent. Their 
descendants still occupy Brittany, Wales, the Highlands of Scotland, 
and must of Ireland, 
3. The writings of Cesar and Tacitus, Roman historians, supply 
our chief knowledge of ancient Britain, "The country 
Description apounded in marslı and forest. Skilled husbandry was 
of ancient \ 4 
Britain. unknown. "The coasts nearest Gaul showed here and 
there patches of rudely tilled ground, but in the interior 
corn was not cultivated at all, the natives living on milk and flesh. 
In the far north, roots and berries, as they grow wild in the woods, 
were the chief means of subsistence, The ordinary elothing consisted 
of skiris, the limbs being left bare and stained in blue figures with the 
juice of a plant called woad, The Britons were brave and hardy, and 
displayed considerable skill in war. "They fought on foot, on horse- 
back, and in chariots with scythe-armed axles, Although divided into 
many tribes, they always chose a single leader when danger threatened 
sheir common country, 
6. The Britons were pagans, Their religion was gloomy and unat- 
;ractive, and is generally known as Druidism. The priests were called 
Druids, from & Celtic word meaning a sage or a magician, 
Druidism. + N : en . 
The principal ceremonies of religion were performed in 
;he recesses of dark oak forests, and the tree itself was regarded with 
much veneration. The Druids possessed great power ; for in addition 
to their priestly offices, they were the bards, the teachers, and the 
judges of the people. They recognized several distinct deities and 
taught the doctrine of trausmigration of souls. Their religious system 
included human sacrifices, The victims, who were generally criminals 
or captives, were hurned in huge wicker baskets, The circular rows 
of immense stones which arc found in some parts of England are sup- 
posed by some to be the remains of Druidical temples, "The most famous 
a6 these monumental relics is that at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. 
CHAPTER IL 
ROMAN BRITAIN.—55 B.C. to 410 A,D. 
i. In the last week of August 55 B.C., Julius Cesar, the greatest of 
& „Roman generals, crossed the Strait of Dover--then called 
rain n Fretum Occani- with a Acet of cighty ships, and Janded 
* on the coast of Kent, Cesar had just completed the 
sonquest of Gaul, and his invasion of Britain was due, at least partly, 
to his desire to punish the Britons for havinız lent aid to the Gauls in