IN no country of the world are there such evident traces of the march of Roman legions as in Britain. In the northern parts of England especially, the footprints of the Empire are very distinct. Northumberland, as Wallis long ago remarked, is Roman ground. Every other monument in Britain yields in importance to The Wall. As this work, in grandeur of conception, is worthy of the Mistress of Nations, so, in durability of structure, is it the becoming offspring of the Eternal City.
A dead wall may seem to most a very unpromising subject. The stones are indeed inanimate, but he who has a head to think, and a heart to feel, will find them suggestive of bright ideas and melting sympathies; though dead themselves, they will be the cause of mental life in him. A large part of the knowledge which we possess of the early history of our country has been dug out of the ground. The spade and the plough of the rustic have often exposed documents, which have revealed the movements, as well as the modes of thought and feeling, of those who have slept in the dust for centuries. The casual wanderer by the relics of the Vallum and the Wall, may not succeed in culling facts that are new to the Historian, but he will probably get those vivid glances into Roman character, and acquire that personal interest in Roman story, which will give to the prosaic records of chroniclers, a reality, and a charm, which they did not before possess.
As a natural introduction to the subject, and as a means of preparing for some discussions which are to follow, it may be well briefly to trace the progress of the Roman arms in Britain, from the arrival of Cæsar on our shores, to the eventual abandonment of the island.
EARLIEST NOTICES OF THE BRITISH ISLES.
It is curious to observe, that the curtain of British history is raised by some of the earliest and greatest of profane writers. Herodotus, who wrote about the year B.C. 450, mentions the "Cassiterides, from which tin is procured"; Aristotle, about the year B.C. 340, expressly names the islands of Albion and Ierne; and Polybius, about the year B.C. 160, makes a distinct reference to the "Britannic Isles." To Julius Cæsar, however, we are indebted, for the first detailed account of Britain and its inhabitants. On 26 Aug. B.C. 55, that renowned conqueror landed in Britain, with a force of about ten thousand men. Both on that occasion, and on a second attempt, which, with a larger force, he made the year following, he met with a warm reception from the savage islanders. Tides and tempests seconded the efforts of the natives, and great Julius bade Britain a final farewell, without erecting any fortress in it, or leaving any troops to secure his conquest. Tacitus says, that he did not conquer Britain, but only shewed it to the Romans. Horace, calling upon Augustus to achieve the conquest, denominates it 'untouched'—
Intactus aut Britannus ut descenderet
Sacra catenatus via.
and Propertius, in the same spirit, describes it as ‘unconquered,’ invictus. There is, therefore, little exaggeration in the lines of Shakspere—
... A kind of conquest