Little Arthur's history of England

by Lady Maria Callcott

And so it was with the Druids. People began to forget the oldest verses, when something happened that I will tell you about in the next chapter, by means of which the Britons learned not only to write and read, but to know the true God.

CHAPTER III.
How the Romans came and conquered the Britons, and made them work.

There is a city called Rome, a good way from England, and the people belonging to it are called Romans.

Now, at the time I told you of, when the poor Britons were so ill off for almost everything, the Romans were the cleverest and bravest people in the world. By their bravery they had conquered all the countries between Rome and England, which you know was then called Britain; and by being able to write better than any other people at that time, they made books, in which they set down everything that happened to them and to the people they conquered.

One of their bravest and cleverest men, called Julius Cæsar, wrote what I have told you about Britain, and some more that I am going to tell you. When the Romans had found out that there was such a country as Britain, some sailors and merchants came here to see what the country and the people were like.

And they saw that the people were very strong and well made, and found that they were clever, and good tempered, and they wished to have some of them for servants, and some for soldiers. And they saw too that the country was very pretty, and that if anybody who knew how to build nice houses, and to make proper fields, were to live here, it would be a very pleasant place indeed.

Besides all this, they found that some of the best tin and copper in the world was found in one part of England, and sometimes the people found gold and silver too. Then they saw among the shells by the sea-side, and in some of the rivers, some of those beautiful round white things called pearls, which ladies have always been fond of stringing and making necklaces of.

So when they went to Rome, they told everybody of all the good things they had seen in Britain; and the great men in Rome determined to go and conquer the whole country, that they might make servants of the people, and take their land, and make corn-fields for themselves, and get all the tin, and copper, and silver, and gold, and pearls, and take them to Rome.

The Romans had sent some very brave soldiers, with their great captain, the same Julius Cæsar who wrote down these things, to conquer Gaul; and they crossed the sea in order to conquer Britain; but they did not find it so easy to do as they had hoped it would be. Although the poor Britons were almost naked, and had very bad swords, and very weak spears and bows and arrows, and small shields, made of basket work covered with leather, they were so brave, that they fought a great many battles against the Romans, who had everything they could want to fight with, before they would give up any part of their country to them.