ther to protect them by building a wall eighty miles long, from the Solway Frith to the river Tyne, and, in A.D. 205, the emperor Severus built a stronger wall in nearly the same line, part of which remains to the present day.

Agricola, among other improvements, added to the geographical knowledge of his time, by sending his ships to sail all round England and Scotland, and thus proving them to be one island, which was not before known. There is little of interest after this to tell you about the Romans in Britain. The country continued to improve under their government, and to yield them immense treasures of money. The em

peror Constantius came to reside in the country, but died soon after at York, A.D. 309. His son, Constantine the Great, was in Britain at the time of his death, and here assumed the title of emperor; he was the first Christian emperor of Rome. At length the power of the mighty empire decayed; and in course of time the Romans were obliged to withdraw their soldiers from Britain to defend their own country from the Gauls. As soon as they were gone, the Caledonians broke down the wall of Severus, and poured in upon the Britons in immense numbers; so that, having been long accustomed to have their battles

fought for them, they were obliged to call in the Romans to their aid once more. Accordingly, for a short time they returned, and a legion, under Gallio, drove back the Scots, and repaired the broken wall. Then Gallio left them, telling them that in future they must fight their own battles, for that the Romans could never again give them assistance. Thus they entirely quitted Britain, having held possession of it 475 years from the first invasion by Julius Cæsar.

CHAPTER II.

BRITAIN UNDER THE SAXONS.

WHEN the Romans quitted Britain, the condition of the inhabitants was wretched in the extreme. From having been so long accustomed to look up to them as governors, leaders, and lawgivers, they seemed to be unable to do anything of themselves. They left off cultivating the land, and consequently were punished for their indolence by a famine, which carried off great numbers of them, and was succeeded by a still more fatal pestilence. They abandoned themselves to all sorts of wickedness, and fought with each other, instead of trying to defend themselves from their enemies. The land being unproductive through want of cultivation, the Picts and Scots left off coming to pillage it; and some of the Britons, awaking from their inaction, began to sow and plough, and the next year were repaid by an abundant harvest. This, however, they were not allowed to enjoy peace, for the Picts and Scots, as soon as they heard of it, poured in like a torrent, and bore away every

in

HENGIST AND HORSA.

17

thing they could lay hand upon. Once more the helpless Britons applied to the Romans for aid. They wrote to Ætius, governor of Gaul, a letter, which they called "The Groans of the Britons." "The barbarians," said they, "drive us into the sea; the sea casts us back on the swords of the barbarians; we can only choose between being drowned or butchered."

But the Romans could no longer help them, and, in utter despair, Vortigern, one of their kings, advised them, in 448, to invite the Saxons to assist them.

These Saxons were a nation of pirates, living in the northern part of Germany. They were very glad to receive such an invitation, and sent over an army commanded by two brothers, named Hengist and Horsa. They soon defeated the Scots, and then, seeing the beauty of the country they had come to defend, treacherously determined on making themselves masters of it. They were not long in entirely subduing the unhappy Britons, some of whom were driven to take refuge in Cornwall, and Cambria, that part of the island now called Wales; while the rest fled into the northern part of Gaul, or France, which was thence called Bretagne, or Brittany, a name it bears to this day, and the inhabitants of which speak a language resembling the Welsh. Horsa was killed

C

in battle, and Hengist took possession of Kent, and made himself king of it. Numbers of Saxons continued to pour into the country, and were very soon masters of nearly the whole of it. Each chief took possession of what he had conquered, and thus the country became divided into seven parts, each governed by its own king; and these seven kingdoms were called the Heptarchy, from the Greek words, hepta, seven, and arche, kingdom. Now, try to remember the names of these divisions.

* The kingdom of Kent, contained Kent, and part of Sussex.

Sussex-Surrey, and part of Sussex.

Wessex-included the coast from Sussex to the Land's End.

East Saxony-or Essex.

East Anglia Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. Mercia-The midland part of the island.

Northumbria-From Mercia to the borders of Scot

land.

At the time the Romans left Britain, Christianity had made considerable progress in the country: there had been some churches built, and even some monas

* Mrs. Markham's "History of England."