DEFEAT OF THE BRITONS.

17

to give help at any spot where he observed his troops in danger of being overpowered. When once dry land was gained, the day, of course, was won.

In

deed, the Britons at once took to flight, and Cæsar laments that for lack of cavalry he could not pursue them. "This was the one thing," he says, speaking, according to custom, in the third person, "that was wanting to Cæsar's old good fortune."

In the course of a day or two the Britons sent envoys to negotiate for peace, and with the envoys. came Commius the Gaul. He had been roughly treated and imprisoned, and had not been released till after the Roman victory. The envoys threw the blame of this violation of law upon the common people, whom they sought to excuse by pleading their ignorance. Cæsar professed himself ready to overlook the offence, while he demanded hostages for their good behaviour in the future. Some of these were at once handed over to him; the rest, it was explained, belonged to distant parts of the country, and a few days must pass before they could be brought.

On the 30th of August the ships with the cavalry on board hove in sight. But when they were within a short distance of the shore, the weather suddenly changed. Some were driven back to the port from which they had sailed, others were carried along the coast for some distance to the westward. Here they attempted to anchor, but the sea was too rough, and they were compelled to return to Gaul.

The same night another disaster happened to the expedition. It was the time of the full moon, and,

consequently, of the spring tides. About spring and neap tides, the Romans, accustomed to their own tideless sea, knew nothing, and they had made no preparations. The ships of war, which had been drawn up on land, were filled with water; the merchant ships, which were at anchor, probably without the necessary length of cable, were greatly damaged by the unexpected rise of the tide, accompanied, as it seems to have been, by some rough weather. Many were wrecked, the rest lost much of their tackling, and, for the present, were rendered useless. There was, of course, great consternation in the camp. There were no means, it seemed, of getting back to the continent, while no provision had been made for a stay.

The Britons were quite as much alive to the importance of what had happened as the Romans themselves. Without ships, without cavalry, and without corn, the enemy, they thought, were helpless. They had had time also to estimate their force from the dimensions of the camp. It could not, they knew, be very large, and as the troops had been brought over with but little baggage, and so could be packed closely together, they believed it to be smaller than it really was. The hope sprang up that they might be able to destroy the invading army altogether. To inflict such a blow, they imagined, would be to prevent another invasion of the island for many years to come. Accordingly, the chiefs who had assembled at the camp found pretexts for leaving it, while fresh forces were brought down from the interior to the coast.

STRATAGEM of the Britons.

19

Cæsar, though without positive knowledge of what was on foot, had his suspicions. The disaster to the ships would, he knew, raise the hopes of the Britons, and he found, at the same time, that no more hostages were brought into the camp. He lost no time in preparing for the two contingencies of retreat, and wintering in the island. Twelve of the ships that had suffered most damage were broken up, and the others were repaired with the metal and timber that were thus made available. The soldiers worked with so good a will that in a few days a sufficiently serviceable fleet was ready.

Meanwhile the work of provisioning the camp had been busily carried on, and, as yet, without hindrance. Everything indeed looked peaceful. The population was at work as usual in the fields, and visitors went in and out of the camp. But one day, when one of the two legions had, according to custom, gone out to collect corn, Cæsar was informed by the pickets that an unusually large cloud of dust could be seen in the direction which the legion had taken. He at once guessed what had happened, and taking with him the cohorts on guard, while he ordered all the other available troops to follow, hastened to the relief of the foragers. He found them beset by the enemy, and in no small danger. The Britons had guessed what direction the foraging party would take. Only one spot remained where the corn had not been reaped, and it was in the woods that adjoined this that they laid their ambuscade. The Romans, suspecting no danger, had piled their arms, and set about the work of reaping, though of course

a part of the legion remained on guard. The Britons attacked the reapers, and killed some of them. When Cæsar came up the legion had formed itself into a solid square. This was surrounded by cavalry and chariots and exposed to a continuous discharge of missiles. The arrival of the relieving force put an end to the attack, and Cæsar did not think it advisable to assume the offensive. The two legions returned to the camp without having suffered any very serious loss.

A continuance of bad weather for several days prevented the Romans from leaving, and the Britons from attacking the camp. The latter, however, were not idle. They sent messengers throughout the neighbouring districts, describing the weakness of the invaders, the magnitude of the booty to be got from them, and the advantage of striking such a blow as would secure for ever the freedom of the island. A large force of cavalry and infantry was thus collected. Cæsar, meanwhile, had received a reinforcement of thirty cavalry, which Commius the Gaul brought with him from the continent. Knowing how useful these would be in pursuit, he resolved to give battle, and drew up his legion in front of the camp. An engagement followed, but the Britons, of course, could not stand up against the discipline and arms of the invaders. The victors pursued the fugitives till their strength was exhausted, and, after burning all the dwellings in the neighbourhood, returned to the

camp.

The very same day envoys appeared asking for peace, and this Cæsar was ready enough to grant.

CESAR SETS SAIL FOR GAUL.

27

He contented himself with doubling his demand for hostages. He did not, however, intend to wait till they should be brought into the camp, but directed that they should be sent after him to the mainland. He was, in fact, in a great hurry to go. The equinox was near, the weather could not be trusted, and his ships, hastily patched up as they had been, were scarcely seaworthy. Starting at midnight, possibly on the very day of the battle, he had the good fortune to make the passage without encountering any mishap. The expedition probably occupied about three weeks, having been begun on the 27th of August, and brought to an end some time before the 24th of September. Cæsar's narrative seems to be somewhat exaggerated. There could not have been time for the gathering of the great hosts of natives which he describes. It is probable that it was only a small region in South-eastern Britain that concerned itself about his coming. The expedition, too, was certainly not a success. As has been said, he was three weeks in the island, and never advanced as much as a mile from the shore.