by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER X: BETRAYED
The Britons soon discovered that the Romans had retreated, but madeno movement in pursuit. They knew that the legionaries once in openground were more than their match, and they were well content withthe success they had gained. They had lost in all but four hundredmen, while they were certain that the Romans had suffered much moreheavily, and that there was but little chance of the attack beingrenewed in the same manner, for if their progress was so slow whenthey had frost to aid them, what chance would they have when therewas scarce a foot of land that could bear their weight? The winterpassed, indeed, without any further movement. The Britons sufferedto some extent from the damps; but as the whole country was undrained,and for the most part covered with forest, they were accustomedto a damp laden atmosphere, and so supported the fogs of the Fensfar better than they would otherwise have done.
In the spring, grain, which had been carefully preserved forthe purpose, was sown in many places where the land was above thelevel of the swamps. A number of large boats had been built duringthe winter, as Beric and Aska were convinced that the next attackwould be made by water, having learned from the country people tothe west that a vast number of flat bottomed boats had been builtby the Romans.
Early in the spring fighting again began. A great flotilla ofboats descended from Huntingdon, and turning off the side channelsentered the swamp. But the Britons were prepared. They were now wellprovided with tools, and numbers of trees had been felled acrossthe channels, completely blocking the passage. As soon as the boatsleft the main river, they were assailed with a storm of javelinsfrom the bushes, and the Romans, when they attempted to land, foundtheir movements impeded by the deep swamp in which they often sankup to the waist, while their foes in their swamp pattens traversedthem easily, and inflicted heavy losses upon them, driving themback into their boats again. At the points where the channels wereobstructed desperate struggles took place. The Romans, from theirboats, in vain endeavoured, under the storm of missiles from theirinvisible foes, to remove the obstacles, and as soon as they landedto attempt to do so they were attacked with such fury that theywere forced to fall back.
Several times they found their way of retreat blocked by boatsthat had come down through side channels, and had to fight theirway back with great loss and difficulty. After maintaining thestruggle for four days, and suffering a loss even greater than thatthey had incurred in their first attack, the Romans again drewoff and ascended the river. The Fenmen had joined the Iceni inrepelling the attack. The portion of the swamp they inhabited wasnot far away, and they felt that they too were threatened by theRoman advance. They had therefore rejoined the Iceni, althoughfor some time they had kept themselves aloof from them, owing toquarrels that had arisen because, as they asserted, some of theIceni had entered their district and carried off the birds fromtheir traps. Beric had done all in his power to allay this feeling,recompensing them for the losses they declared they had suffered,and bestowing many presents upon them. He and Aska often talkedthe matter over, and agreed that their greatest danger was fromthe Fenmen.
"They view us as intruders in their country," Aska said, "anddoubtless consider that in time we shall become their masters.Should they turn against us they could lead the Romans direct toour islands, and if these were lost all would be lost."
"If you fear that, Aska," Boduoc, who was present, said, "we hadbetter kill the little wretches at once."
"No, no Boduoc," Beric said. "We have nothing against them atpresent, and we should be undeserving of the protection of the godswere we to act towards them as the Romans act towards us. Moreover,such an attempt would only bring about what we fear. Some of them,knowing their way as they do through the marshes, would be sure tomake their escape, and these would bring the Romans down upon us.Even did we slay all this tribe here, the Fenmen in the north wouldseek to avenge their kinsmen, and would invite the Romans to theiraid. No, we must speak the Fenmen fair, avoid all cause of quarrel,do all we can to win their goodwill, and show them that they havenothing to fear from us. Still, we must always be on guard againsttreachery. Night and day a watch must be set at the mouths of allthe channels by which they might penetrate in this direction."
Another month passed. The Romans still remained in their forts roundthe Fens. The natives had now been brought round to the westernside, and under the protection of strong bodies of soldiers wereoccupied in clearing the swamp on that side. They made but littleprogress, however, for the Britons made frequent eruptions amongthem, and the depth of the morasses in this direction rendered itwell nigh impossible for them to advance, and progress could onlybe made by binding the bush into bundles and forming roads as theywent on. From their kinsmen in the northwest, Beric learned that anew propraetor had arrived to replace Suetonius, for it was reportedthat the wholesale severity of the latter was greatly disapprovedof in Rome, so that his successor had come out with orders to pursuea milder policy, and to desist from the work of extirpation thatSuetonius was carrying on. It was known that at any rate the newcomerhad issued a proclamation, saying that Rome wished neither todestroy nor enslave the people of Britain, and that all fugitiveswere invited to return to their homes, adding a promise thatno molestation should be offered to them, and that an amnesty wasgranted to all for their share in the late troubles.
"What do you think, Aska?" Beric asked when they heard the news.
"It may be true or it may not," Aska said. "For myself, after thetreatment of Boadicea, and the seizure of all her husband's property,I have no faith in Roman promises. However, all this is but arumour. It will be time enough to consider it when they send in aflag of truce and offer us terms of surrender. Besides, supposingthe proclamation has been rightly reported, the amnesty is promisedonly for the past troubles. The new general must have heard of theheavy losses we inflicted on the Romans as soon as he landed, andhad he meant his proclamation to apply to us he would have saidso. However, I sincerely trust that it is true, even if we are notincluded, and are to be hunted down like wild beasts. Rome cannotwish to conquer a desert, and you have told me she generally treatsthe natives of conquered provinces well after all resistance hasceased. It may well be that the Romans disapprove of the harshnessof Suetonius, although the rising was not due to him so much as tothe villain Decianus. Still he was harsh in the extreme, and hismassacre of the Druids enlisted every Briton against him. Othermeasures may now be tried; the ground must be cultivated, or it isuseless to Rome. There are at present many tribes still unsubdued,and were men like Suetonius and Decianus to continue to scourgethe land by their cruelties, they might provoke another rising asformidable as ours, and bring fresh disaster upon Rome. But whetherthe amnesty applies to us or not, I shall be glad to hear thatSuetonius has left. We know that three days ago at any rate he wasat their camp opposite Huntingdon, and he may well wish to strikea blow before he leaves, in order that he may return with the creditof having crushed out the last resistance."
Two nights later, an hour before daybreak, a man covered with wounds,breathless and exhausted, made his way up to the intrenchment onthe principal island.
"To arms!" he shouted. "The Romans are upon us!" One of the sentriesran with the news to Beric's hut. Springing from his couch Bericsounded his horn, and the band, who were at all times kept to thestrength of four hundred, rushed to the line of defences.
"What is it? What is your news?" Beric asked the messenger.
"It is treachery, Beric. With two comrades I was on watch atthe point where the principal channel hence runs into the river.Suddenly we thought we heard the sound of oars on the river aboveus. We could not be sure. It was a faint confused sound, and westood at the edge of the bank listening, when suddenly from behindus sprang out a dozen men, and before we had time to draw a swordwe were cut down. They hewed at us till they thought us dead,and for a time I knew nothing more. When I came to myself I sawa procession of Roman boats turning in at the channel. For a timeI was too faint to move; but at last I crawled down a yard or twoto the water an
d had a drink. Then my strength gradually returnedand I struggled to my feet.
"To proceed by land through the marshes at night was impossible,but I found my coracle, which we had hidden under the bushes, andpoled up the channel after the Romans, who were now some distanceahead. The danger gave me strength, and I gained upon them. When Icould hear their oars ahead I turned off by a cross channel so asto strike another leading direct hither. What was my horror whenI reached it to see another flotilla of Roman boats passing along.Then I guessed that not only we but the watchers at all the otherchannels must have been surprised and killed by the treacherousFenmen. I followed the boats till I reached a spot where I knewthere was a track through the marshes to the island.
"For hours I struggled on, often losing the path in the darknessand falling into swamps, where I was nearly overwhelmed; but at lastI approached the island. The Romans were already near. I tried eachavenue by which our boats approached, but all were held by them.But at last I made my way through by one of the deepest marshes,where at any other time I would not have set foot, even in broaddaylight, and so have arrived in time to warn you."
"You have done well. Your warning comes not, I fear, in time tosave us, but it will enable us at least to die like men, with armsin our hands."
Parties of men were at once sent down to hold the intrenchmentserected to cover the approaches. Some of those who knew the swampsbest were sent out singly, but they found the Romans everywhere.They had formed a complete circle round the island, all the channelsbeing occupied by the boats, while parties had been landed uponplanks thrown across the soft ground between the channels to preventany from passing on foot.
"They will not attack until broad daylight," Aska said, when allthe men who had been sent out had returned with a similar tale."They must fight under the disadvantage of not knowing the ground,and would fear that in the darkness some of us would slip away."
Contrary to expectation the next day passed without any movement bythe Romans, and Beric and Aska agreed that most likely the greaterportion of the boats had gone back to bring up more troops.
"They will not risk another defeat," Aska said, "and they must besure that, hemmed in as we are, we shall fight to the last."
The practicability of throwing the whole force against the Romansat one point, and of so forcing their way through was discussed;but in that case the women and children, over a thousand in number,must be left behind, and the idea was therefore abandoned. Anotherday of suspense passed. During the evening loud shouts were heardin the swamp, and the Britons had no doubt that the boats hadreturned with reinforcements. There were three points where boatscould come up to the shore of the island. Aska, Boduoc, and anotherchief, each with a hundred men, took their posts in the intrenchmentsthere, while Beric, with a hundred of the Sarci, remained in thegreat intrenchment on the summit, in readiness to bear down uponany point where aid was required. Soon after daybreak next morningthe battle began, the Romans advancing in their flat bottomedboats and springing on shore. In spite of a hail of missiles theyadvanced against the intrenchments; but these were strongly builtin imitation of the Roman works, having a steep bank of earthsurmounted by a solid palisade breast high, and constructed ofmassive timber.
For some hours the conflict raged, fifty of the defenders at eachintrenchment thrusting down with their long spears the assailantsas they strove to scale the bank, while the other fifty rained arrowsand javelins upon them; and whenever they succeeded in getting upto the palisade through the circle of the spears, threw down theirbows and opposed them sword in hand. Again and again the Romanswere repulsed with great slaughter, the cries of exultation fromthe women who lined the upper intrenchment rose loud and shrill.
Beric divided his force into three bodies. The first was to movedown instantly if they saw the defenders of the lower intrenchmenthard pressed; the others were to hold their position until summonedby Beric to move down and join in the fray. He himself paced roundand round the intrenchment, occupied less with the three desperatefights going on below than with the edge of the bushes betweenthose points. He knew that the morasses were so deep that even anactive and unarmed man could scarce make his way through them andthat only by springing from bush to bush. But he feared that theRomans might form paths by throwing down faggots, and so gain theisland at some undefended point.
Until noon he saw nothing to justify his anxiety; everything seemedstill in the swamp. But he knew that this silence was deceptive,and the canopy of marsh loving trees completely hid the bushes andundergrowth from his sight. It was just noon when a Roman trumpetsounded, and at once at six different points a line of Roman soldiersissued from the bushes. Beric raised his horn to his lips and blewthe signal for retreat. At its sound the defenders of the threelower intrenchments instantly left their posts and dashed at fullspeed up the hill, gaining it long before the Romans, who, as theyissued out, formed up in order to repel any attack that might bemade upon them.
"So they have made paths across the swamp," Aska said bitterly, ashe joined Beric. "They would never have made their way in by fairfighting."
"Well," Beric said, "there is one more struggle, and a stout one,and then we go to join our friends who have gone before us in theHappy Island in the far west. We need not be ashamed to meet them.They will welcome us as men who have struggled to the last forliberty against the oppressor, and who have nobly upheld the honourof the Iceni. We shall meet with a great welcome."
Not until the Romans had landed the whole of the force they hadbrought up, which Beric estimated as exceeding two thousand men,did they advance to the attack, pressing forward against all pointsof the intrenchment. The Iceni were too few for the proper defenceof so long a circuit of intrenchments, but the women and boys tooktheir places beside them armed with hatchets, clubs, and knives.The struggle was for a long time uncertain, so desperately didthe defenders fight; and it was not until suffering the loss of athird of their number, from the missiles and weapons of the British,that the Romans at last broke through the intrenchment. Even thenthe British fought to the last. None thought of asking for quarter,but each died contented if he could kill but one Roman. The womenflung themselves on the spears of the assailants, preferring deathinfinitely to falling into the hands of the Romans; and soon the onlysurvivors of the Britons were a group of some thirty men gatheredon a little knoll in the centre of the camp.
Beric had successfully defended the chief entrance to the campuntil the Romans burst in at other places, and then, blowing hishorn, he had tried to rally his men in the centre for a final stand.Aska had already fallen, pierced by a Roman javelin; but Boduocand a small body of the Sarci had rallied round Beric, and hadfor a time beaten off the assaults of the Romans. But soon theywere reduced to half their number, and were on the point of beingoverwhelmed by the crowds surrounding them, when a Roman trumpetsounded and their assailants fell back. An officer made his waytowards them and addressed Beric.
"Suetonius bids me say that he honours bravery, and that your liveswill be spared if you lay down your arms."
"Tell Suetonius that we scorn his mercy," Beric said, "and willdie as we have lived, free men."
The Roman bade his men stand to their weapons, and not move untilhis return. It was a few minutes before he came back again. Behindhim were a number of soldiers, who had laid aside their arms andprovided themselves with billets of wood and long poles. BeforeBeric could understand what was intended, he and his companionswere struck to the ground by the discharge of the wooden missilesor knocked down by the poles. Then the Romans threw themselves uponthem and bound them hand and foot, the camp was plundered, fireapplied to the huts, and the palisades beaten down. Then the captiveswere carried down to the boats, and the Romans rowed away throughthe marshes. They had little to congratulate themselves upon. Theyhad captured the leader of the Iceni, had destroyed his strongholdand slain four hundred of his followers, but it had cost themdouble that number of men, and a large portion of the remainderbore wounds more or less severe.
Boduoc and the other prisoners were furious at their capture. TheBritons had no fear whatever of death, but capture was regarded asa disgrace; and that they alone should have been preserved when theircomrades had all been killed and the women and children massacred,was to them a terrible misfortune. They considered that they hadbeen captured by an unworthy ruse, for had they known what wasintended they would have slain each other, or stabbed themselves,rather than become captives.
Beric's feelings were more mixed. Although he would have preferreddeath to captivity, his ideas had been much modified by his residenceamong the Romans, and he saw nothing disgraceful in what he couldnot avoid. He would never have surrendered; would never havevoluntarily accepted life; but as he had been taken captive againsthis will and in fair fight, he saw no disgrace in it. He wonderedwhy he and his companions had been spared. It might be that theywere to be put to death publicly, as a warning to their countrymen;but he thought it more likely that Suetonius had preserved themto carry them back to Rome as a proof that he had, before givingup the command, crushed out the last resistance of the Britons toRoman rule. As the captives had been distributed among the boats,he had no opportunity of speaking to his companions until, aboutmidnight, the flotilla arrived at Godmancastra. Then they werelaid on the ground together, a guard of six men taking post besidethem. Boduoc at once broke out in a torrent of execrations againstthe Romans.
"They had a right to kill us," he said, "but they had no right todishonour us. We had a right to die with the others. We fought themfairly, and refused to surrender. It is a shameful tyranny thus todisgrace us by making us captives. I would not have refused deathto my most hated foe; but they shall not exult over us long. Ifthey will not give me a weapon with which to put an end to my life,I will starve myself."
There was an exclamation of fierce assent from the other captives.
"They have not meant to dishonour us, Boduoc, but to do us honour,"Beric said. "The Romans do not view these things in the same lightthat we do. It is because, in their opinion, we are brave men, whomit was an honour to them to subdue, that they have thus taken us.You see they slew all others, even the women and children. We werecaptured not from pity, not because they wished to inflict disgraceupon us, but simply as trophies of their own valour; just as theywould take a standard. We may deem ourselves aggrieved because wehave not, like the rest, died fighting to the last, and so departedfor the Happy Island; but it is the will of the gods that we shouldnot make the journey for a time. It is really an honour to us thatthey have deemed us worthy of the trouble of capture, instead ofslaying us. Like you, I would rather a thousand times have died;but since the gods have decreed it otherwise, it is for us to showthat not even captivity can break our spirit, but that we are ableto bear ourselves as brave men who, having done all that men coulddo against vastly superior force, still preserve their own esteem,and give way neither to unmanly repinings nor to a sullen struggleagainst fate.
"Nothing would please the Romans better than for us to act likewild beasts caught in a snare, gnashing our teeth vainly when wecan no longer strike, and either sulkily protesting against ourlot, or seeking to escape the pains of death or servitude by flyingfrom life. Let us preserve a front haughty and unabashed. We haveinflicted heavy defeats upon Rome, and are proud of it. Let them seethat the chains on our bodies have not bound our spirit, and that,though captives, we still hold ourselves as free men, fearless ofwhat they can do to us. In such a way we shall win at least theirrespect, and they will say these are men whom we are proud of havingovercome."
"By the sacred oak, Beric, you speak rightly," Boduoc exclaimed."Such was the bearing of Caractacus, as I have heard, when he fellinto their hands, and no one can say that Caractacus was dishonoured.No man can control his fate; but, as you say, we may show that weare above fate. What say you, my friends, has Beric spoken well?"
A murmur of hearty assent came from the other captives, and thenthe Roman sergeant of the guard, uneasy at this animated colloquyamong the captives, gruffly ordered silence.
Beric translated the order. "Best sleep, if we can," he added. "Weshall be stronger tomorrow."
Few, however, slept, for all were suffering from wounds more orless severe. The following morning their bonds were unloosed, andtheir wounds carefully attended to by a leech. Then water and foodwere offered to them, and of these, following Beric's example, theypartook heartily. An hour later they were placed in the centre ofa strong guard, and then fell in with the troops who were formedup to escort Suetonius to Camalodunum.
"What are they going to do to us, think you?" Boduoc asked Beric.
"They are either going to put us to death publicly at Camalodunum,as a warning against resistance, or they are going to take us toRome. I think the latter. Had Suetonius been going to remain here,he might be taking us to public execution; but as he has, as wehave heard, been ordered home, he would not, I think, have troubledhimself to have made us prisoners simply that his successor mightbenefit by the example of our execution. It is far more likely, Ithink, that he will carry us to Rome in order to show us as proofsthat he has, before leaving Britain, succeeded in crushing out allresistance here."
"And what will they do with us at Rome?"
"That I know not, Boduoc; possibly they will put us to death there,but that is not their usual custom. Suetonius has gained no triumph.A terrible disaster has fallen upon the Romans during his commandhere; and though he may have avenged their defeat, he certainlydoes not return home in triumph. After a triumph the chief of thecaptives is always put to death, sacrificed to their gods. Butas this will be no triumph, we shall, I should say, be treated asordinary prisoners of war. Some of these are sold as slaves; someare employed on public works. Of some they make gladiators--menwho fight and kill each other in the arena for the amusement ofthe people of Rome, who gather to see these struggles just as wedo when two warriors who have quarrelled decide their differencesby combat."
"The choice does not appear a pleasing one," Boduoc said, "to be aprivate or public slave, or to be killed for the amusement of theRomans."
"Well, the latter is the shortest way out of it, anyhow, and theone I should choose; but it must be terrible to have to fight witha man with whom one has had no quarrel," Beric said.
"Well, I don't know, Beric. If he is a captive like yourself, hemust be just as tired of life as you are. So, if he kills you heis doing you a service; if you kill him, you have greatly obligedhim. So, looking at it in that way, it does not much matter whichway it goes; for if you do him this service one day, someone elsemay do you a like good turn the next."
"I had not looked at it in that way, Boduoc," Beric said, laughing."Well, there is one thing, I do not suppose the choice will be givenus. At any rate I shall be glad to see Rome. I have always wishedto do so, though I never thought that it would be as a captive.Still, it will be something even in this evil that has befallen usto see so great a city with all its wonders. Camalodunum was butas a little hamlet beside it."
On the evening of the second day after leaving Godmancastra theyarrived at Camalodunum, which in the year that had passed sinceits destruction, had already been partially rebuilt and settledby Gaulish traders from the mainland, Roman officials with theirfamilies and attendants, officers engaged in the civil service andthe army, friends and associates of the procurator, who had beensent out to succeed Catus Decianus, priests and servants of thetemples. Suetonius had already sent to inform the new propraetor,Petronius Turpillianus, of the success which he had gained, and acrowd assembled as the procession was seen approaching, while alleyes were directed upon the little party of British captives whofollowed the chariot of Suetonius.
Many of the newcomers had as yet scarcely seen a native, so completehad been the destruction of the Trinobantes, and they looked withsurprise and admiration at these men, towering a full head abovetheir guards, and carrying themselves, in spite of their bonds, withan air of fearless dignity. Most of all they were surprised whenthey learned that the youth--for Beric wa
s as yet but eighteen--whowalked at their head was the noted chief, who had duringthe past year inflicted such heavy losses upon the troops of Rome,and who had now only been captured by treachery. As yet he lackedsome inches of the height of his companions, but he bade fairin another two or three years to rival the tallest among themin strength and vigour. The procession halted before the buildingwhich had been erected from the ruins of the old city as a residencefor the propraetor. Petronius, surrounded by a number of officials,came out to meet Suetonius.
"I congratulate you on your success, Suetonius," he said. "It willmake my task all the easier in carrying out my orders to deal mildlywith the people."
"And it will make my return to Rome all the more pleasant, Petronius,and I thank you again for having permitted me to continue in commandof my troops until I had revenged the losses we have suffered atthe hands of these barbarians. It is, of course, for you to decideupon the fate of Beric and his companions; assuredly they deservedeath, but I should like to take them with me as captives to Rome."
"I should prefer your doing so, Suetonius. I could hardly pardonmen who have so withstood us, but, upon the other hand, I shouldgrieve to commence my rule by an act of severity; besides, I hopethrough them to persuade the others--for, as you told me in yourletter, it is but a fraction of these outlaws that you havesubdued--to lay down their arms. It is well, indeed, that you have takentheir chief, and that he, as I hear, has partly been brought upamong us and speaks our language."
"Yes, he lived here for some five years as a hostage for his tribe.He was under the charge of Caius Muro, who returned to Rome afterour defeat of the Britons. I made inquiries about him, when Ilearned that he was chief of the insurgents, and heard that he wastractable and studious when among us, and that Caius thought veryhighly of his intelligence."
"They are noble looking men," Petronius said, surveying the groupof captives; "it is an honour to conquer such men. I will speakwith their chief presently."
"I shall make no longer delay," Suetonius said. "Ships have beenlying at the port in readiness for my departure for the last twoweeks, and I would fain sail tomorrow or next day. Glad I shallbe to leave this island, where I have had nothing but fighting andhardships since I landed."
"And you have done well," Petronius said courteously. "It was buthalf conquered when you landed, it is wholly subdued now. It isfor me only to gather the fruit of your victories."
"Never was there such an obstinate race," Suetonius replied angrily."Look at those men, they bear themselves as if they were conquerorsinstead of conquered."
"They are good for something better than to be killed, Suetonius;if we could mate all our Roman women with these fair giants, whata race we should raise!"
"You would admire them less if you saw them pouring down on youshouting like demons," Suetonius said sullenly.
"Perhaps so, Suetonius; but I will endeavour to utilize theirstrength in our service, and not to call it into the field againstus. Now, let us enter the house. Varo," he said to one of hisofficers, "take charge of the captives until Suetonius sails. Guardthem strongly, but treat them well. Place them in the house, wherethey will not be stared at by the crowd. If their chief will giveyou his word that they will not attempt to escape, their bonds canbe removed; if not, they must remain bound."
Varo at once called a centurion of the legion in garrisonat Camalodunum, and bade him bring up his company. These on theirarrival surrounded the captives and marched with them to a guardhousenear. When they entered Varo said to Beric:
"The orders of the propraetor are, that you shall all be releasedfrom your bonds if you will give your oath that you will not tryto escape."
Beric turned to the others and asked if they were willing to givethe promise. "In no case could we escape," he said, "you may be surewe shall be guarded too strictly for that. It were better that weshould remain bound by our own promise than by fetters." As theyall consented, Beric, in their name, took an oath that they wouldnot attempt to escape, so that the ropes that bound their arms wereat once taken off, and in a short time a meal was sent to them fromthe house of Petronius.
Soon after they had finished an officer came in and requested Bericto accompany him to the propraetor.
"I will bring two of my followers with me," Beric said. "I wouldnot say aught to the Roman governor that my tribesmen should nothear."
The officer assented, and Beric with Boduoc and another subchieffollowed him to the house of the propraetor. Petronius was seatedwith Suetonius at his side, while a number of officers and officialsstood behind him.
"How is it, Beric," he asked, "that, as I hear, you, who speak ourlanguage and have lived for years amongst us, come to be a leaderof those who have warred against us?"
"It is, perhaps, because I studied Roman books, and learned howyou value freedom and independence," Beric replied, "and how yourevolt against tyranny. Had Rome been conquered by a more powerfulnation, every Roman would have risen in arms had one tenth of thetyranny been practised against them which Catus Decianus exercisedagainst us. We have been treated worse than the beasts of thefield; our lives, our properties, and the honour of our women weresacrificed at his will. Death was a thousand times better than suchtreatment. I read that Rome has elsewhere been a worthy conqueror,respecting the religion of the tribes it subdued, and treating themleniently and well. Had we been so treated we should have been, ifnot contented, patient under our lot, but being men we rose againstthe infamous treatment to which we were subject; and although wehave been conquered and well nigh exterminated, there are Britonsstill remaining, and if such be the treatment to which they aresubjected it is not till the last Briton is exterminated that youwill rule this island."
A murmur of surprise at the boldness with which the young captivespoke ran round the circle.
"Have you inquired since you arrived," Beric went on, "of theinfamous deeds of Decianus? How he seized, without the shadow ofexcuse, the property of Boadicea? and how, when she came here forjustice for herself and her insulted daughters, he ordered herto be scourged? Should we, a free born people, submit to such anindignity to our queen? I knew from the first that our enterprisewas hopeless, and that without order or discipline we must in theend be conquered; but it was better a thousand times to die thanto live subject to treatment worse than that which you give to yourslaves."
"I believe that there is justice in your complaints, Beric," Petroniussaid calmly, "and it is to lessen these grievances that Rome hassent me hither. Vengeance has been fully taken for your rebellion,it is time that the sword was laid aside. I have already issued aproclamation granting an amnesty to all who then rose against us.Your case was different, you have still continued in arms and haveresisted our power, but I trust that with your capture this willend. You and your companions will go to Rome with Suetonius; butthere are many of your followers still in arms, with these I wouldtreat, not as a conqueror with the conquered, but as a soldier withbrave foes. If they will lay down their arms they shall share theamnesty, and be free to return every man to his own land, to dwellthere and cultivate it free from all penalty or interruption. Theirsurrender would benefit not only themselves but all the Britons.So long as they stand in arms and defy our power we must rule theland with the sword, but when they surrender there will be peacethroughout the island, and I trust that the Britons in time willcome to look upon us as friends."
"If Rome had so acted before," Beric said, "no troubles would havearisen, and she might now be ruling over a contented people insteadof over a desert."
"There are still many of your tribesmen in the Fens?"
"There is an army," Beric replied. "You have taken one stronghold,and that by surprise, but the lesson will not be lost upon them.There will be no traitors to guide your next expedition; by thistime the last Fenman in the southern swamps will have been killed.There will be a heavy vengeance taken by my countrymen."
"I would fain put a stop to it all," Petronius said. "Upon whatterms, think you, would your countrymen surrender?"
"They will not surrender at all," Beric said; "there is not a manthere but will die rather than yield. But if you will solemnly takeoath that those who leave the Fens and return to their villagesshall live unmolested, save that they shall--when their homes arerebuilt and their herds again grazing around them--pay a tributesuch as they are able to bear, they will, I believe, gladly leavethe Fens and return to their villages, and the fugitives who havefled north will also come back again."
"I am ready to take such an oath at the altar," Petronius said. "Ihave come to bring peace to the land. I am ready to do all in mypower to bring it about; but how are they to know what I have done?"
"I would say, Petronius, let us, your captives, be present when youtake the oath. Release four of my band; choose those most sorelywounded, and who are the least able to support the journey to Rome.I will send them with my bracelet to the Fens. I will tell themwhat you have said, and they will testify to having seen you swearbefore your gods; and I will send my last injunctions to them toreturn again to their land, to send for the fugitives to returnfrom the north, and to say from me that they will return as freemen, not as slaves, and that there is no dishonour in acceptingsuch terms as you offer."
"I will do as you say," the Roman agreed. "Suetonius, you can sparefour of your captives, especially as there are assuredly some amongthem who could ill support the fatigues of the journey. Return nowto your friends, Beric; tomorrow morning you shall meet me at thetemple, and there I will take an oath of peace with Britain."
