bat, says Cæsar, they blended the speed of cavalry with the steadiness of infantry." - Camden's Imperial History of England.

5. The Druids (p. 15, ¶ 5).-"It is universally agreed that the Druids derived their name from that superstitious reverence they paid to oaks-deru, in the British language, signifying an oak. They were composed of the highest orders of the people-the commonalty, for obvious reasons, being excluded from the arcana of their political system, whereby a strict alliance was formed between the church and state; and this union rendered them awful to the people, and necessary to those who were placed in elevated stations by birth, education, or employment. Their hair they wore short, but their beards very long. In their hands they carried a wand; and an encased ornament, called the Druid's egg, was hung about the neck. Their garments, a kind of loose gowns, reached down to the ground; but when engaged in religious ceremonies they always wore a surplice. The Isle of Anglesey was their chief seat of residence, where they had their principal seminary, and held an annual meeting of the states. Such was the reputation of this scat of the muses, that the children of the Gauls were sent for education thither."-Spencer.

6. Druidical Remains (p. 16, ¶ 9).—"The most remarkable monument of antiquity in our island, if we take into account its comparative preservation, as well as its grandeur, is Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, the chief temple and seat of justice of the Druids. It originally consisted of an outer circle of thirty stones, fourteen feet high, and upon the tops of them was carried throughout a continuous impost of large flat stones of the same width. An inner circle, enclosing a diameter of eighty-three feet, appears to have consisted of much smaller stones, without mposts, but about the same in number as the outer circle. Within the second circle were five distinct erections, each consisting of two very large stones with an impost, with three smaller stones in advance of each; these have been called the trilithons. The circles were called 'doom rings,' or circles of judgment; the flat stones of the interior were the 'cromlechs,' or altars on which the victims were sacrificed. They are great stone scaffolds, raised just high enough for such horrid exhibitions, and just large enough in all their proportions, and so contrived as to render the whole visible to the greatest multitude of people. The officiating priest, pouring a libation upon a man as a victim, smote him upon the breast, near the throat; and on his falling, both from the manner of his fall, and from the convulsions of his limbs, and still more from the flowing of his blood, they presaged what would come to pass. The rocking-stones, or 'tolmans,' masses of granite or sandstone, often weighing more than six or seven hundred tons, which are so exquisitely poised that they can be moved by the touch of a finger, were other great adjuncts to the system of terror and superstition by which the Druids maintained their influence; they sought to appal and govern the popular mind by imparting a more than natural grandeur to some great work of nature, by connecting it with some effort of ingenuity which was under the direction of their rude science."Knight's Old England.

7. Boadicea (p. 17, ¶ 10).—" She was of the largest size, most terrible of aspect, most savage of countenance, and harsh of voice; having a profusion of yellow hair, which fell down to her hips, and wearing a large golden collar. She had on a partycolored floating vest, drawn close about her bosom, and over this she wore a thick mantle, connected by a clasp. Such was her usual dress, but at this time she also bore a spear, that she might appear more formidable to all."-Monumenta Historica Britannica.

p. 21-2

SECTION II.

BRITAIN UNDER THE SAXONS.

Extending from the Landing of Henghist and Horsa (A. D. 449) to the Union of the Saxon Kingdoms under Egbert (A. D. 827).

1. With the aid of the Saxons under Henghist and Horsa, the Britons were enabled to drive back the Scots and Picts; and in return for the services thus rendered, the brothers were allowed to settle, with their companions, on the Isle of Thanet* where they were soon joined by others of their countrymen, whom they invited over. It is said that a beautiful daughter of Henghist, Rowe'na by name, captivated the British king, Vort'igern, and that, becoming his bride, she persuaded him to give up to her countrymen the whole of Kent. Whether this be true or not, it is certain that the Saxons soon began to encroach upon the lands of the Britons, and that their numbers were constantly augmented by new accessions from Germany.

2. Fierce battles were fought between the forces of Henghist and Horsa and the Britons; in one of which Horsa was slain (A. D. 455). The Saxons were, however, generally victorious, and finally succeeded in completely securing their possessions in Kent, which thus became the first Saxon kingdom founded in the island. It remained a powerful state for more than a century afterward.

* See Note 1, end of the Section.

MAP QUESTIONS.-(Progressive Map, No. 2.) Where were the settlements of the South Saxons? Of the West Saxons? Of the East Saxons? Of the Middle Saxons? Where was Kent? Where were the East Angles? How divided? Where were the Middle Angles? Where was Mercia? Northumbria? Why so called? (Ans.-Because north of the Humber River.) How divided? Where was Damnonia, or West Wales? North Wales? Cumbria ? Strath Clyde? Where was the country of the Picts? Of the Scots? Thanet Island? Wight? 1. What was done with the aid of the Saxons? How were they rewarded What legend is mentioned? What was the fact? 2. What battles were fought? With what result? kingdom?

Which was the first Saxon

3. In the mean time, other bodies of Saxons arrived and settled in different parts of the island. Among these a kindred race, called Angles, came over, also from Germany, and made their home in such territories as they could wrest from the native inhabitants. They seem to have been a more numerous and energetic people even than the Saxons, as they occupied larger districts, and at length gave their name to the whole country. [See Note 2.]

4. By these invasions the following states were formed: 1. Kent; 2. Sussex, or the South Saxons; 3. Wessex, or the West Saxons; 4. Essex, or the East Saxons, including Middlesex, or the Middle Saxons; 5. East Anglia, formed by Angles, originally consisting of two tribes, North-folk and South-folk (hence, Norfolk and Suffolk); 6. Northumbria, that is, the country north of the Humber River, which at first consisted of two states, called in Latin De-i'ra and Bernicia; 7. Mercia, or the March, or boundary, being situated on the border of Deira and East Anglia. It was conquered by Anglian chieftains in the seventh century (A. D. 626). These seven states constituted what is known in history as the Saxon Heptarchy; although the number of independent Saxon kingdoms was at no time exactly seven. [See Note 3.]

5. The different Saxon kingdoms of the Heptarchy were almost incessantly engaged in fierce wars with one another. Their common enemies, the British, or Welsh, as they called them (meaning in their language foreigners), and the Scots, obliged them, however, to form some kind of alliance, and they usually acknowledged the sovereign of one of the states, supreme commander, or as they called him, Bret'wal-da, that is, Britain-wielder. Several of the Saxon monarchs held this office and title, the most dis

3. What other settlers arrived? What is said of the Angles? 4. What states were formed? What is said of East Anglia! Northumbria ? Mercia? When and by whom was this state conquered? What did they con stitute?

5. In what were they engaged? Why did they form an alliance? What is meant by Bret walda? By whom was this office held?