The Child's Pictorial History of England: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time — John Shaqi
The Child's Pictorial History of England: From the Earliest Period to the Present TimeCorner, Miss (Julia)
History
The Child's Pictorial History of England: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time
Corner, Miss (Julia)
Great Britain -- History -- Juvenile literature
17. The Britons, who had never seen any thing better than their
own clay huts, must have been quite astonished at the fine houses
constructed by the Romans; who also built, in every city, temples,
theatres, and public baths, with large rooms for people to meet in,
like a coffee house.
18. Then, in each town, was a market place for people to buy and sell
goods, and the Romans taught the Britons generally to use money,
which was more convenient than taking things in exchange.
19. The Romans were excellent farmers, as I said before; so they
shewed the natives how to manage their land better than they had
done, and how to make many useful implements of husbandry.
20. By cutting down the forest trees, which they used in building,
they obtained more land for cultivation, and grew so much corn that
there was more than enough for the people in Britain, so that a great
deal was sent every year to the Roman colonies in Germany.
21. By degrees, the Britons left off their old habits, and those
above the lowest rank wore the Roman dress, spoke the Roman language,
and adopted the manners and customs of their conquerors, who treated
them as friends and equals.
22. There were schools opened in all the towns, where British and
Roman boys were instructed together, and the former were all brought
up to serve in the Roman armies; for there were no more wars among
the British princes; who held the same rank as before, but paid
tribute to the Roman governor, and were under his authority, as many
of the princes of India are now under the authority of the English
Governor General in India.
23. The Britons had to pay a great many taxes, but they likewise
enjoyed many rights, for the Roman laws were much better laws than
those of the Druids, which were made for barbarians, and not for
civilized people, such as the Britons had now become.
24. You will, perhaps, wonder what the Druids were about all this
time. The Romans did not approve of their religion, so they put an
end to it very soon, after they came here; but what became of the
Druids, is not exactly known.
25. It is supposed that many of them were killed by the Romans in the
isle of Anglesea, where the chief Druid always resided; and that all
the rest fled to Scotland, or the Isle of Man.
26. The Romans, however, were themselves heathens, when they first
settled in Britain, and worshipped a number of false gods; but their
gods were different from those of the Druids, and the rites and
ceremonies of their religion were different too.
27. But, in course of time, many of the Romans became Christians, and
Christianity was taught in Britain, where the heathen temples were
converted into Christian churches, and the Britons, as well as the
Romans, at length learned to worship the one true God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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