because his comrade's wish had left him nothing good from which to choose."[212] =Children of the Ancient Britons.= "It seems to have been the custom of the Celts to plunge their new-born infants into some lake or river in order to try the firmness of their constitutions and to harden their bodies--this even in the winter season. The Scandinavians used, it is said, to pour water upon the heads of their children as soon as they were born, and this long before the introduction of Christianity; but there is no certainty that this custom was observed in Britain. Before the introduction of Christianity the inhabitants of the northern part of Britain did not give names, it is said, to their sons before they had performed some brave action, or given some indication of their disposition and character.... "The early British matron, even of the highest rank, always nursed her infants, and would have resented in the greatest degree the delegation of this parental office to another woman. We know little of the bringing up of the children. There is a story of Solinus to the effect that his first morsel of food was put into the infant's mouth on the point of the father's sword, with a prayer that he might prove a great and brave warrior and die on the field of battle. This seems more likely to apply to the races who succeeded them and the Roman occupation than to the veritable Britons. ... The Ancient Britons were accustomed almost from infancy to handle arms and to sing the glorious actions of their ancestors. The young were thus inspired to feats of strength and to be engaged in war. As they advanced in years they were, while being instructed in martial exercises, also taught that everything in life depended on their valor--the praises of the bards, the favor of the great, and the applause of the people, and that happiness after death was the reward only of those who were daring in war. It may be considered certain that the youth of Britain at this period were not delicately nurtured; a rough and hardy people would not educate their children in a manner unfitting for their surroundings and way of life, and doubtless--as in Germany--the families of the nobler sort were brought up with no more delicacy or tenderness than the common people. Tacitus says of the Germans, 'In every house you see the little boys, the sons of lords and peasants, equally sordid and ill-clothed, lying and playing promiscuously together on the ground and among the cattle, without any visible distinction. In this manner they grow up to that prodigious strength which we behold with admiration.' The sons of the ancient Germans, Gauls, and Britains of all ranks were allowed to run, wrestle, jump, swim, climb, and to engage in vigorous exercises at their will and without restraint until they approached manhood. To this continued exercise, together with the simplicity of their diet, is ascribed by Caesar the great strength of body and boldness of spirit to which these nations attained.