"As I sailed hither from Vectis, I could not help repeating to myself those lines of Virgil: 66 Within a long recess there lies a bay; Euge! euge! (excellent! excellent!) my Agricola !" cried Suetonius, "I would that our own ships, which were wrecked in the summer, had been lying at anchor here. Many a stout vessel, and stouter heart, would have been left. for the service of our country." "We have yet enough," said Pudens. 66 Rightly spoken," rejoined Suetonius: and then he went on with his plan for the entire subjugation of Britain; his schemes extending as his ardour increased. In the midst of these lofty speculations he was interrupted by a messenger bearing a despatch from Rome. As Suetonius perused the contents of the despatch, which was but a brief one, his cheeks grew pale, and his lips compressed; and his * Est in secessu longo locus, &c. En. 1, v. 159. hand clenched his sword, as though in a paroxysm of rage. He remained for some moments absorbed in mental emotion. At last he threw the despatch across the table, muttering between his teeth, as though to himself: “Nay, my country, it is not for me to harm thee, though thou knowest not thine own weal. See," continued he, addressing his officers,66 see how I am rewarded!" The despatch was, in fact, a recall to Rome, urging as a pretext his carelessness in not providing a safe port for the shipping.* Thus in a most astonishing manner was fulfilled the prophecy of the Arch Druid; and thus in one moment were annihilated all the magnificent designs of Suetonius. Let those good easy souls who have felt the "nipping frost" of disappointment just when they deemed "full surely their greatness was a ripening"-let them imagine the bitter feelings which Suetonius dissembled as he exclaimed with apparent gaiety, “Ah, well, if it is forbidden us to gather fresh laurels, no one, thank Jove, can deprive us of those which we have gathered." * This reason is assigned by Tacitus, Ann. lib. xiv. s. 39.; but the same author assigns a different cause, (in Vit. Agric. s. 16. viz. the severity of Suetonius. Disappointing, however, as this superseding was to Suetonius, it was a most fortunate circumstance for Arvigarus; for as the former could not now prosecute the war, and as his successor Petronius Turpilianus, who was of a less severe disposition, had no inclination to renew hostilities, the terms proposed to Arviragus were less humiliating than they otherwise would have been; and consequently, were more readily acquiesced in. There was only one condition to which he felt any very great reluctance; but this was peremptorily insisted on-namely, that Roscrana should be taken to Rome as a hostage for the faithful observance of the treaty. To this hard condition, Arviragus, being in the power of his enemy, was at last obliged to submit: and the treaty was finally ratified by a solemn sacrifice to the gods, upon the altar which we have already described as being consecrated to the tutelary deity of Clausentum; and preparations were made for the departure of Roscrana to Rome! 278 NOTES. (A).—PAGE 31. BRITISH TATOOING. ISODORE describes the mode of tatooing, thus :—“The Britons squeeze the juice of certain herbs into figures made on their bodies with points of needles." From the colouring of these figures, the epithet, "Cæruleis Britannis," was used by Martial, and ' Viridesque Britannos," by Ovid; but besides these general armorial bearings, the priests of ancient times were accustomed to be branded, or stigmatized with the badge of the god in whose service they ministered: thus Ptolemy Philopator, King of Egypt obtained the surname of Gallus, because he was stigmatized, or marked with the leaf of an ivy, the badge of his god, Bacchus, in the same manner as the priests called Galli; and he evinced his enmity towards the Jews by a decree, that all of them then living in Alexandria should come to be enrolled, and at the time of their enrolment should, under the penalty of being made slaves, have an ivy leaf branded with a hot-iron upon them; from which cruel decree, however, the Jews were rescued by Divine interposition.See PRIDEAUX'S CONNECTION, part 2, b. 2:* * See also an account of this persecution in the apochryphal book of Maccabees. (B).-PAGE 40. THE MAGICAL CRYSTAL. The Druids were such adepts in the arts of magic, that Pliny says,* they might have been taken for the instructors of the Persians themselves, from whom this occult science derived its name; and the various implements referred to, have been frequently discovered in the tumuli on Salisbury plain, and elsewhere. There is a profound dissertation on the magical crystal in Douglas's Nenia Britannica, from which I extract the following brief particulars, premising that the subject of his investigation was a small ball of crystal, enclosed in a cap of silver, pendant to two silver rings, found in a tumulus near Chatham :- "It is," says he, "a Druidical speculum, which the Druids pretended would draw down the Logh, the essence of spiritual fire, and presence of Aesar, (God), whenever they consulted the oracle. It prevailed from the remotest period of time, throughout all the British Isles, to the present day. It is the same stone, the use of which is forbidden the Jews. Levit. 22. 1. "Ye shall make you no idols, nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, which is expounded in the margin ;" rear a pillar, or use a pictured stone, the latter being rendered by the 70 σкожоs, gemma speculationis. As this note is not intended for a practical treatise upon the use of the crystal ball, I do not think myself necessitated to transcribe the lengthy form of conjuration given by Douglas; but I will content myself with copying, for the edification of my readers, the following extract, from the famous astrologer Lily, which will surely dispel any incredulity which may have hitherto lurked in their minds respecting the potency of this magical instrument. "All the *Nat. Hist. Lib. xxx. cap. 1. |