CHAPTER XVI.

JULIUS CAESAR AND THE GAULS AND BRITONS.

WE can hardly wait to see what other occasion Dewdrop may have found to wear her blue-gossamer robe, and her crown of white light mingled with colored stars; and to use the other things she had ready, her gun, and quiver with bow and arrows.

Perhaps these latter were only for her own defence, and she may not often have found it necessary to use them; but it was well to have them by her. I say, we cannot stop longer now, as we are bound on another long expedition; since Glassée had not yet finished the complete account of the Roman dominions, and what was done to make them so extensive.

That account carries us back to the very people,

with long yellow hair and fearful aspect, who once upon a time, as was told before, made an irruption into the beautiful land of Italy, and went straight towards Rome, and, finding the city deserted,none being left but the noble senators, sitting mute and dignified in their arm-chairs, — burned it to the ground. Afterwards, when a Roman army was gathered, and returned to the burned-down city, and the barbarian Gauls had demanded a thousand pounds of gold, the brave Camillus stepped up, and said it should not be paid. Upon this, the Gauls were forced to depart; and they never again obtained possession of Rome; but they came quite near it some three hundred years afterwards, when a portion of this same tribe joined the Cimbri and Teutones, who were going so fast towards Italy and Rome, but were wholly defeated by Marius. This was in the year 101 B.C.

The very next year after was born one, who, when he became a man, was to go and defeat these same barbarians, the Gauls, in their own home beyond the mountains, and subdue and conquer

them, and make them a province of Rome. This was Julius Cæsar. He was born in the year 100 B.C., and became one of the greatest heroes and generals that have ever lived. You remember that when he went to Spain, and saw the inscription in honor of King Alexander of Macedon, and of the great things he had done, he thought to himself that he would endeavor to make his name great. His first ambition was to be industrious, and become learned and accomplished. He succeeded so well, that he was able not only to perform great exploits, but to write of them a very interesting history, or account of his wars and expeditions, particularly among that very people, the Gauls, whom he subdued. And he had so great a mind, and it was so well trained and disciplined, that he could listen to letters being read, and at the same time write himself, and be dictating for others, three, four, or

even seven letters at a time, it is said.

Julius Cæsar was one of those who helped to conquer Spain; and, when that was quite made a Roman province, the Romans desired to be able to reach it

by the way of Gaul, which was where France now is. Therefore they looked towards that country, hoping to be able to subdue it also. At this time, Pompey the Great was living; and he and Cæsar, and one other general,- Crassus, obtained so much the control of affairs, that they were called the Triumvirate; and they divided the whole government and the different countries between themselves. Cæsar was given the command of that part towards Gaul; and he soon found that he could obtain the management of affairs among the inhabitants.

To

The Gauls were then quite different from the early tribes, who had so long before invaded Rome. They were now settled and established in their country, had quite fine towns, and a good deal of civilization and useful knowledge. They cultivated fields; raised grain and cattle: in fact, it would seem that they had come to be a quite respectable and thriving people. But, at the time that Julius Cæsar came upon their frontiers with some of his Roman legions, they were much troubled by some German tribes who had come across the Rhine, and

were endeavoring to obtain possession of Gaul. Now, these tribes were then different from the Gauls they were much more barbarous, and they were quite formidable to the peacefully-settled inhabitants. Some of these latter had long since become friendly allies of the Romans; and they were now glad to appeal to the Romans for aid against these newly-invading tribes. Cæsar was able to turn them back into their own country; and also, little by little, step by step, he at length succeeded in bringing the whole country of Gaul under his

own sway.

But it took him nearly ten years to do so. That was as long as was the siege of Troy, of olden times. That, however, was but of one city: but Julius Cæsar, in that time, captured a great many cities; and, in the long-continued war, nearly a million of inhabitants were destroyed.

It seems terrible thus to go to destroy and injure otherwise peaceful towns and cities! After possession was once obtained, however, the Roman conquerors were not like others of that time. They did