Annals of a Fortress Author:Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: families ; for the strangers do not know how many we are. As for myself, I remain where I was born." A great number assembled round the carpenter with acclamatio... more »ns, accompanied by their wives and children ; and all together without a moment's delay showed themselves to the troop of strangers. "We will return to our dwellings," was all the carpenter said to the captive interpreter, and then they advanced towards the little camp. Many had bows and stone hatchets. " Throw down your arms," said the captive ; " throw down your arms,, you have no need of them." The invaders who had taken up their position on the shore, dividing into two bodies, were rapidly climbing the sides of the promontory, to the right and left ; so that in a few minutes the carpenter and his companions were surrounded by an innumerable crowd, which penetrating the mass of the fugitives, separated them into small parties and took possession of the few weapons which had been retained by some of their number. The strangers laughed, skipped, and leaned their brows on the breasts of the inhabitants of the valley in token of good will. Thus some hundreds of the natives went down towards the river surrounded by their new guests. They were compelled to get into the boats, and they went back to their houses, which had been completely pillaged. Many of the huts remained vacant, and the new-comers took possession of them, without troubling themselves much respecting the inhabitants and what had become of them. chapter{Section 4CHAPTER II. THE OPPIDUM. Two centuries later, the land of Ohet had assumed a new aspect, and its name was changed. It was then called the Valley of Avon. Beautiful fields, affording pasture to flocks and herds, carpeted the slopes of the bordering hill ; while in the vale below ripened ...« less