History of the AngloSaxons - 1856 Author:Thomas Miller 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: comprehend is, that three different languages were spoken in the island of Britain at this period, namely, Welsh, Irish, and another; but whether the latter was ... more »Gothic or 1'ictish, learned men who have dedicated long years of study to the subject have not jet determined bj what name it is to be distinguished. CHAPTER VL DEPARTURE OF THE ROMANS. He looked nncl saw wide territory spread Before kim; towns and rural works between, Cities of men, with lofty gates and towers, Concourse in arms, fierce forces threatening war— 4 Assaulting: others, from the wall defend With dart and javelin, stones and sulphurous fire: On each hand slaughter and gigantic deeds." Milton's Paradise Lost, Dook Xt. The fortified line erected by Agricola was soon broken through by the northern tribes, and the Emperor Adrian erected a much stronger barrier, though considerably within the former; and this extended from the Tyne to the Solway, crossing the whole breadth of that portion of the island. Urbicus, as if determined that the Romans should not lose an inch of territory which they had once possessed, restored the more northern boundary which Adrian had abandoned, mid once more stretched the Roman frontier between the Friths of Clyde and Forth; they thus possessed two walls, the more northern one, first begun by Agricola, and the southern one, erected by Adrian. Forts were built at little more than a mile distant from each other along this line, and a broad rampart ran within the wall, by which troops could readily march from one part to another. This outer barrier was the scene where many a hard contest took place, and in the reign of Commodus it was again broken down, and the country ravaged up to the very foundations of the wall of Adrian. This skirmishing and besieging, buildi...« less