He returned as he had come. The
Kentish men had attacked the camp in his absence, but had been beaten off
with heavy loss. The Romans had sallied out upon them, killed as many as
they could catch, and taken one of their chiefs. Thenceforward they had
been left in quiet. A nominal tribute, which was never paid, was assigned
to the tribes who had submitted. The fleet was in order, and all was ready
for departure. The only, but unhappily too valuable, booty which they had
carried off consisted of some thousands of prisoners. These, when landed
in Gaul, were disposed of to contractors, to be carried to Italy and sold
as slaves. Two trips were required to transport the increased numbers; but
the passage was accomplished without accident, and the whole army was
again at Boulogne.
Thus ended the expedition into Britain. It had been undertaken rather for
effect than for material advantage; and everything which had been aimed at
had been gained. The Gauls looked no more across the Channel for support
of insurrections; the Romans talked with admiration for a century of the
far land to which Caesar had borne the eagles; and no exploit gave him
more fame with his contemporaries. Nor was it without use to have solved a
geographical problem, and to have discovered with certainty what the
country was, the white cliffs of which were visible from the shores which
were now Roman territory.
Pages:
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383