Nov. 21.
In our correspondence column a few days ago there was a lctfor in which the writer said that when "China was the most civilized nation in the world the ancient Britons were found by the Romans "living in the depths of the forests, wearing only the skins of animals and eating uncooked food." We do} not think this correspondent to Jess ignorant of history! than many educated people who write to the newspapers. Indeed, we would not} be surprised if he could quote a reputable authority for the the statement he makes and yet it is absolutely erroneous. The ancient world has, in these latter days, been resurrected and we know more of the manners and customs of our prehistoric ancestors -than any) generation that has lived on earth since they were buried funder the sands of time. The histories of Egypt, Greece and' the forgotten cities of Asia has been re-written to the confusion of much that passed for Knowledge in the days when men, not now more than middle, aged, trembled under the schoolmaster's rod.
This is as true of Britain as it is of Egypt. The antiquary has gone with his spade to the barrows where the grey forefathers of our race lie buried and has uncovered pages of unwritten history that puts the ignorance of the past to the blush. Gold coins, beautifully engraved, have been discovered in Britain that date back 1,500] years before the time of the Romans. This proves that there] was a flourishing commerce in those ages during which, according to our correspondent, the inhabitants of Britain were wearing skins and living on raw meat. We may note that thousands of Chinese wear skins to-day but no one would describe them as being uncivilized. That by the way. The Phoer we know, came to Cornwall for tin, perhaps, as early as the time when they assisted King Solomon to build his famous temple. A tin vase, dating from about 2,000 B.C, has been found an Egyptian tomb and the} scientist who discovered it thinks it quite probable that it came from these very Cornish tin mines, Earrings, bracelets, necklaces and mirrors of gold' and other metals, beautifully chased and of artistic workmanship, have been found in large quantity. Even rouge pots, used by the ancestresses of the flappers of to-day, have been unearthed. We are told that gentleman of this period wore 'a linen tunic and trouser: brilliantly coloured cloak was thrown over his shoulders and fastened on the right side of his neck by a glittering brooch. On his fect were leather shoes and his sword, in its richly ornamented scabbard, hung at his side attached to a' handsome, belt. His shield of bronze, exquisitely decorated and sometimes inlaid with enamel, was carried on his arm. His hors harness was decorated with ing bronze and the cheek pieces were sometimes enamelled in bright colours." Altogether he must have been a beau cavalier and not at all like a savage living in the depths of the for-' est and cating raw meat. Kitchen utensils of fine workmanship have been found'and, from the bones of animals dug out of the ancient middens, we know that the Britons fed on the flesh of deer, ox, swine and other domestic animals; they also cultivated cereals, When Julius Caesar invaded!
Britain the native kings put 4,000 well equipped chariots of war and a host of fighting men into the field against him. Caractacus, one of the princes of a petty kingdom in what is now England, maintained a war! against the might of Rome for nine long years and when he was finally subdued the Emperor: Claudius gave orders that he was to be allowed to live peaceably in Rome and be treated with re-peck. King: Commias. "siss fought stoutly against Rome and when compelled to submit made the one stipulation that he should never again be asked to look upon a Roman. The British' warrior queen, Boadicea, captured the Roman stronghold of Colchester and slew 70,000 of her foeman. When defeated in the field she swallowed poison' rather than grace a Roman triumph. In the Scottish rebellion of 116 A.D. the famous ninth legion which bore on its banners the proud motto, Vic-friz, Pia, Fidelis, marched north from York to oppose the Scots and was never' heard of again; its fate is one of the mysteries of history. 'The two great Roman walls, that built by Agricola in AD81 spanning the waist of Scotland from the Clyde to the: Forth, and that built by Hadrian in A.D.122 from the Solway' to the Tyne are monuments to the fact that the Romans found the Britons, not savages, but foeman worthy of their steel.
Had but a single coin of pre historic date been discovered we could from that one article predicate that the men who made such an artistic symbol were well advanced in civilization and could make other articles equally useful and beautiful. But hat tuis of these coins have been discovered and with the other relics mentioned in this article can be seen in many musew in different parts of Britain, Therefore the civilization of ancient Britain is not a theory but a demonstrated It may be asked if this is so why formerly accepted histories represented Britain in such an unlovely light. In answer let us recall the words of a German officer who was told by a Belgian that history would picture his nation as barbarians because of its invasion of Belgium. "There is no fear of that" he said.
"History is written by the con querors and as we intend to win this war we shall write the history of it" The Romans wrote the history of the conquest of Britain but as a certain preacher id in a sermon on Samson "the Philistines shaved Samson's head but they could not take the roots out." It grew again and his pristine strength came back to him, So the Rom: destroyed our civilization but they could not destroy such relics as the great fort of Mai Dun (Maiden Castle) near Dorchester nor the graves of those who lived in Britain before the walls of Rome were built and from these come the irrefutable proofs of the antiquity of British culture.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.