Beric the Briton | Page 7

the customs of his people as thoroughly as
if he had never dwelt in the stately Roman town. He was as ready as
before to undertake the longest hunting expeditions, to sleep in the
forest, to go from sunrise to sunset without breaking his fast. When not
engaged in hunting he practised incessantly hurling the javelin and
other warlike exercises, while of an evening he frequently related
stories of Roman history to any chiefs or other guests of his mother, on
which occasions the humbler followers would gather thickly in the
background, evincing an interest even greater than that which they felt
in the songs and legends of the bards.
Beric generally chose stories relating to periods when Rome was hardly
pressed by her foes, showing how the intense feeling of patriotism, and
the obstinate determination to resist, in spite of all dangers, upon the
part of the population, and the discipline and dogged valour of the
soldiers, saved her from destruction. He was cautious to draw no
parallel openly to the case of Britain. He knew that the Romans were
made acquainted, by traitors in their pay, with much that passed among
the native tribes, and that at first they were sure to interest themselves

in his proceedings. At present there could be no thought of a rising, and
the slightest sign of disaffection might bring disaster and ruin upon his
tribe. Only when some unexpected event, some invasion of the rights of
the Britons even more flagrant than those that had hitherto taken place,
should stir the smouldering fire of discontent, and fan it into a fierce
flame of revolt from end to end of Britain, could success be hoped for.
No Roman could have found fault with Beric's relation of their prowess
or their valour; for he held them up to the admiration of his hearers.
"No wonder Rome is great and powerful," he said, "when its people
evince so deep a love of country, so resolute a determination in the face
of their enemies, so unconquerable a spirit when misfortune weighs
upon them."
To the men he addressed all this was new. It was true that a few princes
and chiefs had visited Rome, occasionally as travellers desiring to see
the centre of her greatness, more often as exiles driven from Britain by
defeat in civil strife, but these had only brought back great tales of
Rome's magnificence, and the Britons knew nothing of the history of
the invaders, and eagerly listened to the stories that Beric had learned
from their books in the course of his studies. The report of his stories
spread so far that visits were paid to the village of Parta by chiefs and
leading men from other sections of the Iceni to listen to them.
Oratory was among the Britons, as among most primitive tribes, highly
prized and much cultivated. Oral tradition among such peoples takes
the place of books among civilized nations. Story and legend are
handed down from father to son, and the wandering bard is a most
welcome guest. Next only to valour oratory sways and influences the
minds of the people, and a Ulysses had greater influence than an Ajax.
From his earliest childhood Beric had listened to the stories and
legends told by bards in the rough palace of his father, and his sole
schooling before he went to Camalodunum had been to learn these by
heart, and to repeat them with due emphasis and appropriate gesture.
His father had been one of the most eloquent and influential of the
chiefs of the Iceni, and had early impressed upon him the importance of
cultivating the power of speech.
His studies in Roman history, too, had taught him the power exercised
by men with the gift of moving multitudes by their words; he had
learned from books how clearly and distinctly events could be

described by a careful choice of words, and attention to form and
expression, so that almost unconsciously to himself he had practised
the art in his relations of the tales and legends of British history to
Berenice and her mother. Thus, then, the manner no less than the matter
of his recitals of Roman story, gained him a high estimation among his
hearers, and he was already looked upon as a young chief likely to rise
to a very high position among the Iceni. Among the common herd his
glowing laudations of Roman patriotism, devotion, and sacrifice,
caused him to be regarded with disfavour, and the epithet "the Roman"
was frequently applied to him. But the wiser spirits saw the hidden
meaning of his stories, and that, while holding up the Romans as an
example, he was endeavouring to teach how much can be done by
patriotism, by a spirit of self sacrifice, and by