[TG1-1, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 1] (1-1)ENGLAND is the Southern, and Scotland is the (1-1)northern part of the celebrated island called Great (1-1)Britain. England is greatly larger than Scotland, (1-1)and the land is much richer, and produces better (1-1)crops. There are also a great many more men in (1-1)England, and both the gentlemen and the country (1-1)people are more wealthy, and have better food and (1-1)clothing there than in Scotland. The towns, also, (1-1)are much more numerous, and more populous. (1-1)Scotland, on the contrary, is full of hills, and (1-1)huge moors and wildernesses, which bear no corn, (1-1)and afford but little food for flocks of sheep or (1-1)herds of cattle. But the level ground that lies (1-1)along the great rivers is more fertile, and produces (1-1)good crops. The natives of Scotland are accustomed [TG1-2, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 2] (1-2)to live more hardily in general than those (1-2)of England. The cities and towns are fewer, (1-2)smaller, and less full of inhabitants than in England. (1-2)But as Scotland possesses great quarries of (1-2)stone, the houses are commonly built of that material, (1-2)which is more lasting, and has a grander effect (1-2)to the eye than the bricks used in England. (1-2)Now, as these two nations live in the different (1-2)ends of the same island, and are separated by large (1-2)and stormy seas from all other parts of the world, (1-2)it seems natural that they should have been friendly (1-2)to each other, and that they should have lived as (1-2)one people under the same government. Accordingly, (1-2)about two hundred years ago, the King of (1-2)Scotland becoming King of England, as I shall (1-2)tell you in another part of this book, the two (1-2)nations have ever since then been joined in one (1-2)great kingdom, which is called Great Britain. (1-2)But, before this happy union of England and (1-2)Scotland, there were many long, cruel, and bloody (1-2)wars, between the two nations; and, far from helping (1-2)or assisting each other, as became good neighbours (1-2)and friends, they did each other all the harm (1-2)and injury that they possibly could, by invading (1-2)each other's territories, killing their subjects, burning (1-2)their towns, and taking their wives and children (1-2)prisoners. This lasted for many many hundred (1-2)years; and I am about to tell you the reason why (1-2)the land was so divided. (1-2)A long time since, eighteen hundred years ago (1-2)and more, there was a brave and warlike people, (1-2)called the Romans, who undertook to conquer the [TG1-3, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 3] (1-3)whole world, and subdue all countries, so as to (1-3)make their own city of Rome the head of all the (1-3)nations upon the face of the earth. And after (1-3)conquering far and near, at last they came to Britain, (1-3)and made a great war upon the inhabitants, (1-3)called the British, or Britons, whom they found (1-3)living there. The Romans, who were a very brave (1-3)people and well armed, beat the British, and took (1-3)possession of almost all the flat part of the island, (1-3)which is now called England, and also of a part of (1-3)the south of Scotland. But they could not make (1-3)their way into the high northern mountains of (1-3)Scotland, where they could hardly get any thing to (1-3)feed their soldiers, and where they met with much (1-3)opposition from the inhabitants. The Romans, (1-3)therefore, gave up all attempts to subdue this impenetrable (1-3)country, and resolved to remain satisfied (1-3)with that level ground, of which they had already (1-3)possessed themselves. (1-3)Then the wild people of Scotland, whom the (1-3)Romans had not been able to subdue, began to come (1-3)down from their mountains, and make inroads upon (1-3)that part of the country which had been conquered (1-3)by the Romans. (1-3)These people of the northern parts of Scotland (1-3)were not one nation, but divided in two, called the (1-3)Scots and the Picts; they often fought against (1-3)each other, but they always joined together against (1-3)the Romans, and the Britons who had been subdued [TG1-4, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 4] (1-4)by them. At length, the Romans thought (1-4)they would prevent these Picts and Scots from (1-4)coming into the southern part of Britain, and (1-4)laying it waste. For this purpose, they built a (1-4)very long wall between the one side of the island (1-4)and the other, so that none of the Scots or Picts (1-4)should come into the country on the south side of (1-4)the wall; and they made towers on the wall, and (1-4)camps, with soldiers, from place to place; so that, (1-4)at the least alarm, the soldiers might hasten to (1-4)defend any part of the wall which was attacked. (1-4)This first Roman wall was built between the two (1-4)great Friths of the Clyde and the Forth, just (1-4)where the island of Britain is at the narrowest, (1-4)and some parts of it are to be seen at this day. (1-4)You can see it on the map. (1-4)This wall defended the Britons for a time, and (1-4)the Scots and Picts were shut out from the fine (1-4)rich land, and enclosed within their own mountains. (1-4)But they were very much displeased with this, and (1-4)assembled themselves in great numbers, and climbed (1-4)over the wall, in spite of all that the Romans could (1-4)do to oppose them. A man, named Grahame, is (1-4)said to have been the first soldier who got over; (1-4)and the common people still call the remains of (1-4)the wall Grahame's dike. (1-4)Now the Romans, finding that this first wall (1-4)could not keep out the Barbarians (for so they (1-4)termed the Picts and the Scots), thought they (1-4)would give up a large portion of the country to [TG1-5, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 5] (1-5)them, and perhaps it might make them quiet. So (1-5)they built a new wall, and a much stronger one (1-5)than the first, sixty miles farther back from the (1-5)Picts and Scots. Yet the Barbarians made as (1-5)many furious attacks to get over this second wall, (1-5)as ever they had done to break through the former. (1-5)But the Roman soldiers defended the second wall (1-5)so well, that the Scots and Picts could not break (1-5)through it; though they often came round the (1-5)end of the wall by sea, in boats made of ox hides, (1-5)stretched upon hoops, landed on the other side, (1-5)and did very much mischief. In the mean time, (1-5)the poor Britons led a very unhappy life; for the (1-5)Romans, when they subdued their country, having (1-5)taken away all their arms, they lost the habit of (1-5)using them, or of defending themselves, and trusted (1-5)entirely to the protection of their conquerors. (1-5)But at this time great quarrels, and confusion, (1-5)and civil wars, took place at Rome. So the Roman (1-5)Emperor sent to the soldiers whom he had maintained (1-5)in Britain, and ordered that they should (1-5)immediately return to their own country, and leave (1-5)the Britons to defend their wall as well as they (1-5)could, against their unruly and warlike neighbours (1-5)the Picts and Scots. The Roman soldiers were (1-5)very sorry for the poor Britons, but they could do (1-5)no more to help them than by repairing the wall of (1-5)defence. They therefore built it all up, and made [TG1-6, Tales of a Grandfather, Chap. 1, p. 6] (1-6)it as strong as if it were quite new. And then (1-6)they took to their ships, and left the island. (1-6)After the departure of the Romans, the Britons (1-6)were quite unable to protect the wall against the (1-6)Barbarians; for, since their conquest by the Romans, (1-6)they had become a weak and cowardly (1-6)people. So the Picts and the Scots broke through (1-6)the wall at several points, wasted and destroyed (1-6)the country, and took away the boys and girls to (1-6)be slaves, seized upon the sheep, and upon the (1-6)cattle, and burnt the houses, and did the inhabitants (1-6)every sort of mischief.