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Saturday, August 14, 2010 - 9:25 PM
Upon this the emperor granted pardon to Caractacus, to his wife,
and to his brothers. Released from their bonds, they did homage also to
Agrippina who sat near, conspicuous on another throne, in the same language
of praise and gratitude. It was indeed a novelty, quite alien to ancient
manners, for a woman to sit in front of Roman standards. In fact, Agrippina
boasted that she was herself a partner in the empire which her ancestors
had won.
The Senate was then assembled, and speeches were delivered full
of pompous eulogy on the capture of Caractacus. It was as glorious, they
said, as the display of Syphax by Scipio, or of Perses by Lucius Paulus,
or indeed of any captive prince by any of our generals to the people of
Rome. Triumphal distinctions were voted to Ostorius, who thus far had been
successful, but soon afterwards met with reverses; either because, when
Caractacus was out of the way, our discipline was relaxed under an impression
that the war was ended, or because the enemy, out of compassion for so
great a king, was more ardent in his thirst for vengeance. Instantly they
rushed from all parts on the camp-prefect, and legionary cohorts left to
establish fortified positions among the Silures, and had not speedy succour
arrived from towns and fortresses in the neighbourhood, our forces would
then have been totally destroyed. Even as it was, the camp-prefect, with
eight centurions, and the bravest of the soldiers, were slain; and shortly
afterwards, a foraging party of our men, with some cavalry squadrons sent
to their support, was utterly routed.
Ostorius then deployed his light cohorts, but even thus he did
not stop the flight, till our legions sustained the brunt of the battle.
Their strength equalized the conflict, which after a while was in our favour.
The enemy fled with trifling loss, as the day was on the decline. Now began
a series of skirmishes, for the most part like raids, in woods and morasses,
with encounters due to chance or to courage, to mere heedlessness or to
calculation, to fury or to lust of plunder, under directions from the officers,
or sometimes even without their knowledge. Conspicuous above all in stubborn
resistance were the Silures, whose rage was fired by words rumoured to
have been spoken by the Roman general, to the effect, that as the Sugambri
had been formerly destroyed or transplanted into Gaul, so the name of the
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire ought to be blotted out. Accordingly they cut off two of our auxiliary
cohorts, the rapacity of whose officers let them make incautious forays;
and by liberal gifts of spoil and prisoners to the other tribes, they were
luring them too into revolt, when Ostorius, worn out by the burden of his
anxieties, died, to the joy of the enemy, who thought that a campaign at
least, though not a single battle, had proved fatal to general whom none
could despise.
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