Читать книгу The Child's Pictorial History of England. From the Earliest Period to the Present Time онлайн

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5. Now, if the British princes had agreed among themselves, and joined together to drive out these terrible foes, things might have gone on very well; but they were foolish enough to quarrel, and go to war with one another; while some of the captains, who wanted to be princes, got a number of soldiers to help them, and took possession of different places, where they called themselves kings, and made the people obey them.

6. They did not continue the good Roman laws; nor elect magistrates to keep order in the cities, as used to be done while the Romans were here; and tillage was neglected, because the farmers were afraid their crops would be destroyed, so that numbers of people died of famine.

7. There were still many Romans in Britain, who were not soldiers but were settled here, most of them having married into British families; and there were a great number of people who were Britons by birth, but whose ancestors had been Romans; and all these were desirous that the country should still be governed by the Roman laws, and formed what was called the Roman party.