Beginnings The Early Races When the Romans, under Cæsar, invaded Britain, in 55 B. C., they found the island inhabited by the Celts. These early Britons were a vigorous race, gifted with vivid imagination, delicate sensibilities, and lively emotions. However attractive these qualities might make a people, they were insufficient to create a successful opposition to the more highly organized Roman civilization. But the Celts persisted in maintaining their individuality, and after about five centuries of Roman rule, though they had grown weak and enervated, had lost few of their other characteristics. About 449 A. D., the Roman legions having been withdrawn, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, three Teutonic tribes from the mainland, invaded Britain, and after repeated attempts, in the face of bitter opposition that lasted fully a century, succeeded in conquering the Celts. But they could not exterminate the vigorous race. Many remained, ultimately to mingle their blood with their conquerors, while the more hardy and restive ones took refuge in the mountain fastnesses of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, where still the population is largely of Celtic origin. It is to |