{"product_id":"2940013684560","title":"Tales of Long Ago","description":"Pontus, the Roman viceroy, sat in the atrium of his palatial villa by\u003cbr\u003ethe Thames, and he looked with perplexity at the scroll of papyrus\u003cbr\u003ewhich he had just unrolled. Before him stood the messenger who had\u003cbr\u003ebrought it, a swarthy little Italian, whose black eyes were glazed\u003cbr\u003ewith want of sleep, and his olive features darker still from dust and\u003cbr\u003esweat. The viceroy was looking fixedly at him, yet he saw him not, so\u003cbr\u003efull was his mind of this sudden and most unexpected order. To him it\u003cbr\u003eseemed as if the solid earth had given way beneath his feet. His life\u003cbr\u003eand the work of his life had come to irremediable ruin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Very good,\" he said at last in a hard dry voice, \"you can go.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe man saluted and staggered out of the hall. A yellow-haired British\u003cbr\u003emajor-domo came forward for orders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Is the General there?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"He is waiting, your excellency.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Then show him in, and leave us together.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA few minutes later Licinius Crassus, the head of the British military\u003cbr\u003eestablishment, had joined his chief. He was a large, bearded man in a\u003cbr\u003ewhite civilian toga, hemmed with the Patrician purple. His rough, bold\u003cbr\u003efeatures, burned and seamed and lined with the long African wars, were\u003cbr\u003eshadowed with anxiety as he looked with questioning eyes at the drawn,\u003cbr\u003ehaggard face of the viceroy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I fear, your excellency, that you have had bad news from Rome.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The worst, Crassus. It is all over with Britain. It is a question\u003cbr\u003ewhether even Gaul will be held.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Saint Albus save us! Are the orders precise?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Here they are, with the Emperor's own seal.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"But why? I had heard a rumour, but it had seemed too incredible.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"So had I only last week, and had the fellow scourged for having\u003cbr\u003espread it. But here it is as clear as words can make it: 'Bring every\u003cbr\u003eman of the Legions by forced marches to the help of the Empire. Leave\u003cbr\u003enot a cohort in Britain.' These are my orders.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"But the cause?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"They will let the limbs wither so that the heart be stronger. The\u003cbr\u003eold German hive is about to swarm once more. There are fresh crowds of\u003cbr\u003eBarbarians from Dacia and Scythia. Every sword is needed to hold the\u003cbr\u003eAlpine passes. They cannot let three legions lie idle in Britain.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe soldier shrugged his shoulders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"When the legions go no Roman would feel that his life was safe here.\u003cbr\u003eFor all that we have done, it is none the less the truth that it is no\u003cbr\u003ecountry of ours, and that we hold it as we won it by the sword.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, every man, woman, and child of Latin blood must come with us to\u003cbr\u003eGaul. The galleys are already waiting at Portus Dubrish. Get the\u003cbr\u003eorders out, Crassus, at once. As the Valerian legion falls back from\u003cbr\u003ethe Wall of Hadrian it can take the northern colonists with it. The\u003cbr\u003eJovians can bring in the people from the west, and the Batavians can\u003cbr\u003eescort the easterns if they will muster at Camboricum. You will see to\u003cbr\u003eit.\" He sank his face for a moment in his hands. \"It is a fearsome\u003cbr\u003ething,\" said he, \"to tear up the roots of so goodly a tree.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"To make more space for such a crop of weeds,\" said the soldier\u003cbr\u003ebitterly. \"My God, what will be the end of these poor Britons! From\u003cbr\u003eocean to ocean there is not a tribe which will not be at the throat of\u003cbr\u003eits neighbour when the last Roman Lictor has turned his back. With\u003cbr\u003ethese hot-headed Silures it is hard enough now to keep the swords in\u003cbr\u003etheir sheaths.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070199873776,"sku":"2940013684560","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013684560_p0.jpg?v=1763584360","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013684560","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}