northwards into the territory of the Ordovices, who at least
sympathized if they did not actually aid. Here he entrenched himself
upon a mountain, very probably that Caer Caradoc, near Shrewsbury,
which still bears his name. Those who know the ground will not wonder
that Ostorius hesitated at assaulting so impregnable a position. His
men, however, were eager for the attack. "Nothing," they cried, "is
impregnable to the brave." The legionaries stormed the hill on
one side, the auxiliaries on the other; and once hand to hand, the
mail-clad Romans had a fearful advantage against defenders who wore
no defensive armour, nor even helmets. The Britons broke and fled,
Caradoc himself seeking refuge amongst the Brigantes of the north.

D. 9.--At this time the chief power in this tribe was in the hands of
a woman, Cartismandua, the heiress to the throne, with whose name and
that of her Prince Consort scandal was already busy. The disturbances
amongst the clan which Ostorius had lately suppressed were probably
connected with her intrigues. Anyhow she posed as the favourite and
friend of the Romans; and now showed her loyalty by arresting the
national hero and handing him over to the enemy. With his family
and fellow-captives he was [A.D. 52] deported to Rome, and publicly
exhibited by the Emperor in his chains, as the last of the Britons,
while the Praetorian Guards stood to their arms as he passed.

D. 10.--According to Roman precedent the scene should have closed with
a massacre of the prisoners. But while the executioners awaited the
order to strike, Caradoc stepped forward with a spirited appeal, the
substance of which there is every reason to believe is truthfully
recorded by Tacitus. Disdaining to make the usual pitiful petitions
for mercy, he boldly justified his struggle for his land and crown,
and reminded Claudius that he had now an exceptional opportunity for
winning renown. "Kill me, as all expect, and this affair will soon be
forgotten; spare me, and men will talk of your clemency from age to
age." Claudius was touched; and even the fierce Agrippina, who, to
the scandal of old Roman sentiment, was seated beside him at the
saluting-point "as if she had been herself a General," and who must
have reminded Caradoc of Cartismandua, was moved to mercy. Caradoc was
spared, and assigned a residence in Italy; and the Senate, believing
the war at an end with his capture, voted to Ostorius "triumphal
insignia"[166]--the highest