From their results to the neighbourhood of Springhead, two of the most important acts, of the talented Aulus Plautius, during his stay in Britain, were his conversion of the British ship-building-yard on the western side of the channel of the Ebbs, into Roman navalia, and the re-construction of one of the great British trackways, into a via militaris, from the ports of Richborough, Portus Lemanis ( Lympne, ) and Dubris (Dover,) to a grand junction at Durovernum (Canterbury,) and thence into the interior. The brief period he remained in the island prevented him, however, from little more than commencing the mighty works his genius conceived, and his successors completed.

Whilst awaiting the advent of the emperor, Aulus Plautius made a survey of the county he was occupying, and conceived the project of converting a portion of the circuitous track way on which he had marched, into a straight military road. Having matured the plan, he commenced a re-formation of the road, and employed his soldiers upon it, until the campaign in Essex was resumed after the landing of Claudius with the reinforcements. The emperor however, soon became weary of the fatigues of war, and after, Suetonius says sixteen days stay in Britain, he returned to Rome, to Plautius the task of conquering the natives!

The lesson he had learned in the first campaign not only taught him that the natives possessed the inclination, but the requisite abilities to successfully engage

9 When constructing the railway below Springhead, in 1847, it was proved that the bottom of the bed of the estuary was ten feet below the present sward.

and combat the Roman legions; it had also proved to him the necessity of having strong-holds in his rearfor experience had shown him that, had he not been well entrenched at Holwood, he could not have maintained his position in Britain until the arrival of Claudius. After therefore, the departure of the emperor, before he attempted further operations in the interior, he carefully surveyed and fortified the Kentish coast, probably commencing with Richborough castle, to protect the Portus Rutupia, followed at the latter end of the year by the establishment of military works at Portus Dubris, supported by a similiar undertaking at the Portus Lemanis. He also proceeded rapidly with the alterations he had commenced in the British trackway, called the "Watling-street," which he now made perfectly straight through the county from Canterbury for the purpose of conveying to the seat of war the supplies and materiel he drew from the continent.1

Pillars were erected along these roads with figures cut upon them,-to mark the distances from station to station. the origin of our present mile-stones. One of these milliares was dug up in Barque fields, during the last century, with the letter X deeply engraven. It was presented to Edward Hasted, esq., the historian of Kent, and remained at his seat, "the Commandery of St. John's," Sutton, till John Mumford, who subse

Sidonius Apollinaris, says :

Antiquus tibi nec teratur agger,
Cujus per spatium satis vetustis
Nomen Cæsareum viret columnis.

Nor let the antient causey be defac'd

Where, in old pillars, Cæsar's name express'd.

quently occupied the premises, presented it to the Rev. Peter Rashleigh, in whose son's court-yard it is still [1847], carefully preserved.

During the construction of the road, the advantages possessed by the valley of the Ebbs, became too apparent to be lightly regarded. Aulus Plautius accordingly resolved to adapt the British settlement to Roman purposes, and convert the docks of the natives into Roman navalia. Acting upon the advice of Scribonius, the favorite medical attendant of the emperor, the Romans were induced to vary the principles on which they had previously acted in choosing sites for stations and camps, and instead of selecting heights,

2 COMMANDERY OF ST. JOHN'S, SUTTON-AT-HONE. SHOW THE ROMANS SET TO WORK TO BUILD A CITY. Great circumspection was used in the choice of a site for a city, and one of the methods adopted, previously even to the forming of an encampment, was the institution of religious rites, when the livers of the victims sacrificed were carefully examined, and if they were diseased, others were subjected to the same test, in order to prove whether the unhealthy appearance resulted from accident. If the greater number of experiments proved healthy, it was considered that the water and soil were salubrious. When the external walls were built, the next object was the best means of disposing of the area between them; the streets were set out to exclude winds injurious to comfort, and all the sewers and drains were well consi

to prefer the morassy hollows of valleys. This fashionable court physician also suggested the erection of rough wooden buildings for baths, or thermæ, for the use of the legions. The seizure of the ship-buildingyard must have been regarded as a most valuable prize, for the Romans, from the days of Augustus, had been anxious to possess a fleet, and this desire was now in a fair way for being accomplished.

It seems an anomaly that Italy, almost surrounded by the Mediterranean, should not early have assumed a high rank in the creation and maintenance of a navy. But the ambition of her warrior sons appears to have been confined to land exploits, "and the ocean existed as an object of fear rather than curiosity."

During the succeeding twenty years, although the Roman arms in the west and north experienced vast vicissitudes, and at times merited sufferings, yet the city on the banks of the Ebbs continued increasing in magnitude and absorbing the natives of the neighbourhood from their locations. The continual passage through it of masses of recruits and materiel direct

dered. Their public buildings were established in convenient quarters, and their foundations made adequate to bear the weight placed upon them. Laws were established which prevented individuals from doing anything which would interfere with the public health health or enjoyment. These were the first and chief considerations. Evidence of Edward Cresy, sen. esq., before the Health of Towns Commission. In their application of water the Romans were most wasteful. Rome, in its palmiest days, through the lavish magnificence of the emperors, at the minimum possessed fourteen aqueducts, or as others count them twenty. Of this number three only at the present time are found amply sufficient for the wants of the modern Romans.-Eustace, v. 2.

from Rome to feed the waste attendant on the harrassing war in the interior, necessarily tended to its advantage particularly as the camp at BLACK SOLES, in Stone parish, was used in connexion with Spring-head, as a "resting place" for the men to recover from the fatigue they had undergone travelling to the island, ere they were sent on active service. The admirable situation for commerce of the newly founded town; its easy distance from London, already an important place; sheltered harbour; agricultural advantages; docks; the healing waters of its thermal springs, combined with other conveniences, rendering it a considerable mart for trade.-Magnificent and highly embellished mansions built of bricks, flints, and timber sprang up in every part of the town. So lavish were the architects in gorgeous decorations of the houses generally in Britain, that Tacitus assigns it as one of the principal causes of the Boduan insurrection. He says, "The Romans wasted the resources at their command, in useless embellishments, instead of fortifying and placing the subjugated provinces in a state of defence." Considering the uncertain tenure by which the Romans held the portions of Britain they occupied, it shews how infatuatedly wedded they were to ornaments and frippery.

To compensate the Cantii for the loss of liberty and the pride of independence, the Romans offered in exchange, their luxurious habits, arts and elegancies. The conciliatory bait was palatable to the Kentish youth, who eagerly swallowed it, and thenceforward became reconciled to their fate.

Very different indeed was the scene, from that which now meets the eye; instead of an important town, we