'thin spots'. Here, among great woodlands and on damp and chilly clay,
there dwelt not merely few civilized Roman-Britons, but few occupants of
any sort.

[Footnote 1: _Victoria Hist. of Warwickshire_, i. 228.]

And lastly, Romano-British life was on a small scale. It was, I think,
normal in quality and indeed not very dissimilar from that of many parts
of Gaul. But it was in any case defective in quantity. We find towns in
Britain, as elsewhere, and farms or country-houses. But the towns are
small and somewhat few, and the country-houses indicate comfort more
often than wealth. The costlier objects of ordinary use, fine mosaics,
precious glass, gold and silver ornaments, occur comparatively
seldom.[1] We have before us a civilization which, like a man whose
constitution is sound rather than strong, might perish quickly from a
violent shock.

[Footnote 1: See my remarks in Traill's _Social England_ (illustrated
edition, 1901), i. 141-61.]




CHAPTER III

ROMANIZATION IN LANGUAGE


We may now proceed to survey the actual remains. They may seem scanty,
but they deserve examination.