being the most important from a military point of view. Roads were
made; two along the north and south coasts, to Carmarthen and
Carnarvon; two others ran parallel along the length of Wales, to
connect their ends. On these roads towns rose; and some, like
Caerwent, were self-governing communities of prosperous people.
Agriculture flourished; the Welsh words for "plough" and "cheese" are
"aradr" and "caws"--the Latin aratrum and caseus. The mineral wealth
of the country was discovered; and copper mines and lead mines,
silver mines and gold mines, were worked. The "aur" (gold) and
"arian" (silver) and "plwm" (lead) of the Welshman are the Latin
aurum, argentum, and plumbum.

The Romans allowed the Welsh families and tribes to remain as before,
and to be ruled by their own kings and chiefs. But they kept the
defence of the country--the manning of the great wall in the north of
Roman Britain, the garrisoning of the legion towns, and the holding
of the western sea--in their own hand.

Gradually the power of Rome began to wane, and its hold on distant
countries like Britain began to relax. The wandering nations were
gathering on its eastern and northern borders, and its walls and
legions at last gave way. It had not been a kind mother to the
nations it had conquered--in war it had been cruel, and in peace it
had been selfish and stern. The lust of rule became stronger as its
arm became weaker. The degradation of slavery and the heavy hand of
the tax-gatherer were extending even to Wales. The barbarian invader
found the effeminate, luxurious empire an easy prey. In 410 Alaric
and his host of Goths appeared before the city of Rome itself; and a
horde of barbarians, thirsting for blood and spoil, surged into it.
The fall of the great city was a shock to the whole world; the end of